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.

Zavarka
by IndigoNeko, Cormenthor, and TaintedThylacine

Chapter 6

Thursday, October 29th, 2015

Alex kicked a small rock in the middle of the path, watching it bounce off a tree root before disappearing into the underbrush. It was getting chilly, now that it was late in October, and the tiger cub’s orange and black-striped fur was puffed out in an attempt to keep hir warm. Almost Halloween, All Hallows Eve, The Feast of the Dead... or Samhain, as some of the people around here called it. It didn’t matter; shi didn’t feel up for going trick or treating anyway.

Mom and dad had finally agreed for hir to fly out and stay with Lizzy for Christmas. Only another two months to go. Two months in which shi’d have to plaster a smile on hir face and pretend shi was happy. Shi had made at least one friend out here in Winter Creek, but Azalea had other friends she hung out with, and Alex felt like a third wheel at best, or an intruder at worst. The one trip shi had made to the local gaming store where they hung out left Alex feeling out of place. The older gamers kept glancing at hir like shi was some kind of alien... not to mention the funky smell.

There was one good thing about living out here: shi didn’t have to worry about getting bullied anymore. The kids down in Prairie Flats didn’t seem to give a damn what your gender was, as long as you didn’t act too weird. And it took a lot to stand out as weird. Other than the first day at the bus stop, nobody had so much as given hir a second glance... except at the gaming store, strangely enough.

Mom and dad had finally agreed to letting hir go hiking alone once again, provided that shi took bear spray with hir and stuck to trails rather than simply hiking out in the forest. The canister hanging at Alex’s hip felt uncomfortable, but it was a small price to pay for being allowed outside again. Mom had drilled hir a half dozen times on how to use it. Even standing upwind, the mist was strong enough to make hir eyes burn. Alex had no doubt it would deter almost anything it was used on.

Alex continued to hike up the trail, one of several that the little tigress had found near the edge of the small neighborhood they’d moved into. A couple of the trails were simple walking trails, perfect for a morning jog, and only went out a little bit before returning somewhere else in the neighborhood. This one didn’t; it went straight up the south-eastern ridge, away from town. This was the third time shi had followed it, and knew it ended at a service road about fifty feet further up.

By the time shi reached the end of the path, shi was panting slightly, as the last few feet were up a fairly steep incline. Pulling up hir phone, she checked the time. 5:15 P.M. The sun would be going down in another hour, so shi had another 20 minutes before shi had to head back. Shi brushed the hair out of hir eyes and peered downhill, but couldn’t make out anything thanks to a bend in the road. It probably led back to town. Nothing interesting there. Uphill though... The road might lead to one of the old mines, or maybe a logging camp. That might be fun.

Only a few hundred feet further, the gravel road came to an end with dirt paths to the left and right. The left path went uphill, and even from here shi could see a small house at the end... more of a shack than a house. An old, faded gray truck was parked in front, so rusty and dented that it didn’t even look like it still ran. The right path was a narrow and twisty dirt trail, and so overgrown that it probably hadn’t been cleared in twenty years. Perfect.

Ten minutes later, Alex’s legs were burning, and hir pants were covered in burrs. The only thing that stopped hir was the abrupt change in foliage. It was like someone had drawn a line on the ground. Everywhere behind hir were fir and pine trees, and everything in front of hir were tall, skinny aspen trees crowned with red and yellow leaves. Shi’d seen a few Aspen trees around but nothing quite like this. At least the trail was still easy enough to follow.

Just about the time that shi was thinking of turning back, the trees began to thin, opening upon a wide field, perhaps a couple hundred feet across, with a log cabin smack in the middle on a small hill. Or at least, it probably had been a log cabin sometime in the last century. A portion of the roof had collapsed, and what was left was covered in gray-green lichen. So were the front steps, or what remained of them. The rest of it was in varying states of decay, except for the stone chimney running up one side. It may have been covered in lichen, but it was still standing tall.

A flicker of movement in one of the windows caught her eyes. A large black cat with a splotch of white on its chest sat on the sill, staring at hir. Shi was thinking about walking over when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Shi fished it out, glancing at the screen. Mom was asking if Thai food was okay for dinner. As if she had to ask. Shi unlocked it and tapped out a quick reply, then stuck the phone back in hir pocket. Shi looked back up, brushing the hair out of hir eyes again. The cat was gone. Maybe next time shi came up here shi’d bring some milk or something.

__________________________________________________

Friday, October 30th, 2015

Friday passed even slower than normal; it seemed like even time itself was conspiring to keep hir from having fun. At least the last two periods were hir chosen electives: Visual Arts and Theater.

Alex walked into the art room, nostrils flaring at the ever-present smell of paint and turpentine, and sat down at hir usual spot next to Azalea. The malabar squirrel-jerboa hybrid was caught up in her work, like most of the time, and idly chewing on a pine needle. Her large ears were twitching slightly and she had her tail wrapped around the legs of the chair, to keep it out of the way of the other kids. She had gotten a little weary about it getting stepped on or tripped over it, given how long it was. One paint-covered paw was picking up the next brush that she needed.

After taking out a box of colored pencils and another box of watercolors and setting them both on the desk, Alex tucked hir backpack under the desk. “Hey, Az,” shi whispered as shi sat down.

The hybrid smiled and nodded. “Hey Alex, what’s up?” she asked before turning her green eyes back to her painting.

“Is it just me, or is today taking forever?” the tigress asked. “I swear that Math felt like it was three hours long. Social studies too.”

“It’s not just you,” she said, shaking her head. “Today’s just dragged on and on. Three pop quizzes already. Oh, I managed to stay awake in class for once.”

“Really? Did you have an espresso for lunch or something? It’s been all I can do to keep my eyes open. What’s Mrs. Stanton having us do today, do you know? Or did you just start randomly painting when you sat down?” Alex asked, pulling a thick sheet of paper out from the desk and setting it in front of hir.

“Na, just some coffee,” Azalea said with a smirk. “As for the work... Just have to do something Halloween themed. So I’m using it as an excuse to finish this,” she said, referring to the painting of a house, sitting in the woods. It was almost like something out of a horror movie.

“Of course it’s Halloween themed,” Alex said, rolling her eyes. “As if they’d have us do anything else the day before. Oh well.”

“Awww, not a fan of Halloween?” She said with a snicker. “I like the horror and all that happens around this time.” 

“Oh! Do you know of any old abandoned cabins on the south-east side of Aspen Glen?” Alex asked, suddenly remembering what shi’d found last night. “I was exploring yesterday and found a service trail that went up into the hills, and I found this nifty aspen glade with a really old log cabin. The roof had mostly collapsed and the whole thing was covered in lichen and stuff.”

Azalea paused for a moment to think. “I don’t think I’ve seen the one you’re talking about, but I have seen a few of them when I was out exploring.”

“The roof on this one had collapsed in the middle, and the left side of the front porch was drooping pretty badly, like it’s about to fall. I was thinking of checking it out, but I’m afraid the whole thing might collapse,” Alex said. 

“Wuss,” she teased, then leaned over a little. “I’ll go up there and help you look around. At least that way if something happens we have a safe way out and all. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Alex looked a bit surprised. “For real? Like... after school today?”

“Sure. Like I said, I have nothing better to do. Just need to change clothes. I have some more suitable clothes in my locker,” Azalea said.

Alex’s mouth twisted slightly as shi thought for a moment. “We can head up to my house when we get off the bus, then head up there. I’ll ask mom to make extra for dinner, if you want to eat with us when we get back from exploring.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Azalea said, smiling. “I have been wanting to go out into the woods and look for stuff to paint.”

“Awesome. Now I just need to figure out what to draw...” Alex said, sighing. After a moment, shi slid open the box of colored pencils, pulling out an orange colored pencil.

__________________________________________________

Alex quickly shucked her school jacket, tossing it on the bed. It didn’t take hir long to change out of the polo shirt and slacks and put on some black capris and a tight-fitting teal t-shirt. Shi threw on hir black cropped jacket as shi was heading down the stairs. 

Azalea was already waiting down in the living room. She had changed into a long sleeve shirt that looked a size or two too big for her, and a pair of blue jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a lazy pony tail. “Ready for our trip?” she asked, getting up and walking over to the side entrance and pulling it open.

Alex checked hir pockets to make sure shi had hir phone with hir, then quickly put on hir hiking boots. Shi was about to step out the door when shi stopped and turned around. “Oh, right... Mom?!” shi yelled down the hallway.

“Yes, love?” A voice echoed back from down the hallway.

“Is it alright if Azalea joins us for dinner?” Alex asked loudly.

“Yes, dear. I was going to make chinese food, if that’s okay. Dumplings, fried rice, and vegetable stir fry,” Raenne said from down the hallway.

Alex turned back around. “Is that okay with you?”

“Sounds tasty to me,” Azalea said, smiling. “It gives me an excuse to not have to cook tonight. Jenny can do it this time.”

“Sounds good!” Alex yelled towards the back of the house. “Okay then. Oh! Wait, just remembered... Hold on a sec,” Alex said, turning back around and darting into the kitchen. A few moments later, the tigress reappeared with a small plastic tupperware container half full of milk. “Now we’re ready,” shi said, stepping outside and pulling out hir keys.

“Milk?” Azalea asked, tilting her head a little as they started walking. “Offering for safe travels or something like that?” She joked.

“I saw a cat up at that cabin when I was there last night. I was thinking maybe if I put some milk out it might let me get close enough to pet it. I’m pretty sure there’s not much to eat up there except mice and rabbits.”

“Cats are nice, but they can be little butts sometimes. At least, mine is,” she said, snickering. “Rabbit is pretty good though. If cooked right,” she added as she looked around the area, having only been up here a few times.

Alex led the way back through the suburb, walking past a dozen houses before coming to a small gap between houses. A dirt trail went between them and then up the gentle slope of the hill that marked the end of the Aspen Glen suburbs. “So... This trail goes up to the service road. I dunno if there’s a name for it or not, but there’s a house near the end of the road, and another trail that goes further up into the mountains.”

“There’s bound to be a name to it.” She said looking around, taking in all the sights. “I knew I should have brought the map,” Azalea joked. “Onward to adventure!” she said as she started walking down the path.

“Not sure I’d call this an adventure. There’s no pirates, or ninjas, or fire-breathing dragons. Though there is a pretty cool looking juniper tree further up. Reminded me of a dryad...actually, there it is,” the tiger-cub said. A few dozen feet later, shi pointed it out. “See? Two arms, and a sort of head thing, and the way the trunk is twisted it looks like legs.”

“You’re starting to sound like a nerd,” Azalea said as she looked at the tree, tilting her head a little. “Not that it’s a bad thing,” the hybrid said as she took a small digital camera from her pocket and snapped a few photos. “I know you play some games... Do you read too?”

“Not really. Blame my dad for the games; he loves that stuff. I guess it kind of rubbed off. When you’ve watched the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies multiple times, it’s kind of hard not to see orcs and ents and dragons hiding in the trees. And don’t even get me started on Star Wars.”

“Yup. Definitely a nerd,” she said with a snicker. “I really can’t say anything. I feel like I’m walking through one of the forests of Ascalon. I’ve never been one for Star Wars, though. Little too... spacey for me. I just couldn’t get into it.”

“Meh. I like it, but then I saw it for the first time when I was like six or seven. Anyway... we should be coming up on the service road here in a bit. Watch out for that root,” Alex said, pointing down.

As the slope became substantially steeper, the two of them went quiet to save their breath. At the end of the incline, they came out at the gravel road that Alex had found the day before. The tigress didn’t stop, immediately turning right and heading further uphill following the service road.

The two of them continued up the gravel road until they reached the dirt driveway of the house at the end, and the overgrown trail Alex had taken the day before up to the old log cabin. Alex stopped, leaning against a rusted metal fence pole that marked the end of the service path. “Any idea whose house that is?” shi asked, pointing up at the shack at the end of the driveway.

“None at all. I didn’t think that people lived this far out into the woods,” The hybrid said, pulling out the camera and snapping a few more photos. “I bet that the library would have some kind of info on all this... or city hall,” She said, turning and facing the tiger cub. “Looks like we have a mystery on our paws.”

A few moments later, a light went on in one of the windows, and the two of them could see the silhouette of someone walking around inside.

“Well, it’s not empty. Kind of weird though, living all alone up here.” Alex shrugged. “Anyway, the cabin was back up this way,” shi said, pointing up the dirt path in the opposite direction. “It’s a decent hike, probably twenty minutes or so. Oh, and you’ll love the grove itself. It’s like someone drew a line on the ground, and everything past the line is all aspen trees.”

“Spooky,” Azalea said with a grin as they started walking. “Aspen trees are nice, but I still like my pine trees. Though there are some out here that I would love to climb,” she added, looking around.

“Yea. I love pine trees. Especially in the snow. There’s something about the smell of pine and snow that’s... I dunno, but I love it. I can’t wait to go snowboarding again this year,” the tigress said as they trudged through the dense underbrush. 

“I’m not breaking a bone this year. Being laid up in bed for weeks isn’t all that fun. Not being able to paint or play games... Yeah, that sucked.” The hybrid said as she followed closely behind the tigress. “I’m going to be picking twigs out of my tail for days,” she added as she saw the dense underbrush along the trail.

“Oh shoot... I forgot this path has burrs,” Alex muttered, looking down. The fur of hir lower legs was already covered in tiny green balls. “Dangit! I should have worn cargo pants,” shi said angrily, remembering how much time it had taken to brush hir fur out earlier.

“Wooooo grooming party,” Azalea said with a laugh. “Don’t worry; they're not too hard to get out. Besides, you don’t have this big thing,” she said, lifting her tail a little higher to show off her long bushy tail. “This thing is a blessing and a curse.”

Alex glanced back, and snickered. “There’s twigs in it already. Oh well. I’ll brush it out when we get back home. No worries.”

“Sounds like a plan. Though I have to warn you, getting brushed kinda melts me,” she said blushing a little bit. “And I snore a little.”

“Well, it is a Friday... umm... did you want to spend the night again?” Alex asked, hesitantly. “I used to have sleepovers with Lizzy every Friday.”

“Sure,” the squirrel-jerboa hybrid said, patting her pocket before reaching into it. “I’m sure mom wouldn’t mind,” she said, tapping at the screen. “We can do all the fun stuff. Hair, fur, bad movies.”

Alex smiled. “I don’t know if we even have any bad movies. Dad’s....umm….kind of a big movie buff, but he can’t stand bad movies. We do have some classics though, like Princess Bride. And Monty Python. Tons of other stuff as well.”

“Ooooh. Good movies make it better,” Azalea said, smiling. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen Princess Bride. And on a side note, all this hiking and all is good for my legs... I’m gonna rule at soccer and all that.”

“Definitely,” Alex agreed. Shi was starting to pant with exertion; this path was much steeper than most of the trails she’d been on in town. 

“Come on! You can do it,” Azalea said with a snicker. “Oh who am I kidding. This is a little rough.” She said, taking a deep breath. “Is it close yet?”

“Nope,” Alex said with a grin, picking up the pace a bit. “Another ten minutes or so until we reach the Aspen trees, and another five to the cabin.”

“I feel like a cub. Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” She said with a little snicker. “And at least it’s nice out. So many things that I want to paint.”

Alex laughed. “Yep!”

__________________________________________________

Alex finally came to a stop, panting for breath. “Look,” she said, pointing up ahead of them. The pine trees came to an abrupt end, replaced with aspen trees crowned with vibrant golds and reds, in stark contrast to the washed out greens of the trees they’d been walking past for the last ten minutes.

It took a moment for Azalea to get her breath. “I love the fall colors,” she said after a bit, looking around at all of the aspen trees. “If only I could get colors like this in my paint,” she muttered as she pulled the camera out of her pocket and started snapping a few photos. “I can’t wait to see this cabin. It’s got to stand out with all the trees around it.”

“There weren’t any trees around the cabin itself. It’s sitting on a hill in the middle of a clearing. Still, it’s pretty neat,” Alex said, taking out hir phone and snapping a few pictures of hir own.

“Oh well. I bet that it will make a good painting. I might have to come out here with my easel and canvas and stuff. Then again, I don’t think that it would be all that fun dragging all of that stuff out here,” she said with a little huff.

“I don’t paint at all. I might bring a sketchpad and pencils though,” The tigress replied, putting hir phone back in hir pocket and continuing up the trail. “We’ve got another five minutes or so to the cabin, I think.”

“I can’t sketch to save my life, for some reason,” The hybrid said, shrugging a little, “I think that I have a spare easel somewhere at the house if you want. I can give you some pointers and stuff. Painting isn’t too hard to learn; just time consuming and messy,” she said looking down at her paws. There were still little splashes of paint on her paws from art class.

Alex shrugged. “Meh. I’m okay with drawing. I’m getting better, I think. Mrs. Stanton’s been giving me a lot of tips,” shi said, panting a little as the trail became steeper again once they were in among the dense aspen trees.

“You’re really good with those pencils of yours,” Azalea said, nodding. “I think we should take a little break once we get there,” she added as they headed uphill, breathing heavily.

The two of them continued up the narrow trail, walking beneath the thick gold and red foliage. Neither of them noticed when the sounds of birds chirping faded behind them, accompanied as they were by the rustle of the trees in the wind and the crunch of dead leaves beneath their shoes.

Several minutes later, the two of them stumbled out of the trees, coming to a stop at the edge of the wide clearing that Alex had found the previous evening. The log cabin stood in the middle of the clearing atop a small hill, just as shi remembered, with one small difference: an apple tree stood next to the house. Its leaves were bright yellow, matching some of the aspen trees that surrounded the grove. Surprisingly, bright red apples hung on it, ripe for the picking.

“Huh,” Alex muttered, a shiver running down hir spine. “I don’t remember an apple tree.” 

“Maybe you just overlooked it?” Azalea asked as she started walking up to it, stopping about halfway to it, to take a few photos of it and the cabin. “It looks like a nice spot to rest for a moment.”

The fur on the back of Alex’s neck stood on end. Something definitely wasn’t right, but shi didn’t want to say anything that might give reason to doubt hir courage, so shi followed the squirrel-jerboa hybrid up towards the house. Shi stared up at the cabin itself, looking for the cat that shi had seen last time. Just as shi remembered, the remains of the roof was covered in thick green moss, and the roof over the front porch looked to be on the verge of collapse. As they approached, shi noticed that the stairs going up to the porch were almost rotted through; they’d have to be careful if they went up them. At this point shi wasn’t even sure shi wanted to. The last thing shi wanted was to break hir leg for the second time this year.

“You weren't kidding about this place being on the edge of falling over,” Azalea said as she stopped at the tree, looking up at the branches. “You want an apple?” She asked before skillfully climbing up the tree.

“Umm... sure, I guess,” Alex said, only half paying attention. Shi was inspecting the house, standing a few feet from the front stairs. “Huh. Looks like someone busted down the front door at some point. The inside doesn’t look too bad. Just water damage from the hole in the roof.”

Azalea climbed back down and walked over, holding out an apple. “Someone could have broken in to loot the place after the owner’s left. Can you tell if it was kicked in or out?” she asked, taking a bite out of the other apple that she had picked for herself.

“Definitely kicked in,” Alex said, accepting the offered apple and taking a bite. It was surprisingly sweet and delicious. “Oh, right,” the tigress exclaimed, taking the small plastic container out of hir jacket. “I don’t see the cat. It might be inside though. Or hiding from us,” shi mused, taking another bite of the apple.

“We can step in and look around,” Azalea said as she hopped over the two rotten steps onto the patio and carefully stepped over to the door. “This place screams ‘twisted ankle’,” the squirrel-hybrid warned. “It looks mostly sturdy inside.”

Alex hopped up onto the patio as well, standing next to Azalea as she pushed the door further open. The door creaked loudly, swinging open a few more inches. Motes of dust and pollen danced through the air, lit by the evening sunlight coming from the west. The cabin itself was a single wide, open room. Broken and rotten furniture littered the edges of the room, and a large circle of moss covered the middle of the room directly under the hole in the roof. White and red mushrooms dotted the edge of the circle. 

“Yeah, it looks sturdy,” Alex agreed, tapping the floorboards with one foot before stepping inside and glancing around. Before shi forgot, she popped open the little tupperware container and set it down just inside the front door. “That’s for the cat I saw earlier... wherever it is,” shi explained.

“Well, that’s something that you don’t see often,” Azalea said as she stepped into the room following her friend. “It looks like this place has been empty for a while.” She glanced around, looking for anything that might give a clue about the previous owners.

Alex walked over to the old stone fireplace, making hir way between broken tables and chairs. “Yeah. Looks like whoever the owners were, they’re long gone now. This place doesn’t look like anyone’s lived here for a century at least. Maybe more.” Noticing something on the fireplace mantle, shi reached up and took down a metal fork, brown with rust. “Ever seen a fork with only two prongs?”

“It looks like a tuning fork,” the hybrid said as she walked over to get a closer look. “Like the one my music teacher used back in the day. Try tapping it on the table.”

Walking over to the side of the table that was still upright, Alex tapped one prong on a board that didn’t look like it was completely rotten. The tine snapped off, bouncing down the table and falling into a crack in the floorboards. “Well, that didn’t work,” shi said, setting the broken utensil down on the table. Shi sighed, looking around, and stepped over to the circle of moss, kneeling down to look at some of the mushrooms around the edge. “Hey, check these out. They’ve got some kind of red goo on them. Almost looks like blood. Or strawberry syrup.”

“Well then, guess that wasn’t a tuning fork,” she said, walking up and pulling out her camera. “These things are kinda gross looking... and neat,” she said, taking several photos. “I will call them ‘zombie shrooms’.”

Alex laughed, leaning down to inspect the strange mushrooms. “Never seen anything like these before. Weirdest mushrooms ever. I’m guessing they’re not edible.” After a moment, shi stood up, then stepped over, onto the moss. Shi pressed down, testing hir weight, then stepped over the ring of mushrooms and into the circle of dense, green moss. The floor beneath hir held for a moment before making a quiet groaning noise. Alex froze as shi felt the floor shift slightly, looking back over at Azalea with a panicked expression. Suddenly the floorboards gave way beneath hir.

Alex screamed as shi fell through the floor in a shower or rotted wood and moss, down into some kind of pit. Hir scream lasted longer than expected, then was abruptly silenced as shi landed on hir back on hard ground, many feet below. 

“Hey! You okay down there? All five of your extremities attached and all?” The squirrel asked carefully, peering over the edge of the hole.

The little tigress lay sprawled on hir back amidst a pile of decaying wood and moss, clearly unconscious, and barely visible despite the illumination of the evening sky above them through the hole in the roof. Shi’d fallen into some kind of dirt cellar underneath the house. The apple shi had been snacking on sat a few feet from hir outstretched hand, almost as if shi was reaching for it.

“Well then… This is something out of a B-horror movie,” Azalea muttered, standing up. “You just... stay right there,” she said to Alex, not even sure why she said it. The hybrid turned and made her way out of the house, the moment that her foot paw hit solid dirt she started sprinting back towards the path, making her way back to the shack at the end of the service road.

__________________________________________________

Alex woke up a few moments later, staring up through the hole in the floor and roof. The cloud floating by overhead looked vaguely like a big fluffy white polar bear. Shi blinked, wondering what had happened, and looked around. Shi was in some kind of dirt cellar underneath the house. Several large heater trunks and barrels lined the walls, and nets filled with onions, apples, cheeses, and other food hung from the rafters. A staircase went up one side, ending at some kind of trap door in the floor above.

Blinking, Alex stood up and brushed some of the debris off of hir jacket. As shi did, the sound of brief laughter echoed from above. After a few moments it was followed by several loud coughs. Alex brushed hir hair out of hir eyes, still wondering if it had been a good idea to let it start growing out. Mom was though, and Alex figured shi would give it a try as well. With hir fur being striped orange and black, shi wasn’t sure how it would look. Shi could always dye it if shi didn’t like it. Or cut it short again.

The stairs down here were in much, much better shape than the rest of the house had been. They were still as sound as the day they’d been made. Alex made hir way up, stopping at the trap door. It was surprisingly heavy, and shi had to struggle to get it open. The door swung up, hanging for a moment before falling back the other way with a loud bang. Sticking hir head up, shi glanced around, looking for hir friend Azalea. What shi saw made hir wonder if shi was dreaming.

The furniture in the house had somehow miraculously been restored, and hand-woven rugs covered the floor and hung from the wall around the cabin. A fire burned in the fireplace and a pair of kids, both whitetail deer, sat at the table, staring at hir with big brown eyes. The nearest of them had a small rack of antlers atop his head.

“How’d you get in here?” the boy asked nervously, picking up a knife from the table and standing up to face hir, hooves clattering on the wood planks.

Alex raised an eyebrow, staring at them from the stairwell. The tigress had never actually seen someone dressed in trousers and suspenders in hir entire life, except in movies. The girl on the other side of the table was wearing a floor-length dress and a bonnet. The two of them looked like characters from The Adventures of Huck Finn, or something. “Uhh... I fell. Through the floor,” shi said before blinking in confusion. The floor in the middle of the cabin was empty except for a large round rug.

Neither of the two cervines looked like they believed hir. After a second the buck raised one hand to his mouth and coughed a few times with a harsh, wet sound. The tiger cub immediately recognized it as pneumonia. A moment later the girl pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket in her apron and blew her nose into it. Both of them were clearly sick.

“Look, I’m sorry. I have no idea where I am or how I got here,” Alex said, looking at the buck with the knife. Shi held hir open paws up to show shi wasn’t a threat. “If you don’t mind, I’ll... um... let myself out.”

“Good luck with that,” the doe in the bonnet said. “It’s snowing.”

A moment later, the girl broke down into a coughing fit, doubled over. After a moment the boy set the knife down and went over to help her, slapping her on the back a few times until the coughing fits came to an end.

Surely enough, it was definitely snowing outside, from what Alex could see through the thick, wavy glass that lined the windows around the cabin.

“Miss,” the girl said, “You can wait here if you want to wait until it stops snowing. We’ve got plenty of apples. The apple tree finally started producing this year. Good thing we picked them all before this snow storm blew in.”

The boy eyed hir suspiciously, but nodded. “Yup. You can have a few if you’re hungry. Father should be home anytime now. He went to town to get a doctor.”

Alex stepped up the last few stairs, looking around for a moment before walking over to the table, keeping hir distance from the two deer. “Are you two alright? You sound sick.”

“We’ll be right as rain once the doctor gets here,” the boy said, trying to sound confident. His look of confidence faltered as he tried to hold back a cough, and failed, falling into yet another coughing fit.

Alex wasn’t so sure; the fur on their foreheads was matted with sweat and the two of them looked like they should be in bed... or a hospital. Still, there was nothing to do about it, given how heavily it was snowing outside. So shi sat down at the table and took one of the bright red apples from the bowl in the middle, next to a saucer of milk or cream. The apple looked just like the one shi’d eaten earlier.

“I would-nay eat that, an I were ye,” said someone with a thick irish accent.

Alex’s head jerked, staring at the fireplace. Shi hadn’t seen anyone else in the room. For that matter, there still wasn’t anyone else in the room. However, there was a feral house cat sitting on a small rug in front of the fire, licking its paws. It was black with a small patch of white, just like the one shi had seen the previous day.

The cat looked up at hir. “Might give ye a rather nasty belly-ache,” it said.

Alex jumped, startled to find that the cat was a throwback; a sentient non-anthro. They were extremely rare. Almost as rare as brutes... Mentally handicapped, she mentally corrected. Calling someone a brute was terribly rude. 

“Umm...Why?” shi asked the cat, glancing at the apple and setting it back on the table.

“‘Tis sommat complicated. Has nay anyone told ye to ne’er eat faerie food ‘afore?”

The tigress shook hir head. 

“Well, since ye put out some milk for me, I do feel sommat obliged to keep ye from doing anything else foolish, and eating that apple ‘twould be monumentally foolish. So, for yer illumination, here be a quote from the Ballad of Childe Rowland,” the cat said, clearing its throat before reciting

“What you've not to do is this: 
bite no bit, and drink no drop, however hungry or thirsty you be; 
drink a drop, or bite a bit while in Elfland you be
and never will you see Middle Earth again.”

Alex raised one eyebrow, looking quizzically at the tiny black cat sitting on the floor. “Huh? But we’re not in Elfland. Or Middle Earth. They’re not real.”

“Oh ho, so ye’re an expert now on where ye be. Yet but a moment ago ye claimed to not know where ye were nor how ye got here. An’ now ye’re arguing with a faerie, in his own home, ‘bout what is an’ isn’t real?” the cat asked, staring at the tigress with astonishment.

“Uhhh... Yes. And faeries aren’t real either.”

“Riiiiiight,” the cat drawled. “So that ‘twould make me a figment of yer imagination. Just like those two souls sitting next to ye,” the cat said, pointing with one tiny paw.

Wondering why the cat had called the two deer ‘souls’, Alex glanced back around... and let out a blood-curdling scream. Both of the cervines sitting at the table next to her were nothing but skeletons dressed in tattered clothing. The tiger cub panicked and threw herself back from the table, landing on the floor and scrambling away. Both the two deers’ skulls tracked her movement, watching as shi crawled into the corner. Shi stared at the two skeletons, but the two of them didn’t do...or say...anything. After a moment, the buck’s head swiveled back around, and then one bony hand reached out to pick the apple up off the table.

Alex watched in horrified fascination as the deer’s lower jaw opened and took a bite out of the apple. Juice ran down the skeleton’s chin, dripping on the tattered remnants of a shirt that it was wearing. “Wh-why are they corpses?” the tigress asked, stuttering slightly. 

“They’re not really corpses,” the cat said. “At least not here. They’re only corpses in the mortal realm. Here... well ye might call them my guests. When they shuffled off this mortal coil, I invited their souls to keep me company. A cat has needs, ye know. Something soft and warm to sleep on, someone to keep them company, and a bit of milk every now and then.”

After explaining, the cat sitting by the fireplace went back to grooming itself, licking one paw and rubbing it across the side of its head. 

“And where exactly is ‘here’? Elfland?” Alex asked, still weirded out by the fact that there were a pair of skeletons sitting at the table across the room.

“There be a dozen names for it: Elfland, Elfame, Fairyland, Avalon, Hy Brasil, Tír na nÓg. I’d have thought ye already knew, seeing as ye deliberately stepped into the faerie ring in the first place, and on the day before Samhain Sabbath, no less. Are ye completely daft?”

There didn’t seem to be any good reply to that. Even if there were, Alex was distracted when the cervine skeleton wearing a dress stood up and walked over to a rocking chair by the fire and sat down. The black cat walked over and hopped up onto it’s lap and curled up. The skeleton raised one bony hand and ran it across the cat’s side, petting it.

There was something decidedly creepy about watching a skeleton pet a cat, Alex decided. At least the fur on the back of hir neck was starting to lie back down. 

“Any other questions with obvious answers ye wish to ask, oblivious one?”

Alex pondered the situation for a moment. Everything sort of made sense. Except for the fact that it was snowing outside. “Why’s it snowing here, but not... in ‘Middle Earth’?”

“In this case it’s because that’s the way these two remember it, the night they died,” the cat said, starting to purr as it enjoyed the skeletal petting. “I wanted to keep things a bit homey for them. After all, they’re going to be here for the rest of eternity.”

A shiver went down hir spine. Something about the way it said ‘eternity’ somehow managed to encompass everything from the birth of the first star in the sky to the moment that the last of them flickered and went out, leaving the universe cold, dark, and empty.

Somehow the thought of these two poor kids, trapped in a one-room cabin, coughing and sweating, caught in the depths of a fever in the midst of a snowstorm for the rest of eternity was horrifying. Alex gaped at the casual cruelty the cat’s words implied.

“Forever? Isn’t that somewhat...cruel?” shi asked.

“And what, exactly, be cruel about it?” the cat asked, flicking an ear at the tiger cub. “They ‘twill be forever blesséd by my presence. I can nay imagine a more pleasant afterlife. Strumming a harp while sitting on a cloud ‘twould surely be boring in compare.”

The sheer egotism in the cat's words left hir speechless for a moment. For a moment Alex was overcome by rage and sorrow when shi realized how utterly pointless it would be to try and convince the cat to let the two poor souls go. Nobody deserved a fate like that.

“Now, if ye don’t mind, oblivious one, I am going to doze for a bit. I suggest ye do the same,” the cat said, lifting a paw in the direction of a trio of beds along the far wall. “Yer rodent friend will be coming to rescue ye shortly, and I cannay promise ye’ll awaken again in the mortal world if ye’re nay asleep here in my cnoc. On the other paw, if ye wish to join these two for the rest of eternity, ye’re more than welcome. The more, the merrier they say.”

Something about the way the cat said it caused the hair on the back of Alex’s neck to rise again. Shi was absolutely certain that if shi wasn’t asleep in a few moments, shi’d never awaken again from this nightmare. 

Suddenly more afraid than shi had been when the two deer had turned to bones, Alex scrambled for hir feet and pelted across the room. Yanking back the covers on the nearest bed, shi threw herself down on it and drew the covers up, laying hir head upon the soft down-filled pillow. The only question now was: how did one fall asleep while your heart was pounding in sheer terror?

__________________________________________________

“Who the hell is bothering me at this hour?” the old badger loudly grumbled as he made his way through the darkened hallway. “Better have a damn good reason is all I can say,” he yelled, jerking the door open to find a youngster standing at his door.

“Me and my friend need help. Is that a good enough reason?” The hybrid asked, huffing with exhaustion. “She fell down a pit and she’s out like a light.”

Leaning forward and glaring at the young cub standing on his porch, Aengus Dowdy furrowed his brow. “An that has exactly what ta do with me?”

“Well, I need someone to help me get her out of the hole in the floor that she fell through,” the rodent hybrid said, looking up to the badger. “We were looking around the old cabin up the path and she fell through the floor and got knocked out. I know that honey badgers don’t give a shit most of the time, but I need you to. Just this once.”

“The old cabin up the path?” he asked, his eyes widening slightly. “Are ye and yer friend completely daft? No one goes near the place. Haven’t in years. What in the name of the almighty were two cubs doin’ out galavantin’ around in these woods near dark in the first place?”

“Well, it wasn’t dark when we started. And we wanted to get a look at the old cabin that she found when she was hiking and all that. Come up here, take a few photos of things to paint later... You know, kill a friday afternoon.”

“Or get yer damn fool selves hurt or worse tramping around on other people's property. Get off my porch,” he added backing away and starting to close the door.

“Well the getting hurt parts already happened!” Azalea yelled, stomping her foot. “I’m trying to keep it from getting worse,” She continued in a quieter voice. “Just help me get her out of the hole and you can go back to being a boring old fart. Or would you rather the news and all that know that I came to get help and you didn’t do anything about it? Young girl dead cause old fart wouldn’t help, tonight at nine,” she said, framing an imaginary television screen with her hands before glaring up at the badger.

“Look here missy,” Aengus nearly shouted, quickly checking himself and glaring at the cub. After a momentary pause he asked, “If I do, will it get you and your friend out of my fur and the hell off my property?”

“Yes! Just help me get my friend out of the hole and we will get out of your hair... or lack thereof,” Az said, nearly snickering at the joke. “We need some water or something to wake her up.” 

“Fine, let me get my coat, and a few things to help get your friend out of a hole and we’ll go and get her. Go and wait in my truck out there,” the old badger said pointing to the old rusted vehicle parked in the driveway. “An do na be fiddlin with anythin’ either.”

“Yes sir,” she said, rolling her eyes before heading off to the truck. With a little huff she climbed into the truck, taking a moment to look around the interior as she waited for the badger. “Come on slowpoke,” she muttered to herself.

A couple of minutes later, Aengus shuffled out the front door, stopping to lock it and check to be certain that it was secured before going to his truck. “Damn fool cubs. Sticking their muzzles inta’ places they don’t belong,” he grumbled, eyeing the young hybrid as he drew closer to the old truck. Setting the old, heavily worn military pack in the bed of the truck, he glanced to the sky. “Saint Patrick, help me. Dunna’ let anythin’ bad happen to this lass’ fool friend,” he muttered before opening the door and hoisting himself into the seat. “Alright lass, let’s go an see about your friend, then ye both can get out of my fur and leave me be.”

“Awww. And you were just starting to grow on me,” Azalea said with a little snicker. “But really, in all seriousness, thank you for the help,” she said, smiling at the old badger.

“Thank me when we get your friend out of that cabin safely lassy. Neither of you had any business trodding inta’ such a place,” the old badger said, his tone suddenly less gruff and more concerned.

“I’m sure that she’s okay. I bet that she’s up and trying to get out of the hole right now,” she said as the truck took off down the old path, the truck rocking and shaking as it went over the uneven terrain.

The trip was much shorter than it had been for the cubs hiking along the old trail. Even more so with the badger in a seeming hurry to get to the old rotted building. Azalia clutched at the seat and dash more than once as he drove between trees that were barely far enough apart for the old truck to pass between. Eventually the trees grew too dense for the truck to pass any further.

“Damn it,” the old badger growled as the old Ford slid to an abrupt halt barely inches from two large Aspens too close together for the truck to pass between. 

He flung open his door and bolted from the truck the instant it stopped moving, grabbing the old pack from the truck's bed and tossing it into his seat. Rummaging through it as he spoke he said, “We’ll have ta hoof it from here. Take this,” he added, thrusting an old army issue canteen at the jerboa hybrid, “and go ahead of me. If your friend isn’t out of that hole already you may need that to try to wake her up. I’ll be right behind you as fast as these old paws will take me.”

“Okay.” Azalea managed to squeak out as she took the canteen, rushing off ahead of the badger to check on her friend and wake her up if she needed to. “Come on Alex. Be up and okay,” she muttered as she ran up to the building, nearly tripping over the root of a stump. For a second she stopped and looked back at it; she could have sworn there was an apple tree there. She didn’t give it much thought, though, as she had something bigger to deal with.

“Are you still alive down there?” Azalea asked a moment later as she poured the water from the canteen down the hole and onto the unconscious tiger. “I got help!”

Alex sputtered as water splashed onto hir face, rolling over and coughing. “What the? Ow, my head,” shi muttered, sitting up clutching hir forehead. “What happened?”

“You stepped into the ring of zombie shrooms and fell down into a pit,” Azalea replied, peering down into the hole. “You okay?”

“I... I think so. I must have hit my head. I’ve got a really bad headache,” shi said, massaging hir temples. For a moment shi wondered if shi had imagined everything. It felt so real.

“Just don’t go to sleep or anything. We might need to get your mom to take you to the E.R. or something,” she said, looking back as the old badger walked in. “She’s down here.”

“Saints preserve us,” the old badger muttered, making the sign of the cross on his chest as he drew near the hole the young cub was kneeling beside. Looking over the edge, as he peered into the gloomy pit he said “Oy, are ye alright down there missy?”

“Uhh... I think so,” the little tiger said, looking up through the ragged hole in the floor above. “Who are you?”

“An old man being kept from his supper by a couple of cubs wandering where they have no business ta be is who I am,” Aengus said tersely. “The sooner you’re out of that hole and we’re out of this place the better too.” As he slipped the army pack from his shoulder he asked, “If I toss ya down a line can ya tie it around yourself so as ya don’t slip out and bump yer head again?”

“Yeah, I think so, but…” Alex paused, looking around. “Wouldn’t it be easier just to go up the stairs?”

“If ya think they’ll hold ya, then get your tail outta there lassy. We need to not be here as fast as we can,” he said with a stern, yet worried look on his face.

Alex nodded and rolled over, pushing hirself to hir feet. Shi stumbled a moment, then caught hirself. “Ow,” shi muttered. Looking around a bit, shi spotted the stairs that shi had seen in hir dream. It was far too dark to make anything else out, and shi pulled hir phone from the pocket of hir jacket. Amazingly, it wasn’t broken. Shi unlocked it and turned on the flashlight, looking around.

Strands of long-decayed string and rope hung from the rafters, and there were moldy barrels and wooden boxes around the walls. The stairs along the far wall looked like they would crumble at the slightest touch. “I’m not sure this is going to hold me, but I’ll give it a try,” Alex said, turning and glancing up at the two faces visible through the hole in the floor. “Can you see if you can get the door open? It’s over there.” Shi said, pointing.

“Aye, we’ll see what we can do with it. Come give me a hand,” the old badger said, turning to the hybrid and nodding in the direction her friend had pointed out.

“Just grab and pull?” Azalea asked as she kneeled down and dug at the metal ring under her paw. “I can’t get a grip on it.”

The old badger dug through his pack for a moment before holding out the handle of an old army issue knife to the cub. “Use this ta pry it up. Then we’ll try givin it a good tug and see what happens.”

While the two above attempted to open the trapdoor, Alex cautiously tested the old rotted wood as shi made hir way up the stairs. Two of the boards crumbled as shi put hir weight on them. In the end, shi had to hop over them, holding onto the spongy wood railing. 

“Giving a cub a knife... that’s a good idea,” Azalea said, shaking her head. “So, just wedge this in here...” she said as she wiggled the blade of the knife between the ring and the hole it was recessed into and put her weight into the handle of the knife to wedge the ring loose. “Try grabbing the ring,” she said, looking at the badger.

“Aye, that got it. Lend me a paw now girly, you’re younger than I am and these old paws don’t work as well as they used to,” he said, hooking two fingers into the rusted metal ring. “When I get it up, see if ya can get a hold on the edge an help me get it open.” Pulling with what strength he had, the badger managed to get the trapdoor to move, creaking loudly on the old rusted hinges.

“Okay,” Azalea said as she took a hold of part of the trapdoor and started pulling up. “This thing is heavy!” she said with a groan, struggling to get the door open and out of the way. Eventually it was open enough for Alex to fit through. “You’re free, m’lady.”

Alex made hir way cautiously up the last few steps, testing them. None of the upper steps were nearly as bad as the lower steps, and a few seconds later shi wrapped the jerboa-squirrel hybrid in a tight hug. “Thank you!” 

Blushing a little at the hug, Azalea let go of the door, which slammed to the ground with a thud. She gave the tiger a squeeze back. “You okay there? Head feeling better?”

“No. I think I need some Tylenol,” shi said, letting go. Then shi turned to the old badger. “Thank you very much, sir.”

“Aye,” the old badger said simply with a nod of his head. “You don’t look too much worse for wear. Hanged if I’ll see a pair of fool cubs traipsing down the mountain after dark. I’ll take the pair of ya home if ya point the way.”

“Umm... Okay,” Alex said, blinking. “Wow. It got dark early today,” shi said, looking up at the sky through the hole in the roof above them. The sun was probably past the horizon at this point, and the sky was rapidly turning from blue to black. Using hir phone light, Alex picked hir way through the decaying furniture and over to the front door. 

“No, it didn’t get dark early; you were unconscious for like an hour. But home is sounding good right about now. Get all the twigs and stuff out of my tail. And take a bath.” Az said, her tummy letting out a little growl. “And get some noms too.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I’m hungry too...” Shi said, using the phone to light the porch and steps.

“Don’t forget, you get to help me groom my tail,” Azalea said as they walked back to the truck. “I just thought about it, will the truck fit us all in the cab? Or should I ride in the bed?”

Aengus hung back a little, letting the cubs walk ahead of him a short distance. Turning to look back at the old cabin he had the distinct feeling they were being watched by unseen eyes. “Ya du na tread the home of the faye without paying the price,” he muttered before turning away and quickening his pace.

__________________________________________________

Alex pressed the red button on hir phone, ending the call. “Mom said it’s okay for you to stay at my place tonight,” the tigress yelled through the little window in the back of the rusty pickup, then turned to look at the gravel service road in front of them, barely illuminated by the old yellowish headlights.

“I will text moms,” Azalea called back through the little window, before turning back around and getting settled as best she could given the bumpy ride. It was a bit of work to get the message typed out with minimal auto-corrects and it took a moment for one of her moms to reply. “Looks like we’re set for a sleepover; something about them taking the night off and watching horror movies.”

“Awesome. You can drop both of us off at my place, Mr. Dowdy. Thanks for driving us,” the tigress said, wincing as they hit a pothole that bottomed out the suspension. Shi glanced out the back window just in time to see Azalea go airborne.

“I’m not meant to be this kind of flying squirrel!” Azalea squeaked out, landing with a little thud, barely managing to keep hold of her phone. “I’m okay, I think.”

The irritated old badger grunted, glancing in the rear-view mirror to make sure the rodent in the back of the truck was still there, then turned his eyes back to the road. He hated driving at night; he couldn’t afford to replace the suspension. This was the last time he was going to be a damned do-gooder. The cubs could get their parents to drive them home next time.

Alex turned back around again, watching the road. The gravel road was coming up on an asphalt road. Shi double-checked the map on hir phone. “Take a left here,” shi said. “Then take another left at the light in a quarter mile.”

Three minutes later, the pickup pulled up to the last house on the right, just before the road came to an end with a red and white striped barricade with a sign that said ‘END OF ROAD’. “There. Got ya home safe an’ sound,” the old badger said.

“Thanks again, Mr. Dowdy,” Alex said, unbuckling hir seatbelt and pushing the door open. After shutting it, shi stepped up to the open window. “It’s all right-hand turns except for the left at that second stop-sign,” the tigress said, showing the map on hir phone.

The old badger glanced at the tiny map on the cub’s phone, then nodded. “Farewell to the both o’ ya,” he said, glancing in the rear-view mirror before backing the truck up, and turning it around. “And I hope to never see ya again,” he muttered under his breath.

“He’s grumpy but good at heart, I think,” Azalea said as she watched the truck pulling off, waving to the badger out of habit. “Come on Alex, I need a good brushing after that,” she added, motioning to her tail and the number of twigs that had found a home there.

Alex walked up the stairs to the side entrance of the house, stamping hir feet to get some of the mud off, then undid the laces and took hir hiking shoes. This was probably the dirtiest shi’d gotten while hiking, except for the fight with the mountain lion, but that didn’t count. Shi pulled the key out of hir pocket and opened the side entrance, stepping inside. “Take your shoes off outside,” shi instructed, holding the door open for Azalea.

“I call shower first,” Azalea said as she slipped into the house, pulling off her sandals before starting for the stairs. “I’m gonna steal your towels and clothes and get my fur in your brush.” 

“You know we have fur dryers now, right?” Alex asked, closing the door and locking it before following the squirrel-jerboa hybrid upstairs.

“I know. I still got to brush the fluff, unless you want to deal with me shedding on everything that you love and hold dear,” the hybrid called from halfway up the stairs. “There will be so much fur.”

“That’s what vacuums are for,” Alex replied as they reached the upstairs landing, flipping the lights on. “Do you want me to help brush your fur out?” shi asked, raising an eyebrow as the bright overhead lights revealed just how many twigs and burrs were in Azalea’s legs and tail fur. Shi checked hirself as well, then groaned. This was going to take a while.

“Yes,” Azalea answered, holding her own brush that she had brought with her. She had learned a long time ago that it was best for her to keep one on her at all times. “You start on the tail and I will do the leggies,” she said, stepping into the guest bathroom and propping a leg on the side of the counter to get started.

“Okay. Let me get my brush,” the tigress said, taking a quick detour through hir bedroom to get another brush before rejoining the squirrel in the guest bathroom. Shi quickly started at the base of Azalea’s tail and began brushing it out. It was shocking just how much fluff there was; brushing it gave hir a totally new appreciation for just how much fur the squirrel’s tail had. “My God. So much fluff.”

“I told you.” Azalea said, pulling a surprisingly long twig from the fur on her leg. “That’s a keeper. And just wait till you start finding it on your pillows.”

“Well, if I find any purple fur, at least I know where it came from,” Alex said, having made it to about halfway down the hybrid’s tail. There was already a sizable number of twigs and plant matter accumulating on the rug beneath them, and most of the burrs were near the end of her tail.

“The one downside to naturally purple fur, everyone blames you for any purple fur that they find, even if it’s not yours,” the brightly colored hybrid said as she finished up with de-planting one leg and moving onto the other. “Alex, can we dye your stripes purple?”

“No, shi cannot dye hir stripes purple,” Raenne said from the doorway, startling the two cubs. “What in the world were you two doing? You’re literally covered in... plants.”

“Raenne, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m actually a sentient bush, and your daughter is under my control and helps me pretend to be normal.” The hybrid looked down at Alex, saying “Feed me, Seymore!”

“I’m too busy defoliating you,” the younger tigress said. “Mom?”

“Will Chinese food be sufficient?” Raenne asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, that and... may I request that you bring me a shrubbery?” Azalea asked, doing her best to not laugh, but that didn’t last long.

“Mom?” Alex asked again, this time a bit more forcefully, ignoring the squirrel’s snickering.

“Yes?” the older tigress asked.

“Can you get me a couple of Tylenol?” the younger tigress asked. “I fell pretty hard. My head and my side’s aching.”

“Of course, kiddo. What happened?” Raenne asked.

“She stepped into a ring of weird magic mushrooms and then the floor fell through,” Azalea chimed in as she pulled a seed pod of some kind from her leg fluff before setting her foot on the floor. “I’m gonna plant this in one of the little green houses,” she said to herself.

“You fell through the floor? In what? An abandoned house?” The older tigress asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Uh huh,” Alex nodded, continuing to brush Azalea’s tail. At least shi was almost done. 

“We went on a hike, and found this really old house, so we decided to check it out, and well, one thing led to another,” Azalea said, trying her best to keep from twitching her tail too much for the tigress that was helping groom her. “For what it’s worth, she wasn’t out long, and she didn’t hit her head that hard.”

“Okay, time out,” Raenne ordered. “Step over here, kiddo. Look up at me. I need to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

Alex sighed and let go of Azalea’s tail, which was nearly done anyway. Shi turned around and faced hir mom, meeting her mom’s gaze. 

Raenne held up a finger. “Keep your eyes on my finger,” she instructed, moving it around and watching to make sure Alex’s eyes were tracking properly. She held up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three. I’m fine, mom,” the little tigress protested. “Really.”

Raenne sighed. “Well, you don’t have a concussion, at least that I can tell. I’ll be back in a moment with some Tylenol,” she said, stepping out of the bathroom.

“Behave Alex. Your mom is being a mom. Just let it happen. And you did kinda worry me back there.” Azalea went silent for a moment before rushing out of the room, the brush still stuck in her tail. She quickly went digging through her bag, looking for something.

Alex sighed, then began picking the loose twigs and stuff out of hir own tail while shi waited. 

A moment later, Raenne returned to the bathroom with a glass of water and a pair of white pills. “Here you go, kiddo.”

“Thanks, mom,” Alex said, quickly downing the pills and swallowing the water before handing the glass back.

“You’re welcome,” Raenne said, taking the glass and heading downstairs again. “Oh, and dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I was waiting for you two to return before I heated it back up,” she called over her shoulder.

“We’ll be down in a moment,” Azalea said, returning to the bathroom with her sketchbook. “Alex, look,” she said, holding it out. The book was opened to the drawing that she had been intermittently working on for the past month. “Look familiar?” she asked. 

Alex raised an eyebrow. It was surprisingly close to the log cabin they’d explored. “Yeah... it does. That’s kind of... creepy,” the tigress said, looking a bit disturbed. “Speaking of creepy, did I tell you that I had a dream while I was in that cellar?”

“You did?” They hybrid asked, raising an eyebrow a little. “You know that might be a sign of a concussion,” she said with a smirk.

“Mom just said I don’t have a concussion,” the tigress said, rolling hir eyes. Hir tail flicked in irritation. “Anyway, I dreamed that I woke up in the basement, then had to climb the stairs, only they were still in good condition. The rest of the house was still in good condition too. There were a pair of deer living in the house, a brother and sister, dressed in old-fashioned clothes. Like... really old fashioned. The boy was wearing trousers with suspenders and the girl had on a dress with a bonnet. They were both sick. Coughing. They said they couldn’t leave the house ‘cause of the snow...”

“Wait... Like you went back in time or something?” the squirrel asked, tilting her head a little, trying to make sense of all of this.

“Yeah. Only, I don’t think it was going back in time,” the tigress said, shaking hir head, ears going flat against hir skull. “There was a black cat there; the one that I left the milk out for. It warned me not to eat the apples on the table, saying they were faerie food. Then I said faeries weren’t real, and it said that would make all of them figments of my imagination. Only it called them souls... and when I looked back they were just bones. Like, literal skeletons. The cat told me they were corpses in the real world, but were his guests. I asked him where I was, and it said ‘elfland, elfame, fairyland’ and a few other names that I’ve never heard before. Then he told me to go to sleep, cause if I wasn’t, then when I got woken up in the real world, I might not wake up at all.” 

“I’m sure that’s got to be a plot to a horror movie or something,” Azalea said, scribbling notes down on a page in her sketchbook. “I’m going to have to talk to Jennifer. She’s an expert on this kinda weirdness.”

“I don’t know about her being an expert. She’s definitely pretty weird though,” Alex snarked, shaking hir head.

“Ehh, it’s something that we can deal with later,” the hybrid said, ignoring the feline’s sarcasm as she moved her tail tip in front of them, pulling the brush from her fluff. “I think someone else needs brushies. Just keep the claws sheathed and no one gets the spray bottle.”

Alex rolled hir eyes again, accepted hir brush, scraped a wad of orange and purple fur out of it, and dropped the fur in the wastebasket. “Well, since I got your tail, you can get mine,” shi said, beginning to brush the vegetation-infested fur of hir legs.

“I will never complain about getting to brush a nice tail,” the jerboa-hybrid said as she sat down on the edge of the bathtub next to Alex, pulling the cat’s tail into her lap and brushing it.

__________________________________________________

“Consoles off,” Raenne instructed, standing in the doorway of the guest bedroom that doubled as an entertainment room. “Bed time in thirty minutes,” she added before turning around and walking back out towards the landing and heading downstairs. 

Alex watched hir mom’s tail sway back and forth as she walked away, then sighed and opened the system menu, turning the power off. The tigress unfurled hir legs and climbed off the sofa, tugging hir oversized t-shirt down to hir knees, then walked over to the shelves under the television and set the controller down next to the Xbox. Shi stretched hir arms up towards the ceiling with a big yawn and scratched at the fur of hir forearms; the scars still itched, especially just after having taken a bath or shower.

Azalea stood up from her spot on the sofa, yawning as the weight of the day’s events hit her. “Alex, how can you do it? I feel like I’m swimming in this shirt,” she said, looking down at the night shirt that she had borrowed for the night. “Like, I can see why you forgot to wear panties in something like this.” She looked down. The shirt went down past her knees.

“I love them,” Alex replied. “They’re so comfy and liberating,” the tigress said, spinning in place. Suddenly shi mis-stepped, tripped, and fell, hitting the edge of the television console on the way down and collapsing in a heap, upside down. “Owe,” shi said, quickly grabbing the hem of hir shirt and covering hirself, hoping Azalea hadn’t seen hir underwear.

“I didn’t think tonight was a full moon,” Azalea said, a faint blush clinging to her ears as she turned away, busying herself with getting her nest ready giggling. “Nice butt by the way. Ten out of ten; would bite.”

“Thanks,” Alex said sarcastically, rolling hir eyes and then turning over and getting to hir feet. Shi straightened hir shirt again, then turned to face the squirrel. “We’ve still got a half hour, you know. We could... I dunno... play ‘Truth or Dare’ again? Or we could draw, play cards, board games...” the tigress shrugged. 

“You know, the blood isn’t all in my head at the moment, but I just thought about it... You have a bedtime? On the weekends?” the squirrel hybrid asked as she sat down, tail covering her lap.

“Mom and dad will be going to sleep and they expect us to be quiet. That’s all,” the tigress said with another shrug.

“Fair,” the hybrid said as she kept her tail in her lap, idly playing with the fluff. “We could play some more ‘Truth or Dare’; see what kind of secrets we could ferret out of one another.”

“Same rules as last time?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, tail twitching with excitement.

“I didn’t think that there were other rules, but yes.” Azalea said, leaning forward, letting her tail fall to the side and her elbows rest on her knees as she leaned forward.

“Okay,” the tigress said, balling up a fist and cupping it. “On three. One, two, three,” shi said, bouncing hir fist with each count and throwing ‘paper’ on the third.

Azalea smiled as she threw scissors, remembering that Alex had thrown them the last time and at worst she would tie with her. “Well it looks like I won. Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Alex replied, kneeling on the soft carpet and sitting back on hir ankles.

“Hmm. I dare you to read out loud the last text that you got,” the squirrel said smiling, knowing she hadn’t texted the little tiger in a while.

Alex suddenly got a worried expression, then stood up and walked out of the room, returning a moment later with hir phone in hand. Shi pressed hir thumb-pad against the button at the bottom, unlocking it, and opening the messenger app. “Uhh... ‘I miss you, sexy kitty. Call me when you can. Best friends, forever.’,” the tigress read aloud. Shi then locked the phone and met Azalea’s gaze, looking a bit embarrassed.

“That is both cute and a bit naughty,” the jerboa mix said, blushing a little as she thought about what some of the other texts could be. “I didn’t know you had someone like that.”

Alex blushed as well. “Lizzy’s pretty much the definition of ‘cute and a bit naughty’,” the tigress replied, setting hir phone on the television console and turning to face Azalea again. “Truth or Dare?”

“Let's go with Truth.” Azalea said, her tail tip twitching a little in anticipation

Alex pursed hir lips and squinted slightly, thinking. “You mentioned a boyfriend... Have you ever had a girlfriend or wished you did?” shi asked.

“No girlfriends, yet.” Azalea leaned back a little, tapping her chin as she thought about it. “I think that I would like to have one. Seems like it would be fun and hopefully less of a dick than that ox. Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Alex said, once again.

“I dare you to…” Azalea paused for a moment, acting dramatic, “lick your elbow.”

A confused expression appeared on Alex’s face as shi thought about the logistics of this, wondering if it was even possible. Shi did have a long tongue though. The tigress held hir elbow in front of hirself, craned hir neck as far forward as it would go, then stuck hir tongue out.

Azalea watched in amazement as the feline’s tongue unfurled, stretching further and further. The thin pink muscle was covered in tiny white barbs; apparently the tigress had at least one heritage trait. Alex continued to stretch hir tongue further and further. The very tip of it barely managed to reach where the tigress’ elbow started. Alex’s gaze met Azaleas, and the corners of the tiger’s mouth turned up in a faint smile.

“Umm.” Azalea muttered, surprised that someone could do it. She had tried before, at her sister’s teasing, but couldn’t come close. “I... I don’t know how you did it, but you cheated,” she huffed, her tail coming to rest in her lap again.

Alex dropped hir elbow and smirked, then held hir thumb out and wrapped hir tongue around it in a spiral with three full loops, then slowly pulled hir thumb away. Then shi burst out laughing at Azalea’s expression.

“Fuuuck,” Azalea muttered as she watched the tigress showing off, blush clinging to her ears as she watched. “You learn something new every day.”

The cat continued to laugh for a bit before devolving into giggles. It took hir nearly a minute to get hirself back under control. “Truth or Dare?” Alex asked shi had gotten hir breath back.

“D... Tr... Dare,” the hybrid squeaked, not sure what to pick, still confused and aroused.

Alex grinned, hoping that Azalea would pick dare. “I dare you to do an arch and hold it for one minute. Asap,” shi said, knowing that the rodent was trans-female and still had all her ‘original’ equipment. Shi was betting Az had ‘popped a boner’ after that tongue trick. Shi had just recently learned that bit of slang at middle school.

“That is cruel and unusual. Like, ‘running wind sprints’ evil,” Azalea said as she got off the sofa and onto the floor before laying on her back. Somehow the squirrel managed to keep her tail over her lap. “Just gonna leave that there for balance,” she said, blushing as she lifted her hips up and held them there.

“That’s cheating,” Alex complained when hir plans were foiled; the squirrel was far too good at hiding things with her tail. Shi huffed and turned to hir phone. “Siri, set a timer for one minute,” shi instructed. After the phone announced that it had set a timer, shi said “Well?”

“Truth or Dare?” Azalea asked as she did her best to use her tail to make sure her shirt covered the borrowed gym shorts. It was only a few seconds before she started losing her balance and quickly swung her tail out to correct it.

“Hah! I knew it,” Alex smirked, spotting the obvious lump. “You were totally thinking about what I’d do to you with my tongue, weren’t you?” shi asked, then added “I’ll pick ‘Truth’,” before Azalea could respond.

“Well, something like that. I might or might not have been thinking about autofellatio,” the hybrid huffed out, glancing down and realizing that she couldn’t see anything helpful or damning. “So for your truth, have you or Lizzy dated or been more than friends?”

“Yes,” Alex answered without hesitation. “Truth or Dare?” shi asked, wondering what ‘autofellatio’ was and making a mental note to look it up later

“Well that was anticlimactic.” Azalea sighed, “Dare might be too hard like this, so ‘Truth’.”

“What? Did you want me to tell you how many times we had sex?” the younger tigress asked sarcastically. “Anyway... How far have you gotten when dating? First base?” she asked, using one of the other terms shi had recently learned at middle school.

“I mean kinda...” Azalea blushed at the thoughts that were running through her head, none of which were helping with her erection. “What base is it when you see each other naked? And touch?”

“First is kissing, second is touching above the waist, third is below the waist, and home run-” the tigress started explaining when the phone alarm suddenly went off. Alex quickly turned around and tapped the screen.

“Oh thank the Goddess,” Azalea sighed, collapsing on the floor. “And if that’s the case, I’ve made it to third base. Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Alex replied, hoping that Azalea would forget the question shi had just asked by the time shi answered ‘Truth’ next time. Shi had a feeling the squirrel would ask the same question right back and shi didn’t exactly want to admit that shi had reached home base, yet.

“Time for a little payback. I dare you to do a reverse arch,” the squirrel-hybrid said as she rolled onto her side, looking at the feline with a wicked grin.

Alex narrowed hir eyes. “You’re evil,” shi said, sighing and leaning forward. Shi carefully pulled hir shirt down as far as it would go, pinning the hem under hir knees, and then lay flat on hir stomach, stretching hir arms out. Then shi carefully raised hir paws and feet toward the ceiling, arching hir back. Shi felt the t-shirt hem pop free, coming almost to hir waist and exposing hir orange and white striped panties. Alex bit hir lip and wrapped hir tail around hir hips; hoping Azalea wouldn’t comment on them.

“Nice try, but I don’t think that your tail is fluffy enough to hide your panties,” Azalea said, showing off her much fluffier tail. She twitched the tip of her tail, trying to distract the cat as she leaned over, surveying the feline’s panty-covered booty, trying to resist the urge to reach out and squeeze them.

Alex held the reverse arch for another twenty seconds before shi eventually collapsed, laying flat against the ground. Shi reached back and quickly tugged the hem of hir shirt back in place, covering hir butt. “Truth or dare?” shi asked.

“I would like to buy one truth, if khajiit has one,” Azalea said with a snicker as she sat back.

Alex carefully rolled over into a cross-legged sitting position, holding the hem of hir shirt down to cover hir panties. “Umm... Soooo... since you’re trans, or whatever you called it, then it means you want to be a girl instead of a boy, right? Does that mean you’re mostly attracted to boys? Or were you serious about wanting to date a girl? And what about hermaphrodites?” the tigress asked.

“I am,” Azalea nodded. “I’m still learning about myself, but I think that I could be happy dating the right girl or tiger- I mean... hermaphrodite. I don’t think that I’m attracted to people based on the bits in their pants, but what's in their heads and hearts, if that makes sense.”

“Oh. Me too, I guess,” Alex replied, nodding as well. Then shi smirked. “If I were you, I’d definitely be happy dating the right tiger.”

“Now the question is, are you the right tiger or the left tiger? And Truth or Dare?” Azalea asked, leaning forward and resting her tail in front of Alex. “Need to borrow the lap warmer, A.K.A. Boner Hider 3000?”

“No,” the tigress said, glaring and then sighing with exasperation. “I’ll take ‘Truth’,” shi stated.

“If we start dating, you’re going to have to get used to it touching you and shedding on you,” Azalea said, wiggling her tail at the tigress. “So you mentioned Lizzy and that text. What base have you gotten to with her?”

Alex looked down at hir lap. “Home base,” shi muttered quietly.

“Daymn,” the squirrel said, blushing as she sat back a little. “You got me beat. The only home base I got to is with my toy.”

“Toy? You mean like... a dildo?” Alex asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. “Did you put it up your butt or something?”

“Yes, a dildo. It even looks like a squirrel penis,” the hybrid said, blushing a little, “and no, I just look at it and think about it... Yes, I put it up my butt.”

“You know you poop from there, right?” Alex asked, feigning being grossed out. Then shi burst into laughter at the look of irritation on Azalea’s face. “Kidding, kidding. I’m not into butt stuff, but I know about it,” shi said. Then shi furrowed hir eyebrows and glanced up at Azalea, tilting hir head slightly. “What’s a squirrel penis look like?”

“Well,” Azalea said, standing up, “if you really want to see one…” she said, pulling up the hem of her shirt.

Just as Alex was about to respond, Raenne yelled up the stairs from the first floor. “We’re going to bed. Keep it down, would you?”