Jonestown Tea
The Last Cup
 
“Tired of being tired.”
“Sick of being sick.”
“Tired of being tired.”
“Sick of being sick.”
 
“Lilly, are you sure that you can make it?” Katie asked, as she reached out and put her hand on the opossum’s shoulder. “I mean, if you need, we can stop and take a little rest.”
 
“I’m fine,” she said with a little huff. “And we really can’t be stopping to rest on the side of the highway.” She glanced back down the road as a pair of headlights started to come into view.
 
“It would be better than you pushing yourself ‘til you drop dead,” Katie replied, walking slowly as to not get too far ahead of the opossum.
 
“I don’t know,” Lilly argued, shaking her head. “I mean, if one police officer… Hell, if most anyone sees us walking down the street, they’ll call the police or pick us up and that will be the end of it… And I’d rather die than go back.” It became harder to hear her weak voice as the faint hum of a truck engine got closer.
 
“Well… Maybe it would be better to go back,” Katie pleaded, turning to see that the lights in the distance were getting closer. “I mean, at least then you can get better. I mean, you know that they’ll let you see Cassidy again.”
 
“I’d rather be dead than go back to that place,” the little opossum snapped, turning to face the numbat. “If you want to, you can go back. I’m not!”
 
“But, Lilly, I think it would be best for you. I mean, you’re not in the best…” Katie continued, only to get cut off by a hiss from her friend and companion.
 
“Here,” Lilly shouted as she fished around in her pocket and pulled out a knife. “Just kill me now, 'cause I’m not going back.” Her words were desperate as she stood there, holding the weapon out to her friend in her little paw.
 
“Lilly…” Katie sighed, looking at her and then to the knife. “I wouldn’t do anything like that… I couldn’t do anything like that even if I had to.” Looking back up to the opossum, she added, “I know that it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s what’s best for you. I mean, think about it: if you die on the side of the road, then what will happen to Cassidy without you?”
 
“That’s simple,” Lilly answered with a smile, “I’m not going to die.” She put the knife back into her pocket and resumed walking. “Come with me, or go back, it’s your call. Just, if you go back, you don’t know where I am.” She kept walking away, making her way in the direction of where she thought Marblecliff was… where she knew that her love was.
 
“Lilly…” Katie called out softly, resigned to accept her friend’s decision. She turned to see that the truck was getting closer. Focusing her attention back to the opossum, she watched as her friend staggered off. Something about the way that Lilly was walking seemed off, raising a red flag in the numbat’s mind. She went wide-eyed as she saw Lilly fall to her knees and hit the snow-covered ground.
 
At this point, the truck engine was almost deafening, grabbing her attention, and she turned to see that it was almost upon them. Without thinking, she rushed along the side of the road, waving her arms and yelling for them to stop. She was scared that the people in the truck might turn out like the other guy, but at this point she was more concerned with getting the opossum some help. To the numbat’s relief, the truck slowed and came to a stop. A moment later, the passenger door opened, and one of the occupants stepped – no, leapt - out. Katie found herself face-to-face with a tall, female-looking gazelle looking back down at her.
 
“Quick, you have to help her!” Katie yelled out, pointing to the heap of opossum just down the road. She rushed towards her friend with the gazelle in tow.
 
“What happened?” the stranger asked as they rushed over to the passed-out opossum. As they drew close, they could hear a soft hissing sound.
 
“I am heartbreak and depression.”
“Regret without redemption.”
“A wounded animal.”
“Afraid of my own reflection.”
 
The sound got louder the closer they got to Lilly; it took a moment for them to realize that the sound was coming from Lilly. The little girl staggered to her feet, shaking and twitching as she did her best to hold herself up. One hand was holding onto her shoulder while the other reached into her pocket.
 
“I told you,” she panted out. “You can go back all you want, but I’m not.” She pulled her knife back out of her pocket and popped the stainless steel blade out. “And you’re not going to stop me.”
 
“Lilly, you need help,” Katie’s voice rang out. “Just let us help you, and then we’ll let you get right back to it.” She held her hands out in an attempt to show that she wasn’t going to hurt her friend.
 
“Dear, you’re really hurt,” the gazelle said as she walked closer, keeping in step with Katie. “Just let me help you, and I will see to it that you make it to wherever you’re going.” She kept her voice calm and soothing as she worked to keep the opossum’s attention on her. She hoped that the little girl didn’t hear the sound of another truck door opening.
 
“No…” Lilly hissed out, gasping as she lifted her arm up, readying her knife for an attack. “You just want to keep me from her!” She was ready to attack at this point, but a strong hand carefully grabbed her wrist and an arm wrapped around her shoulder. The sudden feeling of someone holding her caused her to thrash about.
 
“Hush now, little one,” a second voice said, this one being a little more drawn-out and masculine. “We just want to help ya.” He kept a firm grip on the squirming little opossum, though not tight enough to hurt her.
 
Lilly thrashed and wiggled around, fighting against whoever had her, hissing and gasping out as she fought to get away from the people she was sure were going to take her back to Jonestown, back to that Hell-hole, and away from her love. Her struggles slowly got weaker and weaker and her hisses and curses soon turned into pants and gasps. Soon, the knife slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground with a little clatter.
 
“I think she finally tuckered herself out,” the male voice said, carefully scooping up the bundle of opossum and walking to the trailer home that was attached to the back of the truck. “Aya, I’ll leave her to ya.”
 
“Thank you, dear,” the gazelle said, watching the ocelot carry the opossum into the camper. “Come on,” she added, looking down to Katie, who nodded as they followed who she guessed was Aya’s husband into the camper. She reached down, picking up and closing the knife before she slipped it into her pocket. The little numbat followed them into the camper after taking a moment to look around.
 
“Breathe in deep.”
“A sea of desperate dreams.”
“I have no mouth.”
“& I must scream.”
 
Back at the table, the girls were still talking and having fun, their pie finished and the empty plates sitting in front of them. Without warning, Cass froze up and narrowed her eyes as she looked to the front door of the community center, in time to see the white rat talking to officers.
 
"Lilly," her lover said as she turned to her. The opossum could tell that something was up at this point. "I want you to take this and read it when things settle down." The teen porcupine reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded envelope, passing it to Lilly. As the little opossum slipped it into her pocket, Cassidy continued, "Katie, I want you to take care of Lilly."
 
"Wait, what's happening?" Lilly asked, looking up in time to see the officers walking to the table. "Shit," she muttered.
 
"Ma'am, you need to come with us," the one officer said as he stood next to Cass.

"We need to talk to you," the older of the two officers continued. He was a male badger who looked to be in his late thirties; the silver name plate on his shirt read ‘Bill.’
 
"There’s no need to talk," Cassidy said proudly as she held out her arms. "I did it, and I need to be punished for it." She waited bravely for them to put the cuffs on. "Lilly, I'll be fine. Anyone tries to fuck with me in lockdown and they get the quills."
 
"Well, that makes it easier," the other officer said, sounding relieved. "And watch your English, young lady." The younger looked down at Cass with a reprimanding stare as Bill put the cuffs around the porcupine's wrists.
 
"No!" Lilly screamed as she got up, her chair clattering to the ground and causing the officers to turn and face her. "You can't!" she cried out as she watched Cass stand up and walk towards the exit with Bill. "Stop! Don't take my Cass away!" the opossum shouted as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, quickly turning into a flood. "You sorry shits! Let her go!" The words seemed to fall out of her muzzle as she rushed after them, only to feel an arm grab her and bring her to a stop.
 
"Sweetie, I need you to calm down," the shrew officer said as he held onto her, tight enough to keep her from getting away, but not tight enough to hurt her. The name tag on his shirt read ‘Curt.’
 
 "Let me go, you bastard!" the little opossum hissed out as she jerked and pulled her arm, trying to get away. "Let me go!" she repeated as she jerked again, threatening to dislocate her own shoulder.
 
 "Lilly, please calm down," Amanda said, rushing over to the officer and the opossum. "You're only going to make this worse."
 
 "Fuck you all!" she hissed out as she jerked again. "Cass!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I love you!" she called out, still pulling at her arm.
 
 "Lilly, please calm down; she’ll be out in no time," Katie chimed in, only to be greeted with a hiss from her friend.
 
"Let me go!" the opossum repeated over and over, tugging harder and harder, to the point that the officer was getting worried.
 
"You two… don't make me pay you another visit," Cassidy said as she was lead to the door, passing the two girls that she had attacked. The pair said nothing, but just smiled at her, thinking they had won.
 
"I’ll kill you... Let me go!" Lilly howled out one last time as she lifted her tail up in a swift motion. She hit the officer right between the legs, causing him to let go of her. The moment that she felt his grip relax, she was off like a lightning bolt, rushing to the door. The poor girl made it to the door just in time to see the squad car pulling off with Cass in it.
 
“You’re never going to see her again,” Curt said as he caught up to the opossum and put his hand on her arm, holding her again, this time a little tighter.
 
"Lilly, what's gotten into you?" Amanda asked as she rushed over to her and the officer, kneeling down. "You should have known that she never loved you. She only wanted to use you; it’s all that you’re good for."
 
“No, it’s not like that; you’re wrong,” Lilly squeaked out as she watched the car, and her lover, disappear into the night. “You’re all lying! She loves me… I love her.”
 
“Face it,” Bess chimed in, “she was just using you like the little slut that you are; using you to get off…..that’s all.”
 
“No,” the opossum hissed out as the world around her started to go black, the edges of her vision fading out and spreading fast. “You’re all wrong… she loves me.” Lilly panted and looked around in a daze as the darkness enveloped her vision completely.
 
“My life has been a prison.”
“A labyrinth built beneath the mountain of tragedy.”
“I’m a stain on the cloth.”
 “I’m just an after-thought.”
“But I.”
“Would die.”
“For this.”
 
“Well…” a soft voice echoed out, slowly drawing the opossum back to the light. “It looks like she’s coming back to us.”
 
Slowly, the world came back around her, though it felt like everything was shaking and trembling. It was something that she was oddly used to. She could feel a stinging pain in her arm, like a combination of a needle poking into her and fire burning along her shoulder, not to mention the dull pain in her chest.
 
“Fuck….” the opossum said softly, her eyes slowly starting to flutter open, only to shut at the light that hurt them. “Fuck,” she muttered again.
 
“Oh my, she has a bit of a mouth on her,” the voice spoke up again, causing the opossum to try and force her eyes open.
 
“Yeah… you’ll get used to it,” another voice spoke up. This one the opossum knew: it was Katie.
 
“Bite me,” Lilly said, looking around the room. Her vision cleared up as Katie’s face came into view, along with another, unfamiliar person. “Fuck… who are you?” she asked in a near hiss as she tried to sit up, only to feel a hand pushing her back down softly.
 
“No… you really shouldn’t be getting up,” the stranger said, looking down at the little opossum. “You’re too hurt to be up and moving around that much. And by the way, my name is Aya.” The gazelle had a soft, soothing, motherly tone to her voice.
 
“But… I can’t stop… this laying here shit is just slowing me down,” the little girl squeaked out as she looked over to the woman and then at Katie. “You know… I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you,” she said, glaring at the numbat. “You’re not helping me; you’re just slowing me down now.”
 
“No, dear,” Aya said, speaking up and catching the glare from the opossum, “she’s helping you. You need rest, and that’s what you’re going to get. That and we’re heading to Marblecliff. So just sit back and rest, we’ll be there in a day or so.”
 
“You told her!?” Lilly squeaked out, this time getting up from the bed that she was laying in, only to hit the floor. Her legs were still like Jell-O from weakness.
 
“Damn it, Lilly!” Katie cried out in alarm, rushing over to her. “You get back in bed and just lay there.” The numbat helped her up and back onto the bed with some help from the mother gazelle. “Just lay there, damn it… give me a moment to explain.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “I did tell her what was happening and how we got here… about your past and mine… and everything… and she said that they were going that way and wouldn’t say anything…. like we were never here.”
 
“Katie,” Lilly whispered, turning her head to look at her. “I’m… I’m sorry.” Looking away, she added, “I need to learn to trust people a little more… I knew that, in the back of my mind, you would only help.” She forced a weak, yet sincere, smile. “I… I feel like an ass.”
 
“You might be an ass and all, but we still love you,” Katie said as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around her friend. “I know that, deep down, you’re soft and sweet… it’s just that your past has corrupted you.” She pulled back and smiled at her. “Now get some rest.”
 
“Yes, once you get to feeling better and are ready, come out to the main room. You can meet the rest of the family and get something to eat,” Aya said, smiling warmly at the little opossum lying in the bed. “Oh, and try not to move your arm too much; you could pull the stitches out. That and once you get to Marblecliff, you might want to go to a real clinic and get that wound on your chest looked at.” She gave Lilly a smile, then turned and walked out of the room. Katie followed, leaving the opossum to her own thoughts.
 
Back in the main room of the little camper, the mother, son, and daughter sat around with Katie, talking about how they got here and just what they were planning.
 
“So, Quinn,” Katie asked as she sat next to the young gazelle/ocelot hybrid. “There… there’s something different about you... other than the mute thing.” She blushed, unsure what words to use.
 
Quinn’s fingers moved along the screen of a tablet, hitting the keys and typing out her reply to the numbat girl. The young hybrid smiled and nodded a little as she showed her the screen. The text on it asked, “What exactly do you mean when you say, ‘something different?’”
 
“Ummm,” Katie stammered out. “It’s… it’s kind of hard to say.” She leaned in close to the younger hybrid and started to whisper. As she spoke to Quinn, the hybrid’s eyes went wide before she smiled and began typing something out.
 
Once again, her practiced fingers deftly moved along the screen, hitting the little letter keys as she typed out another reply. Once she was done, she showed it to Katie with a smile.
 
“Just be yourself, there is someone out there that will take you for you. And it sucks that your parents did that, but it’s their loss,” Katie read out loud then smiled. “Thank you,” she said as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around her new friend.
 
“It looks like Quinn’s influencing people and making friends once again,” Ashton joked, grinning as he watched the two from his seat.
 
Several hours passed as the little group sat around talking and chatting, right up to the point that the door to the bedroom slowly squeaked open. Lilly walked out slowly, staggering out and over to a seat; it was clear that she wasn’t too steady on her feet.
 
“Oh dear, you shouldn’t be out of bed yet,” Aya said as she got to her feet and walked over to the opossum, putting her hands on her shoulder to help her.
 
“I know,” Lilly said drowsily, “I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. That and I was feeling a little sick.”
 
“Oh!” Katie squeaked out as she got up and headed over to their bags. “She gets motion sick.” The numbat dug out a small pill bottle. She dumped out one of the small yellow pills into her palm and took it over to the opossum while the gazelle mother got her a glass of water.
 
“Thank you,” Lilly said softly as she took the capsule and popped it into her muzzle then chased it with the water. “So, are we about there?” She looked around, seeing the two new faces.
 
“We’re just about there; we should reach Marblecliff sometime in the morning,” Aya said, smiling as she sat down with the opossum. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the family. That’s Ashton.” She said pointing to the older, masculine-but-oddly-femmy ‘brother’ with the gender neutral name; Lilly wasn’t too sure about his gender at that point.
 
“You know, I got to see that the passing out thing is true thanks to you,” Ashton said with a little snicker.
 
“The passing out thing happens more than I want it to, but that’s ‘cause of things in the past,” Lilly said as she shook her head. “Oh well, it’s one of those things that I’m not going to let stop or slow me down.”
 
“That’s the way to be, dear. Live to the fullest,” the mother said, softly patting her on her uninjured shoulder. “And that little one over there is Quinn.” She pointed to the girl next to Katie.
 
The hybrid that she had indicated typed the word “hello” on her tablet and showed it to the opossum, waving to her.
 
“I’m Lilly,” the opossum said, smiling to the two. “I don’t know what else that I should say… other than I’m sure that you all know about my past and what’s happening, thanks to the numbat there.” She glanced over to her friend as she spoke.
 
“Hey, what did you expect me to do? I had to let them in on what was happening,” Katie replied with a shrug. “I mean, they are taking us in, patching you up, and taking us to Marbelcliff.” She shook her head in disbelief at the strangers’ kindness.
 
“I don’t know, you could have made up a fib or something,” Lilly said as she rolled her eyes.
 
As she, Katie, and the others sat around talking, Quinn got up and looked across the room to the kitchen space. She nodded her head to her mother, causing the older woman to chime out, “Dinner’s ready.” As Quinn walked across the living space to the kitchen area, Ashton joined her, each preparing and carrying several plates back. Quinn set plates in front of Lilly and Katie, and another for herself as she sat down. Ashton placed a plate down in front of their mother and one for himself.
 
The small group sat around eating the dinner, which Quinn had started slow roasting while her mother had been treating the opossum’s wounds. They idly talked about different things. Lilly and Katie ended up talking about their pasts a little more, with Lilly being more open than Katie. The opossum was sure that she would find out more about the numbat even if it killed her. Lilly told them about how she got there, about her quest to get to her lover, to her girlfriend, to her everything.
 
The question of ‘what are you going to do when you get there?’ came up. Like the many other times that the opossum had been asked that, she would just play it off the best that she could: by thinking of ways to turn the conversation the other way or even make something up. In all honesty, even she didn’t know what she was going to do when she got there. All that she wanted to do was to wrap her arms around her lover and hold her tight.
 
“It feels like it’s been way too long since I had a meal that good… or anything that was home-cooked,” Lilly sighed, leaning back in her seat and purring softly. “Thank you, Quinn.”
 
“That was really good,” Katie chimed in with a nod. “Thank you, for all that you have done for us.”
 
“You’re welcome,” Quinn’s tablet spoke up for the girl; she had started using the text-to-speech after her little talk with Katie.
 
“I’m sure that you two are tired. You’re welcome to one of the beds back there; I hope that you don’t mind sharing the one Lilly was in,” Ashton offered.
 
“Not at all; I’ve been traveling with that crazy opossum, so I’m used to it… Though she is starting to smell a little,” Katie teased with a little giggle.
 
“Well, you two dears are welcome to use the bathroom. There are some spare toiletries, as well,” the mother gazelle said, smiling and pointing to the door just down the short hall. “And I’m sure that Quinn has some things that will fit the two of you.” She stood up and slipped off to the back to gather up some clothes.
 
“Well, I think that I will take the shower first,” Lilly said, smiling and poking her tongue out at her traveling companion. “Don’t worry; I won’t take long.” She got up and headed to the bathroom, getting stopped along the way by Aya, who handed her all the things she would need to shower and get into some nice clothes.
 
Once she was in the little bathroom, the opossum started stripping out of her clothing, and then the bandages that covered different parts of her body. Looking into the mirror, she took in the sight of herself, particularly the large, stitched-up cut in her chest. Slowly, she traced her fingers along the edge of the heart shape, flinching more at the memories that it brought than the physical pain that she felt. Though, her mind soon started looking at it differently: it was a little reminder of her love, something that she knew that would stay with her for a long time if not for the rest of her life.
 
The small space filled with the sound of the shower as the opossum got in and started getting cleaned up, washing away the dirt from the past few days, along with most of the pain. The thoughts of her getting closer to her lover filled her head, seeming to make everything better for her. She couldn’t help but let her hands slip a little lower, to tease and rub between her folds, causing her to moan softly. It had been what felt like forever since she got to have any real fun, but she knew that Katie would need the shower so she decided against it.
 
Once she was done with the shower, she slipped out of it and started drying off, purring at the feel of the soft towel drying her fur. She made sure to be careful when drying along the stitched-up places. Once she was all done, she slipped into the clothing that was given to her, purring at the feel of fresh, clean clothes.
 
“Lilly,” Aya’s voice called from the bedroom, “let’s get you patched back up before bed.” She motioned for the opossum to come sit on the edge of the bed.
 
Once Lilly sat on the edge of the mattress, the mother started getting to work. Starting on her arm first, she slowly and gently rubbed some antibiotic gel onto the wound before bandaging it up and moving on to the bigger one on her chest.
 
“So… how did you get this one?” the gazelle asked. “Katie wouldn’t tell me about it; she said she wasn’t sure on it.”
 
“Well… it’s a long story,” Lilly started, wincing a little as she felt the gazelle’s paw rubbing the medical ointment into her chest. “It was self-inflicted, 'cause people got in the way of me and my lover.”
 
“Ahhh,” was all she said, reaching to pick up another roll of gauze and starting to bandage up the opossum’s chest. “I’m not sure you went about it the right way, but it looks like you’ll be with her soon… just make sure that you take care of yourself so that you can be there for her.”
 
“I will,” the opossum said as she reached for her shirt and slipped into it, before flopping back onto the bed.
 
“Looks like someone is already ready for bed,” Katie said with a smile as she walked into the bedroom. “Here,” she said, holding out a brush, “sit up, and I’ll help.” She watched as the opossum did as she asked before starting to brush her red hair.
 
Once the two went through the bedtime routine, the opossum snuggled into the bed they’d been given. Lilly lay back in the bed that she’d be sharing with Katie. “God, it’s been like forever since I got to lay in a bed this nice.”
 
“I know. It almost makes you miss the ones back in Jonestown,” Katie smiled as she snuggled into the bed with the opossum.
 
“I would miss the floor more and first,” Lilly said as she rolled her eyes. “Night, Katie… and everyone,” she added as she snuggled up to the pillow.
 
Soon, the tolls of traveling got the better of the pair and sleep found them. The hum of the road and the soft vibrations helped lull them into a deep slumber. Throughout the night, the others joined them, taking over the other bed in the room, while Aya took over the pull-out bed in the main room of the camper.
 
Almost as soon as sleep came to them, it felt like morning was there, but that wasn’t what woke them up; they were awakened by the feeling of the truck coming to a stop.
 
“Lilly, Katie,” the gazelle said happily, poking her head into the bedroom, “we’re here.”
 
It took a moment, but Lilly was the first one to sit up and look around. “You mean it? You mean that we’re in Marblecliff?” she asked, scrambling across the bed to a window and pulling the cloth curtain to the side. She looked out the window: sure enough, they were sitting in the driveway of some truck stop.
 
“Yes, Marblecliff, New Hampshire,” Aya said as she walked over and sat on the end of the bed. “This is your stop. I’m sorry that I can’t take you all the way, but it’s hard to get the tractor trailer into the city.” She watched the opossum get up and slip off the bed as she began to get dressed. A moment later, Katie woke up and started changing her clothes, too.
 
“Thank you,” Lilly said, smiling as she reached down and started gathering up her things while Katie did the same. “I don’t think it’s all that far from here.” She reached into one of the corner pockets of her bag and pulled out the letter that Cassidy had sent her. “Right here,” she said, pointing to the address in the corner.
 
“We’ve been past there a few times,” Aya said as she looked at the paper. “It’s several blocks over, maybe a forty-five minute walk.”
 
“Thank you,” Lilly smiled as she turned to Katie. “You ready there, slow poke?”
 
“I am,” Katie replied as she shouldered her bag while the opossum tucked the letter in her pocket.
 
At that moment, the husband walked back from the truck cab. “Darling, don’t tell me ya’re just going to let them walk off on their own after the work you put into mending that girl,” the ocelot said casually.
 
“Ashley, dear, I believe at this point the young ladies would like to be alone to finish their journey,” Aya replied to her mate, then smiling down at Lilly, continued. “You just be sure to take care of yourself better from now on, dear, just like you promised. Alright?”
 
“I will. Onwards,” Lilly sounded oddly happy as she was lead out the door and stepped out of the camper. The two took a moment to look around at the sight of the city; the two of them never have been anywhere like this. “This place is huge.”
 
“I know,” Katie said as she turned in place, looking up at the massive travel center and then back down to look at the many people that were walking around. Turning her attention back to her friend, the numbat asked, “Lilly, aren't you a little worried about someone seeing us, or us looking out of place?”
 
“No,” the opossum said, not missing a beat. “I mean, think about it: two girls, backpacks, walking around in the morning… Yeah, they’re just off to school or something.”
 
The pair headed off in the direction that the gazelle had indicated, walking, moving past all of the other people of all sizes, shapes and ages. They had to duck past people as they made their way down the street, stopping at cross walks and having to wait for the light to change and allow them to cross.
 
The walk seemed a lot shorter than what she was told, but then again, being this close to Cass, the opossum was sure that she was walking on air. They stopped at a street corner as she pulled out the envelope again and glanced at it.
 
“This is it,” Lilly said, nodding as she pointed to the street sign. “I think we need to head up the street, that way.” She looked at the number on the paper and then at some of the buildings to see that they were going up.
 
“Are you sure? I mean, you don’t seem like that much of a city gal,” Katie said with a little snicker as she followed the opossum up the street.
 
“You act like you’re more of a city girl than I am,” Lilly chuckled as she walked up the street, counting off the numbers off of the buildings. “This one,” she said, looking up at one of the slightly more run-down buildings.
 
Not giving the numbat a moment to say anything, the opossum pulled her into the building and up to the elevator, jamming at the button with a finger. This was the point when Lilly was so close that she could taste it. Hell, she thought that she could even smell her lover.
 
“Lilly, what if she’s not at home?” Katie asked as the two rode the elevator up to the sixth floor, the door opening and the two stepping out into the hallway. “I mean, we saw a lot of other kids on their way to school.”
 
“Then we wait,” was all the opossum said as she pulled out the envelope and looked at the apartment number. “Over here.” Lilly couldn’t help smiling as she rushed over to a door at the end of the hall. “Fuck,” she muttered, then looked back at Katie. “Go knock on the door, and see if Cassidy or her mom answers.”
 
“Wait, what?” Katie squeaked out as she felt Lilly pushing her forward. “I’m going to get you back for this,” the numbat muttered, shaking her head as she went up to the door and started knocking. She stood there for a moment, waiting as she heard someone moving through the apartment.
 
“Who the Hell is it?” a rough, familiar voice came.
 
“It… it’s Katie,” the numbat squeaked out as the door swung open.
 
“What the fuck are you doing here?” the porcupine asked as she looked the numbat over. “Where the fuck is Lilly?”
 
“Is your mom home?” Katie asked, peeking into the room.
 
“No, it’s just me,” she answered, cocking an eyebrow. “But I’m about to leave for school. Has something happened?”
 
“It’s clear,” Katie called out, smiling as she saw the opossum peeking out from around a corner.
 
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cassidy barked out as she saw the opossum stepping out into the hall. “I mean, do you know the fucking shit that could have happened to you? For fuck’s sake, you could have be snatched up and raped or some shit. I told you that I would be fucking coming back and then I would be staying there with you.” She kept barking out, glaring the opossum down. The numbat shook her head at the string of curse words pouring from the porcupine’s mouth. “God bless your slutty heart, I fucking love you,” she said as she walked over to Lilly and pulled her into a hug.
 
“I’m sorry; I didn’t want you to go back to that Hell hole. I mean, there is more here for you,” Lilly said, smiling and just resting in her lover’s arms. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure that it wasn’t a dream.
 
“Let’s get inside. We can talk about the crazy shit you did to get here,” Cassidy said as she pulled her girlfriend into the small apartment. “You too, Katie.” She waved for the numbat to follow. “Lilly, you and Katie go take a seat while I get us drinks and we can catch up.” She pointed the two towards the living room of the small apartment.

Within a few seconds of them sitting down, Cassidy returned from the kitchen holding two sodas: one for her and Lilly to share, the other for the numbat. “Thank you,” Katie said, smiling as she took the soda and opened it.
 
“So… what all did you have to do to get here? Is there anyone that I need to hunt down and fuck up?” Cassidy asked, pulling her lover against her and offering her the soda.
 
“Not really,” Lilly said softly, happily taking the beverage and sipping at it. “I think that the worst thing that happened is when the truck driver attacked me… but Katie saved me… and well… I ended up losing it and kinda… stabbed him.”
 
“So there’s a fucker that I need to go back and beat shitless,” Cassidy barked out. “Who and where?”
 
“I don’t think… Yeah, I don’t think that he’s alive… not after Lilly got through with him,” Katie spoke up. “She… well… she fu… messed him up.”
 
“That’s my girl: kicking bitches’ asses,” Cassidy said, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.
 
“Yeah, that’s about all that happened… that and Katie and I stole from a store on the way here,” Lilly said, looking up to her.
 
“Well, you had to do what you needed to survive,” the teen porcupine said softly, leaning down to kiss her again.

“Cass,” Katie asked, “were you on your way to school?” The numbat gestured to what the porcupine was wearing: a navy blue blazer, a red plaid skirt, a pair of white thigh-high socks, and a pair of polished black Maryjane shoes.
 
“I was about to head out, but I think I have a good enough reason to skip today,” Cass grinned. “My little slut killed and stole for me; I think she deserves spending some time with me, don’t you?”

A few hours passed as the three sat around talking, telling the story of how they got there. They told Cass about all the things they did, the sights they saw, their run-in with the trucker, and meeting the nice ocelot/gazelle family that helped them out of kindness. It wasn’t that long before Katie nodded off in her chair.
 
The porcupine smiled and leaned down, then whispered something in Lilly’s ear before the two got up and walked off, heading to her bedroom.
 
“Mmmmmh, I’ve missed my little slut,” Cassidy said as she closed the door behind her. “I’ve missed every little curve of your body, the shimmer in your eyes, your smile… your everything.” She walked up to the opossum and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I missed you the most.”
 
“And I missed you,” Lilly said, nuzzling against her lover. She purred at the feel of her body, holding Cassidy tightly as she rested her head on the older girl’s chest.
 
“You’re purring… I missed that, too,” she said as she reached up and let one of her hands slide up Lilly’s back. Her claws slowly dragged across the opossum’s back on the way up to her ear. “And I see this has healed up nicely.” She started working the metal rod between her fingers, smiling at the little amethyst balls at the ends of the piercing.

“It’s something that the most important person in the world gave to me; there’s no way that I could lose it or let someone take it from me,” Lilly said, smiling and wiggling her ear a little. “And now that I’m here, we’ll have to get me more of them.”
 
“In due time,” Cassidy whispered, leaning down and pressing her lips against the opossum’s, letting her tongue wiggle into her muzzle. The two just closed their eyes and held one another as they kissed, letting their tongues dance around one another’s mouth. It felt like it had been years since they had gotten to make out, but the memories started rushing right back to them: the familiar taste of each other, the points and bumps of one another’s teeth.
 
The two stood there for what felt like the ages that they were apart from one another, holding one another and making out before the kiss was broken. The little opossum pulled back, panting softly. “Cass…..I love you.”
 
“Lilly, I love you, too,” she said softly as she kissed her on the lips again, before pulling back and smiling. “And I think that a little slut like you could use some loving.” She winked and softly walked her backwards towards the bed.

There was nothing else to be said between the two as Lilly was laid on the bed by the porcupine. Cassidy climbed on top of her, smiling as she playfully pinned her down. As she was on top of the opossum she let her hands tease the edge of Lilly’s shirt before slowly moving her hands and the fabric up and off of the opossum.
 
“You know, this is going to be one Hell of a story to tell the kids,” Cassidy said as she softly rubbed her lover’s bandaged chest, seeking out and teasing her nipples.
 
“And it will be a story of love, and the hardships, and all that,” Lilly said between little pants and moans. “Then again, I don’t think that they would believe it.”
 
Cassidy didn’t say anything as she moved her hands lower, letting her fingertips tease along the opossum’s chest and tummy. She teased along her pouch opening, causing Lilly to shiver and wiggle a little. Soon her fingers reached the bottom of the opossum’s jeans.

“Still not wearing panties,” Cassidy observed with a little snicker as she let her hand snake its way into Lilly’s pants, seeking out the warmth of her folds. “You know just what I like,” she whispered out as she slid her finger against the opossum’s slit, slowly teasing her before slipping one finger into her.
 
All the opossum could do was let out little moans and gasps as she felt the porcupine probe her damp tunnel. Soon, Cass slowly added another digit and started to pump faster. She did this for a little bit before leaning in and whispering something to the opossum that made the younger girl blush, then pulled her fingers from her pants and licked her fingers clean.

Once Cassidy was happy with licking her fingers clean and teasing the opossum, both of her hands came to rest on her hips. She pulled Lilly’s jeans down and off, and said sultrily, “Just lay there for a moment, and keep your eyes closed till I tell you otherwise.” She smiled and watched as the opossum nodded her agreement.

It only took a few moments for the porcupine to slip out of the her school uniform and smile as she took in the sight of the equally naked opossum on the mattress. She stayed quiet as she walked around the bed and climbed onto it and then over Lilly. Slowly she lowered herself onto the opossum, stopping just a fraction of an inch over her muzzle. Still, she didn’t say anything, other than letting out a moan as she felt Lilly’s tongue start to lash against her wet slit.

Cassidy kept letting out little moans as she wiggled around, slowly grinding against her lover’s tongue and muzzle. Soon she bent over, smiling as she started licking at the opossum’s cunt. She slowly licked from her clit, applying a lot of pressure as she gradually made her way down, sliding along her lips and letting her tongue dip into Lilly’s honey pot. The porcupine let out her own little purr of happiness as she tasted the opossum again; it was a taste that she had been longing for, a taste that she needed.
 
Cassidy kept licking and lapping at her lover’s slit, letting her tongue dip in a few times before pulling out and. She used her tongue to tease and flicker against Lilly’s clit. She heard the opossum letting out a loud moan as she slipped her fingers back into the younger girl, pushing two in as deep as she could before curving them and starting to pump them in and out as fast as she could.

“Mmmmmh, that’s a good little slut,” she whispered out. “Now make me cum and I’ll get you off.” Cassidy smiled and pressed herself onto the opossum a little more, letting her get her tongue even deeper.

Spurred on by her lover’s words, Lilly started licking faster, letting her tongue wiggle and hit all the places she remembered from the past times they’d played and the things that she’d taught her. The opossum’s tongue worked her lover’s clit, licking and lapping against it before sliding up, moving higher past her slit to tease at her tail hole. She kept giving slow, long licks before pulling back enough to lick at her finger. Going back to licking at her lover’s pussy the wet finger started pressing at her lover’s tail hole to tease her a little.

Lilly kept working on making her lover cum, wanting to shower her in the pleasure that she hadn’t given her over the time they’d been apart, spurred on by the teasing touches and licks she was receiving. After several moments of working, teasing her in both holes, she felt her lover tensing up. She could feel Cassidy’s walls clinging to and milking around her fingers. The porcupine let out a moan that she was sure would have woken Katie up.

It took the porcupine a few moments to come down from her own high, though she never stopped fingering Lilly. True to her promise, Cassidy started thrusting into her faster and a little bit harder, leaning back down as she started to lick and lap at her clit. She wanted to make her lover cum and hard, to give her a taste of all the things that were going to come now that she was there.
 
She took her time to keep teasing the opossum a little longer, building up the orgasm that simmered just below the surface, adding to the heat that was building in her loins. Soon the porcupine pushed the opossum over the edge, dragging her down into the depths of the strongest orgasm she’d ever had. She could feel every muscle in her body tense up for several moments before she went limp. All she could do is just lay there, panting and moaning, slowly releasing the death grip that she had on the sheets.
 
Lilly felt a weight lifting off of her chest and the weight coming to rest next to her. The opossum smiled as she rolled over and snuggled up to her lover, purring happily and loudly as she curled against her. She could feel all of the pain and worry of her past melting away. Even the pain in her chest and arm slipped away, though she swore that she could still feel the fire in her body.
 
“Ummmmm, I just thought about it… what are we going to do about me and Katie staying here?” Lilly asked as she looked up to Cassidy.
 
“I… I don’t know yet…” she said as she paused and looked past the opossum to the clock on her desk. “We have time to think before mom gets home.” She smiled down at her. “Right now, I just want to enjoy having my little slut here.”
 
“I love you.”
 
“I love you too.”
 
“Hey, I’m sorry Baby…”
“Please come back inside… We can laugh a little… And live and die,”
“No wait. You see, I’ve got this hot pot of Jonestown Tea.”
“And it’s been brewing for you and me,”
“Oh, it only takes one sip,”
“Come on baby,”
“Surrender your lips.”
“I can take you someplace nice…”
“I can take you someplace… NICE…”