Mon. March 17th, 2014.

“Well I can tell you one thing that has to happen, especially seeing as my mom and dad are going to be here…  The tradition of san san ku do.”  The cat wolf paused for a moment, “though I don’t think that mom and dad….or you would let me drink saki.”  She said with a little snicker.

“I’m sorry…  What?”  Anna asked looked up to her wife, from the book that she had on her lap.  The two working and planning more of their wedding.

“San san ku do.”  Shanoa repeated, “it’s where the bride and groom drink from three different-sized sake cups, in the exchanging of the cups they are symbolically exchanging their vows.  Next our parents also take sips, sealing the bond between the our two families, each person takes three sips of sake from each cup.  The first three sips represent the three couples, you and me, my mom and dad, and your mom and dad.  The second set of three sips represent the flaws of hatred, passion and ignorance; and the last three sips represent the freedom from the three flaws.”  She said stopping and taking a breath, “though I can see it being done with something other than sake…  A nice sparkling grape juice or something.”

“Ok that makes it a little different…  I know traditions are strong and all but I think that I would have to slap you if you drank sake while pregnant.”  Anna said relaxing a little as she went back to looking at her book.

“Yeah, if I did something like that, there would be a line to slap me.”  She said shaking her head a little, “and besides, you should be proud of me.  I’m working on cutting back on coffee....  I still think that the withdrawal is why I jumped all over the mayor  that day...kinda.”

“Ok, so we will have Curio go down the aisle as the flower girl, followed by your father walking you down, and then me and dad…  But where would this san san ku do thing come in?”  Anna asked, scribbling some things down.

“Well it would go like you said, but once we got to the end of the isle, there would be the prayer recital for me, and then you. “  Shanoa said making a mental not to brush up on the prayer.  “After that is the wedding ceremony, the vows and all that, then comes the san san ku do, last is the offering of the branch of the sacred tree.  That would be the main part of the wedding in a nutshell.”

“Ok, but where are you going to get the branches?”  

“Mom is bringing them.” 

“Well that’s one more thing off of the list.  So…  The reception, is there anything that I should know about that?”  Anna asked, closing her book and leaning back, getting comfy on the sofa as Shanoa looked up at her from her spot on the floor.

“Well there will be a lot of seafood…  Sea bream, shrimp and red rice for good luck, along with sushi of all kinds, there will be some cooked food too…  A little something for everyone.”  Shanoa paused a moment to think before giggling a little.  “God you’re going to think that we are all drunks…  There is the kagami-biraki, or in english, ‘opening the lid’ ceremony.”

“Oh god, I’m starting to think I know where you got your tolerance for alcohol from.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.

“Well…  it’s just where the lid of a sake barrel is broken open with a wooden mallet and the sake is served.  The round shape of the lid represents harmony.”  Shanoa paused to think again, “then there is the part where we would sit up on a stage and get to hear speeches and performances from the guests…  I’m all for skipping that part, though I do want to keep the part where we thank our parents, and give them gifts.”

“Is there anything that we should give them?”  Anna asked as she scribbled down some more notes, no doubt things to pass to the wedding planner to give them an idea of what they want.

“Typical it's more the thought behind the gift and not the gift.  I have seen bouquets of flowers, letters and money, things like that.”  She said leaning back a little petting the cat that was snuggled up next to her.  “Oh, and one tradition that you would like.  The tradition on oiro naoshi…  It’s where the bride gets to change outfits a few times.”  Shanoa said with a little giggle.  “I had an idea for that one.  I was thinking that you would change out of the wedding dress and into a kimono.”

“I like wearing the wedding dress and all, but I like the idea of changing into something a little less restricting.”  Anna said letting out a little sigh.

“That coming from someone that has never wore a kimono.”  Shanoa said with a little giggle, “speaking of kimonos, your about the same size as my sister…  So she’s going to be giving you a kimono for the wedding and mom will be making any fixes that it might need.”  The hybrid said laying on her back on the floor, thinking if there was anything else that she needed to bring up.

“You know, that reminds me, the three of us need to go dress shopping.”  Anna said leaning over a little, looking down at her wife, before getting off the sofa and sitting on the floor with her.

“Well, you and Curio will have to handle that…  I’m wearing a kimono…  Mom is bringing me the one that I wore to Hana’s wedding…  So it looks like you and Curio will get some mother, daughter time.”  She said turning her head to look at her wife, before poking her tongue out and getting a giggle out of her.  “Oh…  And there is the gift giving…  If I’m not mistaken, with weddings here, you and I would be getting the gifts, but the tradition back home is that me and you are the one that gives the gifts.”

“That seems like that would be a neat little thing, but what kind of gifts do you give people that come to your wedding?”  The doe asked, reaching out and starting to rub at the catwolf’s belly, getting a growing purr out of her.

“Well, we would come up with some kind of little grab bag, you know.  It would have little things in it, fancy soaps, snacks, trinkets, just things that would make them smile.”  She said, her tail starting to wiggle a little as her wife laid down with her, still rubbing her belly.  “And you know…  I would like to keep some fur on my belly.”  She said turning and poking her tongue out a little.

“It’ll grow back.”  Anna said smiling as she snugged up to her wife.  “And you remember what happened the last time you poked that tongue out at me.”  She said, not giving her a chance to say anything before pressing her lips to her wife’s, letting her tongue wiggle into her muzzle, starting a sweetly naughty dance with her.

The two laid there on the floor, holding one another, and kissing.  Paws starting to roam places, tease places, getting little squeaks, mewls, and even a moan or two.  It wasn’t long before Anna’s paws had come to rest just above her wife’s tail, starting to rub and scratch at the base, causing it to raise like her feral kin.

“Momma…  You two in here?”  Curio’s tablet called out, causing the two to stop what they were doing and freeze up before quickly trying to hide what they were up to.  “Um….why are you two on the floor?”

“We were working on wedding planning and all that, and we decided that we wanted a break, so we stretched out a little.”  Shanoa spoke up, as she sat up.  “You and Anna are going to get to go dress shopping soon.”  She said doing her best to change the subject.

“Oh I get to pick out my flower girl dress?”  Cuiro’s tablet spoke up, it seemed that she had forgotten or got distracted already.  “Wait.  Why isn’t momma Shanoa going to come with us?”  She asked, looking to the catwolf that was now getting up and stretching a little more.

“Well I’m not going to be wearing a dress, I’m going to be wearing a kimono.  It’s like a dress, it’s what we wear.”  She said walking through the little dining room and into the kitchen.  “We are going to be having a mixed wedding, so I’m going to walk down the aisle in a kimono, and Anna is going to be in a dress like you, and then after the wedding Anna is going to get to wear one.”

“Can I wear one too?”  Curio asked as she walked around the corner and into the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t see why not.”  Shanoa said smiling a little as she put a bag into the microwave.  “I think the kimonos that I wore at your age might be a little too big, but I tell you what.”  She said hitting the button.  “I will break out the tape measure after I ask mom what measurements that she needs and get her to bring you one.  How does that sound?”

“That would be really cool.”  The blossum bat said practically bouncing up and down, her smile growing a little more when she got a whiff of what was in the microwave.

“You know what that smell means right?  Go get the blankets, set up the nest and find us a movie.”  She said, smiling as she watched Curio rushing off to do as she was told.

“You know, you’re going to make a great mother.”  Anna said walking up to the catwolf, pulling her into a hug.

“Sush you…  You’re going to make me all emotional.”  Shanoa said holding her wife for a moment, just listening to the popcorn in the microwave popping.  

“Well it’s true.”  Anna said pulling back from her wife and getting the big bowl down for her.  “You know, it really looks like Curio likes your culture…  That might be something fun for you and her to do.”

“Teach her about my people and all that?”  Shanoa said, opening the microwave now that it had dinged.  “I’m sure that she would like that, and I’m sure that mom and dad would love to help teach her that…  As smart as she is, I bet that it wouldn’t take much for her to pick up the angue…”  Shanoa muttered to herself mostly.

“Well there you go.”  Anna said taking the bowl after Shanoa filled it with popcorn.  “Come on, we have a movie to watch.”  

The three piled into the living room and into the nest that Curio had made them.  Anna on one side and Curio on the other, Shanoa and the popcorn in the middle.  As the movie went on and the popcorn was gone, paws quickly found other ways to busy themselves during the family movie, namely by starting to rub a catwolf’s tummy, getting a purr out of her.  Shanoa was getting more and more sure at this point that she was going to lose the fur on her belly, that or it was going to end up thin there.

Thurs. March 20th, 2014
Dress shopping

Anna pulled to a stop in front of one of the buildings, large letters spelling out the word, ‘Wholly Matrimony.’  From the research that Anna had done, this place was the best around in terms of dresses of all kinds, even offering ones from and themed around different cultures.  Several of the shops best and most likely, most expensive dresses were on display.

“So, you excited?”  Anna asked looking over to Curio as she unbuckled her belt, the smaller bat doing the same before typing out a message to her mom.

“I am, I can’t wait to get to pick out my dress and stuff.”  Her tablet spoke up as she nodded, the two getting out and starting into the store, the moment that they were in the store, they were greeted by a sweet female voice.

“Welcome to Wholly Matrimony, how can I help you ladies out.”  The voice belonging to the field jumping mouse that was walking up to them, the name on her tag reading Jillian.

“Well we need two dresses.”  Anna said with a smile, “I need a wedding dress and my daughter here needs a flower girl’s dress.”  She said looking over to the mouse who nodded.

“Alrighty.”  She said motioning for the two to follow her, “if you would, I’d like to talk to you about the wedding and everything, see about coming up with a few ideas.”  She said leading the two over to a small sitting area.  “So, tell me a little about what you and your mate have planned for the wedding.”  She said sitting back and listening contently

“Well it’s going to be a mixed tradition wedding.”  Anna said sitting back a little in the rather plush chair.  “My wife is Japanese, and well we are going to be taking parts from an American and Japanese wedding.”

“So, you two would be looking for a kimono dress?”  She asked scribbling something down.

“Well…  You know.  I think that a kimono dress would be good for our daughter…  A pretty tradition dress for me.  And my wife is going to be in a kimono, so with her being in a kimono dress that would be like a meeting of the two.”

“You know…  You might have some potential to work here.”  The mouse said as she made some notes, looking over to the bat that was looking around the room at all of the dresses and things on display.  “I think that I have a few things that would fit you perfectly.”  She said looking from Curio to her mother.  “Now about you, do you have any idea about what you would like?”

“Well.”  She paused, looking around the shop.  “I’m not to sure…  I know that I don’t want anything that’s super lose and flowing…  Something more…  Form fitting in places…  Kinda like an evening dress.”  She said turning her gaze back to Jillian.  “If any of that makes since.”

“It does…  It gives me a few ideas.”  She said scribbling something down before getting up.  “If you two would wait right here I have a few things to look into and we will see about getting you into a dress.”  The mouse said before getting up and heading off.

“Is buying a dress always this much work?”  Curio asked as she looked back to her mother.  “I mean there is a lot to pick from, how do we know what one is the right one?”

“Well, when it comes to picking your wedding dress, most people only get the one shot, so they want to make sure that it’s all perfect down to the last detail.”  Anna said with a little nod.  “This is the same reason that there is a lot of work that goes into a wedding…  People want it to be perfect and to be something that they never forget.”

“So do you remember your and momma’s wedding the first time?”  The bat asked, tilting her head a little.  “And how will you know which dress is the perfect one?”

“Sweetie…  I still remember the night that Shanoa and I met.”  She said with a little snicker, “and as for knowing what dress is the perfect one, you will just know, it’s kinda hard to explain, but you will know.”

“How did you and momma Shanoa meet?”  Curio asked, turning in her chair.  “Momma Shanoa says that you two met in a bar and had some drinks and then one thing lead to another.”

The doe started laughing a little at what her daughter had told her.  “Well something like that.  We did meet in a bar, but she was the one that was drinking.”  Anna said smiling, “you see I used to live in a small town in South Carolina, and at the time that we met, I was working at a bar.  Your mother had come into the bar and was drinking…  And flirting with me.”

“Why was momma Shanoa in South Carolina?  And why was she drinking.”  Curio asked, getting more and more enthralled in the story.

“Well she was in South Carolina for a friends wedding, and I guess that she was on vacation.”  The doe paused again shifting in her seat a little.  “All of the liquor that she had, loosened her up, and she was flirting, normally I don’t pay attention to people when they flirt with me, but there was something cute about the way that Shanoa was doing it.  She was right to the point…  The big thing that did it was when she pulled me onto the bar and kissed me…  The rest is history.”  She said, a little blush tinting her cheeks.

“So did momma Shanoa take you home to Jonestown after that?”  Curio asked, killing time as they waited for the worker to come back from whatever they might have been doing.

“Well no, love doesn’t always work like that.”  The doe said smiling a little, “we dated for a little while before anything like that happened.  She would come down on the weekends and stay the night or something, we would go out to dinner or see a movie or something simple like that.”  She started giggling a little.  “Then there was the date that she asked me to move in with her….oh god that was wild.”

“What happened?”  Curio asked, practically on the edge of her seat now.

“I think that she thought that she had to take me out on some super fancy date or something.  It all started with her coming down to stay one weekend, and well…”  Before Anna was able to finish what she was saying, the mouse had come back, and was talking.

“Ma’am  I have a dress or two that I would like for you to try on.”  Jillian said, motioning for her to come with her.

“Ok, Curio, wait right here, and I will be right back.”  She said getting up.

“But mom, I wanted to hear the rest of the story.”  The bat said with a little huff.

“Well there will be lots of time to tell it to you, we have all day and then some.”  The doe said as she followed the mouse to the changing room, taking the first dress to try on.

The first dress, was nice and close to what the doe was looking for, though it still seemed to lose and flowing for her, though she did like the idea of it being strapless.  She took some time talking with Jillian about the things that she liked the most, and didn’t about the dress, the mouse was off to let the doe get changed as she looked for a more fitting dress.

Once she had changed back into her clothes, thankful that she had wore something pretty loose and easy to get in and out of.  “Ok…  So where was I?”  She asked sitting down with her daughter.  “Oh yeah…  The date.  Well, I think that Shanoa likes to show off, the first place that we went was a little private race track kinda place.”  She said smiling and leaning back in her seat.  “You see, even back then your other mother liked to speed a lot, and well…  She does look good in her riding gear.”  Anna said smiling and blushing a little at the thought of Shanoa dressed in her riding leathers.  “Well this was the first time that she managed to talk me into getting onto the back of her bike and riding…  Nothing like a near heart attack to get a date started.”

“I wonder if Momma Shanoa would take me for a ride on her bike.”  Curio said tilting her head a little.  “And what happened after that?”  Curio asked.

“I think that I rather be the one drive if you get to ride her bike.”  Anna said poking her tongue out a little.  “And next was the dinner.”  Anna said snickering a little as she thought back to that night.  “The place was…  Calling it fancy would be an understatement, I mean your other mother had taken me to a few really nice places, but this was the cherry on top, I remember thinking that the ice water they brought us at first would have been like ten bucks a glass…  That kinda expensive…  But that’s not the big thing…  She had something else planned.”  The doe said smiling at the sight of just how into the story Curio was.  “Right after we finished eating, I remember the room going black, and people yelling.”

“Ma’am, I have another dress for you, I think that I have the perfect one this time.”  Jillian said with a little smile.

“Well it looks like I will have to put the story on hold.”  Anna said as she got up much to Curio’s dismay.  “Don’t look so sad, I will be back in a few moments.”  She said walking off to the changing rooms.

The second dress that the mouse had picked out was even closer to being perfect for the doe.  It was form fitting in the right places, flowing in the others, but still not perfect.  Only two things held this dress back from being just right, it wasn’t strapless, and it was kind of bland for her tastes, showing herself that Shanoa had been rubbing off on her in more ways that one.  Again, she told Jillian the pros and cons of this dress before she slipped off promising that she would bring the perfect one back.

Again, once she had changed back into her clothes she went back to her seat, smiling at the sight of Curio waiting for the conclusion of the story.  “So everything went black and people started screaming…  Then we felt someone grabbing us by the arm and pulling us somewhere, I thought that it was just the people that worked there, that they were guiding us to safety or something…  Well I was wrong…  Shanoa and I ended up in a strange room with someone telling us we had an hour to get out of the room.”  Anna said shaking her head  little.  “I was beyond freaked out.  I was panicking and running around the room looking for the way out and everything....  Your other mother was just as cool and calm as ever…  I felt so helpless.”

“Oh god, I didn’t know that you and Momma Shanoa got kidnapped.”  Curio’s tablet spoke up, the bat going wide eyed as it did.  “How did you get out of it?”

“We didn’t get kidnapped.”  Anna said with a little snicker, “and we got out of it cause Shanoa figured out all of the puzzles while I was a panicked wreck.”  Anna paused for a moment, shaking her head and smiling.  “Your other mother had taken me to a dinner and a shower…  It was all part of the dinner…  All staged…  Kind of like a game.”

“Why would she do that and not tell you that it was a game?”  The bat asked, tilting her head a little.

“Well I think that she did it so that she could impress me....”  She started to say something, but again, Jillian showed up to drag her off, Curio just letting out a sigh as Anna got up and slipped off to the changing room.

Just like the mouse said, she had picked out the perfect dress.  Just looking at herself in the tall mirror, she knew that this one was the right one.  This one was fitted in all of the right places, strapless and wasn’t bland.  Normally Anna wouldn’t have liked something strapless with sleeves, but the see through, silk sleeves of this dress showed off the fine applica that danced around the dress adding the perfect touch to the rather simple dress.  Even Curio agreed that this was the dress, nodding and smiling as she got to see her mother in it, making a comment that it was perfect for her, that it was simple but still one of a kind like her mom.

Once she had changed out of the dress and the mouse was off getting it boxed, ready and then looking for Curio’s dress, Anna sat back down, picking her story up.  “But yeah, your other mother did it to try and impress me, but…  Well it kinda made me a little mad.  I wouldn’t return her phone calls for a week…  But the more that I talked to my friends and family about it, the funnier, and sweeter it became.  Then I realized that I wasn’t mad anymore, I was more mad at myself for feeling helpless, and I knew that with her, that I would never be helpless again.”

“Now she’s the one that’s helpless around you.”  Curio said with a little nod.  “I bet that you have more stories.”

“I don’t know if she’s helpless…  I just think that she’s softened up a little.  And yes…  I have a few more stories.”  Anna said with a little giggle.  “Like the first time that she tried cooking some traditional food…  We both ended up sick as dogs…  Or the time that she nearly jumped all over a guy that was trying to get into my pants at a bar.”  She said pausing a moment to think of some more stories, about that time Jillia had popped back up.

“I have some good news and some bad news.”  She said sitting down across from the pair.  “The bad news is that we only have one kind of kimono dress in stock, the good news is, that if that dress isn’t the one, we would be happy to find one in the catalog.”  She said, pointing to a book on the table.

“Well…  Curio, do you want to try on the dress or just look through the book?”  Anna asked, turning to the teen bat.

“I want to try it on.”  She said with a little nod before getting up and following the mouse to the changing room.

The kimono dress that the mouse had found was a simple one to say the least, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t fitting.  From the waist up, it looked like a simple kimono, from the waist down it was more of a dress.  The moment that Curio got to see what it looked like on her, she fell in love with it, rushing out to show her mother who smiled from ear to ear at the sight of her daughter in the dress, it was clear that it was the one for them.

Once Curio was back in her street clothes, there was only one thing for the two to do, and that was to pay for the dresses, and of course, Shanoa had thought ahead, giving Anna a debit card and telling her the pin before having to slink off to the clinic to work on getting more staff and the patents that popped in.  Once the dresses were boxed up and paid for, the two were off to grab something to eat and for Anna to tell a few more stories about when her an Shanoa were dating and first moving in with one another.

Mon. March 24th, 2014

Monday morning rolled around sooner than the catwolf wanted, she would have rathered spent the morning with her wife, happily snuggled against her, even teasing her little horns, but that evil alarm went off, getting a hiss out of the catwolf as she shut it off and dragged herself out of the bed and trudge off to the kitchen.

Pressing the button on the coffee maker, letting out a little purr as she heard it starting up, her nose wiggling a little at the scent of the coffee filling the room.  Anna had told her many times that she was going to have to cut back or stop the coffee drinking seeing as she is carrying a child, and at this point, she was down to one or two cups a day, the one that she had to have in the morning to even be able to function, and maybe one later in the day.

The doorbell caught her off guard, but she ignored it as she watched the coffee pot doing it’s job.  Any other time, she would have answered the door and told the Religion peddler off, given that she wasn’t expecting a package or anything.  The doorbell rang again right as she was starting to pour her cup of coffee, letting out a little sigh as she abandoned the coffee for the moment to get the door.

Without thinking, she opened the door, still in her pajamas, hair a mess, still have asleep.  “Whatever Religion you’re trying to sell, I don’t want it, I’m a proud practitioner of Shintoism.”  She said, pausing a moment, her eyes going a little wide.  “Nani no kotona no?”  The catwolf said as it hit her, her family was standing there at her door.

“Watch your muzzle young lady.”  The mother feline said shaking her head, snickering a little at the sight of her daughter, stunned that they were there.

“I’m sorry, it’s a little surprising to see my whole family showing up on my door…  Given that you all live in Japan.”  She said shaking her head a little, stepping to the side, letting them in.  “Have a seat, I will make more coffee and tea.”  She said turning and heading into the kitchen for her cup of coffee.

“This is a nice little place that you have.”  Ren said looking around before him and his wife took a seat on the sofa.  “Don’t you think that it’s a little small for your family?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Shanoa said coming back and sitting down in one of the few free spots.  “The house is big enough.  I mean, Anna and I have our room, Curio has her room, and I have an office instead of having to have one set up in the livingroom.”  She said shaking her head.  “The more important question here is, how the hell did you all get here?  And find out where I live?”

“Well, I bought the plane tickets for all of us, Hibiscus was the one that helped all of us with getting the passports and all that.”  Ren said smiling warmly.

“Ok...But…  How did you find out where I lived?”  Shanoa said looking around at her family.

“You can blame me for that one.”  Mea spoke up, smiling a little as she snuggled up against her husband.  “Looked at the caller ID when you called last, did a little looking up things on google, and boom I found you.”  She said with a proud little nod.

“Shanoa honey, who are you talking to in here?  I know that you didn’t bring in some Jehovah witnesses.”  Anna said, rubbing her eyes as she walked around the corner, letting out a little squeak as she saw the new people in the room.  “Um…  Hello.”  She said blushing a little as she realized that she was in her PJs.

“Anna honey, I would like to introduce you to my family.”  Shanoa said pointing to the somali cat and maned wolf sitting on the sofa.  “That’s my mother and father, Izumi and Ren.”  She turned to the mink and ermine sitting on the floor.  “One of my sisters, Mea and her husband Takayama, or Taka.”  She said then turning to the kids that were sitting on the other sofa with her.  “The oldest, Tatsuya, and then the little one there is Kita.”  She said taking a deep breath and then pointing to the shiba inu that was sitting in the only single recliner, “that is Hibiscus my adopted sister.”

“It’s nice to meet my daughter’s wife.”  The older wolf said getting up and bowing a little.  “I know that you two have been together for a while, but I would still like to welcome you to the family.”  He said before sitting back down.

“It’s nice to finally meet the woman that is keep my wild child in check.”  The feline said getting up and pulling the doe into a hug.

“Momma Curio, who are you and Momma Shanoa talking to?”  A soft voice spoke up as the small bat came around the corner, squeezing past Anna.  “Momma, who are these people?  Are they wedding people or something?”  She typed out on her tablet.

“Something like that.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little.  “Curio, this is your grandma and grandpa.”  She said pointing to the cat and wolf that was on the sofa, and then going through the list of people that had shown up at her house.

“You know, the photos that your mom has shown us don’t do you justice.”  Izumi said smiling and getting up to hug her granddaughter.  “You’re far cuter.” 

“Hopefully she didn’t get Shanoa’s wild streak.”  Ren said getting up for a hug next.

“Gee dad, make me look like kind of party girl or something.”  Shanoa said poking her tongue out a little.

“Well you did get sent home from school how many times for being a little too…  Wild?”  Izumi teased.

“It wasn’t that many times.”  Shanoa said rolling her eyes a little, “and besides, I got into the really wild stuff after school…  I mean I moved here to the states how long after school?”

“Just as soon as you got the degree.”  Ren said smiling, “and it might have hurt to have you running off, chasing a job and everything, but we are still extremely proud of you.”  The fatherly wolf said, reaching over and putting his paw on his daughter’s leg.  “And just look at where you are now…  Married, clinic of your own, one lovely daughter, and four more on the way.”

“Dad….  No.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little, “there is one baby growing in me…  There is going to be none of that cursing me with more.”

“Well you know, you have that habit of tempting fate and karma.”  The father said smiling as if he knew something.

“Yeah I know, but I like to think that all of the good karma that I get counteracts the tempting of fate that I have done.”  She paused a moment, “and the chances of me getting multiples from an IVF are pretty low, and lower the more kids that you add to that.”  She paused again.  “And you know…  If I end up with multiples…  Not that I am, I have a few people to visit…  With a fur dying kit…”  She said glancing around the room before snuggling back into the sofa.

“Not to pry or anything, but where are you all staying?”  Anna asked as she walked through the living room to get herself a cup of coffee.  

“And when did you all even get here?”  Shanoa asked looking to her dad.

“We got here yesterday, and as for where we’re staying, Hibi found a nice little place that we are renting for a little bit.”  Izumi spoke up.

“You know…  I know that Taka and Mea have work and all that, so I know they will be here a week or two at most…  But mom, dad, how long are you two going to be hanging around?”  Shanoa eyed the two before letting out a little squeak as Anna booped her on the nose.

“Behave you.”  She said sitting on the floor by the sofa, Curio joining her.  

“Well she’s right, Taka, me and the kids will be here for a few more days before we have to go back, but we will be back for the wedding.”  Mea said smiling, turning to her mom and dad.  “So who’s telling her?”

“I will.”  Ren said smiling as he got up, looking over to Shanoa.  “We will be staying till the wedding and then a little longer…  Probably till after the baby…  Babies are born.”  He said putting a paw on her shoulder.  “I know that we had a bet, but I’m just going to give it to you, seeing as we are staying for so long…  You finally don’t owe me any money.”

“You sure about that dad, that’s a lot of yen.”  Shanoa said smiling, a little tear starting to well up in the corner of her eye.  “Thank you.”  She said getting up and wrapping her arms around him.

“I’m sure, and I don’t see it as me losing out, it’s more of an investment.”  He said holding his daughter tight before letting go of her.  “I’m sure that someone needs to get ready for work.”

“Work can wait a little, I don’t have appointments today, it’s all walk in, that and I have a few people working there now.”  Shanoa said smiling and looking around the room.  “I don’t know about you all, but I could eat a dolyak.”

“Shanoa…  You’re how old and still make jokes like that.”  Her sister said looking up to her sister giggling a little.

“I do…  And I’m going to keep doing it.”  She said starting to walk to the hall that leads to the bedrooms.  “And there is nothing wrong with playing games.”  She said poking her tongue out a little.  “Give us a few moments to get changed and we can all go out for something to eat.”  Shanoa called out from the bedroom, Anna and Curio slipping off to get dressed.

-----------------------------------

“I’m telling you, you’re going to be having more than one.”  Hibiscus said as the group walked into the Denny’s, Shanoa just shaking her head a little.

“Yes, there is a chance that I could have more than one, but it’s low…  I mean I’m kinda spitting in biology’s face with the fact that I have one growing in me, given the whole infertility  thing.”  The catwolf said as the group stood around waiting for the server.

“How many in your group?”  A voice called out as a female, long eared rabbit came up to the group, eyes going right to Shanoa, and then to her belly.  “How far along are you?”

“I told you.”  Anna spoke up.

“Me too.”  Said Curio with a little giggle.

“Bien merde.”  Shanoa said shaking her head, causing Anna to giggle, knowing that she was cursing in French to keep her parents from scolding her.  “Four and a half weeks.”  She said looking back at her group.

“Congrats.”  The bunny said happily, before speaking up again.  “I hope that you’re ready for double trouble.”  She said with a little snicker.

“Je jure baiser.”  She huffed out, before turning and looking to her group.  “Ten in the group…  And what is it with everyone thinking that I’m going to have more than one…  I think that everyone is just trying to curse me or something.”  She said shaking her head a little, most everyone giggling at her as they all started walking back to the back of the restaurant.

“You know it might be a sign.”  The bunny said leading them to two tables that would seat everyone, before Taka and his oldest son started moving the chairs and pushing the tables together to make a it big enough for the group.  “I mean, I’m not a doctor, but I think you are a little big for four and a half weeks.”

For a moment or two, the wolfcat just looked at the girl, practically drilling holes through her.  “I am a doctor…  And the chances in my case are a little too low for twins…  And pregnancies are a little different for different species…  given the maned wolf in me, and the deer in my wife, our kid is going to be a whole lotta leg…  So that could explain the baby bump starting already.”  She said, sounding more like she was trying to explain it to herself or something.

“Shanoa…  No.”  Anna said as she tugged at her wife.  “Behave.”

“Sorry about that.”  Shanoa said to the rabbit before turning and sitting down with the rest of the group as the server handed out the menus.

“Does everyone know what they want to drink?”  She asked a little softly as she pulled out a notepad and pen.  Quickly and showing that she had been working at a job like this for some time, she managed to get all of the orders scribbled down.

“Oh.  Can we get it all on one ticket, and we are all going to hit up the buffet.”  Shanoa said smiling as warmly as she could as the rabbit scribbled everything down.

“Ok.  If you all want to, you can go ahead and start getting your food, and I will be back with your drinks.”  She said turning and slipping off towards the kitchen.

As the group made their way to and around the large breakfast buffet, Anna was the first to speak up.  “You know, for someone that is so sure that she isn’t going to be having twins…  Or as Jack put it, a lovely litter of five, you sure sounded a little defensive.”

“I don’t know, I think that she sounded a little more unsure.”  Mea spoke up as they all made their way along the buffet.

“Ok…  I might have been a little defensive…  But I’m sure of what I said…  I mean look at it from my angle.  Mom, a pretty lanky cat, Dad is a really lanky wolf; you see how tall I am.”  She said turning and looking to her wife.  “So you have my tall, lanky self, mixed with twiggy horse there…  The kid that we are going to have is going to be a tall one.”

“Not matter, if you have one or three…  They are all going to be pretty…  And you know that mom and dad are going to spoil them rotten.”  Mea said with a little snicker.  “What would you even call them.”

“Not to mention my mom and dad…  I think that mom is already picking out clothes and things for it.”  Anna said shaking her head.

“This kid is going to have it so easy.”  Shanoa said with a little snicker as her and the group returned to the table, just in time to see the server setting out the drinks, nodding to them as she went off to help her other patrons.  “Mom and dad…  Anna’s mom and dad…  I know that Mea and Taka are going to spoil them…  Then there’s all of the friends back home…  Chou will prolly spoil them too…”  

“Maned wolfdeerats?  Somali deerwolves?  Catwolfdeer?”  Hibiscus spoke up, gigging at some of the name combinations.

Shanoa was silent for a few moments, before starting to giggle loudly.  “Oh god, I just had the best thought.”  She said smiling and looking at her wife and then around the table.  “You know if the kid takes after the feline in me, and the deer in Anna…  It’s going to be a horned cat more than anything…  So that means that I’m going to be giving birth to the first charr.”

There was the sound of a few palms hitting foreheads and some giggling before Mea was the one that spoke up.  “Leave it to you to come up with that.”  She said snickering a little.

“You know I was thinking the same thing.”  Hibiscus said with a little snicker.  “Though. I don’t think that Anna would let you name your kid after a character in the game…”

“No she wouldn’t and I didn’t plan on that…  That would be a little mean of me.”  Shanoa said poking her tongue out a little.  “I thought that it was amusing.”  She said as she went back to eating.

As the group sat there eating and talking, the conversation turned to the upcoming wedding and all of the planning that was happening with it, Ren was the first to speak up.  “So I hear that you two are going to be doing an inter-tradition wedding.”  He said looking at Anna and Shanoa.

“We are, and Shanoa said something about drinking, san san ku do I think it’s called.”  Anna said glancing from her wife to her father in law.

“Well yes, san san ku do involves sake…  But her being pregnant, there will be none of that…”  Ren said turning to his wife.  “Izumi bought some non alcoholic sake for the wedding.”

“Oh god.”  Shanoa said with a snicker.  “At least I get to see the look on Anna’s face when she has that stuff.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s not really bad…  Normally sake is good…  But to me the non alcoholic kind tastes like some of the bad beers here in the states.”  Shanoa said, snickering a little as she watched Anna shiver a little.

“We don’t talk about those beers.”  Anna said taking a sip of her drink.

“One of the good things about dating a bartender, you get to find out what booze is the best without all of the work.”  Shanoa said smiling and nudging her wife.

“And I have tried some bad ones.”  The deer said shaking her head a little.  “So, Shanoa said something about you bringing a Kemono for me and Curio, is there anything we need to know about them?”

“Well it’s going to take a little work to get used to walking in one, but between me, Shanoa and the rest of us, we can teach you.”  Izumi said with a little nod, “I would have brought (FIND NAME OF SHOES) for you all, but it slipped my mind.”

“I have mine in a box some place, but I don’t think that Anna can fit them.”  Shanoa said pausing for a moment.  “I think that it would be a little easier on them if they learned without the shoes, I mean I think that it’s a little harder with them, and I grew up with them.”

“Can I try mine on when we get home?”  Curio spoke up, looking to her grandparents.  “And can you tell me more about where you live and stuff.”

“Yeah, mom, dad, I think that someone really wants to know more about my home.”  Shanoa said with a smile.  “Curio, why don’t you tell them your name?”

The bat let out a happy little squeak as she started typing on her tablet.  “Kon'nichiwa watashinonamaeha kyuriodesu.”  Her tablet spoke up, as she looked proudly to her moms and then to her grandparents.

“Anata ni o ai dekite kōeidesu.”  Her grandfather spoke up, smiling warmly to the teen bat.

“Poor Anna, Shanoa and Curio are going to be speaking their own little language.”  Izumi teased a little.

“Oh I knew a few things in Japanese…  Most of them being curse words and things.”  She said nudging her wife.  “But really, Shanoa has been teaching me since we started dating.”  

The post breakfast chat went on for a little while longer, before Shanoa got a look at the time and slipped off, but not before paying for everything and finding their waitress, apologized again and slipping her what is possibly the biggest tip of her time working at the Denny’s.  The rest of the group sat around for a little bit longer before slipping off and heading back to Shanoa’s home, Anna and Curio had some kimonos to try on, and more family bonding to happen.

Fri. March 28th, 2014

The morning of the charity dinner had rolled around, and like any other morning Anna rolled over to find her wife’s side of the bed empty, but the smell of coffee starting to fill the house.  The doe let out a yawn as she pushed the blankets to the side and got out of bed, stretching a little as she did before sleepily walking through the house to the kitchen, pausing and letting out a little squeak as she turned the corner into the kitchen.

“Shanoa, is something wrong?”  She asked, going a little wide eyed at the sight of her wife, standing at the sink, both paws on the counter, but the really scary part was the strange look on her face and the smile on her muzzle.  “If there’s something wrong, you need to tell me?  Do I need to call someone?  Answer me.”

The catwolf opened her muzzle to say something before turning and lowering her head a little, looking into the sink before letting out a sick gagging sound, that was all the warning that Anna got.  The doe lept into action, reaching out and pulling Shanoa’s long hair back before the hybrid started vomiting into the sink, that thankfully had no dishes in it for once.

“Oh honey....  In the sink.”  Anna half teased as she rubbed her lover’s back, still holding her hair back, as the catwolf did her thing.  “At least it’s the side that has the disposal.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.

“Momma, is something wrong?”  Curio asked, rushing around the corner, looking at the sight with wide eyes.

“No sweetie.”  Anna said as Shanoa started running the tap, rinsing her muzzle out before turning on the disposal for a moment.

“The glories of having a baby growing in you.”  Shanoa said letting out a little sigh.  “I was hoping that I would have taken after mom and got to skip all this like her and Mea did.”  She said walking over to the coffee pot.  “Morning sickness is going to be a blast.”  She muttered.

“Ok, but my question is, why were you smiling?”  Anna asked, tilting her head a little.  “I mean I know that you don’t like the idea of morning sickness.”

“Someone once told me that if you feel sick and you smile that it helps.  Something to do with the muscles used when smiling, helping out with something like that.”  She said shivering a little before starting to smile.

“Sweetie, bathroom.”  Anna said as she and Curio stepped to the side before Shanoa rushed past them with surprising speed considering she hadn’t had her coffee yet and it didn’t look like she was going to get it for a little.  “Curio…  You hungry?”

“I am momma, but I don’t think momma Shanoa wants to think about eating.”  Curio typed out before she peeked around the corner into the living room, looking down the hall.

“Well I kinda figured that much.  Why don’t you go get dress, and you and I can go out to get something to eat, and see about finding something that your other mother can handle?”

“Ok momma.”  The bat said before rushing off to her bedroom to get changed and ready.

Making her way back to her and Shanoa’s room, poking her head into the bathroom, Anna spoke up.  “You ok?”  She asked looking at the hybrid that was at the porcelain altar.

“I’m pretty sure that I am.”  Shanoa said looking up to the doe, panting a little.  “This is like the worst hangover, but without the splitting head pain…  And I’m so glad that you keep this bathroom so clean.”

“Well, give the way that you shed…  I might as well clean it all as much as I sweep it.”  Anna teased, kneeling down and starting to rub her wife’s back in little circles.  “I figured that with you in here trying to disgorge a lung, that you didn’t want to deal with the smell of food being cooked, so I thought that me and Curio would go out to get something to eat, and then see about something for you, something bland and light.”

“Oh god that would be heaven.  I think that the smell of food cooking right now would kill me…  I mean, just the thought of it is bad.”  Shanoa said gagging and  turning back to the toilet for a moment or two.  “You two go get something to eat, I will stay here and see about sleeping this off or something.”

“Ok.”  Anna said getting up and stretching a little.  “I’ll have my phone and everything, so if you need or want something, just call me.”  She said turning and walking to the door.  “I love you.”

“I love you too, so much that it makes me sick.”  Shanoa said giggling a little as she poked her tongue out.

“Goof, we will be back in a little bit.”  She said slipping out of the bathroom, gathering up something to wear for the day before getting Shanoa’s side of the bed ready for the poor hybrid before getting dressed.  She smiled as Shanoa came out of the bathroom and flopped into the bed, giving her the bathroom to finish getting ready before her and Curio left.

-----------------------

“Is getting all barfy in the morning part of being a mom?”  Curio’s tablet spoke up as her mother drove around the city, looking for a nice place to get something to eat.

“Yes and no.”  Anna said glancing around as she drove around, finally settling on a little place that looked like a mom and pop diner.  “Some people get the morning sickness, like your mom, for the ones that get it, it can be bad or it can be just the feeling sick and not barfing, then there are some women out there that don’t get it at all, and then for some people like my mom and dad, the father is the one that gets sick.”

“How does that work?”  Curio tilted her head a little more as they pulled into the parking lot and finding a place.

“Some people say that it has to do with sympathy or something like that, but there is no real solid answer that I know.”  The doe said with a little shrug, “I know that dad was happy that mom only had me and my brother.”

“What other kinds of things happen when you’re pregnant?”  Curio asked as they walked in, being greeted by a female fox.  

“Hello, just the two of us.”  Anna said as they fox lead them to a little table, getting their drink orders before slipping off.  “And to answer your question.  A lot of things change, you have a little one growing in you…  So you end up with the belly, morning sickness, you start getting tired easier and take naps, later on you start producing milk…  It’s a weirdly fascinating thing.”

“I think that I would like to be a mom.”  Curio said, looking up from her menu.

“You can be a mom, just not now…  Not for a little while.”  Anna said making a mental note to get Shanoa to help with the whole birds and bees…  Or in this case the bats and bees.  “You’re still too young to do something like that, I mean you still have a lot of schooling ahead of you, depending on what you want to do.”

“I know momma I didn’t mean like right now.”  She said, giggling a little at the sigh that Anna let out.  “I still have to finish school and stuff…  I mean, I have to get good grades and stuff so that I can make all the money like you and momma.”

“Sweetie, have you thought about what you want to do when you get older?”  Anna asked as she closed her menu.

“I have.  I think that it would be fun to be a doctor like momma, but I’m not sure…  I know that there are a lot of things out there that I can be.”  She said pausing a moment, thinking of the many, near limitless things that she could be when she got older.  “I want to be able to help people like momma and you are.”  She said looking to Anna who blushed a little.

“Sweetie, Shanoa is the one that’s doing most of all of the work, I mean all I’m really doing is balancing the books.”  The doe said with a little smile, about that time the waitress had came back.

“Are you two ready to order?”  The waitress asked, as she sat the drinks on the table and pulling her notebook from a pocket of her apron.

“Two of the breakfast specials.”  Anna spoke up, watching the fox scribbling down the order before slipping off to the kitchen.  “Curio sweetie.”  Anna spoke up, taking a deep breath.  “You know when you said something about wanting to be a mom…  Have you gotten any…  Strange feelings?”

“Like what momma?”  She asked, tilting her head a little.

“Like…”  She paused for a moment trying to think of how to word it.  “Like a fluttering in your belly, like butterflies…  That moves lower.”  She asked with a little blush creeping onto her cheek, blush tinting Curio’s cheeks as she got what her mother had just asked her, she was asking about the weird feelings that she had gotten in the shower that time, she was a little worried that she might be in trouble.

“I did one time in the shower.”  She said, her voice dropping to a near whisper.  “Am I in trouble or something?”  The bat asked, worried.

“No…  No sweetie, not at all.”  Anna said letting out another sigh.  “It’s just a lot that we have to talk about, and I’m going to need your mother to help out with it…  But for now, let's just eat and enjoy breakfast.”

And that’s just what the two did, taking the time to eat, ideally chatting about whatever happened to pop up, going from talking about Shanoa and how the baby in her was growing, and a little more on the changes of being a mother.  Then talking about the wedding and all of the things that the teen bat was excited for, how she was ready to see momma Shanoa in a kimono and how she’s excited to be getting to learn more about her family and even getting to see Anna’s mom and dad again.

-------------------------

Soon Anna and Curio got back home, stopping on the way back to get something for Shanoa that should help with barfing up a lung or some other organ, ginger.  One of the many things that Anna had picked up from her family and their list of things that could cure anything.  Pulling into the driveway, Anna turned to her daughter as she turned the engine off and unbuckled.

“Sweetie, I want you to go check on Shanoa, and wait there.”  Anna said as they got of the car, starting to heading into the house.

“Are you sure that I”m not in trouble or something?”  She asked as Anna opened the door, the two stepping in and kicking their shoes off.

“No sweetie.  You are not in trouble.”  The doe said with a little giggle as she started to the kitchen with the ginger.  “Me and Shanoa are just going to have a little talk with you, that and I have to make the tea for her.”

Curio nodded as she slipped off, through the living room and down the hall, peeking into her mom’s room, smiling at the sight of Shanoa sleeping, with the family cat practically sleeping on her face.  

“Momma.”  Curio’s tablet spoke up, causing the feral cat to perk up a little before laying back down, this time next to Shanoa’s face.  “Momma….  It’s time to get up again, momma Anna and I are back.”  She said as she walked over to the bed, climbing into it.

“I was starting to think that you two got lost.”  Shanoa said with a little yawn as she rolled onto her side, smiling at her daughter, before pulling her into a hug and holding her there.

“We didn’t get lost, we had to go find this weird root thing called ginger.”  She said wiggling a little.

“Can’t make ginger tea without it.”  Anna said as she walked into the room with a mug in paw.  “Here you go barfy.”  She said handing it to Shanoa before going around to the other side of the bed and getting into it, snuggling Curio between her and her wife.  “So Shanoa sweetie…  I think that it’s time that the three of us have a little talk.”

“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.  I was here vomiting up a lung…  Or was that a kidney?”  She joked a little as she sipped at the tea, purring softly.  “But a talk about what baby?”

“Well, it’s that time, time to give Curio the talk.”  Anna said, snickering a little as she watched Shanoa nearly spitting the muzzle full of tea out.

“Ummmm.”  Shanoa paused, thinking of how to put it, without using too much medical jargon.  “Well…  When girls get a certain age…  Things in their body starts changing…  You know, the whole breast growth, developing.”  She paused again.

“This is all normal and natural, Shanoa and I both went through it at some point in our lives.”  Anna said smiling warmly.

“I didn’t, I was born perfect and all that.”  Shanoa joked before returning to her serious demeanor.  “Like I said, you start getting these feelings…  Kinda like butterflies…  Tingles even.  They like to start in your lower belly and go south from there…  To your…  Well your vagina.”  Shanoa said starting to stumble over words, catching herself and not using overly complicated names for things.  “And well at this age, when you get the feelings, it’s normal to…  Explore.”

“Explore?  Is that where you…  Ummm…  Rub your privates?”  Curio’s table spoke up, the bat blushing dark as she asked.

“Rubbing, poking, prodding…  Even slipping a finger in.”  Shanoa said looking into her tea as if she was looking for an answer or escape there.  “There is nothing wrong with doing it, as long as you do it privately…  Then again…  Is it common knowledge to not jill off in public.”  Shanoa asked tilting her head a little.

“What’s jilling off?”  Curio’s tablet spoke up.

“It’s where you…  Well rub, or finger yourself and make yourself feel good.”  Anna spoke up, saving Shanoa, giving her time to sip at her tea.  “And when you’re doing that, you do have to be careful, not to get to carried away, keep your claws trimmed, things like that.”

“And for the love of all things, do not stick anything up there other than fingers…  I have seen and heard some horror stories…  I’d rather buy you a vibe or something than have to take you to the ER for something like that.”  Shanoa said, half muttering to herself.

“Shanoa!”  Anna said nudging her wife a little.  “And you Curio, you’re at that age that you might start noticing boys…  Or girls…  Herms....  Or even all of the above, and that’s normal…  And you might get feelings of wanting to do things with them…  Sex and the like…  That’s a no-no without protection.”

“Protection?”

“Condoms…  They are things that the boy or herm puts on their penis and well if keeps them from getting their cum in you when you’re doing…  Sex things.”  Shanoa said now looking up at the ceiling.  “And sex is more than just a male or herm putting their thing in you…  Sex can be them licking you, you licking them, putting their thing in your mouth or butt…  The list goes on…  So no condom, no sex, got it?”

“Yes momma.”  Curio said with a nod.

“Another thing…  We want you to be safe, so don’t be afraid to ask one of us for condoms…  And while I rather you not have sex, I rather you do it some place safe and all that, so…  You can do it here, but with protection, in your room, with the door closed…  I’m sure that I will come up with some more rules.”  Shanoa said with a little snicker.  

“And if they want to do something that you don’t want to, then make sure you tell them no.  And that goes the same for them, if they don’t want to do something and say no to it, that’s it, done deal…  Don’t force yourself on someone and don’t let them do it to you.”  Anna spoke up.

“Ok…  I think that I get it.”  Curio said with a little nod.

“And.”  Shanoa said, getting out of bed.  “If you have any…  And I mean any questions, ask one of us…  I mean I am a doctor.”  She said with a little snicker, “and one that needs to get to work, now that I don’t feel like I want to spew.”

-----------------------------------

“Come on Shanoa.”  Anna called from the living room, sitting back on the sofa, she had already taken Curio to the sitter, even talked with them for a moment or two to give Shanoa time to get ready.

“I can’t help it.  I feel like nothing is fitting right.”  The catwolf let out a huff from the other room.

“You’re not even that far along.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.  “Just pick a nice dress and go with it, I’m sure that no one is going to notice the little tummy.”

“Ok.”  She muttered, going quiet for a few moments as she finally picked something out before slipping out and into the living room.  “I think that this will work.”  She said showing off the kimono dress that she had picked out, it was clear that she went with it, because of the loose sash like belt that went around her midsection and tied in a bow in the back.

“See that wasn’t that bad.”  Anna said, getting up and straightening out her dress.  She had opted for something a little more simple, ending up stealing Shanoa’s slit legged dress.  “And you know, you can still tell you have a little belly.”  Anna teased as she started for the door, stopping when she saw Shanoa, turning and heading back to her room.  “It was a joke.”  She said grabbing her by the arm and pulling out to the car.

-----------------

The car pulled up to the building were the silent auction and dinner was happening.  Lights shown through the many windows that covered the face of the brick building, many of them being arched and large.  “Wow, this place has some nice architect.”  Anna said as she pulled into one of the free spots.

“Kinda makes me want a brick house like this.”  Shanoa said looking up at the building.  “Anna, can we get a nice brick house?”  She asked, as they walked up to the line, taking a spot.  “I’m going to look into a nice house getting built for us.

“Honey…  Well you are going to be having like five kids, so that would be smart.”  Anna said nudging her, getting a huff out of her.

“Invitation, please,” a large Bison asked as they reached the front of the line to get inside.

“We don’t have a physical one.”  Shanoa said looking to the bison.  “We were invited in person, so, if you would.”  She said waiting for him to move.

“Name?” he asked gruffly, not bothering to look up from his list.

“Kiyomizu.”  The catwolf said half rolling her eyes.  “We should be on there, we are kinda important or something.”  She said with a little snicker.

He took a moment to run down the list, his pen moving along the names until he found theirs. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”  Shanoa said with a little nod as her and Anna walked into the building, looking around at the large room.  “Wow…  I think that I could get used to this.”

“You’re a dork.”  Anna said glancing around as well, “though this place is really nice.”  

“Come on.”  Shanoa said taking Anna’s arm in hers.  “Time to mingle, and for you to be arm candy.”  She teased a little as she looked around the room.  “I just thought about it, I don’t know anyone here really.”  She said smiling as she saw Steven off to the side and heading in that direction.  “You know, this quite the little shindig.”  She with a smile.

“Hey, you two!” Gwen called out, rushing up to greet them. “We’re glad you could make it! Here, let me show you where you can check your coats.” She escorted the women to a room off to one corner of the hall. “I know you’re both new in town, so I had Mason and Steven pull some strings to get you sat at our table.”

“Well at least I won’t have to pretend to be nice to people that I don’t know.”  Shanoa said as she handed off her coat, Anna doing the same.  “Not that I’m pretending to be nice to you all…  My english isn’t the best.”

“Sweetie…  That excuse doesn’t work, you have been in the states to long to get away with that.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.  “Its nice to see you again Gwen.”  She said smiling as they all made their way to the table.

“I don’t know.  I think that the excuse works pretty good, English is kinda overly complicated.”  The hybrid said taking a seat, “Hello everyone.  I don’t think that I have introduce my wife to you all have I?”

Mason and everyone else at the table stood up to greet them. The Impala held out his paw to Anna and said, “I’m Mason, Gwen’s husband. It’s lovely to meet you, Anna.”

“Its a pleasure to meet you too.”  The doe said taking the impala’s paw and giving it a shake.  “I’m Anna, Shanoa’s wife…  And at times sitter…  Someone has to keep her out of trouble.”

“Love you too Love Nubs.”  Shanoa said poking her tongue out.

“You must be Steven.”  Anna said turning to the kestrel, offering her paw.

“I am,” the former mayor said as he returned the gesture and gave Anna’s paw a firm shake. “Welcome to Marblecliff.”

“Steve, where’d your date disappear off to?” the white Mouse asked. “I bet Shanoa and Alex would hit things off great.”

“She’ll be back over here in a few minutes,” he explained. “She went over to see her friends at table four.” The Kestrel pointed to a bald eagle woman standing over a small group of servicemen and women, talking animatedly.

“Hello,” a male voice interjected, “Roger Ashbacher, Marblecliff District Attorney. And this is my lovely wife, Melinda.” The male Sable placed his paw gently on the small of his wife's back.

“We really admire what you’re doing for our city,” Mrs. Ashbacher continued. “Opening your clinic was a wonderful and thoughtful gesture, and I’m sure you’ll do a lot of good for a lot of people.”

Standing up and taking the DA’s paw and shaking it and then his wife.  “It’s nice to meet you both, and I’m happy to be here to help out, it’s been a dream of mine to have my own clinic and be a mom, have a family.”

“As Jack put it, a beautiful litter of five.”  Anna said with a little giggle as she offered her paw to the DA and his wife.  “I’m Anna, Shanoa’s wife, and I guess I should get in nice with you, so if she gets in trouble.”  Anna said poking her tongue out at her wife.

“I’m having one kid…  I’m starting to think that you want more.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little.  “And yeah, I’m not as bad as she says that I am.”

“You got busted speeding the first day here.”

“Annyway.”  Shanoa said turning back to Roger.  “I look forward to helping the city in all the ways that I can.”

“Well, I’m sure Captain Summers here would suggest that you start by following the posted speed limits,” the Sable said as he clapped a paw onto the shoulder of the Grey Squirrel standing next to him.

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Kiyomizu,” he said as he held out his paw. “Mrs. Kiyomizu, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Yes,” said the Red Squirrel woman beside him, obviously his wife. “Claire just texted me about ten minutes ago. She says that the girls are all behaving themselves. Kaitlyn is in the middle of braiding Charlotte's hair.” As Shanoa finished shaking Daniel’s paw, she held hers out and said, “Laura Summers. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It a pleasure to meet you all.”  The hybrid said taking and shaking the other offered paw.  “Please, call me Shanoa, I’m not at the office so the doc part isn’t needed.  Oh.”  She turned back to Captain Summers.  “I only speed a little when I’m the bike, and well Anna has banned me from driving it till the baby is born.”

“That’s right.”  Anna said smiling.  “I will make sure you behave.”  She said with a little snicker.

“I know.  You spent how long making me ginger tea for the morning sickness…  Just remember I am going to have to keep working and stuff.”

“You’re chair has wheels.”  Anna said as they sat down.

Just then a loud outburst of laughter erupted from table four. “What do you want to bet that whatever they’re talking about started with, ‘No shit, there I was…?’” Steven asked.

“She’s probably telling the story about how she cracked Roman’s muzzle over her knee ” Mason answered with a grin. 

“Ladies, have you had a chance to look at the items up for bid tonight?” Gwen asked Shanoa and Anna. “There’s a lot of fun stuff up there, including a custom car from Blackfoot Custom Autos, some stunning jewelry, vacation packages… You guys could go on a babymoon!”

“A babymoon…  I guess could call it a honeymoon too.”  Shanoa said standing up.  “Oh…  Wedding, you lot are coming too it.”  Shanoa said wrapping her arms around her wife.  

“Well we could use a car.  Specially with the bun in the oven.”  Anna paused a moment.

“Well I will go bid on the car, you handle the vacation.”  Shanoa said before turning to the others.  “We will be back in time for dinner.”  She said before they slipped off to make the bids.

Anna had written down her bid for the vacation, then went off looking for Shanoa, shaking her head a little when she found her at the table for the car.  “Sweetie…  Did you forget about dinner?”

“No…  I found something better.”  She said turning to Anna, snickering a little.  “Did you give you the bartenders shit?”  She joked, seeing the drink in her paw.

“No, and what's so nice about this car?”

“It makes me wet.”  Shanoa said picking up the photo.  “It’s a custom Acura NSX.  Two tone on the outside, deep red then fading to black, black matte rims with red touches, black leather seats with red stitching and red interior glow.”  She paused, smiling and shivering a little.  “Cherry blossoms ghost-painted on the hood, roof and doors.”

“Great, now I have to compete with a car.”  Anna said with a snicker.  “I don’t think that it would make for a good family car.”

“You know that you wouldn’t have to compete for my love.”  She said leaning close to her, starting to whisper.  “And just think, if it makes me horny looking at it…  just think of how it would make me driving it.”  She said kissing her on the cheek, giggling a little at her blushing.

“Well when you put it like that.”  Anna said smiling and sipping from her glass.  “Such a bad girl sometime, but bid on it.”

“Ok.”  Shanoa said scribbling down her bid, before feeling Anna nudging her.

“Don’t you think that five hundred k is a little much to be bidding on that?”  She said practically glaring at the catwolf at this point.

“You know that bike of mine?  Same price, I think.”  She said looking around the room before back to Anna.  “And besides, it’s going to charity…”

“Shanoa…  I don’t know what to do with you.”  She said shaking her head a little.  “Just remember, when you have twins or more and we need a bigger car…  It’s all on you.”

“Sounds like a bet to me…  And I’m only having one.”  The catwolf said shaking her head a little.  “I’m pretty sure that we have this, but I will sneak back to double check…  But for now, I think that we should get back to the table…  I’m hungry.”  She said as they started back to the table.

“Just remember not to eat to much…  You know, morning sickness.”  Anna said as they got back to the table, taking their seats.  “I think that it’s safe to say that Shanoa is helping with the charity.”

------------------------------

“Doctor Kiyomizu?” a male voice called out from Shanoa’s eight. The catwolf turned to see a couple approach the table, arms linked together at the elbows.

“That would be me, can I help you?”  She said turning to the sound of the voice.

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” the husband, a Timberwolf in his forties, said with a broad smile. “I’m Alan Blackfoot, though most folks just call me AJ, and this is my wife, Oksana. I'm the owner of Blackfoot Custom Autos. You just bought my car.”

“Ve zhought ve vould come over here to personally zhank you for making such a zhenorous bid,” his wife, a gorgeous - and very pregnant - Samoyed woman, continued. “Zhat money vill go a long vay toward helping our zhird-gender children.”

“I’m happy to help, I saw it and I just fell in love with it.”  Shanoa said smiling, “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of it.

“Love…  Is that what you call it now.”  Anna said with a little snicker, “it’s more like you fell in lust with it.” The Blackfoots couldn't help but laugh aloud at her remark.

“What can I say, jumping into things is what I’m good at…  I mean if I didn’t fall in love or lust for you and pulled you over that bar…  None of this would be happening.”  The hybrid said with a little snicker.

“Anyway, our oldest boy, Derek, designed every inch of that car,” AJ said proudly. “When we texted him with your winning bid, he was ecstatic. He’s asked to meet with you, if you’re willing, to express his thanks.”

“Vhy did you interrupt zhem?” Oksana teased her husband with a playful grin. “It sounded like zhere vas a zhuicy story zhere.” Looking down towards Shanoa’s belly she asked, “So, how far along are you?”

“I was drunk, on vacation, and well, I kind pulled her over the bar her strings, now we are here, with an adopted kid.”  Shanoa said, smiling a little as she looked down at her belly.  “I’m only like five and a half weeks…  It can’t be that noticeable.”  She paused a moment, “And you know, I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around for a check up.”  Shanoa said motioning to the other’s belly.  “You must be due… any day now.”  She said showing off the experience that she had from working in the maternity ward, and pediatrics.

“I am,” Oksana beamed proudly. “Six more days. Ve are going to name her Natalie.”

“Our shop is in Marblecliff, but we live in Greenland, about 20 minutes southwest of the city,” AJ explained. “Our family doctor’s closer to home for us. So, is this your first?”

“My first biological one, yes.”  Shanoa said smiling warmly.  “Anna and I have an adopted daughter named Curio.”  

“First, second, third and fourth ones.”  Anna said joking and snickering a little.

“You really need to stop hanging around mom and dad…  Only one baby in here.”  She said patting her belly before turning back to the others.  “It seems to be that everyone things that I’m going to have somewhere between three and five kids.”

“Ve are expecting zhree children,” the Samoyed woman smiled as she held up three fingers to illustrate her point.

Seeing the confusion in their eyes, AJ clarified, “What she means is, not only is she pregnant, but so is Derek’s girlfriend, Samantha, and Samantha’s mother, as well. We’re a growing family.”

“Well it looks like our kid will have lots of friends to grow up with and play with.  I’m sure that Curio wouldn’t mind babysitting.”  Shanoa said with a little nod.

“She takes after you, wanting to take care of all the kids and people…  I swear she’s going to be a doctor when she gets older.”  Anna said leaning against her wife.

“Like mother, like daughter…  And you make look like a big softy.”  Shanoa said poking her tongue out a little.

“Excuse me, Mister Blackfoot?” a Ram wearing a firefighter’s dress uniform interjected. Shanoa recognized him from the table with all of Alex’s friends. “Hi, I’m Colin Burke. I teach your son at Chimera Prep.”

“Hello, Mr. Burke,” AJ said as they shook paws. “How’s our boy doing in school? No problems, I hope?”

“No, Sir, nothing like that,” Colin reassured them. “I saw the car he designed, very impressive. I was wondering if I could put together some photos and some video footage to send in to some schools. I think I could land him a free ride.”

“Zhat’s very zhoughtful, Mister Burke,” Oksana replied, “but zhe car now belongs to Doctor Shanoa.”

Shanoa started to open her muzzle to say something, but Anna cut her off.  “No, you’re not doing some stunt driving.”

“I wasn’t going to offer that.”  Shanoa said looking around a little.  “But yeah.  I’m sure that I can do a little driving for you, and you know, I have a professional photographer….videographer…  Whatever she is for a sister.”  She offered.

“I was hoping to get some footage of the car really being put through the paces,” the Ram explained. “If I know Derek, there’s some wild tricks under that hood. I used to be a professional stunt driver, so trust me, she would be in very capable paws.”

“Just remember…  She’s got a bun in the oven…  And well if something would happen to her, I’m pretty sure that I can put you on the ground.”  Anna joked.  “As long as you’re there to keep her in check and everything…  She can.”

“I love you baby.”  Shanoa said smiling and wiggling a little as she leaned over, planting a kiss on her cheek.  “I look forward to the drive.”

“Just let us know when you want to do this, and we’ll make sure Derek is there.”

“If zhe veazher is nice, ve’ll have him bring Lola,” Oksana giggled. “You’d like her.”

“Lola?”  Anna asked, tilting her head.  “Is that one of your daughters or something?”

“Lola’s one of his cars,” Colin answered. “A Caterham Super Seven.”

“I want a race…  My bike against Lola.”  Shanoa said smiling and wiggling a little.  “She hasn’t got to really stretch her legs, and that nitro is just begging to let loose.”

“No Shanoa…  That’s the line.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.  “You’re kind of pushing it to start.”

“Well you can drive for me.”  She said poking her tongue out a little.  “I mean, you know how she runs, and I know you know enough Japanese to read the display.”  The catwolf said, looking at the doe, there was a moment or two of silence.

“I will think about it.”  Anna said shaking her head a little.

------------------------------

The dinner had gone amazing, Shanoa had won the car of her dreams, Anna teasing her the whole time home about it, talking about having to go out for a nice ride and then another one when they get home.  Shanoa giggled at this, knowing that Anna had gotten a few drinks and that, that was making her a little frisky.  There might have been a time or two that she nearly had to pull over cause of the doe’s teasing hands.

“God, did they slip some viagra in your drinks?”  Shanoa asked as they made their way into the house, giggling a little at the feeling of Anna pinching her butt.

“No, I blame all of that talking about the car, and teasing me with that.”  Anna said as they got into the house, just the two, Curio was spending the night with her new friends.  “There is just something about thinking about my wife in that fine car, it just makes me wiggle.”

Shanoa went to say something, but before she could she felt Anna pressing herself against her, their muzzle meeting in a passionate, albeit sudden kiss.  Shanoa found herself pinned to the wall as Anna lifted her leg, Shanoa holding it as they made out.  Tongues dancing and wiggling as free paws explored.  The two spent some time getting acquainted with one another’s body before the kiss was broken, leaving the two panting and smiling.

“I think that it’s time for that ride someone was talking about.”  Shanoa said with a smile, holding Anna for a second longer before letting her leg down.  The two making their way to the bedroom, losing shoes and bits of clothing on the way, leaving a trail hinting at the naughty things they were going to be getting up to.

“Mmmmh I’ll be the best ride that you can get…  Better than that car.”  Anna said as she stepped into the bedroom, pulling Shanoa with her.  “Fully automatic, all the fancy features that you can ask for.”  She said walking over to the bed, getting out of her bra and letting it fall to the floor, leaving her in just her panties and stockings before she flopped into the bed.

“The only thing that’s missing, is the paint job…  A nice red and black fur dye, airbrush some some cherry blossom petals here.”  Shanoa said, climbing onto the bed, sitting on her wife as her fingers started walking up her body.  “Maybe a few around here.”  Shanoa said as her fingers traced around the doe’s nipple, even giving it a little tweak, causing her to wiggle and moan.

“Well you know I have been thinking about getting a little fur dye for something fun.”  Anna said with a little snicker, her paws coming to rest on her wife’s shoulders.  “What do you say, wanna go for a test drive?”  The tipsy doe said with a giggle.

“And you call me a dork.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little before leaning in and planting a kiss on her lover.  “Lets see how you handle.”  She said wiggling her way up, so that her lower half was so teasingly close to her lover’s lips and nose.

“Did you not wear panties?”  Anna asked, cocking an eyebrow at her wife, her nose wiggling at the scent of her wife’s arousal, her tongue snaking out, wiggling as it tried to reach her slit.

“When do I wear panties when I wear a dress?”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little as she lowered herself onto her wife.  “Mmmmh let's see just how this ride handles.”

Nothing else was said as Anna started licking at her wife’s slit, starting from the bottom, moving to her clit, causing moans and gasps to escape from the hybrid, her paws starting to grip the pillows on either side of Anna’s head, though her paws didn’t stay there long.  Like many of the other times, Shanoa’s paws started teasing and playing with the little nubs of Anna’s horns, causing her to wiggle as she worked.

The doe took this as a sign of approval, and as a sign to start teasing and playing with her wife, to see just how wiggly she could make her before they really got to the fun stuff.  The two knew that they had all night, and both of them planned to take their time and really enjoy it.  Things were just starting to heat up now.