[center][b]Yerba Maté[/b][/center]
[center]By TaintedThylacine and IndigoNeko[/center]

[center]Cup Three[/center]

[b]Saturday, August 22nd, 2015[/b]

“What was it you wanted to talk to us about?” Drew asked his younger sister, glaring at the smaller yapok as he sat in the chair in the corner of the guest bedroom.

“You already got us into trouble once. You’re not going to get us into it again,” Brandy added, also glaring at their younger sister.

“You know that shit went both ways? I got fussed at too,” Chris defended herself as she sat on the bed.

“No. You got told not to do it again. We got grounded for a weekend,” Drew contradicted, shaking his head as he leaned forward aggressively.

“Dad’s just kissing up to her,” Brandy told her brother before turning back to Chris. “He’s just being nice to you because he doesn’t want you to cause trouble or break up his relationship with Naomi.”

“You don’t say?” Chris asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just to let you know, I’m not here to do anything like that. I mean, you act like I [i]want[/i] to be here. I [i]don’t[/i].” 

“Then why are you here?” Drew asked suspiciously.

“Cause your father and mother [i]wanted[/i] me to be here. That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you two about,” Chris explained, taking a breath. “This is really hard for me. I know I’m an arrogant ass,” The yapok admitted, glancing from her older brother to her older sister as the older yapok snorted. “I’m sure that we got off on the wrong paw, so I want to fix that and tell you that I’m not here to cause trouble or anything like that. I talked to dad, and I told him that I was willing to give him a chance and everything, so I should try to get off on the right paw with you two.”

“[i]You[/i] aren’t the one giving [i]him[/i] a chance,” Brandy hissed, causing Chris to glare at her. “[i]He’s[/i] the one giving [i]you[/i] a chance. Otherwise you would be out on the street spray painting graffiti on old lady’s cars, stealing bike seats, or whatever else it is that you wannabe punks do,” the older yapok said, jutting her chin at the AC/DC t-shirt, ripped denim skirt and fishnet leggings that the younger marsupial had changed into after getting home.

“Okay, I’d suggest shutting the hell up for a second,” Chris recommended as she started to get angry. “Just cause I look like a delinquent, doesn’t mean that I am one. And as for your dad, he’s not doing me a favor. I have a happy life without him, and I could have lived the rest of it without meeting him or you two. If you two are anything to go by, then I don’t [i]want[/i] him to help raise me. I’d end up just as fucked up as you two,” the younger yapok spat.

“What did you say?” Brandy asked angrily, stepping towards the water opossum sitting on the bed.

“I’m saying that you two are a pair of prissy stuck up sacks of shit, and your father is a deadbeat. All of you can drop dead for all I care,” the smaller yapok spat out as she finally lost her temper, picking up her bag and standing up off the bed.

“You can’t talk about Dad and how he raised us with the foul mouth and attitude [i]you[/i] have,” Brandy retorted, making the smaller yapok go around her. “Your mom is the one that doesn’t know how to parent.”

The yapok froze up as she reached for the guitar cause sitting by the door, turning to glare at Brandy. “The fuck did you say?” Chris hissed. “I know that you didn’t just talk shit about my mother, the one person that has actually done some good in my life.”

“Aww, did I hit a little sore spot-” Brandy taunted, only to be cut off by the fist hitting her jaw.

“I don’t know. Did [i]I[/i] hit a sore spot?” Chris spat as she turned and walked out of the guest room, followed by the sound of wailing and swearing. “Fuck it, I’m done,” she muttered, stalking through the living room, yanking open the front door and slipping outside.

The moment that she hit the bottom step she slung her bag over her back and started running, heading up the street towards the Stouffer residence, looking back every so often, worrying that the occasional headlight might be her father or step-mother. She stopped at the side gate that opened into the backyard, bent over as she tried to catch her breath. That was when she heard her father calling her name from far down the street.

“Shit,” the yapok muttered, pushing her messenger bag through the gap above the gate and letting it hang by the shoulder strap before climbing through it herself. The yapok made it over the top of the gate, only to lose her grip as her shoe slipped against the metal gate, sending her sprawling across the concrete path. “Fuuuck,” she whined, clutching her knee and crawling behind the bushes next to the brick wall, hoping the cameras hadn’t spotted her. A second later she dragged her messenger bag behind the bushes as well.

After her knee and wrist stopped throbbing, Chris poked her head out, checking the corner of the house. The security camera that Elizabeth had pointed out continued to pan left and right. The motion sensor apparently had missed her, although the tiny red dot on the bottom left corner clearly indicated it was on. Chris stayed where she was for a few moments, catching the glare of car lights going down the street out of the corner of her eye through the side gate. She let out a sigh as she got to her knees. “Man that hurt,” she huffed, peering around the back yard. “Okay, I know that there’s one up there... there’s got to be more,” she muttered to herself, searching for other other security cameras. She spotted two more at the corners of the walls, but they were stationary rather than motion tracking.

“This is probably going to be about the dumbest thing that I have ever done.” Chris muttered as she pulled out her phone, and scrolled through the numbers, hitting the one labeled Noodle and waited.

Inside the house, all four residents paused what they were doing as the main house phone rang. Charlotte set down the manga she was reading and rolled off her bed, stepping over to the door and pulling it open. She glanced out into the hallway, then pulled her sagging pajama pants up an inch and started walking towards the phone near the stairwell. The door to the master bedroom on the other end of the hallway opened and Terrence stuck his head out, spotting Charlotte. “You’ve got it?”

“Yep,” the doberman replied, pulling on the hem of her flannel pajama shirt. When she reached the phone, she picked it up. “Stouffer residence,” she said.

“Um... Hey. Is Elizabeth around? It’s Chris,” the yapok murmured, still sitting behind the shrub and trying not to make too much nose.

“Uh, yes. Let me see if she’s still awake,” Charlotte said. Then she hit the hold button on the base of the phone. “It’s Chris, the girl who came over this afternoon,” she informed the ferret peeking out the master bedroom door. “She’s asking for Elizabeth.”

“Ah. Elizabeth, it’s for you,” he called, ducking back into his bedroom.

A moment later Elizabeth stepped out of the master bedroom as well, adjusting the shoulder straps of her nightgown. Charlotte smiled and set the phone down. “It’s on hold,” she told the little stoat, then turned back around and padded back towards her room.

Elizabeth picked the phone up and tapped the hold button. “Hello?”

“Hey. It’s Chris,” the yapok said, taking a deep breath. “This, umm, might seem like an odd thing to ask, but how busy are you?”

“Right now? I’m getting ready for bed,” Elizabeth panted, out of breath and slightly puzzled.

“Oh. Umm... I have an even odder question... a hypothetical one,” Chris dissembled, peeking around the bush. “Say that I was in the back yard right now, hiding from something. Where would a safe place be? You know... if, like, zombies attacked or something,” The yapok went quiet for a moment as she saw the lights of a car passing, hoping it would continue past the residence.

The tiny stoat blinked. That was a decidedly strange question. “The pool house, if you had the keycode. Or the side room with all the pool equipment, maybe. It smells weird though, because of the chemicals and the purifier is kind of noisy when it runs. It might attract zombies.”

“Well, it will give me a place to hide. If it ever happened.” Chris paused again, looking up to the house. “So how many cameras are watching the back yard from the tennis court to the pool house?”

“Wait a second... You’re in the back yard right now, aren’t you?” Elizabeth whispered, narrowing her eyes. She turned around, peering through the windows on the far side of the staircase that overlooked the backyard. “Did someone dare you to come in again?”

“No...” Chris tried to think of something, but only really came up empty handed. “Okay, I am. No, nobody dared me to do it. Something happened and I needed to leave my dad’s house,” the yapok explained, looking around the yard, still looking for the other cameras. “If you didn’t know, I’m not the most level head-”

Elizabeth sighed and interrupted. “There’s no cameras covering the back wall where the trees are or the storage room on the far side of the pool house. I can’t let you in the house though; Mother and Father would probably get upset if they knew you were here,” she continued whispering. “Why not have your other mom come pick you up?”

“I... don’t know. I didn’t think about that. We don’t have a home phone though,” Chris replied, taking a breath and starting to make her behind the bushes towards the back wall. “I kinda got into it with my brother and sister and I busted Brandy in the jaw. The sperm donor is looking for me. I don’t think that they know where I am.”

It was about then that a car pulled up to the buzzer at the front of the house and started ringing it. Charlotte opened her door again at the sound of the doorbell and poked her head out. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “I dunno. I’m just talking to Chris,” the little stoat-hybrid said evasively, trying to act like she knew nothing.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and jogged down the hallway and the stairs to the front door, then pressed the button for the front gate intercom. “Stouffer residence. Charlotte speaking. Can I help you?”

“Hey. This is Chris’ father, Daniel. I tried calling, but the phone line was busy. I know that it’s late, but Chris has run off and I was wondering if she was here,” the older yapok explained, leaning out the side of his car towards the intercom outside the front gate.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes this time. Something was definitely up, and Elizabeth knew about it, she was certain. She pursed her lips and then answered. “No, she’s not here. However, Elizabeth is currently on the phone with Chris. Would you like me to pass Chris a message?”

Daniel let out a sigh of relief. “If you would. That would be a big help for me. Tell her to let her know that she is not in trouble; that I just want to talk to her about what happened.”

“I will do that then. Hold on a moment, please,” Charlotte requested, then turned back around and started heading back upstairs.

Back upstairs, Elizabeth continued her conversation with Chris. “Someone just rang the front gate. Charlotte’s going to go see who it is.”

“If it’s him, you don’t know where I’m at,” Chris instructed, taking a deep breath as she made her way behind the trees along the back wall, finally reaching the far side of the pool house where the door to the storage room was. “I don’t know how brave he is,” she muttered, opening the door and slipping into the small room. A pair of plastic holding tanks and pumps occupied one side of the room, and several large lidded buckets occupied the other.

“Uh... Okay,” the little stoat agreed as Charlotte came back up the stairs.

“Elizabeth, may I talk to Chris for a moment? Her father’s at the front gate,” the doberman explained.

“Uh... Okay,” Elizabeth agreed, this time handing the phone to the teenaged doberman.

“Chris, this is Charlotte. Your father is at the front gate. He says you’re not in trouble and he just wants to talk to you about what happened. Would you please do us a favor and go back home before he decides to call the police and report you missing?” the doberman asked, speaking into the phone.

“That’s the last thing that he would do,” Chris replied, shaking her head. “Tell him I’m walking back home now.”

Charlotte sighed. “Okay. Thank you. Here’s Elizabeth again,” she said, handing the phone to the little stoat again and heading back downstairs. When she reached the front door she hit the intercom again.

“Mr. Daniel? I told Chris what you said and asked her to go home. She said to tell you that she’s walking home now,” the doberman informed the older yapok, speaking into the intercom.

“Thank you. Again, I’m sorry that I had to bother you,” Daniel replied, backing his car up before turning the car around and returning back home.

“That’s okay. Have a good evening,” Charlotte said before padding back upstairs. Hopefully she’d be able to finish her manga in peace now, and then maybe watch some hentai before bed. She nodded to Elizabeth as she walked back to her room, closing the door behind her.

“I’m sorry that I’m causing you all of this trouble,” Chris said softly. “I just... I had to get out.”

“That’s okay, but... what in the world did you- No. [i]Why[/i] in the world did you hit your sister?” the little stoat asked. “I mean, that’s [i]bad[/i]. You don’t just hit people, no matter what they say to you.”

“Well I had a reason. Brandy was talking sh- talking bad about my mom, the woman that took care of me all my life, just to make my Dad look better.” Chris paused a moment. “My mom is like the single most important person in my life, you know? She has been there through everything.”

“Well, yeah... I mean, I can understand that. If someone insulted Mother or Father or Charlotte or Alex, I’d get mad too. But it’s still not a good enough reason to hit someone. Just insult them back instead. Hitting someone’s illegal; you can go to [i]jail[/i] for it,” Elizabeth protested, remembering what had happened at the end of last school year, just before summer break.

“I know that I shouldn’t have hit her, but... I don’t know how to say it. Like, I can deal with someone talking sh- er... insulting me. I mean I kinda do all the time with one girl I know,” Chris asserted, taking a deep breath and trying not to think of the mole rat. “It’s just that it’s been me and my mom, all my life. I’m kinda protective.”

“I understand. I got upset when there were a bunch of bullies at school that were picking on Alex last year, and I...” Elizabeth said, her voice trailing off as she realized she didn’t really want to talk about what had happened. “Well, never mind that. All I’m saying is no matter what someone says, it’s not a good enough reason to hit them. Anyway, I’ve gotta go. It’s getting really late, and I need to get back to bed. Why don’t you call me tomorrow or something. Maybe you could come over again, if you’re not grounded for hitting your sister.”

“Okay, I will work harder to keep my temper in check,” Chris acceded, yawning.

“Okay. Just... if your dad grounds you, don’t blame him too much for it? You really shouldn’t have hit your sister no matter how much she deserved it. Just be safe, okay?” the little stoat asked with a yawn.

“The ‘being safe’ thing, I can do that. I will talk to you tomorrow. I’ll figure something out... Sleep well,” Chris said as her phone started buzzing. “I’ve got another call. Gotta go. Goodnight.”

“Okay. Goodnight,” Elizabeth yawned again as she set the phone down on the base and shambled back towards the master bedroom. She pulled the door open and stepped in, pushing the door and starting to pull her nightgown off again before the door had even closed.

“Hello?” the yapok asked, accepting the incoming call after Elizabeth hung up.

“Chris? I thought you said you were heading home. I’m back home and you’re not here,” Daniel pointed out, clearly worried.

“I know. I’m not sure if I want to come back. I’m afraid I might break up your family,” Chris murmured, frowning unhappily.

“Okay. So, I know there is something more to this than Brandy and Drew told me. So why don’t you come back home and we will talk about it?” Daniel suggested.

“Okay. I’m on the way,” Chris agreed, hanging the phone up. The yapok pushed open the storage room door and poked her head out, looking around. She carefully walked back to the far wall of the backyard and made her way between the trees to the short hedge along the side wall. After creeping along behind the hedge, she finally reached the small gate that led in and out of the backyard. She tossed her messenger bag up over the gate through the small gap at the top, then started climbing, hoping that this time she wouldn’t fall and bust her ass like the previous three times.

The yapok carefully climbed the gate, reaching the top and squirming through the narrow gap. This time she held on tight with one hand at the top. Her body hit the side of the gate with a thud, but at least she didn’t fall. She let go, hitting the ground lightly and then shook out her arm, hoping she hadn’t wrenched her shoulder too badly with that little stunt. She picked up her messenger bag and started the relatively short trek back to her dad’s house.

Getting back to the house, she was greeted with the sight of her father and stepmother standing on the steps. It was clear that the two were upset, but happy that she came back; at least that’s how it looked, and it was confirmed when Naomi practically leapt down the steps to the yapok and pulled her into a hug. The sudden hug was a little off putting to the water opossum, but there was something to it that made her feel welcome, or at least that it wasn’t a trap.

“Christina, you had us worried to death. You could have gotten hurt or worse. Do you know how many people out there would snatch you up and do who knows what to you?” the lutrine opossum asked, her voice shaking as she tried to keep her composure.

“I didn’t go that far, and I know to stay on the main roads and in the street lights,” Chris replied as her step-mother broke the hug, stepping back. “Before you two start, let me go first. I know that I goofed, I know that I shouldn’t have hit Brandy in the face like that, but there was just something about what she said that set me off.”

“What did she say that made you hit her? I wouldn’t have thought that you were one to just haul off and hit someone like that,” Daniel asked, knowing that Brandy would have only given half the story, and only the parts that would save her hide.

“I tried to tell them that I was sorry for being me, but they would have it,” Chris explained, walking over to the steps and sitting down. A moment later her step-mother and dad sat down with her. “Something about me breaking up the family; that I’m just going to break you two up cause I’m a bad daughter. That’s not what she said that caused me to hit her though, it was the comment about my mom: that she raised me badly. That didn’t sit well with me.”

“I don’t know why they would think something like that would happen.” Naomi shrugged at her kids' antics and thoughts. “Chris, you know that you haven't done anything like that, right? Or that you shouldn’t worry about causing something like that.”

“I figured. Apparently me giving Dad a chance to be, well, a dad, isn’t what they wanted. They said it was about him giving [i]me[/i] a chance to be a part of the family.” Chris started to say something else but was stopped by Daniel.

“There is no [i]chance[/i] for you to be a part of this family. There is no [i]trying[/i] to be a part of this family. You [i]are[/i] a part of the family,” the male yapok informed her, reaching over and patting Chris on the leg. 

“Now, I want you to go inside, take a nice shower or bath, and get ready for bed. We’ll talk to your brother and sister and make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Naomi consoled her with a smile. A moment later she stood up, followed by her husband Daniel. Chris stood up last, following them into the house.

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

[b]Sunday, August 23rd, 2015[/b]

It was 10 A.M. when Chris pulled out her phone, pressing a few buttons and calling the contact listed as ‘Noodle’. She’d had a rough time sleeping after last night’s events. At the moment she was sitting on the front steps of her father’s house with her guitar on her lap.

A few hundred feet away, Charlotte wiped her paws with a hand towel as the phone rang and reached over the kitchen counter to snag the handset. “Stouffer residence.”

“You getting tired of me yet?” Chris asked with a little snicker, lazily plucking at her guitar strings.

Charlotte immediately recognized the voice; the yapok who had visited them the day before. “No, though I do want to know what you were doing running away from home last night. Are you okay? Should I contact Child Protective Services? They can be a pain in the tail sometimes, but they can get you out of a bad situation if you need it,” the doberman said helpfully, watching the dough on the counter ball up since she was no longer rolling it out.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Chris explained. “I got into an argument with my older brother and sister. One thing led to another and well, I kind of maybe overreacted. There is more to it, but... it’s a looong story. I was wondering if Noodle was around.”

“Noodle?” Charlotte asked with one raised eyebrow. “I suppose you mean Elizabeth. I’m pretty sure she’s up in her room playing Minecraft or something. I’ll check. Hold on a moment,” she requested, putting the phone on hold. She reached over and hit the intercom for Elizabeth’s room. “Chris is on the phone, dear.”

Elizabeth hopped out of her chair and walked over to the door, slapping the intercom button to reply. “Okay. Thank you, Charlotte,” she said, then darted out the door and down the stairs to the phone on the second floor.

Charlotte smiled and picked up the phone, listening for the hold noise to end. Once she heard Elizabeth’s voice, she set the handset back on it’s cradle and picked up the rolling pin once again.

“Hi Chris!” Elizabeth greeted brightly. “Are you okay? What happened when you got home?”

“Well the short of it is there was a lot of talking; setting rules and boundaries. Brother, sister and I had a long talk and worked a few things out. So hopefully things will be better there,” Chris explained, then took a deep breath that turned into a yawn. “As for being okay... I am. Just didn’t get a lot of sleep. So, I was wondering if I could come over and hang out before mom comes to get me this afternoon.”

“I... uh... let me ask Mother if that’s okay. Okay?” The little stoat said.

“Well, if it would be getting in the way or something, I could ask mom to come sooner and we could hang out at my house or something,” Chris suggested, trying to be helpful.

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s just that Mother is in the office and I’m upstairs,” Elizabeth explained. “I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for a response, the little stoat tapped the hold button on the phone and set it on the base, then darted downstairs. She raced through the library, coming to a stop just before hitting the office door. She knocked on the door, and then opened it after a moment.

Julia was sitting behind the desk in the office side of the room, typing on the keyboard in front of the computer there. When the door opened she looked up. “What’s up, princess?”

“Chris is on the phone,” the little stoat replied, panting. “She wanted to know if she could come over before her mom picks her up this afternoon.”

“Oh. That’s fine, I suppose. Just make sure Charlotte knows if you’re going swimming,” Julia requested.

“Awesome! Thank you,” Elizabeth said, turning back around and closing the door with a click.

Julia sighed. Between Alexandrea and Chris, it was looking like they were definitely going to have to get Elizabeth her own phone. Maybe even get a mobile phone for each of them. She’d have to ask Charlotte if she wanted a phone as well.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth darted back through the library, stopping at the foot of the staircase where another house phone sat on a stand and picked it up, tapping the hold button. “Mother said it’s okay.”

“Cool, I will be there in just a few. Meet at the side gate?” Chris asked, sounding happier than before.

“Uh...Sure, I guess. See you in a bit then,” Elizabeth replied, making a note to ask Charlotte for the passcode to the side gate.

“See you soon,” Chris bid the little stoat farewell, pressing the ‘end call’ button before getting up and slinging her guitar over her shoulder as she headed into the house. “Hey. I’m going over to Elizabeth’s house. I’ll have Mom pick me up over there,” the yapok informed her father, walking over to the sofa where the older yapok was sitting. “It’s been an... interesting weekend. Sorry for causing so much trouble. I will behave better next time.”

“That’s all that I want. I do want to be part of your life. Naomi does too,” Daniel replied, smiling at her. “Brandy and Drew just need a little time to get used to you. See you next weekend?”

“Ummm, I’m not sure. I think that we are going to the farm either that weekend or the next,” Chris answered, pulling her phone out. “I have your number, so I’ll call and let you know.”

“Okay. Be careful kiddo,” Daniel requested, leaning over and pulling Chris against his chest, giving her a quick hug. “Love you.”

“Okay,” Chris agreed, nodding. She put her guitar back in it’s case, then picked up both the guitar case and her messenger bag before slipping out and heading over to Elizabeth’s. Despite the conflicts with her older siblings, she was happy: she’d gotten along well with her dad and step-mom, loved her younger half-siblings, and made friends with a cute little stoat in the neighborhood. She kind of felt like she was walking on air as she got to the gate that led to the Stouffer’s backyard.

Elizabeth was just walking up to the gate after asking Charlotte what the passcode was; she’d never needed to know it before. It was a beautiful day outside. Bright and sunny, around ninety degrees and with a slight breeze that was just enough to rustle her fur. “Hey!” the little stoat called out as she saw Chris standing on the other side. She reached up to the keypad and tapped in the code. The gate unlatched with a click and she pulled it open.

“Hey,” Chris greeted the little stoat-hybrid, smiling as she stepped through the gate. “It’s a little weird not having to jump this thing. Less painful, though,” she muttered, looking down at her scraped up knees. “Doing anything fun?”

“Not really.” The little stoat shrugged, closing the gate behind them and leading the way across the tennis court to the back patio. “I was just playing Minecraft. Oh, and I found your knife. I forgot to give it back yesterday. It’s upstairs on my dresser.”

“Cool, I’ll grab it before I leave,” Chris said, smiling.

“Oh, and Father bought another game system this morning, so we could play Smash Brothers. He said it was a two-player game, and thought it’d be fun for us to play if you came over again,” Elizabeth explained.

“Just go easy on me. I’m only good at the first-person shooters,” Chris replied with a smile. “I’ve only ever seen Mal and her friends playing that game. They get a little too into it sometimes,” the yapok added as they reached the back patio, heading up the steps.

“I haven’t played it at all yet,” Elizabeth pointed out as they reached the french doors that led into the dining room. The little stoat pulled them open, letting Chris in first.

“Thank you m’lady,” Chris said, stepping inside. “I have been told that Smash Brothers is, like, the ultimate test of a friendship.” The yapok adjusted the case on her back as they made their way through the kitchen to the entertainment room.

Elizabeth picked up the game case sitting on the coffee table and walked over to the bookshelf under the television set, which now had two game consoles along with dozens of DVDs. She popped open the case and pulled the game out, then put it in the slot in front of the Nintendo Wii. She closed the case and stuck it on the shelf along with a handful of other nintendo games.

“So... just a friendly game or make a bet?” Chris asked, setting her things down, leaning the guitar cause against the wall. 

“How about we figure out how to play first?” Elizabeth suggested with a slight smile, sitting down on the couch and pulling out the drawer in the coffee table that held all the wireless remotes.

“That works for me. It doesn’t have that many buttons,” Chris noted, looking at the remote controller's as the little stoat handed her one of them.

“Should be easy to learn then,” Elizabeth replied, leaning back against the couch before tapping a few buttons and learning how to navigate the game’s menu system.

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

Elizabeth giggled as Chris’s character exploded in a shower of stars against the side of the screen. “Wee! I win. So, swimming now?” the stoat asked as she hopped up, dropping the controller into the drawer in the coffee table.

“I’m going with... you cheated. That duster of yours is distracting,” Chris defended herself, sticking her tongue out.

“Sounds like a personal problem,” the little stoat countered, shaking her butt at the yapok and waving her tail. “I’m gonna go put on my swimsuit. Be back in a bit. There’s a bathroom in the foyer and another in the basement, through the door on the left in the kitchen,” Elizabeth explained, jogging over to the elevator in the front foyer.

“Okay. I’ll meet you at the pool,” Chris replied, getting up and heading over to her bag to get her suit. She hadn’t seen the basement yet, and decided to head down there to get changed. The door between the kitchen and dining room opened up to a staircase going down to a dimly lit lounge with comfortable leather seating, a pool table, and a full-service bar to one side. The only thing it needed was a bartender.

While stepping down the stairs, she saw Charlotte through a doorway to one side of the basement. The doberman was wearing a short skirt and a babydoll tee, and was currently bent over a laundry basket and picking through clothes, tossing them into the washer in front of her. The other two doors along that wall led to a bathroom and what was probably the elevator. After making her way down the stairs, Chris slipped up behind the doberman. “Umm... Hi.”

Charlotte jerked around at the sound of the voice behind her, a pair of panties in her hands. “My God, you startled me,” she exclaimed. Once she realized who it was, she dropped the panties back in the laundry basket and then looked the yapok up and down.

Chris leaned against the door frame. “Sorry. I just wanted to apologize for last night, and say thanks for not freaking out when my dad called. I don’t normally run away like that,” the yapok murmured, idly playing with the bathing suit that she had in her paw.

“That’s okay. I was just worried about you. Are things okay at home?” the doberman asked, running her paws down her skirt.

“Things are ok... it's just a lot of sudden changes and a lot to get used to,” the yapok replied.

Charlotte noticed the swimsuit Chris had in her hands. “I take it you and Elizabeth are going swimming? Once I’m done with the laundry here I’ll come up and play lifeguard for you two.”

“Yeah, we’re going to do the swimming thing. Also, I don’t know how often you wear short skirts and the like, but you were kinda showing off,” the yapok pointed out with a slight smile, her ears flushing.

Charlotte could feel her ears heat up with embarrassment. “Sorry. I, uh, didn’t expect anyone else to be down here. The bathroom’s right over there if you want to change,” she said, trying to change the subject and pointing over at the door a dozen feet down the wall.

“I wasn’t complaining about the view. Es una vista hermosa,” Chris flirted, smiling. “I’ll let you do your thing,” she added, slipping off to the bathroom to change.

Charlotte’s mouth hung open, in disbelief that a kid that young had actually made that comment about the view, much less a girl. A few moments after Chris disappeared from view she shook her head and turned back around to finish loading the washer.

Chris came out a few moments later, stopping by the door to the laundry room. “Need help or anything?”

“Uh, no. I’m almost done,” Charlotte replied, looking up from where she was kneeling in front of the laundry basket. All that were left were dark clothes. She stood back up and reached over, hitting the button to start the wash cycle and turned back around.

“Oh, and about what I said a moment ago... I hope I didn’t step out of line. I kinda don’t have a filter,” Chris muttered, ears half folded back.

“Oh. You mean, like, you’ll just say whatever you’re thinking?” Charlotte asked, one eyebrow slightly raised. “Whether it’s appropriate or not?”

“Yes. That and, like a friend of mine says, I’m a shameless flirt,” The yapok said with a little giggle.

Charlotte snorted. “And here for a moment I thought you meant that you had a real speech disorder, like Tourette’s,” the doberman sighed, rolling her eyes. “Okay, let me snag a book and I’ll join you at the pool.”

 “I don’t curse that much,” Chris muttered under her breath as Charlotte hit a button on the wall next to the lift, then stepped into it. The yapok went back upstairs, headed to the patio to wait for the doberman and Elizabeth.

A few moments later, Elizabeth stepped out onto the patio as well, wearing her white bikini, the stopwatch around her neck. “Okay. So, hop in and do a lap or two so I can check your form. Then we can both do laps until we’re tired. Sound good?”

“Works for me, profesora,” Chris replied with a smile. The yapok hopped off the edge of the pool and into the water with a splash. She started her first lap, trying to remember all the tips and tricks that Elizabeth had told her from the day before. Her tail looked like a snake cutting through the water as she tried to get it in rhythm with her kicks. After coming to a stop at the end of the pool, she yelled back “I’ve been working on my tail tricks! Well, just wiggling it.”

“Looks good so far,” Elizabeth yelled back. “The main thing is to move your tail slightly faster than the water you’re moving through. Too slow and it creates drag. Now focus on keeping those hands cupped as you push them through the water, and straighten them as you pull them forward. It’s best if you pull your arms out just above the water before you move them forward.”

As Elizabeth was explaining, Charlotte stepped out of the house with a manga in one hand. She padded down the few steps to the poolside walkway and lay down on one of the long lounge chairs next to the pool. After crossing her legs, she pulled open the manga and started reading, occasionally glancing at the pool to make sure the two cubs were okay.

“Wiggle it faster. Got it,” Chris confirmed as she got ready to go again.

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

“You know, I really like this shower,” Chris commented as she turned on the tap. “The one at the apartment is only, like, just big enough for two if you squeeze in.” A few moments later the yapok stepped in after having gotten the temperature just right.

“You should see Mother and Father’s bathtub,” Elizabeth countered as she slipped in next to the older cub. “It’s twice this big, and it has underwater jets if you fill it up, like a hot tub. Only it has shower heads as well. Do you mind if I stand in front this time?”

“Sure, I don’t mind the different view,” Chris agreed with a smirk, switching places with the stoat. “I’d love to get to do the hot tubbing thing.”

Elizabeth glanced back at Chris about the ‘view’ comment, wondering what that meant, then decided to ignore it. “I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone else use the tub in Mother and Father’s bathroom before. I’ll ask if it’s okay,” the tiny stoat said as she picked up the bottle of shampoo, squirting a handful out into one paw before passing it back. Then she began to lather up her scalp and neck, then started working her way down her arms and front.

“Don’t worry, I don’t shed that much,” Chris said with a little giggle, starting to lather up, wiggling a little as she glanced at the stoat that was doing the same. “I got to soak in a hot tub the last time we went to the beach. It was like heaven.”

“Where’d you go?” the little stoat asked, bending over to get her thighs and calves. When her tail accidentally flipped against Chris’s legs, she curled it around to one side so as not to do it again. “We’ve been to a few places, like Newport and Cannon Beach.”

Chris squeaked as the little stoat’s tail hit her leg. “We went to one down at the Florida Keys, we have like family there,” the yapok replied, bending over to start lathering up her legs. She glanced up, accidentally getting an eye full of Elizabeth’s bikini-covered bum.

It was times like this that Chris would curse her imagination, especially when it caused her masculine bits to start stiffening. “We spent like a week there and it was a blast, but so hot,” she muttered, blushing as she realized that the bulge under her swimsuit was starting to show. She swung her tail around, hoping to hide it.

Elizabeth stood back up, then ran her paws up and down her butt a few times before grabbing her tail. “I’ve gotta get my tail. Can you pass the shampoo again?” she asked, turning around to face the yapok behind her. The little stoat didn’t notice Chris drop one of her paws to hide the slight bulge between her legs.

“Ye... yeah, sure,” Chris replied, reaching for the shampoo and handing it to the stoat. Her ears and cheeks felt like they were on fire. “Ne... need some help with the tail?”

The little stoat blinked. “Uh... Sure,” she agreed, turning back around and leaning forward slightly while lifting her waterlogged tail up.

“Wow, your tail fur is really long,” Chris muttered as she started working the shampoo into a lather, working her long fingers through the fur, staring at the little stoat’s butt. “So, umm... tell me how you take care of this thing,” the yapok muttered, her fingers making their way down to the base of Elizabeth’s tail.

“Uh... I just start at the base of my tail and work down to the tip. Just like your arm or something I guess. I suppose you don’t have fur on your tail, so you don’t have to shampoo it,” Elizabeth mused, leaning forward a bit more and lifting the base of her tail a tiny bit higher. “Oh, and could you get my back while you’re at it? I’ll do yours too.”

“Su... sure,” the yapok squeaked, her paws slowly making their way along the base of the stoat’s tail. Chris ran her claws through Elizabeth’s silky fur. At this point she couldn’t deny how turned on she was by the cute little stoat. If this kept up any longer, things were going to get naughty.

Elizabeth sighed at the feel of Chris’s dulled claws against the small of her back. It was strange, feeling someone else’s hands against her tail; nobody had ever really played with her tail before. Without thinking, she leaned slightly forward and pressed her paws against the shower wall, spreading her legs slightly as the yapok behind her ran both paws down her tail. “Mmm, that feels good.”

“Am... am I doing it too hard or anything?” the yapok asked, her voice cracking a little as she watched the stoat leaning forward with her paws on the shower wall. She felt her erection surge underneath her swimsuit; there was no way she was going to be able to hide the tent in her bikini. 

“No, just fine,” Elizabeth the little stoat murmured, trying not to moan at the delightful feelings.

Chris did her best to behave, paws and claws working up towards Elizabeth’s shoulders, leaning in to get the little stoat’s shoulder blades. The yapok hadn’t realized the little stoat’s bum was so close until her hips pressed against it.

As Chris leaned into her, Elizabeth felt the yapok’s hips bump against her butt, along with something firm and completely unexpected. Elizabeth’s head tilted slightly. The yapok behind her pulled back immediately, rubbing her paws down Elizabeth’s shoulders. Strange thoughts started running through Elizabeth’s mind. She didn’t think there were any other hermaphrodites at Byrom Elementary at all; was it possible that Chris...?

“Sorry about that, I didn’t think that I was that close,” Chris squeaked, blushing so strongly that she thought she might burst into flames. “Anyway, th... there you go. All clean. I... I guess it’s my turn,” the yapok mumbled, taking a step back, only to let out a squeak as her paw slipped on a puddle of shampoo. In a flash she was on her butt, laid out on the shower floor. She hissed and clutched her left elbow. “Ooow.”

Elizabeth jerked around as Chris hit the floor of the tub with a thump, sprawled on her back. “Oh no! Are you okay?” the stoat asked, grabbing the handle on the shower wall and kneeling down to help the yapok. Then she blinked as she saw the lump in the front of the girl’s bikini, realizing exactly what it was that had rubbed against her. “Oh my God. You’re...”

“In pain,” Chris groaned, closing her legs and doing her best to hide the tent that she had pitched thanks to the stoat. “And, ummm... Yeah. It just kinda happened. My imagination kinda ran wild and well one thing led to another,” she said with a huff, her ears pink with embarrassment.

“I, uh, sorry,” Elizabeth apologized, helping the yapok to her feet. “Sooo... are you a boy or a hermaphrodite?”

“I identify as a potato, but yeah, I’m a herm.” Chris replied as she made her way back to her feet with the stoat’s assistance and the bar on the side of the tub.

“Wow. I can’t believe you’re a herm. Umm... Do you have both? Alex had both. It was awes- I mean, uh... interesting,” the little stoat corrected herself, now just as flustered as Chris had been a moment ago.

“It can be pretty awesome. I just wish that I could get my tab A in my slot B,” Chris joked, laughing and rubbing the base of her tail. “And yes, I have both, duality through and through and all that.” She started relaxing a little, though it didn’t seem like that the one part of her wanted to settle down. “Pass the shower head?”

The little stoat had to practically tear her gaze away from Chris’s lower half. “Uh... right,” she said, turning around and fumbling with the shower head. She couldn’t get the thought that Chris had a dick out of her head. It hadn’t looked like it was quite as big as Alex’, but it would still be plenty... The stoat shook herself as the shower head came loose and passed it back to Chris. She continued to watch the yapok, feeling guilty about it but unable to help herself. She could feel her ears flush red with embarrassment even as her flower began to tingle.

“Umm...” Chris started, unsure what to say. She took a moment to start rinsing off. “You know, I can feel your staring. Would you like it if I took my bottoms off? Actually, never mind... you might explode in fluff if I did that,” the yapok joked, the pink returning to her ears as she washed the suds off of her chest and arms.

Elizabeth shifted slightly, glancing back up at Chris’s face, realizing where she’d been staring. “Yes! Wait; no. Er... I mean... only if you, um, wanted to,” the stoat stuttered. Without realizing it, she’d let her paw slide down her tummy to rest against the front of her bikini bottoms.

“Well, I can’t lie. You are, like, super cute,” the yapok admitted as she finished washing the soap off. She handed the nozzle back to Elizabeth before a paw came up to her hip, tugging on the string. “So, umm... Don’t laugh,” she pleaded as she pulled the string. A moment later the wet bikini hit the floor, revealing her stiff shaft and a pair of balls beneath it.

Elizabeth stood there, mouth open slightly, shower head in one hand. After a moment she put one hand on the grab bar and knelt down, dropping the shower nozzle and taking a closer look at the yapok’s male member. It was definitely one of a kind; the tip of the shaft was bifurcated, made up of two tapered tips with a kind of rough looking surface. The two pointy tips merged into one shaft about an inch and a half from the tip. The rest of her shaft was smooth, sporting the same mottled look of Chris’ tail. “Huh. Weird. So that’s what yapoks look like...” After a moment, Elizabeth looked back up. “Do you think, maybe... Could I touch it?”

“I, um, I don’t see why not,” Chris said with a smile, wiggling a little. Her male-hood twitched as if giving it’s answer. “I wouldn’t mind.” Her paws came up to hold onto the railing for fear of her knees giving out of embarrassment or pleasure or both.

Elizabeth reached out, tentatively touching the two pointed tips at the end. They were stiff, but not hard. They probably wouldn’t hurt at all, unless they hit her cervix. That wouldn’t feel good at all. After a moment she wrapped her paw around the shaft and rubbed the smooth surface of her paw-pad up and down it, pressing her thumb against the end, sliding it between the two tips. “Does that feel good?” she asked, looking back up.

“Y... yes,” Chris answered, shivering and panting softly as she felt the small paw teasing her shaft and rubbing between the tips. That nearly sent her over the edge. “The... the tips are, like, really sensitive.”

“What about your other parts?” Elizabeth asked, reaching up with her other paw, gently rubbing a pair of fingers underneath Chris’s small fuzzy sack. “May I?”

“Ye... yes,” Chris managed to say, letting out something like a cross between a squeak and a moan. “It feels really good.” 

The little stoat gently ran the pads of her fingertips against the labia hidden behind Chris’s testicles, searching for the crease between them, searching for the yapok’s clit. After she found what she was looking for, she looked back up. “Spread your legs a bit.”

“O... Okay,” Chris moaned. The feeling of fingers teasing her love button lit a fire for the poor water opossum. She did as she was asked, spreading her legs, still clinging to the railing to keep from crumbling into a heap of horny marsupial.

Elizabeth continued to stroke her thumbs against her new friend’s sensitive skin, one against the tip of her penis, and the other against her clit. She ran her index finger down the crease of Chris’s vulva, searching for the hole she knew she’d find. Once she found it she gently pressed in, cautious in case the yapok still happened to be a virgin like Alexandrea had been.

“Oh God,” Chris moaned, arching her back as she felt the little stoat’s finger pressing into her feminine passage. “Oh... please don’t stop,” she gasped, pressing herself down against Elizabeth’s fingers. It seemed like her body was trying to pull the teasing fingers deeper. “It feels... really good.”

“Good. Let me know when you’re going to squirt,” Elizabeth requested with a smile, as she began to rock her finger in and out of Chris’s cleft in time with the motion of her other paw. “I want to taste it.”

“It’s... I... I’m... Cu...” was all that Chris managed to get out, her walls starting to milk the fingers, her honey soaking the teasing stoat’s paws. “Elizabeth, I’m going to cum,” she whined as her member began to twitch.

“Go for it,” she told the yapok, pressing her finger as deep as it would go inside Chris’s tunnel and rapidly stroking her thumb-pad against the herm’s clit. The little stoat leaned forward and opened her mouth, angling the yapok’s member towards her muzzle, then wrapped her lips around the end of the water opossum’s penis.

“Oh, damn,” Chris moaned, the tips of her member starting to spray jets of seed into the younger cub’s waiting muzzle, quickly filling it to overflowing. Elizabeth let the yapok’s member fall from her mouth, holding it between her paws as semen spilled from between her lips, dripping onto her chest. The yapok’s male-hood twitched in the naughty hybrid’s paws as both tips fired a few more times before starting to dribble, leaving Chris a panting, sodden mess. “Th... that... Wow.”

“Huh. Sort of bland. A little salty,” Elizabeth commented, swallowing and licking the inside of her mouth. Then it hit her what she’d done. This was bad; naughty. After a moment she leaned back and stood up, shaking a little from pent up arousal.

“I wouldn’t know; I never tasted it,” Chris protested with a blush.

“Alex hadn’t tasted hir own stuff either, until one time when shi squirted all over my face and we had to clean it up,” Elizabeth explained. “I, uh, guess I should clean off again,” she added, running her paw down her front, where a few splatters had gotten her. She couldn’t see them against the white fur of her abdomen, but she’d felt them. 

“Well if that’s the case,” Chris started to say, leaning in and licking the stray cum from Liz’s chin. She made her way up to the smaller hybrid’s lips before pressing her own against the stoat’s. The yapok closed her eyes as she let her tongue slip into the hybrid’s muzzle, letting her body take over, playing out the feelings that she had running around in her head. Once she had gotten a good taste she broke the kiss, shivering a little. 

Elizabeth didn’t say anything to that, standing there and panting as her arousal threatened to overwhelm her. After a moment she caught her breath, then reached down and picked up the shampoo, pouring some into her paw and running it down her chest. Her legs felt weak, and she pressed her knees together, hoping she wouldn’t collapse. A few seconds later she quietly apologized. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t realize you were a hermaphrodite. If I had, I wouldn’t have suggested taking showers together.”

“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Chris consoled the smaller girl, smiling and bending down to pick up her bikini bottoms. “I mean, it felt really good and you are, like, super cute. Umm... I kinda thought you knew I was a herm. I mean, I didn’t really bother to try and hide it.”

“Well, no, but you didn’t tell me either,” Elizabeth pointed out, trying to ignore the tingle in her loins. With that, she turned around and retrieved the shower nozzle again, using it to spray herself down, trying to ignore the sense of guilt gnawing away at her subconscious. “I... I shouldn’t be doing sexy stuff with other people, especially when I’ve just met them. Can you pass me the conditioner?” she asked quietly, her mind in turmoil over what had just happened. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done that to someone she’d just met.

“I did kinda goof. I’m used to my friends knowing,” Chris admitted, taking a deep breath and handing over the conditioner. She paused, trying to pick the right words. “Weird things happen in the spur of the moment, and sometimes they’re meant to happen. They can lead to things that are great, so maybe it was meant to happen,” she reassured the stoat, smiling awkwardly.

“Maybe,” Elizabeth muttered noncommittally, going silent again as she worked the conditioner into her fur, trying to concentrate. It was hard to think; if she was any more aroused, she’d probably still be on her knees. That thought made her shake her head. “Let’s finish up and go play videogames or something.”

“O... okay,” Chris murmured, taking a deep breath. “I just don’t want anything to happen with the friendship thing. I mean, I don’t find many people that don’t care that I’m a fu- a... that I mess things up a lot. That and you’re like a big sweet heart,” the stoat added, smiling and stepping out of the shower and slipping out to start drying off some before getting into the fur dryer.

The little stoat finished rubbing the conditioner into her fur, then reached for the shower nozzle again. “You’re not the only one that messes things up,” the little stoat whispered to herself, praying that she hadn’t started something terrible by doing sexy stuff with yet another friend.

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

An hour later Elizabeth was practically asleep, leaning against Chris’s shoulder while the yapok played Ori and the Blind Forest. After coaching Chris for a bit and then doing her own forty or so laps while Chris goofed off, the little stoat-hybrid was exhausted; she’d pushed herself pretty hard.

Outside the house, a car pulled up. One paw reached out, taking a moment to figure out which button was the call buzzer before hitting it. “Hold on one sec Peggy; I’ve got to pick up Chris from her friend’s.” The yapok in the car was silent for a moment, listening to the other person on the phone. “She was, but she met someone and her dad let her hang out with her a little.”

Charlotte set down the bread knife she was holding and reached across the kitchen counter to press the intercom button for the front gate. “Stouffer residence.”

“Hello. It’s Alyssa; Christina’s mom,” the yapok outside replied. “I’m here to steal her back,” she joked with a grin.

“Ah, Okay. Let me open the gate and go get her,” Charlotte requested, tapping the button on the intercom to open the front gates. Then she poked her head around the corner, looking into the entertainment room. “Chris? Your mother’s here to pick you up.”

“Umm... I can’t move,” Chris whispered. “I kinda have a PTFO’d Elizabeth leaning on me. Little help?”

Charlotte smiled, stepping into the room. “It’s okay, she should be getting up for lunch anyway.” She knelt down in front of Elizabeth and gently rubbed one thumb against the bridge of the little stoat’s muzzle. “Time to wake up, dear.”

After a moment Elizabeth yawned, eyes blinking a few times before she pushed herself upright. “Hmm?”

“Chris’s mom’s here to pick her up,” the doberman explained.

“Oh,” Elizabeth said, looking over at the yapok. “Well, thank you for coming over.”

Chris got up and stretched a little as she scooped up her bags. “So, umm... Do you still want to see about coming to the farm? I can ask mom while she is here and all,” the yapok asked, looking at the sleepy stoat and then the doberman.

“Well, Julia did say it would be a good idea,” Charlotte pointed out, helping Elizabeth up off the couch, giving the girl’s dress a tug to smooth out some of the wrinkles. The little stoat yawned again, adjusting the shoulder straps, then took a step forward and gave Chris a hug.

Chris was a bit stunned at the hug, but her arms came up and wrapped around the little stoat and squeezed her regardless. “She’s even cuter when she’s sleepy,” Chris whispered to herself, blushing and smiling. “Umm... Yeah... So y’all want to meet mom and all?”

“Yes,” the teen doberman confirmed. “Julia would too, I’m sure, but she’s on a business call.”

“Well... umm... I’m sure that mom wouldn’t mind waiting,” Chris murmured, then paused a moment. “I could take my stuff out to the car and tell her. Would that work?” the yapok asked, turning and starting towards the front of the house.

“I’m sure they’ll get a chance to meet later,” the maid reassured her as the two of them followed Chris through the foyer and out the front door. Charlotte closed the front door behind her, then took a moment to smooth her plaid skirt and polo shirt before stepping down the stairs from the front porch down to the driveway. Elizabeth followed close behind.

Chris purred and smiled as she saw her mother, heading down the steps and up to the back of the jeep, waiting as her mother got out and came to the back of the car to unlock it. 

“So, I take it that the small one is Elizabeth...” Alyssa paused, looking at the doberman. “And that’s... another friend that you made? A friend of Elizabeth's?” the older yapok asked, walking up to them as Chris loaded her things into the jeep.

“I’m Charlotte. I’m the Stouffer’s house-maid,” the doberman introduced herself, offering her paw. “Julia would have joined us, but she’s on a business call. Terrence is currently out golfing.”

“A maid? That’s interesting,” Alyssa murmured as she took the dog’s paw and shook it. “I might need to get you to come clean up sometime; Chris isn’t too good at it. Anyway, I’m Alyssa,” the older yapok said, smiling warmly before looking down at the stoat-hybrid. “Hello sweetie.”

“Hello, Mrs. Alyssa. I’m Elizabeth,” the little stoat introduced herself, holding up her own paw. “Thank you for letting Chris come over. I hope she can come again.”

“Such a proper little lady,” Alyssa replied, smiling and giving a little bow. “I’m sure that Julia and I can work something out later. She did say something about Elizabeth coming to the farm next weekend with us. I take it, that’s part of why Chris got me out of the car and everything?”

“Well, yeah,” Chris confirmed, stepping up beside her mother. Despite their totally different attire, the resemblance was uncanny. “I mean, we’ve got to put a big end to the summer; If I remember right, I [i]have[/i] been really good.”

“Yeah... We’ll talk about that last part,” Alyssa objected, ruffling the fur between her daughter’s ears. “But, yes. About the farm: I talked to Peggy about it. She and her husband are fine with it. I will be there the whole time. Her and her husband will be there as will the farm hands, so Pouchling there won’t be able to get into any trouble. I have all the numbers that you could need. Mine, Chris’, and Peggy’s,” the older yapok stated, smiling and reaching into her pocket before offering a card to the doberman.

“Thank you,” Charlotte said, taking the card. “I’ll have Julia call you this evening to discuss the details, if that’s alright.”

“That works for me,” Alyssa agreed, smiling and giving a little nod. “So did this one behave?”

“Gee mom, make me look bad,” Chris protested, rolling her eyes. 

“As far as I’m aware, yes,” Charlotte informed Alyssa, smiling in amusement. “They went swimming and played video games both times she was here. Though you’ll have to ask her about last night, when she [i]wasn’t[/i] here.” the doberman added, looking down at Chris with a bland expression.

“Oh, I know all about that,” Alyssa assured the doberman, looking down at her daughter. “There will be a long talk about all that when I get her home; there is no getting out of this one,” the older yapok informed her daughter, turning back to the doberman. “Well, thank you for taking care of her and I look forward to talking to Julia about the farm trip. Say your goodbyes, Pouchling, and we'll get home and I will start fixing lunch,” she said, turning and heading back to the car.

“Yes ma’am,” Chris nodded to her mother before looking up to Charlotte. “That was kind of mean. Tossed me right under the bus,” the younger yapok declared with a little huff, poking her tongue out at the doberman. “I guess I will see or talk to you two soonish.”

“Bye, Chris! Talk to you later,” Elizabeth bid them farewell, waving. Charlotte didn’t say anything, grinning at the younger yapok. The two of them watched as the yapoks got into the Jeep and slowly drove out past the wrought iron gates. Charlotte turned around and pushed the door open, motioning Elizabeth back inside.

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

Alyssa stood at the sink, washing the dishes that were left over from their late lunch. “So, what possessed you to do something that dumb?” she asked, glancing over at her daughter.

“I know that I messed up! It’s just that... she talked bad about you and that struck me the wrong way,” Chris argued with a little huff. “Dad did tell you that we all talked about it and hopefully worked it out, right?”

“He did. So I take it other than that, things went good?” the older yapok asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I got to meet Elizabeth ‘cause of them, and I think that Daniel might be trying to be a good dad,” Chris admitted, taking a deep breath. “So I am going to go back and stay the weekend after next. I guess that you two will have to work rotations out or something like that,” she added with a little shrug.

“You know you are still going to get punished, right? I know just what it’s going to be,” Alyssa informed her daughter, smiling as she put the last of the plates onto the drying rack, drying her paws on the dish towel that she had sitting on the counter. “I talked to your aunt and uncle and well they thought that it would be good to put you in charge of the horses: feeding and brushing them in the morning.”

“But mom,” Chris protested before going silent as Alyssa held up a finger to shush her. Just then the phone rang, and the older yapok picked it up. “Hello, Paige’s house.”

“Hi. This is Julia Stouffer,” the stoat introduced herself. “Am I speaking to Alyssa?”

“Yes ma’am, that would be me. It’s nice to meet you. Well, talk to you,” Alyssa corrected herself, turning in place and sitting down at the table with her daughter. “I take it that your daughter, or mine, has talked to you about the idea of going to the farm with us.”

“Yes. Chris mentioned it at dinner yesterday evening. Also, I wanted to apologize for not coming out to greet you earlier; I was on a business call with some colleagues in London and it wound up taking longer than I’d expected,” Julia explained, leaning back into her office chair.

“It’s no issue at all. I understand how that sort of thing can be, I answer phones for a living,” Alyssa replied. “So, I guess first thing would be to see if there is anything that you want to know about the farm and the arrangement, that is, if you let little Miss Elizabeth come with us.”

“Well, I think it’d be good for Elizabeth to get a bit of fresh air and get out of the house a bit. Since her best friend moved out of Oregon, she’s been moping around the house. I just wanted to know the usual stuff: where it is, when you’ll pick her up, when you’ll bring her back, who’ll be watching them, et cetera,” Julia stated, flipping open the notepad in front of her and picking up her favorite calligraphy pen.

“I would pick her up around Wednesday afternoon. That way we can leave bright and early Thursday morning and I would have her back about Monday night. Or I could keep her till Tuesday morning if that’s easier,” Alyssa said, smiling to her daughter. “As for the watchers: I will be there, my sister Peggy and her husband Karl will be there, and there are the farm hands too. I gave Ms. Charlotte their numbers and address this afternoon. For lodging, they have a little... well kind of little guest house duplex. I will be taking the bottom floor. Chris and Miss Elizabeth would have the top floor.”

“Hmm... I do have the card you gave Charlotte. Thank you for that. Most of that sounds good, although... Would it be possible for us to drop Elizabeth off with you Thursday morning? My husband gets up very early, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him to drop her off with you. That, and if you’d drop her off Monday night, I’d appreciate it,” Julia requested. “The less time between her blood tests, the better.”

“Is there something that I should be mindful of?” Alyssa asked, tilting her head a little. “I mean I know a little about dealing with medical issues. The Pouchling sitting across from me has a few,” she assured the other woman, poking her tongue out at her daughter. “I mean, I might only be a nurse, but I’m just as smart as some of the quote doctors unquote I have worked for.”

“Oh, you have no idea how relieved that makes me,” Julia said with a sigh of relief. “Elizabeth has aplastic anemia. Because she’s deficient in all three primary blood cells, she’s got a host of problems, such as lethargy, weakness, immunodeficiency, and hemophilia. It’s not nearly as bad as it used to be, though. The new medications we started her on about a year ago are controlling it, but we’re still very cautious.”

“Well that explains her small size. I saw her when I came to pick up Chris. I thought she might have had some metabolic or growth disorder,” Alyssa stated, taking a deep breath. “The medication that she is on... how often does she need to take it and, other than the typical red flags, is there something that I need to watch for?”

“No, nothing in particular,” Julia replied, shaking her head. “She’s got a bunch of pills she has to take every evening, preferably with food. I’ll make a bag for each evening’s doses to send with her. Oh, and she’s in seasonal estrus right now, so don’t let her fool around with any boys.”

“Karl is married, and all the male farm hands are too old. Peggy or Karl would skin them alive for doing something like that, so there is nothing to worry about on that front,” Alyssa reassured, chuckling. “As for younglings being in heat... I remember Chris’ first time. I think that she humped every pillow that we had.”

“Mooom,” Chris whined loudly.

“You were the one that was leaving wet spots on the pillows,” Alyssa pointed out. “So, is there anything that you want or need to know about us?”

Julia was torn between laughter and shock at Alyssa’s statement. After a moment finally laughter won out. It took a few seconds before she caught her voice again. “Ha... I suppose I just need your address so we can drop her off on Thursday morning, and the time to do so. I assume jeans, tee-shirts, and hiking boots would be appropriate?”

“If she wants to go walking in the woods or something, yes. Other than that, dresses and flip flops are good.” She paused for a moment. “Oh, and a bathing suit; they have a small lake that Chris and I practically live in when we are there. We’re in the Todd Village Apartments. The address is on the other side of that card I gave Charlotte. We will be leaving at six, so five-thirty in the morning. One last thing: horses. Is it okay if she decides to try riding? Oh and diet: anything we need to know?”

“She’s omnivorous, no allergies that we know of. Riding is fine; I’ll give her a few tips on how to behave around horses before she leaves. Anyway...” Julia trailed off a moment as she finished writing notes down. “My husband Terrence will drop her off at five-thirty, thursday morning. Hopefully I’ll finally see you in person next week.”

“That’s perfect for me,” Alyssa agreed, smiling to her daughter and giving her a little nod. “So I guess we will see her then, and then see everyone when we bring her back. It was nice talking to you.”

“You as well. Have a good evening,” Julia said, waiting for a few moments, then setting the phone down with a click.

“Okay. Well, it looks like you will have a little friend on the farm with you. But your punishment still stands, and she is [i]not[/i] allowed to help you,” Alyssa spoke sternly. “Also it seems that she is in heat, so you better keep it in your panties. Or be safe,” she muttered. “I’m too young to be a grandma, and you can’t give up your Monster sodas so you’re still too young to be a mom. Can you handle that? Cause you know if things get too hot and you need relief, you know where I’ll be.”

“I can handle that mom,” Chris protested, blushing and covering her face. “God. You're so embarrassing.” 

“Not my fault you have a crush on her. And I’m being nice; I only told that story to her mom, not her,” Alyssa said, smiling and putting her hand on Chris’ head. “Besides, there’s much worse that I can say or do in front of your little crush.”

“Mooom!”

[center]__________________________________________________[/center]

Elizabeth stuck a fork-full of meatloaf in her mouth, chewing it a few times before swallowing. Mother and Father sat across from her, and Charlotte was sitting at the end of the table. Proper manners would be for father to sit at the end with Mother and her sitting next to him, but that really didn’t matter when it was just them.

“So, what did you and Chris do today?” Terrence asked after Elizabeth finished chewing.

“Umm... Well, we played that game you got, Smash Brothers, and then went swimming for a bit. She’s getting better, but her form still needs a lot of work. After that we took a shower and then she played a bit more Ori before she had to leave,” the little stoat explained, cutting another piece of meatloaf.

“Oh, good. Charlotte, what did you think of her?” Terrence asked, taking a sip of tea.

“I’m kind of concerned about her home-life, since apparently she ran away from her father’s last night,” the doberman stated after swallowing. “Though she did behave while she was here. She seems like a nice enough girl.”

“She’s not a girl,” Elizabeth piped up. “She’s a hermaphrodite.”

One of Charlotte’s eyebrows rose at that, and both Julia and Terrence stopped chewing. After a moment, both Julia and Terrence glanced at each other.

“Another?” Julia asked. “I thought hermaphrodites were rare,” she added, glancing over at her husband.

“They are; one in a thousand, and less here in the Pacific Northwest. There can’t be more than two or three at Byrom Elementary,” Terrence pointed out. After a moment, he turned back to Elizabeth. “And you took a shower with her?”

“Yes, to get the chlorine out of our fur,” the little stoat clarified, squirming a little.

“With or without your swimsuits on?” Julia asked, narrowing her eyes.

“With,” Elizabeth quickly replied, meeting her mother’s eyes. After a moment she dropped them, looking down at her plate. She knew she was busted. “Mostly,” she finally admitted quietly.

Charlotte sucked her breath in, quickly covering her mouth with both paws. She only hoped the Stouffer’s mistook it for shock, instead of a desperate attempt to keep from laughing.

Terrence slowly raised one paw, covering his eyes for a moment, then ran it down his face. He’d hoped that Elizabeth would behave, especially after all the talks they’d had when Elizabeth had started fooling around with Alexandrea, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“Okay, spill- er... nevermind,” Julia caught herself, glancing at Charlotte. The doberman caught her eyes, then quickly looked down, still trying not to laugh. Julia looked back at her daughter. “We’ll discuss this after dinner, young lady.”

The rest of their dinner was remarkably quiet that evening.