# Chapter 7: Across the Line

The ride was quiet. The three curled up together in the back of the weasel's van. None felt desire to speak, the image of the otter's rape still fresh on their minds. After an hour or so, the vehical finally stopped, and the back doors opened to let in the light of day.

Joseph looked them over. They were in much better shape than he'd found them. Clean fur, clean clothes. So long as Rain and Malachi kept their brands covered up, they had a chance of moving around unnoticed. May was more of a challenge. Those marks were not doing her any favors.

"You two will have to get across the state border. If you can do that, it should be easier to sneak around." He gestured to May, "Your injuries there-- they're not likely to be recognized even a few counties up. Most places have moved beyond this sort of corperal punishment, especially in the cities. Your escape is still local news-- they won't be looking for you. I hope."

"We did kill a guy." Malachi remarked, before May shushed him. 

"Well, yes... but it's not /that/ uncommon for a slave dealer to end up in trouble. Hopefully it won't cause too much stir." The weasel looked onward, "There is a gap in the border fence about five miles that way. On the last mile, you'll need to be sneaky. They do watch the area, so just stay low in the grass and you'll collect a few fleas with your freedom."

Rain made a face at the idea of collecting fleas. She hoped her previous fur treatment was still active. Malachi scratched behind one of his ears subconsiously.

"Thank you for all of your help, Joseph." May took the weasel's paw in your hand, "And... I'm sorry for what I put you through back there. It makes what you did mean all the more to us."

The wolf nodded with enthusiasm, "Yes. If it hadn't been for you, I'd likely already be dead."

The weasel blushed and nodded, pulling his hat down to hide his face, "I just... it seems wrong not to help, is all. You critters take care, now." He hopped into his van, turned the ignition, and drove off.

"Well," said Rain, sliding one of the backpacks they brought onto her shoulders, "I guess we'd better get moving."

***

The sun cast its painted light against the clouds, its gentle descent marking the end of a long day. "Looks like about a mile out to the fence. Let's stay low. I think I see some towers about." Malachi pointed to a few marks on the horizon.

May nodded, "Alright. The weeds look a bit deep over there. Maybe we can wiggle through them without too much trouble."

Malachi looked to May, "I just wish I knew where the gap is."

The cat chewed her lip in thought, "Well, if we followed our bearing correctly..." She opened up a compass the weasel gave her, "We should be almost there. And from that point, it's a few miles to the next town."

The three began crouching, going toward the weeds. As they entered in, Rain piped up, "So... So what happens, exactly? When we're done running? We're trying to get some place, right?"

Malachi lead the group, keeping his eyes vigilant for threats. He didn't know the answer to that, but May seemed to. "There's a camp in the middle of the next state up. They've taken advantage of some murkier laws there and made it a safe haven for runaway slaves. We'd likely be staying there until the laws change."

Rain paused in thought, giving that a minute or two to sink in, "I... don't know if they ever will."

May turned around, and looked Rain straight in the eyes. "Never start with the idea that things can't change. The only way a gal ever changed her situation was by having the hope she could do something about it."

Rain looked off to the side, then back and May, giving a slight nod before they continued on.

The light was giving way to the growing hunger of night. Insects took flight at the fading light, occasionally buzzing by Rain and causing her to squeal. May ended up placing a paw over her muzzle just to keep her noises in.

"I see it." Malachi pointed toward a small opening between fence sections.

May squirmed between the posts, tugging Rain along to the other side with her. Malachi followed soon after.

"They can't come after us now, even if they spot us from the towers. We're out of their jurisdiction," Malachi remarked. Rain started to jump up, placing her paws around her muzzle as if to yell insults at them when May yanked down on her tail, causing her to fall onto the ground.

"H-hey!"

The cat placed her paw over the vixen's muzzle once more. "Just because they can't come after us doesn't mean they can't call someone on this side to pick us up."

The vixen's ears flattened.

"Only a few miles that way to the border town. I can see it from here. We'd better hurry before it gets much darker. It's already getting hard to see..." He lead the girls forward through the brush, edging toward the warmth of civilization.

***

"How many rooms?"

"One, please."

"A one or two beds?"

Malachi shuffled in place a little, looking toward the girls. May piped up, "One, please." She lowered her voice to a whisper toward Malachi. "It's all we can afford right now."

A few keystrokes later, the room was checked out and reserved, keys handed to the wolf. "Have a pleasant evening."

The group took the stairs to their room, unlocking it. The room was nothing special, but it was more than enough for their tired bodies.

"How far is the camp from here?" Rain looked to May. The cat pulled out her map, looking it over, "A couple of hours by car. We don't really have enough money to rent one, but maybe we can hitch a ride."

The vixen flopped over onto the bed, and hugged a pillow. May laid next to her, covering herself up in the blankets. She noticed Malachi looking a bit unsure of where he should go, and then got out of bed, stumbling over to the wolf. The cat whispered to him, "You take the bed. I prefer to sleep alone anyway."

Malachi was about to object, but May's eyes were firm, like she was sure of it. He gave a resigned nod, and nestled up to Rain, who had somehow managed to drift to sleep already. May took one of the spare blankets and curled up on the armchair in the corner. She closed her eyes, and after a bit of shifting, drifted away.

***

The naked tail of the mouse slinked about nervously as he hid in the barn. His heart kept a brisk drumbeat while he thought about the cat who had been coming to see him. It was cute at first, the way she would tease him. But teasing turned into proper romance.

William leaned against the wall, waiting. He knew she should be there at any time. He always looked forward to their meetings, dangerous as they were.

"Meow, mousie." May winked, leaning against the barn door. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin, the girl's ability to move quietly always meant she got the jump on him. He'd complain if he wasn't getting off on the thrill.

"M-Mistress May..." The cat placed a finger on the mouse's lips, "I've told you before-- you don't have to call me that. I'm not your owner, and I'm not here to take advantage of you. You know I love you, William."

He nodded, dish ears quite pink, "I.. I know. Is it strange that I kind of want to call you that?"

The cat quirked an eyebrow, "I... I'm not sure, really. I guess it's natural. It's what you're used to, after all." She slipped her paws around him, resting the soft pads on his rump before hooking her thumbs under the hem of his shorts and working them down.

The mouse started trembling as she stripped him. "Wh-what are you doing?"

May smiled, and took a hold of the mouse's paws, leading him to undo her dress. "I'm doing what I want. What we should be free to do."

William swallowed hard. This was wrong-- he knew how much trouble they could get in, but he couldn't deny his desire, and as he took the garments from his lover one at a time, beholding her bare form, he became silent. Well, up until he tried to say something romantic. "I.. Uh.. It's.. You're... umm..."

The cat giggled, and tugged him onto a bale of hay. She rolled atop him, straddling his lap. The mouse looked up at her, and between his legs, seeing his shaft rest between those lower lips. A drop of dew rolled down the length of it and onto his sac. "I've-- I've never..."

The cat shushed him, and slid her flower along his mousehood, leaning over him to drape her breasts around his face. The mouse's rapt eyes were locked to the cat's perky young nipples, and his gasping breath rolled over those globes when she gripped hold of his shaft.

May lowered herself down an inch at a time, taking in the tip past her folds while a shiver rolled up her spine. Her other paw rested on his chest, claws digging in just a little, causing the boy to stiffen up until she slid into a hilt. "Mmmm..."

"Ahh! Oh, wow. That's... That's very n-new. Ohh..." His eyes were wide, the boy's tail curling around one of her legs. May smirked, "You really haven't had sex before, William?" She pulled her hips upward, and then sank them back down, starting to bounce on the boy's cock.

The mouse shook his head, "Well, not with girls. I-- I mean--!" His face flushed furiously. May laughed, "With other boys?" William's ears lowered back and he looked off to the side, "N-not willingly. But y-yes." Willing or no, the humiliation of the topic certainly wasn't causing him to lose his arousal.

May ground her way down, sliding her arms around the boy and nibbling at his neck. "Hee. I'll have to sneak in and watch some time." She dragged her rough tongue under his muzzle, grooming the fur there.

"Ahh-- Oh, I don't... Oh... Shi-- shi... Oh..." The mouse imagined her watching him be pulled down to his knees in that crowded shower. None of the other girls in the open washroom wanted to spend time with a boy who was being used that way. And she was asking to see it? Confusion raced through his mind, the mouse's pounding heart resonating through his shaft, and sending a dull throb into the cat's sex. She gripped his shoulders, and smirked, starting to slam her hips down and ride the boy with a rough grind.

"Mmn! There you go, Will." Her tail thrashed behind her and bapped against the bale, little strands flying into the air from the impact. Her breasts bounced up and down before him, and he stared up at them in wonder.

The cat paused for a moment, and took the mouse's paws, placing them on her breasts with a smile before picking the pace right back up. William took the 'hint', slowly kneading those breasts as he felt his breath pick up speed. The pleasured sensations danced on his mind. So very close...

Willam's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as May ground down into her hilt, taking furious short strokes and forcing him right over the edge. The mouse cried out, but was swiftly silenced by the cat's paw over his muzzle, "Shh---mmn!" She swallowed hard to avoid moaning out loud, the cat leaning down to release her ragged breath into the boy's chestfluff, her body tensing and then unwinding as her delight ran down the boy's sac, dripping into the bale.

***

May startled awake, finding her pants undone, and her fingers in her sex, coated in honey. She looked up and saw Malachi's open eyes for only a brief moment before he closed them and pretended to have been asleep the whole time. Her ears flushed pink, and she pulled the blanket back around her body.

After a bit of silence, Malachi opened one eye to take another look. May was no longer teasing herself, but he could hear her whimpers and sniffles as she sobbed herself back to sleep.