u/VenlilWrangler

Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe and thanks to the other fanfic writers for giving me the inspiration for this little masterpiece of nonsense I have cooked up. Thank you to u/Espazilious for the series title and so, so much Farsul lore to work with.

We have a wonderful title cover drawn by u/HaajaHenrik and commissioned by u/Win_Some_Game ! Look at the wonderful lil puppy! ❤️

And even more new fanart commissioned by u/Win_Some_Game recently!

Also, thank you to u/Win_Some_Game , u/rookamillion , u/AlexWaveDiver and u/Inside_Judge5855 for proofreading this chapter!

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I have a profile post where you can find links to all of my other stories!

Here's a link to all the Free to a Good Home artwork so far!

I also have a space on the NoP Discord where you can ask me anything or just watch me go insane in real time!

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Intro: Now that we know the fate of poor Zoe, it’s time for Raymond to go deal with it and the aftermath of such a loss. This, as we know, means travel, but it’s not quite certain if Thyla is ready for such a big step, so someone else has to step in to help in times like these.

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Memory Transcription Subject: Thyla. Farsul Child. Left Behind Again.

Date: [Standardized Human Time] March 28, 2137

I’m in total darkness and a bit overheated, but it’s a very good thing.

A very good thing that won’t last for much longer.

The endless light begins to glow on me despite them being squeezed shut as my shelter pulls away. I dig my claws into the loose cloth, and I pull myself closer. The cover stops moving, and I feel a soft hand rub across my head and scratch into my ear for just a moment. A moment long enough to pull away from me.

“Thyla, I’m gonna miss you too, kiddo. I’ll be back in just a few days. Just got… got some important things to see to.”

“Why can’t I go?”

“Well, for one, you have school still. For two, I gave you a few chances, and you said each time that Earth might be too scary still.”

I did say no… Not ready yet…

Raymond turns away and starts to walk into the starport terminal with his small bags, and I take a step forward to follow. Knowing I can’t and shouldn’t go, I stop myself and do the only thing I can think of: call out a request.

“Raymond… please come back for me.”

He stops instantly in his step and turns right back at me. In huge steps, he’s right back in front of me with his eyes shimmering in the light and both hands on my shoulders.

“Thyla, I will never forget about you or leave you behind, okay?”

“I know.”

He releases me again, and this time, not leaving me time to protest, he goes into the building as fast as possible. I find myself left alone in Mirror Lake City outside the starport again. Just like that day I ran away from Miss Nalsi.

Well, not exactly alone.

The presence beside me puts a soft tail on my arm, and I recoil at the touch. A scarred Venlil snout looks down at me from underneath an obscuring cloak covering most of their features. The tail jerks back in reaction to my own reaction, and the Venlil instead reaches her paw out for mine.

“Come on, Thyla, let’s get you back to your house.”

I refuse to put my hand in hers as I start walking to where she has pulled up her car after Raymond and I got here. From behind me, I watch her do a scan of the area and then follow me to her car. As I get there first, I begin tugging and tugging at the locked handle and then sit down in the front seat as she desperately unlocks the door.

She sits down in the driver's seat and then quickly pulls away from the starport and back onto the highway towards home. As we get up to speed and around fewer cars, she pulls back her cloak and lets the light show off her weird features. Short brown wool and scars everywhere I can see. But they aren’t scars like mine.

Those aren’t PD scars. Those are burn scars…

“Thyla, I know you really don’t like to see Ray go to Earth, but he’s only going to be gone for just a few paws. Now, I don’t know how much Ray told you about me, but my name is Begelen and-”

“I know that.”

“You do? Uh, good. Well, I’ll be watching you at home most of the time until Ray gets back. I’ll be working mostly from my pad until then, but if I do have to go into work, you’ll be watched by my mom, Brelkam.”

Oh, this is Miss Brelkam’s daughter, Begelen?

“Miss Begelen?”

"Yes, Thyla?”

“If Brelkam is your mother and she is really old, doesn’t that mean you are also old too?”

Almost as if I had struck her with an osherk switch, Begelen flinches and tightens her shoulders, and her paws grip the steering wheel.

“Speh Thyla… I mean, yeah? But I like to think that my build and fur condition make me look pretty good.”

Build? Short fur? Hmmm…

“Miss Begelen?”

“Uh, yes, Thyla?”

“Are you who Raymond called after those Venlil outside Mister Quidyon’s Calo store tried to kill us?”

This time, she seems much happier as her tail tries to wag behind her and her head and ears bob in excitement.

“Oh! Yeah, that was me! I assure you, Thyla, I made sure that those two will never be given the chance to hurt you or anyone like you ever again and-”

“So, you’re an Exterminator then?”

Her eyes narrow and ears flatten into the most expressionless thing I think I have ever seen since her.

“Yep, something like that.”

Not wanting to get myself in trouble when Raymond can’t protect me, I bring my knees up inside my dress and curl into a ball as far away from her as possible, into the door. I run through every moment she has seen me since she first arrived today, and if I had given her any opportunity to see my scars. I take small, quiet breaths and shut my mouth to prevent any bad things from getting said. Begelen loosens her stiff posture and takes a look at me away from the road for a moment.

“Thyla?”

I don’t slip up. I don’t answer her.

She goes back to driving, but with her ears concerned and confused, probably catching on to my mistake of talking a lot and then not at all, like a PD weirdo who can’t be normal. The scenery outside the window turns from the city to the houses, then to forests on the way home. Begelen looks more and more at me as she grinds her teeth and gets more upset at my silence, but I can’t break form until Raymond comes back home. Then, Begelen huffs and dips her head to her chest and then back up.

“Thyla, I-I’m… not exactly just some normal Exterminator…”

My heart falls into a black pit as my eyes go wide at the confession.

“W-what, a-are you a PD Doctor?!”

“What? No! I’m… I’m the Chief Exterminator-” Of the farm area? That makes sense, I guess. “-of the Mirror Lake District.”

I cover my eyes with my paws as I try my best to process what I just heard her say.

The Chief Exterminator, of an entire Venlil District, like an entire State on Talsk. Ugh, that’s why she was hiding from everyone at the starport… I didn’t think there could be something worse than a PD Doctor, but I’m wrong… always wrong. I know Raymond wouldn’t try to hurt me, so this is just an accident. Oh well, time to try it again.

I uncurl my legs from inside my dress and put on a posture of calm and quiet, just like a good pup should. Begelen relaxes as I do, and I use that opportunity to unbuckle my seatbelt as slowly and unnoticibly as I can. Once it’s across me and I am free to move, I reach my paw up to the door handle and start tugging as hard as I can to open the door and make my escape. The door handle clicks, and Begelen looks over once and then twice as she starts to yell and slams the brakes of the car, nearly making me hit the windshield.

“THYLA?! What are you doing?!”

Not answering her, I keep trying to open the door of the now stopped car as I click every button to try and unlock it. A very strong paw grips the back of my dress, and I am lifted into the air and placed into my seat. That same paw holds me down as she leans across me and pulls the seatbelt back over and into position. As she does this, my paw goes back to the door handle and continues trying it in a desperate hope that luck will free me. By now, Begelen is breathing rapidly out of her Venlil mouth and spilling Venlil breath all over me as she checks the side of my head and shoulder that almost hit the windshield.

“Thyla, please, what’s going on?”

The best option remains to continue my silence and keep trying the door. As I do so, a paw reaches over and very gently, but firmly, pulls my paw down off the handle and into hers, where it is warmly grasped.

“Thyla, please trust me. I know very well that you have been hurt; you have been scarred by members of the Guild, all because of something that you can’t control, but it’s not your fault, and with me and my Guild, it’s not even a problem.”

“N-not a problem?”

“No, no, my little flowerbird, not a problem at all. Governor Tarva and now Governor Veln have closed the PD facilities. And it’s not like I even ever approved of the facilities. They don’t work, and anyone who has ever actually looked at the data knows this. There’s a reason that under my watch, we’ve had the highest budget-to-patient ratio for better facilities, and only the most helpless cases are not in in-home treatment."

I let myself flop back into the seat and stare blankly out the windshield that I had nearly gone through just moments ago. Miss Begelen gently releases my paw from hers and puts the car back in drive and stares at me before accelerating.

“Thyla, please tell me you’re not going to try and jump out of the car again?”

“I probably won’t.”

I hear her mutter something about ‘probably’ under her breath as she pulls away and back into the light traffic. This time as she drives, she takes nearly a constant watch of me and the road, with most of her attention actually on me. With her staring at me, it’s only fair to stare back as I examine her scars that are pretty much everywhere I can see.

“Chief Begelen.”

"Please, Thyla, just call me Begelen or even Aunt Beg; that’s how Kam and his sister know me.”

“Aunt Beg, where did all of your scars come from?”

“I… I’d rather not talk about them if I can.”

“You know an Exterminator gave me scars on my whole back?”

With a sound like a mix between a cough and a burp, Aunt Beg takes a claw and points at the biggest scar on her face.

“This one is pretty lame despite being my most visible; I go between hiding it and showing it in press conferences, but it’s just from a silly flamer refueling accident during training, not even something special.” She then points to several different ones on her ears and arms and even neck as she continues. “Most of the scars are from being both stupid and brave during my first few colony deployments and defending against Arxur raids. It’s funny, the least eventful raid where I wasn’t even on the right side of the colony was the one where they awarded me the Prestige badge; apparently, I was ‘due’.” She then traces her claw down the last big scar on her arm closest to me. “This last one is my most recent, but not very recent compared to you; probably older than you, I’m guessing… Anyway, that was from responding to a really bad multi-vehicle accident here in Mirror Lake city right before being promoted to District Chief. Again, not even something brave or cool; I just tripped and sliced deep on a piece of wreckage.”

All her scars beside the big fuel one are from helping…

“Aunt Beg, all your scars are good.”

“Good? Why’s that?”

“They’re like the Prestige badge; you got them from helping people. Not like my scars, ugly, and I got them because I’m not right.”

Aunt Beg traces her claw against her scars again and then stares at me and away from the road for too long.

“Thyla… you’re alright, you’re perfectly fine. Don’t… don’t worry about it anymore, okay?”

I give her a weak agreement with my ears, and she thankfully turns back to pay attention to driving down the road. Just a bit; maybe a cloud moved out of the way, but the car seemed to feel a bit brighter.

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The crunchy rocks and old pavement on the road to the house jolt me awake from sleeping on the side of the car door, and I look up and out the window to see Raymond’s and my house there, ready. I turn over to look at Raymond next to me and-

My paws fly to my stomach as it feels like it’s turning upside down when I see an unfamiliar Venlil lady driving me and Raymond nowhere in sight. The fog of being home and then being scared both clear, and I remember Chief Exterminator Begelen, no, Aunt Beg, and that Raymond trusts her.

“Feeling alright, Thyla?”

“Yes… my belly just hurts.”

“So no. Alright, let’s get on in your home and see what we can find for second meal or-”

Alone with Aunt Beg for days without Raymond and now I’m being problematic and-

“No!”

Aunt Beg tenses her arms on the steering wheel as her ears and eye turn to look at me and my outburst, but her shoulders relax as she exhales.

“Thyla, what’s wrong, flowerbird? Please, please just let me know.”

I don’t know… I need- I need… Oh!

“C-Can we go to Miss Brelkam’s house instead of my house first? I want to see her.”

“Ooookay? I think Mom should be home, and I was going to visit with her a lot during this stay, so get a head start on it.”

Aunt Beg drives the car past the house and goes right to Miss Brelkam’s cabin by the lake. With the car mostly parked, I remove my seatbelt and get out of the car, walking to the front door without waiting for Beg. She quickly hobbles up behind me as I knock and then open the door to the sound and smell of food being chopped up. Miss Brelkam gives me a glance from the kitchen with a big knife in her hand and then turns back to the fruits on the counter before spinning back around, surprised, just as Aunt Begelen walks in behind me.

“Oh, Stars, Thyla! Please give a knock on the door before coming in, or you’ll send me to those stars sooner rather than later!”

“But Miss Brelkam, I did knock!”

She squints her eyes at me and tilts her ears forward like I’m lying, but then she rubs her head with her knife hand, nearly missing her ear as she does it.

“Huh, maybe Ray was right about those hearing assists… Anyway, Beg, always nice to see you, dear, but I’m sure that I recall correctly when I say that you offered to watch Thyla while Ray is away, but here you are trying to bore the girl with old Mom in the first claw?”

Aunt Beg freezes as she’s closing the door and quickly turns back to her mom, waving her paws side-to-side and shaking her tail ‘no’ as she does.

“No no no, Mom, it’s not like that. Thyla is actually the one who asked to come see you before the car even parked.”

Miss Brelkam now does the suspicious stare at Aunt Begelen as she gives her eye in attention to me.

“Thyla, is that true?”

“Yes, Miss Brelkam.”

“Oh, well, I was going to make these new Earth fruits and vegetables for second and maybe third meal for all of us anyway, but you’re early, so you two get to come help prepare and test them all.”

Leaving Aunt Beg to still try and figure out how to close the door, I hop over to Miss Brelkam and peek my head up over the countertop to see the colorful spread of different plant-things that apparently are from Raymond’s home on Earth.

“Miss Brelkam, what are all these?”

Aunt Begelen finally comes up, but she looks down confused at me and my question.

“You don’t know what these are either, Thyla? I'd have thought that Ray would’ve shared some with you by now.”

I have had Earth things, but I don't know what these are- wait, ‘either’?

“Wait, Aunt Beg, do you know what these are?”

“Yeah, a few, but I’ve only tried that purple aubergine one.”

“Oh! Is that because of your job as Chief Exterminator? Testing stuff from Earth?”

Aunt Beg’s face flushes orange, like I asked her a weird question, and she focuses her attention somewhere else.

“Uh, something like that.”

Looking at the long purple ‘aubergine’ one, I wonder how it might taste just as Miss Begelen is poked in the snout by her mother.

“Beg, now I don’t think you’re supposed to exactly hide your job from Thyla, but I would think that would also be another thing to last past the first claw of watching her.”

“Mom, I swear, Thyla figured me for an Exterminator and I said I was, then she was upset because of, you know, what other Exterminators did to her, and then I had to clarify that I wasn’t a normal Exterminator, but that made her think that I was a PD specialist, and then I had to-”

Miss Brelkam sticks her tongue out at her own daughter and rolls ears at her before going back to her knife and the food on the counter.

“I get it, I get it, Beg. Outsmarted by a schoolpup. Congrats.” Miss Brelkam turns to me as Aunt Beg tilts her head back and pulls both of her ears back with both of her paws while her eyes are clenched shut. "Now, Thyla dear, would you like to help me to tasting these treats?”

“Yes, please, Miss Brelkam!”

“Oh, we’re gonna have to change that ‘Miss Brelkam’ if you’re calling Beg ‘Aunt’. How about this: you can call me ‘Grandma Brelkam’? Hmm, though it should probably be Great-Grandma… Anyway, let me grab a chair for you to stand next to me, and we’ll figure out which of these plants are any good.”

With me standing on a chair next to Grandma Brelkam and Aunt Beg, we all have small, dull knives as Grandma Brelkam gives each of us a plant to cut and try. Some are small and easy enough to eat the whole thing, like the ‘avocado’, but unlike me, Beg and Brelkam can’t seem to eat the tasty nut in the middle. Then the big things that Aunt Beg helps me cut, like the tan 'cantaloupe,' which we all love for the firm outer skin and soft inner fruit. Finally, one big orange ‘pumpkin’ thing that Aunt Beg cuts for all of us, and again, we all like the warm flavor, but she and Grandma Brelkam struggle with the hard outer part this time more than the 'cantaloupe.' The last part of the pumpkin is a fibery, wooden stem, which I gladly take and chew down as Aunt Begelen watches me closely for some reason.

“Thyla, is it true that you actually did eat Mom’s wooden coasters?”

My happy chewing of the stem stops as my face burns, and I cover my eyes with my ears as my head hangs low.

“Yes, I didn’t know that they weren’t for eating; I’m still sorry.”

“No, don’t be too sorry; it’s hilarious. Like, I know Farsul can eat wood products, but I just didn’t imagine it as far as that. Say, do you think I can get you to eat something else like it?”

As I look around the kitchen at the different wooden utensils and cutting boards and little bowls, I see Grandma Brelkam grab Aunt Beg roughly by the shoulder and lean her head close to hers.

“Beg, my lovely daughter, can you not? I think that both Ray and I would appreciate it if you didn’t feed his little girl half of my household.”

"Oh, come on, Mom, it’ll be cute, and she obviously likes it.”

“No. No! Well, actually… Thyla, if you can find something in the firewood pile by the fire pit that interests you, feel free to have it.”

Not wanting either of them to change their mind, I quickly scramble down from the chair and rush over to the woodpile to find something tasty. Unfortunately, log after log goes through my paws and into a ‘not good’ pile as I try to find something worth eating. When I’m nearly at the bottom of all the available wood, Aunt Beg comes beside me and looks between the last group of logs and the ones in the “not good’ pile.

“Thyla, what are you exactly looking for here? I guess none of these are good to eat?”

What am I looking for? Oh, they don’t know at all, do they?

“Good snacking wood isn’t really for full meals, as it’s too hard on my belly to eat too much, but the taste is sometimes nice and the chew is good for my teeth. Good snacking wood shouldn’t be too dry and crackly; it should smell green, like the forest in rain, and then the feel should be soft and cool. Oh! Like this one kinda.”

I pull what is nearly the last log out of the pile and run it through my paws and to my nose. I don’t recognize the tree type, but the smell is okay and the dryness and feel are both pretty good. I clean off the end from dust and dirt and then take a moment to work and saw off a bite off the tip. Even before I can really get a taste for the log, Aunt Beg and Grandma Brelkam start laughing with their whistles, and they’re right to laugh as my first big chew reveals a sour and stale taste from the wood, and my face scrunches up.

“Not good?”

“No, it tastes like how river water smells.”

The two Venlil, being without noses, both don’t understand exactly what I mean, but the point must be clear enough as Grandma Brelkam flicks her hand from me to the not-good woodpile.

“If you don’t like it, don’t finish it, dear.”

Not needing a second try, I put the log aside, and I follow the two Venlil ladies as they get up onto the couch with glasses of water for all of us and turn the holowall on right to the news about the war. Sitting between them, I watch as some human guy is talking about new relations between aliens and humans when Aunt Begelen leans in just as the human guy starts pulling his jacket sleeves up his arms. Barely audible, I hear her mumble.

"Yeah, that’s right, Trev; you keep talking, you sexy thing.”

Sexy thing? Wait isn’t that a grown-up word that means…

I gasp as I turn to Beg and point my nose and paw at her.

“Aunt Begelen, you’re a Chief Exterminator but you like like human boys!?”

Aunt Beg grabs a pillow and quickly hides her whole face in it while Grandma Brelkam audibly slaps her paw on her own snout.

"Alright, Beg, those are two major slipups in the first claw. You’re awful at this.”

From with her pillow mask, I can only kind of hear her.

“I’m too relaxed is all; war is over, and I’m at home with my mom; it’s not my fault my mouth feels safe.”

Aunt Beg is attracted to human boys… Raymond is a human boy…

“Aunt Beg, do you like like Raymond?”

“Ugh, no, no, Thyla, he is firmly in the 'nephew' category. I do love him, just as I do my brother’s kids.”

Nephew, Aunt, Grandma… Venlil and human… I have a really weird family now. 

As Aunt Beg puts the pillow back, I test her by leaning into her side, and she jolts back for a moment but then puts her arm around me, pulling me close and then releasing me.

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Memory Transcription Subject: Thyla. Farsul Child. Maybe Actually in a Family?

Date: [Standardized Human Time] April 5, 2137

I wanted to go to the airport, but Aunt Beg was busy, and Grandma Brelkam didn’t feel good enough to drive. I instead keep my face to the window as a car stops at the top of the driveway and a tall figure steps out and slowly walks towards the house. His face looks dark and cold and tired, like a really old Takkan man, but it’s still distinctly Raymond. Even though he looks so bad, just as he is getting to the porch, I can’t wait any longer and open the door and run to him. As I get closer, a lot of the age seems to fade from his face as a large smile shows all of his teeth. 

I jump into the air like how he showed me, and he catches me right in his arms and squeezes me so tight I almost can’t breathe. I don’t even know why I am crying, but I can’t get myself to let go of my hug. Although my face is buried in his chest, I think Raymond might be crying too as his breathing gets rough.

“Hey girly, I missed you so much.”

I have a really weird family.

They’re really weird.

But I think I love them all.

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Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe and thanks to the other fanfic writers for giving me the inspiration for this little masterpiece of nonsense I have cooked up.

Additionally, thank you to u/Accomplished_Tea_248 for drawing and u/Win_Some_Game for commissioning this beautiful artwork of Wynef. Makes my heart ache for the poor bunny.

There’s also art of Douglas, Angie, and Wynef at home with Doug trimming Wynef’s hooves and Angie picking out baby clothes. Commissioned by u/Win_Some_Game and drawn by u/Scrappyvamp

I also commissioned a piece of artwork from u/Repulsive_Scheme9886 featuring Wynef, Jacob, and Sophie sleeping piled together on the couch in the Lamottes' living room.

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I have a profile post where you can find links to all of my other stories!

Here's a link to all the Bunny Behind Bars artwork so far!

I also have a space on the NoP Discord where you can ask me anything or just watch me go insane in real time!

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Intro: A few days after getting to meet her parents' parents, Wynef now gets to do a bit more family time with her new Dynasty, the Lamottes. But hah, there’s a twist; the Lamottes have been planning something behind Wynef’s back, something that she’ll never see coming.

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Memory Transcription Subject: Douglas Lamotte. Quality Manager at Pinecliffe Systems.

Date: [Standardized Human Time] June 1, 2137

This tray here, Sophie has that table set; Jacob and Angie have the deck about arranged; Wynef… yep, still sounds like a avalanche roaring downstairs, just as planned…

Just as the checklist is being completed in my head, my pad alerts me to the first set of arrivals at the door. I rush over before they can knock or ring the bell. Of course, all arriving guests have been told this repeatedly, but better safe than sorry for something of this importance. I open the door to a few church friends, and they come in with their packages and a bit of food to help with the small group that will be gathered.

This cycle repeats over and over again over the next half hour as just a few sets of neighbors and friends come over as well as Pastor John and Officer Elling to round out the last of the guest lists.

All the gifts of various types and sizes arranged in the corner, the couches and chairs moved aside to make room for the party tables and food-serving area, food of both normal and Wynef-friendly types, and of course everyone standing at the ready. All that is missing is the subject of the gathering, who, apparently to the focused ear, is still dead asleep below our feet. I look out to my family and friends as I prepare myself for gathering the girl and them on the last finishing touches of decoration.

"Alright, all, I’m going to head on downstairs and get her ready and up here. Stay quiet, finish up, and if we’re lucky, I can have her up here in less than fifteen minutes.”

With some well wishes, I descend the stairs down into the lair of the beast. Even with the lights on and sunlight through the windows, I can easily navigate to her room on sound alone as I make my way to her bedroom and give a few light knocks on the door before opening it and entering the darkness. Well, mostly darkness, as the figure of my very rotund bunny daughter is lightly silhouetted by the glow of her pad on her belly as it chirps and beeps at whatever video game she fell asleep to.

I use the dimmer on the light to turn it on at the lowest setting to navigate the room and avoid her lightly scattered belongings on the floor. At the window, I pull the shade down just a bit to let a small sliver of sunlight stream into the space just as I lean over the snoring girl and give her a gentle stir on her shoulder.

One shake does nothing, two even less somehow, but as it is known, the third time is the charm as Wynef’s eyes open at mismatched speeds, and she tries her best to look at me through the crusty sleep on her lashes. She attempts to sit up, but the kit attached to her makes that apparently too challenging as she just flops back into bed.

“Doug-Dad, what… what’s up?”

“Wynef, we have some guests upstairs to eat breakfast with us.”

Her eyes narrow at me from her side-sleeping position as she snorts at me and blocks her eyes with those damn massive ears.

“So what?”

“So, I’d really appreciate it if you woke up, dressed a bit nice, and then came upstairs to join us and meet with our guests.”

The top ear pulls off her eye so she can stare at me, and I watch as the zombie thought process makes a strategic decision between food and sleep. With closed eyes, she grunts and works herself into a sitting position, with food having seemingly won out. I grab her hand and support her back as she slides out of her bed in her very wrinkled pajamas.

On her own two hooves, she supports her own back and awkwardly waddles across the room and out the door. I follow behind as she stumbles lazily to the bathroom and slams the door shut behind her with a click of the lock. Instantly, though, the lock is undone, and she pokes her head out to me from behind the door.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to slam that.”

“No problem, Wynef.”

Closing the door again, she rushes through her routine, and in much too little time, the door is back open, and she walks out just as bedheaded and clothes-wrinkled as she was immediately out of bed. Despite her not brushing out in the bathroom, I still expect her to go back to her room to ready herself up a bit more, but she instead penguin waddles right towards the stairs up to the guests.

“Wynef, hun, could you maybe put on some more decent clothes?”

Stopping in her tracks, she rotates in place to stare me down with a stare of pure, pregnant fury.

“Dad… I’m FAT, I’m HUGE, and I’m SLOW. I can barely even bring my own hooves up close enough to my paws to put my booties on, which I only do because I don’t want to damage your floors. I’m just a few sets of day-night cycles away from pushing out an entire new person from between my legs. I think our guests, whoever they are, can stand to look at me like this.”

All good points, kiddo, very good points, but this is something that I know you’ll want to look good in to look back on pictures of the party.

Knowing that words or pleas won’t get through to her, tired, sore, and hungry, I instead meet her at the bottom stair as she is about to start climbing up it. I gently grab onto her shoulders and steer her away from the stairs back to her couch in the downstairs living room. She actually audibly growls at me as I somewhat forcibly sit her down into the chair and then head to her bathroom to grab her fur brush.

After finding it in the bathroom clutter and coming back out, I see her trying and failing to get her round self off of the couch. I rush behind her on the couch and sit her back down, earning another growl and an ear coming back in an attempt to slap me in the face. With her still, I take the brush and start from the tips of her right ear in my hands and brush it out gently. Like flipping a light switch, her demeanor instantly changes into placid relaxation with each brushstroke. One ear done, to the next, then her neck fur, then her arms, and finally the top curl that we just recently found out the deep importance of. 

All done up, her breath is calm and soft on the border of falling back asleep, but I come around and help her back onto her hooves. In her very relaxed and easy-going state, I take advantage and drag her back to her bedroom and quickly rifle through her closet and the floor to find the one nice dress we had gotten her a few weeks back. Finding it luckily barely wrinkled, I hand it to her and leave the room to let her change. Just a few minutes later, the doorknob turns, and she steps out with fur and dress in perfect order, and she tries to step past me towards the stairs once more, but again, I stop her.

Her neutral expression melts away into fury again as she leans forward with eyes narrowed into my soul, but she doesn’t say a word as I lead her back in and find her jewelry in the box on her nightstand. I quickly place her necklace over her head and the bracelets on her wrists. In the mirror above her dresser, she turns her wrists over and spins back and forth, cradling her belly in pride.

She goes to leave again, and for the final time, for my own safety, I stop her where she stands. This time, she yips like a rabbit being bit and spins at me, nearly spitting in anger.

“Douglas! What else could you possibly need me to do?! Who’s here? The parole board?”

Refusing to answer her, I open my arms up and wrap her up in a hug, which is at first reluctantly returned and then soon squeezed back tenfold in strength.

“Wynef, you look absolutely wonderful today. Love you kiddo.”

In her third different emotion in as many seconds, I feel as she begins to cry into my shoulder with alarming speed.

“Dad, if you wanted me to look nice, why are you making me cry then?”

“You decided to cry on your own. Now come on, let’s go greet our guests and eat some breakfast, or really lunch, seeing as it’s nearly one o’clock now.”

Finally leading the waddling girl to the stairs, I shoot a text to Angie and the kids to warn them that we’re on our way up. I help Wynef up as her legs do their best to rotate up the steps. At the top, we open the door, and Wynef gasps and jolts back, requiring me to stop her from falling backwards down the stairs. Everyone is in the kitchen, with the lights on and not facing directly Wynef to give her the least shocking experience.

“Surprise!”

Wynef swivels her ears and eyes at everyone before looking up at the banner arched above the group. She stares at it for a moment before taking her pad out of her dress pocket and translating it.

“‘It’s a Girl!’? Uh… yeah? How else would I be having a baby if I weren't a girl?”

Angie visibly facepalms and steps away from the crowd to come to Wynef. Angie pokes Wynef right in her belly and then points at the banner. Wynef-OS takes a few moments to process this as she suddenly cringes at herself and uses her ears to cover her face.

“Oh… the kit, the kit is a girl. Yep… Ignore me.”

"Oh, we’re not ignoring you, dear, quite the opposite. This is your baby shower! And before you ask, no, we’re not going to shower the baby inside your womb; that would be very interesting. No, the ‘shower’ means that we’re going to shower you in gifts and love and luck for the last bit of your pregnancy and birth and then you and your baby’s health.”

Wynef takes her ears away from her face and slowly scans the entire group, face-by-face, as she seems to cover her mouth with her hand in shock.

“Everyone… everyone here brought me a gift? Why?”

“Wynef, I just told you why.”

“Oh right.”

With a deep, shuddering breath, I almost wonder if Wynef is going to give a speech, but instead she walks to the group and starts a right-to-left greeting, hugging and thanking each and every person in the room for their presence and their gift, even though she has yet to see any actual gift yet. As she gets to Jacob and Sophie at the end, she hugs each of them for extra long but then suddenly pulls away from Sophie and holds her at arm's length.

“Wait, did you two… Is this why both of you came home?!”

Sophie and Jacob laugh at her as Jacob is the first between them to be brave enough to answer.

"Yes, Wynef. I mean, I did really need to see Mom and Dad and Sophie again, but this was organized to set up your baby shower.”

Wynef is in complete disbelief and betrayal by now as she recoils back.

“I can’t believe neither one of you two would tell me! Some new siblings you are!”

Sophie holds Wynef’s arms down and goes back to the hug as she tries to defuse the situation.

“Wynef, if I sit you down at the table and make a plate of food for you, will you forgive me?”

“That is… acceptable.”

------

With everyone fed and Wynef having hugged and thanked everyone repeatedly, she hits the wall of her available walking and talking and eating energy. Thankfully, everyone seems to get the hint of her incoming crash, so with thankful final hugs, we send everyone on their way with extra food. As the last of the guests leave, I catch Wynef grimacing in pain and clutching at her hip with her head hanging down. I step up to her side and tug her by the arm to the couch in the living room, easing her down onto the middle cushion and extending the leg rest to let her fuse with the couch. Jacob and Sophie sit beside her, and Angie and I head over to the gift station to begin our presentation of the presents.

Like a queen of old, we bring each present one at a time to Wynef and hand them to her to look over as we read any card attached but leave the letters for her. To the testament of our wonderful friends and neighbors, we received much-needed supplies and coping tools for the upcoming joy that is infant care. Nevok-baby-specific diapers and formula, baby clothes, swaddles, Nevok-breastfeeding-safe drinks and medicines, various-sized and shaped pillows, Nevok earmuffs, Nevok sleep masks, and finally just a bunch of envelopes with cards and scannable codes for money transfers.

I notice that the very last two envelopes are taped together as I bring them up. The top letter is from Pastor John and labeled 'One,' and the separated bottom letter is also from Pastor John but labeled 'Two.' Taking 'One,' I hand it to Wynef.

“Heads up, Wynef, the last two are both from Pastor John, with that one labeled 'One' and this other one 'Two.' I’m guessing they’re meant to be read in a certain order.”

Wynef uses a claw on her finger to slice open the envelope and reads through “One” with suspicious eyes but not calling out anything out of place.

“Anything interesting in there, Wynef?”

“No… just a normal letter-Oh! Wait. ‘By the way, Wynef, I’ve been visiting someone that we both know mutually. He’s come a long way in such a short time, not unlike yourself. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make today’s party in-person, but he did write a letter and request that I deliver his letter to you. I’ve taped it to this one in the envelope 'Two.' ”.

As Wynef finishes reading it out loud with confusion in her ears, I hand her the second envelope, and she quickly rips through the seal and begins reading it with an intense furrow in her brow. A flurry of emotion goes across the girl’s face as she reads, from confusion to panic to being overwhelmed by everything. With tears now streaming down her face and all of us, aside from her, confused, I reach out and take the letter from her. Sophie hugs onto Wynef’s arm, and Wynef soon buries her face into Sophie’s shoulder as Sophie tries to get her to say what’s wrong. I turn the letter around to face me and begin to read it out loud using my translator app to interpret the alien chicken scratch.

>Dear Wynef,

>It has been a very long time since we have last spoken, and I don’t believe that we have ever talked on good terms since the day that we met, but I still feel compelled to write this letter for you (on real paper and ink!). Recently, I’ve been getting visits from Pastor John, who has told me that you and Douglas attend his church service. To be honest, I am quite jealous that you have gotten to see that beautiful church before I ever will, but I am happier for you than not.

>But I digress. In my own Christian journey, Pastor John has been wonderful in reframing the lens through which I view the scriptures and myself. To the point in which I have actually been leaving my cell more than ever, and I have started a small ministry with a few other inmates, but we have to start somewhere. 

>But that's all I can really say is going on in my world. In yours, however, I have a lot to say still. Words cannot express how sorry I am for what I have done to you and the grief I have caused you. My newfound beliefs aside, even my old ways should have prompted me to protect you more, yet I failed you. But it cannot be undone.

>In spite of my mistakes, I hear that you and your growing chick are both happy and healthy, and to know that is itself a blessing.

>This paper is getting shorter, yet my rambling seems to go on longer, so I'll just get to the point. I’ve never had a family of my own due to my constant deployments, but those same deployments have led to many years of high pay and bonuses with no one to send the money back to. A small fortune is now just sitting in a bank account for me to use when I am released from here near the end of my lifespan, so I decided that it will need to be put to a better use.

>Wynef, I have met with an accountant through my lawyer and have set up my entire fortune to be put into a trust for you and your chick, payable when your chick is ready to head off to college or an academy. Until then, part of the interest and my monthly salary (which I am apparently still receiving for some reason) are to be given to you monthly as a little bonus to help with the bills.

>This money isn’t meant to be a bribe or trick to get you to forgive me, but just to make sure that you can live a comfortable life, like you deserve, like the one I took away from you. I do have one request, however; if you do one day forgive me, please arrange some visitation to come see me. I’d love to see you and your beautiful baby girl enjoying the lovely family you have been brought into.

>Yours Truly,

>Kajalim

Setting the paper aside, I reach my own forearm sleeve up to wipe the tears from my eyes.

Sorry, Kajalim buddy, I haven’t seen you since I left, have I? I promise that I will visit, and I will visit soon. And when I do, you’re getting a very strong hug.

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Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe and thanks to the other fanfic writers for giving me the inspiration for this little masterpiece of nonsense I have cooked up. And a big thank you to u/Mysteriou85 for the Artaya goober! I also got a redrawing of a famous meme now featuring Artaya by u/droughtier ! Additional thanks to u/rookamillion , u/Win_Some_Game , and u/Inside_Judge5855 for proofreading this chapter!

I’m also proud of the new title card for the series commissioned by u/rookamillion and drawn by Kennedy Oz !

Also can't forget the comic commissioned by u/rookamillion and drawn by u/YellowSkar ! ❤️

And an entire ficnap crossover with Little Big Problems written by u/rookamillion and an accompanying piece of fanart drawn by u/VeryUnluckyDice !

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I also now have a master post on my profile for all four of my current series as well as this series specifically!

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Intro: On their way to Brother's Gate to settle in, Ullr and Artaya need to do some more planning and bonding if they are to survive the coming hardhips.

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[First] | [Prev] | [Next]

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Memory Transcription Subject: Ullr Hoback, Human KC Military Captain

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: June 29, 2160

I’ve found true pleasure here on Esquo. This is what I’ve been searching for all my life, and I didn’t even know it until now.

Smooth, open highway.

Yep, this is the shit. Not a single pothole or avalanche or burnt-out vehicle in sight. Just us and the nothingness of an open road.

For perhaps the first time ever, Artaya behind me on the snowmobile seems to be actually enjoying the rush of the wind as I let the throttle of the nuclear-powered craft hold open and streak through the fluffy powder. Nearly no wind abates us, as even the skied camper barely jostles towed behind in our wake.

With nothing in front of us to even spark the smallest bit of concern, I find my wind wandering back to decades prior. Times where my old hydrogen snowmobile screamed up and down and down and up the trails. Wandering upon anything and whatever I could find. 

Deer, bear, moose, hah, even a mountain lion… Oh wait, deer!

“Hey Artaya?”

“What’s up, Ullr? Something ahead?”

“No, but we’re about another night or two from getting back to Brother’s Gate, right?”

“Right.”

“I’m thinking now that our plan is basically that there is no plan; we should probably put some effort towards overstocking the food supply. Especially since the weather is so nice today.”

“Oh! Another hunt? What’s around?”

“Now that is actually a question for you! You’re the one with the hunting nose!"

A small "awoo" of confusion, then realization, from behind me gets a laugh as the apex hunter of this planet again has to be reminded that it is indeed the apex hunter of this planet.

“Oh? OH! Okay, okay, uhmmm… Can you slow back down so I can lift my visor up and smell the air better?”

At her request, I ease the throttle down to a leisurely thirty miles per hour and glance in the mirror as she uses a tail to flick her visor up and spin her head back and forth like a scent radar, searching the crosswind coming from the south to our side. We continue like this for some time as her eyes flutter open and closed in concentration on her task, but eventually they fly open and she starts with some babbling.

“Uwu-Ullr! I am definitely smelling blizzard elk. Faint but overpowering on the air.”

“‘Faint but overpowering’? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Ugh, like… Like, it’s for sure the smell of not just one but at least dozens from the different scents, but at the same time I just now got that scent.”

Just now started getting it? Okay, good, good.

“Okay, that makes more sense. Now, I’m going to keep driving forwards very slowly, and I need you to tell me when that scent peaks and then starts to drop off.”

“Why not just turn into it now?”

“Well, I have no clue just how powerful your nose actually is, and scent is dissipated downwind in a cone that gets bigger and bigger the further away from the source you are. This herd could either be exactly in that direction or ten miles down range, and we’d have to snake over towards them.”

She nods her head  strongly, even enough to boop her nose into my back as I continue forward and let her sniffer do the work. My anticipation builds as we continue farther and farther, and eventually, a whole mile from where she first caught the scent, she taps me on the shoulder.

“Okay, it just started getting weaker from where it just peaked a moment ago. How far have we traveled?”

“Too far; this herd has to be forever far away. That’s fine though; let’s get ready and head out after it.”

I pull the camper to the side of the road to be courteous to any traffic that might need to use the road while we’re gone. How fucking creepy would that be? And I quickly separate the snowmobile and camper-sled while also setting the camper-sled in place to be ready for a good night’s sleep when we get back.

We both make use of the restroom and then add the extra storage rack back onto the snowmobile for as much elk as we can collect in the next few hours. Both back in our seats, I reach back and drag my gloved hands across her face and she quickly leans into my touch, earning a bit of a blush from both of us, so I quickly diffuse with a request.

“Ready to smell our way there?”

“Y-Yep. I’ll guide you, still plenty of light left, but let’s get to it.”

Permission granted, I let the snowmobile lurch forwards and bring us to the woodline on the south side of the road and dip off the shoulder down into the woods.

------

After maybe an hour of tracking, evidence of a small stream in the valley we had been driving across starts to show in the weathered and eroded landscape around us. Plenty of large ditches and ravines suddenly appear at our side as I do my best to navigate us down calm paths while still following my colonel's guidance.

A bit unsporting-like, I use the infrared display inside my visor to check the area ahead to see anything that could show that the elk are getting closer, and to my happy surprise, I just barely see the figure of an elk some half mile or so ahead of us.

Damn good insulation, my elk friend, almost no difference from the background heat, or lack of heat, I should say.

“Artaya, I should guess that the smell is nice and strong by now?”

“If I never smell the ass of an elk again, it’ll be too soon.”

"Exactly. Now, I can see them not too far away, stationary by a creek or something. We’ll drive just a bit further and then approach low and on foot.”

She flicks an ear forward in agreement, and I continue our plan as just at the edge of where I think their ears could pick up the whine of the snowmobile. I park the trusty little ride, and we dismount. Grabbing my rifle and helping Artaya attach hers to her vest mount, I slap my snowshoes on, and we carefully go forward to the sound of grunting and cries from the herd in front of us. Their own noise output allows us to sneak in very close to the clearing and see exactly what is causing all the ruckus.

Near the creek edge, two massive bulls are locked head-to-head with their antlers as they tussle and scream and push back and forth with the ladies and younger males watching in great interest.

“Ugh, typical men, am I right, Ullr?”

“Quiet yappy creature. If this is even half as rare as it is on Earth, we are very lucky to witness this with our own eyes.”

“What, this is just some type of mating competition, right?”

“Yeah, these types of things only happen in mating season, and even then, not too often, as it wastes a lot of energy and makes them vulnerable to predators… Predators like us, I guess?”

“So Ullr, who do we shoot?”

“Ehhh, hmmm, how about we see who wins and then put the loser out of his misery?”

“Hehe, damn, Ullr, cold. Very cold of you.”

In our curiosity and given the plenty of sunlight still left from the setting sun, we watch as the rivals continue back and forth, not even separating their heads during their breaks. Then, the attitude shifts and something odd becomes apparent.

One of the males has decided to give up, but despite plenty of head shakes and bucks, he can’t remove himself. The other male sees this victory and tries to pull away as well but to no luck. Then the panic starts; they scream and buck and pull and pull, yet make no progress in getting separated. One bull trips and the other drags him across the sharp rocks and ice until he stands back up with his knees shredded.

“Ullr, what’s going on?”

“They’re stuck; antlers are interlocked.”

“What do we do then?”

“Need to kill them both at the same time; don’t need to kill one and have the other drag the body away and through the hills. I’ll take the left one, and you the right. Aim for the chest right behind the upper foreleg and then shoot when I say 'fire.' ”.

Come on now, fellas, sorry about your luck, but your hubris has killed you both. Yep, yep, that’s right, take a quick breath and-

“Fire.”

Shots thunder through the thick air, and Artaya’s target immediately slumps to the ground while mine bursts a few gushes of purple blood into the snow before falling next to his rival. One doe stands alone as the rest of the herd scatters. She somehow spots us in our shooting position and claws at the ground. I let my head loll in confusion as she digs in and gallops towards us. She closes the distance almost faster than I'm ready for, but as her hatred of us becomes more apparent, I take aim and and wait for her front legs to hit and-

Her head dips down just a bit too low, and the high-caliber round finds its mark on the center of the poor creature's forehead. The cow’s head explodes in a shower of horrid purple that splatters across everything, including us. I flick a few brain particles off the barrel and look over at Artaya to see how she’s faring.

Instead of an annoyed or disgusted look that I expect, I instead find her wide-eyed and disassociated. I give a shove to her shoulder but get no reaction.

“Artaya? Colonel? Artaya? What’s up? You good?”

------

Memory Transcription Subject: Artaya, Jaslip KC Military Colonel

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: June 29, 2160

“Artaya? ‘Taya, come back to me. Please…”

That, that elk was going to… It was just about to… Then it’s…

I feel my stomach contract and warmth rushing up my throat. Liquid starts to fill my mouth, but I tilt my head back and let it swallow back down. My stomach tries to betray me again, but I win one more time. Just as I feel like the third time is coming and I’ll surely lose, I feel the water-pack straw enter my mouth and dump water on my tongue, which I gladly chug to wash down the bile. Two big hands rub down my sides, and once my mouth finally feels clean, I manage to speak.

“F-f-fuck, sorry Ullr. I-I don’t know what just happened to me there.”

“Probably just a bit too much gore; sorry about that.”

“No, that can’t be it; we’ve seen worse.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t seen something that graphic, or at least I hope you haven’t.”

“Maybe… maybe it was also the aggression? I-I don’t like feeling like I’m being hunted.”

“You and me both. Hows about this: rest up for a second, and I’ll dress what’s left of this one, and then we’ll go together and dress the two down by the creek before something else comes and tries to make its own claim?”

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. Thank you Ullr.”

Sweet Esquo, what is going on with me right now? It can’t be the brain explosion, right? I-I’ve seen worse. Yeah, worse. Worse than an entire elk getting its head popped open and splatter all over- Ugh, okay, okay, probably that…

To keep my stomach down, I watch as Ullr speedily evicts all the innards of the elk from her body cavity and then lays it open and splits it, facing up into the cool air, body moisture steaming up from within like a cursed cooking pot. Ullr then severs the remains of the head and buries it along with the skull-sploosh in the snow out of my sight the best he can.

He’s… he’s pretty sweet, isn’t he?

"Alright, Artaya, let’s load her up and get down to our double-losers by the creek.”

I stand close by for moral support and supervision as he picks up the dressed carcass and loads it on the cargo rack of the motorsled. I jump into my seat, and he casually sits sideways in his as he creeps the vehicle forward and down towards the dead bull elk locked together. He parks again, and we both hop down and approach the poor creatures. Ullr rotates each one and looks at the entry wounds and then across the bodies of both.

“Well, hell, I’d say you had a better shot than me on this one, Artaya. Perfect heart and both lungs.”

“That’s not fair, Ullr. I’m using an auto-sight, and you’re still just manually aiming, right?”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot that you cheat! Never mind then, my shot was better, fuck you.”

“H-hey!”

“Before you yap, grab your knife as I split these two apart. Then I'm going to show you how to field dress a deer, and we’re going to go together, cut per cut.”

Swallowing my brief flash of anger, I use a tail to slide my knife out of my vest, and I go into a hunched bipedal stance with the knife in my front paw. Ullr stops sawing on the antlers of the two elk, stands up, and then brings the back of his boot down and cleaves the antlers clean apart with a sickening crack and crunch. He turns now and then straddles the elk he shot and motions for me to do the same as mine.

“Alright now, Artaya, you’ve seen me do this a few times, but now it’s your turn on your own kill. Flip the guy on his spine and take your knife just like this and then start with a long cut here.”

------

My fur is covered in purple gore and blood; I struggle to do anything but smell blizzard elk inside my nose as we finally finish gutting and splitting the elk, each our own. I fight for every breath as I look up to see Ullr barely winded.

“U-Ullrrr, h-how are-are you not exhausted?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a lot more physical activity other than just sitting on a snowmobile and sleeping, unlike someone.”

“F-fuck you.”

I step back off my elk with my back sore and lungs empty as Ullr seemingly effortlessly stacks his elk on top of the first one on the cargo rack. I try my best to move my elk but make nearly no progress until Ullr stands on the opposite end, and together we lift it up into the air and then pile it with the other two on the motorsled.

"Oh, holy melted Esquo Ullr, I feel like we’re back in the deserts of Tellus.”

“Really? You didn’t do anything there either aside from bite me! I’m joking; I’m kidding. Just hop on and take a breather as we go back to the camper.”

Too tired to argue, I settle myself in my seat and let Ullr do his usual driving back home.

------

With the sun on the edge of the horizon, we finally make it back to the camper, and Ullr sets two of the elk hanging on hooks while I do my best to remove the last one with every bit of my recovered strength.

“Okay now, Artaya, time for another lesson: butchering. Grab that knife again, and we’re skinning and butchering this three into storage and dinner.”

Once more, I take my knife and get beside Ullr as he starts his demonstration on one elk. He talks and blabs ever enthusiastically as I do my best to follow but fall further behind and much slower. Stuck on one particularly tough tendon, my knife strokes struggle until I notice a presence behind me reach around my body and grab my knife-weilding paw from the outside. In a weird backwards hug, Ullr guides my hand and knife at an angle on the tendon, and it cuts much easier and smoother than any of my other cuts had before. I feel myself flush brighter than the purple blood I’m stained in as Ullr talks right into my ear.

“See, it’s an angle thing, not just force. You should have a much easier time with the rest of the cuts.”

“I-I… Thank you, Ullr, but I really need to use the little kits' room, and I might as well shower up and clean the blood away while I’m in there. T-thank you for the lesson.”

“Yeah! No problem! I love teaching this stuff again. I’ll join you soon enough to start on dinner!”

I scramble into the camper, throw off my gear, and dart into the bathroom. My still-blushed face glows back at me in the mirror, and I shake my head in disbelief at the man outside.

Yeah, Ullr, you cannot do that to a lady with no warning… The nerve of you, I swear…

Shutting my mind down, I hop into the shower and stick my tongue out in disgust as waves of dirt and purple blood splatter out of my fur and down the drain. I keep going and going until the color finally runs clear, but I can’t help but cringe at the water level gauge, as Ullr will not have enough to run his own long shower.

I step out from the vented bathroom to find a very lovely scent filling the camper. Ullr stands above the cooktop, flipping a large piece of elk meat back and forth across a large pan as it steams into the air. Out of his cold-weather wear, the only evidence of our adventure outside is the blood splatters on the hairs on the bottom of his face.

“Artaya, I know you are more of a very rare meat girl, but tonight you’re eating slightly seasoned medium-rare elk fillet.”

“What cut is that?”

“The softest and most delicious cuts of the tenderloin. Sit down; I’ll have it over in a second.”

Doing as I’m told, I take my usual seat, and as promised, Ullr soon brings over lightly cooked medallions of elk meat alone on the tray, and he divvies the pieces up between us both. Of course more for him, as he weighs at least another half of me.

I take an exploratory bite of one medallion and nod in approval as it nearly melts in my mouth with tender warmth and the juices flood my tongue.

“Shdamn, Uwwerl, zith is sho gewd.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it! Maybe I can get you eating cooked meat a bit more often; it should help you grow your brain like my ancient ancestors benefited from!”

I quickly swallow and chase it with a gulp of water.

“What are you implying there, obor-boy?”

“I don’t need to elaborate.”

I glare with my eyes and bare my teeth but quickly melt back away with another mouthful of filet.

With dinner done, I quickly head outside to shovel as much snow into the water intake of the camper while Ullr cleans the kitchen space. Coming back in, instead of the shower, I find him sitting at the table and staring out the window at the black nothingness outside.

“What’s going on, Ullr?”

His eyes track to me and then back as he lets out a small huff.

“Nothing, just thinking about the future.”

“Like what? I thought we already had a plan?”

“Oh, I mean like not that far out, but not like tomorrow either. Something more immediate while we’re here on Esquo.”

“Like?”

“Like, I dunno, just some habits or things we can do to keep us both entertained.”

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have some type of game-night or leisure activities planned. Need to have fun in an apocalypse after all!

“Anything in mind?”

“I do, but I need to make sure we’re still on the same page here.”

He smoothly slides up out of his seat and is instantly right in front of me. He bends down, grabs my paws, and then raises me up into a bipedal position as he pulls me close and we do that lovely, wonderful thing that I love so much. We dance this way and that as he hums some unknown song to the top of my head, eventually stopping and letting me go back to all fours.

“Thoughts?”

“Yes, yes, Ullr, we will most definitely keep doing that. Though I think it violates our ‘no romance’ agreement just a bit.”

“True, true, anything you have in mind?”

Anything I have in mind? Hmmm, what could… Oh! I know.

I pounce through the air and land on our bed as I lie on my belly, facing towards him. I wiggle both ears and use all three tails to point towards them as I stare him down with the biggest kit-eyes I can manage.

“Ullr, remember how we first met?”

“I can take a hint; come on here, you big soft dog-fox-thing.”

He sits next to me on the bed and lifts my head up onto his lap as his fingers work their best all over my ears and head. I can feel my own breathing slip slower and slower with his scratches.

Yeah, these, these are two habits I will fight to keep as long as we live…

“Goodnight Ullr…”

“Goodnight, 'Taya."

With a soft kiss on the top of my head, I slip into sleep.

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