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| >> Campfire Creative >> Fiction >> Animal >> ID #1788930 |
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| [Introduction]
After Kate had managed to stop Thomas' punishment on the Spankotron 300 he came off the machine a changed man, his backside was badly battered by the machine and he was moaning and groaning while Kate carried him home over her shoulder. "Ouch!" Thomas cried when they got home and Kate poured some itchy nano-cream on his bloodied bottom. "Hold still!" Kate said as she applied more lotion "There's more where that came from!" "Why did you do it?" Thomas asked "Huh?" Kate pausing "I mean..." Thomas said "Why did you save me? You could have easily let me die on that machine!" Kate shrugged "You saved Soul's life isn't that reason enough?" |
"I have done some terrible things in my life too." She said as she slathered some cream on the Human's burning backside "I realized I had been ungrateful to the ones who cared about me the most." She sighed "And I realized that if I let you die, I would be just as bad as I was before...You may have some flaws Thomas but at least you really do care which is more than I did for my Mom and Dad." Thomas suddenly felt deep pangs of guilt in his heart, before he had been willing to slip Kate a love potion in order to make her love him, when Kate expressed her remorse he himself realized how horrible he had been, not just to Kate but to all the people he had swindled money from when he became a criminal tears flowed freely from his eyes, but he couldn't see anything because he had lost his glasses, and he was pretty much blind without them. He felt a tiny three fingered hand grasp his index finger, he realized it was Soul. "I guess that was the other reason I saved you." Kate said "Soul really seems to like you." "Does this mean everything will be different now?" Thomas said. "Yes," Kate replied. "I always hoped you would eventually let me into your life. It sure took a lot of trouble and pain to get to this point, but I think it was worth it. Anyway, I hope it was, because my butt still hurts." "I'm sorry about that. But you know why it had to be this way. The question now is what do we do next?" Thomas sighed , he was finally beginning to relax as he felt Soul gum his finger...For the moment he really could not think of anything, his mind was all muddled from the beating and he could not think what to do next. "I wonder if my parents still think about me." Kate said half aloud to herself "Or have they given up on me?" "I could probably find your parents." Thomas said "Why don't we find them together then?" Kate asked. "It won't be easy. Have you ever been to Africa?" "No," Thomas said, "but I imagine it's pretty much like anywhere else. I feel confident we can find your parents." "It will be worse than finding a needle in a haystack. Africa is a big place. And I can't be sure they went back there." "Don't you have anything we can use, like a letter with a return adress perhaps?" "No. Except... I do have this charm my mother gave me." Kate touched the tiny charm that hung on a leather thong around her neck. Thomas reached out to touch it. "What is it?" As the Spaceship The Imagination had so many people on it, both humans and changelings, and changelings needed certain temperature and barometric pressure conditions to thrive (Polar Animals need cool climates, Tropical Animals need warm climates, Aquatic Animals need to spend extended periods of time in water) As such their were designated 'neighborhoods' for Changelings that shared the same biome, Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos, Leopards and Cheetahs could be found in the 'Africa' Neighborhood' where conditions were hot and dry or warm and wet depending on whether the species belonged in the veldt or the rain forest Kate and Thomas headed off to "Africa". It only took them an hour to get there using the intraship shuttle. They entered the airlock into the Africa section and were immediately hit by a blast of hot humid air. In the distance they could hear elephants trumpeting. "I can never get used to how big this ship is," Thomas said. Kate pointed at a signboard. "Let's try looking in the 'authentic' section of Africa where they have the three villages. I feel sure my parents would have insisted on going tribal." "Don't you want to check the glass towers first? They probably have swimming pools?" "This isn't a vacation, Thomas." "Kate?" The Snake said "Kate Punda-Milla is that you?" "Who are you?" Kate asked "I'm Beauty." The Cobra said "Beauty Hunter I used to be the kid who worked at that ice cream shop you and your posse hung out at!" "Oh!" Kate said "You...have grown a lot bigger from when I last met you." "Yes...I have not seen you in so long." Beauty said "Your parents have been worried sick for years!" "Where are my parents?" Kate asked "Some time back Asagi" (Kate's father) "Saved up his money to buy a music shop, It's right over there across from Mr. Elephant's Candy Shop you can't miss it it's the shop with the big saxaphone in the window." "Do my eyes deceive me or do I see my daughter come in after five years away from home?" It was her Mother Zecora standing behind the counter wearing her traditional African garments. "Mom?" Kate asked her eyes welling up with tears "Kate?" Her Father Asagi said as he appeared carrying a pile of musical instruments, He dropped the trumpets, and trombones and piccolos and oboes and ran right up to his daughter and gave her a bone crunching hug. "Dad!" Kate exclaimed the air being squeezed out of her. Thomas had been holding Soul at the time, he knew why Kate had given him their daughter to hold before they went in the shop. Asagi released his daughter,that is when he noticed Thomas "Whose this guy?" He asked "Mom, Dad..." Kate said nervously "This is Thomas...I'm um...staying at his house...that filly in his arms is our daughter Soul..." Kate knew their was no point in calling Thomas her husband, humans and changelings could live together but they could not be legally married, it was against the law. Her Mom quickly joined in. "Asagi, we have not seen our daughter for five years and the first thing you want to do is criticise her? Shame on you!" Asagi bowed his head. "Alright, Zecora. It looks like we are back to our old ways with you and Kate ganging up on me." Kate put her arm around her father. "Aw, Dad, I'm so happy to see you. So tell me what you think of little Soul. Don't you want to hold her?" "Maybe later," Asagi said. That made Kate sad but then she thought maybe after Soul was around her father for a few days her father might become used to the idea that Kate had mated with a human. Kate and Thomas sat down at the kitchen table, Zecora put a large bowl of fruit on the table along with other assorted goodies, all of them vegetarian. Thomas looked at the food hungrily but dared not touch it fearing he might offend Kate's parents even further. "It's all right." Zecora said "You're free to eat it, you don't need our permission to start eating, in fact it would be more rude for you to not eat, for in African culture it is impolite to decline food when you are offered." "Thank you." Thomas said he took an apple from the fruit bowl and nibbled it daintily trying to be as polite as possible. "Mom, Dad" Kate said "I know you're probably mad a mated a human but please..." "I'm not mad because he is a human." Asagi said "You're not?" Kate and Thomas asked together "I'm mad because he is a common crook." Asagi snapped his zebra teeth bared "I know you Thomas Lanky! My good friend Charles Tembo the Elephant Changeling gave some money to the bank YOU were working for, he was a brilliant pachyderm he was planning on starting his own software company, he never got around to doing it because YOU made off with all his money!" "Then why is it that you look alike?" Asagi asked. "Well, one pack of twins married another set of twins and the kids married another set of twins, or something to that effect. I still don't get the full story myself." "Okay I confess!" Thomas said as tears weld up in his eyes "I admit the being the infamous Thomas Lanky who stole two hundred people's money! Yes I did all those horrible things! But I got punished I completely got punished for it!" He put his head in his hands "I was raped by a gang of thugs and taken to the criminal underworld where I was raped some more and beaten! And then they used me as a stud on a breeding farm!" "Whoa!" Asagi said "Breeding farm?!" "Yes, they breed changelings to sell as slaves." Thomas said "They found me very useful for impregnating females that could not conceive very well." "And that's how you met my daughter." Asagi said darkly "You impregnated her by raping her!" "But I didn't want to do it!" Thomas exclaimed "They forced me to at gunpoint!" "What?" Asagi asked as he looked at his daughter "Thomas may have raped me it's true but he also is protecting both me and Soul from more dangerous people." "What do you mean?" Asagi asked "I mean, he wants to protect me from the Breeding Farm people who want to continue using me as a brood mare and sell Soul off as a slave!" "What Kate says is the truth." Thomas said reaching for a glass of water to cool himself with "I only followed her because I knew the people who ran the slave breeding operation would try to find her." Asagi looked at Zecora "We have heard tales of people who capture changelings and breed them for nefarious purposes." Asagi said "Tell us more." Meanwhile in the Belly of the Ship a young elegant man with long white hair sat on a plush white sofa eating chocolate covered mints served in a silver dish. A young river otter woman entered, she was one of his father's slaves, a gift to him, she wore a white dress the typical uniform for a slave, she came in holding a tray covered with food. "What does the master wish of me?" She asked "Electra." The Young Man said softly "I want you to undress!" The young otter blushed under her brown fur, but she could not disobey. "Yes." Master "You do realize with have only your word to go on." Asagi said "I may have lost my memories of what happened there." Kate said "But the thing I know for certain is that Thomas is Soul's father, Thomas had us to a paternity test to make sure and it is clear she has some human blood in her because she has blue eyes which no pure blood zebra has." "All right." Zecora said "The human being the father of your child is easy enough to believe, but what will you do now?" Kate looked to Thomas, he only sighed "You decide." He said "It's your life." Kate looked at her parents "I think I choose to stay with Thomas." She said "Because you both know I flunked school, I don't have any job skills and I'd only be a burden to you, perhaps with Thomas I can learn something." Zecora laid a three fingered hand on her husband's who sighed irritably "Well I can't stop you from doing what you want, you were always such a willful little filly, you do whatever makes you happy." The young elegant man with the white hair was Archibald Turpitude the third, often known by his nickname Smokey. He had a taste for exotic experiences. When he was through with Electra she was crying with shame. He had made her do things that no otter should ever have to do. "Go back to your room," he said in his soft voice that made her skin crawl. Smokey sipped at his glass of butterfly nectar and thought of zebras. When he was a child he had a storybook filled with monkeys, elephants, lions, and zebras. He sat down his glass. "I must have a zebra. I've never had one. I want a nice zebra mare, one I can ride all night." And so began Smokey's quest for a new pleasure. It was no surprise to him when his inquiries got a response. A spotter in the Africa section called him to say there were several zebras in the area, but the price would be high. "Don't worry about the price," Smokey said. "Whatever it is, I can afford it. Get me a zebra now." "Your Mother seems...nice" Thomas said slowly "I think my Dad will warm up to you in time." Kate said "He just needs some time to get used to you." :"I hope your right." Thomas said "I really do feel guilty about all those people I swindled" "Isn't there anything you can do about it?" Kate asked A hyena walking nearby overheard their conversation and injected himself into it. "Did I hear you guys say you needed money? I know of an easy job that pays a lot of money for very little work." "Oh?" Thomas said. "What is it?" "There is a very wealthy man who is making a movie about the Africa section and he needs various animals for small roles in the production. You don't need to say anything at all, just stand there and look like you belong in Africa. I heard he's having a lot of trouble finding a zebra." "Really?" Kate said. "I'm a zebra." "I noticed," said the hyena. "My name is Herman Heckle. I can get you a job in the picture and within 3 days you'll have more money than you could make in a year anywhere else." "Wow!" Kate said. "Isn't that wondeful, Thomas? I could earn enough money to pay back the people you swindled." "I don't know," Thomas said. "This sounds like a fishy deal to me. What's this rich guy's name?" "Archibald Turpitude the Third," Herman said. "I never heard of him," Thomas said. Kate rolled her eyes. "Thomas! You're not a millionaire yourself so why would you know any of them?" "I don't know. I still don't like the sound of this job offer." "Well, I do!" Kate said. " Mr Herman Heckle, please tell Archibald Turpitude the Third that I am interested in being in his movie." When the two of them walked away the Hyena got out his cellphone and called Smokey "Everything is going according to plan Master." The Hyena chuckled "Excellent my mind slave! Excellent!" "Why would you be worried?" "There are some people who aren't talked about because of who they are and what they can do." "Oh Thomas," Kate said. "You're just paranoid because of your reckless past. Can't you see that if I do this job and get a lot of money then we can pay off your victims and reclaim your self-respect?" "There's nothing wrng with my self-respect," Thomas said. "I don't mind paying back my victims, but not if it means any danger for you." "Don't worry, Thomas! Don't worry." The next morning Herman Heckle pulled up in a Land Rover to take Kate to the movie shoot. "I should tell Thomas first," Kate said. Heckle said, "Just leave him a note. The boss doesn't like to wait. You don't want to make the boss angry on your first day, do you?" "No," Kate said. When Thomas found the note he crumpled it in his fist and said, "She is so headstrong! I hope nothing bad comes of this." Still she tried to keep being optimistic she really had no evidence this character was wicked or perverse in anyway. She learned how wrong she was when they drove past Africa and went to Uvnova, a seedy human neighborhood near the belly of the ship. "Welcome!" Smokey said he was flanked by two vicious Hunting Dog Changelings "Welcome to my world!" Kate recognized that voice, she knew he was one of her captors at the Breeding Farm. Thomas knew he had to go after Kate, he told his super intelligent pet parrot Melanie to look after Soul. "You will keep her safe will you?" Thomas asked "Of course" Melanie said "You're just so cute," she said as she tickled the young filly's lips. "Cochi cochi co-" *Crunch!* "Yeow! You little-! You must be teething! Let go of my talon!" Soul just laughed. Melanie decided to keep a little distance between herself and Soul. Meanwhile, Kate was looking around for an escape route. "Forget it," Smokey said. "You're not going anywhere. My dog changelings would run you down. I've seen them kill gazelles and antelopes. You're a zebra. You can't outrun them." Smokey ran his fingers through Kate's mane. "And a mighty pretty zebra you are. Put a saddle on her. I want to ride." Kate tried to buck and rear but Smokey's henchmen got her bridled and saddled. Smokey had slipped on leather riding boots. He carried a small whip. "Hold her steady while I mount her." Kate whinnied and pulled at the reins but she was held tightly and she felt Smokey slip into the saddle and wrap his legs around her belly with his feet in the stirrups. "Don't try any funny stuff," Smokey said. "I know all about your boyfriend and baby. Herman Heckle gave me a full report. You try to hurt me and your little filly will be in a lot of pain. Do you understand?" Kate didn't say anything. Smokey popped her butt witrh the whip. "I said do you understand?" "Yes," Kate said in a sad, broken voice. 'I'm just a skinny little nerd and he probably has a thousand bodyguards' He thought to himself 'I know I have psychic powers but they're pretty wimpy powers and only effect people I've slept with...' Just then he felt a burning sensation in his hands, he looked at his hands fire was growing out of his palms! "What the?" Jonathan said "How could this..." Than he realized what this meant Thomas's father had been a fire thrower. Many an afternoon Thomas and his dad had played catch with fireballs in the backyard. Of course, they had always been his dad's fireballs. He remembered his father saying, "Don't worry, son. Sometime after you pass puberty you might be able to create your own fireballs. It's in your genetics." But Thomas had never been able to conjure up anything more than a warm feeling in the palm of his hand. Until now. Maybe it was because of the extreme stress on his personality of losing Kate that something seemed to be happening in his hand. The fire in his palm didn't hurt him or burn his skin. Thomas flicked his wrist and the tiny fireball flew off and hit a treetrunk where it splashed into a few flickering flames that quickly went out. "Not much," Thomas muttered, "but it's a start. Dad, thank you for giving me the genes to make fire." When he got to Uvnova he did not waste time he quickly aimed a fireball at Smokey's face. It was a perfect shot he fell off Kate's back screaming and clutching his face his two dog changelings poured a bucket of water on him "Who threw that?" Smokey asked angrily "Who threw that?!" "I did." Thomas said causally tossing a fireball up and down in one hand "You..." Smokey said in disgust "I remember you Smokey." Thomas said "You were the one who sicced your gang of thugs on me to rape me." "Now it's your turn to scream," Thomas said, but Smokey's dogs growled menacingly and Kate yelled, "Don't, Thomas! He will hurt Soul!" "Soul is safe,"Thomas said. "Melanie is watching him." Kate gasped."Thomas! You left Soul in the care of a parrot!" Thomas turned to her. "You know Melanie is not just any parrot! She's super-intelligent." "Thomas! He's getting away!" Smokey had used the opportunity when Thomas turned his head to make his escape. Thomas threw a fireball after him but it skittered along on the ground and barely burned his heel. "Let him go!" Kate said. "I insist we get back to Soul right away!" "Fine," Thomas muttered. "But Thomas?" "What?" "Thanks for coming to rescue me. You are my hero." "Awww..." "I saw what you did." She said in her soft otter voice "You were very brave." "Are you one of his slaves?" Thomas asked 'Yes." The Otter said "You can not save me, it is too late for me...A tracking device was planted in me at birth." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial of glowing green substance "If Smokey consumes this potion." Electra whispered "He will turn into a woman...this is a gender change potion." "How will that help us?" Thomas asked "Well he'll be so ashamed he'll run to his father desperate for a cure..." The Otter said "How do we get him to consume it?" Kate asked "It's simple chocolate, he'll eat anything chocolate but his favorite is hot cocoa...So make a cup of hot cocoa every night and leave it on the kitchen table if he breaks into your house he'll be sure to drink it" "What's wrong with that?" Thomas said. "James is a cool dude. I wish I was more like him." "Oh, stop it, Thomas. You have a family now. You can't run around looking for fights to get into. Thank you, Miss Electra Otter for this vial of gender changer potion. Your idea is very good and I will be sure to do it." "You're welcome," Electra said. "Will you bring Soul to see me one day? I heard you talking abou ther. She sounds so cute." "She is very cute," Kate said. "Yes, I will be happy to bring Soul here, but not until Smokey is out of the way, of course." "I understand." "Oh my darling..." Kate said as she picked her up Thomas looked at the gender change potion, he rubbed his chin "I know I've seen this kind of potion before..."he said to himself "But where?" "No," Thomas said. "I don't think that was where I saw it. Sayyy, wouldn't this stuff be fun at parties? That's assuming you could change the genders back to what they are supposed to be, of course." Kate looked hard at him. "I hope you aren't planning on trying any experiments. I don't think that potion is something to play with." "You're right," Thomas said. "We'll just stick to the 'make a hot cup of cocoa every night' plan." "Do you think Smokey will really break into our house and drink the cocoa?" "Not a chance is my guess, but Electra seemed pretty sure it might happen." "I can't believe what that skinny little nerd just did to me!" He fumed "He must have gotten those powers somewhere...but where?" He typed in Thomas Lanky to a search engine...he got 'List of elf/human hybrid citizens' "Elf/Human hybrids?!" Smokey said "Hmmm" He wondered "Interesting!" Smokey tapped his chin with his long finger. "Hmmm... So Thomas Lanky is a junior fire thrower, eh? Next time I'll wear my water suit. If there is a next time. To tell the truth, I'm already losing interest in zebras. Now I'm thinking maybe I would like to ride a crocodile." He tapped out an email to Herman Heckle the Hyena: What's the crocodile situation? Herbert replied: Anything's possible. Meanwhile, Thomas, Kate, and Soul were getting a well-deserved rest. While they snoozed in the bedroom, out in the kitchen a cup of hot cocoa sat on the table, ready for Smokey if he ever came sneaking around in the night. Kate woke up with a start. "Thomas! There is someone in the kitchen slurping cocoa!" Thomas ran into the kitchen and Kate heard him yell, "Get out! Get out!" and there was a crash. "Thomas!" Kate yelled. "Are you alright?" Thomas stumbled back into the bedroom. There was cocoa all over his chest. "Just a mouse. When I hit it with the broom I broke the cup and splattered cocoa on myself." "Did you get the mouse?" Kate asked. "No, he got away." "Just go back to sleep. I'll clean up the mess tomorrow." As he slept he had a dream unlike any other he had ever seen His Father approached him, Thomas was once again a scrawny six year old boy. "Son." His Father said "I have something to confess you are not really my son." "What?!" Thomas exclaimed "It's true, there is no way you could be my son, my reproductive organs were lost long ago...I'm a cyborg Son." "What?!" Thomas screamed "Than how did I get your fire powers?!" "That power was a cybernetic implant." His father said sadly "You got your powers from your real father the king of elves." Thomas woke up in a cold sweat Kate listened to Thomas's story. "I don't know much about cyborgs or elves," she said, "but I know a little bit about dreams. Sometimes they are important and sometimes they are not." Thomas said, "You weren't kidding when you said you only know a little bit about them. But I know how to find out more -- talk to my father." "Is that even possible?" Kate asked. Kate kissed him on the cheek, for she felt sympathetic toward him. "You know... She said "It's still early...We could you know..." "Kate..."Thomas said slyly "Are you actually suggesting..." "Well it's been so long since I had any..." Kate said "About nine months at least..." "That's very generous for you to offer." Thomas said "But what if I make you pregnant again?" "Someone needs to brush up on his Changeling physiology Kate said "I'm still nursing most placental mammal changelings can't get pregnant while they are still providing milk for the first offspring." Thomas looked thoughtful for a moment, he ran his hand over her stripey muzzle "All right I'll do it." He said "Just let me get my glasses." "No need." Kate said softly "You don't need glasses to make love all you need is your senses of touch and smell." Uh oh! Thomas thought. More trouble! But the next morning he was thinking exactly the opposite. That was no trouble at all! And he had a big smile on his face. "Why are you so happy?" Kate asked. "You know," he said. Kate snickered. "You want to get happy again today?" "Sure, why not. I don't think too much happiness ever killed anybody, did it?" To their surprise a crocodile changeling was downstairs, she had tripped over a broom, her dress was ragged and torn and she was bleeding in several places! "Please help me!" She croaked "I was at the grocery store minding my own business when all of a sudden, two enormous dog changelings grab me! I tried to bite their heads off but they held my jaws shut!" "Who are you?" Thomas asked knowing full well whose dogs she was referring to "Ramona." The Crocodile said "Ramona Jenkins." "Why have you come to us for help?" Kate asked "Well I didn't come for your help I came specifically for his help!" Ramona said "I've heard he is the one with the gift, he can make fire in the palm of his hand!" Thomas gulped "Well...Ms. Jenkins, I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but really I only got my fire powers a few days ago...I'm a beginner" "Uh, I didn't do that. It was just one guy and all I did was throw some balls at him." Ramona threw up her hands. "Yes! That's all I want! Just throw some of your fireballs at those dogs! Are you unwilling to help me because I am a acrocodile? Is that it? Do you have a thing about crocodiles? You just don't like crocodiles? You see a crocodile woman bleeding and hurt and you think no, you don't want to help her? Is that it?" Kate pushed Thomas out the door. "For God's sake, help her, Thomas! Go throw fire at those dogs!" Kate slammed the door behind him leaving him standing on the porch with nervous trembling shaking his legs. Thomas took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together. He could hear growling coming from somewhere. Suddenly he heard the clatter of claws pounding, the sound of dogs running toward him. He rubbed his hands faster and a tiny little flame sputtered between them. The dogs were growling, almost upon him. He saw their snarling mouths when they both leaped at him. He closed his eyes and put up his hands palms out and felt something flow out of them. There was the sound of yelping and the smell of burnt fur and Thomas opened his eyes. The two dogs were crouched a distance away. Their fur was smoking but they were still growling at him. "Haha!" Thomas said. "You're afraid now, aren't you? You want some more of that!" He put his hands up in a threatening gesture and the dogs shrunk back from him, not sure what they should do. "Please just one more," Thomas muttered to himself as he rubbed his hands together until he could feel friction burns if nothing else, but then there was a tiny popping noise and fire crackled between his hands. He screamed, "Heeeyaaahhh!" as he flung the fire at the dogs. This time they leaped into the air and fell over backwards as a blast of flame momentarily engulfed their bodies. Now their fur was smoking all over and even showing a few sparks. They howled in pain as they ran away. "And don't come back!" Thomas yelled after them. "It was so terrible!" Ramona said weeping "I was in the dairy aisle putting a carton of milk in my basket, when suddenly this arm goes around my throat and the milk goes flying into some Lizard-Woman's face!" "I know who those Dogs work for..." Thomas said as he sat down "Some filthy rich punk kid...who is the son of one of the biggest criminals in the universe!" "Well, I know some of them. Others I've heard of. This one is a mix of both. I worked for a guy who worked for a guy who worked for a guy, and so on and so forth, who worked for him. Half of what I took was sent up the chain to him." "The criminals are taking over everything!" Ramona complained. Thomas nodded. "It's a tough world." Kate said, "Thomas was once a criminal himself." Ramona put her hand over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to imply that you--" "It's okay," Kate said. "He's reformed now. Aren't you, Thomas?" Her name was Rinnay and she was doing volunteer work for the Friends of Foxes Association -- FOFA. She had a coin collecting can with her. On the side of it was printed FOFA and a picture of a smiling fox. When she saw Kate and Thomas and Ramona she walked over and shook her can so that the few coins in it jingled. "Would you like to donate to FOFA?" she asked. Thomas showed some teeth. "Uh... we're kind of short on money right now. We're staying with Kate's parents because we--" "Thomas!" Kate said. "You don't have to tell this stranger details about our personal lives." She pressed a small crystal ball into Thomas' hand "This..." The Vixen said "Is a powerful talisman it can let you see past, present and future!" "Why should I believe you?" Thomas asked "Ask it something." Rinnay said "Go on ask it anything!" Feeling foolish Tom said "What was my favorite thing to eat when I was six?" The crystal responded "Your Mother's chocolate pudding pies, then when you were seven you threw up after eating one and swore off sweets entirely." "Amazing!" Thomas exclaimed "The crystal is thinking." The Fox Woman said "There are two future paths that may occur..." 'One path..." Said the crystal "Is that your daughter will become a fine artist." "Well...That sounds nice..." Kate said "The other path is that she will end up a sex slave." The crystal said "Good Lord!" Thomas said "Tell me how that second path can be avoided...tell me now!" "I cannot." The Crystal said "That would be telling." "Such as?" "Death, that will never change. However, the how and why, and your curcimstances can. I've had several futures. Some say that I'll die penniless and on the streets. Some say I'll be surrounded by children and loved ones. Some say I'll die rich, but alone. It all depends on the choices that are made." "So the Crystal is not really all that useful for guiding us then, is it?" Thomas said. "I wouldn't say that," the fox woman said. "It does know the past, so it can explain something that happens after it happens. And knowing what has happened can help you decide what to do going forward, right?" "I suppose so. Still, it would be nice if it would just spell out exactly what was going to happen in the future." "But don't you see that's impossible? Then you could take steps to change what happened and the Crystal would be wrong. It's a paradox. But it can tell you what's going to happen in cases where there is nothing you can do about it." "A fat lot of good that does!" Thomas said, but he was laughing and held no grudge against either the Crystal or the fox woman who carried it. "Is something the matter?" Kate asked "I just had a twitch on my..." Thomas chose his words carefully "On my back parts...." "Still twitching from the Spankotron?" Kate asked "But you don't have a tail." "It hurts at the end of my spine." "That seems like so long ago that you were on that terrible Spankatron 300 machine," Kate said. "Not long enough," Thomas said. "Do we have any butt salve?" "Butt salve? I never heard of it." "Me neither. I was just hoping it existed. Maybe I should sit in a tub of ice water. Or should it be hot water?" "I don't know. I would think hot." He stripped down to his birthday suit and entered the tub just as it began to fill up. When Thomas' derriere touched the hard floor of the bathtub he winched again. Yeah, I definitely think I've got a broken tailbone Thomas muttered to himself A twinkling light came drifting in through the window of the bathroom. "Uh oh," Thomas said. "I probably shouldn't have spoken that out loud." The twinkling light quickly resolved itself into a tiny frog woman with flapping wings. "Hello, illustrious being!" she said. "I am Roxinne, the healing frog fairy, the frogmaster of dreams, and the keeper of the great seal of Arcturus." Thomas put his head in his hands and muttered, "What have I done to deserve this?" But Roxinne heard him and said "You are an illustrious being and deserve the care that only Roxinne can give you." Her voice was so deep she sounded like a man, a man with a deep voice. She could have sung bass. Thomas forced a smile. "It's okay, Roxinne. I don't need your services. Please twinkle back to wherever you came from." "I will not, illustrious being. I can see the pain in your face and I heard you complain about your tailbone. Let me take a look." Roxinne dove into the tub with a splash. She was no bigger than his fist so Thomas was careful not to accidentally squash her. It tickled to feel her swimming around his butt. She stuck her head up out of the water and said, "Ah! Very easy to fix. Close your eyes. Sometimes the visual effects can be alarming." "Will it hurt?" Thomas asked. "Not exactly, but it could... tingle. Although maybe that's not exactly the right word. Close your eyes." Thomas closed his eyes and waited. Suddenly a feeling like being electrocuted shot through his spine. It jangled his nerves and made his hands shake. "Holy Smack!" he yelled. "What was THAT!" When he opened his eyes Roxinne was sitting on the edge of the tub dusting off her hands. "All done!" she said and smiled brightly. "If there is nothing else you need, illustrious being, then I'll be going now. I think I hear another call for my services." "I'm good," Thomas groaned. "Go help someone else. And uh... thank you." For he had just noticed that there was no more pain in his tailbone. He was shaken, but otherwise felt pretty good. She wandered back to the family room and sat down on the sofa, soon sleep overcame her and she began to dream, Thomas had put on a bathrobe and some tighty whities he called softly "Kate! Kate!" He heard something that sounded like snoring, he looked to the sofa and saw Kate dead asleep on the sofa But Kate looked so cute that Thomas sat there on the edge of the sofa just looking at her. He reached out and rubbed her belly. Her eyes snapped open. "What are you doing?" "Nothing. You just looked so cute lying there and... I rubbed your belly." She smiled. "I'll just tell myself that wasn't weird and go back to sleep now." She closed her eyes. Thomas watched for a moment then shrugged and went to check on Soul. He knew Soul liked to have HER little tummy rubbed. At first Thomas thought he would rub her belly but he thought better of it, and simply picked her up holding her gently and minding her head he lay her down in the crook of his arm and gently rocked her back and forth making soft clucking sounds Then Thomas remembered Rinnay the Fox Woman's terrible prediction about Soul that she made using her Crystal. "You will NOT become a sex slave," Thomas murmured. "You will become an artist." He vowed to make sure she always had pleanty of crayons and water paints and paper around. And there would NEVER be any porn in the house. Soul's future would be safe with him. "Well I guess I have to decide what we do for supper." Thomas said as he put his hand to his chin and thought "What should I do?" He thought "While I do like to make a nice home cooked meal, all my favorite foods are meat based not what Kate likes..." He thought some more "I could just order a Vegetable lovers pizza from Manny Martian Pizza Parlor...Yeah why not?" So he grabbed the phone and dialed the number "Oh come on," Thomas said. "Can't I order a pizza for my family?" "Try another parlor." "But I need a veggie lovers pizza," Thomas complained. "You might try Pam's Potato Pies. She's pretty desperate and will deliver anywhere." "I don't want a potato pie!" "They have other things too. I'm pretty sure they do pizza." Thomas sighed. "Fine, I'll call Pam." The voice on the other end was very cheerful. "Hi! This is Pam! Can I potato pie you today?" "No thanks," Thomas said. "What I need is a nice vegetable pizza." "Er... you mean with rutabagas and squash and collards on it?" Thomas made a yuck face. "No! Normal vegetables. Like onion and green and red pepper and mushrooms and olives and..." "Ohhhhh. Sure! I can do that! Where do you live?" Thomas gave her the address and sat back to wait for the 30 minutes that she promised it would take. Kate got off the sofa, and saw Thomas open up the box to reveal the most lovely pizza she had ever seen. "It took me a lot of work to get this." Thomas said with a grin "Shall we feast?" As they dug in to their pizza Kate felt a strange sense that everything was all right with the world, that nothing could hurt them now "Pam's Potato Pies," Thomas said with a chuckle. "Apparently she makes pizza." "It's good," Kate said. "Thomas, did you ever have the feeling that everything is perfect, that it's a perfect day, and you feel completely at peace?" "I don't know. It seems like there is always something to worry about. I suppose some days are better than others. Why?" "Because that's the way I feel today. Everything is just like it should be and I am fine with it. It's perfect." "You have a perfect smile on your face," Thomas said. He leaned over and kissed her. "Mmmm! Onions!" Meanwhile Smokey was in his laboratory checking the progress the breeding farm "Hmmm...." He said "Birth rates have been down as of late, Too bad we had to loose that Stud Lanky, he was really good at impregnating the female changelings." A Female slave a Horse-Woman came in "You wanted to see me Master?" She asked timidly "I want you to find a new human male to serve as our breeding stud." Smokey said twirling his long white hair in his fingers The Horse woman gulped nervously "How should I do that?" "Use your imagination..." "Your imagination," Smokey said. The horse woman maintained a blank look on her face. Smokey threw up his hands. "Good heavens, woman! You don't have any imagination?" "I don't think so. I know my first name is Triella." "That's a pretty name," Smokey said. "Now imagine it's something else." "But it's not something else." "I know that!" Smokey said. "I'm trying to show you what imagination is. You imagine something is that really isn't." "Why would I do that?" Smokey looked at the floor and shook his head. "Because it's entertaining and it can be useful. How do you even know what clothes to wear if you have no imagination?" "I reach in my closet and pull out something clean." "But don't you imagine what you might look like in it before you choose it?" The horse woman shrugged. "I have a mirror in my room. I can see what I look like in it." "I give up," Smokey said. "Fine. You don't have any imagination. I'll have someone write detailed instructions for you about how to find a new human male for the breeding farm. You can follow instructions, can't you?" "Oh yes! I'm very good at that." Smokey sighed. "I'll bet you are." She examined her breasts, In mammal changelings, Females grow breasts at puberty just like female humans do, but with changeling girls they are small and without nipples and remain that way until they become pregnant. When they are first impregnated a miracle occurs as there breasts enlarge with milk they become extremely well endowed and grow nipples for the first time Thomas watched Kate examine herself in the mirror. I'm getting turned on by this, he thought. She heard the sound of heavy breathing, She turned around, Thomas was straining not to stroke himself in his aroused state. She cracked a zebra grin and sashayed up to him "You really are a very horny man..." She said to him "Uh huh." Thomas said weakly blushing with arousal and embarrassment Kate snaked two fingers up and down his shaft, Thomas moaned in ectasy "Oh yes." They woke up to hear a filly crying, Kate got out of bed in a mere two seconds, Soul was hungry and needed her diaper changed Meanwhile The Horse-Woman Ellonwy was looking for a suitable human male to function as stud for the breeding farm. Than she walked into a local ice cream parlor She sat down at a booth all by herself, she never felt so alone, so utterly depressed "Excuse me Ma'am." Came a soft heavenly voice from above "Is their anything you would like today?" Ellonwy looked up there was a sandy haired human male with a blue shirt, aquamarine pants and a white apron, apparently he was an employee here "Um...I'd like one scoop of chocolate/vanilla swirl." Ellonwy said "Thanks." Ellonwy pulled out the list of instructions she had been given, titled Checklist For Finding A New Human Male For The Breeding Farm. Number One: Does he have broad shoulders? Ellonwy looked at the ice cream clerk. "Yes," she said. Number Two: Is he clean? "Yes," she said. Number Three: Does he like women? Ellonwy waited until the sandy-haired clerk brought her ice cream. "Do you like women?" she asked him. "I think so," he said. "How do you mean that?" Ellonwy looked at her list. "It just says does he like women. It's for a job as a stud at a breeding farm." "What?" he said. "Is this a joke?" "No. It's for real. I have to locate a human male to be a stud on a breeding farm. Are you interested?" "Uh... I guess I would have to hear more details about it." Ellonwy checked her list. Number Four: Does he want to be a stud? "So you do want to be a stud, then?" she asked. "Why don't you come visit the farm? Maybe try it out? See if you like it?" The ice cream clerk put a finger in his collar to loosen it. "Are you sure this is for real? Are there hidden cameras around here somewhere?" "No, it's for real. Here's a card with the address on it. Can you come out tomorrow?" "It does happen to be my day off... OK, I'll be there. But if this is some kind of joke..." "It's no joke. Come prepared to breed." He saw a door that had printed on it in baby blue letters, Pleasure Bon Bon "OK..." Sean said to himself "It's now or never..." He opened the door and found himself in what looked like a Victorian Era salon, inside were dozens of changeling women in tight Victorian Era dresses. There was one human male there as well, he had long white hair so at first Sean thought he was a woman "So...Uh...What's this all about?" He asked nervously "What you don't know?" Smokey chuckled "You're being offered the opportunity of a lifetime!" "Um...Listen..." Sean said "I don't really want to be a breeding stud." "I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter." "Beg your pardon?" Just then Smokey injected something into Sean's veins when he did that a strange transformation took place Sean transformed into a large gorilla like brute with low intelligence "That should keep our new studs from running away" Smokey said with a smirk on his face The End! © Copyright 2011 Twiga, Steve Ellen, BBWOLF Turning 23 6/3, (known as GROUP). All rights reserved. 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