As Usual, I Was Silent. --14. Five & Two--
#14 of AUIWS
Again, sorry for possible bad quality. Been really stressed out and can't seem to make these chapters work. 16 and on should be somewhat better...I hope.
Chapter 14 --Five and Two.--
My days grew much less focused on sex, much to my frustration, and more attentive to helping Alfred cope around the house. I was still silent and bitter around him, but despite that I was present for his needs. Thank the maker I didn't have to help him go to the bathroom, though on the more sex-less days I sometimes found myself wondering how well he was endowed. I had no attraction to him of course, it was just one of those random curiosities that kinda sticks since it's so unusual and the mind tends to cling to unusual things. He spent most of his time painting. With the snow almost completely gone and spring setting in, I took once more to afternoon flights, enjoying the freedom the air offered.
About a week after my uncle had returned, I found some abandoned kittens in the woods. They were weak, and their crying sounded so pitiful...but I needed to know if mommy was around, so I watched them for hours. No mommy...just like me... at their age, a mother cat wouldn't disappear for hours like this, and would have them cooped up in a protective area, not free-roaming out in the open like this. A quick hike through the woods wrenched my heart...the mother was dead. It made me cry...those poor kittens... I did the only things I could think to do: I hurried back, picked up the frightened kittens, and carefully brought them back home. Thankfully there was a cardboard box in the kitchen the meats had been delivered in (wrapped meats, of course), so I placed them in there, five kittens total, and quickly got them a warm fluffy towel. Unfortunately, I didn't have a litterbox...and as I sat there watching them crowd together for warmth...it hit me that I'd rescued them but had no idea how to care for them.
A hand on my shoulder caught my attention and I looked up to see not my dad, but Calin standing there. "Hey Anne, I see you've adopted."
I just nodded, looking back down at them. Their shrill little voices were laced with hunger.
"I take it you don't know how to raise kittens?"
I shook my head.
"Well, don't worry. I'll go get the vet and some supplies for you. I'll be back in a bit, I came by to see how you and your employer were doing but you weren't in. He's recovering very well, I wasn't expecting the medicine to work that efficiently."
I stood up and hugged him. "Thank you..."
He hugged me close, gently swaying e back and forth. "You're welcome, Anne...but I really must thank you for that night...I've never felt so good before."
I blushed, whispering, "If...if you want to again...I would love to..."
He nuzzled my nose with a smile. "Maybe I'll take up that offer...but...I think what's even better...is having someone to love." I looked up at him, seeing nothing but affection and care in his eyes... I leaned up and kissed him deeply, purring to him. The kittens' constant mewling kept our feet on the ground though, so I broke the kiss and leaned against him. "I'll be back in a bit with the vet."
"Okay." He kissed my forehead and left, hurrying to get the supplies and the vet or the vet's assistant if either of them could make it up here. I looked at the kittens, sitting down to keep watch. They were so small...so helpless...so cute... and so pretty; the two females were blue-cream calicos, their orange spots a beautiful honey-orange and their dark splotches a slate gray with a faint hint of blue sheen in direct sunlight (hence the breeder's term "blue cream"), and two of the males were a gorgeous honey-orange tabby coloration with cream stripes. The last male though was almost solid black, save for a white pattern of fur on his side that looked like the letter S. He also had incredibly vivid blue eyes, more so than his siblings. They were such beautiful little ones... They were also exhausted; with the warmth of the house and the towel and each other they fell asleep quickly, huddled together in a big ball of cute.
I took the opportunity to quietly leave, heading back outside. I located the mother again...I just stood there staring at her. She was a beautiful cat, calico with tabby stripes in her splotches...it made me so sad, that she'd tried her hardest but just couldn't make it... hesitantly I knelt and stroked her fur, feeling fleas leaping from her. Her fur was so silky soft...
"Sleep well...you did all you could. I'll take care of your babies from now on..."
There was a pit by an old tree's roots, so I carried her to the pit and buried her there, then set a few colorful stones in a pattern over her as a marker. Now I was covered in dirt, smelled like dead cat and unkempt kittens, and probably had a few fleas in my hair, but...if everything went well, I had just saved five little lives. As I headed back to the house, it dawned on me that even if they were animals, I'd just made a world of difference for them. I was making a difference in so many lives now it was starting to stagger me. Inside, the vet hadn't yet returned, and the kittens were still asleep, so I went to change my clothes and wash up. When I came back down, Calin was just coming in through the door with bags in tow...and the vet, an elderly Human. I led them over to the kittens and quietly started getting dinner going while he looked them over. The poor little things were scared out of their minds and calling for mommy...
After a while he finished up and turned to me. "They should be fine. Calin here has brought some formula and bottles to feed them with, as well as some medications to rub on the backs of their necks to help fight infection and kill fleas. In a few days I'd like you to bring them down to my office so I can give them a more thorough examination and check for anything like heartworms
or other parasites. You'll also have to train them to use the litterbox, which is easy enough, if you see them needing to go, set them in the box and don't let them out until they've gone. With repetition over the next month, they'll make the association. In a week or two they should be old enough to handle solid soft foods, I've had Calin bring you some in advance, keep it cold and when it's needed warm it up for them. Make sure they stay warm." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a very fine-toothed comb. "Here's a flea comb. While you're feeding them, make sure you brush them gently. It'll remove the fleas, and help relax them and let them know you're not something to be feared."
"Thank you sir."
He nodded with a smile. "I wish you luck with them. Give them lots of attention and care and they'll be your best friends." With that he took his leave. I noticed he did a lot of looking around, and he seemed apprehensive. When it was just me and Calin he turned to me and smiled softly.
"They need a bath; I have some pet-safe shampoo which should also help kill the fleas on them. The towel and box will, unfortunately, have to be replaced, since fleas get in everywhere."
I nodded, turning the meat to Low on the stove. "I'll go get the stuff, you give them a bath."
Half an hour later we were sitting down to dinner, the kittens sound asleep with their bellies full and their fur soft and cleaned and groomed. Alfred had locked himself in his painting room and wouldn't respond, so it was just me and Calin, and Dad when he finally came down. Dad was dressed in that hooded white robe he used to wear, in case Alfred came out or someone else decided to step through the door. Calin finished his steak with a murr of approval, licking his lips.
"That has got to be the best steak I've ever had."
Dad nodded. "Indeed. Seems my maid has quite the knack for the culinary arts."
I just blushed and stayed silent. Now that the three of us were here though, I remembered what Dad had told me...I needed to tell Calin...but Dad had other plans tonight.
"So Calin...you've been taking care of me and seem to have befriended my maid, so...tell me a little more about yourself. You have a family?"
Calin nodded, though he looked a little apprehensive at the word "family". "My parents were killed in a biological terrorist attack, so it's just me and my sisters. The oldest is in the military bioterrorism and bacteriological research division; as I told you, she's the one who found the cures that saved you. The second oldest is..." He paused very briefly. "Living at our house with her spouse, raising their firstborn. And the third sister, a year under me, is returning from her travels abroad. She's been looking after people who were victimized the same way my parents were."
Dad nodded. "It's tough being a war orphan...have you studied in school?"
"Yes, I skipped 5th grade and graduated last year from high school as salutatorian. It wasn't much of a contest really though, since the majority of my classmates were more concerned with sex, drugs, cheating, and who could win the most fights."
"It's unfortunate, but that's what war brings...destruction on all levels."
"Yeah...it destroyed a part of me too..." He sighed, but then looked up at me. "All those holes though...I think I've finally found the cure...or well, it seems to have found me."
Dad smiled under his hood and nodded. "You two seem to be perfect for each other." With that he glanced sidelong at me, taking a bite of steak as if signifying that it was my turn to speak.
"Um...Calin...I uh..."
"Yes Anne?" he asked, his ears tilting towards me.
Now or never... "There's something you need to know...and I ...I hope it doesn't shock you or...anything bad..."
He chuckled. "Try me. I promise I won't overreact."
That still didn't reassure me, I was afraid of his rejection, but... "Well...Garret here...he's not just my employer."
Calin tilted his head curiously at me.
"He's...my father."
Calin looked between him and me several times. "Well that explains a lot," he said with a grin. I stared at him, completely not expecting that response. "You two look a lot alike now that I think about it."
Dad chuckled. "Me, possibly, but she's practically a spitting image of her mother."
Calin smiled at me. "Your mother must have been drop-dead gorgeous then."
"So you're...you're not...disgusted or anything?"
"Why should I be?" he asked, obviously and genuinely confused.
Dad chuckled again. "Should I tell him Anne, since you're struggling with it?" I stumbled over my tongue and eventually just nodded, staring at the floor in embarrassment. He lowered his voice. "Anne and I have been mating for the past several months and well...she wants to progress to mateship eventually."
Calin just nodded, chewing on another bite of steak. "I don't really know what to say, but that seems to be a good choice."
Now I was confused. "So you're...not upset?"
Calin smiled at me, shaking his head. "You asked me the other night how I was able to keep going?"
I could feel my face heating up in embarrassment again at him mentioning that in front of Dad. "Y-yeah..." I was curious still, for not having had sex for a while, how had he been able to keep up with me the entire night?
He sighed, a little embarrassed himself. "Anne, I...ever since I was six and my older sister was eight, we've...well, we've been having sex almost constantly, at least until she was sixteen and she went off to school for language immersion studies. She found her husband there...they didn't get married until she was nineteen, a year ago, when he'd returned from the war. And...I guess it's only fair to say that technically, I'm a father with my sister."
"What do you mean?"
"Her husband returned from the war sterile, and they desperately wanted a baby, so...they came to me when she went into heat a month after the wedding, and...I gave her my nephew. He's a year old this month." He sighed, then looked back up at me. "Though I have to ask, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"...I was...afraid of...of losing you...I love Dad, but...I love you too..."
Calin got up out of his chair and knelt at my side. "Anne...it would take far more than that for me to desert you. You're my best friend now, and I love you."
Dad came up to my other side. "Calin, you do know of Fur and Dragon marriage arrangements, right?"
He nodded, taking my hand. "If it's okay with you, sir...I would be honored to be her mate alongside you, when she feels the time is right to have me." Calin and dad both looked at me...I was dizzy. "Anne...is this okay with you?"
My lip was quivering, I felt like my heart was going to explode. "Yes...yes!" was all I could manage, then I burst out crying as they both took my hands and kissed my cheeks. This was too good to be true, yet it was true...Calin and Dad wanted me, and I wanted them...and now, when I felt ready, I could have them...they would wait...
I was silent, just sitting there and reveling in the love I felt for them and coming from them. I kissed Dad deeply, then Calin, both of them hugging me... and both of them had a hand on one of my breasts, the perverts, but it made me happy. All at once though Calin's ears swiveled back and Dad looked up with a curious expression.
"Do I hear...kittens?"
I completely forgot! Dad didn't know about the kittens!