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Roaring Road Trip 3: A Late Summer Night's Cream

I awoke to a painful cramping of my bottom shoulder, still spooning with Julie. It was starting to get light out, so I figured it must have been around 5am or so. I didn't really want to wake her abruptly, so I quietly drew back the blanket we were using as a cover, and lifted her upper leg back a bit over top of mine, and started caressing her hairless mons.

I guess that must have changed the format of her dreams, whatever they were, as she started wriggling a bit and making little pleasurable sounds. Just like the night before I pressed my hand over her vulva and started moving her labia apart then letting them back together, just moving my fingers, my hand itself resting on her pubic bone. This brought more sounds of pleasure and some hip rocking.

She must have really been into whatever she was dreaming about, because she was VERY wet and after a little bit of me ducking the meaty part of the end of my finger against the opening of her vagina, using my index and ring fingers to spread her labia widely, her eyes shot open and she gripped my hand and moaned out loudly. I tucked the whole end of my finger into her and her eyes shut tight again as she pressed my hand tightly to her crotch while she shuddered into orgasm - her first from me.

When her mind became fully conscious she turned some to look at me and then smiled. "That was an interesting wake-up call. Thanks, dear."

I cuddled her close. "No problem. Figured you'd like it, but seems you were well on your way without me. What were you dreaming about?" I asked, curiously.

Julie blushed deeply. "You'll think its silly."

I shrugged. "Silly or not, you were enjoying it all the same."

Julie blushed. "You remember how you had that lion laying in that.... special.... video I mentioned?" I nodded. "Well, you were doing that with some very very big cat, larger than a lion, and you had this absolutely huge thing up his butt. And he was awake, just like the lion in the video. And as you were doing whatever you were doing, he got this huge erection, and.... I....."

I looked curious as I drew the blanket back over us and cuddled her. "You what, Julie?"

Julie wrapped the pillow around her face in embarrassment. "I got up on him... and.... let him squirt in me," came the muffled response.

I laughed and Julie unwrapped her face. "What?"

"Well, could the animal you dreamed about be a liger?" I asked.

"What's that?" Julie asked with curiosity.

"It's a hybrid cat. Half african lion, half tiger. It's the result of a lion breeding a tigress," I answered matter-of-factly.

"They really can do that?" Julie sounded surprised.

I nodded. "Yep, I've been thinking about the concept for years. That's how come we got Tatiana, actually. I've been wanting to start breeding for ligers to investigate a number of things about them that it seems the scientific community has decided weren't worth researching. Like how come female ligers can breed but male ligers are believed to be genetically sterile. Since big cats have low fertility rates to begin with, I was curious why no one ever checked to see if they were genetically sterile, clinically sterile, or just clinically subfertile like how male lions tend to be."

"So.... there's a chance that... someday... that could really happen?" Julie looked curious and hopeful.

I nodded. "We'd have to see, but... yeah. At the very least you could probably ride Jake. He's a bit of a size queen anyway."

"Size queen?" Julie asked.

I explained. "Someone that likes big... objects inside them. Whether that be a female that seeks out huge cocks or whatever for vaginal or anal sex, or a male that has similar interests in his only opening. Usually it's in reference to a gay male that keeps looking for bigger things to do himself with, whether that be men or objects..."

"Or animals?" Julie inquired, and I nodded.

"Yeah, though you aren't necessarily a size queen if you enjoy horses. You just have to be rather stretchy." I chuckled and Julie giggled as well.

"Don't these size-queen people have... like... trouble with bodily functions, then?" Julie asked after a time.

I gave that answer some thought. "I don't really know, hon. Though I'd imagine if you're in the Farm & Barn or some feed store and you find the john is clogged from someone taking a shit the size of a soda bottle... they might be one that lets their stallion do them on occasion."

"THat's GROSS!" Julie said and elbowed me, but she was smiling all the same.

Cleo got up and sat by where our heads were and stared at us. "I think she wants something," Julie said.

"Cleo, do you want to go out?" She nodded and I nuzzled Julie's cheek. "I guess that's our cue to get going for the day, hon."

"But I wanna stay here, snuggled!" Julie faux-whined.

"Snuggle or lions? Which would you prefer?" I asked.

"LIONS!" Julie perked, and tossed the covers back.

I laughed heartily and scooted over to start dressing as Julie was dressing all the faster. "Well, at least now I know how to get you motivated." I winked.

Julie stuck her tongue out at me. "You're a meanie."

"Mind taking Cleo out? You can use my jacket, because it's probably a little nipply out there," I said as I was pulling my socks on.

"Ok, Jim. Gonna call Herbie and get the final directions to his place?" She was already putting my coat on and fuzzled Cleo's head.

I laughed. "I'll do that in an hour or so. It's only like... 5:30 or almost 6. If he likes to sleep in I wouldn't really want to wake him. Sometimes us old farts have trouble sleeping so we need all the sack-time we can get."

"You're not THAT old yet, Jim. But that makes sense." Julie said and opened the door, peeking outside to see who was about. "Come on, Cleo. Time to do your thing."

Cleo padded out as I was buttoning my shirt. I couldn't help but smile at it all. Julie certainly was interested in getting those lions, for whatever reason. Perhaps she was just thinking of lion cock, in which case she would be disappointed that the silicon Darius was a lot bigger than real lions' maleness. Then again, if these were ReCirq refugee lions like how I expected, one would never know. I mean, after all, they made a super-sexy lioness that's willing and able even while pregnant. What's to say they didn't have a male counterpart. Or something even more unusual. As I opened the door and stepped out into the brisk morning air, I wondered just what was going to be found at Herbie's place once we got there, and if it'd live up to what I'd been thinking. At the very least, it'd be saving a couple unhandleable lions from an unknown fate, and it would just get better from there. Even at that, there was potential as I could do standard electroejaculation and cryobank their semen, then inseminate Lola and Flo the next couple estrus cycles so we'd have a crapload of lioncubs this coming spring, from different genes than Hugo's. Even if I let Peaches get pregnant by Jake it'd make for more diverse genetics in our pride. And a bigger pride, too, if we kept some of the cubs.

I unlocked the truck as I watched Julie watching Cleo prowl about the empty wayside. I got lazy and took my morning leak right there near the rear tire of the truck and then climbed into the cab, let the glow plugs run for a bit, and fired up the truck. I took a half-dozen pulls on the leftover Dew from last night's supper as I sat there with the truck idling. Soon Julie came back and opened the passenger door, then the little door for Cleo to jump up in, and helped her in. Shutting the doors she scooted over next to me and kissed my cheek. "Thanks, Jim."

"For what?" I asked.

"For this morning, and last night.... and being so understanding. And not getting upset.... and....." Julie looked down. "And putting up with a freak like me."

I chuckled and wrapped an arm around Julie, giving her a tight squeeze. "You're not a freak. You just come with a little baggage, that's all. We all do, and some just have a few more demons in bottles than the rest. Corks jiggle loose sometimes and let them out, which is just the nature of things. It's all how you deal with them to get them back in what counts."

I kissed Julie's cheek and she made a face, probably about my stubble. "Prickly?" I asked. She nodded. I chuckled, "well, that's about what the barbs of big cats' cocks feel like, more or less. About the same as my beard stubble right now."

"Really?" Julie asked and ran a hand over my facebarbs.

I nodded. "Yep... so don't believe all the stories you've maybe heard or read about the cat's cock shredding the inside of the female or anything like that. It's likely exaggerated."

Julie smiled and leaned up agianst me. "Do you think I'm... like.... really messed up, because of what happened last night?"

I put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the interstate, driving with one hand as I cuddled Julie with the other. "Honestly, no. I mean, I know something happened from the way you reacted. Just what, you'll tell me in your own good time. I'm sure if you trust me enough to keep trying we can work through it one way or another - like this morning when I just touched you and gave you pleasure that way. But it'd take a bit of commitment on both our parts. I love you enough to keep trying, so it'd just be a matter of you being willing to keep trying and not give up on yourself."

Julie looked up at me with trepidation and hope. "You really mean that, Jim? I mean, I know you said stuff like that last night, but... I've heard that before. Just... not from you.... or.... anyone like you. I've never been with someone like you, before, so..." She looked down. "I wish I could believe you're really willing to stick with me."

I kissed Julie's cheek. "You don't have to believe it, exactly. You'll find out in time if you're willing to. All I can say is I'm not about to give up on you over something like that, and I can only hope you're not the kind to give up on yourself. The fact you wanted to try with me showed me that you weren't... at least not before last night."

Julie looked up at my face and studied it for a time, then sighed happily as she snuggled up close and put the truck's heater on. Cleo floundered about a bit behind us as she tried to find a good position to catnap the day away.

* * * * *

Exiting the interstate in one of those middle-of-nowhere exits, there was a Mobil station with its attendant convenience plaza. "You hungry yet?" I asked Julie.

She shook her head. "No, I can wait for lunch. Maybe we can hit that A&W on our way back through. I haven't been to one of those in quite some time."

I shrugged. "Would probably be a disappointment, Julie. Looks like it's probably just travel-plaza arrangement of a few restaurants in cubicles like at the mall."

Julie nodded. "You're probably right. Maybe we can find someplace in town, or wherever."

"If not, there appeared to be a few places at the last exit before this one... a local burger chain, "Crandall's" that I've seen a few of their signs out here, so maybe they're worth a try. If that's not to our liking, there's always McD's and Booger Fling."

"You and your names..." she smiled and jabbed as we wove along the US Highway on into town.

It was rather interesting, the woods coming up close to the road, and then as we made our way along the side of this one big hill, the whole town - or at least a good share of it - came into view in the valley below us. It was rather neat, as you could see four steeples, a couple of the churches perched on the smaller hills the town seemed to be built on, and then we came in alongside a creek or small river as it meandered near the road on into town. The highway crossed it on a small bridge as I slowed for the four-way blinking stop signal in the middle of downtown. A pharmacy on one corner, greenspace across from it, a very old gas station set at an angle occupied the corner across from a large brick structure advertizing "McManis Lumber & Hardware" in fading paint.

"Looks like a nice place." Julie commented and I put on my blinker to turn left, up one of the hills. Main Street led up the hill straight to a large house made of sandstone bricks that seemed it had been there forever. Many of the buildings on Main Street seemed to date to the 1880s or thereabouts and it was interesting to see them as we rolled by. A few had "for Rent or Lease" signs in the windows, but Klopmann Bakery still appeared to be open, as well as Prindle's Jewelers, both in quaint masonry three-story-plus structures set wall-to-wall.

Turning right at the head of the street, we again caught up with the creek or river, having gained some altitude, and could look down at its rocky bed from the two-lane highway as it wound its way out of town once again. As per the directions, about two miles south of town we turned left just before the railroad tracks, in front of the small slaughterhouse with the sign "Brooks Sausage Company". The road we turned on went from asphalt itself to tarred pea gravel, though it was stable and not rutted. It started weaving among hills and farms, dairy cows could be seen grazing corn stubble from cornfields already harvested, and other fields remained standing awaiting their turn for the picker. Up small hills and across small streams or washes we drove, slowly, as the road wasn't exactly wide enough for two semis and I didn't want to have a surprise meet-up with one of the local residents zipping along.

Up a bigger hill we went and started snaking along the edge heading back down when Herbie's place came into view in the valley below. I braked and made a hard left as I turned the sharp corner next to the block silo beside the roadside barn. A couple draft horses peered over their wooden fence at us as the trailer rattled along the rutted gravel drive between the corn cribs and the barn. The small farmhouse lay straight ahead and a chicken coop off to the side, with its collection of poultry pecking about a low-fenced yard. I could hear a few roars calling out so I knew I was in the right spot. They seemed to have been coming from a large shed to the right, so I swung the trailer over that direction and came to a stop.

The dog-door of the framed-in back porch spat out this overweight and over-enthusiastic Basset Hound which began baying at us as we stepped down from the truck, staying just enough out of reach to be annoying.

"Oley! Shattap!" Came a drawled yell from the porch as this short, stocky old man drew the suspender of his overalls up over his shoulder, trying to latch both the pants-holder and the door at the same time. The hound waddled back towards the house and somehow managed to squeeze back through the dog-door.

"Yew all the folks what come'n down here fer them lions?" The old man asked as he ambled this way.

"That's us, Mr. Jacobs. Nice to finally put a face to the voice." I smiled and extended my hand.

"Mr. Jacobs... hell, jus' call me Herbie. And I'm sorry but I've forgott'n yer names already." The old man shook my hand.

Julie piped up before I could. "I'm Julie and this is Jim. I'm pleased to meet you, Herbie."

The old man chuckled and shook her hand too. "Always nice t'meet a pretty young lady. Anyhoo... th' cats is this-a-way..." he gestured to the shed. "Fixed up the old terbaccer shed for 'em years back, an' never regretted it." Toddling over to the large doors to the shed, he lifted the wooden latch-bar and let one of them swing open.

Inside were chain-link cages with wooden posts, some more dilapidated than others, but all fairly reasonably usable. All the cages were on the left side of the building, with the right side taken up by wooden crates, pieces of machinery, and other farm detritus. The lions were the closest to the door, and upon seeing us made their way to the corners of their cages to stand side by side and pressed their butts up against the fencing.

"I dun know why they do that. They've been doin' that since they got here. Goofy cats. QUITDAT!" Herbie looked at us and shrugged. "Th' feller said they's brothers, so that'd figure I guess. I din't wanna put them t'gether jus' in case they got ta knockin' on each other. I can't be break'n up fights like I used to. But he said they's good cats an' they've been good here."

They both had collars on that looked like they had been made from leather belts. I pointed to them and asked "Do they walk on leash?"

Herbie nodded. "They come here that way, yessir. I've had them out jus' in the shed here a couplea times and they follow directions pretty good, too. I wouldn't worry 'bout 'em none. Unless'n you're a wobbly cow." He chuckled. "Been feedin' 'em leftovers from th' slaughterhouse up th' road there a piece. Works out pretty good. I get stuff they're lookin' t' be throw'n out, an' they save money not payin' for schmucks t'be haul'n it off...."

He reached the next cage which was really a long one which took up the rest of the building. A tigress got up and started rubbing against the fence, chuffing as she went. Herbie stuck his fingers through the fence and rubbed her. "This'n here's Jasmine. M' youngest granddaughter named her when I got her from that feller what brought th' lions. Suzie was stuck on that movie Aladdern, an' so named her after one of th' girls in th' movie."

Two other, larger cats stepped in from outdoors. Lightly striped but much larger than their mother. "Are those ligers?" Julie asked me, and Herbie chuckled. "Yes ma'am, that's whut they are. Them's Hercules and Xena. Yeah, Suzie named 'em too when she got a little older. Jasmine's their mama, and Leo was their papa. Had him since he was a little cub, too. Hadda put him down awhile back, but he'd gotten t' know his youngest cubs there afore he went." Herbie stuck his fingers through the fence and the two ligers licked at them before Jasmine pushed her way past them for more attention.

"Don't rightly know what'll do with these three when th' sheriff comes back. Don't really wanna let 'em go, but... can't really bring m'self to sell 'em off 'neither, and ain't no one's seem'n t' want t' take in any more mouths t'feed with the economy the way it's b'n actin'." He frowned a bit as he wrigged his fingers through the fencing and all three jostled for position to get some of the attention. "I called one of them there sankshuarreez that some lady gave me the number fer... Yew wouldn'a believe what they wanted! They wanted me to PAY them to get the cats!"

Julie looked at me with a "please" look. I canted my jaw and gave it some thought. Oh, what the hell...

"Are they friendly with strangers, Herbie?" I asked.

"Friendly? Hell... They'd let little kids make like they was a jungle-gym... Hercules especially. That was back a bit when I used t' take 'em to the fair and had 'em downtown whenever we had Heritage Days or whatever goin' on. But then some know-it-all woman come an' said I hadda have certain kinda permits an' licenses an' that people couldn't touch 'em anymore 'cuz of some shit from Washington. Hell... But, that wuz that, an' so they ain't really been out since back then, 'cept aroun' here once in awhile. What that lady and Washington don' know can't hurt 'em." The old man winked. "But, yeah, they'z as genteel as kittens with folks what's friendly to 'em." Herbie's brow wrinkled and the brim of his ballcap waggled downwards. "Why? Think'n you might have a place for them, too?"

Herbie looked between me and Julie, who was now crouched by the cage. "Jim?" she asked.

I sighed, then smiled. "In for a penny, in for a pound, so they say."

Julie squealed, causing the cats to sound off, too, as she lept up and hugged me tightly.

"I'ma thinkin' that's a yes, right, mister?" Herbie asked as he slid his ballcap back and scratched what was left of his hair.

"Yeah, if you're willing to just give them to us, we'll take Hercules and the rest, too. It's not like I really got the space, but I'll figure something out." I smiled and the old man's eyes twinkled.

"Well, ain't that dandy!" He said, then chuckled. "If Maggie were still alive she'da said it wuz a dadgum miracle!" He smiled. "Maggie was m'wife for durn near 40 years. Lost her a couplea years back t' some d'zeez I can't remember th' name of." He smiled wistfully. "Well, I know she'da liked to seen m'cats go to some folks like you. An' if'n ya don't mind m'sayin' so... yew two do make a good lookin' couple. Reminds me a lot of me an' Maggie when we got started out all those years ago jus' farmin'."

"Well, we're not really a couple, Mr. Jacobs. Well, what I mean is, we haven't been together so very long." Julie admitted.

"Mr. Jacobs, hell. Call me Herbie. An'.... well... " the old man tried to sidestep his presumed faux pas, then must have decided to just go with it. "Yew two still make a good lookin' couple."

I hugged Julie and smiled. "Thanks, Herbie. Well... I guess we better get to cleaning out the back of the trailer and getting these cats loaded up, huh?"

"Yew c'n jus' back on up t' th' doors or even inside a bit if'n yew wanna, mister." Herbie offered.

I gave it some thought. "Well, the trailer's not too far away, but if you don't mind, I'd like to see how the cats react on a leash with strangers like Julie and I. I'd rather know just what I'll be dealing with, since it's quite a ways back home for us."

"Oh! Yeah, that'd make sense. I din't think 'bout yew all havin' t' go so far t' git back where'n ya come from. Jus' so used t' people bein' from around here, y'know? Not like I get many visitors anymore." The old man smiled and went over to the wall and got a couple "leashes" made from sections of reasonably heavy chain. "Here y'go. Might as well take 'em with ya since I won't be need'n 'em anymore."

Julie had run ahead and opened up the back end of the trailer, sweeping out more of the dust that had redistributed itself from her last cleaning at one of the fuel stops we'd made. I looked at the old man, then at the trailer, and the cages. I thought for awhile.

"Yew thinkin' 'bout sumth'n young man?" Herbie asked, and I chuckled.

"Well, yes... was just thinking about how best to arrange everything. You see, I have a cat in the truck already." I admitted to him.

"Jus' loose in yer truck? I've nevva dun that m'self. Little too much trouble they would be gett'n inta." Herbie smiled.

"Hey, Julie." She looked my way. "How about letting Cleo out and seeing what she thinks of her cousins?"

Julie waved in reply and set down the broom.

"Yer jus' gonna let her out'n th' open?" the old man asked, a bit amazed.

"She's a bit of a special case, as you'll see, Herbie." I said as Julie went over to the passenger door of the truck and opened it, then the little door. Cleo jumped down and padded around Julie before I mouth-squeaked for her. Cleo's head jerked around to my direction and she started padding over towards us, a little more cautious as she got closer.

Herbie watched her intently, then looked to me as I squatted down. Cleo circled a little and came right up to me, pushing against me in a headbutt as I scritched one of her ears. She then looked to Herbie and then to me. "He's alright. Go ahead and say hi to him."

"Yew act a'zo she undastanz ya..." Herbie chuckled.

I looked up to the old man and nodded. "It's because she does. Go ahead, ask her a yes-or-no question."

Herbie tipped his hat back and scratched his head again. "Well, ok." He looked to Cleo. "Heller there Miss Cleo. Do yew know me?"

She sat before him and shook her head. Herbie nearly feel over. "Did she jus'..."

I nodded. "Yep, she answers, too."

"Well, that's jus' amazin'!" He looked to Cleo. "Cleo, have ya b'n here afore?" She shook her head. "Do yew laik it heer?" She tilted her head, and Herbie looked to me.

"I don't think she really has an opinion on that one, Herbie." I said.

Herbie reached out to touch her and she stepped forward and let him. The old man chuckled, "Shore is a friendly thing, ain't she? Even with her eyes messed up laik that."

I nodded. "She had a brain injury so that's why her eyes are like that, and maybe why she's caught on to how to answer us. She's very smart, too." Cleo had padded over to me. "We're here to take all these cats with us, Cleo. Do you want to meet them?" She nodded, then padded into the shed. The lions immediately came to the corners of their cages nearest her and they snuffled each other, the latter one grunt-roaring a little before he got greeted. Cleo started bouncing around a bit more playfully than she had before around me.

"Seem's she's got somethin' on her mind," Herbie observed.

"Cleo, do you already know these two?" I asked. She stopped bouncing just long enough to nod in my direction before she started playing "dash" along the cage edge with both lions. She stopped short as she came to Jasmine and company. I watched, a bit concerned as Jasmine stood up quickly and padded to the fence. Cleo and her stared awhile at each other, then touched noses.... both female cats' tails twitching for a moment before Jasmine chuffed and rubbed against the fence, with Cleo doing similarly in the opposite direction. Hercules and Xena then followed suit and soon all three were nuzzling and licking noses through the fence. I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as it showed that they'd be able to get along with each other, at the very least cursorily.

Herbie chuckld some himself. "Looks like'n yer lady lion made herself sum new friends. But did I see right that she nodded back a bit? She knows those two?"

I shrugged. "Looked like that to me, Herbie. I think they may have come from the same place, and for all I know could even be siblings."

Herbie nodded. "I gess that's possible. That feller did say that these two wuz brothers."

"Herbie? What are their names? The lions, I mean. I wouldn't really know what to call them." I smiled meekly.

"Oh, I dunno. That feller called them something as he got 'em outta th' truck, but fer th' laif'a me I can't 'member what he said." Herbie scrunched his face in concentration, then his eyes got wide. "The feller lef' me some packet'a papers 'n whatnot. Lemme go git it fer ya!" He ambled off quickly towards the house, passing Julie as she came up towards the shed in time to see Cleo playing "dash" along the whole fence row with the contained cats, running back and forth with them along the fenceline with them doing similarly within their cages.

"Looks like she's having fun, Jim. I haven't seen her this active apart from... you know." Julie smiled and chuckled. I draped my arm over her shoulder and nodded. "She said she knew the lions, so maybe you'll get your one wish after all. And maybe that dream come true."

"Which dream?" Julie asked, looking up at me in confusion.

"The one last night of you having fun with a liger." I nodded towards Hercules and group as the two younger cats dashed back and forth, with Jasmine joining in for a little bit.

Julie blushed and then looked up at me with a curious expression. "Would that be... really... possible?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps we'll find out."

Herbie came ambling back up, a little out of breath, and handed me a manila envelope. I undid the hasp and inside there were some papers and dvds much like how Cleo came to me.

"Thanks, Herbie." I said as I took the envelope from him.

"Oh, yer welc'm." Herbie was still a little out of breath and turned a little red. "I wrote down their names on th' back there..." he gestured.

I turned the envelope around. "Larry and Terry. Well, that'd make some sense if they're brothers." I smiled. I then patted Julie's back. "Well, no time like the present, so they say..." I moved towards the cages as Cleo had seemed to have finished her playtime and had laid down towards the door. I unlatched the first door and the lion padded over. I clipped the chain on his collar and after he'd nuzzled me to his satisfaction I started towards the door and he padded right along.

"Look'n like he's dun this kinda thing afore..." Herbie commented as the lion went right up to the trailer. Getting him into the side-door transport cage was a bit more challenging as I patted the metal-plate floor inside the door. The lion stepped up close and stuck his head in, but that's as far as he seemed to want to go.

"It's alright, boy. Go ahead..." The lion lifted one forepaw and then the other alternately but wasn't about to commit himself. I lifted a forepaw and put it inside the cage. The lion shifted his weight and I lifted the other one. Then came the dangerous part... I lifted the lion's rump with a hand gripping both his hindlegs and his junk rubbing my front. He didn't react too adversely as he moved foward and I let his hindfeet touch the plate flooring of the cage. He scooted in, sniffed around some and turned around just to find me latching the door. I put my hand to the bars and he leaned against them, allowing me to rub his ear. "That was good, boy. I'll let you out when we get to where we're going, but you should like it. Cleo will be there and a female cougar as well." Whether he understood my speech or just the tone of my voice, he lay down and looked out the hastily-cleaned windows on the other side of the cage.

"One down..." Julie was petting the next lion as I came up.

"Yer missus seems t' have tak'n t' them right off. That's a lot better'n what my Maggie did when I brought m' first cub home." Herbie was sitting on a dusty and rusty folding chair at the edge of the door. Julie was giving attention to the ligers and Jasmine.

Julie smiled at me. "They actually like me, just like Cleo."

"I don't know if it's JUST like Cleo, but yeah, that's good because you'll be helping me tend to them as we head back home." I chuckled. Julie just stuck her tongue out to me and Herbie laughed.

Soon e nough we had the other four cats loaded and Cleo hopped in the trailer. "You want to ride in here, Cleo?" She nodded. I shrugged as I shut the doors and locked them.

"Where's Cleo?" Julie asked as I came back to the shed. "She wanted to ride back there with them, I guess," I said and Julie moved to stand beside me and wrap her arm around my back.

"Well, guess'n that's that," the old man said and looked a little down as he got up from his seat and shut the doors to the shed. "'s gonna be awful quiet 'round here w'thout 'em..."

I looked to Julie and thought a bit. "Herbie? I know it's a bit early, but would you like to join us for lunch?"

The old man looked at me, studying me a bit. "Well... I dun rightly know. Wouldn't really want t' be behold'n t' ya more'n I already am with yew tak'n all th' cats fer me."

I smiled. "No strings. Is there someplace good to eat in town?"

Herbie tipped his hat back and scratched his head. "Well, Curley's Cafe used to be real good, but he closed up a few years back an' they even bulldozed th' little ol' cafe. There used to be a good sit-down place called Dolphin's but they closed up last year...." He tilted his head. "I gess 'bout the best place in town these days is Family Diner... but they're a bit on the 'xpensive side fer an ol' fart like me."

"It's my treat, Herbie, so you'll only need to show me where to go," I said with a smile.

The old man scratched his ear. "Well... if'n ya insist. I got m'self some TV dinners and them meal things that Meals-On-Wheels group brings for those they consider old farts. It's not always that good but it's sum'th'n at least." Herbie looked to his old '80s pickup, which had definitely seen better days given the appearance of the paint job and the ratchet straps holding the sides of the bed together.

"Oh! I know the place, but it's a fair bit away. Like 3 miles or better. Next town over, "Karen's". Jus' a little diner at the crossroads, but... good eat'n. Haven' been there'n awhile, though." The old man's eyes lit up.

"You just lead the way, Herbie. Though I hope you're not a leadfoot driver, because I'm not at all familiar with the roads around here." I chuckled.

"Hell... I don't think m'old S10 could do 60 ev'n if'n I needed it ta." Herbie toddled to the truck and it belched out a blue cloud as it roared to life.

Julie and I climbed into Chet's truck and fired it up while Herbie backed around and started up the driveway. I followed a bit more slowly, watching the trailer closely so I wouldn't accidentally clobber something.

"It's kind of sad he can't have cats anymore. Sort of like he's not got much to live for anymore," Julie sighed.

I furrowed my brow, then fished out my phone and started scrolling through my contact list, checking the information of a few of them as I easily navigated the country lane behind Herbie, who was keeping it to around 45 miles per hour - likely the fastest he was comfortable with.

"Should you be doing that while you're driving?" Julie asked.

I shrugged. "Probably not," I agreed, then I found the contact I was looking for.

I then noticed Julie was watching me intently. "You're up to something, aren't you?" she said with a wary, questioning tone.

I smiled broadly. "Mayyyyybe."

"Will I like it?" she asked, smiling a bit herself.

"Mayyyyybe."

"You're a shit, you know that?" she said and thwapped my arm lightly with her hand. I just winked at her and laughed.

Karen's was a pretty fair place as we pulled into the parking lot. As Herbie said, it was just a diner at a T-junction crossroads about a mile out of the nearest town. I could barely make out the green "welcome to" road sign while peering through the center roadway of an aging girder bridge across some river or another.

"Well, here we are. Hope th' food's as good as when I was in here last." Herbie said and toddled towards the door. I took a couple steps ahead and held it open for him and Julie.

"Well, look what the cats drug in!" the hefty middle-aged waitress behind the counter shouted. "Herbie Jacobs! I haven't seen you in a good long time! Thought maybe sum'th'n'd happ'nd t' ya!" She made her way out from behind the counter.

"Hi there Eileen. These here's a young couple from... oh, hell. I dun fergot. But anyhoo, they's the ones that come t' get m'cats and give 'em a good home." Herbie thumb-pointed to Julie and I, at which I nodded greeting to Eileen.

"It's just a shame! Them makin' yew get rid of yer cats! I mean, really. If'n anyone knew how t' care for them, it'd be you!" Eileen was shaking her head. "Anyway, I's 'xpectin' yew all din't come out here t' hear me yabble! Let m' find ya a table!"

We all followed her into the dining area and sat down at the proffered booth. "Let m'go and git ya some menus!" Eileen said cheerily and ambled off.

"She's m'cousin's daughter." Herbie said. "Good girl, jus' a little too yappy." I chuckled and Julie blushed a little at that.

"Her y'are!" Eileen said perkily and set the menus in front of us.

"What'sa soup fer t'day, Eileen?" Herbie asked.

"Cream'a Potato or Onion" Eileen responded mechanically.

"Well, I'll have that fish platter yew always make so good." Herbie smiled up at Eileen.

"And what for you two?" Eileen asked and jotted down Herbie's order.

"What's all included with the fish platter?" I asked as I scanned the menu.

"Broasted perch on a toasted kaiser roll, soup, cole slaw, french fries, and a drink."

"Coffee with mine, Eileen." Herbie said.

"Yew got it, hon." Eileen said.

I looked to Julie and she nodded. "Two more of the same, Cream of Potato soup, and I'll have a Mountain Dew to drink."

Julie handed Eileen her menu. "Do you have sweet tea?"

"Shore do, hon." Eileen smiled.

"I'll have that to drink with mine, then. Cream of Potato soup as well." Julie perked up.

"That'll do. I'll have that out t' ya before Herbie forgets your names again!" Eileen smiled broadly and Herbie faux-swatted in her direction as she headed back towards the counter.

"She's a good girl. Jus' a little too yappy." Herbie repeated himself.

I looked to the two of them. "If you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call."

"Pay phone's up front, mister." Herbie offered as I scooted out from the seat. I showed him my cellphone and he playswatted. "Yew young'uns with'n yer technollogy." He was shaking his head and smiling.

"Goin' sumwheer, hon?" Eileen asked.

"Gotta make a call. Won't be long." I nodded to her as I headed out the door.

Standing out front I dialed one of my contacts. "Hi, is this Fred Pritchard? This is Jim Peters. Yes, yes. Say, I've got a couple questions to ask you..."

* * * * *

I sat back down at the table just in time for the food to arrive, my drink already sitting there and Julie had been sipping some of her iced tea through the straw.

"Here y' go, kids. An' here's yer plate, Herbie." Eileen laid out the platters on the table, and they DID smell real good. Herbie started digging into his soup, which I found was indeed piping hot and with just enough oregano and garlic to make it pleasant without being overwhelming as I supped on mine. It wasn't a very big cup of soup, but with all the food included on the platter, that made little difference.

"Herbie?" I said as I finished my soup. "Do you ever get down to [city name omitted]?"

Herbie smiled. "Haven't fer quite awhile. M'drivin' isn' as good as it used ta be. M'daughter used ta take me, but she's all busy with her kids an' all these days."

"You've been to the zoo there, before, right?" I asked.

"Oh, not fer years an' years. Not since 'Becca wuz a li'l squirt. Why'ja ask?" Herbie inquired.

"Well... that phone call I made was to their zoo director, a fellow I'd met a few times at conventions when he was just a keeper. I remembered reading about his zoo starting an "Animal Ambassadors" program awhile back. So I gave him a call." I smiled.

Julie looked at me confusedly and Herbie asked, "Well, wht'sat got ta do w'me?"

I smiled broadly. "Well, if you'd like to, on Saturdays and Sundays you can be the Animal Ambassador explaining to kids and adults about their big cats. What their actions mean, the this-and-that which most people wouldn't know and you can't learn from TV."

Herbie smiled and shook his head. "Sounds awful nice'a yew but... I ain't got no way'a gettin' there."

I smiled "That's taken care of, too. One of the keepers comes from out this way, just down the road from here, to my understanding, and she'll take you in on the weekends with her."

"That must be Karen and Ed Stott's daughter." Eileen piped up.

Herbie spun around a bit. "Yew b'n lisn'n t' us th' whole time?"

Eileen looked around the empty dining room. "Kinda hard not t' hear ya, hon. Ain't like there's anyone else here!" I looked around and the other couple that had been here must have left without me noticing. She smiled and put the table check down. "That's awful nice'a yew mister. Helping ol' Herbie here."

"Well... guess'n I'm gonna be around m'cats some more anyhoo. Ev'n with that little pipsqueak tell'n me I can't have 'em anymore!" Herbie beamed at me. "Yew shore dun right fer me, mister. An' I can't thank ya enough! Take m'cats in, give m'dinner, an' git'n me a job aroun' cats agin!"

"Paying job, too. Only minimum wage, but that should help you a bit, and since you'd be under the Social Security minimum earnings, you can keep both." I smiled.

"Well, shoot m' boots an' call me stumpy!" Herbie smiled all the bigger. "Dang... I can't even 'member yer name!"

I handed him my business card and looked at the check. It wasn't that bad, really. Not for all the food we'd been served. I munched on the rest of my fries as I'd already finished the little cup of cole slaw. It was all good food, too. We chatted the rest of the meal away as an old Gilbert clock ticked away on a wall shelf at the far side of the room. When it chimed for noon, the place started to get busy and since we were pretty much done and just chatting we decided we should be getting on our way.

"I really can't thank you enough, Jim." Herbie said. "It's sum'n special t' be able t' work with cats s'more."

"Well, I don't know how much you'll be working WITH them, but at least you'll be AROUND them. That's about the best I can say. But you'll probably like it anyway. It sounds like something right up your alley." I smiled.

"Shore duz, young man. An' I'll bring m' picture book alon' with me tew... so'n they can't say I'd be lyin' t' them when I tell m'stories." Herbie was alight with happiness.

"Here's yer change, hon." Eileen said as I paid our bill, then she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "An... thanks from me, too. Sum'f us b'n worried 'bout what Herbie would do, what with th' judge's order'n all. It's really good t' hear he'll be doin' s'mthin' t' keep hisself busy."

I just nodded and smiled, then joined the other two outside. "Well, ready to hit the road, Julie?"

She nodded and patted the old man's shoulder. "Nice meeting you, Herbie. Good luck with the new job."

He nodded to her and then held out his hand to me. "I really can't thank ya enuf.. really. Yew dun a lot more'n what anyone coulda hoped fer."

I smiled as I shook his hand. "Well, I'm just glad I could help out some. And don't worry about it, here's Fred Prichard's number in case you have any questions for him..." I tore the sheet out of my notebook and handed it to Herbie. "You just take care and keep on telling younger folks about what it's like to have big cats as part of their lives. Lots of kids these days don't even have a dog or anything as a pet, so they're really missing out."

Herbie smiled. "Yew all drive safe, now. And good luck gett'n back home."

We parted ways and he pulled out of the driveway to putter his way back home as Julie and I climbed into the truck.

"That was real nice of you, Jim." Julie said, beaming with joy.

"Well, he looked like he just might have ended up wasting away otherwise. I've seen that too many times myself with old farmers, or old performers. They just kind of give up when the last pieces of what they knew disappear, like how we're taking Herbie's last cats. So... I figured it was worth a shot, and it just worked out is all. I'd wager that 9 times out of 10 I would have gotten a whole different outcome if I'd have tried this." I shrugged. "Just like this whole trip... so far at least."

Julie snuggled up to me and just sighed happily. I'd recognized the town name and from how we'd twisted and turned, I figured if I turned left, away from town, on the state highway bordering one edge of the diner, I'd hit the interstate again. Pulling out and heading that way, after a mile and some odd, I was right, and pulled back onto the four-lane heading back towards the mountains, back home.

As we drove it started getting darker, not just because of the sun going down in the sky, but mostly because it started clouding over, and then the clouds got heavier and heavier. I peered at them through the windshield as I leaned forward close to the steering wheel.

"Something wrong, Jim?" Julie asked.

"I don't know. Clouds are coming in and getting heavier and heavier. If I were back in Wisconsin I'd say that there was a snowstorm brewing, but this isn't Wisconsin and it's a bit early for snow. Not TOO early, but, sill..." My eyes scanned the sky as we pressed onward.

We continued back the way we'd come as the sky continued to darken. "Julie?" I asked. "Yes?" she replied. "Would you mind getting my laptop out of the bag, waking it up, and facing it my way so I can punch in my password? I want you to try to find where the nearest Wal-Mart is."

"Oh, I can do that on my phone..." Julie piped up and dug her phone out of her jeans pocket and began fiddling with it. "Where are we?" she asked after a second.

I pointed to a water tank directly alongside. "Taylorsville."

She worked her phone a bit. "There should be one a couple exits ahead, it looks like. Right near the interstate, too."

"That works for me." I smiled and she put her phone away.

"Why a Wal-Mart?" she asked as I resumed studying the sky while still keeping an eye on the mostly-empty highway.

"Supplies. Well, you'll see. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I think we just might end up being stopped for a little while and I wouldn't want to be caught unprepared if we are." I stopped staring at the skies and looked at Julie. She had a worried look on her face at which I smiled. "Don't worry, we're out of Tornado Season, so it wouldn't be that bad. Nothing to worry about as long as you're prepared. Besides, we got the cats and are on our way back, so the most troublesome part of the trip is over already. It's just a matter of getting back home one way or another."

Julie studied me for a moment, then smiled. "I guess you're right, Jim." She sighed and snuggled up next to me. "I guess I shouldn't worry if you're not worried."

"I'm not worried, just going to be hedging my bet a bit. If we get stalled some, alright, we're set. If we don't... oh well, we've got supplies in case we want to take our time." I smiled big and Julie just chuckled. "You're... you're just weird, Jim. Weatherman, lion-man,... I just don't know what you're going to come up with next."

"For that you'll have to wait and see. If we do get stuck, I think you might be in for a bit of a fun surprise as well. If I'm reading things right, that is." I chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Julie asked, curiously. I just winked in reply and she stuck her tongue out at me and returned to just snuggling to my side as we drove on.

Soon enough we were at the Wal-Mart and the wind had started to pick up, just like how I figured. "Smells like it's gonna rain soon. You want to come in with me?" I asked.

"No, I'll stay in here where it's warm. You should have told me to bring a jacket or coat or something!" Julie said.

"Ok, I'll be back in a bit." I said and hurried off towards the main doors of the big-box retailer.

I nodded to the greeter and quickly grabbed a cart. I coursed through the aisles, selecting things I'd need from the pharmacy section, hardware, housewares, outdoors, and a number of things from the grocery department, including 10 whole chickens and two racks of leg quarters. I hoped Julie's tastes were similar to my own when it came to food, but I'd have to wait to find out. I stopped partway along one aisle and pondered something. Well... hm... I hadn't packed that, as I didn't really think about it when we left home. Hm.... I stood there pondering. Aw, hell. It's only money. I flagged down a clerk. "Hi there. Could you get me one of these?" I pointed to the object in the display case.

"Sure, I'll have to get one from the back..." the young male clerk inspected the tag closely, then mumbled "305-1368" as he wrote down the numbers on his left hand. "Be right back, sir." I nodded and wheeled the cart over towards the other edge of the wider aisle and selected some accessories to go with my new purchase.

Soon the clerk was back with a cardboard box the size of a shoebox. "Do I need to pay for this here, or can I take it up front with the rest of my stuff?" I asked.

"Are you done shopping?" the clerk inquired.

I looked at my cart, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is it for me."

"Well, this has to be paid for back here, but I can check you out fully and then you can be just on your way." He smiled and I shrugged. I looked around and there wasn't really anyone else back there so I nodded. "Ok, that works." I started piling the stuff from the cart onto the smallish countertop.

The young man was mechanically efficient, he just wasn't too good at bagging things up. Then again, it wasn't one of the main check-out stands so that'd somewhat figure. At any rate, I was soon making my way towards the front and then out the doors with my cart laden with everything I needed, and some stuff I didn't need. The wind hit me as soon as the outer doors opened, and I tugged up the collar on my jacket. As I crossed the parking lot the wind kept trying to veer my cart sideways and I figured we would be stopping soon, somewhere, to tie up until the storm passed.

Reaching our rig I unlocked the trailer and piled the goodies inside, except for a box of glazed donuts. I slid open the connecting door and looked back into the animals' compartment. Cleo was nestled up against the canine cages beneath the big cat ones, right near her two brothers. All five of the new cats were just lazing about, looking out their windows. Cleo's head rose as she saw me. "Just a bit longer, Cleo. Was just checking on you all. You can go back to sleep." Cleo nodded and laid her head back down and I shut the connecting door, then the main door, locked it, returned the cart to one of the racks which was nearby, then took my donuts and climbed into the cab. I had to chuckle... if it wasn't for the weather, I'm sure there would have been a whole mess of people looking into the windows on the trailer to see the cats, which would have been looking out through the windows watching the humans.

"What took you so long?" Julie asked.

"Lots of stuff to get, hon. Well, not lots... but you know how big these stores are, and nothing's ever right next to where you're at." I rolled my eyes a bit and she nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it's only been 20 minutes, but it seemed a lot longer. And I can see why you were concerned about the clouds, now. The wind has really picked up!" Julie was a bit excited and a bit worried now, and I just gave her a squeeze as I fired up the truck and we set out again.

"I think there's a wayside not too very far from here, if I remember right. That'd probably be a good place to..." I saw the fuel gauge. "Unless we get stalled at the next truck stop." I smiled and Julie giggled.

"You're so weird, Jim." she smiled and gave me a hug. I kissed her forehead in reply.

A couple exits up there was a wayside plaza and I pulled into the Petro station and up to the RV pumps. Even though Julie wanted to stay in the truck, I had her pump the fuel as I got a hose I'd purchased from the trailer and, using the freeze-proof farm hydrant right there, filled the 50-gallon water tank, capped it, and used the tire nozzle to put 90 PSI of air in the tank as well, knowing it would drop significantly as soon as the tap was opened and some of the water was used. Julie and I both finished our tasks at about the same time. "I'm going back in!" Julie said to me and climbed back into the truck. I coiled the hose, put it back in the rack-room and went in to pay for the fuel.

"You're a long ways from home!" the clerk smiled.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

She nodded to the window. "Saw the license plate. Don't get many from your area down here, but once in awhile." She shrugged and handed me my receipt. "Safe travels," she smiled.

"With the weather shaping up the way it is, I think we'll need it!" I smiled and waved as I ducked back out the door.

I made it back to the truck just as the first spitters of rain started. I fired the truck back up and off we went, though I was driving a little more carefully than I had been.

Sure enough, not more than 20 miles down the interstate and the skies opened up. I had the windshield wipers on full and still couldn't see too much. I turned the headlights on for safety and in another 30 minutes or so I saw the sign for the rest area I had been expecting. I flipped on the right-turn blinker and we pulled into the off-ramp.

Apparently there were a few others that had the same idea and were already parked. I made my way through the RV/trailer parking area, which on this rest area was separate from the big-rigs. As I started down the parking row, which already had a few trailers in it, I wondered whether I should park near the restrooms or further away. I split the difference and parked a fair ways away from the washrooms and "welcome plaza", partway along the grassy lawn under large maple trees that would presumably be a picnic area in better weather.

Rain was just pouring down the windshield as I shut off the engine and lights. Julie cuddled close to me. "Want to go back to the trailer now, or try to wait for a break in the rain?" I asked her.

Julie looked at me then thought for a bit. "Well..." she pushed the button on the radio to illuminate the clock. "It'll get dark soon, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Ok, you go first... but I get your jacket!"

I laughed and shucked off my jacket. "Just make sure to hit the door locks after you get out. Good thing Cleo isn't in here or it'd be wet pussy night." I winked as I scooted over Julie towards the passenger door, and she slapped my arm for that last quip. I made sure I had the truck keys in my pocket and the trailer keys in my hand, then quickly opened the door, slid off the seat, grabbed my laptop bag, shut the truck door, and dashed back to the trailer door. I unlocked it quickly and ducked inside. Well, I wasn't TOO wet... I started rearranging the supplies I'd purchased, and started putting some of them into the cupboards beneath the counter and cooktop. The door opened and Julie dashed in, shutting the door hard behind her while she held my jacket over her head.

"You made it! And here I thought you'd be lost in the wilderness." I winked and Julie stuck her tongue out at me. I flipped on the light as it had gotten much darker and continued unpacking the goodies.

"You shopped a LOT, Jim." Julie laughed. I just shook my head. "Well, sometimes ya gotta splurge a little," I winked. After a couple moments the new stuff was put away, the bags tucked in a drawer, and only the bags of chicken, my laptop case, and Julie remained on the bunk. "I better take these back there and feed the cats, then put tomorrow's food where they can't get it," I said. Julie nodded and I grabbed five chickens and one rack of leg quarters, then headed into the back.

I got out my pocket knife and unwrapped, then plunked a whole chicken into each of the new cats' cages, one at a time. They all seemed unfamiliar with the food source, but after a couple licks settled down to consuming their meals. I put Cleo's leg quarters in her bowl, giving her a bit more than I normally did but I figured it was a special occasion, and she had been awfully good throughout the trip.

I went back forward and got the hose, then put it on the tap in the back and started refilling the cats' water buckets. Soon they were topped off, and the water pressure was declining rapidly. I hooked up the bicycle air pump I'd gotten and started re-pressurizing the water tank. Soon enough it was pretty high - 40 pounds according to the gauge on the water pipe - and I went back up front. Julie was sitting on the bunk looking bored while she twiddled with her cellphone. "I'll be done in just a minute." I smiled at her, and she nodded.

I put the remainder of the chicken in one of the canine cages so Cleo couldn't go gorging herself on it, even though she'd never shown any inclination to go browsing. I flipped on the power inverter after checking the battery condition. I couldn't remember how many batteries were still in the battery box of the trailer, but regardless, they showed a full charge. I left the communicating door open and looked to Julie as the rain beat heavily on the roof.

"What would you like for dinner tonight? Chicken parmesiana?" I smiled.

Julie looked stunned. "You're kidding, right? I mean... we're stuck in here, right?"

I nodded. "But does that sound good? Chicken parmesiana with dinner rolls?"

She just mutely nodded as I pulled a boxed meal out of one of the drawers and opened it, read the instructions and put it in the microwave. Julie watched and smiled broadly. "You're... something else, Jim."

"What kind of something else?" I asked as I set the timer on the nuker and sat back a bit as it whirred.

Julie smiled. "A good kind. But... what are we going to eat on?" she asked.

I got up and pulled a box of cheap dinnerware out of one of the cabinets, opened it, then handed her two plates, and a couple forks. "Not exactly dinner at the Ritz, but... it should be pretty good."

Julie chuckled and smiled and I got out my laptop, then fished Herbie's packet out of the satchel flap. I pondered....

"What are you thinking about, Jim?" Julie asked as I realized I'd been staring at nothing for awhile.

"Oh... " I frowned a bit. "I was just thinking that maybe I should watch this by myself." I looked concerned at her.

"Why? You don't trust me?" she asked, looking a bit hurt.

I smiled tenderly. "No, it's not that. This packet means these guys are from... the same place Cleo is. And it's not that I don't trust you, it's that if those investigators do come back, I want you to be able to answer them honestly if they start asking tougher questions of you regarding names and such. If you don't know anything, then you honestly don't know. You know?"

Julie looked at me, then nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

I wrapped my arm around her lovingly. "I wish I could share it all with you, and maybe one day I can. But... it's just better this way for right now. My neck's out pretty far with Cleo and now these two. I just don't want you to fall with me if I go down over this."

Julie looked confused to me. "You mean, lose your job?"

I shrugged a bit. "There'd be a bit more to it than that, hon." I sighed. "Cleo and these guys are stolen property, so there'd likely be prison time as well. Federal prison time, because of where they came from."

Julie looked at me. "They came from ReCirq, didn't they?"

I looked surprised. "How did you know?" I asked.

Julie chuckled. "I'm no idiot, Jim. Besides, Jerry's not as careful as you with what he says. I know it's your friend Jeff who was under investigation, and he's the one that got you Cleo... and sounds like these two guys also."

I laughed. "Good ol' Jerry. Accidentally sells me up the river for 25 to life." Julie laughed as well and then the microwave dinged.

"Dinner ready?" Julie asked.

"It's got to sit two minutes, and then another 15 cooking before it'll be done." I said, having grabbed the box and read the instructions again.

I turned on the laptop and entered my password, then set it down on the bunk as I got up and turned the platter around in the microwave before setting the timer again, with the machine whirring to life.

Sitting back down I fished out the DVD in the packet labeled "For Jim" and put it in.

There Jeff sat in front of a webcam in... what looked to be his bedroom... or something.

"Hi there Jim. If you're playing this, it means either something happened to me, or I just wasn't able to get two lions from a friend of mine. If you're curious about the surroundings, I'm in a hotel room because I may have been followed."

"Awhile ago, there were rumblings that this may be coming, and a couple days ago it was officially announced that ReCirq Labs was closing. Today most of the staff was laid off and... we found out just what was expected to happen with all of our research animals." Jeff sighed.

"For the past couple weeks, there's been some construction going on in back of the complex, and most of us just figured it was something new going in for ... research or whatever. But a few days ago it became obvious what it was when they connected to the gas main with a meter the size of a golf cart. It's an industrial incinerator system, big enough to take a dump truck into a secure airlock. And around here that could only mean one thing. Then today, the first of the killings happened. Fortunately, they weren't any animals I've been involved with, but still, it wasn't a good thing. They cleared out two whole research sections of mice and rats and rabbits. I mean, that's at least a thousand animals in each section! At any rate, I'd been planning an exit for some time, and I guess this is the perfect opportunity. I may explain more later, but right now I'll just give you some stuff and I may share more later. In the packet are the files relating to these two lions... they're called Larry and Terry. They're not part of my section but the fellow whose section they're from got laid off with the closing, so I'm temporarily in charge of his animals, too. Hopefully whoever's in charge of this whole mess will just think they'd been killed already and not go looking for any security breaches, because I have a few others to get out, including their sister, who IS part of my section, and was the one that made me want to get out of working here. The problem with that is that of the people that have quit, many of them seem to have met... unexpected problems. Like... death. Just the other week one of the researchers just up and left and three days later her car magically slammed into a noise-barrier wall on the thruway, after apparently losing control. I don't want to have that happen to me, so..." Jeff shook his head.

"Anyway... there's something odd about these lions, but then again, there's lots of odd stuff here. I hope I can get some of the others out so you can see for yourself that I'm not just being paranoid or making things up. Larry has a bit of a mark on his nose from where Terry clobbered him awhile ago when they were cubs. But that's about the easiest way to tell them apart. They like putting their butts up against the cage side-by-side, and I think they've been trained to do that for some reason. Included in the packet are their archived experiment videos and a lot of files about things I can't really understand. Some are encoded, somehow, and I don't really know how to crack that code, but maybe some of your computer friends can. At any rate, you probably got them from Herbie Jacobs. Back when I first started the lab was still selling "surplus" animals on the open market rather than keeping nearly everything. Herbie bought a juvenile tigress that was part of my section and I took her down to him. I don't know if there was anything special about her or not, but that was the job, so that's how I met him. Either way, hope you can manage these two and unlock some of their secrets. If I find out more I'll let you know." Jeff looked around some and frowned.

"Sorry for all the cloak-and-dagger stuff. I know it annoys you a bit, but I swear, this isn't just some stuff in my head. Things are really going wrong here somehow, and I've got to get at least some of these animals out before... well... you know. Take care and hopefully I'll see you around." With that, the video clip ended.

"Hm... that was interesting." Julie said. "But what would he mean by "special"?"

I smiled meekly. "They made Cleo the way she is... intentionally fried parts of her brain with a new type of surgery. I'd imagine she's had some genetic manipulation as well making her... well... as sexy as she is. She's far more wet inside than a lioness would normally be, and far more horny, too. I don't know if the two are linked or not, but..." I shrugged.

"You mean someone actually.... did that to her?" Julie was shocked. "And your friend just went along with it?!?" Julie went from shocked to upset.

I shook my head. "He said he didn't know what was going to happen, and if you saw the video, you'd know he was being truthful about it. They'd had her in for brain scans before so he figured that it was just another test or something." I frowned some. "Anyway, ReCriq has had rumors about it that they were manipulating animals' genetics for various reasons. Jokes were that there were gorillas with three eyeballs, midget elephants, chimpanzees with horse cocks... but really outlandish shit. I'd imagine that there IS some validity to the genetic manipulation concepts, but far less drastic than that."

I got up as the microwave dinged and, using a towel, got the tray of hot food out, and got the bakery-fresh biscuits out of the drawer. Sometime during the conversation Cleo had decided to come and lay in the communicating door between the front and rear sections of the trailer.

I continued as I dished up the food. "I'll have to go through the DVDs included with Cleo to see if there's some physical connection between these lions and her, apart from kinship - or presumed kinship - and also go through some of theirs to see why they want their butts to the cage bars without playing squirt-gun. I have an idea, but don't know if it's for real."

"What do you mean by "playing squirt-gun"?" Julie asked.

I laughed as I handed her a plate of the breaded chicken patty with melted parmesian cheese, covered in marinara sauce. I then handed her a buttery, flaky "bakery fresh" roll biscuit to go with it and poured her a glass of Arizona Sweet Tea. "Well, big cats, esepecially males, will aim their butt at something they want to scent-mark and pee on it. Their penis is pointed backwards most of the time, so that's how they do it, like how a dog lifts his leg to pee on some vertical surface."

Julie looked surprised. "So the girls do that, too?"

I nodded as I dished up my meal and sat down beside her with a glass of Dew held between my legs. "Yep... though they don't have the same range the males do as far as squirting pee. A lion can shoot up to 20 feet. That's partially why we have those plexiglass panels on the front of the cages in the cathouse."

"And the other reasons?" Julie asked.

"Mostly to keep debris out of the cages, and bouncy-balls from the concession stands. If you notice, nothing there's small like a superball... that's so the animals aren't likely to swallow them whole, and the balls aren't bouncy enough to be launched into the outdoor exhibits, usually." I smiled.

"So... to get this straight.." Julie said between bites. "Cleo was made to be compliant and super-sexed. The lions might have been twiddled with as well to make them... genetically weird... and from what your friend there on the video was saying, he likely stole more animals to keep them from being killed, right?"

"Pretty much." I nodded. "And with them backing their butts to the fence like that, it may have been for semen collection purposes. A fellow animal handler I'd talked to when I first got into cats had experienced two lions - brothers as well - that were trained to be collected using EEJ, like that video, only with their rumps high and at the exact same time as each other, side by side. It was really weird and I always figured he was full of crap telling me that, as he'd been prone to exaggeration before, but... seeing this... maybe whoever trained these guys was the same fellow, or had heard about that too and got in touch with that original owner or trainer."

Julie smiled. "So that means they're sexy, too?" she asked, hopefully.

I shrugged. "It could be, but I don't really have the means of checking on them here with me. I'd have to wait until we're back home, either at my place or at the zoo, depending on just what would need checking. Jasmine might be special, too, but if they were getting rid of her, it might be that she wasn't what they needed, or had proven what they needed to find out. Or something. Only time will tell with that. Now... Hercules... him I got an idea about." I finished off my chicken and mopped the plate with what was left of the roll. "Another piece of chicken, my dear?" I asked in a faux-british accent as I got up again, setting my half-empty glass of Dew on the counter and loading my plate once more.

"Yes, please." Julie handed me her plate which I loaded up as well before handing it back to her.

I sat back down and Julie asked, "What ideas do you have about Hercules?" she asked.

"Well, you know your dream last night, about riding a liger?" I asked. She nodded with a mouthfull of chicken. "Well," I continued, "how about we see if we can make that sort of come true tonight?"

Julie swallowed quickly. "You mean that, Jim?" she asked, her face showing utter shock.

I shrugged. "Well, we already had sort of a threesome with Cleo. Judging from how Hercules acted when I was loading him, he probably is open to new experiences like that, and you did say before you were wanting to touch a big cat's "stuff", as you put it. So... at the very least you'd get to grope him, and if you felt up to it, you could probably ride him. But don't expect his cock to be huge. It's not like he'll be hung like a man." I smiled and winked as I cut a piece of my chicken with my fork and popped it into my mouth.

"You're so weird, Jim. Just talking about big cat sex like it was the weather..." Julie jibed.

Just then, a strong gust of wind rocked the trailer a bit as the rain continued to beat heavily on the roof. "I prefer big cat sex to this weather, don't you?" Julie just elbowed me as her mouth was full agian. I just laughed and proceeded to eat more of my meal, which was surprisingly good for being just nuked food.

The meal was finished and I rinsed off the plates and the flatware under the tap in the animal section before putting them on the counter in the rack-room. I turned off the inverter and, as it'd gotten colder, lit the heater in there, having checked the propane tanks when we stopped for fuel. One was empty but the other was at least half full, which would provide a day's worth of heat on "high", or nearly three days on "low". After the heater ignited I set it to low, just because there was a chill in the air from such high humidity.

I reached through the cage bars and pet Hercules some, at which he rolled onto his back and spread-eagled. I took the opportunity to pet his chest and put my other arm through the bars as well and touched his tail. The appendage jerked a bit and he rolled his head to the side to look at me from the contact. "Easy there big guy. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, what I've got planned should make you feel real good indeed," I murmured as I worked my hand up the thick tail to its base. His tail twitched a bit as my fingers touched the hairless pink flesh centered among the web of flesh which would move his tail downwards on demand. It wiggled a bit upwards, as though instintively wanting to cover himself, but it relaxed soon enough as did the ring of flesh guarding the entrance to his rear passage. "That's it, boy... you'll have something thick up inside you before the night is out... and maybe something wet and warm around your cock, too..." I said as my fingers walked themselves up his perineum. I cupped his large balls in my hand, the other still petting his chestfur, and his member started peeking out the end of his sheath. I reached up and circled the furry tube with my hand and I could feel that he was indeed a thicker male than Hugo was. Jake was maybe about the same size, but I couldn't really judge because Hercules wasn't erect yet, and only when things are fully inflated can you really compare two phalluses.

Hercules started rumbling a bit, but his body language told me he wasn't upset at the contact, so I just gently squeezed his member in my hand, in a lightly throbbing manner, which elicited a pleased expression from the other end, and it throbbed back, firming more in his sheath and more of the tapered tip showed from the opening. I decided that I couldn't really finish him off and if I got him too far along he'd likely resent my stopping, so I withdrew my right hand and just pet his chest some more. As I finished with that, he rolled a bit to lick my hand and arm as I extracted them from his cage. I reached back in and fuzzled the top of his head and sighed happily, having learned what I needed to know, and was rather pleased my presumptions about him were correct.

I returned to the sleeper section and sat down hext to Julie. I turned my laptop back on. "Want to watch a movie or something?" I asked.

She looked curious, then looked up at the roof as the rain got a bit heavier and sighed. "I don't know... it's... kind of depressing being holed up here like this. I mean... it's sort of sad."

I gave her a cuddle. "Why sad?"

"I don't know... It's just... like... I don't know. It's so dark and cold and... not cheery at all." She looked down and I kissed her cheek. "Anything that'd cheer you up?"

Julie looked to me and smiled a bit. "No, I don't know..."

I pondered. "Hm... sounds like you can use a good amusing movie. Umm..." I grabbed my laptop and started scrolling through the movies available.

"I don't know if I'm really in the mood for that, Jim. I just... I don't know. I'm sorry for being such a bummer." Julie looked down. I found a movie we'd likely enjoy and set it up then put the laptop up on the counter.

"We could just snuggle for awhile, then have wild, kinky sex with Hercules..." I winked to her.

Julie looked at me in an affronted manner, then smiled some and gave me a squeeze. "You... I don't know why I like you."

"Because I make you smile..." I winked and reached forward and tapped the spacebar, setting the movie to playing. Julie looked at me confused as the dramatic theme music sounded, I just winked and nodded towards the computer monitor as this orange chicken starts digging out from under a fence using a spoon as a shovel. She actually giggled as the claymation Doberman bit the head off of a ceramic garden gnome. The theme music started again and her mood seemed to lighten a lot. I smiled as I snuggled with her lovingly.

As the movie played - Chicken Run, a claymation movie by Nick Park - Julie's mood seemed to rise back from where it had fallen before, and by the end she was cuddled up to me and she seemed to be having a good time about it all.

"Thank you, Jim. I needed something like that," she said. "I'm sorry I'd been a bit down before."

I smiled lovingly at her and gave her a squeeze. "It's ok. We all get that way sometimes." I listened to the wind and rain beat on the trailer, and was glad that the roof wasn't leaking. "How's the weather now? Not as dark and cold, I'd hope?"

Julie smiled and snuggled up to my side. "Nope. It's nice and warm in here, with you."

I looked to her. "So, what would you like to do now? Another movie?"

Julie looked at me curiously, then blushed.

"What?" I asked.

"Well... you said... something about you and Hercules?" Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at me, still blushing.

"Oh! So that's how it goes. First a movie and then wild kinky cat sex, hmmmmm?" I winked and she giggled. I fished that shoebox-sized box out of the cabinet. "How about we make our own movie of it? After all, this is Hercules first time... losing his virginity to a human."

I handed the box containing the new camcorder to Julie and she looked at it, stunned. "You mean... actually... videoing it?" she asked, flabberghasted.

I nodded. "Why not? You liked the lion one so much, might as well give you some more material to enjoy. Besides, it's fun sharing special moments with others... mostly to make them jealous." I winked and she blushed.

"I've never...." Julie looked down and blushed deeply as she unpacked the camcorder.

"Well, that's alright. I've never had fun with a liger myself, so... it's a night of firsts for everyone." I winked and Julie giggled. "That's not what I was meaning," she said. I just nodded and smiled, "I know. But it all comes out the same anyway, right? And you don't have to be on the video if you don't want to."

"I... don't know if I want to or not," she admitted, blushing. "It's kinda... kinky and fun, but... can't I get in trouble about it?"

I shrugged. "With Jack, yeah. With the law, somewhat. But you've got three things going for you. 1). They can't identify the location to know whose jurisdiction it's in anyway. 2). It's not illegal in our state. and 3). Unless you've gotten a tattoo in the past, oh... 16 hours that I don't know about, there's no way of identifying you from the tits down." I winked and Julie giggled at that last part.

"We'll see. Oh! What about our voices? That they can tell who's who," she observed, and I nodded. "Yes, they can. But that's somewhat alright, if we don't talk and just let the sounds of sex happen. Besides, the rain's beating pretty hard on the roof so it's not like any audio will be clear. It'd just be mostly for our fun and to remember Hercules' first time... if he's willing to join in the perversion. I think he might be, but we won't know until he's out here," I smiled and said.

"Well... maybe we should find out, but first... I have to go pee, so how do I use this little toilet again?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Knob out, lift lid, do your thing. I haven't filled it with water yet so there's nothing to pump, so you can just close the lid and shove the knob back in," I said somewhat mechanically.

"Turn your head!" she said as she started unbuttoning her jeans.

"Why? I saw you completely naked last night, remember?" I laughed.

"Oh, yeah... well... ok." Julie seemed really embarrassed as she sat down and did her business.

"It's so weird doing this with you sitting right there!" she laughed.

"Imagine it being two guys." I winked. "But, really, my workers rarely had to use that. It was here more for conveniece than realistic use. Once in awhile you just couldn't get away from things and just had to go, quick, rather than to head to one of the porta-johns that are always around carnivals and fairs."

Julie got up and wiped, and then sat down on the bunk with her pants and panties still down, and began to unlace her shoes. "Want to go get Hercules? At the very least we can cuddle with him some, right?"

"Want to tape him coming it, or just him on the bed getting plowed?" I asked.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." She quickly undid her shoes and let her pants and undies fall to the floor, then peeled off her socks as well. She quickly read the user's guide and put the memory card in and clicked on the battery. "Oh, only half charged. Is there a way we can plug this in?" she asked and proffered the cord. "Behind where the laptop is there's an outlet, and I'll go turn the inverter back on."

I stepped over Cleo who was snoozing in the doorway and flipped the switch for the inverter to power up again, which it did, its cooling fan buzzing. "There we go." I said as Julie tried out the new video-maker.

"Seems like it's doing pretty good in just this low light," she said.

"I think it has a spotlight there above the lens, doesn't it? That should shed a little more light on what we're doing. Just don't give me a sunburn in places that shouldn't get burnt." I winked as she turned on the bright spot. I was glad the drapes were the blackout kind or someone might have suspected something was up.

Cleo lifted her head. "C'mon Cleo, you should probably stay back here. It wouldn't be too good for you to be on video with us just yet." Cleo got up and padded more to the rear of the trailer and laid down near her brothers once again. I knelt down, then reached out and lifted her muzzle to kiss her nosie. "You're a very good girl, and I love you a lot. Is it ok with you if I have fun with Hercules tonight?" Cleo nodded and licked my face in return.

I went to Hercules' cage and opened the door. He ambled over to it and headbutted me in the chest. I rubbed his stop and then one of his ears. "Hi there Hercules. Are you wanting to have some fun?" I didn't expect him to answer like Cleo did, but he seemed to get the gist of things and stepped down from the cage, stretching very long between it and the floor before he jumped down with his hindfeet. I grabbed his tail lightly and he stood stock still. I ran my hands down to his hips and his tailtip lashed a bit. I touched the pink furless area under his tail and he looked back at me, the flesh twitching a bit. "You like that, big guy? There's gonna be more fun in just a bit if you do. Go ahead... go on." I said to him and he quickly moved along the aisle to stand in the doorway to the rack-room.

I heard Julie pat the bed and Hercules ambled forward and climbed up onto the bunk, Julie following his actions with the camera as he climbed up and laid down, his long body taking up the majority of space on the lower bunk. I came through the door and Hercules turned his head and looked at me. I guessed he might know commands so I made a circular motion with my index finger, like dialing a rotary phone, and Hercules rolled over onto his back as instructed. Whether he understood the gesture or not, I didn't know at that point, but he'd done what I wanted him to do, so that worked. Julie smiled at me, her nipples erect as she stood there, nude, as while I was getting Hercules she must have taken off her shirt. I could smell the scent of her arousal and I'm sure Hercules could as well.

Hercules' rump was near the edge of the bed, and, since he was on his back, his hindlegs naturally came to rest spread widely, showing off his maleness and rear. I went to one of the drawers and retrieved a box of rubber gloves, a box of condoms, and a tube of generic lubricating jelly. I undressed there in the aisle and took one of the gloves from the box, and the tube of lube, I moved to Hercules' rump and squirted some of the gel on my fingertips with the customary splut sound.

Hercules looked down at me from his laying position, raising his head a bit to do so, and I pet his pelvic region with my ungloved hand as my fingers made contact with his pucker. Julie was filiming it in close up and I nodded to her to film Hercules' face. She moved the camera and I pressed two fingers into his slickened sphincter.

Hercules' eyes squinted and he grunt-roared out some at the initial penetration. His ring twitched firmly around my fingertips, as I'd only gone in to the first knuckle. I removed them and had Julie film the finger penetration. True to nature, his rump reacted similarly to the first time as I slid the fingertips into him again, his ring squeezing on my fingers as I then started rocking them back and forth, advancing them more and more into him until they were fully inside him. His sheath was firming up and I smiled at that. The two were withdrawn and with a bit more lube, my ring finger joined its bretheren in entering the huge hybrid cat. Hercules grunt-roared a bit again as his rump was stretched further, but made no real fuss. His ring stretched readily and his insides flexed as I finger-fucked him. His sheath firmed quite a lot and his tip started poking free as the natural progression of his erection started aiming his cocktip forward. With my free hand I reached up and gently held his furred sheath around his enlarging member. This brought a wiggle from its owner, but nothing untoward, so I removed my hand and tapped Julie's. She blushed but filmed it as she gripped a male cat's sheath for the first time. I tapped her hand again, gestured for her to hold her hand a certain way, then squeezed a bit of lube onto her palm. I gestured to her how to hold her hand and she slid Hercules' sheath back, her hand enveloping the liger's cock as it was brought out for the first time that night. Hercules started rocking his hips a bit as she gently and slowly stroked him as I then resumed finger-fucking the cat's back passage.

Hercules folded his forepaws to his chest, much like how Hugo tended to do, and was making little grunts and other sounds as his body was being manipulated by these two bipeds, likely for the first time in such a manner. At the very least for the first time with these two particular bipeds. His face was somewhat relaxed even though his eyes showed his unfamiliarity with what was happening to him. He was alert, but his attention was being clouded with the strange sensations he was experiencing.

I'd been getting hard, just like Hercules was, and so I removed my fingers from him, and inverted the glove, tossing it aside. Julie filmed it as I opened one of the lubricated condom packets and rolled the slick prophylactic onto my penis, my thickness bobbing before me as I knelt down onto my clothes pile, to save my knees some, and started rubbing my covered glans over Hercules' slightly stretched and somewhat agape pucker. Julie gestured in inquiry which she should film, our connection or Hercules' facial reaction to my first penetration. I shrugged, not knowing which would be better, but I decided on our connection, as likely his rump would flutter and react definitively to the first entry of my thickness. I reached around and loosely gripped Hercules' hips with my left hand as I used my right to tease his tush, then to center my tip in his flexing opening. I pushed gently and his ring spread more and more... and more... his sphincter was flexing and gripping in indecision about the thickness going the wrong way through it. His hindlegs were tensing a little, too, from the activities, and then, without much fanfare, his rear consumed my glans and clenched tight behind it. His hindlegs tensed and he roared out, his rear contracted hard around my cap with his hindlegs fully extended and shaking.

I held his hips in my hands and drew back a little, as much as the flex of his pucker would allow, causing it to bulge a little, then pushed forward a bit, sinking a half-inch further into the massive male cat. His legs twitched a little from that. Another cycle and an additional half-inch was inside him. His insides were calming down some about clenching so hard on me, probably trying to prevent entry, but opposingly they seemed to draw me in as well. He was grunting with each in-thrust but made no move to change positions or do anything untoward. His maleness was mostly everted from his sheath, glistening with the lube that was on Julie's hand when she unsheathed him the first time, and he was starting to bob a bit. I felt my cocktip press against his swollen, aroused prostate and the first pressure-contact made his rear tense and his cock bob some... rocking back and forth maintained that degree of stimulation and soon I was balls-deep under Hercules' tail.

I started mating him and Julie once again gripped his member and started stroking him. I stopped for a moment fully inserted and gestured in inquiry whether Julie wanted to ride him now, feeling her first feline penetration. She shook her head as she continued masturbating him. I smiled and resumed my mating of my biggest male cat. He was taking it all with pleasure as his head rolled to the side and his tongue lolled. With Julie's actions his legs wobbled now and again in a halfhearted thrust, which gave me some ideas for another time. With my hands on his hips, I rutted him with moderate strokes, and soon felt his prostate swelling more and more, and his insides started to flutter. With one hand, out of camera range, I gestured to Julie to start gripping him in sort of a pulsing squeeze manner, and to make a tighter circle around his barbed glans. She did this and Hercules started humping more. I knew he was close and I wasn't too far behind... Julie's hand formed a tight ring around the tapered tip of his penis and he rocked a few times while she throb-squeezed his pulsing penis, then he roared out and his ass clenched me tight, repeatedly, as I felt the peristaltic pulses of his semen coursing through his internal urethra before they spurted from his tip. A couple thrusts like that and I filled my latex covering inside him, which perhaps provoked him to squirt a bit longer, as the throbbing had been diminishing but then returned to its squeezing fullness. Perhaps he even had a double-orgasm out of it... I couldn't tell because he was busy drooling onto the pillows, forepaws adducted to his chest and hindlegs spread so very widely, showing himself off for the camera.

Hercules' orgasm diminished and his cock stopped spurting, though his insides were still flexing around my maleness. I started pulling back, VERY slowly, letting the video capture each ripple and squeeze of his anus as my covered cock pulled his inner flesh a little outwards, sometimes a bit more than others, as his rumpring bulged as it disgorged its pleasure-penetration. His insides actually everted some as my glans popped free, and slowly flexed closed in a rather erotic manner, reddish mucosa remaining visible for a fair bit as his anus, made slightly puffy from the evening's actions, eventually flexed closed as his sheath finished enveloping his member except for the tiniest big of urethra visible at its opening, about the size of the brass end of a ball-point pen.

Julie shut off the video and I slid the condom off, knotted it, and tucked it into the gooey glove to throw away.

"That was amazing, Jim!" Julie said and set the camcoder down on the counter.

"I'm sort of surprised you didn't want to ride him, like your dream." I said as I got up and sat on the edge of the bunk. Hercules had raised his head and I petted his chest. "And you did VERY good. Are you sure you're not already a porn star?" I asked of the big cat, who didn't answer beyond licking his lips and wriggling a little on the bunk to get more comfortable.

"I.... wanted to, but... at the same time..." Julie smiled at me. "I wanted something else, too. Something a bit more special, so I'll wait with Hercules."

I looked surprised. "Something more special? What would that be?" I asked curiously.

Julie smiled broadly. "This time's my turn to have a surprise, Jim. But you'll like it. By the way, what time is it getting to be?"

I fished my watch out of my pants. "Wow, almost 11. We should probably get some sleep." I looked to the liger, and then to Julie. "You want to snuggle with him for awhile, or should I put him back in his cage?"

"Where will you sleep if I take your bunk?" Julie asked in surprise.

I shrugged. "Top bunk will work. If he gets to be too much, just wake me and I'll put him away."

Julie smiled and... looked curious. "Do you think it'd be ok if I.... snuggle him... in the nude?"

I laughed. "He didn't clobber me, so I don't think he'd clobber you. Just be careful because he still has all his claws." I reached out to one of Hercules' hind feet and gripped it so one of his claws extended from its sheath, still rather sharply pointed even for its large size.

"Oh, wow... I hadn't really thought of that." Julie seemed to have a second thought or two.

"It should be alright. Little pinpricks, or maybe a couple scratches, unless he's startled by something. Oh, and if he wets the bunk, you get that one ALL night!" I laughed and Julie stuck her tongue out at me. I set my laptop to playing another Seconds from Disaster episode and let the top bunk down before climbing up. Julie switched off the light and I saw her snuggle in with Hercules, who moan-roared a little and shifted about some.

I laid back with my head to the side to watch the video. I sighed happily as I was feeling somewhat drained from... well... draining myself with Hercules. I yawned and closed my eyes after covering myself with the other half of the sleeping bag. I smiled broadly when I heard Julie moan a little, figuring she must have been pleasuring herself from what all she'd seen. Oh well, I figured we'd be intimate together again soon enough. I sighed some and soon I was dead to the world for another night.