[User]
Another two months into the year and Leviathan would have been in serious trouble. The breeze that swept through the afternoon was enough to make the dark serpent wiggle unhappily from where she lay trapped, tongue flickering out as she hissed at the occasional bit of wildlife that scampered by. How dare they come near her as if she were some kind of meal? She was trapped, not dead! Why, if she had been at her full size they wouldn't have been worth even a small snack to get through the day, let alone worth her time to expend energy on. Yet there she was, barely bigger than a garden snake with part of her tail trapped under a rock and no limbs to remove it. Whoever had thought this was an entertaining prank to play on her was going to pay when she was able to get her hands wrapped around their throat.

Was it a prank? A curse? The serpent still hadn't determined who it was that had trapped her in this pathetically tiny form, who had stripped her of her large, glorious, mischief reaping serpentine body. It was pathetic that she had been reduced to this, to slithering through the grass and the weeds only to be felled by a rock. How had the damned thing even fallen on her? She was a proud creature when it came to her antics, but not overly prideful by nature. She did not want for riches or unreachable goals, she was control to stroll around life enjoying it day by day and finding her way through the world however she could. When one lived as long as she did, they tended to acquire riches that could then be sold to move through the money run world humans had created.

Centuries of existence had led to this moment as she wriggled around, trying fruitlessly to dislodge her tail from under the rock that had trapped her on the side of the road. Well, what could technically be considered the road, but it seemed more like worn paths that led into the countryside where they were more animals than people, and she'd had every intention of using the terrain to her advantage until she figured out a way to regain her human form. It hadn't even been a full day and already she was failing, cursing voicelessly to the high skies and the deep seas though no one would hear more than hissing.

A human. It sounded like a human, and even if she was mistaken on the sound, it definitely smelled like one. The heat of their body, the smell of the salt on their skin from a light sweat, it was definitely a human, and she opened her mouth wide to let out a pitifully tiny hiss in its direction. She was not going to die being stepped on by a human of all creatures!

[Assistant]
John was a simple farmer trying to make ends meet but that involved periodically going into town with any extra livestock he had, and selling any cattle to the butcher, or, on other rare occasions, he would bring some extra eggs from his chicken to the grocers for a little bit extra money, though the butcher paid a lot better than the grocer did. This was one of those days... He was walking back home to his farm after just barely making enough money to take care of himself for another month. During the walk home, he was lost in thought, mostly to do with self reflection.

"Mom was right... Maybe I should have just gone to medical school..." He whispered to himself. It wasn't like anybody else was around to listen to him moan and groan, or so he thought.

*Hiss* John almost jumped out of his boots. He knew a snake's hiss when he heard one, and he started looking around cautiously. It was a good thing he did because his foot was about to crush the poor thing! The snake wasn't a threat, it was trapped. Under closer inspection, John concluded the snake was definitely trapped under a rock.

"Oh no, you want some help little fella...?" He asked the snake, not like the creature would be able to answer him back. Very cautiously, John lifted the rock with one hand, and picked the snake up gently with his free hand. "Try not to bite me, OK...?" He whispered with a chuckle as he continued on the road home. "Maybe you can stay in my barn and catch those pesky mice that continue trying to steal my fresh cheese."

[User]
'Little fella?' Was he talking to her? Good gods, Leviathan was little, and this human was rubbing it in without even realizing it! The more important part of his speech however, was the question he wasn't expecting her to answer, nor could she answer had she wanted to. What an annoyance! The removal of the rock was an immediate relief to her injured tail as she wiggled it, hissing in pain and flailing awkwardly when the human picked her up! Was he insane? Snakes bit people, and he was picking her up like she was a tiny kitten he could pet and cuddle without a care in the world. Scratch that, even kittens could claw, and all she was able to do was bite if she wanted to.

Where were they going? She was unaccustomed to being so small and so helpless, still flailing around before her body coiled and then wove itself around his fingers to get a better sense of balance. Aside from balance and security from falling back to the hard ground below, he was warm, and what better than warmth for a snake that had been sitting in the chilly breeze for some time? Mice? He expected her to chase mice?

It wasn't that she was beneath eating pesky rodents, or even larger animals when her hunger needed to be sated, but he was insinuating that she would become a guard in her barn and keep his food safe from pests. Then again, there were worse places to be when trapped in this form, and if it would keep her safe in the meantime...

The mighty Leviathan, reduced to a chilly little snake burrowing itself into the palm of his hand to keep warm. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

[Assistant]
Upon closer inspection, once they made it to the barn and he sat her down on the wood floors, John realized something interesting about his new friend.

"You're a girl snake aren't you...?" He asked, almost as though he was expecting a reply, though he knew that wasn't possible. He couldn't describe how he reached that conclusion, but he read in a book that the shading of a snake's skin was a sure way to tell the gender of the snake. "Not that it matters anyway... I was just trying to think up something tomorrow..." He said in an embarrassed tone, wiping a bead of sweat off of his forehead.

"Well it isn't much but this is my barn..." He again insisted on talking to the snake. _Shut up John..._ He told himself mentally. John had a small cot made out for himself next to the bales of hay in the center of the barn. He had a house with a much more comfortable bed, but that was still a little bit longer of a walk, and he didn't have the strength for it today. He laid down in the cot and glanced at the snake that was now free to slither around at her own leisure.

"I think I'm just gonna call you Nessy..." He said with a laugh, closing his eyes. "Promise not to kill me in my sleep, and you're more than welcome to stay in the cot with me." John offered, not even bothering to open his eyes again.

[User]
There was no more hissing during the remainder of the walk, the serpent staying coiled and wrapped in the warmest spot she could find. There was no shame in doing what was necessary to survive, and it wasn't like there was anyone she knew standing there watching, waiting to laugh at her. If they were hiding in the shadows just waiting to jump out and taunt her, they were going to end up with a hell of a bite. Multiple bites, actually, since her teeth were nowhere near as monstrous and terrifying as they usually were.

A girl snake? Just how the hell could he even tell that from the brief look he'd had at her? Leviathan stared up at the human from where he'd laid her gently down in the barn, raising up a few inches to peer at him as her tongue flickered out to taste at the air. Strange man. Was he still talking to her? Leviathan swayed slightly to the side as if she were cocking her head inquisitively, watching the flustered man move around and settle himself down on a bare minimum cot beside the hay. This was where he lived?

"That would be cowardly." Wait. Had those words actually been audible? Leviathan froze in her sway and then reared back, hissing quietly and slithering around the barn floor investigating curiously. The cot would mean more warmth coming from the human, and if her voice was starting to come back, it was entirely possible that the rest of her would return in time as well. Five minutes. She would wait five minutes before joining him on the cot.

She waited patiently for what seemed like five minutes before slithering back across all the hay, recoiling mentally at the feel of it under her shifting scales before she made her way up the bottom of the cot and brought herself up to curl up in the human's hand again. Hopefully he didn't squeeze her and suffocate her when he woke, or throw her across the barn in a fit of fright!

[Assistant]
Just as John was getting whisked away to dreamland, he heard a female voice coming from inside the barn. He sat up quick, not leaving his cot, but just looking around for his visitor.

"Hello? Is anybody there...?" He called out. But to his dismay, there was no answer. So John decided maybe he must have dreamed up the voice... A side effect from spending the majority of every day working on this farm, alone. "It's not like the snake could have said that.." He joked to himself, as he closed his eyes again, smirking as he felt the snake curl into his hand. "Goodnight Nessie..." He said with a yawn.

The following morning, John woke up bright and early, sitting up in his cot and letting out an almost obnoxiously loud yawn, stretching his arms up, then realizing Nessie was still in his hand.

"Good morning my little snake friend.. Do you want to make the round with me...?" He asked jokingly, once again reminding himself that she wouldn't be able to answer back. It was time to make sure all his livestock was still there. Not that it happened a lot, but there WERE instances where a cow would run off, or a wolf would sneak into the chicken coop, and then there was the business with the mice stealing his fresh cheese.

[User]
Ah, the human was awake. Leviathan had been dozing on and off throughout the night, constantly woken by the sounds of rodents scurrying or the other idle chatter of the farm animals. Even they seemed to know that something about her was different, that she wasn't just an ordinary snake to be trifled with... yet none of them ran screeching or howling from her, which was an immense disappointment for the first while. Once she adjusted to the fact that, while some of them kept their distance, they weren't overly terrified of her, she was able to get a bit more sleep before she woke to the sound of the man speaking.

"Give me warmth." Okay, perhaps that line was just a bit over the top dramatic, and might very well get her thrown off of him, but she couldn't resist trying to cause a bit of mischief as she slithered her way down his arm to drape herself over his neck and rest her head against his collarbone. Ah, the heat of the human body was hard to resist when you needed warmth to survive, and her tongue dashed out to flick against his skin briefly before she settled herself down again. Maybe she would even get a snack along the way!

[Assistant]
_Did that snake just...?_ John jumped out of his cot as he heard a feminine voice emanate from the snake. And it was the same voice as the night before! There was no way he imagined it two times in a row. Maybe he was a little drowsy and mentally drained from his long day at work the night before, but this morning, he was alert and awake. He was almost too scared to move as the snake slithered up his body, her head stopping at his collarbone.

"What do you mean give you warm---wait a second! Did you just speak?!!!" He demanded, though he didn't risk making any aggressive movements with the snake's mouth that close to his throat. He didn't even know if it was a poisonous snake or not. He was almost hoping the snake didn't answer his question, so then he'd be able to pass it all off as his mind playing tricks on him. But what if he heard correctly, and he was, in fact, completely sane??? Was she an evil snake, sent from the bowels of Hell, or was she a nice snake?

"Please tell me I'm going crazy..." He said, looking up, mostly talking to himself.

[User]
Oh, he was smart enough not to try and pry her off and throw her violently, nor to scream at her when Leviathan had her mouth that close to vital veins. Well, either smart, or just plain terrified, but either of those options worked fine for her. Both meant that she wasn't going to be injured again when her tail was still healing, and both meant she got to stay warm for the moment. The temptation to speak again was almost overwhelming for a long moment, but she finally managed to talk herself into staying silent and instead rubbing her face against his collarbone with a quiet hiss. That would do well enough, right?

There were so many things to consider, so much to think about as she waited impatiently for her form to reappear. If her voice had come back within a day, it surely couldn't be an eternity for the rest of her to appear, although the thought of randomly becoming full sized and naked was both parts mortifying and hilarious at once.

Wait, was the thought of going crazy preferable to having a talking snake draped over him? That was almost offensive!

[Assistant]
John stared intently at Nessie, just waiting to see if she would confirm his fears of having an actual talking snake latched to his neck. When he was greeted by nothing but silence, he was both relieved, and disappointed, all at the same time. How many people could say they found a talking snake, or any animal that could speak the human language...?

"Alright, I might need to book an appointment with a psychiatrist..." He joked as he rubbed a finger along Nessie's head gently. No time to keep worrying about his mental state, though, there was work to do. "Come on Nessie, I need to see how many pests stole from me last night..." He commented as he got out of his cot, walking toward the barn entrance. Not only did he have a mouse problem, as far as his cheese was concerned, but his chickens were getting eaten as well. He was fairly certain there was a stray fox breaking in to his chicken coop at night, but it wasn't like his new friend Nessie could eat a fox!

John walked across the yard to his chicken coop, noting all of his cattle were accounted for, playing in the fields without a care in the world. John took a deep breath and slowly pulled open the door to his chicken coop. Maybe if he had a lock installed on the coop, it would be a great deal harder for Mr. Fox to sneak in for dinner. As expected, upon entry, there was a pile of feathers on the floor, the surviving chickens were all huddled in a corner, and there was a lingering smell of chicken blood.

"If I catch that little bastard...!" John shouted, but he quickly composed himself. It frustrated him so much, this was one of the reasons he was struggling to make a living. Every time his livestock 'disappeared', that reduced the money he would get at market, be it for cheese, fresh eggs, or, if he was really hurting, the livestock itself. "Well... Nessie, we're not necessarily off to a great morning so far... are you ready to go check on the horses? After that we'll go to the cow barn and make sure the milk and cheese is in the fridge untouched..."

[User]
Leviathan had to admit, the finger rubbing gently over her head and the warmth it emitted was pleasant, and she pressed into it for a brief moment before he began moving around to the barn door. They had work to do, it seemed, so she stuck around for the ride and observed her surroundings as he set to his morning tasks. He'd said something about mice before, hadn't he? She was rather hungry, and as much as she loved human food and all the unhealthy aspects of it, she couldn't really eat it in her current form. Mice it was.

When they reached the chicken coop she noticed his deep inhale, watching curiously as he took his time opening the door and then peering in. The smell of blood reached her nose instantly and her pupils thinned out, her tongue darting out to scent the air as she watched the chickens huddling frightened in the corner. Something had clearly gotten to one of them, but what it was, was another matter entirely. Probably something too large for her to eat, sadly.

The shout that came so close to her head made her hiss angrily and jolt back, slithering her way partway down his arm to wrap loosely around his wrist and stay away from the source of the noise. She didn't answer his question directly for fear of actually sending him into a nervous breakdown, but she did turn her head to glance back at him and then flick her tongue out several times.

[Assistant]
John must have shocked his new friend when he shouted about whatever fox or wolf or coyote killed his chicken, because she quickly shot down to his arm. He carefully raised a finger to her scaly head and stroked her gently, stopping just short of her tail.

"Sorry Nessie... I just got frustrated..." He whispered as he moved forward. He decided it might be better to go check on the cheese first, and save the horses for last; first of all, he wasn't having issues with any of his horses disappearing or getting eaten, and second of all, Nessie was probably hungry, and John was almost certain there would be mice going after his cheese again.

"Let's go check on the cheese first..." He said aloud as he opened the door to the cattle barn, and sure enough, he saw at least 3 or 4 good-sized mice crawling around the floor, close to the refrigerator where he kept the fresh milk, eggs, and cheese.

John put his hand on the ground so Nessie could easily slither off. "Well Nessie, I hope you're hungry! It's breakfast time for you!" He commented, though that reminded him that he hadn't really had breakfast yet.

[User]
The size of the mice running around in the barn were enough to instantly capture Leviathan's attention. John's brief apology had caught her off guard for only a moment before the prospect of food took the majority of her attention, and when he leaned down to get her closer to the ground she instantly was off and slithering across the ground. Her tail still hurt from its earlier injury and made her movements clumsy at first, the mice easily spotting her and scattering at both the sight of her and the loud voice coming from the human.

No matter, she would get one of them while he was busy checking on everything else. Whatever he was doing in the background no longer mattered to her as she darted around, slithering in and out of the random objects and bits of hay inside the barn. All she had to do was sneak up on one of the mice, something she managed to accomplish upon spotting a rather plump, lazy looking rodent that was still finishing off its own meal. Poor thing.

The scream that it let out when she struck and coiled around it was one she had grown used to over the years. Larger animals made much more horrid sounds that echoed and filled the area they were killed in, but mice only screamed briefly before she coiled tightly around their small bodies and snapped their spines. Now it was just a matter of swallowing the thing, a feat she began to work through as John went about tending to his tasks.

[Assistant]
John watched intently as Nessie hunted the mice. It was clear by the clumsiness of her movements that her tail was still sore from that rock he'd rescued her from. Still, she finally managed to catch one of the little thieves, and it made John happy; that was one less mouse he would have to worry about, and Nessie finally got to eat something. While Nessie was finishing up, John got food out for the cattle that were nursing in the barn, and opened the refrigerator to check on him supplies.

"Alright, on a bright note, it looks as though everything is still here..." He whispered happily, still unsure of how the mice were getting into the fridge in the past anyway. He shut the fridge and turned back to look at Nessie.

"OK girl, do you wanna try to catch a few more, or are you ready to go check on the horses?" John asked, staring at his snake friend, though he knew, by all logical evidence, he would not be getting an answer back from her, besides maybe her hissing or sticking her tongue out at him.

[User]
He wanted her to catch more of them already? Leviathan had barely gotten the first one all the way in her mouth and into the process of digesting, but she was still a bit hungry. One little mouse to fill her small belly wasn't going to leave her full once she returned to her proper size or her human form. Still, it didn't pay to be a total glutton, so maybe she would only hunt another one. Or maybe two. Three total seemed reasonable for her little body, and she could worry about a better meal once she was back in her human form. Oh, she couldn't wait to get back to that form. She missed her human delicacies and the ability to properly speak with a pretty face in order to cause mischief with the mortals.

"More." Oh, she just couldn't help herself! Leviathan was already slithering off in search of another mouse by the time she finished the word, refusing to look back despite wanting desperately to see the look of shock or horror the human likely wore. She was going to need to get a handle on her mischief for the moment, lest he step on her or throw her outside to rid himself of possible insanity!


[User]
They hadn't gone that far from camp, so as soon as they returned Trevor began taking care of dressing the animal, getting the chest cavity clean so they could cool the meat down and get maybe 30 pounds out of it. There wasn't a whole lot they could do to preserve any of the meat, but he got to cutting it carefully, long thing slices where they could for quick cooking. Two day maybe, at most, and the rest they'd leave for the scavengers or as bait. It wasn't lost on them that their goal here wasn't food so much as a job, but the job could wait another day or two at least. He suspected no others in the area were so eager to get these aggressive animals or they'd already be taken care of.

"We won't have much for taste, but it should be hot and filling." Trevor didn't really offer that as an apology so much as an explanation though he was ready to get their stew going and work the hide loose before the carcass tried to rot through. "At least you're not in one anymore. You don't have to try and hide what you've been up to too much." And Oliver, well he wasn't with them so long that even if someone knew about the gang they'd attribute him as a member. It kept him safe even with recognition.

[Assistant]
"We might have been one of the kinder gangs, I guess you could say, but I was just worried that he'd hate me or do something that would get the gang in trouble. I wouldn't tell him my exact location, but I'd always tell him the area so he would know that I'm okay and moving around." The return back to camp did not take that long, and soon, the partners were back. Everything seemed like it was untouched, which was perfect, so Oliver started to remove the saddle and such from his horse and tie him up to a tree so he could graze but not wander off. Preparing a deer wasn't really a two-man job, so Ollie worked around camp to get things ready for the night instead, but remained nearby in case his help was needed. Though, it seemed like Trevor knew what he was doing.

Oliver took instead to working on getting a fire ready so they could begin cooking the meat. Tonight's dinner wouldn't be anything fantastic, but it would be hot and there was plenty of meat for seconds. Meat like this would only last so long while they were traveling around, so it was best to enjoy it while they could. Of course, it would be wise to save some for later use, but with just the two of them, Ollie was sure they could get healthy portions. When food got low in the gang, they often had to do with small portions that always left one hungry for more, but there just wasn't any more food left. Being just the two of them now, he was sure it wouldn't be as hard to keep them fed.

Once the fire was started, Ollie put a few more twigs on it to keep it going and rearranged the wood, carefully, a bit to allow room to cook the meat. From where he was kneeling by the burning logs, he could see Trevor working on the carcass. "That is right," he agreed when the other man mentioned that they were no longer in a gang and there was no longer any need to lie. "You need any help? I got the fire going so it's ready to cook when you've got the meat ready."

Oliver watched the other man work from his kneeling position by the fire, and while he would work on the deer if his help was needed, Ollie was feeling somewhat distracted by his thoughts. He kept thinking back to when they were riding to camp, and they were talking about why they joined. He wasn't going to tell the other man the truth, but what that woman had seen to put him such a hard spot way back when was Oliver kissing another man behind the saloon. The other man, Allen, had been his friend growing up, and without realizing it, the two had formed some feelings between them. But it was wrong for two men to feel like that, so they kept it to themselves and met in secret. Both men were a little drunk that night and thought they were in private, but that damn woman, of course, had followed Oliver out of the tavern and saw what she was never meant to see.

Trevor reminded Oliver of Allen a little bit, quite frankly, though he had been trying not to think of the other man since he had left home. It was hard, but he had eventually overcome that, but talking about it with Trevor made him think about it again. Enough time had passed since then that it didn't make him feel saddened and lonely like it used to.

[User]
Kinder? Did he think of it that way? Maybe not, but it helped to know Oliver felt similar to the men they worked alongside with. They both knew what they meant even if the words were different. Oh. Maybe Oliver used a different word because he just knew more words. Trevor knew what kind meant, but he just imagined that mean who had a lot of words to choose from chose more carefully from the words to use.

Once Trevor finished remove the muscle meat from the carcass and the hide, he got it all gathered in a good clean place. He glanced at the meat, the hide and then Oliver. "Well I guess I don't know much more than just throwing the meat over the fire and cooking it until it ain't red anymore. If you want to use some of the items I got along the way," And he pulled out his bag of wild food items they'd stopped for, "And put it in a pot or something, add that rice that's fine. I ought to go dispose of the rest of this, well at least what we don't want to use as bait to keep the animal from coming near us. It won't take me long to find a good spot. And, well we don't need the head or nothing so..." He scratched the back of his neck. Trevor realized he was using a lot of words to say very little, and that wasn't setting too well with him. When had the got so chatty? Maybe it was the idea of having a partner to talk to and not a gang to listen to and just pitch in a word or two that got to him. When he turned his attention back to Oliver, he noticed the other man sort of paying real close to attention to him. Damn it. He was acting a fool wasn't he? Rambling on about disposing of an animal away from camp as if Oliver didn't know, and talking about keeping some less-than-ideal parts of it for bait as if Oliver didn't know that too.

Trevor stood and wiped his knife across a piece of older worn leather to clean it. "I won't be long. If you, if you want me to cook it over an open fire, you can leave it for me to do when I get back. I'm not... I'm not trying to get out of work or anything like that." He quickly gathered the discarded parts and hurried off into the woods. He'd want it a good five- or ten-minute walk away from them at least.

[Assistant]
As Trevor began to talk about what goods they had to make for tonight's dinner, Oliver got to thinking about the things they could make. He imagined a nice, warm stew or soup was a plausible choice. They could throw in some vegetables with the meat, then a little rice, even. Did they have a pot, though? Could they make all that in a pan? Perhaps cook the meat separately over the fire then throw it in with the rice and vegetables? Oliver wasn't sure how to make a broth, either. They didn't have a lot to work with, so it wouldn't probably end up just being water. Damn, cooking was more complicated than he had thought. Stews and soups always seemed to be simple, as if it just involved throwing things in some broth and stirring it up.

"I don't mind helping with the cooking, I'm just not sure how to go about it," he commented. "I was thinking that some warm stew might be great but I don't know how to make that," he would then admit. Then, suddenly, Trevor was standing and hurriedly taking the unneeded parts of their doe out to be disposed of. Oliver watched the man go, a little bit of an amused smile on his face that would be gone before the other returned. He didn't know why, but it was a little amusing to see Trevor adapting to their partnership. He'd never really talked to the other man before because the other man just never really talked. Now, here he was, babbling on about disposing of the parts they didn't need. It was endearing.

While Trevor was throwing out their parts, which was probably going to take a little bit so he could get far enough away, Ollie went to work preparing things to throw together. He found that they did have a pot, though it wasn't too large. It would be suitable for the two of them, however. He put the pot by the fire, which he stoked to make sure it was still warm after sitting for a bit. He also looked through the plants Trevor had gathered to see what they had to work with.

[User]
Trevor managed to harvest some fairly good size wild carrots, a handful of small green onions and sage. The berries he kept separate from the others, careful since they were so tender and spoiled quickly. He didn't worry too much about the whatever Oliver came up with to eat. He figured as long as the meat was cooked through, it didn't matter to much if the threw it in some water with bones to make it like a broth or just enough to cook the water clean and make it warm for a cool night. He'd been so hot before, he weren't sure he actually needed it hot at all. A man might appreciate cooler nights after going so long under the sun without water. His horse no doubt appreciated the change of pace, specially with tower trees and grass to munch on. And on his journey, Trevor wondered what it might be like to actually write to someone like Oliver had. He didn't have as many words to use, or good penmanship, but he'd always been proud once he got to being able to sign his name and actually read a bit. If he had someone to write to now, he wasn't too sure he could leave out the gang since it had been his whole life, and now, and now he had Oliver who seemed easy to talk to.

He walked out until he saw the sun begin to dip, disposed of the remains they couldn't rightly used and then began his way back at a quicker pace. The fear of dark sort of worked itself out of him when it became apparent, he'd have to sleep outside in it none too often. Sun still made a nice walk in a forest though, and if Oliver hadn't figured out how to cook anything, they'd have some time to cook it plenty. He paused though to pick up a few wild flowers, clusters of yellow flowers on almost prickly leaves that just looked nice. Trevor would never consider walking into camp with a fistful of flowers, so why he was getting them now, he wasn't too sure. They just seemed nice so that's exactly what he did. Trevor wound up returning to camp just past dusk with a fist's worth of flower which he promptly wetted with his canteen and stuck in his beat old tin cup.

"Don't think anything after those organs is going be bothering us. There is plenty there. In the morning, I might just go and check to see if anything got at him, could be the wolves." His eyes lifted to meet Oliver's. "It ain't like before. We're equals now in this uhh partnership. I guess that means we gotta agree on our actions and thinking, but just seems like I should say so. I don't expect you to do the cooking or nothing like that. It's just you said before you knew about rice, so I thought maybe you know more about it than I do is all."

[Assistant]
The other man had disappeared into the woods with the parts that were not of any particular use to the pair for the time being, and Oliver was still mulling over what to make. After looking to see what greens they had, which consisted mostly of carrots, onions, and sage, Oliver decided that it would probably be best to cook the meat over the fire and prepare the rice separately. It wasn't too chilly outside so something hot like stew would best be saved for later, cooler nights. He didn't want to make too much of that now in case that's all they would end up eating later on.

Ollie took two sticks that were of decent length and sharpened the tip with his knife to make two skewers, which he then shoved through a few pieces of meat, enough for the both of them while not taking too many pieces from their supplies. Meat like this wasn't going to last long, but it was a bad idea to go through it all in one night. They might not be so lucky to snag another deer like this for who knows how long.

Trevor's walking was heard by Oliver over the crackling of the fire and he looked up to see the man carrying a fistful of flowers. He was curious about why he had those, but he wasn't going to ask anything about them. At least, not right now. Maybe the man just liked flowers? Ollie was just about to get the rice put together when the man had returned, and he was dumping some rice into the pot as he spoke. "Things getting into those scraps could be a good sign of wolves, yeah," he would agree.

"That's alright," Oliver would say to Trevor, looking up from the rice that was now in the pot to meet his eyes. "I can handle dinner most of the time if you'd rather, I don't mind. I might not be a good cook though, so I'll figure some things out." He dumped some of the water out of his canteen and into the pot so the rice could boil and absorb the water. He put the pot on the fire but made sure it left enough room to cook the meat on the skewers, which were stuck into the dirt surrounding the fire and holding themselves up. "We can figure out who does what as we go, and split things up however works best. Being in a partnership is new for both of us."

[User]
Trevor smiled. Men in their crew would throw a fist for even the suggestion that he might think they ought to do the cooking. Oliver weren't like those men, it seemed. Maybe he didn't know much about his companion other than what he'd just shared, but he sure seemed like a nice fellow. Even if the gang had been better than some others, he'd have used the word nice to describe less than half of them. Maybe polite would fit, when they were in the presence of women or town folk but even the nice ones tended to have a mean bone when drunk. A few of his scars, a couple of across the shoulder even, they'd come from men he worked with, not enemies and not stray bullets but knives and a glass bottle during a scuffle.

As darkness settled around them, Trevor focused on the flames. His recently abused and sunburned body ached a bit, but this was nice, familiar even. The natural sounds around them hardly diminished the sense of calm, and he wondered what it might be like to spend night after night with this man. "Partnering ain't exactly new to me. I mean I guess it sort of is because I was a partner with someone but not, not really as you know since I just said..." Trevor frowned. He probably sounded pretty dim-witted just now. "I'm not, well I'm not exactly a smart man." He admitted freely. "I should just get that out right now. I'll do the best I know how though." And really, he'd met a few that were as dumb as rock, real mean, and he couldn't say he was too sorry they were gone now. He hoped Oliver understood what he meant though. So he gave Oliver a smile and pulled out his knife to carefully clean his nails while watching the other man mess with the pot, rice and meat.

"Did you read at night when we had the camp? I mean I know some fellas liked to read when they could, I just didn't always understand why it was so important to them to carry that material around. I always spent my share on booze, bullets, good food, sometimes a woman or two... if the price were right." The frowned returned. He like the company of others now and then, but those places were noisy and loud and it weren't always like he wanted it to be. A few of the men did have ladies in some town or another. He figured they'd be pretty upset around now, reading about the deaths of their men and the gang in the paper, assuming they could read. He thought at least a couple did.

[Assistant]
As the two men talked, Oliver was knelt down by the fire so he could make sure nothing was burning. This wasn't going to be the most tasteful meal, but as long as he could keep things from burning, it would be alright. Bland but warm and filling, and that's really all that mattered. "I'm sure you are smarter than you think are. Some of the men in our gang were actually as dumb as a box of rocks, but I don't think you are," Oliver stated as he moved from kneeling to sitting with his legs crossed. And what he said was true. He had seen the way some of those men were, and he could swear that they had not a single thought in their big heads.

Seeing the smile Trevor sent him, Oliver returned it. He hadn't seen many smiles from Trevor, but he took it as a good sign. That maybe this partnership was going to do just fine and they could easily get along. "I used to read sometimes, but I never really carried around any more than one book. Books could be heavy and I have more important things I need to carry. But sometimes, if you find the right person, you don't have to buy books. Some people like to trade books." Though he enjoyed reading, his survival came first. Reading wasn't a priority when there were more important things going on, like lacking food, lawmen on their tail, or rival gangs getting close.

"I mostly bought the same stuff," he would agree, though he didn't mention that he hadn't spent a single penny on a woman. No one in the gang either noticed or cared to notice, but while they were all out looking for women, he hadn't joined them or made any attempt to find himself one. Women just weren't his thing, but it was best not to share that with anyone. "But not to the same extant as the rest of you guys, I guess. I mostly just saved my money."

[User]
Trevor chuckled lowly at the thought of Oliver abstaining from the nights at town, not going to whorehouses and maybe not even spending so much time at the saloons either. Strange, he thought, how he didn't rightly notice Oliver's absence from trips to town, but really there were a number of men in the gang he didn't pay much attention to. "I don't think I've ever had more than a few dollars ever spend much time in my pockets. I guess I never saw the point. After that last few brushes of death, I guess I figured my days were numbered. Funny that I'd be one of the men to walk away from all that." He emptied most of his ammo in that fight though he still felt stomach sore that he left like that, didn't go down with the other. As hard as their leader had been, he doubted the man would've faulted any of them making out of that alive after the attempts they made to right it.

"Fraid you'll be let down though if you're relying on any smarts or the good sense of me to save. I promise that I do know how to hold out for a thing though. You don't have to worry about me spending what we don't have or not letting it build up for something we need. It's just when there's nothing named to a dollar, I wind up drinking or eating it, one way or another. Next, next time we have a little more to our names and not a winter at our front, we can get you a new book or find one of those places that trades them." He wasn't really sure if Oliver meant people traded or places trader, but in the end it didn't matter much. If they got through winter all right with enough to do anything at all, Trevor would call them lucky.

He settled down a bit to look at the stew, watch the murky water boil something good. It wouldn't be too long now that they could try it. No matter how it tasted, he'd be thankful for it though he wondered about needing anyone to stay up for watch. If the law weren't coming, not much else would be after them at night.

"It's not a bad thing to think of the future Oliver. Maybe that's why you still got someone to write to." His eyes dropped to his large hands, and the smiles faded as he considered what else these hands might do if it wasn't killing. Work he supposed, not exactly honest, maybe not too dishonest. Killing wolves troubling townsfolk weren't too bad. Killing a deer for food wasn't too bad... even if it were all still just killing.

[Assistant]
"I guess the way I was raised probably has something to do with me being alright with keeping money. My father was always good with money, but I guess he would have to be since he was in charge of all our cattle and such." There were a couple of reasons, really, that Oliver hadn't participated, but it was comforting to find that Trevor wasn't prying too much into his personal life, that they could just chat and not ask too many personal questions. Oliver wasn't going to tell Trevor things he didn't think he needed to know, but if he was asked about something, he wasn't going to lie about it, either. Lying would ruin a partnership, but he was worried that some of the aspects about himself would also ruin it just as fast.

A smile was brought to the man's face when Trevor offered to have some of their money used for a book after the winter was over, but he shook his head. "I appreciate, but making sure we have placed to stay and food to eat and the like are more important. Besides, we don't know what we are going to do after the winter, so I don't wanna spend money on a book, and then we need that money for something else." Ollie shrugged a bit. It was a nice thought, but the future was so uncertain right now.

He took to stirring the boiling stew and watched the rice float and sink with the bubbles. It would most likely be done soon, which was good because it was starting to smell tasty and Ollie's stomach was ready for something to eat. "Maybe," he would agree, looking up from the stew to Trevor and seeing his smile drop away. "Or maybe I'm just lucky. But either way, we both ended up in the same place after all. I think the stew is about done, though," he would say, hoping to make him feel a little better with something warm to eat.

[User]
Someone like Oliver being raised by a man with the smarts for money, owning a cattle ranch and even having a girl interested in him seemed like an ideal start for a lot of men. No one accused Trevor of being especially witty or smart himself, but he figured whatever that girl had on him must've been real damaging to have Oliver leave all that behind. Killing someone could do that, even if it were on accident. He'd heard a few guys come and go who ran into problems where someone died and all the facts seemed against them despite it not being their fault. He'd wager a couple of fingers that at least two of those fellows had lied though. Maybe he couldn't sniff out the best characters in the room and certainly been dumb enough to fall for a con, but the way those two killed later, that look in their eyes, the delight they got in letting off guns told Trevor he probably weren't too wrong about them. He didn't trust either to be a partner on his missions, at least not them alone. Oliver, well he couldn't remember either of them being on a small mission together or not, but he didn't get that sense of thrill when the man took that dear down. There was a difference between wanting to kill and being willing to do it when you had to. If he didn't even take pleasure in downing an animal, it seemed just as likely he wouldn't feel that way with a man or even a woman and child. So if Oliver didn't get chased off by murder, it could've been guilt about something or maybe a scenario Trevor didn't even know to think about. He didn't ask though, at least not yet. They might have to rely on each other to live and get through some hard months coming up, but they still hardly knew one another.

"Smell mighty fine." He fished out trusty cup, that he used for everything. He joked once that he though they might put that on his tombstone: Trevor and his Tin Cup. It wouldn't make a lick of sense to anyone outside the gang, but the thought of some old widow trying to figure it out brought a smile to his face. Hell the thought of anyone at all looking at it someday made Trevor smile. "I've seen plenty of ranchers and cattlemen with no sense of money. They either got others with better sense around them or they're not much of a ranch or cattle owner not long later. Sounds like your father at least tried to do right, and so did you. There won't be much work on a ranch during the cold months, so we'll just try and earn what we can and find someplace to hold out." They could camp again, like they always did, but with only a couple of men, the might as well invite scavengers to com take what they had or kill them. "I figure if we get those pelts and turn them in, we'll get enough for some supplies. Then up north there are usually hunting cabins folks don't always go to in the winter. We might be able to hold in one of them for a little while."


[User]
Hayleigh could barely contain her excitement as the cab drove them up to the entrance to the resort. The palm trees, the calming pink and light green colors, the stucco covered buildings gave the resort a look of a place much more exotic than the beach of Grand Bahamas. The trip came as a surprise. A combination of an eighteenth birthday present and an early graduation gift, Hayleigh cherished the idea of a week of sun and warmth with her mom after a long winter of books and college applications. Granted she still had a few months once spring break ended till graduation, but her grades all but guaranteed that outcome.

A porter in a very clean, white button up coat and a hat met the cab. Helping the two women out of the cab before collecting their bags, Hayleigh knew that her smile stretched from ear to ear as they entered the gorgeously decorated lobby. The warm red pine wood covered almost every surface, palm leaves covered the roof of the open lobby. A warm sea breeze blew through the lobby filling Hayleigh's senses with salt. She sighed happily as they stepped up to the counter.

The receptionist greeted them with a bright white smile that contrasted the light chocolate skin as she looked up the reservation. After a few moments of working through her computer a gentle frown turned down her thin dark pink lips "I'm sorry, I know your reservation asked for a double queen room, but we're booked full this week. Unfortunately all I have available is a single king room, but it's a bungalow on the beach away from the main building. There won't be any difference in the rate."

Hayleigh frowned with concern in her eyes, looking to her mom. It wouldn't be the first time she'd slept in the same bed with her mom, but that was when she was a little girl or during trips. This was meant to be a relaxing trip.

[Assistant]
Finally the promised date had arrived so Adriana and her daughter were able to have that trip they had been planning for quite a while. After the messy divorce and Hayleigh being busy with school it was quite a welcome diversion. They were going to have some quality mother-daughter time, getting some tan, swimming, getting ogled and so on. So they packed their things, got in the airplane and there they were. At the Bahamas. The weather was gorgeous and she could practically taste the good times they were going to have here. Hopefully she would not act too much like a kid in a candy store.

Adriana also hoped that Hayleigh would not notice, she did not want her daughter to think that she had a hard time in her marriage. She had tried to preserve it for her daughter's sake, but when it got too unbearable she had to get out of it. The drive was not that long and once at the reception Adriana did not let the problem with the room let her down. Especially since she would not be paying extra "That is alright." she gave a look at Hayleigh. Her daughter used to share a bed with her when she was younger and scared, so it should be fine.

"I think we can manage." she grinned "Especially now that we will be closer to the beach." The receptionist smiled and nodded and continued the registration procedure. Once that was done they were escorted by a bell boy towards the bungalow. "This looks cozy." she remarked to her daughter "Let's get comfortable." Adriana sighed once she tipped the boy and the door closed behind them.

[User]
Hayleigh wasn't about to try and argue with her mom. Especially since it would be moot trying to argue against a bungalow that looked out onto the beach instead of staying somewhere in the main hotel where they had to walk along balconies and corridors to get to the beach. She could essentially sleep on the beach if things got too uncomfortable having her mom laying beside her.

As the bell boy led them to the bungalow and put their bags near the closet, Hayleigh looked around. The large open room, the small kitchenette with a table that looked out to the beach, even the large light gray tiled shower left little for her to complain about. "Yeah, it does. Guess there are worse things than sleeping in the same bed as my mom." Hayleigh joked pulling the smaller of her two suitcases onto the bed and opening it up. Without so much as a look back to decide if her mom minded, Hayleigh ripped off her tank top and pushed down her shorts, kicking them to the side before bending down and slipping her bikini bottoms on. Sliding them up her thin thighs, pulling at the waistline and the seam along her butt to make them fit right. Satisfied with that, she pulled the top of her bikini top, already tied over her head, pulling her hair out at the neck before reaching back and tying the thin black string into a knot.

"We should probably take it easy the first day so we don't get burnt." Hayleigh commented, pulling a thin pink sheer long sleeved top out from the bottom of the pile before slipping it on over her bikini top, pulling her hair out the back. "So what's first? Beach or tour the resort?"

[Assistant]
"This looks almost like home." Adriana chuckled and sighed, then pouted "You were not complaining when you were little." she teased back and followed her example and pulled the other suitcase. "Someone's in a hurry." she smirked seeing what Hayleigh was doing. Her daughter has turned out very beautiful and she was proud of her. There was a slight warmth in her cheeks as some memories of her at Hayleigh's age and her own best friend experimenting.

"Tough choice." Adriana said as she too started getting undressed. "Maybe take a look around?" she asked while she pulled her top revealing her nice curves and toned body. She took care of her figure, especially now that she was back on the market. "Look for the best spot." she added as she removed her bra and looked for her top. "We need to keep our options open, so to speak." Adriana grinned as she put it on, not leaving too much to the imagination. Hopefully her daughter won't mind her mother being more provocative than she used to be.

Once done with the rest, she put on a nice light summer dress, since they were going for a walk....

[User]
Hayleigh shot her mom a smirk at the comment about not complaining of sleeping in her bed when she was younger. To Hayleigh that was ages ago. Not that Hayleigh really minded, she just hadn't planned on sleeping in the same bed as her mother. Though judging from the size of the bed they likely would never come close to each other during the night.

Walking over to the window as her mother pulled her own suitcase up onto the bed, Hayleigh turned with the comment of being a tough choice just as mom pulled her top off. Suddenly staring at her the full womanly curves of her half naked mom, Hayleigh caught her breath. Her first instinct was to turn away, especially as the warm flush ran up her neck to her cheeks. It wasn't like this was the first time seeing her mother naked, but like sleeping in the same bed with her mom, those days seemed like ages ago. Being eighteen now and by all rights a full woman, something in her belly twisted at the sight.

Looking back out the window as her mother pulled the sun dress down her body, Hayleigh brushed her bangs back behind her ear, eyes on the cool blue water running back and forth up the sand. "Yeah, we should check out the resort first. We have lots of time to enjoy the semi-private beach. Who knows what we might find on the property."

Hayleigh walked back to the bed, pulling a woven fabric bag from her suitcase. Moving some makeup and her wallet from her purse to the bag, she grabbed her mom's hand pulling her to the door. "Come on mom... paradise awaits."

[Assistant]
Adriana was a bit confused as to why Hayleigh blushed. Her reason was that she had remembered things buried deep in her memories, but she would never consider that her daughter could react to her changing in front of her. Adriana had viewed Hayleigh as her equal, just one of the girls in the gym's locker room.

"We need to find the best cafe first." she grinned "You know I can't live without it." Adriana chuckled "Then see what restaurants are nearby." she was making a list using her fingers "Then check the best bars..."

Then her grin turned sly "Then the best night clubs." Adriana said conspiratorially "We are here to have fun and you never know who you might meet." she winked, hopefully she was not embarrassing her daughter too much.

"Have I told you that I used to be quite the party girl at your age?" she chuckled and sighed. "Okay, now I am doing it on purpose." Adriana approached her and decided to be a bit spontaneous and hugged her tightly. "I am glad that we came." she said softly and kissed her forehead.

[User]
Hayleigh chuckled as they walked out, locking the cabin, her mom counting down the different things they needed to find as they walked around the resort. Nodding to the suggestion of a café, she couldn't deny that being a priority. If there was one thing she inherited from her mom it was the love of coffee and the need for the caffeine boost in the morning.

She certainly hadn't inherited her mother's body. The image of her mom pulling off her clothes in the room still lingered in her mind. The larger breasts compared to Hayleigh's barely C cup circles. Her mother had much curvier hips and legs, but Hayleigh knew in time those would come out. There was also a strange glow about her mother in that moment before, like she saw something that warmed her skin. Hayleigh wasn't sure what it might be, but she knew that she liked the warm flush it gave her mom's skin, versus the fairly pale skin she'd inherited from her father.

The suggestion that they needed to find the best clubs caused Hayleigh to roll her eyes slightly. Yes they came to the resort to relax and kick loose before she went off to college, but all of these things were outside of her normal frame of reference, and it sounded very much like her mom was planning to find someone to hook up with. While the idea didn't bother Hayleigh, there was the little problem of the single bed in the cabin. "Mom, you do realize just because we're in the Bahamas, they aren't likely to let me into clubs, and if they do they aren't going to let me drink at the bars."

There was something in her mom's eye that told Hayleigh that her mom wasn't going to be deterred by a problem like that. Suggesting that she was a bit of a party girl at Hayleigh's age, made her stop for a moment. The hug surprised Hayleigh more than the admission. To her credit or not, Hayleigh hadn't spent a lot of time during her senior year partying. She focused on sports and grades that enabled her to get a scholarship to Duke.

Hugging her mom back, realizing the hug pressed her firmly against her mother's full breasts, Hayleigh almost melted into her mother remembering those moments of being a young girl, feeling safe and warm in her mother's embrace. "I am too Mom. We haven't spent enough time together over the past we months and I don't want to run off to college having forgotten how great of a relationship we have." A curious warm shiver ran down her spine as her mother's lips pressed against Hayleigh's forehead.

[Assistant]
"Not with that attitude!" Adriana smirked at the mention that they were not going to let her in the clubs "But try not to mention that to your father when you next see him." she tease-warned her "He will run to the court to claim that I am an unfit mother." she made a grimace.

"Anyway." she sighed and let go of Hayleigh "We have a lot of options to have a good time." Adriana gave a cheeky grin, it was hard not to feel giddy. The Bahamas had been a dream of hers for some time now. They were a way to escape the hard times that had befallen her in the past few months. The divorce turning ugly and so on.

She was grateful that Hayleigh stood with her. It had surprised her, given that daughters usually sided with their fathers. And now she was becoming emotional again. Her hot Latina blood made her quite temperamental. "So, let's move then!" she hoped that her daughter did not notice that her eyes welled up a bit.

"You have become quite the head-turner." Adriana smirked and reached to hold her hand "I will try not to embarrass you..." she paused giving her a sly look "... too much."

[User]
Hayleigh gave her mom a curious raised eyebrow at her response to the comment about drinking. "Mom, you know I don't tell dad anything, especially girl stuff we share." she smirked giving her mom a hip bump as they walked. Hayleigh knew that the tease carried a bit of a warning. As much as either of them wanted to admit it, her mother wasn't wrong. The down side for her father being that he didn't really have a lot of moral standing on the issue.

Slipping an arm around her mother's waist as they moved Hayleigh felt comfortable being so close to her. Physically her mother was much more full bodied than Hayleigh, but in all of the good ways. There were days when Hayleigh found herself feeling jealous she hadn't developed her mothers curves. One of the downsides of her father's female line. Most of the women in her father's family were slimmer and less curvaceous.

She couldn't help but catch herself gazing out of the corner of her eye at her mother's cleavage when her mom mentioned being a head-turner. The tingle running through her body confused Hayleigh as they walked more. "Mom, if anyone's head's turning, they're looking at you, not me. I'll just be happy to be in their line of sight when they look at you." Hayleigh teased as they came up to a local café.

"Oh this looks nice." Hayleigh skipped over to the café, looking at the assortment of teas and coffee offered. The aroma of coffee and baked goods made her belly grumble realizing she hadn't eaten anything since the meager meal they served on the flight. Ordering a tall cold coffee and a cinnamon roll, Hayleigh waved her mother over. "I think we can splurge a little since we were so good over the last week making sure we were ready for bikinis." Hayleigh teased, taking her order and sitting at a table outside along the street within full view of anyone passing by.

[Assistant]
Adriana smiled at her daughter's reassurance "Well, just in case." she gave a small shrug. "I don't want him to think that I am corrupting his little princess." she giggled "Well, our little princess." Adriana sighed and shook her head. "Now that this is behind us." she decided to change the topic "We can look ahead to some fun times."

She blushed slightly at her daughter's compliments and chuckled "Most of these will be boys and young men." she rolled her eyes "Looking to score a MILF." she made air quotes at the last part. "But I will have to protect you from any lecherous men." she made a disgusted face "Also, don't sell yourself short." Adriana turned her head to look at Hayleigh "You are quite beautiful."

Once in the cafe Hayleigh found a nice place to sit. "But we should try to keep our figures until the end." Adriana giggled "Though an indulgence here and there should be fine." she grinned "Besides, there will be plenty of swimming. After all why come to this gorgeous part of the ocean only to lie at the beach."

Adriana relaxed in her seat and fixed a portion of her top "I meant what I told you earlier" she tilted her head and reached to touch her hand. "You are quite beautiful." Adriana smiled "And pardon me saying this, I know it will sound very creepy." she chuckled "But if things were... different I would have been happy to date you." she blushed a bit "Kinda remind me of..." she stopped and looked away for a moment then shook her head. "Okay, enough of me making things too awkward between us." Adriana added and sighed again. "I am still not entirely myself."

[User]
Hayleigh felt a blush flood over her cheeks just as she lifted her cup of coffee to her mouth, using the cup to hide the blush hearing her mother compliment her looks. To hear her mother call her beautiful somehow created an unexpected warmth in her body. The idea of any guy doing anything with her MILF mother suddenly caused Hayleigh's stomach to twist up in a knot.

"Oh I'm totally looking forward to a chance to swim. I can't remember the last time I swam in the ocean. I always love the feeling the salt water has on my skin." Hayleigh gushed at the idea of the two of them swimming and sharing quality time together on the private beach. "Because laying on the beach will give me a wicked tan." Hayleigh teased giggling softly between them.

The touch on her hand surprised Hayleigh, her eyes turning up to meet her mother's. The warm almost sensual way her mother touched her and talked caused the knot in her belly to twist harder. The half admission caught Hayleigh off guard as the knot in her belly pulled at areas of her body further down causing her to press her thighs together. The way her mother abruptly stopped caused Hayleigh to frown slightly. Leaning forward, setting her coffee on the table she looked up to her mother. "Mom, seriously, that's like a pretty heavy admission to just leave hanging like that. Didn't we agree we'd make sure we were always honest with each other?"

Since the marriage started to fall apart, Hayleigh made an effort to put aside the usual teenager independence from parents. The last couple of years had been hard on her mother, and they both had made a point to be more supportive. Hayleigh couldn't deny that in the past year her mother was turning into one of her best friends.

[Assistant]
"I am reverting to mother mode for a moment." Adriana grinned "You have to be careful with your complexion and the sunbathing. If only my Latina genes were stronger." she teased her with the last part "Then I would have been calmer." Adriana giggled and sighed.

It was her turn to blush "Oh... it's nothing." she tried to evade then paused for a second to mull things over. Hayleigh was right, besides she owed it to her. There was a portion of her past that she had not shared with her daughter, not even with her ex husband. For a while it was her secret, something she had kept to herself. Besides it would have raised a lot of questions and some suspicion, but now that Hayleigh was old enough and that she was divorced there was no point in hiding it anymore.

"You remember Cynthia, right?" Adriana asked "She used to come with her husband for visits, until they moved to Europe." her blush deepened "You remember that we used to be High School best friends and that we went to college together?" she looked down for a second "She was my first lover." there, she had said it. "It was before I started dating your father, he doesn't know and I prefer that he doesn't learn." Adriana managed a small smile "It started just after prom and continued through the first couple of years in college." she shrugged and chuckled "I know, it is a miracle that we managed to keep it a secret for so long, but back then things were not as liberal or tolerant as now." Adriana grimaced.

"But it did not work out and we both found husbands, I guess it was more of experimentation and finding ourselves." she added, though that was partially true as some of those feelings still burned, but not as strongly as before. After all they both had families and so on. Hopefully Hayleigh wouldn't have remembered some of the looks she and Cynthia had used to exchange at the dinner table, or that time she had caught her and Cynthia... hugging. Good thing she had missed the kiss that had preceded it.

[User]
Hayleigh groaned as her mother actually indicated that she was switching to mother mode. She rolled her eyes playfully making sure her mother could see. "I know Mom. I was laying out on the patio all last week to make sure I had a nice base tan."

Nodding at her mother's question as she sipped at her coffee. Listening intently Hayleigh tried to hide the surprise in her face at the admission that her mother had a female lover for a number of years before she was married to Hayleigh's father. The suggestion that this still remained a long held secret surprised Hayleigh even more. She couldn't explain why, but the knot in her belly grew more tight at the image of her mother and Cynthia naked together in her mind.

Hayleigh had always found Cynthia to be a very attractive woman, but these thoughts came years ago when she was still learning what it meant to be a girl growing into a woman. The thought of having any sort of attraction to another girl or woman didn't even linger in her mind then. Now suddenly the memories came flooding back and Hayleigh saw them in a whole new light.

"I... I never even would have guessed mom." Hayleigh cleared her throat, feeling it come out rather meek and uncertain. "Did you always have those feelings or was Cynthia something special?" She inquired trying to see if her mother's impressions might give some voice or meaning to the thoughts and feelings that Hayleigh had felt over the last year.

[Assistant]
Adriana was surprised at how well Hayleigh has taken the revelation. A wave of relief passed through her, she had been expecting a scene or some more emotional reaction to it. Maybe she should have trusted her more and now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag she felt... relieved, happy even. All those years carrying the burden. It was mostly because of her own parents, who would not have understood, that she had resorted to that deception.

"Well, we were good at hiding it." Adriana chuckled then sighed and straightened her skirt while considering how to reply to her daughter's question. She resisted the urge to fiddle with her coffee mug but that was stalling and she did not want to look as if she was concealing anything.

"Are you asking that I am into women?" she grinned "I think I still am in some way." she shrugged "Into both, though have not had any Sapphic relationship since Cynthia." Adriana sighed "And now that I am free again, who knows." she shrugged again and shook her head.

"But the thing between me and her, it is over." she pursed her lips "We tried to rekindle it, even had a one night stand..." Adriana blushed again "Remember that time that I was away for work? Yeah, that was it... Anyway I guess we both had moved on." Adriana picked her cup and took a sip. "Please, don't mention it to your grandparents or they are going to disown me." she chuckled "Anyway, any thoughts, comments, feelings?" she tilted her head.

[User]
She fought hard to hide the blush that slowly filled her cheeks. Her mother's admission twisted the knot in her belly more and Hayleigh honestly didn't understand why. Her eyes lingered on the edge of her coffee glass as her mother also seemed to pause, considering what else to share. There certainly was a relief in her voice as she started talking again as if a great weight or a wall between them had come crashing down finally.

Hayleigh couldn't stop the soft nod as her mother clarified Hayleigh's question. Simply hearing her mother admit her attraction to women made Hayleigh's eyes light up slightly. She knew a few girls at school who have come out as lesbians or bisexual, but she didn't know any of them well enough to understand what they felt. Almost all of her girl friends were very strictly heterosexual and unfortunately tended to be rather judgmental of the girls who have come out.

Tossing back the last of her drink, Hayleigh set the glass down on the table, using the movement to cover her new found curiosity in her mother's past. Taking the opportunity to stand from the table as her mother asked not to let her grandparents know then asking if she had any feelings.

Hayleigh hooked her arm into her mother's arm as they started walking back through town. She let the silence linger between them for a few minutes of walking before she squeaked out a question. "How did you know?"

[Assistant]
There was a sudden silence and Adriana feared that there might be an outburst. She needed to ready herself for it. Although she was not entirely sure as to why Hayleigh would react like that. Maybe her fears stemmed out of a guilty conscience? Besides, she was not admitting to a crime. Living inside the proverbial closet for so long has made her skittish about this. Hopefully now she could start healing so to speak.

Feeling her daughter's touch sent a warm wave through her body. It was a strange feeling, that got her worried for a second. Maybe it was the revelation and the memories of those tender moments back then. An amusing thought crossed her mind---she was glad she was not a man as the reaction could be quite visible if you knew where to look.

Then Hayleigh's voice brought her back "Know what?" Adriana was confused for a second then it dawned her "Oh... oooh..." her eyes widened and stopped to look her in the eyes "It seems you too have a confession to make." She smiled warmly and expectantly.


[User]
Jason smiled watching the boy position himself like he ordered. Moving behind him he pressed the bottle which let out liquid directly into his butthole. Pushing a finger inside his ass he slowly started to get him used to it as another finger came in. Slowly pushing in and out he then added a third finger and started fucking the boys ass with them. Finally when he was stretched a bit he positioned himself behind the boy and pressed the head of his cock inside his anus. "Congratulations, you're not a virgin anymore" he grinned slowly pushing his cock in and out while getting the boy used to his size. He didn't care about his screams thinking that if that made him feel better then he should do it.

Finally he began taking the entire length of Jason cock inside his ass. Slowly he began pushing in and out while his hands traveled down to his cock and started masturbating him while he was getting fucked. His free hand grabbed the boys waist and pushed him into Jason the slapping sound of both of their bodies could be heard around the house. "Scream if you want, I know it hurts... let it all out, moan or scream do whatever you want" he smiled moving the hand from his waist and starting to spank him from time to time.

[Assistant] Matt whimpered as Jason fingered him and even louder when he pressed the head on his cock into him. When Jason first entered he cried out in pain. Jason was not gentle, but Matt hadn't expected him to be. As he got use to it pleasure began to mix with the pain in such a way the as he cried out in pleasure he was also crying out in pain. The pleasure increased as Jason began to touch him and he was glad when Jason told him to scream and cry out. He was worried that Jason would tell him to simply shut up. As Jason began to spank him the pain and pleasure were at odds and yet he liked it. He didn't love it, but it gave him a feeling he would never be able to describe. The pain made the pleasure more produced, but the pleasure had the same effect on the pain. He moaned and cried his hips began to move with Jason's as his master continued to thrust into him.

[User] Jason groaned feeling the ass of his boy bouncing back at him, the sounds of flesh hitting were heard around the house. Groaning he looked down at the boy who was practically lost in his own world and grinned, if this was how he wanted to spent his last day as a human being he would be happy to comply. He groaned spanking him while his other hand began massaging his cock and balls trying to get him to orgasm. He felt the pressure in him start to build up knowing that the orgasm would soon to come. Grinning he leaned forward and began kissing his neck while his hips moved fucking the boys ass without mercy.

[Assistant] Matt moaned louder and louder screaming in pleasure. He knew this would be his only chance to do it so he was taking the opportunity to be as long as he wanted. He moaned and moved his hips with Jason. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to cumming. He could feel the orgasm building in his balls and it only made his cries louder. He held back though he wanted to break his master first. He wanted to feel Jason cum inside of him before he allowed himself the bliss of his orgasm.

[User] Jason slapped his ass as he was trying to hold back, "Don't hold back, I can remain like this a couple of more minutes pet". Reaching under him he began massaging his balls while his other hand masturbated his cock. Groaning he leaned back and kissed the boys back while his eyes scanned every inch of this person beautiful skin. "I will have a lot of fun breaking you into being my little pup". He grinned placing some more pressure on his cock and balls wanting to send him over the edge as fast as he could.

[Assistant] Matt moaned louder and louder his body shaking. He cried out Jason's name over and over. He held out as long as he could not wanting the pleasure to end. He could feel his control slipping so he moved his hips hoping it would make his master cum with him He swore as he realized he couldn't hold on any longer screamed in pleasure as he came. His entire body tensed, but still shook slightly as cum spurted out of his dick. It was better then any orgasm he got from masturbating and he felt like he had reached nirvana.

[User] Jason groaned and watched him finally have a orgasm, he continued fucking him hard not really giving him any chance to recover. "Dog I will continue to fuck you until I cum" grinning he began spanking him hard until finally he pushed one more time and started cumming inside his ass, "Hmmmm that's it...". Moving out from his ass Jason grabbed his pet hair and turned him around, "Now clean my dick and then go clean the floor with your tongue, you cummed all over my floor pet so hurry it up". He stood up and looked down at him as he finally released his hair, "Enjoy your own taste of cum for awhile".

[Assistant]
Matt gasped when he felt Jason cum inside of him. When Jason pulled out and commanded to clean him and then the floor Matt got onto his hands and knees. He began lick Jason making sure not to use his hands. He licked every inch of him and soon his master was clean. He enjoyed the taste though he'd never freely admit it. He then went to work on the floor again enjoying the taste, but again he'd never admit it without a command to. He finished cleaning the floor and looked up at his master for the next command.

He didn't say anything as he was pretty sure that he was suppose to be in puppy mode right now. He knew that his master would place the chastity belt on him and he was slightly scared. He had never worn anything like the device and wasn't sure how it would work. Would he be able to shower with it on? Would he be able to use the bathroom or would he have to wait for his master to take it off? He trusted his master, but that didn't mean he still wasn't worried.

[User]
Jason grinned and approached him with the chastity belt. Placing a ring just under his balls he made sure his balls were snug in place. Then he placed the plastic tube around his cock and attached the other little things that kept it together before taking the padlock and locking his cock away. "You can pee with that on, it has a small hole allowing the piss to come out. That will also prevent any erections and make it painful if you start to get one". He smiled and looked at the time on his watched and showed it to him, "Five... four... three... two... one... from now on you're officially a pet, you cannot talk and you will remain in puppy mode for as long as you have the collar on". He walked to the table and grabbed the collar placing it around his neck, then he forced the gag on his mouth and locked it behind his head.

Attaching the leash he looked over at him and grinned, "Do you want to go to the bathroom pet?". He stood up and attached the leash to the collar, "Remember no talking, let me know any other way. Think you are a dog remember that" he walked over to the table and grabbed the medium sized butt plug and forced it inside his ass using the fact that it was already open to pop it in quite easily. "Now... let's go outside so you can use the bathroom". He walked outside guiding him with the leash and pointed at a corner, there was a metallic tube inside the ground the tube was pretty big and it looked more and more like a toilet.

"When you have to use the bathroom you will come here and do both things". He pressed a button and a yet of water shot out, "With your back legs you will touch this and it will clean your ass, I don't want dirty dogs with me". He attached the leash to a tube nearby and sat down on a chair nearby the pool and looked at him, "Go and use your potty if you need it. If you need to do number two I give you permission to remove the plug but it goes back on after your over".

[Assistant]
Matt squirmed slightly as his master placed the chastity belt on him. It was only slightly uncomfortable, but he was sure he'd get used to it. He listened to his master as he explained how it would work and he was glad that he would still be able to pee with it on. He saw his master hold out his watch and he looked at it as his master counted down. When his master got the collar he lifted his head proudly as it was placed around his neck. He also took the gag graciously making sure to stay still the whole time.

He let out a muffled yep as his master placed the butt plug inside of him, but more out of surprise then anything else. He fallowed his master outside and watched as he explained how to use the new toilet. He was a little embarrassed knowing he was being watched, but he used it none the less. He made sure to clean himself and put the plug back him. He went as far as his leash would allow him and let out a loud whimper so his master would now he was done.

[User]
Jason grinned as he saw his pet use the bathroom, since he just ate pasta Jason was pretty sure that he wasn't hungry. Walking up to him he grabbed his leash and then walked inside Walking to his pet's bedroom he him out from the leash and pointed to the bed, "Go on and go to sleep pet, you will have a long day tomorrow". He turned off the door and closed the door and locked it from outside. He washed the dishes and then turned off all of the lights and walked into his bedroom turning on the TV.

After taking a long bath he walked naked to his bed and lay down on it turning the channels until he found something that he liked. He watched TV as his eyes slowly began closing until he fell into a deep sleep. During the night he got up a couple of times to go to the bathroom however he didn't check on his pet, he wanted him to get used to his new room, if he wanted to pee then he would need to do it on the room which meant a punishment, he would need to learn to control the bladder.

[Assistant]
Matt hesitated and before slowly entering the room and crawling onto his bed. He curled up and closed his eyes as he heard the door shut and click which he figured meant his master had locked it. He stayed awake for a while before he slowly fell asleep. He woke up a few times during the night and would be confused as to where he was for a minute before remembering. He would then get comfortable again and slowly fall asleep.

He woke up once with the urge to use the bathroom, but knew he had to hold it. It took longer after that to get back to sleep mostly because he was worried he'd wet the bed if he did. However, when he woke up the next morning his bed was still dry and he was relived. He got up and stretched like a dog would before going over to the door and waiting for his master to come back. He didn't know the time, but judging by the growing light he didn't think it would be long, but he also knew his master might not let him out until noon.

[User] Jason woke up the next day and walked to the kitchen to prepare some food. He had dog food in case his pet wanted to be funny or do something that he would later regret. On thinking about it he figured that he should remove the gag for now, it would be better teaching him to shut his mouth if he actually could talk. Walking to his room he unlocked it and opened it, he had two bowls one with food and one with water. He took off the gag and smiled, "From now on you will not have the gag unless you need to be punished. I think it would be better training if you could make the mistake of speaking without permission. By the way if you want to say something you cannot say without being a dog I want you to bark three times, if I consider giving you permission then you can speak. Bark once if you understood and twice if you didn't". He grinned pointing at the food and leaving the door open. Walking back to the livingroom he sat with his coffee and began watching the news.

[Assistant] Matt wiggled happily when he saw his master entered. He was surprised when his master said he wouldn't have to wear the gag unless he was being punished. He was glad that if he needed to communicate he could although he understood that his master still might refuse him. After his master left he sniffed the food, before eating it and drinking his water. He then headed into the living room. He hesitated before crawling over to his master. He gave a short bark before going to the door leading into the backyard and pawing at it whimpering slightly. He needed to go badly was wiggling slight as he tried to hold it. He hoped that he had pleased his master and showed him that while he was a newbie he wasn't completely untrained.

[User] "Need to go potty boy?" smiling Jason stood up and opened the door leading outside. He let him do whatever he needed to do outside while the volume of the TV was high enough that the news could be heard outside. Smiling he looked at him doing whatever he needed to do before talking, "A friend is coming here tonight, I need to clean you up and make you presentable for her. You could say... she has the best from both worlds". Looking at him grinning he began wondering how the pet would feel when he see the woman's monster cock.

[Assistant] Matt gave a small bark at his masters question and made his way outside. He quickly did his business and cleaned himself. He trotted back over to his master and listened to him as he said a friend was coming over. He tilted his head to the side as he said she had 'the bed form both worlds', but figured he would learn what it meant soon enough. He gently nuzzled his masters leg as a sigh of affection. He waited for his master to go inside before fallowing behind him. He wondered what would happen tonight, but he knew that his master wouldn't put him in harms way. He wondered if what he had said had anything to do with puppy play or something else entirely?

[User] Jason smiled and patted his hair, "Good boy" walking inside he sat on his couch and patted on the floor besides him. His finger removed the butt plug and let it fall to the floor, he wanted the pets ass to close up a bit so his friend could open it again. His finger pushed inside his ass and began fingering him without much of a car in the world as he looked at the TV, to him was perfectly normal to finger a guy while watching TV. "What I will ask you will answer, I give you permission. Tell me your kinks pet besides pet play, tell me everything that turns you on again. I want to hear you say it, I will break each thin you say and I will push your limits. Speak" with the last word he gave the boy a single command, his finger still going in and out from the guys ass while looking down at him.

[Assistant] Matt smiled and walked over to the floor by the couch and laid down. He moaned when he felt his master begin to finger his ass. His master then asked what his kinks where and he frowned. "Well I like watching men masturbate." He blushed "I don't know why, but I do. As for other things... master I'm sorry to say, but I don't really have any kinks. Or at least none that I'm aware of. My masturbation fantasy's were very vanilla and even after I learned about puppy play I didn't really think about the sexual part although I knew that depending on my master sex would be involved." He was worried that this might upset his master.

[User] Jason grinned and looked at him after hearing the moan, "You moaned, puppies don't moan that will earn you a punishment. If you want to express pleasure you will whimper or make any sound belonging of a dog. Slowly I will start investigating kinks with you, tonight we will start with bondage. After tonight little by little we will explore every kink including public nudity, I will take you to a bondage club I go to on Sunday." He grinned as he looked at him, "You have one punishment on your record, before I put you to sleep tonight I will give you as many punishments as you earned". He didn't stop fingering the puppy, "Also a puppy will ask permission by whimpering and grabbing my attention when he wants to cum. I choose to ignore you and you will not cum. From now on you are back into your puppy mode, no talking". He changed he channel as he pushed another finger inside his ass.

[Assistant] Matt began whimpering, but whenever he felt like he was going to moan he bit his lip. He really didn't want to think about what his punishment was going to be. He had no clue if it would be painful or just humiliating. He would let out small whimpers every now and again, but otherwise kept quiet. As he got closer he began panting heavily as his body was engulfed in pleasure and heat. He began to whimper loudly and gave a few small yaps as he got to the edge of his climax. He held it knowing he'd be punished for cumming without permission and continued to whimper and yap.

[User] "What is it puppy, you wanna have a little cummy?" Jason grinned slapping the puppies ass before pulling away from him. "Puppy has been bad, you cannot cum" he smirked and pointed at his feet, "Lick your masters foot, show your love to him". Grinning to the boy he slapped him in order to get his ass in front of him. Smirking as he looked at the TV and then stood up, "Let's go take a bath boy, you need a good bath since since yesterday you haven't bathed". He attached the leash and began walking to outside, "As a good doggy you will get bathed with the hose outside pet, bark if you want to get bathed. Once or yes or twice for now".

[Assistant] Matt let out a small whimper when his master pulled out his fingers. He understood he couldn't cum due to being punished, but it didn't help his aching erection. He gave a small yip at his master's request and gently licked his master's foot. He gave another small yip at the slap on his ass and obediently fallowed his master outside. He had to hold back a frown at being cleaned with a hose. He knew he was a dog, but hose water was freezing and very unappealing. Still he was worried what would happen if he said no so he gave one clear bark and pretend to be happy even though he hated cold water.