CAUTION: This story contains implied sexual activity between minors, mild violence, and profanity. Reader discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Masala Chai
by IndigoNeko and TaintedThylacine
Chapter 5
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
Kalu rolled onto his back, the bedsprings under him squeaking in protest. There were a surprisingly long list of drawbacks to being one of the largest evolved animals, not the least of which was that most furniture wasn’t built to support them. The elephant picked up the basketball next to him with his trunk and tossed it into the air, catching it and throwing it over and over. Colorado winters legitimately sucked; it was far, far too cold to go outside and shoot hoops. Football would have been a better choice of sport for someone of his build, but he had no interest in it. Not that it mattered; it was too cold for football too.
Suddenly the phone sitting on the headboard shelves started ringing, and Kal caught the ball one last time, dropping it on the bed before reaching up with his trunk to pick up his phone. He flipped the phone open and held it up to the side of his head. “Kal here. ‘Sup?”
“Uh, Hi Kal. It’s Alex,” the voice on the other line said.
‘Oh, the tiger cub again,’ Kalu thought to himself, sternly reminding himself not to swear this time. “Hi Alex. Did everything go okay with your shrink?”
“Yeah. He took those plushies like you said he would, and kept the painting. I started working on another picture of my grandparents, when they were hugging at the zoo,” Alex said.
“Good,” Kalu said with satisfaction, nodding to himself. That was much better than painting pictures of dead bodies.
“Also, I figured out why I kept getting blackouts for the first couple of weeks. It was ‘cause I was afraid of being left all alone. If I was by myself, I’d panic and then it was like I... Like I fell asleep or something? Only it was just my head that was asleep. The rest of me was still awake,” the tiger cub said. “Did you go through something like that after... ?”
“Nooo,” Kalu replied, hesitantly. “I never had blackouts. Just nightmares. Couldn’t sleep for weeks and any time a car drove by, I was afraid I’d get shot at.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex replied, going quiet for a few moments before continuing. “I, uh, never figured out exactly what happened. We’d finished dinner and stepped out of the restaurant, then two people with guns and helmets appeared, asking my grandparents to hand me over. Why... Why would they ask that?”
The elephant thought that over for a moment. “Well, either they were trying to kidnap you or trying to rescue you. Your grandparents were ex-mafia, right? So it could have been mafia members trying to kidnap you as leverage or to punish them. Gangs do that kind of shit sometimes.”
“You mentioned gangs when you said your aunt and uncle were shot in a drive-by shooting. Was it, like, just completely random? Or...?” Alex asked.
“Oh no, it was absolutely deliberate,” Kalu explained, accidentally slipping back into a Jamaican accent. “After de Russians lost control of de drug trade mebbe five, six years ago or so, a bunch of gangs popped up trying to get in on that action. My aunt and uncle were part of a gang out in Kelso that sold weed, ecstasy, and hookers. They were shot by a new gang dat was trying to take over de area. Bunch of Puerto Ricans who were trying to sell harder drugs like crack, cocaine, and meth.”
“I don’t know anything about gangs or drugs...” Alex replied.
“Dat’s probably a good thing,” Kalu replied, smiling ruefully. Realizing that he’d slipped back into his old accent, he frowned and cleared his throat. “Oh, and uh... you’re dating a squirrel-girl, right? Azalea, the art teacher’s pet?”
“How’d you find out about that?” Alex asked, clearly surprised.
“News travels fast,” Kalu replied, grinning to himself. “Look, I’m happy for you, but... uh... I’m kinda worried. I dunno if it’s as big a thing here, but back in Philly, people were pretty racist. They’d treat other people like shit just ‘cause they were a certain species, and God forbid you date someone who wasn’t a member of your own species...”
Two minutes later, Kalu flipped his phone closed and tossed it back on the headboard shelves. At least now the tiger cub knew what shi was getting into. He hated having to explain the realities of shit like that, especially to a cub, but he also didn’t want to find out the kid had been hit in the head with a beer bottle by some racist asshole. Alex already had enough shit to deal with between losing hir grandparents and being a hermaphrodite. After a moment he realized just how many times he’d sworn during their conversation and sighed. At least he hadn’t dropped the f-bomb again.
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016
This time when Alex walked into Dr. DeLeon’s office, shi was carrying a small box filled with brand new plushies along with a poster-sized roll of paper. The young tigress carefully set the cardboard box down on the coffee table in the center of the portly skunk’s office, then unrolled the poster and set one of the stuffed animals on each corner to hold it open.
The psychiatrist leaned forward to look at the poster. It was a beautifully detailed colored-pencil drawing of two tigers wearing beige outfits, standing in front of a bench and nuzzling each other. Unlike the painting from last week, the proportions were slightly off and the colors were a bit too bright, but it was still an incredible piece of art for a ten-year-old.
“I drew another picture of my grandparents, since I gave you that painting,” Alex said, standing back for a moment before walking over to the sofa and taking a seat next to hir father. “I figured I’d show it to you, since you like art. I did this one on my own, over the weekend.”
“This is beautiful,” Everett said, being totally honest. For once he didn’t have to lie about a child’s artwork; it was a truly well-done drawing, other than the proportions being a bit off. “Were you going to give it to your mother, or keep it for yourself?”
The young tigress tilted hir head slightly. “I don’t know, actually. I don’t think Mom likes her parents. They were nice to me, though.”
“Hmm. Let’s talk about that,” the doctor said, spinning around in his chair to grab the pen and notebook off his computer desk before turning back to the two tigers.
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Thursday, February 4th, 2016
Alex huffed as shi pushed the heavy vacuum around, ears flat against hir head to try to protect hir ears. After finding out that Mom was coming home, shi and Dad were playing catch up after nearly a month of skimping on housework. On the bright side, now shi was getting paid to do it. Admittedly not very much, but ten bucks was still ten bucks. In the back of hir mind shi idly wondered why dollars were called ‘bucks’.
The noise that the vacuum was making suddenly changed pitches as the roller stopped spinning. Alex quickly turned the machine off, laying it back to check the brushes. Just as shi had suspected, it was clogged with long purple and orange hair. The amount of fur that Azalea shed was absolutely unreal. Sighing, shi walked over to hir desk and pulled out a pair of scissors. The tigress wondered if Azalea had the same problem vacuuming their house.
Ten minutes and two more roller repairs later, Alex sighed with relief that the entire upstairs was completely vacuumed. Now it was just a matter of cleaning the bathroom and dusting the gaming room and reading nook. The tigress walked into the bathroom and pulled a spray bottle out from under the sink. Pinching hir nose in preparation for the harsh smell of bleach, shi pulled back the curtain of hir bathtub and started spraying down the fiberglass walls.
Another ten minutes later, the tigress finished hosing down the inside of the tub with the detachable shower head. Shi put it back on the hook and glanced over the shower walls with satisfaction, hoping that the pink slime wouldn’t come back again. Alex closed the shower liner and turned around to flush the toilet one more time, then headed downstairs to start dinner.
After filling a pot of water and sticking it on the stove next to a skillet drizzled with olive oil, Alex pulled out a half pound package of chicken breast and stuck it on the plastic cutting board. After dicing the chicken, shi dumped two cups of farfalle pasta into the pot of boiling water, then scraped the chicken off the cutting board into the skillet, stepping back as it sizzled and popped in the hot olive oil. Turning back to the kitchen island, the young tigress peeled the plastic off the package of pre-sliced mushrooms and turned back around to dump them in with the chicken. Now it was just a matter of waiting before adding the chicken broth, spinach, garlic, and eventually the ricotta cheese.
Alex was sitting on the kitchen island counter, playing a game on hir phone when David walked in. “That smells good. What is it?”
“I dunno,” shi replied with a shrug. “I just threw some stuff in a skillet and boiled some pasta.”
“Huh. Chicken, mushrooms, and garlic in cream sauce?” he asked, peering into the bubbling mess in the skillet.
“And spinach,” Alex replied, looking back down at hir phone. “Mom says we should eat more greens.”
“She’s probably right,” David admitted, leaning over to plant a kiss on his daughter’s forehead. “Thank you for fixing dinner, love.”
Alex smiled to hirself. “You’re welcome.”
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Friday, February 5th, 2016
Raenne stomped the snow off her boots and stepped through the side door into the living room, then stepped to one side to make way for her husband and daughter. Both parents were wearing baby carriers strapped to their chests and were carrying full-sized duffle bags. Alex was carrying a smaller tote as well.
“Home, sweet home,” the older tigress said as she dropped the duffle bag before bending to undo the laces on her boots. “You don’t realize how much you miss it until you’ve spent a solid month in a hospital room.”
“It could have been even longer,” David pointed out as he bent to remove his own boots. “Be glad they released the twins a week early.”
“Yeah, and the medical bill would have been larger too,” Raenne agreed as she kicked off her footwear, nudging them under the bench next to the door. The tigress walked over to the couch that faced the fireplace and carefully sat down so as not to jostle the infant that was strapped to her chest. After leaning back, she reached up and ran her thumb across Katherine’s forehead, trying to calm the mewling cub. The kittens still had their eyes closed, but they were making up for it with how vocal they were. “Quiet, you. Your brother’s only six feet away and I literally just fed you an hour ago,” the tigress muttered.
“Why don’t we go put them in the nursery, see if they’ll fall asleep again,” David suggested. “They were sleeping soundly through most of the car ride.”
“Good idea,” the tigress said, carefully standing back up.
“I’ll get the bags. Where do you want them?” Alex asked, having finished taking off hir own boots.
“The duffles go in our bedroom, and the small tote goes in the nursery,” Raenne said.
“Okay,” Alex replied, picking up one of the heavy duffle bags with a grunt and heading down the hallway towards her parents room at the back of the first floor.
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Ten minutes later, David and Raenne peered down at the two cubs in the crib. “I don’t think we’re supposed to put them both in a single crib,” David muttered, nibbling on the black skin of his lower lip.
“Yeah, but they won’t stop fussing unless they’re together,” Raenne quietly replied. “I learned that weeks ago. They don’t even like being separated for feeding. It’s like they’ve got a built-in proximity detector or something. More than one foot apart and they start fussing.”
David frowned. “Huh. Do you know...?”
“Nope,” Raenne replied, already guessing what he was trying to grasp at. “They don’t even need to make noise to know where the other one is. They can literally be dead asleep, and if you move one of them away the other one starts fussing. For all I know they’re telepathic.”
“I’ve heard that sometimes twins are like that. Usually it’s identical twins, though,” David mused. “Let’s hope they don’t start speaking cryptophasia.”
“Yeah. Teaching them English as a second language would be a pain in the tail,” Raenne said, turning away from the crib now that the cubs were falling asleep again. “Can you order something for dinner? Pizza, maybe? And keep an ear open for the cubs? I need to see where Alex is at.”
The white tiger raised an eyebrow, not sure exactly what his wife meant, but was more than willing to keep an eye on the cubs. “Okay,” he said, pulling out his cell phone.
Raenne stepped across the hallway to their bedroom, heading straight to their closet and pulled out her karate gi, quickly getting changed before heading upstairs. She found her daughter sitting at the computer desk in hir room, drawing. “Hey kiddo. Get your gi on. It’s karate time.”
Alex glanced up from the drawing shi was putting the finishing touches on, raising an eyebrow. It was almost dinner time and hir mom wanted to have karate practice? The young tigress blinked, then stood and walked over to hir closet.
Two minutes later, the young tigress thundered down the stairs to the basement and garage that they’d converted into a gym. Shi tugged on hir yellow belt to make sure it was tight before stepping over to the mat. She bowed towards the center of the mat, then walked over and stood in the center of the mat, facing hir mom.
“Seiza,” Raenne said, watching as her daughter immediately knelt and sat on hir feet. This wasn’t going to be a full practice; she just wanted to see where hir daughter was at. If what David said was true, Alex was more than ready for 7th Kyu. “Mokuso.”
__________________________________________________
“Now at full speed. Heian Nidan.”
Alex blinked, then recited the name of the kata, then went through it as fast as shi could while still maintaining correct form. It helped to visualize people attacking from various directions like Hikari had suggested. Turn left, upwards block, inwards block, punch Robert right in the stupid goat’s chest, turn, upwards block, another inwards block, punch dog-breath Jimmy in the chest...
‘Christ, shi is fast’, Raenne thought to herself, a few seconds later. The little tigress had gone through all twenty-six moves in a little over ten seconds, including the slight pauses after kiai shouts. As far as she could tell, her daughter had done everything correctly, though Alex went through them so fast that the older tigress was considering putting up high-speed cameras just to make sure. “Very good,” she said. “Now, seiza.”
As her daughter knelt on the mat, the older tigress turned around and unzipped her gym bag and pulled out an orange belt that she had ordered around Christmas. She turned around and knelt in front of Alex. “Once again, you have learned all that is required in order to progress. You have not yet mastered these skills, for mastery takes a lifetime, but you have achieved competency with all the basic techniques and the kata that are required to advance to 7th Kyu. I am honored to reward your persistence and your dedication. Congratulations,” Raenne said, leaning forward and setting the orange karate belt on the mat between them.
Just then, the doorbell rang for the ‘front’ door, next to the garage door. The older tigress stood and walked over to the door, pulling it open. A teenaged ferret in a red and white baseball cap and jacket stood there holding a black carry case. The young ferret’s head slowly tilted back until his gaze finally reached the much taller feline’s.
“Uhhh, Hi. Did you order a pizza?” the ferret asked, pulling out a brown cardboard box.
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Saturday, February 6th, 2016
Alex held Azalea’s paw as shi dragged the half-squirrel down the hall from the living room to the nursery. As the tigress put hir paw on the doorknob, shi turned and made a shushing noise, then pushed the door open.
Raenne was sitting in a recliner in the corner, reading a novel, and looked up as the door clicked open. She raised an eyebrow as Alex and Azalea practically tiptoed into the room, her daughter heading straight to the crib.
“That’s Katherine,” Alex whispered, pointing at the black-and-white striped cub. “And that’s Nicholas.” She pointed at the black-and-orange striped one. They were clearly sleeping, both eyes shut. Nicholas squirmed for a moment and reached out with one tiny paw, then stopped as he touched his sister’s. The kitten relaxed again, promptly falling back asleep.
“They’re pretty cute,” Azalea said, smiling at the sight of the sleeping babies. “I wonder if you were that cute.”
“Not even close,” Raenne muttered without looking up, flipping a page in her book. “Alex was one ugly baby.”
“Mooom,” Alex whined in a stage whisper.
“Okay, fine. You were cuter than Nicholas, but not as cute as Katherine,” the older tigress said, still not looking up from her novel. “She’s by far the cutest of you three. All because she has this adorable little growl when she’s irritated.”
Alex harrumphed, then turned away from the crib, raising an eyebrow at Azalea. “What?”
“I need to see some baby pictures of Alex,” Azalea smiled, looking from the younger tigress to hir mother. “I’m sure your mom has some really embarrass- I mean, cute photos of little Alex.”
Raenne finally looked up from her book, a grin spreading across her muzzle. “I do. I scanned them a few years ago, so I could keep them on my phone,” she said, pulling the phone out of her pocket.
“Oh no, you don’t,” the young tigress said, frantically pushing Azalea back out of the room. “We are not looking at pictures of baby Alex.”
Azalea squirmed, grabbing onto the door frame for a moment, but her claws couldn’t get any purchase before Alex managed to push her all the way out of the room and closed the nursery door behind them.
“Spoilsport,” Azalea muttered, trying to look innocent. “I just wanted to see if they’re as cute as you were.”
“Riiight,” Alex said, glaring at her girlfriend. “They’re cute, but they make some of the most ear-piercing cries sometimes. They woke me up last night, and I was sleeping on the second floor. I can’t imagine how Mom and Dad got a wink of sleep.”
“Oh, we didn’t,” David said, stepping out of their bedroom. “We’re going to be taking care of them in shifts. I’ll sleep in the evening, your mom will sleep in the morning. I suggest you start going to bed earlier so you get enough sleep.”
Alex peered up at hir dad. “Like when? Ten?”
“More like eight. But don’t take my word for it,” David said, heading down the hallway towards the great room. “You’ll find out soon enough for yourself. I still have nightmares that wake me from a sound sleep, remembering your cries from when you were an infant.”
Alex glanced over at Azalea, looking vaguely alarmed, then followed her father out into the great room.
“So, what’s the plan till dinner? Snuggles, napping, a snowball fight?” Azalea tossed out a few ideas, the last one being an obvious joke.
Alex perked up at the idea of a snowball fight. Going outside was actually a good idea. “Hmm. We’ve got like three hours to kill. We could go for a hike,” the young tigress suggested.
“Are you crazy? It’s literally freezing outside. As in the temperature at which water turns solid. Did you know that you’re over ninety percent water?” Azalea asked, launching into a rant about the temperature. “Yes, it’s true, you’re mostly water. You know what happens to people when they go outside when it’s freezing? That’s right, they freeze solid. Like an ice cube. I have no intention of turning into a squirrel-shaped ice cube.”
Alex stared at hir girlfriend as she ranted about the cold, waiting patiently for the older cub to finish her rant. “Stop whining and put on your coat. We’re going hiking,” shi said, totally deadpan, before turning and walking over to the side door entrance that led out to the covered part of the deck that wrapped around half of the house.
“Did you not hear me?” Azalea asked, exasperated as she followed the tigress over to the side door next to the fireplace. “My muzzle will literally be dripping icicles. My tail will freeze solid and break off. Then my fingers, then my hands. I won’t be able to paint very well without fingers, you know, much less hands.”
Alex, wearing only an orange t-shirt and a pair of black capris, pulled open the door. “I’ll be waiting outside,” shi said, snagging a pair of boots and stepping out onto the covered porch. “Besides, you won’t freeze. You’re more paint than water,” Alex quipped, pulling the door shut behind hir.
The half-squirrel grumbled under her breath for a moment about ‘crazy tigers’ before pulling on her own boots and grabbing her coat from the coat rack.
__________________________________________________
Azalea followed Alex into hir bedroom. “I thought we were going to play video games or something after dinner,” the half-jerboa said, following her girlfriend into the bedroom. “Did you change your mind and decide to watch a movie and snuggle instead?”
The young tigress walked over to hir bed and flopped backwards onto it. “Actually, I have a better idea. Think we’ve been dating long enough that Mom and Dad will let us do sexy stuff together?”
Azalea’s eyes shot wide open at the suggestion. “Seriously?” she asked, mouth hanging open.
“Yes, seriously,” Alex said, sitting upright. “Want to come with me to ask them?”
“You’re kidding, right? Your dad would snap me like a twig,” the half-squirrel protested.
“Nope, not kidding,” the tigress said, hopping off the bed and grabbing Azalea’s paw, dragging her along. “And Dad’s a giant teddy bear; he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
The tigress darted down the stairs with a wild-eyed Azalea in tow, coming to a stop as hir father looked up at hir from where he was sitting on the couch.
“Dad! Can Azalea and I do sexy stuff together yet?” Alex asked, point blank.
David cocked an eyebrow at his daughter, then turned to look at Azalea.
“This was not my idea, I promise,” the half-squirrel said, immediately trying to defend herself. “All hirs. I’m here under protest.”
The white tiger sighed and set his book down on the arm-rest before standing to his full six-foot-eight height, glaring down at them. “Alex? Did you ask if Azalea wants to have sex?”
“Well, no, but-”
“What did your mom say about asking first?” David said, clearly exasperated.
The young tigress sighed, also exasperated, then turned to Azalea. “May we please have sex?”
Azalea gasped like a fish for a moment at how brazen her girlfriend was, then swallowed nervously. “I mean, I would like that, but... I feel like this is a trap. Like if I say the wrong thing, your dad is going to yeet me out the door.” The squirrel blushed furiously, looking from Alex to David and back. “But yeah, I would like to have sex with you.”
“Raenne?” David called before sitting back down on the sofa.
A moment later the tigress walked down the hallway from the nursery. “Yes?”
“You were right,” David said, casually pulling a hundred dollar bill from his pocket and holding it out while picking up his book and flipping it open again.
The tigress looked at her daughter and sighed. “Yes, you can. If both Cora and Beth are okay with it,” Raenne said, walking over to her husband and snagging the cash before sitting down on the sofa next to her husband and picking up a book of her own. “And yes, I’ll want to speak with them first.”
“My phone’s up stairs, I can go get it.” Azalea said after patting her pockets to make sure she didn’t have it.
“Go on, then,” Raenne said, waving at the two children.
Alex promptly turned around and darted back up the stairs, dragging hir girlfriend along, the half-squirrel’s fluffy tail bouncing around wildly. After a moment they arrived back in Alex’s bedroom. “Okay, where is it? Oh, there,” the young tigress said, snatching Azalea’s phone off the computer desk and pressing it into her hand.
Azalea took the phone and quickly pressed the contact labeled ‘home’ and waited for one of her mother’s to pick up, panting for breath from being rapidly moved from point A to B. “Hey Mom. Just have a quick question for you,” Azalea sighed, setting the call to speakerphone. “So we kinda want to get naughty, but Alex asked hir parents first and now they want to talk to you about it and make sure that it’s okay with you...”
“As long as you two are safe about it, and your parents don’t mind...” Cora said.
“I’m safe, Mrs. Winters. I got an IUD last year, and if you insist, I’ve got condoms that I’m pretty sure will fit Azzy around here... somewhere,” the tigress said, rummaging through hir nightstand.
“Jebus. You must have been planning this for a while, horny tiger,” Azalea huffed, reaching over and pinching Alex’s butt as shi was digging through the drawer, getting a squeak in response.
“Say Alex, you’re ten now, right? Just how did you talk your mom into getting you an IUD?” Cora asked, remembering just how young Alex was.
“Ha! Found ‘em! Yes Mrs. Winters, I turned ten in August,” the tigress confirmed, rolling back over with a pair of foil packets in hand. “Mom had me get an IUD after she found out about Lizzy... or maybe it was when I started having those, uh, dream things... Actually, uh.. You-know-what-nevermind,” Alex blurted, flushing red with embarrassment. “You should talk to Mom.”
“Oookay. I’ve got questions now,” the jerboa said, clearly suspicious, “and your parents wanted to talk anyway, so let me talk at ‘em.”
“Come on Alex,” Azalea said, getting up and taking Alex’s paw, dragging the embarrassed tigress out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the great room. “Mr. and Ms. Andreyev, you two wanted to speak with my mom?” the squirrel-hybrid asked, stopping at the edge of the living room.
“Yes,” Raenne said, setting her book down while leaning forward and holding her hand out.
“Hello, Raenne,” the voice on the line spoke up as Azalea handed her phone to the older tigress. “It’s Cora.”
“Hi Cora. A few moments ago Alex came running down here asking for permission to do ‘sexy stuff’ with Azalea,” the tigress said, leaning back against her husband again and glancing up at the two cubs in front of her. “I said yes, but only if Azalea has your permission.”
“So, before we get to that... Alex, who is only ten, just told me that shi got an IUD last year and mentioned someone named Lizzy and dreams before clamming up,” Cora said. “This sounds like an absolutely wild tale. Spill.”
Raenne sighed, looking over at her daughter. “Well, there’s a lot to it, but the extremely short version is that we found out Alex was messing around with hir friend Elizabeth last spring. Both of them have precocious puberty. When Alex started having nocturnal emissions too, I decided not to wait until hir first blood to go on the pill and got hir an IUD instead of risking a litter of ‘mini-me’s, since auto-impregnation is possible for hermaphrodites.”
“Oh,” Cora said, clearly disappointed. “I thought there’d be more to it.”
“Oh, there is,” Raenne said with an evil grin. “I’ll tell you and Beth the whole story over coffee or something next time I drive Alex over to your place.” The tigress smirked as her husband rolled his eyes.
“Oh, yay, I love a good story,” Cora said brightly, giggling. “But yes, they can have sexy times as long as they are safe and it is okay with you two.”
“They’re perfectly safe and it’s fine with us,” the older tigress confirmed. “Alex has a clean bill of health; I had hir take a full STD panel the day shi got back from vacation, just in case.”
“Vacation... with Lizzy, I presume?” Cora asked.
“Uh-huh,” Raenne confirmed with an exasperated sigh.
Cora giggled. “Well, I know that Bushy butt is clean. The one guy that she was talking to was a dickbag and broke up with her when he found out she’s trans. But it seems that she and Alex worked that one out already, sooo... Anyway, is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”
“No, that was it. Have a good evening, Cora.” With that, Raenne handed the phone back to the jerboa-squirrel cub. “Try not to make too much of a mess, kids. Alex has plenty of towels in hir closet. Use them.”
“You heard her Bushy butt, no messes. And don’t get anything in your tail. I don’t want to shave it,” Cora added.
“Love you too, Mom,” Azalea said with an exasperated sigh, clicking the button to disconnect the call. “And thank you two,” she said, nodding to Alex’s parents.
Raenne smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“Well, that was easy,” Alex said quietly before turning around and pelting upstairs. “C’mon!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Azalea said as she slipped her phone into her pocket and rushed off with Alex. “I’m gonna pounce a cutie!”
After Alex reached hir room, shi stepped into the closet and pulled out a short stack of towels.
Azalea followed Alex into hir room, closing the door behind herself. “Sooo, ummm... Just gonna get naked and stuff?”
“Huh?” Alex asked in confusion as shi tossed the towels onto hir bed, then turned and tilted hir head while raising an eyebrow at the squirrel-hybrid. “Why would we get naked? We have tentacles for a reason.”
“I am not Jennifer. You can’t fool me with your deadpan bullshit,” Azalea said, glancing sideways at the tigress.
The tiger cub giggled. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
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Sunday, February 7th, 2016
Azalea rolled over in the unfamiliar bed she was lying on, nose twitching at the scent of cinnamon, sugar, and toast. The jerboa-squirrel hybrid yawned and sat up, looking around the room, remembering that she had spent the night with Alex. “God, that smells good,” she muttered as she slid out of bed, gathering up the clothes that they had left on the floor last night and getting dressed. She definitely needed a bath and a brushing, but she wanted to find the source of the tasty smell first.
“Alex? You in here?” She asked, walking downstairs to the great room that housed a living room, dining room, and kitchen.
“Yup,” the tiger-cub replied, already showered, dressed, and standing in front of the stove. “Mom and Dad should be out in a few moments too. Could you set the table? There’s plates in that cabinet, and silverware in the drawer below it,” shi said, turning and pointing with the spatula in hir paw.
“Okay,” Azalea said with a nod as she got out plates for each of them. “Man that stuff smells soooo good,” the hybrid said as she set out the plates before getting the silverware and doing the same. “Might have to get you to teach mom to make that.”
“Sure! I’ve been having french toast for breakfast for as long as I can remember. I only started making it myself last year though,” shi said, scooping yet another slice out of the cast iron skillet and onto the platter next to the stove that was already piled high with french toast. Shi quickly picked up the shaker next to her and shook it a few times over the pile, dusting it with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
A yawn announced the presence of yet another person appearing for breakfast, as David appeared in the hallway, dressed in a hastily donned bathrobe. His wife followed close behind, also wearing a bathrobe and moving a bit stiffly.
“Good morning you two,” David said after he finished yawning, walking into the kitchen.
Raenne let out some kind of noise that might have been a good morning. She looked like she was still half asleep, leaning against her husband’s back.
“Good morning,” Alex said, turning off the stove and picking up the platter to take to the dining table. Hir parents followed close behind, both of them collapsing into chairs while Alex set the platter in the middle of the table. “What does everyone want to drink?”
“Tea….” Azalea said with a little giggle as she glanced at the youngest of the three tigers, and then turned to hir mother. “You look half-dead. Are you okay? Do you need coffee?”
The older tigress blinked, a strange expression on her face. “Uhh... mostly okay. The cubs keep waking us up every few hours,” Raenne said, blearily. “Orange juice, please. I’m going back to sleep after this.”
“I’ll have coffee,” David said, picking up his fork and using it to snag several slices of french toast, alternating between putting them on his and his wife’s plates.
Alex went back into the kitchen, pulling down several mugs and glasses from one of the cabinets and then heading to the fridge. “Hot tea or cold?” shi asked loudly.
“Hot. With a pine needle on the side.” Azalea called back. “If you don’t have hot tea, I’ll take whatever you’re having.”
“No prob… it’ll be a minute though,” the tiger cub replied as she put two mugs of hot water in the microwave. A moment later, shi walked through the living room and pulled open the side door, heading out onto the patio before closing the door behind hir.
Azalea was a little surprised that Alex actually went outside to get her a pine needle, smiling that the tigress went right along with the half-squirrel’s little quirk. “So... Why do they keep waking up?” she asked as she snagged some of the french toast for herself.
“They’re just hungry,” David said as his wife rubbed her eyes. “They wake up every four hours, mewling for milk. Raenne’s been a stickler for breastfeeding them instead of formula, since it’s supposedly healthier for preemie babies. I guess that it’s worked though; the twins are at exactly the right weight for their ages.”
Alex pulled the side door open again and stepped back inside, stomping on the mat just inside the door to get the snow off hir bare paws. After closing the door again, shi walked past them and back into the kitchen. “Have I mentioned you’re weird?” shi asked over hir shoulder as shi went by Azalea.
Azalea stuck her tongue out at the younger tigress. “You’re the one that was chasing imaginary phoenixes that time. And it’s not that weird. Pine smells nice and pine needle tea is good and good for you.”
Alex rolled hir eyes as she dropped a tea bag into the mug, setting a pine needle almost as long as hir paw down next to it before turning around and pouring a steaming hot cup of coffee fresh from the pot under the coffee maker. A few moments later, shi walked back into the dining room with a platter in hand, several cups and mugs sitting on it.
“Thanks, love,” David said as his daughter set his cup of coffee down. Raenne said the same a moment later as a glass of orange juice was placed in front of her. Alex set a cup of hot cocoa down at her own spot, then handed Azalea a saucer with a mug of tea and a pine needle.
Azalea took the cup, dipping the needle into it and stirring it a little before setting it on the saucer. “I didn’t think that you were going to get me one, but... thank you,” she said, sipping at the tea before starting to eat. “I will make you some pine needle tea, sometime.”
“If you’d asked for anything other than a pine needle, I’d have said forget it… but there’s a pine tree just within reach of the patio,” Alex said with a shrug, sitting at the table. “It’s not like the cold bothers me,” shi said, reaching out with a fork to snag some of the french toast.
David took a bite of the toast, chewing for a moment before swallowing and giving a contented sigh. “Delicious. I’m starting to think you may have surpassed even me at the art of making french toast. The student has become the master, young padawan.”
Raenne rolled her eyes, taking a sip of orange juice. Alex did likewise, taking a bite of french toast.
“She can make some killer french toast,” Azalea said happily, before letting out a little squeak and setting down her fork. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Ummm... is anyone doing anything this afternoon?” she asked, setting her phone in her lap and going back to eating.
“No,” David said. “Not that I know of. Sunday’s sort of our day off,” the white tiger explained.
“Well then,” Azalea said, smiling. “Mom A wanted me to ask if you all wanted to come over for dinner and meet the family or something.”
“Sure,” David replied, after a moment, looking slightly surprised. “Is that okay with you?” he asked his wife.
The older tigress peered suspiciously over the top of her glass of orange juice, then set it down. “How many people are going to be there? I’m not keen on exposing the twins to any of the viruses going around lately, and we can’t exactly leave them behind.”
“It’s just my parents and sister, and you guys. It’s nothing big,” Azalea said, sighing happily as she stuck the last of her French toast in her muzzle.
“Okay. I guess that’s not too bad…” Raenne said, finally taking a bite of her own french toast. “What time?”
Azalea looked at her phone one last time. “Ummm, about four,” she said, typing out a message and putting it away. “That way you all can meet the family, talk a little before the dinner and stuff.”
“Okay,” Raenne said.
Alex looked over at Azalea with a calculating expression. “Does this have anything to do with us having sex?”
David nearly spit out his coffee at that, and Raenne almost choked.
The young hybrid went wide eyed at that question. “No,” Azalea said, blushing as she picked up her tea. “No. My family does this like every month. Cook a big meal and celebrate. Nothing to do with that,” she said, picking up the pine needle and sticking it in her muzzle. “And, um, don’t worry. I told her to not let you have any more of that tea,” the half-jerboa said, trying to change the subject.
“What tea?” Raenne asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the rodent sitting next to her.
“I’m innocent on this one,” Azalea immediately protested, blushing a little. “Mom A gave her nepeta cataria tea. She didn’t really think about it cause we drink it pretty regularly-”
“You gave Alex catnip tea?!” the tigress asked incredulously.
__________________________________________________
“Alex actually said that?” Beth asked, laughing warmly. “You know, I’m starting to like hir. Shi’s sharp and goes straight to the point,” the malabar squirrel said, standing at one end of the dinner table.
“Alex said it without missing a beat,” Azalea said, helping her mom clean off the table. “So, you two don’t be, like, super weird and stuff. Shi’s my mate now, and well…”
“You want us to make a good impression on them?” Cora said, kneading some dough at the kitchen island.
“Well, yeah. I mean, you two know that we are doing it, so there is no need to bring that up, and none of that grandkid stuff…” Azalea said as she and Beth finished cleaning the table.
“I make no promises,” both of Azalea’s mothers said in unison as Beth and hir daughter walked into the living room area, heading over to the sofas to start straightening them up.
“And don’t worry; we told your sister to behave,” Cora called out, waving the rolling pin. “Not sure how well it’s going to work...”
“Oh God. Does she even know that Alex and I are a thing? We kissed in front of her a few weeks ago…” Azalea said with a huff as she and Beth moved the sofa and got the cat toys from behind it before moving it back to the wall. The cats sitting on the sofa didn’t bother to move.
“Don’t worry. I will have a little talk with her when I go to pick her up,” Beth said with a smile as they straightened the small pillows on the sofa and recliners.
“Thank you,” Azalea said with a little sigh.
“You really do have a thing for her don’t you?” Cora asked with a giggle as she finished washing and drying her hands. “You two are really cute.”
“Moooom,” Azalea said with a little huff.
“You know, I’ve never seen Alex’s dad, other than at a distance when he dropped hir off,” Beth said with a snicker. “I’ll finally get to see if he’s as muscular as you say…” shi said as shi picked up a box and followed hir daughter down the hallway, giving a wolf whistle.
“In the name of Ra... We are not trying to make me blush to death,” Azalea said, putting the box of cat toys she was holding in the hallway closet.
“Honey, it’s our job as moms,” Cora said, spreading a tablecloth on the dining table. “And hey, Bethany is the one that you should be worried about. You know that shi is going to be the one that does the interrogation.”
“Mom, please don’t…” the hybrid begged. “I know that you like to read a lot of detective novels, but that doesn’t make you one,” she said, shaking her head a little as she started pulling out statues and figurines of different sizes and set them out. “And, while I’m thinking about it... you know shi’s a herm, right?”
“There’s no way I’d forget that, seeing as I am too,” Beth said, smiling as shi set out candles on the table. “But I still have to make sure that shi is right for my little girl. And don’t think that it’s just you; we do this to Jenny’s boyfriends too. None of us are worried about what gender someone is, as long as shi is good to you and you two get along and all that.”
Azalea froze up for a moment. “Shoot.”
“What did you do… or forget?” Cora called out on her way back to the kitchen to check on the bread before pulling it out and starting to knead and roll out the next batch.
“I forgot to tell them all about the Feast. I just told them that it was a family dinner thing that we have each month,” Azalea said, letting out a sigh. “I don’t think they will get offended or anything,” she said as she walked into the kitchen to watch her mom.
“Well in that case...” Cora said, reaching over and booping her daughter’s nose with a flour covered paw. “We will ask them. If they don’t like the idea, we can do the blessings later. If they’re interested, we can do the blessings after dinner,” Cora said, smiling and taking a deep breath. “It seems like they are a pretty open-minded bunch, so I wouldn’t worry.”
“I think so too, but I still worry,” Azalea said, shaking her head and rubbing her nose a little to get the flour off. “And you remembered to go easy on the spices on the meat right?”
“Sweetie, I’ve had two kids. I know how it works,” Cora said, smiling as her daughter stared into the oven, watching the bread bake. “Just a little salt, pepper and the slightest hint of allspice. We will have the other spices sitting out on the counter.”
“You know, it’s starting to sound like she is planning the ‘I’m getting married to this woman’ dinner, doesn’t it?” Beth said with a laugh as shi joined hir wife and daughter in the kitchen.
“We’re just dating. It’s nothing like that,” Azalea protested, blushing. “Oh God. I told you about the babies, right?”
“Yes, you did,” Cora said without missing a beat. “I think that someone needs to go have a nap or something. You’re worrying too much,” she said as her daughter walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.
Azalea rolled her eyes. “Love you too, Mom.”
