I'm, a-workin' on the ra-a-ailroad, alllll the live-long day...
Well, no actually. The active railroad ran on the north-side of the Dino Mountain Range and didn't even come close to the Arfajia Valley; the only thing resembling a railroad in the vast empty valley was an old, single freight line that hadn't been used since the 1940s.
Besides, the tall, freckled human woman Sasha and the fluffy purple and white vixen-taur Buddleia were not working all the live-long day either; they took plenty of breaks to relax and cuddle after their meals. Plus, with the season creeping towards winter, even though the temperatures stayed in the low 70s, the light completely left the sky by 10pm, which was their clue to go inside and snuggle up in the nest of pillows and cushions for a good night of cuddly sleep. They worked hard, of course, but not the whole live-long day.
Nevertheless, a lot was happening in the stretched-out, empty valley, and not just at Butterfly Farm, even if the majority of the work was happening at that farm as well as the neighboring Cherry Blossom Farm, half an hour to the south-west. Having picked up the replacement equipment from the Ag Co-op they had procured, Sasha and Buddleia had drawn a second dirt path of two meters wide from their driveway all the way to the very left side-border of the farmgrounds to connect with the dirt road running along that side, running straight in front of the goat pen and right past the clump of trees at the side of the rocky shelves sticking out from the dip in the low hill, dividing the front-side left field up into two smaller and more manageable fields. And when doing the October cut of grass, Sasha found the new path did not even diminish the yield from that field by too much; they steadily got 77 of the 1000-liter bales of grass from that field, and after the path had been drawn through it, Sasha collected 36 bales from the frontmost field directly along the front fence, and 38 bales from the other half of the field that had now become the middle left-side field, for a total of 74 bales. That was only a loss of three bales, which was a very acceptable trade for the convenience the new path gave them. Especially since, once Sasha was fully done with the mowing, baling and wrapping for October, they had gotten the 81 bales from the rear-side left field, 190 bales from the very long field on the other side of the dirt road at the back of their farm and an additional 75 bales from the field on the right side of the pond and the small forest on the hill behind their large barn, plus another 21 bales from the extra strip of land right next to that field on the other side of the dirt path that ran through that field, for a grand total of 441 bales. At the price of $210 per 1000 liters the BGA plant paid them for silage, that would bring in $92610 once the bales were done fermenting at the end of October. Close to a hundred grand per month for three days of mowing grass, two days of baling and wrapping in tandem and two days of collecting and stacking bales; the valley was very fruitful and generous.
During October, directly after the mowing, baling and wrapping was done and the bales had been collected, Sasha ran the cultivator across the narrow dirt path that ran through the field on the right of the pond and small forest to loosen the dirt and give the grass a chance to grow across it. The path had only served the purpose of indicating the east border of the Butterfly Farm grounds, and as they had purchased the strip of land to the right of it, their property line now stretched all the way to the edge of the dirt road that ran there so the path was no longer needed and it made much more sense to have all the land there form one single field. At the same time, Buddleia spent a few days going through the fields of winter rye and pulling out all the weeds by hand as the rye had grown another six inches and had become too tall to drive the weeder through. The fluffy vulpine taur disposed of most of the weeds into a sort of composting trough she had built, but she collected all the dandelions to save them, making salads with the leaves and using the stalks and flower heads to make the wine she had told Sasha her grandmother used to make. She had even retrieved what she had referred to as the 'lady jane' from the very back of the low ceiling over the bathroom in the small farmhouse, which turned out to be a bulbous glass bottle with a curvy glass fermentation stopper in its narrow neck, as that was the apparatus her grandmother had always used to ferment the dandelion wine.
In preparation for their spring crops, they had hammered a few old fenceposts into the ground and strung a length of twine along them to mark a straight line in front of the patch of trees at the end of the now middle left-side field. The field would be plowed up to there, keeping it as a perfectly rectangular shape and keeping the trees in place. The narrow triangle of land left over between the back of that patch of trees, the straight border of the field-to-be and the dirt road running alongside the west border of the farmgrounds was planted with the fifty Deodar cedar trees Sasha had ordered at the Ag Co-op. Between the straight border of the field-to-be, the dirt road, the front of the patch of trees and the new dirt path was another, somewhat wider and longer triangle of land left over, which they cleared of grass and flattened so Buddleia could build a new and much larger bale shelter there, as the one they had built on the top of the rocky shelves at the other side of the middle left field had become way too small to hold over four hundred bales, even when it were only small 1000-liter bales.
That smaller shelter still served a purpose, however, as Buddleia fully enclosed the walls and the roof with an extra layer of planks and constructed a sort of curtain from a long, thin metal pole and a tarpaulin that could be rolled down to cover the open front of the shelter, making it essentially weatherproof and suitable to store the small number of hay bales they made and kept in stock for Choco the goat and their rabbits - of which there now were nine instead of four as the pregnant one had given birth to a litter of five halfway through September. As a result of that, Buddleia's productivity slowed down a decent amount halfway through October when the new baby bunnies took their first hops outside of the hutch, as the purple and white vixen-taur spent hours laying in the grass by the rabbit runs to look at the adorable little fluffballs exploring the run, cooing and crooning delighted happy sounds at them and constantly picking them up to pet them, and to gleefully show Sasha how adorable it was that they looked so small as she held them cupped in one paw. By that time, it was also clearly evident the father had been a wild Omutima Speckled rabbit, as only two of the baby bunnies looked like proper Verdant Island Lops, two of them looked like Omutima Speckleds with upright ears and traces of dark gray spots in their beige fur, and one of them was a perfect mix; light gray fur with brown spots and a brown heart-shaped spot on the chest, one upright ear and one lop-ear. Buddleia was most charmed by that one, having already named it "Hoppykins" and constantly petting and cuddling it; and as it was a female, Sasha promised with a cheerful laugh that they would keep it as a pet, for possible future breeding, and would never slaughter it for meat - which was the primary reason they had started keeping rabbits in the first place.
A time or two or three, there were also visits from their new neighbors, the white and orange Dutch Spaniel mother and daughter Marian and Margot, who had moved into the previously abandoned Cherry Blossom Farm. At the first visit, the two canine women brought a box with two dozen pheasant eggs when they returned the chainsaw and the metal jerrycan Sasha had left at their farm for them to use, as a thank-you for the help Sasha and Buddleia had given them with clearing the grounds for fowl pens - they were dressed in their brown overalls over plaid flannel shirts for that visit. At the second visit, the two Dutch Spaniels surprised Sasha and Buddleia by bringing them a few jars of honey and a somewhat excited tale of how they had started pruning the overgrown bushes in the middle of the triangle of ground lined with cherry trees between their farmyard and the two arms of the driveway, and had found old bee boxes hidden between the bushes that were still inhabited by colonies of wild honeybees who had never stopped being productive in the years the farm had been sitting abandoned - and they were naked at that visit, admitting that they did their farm work like that as well because they were natural nudists just as everyone else in the country and were now confident enough to visit in that state of dress as well with the knowledge that Sasha and Buddleia also farmed in the nude. The third visit was from Sasha and Buddleia to Cherry Blossom Farm after a phonecall from Marian asking for a bit of help; between the four of them, it only took them a day to build a roomy shelter with an enclosed milking area, and a spacious pen for a pair of absolutely adorable three-colored Mini LaMancha goats which Marian had procured from the livestock dealer. And all of them were naked at that visit, too.
Proof that the right people in office had been listening when the Katanga lion Ag agent Daniel had presented the semi-serious plan Sasha had drawn up for the dirt roads on the left side of their farm to the Arfajia Province council was seen a couple of weeks later in the first days of November. After having sold the October batch of silage bales, Sasha was mowing the middle and rear-side left fields for the next batch of bales. A buzzing overhead that was just incessant enough to be heard through the rumble of the tractor engine and the whine of the batwing mower attracted her attention, and as the freckled human woman looked up and around to see where the sound was coming from, she spotted a fairly sizeable drone with a large 360-degree camera flying quite low over the dirt roads at the west side of the farm, scanning the very strange and somewhat superfluous double crossing of the two roads forming the weird elongated and wavy X-shape. Three days later, as Sasha and Buddleia were collecting the wrapped bales of grass in the very large, elongated field next to the dirt road at the backside of their farm, they noticed an impala man and two gazelle women taking measurements with land surveying equipment from the strange double crossing all the way up to the large, flat rocky shelves along the side of the forested hill further westwards.
Yet another week later, Sasha received a very cheerful phonecall from the Ag agent Daniel, with the news that the Arfajia Province council had approved the rerouting of the dirt roads, under the provision that the council would not have to provide funds nor manpower for the work. The tan Katanga lion man was so tickled by that success that he promised Sasha he would provide a road grader vehicle with an attached herbicide sprayer, a road roller vehicle and a full IBC tank of herbicide free of charge to do the work with. In turn, Sasha visited the crafts store in the little village of Rolling Hills and had them make a number of signs to give the dirt roads actual names.
Henceforth, the wide, primary main dirt road that ran from the Ag Co-op to Butterfly Farm and split into a triangle in front of the farm would be known as Valley Road; the secondary main dirt road that split off at the first triangle junction near the Co-op, curved around the massive forest and ran alongside the left border of the Butterfly Farm grounds to lead all the way to the Arfally sawmill would be known as Sawmill Road; the road that connected to Sawmill Road and ran straight along the front border of Butterfly Farm and off into the valley to the east would be known as Butterfly Road; the newly routed continuation of Butterfly Road, leading towards Cherry Blossom Farm after the now much straighter and cleaner crossing with Sawmill Road would be known as Cherry Blossom Road; the road that ran along the backside of Butterfly Farm, crossing Sawmill Road and now running in a wide curve across the top of one of the rocky shelves to connect to Cherry Blossom Road to the west, and running past Waving Grain Farm and towards the oil mill and flour mill way in the east would be known as Waving Grain Road; and finally, the other secondary wide dirt road that split off from Valley Road at the second triangle junction near the Co-op and ran straight to the small village of Rolling Hills where it formed the main street of the village with all the shops and enterprises along both sides of it officially became Rolling Hills Road.
Even if all the roads were still just packed dirt, and it was a rather insignificant change in the grand scheme of things, it was a huge step in the sleepy, quiet, stretched-out and almost deserted expanse of the valley. And that's when the pendulum swung the other way.
After ten days of hard, intense work plowing up the original weird, wavy elongated X-shape formed by the double crossing, creating straighter and neater crossings and laying out the new dirt roads, and another survey by, first, a large drone with a 360-degree camera, and the next day the team of the impala man and the two gazelle women with their surveying equipment, Sasha and Buddleia went to the Ag Co-op. For one, very importantly, they had to sign off on the work they had done and, of course, return the heavy equipment Daniel had loaned them. For another, as the two narrow, elongated triangles of land Daniel had signed over to them no longer were two separate pieces of land, and the 1918 land price was still valid for the entire three huge rectangular plots of land on the west side of Butterfly Farm, it only made sense to buy the entire piece of land that was now enclosed by Sawmill Road, Cherry Blossom Road and the curved extension of Waving Grain Road running across the rocky shelf by the forested hill after crossing Sawmill Road. The two narrow triangles of land were part of that now, and even though it now measured 23 acres in total, or 24 acres if the rocky shelf was counted as well, at the 1918 price that still only came to $8688 for that sizeable stretch of land - which was not even ten percent of the money they had made from selling their October batch of silage.
Having both signed the deed and the transaction papers, Daniel chuckled as he filed the papers away and winked at Sasha.
"You're gonna be a grand landowner if you keep this up, Sasha."
"Oh come on, I haven't put on that much weight yet, have I?" Sasha sniggered.
Daniel laughed again.
"You know what I meant, Sasha. Hey, but, as those little triangles of land I gave you don't exist as separate triangles anymore, does that mean the experiment with those super trees is off the books?"
"Oh heck no," Sasha smiled. "I'm still very interested in that. Besides, pull up that drawing again." She pointed at the new road layout on the paper Daniel lay on the counter. "See, over there by that hill with the forest on it, there's these wide plateaus of rock jutting out from the side of the hill. We've laid the road across the bottom plateau because it's wide and flat enough for that, but they have such strange curves and the land slopes upwards there in such a manner it's not really suitable for farming. And since I'm a sucker for geometric shapes of my fields, we'll keep a corner free right along that plateau and plant those trees over there. That's right by the forest, right in the open, and there's even way more space there than what those two triangles had."
"Right, that's a good plan, actually," Daniel nodded. "So I can go ahead and let the Enfanor university know the deal is still on?"
"Absolutely," Sasha nodded with another smile. "You can even give them my contact details so they can get directly in touch with me if they want to."
"Excellent, they'll be happy to hear that," Daniel smiled. "I'll get back in touch with them and let you know what I'll learn, Sasha. Expect a call from me by next week, because then that slurry spreader should have come in as well."
"I'll keep an ear out, you're doing good work, Dan," Sasha chortled.
"Heck no, you're the one doing the awesome work!" Daniel chuckled. "Seriously, I'm still tickled pink over that whole deal with the roads! I almost can't believe we even pulled that off, and you did amazing work for them to approve the result so readily!" He laughed again. "Now if only we can get them to gravel the roads here, that would be even so much more of an improvement."
"Well, yeah, but the main road from here has already improved, you know," Sasha grinned. "We had to drive that heavy machinery of yours back to here after all, so since we were going down the road anyway, we right away graded and rolled it so it's a lot smoother now."
"Hahaha! You're amazing, Sasha!" Daniel laughed.
"Hell yes I am," Sasha grinned. "And I'm also opportunistic. We had the machines, they had to go across the road anyway to get back here, so it was a simple and logical step to keep the machines engaged while we rolled them down the road to return them."
"Well, maybe I'll deliver the slurry spreader to your place myself, so I can experience for myself how much better you made the road," Daniel chuckled.
"You're always welcome, Dan," Sasha nodded with a chortle, checking her phone. "But for now, we'd better go. We still have to pick up a bunch of new road signs in town."
"Of course!" Daniel smiled. "It'll be great seeing those go up, too! Have a great day, you two, and talk to you soon!"
"Count on it," Sasha chortled.
"Yes! You have good day too, Dan! And thanks! You help us so much!" Buddleia smiled with the lower halves of her upper canine teeth on display.
They waved at each other cheerfully as Sasha and Buddleia walked out of the building. Cleverly, as they'd both had to drive one of the large road machines, Buddleia had towed old Emmie, the 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, behind the road roller so they still had transport to get to the village and back to the farm. Chattering happily over everything that had happened and had been done in the past few weeks, the fluffy vulpine taur drove the two of them down the narrow road along the foot of the hill the Co-op was sitting on and took the shortcut through the forest to head to the village of Rolling Hills.
As they approached, it was clear something was amiss. Passing the village sign, Buddleia had to stand on the brakes as a silvergray 2011 Nissan Altima was parked dead in the middle of the road. The purple and white vixen-taur's ears perked sharply to a commotion coming from close by, her head turning to look through the missing driver door window, to the left, to the buildings on the left side of the road, to the general store.
"Sasha! Something happen in missus Stebbins store!"
The tall human woman was already gritting her teeth as she looked at the silvergray car in the middle of the road.
"God fucking dammit."
Before Buddleia could ask what was wrong, Sasha was already out of the car. She crossed the road and walked up to the general store, where shouting and yelling from inside was already audible on the street. The words that were shouted were all too clear as the human woman opened the door and stepped into the store, where a Eurasian wolfess with gray-brown fur, far too styled brown hair and dressed in clothes that were way too designer for even a medium-sized town was yelling loudly at the chocolate-colored Labrador girl Millie who was all but hiding behind the counter.
"...fucking think you are, you worthless hick bitch! Not telling us anything, skipping out on us and fucking disappearing! Blocking our god damn numbers! You really think you could ghost us, huh? Well, I found you now, didn't I! And where is that gangly old dyke now to save your worthless ass, huh?"
The anxious expression on Millie's face turned into a surprisingly calm smile.
"She just came in and is standing right behind you now, Joanna."
"Oh fucking sure! What the fuck do you think, that I'm just as retarded as you?! As if I'm gonna fucking fall for that fucking stupid old... aaaAAOUWH!"
The wolfess yelped and ducked her head when Sasha grabbed one of her ears in a fist, clenched her fist hard and twisted it in the same motion.
"Since these dumb flaps are obviously not used to listen with, I might as well rip them off, Joanna, huh?"
Turning her head and catching sight of Sasha, the wolfette's eyes shot fire again.
"Get your filthy hands off me, you disgusting dyke!"
Sasha clenched her fist even harder, speaking in an almost dangerously calm tone despite also having her teeth clenched.
"Oh I will let go, Joanna. But first, you are going to apologize to Millie and to missus Stebbins."
"Like fucking hell I will!" Joanna yelled. "I don't owe that fucking hick runt anyth... AAOUWH!"
She yelped again as Sasha twisted her firmly clenched fist even further.
"Living here has mellowed me out, Joanna. So I will give you another opportunity. You are going to say sorry to Millie and to missus Stebbins, and then you will leave."
"Aouwh! Fucking let go, you filthy dyke! I don't need your fucking disease on me! Get your filthy hands off me or I'll fucking scratch your eyes out!" Joanna snarled, swiping at Sasha but being just out of reach as the tall human woman held her arm stretched out.
Tightening the grip of her fist even more, Sasha looked aside at Buddleia who was standing by the door.
"Leia, would you please hold the door for me, babe? Miss Wesker needs to step outside for some fresh air."
Buddleia stepped aside and held the door wide open. Sasha turned around, more or less on the spot, swinging her still outstretched arm along in the motion and all but flinging the yelling wolfess through the open doorway, sending her stumbling onto the road where many of the other proprietors were gathering. Stepping outside as well, Sasha crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the wolfess holding a paw over her ear with an angry frown, even though her voice was still steady and dangerously calm.
"I may have mellowed out, but there is still a limit to my patience, Joanna. So don't push your luck, and for the third time; get the hell into your car, get the hell out of here and don't ever come back."
The commotion had by that point brought out everyone, most of them having clearly walked away from work they had been doing to see what was going on. Priestess Kyeeru, with her arms crossed over her chest and her soft, sweet features set into an ice-cold stare. Mrs. Stebbins, with an arm around Millie's shoulders. Jonathan Bradford and Peter Stanz, the tan and yellow Steppe wolf man and the tan and gray-yellow agouti Deer mouse man from the garage, the Deer mouse man still holding a torque wrench. Paul Speel, the charcoal and white skunk man from the hardware store, who had apparently been doing some plumbing work as he was carrying a four-foot steel pipe wrench. Lisa and Geoff Dobbart, the older mouse couple from the post office. Arthur and Nina Greene, the husband and wife running the greengrocer. Ruben Bekker, Inga Fjelstad, Sonya Jonker, Jasper Nicla and Kimberly Flores from the crafts store, the Norway Lemming woman Inga holding a welding hammer and the Brush-tailed rat man Ruben with a chunk of clay in his paws. Frederick and Matilda Lawrence, the husband and wife of the bakery. Jameson and Harriet Jonesey, the squirrel couple of the butchery, Jameson still in his bloodstained apron and holding a cleaver. All three European hamster sisters Warmelink, the Keeshond woman Isabella Tucana and the Eastern Bettong woman Bella Lynes from the spinnery. The three rabbit sisters De Verley from the dairy. Even the housecat family Jolink from the carpentry, Arnold and Esmeralda Fourie from the cabinetry, Felicia and Denise Bakersfeld, the lesbian couple from the turnery, and Melody and Nathalie Diouf, the fuchsia-pink and white leopardess sisters from the botany shop.
It was an almighty congregation on the road, and still more people were walking over. The ocelot veterinarian Philip Wessel, Ralph and Winnie Murray from the tavern, and the Manchester Terrier couple Stephen and Clara Marm from the diner. And yet, the Eurasian wolfess Joanna seemed oblivious to the large group of people around her as her angry gaze was focused fully upon Sasha.
"Go to hell, you fucking cunt!" she snarled in response to Sasha's third warning. "You should have just died like you fucking deserve! I'm not gonna be bossed around by you any longer, you filthy disgusting dyke, there!"
The motion had been too quick to see. But the result was all too clear. Sasha's glasses clattering onto the road, and four scratches over the human woman's cheek from which blood started slowly seeping down. All the gathered people let go indignant sounds or remarks, but they were all drowned out by the furious howl of rage as Millie all of a sudden stormed forwards.
"YOU HURT MY MOM!!" She had already snatched the huge pipe wrench from Paul's paws before anyone had seen what happened and turned to Joanna with a snarl. "I'm gonna bash your fucking face in, you bitch!!"
As fast and sudden as everything had happened, as slow the time suddenly seemed to go. The snarl of rage rumpling Millie's stumpy muzzle and baring her teeth as she raised the large pipe wrench over her head. The flash of genuine fear shooting across Joanna's face and the feeble raising of an arm over her face to deflect the blow. Too slow, too late reactions of the bystanders as Millie swung the large wrench down with force. The dull thud as it hit... the palm of Sasha's hand.
Millie howled in fury and started tugging on the wrench as Sasha stopped its descent mid-swing and held it in place with a solid grip.
"Let go!! Let me at her! She hurt you, mom! She must pay! She must bleed! Let go! I'm gonna kill that fucking bitch! Let go!!"
"Millie! Millie! Milbilly! Snap out of it, god dammit!" Sasha growled, keeping an iron grip on the wrench. "Give me that thing!"
"NO!! Lemme at her! She hurt you! She must die! She deserves it! Leggo!" Millie howled furiously as she tugged on the wrench.
Never loosening her grip, Sasha looked aside and motioned her head at Buddleia.
"Leia, hold her, and hold her fucking tight."
The purple and white vixen-taur gave a light nod and stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around Millie's body from behind in a tight grip. Millie let go another howl of rage as Sasha yanked the pipe wrench from her paws and Buddleia started pulling the struggling and kicking and snarling Labrador girl backwards. Resting the pipe wrench against her shoulder, Sasha turned back to Joanna with a grim and dark expression.
"You are fucking lucky that I don't want the good folk of this village to witness a murder, no matter how justified it is. So for the fourth and final time; get the hell into your car, get the fuck out of here and don't ever dare to show your face here again."
"Consider yourself lucky. You can leave, you are not welcome here," priestess Kyeeru said in a voice so cold it would make icicles shiver.
"Fuck, you!" Joanna snarled, but thinking better of taking another swipe as Sasha was still holding the pipe wrench. "Fuck all you stinking hicks, and fuck this whole disgusting shithole of a town! You can all sink into the shit and rot where you belong! I wouldn't fucking want to be found dead in this fucking shithole!"
"Better be careful what you wish for," priestess Kyeeru said even more icily.
"I could of course tell Leia to let Millie go and give her back this toy," Sasha growled, tapping the pipe wrench against her shoulder. "Maybe I won't even stop her, either." She leaned in just a bit. "And you would get your wish, Joanna, because no one would ever find you. So what'll it be?"
"Fuck you most of all, you filthy dyke cunt!" Joanna yelled. "I hope you fucking die of AIDS and rot! Fuck, I can't look at your disgusting face anymore, it makes me wanna puke! I'm fucking outta here!"
She turned on the spot and started heading for her car, making it exactly one step before she was stopped by the massive paw of the black, tan and white Basset Hound sheriff Leroy Rosco, who had been brought to the scene by the teenage Border Collie boy Barry Stebbins, landing on her shoulder firmly.
"You really think you can show up here, cause all this ruckus, and walk away?" he rumbled in his deep, low voice. "We may be a bunch of hicks in a tiny shithole village, but we uphold law and order here just as much as in any large city, ma'am. And you are under arrest for breach of the peace, public misconduct and battery and assault."
The cuffs were already around Joanna's wrists before she could even respond, but respond she did.
"What the... fucking hell, you can't do that! You got nothing! Let me go, you hhwhuuUGGH!"
The wolfess suddenly doubled over as Sasha planted a knee into her stomach.
"Oh dear, muscle spasm. Maybe the shock of the pain is only now kicking in."
Gasping and coughing, Joanna turned to sheriff Rosco, who coincidentally had just been checking his gun belt for a small citation book.
"You fucking corrupt pig, you gonna let that filthy dyke get away with that?!"
"Get away with what? I didn't see nothing," sheriff Rosco rumbled calmly. "What I won't let get away is you insulting an officer of the law." He flipped open the little book. "You have the right to remain silent. And you'd better damn well make use of that because anything and everything you have said and may still say shall be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, the province of Arfajia shall assign one to you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"
"Go to hell!" Joanna yelled. "I'll get you for this, you fucking..!"
"Right to remain silent! Save your breath for the judge, lady," sheriff Rosco rumbled.
He started pushing the Eurasian wolfess up the street and towards the sheriff's station. All the others who had gathered around looked after them for a moment, and Sasha sent a small smile to the Border Collie boy Barry, who had picked up her glasses and handed them to her.
"Thank you, Barry. You did good, getting the sheriff," she said, cleaning her glasses, checking them for damage and hanging them from the collar of her shirt.
"She's a nasty lady, she should not be here," the canine boy said simply.
"How right you are," Sasha nodded.
She turned to Buddleia, who was still holding the furiously howling and struggling Millie in a firm grip - and the vulpine taur was actually straining to maintain the grip. Shaking her head, Sasha stepped over to them and put a hand atop Millie's head.
"Millie! Milbilly! Calm down! It's over!"
Millie continued struggling and howling with fury.
"She hurt you! The fucking bitch hurt you! She must pay! Lemme at her! I'mma fucking kill her! She must die!"
"Choco-snoot!" Rather unexpectedly, Sasha slapped Millie across the face quite hard. "Shut the fuck up and listen to me! It's over, Millie! Snap the fuck out of it!"
It was harsh, but it worked. Millie's struggling died down, and her furious howls turned into howls of anguish as tears started streaming down her face.
"She hurt you, mom! She hurt youuu!"
Sasha shook her head again, kneeling down in front of Millie and looking up at Buddleia.
"Let her go, babe."
Letting go a deep breath, Buddleia released her grip and opened her arms. Instantly, Millie flung herself up against Sasha, burying her tear-soaked face into the human woman's bloodstained shirt and howling with long-drawn wails.
"She hurt you! I hate her! She must pay! She must bleed! She hurt you-hou-huuuuu!"
Sasha wrapped her arms around Millie's shocking shoulders and lightly stroked the howling Labrador girl's hair, holding her close.
"Ssssshhh now, choco-snoot. It's over now. It's over, Milbilly. She's been arrested, and she will be punished."
"Not good enough! Huuuuu! She hurt youuu!" Millie howled into Sasha's shirt. "I hate her! I hate that fucking bitch so much! Huuuuu! She must die! She hurt youuuuu!"
With a sigh, Sasha gave her head another shake and looked aside, catching the eye of the white-furred winged jerboa preacher.
"Priestess, tranquilizer."
"At once," priestess Kyeeru nodded quietly. "Please follow me to the office, sister Sasha. I shall clean those scratches as well."
Sasha nodded and stood up straight, putting her hands on Millie's shoulders.
"C'mon now, choco-snoot, come with me and priestess Kyeeru, okay? She'll tend to me, and she'll give you a nice cup of tea to help you calm down a bit. Come now, be a good girl, choco-snoot, it's all gonna be alright." Folding one arm around Millie's still shocking shoulders, she turned to follow the winged jerboa preacher, looking back at all the other people who were still gathered in the road. "I'm so sorry for all this, y'all." She looked at Buddleia as well. "Wait for me, babe, and look after them."
Everyone nodded silently, looking after Sasha leading the howling and shuddering Millie along with her to the doctor's office next to the church. Priestess Kyeeru saw them into the examination room and started brewing a cup of herbal tea while Sasha set Millie down in a chair and gently stroked the chocolate Labrador's hair again. Adding two drops of something from a small bottle into the cup of tea with a dropper, priestess Kyeeru handed the cup to Sasha, who knelt down by the chair and brought the cup to Millie's lips.
"Have a sip now, choco-snoot. C'mon now, be a good puppy and do it for me, okay? There you go. And another one, Milbilly. There's a good girl. One more, big sip, choco-snoot, finish the cup, you'll feel better. Good girl, choco-snoot, that's it," she murmured as she fed Millie the steaming tea, quirking an eyebrow and sniffing at the cup as the wailing Labrador girl slumped down in the chair even before the cup was empty. "The hell did you put in this, priestess?"
"The strongest concentration of valerian extract I have," priestess Kyeeru said. "Usually I only use one drop as a sedative, but this is a special case." She held out a paw and helped Sasha back to her feet. "Please sit here, sister Sasha, and let me tend to those scratches."
Sasha sat down in another chair, leaned back her head and closed her eyes. Every now and then, she winced as priestess Kyeeru carefully dabbed at the bloody scratches with a small cloth dipped in disinfectant. The winged jerboa woman very carefully cleaned away the dried blood and several drops of fresh blood that welled up in the scratches, murmuring in a similar calm tone as Sasha had used to talk to Millie.
"You've been lucky, sister Sasha. This top scratch is dangerously close to your eye. Half a centimeter higher and she would have caught your eye."
"Trust me, priestess, if she had caught my eye, Millie wouldn't even have needed that wrench because I would have wrung her damn neck myself," Sasha smirked with her eyes closed.
"Yes, well, I might have helped you," priestess Kyeeru remarked. "I firmly believe in the good in all people, sister Sasha, but I could not discover any in that woman. It boggles my mind that there are such self-centered people even in this country."
"And then you only endured about half an hour of her," Sasha smirked. "I have dealt with that Karen bitch and kept her in check for seventeen goddam years in the city, it's a goddam miracle my patience held out as long as it did."
"Living here has mellowed you, Sasha," priestess Kyeeru said with a small smile as she cleaned the last scratch.
She looked around, and Sasha opened her eyes and looked up, at a knock on the door followed by the Basset Hound sheriff stepping into the room and tipping his hat.
"I beg your pardon for disturbing you, preacher, but I've come to take missus Farr's statement," he rumbled, turning to Sasha. "Because they may slap my ass and call me Judy if you ain't pressing charges, missus Farr."
"Well Judy, you bet I am," Sasha nodded. "Got your writing muscles flexed?"
"I'm ready, go right ahead," sheriff Rosco nodded, hovering his pen over a notepad.
"Right," Sasha nodded. "As you already mentioned; breach of the peace. Grievous insults to Millie. Grievous insults to missus Stebbins. Grievous insults to this whole damn village and everyone in it. Grievous insults to me personally, and physical assault towards me personally."
"Gotcha, missus Farr," sheriff Rosco nodded as he jotted it all down rapidly. "What would you suggest for her punishment?"
"What's the best you can do?" Sasha shrugged.
The Basset Hound sheriff lifted the notepad a bit.
"With this, three months unconditionally. If we can somehow add malicious intent, she'll be looking at six to twelve months."
"Then add it, because she damn well had malicious intent with her attempt to blind me," Sasha smirked. "Priestess Kyeeru just now said she was this close to succeeding in that, too."
"Gotcha," sheriff Rosco nodded again, jotting it down. "Where should we send her?"
"Fossil City Women's Penitentiary, that's where she's from," Sasha said. "And if you have any say in it, try and see that she has to stand before judge Samantha Alistair, that will leave a good big smirch on her oh so precious prim and proper reputation."
"I'll do my best, missus Farr," sheriff Rosco nodded, making another note.
"Thank you," Sasha nodded with a mild smile and only the slightest trace of a grin. "It'll take a few days before they can even get here to pick her up, so in that time, make sure to feed her the best country cooking this village can muster, she'll hate that. You may even mention that the quality goat cheese comes from our farm, but be careful she won't fling the tray at your head."
"She tries that, I'll stick her in the clink for ten years," sheriff Rosco rumbled, only the twitch of his large eyebrows betraying his amusement.
"Good," Sasha nodded again. "And what about Millie? I'm willing to risk a few years in the clink myself by punching you on the nose if you dare to charge her with anything."
"The young lady is absolved," sheriff Rosco rumbled. "She was clearly beside herself."
"I would like to go on record as stating miss Stokes suffered from momentary, temporary insanity brought on by emotional stress," priestess Kyeeru said.
"Is that your official statement, preacher?" sheriff Rosco rumbled, writing on his notepad again.
Priestess Kyeeru nodded resolutely.
"That is my official and professional statement as a doctor, sheriff."
"Very well," sheriff Rosco nodded. He put away his pen and tipped his hat again. "Thank you, preacher, missus Farr. Take care now."
He left the room and closed the door behind him. Priestess Kyeeru stepped over to a cabinet and took a small bottle with a pump nozzle, looking across her shoulder at Sasha.
"I've said it once before, and I will say it again, Sasha; you are something else."
Sasha gave a light shrug while she rolled her head to send the winged jerboa woman an ever so slight grin.
"I am not a vindictive woman, priestess. But as I have mentioned earlier today at the Co-op; I am opportunistic, and I'll be damned if I'd let this opportunity slip."
"Was there a specific reason you mentioned that one judge?" priestess Kyeeru asked with a light smile as she walked back to the chair. "And please lean back your head and close your eyes again."
Sasha did so, the very light grin still around her lips.
"Judge Samantha Alistair is very well-known in Fossil City as being married to a very lovely woman and harshly trying bigotry and homophobic cases. There's a very good chance Joanna will say something really stupid the moment she walks into the courtroom and sees the judge, and what sheriff Rosco just discussed with me will pale so much it will fade to nothingness in comparison to what judge Alistair will do in response to that."
"Ah, right," priestess Kyeeru nodded, biting back the start of a chortle. "As I said, you're something else. Now, hold still, please."
She held the side of one of her paws against Sasha's cheek just below her eye to shield it while spritzing a fine mist from the bottle over the scratches. Sasha drew in a quick breath and held it, squeezing her eyes for a moment before relaxing and letting go of the breath. Taking her paw off the human woman's cheek, priestess Kyeeru smiled and set the bottle back in the cabinet.
"You may open your eyes again, sister Sasha, I'm all done. That spray forms a protective and healing layer over the scratches, so you will be fine. Just take care not to get any dirt in them the coming two days."
"I'll keep my face well above the ground, I promise," Sasha smiled softly. "Thank you, priestess."
"Any time, sister Sasha," priestess Kyeeru smiled. "Would you want me to have a look at Millie as well?"
"I'll have a look myself first," Sasha said with another light smile. She got up from the chair and sat down on the armrest of the chair Millie was slumped in, gently running the back of a hand along the chocolate Labrador girl's cheek. "Hey choco-snoot, feeling better? You still with us?"
Millie slowly rolled her head and looked at Sasha with a glassy, half-lidded gaze, halfway reaching for the human woman's scratched cheek with a limp, trembling paw.
"She... hhhurt you, mmmom..." she mumbled in a slow voice. "I... I hhh... I hate her... so mmmuch... She mmmust pay..."
"God dammit," Sasha grumbled under her breath. She gently ran the back of her hand along Millie's cheek again while sitting up and turning to priestess Kyeeru. "Knock her out, priestess. This is nuts, she needs to sleep it off."
"I agree," priestess Kyeeru nodded.
She took a set of keys from her pocket and unlocked a cabinet behind the desk to take out a tiny bottle. From a tray in a drawer, she took a syringe and a needle, unwrapping the needle and putting it on the syringe, then sticking it through the foil top of the tiny bottle and drawing out a small amount of a pale translucent green liquid. In the meantime, Sasha leaned back down a bit again and lay her hand against Millie's cheek, murmuring in a calm tone.
"Look at me, choco-snoot. Look into my eyes and listen to my voice, okay? It's alright, choco-snoot, it's all gonna be just fine. Nono, just look at me and listen to me. It's all over, choco-snoot, so be a good girl now and relax, okay? Can you do that for me? Don't think about it anymore now, it's all done and everything is gonna be alright."
Priestess Kyeeru picked up on the hint and stepped closer silently, giving Millie an injection in her upper right arm while Sasha kept her distracted. Sasha smiled softly and very gently brushed her thumb back and forth along the side of Millie's stumpy muzzle while holding her hand against the brown canine girl's cheek, never interrupting her calm murmuring.
"There you go, there's a good girl, choco-snoot. Just listen to me and relax now. I'm very proud of you, choco-snoot. You've been so brave. It's alright now, you can stop thinking about it. You are very much mommy's good little puppy, choco-snoot, and I love you."
A faint smile formed around Millie's slack lips as she slumped even more.
"I lllove you, mmmommmy... I lllov-..."
Her eyes closed and her head fell aside as she sank into a deep sleep. Sasha gently brushed her fingers along Millie's cheek and the side of her stumpy muzzle again and once again sat up.
"That stuff is pretty immediate."
"It's a natural but quite strong anesthetic," priestess Kyeeru nodded with a light smile, slipping a thin plastic tube over the needle and disposing of the syringe and needle into a small round container with a hole in the lid and warning labels on the sides. "She'll sleep for about a day and a half with the dose I gave her." Her smile deepened. "You really are an amazing mother to her, Sasha."
"It's pretty amazing what some people can bring out in others," Sasha nodded with a smile as well, standing up from the armrest of the chair. "Thank you again, priestess."
"As I said, any time," Priestess Kyeeru smiled, washing her paws in a small sink in the corner of the room. "I'll go and make a bed ready for her now."
"No," Sasha smiled. "I'll bring her home and stay with her until she wakes up."
"Even better," priestess Kyeeru smiled. "She will probably wake up late tomorrow evening, or perhaps even during tomorrow night. If that happens, give her some water, herbal tea or milk to drink and let her go back to sleep. If she wakes up in the evening, you can let her wake up fully and also let her eat something light along with the drink."
"I'll keep a good eye on her," Sasha promised with a smile.
She leaned over by the chair, slipped her arms under Millie's limp body and lifted her out of the chair. Holding the limp Labrador girl cradled against her chest in both arms, Sasha leaned in her head a bit to press a light kiss on priestess Kyeeru's petite nose as the winged jerboa held the door open for her. Outside, it was remarkably quiet as everyone had dispersed - only Buddleia and Mrs. Stebbins were waiting outside the doctor's office. Both of them looked at the limp Labrador in Sasha's arms.
"She okay?" Buddleia asked softly.
"She'll be fine, babe," Sasha nodded with a smile. "Priestess Kyeeru just sedated her so she can sleep it off."
"Okay, is good," Buddleia nodded, lightly touching her fingers against Millie's cheek. "She scare us all. I no idea she so strong." She carefully touched her fingers against Sasha's scratched cheek as well. "You okay too, Sasha?"
"Yes, I'm also fine, my sweet fuzzbutt," Sasha smiled. "The scratches are just superficial, and they missed my eye. Priestess Kyeeru sprayed some sort of healing protective spray over them, so in a few days you won't see a trace of them anymore."
"Good, is good," Buddleia nodded. "I scared when I see you bleed, Sasha. If I not had to hold Millie so hard, I was gonna stomp that nasty girl into the ground."
"She'll get what's coming to her, don't worry," Sasha said, leaning in to touch her nose against the slightly warm, damp black pad of Buddleia's nose and pressing a light kiss on the vulpine taur's lips. "And you did great, preventing our silly little choco-puppy here from committing a grisly murder."
"You prevented, Sasha, you very strong too," Buddleia murmured, nuzzling her slender muzzle against the nape of Sasha's neck.
"I... had no idea either of you had in you what came out today," Mrs. Stebbins said softly. "It was a very frightening situation, Sasha, I was afraid it was going to very much get out of hand. And I was not expecting..." She shook her head. "I have no idea what I was expecting, but most certainly not to see these sides of you and of Millicent." She slowly looked up again. "She must... feel very strongly about you. Is that, perhaps, why she called you mom?"
"It's a long and rather complicated story, Doris," Sasha smiled. "But yes, she does feel very strongly about me." She gently shifted Millie in her arms a bit. "Could you tell me where she lives? I need to get her into her bed."
"Of course," Mrs. Stebbins nodded. "She lives right nextdoor from me, I will show you the way. Would you want me to keep an eye on her as well?"
"Priestess Kyeeru said she'll sleep until tomorrow evening or night, and I will stay with her until she wakes up, so that won't be necessary, Doris," Sasha smiled. "But thank you for the offer."
"I stay too, Sasha?" Buddleia said.
"I would love for you to stay as well, babe, but you need to get back to the farm," Sasha smiled. "Choco needs to be milked tonight, tomorrow morning and evening, and the day after, and the baby rabbits need looking after and be fed properly, so I need you to take care of that, okay?"
"Okay, I do, Sasha, yes," Buddleia nodded.
She kept the side of her upper body leaned against Sasha's side as they started following Mrs. Stebbins. The black and white Border Collie woman led the way across the small market square and some way down the narrower dirt road running along the right border of the small village. Behind the small market square were several rows of small cottage-like houses, which looked like one-story high little rectangular blocks with a gable roof, built out of rather small bricks while the roofs were covered with curved brown clay tiles. At the front of each cottage, there was a door in the middle and two vertical rectangular windows holding six small square panes of glass, one on either side of the door, at the back was another door but only one rectangular window with six glass panes but horizontal, on the right side, and the roof held a small dormer with a four-pane square window and a similar gable roof covered in curved brown clay tiles, off-center to the right, and against the right side wall was the brick box and chimney of a fireplace.
Some of the small cottages had their walls plastered or painted or both, others showed the raw brickwork, but aside from that all the cottages looked exactly the same. All the cottages were free-standing, with some space between them, a small garden and a path leading up to the door at the front and a larger, enclosed garden at the back. Each row held eight cottages, and the first row right behind the small market square had all the cottages facing the square, while the further rows alternated as narrow dirt roads ran between them and all cottages faced the narrow roads with their fronts so the back gardens of two rows also faced each other. Somewhat remarkably, all the back gardens were enclosed by planted hedges; none of them had a wooden fence.
Mrs. Stebbins led the way to the leftmost two cottages of the second row, gesturing at the last cottage in the row of which the brick walls were plastered white.
"This is where Barry and I live, and Millie lives in this one next to ours."
"These are very lovely houses," Sasha smiled. "They look small, but it seems they're still larger than our farmhouse." She walked up to the front door of the second to last cottage in the row and shifted the sleeping Millie in her arms a bit again. "Uhm, I suppose she has her keys in one of her pockets?"
"I have a spare key, wait," Mrs. Stebbins said.
She reached into the front pocket of her apron and after a moment or two, pulled out a key with an orange plastic tag on it. Unlocking the door, she held it open so Sasha could step inside with the limp Labrador girl in her arms. On the inside of the cottage, the floor was open across the entire surface, with a living room area and the fireplace to the right of the front door, a kitchen area at the front to the left of the front door, and a walled-off section at the back to the left of the front door, which most likely contained a shower and toilet. The ceiling was flat, and a flight of stairs led upwards along the side of the walled-off area on the left.
Sasha only glanced around for a moment or two to familiarize herself with the layout, smiling lightly as she recognized some of the furniture from Millie's old apartment in the city. Mrs. Stebbins confirmed there was an upstairs for the bedroom area, so Sasha climbed the stairs, ducking slightly to not bump her head against the slanted ceiling of the gable roof. Upstairs, the floor was just as open as downstairs, with the stairs exiting near the left wall, the opening in the floor fenced off with a banister, and a relatively spacious bedroom on the right side, by the dormer.
All the way to the right, past the dormer, sat a single bed with its headboard against the right-side wall and a nightstand next to it on the side of the slanted ceiling. Right below the window of the dormer sat a small desk with a fairly modern, padded desk chair, while a row of low cabinets and dressers sat against the front wall, with one taller but narrow wardrobe sitting against the right-side wall as well, several paces away from the side of the bed. Sasha walked over to the bed and leaned over to gently lay Millie down upon it, smiling as her eye fell on the nightstand, which held a small lamp, a digital alarm clock and radio and a picture frame in which was the picture taken in the back garden of Butterfly Farm, of Sasha and Buddleia next to each other with Millie in the middle in front of them.
Over by the opening of the stairwell, Mrs. Stebbins smiled lightly as well at Sasha gently laying Millie down on the bed.
"Will you be alright, dear?"
"I'll be fine, Doris, thank you," Sasha smiled, walking back to the stairwell. "I helped Millie buy that desk chair, so I know it's very comfy and I can sit in there for hours if need be."
"Alright, if you'd want, I can drop by later tonight with something to eat," Mrs. Stebbins nodded with a soft smile.
"That would be very nice, thank you," Sasha smiled.
They went back down the stairs, where Buddleia was waiting just inside the front door as she was a tad too large to properly climb the stairs.
"You gonna be okay, Sasha?" the purple and white vixen-taur asked. "Millie gonna be okay?"
"I can fit up there fine, so I'll be alright, babe," Sasha smiled. "And Millie will be perfectly alright too, trust me. Plus, I'll have Doris here to keep an eye on us and make sure I'll behave."
"Okay, is good," Buddleia nodded, turning to Mrs. Stebbins with a light smile that only just showed the very tips of her upper canine teeth. "You take care of my Sasha good, missus Stebbins, yes?"
"Don't worry, Buddleia, I'll bring her a nice meal tonight and keep an eye on her," Mrs. Stebbins smiled softly.
"Yes, good," Buddleia nodded again, turning back to Sasha. "I pick you up tomorrow?"
"Day after, babe, Millie will still be sleeping tomorrow," Sasha smiled. "I'll call you when she's awake again, promise. And who knows, if she's conscious enough, she can probably drive me back to the farm so you won't have to come all the way back here."
"She'll have plenty of time to do that, and she can even stay with you for a couple of days if you want," Mrs. Stebbins smiled softly. "She hereby has the rest of the week off."
"You're a doll, Doris," Sasha smiled, leaning over a bit to hug the black and white Border Collie, then taking Buddleia into a close hug as well and running the fingers of one hand through the vulpine taur's long purple hair. "Don't you worry about me, my sweet soft fuzzbutt, I promise I'll be fine. Go on now and take good care of our animals, and give Hoppykins a nuzzle for me, okay?"
"Yes, I do," Buddleia murmured, nuzzling her slender muzzle against the nape of Sasha's neck and laying a few affectionate licks over the human woman's freckled skin. "I love, Sasha. When Millie awake, tell her I say she very good girl, yes?"
"I love you too, my sweet soft fuzzbutt," Sasha smiled, taking Buddleia into a loving kiss and brushing her fingers along the side of the vulpine taur's slender muzzle. "And I will absolutely tell her that, you can count on it."
Buddleia churred lightly into the kiss and kept holding Sasha close for a few more moments. Eventually breaking apart, she showed a bit more than the lower halves of her upper canine teeth in a smile at Sasha gently squeezing her paw and lay another small, affectionate lick over Sasha's unscratched cheek. Together with Mrs. Stebbins, she walked back to the general store, while Sasha stepped back into the cottage and closed the door behind her.
Finally putting her glasses back on, the tall human woman climbed the stairs again, pulled near the desk chair to sit by the bed and gently undressed Millie before draping the bedsheet over the deeply sleeping chocolate Labrador girl and making sure Millie's head was properly resting on the pillow and her breathing was calm, steady and unobstructed. In one of the pockets of Millie's jeans, Sasha found two sets of keys, one of which was clearly a set of car keys so she put those back in the pocket of the jeans and put the other set of keys in a pocket of her own pair of shorts.
Back downstairs, Sasha opened the front door again and looked around for a moment, giving a small nod of confirmation to herself as she spotted a small round garden table with two garden chairs sitting near the left-side window. She sat down on one of the chairs, leaned back a bit, closed her eyes and lit a cigarette, smoking it with long, deep drags she held in for a couple of heartbeats every time. God damn what a turn of events the day had been!
Fortunately, it was once again very quiet. Only the sounds of the birds rang out, mixed with the calm, quiet sounds of a small village going about its business. Every now and then, someone waved a paw at Sasha in greeting as they went into their own cottages, but they all let her be. Only the three European hamster sisters from the spinnery, the Warmelink sisters, stopped by for a moment or two, bringing a clean shirt for Sasha and taking her bloodstained shirt to clean it as they had several tricks to get more difficult stains like blood out of fabric. And around suppertime, Mrs. Stebbins and her son Barry stopped by as well with a warm meal of breaded pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes and a salad of lettuce, spinach leaves, thin cucumber slices, sliced cherry tomatoes and chopped red onion in a light, fresh dressing, and Millie's old cowboy hat Barry had brought from the store it had been left in. They ate in silence, and sat together for a while after dinner while Sasha explained to Mrs. Stebbins the long and complicated story of why Millie saw her as a mother and why that feeling was so terribly strong - as well as some of her history in the city and the friends group both she, Millie and Joanna had been part of.
When Mrs. Stebbins had gone back to her own cottage to put her son to bed, Sasha checked on Millie and sat by the bed for a while, lightly running her fingers through the sleeping brown canine girl's hair after undoing the two braids Millie wore her hair in. Going downstairs a last time and sitting on one of the garden chairs again to smoke another cigarette, the freckled human woman leaned back and looked at the slowly darkening sky as the small village settled down for the night.
Holy jumping shitballs, who would've thought that her past from the big city would have come to find her all the way out here in this middle of nowhere valley. But this had better been the goddam absolute last and final time she would be confronted with the miserable life she had left behind!
