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“Fluffy, time to wake up,” a male voice said in a mocking tone into her ear. She twitched. In fact, someone was holding her ear. She fluttered her heavy eyelids open.
Sapphire blue eyes, long black lashes, black winged brows. Mr Wicked!
She must have said the name out loud.
His grin was just evil.
She blinked. Where was the bus? They were under some type of tree, and the sun was morning bright. Chloe sat up quickly and her head began to spin. A meadow with long brown and yellow grasses, and beyond it, a forest of trees, many with no leaves, but a few bright yellow and orange ones standing out.
“What happened?” she screeched.
Then she looked at Mr. Wicked. He was nude, and had a brown sculpted chest and stomach, glossy golden brown hair below, lots of it, and—she felt her face flame—naked man parts. There was hair covering muscular legs, which ended in shiny cloven hooves.
He caught the direction of her glance. “Goat’s feet, I suspect. I think I’m a faun. And look, I’m growing horny, and not in the usual way.”
He touched the top of his forehead, where there were two brown bumps growing out of his golden hair, but his eyes stared suggestively at her chest.
She glanced down. Her very naked chest. Hers? Her breasts seemed rounder, and whiter, her nipples pinker. She yelped and threw her arms over her chest, and then wailed again when she saw her lower parts were covered in white fluff, ending in—
“—I’m a rabbit?” she hollered.
“No, not really.” He stood back a bit and perused her form. “You’re kind of half a rabbit. All girly above—well, except for the ears—and bunny below. Like a faun, only rabbit where I’m goat.”
She abandoned her breasts to feel her face. Same face, no big teeth, her old hair. She checked a long strand of her hair, it was still light brown. “My eyes aren’t pink, are they?”
He peered into her eyes. “Nope, a nice, smoky blue.”
“Oh my god, floppy ears,” she groaned. Then she saw where his eyes were roving, and clapped her hands back over her chest.
He grinned. “Can’t cover them all day. Plus, I’ve been seeing them since sunrise. They are very pretty. But what I really want to know is if that little puff of fluff hides regular girl parts.”
“What?” she yelped.
His glance slid down to her crotch, and hers followed, horrified. Yes, there was a triangle of extra fluffy white hair between her rabbit legs.
“Well, I don’t know, do I?” she grumbled.
“Well, check it out. I promise I’ll close my eyes.” His long lashes fluttered down, and she grudgingly checked herself. All seemed normal.
“And?” he asked in an impatient voice. “Regular girl parts?”
“Why should I tell you?” she grumbled.
“Cuz. A guy’s got to know. How frustrated do you think I’ll be if I have all these fantasies about you, only to find out our parts don’t mesh?”
“Mesh?” she squeaked. “There will be no meshing! No parts touching!”
He stuck out his lower lip in a pout, and it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen a guy do. It sent warm tingles down her spine, and between her legs.
“Tell me.”
“All right. Everything appears normal. But no fantasizing, you got it?” She snapped.
He grinned, and his eyes twinkled with amusement. “ Don’t think I can help that. I think I’m even more oversexed now than I was as a human. But I promise I won’t, uh, mesh parts unless you want to.
“Like that’ll ever happen.”
His grin broadened. “ Oh, I’m pretty confident. You know how horny rabbits are. You’re probably even more oversexed than I am.” He smiled, sweetly.
She turned her back on him and ignored him for a moment, looking over the meadow. It was fall, obviously, and the air was crisp. She strained her eyes to see a building, but only saw the meadow, a gently sloping hill behind them, and the forest.
“What’s your name?” she asked after a while, since she obviously couldn’t continue calling him Mr. Wicked.
“Max,” he said. “Yours?”
“Chloe.”
He grinned. “Like Fluffy better.”
“How do you think we got here?” Chloe asked.
He shrugged. “Some type of magic?”
“Maybe.”
“But not like any I’ve ever heard of, outside of a fantasy novel.”
She nodded. She couldn’t make sense of it.
There was a delicious scent coming to her. Spotting a bush with dark berries, she hopped over, followed by Max.
You think these are safe to eat?” she asked.
“They smell good.”
“Our sense of smell must be better than human,” she said.
The berries were all overhead, hanging on branches nearly bare of leaves. “I’m guessing we’re not very tall here, Chloe said.
“I’ll bet you can jump two feet off the ground,” Max said. “You’re a hopper.”
She jumped with ease and grabbed a handful, which they shared. The texture was dry, with tiny seeds, but the flavor was sweet.
“More,” said Max.
She leaped and grabbed two bunches, then looked at Max to see if that was enough.Max’ eyes were fastened on her chest with a glazed expression.He was gawking at her!
“Oh!” She stomped a foot in frustration.
Max just gave a dreamy smile. “If we were at Teasers right now, I’d be tucking a wad into your g string...”
Chloe growled, but it sounded funny.
He gave her another teasing smile. “And if you would hop a little tiny bit higher, and spread your legs just a little, I could see—
“—Don’t say it! Don’t even say it!” She poked at his bare chest with the stem of a bunch of berries.
He shut up and took the berries, eating them with relish, all the while looking at her with raised eyebrows. She blushed and turned her back on him once again.
They sat for quite a while, eating their fill, though Chloe was careful to jump with her back to him, and sat hunched over so her breasts were hidden from view.
Max seemed amused.
“So, how long have you been awake?” She finally broke the silence.
“I woke up when it was still dark. As soon as the sun started to rise, I realized we were out in the middle of a meadow, so I moved us under a bush for cover, just in case.”
“Oh. Thanks. Maybe we have, like, head injuries or something, and we’re just dreaming this,” Chloe said.
“Remember that lightning bolt?”
“Yes, then a crash. Do you think we’re in heaven?”
He snorted. No, we’re in the middle of a wilderness with one bush of berries. Can’t be heaven.”
Suddenly, he jumped up, grabbed her shoulders, and flattened her to the ground.
Chloe yelped in shock. “No meshing I said!”
Her words were cut off by his hand.
“Be quiet and look up,” he breathed in her ear. She glanced up and saw a hawk, floating above them on large, dark wings. Chloe sucked in a breath, but didn’t make a sound.
The hawk circled away, but they remained squashed together under the bush.
“I’m pretty sure I’m tough and stringy, but I have the feeling you’d be juicy and tasty. Its favorite meal.” He grinned. “Mine, too.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and shoved him off, but not before she noticed the rigid rod of flesh poking against her thigh.
The hawk returned, and they froze.
We need to run for those trees, the next time it flies away,” Max whispered, almost silently. Her hearing was so good, she could hear both their heart beats, and the cry of the hawk in the sky.
It flew away, and they ran for the trees. “Go, go!” Max cried as she glimpsed the dark shape out of the corner of her eyes.
They ran into the trees, and heard the flap of wings and the cry of the predator behind them. Running blindly into the forest, she saw a fallen tree ahead.
“Dive!” Chloe shouted.
She could feel the quick pounding of his heart as they curled together under the log for a long moment.
“I don’t hear it anymore,” Chloe said after a while.
“I’m gonna go see if it’s still out there,” Max said, and slithered to the edge of the log.
“Be careful.” Chloe’s heart pounded in fear the hawk would get him.
Max nodded, then poked his head out. I’s not here. I think we lost it.” He helped her out of the pile of brush and leaves. They collapsed against the log.
“We need to make some sort of shelter. If we pull some branches and logs over to this trunk, we can make a type of wall, and you can do some digging to make a little den. Rabbits are good at digging, right?”
“I’m not a rabbit! I don’t know what I am, but I’m not a rabbit.” But she agreed it was a good idea, so they began hauling branches and small fallen trees to the log. They stuck together for a while, but later, decided to split up just a little, to locate good wood.
“Hey, Fluffy, come here!”
They were about fifty feet apart, deep into the forest. Chloe was getting tired of hunting and dragging suitable branches, so she hoped he’d found a nice pile.
“Look at this.” Max was standing in front of a very large tree. Set low into the trunk was a small arched door painted a shiny rose red.
“Maybe it’s a Hobbit kind of house.”
Max knocked. There was no reply.
“Let me listen. Maybe I can hear something.” Chloe placed one of her long, sensitive ears to the door, and knocked again.
Nothing.
She pulled the latch, which went down. The door swung open, showing a dark hole. Max grabbed a chunk of bark off the forest floor and jammed the door open. We’ll need the light.” He entered the doorway, with Chloe right behind him.
“There is some light,” Chloe said, surprised. Max closed the door as they entered a dimly lit room. Above and all around were tree roots, thick and gnarled. Small, thick glass blocks set into the roots overhead and held in place by clay or plaster, provided some light.
White walls were decorated with small painted borders, and the wood floor was glossy. A small table and two benches were painted rose red, some cupboards were green and others were gold. Small hearts, geese, trees and birds decorated all the painted surfaces. There were two more arched doors, one purple, one sky blue, and a narrow set of stairs going down into darkness.
“Anyone home? Max’ shout made her jump. The roots where she was standing were low, so she bumped her head. She scowled at him.
“This is a stove” Max said, placing his hand on a large, beehive shaped object made of plaster or clay, painted white. There was a red painted wood box, with blue and yellow flowers, full of kindling. “ Look, flint and steel. It won’t be very hard to get a fire started.”
Still, it took a little while. Chloe explored the room, opening cupboards to reveal thick ceramic dishes and copper pots. She found a hook holding a flowered apron and gratefully tied it around her waist, glad to have something to cover her chest. There was a half apron, made of soft brown leather, and covered with narrow pockets. She tossed it at Max. “Now we can be decent.”
Max smirked. “I thought we were pretty decent the way we were.” But he put it on.
She rolled her eyes and continued her search. There were blocks of a hard yellow soap and a pile of rags inside a bucket, and one cupboard was full of candles and two round copper candle holders with small handles. She fitted a candle into one of the holders and handed it to Max to light.
“It looks dark down those stairs,” she said. When the fire was burning brightly and Max had determined the chimney was in good working order, they headed down the stairs. They were so narrow their shoulders touched the walls on either side as they went down a dozen steps to a small landing. It held a shelf, a small table, and a painted cupboard that opened to reveal a very puffy bed, covered in a lovely blue and rose quilt. Pillows were stacked high at one end, and also along the outside wall. It was so pretty Chloe almost drooled at the sight.
“Feather beds, six deep. And down inside the quilt cover.” Chloe was a little in awe of the gorgeous bed. She sat on it and sighed with pleasure as she was cushioned in softness.
They looked for another bed, but there was only the one.
“Well, we can take turns. The other can have a feather bed and the quilt on the floor by the fire,” Chloe said.
Max snorted. “I suspect the reason that bed is so warm and cozy is because the winters here are fierce. We may have to learn how to share.”
Chloe noticed something out of the corner of her eye. He was getting hard at the thought of sleeping with her in the bed. His leather apron was tenting out.
It was suddenly hard to breathe normally as awareness of his warm, sculpted body shot through her. They were standing so close on the tiny landing that any movement caused them to brush against each other. Chloe shut the thoughts of hot sex down. She hoped he couldn’t hear her faster breathing.
Maybe he’s right about rabbit people being hornier. Oh god.
He whirled around. “Come on, let’s check out the doors upstairs.” He pushed quickly past her and bounded up the stairs, his hoofs clicking on the wood floor. He had the cutest little tail, she noticed. And a really cute—
No sex thoughts!
The light blue door led to a small room, full of food. Pumpkins, squash, cabbages, carrots, baskets of apples and onions, and many coarse burlap bags of oats and nuts, both shelled and unshelled, took up all the floor space. A shelf held jars and pots of syrup, honey and spices. Ropes of garlic and small bouquets of herbs hung from their roots over head. There was a large crock of cooking grease.
“I guess we won’t have to pick berries for supper,” Chloe said. They both grabbed a couple apples and a handful of shelled almonds to stave off hunger pangs.
“This is a good thing. Berries aren’t very filling.”
Chloe agreed.
“With our small size, this food might last all winter. One apple and I am full!” She observed.
“Okay, let’s see what’s behind door number two,” Max said, when they were finished eating. The second door led to a small, dirt-floored room filled with buckets, axes, and hatchets on hooks. Another door opened onto a small outdoor enclosure, with a high log fence and a lean-to half full of firewood. An enormous kettle with legs rested over a fire pit. There was a large gate with two stout boards to keep it latched. At the far end of the yard was a privy.
There was also a hand pump and a large water trough. Max vigorously primed the pump, and Chloe noticed that his back and arms were as well muscled as his abs. Water soon poured into the trough, and Chloe quickly grabbed and filled the buckets. As they worked, a strong, cold wind rustled through the trees, showering autumn leaves down on them.
“Looks like a storm is blowing in,” Max remarked. Large grey clouds were scurrying in the wind “Let’s drag in more wood. It could rain for days, for all we know.”
“Or snow.” Chloe shivered in the wind since she had splashed water onto her legs and feet. Hopping didn’t work well with full buckets, so Max took them. But she helped haul wood into the small room.
“I think we should haul that wood we dragged to the log up here. I have a feeling this place is going to be wood intensive,” Max said.
Chloe agreed. After she dried off a little, they hauled wood to the large gate for the rest of the afternoon, and then collapsed on the rocking chairs in front of the fire as the sun set.
“We should probably haul some more wood close to the house while the weather is good,” Max said. “We’ll have a hard time finding any if the snow gets deep.”
“Do you think we’ll be here for long?”
“I don’t know. But we should be prepared.”
“You think it’s going to snow soon?”
“I think it’s late in the fall. Did you notice how many trees have no leaves at all? I think snow could come at any time.”
“So we’ll do that tomorrow. It’s already getting dark. What should we cook for dinner?” Chloe hopped to the pantry.
Supper was a bit of a challenge, since neither of them was a cook. They ended up with lumpy oatmeal with honey and raisins, and fried squash.
“So, is your family back home going nuts since you’re missing?” she asked.
“Nah. I haven’t talked to my dad in years, not since I left home. He drinks. Mom died six years ago. I have friends, but they’ll just think I moved or something.”
“What about your job?”
“Bouncing at Teasers? No one will be surprised if I don’t show up. It’s that kind of place. I’m in grad school, computer stuff, but took this semester off. How about you? Will your parents be frantic?”
Chloe shook her head. “I was in foster homes from the time I turned twelve. When I was eighteen, I got a scholarship and went to college. I’ve been on my own since then. I just moved to Peoria, so I don’t have any friends there yet.”
“So, both of us are alone in the world.” He sat back, a serious expression on his face. “Maybe there’s a reason we’re here.”
“Like a quest? You would think someone would be here to meet us, or leave us a note or something.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t look like we have any big world saving to do here.”
“We could learn how to cook,” Chloe scooped up a lump of cold oatmeal and let it plop back into the bowl, and then yawned hugely.
“Yeah. There’s flour and syrup, maybe we can figure out how to make biscuits or something.”
An awkward silence followed while they cleaned up. Chloe felt like asking him to sleep with her in the bed, but then he would think she wanted sex—not that she did! Well, maybe just a little, because he was really handsome, and had been pretty decent, considering everything.
“I’ll take the floor tonight,” Max said. “It shouldn’t be too bad, anyway, with a featherbed and pillows.”