"Having problems Thatcher?"  Asked Peter Brokenclaw, a leopard who ran a large air cargo business.  He had tried to buy her out in the past, then when she wouldn't sell, purposely ran his aircraft at a loss on the routes she was running , trying to run her out of business, offering to relent in his undercutting only if she slept with him.   She didn't , and running passengers for Sylvia kept her afloat until he tired of the game.   Lately he had taken to try to hire her again, usually offering descent contracts, and also trying to use her to get Sylvia to talk to some friends of his in the cruise ship industry, which she wanted nothing to do with..   Sighing ,Kari turned to face the feline "What do you want Peter?" 

"I heard about your flight in from the island the other week, damn good job of piloting if I do say so myself, there's not many who would have attempted it , much less been able to pull it off." he said with  a smile. 

Kari blushed at the praise "it wasn't a big thing, didn't have a choice." 

"I also hear the bank has been , shall we say, 'less than sympathetic' about your aircraft being out of service., well, I have an offer for you, and no its not from me this time.   The guys upstairs had heard about your exploit, and authorized me to offer you a position up at White Bear bay in Truenorth, flying crews to and from oil drilling sites along the northern coast.  the pay is-" 

"how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not interested..." 

"I told them you wouldn't be, with your friend paying off your loan." 

"What are you talking about Peter?" 

The leopard smirked "you haven't been in to talk to them today have you?"   as the fennec shook her head he continued "Seems a  Ms Slipsunder was here the other day,  and paid off the rest of your loan."   seeing  the expression on her face he grinned inwardly, it was a good thing he did his homework this time.   he knew that Kari had resisted efforts by Sylvia to loan her the money to take care of things , the fennec had a stubborn pride that could work to his advantage.   "So I guess you aren't interested, even though it does pay a lot of money...but here, if you change your mind, here's my room where I'm staying" he said putting a card in the hand of the stunned vixen "see you round kid" he said. waiting until he was around the corner to laugh..
 
 

Luke was not just bored, he was bored out of his skull.   The collie sat  slowly switching from channel to channel on the remote, looking for something interesting.    Looking down at the bare spot in his fur, he was at least glad he was here to be bored, it had been a near thing, another ten min. his Doctor said, and he wouldn't have made it.   He was past ready to go, but the hospital wouldn't let him go for another two days to be sure.   Sighing he finally settled on a talk show, where this strange dog was going on about how she was kidnapped by  furless aliens with pink skin, flat faces, no tails  and hair on the tops of their heads had captured her for 'sexual experiments'  looking at the girl on the screen he snorted "more like Breast experiments, don't see how she can walk with ones that big"    Suddenly he realized he wasn't alone, turning the volume down he looked to the door of his room.  Standing in the doorway was a young vixen, wearing  the pink and white uniform of the volunteers at the hospital.   She looked to be about his age, maybe a year older, her sapphire blue eyes drawing him in from across the room.   After several tries he found his voice again "uh...hello" 

"Hello, " she replied musically, stepping into the room , the door closing behind her.    She slowly walked to the side of the bed , smiling at him "I hear you had a close call there" 

Luke nodded , words running through his head, but not able to connect with his vocal cords for some reason 

"how are you feeling ? " she asked, placing her paw on his wrist, checking his pulse 

"other than bored, okay I guess " he finally replied 

"Bored?  We cant have that in this hospital I'm afraid, it just isn't allowed" 

Luke heard a soft click from the door as if it was being locked, he glanced over at it curiously, then back at the vixen, blinking as in that second she had dropped her clothing somewhere... 

"I'm afraid Mr. Slipsunder, that I'll just have to do something to cure your boredom" she said with a smile as she stepped next to his bed, her pink nipples poking through the soft white fur on her breasts, the rest of her body covered in a sort of sandy brown with reddish tint fur, her hair a little darker red, white furred  hand lightly running along his leg, slipping under the short hospital gown he had to wear.  Luke blinked , not sure if he was dreaming or not until he felt the soft fingers slowly stroking along his shaft.  The vixen smiled, and used her other hand to pull back the gown, licking her lips slightly as he was exposed.  She leaned forward with out a word, warm breath gently blowing across him as Luke tentatively reached a hand out to her.  She slowly guided his hand to her breast as she gently nuzzled along his shaft, her tail swishing a bit as the collie gently caressed her. 

Luke moaned a bit, looking towards the door anxiously, convinced the slightest noise would bring in the dour ursine matron who was in  charge of the floor, but the girl giggled catching his glance "its locked, and she's at lunch, no one will bother us....mmm" her words cut off as she slid her tongue around the tip of his cock.   The collie panted softly, as she slowly ran her tongue along the underside of his member, slowly moving down from the tip, her hand softly caressing his sac.  Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him, then hit the control button for the bed, lowering the back a bit as she climbed up with him, keeping her tongue slowly caressing.   She straddled him, her tail softly wrapping behind his head as he took  the invitation, his muzzle going forward between her thighs in a sixty nine.   She cooed softly, her sex already damp with her juices as his tongue lightly danced along her folds, hands reaching down to softly rub her breasts.  The vixen trembled as she pressed back against his lapping, opening her muzzle and slowly sliding his shaft into her soft warm mouth, gently suckling. 

Luke murred, his toes flexing as he slid his tongue between her folds, lapping  softly deep into her damp cunny.  She squealed softly, tail swishing as she slowly began to move her head up and down along his shaft, purring softly as his nose rubbed against her swollen clitoris, pressing back against him.  The collie slowly ran his fingers across the young vixen's nipples, softly rolling the hard nubs between his fingers , murring deep in his throat as he swirled his tongue deep inside her, feeling her soft mouth sliding up and down on his cock.  She writhed and moaned, never losing her grip on his member, trembling as he softly lapped , then took her clitty into his muzzle, gently nibbling , sending waves crashing over her nerves,  causing her to increase her motions, her saliva coating his thick shaft , the tip pressing into the back of her  throat at the bottom of her strokes, her lips pressed flush against his groinfur.  He moaned louder , the vibrations of his sound causing her clitty to tremble in his muzzle , his salty precum oozing out of the tip of his cock , her tongue lapping it off as fast as it emerged as his hips began to buck a bit, softly humping her muzzle.  She moaned around his cock , sliding one finger down past his sac, rubbing lightly across his tail hole..gently slipping inside where she softly rubbed his prostate.. Luke moaned and exploded, his hot doggy seed spraying out deep into the vixen's waiting throat , his orgasm sending her over, her sex spasmng as she came.      he moaned softly, eyes closed then heard a soft whisper in his ear "sleep well lover"  she said ....he fought to open his eyes but his eyelids were soo heavy.."wait, " mumbled the collie sleepily "who are you?" 

<you know who I am> she thought as he drifted to sleep, with a little nudge <didn't we say we'd always be together when we got 'married' on my 8th birthday on the beach?>    smiling to herself , the vixen slid off the bed quietly as if not to wake Luke, suddenly dressed , and giggling softly as she unsealed the door. padding out into the hall way. 

Lucas awoke an hour later with  a start, looking around the room he frowned , figuring it was just a wet dream, a very real wetdream, but still just a dream....until he looked over and saw the  flower sitting on the pillow next to his head.....a soft creamy white blossom , one that grows on a few of the islands in the Happenstance island chain, one of them being Freedom's Run.  They bloomed only once every ten years, the last time they did was 7, almost 8 years ago. when Kari's daughter Rebecca was staying on the island...and she wore several of them in her hair when she and Luke were 'married' (They were playing house, but Becky wouldn't kiss him unless they were married, so he got his older sister Lisa to do it, she thought it was cute, and was the only other one in the world who knew about it , and those flowers...and Lisa was currently in her senior year at Salmon Hat university....)
 

Freedom's Run,  same day 

Ralph was pissed, no two ways about it.   his partner had finally come back from his little flight, not saying a whole lot to him, it was like everyone blamed him for that tree falling on the brat.   Mr and Mrs Brooks has left, Ralph was sporting some still healing scratch marks because of that slut, all he did was offer to show her how a REAL man was in bed.   He was currently sitting on the storm damaged dock, watching Rock and Janet up on the roof of a cabin, replacing broken shingles,   his idiot partner tossing a ball with the owner's youngest , Rale.  To make matters worse, he had finally gotten to Fairport, only to find no help there, the town was pretty much leveled in some places, nightlife was not big on the local's minds at the moment.   He sighed, looking again at the fax from the studio, his assistant had betrayed him it seemed, sending off a script based on the events of the last few days, and had gotten a contract from one of the networks.   He had officially quit, leaving Ralph the finished script that was due sitting on his desk when he woke up from his booze enhanced slumber.   Plus, he was going on three weeks now without being laid, the owner and the pilot were gone, leaving her two daughters, both of whom had told him to go to hell, Janet even going so far as to print him out directions.   Snarling to himself, he noticed the raccoon, Bethany, heading into the jungle by herself, a bucket in her hand, out to bring back more fruit, one of the benefits of living in the islands.   Watching her lithe form climbing over a downed tree, he growled to himself, enough was enough, he was gonna get some today....quietly, he followed her into the forest. 

Bethany meandered down the barely defined path, the young raccoon knew where there were some mangos that should be just about ripe.   She and her sister had gone back to not wearing much, her Ken and Rock had both assured them they would keep an eye on Ralph until he left, the puma made the two girls nervous for some reason.   Ken wasn't going back to the mainland, he was waiting for Luke to return, having crafted a script about his rescue during the storm.  Sylvia was OK with him working with Ken, the only stipulation is the majority of whatever he might make from this would go towards college.   She smiled as she thought of the coyote, her brother had told her about his and Ken's afternoon with Kari right  before the storm hit, perhaps she could arrange a repeat, this time with her in the starring role....with such thoughts in her head, she didn't even notice the puma until it was too late.   She attempted to scream, but only managed a soft squeal, as he knocked her into a tree, knocking the raccoon out. 

Ralph looked down at the limp raccoon, sighing in relief as he checked her pulse, not dead, only out.   still, he thought as he untied her skirt, why wait for her to wake up..besides a stud like him could raise the dead.  Grinning he laid Bethany out on the ground,  his eyes roaming over her nude form, beginning to kneel between her legs when he heard a unfamiliar voice behind him.
 

"Come on now, a big stud like you...wouldn't it be more fun with someone who's awake?"
 

He blinked and spun around towards the unfamiliar voice.  leaning next to a Coconut tree was a Vixen, maybe about the same age as the Raccoon, her fur sort of a cross between red and brown, her sapphire blue eyes shimmering in the sunlight, her body totally nude, her scent filling his nostrils. 

"Where'd you come from?" 

"oh, there's a lot of islands around here" She replied cryptically, walking towards him.   He drooled a bit, smiling as she pressed up against him , paws fondling him for a moment then breaking away, smiling over her shoulder.    Ralph got to his feet , following her deeper into the jungle...
 

On the beach, Rale leapt into the air, twisting as he grabbed at the ball, landing with a splash in the surf giggling.   Getting ready to toss it back to Ken, he jumped into the air at a bloodcurdling scream from the jungle.  Rock was on the ground in a instant, curiously to the coyote looking more feline then lupine, must be a trick of the light he thought as he ran ashore, meeting Rock and Janet, Rale right behind him. 

"Where's Beth!"  Said Janet in half panic. 

"Never mind that" replied Rock coldly "Where's that ex partner of yours?" he said, looking at the coyote. 

Ken growled "I got a suspicion, lets go" Reaching over to a pile of tools ,he grabbed an ax and followed Janet and HardRock into the jungle, Rale bringing up the rear more to the fact there was no where else to leave him.  After a few hundred meters they found Bethany,  lying on the ground under a coconut tree moaning, unhurt except for a small bump on her head, Ralph's scent all over the place.   Janet bent to check her sister, she was fully dressed , slowly coming around, and as far as she could tell, untouched by the sleazy puma. 

"Bethy, you all right? she asked, helping her little sister sit up "What happened?" 

Bethany groaned "owww...I don't know, I was going for some mango, that's all I remember." 

"Maybe a coconut fell on her head?" offered Rale helpfully 

"Then who screamed? asked Rock, calming down, his change not noticed by Ken who was looking off into the woods intently.  The pumawolf caught the coyote's gaze  "What do you got?" 

"Don't know yet" replied the yote, quietly heading deeper down the trail...500 meters further they found Ralph, curled up in a tight ball shivering hard....his fur bleached white. 

"Ralph? you all right dude?" Asked ken, kneeling down.    The shivering feline looked at the coyote, then screamed again as he saw  Janet and Bethany emerge into the clearing, tearing off at full speed through the jungle. 

"What happened to him?" asked Bethany , leaning a bit on her older sister 

Ken and Rock stood there wide eyed , staring at the puma sized hole in the underbrush "Beats the hell out of me...."
 

they looked the rest of the day, not finding the missing writer anywhere on the island,  or any trace of him for two days, when he washed up on the shore of Fairport in one of Rale's canoes.   The constable, not having time to deal with the puma,  put him on a plane to Snug Harbour and the mainland, where he disappeared, leaving only a note with the studio, putting full credit for the screenplays they had worked on to Ken....
 
 

3 days later 

Kari held the door open as Sylvia pushed her son's wheelchair out the door of the hospital.  He could walk , but their regulations said patients had to leave the property in the chair   Kari had been out of sight the last couple days, down at the airport talking to folks she said.   Luke gratefully got out of the chair and into the taxi, the only thing he took with him was a flower that he kept safe in his backpack, or as safe as he could anyway.  Very little was said in the taxi as  they headed for the airport, Sylvia and Luke to a waiting flight to Fairport, Kari staying here to supervise the last of the repairs to her seaplane.   Sylvia looked troubled as she sat in the terminal, they had over an hour wait, so she let Luke wander a bit .   She scooted over and sat next to Kari 

"what's wrong hon?" she asked worriedly.   Kari simply reached into a pocket in  her vest, pulling out her loan paperwork from the bank, bold red ink marking 'PAID' on the first page. 

"Why did you do it?    I know how tight things are this season, but to pay 75 grand, plus the repair bill.. Shit Sylvia that's over 100 000...you aint got that kind of cash." 

"Its cheap compared to Luke's life-" 

"true , until you look at the date on the bill, this was paid early last month, before the hurricane...when were you going to tell me?" 

Sylvia blushed "I was going to next week, on your birthday..."
"Sylvia, I cant take your money like this-
"its already done Kari,  "
"Then I have to pay you back" replied the fennec "I feel like I'm using you all" 

Sylvia sighed "no you aren't , you're family" 

Kari said nothing, staring out the windows of the terminal, watching the big transports landing , and across the field, two F21 Gryphons from the reserve unit taxing for takeoff. She sighed and turned back to Sylvia  "Brokenclaw's company has offered me  2900 a month flying workers to oil platforms in Truenorth .  I think I'm gonna take it, its the only way I can pay you back before the end of  the season." 

"For the last time you Don't have to pay me back!" she said with a growl. 

Kari sighed and stood up "I got to go over to the hangar and see how they're getting along on the work, have a good flight." she said, as she turned on her heel and walked away... 

Luke returned a few min later to see his mother sitting alone on the bench, her arms wrapped around her self .  He blinked and sat down next to her "what's wrong momma?" 

Sylvia lost it , hugging her son tightly "I blew it Luke, Kari's leaving..." 

 a few days later.... 

Kari walked along the main road in Fairport, they had done a lot in repairing the damage from the storm, but there was still a hell of a lot left to do.. she had told Brokenclaw she would take the job.   He was going to have the paperwork ready by six o clock this evening, and she would be in the air flying north by seven.  She hadn't heard word one about it from Sylvia or any of the kids, though the place seemed like a funeral home since she got back, even the normally hyperactive Rale was subdued.   She sighed, something else she screwed up in her life as she neared her destination, a small brick house on a back street near the top of the island.    There was little damage here , a few broken windows still covered in plastic, glass was in short supply. Standing in the doorway waiting for her was Sylvia's mother, and her foster mother. Karen Slipsunder, now in her 60's still active but preferring to live in town.  She hugged the older otter softly and followed her inside. 

after the requisite small talk, the otter got down to business "why do you feel you have to leave and go to that God dammed icecube up north?" 

Kari sighed " Because I have to pay Sylvia back-" 

"Why? it was intended as a gift, freely given" 

"that's not the point! Sylvia cant afford to give me that much money-" 

"why don't you let her decide what keeping you around is worth to her-it would be one thing if it was a great opportunity, but you're just going to do more of the same, for people you don't like, in a place you hate." 

"well I don't really hate Truenorth.." 

Karen did the one thing Kari wasn't expecting- she laughed "do you know how much you sound like Sylvia yesterday?" she chuckled as she sipped her orange juice "Kari, see that big lockbox on the counter ? Bring it here would you?" 

Kari nodded and got the box, not knowing where this was leading. 

"Thank you child...tell me, do you remember your birth parents?" 

Kari frowned a bit thinking .."vaguely, I   was only 18 months old when their house burned down, and they died-" 

"and you came to live with me and my children, and you an Sylvie hooked up.  Open the box will you, and tell me what's inside? "It's been so long I cant really remember" 

Kari did so, blinking as she pulled out the faded documents "petition for Adoption, of one female, 3 years, named Melissa Karina Minsey...." she said in wonderment, eyes large, then frowning as she saw the next document " 

"the court rules that this adoption petition be rejected due to the marital status of Miss Slipsunder.." she read "what kind of shit is this?" 

"its the way things were back then...we never told you, because we wanted to suprise you , as it was, we had to fight the courts after that just to keep you, they wanted to put you in a orphanage." 

Kari sat there quietly looking at the documents "I, I never knew..." 

"You probably also don't realize how much  Sylvia cares about  you ."    Karen got up and sat next to the silent fennec   "Sylvie, she's like me, always wanted to be independent, not tied to one person..but also like me, there was always one that she just couldn't live without...with me that was Thomas, her older sister's father.  I was actually going to marry him, when his boat got hit by that barge, and he dove back in to free a trapped crewman, and drowned."   She looked at Kari quizzically "did She ever tell you how she found you in Undernia?  Yes you called her, but she was gone for almost a YEAR looking for you before that.  I ran the business for her while she was gone...but she knew how stubborn you were, so when she did find where you were , she ran ads for the resort in the paper of that town you were way out in the outback ...knowing that would get you to call her." 

Kari sat there on the couch, arms wrapped around her self, not knowing what to say.    Karen leaned over and hugged Kari gently, causing the vixen to loose it, clutching her mother and sobbing softly.  The otter cuddled Kari, gently kissing her on the forehead "You love Sylvia, and she loves you, and I'll be dammed if I sit here and watch the two most STUBBORN people I know hurt themselves and each other because of their damn foolish pride." The otter sighed "course you two probably got it from me, so I have to fix things." 

Kari giggled and hugged Karen "don't worry momma, we'll never be able to out stubborn you."   The older woman laughed as Kari got up , grabbing her backpack. 

"Where are you rushing off to ? " Asked Karen .  Kari smiled as she opened the screen door "I got something I have to take care of before 5 o clock, thank you momma" 

Karen smiled and kissed her semi adopted daughter , then watched from the doorway as the vixen headed down the street at a good pace...
 

Later that evening....
 

Sylvia sat alone in the bedroom, the house was quiet , the children eating dinner in the dining room, Sylvia having no appetite this evening.   She resolutely kept her eyes from the bags in the corner, Kari didn't have very much in the way of clothing since she moved back to the islands, it just wasn't needed. 

She sighed, looking at the clock, hearing the launch pull up to the dock outside, knowing it could only be her.  Steeling herself, repeating over and over silently "I'm not going to cry", hoping if she said it enough she'd believe it.  She heard the screen door opening , and the soft footfalls coming up the hallway, the soft chatter from the dining room dying as the whole house sat in morose silence.  Kari opened the door, smiling hesitantly as she stepped into the room. 

Sylvia blinked as her eyes got moist, she wasn't going to give in to it, not going to make her stay even though it was killing her.  She smiled wanly "you got everything ready?" 

Kari nodded , her expression unreadable, from long hours playing poker in the service "You could say that." 

"I guess this is it then." 

Kari nodded as she bent to pick up her duffelbag, both Rock and Luke offering to carry the bag from where they stood with the rest of the kids in the doorway...all of them looking upset.  "That's okay" said the vixen with a grin "I think I can carry it 5 meters " as she opened the door to the bathroom and stepped in, then opening the door to the next bedroom which was vacant.  Sylvia blinked, getting to her feet and following, the others curiously padding behind.  In  the next room  Kari set the duffel bag down in front of the closet, opening the doors and turning on the light "Ah , there we go, I finally have some closet space, you know , you got too much stuff Sylvia." 

"But, but, what about your job up north?" asked Sylvia,  hope filling her for the first time in days. 

Kari blushed a bit, looking at the otter/rabbit  "Well, like I told Brokenclaw this afternoon, if  I have a choice between going up north to freeze my tits off with his ugly ass, or staying here with my family, and someone  I love...he loses." 

"Does this mean you're staying ? " Asked Rale from the bathroom doorway, the others crowded behind him expectantly 

She nodded "yes I'm staying , after all, I'm home....EEEEK!" she squealed as she was pounced by six bodies, giggling as she tried to keep up with the hugs n kisses..
 

Outside the window a small form gave a contented sigh and leaned against a palm tree "Finally, she's happy again." 

The second figure smiled, the evening light hilighting her zebra stripes "so vat vill you do now?" she asked , her voice a soft wisper on the wind. 

"Stay here , after all, Someone's got to keep momma out of trouble." 

Her companion giggled softly "Dat vill be a full time job." 

The little vixen grinned back "You know what they say, its a dirty job, but someone has to do it..."
 
 

Somewhere in the mountains of The Old Country 

The Abbot smiled, usualy there were not many who were willing to make the sacrifices for the blessed orders any more, too many were ensnared by the conviences of modern living, though to be honest, the net had done wonders for spreading the Faith... watching the novices at work he noticed one, a taller puma with white fur "that one there Brother Mattias,. where is he from?" 

The huge bear smiled "He was in the movie industry my lord Abbot,  made several films, name is Ralph, and supprisingly, when I told him that we did not come into contact with females in the monastery here, begged me to allow him to stay, I have never seen such zeal for chastity in my life." 

The abbot smiled and nodded, heading back to his studes, blinkng as he passed the garden, he heard what sounded like a soft feminine giggle, then the rush of wings...