The Waters of Atlantea Chapter 24
Authors Notes: Well we've had a genuinely tense argument between our lovers and a little behind the scenes skullduggery between friends they don't even know they have yet. I call this "plain old honeymoon fluff with a side dish of intrigue". Thanks to everyone for tuning in again for my 50th chapter of my overall anthology. I would have never expected this kind of wonderful reception and support for my work. Your humble storyteller... ;)
…
Nick gave the blue gray stuff the same raised eyebrow he did when he first encountered it at the "First Nighter" extravaganza show. He knew it tasted good, but it looked like something… well that you needed to mop up and flush down the toilet.
"Oh joy. My favorite…" he stated in a very deadpan tone.
"Oh come on, fox. Be a good sport. You've already had this," she encouraged, taking her first bite of her portion, and continued, "besides it says here in the program that this stuff was considered an aphrodisiac - among other sexual enhancements - by the pinnipeds' ancestors."
Grabbing he program from his wife, he read with great interest and gave it back her, chuckling, "Oh? So… then give me a bigger spoon."
She slapped his hand for stealing her program and scoffed, "Like you need more encouragement. Use your own utensils, Nick."
In the time it took to say those words, his helping was gone, and he raised his empty bowl to the food server, "Sir? More, please."
The waiter was ignorant of their banter, took it away for another serving, and simply replied, "I'm glad you like it, sir!"
She gave him a doubtful head shake, knocked him in the thigh with her knee below the table, but was amused by his typical behavior.
"What?" Nick reacted to her tap, and gave a fake look of horror her as if he didn't know what she did that for.
"You… I don't know why I put up with this…" she whispered and sighed with a feigned exasperated look.
"Because life with me is never a dull moment, Carrots," he grinned and pecked her cheek.
It was so true.
Sitting around them were the young squirrel family's mother and father, very excited to be there for one romantic night alone, getting a respite from their rambunctious pups. They explained that their pups were at a resort 'kits camp' overnight so they could have their romantic evening alone, and that was part of their vacation package. It was clear to Judy that she was in heat, so there'd be more pups a few months after their couple's night at the hut. She smiled and wished that she could be as lucky.
Also joining them was the 40 year couple anniversary prairie dogs. Nick and Judy enjoyed being reunited with their table mates from the opening night extravaganza and chatted about each other's activities since. Understandably the older prairie dogs had a slower pace, consisting of going to the resort's shows, partaking in gourmet dining, taking long walks together through the gardens, and enjoying a sunset ocean dinner cruise just off the coast. The husband joked about his wife taking too much time and money shopping, even if most of it was for souvenirs for the their grown up children and grand pups.
In a private aside to Nick while the females went on about something, the male prairie dog showed Nick a prescription bottle below the table, "Y'know son, these blue pills can keep your love life going for as long as you want. Ask my best girl. She feels like she's 20 again with all the attention I've been giving her. We're 'doin' it' morning, noon, and night. If I take one of these right after dessert, I'll be 'good to go' by the time we get back to our hut."
Realizing what her husband was talking about and noticing he showed his prescription to Nick, she giggled and kissed her long time husband's cheek. It was kind of cute actually, despite being way TMI to Nick.
"Good to know," Nick replied politely, feeling a little awkward, and didn't inquire further. But the thought of enjoying 40 years of physical relations with Judy as a part of the many other wonderful aspects of their very young marriage was truly inspiring.
New to them was an armadillo couple, also newlyweds, a pair of spiny anteaters who were empty-nester's, and an older ocelot, a widower, with his new Tasmanian Devil 'trophy wife' who was a real 'looker'. They were loving their new life together. Several other couples they met before were with them, but were further down the table.
The middle aged ocelot and his young bride were well adorned in the temporary henna tats as were the armadillos. The armadillos' tattoos looked more like a mural painted on their hard back shells. Another three couples at the table were also decorated. The henna artist had done her craft well.
"You guys look awesome," Nick complimented the armadillo couple and they smiled.
The conversation was light between Nick and Judy and the others, until the ocelot turned aside and asked quietly, "Do you guys ever get any trouble? I mean, pardon the expression, we're all mixed."
Nick answered, "No offense taken, mammal, but unfortunately, we get a lot."
The ocelot admitted, and his wife clutched his arm for comfort, and Judy listened too, "We do too. We've had threats, even though we're both predators."
Judy sighed with the confession, "That kind of thing happens too often. Especially for us."
Knowing she implied the huge challenge of being a predator/prey combination, the female asked with a soft sweet little voice with a cute accent, "How do you handle it?"
"We do our best to stay low key," Nick started to explain, but was interrupted by Judy.
"Just like we did the other day at the big show, right?" Judy interjected, finding herself in the unusual situation to pull her husband's chain for once. She had a smug look.
"Quiet, rabbit," Nick scolded, "And we never pick a fight with critics."
"Or your wife," Judy jabbed, humorously reminding him of their argument. The Tasmanian Devil female giggled.
Nick gave his mate a look and she stuck her tongue out at him, knowing she was on a roll.
"Just sayin' fox," was all she said with an irreverent shrug.
With a dubious side glance to Judy, Nick cleared his throat as if he was rudely interrupted, and continued his answer to the ocelot and the Devil couple but he added, "Or your wife… and especially be able to walk away from trouble, know how to defend each other, and have some friends in the local police you can call if there's real trouble. And take real comfort that your friends and family and many more mammals support you than don't."
The ocelot and she-Devil hugged and looked at Nick and Judy, and the female answered, "Good for you guys. That's a good example for us to follow. I get really angry when mammals criticize us. That usually doesn't work out well."
Nick and Judy suppressed the urge to laugh at a female Tasmanian Devil admitting to having a short temper.
The couple was about to talk about something else a little lighter when Stitch walked up to the microphone and asked, "So my friends; are you all ready to work off your dinner?"
There were mixed reactions. Everyone was stuffed with the good food.
He chortled, "Ah! Don't worry, we won't ask you to do any calisthenics tonight, but we are going to teach you a little native dancing. Lilo, can you come help us?"
There was more enthusiasm expressed from the diners for dance lessons, and applause for the talented Lilo.
Lilo instructed the small crowd with her soothing voice, standing in open area across from Stitch, "OK! For everyone who'd like to dance, form two lines with Stitch and me. Boys on one side with Stitch, and you girls on the other with me."
Lilo faced Stitch about 2 meters apart. No one noticed the affectionate glance they exchanged.
Nearly everyone lined up. This was going to be fun, especially with the real variety in sizes of the mammal guests. Lilo walked through the female dance moves with a combination of body movements, especially her hips, which got a lot of snickers, and then were accentuated by her flowing flipper movements. Stitch showed the males the proper responses, including a couple of strong hip thrusts, which made everyone laugh. They all knew what his was all about, which was why this event was reserved only for a small group of mature, fully committed couples staying at the bungalows.
Judy said quietly across the line, "This is really like Bunny Burrow line dancing now."
Except line dancing wasn't nearly as explicit in its motions. Stitch and Lilo also didn't tell the group that in the "old days", the alpha male of pinniped pods would dance with a dozen females, all of whom were his mates, and one by one he'd "do" them all during the dance to claim them as his. The Resort show choreographer highly modified what used to be known as the 'harem dance' for modern times with couples.
Nick replied back to his wife with a wink, "Looking forward to doing that, Carrots."
Nick and Judy and the other diners who were at the earlier extravaganza could tell the difference between that dramatic event with lots of amplification, lights, sound, and special effects, and this much quieter event with ancient stringed instruments, reed pipes, and hollow wooden drums with stretched natural latex heads. Like every other aspect of the realism strictly adhered to at the pinniped bungalow village, the tone and mood reflected a much quieter time in history of their species.
After the fun line dancing, Lilo and Stitch let the couples simply dance in the styles they were most used to slow dancing together in their home city-states across the world. Atlantea was clearly a favorite destination trip for every geographic region of the globe. The music was an authentic historic pinniped love song, sung in the original guttural language and then translated. The message of true love transcended any barriers between species and the centuries long ago when it was written.
After that, the couples were seated and Lilo did several historical solo storytelling dances that drew strong applause. Nick and Judy were truly impressed with the fluidity of Lilo's motions, through which they could truly feel the movements of the wind and the waves, and imagine the gracefulness of the seal society swimming and diving in their open ocean culture.
Stitch applauded Lilo and complimented her performance, "Wasn't she just delightful? Thank you, Lilo. She is truly a Master Dancer in our cultural preservation societies, and we're lucky to have her here at Resort Atlantis. But now, we have something very special for you, seen nowhere else in Resort programs. Here's a little history lesson."
Judy's face was lit up, and Nick whispered, "What's happening, Carrots? I know you that you know. You can't hide it."
"Shhhh. Just watch. This is why I got reservations for this private luau. You'll love this," she instructed. Nick loved every surprise in their schedule so far. He sat patiently and took his wife's paw. She smiled at him.
The walrus emcee continued, "Life was far from idyllic in our culture's often-harsh ocean environs before the cataclysm, and life and work was hard and often short. But there was time for fun too. Celebrations were held when far away tribes visited each other, each with their own special traditions. Few species had a more dramatic tradition than Monk seals, who are to this day sleeker and more athletic than most seals or sea lions, and are very different in coloration – usually gray with a little bit of brown or tan."
Nick kidded in a whisper, "Hey, you might be related. You're gray too."
"And so are wolves and elephants, and I'm no relation to them either, silly fox. If I had gray flippers, I'd smack you with one right now, fox," she complained with a grin, "Now listen."
Stitch never saw their exchange and continued with his storytelling, "Today's Monk seal ancestors lived and thrived on rumbling and active volcanic islands that usually frightened away most other pinniped species, but their culture really liked living around and playing with fire. The legends were that their powder gray colors came from being blessed by the touch of the gray volcanic ash that often fell like rain following frequent eruptions. And so did the legends of virgin sacrifices to the volcano spirits."
Nick grinned at Judy and winked, but she just glared at him, and warned, "Don't say anything, fox."
But she had to bite her lip to prevent breaking out laughing. She couldn't look at him or it would trigger it. Nick was very proud of himself, but there was no more time for teasing.
Stitch announced proudly, "Ladies and gentle mammals, I give you: the authentic Monk seal Fire Dance!"
"Whoa, Carrots! Fire Dance? I love you!" Nick exclaimed while applauding loudly.
"I know you do, fox," Judy replied confidently and was very pleased how well she knew her fox.
A number of dinner table ring torches were doused to make it darker. The jungle drums grew much louder and faster to a pace that throbbed with energy. In the darkness, a pair of very light gray colored Monk seals rushed in a frenzied waddle on to stage. They were yelling and shouting in their traditional native language, as well as barking and hooting. As soon as they were on stage they set afire two brilliant flaming torch-batons. The torches flared to life and were bright enough to hurt Nick and Judy's eyes.
The dancing and spinning seals twirled the blazing torches in their flippers so fast it made a wheel of fire. They moved all over the stage, turning and twisting in unison, and doing cartwheels. They tossed the torches high in the air over their shoulders and under their armpits, and flipped the the flaming wands back and forth to each other as easy as if playing with a beach ball. Neither missed a catch and never burned the other.
Nick mentioned in quiet aside to Judy, "I can't even do that with paws."
"If you ever try that at home, I'll remember you said that," she cautioned. He snickered.
The guests were on their hind paws in enthusiastic response to the twin Monk seal performers, finding it unbelievable their athleticism and fearlessness in wielding the power of fire in spinning, careening torches. In their spectacular finale, they lit two more torches to everyone's collective gasps. With four torches in play between only two seals, two torches were always airborne, spinning end over end high in the air, except when the pair were double- twirling the torches - one in each flipper. It seemed impossible for flippered mammals to do what they were doing, and yet they twirled the dangerous balls of flame flawlessly. They continued to bark and hoot at each other in encouragement, and so did the crowd, picking up on their ancient cheers. It made the performers even bolder in what they attempted to do to impress the very small but very appreciative crowd.
Suddenly one of the performers did a forward flip and alighted in a front flipper stand on the stage, with his tail flippers high in the air behind him. Using his back flippers, he kept two of the torches spinning in unison inter-digitated without colliding. Both flaming batons were a complete blur while his colleague looked on in admiration. The balancing seal kicked one of his torches to his friend, and the Monk seal twirled no less than three torches in unison – one balanced on his upturned nose, and the other two in his flippers.
An unbridled cheer broke loose from the hotel guest for this truly remarkable demonstration of exceptional coordination and bravery.
Both Monk seals caught all four torches in mid air, jumped up on their hind flippers, and took a deep bow to the audience. The standing ovation lasted a long, satisfying time for the duo's literally brilliant performance. They dowsed their still flaming torches in a bucket that Lilo and Stitch brought on stage. Everyone could hear the sizzling end of the flames.
Stitch came back on stage, applauding like everyone else. He was effusive, "Weren't these guys amazing? Give it up for our fire-eating brothers, mammals, for the Monk Seal Fire Dancers!"
The wild applause continued unabated for several minutes. To the performers, it was music to their ears, and they beamed with appreciation. It might as well have been a thousand guests to them. The luau dinners waved money tips in the air for them, and they humbly passed through the crowd collecting the tips. Nick and Judy could only afford a $20 compared to the mostly affluent other guests who dropped $50's or $100's, but the two fire dancers were still very appreciative.
"Thank you sir," one said to Nick.
Nick immediately turned to his true love, and announced, "Best tip I've ever spent, Judy. This was wonderful. Thank you!"
"Anything for you, babe," she replied and they kissed maybe a little too long right in front of their fellow diners, but didn't care.
Stitch came on stage one more time to close out the entertainment portion of the luau, "Well folks, there's really no way to top that act, so we'd like to say thank you and goodnight! You guys have been a fantastic audience, and really good sports to play with us. We wish you a very hearty good night, and hope that the rest of your evening is special to you and your spouse."
The artificial house lights came on in the luau ring, and the guests said their goodbyes and started to head back to the dwellings. The old prairie dogs looked happy and the male seemed very anxious to leave with his wife. Nick just grinned.
Stitch and Lilo made a point to greet Nick and Judy before they departed, "Hi Nick and Judy. How is our 'honorary pinnped' enjoying her stay at our resort?"
Judy's ears flushed with the compliment, "Very much, Lilo and Stitch, and even more since you gave us all those nice rewards. I can't stop admiring my beautiful natural crown."
"Well you earned that honor, Judy," noted Lilo.
Judy immediately responded, "Thank you so much, Lilo. How's your ankle? The brace didn't seem to interfere with your beautiful dancing tonight."
Appreciating that Judy noticed, "'Better, thanks. Besides, it was easier to dance tonight since you and Nick inspired us to be brave…"
Judy asked, taking the lead, "Brave enough to do what, Lilo?"
"This…" she answered humbly, and displayed her left flipper.
"There was a shiny new ring on her flipper. Nick and Judy both smiled at the newly engaged couple. They noticed the slightest of grazes of flippers between Lilo and Stitch.
"Congratulations you two!" Judy offered cheerfully with Nick.
Nick smiled but was a bit more pragmatic, "That's great for you guys. Is the Resort 'OK' with employees being engaged?"
Stitch was forthright, "No, this isn't a problem at all. We just have to tell our bosses and HR."
Judy encouraged, "That's what we had to do where we work. It was a 'no brainer'. But there are others that may not want you together. You must always be careful from now on."
"We know, Judy. We get that already," Stitch divulged. Suddenly Nick and Judy realized they had two new friends, which explained why the seal and walrus sought them out specifically after the dinner. It was reassuring.
Lilo asked shyly with her flipper firmly in Stitch's grip for courage, "Do you want to dance together with us? We want to celebrate being a couple now, and you guys being an inspiration to us."
Nick quipped, "Sure. Mammals can't practice the Choosing and Mating Dances too many times."
Judy was mildly embarrassed and demanded, "Quiet, fox. Yes, Lilo and Stitch, we'd love to celebrate your engagement."
The two couples went to the open area in front of the stage together, with a few of the others that wanted to stay and dance too. The band started a more contemporary number for all of them. The couples held each other closely.
In a private moment, Lilo whispered to her new fiancé, "I don't get to do this very often with you, Stitch. I love dancing with you, especially the touching. It's the only touching we can do in public without being afraid."
Stitch helped his new fiancé be brave and teased, "Well, now you really are going to be my mate. Maybe no one will notice we're a walrus and a sea lion couple."
Lilo looked at Stitch a little worried, and knew better, "Oh, sure, sweetheart, like walruses and sea lions look alike? I sure do hope we don't have any trouble."
The dance ended, and the band director apologized, "Stitch, y'know, can we wrap things up here? We're kind of wiped out. We need some rest before the big gig tomorrow night."
"It's OK, we're done here. Get some rest; we do have another big show for all the new guests."
The socialization after the evening event concluded, and the two mixed couples said their goodbyes, promising to get together again before the end of Nick and Judy's honeymoon.
Lilo and Stitch watched Nick and Judy depart, and Lilo whispered, "So that's them, right, dear?"
Stitch was clear, "Kida said there was only one fox and rabbit couple in the whole resort."
Lilo added, "They're brave coming to Atlantea. The prejudice is strong here, even if they are from out of town."
Stitch conceded, "They don't even know the trouble they're in."
Lilo fretted but was absolutely sure of herself, "But just like them, we got engaged despite knowing the dangers."
Stitch replied instantly, "Because we love each other, babe, like they do. No one can stop that. They're married already. Maybe things are better in Zootopia."
"Do you think they'll be safe here?" she asked.
"Well you heard them, dear. They're always cautious and alert. We need to be like them and that ocelot/Tasmanian Devil couple. This is real love, and this is right for us."
"I do truly love you, Stitch."
"Just as much as I do you, Lilo."
"Can we go to a Justice of the Peace this weekend, dear? I want to be married to you even if we have to keep it secret. What's stopping us?" she suggested.
Stitch was even bolder in assuring her, "Nothing. How about tomorrow afternoon before the show? I know a JP that doesn't care about mixed species marriage."
She smiled lovingly at her intended, "Good for him. Even better. Damn the risks."
Stitch smiled at her courage, "The risks aren't as bad as you think, sweetheart. We have friends. You know about Milo and Kida right?"
Kida, the stage manager, was their boss.
"No. What about Kida and Milo?" she inquired with great interest.
"They're secretly married too. And she's pregnant by Milo," he informed her very seriously.
"No! Really? How is that even possible?" she asked with true shock.
"Because Nature wants it that way between the species. He told me last night after the show. He was ecstatic."
Lilo was encouraged, "Why wouldn't a new daddy be excited? They'll help protect us if you tell Kida about us, right? Is a walrus loving a sea lion such a horrible thing?"
"The orcas always protect those of us who are mixed species. They're the only ones who care."
"Kida for sure, but Milo's a pony. He's not an orca."
Stitch stated with true conviction, "He might as well be. He's tougher than any of them. Even without those teeth."
…
After the entertaining and tasty dinner, Nick and Judy walked through the longhouse just to get a sense of its amenities. It was pretty empty and looked like it was about to close up for the evening. There were only one or two couples who decided to stop by for a snack or a drink, or to be entertained.
"This looks like a fun place. Let's come here tomorrow," Nick asked.
Judy answered, "Sure, but how about tonight? The bar is still open. How about an after dinner drink?"
Nick grinned, "Nah. I wanna drink you in. At our hut."
Judy kidded, "Corny, fox, but a nice thought."
They left the longhouse to enjoy its amenities another night and returned to their darkened hut.
There were a many modern features in their hut that mimicked something old. They turned on the lights as they went through the beaded entrance, which were cleverly disguised as fake candles that were really LED lights that actually emitted the right spectrum of candlelight and even flickered. There were candles they could light, but with the LED's, there was less fire hazard this way. They were tired, and wanted to create their own romantic mood, and so didn't actually need real candles.
Nick stood and stared, "Cool."
He watched the LED candles flicker a moment.
Judy was more focused, "Come sit with me, fox."
She gently pulled him away from the clever technology with lingering resistance.
The pair plopped down together on the sleeping mat. They faced each other cross-legged and were holding both paws. Neither was worried about modesty with the other. Undergarments were not a feature of their traditional garb.
"So… what's next Judy?" Nick asked hopefully, despite having just enjoyed each other's intimate company merely hours ago.
He hoped she'd say "yes". He ached for her. She liked that he asked and didn't simply assume.
In response, Judy stated, "Well, fox. I was thinking. Our afternoon delight was so nice, but I kinda like our tattoos. I want to show them off again tomorrow wherever we go, at least until we go swimming in the ocean."
Remembering their renewed promise to be cautious and vigilant, he warned, "Will that bring too much attention to us?"
Judy appreciated his concerns, but answered, "No, I don't think so, Nick. We're not the only ones with tats. There are a lot of other tatted couples all around the hotel, though it does seem like we got the deluxe version of Penny's honeymoon tattoo package."
"It does seem that way," Nick agreed, noting few of the other couples were as well-adorned as they were and added sincerely, "One thing for sure Judy: you are beautiful with them."
Her ears and nose blushed, but she replied, "Oh! Thank you, Nickie."
Judy considered suggesting to Nick that they get some kind of real tat at the end of their honeymoon to remember their wonderful time together always.
Nick understood where she was taking the conversation, "So… if you don't want to do anything tonight, Carrots, that's OK with me."
Nick loved his wife beyond all measure, and every aspect of his life with her he thought was amazing. Sex was a very fun part of their lives for sure, but having relations wasn't everything to Nick and Judy. He had never imagined having so many vigorous and varied ways of intimacy with Judy. He knew female foxes had periods of desire and times with no desire at all - even sentience couldn't change Nature. With rabbits it was just about 'anytime, anywhere'. He was almost ready for a night off. Almost.
Judy was very pleased that Nick wouldn't insist on lovemaking if she didn't want him to, but she had other ideas, took his paw more securely, "Well, I do want to be with you as much as we possibly can, especially after our nice evening, but I also don't what to mess up our body art. You know how umm... athletic... we can get."
"Yeahhhh," added with emphasis.
"Shush, you," she grinned, blushing deeper, knowing she invited his comment, which she fully agreed with.
Nick suggested gently, "Any ideas how we can have it both ways?"
"I figure we can do something nice and quiet, and I don't need a lot of hugs. We had plenty of that earlier," she replied, then intensely looked Nick directly in his eyes, "I just need you to give me that feeling, Nickie."
The best part of that request was that Nick was on the giving end of 'that feeling', and Judy was rarely shy about expressing her desires, so Nick happily complied, "Whenever you're ready, Judy."
With a wry grin, she invited, "So let's start with getting rid of this, you handsome fox."
His maro wrap got in the way of her view, and so she reached across to his waist, deftly released the tie cord and he discarded his garment on the floor.
"That's better," she smiled, and went right to work on Nick with a single purpose.
"Did you know that this is the only other part of you not tattooed?" she smiled and observed. He was once again amazed at how soft female rabbit paws were. Nick reeled in waves of emotions with her expert touch.
He managed to say, "Even an artist who's a nurse has no business giving me a tat there."
Judy laughed, massaging him more vigorously for emphasis, "Yes, dear, this is only for me."
Nick reflected that Judy had her own kind of artistry just for him.
"Much better!" she announced, quite satisfied with what she had done to her husband. She was not ashamed about the functions and responses of his body or hers.
"Untie me," she ordered.
"Gladly," he answered, removing and putting her coconut top aside. She raised her fore paws above her head and arched her back, fluffing her ears as she shook her upper torso.
"Free!" she uttered, happy to be showing off to her husband.
"Nice," Nick stated, getting to see once again what was cooped up inside her coconut shells.
She closed her eyes as Nick reached for her, waiting for the latest of his expert tender caresses. Nick focused on exciting her and yet not disturbing the beautiful henna designs that adorned her. But after a few minutes, Nick noticed that he had slightly smeared one of her favorite designs.
"Uh oh!" he uttered and quickly withdrew his touch.
Judy's eyes opened from her contented dreamy state and gazed where he had been caressing her. Her tattoo was only slightly marred, so she assured him, "Not to worry. It's OK, fox. It's still pretty. No one but you would see that one anyway."
She leaned across their cross-legged positions and kissed Nick intently to put him at ease, but while doing so, reflexively she reached for his neck, and disturbed another henna design on him.
"Oh dear," she fretted, seeing the smear on the nape of his neck and henna on her fingertips, and she admitted, "These are a lot more delicate than I thought."
Nick was ready to stop, and offered Carrots, "This is going to be too hard. Why don't we say 'goodnight' and try again tomorrow after they're really worn off."
Judy was determined to make this right for both of them, "No fox, I want you. I insisted we do this, and you need to finish now."
She was right; he did have a tremendously built up urge, so he acknowledged her offer, "That would be great, Carrots."
Judy really concentrated on how to have their fun without ruining their tattoos, and while she did, Nick admired her incredible topless figure with her authentic grass skirt. She did truly resemble an ancient pinniped female's way of only dressing from the waist down. She was simply astonishing as he adored his wife's native beauty.
Her eyes suddenly lit up and met his, "I have an idea, Nick!"
That phrase and tone always meant only one thing. He smiled and inferred, "A new game, Carrots?"
She grinned from ear to ear and gave him a seductive pose, "A loooove game, sweet cakes."
"My favorite!" Nick exclaimed.
"Don't I know that," she chuckled.
"So… what do you call this game?" he asked.
With conviction, Judy announced, "This is called: 'Follow the Leader'."
Nick smirked, "I know how to play this game. I did this as a kit."
With a deep sexy edge in her voice, Judy cautioned, "Not this way, lover. This is no kit's game."
"Rrrahr," he growled in pleasure and winked at his bride. She just snickered at his typical reaction.
First, she sat up ramrod straight while staying in her cross-legged stance. He matched her. Next, she put both paws behind her back and interlaced her own fingers so she could fight the urge to embrace him. Nick followed her action. Then, she carefully scooted on the sleeping mat up to - but not touching - his knees so she wouldn't mess up the tats on their kneecaps. The tattoos on their hindquarters seemed to be much thicker and more durable, and certainly not as detailed. They noticed that sitting on those throughout the entire dinner hadn't messed them up.
Judy leaned far forward to kiss him, jutted her jaw out at the same time puckering up her lips in a very exaggerated manner. Nick matched her lean, and her overly-puckered lips. He sucked in his cheeks and moved his lips like a salmon gulping water.
That made Judy double over and laugh out loud, "Eww, fox, Gross! Stop it! Who wants to kiss fish lips?"
"You do, Carrots," he responded, and presented her a much more desirable pucker that she couldn't resist.
She admitted, "Yes, fox, I do."
They leaned over again, met together in the middle, and their lips touched with that electric feeling that kissing always gave them, only more intensely this time. Viewed from the side, they looked like a 'mammal triangle'. He couldn't resist the desire to touch her bosom presented so invitingly before him, but she pushed his paws away. They parted lips a fraction of a centimeter, she shook her head, and scolded softly, "The #1 rule of this 'follow the leader' game is: no touching anything with tats, Nicholas P. Wilde. That includes my ti…"
He was very surprised by this rule – despite being very amused by her word play - and immediately interrupted, "Wait! What? No touching… anything with tats?"
"You heard me," she grinned. She knew he was completely baffled.
With a very quizzical look, Nick asked, "But thanks to Penny, that's everything. How will we…?
Judy returned the interruption with a comment dripping with innuendo, "We'll improvise. Besides, think, fox; not everything is covered. There are actually two places on us that don't have tats."
Nick was thoroughly confused, and so he blurted out, "But those are our…"
"Muzzles?" she interrupted with a wry grin and seemingly innocent comment simply to annoy him. It worked.
"I had somewhere else in mind," Nick's retorted, emphasizing his comment by lifting and looking under her grass skirt and at what was already prominently exposed on him.
Responding perfectly, Judy flashed her half-lidded wanton eyes, intentionally widened Nick's view under her grass skirt, and spoke in a sultry deep voice, "I know that, fox."
He grinned from ear to ear, even more anxious to proceed, "You think of the best games, Carrots."
Nick still wondered how they were going to accomplish their goal.
Keeping their paws and arms behind their backs, the pair concentrated on kissing. Their urge to cuddle was unbelievably strong, but they fought it, and only concentrated on everything they could possibly do while only sharing affection connected by their mouths and tongues. Nick and Judy discovered quickly, to their complete surprise and total delight, that their singular focus on kissing was truly exhilarating. With no other physical feeling than their oral pleasure, things got a very noisy and sloppy, interspersed lots of laughter and snickering.
In between their kisses, they teased each other about wanting to touch and caress each other in intimate places, and what sensual things they would have done to each other without the 'no touching' rule. It was immense fun for both.
After a particularly naughty exchange between husband and wife, Nick wiped his eyes from laughing so hard that they both cried, and chuckled, "Whoa, Carrots, it's like we're reading a cheap porn novel to each other."
Pretending to be deeply offended, Judy scowled, confronted her husband as if he had just been caught on an Internet smut site, "And how, exactly, would you know about that, Nicholas P. Wilde? Do you have something to tell your wife?"
"It's another deep dark secret from my wild and crazy days as a youth on the streets," he laughed.
"Well, OK, then. Just checking," Judy excused the behavior, laughing with her fox.
And then they went right back to it, getting more sleazy in the process.
But soon, devotion and adoration overtook humor and teasing. Their affection became much more intense and they fell silent, reveling in the exhilaration their kissing alone provided. After a particularly passionate moment, they separated, panting and gasping for air while exchanging exceedingly intense gazes of desire for each other. They couldn't resist each other any longer. Something had to happen.
Nick was first to comment, but barely able to speak, "Wow… Carrots. Who knew that kissing could be so… so incredible?"
Judy emphatically agreed, and was on the verge of total ecstasy, "I know right? But it's time. Are you ready?"
Nick nodded and asked in true confusion, "Yeah, but how, Carrots? If the rule is 'don't touch anything tattooed', we simply have to touch somewhere else first."
"Not true, fox. I'll give you a hint," she quipped.
Judy spun around, facing away from Nick, and got up on her paws and knees, flaunting the open gaps in her grass skirted hindquarters right in front of him. There wasn't any question what she had in mind, and it finally made sense to Nick that the 'savage way' would work. He instantly knew he could actually touch her in the only one non-tattooed place on her body without touching anywhere else first. Though given his current state of mind, he was dying to touch her everywhere.
"You are one clever bunny rabbit," he acknowledged to Judy. He started to rise to his knees also.
"Where there's a will there's a way, fox," she noted, proud of her plans.
But she noticed that in her new 'all fours position' that she brushed and disturbed a knee tattoo. The situation would only get worse when they coupled.
Before he could kneel behind her, Judy said, "Wait, Nick," inspected her scuffed knee tat, and complained, "Darn it! Another tat messed up a little."
If Nick knelt behind her, he'd completely destroy his knee tats too. She didn't want to give anyone any idea what they had been doing tonight. Ninety percent of animal intimate relations were still done the old fashioned way. Scuffed knee tattoos would be an unwanted giveaway of their private moments.
"Are you sure we can still do this, Carrots?" Nick asked with uncertainty, though at this late stage of their encounter, he desperately wanted to complete their passion.
Hearing the stress in his voice of his extreme desire for her, matched by her with equal need, Judy promised her husband, "Certainly. We're doing this if it's the last thing we ever do, fox."
Given the opportunity for a lighter moment, he teased, "At least I would die happy."
Amused with his snappy comment, but even further perplexed on how to solve their dilemma than before, especially with both of them right at the point of no return, she quipped, "Shut up, fox. I might oblige your request personally. Now let me think."
Both laughed, but it took a few anxious minutes before she directed, "Stand up, Nick."
Nick could see that his bride was still deep in thought, but didn't know that she was out of ideas, making things up as she went.
He thought he was thinking the same manner that she was, "Judy, I know that way really won't work."
Nick knew that everything about their favorite standing position demanded a great deal of touching, so much so that every time they'd made love that way, it literally involved Judy enveloping herself around him, including their most recent time in the shower.
Judy waved him off, "Shhh. I know that too. Be quiet. I'm still thinking…"
She was standing on the mat, but pondering what to do with such difficulty, she reached the point of pacing around the room with her paw under her chin. He felt helpless other than to give moral support. While she paced, he examined the mural of henna tattoos all over her body. Nearly every place that could be leaned on or bent, or used a support for Nick's affections had some kind of tattoo that would rub or smear, no matter how careful they were. The situation seemed impossible, and was hoping he could calm himself down if they determined there was no way to accomplish their goal.
Judy noticed his exasperation and that he was still keeping himself ready for her, so she approached Nick, turned her back to him, and requested, for his enjoyment in a difficult situation, "I haven't given up on this yet, fox. Unhook me, while I think of something else. Maybe I'll think better if I'm naked."
"You don't have to ask me that twice!" he joked, and realized what she did was totally for his benefit, but added, "But don't expect any help from me. Whenever you're naked, Carrots, I can barely think at all."
She turned, smiled, and pecked his muzzle, and teased, "Don't I know that, fox!"
Her grass skirt was carefully placed by Nick along the side of their sleeping pad next to his maro wrap. What remained was a perfect view of Judy's athletically sculpted hindquarters and lower body, fully decorated by henna designs. Each design artfully accentuated Judy's naturally exquisite multiple shades of gray fur, especially the darkest fur. Nick could really appreciate how Penny was a true artist, using every centimeter of mammal bodies as a perfect canvas. Removing Judy's grass skirt had an even more dramatic effect on Nick, which was intentional by his mate. He remained close behind her, and would be ready when she was. Because of height differential, he was actually positioned above her, but he knew that by bending his knees just a bit, everything would be a perfect match with her.
"So close…" he muttered, "Yet so far, Carrots. All I have to do is just bend."
"Wait! What? That's it! Bending! You brilliant fox, you!" she exclaimed, turned to face him, gave him a big smooch right on the end of his muzzle, and fought the urge to cup his cheeks in her paws and mess up yet another facial tattoo.
"Huh? What did I say?" Nick responded, utterly clueless.
She swiftly turned her back to him again. Smiling broadly, she declared, "How about a little yoga, Nick!"
"Yoga is anything but sexual Carrots," Nick complained, rolling his eyes. He hated the yoga sessions frequently done during the daily ZPD Physical Training classes.
"It is if you're naked, fox," she grinned, and using her best imitation of their ZPD calisthenics class yoga instructor's thick accent as she shouted, "And now, class, I vill demonstrate zee 'uttanasana' pose, which vill stretch and make more flexible zee Achilles, hamstring, and gluts."
"Oh brother," Nick mused and rolled his eyes, "Carrots, I thought this was 'follow the leader', not 'impressions'."
Ignoring his snarky comment, she demanded in the same tone as their instructor, as only that drill Sergeant could do, "Class! Assume zee position!"
From her standing position in front of but facing away from Nick, she bent over directly from her hips while keeping her legs absolutely straight and together in an authentic 'uttanasana' yoga pose. She placed her paw pads in front of her hind paws flat on the mat in front of her. It was a very deep bend exercise.
Nick was dumbstruck at the sight of his beloved Judy, completely naked and doubled over on their bed right in front of him. Her flexibility was incredible.
But Judy wasn't done yet. She modified her uttanasana pose, which was normally done with her ankles touching and fore paws flat on the floor next to her ankles. She moved her fore paw pads past shoulder width to steady herself better, and spread her still-straight legs in a wide stance behind her. Her head nearly touched the sleeping mat, but her ears flopped and folded on the sleeping mat.
Judy looked like a four legged gray and white spider with a white cottonball fluff on top.
But by modifying her position, every part of Judy's most feminine attributes were fully exposed to her husband by being completely in her bent over and spread stance. It was the perfect view for Nick. She knew that, and wiggled her tail at him enticingly to get her husband's attention.
But she already had his attention. The magnificent view of Judy staggered Nick. With only primal instincts working for Nick, he barked with total surprise and delight with his mate. He was so distracted that he lost his balance and caught himself on the only pawhold near the bed:
Judy's tail.
She shrieked, not only from the unexpected pain of his sudden grab and pull, but the burst of ecstasy she got from Nick's desperate grasp of the third most sexually charged area on her body. She wasn't sure whether to scream in pain or scream in delight. So she did both.
Nick caught himself with one paw on the mat, and steadied Judy, letting go of his grasp carefully. He cleared his throat, embarrassed at his savage outburst, tail pull, and near fall, "I'm so sorry Carrots. I didn't mean to hurt you. I apologize. I kinda lost myself there."
"It's OK, Nickie. It felt good more than it hurt. But don't rip my tail off – I need that!" she still felt the pain and thrills surging through her, but scolded him in jest, but like a good sport, she teased, "Besides, how many time to I have to tell you: no touching!"
"OK! OK!" he laughed. It was obvious she wasn't that hurt.
They resumed their love play again, and both knew they had their problem solved. She shouted to her husband, "And now, Class, assume zee position!"
Nick clearly knew that order didn't mean for him to do a standing deep knee bend. The last time he did that in class he pulled a hammie and limped for a week.
Instead, he bent his knees, closed the small gap between them, and the two lovers found themselves joined in their unique inverted vertical union instantly. Coupling with no distracting embrace was even more electric than kissing without hugging. Every single feeling of desire they had built up in the past hour with no way to release was concentrated in one intensely sensitive place.
Nick couldn't resist a series of barks of pleasure, and challenged her rule, "Uhhh, Carrots. Guess what? We're touching!"
Laughing at Nick's joke while reeling from unexpectedly intense new feelings through this excitingly different contact, she cooed, "Mmm. I can tell, Nickie. It's OK to touch me there. Very OK."
He didn't hesitate to begin. About mid way through their increasingly intense physical journey he asked one final question, "So who wins this game, Carrots?"
In between her gasps, she urgently coaxed him, "Keep going, fox! In a few more minutes we both win."
Judy was prophetic. So incredible were their new feelings - pent up for too long - that it only took a minute to reach an extraordinary new height of intimacy. The completely different geometry of their activity let them discover a whole new set of sensitive places. It was heavenly, and they let the rain forest behind them echo with their primal yelps and barks as a gentle late evening shower came down gently, blending their cries of happiness with soothing white noise. She could feel him finish and relax, but remained united.
While they calmed down, Judy opened her eyes and looked up lovingly at Nick from below. Judy's upside down visage made Nick want to laugh, while she asked, "How's that, dear?"
Looking down at her he blew her a kiss, "That was the most incredible game of follow the leader ever, Carrots."
She felt him start to separate, and she insisted, "No! Stay there."
Nick remarked, "You can't possibly be comfortable that way."
"As long as you're here with me, I am, Nickie," she said with genuine contentedness.
"OK," he stated, just as happy as she was, and he didn't want to disappoint her. They savored the minutes before he couldn't sustain their connection with some gentle pillow talk about the fun they just had.
She stood up, turned, stretched her back, and leaned in to smooch Nick. She bragged and stuck her tongue out at him, "I still did that to you without touching."
Nick nodded in agreement and complimented her creativity, "That was a great game, Carrots. 'Follow the lover'… err… I mean 'follow the leader'."
To Judy, that was the perfect inadvertent compliment, "You were right the first time, lover. 'Follow the Lover'. Nice. Now, fox, 'follow the lover' into our bathroom and let's get ready for bed."
Nick and Judy gently dabbed themselves clean, being extra careful to not disturb their tattoos. Further, they assisted each other to carefully lay down side by side, separated a little to protect their tats, but even without cuddling, they felt each other's emotional warmth. Side by side in the sleeping mat, they just enjoyed the tender moment and gazed at each other. Nick kissed her lightly.
She closed her eyes and let the kiss sink in, and remarked, "See? We did get it both ways – our tattoos are still lovely and you and I didn't have to abstain tonight. I know you would have for me. Thank you for thinking of me first, Nick, dear."
"You're welcome, but I really think that I'm the one that should say 'thank you', Judy."
They couldn't be any more satisfied with what was again a 'team effort' to fulfill their joint desire.
It was late, but they were still all keyed up from the brand new excitement they shared, and Judy thought of something she knew Nick would find funny, "Fox… there's no page in our manuals for what happened tonight."
Nick just laughed at his wife, "Well then, Carrots, maybe we should send a couple of pictures of us next time into the publisher. Page 251: 'Follow the Lover' by Nick and Judy Wilde!"
There was no page 251 in their "Joy of" manuals.
Judy laughed, "I don't think so, lover. I only want you to see my little gray body when we make love, fox."
Nick mused, "Well it's their loss, I guess."
Judy thought a few minutes, just gazing at her husband sweetly while he started to doze off, and asked tentatively, "Nickie? Are you awake?"
With a start, he asked with concern, "What is it Carrots? You OK? Is your tail hurting you?"
"I'm fine, dear. I'm just very happy. My tail's a little sore but it'll be OK… and… uh…"
She hesitated.
"What?" he encouraged, "Say it."
She smiled lovingly at him, "Do you think… umm… we can do that again some time?"
He smiled, very pleased she'd suggest that, "Anytime, Carrots. Just don't expect me to do 'Assume zee position'. I might not ever stand up straight again."
She laughed, "Of course, fox. I'll always 'assume zee position' for us. I think this way might even help us… you know… get pregnant."
"Because gravity works?" he noted.
"Yes!" she beamed, "You're absolutely right, Nick. You're a fast learner."
Both knew that would be their lovers' code word whenever they wanted to try their new method again. And it would be. And they also knew that they would have to suppress a snicker whenever the yoga instructor was leading the ZPD exercise days.
"And I learned something else today Carrots," he replied.
"And what would that be, fox?" Judy inquired with interest. There were at least a dozen new things he could have learned today.
"That naked yoga can be very sexual, you gorgeous lagomorph," he complimented.
She pecked him on the snout with her typical night time kiss, "You're sooo understanding, fox. G'night. Tomorrow night I want you take me to the falls. We'll wash these off in a really special way, if they're not gone already after our day at the beach tomorrow. 'Love you!"
Nick smiled back at his lifetime mate, "Good night, Carrots. I can't wait for both things to happen. 'Love you too."
They were exhausted from the day's many exciting moments, and they fell asleep quickly in the open air hut. The gentle rain actually helped them sleep. But not everyone on the coast was asleep.
…Downtown Atlantea...
At Bart's girlfriend's apartment, after a satisfyingly invigorating lovemaking session with her, she was asleep by his side. Bartholomew couldn't sleep. His flippers were still aching from traipsing non-stop through another two resorts, using the same tactics of intimidating the hotel staffs, and getting the same useless results. He needed progress. He carefully got out of bed.
"You OK?" she asked, awakened by his movement.
He lied, "I just needed to take a whizz, dear. I had too much nice wine with you."
"OK, but come back to bed. I need you next to me. I've missed you."
He realized that had missed her too, and that maybe he could settle down with this one, despite his life of crime. He'd have to tell her what she was getting mixed up with, and hoped she wouldn't dump him like all others had.
He dismissed that thought for now, concentrating on the task at paw. He quickly dug into his duffle bag while he sat on the toilet, and pulled out his satellite/submarine radio. The characteristic fan shape antenna deployed fast. The specialized waveform his radio emitted was designed to penetrate 400 meters of water and provide worldwide coverage all at once.
It was an engineering marvel, but it did have limitations. He reluctantly pushed the "locate" button, and although it would pulse the positions of all existing undercover Movement agents all over the world simultaneously, it would also momentarily light up every radio unit. If the agents were in a compromising place, it would risk their discovery.
Every agent showed up where they were supposed to be, but there was no sign of Hezekiah or his radio. It was like the new recruit completely disappeared off the face of the earth. But he looked further. Something blinked on Bart's agent locator screen Atlantea, then vanished.
He shook his radio, and thought, "Damn! Where the hell was that?"
Bart instantly got a couple of secure text complaints from his agents about bad timing of the intrusion.
Deep in a clump of reeds in the dense marsh trail and parklands at the Four Winds Hotel, the highly damaged radio that used to belong to Hezekiah that was smashed and hidden by Milo flickered only a moment and winked out.
