Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 11

Lupina was lying on her right side waiting for Ron to come to bed. He quietly shut the door to the bedroom and proceeded to get undressed. He saw Lupina watching him, so he peeled out of his clothes, and slipped into bed. Once he got under the covers, he turned over on his left side and faced her.

"Hi," he said softly, stroking the side of her muzzle gently.

Lupina kissed him and pulled Ron closer.

"Did you give Rosie her box of raisins?" Lupina asked quietly, lightly running her left hand down Ron's back.

"Yeah. I think she was surprised," he replied.

"Did she thank you for them?" Lupina asked.

"Yeah, and she thanked me for bringing her here, too," Ron replied.

"Oh? How so?" she enquired.

Ron was beginning to wonder where this particular line of questioning was going.

"Actually, I gave her a friendly hug, and a few pats on the back. I told her that she was safe and that everything was going to be okay. I gave her a little goodnight kiss on the cheek, and then came straight here...just in case you're wondering," he said.

Lupina looked Ron in the eyes and asked, "Do you like her?"

"She seems like a nice enough gal, why do you ask?" He replied, adding a question of his own.

"I was just wondering. Rosie seems to be quite taken by you for some reason...I've never seen her act like that around anyone before," Lupina replied.

"You mean when we first met her at the airport?" Ron asked, running his fingers into his mate's fur.

"Yeah."

"That was a rather--enthusiastic--greeting I must say. I've never had anyone do that before," Ron replied.

Lupina was quiet for a time, just running her free hand over her mate's body.

"What if...she can't ever find a mate of her own, like I did...?" she asked quietly.

Ron raised an eyebrow and asked, "You aren't suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?"

"I know it would just break Rosie's heart if she couldn't ever have little ones of her own, and since...," Lupina started to say.

"...And since I'm compatible with all G.E.L.F. females, would I...help her out, is that what you're getting at?" Ron interjected.

Lupina dropped her ears and said almost in a whisper, "Yeah."

Ron sighed and said, "Lupina, I don't have anything against Rosie. She's sweet, and nice looking, and possibly if I had met her first, then...well, who knows. The thing is, though, you and I...we're mates now, and I'm going to remain by your side unless you decide you don't want me anymore."

"Oh, Ron, I won't ever leave you!" she said emphatically, and then she rolled over on her back, pulling him with her so that he was on top. "I want to be with you more than anything! I-I'm just...wondering if...maybe...when we have a family of our own, if she never finds anyone...maybe...maybe we could make her a part of ours. Someday," Lupina said.

Ron kissed her tenderly for several moments, and then said, "Well, let's just hold that thought and wait and see how things go, okay? Now, as far as us having little ones of our own...I think we need to work on that."

He started kissing Lupina on her face, down her neck, and kept on going.

"Ooooh...you're gonna drive me nuts doing that! GASP! Ooo, yeah...do it!" she cried out softly.

"Hang on!*Mmmrf*" he smirked.

After about twenty minutes or so, they both laid there panting, though for different reasons. Ron had a grin on his face as he lay beside his mate, enjoying her scent, while Lupina didn't feel like moving at all.

"My body...feels...like...Jell-o!" she said, trying to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, Lupina turned her head and looked at him. Ron was still lying there on his side watching her.

"I don't know where you learned how to do that, and I probably don't want to know, but...geez...what you did...that's...that's...Ooo!" she said rolling her eyes.

"Heh, I take it that you like it," Ron grinned.

"Like it? I love it! I didn't think it was possible to feel like that!" Lupina said happily.

She raised herself up on her left elbow, and getting a smirk on her face, she shoved his left shoulder down on the bed and said, "Now it's your turn!"

Ron raised an eyebrow and said with a grin, "This could be interesting!"

Rosie turned the lights off in her room and slipped into bed. She lay there quietly for a moment, thinking about things.

"Geez, that was so close! I thought for sure he was going to kiss me on the lips! Oh, I wish he would have...I wanted him to, but I guess I know why he didn't. He really does love Lu, and he's just too much of a nice guy...but I like him, too! Aw, why can't I have someone like that to curl up with at night?"

Rosie reached over to the nightstand and picked up her phone. She went into the folder that had pictures in it, and pulled up the one of Ron that Lu had sent her. She looked at the photo and sighed. She lightly kissed the picture and whispered, "Goodnight, dream guy." She put the phone back on the nightstand and tried to go asleep. Just when she was drifting off, she heard Lupina's moans from across the hall. Rosie curled up on her right side and as she pulled one of the pillows next to her to snuggle with, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. The last thing she thought as she drifted off to sleep was, "I wish that was me..."

The next morning it was Monday. Ron had to get up and actually so did Lupina, since today was going to be her first day at work. She was cautiously excited, because she knew she had never really worked on computers before. Oh she knew how to fix issues with programs, and how to write scripts used to automate tasks and write data queries. Troubleshooting computer hardware was another story. During the past week, Ron had been teaching her some basics on how different things worked and what the symptoms could be if they were going bad.

Ron made his way into the kitchen and got the coffee going. While he was getting things out for breakfast, Lupina came in to get a cup. As usual, Ron already knew somehow that she was about to enter the room, and was waving at her when she came around the corner. Lupina put her arms around Ron from behind as he was working on fixing their morning meal, and laid her head against the back of his shoulder. She stayed there against his back until the coffeemaker was finished, and then she poured a mug full for each of them.

The scent of the food cooking ended up making its way into Rosie's room, waking her up.

"Geez, what time is it?" she muttered as she looked at the clock. "Six-thirty...ugh! What are they doing up so early for?" She looked at the time on her phone, which also gave the day and date. "Oh, yeah...it's Monday. I guess they gotta go to work. Geez, I wonder what I'm going to do all day. Well, I guess I'll get up and grab some coffee," she said to herself.

Rosie got up and slipped the robe on that she was given to wear, and padded to the kitchen. Lupina was listening to the local news and weather when Ron suddenly said, "Good morning Rosie." Lupina turned her head around just as she made her way into the kitchen. Rosie still wasn't fully awake yet, but she gave Lupina a friendly nuzzle, and then headed over towards the coffee pot. Ron got a mug down from the cabinet for her and filled it. While he was pouring, she leaned against him and laid her head against his shoulder for a moment. Ron put his arm around Rosie's shoulder and gave her a little hug. She looked up and smiled, though when she did, he saw the dried tears in the fur on her face.

"Sleep okay last night Rosie?" he asked quietly.

Lupina's ears perked up at Ron's question and she wondered why he asked.

Rosie smiled and said, "Yeah, I slept okay."

Ron slightly raised an eyebrow and gently held both of his hands on either side of her face, rubbing the tear-stained fur on her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" he asked with concern.

Lupina heard the tone of his voice and got up to see what might be wrong.

"Yeah, I guess it was just something in the air that made my eyes water. I'm okay," Rosie said, forcing herself to smile.

Ron could sense that wasn't the case, so he put his arms around her and held her for a bit. While he rested his hand on the back of Rosie's head, he looked to Lupina and ever so slightly, shook his head once to indicate that something wasn't right. At first, Rosie was a little stiff, but then she relaxed after a few seconds. The cooking food required his attention so he had to let go of Rosie and get back to it. Lupina held her friend for a bit while Ron was getting breakfast dished up and then led her back to the table.

"Rosie, something's bothering you, I know it. Want to tell me about it?" Lupina asked, putting her hand on Rosie's arm.

"I'm okay, Lu...it's...nothin'," Rosie said.

Lupina tilted her face down a bit and her ears were erect and forward, essentially giving her friend "the stare", although her eyes were not quite as intense. Rosie looked up and saw the way Lupina was looking at her, and she quickly looked away. She didn't like it whenever Lupina did that, because she couldn't seem to keep from blurting out whatever was on her mind.

"Oh, come on, Lu, don't look at me like that...I'm okay. I...just...gotta...sort somethin' out. Oh, geez, Lu! Stop with the eyes already!"

Lupina felt Ron's hand on her shoulder.

Breakfast is ready, dear," he said.

Lupina put her hand on his and looked up to meet his eyes. He made a little kissing gesture and set one of the serving bowls that had the corned beef hash on the table. Lupina got up and got the plates and such out, and set the table while Ron was finishing cooking the scrambled eggs. When the eggs were ready, Ron quickly put some things back into the refrigerator, and then pulled out a container of fruit to set on the table. Once everything was on the table, he sat down.

"That smells really good," Rosie said as she took a helping of each.

"Yeah, it sure does," Lupina agreed.

While they were all enjoying their food, Ron asked, "What do you want to do today, Rosie? Do you want to just hang out here, or do you want to come into town with us today?"

Looking from one to the other, she replied, "I think I'll stay here today and get rested up. It's going to take me a little while to get used to the time difference."

"Ah, the ol' "jet lag" thing, eh?" Ron asked with a grin.

"Yeah, something like that," she agreed.

"Well, there's plenty to keep yourself occupied with if you want. I have books, movies, TV, music, and games, so you might find something you like. I'll show you before we leave how to use the media system--it's pretty easy," Ron said.

"Okay, that'd be nice," Rosie said.

When they were finished with breakfast, Ron got up and got a refill on his coffee. Lupina picked up the plates and took them to the sink to wash.

"Hey, Lu...I can do those for you guys. It'd give me a little something to do," Rosie offered.

"Okay, if you want to, that's fine," Lupina agreed.

"Rosie, when you get hungry later, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, except for the container with the baby spinach leaves and chopped apples--that's for J.D.," Ron said. "Oh, and if you go outside, I'd stay in sight of the house until you get familiar with the place. It'd be really easy to get lost in the forest, and it wouldn't be cool to run into a bear."

"I think I could make a critter think twice about chasing me," Rosie said with a grin.

"Well, maybe so...if you got a chance to," Ron partially agreed. "There's also Atka and his pack--I'm not sure if they'll take to you or not."

"Are those the wolves Lu told me about?" Rosie asked.

"Yep," Ron replied.

"Lu's my best friend, and she's a wolf...why would they bother me?" she asked.

"That's a bit different, Rosie. Besides, there's something you need to know about wolves," he replied, and as he leaned down from behind Rosie, getting his face next to hers, he said a bit more quietly, "they eat skunks." Before Rosie could react, Ron licked Rosie behind her ear and smacked his lips a few times. Rosie's eyes widened in surprise at what he just did, and then he got a wicked grin on his face and said, "Mmm, tastes like chicken." Lupina couldn't keep from laughing at Rosie's reaction. When Rosie looked up at Ron, he winked and made a little kissing gesture--it took a moment for it to sink in that he was teasing her. Rosie got a bit flustered--she wasn't used to being on the receiving end of this particular kind of teasing, even though she actually enjoyed it.

"Ooo...you...oh, my...Lu, he...oh!" was all that she could say, looking both embarrassed and hopeful when she thought of the double entendre in the tease.

When they were just about to step into the shower, Lupina quipped, "You're a sneaky thing, you know that? I don't think she was expecting to get teased like that!"

Ron grinned as the warm water began to soak them down.

"Aaaah, nothing like a nice, warm shower to get you going in the morning!" Lupina said, as she enjoyed the feeling of the water running through her fur. "Soap me up, baby," she added once she was thoroughly soaked.

Ron grabbed the bar of homemade shampoo/soap and asked, "Any place in particular?"

It was Lupina's turn to grin.

"Wherever you want to start," she said sweetly.

As he was lathering her up, Ron said, "You know...if we're not careful...things could get rather...slippery."

"You think?" Lupina asked with a look of mischief in her eye.

"Oh yeah, most certainly," he grinned.

"Like you said, nothing like a little good, clean fun!" Lupina said as they stepped out of the shower after being air dried by the blowers.

"Now that's the best way to start your day!" Ron said reaching for the brush.

He brushed his mate's fur and got it looking nice and smooth, before parting and combing out his own long hair and beard.

As they were getting dressed, Lupina asked, "Ron, is there someplace that does custom tailoring in town? I'm going to need some extra clothes before long, and...well, human pants and so forth don't really fit someone with a tail."

"I see what you mean," he replied as he watched Lupina button the tab on the back of her pants that went over the top of her tail. "There should be someone in town that could modify some clothing for you. I'll do some checking around to see."

"Thanks. The hard part is going to be finding underwear," she added.

"Hmm. I guess that might be a problem, trying to find custom tailored skivvies. I suppose we could write the clothing makers and ask if they could develop a line of clothing for G.E.L.F.s," Ron said.

"But that might take a long time for them to do that, if they'll do it," Lupina said.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Well, I guess we could do some shopping for fabric and see if we can hand make some, using what you have as a pattern. I'm sure Rosie is going to need some, too," Ron suggested.

"Ah, can't wait to get a hold of her undies now, eh?" Lupina teased, playfully tossing a pair of socks at Ron. "Dirty ol' man!" she said giggling and sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Hey, I took a shower this morning!" Ron chuckled.

"Yeah, I know you did," she said, wiggling her hips as she bent down to pick up one of the special sneakers made for her digitigrade feet.

"Heh, keep that up, luv, and we're going to be late," Ron quipped, trying to keep his mind on getting ready...though it was proving to be rather difficult.

"You just wait until around February, dear...you might not get out of the house for a whole month!" she exclaimed.

"Hmm, I can just imagine what my doctor is going to think when I go in for a checkup," Ron chuckled. 'Mr. Daugherty, have you been taking any over-the-counter medications for your condition?' And I'll say, 'Doc, I've been taking Lupina six, seven times a day!' My doctor will say, 'I'm not familiar with that drug.' Then I'll say, 'That ain't a drug, doc, that's my mate!'"

Lupina laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, and come spring, it'll be Rosie's turn, and I hear skunks can get rather...energetic when it comes to mating season," Lupina added with a wicked grin.

Ron winced and asked rhetorically, "Why do I suddenly have the feeling that I'm going to need multiple skin grafts?"

Before leaving for work, Ron went out to feed J.D., who was patiently waiting for his morning ration of baby spinach leaves and chopped apple. Rosie was amazed at how the large, and well-armed, rodent acted with Ron. She watched as they both went down the stairs of the deck and went over to the woodpile. While Ron was getting a load of wood to bring in, J.D. was right there snooping and occasionally finding something to munch on. After bringing the wood in, Ron showed Rosie how to find and select movies and music on the media system, and explained the controls. Ron agreed with Lupina and told Rosie that if she wanted to, she could use the shower in the master bathroom, and they showed her how to use the controls. Rosie thought it was the greatest thing ever made...right after the invention of raisins.

After Ron and Lupina left for work, Rosie washed the dishes, pans, and utensils from breakfast, putting them in the dish drainer to dry. She fixed herself another cup of coffee, and then went back to her room. Rosie contemplated going back to bed for a little while, but then decided to take up the offer to use the special shower. Since she still had not unpacked her suitcases, she got some clean clothes out of them and a few other things that she would need, and hesitantly went into the master bedroom.

"Geez that sure is a huge bed!" she said aloud to herself. "I wonder what it would be like to sleep in. I've never been on a waterbed before." Rosie stepped up to the bed and slowly stuck her hand under the upside down sheepskin rug that covered the bed. "Ooo...that's nice and warm!" she said, admiring the softness of the thick wool that was nearly the color of her own white fur. Rosie pushed down on the mattress a few times just to see if it was like how Lupina explained it to her one time. "Geez, that must take some gettin' used to!" she exclaimed. Rosie eyed the bed for a little longer, thinking a few naughty thoughts before shaking her head, saying to herself, "Rosie ol' gal, that's probably one dream that just ain't gonna come true."

After figuring out the touch controls for the shower, Rosie thoroughly enjoyed it, and absolutely loved the blow-dry system. "Yeah, Lu was right...this thing seems like it was made of us G.E.L.F.s!" she said as the warm, forced air blew her fur dry much more quickly than if she used a hand-held dryer. Using some tissue, she made sure to remove any fur of hers from the drain and tossed it into the little trash can by the sink. Rosie carefully brushed her fur out and looked herself over in the full-length mirror on the wall. She noticed that her fur was getting longer and thicker, no doubt her winter coat was growing in. It still looked a bit dull, though whatever was in that shampoo bar, it seemed to make her fur a little smoother and shinier. "Geez, if Ron keeps feeding me like he has so far, the ol' fur will be sleek and sexy again in no time," she said as she admired her appearance in the mirror. The longer she looked at herself, though, Rosie's ears and tail dropped, and she thought it was pointless to think that anyone was going to want to be with her. "From what Lu told me, she's the only one of our kind that she's seen up here so far, and humans think just because I'm a skunk that I'll smell like spray, or got rabies or somethin' else stupid. I know Lu's had a hard enough time, well, until she met Ron, anyway." With shoulders slumped, she gathered up her stuff and walked out of the master bathroom, not bothering to put anything on since she was going to be the only one in the house for several hours. As she was passing by the bed, she stopped and looked at it again. Rosie got to thinking about earlier, when Ron had teased her. She absentmindedly rubbed the place behind her ear when he licked her at, and then her ears perked up a bit. "I know he was just yankin' my tail and all, but...geez, I don't think he would have done that if he didn't like me...at least a little. He's not the mean type and, I don't know, maybe he does kinda like me. Ooo, I wouldn't mind being his mate...if he wasn't already taken. Hmm...I wonder...I wonder if he'd mind...," she thought, eyeing the bed thoughtfully. "Maybe just for a little bit...," she said, putting her stuff down in one of the chairs. Rosie pulled the covers back on the big waterbed on his side of it, and tried to slip in as she would a regular bed...and rather unglamorously discovered that a waterbed was a whole different critter, as far as getting into. Eventually, though, she managed to get herself situated and pulled the heavy covers over her. "Ya know, Lu's right, this is rather comfy! Ooo...I can smell his scent on the pillow. Mmmrrrr!" Rosie soon fell fast asleep with a smile on her face.

Ron and Lupina picked Rob up at his home and the three of them rode together into work. As they chitchatted on the way into town, Rob asked how Rosie was settling in.

"She's taking it easy today," Lupina said, "I think going through four time zones and all of the excitement was a bit much for her."

"I can understand that," Rob agreed. "How many time zones have we crossed over the years?" Rob asked Ron with a chuckle.

Ron eyed Rob and said, "It's too early in the day to even begin to think about that," and then took another swig of coffee from his travel mug.

When they got to town, Ron stopped to get gas along the way to the shop. When he pulled into his parking space at the back of the shop, it was 09:15 a.m., and there were already a few vehicles in the lot. They belonged to the employees who worked on the coffee shop side of the business who opened up their side early in the morning to sell coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries. On the computer side of the business, Katie was already at her desk behind the counter sorting the mail that came Saturday. While Ron checked on things in the shop area, seeing what came in while they were gone, and also getting Lupina situated, Rob went up front to check on things and also to get some hot tea and a something to munch on.

"Hi Katie, how was your weekend?" he asked.

"Oh, 'morning Rob. We took the kids to Denali National Park Saturday and made a day of it," Katie replied.

"That's nice, I bet they enjoyed that," Rob said.

"Yeah, they did. How was your trip to Texas?" she asked politely.

"We had a nice flight down, met Lupina's friend at the airport in Dallas, and on the way back we stopped in Seattle and ate at the Space Needle. While we were over the ocean on the way back, we answered a distress call from a fishing boat that was having engine trouble. When we found them, we sent their location to the Coast Guard and they went to pick them up," Rob explained.

"Well that was mighty nice of you guys to help those folks out like that. I guess they were lucky you just happened to be buzzing by," Katie said.

"Thanks, we did what we could. Say, anything interesting in the mail?" Rob asked.

"Um, usual stuff, though there's something here from the lawyers," Katie said, handing an envelope to Rob from the law office the business has on retainer.

"Ok, thanks Katie. I can probably guess what this might be about," Rob said shaking his head as he took the letter.

Ron showed Lupina around the shop area, explaining where all of the supplies were, how the inventory system worked, how to clock in and out on the computer, what the procedure was for ordering parts, and how to keep track of what she worked on. Lupina spent the rest of the morning with Carla, the H.R. manager, filling out various forms, watching training videos, and going over the employee manual. Ron jokingly said that they might have to consider changing Carla's title from Human Resource manager to Humanoid Resource manager.

"It'd be my luck that if you did that, we'd have little gray-skinned guys with big heads wanting to apply," she said, referring to various sci-fi shows. "How about if we just make it Personnel Specialist?" she asked with a grin.

"Hmm...works for me. I'll run it by Rob and see what he thinks--if he likes it, too, then we'll change it. Cool?" Ron said.

"Cool," Carla agreed.

"Hey Ron, got a minute?" Rob asked his friend who was looking at a new parts catalog in his office.

"Sure, what's up?" Ron asked, putting the catalog down and reaching for his coffee mug.

"We got a letter from the 'legal beagles'...about the incident with Blackburn.

"Now what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, just they sent a copy of the TRO[1] they got against those fools, and also a copy of when the hearing is going to be," Rob explained as he handed the information to Ron so that he could look at it.

"Good, I hope the bloody eejits get slammed hard this time. Personally, I'd like to tape a few bottles of gin to his carcass and airdrop his butt into Mt. Kilauea, but that'd be too quick. Nah, maybe it'd be better to just stick his tail in one of the old Soviet gulags in Siberia and let him rot there. That should be a far enough out-of-the-way place for him," Ron said, looking over the documents.

"That would be a waste of good gin," Rob chuckled.

"Yeah, but you gotta give Kilauea something nice if you expect her to deal with a scumbag like Blackburn," Ron smirked.

"True," Rob agreed shaking his head.

As soon as noon rolled around, Ron and Lupina left the shop to take their lunch break. They went to a little sandwich and had turkey and ham Panini, and after eating Ron surprised Lupina by taking her into a jewelry shop. They browsed around looking at different pieces, such as necklaces, pins, and even rings. He took careful note of what she seemed interested in and what she didn't. Ron talked Lupina into finding out what her ring sizes were, so the sales clerk tried various sizing rings on all of her fingers. Because of the shape of her fingers, being somewhat wider, shorter, and more oval than that of a human female (and also covered with fur), any rings would have to be custom made for her. After various measurements were taken, Ron talked privately with the clerk while Lupina continued to look around. Ron quietly purchased a rather simple necklace for day-to-day wear that he would give her that day, and a nice broach that he wanted to give her for the upcoming holidays, which he would come by later to pick up. While he was at it, Ron put a down payment on a special, custom-made ring.

After lunch, Ron gave Lupina her first assignment as a tech--she was to custom build a computer. After receiving a list of what the computer was expected to be used for, she had to research the parts and get prices for three different builds. Once approved, she would have to order the necessary parts, and then assemble them when they all arrived. After the computer is finished, she then has to install the operating system, drivers, and other software needed. She spent the rest of the afternoon becoming familiar with the various technologies used in motherboards, video cards, hard drives, and so forth, before looking up prices. By the end of her first day at work, she had her list of parts for three different builds--a lower, medium, and higher end version that would serve the use the computer is intended for. The lower end version would fit the minimum requirements; the medium would be slightly more powerful and have room to expand; the higher end version would have power to spare. Ron and Rob both were suitably impressed with Lupina's thoroughness and reasoning for her selection of parts. Ron set the lists aside for the day and they clocked out to go home. Tomorrow she will order the parts from the suppliers.

Rosie slept on Ron's side of the big, king-sized waterbed until noon, when her stomach decided it was time to get up and put something in it. After taking a few tries to get up out of the bed, she managed to sit on the padded edge for a little bit until she was sure she had the cobwebs shook out. Rosie looked pensively at the now empty bed, and wished that she hadn't been the only one in it. After she got on her feet, she carefully made the bed, collected her things from the chair, and took them back to her room where she brushed her fur again and got dressed.

"Well, I guess I'll fix something to eat. Let's see what there is," she said aloud as she poked her head into the refrigerator. Rosie eventually decided upon making a sandwich using some sliced smoked turkey, cheese, tomato, and alfalfa spouts, with a little mayo. When she had her sandwich ready, Rosie put on some music and listened to it while eating, looking out the big windows to the trees beyond. "Sure is a pretty sight," she said as she watched some birds flutter around on the railing of the deck. "Sure looks nicer than that nasty ol' city and not so dang hot, either," she mused. After lunch, she put things away and cleaned up, poured herself a cup of coffee, and then stepped out onto the deck to enjoy some fresh air. The air was chilly, between two and three degrees Celsius, so she wore a light jacket. Rosie leaned against the rail and slowly sipped her coffee while enjoying the view.

When her mug was about half empty, she noticed something a little to her right that she hadn't spotted before. Rosie discovered that she wasn't the only one out there. The sight of the figure sitting nearly motionless near the trees, staring intently at her, made her feel uneasy for some reason. Rosie turned her head for only a moment and looked at the door, trying to figure how quickly she could make into the house. When she turned her head back to see the one lone figure watching her, it was gone. Quickly she scanned the area, trying to see if she could see the figure again, but didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary. "Geez, maybe I'm just seeing things, letting my imagination get the best of me," she muttered. After a few more moments, she let out a sigh and relaxed a little, and took another sip of her coffee. In the time it took for her to take her drink and lower the mug again, the figure was back...only it wasn't alone. There were two now, sitting quietly, nearly motionless, staring intently. Rosie felt a certain amount of panic starting to rise in the pit of her stomach. "Oh GEEZ, there's two of them!" she whispered to herself. "I...think I'd better...go back...inside," she said, feeling nervous for some unknown reason. Rosie blinked her eyes, and...they were gone. It was as if the two figures had simply not been there at all. "Okay, this is getting downright spooky! Rosie ol' gal, you'd better haul tail back inside and lock the door," she said, trying to fight the unease she felt. She took another quick look around and didn't see anything else, so she started backing towards the door, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings. When she made it to the door, she fumbled nervously with the handle a bit...and then a sudden movement to her right caught her attention. Instantly she looked and saw standing on the other side of the drive, someone else looking intently at her, that was different from the other two. This one was all white, except for a pair of intense amber eyes and a black nose that was sniffing the air. "Oh GEEZ!!!" she said under her breath. Rosie's sensitive ears heard something off to her left, which caused her to look quickly in that direction. She didn't realize there were steps on the other side of the deck, until she heard clawed feet come up them and stop.

On the other side of the deck, less than four meters away, stood a wolf.

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[1] TRO - Temporary Restraining Order