Meow meow hold me tight.

Meow meow safe inside.

Meow meow you are loved tonight.

You are safe in here, by my side. You are loved tonight.

Lullaby of the Common Cat Beast- Folk.

{Fastos Gon Vestos. Quick}

It was a huge shock to me that Clover was awake. She turned out to be a lovely woman like most of the bunny folk I knew. There were a few in the war, but most were timid and agreeable, and she was an outstanding example of her people. That and she had a cute laugh. The next few days we got to know each other, and I was able to heal her feet and she was starting to learn to walk again. This did make things a bit more awkward between us when I had to help her clean up or use the bathroom. She still needed help until she got stronger. Little bunny was a fighter and worked her tiny ass off every day. Now that she was healed, I spent more time working on the farm and started working on an expansion to the cabin. The girls needed their own room. That and I bet Betty wanted her bed back. I should have it done by the end of fall if not sooner. Willow had the idea of having Betty drag the logs I cut and that made things easier. It was the start of fall and I had just brought one log back to the house and Clover was standing by the door looking out at me. Why did she bite her lip? Was she okay? Maybe she felt awkward by the fact that I took off my shirt. It was still slightly hot, and I didn’t want to stain it.

“You okay, Darlin?” I put the log down and walked up to her wiping my brow with a bit of cloth I had in my back pocket. She just looked up and down at me slowly. Was she going to faint? “Darlin?” I asked her. She shook and her eyes jumped up to mine, a slight blush on her face. “You feelin okay?” I was getting worried.

“Ya, ya, yes.” She said shaking lightly. “We need to, ummm talk?” She had raised up the last word making it sound like a question.

“Let me put a shirt on and wash up and we can talk all you like.” I said with a well-meaning smile. Her eyes dipped down my body and she quickly turned to go inside. Poor lass had only been walking for a few weeks. Walking in, clean and feeling a bit fresher, I turned to see her sitting on the bed, she was still wearing one of my shirts as a gown. “Let’s have it out. What do you need?” I said sitting on a stool. Her face still looked red, and she looked at the ground.

“I umm know it’s not my place,” Her voice was so soft I struggled to hear her. “We need clothes. I could ummm, turn some of your shirts into something, but it may ummm be rude?” I leaned back and laughed hard making her jump.

“If that is what you need, why don’t I run into town and get you some cloth. I would get you clothes, but I may get the wrong size.” I said frowning at the last part. Women’s clothes were not easy to tell at a glance.

“Could you also get supplies we need?” She said hiding behind her fingers. It was like she wanted to pull down her ears, but her hands weren’t working fully yet.

“Make me a list and I’ll do what you need. It will take a month and a half to make the walk though. Will you both be safe that long?”

“Can you, ummm read?” Why did she look embarrassed as she asked?

“Yes ma’am.” I said with pride. She nodded and looked out the window smiling.

Two days later, I had my sled packed up with furs and extra things. Willow was hugging me hard. “Now Willow, you follow any orders Mama gives you, got me?” Her collar glowed and she nodded giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Betty keep them safe.” I said to the dire wolf. She nodded and jumped up licking my other cheek. I growled as I wiped my face. Then I turned to Clover who had a red face. Maybe she was pushing herself too hard. “You stay safe Darlin.” I said ducking my head. She bowed to me and nearly fell. I caught her and she looked up at me turning even more red almost reaching the tips of her ears. Did I need to help her back to bed?

“Come back to us, please.” She said looking at the ground.

“Will do Darlin.” I said touching her cheek like I did anytime I worked on her.

Three weeks later I was in town selling furs and some medical herbs I found along the path. It was a nice trip and I only dealt with a pack of goblins who ran away when I took the leader’s eyes. I did have to put the poor lad out if his suffering, but it was mostly a safe trip. The leather shop trying to swindle me did sour my mood. I may have to heal some to make up the loss. I ended up replacing two of his missing fingers to get a fair price. Pass that I loaded up on spices and sugar that Clover had asked for before heading to the tailor shop. Now I was dealing with a stern older woman who crowed about the quality of her cloth.

“My bolts are clearly worth seven silver each.” She said tilting her nose up at me.

“Seven silver? You know it ain’t worth five coppers.” I turned to leave hoping to find someone honest.

“I could go as low as one sliver a bolt and not a copper less.” I stopped and turned to her with a smile.

“And iffen I take away those wrinkles, how much then?” She looked at me stunned.

“You can do that?”

“Iffen I can?” She was an older woman and had crow's feet and a few wrinkles gathered around her face and hands. She looked at me closely and frowned before leaning into whisper.

“Fifteen copper, but not unless I’m happy.” I smiled and soon left with a much younger looking tailor and a few bolts of fabric under a tarp made of a fur I didn’t want to sell. I made a few more stops and made my way back home, a slight smile on my face. Hopefully I picked out some good things for the women.

{Clover Cottontail}

She had been waiting for him. This place was safe but didn’t feel right without him here. He was just so big that it made her feel safe. They had been alone for the past month and a half, and he should be home soon. That big brute of a dog liked to steal Clover’s cane every time she put it down and tried to walk without it. This made Willow laugh and despite how much Clover disliked it, it made her laugh too. She had taken to swiping at the wolf whenever it ran by. She swore the wolf smiled every time she missed. Clover had taken to caring for the crops and checking them daily. She was walking through them now looking over a fresh batch of tomatoes that had come in. In just a few more days, they should be ready to pick. Betty barked and Willow called out running past the farm on Betty’s back. “Daddy’s home.” She called out, joy filling Clover’s heart. He was back and the day suddenly felt brighter. She would never say it, but she missed him on a deep level. Most of all she missed the way he stroked her cheek. He waved at them, calling out. She used the cane and walked up to him, leaning on it slightly. Her legs weren’t strong enough yet and still hurt at times. “Daddy, you’re home,” Willow said, jumping off Betty and into his huge arms. She kissed his cheek and he chuckled. Clover had missed that laugh and wondered if he would laugh if she did that. She had to shake her head as she walked up to him.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I’m happy to see you too, Darlin,” he said, giving Willow a big hug. Clover took a deep breath and swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Do I, ummm get a,” She was losing her nerve, and her voice was so soft. “Hug too?” She nearly passed out, her was heart beating so fast. He laughed and pulled her into a hug with Willow and him. He needed to clean up, but still this felt so nice. She reached as far as she could around his huge frame and inwardly hummed. Then she realized what she was doing and quickly jumped back blushing madly.

“You okay Darlin?” He said raising his hand and a light green glow fell over her. “You seem fine.” She just looked at the ground and nodded. He smiled and pulled the sled to the cabin as Willow ride on his shoulder and Betty ran around yipping. It looked like all three were happy to have him home. He stood proudly and pulled back the fur over the bundle. Willow and Betty didn’t look impressed, but clover was very happy. Spices, bolts of cloth and a strange bundle wrapped in burlap. He grabbed the bundle and opened it slowly. “Willow, I got somethin for you,” he said, pulling out a cloth doll of a little human girl. Willow took it and smiled hugging it close. “Clover, can you add ears and a tail to it?” Clover just nodded and kept blushing. Why was he being so nice to them? It made her want to cry, kiss him, or both. “I have somethin for you too.” He said looking down at Clover. He pulled in a large white hat. “You may need to cut holes for the ears, but this should keep the sun off your face.” She reached up and took it. It was made of a stiff starched cloth and had a blue ribbon around the brim giving it a slight tail. Inside was soft fabric and could easily be warn. He always seemed to be thinking of them. “I also have a bottle of red wine for the cold nights.” He held up a bottle and Willow wrinkled her nose.

“No angry juice.” Her ears were down and lay back as her tail stiffened.

“No Darlin, this is not angry juice. This is for adults like angry juice, but it will just turn my face slightly red and make me laugh. It should do the same for your Mama.” He looked over at Clover uncertain.

“I’m ummm, a happy drunk,” she said, her voice low as she blushed madly. Could she trust herself or him if she drank that? She leaned down and touched the fabric to distract herself. The fabric was common, but there was enough for her to make several outfits for her and Willow. She would need to spend time working on them. One bolt stood out and it was a soft white. It was a fine linen, almost silk like. “This is, ummm nice?” she said pinching the fabric and running her other hand under it.

“I thought you and this little one could use some night clothes.” He said scratching his chin and blushing slightly. Was he hoping she would make something risqué for her to wear? Her face went beet red all the way to her ears. For now, she would have to make something modest. She might be able to use this fabric to make some underwear for the two of them. Why did the thought of standing in front of him dressed only in that come to her mind? She never acted like this before.

{Fastos Gon Vestos. Quick}

The weeks passed and fall turned into winter. I had added a room onto the house and Willow and Betty took it over. Clover asked to stay in the same room as me and I made sure the wolf and wolf girl had their own bed. On my bad nights, I would sometimes wake to hear Clover singing to me. It made those nights a lot easier. The spices I bought made Mama Meals a lot better too. No clue why I never added spices before, maybe my time in the army numbed me and made it to where food was just food. Get it down, get it in and keep moving. I didn’t tell them about that time and never would. It was something that needed to stay in the past. Willow was now going out with me every day to hunt and had a thick coat of furs to match mine. The wildlife in the area was easier to track in the snow and the sled moved better. Clover asked to stay inside and worked hard to make blankets and clothes for all three of us. She liked to keep busy and loved to see us trying on the new clothes. I had a large number of hides curing in a small smoke house I had made along with some of the meat I was turning into jerky. Willow and Betty loved the jerky, and I often found the wolf girl sneaking in to steal some of the hanging meat. I would half heartily scold her. She would cheat and hug me, tears in her eyes. I was a push over for that little girl. We were out hunting, and Willow looked up, her ears were up and twisting this way and that.

“No game, storm coming.” We were a ways away from the house and would need to make our way back soon.

“I know Darlin. We should call it.” Suddenly I stopped as my life skill triggered. “Stop. Hide.” I growled as I looked around. Something was coming and it was big. The ground shook and I looked over to see Willow and Betty dig into the snow. I scooped it over them and rolled around in it, letting it stick to my furs before laying around a tree. If I was lucky, I would just look like a bush. It came closer and I saw a huge giant elk stomp around the forest. Each leg was the size of a redwood, and it towered above us. Thank all the gods that it was an elk. Tree like antlers branched up and each point turned into a tree. It was like the animal was part tree. I looked up to see black eyes looking around. It had to be close to fifty feet tall and just slowly moved through the area. If we didn’t do anything we should be safe. I watched it pass and moved to Willow. She was shaking and cold. I pumped magic into her and opened my coat hugging her close. We got lucky, we got so lucky. She clawed at my chest and started crying. “I know Darlin, that was scary. You did a good job though. You did right and you are here with me.” Betty dug her way out and shook off the snow. She whimpered and put her nose to my chest where Willow was. “She will be okay, just a bit scared.” The wolf nodded and I took them both back home. Clover ran to me and took Willow who was still shaking and crying.

“What happened?”

“Elk Lord came through the area. He was a big feller too.” She took Willow to Clover’s bed and just held her rocking slightly.

“My poor darling, you must have been so scared.” Willow’s sobs slowed as she clung to clover.

“Daddy couldn’t bury himself.” she sobbed. I sat on the bed next to Clover and reached out wrapping both in a hug. I almost pulled away as Clover stiffened but leaned into me quickly. I rocked with them and started humming the bunny lullaby. Clover joined in and started singing and I joined her.

“Dry your eyes my little bunny babe.” we sung together. “Dry your eyes my little bunny babe.” Clover rested her head on my shoulder and Willow closed her eyes. Betty jumped on the bed and lay behind me making this a big family hug. “Can’t you see that I am here, there’s nothing for you to fear. So, dry your eyes my little bunny babe.” I couldn’t help myself and leaned over and kissed the top of Willow’s head and turned to Clover. Willow had fallen asleep in her arms, and I smiled as I looked into Clover’s eyes. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed me softly. I gave her a squeeze around the middle and she sighed as she went back to singing. After a long while, she stood, putting Willow against Betty, pulling a blanket over the sleeping girl. She had become the young girl’s mother. It warmed my heart and soul.

“I will sleep in her room tonight.” Clover said.

“I can sleep in there; you take my bed.” I whispered back getting to my feet. Clover bit her lip, looked at the ground, and nodded. I kissed the top of her head softly and removed my boots. I made sure the fire was going and would last the night before heading to bed.