cars gone the flowers perfume the air with a scent out of this world.
More shifters are spread throughout the country, but they seem to congregate here. I guess that's the draw of magic and of your own kind—it's always better to feel persecuted in company than alone.
They live in the crescent, each house a semi-detached. The gardens behind are about a hundred feet long, but part of the deal is that nobody encloses the rear of their property, just the front. The result is a massive sweeping expanse of land used to grow crops, house animals, butcher, make clothes, process skins and anything else they can think of to be as self-sufficient as possible—with the current explosion in population they are doing damn fine business.
Without knowing where Pumi lived, this seemed like as good a place as any to start the search. Breathing deep of the perfumed air, I wandered around the whole of the crescent on the road side, admiring the floral displays in the small front gardens, each home immaculate, windows sparkling, not a weed in sight, cars parked up, no longer used.
I nodded at familiar faces, smiled and waved, acting casual and trying not to get angry at the frowns some greeted me with. After all, I was a Justice on their territory and usually that meant only one thing—one of them was in serious trouble. Knowing I would end up in trouble myself if I didn't get down to business, I stepped across a cattle grid and entered the weird farm.
And nearly immediately got trampled by a bloody huge bull.
"Whoa there, Bruce," yelled Tantus Crane, a scrawny guy in his early forties, all wiry muscle and rosy farm cheeks. He's also a goat shifter, which I'd be a bit down about but I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face. Better than taking it personally, I guess.
Tantus wasn't meant to be in this part of the farm, but I guess when you have a job to do like catch a wayward bull then the rules go out the window.
"Hey, Tantus, keeping you busy is he?"
"Ugh, you can say that again. Bloody thing got horny and has been wreaking havoc. Randy bugger aren't you, eh?" Tantus tugged affectionately on the rope attached to the ring through the bull's nose and it snorted in reply.
"Guess the warm weather is stirring up the juices. Look, you seen Faith? I need a chat with her." The bull was really freaking me out, and he kept looking at me funny. Tantus too, but I was used to his leers.
"Sure, she's tending the tomatoes. You know where that is?"
"Yeah, I know. Thanks." I got out of there before Tantus could say anything else. He liked to chat but I wasn't in the mood and didn't want to waste any more time now I was in Justice mode and on the case.
Skirting the vegetable plots, past miniature fields of crops I should know the names of but didn't, a walk through the apple orchard and I was at the large polytunnel where the tomatoes were grown.
I stood in the entrance, watching Faith at work. She wore a simple green vest that showed off her tanned arms and highlighted hair the color of the straw bales piled up outside. She is slightly overweight, meaning she is curvy in all the right places, has pendulous breasts that act like they are trying to escape and go off on an adventure, and a bum she can hardly contain in her clothes. Pretty and wobbly, bouncing like two puppies under the covers.
Watching her brought back old memories of when she was a few years younger and I was just as jaded as I am now, but friendship is more important than anything, and we have remained friends and grown closer since those few encounters. I still think of those times now and then—those are memories that will never be lost, no matter how old I get and what else has to make room so I can keep them.
Faith must have heard me lick my lips and started at the interruption, dropping a spool of twine she was using to train the tomatoes on their canes.
"You scared the life out of me." She bent to pick up the twine. I'm sure she turned her back to me
More shifters are spread throughout the country, but they seem to congregate here. I guess that's the draw of magic and of your own kind—it's always better to feel persecuted in company than alone.
They live in the crescent, each house a semi-detached. The gardens behind are about a hundred feet long, but part of the deal is that nobody encloses the rear of their property, just the front. The result is a massive sweeping expanse of land used to grow crops, house animals, butcher, make clothes, process skins and anything else they can think of to be as self-sufficient as possible—with the current explosion in population they are doing damn fine business.
Without knowing where Pumi lived, this seemed like as good a place as any to start the search. Breathing deep of the perfumed air, I wandered around the whole of the crescent on the road side, admiring the floral displays in the small front gardens, each home immaculate, windows sparkling, not a weed in sight, cars parked up, no longer used.
I nodded at familiar faces, smiled and waved, acting casual and trying not to get angry at the frowns some greeted me with. After all, I was a Justice on their territory and usually that meant only one thing—one of them was in serious trouble. Knowing I would end up in trouble myself if I didn't get down to business, I stepped across a cattle grid and entered the weird farm.
And nearly immediately got trampled by a bloody huge bull.
"Whoa there, Bruce," yelled Tantus Crane, a scrawny guy in his early forties, all wiry muscle and rosy farm cheeks. He's also a goat shifter, which I'd be a bit down about but I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face. Better than taking it personally, I guess.
Tantus wasn't meant to be in this part of the farm, but I guess when you have a job to do like catch a wayward bull then the rules go out the window.
"Hey, Tantus, keeping you busy is he?"
"Ugh, you can say that again. Bloody thing got horny and has been wreaking havoc. Randy bugger aren't you, eh?" Tantus tugged affectionately on the rope attached to the ring through the bull's nose and it snorted in reply.
"Guess the warm weather is stirring up the juices. Look, you seen Faith? I need a chat with her." The bull was really freaking me out, and he kept looking at me funny. Tantus too, but I was used to his leers.
"Sure, she's tending the tomatoes. You know where that is?"
"Yeah, I know. Thanks." I got out of there before Tantus could say anything else. He liked to chat but I wasn't in the mood and didn't want to waste any more time now I was in Justice mode and on the case.
Skirting the vegetable plots, past miniature fields of crops I should know the names of but didn't, a walk through the apple orchard and I was at the large polytunnel where the tomatoes were grown.
I stood in the entrance, watching Faith at work. She wore a simple green vest that showed off her tanned arms and highlighted hair the color of the straw bales piled up outside. She is slightly overweight, meaning she is curvy in all the right places, has pendulous breasts that act like they are trying to escape and go off on an adventure, and a bum she can hardly contain in her clothes. Pretty and wobbly, bouncing like two puppies under the covers.
Watching her brought back old memories of when she was a few years younger and I was just as jaded as I am now, but friendship is more important than anything, and we have remained friends and grown closer since those few encounters. I still think of those times now and then—those are memories that will never be lost, no matter how old I get and what else has to make room so I can keep them.
Faith must have heard me lick my lips and started at the interruption, dropping a spool of twine she was using to train the tomatoes on their canes.
"You scared the life out of me." She bent to pick up the twine. I'm sure she turned her back to me
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