Blood & Carrots - Memoirs Ep. 06

Not everything is about Alice's chimera powers making everyone a horny mess. Sometimes there are those outside of the sphere of influence that have kept a hidden away secret.

When a mouse finally has the courage to say something she's held inside for centuries, will it lead to blossoming love or bitter heartbreak?

Let's jump right in!

"Oh, I'm elated to be getting back on the sea tomorrow night!" Sarnai called out with a hum, her tail wagging behind her as we paced through the halls of the Silverpaw estate, Katrina right next to her.

"I think it's amusing you still keep your yacht on this side of the country maintained, my lady." Jeremy grinned at Sarnai's obvious excitement.

"Naturally! Katrina has never helmed this ship and I'm eager to see the way she adapts!" The vixen folded her arms before stopping to glare back at the small mouse. "Also, how many times have I told you not to call me by that title? I'm your equal now, brother. Save that stuffy stuff for Lorelai!"

"Tch... please do not! Jeremy, we are all family here, let's just shelf the titles outright, alright?" I bleated out while walking, my arm linked with Ryders, the angel looking about curiously, this being his first visit to house Silverpaw.

Jennifer grinned at the angel before clearing her throat, "Ah, Ryder, it's not a fanciful place, but I'd be happy to give you a small tour later if you'd like!" Jeremy cut his dark eyes to his sister and I couldn't help but notice the small ever so faint nod they shared as if making sure they were on the same wavelength.

"That's very kind of you, lady Silverpaw. I'd be thrilled to tour your estate later, thank you for your hospitium!" He barked out and wagged his tail, keeping his large wings close to his back to not knock something over in the halls.

"Hm... yes. Will Val and Kylie be joining us tonight?" I asked the twins while trying to shake off the sneaking suspicion they were up to something. The reality was, no one knew those mice as well as I did, as I quite literally raised them from children.

"Val texted me a few hours ago saying they wouldn't be able to arrive until tomorrow. It seems they had some family business to attend prior," Jeremy told me matter-of-factly.

I scoffed at that, "Pah... most likely the only business he's attending is having another marathon with that eager lemur!"

"Well, your family is rather... sex-healthy, yes?" Ryder smiled down at me with an awkward grin. I snorted up at him but offered a small smile. He had always been rather eager, but once Alice got involved and churned her energy through him, well I was actually thankful he had other outlets, he'd probably never let me sleep otherwise.

Jennifer blinked at that statement and so did Jeremy, both seeming to hesitate in their stride, looking back at the angel. I couldn't blame them, they had been some of the first to know and even hear us. Ryder did get a little loud sometimes despite my efforts to keep him quiet during those days, still, I was getting an odd sensation off my mice tonight.

Your question brought me back to the present as I lifted my ears, Sarnai already answering you, "Yes, my child. We'll be having the storytelling on my yacht and I expect you to do your own fair share of work maintaining her. I and Katrina will have our hands full directing Kylie on matters."

"I'm eager to make you proud, my fox. I'll also do anything I can to help in your instruction of her." Katrina purred while holding the vixen's hand.

"Do not forget we are all capable of maintaining your ship... Captain," Jeremy called out playfully, Sarnai offering an approving grin as her personality shifted right there on the spot.

"Aye, that you are, my brother. I never could have asked for better mates when we sailed back in the day! Erm... night as it were!" She barked out a laugh as Ryder chuckled at the lingo.

"That's rather cute how you shifted to swashbuckler mode right on the spot, Sarnai." He mused as the Vixen showed him a grin.

"Cute was it? Don't you have enough tail to be flirting it up with, Celestial? Already got the mother, now want the daughter?" Sarnai barked out jovially as Ryder gave his own awkward bark.

"Wha?! No, Sarnai I was just being friendly, I didn't uh... I mean, you're a beautiful fox, just like Rachel, but uh-"

"Sarnai, stop picking on my lover, you already know he was just being friendly," I grumbled at my vixen who showed me a playful smile but nodded.

"Would Rachel grow jealous if you took another lover, Ryder?" Jeremy asked curiously, shifting the attention away.

Ryder tilted his head at that. "No no, Rachel is like all my lovers, she holds no resentment towards things. We all do as we please, as the love is clearly there, no need to reinforce it with monogamy which tends to be... dangerous, with long-lived ones such as us."

"It can work amongst our kind, but rarely. Harold and his wife Mino are successful enough with it. To my knowledge neither has ever strayed," I chimed in on the matter, but I was getting that vibe once more from my mice and finally spoke on it, "Why do you ask, brother? Finding MY angel-fox fetching? He does enjoy males as well you know."

"M-My Lady! T-that had nothing to do with it!" Jeremy stammered out awkwardly.

"Lorelai, why are you picking on him? Even I could tell his question wasn't laced with that kind of interest..." Ryder frowned at my response.

"Oh, can you now?" I scoffed and then stopped right there, folding my arms.

"Uhm... are you guys about to have a lovers quarrel?" Jennifer asked meekly.

Ryder frowned at my stance and opened his palms. "Lore? Uh... did I upset you, my ewe? I wasn't try-"

"No, I just don't like the tension in the air, something is amiss tonight." I showed my teeth and shot my gaze right to the two mice who stiffened their posture slightly. I cocked a brow and pushed my will out, making sure the twins were the only ones who received it. "You know I detest secrets and subterfuge don't I, children?"

"Y-Yes my lady!" The mice answered in perfect unison, both of them looking nervous and frowning.

"So out with it already!" I snarled out, but then perked my drooped ears as Ryder put a hand on my shoulder.

"C'mon, Lorelai... that's not really fair, is it?" Both of the mice bit their lower lips as the angel interrupting me eased my domination on them.

I gave him a fussy glare. You, Katrina, and Sarnai of course knew better than to argue with me when I was like this. Taking a deep breath, I composed myself. It wasn't that I was trying to be overbearing, but on the same hand, these two never kept things from me, so it left me concerned for them.

"I said what I said to you two, I'll have what you're scheming... If it is... dangerous or problem causing to the two of you." I snarled the stipulation as both of them looked upon one another and then shook their heads.

Jeremy rubbed his shoulder as he spoke out for them, "My lady, it is nothing of concern I assure you, just-"

"Then I am satisfied, let us continue!" I spat out pointedly. Letting them have the time to disengage from the subject.

Later that evening I found myself called to the main study and audience chamber of my mice, but only one greeted me there, Jennifer.

"My lady, thank you for coming to speak with me." She squeaked out with a small smile behind the desk, then hopped down off the elevated chair before moving over to me. She was one of the few females I could say I had a height advantage on, albeit a small one.

"It's not as if I weren't in the house already, my sister. Yes, you should be thankful for the grueling trek I endured to arrive before you." I offered her a playful grin to show this need not be a stuffy meeting.

She grinned at my words, then her gaze slipped into a more business-like one, but then shifted awkwardly as she looked away, rubbing her shoulder and biting her lower lip. I cupped her cheek and drew her gaze back to me, looking intently into her brown eyes. "What weighs on you, my sister? This is from before, yes?"

I heard her small gulp before she spoke out quietly, "Uh... You must understand something about I and my brother, my lady, we have been what we were since we were mundane. Like Sir Harold and Lady Mino, we have had one another and only one another for centuries, we do not have the influences of Alice within us that all of you do."

"I realize all of this, Jennifer, but why do you bring this to me now?" I stepped back and shifted my hands to my hips. "I'll not force you, but clearly you have something on your mind."

She pushed a hand to her chest and I heard her heart starting to beat rather hard in my ears. "I uh..." With a snarl, she clenched her fists, her gaze growing harder as she practically glared at me with red eyes, but I knew it was in focus. "Listening to your tales, all the love behind them. I have kept something buried away for years, and I wish to ask your permission to bring it into the light!"

My eyes widened and for just a split-second, I felt like I was about to be confessed to, but then I realized, she was asking my permission so I dashed the thoughts, a bit of relief filling my heart. After all, these two were not just my siblings in the family, I raised them, and they were possibly the truest thing to children I'd ever have in my time. That also made her next statement all the harder to react to.

"Ah! I've harbored feelings for your angel, my lady! I have ever since he saved my brother and me on that fateful day!" She just spat the words out, then clenched her eyes shut, gritting her teeth as if I'd strike her for the words.

I pushed a hand to my mouth at the statement, I'll confess this did take me out of nowhere, but as I recalled Ryder's story and some of the responses I would see out of Jennifer when I spoke of him, I could see the pieces of the puzzle fitting that I never even knew was there.

"What... does your brother think of this?" I finally spoke out, resting a hand on her cheek as she blinked her red eyes open to look up at me, looking like the small scared child she was when I first found her on the streets centuries ago.

"I uh... spoke with him about it and he gave me his blessings, said he held no resentment... Said I should follow my heart and so long as I remained at his side, he was happy." She gave me a resolved nod before standing straight, her eyes clearing back to brown.

"You understand that... if you start down this road, it will change you, yes? Ryder has the same chimeric powers I do flowing through me, and you will get them, that will also spread them to your brother." I stepped back and leaned on the wall of the office, folding my arms and propping one boot against it. "You two have always been horny little mice, but it will grow more intense, you understand?"

Jennifer frowned at my words and shook her head in confusion. "My lady... I never assumed to lay with your angel, I simply wish to let my feelings be known, so that I may get this weight-"

I scoffed and bleated out a laugh before offering her a grin. "Jennifer, you silly girl, do you seriously think it will go that way? Do you think you will confess, get a hug, and you will part?" I showed her a knowing grin before continuing, "I've heard how eager you and Jeremy get, the moment he touches you, you will fling yourself into his arms."

"M-My lady! You speak of me as if I have no control!" She gave me a childish pout I'd not seen in several decades.

"Ha... you think I didn't smell you two in my own office or bed chambers when I returned from council business?" I watched her face grow paler at my words, her mouth gaping slightly.

"Uh huh... You two loved to mark your territory, but no matter how thoroughly you cleaned, I knew, but I did not punish or begrudge you two for your wiles." I lifted a hand to twirl a lock of my hair in a finger. "Ryder may do as he pleases, and you may do as you please, Jennifer. So long as you will not tarnish what you and your brother have, I shall not restrain you."

"Are you certain, my lady? I'd not sully your honor or what you have-"

"Honor? What does confessing one's love have to do with honor, my sister? Love cares not for honor or rules, love is mad. Love will make you tear the gates of hell open for that which is yours, but love will also allow you to turn your eye when that cherished one wishes another." I clenched my fist and showed a toothy grin, charcoal flames drifting off my knuckles.

She swallowed and nodded her head several times before I tilted my head to the side. "You have welled these feelings in your heart long enough, my sister. You were there with me in that battle for his freedom, and now I know, you fought to save him for more than just me. That does not make me any less grateful, in fact, it eases my soul to know."

"M-My lady... Lorelai..." She sniffled and I saw tears showing in her red eyes. I offered her a grin and spread my arms as the mouse threw herself into them.

"It is well and fine, my child... follow your heart, I am not upset and will support what you and Ryder sort out. Do you understand?" I whispered down into her rounded ears as she just nodded against my breasts while clinging to me, not fully crying, but clearly emotional in the moment.

My heart hadn't pounded in my chest this hard in some time, I don't think it had stopped beating since my meeting with Lorelai prior. I felt his presence, my wiry tail going rigid and my back growing stiff as I heard him land behind me with a flap of wings, feeling the small gust of air that followed.

"Lady Silverpaw, is it wise to speak with me at such a time? The sun will be rising within the hour." Ryder showed his concern immediately, as I had chosen a cliffside overlook to speak with him around half a mile from the manor. The ocean was angry below, but it tended to always be.

"Erm... it is of no concern, I can easily make it back to the house in just a matter of seconds if I need to, you are aware of our speed, yes?" I tried to keep my voice level and not stammer the words as I looked over my shoulder at the fox. The one that had saved our lives, the same one that had struck down the one that raped and murdered my best friend at the time.

"Yes, my apologies for questioning your speed, Lady Silverpaw. How may I help you?" He straightened right up, hands clasped before him as he tilted his head curiously.

"Uh... first and foremost, may I request you just call me by name... Ryder?" I turned to face him now, the difference in our height quite stark, he easily had two and a half heads, maybe three on me.

"Of course, Jennifer, is this not a family-related summons then?" He offered me a smile that made my heart pitter-patter harder and butterflies swarm in my stomach as I clenched my teeth.

"Y-yes... I mean no! It is uh... personal, yes. It's personal..." I spat the words out rapidly, rubbing my arm as my tail whipped behind me in the air.

Ryder frowned and put a hand on his chest, covering his rosary. "Jennifer, what troubles you? Have I somehow inadvertently upset you?"

"No! Not at all, Ryder!" I squeaked out and shot my gaze back to his, biting my lower lip as he looked upon me and tilted his head curiously once more. Why did everything he do look so damn cute, I couldn't think straight, I couldn't form the words no matter how hard I tried.

"I- uh... so all those years ago when you saved us..." I just started talking, I couldn't think I just had to say it, say it, and get it off my chest, it had been with me for so long and this felt like a dream to be telling him, that or a nightmare.

"Yeah, it was a really scary time for you guys, but I thank the gods I was able to save you, I wish I could have helped the others, if only I had known sooner..." He whispered and I saw him close his eyes while clutching his rosary, looking focused.

"A-Are you... praying?" I whispered.

He opened his eyes as I saw them shift back to blue, having looked golden for a moment. "Yes, for those I couldn't save, both from your family and the sinners of the church who fell from the light."

"But all of that was so long ago, Ryder..." I frowned at him. "Would it even matter now?"

"Indeed, but some may be in the cycle again, others may be seeking repentance even now, centuries later. I pray for those seeking forgiveness, and I pray for those that may be having another chance at happiness." He offered me a warm smile and my tail sprang back behind me at his earnest, pious words, looking every bit the divine knight in shining armor that saved me that day.

"T-thank you... I will hope for the same, but uh..." I offered him a small grin, putting a hand on my hip. "I'll leave the praying to you, I don't think mine will reach anyone."

He scoffed at that and put his hands on his own hip. "The divines care not if your heart does not beat naturally and you can't be in the sun, Jennifer. Any prayer that is made in earnest will reach them, that I truly believe and live by!"

I blinked a few times and shook my head. "D-Do you really think that's true?"

"I know it's true!" Ryder gave me a bright grin and my cheeks darkened to see him so intent but earnest in his words.

"Y-Yeah? Well... okay then!" I snarled out, not fully convinced, but I stood before a Paladin of heaven, who was I to question things?

With a sigh at how silly I felt, I clenched my hands together and closed my eyes, offering a prayer for the first time in centuries to whoever would listen to it. Ryder barked out as he called out to me, "J-Jennifer, hang on!"

'Okay gods or whoever is listening, I pray for the courage to tell this stupid dog I'm in love with him!' I thought furiously, Ryder's words only reaching me after I had already made the prayer.

I opened my eyes and blinked at him a few times, then frowned at his blank look. "W-What? Is it such a big deal?"

He gulped loudly and my eyes widened as I saw his whole posture change as he rubbed the back of his head. "Uh... Jennifer, I'm... a Paladin. You don't get much more divine than me, yeah?"

"W-Well yeah, so what?" I put my hands on my hips, then it dawned on me, I literally just offered a prayer, right in front of basically one of the gods' champions. I felt a shiver go up my spine and stammered out, "W-w-wait a second! Are you fu-fucking telling me you..."

His dark ears folded as he offered me a small smile before shrugging. "Uh... so, I guess you could say, your prayers were answered? B-but uh... not sure I can help with the courage part, ya know?"

I gave a loud squeak and shoved my hands over my face, turning away. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods... I can't believe it happened like this! Fuck!"

"So... can I ask why?" He called out as my tail sprang up along with my ears.

I pulled my hand from my face and awkwardly glanced back at him. "Uhm... R-Ryder... I... well I guess no need stressing it now, huh?"

"Nope, and I'm right here, Jennifer. I'm not running off or laughing at you. I'm here so..." He took a knee and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "Talk to me?"

I was happy he touched me, but then my eyes widened as I squeaked out again, but this time in pain as I jumped back clutching my shoulder, hissing as I glared at him with tears in my eyes. Ryder blinked several times then it dawned on him what happened. "Holy... Oh my gods, Jennifer, I'm so sorry! It's uh... it's been so long since I've touched one of your kind that wasn't uh... influenced by Alice!"

"It's... it's okay, just... fuck... been a while since I had a divine burn." He moved over and I flinched as he grabbed my shoulder again. "R-Ryder!? Wh...y?" I perked my ears as the pain was just gone as if it never happened. I blinked as I saw him clearly touching me now, but no pain to be had, and what was there before, was a distant memory.