Chapter 172. Kettu’s thoughts

We broke up soon after Voras's chilling words, with Zeldi demanding her milking time as usual.

Kettu joined us with an offer to help that we didn't refuse. She was a lot more... Well, practical than I was. Everything was done with precision and dexterity that got as much as possible out of Zeldi without sparking any reaction. A far cry from our usual sessions.

With another few rounds of getting my ass handed to me afterwards by Abelha, I crashed out for the night and ended up sleeping through most of the morning. It was probably a mistake to stay awake for almost three days solely off Zeldi's milk, but desperate times.

Tarakona thankfully helped Kettu with Zeldi's morning milking for me, and the two of them had everything prepared for our trip to Dallas's farm. My Dragon didn't even try to steal me away for another round of Dragon mating, though that was probably to make sure I had my transformation as a backup plan if something went wrong.

[I'd ask you to keep him safe for me, but that's a bit of a hard expectation with his past record.]

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to repeat my previous discussion when I left with Dríade. The Dryad in question was happily going through different locations for the Fairy spring after I'd given her the spring water. The whole Grove had stopped their chores to work on it with an excitement that left me thinking I should figure out more about their connection to the Fairies. There was also a distinct difference in their bodies now as well as a few strange mutations.

"Do not worry, Tarakona. I will protect him as if he were my own kit." Kettu hummed back.

Tarakona then turned to me in her full Dragon form and forced me to look at one of her eyes.

[My love... I know I should say for you to stay safe, but that is not something you will do if you believe you can save whoever this Livestock is. It is incredibly vexing, but I also love you for it. Just don't do anything too reckless.]

Zeldi backed her up by bumping into my side. "Just because you can come back doesn't mean you can rely on it, Master. You have babies on the way who need their father."

We all ignored the almost silent whine Kettu let out before she could stop herself.

"I promise to do only what's needed," I said back with a hand over my heart.

"That's what we're afraid of." Zeldi tittered before grabbing my hand and swallowing it in the valley between her chest. "Come back to us, Master. We can always use Voras's approach if yours doesn't work."

Voras straightened behind her. She was accompanying Kettu and me for this in case something went wrong. She was going to follow at a distance, as Zeldi wanted this to also be a bonding experience for the Kitsune and me, but still be there.

"I will," I replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I might even bring the Holstaur's back with me."

Zeldi smirked and lightly bumped me on the shoulder. "Would be a proper farm then."

We said our farewells before setting off, waving until we could no longer see them. Voras dipped the moment she could hide herself in the trees, and if I didn't know she was following us, there was no way I'd have been able to find her.

"You seem to have found yourself quite a collection of Livestock Master Clovek." Kettu hummed with her hands together behind her back. This had the added effect of pushing her boobs out and looked entirely by design.

"Truth be told, most of them found me first," I replied, trying not to stare. Key word: trying.

"And yet they choose to stay." Kettu mused. "I have often wondered about Livestock and how they work, but never paid too much attention because of other subjects taking my attention. That is until I found out Tarakona was one, but all of my personal research has led me to believe it's a curse."

"It certainly does look that way." I agreed. "The Deeds themselves are not forthcoming at all with any information that they don't think I absolutely need, but to me it just looks like a magical version of slavery."I didn't miss the short step Kettu took at the mention of slavery, even though she hid it well.

She let out a soft scoff to try and hide it. "Yes. I can agree there. The only real difference is that they get to choose their own Master first."

"And that person can sell them on like they're nothing if he chooses to. Not mentioning the pull that kinda forces them to accept one regardless of how much they resist." I sighed, thinking about the Holstaur's. They might not be the Deeds Livestock, but they were treated all the same.

"It is an interesting conundrum. Not even Tithalia understood what makes someone become a Livestock, only that no species is immune to it." Kettu hummed.

I tried again not to look at her chest and only succeeded because her tails moved behind her. She was beautiful in an feline way but that might have been because I had a thing for cat girls in my old world. Or was it vulpine girls? I remember hearing that foxes are part of the vulpine family not the feline one.

"Really? Not even Tithalia could figure out anything about them?" I said, trying to hide where I was looking. Too much time around Zeldi and Madu had made me a little lax in the stealthy approach of looking at girls' assets.

Kettu shook her head, causing her ears to flutter around. "Nope. The Deeds are ancient, some kind of primordial power that she can only scratch the surface of."

Damn. I mean, what the hell were these things then?

"Can I offer my hypothesis, Master Clovek?" She said with a grin. One that included her ears.

Definitely vulpine and definitely cute, in an oddly mature way.

"Sure," I replied as we arrived at the teleportation stone. Tilty has advised us to use it, then travel to his farm, as that would allow us to arrive before lunchtime.

"I believe there is a limit to the amount of Livestock out there," Kettu explained as we activated the stone.

We were briefly surrounded by a white light before it vanished. Neither of us reacted much to the change of scenery and we continued out journey.

"And I believe when one dies, another is picked out to undergo the transformation of sorts." Kettu continued plucking a strand of fur off her tail and offering it to me. "Tithalia mentioned something was stopping her from creating lots of Livestock or even deciding what they could produce; it was something she considered when she found out more Livestock would increase the speed of your growth."

"Really? She wanted to help me?" I asked, keeping the information about Livestock in the back of my mind. It was something I could ask the Deeds about, as I'd never really considered what makes someone a Livestock.

"Help is a bit of a stretch, I think. Tithalia is a little jaded after her last mate left her, but she has given you the benefit of the doubt. Something very few actually get from her, I might add." Kettu hummed before she stopped us by walking in front of me and placing her hands on her hips. "She values her daughter's happiness above all else, so she's a little pissed that Tarakona has picked a human as a mate."

"I..." I tried to say, but she cut me off.

"There's nothing to say there, Clovek. She's a Dragon, and they are stubborn creatures, but that is where this gets interesting." Kettu dropped her hands and came in close, touching a finger to my chin. "You let her touch Tarakona."

"Well, that was more the Dee..." Again, I was silenced by her finger being placed on my lips.

"You control the Deeds in the same way she controls fire. To her, there is no difference, which means." Kettu nipped the edge of my cheek while grabbing my shirt and pulling me closer. "You have the interest of a Dragon with thousands of years' experience, and a power she herself doesn't fully understand."

She seemed to purr the words as she pushed herself even further into my embrace. I responded by placing my own hands just above her hips as I tried to figure out where she was going with this.Kettu continued her small bites, putting only enough pressure into it that I felt her teeth before licking the spot.

"I have lived for hundreds of years, Clovek, and to see a man actually catch her interest is interesting in its own right. Now I have made my intentions known, as I'm sure you're aware, and I will wait as long as you need me to, but Tithalia will not. You need to make a decision on how you want to handle her and soon."

"What do you mean by handle her?" I asked, trying to remain serious as Kettu pawed my chest like a cat making biscuits. She didn't quite purr but there was the distinct sound of her enjoying the action.

"Tithalia will want to make her home close so that she can make up for the time she has been unable to spend with her daughter. You will have to accept that regardless of your choice. This, however, also gives you the opportunity to control her." Kettu explained, looking up from her position, pushing into my chest. This position had forced her to bend her hips in a not-so-subtle way.

"Control Tithalia?" I said slowly, remembering the last time she had visited and how we were only just now recovering.

Kettu smiled. "I wouldn't mind the father of my Kits also having dominated Tithalia. Actually, I would be rather excited if that were to happen. Tell me Clovek, Tarakona lays eggs, so what do you think Tithalia would produce if she was to make herself a Livestock?"