Moose Attacks

[Demeter]

Rhea dug in her heels and renewed her death grip on the Jeep's sissy bar when she saw the sign for the clinic. She whipped around and glared at her deputy. "Thomas! You promised!"

The young man in the driver's seat fixed his gaze on the steering wheel while the tips of his ears burned bright red. "I'm sorry, Boss, but you got bounced by an angry bull moose. You gotta get checked out; even if you say that you feel fine. I've heard stories of people gettin' tossed off mustangs and bulls in rodeos and not knowing they've broken something and then they turn up dead. I figure that a moose has got to do just as much damage, if not more, then a bronco and I would hate to have to break in a new sherriff."

"It barely touched me."

"Boss, the launched you. You're not scared of the doc, are you? She don't bite and is a pretty little thing."

Rhea slouched down in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, I'm not scared of the doc but I don't need to see her."

Thomas, ready to play his trump card to get his stubborn boss into the clinic, sighed. "You flew twenty feet and were knocked out cold for a few minutes. You need to see the doc, otherwise the mayor will be all over your ass if it turns out that you are injured. You known how he gets about L&I claims."

Rhea stared out the window and scowled. Thomas was right about the mayor. He had a thing about making sure everything was documented. Even now, she was sure that her other deputy was back at the station, typing a report about how she'd been blindsided by a moose because she hadn't been paying attention and doing her job - which had been to get rid of the moose in the first place. She slide down just a little farther. "Fine. I'll do it, if only to keep Sims off my back."

Thomas brightened. "Great. You just stay there and I'll see if they have a wheelchair or something."

Rhea blanched and scrambled from the Jeep only to be snapped back by her seat belt. "No! No Wheelchairs. I got into the Jeep on my own and I'll get out on my own," she said while hurridly unclicking the belt and tumbling from the vehicle.

Keeping an eye at her enthusastic deputy, Rhea walked into the clinic. There she met the assessing look of Mrs. Metz, the receptionist. The older woman waved a hand at the police scanner sitting on her desk. "Been playing with Old Diablo again, Rhea?"

Grumbling, Rhea took a seat. "What did Gibbs do? Go blabbing to everyone under the sun? Yes, Diable got me again. That moose has it out for me."

Thomas blinked at his boss. "You mean this has happened before?"

Mrs. Metz nodded. "Happens at least once a year. Old Diablo manages to catch her and bounce on her for a bit."

Thomas gaped, open mouthed, at his boss. "Then why did you put up such a fuss?"

Rhea slouched. "Because nothing ever comes of it. I'm examined, x-rayed, poked with needles, and sent down to one of the big hospitals for more tests but nothing ever comes of it. I'm fine but, as you said, Sims likes his paperwork."

Mrs. Metz shuffled some papers on her desk. "The doc has a opening in a few minutes so we'll get you out of here nice and fast, Rhea."

It didn't take long until the nurse came into the waiting area to take Rhea back to one of the exam rooms. Sitting on the paper sheet draped bench, Rhea went through the usual blood pressure and temperature checks before relating that she'd been blindsided by a moose.

The nurse shook her head and left, telling Rhea that the doc would be in soon. Grumbling, because she really didn't want to get poked with a needle, Rhea snagged one of the magazines off the counter and settled in to wait for the new doc to come in. She wondered if she'd be able to convince this one that she was fine and didn't need any tests.

When the door opened, Rhea looked up and raised a brow. Thomas had been right. The new doc was a pretty little thing.

[Maira]

When she had gotten the heads-up that the Sheriff of Point Hope had found herself on the wrong end of an angry bull moose, Chastity had gone ahead and pulled her chart to familiarize herself with her patient’s history. For the most part it seemed that the woman was in excellent health. The only real things in her chart were regular yearly visits, work physicals, and an oddly high number of incidences involving somebody named Diablo.

She had just finished up with the Sheriff’s chart when the nurse came into her office, and announced, “The Sheriff is in room two Doc.” Then the other woman went on to relay vital signs and a very brief assessment of the patient. Chastity nodded her thanks then quickly made her way to room two to meet the Sheriff.

Most of the locals were of Inuit descent and Chastity had just figured that the Sheriff was as well. Although, once she thought about it, the last name of Volkov should have given it away. Still, seeing the tall, pale, slightly bruised woman sitting in her exam room startled her a bit. Brushing off her surprise, Chastity greeted the other woman brightly, “Afternoon Sheriff, I’m Chastity MacKenna the new doctor in town. Although I’m sure Mrs. Metz would be mortified by the idea, you are welcome to call me Chastity instead of Dr. MacKenna.” Here she smiled at the other woman and then asked, “So, did your moose buddy hurt you badly or do you think a simple exam will satisfy L & I?”

*****

A few bruised ribs was really all the Sheriff had to show for her encounter with Diablo the devil moose. And much to the Sheriff’s relief, Chastity didn’t insist on a ridiculous amount of unnecessary tests. All that Chastity recommended was some over-the-counter pain killers, ice when needed, and to take things easy for a couple weeks if at all possible.

“I’m pretty sure you will be just fine, but if things change and you start feeling worse don’t hesitate to call.” Chastity then pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Rhea and added, “We now have an after-hours number as well if you need it for whatever reason.”

[Demeter]

Rhea had perked up when she'd noticed that Chastity, as the doctor had asked to be called, wasn't human. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to talk this one into just signing paperwork without an exam. But then she'd given Rhea her options and Rhea knew she wouldn't be able to talk this out of it, just like the last one.

Muffling a sigh, she suffered through the basic exam for the sake of L&I. All though she'd gotten a thrilling shock when Chastity had started to poke at her ribs. While the healer made notes in her file, Rhea looked her over. She really was very cute. Being Sheriff, Rhea had all the gossip on everyone in town. She knew that Doc MacKenna, as plenty of the locals called her, was very new to the area and lived alone. Rhea wondered what the pretty doctor thought of women in romantic situations.

When Chastity handed her a business card and explained about the after hours service, Rhea brightened. "So, you make house calls?" she asked. When Chastity nodded, Rhea thanked her for the excellent service and promised to call if anything happened. After collecting her paperwork, Rhea hauled her deputy out of the office. She ordered the young man to first drop her off at her apartment and then to return to the station and scrub down the restroom as payback for hauling her into the clinic. She wasn't about to thank him, yet. She was going to take the night off, that's what she was going to do.

****

Hands on her hips, Rhea surveyed her apartment. All right, so it didn't sparkle but she could see the floor. She'd shovelled all of her crap into what had been a empty spare room. In doing so, she'd found a missing, favorite shirt, her much mourned misplaced left snowboard boot, a box of shotgun shells that she'd known she'd bought two months earlier, and a very belated birthday present she'd meant to send to Theo months ago.

She also had a dish of Ziti, copped from the resturant beneath her feet, bubbling away in the oven. Rhea had a plan. She dug the clinic's after hours card from her back pocket and dialed the number. After a little bit of a wait, she was put through to Chastity. Whule pacing her living room, Rhea told the pretty doc that she was feeling worse. That she'd been rolling off the couch when something had made a popping noise and now it hurt to move.

After telling Chastity to just let herself in, Rhea sprawled on the couch to wait for the doc to show up.

[Maira]

Lilia was just leaving for the night when a car pulled into the parking lot. The restaurant stayed open until midnight so it was possible that this was a customer but she didn't recognize the car. Curious, Lilia waited until the car parked and a woman she didn't know got out of it. "Evening!" she shouted across the parking lot as she waved at the unfamiliar woman.

Chastity looked up from the sticky note she'd written the Sheriff's address on and saw a tall blonde woman waving at her from across the parking lot. Squinting a bit to see if it was the Sheriff, she couldn't help but wonder just how many tall women with pale blonde hair lived in this tiny town. As she approached the building and the woman, Chastity asked her, "Is this where Sheriff Volkov lives by chance? Rhea hadn't mentioned living in a restaurant.

Until the other woman asked for Rhea, Lilia couldn't figure out why she looked so confused. At her question though, Lilia just laughed and answered, "Yep, go around back and take the stairs. She lives in the apartment upstairs.

Chastity waved and nodded as she passed the other woman and did as she was directed, "Thanks!"

Lilia watched for a moment as the woman walked away from her towards the stairs and she couldn't help but wonder if this was the reason Rhea had come down and ordered the ziti. She was a pretty thing, she supposed, and if town gossip were correct it appeared that this woman resembled the new doc in town. Lilia knew about the Sheriff's preference for women, though she had never said anything, but it was kind of hard not to notice that the only people that ever went to Rhea's apartment were women, or her deputies.

Shaking her head in amusement, Lilia turned and waved back at her staff which were watching her curiously, then she got in her own car and headed for home. Home this weekend was up in the mountains at the Holding and if she weren't home by dinner her mother would grumble at her.

It only took Chastity a moment to find the stairs that led to the upstairs apartment and even less time to climb them. Even though Rhea had told her to let herself in, Chastity still knocked to let the other woman know she had arrived before slipping inside. "Hello?" she called once inside. Then she quickly slipped off her jacket and her shoes before wandering a little farther into the apartment.

[Demeter]

Rhea had been trying out "I'm-in-pain" groans and faces when she heard footsteps on her stairs. Falling to her default "If I don't move, it doesn't hurt" mode, something she'd often used as a child when she didn't want to do something, she curled onto her side and called out to Chastity that she was in the living room and didn't want to move.

When the healer came into the living room, Rhea managed a weak wave. "I'm really sorry to call you out so late at night but I went to get up to check on dinner and something just popped and I had to sit down before I fell down."

At least she didn't have to lie to much. Shoveling everything into her spare room had made the bruises ache but she had different motives in mind and took the steady ache in stride. She wiggled onto her side when Chastity asked her to, and pulled up the thin, ribbed tank she wore up just a little higher then needed.

[Maira]

When Chastity heard Rhea calling from the livingroom she hurried after the sound of the other woman's voice. When she spotted her lying on the couch, a look of pain on her face, Chastity frowned. At the other woman's apology, Chastity just laughed and told her, "The biggest complaint about the last provider was that once the office was closed people had to go to the hospital. I wouldn't have set up the after-hours line if I wasn't up for late night house calls."

After that, Chastity did another quick assessment of Rhea and she frowned slightly at the darkening bruises that were once scattered on the other woman's side but were know combining into one big bruise. She didn't seem to find anything else wrong though, so Chastity asked, "Let me get you an ice pack. I think you must have just twisted wrong when you were trying to get up and made those bruised ribs upset with you."

That said, Chastity wandered into the kitchen to rummage in Rhea's freezer for that ice pack. While she was in the kitchen, before she found an ice pack, the timer on the oven went off and she called out, "Does that mean your dinner is done? I can take it out if it is." At what she thought was an affirmative yell, Chastity grabbed a potholder and fished the ziti out of the oven. The smell of the ziti set her stomach to rumbling as she set it on the stovetop to cool a bit.

She went back to the freezer and grabbed at what she'd thought was an ice pack before and was pleasantly rewarded. Ice pack in hand, Chastity hurried back to the livingroom and her patient. "Here you go, Rhea. If you want I can help you sit up and then dish you up some of that fantastic smelling ziti. By the time you're done eating you'll need to take the ice off and it wouldn't be a bad idea to head to bed."

[Demeter]

While Chastity was in the kitchen, Rhea sat up under her own power and barely managed to not sigh in frustration. She tugged down her tank while staring into the short hallway that led to her kitchen. Either Chastity didn't go for women or she was completely oblivious. Rhea had all but shoved her breasts into the other woman's face. Scowling, Rhea crossed her arms over her chest and pondered the situation.

She thought about the gossip she'd heard. Out here in Point Hope, there were more men then women. Everyone knew she prefered women over men, even though no one really talked about it, yet the men still hit on her. Which meant they either thought they'd be so phenomenal at being a lover that they'd "cure" her or that they were hoping for some hot threesome action.

She'd never accepted any of their offers and she just knew that the locals had to sniffing after Chastity. Most of the women they got up here hooked up with some guy or another pretty quickly so it really did make her wonder about the doc.

Decided to make her point obvious, Rhea sat back against the couch and smiled at Chastity when the woman came back into the room. She waved away her offer of assitance. "I'll be a good girl and use the ice pack if you eat dinner with me and then, if you are willing, maybe go to bed with me."

[Maira]

She was pleased to see Rhea sitting up already and was in the process of handing the other woman the icepack when it slipped from her fingers to the floor. What?! Did Rhea really just ask her to go to bed with her? Her face flushed bright red, her eyebrows climbed her forhead and Chastity just stared at her patient dumbfounded for a moment before recovering.

Hurrying to bend and pick up the icepack, she then quickly handed it to Rhea and mumbled, "Excuse me while I get you your dinner," then she hurried out of the room and back toward the kitchen. Once safely in the kitchen, Chastity once again opened the freezer and this time stuck her head in it to cool down. What the hell had just happened? Had Rhea really asked her to share a mean with her and then share her bed?

Once she was sure her face wasn't on fire anymore, Chastity pulled her head out of the freezer and closed it before rummaging in the cupboards for the proper dishes and silverware. Completely against her better judgement, Chastity found herself dishing up two plates of ziti. "What am I doing?" she said under her breath as she picked up the plates and headed back out to the livingroom.

Once she handed Rhea her plate, Chastity sat down on the other end of the couch and just watched the other woman eat for a moment before attempting to eat her own. She pushed the food around on her plate more than she actually ate it, but she at least she tried.

[Demeter]

Rhea watched Chastity. It seemed that her little suggestion had shocked the poor woman. She supposed that if she'd followed through with her idea to just whip off her tank, the doc may have passed right out on her living room floor. Rhea bolted down her pasta before putting the plate on an end table and leaning towards Chastity.

"I wasn't joking about sleeping with you, if you want it. I wouldn't pressure you into anything tonight but, Chastity, I am very, very keen on the idea of you and me." Rhea scooted a little closer. "Am I wrong, Chastity, to believe that you'd rather be with a woman than a man?

Rhea didn't reach out to touch Chastity. She stayed exactly where she was, staring at the woman. She wanted to touch. Oh, she wanted to know if that skin was as soft as it looked but if she touched the other woman now, she'd want more. Chastity was far more appealing than a plate of pasta.

[Maira]

Her life had been rather simple up until now. Now there was a very attractive woman, who just happened to be a patient of her and the local sheriff, leaning in toward her and looking at her intently. There was no mistaking what Rhea wanted and, despite her better judgement, Chastity was seriously considering going along with it. Normally she wouldn't even consider getting involved with a patient of hers, but Rhea's determination was clear and she had a feeling that the other woman wasn't going to give up the object of her interest willingly or easily. Not to mention that despite her frazzled nerves at the prospect of sleeping with her patient, Rhea's nearness was causing Chastity's body to suddenly inform her of just how long it had been since she'd been intimate with somebody.

Knowing she wasn't going to be able to eat anymore of her ziti, Chastity just set her plate down on the coffee table. Then, turning so that she was facing Rhea, Chastity answered her quietly, "Yes, you're right, I definitely prefer women." And then she did something that she didn't expect to do, she reached out to Rhea and gently touched the other woman's cheek. With that caress and a shy simle, she said even more quietly, "And you are very hard to resist.

[Demeter]

Rhea leaned into the touch and barely resisted the urge to purr like a cat. She picked up that trick many years ago and used it to freak out her brothers and to amuse friends. Rhea scooted along the length of the couch, putting herself closer to Chastity. When her knees bumped against the woman's leg, Rhea reached out and placed a hand on Chastity's thigh to steady herself. She had the idea that just plopping herself into Chastity's lap after knowing her for less than twelve hours wouldn't be the best idea, no matter how much wanted it. It had been far too long since she'd come down to Juno to find some pleasurable company but she had the sense that she had to move slowly with Chastity.

With her fingers drawing silly little patterns on Chastity's leg, Rhea leaned forward and smiled at the other woman. "Tell me what you are. I know you aren't human"

[Maira]

It was already hard enough for Chastity to resist the urges of her suddenly very loud, very deprived body, and then Rhea's knees bumped her own and the Sheriff's hand slipped gently onto her thigh. With those two simple touches Chastity had two very strong and opposite urges. The first was to bolt and run for the door but it was ignored only partially because the question that came from Rhea shocked Chastity.

The other reason she ignored the first urge was that she also really, really wanted the second one. Partially to avoid answering Rhea's question about her heritage but mostly because she just didn't want to ignore her body anymore, Chastity gave in to the second urge and pulled Rhea into her lap. Then she mumbled, "It really doesn't matter," before pulling the other woman down to kiss her.

[Demeter]

Rhea gave a little yip of surprise when she was tugged into Chastity's lap but she didn't try to pull away. She just hasn't expect her to be that forward. She'd been trying to control herself from either crawling into Chastity's lap or from tugging the woman into her lap because she'd seemed ready to bolt at any minute. From somewhere in the back of her mind, rhea realized that Chastity hadn't answered the question but she really didn't care at the moment. There were things far more enjoyable to do at the moment.

For example, Chastity was missing the living day lights out of her. For a minute or two, Rhea simply enjoyed the feel of Chastity pressing up against her and of how the other woman held her. And then, of course, Rhea felt that she should take more of an active role in their impromptu make out session. She was the one who'd brought up their apparently mutual attraction in the first place and it was her couch. Rhea surged up against Chastity and wrapped her arms around the healer. It took a little bit of wiggling, something that neither one of them apparently minded because it gave them a chance to get their hands on each others bodies, but Rhea needed up straddling Chastity. She kissed the other woman with the singleminded determination of a woman bent on a goal. Her ultimate goal was to get Chastity naked and she'd see how far the other woman would let her goal.

Rhea slowly but steadily pushed Chastity into the couch cushions until they were both stretched out along the length of the faded upholstery. She has one arm bracing her weight while the other was slipping under Chastity's shirt. She nipped and nibbled at Chastity's neck while her felt feathered along the smooth skin she'd discovered under the shirt that was so inconveniently in her way.

"Tell me to stop, Chas, or I won't be able to. I want you. Either tell me to stop or tell me to take you to bed."

[Maira]

Between the kissing, nipping, and the roaming hands, and the bodies pressed against each other and moving together, Chastity was breathless and pretty well brainless by the time Rhea said something about stopping. It took a long moment for her foggy brain to put together what exactly it was that Rhea was saying and the longer it took her to think, the more worried Rhea's face got. After a few moments Rhea's words finally clicked in Chastity's mind and hoarsely she directed, "Bed now." At the shocked look on Rhea's face, almost like the other woman didn't expect her to actually ask for what they were both clearly so intent on, Chastity asked pleadingly, "Please?"

The speed with which Rhea got off her, and then lifted her off the couch, startled Chastity more than a little. Rhea's question about her own heritage now resurfaced in her mind and the angel couldn't help but wonder just what supernatural creature her soon-to-be lover was? Something abnormally strong and fast, likely a werecreature of some sort. Whatever Rhea was, Chastity didn't care. At the moment all she cared about were Rhea's lips and hands all over her as she was surprisingly gently laid down on the big bed tucked into the little bedroom.

*****

She was warm, and something smelled slightly smokey. She didn't remember lighting any candles or starting a fire the night before. She cracked her eyes open and was greeted by a completely unfamiliar sight. This was -not- her bedroom. At that realization, the activities of the night before returned to her in a rush and she squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief. Had she really done that? Had she actually begged a patient of hers to take her to bed?

The soft sigh from behind her, accompanied by a very and very naked arm slipping over her side to pull her close, answered those questions. She did her best not to stiffen in Rhea's embrace, even tried to relax back into her lover's incredibly warm and soft body, but she just couldn't. Now that she was awake she wasn't able to turn her mind off and just enjoy the morning-after bliss that still held Rhea in its clutches. Instead she just waited until the other woman loosened her hold and then she slipped out of bed. She tried searching for her clothes but for the life of her couldn't find them so instead she wandered over to Rhea's dresser and pulled out a couple things to wear until the other woman woke up and she could turn a light on to look for her own.

Rhea didn't appear like she was going to wake anytime soon so Chastity made her way into the kitchen. It took her a little while to find all the pans and cooking utensils she'd need but that didn't stop her, and not too much later she was taking breakfast and coffee to the woman still sound asleep in her big bed. Chastity set the plate and mug down on the bedside table next to Rhea, then bet down and kissed the other woman to wakefulness. "Morning, have some breakfast," she said once Rhea's eyes finally opened.

[Demeter]

When she heard the words "bed now," Rhea moved fast. In a heartbeat, she was up and off the couch. She hauled Chastity right along with her. She kissed the woman and managed to get them to the bedroom in one piece. She considered this a minor miracle because she was distracted by trying to get Chastity out of her clothes as quickly as she possibly could. The pretty shirt the doctor wore went flying into the bathroom. At least, Rhea was half sure that's where she'd thrown it. When they finally made it to the bedroom, Rhea bounced Chastity onto the bed, whipped off her own tank top and climbed up after her.

***

Rhea was sure that she was having one hell of a dream. She'd dreamt that she and the pretty new doc had been rolling around her bed and now she was sure she was dreaming about the pretty doctor's lips. She liked those lips. A lot. She wanted more of those lips but some rational part of her mind told her that she needed to get up, get dressed, and get her ass into the station for another day of paper pushing and moose chasing. She really hated the rational part of her mind. When she opened her to find that her dreams were real, she was immensely pleased.

With snarled and tangled hair and eyes still sleepy, she smiled up at Chastity. "Hi. I thought I dreamed that last happened. I'm very glad that last night did happen." Rhea half sat up in bed and twisted to be propped on her side. She glanced at the tray on her bedside table. "What about you? Are you happy about last night?"

[Maira]

Was she happy about what had happened the night before? Honestly she wasn't exactly sure. After a moment to think of how to put her thoughts into words Chastity answered, "I think so, but the whole you being my patient thing is kinda putting a damper on me being able to say 'yes' without any hesitation." Then, to take any perceived sting out of her words and also to make clear she was interested in more than one night, Chastity bent down and kissed Rhea again and added, "I think you need to find a different doctor from now on though okay?"

*****

Rhea did not get to eat her breakfast before it went cold, because after her instructions to find a new doc the other woman had tumbled Chastity back into bed for another round. Now Chastity was snuggled up close to Rhea as she finally ate her breakfast and she couldn't help but ask, "So, its Saturday so I've got the day off but what about you Sheriff? Are you off today too or just playing hookie?"

[Demeter]

Rhea grinned up at Chastity. She climbed up to her knees and twisted her hand into the shirt the woman was wearing. "I think a new doctor is in order as well. But that can be taken care of later. Chastity, you look very good wearing my clothes but I think they would look even better on the floor." She fell backwards with a giggle, pulling Chastity with her.

***

They'd taken the day for themselves. They'd watched movies, played games and even enjoyed a round of each other in the shower. Now, as they pretended to watch some old movie, Rhea watched the woman. They were curled under her comforter on the couch. Chasity was at one end and Rhea at the other. She nudged Chastity with her foot. "Are you ever going to tell me what you are? I'm a dragon."

She grinned at the look on Chastity's face. "I know. I'm awesome. Now, tell me what you are, Chastity and don't distract me this time."

[Maira]

The day had been amazing, and now they were ending it curled up on opposite ends of Rhea's couch with an old movie playing. Not that they were really watching it, in fact Rhea had just nudged Chastity with her foot and dropped a bomb of a question on her. A question that she really, really didn't want to answer. Then Rhea dropped an even bigger bomb on her by confessing that she was a dragon. Unable to stop herself, Chastity's head tilted slightly to the right and the look on her face was completely confused.

She didn't even get a chance to ask for more details before Rhea was prodding her again to know what she was. Realizing she couldn't really keep it from her anymore, Chastity only grumbled for a moment before answering, "The last person I told got all creepy which is why I avoid answering, but with you being a dragon," and the look on her face was still very curious, "I guess telling you that all I am is an angel isn't really that big of a deal."

[Demeter]

Rhea wiggled out from underneath the comforter and crawled up to cuddle Chastity. "Let me guess, the creepy one was human? I've had a few humans find out but mostly because they happened along at the right place and the right time. I had a hell of time convincing them that they were drunk or high."

Rhea wiggled her way back under the blanket. "You had no one to help you with the creepy one? That has to suck, big time. I don't always like them but I can fall back on my family if I need to," she raised herself up a little to look down at Chastity. "Do you have anyone you can count on?"

When Chastity shook her head, Rhea frowned. "Well, that's just not right. Well, now you have me and you can count on me. Unless I'm being chased by a moose, then you are on your own."

Rhea waited a few moments before looking back at Chastity. She wiggled her eyebrows. "So, you have wings, yes?" when Chastity nodded, Rhea wiggled her eyebrows again and leaned down to whisper into Chastity's ear. "You show me your and I'll show you me," she said.

[Maira]

In response to Rhea's question about the creepy person had Chastity nodding. "Human and male," she answered with a slight shudder. The memories from her (surprisingly long) time with George still gave her the creeps. Her "relationship" with George was how she had actually discovered that she really didn't care for men all that much. Of course, maybe it was just George she didn't care for... Not wanting to dwell on him any more than she had to, Chastity tried to refocus on Rhea's questions. She almost wished she hadn't.

"My original family abandoned me at a young age, the only support I had for a really long time was my goddess. When I finally felt ready to see what the world was about, she found a family for me in Ireland that helped me adjust, the MacKennas who wound up adopting me. Brigid tries to let me handle things myself and "creepy" just doesn't really call for goddess intervention, especially when I have an overprotective adopted older brother who I also try not to get involved because, well, the whole overprotective thing." Why on Earth she was telling somebody she barely knew all of this, Chastity had no idea. But maybe it was just time she did try and find somebody she could count on besides Brigid and her adopted family.

The next question, about wings, from Rhea had Chastity nodding in answer. As an angel of course she had wings. Then, in a comment she never imagined would be applied to wings, Rhea had Chastity smiling wide and answering, "Up for a little late night flying?"

*****

They were in a clearing outside of town, midway between what Rhea called a "holding" (whatever that was) and town. The sight in front of her had Chastity gawking. She'd seen plenty of other winged folks in her life, both angels and Custoss as well as some elementals, but she had never once seen a dragon. She now fully understood the human fascination with the large creatures and she was finding it hard to resist the urge to stroke Rhea's shoulder like she would a fine horse.

After a moment of just staring, Chastity was able to shake herself out it and removed her coat to let her wings out. She had clothes she normally wore if she knew she would be in her ethereal form but seeing as she didn't have those on, she really didn't want to ruin her jacket as well as her shirt. Her large feathered wings were a firey golden-red and the tips nearly brushed the ground when they were tucked in against her back. Once she was in her true form, Chastity wrapped her wings around her body for warmth and eyed the dragon in front of her, waiting for some sort of signal to indicate what they were going to do next? She knew flying was on the list, but she honestly had no idea where they should go except for not towards town.