Love As The Darker Binding Ch 04

*** Imogen and Dusty figure things out.

Abi (who doesn't appear in this one) has had thousands of years at what he does, so he knows everything about all of the kinds who work for him.

Just one fact which he never tells anyone is that he knows that there's something about some Ushandi and some humans. He knows that if you put a pair of them together and if they find that they like each other, something's more than likely going to happen.

He doesn't know why that is, but he knows that it would work well for these two for what he has in mind. 0_o

***

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STILL someplace on the Florida gulf coast.

The morning brought a little strangeness.

Dusty awoke to find Imogen sitting in bed looking at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," she smiled, "I'm sorry if it woke you up, but I was just looking at you. I'm really glad that I woke up first. I wanted to because I had a feeling that if you woke up first, you'd change back to looking like a dog before we need you to and I didn't want that, because then,..."

She rolled her eyes, "I knew that you'd get all shy on me. This way, I got to look at you for a little while ... naked.

I mean, the way that you really are."

"H-How much is 'a little while'?" he asked.

"Not long," she smiled, "Only a little more than an hour or so."

"An hour?" He shook his head to clear it, "Why? You can see all of me with one look. What do you need an hour for?"

"Details," she grinned, nodding brightly, "I'm a girl.

We like details.

I've never seen anyone like you, Dusty. I just sat here, gazing like a freaking twelve year- old girl, looking at things like, ... oh,... your face and how much I like it, big snarly teeth and all whenever you move your lips. I looked at your ears and your nose, ..."

She sounded as though it was going to be a disturbingly long list.

Dusty groaned.

"I thought you had a build when you were like a dog, but holy cow, Dusty... you've got those big arms and I finally got to look at your hands a little, too." She held up her hand, imitating a claw, "rrrRRAWrrr."

"Please stop, Imogen."

"And I saw your back feet and your tail – I mean the real one, of course.

I was kinda amazed at your narrow waist for a while. It sort of threw me, because you're very thin there, but it holds you together anyway.

I have to admit that I was stuck staring at your little bum for a while too. It's not really little; it just looks that way compared to the rest of you. It's really cute, too.

Bums are an important detail to girls, you know.

I mean besides our own.

I think I spent about twenty minutes admiring yours, just 'cause it's so nice and it's so firm and all. I'm really surprised that I was able to keep my hands off it – well after the one long touch, because you looked like you were gonna wake up if I kept petting it."

She eyes drifted lower, "And then I got a REALLY good look at –"

He was out of the bed, walking away and feeling stupid.

Imogen was startled as how fast he could move when he wanted to like this. His motions also grabbed her attention because though he was shaped very generally like a canine or perhaps a hyena; his motions were a little strange, though they fit him perfectly. He didn't move like a cat either.

She realized after a second that what was so strange about it was that as a human and presented with something which was built roughly like those creatures, Ushandi weren't like those things and so when he moved, she was surprised, not knowing how far his stride would take him and finding that his foot had landed in a place where she hadn't thought that it would, usually farther away, yet his strides didn't look that fast.

But his progress sure did.

His back legs were as long as hers she guessed, but they were shaped generally like a dog's so it was hard to tell with all of the bends and his hips were at about the same level as the bottom of her breastbone. But his front ones, ...

She looked at the way that he held those claws back as he walked. Then she imagined him reaching out to slash something the way that she'd seen his brothers do in his memory.

Whoa ...

She almost ran to him, seeing that her little jokes were having an effect.

"Hey," she smiled as she caught up to him on the other side of the apartment, "I was only fooling around. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings if I did."

She looked at him with a concerned expression, "Um, ... did I?"

"No," he said trying to brush it off, "No, I'm ok."

Like this, his face and head were much closer to the level of Imogen's and it was another surprise to her. But she pushed it aside and reached out to hug him for a moment.

"I'd never want to make you feel bad. That was just my dumb way of saying that I think you look amazing. I've never seen anyone like you, but that's not the thing. The, ... the way you look and move, ... Dusty," she smiled, "the way that you ARE is freaking awesome!"

He looked up, confused, "It is?"

"Ok, I love the wolfhound shape when we're outside. But this, ... Please stay like this for me? I really like it."

He was about to refuse, just out of feeling uncomfortable. "Imogen, I don't think tha –"

"You look sexier than anything that I could ever imagine like this," she purred as she stepped closer to him and gently took his large face in her hands. He looked up into her eyes and they were both a little lost for a moment. Imogen re-focused on his face and had three thoughts then.

He didn't look like a human male at all.

He didn't look like a dog, either.

She wondered what it was which pulled her so hard toward him. It wasn't anything that he was doing. She was fairly certain of that. All the same, she wondered if Ushandi knew how to kiss.

"I, ... I do?"

"Trust me, Handsome" she smiled, "You look awesome to me."

The statement seemed to hold Dusty immobile for a moment as he considered it. She kissed him then, very softly and right in front of his eyes.

He blinked a few times and said, "I um, ... I have to pee."

Imogen saw that the spell had been broken, but she didn't much care. As far as she could tell, she'd gotten him from feeling dumb over her joking. She wondered if Ushandi did very much of that until her thought of seeing his memories made her guess that maybe they didn't, so she decided to be a little careful after that.

She guided him to the bathroom and that began more awkwardness.

"You're not aiming at the bowl," she said, her head upside down as she held back her long hair while she tried to judge for him.

"I don't know where to move to so that I do," he groaned a little, "There's no place for me to stand, and I really need to go now. I'm just going to run outside and –"

He fell silent then as he felt Imogen's fingers.

"We'll need to figure something out later, but I think you're right on the money if I hold it like this. Go ahead, Dusty. Pretend I'm not here."

By then, it had become more urgent for him so he just began and Imogen aimed it perfectly, watching and trying to feel for any changes in flow as she leaned on his hips. It went on for a while, though she didn't mind. He looked up into the mirror once and saw her looking at him. She smiled and winked before she went back to aiming.

"Imogen –"

"Shh! I need to get this right or I'll be cleaning the bathroom since it was my idea. Tell me later, ok?"

He finally slowed down and stopped. "What do I do now?" he asked.

Imogen pulled off a little toilet paper and she wiped him and pat him on the flank after tossing the tissue into the bowl, "The same as me. If we can't come up with anything, I'll do this for you. It's not such a big deal."

She flushed and stepped to the sink to wash her hands.

"Did I, ...?" He groaned, "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, "No, I'm just washing my hands."

She looked at the bowl for a moment. "Hey, you can sit something like a dog, can't you?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Let me know when you need to do the other thing, just so I'm aware. Try to sit then. I just hope that I don't have to get involved, that's all," she said.

She put the seat down and sat down herself, surprised at having to look up that far.

"Big rule, ok? You have hands, so I expect you to remember to put down the seat for me when you're finished peeing. This is my place, so ... "

"I'll do my best," he said quietly, "But why are you, ... uh, ..."

She rolled her eyes, "I thought we got past the peeing part. We're different. I don't really care about that, but that doesn't mean that we don't have to make allowances for the ways that we're different. I really don't think that we can avoid some things. I want us to learn what they are and just deal with them. So you remember the seat for me, ok?"

"Ok," he smiled seeing the way that she was trying to put him at ease.

He turned to go and she grabbed for his tail. "Hey, I got to hold your willy for you. I thought you'd at least want to watch me."

"You're right," he grinned, seeing this as a way to smile over something together, "What was I thinking?"

"I dunno," she laughed, "but I'da thought that something like this would at least be enough to hold your attention."

"It is," he said, "I was just feeling better after feeling dumb."

"You don't have to feel dumb," Imogen said and he could see that she was sincere." You just have to want to be my friend."

"I'm your friend," he said as she began.

"I wish I knew where it comes out," he said as he sat down and looked carefully, "It looks like it just appears out of nowhere. And why are you sitting like that? You sit more upright any other time."

"Consideration for you and the floor," she said, "Sometimes, if I didn't do this, I'd probably clear the edge of the seat and then I'd have to help you with the shower.

And it doesn't appear out of nowhere," she said, "From what you said last night; you might not have a whole lot of knowledge about these things – especially on a human."

"I've seen Ushandi um, girls when they do that," he said, "I just don't know where it comes out. It's even harder to see on you because of that bit of fur."

She chuckled at that word for a moment, "So tell me, where does it come out?"

He thought for a moment and then gave up. "I don't really know. Where then?"

She wiped and stood up to flush. When she turned around, she smiled at him and said, "A very mysterious place."

She walked out of the bathroom, "Can you hold the garbage bags open for me while I stuff the junk in? It's garbage day."

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The first thing was the dog license.

Since Irish Wolfhounds are a large and expensive breed to buy and just naturally attract attention wherever they go due to their relative rarity and size, the people at the animal control office had all sorts of questions for Imogen, which she answered as she showed them her papers. They scanned his chip after that and were satisfied, since the national database had him listed.

Imogen was a little amazed and very pleased when she found his phony immunization record in with the other things, though she could tell that he was even more happy about that part. There was even a rabies immunization tag in a little plastic bag there in her wallet. It was from California, but it was recognized where they were and it was good for over a year and a half.

Dusty stood it as several of the people there stared at him, and the worst part was the way that two of the women fawned over him, rubbing his fur in ways that he hated while they gushed over him.

He was very happy once it was all over.

"There's a leash law here, Miss," the male animal control officer said as they prepared to leave, "Dogs need to be on a leash at all times in public."

Imogen wanted to hit him for saying it, though she put on an innocent face and poured on the big eyes for him. "But he's really well-behaved," she said, "He loves everybody, but he doesn't act like he needs to show it, other than to me. He's really good with spoken instructions. I can show you, if you'd like.

Dusty, sit."

Dusty sat.

"Dusty, stay."

She didn't even hold up her hand. She just walked out of the place for a few moments as she walked to the curb and back. The animal control officer said his name and snapped his fingers, trying to break Dusty's concentration. Dusty ignored him, though he was fantasizing about breaking his neck.

Other than watching her over his shoulder a little, he didn't move a muscle, not even as she came back inside. He just followed her with his watchful gaze with his large tail wagging slowly as he watched her everywhere that she went.

The women in the place began to bore holes in the man's head with their eyes because Dusty had already made a lot of friends with them.

"Well alright," he said finally, "There are a few dogs around here who are this well-behaved, other than companion animals for the blind. What we insist on is that you always have your leash with you when you walk him. Keep it visible in your hand and ready to use. That way, we'll know and you'll avoid a citation. But be very careful when stepping off the sidewalk at intersections with him, ok?

There are a lot more stupid drivers out there than there are well-trained dogs like him."

Imogen told them that they were going to get Dusty a collar and a leash right then as they walked out of the door together. No one but Imogen heard his thoughts and desires for the next few blocks, once she'd explained what a leash was to him.

The next challenge was to find a collar which could handle the expansion of Dusty changing to the larger shape, since they agreed that taking it off and putting it back on all the time was just going to be a pain in the ass. And that was even if they didn't misplace it somehow.

The store only had one like that, and Imogen got it at a discount because that type didn't sell very well. "The previous store manager got a bunch of these with the rest of a consignment," the manager said, "Other than selling a few to goth kids around here, we didn't sell one. That one's been here forever because of the size. I don't know what she was thinking. I've never seen a dog yet who wouldn't try to get his collar off if he could manage it."

Dusty stood looking very pleased to have his new collar then, just to prove her wrong.

"He looks pretty happy with it, though," she smiled, "So that's one dog who doesn't mind, I guess."

"They're a different sort of breed," the other saleslady said, "They're so gentle and noble in the way they move. You just have to love them."

Dusty saw a pair of doggy saddle bags and he silently suggested that Imogen buy them. "Everyone here has a car. We don't. It just makes sense for going shopping."

She agreed and threw them in with the rest as she paid. She was pleasant and actually pleased at what they were buying, but the sight of the leash on the counter just turned her cold to think of them walking like that.

It took a little longer while everyone worked at fitting the saddlebags on Dusty. He needed every single adjustment fold in the straps lengthened so that they'd fit.

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"I'm a different sort of breed," Dusty grumbled as they walked on afterward, "I almost want to find her one day to let her see just how right she was. I'm almost sure that I could make her piss in fear during her own nightmares for months."

Imogen wanted to laugh because it sounded funny to her, but she knew the way that Dusty must have been feeling. "I know," she said, "I hate that we have to do this at all." She looked at the folded, short leash in her hand and she felt worse.

"You should have bought another pair of these bags," he thought to her, "They're not all that large."

"You'd look like a pack mule then," Imogen said, "and I'd feel like an idiot. I have arms, and we can always take my knapsack with us wherever we go, folded up in one of those things, just in case we need it."

"We'll look like vagrants then," he smiled back, "but I won't care. I've got you."

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"I just don't like the way that humans have of making these signs of owning things," he said as they walked on after a while.

"I can't say that I'd want to wear that collar all of the time just like you don't want to be wearing it," she smiled, "but I did buy one of the style that you liked at first until we found that it wouldn't expand. You just didn't see it as I paid for everything.

I'll wear it for you if you want, so that you'll feel like you own me too. We're supposed to be the same. I think that's what Abi meant for us to be."

"Would you?" he asked looking back, "Really?"

"Uh-huh," she grinned as she removed the collar from the bag, "Gimme a second to take the price tag off and see if I have to adjust it, and I'll put it on for you right now. I know we agreed on it, but it doesn't feel fair to me that you wear that even when we're alone. I just hope that you don't mind the amount of skin that it covers when I'm naked."

The collar was all of one inch wide and it had pointed metal studs around it.

"I'll try really hard to get over it," he smiled and she chuckled.

"What about the leash?" he asked, "Do I get to see you wear that for me too?"

"Hmmph," she grinned, pleased to have brought his good humor back, "Now you're just being a kinky boy. I'll have to think about it."

She stood laughing in the street over the way that his ears and eyebrows rose at that.

After that, it was off to the bank and then they went to the some clothing stores, discount ones mostly. Imogen might not know about shopping for food, but she'd never been rich and saw no benefit to paying for a chain's chic interior when she was there to buy clothes. As Dusty waited, pretending to be tied up outside, he looked through the window as Imogen stopped in the swimwear section and considered a few things.

"What were those small pieces?" Dusty asked and she said "Swimsuits. People wear them to go swimming."

Dusty looked across the street and said quietly, "That's just stupid. You all wear clothes which you don't want to get wet, yet you wear clothes to go swimming. That's nuts."

"I know," she said, "but I want to feel better about me. I already do, but I keep remembering what Abi told me. I haven't had a swimsuit since I was a kid. It's been that long since I've gone swimming. I want to go swimming now."

They walked off to the market together. She bought what he told her to, stuffed what amounted to one day's groceries for them into the saddlebags and they went home.

While Dusty worked at preparing their dinner after she'd explained how to operate the burner controls, Imogen got on the phone and asked to have her account reactivated at the fight school. She booked a familiarization flight for the next day.

After that, she showed Dusty her flight simulation setup. His hand even fit the joystick, though it took a bit for him to find his groove for stable flight. He had a lot of trouble with the mouse.

"Forget about that," Imogen said, "There isn't a plane out there in the real world where you need a mouse, as far as I know. They just use it here as a way to work the little buttons on the radios and stuff, since otherwise it would just get too complicated having to assign things. You can use the keyboard for a lot of that too, so you just need to get used to that."

After an amazing dinner, they went back to flying. Dusty could see that as far as simulation was concerned, she knew her stuff.

He also knew that flying in the real world was far more important, so he'd be watching her progress with interest. He pointed out that what they'd be flying was never visible on radar, so they needed to be aware of the airspace around them at all times. It caused her to wonder about it.