We-Haul, mini-series, part 2 (Patreon)

“Antonia Kilgrave Griggs, you never mentioned your little Human friend was so cute!”

Rolling her eyes, Toni hoisted the futon higher into her powerfully corded arms.  The steel frame bit into her thick fur, as she had divested herself of her usual leather jacket from the heat.  “Friends don’t talk about friends that way, Mom.”

“Just friends?” the matronly Tiger teased, still eyeing her daughter’s ‘borrowed’ phone while she worked.

“Yes,” she growled back.

“Awful shame…gorgeous little thing like that?  I’d take a bite or two for sure.”

“Great, now I have the mental image of my mother fucking my best friend, who has a fiancé by the way.”

“A fiancé in an open relationship,” Zirya commented.  She had lost the playful edge to her voice, face just as sour as Toni’s at the mention of it.

"It's none of my business," she replied in a clipped, controlled tone.  "Erik is free to live his own life, and if he wanted a change, he's fully capable of making it on his own."  She wasn't sure who she was really trying to convince here: her mother, or herself.  Either way, it made her hackles raise in annoyance and frustration, not helped by the metal springs abruptly pinching some of her thick, orange and black-striped fur.  "Now where do you want this fucking thing?”

“Language,” admonished her mother, still sipping at her tea.  She had a distant look in her eyes, a meddling sort of air which Toni knew all too well.  Still, she knew her mother would never actually try and interfere, even if she wanted to.  Being a Matchmaker by trade meant that Zirya naturally always was seeking to bring people together.  She had however promised to never do so for her daughter without consent.

“Spirits forgive me,” puffed the huge Alpha Tigress.  “Where the fuck do you fucking want this fucking couch for your fucking?”

Zirya fixed her daughter with the Griggs' patented withering glare. Despite her mother only wearing a floral bathrobe whilst sitting at her dining room table, almost anyone else would have immediately been cowed.  Against another Alpha, however, all it did was make both Tigers eventually grin in good humor, dispelling or perhaps distracting them from the previous issue.  “In the study please.”

Nodding dutifully, Toni trudged down the short hallway of the domicile to the aforementioned room.  She plopped it as gently as she could down, rolling her dented-feeling shoulder to alleviate the groove carved into its muscular shape, and then unfolded the metal springs and panels.  

She did her best in trying to ignore the deliberately spaced sections meant for…alternative use or positioning: loops, grips, and ideally placed footholds  On went the cushion topper immediately after, and finally the decorative, stain-resistant cover.  She was careful not to nick the thin material with her claws.

“There you go, Mother,” she announced when finally finished.  “Ready for your latest defiling.”  She tried to resist the shudder that went up her spine at the mental, all-too-accurate, image.

From the doorway, having followed her daughter, Zirya beamed happily.  “Oh and it looks just as good as it did in Voyeur-Weekly!  Thank you my love.  Having a mover for a daughter certainly comes in handy.”  She reached around the corner and dug around in her purse, shoving bills into Toni’s over-sized paws before she could stop her.  “For the drinks and a little extra,” she proclaimed happily.  “Now you go see that boy of yours.”

Toni’s face fell a bit, face-fur fluffing up and her ears folding down.  “He’s not my boy,” she growled dully.

“Then I’d get on that, my dear,” her mother softly consoled her, stroking the fur on top of her head the same way she used to when Toni was a little cub.  Even now, so many years later, although she never would admit it, it helped, a little.  “I know you’ve been as respectful as you can about his personal life for years, but…”

Her yellow eyes hardened a bit at her mother before she remembered that she really did have her daughter’s hopes in mind.  Even if they felt utterly unattainable.  “I won’t cross that line, Mom.  He needs me as a friend.”

“You can still be friends, and be together.” commented a third voice from a closed door behind them.  Toni growled, rolling her eyes more heavily than ever and pulling a face.  “It sounds like a very messed up situation, but from everything your mother’s said, you’re by far the better choice for the guy.”  There was a short pause.  “If my opinion is worth much.”

Zirya purred deep in her throat, making Toni fight hard not to gag, even if inside, she felt a twinge jealous, and also happy that her mother was dating someone nice.  “Oh your opinion is worth plenty, David.  Are you feeling better?”

“Yup!” the chipper voice proclaimed.  “My legs aren’t even numb anymore!”

“Excellent…”  The purring intensified and Toni caught her mother’s increased scent beginning to rise.  She took the out.

“Bye mom!” she called as she rushed out of the apartment, barely stopping to grab her jacket.  She was nearly out the door, one footpaw on the landing, when her tail was caught short and she whirled around, annoyed.

Her mother, still smiling, plopped her daughter’s phone back into her coat pocket where she had pilfered it from originally.  Then her large paw lifted and stroked Toni’s cheek one last time, tracing the vicious scar on her brow.  “Remember, my dear,” she consoled her.  “You deserve to be happy too.”

Ire and irritation faded from her eyes and she leaned her head down to bump it against her mother’s.  “I’ll…see, Mom,” she muttered.  “Now…go enjoy your new futon.”  It was a losing battle trying not to choke saying the words.

“I intend to,” Zirya purred, then, raising herself just a touch, kissed her taller daughter on the cheek, and then shut the door behind her.  Even through it, she could hear her mother call out, “Oh little David…”

Moving quickly so as to get out of earshot of her mother's apartment before she heard anything, Toni shoved her big paws into her jacket pockets, doing the zipper up to just under her buxom chest, and began striding down the street.  She didn’t need to drive to get to their favorite watering hole, Truce and Tanners, striding purposefully down the pavement on long, powerful legs.  Those around her made room as she passed; Alpha energy was easy to recognize, and she looked to be in a bad mood.

Pulling out her phone, she checked her messages.  Just as she’d hoped, she saw a single, if worryingly short, message from Harker.  “On way.”  It was dated back five minutes before.

“Already here,” she sent back.  “Guess you’re buying the first round.”

She had barely strode in through the door, passed the host, Tanner, who waved at her as one of his regulars, when her phone chimed.

“Fine.”  That alone made her stomach knot slightly.  The second message that followed only made her worrying grow more.  “Can we talk?”

“Of course,” she replied, dropping the playful edge she always found herself using when texting him.  “Everything okay?”

“No.”

Her mother’s words echoed in her head as she took her seat, ordering herself and him one of their favorite beers and chasers.  All she had to do now was wait, and stew, and worry.  She clicked onto the contact picture for Harker, studying his handsome, faux-irritated, features, tracing the line of his pixelated cheek with a clawtip.
Maybe, today.  Maybe.  But first, him.

End of Part 2