01

What They Don’t Teach You In Taming Class

 

As Jet sat in the fourth row, he couldn’t help but fidget with the collar of his robe as the principal of his high school droned on and on. The girl sitting beside him surreptitiously nudged his knee and shot him a slightly annoyed glare. He rolled his eyes, but stopped messing with his collar. What seemed like, but couldn’t have possibly been, an hour later, the Principal finally finished his speech and started calling names. Jet sat up straighter and waited for his row to stand and start their walk up to the stage.

 

As he finally got to the stage, he heard the principal call out his name.

 

“Jethrow Allouious Conroy.”

 

Jet tried not to grimace as Mr. Stuckard used his full name. He crossed the stage and took his diploma from the older man as he shook his hand.

 

“Congratulations, Mr. Conroy.”

 

“Thank you, Sir,” replied Jet.

 

As Jet exited the stage, he returned to his seat and waited for the rest of his class to receive their diplomas. After everyone was done, the principal addressed the assembly once again. This time, Jet paid attention.

 

“This school has a long history of bright and enthusiastic graduates. This year is no exception. As we all know, there are all kinds of career choices available to young people these days, but one among them is arguably the most important. The Tamer. Tamers travel the wilds, searching for new breeds of pokégirl, patrolling the major routes between cities to keep them safe for everyday travelers, and responding to the worst cases when called upon, to keep our way of life safe. It is not a life for the faint of heart. It will have its good times and its bad times. It’s challenging. It’s dangerous. It’s also fulfilling. I cannot think of a more necessary job in our world. So, if I could have all the Tamers in the graduating class please stand…” He waited until all the students that had taken and passed their Tamer’s test last week to stand, Jet among them, before finishing, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you’re as proud of their decision as I am. Let’s give them a warm round of applause.”

 

And as Jet stood there in his cap and gown, listening to the raucous applause and whoops of excitement coming from the assembled parents and pokégirls in the stands, he knew he had made the right decision. He was a Tamer.

 

 

Jet stood in the guest parlor of the pokégirl ranch he’d worked at for the last two summers, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet. The owner was a real asshole most days, but he’d promised Jet his choice of starter ‘girl if he’d work for him. So, Jet had worked two summers, doing the worst jobs old man Crichett could think up, just for this moment. He knew that it was a long shot that any of his favorite ‘girls were still here, seeing as it was August since he was here last, but he kind of hoped his favorite Eva was still hanging about. 

 

He stopped bouncing as Mr. Crichett came through the door, and motioned Jet forward.

 

“C’mon, boy. I’ve got a nice line-up for you to choose from.”

 

Jet eagerly followed the older guy into the choosing room. It was a large room with chairs on one side and floor to ceiling mirrors running the length of the opposite side. He caught a look at himself in one of the mirrors and nearly face-faulted. His short brown hair was spiked up in his trade mark ‘do. His tanned skin looked very neat, having been lucky enough to outgrow zits his senior year.   But his eyes…they were twin pools of liquid brown excitement. It didn’t matter if he was eighteen; he really did look like a noob. Oh well. He tried to shake it off and focus on the ‘girls in front of him.

 

As expected, Jet didn’t know any of them. They were all brand new faces to him. There was a pretty calico’d catgirl, a shapely boobisaur, a haughty looking charmanda, and a bunnygirl.

 

“Hmmm,” murmured Jet as he walked back and forth in front of the line. He stopped to squeeze one of the catgirl’s breasts; he walked around the boobisaur and tried to caress her bulb, which got him swatted with a vine; he thought twice about touching the charmanda when he stopped in front of her. The look she gave him could’ve stripped paint; the bunnygirl, however, was more than happy to show off her physique and rub against him as he inspected her. He walked back to stand in the center of the room and looked at them again. He ran a hand over his face. This wasn’t what he was expecting.

 

“I know it’s a big decision, boy, but make up your mind already,” said Critchett.

 

Jet looked at him. “I guess it’s just harder to choose than I thought it’d be,” he said. Jet motioned to each of the ‘girls in turn. “The catgirl is a little on the small side, if you know what I mean. The boobisaur is both standoffish and uppity. The charmanda could give dark ladies lessons in glaring. In fact, the only one that’s anything like I expected is the bunnygirl, but if I pick her, I’ll be dead inside a week! Most of them don’t even look happy to see me!” Jet tried to calm down. He hadn’t realized how much he’d worked himself up.

 

Crichett cocked his head to the side, and pulled the ever-present cigar out of his mouth.

 

“You mean to tell me you can’t figure out which ‘girl you want because none of them are perfect?” Jet looked like he just bit into a handful of sour berries. Crichett laughed. “What did you expect, boy? Those perfect, busty girls they talk about in taming class?” Jet’s annoyed look only made Crichett laugh harder.

 

“What about all those really nice ‘girls I helped take care of for two years?” asked Jet. “I know you usually have a better selection than this,” he said, waving a hand to encompass the line-up. 

 

Crichett took a drag off his stogie and blew it at Jet. “Yes, I have some better specimens, but I’m not giving them away for free. So you can choose between these ‘girls and be happy about it! Oh, don’t look like that, boy.” He clapped Jet on the back and led him to walk the length in front of the ‘girls again and motioned to the ‘girls as they passed them. 

 

“All pokégirls need some work. They don’t just start out perfect, boy. Take this catgirl. Sure her breasts are a little on the small side, but she’s real tight where it counts. This boobisaur’s no different. She’s got a bit of an attitude, but after you give her a swift, hard taming, she’ll be so friendly you can’t keep her off ya. Now, I’ll grant you, the charmanda is a feisty one, but I taught you how to take care of feisty ones. Remember that bitchy witch we had last summer?” When Jet nodded, he continued, “That charmanda’s no different. Slap her in the restraints, make her take it, and show her no mercy. She’ll love ya for it.”

 

“What about me, Master Crichett?” asked the bunnygirl as they passed her.

 

“Ah, yes, my bunny.” Crichett had her turn in a circle for Jet. “She’s everything a tamer could want in the sack. Soft and curvy in all the right places, large and perky breasts, adorable and adoring.   She even knows a thing or two about cooking and cleaning.”

 

Jet looked her over appreciatively, but shook his head. “As much as I’d love to take her, a bunnygirl isn’t all that useful in a fight. The first feral I run across is gonna use me for a scratching post.”

 

Crichett nodded as he took another drag from the cigar. “I didn’t figure you’d want bunny there, but your Ma put me up to it.” He leaned toward Jet like he was telling a secret, though he didn’t lower his voice any. “She called me last week after you passed your test and asked me make sure you found a ‘girl you’d adore but couldn’t go anywhere with.” He shrugged. “I think she’s just trying to keep her baby boy at home a bit longer!” Crichett laughed at the crimson stain flushing Jet’s cheeks.

 

Jet hated being so easy to embarrass. His boss had made it his personal mission to see if he or his ‘girls could get the ‘new kid’ to blush every day during the summers. Sometimes Jet wondered how he’d managed to survive. He shook his head and looked back at the ‘girls lined up in front of the mirror. Another minute passed before he made up his mind.

 

“I’ll take the boobisaur,” he said, trying to ignore the hurt look on the bunnygirl’s face. In all honesty, he’d almost rather have the bunnygirl. The boobisaur didn’t look nearly as pleased with his decision as he’d hoped.

 

“Great choice, boy,” said Crichett as he led Jet to the chairs. Jet saw the paperwork waiting on the end table between the chairs for the first time. He got excited as he sat down, pulling out his ‘Dex and handing it to the old man. He was really doing it. As he signed the paperwork and watched Crichett make the necessary entry in his ‘dex, Jet felt a surge of pride as he took ownership of his first pokégirl.

 

 

Jet walked out of the local Pokémart with several bags and his boobisaur in tow. They had made good time in the market, having only spent an hour and about half Jet’s savings inside. Jet had left the boobisaur out of her pokéball, hoping the opportunity to watch him would help loosen the ‘girl up. Jet sent a quick glance her way and was annoyed to see the pretty girl’s face was scrunched into a deeper scowl than it had been when they left the ranch. He shook his head, not knowing what to do, before spotting the park and getting an idea.

 

“C’mon, Ivy, let’s head this way.” Jet led them into the park and toward his favorite place to sit and plan. The last two years, Jet had often been found in this park, all the way in the far west corner, where a gazebo sat on the edge of a clearing. He liked it because it was calm and no one bothered him much. He’d made his plans for his tamer’s journey here. It seemed appropriate that he visit the gazebo one last time before starting his trek. 

 

Jet led them back to the gazebo and smiled when he saw that the sun was filtering into the clearing quite nicely. He stopped at the steps and looked at Ivy. “I’m going to try to fit everything in my pack. Why don’t you enjoy the sun?” He motioned toward the sunny patch of grass.   Ivy arched an eyebrow, but looked at the grass with longing. “Go on,” Jet encouraged her. “I know you want to.” He was rewarded with his first grin from the pretty greenish-haired ‘girl before she walked out into the sunlight.

 

Jet watched in amusement as she walked around the grassy area a few times, then chose a spot to lay down on her stomach and soak up the warmth. He sat in the gazebo and pulled his backpack off, opening it wide, and unloading the few things he’d packed into it yesterday evening. Then he pulled all his purchases out of the bags and lined them up with his stuff from home. In addition to his belt and five extra balls, he had two changes of clothes, a few personal hygiene things, a canteen, a pair of binoculars, his copy of Taming for Dummies, a windbreaker, a deck of cards, his sketchbook and pencils, a multitool, a box of meal bars, a few actual MRE’s, a bag of pokétreats for Ivy, a spool of high tensile strength cord, a hammer, a small pack of nails, a couple potions, a first aid kit, a bedroll and a tent.

 

Jet started repacking the back pack, managing to fit everything in the big pouch and three smaller pouches on the front and sides. The only things he left out were his sketchpad and pencils. He sat back after that and enjoyed watching Ivy lounge in the sun. He made a couple sketches of her; one of her on her stomach and one of her face when she grinned at him. She really was a cute ‘girl. She was pretty average height and build for her breed. The only things different were her hair and her breasts. She was rather well endowed at a large D cup, and her hair was a pretty shade of aqua that matched her spots. If he had to guess, Jet thought she might have been raised in the nearby coastal city.

 

He wondered whether her ‘dex entry said anything different about her and pulled it out, putting aside the sketchpad. He brought up her entry and read the whole thing. He knew most of the standard information about the breed, as they were a fairly standard starter ‘girl, but her personalized entry held a few gems Jet wished he’d known when he took her. For starters, she had already been in a harem, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but her first tamer had been killed and his girls given to the league to disperse as starters. Her second tamer had sold her to Crichett, making the note in her entry saying she was ‘defective’. Evidently, she hadn’t said a word since her first tamer died.

 

Jet scratched his head as he looked at Ivy again, this time speculatively. He didn’t see anything wrong with her physically. His eyes trailed over her smooth ass and her rounded breasts as they were squashed beneath her. He couldn’t help but harden looking at her. His dad always said a pokégirl was better off seen and not heard anyway. He shrugged. He really didn’t think her being mute was such a big deal. It just meant he wouldn’t have to tell her to shut up all the time like his dad did his ‘Aunt’ Belinda, a chatty Joltina.

 

Jet put his ‘dex away, followed by his sketchpad. He stood up and stretched, then quietly walked toward the lightly dozing boobisaur. He left his pack in the gazebo and looked around their surroundings one more time. No one was in sight, and he couldn’t hear anyone else. Though she looked asleep, Ivy opened her eyes languidly to look up at him as he stopped right next to her. Jet smiled down at her, holding out his hand. 

 

“C’mon, Ivy.”

 

She looked at his hand and figured it was about time he got around to this. She looked up into his eyes and studied him a moment before taking his hand and letting him help her up. Jet led her across the clearing and into the trees, finding a shaded area of thick grass. He stopped and faced her, putting a hand on either side of her face.

 

“I read your entry notes, Ivy. I want you to know I won’t get rid of you just because you won’t talk. Won’t or can’t doesn’t make any difference to me. If you can’t, that’s fine. If you won’t, maybe one day you’ll decide you will, for me. Until then, we’ll make do. Ok?”

 

He seemed so earnest, Ivy had a hard time believing he could be lying to her. Finally, she nodded. Jet smiled, then leaned in to kiss her.

 

 

Jet chuckled as they walked out of the police station and down the steps. Ivy made a small sound of question. When Jet turned to look at her, he saw one eyebrow arched and she looked at him, then back to the station and back again. Jet chuckled again and hugged her to him. 

 

“I’m just amused, Ivy,” he said. 

 

She furrowed her brow and one vine came around to bump the pocket he kept his wallet in. Jet shook his head.

 

“It’s ok, Ivy. Really. I’d rather they caught us making out in the park and gave us a fine, than run us out of town or try to suspend my license. The fine wasn’t that much. I think that Jenny just drug us into the station because she knows my father. She likes giving me a hard time sometimes.” Jet tried hard not to laugh at the heated look she threw over her shoulder at the station. It made him happy that she apparently had decided he was good enough to be her tamer. 

 

“Don’t worry about her, Ivy,” he said as he pulled her closer again, this time nuzzling her ear. “I’d rather we made it out of town and started up where we left off…” He enjoyed the slight blush he brought to her face. It was nice to not be on the receiving end of that for once.

 

 

Jet opened his eyes to see an aqua-colored mop lying on his chest. He brought a hand up to gently caress one leaf leading to the bulb on Ivy’s back. He trailed his fingers up one side of the bulb before he saw the mop move and one red eye mock glared at him. 

 

He smiled and said, “I know better than that, Ivy. You like it when I caress your bulb.” 

 

He pulled her up his body to kiss her again, getting a tiny groan for his trouble. He chuckled.

 

“For someone who won’t talk, you don’t have problems making any other noises,” he teased.

 

She huffed at him, earning her ass a light swat. 

 

“C’mon. Let’s get up. We both need food and we need to get a move on sometime today.”

 

Jet crawled out of the tent and started breaking it down. He watched as Ivy helped him by stuffing his bedroll into its sack and hooking it to his backpack. After the fire pit had dirt tossed in it, they settled down to breakfast, Jet to a meal bar and Ivy to a patch of warm grass and a pokétreat.   Thirty minutes later, Jet decided she’d had enough time to sun herself and got them moving again.

 

They travelled in silence for most of the day, taking a break here and there for lunch and resting. A couple hours after lunch, Jet decided he wanted to see what Ivy could do. He spotted a dead tree on the side of the road. It looked like lightning had made nasty work of it. Several branches were still lying on the ground and what was left of the trunk was sticking up like a badly charred hand.

 

‘Perfect,’ he thought.

 

He led Ivy to the side of the road, shrugged out of his pack, and picked up a couple of the branches. He turned back to Ivy, who was looking at him curiously. He smiled, and moved to the side of her, giving Ivy a clear shot at the stump.

 

“I need to see what you can do, Ivy,” he said. He pointed at the stump and said, “Vine Whip!”

 

She rolled her eyes and looked at him with that ‘Are you serious?’ look, crossing her arms under those gorgeous breasts of hers.

 

Jet sighed. “Seriously, Ivy. We’ve been outside town for less than twenty four hours, and nothing’s attacked us…YET. I don’t know when we’re gonna see our first feral, but I don’t want to go into that fight knowing nothing of your capabilities.” He straightened his shoulders, pointed at the stump again, and said more forcefully, “Vine Whip!”

 

Without uncrossing her arms, Ivy snaked a vine out from behind her back and smacked the trunk with a dull ‘thud’. She looked at Jet with an ‘Are you happy?’ look.

 

Jet nodded. “Good, but I know you can do better. Again.” He pointed at the stump determinedly.

 

Ivy rolled her eyes again, but hit the stump with her vine again. ‘Thud.’

 

Jet nodded. “Again. This time with some force.”

 

Ivy pulled out another vine and hit the trunk with it, harder than before. ‘Thud!’

 

“Better,” said Jet, nodding. “Again.”

 

Ivy looked at him, annoyed, but hit the trunk with her vines, harder this time. ‘Thud, Thud.’

 

“Again.”

 

‘Thud, Thud.’

 

“Again.”

 

‘Thud, Thud!’

 

“Again.”

 

‘Thud, Thwack!’

 

“Like you mean it, Ivy!”

 

‘Thwack, Thwack!’

 

“Again!”

 

‘Thwack, Thwack!’

 

“Again!”

 

‘Thwack! Thwack!’

 

“C’mon, Ivy! Hit it like you mean it!” Jet shouted at her.

 

‘THWACK! THWACK!’ 

 

Ivy had long since uncrossed her arms, getting more annoyed by the second as her tamer made her attack a useless tree over and over again. She hit the trunk again, afraid that if she didn’t hit the burned out trunk, she’d flick her vines at the young man screaming at her to try harder.

 

‘THWACK! THWACK!’ 

 

Both pokégirl and tamer abruptly looked at the trunk as a large chunk of the lightning scorched exterior flew off in a shower of splinters and bark. 

 

“Excellent! Now try this,” said Jet as he tossed a branch at her.

 

Ivy didn’t even think. Her vines came out automatically and smacked the branch away from her.

 

“Good,” said Jet. “Again.” He threw another branch at her, smaller than the first.

 

They kept this up until he was scooping rocks up off the ground and tossing them at her as fast as he could. Ivy kept smacking them away, dodging the ones she couldn’t whip fast enough, until she got to the point where she could keep up with Jet’s pace. Just when she thought he’d run out of stuff to throw at her, Jet picked up one of the branches from the beginning and threw it in a high arc at her.

 

“Razor Leaf!” he shouted.

 

Ivy didn’t think, she just responded. Unfortunately, it was still Vine Whip she used. She still knocked it away, but she knew as soon as she did it, it was the wrong move. She looked at Jet apologetically.

 

“It’s ok, Ivy. We’ll just have to work on your concentration during a fight. If we need to change things up in the middle of a fight, you need to have the presence of mind to react accordingly.” 

 

He patted her shoulder and motioned toward the road. 

 

“Let’s get back to it. We still need to get a couple more miles down the way before we set up camp.”

 

He hefted the pack onto his back again and started off at a brisk pace, with Ivy following close behind him.

 

 

Ivy panted a little as she got done swatting the last branch with a Razor Leaf. It was almost dinner time and this was the second time Jet had worked with her on her targeting today. She was finally getting to the point where she was really listening to him instead of going on auto-pilot once he got her really worked up.

 

Jet patted her on the shoulder and smiled.

 

“You’re doing much better, Ivy,” he said.

 

Ivy smiled and hugged him.

 

Jet gave her the canteen and watched her take a long drink from it, before putting it back on the backpack. He motioned up the road.

 

“A little further and we’ll be in the next town. I’ll run you through a healing cycle, and then we can get something to eat. How’s that sound?”

 

Ivy nodded in agreement and fell into step slightly behind him.

 

They travelled in silence again, as was their customary want to do, until the town came into view. They were still a couple miles outside of town, but it sat in a valley, and it looked amazing from the top of the hill. The sun was just starting to set, casting long shadows over the valley and some of the taller buildings.

 

“I’ve been here before, but there’s something different about coming on my own. The last time I was here, my ‘Aunt’ Maggie, a Ka-D-Bra, had teleported Dad and I here to pick up some supplies,” said Jet.

 

Ivy made a confused sound next to him. Jet looked at her curiously. She pointed to him and then the town, then the ground, and then looked at him again.   Jet was at a loss. He hated playing this game with her. Sometimes, he understood her. Most of the time, not so much.

 

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to ask, Ivy. Why can’t you just say it?” After three days of trying to figure out her various sounds and questions, Jet was starting to lose patience with her.

 

Ivy glared at him a moment after his suggestion, but then bent down and started scratching at the dirt. When she stood up, Jet could see a word scratched into the dust.

 

 

Jet looked at her in surprise.

 

“You can write? Can you read?”

 

Ivy nodded. Jet smiled.

 

“Good. One less thing I’ll have to teach you,” he said. He looked back at the word and scratched his head. “Aunt?” he muttered. “What would she want to know about my aunts?” About that time the light bulb clicked ON. “OH! You want to know why I call them my aunts instead of my mothers?” he asked Ivy.

 

She nodded excitedly, smiling brightly.

 

“Well,” said Jet, “I know you didn’t meet my parents before we took off, but both of them are human. When my dad decided to settle down after his tamer’s journey, she didn’t have much use for his ‘girls, but she let him keep three of them as long as they helped out around the house. It worked for a while.” Jet kicked a rock down the road and started walking again. “Then my mom got pregnant. Everyone was happy about that too…until I was born. Evidently, one of my aunts was about to go through second puberty, and she was all excited about helping out with the new baby in the house. Mom was happy for the help, until she caught my dad’s Mistoffeles crooning to me one day about being momma. My mom hit the roof! She made dad get rid of the poor ‘girl. Nothing my dad said would change her mind. Ever since then, it was made perfectly clear that dad’s pokégirls were my ‘aunts’ and never my mothers. Hell, I wouldn’t even know about the whole mess if it hadn’t been for my dad’s Joltina, Belinda. Sometimes she starts talking and won’t shut up.”

 

Jet laughed a little, remembering playing with his aunts. Ivy had snuggled under one of his arms while he was talking. Neither one of them saw the catgirl tracking them in the trees until it was too late. The catgirl came flying out of the trees, aiming for Jet. Her aim was off a little, and she caught Ivy in the side, knocking tamer and pokégirl both to the ground.

 

Ivy was quick to respond, lashing out at the catgirl with her vines, driving her back from Jet’s prone form. Jet crab walked backward a few feet, then stood up and started directing Ivy.

 

“Razor Leaf, Ivy!” Ivy shot a flurry of sharp leaves at the catgirl, knocking her on her ass as she tried to keep the leaves from hitting her in the face.

 

“Again! Keep her down!” Jet yelled. Ivy shot another flurry of leaves at the prone catgirl who was trying to get back to her feet.

 

The catgirl finally managed get back on her feet, darting for the tree line, only to turn and run at Ivy from the side. Ivy snapped her vines at the catgirl again, this time smacking her across the face with one vine and the ass with another. The catgirl couldn’t decide which vine to attack first, so instead, she changed targets and ran toward Jet.

 

“Razor Leaf! Knock her down, Ivy!” Ivy succeeded in redirecting the catgirl from her attack on Jet. Instead, the catgirl decided it was time to leave and made a beeline for the trees again.

 

“Oh, no you don’t,” said Jet. “Ivy, Tackle, then Vine Bondage!”

 

 Ivy glowed a second before charging toward the catgirl in a burst of unusual speed, connecting with her back, knocking her sprawling on her face in the grass. Two seconds later, Ivy had the catgirl tied up in her vines and held aloft.   It was obvious the catgirl was starting to tire, but she was struggling fiercely in Ivy’s grip, making the plant ‘girl tighten her grip on the feline.

 

“She’s still fighting too much to be caught. Ivy, Lust Dust the bitch, then use your vines to wear her out,” said Jet, readying a pokéball in one hand.

 

Ivy’s bulb sprouted a thinner vine with a small bulb on the end that snaked over to her wriggling captive, bloomed, and released a spray of dust directly in the catgirl’s face. Two more vines started sliding over the catgirl, caressing her body and sliding between her thighs. Slowly the catgirl’s movements and sounds started to change to one’s of pleasure as the Lust Dust took full effect and one of Ivy’s vines started pumping in and out of her. It didn’t take long before the catgirl’s mrowls of pleasure hit a fevered pitch and her body stiffened, before going completely slack in Ivy’s vines. Jet threw the pokéball at the languid catgirl, who disappeared in the red capture beam and landed on the ground, rocking back and forth a moment, before the light faded, signifying a successful capture.

 

“YES!” shouted Jet, wrapping his arms around Ivy from the side and twirling her around in a circle. He let her down on her feet, just to kiss her soundly. When he pulled back, Ivy’s grin was as big as his. Jet let go of her and picked up the pokéball containing the catgirl. He put the ball on his belt with a smug smile of satisfaction.

 

“Our first feral capture, Ivy. We did it!”

 

 

“Well, we didn’t get as much for her as I hoped, but the catgirl got us enough for a few more supplies. At least we won’t be going hungry any time soon,” said Jet as they walked out of the local pokécenter.

 

Ivy shrugged, and then jumped as Jet pulled her out of the way. A woman came barreling past them, running into the police station next door.

 

“Wonder what that’s all about?” murmured Jet. Ivy shrugged again. “Let’s hang around and see if we can find out,” he said.

 

Ten minutes later, an Officer Jenny came out of the police station followed by two Growlies. They passed Jet and Ivy and headed for the pokécenter. Jet nodded with his head toward the group and started to follow them. The trio entered the building, Jet not far behind them, and walked up to the counter to talk with the Nurse Joy on duty. A minute later, the OJ turned around and addressed the crowd.

 

“Excuse me, can I have your attention?” she asked in a commanding voice. The few people in the lobby hushed and looked at the trio. “Thank you,” she continued. “I am here to ask for help from any tamer willing to help us. Just now, a woman reported her daughter missing. They say they’ve been all over their neighborhood and can’t find her anywhere. Unfortunately, the family lives on the far outskirts of town, and it’s highly possible the girl wandered off into the woods.”

 

A man that looked to be in his early twenties spoke up, “Are we talking an all call here?”

 

The OJ shook her head. “No. This isn’t mandatory by any means. We don’t know of any menaces in the nearby vicinity, but it would be most noble of anyone who wanted to help to step forward at this time.”

 

Another tamer sitting nearby the first, waved the trio off dismissively, saying, “Little brat’s probably just hiding from mommy and daddy. She’ll probably show up in another hour, scared half out of her mind.”

 

The OJ’s jaw clenched. “Maybe so, but we still have to try to find her. She’s only four.”

 

The second tamer shot back with, “No, we don’t have to do anything. You do. Unless of course, there’s a reward in it for whoever finds her…”

 

Jet had heard about enough. These tamers were obviously more experienced than he was, but they certainly didn’t seem eager to do such a seemingly simple job. He wasn’t afraid of the woods and a couple hours of work. He stepped forward, raising his hand.

 

“I’ll help. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty.”

 

The OJ nodded to Jet and said, “That’s one. Can I get a few more?”

 

A third tamer that didn’t look much older than Jet stood up, his Vixxen following suit. “We’ll help.”

 

The OJ nodded again. “That’s two.”

 

The first tamer sighed and stood up. “I’ll help. Might as well.” He reached over and smacked the second tamer in the head. “You can help too, Marcus. No point in you sitting on your duff while the rest of us are working.”

 

Marcus rubbed the spot on the back of his head, glaring at the first guy. “Just because you’re my brother, does not give you the right to tell me what to do, Patrick!”

 

Patrick smirked at him and crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course not, little brother, but if you don’t come help, I’ll tell Wilomena you left a poor, defenseless, little girl all alone in the woods without so much as lifting a finger to help find her.”

 

The blood drained from Marcus’s face. “You wouldn’t dare…”

 

Patrick’s smirk grew into a full blown evil gin. “Try me.”

 

Marcus stood up so fast, you would have thought he’d been zapped by a Ria. He spun toward the officer. “I’ll help!” He glared at his brother as he heard the chuckles of the other tamers in the room.

 

A few more tamers stood up, making the count six in all. The Officer Jenny looked pleased.

 

Soon, the OJ had the tamers following her toward the family’s house. Jet took the opportunity to side up to Patrick.

 

“Excuse me,” he started.

 

Patrick looked at him. “Yes?”

 

“Just curious, but who is Wilomena, and why is your brother so scared of her?” he asked.

 

“I’m not scared!” hissed Marcus, glaring across his brother at Jet. Jet finally noticed that Marcus looked to be about his age too.

 

Patrick chuckled. “Don’t mind him.   I think it’s downright hilarious, but Marcus hasn’t gotten used to her yet.”

 

“Her? She’s a pokegirl?” Jet asked, wondering what kind of demented ‘girl Marcus had.

 

Patrick snickered again. “Yeah, she’s a Megami.”

 

Jet’s eyes grew like saucers. “Really?” He looked at Marcus. “You must be an exceptional tamer then.”

 

Marcus snorted. “Yeah, right! That bitch just likes to make my life hell, I swear. Why do you think I keep her in her ‘ball most the time?” He looked at Jet. “Trust me, kid, don’t ever get involved with celestials. They’re bad news, the whole lot of ‘em!”

 

Patrick laughed again at his brother’s discomfort. “They’re not all that bad. Don’t let him scare you off of them. They just take a bit of stern handling, that’s all.”

 

They had to stop their conversation as they neared the house and the Officer Jenny started passing out assignments.

 

 

Jet was starting to get discouraged. 

 

They had been wandering around in the woods for hours now, without so much as a hint of where the girl had gone. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Early on, Ivy had done some weird thing just inside the tree line that Jet hadn’t understood at all. Then she took off into the woods like she was being chased. Jet hadn’t had any choice but to follow her. They had gone deeper and deeper into the woods, until they found a small clearing. It actually reminded Jet a lot of the clearing with the gazebo back home. The only difference about this one was the multitude of flowers growing all over the place. Ivy had walked out into the middle of the flowers and spun around, presumably looking for something. Whatever it was, she hadn’t found it, by the consternated look on her face.

 

Jet couldn’t figure out what had happened. He knew Ivy was far from a Hound, but she had seemed like she actually knew where she was going. The only thing he could figure was all the flowers had over-powered her senses. After that, they had circled the clearing until Ivy got another hint of whatever it was she was looking for and took off again, this time much slower. Sometimes she would just stand, touching a tree, and then look around like she was searching, before taking off again. They had continued this pattern several times, until Jet had no clue even where they were. He leaned against the trunk of a large tree, taking a breather, while Ivy looked around again.

 

“Ivy, I think it’s official. We’re lost.” 

 

Ivy gave him one of her ‘Are you kidding?’ looks again, before rolling her eyes and looking around the area some more.

 

Jet shook his head. “Seriously, Ivy, I’m not sure which way is what anymore, and we’ve only got a couple hours of daylight left. Do you think maybe we sho~”

 

He was cut off as Ivy took off into the woods again. He growled lightly and pushed off the tree, chasing after her. He got another hundred feet into the foliage before almost running Ivy over.  She’d abruptly stopped in the middle of her path.

 

“Ivy, wha~” Jet was cut off again as one of her vines came up and covered his mouth. He glared angrily at her and then noticed where she was pointing at something.

 

There, hovering a few feet off the ground, was a Buzzbreast. She was thirty feet in front of them, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Jet’s eyes widened as he saw the little girl clutched in the bug ‘girl’s hands. She wasn’t moving, but Jet thought he saw her breathing. Oddly enough, the Buzzbreast looked like she was trying to rock the girl back and forth in her arms. It was then that Jet saw the blood on the little girl’s outfit. One of her sleeves was slick with half dried blood.

 

Jet looked at Ivy, who pulled her vine away from his mouth. He leaned down to whisper directly into her ear.

 

“Ok, Ivy. We do this just like we did the catgirl. We need to distract her. Hopefully, if you attack her, she’ll drop the girl and focus on you. Then, we’ll wear her down and catch her. Buzzbreasts aren’t supposed to be tough, just pesky, so I’m not worried.” He smiled at her. 

 

Ivy returned the smile, but seemed less sure.

 

Jet patted her on the shoulder before whispering again, “I’m going to sneak around the way, getting as close as I dare, and when I shout ‘Now’, I want you to hit her with a Vine Whip. Aim high, even if you miss her. I don’t want you hitting the girl.” He pulled back and looked at her.

 

Ivy nodded and watched her tamer as he tried to sneak around the trees to get in a good position to grab the little girl. Luckily, the Buzzbreast was too preoccupied with her captive to notice the few snapped twigs that made Ivy wince. When he was as close as he dared get, Jet slid the pack off his back quietly and steeled himself.

 

“Now, Ivy!” he shouted.

 

Ivy didn’t hesitate. She closed the space between her and the Buzzbreast with a Tackle, then started snapping her vines at the bug girl. The Buzzbreast did exactly what Jet hoped she would and put the little girl down before turning her attention to Ivy with an angry sounding, “Buzzzz!”

 

Jet ran over to the girl, scooping her up and taking her back into the relative safety of the trees. A cursory once over told Jet that the girl looked to be passed out. He left her lying on the ground and returned to the fight. 

 

The Buzzbreast had tried to close ranks with Ivy, who had in turn started firing off Razor Leaf as fast as she could. The bug girl retaliated by firing off a rapid fire sting attack. Jet whipped his ‘Dex out, intending to see what he could do to help direct Ivy, but he couldn’t take the time to read the entry.

 

“Razor Leaf her again, Ivy!” 

 

The bee girl dodged a few of the leaves, but couldn’t get completely away from the attack. It served to piss her off though, as she flew straight at Ivy, buzzing louder than before.

 

Ivy tried snapping her vines at the bug girl, but she merely dodged them, careening into Ivy, knocking them both sprawling on the ground. For the first time, Jet heard something loud come out of Ivy’s mouth. He heard her scream.

 

“Ivy!” The bug girl was stinging the holy crap out of her.  “Ivy, use Lust Dust on her!” Jet hoped it would make the girl stop her attack.

 

Ivy managed to snake a vine around over her head, and spray dust into the Buzzbreast’s face. It didn’t seem to slow her down much though.   She angrily stung Ivy again, using all three of her stingers for the job. Ivy screamed again. 

 

Jet couldn’t handle standing there doing nothing, so he did the first thing he could think of…he found a branch lying on the ground, picked it up with one hand, found a rock lying nearby, and chucked it at the Buzzbreast. If nothing else, Jet could aim well. He hit the bee girl solidly in the back of the head. It definitely got the ‘girl’s attention. She turned toward her new attacker and came flying toward him.

 

“Oh shit!” groaned Jet. He hadn’t thought much beyond the part where he threw the rock. “Ivy!” he yelled as he started backing up quickly. A glance in Ivy’s direction didn’t comfort the tamer in the least. She was lying in what looked like a very uncomfortable position, halfway between her side and her back, with her eyes open. She wasn’t moving.

 

Jet knew he was screwed, so he did the one thing he had left in his arsenal. He ran!

 

Jet took off into the trees, twisting and turning between them, hoping to outrun the bee girl, or at least bore her into giving up chase. A few minutes later, he chanced glancing behind him and slowed down.   She didn’t appear to be following him still. He breathed a sigh of relief and faced forward again…only to run face first into a pair of striped tits.

 

“Buzzz…”

 

Jet flailed in her grasp, trying to hit her with the branch he was still clutching. Apparently, the Buzzbreast took exception to his big stick policy and decided to take matters into her own hands. She buzzed at him loudly, grabbing the stick, and pulling it away from him. Then she pushed his head into her breasts again, barely missing her stingers, and ground her pelvis against him.

 

The light bulb finally went off in Jet’s head. Ivy had hit her with Lust Dust before being stung that last time. Maybe all the bee girl wanted was a taming. He carefully ran his hands up her sides, seeing how she reacted. Worst case scenario, she got pissed and snapped him in two. Best case scenario, he caught himself another feral to sell.

 

The Buzzbreast buzzed in what Jet hoped was a happy way, and ground herself against him again. Jet gingerly undid his pants, giving himself room to give her what she wanted and then went back to stroking her sides. She was covered in a hardened shell like stuff, but it was warm and smooth to the touch, and it wasn’t long before Jet felt himself getting into the groove of things. The next time the ‘girl ground against him, Jet pulled her down to press himself against her opening. She didn’t resist him, so he started pushing into her slowly.

 

It didn’t take long for Jet to start feeling like he had this handled. His dad had always told him that taming a feral was only difficult until you got it inside them, then it was all good. For being a bug, Jet had to admit she was fairly pretty. His hands tightened on her waist, and he started pumping into her in earnest. Her buzzing started to come out almost like purring. He started pounding into her harder. Several minutes later, Jet felt her contracting around him. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold back. It wasn’t like he didn’t have stamina, but it was like he was inside a velvet vice! Thankfully, he felt the Buzzbreast start convulsing around him as she buzzed loudly. He gave up and let himself go, burying himself deeply as he released inside her.

 

The Buzzbreast panted lightly, trying to catch her breath. Jet tried to gently dislodge the ‘girl from his lap. She buzzed at him and pushed downward, driving him a little more inside her. Jet got the message. The Lust Dust wasn’t out of her system yet, and she didn’t seem ready to let him go. He settled in for the long haul and decided to see how long it took to wear her out.

 

Jet really got into trying to wear the Buzzbreast out. Eventually, he even managed to get her on her back. He figured he was home free from here. He was making sure to hold himself up from her breasts, and she was really starting to buzz loudly. Unfortunately for Jet, concentrating as hard as he was on the Buzzbreast beneath him, he never saw the one that flew up and stung him in the back…

 

Macavity watched as the tamer was hefted into the second bee girl’s arms. She knew he was most likely going to be newest member of the hive. She sighed. It was a pity. He had shown real potential for a short while, but there was a saying she had heard lately that she was quickly growing fond of:

 

'Stupidity is often self correcting here.'

 

Honestly, she didn’t know what the hell the boy had been thinking, taking on a buzzbreast with a stick and a rock. She shook her head. He should’ve left his boobisaur to the buzzbreast and ran with the child. The other tamers could’ve helped him find the hive to retrieve her. She shook her head again and chuckled.