Misty and the Mountain Men--Part 2
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WWWCentaur Board Posting # ????
Hello all,
Sorry about the delay, but I've been catching up on work and recovering from assorted disruptions.
[SNIP]
Then my wife dropped the other shoe. Tanya's boss was willing to pay room and board if we were willing to keep her and her daughter on our property.
[SNIP]
"The E-team would like that," I commented automatically.
"Don't tell them about it yet," my wife said. "'George' wouldn't like it if the deal didn't go through."
My brain went into gear. "Wait a minute. This means that Tanya will be at our place."
"If we get along with each other, yes."
I shifted my brain out of reverse and put it in neutral for a moment. "What happened to the multi-level, code name accented, security driven paranoia we've been going through?" I asked.
My wife chuckled. "I had a feeling that things might change when I talked with 'Nurse.' Even before we left for the main ranch house we were talking horses and shows and trail rides. I will admit that I was surprised by the suggestion. But it isn't a sure thing yet."
"What does Tanya think about this?" I asked, putting my mind into first gear.
"I didn't talk to her," my wife said. "She was with you."
"Huh?" I answered, shifting into fourth and stalling my mental engine. "I thought she wanted to talk to you first?"
"There was a change in plans," my wife said. "'Nurse' felt that Tanya needed to spend time with you before making the decision. In fact, we're going to be taking a little vacation with Tanya to see if we can get along. That will determine if the deal goes through."
"I'm not sure I like this," I said.
I put my brain back into first gear. "How do you feel about this proposal?" I asked.
"There are good points and bad points," my wife said. "We'll adapt if she joins us. But I think it would be worth it to have her where the E-team can monitor the process. The more we know, the better the odds of reversing the process."
"Yeah," I admitted. "It would also improve the odds of controlling the process so that you could be a centaur stallion and I could give you 'riding' lessons."
My wife blushed.
I put my mind into second gear. "So which one is Tanya?" I asked. "No. Let me guess," I said half a second later, remembering the other pony. "Mountain Mist?"
"Yep," my wife said. "What's your opinion of her thus far?"
"She's good with horses," I began. "And her background explains why she is so quiet." I then went on to describe my plan to get her to laugh.
"'Nurse' warned me that we would have to go gentle with her," my wife said. "It has only been a few years that Tanya has had anything resembling a normal home life. We're going to be moving her out of a familiar environment and into the mainstream."
"Mainstream? Us?"
"We're more mainstream than the ranch," my wife replied. "Plus there is another factor to consider. If Tanya had anything resembling a normal childhood, she would be considered a gifted child."
"Oh," I said, hitting the mental brakes. That put a whole different slant on things. My wife and I knew this from long, hard experience on both sides of the child rearing fence.
"'Nurse' believes that Tanya would open up and realize her full potential if she was in an environment that nurtured intelligence, creativity and horses," my wife said.
First gear again. "Does 'Nurse' know how Tanya feels about this?" I asked.
"'Nurse' says that Tanya knows the pluses and minuses. In fact, Tanya suggested the 'vacation' as a trial period."
Second gear. "How do you feel about it?" I asked.
"I can't argue with the logic," my wife said. "If we can deal with the privacy problem, I think we could manage."
The 'privacy problem' referred to the fact that my wife and I both needed 'alone time' go stay sane. The problem was a real problem when we had house guests.
"We can try," I said, running in second gear for a bit. "We'll get an idea with this vacation thing. But will half a day be enough?"
"'Nurse suggested two days," my wife continued. "I've called work and left a voice mail saying that we've had some problems with the horses that may take a while to handle. I have the comp time available so there isn't a problem on my side. Could you manage?"
Third gear. "I think so," I said. "Just make sure that I have about two hours each day to think over my project."
"That will give Tanya and I time to talk," my wife said.
I shifted into fourth gear. "When do we start this 'vacation'?" I asked.
"The moment you agree to try it," my wife answered.
"Then let's do it," I said, shifting into fifth gear.
"Once we finish lunch," my wife replied as she paused to let Pearl by.
I hesitated when I realized that Pearl had been nearby during our entire conversation. That didn't fit the style of our normal serious discussion.
Either my wife and I were getting used to Pearl's presence, or Pearl had been extremely quiet. She hadn't distracted us from our conversation.
"Are you coming?" my wife asked when she noticed my hesitation.
Both sets of stomachs growled. "I better," I said.
We found 'Nurse' and 'Mountain Mist' on the front porch of the cabin. "Are you going to be staying on?" 'Nurse' asked.
"For a couple of days," I answered. "If it is okay with you."
'Nurse' turned to 'Mountain Mist." "It's your choice Tanya," she said gently.
'Mountain Mist' frowned as she looked at my wife and I. "I can always say 'no' if it doesn't work out," she muttered very quietly.
"We'll try it," she said in a much louder voice.
Or maybe it was a normal voice. It took ma a moment to realize that my equine ears and my full attention had been focused on 'Mountain Mist' when she spoke. I had a feeling that her first comment wasn't meant for anybody's ears. The second comment was the 'public consumption' version.
"Good," I said, realizing that the final decision was up to Tanya and that she was leery of it. "What do you have planned?"
We talked about the agenda over lunch.
The basic plan was for Tanya, my wife and I to spend two days heading to the pickup point. If the three of us felt comfortable with each other, Tanya would go home with my wife and I. If it didn't work out, 'Mountain Mist' would disappear into the mountain mists.
The ponies would travel with us so that they could be loaded into the trailer at the pickup point. Mountain men and Indian braves would escort us at a distance, providing a security ring against undesirable animals, human or otherwise.
Of course, before we could begin the trek, 'George' and 'Anita' had to examine Tanya. That had been part of the original plan.
Tanya frowned at the mention of the examination.
"Worried about what they're going to do to you?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "Your earlier description ... made me feel uncomfortable."
"Don't worry about it," I said. "'George' and 'Anita' want to be invited back so they're going to be extremely careful not to offend you. But don't tell them that I told you. 'Anita' will be her usual self. 'George,' on the other hand, will be the painfully polite version of 'George.'"
Tanya looked at me. "Will you stay with me during the exam?" she asked.
"I'd be honored to provide almost any type of assistance you desire," I said.
A rueful look came over Tanya's face. "Could you convince them to delay the tests until next weekend?" she asked.
"I could try," I admitted. "I'll just have to present it in a way that keeps them from knowing about the job swap."
"Never mind," Tanya said. "I keep my promises."
"Then we better get a move on it," my wife said, looking at the sun.
Getting ready for the exam took a lot of work. We set up in the barn since that was the only place where we could run the portable generators. To help Tanya feel more comfortable, I stripped down to bare skin and hide first. My wife helped me with all the fastenings that had been designed not to come loose on the trail. Tanya helped bundle everything up.
Then Tanya asked my wife to leave while I she removed her outfit. I started to go with my wife.
"You stay here," Tanya said.
"Okay," I said cheerfully. "Do you want some help with your outfit?"
"Holler when you're ready," my wife said, slipping out the barn door.
Tanya looked at me a moment. "I could use some help," she said, smirking.
"Tell me what you want done," I said, feeling nervous at her change in character.
"You could start by unbraiding this hair," she said, turning her back to me. "I can't take anything off when it is like this."
"That sounds inconvenient," I commented as I started unraveling the braids and hair ties.
"It's a complete and total pain in the ass," Tanya said. "Being buck naked is going to be a relief."
I blushed when I realized that Tanya was not going to have any clothes on during the exam. There is a big difference between intellectual knowledge and emotional knowledge.
"It is a lot more convenient," I admitted as I tried to prepare myself for the social shock of seeing an unclothed woman who was not my wife.
"More fun too," Tanya replied. "And it ain't right to cover horse hide with clothing. Horses don't need clothes. Why should centaurs be forced to wear them?"
"Good point," I said. "But there aren't enough centaurs around to make it an issue. And there are laws against women going topless in public."
"Those laws don't apply around here," Tanya said. "And there aren't any laws that say that horses have to be clothed. So I should at least be able to go bottomless if I wanted to."
"You might be able to pull it off if you don't mind having people stare at you," I said. "I couldn't because I still had my male hardware."
"Oh," Tanya said. "That's right. You did have a d*ck and b*lls."
"And I still have the danglers," I commented.
"You're a priss, Misty" replied Tanya. "Why don't you call them what everybody else calls them?
"Habit and politeness," I answered. "I feel that terms like (list of twelve slang terms for the hydraulically powered male member) and (list of twenty terms for the milk delivery system) are demeaning when used in public. You can call it prissy or prudish, but I call it politeness."
"You use those words like you use them all the time," Tanya said.
"I know them because I had to write an algorithm that could identify them when they are used in a sexual context."
"Al ... Gore .. Rhythm? The Veep making music?"
"I like that," I said. "But an algorithm is computer nerd speech for a set of rules that allow a computer program to do things. If you ever see me pacing and talking to myself, it is probably because I'm working on a hairy algorithm. Either that, or the algorithm is FUBAR."
'FUBAR?" Tanya asked.
"The polite version is 'Fouled Up Beyond All Repair.' You can probably guess what the normal version is."
'Kinda like SNAFU," she said.
'Precisely," I said as I finished the last braid. "Now what?"
"Wait," Tanya said as she worked on the front fastenings. "Now hold onto it."
A minute later I was holding a bundle of leather and cloth. Tanya wore moccasin boots, panties and a sports bra with extra padding over the mane ridge.
"Putting these back on is going to be a pain," I said conversationally.
Tanya pulled her panties down before sitting on a straw bale. "That's one of the reasons why I decided to keep my promise. If I stayed in those clothes much longer, they would have grown on me." She finished taking off her boots and underwear."
"Could you rub my back?" she asked when she stood back up.
"Sure," I replied, a little bit nervous. I put the clothes on a straw bale and moved into position. Then I gave her a standing back rub, the type that my wife likes in the shower.
"Ah," said Tanya. "That's more like it."
"My wife is a good trainer," I said.
I was about finished when we were interrupted by my wife's voice.
"Are you about done in there?" she asked.
"We're ready," said Tanya. "Come on in."
My wife opened the door and slipped inside with a portable scanning unit.
"Itchy bra," I said, using one of our code words for back scratch.
"About done?" my wife asked.
"Almost," sighed Tanya. "Misty knows exactly where things rub wrong."
My wife chuckled. "Practice makes perfect," she said. "I'll tell 'George' and 'Anita' that you're almost ready. And don't worry about the time. 'Nurse' sent one of the riders to the next camp to warn them that we won't be there tonight."
"Good," chorused Tanya and I.
My wife dropped off the scanning unit and headed back out while I finished the back rub. Tanya then turned around and put her arms around me. "You can rub my back any time you want," she said in a sultry voice.
I blushed. "It is the least I could do for you. I've enjoyed the rubdowns you've given me."
Tanya stepped away. "'Nurse' taught me massage so I could check you out. I had to practice ten hours a day so I would be able to feel if you were the real thing."
"And the verdict is?" I asked, ears forward.
"Scary," answered Tanya. "Can we talk about it later?"
"Ask me anything you want," I said.
'George,' 'Anita,' 'Nurse' and my wife came in with kerosene lanterns and the rest of the portable scanning gear.
"You look good," George said as he gave Tanya a very appreciative once over. "Do you dance?"
"Nuthin' fancy," Tanya replied. "And I don't like all that jazz stuff."
"It's an acquired taste for odd people," 'George' lied. That was his 'be polite response.'
Once everything was set up and the generator fired up, the exam went fairly quickly. I stood and watched, throwing in my usual snide comments and appreciating the fact that I wasn't being examined. It didn't take long for Tanya to join in the banter.
'George' and 'Anita' helped the situation by explaining why certain tests were useful and what they had revealed in the past. That appeared to help Tanya and 'Nurse' relax.
"Thank you," said 'George' when the exam was over. He then dug into a jacket pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. "Here's the cash you wanted," he said, handing Tanya the envelope.
"Thanks," she said.
'George' then handed Tanya the check list he and 'Anita' had been using. "If you would be willing to do these tests, the E-team would pay you for the results," 'George' said. "We couldn't pay as much, but we would make it worth your time."
"I'll think about it," Tanya replied.
"Thank you," repeated 'George.' "Every data point we gather puts us closer to a cure."
"How much closer?" Tanya asked.
"Right now, not much," admitted 'George.' "We're still trying to figure out what caused the changes and how they work. We have lots of theories but very few solid facts. But we're working on it."
Tanya turned toward me. "Can we have that talk now?" she asked.
"Now, here? I asked.
"Now, in the meadow," Tanya replied with a smirk. "We both need to catch some rays."
"But what about security?" I asked.
"This place is well guarded," said 'Nurse.' "But I'd take your horse just in case you have to high tail it out of here. You could get by with a bareback pad and bridle."
"Gotcha," said Tanya.
Several minutes later we were ambling out to the meadow. We had to detour around a spot that Tanya called 'Big Muddy.' That was a place where the remnants of the lake that formed the meadow were slowly becoming meadow. She did point out a 'dry' ridge that ran through 'Big Muddy,' saying that she used it as a short cut in races with the clients of the dude ranch.
At 'Nurse's' suggestion, Tanya had put on an old flannel shirt. At Tanya's request I went topless. I was nervous about going topless at first. Then my wife pointed out the fact that my torso looked more like that of a boy.
That mind set worked until we were deep in the meadow. Then my wandering mind shifted mental gears and ran into the image of being bottomless.
"This is a good spot," interrupted Tanya as she dismounted and ground tied her horse.
"Huh?" I said, stopping suddenly.
There was a snort and a nicker as something bumped into me. I looked back to see Pearl backing up and Anenome standing off to the side. I hadn't realized that they had accompanied us.
"Make yourself comfortable Misty," Tanya said as she took off her flannel shirt and spread it out on the grass. "Then we'll talk."
I positioned myself where I could see Tanya and munch on grass. "Okay," I said when I was down. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Let me think about it for a bit," she said, sitting down.
"Take all the time you want," I replied, realizing that we were about to have a very intense discussion.
It took several minutes of deep silence before she spoke.
"Do you really like being a centaur?" Tanya asked.
"I'm getting used to being a centaur," I admitted. "But if I had my choice, I would choose to be human. It is a lot more convenient and safer."
Tanya studied me a moment. "If you had to choose between being a human woman and being a centaur stallion, which would you choose?"
"Being a human woman," I said.
Tanya snorted. "I'd a thought that a man would want to be a stallion so he could play with all the mares."
"Some would," I admitted. "But I love my wife and I don't fool around."
"Bill says that you're a flaming fairy," Tanya commented, her gaze steady.
I chuckled. "He's entitled to his opinion," I began. "Given what has happened to me, I can see how he could come to that conclusion. It's wrong though."
"Are you sure about that?" Tanya taunted. "You've been acting awfully prissy for a man who isn't a fairy."
I sighed and looked over my shoulder. "My actions match the hardware back there," I said. "Physically speaking, I'm a mare so I should act like a mare. If I didn't act like a mare, your friend would call me a lesbian."
"He says that your wife is a dyke," continued Tanya.
"My wife is a woman who doesn't believe in the standard sexual stereotypes," I began. "She thinks of them as ways to protect the delicate ego of the male."
"Do you agree with her?" Tanya asked.
"Sometimes," I replied. "I've certainly seen situations where she is absolutely correct. But I've also seen others where the stereotypes exist because nobody knows better."
The conversation danced around the topic of human and centaur sexuality for almost an hour. I had a feeling that her friend Bill had been responsible for the line and tone of questioning. I also sensed her background in the questions.
The conversation would have gone on longer if it weren't for the clanging of the dinner gong.
"I'll race you to dinner," I said, changing the topic. "The last one in cleans the tack and grooms the horses or equivalent."
"You're on," Tanya said as she stood up and jumped onto the bareback pad.
By that time I was on my hooves and heading for the cabin. A glance behind told me that Pearl and Anenome were blocking Tanya's way.
"Cheater," called Tanya as she reined around them.
Her horse was fast enough that I didn't have much time to get as muddy as I wanted. I had to take Tanya's short-cut to stay ahead.
I was almost through Big Muddy when I tripped over my own hooves and went sprawling.
"Misty!" shouted Tanya.
I landed in one of the squishier spots of Big Muddy. The handing stunned me.
"Misty!" repeated Tanya as she reined her horse around and headed for my landing site.
Ignoring the shock of going down, I felt okay.
"Don't move," Tanya shouted. Moments later she was splashing through the mud to get to me.
"Nothing's ... broken ... I ... think," I said.
Tanya ignored me and ran her hands down my legs. "You don't know that," she said. "A horse with lots of heart will cripple itself if you're not careful."
I let her finish her examination. It gave me time to catch my breath.
"Anything broken?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"Your legs feel okay," Tanya said. "Do you hurt when you breathe?"
I took a deep set of breaths, expanding both sets of lungs. "Not noticeably," I said.
"Tell me is any of this hurts," Tanya said. She then began massaging my equine body.
She finished my equine part and was starting on my torso when we heard hoof beats. We looked up to see Pearl and Anenome followed by my wife.
"Need help?" my wife asked as the dismounted.
"Could you get 'Nurse'?" Tanya asked as she continued her massage.
"She'll be here in a minute or so," my wife said. "Had to grab her black bag."
Tanya paused and looked up at my wife. "What brought YOU here?" she asked.
My wife nodded toward Pearl. "When an otherwise well behaved pony runs into a building and pulls your sleeve, you respond. I'm tempted to call that little pony 'Lassie.'"
Tanya turned back to me. "I think Misty is okay. But I want 'Nurse' to check her first."
"What happened?" asked my wife.
"We were racing back and I took a shortcut," I said. "Luckily I handed here. Soft but cold and squishy."
"You look like a mess," my wife said.
"Luckily I'm not wearing anything but skin and hide," I commented. "You might have the folks in the cabin heat up some water though."
'Nurse' and one of the mountain men came riding up.
"What have you done this far?" 'Nurse' asked.
Tanya explained the circumstances and what she had been able to determine from her massage exam. 'Nurse' then asked me how I felt.
"Embarrassed," I began. "Cold. Wet. Otherwise I think I'm okay now."
'Nurse' looked at me and frowned. "Then try sitting up very carefully. If you feel any pain, stop moving."
I tried sitting up.
The body was willing but the traction was weak. Still it showed me and 'Nurse' that nothing was broken.
"Brace me," I told Tanya.
She slithered around until she reached my torso.
"What now?" she asked.
"Stay still while I get my legs under me," I said.
Several mud churning minutes later I was upright on my belly in the deep mud. "Now for the hard part." I said as I mentally prepared to stand up. "Here goes."
Working together, we managed to stand up without too much mud churning. Our efforts got a round of applause from the small audience.
"Save that for later," I warned. "We still have to make it to solid ground."
"Take it slow and easy," warned Tanya in the tone of voice one would use with a nervous horse.
Slow and easy got us to solid ground without too many slippages.
"Thank you Tanya," I said, giving her a muddy hug.
"You needed help," she said. "I couldn't leave you there."
"You're right about me needing help," I admitted. "But now we're both going to need help cleaning up."
"I'll make sure that you two have a tub of hot soapy water waiting for you," 'Nurse' said as she started back.
"I'll escort them to the barn," my wife said.
"Could you lead my horse back?" Tanya asked. "Misty and I can walk and I'm a mess."
"Sure," said my wife. "It's going to be bad enough cleaning up two well behaved half horses. And I'm sure that your horse wouldn't like a damp and muddy rider on her back."
"Then let's go," I said.
My wife escorted a mud mare and a tailed mud woman to the shelter of the barn where a tub of lukewarm water and lots of towels were waiting.
Tanya and I helped each other remove the worst of the mud while my wife cleaned up Tanya's mare. It felt strange touching and being touched by a person who was experiencing what I had experienced.
When we were cleaner, 'Nurse' and 'Snow Flower' came in with a larger tub filled with much hotter water. By that time my wife had cleaned and put away Tanya's mare and was setting up some kerosene lanterns so we could see better.
"If we all pitch in, this won't take long," suggested 'Nurse'.
'Nurse' was half right. With five of us working, the cleanup didn't take long. But the five of us started talking about horses and humans and how my wife and I really felt about me becoming a centaur. That conversation lasted a lot longer than the cleaning.
I think that the conversation helped Tanya a lot though. By the time we were clean, Tanya was joking that 'Snow Flower' needed to call her show circuit friends to contact a certain mysterious woman about having a stallion delivered to a 'satisfied customer.'
Once clean, Tanya and I put on some old sweat shirts and followed the rest of the group to the cabin for a late dinner. Our conversation continued, shifting to horses so the male contingent wouldn't be left out.
After dinner the ladies (myself included) retreated to the barn where conversation got extremely frank while Tanya, the ponies and myself were groomed.
We sacked out sometime after midnight.
(To be continued ... I've been standing in front of the computer much too long. Again!)
Ms. Dee
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