A tall glass of water
"When did you and Deyha start dating?" I followed Carolyn as she inspected the pasteurizing vats.
"We met in bootcamp. Why do you ask?"
"I just… I wanted to know how it all started."
"Are you developing plans on how to seduce her?"
"Carolyn!"
"Maddie!" Carolyn mock-yelled. "Don't get your panties in a twist. Tell me I'm wrong though, I see the way you look at her."
"I wouldn't use the term seduce…" I grumbled as she turned back to her tablet.
"Call it whatever you want, you clearly want to climb her like a tree."
I scoffed. "Where do you come up with these euphemisms?"
"Irrelevant. What are you hoping to learn from this story?"
I felt my face heat up "I'm curious how you… initiated with her."
Carolyn chuckled. "Not too differently from how I initiated you as you so eloquently put it." she paused and turned to look at me. "Wait, you haven't done anything with her? Gods. You're waiting for her to make a move."
"I… well… yeah? She's been dropping hints for the last couple weeks but–"
Carolyn burst out laughing. "You're shitting me, really? You sent her fucking nudes last week and nothing has happened?"
"I mean, she called me a 'snack' before that and made a bunch of jokes about eating me, plus she uh…" I trailed off. I'd almost forgotten that the power outage was supposed to be a secret. "Nevermind. I don't know. No, nothing has really happened."
"Joking about eating you is a HINT?!" Carolyn's voice turned shrill.
"What would you call it?" I crossed my arms.
"I'm just in shock. Wow. I had no idea it was that bad."
"What's so bad? What are you talking about?"
Carolyn set her tablet down and took my hands in hers. "Maddie. She's into you."
"I figured, but–"
"She's been into you for months."
"Months? How– what?"
"I knew it from the moment she made you that tuna sandwich, but even she figured it out within a week of you settling in. Oh if you had seen it, the way she fussed about you, It was nonstop the entire fucking drive to pick you up."
"No…"
"YES!" Carolyn groaned. "I assumed one of you would have– I don't know– Why are you making her wait so long? Have you said nothing to her since you sent her those photos?"
"I'm not making her wait–"
"Talk to her." Carolyn shook me.
"But what if–"
"What if what?–" she cut me off again. "Do you think there's any way she's not interested? You could ask her out on our anniversary and she would cancel on me to go out with you."
"Really?"
"Probably not, our anniversary is in two weeks though, don't do that to her."
"I… won't? I would never–"
"Obviously."
"Stop interrupting!" I laughed.
"I'll stop interrupting when you stop being a dumbass!" Carolyn countered. "Ask. Her. the fuck. OUT."
"Why can't she–"
"You can ask her yourself when you're on your date! Go!" Carolyn dropped my hands. "Go ask her out right now, I won't let you hold her in suspense any longer."
"But–"
"Now."
"I–"
Carolyn placed her hand over my mouth. "This isn't a request. I am ordering you to go the fuck out there and proposition her or ill…" she trailed off as if struggling to think of a suitable threat. "I'll burn your socks."
I shook her off "I'm not wearing–"
"All of them… every single pair of thigh-high fuzzy–"
"Okay!" I interrupted her for a change. "I'm going, I can't believe you went through my stuff–"
She was already cackling with glee. "Oh, Maddie. I didn't. It was a shot in the dark but I swear if you don't go right now nowhere on earth will be safe from my lighter."
"You're evil."
"And you're predictable. Go."
"I'm–"
"Stop trying to get the last word." She held my shoulders and turned me around.
I waved her off and set off for the exit.
"Good girl!"
I flipped her off.
I found Deyha in the field, wearing her usual shirt, toolbelt and hat as she shoveled plant matter from the combine into a bag.
"Hey Deyha."
Deyha looked up and smiled, "Hey Maddie!" She lifted the front of her shirt to wipe her face, immediately obliterating whatever train of thought I might have had when I walked up.
"What's up?" She fixed her glove and leaned on her shovel.
"I was wondering…" I scrambled to recover. "If you… were thirsty?– if you'd like something to drink! I mean…"
"Oh!" she continued to smile easily. "Some water would be really nice, if you don't mind."
"Not at all! I'll be right back."
I hurried back to the barn, blinking away the visual of her stomach, so smooth and inviting, contrasting with the sheer power of her thighs. I wondered what I would see if she hadn't been wearing her toolbelt… or shirt… but I shook my head to get back on task.
Water first, then proposition. Proposal. Invitation? Each word only seemed partly correct.
I nearly bumped into Carolyn as I returned to the barn.
"Oh! You're back already! How did it go?"
I fumbled for words. "Good! Good, I'm just grabbing her some water real quick."
"Oh, what did she say? Did she say she was thirsty?" Carolyn winked and I tried to edge past her to the kitchen area.
"Uh. Yeah, yeah… I don't want to keep her waiting…"
"Of course, of course." Carolyn stepped to the side and I hurried along on my quest. I fretted for a moment on how much ice to use, whether a bigger cup was better or cumbersome, and if one squeeze of lemon was enough before I made up my mind and just committed.
Deyha was right where I left her, leaning against the combine as she checked her phone.
"Thanks, baby."
I flushed warm. I wondered if it was another hint.
Deyha drank long and deep, downing nearly half of the litre jug I'd brought out.
She sighed and wiped her mouth, letting me take the jug back to hold for her, but she didn't make any move to put her gloves back on.
"So Carolyn texted me..."
The warmth was suddenly an inferno. I hugged the cold vessel to my stomach as I searched her expression for clues.
"She sends her congratulations." Deyha smiled, seeming genuinely amused at the whole situation. I only managed a nod in reply.
"I was just wondering if you might have anything to add, Madeline."
The way she said my name, so coy and conspiratorially, did nothing to help me arrange thoughts into sentences, let alone words.
"Well." I looked anywhere but her eyes as I tried to come up with some sort of cover. "So there might have been a slight misunderstanding…"
Deyha's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"
"Not that I– I mean I do…" I took a shuddering breath. "Do you want to go out? On a date? Sometime? Maybe?"
Deyha smiled. "Evidently, I've already said yes."
"That's not what happened!" I paced in place. "That's not fair you can't just–"
"The answer is yes, Maddie."
She held out her hand and I handed her back the jug of water but she just laughed and set it down behind her before holding out her hand again.
I took it and let her pull me closer.
I looked at our hands. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Didn't I?"
"No! You didn't!"
"Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed to learn that our brunches, trips to the market, and moonlit strolls don't count as dates to you." she chuckled, "frankly, after the pictures you sent the other day I figured you'd just decided we're an item."
"It's not like I can just decide that for both of us! And it's not that our outings weren't dates but… I don't know." I whined. "This is complicated!"
"You're such a lesbian."
"What's that supposed to mean? You are too!"
"It means I could have called you cute and given my number from day one and you'd still think to yourself 'I wonder if she likes me?' and done nothing about it."
"But you could have– I don't know– made it official somehow ages ago!"
"Hmmm." she mused. "Make it official, huh?"
"Well… yeah…"
"And what else could I do for you to let you know I love you?"
"I guess… say it?"
"Oh Maddie," she said, "I love you. I've said it with every granola bar I've placed in your hand, with every pebble kicked out of the way of your walking aid, and with every flight of stairs I've carried you up to lay you safely in bed."
"Oh."
"And I've heard it from you with every surprise visit, every 3d printed gizmo, and every cup of ice water on a sunny day."
I gazed up at her in stunned silence.
"Well? Does that satisfy your doubts?"
"Get down here so I can kiss you."
She chuckled and shook her head. "As you wish."
"So what do you want to do for our first date?" Deyha still sounded unbearably coy, and on top of that her voice wasn't remotely strained as she carried eight fucking sacks at once.
"I didn't think that far ahead." I grit my teeth under the strain of the measly two sacks I'd taken. It wasn't that they were particularly heavy, but they were very cumbersome and I hadn't thought to copy the way Deyha had tied hers in pairs to sling over each shoulder.
"Don't laugh, but I have a pretty funny idea."
"I'm listening."
"How good are you at operating heavy machinery?"
"Uh… I'm not forklift certified if that's what you're asking."
"I'm thinking more like driving the truck, or the combine." Deyha hit the button to open the door to the barn and waved me forward. "These are going directly in the fridge by the way."
"Cool, and uh… I'm absolutely down to learn how to drive whatever, but I only really know the theory of manual transmissions."
"That's fine, the combine is electric, I was just thinking you could ride in my lap and drive it for the last of the clover field." Deyha set down half of her bags and opened up a couple fridges, finding the one with a shelf tagged "clover" on the second try. Rather than putting her own bags away, she held out her hands for mine.
"Thanks… is this clover?" I tugged at the neck of one of the bags but it didn't budge. "I don't think it looked like it."
"Not what you expected?"
"Well, no… I expected four-leaf clover. The lucky sort like from Irish stuff…" I trailed off as Deyha chuckled.
"Of course Maddie O'Reilly would assume clover is shamrocks."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't have a 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' shirt in your closet somewhere?"
"I can assure you I have never owned nor worn such a--"
"--relax Maddie, I'm pulling your tail. The 'clover' you're thinking of is very bitter and I don't think you'd enjoy eating much of it."
"Oh."
"You'd look cute in green though. We should grow some just so you can make little flower crowns with it."
I rolled my eyes. "I am not going to claim some storied Irish heritage just based on my last name."
"Didn't say anything about that." Deyha lifted the last of the bags into the fridge and shut the door. "So do you want to help with harvesting the rest of the unlucky clover?"
"I'd be down for driving lessons I suppose."
"Fantastic. Do you want to change into something else?" she gestured at my dress.
"I don't know that I want to put on clean clothes just to get them covered in dust, if that's what you mean."
Now that I'd grown fur for my legs, I wasn't so concerned about the itchy feeling I got from walking through tall grass in shorts.
"Understandable. I don't think your clothes will get in the way too much."
I scanned her face for hidden meaning, but I couldn't discern anything.
She didn't elaborate further so I swayed in place, spinning to make my dress flare out as Deyha dusted off her hands and stretched. "Did you want to do it now?" I gestured to the door. "Or did you want to get a snack first?"
"Seems redundant if I'm bringing you along." she smirked.
"Ugh. I walked right into that one." I turned and headed for the door. "Well, if I'm the only snack you're bringing, don't come crying to me if you get peckish before we're done."
Deyha chuckled and shook her head. "I assure you, If I get hungry, you'll be the one crying."
I felt a rush of warmth and looked around to see if anyone had heard. "Deyha‽" I hissed.
She only laughed louder. "Oh, so now you recognize the innuendo. I wonder what changed."
"You had plausible deniability before!" I made my way back to the door we'd come in through.
Deyha caught up to me and pressed the button to activate the automatic doors. "Your definition of 'plausible' is highly suspect, my dear. Frankly I was struggling to be more obvious."
"You could have asked me out any time you wanted!"
"Mmmm. Touché. However, in my defense, the arrangement of you second guessing my every affection was quite amusing to everyone."
"Everyone?"
"Carolyn, Xander, Jake, Thad… We've all had quite a few laughs."
"What, so it was a conspiracy then? Unbelievable." I made my way toward the combine, but Deyha took my hand and adjusted our course to the shed.
"A conspiracy would involve some level of secrecy and subterfuge. I needed only to glance past your blushing and stuttering to see them getting their giggles as well."
"Evil. This entire god-forsaken farm is an evil, terrible, very bad place."
Deyha nodded. "Despite my best efforts."
"Despite." I echoed. "Certainly not because of. What do we need from the shed?"
"That's where I wash the bags. We used to use burlap, and the biodegradability was handy for repurposing the bags as weed barriers and such… but any cloth bag will do, I would love it if flour mills were still using cotton for bulk packaging, but the polypropylene bags are highly reusable, and we are getting more all the time."
"Ah. Plastics."
"It's either a second life storing feed, or the recycling bin that might inexplicably take it to a landfill or the ocean."
"Whew." I tried and failed to whistle. "That got cynical fast."
"Don't get me started. I'll make this entire farm sort trash if it means you can turn it into 3d printing filament."
"I'll look into it." I folded my arms and leaned against the door frame as Deyha ducked into the shed. It was a normal size door and she hadn't struck me as that tall, but I wasn't about to tease her about it. I also wasn't going to bap at the swaying scorpion tail as she passed but that was as much out of fear for deadly neurotoxin as for Deyha's feelings.
I was still debating whether or not to Google if scorpion venom was a neurotoxin when Deyha returned with an arm full of bags.
I held out my arms and for some reason Deyha seemed surprised.
"You… want to carry them?"
I shrugged. "I figure you might want your hands free for whatever we do next-- and no, that wasn't an innuendo."
"They're still wet."
I shrugged again. It was difficult to both think up innuendos and keep from saying them. "It's not like I'm going to melt from getting a little wet."
Deyha raised an eyebrow.
"It's a fucking Wizard of Oz reference, give me the damn bags."
"Okay, okay."
Deyha chewed her lip as I took the bundle and hugged them to my chest. They fanned out like a bouquet of flowers, but the more striking detail was the immediate chill seeping into the fabric of my dress.
The risk I took was calculated, but wow was I bad at math. I hadn't exactly been wearing undergarments today, partly because of the fur and partly because of the growth spurt… so I had an idea of what Deyha might see when I handed the bags back to her.
Rather than comment further on my life choices, Deyha led the way to where we'd left the combine parked in the middle of the field.
"So my thinking was that with two people, we might be faster to directly fill bags and swap them every few meters rather than using the wagon. If you are okay with driving solo then I can show you how to pause the blower while I change out bags. Or if you'd rather, you can sit in my lap while I do the normal routine."
She glanced at me, probably expecting some input, but I was a little preoccupied with the impossibly large amount of water these bags seemed to be ready to shed. "Uh… I'm good with whatever."
I untangled one of the bags from the bunch as we neared the combine, taking care to keep the rest of the bundle in place as I held it out to Deyha. It wasn't remotely subtle how her gaze traveled between the bags and my dress, but she didn't poke fun.
"Well…" she took the bag and turned away to attach it to the combine. "How about we do one together and then if the controls make sense you can drive the rest. Sound good?"
"Sure."
Deyha climbed up into the driver's seat of the combine and adjusted the seat back. I was impressed to see that she had modified it to suit her anatomy. So long as she always got in from the left side, there was a safe space for her tail to sit. The backrest of the chair had been modified to have an off center support, but it seemed quite stable, and even moved with the seat bottom as she adjusted to make room for me.
Deyha patted her lap, removing all doubt of what she meant by "together."
I stalled as I considered the bags, my dress and Deyha's lap. It wasn't even that I didn't want her to tease me about it, but I couldn't begin to predict her reaction after all that had transpired today.
"You can have one 'I told you so'... As a treat." I stuffed the bags behind her seat, taking care not to crowd her tail before climbing up into her lap.
Rather than tease, she welcomed me in and wrapped an arm around my waist. I figured it had to be uncomfortable for her, but she didn't act put off.
I struggled to pay attention as she gestured to the different controls and explained how to operate the combine. Luckily, I had a bit of experience with riding lawn mowers and this was similarly well-labeled and intuitive.
Deyha seemed to have no trouble operating the vehicle one handed as she used her other arm to hold me in place like a seat belt.
"How are you doing babygirl?"
"Good" I lied automatically, rationalizing it as a harmless fib.
She hummed and used her free hand to tap at the controls. The combine rumbled to life and after a couple more adjustments she had it moving forward again.
This movement acquainted me with my latest blunder. Vibration. Though any high frequency buzzing was no doubt being muted by Deyha's lap. The cabin lurched as she moved the throttle forward and I shifted to straddle her thigh as I reached to steady my hooves against something.
I gasped as my dress conformed to let my weight rest on her leg between mine. I could feel every bump, no doubt conducted through Deyha's bones only to be absorbed in my core. It felt like sitting on a washing machine on its spin cycle, and suddenly I was glad I'd soaked my dress with wet sacks. I could only hope Deyha wouldn't think much of one more wet patch.
I covered Deyha's arm across my lap with one of my own and held her knee as I leaned forward. It was self destructive, I knew. But it was so fucking good.
"Everything okay?" Deyha slowed the combine to a stop, and the whirring of the blades quieted.
"Yeah, it's fine. We can keep going."
"Gotta change the bags first, love."
Deyha helped steady me as I climbed out of her lap and down from the cabin. Sure enough, the two bags were full, and she had no trouble slipping them off their holders and tossing them a short way to the part of the field she had already mowed.
"So, do the controls make enough sense that you think you can drive it?"
I could imagine how the seat would feel without Deyha's bulk to dampen it. But surely it wouldn't be that distracting if I had a task, right?
"Uh… yeah, if you can give me a run down again that would be good-- why don't we put the bags in the wagon?"
Deyha looked from me to the wagon, and the bags she had just tossed away. "Reasons."
"Because you didn't think of it?"
"It might be because I didn't think of it." Deyha held the cabin door open for me and I climbed back up.
I felt bad for adjusting the seat from her preferences, but I doubted she would scold me for trying to be safe.
Deyha repeated the crash course, rephrasing and paraphrasing as she went. I got comfy and Deyha climbed down off the step and closed the door for me. Once she was safely far away I eased the combine forward.
It was a disappointing relief how much better the cushioned seat isolated vibration than Deyha's leg. It wasn't necessarily that I wanted to cum right this moment, but the flushed feeling was intoxicating. Every week the happy-chemical hit got better and Carolyn was doing absolutely nothing to keep me from being a sex-addicted slut about it.
I cycled my attention through the key points, checking the alignment, speed, and bag status indicators. I felt like I was making way more steering corrections than Deyha had, but that didn't seem remarkable.
After a dozen meters the 'bag full' indicator lit up and I stopped the throttle and searched the controls to stop the blades and blower. By the time I was certain it was safe, Deyha was tying the bags shut and tossing them to the side. She beamed at me and gave me a thumbs up.
I repeated the steps to start harvesting but I'd scarcely moved a meter before I heard a shout. Deyha was waving her hands and doing a little sideways skip to keep up with the combine.
I let the throttle go back to idle and cut the power.
"I'm so sorry." I pushed the door open and hopped out of the combine. I wasn't even sure what I was apologizing for yet. The combine was beeping some sort of protest, no doubt complaining about me not setting some sort of parking break.
"It's okay Maddie." Deyha chuckled as she brushed plant debris off her shirt. "I forgot how versatile a thumbs up can be for communication, so I really don't blame you for misunderstanding me."
"What did you mean then?" My nose was already stinging from the cloud of dust I'd surrounded us with.
"I was just trying to indicate that you were doing good so far, but I still needed to grab the bags from behind the seat." She gestured toward the combine which I could now see had been spewing clover everywhere for those few seconds the blower was on.
"How was I supposed to know that‽"
Deyha held my shoulders. "Maddie, It's fine. There was no harm done. It's not your fault."
"But it is my fault--" I trailed off as she lifted her hands to cup my cheeks. I didn't know what to do with my hands so I tugged weakly at her forearms, not really wanting her to release me, but equally unprepared to simply accept the touch.
"Everything is okay, Madeline." She bent forward slowly, loosening her hold on my face as she did until our noses touched. I held her hips to steady myself as I straightened my legs that last little bit to give her a peck on the lips.
"Good girl." she smirked and I waved her off.
"Yeah, yeah." I turned away as the tingling feeling from her touch spread and traveled down, growing to cover all of my skin before cooling back down. "So we just need to put on the new bags?"
"Mhmm." Deyha stepped past me and reached into the cab, and then leaned in fully to tap a few buttons to finally silence the insistent beeping.
"What was that?"
"Parking break reminder. Don't worry, there's no hills here so it wasn't really at risk of rolling away."
I hugged my stomach. I tried and failed to resituate the dress subtly and ended up turning away and bending forward to resituate the top to be more comfortable.
Deyha giggled behind me. "Is this some sort of proposition?"
"No!" I skipped a step out of reach as I felt her hand on my lower back. "I was fixing my dress!"
Deyha's eyes trailed downward. "Hmm. The cleavage is indeed on point."
I covered my chest with both arms, though the dress wasn't nearly low cut enough to have shown anything in the first place. "What cleavage? And why are you such a pervert suddenly‽"
She only huffed a laugh and shook her head before returning to the task of fitting the new bags. "Suddenly" she muttered under her breath as she tucked everything in place. "Do you want to drive or shall I?"
"I-- Uh… You can drive?"
Deyha climbed up into the combine once more, but rather than closing the door she patted her lap. She chuckled as I hesitated. "Well, I'm not going to make you walk. Hop on up."
I took her hand as she helped me up into the somewhat crowded cabin, and I pulled my tail around my waist to keep it in check as I sat sideways across her lap. Deyha shifted as well, holding her legs together and away from the door so that my knees wouldn't bump it as she pulled it shut. I stared resolutely out the side window as Deyha fiddled with some controls behind me and eased the throttle forward.
She seemed to be going slower this time, and I looked around in confusion as she held me with both arms now.
"Hey! Watch the road-- field… whatever."
"It's on cruise, dear. It will stop when it's full."
"So you didn't need me to drive in the first place!"
I was shaken bodily as Deyha laughed, "Someone has to be in the cabin to use the autopilot, silly. And besides, it's faster to just drive manually."
I grumbled and leaned into her, though it was hard to keep up the disgruntled act as she rubbed my back.
It didn't seem to take any time at all before the combine coasted to a stop again, cutting the blades and blower with a soft beep.
"Allright. Last bag change." She continued to rub my back though, so I pretended I hadn't heard her until she used her other hand to prod gently at my side.
"Fine! Fine." I hopped down and grabbed the replacement bags as Deyha tied up the full ones. "So what do you want to do when we're done out here?"
"Definitely a bath, other than that… I'm not sure."
I handed her the last two bags as she tossed the full sacks of clover into the wagon. "Can I help?"
"I'm already finished changing the bags, Maddie."
"No-- I meant…" whatever confidence I had a moment ago seemed like a distant memory.
"With the bath?" Deyha finished for me.
"I don't want to push you or anything I just figured I could help your back or something."
The teasing way Carolyn had brought up 'climbing her like a tree' came to mind.
"That sounds nice. Sure." Deyha smiled so easily, as if she either fully trusted I didn't have a secret agenda or had decided it was fine if I did.
Being unable to tell the difference placed me in the excruciating heaven of entertaining fantasies I'd never allow myself to execute.
I blinked and Deyha was back up in the seat of the combine, looking at me expectantly.
"Oh--" I took a step toward her but a breeze reminded me that while my dress had dried, I very much hadn't. My nose running was only the latest addition to the ways this activity had made me wet. "Actually I was thinking I could start carrying back the bags-- if that's okay."
"Good idea, just don't overdo it."
"I bet I could do four if I tied them in pairs like you did."
Deyha sighed. She looked like she was going to say something else, but she nodded and pulled the door of the combine shut. She didn't start the blades until I was a little ways away.
I looked back to the farm. The bags we had filled were paired up at regular intervals and Deyha was filling the last two now. I already knew that she could carry all of them without my help, but i really wanted to pull my weight here, and what better way to do that than carrying half of the bags?
I hefted the nearest pair and had my first misgivings. It felt heavier than the bags Deyha had filled by hand, as though she was under-filling them in comparison to the machine, but I doubted it could be that much of a difference.
I made sure to keep my back straight as I hauled on the drawstrings to hold at shoulder level. In the distant past I remembered times I'd lifted forty or even seventy pound bags of cement, sand, or rocks on my shoulders and I was discouraged by how this was simultaneously lighter and more difficult. Even with the drawstrings digging into my shoulder the weight didn't seem that different, yet my hooves were all too eager to remind me I hadn't been walking like this for very long.
I set the bags down for a moment as I reached the next pair, and behind me the sound of the combine changed and became softer as Deyha turned it around.
It occurred to me she was probably going to just take the combine all the way back to the shed, so having her come back to the middle of the field for these would be well and truly out of her way. I grit my teeth as I pulled at both pairs of bags at once. The right side was easiest to situate, but once it was in place I wasn't able to use both arms to lift the other.
The low hum of the combine drew closer as I put them both down and established a sort of order of operations. Left first with both arms, then right with just my right arm. I could still do this. I lifted the second pair into place just as Deyha brought the combine up beside me, and I enjoyed a moment of victory before I tripped and sprawled sideways.
"Maddie!" Deyha shouted, sounding more alarmed than I thought there was any reason to be since I hadn't even fallen toward the wheels. My right arm was trapped under a bag that I was laying on top of, and the drawstrings of the other two bags chafed my neck
"It's fine, I'm fine" I grumbled and winced as I tried to shove the left pair of bags off. The plant detritus was really cutting into my right arm, and every movement made the burning sting worse.
"Stop struggling, you're going to hurt yourself." Deyha's tone was heavy with concern and disappointment, or at least what I'd assume was disappointment. She'd literally just told me not to over do it and here I was, flailing and helpless from my choices.
I laid still as she lifted the first pair off of me, and before I could protest she pushed one of the other bags aside and scooped me up in her arms. I cried out as the cuts along my right side flared, but it only took a second or two for the pain to fade to a more manageable background sting.
"I guess that's two 'I told you so's for you now." I avoided her eyes as I caught my breath.
"I'm not sure where you got the idea that I love being right."
"Doesn't everyone?"
Deyha set me back on my hooves and brushed at my dress once before stopping and frowning.
"We really should get you suitable clothes for this if you're going to come out here in the future."
I looked down and picked off a stem that had embedded in the fabric. There were dozens of tiny pulled threads as well as a particularly large tear near my hip. I considered bringing up that she had suggested I change before, and how that was yet another thing she was right about, but I at least knew that was counter-productive.
Deyha collected the four bags, one of which was also ripped, and tossed them into the wagon behind the combine. "Can you walk to the clinic?"
I patted at one of the larger cuts near my shoulder, it was bleeding but not very badly. It mostly just itched like hell. "I really don't think that's necessary."
"Would you do it because I asked?" Deyha's voice was tired.
"I don't want Carolyn to be mad at me."
"Then she can be mad at me instead for letting you--"
"That's even worse!"
Deyha only raised an eyebrow.
"Fine." I grumbled. "But don't you dare take responsibility for this."
"Everyone on this farm is my responsibility."
I tried to glare at her, but I was broken by how utterly unmoved she was.
"I'll go to the clinic."
"Thank you."
"I'll meet you at the bath after?"
"We'll see." She patted my un-injured shoulder and began to load the full bags into the wagon of the combine.
I desperately wanted to feel hopeful about a bath, but I couldn't help but think a guarantee had been downgraded to a possibility by my fucking around.