Help Wanted: Resident farm hand. Milk production preferred, collar and childbearing optional.

I seemed to be the most self conscious of our group as we shuffled along to the bathhouse in our robes. It had to be obvious what we had been up to, right?

Ellen caught up to us on the ground floor, a bundle of clothes clutched to her chest as she skipped along.

“Sooooo~” she sidled up to me. “How did it go?”

Carolyn and Deyha chuckled as my nerves took a sharp turn toward burning embarrassment.

“I… Deyha… I mean, we won't know for a couple weeks, right?”

“What? Why would— oh. Oh my gosh, no I was asking about the visit with Mazer! Don’t tell me you—“ her voice dropped to conspiratorial “already? Hell yeah Maddie, congrats.”

“Shut up. Like I said, we won't know for a couple weeks at least.”

Ellen scoffed. “Eh. It's inevitable. Time for a little spa day then.”

“You could say that.” Carolyn spoke up. “Did you want to come along?”

“Carolyn!” I hissed under my breath even as I stole a glance at Deyha. She certainly didn't seem bothered by the idea, but she had also always been an expert at keeping a cool persona.

“Is the conception included? Or…”

“Ellen‽”

Deyha was laughing now, and I pulled my robe tighter around myself as the entire group seemed to catch the giggles at my expense.

“I’ll have to get back to you on that, Ellen. It might be asking a lot to have Maddie share.”

“Share what‽”

“Attention, partners…” Carolyn made a show of counting on her fingers. “Knowing you, it might be crossing a line to share lunch.”

“I’m not a stingy person! I don't deserve this abuse!”

Ellen bumped me with her shoulder. “Perhaps not, but you reward us with the cutest reactions all the same.”

“I need to learn to play poker or something…”

“By the way, how did the boundary discussion go?” Ellen continued to feign innocence as my face heated further.

“It’s fine,” Deyha patted Ellen’s shoulder and then rested her hand on mine. “We all understand how important you are to Madeline.”

“Whew, full name treatment.”

“Ellen.” I grit my teeth and Deyha’s gentle squeeze did nothing to help me relax my shoulders.

Still, the menace pressed on. “Does this mean I can join the polycule?”

Carolyn and Deyha were both laughing again but I had to rub the tension out of my brow. How was Ellen so cavalier? How was this so funny to Deyha and Carolyn?”

“Sure.” Deyha shrugged. “Welcome to the polycule, Ellen.”

“But you said—“ my brain caught up with my mouth too late.

“She said what?” Ellen nudged me again.

“Nothing.”

“Oh, Maddie.” Carolyn clicked her tongue. “You are just a bundle of drama sometimes.”

“I am not!”

“Shh shh shh.” Carolyn shook her head. “Anyways, to answer your question, Ellen, I’m afraid I’m not accepting applications for additional partners.”

“Just pets?”

Carolyn was positively cackling now. “You catch on fast! That’s correct, but for now i think we’ll have to put a pin in adoption conversations. Or else poor Maddie here might combust.”

“You’re all evil…”

“I guess that just means you have a type.” Ellen’s wit was as fast as ever and the giggles renewed.

I hunched my shoulders as Deyha began to rub my back and I elected to focus more on the soothing touch than the polyamorous nonsense that I'd evidently signed up for. I hated that it felt unfair for Ellen to get to make these connections as well. As though I was supposed to be the last person Carolyn and Deyha could ever want in their lives… but that just reflected the fucked up heirarchy id made in my head. Somewhere I got the idea that Deyha and Carolyn could be forced to choose between each other and me, and that they would always choose each other.

Adding another leg to the illogical stool hierarchy sounded like a guaranteed way to cause wobbles… but that’s not how relationships worked, was it?

Why was it so goddamn hard to stop making things about me? Ellen’s romantic leanings weren’t a reflection on me anymore than Carolyn and Deyha’s preexisting relationship was the foundation of some bullshit constitution that I'd made up in my mind.

“Are you really considering giving Ellen a kid too?” I lowered my voice a touch and hung back to let Carolyn and Ellen walk ahead a few steps. I felt bad for whispering behind their backs, but I felt like I could also rationalize it as still being easily within earshot.

“Im not sure. Do you need me not to?”

“I… it's not my place, right? It’s not about me.”

Deyha sighed. “That’s the trick isn’t it? Convincing yourself that something isn’t personal… look at it this way, if you truly can’t get past the feeling that other progeny would somehow diminish your value, then I won’t have other children. I won’t say that I’m all that keen on giving up that aspect of my bodily autonomy, but I won’t allow you to think you aren’t worth it. If you need to be the sole mother of my children, so be it.”

“That’s… I can't ask that of you.”

“You can. You can ask anything of me, and I am just as free to say yes or no to everything.”

“Then why don’t you ask me not to be intimate with Ellen?” I searched Deyha’s expression now, desperate to understand why she would so readily give everything and ask nothing.

“I’ve had some time to think about that…” Deyha let the statement hang longer than I would have liked. “I don’t want to keep you from Ellen any more than I'd want to keep you from Carolyn. Maybe part of it is just the benefit of us all being cooped up together on this farm… but I truly don’t think more love in your life means less in mine. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Then… I won't ask you to be exclusive either. With uh… children and stuff…”

“Figured it out that fast? You’re certain?” She squeezed my shoulder as her tone took on a teasing lilt

“Damn it Deyha,” I grumbled. “This is going to have to be a fake-it-till-i-make-it, okay?”

“If you say so. But as your co-owner—“ Deyha paused and grimaced. “No, as your lover, I cordially demand you keep me posted on your feelings in regards to this. Set a calendar reminder if you need to but this is too important to let fester.”

“Like you let your secret discomfort with your mods fester?”

Deyha sighed and pulled me closer “Yes, thank you so much for reminding me what a hypocrite I am. My point remains though.”

“I'm sorry, that was funnier in my head.”

“It's okay.” She held my shoulder, bringing us to a stop so she could kiss my forehead. “Fortunately, Carolyn is here to avenge me.”

“Avenge?— ow!” I bumped the back of my head into Carolyn’s cheek bone as she chomped with particular vigor into my shoulder.

“Ow~” Carolyn rubbed her cheek as I turned on her. “Teaches me not to surprise chomp I suppose.”

“I warned you!” I rubbed the back of my head.

“You did not!”

“I did! I told you about how my family used to tickle me until I couldn't breathe and I ended up flailing and hitting them!”

“If you are saying my bites only tickle, I might have to start using more force…”

“Thats not the moral of this story!”

“I know, I know” Carolyn pulled me into a hug and I rolled my eyes as Deyha and Ellen turned it into a group hug.

“You’re all butts. Evil, evil naughty butts.”

“Ellen’s right then.” Deyha murmured and kissed the top of my head. “You do have a type.”

“I’m too sticky and stimulated to deal with this right now.” I grumbled and wriggled my way out of the cluster. It only took a couple skips to get ahead of the group and I kept an eye out on how closely I was being followed as I led the way to the bathhouse. I didn't quite expect any tail pulling shenanigans from Ellen, but I sure as hell wasn't going to risk being caught off guard again.

“What did she mean by sticky?” Ellen stage whispered behind me, but I ignored them, throwing the door of the bathhouse wide behind me rather than holding it open for them.

Luckily, this time I’d been thinking in advance of which stall to use. At this point I’d long since tried out every variation of sprayers and shower furniture that Deyha had provided for and one in particular stood out to me as the best suited for the job. It was a small stall, but it had a dedicated boost pump for extra high spray pressure on the massage head.

It was no secret that most of the girls here used it to masturbate, but I knew that besides that it was my best bet of getting all the goo out of my fur. I left the robe on a hook by the outer curtain and pulled the frosted glass door closed behind me as I stepped into the stall itself. This was the only stall with a solid door, probably due to the water pressure.

I folded down the bench and rinsed the plastic boards down while I waited for the water to warm. I was unsurprised to hear Carolyn and giggling somewhere across the room and even less surprised when Ellen let herself into the outer section.

“Hey Ellen.” I tested the water temperature on my hooves as I got comfortable on the bench.

“Hey Mads, want any help?”

I squinted at the glass, hoping to communicate in body language what she wouldn't be able to see in my expression.

“No ulterior motive!” She held up her hands.

“Are you sure? Last time you helped me clean up a sticky mess you fingered my brains out.”

“Well first off, I have my own pussy now. And second… I have self control.”

“Uh huh.” I started rinsing and frowned as the semen thickened and somehow grew stickier. “Jesus…”

“You’re not using hot water are you?”

“I am, why?”

“No! It's denaturing the proteins!”

“And that means…”

“It's like how an egg sticks to a pan if you don't have oil or if it's too textured. It's going to bind up in your fur.”

“Well shit…”

“Here, can I…” Ellen trailed off.

“Sure, come inside.” I smirked as I turned off the water and opened the door.

“You’re a butt.” She finished undressing and maneuvered to sit on the floor across from me.

Without the roar of the sprayer, Carolyn’s moans were a little harder to ignore.

“Fuck~” Ellen surveyed the mess.

It took me a moment to realize I was staring, and even when I realized there was bargaining and rationalizing with myself to decide if it was a problem. Ellen had definitely changed in the time she had been here. The 'Hen' was well and truly gone and along with it much of her bone structure had changed in subtle ways. I could swear her hips were a little wider, and in turn her shoulders seemed narrower. In truth, I couldn't really compare to some remembered visual. I didn't remember any scars of blemishes on her skin from before and I didn't see any now. All I really had to go on was the vibe that before I could tell she wasn't cis, and now I only remembered. Besides, there was so much variation in body shapes in general, It was entirely possible that I was just arbitrarily deciding her proportions were feminine just because of the one key detail between her legs.

Ellen eased my knees further apart. “Somehow, I think Deyha might have gotten it everywhere except inside."

“Nope, what you see is just what Carolyn squeezed out.”

“Wild.” Ellen shook her head and I handed her the shower head. “You don't have to use completely cold water but the colder you can handle, the better.” She paused to smirk and look up. “And as much as I enjoy the view you should probably cover your more sensitive places.”

“Its all sensitive.”

“Of course it is.” She tested different spray settings on her hands before going to work on the insides of my thighs. Expertly picking out the parts that had gummed up and wiping away what hadn’t. “see how much easier it is when it isn't cooked on?”

“I'm not sure I like your phrasing.”

“Tough luck, it's accurate… wow it really got everywhere.”

“Yeah…” I repositioned on the bench and winced as some hair got tugged.

“Is it on your tail too?”

I nodded and lifted a hoof to brace against the wall over her shoulder as she worked her way back.

“How big are her balls?”

“She doesn't have any. This is the height of magical technology: violating conservation of mass. Most of the mess is actually on her I think.”

“Poor girl.” Ellen murmured. “I hope she didn't also try hot water… I'm also surprised you didn’t know this. Didn't you ever masturbate in the shower before?”

“I did. A lot actually, I just focused on not getting it on myself.”

“Understandable. And uh… I’m happy to keep going, but I have a feeling that any more rubbing is either going to work you up or set you off.”

“Hah… yeah, thanks for the tips and all that. I can probably do the rest in another stall if you want to use this one.”

“Sweet of you to offer but I’m just going to do a quick wash before taking a soak. You’ll join me in the bath, right?”

“Sure~” I repositioned to let Ellen maneuver her way back out and put a generous dose of soap on a wash cloth. Ordinarily, I might have left the water off for this but I opted to be wasteful just for the sake of noise to cover the escalating moans.

“Jesus.” I muttered under my breath as I wrapped a towel around myself and re-deposited my clothes near the door to the bath.

On one hand, I did want to go ahead and join Ellen for a soak… but I was more than a little curious about the marathon happening in the largest stall.

“Are you two okay in here?” I let myself in and leaned against the tiled opening as Deyha finally took a break.

“Looks like I win~” she gasped and sat up on her knees.

Carolyn remained splayed out on the floor of the shower, whining and twitching as Deyha got to her feet.

“Won what?”

“Carolyn bet that I couldn’t last long enough for you to come check on us.”

“Weird… I guess it’s a good thing I didn't head straight to the bath.”

“What took you so long ~~?” Carolyn groaned and propped herself up on her elbows. “And why did you stop?”

“I never promised you an orgasm.” Deyha set about rinsing off.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Carolyn crawled toward me and I helped her to her feet.

I put my hands on my hips. “Did you want the list itemized or will a steam-of-consciousness rant suffice?”

“Rhetorical.” Carolyn grumbled. “I’m thirsty. Do you have any milk?”

“I… guess? Probably?” Before I could ask for clarification she was backing me up into the wall. “Carolyn~, I'm supposed to meet Ellen in the baths!”

“You expect me to share? Unfairness abounds.” She tugged my towel loose, tossing it onto the bench as she slipped her knee between my legs.

“No! I mean… maybe? Can we take care of this in there?”

Carolyn raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect the exhibitionism training to bear fruit so soon.”

“It’s just Ellen—“

“And whoever else might have already been here—“

“You didn’t check before fucking in the showers‽”

“I checked.” Deyha chimed in. “Don’t worry.”

Carolyn shook her head. “Maddie? Not worrying? Might as well tell her to turn green.”

“You’re a butt. First, I have been known to relax from time to time, and second… remember not to fuck in the baths this time.— did you manage to get everything out of your fur?” I turned to Deyha and she nodded.

“I think so.” She turned in place, looking over her shoulder as she showed me her tail. “Did I miss anything?”

Something about the way she spun, graceful despite her size, derailed my train of thought. Her hips, while always in view, were never so truly bare as they were now. The reddish brown fur was an absolute mess, but I felt like the texture and shine only added interest.. Even on closer inspection it seemed she’d found time to thoroughly shampoo every inch.

“It uh… looks good.”

“Yeah she does.” Carolyn sounded smug as she slipped out of the shower stall while Deyha hung up the shower head.

"Did you two seriously fuck that entire time?"

Deyha shrugged. "Not really. I spent a long time cleaning up while Carolyn did her best to distract and disturb. Eventually I caved and gave her the attention she was after."

"You spoil us."

"I sure try to." Deyha beamed at me. "You're not going to make me regret it are you?"

"No promises.” I retrieved my towel and wrapped it around myself once more.

Deyha chuckled. “no promises… so non-committal.”

“I’m committed!” My voice rose in pitch as though that could somehow help my case. “this is committed!” I gestured at the collar and immediately felt like the impact was lessened by the absence of the bell.

Deyha raised an eyebrow. “It’s true that you never take that off… and you were pretty eager to have my kid…”

“I am eager!” I insisted. “And I’m not going to run away the moment I deliver either! There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here on this farm! Hell, there’s nowhere on earth that I’d belong other than here.”

Deyha frowned and I shut my idiot mouth as my mind raced for instinctive damage control.

“Yeah… I feel that too.”

“I didn’t mean—“

Deyha shook her head and pulled me into a hug. She didn’t seem keen on breaking the silence, so I waited a moment to be extra sure Carolyn was out of earshot.

“I’m sorry.”

She chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “I suppose I won’t tattle on you to Carolyn for that one… but would you promise me something?”

Fear of uncertainty gripped me. Promise her what? I wanted to trust her completely, and I had to imagine she wouldn’t ask something I couldn’t bear to give… but how could I agree without knowing?

“Awful long pause there, dear.” Her tone was coy, but I couldn’t trust that her amusement wasn’t a cover for hurt.

“Fuck…” I pulled her tighter, earning another amused chuckle. “Yes. I’ll promise… whatever it is you want.”

“You aren’t going to ask for specifics first?”

I stepped back now and squinted up at her. “Of course I’d like specifics before a commitment but that’s not— give me a break, Deyha! The way you asked… I couldn't just demand details! You have to know that’s a fucked up test but I mean it! I’ll promise something! You name it and I’ll commit.”

I folded my arms as she scratched at the back of her head. “It wasn't meant to be a test—“

“Just tell me what you want me to promise!”

“I didn’t think that far ahead!” Deyha laughed as I threw my arms up in exasperation and then had to scramble to catch and fix my towel in place again.

“How was that not a test‽”

“I'm sorry!”

I grabbed her hand and bit softly at her knuckle. “Well now it was a test that you failed so nya.”

“Fine, fine. Would you promise… to drink a glass of water this evening?”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t think you hydrate enough.”

“Unbelievable.” I grumbled and turned to leave the stall. “Yes, Deyha. I promise to drink a glass of water this evening.”

“Do you need to write it down somewhere?”

“You’re a butt. Are you coming to the bath or not?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming~.”

I decided to pass on the sex joke set up and left the shower stall behind.