Juno let herself drop back onto the couch with a long, exhausted groan, more falling than sitting as she collapsed sideways across Niv’s lap. Every part of her felt heavy, like the day had sunk into her bones and decided to stay there, and for a moment she didn’t even try to move, just lay there with her eyes half closed, breathing slowly as she tried to let the tension drain out of her body.
Two hours of answering questions at the house had been bad enough, repeating herself over and over while everything was still fresh and raw, and then another four at the station had followed, slower and more formal, every detail picked apart and written down like it needed to be preserved forever. And that wasn’t even the end of it, because she knew there would be more later, more statements, more retellings, and eventually court, where she would have to stand there and go through all of it again in front of strangers.
She was going to do it, though. She had already decided that much.
When the time came, she would testify, she would tell them everything, and she would make sure Marie stayed locked away for as long as possible so that she could finally, properly feel safe again without constantly looking over her shoulder. The thought of it was exhausting in its own way.
Today had been a long week.
“Wanna watch a movie?” she mumbled eventually, her voice muffled slightly where her face was pressed against Niv’s arm.
“Okay,” Niv replied without hesitation.
Neither of them moved.
Juno didn’t have the energy to sit up and grab the remote, and Niv seemed perfectly content to stay exactly where she was, one hand resting lightly against Juno’s side as if just making sure she was still there.
After a quiet moment, Niv spoke again.
“The mean female gone?”
Juno let out a slow breath, her eyes still closed. “Yeah. She’s being held for now, until all this gets sorted out. When it goes to court, she’ll probably get… I don’t know, somewhere between seven and fourteen years, I hope.” She shifted slightly, pressing a little closer for comfort. “Hopefully I never have to see her again. Honestly, part of me is still tempted to just… move. Disappear somewhere else. Not tell anyone where I go this time.”
“That would make me sad,” Niv said quietly, her ears drooping as she looked down at her.
Juno turned her head slightly and nuzzled into Niv’s thigh. “I’m not going,” she murmured. “I’m just… flighty, I guess. Always have been. I’ve had to drop everything and disappear twice now, so my brain kind of defaults to that when things go bad.”
“Twice?” Niv asked, a note of curiosity in her voice.
“Yeah,” Juno said, letting out a small, humourless breath. “First time was when I came out to my parents. Told them I was a lesbian, and they… didn’t take it well. At all.” She shifted slightly, getting a bit more comfortable where she lay. “We were living up in Albany, in the North Island. They were part of Destiny Church, and not just casually either, they were really deep into it. Like, everything revolved around it.”
Niv tilted her head slightly. “What’s that?”
Juno opened her mouth to answer, then paused, her expression shifting as she realised something.
“Actually… do you or your people believe in gods or anything like that?” she asked instead.
“What is a god?” Niv replied, completely genuine.
Juno blinked once, then huffed out a faint, tired laugh. “Right, okay. A god is… kind of like a really powerful being that people think created the world, or controls things, or watches over everyone. That sort of thing.”
Niv hummed softly, thinking it over. “No. We don’t have that. We just know that when we die, we return to the forest and become prey. Then when the prey die, we become hunters again.” She shifted her hand slightly, resting it more comfortably against Juno. “It makes you appreciate being a hunter, so you don’t take too much from the forest.”
“Huh,” she said eventually. “Well… I hope I return to the forest when I die, then. I wouldn’t mind a few years as a rabbit or something.”
“Rabbits are tasty snacks,” Niv said matter-of-factly.
Juno let out a small laugh, the sound soft and tired but genuine as she snuggled in a little closer. “Yeah,” she murmured. “They are.”
“Yeah, just drop it off there. I’ll sort out the rest later,” Juno said, gesturing toward the cleared patch just behind the house where she’d spent the last couple of afternoons making space.
“Sure thing,” one of the delivery guys replied, already guiding the other as they manoeuvred the bulky hot tub into position.
It was mid-autumn now, the kind of time where the air had started to turn crisp without quite biting yet, and the light carried that softer, golden quality that made everything feel a little calmer, a little slower. Late March suited the place, Juno thought, especially out here where the forest pressed close and the world felt just a bit more removed from everything else.
The hot tub had been a bit of an impulse decision, if she was being honest, but one she hadn’t regretted for even a second. The idea of sinking into warm water while the air stayed cool around her, looking up at a sky full of stars with nothing but trees and quiet stretching out in every direction, had been far too appealing to ignore. And with the job she had now, the steady pay, there hadn’t really been a reason to talk herself out of it. If anything, she’d talked herself into it faster, and, she admitted to herself with a small smile, it wasn’t just for her.
It was something she could share.
Once the tub was finally set down and the last of the paperwork was handled, she stepped back and watched as the truck pulled away, tires crunching over the gravel until the sound faded into the distance. The quiet that followed felt heavier for a moment, then settled into something comfortable.
Juno let out a content little sigh.
“Okay, they’re gone!” she called out toward the house.
There was a brief shuffle from inside before Niv ducked through the doorway, her larger frame needing to dip slightly to clear it. The oversized t-shirt she was wearing hung loosely off her, draping down in a way that made it obvious it hadn’t been made for her proportions, the fabric stretching just enough in some places and hanging too freely in others.
A month ago, Niv had gotten curious about clothes, mostly after watching Juno go through her usual routines, and that curiosity had turned into something closer to fascination once she actually tried them. Finding things that fit had been a bit of a mission, given that Niv was significantly bigger than the average human while Juno sat on the smaller side of things, but they’d made it work.
And ever since that first proper set arrived, Niv had barely taken them off.
Juno still wasn’t entirely used to it. Over the past few months, she’d grown so accustomed to Niv just… being as she was, that the addition of clothing felt oddly new despite being the more “normal” option. Not that it bothered her, it was just one more thing to adjust to. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Hot pool?” Niv asked, her eyes already fixed on the newly delivered tub.
“Yep,” Juno said with a grin. “I’ll need to get it filled and hooked up to the power first, but we can probably try it out tomorrow or the day after. Gotta scrub it down, make sure there’s no leftover chemicals, cycle the water through a bit, all that fun stuff.”
“Exciting!” Niv beamed, her tail swaying behind her with clear enthusiasm. “Mother should be here in two or three hours.”
“Sweet as,” Juno replied, already mentally running through what she needed to grab. “I’ll head into the supermarket now then, make sure I’ve got everything ready for the barbecue before she gets here.”
“Hot meats,” Niv said immediately, her tail picking up speed. “Want cattle-prey.”
Juno couldn’t help but laugh, the sound light and easy as she turned toward the house to grab her keys. “Yeah, yeah, I figured as much. I’ll make sure we’ve got plenty.”
It ended up being a small gathering, the kind that felt more like a relaxed afternoon drifting into evening rather than anything formal. Juno had kept it simple on purpose, just Barry and Lou from down the road, and Mike as well, who had somehow worked his way into being a regular presence over the past couple of months.
That part still felt a little strange when she stopped to think about it.
The whole kidnapping ordeal had thrown them together in a way that hadn’t left much room for awkward distance afterward, and while Mike could absolutely be a bit of an idiot at times, he showed up when it mattered. That counted for a lot. Plus, every now and then he’d swing by with something he’d caught, a couple of fish or the occasional bit of game, always with that slightly sheepish look like he wasn’t sure if it was too much.
Juno appreciated it.
Niv had managed something even more impressive.
She had convinced her mother to come.
That had taken some doing, considering Bahl’s general opinion on humans who weren’t Juno, and even then there were… conditions. Juno had, over time, earned a sort of begrudging approval through consistent offerings of grilled meat, which apparently counted for more than most things, but that goodwill hadn’t exactly extended to everyone else.
So Bahl sat a little apart from the group, right at the edge of the clearing where the forest began to thicken, a plate balanced easily on her lap as she gnawed through a lamb chop. Her teeth made short work of it, crunching through bone with a casual ease that was just a bit unsettling if you thought about it too long.
The others were very pointedly not thinking about it too long.
“So… uh, is she single?” Mike asked from beside the grill.
Juno froze.
Her tongs hovered uselessly over the sausages, her brain taking a second to catch up with what had just been said, before she slowly turned her head to look at him.
“What.”
Mike shifted slightly under the weight of that response, but didn’t back down. “You know… uh, Bahl. Just wondering if I could, like, shoot my shot or something.”
Juno stared at him for another second, then let out a slow breath as her brain rebooted enough to process this properly.
“You like them older?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she started to recover.
“I mean…” Mike gestured vaguely toward where Bahl sat, still working through the remains of the lamb chop. “Look at her. The antlers are kind of hot.”
Juno followed his gaze for a moment, then gave a small, conceding nod. “Yeah, alright, I get what you mean.” She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice just enough to make it feel conspiratorial. “They make good handlebars.”
Mike’s eyes widened a fraction. “Shit. Yeah. Didn’t even think about that. Might actually try it, you know?”
“She’s pretty apprehensive about humans,” Juno said, straightening back up as she flipped a few sausages and adjusted the vegetable skewers. “Only reason she likes me is because I feed her every time she comes over.” A small pause. “And, you know, I’m dating her daughter.”
“Oh. Right,” Mike said, wincing slightly. “Gotcha.”
Juno considered that for a moment, then shrugged.
“If you really want to try, just… take it slow,” she said. “Approach her gently, don’t be weird about it. You both like hunting, so that’s probably your best angle. Bond over that.”
Mike nodded, looking surprisingly serious about it. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Good luck,” Juno muttered, not entirely sure if she meant it.
She shifted everything on the grill over to the warming side and closed the lid, letting the heat settle while she stepped away, giving her attention back to the rest of her guests.
Barry, Lou, and Niv were already deep in conversation, or what passed for it when food was involved.
“Tusk-prey is better,” Niv was saying confidently, her posture relaxed but her tone firm. “Tasty fat and lots of meat.”
“Yeah, nah,” Barry shot back, shaking his head as he took a sip from his drink. “It’s gamier. I like bush pig, don’t get me wrong, but deer doesn’t have that problem as much. Meat’s cleaner, bit leaner too. Don’t want too much fat in it.”
Juno stepped up beside Lou, glancing between them. “What are they on about?”
“Which wild animals taste best,” Lou replied, taking a slow pull from her beer. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
“Well the correct answer is duck,” Juno said immediately.
“Agreed,” Lou nodded. “And eggs are better than chicken, too.”
“Antler-prey good,” Niv added, not missing a beat. “But less meat. Easier to hunt though.”
Barry huffed out a small laugh, raising his drink slightly in surrender. “Alright, fine. Bush pig’s great. You can win this one.”
“Juno!” Niv called, turning toward her with that same bright enthusiasm as her tail swayed behind her. “Hot-meats done?”
“Yeah,” Juno said with a small smile. “They’re just keeping warm. Thought I’d come check in on everyone before I started serving.”
The air was cool, the smell of grilled food hung thick and inviting, and for the first time in a while, everything felt… easy.
They lingered long enough for the light to start fading properly, the golden warmth of late afternoon slipping into that cooler, dimmer stretch where the forest began to feel a little deeper and the air picked up a quiet chill. No one seemed in any real hurry to leave, conversations drifting and looping back on themselves, the kind of easy, unstructured time that came from people settling in comfortably together.
Juno spent most of it moving between little pockets of conversation, though she found herself gravitating back to Niv, Barry, and Lou more often than not. It felt natural there, relaxed, with the steady back and forth of opinions, jokes, and the occasional argument about food that never really went anywhere.
What she hadn’t expected was Bahl.
At some point, without much announcement, she had wandered closer from her usual spot at the edge of the clearing, drawn in not by the people so much as the presence of more food and the general atmosphere. She didn’t say much, that part didn’t change, but she stayed, listening more than speaking, occasionally adding a short, blunt comment that either ended a topic entirely or shifted it in a new direction. Somehow, she and Lou clicked.
It wasn’t obvious at first, but after a while it became clear in the way they spoke, or rather, didn’t. Neither of them wasted words, neither felt the need to fill silence for the sake of it, and when they did talk, it was direct and to the point. There was a kind of quiet understanding there that didn’t need much building.
Juno caught herself watching them at one point, a small, amused smile tugging at her lips before she turned back to whatever Niv was saying.
Eventually, though, the night pushed things along. People had places to be, routines to return to, and one by one they began to gather themselves up, offering casual goodbyes and promises to do it again sometime soon. Barry and Lou headed off together, Mike not long after, casting one last, slightly uncertain glance in Bahl’s direction that didn’t quite turn into anything.
Bahl left with less ceremony, simply rising and slipping back toward the trees when she was done, her presence fading into the forest as naturally as if she had never been anywhere else.
And just like that, it was quiet again.
Which meant the mess.
Juno and Niv tackled it together without much complaint, moving through the small tasks side by side, clearing plates, packing away leftovers, and giving everything a quick clean before the night settled in too deeply. It didn’t take too long, and there was something oddly satisfying about returning the space to its usual calm after having it filled with people.
By the time they were done, the chill had crept in properly.
They ended up on the couch not long after, Juno curled against Niv’s side as they put on a movie more out of habit than anything else. It played in the background, something neither of them were particularly invested in, and before long, attention drifted. A glance turned into a smile, the smile into a touch, and from there it didn’t take much.
By the time they were halfway through, the movie had been thoroughly abandoned in favour of something far more engaging, the quiet of the house filled instead with soft movement and shared warmth.
Later, when they finally made it to bed, Juno settled easily against Niv’s side, fitting into her like it was the most natural place in the world. The blankets were warm, the air cool against her face, and for a while she just lay there, content to exist in the quiet closeness of it.
“I had fun today,” she said softly.
“Was good time making with friends,” Niv replied, her voice already carrying that sleepy weight as she let out a wide yawn, her jaws stretching far wider than any human’s ever could.
“It was,” Juno murmured, shifting slightly so she could press a little closer.
They stayed like that for a while, not saying anything, just enjoying the simple comfort of being together while the night settled in around them.
“I love you,” Juno said eventually, the words quiet but certain.
Niv smiled, her eyes half-lidded with tiredness as she looked down at her. “I much love you too. You are best bond-mate.”
Juno let out a small, warm laugh. “You are too. I’m really glad I met you.” She hesitated just slightly, then added, softer, “Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me. I really appreciate you.”
“I love you much,” Niv said again, like the words themselves weren’t enough on their own.
She shifted then, pulling Juno up and over her, keeping her tucked under the covers as she wrapped her thick, furred arms securely around her. The hold was firm but gentle, grounding in a way that made Juno melt into it without resistance.
“Much, much, much.”
Juno felt safe, loved, and happy.
And she couldn’t wish for more.