Love As The Darker Binding Ch. 03

You will need to remember that Imogen is frail when compared to what you are. I am making an investment in a second pilot, so do what you need as unobtrusively as you can to protect that investment," he said to Dusty.

"And for pity's sake, teach her how to shop and cook. She's human. The last time that I paid attention, they could at least feed themselves. It's not her fault, but she really needs your help in this."

He looked at Imogen, "And you need to learn it if you want to make your lovely body look and feel even better. At this point in a young human female's life, you ought to be able to feel some degree of confidence in the way that you look. You should, when you feel it, be able to exude sensuality for any number of reasons.

Perhaps the most important is because it feels good as you do – even if it is only for yourself most times, because it connects a female to her world. Think of your quiet preference to be naked like this. It's already there, Imogen. You only need to feel it and own it.

Listen to Dusty's advice, though you know the way that things here go better than he does. I hate to embarrass him to say this, but get him a dog license if that is required here because if he is caught, the results won't be very pleasant when I send my troops to free him and demolish the place where he is held. Remember Imogen; Dusty is as important to me as you are.

There is a bill of sale for him from a legitimate breeder near Oakland, California in your wallet now. He is three years old by that paperwork and there is a chip under the skin inside of his left ear next to his registration tattoo. If it is scanned, it will read correctly. You purchased him over the internet and he was delivered here today. You'll also find the shipping papers with the rest. He was owned by a nice old woman who has passed on and the breeders agreed to find him a home.

"I'm not allowed to have a dog his size here", Imogen said as the thought came to her,"My landlady – "

"Your landlady already knows that he is here, though she can't recall much of the conversation which she had with you when you asked about it. She remembers how she once owned one like him as a girl." Abi said, "She only knows that he charmed her socks off when they met as he walked into the building here, since he did only minutes ago."

"But Abi," she began a little uncertainly, "how can he teach me how to cook? I mean, ..."

"I don't look like this, not if I can help it," Dusty said, "But I couldn't walk here the way I usually look. This was bad enough. People were staring at me as it was, but I can't fit into any other dog shape, I don't think."

"It's getting late,"Abi said, "and I didn't plan to be here this long. So I'll be going now. I'll try to look in on you when I can, Imogen. Good luck. There's money in your nightstand drawer. Find a better hiding place for it, and I'll put it there the next time."

She stepped over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you for everything, "she smiled, "I'm sure we'll figure stuff out between us."

Abi said goodbye to Dusty then and he left. Imogen locked the door and walked back to Dusty.

In the darkness which was lit only by the monitors and the reflections of the flashing lights on the police cruisers around the corner, they stood looking at each other for a moment. Dusty said it first.

"I'm hungry."

Imogen laughed a little, guessing that keeping him fed was going to be a challenge. "I'm hungry too, but Abi told me that I'm not supposed to use any money for fast food."

"Is there a 24 hour grocery store around here? We could get something and I'll make us a late dinner," he said as he stepped over to the window to look out for a moment, "Or, we could just walk over to that restaurant place there. I see people leaving there with, ... sausages in bread things. I think one each ought to be enough – or two maybe. I don't think that there's much choice at this time of night."

"Sounds good to me, Dusty," she said, "Just give me a minute to put some clothes on."

He looked at her for a moment as she grabbed a pair of jeans and slid into them far more easily than she would have that morning.

"Crap. These things are huge on me now." It was the same story with her T-shirt, but at least it covered the poorly-fitting jeans. She found a belt to take up the slack. She didn't mind the changes in her body. She wasn't exactly a Barbie doll in terms of her figure, but she was very happy.

"We'll buy you some clothes tomorrow," Dusty said, "Is it permitted for me to say that I like the way that you look better than I like the bodies of the people outside?"

"Why not?" she grinned, feeling better about herself ever since making love with Abi, "Since you've already said it – and thank you , Dusty. I like the way that you look too."

But I don't look like this!" he objected, "I told you –"

"And I know," she smiled, "I was talking about the way that you look NOW. You look so great and I know that there's another way for you. I hope that I can see that later."

She locked the door with her key and they turned to go.

"I just hope that I don't frighten you," Dusty said quietly in the echoish hall, "My head is different. Everything is different then. I think I made a mistake to choose this to look like since you like it so much. I'm really a lot uglier than this."

As they were about to cross the street, Imogen leaned down as she pet his ear, "Dusty, I've just spent an afternoon and evening with Abi. I wasn't prepared for the way that he looks either, but I liked it anyway."

A policeman walked over to them and asked Imogen if she'd seen or heard anything earlier. She smiled at him, but she shrugged, "No, officer. I was playing video games and I had my headphones on and pretty much cranked. I'm sorry if I can't help you much. I didn't see anything until I noticed the flashing lights a while ago. My windows face the other side."

Dusty waited outside as Imogen went inside of the restaurant. She came back ten minutes later with three sausages on buns and held two bottles of water under one arm. "I didn't know if you wanted anything on yours," she said, "I like mine with fried onions usually, but I heard what Abi said, so I've just got a little mustard on mine."

He didn't know what mustard was, so she let him lick a little from her finger. Since he liked it, she went back and came out with mustard on his two as well. She opened the water bottles and they sat side by side on the curb together. Imogen ate hers and held his for him one after the other at the same time. She didn't know about Dusty, but she was having a great time with him.

She asked very quietly, and when he agreed that he'd need a little help with his water bottle in the shape that he was in, Imogen patiently held it for him but some spilled anyway, though she told him not to worry about it.

Dusty was very careful not to bite her fingers accidentally, but when his sausages were all gone and she began to withdraw her hand, he reached out with a large paw and tried to hold her hand up as he leaned down and licked her fingers.

"What was that for?" she smiled.

"More disguise for everyone," he thought into her head, "and a way to thank you for your help, since I'm so awkward like this."

Imogen smiled and told him that he was welcome, "I liked doing it for you.

What did Abi tell you about me?" she asked.

"Nothing when he spoke to me, and it was before he met you. He said that I needed help since he didn't want to always fly his craft. He can fly it alone, but long trips bother him. He said that I spent too much time alone and that it was not good, so he would find me a friend who could be taught to fly his craft by me. I was really nervous and unhappy about it until now.

Now, I just like you. I can't help it. I'm sure this will work if you have any desire to fly.

I was here today anyway, since we came to collect a soul, so I had time to look around. Abi made it so that I can understand the speech here, but I wanted to feel the way that the words are used.

I saw you, but I can hide myself so that I can't be seen by humans. I didn't know that you were the one then. You were walking from that store there with a bag of something to eat and a bottle. What were those things?"

"Chips and pop," Imogen said, "I was hungry and the sub shop wasn't open yet."

"I hope you enjoyed it," he said, "Since I fear to fail in his eyes, we will eat ..." he thought for the words, "carrot and celery sticks at times like that now."

He looked around, "I have to urinate."

She nodded to him, "Go ahead, Dusty. You've got a great disguise, right? Find a pole or whatever you want and just go. Probably best if there's not a person nearby. I'll wait."

He ambled off a few yards and she was a little amazed at how long he could piss against a wall.

He came back then and she chuckled, "You know, I've always been a little jealous about the way that boys can do that, just walk over and pee on something. Adult people can get into some trouble doing that, but sometimes I wish that I could do something like that too."

He looked down at her from where he stood a little behind and to the side of her, "There is a small space there, where one building ends and another begins. I saw no one there, and no one is looking at us. If you want, Imogen, then go there."

She looked at him nervously, "But –"

"Imogen," he said into her mind, "Like this, I look as though I weigh almost two hundred pounds, the way that I see they measure weight here. Actually, I weight over two hundred and eighty. Go there and do it if you want to. I'll stand guard in front. The whole place is in deep shadows. I'll keep anyone away who might show up and I'd protect you if you needed me."

"Did you look back in there?"

"I can see perfectly in the dark," he said, "There is no one there."

As she stood in the darkness between the buildings a minute later, Imogen saw his eyes as he looked around and then at her every so often. She was a little put-off at first, but she admitted to herself that she already liked him a lot and that even as her 'dog', he was bound to get an eyeful sometime with them living together.

Then she smiled as she realized that he'd already seen all of her and she hadn't minded it a bit.

And he'd seen the way that she'd watched him when he'd done it against the wall. She suddenly felt a little more daring, like a young girl with a boyfriend when they were both just children.

Imogen turned toward him a little so that he could see and unbuttoned her jeans. With the zipper down, she smiled at him and pulled them down as she sank down to a squat, putting a little wiggle into it for him and she saw his smile to her then.

She wanted to laugh, but she held it in and then she just went.

They stepped back into the glare of the streetlights a few minutes later. "Thanks, Dusty. That felt great. I don't think it was a kink or anything like that, I just wanted to do it, so thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, "Thanks for the ... show."

She put her arm over his shoulders as they walked, "I'm glad you liked it. I had this naughty little thought to take off my pants so that you could see better, but I didn't want to there with all of the papers and junk."

"Should we go back now?" he asked, silently as he looked up.

She nodded with a little smile, "Yeah, Dusty. Let's go home."

Imogen didn't really know how to handle it, not that it was a big thing, but she liked the way that it felt to her to be home. And to be 'home' to her meant, at best, that if there was no reason against it, she wanted to be naked. Not knowing what to do, she asked Dusty.

"Do you see me wearing anything?" he asked.

It made Imogen chuckle. "I like the way that you look, and you're not wearing clothes, so ..."

She locked the door and took her clothes off.

"I like the way that you look too," he said with that little smile of his.

They sat down together and spoke of how to go about doing what they needed to do for a while and then Imogen looked over at him for a moment. "I was thinking that maybe I ought to tell you about myself, but then I guessed that you probably know most or all of it anyway."

Dusty looked at her, "I know enough, Imogen. You don't have to worry about me reading your private thoughts. That happens in a different part of both of our minds from where we keep our memories and all of the rest."

As he spoke, he saw her eyes widen a little and he knew that she'd found the way to look into him a little bit. Dusty looked down in shame, but she lifted his head after a few moments and she leaned against him just a bit as she tried to put her arm around him, though it was a bit of a stretch with an Irish Wolfhound.

"It's ok, Dusty. I just saw that you had a shitty time when you were little. What were those things, anyway?"

"What things?" he asked and she shrugged, "Those big things who were picking on you, making you hurt and stuff? They had huge teeth. I'd probably have crapped myself in your place."

"They were my brothers and their friends," he replied quietly, now more uncomfortable over the way that he'd look to her than ever.

"Too bad," she said very softly as she leaned against him, "They looked so good to me at first for some reason, until they all started trying to hurt you." She laid her head against his shoulder.

"Until then, I thought they looked pretty sexy."

He looked over at her though she didn't see it. She also didn't see the way that his ears stood almost straight up in surprise at her remark.

"I saw that you always had things on your nose to help you see better," he said after a minute, "You must not need them now and I really like that. I've never really seen many humans until today, and I like you the best."

She looked up, "Really? Or is that just because I'm the only naked one that you've seen?"

He looked at her for a long moment and they sat staring into each other's eyes as she gently ran her fingers through the fur on his chest.

"You know, Imogen," he said with a smile, "I have no way to laugh when I'm like this. I can see every one of them naked if I wish."

She thought it was funny and she laughed quietly until she put her head back down against him. He was so good to lean against and talk to.

"So you like to see me naked, huh?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, I do. I did mean it though. I like your body."

"Well then," she chuckled with a smile, "after a remark like that, all I've got is that we give up for today and just go to sleep. You're not sleeping on the floor, though, since you're not a dog. Come on, I've got a double bed, so there'll be lots of room."

"Is that allowed?" he asked in a little shock.

She nodded, "Sure. Lots of people let their dogs sleep on the bed. You're not one, but I've only got one bed and I don't mind. We're getting along, so why not? You don't snore, do you?"

"I dunno," he said, "but thanks a lot."

She pulled back the covers with a look at him, "For what?"

He was tall enough to only need to step onto the bed – which he did easily, turning once after he'd seen which side that she wanted. He eased himself down with a groan then and he said, "I was worried because I really didn't want to sleep on the floor."

They said goodnight and were quiet for a time.

"You mated with lord Abi," he said in the darkness facing away from her, "Was it good?"

He was surprised again when her arm came to him as she reached across him to pull herself a little closer to him. "That was a once in a lifetime thing, I think," she said, "I liked it a lot, since I've never really had anything like that before. You don't mind us sleeping like this, do you?"

"No," he said quietly, "I've only ever slept alone. I'm, ..."

He sighed, "Imogen, I'm small for an Ushandi. I've never found a female who was even interested in a second look at me. So this is ... I want to say something that I've heard in the minds of some humans as I walked here today."

"Go ahead," she whispered.

"It's awesome, Thank you."

"But can you even sleep like this?" she asked, "Abi said that you were cramped in that shape."

"I am," he sighed, "I was going to wait until you were asleep and then change. I don't want to frighten you."

Imogen shook her head a little as she looked at his back. "I'm pretty sure that I can handle it unless you're slimy in there or you smell bad. You ought to just do it so that we can get it out of the way, Dusty.

Come on," she chuckled, "We're in my bed together and I really like it. We've watched each other pee for Pete's sake. Young boys pee together when they're friends enough not to mind. I think we're at least friends that much, aren't we? I even put on a little show for you and everything. What more is there?"

He groaned to himself and then Imogen's eyes opened from the bed moving slightly as she saw the shape that she was lying very close to. He was even larger and his fur had changed. She saw a mane and some other thick fur from there to past the end of his shoulders.

There was muscle there too, right in front of her and not really like the way that it had been before. She didn't need to touch it. She just knew it. Her arm was lifted a little bit when he'd done it. No wonder he'd felt cramped.

"Hey," she began, "How can you teach me how to cook and also fly Abi's whatever it is, if you've got paws?"

He reached down with an arm which surprised her for it's size and gently placed his hand on her thigh for a moment and then withdrew it. She felt that he had fingers, long ones. "Oh," she said, "Never mind.

Feel better now?" she asked.

"Yes," he said quietly in a deep and natural voice, "Thank you again, Imogen."

She sighed and snuggled against him a little closer, "You're welcome, but I've gotta move my pillow."

She lifted herself up and peeked at his profile for a second by making the pretense of fluffing her pillow. One look almost cost her the pretense anyway because she had to keep herself from staring all over again. She managed to stop the gasp which she knew was there in her throat and she eased herself down again.

He didn't look like a dog.

It was dark, but she'd seen enough to form the beginnings of an impression, though she almost ached a little to ask if she might see him better by turning on the light for a moment. It wouldn't have been the best way to go about it because she knew that he felt shy over his natural appearance in her presence.

If anyone understood the way that it felt, Imogen knew. She'd been there all of her life.

She had a little trouble with his admission about being small. He was huge as far as she was concerned, but then she realized that she was thinking in terms of lying next to her pet wolfhound and Dusty wasn't either of those things.

From her quick look, she'd seen that there was something about him which spoke to her of being a sort of demon, though it was very muted in a way and there were no horns or anything like that. She wondered if her time with Abi had changed something in her so that she could lie here thinking these slightly analytical thoughts instead of pissing herself in fear to be an inch away from a being like him.

She decided that it didn't really matter. She's liked him before this. Now she'd just seen the true package.

She thought that the wolfhound disguise was wonderful and one of her reasons was that she'd always admired people who were lucky enough to be able to afford to have an animal companion like that. She knew that they'd have no trouble acting it out whenever they were in public since it was so easy to give in to the disguise and play the happy owner who'd care for her large friend.

But other than hugs and fussing over one and loving one the way that anyone would love their dog – if she had a real one – she'd have felt no attraction like this.