“Riiiii~iiiick.”

Rick glanced at Monica as she dropped down the four very heavy tree-trunks she’d been carrying, grunting slightly as the wood bounced off of the ground slightly on impact. She stepped out of the slight indentations her paws made on the soft soil from her having walked with the massive weight.

He still couldn’t quite believe that she’d been able to carry all that, nor that she didn’t just sink all the way to her knees into the dirt. There must be something up regarding elemental energies because physics had walked out the door a kilometer ago which was where she’d picked the lumps of wood.

“Rick!” Monica spoke more insistently now, glaring at him as she poked his chest.

“I’m on it, I’m on it.” He nodded along, reaching into the pouch and pulling out a piece of boar jerky. She glared at him, and he pulled out two more.

Snatching it out of his hands, Monica grumbled, following him along as he turned around to walk back towards the logging area. Judging by the number of pieces of jerky left in his bag, he had for one more trip before she stopped wanting to collaborate. The feline made sure to grab his hand, her scowl was a deep one, mumbling and muttering and grumbling with every handful of steps.

“There there.” Rick patted her shoulder. “We’re doing this for food.”

Monica’s gaze narrowed, her paw pressing against the pouch. “Food.”

“More food.”

Her lips pursed. “Monica kill food.” Letting go of his hand, she dejectedly crossed her arms, following along with an even deeper pout.

The teacher could only sigh a little, watching her have a tantrum over the whole thing. Like some petulant child who insisted there were better ways to go about things, and… he couldn’t really deny that, from her perspective, it might seem far more entertaining to go about things differently.

“Hey.”

Tugging her hand, he caused her to stop. His other arm reached out, tugging at the baggy shirt she wore and pulling her closer. She obliged, leaning down. With a quick peck on her lips, Monica’s ears perked up. “Sex?”

“Kiss.” He chided, watching her pout again. But she didn’t lean away.

Leaning back, she wrapped him with her large furry paws in a warm snuggle of an embrace. Monica was hungry for his lips, nibbling and biting them lightly as her tongue quickly pushed to invade his mouth. Rick could feel her breasts squishing against his chest, an elastic pressure that was joining the desire he could sense from her. He had to fight to break it off before it would escalate into more.

Monica purred, tail lashing, back and forth, ears perked and… so were her nipples, visible through the discolored shirt. “Riiiick.” She whispered, taking his hand and guiding it down to her thighs.

He pulled away. “No sex. Work.” He insisted quickly, looking around and only now noticing the hollers and wolf-whistles coming from the construction crew. His face flushed, and he took her paw in his hand, quickly continuing his march up the hill.

“Sex later?” The feline pressured, putting his hand on her naked hip as she grasped his.

Gaining hold of himself. “Maybe.” He declared. If she was going to pressure for sex, he was going to at least take advantage of it and get her to earn it. She’d been pouts and grumbles ever since starting this, and it’d been getting harder and harder to convince her to help.

“Maybe.” The pout was back, but she couldn’t really stop her tail from keeping the happy swish, so that was that for now.

The next round-trip he managed to convince her to take as many tree-trunks as she physically could… in exchange of his hand staying firmly on her ass every step of the way. The feline wasn’t exactly happy with it, but she compensated by wringing a make-out session the instant she’d dropped the batch near the construction area.

“So THAT is how you tamed the legendary White Claw.”

Someone nearby shouted out, and the hollers came. Rick’s face flushed, and Monica didn’t care much at all. The feline kept her arms tightly around him, possessive even as he turned around. Like a giant spooning session, she lay her chin against the top of his head and kept her arms wrapped around his chest as the young man tried to compose himself. “Is there any more timber to move?”

“That’s about it for the day. Help’s much appreciated.” The foreman spoke with a hearty laugh, patting his generous belly as the sound shook him from head to toe. “Can’t say the show was any less impressive.”

“She’s… she can be a bit needy sometimes.”

“You gotta have some impressive War-Hound in your pants to get White Claw to act like a blushing Ingenue.” The man laughed louder as Rick squirmed a little. “Let me invite you to some ale.”

“I don’t quite think she’s going to let me go anytime soon.” Rick glanced upwards at his catty-captor.

“No need to worry over that, sir.” Dia’s voice pipped up from the sideline. It almost made Rick jump in surprise. He glanced over at the nurse as she emerged from one of the houses. “There’s a potion-brewer in town. I’m sure we could request some catnip essence to keep Monica entertained while you get a chance to relax.”

“That girl of yours’ impressive.” The foreman declared, stroking his stubby beard. “Saved us a lot of time, didn’t need to take anyone to the medicen today.”

“Very smart too.” Rick nodded, watching the pink-haired maiden smile brightened. “If you think you can handle Monica for an afternoon… I’d appreciate it.”

“Certainly, sir. I’ll go right away.”

The moment Dia was gone, Monica’s arms loosened slightly around Rick, and the young teacher could only sigh in response.

“Jealous type, eh? Been there myself.” The foreman nodded sagely. Rick noticed the man was talking at Rick from slightly to the side rather than directly ahead, and never quite looking his way directly. The man was clearly mindful of Monica’s potential response to him. “Had a puppy girl, adopted, would stay glued to my side all day long. Wife nearly tore her a bloody strip.”

“How did you solve it?”

“Becca showed her who’s who in the house.” A slight shrug. “It was tough watching, but after she got patched back up she mellowed out.”

“I don’t think that’s viable for me.” Rick chuckled nervously.

“I’ll say, with how she carried those logs, your gal’s probably a match even against a Royal Knight!” A hearty laughter followed. The man turned to leave. “I’ll have a girl come on over to lead the way. Sundown sound good?”

“Hopefully.” Rick shrugged, watching him leave.

Monica proceeded to turn her attention to the other maidens that were looking their way and growl. Many sets of heads quickly turned away, and the feline kissed Rick’s head. She refused to let go, though, so walking out of the area was a bit of a hassle until she finally let go and just took him by the hand.

They walked through the “empty” stretch of land that separated the village and the farms, and straight into the large shack the Hunters had provided as a place for Monica to stay at. Their intention had been for only Monica to stay there, but once it was clear, it would have to include Rick and Dia. They’d made sure to upgrade the place with several sets of mantles and straw to use as bedding underneath.

Not the most comfortable accommodation in the world, but it certainly beat having to rough things out without a roof overhead. Also, they brought food every morning, a bonus as it was a trade in conveniences. Monica’s presence scared the shit out of any feral that approached the area, and the Hunters had one less place to need to patrol over.

Monica was quite insistent on returning to the shack. Her shirt flew off the moment she’d stepped inside, and so did Rick’s. The Sabertooth cared little for much else, dragging him to the pile of bedding and, despite his protests, stripping him along the way.

With a loud exaggerated sigh, she curled up around him, laying her head against his shoulder as she hugged him closely. “Sex… later. Sleep now.” She mumbled, closing her eyes. Rick shrugged in return, not really having much alternative for the time being. She was calling the shots, and she wanted to nap. No sense in not joining in.

Pulling one of the mantles over them, he closed his eyes and joined her.