Faline

All the animals that had been sitting at the table are in the kitchen area again, cleaning all the surfaces and appliances. I take the time to really look at each one, feeling bad for not having really paid much attention before. Too much other stuff going on.

The female Werewolves, Salem and Marie, are almost opposites in looks but have much the same temperaments. Salem stands a few inches taller than me, so around five-foot-three, with black wavy hair and light blue eyes. Marie, on the other hand, is about five-foot-five with wavy, pale blond hair and brown eyes.

Both are really thin, the whole crew is, but they're starting to fill out more with better food intake. Salem is kind of pale where Marie is darker, but it's the darker of being Hispanic. No idea how old any of them are specifically, they all look to be in their mid to late twenties.

The last female, Scarlett, a red fox Shifter, has very long red-auburn hair. All the girls have long hair, just a question of how long. She also has blue-hazel eyes, only a couple inches taller than me, and real timid. Just about as skittish as Maii is.

It just now dawns on me that the girls are canine based and the guys are all cats. I snicker lightly at that, the irony not lost on me. The males are all pretty laid back, the one most so being Lex, who I'm guessing has been with or around Anthony, judging by the accidental publicly made sound earlier.

Joey, who with Salem had been the ones to donate to me, is pretty much their leader. Don't know if they realize just how much they look to him. Bobcat has the makings of a leader if he weren't so subby.

He and Salem are also the ones who can read and write, which has made them just as invaluable as Kerry. Standing a couple of inches over six-foot with gray eyes and dark brown hair that's kept pulled back in a short ponytail, he's thin as well, but starting to fill out nicely. The toned muscle already there actually looking healthy and not so sharp.

Lex, the lynx Shifter, is the shortest of the males at a couple of inches shy of six feet. Green-hazel eyes are paired with red-blond hair that goes to his mid-back. Wide shoulders start to look more proportionate with nutrient intake.

He has me wondering if Anthony has a thing for long locks or guys with red in their hair. Nicolaus also has long hair that reaches just below the middle of his back with red streaks. Hmm. Actually...don't think I want to know.

Then there's Ty, one of the few African American males I've seen. He's the clouded leopard Shifter. Six-foot, soft dark-brown eyes, shaved black hair. Thin as well with the wide shoulders, he has more muscle tone to him than the others. Don't get me wrong, they all have muscle, they aren't just skin bags of bone and blood, some just have more tone to them than others.

Ty's real quiet and observant, only has to be shown how to do something once and he has it down from there. Almost creepy how he watches everything and barely talks. I would expect him to be super elusive while in his cat form just by how he is as human. He does smile from time to time, I usually have to pester one out of him.

My kitchen crew in a nutshell. Feels like there should be more, but I try not to ask about their previous life before the Mistress took them in. They all have some type of scarring on their bodies, some even like my own from being whipped.

I really want to push for them to have different 'uniforms'. I know that they're here to sell skin and whatnot, but that doesn't mean they can't have a little dignity to themselves. None have 'bad' bodies, some just have more scars than others that I doubt they want flaunted about.

The only submissives here that I've seen that weren't in the typical loincloth, nipple clamps, and collar were Avina at first, then the healer and Danica. Avina did end up with a collar, not sure why though. The healer and young girl both have tube-top like things on for their tops.

One thing I've been trying hard not to think about is what happens to Salem and Marie on the nights of the full moon. Having to shift and also being 'in heat', that has to be hell, especially since there's so many wolves around.

Don't think they stick to one species when it comes to bed partners while in human form, but when in animal? The thought of a bobcat trying to hump on a wolf is just awkward on so many levels. Hurts my brain trying to figure it all out.

Heading over to mingle and get started, I figure out today's breakfast menu. Kerry gets started on peanut butter cookies, Maii loads up the salad bar with fresh fruits, and Salem and Lex get to tackle the french toast. Scarlett and Joey get to make the bacon, egg, and cheese English muffins.

That leaves Marie and Ty with bird and pork duty in the rotisserie ovens. I get to do the oatmeal and muffins. There are enough oats in those pantries to sink a ship.

The chili will be for lunch or dinner later, part of it anyway. Once Ty and Marie are done with putting the food in the ovens, they get to do the cleaning. Bird duty usually always goes with cleaning since the amount of time it takes to get them seasoned and put in, gives everyone else a chance to have started going through dishes.

Several different flavors of oatmeal are put out. Maple and brown sugar, cinnamon and spice, apples and cinnamon, and all the cream fruit ones that I know of. All with real fruit, so spiffy.

Banana, blueberry, chocolate chip, and apple-walnut muffins in the works has the kitchen smelling all sorts of fruity. Have to make sure the oatmeal goes out fast before it thickens too much and becomes like glue. This goes on for about five hours, only having one mishap with the french toast.

Lex had started getting uppity with his flipping skills, powdered sugar all over his nose looking like he'd been sniffing it. Way he was acting, I wouldn't be surprised. All were laughing and having a good time, then his toast got away.

Like, literally, it gave him the finger and took off.

The lynx had gone to do some fancy flip or another that didn't turn out quite the way he wanted, overcompensation had it going over his head and splatting right onto Scarlett's chest. She hadn't been paying attention, so it coming out of nowhere had her freakin' out, appearing much like the chicken claiming that the sky was falling.

That girl's face, oh my God, I was dying. The whole kitchen came to a standstill while she's doing a mix of shrieking, flapping, and whirling around. Now remember, she's the skittish one, so before she even realizes what's happened, she's freaking out and trying to hide.

I felt bad at what happened after, but I couldn't keep a straight face. She was so freaked, she turned into her red fox form and darted between Joey's legs. A fox who hides behind a bobcat. I have now seen it all.

Coaxing her out was easy enough, even picked her up and set her off to the side of my fridge where no one was walking so she could catch her breath. Poor Lex, he was trying to apologize but was also having issues keeping a straight face. The smallish red and gray fox was also covered in powdered sugar from when she'd been flailing around.

The whole kitchen is sort of a white cloud now, but no one blames her for it. Only issue I saw was that since she shifted, Maii did as well. He had come over to her and helped calm her down, but now there's some fruit on the floor from where he had dropped it losing his hands.

Since she'd been the one making up the little breakfast sandwiches and not cooking, she hadn't had her apron on. I'd had to start enforcing them to wear them when around the ovens and hot pans. Yes, they may heal, but it cuts down on accidents anyway.

Kerry washes off her clamps for her, having gotten egg on them. The loincloth is fine, just powdered white. Since it was Lex's fault, he got to take her to the showers and finish calming her.

After they'd gone, everyone starts laughing again. Not just the crew but some of the others that are milling around as well. Told Maii to clean his mess and go help Lex, which he readily does, eating all but the avocado that he pushes around till it's near the garbage can at the end of my counter.

"Take it you don't like avocado?"

The masked face sneezes at me before he goes after the other two. Guess not. If it were whole it would've just been rinsed off and put back, but it's cut in half and was pushed along the floor on the meat side so it's no good. Can't say I blame him, it is kinda eww.

"I guess that's it for the french toast today. It's already assaulted one of you, don't wanna take any more chances."

I get grins all around as we all work on getting rid of the sugar cloud.

"This would be so much easier if I could open a window and get a fan going."

"That would be no good since the sun is up."

Don't recognize the female voice, but she probably has a point. Turning, it's the Vampire that had gotten accused of sleeping with me.

"Patrice, right? I guess that would be a horrible idea, hm? Too bad. Know one or two who could use a bit of tanning."

She laughs and nods while milling around the counters, looking at the items on them curiously. I leave her to it while talking to Kerry to find out if there are any fans in the place that could be moved around. I get a head shake. Of course, why would anyone need a fan? How silly of me.