Monster Breeder

“Wha…?”

Apparently, I am interrupting something.

It’s a huge room with tall windows admitting abundant natural light, though the glass is too opaque to see anything outside. The Mayor is easy to recognize with his huge white mustache, monocle, and bald scalp, but he’s wearing a fursuit from the neck down plus wolf-ear okamimimi. He’s brandishing fake claws and growling as he chases a Goblin girl wearing a full nun’s habit around his desk, the girl giggling while fleeing her ‘predator.’ Both of them are too engrossed in their scene to notice me at first.

I rub the bridge of my nose as Julia, Jenny, and Janine file in behind me, the two humans gasping at the display of impropriety while the Secretary facepalms.

“Ahem. I’m all for having fun at work and playing hard after a long day, but I’m surprised at you, Mayor! It’s barely the afternoon and you’re chasing tail?”

“Oh? Oh, my!” the Mayor bristles, straightening his posture as he realizes he’s been intruded upon. “Janine! Janine!!! What’s my two-o-clock doing here at one-o-clock?!?”

The exasperated Hobgoblin replies with a wary glance at me, “S-sorry, Sir, but I didn’t think our guest would be amenable to your schedule…”

“Yeah, we need to talk. Now. I won’t stop you from going back to enjoying yourselves afterward, but this is an urgent matter of life and death!”

With a stroke of his mustache, the Mayor assumes a stately air (despite his Dire Wolf roleplay attire), sits in his high-backed chair behind the wooden desk, and steeples his fingers while staring me down. “Oh, very well. If it’s that important, I can table my meeting. Janine, rearrange my schedule to accommodate this… this fascinating, if rude, monster.”

“At once, Sir.” Janine seems both relieved and frustrated with her boss as we get down to business. The Goblin girl in the nun fetish outfit retreats out the main door, leaving the five of us alone.

“Well then,” I cool a degree once it becomes apparent the Mayor will deign to listen to me after all, but I’m too worked up to sit opposite him, so I stand there as I speak, “Let me explain everything.” I give the Mayor the gist of the situation, omitting lots of nitty-gritty details to get the point across quickly and efficiently, “So, you see, that’s why it’s important you lend us your aid. While combatants are welcome to join us in battle, it’s vital we secure the food necessary to sustain all the carnivorous survivors. If our local predator populations plummet, it could cause an Incursion by foreign monsters the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations!”

“Mmmhmm, mmmhmm, yes, yes, I see.” The Mayor nods sagely, stroking his mustache as he listens to my proposal. “Ah, there you have it. Think of all the cute Dire Wolf bitches who’ll starve to death if we do nothing! It’s enough to bring a tear to a man’s eye! Janine, write a memo to all my assistants and the Council. Let them know we’re at war, and the Lady Mayoress of Fieldton is our ally.”

Jenny and Julia both clap excitedly when they hear his decision, and I release a held breath.

“Of course, Sir,” Janine replies while writing something on her notepad.

“…It’s Field Town. Wait. W-w-wait.” My head is spinning. “Did you just agree with everything I proposed without an argument? I mean, that’s great, but this honestly never happens.”

“Hmm?” the Mayor tilts his head in confusion, “And why ever not? Young lady, you spoke with conviction, reason, and you brought up several good points. I’d be a fool not to heed your council.”

A massive weight falls from my shoulders as I realize it’s over. I did it. I connected my Hometown with Field Town in an alliance spanning most of the Region. I have the Warren, Harpy Mountain, and Mermaid Cove on my side as well—land, sea, and air. Charlatan Forest has fallen and Moka is digging a tunnel directly between our settlements to open a line of free trade. Suddenly, the obstacles arrayed against me no longer seem insurmountable. We can do this! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The office doors open with a bang as a familiar group enters the room.

“Mr. Mayor! Thank goodness we found you! There’s a ribbon in the town square that desperately needs cutting,” Mrs. Fleece says as she bursts in with my other Association teachers. She’s an Electric Ewe with thick, fluffy wool covering her crotch, ass, and bouncy tits, dark skin, cloven hooves, long furry ears, rectangular pupils, and a cute little sheep nose. Static electricity snap-crackles when she moves. With her are Ms. Kuku the Henlin, Winny the Goblin Janitor, Grug the Orc, Scag&Ag the two-headed Warg, and Principal Mustang the muscled Minotaur.

My big grin at seeing them falters as I question what in the world they’re all doing here.

“Ah, the Town Council! How nice of you to drop by,” the Mayor says. “Janine, fill them in on all those nitty-gritty details we discussed with our new friend, the Lady Mayoress of Fieldton. Also, reschedule my one-o-clock. I’ve got a ribbon to cut!” With that, the Mayor digs a pair of giant ceremonial scissors from his desk, gives them a playful snip in the air, and toddles off towards the door. “Oops, forgot my hat.”

He runs back to his desk to retrieve his top hat from a cabinet and then dashes out the door while still wearing the fursuit. Kevin the Guard Doggin, standing in the doorway, salutes him as he passes.

“Sir, Sir!!! Don’t forget to change!” Janine calls after him but stays put as instructed.

What… just happened?

“Alex!” The Electric Ewe throws out her arms and comes over to embrace me. I don’t fight as I’m pulled into a tight hug, though she only comes up to my belly.

“You recognize me, Mrs. Fleece?” I ask, patting her on the fuzzy, fluffy white afro.

“Of course, sweety! Do you think I’ve ever forgotten one of my precious students? Jenny, Julia, it’s great to see you. How have you two been? Enjoying yourselves as new Breeders?” Mrs. Fleece gives each girl a warm hug in turn before stepping back.

“Umm, yeah, we’re fine,” Jenny replies with an ambivalent shrug. She seems just as taken aback by the turn of events as me.

Julia is more congenial, “Everyone has been really nice! Our clients are all affectionate, caring, and gentle—unless we ask to have it rough, tee hee~! Some of them come in all dirty or sweaty from their jobs, but we’re supposed to help relax them with bathtime first anyway, so it all works out. Our sempai Breeders are supportive, too! They give us lots of great advice all the time.”

“Wonderful! I’m so very happy to hear that,” Mrs. Fleece says with a sigh of evident relief.

“Ma’am, is everything alright?” Kevin the Doggin asks from the door. That’s when I notice the entire Guard pack, a squad of Orcs, and a herd of Minotaurs wielding pitchforks are waiting in the hallway with every one of their eyes trained on me.

“We’re perfectly fine here, thank you. Be a dear, and shut the door, though, please? Alex looks like she needs a little breathing room,” Mrs. Fleece instructs as she circles around the Mayor’s desk to sit in the high-backed chair. She stares at me over the top of the desk as the other teachers assemble on her left and right, folding her hands on the mahogany surface. The door closes behind me. “Now, what’s this about a war?”