The next morning

The next morning, Dustin and Emily managed to make it half-way to the stream to wash up before Rye emerged from behind a tree and wolf-whistled at them. “Morning Dusty, kitten. I’d ask how your evening went, but since I spent half the night chatting with my cousin and the other half trying not to wet myself laughing over the faces she pulled every time she heard you two I don’t really need to ask.” Dustin sighed at that, but before he could reply the bunny girl stepped past him and wrapped Emely in her arms.

“Emmz, you really need to learn to not be so easy to make blush. It’s just too much fun.” Rye said, before kissing the other woman firmly on the forehead. “Now, while I know you had a good evening, I don’t know the exact details about what you two got up to.” She wrinkled her nose a moment then stepped back. “You do need a wash though, definitely.” Then, she turned and fixed Dustin with a stare. “You didn’t decide to paint Emely white anywhere external last night did you, captain? Only I left my really good fur shampoo on the ship, and I don’t think you or her wants me explaining to my family why I need to make an emergency trip back into orbit.”

It was now Dustin’s turn to blush furiously, although he was pleased to see that the bunny girl rounding on him had caused Emely to break into one of her usual bubbly smiles. She’d been quite shy and quiet that morning, and he’d been a little worried that she might have been going through sub drop; he’d read about it in his research prior to this trip and had hoped that the end to the night would prevent it, but it’d worried him when he woke none the less. The fox girl put his mind further at ease a moment later when she prodded Rye in the ribs. “My date with sir was about us, not so that you could tease your cousin with the fact that you get to be fucked by such a stud and she doesn’t, second.” The Feliax title was so sarcastically delivered that Rye stood stunned for a moment before bursting into peals of laughter as Emely concluded “and no, Dustin did not ‘paint me’ as you so eloquently put it.”

The trio continued walking towards the water for a moment before Emely paused, clearly thinking about something. “Rye…” she began, a sparkle in her voice drawing Dustin’s attention. “What’s up Emmz?” The Rabyth woman said, scrambling over a fallen log. “When we get back to the ship, could you make sure to add a bottle of that fur shampoo to the shuttle lockers?” Then she fixed Dustin with a rather serious look. “Sir shouldn’t have to worry about what he does just because we’ve got fur after all. And umm…” Her tone dipped a little and she twiddled her fingers for a moment before glancing back at him “…it could have been kinda romantic if you had, y’kno… when we were by the pool and everything.”

Rye and Dustin stared at the fox girl for a moment until her blush returned and she pushed past them towards the stream, although as she went she gave a little huff and commented “well it would have been.” Watching the sway of her departing red tails, Dustin glanced at Rye who let out a low whistle before adding “well done for bringing her out of her shell Dusty. Seems like Emmz is starting to get more comfortable in her skin.” Then, she stepped close and tugged him in for a quick kiss before following their lover in the direction of a wash. “We all are, I think.” Dustin mused as he followed behind. “Which can only be a good thing.”

When the trio returned from their bathing session at the river, the Rabyth colony was a hive of activity. Everywhere Dustin looked logs were being moved and the outlines of a number of buildings were already plain from the uprights that had been sunk into the ground. Rye hurried over to join her cousin on one of the work parties; the other Rabyth woman blushing when she saw Dustin and Emely - it seemed Rye had been right about the girl’s reaction to the noises he’d coaxed from the Feliax woman the previous evening. Leaving Jammieth for her cousin to deal with, the two non-Rabyth headed over to the shuttles and began the process of ferrying goods from where the bunny folk had stockpiled them from their last interstellar delivery back to the main settlement.

Dustin was genuinely impressed at the speed that the Rabyth could assemble buildings when provided with powered tools; from the little discussion he’d had with Rye’s family, he’d gathered that their presence had sped up the preparation of the building material by weeks. The actual assembly was quick regardless, it was getting all the timber to the right standard that had been taking the colony so long, when coupled with maintaining their existing dwellings and managing their food situation around what plants they were both gathering and growing in the small garden plots that apparently were dotted throughout the woodland. Now, each time he and Emely made the return trip to the colony the difference in the buildings was noticeable - the first being completed shortly before lunch to a round of cheers from the assembled colonists.

The ferry-work that he and Emely were conduction was moving rapidly too - while they were just leaving the goods near to where they parked the shuttles, the use of a pair of grav sleds and the fact that the Rabyth’s stockpile was largely containers at that point after the first day of moving things meant that the supplies were rapidly being loaded and unloaded. The ever growing pile of material at the camp began to dip slightly in the early afternoon as another building finished and Leaze redirected some of the workforce from construction to transportation. Finally, when the cook fires blazed at night a group of very tired colonists - and three very tired spacefarers sat down to share a meal with the backdrop of a set of essentially complete buildings.

After the meal, Rye grabbed Dustin and Emely’s hands and led them very firmly from the fire. “We, right now, are exhausted Dusty” She began, leading them in the direction of the tent he and Emely had shared “and while family is fun and all, I missed you both last night. No Emmz, not in that way. Well, sort of in that way, but we’re all too tired for that right now, so we’re going to curl up together and sleep and then tomorrow we can finish up here and head back into orbit when we’re not at risk of denting the shuttles on the way into the hanger.” Dustin mostly allowed himself to be led along; Rye was right, he was very tired. Emely too seemed worn out, but once they were in the privacy of the tent she gave Rye a rather lengthy kiss while “helping” the bunny girl undress that Dustin briefly thought might lead to more.

Once Rye was down to her underwear however, Emely broke the kiss and stepped back, smiling at the flushed Rabyth woman as the pair joined Dustin in the pile of bedding he had arranged for the three of them during the ladies’ make-out session. “I missed you too Rye, but you’re right about us all being too tired. Sleep now, and we can all play properly when we’re back in orbit. I should think Meli is probably missing us all just as much.” At that, Rye grinned from where she had curled up on the far side of Dustin. “I expect so - after all, I set my communicator to broadcast for her last night - just before you started begging Dusty here to fill you up.”