Tor dropped the stud and mare in a small paddock and locked their tack in one of the closets offered for that reason. She made her way through the town, stopping to get a soft, salted pretzel from one of the street vendors. She pulled it apart instead of biting it, popping the chunks into her mouth. At one point, a small piece fell down into her shirt. She laughed and looked down at Eric.

"Enjoy the snack," she teased.

Eric yelped and was lucky the piece fell in front of him. Although, the "small piece" to her was nearly the size of his head. He glared up at her as best he could. "My deepest gratitude," he drolled.

"Don't waste it. Keep some for later because I'm not stopping for food mid-travel."

The princeling grumbled and made a face. He didn't fully believe Tor anymore when she threatened to not stop to feed him. He had gotten bolder about asking or telling her when he was hungry and even if she fussed about it, she still fed him. And he wasn't fed in scraps, either, but portions enough to stuff him. Even so, he made sure to keep some of the soft pretzel for later. He relaxed against her left breast, pillowing his head on the supple flesh. The rhythm of her heart was incredibly soothing.

He was only half-awake when she stepped up, walked out of the sun and into the shade. By the sound of a door opening and closing, he assumed she went inside some building. The princeling was correct. Tor walked into the small shop for ferry tickets and schedules. She appraised the times posted on the wall and found one was to leave tomorrow at noon.

"Good," she murmured. "I was not looking forward to having to swim."

"Swim? The Channel?" a man's voice echoed behind her. "My, you sure are a brash one. I think brash could be your middle name."

Tor glanced over her shoulder, sending the man an icy look. He was tall, at least as tall as Jason at 6'2". He boasted a tan, green eyes and a grin that apparently came easily. The dark hat only showed hints of a brown mop beneath. "I don't know who you are or what you think my name is, but you can go sit on the pointed end of a pitchfork for all I care."

The man just laughed. "The pointed end? So you're that kind of woman. Sounds like fun. When's the date?" His grin broadened as he noticed the tips of her ears turning red.

Tor glared and brushed past the taller man. "Go take a long walk off a short cliff."

"It just so happens my brother Cliff is a short fellow. He's rather testy about it so we don't point it out too much. Me, though, I'm Bret." He tipped his hat as she claimed her spot in the ticket line. Bret smiled when she purchased a ticket for the noon ferry crossing. "Seems like we'll be headed the same way. Maybe we can have good traveling companionship."

"I don't travel with strangers," she said. "And I don't seek companionship. Leave me be."

The man chuckled as she walked out of the ferry shop. "If you want."

Tor rolled her eyes and grumbled something about stupid men. When she was back outside, she glanced down at the human tucked into her cleavage. "Despite the snack, I'm hungry. I'm going to find a place to eat. You just content yourself until the food arrives."

Eric nodded. "Alright. But who was that in there? Back in the building?"

The Elder woman shrugged. "I don't know and I don't care. Not my monkey; not my circus."

The princeling grinned. "If you say so. But lunch does sound good."

Tor made her way through the streets of the comparative metropolis of Riverton. The town was busy and lively, a far cry from the sleepy Verna. She found a small restaurant that served river-creature cuisine. She took a seat at one of the outdoor tables and looked for a waiter. A young man quickly approached and smiled at her. He was handsome in his own, youthful way. He was too young for her tastes but in a few years, he would definitely be someone women sought for a roll in the hay.

"What are your specials today?" Tor asked.

"Well, it's mud-bug season," the waiter replied. "We have them boiled, grilled, stewed and in a rice-casserole and in soup."

"Tell me about the mud-bug rice casserole." She unbuttoned her shirt and retrieved Eric from her cleavage. She smirked a little when she noticed his clothes were damp and his hair askew.

The young waiter had to snap himself out of staring at the exposed breasts. He immediately diverted his eyes back to hers, relieved when she seemed to not have noticed. "The mud-bugs are shelled and their meat is sauteed and then mixed in with cooked and spiced rice. Some vegetables are added for color and a little flavor. It's then baked in the oven for a few minutes. Just long enough to set it all together and get the flavors nice and mixed. It's served with a side of seasoned bread and buttered crackers."

"That sounds great. I'll have that and some coffee." She glanced at Eric. "And a small water. For my pet."

"Friend!" Eric called up.

Tor ignored him. "Do you still serve the complimentary bread basket?" she asked the waiter.

"We do. I'll bring it out shortly." He nodded and left to get the complimentary bread.

After lunch, Tor checked into an inn and delighted in a bath. She sank to her nose in the large tub as Eric swam around, exploring her face in detail. Then he dove below the surface and disappeared for a bit. Tor didn't move. She simply relaxed in the warm water. A little smirk curled her lips when she felt tiny little hands exploring her skin. Her princeling would come up for air, rest a bit and dive back down. Feather-light touches trailed down her body until they reached the patch of hair between her legs.

Tor reached down and carefully wrapped her fingers around him, bringing him back to the surface. She clucked her tongue and arched a brow. "That's off limits to humans. Explore my legs and other places all you want. But not there. Understood?"

Eric nodded, looking a little ashamed. "Yeah. Understood." He gripped the fingers around him when she shifted and raised herself above the water. He was lowered to her warm, wet shoulder where he promptly curled against her neck.

He smiled and reclined against the warm skin. Sometimes, he thought he may be falling in love with Tor. There were definitely the times when he got aroused by her body, such as right now. He was still recovering from the orgasm he had achieved earlier. And despite her tough exterior, she did seem to have a soft spot for him. She had saved him twice now from his father's men, once from some random Elder and then kept him safe when the pawn shop owner eyed him like a piece of candy. He sighed softly and pressed a quick little kiss to the side of her neck.

Tor arched a brow and tried to see her pet from the corner of her eye. "What in the world was that for?"

Eric blushed a little and shrugged. "I dunno. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Tor rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. How are your legs feeling?"

"Good," he said. "They're still a little stiff in the morning. But once I get going, they don't really bother me anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that. I didn't fancy backtracking to get that human doctor."

Eric smiled, touched she had considered it nonetheless. "No. That's not necessary. Thank you, though." He relaxed into her for the remaining time in the bath. Once he was scrubbed and cleaned up, he was put on the bed to dry off and dress. Although he kept stealing glances at Tor as she bathed.

Just before she got out of the tub, she leaned back and flipped the edge of the blanket over him. He yelped and struggled to get out from under it. Tor rose from the tub and walked behind the screen to get dressed. By the time she was finished, Eric had managed to struggle his way out from under the blanket. He cast the massive woman a dirty look when she grinned down at him.

Supper came and went, Tor saw to her horses and she and Eric wound down trading myths. It was mostly Tor talking, since Eric wasn't aware of very many human myths. He was raised on the puritanical beliefs of the Creator's Faith, with little to no other myths to give color and variety to the belief system. Tor was raised on campfire stories, constellation myths and a detailed recounting of every major event in history. She had plenty of material to regale her pet with. Sleep claimed the human before Tor let go of her tenuous hold of consciousness.

She woke the next morning and dressed for breakfast. Eric was still asleep so she let him be as she slipped from the room. She made sure the door was locked as she headed down to the stables. She saw to her horses and paid their fee for the overnight stay. She made it back to the inn just in time for breakfast. She claimed a table, ate her fill and wrapped up some of Eric's favorites in a napkin. When she went back to her room, she was a bit surprised to see her little princeling halfway down the bedspread to the floor.

"Going somewhere?" she asked dryly.

He looked up with hope and relief shining in his eyes. "You came back!"

She arched a brow at that. "Of course. My things are still here."

"But I woke up and you were gone! I thought that... that..."

"That I left you?" she finished. She rolled her eyes when he nodded. It was just a few strides and she was at the bed and scooping him into her hand. "Stupid boy. I'm not going to just leave you behind." She set him on the dresser top along with the food. "I'll pour you some water when you want it. Meantime, I'm going to pack. Much as I would rather find land or a shallow space to wade or swim across, we have to take the ferry."

"Why would you want to swim when there's a ferry?" he asked, confused.

"I hate boats," she said, a touch of hesitation in her voice. "Despise them."

"Boats aren't so bad," Eric said. "They're faster than travel by horse. Or even wagon."

"Yeah but not as safe." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Eat. We need to leave soon. Loading for the ferry starts soon. I have to be there early to load the horses."

"If you say so." He set about scarfing down the breakfast that was still warm to him.

When he was full, he adjusted his cloak and sat with his legs dangling off the dresser. Tor let him slide into her hand before lifting him to her shoulder. He relaxed against her neck as she walked, his heels hooked into her collarbone. He held on as she made her way down the stairs, paid the bill and all but marched down to the livery stable. She saddled Idiot and the mare and led them to the docks. She handed the mare to one of the men who led the obliging horse down to the lower decks.

Idiot, however, balked at being led down the gangplank. He backed up quickly and Tor followed. She let the reins slacken to ease his mind and not fight the two-thousand-plus-pound creature. She brought his head back down and spoke softly. "Easy," she cooed. "Easy, big boy. C'mon. You can't ride on deck. I already asked about that." She quickly slipped Eric into her shirt to keep him safe.

When he was calmed, she tried again. The big stallion got one hoof on the gangplank and immediately shied away. He jumped to the left and snorted. Tor brought his head down and walked him in circles to let him relax. She brought him to the plank, showed him it was safe and tried to get him to follow her. Idiot half-reared and backed up again. The gangplank was danger, he decided. It was scary and danger and out to get him. At that point, he refused to go any further.

"Ya know," drawled a vaguely familiar voice. Tor groaned. Not him. "That big Mustang of yours is too wild to know what to do with a ferry, much less a gangplank. It would take more time than you have right now to get him used to it and make him safely walk down that bridge. Mind if I help?" Bret smiled as he walked up beside her.

"I've got it," she growled. But Idiot refused to budge. He had his hooves planted and was not going to move. "Come on. Let's go." She tapped the back of his hoof but that didn't do anything but make him stomp the foot, nearly catching hers. She sighed and dropped her forehead to the side of his neck.

"Now there's no shame in accepting help when you need it," the taller man chuckled. "No one's gonna judge you. Hell, you've been riding that horse for quite some time. If anyone says anything, I'll bet they'll praise you and all you've done so far." He reached out to pat Idiot's neck only to have the horse pin his hears and roll his eyes backwards. The man took the warning and quickly retracted his hand. "Although his socialization could do with some work."

"I like him this way. It guarantees that no one is going to jump on and ride him." She gave him a look. "Get on with your suggestion."

"Simple. He can't balk at what he doesn't see." Bret grinned and offered a shirt. "Tie this around his eyes, turn him around and walk him down the plank. Give him a minute to find his footing, but he should do just what you ask afterwards."

Tor eyed the shirt like it was alive and about to bite her. She grudgingly took the shirt, let the stallion sniff it before tying it over his face and blocking his vision. She cooed to him and spoke sweetly as she stroked his velvety nose. "Good boy. Now let's do this. One more time. Get down the plank and you can rest for the day." She turned him around and led him to the plank. When they reached the walk, she let him touch it before leading him onward. When he was below deck and in his small stall, she removed the impromptu blindfold. "See? That wasn't so bad." She kissed his cheek and made sure he had plenty of water.

Satisfied, she walked back up to the surface and handed back the shirt. Bret grinned. "You're welcome."

Tor snorted. "I didn't say thank you."

"No. But I could see it in your eyes." He chuckled when her ears turned as red as her hair and the color began creeping up her cheeks. "Calm down before you burst a blood vessel. It wouldn't do any good to have an ownerless, half-wild stallion on board."

Tor glared daggers at him and kept walking. She paused at the gangway that lead to the deck of the ferry. The boat itself was massive to her eyes. Of course, it would still take a day to cross the Channel. It would have taken at least that long swimming on horseback. She would have to have purchased a sandbar chart and plotted courses from sandbar to sandbar. This part of the river was fairly calm, but had a deadly undercurrent if a swimmer wasn't careful. She could have also gone up-river about four hours and taken about that long to swim across or traveled four days to the east and forded the river fairly easily. But she didn't want to lose anymore time than she already had. So, the ferry it was.

She took a moment to gather herself before stepping onto the wood. Her hands wrapped around the rope railing and she slowly walked up to the deck of the ship. Stepping onto made her legs feel like new-foal-jelly-legs. She quickly made her way across the deck, into the housing entry and down to her berth. She dropped her pack and flopped backwards hard onto the narrow twin bed. She groaned and tossed one arm across her face.

This sucked.

An hour or so later, the door opened and Tor lifted her arm just enough to see that it was a portly woman. She dropped her arm back down and sighed. Her face pinched into an annoyed frown when the woman lit the wall lanterns and pulled the curtain from the porthole window.

"Did you have to flood the room with light?" she groused.

"Why of course, dea-uh!" The woman's voice dripped with a sugary sweetness. It made Tor's skin crawl. "Brightenin' up the room just makes the trip so much mo' comf't'ble. Donchu agree?" The northern schwa was heavy in her accent. "I mean, howa on ea'th could yu poss'bly travel by river-ferry and not brighten up your room?"

"Easy, avoid ferries and travel by them," Tor huffed.

"Oh nonsense! The ferry boats are absolutely de-vine! Why, they are so comf't'ble and fast. And the big ones have gaming dex." She chortled with glee. "I do love me a good game of black-jack."

Tor grunted. "Good for you." She peeked out at the woman, wanting to get a better look at her berth-mate. The woman was quite large but it was all softness and motherly curves. She had bosoms that made Tor's above-average breasts look like pimples and a butt that could probably consume a chair. Her big stomach pulled tight the front of her dress and her thighs strained the fabric that wrapped around them. Tor knew men's gazes would inexorably be drawn to the vast amount of cleavage on display.

She rolled her eyes and glanced down at her own breasts when Eric finally worked himself free from her cleavage and stood up. He glanced around and, just as Tor predicted, was struck dumb by the massive breasts on display. He stared at them for a full minute before turning red and finally looking away when the rotund woman acknowledged him with a wave and a wink.

"Oh-ho-ho!" she said as she leaned down, her breasts pushing forwards in the dress. "It appea's that someone has a pet human. And such a cute little fella!" She smooched at him. "You are such a da'ling. Auntie June could jus' eatchu all up." Her tongue darted out and slid across her lips. "But you are not mine, so I won'."

Tor eyed the woman suspiciously but didn't interrupt the conversation. As long as the woman didn't reach out for Eric, talking was fine. She sighed and Eric stumbled slightly. Eric glared at her but didn't say a word. June chuckled and smiled. Eric noticed she was pretty, in a motherly sort of way. She had curves that threatened to burst from her clothes but that the fact that Eric could literally get lost in them, never to be seen again, didn't bother him in the least. In fact, it seemed as if it was a turn on.

June smiled. "Cat got yo' tongue? Well tha's jus' fine. I can start. My name is June. But you can call me Auntie. Or Auntie June."

Eric gulped. "H-hi, um, Auntie June. I'm Eric. This is Tor." He gestured weakly to the Elder he was standing on.

"Well hello, Eric and Tor. It is a pleazuh to meet you two. We will be berth buddies for the nex' day. How about we go get lunch once the ferry's undaway?"

Tor shrugged. "Maybe."

"Oh I insist!" She sat down on her berth, directly across from Tor's, and ignored the way it groaned in protest. "They serve some grea' food. And it's all fresh-caught. You'll love it."

"We'll see."

June laid on her back and rolled to her side. The ferry trembled slightly and Tor wondered whether it was starting to leave the shore or whether it was the woman's movements causing it.

"Anyway, lunch won't be served for another hour or mo'. So we have plenty of time to wait." She smiled. "And get to know each otha!"

"Yay." Tor huffed. "I need sleep. Don't bother me." She dropped Eric on the bed between her and the wall before turning to face away from the older woman. She heaved a deep sigh, closed her eyes and tried to sleep.