I awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through the windows. I was lying on my back, and Avani was cuddled up against me, her head on my chest and one of her legs wrapped around mine. We had fallen asleep after making love again last night, and so we still lay naked, partly tangled in her sheets and blankets. We had taken the precaution of locking the doors and canceling Vishnal's usual wake-up call, so I wasn't concerned about intrusions. But the room had grown chilly during the autumn night, so I drew the covers up over us.

She stirred slightly but didn't awaken, so I just lay there with her in my arms, watching her as she slept. She looked so sweet in her sleep, as if in her dreams she returned to the innocence of childhood. I wondered if hers had been a happy one, what her family had been like and where they had been all this time she'd been missing. I wondered if there'd been anyone special to her in her past, and felt certain there must have been—how could it be otherwise? I found myself feeling oddly jealous regarding this hypothetical potential rival, and I smiled inwardly, amused by my own reactions.

Just then she stirred again, this time waking. She snuggled up closer to me, murmuring, "Good morning, Leo."

"Good morning, My Lady," I replied, stroking her hair. She sat up and stretched, arching her back. I felt keenly aroused just watching her curvy, limber body flexing in the soft, early morning light. She noticed, and with a smile, reached down to gently caress my rapidly hardening member, wrapping delicate fingers around the base. I closed my eyes with pleasure as she slowly but firmly stroked my shaft, then she bent down to me and kissed me ardently without slowing or stopping her caresses. The pleasure quickly intensified as she began to move more rapidly, but before I reached the peak, she suddenly stopped.

My eyes flew open in surprise, and at that moment she climbed over me in order to straddle me. She lowered herself onto me, slowly enveloping me in her warm, slippery embrace as she slid up and down, her breasts bouncing rhythmically. She moved slowly at first, her pace gradually increasing. As I felt myself nearing my climax, I grabbed her hips and helped her to slide up and down, faster and faster. She arched her back and cried out my name as she bucked on top of me. I felt her walls squeeze me in rhythmic convulsions as she climaxed, sending me over the edge. I gasped her name as I exploded into her, shuddering from the intensity of my release. Breathing heavily, she slid along my length a few more times, slowing to a more languorous pace before finally stopping all together and collapsing forward onto my chest. I put my arms around her as we lay entwined there, breathless and slick with sweat.

A few minutes later, she eased herself off of me—slowly, as if reluctant to do so—then rolled over next to me. She snuggled up close, cradled in my arms. I kissed the top of her head, and said, "Now that's the way to start the day off right."

Although I couldn't see her face, I could feel her mouth widening into a grin against my chest. "Avani's wake up service, ready for action, we make housecalls!" she said teasingly.

"Well, as long as you have a very short client list, maybe," I chuckled.

"Very short."

She sat up and climbed over me, stopping to give me a kiss halfway across. She quickly threw on some work clothes, then looking over her shoulder as she headed towards her back door, she said, "I have to get going on my chores. You can wait here if you like, or come with me if you'd rather. I'll make breakfast when I'm done, but if you don't want to wait, help yourself—not that there's much to choose from!" And with that she was gone. I thought for a moment, then decided that I was interested in seeing what she did on this royal farm of hers. I quickly pulled on my pants and sandals and hurried out the door after her as I fastened my belt.

Energetic as usual, she was rapidly picking strawberries when I found her. She dropped the small crate of berries off in a large bin near her barn and moved on to the next crop—carrots. As she pulled each long, orange root and brushed off the loose dirt, she likewise placed them into a crate. When she was done, she stood looking down at them for a moment, frowning. "I'd planted these for Dylas, but...." she said curtly. She shrugged in vexation and said, "Screw it," as she dropped them in the bin.

She went on to harvest the ripe fruit from her small orchard, then worked her way through her monster barn, gathering the produce from her beasts: milk from her buffamoos, eggs from her cluckadoodles, fur from her woolies, and even a small pouch of fairy dust from her fairy. She hurried out and dropped the last items into her bin just as Vishnal arrived to pick up the day's shipment and deliver it to the waiting airship. Vishnal greeted her in his usual cheery manner, though he gave me a quick, startled look before greeting me. Avani chatted with him for a moment as he collected the shipment, then she hurried back into her barn.

Her barn was a respectable size, divided into three sections with enough unfinished space for future expansions. Baldur and three buffamoos occupied one section, and that was where she headed first. She spent a little time with each monster, petting and brushing them as she spoke softly and soothingly. It was kind of awe-inspiring to see the intensity of  the devotion her beasts felt for her, crowding around her, pushing each other out of the way to try to get a little closer to her. She laughed as they vied for her attention, making sure to divide her time evenly and fairly despite their efforts. She tended her woolies next, followed by her fairy and cluckadoodles. Finally, she watered her crops and orchard, and her morning tasks were done. All that work had taken about three hours from start to finish. Apparently she moved as quickly on her farm as she did in combat.

We ate a quick breakfast, then headed over to Sincerity General Store so that Avani could restock her refrigerator. After putting her purchases away in her kitchen, we went to Porcoline's, arriving just as it opened. Avani ordered two boxed lunches, and we chatted with Porcoline about our planned outing as he prepared them. When we turned around to leave, Dylas was standing behind us, scowling. "Nice to see you're keeping busy," he grumbled. Avani ignored him, passing right by as if no one was there. I grabbed our lunches and followed, saying nothing to him in passing, only raising an eyebrow as I stared at him for a moment. He clenched his fists and turned away, and I left.

************

Avani packed her swim suit, towel and fishing gear in her pack and grabbed her pole and a pair of large buckets to put the fish in. I grabbed my rucksack and pole and the lunches, and we headed to the airship dock. We asked the pilot to drop us off at the lake, where we found to our delight that we were completely alone, not a creature in sight. It was just us and the fish and a few songbirds in the nearby trees.

We set our packs down, and prepared to fish. Avani filled the buckets with water and set them in a shady spot nearby, and we cast our lines out into the lake. I'd never actually fished with her before, though I knew she often at least placed in fishing competitions. Sometimes she won, beating even Dylas, who was a fanatic. She skillfully flicked her line far out into the water, waiting patiently until she got a nibble a few minutes later. She quickly pulled it in, discovering she had hooked a medium-sized mackerel—the first catch of the day.

We fished for an hour or so, catching quite a few between us, including a few rainbow trout and a couple of lamp squid. Then we took a break for lunch, sitting on the soft grass in the sun as we ate. Afterwards I stretched out on the warm grass, my head on Avani's lap, closing my eyes against the bright sun. She stroked my hair between my ears as she sat quietly, apparently lost in thought.

I had just begun to doze off when I felt a fly tickle my ear. I flicked my ear in annoyance, but it was back a moment later. The third time, I opened my eyes and looked around for the irritating insect, and saw Avani stifling a giggle, a blade of grass in her hand. "So it was you, was it?" I said, trying to look annoyed but probably failing.

I sat up and grabbed her, deftly swinging her around and to the ground as she shrieked with laughter. I sat on her belly and held her hands above her head in one of mine as I grinned maliciously. "Then prepare for retribution!" I exclaimed, and I started to tickle her. She giggled and writhed as I tickled her sides, under her arms, and her neck. She struggled, not quite helpless with laughter, and eventually manage to break free. Then she tackled me, holding me down as she tickled the sensitive fur of my ears. We continued in that vein for some time, removing each others' clothing piece by piece to better access more ticklish spots, until eventually we were rolling around naked on the grass, making love in the hot midday sun.

************

We lay on the ground for a while afterwards, stretched out next to each other, her small hand clasped in mine as we watched small, fluffy clouds float past overhead. After a few minutes, Avani scrambled to her feet and began to collect our scattered clothing. She was incredibly beautiful to me, and I lay there watching her, admiring her curves, her strong, straight limbs, her expressive eyes, and her radiant smile.

"If you're done ogling," she said with a grin a minute later as she dropped the stack of clothing on the ground, "would you like to go for a swim?"

"Hmmm... not quite done," I said, grinning back at her as my gaze traveled slowly down her trim figure and back up again. "Okay, I'm good for a few minutes. With? Or without?"

"Without!" she exclaimed, then turned and raced to the lake, diving into the cold water. She resurfaced with a splash and turned, laughing with delight, to wait for me to join her.

After swimming and splashing for a while, we lay on the grass again, drying in the warm sun. Ever restless, Avani popped back up after a few minutes. "I'm feeling stiff—I haven't been able to do my daily exercise routine since I was injured in that blast."

"So... you're going to just do it here in the meadow, naked?" I asked, my interest piqued at the idea.

"Why not? Though I'll have to skip handstands, of course."

"You will? Why's that?" I asked, baffled.

"Because gravity is not my friend," she said, laughing, and darted away to find a level patch of meadow to work on. I raised myself up on my elbows, watching with increasing interest as she went through a modified routine—stretches and bends and other moves that showed off her lithe figure tantalizingly.

She came over to me when she had finished, and looking down at me with a broad grin, said, "I take it you enjoyed the show?"

"Very much," I replied, reaching up and grabbing her hand to pull her down next to me.

"You're insatiable!" she giggled as I leaned over her to kiss her neck.

"And you're addictive," I murmured into her throat.