Chapter 13: Problems

The big family meeting went better than I expected.

While I had shelved a few projects until we got the site for the new village surveyed, we still had plenty of work to keep people busy. I think the fact I wasn’t going to evict anyone also helped. They all understood that I expected them to earn the wages they would be paid.

The only real bank we had on the island was in Horn City. Other than that, there was just the money in a Bull’s coin chest. I wanted to introduce a system as I had used in Federation and put small banks in the towns and villages, so it was easier to pay wages and sort out loans.

I told my people that I wanted to set up small farms for them. If they were hired by me to run the farm, they got paid wages and kept ten percent of the sale price of their produce. If I leased the farm to them or anyone else, they got no wages, and I got twenty percent of the sale price as tax, plus the value of the lease.

I’d discussed this idea with Edith, and one of Warh’s older spouses, Fran, who had a good head on her for figures and the value of things and they both agreed what I was offering was very generous. They liked that I was offering an incentive for my people do well at the jobs they took on. They also liked the banking system.

The two half-yearly festivals were held mid-autumn and mid-spring. I’d missed the last one, so I told my people that I was planning a special mid-summer party to be held here at the homestead in about six weeks. Since the status of a Bull had changed, the council needed to meet.

I informed them that all the Bulls needed to be invited. I requested that the invitations included that they bring ten unmarried people and only two spouses with them due to accommodation and catering issues. I also wanted the document Cavil and I had written added to the message packet.

I wanted to set up pavilions so everyone could mingle and we’d rig the barn to provide for accommodation for the guests as we got a bit of rain around that time of the year. The party was to last four days to ensure enough time to hold the relevant meetings and any marriage negotiations required.

When one of the older women sneeringly asked if I was looking for spouses already, I grinned at her and said, “Yes, Dede, the faster I can get you married off the better. With any luck, a good fuck will sweeten your disposition.”

The other girls laughed, and I knew a few agreed with me. She wasn’t one of my favourite older sisters, and I was tempted to pay someone to take her off my hands as mean spirited that was. Dede could be a bit cantankerous.

I spent the next two days with the sick animals. Edith had enforced my protocols as soon as she had returned and the barns were so clean it was scary. The fact was that most of the animals were already well on the road to recovery and I only had to boost their health a little.

Greta decided to stay home and only Sable, Jen, Jose and Kat were going with me to visit the Bellows.

I got a little opposition when I said I was taking Sable.

Jen was coming with us to drive the cart and reassured Edith and Greta that she would keep Sable out of trouble once we got there. Jen was a nice woman and the mother of six of my sisters, so the others agreed she was perfectly capable of taking care of Sable.

I also let Sable ride Red. Admittedly, he was only three, but we were going to stop and stay in Trial Town and then head to the Bellows. A fast lanky could get to the Bellows in a day, but we were going to be taking it easy.

As small as Red was she still spread his little legs wide. I told him one hour in the saddle and one hour off, or he would be too sore to ride the next day. Sable agreed and complied with my wishes. We left after lunch for the first part of the trip.

Trail Town was closer to us than to the Bellows. Sable behaved as if he had been on a lanky all his life. The fact he was on Red probably had a lot to do with his confidence. Red adored him and she was conscious of who her passenger was.

King pranced along as he did. I had to smile, as he wasn’t happy to find out Opal had done the deed and he was still a little peeved with Red. I’d not brought Opal with me as I was still training him and he had a couple of mares to get cuddly with while I was away, so he was happy to stay home with Greta.

Greta hadn’t come with me as she was organising the building of a new barn for my snufflers and a run for the cluckers. I had outlined what I needed and approximate space requirements and the next thing I knew work parties were being put together and materials being sourced.

They had worked out the best place to put both and were clearing fence lines and fixing the fences to suit. The snuffers liked a lot of heavier foliage, so one of the rocky paddocks beside the homestead with lots of low shrubs was deemed perfect, as the longhorns didn’t like it and we rarely used it.

I often wondered why they had built here because the better paddocks were lower in the valley and the home paddocks took a lot of work to clear. My ancestors hadn’t spent a lot of time cleaning them up either. Heaving rock to clear a paddock was seen more like a punishment.

I told myself that I just got in the way. Like I said before, I was happy to be the overlord, I didn’t need to tell people how to do their jobs and look over their shoulders every five minutes. Trust is an important issue for me, and I had to show that I trusted them.

Greta had seen the animals and talked to Silver, so she claimed the project. She knew how the pens were set up on the ship and what feed and water requirements they had. I knew she would manage it without too much input from me. She also felt it was a good way to get to know my people.

The tavern at Trail had two, six-bed bunk rooms, two separate double rooms for the fastidious travellers and provision for four drivers to sleep over their carts in the barn. The separate rooms were both available, so I took one for Sable and me, and Jose and Kat got the other.

Jen decided to stay with the cart since she knew what was in it. She said she was a light sleeper and with Red and King to do guard duties with her, she was happy. Sable loved the adventure, and I got the feeling that he was just as happy to be with me as I was to be with him.

He was my calf after all, and I didn’t plan on giving birth to anymore. I was happy to father his sisters but not carry them. Bonny didn’t bring the mother’s instinct out in me as Sable did. I always knew where he was in relation to me.

I loved Bonny but guessed that as all mothers do, we know who our calf is. As a father, I knew I had sired her and had more of a father’s pride and protective instinct towards Bonny. Longhorns are very protective of their calves.

I put Sable into bed after a nice supper in the tavern, and he happily curled up with me. I was surprised at how content I was to have him with me. He woke me during the night. “No hit, No hit,” he whimpered. He was curled up tight in a little ball with an arm over his head.

He must have rolled away from me. I gently gathered him to my breast and giving him little kisses, I told him he was safe with his mother. For some reason, I hadn’t changed as I normally would. He rolled over and jammed his head between my udders and grabbed hold of the top one.

His head moved to the side, and he latched onto a nipple. His little hand relaxed and started kneading my top udder as he sucked on the bottom one. His other hand had slipped up under it and just held it to his mouth.

I looked at my son in shock. I could feel his little tongue rubbing back and forth, as he sucked. I’d not been able to breastfeed him so had never felt the sensations of a child sucking on my nipple. I’d never encouraged Greta or my other girls to suck on my udders if they woke before me and I hadn’t changed form.

I was now wondering what I had been missing out on. I may confess to not like being in female form, but then again my experiences were not pleasant memories. This, however, was going to be a very pleasant memory. My son needed me to comfort him as his mother.

I gently held my son and let him suck for as long as he wanted too. I drifted back off to sleep to the sensation of his little tongue and lips on my nipple.

I had some very pleasant dreams.

When I woke, Sable was snuggled into my tummy with his head pillowed on my breast.

I changed, and it woke him. He looked up at me and smiled. “Morning daddy, I had a really nice dream,” he said as stretched.

I chuckled and ruffled his head, “So ready for a big day?”

He nodded, and we got out of the bed. We both needed to pee and happily peed into the same pot together. Sable looked at my cock and then his. “That’s a lot bigger than mine,” he said.

I chuckled. “Well, keep growing as you are, and yours will probably be just as big when you’re my age.”

That seem to satisfy him, and we got dressed for breakfast. We didn’t dawdle and got on the road early. We arrived at the Bellow’s homestead just after lunch, and we were greeted by Dick, Ray and Gay all in male form and dressed to work.

Jose and Kat got off their lanky’s, and Gay and Ray found themselves in some serious lip locks. Dick and I chuckled. They both looked at me after they managed to peel my sisters of themselves.

“Hey, as far as I’m concerned you two have been married for five days. You’re already in my book. My sisters both decided to become Bellows. Your wedding gifts are in the cart. I’m sure the girls will be happy to present them to you, but you get to unload them.”

Dick invited me in, and one of his spouses, Sara, claimed Sable. She had him happily following her to the kitchen with the promise of her special sausages for lunch and oat bickies for afters. So far, I’d never heard Sable say no to food.

Dick settled back at their dining table, and a spouse delivered a big bowl of stew made with cut-up sausages and lots of big chunky vegetables. It smelt as good as the freshly baked bread. I happily ate as was rare that I said no to food either.

Dick and I caught up with how things were going. He happily informed me that he had received the invitation and would be at my place with bells on. He asked if he could bring a few extras.

He had a few ex-spouses that he would be happy to offload if they could find partners. He had even cut down the number of his spouses to six. He would provide sleeping arrangements and contribute to the food. He would even throw in a few of his crates bottled ale.

I shrugged and said I couldn’t see why not if he was adding to the food bill. Cavil had already made the same request and offered similar incentives when I’d contacted him. Dick was delighted with my answer.

He told me he had given his spouses the option of staying married to him. He named the ten who first appeared in his book and asked them first since according to the law they were his legal spouses. Five of them had asked to be released, and he had granted their wishes. The five who wished to stay he was more than happy to keep.