Glein
Vaigarin Elder
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2021
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 15
Day 85 Since Collapse
After a couple of days cataloging the finds that Douglas had brought back along with Kenny and Kana, she was busy now arranging some of the planks to form the basis for a box they could use to help store materials and supplies. It was probably gonna just be the first of a few of them, since they had enough stuff in kind of loose piles in their storage tent that it was probably time they started organizing and readying stuff. Who knew when they'd pack up and move on from this camp area after all.
Henry walked over to join her, looking at all that had been laid out for said box. “Storage, something you take for granted until you just can’t find enough places to store your shit. Heh, a problem as annoying to have, as good as it is an indicator of supply amounts.”, he offered as he looked it over further. “We can probably make two large chests, and line them with tarp for this. The question then is, what do we store in these?”
"I was figuring one could probably hold our small supplies. Things like nails, and what have you. The stuff we could easily lose just by the nature of it being small. The second? Any suggestions?" She replied, having laid out the planks to form a chest, despite not having sawed or nailed or anything of the sort yet. One thing she remembered being an adage to follow was to be sure of your measurements by doing it twice at least, so that you only needed to cut once and have it right.
"Plus I figure having all this done will make when we pick up and bug out easier since we won't have to half-ass packing when we do." Doug admitted.
“Well, a lot of them are actually going to be used to make the crate, but I get the idea. Likely we can store parts and what not in here, tools and the like you know. I think the other would be good as a food and medicine chest for shelf stable items.” Henry had picked up their said stock of nails, which as he mentioned, would be abundant until starting to dig into projects like this. Counting them out, they would be more then enough for the crates, but likely use up a box and a half of the roughly four they had.
He considered it wise that they plan out how to best use the investment of such supplies. But they should also make sure to use as much as possible, so they could get the most out of them, but also improve the camp set up. “We should see about putting together a simple tent frame we can fold instead of the ones we’ve made from trimmed branches so far. Preferably from some of these numerous metal parts we’ve got, to get the most and longest durability possible.”, the prepper finally voiced on that line of thought as he looked to other such supplies.
"Would be good. Especially since we got winter coming up. Not sure how well our little camp right now will handle the cold." Douglas said, finally looking up at the steadily shifting colors of the leaves above them. The air had begun to start dipping harder, the temperature beginning to cause breaths to fog into the air, though thankfully it was still warm enough now that they didn't have such right now.
"Not sure what we should do about that, but we're gonna need to start preparing soon." She continued, pulling out a pencil she had for all the notes she'd taken with her notepad that Henry had seen frequently, and started trying to work marking out where to cut them.
“It won’t, so in all likelihood, we’re going to have to find some place. A cave at the most desperate, but preferable a building we can close up, insulate or heat, and hold up inside securely until the end of winter. Being outside as we are in terms of camping gear, we’d never make it.” Henry agreed as he watched her begin to work with the pencil. “That raises another question, of what our thoughts are on the area? Seems like less supplies gradually, but also more strange things, or dangerous people show up. Unless we can somehow do something long term, this region doesn’t offer us much incentive to hang around longer then needed.”
Douglas paused in her work and sighed. "That's a valid point." She said, and settled on her feet with her knees on the ground. "Shit's getting weird alright, and people around here are getting more desperate. Or at least less scrupulous about being willing to attack other survivors for their stuff." She mused. "Meaning we need to also think about how we're gonna treat other survivors ourselves."
“Well one thing at a time, got a lot to think about on all those. But other people should be the first thing to talk about. Which honestly…”, Henry began, before ominously pausing as he thought on what his stance on such would be. “If I’m completely being honest, most of my thoughts would be pretty extreme on that front. We shouldn’t take chances, so drop first and ask questions later if anyone seems to even vaguely seem to be a threat. But I also can’t deny we need more people, and might suggest we also observe if we see first, and haven’t been seen yet. Try and get a feel until we have to act.”
"In short, get a sense of who they are and if they're a risk to us huh?" Douglas said, reaching up to scratch at her head within her hood. "Not the worst way to go about it. Probably also not do as I did and bring people back just because they seem friendly. Even if it did reunite you and your daughter." She remarked. "But do we go with gut feeling on how they seem, or see if they display some personality that could be hazardous to us?"
"Yeah, gauge how sketchy and how comfortable our fingers need to be on the trigger." Henry then began to scratch his own head, as what he planned to say next might sound cold. "We also need to avoid helping everyone who cries for help. It's too much of a waste of resources, may only lead to nothing in return, or worse it's a trap.", He said firmly, clearly stating that opinion. Especially with hearing how their encounter after meeting ken and Kanna went.
"Sounds reasonable, if cold to me. I think getting eyes on the call for help is probably the best option to take to determine if trap or not." Douglas replied, returning her focus to the planks, and picking up the nearby saw, and shifting on her knees to settle herself to begin saw at the planks.
"But I guess we don't have the luxury of being warm with others presently. We've not the resources or people to do anything huh?" She asked, settling the saw teeth on the planks. "Really says something about how severe things are now that we can't give thought to helping people without thinking about how much of a trap it could be."
"We have no right to help others, if we cannot help ourselves as my corpsman instructor once said. I'm more used to it I guess, having been trained in the concept and practice of triage. As a medic, you aren't there to save everyone, only those who can get back on their feet.", Henry answered with a tired sigh, hating how well it translated even now.
Walking around to the other side, he took a squat, before laying out a hammer and nails. He'd piece the wood together as she finished trimming them, assembling the crate as they went. "Did you ever pass shop class?", Henry asked teasingly after a few to lighten the mood.
"Nope. Never took it." Douglas replied with a chuckle, avoiding responding to the corpsman statement. She didn't have to like it, just acknowledge that right now, it was fact and they had to suck it up. "So all of this is just me trying to figure it out as I go. Just like everything else you've been teaching me the actual mechanics of." She said. "I've the big picture on our camp, but you've the big picture on keeping us alive. Between us, I think you've got the more value and right to lead and decide this stuff. Ain't no democracy here anymore." Douglas finished, as they cut the last of the boards, having tried to half four planks to try and get two crates worth of sides for.
“Well, hopefully that won’t be the case anymore. I hope one day, we’ll have some place safe and stable, then I can just teach. Then when I have, I won’t be needed, and I can go back to being a father. Maybe that’s a bit selfish though, and wishing for an awful lot.” As the hammering began, and wood pieces were begun to be turned into a box wall, Henry made sure to make what he was doing clear and visible for Doug. That was something else thought they hadn’t even touched on all this time, the future. “What do you want to strive for? Or think we should go to maybe find some place safe?”, he asked her as they continued to work as they spoke.
Doug chuckled. "Doubt I'll ever go back to doing fast food. Won't be much use for it, much less availability. So not a clue what I'm going to do once we finally stop just trying to survive. Especially since I'm turning into some geek's wet dream. Not sure I want to contemplate that more." She said, watching as Henry worked on the box's frames and trying to remember as much as she could while he did so. "As for where to go? We'd probably, for now at least, want to look at someplace we can defend with our numbers, but still have space. For all we've done so far, we've got a issue of food. Sure, we got enough to cover us now, and into the start of winter, but it's not going to last. We're going to need to think about long-term options. Be it a greenhouse or a field we can protect." She mused. "But, I don't even know what we really have in the area, at least nothing beyond the map you've got with you."
Henry seemed to chuckle at the mention of fast food, not able to remember the last time they had ever eaten out with something once normal. With one panel done now, he began on the next before carrying on the conversation. “First we need to find something in a place that is safer in general. Right now we not only have a nomadic setup, but have seen enough around here to know we may not want to stick around this region. I know that may be true everywhere else to varying degrees, but surely there has to be somewhere more ideal where that can be viable.”, the man mused to his recently feminized companion.
As cliche as it might sound, some facility, warehouse, or gods forbid even possibly a bunker somewhere, would be more ideal then what they have now even. They didn’t even have a pot to piss in, much less anything to cover them from the elements.
"Well, we're a whole buncha miles out of my area of knowledge. So I'm basically worthless in that regard. Outside of what we've seen in our scavenging runs, I ain't got a clue what might be in the area for us to use as a more solid shelter." Douglas replied, taking the first panel and setting it against the 'base' of the box, and finding their other hammer, getting started on hammering it into place. "I mean, something with a fence or wall around it would work, much less underground. But digging out a shelter would take way too long, especially with just muscles." She mused, hissing as she managed to slam the hammer head into her finger holding the nail in place while trying to get it angled right.
He was quick to grab Doug’s hand in an effort to check if it was significant, “It doesn’t look bad, and it's moving, so just rest it for a few. Too bad we don’t have ice packs.” Henry commented on the diagnosis. “As for places with walls and fences, well there is the old base I used to be stationed at. It was abandoned pretty early, and we cleared most of the usable supplies out, but you never know. Should still be in decent condition structurally, and already laid out to be defendable.”
Henry wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of moving somewhere so close to home, a bit of hesitation seemingly following the words as he spoke of it. Taking the two sides, began to finish hammering the nail that Doug had started. It was also kind of at that moment, that something clicked for the prepper, in that he had rushed to Doug’s aid as if he was a woman. Which they were becoming now, but at some point, Henry had subconsciously begun to stop treating them as a fellow male.
Flicking her thumb a few times after Henry had looked it over, she shrugged. "It ain't like I've never whacked my thumb with a hammer before trying to hit a nail. I could that much home improvement before all this after all." Douglas replied, subtly noting just how... 'dainty' the digit was. He hadn't even thought about Henry's reaction really. And it was hard to tell if it was because his mind was also changing, taking this all in stride as 'normal', or if he was trying to actively not think about the changes beyond that they are happening.
"And I don't know if we'd want a military base. Aren't they kind of on the large side? I mean, I don't think we could really secure such a thing with just 5 of us. Even if it were to serve as a good start point." She asked, sighing before getting to work on organizing and preparing the second box while Henry worked on the first, since he couldn't exactly hammer on it while Henry was as well.
“The other possible issue is it’s back towards where we met, and therefore towards where you got exposed to that stuff that made everyone else mad. But we don’t need the whole compound, just a portion of the building we can secure, and expand as we need possibly. It’s the only place I specifically know, otherwise, I would say we might want to find a warehouse or something of the like.” Henry was quick now that he wasn’t making an educational display of the work, starting to hammer together sides in short order. It was still going to take him a little while to put all these together, but the first box was starting to come along.
"Yeah, no chance in hell of that. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised at all if those who survived the shit started wandering... I just know I had enough cognizance to do so while it was happening, as we both know." She replied, sighing, and started with the base boards of the second box. "I guess if we can keep it secure for us to start with, it wouldn't be the worst idea to use the base. At least for the winter. The other reason I'm worried about it... It'd probably be something folks around here know about, and would try and raid."
Admittedly, it seemed unlikely folks would try again, since if it was as abandoned as Henry said it was, it'd pretty quickly be one of those things that people just stop bothering since it was useless to find loot at. "But, I'll defer to your judgement on this. We both know I'm not nearly the leader or the prepper you are. Otherwise I wouldn't have damned near been dog food when we met."
A soft sigh was given, as there was that line again, of being the most of a leader. It was like hearing it on repeat, and part of it left a bitter feeling, for reasons most might have understood during the reunion with Kanna. “I’m just a survivor like anyone else, and I wish that was all I could say I was. Anywhere will be dangerous, but at least with the base, it’s more or less a hometurf I guess. As helpful as that might be..”, Henry answered finally as he mulled it over some more.
After all, it wasn’t like there was some magic answer for all their needs, and problems. But he knew the layout enough to know they had room aplenty for storage and crops. But neither was anything he wanted to leave that close to civilization. Perhaps at the least, they could gather, and bide time. Make a later return here to the hills, or even closer to the mountains to have them at their backs. Maybe then, they could make a proper camp, on their own terms, but it would be at the higher cost of blood, sweat, and tears.
“It doesn’t have to be permanent, but it can be a stop gap for better plans it will let us prepare for.”, he added after the outside of the box was finished. Sitting back, he almost proudly admired his own handy work, which might have seemed vain in normal circumstances. But right now, it was reinforcing the idea they might have a small chance to build something far better, and tailored to their needs down the road.
"So, thinking it might be best to have as our winter base this year then?" Douglas asked, figuring that might as well be the direction their thoughts were going anyways. "If it's as useful as you say, it would serve best. After all, it'd be better shelter than all of this right now, and I wouldn't be shocked if the base had its own source of power we could tap into if needed to help stave off the cold. Dunno 'bout you, but I am not looking forward to the first snows." She continued, finishing part of the box she was working on. It wasn't nearly as fast as Henry, nor as 'clean' of a job, but it was functional right now, once it was complete.
God, what a metaphor for their situation. Ad hoc'd solutions to basic problems in the expectation that they would figure out something better down the road. And if they didn't? Who knew then.
“Yeah, that’s the idea. I also know of a couple stashes in the area that should be, or unlikely to have been touched. So we’d have possible wealths of supplies to use as well for the winter. A crate of food looted when we cleared out of the base, and my own prepper stash…. Under what’s left of my house.”, Henry confirmed, still hurting to recall his house. It was after all, where he’d cremated Evelyn, his wife who Kanna was now still mourning over. That wound seemed to put a damper on his handy work, slouching as he lowered into an actual sitting position now.
“I wonder if she holds it against me, or blames me secretly for it….”, he said more to himself then to Doug, vague in who he was referring to. In truth, he was referring to both how Kanna was processing the news possibly, as well as what his late wife was possibly thinking of him, in whatever afterlife she might hopefully have passed onto.
"Couldn't say. I neither speak for the dead, nor claim to know the thoughts of the living, whomever it is you wonder that about." Douglas said, shrugging as she continued to work on the box. She figured he was talking about his wife, but it could be Kanna as well, but she wasn't going to assume either. "Jeeze, listen to me speaking all fancy and shit." She said, trying for an amused chuckle and instead sounding like a silly little giggle. Which made Douglas blush and try and make sure not to look away from Henry while she coughed a moment or two to try and cover up the sound. "Anyways, that sounds like it gives us some options to survive. Though, do we want to open the old wound of yours early, so that it can heal a little better?" Douglas asked once they were sure they weren't going to sound so childish, looking at Henry once more.
"Since, I figure we're going to want to grab that stash before we leave the region anyways." She explained, figuring to help him see her logic. "So, it's a question of sooner or later."
“That’s.. A hard question to willingly want to answer. In a way, it might be the one place in my life that I consider any form of sacred. On the other hand, it’s a tear in the heart of the things I’ve lost. I cremated what was left of my wife in the ashes of that house…” Henry stood for a moment, before getting the tarp they had, to line the inside of the first new box as he began to prepare the material. “I guess sooner wouldn’t hurt any more then it would later, and I did leave some weapons in the house cache.”
Douglas nodded, nearly finished with the second box. "I could see the value in those, but I also figured I'd see when you'd want to go for it. And honestly, I imagine we'd probably be leaving the area come spring anyways. Since I doubt there'll be much left over for us to pick over scavenging-wise by then." She said. "If you want my suggestion? Maybe we get it on our way to the base you mentioned. That way we can make use of it, and you can start with healing the hurt that's gonna come from opening it up. But, that's just my suggestion."
She didn't say that she'd rather he be able to focus more fully on their survival. Him being torn over this stuff could easily get them killed, and, in doug's mind, as shitty as a choice as it was to force on the guy, he was in fact, at the moment, the glue holding this whole thing together. Sure, his daughter could probably help with the survival end of things, but Douglas doubted she had nearly the experience or knowledge her father had and could impart onto the group as a whole.
As he finished nailing in the tarp lining, Henry looked over the result to make sure there had not been any flaws. “We’d likely be better off securing our haven within the base, then doing so for the food crate. On the hand of the prepper stash I left, that will have to be on the way. We’ll need the tools to set that up and secure it.”, he explained as he let the work focus his mind enough to think through this rationally. “Especially since we’d be closer to an urban hub, so that rifle and pistol would be invaluable for raising security options.”
"Sounds like a plan to me then. Should we have you and Kanna get it? Since it is your family." Douglas asked, looking over her work. It wasn't nearly as good as Henry's hammer work, but it was sturdy enough. Pushing it to Henry, she took the finished one, and started putting in excess materials like their nails and such into it. The only thing they were missing now were lids, but they didn't have any hinges to make with it yet. Something Doug figured she'd correct when next she went out.
“Another question I don’t want to readily answer. Aren’t you on a roll with the curve balls today.”, Henry chuckled dryly at that question. “As much as I want father and daughter bonding time, I don’t want to put her through that. I barely can deal with it despite not being there at this moment, but seeing her cry while there.. Well, that’s a weakness I’m not ready to put us both through while in a dangerous area.”
Doug giggled again, and sighed at the sound. "Sorry if I'm asking all these hard ones. Just, trying to think ahead. Plan out survival beyond just the next day or two. And planning out seasons I'm learning, is probably the best way for long-term. And knowing what we have in the area and can make use of, the better we can do so. Even if I'm wishing we could come across some kind of bloody survival guidebook I could use when you're not available." Doug said, finishing putting stuff in.
"Oh, and remember the, 'stop-gap' we worked on for my... chest? It's, not working as well." She finally said, pinching her nose as she said it. She still felt uncomfortable talking about her changes, especially when it came to things needing to be accounted for, like this. Never mind that she was basically demanned at this point. Not that she was gonna mention that bit to him unless he pressed.
“I figured as much, the curve has been harder to overlook lately. So I guess we’ll have to go shopping for you soon. Can’t have you going improperly clothed, or with… those… bouncing about.”, he gestured, somewhat awkwardly. Henry seemed to jump into this topic surprisingly readily, likely to move away from what the previous topic had been getting into. “Which also means, feminine products if we can find them too. I feel sorry for you in the future months when that all settles in fully.”
"I'm aware. I'm getting the kind of tits I used to like ogling at. Now I realize how much they, well, suck." Douglas said, leaning back, and sighing while she looked down at herself. She didn't know the whole measurements thing, but they'd grown to nearly the size of melons, which meant that when she wasn't binding them down, they were noticeably curving the front of her multiple coats. Like now. The binding thing was getting painful and harder with them growing like they had.
"As for feminine products, that makes sense. I mean, we've Olivia and Kanna now. So that's gonna be a thing that we're gonna need to be aware of." She said, blushing at the consideration that the way things have been going, it was likely in the next month that she'd be completely demanned and be all woman... And she wasn't sure she was ready for that. "But I haven't the slightest clue what we need to look for, or make if we can't find it."
Pointing at them teasingly, Henry chuckled lightly, his mood improving a bit further with this topic. “Lucky for you, I was a married man, who is not a stranger from having to stop by the store for interim shopping errands. I can help with that, especially if you’re still wanting to keep it discreet. Though, you are going to have to come out about it at some point. When will it happen when someone walks “in” on you in the river or something, then you’ll have to.”, he said, trying to make the point of how inevitable the truth was. As a group, they’d have to stop hiding secrets from each other at some point.
"To be fair, right now, only you and maybe Olivia know that I'm changing. As far as your daughter and that Kenny fellow know, I'm all girl." Douglas pointed out, but sighed. "Okay, with a name like Douglas, maybe they can guess. Just, I'm trying not to think about it. I'm still weirded out by thinking of myself as a woman, even if I haven't fully jumped over. Not that you could tell at this point." She said, looking past her bust to her lower body, and pressing the coat down and showing just how flat it'd gotten.
"I'm still working out how to even accept it. But I've been finding myself moving more... well, feminine. Not sure how much of that is just due to the changing body, or if there's some kind of mental element to this. I hope not. Please let it just be the changing bone structure."
Rubbing the back of his neck for a moment with a slight reddening of the cheeks, Henry cleared his throat before speaking. “No unfortunately, I’ve noticed the movements, especially the wiggle when you walk now. It’s actually.. Kind of hypnotizing to watch really. I mean your hips are so wide, like sex idol width, that I don’t know how you miss it, even with the coat-”, he said before stopping. The man had just gone full on in the description, and realized how that made him sound, which suddenly made him feel ashamed and embarrassed to have admitted all that.
Douglas couldn't help the darkening of her own chocolate colored cheeks. What's more, her ears wiggled as well! "O-oh." Douglas managed to squeeze out of her throat. "R-really? Am I really that bad?" She asked, and then clapped her hands over her mouth as she realized what she'd just asked. Oh fuck, was she really asking him to confirm she was getting sexy as fuck?!
Henry seemed to relax a little at the question asked, “Only bad is being down bad. If I’m honey, you’re too good, like considering my wife wasn’t shy about liking girls. She would have happily gone down on you probably like this.” Maybe it was more to help boost Doug’s confidence, or maybe it was to try and dig himself out of the hole of his earlier outburst. Though thinking about it, he might have only dug deeper, so he at least told himself it was more the former.
"Oh." Douglas said, and found herself bringing a hand up to pull her hair behind her ear. "I, I see." She said. "I guess that'd have been an experience." She mused. "A-anyways! Feminine products! You were saying you knew the kinds of things we needed to get, right?" Douglas said, trying to shift her brain off the fact that she was actually appreciating his approval of her body now.
It weirded her out, and somehow felt wrong to want him to appreciate her like that more.
“Right, most of it is specific soaps, tampons, meds for yeast infections, those douchebag things maybe, and maxim pads….”, Henry thought about as he began to go through what he was familiar with. “Actually, um, personal question but… You have lost your.. Penis right? Like we don’t need to worry about medical complications on that front right of mid change? Also because most of this well… goes into the vagina.”
Douglas shook her head. "It's, still there. Barely. It's just the tip at this point... Not even the sack's left. I mean, my insides have been feeling like hell for the last week, so..." She said, shrugging since she couldn't be sure how much of a help any of that was. "And now I'm realizing just how easy we had it as guys..." She said, huffing in disappointment. "How much of that can we possibly make if we can't find replacements down the road?"
“Crudely, if at all, and likely not as comfortable.”, Henry said a bit bluntly, almost as if realizing the fresh hell the day they ran out of such would be. As for the comment of what was left, it was a little more detailed than expected, but it was still an answer. “You, uh, not having any trouble with pubic hair or anything? I know I’m asking all this intimate stuff, but as the only person with any medical training, just… checking anything possible.” By the gods, this was the most awkward conversation possible since his younger years when he started seeing Evelyn. But he was also admittedly curious, as much of her body, as he was of the change as well in of itself and the stages it might be going through.
"No, no thankfully. That still seems to be normal. Though... As stupid as it sounds, the carpet matches the drapes now." She said, sighing at the poor joke. "And hey, it's only fair to punish me for all the questions that were tearing at your life on the subject of your wife and her passing. And what to do about it all going forward for our group." She stated, shrugging. "And who knows, if what I'm going through is transferable, knowing how it progresses is probably a good idea. My, bits down below seem to be the last things changing. Like, the rest of my body was being primed for everything else and that was an afterthought."
His face was increasingly red, and perhaps a bit aroused from the information so far, but the prepper was trying to play it off. “Well it also pays to know in advance, as we don’t have the luxury of segregated lavatories either, so at some point, we’ll likely see it. Especially once we are inside the winter hideout, and water will have to be used sparingly. So showering in pairs and what not…”, Henry explained as if almost preparing himself for that eventuality more then her now. Though he was sure she was dreading it as well too. “Speaking of your.. Chest.. Is it shaping okay, would you say?”
"Chances are, by the time we get to the winter quarters we're planning, I don't think there'll be a bit of male left." Douglas admitted. "I'm pretty sure it'll be gone by month's end actually." She said, considering how quickly it'd begun to process. "And, what do you mean, shaping okay?" Douglas asked, legitimately confused by the question. She hadn't the foggiest what sort of thing the prepper was suggesting.
“Well your body is undergoing a mutation, so I want to make sure there are no deformities that might cause health issues. Or even worse, something like cancer.. So basically asking if they are shaped like normal breasts, properly speaking in terms of firmness, shape, and lacking any odd lumps.” Henry answered, doing his best to keep a straight doctor face, even though he was not by any means close to a full doctor.
Douglas was rather grateful Henry didn't press on the bits changing further, since Douglas was sure both of them were getting pretty weirded out. As for the other thing. "Oh, that. Yeah, they seem to be shaping up properly. I mean, I haven't felt any lumps or oddness... I can't exactly say I have any experience though. I was always single, and couldn't afford... uhhh, ya know?" She said, blushing intensely as she finished, ears once more wiggling as she did.
Henry felt what he already felt like was going to be a horrible suggestion on his part, but it at the least felt needed. But gods be damn, he was going to enjoy what he was about to ask, to a degree his psyche would never not let him feel guilty about. Clearing his throat, he just worked up the nerve and asked it, “So.. I am going to ask something, specifically something I am asking your consent for. But would you be willing to let me give you a full body check, a full feel up to look for any such spots or abnormalities medically? If you do accept, we also obviously can’t do it here, so wherever you feel would be most private and comfortable.”
Douglas blinked and shrugged. "You know what to look for, right? I'm pretty damned new to this whole thing, so I suppose it's honestly the best way to go about it. As for private... Uhh, well, we have a few other camp chores needing done... So out by the traps you set up for small game or near the river since we need to get more water for cleaning with..." She said, thinking of the other chores she had to do today before relaxing since the boxes were kind of an 'extra' she did to put off the other two chores.
"Unless you can think of a good spot nearby?" She asked, looking at Henry.
“Oh uh well, we could do it in the river. I’m sure neither of us have washed up recently, so we could kill two birds with one stone. I just hope, me being naked won’t bother you, and it would at least get us used to what I mentioned before about shared bathing.” He was screaming internally, wondering when he had gotten this pervy… oh right, he married a pervy elf. But it was still something that was going to happen like he mentioned, and he did need to check her, but fuck he really hated how he actually desired it. The man had been trapped in this daily hell for so long that it almost made him worried that his morals, or sense of decency were eroding.
"I, could do with a wash." She admitted, taking a moment to sniff at herself and recoiling slightly. "As for naked... I think getting myself used to the idea sooner than later would be best... Especially if bathing needs later are going to be that way." She mused, and pushed herself up, before leaning down to pick up the filled box and put it in the army tent they had set up as storage. "Oh, and we can wash our clothes after ourselves..." She said. "Though, I don't think we've anything spare to wear until they're dry. Which is something else we need to think about going forward."
Doug, why must you torture me this way? “Uh, yeah… I just… yeah no, let’s do that. Good thinking.”, was all Henry could pull himself to answer, before helping move the other box. Afterwards, he followed Doug as they headed to the river. There it was again, the wiggle of those hips which he would see uncovered in all their caramel glory. He was already trying to play off a stiffy, so today was going to be awkward. At least he would gladly take that over the usual wacky wasteland bullshit that was the everyday grind to live.
Having picked up some soap, Douglas led the way, following the slightly trodden path they'd made going to and from it. It wasn't a full on path yet, but it was well on its way there. It was barely large enough to count as a river, but it was deep enough for them to wash themselves properly and with enough stones to use as washing aids for their clothes.
"A basket too. Shit. The list just keeps growing." Douglas grumbled, putting the soap down and beginning to work off the three layers of coats she was wearing, before revealing a thick t-shirt she wore underneath all three. And also how toned and sleek her arms had grown, covered in a rich chocolate colored skin. Oh, and how much she 'bounced' under the shirt too, since it wasn't hidden under multiple layers of fabric.
Henry almost audibly gulped as he got this show, which despite fully expecting, was wholly unprepared for. He had to be beat red right now, even as he had started to undress as well. Only his jacket and shirt had come off so far, having hesitated at his pants, knowing full well what he would be revealing from his jeans at this point with all that going on in view. “So uh Doug, I need to be honest, and come clean before we go further. Um, I find you absolutely beautiful, and well I can only be so professional. So forgive me, for.. How excited this is and has made me already.”, the man softly confessed as he tried to not directly stare.
Douglas paused as she reached for her shirt, and looked over at Henry. "Oh. Uhhh..." She wasn't sure what to make of that. He... thought she was beautiful? Looking down at herself, she couldn't exactly disagree. If she was still her old body, she probably would have thought the same thing. OOooooh. Oh fuck. "Oh, shit. Uhhh, should we do this some other way?" Douglas asked, realizing what exactly the issue at hand is right now.
“How would we? We need to wash, and I’m about to literally grope your body for science, and medical integrity… Can’t exactly do that blindfolded. I dunno, you can poke my scars or something to be even?”, Henry replied while sheepishly shrugging, wondering how much of a disaster his mouth just made this. He guessed at the very least, she understood his predicament, and wouldn’t be caught off guard. Well, probably not, he was off guard even now and they weren’t even fully nude yet.
"Right... Stupid me..." Douglas muttered. "Maybe... Do it quickly? And try not to poke each other with things that should probably be kept to oneself? Since I'm not sure I want to feel your... ya know, pressing against me. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." She said. Figuring the faster they did this the better. "Plus, ya know, wasting daylight." She added, glancing up at the sky, before taking a deep breath and finishing her gripping of her shirt and pulling up and over, revealing her torso to the world, before flinging the shirt onto the pile of coats, while she sat down on it to work on her boots so she could remove them, the socks underneath, and then her pants.
Quick? Yeah that was a relative term in this case. “Um, I can’t promise anything, and… yeah lets get through this. I’m running my mouth nervously and making this all the more awkward, so I’m so sorry.”, Henry said in a sincere anxious apology. Gods he was such a fucking mess right now, before finally finding the courage to undo and drop his pants…. Shit, he was full mast.
Soon the boots were off, the socks were following, and Douglas was bending over and giving Henry a lovely view of her ass as she wiggling out of the pants, though it was obscured by the briefs she was wearing as she did so. And once those came off, Henry got to see what Douglas meant, and maybe a bit more than even Douglas was aware of.
There was evidence of a forming slit between her legs, and the tip of her penis was more like an overlarge nub that was definitely reshaping into two separate things for two very different purposes. And when she was done putting her briefs on the pile, she walked quickly to the flowing water after picking up the soap and getting in to try and get started.
Fuck full mast, captain the titanic just exited atmosphere. Yeah he was enjoying this far too much, and his guilt was only deepening. “Do you uh, want me to help wash your back?”, he asked sheepishly, trying to break the awkward silence. Great, I'm a pervy idiot with my dick out red balled, and I’m trying to ask shit like that, as if it’s a fan service episode in a damn anime.
"Let's... Try and keep this focused on the stuff that's important for now, yeah?" Douglas asked, shyly covering the front of her breasts as she tried not to shiver too much in the cold river water while waiting on him to come over and get the physical check done with.
“Well, we have to wash anyways, so might as well do that first.”, Henry said with a slight sigh. After all, if he was going to be touching her, at least wanted to make sure they were both clean. Otherwise he’d have whatever grime and… residue.. In the way, eww. At least that particular thought had calmed him down somewhat to get more back into a rational line of thought. “So, I am asking again, will you let me wash you? I need to get comfortable with what we’re about to do, and we’re both friends here.”
Douglas looked over at Henry. "I, I guess we should. So, uhhh, yes?" Douglas said, turning around to present her back to Henry so he could get started, while she held the soap for him to get started. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen next, but somehow, she knew that that things were either going to get very weird or very, comfortable? She wasn't sure which yet.
As Henry stepped into the water, took the cloth and soap before beginning to lather the cloth and her back. With a gentle brush of the hand, helped move her hair over her shoulder. Despite having rougher hands, his touch was surprisingly gentle as he went about it. Doug's back was so smooth and soft, even under the moisture of the water. Before he knew it, Henry was thoroughly massaging and scrubbing the soap into her back across every inch.
She wanted to make some kind of noise of appreciation as he worked the soap into her back, but she was determined to try and keep this was, respectful as possible between them. They were just friends, and he was trying to help her out with something she had no experience on! That's all! Even if some small tiny part of her appreciated him caring for her like this.
He almost seemed lost in the simple act, his hands continuing to work her skin. They moved and worked over her shoulders, slipping to the sides as he just continued on. Soon he was down at her lower end, starting to clean Doug's rear even. Henry didn't even say anything, only continued to clean her from behind.
Douglas couldn't help the shiver that crawled up and down her spine. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold water or his touch. And she had zero intention of finding out. "So, uhhh... Everything.... Everything how it should be?" she asked, trying to break the silence that'd been hanging over them as this went on. She'd used both hands to hold her arms, trying to figure out if how it felt as he touched her and how it made her feel.
As if breaking the daze, Henry paused mid task. "Hmm? The examination is after we're washed. Don't want to be touching around and some dirt or something throwing it off. You.. have very nice skin by the way.", He said, adding the complement instinctively. Not bothering to wait for a response, went back to it, getting into her nooks and crannies of her butt and lower back. The man even began to hum to himself idly, this oddly proving more comfortable then he'd thought, her body reminding him of nights in the tub with Evelyn.
Douglas shuddered this time, her whole body shifting up and down a moment. "I, I see." She said, hugging herself slightly as she felt him cleaning her back. Especially as his hands had gotten lower. With her ass clenching and unclenching as he worked. It had just the right amount of firmness to hold it's shape, but just enough jiggle to be enticing and squeezable.
The same could be said of her legs, while her waist, which had certainly grown quite feminine in it's ratio... It was like her body had been reformed to be an exciting sexual figure, something that would draw attention and distract. And yet there was a tone strength that was capable of overpowering even Henry despite not a single muscle showing it.
"I just... I look like some sex game's idea of a dark elf. I suppose I should be grateful it's not some other kind of fantasy trope..." She muttered.
"Well my wife wasn't much different honestly, other then pale and blonde.", Henry commented, vocally noting what had been going through his mind ever since Doug stripped. He was working her over pretty well though, hand massaging the cheeks as he washed them, and spread to be thorough. Going further down, he worked clockwise descending on each leg.
"Though with how you're filling out, you might actually be a bit thicker then her by a little bit." The comment wasn't really meant in anyway, and wasn't teasing or even solemn. It was just odd to think that a bomb of all things would turn someone into an almost alternate twin of Evelyn. "You know… if you'd been turned blonde, you'd be a literal bombshell blonde.", He chuckled softly.
Douglas sighed and reached around behind her, hand trying to find his head and once it had, rap him on the top of it with her knuckles. "I really didn't need the trouble that being blonde was gonna give me. HAving my hair turn pure white is annoying enough." She stated. "And thanks, now I feel even more like I got fucked over hard if I'm turning into a thicker twin of your wife." She said, barely registering in her head that in her setting up to rp her knuckles against his head, she had exposed one of her nipples, though she turned back and huffed while returning her arm to holding it's opposite.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were perving on me. Seriously, I'd have to wonder if guys turning into girls gets you off or something." She stated flatly, trying to make it sound like a joke, but also factual.
"Well I did say you were beautiful, and I meant it. And I had a wife who was bi, so being exposed to that kind of thing, came with the ring hahaha.", Henry chuckled after he had recovered from the solid thump against his head. Once the sting had dulled, he went back to it before standing up. "Shall I continue to the front now that I finished your back? Or would you rather do it by yourself while I wash?"
'Please' almost left her lips before she caught herself and bit it back. "Probably better I do it myself." She said, giving a firm nod. With how things were between the two, especially with his continuing compliments, she was trying to keep herself from doing something stupid or silly. Or perverted herself. Taking the soap, she began to lather the front of her body, hoping that the heat she felt in her cheeks would go away soon. Especially since her ears seemed to have a tendency to wiggle when she was feeling like this... Well, excited. it was liable to be more annoying than anything else. So she was trying to keep it discrete and quiet herself.
Nodding to her decision, Henry simply stood and got to cleaning himself. Despite the excitement, he'd at least calmed down, though he was still rather visibly happy where it was more awkward to display. However it was being ignored, as he wanted to get this done, otherwise her figure would be in his mind the rest of the day. Normally he never let something like this distract him so much, but ever since they found Kanna…
It was like a tightly coiled cord in his chest had suddenly begun to loosen and relieve his chest. Henry had been going day to day, with only the next in his narrowed sight. But now,.. he was starting to think of other things, and what ifs that he'd blocked from his thoughts until now. Was this hope?
Scrubbing herself, Douglas took a moment to glance back towards Henry, and found herself pausing a moment to gawk, before shaking her head quickly and refocusing. Why the fuck did she find herself actually... liking what she saw?! She was a guy at heart still, right?! "So, uhh, what she like? Your wife? Before everything happened?" Douglas asked, breaking the silence once more.
That derailed his line of thought pretty quickly, as he turned slightly towards her in confusion at the question. "Oh well, she was very peppy and boisterous. Pretty lewd much like Olivia, though to a much nerdier extend, to where she could be called an otaku. Hmm, pretty soft and not really into anything rough like prepping or learning self defense.", He replied after a moment finally. Having thought about it, and now voicing it, she like Doug hadn't really been up to what the current world required to live. Maybe in some cruel way, it was better she hadn't made it to the worst of it, as things would only continue down hill going forward.
"She was so dainty to be honest.", He added in an attempt to brush away his depressed thoughts on the matter.
"Ah, one of those huh? I won't say I understood the obession, but I like to think I didn't judge." Douglas replied. "In a way though, maybe she would have adapted better than I did..." She said, soaping up her arm right now. "Though, the lewd bit is probably... I dunno. I mean, I suppose at some point we're gonna hafta think about that. YA know, once the world settles and all. Kids are gonna be a hell of a valuable thing." She pointed out as she paused a moment, but finished washing off the one arm and starting on the next.
"God, I bet I'd end up looking ugly were I pregnant, if this change is as complete as it seems to be going..." She wondered aloud.
"Well I can tell from your figure alone that it's making your body optimal for carrying children. The width of your hips, the generous thigh gap. You could probably birth twins with little issue. Not to mention the line your looks would attract, you'd be hard to resist." That maybe wasn't what she wanted to hear, but the question had itched his medical side.
"Actually given your likeness, I think you'd be cute all plump with babies.~", Henry even said in personal musing on the subject, with a blush rosing his cheeks. After all, Evelyn had been quite beautiful in even such a state as she was pregnant with Kanna those years ago. Though, he froze, as the man realized he'd just admitted those musings out loud. "Oh.. uh.. Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes... Yes you did." Douglas said after a stunned silence of her own. Still, she was done with washing herself, sans for her hair, which she began to scrub vigorously at, getting the dirt, grime and bits of nature stuck in it, a lather beginning to form. "And I'm not sure I want to have kids. For all we know any kids I have will end up rampaging monsters. Nothing like me. But I also know we can't know it won't be more like me..." She mused aloud, and sighed.
"Gods, I really am becoming some sex game caricature aren't I?" She said, before taking a deep breath and dunking her head into the water, keeping it under for a bit longer than probably she needed, just to try and get those insane ideas out of her head by the sheer chill of the water alone.
"We don't know that either though, and I'm not convinced that would be the case either. Any kid would take after your genes, so the risk is minimal. Besides, kids are a gift, as sentimental that might make me sound. They're family, and always deeply connected to their parents, and that is something to strive for in a world as dark as this." The look in his eyes were dulled for a moment, thinking of all the terrible things they had seen so far. If they hadn't found Kanna, he might have considered suicide after a while or have become so careless as to be dangerous.
He saw the programs, the psych evals, and those who went to reserve to leave the fighting. And they had it easy, not having to see the loss and degradation as they had. To be bluntly honest, he had stopped caring at some point, but Doug and Kanna had reawakened a reason to care again. What was the point of living otherwise?
Henry turned to her after having finished washing down, forgetting his stiffy at this point with all the thoughts. "Speaking of kids, are you technically gay now, like did you just become a Yuri protag or something? Or… are you into new things? Have you ever even thought about dating even before all this?"
Douglas gasped as she stood up, shaking her head to try and get the water off her head. "Did you say something?" She asked, patting the side of her head to help get more water off, then reaching for her hair as she turned to look at Henry while she waited for his answer. And froze as soon as she saw his dick once more. Her breath hitched and she blushed even more, her ears wiggling in a very exgarrated fashion at her own excitement. The only clue that she was excited since the rest of her body's reactions could have been put down to the temperature of the river.
"Uhhh, wha..." She stammered, her brain apparently in the process of rebooting and thusly not functioning properly.
"Really?! You heard none of that? I was talking about kids and what way you swing and all that. I even got all sentimental and you just ignored me, thanks a lot." Henry grumped, even as he curiously got his focus grabbed by the war wiggle. Huh, cute, is that some sort of body language reaction?
Douglas's gaze was firmly locked on Henry's body... And mostly below the belt. Very, very quietly, almost beneath Henry's ability to hear, was a very faint "yes and please..." from Douglas's lips before she violently shook her head as though trying to clear something from her thoughts as aggressively as possible.
"Sorry! Sorry! I had my head in the water when you were speaking. I couldn't hear exactly what you said." She stated, trying to sooth things over as best she could.
After a couple of days cataloging the finds that Douglas had brought back along with Kenny and Kana, she was busy now arranging some of the planks to form the basis for a box they could use to help store materials and supplies. It was probably gonna just be the first of a few of them, since they had enough stuff in kind of loose piles in their storage tent that it was probably time they started organizing and readying stuff. Who knew when they'd pack up and move on from this camp area after all.
Henry walked over to join her, looking at all that had been laid out for said box. “Storage, something you take for granted until you just can’t find enough places to store your shit. Heh, a problem as annoying to have, as good as it is an indicator of supply amounts.”, he offered as he looked it over further. “We can probably make two large chests, and line them with tarp for this. The question then is, what do we store in these?”
"I was figuring one could probably hold our small supplies. Things like nails, and what have you. The stuff we could easily lose just by the nature of it being small. The second? Any suggestions?" She replied, having laid out the planks to form a chest, despite not having sawed or nailed or anything of the sort yet. One thing she remembered being an adage to follow was to be sure of your measurements by doing it twice at least, so that you only needed to cut once and have it right.
"Plus I figure having all this done will make when we pick up and bug out easier since we won't have to half-ass packing when we do." Doug admitted.
“Well, a lot of them are actually going to be used to make the crate, but I get the idea. Likely we can store parts and what not in here, tools and the like you know. I think the other would be good as a food and medicine chest for shelf stable items.” Henry had picked up their said stock of nails, which as he mentioned, would be abundant until starting to dig into projects like this. Counting them out, they would be more then enough for the crates, but likely use up a box and a half of the roughly four they had.
He considered it wise that they plan out how to best use the investment of such supplies. But they should also make sure to use as much as possible, so they could get the most out of them, but also improve the camp set up. “We should see about putting together a simple tent frame we can fold instead of the ones we’ve made from trimmed branches so far. Preferably from some of these numerous metal parts we’ve got, to get the most and longest durability possible.”, the prepper finally voiced on that line of thought as he looked to other such supplies.
"Would be good. Especially since we got winter coming up. Not sure how well our little camp right now will handle the cold." Douglas said, finally looking up at the steadily shifting colors of the leaves above them. The air had begun to start dipping harder, the temperature beginning to cause breaths to fog into the air, though thankfully it was still warm enough now that they didn't have such right now.
"Not sure what we should do about that, but we're gonna need to start preparing soon." She continued, pulling out a pencil she had for all the notes she'd taken with her notepad that Henry had seen frequently, and started trying to work marking out where to cut them.
“It won’t, so in all likelihood, we’re going to have to find some place. A cave at the most desperate, but preferable a building we can close up, insulate or heat, and hold up inside securely until the end of winter. Being outside as we are in terms of camping gear, we’d never make it.” Henry agreed as he watched her begin to work with the pencil. “That raises another question, of what our thoughts are on the area? Seems like less supplies gradually, but also more strange things, or dangerous people show up. Unless we can somehow do something long term, this region doesn’t offer us much incentive to hang around longer then needed.”
Douglas paused in her work and sighed. "That's a valid point." She said, and settled on her feet with her knees on the ground. "Shit's getting weird alright, and people around here are getting more desperate. Or at least less scrupulous about being willing to attack other survivors for their stuff." She mused. "Meaning we need to also think about how we're gonna treat other survivors ourselves."
“Well one thing at a time, got a lot to think about on all those. But other people should be the first thing to talk about. Which honestly…”, Henry began, before ominously pausing as he thought on what his stance on such would be. “If I’m completely being honest, most of my thoughts would be pretty extreme on that front. We shouldn’t take chances, so drop first and ask questions later if anyone seems to even vaguely seem to be a threat. But I also can’t deny we need more people, and might suggest we also observe if we see first, and haven’t been seen yet. Try and get a feel until we have to act.”
"In short, get a sense of who they are and if they're a risk to us huh?" Douglas said, reaching up to scratch at her head within her hood. "Not the worst way to go about it. Probably also not do as I did and bring people back just because they seem friendly. Even if it did reunite you and your daughter." She remarked. "But do we go with gut feeling on how they seem, or see if they display some personality that could be hazardous to us?"
"Yeah, gauge how sketchy and how comfortable our fingers need to be on the trigger." Henry then began to scratch his own head, as what he planned to say next might sound cold. "We also need to avoid helping everyone who cries for help. It's too much of a waste of resources, may only lead to nothing in return, or worse it's a trap.", He said firmly, clearly stating that opinion. Especially with hearing how their encounter after meeting ken and Kanna went.
"Sounds reasonable, if cold to me. I think getting eyes on the call for help is probably the best option to take to determine if trap or not." Douglas replied, returning her focus to the planks, and picking up the nearby saw, and shifting on her knees to settle herself to begin saw at the planks.
"But I guess we don't have the luxury of being warm with others presently. We've not the resources or people to do anything huh?" She asked, settling the saw teeth on the planks. "Really says something about how severe things are now that we can't give thought to helping people without thinking about how much of a trap it could be."
"We have no right to help others, if we cannot help ourselves as my corpsman instructor once said. I'm more used to it I guess, having been trained in the concept and practice of triage. As a medic, you aren't there to save everyone, only those who can get back on their feet.", Henry answered with a tired sigh, hating how well it translated even now.
Walking around to the other side, he took a squat, before laying out a hammer and nails. He'd piece the wood together as she finished trimming them, assembling the crate as they went. "Did you ever pass shop class?", Henry asked teasingly after a few to lighten the mood.
"Nope. Never took it." Douglas replied with a chuckle, avoiding responding to the corpsman statement. She didn't have to like it, just acknowledge that right now, it was fact and they had to suck it up. "So all of this is just me trying to figure it out as I go. Just like everything else you've been teaching me the actual mechanics of." She said. "I've the big picture on our camp, but you've the big picture on keeping us alive. Between us, I think you've got the more value and right to lead and decide this stuff. Ain't no democracy here anymore." Douglas finished, as they cut the last of the boards, having tried to half four planks to try and get two crates worth of sides for.
“Well, hopefully that won’t be the case anymore. I hope one day, we’ll have some place safe and stable, then I can just teach. Then when I have, I won’t be needed, and I can go back to being a father. Maybe that’s a bit selfish though, and wishing for an awful lot.” As the hammering began, and wood pieces were begun to be turned into a box wall, Henry made sure to make what he was doing clear and visible for Doug. That was something else thought they hadn’t even touched on all this time, the future. “What do you want to strive for? Or think we should go to maybe find some place safe?”, he asked her as they continued to work as they spoke.
Doug chuckled. "Doubt I'll ever go back to doing fast food. Won't be much use for it, much less availability. So not a clue what I'm going to do once we finally stop just trying to survive. Especially since I'm turning into some geek's wet dream. Not sure I want to contemplate that more." She said, watching as Henry worked on the box's frames and trying to remember as much as she could while he did so. "As for where to go? We'd probably, for now at least, want to look at someplace we can defend with our numbers, but still have space. For all we've done so far, we've got a issue of food. Sure, we got enough to cover us now, and into the start of winter, but it's not going to last. We're going to need to think about long-term options. Be it a greenhouse or a field we can protect." She mused. "But, I don't even know what we really have in the area, at least nothing beyond the map you've got with you."
Henry seemed to chuckle at the mention of fast food, not able to remember the last time they had ever eaten out with something once normal. With one panel done now, he began on the next before carrying on the conversation. “First we need to find something in a place that is safer in general. Right now we not only have a nomadic setup, but have seen enough around here to know we may not want to stick around this region. I know that may be true everywhere else to varying degrees, but surely there has to be somewhere more ideal where that can be viable.”, the man mused to his recently feminized companion.
As cliche as it might sound, some facility, warehouse, or gods forbid even possibly a bunker somewhere, would be more ideal then what they have now even. They didn’t even have a pot to piss in, much less anything to cover them from the elements.
"Well, we're a whole buncha miles out of my area of knowledge. So I'm basically worthless in that regard. Outside of what we've seen in our scavenging runs, I ain't got a clue what might be in the area for us to use as a more solid shelter." Douglas replied, taking the first panel and setting it against the 'base' of the box, and finding their other hammer, getting started on hammering it into place. "I mean, something with a fence or wall around it would work, much less underground. But digging out a shelter would take way too long, especially with just muscles." She mused, hissing as she managed to slam the hammer head into her finger holding the nail in place while trying to get it angled right.
He was quick to grab Doug’s hand in an effort to check if it was significant, “It doesn’t look bad, and it's moving, so just rest it for a few. Too bad we don’t have ice packs.” Henry commented on the diagnosis. “As for places with walls and fences, well there is the old base I used to be stationed at. It was abandoned pretty early, and we cleared most of the usable supplies out, but you never know. Should still be in decent condition structurally, and already laid out to be defendable.”
Henry wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of moving somewhere so close to home, a bit of hesitation seemingly following the words as he spoke of it. Taking the two sides, began to finish hammering the nail that Doug had started. It was also kind of at that moment, that something clicked for the prepper, in that he had rushed to Doug’s aid as if he was a woman. Which they were becoming now, but at some point, Henry had subconsciously begun to stop treating them as a fellow male.
Flicking her thumb a few times after Henry had looked it over, she shrugged. "It ain't like I've never whacked my thumb with a hammer before trying to hit a nail. I could that much home improvement before all this after all." Douglas replied, subtly noting just how... 'dainty' the digit was. He hadn't even thought about Henry's reaction really. And it was hard to tell if it was because his mind was also changing, taking this all in stride as 'normal', or if he was trying to actively not think about the changes beyond that they are happening.
"And I don't know if we'd want a military base. Aren't they kind of on the large side? I mean, I don't think we could really secure such a thing with just 5 of us. Even if it were to serve as a good start point." She asked, sighing before getting to work on organizing and preparing the second box while Henry worked on the first, since he couldn't exactly hammer on it while Henry was as well.
“The other possible issue is it’s back towards where we met, and therefore towards where you got exposed to that stuff that made everyone else mad. But we don’t need the whole compound, just a portion of the building we can secure, and expand as we need possibly. It’s the only place I specifically know, otherwise, I would say we might want to find a warehouse or something of the like.” Henry was quick now that he wasn’t making an educational display of the work, starting to hammer together sides in short order. It was still going to take him a little while to put all these together, but the first box was starting to come along.
"Yeah, no chance in hell of that. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised at all if those who survived the shit started wandering... I just know I had enough cognizance to do so while it was happening, as we both know." She replied, sighing, and started with the base boards of the second box. "I guess if we can keep it secure for us to start with, it wouldn't be the worst idea to use the base. At least for the winter. The other reason I'm worried about it... It'd probably be something folks around here know about, and would try and raid."
Admittedly, it seemed unlikely folks would try again, since if it was as abandoned as Henry said it was, it'd pretty quickly be one of those things that people just stop bothering since it was useless to find loot at. "But, I'll defer to your judgement on this. We both know I'm not nearly the leader or the prepper you are. Otherwise I wouldn't have damned near been dog food when we met."
A soft sigh was given, as there was that line again, of being the most of a leader. It was like hearing it on repeat, and part of it left a bitter feeling, for reasons most might have understood during the reunion with Kanna. “I’m just a survivor like anyone else, and I wish that was all I could say I was. Anywhere will be dangerous, but at least with the base, it’s more or less a hometurf I guess. As helpful as that might be..”, Henry answered finally as he mulled it over some more.
After all, it wasn’t like there was some magic answer for all their needs, and problems. But he knew the layout enough to know they had room aplenty for storage and crops. But neither was anything he wanted to leave that close to civilization. Perhaps at the least, they could gather, and bide time. Make a later return here to the hills, or even closer to the mountains to have them at their backs. Maybe then, they could make a proper camp, on their own terms, but it would be at the higher cost of blood, sweat, and tears.
“It doesn’t have to be permanent, but it can be a stop gap for better plans it will let us prepare for.”, he added after the outside of the box was finished. Sitting back, he almost proudly admired his own handy work, which might have seemed vain in normal circumstances. But right now, it was reinforcing the idea they might have a small chance to build something far better, and tailored to their needs down the road.
"So, thinking it might be best to have as our winter base this year then?" Douglas asked, figuring that might as well be the direction their thoughts were going anyways. "If it's as useful as you say, it would serve best. After all, it'd be better shelter than all of this right now, and I wouldn't be shocked if the base had its own source of power we could tap into if needed to help stave off the cold. Dunno 'bout you, but I am not looking forward to the first snows." She continued, finishing part of the box she was working on. It wasn't nearly as fast as Henry, nor as 'clean' of a job, but it was functional right now, once it was complete.
God, what a metaphor for their situation. Ad hoc'd solutions to basic problems in the expectation that they would figure out something better down the road. And if they didn't? Who knew then.
“Yeah, that’s the idea. I also know of a couple stashes in the area that should be, or unlikely to have been touched. So we’d have possible wealths of supplies to use as well for the winter. A crate of food looted when we cleared out of the base, and my own prepper stash…. Under what’s left of my house.”, Henry confirmed, still hurting to recall his house. It was after all, where he’d cremated Evelyn, his wife who Kanna was now still mourning over. That wound seemed to put a damper on his handy work, slouching as he lowered into an actual sitting position now.
“I wonder if she holds it against me, or blames me secretly for it….”, he said more to himself then to Doug, vague in who he was referring to. In truth, he was referring to both how Kanna was processing the news possibly, as well as what his late wife was possibly thinking of him, in whatever afterlife she might hopefully have passed onto.
"Couldn't say. I neither speak for the dead, nor claim to know the thoughts of the living, whomever it is you wonder that about." Douglas said, shrugging as she continued to work on the box. She figured he was talking about his wife, but it could be Kanna as well, but she wasn't going to assume either. "Jeeze, listen to me speaking all fancy and shit." She said, trying for an amused chuckle and instead sounding like a silly little giggle. Which made Douglas blush and try and make sure not to look away from Henry while she coughed a moment or two to try and cover up the sound. "Anyways, that sounds like it gives us some options to survive. Though, do we want to open the old wound of yours early, so that it can heal a little better?" Douglas asked once they were sure they weren't going to sound so childish, looking at Henry once more.
"Since, I figure we're going to want to grab that stash before we leave the region anyways." She explained, figuring to help him see her logic. "So, it's a question of sooner or later."
“That’s.. A hard question to willingly want to answer. In a way, it might be the one place in my life that I consider any form of sacred. On the other hand, it’s a tear in the heart of the things I’ve lost. I cremated what was left of my wife in the ashes of that house…” Henry stood for a moment, before getting the tarp they had, to line the inside of the first new box as he began to prepare the material. “I guess sooner wouldn’t hurt any more then it would later, and I did leave some weapons in the house cache.”
Douglas nodded, nearly finished with the second box. "I could see the value in those, but I also figured I'd see when you'd want to go for it. And honestly, I imagine we'd probably be leaving the area come spring anyways. Since I doubt there'll be much left over for us to pick over scavenging-wise by then." She said. "If you want my suggestion? Maybe we get it on our way to the base you mentioned. That way we can make use of it, and you can start with healing the hurt that's gonna come from opening it up. But, that's just my suggestion."
She didn't say that she'd rather he be able to focus more fully on their survival. Him being torn over this stuff could easily get them killed, and, in doug's mind, as shitty as a choice as it was to force on the guy, he was in fact, at the moment, the glue holding this whole thing together. Sure, his daughter could probably help with the survival end of things, but Douglas doubted she had nearly the experience or knowledge her father had and could impart onto the group as a whole.
As he finished nailing in the tarp lining, Henry looked over the result to make sure there had not been any flaws. “We’d likely be better off securing our haven within the base, then doing so for the food crate. On the hand of the prepper stash I left, that will have to be on the way. We’ll need the tools to set that up and secure it.”, he explained as he let the work focus his mind enough to think through this rationally. “Especially since we’d be closer to an urban hub, so that rifle and pistol would be invaluable for raising security options.”
"Sounds like a plan to me then. Should we have you and Kanna get it? Since it is your family." Douglas asked, looking over her work. It wasn't nearly as good as Henry's hammer work, but it was sturdy enough. Pushing it to Henry, she took the finished one, and started putting in excess materials like their nails and such into it. The only thing they were missing now were lids, but they didn't have any hinges to make with it yet. Something Doug figured she'd correct when next she went out.
“Another question I don’t want to readily answer. Aren’t you on a roll with the curve balls today.”, Henry chuckled dryly at that question. “As much as I want father and daughter bonding time, I don’t want to put her through that. I barely can deal with it despite not being there at this moment, but seeing her cry while there.. Well, that’s a weakness I’m not ready to put us both through while in a dangerous area.”
Doug giggled again, and sighed at the sound. "Sorry if I'm asking all these hard ones. Just, trying to think ahead. Plan out survival beyond just the next day or two. And planning out seasons I'm learning, is probably the best way for long-term. And knowing what we have in the area and can make use of, the better we can do so. Even if I'm wishing we could come across some kind of bloody survival guidebook I could use when you're not available." Doug said, finishing putting stuff in.
"Oh, and remember the, 'stop-gap' we worked on for my... chest? It's, not working as well." She finally said, pinching her nose as she said it. She still felt uncomfortable talking about her changes, especially when it came to things needing to be accounted for, like this. Never mind that she was basically demanned at this point. Not that she was gonna mention that bit to him unless he pressed.
“I figured as much, the curve has been harder to overlook lately. So I guess we’ll have to go shopping for you soon. Can’t have you going improperly clothed, or with… those… bouncing about.”, he gestured, somewhat awkwardly. Henry seemed to jump into this topic surprisingly readily, likely to move away from what the previous topic had been getting into. “Which also means, feminine products if we can find them too. I feel sorry for you in the future months when that all settles in fully.”
"I'm aware. I'm getting the kind of tits I used to like ogling at. Now I realize how much they, well, suck." Douglas said, leaning back, and sighing while she looked down at herself. She didn't know the whole measurements thing, but they'd grown to nearly the size of melons, which meant that when she wasn't binding them down, they were noticeably curving the front of her multiple coats. Like now. The binding thing was getting painful and harder with them growing like they had.
"As for feminine products, that makes sense. I mean, we've Olivia and Kanna now. So that's gonna be a thing that we're gonna need to be aware of." She said, blushing at the consideration that the way things have been going, it was likely in the next month that she'd be completely demanned and be all woman... And she wasn't sure she was ready for that. "But I haven't the slightest clue what we need to look for, or make if we can't find it."
Pointing at them teasingly, Henry chuckled lightly, his mood improving a bit further with this topic. “Lucky for you, I was a married man, who is not a stranger from having to stop by the store for interim shopping errands. I can help with that, especially if you’re still wanting to keep it discreet. Though, you are going to have to come out about it at some point. When will it happen when someone walks “in” on you in the river or something, then you’ll have to.”, he said, trying to make the point of how inevitable the truth was. As a group, they’d have to stop hiding secrets from each other at some point.
"To be fair, right now, only you and maybe Olivia know that I'm changing. As far as your daughter and that Kenny fellow know, I'm all girl." Douglas pointed out, but sighed. "Okay, with a name like Douglas, maybe they can guess. Just, I'm trying not to think about it. I'm still weirded out by thinking of myself as a woman, even if I haven't fully jumped over. Not that you could tell at this point." She said, looking past her bust to her lower body, and pressing the coat down and showing just how flat it'd gotten.
"I'm still working out how to even accept it. But I've been finding myself moving more... well, feminine. Not sure how much of that is just due to the changing body, or if there's some kind of mental element to this. I hope not. Please let it just be the changing bone structure."
Rubbing the back of his neck for a moment with a slight reddening of the cheeks, Henry cleared his throat before speaking. “No unfortunately, I’ve noticed the movements, especially the wiggle when you walk now. It’s actually.. Kind of hypnotizing to watch really. I mean your hips are so wide, like sex idol width, that I don’t know how you miss it, even with the coat-”, he said before stopping. The man had just gone full on in the description, and realized how that made him sound, which suddenly made him feel ashamed and embarrassed to have admitted all that.
Douglas couldn't help the darkening of her own chocolate colored cheeks. What's more, her ears wiggled as well! "O-oh." Douglas managed to squeeze out of her throat. "R-really? Am I really that bad?" She asked, and then clapped her hands over her mouth as she realized what she'd just asked. Oh fuck, was she really asking him to confirm she was getting sexy as fuck?!
Henry seemed to relax a little at the question asked, “Only bad is being down bad. If I’m honey, you’re too good, like considering my wife wasn’t shy about liking girls. She would have happily gone down on you probably like this.” Maybe it was more to help boost Doug’s confidence, or maybe it was to try and dig himself out of the hole of his earlier outburst. Though thinking about it, he might have only dug deeper, so he at least told himself it was more the former.
"Oh." Douglas said, and found herself bringing a hand up to pull her hair behind her ear. "I, I see." She said. "I guess that'd have been an experience." She mused. "A-anyways! Feminine products! You were saying you knew the kinds of things we needed to get, right?" Douglas said, trying to shift her brain off the fact that she was actually appreciating his approval of her body now.
It weirded her out, and somehow felt wrong to want him to appreciate her like that more.
“Right, most of it is specific soaps, tampons, meds for yeast infections, those douchebag things maybe, and maxim pads….”, Henry thought about as he began to go through what he was familiar with. “Actually, um, personal question but… You have lost your.. Penis right? Like we don’t need to worry about medical complications on that front right of mid change? Also because most of this well… goes into the vagina.”
Douglas shook her head. "It's, still there. Barely. It's just the tip at this point... Not even the sack's left. I mean, my insides have been feeling like hell for the last week, so..." She said, shrugging since she couldn't be sure how much of a help any of that was. "And now I'm realizing just how easy we had it as guys..." She said, huffing in disappointment. "How much of that can we possibly make if we can't find replacements down the road?"
“Crudely, if at all, and likely not as comfortable.”, Henry said a bit bluntly, almost as if realizing the fresh hell the day they ran out of such would be. As for the comment of what was left, it was a little more detailed than expected, but it was still an answer. “You, uh, not having any trouble with pubic hair or anything? I know I’m asking all this intimate stuff, but as the only person with any medical training, just… checking anything possible.” By the gods, this was the most awkward conversation possible since his younger years when he started seeing Evelyn. But he was also admittedly curious, as much of her body, as he was of the change as well in of itself and the stages it might be going through.
"No, no thankfully. That still seems to be normal. Though... As stupid as it sounds, the carpet matches the drapes now." She said, sighing at the poor joke. "And hey, it's only fair to punish me for all the questions that were tearing at your life on the subject of your wife and her passing. And what to do about it all going forward for our group." She stated, shrugging. "And who knows, if what I'm going through is transferable, knowing how it progresses is probably a good idea. My, bits down below seem to be the last things changing. Like, the rest of my body was being primed for everything else and that was an afterthought."
His face was increasingly red, and perhaps a bit aroused from the information so far, but the prepper was trying to play it off. “Well it also pays to know in advance, as we don’t have the luxury of segregated lavatories either, so at some point, we’ll likely see it. Especially once we are inside the winter hideout, and water will have to be used sparingly. So showering in pairs and what not…”, Henry explained as if almost preparing himself for that eventuality more then her now. Though he was sure she was dreading it as well too. “Speaking of your.. Chest.. Is it shaping okay, would you say?”
"Chances are, by the time we get to the winter quarters we're planning, I don't think there'll be a bit of male left." Douglas admitted. "I'm pretty sure it'll be gone by month's end actually." She said, considering how quickly it'd begun to process. "And, what do you mean, shaping okay?" Douglas asked, legitimately confused by the question. She hadn't the foggiest what sort of thing the prepper was suggesting.
“Well your body is undergoing a mutation, so I want to make sure there are no deformities that might cause health issues. Or even worse, something like cancer.. So basically asking if they are shaped like normal breasts, properly speaking in terms of firmness, shape, and lacking any odd lumps.” Henry answered, doing his best to keep a straight doctor face, even though he was not by any means close to a full doctor.
Douglas was rather grateful Henry didn't press on the bits changing further, since Douglas was sure both of them were getting pretty weirded out. As for the other thing. "Oh, that. Yeah, they seem to be shaping up properly. I mean, I haven't felt any lumps or oddness... I can't exactly say I have any experience though. I was always single, and couldn't afford... uhhh, ya know?" She said, blushing intensely as she finished, ears once more wiggling as she did.
Henry felt what he already felt like was going to be a horrible suggestion on his part, but it at the least felt needed. But gods be damn, he was going to enjoy what he was about to ask, to a degree his psyche would never not let him feel guilty about. Clearing his throat, he just worked up the nerve and asked it, “So.. I am going to ask something, specifically something I am asking your consent for. But would you be willing to let me give you a full body check, a full feel up to look for any such spots or abnormalities medically? If you do accept, we also obviously can’t do it here, so wherever you feel would be most private and comfortable.”
Douglas blinked and shrugged. "You know what to look for, right? I'm pretty damned new to this whole thing, so I suppose it's honestly the best way to go about it. As for private... Uhh, well, we have a few other camp chores needing done... So out by the traps you set up for small game or near the river since we need to get more water for cleaning with..." She said, thinking of the other chores she had to do today before relaxing since the boxes were kind of an 'extra' she did to put off the other two chores.
"Unless you can think of a good spot nearby?" She asked, looking at Henry.
“Oh uh well, we could do it in the river. I’m sure neither of us have washed up recently, so we could kill two birds with one stone. I just hope, me being naked won’t bother you, and it would at least get us used to what I mentioned before about shared bathing.” He was screaming internally, wondering when he had gotten this pervy… oh right, he married a pervy elf. But it was still something that was going to happen like he mentioned, and he did need to check her, but fuck he really hated how he actually desired it. The man had been trapped in this daily hell for so long that it almost made him worried that his morals, or sense of decency were eroding.
"I, could do with a wash." She admitted, taking a moment to sniff at herself and recoiling slightly. "As for naked... I think getting myself used to the idea sooner than later would be best... Especially if bathing needs later are going to be that way." She mused, and pushed herself up, before leaning down to pick up the filled box and put it in the army tent they had set up as storage. "Oh, and we can wash our clothes after ourselves..." She said. "Though, I don't think we've anything spare to wear until they're dry. Which is something else we need to think about going forward."
Doug, why must you torture me this way? “Uh, yeah… I just… yeah no, let’s do that. Good thinking.”, was all Henry could pull himself to answer, before helping move the other box. Afterwards, he followed Doug as they headed to the river. There it was again, the wiggle of those hips which he would see uncovered in all their caramel glory. He was already trying to play off a stiffy, so today was going to be awkward. At least he would gladly take that over the usual wacky wasteland bullshit that was the everyday grind to live.
Having picked up some soap, Douglas led the way, following the slightly trodden path they'd made going to and from it. It wasn't a full on path yet, but it was well on its way there. It was barely large enough to count as a river, but it was deep enough for them to wash themselves properly and with enough stones to use as washing aids for their clothes.
"A basket too. Shit. The list just keeps growing." Douglas grumbled, putting the soap down and beginning to work off the three layers of coats she was wearing, before revealing a thick t-shirt she wore underneath all three. And also how toned and sleek her arms had grown, covered in a rich chocolate colored skin. Oh, and how much she 'bounced' under the shirt too, since it wasn't hidden under multiple layers of fabric.
Henry almost audibly gulped as he got this show, which despite fully expecting, was wholly unprepared for. He had to be beat red right now, even as he had started to undress as well. Only his jacket and shirt had come off so far, having hesitated at his pants, knowing full well what he would be revealing from his jeans at this point with all that going on in view. “So uh Doug, I need to be honest, and come clean before we go further. Um, I find you absolutely beautiful, and well I can only be so professional. So forgive me, for.. How excited this is and has made me already.”, the man softly confessed as he tried to not directly stare.
Douglas paused as she reached for her shirt, and looked over at Henry. "Oh. Uhhh..." She wasn't sure what to make of that. He... thought she was beautiful? Looking down at herself, she couldn't exactly disagree. If she was still her old body, she probably would have thought the same thing. OOooooh. Oh fuck. "Oh, shit. Uhhh, should we do this some other way?" Douglas asked, realizing what exactly the issue at hand is right now.
“How would we? We need to wash, and I’m about to literally grope your body for science, and medical integrity… Can’t exactly do that blindfolded. I dunno, you can poke my scars or something to be even?”, Henry replied while sheepishly shrugging, wondering how much of a disaster his mouth just made this. He guessed at the very least, she understood his predicament, and wouldn’t be caught off guard. Well, probably not, he was off guard even now and they weren’t even fully nude yet.
"Right... Stupid me..." Douglas muttered. "Maybe... Do it quickly? And try not to poke each other with things that should probably be kept to oneself? Since I'm not sure I want to feel your... ya know, pressing against me. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." She said. Figuring the faster they did this the better. "Plus, ya know, wasting daylight." She added, glancing up at the sky, before taking a deep breath and finishing her gripping of her shirt and pulling up and over, revealing her torso to the world, before flinging the shirt onto the pile of coats, while she sat down on it to work on her boots so she could remove them, the socks underneath, and then her pants.
Quick? Yeah that was a relative term in this case. “Um, I can’t promise anything, and… yeah lets get through this. I’m running my mouth nervously and making this all the more awkward, so I’m so sorry.”, Henry said in a sincere anxious apology. Gods he was such a fucking mess right now, before finally finding the courage to undo and drop his pants…. Shit, he was full mast.
Soon the boots were off, the socks were following, and Douglas was bending over and giving Henry a lovely view of her ass as she wiggling out of the pants, though it was obscured by the briefs she was wearing as she did so. And once those came off, Henry got to see what Douglas meant, and maybe a bit more than even Douglas was aware of.
There was evidence of a forming slit between her legs, and the tip of her penis was more like an overlarge nub that was definitely reshaping into two separate things for two very different purposes. And when she was done putting her briefs on the pile, she walked quickly to the flowing water after picking up the soap and getting in to try and get started.
Fuck full mast, captain the titanic just exited atmosphere. Yeah he was enjoying this far too much, and his guilt was only deepening. “Do you uh, want me to help wash your back?”, he asked sheepishly, trying to break the awkward silence. Great, I'm a pervy idiot with my dick out red balled, and I’m trying to ask shit like that, as if it’s a fan service episode in a damn anime.
"Let's... Try and keep this focused on the stuff that's important for now, yeah?" Douglas asked, shyly covering the front of her breasts as she tried not to shiver too much in the cold river water while waiting on him to come over and get the physical check done with.
“Well, we have to wash anyways, so might as well do that first.”, Henry said with a slight sigh. After all, if he was going to be touching her, at least wanted to make sure they were both clean. Otherwise he’d have whatever grime and… residue.. In the way, eww. At least that particular thought had calmed him down somewhat to get more back into a rational line of thought. “So, I am asking again, will you let me wash you? I need to get comfortable with what we’re about to do, and we’re both friends here.”
Douglas looked over at Henry. "I, I guess we should. So, uhhh, yes?" Douglas said, turning around to present her back to Henry so he could get started, while she held the soap for him to get started. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen next, but somehow, she knew that that things were either going to get very weird or very, comfortable? She wasn't sure which yet.
As Henry stepped into the water, took the cloth and soap before beginning to lather the cloth and her back. With a gentle brush of the hand, helped move her hair over her shoulder. Despite having rougher hands, his touch was surprisingly gentle as he went about it. Doug's back was so smooth and soft, even under the moisture of the water. Before he knew it, Henry was thoroughly massaging and scrubbing the soap into her back across every inch.
She wanted to make some kind of noise of appreciation as he worked the soap into her back, but she was determined to try and keep this was, respectful as possible between them. They were just friends, and he was trying to help her out with something she had no experience on! That's all! Even if some small tiny part of her appreciated him caring for her like this.
He almost seemed lost in the simple act, his hands continuing to work her skin. They moved and worked over her shoulders, slipping to the sides as he just continued on. Soon he was down at her lower end, starting to clean Doug's rear even. Henry didn't even say anything, only continued to clean her from behind.
Douglas couldn't help the shiver that crawled up and down her spine. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold water or his touch. And she had zero intention of finding out. "So, uhhh... Everything.... Everything how it should be?" she asked, trying to break the silence that'd been hanging over them as this went on. She'd used both hands to hold her arms, trying to figure out if how it felt as he touched her and how it made her feel.
As if breaking the daze, Henry paused mid task. "Hmm? The examination is after we're washed. Don't want to be touching around and some dirt or something throwing it off. You.. have very nice skin by the way.", He said, adding the complement instinctively. Not bothering to wait for a response, went back to it, getting into her nooks and crannies of her butt and lower back. The man even began to hum to himself idly, this oddly proving more comfortable then he'd thought, her body reminding him of nights in the tub with Evelyn.
Douglas shuddered this time, her whole body shifting up and down a moment. "I, I see." She said, hugging herself slightly as she felt him cleaning her back. Especially as his hands had gotten lower. With her ass clenching and unclenching as he worked. It had just the right amount of firmness to hold it's shape, but just enough jiggle to be enticing and squeezable.
The same could be said of her legs, while her waist, which had certainly grown quite feminine in it's ratio... It was like her body had been reformed to be an exciting sexual figure, something that would draw attention and distract. And yet there was a tone strength that was capable of overpowering even Henry despite not a single muscle showing it.
"I just... I look like some sex game's idea of a dark elf. I suppose I should be grateful it's not some other kind of fantasy trope..." She muttered.
"Well my wife wasn't much different honestly, other then pale and blonde.", Henry commented, vocally noting what had been going through his mind ever since Doug stripped. He was working her over pretty well though, hand massaging the cheeks as he washed them, and spread to be thorough. Going further down, he worked clockwise descending on each leg.
"Though with how you're filling out, you might actually be a bit thicker then her by a little bit." The comment wasn't really meant in anyway, and wasn't teasing or even solemn. It was just odd to think that a bomb of all things would turn someone into an almost alternate twin of Evelyn. "You know… if you'd been turned blonde, you'd be a literal bombshell blonde.", He chuckled softly.
Douglas sighed and reached around behind her, hand trying to find his head and once it had, rap him on the top of it with her knuckles. "I really didn't need the trouble that being blonde was gonna give me. HAving my hair turn pure white is annoying enough." She stated. "And thanks, now I feel even more like I got fucked over hard if I'm turning into a thicker twin of your wife." She said, barely registering in her head that in her setting up to rp her knuckles against his head, she had exposed one of her nipples, though she turned back and huffed while returning her arm to holding it's opposite.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were perving on me. Seriously, I'd have to wonder if guys turning into girls gets you off or something." She stated flatly, trying to make it sound like a joke, but also factual.
"Well I did say you were beautiful, and I meant it. And I had a wife who was bi, so being exposed to that kind of thing, came with the ring hahaha.", Henry chuckled after he had recovered from the solid thump against his head. Once the sting had dulled, he went back to it before standing up. "Shall I continue to the front now that I finished your back? Or would you rather do it by yourself while I wash?"
'Please' almost left her lips before she caught herself and bit it back. "Probably better I do it myself." She said, giving a firm nod. With how things were between the two, especially with his continuing compliments, she was trying to keep herself from doing something stupid or silly. Or perverted herself. Taking the soap, she began to lather the front of her body, hoping that the heat she felt in her cheeks would go away soon. Especially since her ears seemed to have a tendency to wiggle when she was feeling like this... Well, excited. it was liable to be more annoying than anything else. So she was trying to keep it discrete and quiet herself.
Nodding to her decision, Henry simply stood and got to cleaning himself. Despite the excitement, he'd at least calmed down, though he was still rather visibly happy where it was more awkward to display. However it was being ignored, as he wanted to get this done, otherwise her figure would be in his mind the rest of the day. Normally he never let something like this distract him so much, but ever since they found Kanna…
It was like a tightly coiled cord in his chest had suddenly begun to loosen and relieve his chest. Henry had been going day to day, with only the next in his narrowed sight. But now,.. he was starting to think of other things, and what ifs that he'd blocked from his thoughts until now. Was this hope?
Scrubbing herself, Douglas took a moment to glance back towards Henry, and found herself pausing a moment to gawk, before shaking her head quickly and refocusing. Why the fuck did she find herself actually... liking what she saw?! She was a guy at heart still, right?! "So, uhh, what she like? Your wife? Before everything happened?" Douglas asked, breaking the silence once more.
That derailed his line of thought pretty quickly, as he turned slightly towards her in confusion at the question. "Oh well, she was very peppy and boisterous. Pretty lewd much like Olivia, though to a much nerdier extend, to where she could be called an otaku. Hmm, pretty soft and not really into anything rough like prepping or learning self defense.", He replied after a moment finally. Having thought about it, and now voicing it, she like Doug hadn't really been up to what the current world required to live. Maybe in some cruel way, it was better she hadn't made it to the worst of it, as things would only continue down hill going forward.
"She was so dainty to be honest.", He added in an attempt to brush away his depressed thoughts on the matter.
"Ah, one of those huh? I won't say I understood the obession, but I like to think I didn't judge." Douglas replied. "In a way though, maybe she would have adapted better than I did..." She said, soaping up her arm right now. "Though, the lewd bit is probably... I dunno. I mean, I suppose at some point we're gonna hafta think about that. YA know, once the world settles and all. Kids are gonna be a hell of a valuable thing." She pointed out as she paused a moment, but finished washing off the one arm and starting on the next.
"God, I bet I'd end up looking ugly were I pregnant, if this change is as complete as it seems to be going..." She wondered aloud.
"Well I can tell from your figure alone that it's making your body optimal for carrying children. The width of your hips, the generous thigh gap. You could probably birth twins with little issue. Not to mention the line your looks would attract, you'd be hard to resist." That maybe wasn't what she wanted to hear, but the question had itched his medical side.
"Actually given your likeness, I think you'd be cute all plump with babies.~", Henry even said in personal musing on the subject, with a blush rosing his cheeks. After all, Evelyn had been quite beautiful in even such a state as she was pregnant with Kanna those years ago. Though, he froze, as the man realized he'd just admitted those musings out loud. "Oh.. uh.. Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes... Yes you did." Douglas said after a stunned silence of her own. Still, she was done with washing herself, sans for her hair, which she began to scrub vigorously at, getting the dirt, grime and bits of nature stuck in it, a lather beginning to form. "And I'm not sure I want to have kids. For all we know any kids I have will end up rampaging monsters. Nothing like me. But I also know we can't know it won't be more like me..." She mused aloud, and sighed.
"Gods, I really am becoming some sex game caricature aren't I?" She said, before taking a deep breath and dunking her head into the water, keeping it under for a bit longer than probably she needed, just to try and get those insane ideas out of her head by the sheer chill of the water alone.
"We don't know that either though, and I'm not convinced that would be the case either. Any kid would take after your genes, so the risk is minimal. Besides, kids are a gift, as sentimental that might make me sound. They're family, and always deeply connected to their parents, and that is something to strive for in a world as dark as this." The look in his eyes were dulled for a moment, thinking of all the terrible things they had seen so far. If they hadn't found Kanna, he might have considered suicide after a while or have become so careless as to be dangerous.
He saw the programs, the psych evals, and those who went to reserve to leave the fighting. And they had it easy, not having to see the loss and degradation as they had. To be bluntly honest, he had stopped caring at some point, but Doug and Kanna had reawakened a reason to care again. What was the point of living otherwise?
Henry turned to her after having finished washing down, forgetting his stiffy at this point with all the thoughts. "Speaking of kids, are you technically gay now, like did you just become a Yuri protag or something? Or… are you into new things? Have you ever even thought about dating even before all this?"
Douglas gasped as she stood up, shaking her head to try and get the water off her head. "Did you say something?" She asked, patting the side of her head to help get more water off, then reaching for her hair as she turned to look at Henry while she waited for his answer. And froze as soon as she saw his dick once more. Her breath hitched and she blushed even more, her ears wiggling in a very exgarrated fashion at her own excitement. The only clue that she was excited since the rest of her body's reactions could have been put down to the temperature of the river.
"Uhhh, wha..." She stammered, her brain apparently in the process of rebooting and thusly not functioning properly.
"Really?! You heard none of that? I was talking about kids and what way you swing and all that. I even got all sentimental and you just ignored me, thanks a lot." Henry grumped, even as he curiously got his focus grabbed by the war wiggle. Huh, cute, is that some sort of body language reaction?
Douglas's gaze was firmly locked on Henry's body... And mostly below the belt. Very, very quietly, almost beneath Henry's ability to hear, was a very faint "yes and please..." from Douglas's lips before she violently shook her head as though trying to clear something from her thoughts as aggressively as possible.
"Sorry! Sorry! I had my head in the water when you were speaking. I couldn't hear exactly what you said." She stated, trying to sooth things over as best she could.