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darkkitsuneprincess · 4 years

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Kitsune (Kitsune!Mitsuhide x MC)

So, I started on this some months back because I couldn’t get the thought out of my head, then stalled because I started second-guessing myself. Then Cybird announced that they’re finally (FINALLY!!!!) giving us everybody’s favorite snek [the anticipation is @#(%(* KILLING ME]. I got excited. I squeed. And, well, I smutted.

This one is kinda long. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking. I’d apologize, but I’m really not sorry.

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Title: Kitsune Pairing: Mitsuhide x MC Rating: E (Very NSFW) Word Count: ~8500

Description: The illicit affair between Mitsuhide and MC is interrupted by one of his new ventures. Upon his return, she learns the truth of both her pet and her lover.

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He entered through the open door like a phantom on swift, silent footsteps. The air pressure changed, pulling my shoulders upward and drawing my awareness to the open space behind me. The only true indication that I was no longer alone came from the lingering scents of cinnamon and gunpowder embedded in his clothes. I carefully lay my sewing to the side, my hands slick and shaking.

“Mitsuhide,” I said without turning, thankful my voice remained steady.

It could be no one else; Lord Mitsuhide was the only man who would stalk the halls of the castle so late, much less come into my room uninvited. Though uninvited was a bit of a misstatement. I left my door open with one intention only: to tempt him inside.

This relationship—strained at best in civilized company and little more than carnal in private—was beyond the niceties of social station when we were alone.

“Princess,” he replied, his voice flat so as to wield the honorific like a weapon.

His voice echoed to me from across the room, covering the sound of the door sliding closed, but in the next instant fingers slid down my spine through the layers of my clothing. On their ascent, those fingertips turned to a palm, pressed flat between my shoulder blades, which urged me forward until my face and chest lay flush against the table.

Thus began the ritual of mutual pleasure.

It started a few months after my sudden arrival in Azuchi of the past, once news circulated of my position as a hostage delivered by the Satori clan to Oda Nobunaga. Lord Nobunaga, while distant and unfeeling in his position as rising Shogun to the new order of Japan, took me in and gave me the honor of “Princess” in his home while continuing his conquest of the remainder of the big island. His closest allies gathered months before I arrived, and though they have come and gone about their business, one has remained constant.

The white-haired demon—a negotiator and spy for our Lord—began this affair with barbed words and teasing phrases in passing, which turned to uninvited touches and whispered words of seduction. When he discovered that I’d kept his confidence regarding these interludes, he appeared at my door late one evening, letting himself in unannounced but not entirely unwanted. There truly was valor in discretion, it seemed.

He and I had danced around one another for three months, our battle tactics vastly different yet similar enough that each could anticipate the other’s next move…until that night he came to me in search of pleasure.

Cold fingers rested atop my head while I sat with my sewing in my lap, drawing a shiver of anticipation out of me. He said nothing at all; only moved his hand down the column of my throat to my shoulders and lower, to my hip. My body grew hot and my head fuzzy when the warmth of his body pressed against my back. With swift, silent movements he positioned me as he wanted me. When he took me, I came apart in his arms.

After that first visit, enacted entirely without sound, I began leaving my door open on evenings when I desired company. Mitsuhide, reading the intent in that action, would come to me late in the evenings when all others would retire and take pleasure from my body.

His actions held no affection that I could recognize; only the desire a man holds for a woman’s body. I allowed his touch, so desperate was I for human interaction. His years as the Left Hand of the Devil King taught him how to read me as well as he would a book and he used that knowledge to his advantage. Though he was cold at best, he was not without great ability. His deft fingers knew what touches made me cry out. He understood well how to use his body to make mine beg. Just his presence created a familiar ache of need.

Mitsuhide gathered the layers of my kimono in his long, slender fingers and, adjusting his own clothing so as to free himself, he took me without preamble in one swift, smooth thrust.

I bit down into my own sleeve to stifle the unladylike moan his ministrations sought to bring out of me, only to discover an equally primal sound clawing its way out of him. The sound both thrilled and frightened me. As many times as he’d come to me—and there had been many—he never made a sound except to respond to my greeting. To know I’d caused that sound after all this time was as intoxicating as the undulation of his hips when he moved inside me.

I put aside my growing feelings for him and gave myself over to the pleasure of his touch; allowed Mitsuhide to use my body as a tool, bringing both of us to swift and powerful release.

A quiet grunt escaped him as he pulled away and adjusted his clothing. My kimono fell back in place a moment later, hiding the evidence of our union. Were anyone to enter, they would be no wiser.

I did not rise; did not turn. I lay against the table, my body spent and my breath a stuttered series of gasps, as my door slid open and closed again.

***

I received word the next morning that Mitsuhide had left in the early hours of the morning, which meant I would not see him again for many days. My heart beat harder in my chest for his absence; my eyes burned. I wondered, as I often did, if last night’s visit would truly be the last.

The castle’s maids whispered of rumors that our lord had sent him once again to uncover information of dubious origin, which came as no surprise. There seemed to always be a new threat, a new and unseen danger threatening our Lord’s precarious hold on this war-torn land and Mitsuhide always ended up on the front lines, back lines, and all the lines in between. And no matter how many times my secret lover and his vassals moved to quell a new uprising, another always seemed to take its place.

I paced the hallways for days after his reported departure, mourning the loss of his presence. Though his affection was cold and sparing at best, I craved it just as I craved air to breathe. The days themselves were consumed by my sewing and other duties, but my nights… my nights were lonelier now than ever before.

At night, the unseasonable heat of the early Kyoto spring drove me out of my room and into the garden. The peace I’d always found by coming here turned to loneliness as I mourned something I wasn’t completely sure I’d had to begin with.

Yet I walked among the rows, feeling the soft breeze which fluttered through the rows of prematurely blooming sakura trees, their blooms lending a gentle perfume to the night air. I made my way to the small reflecting pond and, tucking my kimono carefully beneath me, took a seat to watch the crescent moon dance across the still surface.

My attention lost focus, my mind drifting once again to Mitsuhide and his forbidden touch. It was wrong of me to want him; more wrong still to even dare to think I could love him. Our Lord often compared him to the kitsune, swift and sly, and rarer still than the touch of the gods themselves.

Movement along the garden’s far wall drew my attention, pulling me from my melancholy ponderings, but there was nothing there. I watched the line of blooming flowers for any sign that I wasn’t alone, dipping back into the land of daydreams while wishing desperately that the moment came from the man whose attentions I craved.

The moon kissed the garden’s walls when I finally rose and returned to my room, exhausted and lonelier than I could ever remember being.

***

I walked the halls of the manor for several more days, noticeably out of sorts even to myself. No amount of Masamune’s joking or Hideyoshi’s mothering could bring a smile to my face. Ieyasu’s sour tone resonated more and more with each passing day to the point when even Mitsunari’s perpetual happiness grated on my nerves. The maids had begun to compare me to Ieyasu in hushed whispers, but I couldn’t find the wherewithal to care. If I were honest with myself and everyone around me, I would admit it was due to the absence of Mitsuhide, but I refused to admit the truth. I’d left my door open until I could no longer keep awake, but he still had yet to come home.

Nobunaga relieved me of my duties to keep me away from the rest of his household staff and sequestered me to my room with fresh books from the latest group of missionaries and my few outstanding sewing commissons. By the end of the day I’d finished the first book and set out to return it to the castle library when the rumors came from the kitchen girls that Mitsuhide had returned from this new adventure late last evening, and my heart gave a painful twist at the thought that he had not graced me with his presence.

Cold and sparing as it was, I craved his attention. I wanted to know that he thought of me as often as I of him. Even passing in the hallways, he scarcely spoke to me except to tease me, but the look in those ever-changing, quicksilver eyes was one of tenderness. Affection, almost. If I were a lesser person, I’d have believed he used those interactions as an excuse to touch me.

I knew the truth, though. He was not, and had never claimed to be, a good man. He was savage and brutal, but I craved his attention. When he was present, I struggled to avoid his verbal torment despite the fact that I often sought him out.

But it was his stark absence that truly made my heart ache.

I moved through the remainder of the day and into the evening without seeing or hearing much, so the decision to enter the gardens that evening was also not a conscious one. It wasn’t until I was seated under the sakuras, watching the breeze gently ripple the surface of the reflecting pool, that I thought about my location. It was quiet here, peacefully removed from the bustle of the castle, and for the first time in days, my chest didn’t ache. Perhaps the wounds were healing in his absence. With time, I thought, I may even be able to love another. I had any number of suitors from which to choose.

A soft chittering sound interrupted the silence, drawing my attention to the wall beyond the reflecting pool. What I found in the darkness was not at all what I expected.

It started as a flicker of white in the dark tangle of bushes, accompanied by a snuffling and finally the appearance of a small animal. It was a fox, I realized; snow white with silver-blue eyes and a wide, bushy tail. It sat at the edge of the pool and stared at me, its tail wrapped around his front paws. It remained immobile, and I made no move to go to it. We remained locked in this impasse for over an hour before the creature, as if realizing it had wasted so much time, rose and turned back into the bushes. It paused just before disappearing and glanced back at me.

There was intelligence in those eyes that shook me to my core.

Taking that as my signal to return to my room, I rose and slipped back into the hallway surrounding the garden. That night as I fell asleep, I did so thinking of that beautiful fox and its intelligent eyes.

***

Another day passed and though word came that he had taken an audience with our Nobunaga, Mitsuhide still did not come to me. His continued absence tore at my heart, reminding me in the harshest of ways that I was little more than a cure for boredom in his eyes. I told myself again and again his attention meant nothing, but I felt the lie like a barb in my heart each time it passed through my mind.

It meant something to me.

That night, I returned to the garden, taking up my seat beside the reflecting pond to clear my head. Slowly, the tension of the day left and my shoulders sagged forward, exhaustion claiming my senses.

A tiny, familiar sound drew my attention. When I looked up, my vulpine friend sat beneath the raining sakuras. The sight of the little animal brought a smile to my face. I held out my hand to him. He closed the space between us silently, no longer afraid of me, and pressed his tiny, white head against my outstretched fingers. Those intelligent eyes looked up at me, and when his tail moved, I nearly fell backwards in surprise. His one tail was actually…seven.

“Y-you are kitsune?” I asked, and the way the animal looked at me, its head canted to the left and its snout upturned, told me that not only did it understand me, it agreed with my assessment. My heart leapt into my throat when it slinked over and placed itself in my lap, curling up with its head against my knee and going to sleep.

I sat there silently, the weight of this revelation causing my heart to stutter as I stroked the sleeping god’s soft, downy fur. The small, repetitive motion helped to clear my head of anything but its presence, and when I found myself nodding against the tree, I lifted the kitsune into my arms and took it with me back to my futon where it nestled down beside me and returned easily to its slumber.

Night after night it returned to my side and lay against me as I slept. The ache in my heart eased, replaced by a newfound affection for the creature. I found myself thinking of Mitsuhide after that, not in loneliness but instead as if he were the animal which had taken up residence in my heart. He’d been called many things in my time there – oni, kitsune, snake… yet I couldn’t reconcile the gentle animal in my arms with the man who kept my heart in a vise.

My spirits improved and as the days passed, I began to return to a version of my former self. The others resumed their teasing affections. I began to smile again. I did not speak of my nightly visitor to anyone; no one would have believed me.

So it remained my secret, which I allowed to fill the void in my chest.

***

On the ninth day following Mitsuhide’s return, I woke to find the kitsune gone and a maid fetching me to visit the inner quarters of the tenshu after council, where Lord Nobunaga sat at his desk, head bent into his work. I tapped my fingers against the wood frame of the shōji and slid it to the side while announcing my arrival. Still he did not look up from the papers in his hands.

“I have messages which need delivering,” Nobunaga said by way of greeting. “Several of them. I trust you know the way.” After all this time, I’d not reached the level of friendly banter with him that I had with most of the others. His presence intimidated me.

“Yes, my lord,” I replied and swept the bundle of letters from the corner of his desk.

“One more thing.” he said as I made to leave. I turned back and he motioned to the table beside the door. “That package is for Mitsuhide. Take it when you go.”

“Yes, my Lord.” I said again though I wanted to question him. It was unlike Mitsuhide to not keep quarters in the Manor given recent tensions with a few of the local Daimyōs. His continued absence gave me pause and, given the lateness in the day, I found myself concerned for my return safety.

The clearing of Nobunaga’s throat told me I’d remained immobile longer than he felt was appropriate. “Mitsuhide is expecting what’s inside that package, so I suggest you make haste.”

“Yes, my Lord,” I repeated and swept it under my arm beside his letters before exiting the room. The shōji slid closed behind me and I released a shudder. The maids and pages swore Nobunaga showed great affection for me, which, given the intensity of each encounter with him made me question his dislike. He showed no affection at all.

***

I made quick work of my letter deliveries despite the insistence of hospitality by those in receipt. Lord Nobunaga’s most trusted Daimyōs were never anything less than considerate where I was concerned. I often found myself daydreaming all manner of romantic intrigue starring each of these handsome men, yet my body and, inexplicably, my heart belonged to the least available man in our Lord’s assorted collection.

Having finally extricated myself from Masamune’s impromptu banquet and subsequent attempt at seduction, I turned toward the outskirts of town, a concerned eye cast toward both the setting sun and the gathering clouds overhead. It was already late in the day and the air itself felt heavy with the threat of rain. Leaving the delivery to Mitsuhide for last meant the longest walk back to the Manor and was, in retrospect, a foolish idea. I found myself torn, however, between want of his company and anxiety at seeing him after so many days without one of his nightly visits. He rarely kept an audience in his own home since becoming Nobunaga’s “left hand”, so to speak, which made me wonder yet again if my presence might be the reason for his extended absence.

By the time I reached Mitsuhide’s manor, clouds completely obscured the sun; dark, heavy orbs that promised more than just rain.

***

He knelt at his desk, silver head bent over some piece of correspondence. In his pale left hand he held a brush, marking down notes in his perfect, precise writing. Should I not have intimate knowledge of his corporeal form, I might have thought him a ghost in his perfect paleness.

Mitsuhide did not acknowledge my presence as I crossed the room, bowing formally despite his inattention, to place the package on his desk. When he made no move to speak, I turned to leave, a curious mixture of relief and disappointment coursing through me as I reached the door.

“The Princess certainly is in a hurry tonight,” he said, his smooth, deep voice startling me and causing me to misstep. Grasping the door frame, I managed to right myself before I tumbled to the floor. “My, my…she is quite the clumsy one as well.”

“Fool,” I snapped, berating myself under my breath.

“What was that?” he asked, humor and irritation battling for dominance in his voice. “Did you say something?” Mitsuhide rose from his desk, his head lilting to one side as he studied me. He drifted closer, his movements a smooth, graceful flow that also lent themselves to his spectral image. The look in his eyes—pure derision—made me want to scream at him, to let out this toxic swirl of emotions he caused inside me. I craved his touch, yet I wanted desperately to escape him. So potent was my confusion that I found myself incapable of moving despite the lack of physical restraint.

“I just stumbled a bit is all. I will be going now.”

“Stay.” The single word echoed across the room as an order.

I paused, rooted to the spot by his command as he stepped up behind me, his large, cold hands landing on my shoulders and sliding along my arms. He leaned down, his breath tickling over the fine hairs which had slipped loose from my bun. His touch was so familiar, yet so foreign.

“You are quite entertaining tonight, little mouse,” he said. His lips slid along the curve of my neck, not quite touching yet igniting a trail of fire over my skin. I shivered, torn between wanting him and wanting to push him away.

“I should leave,” my traitorous tongue offered.

Mitsuhide released me immediately, his hands falling away as he took a step back. “Yes,” he replied, voice flat and wholly without affect. Whatever spell he’d begun to weave was broken.

I could not meet his eyes as I fled his room.

I ran down the hall as fast as my sandals would allow, the hard, wooden soles clacking loudly in the empty halls. The sun was completely gone from sight, and as I reached the door the first bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

“No…” I said aloud, the word leaving me in a gasp as I slid to a halt. There would no way I would make it home in this weather. I wouldn’t even make it to Masamune’s manor, though it was the closest.

Panic set in, and I began to wonder if perhaps Nobunaga had organized this event himself. After all, if any one man were capable of successfully ordering the sky to rain, it would be him.

A gust of wind and a peal of thunder greeted me as the sky split wide and rain began to pour. Embarrassment heated my cheeks as I thought of returning to Mitsuhide and begging sanctuary for the night. Going out in the storm in search of shelter at Masamune’s home almost seemed preferable to offering an apology to the deviant trickster, because even with an apology there was no guarantee he would not turn me out anyway.

In the face of a second bolt of lightning, I took a breath and prepared to step out into the deluge.

Hands wound around my waist, jarring a scream out of me as I was pulled back against a firm, lean body—one I knew very well.

“Surely you were not thinking of going out in this storm,” he said, one hand sliding up my body, between the valley of my breasts, to close around my throat. Long, cold fingers gripped my skin, squeezing just enough to partially constrict my airway. My heart raced, my pulse fluttering wildly against the hands that held me captive.

“You know full well Lord Nobunaga would separate my head from my shoulders if I allowed his lucky charm to catch her death in the rain.”

“It’s warm enough,” I choked out against the pressure of his palm on my windpipe. I did not want to go out in the storm, but I saw no other option. I wanted to give in to this new game of his even less. “I’m not afraid.”

Even though I wanted him.

“Be that as it may, I quite enjoy living.”

Mitsuhide lifted me by the waist as if I weighed nothing and backed away from the door. I watched, mortified and furious, as my freedom shrank away in a flash of lightning and rain.

“Let me go, Mitsuhide,” I demanded. He laughed in response, a bitter, violent sound.

“No.”

“Now.”

“No.”

He backed down the hall, allowing me to see the still open door, until we reached the bend in the hallway. He turned then, carrying me back into his room where he dropped me unceremoniously to the floor before returning to his desk.

“Pretend to be obedient and stay there,” he said, lifting his brush and sweeping it through the prepared ink once more.

“Why?”

“Obedient girls are rewarded,” he replied without looking at me. “Now be quiet.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll sew those pretty lips shut.”

I did not doubt for a moment that he would. Knowing his profession—spy, assassin, trickster…he carried many names and many insults upon his unflappable person, and he did so in the name of our Lord’s “greater good”—I trusted that whatever horrible thing fell from his mouth would be the unwavering truth. Yet something about him still brought out the worst in me.

Defiant, I rose from the floor and straightened my disheveled kimono, paying close attention to the collar which had come loose under his hand.

“I do not recall giving you permission to move,” he said, still not looking at me.

“I did not ask.”

This time he did look at me, that thin smile dancing on his lips but not reaching his cruel eyes. He looked like a man on the hunt and I fought the urge to run, not wishing to end up his prey.

Never run from a wild animal. That will make it chase you.

“You must not want your reward, Princess.”

“You have nothing I want.”

His lips curled tighter, his smile widening as humor danced in his fool’s-gold eyes. “How cute,” he said, lying his brush to the side and rising in a fluid, graceful motion. He seemed to float across the floor rather than walk, coming toward me with that same dark, hungry expression I’d seen before. “Though you and I both know that is quite the monumental lie.”

I took a step back. “But it is my lie to tell,” I said, retreating further in the face of his advance. He stalked me like a predator, smooth with a focused intensity that made me question everything about this moment. “And so long as I do not admit the lie, it remains the truth.”

Mitsuhide paused, his smile sharpening. “Such sass…”

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”

He laughed. “It seems my pet has found her claws.” The humor—short-lived as it was—melted from his eyes and he closed the remaining distance between us. My back found purchase yet again against the wall and he crowded into my personal space. That liquid silver gaze bored into me, his scimitar grin sharpened by the contempt in his eyes. He leaned close to my ear, his breath whispering over my skin as he spoke.

“What is it you desire of me?”

He did not touch me, yet I could feel the heat of his body radiating through the layers of my kimono. I could smell his skin—a heady mix of gunpowder and rain—and my belly quivered, my body craving his touch. My heart hammered against my ribcage as Mitsuhide held me captive between his body and the wall, still without placing his hands on me. I cast my gaze downward, the smooth, pale skin of his chest behind his parted kimono filling my vision.

A body completely without color in his skin, I thought, fascinated and terrified by the power emanating from him. My mind drifted back to the small animal in the gardens, its snow-white fur brightly reminiscent of his body.

“I asked you a question, Princess,” he said, closing the last bit of distance between our bodies. Mitsuhide placed one hand on either side of my head, caging me against the wall, and leaned into me, his body brushing mine as he breathed. One knee slipped between my legs, his muscular thigh adding a delicious new pressure to my center. A wanton moan escaped my throat and he responded with a chittering growl, the sound both foreign and familiar. When I forced myself to look back into his pale eyes, I realized exactly why.

“Kitsune…” I gasped as I recognized the familiar silver eyes of my seven-tailed companion sitting deep in his face. For an instant, his sculpted façade slipped and I saw the surprise behind it. Then the veil fell neatly back into place just as quickly and his lips curled back into that savage smile. For all my daydreaming, I never thought it would actually be true.

“Bold words, he said, his voice carrying a new edge. He flexed his thigh against me, drawing another inappropriate sound from my throat. “Potentially foolish words.”

“Foolish that I should figure out your secret?” I replied, emboldened by this knew knowledge. My heart swelled in my chest as I thought of Mitsuhide sleeping peacefully at my side night after night, his true form revealed to me. I stared back at him, unashamed. “You’ve come to me night after night when you’d have me believe you were avoiding me.” His eyes narrowed at my words. “I would argue that my deduction is actually quite clever. Kitsune.” The word came out with more conviction this time; the connection between this man and the pale animal which frequented the gardens was tenuous at best, yet once it made itself, it could not be broken. He stared at me with the same intelligent curiosity as the animal. The taste of his scent on the back of my tongue as I inhaled worked to further the notion in my mind.

Mitsuhide released me, backing away in a hasty retreat. He could not hide the surprise that I’d figured it out.

“Are you going to deny it?” I questioned, pushing away from the wall and following behind. Now that I knew, I needed to hear the truth. “You have never once been honest with me, Mitsuhide. Now would be a good time to start if you ever expect me to speak to you again.”

His expression turned cold and hard when he glanced back over his shoulder at me. “It is but one of the many things I have been called, little one.”

“Even when you refuse to come to me, you have still maintained your visits,” I continued, wildly wondering how far I could push him before he struck me down. I had no proof save this instinct. Still I followed him across the room, stopping just short of touching him as he stepped up to the open garden door. And as much as I wanted it to be him, part of me prayed I was wrong.

“My, you are quite brave to corner an animal,” he responded, turning to stare down at me.

“I do not fear you,” I lied.

“You should.”

“Why?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Animals are dangerous.”

“You are not.”

“Then you are as naive as you are beautiful.” He advanced on me as my feet carried me backwards, halting only when his arm went around my waist and his mouth was a hairsbreadth from mine. His sake-sweetened breath slid over my lips as he spoke.

“I ask you again, Princess, what do you want of me?”

My mouth opened and closed, yet I was incapable of sound. The proper words with which to verbalize my comingled desire and fear eluded me, dancing just out of reach of my tongue. His presence—the scent of his skin, the heat of his body—overwhelmed my senses.

“Why the hesitation, little one?” I felt the curve of his smile against my lips. “You were so bold only a moment ago.”

I remained still under the weight of his presence, fighting the urge to sway into him and make that simple contact I both feared and craved.

“I…I want you to love me.”

Laugher was not the reaction I expected. Mitsuhide’s long fingers lifted to graze the side of my face before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“Do not laugh at me,” I said, my voice cracking.

What makes you think I was laughing at you, little mouse?”

Those steely eyes bored into mine, but when he smiled, his gaze softened. My sinuses burned with the same shame that heated my cheeks. He made me feel so small and helpless.

“I told you the truth,” I replied. “And you laughed. What else am I supposed to believe but that it was at my expense?”

I closed my eyes against the sensation of his fingers sliding through my hair and willed my pulse to slow.

“You are truly an entertaining creature,” Mitsuhide said. “You dare to call out the true form of an immortal being. You demand the truth from one known to tell nothing but lies. Yet all you ask for is my love.”

Shivers of anticipation danced along my spine. His presence, the scent of his skin, the sound of his voice…I was so lost to the spell he cast that I could no longer deny my love for him. Though, there was a lingering hardness in the way he looked at me that made me question whether or not I should even be here.

“Little mouse…”

“Does Nobunaga know?” I asked, stopping whatever he intended to say. He froze and the room chilled from the sudden tension emanating from him.

“No.”

I closed my eyes and released a breath.

“Why,” he asked, drawing my attention back, “when given the opportunity to ask a favor from a god—particularly one whose secret only you know—do you ask for the one thing you already have?”

A faltering breath fell from my lips as the reality of his words settled around me.

“Y-you…” My bottom lip quivered as I stared up into those ever-changing, quicksilver eyes. “But you act like you despise me.”

That signature smirk returned to his lips. “I do no such thing.”

“You look down your nose at me like I’m stupid. Your gaze tells me you have nothing but contempt for me.”

“Not you, little one. For myself.”

“You tease me. You lie to me. You—”

“—come to you every night I am able,” he finished for me. “I believed I could keep my distance from you, my alluring little seamstress.” His fingers continued their conquest of my body, tickling down my neck and over my shoulder, then along the line of my arm to twine with mine. “It is unfair of me to draw you into my life,” Mitsuhide continued. He lifted my hand up between us and pressed his lips to the back of my knuckles, sending a frisson of pleasure down my arm. “Yet I discovered a uniquely frustrating inability to stay away from you.”

“Mitsuhide…”

“Let me finish,” he replied, harsher than either of us expected. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly recovered his placid expression. “I came to you with the intent of satiating a hunger—a hunger you and I have shared for quite some time if your open door is any indication.”

The tears I’d fought for so long slipped over my cheeks, leaving thin, wet tracks along my face that Mitsuhide wiped away with the fingertips of his free hand. “But you never…”

“Never what?”

“You never spoke. You never made a sound until…” my voice trailed away to little more than a whisper when I managed to speak again, “…until that last time.”

“Mmm…yes.” Mitsuhide blinked; another action I could not consciously remember ever seeing. “As long as there was no verbal interaction put to this, I believed that you and I could keep from speaking its true name.”

“Even if you made no noise at all, I would know it was you.”

“And I, you,” he admitted, though to do so appeared physically painful. “I thought the physical release would purge the desire for you from my mind.”

“But it had the opposite effect.”

“Yes. And knowing I would be leaving you again for an undisclosed amount of time was surprisingly difficult. There was, as always, the chance I may not return.”

“With seven tails, surely you’re old enough to know how to escape any situation.”

His lips curled at the corners and a new sparkle came into his eye. “You are not wrong, little mouse. But my work, as you know, is not for the faint of heart.” Mitsuhide’s knuckles brushed over the arch of my cheek, just the faintest whisper of skin on skin. “And to think that my death could break your heart reminded me just how cruel I’d been to you.”

“Then why come back to me at all?”

An expression of incredulity passed across his delicate features. Mitsuhide had never appeared more ethereal—more inhuman—than he did in that moment. “Surely you are able to parse the answer to that from the conversation we’ve already had.”

“And now you’re teasing me again.”

“Of course. Would you expect any less of me?”

My heart fractured under the weight of his words. Even now, he refused to be honest with me. Though I knew it would do no good, I turned my gaze back to his and said, “yes.” My heart thumped hard, giving me more pain. “I’ve laid out my heart for you and asked for only one thing in return. I thought maybe you’d tell me the truth without talking in circles.”

Mitsuhide’s face reflected something between humor and exasperation. The urge to punch him joined the desire to kiss him.

“Did I not tell you that you already have the one thing you want? What more is there to the truth?”

I shook my head. When I tried to step back, I realized that his arms were around me, holding me against him. “I can’t help but wait for the moment when you tell me you’re kidding and break my heart again.” My voice cracked on the last word, the emotion I’d been trying—and failing to hide bubbling to the surface.

“Y/N…” His touch was so tender that it brought fresh tears to my eyes as he cradled my face in his hands. “I am sorry,” he whispered and closed the distance between us.

My breath stuttered and the world stopped turning as Mitsuhide’s lips brushed over mine. Just the tiniest touch of skin to skin. My heartbeat faltered then exploded into a gallop when his mouth closed over mine. Every hope, every daydream became a reality in that moment. My lips fell open as his tongue swept inside, offering me the first taste of him.

Mitsuhide drank from my lips as if I were water in the desert, a desperate, hungry, possessive action that turned my knees to jelly. I was so wrapped up in the deliciousness of his kiss that I didn’t notice he’d lifted me until my back landed on the soft down of his futon. His long, lithe body came down over me, his hips settling between my knees as he continued to devour me.

My body was so attuned to his presence that I began to shiver, my sex weeping in anticipation of his touch. Mitsuhide’s fingers moved to my waist where he tugged loose the ties holding my clothing together. Cool air drifted over my newly-exposed body, causing me to shiver. It was then that my lover righted himself onto his knees above me.

His hungry gaze raked over me, but it was not without that darkness, I noticed. I reached to close my kimono over my now-unbound breasts when he stopped me with a single word.

“No,” Mitsuhide demanded and I paused mid-movement, allowing my arms to fall away. “I want to see you. All of you.”

With the tips of his fingers, he slid the fabric down my arms and bade me pull my arms free. The silk was parted at my hips already, crushed beneath his knees and baring my entire body to him. My skin flushed a deep crimson under his scrutiny.

“I should not crave your attention the way I do,” he said, his voice a low rumble in the still night air. “I should send you away, for your safety and for mine…but gods help me, I can’t.”

He fell forward again, crushing his mouth to mine. His own clothing fell open, brushing against my body as he bore down on me once more. With one hand he drew my leg up around his waist and I wound my arms around his neck again, holding him to me. The feel of his body against mine was such exquisite torture. Mitsuhide broke the kiss, moving down over my throat again with lips, teeth, and tongue, but this time he didn’t stop at the base of my throat. He continued downward, his hands still moving over every inch of my skin. His warm, wet mouth slid over my breast and he took my nipple between his teeth at the same time he thrust his hips forward, rocking his erection against my center. We both groaned and when he tugged on my sensitive flesh with his teeth, little sparklers of pleasure erupted along my nerve endings. He kissed and teased his way down my body, drawing out sounds I knew I should be embarrassed by, but I was so far gone in the spiral of pleasure that I didn’t care who might hear me.

Each sensation, though familiar, was also a new experience. His lips tickling along my ribs, his teeth nipping at the underside of my breast, those roughened yet graceful hands pushing my kimono completely off and further parting my thighs…I writhed under his touch, my fingers tangling in his silken, white hair. With each new sensation I moaned again, his name tumbling from my lips over and over.

One finger slid along my sex, gathering my wetness and bringing it up to circle my clit with tiny, gentle movements. My hips rose under his touch and a long, desperate cry echoed out from my throat. Mitsuhide laughed, the music like ice-coated bells.

“You respond so beautifully to my touch, little one.”

Beyond words, I tightened my fingers in his hair and urged him upward. He obeyed the silent command, his lips finding mine at the same moment his fingers plunged inside of me. He swallowed my cry in a hungry kiss, his tongue and hands working in tandem to drive me out of my mind.

Every muscle in my body quivered in desperate need for release, but Mitsuhide was in no hurry. His slow, languid movements betrayed no need of his own, though when he kissed me, I could feel the tension radiating from him.

He worked my channel with his digits, filling and stretching me, drawing me to the absolute brink of pleasure before slowing his movements. Even in a lover’s embrace he still insisted on teasing me.

“Mit…su…hi…de…” I uttered between gasps, “please…”

“Please what, little mouse?” The smile on his lips was both arousing and infuriating.

“More,” I choked out, tears sliding from the corners of my eyes as he brought me to the point of release only to deny me yet again by removing his fingers completely.

“More what?” he asked, humor dancing in his eyes as I bit my knuckles to keep from screaming. He took my hand, pulling my fingers free of my mouth. “I cannot understand you when you mumble.”

“Mitsuhide!” I cried out, my body sweaty and shaking from the repeated denial. “Don’t tease me.”

“Now why would I end my favorite game?” he asked. “You do make such lovely sounds when I tease you.” His fingers slipped along the lips of my sex again, though no matter how I tried to urge him back, he touched me only with the lightest of contact.

“I…I need you,” I admit, my face heating in a mix of embarrassment and frustration. “I need all of you.”

“In good time, love,” he replied, dipping his fingers back inside once more. My body arched as he curled his long digits, finding my most sensitive spot and bringing me back to the threshold of ultimate pleasure. I held tightly to his shoulders, my fingers digging into his bare skin, as the first tingles spread.

He pulled his fingers away again and I screamed in frustration, my nails digging into his skin hard enough to leave marks. Then he was over me, his hard length sliding inside with one fluid, graceful motion, and I shattered. My whole body spasmed under the waves of intense pleasure. Mitsuhide claimed my lips again, kissing me deeply as he began to move.

My cry of pleasure turned to a lingering moan as each slow, deep thrust transformed my orgasm into tantric plateau of ecstasy. The intensity of each sensation increased tenfold when he curled himself around me, braced on his forearms with his hands cradling my head, lips and teeth dancing along my neck and shoulder. I circled my arms around his body, feeling the flex of muscle that accompanied each thrust. Time and again he returned to drink from my moaning lips as the speed of his movements lost their gilded edge. Each new sensation grew more frenzied and needy, as if he’d had the thought to devour me from the inside out.

Mitsuhide shifted positions ever-so-slightly yet reached deeper, dragging more and louder, carnal sounds from my throat. My body writhed; my head tossed from side to side. Every inch of my skin burned, every breath carried a sweet ache, yet my lover remained quiet, the only sounds issuing from him coming as tiny, breathless gasps.

He whispered my name, his lips against my earlobe, and gave a single, desperate order: “Again.”

For a second time, I came apart in his arms, screaming his name as every muscle in my body seized beneath him. My head flew back and his teeth sank into my throat, no doubt marking me as he let go a long, low groan and buried himself to the hilt, filling me with his warmth.

I fell lax beneath him, sweaty and exhausted, my arms shaking from the exertion of holding him to me and his weight dropped enough to pin me to the futon. We lay in that weak, twisted embrace until I began to drift into unconsciousness. Only then did Mitsuhide roll to the side and pull me into his arms, peppering my face with gentle kisses. With one hand on top of my head he guided me to lay against his chest, tucking my hair behind my ear and leaning his chin against my forehead.

Yet again as I was just on the brink of sleep, he laughed.

“I must say, I am surprised at you,” he said, his own voice not as smooth and sturdy as before.

“What?” I mumbled sleepily, tilting my head up.

He kissed my forehead. “You never asked what was in the package you delivered.”

No…no, I didn’t. But I had more important things in my head…and other places. This was not how I intended this evening to go, but I wasn’t the least bit sorry it had.

“So, what’s in the box?” I asked, knowing he was waiting for me to take the bait.

“Would you like to see?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, leaning up on one elbow to look down at him. “Is it going to attack, explode, or otherwise injure me?”

That frustratingly unreadable smirk appeared on his beautiful lips. “The only way you’ll find out is if you open it.”

“Me?”

“Of course.”

“Why me?”

“Why would you not open a gift to you?”

Wait…what?

“So…this was all a setup?” I should have known. Sneaky fox.

Literally.

“Possibly. Though I can’t say I’m entirely disappointed by the outcome of the evening.”

All the malice, all the venom, was gone from his gaze. When Mitsuhide looked up at me, it was with love and adoration. My heart skipped a beat and I leaned down to kiss him softly. When I pulled back, his eyebrows rose.

“Thanking me already, little mouse? You don’t even know what you have yet.”

“I already got my gift,” I tell him.

“I’m afraid not,” he replied, rolling over me and pinning me to the futon once more. “I do believe what happened here tonight was my gift.” He punctuated the words with a thrust of his hips against me, drawing another small moan out of me. “Your gift is on my desk.”

“Then go get it.”

“Yes, Princess,” he replied, still mocking me, and rose from the floor. His naked form was a glorious sight, all lean muscle and sinew moving with silent elegance across the room and back. He returned and knelt beside me, shameless in his nudity, and placed the package in my hands.

I tested the weight in my hands. It wasn’t heavy; small and compact and empty, I’d assume, if Mitsuhide hadn’t insisted I open it. My fingers shook with a new burst of nerves as I loosened the twine and unfolded the paper to reveal a bundle of pure-white silk fabric adorned with deep blue bellflowers.

The Akechi crest.

“There is more,” he urged, lifting the bundle and turning it in my hands to show where it was folded. “I hadn’t dared hope you would believe my truth,” he said as I began to unfold the sides of the fabric. “Or that you would be so accepting of one so cruel. I’ve lived the lives of a hundred men and never have I met one so pure and lovely as you. No matter the form, you’ve been so kind to me—foolishly gentle, I might say—and though I knew I shouldn’t…”

The last corner of fabric fell away to reveal a small, silk collar made of fine silk and adorned with bellflowers, the colors inverted from its wrapping. A small lock dangled from the metal rings fastened into its ends. It was just large enough to fit…

“Though I’ve tried to push you away countless times, I cannot help that I want you bound to me,” he said. The façade was gone, stripped bare to reveal the truth beneath his mask. “It is known that a collared kitsune is beholden to the master who holds the key,” he continued, producing a tiny key from…somewhere. “For without the key, the kitsune cannot take its human form.” He lifted my free hand and placed the key in it. It was a perfect match to the lock and my breath caught in my throat. “That master is the one to whom the kitsune will always return.” Mitsuhide tucked his fingers under my chin and lifted my watery, burning gaze to meet his. “Protect that key, little mouse,” he said and pressed his lips to mine. I leaned into him, my heart full to bursting. “As long as you own that key, I am yours.”

The collar and the key clattered to the wooden floor as I pulled him back into the futon, into my arms. We kissed until my lips were swollen and sore. Mitsuhide made love to me again and again, until we were spent and weak, tangled in each other’s arms and unable to move.

“Mitsuhide?” I asked, my ear pressed to his chest to listen to his strong, steady heartbeat.

“Yes, love?”

“I love you.”

He chuckled and kissed my forehead again. “And I, you.”

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #ikemen sengoku mitsuhide #ikesen mitsuhide #ikemen sengoku fanfic #ikemen sengoku fanfiction #ikesen fanfic #ikesen fanfiction #ikesen smut #snek smut #angsty smut #angst #lots of angst #mitsuhide is kinda squishy #mitsuhide x mc #one shot

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peacefulheartfarm · 3 years

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Prepare for Disaster

Prepare for disaster is a motto I grew up with living in rural Michigan. Back in the day, when the power went off due to a winter storm, it could be off for several weeks. Today we have much better electrical systems and our current provider has kept us in good shape. We have never been without power for more than a few days. But even that can be disastrous if we are not prepared. Today I want to talk about how we prepare for disasters that may or may not happen.

First, let me take a moment to say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. Thank you so much for your time and attention. I appreciate you all so much and I couldn’t do it without you. It’s midwinter and life goes on here at the homestead.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

The cold weather has been consistent for weeks. Not too cold, getting just below freezing at night and 40s and sometimes 50s during the day. This is a typical Southwestern Virginia winter. I look for a few days of freezing weather sometime in the near future. A typical winter will have at least four or five days when the temperatures drop all the way to the teens and occasionally single digits overnight. That four or five day stretch usually happens at least once and sometimes twice, usually in January. It hasn’t happened yet. Still waiting for that shoe to drop. We did have some unseasonably cold weather in December, but January is proceeding right long the normal line.

Cows

The cows are handling the cold weather as they always do. It amazes me that these animals can go through the winter without seeming to notice it too much. I go out there and the cows are moseying around, eating grass and/or hay looking like they don’t have a care in the world. If they are eating, they are laying down, relaxing and chewing their cud, again, like they haven’t got a care in the world. Personally, I don’t handle cold very well, but I’m so glad they do.

Donkeys

The donkeys handle the cold very well also. Their coats are full and thick. Just about everyday they come up to the milking shed looking for a treat. Scott or I will give them a small handful of sweet feed and a petting. When they are finished, they head on down to the creek and out to pasture with everybody else. Our donkeys are the friendliest animals on the homestead.

Sheep and Goats

The sheep and goats always prepare for disaster in winter. They have really thick coats. Our goats are cashmere goats. They have a really thick undercoat of cashmere that they shed in the spring. Our sheep are hair sheep which means they also grow a thick coat of wool and shed it in the spring. No shearing for these sheep. I was watching the ewes graze in the front pasture. Just like the cows, not a care in the world.

Quail

The quail are even more amazing to me. They have feathers and I can’t see that they have any extra feathers for winter. Whatever they have is what they have and that’s it. My ladies and gents have it better than they would out in the wild. There is a box shelter where they can get completely out of the wind. They can huddle together for added warmth. Sometimes I go out there and they are kind of fluffed up, but other than that, not a shiver. Nature is amazing.

Garden

This time of year is the time to plan for the spring garden. What plants will we grow? How many? What will be rotated to another location? And so on. I’m a bit behind on getting started with that but I just can’t seem to drum up the energy. It’s too cold and I don’t want to think about going out in the garden when it is cold. Anyway, I’ll get to it in the next couple of weeks.

Creamery

The creamery roof is nearly complete. Scott is putting the finishing touches on the peaks. He spent much of the day yesterday rigging up a way to safely move around up there. Today he is full steam ahead getting those ridge caps completed.

Still to come is all of the ends of the building above the ground floor. I think they are called dormer walls or something like that. It’s basically the area from the top of the block building to the peak of the roof. All of that will be covered in the same metal as with the roof.

It’s cold out there every day. And every day Scott is out there working in it. He doesn’t mind the cold and he prepares for it with layers of clothes.

Preparing for Disaster

Speaking of being prepared, let me get into how we prepare for disaster. Some of it anyway. I could probably talk all day long about how we created and executed our plan. Some of it is still in progress.

No matter where you are in the world, there is always something you can do to prepare for disaster. You simply never know when power is going to be out or something disrupts the flow of goods. For instance, I got caught short this summer because there was a shortage of canning jars and lids. In the end, I did have enough for what I needed to save our harvests, but it was touch and go sometimes. Recently I came across canning jars while in town and I purchased just about everything they had on the shelf. Still no lids but I got a better stock of jars than I have had in the past. We learn from our mistakes.

Let’s start at the beginning. The first thing to stock up on is water.

Water

You should always have water on hand or access to clean water. Making this happen doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Today, we have a hand pump connected to our well so we can always get water when needed whether we have power to the well pump or not. Still, we keep water on hand in the house. While it’s easy to go out there and hand pump some water, it is still easier to reach back in a closet or go into the spare bathroom and get some water for cooking, cleaning and flushing.

The recommended amount of water you will want to store is 7.5 gallons of water per person per month. A family of four would have 15 gallons of water stored if preparing for a short-term disaster lasting a few days or weeks. That’s where you always start. How much do I need for 2 to 4 weeks? Then get it done. You have the blue 5-gallon containers at Lowe’s, Home Depot, the grocery, and so on. Invest in a few of those and you are good to go. Strapped for cash? Buy one a week or even one a month. Your stored water will need to be refreshed regularly. Either use it or pour it out, but replaced what you have stored in the containers every 6 months or so. You don’t have to get there all at once. But you do want to get your water situated first.

Food

The second item is food. This one is a little trickier and takes quite a bit more time. So, start now. There are many methods for building up your food stores. Set several goals with this one.

How Many Days to Prepare for Disaster?

First, how many days of food do you need to store? That depends. Start with a week, then go to a month, then three months and so on. Ideally, you get to a place where you have a full year’s worth of food stored for your entire family. That may seem like a lot and it actually is a lot. But for my peace of mind, I wanted a full year of food. You may make your cutoff date sooner – and some even plan for longer.

What Food Should Be Stored?

Second, don’t store anything your family won’t eat. What are you eating right now? That’s what you want to stock up on. Forget the MRE’s and whatever else might sound great or someone might try to sell to prepare for disaster. What you want is food that your family regularly eats. Most foods have a shelf life of at least a year. If you rotate what you have saved, using the oldest stuff first and adding back what you have used in the back of the shelf, you can come up with a system that keeps you stocked up at all times. This is the first in, first out method. Instead of having one box of cereal, you have 12, or whatever you determine is the right number. Buy an extra box or two whenever you shop, or whatever you can afford. Build up slowly. You’ll be there before you know it.

Bulk Foods

One of the best ideas for food is to store some products in bulk containers. I’m talking about beans, rice, sugar and wheat or flour. You can live a long time on beans and rice. And if you are into making your own bread, having wheat or flour on hand at all times is a great idea. This is another place to build slowly.

The pieces you need to do this part effectively are: 5-to-6-gallon food-grade plastic buckets, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and a standard household iron. The mylar bag goes in the bucket. The beans, rice, wheat, or flour go in the bag. Toss in a couple of oxygen absorbers and seal the bag with your iron. The oxygen absorber will suck out all the oxygen in the bag, And the sealed bag without oxygen will keep the food fresh for up to 30 years. I said 5 or 6-gallon buckets, but you can use smaller buckets. I like the larger buckets because I can buy 40 or 50 pounds of beans or rice and it fits in the larger bucket.

Canned Goods

Let’s talk about canned goods. These can also last for a very long time – not so much as the beans and rice, but still a long while. Those “use-by” dates on the can are not expiration dates. They are CYA dates for the manufacturers. As long as the can is not damaged and the seal is in place, canned food in jars and metal cans will last for years. Food in jars needs to be kept out of the light. And all canned foods need to be kept at room temperature or lower. Keep that in mind when you are planning where to store your stuff. Strapped for space? Under the bed works pretty well. Use that cabinet space up high that is empty because you can’t reach it easily. Find used shelving at yard sales and put it up in your garage. Lots of ways to make the space you need.

And don’t forget the can opener. Not one of those electric ones. No! a hand-operated can opener is needed.

Self-Protection

I’m not going to talk about this one because I’m not educated enough to know what to say. We do have weapons and ammo and such but Scott handles all of that. I’ll just mention it here and say find someone who knows what they are talking about with this and follow their podcasts or YouTube videos. It’s definitely important. And don’t forget to get the proper training. It’s no good to have weapons you don’t know how to use safely and care for properly.

Energy Needs

This is the last piece I’m going to touch on today. There is so much to cover on this topic I couldn’t possibly do it justice. So, I’m just going to give you a bit of information to get you started. Every person’s situation is different and your energy needs are going to be different.

Gasoline

Keep extra gasoline on hand. That’s an easy one. We try to keep 12 containers at all times. I must say, we are not as efficient at this as could be desired. If you have 12 containers of gasoline labeled one each month, rotate through that stock at a particular date in the month. In other words, in January, you empty the container labeled “January” into one of your car gas tanks. Pick a day of the month that you do this. The first, 15th or last day of the month are good choices. Take the empty container and refill it. That newly filled container won’t be emptied for a year and it will require a fuel stabilizer to keep it fresh and usable.

Generator

Having a generator that has enough power to run your refrigerator and freezer is a great tool. Again, add these things as you can afford them. Get your food stores up to a couple of weeks at least before moving on to a generator. Your generator will need to be started once a month to keep it in tip-top shape and so you know it is in good working order. You don’t want to be without power and find out that your generator is no longer working.

Living off the Grid

You may decide to go completely off the grid – or at least be prepared to go completely off the grid. That takes a great deal of planning and the choices are endless so I’m not going to go into that topic. But I will say keep in mind that, while solar sounds really good, if you don’t live in a really, really sunny place it may not be the option for you. There are other options.

Having a wood burning stove is always good. At the very least you can use your gas grill to cook meals – if you have planned ahead and have an extra propane tank or two. We took out our electric stove and put in a gas stove. The oven won’t work but the surface burners can be lit with a match. Keep some of those on hand. I like using what I’m used to using for cooking, so this works for me. We have the wood burning stove as well – complete with an oven. I really should learn how to cook on that thing in the event we run out of propane.

Communication

This is the toughest one to get prepared for in my opinion. How do we communicate? As long as the cell towers are up and running and your phone battery is charged, we can communicate. Well, we would have to climb way up to the top of our property and then maybe, just maybe, we would get a cell signal.

Right now, we have all sorts of social media where we can find out what is going on with family, friends and co-workers. But what if you didn’t have that? How would you get in touch with people? Could you get in touch with people? This topic requires some deep thought, lots of planning, and practice sessions to make sure your plans work. You don’t want to be isolated.

There is a significant amount of banning of communication going on in the large tech communities. They have a great deal of power. Indeed, more power than the US government. They can turn off anyone with the push of a button. They can make you disappear. You might want to consider broadening your reach to smaller platforms if you can find one that works for you and your family.

I have created a page on a site called Locals. You can find me on locals by searching for peaceful heart farm. Once you’ve joined my community, you can post whatever you’d like on my page. We can have a conversation and share insights.

I think I’m going to end there.

Final Thoughts

The animals go on and on and don’t give a thought to whether there is power to heat the house. And as long as the grass and hay keep coming, they are good to go. For us, it’s more complicated. As I said, I don’t like being cold. I’m grateful for our wood burning stove. It saves on electricity in the winter and is quite useful in a pinch for cooking.

I’ve spent years gathering food, both for ourselves and now saving up in case our neighbors are not prepared or not financially able to make it happen. And our water supply will also help out – and indeed has – helped out our neighbors. There is so much more to prepare for disaster but these two pieces are key. Water and food. Start today. You just have no idea when the power lines are going to go down with a winter storm, a hurricane, tornado and so on. It may be only a couple of days but it very well could be weeks. Remember hurricane Sandy and what a disaster that was and not so long ago.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast. And please give locals.com a try.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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