The sun had set hours ago, and the moon hung low over the trees, a silver smile ushering in the warm breeze through the open window of the bedroom. The two avians paid it little mind, instead enjoying the warmth of each other.

Samantha smiled around her beak as she slowly preened Emily's head-feathers. She wasn't sure how long they'd been cuddling on the edge of the bed, but the macaw wasn't in any hurry to stop. Emily opened one eye as Sam suddenly gave a soft, whistling chuckle.

"Mmm, what's up, hon?" The crow looked up at her amazonian lover, a gentle smile across her face.

"Just thinkin', that's all."

"Uh oh, should I be scared?" Emily teased as she ran her beak along Sam's collarbone.

The macaw grinned back. "Mmmaybe."

Emily gave a soft, cawing laugh as she poked Sam lightly in the chest. "Okay you, 'fess up. What's on your mind, sweetie?"

Sam took the time to preen across the crow's head gently before answering. "I was just thinking, how is it when I'm with you, I can feel delicate and gentle without feeling weak for it?"

Emily smiled as she reached up with her hand, stroking the macaw's face lovingly. "For the same reason you make me strong and unbreakable, even when I can't walk." She tipped her head back, resting her beak against Sam's. "Love is funny like that, sweetie."

She grinned as she shifted around, wrapping her arm around Sam's waist. "Now hush with the sap, and keep preening, or I might have to start pecking you in the tits."

Sam threw her head back with a whistling laugh. "As you wish, sugar."

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While Samantha is a stripper and bed mate at the Gilded Cage, Emily Tassing has a decidedly different role. Paralyzed from the waist down in a car crash following her graduation, she went into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol to deal with the pain and loss of mobility. Madam Anna found her in a pricy rehab facility, and offered to hire her as a work counselor, given her bachelor's in psychology.

It didn't take too long before she started working with clients as much as her fellow workers. While she's not a bed mate, she's quickly gained a reputation as a sympathetic listener, earning her a clientele of men and women looking less for sex and more for someone they can talk to confidentially. Given her new line of work, she's currently studying to get her Masters in psychology.

Samantha's had a crush on Emily shortly after the crow started working at the Gilded Cage, but was too shy to act on it. The irony is Emily had a crush on Samantha, but lacked the self-confidence to act on it due to her disability. It took a mutual friend and worker to basically push them into each others arms. Amusingly enough, they both want to ask each other for marriage, but have no idea when to pop the question.

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More work from MehenArtwork for my C&E universe. Go watch and throw money at him, he's awesome.

(More work for the Gilded Cage aspect of my C&E universe. Hope you enjoy.)