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Let it Be

Chapter 1

copyright 2009 comidacomida

Cory should have known that the king's men would not give up pursuit of escaped prisoners. He had been hunted simply because he longed for the intimate touch of the same sex and, for that "crime", he had spent years locked away, abused, tortured, and all but forgotten. The white-tailed buck had made the mistake of thinking that he had left his days as a fugitive behind him, that he would be able to create a new life in a new kingdom and forget the horrors of the dungeon in his past. He was wrong... and it would cost him dearly. He had worked hard to establish a life for himself in the new lands, but all of that would apparently come crashing down in a single night.

Ackert, the bull gator that had been placed in the cell next to him, was dead. His fellow prisoner, dearest friend, and one time lover had fallen in the entryway, the first of many casualties as the tannery was overrun. Cory's shop was built for business, not for military defense, and he could do little but flee up the stairs as the soldiers quickly invaded. Agatha, Ackert's mate was the next to fall, given over into a bloody frenzy as she tore into the men who took her husband from her. Cory should have felt the same, but was too filled with fear to imitate the newly widowed alligator. It only bought him a little time, unfortunately, as she was eventually overcome, pierced by a dozen swords, and sent into the afterlife to join her husband.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cory wondered what would happen to their daughters, but he wouldn't have to wonder long. The four female reptiles descended upon the soldiers like a scaled veil of death, tearing into them. Cory was amazed at how ruthless and deadly the alligator clan could be without weapons; had he time to consider it, he might have realized that predators were naturally equipped... at least, more than he, with only antlers to his name. He was not made for combat and, feeling more and more like a coward, he could do nothing but continue to flee. Retreating up the stairs, Cory could only sob as his world, once again, began to fall apart.

Cory didn't know if they would kill him; he supposed they might. If they did, at least it would end his suffering. The alligator clan, the mate and children of Ackert, had become his new family and, once again, the king would take that from him. His eyes were filled with tears, and his vision was blurry, but he knew the second story of the building well enough to get to the bedroom he shared with Rolis. He froze just past the top of the stairs. Where was Rolis?

Cory let out a bleat in surprise as a gauntleted hand grabbed hold of his ankle just above the hoof, and he tried valiantly to kick it away as the soldier came up the staircase after him. Unable to escape, the buck tried kicking his leg free, to no avail. The next soldier coming up the stairs had a net, and he quickly cast it upon the restrained deer. Cory realized, in that heartbeat of a moment, that they intended not to kill him, but to bring him back... back to the dungeon... the cell... the solitude... the humiliation and the torture. He screamed.

Flailing about, the haze lifted quickly for the buck. The net was nothing more than light, summer blankets, and the hand around his ankle was the firm, supple tail of the alligator in bed with him. His breath was coming quickly as his heart raced in his chest, feeling as though it might break free of his ribcage at any moment. A clawed hand rested atop his, and the tail slowly unwound from the deer's ankle. "Same dream again?" Rolis rumbled softly.

The buck nodded in response, moving slowly closer to the alligator, resting his head atop his lover's broad, scaley chest, "I didn't mean to wake you... I'm sorry." Rolis simply stared back at him, amber-gold eyes glinting in the early-morning moonlight that filtered in through the shade above their bed. The alligator offered a gentle "'salright." and leaned forward to touch Cory between the antlers with the tip of his muzzle in a comforting kiss.

Rolis continued to hold Cory's hand softly in one talon, the other reaching around the buck's back to pull him closer in a half-hug. The alligator said nothing which, to Cory, was the perfect thing to say. The buck had no idea how Rolis always seemed to know exactly what any of his numerous moody moments called for, but he did. Between the support from Rolis, and Ackert, Rolis' father, Cory truly believed that he would never have managed to do as well as he had done in the scant months since his escape from the dungeons where he had spent several years rotting away. Cory was truly thankful for having them in his life.

Closing his eyes, the buck spoke up quietly, "I don't mind your tail, honest." He heard the alligator shift, and felt the mattress move slightly before the cold scales of Rolis' tail found their way back to his ankle. The muscular extremity wrapped loosely around his leg, and pulled slightly. Cory relinquished control of his leg's location, allowing his lover to guide it back beneath the covers from its position near the foot of the bed.

"Talk about it?" the alligator asked in a plaintive manner. Rolis was always offering the opportunity for Cory to speak up... to give him some opportunity to let the gator know how he felt or to share any stories that the buck felt needed to be shared.

Cory, as usual, declined. "It's... just something I have to work through." he hated himself for saying it, because he knew that Rolis only meant to help, but there were just some things that he couldn't feel comfortable sharing; Rolis still hadn't been told that Cory and his father had, for one night, been more than friends. The buck really didn't know how to approach the topic, or even if he should, and it had simply been swept under the rug. The way he figured, if Ackert thought that his son should know, then Ackert would tell him.

"Y'don't have to alone." Rolis answered, gently caressing Cory's back. The words as well as the touch warmed the buck through and through. The alligator was not one for many words, in fact, according to Ackert, Rolis rarely ever spoke more than a pawful of words at any one time. It had been a matter of contention for the family, as many of Rolis' instructors took that to mean that the young gator was slow, unintelligent, or deficient; Cory had seen enough of him to know that wasn't the case. What Rolis said held meaning, and he wasn't inclined to waste meaning on the meaningless, hence, his words were sparse and valued.

"I know, Rolis... I know." Cory continued to hold himself against the alligator, reveling in the feel of comfort and protection offered by the large, sturdy form of his lover. The buck managed to fall asleep again, eventually, and he slept peacefully well into the dawn hour.

Cory awoke again with light streaming through the window above his bed. Rolis was seated up on the bed next to him, back to him, with his tail spread out across the mattress. With a smile, Cory rolled onto his side and stretched his arm out, placing his paw down onto the textured ridge that ran from the back of Rolis' head, almost all the way to the tip of his tail. Rolis glanced over his shoulder at the buck, who simply grinned in response, "Morning." he offered to the gator.

"Morning." Rolis responded. The alligator's tail flexed underneath Cory's paw, allowing him to feel the movement even through the scales. The deer delighted in the sensation of scaled flesh, enjoying every opportunity he had to expose as much of himself to the intricacies of its form and physiology as possible. At one time, he considered it morbid, especially considering his trade as a skinner and tanner but, as time wore on, and he spent days... weeks... months with his lover, it turned into a not-so-easily denied appreciation. It became more of a celebration of the alligator with whom he shared the most intimate portions of himself, both physically and emotionally, and to whom he was equally exposed.

"Do you think your dad is going to kidnap you again for more sword lessons?" Cory inquired. The question was a casual one, but he couldn't help but reconsider certain elements of his dream. Although there were no signs that the king or his men had any intention of invading a neighboring kingdom in order to find them, Ackert made no small point of making sure that his entire family knew how to defend themselves. He had tried to do the same with Cory on several occasions, but the results were nothing short of spectacular failures. Cory blocked out the thoughts, preferring to concentrate on something more upbeat, "I hope you start late so I can come watch after I close up shop."

Rolis' tail dragged him across the bed until he was half-laying across the alligator's lap, "You should come learn too." he offered, his rumbling voice vibrating into Cory even from his position on the gator's legs.

"Yea... um... no." the buck offered with a laugh, rolling off of Rolis' lap and onto the floor with a *thud*. He got to his hooves, leaning forward to kiss his lover, "I'm only good at one kind of 'swordplay', and I don't think your dad can change that no matter how hard he tries... I'm just not a soldier."

Rolis simply nodded, standing up off the bed and rising up to the tips of the talons of his feet, parting his maw wide as he stretched, adding another foot to his height easily. Cory's eyes drank in the view of the naked gator, admiring the smooth flow of his scales across his body, the lighter hue of his chest and belly and groin. Cory felt a little sheepish, and gazed away, ears a little pinker as he blushed. He wasn't exactly certain why his lover's nudity made him blush-- he'd certainly had enough time to be used to it at that point; he and Rolis slept together naked every night. After a few seconds, Cory's groin felt slick as his member began to slip free of his sheath; getting an insistent erection when he was supposed to be getting ready to open the shop was certainly a good reason to be mindful of Rolis' nudity.

In an attempt to divert his own thinking, Cory quickly dove into the actions of readying himself for the day. The buck's tannery clothes consisted of a simple tunic and breeches, topped off with a leather apron and gloves. He quickly dressed, securing the apron around his waist. He always waited to put on his gloves until after he secured the leather straps of the apron behind his back, and was in the process of tying the straps into a knot when two scaled talons gently closed around his wrists, signaling for him to cease. Rolis released Cory's paws, and took hold of the leather straps, neatly tying them off right above the buck's tail.

"See you t'night." Rolis offered from behind him, large arms encircling the smaller deer, corded muscles flexing beneath the scaled hide as he gave Cory a firm embrace. The buck stiffened at that, feeling the naked alligator's body press up against his back.

"I can't wait." Cory offered in return, slowly disengaging as he grabbed a key ring off of the dresser and headed out of the room. The buck made his way downstairs to the ground floor of the building: the tannery.

"Good morning, Mister Landlord." said a deep, but still somehow feminine voice. Agatha was a matronly alligator. Cory would have placed her at attractive, if he had an eye for females or, for that matter, female alligators. The usual defining features he associated with female mammals were absent; she had no breasts and no hair or fur, yet, somehow, she still managed to pull off a certain reptilian femininity.

The buck had managed the shop himself for the first several months it was open before taking in Ackert and his family. He didn't mind their company, and the help they provided in exchange for their room and board was well greater than anything he would have thought to charge for rent. Having an alligator or two around also helped to persuade thieves to go elsewhere, and he certainly couldn't object to that.

"Hi, 'mom'." Cory smiled, watching as she moved about the shop with a pail and a rag. Cory and Rolis didn't keep their relationship secret from the rest of the alligators; there was no one to disapprove, and, in fact, on many occasions, Agatha had said how happy she was that Rolis had found such a 'nice young man'. Cory found it wonderful to be so openly accepted and embraced as a member of the family, especially how taboo it was to find a mate outside one's own species and how the king of Cory's home kingdom imprisoned any who practiced homosexuality. It was a double-whammy for him. Yet, after only a handful of months, he was quickly finding a niche in life that let him dare to be happy, and the people who lived with him increased that happiness many fold.

At first, Cory had tried to decline their assistance, simply glad to have them close by; Agatha was the tip of the family's frontal assault at that idea, and all five of them demanded to earn their keep. After that point, Agatha helped make sure the shop was presentable every morning and helped Cory clean up every night. Two of the girls, Naia and Fedine did market trips for the shop, resupplying him with chemicals and equipment. The other two girls, Yveen and Lidee helped out with odd jobs ranging from advertising his services to hunters and as extra sets of talons if something needed to be repaired.

Ackert spent most of his time working around town making good use of his military background. It wasn't mercenary work in the traditional sense; he did consultation and instruction-- two areas where his leadership skills could be best used. He brought in good money and, because of it, had no trouble assisting Cory with costs around the building that doubled both as a shop and a multi-room living space. The fortune that Cory felt at being welcomed so fully into the family of alligators was nothing short of immense.

"It's going to be a big day today, Cory," Agatha reminded him, picking up several of her cleaning rags as she moved into the back room, calling over her shoulder, "The southern ranches are bringing in 12 head before noon."

"Yea... I remember. Thanks" the buck smiled, truly thankful for the reminder even though he had not forgotten; Agatha was naturally a planner and having her stick her ample-sized muzzle into his business meant she cared. She told him matter-of-factly many times that she was thankful for him understanding that because, she freely admitted, it drove many others (including her husband) crazy. The thought always made the buck smile; Ackert was not an easy alligator to rile, and imagining him trudging around a cottage spouting profanity brought a grin to his muzzle.

Cory remembered smiling inwardly as he recalled the first muzzle-in-his-business discussion he and Agatha had shared. He blushed a little, recalling that it was a discussion about he and Rolis sleeping together. It was horribly embarrassing, but how she had handled it was one of many things that quickly endeared him to the woman who demanded that he refer to her as his mother. Agatha seemed to have infinite patience and understanding. She was caring and loving, and she truly and honestly seemed to approve of him being with her son.

That thought, and the knowledge that Ackert freely endorsed and encouraged them to be together was probably the greatest gift he could ever have hoped for in life. Cory's day began with a big smile on his muzzle, and it appeared that it would stay for the entire day. In truth, it only got larger that night when Rolis made good on that morning's promise.