Aria - Interrupted Song
For my midterm project in Creative Literature 1-A, I've decided to write upon the reason I dropped out of law school. I'd like to note that this story is of a mature theme. I believe a classic stand-up comic put it best. "This will not be your normal night of theater. No, this will be more like Shakespeare, with a strap-on! ... So that's how you like it!" ~ Robin Williams, live on Broadway.
It all began with my Grandmother, Victoria Malori.
Grandma Malori was born before the new millenium. You talk about people being old, well, this old woman, she was ancient. I mean, the modern age hadn't even been dreamed of then. She was old, old, old, and old fashioned. She didn't want to be put into a new home, or a "retirement cess-pit" as she liked to call the community care homes.
So my parents bought her a pet, after gen-engineering became fashionable. Was an energetic Sheltie mix that they'd hoped would get Victoria out of the house more. Unfortunately, old-fashioned and shut-in tend to go hand in hand. Unfortunately for Aria, as they named the pretty black and white furred girl, Grandma never took to her. So I started visiting a few times a week, starting when I was thirteen. At first it was for a bump in my allowance, but I enjoyed my visits, once I got used to grandma not wanting me to walk on the rugs.
I felt more than a little sorry for Aria, she was little back then. Not tiny little, but young little, and she didn't understand why I couldn't stay and play with her. She didn't know why grandma never really payed any attention to her. But she was a good girl, loyal despite the pain, and I always made sure to tell her how much it meant to me, knowing that I could count on her. I guess I always felt like her older brother.
Aria learned quickly, as her type do, and took care of herself. She always seemed to enjoy my visits, priding herself on how well she'd taken care of things in my absence. The way her ears would perk ever so slightly when I opened the door, she was always waiting, sitting on the bottom step, a shopping list in hand. It was endearing to me. I wished better for her, but being a kid, it's kind of hard to convince your parents of anything, particularly of taking my father's excuse to not see his mother-in-law.
The years went by pretty regularly, and Aria would still greet me at the door. My visits became more regular. I was a bit of a rebel in my family, and grandma, being raised in the "punk-rock era" at the turn of the millenium, always loved my visits, as I became more independant, she always said I was the same spit-fire, take-no-prisoners kid that she was in her day.
One day though, everything changed. I opened the door, five minutes until ten in the morning, just like usual... and Aria was sitting on the floor, a puddle of tears beneath her. She didn't even look up as I knelt down next to her, one hand reached up, the light fur of the palm clutching my arm, shaking fiercely.
I knew. I didn't have to ask. I looked up those stairs from where I stood, and I could feel death, still present in the house.
I was twenty, young and strong. I had a foot in height, and a hundred pounds in weight on Aria. So I scooped her up in my arms, and carried her up the stairs. She clung to me so tight I could feel her claws digging into my shoulder. They scratched at me even through my shirt.
I set her down next to Grandma's bed, and shook my head, covering the woman's face. Her grey hair matched the simple cotton pillow case, and it was hard for me to let go of the quilted comforter. I turned, facing Aria, and drew her close in my arms. "She went in her sleep, Aria... she went peacefully. I know it's sad, but you did everything you could to make her time better. You did good, Aria." I whispered into her ear, holding her tight.
She tried to speak, and I couldn't help but smile at her ingenuity. Canine vocals aren't meant for human speech, but after a few difficult moments she managed to give a few words. Her voice was, if you can pardon the pun, a husky contralto. "I ... tried to wake her." She said with a shiver.
I ran my hand over her head, scratched behind her ear, and took her hand, leading her out of the room, closing the door behind us. She looked up at me, and went down the steps ahead of me. She stood at the bottom and spoke again as I joined her.
"Adam, what happens now?" She asked, looking up at me, that same, defeated, scared expression on her face. She didn't want the answer... but she needed it.
I knew what she was getting at. It was the preservation act of 2064, basically declared that unowned gen-eng pets were to be put down to prevent overpopulation. When an owner died, if no second owner was declared, no owner could legally be declared. Prevented over-sentimental family members from unplanned ownerships. Was part of a larger food and resource conservation act of 2058.
I could argue it, but without some kind of proof, it boiled down to the courts agreeing, they wouldn't.
I held her in my arms and looked into her eyes. I shook my head. "Aria... I... don't know. I don't know how well she planned it out. And... gods, I'm sorry... I ... never thought to ask. I didn't..."
She interrupted me, a lightly furred finger placed to my lips. That gentle voice, her speech was stronger now than it was before. As if she'd held back all that time, just itching, waiting for a chance. "Don't, Master. Don't apologize. You couldn't have known, and nobody wants to think of the people they care about dying." She held me close, and I wrapped my arms around her, returning the embrace
We stood like that for a long time, and I looked down at her.
"Aria, nobody knows yet... we have time. A last day... what did you always want to do? Because now ... might be your last chance."
I looked down at her and she shook her head, shrugging, a weak, but honest smile on her face. "I never really thought about it. I was always just happy when you came over, all the times you took me with you, when we'd go play in the rain. I was loved, and cared for. What else could I have asked for?" She asked, a soft whimper catching in her throat as I took her paws in my hands.
I looked into her eyes, beautiful blue eyes, framed by the dark fur of her head, the light fur of her muzzle. And I kissed her. A long, tender kiss that I didn't expect to give, and expected less to recieve back.
But as we stood there in the front hall, her arms wrapped around me, her tail creating a soft breeze her delicate pink tongue slipping between my lips, lapping at my own as I opened my mouth... time stopped.
I remember picking her up, but not carrying her upstairs. I remember closing the door to her room, it was my uncle's old room. I locked it, and she stood there, watching me. A knowing look in her eyes, but an uncertainty about her posture.
I slid my hands over her back, and unfastened the hooks holding the simple clothing she wore. I recognized the neat stitches in the almost comically old maid outfit as my grandmother's work. She was always saying "Dress the part." I guess she expected it of her pet, too.
As neat as she kept the house, she kept herself moreso. Her fur was immaculately clean, silky smooth, those soft black spots in the softer white patch over her belly shimmered in the sunlight streaming in through the window As I ran my hands over her, my fingertips brushed across her nipples, hidden beneath the soft fur. They didn't bother to take out the extra nipples when they gave her the ample curve of a human woman's breast. She really was one of the earlier creations.
She whimpered beneath me, and panted softly as I stepped back, a come-hither look on my face. Her hands set to my shirt with a passion, tearing it a little as she pulled it off of me. She set to my pants just as quickly before, with an admonishing look, and a fingertip pressed to her nose, I whispered down to her. "Carefully."
She looked down and away, the equivelent of blushing to her, and unfastened my pants, letting them fall to the floor. My underwear were the last to go, and she surprised me by grasping the waistline with her teeth, pulling them down just enough to reveal me before letting them slip down on their own.
Before I could blink, her tongue was on my sensitive skin. She looked up at me, eyes begging approval as her tongue danced across my manhood. All I could do was moan, and run my hands through the fur on her neck.
"How... did you learn...this?" I asked, panting as I sat down on the edge of the bed.
She pointed up as she went down, taking me into her mouth, the tips of her teeth brushing over me so lightly as to be just a tickle.
Above me was my uncle's old vision, a 42" mounted to the ceiling. It was a darkened mirror, Aria kept it so clean. I could see her head, bobbing lightly as she took me within her, her tongue slipped past her mouth, caressing my scrotum, and I shivered softly, my hands gripping her shoulders lightly.
She moved faster, her mouth slipping over me, stroking over my hard, throbing shaft and I was in heaven, moaning aloud as I came. "Gods, Aria... Don't stop... please don't stop..."
Her tail wagged energetically, and I scratched behind her ear just like she loved, and the dutiful, beautiful girl that she was, she didn't stop, she kept going.
It was several minutes before I slowly pulled her off of me, her tongue getting a few last licks in as I settled her down on the bed. She looked up at me, and I kissed her again. I didn't care that I could taste myself on her tongue. I was lost in the moment.
I knelt between her legs, she'd spread them open for me, and given me much the same come hither look I'd used on her before. Between the shimmering white fur of the inside of her thighs, her sex positively glistened. I wondered if the engineers had any part of that, but then... someone would have to be pretty depraved to pay attention to that detail and forget about the difficulty of speech. Sounds like a genetic engineer, alright.
I smiled, and kissed down her belly. She whimpered, and gave a bark of surprise as my tongue slipped over her sex. She shook lightly and I pressed against it with my fingertips, parting the silken opening with my tongue. I lapped at her, she tasted just faintly sweet. She smelled like heaven though, a lavender scented soap that she used every day. It was fresh, clean, and I loved the way she felt beneath me, my hands roaming her body, and my tongue exploring her delicate entry.
She came rather suddenly, not making a sound. Her body tensed, and then relaxed, fluids flowing freely from her flower as I panted for breath, lining myself up with her. As I held myself above her, looking down into her eyes she closed them, and tilted her head back.
I kissed over her neck lightly, before finding a good spot and biting down. Not hard, not until she pressed against the back of my head. The harder she pressed, the harder I bit. I don't know why I did it, but it felt good. She let up with a whimper when finally my teeth broke her skin, and howled aloud as I followed through, penetrating her with my stiff manhood. Until then, she'd been a virgin. She looked into my eyes as I took her and in her own way, smiled, one hand finding my cheek, the other my hips as I pistoned into her. She was wonderfully tight, and as we made love on that bed, nothing else mattered.
"Aria..." I whispered, thrusting deep into her. She snapped back to attention, her eyes looking up at me, her ears perked, listening keenly for my order. I didn't know quite how to say what I felt... but after a moment, I picked the three best words.
"I love you." I whispered, before thrusting deep into her. I felt her melt beneath me, and then she came, the rippling of her muscles tightening around my shaft sending me over my own edge, filling her body with my seed. I kissed her, and she pulled me tight, her agile pink tongue searching my mouth, a desperate passion she didn't have before. She rolled me over, and quickly straddled my hips, setting herself on my shaft with a whimper.
She smiled then, reaching down to my hands, placing them on her breasts, and squeezed the fingertips until I pinched her nipples lightly of my own accord. She growled lightly and took me hard, her hips grinding against my own as we fucked. She panted, writhing against me as my hands searched her body, one finding her tail, lifting it out of the way, the other pressing a digit against her anus. She barked, and I pulled it away. Then she stopped, and growled at me, barking once more, playfully. More eloquently than any word, she made it very clear that she wanted it, harder.
When I pushed that finger into her, she tightened up, and rocked against my shaft, every time she bounced, my finger slipped in, and slid out. So she rode me harder, and faster, as she did, my finger played in her ass, matching her movements. Finally I rolled her back on the bed, slipping out of her. She growled and then whimpered as I rolled her over, pulling her tail up high.
She got down on all fours, then her knees and shoulders to the bed, her hands set to spreading her ass open, inviting me in. I wasted no time, pressing my hard shaft, still slick with our come, deep into her, hilting fully in one fluid motion. She shivered and I held her against me, rocking lightly. After a long moment, I began to fuck her, hard and fast. She yelped and whimpered before absolutely howling in delight. I moaned, her tail wagging against my chest, stroking that soft fur against my body. I was in heaven.
It was too soon for me to come again, at least, not with any power behind it. When she came that way I didn't fake it, just held her close to me, my teeth holding the tip of her ear lightly. "Aria, I love you. I always loved you." I whispered to her.
She looked into my eyes, and nuzzled me, the same gentle affection she used to greet me every day for the past seven years. "Adam, I love you too... I have always..."
We dressed, and then... called the authorities.
The black and white arrived, and I showed them upstairs, Aria at my side. "Aria found her like this this morning, it took a little bit to console her. She loved my grandma." I said, in explanation.
"Hmm, records show that Aria belongs to the late Victoria Malori." The officer said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry but unless you can prove transfer of ownership..." he began.
I shook my head, drawing Aria close in my arms. "No, officer. I can't. Grandma's will might, but since I can't produce it readily..."
He sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The law is quite clear. I'm sorry."
Aria looked into my eyes, before kissing me, one last time. "Adam... thank you." She whispered, before removing her collar, putting it in my hands. "And please... don't linger over this. Remember, Grandma and I both... are proud of you."
I'd spent two years surrounded by books of law, and in that moment, watching the officers take Aria from me, doing what was right by the very laws I sought to defend... I felt so empty inside. So hurt that it was numbing. Overwhelming. Just like I could never go back to that house, for all the pain it gave me in one day... I could never go back to law school, knowing what the law had taken from me.
I held that black leather and my thoughts for a long time, standing at the gate to that old, beautiful house. The scent of fresh grass, and the song of birds in the air. The texture of that collar, worn soft by years of use, silver buckle kept polished after all that time. Aria, sweet gentle Aria... had always loved me.