Predation. Chapter Ten.
Predation Chapter Ten By Roofles "Hey." "Hey, little lamb, what's up?" The lynx checked her phone to see how late it was. "What's going on?" Alicia asked. She had curlers in her fur and was busy putting on a night mask. Despite what her brother Liam might say, Alicia tried to look her best. "Can I stay with you tonight...?" Shaun asked and within the hour he was knocking at Alicia front door. The lynx scooped him up in a big hug even before Shaun had time to set down his bag. "Come in. I got a fresh tub of ice cream melting on the counter. Pistachio flavored." Alicia said, bringing him inside and shutting the door behind the crying sheep. "Thanks... that's my favorite." Shaun sniffled as he was guided inside. They veered away from the sofa that Travis used to sleep on in their shared apartment. "Is he...?" Shaun gestured weakly at the area as if trying to describe Travis. "No, honey, Travis is working an extra shift tonight. I think your boy wants to buy you something special. Don't tell him I mentioned anything." Alicia sat Shaun down at the counter and began dishing up the ice cream. Shaun was a wreck. His fur and wool wasn't brushed, and he looked as if he woke up on the wrong side of a bed, in a dirty alley after drinking a fish under the table. The bags under his eyes and his puffy nose showed how much he'd been crying and Alicia, tactfully, didn't mention anything yet. She didn't need to as her brother walked in. "Whoa, who ran over the cat?" Liam asked, walking into the room. The lynx eyed the ice cream, coming over to steal some. Alicia blocked him. "Here," she reached into her shirt and pulled a fifty from underneath one of her breasts. "Go do something fun for the night. Shaun and I need to have a girl's night. No men." She said, shooing her brother off knowing free money would get the lynx moving. "Go get high or something. I don't care. Just don't stay here." "Sure!" Liam's eyes dilated and he grinned, snagging the cash and heading for the door. "I hope you feel better Shaun!" He called behind him. The lynx was already out the door before Alicia had a chance to slam it shut on her brother's tail. "Jackass," Alicia sighed rubbing her forehead. A part of her wanted to flush Liam's stash down the toilet for that. She walked back over to see Shaun slumping against the counter. "Who do I need to kill?" She could always do that later after she helped Shaun. "Me." Shaun admitted and Alicia laughed as she rounded the counter. She began dishing them up some ice cream, drizzling fresh honey on Shaun's. She placed it in front of the sheep and turned the spoon towards him. "Thanks..." Shaun took a big bite, shivering from the sweet cold taste. He didn't even bother to sit up. "I hate how much I love this. I'm going to get fatter than I already am." "Is that what this is about?" Alicia asked. "Most guys love a big booty. Just saying, I'm kind of jealous." She added feeling over herself. "I'm mostly fur underneath all this." She slapped her ass. That would normally get a chuckle from Shaun. The silence was telling. "I'm telling you; men love a huge booty." "No, that's not the problem." Shaun sighed, sitting up and began to stir the spoon around the ice cream. "Am I a bad person?" "Why? What did you do?" Alicia asked, hoping to get some juicy details. The feline had to consciously sheath her nails as she smelled the juicy gossip coming. Alicia thrived on drama. "Another guy asked me out and I didn't say no." Shaun said and Alicia nearly choked on her first bite of ice cream. She coughed, pounding her chest with a closed fist as Shaun watched her cling to the counter. "Excuse me? What? I need context! Tell me everything from the start to the end. Don't leave a single deet out!" Alicia said, leaning against the counter with her ears perked up. She was finally finding this interesting. Alicia thought Shaun was having normal jitters starting a relationship with Travis. This on the other hand was far more delicious than any ice cream could ever be. Shaun told her everything that happened from how his sister Marie worried that the others might be noticing how happy he'd been. Then walking and talking with Mitch, being led into the park where he felt the canine had taken advantage of his timid personality and ended up coercing him into going out despite being together with Travis. "It's my fault, right?" Shaun asked. Alicia wasn't looking at him. Not at first. "I messed up. Travis is going to break up with me and I'm going to die alone and turn into compost for fudging vegetables." "This guy, the border collie. He's around you guys all the time, right? Sheep I mean." Alicia asked and Shaun nodded. "He knows you personally." Shaun, again, nodded. "And he cornered you to figure out what was going on?" The feline asked to make sure she got all the context she needed to know before answering Shaun. "It wasn't so much cornering... we were in the middle of the park when he began asking questions. It's just..." Shaun didn't want Travis to find out. He didn't want to hurt the coyote just because he couldn't control his instinct to follow and obey. "He touched you when you didn't want him to. He buttered you up with sweet words, before going in? He took your phone, and had you help him unlock it so he could make sure his contact information was in it... Right?" Alicia asked, double checking. Shaun nodded. "Okay, just wanted to make sure before I skin that prick alive!" The lynx yowled, fangs and nails showing as she tried to go for the door. "What? No! Alice, I was the one who didn't say no..." Shaun's ears bounced up to the top of his head before folding back as he lowered his eyes. He tapped his hoofed fingers on the counter. "I should've been braver. I should've said no. It's my fault..." "No, it's not, Shaun." Alicia sighed, wiping a hand through her hair. "If I knew it was about this. I'd have gotten the rum raisin ice cream out." She growled softly. "But I..." Shaun tried but Alicia was having none of it. "No! None of that. I won't listen to another one of my friends convince themselves they did something bad when they got pushed back into a metaphorical corner." Alicia decided to get some vodka out from one of the cabinets. She mixed it with her ice cream making Shaun lift an eyebrow at the odd combination. "My friend Lillian had something similar happen to her recently. You'd be surprised how often this happens. Top dogs," she openly laughed at that. "Top dogs that think they can just throw their weight around, scent mark whoever and get thanked for pissing by their feet after. Disgusting canines." "The same thing happened to your friend?" Shaun's ears perked up, listening in. He felt awful. He couldn't sleep the entire day as he laid in his bed, feeling like a scumbag. All he had to do was call Mitch and tell him no. Shaun didn't even have the guts to do that. "Not exactly, but close enough. Guys in bars are a lot like this prick was to you. They'll act sweet and kind at first, buying you drinks and peppering you with honeyed words as they worm their way in closer, turning the conversation around on the other person suddenly and using that to manipulate them into going out with them. It's not cool and not okay, Shaun." Alicia nails poked out of her fingers. "You said this guy knows about sheep and how you guys are, uh, followers." Shaun nodded. "Exactly! The guy knew you couldn't say no. I don't like him sniffing around you either. Freaking canines! I swear. They think if they sniff you, mark you, then that's it. Your theirs. Disgusting." "Don't several species mark each other?" Shaun thought that over. He did feel a little better. Alicia always had a way of turning his spirits around after something awful like this happened. "I thought it was normal for dogs to just... do that." "It is." Alicia groaned in disgust at the thought. "A lot of male cats are like that also. Got to be careful. Soon enough you'll have Travis trying to rub his balls on your face in order to mark you." The feline laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as if to be polite after saying such a crude thing. "I bet that man is going to jump you the second he walks through that door. No showering. Just strip naked and roll around on top of you. Balls flopping in the wind." "Oh, my Harvest, he did mention something like that! Wanting to roll around on top of me. I thought he was joking or saying something kinky. Not that he actually would!" Shaun covered his face. "If he finds out what happened, he will without a doubt be doing that. Then Mitch will know for sure that what he smelled was a coyote. It would be just as bad as Travis walking into the church!" "I bet." Alicia chuckled, amused with the idea. "They'd string him up, tie him to a pole and light him on fire. Not realizing he's already a flaming homo." "Not helping." Shaun groaned, pulling on his ears. "Should I just text Mitch that I'm not interested? That seems... doable." Shaun said, hoping Alicia would do it for him. He eyed the feline. She totally looked like a person who would take evil delight in the opportunity to burn someone alive with text. However, she refused. Clearly sad she couldn't. "Oh no, not with this guy." Alicia sighed. "Why not?" "Shaun, guys like him. You have to be very upfront and clear about it. No text, no calls. Doesn't work. That'll just encourage them to chase you harder." Alicia shook her head. "This prick probably thinks that's he's rescuing you from the evil predator! Dogs aren't that different from coyotes. Canines, all of them." The lynx grumbled, having some bad blood with them apparently. "He must've smelled your arousal and just took it as permission to take advantage of you. Does consent mean nothing to canines? Coyotes might as well be dogs!" Shaun wanted to ask Alicia about her history but didn't want to side track from this conversation too far. "Don't tell Travis that. He, uh, hates dogs." Shaun said, learning why the coyote did. Shaun had never seen Mitch get so worked up by a smell before. "I thought he was, you know, being a bitch. Travis, that is. I'm kind of getting it now. The world is so much more complicated than it is at home." "You rather go back?" Alicia asked and that got a laugh out of Shaun. "Fudge patties no!" He giggled, smiling. Shaun was glad he could come to Alicia about these things. He needed someone outside of Travis to turn to. She seemed experienced when it came to dealing with scumbag men and was more than happy to help. "I don't know if I should tell Travis or not. I think he'll overreact..." "He'll definitely overreact. If you do tell him, please let me know. So, I can be there to watch him lose his shit." Alicia laughed, teasing the sheep despite having an ulterior motive for wanting to be there. She was one of the few people who could keep Travis from doing anything stupid. If Alicia was there when Shaun told him, she could stop Travis from doing anything rash. Like burning down the community, shirtless, shouting for the dog to come out and challenge him for mating rights with the sheep. Alicia knew Travis could be dramatic about these kind of things after Michael. "I can't just not tell him!" Shaun said, getting worked up. He got up, beginning to pace side to side as he ate the ice cream. "Will he be angry? He's not going to hit me, is he? I'd deserve it. I messed up. That's what The Shepherd would do when you mess up." Shaun began to pace faster, getting himself worked up as he hyperventilated. "I deserve to be hit. Spanked. Held down and-," Alicia took the bowl from Shaun's hand; afraid he was going to choke on the ice cream somehow. She waited for him to do another loop before gently stopping him. "Travis would never hit you, Shaun. Kinky as it sounded you making it. If he did? You tell me and I'll throw him out the window. Trust me, canines do not land on their feet like felines do." She grinned and Shaun felt a little better, nodding. "You're right. Of course you're right. Travis wouldn't do that. I just don't get why I kind of liked it..." Shaun frowned, worried about what that said about himself more than what Mitch had done. "Liked what?" Alicia's eyes dilated at the perverse thoughts Shaun was saying aloud. "About being dominated and controlled." Shaun said and Alicia nearly fell off the counter she was leaning against. "Tell me," Alicia crawled back up. Nails clawing into the countertop that was already covered with scratch marks. "Tell me everything!" For the next hour and a half, Shaun was interrogated by the lynx about what he meant by that. Shaun tried to explain he liked the idea of it, just not the person it had been coming from. That his body reacted to the commands and it scared him. That kind of control, the roughness, the scent marking, domination and... And... "And it was really exciting! Like it was hard to breathe, and my heart was racing. It made me want him to keep going... but then I realized who it was with and where we were. Although it was a bit empty, there are no places in Pleasant Postures that's truly empty. Mitch knew that and still did it... which made it even hotter!" Shaun covered his face, tail wagging. "I like public displays of dominance! I'm a monster." "This is better than catnip." Alicia purred watched the sheep squirm on the spot as he tried to explain his reactions and how it made him feel. "I just wish it wasn't Mitch doing it!" Shaun groaned, covering his face as he tipped his muzzle upwards, praying to some unseen god for aide. "Do you think that's why he pushed things? He probably smelled my arousal..." "Probably." Alicia shrugged a shoulder. "Dogs are very familiar with that smell. Intimately. They sniff their own balls! Even Travis." Alicia smirked, giving Shaun a wink. The sheep did not need to know that. "He does not!" Shaun said, coming to the coyote's defense before pausing and thinking about it. He wasn't sure why that was kind of... hot. Travis butt naked in his bed, one leg lifted up as he bent down to sniff himself. Maybe lick... would he like the taste? Hate it? Shaun shivered and Alicia laughed, watching the entire time as the scenario played out in the sheep's head. "You are too adorable." Lynx purred. "If Travis didn't catch you, I would've tried my hand..." "Sweetie, you would've only turned me gayer." Shaun waved a limp wrist at her, turning slightly. The two laughed about it after. "I still can't capture that stereotype. No matter how many episodes of Drag Boardwalk we watched together. I'm too straight laced..." "Not straight enough." Alicia finished her vodka ice cream and went to get seconds. "You decide yet if you are going to tell Travis or not?" "I think I have to. Just in case Mitch accidentally calls when I'm with the coyote... and Travis deserved to know. He's really..." Shaun's ears folded back as he drummed his fingers over the countertop, unsure what words he wanted to say about the coyote. "He's really serious about things? Yeah. That's Travis. A lot of people don't know that coyote's mate for life. It's a real big part of who they are. Society tends to push them aside, ignoring them for the most part. Coyote's mate for life and if their partner dies or leaves them? Most don't ever try to find someone else. It's one reason why their population is so low. They do live in packs, sort of. It's small and isn't the same as your situation with your flock and not like a wolf pack with how disturbingly close they are. Talk about ball sniffing! Coyote packs are more of a group that checks in now and then to make sure things are okay and that's about it." Alicia explained as she scooped rum raisin into a bowl and drowned it in vodka. She passed it to Shaun who sniffed the strange concoction. "Don't knock it until you tried it." She winked and made herself a far larger bowl than the one she had made Shaun. "It's flavored vodka. None of that Russian stuff. It's the cheap flavored stuff you get at the party store, filled with sugar!" Alicia teased, talking about a liquor store. "It's like French vanilla or whip cream or something. Works well with the rum raisin." "You can buy alcohol outside a bar?" Shaun asked innocently, looking at Alicia with those big eyes that made the predator shiver. She had to take a breath, reminding herself that he was Travis's prey. "Okay, more booze before I do something stupid that we'll all regret." Alicia took a swig from the bottle, cheering after. "Let's get so drunk we're not even able to make bad decisions!" Hours passed and the two were a laughing giggling mess on Travis's bed as the coyote walked in after a long twelve-hour shift. Travis paused and looked at the two, wondering what the hell was going on. A couple of sniffs was all it took for the coyote to pick up the traces of alcohol in the air. He instantly knew who to blame for this mess. "He said pass the liquor. And I said... lick her? I bearly knew her!" Alicia laughed telling the same story where she tried to hit on a bear and his wife at a bar known for its hook ups. It was one of the few conquests she had under her belt, doing a threesome. Something Alicia bragged about often. Travis rolled his eyes. Having heard the story over a hundred times by this point. "Get enough drink in you and your telling that same story. Over and over again. I swear it gets worse the more you tell it." Travis said, hanging up his coat. Travis stripped his work shirt off and tossed it aside without a care. He walked over. Looking at the two in his bed. "Scoot over," he motioned to Alicia and she crawled over the sheep to Shaun's other side. Travis sat next to Shaun and kissed the sheep on the forehead. "What are you doing here? Did she do this to you?" Travis accusingly glared at the lynx knowing she had a hand in this somehow. Shaun shook his head too fast and nearly fell over. Travis had to stabilize him. The sheep resting against his bulk. "It was my idea! I wanted to build a pillow fort on your bed, but you don't have enough pillows." Shaun said, blinking woozily as he swayed gently. Then he stopped, looking at the coyote. "Travis! You said you'd buy me anything I need? We need pillows!" He fell back against Alicia and the two burst into a fit of giggles. "More pillows! And vodka." Alicia cheered and the two drunkenly sung a song about pillows they seemed to have come up with throughout the night. Travis clearly had missed some important context here as he gently pulled Shaun back against him. "I'm still blaming you." Travis pointed at the lynx. Alicia made a face in turn. "You are so mean to me! After all I do for you and Shaun." Alicia slid backwards, off the bed and onto the floor. After a moment, she stood up. "I'm okay!" She stood there. And stood there... Standing there... Until Travis cleared his throat. "Bed?" The coyote brought up, trying to not so subtly plant the idea into her drunken head. "Bed! Yes. I was going to say that. I don't need no man!" Alicia glared at Travis, pointing a finger at him. "Stop moving so much," the lynx swayed trying to figure out which of the three coyotes sitting on the sofa-bed was Travis. "We don't need you. Or any man! Shaun and I have decided to be lesbians together." Travis snorted a laugh at that, unable to help the smile on his face. "Is that so? Are you going lesbo on me?" The coyote nosed the sheep, sniffing at him. He smelled sweet. Like vanilla and whip cream and Travis's stomach rumbled hungrily. "Yes. We are going lesbo, so you never find out." Shaun said in a hushed voice, whispering to the coyote as if it were some giant secret. "Find out?" Travis tilted his head, ears perking up as he looked at the sheep. He glanced up, about to ask the lynx about that but Alicia had passed out in the chair, snoring. She had made it a single step before faceplanting the large, cushioned chair next to Travis's bed. She was snoring already. "Find out what, Shaun?" Travis turned his attention back to the sheep. "Find out that men are dumb and mean and man... man... manipulative!" Shaun hiccupped. Apparently Alicia had been teaching Shaun about the art of man hating. "Travis!" He said loudly making the coyote wince slightly. "Stop being a man. Be lesbians with us! It's awesome. We get to watch bad sitcoms, eat rum raisin vodka ice cream and listen to that drag queen singer lady you like so much." "Yeah?" Travis chuckled, nosing Shaun's face. "I guess I have to turn into a lesbian if you are. The only way you'll keep dating me." Travis held the sheep closer, pulling him just enough until their bodies touched. It made the long day at work worth it as Shaun rested against his shoulder. "Lamb? What's got you so worked up, huh? Did something happen...?" Travis asked in a soft soothing voice, rubbing over Shaun's arm with a hand. The touch was eerily familiar. Where the other had creeped him out, Travis's touch was welcomed from how Mitch had touched Shaun just that morning. "No. I can't tell." Shaun mumbled, nuzzling closer to Travis. "You smell good." The coyote's tail wagged. "Unlike him." Then it stopped wagging. "Him? Him who?" Travis asked carefully, keeping his voice neutral. He was trying not to jump to conclusions or let the growing growl in his chest build to a violent rumbling storm. "Him. The mean guy who took advantage..." Shaun muttered, nuzzling Travis closer. He liked Travis's scent, his smell. Even after a long day, the coyote smelled good. A scent of a predator was far more comforting than that of a herder, someone the sheep should've instinctively trusted. "Who took advantage of whom?" Travis frown slowly increased as he licked over his fangs, trying to keep himself steady and calm. He held the sheep who he thought, for a minute, had passed out. "Big jerk. Acts nice. Then gets you when you let your guard down. That man-ip-u-lay-tor," Shaun pronounced each syllable of the word. Forming it with his mouth for each. "Was it Liam?" Travis asked wondering if he needed to kill the lynx. "Pity cats always land on their feet, or I'd toss him out the window." The coyote thought of discreet ways of disposing of Alicia's brother. He was sure Alicia would help him if Liam had crossed such a line. "Nooooo. Not the sad horny lynx man." Shaun head butted Travis softly as if the coyote was the one to say something stupid. "Then who?" Travis rolled his eyes as the sheep head butted him again muttering about Travis being dumb. "You can tell me, Shaun. You can tell me anything." "I can't tell you." Shaun rested his weight against Travis. The coyote in turn rested back on the bed, propping himself up with a couple of pillows as he held Shaun. "You'll get mad." The sheep nuzzled closer. "Then I can't stay with you like this if you're mad..." Travis held him tighter. "Why would I get mad?" Travis asked in that same soft tone, petting over Shaun's face with a dull clawed finger. "Not you! Travis. Travis would get mad," Shaun said and the coyote wondered if the drunk sheep was thinking he was Liam or something now. "Why would Travis get mad?" The coyote asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Do you think he'd get mad at you?" Shaun gave a weak nod. "Okay... what if you tell me what happened and I'll let Travis know so he doesn't get mad at you." That took a while for Shaun's brain to understand as it marinated in half a bottle of vodka. "Mitch was mean to me." Shaun mumbled and Travis tensed slightly. He knew very little of Mitch but didn't like the guy during the brief times Shaun had talked about the other guy. Travis's hackles rose slightly at hearing Shaun's words. "What did he do...?" Travis voice was dangerously low. "He led me astray." Shaun muttered, beginning to fall asleep. A strange way of putting it that made far more sense to the sheep than it did to the coyote. It must've explained what Shaun was trying to say as Travis sat there for half the night trying to figure out what level of betrayal he should feel. Not for Shaun. He needed to know what Mitch had done to know what level of pain to inflict on that dog. Travis was beginning to have dark thoughts of what to do. It was a common story of a predator stealing a farm animal away. Fairy tales based off of real time events throughout history. Stories that were meant to instill fear and worry into farm animals were now giving the predator ideas of how to steal Shaun away from that horrible place. Halfway into the night, around 3am, Liam came home. Travis was still awake in his bed, holding the sheep as he searched on his phone for ways to dispose of bodies discreetly. "Hey," Travis said as Liam tried to sneak past. The lynx was never sure if he should bother Travis or not. The coyote's room was the living room. The room they all had to share. It was a delicate balance to keep the place stable and livable for them all. Three grown adults living in a small apartment together in the city because it was the only way three predators could afford the cost of living. They butted heads often, like sheep ironically, about issues involving the chores or privacy. Liam, Alicia and Travis had managed for the past several years and neither of the three thought about moving out. Liam respecting Travis was one way about this. Even if he walked in on the coyote fapping, there was a wordless agreement that they wouldn't get on each other for the things they needed to do to get by after a long day or work and living in this city. This was a different level of discomfort that the feline had tried to tip toe past. "Hey, Travis... is he naked?" Liam asked, glancing at Shaun. "No. Your dumbass sister got him drunk. Again." Travis growled softly, nuzzling the sheep's head with his snout. He licked over one of Shaun's ears. It flicked as the coyote tried to chew on it. "Oh, cool." Liam came into the room fully, sitting down on the opposite side of where Alicia had sat in a matching chair. "Where's my sister?" The lynx looked around the room, wondering if Alicia was still out or passed out in the bathroom. "Floor." Travis motioned over towards where the chair sat. Liam could hear her snoring after a moment of silence. "She's still breathing." The coyote said and that was that about Alicia. "Hey." Travis glanced up at the lynx who had been eying his bedroom in the back, trying to find a way to escape. "Do you know why Shaun came over today without letting me know and why he was upset?" It might've sounded like a question, but the lynx took it as a threat. Liam quickly explained what he did know to keep Travis's anger problems away from the feline. Liam and Alicia loved it when Travis would snap and throw hands; just not when it was at them. "Oh, totally." Liam scooted closer, enjoying the gossip just as much as his sister did. "You know me, I had to eavesdrop on them while they talked about the entire thing. Was rather messed up." The lynx grinned, loving the juicy details of it all. Liam didn't have many people to share these things with and liked when Travis included him. Feeling more than happy to divulge the information for free. "Well?" Travis asked, waiting for the lynx to stop being so dramatic and tell him. Then something occurred to the coyote. "Wait, where were you?" Travis frowned, looking at the lynx suspiciously, eyes narrowing. "I went downtown to the PC cafe. The internet there is amazing. Nothing like what we got." Liam shrugged. "Not that. Where were you to listen in at? Did you push yourself up against the front door?" Travis asked. The lynx laughed at that. "What? No! I climbed out the hallway window and used the fire escape." Liam said it as if it were a sane, reasonable thing to do. Maybe climbing on the balcony of an apartment building came second nature to the feline who shrugged when Travis questioned everything Liam was. "Okay. Never mind. That's not the main problem here. What did they talk about?" Travis asked, worrying about that first. "I could only hear some things and had to get the rest through context." Liam explained. "Basically, long story short, Shaun's cheating on you." Liam pointed a clawed finger at the sheep. "That little lamb has canines sniffing all around his junk." Travis, for Liam's sake, only accepted that answer with a huge pile of salt to go along with it. "Liam. I want the long story, not your short interpretation of it." "Shaun got another dude's number!" Liam threw up his hands as if it was the biggest scandal ever seen before. Travis gave him a look. Then he reached over, pulling Shaun's phone out to look at. "Dude? You going to check his text messages?" "Yup." Travis typed in Shaun's password and began to look through it. "That's an invasion of privacy!" Liam said, coming to Shaun's defense. Even saying that, it was clear Liam was interested. The lynx was leaning out of the chair, trying to look at the phone with Travis. There was nothing interesting on it and the lynx was getting bored with this. He was hoping Travis would throw a fit or something. This was too tame for the coyote. "Boring. Shaun made you boring! Where's the raging coyote that we know and love?" Travis ignored him as Liam sulked in the chair. The coyote flipped through Shaun's pictures, his text, his call list and anything else that Shaun's parents might be able to use against the coyote. He even checked the deleted folder knowing that they wouldn't know to erase the information directly from it. There was nothing on it that was suspicious. He put it back. "Shaun will tell me in the morning." Travis reasoned out, resting back as he placed an arm behind his head staring up at the ceiling. "Really? Just like that?" Liam groaned, feeling like he wasted his night without seeing Travis overreact. "I have his number and his permission to check his phone whenever I need. There's very little on it. I make sure that it stays that way. Shaun is naive. He has no worldly experiences and doesn't know how to... survive." The coyote said speaking from experience. "I help make sure no one tries to take advantage of him and keep his family from finding out about us. Shaun lets me look through his phone to make sure he didn't miss anything on it." "Despite how fucked up that is, that is kind of sweet." Liam groaned, rolling his eyes at the sappiness of it all. "I guess I get where you're coming from. I just hoped..." Liam trailed off. He wasn't sure what he had hoped for. Not really. Liam's entire night was a bust and now he felt like he wasted his entire night off. "Are you really that bored?" Travis glanced at him and Liam folded his arms, pouting. "...I see. The date didn't go well tonight, huh?" Travis asked knowing how much Liam looked for others online. Hoping to find someone that could accept the odd lynx. Liam was a lot like his sister in that regard. "Liam...?" Travis asked in that soft, caring voice as he had used with Shaun. The lynx flinched, glancing at the coyote before quickly looking away. "How'd it go...?" "Alicia gave me a fifty. I thought I could, you know, surprise her... She was on another date. With a different guy," Liam snarled, baring a sharp fang. "Bitch apparently was seeing six other guys. At the same time! Not at the same time, but like you know... dating multiple guys... I was just another one." "Did the others know?" Travis asked and Liam sighed, scratching at his chest. The lynx took off his nice shirt and just tossed it to the side as he rested back. It was rare for Liam to dress up and do his fur. It was why Travis knew Liam had gone on a date. "Some do apparently. Not all. She just neglected to tell the rest of us!" Liam growled in a growing frustration. "I get poly relationships. I do! I also get respect. She could've told us if that was what she was into. She chats with a bunch of guys, all the time. Then expects us all to just know..." Liam tapped a finger on the chair he was sitting in. His nail kept pricking it. "Hey?" Travis said and Liam looked up at him. "You sad? Need chest?" Travis motioned down at his chest, offering Liam a spot under his other arm. The one Shaun wasn't currently drooling against. Travis used two fingers to spread his thick fur to reveal a nipple and winked at Liam. "We all know you're a titty kind of guy." "Dumbass." Liam said, wiping his cheek off. Travis's tail wagged. "Dumb stinky canines. You all think a little nip action is all it takes." Liam continued to complain as he got up. Took a step forward and then crawled onto the uncomfortable spring mattress. "You think that just fixes everything." Liam scooted closer. The lynx made biscuits against Travis's chest, still complaining about dumb canines. "Come here, you grouchy cat." Travis said and let Liam snuggle up to his other side. The lynx continued to mumble and complain as Liam pushed his snout under Travis's arm. Liam inhaled his friend's musk and shivers ran through his body making Liam groan softly. "Stupid stinky dog. Go shower. Why are you.." Liam muttered as Travis nuzzled over his face, holding his friend close under one arm and his boyfriend closer under the other. "You still jealous about Shaun and I?" Travis asked, staring up at the ceiling as the lynx curled up against him, purring noisily. "Who would be jealous of you two?" Liam growled and grumbled, the two sounds mixing together. "It won't last." He said spitefully. Travis let it go, this time, knowing Liam was only lashing out because of what happened tonight to the feline. "You don't know that." Travis said, giving Liam a strong flexing squeeze to get back at the feline. He was far stronger than the feline who was more fur than muscle. "You don't know that it won't happen... again." Liam said nuzzled closer, breathing in the coyote's musk and snarled. "You smell." Liam repeated as he nosed closer. "You stink. Smell like... sweaty dog." "You can go back to your room." Travis chuckled, patting Liam on the back roughly. "Go to hell." Liam hissed softly. "I'd drag you down with me." Travis sighed, looking at the sheep. "You don't think this will work?" Travis asked in a softer voice, watching his sheep sleep. "Nope." Liam said harshly. He looked over at Shaun, resting his chin on the coyote's chest. "Look at him. He's innocent and pure, unlike us. Tainted filthy beasts," Liam dramatically said. "A predator and a prey can't last. One day..." Liam left it at that, staring for a long while at Shaun. A part of the lynx wanted to get up and head back to his room. Another part wanted to go back out there and yell at his date for being such a slut. Liam didn't do anything. He laid there, looking at the sheep. Watching as Travis pulled the covers over Shaun instead of himself. Instead of Liam. The coyote shared the one blanket he had with the drunken man sleeping at his side. Liam wanted that. For someone to look at him the way Travis looked at Shaun. "It's going to take weeks to get your smell out of my fur." Liam complained, looking away. Resorting to complaining and hissing insults instead of addressing his own insecurities. "And that is why we could never work out." Travis said, still watching Shaun sleep. He pet over the sheep's face with a finger. Petting through his fur, into his wool and back up and around again. "Shaun likes smelling like me. When he moves in, he's always going to smell like me. His big dumb stinky coyote..." "Already planning to move in together?" Liam huffed, half laughing and half excited at the prospect of another roommate. As many issues as they had there was a comfort of having someone there for you after a long day. Be it online, or in person, even Liam was grateful for that. Despite how much he complained. "Alicia and I have been talking about it. We haven't brought it up to Shaun, yet. We're trying not to rush things." Travis said, but it was clear to the lynx who had known the coyote half his life how much Travis wanted this. "His living situation is... terrible. I just want to make sure when we do offer him to move in, it's in a better place." "For him?" Liam asked, a little confused. "Nah, we were thinking of getting a larger apartment. A room for Shaun and I. While making sure you both have your own, of course." Travis nodded once, thinking it over. The idea of it made his tail wag. "It isn't easy... Shaun doesn't have a job." "Ah, right. Sheep boy lives off mommy and daddy money." Liam let out a dry laugh. "I wonder what that is like?" The orphan lynx grumbled. "Nepo baby." "Shaun isn't a nepo baby." Travis rolled his eyes. "It's a bit more complicated than that. They, his parents, use their finances to control Shaun and his siblings. They won't even let him work. That's why I've been working extra, to help him out... of course, he'll need a job when he moves in." Liam nodded at that. It was the one thing the three of them agreed on, practically signing a blood contract. A common thing predators did with each other, usually to settle territory disputes back in the day. All three of them had agreed that they each needed to have a job and be working. No excuses. To share the financial burdens of living without support from family. "What's he going in for?" Liam asked about Shaun's school. "Agricultural studies," Travis groaned, rolling his eyes. "He'll end up with mountains of student loans and no job to take in a city like this. He was forced into it by his family. It would've been better to go to a trade school." "I understand that." Liam nodded, closing his eyes. "And if something does happen? What then?" Liam asked, looking up at Travis now. The coyote didn't take his eyes off Shaun as he answered. "If Shaun really did... cheat..." Travis ear flicked as Liam brought up the entire reason Shaun was over tonight. "We'll deal with it. I'll fight for him, be a better man so if, hypothetically, if he did do something... he wouldn't want to do that again in the future. It just means that I wasn't good enough. That I need to try harder..." Travis muttered, resting back and looking up at the ceiling. "I can't blame him. Who'd want a fucked-up coyote like me. Can't even get my own shit together. Would only make sense for him to look at guys with stable lives." Liam wanted to comfort Travis but knew exactly what the coyote meant. The lynx was in a similar situation after all. "If he did something. If..." Travis kept repeating that word, hoping that was the case. Begging that it was. "You're probably right..." Liam grumbled, hating seeing Travis like this. "He probably didn't do anything. Someone probably just took advantage of his naivety... probably." The lynx closed his eyes, knowing Travis would stay awake for the next couple of hours thinking about all this and what to do about it in the morning. Liam would be here for his friend. Even in his own messed up way. Pawing and kneading at the coyote's side. If Shaun had Alicia to go to about things, Liam had Travis to go to about things. It was an odd friendship, but it worked for their small little group. Liam hoped Shaun could see that. See what a good man Travis was. Otherwise, the lynx would have to deal with a moping coyote for the rest of the year, and Liam didn't have the patience for that.