Sibirskaia Chapter 27 (Teaser)
Taking the StageExposition(December 16th)Over the past two weeks, the town of Sibirskaia had become the subject of state-wide headlines.And starting tomorrow, it would be on the lips of the nation. Men and women of every color of scale, fur, and feather from coast to coast would soon know the name: 'Sibirskaia.' It would be discussed and debated. It would be thrust into the public consciousness: a microcosm of the nation's casual and systematic -- but slowly dying -- culture of homophobia.But Sibirskaia was not a large town. Twelve days ago, few beyond the neighboring town of Brooksboro could have even pointed to it on a map. It was a small, suburban hamlet, half an hour or more from the nearest freeway, and boasting only a single high school and a single post office within its modest borders.So, it should come as no surprise that it had no airport, either.And so, today, Kristoff Masters had made the two hour drive to WSI: the Wilsonburg-Shieldston International Airport. The largest hub in any reasonable driving distance, nestled in the middle of the largest metropolitan area in this half of the state.Somewhere, Aaron and Billy were searching out a vending machine, despite Kris's repeated assurances that they would be stopping by a restaurant as soon as they were done. Which left Kristoff standing alone in the sea of ordered confusion around him: of travelers waiting in security lines, of loved ones greeting one another in shameless displays of public affection, of loud speaker announcements urging safe baggage handling, and of others like himself, simply standing and waiting.Waiting for spouses returning from business trips, for children coming home from college for the holidays, and for long distance lovers making their periodic cross-country visits. Waiting to be reunited.As was he.Soon, a kangaroo would emerge from within the stream of arriving travelers. But when he and Kristoff finally saw one another from across the crowded airport, how would they be expected to react? Should they hug? Should they rush to one another with open arms, to the sounds of orchestral strings? Should one lift the other up from his feet and spin him 'round, all before the eyes of a sudden and unrealistically captivated crowd of spectators? Or should they simply smile, nod, and share the professional handshake appropriate to the occasion?The husky chuckled to himself. With Stephen involved, the orchestra and the spinning might not be so farfetched.Stephen.Stephen was Kristoff's closest friend. Or at least he had been, until a decade ago. Stephen and Kris were only cubs when they first met: a young husky absolutely mystified by the exotic kangaroo who suddenly showed up at his school. Looking back, now, as a bisexual adult with the benefit of time and
maturity...Kristoff realized that it was probably his first crush.Stephen took the curiosity and the questions well, and even tolerated the comments and jokes about his Australian accent, until the years helped it to fade away. And by high school, they were inseparable. But they were not alone. Kris had a pesky little brother, William, who had the habit of dragging around an even peskier bunny named Aaron and a lovable meathead of a horse named Josh. And it was thanks to these three -- his brother and his friends -- that their circumstances took...something of a turn.Kristoff couldn't remember how it all began. Perhaps it was Aaron garnering the nickname Rimmer, thanks to a story he should never have shared. Or maybe it was the group demanding to see for themselves if the rumor was true: that a kangaroo's balls were actually above their dick. Or it could have been the revelation of Billy and Toffy's secret experimentation. Or the discovery and slow assimilation of Billy and Josh's little 'rule' amongst the entire group. Or even the impromptu foursome in Josh's own basement, that the poor horse had managed to sleep through.Whatever it was, though, soon enough Kristoff was nearly as familiar with those caramel furred upside down balls as he was with Stephen's face. And he'd already lost count of how many times he'd cum in the kangaroo's muzzle, long before he'd ever had such an opportunity with his first female. His first female. A rich little husky far beyond his league. Robyn.The last time he'd felt the kangaroo throb and twitch on his tongue...the last time he'd shivered in his afterglow with Stephen's sticky face lying in his lap...he already had a child on the way. And it had to stop. He saw a ring in the future. A mortgage, a stroller, a minivan, PTA meetings, and college tuition -- his own, and in twenty years, someone else's -- all loomed on the horizon. It was time to put away his little games.It was time to be an adult.But his and Stephen's friendship endured, nonetheless. They'd never had the courage to officially label themselves as anything more than that. They were 'straight' after all. So the only real hurdle in ending things was trying to find new ways to cum, without one another's help. That is, of course, until Robyn learned about Stephen's...proclivities.Kristoff spent a week on his brother's couch, defending his friend. But in the end, his wife and his child came first. Elliot wasn't even in school yet, when Kris and Stephen said their final goodbye. In the decade since, they hadn't spoken a word to one another: not even as the internet had bloomed up around them, offering countless clandestine avenues. Kristoff had respected his wife, and Stephen had respected him.The husky didn't even know his old friend had left the state, and he damn sure didn't know he'd become
an activist for a gay rights organization. At least not until Stan had called him, only a few days ago. Stephen was on his way. He would be leading Stan and James's charge. And it was only right, that if anyone were to greet him at the airport......it should be Kristoff.But there were no orchestral strings as Stephen stepped free from the throng of passengers. There was no distant lingering eye contact. No one dropped their bags and ran through the airport into the arms of a long lost lover. In fact, Kris didn't even see him at first. It had been so long, he had trouble even remembering what the kangaroo looked like.Stephen, though, saw him. Kristoff would later assuage his own guilt by saying that stark, black-and-white fur is far easier to notice than such a common caramel brown. But perhaps Stephen simply had the better memory. Either way, it wasn't until his old friend was nearly upon him, that Kris even realized he'd arrived...The husky stepped back as the figured loomed before him. "Stephen?" he blinked, narrowing his eyes at the almost familiar face......and the kangaroo simply smiled, "Hey Toffy." Toffy. He'd almost forgotten that Stephen called him that, too.Kris shook his head and smiled back, "I...I barely even recognize you. It's-""It's...been a long time. Yeah."A long time. With a sigh, Kristoff hesitantly began: "Uhm...look...I feel like should ap-""No," Stephen cut him short. "You don't have to apologize, Toffy. You were taking care of your wife and your kid. You had a family to hold together." And again, he smiled, "I didn't expect anything less from you.""Yeah," the husky rolled his eyes. "And look how well that worked out for me.""True enough," Stephen laughed......and Kris smiled up at his old friend, as he swiftly changed the subject. "So! An activist, now, huh? Finally decided you're gay?""Well, bi," the kangaroo shrugged. "So, no gayer than you." And he flashed a playful little smirk, but only for a short moment, before his head cocked curiously to the side. His eyes narrowed, a brow arched, and a soft chuckle left his lips as he stared off behind his canid friend, "Though...probably not as gay as them."Kristoff turned to see his brother and Aaron walking toward them, paw-in-paw. Hanging from Billy's elbow was a plastic grocery bag nearly bursting with chips, candy bars, cookies, and all other manner of fantastically healthy snacks. In Aaron's free paw was a pre-packaged ice cream cone. And as always, they were proud and shameless together -- paw-in-paw, shoulder to shoulder -- and when a bit of ice cream stuck to his rabbit's nose, Billy even leaned in and licked it off.As gay as them? Kris turned back to the raccoon with a chuckle, as the two stopped alongside them,
"Well...few are.""Few are what?" Billy asked......and Stephen smiled a wide, toothy grin, "Oh, nothing insulting!""With you involved?" the younger husky narrowed his eyes. "I doubt that."Unconcerned with the assumed insult, though, Aaron simply chirped: "Hi Stephen!""Hey Ri-" the kangaroo's voice caught in his throat. And he glanced around the setting with an embarrassed grin before correcting himself: "Aaron."The rabbit laughed, "Old habbits?"And with a sigh, Stephen's shoulders slumped, as he confessed: "The second I stepped off that plane, I felt like I was back in high school, again!" He turned his eyes back to Kris, "I promise I'm capable of being a professional, though.""You'd better be." The elder husky motioned over his shoulder at Aaron, "His brother has a lot riding on you.""Hey now!" The kangaroo pointed a finger at his old friend, "Not just on me, Toffy. This is a team effort.""Yeah..." Kristoff awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "...about that..."But Stephen just waved a dismissive paw, "Yeah, yeah. I know. Stan told me all about how you & Billy are being camera shy. Said I'd have hell convincing you." And he flung an arm around Kris's shoulders, "But see: I know something ol' Stanley doesn't."And as his older brother shrank beneath that caramel arm, Billy chuckled and asked: "And what's that?""Well, it's just...Toffy here is good at a great many things," the kangaroo playfully shook his old friend as he spoke. "But saying 'no' to me isn't one of them."With a loud cough, Kristoff slipped out of Stephen's grasp. "Okay!" he clapped his paws together, "Whatsay we grab lunch?""Fantastic idea!" their visitor grinned. "I've been told there's a little gay joint that's popped up in Sib since I left. The uhm...Bacchanalian, is it?""But..." Kris began slowly, "...that's all the way back in Sibirskaia.""So?""So, we're in Shieldston," he explained. "That's a two hour drive before we can eat.""Oh, you'll survive, Toffy," Stephen patted him on the shoulder. "Besides, this isn't just curiosity. It's business.""Business?" Kris repeated, curiously......but it was Billy who spoke up, explaining before the kangaroo had a chance, "You wanna' scope the place out, don't you? You want the media to visit the Bacchanalian.""Well, I'm considering it," Stephen confirmed. "I mean: we want spontaneous, on the spot interviews with the common folk, right? But...it helps if those common folk are on our side. And what better place to find likeminded Sibirskaians, than at the town's only gay joint?""Isn't that a little manipulative?" Aaron asked."Completely!" the kangaroo admitted with a smile. "But tell me
something, Rimmer: you got an example of something on the news that isn't?"The rabbit took a breath to respond, but simply let it out in silence. And with a huff and a defeated little chuckle, he gave in. "To The Bacchanalian it is, though!""Well then," Billy clicked his tongue, looking at his brother through narrowed eyes. "A two hour wait for food. Imagine that. Good thing SOME of us thought to get snacks, huh?"~The preceding will the opening scene of the next chapter of Sibirskaia!But why did I post it today? Why give you this scene by itself when the entire chapter isn't yet done? Two reasons.One:It's been two months or so since I've had an update, and I wanted to prove I've done something in that time, and give you a little something to look at, while you wait on the finished product.Two (and more importantly):We have a new character making his debut! Stephen! Some of you may remember who Stephen is, but most likely, most of you don't. If I was able to release a chapter every week or even every month, you might remember him a little better, but I am unfortunately very slow with updating. So the last time I really talked about Stephen was WAY back in "The Masters." Which means, while my characters and I all know who he is very well, you literally haven't heard a word about him for three years in real world time.This is why I really posted this. Stephen is about to play a pretty big role in the last few chapters, and I wanted to give you a chance (if you're so inclined) to re-familiarize yourselves with him before I release the full versions of chapters 27, 28, and 29. This is his first ACTUAL appearance, and I think I did a pretty good job of explaining who he is, but if you're interested in re-reading the earlier conversations discussing him, go check out "The Masters"...
...specifically The Masters chapters 3, 10, 11, and 15 (if I remember right) though he may have been offhandedly mentioned in others.~And, with that, now that Luc's gone, maybe I can make some progress on finishing this chapter for you! Enjoy!