# All's Fair - Part 4

Author: Xi-entaj
Tags: Gay, Hate, Husky, Lion, Love, No-Yiff, Wolf

#4 of All's Fair

The story's main character is bi, so don't read if you don't want to. As ever, your thoughts and criticism are welcome so that I can get better.

Thanks for reading!

- Xi

**All's Fair - Part 4**

The trick was to get off campus without being seen, because I didn't feel like running and I didn't want to get told off - again - for ditching class.&nbsp; Damn it, it's not like I was missing anything.&nbsp; But it really wasn't too dificult, and half an hour later I flopped onto a grassy hill outside of town, breathing deeply.&nbsp; It occurred to me to wonder what the hell I was doing here, where the hell I was going with my life.&nbsp; I snorted.&nbsp; "I'm living it," I said aloud to the lowering clouds.&nbsp; Losinng interest, I started watching the wind push them to and fro while they put out new plumes and darkened.&nbsp; Maybe it would rain today.&nbsp; My eyes slid out of focus while I imagined how it would be to have Ivan looking down on me, between me and the clouds.&nbsp; I carefully crafted every gold-brown strand of his mane and the beautiful way his eyes shone.&nbsp; Grinning, I gave him the exasperated expression he usually wore when he saw me.&nbsp; I touched a paw to my lips and extended it upward to him.&nbsp;

Suddenly a familiar voice sounded in my mind.&nbsp; "Idiot mutt."&nbsp; Jake's scornful image flashed in front of my eyes, making Ivan vanish while I growled at the air.&nbsp; Damn it, I couldn't even daydream in peace anymore.&nbsp; I pushed myself off the grass and started back to catch social psychology.&nbsp; I had to run the last few minutes to make it in time.&nbsp;

All through the class I felt frustration building in my chest, making me want to scream even though I knew from experience that didn't help.&nbsp; When the bell rang I stayed behind a moment, breathing deeply, before I made myself get up.&nbsp; Once I was moving, I walked swiftly over to my usual seat next to Ivan in the cafeteria, but I stopped three feet away.&nbsp; Suddenly I didn't want to sit down.&nbsp; Sighing, I stepped behind Ivan and lightly rested my paws on his chest.&nbsp; He slapped them away, but I just put them back, even more lightly.&nbsp; Growling to himself, he let me.&nbsp; I shut my eyes, concentrating on his body heat under my paws and in front of my stomach.&nbsp;

They were talking about some other furs who'd been encroaching on their territory.&nbsp; It was always other gangs with them.&nbsp; I flicked my ears back, listening to other conversations instead.&nbsp;

"...have really good deals on skateboards and stuff..."

"...yeah, and then she turned around and..."

"...plus, he lets you take sick days off and work a flexible schedule..."

"...the Hotspurs all the way, no question.&nbsp; They totally have the best offense..."

Suddenly I didn't want to be there anymore.&nbsp; I walked quickly out of the cafeteria, but slowed down once I was in the open; I'd really nowhere else I wanted to go.&nbsp; I meandered around the quieter areas of campus, avoiding anyone who was making noise.&nbsp; The air was smelling more and more like rain, so I kept outside to savor it; I like that smell, no matter how often we get it.&nbsp;

"You missed class today," Jake's voice said from maybe ten feet behind me.&nbsp;

I didn't turn around.&nbsp; "I have a whole team of nags at the correction center, just for me.&nbsp; I don't need another one here."&nbsp;

If he was daunted, he made absolutely no sign of it.&nbsp; Impossible wolf.&nbsp; "Then you walk out of lunch without a word to anyone.&nbsp; Not that anyone minded really; they're glad you're gone and I'm glad you're not inciting Ivan to murder."&nbsp;

"There are furs in the world who get their jollies by spilling their guts to passers by and examining each other's motives.&nbsp; They'd love to have you."&nbsp;

"The trouble is, knowing you, this probably means you're planning something even less healthy than hanging out with a bunch of jumped-up high schoolers that hate your guts."

"How about you go bug someone who gives a shit, like your girlfriend."&nbsp;

"She's out for the day, mutt, so I'm left to your illustrious company."&nbsp; Ah.&nbsp; I'd hit a little nerve; his voice was decidedly chilled.&nbsp;

"That doesn't mean you can't find her.&nbsp; Go stalk someone else."&nbsp;

I'd lost it again; I heard the mocking smile in his voice.&nbsp; "Oh, but you're so much fun."&nbsp; His voice sobered.&nbsp; "Seriously, it would be nice if I didn't have to save your tail again for a while, 'kay?"&nbsp;

I felt that frustration again.&nbsp; Making a sound midway between a whine and a scream, I took off.&nbsp; I don't know if he followed.&nbsp; I'm slightly faster than he is, both sprinting and distance.&nbsp; I didn't listen to find out if he said anything else, either.&nbsp; I just let my footfalls jar through my body for as long as I could, until the city faded back into those peaceful hills and the hills faded into forest and climbed into mountains.&nbsp; My heart pounded heard in my chest as the minutes stretched to an hour and more and I steadfastly ignored the pain building in my muscles.&nbsp; Finally I fell onto the ground, gasping for air through the dirt and pine needles.&nbsp; My legs burned, my lungs screamed, my rib ached, my pads throbbed.&nbsp; I was covered in little scratches from the tree branches.&nbsp; For a few minutes I felt wonderful.&nbsp;

When I finally had my breath back, I climbed up on shaking legs and looked around.&nbsp; I doubted I was even then miles away from town - probably quite a bit less, actually - but I'd never been up this mountain.&nbsp; The smallest trees were easily thirty feet tall, mostly evergreen, and I couldn't hear the city at all.&nbsp; The silence was broken by birdcalls and insect noises.&nbsp; Somewhere nearby a stream gurgled.&nbsp; I staggered around until I found it, drinking as deeply as I dared without cramping up, then wandered in aimless exhaustion through the trees.&nbsp;

I stopped a short while later by a particularly large one.&nbsp; Screw my rib; I made a jump for its lower branches, almost missed, but caught it and started to climb, using mostly my arms.&nbsp; Soon they were complaining as much as the rest of me, but I kept going.&nbsp; I took it slow, not wanting to mess up my rib or further abuse my legs.&nbsp; Once I got high enough to see over the trees on the downhill side, I had to gasp.&nbsp; The town was spread out below me, nestled between hills and then the mountains I was in on the north and east, and the long, glimmering silver-slate band of the ocean on the west.&nbsp; As I watched, it faded away under dark bands falling from the clouds.&nbsp; It was raining there.&nbsp; A few minutes later the first droplets began to fall on me as well.&nbsp; I realized then that I wasn't going back tonight.&nbsp;

I sat on that branch for as long as was comfortable, maybe an hour or two, while the rain fell and soaked my clothes and fur.&nbsp; My backpack, fortunately for its contents, shed water.&nbsp; I wasn't cold at all, courtesy of husky fur.&nbsp; I climbed slowly to the ground and took off my clothes, letting it fluff out so that it would insulate better.&nbsp; I wasn't worried about meeting anyone; not in such a vast space, not in this weather.&nbsp; I looked around until I found the stream again, and discovered a decent-sized pond, with steep rocks on the uphill side and trees on the down isolating it from everything.&nbsp; The scene was an open invitation to take a dip, and so I did.&nbsp; Then I looked some more until I found a small tree that had fallen over, leaving a dry space underneath it once I'd broken off some branches on the underside.&nbsp; I stowed my backpack and clothes there, but I didn't turn in until it was too dark to see.&nbsp; It rained the whole time, keeping the world at bay beyond the thick sheets of water.&nbsp; I shook as much of it out of my fur as I could before I crawled under the tree; it didn't bother me too much, but I didn't want to be sopping wet all night.&nbsp;

I was just beginning to drift off when a loud crack sounded through the night, making me sit bolt upright.&nbsp; The darkness wrapped around my eyes like a blindfold, and the branches of the tree I was under muffled and distorted sound.&nbsp; Suddenly I realized there was no way to really tell even if someone - or something - was outside.&nbsp; The light breeze and rain stirred through the forest, making little rustles.&nbsp;

I thought I heard a few quiet thumps of something hitting the ground, like soft footfalls, and I jerked my head towards the sound, straining my ears.&nbsp; But I couldn't hear anything, and eventually decided maybe I'd just imagined it.&nbsp; After a long while spent listening in the night, I lay back down, and exhaustion made me sleep.&nbsp;

I woke up sore.&nbsp; I wasn't used to running like that, and I certainly wasn't used to sleeping on the dirt under a try.&nbsp; After one abortive attempt at motion, I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned, contemplating the many wondrous benefits of civilization, like beds and muscle relaxants.&nbsp; But I knew I wouldn't trade last night for all of them.&nbsp; Whimpering softly, I made myself crawl out into the light.&nbsp;

As if to make up for the rain, the sun was shining warm - thanks, September.&nbsp; I basked in it for a while once I'd hobbled to an exposed boulder.&nbsp; But I'd barely dried the remaining dampness from my fur when my stomach informed me in no uncertain terms that I could definitely _not_ subsist on fresh air and sunlight.&nbsp; I grinned at it and fished my clothes out from under the tree, setting them to dry on the boulder while I took a long drink from the stream.&nbsp; Mountain streams, by the way, are _cold_.&nbsp; I wandered through the trees for a while, working the stiffness out of my muscles and stretching them, then I put my clothes back on and got my backpack, starting back for the town.&nbsp; Idly I wondered if I could catch a rabbit, but I was no cub scout - I didn't have the first clue how to hunt and wouldn't be able to cook it if I did.&nbsp;

It was a three and some hour walk back, moving slowly.&nbsp; Probably six or eight miles, then.&nbsp; I bought breakfast at McDonald's - am I the only one who thinks their pancakes are way better than their standard? - then went back to school.&nbsp; It felt really weird walking back onto campus, like I'd been dreaming.&nbsp; I guessed it to be somewhere in the middle of art, and I really didn't want to walk into it.&nbsp; I hesitated by a brick corner.&nbsp; Probably the center was looking for me; possibly enough furs at school would know about it that I'd be reported back to them.&nbsp; Todd and Becky would want to know why I'd missed the movie.&nbsp; I'd have to explain what i'd been doing, first to the students and then to my handlers, and the more I thought about it the less I wanted to mix the world on the mountain with the world here - not so much that I minded explaining as that I just didn't want the two to have any contact.&nbsp;

Quietly I turned around and left again.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

\*\*\*

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And that makes four.&nbsp; I had a really vivid image running through my head when I wrote this, like an HD video with sound, but I don't think I translated it to writing well.&nbsp; So be it, I guess.&nbsp; Thanks for reading, and please comment.&nbsp;

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/3egDYEBm
Part of the series All\'s Fair
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