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The characters, locations, and events in this story are fictional creations of Reserved Rodent. Any resemblances found within this work to other works, including real life, are freak accidents, so don't blame the author. In whole and part, original characters in this work belong to Reserved Rodent, so please make your own characters. This work was written with the intention of posting it and surrounding chapters on SoFurry.com. If you must take it and post it elsewhere, at least leave it fully intact, including these warnings, and give credit (or blame) where it is due. Linking back to this site would also be wonderful, as would alerting the author: me.

We have two male characters joking, talking, walking, washing, massaging, and kissing. They do all of this while naked. If this sort of activity is illegal to read in your part of the world, don't read it. If this kind of activity disturbs you, don't read it unless you want to be disturbed, in which case read it and don't complain.

Future chapters are going to range from spotlessly clean to various levels of naughtiness. I do not foresee delving into extremes, but there will be various adult level activities, including M/F and M/M. I will make sure to tag such adult segments correctly, so make sure you pay attention, because they will also have similar warnings to the above. All this is mentioned here so you don't get surprised (not that I expect you will be if you're browsing this site.)

For Every Door that Closes

by Reserved Rodent

Eleven

"Take the left path, Randy. It goes down to the waterfalls where we'll wash off all the stuff that's gotten in our fur. Then it's a short climb up to the top of the falls where there's a couple of different side pools set up that we can soak in to condition our fur and skin. After our pleasant soak, we will sprawl out on some nice sunning rocks nearby. There's usually a nice breeze to help speed up the drying process. Assuming we don't get messy again while spending so much time together so have to start over, there is a short walk down another path which brings us back here."

"Sounds like an impressive set up," I responded to Hyipgr as we walked down the left path.

"Yeah, I guess... if you've never had to pull logs out of the feed steams to the waterfall after a large storm, it would seem perfect. Aw, who am I kidding, the falls and pools feel great after that level of hard work."

Chuckling, I had to shake my head. "Does that kind of job automatically fall to you in your low rank?"

"Not at all. I've requested being given jobs around the village regularly because, well, I'm a horrible hunter. Doing the work around the village, I can contribute more than in a hunting pack. And I never said I was a low rank."

"I thought you said something about fourth from last," I admitted, turning my head to look at him as we walked down the dirt path between trees.

"Yes," He nodded with a smile, "Fourth. Out of..." He started thinking hard. At least that was what I assumed he was doing as his head tilted from side to side several times; his tongue tip popping out of one side of his muzzle, then another as he muttered. "Six hunting teams of eight each... The six of us who prefer not to hunt... three, four... five of the newly adult pups still training with full hunt packs... plus the six positions that get rotated through the village jobs..."

His eyes squinching shut as he ran through the numbers was very amusing. Well, at least until I stumbled over a rock. I caught my balance in two steps, but my yellow-tan furred walking companion started cackling, "If I didn't enjoy the attention you were giving me, I'd say you needed to pay better attention to where you're going."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "But the stubbed toe is worth it to see that silly look on your face."

"Hey! Math is hard." Hyipgr wined.

"Sixty-five and don't sulk about math being hard. Well, unless it's Trigonometry. That stuff always gave me troubles."

"That word did not translate. What's trig-in-nom-nom-tree?"

Chuckling at Hyipgr's pronunciation, I answered his question. "Very difficult math for this rat... Had an easier time with calcul- um, not important. What were you trying to add up? The current number of ranked males in the tribe?"

"Yes, but thanks to your interruption, I'll have to start all over."

"You were at 65, I think."

Softly cackling, Hyipgr gave out a snort, "Yeah, right, Randy."

"Six teams of eight members is forty-eight, plus six, including you, who don't hunt, plus six more to work in the village. Are these people selected one from each hunting pack?"

My walking companion nodded affirmative, eyes wide.

"So the hunting groups are actually nine members then, but there is always a member chosen to do chores back at the village?"

"Right. I'm not sure how the five in training will be split out between the packs after they get finished, but then, that's still a ways off and we will have you to add in as well, if you get adopted into the tribe. But right now, each of the hunter teams are nine strong in total."

"So, six and six are twelve," I said, trying to keep to one topic at a time. "Forty-eight plus twelve is sixty, then add in the five younger males still in training. Sixty-five. Are there more to add in?"

"No, the retired elder males don't keep ranks with the rest of us," Hyipgr said. "Sixty five of us. It's so easy to lose track of that number when you're almost number one."

"But, if you're fourth from last, that would put you at rank sixty-two and near the bottom of the heap."

My friend cackled, "Heap. That's funny. But no. My rank is fourth," he waved a paw with four fingers up at me, "from last. The three idiot young pups below me are at the bottom of the 'heap' of hyenas. They're ranked let's see, that would be sixty-five through sixty-three. Riggr's on the other side of me in the 'heap,' but he's like me, and counts from last.

"He had been closer to last than me until he had that fight he felt he had to win against Tangr, who was rank forty-four at the time. Riggr had his work cut out for him, batting Tangr's ego down until that idiot finally learned humility, so he was up there for a while. He's worked his way back to fifth from last and seems quite content there these days, though I thnk he's just as frustrated with the three pups have not figured out how to properly advance in rank yet.

"In any case, his challenging Tangr put me as the highest ranked peacemaker, and I'm beginning to think Rigger and the other three are happy to let me keep that position. Which, while unexpected, is a responsibility I'm comfortable with."

"Peacemaker?" I couldn't help but ask.

Raising one of his eyebrows at me, while the tip of his tongue slipped out the end of his muzzle briefly, Hypgr eventually said, "Is that what it translated into? It really is not about being passive. Maybe you should learn our word for it, jarlgra."

"Jarl-gra," I repeated carefully, it had been hard to concentrate on his pronunciation while my brain was trying to give me the translation it liked.

"Close, not so much delay between the lll and the grr. Jarlgra. See?" The word did not translate this time, making it easier to catch.

"Jarlgra."

"Very good. You aren't too old to learn new tricks."

"Ha ha, funny. So what, exactly does being the highest ranked jarlgra mean, then? It sounds like you're just targeting being at the bottom of the other ranks, at which time, why not just have a separate system all together?"

"While a jarlgra does denote distance from the lowest when speaking of his rank, this is done to remind people that we are the ones who can bring transgressors of the tribe's best interests down low."

I thought about the yellow-tan male's statement as we walked further. I could hear the waterfall clearly now as we were going downhill on the twisty path, but still could not tell through the trees how far it was.

"So," I said after several seconds of wrapping my head around the idea, "your roll within the hierarchy is to lower other males ranks down to your place if they... say, hurt another member of the tribe?"

"Or if he does something that makes it hard to catch game, or fails to perform his assigned duties; there are many things that can harm the tribe. We usually start with simply discussing mistakes with the transgressor and making sure he understands what he did wrong. Punishing someone for an accident or without them understanding what changes need to be made serves no purpose. The goal is to change wrong behavior. The punishment of knocking them down in rank, when handed out, is incentive to both recognize and then change a harmful behavior. This makes the whole tribe stronger."

"I figured that such incentives would have come from the top ranked down, not from the bottom up," I muttered to myself before realizing what this might mean. "Are you the one that will punish Fangr, then?"

"I had not heard anything from Jagr or others saying he needed the attention of a jarlgra. What have I missed?"

Shit, I'm doing this all wrong. "Um... Actually, I shouldn't be going around making folks think he's guilty even though I'm ninety-nine percent sure he is. I'm supposed to be asking tribe members if they've noticed anything odd about the way he or his two brothers have been acting. Can we pretend I asked that instead?"

"You may be a real pleasure to look at, Randy, but if you are looking to cause trouble in my tribe, I'm not going to help you. In fact, I'm going to demand you tell me what's going on right now."

Hyipgr's whole body was showing a much stronger, more dominant body language all of a sudden; it was no longer as hard to believe he held high rank of some sort.

"Fair enough," I admitted. "From my discussion with Greggie when I woke up this morning, I have come to believe that he is being abused by Fangr. This has already caused the kid to fear a beating from anyone who disagrees with him."

"It is our way to deal with most serious disagreements with duels, Randy. With Vergr calling Greg by his adult name, he may be expecting to be dueled though he is not yet adult enough to fare well in one."

"I did not mean that he expects to fight. The kid expects to be beaten; as in hit, or punched, or any other number of severe physical and damaging punishments. And not over big disagreements that one might expect to result in a duel.

"When I interrupted one of his rapidly spoken stories by simply raising an open hand to wave and get his attention," I explained, showing the minor gesture, "he flinched like he thought I was going to choke the life out of him. Don't tell me that's how you train your children because both Gran Lisa and Hunt Leader Jagr were extremely concerned by this, and I was asked by Jagr to talk with the folks staying in the village today and see if anyone else had seen evidence of any kind of abuse to Greg..." My words trailed out as my subconscious finally alerted me of something Hyipgr had said.

"You just referred to him as Greg rather than Greggie," I suddenly realized.

"I think your idea of a transition name for unique pups like Greg has merit. I can't promise you what the rest of the village will think, but I am willing to at least use that nickname while speaking with you.

"But back to the matter of our talkative pup's reactions," Hyipgr said, keeping on topic as much as one would expect a high ranking individual would do. "Why do you assume it is Fangr rather than Vergr who has caused this reaction in the youth? For that matter, why assume it is anyone in his family? At his age, there are many who he spends time with and learns from. Greg in particular is known to wander further than others and see more tribe members than most youth his age."

"Some of the things that he said this morning... I have only his words and reactions to go on, but he convinced me that Fangr has hit him for simply talking too long. I know Greg is prone to exaggeration, but he could just as easily be downplaying the abuse. I've heard of that reaction happening abused children back home. But I just feel that he's being honest and straight about what Fangr is doing to him. Have you seen anything that might help prove what is really going on?"

Hyipgr shook his head. "No, I haven't. But as I'm thinking about it, I don't think I've seen the two of them together since their father died two years ago. Fangr had to take responsibility for both Greg and Vergr until they reached adulthood. While I have seen him doing the work of two other villagers, that keeps him away from his brothers from dawn to well past dusk. I assume he sees them when he goes to the family hut for rest, but when the curtain is drawn, no one intrudes.

"Vergr gained a place in the ranks early last year and has done decently in progressing. So there is some help in supporting Greg from him now, but Fangr has not seemed to slow down at all. Seeing Vergr and Greg together does happen, and if anything, Vergr gives his younger brother too much latitude in behavior, but that is nothing odd when siblings lose their parent.

"I know they all share the same living quarters still, but Greg heads out early while his brothers head out in the hunting packs. Fangr is working hard enough that most expect him to be in command of one of the packs soon. But if what you believe is true, Randy..."

Hyipgr furled his brows for a few seconds. "I can do some asking around on my own as well, talk with Jagr and you about my findings this afternoon. I know Fangr took the loss of his father and the extra responsibility at so young an age hard, but I thought he was handling it all very well. If he's beating his younger brother rather than disciplining him and teaching him, well, he'll certainly get punished, but he will also need a lot of support to get back on the right track. And Greg will likely need another guardian. Vergr's a good hunter, but definitely not responsible enough to care for his younger brother fully."

Hearing all that my friend said about the situation, I realized that it wasn't going to be as simple as beating the tar out of Fangr for being a jackass.

"Um... what about Gria?" I asked. "I didn't see the 'family spot' on her shoulder blade until after I had pissed her off, but is she a relative of Greg? Could she step in as his guardian?" Please say no. Please, please, please, say no.

Giving a short cackle, my friend gave me a soft shove on the shoulder. "She's his cousin, and she's also a female. Males take care of boy pups; women take care of female pups. And honestly, I think she fared better against you than she would have against Gran Lisa. I don't know how long it will take her to figure that out, but you did her a favor."

"So that was making it around the whole village this morning?" I groaned.

"Oh yeah. I was telling you the truth when I said you were my hero. I just meant it in more ways than one."

"So how is it that you can punish folks when you are so low on the ranks?" I asked, trying to change the subject back away from me. "I thought they were established through fighting strength."

"Well, my low rank is personal choice rather than fighting ability. I may not be much of a hunter, but I've trained to be a damn good fighter in one on one duels. The point when a jarlgra is called in to punish a male by lowering his rank, most other options have failed. But in that case, those of us who have chosen this path have trained hard to be able to assist the tribe."

"But how can you chose to be low ranking, Hyipgr? I mean, I get that the lower you are, the more... threatening it might be to get lowered there, but doesn't you fighting a duel and winning against someone to be punished mean all you do is raise yourself over them?"

"Yup, and then I start right under the punished male's rank, asking them to challenge me so I can concede and thus move me and the punished down a rank while letting me enjoy one of my favorite pastimes; sucking and being fucked.

"Now, I have to be careful to not push too far back down if the one being punished is being uncooperative. If he decides to try and bypass me by challenging someone I let past us, I then have to challenge him again. We make sure each time they do something like that, the next defeat is more painful than the last. Even stubborn brutes catch on quickly. But causing pain in a tribe member is never fun."

"So you are not only good enough to be able to challenge and win against most, if not all, of the rest of the tribe, but vary how painful of a loss it is for your opponent? How in the world are you not considered by the females for having kids?"

My friend chuckled a little, "Well, I've actually got a daughter who is almost three. While I prefer receiving dick to giving, I meant what I said about envying males who get with a female for kids. Even though I don't get to see little Teema as much as I'd like, she's still the best thing in my life."

"You don't get to see your daughter as much as you want?" I was not sure how much of my worry leaked into my voice, but the idea of being kept from seeing a daughter scared me.

"Well, I'm not going to take her with me when I'm gather waste pots or doing more hazardous work like clearing logs out of a river. It's not like I get told I can't see her when I want to. Though as she gets older and starts taking lessons from the elders, well, I won't want to interrupt those either."

Sifting Hyipgr's words through my head, I remembered that this was a foreign culture. They did not do things like I had grown up expecting back home. They neither mated for life, nor did both parents seem to take on full responsibility for their children, but separated that duty by sex of the child. I was having trouble applying it to any of the parenting situations I was familiar with, but growing up with two loving parents in a small town really failed to give me a lot of experience to work from on a personal level. It might sound like separated parents with limited visitation rights, but I had only thirdhand knowledge of that kind of relationship at best to begin with.

"Don't you regret not being in her life more? I understand getting to visit her, but don't you want more?"

"I get to see her and support her. We are not strangers; she knows I love her. But there is only so much I can give her to help her grow into a strong individual and member of the tribe. I know her mother takes good care of her, as well as the rest of the tribe. While family bonds remain strong, raising children is not something a parent does alone. The entire tribe holds part of that responsibility. Which is why what you believe is happening to Greg is so concerning to me and Gran Lisa and Hunt Leader Jagr. Someone within the tribe should have noticed what was happening if it is as bad as you say. I am sure there will be a lot of embarrassed individuals if you are right."

"Doesn't mean I'll like being right in ... this... Wow."

The falls had snuck up on me as I turned a sharp corner in the path. There was a ledge about twelve feet up and over thirty feet long. One larger fall, around ten feet across, and half a dozen or so smaller ones, maybe a foot wide each, sprayed down like large showerheads. The water was brilliant, sparkling and clear as it gathered together and flowed in a decent sized stream past some stark white reeds that looked similar to cattails.

Several tall trees hung from he sides of the stream and the pool beneath the falls, flowering with dark purple and white blossoms with long, thin petals. The scent that filled the area was a combination of something sour combined with a sweet, almost pine smell. Somehow, it reminded me of the sugar covered, tart gummy bears that I had been practically addicted to as a kid. But even as I breathed deep, I could tell that the bitter half of the scent was either fading or I was becoming less sensitive to it, for it had been very strong at first.

As it faded, I caught a whiff of something else, almost laying under every other scent. I slowly took in another deep breath, trying to focus on it, and realized that it was some kind of background part of not only my own scent, but Hyipgr's. I turned my head over to put my nose against the fur covering my shoulder near my armpit and took another breath like the last.

"Yeah, you stink, Randy. But you'll get rid of most of it here and just have your own scent again." Hyipgr grinned as he walked over and broke off two reeds with the cattail like pods on the end.

"It's part of my natural scent that has me curious. It's like it's just under my own scent, and it smells like it is just under yours as well. It's nothing like sweat or something we'd both pick up... at least... damn this is all so new to me. I think it is something we're both producing, despite being different species... though I guess I am a little Hyena after the magic they used to heal me."

I glanced up as I heard Hyipgr draw closer to me. He held out one of the seed pods he had picked. "That's probably the pheromone that helps keep males relaxed around each other."

Grabbing the offered plant, I could tell the bitter scent was coming from it. "So all the males in the tribe give off a chemical scent to trigger... getting along with the other males?"

"As far as I know, it's pretty universal to all the different tribes. But it is only an assist. It doesn't control anyone, just sort of calms the tempers of us guys and makes it more enjoyable to hang out together. Keeps us guys from rubbing each other the wrong way as much as we might otherwise. Sure, we'll still disagree and duel and try and show we're better than each other to an extent, but it doesn't often turn bloody and helps make sure the make-up sex after is enjoyable and wanted by both parties."

"So it's basically creates an... er... attitude lube... to help males get along smoothly without taking away all their testosterone?" I asked.

Cackling, Hyipgr could only nod.

"So... what's the stink weed for?" I asked my yellowish tan furred companion when he finally stopped laughing.

"We call it zuddete," he said, gesturing for me to walk with him to the falls. Following him, I looked at the plant as he continued his explanation. "After we get wet, give it a firm squeeze to crush it slightly. That will start the pod releasing the substance that you can lather into your fur to not only help clean it, but also leaves a pest repellant scent behind. It will probably burn your nose and make you wish you hadn't gotten your sense of smell back for a few seconds, but for some reason, it as it's worked into the fur and skin, the stench fades into something mild and barely noticeable that only bothers the parasites and insects that would be biting you regularly without it."

"Interesting. Is this a naturally occurring plant or one that was modified by magic or selective... whatever they call breeding plants?"

"What a strange question. I have no idea. The Grans might know, but I'm not even sure anyone knows." He answered, walking into the shallow pool bellow the falls. The footing looked fairly flat and secure, with some sort of texture worked into the stone to keep it from being smooth.

"I suggest we both use the large fall," he continued as I stepped into the surprisingly warm water. "Even with the stalks on the zuddete, it can be difficult to reach one's back well. I can wash your back if you'll wash mine."

"Well, your hands have been all over my ass already, I suppose I can trust you to not do anything I dislike back there since you haven't yet," I grinned.

He looked back over his shoulder at me with what I assumed was a mischievous grin of his own. "So you liked the groping, then. Are you trusting me now, or giving me permission to do whatever I want?"

"That had been me trusting you; I'm reconsidering it now," I smiled back at him.

"How about I let you do me first and promise I'll return the favor exactly?"

"That depends entirely on what you meant by letting me 'do' you."

"Well, Randy, I'm fine with whatever you want. Admittedly, I'm assuming you are enough of a gentleman to not do anything without making sure I'm okay with it. I also think you are smart enough to realize that I do indeed mean that what you do to me will be returned exactly. Thus I believe that you will make sure you are comfortable both giving and receiving whatever activities you decide to risk."

"You said your were good enough to take on and likely beat anyone in the tribe. I don't plan on risking anything with you that would have you kicking my ass."

"Oh, come on. You killed a porsect single handedly. You'll probably rocket up to be running a hunting pack if we get you in the tribe. You can't be afraid of anyone in the tribe kicking your ass, Randy."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out as a sigh, I realized how frightening of a prospect Hyipgr's confidence in my ability to fight was. I needed to set the record straight before someone got hurt depending on me to be superman... er, superrat. "I don't have the weapon that actually killed the beast anymore. And I'm lucky I survived that encounter. I expect I won't be winning that many fights."

Something small wiggled in the water like a tadpole. I had noticed it only because my view had fallen down to just in front of my clawed, furry feet; Hyipgr's reaction to my last statement was not something I wanted to see. I hoped I didn't disappoint him too much.

Asking what the squirming, dark green creature was called got interrupted when two dark golden paws appeared, standing in the water before me. "Your fur looks good wet," I said as a lighter colored, dry paw reached out from in front of me to grab me softly under my muzzle. It sure does make a convenient handle to control where I look, I realized as my friend raised my eyes to meet his amber colored gaze.

"If another poresect sprang out of the woods here and attacked us, what would you do?"

"Tell you to go rally what hunters are working in the village and get them to the top of the falls with ranged weapons to try and take down the creature. I'd try and keep it distracted here, probably by tossing rocks at it, trying to hit it in they eyes since they do seem to suffer damage from hard, blunt strikes. I'd do my best to not get landed on by it again, but making sure it didn't follow you back to the village would be my prime concern."

"That, my dear Randy," Hyipgr stated, running his right paw from under my muzzle, across my left cheek, to rest gripping the side of my head right under my ear. At the same time, his other hand used the pod it held to pat me lightly in the middle of my chest. "Is exactly why you will do well in this tribe as a member of it."

"Or it is exactly why I'll die young on this world when I bite off more than I can chew."

"No," he responded softly, "Don't think that. Why can't you just accept my compliment?"

"I... I don't know. I've always had trouble... I just... I just don't think I'm doing anything special."

A trace of a smile glittered in Hyipgr's eyes. "Silly Randy, that's part of what makes you special. Look, you answered my question about what you would do if another attack happened without any delay. Tell me, why did you send me back to relative safety instead of going yourself?"

"I figure you are likely to know who all is here today, where to find them quickly, and what to tell them to make sure they get here with the needed weapons and supplies quickly. I'm a stranger here, so don't know those things, nor would I expect them to listen to me since I am not a member of the tribe."

"Why stay behind? Why not also try and get back to the village?"

"This is already too close to the village. I assume that kids and unprepared adults are likely to visit here regularly since this is the bathing area. A poresect, simply by being here, would have already made it to a location enabling it to hurt multiple tribe members. It would need to be prevented from getting closer to those it would slaughter until it could be killed. Running it off would simply be delaying trouble."

Taking a deep breath, I continued. "This place appears to offer a great advantage towards the end of killing such a creature. Being able to attack at a range from the top of these falls should allow you to kill the beast while minimizing the chance of any hunter losing his life. Your hunting packs might be able to figure out other, probably better, locations to attempt killing such a creature when it threatens the safety of the village, but - again, I'm new here. Just using what little I know as best as I can think up. Nothing special there."

"You speak well of the trees you see, Randy," Hyipgr said, brushing his hand down the side of my neck, over my shoulder and down my arm to twine his fingers through mine. "Let me speak of the jungle you have missed."

Walking backwards slowly, gently pulling me towards the largest waterfall, my friend continued. "I see someone who, in a split second, came up with an audacious, though very workable, plan to remove a severe threat to my village. He only risks is himself, to save a people he has just met."

We were close to the falls now. A light, surprisingly warm spray began to hit me as Hyipgr stepped back into the falling water. The yellowish tan fur across his body slowly turned a deep gold as it became soaked.

"Your tribe saved my life, friend. It would be very poor of me to not do my best to repay the favor."

Water started soaking into my fur as I allowed myself to be pulled into the fall with the hyena. It was not as hot as I used to take my showers, nor was the water as even in pressure and coverage, but the sensation was still pleasant and a lot closer to what I was used to than I imagined a waterfall should have been.

Closing my eyes, I took in a slow, deep breath of the damp air, now filled with both Hyipgr's and my scents. Runs of the warm water rolled down through my fur on all sides of me. They seemed to eagerly devour a little of the tension I had not realized had built in me this morning and stole it away. Muscles relaxed and I just allowed myself to enjoy the sensation.

My fingers slipped from Hyipgr's gentle hold as my arms grew heavy with lazy ease. My head lolled back, nose facing the sky, though thankfully covered quickly and by reflex with my tongue slipping out over my elongated front teeth. A soft moan slipped out as I rolled my head around, releasing the last of the built up tension from my neck.

Fingers slowly eased my grip lose from the reed Hyipgr had given me. I opened my eyes to see why he had just taken it from me.

"I didn't want you to drop it as distracted as you looked to be getting," my friend said, turning to set the extra cattail on a stone shelf in the cliff wall at the back of the waterfall. "You look like it feels real good so far, Randy. Why don't you hand me your crotch covering as well before your tail drops it."

Looking over as my tail brought my soggy underwear up to be grabbed by the wet hyena, I had to chuckle. "Damn thing seems to know what it's doing better than I do most times. But I have to admit, I think having a tail is the thing I like best about my new form."

"Sometime, I want to hear about what you used to look like, but not right now." Hyipgr said, wrapping my boxer briefs around the seed pod on the reed he still held. "Right now, take a deep breath and prepare to have the next breath you take smell real nasty."

Doing as he said, I watched him wring my undergarment into the pod, squeezing it hard. A soft cracking sound brought a shiny, white liquid dribbling out of the cloth.

"Well that's suggestive, isn't it?" I grinned just before scowling as I took my first breath of industrial, sewer strength pest repellant. The gagging and sputtering that came next were perfectly justified in my mind. I raised my head, mouth open and tongue sticking out to let water do it's best to wash away the stench and taste.

"The first time's the worst. It's not going to kill you, so don't drown yourself, Randy."

Since I had already sneezed on him today, I decided not to spit water all over him. Very adult of me, I felt.

"I am so sorry I did not take into account how strongly your first whiff of freshly popped zuddete would hit you." I heard him moving behind me as he spoke. The nasty stench had managed to drop from industrial strength down to extra strong strength, so I was hoping he was correct about it fading to unnoticeable strength soon.

From behind me, hands started kneading my shoulders. "Relax, friend. I know that will be hard with the cleaner's stench working your sinuses over, but you've been worrying all day. It's been part of your musk since I met you, and having spoken with you, I understand why. But we're washing all of that away here and now. Let's keep it from building up on you as badly again."

Hyipgr's voice sounded so calm and relaxed. His clawed thumbs pressed deep into the muscles just above my shoulder blades while his fingers firmly stroked a lather into the fur on my shoulders. I found myself leaning backwards into his massage and practically forgetting everything but how good the patterns of his hands working the cleansing lather into the fur of my back while also massaging tension out of every muscle he touched.

"I have a question for you, Randy," I heard my friend say as he moved from the base of my spine to knead the muscles on my right side, from arm pit moving down.

"Since I appear to be putty in your hands right now, feel free to ask," I murmured in response.

"Where you come from, is it considered wrong for two males to be intimate?" Just after he asked the question and before I could answer, his relaxing massage down my ribs turned into a poke. "Don't tense up. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of you, silly."

"Where did that question come from, though?"

"One of the many parts of my duty to the tribe as a jarlgra is being able to read the body language and scents that portray a person's thoughts and feelings. It is not a foolproof thing to do, but it does grant some illumination at times.

"You seem to tense up when duels are brought up. It is not by much, and you hide it well, but the thought does disturb you on some level. Fighting and ranks themselves don't seem to bother you, which leaves the most likely item to be the sex between males that comes at the end of each duel."

I considered suggesting that Hyipgr just had sex on his mind all the time, but since he had finished with both of my sides and was now washing my ass cheeks rather than groping them, I could not bring myself to say anything.

"From the performance you and Mira put on, I know you are no stranger to sex. You had no trouble being close to me when wiping the bloody snot off me and you seem to have grown comfortable with the playful flirting we do. I am trying to understand what it is that concerns you so I can help you resolve the issue. I wondered if the society you were raised in had strictures against male with male sex."

Sighing, both at the way the conversation had gone as well as because he was now washing my thick tail and it felt very comforting, I took a few seconds to collect my thoughts.

"Rather than try and explain the convoluted, occasionally hypocritical, ranging from acceptance to murderous hatred way homosexuality was viewed on my world, let me try and answer the question behind what you asked. Why do I tense up when thinking about the sex at the end of duels? I worry that I won't be able to handle the expected sex that ends every duel."

We both remained silent for the short time it took for Hyipgr to wash the last half of my tail with the later from the seed pod. As he let my happily pacified limb slip free from his grip, he stepped up to softly hug me from behind. "At this point in the process, I would normally lather up and clean your crack, ending with a single digit washing just inside the entrance there. I can continue as normal, or stop here and let you finish washing yourself, or skip past any step you are not comfortable with. There's still your legs, arms, chest and then groin that need washing, but those are all pretty easy to reach yourself. For all I know, they're easy for you to massage yourself as well."

"You're doing wonderfully. I'm okay with you continuing as you normally would."

"Sure," he replied. "But you need to explain why you're worried about the intimacy after the duels. They help keep the tribal males close to each other emotionally, both reaffirming the bond of support between winner and loser as well as sharing the victor's strength so that both are able to grow from their experience."

"Yeah, that was kind of explained to me, but..." I paused as my friend had managed to complete washing me from the base of my tail to the back of my balls, so had just slipped a finger into my anus. The entry was surprisingly easy with the slick liquid from the seed pod to help. He did not seem to go very deep, but quickly spun the furry intruder back and forth a few times before sliding back out. The procedure was not painful in the least, just surprising and different.

"Keep talking, silly," the hyena chuckled, giving me a light pat on my ass before kneeling down to start washing my right thigh and leg.

"Oh, um, two parts to my tension. First, I've grown up with a strong decision to avoid casual sex. Mira was actually the first female I had not spent a long courting period with before reaching the point of intimacy. I'm still mildly upset with myself for what we did. There's no undoing it, but unless my vision and her words are both wrong and there are no kids on the way from what we did, I've effectively shut off trying to find a way back home. That would be abandoning my kids, and I won't do that to them. No mater how well taken care of I know they might be in the hands of the tribe, I am still responsible for their being raised healthy and safe. I won't ignore that."

"A very respectable stance; you know how the tribe feels about caring for the young," the wet hyena massaging and cleaning the back of my right knee stated. "But here's some things to consider as far as your avoidance of casual sex goes. Without knowing the reasons behind your decision, I will not argue against you holding it. But it is almost offensive to hear the term casual used to describe what happens at the end of a dual.

"While the sex is not for the same kind of reasons as intercourse with one you have befriended, courted, and developed ties of respect-and-affection-for-he-who-helps-you-be-a-better-person-love with, that does not make it casual. It is still important, and it is with one who you likely know well. Even straight challenges for rank do not happen between strangers. We are all of the same tribe, and if different schedules and responsibilities have kept two makes ready to challenge for rank apart, they will ask for a period of time being assigned together in their duties. This allows both of them to get a better feel for each other and their relative strength.

"This is the lesson that the three young adults at the bottom of the ranking have yet to learn. They have not advanced because they keep walking up to those they do not know, hoping to win an easy challenge and have sex with someone they think looks nice. They, which happens from time to time, do indeed treat sex at the end of a duel as casual. If they were stronger, and actually progressing in ranks at this time, then one of us jarlgra would be keeping them down until their attitudes matured. They may be physically mature and skilled hunters, but they still have to learn how to be adults.

"I had really hoped you would understand better than them," Hyipgr sighed, cleaning my toes.

"To be fair, you are the first male to speak with me about this. I really only had the briefest of introductions to the idea from Mira, who admitted speaking with a male would help me understand better. This is helping, but it's still going to be an adjustment from what I am used to, so it might take a little time. Please don't think I'm not trying to understand, just realize how much new information is being thrown into my brain today.

"My default assumptions are still set with the whole wooing a woman and getting to know her better before sex becomes possible."

"I do understand that much about you Randy. That's why I'm doing my best to get to know and charm you now."

I chuckled mildly at my friend as he moved to cleaning my other thigh. "You still have the second concern I have with sex with a male, and it covers just about every situation. The duels just aren't something completely under my control to prevent happening, so that's why they get a reaction from this."

My tail started swinging nervously back and forth. Evidently, it got in the way, as Hyipgr stopped working on cleaning my leg long enough to push the twitching thing over his shoulder to lightly thump up and down on his back. "Go on at your own speed." He said, patting my ass.

"I've spent most of my adult life only feeling sexual attraction to females. At most, I could have said that I would feel envious of some of the sexier guys I'd see because I wished I had one of their attractive features myself. I've been told it's low self esteem, which the whole not accepting compliments well sort of supports, but I've heard it said that such a thing is me repressing my gay feelings. Any more, I suspect it might be a little of both depending on the male. People on my world seemed to be falling into a trend of wanting everything to be based on one simple explanation, which just doesn't happen that often.

"In any case, the small town I grew up near just did not have that many opportunities to try new things. And when I moved away to continue my studies, a time many consider to be the time for a young adult to experiment and figure out who he or she is, well, I had managed to decide against the whole casual sex thing, and was taking my hard curriculum seriously. That and the fact I was well aware of the many sexually transmissible diseases with no cures out there, well, I kept to the safe relationship path."

Having finished washing my lower extremities, Hyipgr stood and moves to my side. My tail slipped from his shoulder and wrapped itself lightly around his waist as he started massaging and working the cleansing lather into my left arm from the shoulder down.

"I did make some bisexual and gay friends during that time, but they all respected the fact I only showed interest in women," I said, watching my friend work on my fur and muscles out of the corner of my eye. "Looking back, I know I was starting to admit to myself, unconsciously, that while I still loved the sexuality of the female form, I was starting to feel more than simple envy towards a few guys. And if I had been less frightened, I could likely have had a few good times learning about male with male intimacy. But before I could bring myself to consciously admit those kinds of feelings also existed in me, my studies had finished and I working in the real world with my old friends doing the same and the physical distance between us vast."

I was forced to pause briefly in my confessions as my friend's attentions to my palm and finger pads were incredible enough to draw a moan from me. "How do you cause so much pleasure and relaxation doing something so simple there?"

"Not too many folks realize how sensitive their pads are. Nor do they take the time to pay attention to how much of their tension gets trapped in their paws. Thus, when attention is paid, it's not only a rare treat, but it's also usually very needed. You're certainly appearing to suffer from the pressure of carrying too much around by yourself."

He released my left hand and slowly walked past my front, rubbing his paw lightly across my collarbone. My tail slowly released his waist, and I am not sure if it gently sliding over his soaked fur felt as nice to him as it did to me, but we both shared a smile as he reached my other side to start on that arm. Sweeping over to that side to wrap around his waist again, my tail proved once again to be my favorite change in my new body.

"In any case, adjusting once again to a new city to live in as well as a new job, kept me distracted completely from developing a romantic relationship with anyone. I imagine if I examined the last few years before being brought here, I could find multiple missed chances, but I was content and happy with simply working and being responsible for no one but myself."

Finishing the massage of my right biceps, Hyipgr looked up to give me a grin as he rubbed over my elbow and forearm. "So now you find yourself here. A new world, a new body, new rules..."

Nodding, I remained silent, eagerly waiting for him to reach my hand-pads. His nimble fingers reached my wrist and turned my hand palm up, but then remained teasingly there. Rubbing softly, which did feel nice, but was not what I was looking forward to. Looking deeper into his eyes, I realized that he was either teasing me or waiting for something. Or more likely, I decided, both.

"What?" I asked as his grin grew larger.

"My question exactly," he smiled. "You have worked up to something, but still not named this mysterious second reason you grow uncomfortable when duels are mentioned. All I have heard is that it sounds like you would be open to the close, bonding activity that ends them."

"Really?" I responded. "Now who is missing the forest for the trees?"

"When all you describe are trees, what am I supposed to see?"

"You can be a real pain in the ass can't you?" I growled. "Fine, you want me to state the obvious? I will. I've never had sex with a male before. The thought of having to do so with an individual not of my choosing, publicly, and in a role predetermined by the outcome of a duel scares the crap out of me. That is not how I want my first time to be. It does not feel like it would be a good way to lose that kind of virginity. The large, dark, scarey forest clear enough for you?"

My friend started running his claw tips and fingers over my palm pad. It felt great, but I was still a little upset with having had to admit that out loud. "Don't you feel better now?"

"Yes..."

"No."

"... Maybe?"

"Is it too late to change my answer?" I grinned and leaned over to gently rub our noses together.

"You seem to enjoy being a pain in the ass as well, Randy."

"True," I admitted. "But I remember you commenting that you preferred getting it in the ass."

He had finished cleaning my second hand and slowly walked to stand in front of me. "I have something I need to tell you before I perform this last part of washing you. You have another decision to make."

I nodded for him to continue.

"This whole thing usually ends with me sucking off a very happy recipient. I would be happy to do this with you, but I understand if you are not yet ready. You won't hurt my feelings if you say no. But I'm going to need to know how you want this to go before too long. I can only drag out washing and massaging your chest for so long."

Waiting a few seconds to let my thoughts settle, I realized that I did find this new friend of mine very attractive, both physically and personally. Of the latter, there was still a lot to learn, but so far, I liked what I had discovered. And he was giving me the chance to have at least a partial first time experience with him, if I chose to do so. Just the offer was very touching.

When my lips had reached his and my tongue softly licked at his mouth, I am not sure who was more surprised. But we both reacted to increase the strength of the kiss. His muzzle opened and his tongue wrapped around mine. We wrestled orally for a while, not seeking dominance over the other, but working to maneuver so that no surface was left unattended. While the activity was fierce and hungry, our arms wrapping around each other's back made it seem gentle and caring. Comparing the kiss to the one I had shared with Mira, this one seemed more of a sharing experience, and I found I loved it's feel.

Breaking the kiss, while needed to get enough air to breathe, was hard. Once my lungs were filled and calmed, I answered Hyipgr's question.

"Thank you for this kind, understanding gesture. If you finish cleaning me off, and let me return the favor, getting you nice and clean, I think I can build up enough bravery to answer your question in a way that will satisfy us both. That acceptable to you, friend?"

"Absolutely," my soaked, golden hyena replied as he stepped back and got to work on my chest.