{"sf1_id":161388,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Let It Be, Ch 2","author":"comidacomida","words":2525,"posted_at":"2010-07-14T06:43:00.000Z","tags":["Alligator","Buck","Character Development","Fantasy","Gay Relationships","M/M","Medieval","Mild Drama","Mild Romance","Story Progression","Young Love"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/161388-let-it-be-ch-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/161388","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=161388\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Let it Be  \nChapter 2  \ncopyright 2010 comidacomida\n\nIt was after dark by the time Cory finally got the tanning shop closed. It had been as busy a  \nday as he'd expected and then some. At first, the morning started out at a quick-but-manageable  \npace, but it quickly grew into a frenzy just before lunch as the ranchers from outside of town  \nbrought their promised dozen livestock. The butcher met with the rancher at the tanning shop  \nand handled the slaughter, but then Cory had to work exclusively on that order so the butcher  \ncould get to work cutting up the meat; other jobs were set aside and began piling up.\n\nThe rest of the day was catch-up for the buck, even with the help of the four alligator women,  \nhis shop assistants. Naia, the eldest of Ackert's daughters spent the day tending to waiting  \nclients while Fedine ran orders. Yveen and Lidee, the youngest of the two daughters were  \nconstantly racing back and forth for Cory, helping him keep his equipment in order and making  \ncertain that the fur and leather were tended once he had the carcasses skinned.\n\nIn the early afternoon, just as Cory was finishing up the huge order, a wagon train passed  \nthrough and stopped to request the buck's services. He was as amiable as possible in explaining  \nthat he would work to fit them in but he expected that they would have to wait for the following  \nday. For the amount of work it would require he informed him that it would not be a small  \nprice; the coin pouch he received was double his asking rate-- as long as he would finish the  \nwork by the end of the day.\n\nAnd so it was that Cory was only just managing to get the shop closed. Not only had he opened  \nat dawn, but the sun was already behind the horizon by the time he could lock the shop.  \nNormally Cory made it a point to end his work day when Ackert returned, but the alligator had  \nbeen home for a number of hours when the buck could finally call it quits. He looked at the  \npile of coins sitting in his secluded office and only sighed; although it had been a long day  \nand he had not worked so hard since he first opened, he realized the coin he made more than  \ntripled his normal earning.\n\n\"I brought you something to eat.\" the buck heard the soft, caring rumble of Agatha from the foot  \nof the steps. Turning around, Cory watched the matronly alligator set a tray on the shop  \ncounter.\n\n\"Thanks, Mom.\" Cory smiled, \"I'll get to it in a minute.\"\n\n\"Alright, Cory... just remember that there's more to life than work.\"\n\n\"I know, I know.\" he smiled, closing the door to the office, \"I just don't want to have to worry  \nabout cleaning up first thing in the morning; leaving the chemicals out over night would make  \nsleeping impossible.\"\n\n\"Okay.\" the alligator woman nodded, \"Rolis finished dinner and is drawing a bath.\" she didn't  \nmove from the base of the steps.\n\n\"Alright... just finishing up.\" he spoke over his shoulder.\n\n\"He's drawing a bath.\" she repeated.\n\n\"I know. I heard.\" the buck acknowledged, quickly placing a set of skinning knives back into  \ntheir sheathes and storing them safely away in a drawer.\n\n\"He'll be in the bath soon.\" her voice held a hint of humor... and Cory finally got the picture.\n\n\"Oh... okay...\" he smiled, glancing back to her, \"I'm done for the night.\"\n\nAgatha smiled, \"I thought you might be.\"\n\nCory practically inhaled his meal. Ever since he had escaped the dungeon where he spent far too  \nlong, the buck appreciated his food the most by consuming it at a pace that few could match. It  \nmeant that he had less time to enjoy the flavor, but it always left him feeling pleasantly  \nstuffed.\n\nMost of the time Cory was not familiar with the meals Agatha prepared; he assumed that alligator  \ncuisine differed from what his parents used to serve. Regardless his 'mom' did an excellent job  \nof finding things he'd be willing to eat despite the fact that the alligator family did not  \nusually include vegetables in their meals and she was always kind enough to keep meat out of  \nhis.\n\nHe brought his dish with him back upstairs and made a casual appearance at the table. He took  \nthe time to thank each of the girls individually. Before leaving he looked to Ackert, \"How did  \ntraining go today? I didn't see Rolis leave.\"\n\n\"Not surprising... I think you were elbows-deep in cow at the time.\" the older gator grinned.\n\n\"Yea... busy day.\" Cory admitted.\n\n\"I don't think I've seen any flat-tooth get so far into a carcass before.\" Fedine smirked  \ntoothily at him. The first time Cory had seen the expression he found it disconcerting, but,  \nafter the last few months it had become endearing.\n\n\"It's a talent, I guess.\" he offered a sheepish smile, moving his plates to the wash basin. He  \nscrubbed each one throughly and set them aside to dry. Looking back to the alligators, to his  \nfamily, he leaned against the counter, \"Anyone need anything before I disappear for the night?\"\n\n\"Fine, thanks.\" Yveen and Lidee said in perfect unison.\n\n\"No, nothing.\" Naia confirmed.\n\n\"Just remember to look into the scented oils I told you about for tomorrow.\" Agatha reminded  \nhim.\n\n\"Right.\" Cory nodded, \"I'll talk to the apothecary before we open tomorrow... I'm sure he can  \nget something put together.\" he glanced to the two youngest alligators, \"Can you two come with  \nme tomorrow? I have a lot on order.\" The two girls nodded their consent, \"Alright...\" the buck  \nacknowledged, \"then I'm turning in... it's been a long day.\"\n\n\"Goodnight, Cory.\" Ackert spoke.\n\n\"Thanks.\" the buck smiled warmly, and he headed for his bedroom.\n\n\"Have fun.\" Fedine called after him with a smile in her voice. Cory felt his ears turn red...  \njust a little.\n\n\"Goodnight.\" was all he responded.\n\nAs soon as the door to his room closed behind him, Cory let out a deep breath. He could already  \nfeel the warm, steam-laden air that filled his bedroom; the door to the bathing chamber was  \nopen. The buck undid the strap holding his apron on and carefully set it down into the basket  \nthat held the rest of his dirty work clothing; the basket was made of Venna Reed, a plant that  \nabsorbed odor, and he wouldn't have wanted to live without it... curing leather was bad enough,  \nbut having the scent of the chemicals all over his room would have been murder. Closing the top  \nof the basket, Cory let out a deep breath, and stripped off the rest of his clothes.\n\nThe buck inhaled deeply again, stretching and yawning, enjoying the sense of freedom being  \ncomfortably nude gave to him. He rubbed his paws all over his body, smoothing it out and  \ngrooming away the day's activity. He smiled at himself in the mirror, rubbing at a small dark  \nsplotch on his otherwise pure-white chest fur. Finding himself presentable, he finally made his  \nway to the bathing chamber, reveling in the heat that permeated the stone room.\n\nThe room was almost the same size as his bedroom, but it felt much smaller due to the deep,  \nbroad basin inset in the floor. The basin, which held hot water for lounging and bathing in was  \na nearly three foot deep oval that was approximately eight foot long and three or four foot  \nwide. The entire room was inlaid with orange-brown stones except for the basin, which was  \nformed of one solid piece of some kind of marble. All of this meant little to Cory, however, as  \nhis eyes were focused on what lay within the basin amidst the steaming water.\n\nRolis was almost completely submerged in the bath. The tip of the large alligator's shoulders  \njust barely poked above the waterline, and his head lay back against the lip of the tub. On the  \nfar opposite side of the oval basin the last foot and a half of Rolis' tail emerged from the  \nwater and flopped out across the floor. Cory knew that his lover enjoyed hot baths... very  \nnearly too hot for the deer, but there were certain sacrifices that Cory was willing to make.\n\n\"Hi.\" Rolis spoke up in his deep rumbling voice, powerful enough to make the water around him  \nvibrate. It wasn't until after he had spoken that he bothered opening his eyes, turning his  \nslitted pupils to gaze at the buck.\n\n\"Your dad work you hard today? Looks like you're enjoying a good soak...\" Cory noted, kneeling  \ndown beside the basin. He brushed a few fingers through the water; it was as hot as he  \nexpected, and he couldn't keep them in for long. Rolis simply nodded, and held up a talon to  \nthe buck. Cory smiled, placing his paw in it, and the alligator interlaced his claws with the  \nbuck's fingers.\n\n\"Join me?\" Rolis invited. Cory nodded, and the alligator helped balance the buck's weight as he  \nslowly slid a leg into the hot water. Cory winced, and hissed, and slowly lowered himself even  \nlower, slipping his second leg into the tub as well. It took nearly five minutes until Cory had  \nboth legs in the pool, standing up on the bottom with the water nearly up to his groin. With  \nnumerous breaths, winces, hisses, and gasps later, the water was up to the buck's belly button,  \nand he lowered himself even further until the water was lapping at his shoulders.\n\n\"Sometimes I think you're crazy bathing in water this hot.\" Cory noted, sliding a little closer  \nto his scaled lover.\n\n\"I like feeling warm.\" Rolis answered, curling an arm around the buck's waist.\n\n\"That's what you have me for.\" Cory smiled.\n\n\"I want you to feel warm too.\" the alligator explained, blinking. Although most non-reptiles  \nwouldn't have understood the simple sentence Cory knew his lover well enough to know exactly  \nwhat he was talking about.\n\n\"You don't have to raise your body temperature to make me feel warm... you do fine just by being  \nhere with me.\" Cory said, moving so that he could rest his side against Rolis' chest.\n\nThe alligator smirked in a subdued manner and softly rubbed Cory's back. The buck took a deep  \nbreath and relaxed against his lover, enjoying the feel of the scaled talon dragging through his  \nfur. Cory's own hand gingerly traced the scales on Rolis' abdomen beneath the water and the  \nsubsonic rumble of approval the buck felt as the gator's scales vibrated against his paw made  \nthe buck's whole body tingle-- he'd had the chance to feel that vibration on several occasions  \nagainst more than just his paw.\n\n\"I'm going to the alchemist's tomorrow.\" Cory spoke. He closed his eyes, wishing with all his  \nmight that he didn't have to tell his lover, but he knew that he needed to.\n\n\"Why?\" the displeasure was evident in Rolis' voice.\n\n\"Because I need more chemicals, and Mom wants some oils.\" Cory spoke, inwardly sighing at his  \nhorrible timing-- he knew he should have waited.\n\n\"Go somewhere else.\" the alligator said simply; it was not a new argument between them.\n\n\"The only other vendor in town charges too much.\" Cory answered; it was a familiar verbal dance  \nand he knew the steps by heart.\n\n\"I will go with.\" Rolis stated without pausing, undoubtedly as familiar with the argument as the  \nbuck.\n\n\"Yveen and Lidee are already going with me. I'll be fine.\" Cory reassured him, \"Besides...  \nAckert will probably want you with him.\"\n\nRolis fell silent after that and it surprised Cory. In most circumstances they each had at  \nleast five or six more arguments to get out of one another. The buck looked up to Rolis' eyes,  \nwhich were gazing down at the water away from him, \"I'll be fine.\" Cory repeated, not quite sure  \nif he was trying to reassure his lover or get their by-the-book argument to pick up where it  \nleft off.\n\n\"Please don't go.\" Rolis spoke quietly, still not meeting his gaze, \"I have a bad feeling...\"\n\nCory was caught off guard by his lover's plaintive request-- that was NOT their usual bickering  \nover the alchemist.\n\n\"What's wrong, Rolis?\" Cory asked, rotating in the bath so he could face the alligator. Rolis  \nreached out to him and Cory drew closer. The big bull gator pulled him close until the buck was  \nlaying against his scaled abdomen and chest.\n\n\"I want you to stay here tomorrow.\" Rolis stated simply.\n\n\"But, I need to--\"\n\n\"I will go with Yveen and Lidee.\" Rolis interrupted.\n\n\"I have to get--\"\n\n\"I will get everything.\" the alligator pressed.\n\n\"I can't ask you to change your schedule just so--\"\n\n\"You didn't ask. I offered.\" Rolis countered.\n\n\"Okay... alright, Rolis...\" Cory spoke quietly, \"If it's that important to--\"\n\n\"It is.\"\n\n\"Are you going to let me get any words in or are you--\" Cory's sentence was interrupted not by  \nany words but, rather, by the alligator's playful grin; Rolis didn't need to say anything to  \nmake the buck laugh... or, as things heated up, cause him to make any number of other sounds.\n\nThe two lovers rested against one another in bed an hour later, reveling in the afterglow of  \ntheir coupling. The alligator was dozing comfortably, still radiating the heat from the bath,  \nwhich made Cory just as drowsy. He was more than ready to pass out for the night, but his mind  \nwasn't quite ready to stop working.\n\nCory wavered on the brink of sleep, coddled in the embrace of his beloved alligator. Rolis'  \nbody was wrapped around him, still so warm that the buck didn't need a blanket. One of Rolis'  \ntalons gingerly held both of Cory's wrists while the other one gripped the edge of the mattress,  \nstretched across the bed. The alligator's arm served as a headrest for the buck. Cory's body  \nwas more than comfortable enough to fall asleep, but yet he couldn't.\n\nSomething about the evening nagged at Cory's mind. It wasn't anything new that Rolis didn't  \nlike him going to the apothecary; the jackal was from the same kingdom as they. It seemed like  \nsuch an insignificant detail considering the fact that they were no longer there, but something  \nabout it had obviously caused the alligator enough concern that he was willing to plead (in his  \nown way) to have Cory skip the trip.\n\nCory yawned as he tried to force his brain to turn off. The buck didn't know why Rolis was  \nsuddenly more concerned than usual about the trip, but Cory knew that he'd need the supplies.  \nHe didn't like the idea of sending out Rolis to do his errands for him but he realized that, in  \nhis own way, he'd already said okay. Flexing his tail a few times, Cory felt the stretched  \nflesh of his opening still slick with the proof of their lovemaking. He closed his eyes,  \nrealizing that being conviced to give that errand over to his lover was definitely worth it.\n\n  \n  \n\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/111919-let-it-be-ch-1.json"}