New Beginnings: Chapter One: Out of Place
#1 of New Beginnings
Disclaimer and note: This story does NOT contain acts of a sexual nature, however it does contain mild nudity and strong language, and hence I have decided to rate it adult.
Special thanks to: ArcticWolf451, for suggestions and proofreading, and for being such a good friend in rough times. Bernard Doove, for inventing Chakats, none of this would be possible without him making such a cool species!
New Beginnings
Chapter One: Out of Place
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Nervousness, hate, remorse, loneliness: These are all emotions that I felt stepping off the plane in Helena, Montana.I had few relics of my time at home, my true home, pictures of bright smiling faces, arms locked over each other's shoulders with childish grins or a picture of a friend having a staring contest with a 'roo. My friends were gone, but not their memories.
That's not to say of course that I'd never see them again, oh no. There was always online chatting and webcams, my friends were with me everywhere, but the thought that I'd have to be separated from them for such a long time, possibly for years, put stones in my stomachs.I was nudged forward, interrupting my memory session, and I stretched slightly, willing myself forward, past the plane, my last link to home.
My muscles ached, I couldn't take a normal plane due to my stature, you see... I'm a chakat. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a taur creature, similar to the centaurs of legend, except that we're not chimeras (animal hybrids), we are fully feline. What sort of feline, well that differs from chakat to chakat. I have black and silver fur, in about five centimeter stripes with an eight centimeter "crossfade" zone, where the fur colors overlap. This dichromatic scheme appears a somewhat iridescent cobalt in low levels of light... such as moonlight. My paws and forearms (and forelegs) were pure silver, with a jagged, abrupt transition to black. This is what gives me my name, Silverpaw. My parents considered naming me Silvermane, due to my long, curly silver hair that flows down my back, but they thought it too manly, chakats are all female, at least in manner anyway... but that's an explanation for another time, for now back to the story.
The plane ride was exhaustingly long, from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, California to Denver, Colorado to, finally, Helana, Montana. Supporting even my one hundred and fifty kilogram frame, small for a chakat, was difficult for such a long time and I trudged past security once again with a groan, relieved that this was the final destination. My mother, Moonbeam, put a paw on my shoulder. "Chip up mate... this is the last stop..."
I looked up. "Really? Where're we headed anyway?"
"To the backblocks, a tiny place called Wellings."
"And why the hell are us Ozzies here O.S. anyway?"
"Got a deal, my love did. Shi got a call that they're opening another server out here in Wellings for the Americans... so we're moving here."
"Pig's Arse!" I spat angrily.
Moonbeam sighed a little, speaking softly. "Now listen up you lil' bastard..." (Though this may sound angry, it was actually endearing.) "It's not gonna be so bad here... look at it this way, cooler temperatures, so no Ozzie salutes!" Shi grinned at me.
I couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'll admit, it will be nice not to have those bloody blowies in my face."
Shi nodded, patting my back as we exited the airport. "Wellings is about a twenty click trot to school here in Helena, you can manage that, right?"
I thought for a second, a thirty kilometre per hour trot wasn't difficult for a chakat to obtain, it wouldn't be a challenge at all. "I guess."
Shi kissed my cheek. "Just give it a fair go, don't bail out before you've had a chance to give it a Captain Cook, alright?"
I sighed. "Alright... I swear, you oldies are such a pain."
Moonbeam just shook hir head. "Oi..." We headed towards a slightly elongated and heighted car with no seats. "The company ordered up a chakatafied car for us, so that's one less thing we have to shop for. I promise that as soon as we get to our new home, you can hit the sack, 'kay?"
I just yawned and got into the car, my legs trembling with exhaustion. My father and siblings would be arriving two days later as they didn't have room on this flight. The trip took us only about 15 minutes and I didn't even have a chance to check out our new home, grand as it was, completely modified for a chakat's comfort. Though, at the moment, I only cared about my comfort, taking a glance to where the bathroom and my room was, I collapsed on the bedroll, asleep before I hit the ground.
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I awoke the next day, legs still somewhat sore, but the fact that I wouldn't be taking any more plane rides assuaged me enough to get up and take the pain. I checked the time, my internal clock completely off rhythm, I hadn't a clue what the time really was, daylight shone its way through the cracks in my blinds, so sometime at least in the day time. Flopping around aimlessly, trying to find a clock, I determined it was 2:30 PM. Adjusting this as my frame of reference for times in the future, I stumbled around the house, noticing more of the quaint charms that marked the house, it was fairly big, two stories, about a thousand square metres, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one with an anthro toilet as well. The exterior was a rustic brown, new vinyl siding shining with a glossy glow in the right angle of light. The mild September air had a frigid edge to it, which was fine to me, it was certainly better than the intense heat of Australia; of course at this time, Australia would just be exiting winter. The terrain around Wellings was actually rather mountainous. A clear stream meandered its way past the house, crystal clear waters reflecting my weary face. I dipped a paw into the freezing water, it was scant more than 20 centimetres deep. My eyes traveled up the creek to the source, a jutting mountain face just about half a kilometre to the north. The stream wove its way up the mountain, until it disappeared from sight in the fog, I had no way of knowing the height and I wasn't about to hump it in my condition.
"Enjoying the sights?" The soft voice of my mother interrupted my line of thinking and I turned my body to face hir quickly. Shi was not wearing anything, as is the usual. Shi had snow white fur that seemed to glow, no matter how little light there was to illuminate her
"It is beautiful..." I admitted shyly, sneaking a glance back to the mountain.
Shi shifted hirself to a more casual position, hir paws on hir hips, jutting hir chest out unconsciously. "Come... you'll have plenty of time to check out the sights later... we should be getting you registered in the school." Shi patted my head. "Don't worry, should be quick and painless..."
Should was the key word... as it actually didn't. Moonbeam insisted on arguing with the principal on the matter of my dress code. Chakats usually wore only one thing, their fur.
The principal was a firm looking woman, a tan furred lioness whose fur was graying with age, she was pouring over some papers as they debated, squinting past her thin rimmed, round glasses . I stood, rubbing my head as they battled it out with each other, eventually Moonbeam just stopped debating and began to inveigh on the principal. "For the fucking sake of Christ! What does it matter if shi wears a uniform! You can't see hir nipples unless shi's aroused!"
"It's not that we don't honor your traditions Missus Moonbeam... but it's school policy, no nudity."
"Well it's not like shi's gonna be walking about with hir cock hanging out now is shi?"
The principal's ears twitched and she looked up. "Wait a minute..." She gave a look to me. "She's female...?" She almost asked, instead of stated, now unsure of herself.
My mother's long, chakat tail, a good metre and a dozen or so, violently twitched to the side, shi was seething in anger. "Shi..." Shi growled. "It's SHI, neither male, nor female, us chakats are both! God! Don't you read up anything about our species?"
"No" She admitted. "I didn't think that hermaphrodites were anywhere near this area."
"Well that's just bloody brilliant!" Shi huffed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot!" Shi mocked.
The principal sighed, holding her head. "Look! I don't care! Shi's wearing a bra and uniform no matter what!"
"SHI IS NOT!"
"Mum!" I shouted. "I... I'll do it... please... just don't... piss her off more. I can deal with wearing clothes... it's alright."
Shi suddenly turned back. "What... you're serious?"
"I just want to fit in... don't lair it up with the first person I have to deal with on the first day here..."
Moonbeam gave me a nod. "Alright... give me the uniform you bloody dog..." I winced, thankful that the women didn't understand the Australian slang... shi'd just called her ugly.
She fumbled around before presenting a uniform for me, a white top with fairly modest cleavage... I had a feeling that it would be quite restricting, but I wasn't about to complain. I took it softly with a shy, grateful nod.
Moonbeam turned to leave. "Well... you've won this time... now, if you'll excuse us..."
"Not... so fast." We both turned. She stood, arms crossed. "Sorry, but you'll have to cover your lower half too, I ordered one-size-fits-all torso covers for taurs, straight from Australia, they arrived yesterday."
My mother, as usual, was incredibly blunt. "What the fuck?! Do we have to cover our dogs now too? Honestly! Our bottom half is feral, everything is pretty well hidden and even so... wouldn't kill the kids to see a bloody nasty here and there?"
"Mum..." I warned again. "Just come off it... I can do it..."
"Are you really going to let this dog have a lend of you?"
"Aye mum... if it means that I'll be accepted..."
Shi leaned down and stared into my eyes. "Are you sure that you'll be happy wearing these?"
I nodded, a bit hesitant. "Please... I don't know anyone here... I just want to fit in is all."
My mother pawed at the ground nervously, whispering. "It's not an issue, I'll argue with her all day if I have to, but if this is what you want... then I won't stop you."
The principal returned, apparently after retrieving the bottom half of my uniform. She held it up for us to see, it was black, made of elastic fibers that appeared to fit around the smallest of adult chakats, but stretched enough to fit even the huskiest of us. It had four leg holes, obviously, and a wider hole on top to accommodate our upper torso, and a zipper down the back so we could step into it. My mother angrily snatched it, causing it to stretch a bit before the lioness released it into my mother's grasp. "Come Silverpaw... let's leave." The "let's" was a bit unnecessary, from hir tone of voice shi was clearly commanding me, not suggesting.
I turned to follow Moonbeam, my tail nearly dragging on the ground in shame. I briefly looked back at the principal. "I suppose I shall see you tomorrow." I said, trying to be as polite as possible.
"I can't wait..." She remarked dryly. To this very day I can't figure out whether she was being sarcastic or not.
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The rest of the day was fairly nondescript, a formal look at the rest of the house, getting more rest and getting directions to important places about town. I spent most of the day sleeping and stretching my legs to get them back in working order. Fortunately I hadn't missed much school, only being in mid September. My first day was the day after, it was a Monday, so it wasn't even a mid-week transfer. Yet, I still felt like an alien there. Before leaving, I had put on my uniform. In my opinion, it made me look ugly, hiding my gifts from God: my silky fur and amble breasts. Both were covered, only leaving a few centimeters of my cleavage. My eyes took a sullen tone in the mirror as I admired... or rather visually reviled the outfit. Subtly tweaking the top, I was finally at least somewhat satisfied with the way I looked. I then put on the bottom half, not even daring to look in the mirror as I donned it, as if afraid that the elastic cover would be the catalyst of transforming me into a hideous beast. It seemed that wasn't so far from the truth, bending my back to zip it up I braved a glance to the mirror. It fit perfectly, but it covered my beautiful stripes, the symbol of my individuality. I sighed, ready to give it up when I walked into that classroom. I was at least thankful that torso cover was black and matched with my fur and didn't stick out, so it wasn't a complete disaster.
I walked, or rather ran to school, the trip taking me just under an hour. The road was cracked and mostly covered in dirt, showing signs of being paved at some distant time, but it was in a state of severe disrepair now. I trotted along the left edge of the road, to my left was a thick verdant forest of shedding deciduous trees, under their panchromatic umbrage I ran, then turning to the sight to my right, the currently unnamed promontory that stretched several clicks from my house, shrouded under a gossamer fog near the apex. The sky was crystal blue near the mountain, shining bright streaks of sun through the sparse clouds. The already falling foliage crunched underfoot as I ran. In the early morning bitter cold, my soft breath made chaotic clouds for an instant before they disintegrated into the chaos of which they came. Cars passed by me once in a great while, they appeared to be already expecting my presence. Looking down at the bath below, I understood why, there were several sets of old footprints below, suggesting this road received more foot traffic than auto. The skyline became less clear and more crowded with buildings as I approached Helena and the school. About forty minutes later I had arrived.
The clothes felt alien, restricting on me. I shyly walked into room 142, hearing the indistinct voices behind the wooden door. They became much more clear when I threw open the door and took my first step inside. The various voices quieted to a hush, then a deafening silence, then murmurs. The teacher, a male wolf in his mid forties with a thick, bushy tail gave a plastic smile to me. "Class... this is our new student from Australia. Some of you may have heard of Chakats before, and I know they're not common around here, so try to be the best person you can be to her."
"Hir..." I corrected softly, before introducing myself. "I am Silverpaw, daughter of Moonbeam and Nightstreak." Murmurs arose from the students, mostly about how bizarre our names were.
He seemed to ignore me, and everyone else for that matter. "She..."
"Shi" I butted in; again, he seemed not to notice. "She will be welcomed into this school as would any anthro."
"I heard Chakats have huge tits... damn they were right." I heard someone whisper, twitching my ear and looking down. They were D-cups... which I suppose for my age, 16 at the time, was actually quite large. I started to think the teacher was deaf for not hearing that.
He continued. "Please, do your best to welcome her."
"Take off your pants baby and I'll welcome you good..." Another boy remarked to himself, probably unaware my sensitive hearing could pick it up. I blushed madly, clenching my fists. Is that all I was to them? Two seconds after walking into the classroom, I was being regarded as a sex goddess.
The teacher extended his paw to me. "I'm Mr. Goldman, I'll give your schedule for the day so you can get on seamlessly, okay mate?"
I gritted my teeth, taking his paw with as much fervor as grabbing a month dead fish. "Don't call me mate." I spat angrily, sending him a clear message that he was not my friend.
He blinked, clearing his throat. "Sorry... thought I'd bring a piece of your home here..."
"Come off it you conchy dill..." I muttered. "Where's the schedule?"
He handed me a sheet of paper with various room numbers and class descriptions on it, gesturing to my name. "I think there's a record error... you don't have a last name."
"No error. Chakat's don't have family names, we simply refer to ourself by our oldies."
"Oldies?"
"Parents you whacka..." I was so relieved he didn't understand Australian slang.
He nodded. "Ah... well... that might make the recordkeeping a bit... difficult, but we'll manage." The bell rang with a loud clang, startling me as I turned to see the students shuffling to their first period class. Mister Goldman grinned with his usual plastic demeanor. "That's the bell, off to class... I'll see you in fifth for English."
"I can't wait..." I said sourly, sighing loudly as I trudged to the first class, checking my sheet, biology. I sighed happily, at least that was an easy class... or so I thought. It turns out that everyone was more interested in my biology than that which was being taught, even the teacher herself. At first it was flattering, everyone wanting to know about me, and I happily answered questions with both intricacy and aplomb; but soon after the questions became more directed at my anatomy and I became reluctant to answer, only at the teacher's fervent requests did I reluctantlydignify them with a response. My tone became wearier by the minute before someone asked the inevitable question.
It came from a shy female husky, who tapped at the ground nervously, as if afraid to ask. She looked up and then took a deep breath. The class turned to her, eagerly awaiting what she had to say. "Um... h-hey... Silverpaw? I heard that Chakats are all... are all... well, they have both... parts. Is that true?"
Another student scoffed. "No... that can't possibly be true... she's as female as ca-"
"Yes" I replied swiftly. Silence fell crushing on the room. A girl blinked and fumbled with her cell phone before it fell to the ground with a few clacks. The sound was deafening in the hushed room. Some students snuck looks under me, as if expecting to find evidence of a sheath showing under my torso covering. For the first time, I was glad for my forced outfit. The teacher, sensing the awkward tone the conversation had taken, quickly got the lesson on track. I knew that it was too late though, students reversed roles, the males now uninterested, except for the occasional, I assume open-minded one who still tried to undress me with his eyes. The females however suddenly became fascinated with me, trying hard to find any evidence of my malehood underneath my elastic covering. I simply tried to pay attention to the lesson. We had wasted most of the lesson with the interrogation, so the end only came fifteen minutes after the end of the inquiries.
The next class, according to my schedule was Global History in Room 225. I padded upstairs, passing swiftly through the swarm of furs that clogged the hallway, many staring at me as I passed with shocked, interested or (God forbid) lusty faces. I ignored them to the best of my ability, making a hairpin turn into the classroom. My lower flanks hit the doorframe and I cursed loudly, rubbing my rump. The same cycle repeated when I padded into that classroom: Oblivious conversation, then a sudden quieting and silence and finally interested murmurs. The teacher, a male hyena in what appeared to be his late thirties turned to face me. His face shifted into a wide smile. "Ah! So you're the Chakat who transferred here." His voice was lilting, almost mystical in its quality. The expression on his face was sincere, not forced like Mr. Goldman. He cracked his knuckles and extended a paw. "Silverpaw, that was your name, wasn't it? Certainly seems to fit you well." He gestured to my wrists, shining silver in the florescent light. He casually pointed back to himself. "Me? My name is John Wells."
Being bombarded by his sudden introductions, I blinked a few times before taking his paw and shaking it firmly. "Correct... My name is Silverpaw, daughter of Moonbeam and Nightstreak."
"Moonbeam and Nightstreak..." He mused. "What positively curious names... tell me if you will... what are their fur colors?"
He seemed highly curious, and the question was harmless enough, so I answered without any apprehension. "Moonbeam is a silvery white all over while Nightstreak is midnight blue with thin cyan stripes, in intricate patterns down both backs."
"Marvelous!" He exclaimed. "Such clever naming..." I fought the urge to back away slowly. As if sensing my discomfort, he cleared his throat. "Ah... excuse me, I tend to be a little screwed up at times." He chuckled warmly. "I'm rather interested in Chakats you see, their physiology, culture, history, so a chance to ask one myself is just... amazing!" It was rather refreshing to hear his peppy voice and mystical, half lucid and half mad tone. He looked down. "Speaking of culture... don't you chakats usually not wear clothes?"
I gulped at the question. "Well... aye, but I sort of have to here... it is a school."
He paced aimlessly around the room. "Right right... why would I ask such a stupid question anyway... I could get fired... stupid stupid me. You'll have to forgive my conduct, my curiosity gets the better of me sometimes." He cleared his throat again. "On with the lesson!" He announced to the whole class, clapping his hands, waving me to the back of the room. "Just stand wherever Silverpaw..."
I obeyed, people were ready to ask me more questions, probably less innocent then the one Mr. Wells had asked but his voice boomed out over the class as he opened a map with the flourish. "Continuing with our chapter on the spread of Christianity we come to the Crusades! There were five major ones to conquer the holy land... that's Jerusalem, Israel... from the Muslims. The first was successful but they were soon recaptured..."
I admired Mr. Wells' spirit. He put drive and power into everything he taught with dramatic flourishes and flamboyance bordering on the edge of bombastic. Some said it made him look crazy, but I thought it made him a terrific teacher, he could make the most mundane subjects into matters of life and death, he kept me on the edge of my seat (figuratively anyway... I didn't actually sit in a seat). What further impressed me was his treatment of me. To him I was his equal, questions were directed at chakats as a whole and not necessarily me and personal questions were delivered with poise and sangfroid... and above all, he referred to me as shi. I was further relieved his unrelenting lesson had not left room for other students to edge a word in with me. As soon as the bell rang I quickly trotted out of the room to lunch, only sneaking a wave to Mr. Wells, who eagerly returned it with a nod and a thumbs up.
I only stopped for an instant to retrieve my lunch from my locker, the blue vinyl bag rested on the top shelf. Pulling it down, I slammed the locker shut with a resounding clang that echoed the similar sounds from other furs all around me. I didn't dare to stop and talk, or even listen to the things they were saying about me. The walk to the lunchroom was a blur, a barrage of distorted voices, everyone turning to face me as I walked down the middle of the hallway. I grabbed my chest panting as I threw open the doors to the cafeteria, breathing a sigh of relief. I opened my eyes and suddenly they widened, my ears twiching as the entire lunchroom was filled to near capacity with all sorts of furs of different species. I silently kicked myself, cursing. Of course the cafeteria was going to be full of people, how could I have forgotten that. My breathing began to get shallow and labored, feeling myself trembling. I closed my eyes and worked on relaxing my muscles, I was not going to have a mental breakdown on the first day of school. Taking deep breaths and trying to remain unnoticed, I coolly sauntered to a vacated table in the corner. Stealth however was not a specialty of my species, so of course I was spotted. I knew that I was visible, I just turned towards the wall, praying to myself. "Please don't come over... please don't come over."
They of course, came over to the table, a group of boys, five in total. A couple were in my previous classes, they stood over the table, the tallest one and apparently the unofficial leader smiled at me. "Well hello there, you mind if we sit here?"
"Kinda..." I responded shyly. "I-I just want to left alone if you don't mind."
He sat down across from me. "Oh come on... I just want to talk is all."
I struggled to remain calm, my voice raising slightly and breaking. "Please... go away... I just need some time to myself." I felt so utterly helpless here, I wasn't just a fish out of water, I was fish in the middle of the Sahara.
He didn't relent, leaning a little closer. "Hey... don't be like that, I know you're a little nervous, but we'll help you feel welcome."
I cracked right there, clenching my fist and suddenly grabbing him by the collar, baring my sharp teeth. "Look here you bloody dero, you have as much chance of doing the naughty with me as the common swine has chance of sprouting wings and flying to Queensland!If I were to think about being a mate with someone, it would be someone much less of a root rat!You're quite back of Bourke from being even a slight mate with me! So rack off before I bail you up and tear you apart with my bloody sharp fangs." I threw him back, making him stumble and barely keep his balance. He straightened out his shirt, cleared his throat and beckoned his entourage to get away from me.
When they were finally away from me, I opened my lunchbox with trembling paws. I was so close to losing it, I kept focus by doing an inventory of my lunch items: one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, one Rice Krispie Treat, three fig newtons, one apple, one bottle of water. I smiled, reassured, to myself about to take a bite of my sandwich when I heard another conversation between two boys, a red fox and a rabbit. The fox was watching the entourage slink away and he spoke to his friend. "Wow... didn't understand much of what she said, but it sounded harsh."
"That I can agree with, sounded pretty bitter... you gonna try?"
"Nah... she seems cool, and I'm not all about sex, but I wouldn't go for it."
"How come? You see those tits?"
"Hell yeah, but you know that she's actually a herm? I just can't do that..."
"Dude really? A herm... that's fucked up, what a freak..."
I stared down at the table, as if expecting answers from the faux wood surface. A tear dropped onto the bread of my sandwich, absorbing into it and making a dark spot. Then I collapsed on the table and began to sob plaintively. I stayed like this for all of lunch, simply tossing my food at the end of the period. I was far too upset to eat anyway.
The next two classes I was isolated, ignoring everything else but the lesson, it hurt me to look at the other students, even looking into their eyes made me want to vomit. Fourth period was Geometry, a class I was okay at, comparing the shapes was easy. The teacher was boring, but at least indifferent about my species, I honestly think I would have killed something if I got another question about me. I know in the breaks in the lessons I was asked things by the other students, but I refused to listen, pretending to be absorbed in my work.
The instant the bell rang, I gathered my books and bolted out the door, walking mindlessly down the hall, avoiding to set eyes on another student for more than a second. I shuddered as I remembered the class, English, taught by Mr. Goldman. Just the sight of that fake smile made me want to curl up into a ball on the floor. He asked me a few questions about how my day was going. I lied, responding that it was going well. The alternative would have elicited more questions about what was going wrong, and I had no desire to fraternize with him. He directed me to my seat in the back and I stood there, only half aware of his lesson, as my mind tried to right itself and keep me in a state of lucidity. Occasionally he asked me a question pertaining to the lesson and I spat out the answer before going back to my daydream. The eighty minutes seemed like an eternity but I finally managed to make it through. The bell rang for the final time at 2:15, and I parted the room and the school without a single look or acknowledgement to Mr. Goldman.
I couldn't wait to return home to a place that at least understood me, but alas my legs were not fully healed from the long flight and they were beginning to get sore again. Rather than risk aggravating them, I decided to walk home, an extra hour of travel time was better than staying at the school at least.
It had turned out that my pace was even slower than I had anticipated, when I had returned home, it was five o'clock. I only snuck into the house to check the time, after that I lied at the banks of the small stream that I had checked out the day before. The sun was beginning to set, letting a burning orange wash over the tip of the mountain. I studied my own face in the reflective waters, my entire face seeming to sag, my whiskers limp and drooping, my ears pinned to the side of my head. I noticed my uniform in the reflections, and I growled, pulling my top off violently, quickly unclipping my bra and throwing it on ground. I unzipped my torso covering and grotesquely stretched it as I struggled to get out of it. I stared at the pile of clothes at the bank, I wanted to burn them, get rid of them, all the traces of school that had murdered my spirit. I had to keep them in order to go back the next day, even though that was the last thing I wanted to do, but it was necessary. I studied my body, smoothing out my fur where the clothes had restricted it, feeling something tingly as circulation returned where it was cut off by the torso cover.
I sat by the bank, trying to think of things I could do to blow off some steam and forget about the day. I suddenly heard the slightest crack of a twig, turning just a bit to the left I saw a darkened anthro figure with a camera. I gasped, part of me wanted to murder him, drive his body into the ground, my anger beginning to flare. I could close on him, grab his throat before he even had a chance to react, but something in me just broke. I turned to him with a pleading look in my eyes, my voice breaking, tears streaming down my eyes. He just stood there, apparently in shock. I stepped forward "Well? What the fuck are you waiting for? Take the goddamn shot!" I grabbed my breasts, supporting them underneath. "This is what you want! Just fucking take them!" I screamed.I stepped rapidly toward him, making him back up into a tree. I could see him better now, he was rather short, somewhere around one hundred and sixty centimetres high. His fur was cream colored with partial stripes only on his back that were an only slightly darker shade of toffee. The structure of his ears and the whiskers on his face suggested he was a feline, a common tabby it seemed.I desperately grabbed his shoulders, staring deep into green eyes, an unyielding emerald like mine. "Please... just take it and leave me alone!" I begged to him before stepping back, giving him a view enough to take the picture he wanted.
He blinked a couple times and then put his camera down on the ground. "Oh Christ... what the hell have I done?" His voice was soft, unsure. He looked up to me, his ears pinned back, his eyes giving me glance before looking down at the ground again. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this. I knew that it wouldn't turn out well."
I began to calm down a little, curious of his apparent regret. "Wait, why didn't you take the shot?"
He stretched before leaning against the tree. "I couldn't just exploit you like that, I'm desperate, but not immoral Silverpaw."
"Desperate? And how did you know my name?"
"You're in my English class, I'm not surprised you didn't notice me, I don't stick out at all, not to mention you weren't really paying attention it seemed, can't blame you, Mr. Goldman is such a creep." He shifted. "And... about that picture. My family is really hurting for money right now, my father is barely making enough money to support us, and he might be getting laid off. My mom died, and she was the one who made all the money for us..." He sighed, ashamed. "Some kids offered me fifty bucks to take a picture of your breasts. If things go sour, fifty bucks is enough to give us basic food for a week or two, I had to take it." He turned away, pounding the tree with his fist. "I feel horrible now..."
He seemed like he'd be terrible at lying, and he really was remorseful, so I put a paw on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for lashing out on you like that, I've just been having a bad day."
"So I saw... I saw you sobbing in lunch, I would have tried to comfort you, but... what you threatened to those kids, I thought it'd be better to just leave you alone." He cracked a weak smile. "My name is Tyler Hawke."
"Silverpaw, daughter of Moonbeam and Nightstreak." I recited on instinct, before I blinked. "Well... you already knew that."
He shook his head. "Not the daughter part... speaking of, why did you say that?"
"What, the part about being a daughter to Moonbeam and Nightstreak? Chakats don't have last names, so we identify ourselves by our oldies." I caught my Australian slang and cleared my throat. "Parents" I added.
He chuckled. "That's pretty cool, not having a last name. Kinda makes you a celebrity in of itself."
I smiled back at him a little. "If you're hoping to flatter me into letting you fuck me... you know I'm a herm, right?"
He shook his hands. "Whoa! I'm not like that... I gave up on trying to seduce girls a while ago." He chuckled heartily. "Nah, I know you're a herm, I've read up a thing or two on chakats before. That's perfectly okay with me."
"That's a first." I muttered, surprised.
He continued. "I personally think things would be so much easier if there weren't so many gender classifications, a single, unified gender would make things so much more simple."He glanced over to me."I imagine that's what Chakat society would be like... how is it?"
"It's far from utopia if that's what you're thinking, but it's pretty stable."
He rubbed his chin pensively before he grabbed his camera walked towards the road again. "I should go now... I've fucked up things too much already, guess I'll find another way to make money."
I grabbed his arm. "Wait... please stay. I could use some company."
He stopped and turned around. "Okay, not like there's much for me to come back to anyway." He sat beside me on the bank of the stream, looking around at the scenery. "Wow, I didn't know this is where you lived. Nice location."
"It's pretty, I'll admit that."
He purred a little, looking down at the stream. "This stream originates from the mountain over there, on top there's a clear lake."
"How high is it? All the time I've looked, the top's been covered in fog."
He shrugged. "Not good at estimating heights, but it's somewhere around three thousand feet."
"Feet?" I asked, unfamiliar with the imperial system.
He stared at me confused. "What? Yeah... feet." He suddenly blinked. "Ohhhh, right, you're Australian... um... let's see... about three and a quarter feet in a metre... so about..." He thought for a minute. "Nine hundred metres."
"Wow, almost a click."
"You should climb it sometime, it's not hard and it's a beautiful view at the top." He sat and stared forward at the sunset. "Not to mention you get plenty of advanced warning if someone's coming, so you can do pretty much anything you want."
I snickered. "That's not a problem, I can do just about anything in front of my parents."
"I highly doubt they'd appreciate you having sex in front of them." He remarked. "N-not that that's what I'd do to you up there!"
I laughed quietly. "You obviously haven't met a chakat before... we do the naughty in front of each other, even parents, all the time. Sometimes even with parents!"
He nearly fell over. "Wait, what?!"
I smiled. "It's not all that uncommon, we're the only completely synthetically created species, and when we were made, all recessive damaging genes were removed, so we can interbreed." I looked over lazily. "Of course, we try not to make our mates our sisters, we look outside the family, but when we're experimenting, it's not a problem."
He stared with wide eyes. "Holy shit, that's pretty..." He struggled to find the right adjective.
"Fucked up?" I suggested.
"Well, that's one of the things that comes to mind, but awesome does too. I mean, that's just amazing. No consequences for love between siblings."
I was surprised at his understanding, more surprised at myself for mentioning that to him. "That's one of many things that's so great about us, at least in my opinion."
He continued to stare forward. "So Silverpaw..." He stopped. "Hmm, that could get cumbersome... I wonder if an anthro name would fit you." He thought for a long minute, his eyes darting around my body. "How about Sylvia?"
I perked an ear. "That sounds... pretty neat actually, it'll be cool to have a nickname." I poked his nose. "But this only stays between us, okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah yeah, of course." He began to look at my back. "Wow... your fur is... beautiful. You really look better without that uniform."
I blushed slightly at his compliment. "You really think so?"
"Oh absolutely... it's so unique, I like how it fades like that, it makes it blend so much better than just blocky stripes." He closed his eyes and giggled softly. "You've got a great figure too, you're really pretty, and I'm not just saying that because of your bust." He checked his watch. "I really should get going, my family is going to be wondering where I am."
"Wait, before you go." I handed him his camera. "I want you to take the picture, if you really need the money, I'm okay with it. Do you think you'll get more money if I make my nipples come out... maybe a backside shot too?"
He stepped back. "No! No... I can't use you for money like that! I feel horrible for trying to use someone as nice as you."
"Well... what about getting a job?"
He stared with a sigh at his camera. "Photography is all I'm good at, and that doesn't net me a lot of jobs, I'll keep trying, but I might not get one in time."
I stared deep into his eyes. "Tyler, take it then, I'll feel better knowing that your family is safe for awhile."
He tugged at his collar, not having changed out of his uniform yet. "Okay Sylvia... for you then." He adjusted the focus, holding the optic up to his eye and adjusting the zoom, flicking a few settings and seeing a red indicator light come up on the face of the camera."Okay, I'm ready, you absolutely sure?"
"Yes, but let me net you a few more quid." I put my paws on my breasts and begin to massage my nipples deep beneath the fur, I sighed in soft pleasure and they erected over my fur, like little pink islands on a silver sea. I let my paws fall to my side and I purred ever so softly. "I'm ready now Tyler."
He gulped and focused again, a soft click was heard and a blinding flash lit the bank for a split second. He studied the photo, satisfied with the result and bowed a little. "I can't thank you enough Sylvia..."
"You can thank me by being my friend... I need someone to stand by me, I nearly had a breakdown in school."
He took my paw. "I promise Sylvia, I'll sit next to you in lunch too, nobody likes to eat alone."
"If you're ever in trouble and need food, just tell me, I'll lend you some Tyler."
"I'd appreciate that." He sniffled and suddenly hugged me. "Thank you... when you discovered me, I thought you were going to kill me."
"Don't mention it, I know a friend when I see one."
He broke away from me with a wide smile. "See you tomorrow Sylvia."
"I look forward to it."