{"sf1_id":425925,"sf2_id":"rn69zYEm","title":"After Ski","author":"Portentous1975","words":5986,"posted_at":"2012-09-03T07:48:00.000Z","tags":["Female","Hare","Lioness","Male","Predator/Prey","Roleplay","Vanilla"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/425925-after-ski","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rn69zYEm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/1c/08/1c084411-4c07-45d5-a0f0-3cb7114cdd19","description":"Basically a simple \"boy meets girl\" story. It needs proper proof reading and some heavy-handed editing, but it's already dragged out for far too long and I just had to get it over with, so here it is, warts and all.","content":"\u0026nbsp;The after-ski was only semi-crowded, so it was made obvious it was  \nstill early in the season. There was a throng about the bar but it  \nthinned out towards the back of the room and Tommy had the the couch  \nin front of the fireplace almost to himself. There was a scrawny  \nweasel with cross-country boots sitting at one end, but he was talking  \nwith the people sitting at the table behind the couch and so he was  \nsitting more on the armrests than the seat and didn't take up much  \nspace at all.  \n  \nTommy basked in the heat from the fire, his elbows rested on the back  \nof the couch besides him, his left leg stretched out with the heel of  \nthe plaster cast on the floor and his right leg bent, the foot resting  \nacross the other knee. The warmth was just on the right side of being  \npleasant, the kind of overwhelming, deep-reaching heat you only got  \nfrom a large, well-stoked fireplace, just at the point where if he'd  \nsat any closer he'd sing his fur.  \n  \nThere were still a couple of sips left of his gin and tonic, but the  \nice had melted and it'd turned lukewarm. He considered catching the  \neye of Christian or Curler and have them get him a fresh one at the  \nbar, but that would require hoisting himself up over the back of the  \ncouch and waving. Way too much activity right now. Besides, if he had  \ntoo many drinks he'd just end up having to piss, and hobbling down the  \nstairs to the bathroom with the plaster cast was an experience he'd  \njust as well pass on.\n\n\u0026nbsp;A lioness leant over the couch next to Tommy and put her arms along the back  \nof it. She was fit, lanky even, and wore a ski suit that didn't look  \nexpensive until you started looking at the details. Lions were one tribe  \nTommy didn't have much face-to-face experience with, and he couldn't make a  \ngood guess at how old she was. Older than him, he suspected, but anywhere  \nfrom there to forty.   \n  \nThe warmth from the fireplace and the gin and tonic he'd almost finished  \ntook the edge of Tommy's usual skittishness, so he remained as he was and  \nmade a friendly wriggle of his nose in greeting. Okay, so maybe rabbits did  \nthe nose wriggle more cutely, but hares knew a thing or two about it  \ntoo.  \n  \nThe lioness smiled back and flicked her short ears in a gesture Tommy wasn't  \nsure how to read. \"Is anyone sitting here?\" She gestured at the two seats of  \nthe couch next to him.  \n  \n\"No, they're free.\"  \n  \n\"Oh good, I didn't want to have to stand at the bar. So, downhill or  \nslalom?\" She nodded at Tommy's embarrassingly bright blue cast.  \n  \n\"Um, it was actually in the parking lot.\" Tommy's whiskers dipped. \"I was  \nunloading the skis and this other car came down the hill from the restaurant  \nand didn't manage to stop. Wham. And I was off to the hospital.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Just as you\u0026nbsp;_arrived_? You didn't even get to ski? Oh, that's horrible.\"  \nThe lioness grinned. \"I'm going to get a drink. Do you want me to bring you  \nanything from the bar?\"  \n  \nTommy considered it and bent forward to put his warm drink on the  \nfloor. \"Could you get me a rum and coke?\" he craned his neck and  \nsearched the crowd around the bar for Curler's distinctive  \nears. \"There's a tall, black hare over there somewhere. Red jacket,  \nears curling forwards. He'll pay for it if you can find him.\"  \n  \n\"Don't worry about it. Just don't let anyone else take the seat while I'm  \ngone.\"   \n  \nTommy laughed and nodded. \"Okay.\"  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\n\nHer name was Jahiho'uhne, a flow of exotic syllables wrapped around a  \nglottal stop that Tommy just couldn't get right, no matter how many  \ntimes he tried so by mutual consent she became Jahn. She was into  \nalpine skiing, a few notches above Tommy's own level, had a season  \ncard and was staying at one of the apartment cabins with a friend. She  \ndrank rum and whisky, shared Tommy's disdain of the extreme skiing  \ncrowd and her most common expression was a sly half-smile as if she  \nwas half a step ahead of everyone and just waiting for the  \npunchline. If it hadn't been for his two gin and tonics, Tommy would  \nhave been intimidated and he told her that.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"So you're not only wounded but dazed too?\" Again that half-smile,  \n\"You're like the perfect prey. Don't go near any predators for a  \nwhile.\"  \n  \n\"Oh, you mean like you?\" Tommy replied with a smile of his own.  \n  \n\"Rowr.\" Jahn bared her teeth and made a lazy swipe in the air with one  \nhand, her claws glittered red in the light from the fireplace.  \n  \nTommy had been about to take a sip of his drink, but the full sight of  \nJahn's rows of sharp teeth sent an involuntary shiver down his spine  \nand made his breath catch in his throat. His hand jolted and his drink  \nsloshed, spilling onto his fingers and over his shirt. \"Fuck!\"  \n  \nJahn's eyes glittered with laughter. \"Did you just freeze up?\"  \n  \n\"No!\"   \n  \n\"Yes you did! Admit it.\"  \n  \n\"I didn't... okay, maybe a little,\" he admitted with a laugh and tried  \nto shake the worst of the spilled drink from his hand.  \n  \n\"Oh, that's terrible -- and so cute!\"   \n  \n\"I just didn't realise how big your teeth actually were.\"  \n  \n\"You think they're intimidating?\"  \n  \n\"Intimidating? They're scary!\"  \n  \nJahn's delighted laugh suggested she didn't take offense at that  \ndescription.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Tommy looked down at his drenched shirt and sighed. He had had to  \nswitch to rum, hadn't he? \"I need to go and get this shirt off before  \nit soaks into my fur. The car's going to stink like a brewery tomorrow  \nif I don't.\"  \n  \n\"The car? Aw, you're going home already tomorrow?\"   \n  \n\"Yeah, we're only here for the weekend,\"  \n  \n\"But you'll be back later in the season, right?\"  \n  \n\"Uh, well....\" They both looked down at Tommy's plastered foot.  \n  \n\"Fuck, that was stupid of me. Of course you won't be.\"  \n  \n\"No, it doesn't look like it. Eh, the parking lot here is too  \ndangerous, anyway,\" Tommy replied with a grin. Mentally he was cursing  \nthe fates. She sounded disappointed to hear he was leaving, which was  \ngreat, except that he was fucking leaving. Shit. First a broken leg,  \nand now this. Some weekend this had turned out to be.  \n  \n\"Hang on, I need to catch hold of Curler -- don't want to try the  \nstairs to the hotel on my own.\" Tommy scooted up and stretched his  \nhead, scanning the crowd by the bar for Curler.  \n  \n\"Hare in a red jacket, right?\" Jahn moved to sit on her knees in the  \ncouch, her arms across the back, to get a good view of the room.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Yeah, can you see him?\"  \n  \n\"Maybe. Is that him over by the stairs, chatting with the two ewes?\"  \n  \n\"That's him. Aw, hell.\"  \n  \nJahn turned to look at Tommy with her ears turned forward in  \nquestion. \"Hmm?\"  \n  \n\"The ewes. He's going to be so pissed at me for interrupting his  \nchances with them.\"  \n  \nJahn regarded Tommy for a second, then her mouth curled into that sly  \nhalf-smile again and she got up from the couch. \"Leave him to it,  \nthen. I'll help you back to the hotel.\"  \n  \n\"I -- you're sure? I mean, I'd like that, but...\"  \n  \n\"Positive,\" she said with a brief flash of teeth, \"I need some cold  \nair anyway. The fireplace was starting to get to me.\"  \n  \n\"Okay then.\" Tommy clambered to his feet and managed to scoop up his  \ncrutches from the floor, \"I thought most lions liked heat?\"  \n  \n\"'Most lions' don't ski,\" Jahn replied and moved so Tommy could  \nsupport one arm on her shoulder.  \n  \n\"That makes sense. I think.\"  \n  \nThey threaded their way through the crowding room to the entrance. It  \nwas less hassle than Tommy had feared: most saw his crutches and moved  \nto let them pass so Jahn only had to poke someone with her claws for  \nattention once.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThe cold outside was a nice change from the heat and noise inside, at  \nleast for a minute or two. The night sky was clear, but there was so  \nmuch light from the buildings and streetlights and the reflections  \nfrom the snow that it might almost just as well have been overcast.   \n  \nTommy almost slipped on an iced over step once, but Jahn caught him  \nand held him upright with ease, one arm around his waist, the other on  \nhis shoulder.  \n  \n\"You're stronger than you look,\" Tommy told her, his breath visible as  \npuffs of lighted fog under the lamps.  \n  \n\"Yeah. Predator muscle base, almost no fat. Fun, until someone opens a  \nwindow and I freeze my tail off.\"  \n  \n\"Skiing is a pretty weird hobby for you, then.\"  \n  \n\"They make really good thermal underwear these days. And it's safer  \nthan walking about in parking lots.\"  \n  \nTommy had to laugh, \"Yeah, I guess I can't disagree.\"  \n  \n\"Not with that leg you can't.\"  \n  \nThey made their way along the walkway as they talked, and soon reached  \nthe stairs up to the hotel. Jahn didn't turn onto them, though, but  \ncontinued past without pausing, heading towards the apartments along  \nthe hillside. Tommy was forced to hop along.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Hey, wait. The hotel is up there.\"  \n  \n\"That's not where we're going,\" Jahn replied.  \n  \n\"What? But I need to get changed.\"  \n  \nThat sly smile was back in force and she tightened her grip around his  \nwaist. \"Hush, hare.\"  \n  \n\"Hey, come on! Really!\"  \n  \nJahn gave him a sideways glance and turned her head to face him. She  \nhesitated for a split second then leaned in and bared her teeth,  \nletting out a low, deep growl, full of warning.  \n  \nTommy didn't just hear the growl -- it vibrated over his whiskers and  \nreverberated against his side. His heart skipped a beat and he reacted  \nin panic. He twisted in her hold, trying to get away, and his elbow  \ncame up and back. The growl cut off abruptly and her arm about his  \nwaist let up, giving Tommy the chance to break free.  \n  \nHe got one step away then his cast got in the way and he stumbled. His  \ngood leg lost grip on the icy road and Tommy went sprawling  \nface-first into the bank of plowed up snow besides the road. Tommy  \nspat snow and rolled over on his back. Above him, a few bright stars  \ncould be seen through the light-haze from the buildings around him.   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Hey, are you okay? Tommy?\" Jahn was crouching a few steps away,  \nwatching him with a concerned look in her eyes and one hand over her  \nchin. She relaxed a little when Tommy met her eyes. \"Oh fuck, I'm  \nsorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Not for real.\"  \n  \nTommy didn't answer. He was too busy trying to get his heart to calm  \ndown and to take note of all the places snow had gotten in under his  \nclothes and were starting to melt. Back over by the nightclub among  \nthe handful of smokers who were standing outside, several puzzled  \nfaces were turned towards them. Tommy felt relieved to know there were  \nwitnesses, then shamefaced for feeling relieved.  \n  \n\"Your leg okay?\"   \n  \nTommy had to take a moment to check if he could feel any pain before  \nhe answered. \"Yeah, it's fine.\" He shook snow out of his ears. \"My  \ndignity took the brunt of it, I think.\"  \n  \n\"Help you up?\" Jahn's ears flickered uncertainly.  \n  \nTommy had to suppress a flash of impulsive fear. \"I -- sure. Why not?  \nYou helped me down, after all.\"  \n  \nJahn smiled at that. She stood up and slowly took the two steps over  \nto him and offered him her hand. With another flash of fear, easier to  \nsuppress already, Tommy accepted it and let her haul him to his feet.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I fucked things up, huh?\" Jahn said. Tommy didn't reply. They stood  \nuncertain for a moment, Tommy leaning with one arm on the lioness's  \nshoulder.  \n  \n\"I'll help you to your room, if you want,\" Jahn said, flexing the hand  \nbetween her and Tommy uncertainly, \"but I'd really like to take you to  \nmy place, instead.\"  \n  \nTommy swallowed, took a breath. \"Okay.\"  \n  \n\"Okay?\"  \n  \n\"Yeah.\"  \n  \nJahn smiled. \"Okay.\" She put her arm back around Tommy's waist. Even  \nthrough two layers of clothing her touch seemed electric. \"Let's start  \nwalking again before I freeze my ass off.\"  \n  \n\"And before I lose my nerve?\" Tommy put his arm back around Jahn's  \nshoulder. He accidentally brushed his mitt against her whiskers and  \nshe snorted and shook her head.  \n  \n\"Yeah, that too.\"  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\"Do you want something to drink? There's a mini-bar.\" Jahn had taken  \noff her ski suit in the hallway and was standing around in her thermal  \nunderwear. It was a purple set of long-sleeved woolen shirt and  \nmatching pants and except for her tail it didn't show much more fur  \nthan the ski suit had. Even so Tommy found it hard to look away, and  \nhe had to concentrate to keep his whiskers from twitching along with  \nthe growing tension in his crotch.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"No, thank you. I'm already a little tipsy and I don't want to, uh.\"  \n'Fail to perform,' Tommy left unsaid and felt the heat of a blush  \nrising in his ears. He was leaning against the doorway with this  \ncrutches in his other hand and felt incredibly awkward.  \n  \n\"Yes, I guess.\" Jahn laughed but looked a little tense herself, her  \nears perked and flickering with small twitches. She turned her side to  \nTommy and stretched deliberately, making her woolen shirt ride up and  \nreveal a thin line of pale fur.  \n  \n\"Would you mind if I was ... aggressive?\" Jahn asked, \"As pretend? I  \npromise I won't hurt you, but I like to be a little ... fierce.\"  \n  \n\"Predatory,\" Tommy said. His heart beat hard and his cock had tightened  \ninto an uncomfortable bulge in his pants.   \n  \nJahn nodded agreement and just watched Tommy with her large, amber  \neyes, waiting for him to decide.  \n  \nTommy let his crutches fall from his hand and skipped awkwardly a  \ncouple of meters away from the doorway and pressed himself closer  \nagainst the wall.   \n  \n\"Well, you've driven me into a corner so, so I guess there's nothing I  \ncan do to stop you, right?\" Tommy licked his lips and gave the lioness  \na shaky smile.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Jahn's eyes sparkled at that and a smile tugged at her lips, but she  \nheld back a little further. \"You're sure you don't mind?\"  \n  \nTommy nodded, a little more jerkily than he'd intended. \"Just be  \ncareful with my leg, okay?\"  \n  \nJahn's face lit up in a full, thankful smile. \"Okay, let me just take  \nthese off first,\" she said and began to pull her woolen undershirt  \noff. It caught around her neck and she had to struggle to get it off  \nover her head. She laughed from inside the shirt, \"There's just no way  \nto make it look sexy to take one of these off. Sorry.\"  \n  \n\"That's okay,\" Tommy said, his voice unsteady. He wasn't so sure that  \nthe sight of the lioness struggling with her underwear wasn't sexy, if  \nof a non-glossy, down-to-earth variety, and regardless the deeper  \nsmell of Jahn as her fur was bared to the air was sexy beyond  \nquestion. The scent played across his nose, a flat, prickly smell that  \nhad a undercurrent of dry, sun-burnt grass that resonated somewhere  \ndeep in his amygdalae with an old, primal song about fear and danger.  \n  \nJahn got the shirt off and tossed it off in a corner. Catching Tommy's  \nintent stare she flashed him a grin. \"This one is easier,\" she said  \nand reached behind her and undid the tail-strap on the woolen  \npants. She managed to peel them down to her ankles without bending her  \nknees, but had to sit down on the couch for a moment to pull them all  \nthe way off. \"Still not very sexy,\" she said and shrugged one shoulder  \nin excuse.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Uh...\" Tommy disagreed.  \n  \n\"Anyway, now it's time to hunt,\" Jahn announced and that sly  \nhalf-smile was back as she rose.  \n  \nTommy steeled himself, half expecting her to immediately spring at him  \nwith a roar, but instead she stalked towards him deliberately and  \nslow, a small pause after every step when her tail was part of her  \nmoving, swishing softly from side to side. She held her shoulders  \nraised and her hands a little out from her hips, palms forward and,  \nTommy realized with a twitch in his gut, claws extended.  \n  \nHe pressed himself flat against the wall as Jahn approached. His heart  \nwas racing and the room seemed to dim at the edges of his vision. The  \nsmell of Jahn and the room became an almost physical pressure  \nsomewhere between his eyes. 'So this is tunnel sensing,' he thought,  \nand wondered how much he was pretending to be frozen and how much he  \nactually was.  \n  \nSuddenly, Jahn pounced the last few steps to the hare and Tommy let  \nout a startled squeak. Before he had a chance to react further, Jahn  \nhad caught Tommy's ears in one hand and locked him against the wall  \nwith her body, her chest tight against his and her thigh pressed hard  \nagainst his crotch.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Tommy fought down a needle of panic and realised he was holding his  \nbreath. He let it out with a small gasp and struggled not to pant. His  \nheart was beating furiously and he realised that Jahn must be able to  \nfeel it against her chest. The grip on his ears eased a fraction, as  \ndid the force of Jahn's thigh against his hard-on, and Jahn perked her  \nears in a wordless question.   \n  \n\"Wow,\" Tommy breathed and answered with a shaky smile. He made a tiny  \nnod, as much as he could with his ears held.   \n  \nA smile flashed across Jahn's face and sparkled in her eyes for a  \nmoment before she went back in character and her expression hardened  \nagain, her lips pulling back to reveal the tip of her teeth. She  \nbrought her head in so that their whiskers all but met and made a  \ndeep, loud growl, tightening her grip on Tommy's ears and pressing her  \nthigh back into his crotch, uncomfortably hard.  \n  \nPressed so tight between Jahn and the wall, Tommy could feel her growl  \nas a deep vibration against his chest and stomach. He couldn't quite  \nrepress a shiver and squirmed in the grip, earning him a deepening of  \nthe growl and a careful prick of claws at the base of his  \nears. \"Please,\" he whimpered and held still, eyes big and  \nfearful. That only took a little bit of acting -- to keep from  \npressing back against her thigh took somewhat more.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"That's a good hare,\" Jahn said hoarsely, her lips sliding back over  \nher teeth despite her trying to stay in character. She squeezed her  \nfree hand in between them and began unbuttoning Tommy's shirt. \"Your  \nheart is going crazy,\" she mumbled, her hand having worked her way to  \nthe second uppermost button.  \n  \n\"Um yeah, well. Prey, terrified,\" Tommy replied, not in the steadiest  \nof voices, his mind acutely aware of the warm thigh pressing against  \nhis erection. He'd put his right arm around Jahn's waist at some  \npoint, he wasn't sure when. He ought to take it away, to stay in  \ncharacter, but his body really didn't want to. It stayed.  \n  \nJahn laughed and got the last two buttons undone. She tugged his shirt  \nover his shoulders and part-way down his arms, still holding his ears  \npinned against the wall with one hand. She snarled, not very  \nconvincingly, and put her mouth to his shoulder in a pretend bite. She  \ndragged her teeth through his fur, along his shoulder and down his  \nchest, as far as she could bend without either letting go of his ears  \nor pulling her thigh away, then back up again to his shoulder.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"We should move to the bedroom,\" Jahn said, her breath hot puffs of  \nair into his fur, her whiskers prickly against his neck.  \n  \n\"Yeah,\" Tommy agreed.  \n  \nFor a couple of seconds neither of them moved, then Jahn let go of his  \nears and they managed to extricate themselves from each other. Tommy  \nundid the buttons on his cuffs and shrugged his shirt the rest of the  \nway off.  \n  \nGetting to the bedroom was awkward, partly because of his cast and  \nbecause he kept looking at Jahn's naked body as she supported him  \nrather than at where they were going, but mostly because with every  \nstep his pants tightened uncomfortably against his hard-on.  \n  \n\"You look, uh, really good,\" Tommy told Jahn as he stood in the  \ndoorway to the darkened bedroom, watching her hunt for the  \nlight switch.  \n  \nJahn flashed him a smile over her shoulder as she cleared away a  \nscattering of sweaters and underwear from the bed. \"Bet you say that  \nto every naked predator you see,\" she said and came back to help him  \nover to the bed.  \n  \n\"Only the ones that catch me,\" Tommy objected, and accepted the  \nsupport of her arm and limped over to sit on the bed.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Getting his pants and underwear off and over his cast was a little  \nawkward, but there was eager help available and shortly Jahn was  \nrunning an eager finger along the shaft of Tommy's cock and  \nsheath. \"Ala, you're big; even your balls are massive,\" she told him  \nwith a twitch of her ears and ran her hand up along the length of his  \nsheath and exposed cock.  \n  \n\"Uh, leporine muscle base?\" he said which earned him an amused snort  \nfrom Jahn that might have been a suppressed giggle. \"Is it going to be  \na problem?\"  \n  \n\"No, I think I can manage,\" Jahn said with a smile that showed the  \nbarest hint of teeth. \"Just let me be on top and control things.\"  \n  \nTommy had to grin. _Now_ she wanted to control things, was it? \"Hey,  \nI'm the prey species with the wounded leg here -- do I have any other  \nchoice?\"  \n  \nJahn's smile grew toothier and she put her hand on Tommy's chest and  \npushed his upper body down onto the bed. \"Not really.\"  \n  \n\"Could you get me one of those pillows?\" Jahn asked as she straddled  \nTommy's hips, her tail lashing loosely against the inside of his legs.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Sure,\" Tommy stretched and got hold of one of the pillows, quenched a  \nmomentary impulse to swat the lioness with it -- that wouldn't be very  \nprey-like -- and handed it over all nice and meek.  \n  \n\"Thanks,\" Jahn said and put the pillow down across Tommy's chest and  \nsmoothed it.   \n  \nTommy shot her a quizzical glance. \"Uh?\"  \n  \nJahn's ears lowered and her nose pulled back in what might have been  \nembarrassment, \"Sometimes I lose control of my claws during sex.\"  \n  \n\"Oh, uh... Then the pillow stays,\" he concluded, earning him a grin  \nand a thump of Jahn's tail against his cast.  \n  \n\"Okay now.\" Jahn took hold of Tommy's cock by the end of his sheath  \nand tilted it upwards, raising on her knees to make room for it  \nbetween them. She positioned herself against the tip of it and lowered  \nherself carefully down onto it, uttering a soft hiss as she sank down.  \n  \n\"I don't want to go any deeper than this. That okay?\" Jahn said when  \nshe'd lowered herself down to take almost all of his cock inside her,  \nher voice raspy and deep.  \n  \nTommy let out a breathless laugh. \"Yeah, that's fine. Plenty good.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Jahn leant forward and placed her hands on the pillow on top of Tommy's  \nchest, effectively pinning him down against the bed with her  \nweight. With a small grunt she began riding him, slow and careful to  \nbegin with, but she soon felt confident enough to increase the  \npace. \"Ala, I'm wet,\" she said in a soft pant.  \n  \n\"I noticed,\" Tommy answered, in between quick gasps. He'd twisted one  \nof his hands into the sheets, the other was on her thigh, feeling the  \ntightness of her muscles as the lioness rocked up and down on his  \ncock. She really was wet. Moving his hand to the inside of her thigh  \nhe could feel the fur up by her crotch completely soaked.  \n  \nJahn bared her teeth and leant forward, putting more weight on the  \npillow and pressing Tommy hard down against the mattress. A soundless  \nsnarl formed on her lips as she fucked him, ears twitching  \ninvoluntarily every time she pressed herself back down on his cock.   \n  \nJahn let out a loud, harsh hiss and there was a loud tearing sound.  \n  \n  \n  \n  \nThe first thing Tommy noticed when as he woke was a dull pain in his  \nleg, reminding him that he'd chosen drinks instead of painkillers the  \nprevious evening. The second thing he noticed was a warm furry  \npresence in the bed behind him, which reminded him of other things. He  \nyawned and shook his ears and rolled himself around -- and looked  \nstraight into the bright grey eyes of a snow leopardess.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;As the moment of stunned confusion grew longer and longer without  \nTommy managing to vocalise a sound, much less a word, the smile on the  \nsnow leopard turned into a grin that slowly grew wider. \"Hi! I'm  \nDariga.\"  \n  \n\"I... uh, where's Jahn?\" Tommy managed to stutter out, barely.  \n  \n\"Jahiho'uhne? In the kitchen. She seems to be in a really good mood  \nthis morning,\" Dariga said, amusement dancing in her eyes.  \n  \n\"Uh...\" Tommy's brain drew another blank, and his ears flopped down in  \nawkward befuddlement. He was exceedingly aware of the warmth radiating  \nfrom her almost-touching body and of the fact that he was naked under  \nthe sheets. The inside of his ears took on a decidedly pink hue.  \n  \nPerhaps reading much of that from Tommy's expression, Dariga's grin  \ngrew impish as she held the poor hare's gaze for a long, tense moment  \nbefore speaking again. \"Do you want me to fetch your crutches in the  \nliving room? Give you a chance to get dressed?\"  \n  \nEars burning, Tommy nodded desperately, \"Please?\"  \n  \nThe snow leopardess smiled and slid out of bed and onto her feet with  \nlazy grace. Tommy's heart twitched sharply when he saw she was  \ncompletely naked too. Powerful, thick shoulders; a spotted, slender  \nback; broad, shapely hips, bare buttocks sporting more spots; a long,  \nthick, fuzzy tail; muscular, powerful thighs... not a stitch of clothing  \nin sight.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;She took a moment to stretch, apparently without regard that Tommy was  \nin the room and that she was naked to the fur. Tommy stared, he  \ncouldn't help it, but when Dariga looked back over her shoulder and  \ncaught him at it she didn't seem to mind. She just flashed him another  \namused grin.  \n  \n\"In case you are wondering: no, we haven't,\" she said, pausing in the  \ndoorway with an impish glimmer in her eyes. \"I came home freezing and  \nthe two of you looked so warm, so I snuck into the bed with you.\" A  \nslow swish of her tail threatened to reveal her last remaining privacy  \nand Tommy locked his gaze desperately onto her shoulder.  \n  \n\"Uh, right. Okay,\" he said, feeling stupid and confused, acutely aware  \nof his ears burning and fighting to suppress a twitch in his groin.  \n  \n\"Just thought you should know,\" Dariga said and flashed him another  \nsmile and disappeared from the doorway into the hallway.  \n  \nTommy sat up and swung his legs clumsily over the side of the bed,  \nmaking sure to keep the sheet draped over his lap as he looked for his  \npants and underwear. Dariga's head suddenly reappeared in the doorway  \nand Tommy froze.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I did peek, though,\" she admitted with an impish grin and disappeared  \nagain, leaving Tommy with a strong, rosy colour on the inside of his  \nears.  \n  \nTommy managed to find his pants and underwear and put them on before  \nDariga re-appeared, still naked, to hand him his crutches. Taking the  \ncrutches without staring at anything too sensitive was an exercise in  \nrestraint that was rewarded with a wide smile and a sway of her hips  \nas the snow leopardess sauntered off again.  \n  \nAfter a detour to the bathroom, Tommy limped his way through the  \nliving room and into the kitchen. Jahn was standing by the stove  \nfrying some kind of meat. He saw fried eggs already prepared, so he  \nsupposed it was bacon.  \n  \n\"Hey.\" The lioness' ears swung forward as she looked towards Tommy  \nwith a large smile. She'd put on some thermal long johns and a faded  \nblue t-shirt and a white apron over that. She looked good in it, Tommy  \nthought.  \n  \n\"Hey.\" Tommy smiled back and his ears perked up, everything suddenly  \nall right.  \n  \n\"Sorry about Dariga. She's impossible; absolutely no shame. I meant to  \nkick her out of bed before you woke, but you looked so sound asleep, I  \nthought I had more time.\" Jahn's ears dipped in apology.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"It's okay,\" Tommy said and realized that it actually was. He limped  \nhis way over to the kitchen table and sat down. \"I think she just  \nwanted to shock me.\"  \n  \nJahn dipped a sympathetic ear, but not without a hint of a smile. \"Yes,  \nshe does that. Sorry. Do you want breakfast, by the way?\" she asked  \nand shoveled the bacon from the skillet onto the plate with the eggs.  \n  \nTommy's felt his stomach lurch at the sight of the greasy bacon. \"Uh,  \nhave you got any root vegetables or something?\"  \n  \n\"Oh fuck! Of course you don't eat meat. I'm an idiot. Vegetables... I  \ndon't know,\" Jahn's face fell and her eyes roamed uncertainly about  \nthe kitchen, looking for anything that looked like it might hide a  \nvegetable.  \n  \n\"Don't worry about it,\" Tommy smiled. Jahn's mistake and her chagrin  \nat it made him feel oddly pleased.  \n  \n\"There's orange juice in the fridge and some bulbs of garlic in the  \ncabinet next to the jerky,\" Dariga said, lounging in the doorway,  \nstill not dressed.  \n  \n\"Orange juice would be great,\" Tommy said and did his best to keep his  \ngaze off the naked snow leopard, something that became difficult when  \nDariga sauntered into the kitchen and began rooting around in the  \nfridge looking for the orange juice. Not bending at the knees either,  \nTommy noticed in his peripheral vision.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Jahn rolled her eyes at the snow leopard and sat down at the table  \nnext to Tommy with her plate of bacon and egg and an empty glass which  \nshe slid over to him. \"You might as well look, you know,\" she told  \nhim. \"She wouldn't be parading around like that unless she wanted you  \nto.\"  \n  \n\"I have no idea what she's talking about. I just couldn't find any  \nclothes I wanted to wear,\" Dariga grinned and walked over with a  \ncarton of orange juice for Tommy. She put it down with a flick of her  \nwhiskers and walked back to the doorway, hips and tail swaying  \nhypnotically.  \n  \nAn unexpected brushing of claws through his stomach fur startled Tommy  \nand he jerked his gaze away from the swaying, fuzzy derriere and into  \nJahn's amused eyes.  \n  \n\"Don't forget to drink your breakfast, hare.\" Jahn retracted her claws  \nand stroked her fingers firmly through Tommy's soft fur.  \n  \n\"You're not making it easy for me,\" Tommy said, the inside of his ears  \nrosy.  \n  \n\"Nope,\" said Jahn and grinned, the tip of her tail brushing against  \nTommy's good ankle. She picked up her fork in her left hand and  \nspeared some bacon on it, leaving her right hand free to linger on  \nTommy's stomach while she ate.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"She's making it hard for you? Again?\" Dariga wondered from the  \ndoorway, eyes twinkling.  \n  \nThe inside of Tommy's ears grew darker red and his whiskers flickered  \nas he laughed. \"I think you both are. Oh, hang on.\" Tommy got his  \nsuddenly chirping cellphone from his trouser pocket and checked it.  \nIt was an SMS from Curler.  \n  \n\"Your friends looking for you?\" Jahn asked and took her hand off  \nTommy's stomach, her ears dipping low.  \n  \n\"Yeah,\" Tommy nodded and tapped away at the undersized keys with his  \nblunt claws, writing a reply. \"They've just gone to breakfast; they  \nwant to check out and get going in about an hour.\"  \n  \n\"Oh.\"   \n  \n\"Yeah.\"  \n  \nThere was a brief, awkward pause but it was dispelled when Dariga  \nasked in mock upset \"What? We don't get to keep him?\"  \n  \nJahn shook off the spell and perked her ears back up. \"'Fraid  \nnot. Strictly catch and release.\" She chewed down a couple of hurried  \nslices of bacon and put her fork down. \"Go put on some clothes, you  \nhussy. We have a hare to deliver,\" she told Dariga, who smiled and  \nwalked off to get dressed with a swish of her tail.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"'A hare to deliver'? From evil?\" Tommy smiled.  \n  \n\"Perhaps.\" Jahn smiled back and got up, pausing to caress the back of  \nTommy's ears lightly. \"I better go get dressed too. Just sit and  \nfinish your orange juice. I'll get your jacket and shoes... shoe for  \nyou.\"  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\"There they are,\" Tommy said and nodded towards a small group of  \nhares at a table at the back of the dining room. They were  \nchattering about over breakfast, hands gesticulating and ears flicking  \nright and left.  \n  \nTommy was squeezed in between Jahn and Dariga, one arm around Jahn's  \nwaist and the other draped over Dariga's shoulders, Jahn carrying his  \ncrutches. Truth to tell, it would have been less awkward to have taken  \nhis crutches himself and hobbled down to the hotel on his own, but  \ndoing it this way had its advantages -- primarily him having one arm  \naround Jahn's waist and the other draped over Dariga's shoulders.  \n  \nJahn and Dariga shared a look, Dariga's lip twitching up to reveal one  \nof her fangs. \"Sure we can't keep him?\"  \n  \n\"I wish,\" Jahn replied, which earned her an extra squeeze from  \nTommy.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Well, let's at least give them a show, then.\" Dariga started forward,  \npulling Tommy and in turn Jahn along with her.  \n  \n\"Hey, does this belong to you?\" Dariga grinned, all teeth, and  \nproffered Tommy towards the table. The hares' chattering cut off  \nabruptly and all their ears swiveled towards the unlikely trio.  \n  \nSupported by the cats, Tommy hobbled forward and slid into the  \nremaining free chair at the table. \"Thanks,\" he said and accepted his  \ncrutches from Jahn.  \n  \n\"This is for all the fun this morning,\" Dariga said and leant down and  \ngave Tommy a slow, intimate lick on the cheek.  \n  \n\"And this is for last night,\" Jahn added and leant down to place a  \nsimilar lick on Tommy's other cheek, slowly rasping her tongue along  \nhis fur from the base of his jaw and up to the corner of his  \nmouth. She brushed her muzzle against the side of his ear as she stood  \nup, and whispered something that sent shivers down Tommy's back. Then  \nshe and Dariga turned and walked off arm-in-arm, hips swaying.  \n  \nTommy turned and watched them leave, then when there was too many  \ntables and people in the way, he turned back to the table and grabbed  \nhimself a slice of toast. Finally meeting the disbelieving stares and  \nforward turned ears of his friends, Tommy feigned innocence. \"What?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n  \n\"I can't believe you didn't get her number. She sounds perfect for  \nyou, you dimwit!\" Bobby, Curler's sister, was loudly exasperated with  \nTommy in the back seat. Over the last hour or so, she had managed to  \nextract at least the gist of Tommy's evening and that it had centered  \non only one of the two \"crazy hot cats\" to use Axel's description.  \n  \nIn the passenger seat, Tommy just smiled and shrugged. \"It just didn't  \ncome up.\" He turned to watch the landscape run past the side window  \nand thought about what Jahn had whispered to him as she left.He  \nchuckled and suppressed a faint shiver. \"Besides, I don't need her  \nnumber: She's got my scent.\"  \n  \n\n"}