Painting the Perfect Lover
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WARNING! This story contains content that may be
unsuitable for children younger than 18! It also will
depict scenes of romance between 2 anthropomorphic
creatures of the same gender! If any of this bothers
you, please leave immediately!
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Author's Foreword: Having said that to cover legal matters, I will somewhat go the
opposite way in saying that this story does not contain an incredibly yiffy section that
I know most of you are here for, but instead a long, romantic story about. . .well
you'll just have to read it to find out. If you're looking for a quick but very sexy and
intimate scene with little explanation of why they're doing it, you're in the wrong place.
But if you're looking for an emotional joyride more powerful than the ones you're
getting from those "happy pills" I see sitting next to you, sit back and enjoy!
Painting the Perfect Lover
By: WolfwithaDS
It was finally Friday. School gets so long some weeks that I just want to
give up and stay home. Alas, attendance has always been a personal priority as my
father was never on time and I was constantly left stranded as a child. Ever since
then I'd swore I'd be where I was supposed to when I had to be there.
"Clay! Get your wolven butt over here and help me!"
It was my friend Steve. He had spilled green paint everywhere and couldn't
really get to the paper towels without spreading it even further.
"Hey, that's a nice look for you. I didn't know tigers came in that color."
I don't usually tease people, but I'd known Steve for long time and just couldn't
pass up the opportunity. As I reached the paper towels, I asked him, "How many
do you think you'll need?"
"Just bring them over here already. I don't want this to dry or I'll never get
my fur clean."
I sighed. Being an anthropomorph is great, but having fur was a real
problem sometimes. Not that I'm complaining, I really like my fur. It's a mixed gray
color, very neutral, and the obvious reason for my name. Some have said that if I
ever stood still for an extended period of time, I'd make a great statue. The fact
is I didn't stand out like some of my fellow furs, but at least I could wear any color
of shirt without worrying about it clashing. Yup, that's me, always optimistic,
always looking at the bright side. No wonder I loved bright colors so much.
A couple more people came over to assist in cleaning up the green paint.
After we'd gotten what we could off the poor tiger and the floor, we returned to
our current projects. Mine was. . .well I wasn't sure yet. The topic was to paint
something without any red or blue tones. This was my favorite part of school, an
intermediate level art class, meaning we were expected to know already how to
draw and paint fairly well, but weren't so much graded on how well we could do
it. The entire point was to open our minds, to meet these seemingly random
challenges within a decent time frame. Usually I'm pretty quick to get an image
in my head and apply it to the canvas, but this time I was stumped.
"Hey, maybe I should do a self-portrait," I thought to myself. "But then
again, I don't have a mirror handy and there aren't enough grays here to really
pick up on my natural highlights." I laughed at myself. Maybe a cool forest scene?
Lots of green and brown under a midnight sky. Feeling inspired, I picked up my
brush and got to work.
After about half an hour, I stopped and looked at my work in progress.
It wasn't bad, but I have had better ones. I glanced over at the fox beside me.
He hadn't even lifted his brush yet. He seemed, sad, alone, like he wasn't really
here at all. I found myself watching him, completely distracted from the task at
hand. He was pretty short, even by fox standards, wearing a shirt that was
obviously larger than his actual vulpine frame. I had noticed earlier in the year
that he always seemed to wear some sort of. . .body armor. I wasn't really sure
why, and had never bothered to ask him. In fact, I don't believe I've spoken
with him at all, and didn't even know his name. I also noticed he had no tail
sticking out of his pants like the other antromorphs. A pity, really, I quite enjoyed
the sight of a big, fluffy tail like the one a fox generally has. Thankfully, there was
no shortage of foxes here, as I believed they even outnumbered the humans in
this geographic region. One I especially liked was the very reddish one of a girl
who sat in front of me last year in an economics class. I saw her around from
time to time, but no longer got to ignore the teacher in favor of random fantasies.
It seems kinda odd that I'd be in my 2nd year of college and still a virgin, although
I guess the opportunity for otherwise just really hadn't come up for me. Some
claim viginity is a hard thing to hold on to at this age, but I honestly didn't see the
problem.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I wanted to speak to the fox sitting next
to me. But really, what could I say? I've never been one to dig into the personal
life of others, even those whom I'd known for quite some time. He just looked so
cute, sitting there, staring off into a space deeper than the galaxy could encompass.
There was a sadness in his eyes that could release enough tears to fill a. . .okay,
I'm not very poetic, hence my taking an art class.
I looked back at my painting and reached for my art brush. Well, at least
I thought I did. When I looked down I realized that now my hand would not move.
Aww, this is no way to paint. I sighed, knowing now that I'd be unable to work
unless I spoke to the still unmoving fox. I looked past him, making sure that he
wasn't posing for someone (a mistake I had made before) and decided I may as
well ask him.
"Hi." I stopped. He looked over at me. Well, so much for posing a
question. "I. . .um. . ." God, what do you say to a face like that? The golden
brown fur covering his face gave him such a sweet look, even when he seemed
on the verge of tears. "I see you're fulfilling the requirement on your art piece."
Which was quite true, really, his canvas was completely devoid of paint, red, blue,
or otherwise.
He turned away from me. Okay, really bad joke. "I'm sorry, I couldn't
think of anything else to say. I hope I didn't offend you. I should have never said
anything at all. I'm really sorry."
He turned back towards me. I saw on his face the faintest hint of a smile. "It's
okay. To tell you the truth, I really hate the irony of this week's challenge.
Today I'd love nothing more than to smear dark blue paint all over this thing."
I laughed. I completely understood his wish. I'd had days where I felt like that,
but never to such an extreme. What horror could he possibly be enduring? To
ask him would be unthinkable. But maybe, just maybe I could at least figure out
his name.
"I'm Clay. And I. . .I don't remember your name."
"It's Terry," was all he said. I just looked at him for a while, unsure of what
to do next. He scooted his stool over, closer towards me. He glanced at my painted
trees. He seemed to stare into them as he had been staring before. For a moment I
thought he'd gone back into his sad memory and forgotten where he was, but then he
brought his head down onto my shoulder. I must admit I was a bit shocked at first,
but eventually I found myself putting my hand on the top of his head. I was glad I
could at least provide him a bit of comfort, a warmth to break his cold, lonely mystique.
"Well that's it for today," came the voice of our instructor. "No staying
around late this time, I have an appointment to get to. Everyone make sure you've
cleaned up everything and put your work away nicely so it doesn't get ruined."
Uh huh, as if we hadn't heard that before. Well, she must get paid for something,
right?
I looked down at Terry, who had his eyes closed with his head still on
my shoulder. Certainly he couldn't fall asleep that fast. "You know the class is
over, right?" I whispered in his ear, "It's time to go."
"Hey man, thanks for helping me with the green--" I noticed Steve was
behind me, unsure of what to make of my current predicament. I motioned
towards the door, indicating I would meet him outside in a minute. He shrugged,
then headed out.
"Come on now," I coaxed softly, "if you don't get up I'll just have to let
you fall on the floor. I think there's still some wet paint on it and we wouldn't
want you to get all messy." He got up, silently. Without a word he returned to
his own area, shook his head at his blank canvas, and began putting everything
away. "I'll see you on Monday?" Terry turned towards me and for the first time
today I saw his smile come out from hiding. With a nod, he grabbed his bag and left.
I met up with Steve outside. It was the last class for both of us, so we
would each head to our respective cars, which were usually fairly close. "So
what was up with you and that fox, dude? He seemed kinda attached to you
from where I was standing. I thought you were. . .come to think of it, I've never
seen you with a girl."
"Hey now, just because I don't have some ugly stripes to cover my
hideous tan hide doesn't mean I can't attract the ladies." We both broke into
laughter. I'd seen some of the females he'd been with and heard what they
said to him. And I knew that at least a few of them had gotten him in a bed,
although I didn't know which ones.
"In any case, his name is Terry and he came over to me. He didn't seem
to be feeling well, so I just didn't have the heart to object," I said with sincerity.
"Whatever you say, Clay." He grinned and I knew that he believed me,
but was exacting sweet revenge for the color crack I made back with the infamous
green paint. It had been so long since someone had done anything to that extent
that I'm sure it would follow him for weeks and most likely spread into various
gossip circles.
We had reached my car. It was a green *giggle* car of some make and
model that I really didn't know of the top of my head. I'm sure if I ever lost my
car or had it stolen I'd be so screwed in trying to explain what it looked like to
the cops. If I had something to draw on I'd be fine, as I knew what it looked
like, but that deep car stuff that like every male teenager is an expert in just didn't
ever click with me. Engine types, motors, performance, I may as well be trying
to decipher ancient hieroglyphs. As long as the thing ran nicely I didn't really
care, although one of the tires could use a little more air. I'm not totally oblivious.
"Later, Steve!" I said as I hopped in and began to make my way back
home, ready for the weekend to begin.
Monday again. The weekend was quite uneventful. At least I finished
my paper for my English class and got a lot further on one of my video games,
having found a controller much better suited for my lupine digits. But now that
the weekend was over, it was time for 5 more days of boring and more boring.
Finally, it was time for art class again.
I sat down and uncovered my canvas, wondering if I had been drunk
the previous time I had this class. My trees were all wrong and I hadn't even
started formulating the sky. What in the world was I thinking? I reached for
my blue paint, then remembered why it was I started a twilight forest scene.
I sighed at my paint, and life in general, when I noticed Terry getting to his seat.
"Good afternoon. You look a lot better today." He glanced over,
and at first didn't seem to remember me. But after a few seconds it clicked
and he waved. I noticed that he never seemed to say much, but his eyes were
all the greeting I needed. I quickly went back to fixing the monstrosity I had
created only 3 days earlier. I added more trees to fix the sense of unbalance
and flowers that shined in the moonlight. After a while, I felt much more at
peace with my art, as it was finally coming together as envisioned. I decided
to take a look at what Terry was working so diligently on.
It was beautiful, almost too beautiful for words. Terry had painted an
older female fox looking up as she was ascending to the sun. She had
absolutely magnificent wings that closely resembled those of an angel. I found
myself unable to speak. The detail was so intense, so carefully constructed that
I couldn't imagine it came from anything other than the heart. Was this. . .was
this what Terry was so sad about the Friday before? As if reading my mind, he
answered my question.
"Yes, that's my mother. She. . .I lost her last Thursday," he whispered
so softly, I could barely make out what he was saying. "This is the only thing I
can do to wish her goodbye."
At this point, tears began to run down my face; not even the fur under
my eyes could absorb them. I could feel Terry picking up on my emotions, and
he put his arms around me. "Thank you, for last Friday. I had no one else to
hold on to. You made me feel at peace with myself, gave me the courage to face
the situation I could not control. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."
His words hit me, and I felt joy that I had really made a difference. I reached my
hand up and stroked him behind the ear, to which he put down the paintbrush and
leaned into me.
I spent a few minutes with him, thankful that everyone else was too
absorbed in their work to notice us, then returned to my own work. However,
it seemed like I wasn't getting anything else done today, as my emotions were
getting in the way of even the most simple thought. This may be one project I
wasn't getting such a good grade on. But it was okay, for I had found a new
friend in the process. I smiled and started watching the brushes dry out, wishing
for once that the picture would just paint itself.
After class, I caught up with Terry. He seemed to enjoy my company,
even outside the sanctity of the art classroom. I started to follow him, not really
caring where he was headed. I figured I might as well say something. "I never
knew you could paint like that. Well, before Friday I really didn't know you at
all, so I guess that's understandable, right?" He laughed, but then his face broke
what seemed to be a deep thought. But then he shook his head and smiled at me
again. Not sure what to make of it, I smiled at him too.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's up with the armor? Doesn't it
ever get hot in there?" Curiosity was getting the best of me. "I would think as
cute as you are you'd like to show off that slender little body I'm sure is hidden
deep inside." I slapped my hand over my mouth, embarrassed that I had used
the word "cute" out loud in front of him like that. He blushed, hopefully taking
that as a simple compliment, and began to explain it to me.
"It was a long time ago, back when I was very young. I was an only
child, so I always entertained myself playing with whatever else was around.
Unfortunately, I ended up pawing a boulder that wasn't quite stable on a nearby
hill. It fell on me and crushed my already fragile spine. It's never quite healed,
and prone to impact. I wear this to protect myself from getting injured again. I
never could find one in a smaller size, but the extra space doesn't suffocate my fur.
I also lost my tail in that incident, and there was no way to reattach it."
I stopped walking. His sweet voice had spoken more now that I had ever
heard it before. That did explain a lot, as tragic as it was. I patted my knees to
make sure they wouldn't give way as Terry realized he had left me behind and had
turned around so I could catch up.
"Wow, so, um. . .jeez. I would have never guessed anything like that."
It was all I could manage to say.
He could see that I felt sorry for him. "Don't worry, my life isn't all bad.
Hey, maybe some time we could get together outside of class and I'll tell you about it."
I was amazed that he had taken to me so quickly, as shy as he was, I never thought
he'd ask something like that.
"Sure, hey, we should meet at my place. Nobody else lives there, as my
former roommate ran off with some girl to a foreign land and me with the house to
myself. It's not much, but I call it home anyway. Here," I said as I wrote my
address and phone number on a notecard. "I should be free this weekend, pending
any major homework assignments some teachers just randomly throw at ya."
Terry laughed, a laugh that I began to grow fond of. "Sure," he said, and
stopped as we reached a doorway. "I still have another class though today, so
I'll see you tomorrow." And with a small hug he disappeared into the class. I
finally headed towards my car, realizing I'd been walking completely away from
it. It was definitely worth it though.
The rest of the week went by fairly quickly. I enjoyed the daily art
class, more and more thanks to the company of a newfound friend. As Friday
came around we got our new assignments. "This time class, we will be focusing
on anything that starts with the letter 'T'. Feel free to add whatever in the
background, but your picture must have a main subject that begins with the
aforementioned letter. And Clay," I looked up, "this time you can add your
red tulips wherever." She held up my previous picture, which indeed had
some red flowers, despite that our last challenge was not to use any red or
blue. I buried my face in my hands, totally embarrassed. Steve started clapping
loudly and suddenly everyone in the class was applauding me for my blatantly
stupid mistake. Oh well, on to the new task at hand. Now, what started with
the letter "T"?
No, I couldn't. There was no way. But yet, I couldn't help myself.
Smiling, I reached down and started fumbling through some of my brown and
yellow paints. This one, I thought, was gonna be good.
Class ended, but I wasn't even halfway finished with my work. Sure,
I would have a week to finish it, but I was really eager to work on it, especially
if I could do this one by myself. I approached the instuctor and asked, "Can
I take this home with me and work on it? I've really gotten into this one and I
kinda don't want to leave it here over the weekend." This arose her suspicion.
"May I ask why?"
"Why what?"
"Why you don't wish to leave it here."
"Oh, um. . .heh." I didn't want to say anything, although I realized I'd
have to turn in the painting in a week.
"While I have no objection to you taking your work home with you, let
me tell you, Mr. Clay, that this is not an anatomy class. While this is art, I will
not be having any depicting of sexuality. Is that clear?"
"Oh, yes ma'am. That's not at all what I had in mind. Although you may
want to take that up with Steve. I think he was trying to draw some 'T'esticles."
She rolled her eyes, not finding me funny in the least. Well, I tried.
After that I left, ready to get home quickly.
As I got home, I took out my painting. I got my materials ready and
closed my eyes, straining to remember every detail I could muster. Maybe I
should have looked more before trying to paint at home. Of course, I never
let that stop me before. I grabbed my brush and went back to work, painting
every stroke with loving detail. After many hours I realized how long I'd been
at this, and finally hit the bed.
It was now Saturday morning. My alarm clock went off, signaling the begin
of a new day and fresh new episodes of my favorite cartoons. Yeah, I'm a sucker
for them, no matter how old I get. After the last of the shows I liked, I turned off
the TV and thought about what I'd do for the rest of the day. I didn't have to wait
long to get my answer.
The doorbell rang. Naturally, I answered it, only to find Terry at the door.
He brought his backpack, but I didn't think it had study materials in it. I invited him
in, and sat down in a chair as he took a seat on my couch, placing his stuff beside him.
"So whatcha got in there?" I asked him.
"I heard you were into video games, so I brought a few of my own,
including my favorite." He proceeded to pull out his system and set it on the
floor. "Um, there isn't anything in here prone to falling over due to heavy
vibrations, is there?"
Puzzled by his question, I did a quick visual sweep of the room. "I
don't think so. Why?"
He pulled out some bundle of fabric and wires and unrolled it. It was
a mat with arrows on it. Terry saw me tilt my head and explained, "it's a
dance pad, it acts as the controller for the game." He proceeded to plug
everything into place and turned on the game. "You have to step on the correct
arrow as timed with the song. I'm surprised you've never seen this before, it's
really quite popular, or so I thought." He then bent over and removed his shoes.
For the first time ever, I noticed how huge his feet were. They didn't look odd
attached to his foxy legs, but were indeed very large, with claws that came out
another 2 inches. He obviously clipped his nails regularly, but it seemed they
could not be cut any shorter without harming him. "The pad is pretty much immune
to tearing, but it doesn't respond well to shoes. Here, I'll show you how it's done."
I watched as he set the difficulty to medium and the music began to play.
It was very upbeat and did in fact make me want to dance. However, I wasn't
sure if I could handle the arrows, not that my actual dancing would look any better.
As the song ended I decided to give it a go.
Terry mercifully turned the difficulty all the way down to beginner and gave
me a nice, easy slow song to work with. It wasn't too hard, although I tended to
miss a bunch of steps and stumbled a bit, causing the fox on my couch to giggle.
I went at this a few rounds, then decided I wanted to watch Terry do it again.
"Now it's time for me to show off," he said, and increased the difficulty to a much
harder level. I watched as his abnormally large feet moved very quickly, pressing
buttons in very rapid succession. But then, just as I had earlier, he began to
stumble and flat out fell over. I ran over to him.
"Are you okay, Terry?" I asked as I turned him over to see his face.
There was no expression of pain but instead on of pure shock.
"I. . .I've never fallen over before. The songs not even that hard. Why
did I. . .?" He put his hand on his chest about where his heart would be and a
sense of realization came to him. "Oh, I forgot, I really can't do it with this on."
He patted the armor. "Maybe we should try something else." And with that, he
put the pad away.
I retreated to my seat and pondered on that. Something was odd here.
If he wore the armor to protect his spine, how did he manage jumping around like
that? His previous comment also suggested that he didn't wear it at home, which
made me wonder what was really under there. After all, if he liked the game so
much, wouldn't it be more enjoyable for him to simply remove it and keep playing?
In any case, I respected his privacy and decision. "Hey, how about a drink? All
that jumping you were doing is making me thirsty." He agreed and we walked into
the kitchen area. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out 2 bottles of water, not yet
sure what Terry liked. I turned to him and noticed he had frozen, staring at
something. I walked around to see what in the world he was looking at, then
immediately realized what it was that caused him to stop.
"You, you like it?" I asked. He didn't reply. He just walked forward,
closer and closer to my painting. "It's supposed to be you, um, without the shirt
and all. But seeing as how I've never seen you with it off, I just took a guess."
He reached forward and touched the painting. I thought it was pretty good, but
wasn't too sure about its accuracy. I had given him white fur all over his chest,
accompanied by a fair amount of muscles. His arms were fairly delicate, covered
completely by the beautiful golden brown hair on his face, but seemingly strong
anway. The legs visible beneath his shorts were a bit darker colored, coming down
to the feet which I knew now that were entirely too small. I had also given him a
tail, one that was very fluffy, blowing in the breeze I had created for him, and coming
to a white tip that matched his chest fur.
"I love it," Terry finally said. "Is that how you really see me?" I nodded.
He ran over and hugged me, putting his arms around my back and embracing me
deeply. As I put my arms around him in return, I began to think to myself. Why
did I decide to paint him like that? I had expected this sort of reaction, and in a way,
seemed to be anticipating it. This cute, once shy little fox was now holding me in a
way that really made me feel special. Holding me, so I couldn't breathe even. No,
literally, his arms were squeezing the air right out of me.
I started coughing, gasping for air. Terry instantly let go of me, realizing he
had held on so tightly. "Wow, I surely didn't do your arms any justice in the picture.
I thought for a moment you were going to snap me in half with those things. Now
how did a little fox like you come to be so powerful?"
"I. . .I'm not sure," he stammered. "Am I really that strong?"
"Well if I ever need to rip a tree out, I'll be sure to call you." He blushed at
this, then grabbed the bottle of water I had put out for him and took a sip.
"Clay, I want to show you something." He paused, waiting for me to respond.
"What is it?" He grabbed my hand and led me back to the couch, so I
sat down. He stood there in front of me for a minute, but didn't move. Then he sat
down next to me.
"Um, maybe another time." He sat down next to me. I put my arm around
him again and he scooted closer and closer, until he was practically right up on me.
I didn't expect him to get so close, but he felt so warm, even through his armor. I
continued to wonder what that was all about, still feeling that he hadn't been truthful
about the spine break story. Still, his face was so soft as I ran my hand over his
muzzle, causing him to lick my hand, causing a sharp, shooting pain.
"Ow!" I yelped, pulling quickly away from him and shaking my hand.
Terry gasped, and quickly grabbed his things and ran out the door. I lay on the
couch, suddenly alone, speechless as I examined my hand. A number of hairs
had been seared, and the skin beneath was red. What, what was that?! Did Terry. . .
no, it wasn't possible. But still, how had my hand. . .?
I woke up on the couch. I looked over at the clock. 7:30 AM.
"Seven-thirty, Sunday?" I asked myself out loud. Well, I certainly had a good
night's sleep. But what had happened to Terry. He was here, right? I wasn't
just dreaming? I checked my hand. No trace of injury whatsoever. I tested it
out and could not sense any pain. Maybe I was dreaming. I stumbled into the
kitchen and noticed a pair of open water bottles on the table, still mostly full. He
had been here then. So then. . .I was totally confused. I shrugged it off and went
on about my daily routine. But I couldn't stop myself from looking constantly at
the painting I did of Terry. He was so cute, so beautiful. I found myself stroking
the painting with my hand. I then pulled away and closed my eyes. What were these
feelings I had? I didn't. . .love him, did I? Was that even possible? Certainly I took
him for more than a friend, but was he really like that? I thought back to the day I met
him, the sadness in his eyes, the longing for someone to hold. He said he felt at
peace with me. Still, I couldn't say for sure whether he wanted me in that way or not.
I couldn't ask him, I just couldn't, not unless I was sure. And at this point I wasn't
even sure about myself. How could I possibly risk losing him? The thought of Terry
running away from was causing my eyes to tear up again. At least, I thought, he has
been quite open to me. I'm sure if he does want me, he will come around on his
own, right? Right?
It was now 5:00 in the afternoon. I lay on the couch, strangely tired. If had
really passed out yesterday so early and slept until morning, how could I possibly be
tired? It didn't make any sense. But then I heard the doorbell again. Could it be
that Terry had come back? I opened the door to find that my prayers had indeed
been answered. There he stood, this time wearing a white shirt, as opposed to the
light blue one he had on the day before.
"I came to say that I'm sorry." Terry looked down at me and said nothing
else. I leaned against the doorframe and looked into his eyes.
"For what?"
His eyes followed my outstretched arm to my hand. Then he cocked his
head as he looked back at me, searching for any indication that I knew what he
was implying. "For leaving you so suddenly," he finally said.
"It's cool. To tell you the truth, I kinda lost track of what happened later
on yesterday. Would you like to come in? I've still got your water from yesterday,
although it wouldn't be cold anymore."
He accepted and came inside. I sat back down on the couch and motioned
for him to join me. He did, laying himself down so that his head fell into my lap. I
started to stroke him behind the ears, knowing from before that he really liked that.
His tiny little head felt so good under my hand. He sat up and again moved closer,
this time cuddling up to me. I continuted to stroke him, this time moving all the way
down to his neck. I think I was enjoying this as much as he was. This was much
more exciting that the painting. He responded to this by nuzzling my shoulder. "Oh,
Terry. I've been thinking about you all day. I. . .I. . .I think I love you." Terry looked
up, his vulpine eyes so full of the same feelings I had just admitted to him. He
returned his head to my shoulder and I embraced him fully, knowing that this
time I didn't want him to leave. I felt his tounge on my upper arm, followed by
that same burning sensation I had before. I winced and clenched my teeth. Again?
How was this happening? I looked down to see steam rising from the mark where
Terry's tounge had been. The pain overtook me and I lost my hold on Terry as I
grabbed my arm. He looked at me, his eyes now full of fear as he slowly backed
away. "No, wait! Don't leave!" He stopped. I held my arm for another minute as
the pain somewhat subsided. "What's going on?"
Terry just covered his face with his hands. "Really, it's okay. I'm fine. But,
please, at least tell me what's going on?" I got no answer from him, but was struck
by an idea. I got up and grabbed on of his hands. "How about we walk down to the
lake. You would like that, wouldn't you?" Finally he nodded, sobbing, unable to
speak. I walked him outside and closed the door behind us.
We were both quiet as we made our way down a path that I knew so
well. I came to the lake often, as it was a good source of inspiriation for me as
an artist. We finally reached the lake itself, and I saw Terry brighten a bit.
"I'm so sorry I burned you, Clay," he finally said. "When I'm around you,
I just totally lose track of myself. I forget that I'm--" he stopped and picked up a
branch that had fallen near to where we had been standing.
"So it was you. Why didn't you say anything earlier? And, what exactly
is going on? I don't understand."
"Here, watch," Terry whispered as he held the stick up. He drew his breath
and blew on the branch. After a few moments, the end of it burst into flame. I felt
my jaw drop in utter amazement. He let the wood burn a bit before chucking it into
the lake, where the fire instantly died.
"How are you doing this?" I managed to ask, my eyes still watching the branch
floating in the water? I had heard of dragons and higher reptilian creatures having a
firebreath, but it was a rare ability among them, and certainly never seen on a furry
creature such as a fox!
That sweet vulpine face. . .it needed no explanation. We locked eyes again,
and suddenly, it didn't matter anymore. I walked over to him and hugged him once
more, feeling for him more than ever. "It doesn't frighten you?" he asked from inside
my arms. I held him even tighter, although not sure if he could feel it within the armor.
He seemed to understand, this time putting his hand on my head and stroking me.
"Shouldn't we get back before it gets too dark?"
"Sure," I replied, "but between my superior wolf nightvision and your ability to
turn any random stick into a candle, I don't think we'll have much problem." He
laughed, looking even cuter than before. I found that I couldn't help myself so I kissed
him on the nose, knowing now that mouth to mouth might prove quite painful.
We made our way back just fine, but it was getting late. I wanted badly
to invite Terry to stay the night, maybe even to sleep with me, but I knew that we
would have to be at school the next day. "I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?"
"Of course, just don't forget to bring that wonderful painting of yours with you."
That's right, I did bring my painting home. Good thing he mentioned it, I
almost forgot. I waved and watched him leave. Finally, I grabbed the painting of
my wonderful fox friend and, fighting off an urge to kiss it too, put it near the door
so I wouldn't forget it in the morning. I reset my alarm, and finally hit the bed for
some much needed rest.
Monday. Again. When will this vicious cycle ever end? This time, with
the added bonus of rain. I sighed. I didn't like getting wet and definitely not going
to let the moisture ruin my painting. However, I found right before I left that I
couldn't very well keep the trash bag closed tight around my painting and hold an
umbrella at the same time. Faced with a hopeless situation, I abandoned the
umbrella in favor of preserving my art to its fullest.
Class after mind numbing lecture class, I trudged along. Finally, reaching
the beloved art class. I kept my picture hidden, having finished over the weekend,
figuring I'd just dabble away at something else for the rest of the week. This time,
Terry had beaten me to class. After setting my stuff down, I went over to him and
greeted him with another kiss, this time on top of his furry little head. I heard a gasp
and looked over to see a group of classmates staring at me. I saw Steve elbow a
male panther in the ribs and shoot him a dirty look. After that he approached me,
gently grabbed me by the shoulder, and led me out the door.
"So what was that, exactly?" Steve asked me, his voice displaying a tone of
curiosity.
"Oh, I, well. . .you see. . ." What was I afraid of? Steve had been my buddy
for the longest time. Surely he'd understand. "I love him."
"Ah, I see. Hey that's cool man. I don't mind, but you may want to be
careful about what you do in front of some of the other guys. They may not be so
nice about it."
"You don't think it's odd?"
Steve slapped me on the back. "I can't say I would have suspected you
of that before last week or so, but if you have your thing, go for it. I respect that.
Just don't go hugging me or nothin'. I think the lioness has been checking me out."
I grinned. "Hug you? Never. And no way dude, she's got her eye on that
panther. I know it."
We walked back in, Steve playfully shoving me back into my seat. Terry
looked at me and I winked at him. I think he already knew, as I should have. Just
then, the instructor entered the room.
"Afternoon, class. Sorry I was late, I got caught up in. . .ah, forget it. They
had doughnuts in the lounge and I couldn't help myself." This brought a collective
snicker from the class. "All right, get to work people." I sat there, knowing that my
picture was already finished, and proceeded to wave my clean brush at a blank page.
Right then I realized that our instructor was right behind me.
"Well now, Mr. Clay, what happened to that picture you were so eager to
work on over the weekend?"
"I finished it, it's sitting over there," I said, and pointed towards my masterpiece,
still currently inside the trash bag.
"Then why don't we take a peek?" She walked over and uncovered the
portrait of who was now my new lover. "And where does the "T" fall into this one?
While you've drawn quite a dashing young fox, I fail to see--"
"It's Terry," I whispered in her ear, interrupting her before she could attract
everyone's attention as she did with my red tulips. She glanced over at him and he
turned around to blush at her, the face obviously giving away my inspiriation for
the project.
"Oh my! Well I guess I can't argue with that. As much as you stretch my
artistic boundaries, I must say this is very well done. Excellent job."
Now it was my turn to blush. Never had I received such praise from her
before. I guess, when you paint from the heart it just comes out better.
I headed out the door at the end of class, not in any real hurry, just bored
of having nothing really to do for the past hour. "Wait!" I heard Terry calling me
from behind. I stopped and turned to him. He seemed quite eager. "I don't
suppose I could come over again soon, say, tonight?"
"Hmm, sure, I don't see why not. Any reason in paticular?" Terry nodded
vigorously and quickly dashed off for his last class. I'm sure whatever he had in mind
would cause him to not learn a thing in there, but what can I say?
I got home and sat down, anxious for my lover's arrival. I had about an hour
and half before he showed up, entirely too long for my mind to roam free, exploring
each and every forbidden fantasy that Terry could possibly have in mind. Finally, he
was here. I almost jumped in esctasy as I heard the doorbell. I quickly let him in,
trying to stay cool but failing miserably.
"Are you ready?" he asked and motioned for me to sit on the couch.
"Anytime you are." Now my heart was truly pounding.
I sat down, but Terry stood in the center of the room. He let his hands
drop to his side and took a slow, deep breath. He exhaled slowly, thankfully not
burning anything nearby. He then removed his shirt, revealing the ever present but
hidden layer of armor. Another deep breath, then he slowly grabbed the armor
and began to pull it off.
I watched him, paralyzed completely. I then noticed something slip out
from the back of his armor. It was his tail. Still unable to move, I looked on as
though in a trance. I couldn't believe it. He really did have a tail. But it was not
the tail of a fox. It was devoid of fur, the skin a light pink in color, extending out
a good 4 feet behind him. It was much larger in diameter at the base, getting
smaller proportionally as it got further down. It seemed that it would belong to a
reptile, only it didn't have any scales. Almost like. . . "A dragon. It reminds me
of a dragon. Oh wow, I feel so lucky. I've always loved looking at pictures of
dragons. I never dreamed in a million years that I would ever see anything like
this up close before! Terry, you're so amazing."
At this he looked at me, astonished. But that quickly faded into a joy
beyond all compare. He rushed to me and held me, as if I could not have said
anything more right to him. I felt his strong arms around me, starting to crush me
once again. I didn't care, this was better than anything I had imagined. Nothing
would have prepared me for this. But it wasn't over. Terry returned to the center
of the room and energetically removed the armor completely. I was pleased to
find that I had correctly depicted his chest, his fur a nice white blending gently with
the surrounding golden brown color I'd fallen in love with. He brushed his stomach
off and unfolded his wings.
His. . .his wings? What the. . .? They were very large, making him appear
almost 3 times as big when they were outstretched. I marveled at their majestic form.
They were also covered in his golden brown fur, causing them to shine, even in the
dull lighting that I had. The shape was not at all intimidating, as I had seen pegasai
who could smile at you and scare you away, but instead quite inviting. I wanted to
touch them, to feel the texture of every inch, but I was glued to the couch, my knees
too weak to lift me and my arms heavy as lead. Terry smiled and began to move them
back and forth, completely mesmerizing me. I knew he was having fun with me now,
having established that I absolutely loved him more than ever before. I could have
sat there for hours, just watching him. Finally he moved closer to me.
"So what do you think of me now?" Terry inquired, anxious to hear my
thoughts in a verbal form.
"You're gorgeous!" I exclaimed, surprised that I could speak. Terry kneeled
down in front of me and grabbed my hand, bringing it to his wing so I could touch
them. They felt heavenly, as if the gods have created a new form of velvet just for us.
I had so many questions racing through my head but could do nothing more than
stroke his wonderous and enchanting wings.
"Why, why have you hid them? I can't see how anyone would ever want
to keep such treasures hidden away like that?"
Terry closed his eyes. "Because people would never accept me as a
half-dragon."
"Half-dragon?" I could see it now, but I couldn't understand how that
would ever happen. He sat down next to me, eyes still closed.
"Yes. You see, my mother was a very beautiful fox, but just as curious as I was.
One day she found herself nosing into a cave, just looking around with no real
intention. But that cave was already inhabited by a dragon, and a very rich one
at that. He assumed that she was there to take something, and took her prisoner.
She was held captive for 3 days, pleading for her release the entire time. The
dragon didn't have the heart to torture her like he did every other prisoner he had,
and at the end of the 3rd day, he broke down and gave her back her freedom. She
was so happy that he had let her go without harm, she thanked him dearly. The dragon
was pleased, but made one final request. He asked her if she would willingly stay one
more night, not as a prisoner, but as. . ."
Terry broke down and began crying, tears flowing freely now. I held him
without a word for what seemed like an eternity, until he finally regained himself
and continued.
"There had been stories of dragons having sex with other creatures, willing
or not, but never had one of such unions led to conception. But I. . .I am the
exception, the abnormality, that resulted. I was my mother's only child, and not
long after my birth we caught word that the dragon had been slayed and his treasure
looted. I could tell she loved that dragon and loved every part of me that reminded
her of him, but I learned to hate him for making me the way I was. My mother, she
tried to teach me to be proud of who I was, to embrace myself and never let others
hurt me. But it was impossible. All I ever got from outsiders was ridicule and fear.
It was okay for a fox to be half-wolf, half-dog, or half-horse even. But for me to
be half-dragon was never accepted. I disguised myself, hiding my tail and wings,
hoping to be accepted for the vulpine creature which is so commonly seen around
here. But then, then my mother passed away. I felt alone. There was no one left
who understood me. Nothing left for me to hold on to. If I lost the fox in me, what
was there left? I couldn't go on. I just couldn't. I had lost all hope, until. . .until
you held me that day. You accepted me, having just learned my name moments
before. You restored the part of me I lost, and in time brought me here, lovingly,
never pushing me away. I am so thankful."
Okay, now we were both crying. I was seriously gonna have to wash
this couch off. But that would have to wait. As our tears flowed, I found myself
leaning on Terry, his large wingspan quite comforting. We sat that way for hours,
never caring what the time was. Finally, after we both had stopped crying, I had
one final question for him:
"Can you fly?"
"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, and let me outside by the hand.
As soon as we stepped beyond the walls, he grabbed me firmly around the waist
and flapped his graceful wings, lifting us both high into the air.
I figured he could get himself off the ground, but this! This was incredible!
I never imagined he would have the ability to carry me high into the midnight sky!
I understood now why his arms were so strong and was very thankful. I had always
dreamed of flying, but this easily surpassed any dream I had ever had! He carried
me around a bit, swooping down over the lake so I could get a good reflection of
us- his golden dragon wings on his tiny little fox body with a silver wolf wrapped
tightly in his powerful arms, the full moon making the perfect background. I had
never felt so wonderful in all my life! But finally, it came to an end as we returned
back to my home.
"You know I won't be able to sleep now," I told him with a smile more
genuine than the lake itself.
"Me neither. But I'll see you tomorrow at school if you somehow
manage it."
"Right." I sighed. Maybe the adrenaline could just carry over for the
next 16 hours or so. I felt like that was a definite possibility.
I don't know how I got there, or have any real sense of anything from then
to the events of last night. I just know that in some form or another, I was back in
art class. I shook my head, trying to make sense of anything other that the half-fox,
half-dragon I now knew so well sitting next to me. He was back in his armor again,
which almost saddened me. I wanted again to see those glorious wings, radiating
beauty and bringing joy to me with every little movement. If only there was some
way to make him feel good about it, to let himself free. Suddenly, I was struck by
inspiriation. I didn't pick up my paint brush, for this was something no canvas could
accomplish.
As soon as I got out of class, I hurried outside and began searching and
scanning the crowds of people for someone who could help me. Finally, I spotted
him, a gryphon morph that I knew from last year. I rushed over to catch him.
"Hey, um, nice shirt," I said, knowing that it came out wrong.
"Thanks?" He looked at me somewhat suspiciously.
"Listen, I have a friend, a friend with wings, and I was wondering where
you get shirts like that."
"Ah!" he exclaimed, his suspicion dissapated. He then told me where the
store was and what it looked like.
"Thank you so much!" I waved as he flew off. I was glad to have caught
him, there aren't very many winged creatures around these areas. They generally
lived in more mountainous terrain where they were more free to fly around without
hitting anything.
The next day I approached Terry before class asked if he would meet
me after he was done for the day. I told him I could wait for him. He agreed
and went back to our projects. Well, except for me, I had long since finished it,
and just didn't have anything else in mind to create.
I waited by my car, knowing Terry would meet me here shortly. I smiled
as I saw him approach.
"So where are we going? Back to your house?" he asked.
"Nope, today we go shopping!" I looked over with a big grin.
Terry looked at me like I was crazy, but decided to trust me anyway. He
sat back and enjoyed the breeze coming in through the window as I drove towards
our destination.
I looked down at the instructions I'd written, then back at the store. Yup,
this was the place all right, a place called "Hanging in the Breeze". An odd name
perhaps, but one that made enough sense if you thought about it.
I grabbed Terry's hand and we walked into the store. It was nice inside,
although seemingly a bit large, although understandable if you considered the general
customer would have wings and feel more at home with the high ceiling and open space.
We were greeted at the door by and beautiful pegasus.
"Hi," she said with a warm smile, "and welcome! Can I help you?"
I looked over at Terry, who had nervously put his hand in his mouth and
started nibbling on it. "Come on, Terry," I prodded, "I know you want to. Won't
you give it a shot, for me?"
He stood there for a while, the pegasus clerk waiting very patiently, albiet
confused. Finally he shifted his gaze up at me, a new purpose instilled in his eyes
and in his heart. "Okay, but only because I trust you, Clay." He then removed his
shirt and armor, revealing his slender body, along with his dragon wings and tail.
The clerk took a few steps back. "We're looking for some stuff that would
fit him, you know, without the armor," I explained to her. She somewhat composed
herself and began to slowly circle Terry, checking out his anatomy in order to get an
idea of what he might need. Her business instinct now on autopilot, she led us to the
appropriate section.
Terry and I spent hours in that store, picking out stuff for him to try on. I
loved it every time he stepped out of that dressing room with some new garment of
clothing on. We finally decided on a good dozen or more shirts and a few pairs of
shorts for the upcoming summer.
As we left, I could see that Terry was so happy, now wearing one of his newly
purchased shirts. We realized when we got out to my car that he had left his armor back
in the dressing room. He laughed. "I won't be needing it any more. Thank you, Clay."
He then hugged me, preventing me from starting the car until he let go. "Can I stay the
night with you?" He asked.
I hadn't expected that, but I couldn't say no. "Sure, I think I'd love that!"
We drove back to my place and he took his bags of clothing in with him, not wanting
to leave them in the car.
After we got settled in, I opened the door to my room, where my bed was located.
I motioned for Terry to follow me, but he just shook his head. "You, you don't want
to sleep with me?" I asked him, feeling as though maybe I had gone too far and
regretting the gesture.
"I do, but. . ." he paused, and I waited for him to finish. "But not tonight. It's just
been too much. You understand, right?"
I nodded. Of course, he has to prepare himself to go out tomorrow, no longer a
fox with a spinal injury, but as a majestic being, half-fox, half-dragon. "I'll see you
in the morning then." He gave me one last hug and plopped himself on the recently
washed couch.
The next morning, I woke up to find Terry already rummaging through his
new pile of clothes. He didn't see me peeking through the barely cracked door, so
I continued to watch him. He had already put on some jeans, so I wasn't getting any
naughty sights. He finally picked out a shirt that was a bright, but not overbearing
red color. For once you could see his white chest fur a bit through the fabric, a
common style of dress among modern foxes. I shut the slightly ajar door and reopened
it, giving the image that I had just gotten to it. "Wow, you look so beautiful. I've never
seen you in the morning light like this. How are you feeling?"
"A bit scared, I must admit, but I'm ready." He closed his eyes and held
his fist up in front of his heart. The pose really took me in and I went over and
stroked him behind the ears to comfort him. He then licked me on the muzzle. His
tounge felt so smooth and soothing, sending waves of pleasure and warmth through
me with each pass. I pulled away slowly, something in the back of my mind was telling
me something was different, but I couldn't remember what. "How about you?"
Terry inquired, looking deep into my eyes. "How do you feel?"
"I feel great. I feel. . .like you didn't burn me this time. Why is that? Not
that I'm complaining or anything.
Terry smiled. "I don't know. You're the first one that's ever had the
courage to get close to me again, the first one that I've ever loved." His words
touched my soul.
"Promise me you'll kiss me later?"
"Of couse I will, Clay!" And with that we jumped back in my car and
headed off for another day of mindless work and torture.
As we stepped out of the car, I felt everyone's eyes instantly drawn to
Terry's dragonic form. The young fox boy they once never saw was now the only
thing they could see. I watched Terry walk off by himself, crowds reacting with
total awe as he passed. It was so great to finally see him come out, to be so proud
of himself, so beautiful. . .I almost followed him, but remembered I had my own
classes to attend to.
The day took absolutely forever. Seconds now took years to pass by, as
I could think of nothing else but seeing Terry again, and seeing how he had taken
to the general reaction to his new identity. The time came at last.
I got the art room, noticing instantly that Terry hadn't arrived yet. I started
to wonder if something terrible had happened to him, but looked at the clock and
realized I had gotten here so quickly and that Terry didn't usually show up for another
minute or so. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling until Terry thankfully made his way into
the room. There was an instant collective silence from the students that had already
shown up, joined quickly by those walking through the door. The silence broke as Steve
yelled, "Oh, how cool!"
Terry blushed as I'm sure he had many times already today and came bounding
over to me. Unable to speak, he grabbed my arms and started to lean close to me.
Touched his nose, stopping his forward movement. With a huge grin I said, "not here,
we're being watched."
At this Terry brought his wings forward and wrapped them around the two of us.
We then locked muzzles, sharing a kiss that could have lasted for hours if we had been
alone. Terry's wings had hidden us from view, but in no way could mask the
passionate act we were performing beneath the veil. A snicker came from the
people around us, and we released each other and retreated to our seats. We then
heard a familiar voice coming from outside.
"All right people, let's go ahead and get to work," our instructor walked
through the door and continued, "I've got another appointment today, this time
earlier so I'm afraid we'll have to cut short our--" She stopped suddenly as she
caught sight of Terry. "Wow, Terry! Are those. . .are those real?"
"Yes ma'am," came his reply, as he moved them softly back and forth as
he had done for me the first time he had showed me.
"Amazing. I've never seen anything like that." She then somehow sat
down at her desk and started to work on some papers.
Terry looked over at me, smiling once more with that intoxicating smile.
He didn't have to say anything.
As soon as the instructor let us go, I met up with Terry outside. Since she
had let us out halfway through, there was thankfully nobody else around.
"Thank you so much, Clay! I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you
for what you've done for me. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Hey, don't get all teary on me yet. I still have something for you." He
looked up and I pulled something metal out of my pocket and tossed it to him. He
caught it and stared at it. It was a key, attached to a tiny metal chain. He didn't
need me to tell him what it was for. "I want you to stay with me, Terry. Forever."
He stood there, motionless, as if he hadn't even heard me. I started to
wonder if it was possible for him to pass out with his eyes open and not fall over.
But he then broke the spell and ran towards me, squeezing me harder than he ever
had before.
"Ow, ow, ow," I thought to myself, "I hope he doesn't kill me in his
excitement." I smiled to myself inwardly, unable to control the muscles on my face.
I could see my car in the background, slowly started to swirl, and finally fade to black.
I woke up on my bed, Terry watching over me closely. As I opened my
eyes I saw a wave of relief wash over him. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized to me
quickly, "You should have told me you couldn't breathe!"
"If I could have told you that I wouldn't have had a problem." I looked
out the window. "How did I get here anyway?"
"I flew you over here. Um, your car's still at school though. We can go
back for it later if you want."
I rubbed my head and sat up. "Ah, I feel much better now. Yeah, how
about we just fly back to school tomorrow and then I can drive it home? Sound
like a plan?" I watched him for a minute. He seemed restless, like he wanted
something. "What?" I asked, and instantly understood. I knew right then that I
would do anything for him. I had started getting out of bed, but now I saw there
was no point. "Terry, I. . .um. . .I would like you. . .I want you in me."
I motioned for him to join me on the bed and he accepted, eager to hold me
and then do so much more. We both stripped down carefully, not wanting to ruin
any clothing, until finally we were both naked, him laying on top of me his wings
blocking my view of anything else.
"You sure you can handle me?" As soon as he posed the question, he
kissed me deeply, giving me no chance to respond. After a few minutes he
released his hold on my mouth
"Oh come on, a little fox like you? Surely I'll have no problem--"
I stopped suddenly as he then lit my entire world on fire. It was a fire
like none other, a fire that would always burn brightly in my heart.
I woke up. The sun now glaring fiercly into my eyes. Terry was now next
to me, still not wearing anything. But then again, neither was I. Slowly, I got up
and headed for the shower, knowing that I needed one and praying that it was now
the weekend, for neither Terry nor I were going to be doing much of anything today.
I had enjoyed our first night as mates, both in living and intimacy.
"Morning," came the sweet voice behind me. He sounded as tired as I was.
Not having yet reached the bathroom, I turned around and nearly fell over. I felt
drunk off the intense love we had made last night. "How are you feeling?"
"Ooh, incredible. That was really something last night." I staggered back
over and tried to kiss him but missed completely and ended up falling onto a pillow.
We both began to laugh.
"Jeez, that's some piece of equipment you got there. Your dragon
father left did not leave you short on any of his wonderous genes." He laughed
at the intended pun and I continued. "I felt like you were going to rip right through
my stomach and come out my mouth. You could easily make a horse jealous
with that thing."
"Stop that," he managed to say through his extreme giggles, "you're
embarrasing me."
"That's certainly nothing to be embarrased about. Me, well, I'm sure
you saw. There's no comparison. I should be the one embarrased."
"I think it'll be perfect." As he said that he ran his hand down my chest.
"Now go take your shower. I need one too and I doubt we'll both fit with my
wings and all."
Later that evening, which somehow miraculously was Saturday, Terry
approached me again. "Have you recovered from last night?"
I flipped off the news I'd been watching for no appearent reason, and
looked at him. "Yes, I do believe so."
"Then I think we should try something new tonight. Are you ready?"
I could feel myself already getting excited. "Why whatever did you have
in mind, my love?"
He simply smiled his beautiful smile and led me back into my own room.
At that point, I knew it didn't really matter. I'd do anything for him.
Author's notes & other legal stuff:
Well, yeah, that's it. The end, people. And now my fingers are ready to fall off.
The entire 18 pages (at least by Microsoft Word) are now complete, within 48
hours. And yes, I did manage to get a full night's sleep in there somewhere, don't
ask me how.
I hope you enjoyed my story. It's the first story I've ever written, and I wasn't sure
how to cap it all off, but I finally came to a decision on it. But seeing as how I didn't
kill anyone off or have some major event, there's still room for further adventures. I
don't have any current plans to continue this story, but I maybe could be persuaded
otherwise.
Okay, as far as the legal junk goes, my basic rules is that you don't claim this work
as your own in order to lure your boyfriend out of the closet. If you'd like to use
some of my characters in your own story, just ask and I'll most likely give you
permission. And if by some chance you're inspired enough to attempt to illustrate
them, then please, by all means! I'd love to see them come to life, but unfortunately
can't draw my way out of a paper bag. Just let me know so I can see!
Any questions, comments, aforementioned inquiries of character usage, ect, should
be e-mailed to me at the following address:
And finally, thank you.
New as of April 29th- One of my fans, Dark_Moomba, has actually painted a picture of Terry. Assuming it stays up, here's the link:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v737/darkmoomba16/Not%20My%20Stuff/TerryFinal.jpg
And, as an added bonus, I'd like to take this opportunity to let you guys know that this story will, in fact, have a sequel. Keep your eyes peeled!