Jherik's Tale - Part 3
This is part 3 of a story that takes place in the world of the novel "[Volle](%5C)" and the story "Prisoner's Release." If you haven't read [part 1](%5C) and [part 2](%5C), you should do so now! * * * Jherik felt very differently the next morning, when Yakua woke him at sunrise. Bleary-eyed, he staggered down to breakfast and shoveled down some food he barely tasted. By the time he had followed his father up to the room where that morning's lesson would take place, he felt awake, albeit heavy-eyed. His father had a meeting with the mayor of the southern town, so Jherik sat in, listened to the elderly bobcat complain about the recent recruiting, and stopped daydreaming long enough to hear his father promise the return of five soldiers to join the town's depleted guard. As soon as the meeting was over, he fled, grabbed lunch, and ran down to the barracks to help with another training session. The four soldiers in this training were less advanced than Cherruf and Barbric had been, and Jherik noted several pointers he could pass on to Benton. After the session, he and Master Winson talked for half an hour about what to work on with the four, and Master Winson actually thanked him as he left for dinner. After dinner, he padded down to the stand of trees and waited for Mishel. The coyote turned up soon after wearing only his shorts, his white fur pink in the fading sunlight. As he walked up to Jherik, he eased his shorts down and kicked them off, and Jherik unfastened his pants at the same time. Naked, they embraced, then moved on to stickier pleasures. He was amazed he was still upright, he reflected an hour later as he slipped into the practice room. Benton drank in the advice he had to give and improved slightly during the hour and a half they practiced. Jherik bid him good night, went back to his quarters, and fell into bed. The next day, the fatigue started to catch up to him. When he met Mishel in the trees, he took the coyote into his lap again, but it seemed to take him several long minutes of thrusting up into Mishel to reach orgasm. The slow, languid pace was new to him, and not unpleasant, but he thought he saw Mishel wince as he stood up. When he looked up at the long muzzle, though, the coyote was smiling and leaned over to touch noses before running back to the barracks. Jherik was confused about why Mishel was running, until he vaguely remembered hearing the bed check bell several minutes before. Jherik licked his sticky paw twice, but even just holding it up to his muzzle seemed like a lot of effort. I'll just nap for half an hour and then go in and bathe, he told himself. Eyes closed, he let the smells and sounds of the night wash over him. Distantly, he heard the call of an owl. When he opened his eyes again, the moon was high in the sky. He could tell by the taste in his muzzle that he'd been asleep for a while. His paw was stuck to his belly fur, but both were nearly dry. With an effort, he pulled the paw free and licked it clean. Maybe I'll just skip the bath and go up to bed, he thought, and stood up yawning. The shape of the barracks as he walked towards it tugged at his memory. There was some reason he was supposed to be taking a bath there. He paused, frowning, and tried to shake the sleep fog from his head. Benton! He glanced up at the moon again. It was close to midnight, or soon after, he thought, running to the door. Hopefully the fox would still be there. When Jherik pushed open the door to the practice room, Benton was there, just replacing his sword on the rack. "I'm sorry," Jherik said, blurting out the apology despite the differences in their station. "I fell asleep." Benton shrugged. "You have no obligation to me, sir." Jherik walked to the weapons rack, chewing on that. His brain was still muddled from sleep. "But I promised I would come back, so I do have an obligation. Even if you're just a valet--a recruit. My promise is my obligation." That didn't seem to cheer up the fox. "It's all right," he said. "I understand you have more important things to do." "But I really enjoy teaching you," Jherik protested, only faintly wondering at how odd it seemed for him to be justifying himself to a soldier, and one who'd previously served his family, at that. "I think it's as important as anything else I do." That brought a small spark from the fox. He smiled slightly and turned to Jherik. "Really?" "Of course! Well, I do some teaching in the afternoons, too, but I'm just assisting there. And the morning stuff with my father is boring. I'll never use it. Marhik will be back soon and he'll take over--but you know that too. I mean, you know Marhik." "Yes," Benton agreed, and for the moment, he stood still. Jherik fingered the weapons rack. "Hey, someone fixed this. Barbric broke it the other day." Benton didn't say anything. Jherik looked at the new piece. "This is nice work. I wonder how Master Winson got it done so quickly. Usually it takes a couple weeks to get anything from the woodworkers." "I did it," Benton said, so quietly that Jherik wasn't sure he'd heard him properly. "Excuse me?" "I did it," the fox said, more clearly, his ears flicking back. "You?" Jherik ran his paws over the small piece. It was smooth and fit perfectly into the rack. If he hadn't seen it broken two days before, he wouldn't have known it had been replaced. "That's amazing. How long have you been doing woodworking?" "Few years. I used to go down to the shop and help out when I was done with your brother's duties. He never made me clean or anything, so I had a few hours every day and Master Stephan let me learn as long as I helped with projects." He shrugged. "I liked it, so I kept doing it. Master Winson counts that as my castle duties, so I don't have to help in the kitchen or with building repairs." "It's really nice work. Have you done anything else?" Benton looked away, his tail twitching. Jherik realized that it was because he was uncomfortable with the attention, and he found that for some reason extraordinarily adorable. "I did handles for some daggers...and once I did a crossbow. I like doing weapons, but there isn't much I can do with wood." "Crossbow--you made Marhik's crossbow?" Benton nodded. "I gave it to him as thanks for letting me work in the shop." "I loved that crossbow! I pestered him for weeks to tell me where he got it, but he wouldn't!" "I know. I asked him not to." "Why not? You do really good work." Benton shrugged. "I'm glad you liked it," he said softly. Jherik saw the sagging in the fox's posture and put a paw on his shoulder. "You must be pretty tired. Go ahead to bed. I'll be here tomorrow night. I promise. I won't miss another night." "You don't have to promise me," Benton said. "I'm just a soldier." But his ears had perked up some. "I want to promise you. You want to be taught and I want to teach you." He smiled. "Besides, you're full of surprises. I'm looking forward to seeing what other talents you have that you haven't told me about. Hey, are you okay?" The fox had doubled over coughing. He straightened up, avoiding Jherik's gaze. "I'm okay," he choked out. "I'll get a drink of water and get to bed." "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow night." Jherik waved as the fox left the room, and touched the repaired weapons rack again. "Amazing," he murmured to himself. Jherik stayed true to his word for the next three weeks. He endured the lessons with his father, became more involved in teaching the more advanced soldiers, had nightly sessions of spurting, sticky lust with Mishel, and taught Benton for two hours every night. He learned to take short naps during the day to keep his energy up, and once he asked Benton how he managed to keep a recruit's schedule and still be awake for training sessions. "Master Stephan lets me work at my own pace," the fox said. "I go pretty fast on the simple jobs now, so I just finish my work and then sleep for the rest of the afternoon." "In the shop?" "No." The fox smiled, then whispered, "I sneak into your brother's old quarters. Nobody's there, and anyway, I used to live there." Jherik thought this was very clever, and said so, and Benton beamed, his tail wagging as they resumed practice until Jherik had to remind him that an out-of-control tail was a liability in a fight. Three weeks to the day after he'd slept through the session with Benton, Jherik stomped into the practice room and grabbed a sword from the rack with such force that it sent a half-dozen other practice swords clattering across the floor. Benton, who'd stayed quiet since Jherik had entered, sprang to grab them. "Sir," he said softly, "you'll wake everyone up." Jherik ignored him, taking ferocious hacks at the air with his practice sword. "We got the messenger today." "What...your brother?" Benton had gathered the fallen swords and was replacing them one by one. "Yes," Jherik hissed, stabbing at an imaginary foe. "There is no war. He's coming back and he's bringing Viana with him. They're to be married here in a month." "Oh." Benton finished replacing the swords. "Sir, I know how you feel about your brother, but..." Jherik whirled on him, brandishing the sword. "How do you know?" He made no attempt to keep his voice down. Benton cringed, but didn't back up. "I lived with him for most of the last seven years. I've seen him and you interact, and I've heard him talk about you..." "You have?" Jherik lowered the sword. "What did he say? Did he talk about what a failure I am?" "No!" Benton shook his head vigorously. "He loves you." Jherik threw his sword down. "Of course he does. That is the perfect answer and he's the perfect brother." Benton's ears lay down flat at the clang of the sword, and stayed down. He lowered his muzzle. Jherik sighed. "I'm sorry. You lived with him and I'm sure you like him. Just like everybody else likes him." "It's not that," Benton said. "He used to say he wished you could find a place for yourself." "Away from everyone else?" "No, just...find out where you belong, what you're meant to do. He really worried about you." "He could've helped me instead of just being better than me at everything." Jherik's bitterness was compounded by the fact that it hadn't been very good with Mishel that evening; his preoccupation with his brother had left him frustrated and impotent, and the coyote had been solicitous but hadn't stayed past the bed check bell. "He's not better than you at fighting." "Then why did he get to lead the army to war?" The capstone of his frustrations lay exposed now. Benton lowered his muzzle again. "Maybe he's better at leading." Jherik growled. "Why don't you just shut up and go to bed?" The fox looked for a moment as though Jherik had struck him. He slunk to the door, and paused there. "Why don't you think more about what you're good at, instead of what you're not? Sir." He'd vanished before Jherik could think of a suitable reply. But Jherik remembered the expression on the fox's muzzle, the look of betrayal in his eyes and the flattened ears, and he wondered all the way back to the manor why that single moment had made him feel worse than the entire rest of that miserable day put together. He still hadn't completely forgotten it ten hours later, standing beside his father at the doorway to the manor in his itchiest and least comfortable clothing. At the bottom of the hill, Marhik and Viana were paying their respects to the mayor and the merchants of the town, who had all turned out to welcome them. Jherik waited impatiently, ignoring the reproving looks his father gave him every time his lashing tail bumped the older cougar's. "Does he have to personally greet everybody in town?" Jherik muttered, but his father ignored him. A few minutes later, Marhik, Viana, and their escorts started up the hill to the manor. "Father!" Marhik leaped off his mount and ran to them, throwing his arms around the older cougar, who returned his embrace gladly. Jherik sniffed. His brother was dusty and smelled as though he hadn't had a bath in weeks, or at least days. "You must've ridden all night," he said when Marhik turned to him. His brother grinned and wrapped him in a surprisingly powerful hug. "I did," Marhik said. "I couldn't wait to be home again and to show Viana what a lovely place she'll be living in." Viana turned from their father to Jherik at the sound of her name. She was not as tall as either brother, but her eyes were a deep, unusual violet, and her fur was meticulously groomed. She wore a brown dress with golden trim and had a gold chain around her neck as well as golden earrings. Unlike Marhik, only the faintest whiff of dust on her would have told Jherik that she'd ridden for most of the morning. Jherik hadn't remembered her being this beautiful. "You must be Jherik," she said. "You've grown even more impressive than Marhik told me." He knew it was just a pleasantry, but he couldn't keep his retort back. "I'm surprised he told you anything about me." Her smile faltered only for a second, but Marhik's didn't waver. "Jherik is pleased to meet you," he said. "If he weren't, he'd be much more polite. Little brother, I have some wonderful news for you, too. I'll tell you after lunch." "You're going away for good?" muttered Jherik under his breath, but he was already caught in his old dilemma. He was glad Marhik was back, and he couldn't wait to be out of his presence. After lunch, an interminable affair with no fewer than four speeches (his father, Marhik, Viana, and his father again) and rich food that he couldn't eat because his stomach was already straining against the belt and lacings of the clothes he was wearing, Jherik stalked back to his room, claws extended, using all the self-control he had to keep himself from shredding his velvet finery on the stairs. He ripped the lacings free and threw off both shirts, the vest, the collar, the cuffs, and the heavy silver pendant before attacking the complex fastenings of his pants. "Jherik?" He turned and saw Marhik in the doorway. His brother grinned. "Hours to put on and only a few seconds to remove." "Hi, Marhik." Marhik padded in and sat down on the bed. "I missed you, little brother." "Sure you did." Jherik threw on a loose tunic before stripping off the silver-trimmed pants. "No, really! And hey, here's the great news I promised you. When I was in Caril, I went to check on our regiment of the city guard. It turns out that Mikhra was anxious to come home, but he was waiting until we had someone to replace him. So Corrif stayed on in his place, but only temporarily." "So your great news is that Mikhra's coming back?" Jherik vaguely remembered him, an old fox who had run the city guard in town before being selected to go to Caril five years ago. "No. My great news is that both Corrif, Dad, and the head of the city guard in Caril think you would be a great choice to command the regiment there." "Me?" Jherik stared ahead, stunned. Command a regiment? "Sure!" Marhik stood up again, obviously excited. "You should've seen how the men reacted when I showed up. They love the idea of a cougar of noble birth leading them. And the head of the city guard is the prince's cousin, and he'd be the only one above you in the chain of command. It's great! There are three other nobles who are heads of regiments. I talked to one of them while I was there. He said he loves it. It's not just a desk job, you really have to go out and take care of business, but the camaraderie is terrific and you get to live in Caril! Oh, Jherik, wait 'til you see it! It's like...like if our town was the moon, Caril is the sun. It just goes on and on, and the river is huge! I wandered through the market for two hours and didn't pass the same stall twice. You're going to love it." Jherik's initial response was fading, and his bitterness surfacing again. "Why didn't you stay to command, then? They liked you." "You know I have to be here." Marhik's voice became softer. "I thought you'd be excited." "To leave? So you wouldn't have me around all the time any more?" "To have someplace to go," Marhik said quietly. "Look, you don't have to take it. We can send someone else. I just thought it'd be perfect, is all." "I've got news for you," Jherik sneered as Marhik padded out of the room. "Not everything you do is perfect." His brother just looked back at him silently, and then he was gone. Jherik sat heavily on the bed and covered his muzzle in his paws. He was trapped now. He wanted to go to Caril, but not on his brother's terms. But if he turned down the offer, he would be stuck here forever. He heard the click of claws on the floor outside his room and looked up. "Marhik, listen..." But the figure at the door had a red, bushy tail, and an expressionless muzzle. He was wearing a plain linen tunic, cinched at the waist with a brown leather belt. The sight of him drove Marhik from Jherik's mind. "Benton?" The fox held out a piece of wood, as long as his arm. Jherik took it and examined it. "A practice sword? Why isn't the blade finished? Is it a new style?" He looked up and saw the fox's ears down again. "I'm sorry--it looks beautiful. I love the handle and the line." "I thought you might like to see it. I don't know if I'll have time to finish it now." Benton's voice sounded oddly flat. "You got the shape of my paw perfectly, and the weight is...a little off, but once the rest of the blade is trimmed down, it should be close." He looked cautiously up. "Is it for me?" Benton barked a short laugh. "Of course it is, sir. I had to give you something back for all your kindness." "Well, thank you, Benton. It's wonderful." He wanted to hug the fox, but he settled for an apology. "Listen, I'm sorry for how I spoke to you last night. I know you were only trying to help." "It's all right, sir." Jherik shook his head. "It isn't. You know, you're about the only friend I can talk to about my brother?" "I'm sorry about that. I wish you could see how he feels. I wish it wasn't so hard for you." "Sometimes I think I make it hard." He sighed and ran his paws along the blade again, feeling the rough spots and lumps on one side that hadn't been smoothed out. "No, I know I do. Why did you say you wouldn't have time to finish this?" Benton shuffled his paws. "I heard some of what your brother said. I guess you're going to Caril." "Maybe." Jherik set the sword down and put his muzzle in his paws again. "I would like to, but I told him I wouldn't. And it would be a great opportunity, but I'd miss everyone here, all the soldiers and the army and all." "You shouldn't let that stop you," Benton said softly. "You deserve great things. It sounds like it would be wonderful there." Jherik heard a trace of emotion in the fox's voice, and looked up. Benton was trying hard to maintain the earnestly neutral expression on his muzzle. He's worked so hard, Jherik thought, at being a soldier, and I feel so comfortable talking with him. I should give him a hug...but he might misinterpret it. He felt a surge of emotion himself; the thought that he would leave here and not see Benton again was alarming, for reasons he didn't really understand. "You know what I'd miss most of all?" he said, wondering at what he was about to say, and wondering if he should say it or just let it go. But when Benton shook his head and looked at him with those amber eyes, definitely shiny now, he spoke from the heart. "You." Benton swallowed. "M-me?" Jherik nodded. "I've never met anyone who made me feel good so easily. Look, fifteen minutes ago I was ready to strangle my brother, and now I just feel sad." "Sad is good?" Benton clamped his muzzle shut as his voice cracked. "It's better than furious, anyway." Jherik stood up and smiled, walking towards Benton, who cringed inexplicably. He thought he might put the fox at ease with a little joke. "You know, you really have a way with people. I think you'll make some vixen a lovely husband someday. It's too bad you don't go for males, or I might chase you myself." Benton's eyes grew wide as saucers. He stared at Jherik and then stepped forward, put a paw on the cougar's tunic, and in one quick motion, rose up on his toes to kiss the cougar on the muzzle. Jherik stared back at him. Benton took a step back, his ears lying flat, and then he bolted from the room. "Hey!" It took Jherik a minute to realize what had happened, another minute for him to realize that the exploding confusion of feeling and sensation was a good thing, a very good thing, and still another minute for him to tell his paws to wrench themselves free from the bedroom floor and run out into the corridors. Unfortunately, it took him several minutes to realize that he had never put any pants back on. His tunic saved him from complete embarrassment, but the noticeable protrusion of his sheath just under the belt that was holding the tunic in place drew stares and giggles from several servants before he gave up the search and hurried back to his rooms. The fox's scent hung heavy in the air, but at the bottom of the stairs it had vanished into the haze of scents of the manor, and Jherik's nose wasn't keen enough to let him trace it. Fully dressed, he jogged down to the barracks and looked all around there before it occurred to him that Benton would most likely have gone to the woodworkers' shop. He returned to the manor and asked Master Stephan, but the squirrel said he hadn't seen Benton since earlier that afternoon, when he'd come to pick up the practice sword he'd been working on. Defeated, he slouched into the common room and flopped down in one of the cushy chairs. The tapestries on the walls recounted the few glories of the history of the barony, and at the moment Jherik could not have explained what a single one of them was. He was cursing himself for a fool for not having noticed Benton's attraction to him before, and wondering whether it had always been there or if it had just developed. Of course, he thought, every time I saw him it was right after I'd been with Mishel, so there wasn't much desire in me... He remembered the time he'd talked with Benton after falling asleep, running into the barracks without having bathed, with the coyote's musky stickiness all over his stomach, and winced. He thought of Mishel's sculpted body, the power and grace in those muscles, the lovely ripples they made under the fur, and then he thought of the skinny fox, the light in his eyes when he understood something, the pride in the tilt of his ears when Jherik praised him, the calm understanding as he tried to make Jherik see that his brother really did care for him. Then he remembered the look in Benton's eyes after he'd kissed him and how quickly he'd run. He could be in town by now, or on his way to anywhere. If only Jherik had been quicker to respond. Or to notice. "I'm an idiot," he said aloud. "That is a self-defeating statement." He looked up from the chair and saw Viana standing in front of him. "An idiot would not have the perspicacity to observe his idiocy. Mind if I join you?" He shook his head and waved her to an adjacent chair. She swept her dress under her and took the seat, sitting gracefully. "May I ask why you think you are an idiot?" "It's a long story." He looked her up and down. "I'm sorry I didn't greet you properly earlier." "Marhik said you were a tormented soul. I didn't quite grasp the extent of what he meant until I saw you." She rested a paw on his knee. "Are you really jealous of his marriage to me?" "No," he said automatically. "Well, there it is." She laughed softly. "I suppose a lady can't always catch a compliment when she fishes." "I'm sorry." "I wasn't really fishing," she said, and patted his knee. "Just trying to understand you better. Marhik is quite upset at the moment, and if we're going to be married, I should probably figure out if I can make that better or if I should just leave it alone." Jherik shrugged. "You love him. What's to figure out?" Viana coughed delicately, and looked around. "My dear boy, you really don't understand politics, do you?" "I thought we were talking about you and Marhik." "We are." She sat back and sighed patiently. "You think we're in love? This marriage is a political alliance. We get along well, but we're not in love. That may come in time, I suppose, but we don't expect it to. Love is not the purpose of our marriage, or rather, I should say, our marriage is not the result of love. It is the result of a negotiation between your father and mine, with the desired end of obtaining heirs to both baronies with ties to each other." "You're not in love?" Jherik tilted his head. "But he's perfect, and you're so beautiful." Viana laughed, a sparkling sound in the warm room. "There's my compliment, and unsolicited to boot. Well, we may be perfect--though we're not--but that doesn't dictate love. Hopefully we can get along and be wise and just rulers, and have healthy cubs. That is all that is required of us." "I'm sure you'll be able to do that." "Thank you, Jherik. Now please, tell me why you are so upset." Jherik sighed. "I can't. It would take too long." "All right. Will you take the position in Caril?" He noticed that she didn't say "that Marhik arranged for you" when she asked. "I don't know if I can. I should apologize to Marhik. But there may be...considerations...keeping me here." On the other paw, if Benton were gone, truly gone, then maybe it didn't matter where Jherik went. Caril might be a good place to meet new people. She eyed him shrewdly. "You should talk to Marhik, then. Would you feel better if I were present? He's in your father's office now." Jherik rubbed his whiskers. At the moment, he felt more despair that he would never see Benton again than anything else. He didn't think Viana's presence would affect his mood one way or another. "Sure." He levered himself up from his chair. "Let's go." Marhik looked up from their father's large desk as Jherik and Viana walked in, and Jherik thought that it wasn't fair how natural Marhik looked there already. Then he remembered what Benton had said about his brother, and the bitterness faded into sadness and self-recrimination. "Hi, Jherik," Marhik said. He put down the pen and looked steadily at his brother. "Hi." Jherik swallowed and looked at Viana, who nodded, encouragingly. "Listen, Mar, I'm sorry. I really appreciate you doing all that for me with the position in Caril and all. I want to go, but I don't know if I can. There's some stuff here..." "He's in love," Viana put in, and both Jherik and Marhik shot her amazed looks. "That's great, little brother! Who's the lucky guy?" "I...uh..." Jherik couldn't understand why his tongue felt suddenly like a corkscrew. He didn't know how Viana knew, but he wanted to tell her, and Marhik too, now that it was out there. "Benton." "My valet? Former valet, I mean. Well, that's great! He's a really sweet fox." Marhik was beaming. "You know, you're allowed to take someone with you. I'm sure he'd go. He's been training, hasn't he? Master Winson mentioned him, I think. There's room in the regiment if he wants to fight." "I don't know if he'd want to go," Jherik said. "He said he didn't want to leave when you went." "Well, just ask him." Jherik looked down, holding the end of his tail and rubbing it in his paws. "I don't know. I've been an idiot. Anyway. I just wanted to thank you. For thinking of me, I mean." "Aw, little brother, I think about you a lot." Marhik smiled. "I know. I think I think about myself too much." Jherik took a breath. Another thing Benton had taught him. "I really appreciate it, Marhik. I'll let you know as soon as I can. And I wish you two the best. I hope you find love." Viana took his paws and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thank you," she said softly. He found, as he left, that the bitterness wasn't completely gone, but it wasn't taking over him, either. If he hadn't been feeling so down about Benton, he would have been surprised at the civility of the exchange he'd just had with his brother. Drifting through the day now, he wandered down to the barracks to find out that he'd arrived halfway through the class he was supposed to be assisting with. Master Winson said something about him leaving for Caril soon, and he didn't contradict him. He helped out and observed the rest of the training, but afterwards, Master Winson didn't ask him to stay and talk as he normally did. "You obviously have a lot on your mind," he said, patting Jherik on the rump. "Go on back to the manor and take care of business." Jherik nodded and walked out, taking one more walk around the barracks in the hope that he'd see the fox somewhere. He checked the woodworkers' shop again, but Master Stephan still hadn't seen Benton. "I'll tell him you're looking for him if I see him," he said. He knows, Jherik thought, but said thank you anyway. He dressed slowly for dinner, and as a result it had already started when he was descending the stairs from his room. At the bottom, he turned right to get to the dining hall and nearly ran right into Mishel. The coyote laughed and hugged him. "Well, hello, lover. I've been waiting here a while for you." Jherik looked back at him and returned the hug briefly. "I'm late for dinner." "I know. I just wanted to tell you I'll miss you tonight. We're taking the soldiers who returned out on the town. And I wanted to congratulate you on your appointment to the city guard. It's quite exciting. If you wanted to have someone to keep you company on the journey, of course, I would love to see Caril, and I would be happy to serve under you when we get there, m'lord." Jherik folded his arms. "I haven't decided whether or not I'm taking it. But I don't think I'll need your company. Thanks anyway." He pushed past the coyote. "What did I do?" Mishel said as he passed, but the emotion in his voice was a fake echo of Benton's. "Nothing," Jherik said without turning. "It's just...there's someone else I'll be taking if I go." Mishel snorted. "Who? You won't do better than me, my lord." Jherik stopped and turned his head. The coyote was staring defiantly at him, paws on his hips, showing off as usual. "You are beautiful," he conceded. "But I don't think that's what I want." He left the coyote speechless and went in to dinner. At dinner, he managed to be polite, if not talkative. Viana had taken his old seat next to Marhik, and he took the seat on the other side of his father. Marhik and his father were engaged in conversation, and Viana split her time between following them and trying to draw out Jherik. At one point, she mentioned how roomy their quarters were, and Jherik frowned. "You must have grown up in a closet," he said, "if you think Marhik's room is large." Marhik heard this and looked across at Jherik. "Oh, we're not staying in my old rooms. We're in Papa Iothik's old chambers. Dad thought they'd be more suitable for a couple." "Oh," Jherik said, and then sat upright. "Oh." "What?" Viana asked, and Marhik and their father were both looking at him now, but he didn't see any of them. "Excuse me," he said, putting his plate down. "I need to go do something right away." Their confused murmurs followed him out of the dining room, but he didn't hear. He sprinted up the stairs, taking them three at a time, and passed the door to his chambers, stopping in front of the door to Marhik's old rooms. The scent of fox still hung in the air. Slowly, he pushed the door open. Marhik's chambers were laid out almost identically to his. The first room held toys, trophies, projects, books, and chairs, as well as a small desk. On the opposite side of the room, exactly paralleling the place that Yakua slept in his chambers, there was a small cot. And on that cot, a blanket covered a lumpy shape, with a bushy orange tail hanging down. Jherik closed the door softly, but not softly enough. Benton sat up with a start. The cougar held up a paw. "Don't run away. Please." Benton blinked sleep from his eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have..." "You shouldn't have waited to tell me," Jherik said, kneeling beside the cot. Benton's expression changed from wariness to a weak smile. "I thought you'd notice. I wasn't exactly subtle." "I'm not exactly perceptive." Jherik took the fox's paw in his. "You may have noticed I spend a lot of time thinking about myself." "You should! You're the son of the baron." Jherik grinned. "I know. But you showed me that if I think about other people once in a while, things go a bit easier." Benton nodded, and then looked down at his paw. He squeezed Jherik's back tentatively and looked up. "I just got confused. I thought you'd be leaving and you said all those things, and I just couldn't help myself." "I'm glad you did. It made me think a lot." He tilted his muzzle and smiled at the fox. "But you didn't give me a chance to return the favor." Before Benton could muster more of a reply than the surprise in his eyes, Jherik had leaned forward and pressed his muzzle to the fox's slender one. He licked at the soft fur and felt the jaws open willingly to admit his tongue. The kiss was his first deep one ever, and he liked it. He pulled back and smiled at Benton, resting a paw on the fox's hip. "I hope that was okay. I haven't done much kissing." "Yes, sir." Benton's eyes were sparkling. He said, "If you want to try again..." and that was all he got out before Jherik's muzzle was pressed to his, tongue sliding through his sharp teeth again and rubbing against his. There was more passion this time, more heat between their muzzles. The touch of Benton's fur and tongue was not simply nice; it was intoxicating. Jherik panted over the fox's whiskers, and his paw moved down to Benton's tail, hesitated, then moved up to his back to hold the fox closer. Jherik felt the wagging of Benton's tail as his arms slid around the cougar, and though they were slender and not very muscled, they felt good; they made him feel warm and right in a way that Mishel's never had. He tried to be careful at first, wary of his own strength, but the fox's wiry build was deceptive. He was tough, and when he squeezed harder, Jherik returned the favor and found there was very little give. Benton was tugging at his tunic, so he helped himself out of it, then took Benton's off as well. The fox hunched over, but Jherik gently straightened him up with a paw. "I'm so weak," Benton protested as Jherik's paw traveled down his reddish sides, his soft white chest fur. He could feel the fox's ribs, and his stomach was soft, though Benton tried to tighten it against Jherik's paw. "You're beautiful," Jherik said sincerely. Benton searched his eyes and then kissed him again, his black paw exploring Jherik's chest in response. "Mmm." Jherik felt its soft touch around the curve of his pectorals, and down his side, where he shivered and giggled in response. Benton brushed on the other side and giggled in sympathy as he got the same response, then dropped his paws to tease at the waist of Jherik's pants. Before they went further, Jherik got up and sprang to the door, throwing the lock. Benton remained sitting on the cot, but stood as Jherik came back. "Sorry," he said, but he didn't look it. "I've dreamed of this for a while now." "Don't be sorry," Jherik said, and grasped Benton's paw, placing it right on his sheath. The fox smiled widely, keeping his eyes on Jherik's as he gently rubbed up and down, making a soft sound of contentment. They kissed for another long, luxurious moment, during which Jherik's large paw found its way to Benton's pants as well. Compared to Mishel's--he stopped himself. Don't compare, he said, and slid his paw up the long, hard ridge, enjoying the fox's response and the increased pressure on his own hard sheath. It took only a few minutes of rubbing before Benton had had enough. He reached for Jherik's pants, sliding his thin arms inside the cougar's larger ones and deftly undoing the fastenings. Jherik let him work without protest, and smiled when his pants slid down and he heard Benton's soft breath. The fox touched him tentatively, then with more confidence, gentle fingers brushing down his sheath and up the long, hard member extending up from it, giggling and rubbing the stickiness at the tip and bringing the dripping fingertips playfully to his muzzle. While he was licking, Jherik slipped his own paw down Benton's pants and cupped his sac, then brought his pads slowly up the sheath, feeling a knot (must be a canid thing) already growing at the base of the fox's erection. It fit comfortably in his paw, especially when he curled his fingers around it, which he discovered was a delightful way to make Benton moan and yip. After the third time, Benton pushed his paw away, panting and giggling. "I'm gonna come all over your paw," he said. "That's okay." Jherik reached for him again. "Don't you wanna do something else?" Jherik inclined his head. He brushed around behind Benton, along the fox's beautiful tail, and under it. "Like this?" "Er." Benton lifted his muzzle to lick Jherik's nose, and stroked his erection with a paw. "I want to do that, and I think I could sometime, but...you're pretty big." Jherik flicked his ears. "Oh. I don't want to hurt you." "You wouldn't, if we did it right, but we don't have the stuff. We'd need oils, and something to stretch me...what?" "Is there something I don't know about my brother?" Jherik stared at the fox. "How do you know so much?" Benton lowered his ears. "I've been down to the Velvet Den. Haven't you?" Jherik shook his head again. "That's the brothel?" "Yeah. They have males and females. Not too expensive. Why didn't you go?" Jherik shrugged. "Marhik never went. I didn't think it was proper for a noble." Benton smiled. "Well, I'll be happy to give you the benefit of my experience. You can tell me if I'm as good a teacher as you are." "You're doing fine so far. So...what should I do?" The fox grinned at him and then guided him to the cot. "Lie on your back?" Jherik obliged, stretching his bulky frame over the small cot. Benton knelt at one end, and lowered his nose to Jherik's sac. The first few licks were familiar to Jherik, soft sensations traveling up his shaft and sheath, a smaller, more delicate tongue tracing lines of pleasure around his member. Then the tongue descended slowly, lifting the sac and venturing underneath, and Jherik felt its touch on the opening beneath his tail. He shivered in pleasure and let out a gasping moan. "Mmm," Benton said in reply, and licked again, pressing harder. Jherik lifted his legs and rump, stretching his thighs apart, doing anything he could to give the fox more room to lick. Every touch set his body tingling; it was a different and more diffuse pleasure than the strokes to his member had produced, but it was just as delightful and it made him feel as though he were floating on the cot in a dreamy, blissful state. The warmth and rhythmic stroking seemed as though it would go on forever. The tongue pressed further into him, and he just wriggled more, moaning to the ceiling. He curled his toes, lowered them slightly and found fur, and rubbed the fox's back, hoping it conveyed his feelings properly. Benton smiled, lifting his muzzle. "Tell me if this hurts, okay?" he said softly. Jherik saw the fox licking his paw, saw him lower it down between his own legs, and knew what was coming. "Go ahead," he replied. He watched Benton raise himself up, felt a brush at his tail hole, and then a pressure, a little harder than the tongue, and then much harder. "Relax," Benton breathed, and Jherik tried, allowing the fox to slide inside him. It was only mildly pleasant at first, but when Benton wrapped his paw around Jherik's member and started to stroke in time with his thrusts, Jherik felt himself shudder in delight. "Ohhhh," he moaned, and clutched the sides of the cot. He looked up at Benton and saw an expression of bliss on the fox's muzzle as well. He felt as though he wanted to do more, but couldn't figure out what he could do, so he lay back and let the waves of excitement shudder through him. When Benton started to pant harder, and pushed his knot through Jherik's opening, the cougar couldn't restrain himself. He moaned loudly and felt his whole body tighten up. There was a low crack from the cot as he clenched it, but he ignored it and wrapped his legs around the fox's waist, pulling Benton closer in to him as he arched his back and finally gave in to the ecstatic pressure, dotting his chest and stomach with splashes of his warm seed. His body convulsed over and over in pleasure, and when he finally lifted his muzzle, he was treated to the sight of a white-coated black paw on his member, above which Benton's muzzle was hanging open as his body shuddered and released into Jherik. And it struck him that he was as genuinely delighted to see the fox's pleasure as he had been to feel his own. So this is what he meant, he thought, thinking of his books, and then opened his arms to let the exhausted fox fall onto his stomach. He wrapped his arms around Benton. He couldn't quite reach him with his muzzle, so he just stroked his shoulders and ears. The fox's eyes were closed, and he didn't seem to mind that his fur was now largely stuck to Jherik's. He was smiling and nuzzling the cougar's chest, paws rubbing his sides. Jherik giggled as the black claws teased a particular spot below his ribs, and Benton opened an eye, grinning mischievously as he brushed the spot over and over again. "No no no!" Jherik laughed, squirming and clinging to the fox but unable to move him. "Hey, you're stuck!" Benton stopped and grinned. "It's a knot." He licked Jherik's chest fur. "You never got tied with Mishel?" "No. I never had anyone...in me before." "Oh." Benton looked suddenly worried. "I thought you'd...I mean, I wouldn't have if I'd known..." Jherik hugged him. "I liked it. Don't worry." "Okay." Benton sighed. "How much do you know about Mishel?" Jherik said cautiously a moment later. "I think he comes from down south somewhere." Benton murmured. "I mean about him and me." "You came in that one time with him all over you," Benton said in a low voice. "But you said...it sounded like you know I've been seeing him a lot. Don't worry," he said, as Benton looked away. "I told him tonight that I don't want to see him any more." "Really?" Jherik nodded. "I...realized that he didn't have what I was looking for." Benton exhaled and nuzzled him. Jherik stroked his ears. "So...how much do you know?" Benton sighed. "He used to brag. In the barracks." Jherik found himself picturing the barracks building as seen from the grove of trees, and he suddenly remembered that the narrow windows in the mess hall looked out onto that grove. There normally wouldn't be anyone in the mess hall that late. Normally. Putting that together with Mishel's penchant for staying right at the edge of the grove, he found that he didn't want to pursue that line of questioning any more. "Why didn't you say something to me?" Benton was quiet for a long time. Jherik kept stroking him, and eventually the fox spoke. "I didn't want to say anything. Because I didn't know if you knew, and I thought that I might only be telling you because I wanted to be with you too, and I thought you must know how I felt and if I told you, you'd just put it down to jealousy." He sighed. "I don't know. I was confused, and jealous, and I thought I'd never have a chance with you, especially next to someone like him." "How long...how long have you felt like that about me?" Benton pressed his muzzle into Jherik's chest and didn't answer. Jherik rubbed him gently. "Benton?" "I don't know," the fox said muffledly. "Your brother talked about you and how you were so sweet and passionate. He talked about how he envied that passion, and I thought you sounded like such a great person, and then you started feeling bad, and I just wanted to make you feel better. And then you spent all that time to teach me. That was so nice. So I guess it's been either a year and a half or a few weeks. Depending on how you look at it." "Wow." Jherik extended his claws slightly to scritch the fox's soft fur. "I have some catching up to do." It still bothered him that he hadn't picked up on it sooner, but better late than never, he supposed. Benton murmured something, and shifted his hips, his knot sliding through Jherik and out. Jherik shuddered at a final wave of pleasure, then took advantage of his mobility to lean down and kiss Benton again. "Come on," he said softly. "I think we both deserve a good night's sleep." "Yeah." Benton grinned, and his grin grew wider as Jherik leaned over and scooped him up. The cougar managed to throw the lock, checked the hallway to make sure it was clear, then scooted across and into his own chambers, and shut the door behind him. Yakua's cot was empty. Jherik padded through the main room and slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with his rear. He leaned against it and sighed, and Benton hugged his neck warmly. He smiled, nuzzling the fox back, and the fox's tongue sought his again. He met it gladly. When they broke from the kiss, he lay Benton down in his bed, thinking about how often he'd dreamed of having someone share the bed with him. The thought kept him looking down, smiling, and standing, until Benton patted the bed impatiently, grinning. "All right, I'm coming," Jherik said, and slid in next to the fox. They curled up around each other, embracing and nuzzling, and Jherik draped his tail across the fox's rump, where it lay, perfectly still, until morning. Morning intruded gradually upon his awareness. He yawned and stretched, and his arm brushed fur. Blinking, he looked over into a pair of amber eyes and a bright smile. "Hi," Benton whispered. "Mmm." Jherik leaned over and kissed the fox on the nose. "You're still here." "I wouldn't dare leave." "How long have you been up?" He curled his arm around the fox, pulling him close. He could feel the slender body against his, but even the brush of Benton's sheath against him wasn't as pleasant as just feeling the fox in his arms. So he closed his eyes, nuzzled and purred, and curled his tail tightly around Benton's waist. He was a bit sore from last night's activity, especially where the fox's knot had stretched him, but it was a good kind of soreness, almost like the kind that came from working out. "A little while. I like watching you sleep." He stroked Jherik's chest. "Yakua came in a little bit ago. He said he'd come back when you were up." "Oh. He probably wants to know if he should pack my things." Jherik opened his eyes and saw Benton's looking back at him. Best time to ask him, when he's in my arms and can't run away. "So. I was wondering if you might want to come to Caril with me. You could join the city guard. Marhik said I could bring someone." He hoped Benton would be more likely to come along if he could be useful. Benton hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever be a good soldier, sir. Despite your excellent teaching." Jherik felt a tiny tremor of worry in his heart, remembering that the fox had refused to go to Caril with Marhik. Maybe that hadn't been just to stay near him. Maybe last night had been just a good bye. "I'm sure there are some woodworking shops there. You could get an apprenticeship..." That was no good. Apprentices lived in their masters' shops. He'd never see Benton. He searched desperately. "You're a good valet. Maybe you could come with me and be my valet." There was a flicker of something in the fox's eyes as he looked up into Jherik's. "I wouldn't want to put Yakua out of a job," he said softly. And then Jherik understood, or hoped he did. He held the fox tightly and said, "Then maybe you could just come with me? Please?" The flicker grew to a light, and the fox's muzzle slid back into a warm and easy smile, and he nodded. "I'd love to, sir." Jherik shook his head, forcing words out past the blossom of relief and love that seemed to be leaving very little room in his chest and throat for anything else. "Don't call me sir," he said, and to stop himself from having to talk any more, he lifted his muzzle and took Benton in a deep, long, satisfying kiss that put any he'd read about in his books to shame. * * *
This concludes Jherik's Tale. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear your comments! * * *