A day for friendship
Warning: This story contains a small incident of sex between a male and his fantasy. Be warned! Well, maybe not...
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Footpads thumped quietly on the stone floor, the only noise other than the whine of a distant air conditioner. A key turned in a small lock, a squeak breaking the silence as a door opened, and then closed. Mail, mostly junk, was quickly sorted and discarded. A letter was kept back. The flap was torn back the gryphon padded from the small vestibule into the building's lobby. He made to sit on the solitary bench, but it was already occupied by one of the building's other residents. A lion sat staring at his own letter, tears streaking his face as he read the words carefully written onto the page.
The gryphon made the decision to sit down beside the crying lion. A gently paw touch on the lion's shoulder made him look up.
"You OK?" the gryphon asked.
The lion said nothing, but instead handed the gryphon the paper before burying his black-maned head in giant paws and sobbing.
Gryphon looked at the paper. Words, obviously. The characters were of Roman descent. But they were placed in ways that didn't make sense. Of course, thought the gryphon. The lion is an immigrant. What part of Africa? Not that it mattered. Gryphon couldn't have read the words even if he knew what language they were from.
Gryphon was about to say something when the lion looked up. He had been crying. The fur on his muzzle was wet with a multitude of tears. The gryphon held out the paper, and trembling paws took it from him, while golden eyes streaked with red stared at it.
"My fiancée," the lion started. The words hung in the air for a moment before "She left," followed them.
Gryphon laid his paw on the lions arm. His stomach twisted as he thought of the hurt this cat had to be feeling. Gryphon had thought the lions were mates. Always together, almost hanging off one another. But...
"She went back to Lesotho to see family, doesn't want to come back here,"
There was more. There had to be. Unless the male lion was so attached to this place that he couldn't leave. That couldn't be it.
"She found someone else?" asked the gryphon.
A nod and more sobs was confirmation enough.
"Hey, if you want, that is..."
The lion looked up.
"If you don't want to be alone tonight, you're more than welcome to spend the night at my place. I can make something to eat and we can watch some movies if you want."
The lion just stared.
"I'm Rick."
"I'm...Mthinklulu."
This time, it was the gryphon's turn stare.
"I, that is, Mike...what I normally go by."
"Well, Mike, please. Your more than welc...what?"
The lion's muzzle had turned up into a small smile. "Just the way you said that."
Rick thought about that for a second before realizing what it was Mike was referring to. It was hard to say an "M" when you didn't have any lips. Came out more like "Nngyke."
Rick shook his head slightly, the tips of his beak turned up in what amounted to the most emotion a gryphon could show on his face. "So, what do you say? Free food and beer?"
"Sure, why not."
"Great! I'm in 5b if you want to come up later."
Mike sighed. "If you don't mind,"
"Now? Sure."
Lion followed gryphon up the stairway, paws running along the old wrought iron rails until they reached the top floor landing. A key turned in one of the two doors. Open, close, lights.
"Make yourself at home. Beer's in the fridge. I need to get a quick shower."
"Thanks," muttered Mike.
The gryphon quickly headed to the small bathroom and shut the door. It squealed a little in protest, not getting much use. Rick turned on the water and quickly stripped off his loose clothing. He stepped into the shower and groaned as the hot water washed over him, taking the day's dirt with it.
He normally lingered in the shower until the hot water ran out, but not today, not with a guest waiting. He grabbed the bottle of fur soap and squirted a palmfull out.
He worked it into his feathers, taking care not to break any. A little more soap for the fur on his lower half, worked in with the hot water. He stood up and let his arms hang at his sides while the hot water hit his chest, washing the soap away.
The aches of the day faded as his mind wandered. His thoughts turned to the lion in the living room. Hard to believe a girl could leave something like that. He was picture-perfect specimen, muscular without being overly so. Rick wished he could have comforted the lion a little more, maybe held him close while he cried, so he could nuzzle his dark mane and whisper that it would be ok.
Rick pushed the fantasy from his mind as his paw cupped the results of those thoughts. With a "You can't have him" sigh, the gryphon turned and let the water wash the soap from his back.
Rick turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towed and hit the exhaust fan. The room cooled while he wiped the water from his body.
Hmm. Normally, he just walked from the bathroom to the bedroom in the fur. He grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his middle before opening the door and quickly padded into the bedroom. He closed the door and threw the towel into the hamper.
What to wear? A pair of grey shorts, loose enough so if the incident in the shower were to be repeated, it wouldn't be noticed. A tank top, so his feathers could dry.
Mike was sitting on the sofa, idly flipping through the channels on the television. "Not much on," he muttered.
"Never is," replied the gryphon. "Come in to the kitchen. You can pick what you want to eat."
"Um,"
"C'mon, you'll see."
Mike followed Rick into the kitchen, where the gryphon set out chicken, beef, mushrooms, water chestnuts, olives, and sugar peas. Some oil and spices completed the ensemble.
Mike looked at the items the gryphon had spread out. "I usually cook a little of each when I do this," said Rick.
"That's fine," the lion replied.
Rick moved a cast-iron pan onto a burner and lit it. Oil and spices were dumped in, and it was hot within minutes. Meat and vegetables went in, making the oil sizzle and filling the room with wonderful smells.
Rick glanced up from his cooking to see the lion staring intently at the pan, his tongue licking his lip hungrily. Rick smiled and turned back. A minute later, the food was done. He turned off the heat and dumped filled two wide bowls with the food.
One went to the lion, with a pair of chopsticks, one to the gryphon who started to gobble the food with a hunger born of the day's work.
Rick happened to look up to see Mike trying vainly to use the wooden stick. Laughing, he grabbed a fork from the drawer and handed it to the lion. He took it thankfully and started in on the bowl. "'s good," he said through mouthfuls of the mix.
"Thanks. Kind of my own recipe with the spices."
Mike wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. Food was the main attraction at the moment. Food that was gone within moments. Rick nodded towards the sink, and Mike carefully lay the bowl in it. Rick finished his a moment later and stacked his bowl on the other.
Rick opened the door to the refrigerator and grabbed two of the bottles that sat on the shelf. Twisting the top off of them, he handed one to the lion. "Drink up, there's plenty more." Rick took a drink of the cold beer, as the lion did the same. "What do you like to watch?"
"Got any old movies?"
"You bet."
They sat down to watch the movie, but it was quickly forgotten. The lion was eager to talk. Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was the need to forget about the day's events, but he and the gryphon chatted throughout the whole movie. Both were amazed that, even though they came from different backgrounds, they shared so many of the same interests.
A few more beers and three hours later, it was 10PM. The movie was long since over, and the TV screen had been displaying the DVD player's bouncing logo for some time now.
"I am sorry, but I must get to bed soon. I have classes early tomorrow," stated the lion.
"No problem, I need to think about bed myself. Hey, if you don't want to be alone tonight, you're more than welcome to stay here. I can sleep on the couch, and you can have my bed..."
"I really couldn't do that," said Mike. "But I do appreciate the offer," he said as he made towards the door.
Rick followed Mike to the apartment's only exit. "Sure you don't want to stay?" the gryphon asked.
"Thank you, but no. I don't want to inconvenience you," replied the lion.
"Really, it's not an inconvenience."
The lion smiled. "I would like to get together later this week, if you'd be open to that."
"Sure!"
"Friday? I have Saturday off this week, and I don't have any classes."
"That'd be great," replied the gryphon. "We can order a pizza and drink ourselves silly."
"Done. See you about 6?"
"Yeah. See you then."
The lion turned and started down the stairs before hesitating. "Thanks. I really needed something to think about other than..."
Rick stepped out of his apartment and laid a paw on the lion's shoulder. "Anytime, friend."
A furry paw covered the scaly one. "Thanks."
Rick watched the lion walk down the stairs, until the black-maned head disappeared. He heard a door below, and then silence. Sigh.
Rick walked back into his own apartment, latching the door behind him. He looked at the mess in the living room, deciding that it could wait until tomorrow to clean. With that, he clicked off the lights and headed to the bedroom, where he quickly stripped and flopped back first onto the soft bed. He thought about the lion. They shared so many interests - foods, movies, and hobbies. They had even attended the same college. Well, Mike was in his senior year, but it was only two years ago that Rick himself had received that congratulatory piece of paper that the lion looked forward to.
Rick wished he could find someone like that for himself. He imagined how it would feel with the dark furred lion lying beside him in the darkness, the heat of two bodies pressing together,
It had been almost a year since Rick had shared a bed with a lover, so it didn't take much thought before his body started to react to the heated thoughts that ran through his mind. His paw took on a life of it's own, traveling down dark feathers before reaching golden fur, finally touching the engorged shaft that now pushed from between his legs. He let his paw touch it gently, sending shivers up his chest. Lower, to the tightly drawn scrotum...
He pulled his paw away, not wanting to get attached to the lion like this, to someone he couldn't have.
Rick tried to think about his first lover. Well, his only lover. The one he had spent a blissful two years with. The sleek, black furred otter, the one that got scared when the commitment of mating had been brought up. An apologetic letter later was the only memento Rick had of that time together, a letter that was carefully stored in a dresser drawer in a wooden box that contained two simple, golden rings.
The gryphon tried to push those thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to start crying again, not now. They steadfastly refused to go until a lion pushed them away. Lion...lion...a lion with a dark mane framed with gold, a lion with that strange color of fur that so few lions had, that incredibly deep voice with words that flowed ever-so-slowly, measured and counted to some unheard beat...
Rick gave up and let his desires free. He imagined that the paw making a fist around his erection was covered with grayish-gold fur instead of the light orange scales that he knew were there instead. He tried to go slow, but his long-neglected need made that all but impossible. His left paw grabbed at the blanket as he tensed, rushing all too fast towards release. His body tensed...he tried to hover on the edge...his back arched as his head sunk into the pillow...
"Mike," he whispered as his body exploded.
As quickly as orgasm was upon him, it fled, leaving a warm glow behind. His body trembled as his back relaxed and his left paw released the tortured blanket. He was only vaguely aware of the spots of cooling wetness that covered his right paw and his chest. He relaxed, letting the raging emotion drain from his body.
He pulled his paw away from his shaft. Rolling onto his side carefully, he tried to reach for the pair of shorts he discarded moments earlier. He grabbed them and wiped as much of the yellowish liquid as he could from his paw and fur. He gave the shorts a toss towards the clothes hamper in the corner before sliding under the bedcovers.
Having his immediate needs taken care of allowed sleep to claim him moments later.
*** To be continued ***