FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Quick note on conventions used in this story series: I do not speak Russian, and I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the majority of my readers don't speak it either. I'm learning, but it's slow going, especially with my background in Arabic. At any rate, any text enclosed in double colons _ _ ::like this:: is something that is said in Russian. _

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Dannica drifted slowly to wakefulness, and as she did, she felt the warming rays of the sunshine though the window gently caressing the fur on her face.

She rolled herself over in bed and pulled the covers up over her shoulders, not wanting to get out of bed and disturb the heavenly balance of warmth that had evened out beneath them while she slept.

After six months, the sheer blackness that had become the only thing that she saw behind her eyes was starting to become familiar, yet she still found herself opening her eyes out of reflex. She groaned in discomfort as she felt the rough, scarred flesh of her eyelids sliding up and bunching at the top of her empty sockets. She stopped when they were about halfway open, and went to close them, but the admonishment from her doting therapist sounded in the back of her mind that she needed to work the scar tissue every day or it would become immobile.

Sighing, she set about the morning exercise, opening her eyes and then closing them over and over again, counting each round until she reached twenty five, the magic number the therapist had given her. By the time she finished, the discomfort had lessened to a dull itch and the almost constant ache that haunted her every day.

That exercise done, she sat up and let the covers fall off her while she stretched and let her body adjust to sitting up. Even so long after her injuries, she still had problems with dizziness when she first sat up in the mornings, and it took her a few seconds for the light-headedness to fade.

When it did, she swung her feet out from under the covers and let them dangle over the edge. Slowly, she rotated her ankles while she easily swung her lower legs against the side of the bed. She reveled in the feeling of her ankles finally moving the way that she wanted after so long in the hated casts.

Finally, done with all the exercises that she needed to do, she patted gently around the top of the table by her bed, finding the small plastic cylinder easily. She unscrewed the top and dipped her fingers into the cold liquid inside. Two spheres tapped against her fingers and she caught one in her hand. She gripped it tightly with her claws, holding it gently with the very tips, trying to ensure it stayed quite wet and didn't lose any of the liquid into her hand. The surface of the sphere yielded slightly to her grip as she lifted it out of the saline.

When it was clear of the top of the container, she lifted it to her empty left eye socket while she used her free hand to hold open her scarred eyelid. With a little work and a bit of adjustment, it slid inside, and she almost imagined she could hear a little pop. She shuddered as she felt it settle. There were still enough nerves left undamaged that she could feel the cold liquid against the rough inside of the socket. It was going to take her a while to get used to that feeling.

She did the same with the other prosthetic, and then groped around the side of the bed, trying to find the crutches that she'd left there during the evening when she went to bed. For the first month, she had trouble finding things, and it took her some time to get to the point that she started leaving things in the same place every single time, but with the right coaching from her adopted father, she started to learn, and finding the crutches was easy this morning.

She felt the cold metal against the skin of her paw pads and she stood them up and leaned them against the side of the bed. Holding them gently in place, she turned her face back to where she felt the warmth of the sunlight and she stayed there, savoring the feeling of it caressing her face. All she wanted to do was remain there, sitting in the sunbeam, but today was a big day for her and she had to get moving.

With a reluctant sigh, she slid her arms into the cuffs of the crutches. The doctors had given her the kind that wrapped around her arm with hard plastic cuffs while her hands grasped handles that had been wrapped with squishy bandaging material. Carefully, she slid off the bed and let her weight settle on her legs and her hands, making sure that she could keep her balance.

While the bones in her legs were set and healing nicely, they weren't fully healed yet, and they still ached when she settled onto them. She'd spent so long in the casts that the muscles were taking longer than she wanted to regain their former strength as well. If she didn't use the crutches, there was a better than average possibility that her legs would give out on her. That had happened to her last week, and she still had the bruises on her arms from where she'd crashed to the floor.

Today it was getting easier, though, and she was starting to feel more and more like her legs would support her body soon. It was a heartening thing to feel the strength returning to her body. She was never one of the most active girls at her school, but the months that she laid in bed in the various hospitals made her realize how much she took for granted about movement and activity, and the fact that she was starting to get around on her own again was something that made her smile.

The last six months had been a progression of hospitals from the one in Moscow where Duke had started the paperwork for her adoption, to one in Germany where the Americans had flown her after all the adoption paperwork was finalized. Then, she'd been flown with her father to Maryland on the east coast of America, and finally she'd ended up in San Francisco. Every time she moved, she had to get used to a new set of nurses, doctors, therapists, and the rest of her care team all over again. They all spoke different languages with different accents, though she was very glad that she'd learned English at a very young age.

She'd moved into the house with Duke in a small town a few hours north of San Francisco when she'd been let go from the San Francisco hospital, and she'd been living here for the last three weeks. She was starting to get used to the sounds and the scents of the house and the way that the house felt around her. She was almost used to the layout of the house as well. Her room on the second floor was almost the same size as her entire old house in Novvy Urengoy, and much, much larger than the little hospital rooms that she'd been living in, and she was still overwhelmed that she had so much space. The walk-in closet was as large as her old room.

She carefully walked across the room, heading for the closet so that she could get dressed, one foot in front of the other. She put a little more weight on her legs, giving them a little bit of a workout now in the morning when they were the strongest. She knew that by the end of the day she wouldn't have the strength to do the exercise or give them the work out. A sudden, sharp pain erupted from her shin and she yelled out a curse.

"::God damn it!::" she yelled, the Russian curse sounding loud in the quiet morning sun. She flinched as she heard her father's footsteps running against the floor downstairs.

"Trouble, Dannica?" Duke called from the bottom of the stairs after only a moment's hesitation. She knew that he'd heard the thump and the curse and likely knew what had happened, but he always checked to make sure she didn't need help.

"It's fine, Da. Just the nightstand," she called back.

"Careful, your friends are going to think I beat you."

Dannica chuckled and listened as he heard his footsteps heading back into the kitchen. The sound of something hitting a hot skillet and sizzling away reached her ears followed shortly by the smell of cooking bacon.

She smiled to herself and hobbled her way into the closet, shaking out her smarting shin as she went She really needed to remember that the nightstand was a little bigger than she was used to in the hospital. Eventually, she was sure that she would, and the pain and bruising were good teachers for her.

She found the small, neat pile of clothing that her father had laid out for her and started to dress, being careful not to lose her balance. Duke always made sure that he folded everything in nice, neat piles arranged in the order that she usually put things on, and he always put them in the same place every week so that she could find the week's worth of clothing there on the shelf in the same place every day.

She wasn't able to go with him to pick up the clothes, so she still didn't know what she was wearing any given day until she asked him, but her fingers gave her at least a clue. She was starting to realize that Duke was the kind of guy that was military all the way, and every day, her underwear felt exactly the same. Soft cotton both on the bottom and the top, and she could tell after feeling around the edges of the panties that they were the most basic pairs you could get, probably from the exchange on base. It was the same with the bras.

She had to smile, though, at the familiarity that she had with the garments by now, and she slid into them without much ado. Today was a plain t-shirt that was almost a size too big for her and the usual cargo shorts that she told him she liked. She loved all the pockets that she'd felt the first time she'd gotten ahold of one of his pairs of uniform trousers, so he'd bought her shorts with the same pockets.

It didn't take her long to dress, and when she was done, she found the little elastic band that she always did on the bottom of the pile, taped lightly to the shelf. She smiled and pulled it off, then used it to tie her white, curly hair back behind her neck in a simple ponytail.

When she was dressed and ready, she turned and made her way out of the room, being careful to avoid the nightstand she'd run into earlier, and then down the hall. When she thought she'd gone far enough, she tapped beside her with the cane, finding the drop off to the first step.

"Stairs, Da!" she called.

She smiled as she waited at the top of the stairs, hearing her father walking across the entryway downstairs. Even when he wasn't at work, he wore heavy boots. He told her once that it was so she would always hear him coming and know it was him, and she still smiled at the kindness.

The stairs vibrated with every step as he walked up them, and she could feel him getting closer as well as smell his familiar, comforting scent and hear his boots on the stairs. Right when she expected, she felt his rough but gentle hand take her upper arm in a solid grasp.

"I got you, sweetie. Ready?" he asked.

In response, Dannica started down the stairs, focusing hard on making sure her crutches cleared the last step before she moved them down to the next. It was slow going, but Duke never seemed to have anything but patience when he was working with her. For the first week, he'd carried her down the stairs, but for the last two weeks, she'd been working hard to get herself up and down with only his reassuring hand on her arm to lend her a little support.

At the bottom, she laughed, happy to have made it without a single mistake and she felt her father's arms wrapping around her and holding her tight.

I'm proud of you, Dannica," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Then he let go of her and started walking slowly to the kitchen with Dannica following behind, careful to keep close to his thumping steps. The smell of bacon, eggs and toast surrounded her and made her mouth water. Duke always made the best breakfasts, though it was the same thing every day except Sundays. Bacon, eggs, toast, and a glass of orange juice was what she woke up to every single morning.

"When do you go back to work, Da?" she asked as she found her usual seat at the table. She pulled the chair out and sat down, tucking her crutches under the chair.

"I'm not, Dannica. They called me last night," he said.

Dannica made a curious face, turning her head his direction while she heard him dishing up her breakfast, but she waited for him to answer her unasked question without her prodding.

She heard his quiet laugh as he set her plate in front of her. "I asked for a family retirement when I adopted you, Dannica. I didn't want to split my time, and I wanted to make sure you had all the help you needed."

Dannica's breath caught and she raised her head in surprise. "You're going to be home all the time?" she asked.

"Yep," he answered. She heard him taking his own place at the table before he spoke again. "Well, at least when I'm not doing other things around town. For now, though, I'll be here all the time so you have whatever help you need."

Dannica smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Da. That's-" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"You're welcome," he answered. "You're worth it, sweetie."

The thought that he had left the military just to take care of her and make sure that she got better was more than she ever hoped for. She expected that one of these days, he'd go back to the force and they'd send him somewhere, and she'd be the usual military daughter like all the kids that she knew back in Novvy Urengoy when their fathers were deployed. Now she didn't have to worry about taking care of herself when he was deployed, he would be there to help her as long as she needed.

She poked at the food in front of her with her finger, testing the texture of the food, finding what was where, finding that Duke had arranged the food on the plate in the same way he did every morning. She had to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Duke asked in mock hurt.

"I was thinking that I'm lucky, Da," Dannica replied. "I have someone as anal retentive as you to help me recover. I always know where everything is."

Duke laughed with her for a minute. "It's just the way that it is in the military. You do things the same way all the time, even if it might not make sense. I'm just happy that in your case, it actually does make sense."

Dannica nodded, smiling, and started in on her breakfast. It was as good as every other breakfast Duke made, and before she knew it, she was scraping the plate with the fork, looking for the last little bits of food.

"I'll look the other way if you want to lick the plate," Duke joked as she heard him standing up.

She shook her head with a grin, then piled the silverware on top and lifted the plate so that her father could take it without having to reach across the table. When the weight was lifted from her hands, she found her crutches again and stood up.

"Where's my backpack, Da?" she asked.

"It's by the door. You have everything in there."

Dannica started walking to the door, noticing that she corrected in just the right place so that she missed the little table in the hallway. It was the first time since she got home that she was able to do that.

She found the backpack sitting right inside the door, and she pawed through it, finding a bagged lunch already packed, pencils, notebooks and the little recording device that Duke had made her learn until she thought that she was going to throw it across the room. She knew every button and every function on it and how to access it. Wrapped around the recorder was a set of headphones.

Satisfied that she had everything, she stood up and headed into the living room, dropping gently into the couch to stretch out. She knew that there was a sunbeam right there from long days laying in it. She wasn't disappointed, the warmth was right there where she was used to it.

She'd just gotten comfortable when she heard her father's steps walking into the room and his easy laugh.

"Don't get too comfortable, Dannica. We've got to get you to school."

She made a sound of annoyance, even though she really wasn't bothered. She was excited about starting in at a new school, and she was eager to get going, even though part of her was very apprehensive about what was to come. There weren't special schools here where Duke had chosen to live, so she was going to the only high school in town.

Duke must have seen something crossing her face with the thoughts, because after a moment, she felt the couch cushions sinking under his weight and then felt his hand on her shoulder. She sat up and the hand wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug.

"You're going to do great, sweetie. Just be yourself and everyone will love you."

She felt him shift a little and she laid her head on his shoulder. Then she felt something hard and vaguely cylindrical being pressed against her paw. She took it and her fingers told her there was a break in the center travelling lengthwise along whatever it was.

"I got you something for your first day," Duke said in explanation.

Dannica gently pried the halves apart and felt inside, smiling at the pair of glasses that her fingers told her was inside.

"They're for your eyes, sweetie. They'll cover most of your scars, so you'll look a little more normal."

Dannica pulled the sunglasses out of their case and carefully slid them onto her face, adjusting them with her fingers around the edges so that she could tell how much they were covering. It seemed like just the very edges of her scarring would be visible from the front, and they even wrapped around a little ways.

She laughed and turned her face towards her father.

"How do I look, Da?" she asked.

"Like a very pretty young woman," he answered as she embraced him. "Now, let's get going before I make you late on your first day.

Dannica nodded and slid her arms into the crutches again, then started to the door. On the way out, she picked up her backpack and then headed out the door to the car, ready as she would ever be to face the first day of school.

---

Duke took Dannica all the way into the school, leading her through the front doors and to the main office. Along the way, she could hear the other students talking in the hallways and walking here and there. They didn't seem to be paying her much attention, likely figuring her for just another student. That alone made her relax a little more.

"Ah, Mister Wallis," said a voice a little ways away as they walked into the office.

"Doctor Stevens," she heard Duke respond.

"And this must be Dannica," Dr. Stevens said.

Dannica nodded with a slight look of apprehension on her face. "Yes, sir," she said quietly.

She heard his footsteps coming closer and then the rustling of his clothing as he moved. When his voice next sounded, it was much closer and it sounded like it was directly in front of her.

"Welcome to Siskiyou High, Dannica," he said.

The genuinely welcoming tone in his voice had her smiling in no time, though she could feel a little bit of heat in her cheeks at being the center of this man's attention. She was used to meeting new people, but for some reason, this man was a little different.

She pictured Mister Olev in the back of her mind, and she had to admit that Doctor Stevens didn't sound at all like him, so he probably didn't look all that much like him.

"Thank you, sir," she responded, her voice still quiet and shy.

She heard Doctor Stevens standing back up and then addressing her father.

"I'm glad that you decided to let her come to school, Mister Wallace. She's in the right place."

"Of that I'm sure, Doctor Stevens. I still remember your chemistry lessons. Never did use the stuff, but at least you made it interesting." Duke laughed. "Have any luck with an assistant?"

"Yes, I found the perfect one. She's an honor student, and she's far ahead of her usual work already, so she'll be just the right person to help Dannica and get her own things done without it being too much of a problem."

"As long as she volunteered, sir. The last thing I want is someone who doesn't want to be doing it," Duke said.

"Yes, she said she thought it would be a lot of fun. In fact, here she is."

Dannica's ears perked up and she listened as the sound of someone else coming into the room came from behind her. She turned and her ears swiveled to focus on the sound. The scent of a young female tiger hit her nose when she did.

"Hello, Doctor Stevens," a young female voice said.

"Hello, Hope," Doctor Stevens answered. "This is Duke Wallis and his daughter, Dannica."

Dannica heard the rustling of clothes as Hope moved. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she said. Then she paused.

"Hello, Dannica," she said, "I'm Hope. Hope Wissian."

Dannica smiled and let go of one of the crutches, letting it dangle from her arm as she held out her hand.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Hope," she said, very aware of the heavy accent in her voice.

She felt a soft paw about the same size as her own wrap around hers and give her arm a single shake.

"I'm going to be your helper for a while," Hope said as she released Dannica's hand. "I'm going to go with you to your classes and make sure that you get where you need to go, and I'm going to be reading your textbooks for you."

"That sounds like a lot of work. Don't you have your own studies?" Dannica asked.

"I do, but I'm almost half a year ahead. My teachers said that I should do this just so that they have a chance to grade the things that I've already handed in," Hope answered with a giggle.

"Besides," she continued, "I've never met anyone blind before."

Dannica smiled, not taking offense at the comment. In fact she rather thought of it as a compliment, that she would be able to teach something to this other girl who was so far ahead of her.

"All right, girls," Doctor Stevens said, "You have class, so why don't you get going?"

"Come on Dannica," Hope said. "Do you want me to guide you or can you follow me?"

"I can follow your footsteps," Dannica answered. "Just don't go too fast, okay?"

"You got it," Hope said, and Dannica heard the smile and the hint of laughter.

Together they walked from the office and out into the hallway.

For the first half of the day, Dannica endured the endless introductions of the teachers, and the quiet curiosity from the students as she went from class to class and listened, asking Hope to take a note here and there over what she heard the other girl writing down already. She mostly deferred to what Hope was writing, since it was clear that she knew what she was doing in school.

Finally, though, it was lunch time, and she followed Hope down the hallways to the cafeteria.

"Do you need to get food?" Hope asked.

Dannica shook her head. "No, Da packed my lunch today. I think he worries about me too much sometimes."

"He's right to worry," Hope said, laughing. "You're kind of lucky that you don't have to see what the cafeteria serves."

Dannica took a whiff of the odor of industrial food coming from the kitchen and she laughed. "It smells the same as it did back in Russia," she remarked. "They must use the same stuff all over the world."

Hope laughed and guided them to a table. As they sat, the table nearest them went quieter than it had been, and with the break in the conversation, Dannica heard one of the boys whispering.

"Did you see her eyes?"

Dannica flushed and started busying herself pulling her lunch out of her backpack, trying to ignore the comment. Hope was quiet while she set her lunch out in front of her.

"Her face is all messed up," said another young male voice in a loud whisper.

She heard Hope stand up and her footsteps walking away and she poked at her sandwich, wondering where she was going. Then she heard Hope's familiar voice at the next table.

"Her name is Dannica, and that's all you're going to say about her, Jason. All of you, one more word and I'll drop you right here."

The boys were silent and Dannica heard Hope coming back. She lifted her head and smiled gratefully at her returning companion.

"They're assholes, Dannica. Don't listen to them. You're one of the prettiest tigers I've ever seen."

Dannica felt Hope's hand cover hers on the table and she blushed, not able to fully hide the effect that the words and the touch had on her. The touch of this girl who was her friend and now her helper had her feeling warm and happy inside, and there was something else that she was feeling, too, that she hadn't before.

"Thank you, Hope," she said quietly. "You have a very pretty voice, you know?" A compliment repaid with a smile.

Hope giggled. "That's the first time anyone has ever told me that, Dannica. Thank you."

They ate their lunch in companionable silence while the activity of the school went on behind them, and when it was over, they went about the rest of the day the way that they had the first. The only class that she got the feeling that Hope really enjoyed was the special session that she had with a blind instructor who was starting to teach her braille.

By the end of the day, Dannica was tired. Her eye sockets burned, her legs hurt and she was having trouble taking herself all the way to the front door. When she got there, she sat on the steps with Hope beside her.

"If it's all right with you and your father," Hope said, "I'm going to come home with you for a couple hours. I know you don't have any homework, but I'll help you get started on studying, and I'll show you how to use the book reader that I've been reading into."

Dannica nodded tiredly, and smiled. "As long as you don't mind me laying down for the lesson," she said, and even she could hear the weariness in her voice.

Dannica felt Hope's hand on her shoulder. "You're doing really well, Dannica," she said, her voice coming mere inches away from Dannica's ear.

Dannica felt the breeze of Hope's breath against her fur when she spoke and it sent a little shiver down her spine, and she was going to say something more when she heard the telltale familiar clomping of her father's shoes coming down the sidewalk.

"Hi, Da!" she called.

"Hey, sweetie," he said when he got a little closer. She was relieved to hear his voice after such a long day of strange smells and sound and too many voices talking around her and to her.

"How was your first day?" Duke asked.

"It was good," she answered. "Can Hope come home with us for a while so she can teach me how to use the book reader and help me study a little?"

"Yeah, that would be fine, Dannica. Doctor Stevens already said something about it, so I made some snacks."

"Thank you, Mister Wallace," Hope said.

Hope's hand was still on Dannica's shoulder and Dannica smiled at the warmth that came from it. Then she stood up and got herself situated.

"I'm ready, Da," she said.

Together, she and Hope followed Duke down the sidewalk to the car, and they drove home while Dannica told Duke about her day, and about all the help that Hope had been. She was starting to think in the back of her mind that Hope was aptly named.

---

When they got back to the house, Dannica walked inside with Hope and headed for the stairs.

"Can I have snacks in my room, Da?" she asked.

She knew that her father could hear how tired she was after the day and that all she wanted to do was to lie down in bed where she could rest her legs.

"That's fine. I'll bring them up in a minute. Think you can get upstairs by yourself?"

"I'll make sure she doesn't fall, Mister Wallis," Hope said helpfully as she slid an arm around Dannica's. Dannica grinned and nodded.

"We'll be okay, Da."

With that, she turned and headed for the stairs again, guiding Hope along the hallway. It was slow going up the stairs, but Hope kept her reassuring hand on her shoulder the entire way, and when they got to the top, it was but a short walk to her room.

Finally, she was able to sit down on the side of the bed and lay her crutches down beside the bed. Then she propped herself up on her pillows at the headboard and stretched her aching legs out in front of her, making a face of discomfort as they started to unknot.

She felt the bed move as Hope crawled up on it with her, and she paid close attention to where hands and knees were. Hope's hands gently spread her ankles apart so that she could sit between them, and Dannica made a confused face. It was all made clear, though, when she felt Hope's hands on her calves, gently rubbing the sore muscles just enough that it felt good, but not so hard that it contributed to the ache.

"It looked like you could use this," Hope said in her kind voice.

Dannica nodded. "I'm not as strong as I want to be," she admitted. "It's going to be a while before I'm back to where I was."

"Would you hate me if I asked you what happened?" Hope asked gently. Dannica could hear the tentative tone in her voice.

"No, I won't hate you," she said after a minute.

She thought about it for a moment, and then she told Hope a short version of the story, leaving out a lot of the details. Even that short telling, though, was enough to have her shivering by the end, and she felt Hope's reassuring hand on her legs, still rubbing the soreness out.

"It's okay, Dannica, you're here and safe now," she said quietly.

"I know," Dannica said, and with the soothing tones in Hope's voice, she knew that deep down, too. She was home and safe. "So, I haven't had the casts off for that long, and I'm still getting used to walking again, so I'm not as good at it as I was."

Dannica raised her head as the door to the room opened and Duke came in. There was a slight pause in his steps, and then they started again. Hope didn't stop rubbing Dannica's legs when he came in and Dannica figured that might be what stopped him.

"I brought snacks," he announced. "Homemade pizza rolls."

Dannica laughed and shook her head. "You're going to make all the people at school jealous, Da. They already think I'm kind of weird because of your lunch."

"I just want to spoil my daughter and her friend. They're on your table, Dannica. Let them cool for a few, okay?"

And then he was out the door and closing it softly behind him.

"Thank you, Da!" Dannica called after him, giggling.

Hope giggled with her and Dannica felt her hands finally let go of her legs. The bed moved a little and then she felt the other tiger's knees on either side of her thighs.

"Give me your hands, Dannica," she said.

Dannica held out her hands with a look of curiosity on her face. She felt Hope take her paws and gently lay them on her face. With her own fingers over Dannica's, she started moving them over her muzzle and her face, calling out everything that she was feeling.

"That's my eyebrows, and my ears, and my lips, and my nose..."

Dannica smiled as she moved her hands and fingers at Hope's urging, feeling all the different features of the other tiger's face. She noticed, too, that she was feeling a lot warmer and much more the way that she was at Hope's touch earlier, a warm feeling in her belly and between her legs.

When her hands made it back to Hope's cheeks, Hope let go of them and put her own hands on Dannica's cheeks as well. With her hands where they, she felt Hope's face leaning towards hers, and before she could think of anything to say, the other tiger's lips were on hers in a gentle, tender kiss.

Dannica let out a surprised squeak, but the feeling in her stomach quickly overrode any thought that she had of pulling away. Hope's lips were soft on hers and her scent was filling her nose. Not at all certain of what to do, she slid her arms down and back from Hope's face to her shoulders and gently pulled her towards her.

Hope finally pulled back a little, pulling her lips from Dannica's and she giggled quietly as Dannica felt her hips settle on her thighs.

"Do that again," Hope said.

Dannica giggled with her and leaned forward, trying to do just that. Instead of her lips, though, Dannica's kiss found her nose and she pulled back, blushing fiercely.

"Silly," Hope said, and Dannica felt Hope pulling her face towards her. This time their lips met again and she felt Hope's lips parting. Still tentative, Dannica matched Hope's movements. There was a moment of surprise when Hope's tongue slid out of her mouth and into Dannica's muzzle, but after a moment, she got the hang of what was going on and was soon kissing the other tiger back with enthusiasm.

After a few moments, she felt Hope's hands moving from her cheeks to her shoulders. Some other time, she might have asked what she was doing, but something inside her wanted this, and didn't want the kiss to stop. It felt right, and it felt like something that she should be doing.

The feeling of Hope's hands sliding against the t-shirt that covered her had Dannica's breath huffing into Hope's mouth through the kiss, only getting stronger when the soft and gentle hands stroked over her breasts.

Finally, Hope drew her lips back from Dannica's and her hands paused, cupping both of Dannica's breasts, one in each paw.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked.

Dannica could hear the trepidation in her voice. She'd just told the other tiger a little of her story, and she knew that Hope was concerned that she might not want this. Dannica just placed her hands over Hope's and moved them down to the hem of her shirt and then under.

"It works better this way," she whispered.

She heard Hope giggle and then she felt the shirt being lifted from her belly and then over her chest and she raised her arms to let Hope take the shirt all the way off.

"We have got to get you some new bras, Dannica," Hope said with a laugh.

"Why?" Dannica asked. She'd never seen what her father had found for her to wear, though she thought it was probably something fairly bland.

"a white cotton sports bra," Hope said by way of explanation. "Hardly something sexy, my friend."

Dannica just chuckled and then reached down and stripped it up and over her head with a smile.

"How's that?" she asked.

"That's much sexier," Hope said.

Moments later, Dannica felt Hope's hands returning to her now bare breasts, cupping them gently in her palms before she lightly ran her fingers along the nipples, drawing a moaning gasp from Dannica's mouth.

For her part, Dannica's hands were busy trying to slide Hope's shirt off the same way as hers. It seemed that Hope was reluctant to leave her ministrations to her new friend, though, and it took a little coaxing to get her to lift her arms enough that she could get the shirt off.

When it was, though, Dannica found a feast for her sense of touch as her hands returned to Hope's shoulders. As she drew her hands down to her friend's chest, she found one of the more complicated lacy patterns that she'd ever felt. Curious and intrigued, she let her fingers trace along the edge of the fabric, feeling the softness and the pattern of the lace, each new change in the pattern eliciting a little thrill of excitement from within.

There was something about the way that the fabric felt mixed with the fur beneath that made her so much more excited than she had been. She could smell on the air that Hope wasn't unaffected by the touch, either.

"See?" Hope said through heavier breaths, "We'll get you some fun stuff like this."

Dannica grumbled a bit when she felt Hope's hands leaving her chest to slide over her hands, but she was soon lost in the sensations beneath her fingers as Hope guided her hands back behind her back, following the band of fabric around to the clasp.

"Like this," Hope whispered as she showed Dannica how the clasp was held together.

Dannica marveled at how easily the guidance came to the other tiger, and she made a note to ask her how she'd gotten so good at helping someone like her. For now, though, that distraction was pushed from her mind when she felt the band part and the fabric come loose.

Hope guided her hands a little more into sliding the straps from her shoulders so that the bra fell off in Dannica's hands. Dannica took the time to feel the fabric a little closer, working her fingers over the lacy pattern until she heard Hope giggling.

"Explore later," she said quietly as she took the bra from Dannica's hands.

The next thing Dannica felt was Hope's hands guiding hers to her chest. She gently grasped Hope's smaller breasts in her hands, each one a little less than a handful, and she felt her stiff nipples pressing against her palms while the soft flesh yielded to her touch. Hope's fur was soft and fluffy under her fingers, even softer than the fur on her face, and she imagined the stripe pattern giving way to a creamy white.

After a moment, Hope's hands were back exploring her body, tracing down her belly and her sides. The heavy breath coming from in front of her was telling her that what she was doing was appreciated, and she shifted her hands a little to run her fingers over Hope's nipples much the way that Hope had done to her.

Finally, she worked up her courage and leaned her head down to lick lightly against the peaked and tightened flesh, well aware of how rough her tongue was. It was a nervous, tentative lick, just enough that she could feel the tip against her tongue surrounded by the soft fur.

Hope's hands tightened around her hips, fingers pressing into her fur and flesh as the other tiger let out a low groan.

Encouraged, she licked again, this time harder, then again, moving from one to the other, the groans and moans of her friend in her ears egging her on until she started to suckle and take each nipple into her mouth.

Hope's hands left her hips and rested against the back of her head, pulling her harder against her chest. Dannica kept going, smelling the other tiger getting more and more aroused as she went until finally Hope pushed her head lightly away.

"Pants," Hope said through panting breath.

"What?" Dannica asked.

Her question was soon answered, though, by the feeling of Hope's hands on her belt, undoing the buckle. It didn't take her long to get it open and the button and zipper undone as well.

"Lift," Hope said quietly, emphasizing the request with a little tug to the waist.

Dannica lifted her hips and felt her shorts dragged down her thighs and off her legs, leaving her in nothing but her underwear there on the bed. She shivered lightly, more from the fact that she'd not allowed anyone but the nurses to see her like this since she'd been injured.

There was a little more movement on the bed and then Hope's hands were back, stroking against her belly, and along the waistband of her panties. She heard Hope's laugh again, this time very close to her ear.

"I'm so taking you shopping this weekend, Dannica," she said with a laughing tone. "You really need new underwear."

Dannica felt the heat of her blush filling her face and she laughed.

"Well, it's not like I could ask my Da for something sexy," she said.

Hope's laugh filled her ears again just before she felt Hope's whiskers brushing against her cheek. The feeling of Hope's teeth gently nibbling on the side of her neck had her shivering in pleasure as little goose bumps rose beneath her fur.

"Probably not," Hope admitted.

Dannica felt Hope's hand take hers and guide it down. She felt soft bunches of fabric brushing against her wrist, and she realized that Hope was wearing a skirt. Then she realized where Hope was guiding her hand to. She shivered again when her hand pressed up between Hope's legs, cupping her palm against her hot, damp sex. As she pressed her hand there, Dannica realized that the movement she felt earlier was Hope taking her panties off just for this.

Dannica brushed her fingers against the soft, wispy fur covering Hope's sex, lightly playing the pads against the slick lips. She wasn't a stranger to her own pleasure, and the landmarks that she felt with her fingers were the same as she felt when she brought herself in the quiet of the night, so it was easy to find what she wanted. She'd never done this with another, though, so her touch was bashful and tentative.

The mewling in her ear told her that she was doing just fine, though, as her fingers found all the familiar places and teased gently against them. After a moment, she parted her friend's sex and slid a finger inside while her heel pressed up against Hope's clit and mound. She could feel Hope opening to her, accepting the intrusion while she rocked her body against Dannica's hand. Hope was wet enough that Dannica's finger slid easily inside and moved when she did.

Hope's hands went to Dannica's hips and held there, giving her purchase to rock and thrust against Dannica's hand, and Dannica savored the feeling of her friend moving against her. Dannica smiled and sighed as Hope's dampness covered her hand and she could feel Hope's movements getting a little more erratic as she kept up the thrusting.

Hope's breathing was ragged in Dannica's ear and after a couple more thrusts, she pushed herself all the way down onto Dannica's hand, trapping it between her sex and Dannica's thigh while she ground even harder against it. Dannica felt Hope's body clenching down around her finger, and she held her friend with her other hand while Hope's quiet cry blew her warm breath against her ear.

There was something else there, too, something that was sated at the same time that her friend crested over into orgasm, something that she could feel being satisfied inside her.

But soon, Hope was coming down, and she didn't spare any more thought to that other thing inside, because when her friend relaxed against her, she felt a hand running from her hips down beneath the fabric of her panties to slide between her legs.

"My turn," Hope whispered.

Dannica felt her friend's hand sliding her own lips apart and soon after a finger slid inside. Hope used the same rhythm that Dannica had just used, sliding the finger in and out of her while her palm moved against her mound, giving her stimulation even as it moved.

Dannica slid down in the bed a little and spread her legs even wider for her friend's hand. When she did, she felt another finger joining the first, spreading her a little more and giving her a little more of a full feeling.

She felt Hope's other arm around her shoulders, and she brought her own hands up around Hope's shoulders, pulling her close so that she could find Hope's lips for a deep and passionate kiss while her friend's fingers slid in and out of her.

Between the kiss and her friend's attentions, it wasn't long before the heat became too much to bear and built to a level that she'd never felt before. Every time before now, she'd have come already on her own, but Hope seemed to take her to a whole new level. She pulled her head slightly back, leaving her nose pressed against Hope's as she panted and mewled, her begging cries quiet for fear of her father hearing them.

Then it all came crashing down on her. She felt herself clenching in the familiar throes of her orgasm, but this one was different. She didn't release right away, and the wave of pleasure continued, on and on, until she thought that she would come completely undone.

Finally it broke and she felt Hope's lips on hers, muffling the cry that started to come out of her mouth. She took the kiss, and breathed in the scent and taste of the other tiger. As she did, she felt something else coming with it, something that spoke to a very different heat inside her. Still, she paid it no mind, consumed with the overwhelming pleasure she was riding until finally the wave passed and she lay spent and panting on the bedsheets with her friend's fingers still deep inside her.

"::Mother of God::," she breathed when it was all over.

She felt Hope rolling off to lay beside her, still leaving her fingers where they were as her other arm cradled Dannica's head.

"I hope that wasn't some horrible Russian curse," Hope said, laughing.

Dannica laughed with her and reached her hand over to stroke Hope's arm and shoulder. "No," she said, "It was good."

Dannica didn't know what else to say. Thank you seemed too cheesy, so she just slid her hand up to Hope's cheek and used it to target her kiss to the other tiger's lips. It wasn't a long or passionate kiss, just a short, tender kiss full of gratitude.

"You're welcome," Hope murmured, almost reading her mind.

Dannica sat up a little onto her elbow and giggled. "We should probably get dressed before Da comes in and dies of a heart attack."

Hope laughed and reluctantly slid her fingers out of Dannica, eliciting a little gasp. "I'll find your shorts," she said as she rolled off the bed.

Dannica listened as Hope moved around the room, finding their clothes, and she heard the soft licks of Hope's tongue against her fingers. Curious, she lifted her own paw to her muzzle and breathed in the scent of her friend that coated her hand. Then she took a lick, then another, not stopping until her paw was clean and the sweet, spicy tang of Hope's release was all she could taste.

When Hope returned, she helped Dannica into her clothes once again, and the two lay in the bed with their hands each exploring the other. By the time Duke came back into the room a few hours later, the snacks had been eaten and Hope was showing her the secrets of the book reader.

When all was done, Dannica mustered the strength to walk her new friend and now lover down the stairs to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, DZ," Hope said. Dannica could hear the smile in her voice when she shortened her name to only her first two initials.

"Can't wait," Dannica replied.

She felt Hope's arms wrap around her and draw her into a hug before she headed out the door, and Dannica listened to her walking down the sidewalk with a happy grin on her face and a very warm feeling in her heart and somewhere much lower.