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Blood & Water Silver & Gold

(November 7th)

There they were.

Orange and black.

For two months, that was all he'd needed -- just those two colors -- to set his chest aflutter. They brightened his eyes, they put a smile on his muzzle, they turned around any dreary day, and they dulled even the deepest pains his mother and her antics could bring. And when he felt alone, when his tiger wasn't there to hold, all he had to do was close his eyes and picture those two colors...and see Hunter's smiling face.

But for the last three days, those colors had meant something else. They stared back at him from his phone -- a surreal and twisted joke -- and tied his stomach into knots. They brought tears to his eyes, they curled his muzzle into a snarl, they clouded his mornings, and they served, now, to only sharpen his existing stresses and pain. And when he closed his eyes, whether he wanted to or not, he saw them again. He saw his tiger's paws in someone else's headfur...and he saw Hunter's shocked and terrified face.

Monday, Elliot had gotten the text.

He'd seen his tiger muzzle-fucking someone else, against the side of some dirty, unnamed restroom stall. He'd seen the undeniable, still-life proof that his boyfriend had strayed. He didn't know what to think or to feel. The detectives, there to accuse his father of molesting him, had only JUST left, his mother's threats had never loomed so real on the horizon, and the one thing he had to turn to for comfort...had died, lying right there in his paw.

He skipped school on Tuesday. He didn't like missing two days in a row, but his father didn't fight it. And, though he showed up on Wednesday, he made every effort to avoid seeing Hunter. He even got himself excused from PE: their one shared class.

And Hunter knew.

Hunter knew because Elliot had told him. They'd only spoken once, and only through text. He told his tiger not to expect him on Tuesday, and not to look for him, or speak to him, or be even near him on Wednesday. He needed his space. He needed to calm down. He needed time. But on Thursday -- he promised -- after school, they would finally talk. They would settle this...

...no matter what that might mean.

And so, there they were.

Orange and black.

There, in the hallway of Sibirskaia High, for the first time in days, he saw those two colors, again...and not in a photo, or behind closed eyes, but in the flesh and fur. He expected his eyes to sting and dampen, and his lips to curl. He expected his stomach in knots...

...but his eyes grew wide and bright. His lips bent to a near imperceivable smile. And his chest was set aflutter. Despite what Hunter had done, and despite what Elliot had seen, he still loved him. He still longed to hold him. He still wanted nothing but to wrap himself up in his tiger, and to hide away from the dark and daunting world, outside. He still loved him.

And he hated him for it.

"I, uhm..." Hunter spoke first. The sound of his voice stung, and set the husky's lip to curl after all. "I wasn't sure if you'd really show up."

Elliot answered flatly: "I told you I would,"

"Yeah, but...I'm surprised you'd want to see me, right now."

"I really don't," he admitted coldly...

...and his tiger shook, rubbing his paws together as he began to plead. "E-Elliot, please..."

"Please, what?" the dog snapped. "I showed up, didn't I? What else do you want?"

"Just...just let me explain."

"A picture's worth a thousand words, Hunter. So what more could you possibly say that TWO pictures couldn't?"

"I...I dunno," Hunter shrugged defeatedly. "I could tell you why."

"Yeah? Well maybe I don't care." Elliot crossed his arms, already keeping his distance, but inching even farther back, nonetheless. "I have too much shit to deal with already, Hunter! I don't need this, on top of it."

"You..." at that, the tiger's demeanor changed. His timidity washed away in a flash of anger, as his paws clenched and he yelled out: "YOU have too much!?"

"That's right! I do!" Elliot matched his shout, volume and rage alike...

...but Hunter didn't back down, "And I don't!?"

The husky paused and his eyes shifted aside. He couldn't argue that, of course. Couldn't dispute the hell these past two weeks had been on his tiger. But it also wasn't the point. This wasn't about Dot. This was about Sunday night.

"Look," Elliot finally spoke again, "let's just wrap this up, okay? I don't have anything to say to you, and you damn sure don't have anything to say to me."

"I have plenty to say!" Hunter disagreed...

... but Elliot just shrugged it off, "Nothing I want to hear." And, with that, he delved his paw into the pocket of his pants, fishing around for the cold metal within...and pulled out a long silver chain. "Just take your damn necklace and go."

"My...my..." the tiger blinked powerlessly at the silver tag and its chain, as his husky held them up for him to see. "You're giving it back?"

Elliot shrugged as he extended his arm, out toward the cat who he once called his boyfriend, "Why would I want to keep it?"

"Because I gave it to you!" Hunter screamed out, shamelessly, in the hall. "Because I mean something...o-or at least MEANT something to you!"

"And what does it matter if you do!? Because clearly the feeling isn't mutual!" The husky strode forward and thrust his paw and the chain against the tiger's chest, "Just take your damn lies back, Hunter! I'm tired of looking at them! And I'm tired of being reminded of you!"

Hunter took the tag, catching it as it fell from Elliot's receding paw, but his eyes never left the dog's face. "Lies!? LIES!? What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?"

"What do you think it means?"

"That you think I don't love you?" the tiger posed...

...and Elliot corrected: "...that you never did."

"How DARE you!?"

"Me?? How dare I?" The husky leaned in, tapping the larger cat's chest as he howled out: "Why don't you wait until your dick stops smelling like hyena breath before you start playing the victim, here, Hunter!?"

"Goddamnit, Elliot!" Hunter pushed his paw away. "Would you just shut the fuck up and let me explain!?"

"Why should I!?" Elliot tossed up his paws as he asked. "What could you possibly have to say that could justify any of this? Did Brandon's friends have you at gun point? Did they force your cock down somebody else's throat? Did Mic hypnotize you into believing that it was ME on my knees in front of you? Or better yet! Twin brother? Do you have an evil twin?" As he went along, he noticed -- on some level -- how Hunter's posture changed, noticed his sudden silence, and noticed how his eyes shifted, staring just past Elliot and not quite at his face. But in the heat of the moment, he didn't stop to think -- or even care -- why. "Please Hunter! What magical fantasy tale have you spun for me? Because I would LOVE-"

"Okay!" a voice cut him short, as a paw dropped heavy on his shoulder.

Elliot turned and followed Hunter's eyes to find the new face behind him. It was the black mask of a raccoon...and the soft, sympathetic eyes of James Callaway. And it was no surprise, of course. No surprise that they were attracting attention, and no surprise -- if they were -- that Scott or James, one, would intervene.

And, gripping the dog's shoulder, James suggested barely above a whisper, "Why don't I find you guys somewhere more private? You know: before you draw an even bigger audience?"

Elliot, though, just moved away from the paw, "What do I care who hears? The whole school's already seen the pictures!"

"That they have," the teacher agreed. "But you're still on school grounds, right now, and there are more than just students around. So why don't we try NOT adding suspension to the growing list of drama in your lives? Eh?"

The husky scanned the halls and the open class room doors. And James, of course, was right. The school day had ended, and most of the students had rushed to escape, fleeing as if evacuating a natural disaster. The faculty, though, didn't have that luxury...and these scattered faces which met Elliot's scanning eyes, were equal parts students AND teachers.

And the last thing he needed, alongside everything else, was disciplinary trouble.

So he nodded shortly and bowed his head, as he silently followed James down the hall. The walk was more than long enough for him to lose himself in thought...in rage...in depression. But he didn't. He just focused on the sound of paw pads striking the tiled floor. Not his. Not Mr. Callaway's. But Hunter's...as the cat followed along behind.

A door opened, six paw pads came to a stop, a door closed, and Elliot finally looked up from where he'd stopped, alongside Mr. Callaway's desk. Hunter stood just feet away, idly rubbing the silver tag in his paw, and James leaned back against the closed door...

"So..." their teacher broke the silence, "do I need to play mediator here, or..."

The husky just shrugged, "I don't see why you would. I don't have anything to say to him."

"How am I not surprised?" Hunter shot back, in sarcasm. "Not like you'd care enough to fight for us, anyway. I mean, you didn't before today, so why would it be any different, now?" He looked down solemnly at the chain in his paw, "Hell...this necklace probably didn't really even mean anything to you, to begin with, did it?"

"Oh here we go," Elliot sighed...

...and the tiger repeated, "Here we go?"

"Yeah! Right back in line for Hunter's pity parade!"

"Pity parade!?"

"What the fuck else would YOU call it? I mean, listen to yourself!" Elliot waved a paw at the cat. "You just cheated on me, but this is somehow still about you and how I don't care about you?"

"Well when have you ever shown that you DID!?" Hunter demanded. "I mean: how many times have I dropped everything in my life to be there for you? How many times!?"

"That's not the-"

"It damn sure is the point!" he cut the dog short. "I have never asked ANYTHING of you! Throughout this whole thing with your mom, I have been there for you every step of the way! You moved twice, and not only did I show up, but so did Stan!"

"Stanley was there for Aaron," the husky corrected, with a mutter.

"And THAT," Hunter pointed at him, "is not the point! The point is: the one time that I needed YOU, you couldn't be there for me! You couldn't try and show me even a FRACTION of the devotion that I've shown you! You are a spoiled, selfish little brat who only cares about what other people can do for HIM!"

And at that, James interjected himself, "Hunter...maybe you should calm down a little?"

The tiger turned to his teacher, "Why!? He's leaving me, anyway! And besides, it's true!" and then, just as quickly, back to Elliot, "You use me Elliot. I'm an accessory. A tool. And you have never cared enough to be there for me, like I am for you."

"Fuck you, Hunter!" the husky pounded his fist on the teacher's desk. "My mother is trying to take me away from my father! Keeping THAT from happening is the number one priority in my life, right now. Not your move. I know you're in a bad place after your grandmother..." he paused, not cruel enough to say it aloud, "...but I can only do so much! I can't let my life fall apart just so I can be your shoulder to cry on." He took a breath and shook his head, "But even if everything you just said was true, I still can't believe that you'd do...something like THIS just to punish me!"

"I wasn't punishing you, Elliot," Hunter argued. "That wasn't my fucking point!"

"Oh, well pardon me for misunderstanding being called a selfish asshole." Elliot gave a mocking little bow as he motioned to the cat, "What, pray tell, WAS your point, then?"

"This is my point!" the tiger roared as he held up the necklace in his paw. "That you've never shown you cared before, anyway...so why should it surprise me that you'd give up on us, today, over one fucking mistake."

"Me? I gave up on us?" Elliot gave a dark little laugh. "No, YOU gave up on us when you decided to stick your dick in somebody else's muzzle, Hunter! A mistake is forgetting a birthday or an anniversary. What you did is called cheating! And, no matter how inconsiderate you think I was being, it does NOT make that okay!"

Hunter rumbled with a frustrated growl, "I'm not saying that it does! I already told you: that's NOT why I did it!"

And again, James intervened: "...maybe you should let him explain, Elliot."

"Why!?" Elliot snapped at their teacher, now, too.

"Well, do you love him?"

And that was all it took to disarm the boy. His brow relaxed, his shoulders dropped, and his muscles unclenched. He looked down and away, and leaned back against the desk. And, for now, he let his silence be his answer...however they might take it.

Of course he loved him! This wouldn't hurt so badly if he didn't. He wouldn't be so angry. He wouldn't be here screaming. But he wasn't about to say that out loud. Not now. He wouldn't give Hunter that satisfaction or comfort. He wouldn't let him feel forgiven.

Not yet.

"Fine," Elliot finally spoke...calmer, but no more kind: "You want to explain yourself so badly, then tell me. Why, Hunter? Why did you do it?"

Grave and cold, the tiger didn't miss a beat. "Because I didn't want to feel dead anymore."

And Elliot recoiled, "Dead?" The word was enough to get his attention, though he wasn't entirely certain what it meant.

"I couldn't..." Hunter began, shaking and tense and clearly struggling just to explain, "I CAN'T get over her death, Elliot! I just can't. I want to say that I feel lonely, or that I feel sad, but I don't! I just feel numb. I barely even feel like I'm HERE anymore. All I feel is...just lost. It's like I'm walking around in a dream all day, and when I finally go to bed at night, I...I-I don't even know if I'll wake up the next morning. And I don't know if I care whether I do, or not." As he spoke, his eyes were locked on the floor. They quivered. They turned red. And soon, his cheeks were wet, and tiny drops -- one, three, and on -- began to darken the carpet at his feet. "I just...I feel dead inside, Elliot. And I don't...I don't..."

The husky couldn't say he understood. He'd lost grandparents and distant family, himself, but he'd never felt this level of grief. He had no frame of reference, no capacity to relate. He didn't understand. But he did believe.

He knew the tiger was in pain. He'd known, at the funeral, how this had broken him. And, despite everything, right now, all he wanted to do was pull Hunter to his chest and comfort him. To tell him he was here, and that everything would be okay...

...but he didn't.

And Hunter went on: "It wasn't about Mic. It wasn't about you. It was just about sex! It was about release! I just wanted to feel something -- ANYTHING!" He finally looked up, square in his husky's eyes, "And I didn't care what it was, Elliot. I just wanted to stop thinking for a minute, you know? Because every time I thought, all I thought about was her. And I just wanted to feel something other than numb. It was all that mattered to me. It was all I wanted! And I didn't care where it came from, or how I got it. I just..." he let out a deep, desperate growl, "I needed it!"

And Elliot seethed.

The gall! The nerve to admit it outright: that he'd known what he was doing and didn't care? It wasn't a mistake. It was a choice. He wanted it? He needed it? And he didn't care if he hurt his boyfriend to get it! The callous cruelty. The staggering selfishness...

But then again...at least he was being honest.

"I didn't feel good about it," the tiger explained. "I didn't feel happy or relieved. I felt dirty, and useless, and horrible, and guilty! I felt like I was stabbing YOU in the back. I felt like...like I wasn't just letting myself down, but my grandmother, too! Because I knew she wouldn't've approved. I knew it would hurt you. And I knew I was better than that." He paused and clenched his jaw, his wet, red eyes motionless and sure as he confessed: "And it was totally and completely worth it. Even feeling like that -- even HATING myself -- was better than how I'd felt for every waking moment since she died. And not even the camera flash changed that..."

Elliot wanted to respond. He wanted to rush the tiger and hug him. He wanted to scream and cuss. He wanted to apologize for everything that had happened to his boyfriend -- yes, his boyfriend -- and for everything that he, too, had done to hurt him. He wanted to call him out on his bullshit, and tell his boyfriend -- no, his ex-boyfriend -- that none of this even BEGAN to excuse what he'd done. He wanted to leave the room. He wanted to cry. He wanted to forgive.

But all he could do was stare back in silence...

...as Hunter concluded: "For that moment...I wasn't mourning. I wasn't numb. I wasn't asleep, or waiting to die, or already dead." He sparked the smallest little smile, "I felt alive."

A void was left in the wake of his confession. No one spoke. No one moved. But slowly, Elliot stood straight and parted his lips, responding not only before Mr. Callaway could prompt him to...but before he was even certain, himself, of what he wanted to say...

"That doesn't make it okay Hunter. That doesn't change how much this hurts. I mean: you think I don't care about you? You think it's so easy for me to give that necklace back?" he pointed to the chain still dangling from the tiger's paw. "I was with the detectives when I got the photos, Hunter. I got the text message just before they walked into my room, and do you wanna' know what the very first thought was, that went through my head? Before I ever even saw what it was?"

The cat just nodded, "Yeah. Sure..."

"That I hoped it was from you!" Elliot yelped, tears now in his eyes, as well. "That, surely, you'd finally forgiven me for missing the move. You understood that it wasn't my fault, and we could just move on. I could be there for you, you could be there for me, and we could just be happy together, again. Like we're supposed to be!" he pounded his chest as he spoke. And then he fell limp and looked away, "And then I saw those pictures...and you have no idea how much that hurt. No idea how betrayed I felt! That all I wanted was you, and I...and I got THAT instead!"

"It could have been you, you know. It SHOULD have been you!"

The husky looked back up, "What?"

"In that bathroom, by the stall," Hunter explained. "I wanted it to be you! YOU should have been the one I found that release in, not him! And if you'd BEEN there, it WOULD have been you!" He held up his paws as if begging, "Even through it all, I...I just wanted it to be you."

But that claim only made Elliot angrier, "How can you say that? I tried! I tried to be there, after I was done with the lawyers!" He stamped his foot and screamed: "But you wouldn't LET me!"

"I was just mad, Elliot. I was just..."

"You know what the worst part was, though?" the husky moved right along, his mind rushing through too many thoughts, too many emotions to keep hold of just one. "I was...I was never comfortable with the idea of leaving you and Mic alone together, to begin with. I mean: with your history? With all the fun you and your little group used to have?" He leaned forward as he spoke, looking the tiger right in the eye, "But I never tried to stop you from being friends. I never stood in the way of it, or even VOICED my concerns. Because I trusted you! And then to have that trust repaid...like this?"

Hunter shook his head, "I told you, Elliot. It wasn't about Mic."

"Of course it is!" Elliot barked. "It doesn't matter whether it is to you, or not. Because it is to me! It's this whole huge part of your life that I don't get to be a part of. And it's still going on without me!" He waved a paw out toward the rest of the school, "And...and to find out about it like I did? To know you probably wouldn't have ever even told me?"

The tiger's eyelids drooped and his voice, again, grew cold, "How quickly you forget about Will."

And Elliot froze. Will? What was Hunter thinking, bringing up WILL!? Mr. Callaway was standing right beside them! That wasn't Hunter's secret to divulge. In fact, it wasn't even Eliot's! It was Will's!

But...but no. Maybe it would be okay. He just said 'Will;' he didn't say 'your uncle.' He was careful. He shouldn't have said it at all, but at least he was careful. Maybe their teacher would just think it was another student. Certainly there was at least one 'William' who attended this school. Hopefully...

"That's different!" the husky argued, finally, but didn't dare to look in James's direction. "We weren't together when I did that."

"No. Not technically. But it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me." Hunter leaned in, just as Elliot had before, "You talk about this huge part of my life that you're not a part of? You talk about MY lies? Well what about that? How do you think that made me feel?" He touched a paw to his chest, "I mean...you told me that I was your first, Elliot! Do you have any idea how it felt to find out that that was a lie?"

"We're supposed to be over this!" Elliot insisted. "Why are we still talking about it?"

"Because it shows that you fucked up, too!" the tiger pointed at him for emphasis. "You lied, you hurt me, you fucked up, and I forgave you! Why can't you accept that I could, too, and do the same for me?"

And Elliot pointed at himself, too, "Because I didn't cheat on you! And no matter my lies, I had a damn good reason."

"And I don't!?"

The husky was quickly running low on arguments. Not because he was wrong. Not because he was losing. Not because he'd said all that needed to be said...

...but because maybe Hunter was right, too.

Of course the situations weren't the same. No two ever really are. There are always mitigating circumstances and emotions at play. But were they similar enough, at least? Elliot didn't cheat on Hunter, sure, but he did lie and hide the truth. He did spring a colossal secret on the tiger -- one that could have ended their relationship -- but was forgiven for it.

And, was it that much different, now? True: what Hunter did was worse. But was it really? Hunter had cheated. He had done so intentionally, and left his husky to hear about it from a third party. But when everything -- all those emotions and mitigating circumstances -- were taken into account...did they balance the scales? Did the hell Hunter had been through, in any way, excuse what he had done? Did it break their sins even? Did it earn him forgiveness?

Or as much, at least, as he'd shown Elliot, before?

After all, he'd only done it once. And one cheat doesn't make a cheater, any more than one lie makes a liar. Right?

And these thoughts circled Elliot's head, clashing and mingling with his pain, his love, his anger, and his sympathy...and he lost himself inside of them. The classroom disappeared -- James and Hunter with it -- and he only even noticed just how silent it had become, when that silence was broken...

...by a shaking, fractured breath.

And he looked up to see Hunter -- the tiger he loved -- crying, rocking with his sobs as he stared down at the tag and chain in his open paws.

"Elliot, please," he barely managed to speak above a murmur. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry. I don't know what else to say, except...you're right. You're right!" He looked up, eyes and lips quivering as he gripped the tag in his fist, "I overreacted about the lawyers...I should never have accused you of not loving me...you have every right to be angry...and nothing makes what I did to you okay! I-I didn't mean anything I said, today. I'm just...I'm not okay right now, and I'm being stupid, and I'm lashing out because I don't want you to leave and..."

He stopped, interrupted by an uncontrollable, lurching sob. He growled in frustration, though, and clenched his fists and jaw, before looking Elliot in the eye again, and forcing himself to go on...

"Please don't give up on us! I won't do it again. I'll never do it again. But I can't lose you. I love you so much, and I...I...I can't face this without you." He shook his head and looked down again, "I know I don't deserve it. But please...please forgive me. Please just try to understand how...if not how I felt, then just...just try to understand weakness! Temptation! Anything! Or..." He looked almost excited at the idea: "or-or Punish me, even! Do whatever you have to! Just please don't leave me. I can't lose you, too."

Temptation.

Temptation was something he understood. Something he knew! He knew how it looked. He knew how it smelled. He knew its name and where it slept at night. And not too long ago...it had slept beside him. He'd seen it nude. Smelled it aroused. Caught it in the act both alone and engaged with his own past sins. He'd dreamed of it and wondered how it tasted and felt.

Temptation. Its name was Kristoff. And he knew, all too well, that if it would have him...

...he would prove no stronger than Hunter.

But Temptation wasn't all he knew. And it washed over him like an epiphany: that he knew Envy as well. Not jealousy. Not the fear of what his tiger might do without him. No. He knew Envy. Envy of Hunter. Envy of Will. Envy of Mic and Aaron and Stephen and Josh and Donald and countless, nameless, imagined faces. Even Envy of his own father...

Envy of a life that they had had...which he had never known.

And in that moment, he knew.

His anger and his jealousy could pass. His heart could mend. He could forgive his tiger. And he could love him. And he stepped forward, taking Hunter's paws in his own, and drawing the necklace from their palms. He lifted it, slipped it around his neck, and looked directly into the cat's wide and confused eyes.

He let the gesture say what it would. He let it sink in. He watched as the barest beginning of a smile formed on his boyfriend's muzzle. He loved him. He forgave him. And everything would be okay.

But first...everything would have to change.

"Is Mic still here?" the husky asked abruptly...

...and the startled tiger stammered to answer, "He, uhm...yeah. He is. He's waiting for me outside." And a sudden fear set in his eyes as he amended: "I-I'm sorry if that's a problem. He just...he was worried. He wanted to find out how this went and-"

"I want to talk to him," Elliot cut him off.

"You...why?"

"I'll explain on the way."

And behind them, Mr. Callaway finally spoke up once more, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Elliot?" He moved from where he'd stood, leaning against the door, and approached them, "Should I go along and make sure nothing, uhm...escalates?"

But Elliot just smiled, "Don't worry Mr. Callaway; I'm not looking for a fight. But Hunter and I need to do this alone."

~

"What the hell, Brandon?" Mic pleaded, though soft for want of privacy, standing exposed on the steps of Sibirskaia High. "I thought we were friends."

"Yeah. Were," the wolf corrected him. "Before I found out you were a faggot!"

"I'm not a faggot, Brandon," Mic maintained...

...but his former friend's mind was clearly made up. "What I saw on Sunday and the pictures my friends are sendin' around the school beg to differ!"

To be fair, Mic didn't really know WHAT he was. It had been a long standing question for him. And it was one that he often wished he had at least ONE hyena -- other than his father -- to ask. Certainly, if he did, they would know...

...but that wasn't really the point, was it? And if he didn't even know what to call it himself, then it was best that he dumb it down for the wolf. "I'm bisexual, Brandon...I'm not gay."

"Same fuckin' difference, dude." Brandon shook his head in disgust, "I've been friends with you for years! And I can't fuckin' believe that you would..." he stammered, struggling to even say it aloud, only to finally scream it once he could: "I caught you suckin' a DICK, dude!"

"You can't believe I'd suck a dick?" Mic, as he was wont do to, couldn't help but laugh, "Clearly you don't know much about female hyenas."

"The FUCK is that supposed to mean?" the wolf barked back.

"Nothin'," Mic just waved it off, dismissively. "If you can't even understand bisexuality, then you're definitely not gonna' understand that."

"Whatever. Look, I've told you this for the last four days, Mic: just leave me the fuck alone!" Brandon held up his paws as he backed away, "The last thing I want is anybody seein' us together and thinkin' that I'm like...you and your tiger."

"Come on, Brandon. Don't be like this!" the hyena pleaded once again, as he pursued the wolf. "I don't wanna' have to lose you over somethin' so fuckin' dumb!"

"Lose me? What? Are you gonna' fuckin' cry about it?" even through his insults and mockery, though, Brandon seemed nothing but disgusted. "I'm not your boyfriend, dude! Back the fuck off and get over it!"

The wolf turned to leave, and, as he did, he flung up an arm in a violent, exaggerated, parting gesture. And Mic moved on instinct. He lurched forward and grabbed hold of his friend's risen paw, to stop him and pull him back...

...and Brandon -- surprised by the sudden jerk and turn -- lashed out in violence.

"Get the FUCK off of me!" he howled and shoved the hyena back, before immediately clenching his fists and crowding his old friend.

And in an instant, Mic fell to flight-or-fight. But he'd never been one to fly.

His own fists clenched just the same, his lip curled in a snarl, and he moved in, nose-to-nose with the wolf. Their breaths fell on one another's noses, they shook from tensed muscles and surging adrenalin, and each growled through gritted teeth.

But all Mic could see was gold.

Brandon's golden eyes stared back at him, inches from his own. They were cold. They were angry. And they were filled with hate. But they were still Brandon's eyes...the same bright, shining gold that they'd been the day they met. They were the eyes of a friend.

And Mic might not have known much, but he knew he was a good friend. So with a sigh he relaxed and turned away. It was one thing to argue. It was another entirely to lose him...to let him just walk away. But he wouldn't let this come to blows just to keep him...

"Get this through your head, Mic!" Brandon nudged him again, pushing one of his shoulders, to turn him and force him to look back at his face. At his golden eyes. "We're not friends. I don't wanna' talk to you. I don't wanna' see you. And I don't even want to THINK about the...shit you and your tiger boy do together!" He pointed a finger, an inch from the hyena's nose, "You ever fuckin' touch me again, and I'll break your arm. And if I even SUSPECT that you're eyein' me or even THINKIN' about me -- like I'm sure you do -- you'll regret it."

And with that, it was done, and he was gone. A friendship was over, as Brandon turned and marched down the stairs, leaving the hyena with nothing more than one final barb...

"Now go find one of your faggot friends to cry to about it!"

And in that moment, Mic truly hoped he could.

Maybe he wouldn't cry, but he could vent, at least. That is...if he was still allowed.

In the school behind him, Elliot and Hunter were finally having their words. And the hyena shuddered at what might come of them. It was a selfish thought -- he knew that -- but he wasn't worried about whether or not they broke up. He wasn't worried for his best friend losing his lover. He was worried for HIMSELF losing his best friend. He was worried that Elliot would forgive Hunter...worried that their relationship would be perfectly fine...but on the condition that the tiger could never see Mic again.

He'd already lost one friend, today. And he didn't want to lose another.

Luckily, he wasn't so lost in his worries as to be divorced from the world around him. He wasn't so depressed as to not find a distraction when it presented itself. Wasn't so preoccupied, as to not notice when he was being stared at...

And he was.

There, across the school yard, a boy stood by the side of the road. Only days ago, his was a face that the hyena wouldn't have even recognized...but it was quickly growing familiar. He couldn't quite place the species. A white fox? Perhaps a small arctic dog? Even an albino Shiba Inu, perhaps? Whatever he was, though, his dyed, neon green markings were unmistakable.

This was the same boy that Mic had caught staring at him more times than he could count over these last few days. And today, just like every one before, when the boy caught him looking back...he tucked his tail, bowed his head and scurried away.

Mic's first instinct, of course, was to give chase.

But before he could, the doors to the school opened behind him, and when he turned on reflex at the sound, he found Elliot and Hunter stepping out, onto the school steps. They were together...side-by-side. They weren't all smiles, and there was no bounce in their steps. No surprise there. But they were together, and that old silver necklace still swung proudly from the husky's neck.

So it went well.

But the question was...what did that mean for Mic?

"H-hey Elliot," the hyena spoke first, and then moved right along, without giving the dog even the moment's breath to say hello in return. He had to plead his case while he could, "Look! Before you say anything, I just wanna' say how sorry I am. I never meant for it to happen. I just..." for a moment, he considered throwing Hunter under the bus, and blaming the whole thing on him. In a way, after all, it was true. But he didn't, "...I'm a bad friend, okay? And I'm really sorry. I know there's nothin' I could do to-"

"Stop," Elliot cut him short, holding up a paw...

...and Mic obeyed and waited in silence.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you and I never really was." To the hyena's surprise, the husky actually smiled. "I was a lot angrier at Hunter than I was at you, to begin with. And, besides, on the way down here, he told me what really happened, too. It's not your fault that you couldn't resist him throwing himself at you, like that."

Mic couldn't help but notice the way Hunter's eyes darted aside, the way his lips pursed and his face contorted -- ever so slightly -- at his boyfriend's words. For an instant, he felt a tinge of protectiveness. The urge to defend his friend against Elliot's implications...

...but it wasn't his place. He knew that.

And the husky continued: "Not to mention: it's not like you stabbed me in the back, or anything. You were always really HIS friend...not mine. No real trust to break, there."

"Not your friend?" Mic was hurt: surprised by the assertion. "Elliot, I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to feel like that. I always thought we WERE friends...and I had no idea that you didn't feel the same, way." He paused, grumbling in annoyance at the situation: "And if it wasn't for all of THIS shit, I...I'd still like for us to be! Friends are on short supply right now, and I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you weren't one..."

"Well..." Elliot smiled again, "...maybe this is your chance to fix that, then."

"Huh?" The hyena perked in hope, and timidly matched the dog's smile, "You...you'd still want to be my friend, after...?"

"I would! Albeit with some..." Elliot turned to look at Hunter, and then back, "...conditions."

"Of course! Anything!" Mic nodded emphatically. "What do I have to do?"

"Me!" the husky chirped...

...but Mic could only narrow his eyes and repeat it back, "You?"

"You have to do...me!" Elliot smiled his widest yet. And with a grand sweep of his arm around at himself, his tiger, and the hyena, he explained: "We're going to have a threesome."

~

And Sibirskaia continues...

* This particular chapter (and the rest of Sibirskaia) was written entirely by Oloroso Rhone. But it was based on characters and story lines I created jointly with my friend Phil Anthro Pist

If you'd like to go say hi to Phil, he's got an account on here at http://phil-anthro-pist.sofurry.com/ *

So is this what you were expecting?

The fight has come and gone, and Elliot has a new plan to fix things. But before you judge his decision, make sure you paid close attention to why he made it. Temptation and Envy. Perhaps there's more to his decision than simply assuming a threesome will fix all of their problems. After all, what was that thought that went through his head...?

"But first...everything would have to change."

SIDE NOTE: If you don't remember who Stephen, Josh, and Donald are, go back and to a Ctrl+F on The Masters Chapters 3 & 15, and Sibirskaia Chapter 7.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

I welcome any feedback. Comment or PM me here, or email me at theottercoon[at]gmail.com

And if you enjoyed this chapter, and want to support my efforts to write more, I welcome any donations you would be willing to give via PayPal for a one-time donation! Or CLICK HERE if you'd like to become my Patron on Patreon!

See you around for the next 21 chapters of Sibirskaia!