IV. In need of friends
IV. In need of friends
As told by Milo
June. It's in the 'top three' in the 'Months I Don't Like'-category. My birthday and October are worse, but that's because of the emotional charge. I dislike June because most teachers and professors think it's okay to cram a big load of work into their students' schedule, seemingly unaware of the fact that their colleagues do exactly the same.
Because of this, Nina and I hadn't been able to play puppy together for over two weeks. We did manage to take some time off for a grown-up date night, but we also made that decision because we needed a break. It's not hard to get stressed-out in the end of the fourth term.
Both of us had to partake in a final exam on Thursday. My exam started at seven in the evening, so we decided against playing puppy that same night, as I would probably be exhausted. After all, History of Classical Theatre is one of the harder courses.
Nina wasn't off much better, unfortunately. She had to tackle APAG, short for 'Arts policy and Government', which was, according to her 'the most dull, boring, and mind-blunting course in the entire education'. Most of her fellow students pronounced the term as if it were the abbreviation of some terrible and contagious disease.
After browsing through the first chapter of her textbook for said course, I had re-found my motivation to study for my own exam, as hers was indeed like she described. The content of APAG had a lot to do with law studies and administration, which neither of us had any significant interest in. But alas, a man as to do what a man has to do. Or, a woman, in this case.
To give us something to look forward to, Nina suggested we should have a drink at "The Setting Sun" on the Friday after our respective exams. I was quick to agree with her - we had met each other in person for the first time there, and it had been a special place for us ever since. We usually visited the teahouse on grown-up dates, and also celebrated our six month anniversary there.
So there we were, on the first floor of our favorite catering facility. Occasionally staring through the window, we looked out on the central square of Northshore. Down there, people of many different species and races had swarmed the place. The square looked like that each Friday, as market vendors would be there all day to sell their merchandise.
Nina and I were sitting right across, enjoying each other's presence. We had briefly discussed our exams of the previous day, and I was about to call for a waiter, so we could order, but Nina asked me wait for a little bit longer.
"Milo, do you remember your birthday?" she asked, as I was still staring out the window.
I turned to her and smiled. "You're asking me if I can remember one of the best days I've ever spent with you? Of course I do!"
Nina chuckled.
"Do you also remember the wish you made when you blew out the candles on your cake?"
"Yush, but what's with that? It's not like it's going to come true," I said with a shrug.
"Well, actually... I've looked it up, and like I expected, the thingy with saying your wish out loud only goes for shooting stars."
"So? How would that change anything? I still don't have any puppy friends besides you, but I'm happy to know you, so I don't see the problem," I replied, somewhat confused.
My girlfriend grinned. I recognized it as the exact same expression she showed on my birthday, after I said my wish probably wouldn't come true.
"If I told you I've met someone who might be a nice playmate for you, how would you feel?"
"You're joking, right?"
She shook her head. "I'm serious, Milo. Why would I even joke about that?"
"Fair enough. I'd probably be... tensed, I guess. I suppose I'd want to meet whoever it is, but how would that work? I feel like you and me were awfully lucky to have such powerful chemistry, especially because you're a girl and I'm a guy, and that's a bit rare among littlefurs. Besides, the way we met... it was fast, and in a certain way I didn't take time to let it sink in until I had already fallen in love with you."
Nina took my hands in hers and looked me straight in the eyes.
"Milo, you know I wouldn't want to spend my life without you, right?"
I nodded.
"Do you also know I feel your love in everything you do for me and every kind word you say?"
_ 'Where is she going with this?'_ I thought, and I nodded again.
"Do you understand I wouldn't ever do anything to intentionally hurt you?"
I couldn't contain myself any longer. "Nina, what're you implying?"
"Just answer my question, please."
"I do, princess."
"Good. It's time I spilled the beans," she said, then she took a deep breath. "About three weeks ago, I met a girl on PuppyNet. She's not a littlefur herself, but she lives with her boyfriend, and she treats him as her puppy. They're only a year or two older than we are, and I think her puppy could be a suitable playmate for you."
"Um... okay. So, what're you trying to say?"
Nina grinned again.
"We're not here today just to celebrate the end of this academic year."
"Wait, you-" I started, but I didn't finish my sentence, and tilted my head instead. "Come again?"
"Those dogs I just mentioned, I've invited them to come over and meet us here."
I was surprised, but both pleasantly and _un_pleasantly so.
"Princess... why didn't you tell me sooner? I-I... I don't know if I dare to-" I tried, but Nina cut me off.
"Because I know how you feel about this. I didn't want your insecurity to get the better of you, only to have you regret it later. Neither did I want to disturb or distract you with this while you were studying. But then again, I felt like it was unfair to keep it a secret until there'd be no way for you to bail out. That's why I'm telling you now. I don't like to put you on the spot like this, but if you feel like you lack the desire or the courage to meet these two dogs, you're free to hop on your bike and go home. I promise I won't judge you, and you won't insult me with your choice either. Don't stay just because of me. I'll be okay."
I swallowed, and remained silent for a while.
"I... I honestly don't know, Nina. It sounds like something worth giving a shot, but like I said, what's the chance I'll be meeting someone as nice and sweet as you?"
"Don't you worry about that, Milo. I insisted we'd meet as grown-ups, so if we don't like them, or they don't like us, any of us will be free to leave. Are you okay with that?"
I nodded once more. Nina bended forward to lick my nose.
"Thankies, little angel. I'm proud of you."
"So, um, how's this going to work?"
Nina took her phone from her pocket to check the time.
"If they're on time, they could drop in any minute now. Come, sit on my side of the table," she said.
As I got up and walked over to Nina, I noticed two black-and-tan Shepherds walking up the stairs, a girl and a smaller guy. They were holding hands, and it looked like the girl was dragging the guy a bit. She loosely carried a shoulder bag.
I just wanted to ask Nina whether those were our mystery guests, but she already waved at them. The Shepherd girl waved back, then dragged her companion to our table.
"Hiya! I suppose you're Lily?" Nina asked.
The Shepherd girl extended her free hand.
"That's me. And you are?"
Nina and I shook her hand and mentioned our names. Six eyes turned to the smaller Shepherd.
"Come on, pup," his companion encouraged. "Introduce yourself. They won't bite, will they?"
"Don't worry," Nina said with a smile. "Princesses don't bite, if I'm to believe Milo."
A short silence. The small Shepherd had his tail between his legs, and he was staring at his paws.
"I-I'm Kaeden..." he said, barely audible.
It looked like he was trying to hide behind Lily, like an actual toddler would.
"Hi Kaeden," Nina said to him in the same voice she used when she takes care of me. "You seem tense. Are you nervous?"
He nodded.
"Aww, there's no need to, really. We're not going to hurt you. We're just like you!"
Kaeden looked at Lily and shuffled on his chair. She pet him on the head, which appeared to calm him down a little.
I pressed the green button on the wall, to call for a waiter. A minute or so later, a female lemur came to our table. I recognized her as one of the freshmen in Graphical Art and Culture, but I couldn't remember her name. She welcomed us, then asked what we would like to drink. Eyeing at Nina, my suspicion was confirmed. She usually ordered the same.
"I'd like to have pineapple tea with dark chocolate cookies, please," she said mirthfully.
"Why did I even ask?" the waitress joked, and Nina chuckled.
The lemur looked at me next. "And you?"
"I think I'll go with the summer mix. It's already available, isn't it?"
"Yes sir, it is. Would you like to order anything to go with your tea?"
"Yush, a slice of strawberry cheesecake please."
"Very well," the waitress said, writing down our orders.
She turned to the Shepherds at the other side of the table.
"And what about you? Have you been able to make a choice yet?"
"Actually, we just got here, so we haven't looked at the menu yet," Lily said.
"Oops, sorry," I apologized.
"It's okay," the Shepherd reassured. "Do you serve mint tea?"
"We sure do, madam."
"Make it two, please, and chocolate chip cookies for me and my boyfriend, please."
The lemur nodded, wrote down the rest of the order, then went downstairs again.
I noticed Kaeden was still nervous to no end, so I decided to try and break the ice somewhat.
"So, Lily, how did you guys meet?"
She showed a faint grin.
"That's a story of its own, I suppose. I don't think either of us are comfortable talking about that just yet, sorry."
"Oh," I said, drooping my ears. "Would it also be difficult to tell how you found out about, um... well, about Kaeden being, y'know, like Nina and me?" I asked, trying to take the necessary euphemisms into consideration.
Lily pondered for a few seconds.
"Well, we had known each other for a while, and Kaeden eventually moved in with me. It's not easy to hide something like that, especially not when you sleep in the same bed and all."
"Do you need them, if you know what I mean?" Nina asked.
The question was directed at Kaeden, but he either didn't notice, or didn't dare to answer. Lily nudged her boyfriend to get his attention.
"She asked you a question, pup," she said kindly.
He looked at us like a deer in a car's headlights.
"Oh, um, yeah. Yeah, I do. I-if I don't want me or Lily to wake up in a mess, that is."
"Don't sweat it, you're not alone," I tried to calm him down.
"Really?"
I nodded. "Something, um... bad, happened to me when I was ten years old. I've needed padding at night ever since."
"And what about you?" Lily asked Nina.
I felt my girlfriend's tail entwine my own.
"I don't need them, but I sure do like to wear. It started out as a curiosity, but I never acted upon it. Until I met Milo, that is. He introduced me to the world of padding sized for adults, and I've been hooked ever since."
From the corner of my eye, I noticed the lemur girl coming up the stairs, so I nudged Nina. Meanwhile, I made a subtle sign with my muzzle to Lily. The girls understood the hint, and Kaeden wasn't that talkative anyway. The waitress had managed to remember who had ordered what, and was gone just as quickly as she had shown up.
"So, this is going to be really original, but you did you two meet? You said you've met Milo through PuppyNet, but how did that go? Just a lucky shot?"
"Milo is a member of the greeting team, they welcome all new members them to the site, and check the profiles to filter out people with bad intentions. He was the first to respond to my message, so I more or less reflexively checked his page in return."
Nina sipped from her tea.
"And when I discovered we both live here in Northshore, I decided to be bold and see if this one-in-a-million chance was worth anything. We first met here, in this tea house."
"Yush, and we were both as nervous as could be," I added, "although I suppose that's natural."
Lily glanced at her boyfriend.
"Don't worry about him. He's awfully shy, but behind that shell is the nicest dog I've ever met. Believe me, it's different when it's just me and him."
We spent a good hour talking to each other, asking questions back and forth. Nina and I told about our respective studies, and she couldn't resist to mention the theatre play I had written for my exam. Of course, I added it wouldn't have been this impressive without the set pieces she and Margaret had painted.
By then, we had all long finished our drinks and snacks, and Nina suggested we should order another round. This time, Lily ordered for her boyfriend again, which struck me as a little odd. Obviously, Kaeden was shy, but was he really too shy to speak up? I began to wonder what he would be like as a puppy.
When our second order had been served, Lily told about her work as an astronomer. I could tell she tried to keep it simple and comprehensible, because it involved a lot of knowledge and skills Nina and I didn't possess. Complex math, for instance. I had chosen subjects like languages, history and drawing in high school, and had only taken the most lightweight portion of math.
Somewhere during her talking, Kaeden let out a soft whimper. When Lily looked at him, he gave her a pleading look, but I couldn't make out what it meant. She then briefly looked at him, glanced at his crotch, then continued her explanation. Her boyfriend fidgeted some more, but eventually calmed down.
After Lily was done, she encouraged him to tell something about himself, and the small Shepherd finally appeared to be comfortable enough to do so. He mentioned a few temporary jobs he'd had, and finished with telling about a large building in Sparrowfalls he helped put together. It was nice to see him open up, even though he was still shy, and Lily had to reassure and encourage him every now and then.
Time flies when one is having a good time, and eventually, it got late. We like to have dinner before seven in the evening, and I assumed Lily and Kaeden wouldn't want to be home too late either. After all, they had to travel back to Sparrowfalls, and even though the Shepherds had come by car, they would still have to drive for over an hour before they'd be home.
We wrapped up our conversation, and Lily offered to pay the bill. Trying to be a polite puppy, I attempted to decline her generous offer, but she insisted. She said she'd had a good time, and it wouldn't bother her to pay for us. Besides, since Nina and I still studied, we don't have a steady income, or a lot of money, for that matter. Hence why she wanted to do us a favor.
We went downstairs together, and after having pulled out her debit card, Lily and Kaeden said goodbye. Even the 'puppy' actually said goodbye. We went our separate ways once we were outside, the Shepherds to a nearby parking lot, and Nina and me to our bicycles. She was staying in Northshore this weekend, so she came over to my apartment.
While we were cooking dinner, we evaluated the meeting with the Shepherd and his caregiver in the Setting Sun. We appeared to have generally the same impression of them. Lily appeared a bit dominant on the first sight, but it was mostly expressed through the stark contrast with Kaeden.
He had been nothing but shy, and it had felt like we had to squeeze the words of out him. Nina suggested that was probably because he felt embarrassed about him being a puppy, and thinking he was the only one. Kind of silly, in hindsight, since he knew his girlfriend was the only one out of the four of us who's not a littlefur.
Regardless of all this, I felt like I wanted to meet 'little Kaeden', even though I found it a bit scary. Furthermore, Lily wasn't an infantilist, so would she even understand what it's all about for us? Nina shared these opinions with me, but nevertheless wanted to give it a shot. We both knew how the two of us were different when we were little, so perhaps, the same was true for Kaeden.