Morning Run

Story by davsionnach on SoFurry

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The sun had technically been up for

over an hour, but was still hidden behind a wall of clouds as Dav knocked on

the door. After a few seconds it popped open to reveal a sandy colored dingo.

"Hey, mate. Come on in. Got some

coffee ready in the kitchen if you want."

Dav shifted uncomfortably in the

doorway. Ris was currently not wearing any clothes.

"Uh, I can just wait outside for

a few minutes if you--"

The dingo paused a moment then deduced

the source of Dav's discomfort.

"Oh, sorry, mate. I was just

running through my morning yoga routine and lost track of time. I'll pop in the

other room and be dressed in a jiffy. Offer for coffee still stands. Nice dark

roast Sumatran."

Dav paused in the threshold for

another moment, mentally shrugged, then walked into the kitchen. He had had a

Pavlovian response to coffee ever since he first started working in restaurants

when he was still a pup. Even though he had already had two cups at home, he poured

some into a mug from the counter. Almost as a ritual, he grabbed the mug in

both paws, raised it to his snout, took a deep sniff, then a sip. The last of

the awkwardness of his arrival melted away. This was what got him addicted to

coffee as much as the caffeine.

"You need another minute alone

with that java, mate?"

Dav turned at the sound of Ris's

voice behind him. 

"Sorry. Inci keeps telling me

how silly I look when I start a cup of coffee, but I can't break the habit.

It's almost like a meditation for me."

"No worries, mate. It's actually

kind of cute. And it shows appreciation. I think too many furs these days are

either in too much of a hurry or too uncomfortable to just appreciate and enjoy

things."

Ris came into the kitchen and stood

next to Dav. He put a hand on Dav's shoulder as he leaned across the counter

and picked up the mug of coffee that had already been there.

"So, mate, got our run all

planned out?"

"Not really. Often I'll just

head out the door and make it up as I go. That, and apart from making plans to

do this, we never talked about what level running you do."

"Well, growing up I was always a

bit of a loner, and the few friends I had lived far enough away I got into some

distance running when I was still a pup. Never was super-fast, but I can crank

out the miles."

"Perfect. That's kind of my

style of running. I've only been at it for about 5 years now, but working in

restaurants since high school trained me to be able to be on my feet for hours

on end." Dav thought for a minute. "Think you could handle about 10

or 12 miles today?"

"With everything going on the

last few weeks I haven't gotten out much. A shorty like that sounds pretty

good."

"You call that short? I thought

I was going to give you at least a little challenge. What do you call a long

run?"

"Well my longest ever was doing

the Caboolture 48 hour run a few years back. Came in second with a little under

300 miles. Had me totally whooped for about a week afterwards. I'll throw out a

20 to 25 miler or two most weeks."

"I think I'm about to get schooled." Dav

did some quick math in his head. "You OK with about a 9 minute per mile

pace?"

"Pushes my usual pace a bit, but

I think I can handle that. I'll let you know if I need to slow down. Like I

said, I can churn out miles like crazy, I'm just not terribly fast."

That made Dav feel a little better. 9

minute miles were pretty easy for him.

"Ok. Let's finish up these

coffees and get going."

They headed out the door and started

one of Dav's favorite neighborhood routes. As they went Dav talked a bit about

the area: pointing out interesting things like the Governor's Mansion, the

state capitol building, a little about the different characteristics of the

neighborhoods they passed through. As Ris started panting and grunting more

than speaking in response, Dav eased up the pace a bit. Finally they came to a

stop back outside Ris's house.

"Sorry if I pushed the pace a

little too much on you. Always happens to me when it's been a couple days since

my last run."

"No worries, mate," Ris

panted, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth a bit. "On the plus

side, when you pulled ahead I ashtrays got a nice view of those awesome legs of

yours." At Dav's slightly uncomfortable look Ris added, "Just teasing

you a bit, mate. I certainly know who to call when I need a bit of speed work,

though! Do it again next week?"

"Sure, but I'd need to do it on

Thursday instead. I've got to be at the restaurant early next Friday."

"Excellent. I'll try to remember

to have pants on when you show up next time, too. See you later!"

Ris slapped Dav on his hind-quarters

then disappeared through his front door. Dav stood on the doorstep an extra

second before he headed down the sidewalk to his own house to shower and

change.

New neighbors

"There's a moving truck down at the Jensen's old place." Inci was just coming in from work. "Huh? What was that?" Dav pulled a couple steaks out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. "Someone is moving into the Jensen's old house."...

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Remember to Call

"You're telling me you didn't even have two minutes to call me to tell me you were going to be late? We had plans!"After having been married over twenty five years, this was close to the only subject Dav and Inci would ever argue over."I'm sorry. I...

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Benefit Dinner

Dav had his tail fluffed out and his fur smoothed down. It was the night of the big Parkinson's Foundation benefit. Dav had always hated going to these things. The cause is great and he understood his wife's passion for it since her grandfather died...

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