{"sf1_id":971682,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Down in the Valley- Part I","author":"Billy Leigh","words":3885,"posted_at":"2016-03-03T21:52:00.000Z","tags":["1930s","African","Border Collie","Cougar","Cum","First Person","Fox","Gay","Kissing","Labrador","M/F","M/M","Military","Oral","Violence (Not In Yiff)","War","Wolf","Yiff","fennec fox","mystery"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/971682-down-in-the-valley-part-i","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/971682","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=971682\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"It is\npossible to get what you want, but it comes at a price.\nThat was\nwhat I discovered during a fateful trip to Africa.\nMy name is\nRalph Walter Travers. I'm a Fennec Fox serving with the King's African Rifles. I'm\nabout to go into in a fierce battle in Italy and I can't deny that I'm scared. My\npaws shake as I try to load my service revolver while my ears are filled with\nthe sound of machine gun fire and mortar shells exploding. \nYou may\nwonder how a fur of my breed and background ended up in such a situation? \nWell, it was\na sordid and sorry tale that brought me here. \nAfter\nleaving school in London, I took a civil service entrance exam and worked for the\nBritish colonial administration in Africa. \nI was single and cubless. Not having a family enabled me to travel more freely and I claimed\nthat my unmarried status was down to my work. In reality, I chose not to share\nthe actual reason to my colleagues out of fear of imprisonment.   \nBy 1939 it\nwas becoming obvious that war was about to rage in Europe, but I had been\nshipped to Kenya to continue my work for the colonial office. Kenya was new\nterritory to me. I'd worked in Southern Rhodesia for several years but my\nsuperior told me that the European community in Kenya was quite different. \nThe British\ncanines and felines I'd encountered in Rhodesia were mostly working breeds.\nThey'd moved to Africa to seek their fortune in the mines or working on the\nrailways. \nThe furs in\nKenya comprised of the Aristocracy, or rather Aristocrats in exile. Realising\nthat their status in Britain was dwindling, they had moved to villas in the\nKenyan suburbs or ranches out in the hills. \nI received a\nposting in Nyeri. It was a picturesque town, surrounded by orange savanna and\ntowering green mountains. The local furs were mostly Antelope and Zebra but\nhearing British accents was not uncommon. I often observed British furs being\nchauffeured to the social club opposite my office. The females wore expensive\nevening gowns and the men were clad in suits. \nMy work was\nfar less glamourous. I was stationed in a small office no bigger than a broom\ncupboard. It was hot, stuffy and dull. I sank into a routine of working at my\ndesk then retiring to bed as the sun went down. Wireless reports detailing the\ninvasions of Poland and France provided something interesting to listen to, but\nthe war felt far away at that stage.  The\nonly contact I had was with my surly feline secretary who disappeared at the\nend of the day without saying goodbye. I soon grew bored and considered requesting\na new posting.    \nHowever, the\nsituation got interesting when I plucked up my courage and went for a drink at\nthe social club one evening. \nThe interior\nof the club was a jumbled contrast of wicker chairs, worn wooden tables with a\npolished tiled floor and art deco lighting. The ceiling was hidden by a\nstratospheric layer of cigarette smoke. Jazz music crackled from an old\nphonograph in the corner.  \nI spent the\nfirst half of the evening sitting alone at the bar, nursing a whisky. I was about\nto leave when a trio walked in. I turned and saw a tall and handsome white\ntundra Wolf with brilliant blue eyes. He glanced at me with curiosity before he\ntook a seat nearby. \nHe was\nfollowed by a red Fox with a female black Cougar hanging off his arm. She was\ntalking loudly as if to announce her arrival. I was intrigued to hear that her\naccent was American. \nThey sat\nbehind me, laughing and chatting. \n\"Excuse me\" I heard the Fox call. \nI turned to face him. \n\"Join us!\" He said.\nI hesitated before smiling and taking a seat at their table. \n\"You're new?\" The Fox inquired \"I haven't seen a Fennec in here before\". \nHe spoke with a drawling, upper class accent.  \n\"Yes. I arrived last month\" I explained. \n\"I'm Hugo Marlish\" he said, extending a paw.\n\"Ralph Travers\" I replied as I took it. \nHe attempted to clasp my paw in a firm grip but his paw-pads were clammy. The\nCougar introduced herself as Lois Donoghue and the Wolf was called Giles\nLockhart.    \nI studied\nthe three of them. Both Hugo and Lois were dressed formally. Hugo sported a\ngrey double breasted suit with a black knitted tie. Lois was wearing an\nexpensive looking blue dress with a string of pearls around her neck. She\ninserted a cigarette into a holder and puffed smoke up at the ceiling. She was\nglamourous and would not have looked out of place in a Hollywood feature.\nHowever, her shrill laugh and over the top manner soon began to grate on me.\nThere was also a rather intense expression in her black eyes. I sensed there\nwas something wild lurking beneath the pretty exterior.     \nGiles was\ndressed in a beige linen jacket and a white shirt with half the buttons undone.\nI could see his furry, muscular chest. I hoped he had not caught me looking,\nbut I remember glancing up to see his bright blue eyes gazing back at me. \n\"What brings you here?\" He asked. \nLike Hugo, he sounded well-spoken but his voice was a resonate baritone. \nHugo and Lois were no longer playing me any attention and were laughing\nraucously at each other's jokes. I told Giles about my work as a civil servant and\nhe nodded with interest. I asked what his business was. He explained that he\nhad originally moved to Kenya to help manage a tobacco farm owned by his\nfather. He grew bored of that and found work as a bush pilot. \nI could not\nhelp but stare right into his deep blue eyes. They seemed to change like an\nocean tide as he spoke about his experiences flying in Africa. He described the\nawe inspiring beauty of the endless savanna, the crystal blue sky and the\nimmense mountain ranges you could see from the air. I was captivated by his\nstories and suddenly felt glad I had gone out for a drink.   \nLois spent\nthe evening hanging off Hugo's arm, but I thought I saw her sneaking glances at\nGiles too.  \nI asked\nGiles if he maintained a plan nearby and Lois' eyes narrowed a fraction. Giles\nsaid that he could take me on a flight sometime to see the sights. He assured\nme that it was better to experience it in person.  \n\"You've never taken me!\" Lois exclaimed, putting on a tone of false outrage. \nAlthough she had tried to pass the comment off as a joke I remember her eyes carried\na hint of malevolence.  \nEventually,\nHugo seemed to remember that I was sitting opposite him. He announced that they\nshould leave but insisted that I spend the weekend at a ranch up in the\nAberdare Range owned by their friends, the Gilmartin's. \n\"Oh, I don't want to intrude\" I replied. \n\"Nonsense! We always enjoy having guests. A new face might liven things up\"\nHugo said with a grin.\nI glanced over at Giles. His eyes were trying to tell me something but I was\nunsure what. \n\"That's very kind. I'm on leave this weekend in fact\"\n\"Splendid. I'll have a car sent to pick you up\" Hugo explained. \nHe gave me a rather effete wave and walked away with Lois in tow. Giles looked\nback and smiled warmly at me before making his way out. \nI can't say that I was taken by either of Hugo and Lois' personalities, but I'd been craving a\nchance to get away from the claustrophobic confines of my office. I was also\ndetermined to see Giles again. Something drew me to the Wolf that I could not\nput my paw on.  \nThe next\nmorning a white Rolls Royce Phantom III showed up outside my quarters with an\nAfrican Wild Dog behind the wheel. He introduced himself as Bandile and took my\nsuitcase. \nThe drive up\nto the Gilmartin's place took twenty minutes. Initially, the landscape was flat\nbut as the road began to ascend up to Aberdare valley, I could not help but\nmarvel at the sights. The road twisted through a vast expanse of greenery. The\nhills towered up on either side of the road and the sun illuminated the lush\nfoliage. \nThe\nGilmartin's lived on a white painted ranch that was nestled in the hills. It\nwas a beautiful yet isolated spot that offered glorious views over the valley\nbasin that lay below. The lawn was typically English, neatly manicured with a\ncroquet lawn and bed of roses near the front door. The lawn sloped down, ending\nwith a sheer drop into the valley. A pair of Antelopes were cutting the grass\nwhile another Wild Dog appeared to retrieve my suitcase from the car. \nA Border\nCollie couple were standing on the veranda, watching as I climbed out. The male\nCollie walked down and took my paw in an assertive grip\n\"Welcome to paradise! You must be the Fennec that Mr. Lockhart was telling us\nabout. I'm Denys Gilmartin\" he introduced himself \"and this is my wife\nElizabeth\".  \nLike Hugo, Denys spoke with a drawling voice but the grip of his paw was\nfirmer. He was dressed in a linen suit and a crisp white shirt. I remember Elizabeth\nas a pretty and petite canine who smelt strongly of lavender. However, she\nlooked down her muzzle at me as Denys introduced us.\n\"And what do you do Mr. Travers?\" She asked.\nI explained that I worked as a civil servant. \n\"Oh. I see\" she replied, forcing a polite but unconvincing smile as she\nstruggled to say anything diplomatic. \nDenys led me\ninto the house. The interior could have been transported from an English\ncountry estate. There was an Axminster rug on the living room floor, floral oil\npaintings on the walls and a large fireplace guarded by two stone lions. Denys explained\nthat Hugo, Lois and Giles had already arrived. Out of the corner of my eye, I\nthought I saw Elizabeth scowl at the mention of Lois' name.  \n\"We're expecting other guests to arrive later\" Denys had continued \"I like to\nhold social gatherings up here. In the meantime do make yourself at home\".\nLittle did I\nknow what Denys' definition of a \"social\ngathering\" was at that point. \nA female\nAntelope in a maid's uniform showed me to my bedroom. It was a bright, airy\nroom at the front of the house. It had a window overlooking the valley and I\nthrew the shutters wide to take stock of the view. The sunlight streamed in and\nI felt glad to have accepted Hugo's offer. \nOnce I had\nunpacked I made my way downstairs to find Hugo, Lois and Giles waiting in the\nfront room. We walked out to the garden and Hugo suggested that we play croquet\ntogether. We played for an hour and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in lawn\nchairs, drinking iced lemonade. Hugo threw back his head and brayed with\nlaughter as Lois joked with him, but I also noticed her glancing surreptitiously\nat Giles. I decided that Hugo was too drippy for my taste and decided to stand\ncloser to Giles for company.  \nI noticed\nthe Rolls Royce coming and going as it ferried new guests to the house. I watched\nas a white Ermine couple arrived followed by a pair of Brown Labradors. \nEventually,\nthe maid returned and announced that dinner would soon be served in the house\nand that Denys would like us to dress formally. I made my way to my room and\nchanged into a tuxedo I'd brought with me. My shirt was a little crumpled but\nit had to do.  \nDownstairs,\nthe men were also dressed in their tuxedos apart from the male Labrador who\nsported a green military parade uniform. The females wore evening gowns adorned\nwith expensive jewellery. \nAt the table\nI was introduced to the Ermines, James and Edith Blythe. The Labrador was\ncalled Major John Norton (he was keen to stress Major to me). His companion turned out to be his fiancé, Dianne\nHaigh, although I thought she looked young enough to be his offspring. We were\nserved dinner by the Antelope staff. I noticed they wore nervous expressions\nand avoided eye contact with the guests. The conversation at the table was\npolite and refined at first, but the atmosphere grew louder as more drink was\nconsumed. \nMajor Norton\nclearly thought himself the Alpha male of the group and ensured that his\nbooming voice was heard above everyone else's. Lois continued to shriek with\nlaughter, downing glass after glass of wine. I noticed that Elizabeth shot her irritated\nglares whenever she laughed. Lois never seemed to notice. Her eyes were fixed\non Giles. \nOnce the\nmeal was finished, Denys told us to congregate on the veranda. \nMore alcohol\nwas served as we sat to watch the sun set over the valley. I remember holding a\nglass of brandy in my paw and staring in amazement as the sky changed colour. The\ndeep blue melted into an intense shade of red. The twilight set in as the moon\npeered out from behind the hills, bathing the valley in a soft, silvery glow. I\nwas so transfixed that I'd failed to notice everyone had gone back inside.  \nEventually, I\nmade my way back into the house to find everyone drinking and laughing in the\nfront room. The mood took a sudden and bizarre turn. \nDianne was\nclearly tipsy and flashed her cleavage at Denys, seemingly not bothered that\nMajor Norton was sitting nearby. Meanwhile, Mr Blythe was unwrapping a package\nof shisha, boasting to Elizabeth that he had brought it all the way down from\nTunisia.  \nThere was a crash as Elizabeth dropped her glass to\nthe floor. She giggled without a care. Hugo tipped back his head and laughed.\nHe threw his glass into the fireplace before pouring himself and Elizabeth more\nwine, allowing the empty bottle to roll across the floor. Denys and Dianne were\nwalking out of the room arm in arm. Her eyes were staring at him hungrily.  \nAbove the din\nI heard raised voices in the dining room. I peered around the doorway and saw\nGiles arguing with a drunken Lois. She screamed something incomprehensible and\nstormed off. \nMrs Blythe was\nbeen standing by the fireplace, a glass of port in her hand. She grinned slyly and\nbeckoned me over. I backed away. Hugo, Mr Blythe and Elizabeth were smoking a\nhookah pipe and reclining in their chairs. Elizabeth was fixing Hugo flirtatious\nlooks through the haze.   \nI tried\nretreating upstairs, wanting to get away. I heard noises coming from the bedroom\nnext to mine. The door was ajar and I glanced in. I saw Dianne lying on a bed,\nmoaning in pleasure as Denys thrusted aggressively into her. \nI hurried\ndown the steps and raced out onto the veranda, gasping at the night air as if I\nhad just surfaced from deep water. \nTo my\nsurprise, Giles Lockhart was standing outside. He was dressed in an elegant\nwhite Tuxedo and was gazing fixedly out into the night, as if trying to take\nhis mind off what was going on in the house. He turned as I approached.  \n\"Welcome to the mad house\" he said, fixing me a humourless smile. \n\"Is that why they invited me up here. To join in their sordid activities?\" I\nasked. \nHe shrugged.\n\"Why aren't you inside?\" I asked, thinking the question sounded silly. \n\"If you want the honest answer, I only socialise with these furs as I grew up\nwith some of them. My father is a friend of the Mr. Gilmartin. But I hate it up\nhere. They have no sense of shame or self-respect. They have nothing to do but indulge\nin drink and sex to pass the time\" he sighed \"when they're not making love to\ntheir mates, they're fucking each\nother's\" he added, grinning for a moment at how delightfully vulgar the word\nsounded. \n\"Yet if I acted on my feelings I'd be\nconsidered abnormal\" he added bitterly. \nI walked\nover and stood by him, clasping the railing with my paws. We stood in an\nawkward silence, the calm night air was occasionally interrupted by a squeal or\ncackle of laughter from the house.   \n\"Why don't\nwe go somewhere quiet?\" I suggested.\nHe nodded and led me down the front lawn. \n\"Lois keeps trying to start an affair with me, but frankly, she's chasing the\nwrong canine\" Giles explained with a wry smile. \n\"Does Hugo know about this?\" I asked. \n\"Probably\" he replied nonchalantly. \n\"How did an American feline end up here of all places?\"  \n\"Hugo found her in Paris. She had travelled to Europe from New York and was working as a muse for some artist friend of\nhis. They went to London together before moving to his father's place in Kenya.\nSince the war began they've been trapped here. I think it's driving her mad.\nHer way of releasing her emotions is to join in these parties the Gilmartin's hold or flirt with me\".      \nWe walked\nuntil we reached the very edge. The ruckus in the house had faded and suddenly\nwe were in peace. A full moon shone down on us like a giant mirror. I remember\na cool breeze blowing up through the valley and Giles swishing his tail into\nmine. At first I thought it was an accident but he swished again. I smiled and\ndid it back. A flurry of emotions gushed through my mind. Surprise, confusion\nand then excitement. Giles turned to face me.\n\"Whenever they invite guests up here I warn them not to come. But with you I\nsensed something different. I wanted to get to know you better. I just wish the\ncircumstances were nicer, but I got a feeling you were...\" he struggled to find a\nword.\nI didn't say anything. Instead I took hold of his paw, closed my eyes and\nkissed him in the moonlight. \nI broke off\nas I heard drunken laughter from somewhere behind us. Giles took hold of my paw\nand led me to a dark spot near the edge. We lay down as I shed my jacket. Giles\nunbuttoned my shirt before removing his. He straddled over me, his blue eyes\nglimmered and his soft white tail wagged with contentment. Holding my arms\ngently, he went down for another kiss. I closed my eyes as his tongue stroked\nthe roof of my mouth. He reached down and slipped a paw under my slacks. He\ncontinued kissing me as he stroked my balls and sheath. I had not felt this\nsort of pleasure in years. I moaned and yipped as he continued stroking. Giles\nsmiled as he unbuttoned my slacks and began licking my balls and member. I gritted my\nteeth and squirmed limply as his rough tongue continued to stimulate me. He was gentle yet passionate\nand I moaned as he continued licking. I felt a surging sensation and I came\ninto his muzzle. Giles swallowed a load and the remainder splashed over my\nstomach. I reclined back on the grass and panted as Giles lay down beside me.\nHe smiled as his blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight. \nMy initial\nrevulsion at the party had completely vanished. For the first time in years I\nfelt like I was in heaven.             \n\"Giles! Are\nyou down here?\" A voice called. \nWe sat bolt upright and tried to pull our clothes back on. I was horribly aware\nof the sticky mess on my fur as I buttoned my shirt up. I looked up to see Lois\nstomping down the garden. \n\"Should we hide?\" I whispered. \nHowever, with Giles' tall and white form it was almost impossible to crouch\ndown, even in the darkness. \nLois had seen us and was tottering in our direction.  \n\"What... what are you doing?\" She asked. Her speech was slurred and barely coherent.\n\nShe stumbled and Giles lurched forwards, stopping her from falling over the\nedge. \n\"Let's get you back to the house\" he said. \nHe cast me a regretful glance as he'd carried Lois back up to the house. \nI'd sighed\nin frustration, sat down on the grass and continued to gaze up at the silver\nmoon. I wondered how I'd stumbled into such a surreal situation.   \nThe next day\nI made sure I was thoroughly clean and my way outside to find everyone taking\nbreakfast on the veranda. The food was served by the unsmiling house staff.\nAfter last night I could understand why they looked unhappy. The conversation\nat the table was civilised and polite as if the drinking had never happened.  \n\"Anyone seen\nMiss Donoghue?\" Denys eventually asked.\nEveryone around the table shrugged and claimed they had not. \n\"Maybe she's still in bed?\" Major Norton boomed. \n\"No. Lois never came to bed\" Hugo replied \"she's probably wondered off somewhere.\nShe's done that before but came back after a couple of days\".\nI was surprised at how blasé he seemed.  \nGiles explained that the last time he had seen her was during the party.\nCasually avoiding our intimate moment on the lawn, he had explained that he'd taken\nLois up to her room and sat her on the bed to sober up. He had checked on her\nagain ten minutes later but she had wondered off.     \nAfter\nbreakfast the staff sniffed about the garden to no avail. Denys, Hugo, Norton and Giles went off for a quick search of their own but came back with\nnothing.  \n\"She'll be back. I'm sure of it\" Hugo remarked with a shrug. \nWith that, everyone had continued on with the day as if nothing was wrong. I\nwas sure that I heard Elizabeth muttering \"I\nfound that girl far too brash anyway\" as she left the table.   \nI asked\nGiles if it was still possible to go flying. I still felt uneasy and wanted to\nget away from the house. He hesitated, but said yes. We had done all we could\nfor now and everyone had hoped that Hugo's prediction of her returning would\ncome true. I promised him that we would keep our eyes peeled for any sign of Lois\nand he shrugged impassively.  \nGiles was\nwaiting for me by his Chevrolet convertible. We drove down the valley road and\nas soon as the ground levelled out, the Wolf planted his hind-paw on the gas\npedal and we sped along with the wind howling over the windshield. I remember\nfeeling bewildered at Hugo's indifferent manner to Lois' disappearance but also\nintrigued by Elizabeth's apparent dislike of her. \nHowever, as\nGiles and I sped along the dusty road my worries momentarily melted away as I looked\nforward to our flying excursion. I turned to him and grinned. His blue eyes shone\nback at me as they reflected in the glorious sunshine. \nIf only that\nmoment of bliss could have lasted. \nWhat happened\nlater turned my blood to ice. "}