It was too wet outside to even leave the building. Rain came down in heavy sheets. Bolts of lightning fractured the black sky again and again, sometimes in volleys the way sneezes came on, sometimes many minutes apart. It had been exciting to look at at first. Now it had been going on for nearly an hour and the novelty had worn off.
There weren't even any video games. Chad vastly preferred sports to video games, but anything was better than sitting around, planning some dumb scavenger hunt.
As if to emphasize how miserable Chad was, his two best friends had been enjoying themselves since the start. One was Bento the Shiba Inu, a very nerdy dog, and the other was Desmond, an extroverted fox-raccoon.
Desmond sidled up to Chad now. The fox cupped a paw against the cold glass and looked out. "Yyyep, sure is stormin' pretty good."
"It stinks," Chad huffed. "I wanna go outside and play."
Desmond smirked. "Ya wanna play with yer balls when it's dark out?"
The bull pushed Desmond's shoulder. Only a boy of twelve, Chad was nearly as tall as an adult. Desmond, roughly the same age, still had a small and childish if not feminine figure. He was easily pushed away, but didn't seem bothered. He snickered and moved in on Chad again.
"Aw, quit bein' a stick in the mud," he huffed. "C'mon and help me and Benny, we're tryna figure out where we can find morel mushrooms."
"I don't wanna look for stupid mushrooms," Chad snorted. "This place stinks. I just want to go home."
Bento came over, pushing up his terribly thick glasses. "Hey, Desmond, I think I found a spot," he excitedly said. "Come check out the map. You too, Chad!"
"Chad ain't bein' social," Desmond said in his best aloof voice. "Too good fer us common folks."
The dog's smile lessened, but didn't disappear. He leaned over Chad somewhat. "Come on, Chad, you said on the bus ride over that you thought this would be fun."
"Yeah," Desmond agreed. "So what if ya can't play football or hockey? Ya play that all the time at home. Try somethin' new."
The bull grumbled. "You're just happy to be here 'cause you wanna do stuff to Dillan."
Desmond glanced elsewhere in the cabin. The leader, a handsome mountain lion, was stooped over a big oak table helping some of the other scouts read their map.
"I mean, ya know, I wouldn't say no if he brought it up," the gay fox murmured.
Bento laughed, almost giggling. "Typical fox. Maybe we should get you a pacifier. You always need something in your mouth."
Desmond huffed. "Shut it, four-eyes."
Chad smirked. He didn't want to; he wanted to stay grumpy. His friends usually made him smile one way or another, though.
"Watch who you call four-eyes, dick-breath," Chad said in a mock-warning tone.
The foxcoon sneered. If anybody could sneer, it was a fox, of course. "Fuck you, hamburger." Chad and Bento both looked up.
"Hey! Watch your mouth, Desmond," Dillan said firmly. The fox flinched so badly that Bento imagined his skeleton leaping out of his mouth as if he were a cartoon. He had to cover his mouth and fake a cough to keep from laughing.
"There's no need to talk to anybody like that. Now I want to hear an apology."
Desmond huffed. "I'm sorry, Chad."
Dillan patted the fox's shoulder. "What are you sorry for?"
"For sayin' eff-you hamburger," Desmond sighed.
The mountain lion nodded. "Chad, you accept his apology?"
"Uh-huh," Chad grunted, wishing Dillan would leave. If anybody needed a fuck-you, he thought, it was Dillan. "I accept it."
"Good. Be nice, all right? We're all on the same team here." The mountain lion walked off, his footsteps almost silent.
When he was sure Dillan was out of earshot, Desmond cooed, "Ooh, man, he touched me. He's dreamy."
Chad scoffed. Bento snickered.
"Hey, Chad, why don't you check out the map with me? We can let Desmond fawn over his new love."
The bull looked out the window again. The lightning was still a nearly constant strobe. There wouldn't be any fun outside tonight.
"Yeah, okay. I guess so."
Chad stared at the inky lines of the map. Orienting oneself at the clubhouse, there was a field to the south leading to a stream and a coniferous forest north - going out the clubhouse's front door and walking straight ahead was north. Bento thought it was convenient.
"So I think we can canvas this area," said Bento, tracing a claw around a patch of the forest, leaving a dent in the map.
"Canvas? Like, what, a-, a tarp or something?" asked Chad, blinking once.
From over Chad's shoulder, Desmond chimed in, "Gawd, Chad. Ya gotta be smart, 'cause ya sure ain't pretty." Bento giggled.
"It means, we search this area," the dog explained.
The bull frowned. He wanted to elbow Desmond but he thought Dillan might be watching. "Then why don't you just say search?"
Desmond and Bento exchanged a look. Chad huffed. "What? Seriously. Why not just say search, then?"
"Well he's got ya there, Benny," Desmond said with a shrug.
"You guys are jerks," Chad said, pouting.
Desmond smacked a kiss on Chad's cheek, then he leaned over the table, paws on its surface, hair hanging like a shiny curtain. "So-o-o we gotta find morels, and they're gonna be in the forest," Desmond murmured, speaking to himself. He tapped the same spot Bento had traced with a claw. "Mmh, but we're gonna need to find foxtails, and those are gonna be down by the creek."
Just then Dillan gave a playful pull on Desmond's thick bushy tail. "Could just turn your tail in, Desmond. What do you think?"
The foxcoon yipped and hurriedly turned. He hugged his tail as if it were a security blanket and looked up at Dillan with startled eyes, blushing cheeks.
Bento laughed. He said, "But Desmond likes his tail, he'd never let us use it."
The bull bit his tongue. Too easy, even for him. He pretended to find the map interesting.
Dillan the cougar looked down at the blushing foxcoon. He chuckled and ruffled Desmond's hair. "Relax, buddy. Just a joke. Good thinking, though - looking for foxtails by the water. You're a smart boy."
"Aw, thank ya, Mr. Dillan, sir," Desmond cooed, smiling lopsidedly. Dillan smiled, started to turn. Desmond said quickly, "Mr. Dillan, ya need any help?"
Now Bento and Chad exchanged a look. Chad rolled his eyes and smirked. Bento made a subtle thrusting motion with his hips, gripping the table. Both of them had to break eye contact; they were going to start giggling otherwise.
"Well, you know what, Desmond," the cougar said patiently, "I could use a hand. Gotta get the towels folded, and-"
"Sure thing, I'll help ya, sir," Desmond said brightly, smiling wide, almost toothily.
Dillan looked over at Bento. "Bento, Chad, is it all right if I borrow Desmond? He's part of your group, after all."
"Please, take him," Bento said coyly.
"Bye Desmond," Chad added. "Try not to be a pain in the butt."
The boys watched Desmond leave with Dillan, heading into the back room where the showers and lockers were - a little taste of school life, Chad thought.
"He won't be a pain in the butt," Bento observed. He perused his notepad for the scavenger hunt. "His butt is gonna hurt after Dillan's done with him, though." Chad snickered into his hands. Easy joke but he still found it hilarious.
It surprised Chad that he actually came to enjoy plotting their hunt. It was a bit like a game of logic. Chad was more of a doer than a thinker, but it felt good to tax his brain - especially with the clever, sweet Bento as his guide. And, as much as he liked Desmond, it was nice to have him elsewhere for once.
"So, um," Chad looked closely at Bento's neat handwriting, "we need to find sick-, cicada molt-ings?"
"Cicada moltings, yes," Bento gently affirmed, smiling patiently. With Chad, he often took the role of tutor, something he enjoyed doing. It pleased him when the bull's eyes lit up whenever a subject finally clicked in his mind. "You know. Those nasty little shells they leave on trees and houses."
One such lightening happened now. Chad's eyes seemed to glow with realization. "Oh. Oh! Yeah! Those shells, I got it. Those things are kinda cool." He looked at the map, at the notepad, at the map again. Trying to gel everything together, to marshal the facts. It made him feel like a detective. Perhaps it wasn't a break in a years-old cold case, but it felt like a big victory to Chad when he said, "We should check the forest while we're looking for those mushrooms."
"Good idea," Bento agreed, and jotted down Forest beside Cicada moltings on his notepad. That left only a few items. Chad relished the process of figuring it out all over again.
In the back room, Desmond neatly folded yet another towel. He felt tongue-tied. It was a crappy feeling; Desmond was used to saying anything to anyone. No filter, that was what his mother accused him of having. Well, maybe he didn't want a filter. Seemed like lacking one got him an awful lot of cock, thank you very much. But Dillan intimidated him. He couldn't put his finger on why. Every time he thought he'd pitch something, just a little bit of fun with no strings attached, he would pussy out.
"Oh, Mr. Dillan, sir," Desmond managed.
"Hm? Yes, Desmond?" the cougar asked. "And please - just Dillan, buddy. No mister, no sir."
Aw, heck, he's too goddang charming, Desmond hopelessly thought. If he had been a bit of a dick or just the least bit abrasive, Desmond could have hit him up, no problem.
"Um, I got some more folded up," he sald meekly.
"Thanks, Desmond. These look nice. You must help your mom out with the laundry, huh?" He placed them on a shelf, rows of white towels standing in neat stacks alongside bars of soap in shrink-wrapped boxes and bottles of shampoo for hair, and for fur of varying coarseness.
"Oh, I sure do," Desmond answered, and resumed folding.
Another five minutes passed. Desmond folded, Dillan tidied up the shower, and the rain fell, thunder quaked. The foxcoon finished the towels and the wash rags, and he put them up on his own. Moving surreptitiously on soft fox paws, Desmond closed the door leading into the bunk room. Chad happened to be looking in. He and Desmond briefly locked eyes before the door snicked shut.
Dillan turned his head at the sound of the door. "Hm? You can leave that open, buddy."
"A-a-actually, Dillan," Desmond said softly, fighting the flutter in his chest and the butterflies in his belly, "I was thinkin, uh, you an' me, we could... we could do a little..."
The cougar turned away from his task - he was stocking the shower with soap and shampoo - and eyed Desmond with what seemed an unfriendly expression. Even when admonishing the boys for roughhousing and cussing, Dillan never frowned. Desmond had weaseled one out of him. "Desmond, buddy. I don't think I like where you're going."
Desmond felt his nerve coming back. The first step was the hardest; now he just had to seal the deal. Either he pulled it off or his mom came and picked him up, and he never went to camp again. Desmond thought it was worth the risk.
"C'mon, Dillan," he cooed, that swishing southern voice giving every word a cute twang. "I ain't been with a grown-up in ages. Wouldn't ya rather I molest you than the other boys?"
Dillan's frown deepened, his brow really coming into it now. He set down all of the soap and shampoo on the floor. "A boy your age really shouldn't be doing things like this, Desmond," he warned.
The fox smiled coquettishly. At that particular moment, Chad was whispering to Bento that he thought the foxcoon would pull it off. Bento had his reservations, even if he believed in Desmond.
"Ya got me there. But I'm a slut, sir. Sorry, Dillan. Oh, I'm a total slut." He moved in on the mountain lion's personal space. Dillan did not pull back; Desmond gave him a little credit for that. As he slid his paws around the cougar's taut middle, he cooed, "C'mon, just lemme suck the cum right out of your nuts. Won't be no big deal. Even let ya bend me right the fuck over if ya wanna... let ya have my big ol' foxtail all ya want."
Dillan glanced at the door. He saw the lock was engaged. Smart boy, he thought. Then he looked down at Desmond, his frown unchanging. Paws on the boy's shoulders, he pushed the preteen back and said quietly, sternly, "Desmond, if you keep this up, I'm going to have to demerit you."
Desmond smiled. "Ya haven't given me any merits yet."
Finally a slight grin broke out on the cougar's face. "Then I guess you don't have anything to lose." He unzipped, unbuttoned his fly. The delight on the fox's face was brilliant, like watching a neon sign spark into life. He tried to temper the fox's mood when he said, "You can-, no butt stuff. None of that."
"So just suck yer dick? Well, heck, guess I can live with that," said Desmond, and giggled. "Ohhh, fuck, I was sure you were gonna say no..."
I'm sure I should have, thought Dillan as he slid down his shorts. His boxers, Desmond tended to for him. But it had been a long time for Dillan, too long in fact, and when Desmond's gentle paw cupped his quite thick, yet otherwise average penis-
"Desmond? Desmond, you all right, buddy?"
The foxcoon snapped up his head. He was startled, embarrassed, fully erect but with a folded towel in his lap. He looked up at Dillan's concerned face and wanted so badly to kiss the handsome cougar. Desmond finally understood what it meant for a man to be dreamy.
"I'm, ah, I'm just fine," the fox mumbled. "I'm awful tired, that's all..."
Dillan smiled. He squeezed Desmond's shoulder fondly. "You only folded one towel. How tired can you be?" He winked and took it away, tossed it up on the shelf. Desmond being entirely erect meant little; three and a half inches was hard to notice.
"It's about time for bed anyhow," the mountain lion said, folding the towels himself. "Why don't you go help your friends clean up?"
"Uh, yuh, sure thing," the fox said, gazing longingly at Dillan in profile as he stretched. He got up, sighed softly, and walked out into the main room.
He joined up with Chad and Bento. Neither said a thing. The look on Desmond's face told them everything they needed to know.
"Ready for yer hunt tomorrow?" the fox asked, rather sourly.
Chad smiled. "Yeah, Bento and I have a bunch of places to look. You're coming along, right? I mean, you're on our team. Our squad, whatever."
"Yeah," Desmond huffed, elbow on the table, chin in his palm. "I wanna go home."
The dog and bull exchanged smiles. Bento rubbed the fox's shoulder. "Cheer up." Quietly, "I'm sure Dillan will love you in five years."
"Aw, shut up," Desmond snapped.
The bull rubbed Desmond's opposite shoulder. "Yeah, Desmond, cheer up," he soothed. "At least you have me and Bento."
"Bento and I," the dog gently corrected.
"Bento and I," Chad amended. "Right? You got us."
Desmond huffed. He looked like he might cry. "I can have yer lil' acorn whenever I want. I wanted Dillan."
Bento chuckled. "Desmond, come on, he's an adult. He'd lose his job. Not to mention his penis might fall off, who knows what diseases you have in your butt."
The fox whined. "Shut up!"
"Now now, Desmond," said Dillan, coming closer. "I know you're a little grumpy because you're sleepy, but don't take it out on your friends.
"Sorry, Bento," Desmond grunted.
"It's okay," the dog giggled. "Mister Dillan, I think we have our list ready. We're gonna go searching first thing in the morning!"
The cougar smiled winsomely. "That's the spirit, Bento. Chad, Desmond, aren't you guys excited too?"
"Yeah," Chad agreed.
"Desmond?" Dillan prodded.
"I guess," the foxcoon muttered.
Dillan put on another of his many charming smiles. This one was gentle and patient, quite fatherly. "Desmond, buddy, come on. Time for bed. Chad, Bento, you can clean up on your own, right?"
The dog nodded. He was already rolling up the map. "Yes sir."
As the dog and bull tidied up their workspace, Dillan walked Desmond over to the bunks. He said to the fox in a kindly voice, "Get some rest, buddy. You'll be in a better mood tomorrow. This storm's gonna blow out of here, we'll have some scrambled eggs, and then you can start your scavenger hunt."
"I guess," Desmond replied to the whole spiel. He stripped out of his uniform without a lick of shame, then put on his pajamas: sweat pants and a faded t-shirt with the Spiderman logo on it. He climbed up into the top of the three-tiered bunk he shared with his team. Desmond had volunteered for the topmost bunk; he liked to climb. Soon Bento took the middle, Chad the bottom with his heavy, almost adult-sized frame.
The fox watched the other kids get ready and into their bunks. Dillan helped a few climb up and suddenly wished he'd shown some difficulty; an excuse for the mountain lion to hoist him up in those strong arms.
Bento prodded Desmond's bunk from below. The fox looked over the side at him. "You gonna be okay, Desmond?" he asked, sweet concern on his face. His eyes, deprived of glasses, struggled to focus on the fox. Even from such a short distance, Desmond was a blur of orange.
"I guess," Desmond muttered again. "I jus' wanna sleep."
"Goodnight," he said to the fox.
"Night Bento, Desmond," Chad called out. "See you nerds in the morning."
"Goodnight, Chad," Bento chuckled, curling up in his middle bunk.
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I waited a while to post this one even though the art was done over a year ago. It's one of the last stories that \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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I love how the art itself came out, and it's absolutely one of my favorite pieces. \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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There are a bunch of cameos from some of my Inkbunny buddies as well.
From left to right:
Chad and Bento are mine.
Otter is \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Draggy boi on the top bunk is \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Foxbunny is \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Fox taking his undies off is \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Cougar coach daddy is my character, Dillon