Reaching the edge of the lawn, the grassbox on the back of the mower nearing capacity, he leaned down to turn the fuelcock, killing the motor and letting peace descend on the area once again. The noisy mower wouldn’t have drawn any complaints however, as it was the middle of the week and most folk weren’t home, coupled with the large spacing between the sprawling properties in the affluent suburb he lived in. He still got the odd look from new neighbours, surprised that the CEO of a leading tech firm with a several million-dollar property mowed his own lawn, but most soon got used to the sight, and would often stop to chat with the feline if they were walking by.
One such resident was passing as Kayno shut the mower off, looking over at the spotted cat who was wearing naught but a pair of sports shorts. Kayno was a naturist around the house and in the rather spacious back yard, but out front he respected what he deemed to be “old-fashioned, prudish” societal norms, and at least put shorts on before venturing out front. “When you’re done with that you can come do mine too…” the neighbour joked at Kayno, his voice a deep baritone. The cheetah looked up to see his neighbour, Tanith, a tall, grey and white-furred eastern dragon, dressed in a pair of smart shorts and a colourful shirt, the dragon barepawed as he often was, regardless of the weather.
“Sure, but I’m charging you five times the going rate for it…” the feline retorted with a smirk “..I know what my time’s worth on a rare day off.” With practiced ease the grassbox was uncoupled from the mower, the contents emptied into a nearby garden waste bin.
“How ‘bout you let me borrow the mower then” Tanith replied “as mine’s kaput and the gardening contractor I usually use is booked up until next month, and I cook barbecue for the both of us?” Kayno reassembled the mower then sauntered across the lawn, scuffing his paws to brush off already drying bits of cut grass as he mulled over the offer.
“When were you thinking of needing it?” he asked the dragon, having to look up to meet Tanith’s eyeline, despite being over six foot tall himself, Tanith having easily another three or four foot in height on him. The dragon stroked his chin thoughtfully, tugging at the short fur beard at its tip.
“Hmm….how about now? I’ll wheel the mower round, as you seem to be done with it…” Tanith motioned to the striped, cut lawn with a large paw “...and get the barbecue fired up while you finish tidying up out here?” he asked, having noticed several more gardening tools in the spacious front yard.
Kayno considered the idea thoughtfully, nodding as was amenable to the idea. He’d not got anything more to do out front, and had only planned to do some sunbathing out back for the remainder of the afternoon. “Sure, why not!” he replied, smiling “I’ll grab a shower and change, be over within the hour, say?”. Tanith nodded in agreement.
“Sounds good to me, though don’t go dressing up on my account, it’s just a barbecue between two friends” he said with a deep, booming chuckle “...no need to get all smart on my account, you’re fine as you are.”
“Still, I’m all sweaty from the yard work, so I’m gonna shower anyway” Kayno said as he walked back across the lawn towards the mower and tools, Tanith following. He gave the dragon a quick run-down on how to prime, start and stop the mower, and how to change the various cut settings, Tanith nodding as he took the information in. As Kayno began picking up the rest of the gardening tools, Tanith wheeled the mower up the driveway so that the roller didn’t ruin Kayno’s efforts with the lawn striping, and turned right onto the sidewalk to head back home and get the barbecue going.
“Just let yourself in the side gate when you’re ready, I’ll leave it unlocked.” The dragon called as he pushed the mower back towards his own sprawling residence, Kayno giving him a thumbs up in acknowledgment.
“Nice chap, really shoulda had him over for drinks sooner…” Kayno thought to himself as he tidied the tools and garden waste bin away, slightly regretting the spaced-out nature of the neighbourhood meaning that there wasn’t as much a sense of close community as the one he’d grown up in, smaller houses and tighter spacing meaning people crossed paths more often. He’d often had occasion to chat with Tanith, and the two got along well when they bumped into each other out front of their properties. He reached into his pocket and pressed a button on the keyfob that was sat inside, motors whirring into life as the huge, almost-triple width garage door slid open. The spotted cat carried the tools through the large garage that sat beneath the front of the house, walking out through a back door in the garage into a workshop full of tools. He cleaned them up and returned them to their usual storage places, then headed back out front for the garden waste bin, which he wheeled all the way through to a second door in the back of the garage that led to the back yard.
Deciding to deal with the grass clippings later, Kayno locked the back door, thumbing the fob again to shut the roller shutter out front, and headed past the two vehicles parked in the garage to an internal door that led into the house via a side entrance into a utility room. He hung the garage keyfob up on a rack inside a small secure cabinet, alongside keys for several vehicles. Kicking off his gardening shorts now that he was back indoors, the naked cat tossed them into a laundry hamper next to a washing machine, and sauntered through the house to the master bedroom.
30 minutes later, after a long soak under a hot shower to clean himself off, followed by a very short cold one to help cool down, he’d dried off and slipped on some clean shorts and a loose shirt. He recalled Tanith’s comment about his state of dress being fine as it was earlier, and figured that the dragon wouldn’t care that he didn’t button it up, opting for comfort rather than smartness. He padded softly across the house, bare paws almost silent on the plush carpeted floor, the only change in sound being the dull clicking of his clawtips as he entered the tiled kitchen to grab some beers out of the large refrigerator. “Can’t really go over empty handed…” he thought to himself, pulling a six pack from the drinks chiller section.
The warm smell of charcoal and cooking meat met his nose as he approached his neighbour’s tall side gate, the dragon’s residence being built on a larger scale due to his size. Kayno wasn’t short by any standards, but even he felt like a kid again compared to the size of the place. He thumbed the latch and the heavy wooden gate swung open effortlessly on well-maintained hinges. “Hello? It’s Kayno….” he called as he shut it behind him, walking around the side of the near-mansion sized house to the rear.
“Round back, come on in!” A booming voice called, Tanith’s keen ears hearing the cheetah. Kayno carried on around the side of the house more confidently now that he’d heard Tanith call out, and walked around the corner of the building to find himself on a spacious patio complete with a large swimming pool. The sound of sizzling bratwurst off to the side turned his head to where he saw the grey-furred dragon holding a pair of tongs with a large sausage between the jaws as he turned it to cook the other side, wearing a barbecue apron…..and nothing else!
Tanith laughed as he saw the cat come to a halt processing the sight, the sound deep yet friendly “Well, I told you not to dress up…. I maaaaay have spotted you over the fence a few times in your back yard in the buff, so I figured I had a similar-minded neighbour. I mean, it’s not like anyone else can see over *my* fence…” he said with a smirk as the cat moved to put the beers down on the large table near the barbecue once he got over the initial surprise.
Kayno chuckled with a grin, nodding in acknowledgement “Yeah… I honestly only put the shorts on when out front, I know a couple of the local Karens might have some objections if I were to do gardening work in the same attire as I do out back.” A sudden breeze caught the apron, flipping the front up to the side briefly, giving the cheetah a clear eyeful of what lay beneath. Tanith laughed again as he saw the feline’s eyes go wide in astonishment.
“What, never seen a dragon dick before?” he teased as Kayno tore his eyes away purely out of politeness. “...and besides, I’m sure at least one or two of the Karens wouldn’t mind seeing you out of those shorts, you’re hardly deficient in that department.” The dragon smirked, gesturing at Kayno’s lower half, the cat indeed not being small in the trouser department and the shorts hardly hiding it. “Anyway, take those shorts off and get comfy… that’s half the point of this afternoon, just two friends chilling poolside with good food and company. We’re both naturists after all”
Kayno smiled, forcing himself not to blush at the compliment as he nodded “Yeah, I guess you’re right there…” he said, hardly needing extra encouragement not to wear clothes as he undid his shorts, stepping out of them and folding them neatly on a nearby pool lounger, followed by his shirt. Much more comfortable in just his fur, the cat opened the pack of beers, pulling two out and opening them with a well-practised twist on the lids, handing one to the dragon. “So if that’s half the point, what’s the other half?” he asked curiously.
“Ask me again after a couple more of these….” Tanith said conspiratorially, raising the bottle to clink against the cat’s “...we’ve got some meat to get down our throats first….”
Kayno (Kyy's dad) pops round to a neighbour's place for a barbecue, but does his host, Tanith, have more than just beer and bratwurst in mind? ;)
(and no, his junk isn't on the grill, the perspective just makes it look that way, he's really tall & hung, ok? :P )
Tanith is
\n\t\t\t\t\tTanith's character, Kayno is mine. Words by myself, art is by the talented \n\t\t\t\t\tHufnaar, his posting can be found here