Leather and Lace Ch.5/Fall of the Roman Empire Part 6
Setting the Stage
By Shadowed Ember
February 24, 2014
Dover, NH - Cuatro’s Cantina (Evening)
Tucked into a small booth in the back corner of Cuatro’s Cantina was a young black wolf with an arm wrapped around a beautiful chipmunk girl happily snuggled up to his side. In front of them on the table sat a large plate piled high with chips, and a steaming dish of queso fundido. A purse, a backpack, and a laptop bag occupied the bench across from them. Llyulf reached out to snatch one of the triangles off the top of the pile. Freshly ground lime salt sparkled across the light sheen of frying oil coating the crispy tortilla chip. Scooping it through the chunky cheese dip, he felt it flex, but hold (if only just barely), and smiled as he guided the hefty morsel to a giggling Holly’s lips.
She took the offered bite with a resounding crunch, catching the falling shards in her paw as the chip shattered. “Mmmmmm. Oh wow,” Holly groaned softly, visibly savoring the mouthful, before she swallowed. “I can see why you didn’t get it for our takeout order on Valentine’s, but wow, you weren’t exaggerating. That is amazing.” The chipmunk girl dusted the fallen away bits off her paw onto the small plate in front of her and poked at the grinning wolf’s side. “I can feed myself though, mister.” She looked down, resting one of her paws on her soft belly, with its extra… fluff. “I should be careful though. I um- I haven’t decided yet whether I should just save the money, or get a new dress for your Prom. I hope I’ll still fit into my dress from the Formal, at least. It's one thing to choose to do something different, another thing to have to. Have you decided what you are wearing yet? What even is the theme?”
Leo caught her look down and slipped his paw over hers to squeeze it. “You will look beautiful no matter what you wear, Holly. Your other dress was–” The wolf stopped abruptly, took her chin into his paw, frowning as he turned it towards him and looked into her eyes.
“Wha– what’s wrong, Leo? Is there something on my–” She sputtered as he tilted her head, confusion racing over her face under the intensity of his gaze.
“No, no… Nothing is wrong, except apparently my memory,” he muttered, letting his paw fall away from her face. “The night we met, your dress was a pale blue, wasn’t it? I would’ve sworn, your eyes– they matched your dress that night. And I would’ve lost money on that bet, obviously. I know the color of your eyes very well; they are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I just don’t know how I could—” The wolf teen raised an eyebrow as his girlfriend bit her lip to stifle a giggle. “What's so funny?”
Holly’s golden, honey-brown eyes practically sparkled with amusement. “It's not really that ‘funny’. You just wouldn’t lose your bet. I’m actually impressed you remembered such a little detail. I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised, really. After all, you managed to remember everything you needed to in order to find me.” The chipmunk blushed. “I had some colored contacts that night to match the dress, and maybe look a little more…” She trailed off for a moment as she looked away. “Well, I thought it would look a little more striking. Not that he noticed,” she grumbled.
Leo slipped both his arms around her and squeezed. “Look, we both know he was an idiot, and you looked incredible. I just can’t believe I never put two and two together before. But,” he leaned in to murmur into her ear, “if you want my opinion, I would tell you never to hide your natural eyes again. They are so bright, breathtakingly beautiful, and warm…”
Holly hummed in his embrace, squirming a little as his breath tickled the edge of her ear. “Okay, fiiiine. I’ll skip the contacts this time, then. Maybe we can go try to find something to properly match each other, since we’ll have a month or two to figure something out. Once we have this ‘master plan’ you mentioned,” she waved her paw in the direction of the bags in the seat across from them, “mostly in motion, of course. Speaking of which, when I asked Mamma about Mr. Zaritzky this morning, she said Dad has been a pretty hefty donor for the mayor in his past City Council campaigns. Dad apparently hates getting bogged down in paperwork at City Hall, and having a City Councilman asking around about your documents tends to mean they don’t languish in someone’s desk piles for weeks, or something.”
The young wolf nodded thoughtfully. “Then having your name on the permits at all might grease the wheels, if they are used to being hounded about stuff with your family’s name on it already.” He scooped some of the queso onto a chip and popped it in his own maw. “We can wait until after the main meal gets here before we whip out the laptop if you want,” he said after he swallowed. “I want you to enjoy the atmosphere too, since we missed out on it a couple weeks ago.”
“It’s great, and so is the food, but if we deal with the plans now, we can just enjoy the rest of the night,” Holly countered. “It’s not like the mayor is going to be watching us a town over, especially if we’ve never been on his radar before.”
“Fair point,” Leo acknowledged, popping another chip in his mouth, the little bit of sour from the salt cutting through the thick and creamy cheese, and the smoky-sweet flavor of the chorizo. After wiping his paws on the cloth napkin to clear them of greasy oils, the wolf pulled his laptop from his bag and popped it open. It flared to life, screen glowing with the text document with his notes he’d started the night before, and he turned it toward the chipmunk beside him, explaining as her eyes scanned the text. “The short version is to masquerade the event as something student driven, and make sure it includes/features a performance. That would give us the excuse to have a stage, and a crowd. It’s a bit… on the nose, maybe, but if we called it the Fall of the Roman Empire, we could pitch it to the city permitting office as an artistic and ‘historic’ performance. Promoting the arts is always good PR, and I am sure the mayor would love something pretty to point at with the mess Megan’s attack has caused, if Claire is to be believed.”
“And if my dad has ever talked about me to the mayor, working on something with the arts and European history would very much be in my personal area of interest.”
“Right. We can advertise it publicly as an interactive event, tell people to show up in togas. Super cheap and simple to improvise with something as basic as white bed sheets. As far as getting the true purpose of the event spread around, Rod’s band, Omen Breakers, used to be known for setting up underground raves and performances, and still getting packed venues. Word of mouth can handle the real legwork. I figure if we have the event sometime in May, that will be plenty of time to get all of the proverbial ducks in a row.” Leo took a deep breath. “After what happened to Megan, I have heard more vocal support for third gender rights and recognition, even if it’s not as loud or in your face as the… more outspoken bigotry that's been going around town as well. As it is, I don’t think we will have any issue filling out Wheeler Park with people that are tired of Roman, or at least just want to support Megan's cause.”
The chipmunk was silent for a few minutes as she finished going over the document, nodding to herself as she went. When she was finished, she leaned back, nose scrunched, arms crossed, and brows knitted together. “Ugh. Anyone that can meet that bat and not like her for who she is, is just… impossible.”
Llyulf gave a soft snort as he crunched on another chip loaded down with queso. “Most of the guys that don’t like her are probably just jealous that she is packing more heat than they are.” He raised an eyebrow at the soft gasp from beside him. “What?”
“H-how would you know? Have you seen…” Holly trailed off at the smirk on his face, blushing furiously as she turned away to hide her own.
The wolf wrapped his arms around her and gave her a little squeeze to his chest, a low chuckle reverberating through his torso. “I haven’t, but I don’t even need to. That girl has shown she has bigger cojones than most guys just by living her life. She got outed to the school in her junior year with no real warning, and still shows up every day to kick ass and take names. And on top of it all, even with everything that’s happened, somehow manages to be a kind person, instead of letting the jerks of the world eat away at her.” Leo caught some movement out of the corner of his vision, flicked his eyes up to see their waitress approaching, and gave his girlfriend a light nudge. He snapped his laptop closed and tucked it back in his bag as the older coati woman pulled a pad from a pouch at her waist, speaking with a slight accent.
“Lo siento, so sorry for interrupting, was there anything else chu two wanted for your meals, or maybe jus’ some more queso?
*******
February 25, 2014
Chimera Prep - Late Morning
Leo swerved around a trio of freshmen as he picked his way through the cafeteria. As his friends’ normal table came into view, he was greeted by the sight of a pretty red squirrel already parked in one of the seats. He’d heard this morning his friend Ethan was taking his daughter to a checkup today, so the wolf wasn’t that surprised when the raccoon male’s girlfriend, Claire, was waiting there alone for everyone else. Leo wasn’t going to pretend to fully understand the dynamics of the… interesting… relationship between Ethan, Claire, and the mother of Ethan’s child, a sugar glider named Shyara. But hey, nobody seemed to be trying to kill each other, so that was all he really needed to know, right? Roderick, Megan, and Ross weren’t too far behind him getting to lunch, and once everyone was present, the teen wasted no time laying out the framework he had come up with so far for the rally. Greasy mozzarella sticks for lunch and laptops didn’t mix, though, so Leo opted to leave his computer in his bag so he wasn’t trying to clear mirror-like smears off his keyboard for days. Megan’s reaction to his plan was pretty much exactly what he’d expected.
“If there’s going to be a stage, and you’re telling City Hall it's going to be an artistic performance, we have to play,” the bat insisted through her wire-bound jaw. “We can give Roman the loudest ‘Fuck you and your values’ he’s ever gotten, and probably ever will!”
“Megs, really? As if the Roman Incident wouldn’t headline ‘The Fall of the Roman Empire’,” Leo laughed. “I couldn’t dream of having it any other way. Rod, do you think we could pull off an Omen Breakers style dissemination for what the rally is really for, without it getting out publicly?”
“I don’t know, man,” the lemur male shook his head. “When we put out that we were gonna have a show, the point was to get the word out fast, not keep it down. We drop gasoline, light it up and let it spread. Maximum reach. We wanted as many people as possible showing up, and we weren’t really trying to hide it. What you’re asking for? Keeping it underground? That would be pretty hard, dude. And the longer it’s out there, the easier it will be to find.”
“He’s right, you know,” Claire chimed in from the wolf’s left. “Once we start this, it’s like a ticking time bomb for something to slip, and if we put it online, it’d be like begging for the mayor’s attention. You’re a computer guy, you should know that. When are we trying to do this, anyway?”
“I was thinking sometime in May. The next election is in June, and I think that would be enough time for Megan to get her voice back to normal, right?” the wolf asked, looking at the bat and receiving an emphatic nod in response from his best friend. “Well, hell. If we can’t spread the word online, then we’ll need to do it the old fashioned way. Everyone tells two friends on the down low they know are tired of Roman’s shit that an artistic performance in Wheeler Park will be worth attending. If it's done right, and math holds true… exponential growth says we should be able to saturate the town in a couple weeks without issue, even with overlapping circles. Once the main dissemination is done, everyone can just be excited to attend the ‘performance’. Holly and I will get the permits from City Hall, and we shouldn’t have any problems getting police, fire, and emergency services to sign off, or even agree to have a presence at the event.” Leo turned back to Claire with a small gesture. “I’m sure your dad can handle what we need from the police force, and probably has connections with the others, right? We–” Leo’s explanation cut off as he caught a muttered curse from Ross. “Everything good?”
The bristling tundra lioness grumbled, looking up from her phone. “Ugh, no, it's fine, just got a text reminder for an appointment I forgot I had for Thursday after school.”
Megan’s head and eyes snapped around to her girlfriend. “Wait, what time? We can still make mine at 4, right?
“Mine is at 4 too, but I should still be able to walk you over ear— fuck! Your appointment is at General, mine is at UNHM.” Ross smacked her palm into her forehead and dragged it down with a groan. “No way we are getting you to yours, and me to mine, all the way across town.”
“This Thursday?” Llyulf piped up. “I don’t really have anything I need to do that afternoon. I can take you if you just need a ride, Megs.”
The bat’s gaze flicked over to meet Leo’s. “Wait, really?”
“You don’t need to do that,” Ross interjected. “Don’t worry about it, Babe, I’ll just reach out to my mom, and get it pushed back a week or something.”
“It’s really not a problem, Ross. I can be her chauffeur for the afternoon, and in case you forgot, I basically drive a tank, so she’ll be safe,” the wolf assured with a laugh. “It's just a progress check, right?”
“Yeah! If everything checks out, they plan to schedule for about a week later to get rid of these casts and wires,” the bat confirmed. “Most of the pain is gone, it just itches like mad. Can’t wait to have all this shit off.” She turned back to her girlfriend. “I’m cool with Leo taking this one. I don’t want you to have to reschedule again if this one does go well, and I would much rather you be the one with me for the removal.”
“Fine,” Ross conceded. “But make sure you call me as soon as you have results, I don’t want to wait to hear anything.”
“Of course, Hun. I would never do that to you.”
“Cool. Now that that’s ironed out, back on the subject of the rally, I do have a minor snag I may need help working out. I uh… I don’t really know any of the Dark Riders.” Leo mentioned, re-focusing. He scratched at the back of his head. “How should I get in touch with them without getting the mayor’s attention? Based on the stories y’all have told, I imagine we are going to need their help to pull this big off. I think y’all have said that they live across the street from Roman, so I can’t exactly walk up to the house and just hope not to be noticed.” The wolf blinked as all his friends' eyes fell on him at once and stared. “What? The point of me heading this up was that I would attract the least attention. Showing up in the enemy camp would kinda defeat the whole purpose.”
“What are you talking about, Leo?” Claire responded first. “Two of them go to school with us, and two of them, three if Mr. Burke counts, are on Chimera Prep’s payroll.”
“You have Ms. Fargo next period, Leo,” Ross said incredulously. “How… Have you really not heard any of the rumors that have gone around about her?”
“About her being a sniper or something?” Leo shrugged off nonchalantly. “Sure, I heard that.” Then he blinked as comprehension slowly dawned on him. “Wait, you mean she is one of the Dark Riders?” The wolf’s brow furrowed. “So that would make the little, uh-” he paused, snapping his fingers as he tried to remember. “Oh! The kangaroo mouse! That’s her daughter, right? She’s one of the ones here with us, then?”
“Yeah, that’s Cecily, and Cecily’s girlfriend, Daisy, is the other one. Cecily’s great. Sometimes she would come to watch us practice at Vivy’s, since they’re all on the same street.” Megan shook her head with a little grin. “You may be a computer wiz, but damn, sometimes you miss the obvious, Leo. Anyways, yes, the Dark Riders are a wild group, but they’re pretty good people. If you like Ms. Fargo, you’ll probably get along with most, if not all of them.”
Leo nodded. “Sounds like we have a plan then. I’ll start looking at costs and paperwork tonight. If I can get everything filled out, maybe I can try to give it to Ms. Fargo so Mr. Archer can look over it before spring break. Make sure I have everything covered before I submit for the permit to the City, with exemption for noise ordinance.”
What was left of the lunch period flew by, and the small circle was soon dispersed by the harsh tone of the bell. As the others took off, Llyulf tossed his bag on his back and made to leave, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he raised an eyebrow at Rod, before looking down at the small flash drive that was being offered to him.
“Ivory said she couldn’t really do a full track just based on the notes with the lyrics you gave me, but she did come up with a couple chord progressions for you to listen to,” the lemur relayed. “If you like any of them, she said just hit her up, and you two can try to work on something more substantial. She didn’t think the lyrics and vibe were that bad, even if they were a little soft for her taste.”
The wolf’s eyes lit up as he remembered the little side project. He’d been so focused on the rally over the last few days he’d almost forgotten it. “Oh yeah! Sure thing. I’m glad she was willing to take a look at it so quick. What’s the best way to get back to her?”
“She said she left her number on the drive. Just text her,” the other male responded as he started heading off in the direction of his next class.
“Will do. Thanks again, dude.” Leo hurriedly stuffed the drive in the front pocket of his bag and took off for his own class. He really didn’t want to accidentally forget it in his jeans. That had already happened way more times with various electronics over the years than he was willing to admit to anyone.
*******
February 27, 2014
Chimera Prep - Afternoon
Llyulf jogged down the hallway, hurrying a little faster after he turned the corner and saw Megan in her wheelchair, sitting outside her Philosophy classroom on her phone. “Sorry Megs, didn’t expect to get held up,” he apologized as he approached.
The bat’s tall ears perked, and she shrugged without looking up as she kept keying off something on her phone. “Relax, I wasn’t worried yet. Just parked out here because Ms. Rowe had to run off to a meeting.”
“Still, I was trying to be here ready for you on the bell, but Schwartz waited till the period ended to pass back the last test. We shouldn’t have any issue getting to the hospital on time though.” The wolf slipped up behind her, taking the handles of the chair. “You said your appointment is at 4, right?”
“Seriously, it’s all good, Leo.” Megan nodded, looking up from her screen. “Yeah, we should still be there early.”
Thankfully, the parking lot was a shorter jot from her class than it was from his. Llyulf stopped next to his SUV on the driver’s side, and popped open the rear door. He tilted his head at the raised eyebrow he was catching from the bat. “Problem?”
“Oh, so you’re just tossing me in the back? Should I be concerned about what you and Holly might have gotten up to back there?” his friend inquired with a grin.
The wolf teen let out a short, barking laugh. “Absolutely not. That seat hasn’t seen any action for at least as long as I’ve owned this thing.” His dark fur might have been able to conceal the slight warmth he could feel in his cheeks, but it couldn’t hide the awkward smile. “But I did say I was gonna be your chauffeur for the afternoon. You may have thought I was kidding, but I’ve been planning to go full Driving Ms. Daisy.” He held out a paw. “Do I need to lift you in, or will an assist be enough?” he teased.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” she grumbled, taking the offered help to pull herself to her feet.
“Easy.” Leo cautioned, as he dipped under her left wing-arm, giving her the support of his shoulder as she tried to keep most of her weight off her right side. He helped her turn so she could lean back against the seat, then moved back around in front of her and offered his forearms as a brace. A little push off the ground, a soft grunt, then using him as leverage, she slid back, and gingerly wiggled herself deeper onto the bench seat until she could turn to pull her legs into the vehicle. While she finished getting situated, the wolf deftly folded her chair, and slid it into the back. As he came back around, he made sure her wings were clear of the door, closing it and hopping into the driver's seat. The engine rumbled to life, and he flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror. He was already moving, but he couldn’t resist the urge. “Where to, Miss?” The eyeroll he got with her response was absolutely worth it.
“Marblecliff General Hospital, Jeeves. Remind me to fire you later for being an ass.”
“Don’t worry, I will. And I'll make sure you have a new application in your inbox ready for the moment you need another lift.” He checked the mirror again, watching as she settled closer to the middle of the seat and stretched out a bit.
“You know, I'm not gonna lie, this back seat is pretty great. I might have to hit you up sometimes instead of taking the bus,” the bat commented. “Being able to extend my wings a little is always nice. Ross’ Civic is… tight, even in the back.”
Leo bit his tongue to prevent the instantaneous innuendo that flashed through his head from escaping. He cleared his throat. “Heh, I mean, aside from the fun personal driver bit, the extra space was the real reason for setting you up back there,” he admitted. “The front seats are pretty roomy themselves, but with the casts, I figured you'd appreciate the flexibility. I’ve been lucky so far that I haven’t broken anything, and I can't imagine what it's like to have those casts on for weeks at a time.”
“Oh, trust me, it's awful,” she agreed. “All the itches you can't scratch, and knowing you’re sweating and getting grimy and can't do a thing about it till it comes off. It's got to be a medical miracle they don't smell more.”
The wolf male chuckled and tapped his nose. “You're fine there. I would’ve let you know if you were starting to become a biohazard.”
“Damn dude,” she exclaimed with the best mock aghast she could muster through the wires, and a small smile she couldn't hide. “I'm starting to wonder if you offered the ride just to razz me. You're a little spicy today,” she added, leaning forward to lightly punch his shoulder with her good wing.
“Nah,” Leo countered. “You just hardly ever have to deal with me one on one.” The wolf teen switched lanes as he spotted the sign for the hospital approaching on the left. “Oh, by the way, is Ross coming after her appointment to grab you, or do you think you’re gonna need a ride home?”
“That's probably gonna depend on how long her appointment takes. Are you willing to stick around in case she can’t make it?”
Parking and hopping out, the wolf deployed the bat’s chair from the back, and popped open the passenger door. He locked the wheels, and braced the chair with his leg, and leaned over to offer his arm for her to latch on to. “Oh, I was sticking around regardless, Megs. Even if Ross does come, I’ll wait until she shows. I’m not just gonna abandon ya.” Guiding her into the chair, Llyulf waited until she was situated, and wheeled his friend through the automatic doors, hoping for the best possible news.
*******
Marblecliff General Hospital
Every time the doors to the back opened in his periphery, Leo’s eyes flicked up, checked that Megan wasn’t there, and then quickly dropped back to his phone. His elbows rested on his knees as he hunched over, clicking around on the city’s website, grabbing links to documents, rules and regulations, forms, and ordinances for public spaces. Meanwhile, in his right ear played one of the tracks he’d gotten from Rod. Ivory had laid down five separate one-minute clips, and he had ripped them over to his phone so he could listen to them at will. He pretty quickly narrowed the styles and tempos down to two, though. A couple were just too fast, another too bright. Chewing on the corner of his lip, he tapped out the tempo against the side of his phone. This one is nice. He hummed along with the chords, reciting the words in his head. The pacing seemed to fit, it was simple, and the low strumming just… felt good. Sample4 it is, then. He put the track on loop, and fired off the text to Ivory. Tossing his phone in his pocket, the wolf cracked his neck, then arched his back over the backing of the chair, with a disappointed groan when it refused to pop. Slumping in the chair, he stared at the ceiling until he caught the muffled but unmistakable voice of his friend moments before the double doors swung open. He straightened up in his chair to see her chattering excitedly into her phone, presumably to Ross. Megan’s expression already told him enough to draw a smile on his muzzle. As he took the handoff of the bat’s chair from the nurse, and pushed her out to the parking lot, he caught the end of her conversation.
“Hopefully they hurry up……Don’t worry, Babe, Leo said he’d get me home. I’ll be fine.”
*******
Marblecliff, NH - Conroy Residence
Getting Megan home and up to her apartment was simpler than he had expected. Thinking back on it, there probably would have been some complaints about the apartment if Megan had to be helped up multiple flights of stairs every day. As it turned out, the opposite end of the building had an elevator, and he’d just never realized it.
On the way (once she’d finished her call that is), Megan had shared the doctor’s news. They would be pulling all the wires out, and cutting all the casts off next week. She might need a little physical therapy, and maybe a stabilizing boot, but at least that would be removable. If it was needed at all! They would do some tests once everything came off, but she wouldn't be stuck in a chair anymore, needing to be carted around. She would be able to talk normally. To sing again! Leo could feel the excitement nearly bursting her from the seams. It was radiative, infectious.
”Ugh, I’m so ready to be out of this chair! Can you please help me get to my room, Leo?” she groaned out as he pushed her into the foyer of her family’s apartment, and kicked the door shut behind him.
“Sure, Megs. Where to?”
“Back that way and first door to the left,” she indicated, waving her good wing.
He successfully navigated her through her doorway only to find his progress stymied by a large dresser. Peeking inside to get a lay of the room, he realized pretty quickly he wasn’t getting her chair all the way to the side of her bed. She started to shift in the chair and made to stand, but the wolf quickly put a paw on her shoulder as he backed the chair up so he could slip into the room around her. He met his friend’s frown with a pointed look. “Hey, Ross will murder me if I let her finally almost fully healed girlfriend break herself in her own bedroom a week before she is supposed to be back to normal. It’s just self-preservation,” he explained, fighting back a smile at the eye roll he got in response.
“I could make it without ‘breaking myself’,” she grumbled, as he pulled her chair into the room from the front this time. She didn’t really give him any more grief than that though, latching onto his arm when he offered it to help her pull herself to her feet, and leaned on him as she hobbled over to her bed. She made a show of rotating on her good foot, slowly and carefully taking a seat on the side of the bed, before flopping back with an exaggerated sigh.
Grinning at her little performance, Leo took a peek around the room he was now standing in. It was a little cramped, about what you would expect for a small apartment, but it was cozy, and the walls were well adorned with several posters of different bands. He walked over to the dresser that had impeded his entrance earlier, and folded the wheelchair up so it wouldn’t be blocking the entry and slid it against the wall just outside of her room. Turning around, just below eye level atop the dresser was a small 3x5 picture frame, holding a photo of a younger Megan. She couldn’t have been more than 12, with a joyous smile, and a tambourine in her paws.
“Damn, you were adorable, weren't you? Looks like you loved playing music just as much when you were little, too,” he commented, leaning against the dresser.
Megan’s head kicked up from the bed in confusion, before clocking the picture he’d seen and dropping back down. “Yeah, yeah, cute. Don’t make me come over to your place and start digging for dirt.”
“Hey, this is your fault, you invited me in, in more ways than one,” Leo countered with a chuckle. “Besides, you’ll have trouble finding too many pictures of me as a pup. My mom kept most of them down south. She made sure to take them in the divorce.” He scooped up the frame and waved it towards her, a smirk growing on his face. “So tell me Megs, was this the day you decided that you loved the tambourine oh so very much that you just had to become one eventually? Because I have to say, I think you nailed it.”
Megan bolted upright, looked at Leo, to the frame in his paw, then shifted her gaze down to her wing. Her head turned slowly until her eyes fixed once again on the grinning male across the room and stared. “You just wait til I'm 100%, Smart-ass.”
“Oh no, I’m so terrified.” he feigned with a poorly concealed snort, returning the frame to the top of the dresser.
“Ugh, just because I never had an annoying little brother, doesn’t mean I suddenly need one, Leo.”
“Little? I’m taller than you are, if you don’t cheat with your ears,” the wolf countered.
Megan snatched up her pillow from the head of the bed and tossed it at the wolf with her good arm, even if it lacked any appreciable power or malice and he was able to snag it out of the air with ease. “First off,” she shot back, “I’d be the big sister because I’m older than you, jerkwad. Second, it’s not like I’m counting heels or some shit. That’s like telling Vivy she can’t count her neck. Face it, you’d be my little bro no matter how you slice it.”
“Alright, alright,” he acquiesced, gently tossing back the pillow. “I’ll give it to ya. You joke, but if not for your wings, I think we probably could sell us being siblings. You do have a bit of the canine look. And there are certainly worse things than having a veritable bad ass as a big sister.” He looked down, before looking back to his friend. “Think a talented big sis would be willing to help her brother out with some pointers for karaoke night? I don’t think I am awful or anything, but I sometimes get a little… off pitch? I know it's just a karaoke bar, and there will probably be all sorts of people completely out of tune, probably even a couple drunks that can’t hold a note at all. Still, I’d like to not make a fool of myself, you know?” His eyes drifted back down as he spoke, and voice was even, completely lacking any of his prior teasing. Megan’s response didn’t come immediately, and when he finally returned his gaze to her, he was met with a warm, soft smile, even if a little mirth danced in her eyes.
“Don’t you worry, LB. I’ve got you.”
Leo blinked slowly, before raising an eyebrow, and his head canted to the right. “LB?”
“Little bro. I kinda dig the sound of it, and if you are going to annoy the hell out of me, I might as well give you a good reason.” She shrugged. “And yes, if you wanna do some practice sometime for karaoke, I’d be happy to. I’ll be going back to practicing with the band at Vivy’s, obviously, but some extra practice can’t hurt, and I’m sure we can find some time. Also, seriously, thanks for today. You didn’t have to, but it sure made it easier.”
“Megan, it only took you a couple months to become one of the best friends I think I’ve ever had. If you need a ride, you barely need to ask. If I’m not doing shit, trust me, I’m there. I—” Leo stopped abruptly, ear swiveling toward the doorway as he heard the faint click of the deadbolt at the front door.
“Megan? Are you home already?” called a voice from the entryway, the wolf recognizing it as Jessie Conroy, the bat’s— er, stepmom? That was a whole can of worms in itself.
“We’re in her room, Ms. Conroy,” Leo called out. He pushed off the dresser and crossed the room to Megan's good side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, with her wing snaking around him to return the hug. “I’ll get going. Hopefully Ross is done soon. See ya later, Megs.” He started to step away, but the wing around him squeezed a little tighter before finally letting him go.
“Take care getting home, LB. Catch you tomorrow at school.”
*******
Giacomo Estate - Evening
Holly practically scampered through the side door of the house, fur puffed out all over from the icy wind that decided it would be fun to cut right through the sweater she was wearing. She’d thought it would be enough, and in the still air, it was super soft, comfy, and warm. The moment the wind started blowing though, it sliced right through the fabric and her fur, and sent goosebumps over her arms. She really should just keep her leather jacket on her these days, even if she wasn’t sure she’d need it. She shook out the chill, and turned the corner into the living room, where a low fire burned. Plopping down in the chair closest to the hearth, her eyes slid shut with a sigh. She started slightly at the clunk of a pot in the sink, and her lids snapped back open to see her mother at the kitchen island with a bemused smile.
“Va tutto bene, tesoro?” Lenora asked, drying her paws on a dish towel as she came up behind the couch.
Holly nodded, rubbing at her forearms. “Everything is fine, Mamma, just warming up a bit.” The younger chipmunk sniffed at the air as she pushed herself out of the plush leather to her feet, before a grin spread on her face. “Mmmm, you made pesto for dinner?” she inquired, a little wiggle in her hips as she weaved her way around the furniture into the kitchen.
Her mother nodded. “Mmmhm. Some of the garlic cloves we bought a couple weeks ago were starting to spot, so I wanted to use what we had. I put the dish back in the oven to keep warm for you.”
Holly nodded. She popped open the oven, snagged a pair of mitts from the drawer next to it, and pulled the foil topped ceramic dish carefully out and rested it on the counter. Peeling back the aluminum revealed the indeed still warm rigatoni, dotted with cubes of pan seared chicken, and topped with a liberal sprinkle of freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano. Of course her mother used the real stuff. The powdered imitation, ‘parmesan’, wasn’t even allowed in the house. Her mother was too proud of her cooking to resort to it, and even if she hadn’t been, Nona Rosa would surely disown the family if it was ever spotted in their fridge. Holly chuckled at the thought as she dished out a helping for herself onto a small plate. “Looks absolutely perfect, mamma, as usual.” She returned the covering to the dish, jumping as her mother swept up behind her to take it and move it to the fridge. “Mamma, I could’ve taken care of it,” the young chipmunk lightly objected, rolling her eyes as she scooped up her plate and took a seat at the bar, earning her a chuckle from her mother.
“I know you could, but I can just as well. Now hush,” Lenora countered, smiling. After putting away the leftovers, she made her way around to squeeze her daughter's shoulders. “Take a break, enjoy the quiet. The house is going to be busier in a couple weeks.”
Holly frowned, tilting her head. “Hm? Who’s coming?”
“Your sisters have decided to come home for Spring Break,” Lenora answered, “and your father is insisting we invite your brother and grandmother over for dinner so we can get the whole family together while they are in town.”
Holly’s eyes widened, but she didn’t respond at first beyond a gentle nod, not willing to waste savoring the bite she’d just taken. “That’ll be nice. Is everything okay, though?” she asked after swallowing. “Last year they stayed on campus for the break.” The young ‘munk was not at all upset to hear her family was coming home to visit, she loved them to death, but her sisters had gone to college out of state specifically to get away, and generally only came home for the summer, and for Christmas.
The chipmunk matron shrugged, leaning on the counter next to her daughter, and smoothly plucked a rigatoni noodle off of Holly’s plate and popped it in her mouth. Her actions earned the older woman a small glare, even if it had no real malice behind it. “Everything is fine, or so they say. I’m sure if they are hiding something, your father will pull it out of them when they get here.”
“Hmm… as long as they are doing okay, I guess that’s exciting.” Holly slid her plate a little closer to herself and further from her mother’s sneaking paws. She ate quietly as Lenora moved back into the kitchen, wiping the counters down, nearly finishing her plate before her reverie was broken by the older chipmunk clearing her throat.
“So… are you going to bring your very handsome ‘friend’ to dinner to meet the rest of the family?” Lenora floated the question like it meant nothing, but her specific emphasis, and her smile made Holly’s cheeks burn, and it was easy to see her mother knew exactly what she was doing. “It's a rare time we are all under one roof when it's not a holiday.”
The burning expanded from her cheeks to the tips of her ears as the thought percolated. She’d never really been one to date, so she had never brought a boy home before. She had no idea how her sisters, or brother, or even grandmother would react. Luca would probably be fine, if maybe a little protective. She’d seen him talking to a couple of Bianca’s boyfriends in the past, and nothing really came of it. But Alle and Anna, or Bianca herself? Holly’d never really paid much attention to how the twins had treated the boys Bianca dated. She’d always been content to just let the three of them be when it came to that. “Um— I don’t see why not. I am sure Leo would be fine with it. I think Nona Rosa will like him.”
“Oh, I’m sure she will. He’s a good boy, and very respectful.” her mother concurred. “Luca will probably figure if your father hasn’t scared him off yet, he must be okay. The girls probably won’t pester him too much.” Lenora tossed the cloth she was using over the back of the faucet. “Either way, he’ll have to meet them eventually if you want to keep him around.” She moved around the counter to kiss her daughter on the cheek, and poked her lightly in the side. “I certainly hope you bring him,” the older chipmunk whispered teasingly. “Anyways. I’m going to go lie down and read.”
“Oh! Buona notte, mamma!” Holly called out as her mother started off through the archway.
“Have a good night, dear.” Lenora’s head popped back around the corner into the kitchen. “Oh, by the way, a package arrived for you today, I left it on your desk,” she remarked before disappearing again.
The chipmunk girl blinked confusedly, before recollection of what might be in that box flooded her mind, and she was suddenly very glad her mother had not waited around for a response. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she finished the last bites of dinner, rinsed her plate, and placed it in the dishwasher. Even as she rounded the corner and started up the staircase toward her room, her heart was still pounding in anticipation…
*******
Holly stared at the still sealed package on her desk. She flicked her eyes to the closed door to her room, the back to the box. She’d gone ahead and showered, wanting to try and cool her nerves. It helped… sort of. She took a deep breath, and snagged the scissors from the cup on her desk and sliced through the tape, returning the implement to its place before sliding her thumbs under the cardboard flaps. Inside the box was… another surprisingly nondescript box with two interlocked hearts, one pink and one blue, on its face. There was no visual indication from the outside what it held, not that she didn’t already know by now, of course. Pulling out the tab, she opened the lid, and slid out the plastic tray, slowly revealing the silicone toy.
Holly let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. It was exactly as the website had described, when she went looking a couple weeks ago. Still, as she dragged a digit along its smooth surface starting at the tip, almost equal parts soft and firm, she couldn’t help the slight drift in her thoughts. This was her first real toy. She wasn’t completely innocent, of course. It wasn’t like she’d never brought herself to release before, but that was almost always just with her paws. A couple of times she had uh– ‘improvised’ with the handle of a hairbrush, but it had been kind of awkward, so while it had felt fine, she preferred the simplicity and control of her digits. Her fingers reached the most interesting feature of the toy, where the girth expanded rapidly near the base. She pulled the toy from the tray, wrapped her paw around the knot and gave it a gentle squeeze. Ever since that night when Leo had left behind his jacket, and she had taken it back to her room… Well, she didn’t do anything that night in particular, but she did doze off with his jacket around her shoulders, nose buried in the collar. Since then, it wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence that the wolf featured in light fantasies or even risqué dreams, with the clearest part of each one being that scent. His scent.
The chipmunk shook her head, smiling to herself. She was crazy. She hadn’t even seen the fur on his legs, his bare torso, anything really, if she was honest. Yet here she was with a toy mimicking a canine’s shaft, just because he was the one that had taken over every one of those thoughts. She shivered with excitement. The knot was definitely thicker than that old hairbrush had been. Just under that knot, the base narrowed, then flared out wide into a suction cup, which also felt like it would be a decent place for gr—
BZZZZT!
Holly gave a sharp squeak as she flinched, and heard the soft thump of the toy hitting the carpet behind her. Breathing a little heavier trying to slow her heart rate, she gingerly reached for her phone, tapping the screen to reveal a text from Leo.
She huffed. Sure, he was definitely the one that was intruding on her thoughts, and hearing from him was always nice, but being startled out of her fantasy still stung a little, even if it was mostly embarrassment at the noise no-one was around to hear anyway. Keying in her passcode, she unlocked the phone and pulled up the message.
[Hey beautiful, how was your day? I was
just thinking about ya. ]
I was just thinking about you too. You have no idea…
She tapped out the former as a response, but left off the latter, then continued.
[Today wasn’t bad. Found out when I
got home sisters are coming to visit]
[Oh? When?]
[Spring Break.]
[UNC’s is the same week as yours.]
[I guess one night my grandmother and
brother are going to come by too, make
a whole family affair. Mamma said you
could come by and have dinner with us]
She paused, then quickly fired off another message before he could respond.
[If you want, obv. It's ok if that's
too much all at once. ]
[I don’t mind at all.]
[Can’t be any worse than your dad was right?]
[Oh, btw, found out today. Megan gets her
casts and wires off next week!]
[She might need a boot for a little bit, we’ll see]
[but at least she won’t need the chair anymore.]
[Oh! That’s great! Is she planning to
celebrate? ]
[Not sure yet. We’ll see how she feels
once she's got all the stuff off.]
[Yeah, she’s probably going to want
a shower more than anything after
being in those casts so long. ]
Holly leaned back in her computer chair. The budding mood from earlier was gone, but that wasn’t really a problem. She was still a little nervous about using the toy anyway. Spinning around, she located the dildo, picking it up and brushing off the couple of carpet fibers that stuck to the silicone. Oh. That’s right. I didn’t get any lube. Whoops. She frowned. In the anxiety and impulsiveness of purchasing the toy, she clearly hadn’t fully considered the logistics. Sure, her body produced some of its own, but would that be enough? She was pretty sure additional lubricant was recommended for a reason. She sighed and carefully stowed the toy back in the plastic tray and returned it to its box. Not gonna find out tonight, I guess. She carried it over to her closet, and carefully slid the box in between a pair of stacked comforters on the shelf.
Flopping on her back onto her bed, she stared up at her phone.
[Other than coming over for dinner,
did you want to do anything else
over Spring Break? ]
She didn’t have to wait long for the response.
[C’mon now. You have to ask?]
[Absolutely]
[We can see if any good movies are coming
out. Speaking of doing things, got any plans
for Saturday yet? ]
*******
March 1, 2014
Kalayo Residence - Early Morning
Leo’s eyes shot open and before he really processed why he was on his feet and out of bed, he was already headed for his door. As his brain caught up, he heard more commotion from the other side of the door, seemingly the after-effects of the crashing cacophony that had startled him awake. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he poked his head out, catching what he assumed was the tail end of a storm of curses.
“Daaad? You good?” the teen wolf called out.
The first sound the teen heard in response was somewhere between a groan and a growl. “Augh, fucking– I- mother– I’m fine,” Niall grunted. “Don’t worry about it. Just go back to bed.”
Leo blinked in confusion, and looked back over his shoulder at the side table. Oh. It wasn’t even 6AM yet. And boy did his dad sound cranky. It probably wouldn’t be the best idea to go out there and help with whatever was going on, even if he could. Leo was pretty sure his dad was still out after work when he’d passed out last night around midnight, so if Niall had gotten in after that, and was already up? Yeah, probably not gonna be a fun time out there. Shutting his door with a click, the young wolf flopped back on his bed.
…
…
Well fuck… It took all of two minutes for Leo to realize that sleep wasn’t just going to fall back on him easily. Not after the adrenaline he woke up with. Snagging his phone off the charger over his head, he turned the phone to the side and tapped the power button, lighting the screen and waiting a moment before turning the screen towards him. He was supposed to meet Holly later today at the library, and walk the park around lunchtime. Unlocking his phone, he tapped his messages, skipping past the first conversation in the list. He’d gotten a message late last night from Ivory confirming she could meet with him on Sunday about the song. No, the one he wanted was from just below that. He tapped Holly’s name, and just started scrolling. Back, back, back. He stopped the streaming sliding conversation with his thumb, and even with all the messages that had flitted by, he’d only gone back a day. He started reading forward, a smile curling his lip in the darkened room under the pale blue cast. Hmmm…
Rolling out of the bed that wasn’t doing anything for him anyway, he dropped instead into his computer chair and shook his mouse. He’d mentioned seeing a movie with Holly on Spring Break. He popped open a browser, and googled what had come out in the last month in the movie theaters. The results were… underwhelming. His frown deepened as he pulled up what was supposed to be coming out over the next two weeks. There wasn’t really anything all that interesting that he would want to take Holly to… Half-heartedly, he clicked on the local theater’s site, and raised an eyebrow at the prominently featured movie on the homepage. It might be a little odd but… that could work. The grapevine had said it was good, even if it was an animated film, and wasn’t anything that he would have gone to see by himself. It hadn’t shown up in his initial search since it had been out for months, so it seemed unlikely the theater would be super booked, even if they went on a Friday on Spring Break. He chuckled as he killed the tab, and checked the time. Still too damn early. He’d just ask when he saw her. It did seem fitting though, given how he had met Holly, and how many of their dates had gone so far. The wolf teen hopped back into bed, and keyed a couple extra alarms into his phone, and started throwing around digital candies. Leo wasn’t sure if he could get back to sleep, but he wasn’t risking oversleeping.
*******
As it turned out, those alarms proved necessary.
Making his way to the kitchen, Leo pulled up short as he rounded the corner of the living room. The coffee table was out of place, or well, the frame of the coffee table was out of place. The glass tabletop was just… gone. The young wolf turned towards the kitchen, spotting his dad at the dining table, with a half empty pot of coffee next to him. The paw supporting his head was wrapped in gauze and athletic tape, and the other seemed to be wrapped even tighter around the coffee cup. Niall looked… almost haggard. As Leo walked into the kitchen and opened his mouth to speak, Niall released the cup to raise his good paw to silence him.
“Before you ask, the coffee table shattered, I’m fine, just cut myself cleaning it up. Sorry I woke you up this morning.”
Llyulf blinked. “What? How–?”
“Tripped. Thankfully the glass broke into big pieces, so it was pretty easy to clean up.” Niall took a deep draught off his coffee, making a face as he swallowed a large gulp of the bitter fluid. “You wanna go grab some hot breakfast or something?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I… You sure you’re okay? You usually aren’t up that early unless you get an emergency call,” Leo said slowly, trying to parse the sequence of events in a way that made a semblance of sense.
“I said I’m fine, son,” the older wolf replied sharply. He took another sip of his coffee, before his face and voice softened a bit. “Relax. Now do you want to grab some food or not?”
The teen rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment before responding. “I uh– I was just gonna grab a Pop Tart or something, I’m supposed to meet Holly at the library at eleven. I can see if she–”
“Oh! No no, don’t change your plans or anything. I should have realized you probably were doing something today. Between that girl, your coding, and school, you’ve been keeping busy. What about tomorrow?”
“I was gonna meet another friend to work on a personal project in the morning,” Llyulf said apologetically. He caught a flash of disappointment across his father’s face. “I guess I could if we go a little early,” he hurriedly continued. “Or like, if you wanted to sleep in since you couldn’t today, we could do something for dinner. Hopefully you didn’t miss out on a job or anything because of the uh– commotion– this morning.” He doubted the prodding would net a result, but it was kinda hard to just ignore what happened. His doubts were quickly confirmed.
“Hmmm… A dinner out would be a treat. You know what you want?”
“Why don’t you pick? It's been a bit since we’ve had a chance to go sit down anywhere.” Leo reasoned.
*******
Wheeler Park - Afternoon
Holly leaned into Leo’s arm, her digits laced with his as they walked paw in paw through the crisp, wintery air. They’d met at the library to print out their permit application, which was now tucked safely in her bag, then come to the park to get pictures of the space they were planning to use for the rally. As far as the permit went, she had the day off, so she could take it to City Hall first thing in the morning, but Leo said he wanted to go with her. So instead, she was going to meet him after he got out of school for the day. She was pretty sure she could handle just turning in the paperwork on her own, but she wasn’t that bothered by her boyfriend’s insistence. After all, he had more of the idea in his head, so if there were any questions from the clerk, he’d be more likely to have a response prepared. She felt a gentle squeeze of her paw, and turned to look up into Leo’s warm, smiling eyes.
“Did you want to do another lap?” he asked gently. “I don’t think we need any more pictures to start putting together a pretty good blueprint, but this air…” He took a deep breath in, and exhaled it slowly, sending a thick cloud out ahead of his muzzle. “It's so invigorating.”
“Sure,” Holly nodded with a grin, sending out a puff of hot air herself before giggling lightly. “It's a little chilly, but it's better than it will be in a couple days. I heard we are supposed to get back into single digits Monday night.” She pushed her shoulder into his arm as they approached a fork in the sidewalk, steering him toward the center of the park. “It's still surprising to me how much you enjoy the cold, knowing you came from Florida. I’m sure most of your friends down there expect you to be a wolf-shaped popsicle by now.” The mental image of an icy Llyulf statue was a mildly entertaining one, before a very different part of her brain flashed a thought of the toy she had tucked away in her room. Blood rushed to heat her face just as an errant breeze sifted through her fur to tingle the flushed skin beneath. At least she had something easy to blame for her rosy cheeks. “Do you still talk to anyone back home?” she hastily continued. He didn’t answer at first, and she felt him pull his paw away. She started to open her mouth to apologize, but before she could get it out, his arm slipped around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
“Not really. I– let’s just say I didn’t have much of a social circle when I lived down south, much less one strong enough to keep up a connection over the distance.” He gave a little squeeze to her shoulders. “Home is here now anyway. Sure, my mom still lives down there, but I wouldn’t consider that home. Here, I’ve felt more ‘at home’ than I think I ever have. I've made some amazing friends, and found a girlfriend that is almost criminally out of my league—”
Holly huffed and lightly smacked the wolf in the chest, her ears burning. “Hey—”
“Hey yourself,” Leo countered, snagging her paw before she could draw it back, and pulling it to his muzzle to kiss it. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”
“Leo, you’re not—,” she started. The chipmunk almost ran straight into him as he nimbly stepped in front of her, and looked up into his face with a frown. Her words died in her throat under the intensity in her boyfriend’s gaze. It wasn’t fear, or trepidation she felt that sent tingles down her spine. She felt rooted to the spot as he took her other paw, and pulled them both to his chest. She more than heard his words, spoken in a low rumble that cut through the brisk, near silence of the mostly deserted park. She felt the resonance in his chest, the vibrations under her fingertips.
“Holly, I mean it. You’re incredible. You're gorgeous, smart, and sweet. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”
She felt one of his paws slide so one of his could cover both of hers, and his now free paw tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear, then rested at the back of her jaw. Her breath hitched as he leaned in closer, his paw tilting her head back. When their lips met, it drove the cold from her limbs, and ripped the breath from her lungs. It was only when the kiss broke, that she felt its absence, and was forced to refill them with biting, frosty air. Head down, she let out a soft hmmf between her panting, then took a shuddering, but steadying breath before she pressed lightly on his chest and looked him back in the eye once more. “Not… fair…” she declared softly, rising to her toes to bump his nose twice, once to punctuate each word. “I was going to say you don’t give yourself enough credit. I’m lucky to have someone as sweet as you too. We are planning a rally that was almost solely your idea, just to stand up for someone you’ve known for a matter of months. Not everyone is willing to fight for the people they care for. Even fewer like you do. That makes you pretty special in my book.” And you aren’t too bad with words, either. She kept that thought to herself though. She pecked him on the underside of his chin, then dropped back down off her toes. She felt him shift, then his lips brushed her forehead, and she hummed as he pulled her into a tight hug and sent a wash of warm breath over her ear. She wiggled and shrank back a little, ear twitching from the sensation. She met the raised eyebrow she found on his face with a smile, then took the wolf’s paw, and settled back against his side. “What? It tickles.”
“Good to know,” he commented with a snicker, returning to their meandering pace down the path. “Well, if there is something you see in me, I sure ain’t gonna run you off intentionally.”
“I would hope not,” she replied, reaching up with her outer paw to latch onto his bicep and give it a squeeze. “Mamma really likes you, Dad seems to approve, and I’m sure my sisters will too.”
“Oh yeah, about that. Do we know when your mom wants to host yet?” Leo inquired.
Holly nodded. “Nona Rosa seems pretty set on Monday. My sisters will be flying in Saturday, and we’re still waiting on my brother to confirm he’s coming, but once Nona decides, everyone else usually falls in line. We should be okay going to the movie on Friday regardless.”
“Alrighty then. Sweet. And uh, is there anything else I should know about your family ahead of time?” her boyfriend asked somewhat warily.
The chipmunk rolled her eyes and snorted. “I don’t think you have much to worry about. Like Mamma, if Nona is in the kitchen, stay out of the way or follow directions if you don’t want her to show up behind you with a wooden spoon. Luca will probably be cool with you just because Dad is.” She shrugged. “Bianca can be a little— loud sometimes, but at least she tends to behave herself when company is over. The twins…” She hummed and paused for a beat. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Just so you aren’t caught off guard, there is something you should know about the twins. I call them my sisters, because we grew up together since I was very little, but technically they are my cousins. My aunt and uncle passed away in a really bad car wreck, and Mamma and Dad adopted the twins instead of letting them go into the foster system. I just don’t want you to get confused when you see their tails.”
The wolf shook his head before he tilted it to the side. “Tails?”
“Yeah. Their tails are longer, and bushier, since Aunt Helena was a squirrel,” she confirmed.
“Oh! Okay then. That makes a lot more sense. That probably would have thrown me for a loop.” Llyulf conceded. “You had me a little concerned for a minute there.”
“Concerned? Why?”
The wolf teen shrugged with a grin and she felt him bump her hip with his own. “I was worried that I’d somehow given you the impression I’d be checking out your sisters’ tails.”
“Oh no, not at all! It’s just going to be pretty obvious, even from the front,” she giggled. “Still, their tails are the biggest giveaway that something is up.” A grumble issued from the chipmunk’s stomach, stopping her in her tracks with an embarrassed look. “Mmm… Maybe we should head back to the car.”
Before Leo could speak, another gurgle, this time from his stomach, responded for him. Laughing, the wolf began to lead her back to the parking lot. “I think that’s about as clear an affirmation as you could get, gorgeous. What are you in the mood for?”
A quick gust kicked up and billowed her hair out behind her and sent a little shiver racing down her spine. She stole her paw back from Leo, and cupped them in front of her muzzle, letting out a huff of warm air. “Ooohoohooh, that was rude,” she complained, glaring up at the sky for a moment. Turning back to her boyfriend, she snagged his paw again, and picked up the pace a bit. “I don’t even care, hun, as long as it's hot at this point.”
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