{ "submission_id": "2697032", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "1029", "keyword_name": "clean", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "10371" }, { "keyword_id": "90689", "keyword_name": "domestic violence", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "30" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1215216" }, { "keyword_id": "268", "keyword_name": "tiger", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "39412" }, { "keyword_id": "164", "keyword_name": "wolf", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "196219" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "0", "create_datetime": "2022-04-20 05:11:58.576766+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "20 Apr 2022 07:11 CEST", "last_file_update_datetime": "2022-04-20 04:47:47.241339+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "20 Apr 2022 06:47 CEST", "username": "Stilghar", "user_id": "41260", "user_icon_file_name": "12930_Stilghar_stilface.gif", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/12/12930_Stilghar_stilface.gif", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/12/12930_Stilghar_stilface.gif", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/12/12930_Stilghar_stilface.gif", "file_name": "3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "300", "thumb_huge_y": "113", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "75", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "45", "files": [ { "file_id": "3992980", "file_name": "3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.doc", "mimetype": "application/msword", "submission_id": "2697032", "user_id": "41260", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": null, "full_size_y": null, "screen_size_x": null, "screen_size_y": null, "preview_size_x": null, "preview_size_y": null, "initial_file_md5": "92e4fcbebb555d82cf9a59923f12a4a7", "full_file_md5": "92e4fcbebb555d82cf9a59923f12a4a7", "large_file_md5": "", "small_file_md5": "", "thumbnail_md5": "9eb043834f707aded1202074f5503e0d", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2022-04-20 04:47:47.241339+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "20 Apr 2022 06:47 CEST", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3992/3992980_Stilghar_03._salvage_operation.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "300", "thumb_huge_y": "113", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "75", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "45" } ], "pools": [], "description": "Recovering and moving on.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Recovering and moving on.", "writing": "Breakfast the next morning was a late, quiet affair. The two tigers had stayed up late into the night, talking; Matthew held his nephew through several more crying fits. Eventually, John fell asleep on the couch, and Matt carried his slender nephew into the guest bedroom, tucking him gently in. The younger tiger, mentally and emotionally exhausted, didn't stir until late the next morning.\n\nJohn found his clothes, dry and neatly folded, on the dresser; he slipped into his jeans, but didn't bother with the shirt. As he padded out to the kitchen, he saw Uncle Matt seated at the table, sipping coffee and wearing only the shorts he'd had on the previous night. The older tiger noted his bare-chested nephew and smiled, but said only, \"Good morning, sleepyhead.\" \n\n\"Mornin', Uncle Matt,'' John replied sleepily. \"Sorry, didn't mean to sleep so late.\"\n\n\"Don't worry `bout it, you had a rough day. Probably the roughest since you lost your mom,\" Matt replied softly. \"Want anything? Toast, eggs, bacon, coffee...\"\n\n``Just some OJ right now, if you've got it,'' John answered, seating himself at the table. The youth sipped at his juice and stared forlornly out the window, and his uncle sighed.\n\n\"We're gonna go get your things today,\" the older tiger said softly. \"How much stuff do you have? Will the bedroom I gave you be big enough?\"\n\n\"Well,\" John answered, \"there's plenty of furniture, so I don't think we need to bother with that. Just what's left of my clothes, my books, CDs and stuff. My little TV and games, and what's left of my computer.\" His uncle shot him an odd glance at that, and John sighed. \"Dad tore my bedroom apart yesterday before I got home from school,\" he explained. \"Some of my clothes were shredded, and he put a hammer through my computer screen - probably because of all the gay stuff he found on my computer. He probably doesn't know enough about computers to know where it's really saved; I don't know a lot about the hardware myself, but even I know that the monitor isn't the whole thing.\"\n\nMatt nodded. \"We'll get you a new monitor and a desk for your bedroom. And I'll replace whatever he tore up.\"\n\nJohn gazed thankfully at his uncle, seemingly on the verge of tears again. \"Uncle Matt, I know I said this a lot yesterday, but thank you. I don't know where I'd have gone...\" his voice broke, and the bigger male took his slender hand and gave it a soft squeeze. \n\n\"Family does for Family,\" the huge man rumbled softly. \"I think your father's forgotten what love's really about.\"\n\nThe drive seemed very short to John, in light of his storm-drenched trudge of the previous night. When his uncle's huge SUV arrived at the house, the driveway was empty and the garage door had been left open. \"Accommodating of him,\" Matt grumbled, backing his massive vehicle up to the open garage. He shut off the rumbling engine, and looked at his nephew. \"You okay?\" he asked the younger tiger softly.\n\n\"As okay as I'm gonna be,\" John sighed, giving his uncle a weak smile. \"Let's be about it.\"\n\nThe house was unchanged, just as John had always remembered it, save for the furniture that had been jostled during the previous afternoon's scuffle. John led the way to his bedroom, and Matt whistled softly as he took in the signs of his brother's furious rampage. \"Robbie's always been a neat freak; he must've been really pissed to make a mess like this.\"\n\nJohn sighed softly. \"I guess we'd better get started.\"\n\nThey'd procured several large sacks and boxes, and John's possessions were quickly piled into these. The distance was short and the haul relatively light, so neither tiger had bothered to mark the parcels and bundles that were loaded into Matt's cavernous cargo bed. They had nearly finished, and John was staring forlornly at the wreckage of his computer, when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of a familiar car rumbling to a halt. His head jerked up and turned to the entryway, and his uncle quickly noted the reaction. \"That can't be Robbie,\" he growled. \"No way your dad would drive anything that loud.\"\n\n\"No,\" John replied quickly, and started for the front door. \"It's a friend of mine.\"\n\nJohn was right. Parked in the street before the house was a sleek, black shining construct that could only be called a 'Muscle Car', driven by the sleek, black, handsome wolf now clambering out of the driver's seat with an expression of concern on his muzzle. The wolf crossed the small lawn quickly and rang the doorbell; he couldn't hide the expression of surprise - nay, shock - when the door was opened by what looked like a taller, far more muscular, and far less formally clad clone of his best friend's father. The bulky tiger wore a tank-top shirt that strained to contain his huge frame, a pair of jeans that, although clean, could only be described accurately as `ratty', and an expression that the generous would call `stern' and the easily intimidated would most likely wet themselves upon encountering. \"Excuse me, Sir,\" the young canid stammered after a brief pause, \"But is John here?\"\n\n\"David,\" the young tiger behind the wall of striped fur and muscle blocking the doorway asked, \"What are you doing here?\"\n\nDavid, the young wolf, glanced at the huge elder tiger before answering. \"Dude, you had me worried sick! I've been trying to call you and text you since yesterday afternoon! Are you okay?\"\n\nJohn sighed. \"I'm fine, man, but...things have gone a little crazy. Do you remember my uncle Matt?\" John gestured at the huge older tiger, and David nodded, extending his hand in greeting.\n\n\"I remember you, Sir,\" he addressed the huge tiger cautiously, \"but it's been a long time.\"\n\n\"Likewise,\" Matt rumbled, shaking the youth's offered hand.\n\n\"Anyways, I'm going to be staying with him from now on, and we're just here to get my stuff,\" John told his friend.\n\nDavid's reply was almost instantaneous. ``Do you need any help?''\n\nJohn started to answer that no, in fact, he didn't, but he shot a quick glance at his uncle. The elder tiger nodded, and John smiled at his friend. \"Sure thing. All the help I can get.\"\n\nWhile the two boys went to gather what few of John's things remained unpacked, Matt paused in the living room, gathering a number of formerly bound papers that had been strewn about. He glanced at some of the sheets, then grinned wickedly in the general direction of his nephew's wrecked bedroom. \"I'll give ya one thing, boy,\" he murmured softly, leafing through the printouts. \"You got taste.\"\n\nMeanwhile, the two youths quickly surveyed the largely abandoned bedroom, settling finally on the computer desk and what used to be a perfectly good monitor. ``Dude,'' David groaned as if in pain, ``What the Hell?''\n\nJohn sighed. \"Dad...got really pissed off and put a hammer through my screen.\" He wanted to weep at the expression of pity and concern on the wolf's face. \"That's why I'm living with Uncle Matt now.\"\n\nDavid knew the tiger well, and he knew that was about the best answer he could expect for now. \"Well,\" he said softly, \"let me get the rest of it disconnected and we'll load it up.\" The wolf knew computers; they were something of a hobby for him, and he'd helped set up the machine for John when his father initially gave it to him. He stopped abruptly, however, and sat up, gazing at a piece he'd removed from the back of the machine as if it were something dangerous. \"The Hell?\" the wolf murmured, and John's hackles rose involuntarily.\n\n\"What is it?\"\n\nDavid looked up at his best friend, and showed him the small device. \"This was plugged in between your keyboard and the tower,\" he explained. \"At first I thought it was an adapter, but look at this.\" He indicated both sides of the device with a fingertip.. \"Both ends look the same, right?\" John nodded, and the wolf continued. \"If this was an adapter, one end would be different. I think this is a hardware keylogger.\"\n\nJohn's expression was one of total bafflement. \"Do which?\"\n\nDavid looked at the small device sourly, as if it were some foul thing he'd scraped off the underside of a rock...or stepped in. \"It records keystrokes. Anything you type, any button on the keyboard you push, it records and probably sends in an e-mail to whoever put it there - all without you knowing.\" John's face slid into an expression of horror, and the wolf nodded. \"It can't track what you do on the Internet - I don't think - but it can certainly record any passwords, any websites you type in, anything you do with the keyboard...\" His voice drifted off, and he stared at his friend. \"Is this why your dad went nuts?\"\n\n\"He...\" John's voice cracked, and he fought it sternly back under control. \"He found some things on my computer...things he didn't like,\" the youth explained softly. \"He called me a sinner, called me...\" The young tiger shook himself, and pushed on. \"He kicked me, then he threw me out into that little shower we had yesterday. I walked from here to Uncle Mike's place, maybe a mile and a half or so, and I was soaked by the time I got there.\"\n\n\"Dude, you should've called me!\" the wolf exclaimed, horrified. \"I'd have given you a ride anywhere. Hells, I'd have walked through it with you if you needed me to!\"\n\n\"I know,\" John said softly. \"But I left my phone...\" he looked up with a sharp inhalation, and turned to the door - only to come face-to-face with his massive uncle, who handed to him the afore-mentioned phone.\n\n\"I think yer battery's dead,\" the huge tiger rumbled. \n\nJohn looked at it, then pocketed the device. \"I'll put it on the charger when I unpack.\" He turned to David, and said softly, \"Let's get the rest of this loaded into my uncle's truck. I don't want to be here when Dad gets back.\"\n\n\"Don't blame you,\" David agreed enthusiastically.\n\nThe tigers and wolf were destined to be disappointed in that regard, however. As the three were loading the last of John's possessions into Matt's truck, a sleek sedan pulled up beside the SUV. The familiar driver's expression was of one who had just bitten into something foul, and John turned quickly to his friend. \"Dave, you better get out of here.\"\n\n\"Okay, but call me!\" the wolf demanded, sprinting for his car. \n\n\"I promise,\" John answered, and his friend disappeared in a storm of roaring engine and squealing tires, just in time for John's father Robert to step out of his sedan.\n\n\"Your burglary took longer than you expected, it seems,\" the slender tiger drawled.\n\nMatt was in no mood to deal equitably with his younger, smaller sibling. He grasped the front of his brother's suit roughly and dragged him closer, snarling viciously. \"I'm gonna say this once, and once only, and you better fuckin' listen if you want to spare yourself a whole world of hurt.\"\n\nHe released his grip on the smaller adult, and made himself take a half-step back. \"There's one reason and one reason only why I don't leave you lying in a steaming pile of your own guts here in this driveway,\" he growled dangerously. \"That reason is standing here behind me. If I butchered you as I'd so dearly love to right now, he'd be a ward o' the state, and he doesn't deserve that.\"\n\nRobert started to speak, but Matthew cut him off abruptly. \"I ain't done with you yet, so shut the fuck up,\" he commanded. \"Here's how it's gonna be. You're gonna get with your lawyer tomorrow and draw up a Power of Attorney for me to act as this boy's legal guardian in every possible way. You will then forget that the both of us even exist. If you don't, or if I don't hear from your lawyer in a week, I'll press charges of child abandonment against you.\"\n\nRobert's jaw clamped tight, as if he were chewing on his own tongue. \"Is that all?\"\n\nMatthew snarled. \"If I thought I had a snowflake's chance in Hell, I'd sue you for child support on top o' it, but much to your dismay, I don't need your fuckin' money to take care of the boy. I may not have gone to college, but I've done well enough. All I need is the legal right to act as the father you've proven you can't be.\"\n\nRobert eyed his elder brother coldly, then turned and stalked into the garage. \"You will hear from my lawyer by mid-week.\" He stormed into the house and slammed the door, leaving his son and his brother staring in his wake.\n\nMatthew shook his head. \"I don't know him anymore,\" the huge tiger murmured sadly. He then put an arm around his nephew and turned to his truck. \"Let's go home.\"\n\n\"Uncle Matt,\" the youth murmured softly as they drove along, \"can I ask you a question?\"\n\n\"Any time,\" Matt answered.\n\n\"Why did you tell me to let David help? I didn't want to dump my problems on him...\"\n\n\"Sometimes you need to dump,\" the older male stated softly. \"And he's your friend. Friends do for Friends. Family does for Family,\" he said softly, returning to his statement from earlier in the morning. \"And sometimes, if you're really lucky, the two get so close that you can't tell `em apart.\"\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Breakfast the next morning was a late, quiet affair.  The two tigers had stayed up late into the night, talking; Matthew held his nephew through several more crying fits.  Eventually, John fell asleep on the couch, and Matt carried his slender nephew into the guest bedroom, tucking him gently in.  The younger tiger, mentally and emotionally exhausted, didn't stir until late the next morning.

John found his clothes, dry and neatly folded, on the dresser; he slipped into his jeans, but didn't bother with the shirt.  As he padded out to the kitchen, he saw Uncle Matt seated at the table, sipping coffee and wearing only the shorts he'd had on the previous night.  The older tiger noted his bare-chested nephew and smiled, but said only, "Good morning, sleepyhead."  

"Mornin', Uncle Matt,'' John replied sleepily.  "Sorry, didn't mean to sleep so late."

"Don't worry `bout it, you had a rough day.  Probably the roughest since you lost your mom," Matt replied softly.  "Want anything?  Toast, eggs, bacon, coffee..."

``Just some OJ right now, if you've got it,'' John answered, seating himself at the table.  The youth sipped at his juice and stared forlornly out the window, and his uncle sighed.

"We're gonna go get your things today," the older tiger said softly.  "How much stuff do you have?  Will the bedroom I gave you be big enough?"

"Well," John answered, "there's plenty of furniture, so I don't think we need to bother with that.  Just what's left of my clothes, my books, CDs and stuff.  My little TV and games, and what's left of my computer."  His uncle shot him an odd glance at that, and John sighed.  "Dad tore my bedroom apart yesterday before I got home from school," he explained.  "Some of my clothes were shredded, and he put a hammer through my computer screen - probably because of all the gay stuff he found on my computer.  He probably doesn't know enough about computers to know where it's really saved; I don't know a lot about the hardware myself, but even I know that the monitor isn't the whole thing."

Matt nodded.  "We'll get you a new monitor and a desk for your bedroom.  And I'll replace whatever he tore up."

John gazed thankfully at his uncle, seemingly on the verge of tears again.  "Uncle Matt, I know I said this a lot yesterday, but thank you.  I don't know where I'd have gone..." his voice broke, and the bigger male took his slender hand and gave it a soft squeeze.  

"Family does for Family," the huge man rumbled softly.  "I think your father's forgotten what love's really about."

The drive seemed very short to John, in light of his storm-drenched trudge of the previous night.  When his uncle's huge SUV arrived at the house, the driveway was empty and the garage door had been left open.  "Accommodating of him," Matt grumbled, backing his massive vehicle up to the open garage.  He shut off the rumbling engine, and looked at his nephew.  "You okay?"  he asked the younger tiger softly.

"As okay as I'm gonna be," John sighed, giving his uncle a weak smile.  "Let's be about it."

The house was unchanged, just as John had always remembered it, save for the furniture that had been jostled during the previous afternoon's scuffle.  John led the way to his bedroom, and Matt whistled softly as he took in the signs of his brother's furious rampage.  "Robbie's always been a neat freak; he must've been really pissed to make a mess like this."

John sighed softly.  "I guess we'd better get started."

They'd procured several large sacks and boxes, and John's possessions were quickly piled into these.  The distance was short and the haul relatively light, so neither tiger had bothered to mark the parcels and bundles that were loaded into Matt's cavernous cargo bed.  They had nearly finished, and John was staring forlornly at the wreckage of his computer, when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of a familiar car rumbling to a halt.  His head jerked up and turned to the entryway, and his uncle quickly noted the reaction.  "That can't be Robbie," he growled.  "No way your dad would drive anything that loud."

"No," John replied quickly, and started for the front door.  "It's a friend of mine."

John was right.  Parked in the street before the house was a sleek, black shining construct that could only be called a 'Muscle Car', driven by the sleek, black, handsome wolf now clambering out of the driver's seat with an expression of concern on his muzzle.  The wolf crossed the small lawn quickly and rang the doorbell; he couldn't hide the expression of surprise - nay, shock - when the door was opened by what looked like a taller, far more muscular, and far less formally clad clone of his best friend's father.  The bulky tiger wore a tank-top shirt that strained to contain his huge frame, a pair of jeans that, although clean, could only be described accurately as `ratty', and an expression that the generous would call `stern' and the easily intimidated would most likely wet themselves upon encountering.  "Excuse me, Sir," the young canid stammered after a brief pause, "But is John here?"

"David," the young tiger behind the wall of striped fur and muscle blocking the doorway asked, "What are you doing here?"

David, the young wolf, glanced at the huge elder tiger before answering.  "Dude, you had me worried sick!  I've been trying to call you and text you since yesterday afternoon!  Are you okay?"

John sighed.  "I'm fine, man, but...things have gone a little crazy.  Do you remember my uncle Matt?" John gestured at the huge older tiger, and David nodded, extending his hand in greeting.

"I remember you, Sir," he addressed the huge tiger cautiously, "but it's been a long time."

"Likewise," Matt rumbled, shaking the youth's offered hand.

"Anyways, I'm going to be staying with him from now on, and we're just here to get my stuff," John told his friend.

David's reply was almost instantaneous.  ``Do you need any help?''

John started to answer that no, in fact, he didn't, but he shot a quick glance at his uncle.  The elder tiger nodded, and John smiled at his friend.  "Sure thing.  All the help I can get."

While the two boys went to gather what few of John's things remained unpacked, Matt paused in the living room, gathering a number of formerly bound papers that had been strewn about.  He glanced at some of the sheets, then grinned wickedly in the general direction of his nephew's wrecked bedroom.  "I'll give ya one thing, boy," he murmured softly, leafing through the printouts.  "You got taste."

Meanwhile, the two youths quickly surveyed the largely abandoned bedroom, settling finally on the computer desk and what used to be a perfectly good monitor.  ``Dude,'' David groaned as if in pain, ``What the Hell?''

John sighed.  "Dad...got really pissed off and put a hammer through my screen."  He wanted to weep at the expression of pity and concern on the wolf's face.  "That's why I'm living with Uncle Matt now."

David knew the tiger well, and he knew that was about the best answer he could expect for now.  "Well," he said softly, "let me get the rest of it disconnected and we'll load it up."  The wolf knew computers; they were something of a hobby for him, and he'd helped set up the machine for John when his father initially gave it to him.  He stopped abruptly, however, and sat up, gazing at a piece he'd removed from the back of the machine as if it were something dangerous.  "The Hell?" the wolf murmured, and John's hackles rose involuntarily.

"What is it?"

David looked up at his best friend, and showed him the small device.  "This was plugged in between your keyboard and the tower," he explained.  "At first I thought it was an adapter, but look at this."  He indicated both sides of the device with a fingertip..  "Both ends look the same, right?"  John nodded, and the wolf continued.  "If this was an adapter, one end would be different.  I think this is a hardware keylogger."

John's expression was one of total bafflement.  "Do which?"

David looked at the small device sourly, as if it were some foul thing he'd scraped off the underside of a rock...or stepped in.  "It records keystrokes.  Anything you type, any button on the keyboard you push, it records and probably sends in an e-mail to whoever put it there - all without you knowing."  John's face slid into an expression of horror, and the wolf nodded. "It can't track what you do on the Internet - I don't think - but it can certainly record any passwords, any websites you type in, anything you do with the keyboard..."  His voice drifted off, and he stared at his friend.  "Is this why your dad went nuts?"

"He..." John's voice cracked, and he fought it sternly back under control.  "He found some things on my computer...things he didn't like," the youth explained softly.  "He called me a sinner, called me..."  The young tiger shook himself, and pushed on.  "He kicked me, then he threw me out into that little shower we had yesterday.  I walked from here to Uncle Mike's place, maybe a mile and a half or so, and I was soaked by the time I got there."

"Dude, you should've called me!" the wolf exclaimed, horrified.  "I'd have given you a ride anywhere.  Hells, I'd have walked through it with you if you needed me to!"

"I know," John said softly.  "But I left my phone..." he looked up with a sharp inhalation, and turned to the door - only to come face-to-face with his massive uncle, who handed to him the afore-mentioned phone.

"I think yer battery's dead," the huge tiger rumbled.  

John looked at it, then pocketed the device.  "I'll put it on the charger when I unpack."  He turned to David, and said softly, "Let's get the rest of this loaded into my uncle's truck.  I don't want to be here when Dad gets back."

"Don't blame you," David agreed enthusiastically.

The tigers and wolf were destined to be disappointed in that regard, however.  As the three were loading the last of John's possessions into Matt's truck, a sleek sedan pulled up beside the SUV.  The familiar driver's expression was of one who had just bitten into something foul, and John turned quickly to his friend.  "Dave, you better get out of here."

"Okay, but call me!" the wolf demanded, sprinting for his car.  

"I promise," John answered, and his friend disappeared in a storm of roaring engine and squealing tires, just in time for John's father Robert to step out of his sedan.

"Your burglary took longer than you expected, it seems," the slender tiger drawled.

Matt was in no mood to deal equitably with his younger, smaller sibling.  He grasped the front of his brother's suit roughly and dragged him closer, snarling viciously.  "I'm gonna say this once, and once only, and you better fuckin' listen if you want to spare yourself a whole world of hurt."

He released his grip on the smaller adult, and made himself take a half-step back.  "There's one reason and one reason only why I don't leave you lying in a steaming pile of your own guts here in this driveway," he growled dangerously.  "That reason is standing here behind me.  If I butchered you as I'd so dearly love to right now, he'd be a ward o' the state, and he doesn't deserve that."

Robert started to speak, but Matthew cut him off abruptly.  "I ain't done with you yet, so shut the fuck up," he commanded.  "Here's how it's gonna be.  You're gonna get with your lawyer tomorrow and draw up a Power of Attorney for me to act as this boy's legal guardian in every possible way.  You will then forget that the both of us even exist.  If you don't, or if I don't hear from your lawyer in a week, I'll press charges of child abandonment against you."

Robert's jaw clamped tight, as if he were chewing on his own tongue.  "Is that all?"

Matthew snarled.  "If I thought I had a snowflake's chance in Hell, I'd sue you for child support on top o' it, but much to your dismay, I don't need your fuckin' money to take care of the boy.  I may not have gone to college, but I've done well enough.  All I need is the legal right to act as the father you've proven you can't be."

Robert eyed his elder brother coldly, then turned and stalked into the garage.  "You will hear from my lawyer by mid-week."  He stormed into the house and slammed the door, leaving his son and his brother staring in his wake.

Matthew shook his head.  "I don't know him anymore," the huge tiger murmured sadly.  He then put an arm around his nephew and turned to his truck. "Let's go home."

"Uncle Matt," the youth murmured softly as they drove along, "can I ask you a question?"

"Any time," Matt answered.

"Why did you tell me to let David help?  I didn't want to dump my problems on him..."

"Sometimes you need to dump," the older male stated softly.  "And he's your friend.  Friends do for Friends.  Family does for Family," he said softly, returning to his statement from earlier in the morning.  "And sometimes, if you're really lucky, the two get so close that you can't tell `em apart."

", "pools_count": 0, "title": "Of A Different Stripe - 03 Salvage Operation", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "29" }