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[18+] “Of Friends and Foes” by Solomon Harries (read by the author)
[18+] Sometimes, as close friends become closer, there comes a time when feelings grow beyond what was originally imagined. A bear struggles with his newfound feelings and desires for his best friend.
Today’s story is “Of Friends and Foes” by Solomon Harries, who’s really just glad to be here, and you can find more of him on SoFurry and BlueSky. You can also view this story in Visual Novel form on itch.io.
Read by the Author.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/18-of-friends-and-foes-by-solomon-harries
Transcript
Today's story concerns adult subject matter for mature listeners.
Speaker:If that's not your cup of tea,
Speaker:or there are youngsters listening,
Speaker:please skip this one
Speaker:and come back for another story another time.
Speaker:You’re listening to Pride Month on The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf, your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“Of Friends and Foes”
Speaker:by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:who’s really just glad to be here, and you can
Speaker:find more of him
Speaker:on SoFurry and BlueSky.
Speaker:The coming out story may be thought of, with some justification,
Speaker:as a cliche, but it is well to remember that a cliche
Speaker:may be only a truth repeated to the point of tedium.
Speaker:It is also well to remember
Speaker:that there is always
Speaker:one coming out story, at least,
Speaker:which is incapable
Speaker:of tedium or cliche:
Speaker:our own. And there is one coming out that must come
Speaker:before any other may be possible:
Speaker:to ourselves. Read by the Author.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Of Friends and Foes”
Speaker:by Solomon Harries
Speaker:The morning dew was still hanging in the air, stinging Sekyr’s ursine nostrils as he inhaled and stepped his clawed feet into a wide, stable stance.
Speaker:It was early. The sky was clear and bright,
Speaker:with the first rays of sun just starting to beam down from the trees.
Speaker:The brown-furred bear narrowed his eyes.
Speaker:He was wrapped in his martial arts gi,
Speaker:maybe a size or two too small for him,
Speaker:covering up a large, tight belly and,
Speaker:well, not quite covering up a set of pecs that he clearly trained very hard for. He narrowed his eyes and
Speaker:squared up with his opponent,
Speaker:digging his claws into the packed dirt of the disused horse corral.
Speaker:The cold soil worked between his toes,
Speaker:grounding his chi as he took a breath.
Speaker:Across from him, standing a foot taller than the stout bear,
Speaker:the wiry Thorn perked his ears
Speaker:and swished his bushy fox tail,
Speaker:wearing a belted white tunic and loose green trousers that contrasted kindly with his tan fur.
Speaker:Thorn broke a wry smile.
Speaker:“You ready, buddy?” Sekyr spread his arms wide.
Speaker:“I’m ready,” he growled.
Speaker:The fox dashed toward the bear with his signature speed,
Speaker:and though Sekyr got ready to grab him,
Speaker:Thorn ducked and broke away to the left at the last moment,
Speaker:with a playful slap to the bear’s round belly,
Speaker:igniting a charge of excitement in him.
Speaker:“Too slo-” Thorn’s victorious exclamation was cut short
Speaker:as Sekyr darted his leg back to trip him.
Speaker:Now to anyone watching from the sidelines –
Speaker:not that anyone was watching,
Speaker:they were alone – this would just look like a couple of friends doing some morning training.
Speaker:You might miss the doting way Sekyr looked at Thorn.
Speaker:He’d been doing that for a few days now.
Speaker:Sekyr had been having some trouble activating an enchantment,
Speaker:and was forced to look deep inside himself.
Speaker:What he found was not just the solution he was looking for –
Speaker:in synchronizing the discordant rhythms of the enchantment,
Speaker:he was forced to face a fact he’d been ignoring as it bubbled to the surface.
Speaker:The bear was quite surprised to realize
Speaker:he’d slowly fallen in love with this fox over the past few months adventuring together.
Speaker:Of course, no such matter of the heart is ever simple.
Speaker:Sekyr was very afraid of what his newfound realization would do to their friendship.
Speaker:And for the past couple of days,
Speaker:he’d been avoiding Thorn,
Speaker:skipping their daily training and burying his head in studies of enchanting with the old badger tinkerer, Alphonse.
Speaker:But Thorn had been persistent this morning.
Speaker:And Alphonse had headed out the previous night to buy supplies.
Speaker:He’d asked the duo to stay at the lodge and watch out for goblins,
Speaker:so the bear had had no more excuses.
Speaker:The tripped fox managed to catch himself,
Speaker:folding his lithe, agile body into a roll
Speaker:as the bear spun around to try and grab him again,
Speaker:but Sekyr only got a fistful of air as the tumbling fox’s delightfully soft tail whipped through his fingers.
Speaker:They’d been doing odd jobs to defend local villages, spelunk caves,
Speaker:and fight off who knows how many monsters.
Speaker:Spending hours and hours together.
Speaker:And they’d grown very close.
Speaker:But Thorn had mentioned once how he might eventually settle down and have a wife and kids.
Speaker:That was what everyone did.
Speaker:Sekyr had thought maybe he would go back to the monastery he’d studied at
Speaker:and eventually become a master and teach.
Speaker:It had seemed like a good plan.
Speaker:He really didn’t expect to get so attached to his adventuring partner. What would
Speaker:Thorn think,
Speaker:he thought, if I told him?
Speaker:Would he be mad? Would he leave?
Speaker:Just the thought of parting ways with this handsome fox twisted his stomach into knots.
Speaker:Sekyr was taken by surprise as Thorn swept his legs out from under him.
Speaker:In his reverie, he hadn’t noticed his attacker get under his defenses.
Speaker:The big bear landed hard on his back,
Speaker:his monk training failing him for just a moment,
Speaker:and the fox landed heavily on top of him,
Speaker:his right arm across Sekyr’s chest,
Speaker:and his left miming a dagger strike to the bear’s jugular.
Speaker:Thorn was breathing hard,
Speaker:the fog of his breath rolling across Sekyr’s face.
Speaker:Sekyr could feel the fox’s warm weight pressing on his belly as Thorn sat on him.
Speaker:“You okay big guy?
Speaker:You look a bit distracted,”
Speaker:the smiling fox said,
Speaker:clearly happy he’d bested his training partner.
Speaker:He searched Sekyr’s face with his beautiful green eyes.
Speaker:“I’m, uh, just a bit out of practice, I guess,”
Speaker:Sekyr pushed Thorn off of him to the side as he stood up.
Speaker:He shook his head,
Speaker:disappointed with himself.
Speaker:He shouldn’t let himself get stuck in his head like that.
Speaker:They squared up again.
Speaker:This time, Thorn waited for Sekyr to make the first move.
Speaker:The bear advanced,
Speaker:feinted left, and aimed a punch with his right toward Thorn’s head.
Speaker:The fox saw it and blocked, leaving his left side open.
Speaker:Sekyr aimed a kick to his side and connected
Speaker:(softly of course, since they were just training).
Speaker:Before he could bring his foot back in, though, Thorn brought his paw down and hooked the leg with his left arm,
Speaker:jabbing a couple of times with his right.
Speaker:The bear pushed forward,
Speaker:putting his weight on the caught leg while giving as much of a jump as he could from the other.
Speaker:The fox was surprised enough by the move that he didn’t have the sense to let go of the bear’s leg,
Speaker:which meant the bear would land directly on top of him.
Speaker:“Oof!” the fox exclaimed as he hit the ground under a few hundred pounds of bear. Sekyr had
Speaker:managed to catch most of his own weight
Speaker:but there was still plenty left,
Speaker:especially around the midsection.
Speaker:The two were panting again. Sekyr’s
Speaker:snout was right at Thorn’s neck,
Speaker:and he could smell the fox’s woodsy scent with every inhale.
Speaker:How had he not noticed how intoxicating it was before?
Speaker:Was that cedar? he asked himself.
Speaker:Did he rub himself with cedar?
Speaker:Did he do that every day?
Speaker:The fox wheezed a little bit
Speaker:and the bear started.
Speaker:“Oh, sorry Thorn!” Sekyr quickly apologized as he stood up,
Speaker:grabbing the fox’s supple yet strong paw and helping him up too.
Speaker:The fox looked down and grinned.
Speaker:“Uh, buddy, you sure you’re not distracted?”
Speaker:The bear followed his gaze as he noticed the front of his gi was open.
Speaker:And to his horror,
Speaker:his full erection on display.
Speaker:He quickly covered up as best he could,
Speaker:silently cursing his decision not to wear – or even own – undergarments.
Speaker:Probably still worth it though. “Uh,
Speaker:I… I need to get some water.”
Speaker:He was so embarrassed, he couldn’t come up with anything else.
Speaker:He just turned and ran back toward Alphonse’s lodge,
Speaker:very aware of his boner bouncing against his belly
Speaker:as he ran. Shit, shit, shit! Sekyr swore to himself.
Speaker:You’ve trained with him a hundred times,
Speaker:what the hell is wrong with you?
Speaker:He’s gonna hate you for this,
Speaker:ruining a good friendship, he’s gonna leave!
Speaker:He threw open the door to the lodge,
Speaker:heading straight past the dining table for the sink,
Speaker:touched the rune that activated it,
Speaker:and splashed the cool water directly on his face.
Speaker:He hung his head in the sink as the water ran over him.
Speaker:He’s just your friend, he’s just your friend, he’s just…
Speaker:so amazing. Those eyes of his.
Speaker:Sekyr remembered all the care Thorn showed over these past few months.
Speaker:Every time he was down, angry, scared -
Speaker:there the fox was, to comfort him.
Speaker:To tell him he’d be okay.
Speaker:Fuck, what is going on with me?
Speaker:Sekyr looked up at the shelf above the sink,
Speaker:at the row of bottles with the X’s on them.
Speaker:He needed to stop all these feelings burning in his heart.
Speaker:He grabbed the vodka and a glass and flopped into a chair next to the table.
Speaker:He popped the cork out and sniffed it.
Speaker:Poured a couple fingers.
Speaker:Picked up the glass.
Speaker:His hands were shaking.
Speaker:It felt like his insides were churning and screaming all at once.
Speaker:Thorn’s voice called from the open doorway.
Speaker:“There you are. Hey that’s not–”
Speaker:Sekyr jumped at the unexpected sound.
Speaker:His heavy muscles twitched.
Speaker:His grip on the glass tightened.
Speaker:The glass cracked and shattered.
Speaker:The alcohol stung his nose and eyes,
Speaker:and as it splashed over him he sensed rage bubbling up.
Speaker:The bear peered through the dripping vodka over at his fox,
Speaker:seeing those eyes full of care and fear.
Speaker:Sekyr was overwhelmed.
Speaker:It was just too much.
Speaker:His head swarmed with rage and fear and love and disappointment and embarrassment and shame and guilt.
Speaker:All of the emotions, screaming with their different voices at once,
Speaker:quickly merged into a single high-pitched whine that was deafening.
Speaker:His vision blurred.
Speaker:His skin went numb.
Speaker:His face slackened as he entered a full shutdown.
Speaker:His brain filled with a buzzing that drowned out all his senses.
Speaker:He couldn’t hear his fox’s gentle pleadings
Speaker:or feel his arms around him as Thorn just held him,
Speaker:saying things like
Speaker:“You’re safe now”
Speaker:and “It’s okay” and “I’m sorry”. The distraught
Speaker:fox finally fell silent, just holding the catatonic bear.
Speaker:Sekyr’s quick, ragged breaths eventually calmed as Thorn breathed slowly with him.
Speaker:Thorn had seen this happen before –
Speaker:Sekyr sometimes got overwhelmed like this.
Speaker:The fox had learned he can usually head it off by helping tease his feelings out one by one,
Speaker:but he couldn’t figure out why Sekyr should be this conflicted.
Speaker:We were just sparring, he thought,
Speaker:like we do almost every morning.
Speaker:And his boner - he probably just needed to pee. Nothing wrong with that.
Speaker:What could be bothering him so much?
Speaker:Thorn needed to bring him back from the shutdown first, if he could.
Speaker:Something without an emotional weight to it that he could focus on while the feelings chilled out.
Speaker:Sekyr’s mind continued to buzz with noise,
Speaker:half-formed thoughts swimming back and forth.
Speaker:Eventually – the bear couldn’t tell how long it was –
Speaker:Thorn’s words slowly filtered through the brain fuzz.
Speaker:“Hey, tell me again, buddy.
Speaker:What are the steps to enchanting?”
Speaker:The bear’s response started slowly as dozens of tables and figures he’d memorized from books came to mind,
Speaker:distracting him from the heavy feelings.
Speaker:“First… there’s materials.
Speaker:Not just any object can be enchanted. There are specific compounds, like graphite, that deter magic,
Speaker:and specific ones like aluminum that attract it.”
Speaker:Thorn gently grabbed Sekyr’s right paw and examined it.
Speaker:There was a small cut.
Speaker:The bear continued,
Speaker:“Once you know an object is the right materials, then you can start adding the runes -
Speaker:you have to map how the energy will enter and encircle the object,
Speaker:how it’s going to bend reality.
Speaker:It varies with the shape of the object and it’s really tricky to map out an object’s natural ley lines.
Speaker:But you get a feel for it eventually, at least what I’ve read.”
Speaker:Thorn licked Sekyr’s injured paw clean,
Speaker:tasting the low-quality vodka mixed with blood and whatever else was on there.
Speaker:It was bitter in his mouth.
Speaker:But the fox didn’t seem to mind.
Speaker:“The last step is powering it with your magic.
Speaker:If you do it right, the energy winds around the object,
Speaker:wrapping in on itself, and has the desired effect.
Speaker:If you do it wrong, then the enchantment fizzles out or possibly explodes,
Speaker:it’s kind of dangerous.”
Speaker:Thorn scratched Sekyr’s back, in his favorite spot where he couldn’t reach.
Speaker:“The last enchantment step is sealing it so that it can’t be altered or destroyed
Speaker:and to keep the energy self-sustaining.
Speaker:That part’s not as tricky because the process is the same for every object.”
Speaker:As the scratching got more intense,
Speaker:Sekyr’s footpaw started to shake.
Speaker:The bear looked up as the fox looked down and gave him a big booze-soaked squeeze.
Speaker:Thorn said, tentatively,
Speaker:“I’ll get this cleaned up.
Speaker:You go rinse off.” ~
Speaker:Sun rises, friends grapple,
Speaker:Fox dodges, bear tackles.
Speaker:Musk smelled, passion rising,
Speaker:Secret revealed, awful timing.
Speaker:Glass shatters, booze spills.
Speaker:Close friends, closer still. ~
Speaker:The outdoor shower felt wonderful.
Speaker:Sekyr let out a huge sigh as the warm water eased his tension.
Speaker:Warm showers were unheard of everywhere else he’d ever been.
Speaker:He remembered the fascination as he’d first examined the enchanted segments of copper piping.
Speaker:One to force the water upward from the reservoir,
Speaker:one to warm it, and the last one to purify it right before it flowed out of the showerhead.
Speaker:The bear closed his eyes as he let the water wash the vodka and small glass shards out of his fur.
Speaker:Why do I feel so exhausted? It’s still morning, he thought to himself,
Speaker:replaying the events of the morning in his head.
Speaker:With a little distance, the memories came into clearer focus.
Speaker:Thorn is such a great friend.
Speaker:The way he cares for me.
Speaker:Before him, no one ever seemed to care for me that much.
Speaker:It’s no wonder I’m in love with him,
Speaker:but if I tell him, will it push him away?
Speaker:I can’t give him up. I want to be with him all the time.
Speaker:Hug him. Smell him.
Speaker:Wait - The bear suddenly gasped,
Speaker:choking on the deluge of water coming down.
Speaker:Does that make me… gay?
Speaker:I never thought of myself as gay. But,
Speaker:well - Sekyr looked down at his, uh,
Speaker:obvious physical response to his thoughts of his best friend -
Speaker:that hadn’t happened for him before.
Speaker:Maybe then, just gay… for him?
Speaker:This doesn’t make any sense.
Speaker:He shook his head and started considering his options as he rubbed his arms and belly under the stream of water.
Speaker:I have to tell him, right?
Speaker:If I don’t, I couldn’t train with him any more,
Speaker:unless I figure out how to stop loving him.
Speaker:And I couldn’t do that, that’d be worse than losing him.
Speaker:Or maybe the feelings will fade and things can go back to normal,
Speaker:though they’ve been getting stronger every day. …but
Speaker:I might lose him if I tell him.
Speaker:He might get all weirded out.
Speaker:Or mad. Thinking I’ve been like,
Speaker:ogling him all this time we’ve spent together.
Speaker:Or, maybe. Maybe he could love me too.
Speaker:Is that too much to hope for?
Speaker:Sekyr couldn’t understand why he couldn’t figure it out.
Speaker:If it was a puzzle in an ancient ruined temple,
Speaker:or reading rune sequences off of a cursed artifact,
Speaker:he could do it in a flash.
Speaker:Or even if it was some shapeshifting psychic spider monster in front of him,
Speaker:he could fight his way out.
Speaker:So what was it about looking into Thorn’s deep green eyes that froze him up so much?
Speaker:It was getting overwhelming again.
Speaker:And crap, he’d forgotten to bring his towel.
Speaker:No sooner did the bear realize that than he saw the fox walking up,
Speaker:towel in paw, ears down,
Speaker:and an apologetic look on his face.
Speaker:Sekyr grabbed the towel as fast as he could and covered himself.
Speaker:Thorn quickly hid his amusement.
Speaker:Sekyr had never been shy about his body in the months they’d been together.
Speaker:Why start now? Delicately, he started,
Speaker:“Hey big guy, it happens to everybody.
Speaker:I don’t know why you’re embarrassed, but I want you to know I don’t take any offense.”
Speaker:Thorn kept his eyes averted,
Speaker:trying to be sensitive to the bear’s apparently newfound sense of modesty. “We really
Speaker:haven’t talked at all since we arrived here a few days ago.
Speaker:What happened?” Sekyr took a long pause.
Speaker:May as well get it over with.
Speaker:“Thorn, I have something to tell you.” ~
Speaker:The wooden wagon wheels ground on the packed earth of the trail,
Speaker:and the mechanical ox construct clanked as it pulled the cart.
Speaker:The rhythmic sounds had started to make Alphonse’s tired old badger eyes a bit sleepy.
Speaker:He loosely held the reins on the old wagon’s bench next to his mechanical wolf. Ugh,
Speaker:he’d been out too late and up too early.
Speaker:Gotta stay awake though.
Speaker:Stay alert, he thought to himself.
Speaker:He had never been too worried about goblins.
Speaker:Sure, they lived in the forest to the southeast of his tucked-away lodge,
Speaker:and sometimes he saw them on the road to the city.
Speaker:But if they ever got too close, a few flashy spells scared them off right quick.
Speaker:Which was just fine, all things considered,
Speaker:because Alphonse didn’t much fancy getting in a battle with anybody.
Speaker:His left shoulder, where his mechanical arm was attached,
Speaker:it got sore pretty easy nowadays.
Speaker:And he didn’t move quite as fast as he used to.
Speaker:He did have Wolf with him,
Speaker:though the mechanical canine hadn’t really been battle-tested yet.
Speaker:Unless you count Thorn playing with him constantly,
Speaker:he thought. Which you really can’t.
Speaker:The fox is too easy on him.
Speaker:Fun to watch though.
Speaker:The bear certainly enjoys watching that fox.
Speaker:Alphonse had noticed Sekyr looking at Thorn constantly,
Speaker:whenever the fox wouldn’t notice.
Speaker:Seems kinda gay,
Speaker:he’d thought. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Speaker:He’s been a good apprentice so far.
Speaker:Quite outstanding, really.
Speaker:They should get together. It’d be cute.
Speaker:Alphonse jolted awake in an instant,
Speaker:but Wolf’s warning bark had come too late.
Speaker:Immediately a couple of arrows sank into Wolf’s leather plating
Speaker:and he fell down on the wagon’s bench, deactivated.
Speaker:The old badger sent off a couple Concussion Burst spells toward where he guessed the arrows had come from.
Speaker:The two tiny blue orbs streaked into the trees and shook them with a loud paired bang-bang.
Speaker:Among the leaves falling,
Speaker:he thought he saw a goblin body fall too.
Speaker:“Ox, faster!” he called –
Speaker:yes, its name was Ox,
Speaker:Alphonse never got too fancy with names,
Speaker:he thought it was kind of pretentious –
Speaker:and the big metal beast started galloping as fast as it could.
Speaker:The badger stood up,
Speaker:to better balance on the now-heavily-bouncing wagon,
Speaker:and looked back to see a gaggle of goblins riding their lizard mounts, chasing him.
Speaker:They were weird looking, though.
Speaker:He lowered his arcane monocle and used it to get a closer look.
Speaker:Now, goblins aren’t necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing of creatures –
Speaker:I mean, some people can be into them, just talking in general – but
Speaker:these goblins seemed to have an extra dose of ugly.
Speaker:One of them he noticed had a freakishly long right arm,
Speaker:and a few had weird tumorous growths sticking out in odd places.
Speaker:But they were much more muscular than usual.
Speaker:I guess maybe someone could be into that.
Speaker:Alphonse certainly wasn’t.
Speaker:What he was paying attention to was that they were closing on him, fast.
Speaker:Luckily he was near home,
Speaker:where hopefully his guests could help out.
Speaker:“Faster, Ox!” he called again. ~
Speaker:The fox was eager to hear what had been bothering his friend.
Speaker:He responded, “What’s on your mind, big guy?”
Speaker:The bear hesitated.
Speaker:“Thorn, I think I’m–”
Speaker:he was interrupted by two loud bangs echoing from the forest.
Speaker:The pair looked over and spotted Alphonse’s wagon nearly tilting over
Speaker:as it turned the corner into view.
Speaker:The mechanical ox was running faster than top speed,
Speaker:with fragments of metal parts flying off.
Speaker:Alphonse was holding his hat with one paw and the reins with the other,
Speaker:standing and tilting to keep his balance on the bouncing wagon,
Speaker:and Thorn noted with a pang in his heart
Speaker:that Wolf had a couple arrows sticking out of its torso.
Speaker:Thorn said, “Oh, shit.”
Speaker:He took off at a run.
Speaker:Sekyr quickly fastened his towel around his waist and ran toward the forest.
Speaker:Thorn, weaponless and still just in his tunic and trousers,
Speaker:had hidden behind one of the big trees at the mouth of the path,
Speaker:and Sekyr set up across from him right as the wagon whizzed by.
Speaker:Sekyr and Thorn’s eyes met as they synchronized their charge,
Speaker:stepping into the path directly behind the wagon to see a number of armed goblins riding big lizards.
Speaker:Thorn clotheslined the first goblin off of his mount,
Speaker:quickly disarming him of his short sword as he fell.
Speaker:The second goblin narrowly dodged Sekyr’s shove by jumping off of his lizard.
Speaker:Sekyr and Thorn moved back to back as the six remaining goblins surrounded them.
Speaker:“Goblins!?” Thorn exclaimed.
Speaker:“Alphonse should have been able to take care of these little guys, easy.”
Speaker:Behind him, Sekyr nodded
Speaker:as he channeled chi energy into his Surrounding Sight spell.
Speaker:Six glowing green eyes appeared above his head,
Speaker:each tracking one of the goblins.
Speaker:The bear’s increased perception was able to see what was different.
Speaker:They all had a purplish glow coming from behind their leather chest armor. That’s unusual.
Speaker:“Might not be a fair fight.”
Speaker:The goblin that had dodged Sekyr attempted to strike first,
Speaker:jabbing his spear toward the bear’s leg.
Speaker:Sekyr moved to block, but the goblin’s strike was surprisingly fast.
Speaker:The spear cut into the side of his leg.
Speaker:The bear let out a roar of pain and grabbed at the spear as the goblin withdrew it,
Speaker:but again it moved too quickly.
Speaker:Thorn had his own attacker -
Speaker:he parried the first knife strike with his stolen short sword,
Speaker:but the off-hand knife managed to slice through the fox’s tunic,
Speaker:leaving a long cut in his chest.
Speaker:“Fuck! These guys are too fast!”
Speaker:Thorn said, doing his best to dodge and parry more attacks as they came in.
Speaker:Sekyr wasn’t faring any better.
Speaker:His towel had fallen off at some point, forgotten in the heat of battle.
Speaker:The way the bear moved his weight and jiggled as he dodged and struck might have been hypnotic,
Speaker:if anyone watching were into that sort of thing.
Speaker:The goblins apparently weren’t.
Speaker:The pair kept moving, managing to get in a couple good hits each,
Speaker:but taking more than a few as well.
Speaker:Sekyr managed to use his chi energy in a weak Knockback Surge,
Speaker:and he would have used more,
Speaker:but something was blocking his chi flow.
Speaker:Probably the unfinished business with Thorn.
Speaker:He needed to take care of that as soon as possible.
Speaker:Just then, they heard Wolf’s mechanical bark as it ran up.
Speaker:It was still missing some of its metal plating,
Speaker:but it was heartening to see Alphonse had been able to reactivate him.
Speaker:Wolf jumped on the shoulders of one of the goblins and over Thorn and Sekyr,
Speaker:dropping two bluish-green potion vials from his mouth.
Speaker:Now normally, it’s not a good idea to drink an unlabeled potion out of nowhere.
Speaker:But the fox and the bear didn’t really have any other options.
Speaker:Alphonse likely knew what he was doing, anyway.
Speaker:So down the potions went, before the goblins had time to figure out what was going on.
Speaker:Thorn recognized the horseradish-like taste and the tingling that washed over him,
Speaker:and the sudden hush of time slowing down.
Speaker:“Potions of quickness, huh.”
Speaker:Thorn said, very speedily,
Speaker:as Sekyr’s potion was taking effect too.
Speaker:Sekyr felt his muscles clench and twitch, responding to every impulse far faster than he’d ever thought possible.
Speaker:Grinning, he deflected the goblin’s incoming spear attack with his left,
Speaker:then shifted his weight forward,
Speaker:punching with his right directly to the goblin’s face.
Speaker:One, two, three punches in a row
Speaker:before the goblin could even react.
Speaker:He felt the satisfying crunch of the goblin’s nose breaking.
Speaker:The big bear popped forward with a belly push that sent the goblin flying into the trees.
Speaker:“Who’s next?” he smiled.
Speaker:Thorn’s borrowed short sword flashed,
Speaker:flying left and right to deflect two knife strikes,
Speaker:then stab-stab two strikes into the goblin’s leather armor,
Speaker:sinking deep enough to hurt.
Speaker:He planted a solid kick to its chest,
Speaker:sending it sprawling backward right into a tree trunk.
Speaker:The fox and the bear turned,
Speaker:both smiling in the exhilaration of battle,
Speaker:their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments.
Speaker:In the flash of the fox’s green eyes,
Speaker:the glimpse of his best friend’s smirk,
Speaker:his big, oh-so-fuzzy ears flopping with the quick head movement,
Speaker:Sekyr felt a surge of energy in his chest.
Speaker:His chi released,
Speaker:flowing up and down his spine in a wave of raw power.
Speaker:Ducking under a scimitar swing and deflecting a dagger,
Speaker:he stepped forward and struck two of the goblins right in their chests,
Speaker:his claws piercing and grabbing their armor.
Speaker:He let out a deep, primal roar
Speaker:and channeled his energy into his palms as he lifted them,
Speaker:and two beams of bright green-white light propelled the wide-eyed goblins arcing through the forest canopy.
Speaker:Thorn caught one of the goblins’ dropped daggers in its slow-motion arc toward the ground,
Speaker:throwing it into the shoulder of one of the two remaining attackers,
Speaker:and let out his own, smaller, cuter, primal roar.
Speaker:The last goblin dropped its flail and ran off as fast as it could.
Speaker:“AND STAY OUT!” Thorn yelled after it,
Speaker:jumping up and down as the last of the potion’s energy drained out of him.
Speaker:The big lizards just sat there,
Speaker:one of them starting to munch on a bush.
Speaker:After the two caught their breath,
Speaker:Sekyr leaned down and picked up a glowing purple pendant that had fallen off into the dirt.
Speaker:“What the heck is that?”
Speaker:Thorn said as they started to walk back together,
Speaker:limping from their various wounds.
Speaker:Sekyr was about to say,
Speaker:“I don’t know.” But what came blurting out was
Speaker:“I love you.” Thorn turned around,
Speaker:confused, certain he’d misheard it.
Speaker:“What?” Well, shit. He considered backpedaling.
Speaker:But no, it was time to get it out in the open.
Speaker:Sekyr was fed up with hiding his feelings.
Speaker:No sooner than he’d made the decision,
Speaker:the words started spilling out of his mouth.
Speaker:“I realized it a couple days ago.
Speaker:And I thought it might go away.
Speaker:Maybe it will. But I can’t hold it in any more.
Speaker:I’m in love with you, Thorn.
Speaker:I want to hold you.
Speaker:And smell you.
Speaker:And… kiss you.” This was not what Thorn was expecting to hear from the bear.
Speaker:To be honest, though, he really didn’t know what he was expecting.
Speaker:Thorn stammered, “But…
Speaker:we’re… you’re not…
Speaker:I’m not… And we’re just…”
Speaker:His tail lowered between his legs,
Speaker:and his ears went down. Sekyr’s
Speaker:ears dropped too.
Speaker:“I know. It doesn’t make any sense to me either.
Speaker:And I don’t want it to make things weird between us.
Speaker:But I had to tell you.”
Speaker:The fox looked into the bear’s ashamed but pleading eyes.
Speaker:Searched and considered.
Speaker:The silence stretched.
Speaker:Thorn was certainly fond of Sekyr,
Speaker:and these past few months had been the best time of his life,
Speaker:thanks in no small part to this big bear standing in front of him.
Speaker:Did Thorn love this bear?
Speaker:Well, thinking about it,
Speaker:yeah, he kind of really did.
Speaker:And seeing him standing there,
Speaker:now completely naked to him in every possible way,
Speaker:he only felt more affection than ever.
Speaker:The fox could see nothing but good reasons to dive in.
Speaker:The big naked bear couldn’t stand the silence.
Speaker:He started, “I–” But Thorn stopped him by leaning in and grabbing Sekyr’s shoulders.
Speaker:He licked the bear’s snout,
Speaker:and smiled at his look of utter surprise.
Speaker:Sekyr smelled Thorn’s breath,
Speaker:felt the moisture of his lick and
Speaker:needed more. He leaned in and their mouths met,
Speaker:explored, first tentatively,
Speaker:then as they felt each other’s warmth and wetness,
Speaker:they embraced tighter
Speaker:and their tongues explored further.
Speaker:Sekyr’s paws ran across Thorn’s chest
Speaker:and the fox winced as his chest wound flashed with pain.
Speaker:“Oh shit! Sorry,” the bear apologized.
Speaker:“It’s fine, we should go get cleaned up anyway.”
Speaker:They both turned to see Alphonse holding what appeared to be a very complex, powerful, portable arcane cannon,
Speaker:standing with his mouth agape,
Speaker:staring directly at the big naked bear’s uncovered erection.
Speaker:The fox and the bear looked at Alphonse.
Speaker:A drop of precum caught the midmorning sunlight as
Speaker:it fell from Sekyr’s penis to the ground. Alphonse said,
Speaker:“The, uh, goblins gone?” Sekyr
Speaker:said,
Speaker:“Yeah.” “Um… the potions helped?”
Speaker:Thorn said, “Yeah.” “Oh good.”
Speaker:The badger was still staring.
Speaker:“We’re gonna go get cleaned up.
Speaker:Can you keep watch?” Thorn asked.
Speaker:“Uh, yeah.” The badger finally looked up. The cannon whirred and smoked a little.
Speaker:“I’ve, uh, got a big cannon too, heh heh,”
Speaker:he tried to joke as he tilted his head toward the weapon he was holding.
Speaker:A pause, and he just coughed and looked toward the forest,
Speaker:and awkwardly began to set up a tripod for his cannon.
Speaker:As Thorn and Sekyr walked back to the shower,
Speaker:Sekyr grabbed Thorn’s paw and held it.
Speaker:Thorn squeezed it
Speaker:and looked over at Sekyr
Speaker:and smiled. ~ The warm water flowed over their closed eyes as they kissed again,
Speaker:holding each other close and savoring each other’s warm touch.
Speaker:Thorn pulled back and ran his paws along his bear’s fur,
Speaker:checking for injuries and making sure each one was cleaned out properly.
Speaker:He started with Sekyr’s arms and chest.
Speaker:Then he moved on to his back, legs, and sizable rump,
Speaker:and circled around to the front again.
Speaker:Thorn was down low,
Speaker:and he saw the water running down Sekyr’s belly,
Speaker:cascading onto the bear’s no-longer-ashamed erection.
Speaker:He’d never seen one this close,
Speaker:especially not in this state.
Speaker:The pinkish head peeked out of the dark brown foreskin.
Speaker:It was bouncing up and down with his heartbeat, the fox noticed.
Speaker:He looked up at his bear’s eyes,
Speaker:seeing a mix of nervousness and yearning.
Speaker:Sekyr gently caressed the fox’s cheek. A tentative
Speaker:paw reached up and touched the bear’s shaft,
Speaker:wrapping around and gripping it.
Speaker:Sekyr gasped. Thorn marveled.
Speaker:Wow, it’s so much thicker than mine.
Speaker:Shorter too, by a little bit.
Speaker:The fox got an idea.
Speaker:There was so much pleasure for his bear,
Speaker:ready for him to unlock.
Speaker:But hands were too clumsy.
Speaker:He had never sucked dick before,
Speaker:had never even thought about it.
Speaker:But he wasn’t much wary about trying new things.
Speaker:He’d gotten a blowjob before,
Speaker:so he kind of knew how it worked.
Speaker:How difficult could it be?
Speaker:He started with a lick,
Speaker:just the head, eliciting a jump and deep moan from his bear.
Speaker:The burst of salty taste mixed with the scent of bear,
Speaker:the comforting musk he’d gotten used to falling asleep next to night after night.
Speaker:Then a longer lick,
Speaker:up from the balls all the way up the shaft.
Speaker:He seems to like that, Thorn
Speaker:thought.
Speaker:He was a bit surprised to find he liked it too.
Speaker:As he explored different tongue techniques, he remembered that this was Sekyr,
Speaker:this was his buddy.
Speaker:He cared about him, deeply,
Speaker:and this was another way to show it.
Speaker:A really good way,
Speaker:if Sekyr’s moans were any indication.
Speaker:Thorn opened up his muzzle,
Speaker:letting the bear’s thick member slide in.
Speaker:Sekyr’s fingers jumped on his ears initially (
Speaker:Oh shit, no teeth no teeth, I should know that )
Speaker:but the fox found a good position and started to slide back and forth.
Speaker:He reached up and fondled his balls a little bit too,
Speaker:knowing how much he himself liked that.
Speaker:Sekyr couldn’t believe it.
Speaker:He wasn’t expecting Thorn to go all in on the whole relationship thing so quickly.
Speaker:He had had no idea what to expect.
Speaker:But this… it feels right,
Speaker:he thought. It feels good.
Speaker:Really really — oh.
Speaker:The bear’s paws tightened on Thorn’s cheeks and the moans
Speaker:got deeper and louder.
Speaker:His cock started jumping and throbbing on Thorn’s tongue.
Speaker:Sekyr stifled a roar
Speaker:as he emptied all his passion
Speaker:into his best friend.
Speaker:It was bitter in his mouth.
Speaker:But the fox didn’t seem to mind. ~
Speaker:The two sat, fur still a little moist,
Speaker:applying healing salve to each other’s wounds.
Speaker:“Thanks, Thorn,” Sekyr said.
Speaker:“It’s just healing salve, we’ve done this a thousand times.”
Speaker:“No, not for that.
Speaker:For… taking care of me today.
Speaker:Even when I was being weird.”
Speaker:“Any time, buddy. You know I care about you.”
Speaker:“And also thanks for the, uh,
Speaker:the shower thing.” “Oh. Yeah, I can tell you liked it.”
Speaker:“I did. A lot. Do you want me to, uh…”
Speaker:Sekyr gestured to Thorn’s crotch.
Speaker:Thorn paused and thought about it.
Speaker:“Um, I don’t really know.
Speaker:Not right now at least.
Speaker:I don’t know what I want.
Speaker:But I’m pretty sure I want to figure it out with you.”
Speaker:Thorn reached to hold his bear’s paw.
Speaker:“And Sekyr?” “Yeah?” “I love you too.”
Speaker:The bear smiled as they sat.
Speaker:He felt warm, like the first rays of sunshine after a dark winter were shining from inside of him.
Speaker:It was a good feeling. ~
Speaker:Hands hold, water flows,
Speaker:Fear shrinks, passion grows.
Speaker:Knees bent, ground hallowed,
Speaker:Desire tasted, then swallowed.
Speaker:Two hearts, undressed,
Speaker:Love revealed, love confessed.
Speaker:~ This was “Of Friends and Foes” by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:read for you by the Author. You can
Speaker:find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Happy Pride, and Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.
