FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

You ready to see if the young Chero gets laid? Find out here, in Chapter 3.

** Disclaimer**

This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. The subject matter covered in this piece is for mature audiences. Enjoy!

***

True to Chero's desire, Dante became his escort that night. He insisted that Dante shower again before they left, then to spend an additional half hour in the hot water. Only then was Chero comfortable taking him out in public.

Tonight they would be going to another club where Dante had been asked to entertain. This time it was the Cactus, catering to an older male crowd than the last.

At the door, the security stopped Chero twice from entering. The doberman brought his identification card up to his nose as if trying to smell it with discretion. Ancient habits were hard to break.

Nearly an hour later, Dante realized Chero wasn't in the club. He asked for the mouse and found him outside watching trolleys and lights in the distant neighborhoods.

"Hey yana-sal, you coming? Happy hour's still on!"

Chero cheerfully shook his head.

"Why not? I thought this was what you wanted."

The mouse glanced over at the doberman letting new patrons in. "He said I couldn't come in and told me to leave."

That was all it took for Dante to ask Suuju, his acquaintance on many nights in the party circuit, in the most subtle manner, what was the deal with the wierdo standing outside that people were taking about? The answer made Dante's jaw drop.

"For real?" Suuju nodded and Dante had to find out for himself.

The mouse smiled coyly at his approach. "Don't tell me you convinced him to let me in, bolli-fortune-teller?"

The panther leaned in and showed just the slightest exposure of teeth. Chero seemed even more pleased at the sight of him. "Yana-sal...I can't believe I'm asking this...but level with me. How old are you?"

The mouse looked confused for a moment, then giggled. Dante was spooked.

"Is that all?" he said in a tone years older than he was. "I can fix that."

With his dove-gray cloak gliding behind him, Chero walked up to the security with confidence. There were words exchanged, but Dante oculd not near them. Then Chero turned around and waved with excitment and ducked inside.

As Dante walked back, he glanced out of his peripheral vision. The movement was subtle, but he knew that the security put something in his vest pocket that would have taken him the entire night to acquire otherwise.

Inside, Chero was already walking through with drink in hand and charm wrapped around him like a silk scarf. Eyes were on him wherever he walked. He purposefully glanced in no one's face, but rather as if he were looking for a friend and he happened upon a new acquaintance by chance. Soon he was accepting and donating compliments that were inappropriate for other minors.

While Chero lavished in the attention, Dante made no money that night.He suspected it was because the mouse had become the main source of entertainment, even for himself. Then an hour into the evening, Chero stood on top of a bar counter on full display and announced a free round of drinks for every patron for the next ten minutes. On him.

There was cheering and applause as an older raccoon helped him down like leading royalty out of a carriage. True to his word, Chero made sure everyone was watered and would remember the night for weeks to come. Too bad the evening had to end so soon.

Dante saw what was coming moments before Chero did. He saw the familiar body outline and then a light caught the jagged edges of the profile with a bump along a fresh black eye. Caught off-guard, Chero hissed as if he were three heads taller.

"Go away," he said so that others could hear. "You touch me again and I'll give you a kiss to match!"

"I've already called the police," Irwyn replied. He made an obscene gesture with his throat and paw. "I've got friends."

The mouse laughed. "No you don't!" He leaned in and the laughter became short and punctuated by chitter at the back of his throat. "You're a loser Irwyn. Go away."

Without a further word or a fight, the ringtail stormed out of the club with his head tucked down. Chero looked around for complimentary amusement, but no one else was laughing. They had looked away from him and did not look back.

This would have been unpleasant enough without the threat coming true.

A police officer in a blue uniform was at the door talking with Suuju. Apparently he had been bribed only enough to get Chero in the door and it was only seconds before the party would be over.

He made a direct line for the mouse and pulled him by the arm. Chero squeaked and snarled, but Dante pulled him out to the latrines and then to the rear exit. By then Chero had spilled his drink all over himself and looked with awe at his wet body.

"You are a horrible date," he said. "Ugh! Now I smell like you!"

"Go the car yana-sal."

"You're not my master, you don't tell me what to do." Chero looked for a moment into his glass then casually threw it over his shoulder. The glass shattered just as he wound back, but Dante stopped him.

"Let go of my arm bolli-san, or I'll give you a kiss too."

"You go in, you're going to spend the night on a cold bench with some sak named Bubba who wants you to play nursemaid between his legs. That sound like fun?"

Chero threw him off and ran his fingers across his head. He pressed deeper to stop the oncoming headache and the sensitivity to the bright lights. "Uggghn...I wish you'd said that three drinks from now, I could have ignored you then..."

***

The mouse hid in the car under the window line until Dante had packed up the car and drove them off. Just over the rim, he saw the flashing white and green lights that were meant for him. Some evening.

"You shouldn't have messed with him," Dante said when Chero could sit upright. "Now you've locked your destinies together. What are the odds he'd show up the same night as you, right? That's fate."

"It's not fate, it was go-go-boy night." He laid his head against the window for the cooling relief for his headache.

"You could have been nice, yana-sal. I'm jus' saying. He could have been a serial killer. You don't know who could be that one crazy person who will go after you, you know?"

Dante thought Chero was angry with him and ignoring him for the remainder of the ride. Yet the instant the car stopped in the parking garage, Chero ran out as fast as he could and up to the room as if his feet were on fire.

When Dante came up to the room, the door was wide open and the shower was running. He found Chero scrubbing himself and clouds of steam in the hallway.

Chero's body was in clear relief from the water. All the musculature was tight and defined from the tendons in his wrist down through his thighs and back. Even wet, at certain angles, his hips twisted wider than a male's should and his shoulders rounded more softly.

The longer the water ran, the more languid and delicate his movements became. His fingertips moved soap with the artistry of a paintbrush. The yellow soap followed every inch of him from the space under his tail to his chest, underarms and scrotum. From the front he was clarly male; from every other angle, Dante could not be sure.

Chero caught his gaze and his smile was disarming. Dante had been holding his breath for several moments.

"Enjoying the show, bolli-san?"

Dante tremored but did not relax. "You really like to be clean, don't you?"

Chero towled off with gentle pats and swirls to bring his fur volume up again. He sighed happily. He did not look at the panther directly in the face for the remainder of the evening.

After the bath, Chero wrapped himself in a bathrobe two sizes too large for him and squeaked with pleasure. He rang his pink fingers over the terry cloth and inhaled the fresh laundry scent. He twirled once before flopping back on the bed and calling for room service. Chero was having a grand time in his private white world when a black face interrupted him again.

"Yana-sal, are you alright?"

Chero pouted at him. "Why? How do I smell dear?" To his delight, Dante bent down and sniffed him.

"Nothing," he replied. "You just smell like soap."

Chero chirped with delight. "Perfect."

***

With Dante's scent faintly lingering, Chero had a second night of peaceful sleep. In the morning after breakfast, the mouse asked for a ride to see Bol-Detective-Yoni-Velda [1], [2]. Dante mumbled an agreement and Chero did not wait for him to change his mind.

The detective was exactly what Chero envisioned a professional should look like; her sash was pressed, her office furniture was tasteful and her grooming was impeccable. Short of having her scent glands removed, this was no small feat for a skunk. Her degrees and certifications were the icing on the cake.

Hardly fifteen minutes passed before Chero walked out of the office as if walking onto a red carpet.

"So? What'd she say?"

The mouse brought his paws together with delight. "I have a good feeling about her. Anyone with that much fashion sense after a century of academic work must be competent. She'll contact me by the end of the week."

The panther winced but Chero seemed oblivious. "So now what? What are you doing from here?"

Chero asked to be brought to the nearest police precinct, as per Detective Velda's suggestion. During the ride, he turned to Dante and his voice was soft. "You don't have to accompany me all day bolli-fortune-teller. Just at nights."

The panther licked his lips. "Hey, you might feed me again."

For the first time, the two of them laughed together.

The car also seemed to laugh as it lurched and soda pop in an open, old container sloshed over and stained Chero's thigh sugary purple.

"Might have to feed this bitch too," Dante snarled. He beat the dashboard. "She's getting old!"

***

An appointment was made to meet clerks at the police station on the first of the week. The same day Chero bought a new computer and paid the technician at the store to set it up. After using the gym at the hotel, Chero found Dante breaking in the computer with a gratuitous avalanche of porn.

"'Please'? 'Thank you'? 'May I'? Are any of these phrases in your vocabulary bolli-fortune-teller?"

Dante had a glazed look of satisfaction as he clicked over enormous feline breasts. "Hey, what can I say, the internet was made for this. Can't get this at the terminals." [3]

Chero was distracted by the panther's partial erection. Then he then slapped the laptop door shut.

Dante grumbled as Chero asked for a ride through the city, because the city of Alladas was enormous. It would take an hour to drive from one end of the city to the other without traffic or trolleys in the way, and only if the traveler could find a straight path. The roads curled deposited visitors from the freeways over the desert and were cut by train tracks from the ports to destinations far beyond the mountains in the west.

Often Chero would ask to stop at a park or a playground. He would get out, look around, walk a few paces in, then return and ask to continue. At Dante's first attempt to avoid a stop, the mouse sensed his hesitation and tapped on the dashboard to be brought back.

"This your idea of sight-seeing?" he asked. "What next? Public latrines?"

Chero giggled but did not answer.

"You know you're actually kind of creepy," Dante said after their sixth stop. "This is weird."

"You read entails bolli-san, who are you to judge? I want to see the parks."

During the evening, Chero had insatiable, bold curiousity about Dante's sexual adventures. What were the females who came to him like? How did they feel? How did their bodies feel and their skin? Did he have a lover, a hundred, or none at all? The panther was so startled by the directness of the questions he did not have time for answers except honest ones.

Then when Dante tried to change the subject, Chero watched him with such intensity that his will faltered. Several times he looked away only to find Chero still looking at him in a way a mouse never should have. When the mouse seemed satisfied, he ordered dinner for them and changed the subject completely and Dante felt his head come back into his possession.

Later that night, they went to another party in a middle-class neighborhood of the city. The sorority house was hardly better than the last, but at least females knew not to leave their hygienics and their garbage in plain site.

Right away, Dante had a brown fox on his arm asking about love and her career as a nuclear physicist. He told her pretty things she wanted to hear and several premonitions that gave her pause to think and let Dante enjoy observe her breasts on display without interruption.

Chero rolled his eyes and looked away. Females of every shape and stripe inhabited the sorority house. The females were not threatened by him, oh no, but they were not engaged with him either, because he was male and because he made many of them jealous that his fur was cleaner and softer than their own.

He admired their curves, the softness of their skin, the suppleness of their tails and finer, more beautiful bone structures. He caught site of a flashed uvula under sari and sarongs [4] and wished he could touch them. He imagined they must feel very soft.

Tips and phone numbers filled Dante's jar to the brim. For their attention, the fortune teller provided magical answers about lovers, jobs and beating sports rivals to the collective hilarity and enjoyment of his temporary harem. When he surprised Chero in the corner, the mouse flushed at the potency of his rising musk.

"Hey...think I can get our place for a couple of hours tomorrow?" Dante spoke in clandestine tone. "Yani-Felta's really wanting to get to know the spirit inside her, you know? She wants me to show her."

Chero's fur was so thin that the slightest changes in blood flow were noticeable. "If I'm not getting laid, you're not getting laid," he answered tersely.

The panther came in so close that Chero could count all the whiskers in his cheeks. "So if I bump [5] you, can I get the place then?"

Chero was speechless. He caught a scent of musk

Then the panther laughed until the mouse turned a raging crimson. "C'mon, I'm joking. Please? Let me have it for a bit?"

Chero's fist was still aimed for Dante's groin. "You have condoms right?" The panther didn't answer fast enough. "If you get something, I'll be embarrassed to know you! So wrap it up hot shot, or you don't get to eat anymore. I'll know if you don't."

It had been hours since their last meal, so this the perfect time to leverage a threat. To Chero's satisfaction, the tip jar came back lighter between their stop at the pharmacy and the hotel.

***

What was meant to be exciting the next day made Chero become sour and moody. He came out of the police station only half an hour after Dante had dropped him off, but would not say what had happened inside. He only said that he had to come back the following day.

After a meal, the panther tried to be cheerful. "Want to ask the cards again? Might help."

The mouse finished a cup tea that he had specially delivered to his room. "Your interpretations are always vague."

"Let's see if we can get more specific today." Dante pulled out three cards and threw them down. "The hanged one. You need to be high."

"Darling, I gave up recreational drugs when I hit puberty." Dante's jaw went slack and Chero giggled. "I can pull on your tail too, eh?"

The panther continued the interpretation with less enthusiasm. "It just means you have to be in a high place, like an overlook." Dante flipped over the second card. "Six of discs. Be generous." He flipped over the last card. "Master of Discs. Someone will notice you when you're doing the first two things and will give you help."

There was nothing else to do that day. At least site-seeing would be a distraction from the disappointment at the policestation.

Back at the hotel, he demanded bolli-Santi personally find him the tallest building in the city. When he left, the panther gave a sidelong glance with lowered ears. "You know you could have just looked it up yourself yana-sal. You've got internet access."

The mouse licked a grape from the fruit tray that had come with the information. ""I like Santi, it's an excuse to see him." Before Dante could ask why, Chero jumped up and dragged him down to the car in a hurry.

***

The Hotel Lotus was the tallest building in the city accessible to the public. The building was made of spiraling glass windows in a kaleidoscope of yellow, blue, violet and white to mirror the terrain outside the city boundaries. Inside the lobby were cool white marble floors diffusing the outer light on fresco paintings of the local gods and goddesses on the walls. Sweet incense burned in blue crystal lamps above the entrances. The seats and benches across the lobby were made of curving white marble like large pelvic bones on pedestals.

The bellhops and curb assistants were dressed in precise robes and sashes with special shoes and gloves with colors to match the building.

"They must be overheating like crazy!" Dante noticed. "Who the hell wears cotton in this heat?"

"It wouldn't hurt you to take care of your appearance more," the mouse said. He admired the stitching and patterning on the uniforms and glanced back at the panther. "What do you think? Black and gold with alternating geometric patterns? You'd look so cute, don't you think?"

Dante grumbled on their way up to the roof. "You can be really creepy sometimes, you know that?"

Their ears popped from the speed of the elevator trip and the fresh air on top was unexpected and brisk. "So we're here bolli-fortune-teller. Sight seeing at its finest."

"Now you have to be generous," Dante said with reverence. He took in a deep breath of fresh air, looked to the sky for inspiration and then said like the grand and powerful prohets of old... "Buy me a pint?"

Chero grumbled, but the panther was happy again.

***

The panoramic view was breathtaking. Now it was clear just how much an oasis this city was among the desert and brushlands it occupied. Sprawling den developments were layered like mosaic tiles between strips of cultivated wilderness and farmland that went to the horizon in one direction and stopped at the river in the other. The neighborhoods near the river were attractive and inviting while the swaths of inhabitants by the desert were gray and tired.

There was a restaurant and bar at the top of the building that they had access to. Four glasses of lager later, the panther was sharing stories with a disinterested bartender while the mouse had taken in all there was to see. When the mouse turned to leave, he bumped into something at his shin.

Down by his feet was a very young lion cub.He was three at the most with a child's cloak and nearly bald. Lions were not common.

Chero leaned over and pulled up the hood that the child was wearing up to cover his head from the sun. "Where's your mother yaneck-i?[6]"

The lion put a finger in his own mouth and shook his head. Chero glanced around the roof but didn't see an adult coming to claim him.

He tried to get Dante's attention but the cub began meowing with discomfort. With a sigh, the mouse took the cub by the paw and walked him to the lobby. Dante would probably be there another hour without Chero to bother him.

At the lobby, the concierge tried to relieve Chero from the cub, but the mouse insisted he would wait for the parents.

Then the cub threw a spasmodic temper tantrum and scratched the mouse across the paw.

With no sign of pain or anger, Chero held the cub down in his seat. When the cub began throwing his arms up and meowling louder, the mouse showed no care for how many people were staring at them.

At the cub's next escape attempt, Chero slapped his wrist. The strike was sharp but of low impact, yet the cub cried as if his finger had been cut off. The cub kept looking up between heaving episodes of bawling but found the same white face impassively regarding him and wiping his face until he resumed the position. The cub was exhausted. The next time Chero ordered him to sit, the cub complied. Done.

Finally. A moment's peace.

Why did such hard-earned peace have to be interrupted so soon?

A female lion wrapped in blue veils stomped in heavy approach to scoop up her son. She was middle aged and wore fine jewelry of high status. Her silk head veil framed her classic face and softened her heavy brow. She then scolded her son in a language that was universal to all aggravated mothers.

She demanded with her rapid tilts of the head and her permanent scowl to know how Chero had her son. The cub made another sudden thrash and tore off his mother's veil.

Without speaking, Chero crossed his arms and looked down at the cub. When the cub realized he was being watched, he went silent. Glancing up once, twice, three times, the cub became quiet and put his finger back in his mouth.

Relieved, the mother accepted the moment of silence. She then made the connection that her respite was due to Chero's effective glare. Her gratitude was layered in her heavy guttural accent that barely came to an understandable 'thank you.'

Her mate followed right after her in a more conservative public function uniform. He wore a broad sash and fashionable gauntlets. Gray whiskers were appearing by his nose and streaks of white in his mane that made him distinguished.

He smiled and picked up his cub while scolding him mildly until the cub covered his eyes with embarrassment. "Thank you yana-san. He's never run off like this before. Where did you find him?"

Ya-Venka [7] was disturbed by Chero's explanation. He scolded his son, also named Venka, for running off and and gave him back to his mother. "Thank you again for your patience. He's...an armful."

Again the cub howled and Ya-Venka groaned.

Chero clapped his paws twice and his gaze brought back silence. Only this time, Chero bent over and spoke in a clear, authoritative voice. "That's enough yaneki-vesha [8]. You're embarrassing your parents. Your friends in term will make fun of you if they know you act like a baby. Do you want your friends to know?"

The cub shook his head fast. Chero straightened up and relaxed. "Now behave."

The cub nodded quickly. When Chero looked up, Yi-Venka [9] kept watching her son in disbelief while Yan-Venka invited him to dine with them for the evening.

Since Chero had left a travel companion alone, Chero asked to postpone the meal. He accepted their calling card and bowed at his neck gracefully.

On the roof, the panther was nowhere to be seen. No messages were left on Chero's telephone or in the lobby and no one knew where Dante had gone. With no transportation or entertainment for the evening, Chero called the Venka's to accept their invitation.

Yi-Venka had restored her veil and changed into evening wear while Ya-Venka appeared less formal. A sash and accoutrements for dinner were provided for Chero's comfort.

The hygiene towels were soft brushed cotton with saffron flowers in the embroidery and gold tassels that were delightful. The setting was elegant with pink lamps, soft daylght and a private string quartet playing in a corner of the room.

After wine and tea was served, Chero saw from the menu that the restaurant was not prepared for a vegetarian patron. With precision and clear annunciation, Chero dictated his meal: Quiche with seasonal roots and vegetable, paprika, black pepper, sea salt, red bell peppers, then wild rice (they didn't have it? Make a polenta instead, he ordered) and a salad with light vinegar, oil and fresh aromatic seasonings.

Ya-Venka was fascinated. He opened up conversation and wanted to know more. Question after question was thrown at Chero about his interests and his reason for being in the city. His polite deflections only fanned the lion's curiosity.

With laughter and smooth pauses to drink, Chero turned all the questions around to ask about his hosts. Ya-Venka was an engineer visiting on consultation about a new water purification plant on the river. Next week would be a ceremony thanking all the planners and the staff for their efforts.

While his mate was fighting their son, he explained Yi-Venka once worked for a local solar power installation company and had taken time off for their baby. He fondly recalled how they had met just a few years earlier while she smiled on cue with her mate before taking a chunk of half-eaten meat in her eye. Her son giggled as she scooped the piece out of her veil.

Begrudged to make polite conversation, Yi-Venka spoke about the weather, politics and some of the delays to the solar development plans the government had mandate. With a smile and a few choice words, soon she too fell under Chero's subtle spell.

She apologized for her accent and Chero forgave her easily with avid interest in every word she uttered. He made remarks about how beautiful her sashes and sarongs were and asked who made them and how. She effused over her avid collector of sketches from an obscure artist in the southern territories and was relieved to complain about her mother and grandmother's meddling in her family affairs. She was even further flattered when he asked her to recite some of the poetry from the Vesha-de-Vorda chronicles [10] because he liked her voice and had heard it once incompletely.

Finally, for all their effort and courtesy, Chero answered why he had come to the city.

Ya-Venka was wrought with sincere outrage that Chero had been separated from his parents. His hope was enthusiastic that Chero would find them and be reunited.

When Yi-Venka asked how they had been separated, Chero spared them the details that were not polite for dinner conversation; in fact, he changed the topic completely.

To assuage their curiosity, he did reveal details that were safe in public.

He had received some university education up until recently while working as a gymnastics educator at a school for young girls. The school was largely supported by public and government donations. This finally fulfilled Ya-Venka's guess that Chero had training with children, which was how his son obeyed so effectively.

Why did Chero leave his position, they wondered.

Finding his family had been a desire long in the making and at last his position had to be abandoned for fulfilling this task. Chero extended the grace of the answer with a pair of chopsticks bringing his first bites to his lips.

Four courses came and went in no time at all. Ya-Venka was about to reward his son with desert for good behavior when Chero put up a paw.

"He's a mess. Let him clean himself before taking a reward."

He hadn't meant for the suggestion to come out as an order. To Chero's relief, his faux paux was ignored as the cub smeared his muzzle with a napkin and spread blood over his face like a clown. His father laughed and Chero tucked his head down.

He was thanked for his company and recieved a calling card. The Venka wanted to know any progress Chero had finding his family and took Chero's card in return.

On the way out, the mouse savored the evening. The meal was excellent even if the conversation was dull.

He had thought to get a cab, but he smelled the car before it turned the corner in front of the hotel. The voice coming out of it was as loud as the screeching tire treads. "Where've you been?" Dante called. "I'm starving here!"

The mouse put a paw over his face in embarrassment. "You're drunk."

"Of course!." Dante belched and Chero's ears turned red. "But I took a nap and ate a box of eggs. Tastes awful, but gets me sober quick!"

***

Only after his third plate of food was did Dante remember to ask Chero where he wanted to go that evening while he and Felta were...busy. Chero didn't want to think about it.

With Chero was left in the middle of a neighborhood he knew nothing about and filled with stores, cafes and night clubs. At least Dante put him in a populated area.

The cafes and coffee houses were packed with students and evening elderly. There were flyers on the walls and bulletin boards for a circus on the Night of the Dead [11]. Peeling advertisements for horror movies layered the empty spaces that actually sounded entertaining: My mom was a pregnant teenage zombie. Frankenfur, Bloodsucker: The musical.

Soon there was a café that looked attractive and he bought a seat in a high corner. Now he was protected and could observe without being noticed.

Students had their noses buried in books. What ugly sash colors! Instead of studying, some of the patrons laughed with their friends, played video games or had fallen asleep with tails flicking within dangerous distance of oncoming feet and serving carts. Their hygiene towels were clearly used and their occasional odors of anxiety made Chero want to find a shower. How could they stand themselves?

Under his tea cup plate was a crumpled pamphlet. Spreading it open showed a large smiling student welcoming him to the University of Alladas. The crest was white with stylized lines representing the desert and the river. Inside were pictures of happy students and parents at graduations. He touched the photographs and read carefully through the platitudes and constructed quotes.

Three more cups of tea let him sneak around the café to look at the books. A raccoon held a book on art theory, a young doe with glasses was drowning in biology diagrams, and a gray fox was buried in architecture and engineering. Before any of them noticed his admiration, he disappeared between curtains and retreated to dark corners.

Last call came. Books slammed closed and patrons flowed out into the dark.

After repeated text messages and telephone calls, Chero understood that Dante would not pick him up that night. At least the cab home was clean.

Back at his room, he knocked with caution. When no answer came, he unlocked the door and peeked inside.

The panther sprawled at an angle across the bed with his mouth hanging open in an undignified sleep position. A brown vixen held him around his waist and turned to be more comfortable. Her highlights were natural and she had fine curled fur even down past her breasts to her legs. Her hips were round and her tail was decorated with ceramic leaves. She was beautiful.

Chero watched her for a few moments. He tried to smell her scent, but all that he inhaled was male musk. He inhaled again and blushed at his growing erection. He dug his claws into his crotch for an extended moment and closed the door.

Without much troubled, Chero made arrangements for a second room. Inside, he turned on all the lights and took a hot shower. When the time came for sleep, he could not sleep in complete darkness. He left on a single lamp in the corner and watched it until he was exhausted.

For the first time in years, that night itself, Chero slept alone.

***

In the morning, the silence hurt like an old injury. The mouse rolled over and felt that his thumb was wet. All his other fingers were dry. How strange.

He took a short morning bath to wake himself up. He faithfully stretched and moved through the twenty yoga forms to a song in his head. No humming! Focus.

He meditated on the silence and how much it made him aware of the pain in his chest and his throat. Not much better.

He took breakfast alone. Without eyes on him, he devoured ten eggs, a bowl of watermelon, a bowl of meal worms and a serving of oats. He cradled his stomach and wished he had paced himself. He would be bloated today.

He returned to his room by midmorning, but paused at the door. The shower was also running and he heard giggling inside. Chero rolled his eyes and left again.

He called the detective and the police precinct. When they would not give him permission to access the files he requested, he confessed extenuating circumstances. Then they asked Chero to sign a statement that day at the precinct where they would assign him a local case worker.

On the next trip to his room, he pounded on the door without pause until he received an answer.

Dripping wet, Dante opened the door and a gush of steam floated across the ceiling. "Yana-sal, I'm kinda busy..." he said. He smiled nervously back into the room."Can you give us another hour?"

Chero crossed his arms and tucked his head down. "You left me."

"Hey, you had money for a cab, you got home alright," Dante said. Then he turned his head back into the room with excitement. "So can I get another hour?"

HISS!!

All the fur around Chero's face straightened out and his teeth were fully bared. His eyes widened and his claws protracted and he held them out as if strangling an animal unseen by the naked eye.

The panther's ears dropped. He backed away but Chero gnashed his teeth and he stayed put. He was completely awake now.

"Wait," he said. "I'm sorry...that was stupid...wait, wait a second let me just...one second..."

He closed the door and there was hurried conversation inside. When the door was closed, Chero's face twisted with silent agony. He wrung his paws one-two-five times and took deep inhalations. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making a sound. Quickly now, quickly.

He pulled back his shoulders, straightened his posture and kept his head upright and his chin down. He focused straight ahead of him and prepared himself. One last sniff he took in before the door swung open.

Velta stumbled out with an awkward smile and her bag of books. Dante jumped out after her with his paws open in contrition. "We gotta take her back first. You mind?"

***

Instead of giving precedence to the guest, Chero deliberately took the passenger's seat while she squeezed next to boxes and greasy motor parts in the back. Dante made small talk with her during the ride but Chero wouldn't participate. His eyes were closed and his fist was clenched the entire time.

When they dropped her off on campus, she kissed Dante through the door. Out of hearing range, the panther shook his head with satisfaction. "Mmmph! Now that's a tail."

Chero moved his paw out and tapped his claw twice against the dashboard. He dug his claw in on the second stroke and twisted it to make a new gouge and the panther lost his grin.

"Look I'm sorry. One thing led to another...heh, she was a screamer and she couldn't get enough. It happens. I'm sorry."

Chero's claw lingered. Slowly, he pulled it back to his body and crossed his arms. He kept his head down and his face was hard.

Without instruction, Dante drove. They came on the highway back to the city center. The silence was oppressive. The panther laughed from nervousness instead of malice. "Didn't get laid, huh?"

The panther shrieked.

No matter how hard Dante yelled at him and thrashed his arms, Chero would not let go of the wheel. He had reached over and took control of the steering wheel of the moving vehicle from his seat.

Dante yelled again and again with disbelief and terror while keeping his foot steady on the power-cell pedal. His leg had siezed up like stone and he didn't dare touch the mouse or they could have rolled into other cars or the guardrails. He was trapped.

Minutes passed. Dante begged him to let go of the wheel. He lowered his voice and tried to reason. He begged to know where they were going and what Chero was planning to do.

Each minute of silence was one closer to crashing. He couldn't pull over or stop the car. All he could do was look ahead and around and keep his foot steady.

Six exits of silence came. Dante was too stupefied with fear that he didn't hear Chero's voice.

He had the wheel again.

"Now listen carefully bolli-san, I'm only going to say this once." Chero's voice was even and without emotion. "I am a forgiving person. I've forgiven worse than you. But I do punish when forgiveness will not stop poor behavior."

He turned his red eyes to make sure Dante could see him in the mirror. He annunciated so his teeth were clearly visible.

"So here is a reasonable request and a certain consequence, bolli-san. Please, very muchly please, honor my hospitality."

A small smirk appeared. Dante could see the back of his paws were sweating.

"If you ever take my hospitality for granted again bolli-san, I promise you, oh I promise you very dearly, I will wreck this jalopy...with you inside it."

The panther gripped the wheel so tightly his fingers had gone numb. His whiskers were straight out his face and trembling.

The mouse leaned in close to his ear. "Will we be able to be friends? I want very much to be. I just want pleases and thank-you's. Is that okay? Mmm?"

The panther nodded. Chero's delight frightened him.

Then the mouse snuggled into his cloak with a happy sigh.

"Now drive safely bolli-san. We have an appointment to keep."

[1] Bol -professional title, given to mid-level employees, managers, and accepted members of a trade.

[2] Yoni -a female between the age of 18-40. Similar to "Miss"

[3] Personal computers are only owned by about 1 in 10 people. Most others have to go to 'terminals' or computer cafes to use internet services.

[4] Females wear minor coverings across their vaginas more frequently when they are having their period, or are in heat. These coverings are traditionally the same color as their fur and are meant to discourage unwanted attention.

[5] slang, to fornicate

[6] yaneck -generic reference to a youth, male or female, under the age of 18. the 'i' suffix is a common ebellishement that is gender nuetral.

[7] Ya -honorific for males over the age of 40.

[8] vesha -name for the Species that descend from lions. In this context, "little lion."

[9] Yi -honorific for females over the age of 40. Similar to Mrs.

[10] these are an epic story about the origins of the Lions and Species of desert and savannah terrains. The epic is traditionally passed down orally and can last anywhere from 20 to 50 hours to complete the combination of verse, opera, song and lyric composition depending on the version presented.

[11] Festival similar to Halloween. The festival lasts 3-5 days depending on the location and has sections dedicated to spiritual worship, rememberance of the dead, mourning, acceptance of Death, and celebrating Life. This holiday is very popular among many Species because of the parties and festivals that come with it. The festivals are held at the beginning of Winter.