A plan to heal
#4 of The World Beyond
Alrighty, the last chapter of this round of submitting and another chapter of the World beyond. Hope you enjoy it.
As always, comments are apprecaited and requested.
Continued from "Two lives in two worlds..."
Breathing a sigh of contentment, I pressed back against the wolf's furry body, luxuriating in the sensation of his fur against me. It was late into the evening and he was spooning me once more. The tiger woman I loved so dearly was asleep, curled up with her back to my front, the air of the bedroom heavy with the familiar scents of mating. It had become a ritual that the first night I came back into this world, the three of us would make love and sleep cuddled up close to one another. Normally, I was fast asleep by now, but this night, for once, the real world infringed upon my paradise. The problems that I had been thinking about had returned in the aftermath of our sex, which had been as wonderful as it always was. As I had lain there in the sweet aftermath, thinking about nothing, the problems had returned from where they had been filed to remind me that I had yet to resolve them. As I lay, listening to the quiet breathing of my lovers, I once again thought about the possible solution I had come to earlier.
"What is so important that you cannot sleep?" The wolf asked from behind me. "I have never known you to be this preoccupied."
"Oh, my best friend Scott is having some problems." I replied, speaking softly so as not to disturb the sleeping tiger. I explained everything that he had told me that afternoon and the wolf listened intently, silently absorbing everything I said. "And the thing is, I want to help him, but I don't know exactly how."
"So what are you thinking of doing?" he asked, drawing me closer to him.
"I think I know of a way to help him." I replied, hesitating to mention what I had come up with. "But I don't even know if it is possible."
"For crying out loud," he teased, "Will you just come out with it already?"
"I want to bring him here." I said, and the wolf drew back from me in surprise, turning me over so I faced him.
"Are you sure that is what you want?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes. "As I recall, you kept this world a secret for a reason."
"Yes I did." I replied, rising up on one arm, the larger wolf mirroring my posture. "Trying to explain that I could pass through my mirror into another world would sound crazy to anyone, even another furry."
"So why are you considering it now?" he asked, his tone neutral.
"I think he could handle it." I replied. "Especially if I didn't try to explain it until he was already here. But is it possible to bring another person here?"
"Well, do you want it to be possible?" The wolf asked. His question surprised me. I hadn't thought that it would be that simple. But even desiring to help my friend, I had to wonder about the answer to that question. This world was truly special. It was exactly how I wanted it to be. It was a place I could always go, and truth be told, I was reluctant to share something so wonderful. And yet, since my former best friend had stolen my old girlfriend from me, Scott had been my closest friend. He was as good as friend as anyone could be. Seeing him sad and lonely made me feel like crap, and I couldn't just sit by while he suffered. Besides, something told me that it was right for me to share this with him. My mind at last made up, I finally answered him.
"I do." I stated, and he smiled at me.
"I thought so." He replied. "All you have to do is hold on to him when you are pulled into this world. He will come along. Just be sure you keep a tight hold on him."
"But there is another concern." I said and he raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue. "Maybe I am just a little selfish, but you, and everyone here, are my lovers, my friends. I don't think it would feel right for you to be with him."
"Leave that to me." The wolf said, grinning broadly. As he smiled at me, I felt a soft furred hand curl around my chest from behind and my tiger lover kissing the back of my neck softly. Looking back at her, I smiled, recognizing the look on her face. She had apparently just reawakened and had a playful look on her face.
"What are you two conspiring about in the middle of the night?" She questioned.
"Its nothing." I replied, looking at her lovingly. "Just talking."
"Well, since you can't seem to sleep," She said, assuming an alluring, seductive pose once more, "I see no reason to waste a moment of your weekend. Do you?"
"No I don't." I replied, smiling as well and kissing her, feeling the wolf come up close behind me once more. Putting my problems on hold once more, I surrendered to my lovers, letting them control the moment. After all, I had all weekend to deal with them...
***
The next morning dawned warmly, as it always did in this place. I kept my eyes closed as I awoke, breathing deep the gingery scent that emanated from the tiger I held against me. That peculiar aroma, mixed with the distinct, indescribable scent of the wolf that held me from behind, always made me feel like nothing could possibly be wrong in the world. Gently stroking the ultra soft fur of the tiger woman's back, I let my mind wander. For a few minutes, I didn't remember anything of the discussion my wolf and I had had the night before, but gradually, it all came back to me.
Finally, I opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. The tiger was curled up against me once more, her head nestled under my chin and I smiled, feeling her ear twitch in her sleep. And, even as the discussion came back into my mind, I felt nothing except a deep contentment and serenity within me. And then, I suddenly realized how very, very lucky I was. I had the one thing that all people desired, and very few ever seemed to find. I had people I loved with all my heart, and they felt the same about me. But even more, I had an entire world to call my own, a world that was as I had desired. Who else could claim such a thing? The least I could do was share it with my closest human friend. A few moments later, my furry friends stirred themselves to the waking world and I chuckled a little, wondering why it was I always seemed to wake up before them.
"What are you chuckling about?" The tiger asked, a yawn obscuring some of her words.
"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you." I answered. She smiled and kissed my throat gently before sitting up.
"Well, thank you for being so appreciative." She said.
I smiled and followed her as she got up, the wolf coming with us. The three of us gathered our clothing and walked sleepily down to the first floor of the house, wholly naked, joining up with several more of my friends, all similarly attired. By the time we opened the door to a very special room in the house, all ten of us were walking together. This was another ritual that we had fallen into. The room we all entered was taken up almost exclusively by what amounted to a swimming pool sized hot tub. It was filled with hot, steaming water, and its edge had many seats along it. Grinning, I lay my robe on the side of the pool and slid into the water, letting out a sigh. It felt like I was getting into a hot bath, but it had the room for everybody to float freely without touching each other. Sometimes I would come here and do just that for a while. But in the mornings, all of us would wash each other with scented soap, an activity that was both sensual and exhilarating, binding us all closer together.
When we were all clean, we sat back on the edge of the pool, relaxing for a while before we got out, the soapy residue vanishing as if it had never been there in the first place. And while we sat there, I finally explained what I wanted to do. All of them had similar questions as my wolf half had had, but in the end, all of them seemed fine with the idea. But even as we all came to agree, I realized something suddenly that made me laugh out loud. It was so simple and so obvious that I was surprised it hadn't occurred to me before. Everyone looked at me with amused expressions on their faces and I smiled around at them once more.
"Sorry, but I just realized something." I said. "You all need to have names." Everybody looked at each other with the same realization on their faces I had had a few minutes before. "I mean, not having names is all well and good when we all know each other, but if I am going to have someone else come here, I will need to introduce everybody."
"You are right." My wolf lover replied, smiling easily. "But surely you have names for all of us?"
"Of course, but I think it only fair that you choose your own names." I said, suddenly uncomfortable. "It would just be weird if I gave you names."
"I suppose so." The tiger replied, her face becoming contemplative. "I guess I will start. I like the name Keira." I smiled, nodding. It was a perfect name, seeming to naturally fit her.
"And I will be known as Ronan." The wolf replied, smiling.
"Zander." Stated a male fox with brilliant red-orange fur.
"I will be Edana, if that is alright with you all." That was a vixen, her fur in a pattern that reminded me of fire. Knowing the origin of that name, it seemed to fit her well. And on around the group it went. A burly male horse I often spared with became Cayden, the Gaelic spirit of battle. The male dragon whose scales were all black and dark blue took the name Midnight. A female dragon, her scales deep red, became Rose. The red panda girl that appeared most recently chose the name Natalie. And last, the dragon who bore both genders took the name Xin, the odd name suiting her dual nature well.
"Well, we will call that settled." Xin said, beaming around at everyone. "Now then, who is ready for breakfast?"
***
Now that I had names to call them by, it seemed to be the final piece that had been missing from my world, all of us becoming even closer because of it. It was as if having names for them was the last step to making them real. Now the love I felt for them meant more than it had before. They were more than just the fantasies I had created; they were real people, as real as anyone I had ever met.
I spent the rest of the weekend planning out exactly how it would happen when I showed my friend this world, though some details I had to leave unresolved, since Ronan refused to reveal what he was planning. Still, by the time Sunday rolled around, everything looked to be in place. We would be putting everything into action next weekend, and even better, Scott and I had Friday off. But finally, after what seemed to be a shorter time than usual, I waited at the mirror with Ronan beside me, waiting for Scott to leave our dorm room so I could enter. It took about an hour for him to finally leave and I turned to my lover.
"I will see you in four days." I said, embracing him.
"No matter how short a time it is that you are away, it is too long." He replied and I smiled at him, sharing one last kiss before I left. When we broke contact, I turned and touched the mirror once more, stepping through it. Quickly, I dragged the clothing bag I had stashed under my bed out, setting it on the mattress and unzipping it, trying to look all the world like I had just come back from home. I looked up when Scott walked in and I smiled at him, despite the troubled look that seemed to have settled permanently on his face.
"How was your weekend?" he asked, flopping down on his bed and dragging a textbook off the stack at the end of his bed.
"Great." I said, "How was yours?"
"Okay, considering." He replied, looking rather morose as he opened the book to the chapter we were supposed to have read for tomorrow's class. Dumping the still unworn clothes in the satchel into my hamper, I looked over at him and spoke once more.
"Hey, cheer up Scott." I said and he looked at me in surprise. "Life isn't as bad as all that."
"For you maybe." He answered.
"For you too." I insisted, grabbing my own textbook and sitting down on my bed. "You just have to know how to look at things."
"One of these days," he said, chuckling and shaking his head in amazement. "You are going to have to explain where you get that cheerful perspective of yours."
"I will show you sometime." I said, barely restraining a secretive grin. "I promise..."