“Paws up, Pup.” Feisal hooked his fingers under the hem of Nikhil’s t-shirt.
“That rhymes!” Nikhil giggled.
“Yes, it did. Now lift those arms”
Nikhil lifted his paws, and Feisal pulled off his shirt, then untied his shoes. The shoes slipped off easily and were followed by his socks.
“What do we have here? Looks like bare feet.” Feisal grinned and ran his fingers along the bottoms of Nikhil’s foot paws. Nikhil squealed with laughter and squirmed around on Feisal’s lap.
“Uncle! Uncle!” Nikhil called out.
“I’m not your uncle.” Feisal stopped tickling anyway. His paws slid up Nikhil’s body, then pulled down his shorts. Next, he brought Nikhil’s underwear down and removed them. The discarded clothes were left in a pile behind his desk.
A blush rose along Nikhil’s face, up to the tips of his ears. He was naked, with Mr. Wydra and Mr. Whitelaw and both had stiffys. Erections, that was what Mr. Wydra had called them. His own erection was sticking out for all to see. He looked up at Mr. Wydra, a mixture of excitement and apprehension on his face.
Feisal gave Nikhil a pat on the head. He reached down and opened the bottom drawer of his desk, pulling out a bottle of some kind.
“What’s that?” Nikhil asked.
“It is called lube.” Feisal smiled at Nikhil and slipped the bottle into the pocket of his shorts.
“Whats it do?”
“It will help me take your virginity.”
“Whats a ‘virginity’?”
Feisal chuckled. “You are full of questions today. You will get all the answers you need soon.”
“When is soon?”
“When you quiet down.” Weylin spoke and walked to the side room.
Feisal held Nikhil and got up. He shifted one paw, so it was holding him by the butt. He groped the small backside. After a few moments, Feisal followed Weylin into the other room.
When Feisal carried Nikhil in, Weylin undid the buckle on his belt. He unbuttoned and pulled down the zipper on his pants. The pants slid to the floor on their own, leaving him in a pair of very tight looking boxers. The outline of his large cock and big balls were clearly visible through them. Weylin waited for Nikhil to look in his direction before pulling the boxers down.
Nikhil blushed and could not pull his gaze away. The boxers slowly revealed Mr. Whitelaw’s member. Nikhil could not hide how much it impressed him. The feline member was thick, Nikhil would need to use both paws to even get his fingers around all of it, and nearly eleven inches long. He stared at the barbed top, not knowing what to make of it. A musky smell hit his nose when Mr. Whitelaw’s cock was revealed, it made his head feel fuzzy.
The impression his lover’s dick left on Nikhil made Feisal smile. He set him down and waited for Weylin to walk over. He placed his paw on the back of Nikhil’s head
“Go on, Pup. Lick it.” Feisal pushed Nikhil’s nose against Weylin’s dick.
Nikhil inhaled more of that fuzzy scent. He considered what to do next. Mr. Wydra wanted him to lick Mr. Whitelaw’s penis. But why? He had no idea. Still, if Mr. Wydra wanted him to do it, it must be a good thing.
Nikhil nervously stuck his tongue out and ran it across the head of Mr. Whitelaw’s cock. He could not figure out what it tasted like, but he liked it. He explored the head with his tongue, savoring the taste.
“Mm. Good puppy.” Nikhil was not sure if he liked Mr. Whitelaw calling him “puppy”, but he knew he was happy that the Principal liked what he was doing.
Nikhil felt Mr. Wydra’s paw leave his head. It was soon replaced by Mr. Whitelaw’s much bigger one.  The Principal grabbed his hair and held tightly. It didn’t hurt, but he could not move. His head was pushed forward, his muzzle meeting the feline cock he was licking. Mr. Whitelaw pushed his hips and Nikhil had no choice but to open his mouth.
“Watch your teeth.” The warning took a second to reach Nikhil’s brain. He relaxed his jaw enough to get his teeth out of the way. Then, the member started to rock back and forth. Only the head of it went in, thankfully sparing Nikhil having to deal with the barbs.
Watching Weylin “teach” someone how to give a blowjob was exciting, but Feisal could not ignore his own desires. He knelt behind Nikhil and admired his delicate ass. He placed both paws on it and gently squeezed. He loved how the ass cheeks felt in his paws. Another time he would be happy spending minutes, or hours groping it. Just not now. Right at this moment, he needed to deal with his restrictive clothing.
Feisal removed his clothes, his eyes never leaving Nikhil’s body. His shirt came off, exposing his toned abs and white fur. His left shoulder bore a light blue tattoo. It was tribalistic in nature and was made up of water droplet shapes. He kicked off his shoes, then unfastened his shorts. He slid them down his body, revealing a pair of green boxers. The tip of his red, canine, member poked out of the hole in front. Feisal wasted little time in pulling the boxers down as well and kicked both them and the shorts off to the side, close by but out of the way.
Once his clothes were removed, Feisal put his paws back on Nikhil’s backside. He used a couple fingers to hold his tail out of the way and spread his cheeks with the others. He brought his muzzle down. The tip of his nose was the first part to connect with Nikhil’s pucker. He took in the smell, making sure it smelled clean, then flicked his tongue out.
Nikhil jumped when he felt something wet connect with his butthole. Was that Mr. Wydra’s tongue? What was he doing? His questions were answered when it moved, licking the tight hole. Nikhil shivered at the sensation. It felt weird, but good too. His eyes drifted up Mr. Whitelaw’s body, catching a hungry gaze in the Principal’s eyes.
“Stay relaxed.” Weylin was having a hard time keeping hold of his instincts. His body wanted to let loose. He knew Nikhil would not be able to handle all of him, but the tight mouth was inviting. He would not be able to cum inside of the cub’s mouth either. He had other options when the time came, however.
Once he was satisfied with how relaxed Nikhil’s asshole had gotten, Feisal pressed the tip of his tongue against it. There was some resistance, and he had to push hard, but the tight pucker soon relented and allowed the wet appendage to slip inside.
Feisal let out a low “murr” while his tongue moved further into Nikhil’s backside. If he did not already know the cub was a virgin, the tightness of his insides would have confirmed it. Feisal’s prick twitched. As fun as rimming Nikhil would be, he was too horny to wait long. He was sure there would be other times to have extended rimming sessions.
Nikhil’s breath caught in his throat when Mr. Wydra’s tongue entered him. There was a moment of pain, followed by pleasure. He had never imagined that something going up there would feel good. The tongue made his insides feel wet and slimy. His ears picked up the sound of Mr. Wydra’s shorts moving and then, moments later, the sound of a cap popping open.
Feisal poured a generous amount of lube onto his cock. It was only a small, travel sized, bottle and he hoped it would be enough. He rubbed the lube all along his member. This amount would have to do. He pulled his tongue out of Nikhil’s tailhole and sat up. He took a few more moments to admire the cub’s ass before shuffling forward and aiming his tip at the entrance.
The tongue sliding out of him left Nikhil disappointed. Then, he felt something bigger pressing against his butt. It did not take him long to figure out what it was. The bit pressing against him felt like a much bigger version of the tip of his own cubhood. Was Mr. Wydra going to put his willy inside of him? Nikhil didn’t know how it would fit, it felt so much bigger than his tongue.  Though his mind was confused, his body knew what it wanted. His ears laid back on his head and he relaxed as much as possible.
The submission from Nikhil made Feisal fight his instincts for control. He placed his paws on his slender hips and took several long breaths. He pushed forward, slowly. The tip of his penis parted the entrance. He moaned softly from the heat and tightness. It was too much, he had to get in faster.
YELP! 
Feisal stopped instantly and pulled himself out of Nikhil. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and kissed the back of his head. He whispered apologies into his ear and hugged him tightly. He saw Weylin pull back from his mouth and rub his ears.
Nikhil did not hurt enough to cry, though it was a close thing. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the stinging in his tailhole to go away.
“I think I want to stop now, Mr. Wydra.” Nikhil spoke softly.
“I think that is a good idea.” Feisal licked Nikhil’s ear.
Mr. Whitelaw spoke. “You should get to class.”
“Yes, Mr. Whitelaw.”
Feisal kissed the back of Nikhil’s head once more before he let him go and stood.
“How is your eye doing, Pup?” 
“It feels all puffy and it's hard to see out of.”
“Hm. I have just the thing. Follow me.”
Feisal walked out of the room and over to his desk. He made sure Nihil followed then opened a drawer and pulled a black eyepatch out. He tenderly placed the eyepatch over Nikhil’s swollen eye.
“An eyepatch?” Nikhil was not quite sure how this would help.
“Yep. Now you’re a pirate.” Feisal grinned down at Nikhil.
“Arr!” Nikhil giggled and hugged Feisal. “I need a parrot to be a real pirate.
“I thought one of your classmates was a parrot? Ask them” Nikhil let out a fit of giggles at Feisal’s response.
“Get a move on, cabin puppy.” Mr. Whitelaw spoke from the doorway, an amused tone to his voice.
“I’m not a cabin puppy! I’m a pirate captain! Arr!”
“What does that make me?”
Nikhil had to think about that. “You’re the evil navy commander trying to stop the pirates!”
“The pirate captain should make their escape before the “evil” commander gets their ‘booty’.”
Nikhil giggled and saluted the Principal. He got dressed and hugged Feisal again, then headed for the door.
“If he could be that cute all the time… Now, Rudderpup,” Weylin walked over to Feisal, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him back to the other room.
Feisal smirked and walked over to one of the beds. He swayed his hips in Weylin’s direction. He made a show of bending over the bed and reaching back to lift his tail.
Weylin walked behind Feisal and rubbed the presented cheeks, then brought his paw back. THWAP! Weylin smacked his open palm against Feisal’s ass, hard enough to make the flesh jiggle. The smack made Feisal squeak and his cock twitched. “Naughty Rudderpup.” Weylin walked over to another bed and laid on his back. He crooked a finger in Feisal’s direction.
Feisal wasted no time moving over to Weylin. He admired the older lion’s body and, especially, the large dick sticking up from it. His eyes flicked over to the lube bottle he had used on his own penis.
“I don’t have enough lube left, love.”
“I’ll make my own. Get your ass on my cock.”
Feisal murred softly at the command and complied. He climbed onto the bed and over Weylin. He shuffled around until his asshole was kissing the tip of his cock. Instead of pushing down, he brought his hands to Weylin’s chest and unbuttoned his shirt.
“This needs to go, wouldn’t want to walk around with my cum on your shirt.”
Weylin growled softly and clamped his paws around Feisal’s waist. He roughly shoved him down, spearing the end of his dick in his boyfriend’s ass. A predatory expression crossed his face at the pleasured and pained groan that came from above him. That was a very effective way to shut the mouthy Rudderpup up. Now, to make him loud.
When the head of Weylin’s cock rammed itself into Feisal’s tailhole, he grabbed hold of his chest fur. Barbs poked against his inner walls. He did not have a chance to compose himself before he felt hot liquid spill into him. He did not need the acrid smell to tell him that he was getting marked. His eyes closed and he let out a loud moan. He pressed his hips down, the urine was a good enough lube for him.
It was a good thing his Rudderpup’s ass was used to his cock, because he was in no mood to take it easy. His hips slammed into his pup’s butt over and over. Urine was not the best lube, but his strength made up for the lack of slickness. The predatory expression was etched onto his face now. His eyes never left his Rudderpup, silently letting him know who he belonged to.
Feisal could do nothing except howl. Weylin’s barbs rubbed against his walls every time his cock pulled back and it was driving him nuts. He was putty in his hands, completely at his mercy. His mind was mush, his thoughts only on the pleasure he was feeling. Weylin knew what he was doing. Every thrust rammed the cock tip against his prostate. His own dick slapped against  Weylin’s stomach, the tip rubbing against his fur. His knot inflated.
Low growls emanated from Weylin’s throat. He was already close when he had to pull out of his Rudderpup’s pet. Some day he was going to paint that cub with his cum. But, right now, there was a submissive Rudderpup to feed. Weylin buried his cock in his pup’s ass and let out a roar as he shot load after load of cum.
Feisal’s back arched and he screamed. His dick spasmed and shot cum all the way up Weylin’s chest, reaching his chin. He collapsed against him, panting heavily, tongue sticking out. He felt strong arms wrap themselves around him and he sighed happily. He could feel the combined piss and cum sloshing inside, kept there by the cock stuffed in his ass, and he loved it.
It occurred to Weylin that the two of them were probably heard by anyone that happened to be within a mile of the room. Too late to worry about that now. He rubbed his fingers along Feisal’s back, massaging it softly. He moved down to his tail, nails lightly grazing along it.
“My ass is sore.” Feisal mumbled.
“Good.” Weylin closed his eyes for a moment.
“I’m going to be walking funny after that.”
“Hush.”
The two of them laid there in silence.

After leaving, Nikhil waited by the door. He kept it open a crack and peeked in. He was tempted to sneak back into the room and find out what Mr. Wydra and Mr. Whitelaw were doing, but he did not want to get caught. He was not going to risk pushing Mr. Whitelaw’s good mood.
Nikhil looked up at a clock on the wall and was surprised to find that it was a couple minutes before the last class of the day would begin. He did not realize that he had been allowed to nap that long. Thankfully, there was time for him to get to his locker before class started.
Nikhil reached his locker as the bell rang to signal the end of the current class. Students filed out and rushed through the hallway. A few took notice of his eyepatch, but most were too busy to even see him. He pulled his backpack out of the locker and moved into the crowd, heading towards homeroom.
The 4th grade homeroom was already filling up with students by the time Nikhil got there. Pete saw him right away and ran over. Pete clapped him on the back.
“I saw you stand up to Kit. That was really cool!” Pete grinned as he spoke.
“It was?” Nikhil looked up at Pete.
“Yeah! Well, except for the part where you fell on your butt. I would’ve tried to run away if Mr. Whitelaw looked at me with the face he gave you and Kit.”
“I was too scared to move.”
Pete laughed. “Cool eyepatch. You look like a pirate.”
“Arr!” Both boys giggled.
Nikhil looked at the other students in the room until he found the one he was looking for. He made his way across the room, to a parrot with violet and blue feathers.
“Hey Teth!” Nikhil called out.
Teth’ula looked at Nikhil.  “Huh? Why are you wearing an eyepatch?”
“Mr. Wydra gave it to me cuz Kit punched me in the eye.”
“That was mean of Kit.”
“Uh-huh! But I get to be a pirate now! Do you wanna be my parrot?”
“Your what?”
“My parrot. A pirate captain needs a parrot to repeat what they say.”
Teth’ula gave Nikhil a confused look. “What?”
“You’ve never seen any pirate cartoons or movies?”
Teth’ula shook his head.
Nikhil reached into his pocket for his phone and stopped himself before pulling it out. “I’ll show you on FurTube after school.”
“Everyone to their seats, please.” Mr. Reir called out from the front of the classroom.
The students all hurried to their desks. Mr. Reir waited until everyone was seated before he called out attendance.
“Mr. Kutya, I see you have gained a new accessory.”
“A what, Mr. Reir?”
“That eyepatch.”
“I got it from Mr. Wydra cuz my eye is all puffy.”
“Cuz’ is a nickname for a cousin, Mr. Kutya. I assume he gave you a note to go with it?”
“Nuh-uh. He and Mr. Whitelaw were busy and wanted to be alone. Do you want me to go and ask for one?”
Mr. Reir cleared his throat. “No…That will be alright. I think we should respect their desire for privacy. If you still need the eyepatch tomorrow, make sure to get a note before coming to class.”
“Okay!”
“I have the grades for everyone’s spelling test from last Friday here. I am proud to say that most of you did exceptionally. There will be a final test next week, going over most of what we learned this year.” Mr. Reir smiled as the class groaned. "I am sure all of you will do fine. For this week, we will be spending the last period of the day going over what will be on the test. Now, how to make this fun so you will all listen?”
Mr. Reir scratched his chin and pretended to contemplate. He reached into his desk and pulled out an envelope. “How many of you watch Super Robo Rabbit?”
The entire class raised their paws. “Thought so. Were you aware that Robo Rabbit and Mechanical Monkey are going to be at the mall on Saturday?” Some students were aware, but the rest of them gasped or squealed in excitement. “I happened to get my paws on just enough vouchers for everyone in class to get a special Robo Rabbit transforming action figure.”
The announcement sent the class into an uproar of cheers. It took Mr. Reir a good minute to restore order and settle the cubs down. “These vouchers come with a catch. I will hand them out at the end of the day on Friday if, and only if, all of you work hard for the rest of the week. That means you have to do all of your homework and stay out of trouble. Does everyone think they can do that?” The class erupts into a chorus of claims that they can. “I thought so.”
True to their word, every student paid close attention in class. They were eager to be called on to spell a word or answer a question. Class passed without incident.
As the day drew towards a close, Mr. Reir set down the marker he had been using to write words on a white board. He looked over the classroom with a smile. Even if they were only paying attention in order to get the vouchers at least all the faces he saw were full of concentration.
“I think that is enough for today. For homework, I want you to pick out any ten words you were taught, in class, this year and practice them. Tomorrow I will be asking you to write them down in class. Try not to pick the easiest words you can think of. On your way out the door, stop by my desk and get your graded tests.”
When the bell rang, Nikhil rose from his desk, got his test, and left the classroom. Once outside, Nikhil waited until he saw Teth’ula and ran over to him.
“Hey Teth! Wanna see that video now?” Nikhil said as he approached.
“Uh, let’s wait till we’re on the bus.” Teth’ula said.
“Okay!”
Nikhil hung by Teth’ula as the two waited in line to get on the school bus. He pulled out his phone, pulled up FurTube, and looked for the right video while waiting. When it was their turn, Nikhil and Teth’ula got into the bus and took the closest empty seat.
“You’re so lucky to have a smartphone, Nik.” Teth’ula raised his voice to be heard over the noise of other cubs.
“My dad works for the phone company. He gave it to me because they were going to get rid of them and he was able to get it for free. But he put on “parental locks” so I can’t download anything or visit most websites. And I can only use the FurKids part of FurTube.” Nikhil replied.
“My parents won’t even let me have any kind of cell phone. They said I can’t have one until I’m in 6th grade.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“What’re you watching?” Pete spoke up as he occupied the seat behind them, leaning over the back of their seat to look.
“I was gonna show Teth a video on pirates and parrots.” Nikhil said.
“Cool. Can I watch?”
“You already are watching, silly.” The three boys chuckled.
Nikhil tapped on the video and it started playing. “It's one of my favorite cartoons. It's about a whale pirate named Blubberbeard.” 
The boys watched the video in silence for a moment. On screen, Blubberbeard the whale was climbing the side of a pirate ship, a cutlass clenched tightly in his mouth. He dodged around the portholes which the cannons peeked from and went up to the main deck.
“What’s he doing?” Teth’ula asked while Blubberbeard somehow hid his bulk behind the ship’s main mast.
“He’s trying to steal Roth Weiler’s treasure.” Nikhil whispered.
“Who’s that?”
“The good guy. Shh.”
Blubberbeard peered around the mast and, once the cost was clear, snuck out running for the lower decks. When he got to the stairs, he found Roth waiting for him. Roth stood with a cutlass in his hand, looking up at Blubberbeard. A parrot male, even shorter than Roth, was standing to the side.
“Hey,” Teth’ula said “Is that what you meant?”
“Uh-huh. Shhh.”
“Arr, Blast ye, Roth! How know you I was here?!” Blubberbeard yelled in surprise.
“I can smell ye from across the Pacific, Blubberbeard! Yer smell is intolerable on me ship.” Roth replied. “Be gone lest ye wish to cross swords yet again.”
The parrot cawed from behind “Be gone! Be gone! Cross swords!”
Pete laughed as a funny look crossed Teth’ula’s face.
“SSSSHHHHH!” Nikhil said, putting a finger to his lips. He turned the volume on his phone up so they could hear over the noise of the moving bus and loud cubs.
 Blubberbeard raised his arms and stepped back a pace. Roth lowered his cutlass and Blubberbeard used that as his opening. He sprung forward, moving faster than one would expect from someone of his size. He grabbed the parrot on the way and leapt over the side in mere moments. The parrot squawked indignantly the entire way.
Back on Blubberbeard’s ship, Roth’s parrot caused all kinds of havoc in his attempt to escape. Blubberbeard’s own parrot did his best to stop the other, but inadvertently caused problems as well.
The boys were  glued to the screen, giggling like mad at every joke or pratfall. Nikhil and Pete cheered for Roth while Teth’ula wanted the parrots to team up and steal the treasure for themselves. They were unable to finish the episode before the bus reached Nikhil’s stop.
“I gotta get off here. Save me a seat tomorrow and we’ll finish the episode!” Nikhil called as he got off the bus.
The bus stop was a block away from Nikhil’s house. When he was younger, his parents bought the house and moved in, he was too young to remember anything about their old home. The middle-class neighborhood was filled with what his father called “tract housing”. All the houses had the same layout inside and out, even the land they sat on was the same size. The only differences visible from the outside were the color they were painted and lawn decorations.
Nikhil was not the only cub to get off the bus, there were a few other elementary aged cubs in the neighborhood along with older kids from middle and high school.
Nikhil’s house sat at the far end of the block, right next to the only empty home in the neighborhood. A “For Sale” sign had been sitting in the yard for a few weeks. He would miss the old couple that lived there, they always gave him sweets when he was playing outside. He’d asked where they were moving and they said they were moving to something called a “Retirement Community”. His dad said it was where elderly people sometimes went when they wanted to be around more people their age.
Turning away from the neighbor’s house, Nikhil hopped onto his lawn. The lawn had been mowed yesterday morning, he woke to the smell of cut grass. As soon as the mowing was done, he had run outside without shoes or socks on so the grass could tickle his paws.
Nikhil stepped over to a large, old, oak tree in the yard. No one he asked knew how old the tree was, but some of them guessed it was over 100 years old. It was kept trimmed and well cared for. Tied to a branch that faced the house was a swing, made out of a branch that had to be cut off. He was four years old when it was made and he still loved to swing on it.
Nikhil ran a paw against the tree trunk as he went by. His attention turned to the house itself. The siding was painted a dark green and the trim around the windows was white. The house had been repainted last summer, the memory of the awful reek of paint still made his nose wrinkle. Thankfully, they went on vacation right after it was finished; by the time they returned the smell was gone.
Against the house, under a large window looking into the dining room, was his mother’s flower garden. He didn’t know what all the flowers were, but he liked how colorful they were. Red flowers, yellow ones, even some purple. His mother told him some of their names once, but he forgot what they were.
Nikhil’s attention was taken by a soccer ball sitting in the yard. He went over and tried to balance it on one of his shoes, it fell off the toe almost immediately. He stuck his tongue out at the ball and kicked it away. Soccer wasn’t his favorite sport anyway.
With the ball suitably punished for not balancing like it was supposed to, Nikhil leapt up the three wooden steps that led to the deck. The deck, which was built only two years ago, ran from the end of the flower garden and wrapped around to the far side of the house. When it was being built, Nikhil had tried to help and ended up hitting his thumb with a hammer, and that was the end of that. He saw that his dad had uncovered their gas grill. The sight of that made him smile. His parents liked to host grill outs in the summer, and they would invite everyone in the neighborhood. He loved those days, from the food to all the people around. One day he’d even be allowed to sit at the “adult’s” table that was set up near the far corner. The adults always had weird smelling drinks that he wasn’t allowed to even pretend to touch without being yelled at. The adults looked like they really enjoyed the drinks, and he wanted a taste too. Putting that out of his mind, he opened the front door and stepped into the house.
“Mom! I’m home!” Nikhil yelled when he walked inside.
The front door opened to what Nikhil had heard called the “foyer”. He kicked off his shoes onto a mat against a wall to the right of the door. His eyes caught sight of the coat rack that occupied the space behind the door. Three umbrellas leaned against the bottom of it and his raincoat was the only thing hanging up. He did not like the raincoat, he’d rather run around in the rain and get all wet. But his parents forced him to wear it, no matter how much he told them he didn’t want to.
Nikhil pulled his socks off and set his bare foot paws on the laminate floor that ran throughout most of the first story of the house. It was supposed to look like real wood, but he didn’t think it looked anything like any he had ever seen. He did like how it felt on his paws and how he was able to run and slide along it after it was mopped.
Nikhil remembered to close the door and his eyes were drawn to the opposite wall. Pictures of family members hung from this wall, some Nikhil had never met. There was a black and white picture of his great grandparents holding his grandpa’s hand when he was younger than Nikhil is now. Another picture showed his grandpa getting married to his grandmother, they were standing in front of a large church. Right next to that was a picture of his mother at his age, she was playing in a wheat field with friends. The next showed his mother at her high school prom. She was wearing a green dress and holding hands with his father, who was dressed in a red tuxedo. He liked that picture a lot and his parents looked really happy in it. And he thought his mother looked very pretty. His father, a grey furred Komondor named Adorján, always looked awkward in pictures. His thick coat of fur looked matted and would often cover his black eyes. As a teenager, he was lanky, and he didn’t grow into his height until later in life. His family moved from Hungary when he was a teen and his thick accent got him teased in high school. Nikhil’s mother, a mixed breed named Bradyn, asked him to prom so he would have someone to go with and they fell for each other that night. She was popular in school, both intelligent and pretty, and his father joked that she had a line of boys following her down the halls. Her sleek, dark blue fur was pristine in the picture, and her yellow eyes seemed to shine when she smiled. His mother was head and shoulders shorter than his father, but she drew the attention of anyone looking at the picture.
The final picture that caught Nikhil’s attention was a family picture from last year. They had gone on vacation to a little beach resort and had the photo taken on the beach itself. His fur was full of sand from wrestling in it. He was standing on top of a sand pile, like he had won some great victory. His older brother, Emil, was buried under the pile, with only his head, paws, and foot paws visible. Emil was 14 at that time and his shaggy, blue fur took after their father. He had their mother’s eyes, though. Unlike Nikhil, Emil was tall for his age. However, he lacked their father’s teenage lankiness. He was on the high-school track team and the exercise helped his muscles keep up with his growth spurt. Their father, whose fur was also sandy, was grinning down at the two boys. He was ever so slightly overweight, but it was hard to tell with all the fur. Nikhil only knew because he could feel his dad’s belly when they hugged. Their mother was shaking her head. She had said something about their dad “encouraging” him and his brother. It was something she said a lot. As soon as they got back to the hotel that day she made all three of them take showers. It took a long time to get the sand out; he had to take two before his mother was finally happy.
Nikhil turned away from the pictures and realized that there had been no response to his call. He walked further into the house, walking by a staircase that went down to the basement and up to the second floor. Next to the staircase was a wooden table, passed down to his mother from her mother. The table had a bowl on it that his parents used to store keys. Leaning against the front of the bowl he saw a letter addressed to him and his brother. He picked up the letter and read it over.
“Hi boys, sorry I couldn’t be there when you got back from school. There was an emergency at work and they needed me to come in for a couple hours. I should be home around the same time as your father. Do your homework right away and try not to destroy the house. Love you both. XO
PS: Emil, make sure to watch Nikhil.”
Watch Nikhil? Bah. He didn’t need ‘watching’ like some little kid. Nikhil set the letter down with a sigh. He looked towards the back of the house and groaned. He didn’t want to do his homework, it was nice out and he wanted to go play in the backyard. Still, his mother told him to do his homework right away, and he knew he would be in trouble if he put it off. With another sigh he left the table and went to do as he was told.

Feisal set his pen down and stretched his arms. After many distractions, his paperwork was finally done. At least one of those distractions ended up being a lot of fun. His ass was still sore from Weylin pounding it, not that he minded. Getting the lion worked up like that was always worth sitting uncomfortably the rest of the day for. Pity he hadn’t been willing to go another round or two. Well, whatever, maybe he could find a way to make it happen again tomorrow. He gathered up his paperwork and stood from his chair. Time to turn all of this in and then go home.
“Good evening, Gretchen,” Feisal said as he walked into the reception area a couple minutes later.
“Good evening, Feisal. Have something for me?” Gretchen looked up from her computer.
“This should be all the paperwork I need to get caught up on.” Feisal set the stack of paper on Gretchen’s desk.
“It would be easier to keep track of and fill out if you used a computer.”
“That would require me using a computer.”
Gretchen sighed. “One of these days, someone is going to drag you into the 21st century.”
“I will be kicking and screaming the entire way. Speaking of people making me scream, is Weylin in his office?”
“He is. But, he is busy so keep your shenanigans to a minimum or you will have to deal with me.” Gretchen grinned at Feisal.
“Minimum shens only, ma’am. I promise.”
Feisal walked over to Weylin’s office door, opened it a little, then poked his head in. “Hey, fluffball.”
Weylin had a laptop open and was working on his own paperwork. His head came up when the door opened.
“Feisal.” His voice carried a warning growl.
“Gretchen is the only other person that can hear. Relax, even I wouldn’t tease you that much with other people around.” Feisal smirked and his tone hinted that his words might not be entirely truthful.
Weylin sighed. “How are you feeling, Rudderpup?”
“Sore, but the good kind. Just wanted to let you know that I’m heading home. Unless you want me to stay.”
“You can go. Have a good night.”
“Good night, love. Oh! Right. You owe me lunch tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“I recall someone swearing they wouldn’t fuck me in school for the rest of the school year and making a bet on it.”
“Fine. I will bring lunch tomorrow. Now go.”
Feisal grins. “I’m going. Love you.”
“Love you too.” 
Feisal closed the door and waved to Gretchen as he walked out of the office. He turned left and headed towards the back of the building. Absent the cubs, the empty classrooms and hallway felt eerie. He closed his eyes as he walked. Between going here as a cub and his time as a nurse, he did not need to see where he was going when it was empty. The cleaning crew was in another part of the building at this time, so no one would bother him. The blind walk ended when he reached the back door. He pushed it open and walked outside.
Hidden behind the school was a faculty parking lot. Feisal had not taken too long to finish his work, so there were still several cars there. Some teachers had already left, but the majority were still grading papers, working on lesson plans for the next day, or whatever else needed to be done. He spotted the crotchrocket that belonged to Ulrich. It had been quite the surprise the first time the little mouse showed up to school on the bike, and the sight of it was a constant source of amusement. He’d ridden motorcycles like that before and he understood the excitement of them, but it wasn’t his thing. Weylin’s blue pickup was parked near the door. 
Feisal moved away from the truck and went across the parking lot to his own car. The cherry red, soft-top sports car stood out more than Ulrich’s bike. The car was older than he was, and it was the only vehicle he had ever owned. It was technically a four seater, but the back seats were so cramped that only cubs could comfortably sit. Weylin barely fit in the passenger seat. His cousin Joshua bought him the car as a gift after he was given the blue on his fur. It came from a junkyard and the two of them spent the better part of that summer fixing it up. Fesial had to spend almost all the money he earned from a part-time job buying parts to repair it. Thankfully, his parents and Weylin helped as well. He loved every minute of working on the car. Even though it sometimes showed its age, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it and just kept repairing it as things broke down. There weren’t a lot of happy memories from that summer, but the time he spent on the little sports car were among the best.
With the weather being so warm and the forecast not showing any rain, Feisal had kept the top of the car down. He climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled his keys out of his pocket. The car started right away and he patted the dashboard. Some days it could be temperamental and not want to start. His hand rested on the gear shifter as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

Nikhil flipped through his history book, looking for the answer to a question. He had been working on his homework for nearly twenty minutes. It took him almost half that time to work out his notes from class. They really were a mess. Some of the notes he could not make out at all and had to guess what they said. At least he was able to get by without them, mostly. Outside, the sound of a car door slamming shut drew his attention to the dining room window.
Nikhil then heard the front door open and then close. “Hi big brother!” He yelled out.
“Where ya at, runt?” Emil called back, his voice muffled a bit by the wall.
“Doing homework!”
A moment later Emil walked into view, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “Where’s mom?”
“At work. She left a note by the stairs.”
Emil vanished to read the note, then poked his head back in. “You can watch yourself, can’t ya?”
“Of course!”
“Good.”
“You’re late today.”
“Frank needed to pick something up at the store and didn’t want to drop me off first.”
“What’d he pick up?”
Emil shrugged. “I stayed in the car. Anyway, I’m going to my room.”
“Mom said to do homework right away!”
“I’ll do it in my room.”
“Oh. What if I need help?”
“Thought you could watch yourself?” Emil shook his head as Nikhil pouted. “If you need anything just knock on my door. And I mean knock and then wait for me to say you can enter. Don’t just barge in.”
“Fiiiiine.”
“Good. And don’t try to sneak a soda just cause mom ain’t here, you know she’ll find out.”
“I won’t. You either.” Emil waved dismissively at Nikhil before walking back to the stairs.
Nikhil watched his brother leave and pouted. He wanted to spend more time with Emil. He missed when they would hang out the entire night after school. For the last few months Emil would hide in his room after doing homework or would do homework in his room if their mother wasn’t around to force him to sit at the dining room table. Emil was gone a lot on weekends too, so Nikhil wasn’t able to spend much time with him. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the book.
For the next fifteen minutes or so Nikhil made good progress, finishing most of his homework. The only thing he had left was the spelling assignment. He pulled out a list of all the words they had learned this year, and wrote ten down on a blank piece of paper. He wrote each word multiple times, memorizing the spelling and then stopped. Writing it down when he could see the word was one thing, but he’d be expected to know it without looking tomorrow. The only way he could do that was with help. His mother was still gone and that just left Emil. He picked up the paper and ran out of the room.
Nikhil took the stairs two steps at a time. His parents carpeted the wooden stairs when they moved in so the boys wouldn’t slip on them. With their habit of running up and down the staircase, to the annoyance of their parents, it was a good idea. Nikhil used to chase Emil up and down the stairs until one of their parents would yell, ‘Go play outside if you have that much energy!’
The top of the stairs lead to a hallway that went in both directions. Right in front of the stairs was the bathroom that Nikhil and Emil shared. Most mornings they shared without any fighting, though Emil liked to take long showers sometimes and not let him in until he was done. Nikhil had no idea what took Emil so long or why he sometimes heard weird noises coming from the bathroom during those showers.
The right side of the hallway lead to their parents bedroom. Their bedroom had a huge closet that Nikhil liked to hide in when playing Hide n’ Seek. When he was younger he’d fallen asleep in that closet a few times. To the left were three bedrooms. Facing that direction, Nikhil’s room was first on the right. His bedroom window faced the backyard. Across from his room was his father’s study. Neither of the boys were allowed in there without permission. 
At the far end of the hall stood the door to Emil’s room. Nikhil approached the door and reached for the handle. Before he grabbed it his brother’s words came back to him. He pulled his hand back and was about to knock when a sound came through the door. It was the same weird noise he heard when Emil took those long showers. Curiosity got the best of him and he slowly opened the door.