The following is the Intellectual Property of Willem Tobey (nom de plume). Usage outside of personal entertainment purposes will bring shame upon you and your family. This writing\story\novel, its characters, and the events portrayed within are purely fictitious. Any similarity to other writings\stories\novels, characters, and events is purely coincidental and unintentional.
WARNING: May contain coarse language, violence, gore or sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 28. “A Day Full of Weird”
                                                          
Troy wasn’t sure how long he slept for. The aching in his head was at least dull. The warm body behind him began to stir. Luger slid his hand from Troy’s stomach and returned a moment later. Luger’s muzzle slid along Troy’s neck and came to rest over his shoulder. Luger’s body scooched closer to Troy’s and pressed against his back and butt. Troy’s body tensed as Luger pressed tightly against his rear - something rather stiff poked into the top curve of his gluteus. Luger’s hand pressed into Troy’s stomach as Luger groaned, then shivered. Luger sighed heavily as his grip eased and he came to rest.

“What the actual,” Troy thought as he envisioned Luger’s “morning wood” bulge pressing into him. “I must be dreaming. That or the simulation is causing more aftereffects.”

Troy slowly slid his hips forward a bit. Luger hummed a giggle and pursued Troy. Troy cringed as Luger pressed into him again, moved his muzzle up, and pressed against his ear. His warm, damp tongue slid across his earlobe, then Luger gently bit it.

“NOPE!” Troy thought as he grabbed Luger’s hand, then tossed it behind him as he sprang out of the bed to his feet.

Troy clenched his fist and felt extremely angry as he whirled around to loom over the still sleepy gazelle. Luger groaned and began to pry his eyes open.

“Maw-oh. Luger was just,” he said as his eyes opened and seemed to focus.

He narrowed his eyes and appeared to stare at nothing in particular. Troy marched over to the light switch and flipped it on. He marched back over as Luger squeezed his eyes shut and protested the brightness. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, then pulled them down causing the lower lids to expose some of the damp, pink flesh underneath. His eyes stared at Troy as he stood at the side of the bed - feeling less than thrilled about the events that unfolded. 

“T-Troy,” Luger quietly squeaked.

His eyes darted down, then back up at Troy. Troy rocked his head slightly to the left with lips pressed together while trying to hold in his anger. Luger’s hands moved to the end of his muzzle - his eyelids slapping back to his eyeballs, then opened wide. They squinted and his ears folded back as his forehead scrunched down. He groaned and slapped his hands down over the bulge as he rolled to face away from Troy.

“Luger’s so sorry, Troy! Luger didn’t mean to do that he was just having a really good, really inappropriate dream and felt really really good and did something really really bad to Troy while he was trying to sleep after Luger hurt him and...AH! LUGER’S SO SORRY FOR HURDING TROY LUGER COULDN’T STOP HIMSELF AND…!”

Luger’s ranting came to a squeaking halt as Troy placed his hand on Luger’s shoulder. Troy rubbed Luger’s shoulder for a moment before reaching over and grabbing the communicator from the end table. He began to type the keys.

“Calm down, Luger. It’s okay. It’s natural for young men to have those kinds of dreams. I will admit that I’m less than thrilled you’re having horny dreams while in my bed, but I’m just glad you were able to get some rest. You were having a night terror - basically a nightmare so bad that you continue to have it even after sitting up with your eyes open. I knew the risks but I had to help you. I don’t know exactly what happened to you, but it was definitely traumatizing. Let’s just forget this happened.” Troy looked up at the shivering pile of fur and clothing as the communicator spoke. He continued to type. “Will you forgive yourself and continue staying with me a little longer?”

Luger continued trembling as his head lifted, then rotated to the side and his eye found Troy. He still looked frightened and apologetic. He turned his head back to the wall and placed his head on the pillow. He nodded.

“I-if Troy wants Luger to stay, even after all that’s happened,” he said and trailed off. He swallowed hard and squeezed into a tighter ball. He nodded again. “Luger would lige that,” he said quietly.

Troy found a half-smile on his lips. “Good. Now, after you get that thing under control, let’s get some food and take a shower. Today, I’d like it if we can go see the Doctors and stop by the library. I’d like to start learning your language. If there’s still time left in the day, I’d like to stop by the workshop where Jon worked. I want to look around a bit more.”

Luger nodded. “Yeah. O-gay,” he said quietly.

Troy moved over and sat on the couch. He fiddled with the communicator while he waited. He couldn’t read what anything said, regardless. One icon looked like a camera. Another looked like two speech bubbles. The one for translation had a symbol with an arrow to another symbol, one looked like a page of words, and the last one looked like a phone. He tapped the screen to go back to the translation program as the bed creaked. Luger’s hooves slowly ticked over towards the couch. Troy looked over his shoulder to see him still holding his hands over the front of his pants. He shyly stared at the floor in front of him as he moved. 
                                                   
“Ready to go?” Troy asked through the communicator.

Luger nodded and seemed to grimace. Troy stood and walked to the door, then opened it. He stepped through and took a few steps. He stopped when he didn’t hear Luger following. He turned back and looked through the doorway. Luger looked to be on the verge of tears. Troy sighed and walked up to him and lightly hugged him. He stepped back and reached up to lift Luger’s muzzle. Luger’s lips quivered as he looked at Troy with squinted, watery eyes.

“Troy, I,” Luger began in a quiet, squeaky voice.

Troy quickly brought up a finger and pressed it to the gazelle’s mouth. He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. He looked properly at him and began to type.

“Luger, you don’t have to apologize so profusely. I understand. I’m moving past what happened. I forgive you. I don’t have the time, nor the energy to be angry at anyone right now. I need to prove to the President that I deserve to be here. I need your help to accomplish that. Can you try and cheer yourself to help me? Please?”

Tears fell from Luger’s eyes. He reached up and wiped them away, sniffled, then swallowed. He nodded his head a few times and breathed in. His ears returned to their normal position and he faked a smile.

“Yeah. Luger can help Troy. Luger will try to be better,” Luger said with more confidence and conviction.

“Good. I need to grab my shoes. I almost walked off without them,” the communicator spoke as Tory moved past Luger. “In the meantime, can you possibly tell me why you sometimes lose the nuance in your speech? I notice you have trouble saying hard “K” sounds, but then there are times where you don’t. And you sometimes refer to yourself as “Lucca.”

Luger winced, squeaked, then slumped his shoulders as he heard the robotic voice.

“You don’t have to explain if you aren’t comfortable. I was just really curious,” Troy finished, then began putting on his shoes.

“N-not n-now,” Luger stuttered quietly and began to quickly walk out of the room.

“Luger. Wait for me,” the tiny speaker said as Troy quickly put on the other shoe and chased after the runner.

Troy caught up with him in the line to the cafeteria. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was definitely a meal time. Something among the selections smelled delicious. He wasn’t cognizant of the smell the first time he came through. Perhaps he was getting more comfortable around these beasts. Or, and he preferred this explanation, he could actually smell properly now. Despite the dull throbbing in his head, he felt great. Better than he had his entire life! It’s possible his actual self was finally cohabitating and coexisting properly with his retrofitted parts.

Troy took a small plate of vegetables. When it was his time at the main course section, he plated a few tortillas and filled them with some of the ground meat and fixings. Troy exited the line and filled a cup with juice, then entered the sitting area. He glanced around and found Luger sitting by himself at a table near the wall close to the exit. Troy could see several of the furries and such whispering to each other as they glanced over Luger’s way. He even saw Tasha with her family on the far end of the opposite side of the room stealing glances - “robbing them blind,” even (if that were a way to describe just how long she would stare as she, more or less, ignored the chatter around her). 

Troy stepped back as someone came close to knocking his tray from his hands. He grit his teeth and lowered his head in apology. That was his intent, until he looked up and saw who it was.

“Look, boys. It’s the President’s pet,” one of them growled.

Troy immediately linked the small band of men to the Major. How could he forget the faces of the Major’s lackeys as they laughed at him and cheered her on from her shadow?

“Sure would love to finish what she started. I’d gladly join her in the cells if it meant this piece of shit were dead,” the black and brown Rottweiler gloated braggadociously. He stabbed a thick finger into Troy’s chest and leaned in with a sneer. “You’re fucking lucky we’re needed to fill the loss of the Major in the raid coming up,” he growled in a hushed tone. 

The large male pulled his finger back, looked down, and snatched up one of Troy’s tacos, then smashed the whole thing in his mouth as he chuckled and walked away to their table.

Troy finally reached his destination. They spent, what seemed to be “lunch” time, in silence. The tortillas were delicious. They were a bit thick with a bit of a crunchy exterior, light and fluffy interior. The “meat” was a bit lackluster. The toppings helped give it some “oomf,” but nothing near considered “delicious.” The vegetables were so fresh and delectable. Troy spent the majority of his life eating canned or, in extremely rare cases, store bought vegetables. There was something uniquely satisfying when they came straight from the “garden.”

They finished eating and gathered their items to take to the washing station. They cleaned up and exited the cafeteria. Troy spent an extra second staring at the wall to the prison. He wasn’t sure why. 

“That bitch got what she deserved,” Troy thought in disgust.

He began to follow Luger back towards the entrance to the cafeteria, then right down the hallway towards the medical and research stations. He was beginning to worry he’d done or said something wrong being given the silent treatment from his friend. He pulled the communicator from his pocket and began to type in the keypad.

“M-master Troy,” Luger began quietly, almost as if in response to Troy’s tapping. “I, um,” he continued, then paused as they passed the hallway behind the cafeteria and the mechanical room. “I’m sorry for being guiet. Luger’s just...thinging of how to...how to answer what Master Troy asg’d.”

Troy backed up the sentence he started and typed again. He patted Luger on the back as the speaker relayed the message - Luger lurching and squeaking from the contact.

“No worries, Luger. Take your time. It might help if I start. I’ll tell you what happened to me on the other ship. It’s graphic and unsettling. But what I can deduce from what I’ve seen on your body and what I can only imagine what’s swirling inside your head, I’d rather go through that a hundred times over than what happened to you.”

Luger glanced over at Troy. He seemed deeply bothered by whatever was going on beneath his horns. Troy gave him an uneasy smile and nodded slightly, then looked ahead to their destination. Luger looked back ahead. They continued to their destination in silence once more.

The door slid aside and they stepped into the medical center. The smell of sanitization slapped Troy’s olfactory hard. It was both irritating and nostalgic. Various species were on cots hooked to machines. Some were in worse shape than others. 

“What in the actual fuck is he doing here?” Troy’s ear picked up from one of the women whispering.

He looked over and saw Doctors Sparkle and Greene over at one of the tables with computer-style equipment on it. Dr. Greene was seated at the table with Dr. Sparkle leaning against the table looking his way. If looks could kill, he’d surely be dead where he stood.

“I feel so sorry for poor Luger,” Dr. Sparkle muttered. “Being forced to tend to that...thing.”

Troy gathered his courage with a deep breath. He steeled his expression and walked over to the pair and stopped a ways away from them. This side of the medical bay seemed to be dedicated to research. The equipment was tightly packed into this corner to allow more room for some makeshift cots for the lesser wounded. He righted his wandering eyes and focused on the scowling cat before him and the back of the lizard’s head. He brought up the communicator and began to type.

“We don’t have a machine that can detect how little I care what you have to say. Save it for some...”
                               
“I wanted to come here and apologize to the both of you for all the trouble I’ve caused. I don’t deserve your kindness. Especially yours, Doctor Greene. I lost myself at the sight of my close friend, seemingly, dissected on a table. Instead of asking “Why?” I reacted violently fearing he’d suffered the same fate as I nearly did. It was unbecoming of how I try to present myself to be. I’m sorry. I hope that there may be a time where you could forgive me,” the monotone voice conveyed.

The doctors looked between them, then Dr. Sparkle looked back at Troy.

“I’m so moved that I may spring a leak from my eyes,” Dr. Sparkle spat sarcastically. She sighed disgustedly. “Why are you even here?”

“W-we...Troy wanted to gum,” Luger began, timidly.

“Not you, Luger,” she interrupted calmly as she looked over at him. Her expression was of pity towards the gazelle. She looked back at Troy and scowled again.

Troy tapped as fast as he could. “As I said, I wanted to apologize. I wanted Luger to come with me so I could do this and seek a means to learn your language. To make myself useful. I have medical schooling and some medical training. If possible I could help you here. I could learn a lot from the advancements in technology and treatment you have available. Perhaps there might be something I can provide from my planet and training. Possibly something lost during your travels.” Troy took a breath and continued. “I want to go home. I don’t know if I ever will. While I’m here, I’ve decided to try my hardest to find something, anything, I can do to contribute to everyone here.” Troy’s throat began to swell and he felt himself close to tearing up. “Anything I can do so that I can stay.”

Dr. Sparkle crossed her arms across her chest as her head dipped in disbelief. Dr. Greene lowered her head and sighed. She slowly spun the chair around. Her expression was even. She looked down at the floor in front of Troy as her arms moved from the rests and she rubbed the bandaged wrist. Her hand stopped moving and she looked back up at Troy. While the feline stared death into Troy’s soul, the lizard looked torn between tearing up and a violent outburst. Her eyes watered, her brow fluttered, and her lips quivered from pursed to a toothy sneer. Dr. Sparkle looked over at Dr. Greene and scoffed as her arms fell. She pushed herself from the table and began to walk towards the medical side.

“I have dressings to change,” she said coldly.

Dr. Greene’s scowl deepened as she walked past Troy. Luger seemed to squirm uncomfortably. He played with his fingers as he stared down at them. His hooves tapped the floor as he shifted his weight several times before settling on his left leg.

Dr. Greene sighed and let her shoulders fall as her hands lowered to her lap and her eyes closed. “I get it. I really do,” she said and opened her eyes. “More precisely,” she began and looked at Troy sincerely. “I know you’re being honest. But,” she said and paused. Her hand rubbed her bandaged wrist again. “I feared for my life. You broke my wrist when you shoved me.” 

There was a heavy-feeling pause. Troy felt it creeping into his chest. It hurt.

He looked apologetically to her wrist. It wasn’t a cast he was familiar with. It most definitely wasn’t plaster. It just looked like thick bandaging. Almost as if it were...makeshift...cheap. Truly, it seemed as if she was putting aside her needs to fulfill those necessary to the ones wounded in battle. It made Troy wonder if it was out of kindness...or necessity. The President had emphasized their lack of resources. Especially when it came to him.

Dr. Greene pulled down her sleeve to cover the area. Troy couldn’t help but admire the scales of her arm and hands. Dr. Greene interrupted his curiosity with a heavy sigh. She held her eyes closed with her head lowered.

“Not now. More precisely, come back in a few days. I may have a use for you then. I need time to process your words and my feelings. I’m not even sure Ari’s finished transcribing our language to yours.”

“That’s a negative, Greeny,” a diminutive, sickly sweet voice called from the right.

Troy snapped his head over to where the voice came from, but didn’t see a soul. Just lab equipment, monitors, and the items they procured from the other ship - including the suit and the gun he came with. Whoever it was, Luger looked pale and violently trembled as he groaned. Troy looked lower and saw a set of short, thin, chestnut brown legs swinging from below the table that had horse-hooved ends. He straightened his back to try to look over the monitors but couldn’t see anyone. The tips of ears danced over the top of the upper monitor.

“Like Greeny said, a few more days and I should have most of your language translated to ours. It’s not that your language is difficult, it’s that ours is. I’m sure you’ve no clue what English and Japanese are, but ours is a mix of that. Yours is a bit like our Egyptian with English sprinkled in. Egyptian is considered an ancient language from our planet and is nearly lost in our databases. I’m having to learn it as I go. Don’t worry your smooth, green skin. I’m nearly finished.” Her tone shifted from cute to flirty. “Also, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look under the table at these hot, slutty legs of mine,” she stated plainly. “I’m not wearing panties,” she finished as if singing the words.

Troy glanced around to see how she could even see him from behind the wall of monitors. There had to be a hidden camera somewhere in here.

Dr. Greene sighed and shook her head, then looked up at Troy. “With that said,” Dr. Greene muttered. “More precisely, you should leave now.”

Troy nodded, stole another glance over to the wall of monitors, then turned to begin walking towards the door to this side of the area. Luger’s hooves quietly clapped against the floor behind him.

*Phwwht Phwooh* came a cat call whistling from behind the monitors. “Lookin’ fine as hell in those clothes, Luc,” the ominous voice called. “Fixin’ to gobble you up! It’d be totally worth it to wreck you in bed. I don’t know how you can refuse all-a this.”

Troy looked over his shoulder as Luger squealed in an unbecomingly high pitch. “Ahh-ahh-ahh,” he managed to get out, seemingly flustered.

Luger lowered his head and quickly scampered from the room. The tiny voice heartily laughed...devilishly, even.

“Works every time,” the voice quietly said, triumphantly.

Troy watched as Luger hastily walked down the hallway towards the library. Troy was nearly at a jogging pace and couldn’t keep up. Luger looked to the right by the workshop and squeaked again before darting to the left. Troy finally managed to catch up to him in the locker room. Luger was shaking as he caught his breath while leaning against one of the lockers. Troy caught his own breath for a moment before turning back towards the doorway.

“I did say we should get cleaned up. I would prefer after we went to the workshop, but I guess we are stopping by the library,” Troy thought.

The image of the blushing librarian flashed in his head. Troy shook his head in remembrance to that experience. He really should have had better manners than to waltz in there naked last time. Nevermind the fact he adopted too much of these beasts’ carefree attitude that day. It was another wrong that needed righting. 

“Shit! We don’t have towels or clothes!” Troy realized. He pulled out the communicator and typed. “Luger, if you get everything ready here, I’m going to go and get us a change of clothes and towels.”

Luger didn’t look over. He continued to tremble as he caught his breath. A bit of time passed until he finally nodded and straightened up. Troy nodded and took his leave from the locker room.

He made his way to his room. He wasn’t sure Luger’s would be ready after so little time had passed. He couldn’t imagine clothes had been delivered, either. He grabbed a t-shirt, jeans, and underwear for himself, underwear, button up shirt, and slacks for Luger. He hurried to the laundry room to grab some towels. Stella was folding some clothing at one of the tables.

“It’s you,” she said matter of factly. “Seems you made an impression on Dani.” She looked over at him with her head lowered to look over her glasses. “Or should I say that honor belongs to your friend, Luger?” She grinned, rocked her head up, then chuckled. “Never the mind. I have your locker assignment. You’ll be sharing with Luger. I don’t imagine that’s a problem.”

Troy shook his head. She hummed and nodded.

“Good. Good. The number is marked by your name on the ledger. I know you can’t read it, but the lockers have the same symbols on the small plaque. Twenty,” she said, drawing the word out and appeared to think. “Twenty...ah hell,” she huffed and slowly walked over to the counter. She ran her finger down the list. She stopped at the very bottom. “Twenty Sixty-Nine.” She glanced over at Troy as if expecting a reaction. She became gloomy when he didn’t. “As you walk in, second row, then right, and it’s in the middle on your right,” she said glumly as she walked back to the table.

Troy finagled the clothing in his hands and pulled out the communicator. He pressed his chin into the shirts to hold them close to his chest as his fingers worked. “Thank you, Stella. I really appreciate it,” the speaker passed on.

She waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah yeah. Out with you, spoiled sport.”

“Why is everyone telling me to leave so much today?” Troy wondered as he slowly slid the communicator back in his pocket.

Troy made his way into the locker room. He could hear water running in the shower room. He made his way to the area Stella spoke of and spent several minutes trying to find the exact lettering. He finally found the locker and lifted the black bar poking out from the chrome hardware within the handle insert. The locker was empty and, surprisingly, clean. Troy half expected there to be stuff already in here with the way others spoke on the situation. He laid the clothing items inside, undressed, and put the dirty clothes on the lower shelf before closing the door. He flipped the towels over his shoulder and walked towards the shower area. He caught a glimpse of clothes on the bench near the Colonel’s locker. He grabbed Luger’s clothes and placed them with his in the locker before finally entering the shower room.

The room was empty - save for a gazelle standing under running water with his head down as if absorbing the water through osmosis. He looked stoic. Troy couldn’t blame the guy. He’d been through a lot these last few days. His entire life changed course the moment Troy was assigned to him. Troy imagined there were tons of thoughts and emotions swirling in that head of his. He really hoped that he would open up and share those thoughts and emotions...those burdens.

Troy walked over to the shower tree and hung the towels from the hooks. He grabbed the fur shampoo bottle and flipped the cap open. He walked behind Luger and began to cover his shoulders with the gel. He placed the bottle down on the floor and placed his hands on Luger’s shoulders. Per usual, Luger nearly jumped out of his fur with a high-pitched squeal. He breathed in and growled the breath out.

“You s-gared Luger, Troy. Luger really wishes he gould stop being so s-gared all the time,” the young gazelle said, sounding dispirited.

He started to melt under Troy’s touch as Troy began to massage his shoulders. There were so many knots near his neck. His upper back was the same. Troy diligently worked the lather deep into his fur, then massaged the area for a bit. This continued until he finished working on Luger’s legs. He worked the lather into the back of Luger’s neck and worked his way up. He finished massaging Luger’s ears, then placed his hands on Luger’s shoulders to indicate it was time to turn around. 

Luger was groaning and moaning during the process, now he was groaning a different tune. He finally, slowly, turned and faced Troy. Troy had a suspicion as to why he was covering his groin.

“I hope that, some day, we can do this without all the...that,” Troy thought.

Troy readied himself and began working the lather into Luger’s upper chest and arms. He let the poor guy cover his “excitement” as he worked the lather into his stomach, arms, then down to his legs. Luger’s moans and groans were less comfortable and sounded more distraught on this half. Troy stood and faced Luger properly. Luger pried his eyes open and seemed to be pleading with Troy through them.

“This has to happen, bud,” Troy thought as he patted Luger’s shoulder.

Troy tapped the inside of Luger’s arms with his soapy hands. Luger breathed in heavily, closed his eyes, and held his breath as he moved his arms out to the side. Sure enough, Luger’s sheath was spilling out several inches of unwanted erection. Troy quickly lathered Luger’s forearms and hands, then moved down to his lower stomach. Luger squeaked and squirmed as Troy’s hands moved around the full sheath and into the fur of his inner thighs.

“I know you’re trying your best, but you don’t have to be ashamed, Luger,” Troy thought. “I’m probably about to do the same damn thing,” he finished, already dreading his own unwanted reaction to Luger’s touch.

Luger’s penis was fully extended by the time Troy finished lathering and inspecting his friend’s testicles and sheath. He rinsed off his hands and carefully inspected Luger’s penis. Luger’s breathing was erratic, but sounded more controlled this time around. The amount of discharge was considerably less than yesterday. Troy felt proud of his friend’s willpower. He seemed to be more under control of his urges. 

Maybe.

Troy finished the inspection and washed his hands. He stood and patted Luger’s shoulder. Luger breathed out and looked at Troy. His eyes conveyed the relief Troy assumed he was feeling. Luger rinsed out the shampoo as Troy placed the bottle in the rack and grabbed the conditioner. With the penile inspection out of the way, this step went a lot smoother and Luger was a lot less jittery. Well, at least until Troy started working the conditioner into Luger’s groin area. He knew there was no helping that. Even he knew he couldn’t help himself regardless of whose hands were down there.

Luger rinsed the conditioner out, then stepped from the stream and grabbed the bodywash. Troy wet his green-covered skin and prepared himself for what was to come. It felt like Luger was more confident in his ministrations this time around. He still inadvertently poked Troy with his endowment, but Troy was a lot more forgiving of it now. His patience and understanding was heightened from before.

“If he’s like this with me, I wonder how he’d react to doing this with someone he loves,” Troy thought to himself and chuckled.

Luger indicated it was time to turn. Troy did so and held his arms away from his sides so that Luger could wash them. His chest, stomach and legs followed. Troy could hear Luger’s squeaking and groaning as he worked his hands over Troy’s inner thighs. Troy could feel his hands tremble as they moved closer and closer to Troy’s groin. Luger took several deep breaths and began to wash Troy’s scrotum. Troy tried his best to distract himself from the movements over his delicate parts, but he conceded the fact that his penis was becoming engorged. There was no changing the brain’s reaction to the stimulus. Troy did his best to control his breathing and did his best not to become too aroused. It was so...SO difficult with Luger’s soft hands. Troy bit his lower lip as delicate fingers passed over the delicate skin of the crown. 

Luger huffed a sigh of relief as he closed the bodywash and returned it to the rack. Troy rinsed off the lather and spent green flakes. He turned off the water and joined Luger in toweling off, then accompanied Luger into the drying room. 

It wasn’t necessary, but he hoped it was showing consideration to his friend. He imagined Luger had done this many times before...alone. He hoped, with presence alone, that Luger would feel some comfort in him being there with him. It seemed so as Luger happily hummed and even did a little “happy dance” as the blower dried out his damp fur. Troy couldn’t help but smile with him.

When Luger finished tending to his horns and nails, Troy wiped his feet and made his way over to the locker.

“Ah...Troy! Where’s Luger’s glo,” Luger began to ask until Troy opened the locker.

Hooves clapped against the hard floor until they came to a stop near Troy.

“AH!” Luger squealed. “Troy! We have a lo-ger!?”

Troy smiled and giggled at Luger’s excitement. He looked over at Luger and nodded. He reached in and grabbed Luger’s clothes, then handed them over to the elated gazelle. His face was beaming, yet he appeared to be on the verge of crying - tears of joy this time. Luger hugged his clothes, then set them down on the bench. Troy smiled harder as he saw Luger’s tail swishing rapidly back and forth across his butt. Troy reached his hand in to grab his own clothes when hooves clapped the floor again.

“TROY!” Luger shouted as the gazelle tackled Troy in a hug, nearly knocking him off his feet. “I...Luger’s so...Luger’s so *sniff* Luger’s so happy right now,” the overwhelmed gazelle happily cried.

Troy giggled again and reached his left hand over to rub Luger’s head between the horns. His right arm was a bit preoccupied with hovering out of stabbing distance of the deadly horns atop that head. Luger loosened his grip, rubbed his eyes and hugged Troy again for a while.

“Thang you thang you thank you, Troy,” Luger blabbered through sobs.

“You’re welcome, Luger. I’m really happy to see you like this. It suits you so much,” Troy tapped into the communicator. “Better than how I saw you last night,” Troy thought, omitting saying that feeling it was unnecessary to bring up in the moment.

The boys dressed and deposited the spent towels in the laundry. Stella wasn’t around this time. It was oddly quiet in the laundry room. They made their way to the library. Troy had a sneaking suspicion they were being followed. He felt it from the first time they left the room that afternoon. He really wanted to track down that feline and ask her why she deemed it necessary to follow him everywhere. It was kind of creepy. Like a stalker.

They entered the archway - the smell of books slamming into Troy’s nose harder than last time. He rubbed his nose as they walked towards the librarian’s desk. The rabbit was there. She was staring at them as they walked in. She looked...different.

Last meeting, she wore a thick sweater and slacks. Her hair was up in a bun and she looked...plain. As plain as a white furred rabbit could to a human. “Stereotypical librarian,” Troy surmised. This time, she had her hair down with waves curled into the ends. Her shimmering aqua eyes seemed to be more pronounced - like she was wearing black eyeliner. Her cheeks had a hint of pink to them. Her lips were a lighter shade of red. She wore a sheer white blouse that was short-sleeved and had a neckline that dipped between her perky breasts. Troy could swear he could see the color of the nipples pressed into the fabric.  

As they came closer, she leaned forward with her chest puffed out and pushed herself away from the desk. She slowly crossed her legs revealing a skirt that slid up from her lower thigh to mid thigh. Troy smiled uneasily as she toyed with the skirt hem with one finger and her neckline with another.

“Well, you look proper today, sir human. How can li’l ol’ me service you today?” She asked. 

Her voice didn’t sound genuine. It definitely wasn’t the same as it was previously. It seemed to Troy that she deliberately lowered her pitch and was trying to be sultry. Her “costume” corroborated this. 

“Odd way to greet someone,” Troy thought suspiciously. “Hello again,” Troy typed. “I came to apologize. for my decorum last time I was here. I purport no malice to you or to the esteemed visage of this revered establishment.” Troy grimaced. “Why am I talking like this?” He thought. “Idiot!”

He forced himself to look at the librarian. She was visibly breathing while fanning her face. Her lips quivered. She pressed them together and cleared her throat as she glanced down at the desk.

“Well, sir human,” she began, then looked up at him. “Apology humbly accepted. With that business out of the way, can I interest you in looking at something?”

Troy watched as she bit her bottom lip and used both hands to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. Troy was beginning to feel like meat in a display case at a butcher shop. He was beginning to feel uneasy. Worse than being stalked by that smelly one.

“No. Not just yet. A few more days and I’ll be stopping in to browse your selection,” he typed in. With the context of her words, perhaps “browse your selection” wasn’t the best way to phrase that. “Again, I’m really sorry for my previous behavior. See you later.”

Troy turned and began to walk towards the exit.

“Good seeing you,” Luger said sweetly.

“You as well, Luger,” she said in her normal voice.

Troy could hear the rabbit growl as they turned from the archway, “Dammit, Darcy! All this trouble for nothing! That’s the last time I ask Arianna for advice! Ugh! I’ll never get married.”