Laska and Me - Chapter 3

Sometime around the middle of summer break, I received a rather bulky packet of papers in the mail – they were from the school system. I knew there had been some testing at the end of Laska’s sixth year, but was expecting the results to arrive in a standard envelope. Emptying the contents onto a table, I saw the test results along with another set of papers that made up most of the bulk. Opening one of the multiple booklets, I discovered it was regarding advanced placement classes for her seventh year.

 

Laska was out somewhere, and though I’d rather have gone through everything with her the first time, curiosity got the better of me.

 

I’d always known she was clever, but now here was some kind of proof. Reading through all the results, I couldn’t help but smile, a surge of pride welling up at the same time. She’d scored in the 96-99th percentile across the board, and apparently was reading and writing very close to what they’d called ‘college-level.’ She may not have had my genetics, but it made me feel like I’d been raising her well.

 

It also made me feel kind of smug, or vindicated, even. How many asinine meetings did I have with her teachers over the years, and all they could do was complain about how she wouldn’t sit still or would cause trouble in class. They’d also bitch and moan endlessly that she never did her homework, yet conveniently ignored her unit test results. “How do you expect her to be responsible,” they’d say, to which I’d ask them why they wanted her to do busy work she already knew. Never really got a response on that one.

 

Granted, they were just sixth grade tests, but it still felt good. I’d always had pride in her, of course, but it was nice to have something that I could show; assuming I had anyone to show off to anyways. Gloating to Lydia and Steve would probably be in bad form, all things considered, so I’d just have to be content to enjoy it myself. Still grinning uncontrollably, I couldn’t wait for Laska to come back.

 

--

 

“Dad, I’m home,” Laska yelled from the front door. She was a bit later than her curfew, but I could let that slide.

 

“Hey sweetie,” I responded as I met her in the hallway. “What were you up to today?”

 

She shrugged, causing the bag she had slung around a shoulder to slip and nearly fall off. “Ya know, stuff. Went to the pool with Zoe, then kind of hung out at her place.”

 

“Oh, I see…”

 

Ever since her… incident not long ago, she’d been spending more time over at her friend’s. I figured it was girl-stuff, maybe involving chats with Lydia. Probably was best not to pry too much.

 

“Your test results came today.”

 

“What test?... oh yeah, the ones from the end of the year?” She spoke while walking past me, and then tossed the bag into her room from the doorway. “How’d I do?”

 

“Come on into the kitchen and I’ll show you.”

 

She raised an eyebrow, no doubt curious about the smile I couldn’t wipe from my face. Following me into the kitchen, I handed her the results pages from the table. Her eyes scanned down over the pages as she shuffled them about in her paws. I kept silent the whole time, waiting for her to finish.

 

“Oh, I guess I did okay.”

 

“Okay? What? You did great!”

 

“I guess… but it’s not like those tests were hard.”

 

Was she being modest or was she that unaware?

 

“Trust me. You did great – and that you don’t realize it is… probably another indicator.”

 

“I see…” She muttered, shuffling through the papers again. I’d almost bought her act, but the way her tail was whipping side to side betrayed her emotions.

 

“And, because of your results, they want to put you in AP classes starting next year.”

 

“AP?”

 

“Yeah, advanced placement. Basically harder classes that are more your level.”

 

“Oh… more special classes huh?” Rather than being excited at the prospect, she seemed to become crestfallen instead. Her eyes, ears, and tail all drooped.

 

“Er… what’s wrong honey? I thought you hated your normal, easy classes?”

 

Her eyes swept the pages again, though she said nothing. If I had to say, it was like she was wishing the results had been different, and that she’d misread things the first time. Realizing nothing was going to change, her orange eyes flicked up to me.

 

“But, what about Zoe? She won’t be able to be in those classes will she?”

 

Admittedly, I’d forgotten about her friend in all this. Still, it couldn’t be that bad to no longer be in any classes with her, could it? They’d still see each other whenever they wanted outside of school.

 

“I… don’t know, you could always ask. If you got your results, she likely did as well… did they talk about it at all while you were over there?”

 

Laska shook her head. “No… but, I think her mom said something about some letter from the school. So maybe…”

 

“Well why not give her a call? It’s not too late, they probably wouldn’t mind.”

 

“Ah, no… I’ll just wait to talk to her tomorrow or something,” she said, glancing towards the phone for a moment.

 

Zoe wasn’t what I’d consider stupid at all, but I didn’t see her getting into any AP classes. Laska probably felt the same way.

 

This was going to be a bit of a longer discussion than I imagined. I pulled out a chair to sit down, and motioned for Laska to do the same.

 

“Do you want to stay with Zoe that much?”

 

Laska laid her arms and paws on the table, drumming her fuzzy digits against the surface. She nodded her head at my question. “She’s my only friend…”

 

“You’ll still see each other outside of classes. And you might even make some new friends… Listen, Laska, this is a good opportunity for you. You’ll get out of those boring classes and into ones more your speed, with other kids who are as clever as you. And teachers who’ll understand where you’re coming from a bit better.”

 

Focused on her paws, Laska started to wring them together. Her eyes would sometimes dart up to meet mine, but then she’d lower them again.

 

“The two of you will still be friends, right? Hell, maybe you’ll even enjoy your time together a bit more since you won’t be joined at the hip anymore, yeah? I said, keeping my voice cheerful and confident.

 

She let out a little snort that I took as a laugh, and saw the corners of her lips hook up just slightly.

 

“Trust me on this Laska. You know I had a similar opportunity when I was your age? I had a friend I wanted to stay with, so I opted to stay in the normal classes and just kind of skim along.”

 

Her head lifted, and then tilted slightly.

 

“Then, after a while, he got… other friends, and just kind of started ignoring me, until he wouldn’t even talk to me anymore. By that point I’d completely lost interest in school, and my scores fell to the point where I wasn’t eligible for AP classes anymore. So I wound up making a big mistake because I chose someone else over myself first.”

 

My short monologue finished, Laska dropped her head and ears again, staring at the table. Telling her about my past always made me relive my regrets, and I think she understood that even now, years later, a lot of things still bothered me if I thought about them.

 

A long silence hung in the air, Laska fidgeting with herself endlessly. I dwelled on the past, my thoughts stretching out to consider what might have been. But, rather than languishing over it, I’d often return to what might /not/ have been. If I’d gone the AP route as well, would I have Laska with me now? While I can’t say many of my choices were wise or smart decisions, they did ultimately bring me to where I am now – sitting down, discussing my daughter’s future with her.

 

“Okay!”

 

The sudden, loud voice actually startled me. Across from me there was Laska, looking markedly more confident. “I’ll try those smart-kid classes, even if I don’t think I belong there.”

 

“Well,” I said laughing once I recovered from my shock, “You don’t have to decide right this minute. We still have a while until we need to enroll you, so you can sleep on it some more.”

 

She frowned. “First you tell me I need to decide, then you say it can wait…”

 

“Heh, sorry if I made it sound like that, sweetie.”

 

Laska continued to pout at me. Apparently she’d already made up her mind, and now wanted to put her decision into action. Ah, the impetuousness of youth.

 

“Tell you what though, I was thinking of doing something to celebrate.”

 

How quickly her eyes and ears perked up. “Like what?”

 

“I dunno. We can go somewhere and do something – like, a vacation or trip or something. Pretty much anywhere you want to go.”

 

“Really? Anywhere?”

 

“Er, well, within reason.”

 

She narrowed an eye at me, her tail flicking back and forth. “What’s within reason?”

 

“Something… within reason. Look, how about you figure out some stuff you want to do and ask me tomorrow?”

 

I was a bit worried about what she’d ask, but hoped she knew what within reason meant. Declaring the conversation over, despite her protests, I said that we could talk later, but for now she should probably think over things.

 

“Can Zoe come with?”

 

“Er, if it’s alright with you, I’d prefer just something with the two of us, but if you really just want to get away from me…” I said, forcing a mock sniffle and adding a quiver to my voice.

 

“Aw, dad… fine…I guess we haven’t really done much with just the two of us lately…”

 

Laughing at her answer, I stood up, asking what she wanted for dinner. A non-committal response from her as usual, so it was up to me to figure something out. And then she’d pick at it. As usual.

 

--

 

The following morning, or rather afternoon considering the time the two of woke up during the summer, Laska approached me sheepishly as soon as she was awake, coming over beside me while I was on the PC. Not even a hello before she’d spring her demands on me, I thought.

 

“So I was thinking… how about Six Ds?” She blurted out, clenching her paws into fists.

 

I knew it – the first words out of her mouth were what she wanted to do.

 

“Isn’t that the rollercoaster park? Weren’t you there last year for some big class trip?”

 

“Yeah, but… I was too short for many of the rides. I think I’m tall enough now…”

 

True, she had been fairly tiny when they went the year before last. Taking my silence as a possible refusal, she brought out her big guns.

 

“And I didn’t get to go with you, daddy...”

 

Was my heart really nothing more than putty in her paws? Yes, I thought, as her words plucked at me, yes I was. To accentuate her words, she brought her paws up to cover her mouth, opened her eyes as far as they could go, and tilted her head down just enough so her eyes had to look up to meet mine. I dreaded the day she grew up and fully utilized her cute routine on those who were unaware of her.

 

“Fine… though let’s go next week on Tuesday or Wednesday to try and avoid the crowds.”

 

“Yay~ Thank you dad!” She chirped happily.

 

I had to admit, even if it was all just an act, seeing her so delighted was worth any cost. Laska was the only one that ever smiled so brightly at something I’ve said or done. It’s kind of funny, in a way. At some point I thought I’d get used to it and it’d all just become… routine, but it never did.

 

She gave me a hug, and then before she could get away I ensnared her in my arms.

 

“Anything for my little girl~” I cooed, partially mocking her and planting kisses on her cheeks; something I knew she hated.

 

“Agh Stop it!” she complained, wriggling in my grasp.

 

Laughing, I finally let her go, and she dashed away a few steps. “You know I hate that!”

 

“I do.”

 

“So why do you do it?”

 

“Because it’s fun when you get all flustered. Why else?”

 

“Hmph!” she pouted, turning her head. Even her tail and ears mirrored the action, going rigid and pointing up. Walking out of the room, she paused at the doorway and muttered another thanks before slipping out.

 

Must be those teenage years, I thought, making her all embarrassed about everything. Made me wish she was just a little kitten again, unafraid to say she loved me. Well, that’s probably just a bit of selfishness on my part. Still smiling to myself, I shook my head as I realized trying to return to the past hadn’t helped me at all before, and it wouldn’t now.

 

--

 

The rest of the weekend and Monday breezed by, though Laska never mentioned what kind of marks Zoe had gotten. They’d spent quite a while together since she learned of her results, so no doubt they’d have spoken about it by now. Well, maybe she just didn’t want to talk to me about it. Fair enough, I suppose – it was probably for the best that some secrets were kept to herself.

 

Tuesday rolled around, and with it the first time either of us had to get up that early in a long time. It was nearly a two hour drive to the park, so I’d decided we should wake up at six. I’d managed to drag myself from bed, but Laska was a challenge. Shaking her in bed when she turned her alarm off, she simply batted at my arms with her paws, while making some sort of groaning/mewling noise. All told, it’d probably been the cutest thing I’d seen out of her in a long while.

 

It was then that I had the brilliant idea to simply tear the sheets off her to wake her up.

 

Leaving her to her ramblings about needing just a little longer, I took a firm grip on her comforter and sheets, and then threw them back as quickly as I could. The sudden rush of cool air and lack of sheets to cling to were certainly effective in waking her up, but I had a feeling it was the sudden exposure more than anything.

 

In hindsight, it really wasn’t a brilliant idea – especially when it’s your daughter, and she’s coming into that age. I couldn’t say if it was due simply to a habit she picked up to make herself more comfortable or if she had… well, you know, and forgotten to fix herself up afterwards.

 

She still had her long nightshirt on, but it’d hiked itself up. And that was all she had on. Wordlessly I tossed her sheets back over her, though the damage had already been done. She was already fully awake and burning bright scarlet.

 

“DAD!” she yelled, grabbing tightly onto the sheets.

 

“Er, sorry… dear… ah well you’re awake now, so I’ll be taking my leave,” I said, pursing my lips and leaving her room in a rush. Lesson learned, I suppose.

 

I hurried into the shower to avoid any direct confrontation with her for a few minutes, at least. When I was done Laska was waiting outside the door, scowling at me.

 

“Ah, all yours,” I said, attempting to avoid eye contact.

 

“…Hmph,” her response came quietly as she went in and closed the door.

 

--

 

I elected for us to stop somewhere along the way and grab some breakfast as I didn’t feel like cooking that early. Laska agreed, and though she was initially quiet she soon picked up and returned to normal. Fortunately the awkward moment didn’t last very long; perhaps due to how many there had been lately.

 

Surprisingly, the most memorable event that day wasn’t the amusement park. Not that it wasn’t fun - I loved spending the day with her. Rather, it was on the drive there, or where we stopped, that proved to be the most interesting for her – and me as well. After we ate and resumed our journey, we passed a sign on the freeway that claimed there was a “Motorsports Heritage Museum” at the next exit. I’d heard they were building something like that around here, but didn’t know where or what exactly it was. Laska seemed to have her curiosity piqued as well.

 

“Motorsports heritage?” She’d asked, looking towards me.

 

“Hmm, probably like the history of car racing and stuff.” I had once been rather interested in those things, and had even considered getting involved in something. The costs, however, proved to be prohibitive at the time. Then there was the detail that I would be alone in all I did, so I wound up letting that passion flameout.

 

I still caught races when I could, and sometimes kept up on the details of a new exotic car or bike. No one would ever call me a ‘gear head’ or a ‘car guy,’ but I still had a decent amount of knowledge.

 

Perhaps at some point Laska saw me checking out various things, and decided to look at them on her own. She’d sat with me to watch a race or two, but never seemed ‘into’ it – until now, anyways.

 

“Do you think they have stuff on display?”

 

“Uh, sure I guess. Wouldn’t be much of a museum otherwise.”

 

Turning away from me, she went back to looking out the window. I thought that was the end of that topic, but after a few seconds she asked me a question I’d not expected to hear.

 

“Could we stop there and check it out?”

 

I cocked an eyebrow. “What, you really want to? I didn’t know you were interested in that sort of stuff…”

 

It was then I realized that of the various gifts and toys I got her, she seemed to like construction or building ones the most. Maybe there was something there I’d just never picked up on.

 

“Well, if you don’t want to…”

 

“Hmm, well, it shouldn’t take too long. If you want to take a look, it couldn’t hurt.” I said, shrugging.

 

A goofy little smile took hold on her face, and then she went back to looking out the window.

 

--

 

The museum was just off the freeway – we could see it before the exit. It was far larger than I’d thought it would be.

 

As we parked and left the car, Laska’s tail was dancing back and forth despite her otherwise calm demeanor. So, she was really was interested in this sort of thing. Made me wonder why she’d waited until now to bring it up.

 

Once inside and pamphlet in hand, I saw that the building had been broken up into various sections by vehicle type. Cars and motorcycle had the largest areas, followed by boats, aircraft, and a group dedicated towards powersports-type things. They’d certainly spared no expense in creating this place.

 

Not only was the footprint of the building impressive, but it was at least four or five stories. The expansive, open lobby had something I assumed to be their center-piece on display. It was an old, famous race car that even I’d recognized; a very storied and victorious vehicle. Alongside the car itself was a lineup of various mock parts that detailed its features – an engine, transmission, brakes; various components that made it unique or special.

 

Laska studied the vehicle itself only briefly, but seemed to linger on the components. She read through the various info cards, only pausing to ask me what a specific word or part was.

 

“Dad, what’s a… diff..er..en…shul?”

 

“A differential? Ah… well…” Her tail twitched back and forth as I thought about how to answer her. How much did she already know? I think she had already taken basic geometry, so she’d probably understand.

 

“Well, it allows the wheels to spin at different speeds.”

 

She tilted her head back and forth as she was wont to do when thinking, shifting her jaw as well. Then came the inevitable.

 

“Why do they need to spin at different speeds?”

 

I told to her to imagine a circle, and how the wheels would be covering different distances within the same time. If the wheels were fixed together, it’d be much more difficult to turn and it would put a lot of strain on various parts of the drivetrain. Thinking for a while longer, she seemed to accept the answer and move onto the next thing.

 

Finally, after explaining everything about this one display, it was time to move onto something else. I had a feeling we’d not get through too much at this rate.

 

“Well, where do you want to go first?”

 

“Hmm, how about cars?” Laska had said after studying a map for a moment. So, off we went in that direction.

 

Sure enough, she seemed to be more interested in all the parts rather than the whole. Looking around at the other folks here, Laska was one of the few women that didn’t seem like she had been dragged in, and she was certainly the youngest. We slowly made our way from the oldest vehicles to some of the newer ones, slowed mostly by me having to explain everything. Nearer the end she seemed to have a handle on all the basic terminology though, often telling me what she thought something was and then asking if it was correct. She usually was.

 

Entering the motorcycle section, I checked the time and saw we’d been there nearly two hours already. At this rate we’d never even make it to the amusement park. I told her how long it’d been, but she simply said ‘oh,’ and continued looking around.

 

Unfortunately for me, a new type of vehicle meant I had to explain a new vocabulary.

 

About halfway through the section, there was a long hallway that led outside, marked with a little sign with an arrow that had ‘dirt track’ written on it.

 

“Dirt track?” Laska asked.

 

“Yeah, for dirt bikes or something… probably. Don’t know why they’d have one here…”

 

“Can we go look?”

 

“Sure, why not. What harm is there in looking?”

 

 

Outside was indeed a small, fenced-in dirt track. I never saw it from the freeway as it was hidden behind the museum from that direction. And, lined up in a row, were a series of small dirt bikes and some people milling about beyond them. Someone was taking off riding gear - another youth maybe a few years older than Laska.

 

Why would they have something like this here?

 

Approaching a jackal-eared woman, who looked like she worked here, I asked what was going on.

 

Apparently it was a demo track ‘donated’ by a manufacturer to promote the hobby, along with their brand. For a small fee, you could rent a vehicle and gear.

 

“Neat,” I’d said. But, before I could walk away, Laska had chimed in.

 

“Can…I try?” She said, looking between the track and the bikes. The woman laughed.

 

“Sure you can!”

 

Laska beamed, and then turned to me.

 

“Ah, she’s never ridden anything like that before…”

 

“That’s no problem – it’s what this place is about, after all. The two guys over there will teach her the basics,” she said, indicating to a pair of men who were putting away the equipment the boy had just taken off.

 

“Well,” I trailed off, looking down at Laska who continued to stare intently at me, holding her paws in front of her. The fee wasn’t much, and she probably wouldn’t get hurt, so why not. I sighed. “Fine.”

 

The woman’s tail – who by now I figured to be an anubis - swished a few times and she smiled as well, then walked over to a stand and beckoned me over. As I’d expected, there was paperwork to fill out. Once that was done and payment handed over, she sent Laska over to the two guys who sized her up for a bike and gear.

 

“So, did you drag her here?” The woman asked.

 

I shook my head. “Nah, we were actually heading to Six D’s. She saw the sign for this place on the freeway and wanted to check it out.”

 

“Oh, really? Are you big into this then?”

 

“Not really. I’m kind of surprised she wanted to come here, and surprised again when she said she wanted to try this. Though, I guess she’s always surprising me. I kind of just let her do whatever she wants.”

 

The anubis woman hummed to herself, holding a paw against her cheek as she watched Laska. By now one of the guys had taken out a tiny bike, and Laska was perched atop it.

 

“She’s a cute kid.”

 

“Heh, thanks, and yeah,” I said, letting a grin form, “she is my adorable little girl.”

 

“Is her mother not with you two today?”

 

I paused for a moment, considering how to answer her question. “Ah well… no… it’s a long story, but it’s kind of just the two of us.”

 

“Oh, I see…” she said, no longer looking at Laska, but at me. “By the way, my name’s Eralia.” She stuck out a paw towards me.

 

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, shaking her paw, “And ah, you already know my name from earlier.”

 

She smiled in response. “It’s nice to see you doing this for her. So many dads try to raise their girls to be… well, girls.”

 

Before I could respond, the little bike Laska had been given was fired up, and she was nearly done putting on all the gear – vest, leggings, boots, gloves, helmet. I was kind of surprised they had gloves and boots that’d fit over her paws and ears. Having to keep a stock on hand for all the different shapes and sizes must be kind of difficult.

 

“Ah, really? I dunno, it just seemed… natural?...To let her explore things on her own. I don’t really push her to do anything.”

 

Eralia grinned all the while, resting an elbow on the stand we were at, and then cupping her chin in her paw. She tapped lightly at the surface with a claw from her other hand. Not much else was said between the two of us for a time as we instead watched Laska. After a while she’d gotten suited up, managed to get situated on the bike, and was now being given a refresher on the controls.

 

The engine revved as she twisted the throttle a few times, and then came the moment of truth. Reaching up with one foot she put the bike in gear, and then rolled on the throttle and let out the clutch. She started rolling forward, slowly gaining speed.

 

And then she went in a straight line into a hill of dirt and fell over.

 

My heart missed a beat and I took a step forward, but she stood up instantly and righted the bike, hopping back on before the guys could even reach her.

 

“That’s impressive. Most first timers get scared witless when they crash like that,” Eralia said.

 

Still somewhat tense from watching her crash, I forced myself to laugh a bit to calm down. “Yeah, she’s like that I suppose. Hell, she probably had fun falling like that.”

 

“Mmmm… so she’s kind of a tomboy huh?”

 

I shrugged. “I guess if that’s what you want to call her.”

 

We continued to chat about a variety of things while I watched Laska. Eralia had apparently been a professional rider on both flat and asphalt tracks, but never did better than average and was soon replaced. Now she worked here, as the manager of this little track, and rode in her spare time.

 

While we were chatting, Laska finally got the hang of riding around in, performing lazy circles and figure-eights. Now, it was time to tackle the flat track. She was slow going at first, but gradually began picking up the pace and kept wicking it up until she was clipping along at a pretty quick pace.

 

“Heh, she’s a natural. Most people need hours to get that bold and stick a leg out.”

 

“She’s always been a quick learner. Say, wasn’t it only supposed to be for 30 minutes? It’s been almost an hour.”

 

Eralia smirked. “Don’t worry about it. As you can see, there isn’t really anyone else here right now. I’m not in a hurry to kick either of you out.”

 

“Ah, thanks.”

 

“No problem – especially considering we’ve been chatting all this time.”

 

She certainly liked mentioning ‘us’ often; it was kind of amusing when I thought about it. Was this what they called being ‘hit on?”

 

Prior to Laska, no woman, not even a monstergirl, had ever expressed a romantic interest in me. A few forced themselves on me, but they never stuck around after. Since Laska came into my life though, I’d found myself getting chatted up by women on a semi-frequent basis, though I had to ignore them during the early years. But, now that she was over her fear of older women, I wondered if it was okay.

 

I suppose Eralia got tired of my lack of interest, and had decided to make herself extremely apparent. Leaning over further against the stand, she crossed an arm under her breasts to push them up and out, all while looking at me and grinning. Allowing myself to steal a glance, they were fairly large; the rest of her was pretty cute as well. Her tanned skin hid most of the signs of her age, and if I didn’t know better I’d say she looked to be in her mid-20s. Catching my glance, her smile broadened and her tail gave another swish.

 

Seems I wasn’t as stealthy as I thought. Well, I figured, may as well test the waters.

 

“So, are you currently seeing anyone?” I asked. For some reason I thought it didn’t sound quite so forward in my head.

 

Eralia snorted, likely at how direct I was after basically ignoring her. “No, I’m currently unattached, but I am looking…” she said, giving me a wink. Well, it’d be rude to refuse a lady, wouldn’t it?

 

We exchanged numbers, and I found she lived not too far from me. Enough to make it inconvenient, but not anything that’d be prohibitive. Continuing to chat, nearly 90 minutes had elapsed, and Laska finally had enough and called it quits.

 

She was dirty and sweaty, but utterly thrilled. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to ask for in the near future.

 

“How’d you enjoy it?” I asked.

 

“It was so much fun! We gotta do this again!” Laska practically shouted, clapping her dusty paws together.

 

“Still wanna go to the park?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Of course she would. Glancing at the time, it was closing in one in the afternoon. At least the park would be open until midnight, assuming Laska could make it that long.

 

She then said her thanks to the guys who helped her, and to Eralia for letting her stay out as long as she did. Heading out, the anubis winked again and mouthed ‘call me.’ With Laska at my side, I let a knowing grin be my response.

 

Truthfully, I was certainly looking forward to talking with her again. It’d be a long, long time. While I loved Laska, talking with Eralia woke a desire for another kind of love – one that’d been dormant for who knows how long.

 

--

 

Six D’s was fun, and Laska enjoyed herself thoroughly since she was now tall enough to get on most everything. But, as I figured, she started flagging early and we wound up leaving around 8 or 9 in the evening. At least we managed to ride most of the major attractions in the park.

 

The ride home was quiet, or rather, it was quiet until she began to snore as she dozed in the passenger seat. My thoughts turned to Eralia, and how forward she’d been. Mulling over her in comparison to others, none had been quite so ‘to-the-point’ as she had been. I wasn’t sure to take that as a warning sign or if she was just that into me.

 

I looked over myself in a cursory self-examination, but I didn’t find much that someone would be into. Shrugging, I decided to accept things as they were, along with deciding to make sure I called her when I got Laska to bed.

 

It was about then that I realized something.

 

In the past I would have dismissed their advances, but thinking back I couldn’t explain why. Then, at some point here, I’d come to think of myself as being something that a woman would not mind; or would even desire. Looking myself over again, I changed how I thought about what I saw. Rather than thinking of myself as a little flabby, I thought about how much thinner than other people I was. That there were certainly people shorter than me, or uglier than me, or weaker than me. ‘Average’ wasn’t such a bad thing when you changed how you looked at it.

 

It wasn’t quite perfect, however, when I thought about the woman in question. My mind pieced together all my mental snapshots of her from the day. She was slightly shorter than me, maybe younger, though she still had a youthful, cute face. Her tanned skin gave her a bit of an exotic flavor; an odd notion considering her paws, tail, and ears. She was shapely, but still firm; at least from what I could see. She might be a little saggy in places that were concealed. In my mind, then, she was still ‘too good’ for me. Why would someone as attractive as her want an ‘average’ guy like me?

 

My thoughts lingered on that for a while before I finally chased them off with a deep sigh through my nose. No, I had to tell myself, there’s no reason to keep putting myself down. Just accept things and move on with them. Even if she just wants to fuck tonight or something, it’s better than nothing.

 

Laska let slip a snort as she tossed in the seat, rubbing at her face with a paw. So, what about her, I wondered. I couldn’t leave the house when she was asleep, especially without telling her where I was going since she wasn’t quite old enough to be on her own yet. So, if Eralia decided to come over for the night, how would she take that? Would I have to chase her off in the morning to avoid incurring Laska’s wrath?

 

Or rather, should I let Laska have control of the situation like that? I’d let her hold the reigns of her own life, but was that the best thing? She was almost 13, and still had surprisingly little knowledge of the world and people. Not unlike how I was back then, really. Chewing on my lip, I considered that maybe now was the time to start thinking about ‘me.’

 

In all the years we’d been together so far, I’d never dated or even had sex with a woman. And now, the dormant desire that’d awoken earlier had become a hunger - one I deeply wished to satiate. The more I thought about being in Eralia’s warmth, experiencing her touch, and everything else, the more I yearned.

 

The feeling was a bit worrying as well, and made me somewhat guilty. Why had I never felt like this before when approached? Was it just how forward she was, all but saying she was interested in me? Was I finally allowing myself to have these desires?

 

Whenever I looked at Laska, I felt warm, in a word; content to use another. Then, thinking of Eralia, I could feel the flames of passion in my heart… and elsewhere.

 

Well, I thought, agonizing over it won’t get me anywhere. Putting my mental foot down, I resolved to call her tonight. It might be selfish, but I’d earned the right to a bit of selfishness, hadn’t I?

 

--

 

Tucking Laska into bed, we said our goodnights and ‘I love yous’, and then I slipped out and closed her door. Today must’ve been tiring for her if she was going to bed this early, but at least it gave me the opportunity to call Eralia.

 

Dialing her number, I was surprised when she picked up almost instantly.

 

“Ah, hey,” I said, introducing myself, though I suspected it wasn’t necessary. “Would you be interested in uh, doing something tonight?” Man, I needed to work on my lines.

 

“Sure! Though I’m guessing you can’t leave your place…?” From the tone of her voice and her wording, I assumed she would not mind driving out to my place.

 

“Er, yeah. Can’t leave Laska alone through the night, you know.”

 

“That’s no problem… I can be over in a while,” she said, repeating the address I’d given her earlier. “I’ll probably be about an hour.”

 

“Excellent, I look forward to seeing you soon.” I was struggling to keep my voice calm.

 

“Mmhmhm, same here, sugar,” she said before hanging up. Well, there was no doubt in my mind what was going to be happening.

 

My thoughts and heart both raced, making me feel like a young teenager about to have his virginity taken. Maybe that wasn’t too far from the mark when considering how long it’d been since my last time.

 

--

 

True to her word, she arrived in just over an hour, wearing a short shirt that exposed her midriff and tight shorts that went down mid-thigh, accentuating her hips and ass. No sagging anywhere that I could tell.

 

She was also carrying a small bag that looked large enough for a change of clothes. No doubts at all.

 

I welcomed her in, and then offered her a drink after a short tour of the place. Taking a seat on the couch, she took a place next to me, a faint smile decorating her face. Frightfully nervous, I was thankful when she took the lead of the conversation. After a bit of small talk about the day and what she had done after I left, and what Laska and I did, we were again left in bit of silence. Then, she brought up Laska in particular.

 

“How old is she, by the way?”

 

“She’s 12 now, though she’ll be 13 soon. Her birthday is at the end of August.”

 

“Oh, so she’s getting to that fun age now, huh?”

 

“Heh, yeah… a lot has happened already this summer alone,” I said, dropping my shoulders and sighing. “I somehow got used to it, but I’m sure the worst has yet to come.”

 

Eralia giggled, then laid a paw on my shoulder and looked at my pityingly. “I’m sorry, dear, but you’re correct in thinking you haven’t seen the worst yet.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

Now she cocked a grin that bordered on smug. “She’s not too different from how I was at that age, based on what I’ve seen and what you’ve told me.”

 

“Is that what got you interested in her… and me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Partly, sure,” she said, removing the paw from my shoulder and placing both in her lap.

 

We continued to talk about Laska, about her mother, her history, and how I had actually adopted her. Usually people acted somewhat surprised when they hear that, but Eralia just took it all in stride, listening to me silently as I explained Laska’s life as I knew it.

 

“Still, I think Laska’s ears and scar are kinda… cute. That, along with her unusual colors, makes her pretty unique.”

 

“Heh, I thought the same thing when I saw her. When I told them I thought she was adorable, the agency told me no one had called her that before.”

 

Eralia smiled, a hint of wistfulness to it. “You’re a good man, you know.”

 

“Er, thanks…” I mumbled.

 

“And, I am guessing, when you said it’s just been the two of you, it’s been like that since you adopted her…?”

 

I nodded. “Yeah…”

 

“So,” she began, narrowing her eyes slightly and dropping the tone of her voice. “Good men deserve to be treated well, don’t you think?” She finished her words by placing a paw on the inside of my thigh. I gulped, and looked towards my bedroom.

 

Standing up, she took my hand. “Don’t be shy now. I don’t bite… much…” she smiled behind her words, a little different than what I expected. It wasn’t lurid, but more… genuine. Comforting, somehow. Returning her smile, I stood and led her to my room.

 

To say she was wild would be an understatement – she was the sort of firecracker that most men dream of. I could tell she wanted to be loud and raunchy, but for my sake, or rather Laska’s, she was content to giggle, gasp, and give silent, open-mouthed moans. Once I was finally spent, and she was satisfied, her soft paws held me close to her chest.

 

Despite the fact that I was nearing middle-age, this was the first time a woman’d hung around after the deed was done. I certainly enjoyed it, but now that the afterglow was beginning to wear off I felt a certain pang of guilt, or even regret. In a manner of speaking, I felt as if I had given in to lust, and in doing so added something new – something different – that I had no idea how Laska would react to.

 

--

 

With the dawn came renewed fears of how to explain things to Laska. Collecting the clothing heaped at the edge of the bed, I walked out to the hallway to see if she’d woken up yet. Fortunately her door was still closed, so she was probably sound asleep. This was far earlier than she normally woke, so things should be safe.

 

Back in my room, Eralia had stirred as well, and was now sitting naked on the edge of the bed. Her clothing had been strewn across the room through a bit of over-eagerness on my part.

 

 “Good morning, lover,” she’d said, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

 

“Ah, morning…”

 

“What, that’s all you have to say, especially after last night? Why, I’ve never seen someone go that many times before.” She flashed a lascivious smirk my way. “It’s been a while for you, huh?”

 

“Well… you know…” I muttered, a faint crimson rising on my cheeks. “Plus you did some… amazing things.”

 

“Why thank you~”

 

“Er, yeah. Well, what now? Do you want to get cleaned up?”

 

She sighed, maybe a bit disappointed that I didn’t feel like continuing things. “…I suppose.”

 

“Alright. Laska is still in her room, so you should be fine to head to the bathroom.”

 

She nodded, rummaging through her bag that she’d dropped next to the bed last night. I was right about clothes being in there, but she’d brought a collection of other… treats that she made good use of.

 

Clothes in hand, she glanced out the doorway towards the bathroom, then darted out when I said it’d be fine. I followed her out, planning on preparing coffee or some such in the kitchen.

 

Of course, with good fortune there must be something to offset it, at least partially. Just as she was about to pass Laska’s room, the door opened - I was fairly certain Laska got herself an eyeful of everything Eralia had to show. The tanned woman let out an ‘eep,’ halting only for a moment in surprise before dashing forward.

 

Laska turned her head out into the hallway, watching Eralia’s behind shake side to side as she hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Then Laska looked my way, and our eyes met.

 

“What the hell?”

 

The look on her face, combined with her words, was just too much for me to handle in the morning. I struggled mightily to silence myself, but it was a lost cause.

 

“Dad! What… who the hell was that?! And why was she naked?”

 

Getting a grip on myself, I began to stifle my laughter.

 

“Wait… wasn’t that the woman from yesterday?

 

I nodded.

 

“Why is she here? And naked?”

 

“Well… how about we talk about it over some breakfast…now that you’re awake.”

 

She blinked at me several times, sometimes holding her eyes shut for one or two seconds. “Okay… but I need to pee…”

 

Well, that explains why she was up. “Er, sorry sweetie, but I think you’ll need to hold it for a little while longer…”

 

Rather than words, the response I received was something sort of like a growling sigh, but at least she didn’t retreat into her room. Tagging behind me into the kitchen, she waited silently at the table while I dug around for something to make.

 

“Want to help me?”

 

She glanced at me for a moment before sharply turning her head away. Well, if there was any doubt about how she felt, it was now clear. I continued to cook in relative silence, preparing something I knew to be one of Laska’s favorites. The smells in the air enticed her enough that she began to look over at what I was making. Whenever she saw me looking back at her, she’d quickly turn away again, only to try and sneak a peek in moments later.

 

My plan seemed to be coming together nicely. That is, until Eralia appeared. Upon seeing her, Laska immediately stood, and then made quickly for the bathroom, bumping into the anubis.

 

“Whoa slow down there!”

 

Laska said nothing, not even a brief apology.

 

Instead of looking upset, Eralia appeared concerned instead. “Hmm, she’s kinda pissed, isn’t she?”

 

“I think so.”

 

Plopping down into the chair Laska had departed, she leaned back and stretched again. “So whatcha makin’?” She said, sniffing at the air.

 

“Oh, French toast, scrambled eggs, and some sausage links.”

 

Eralia leaned forward onto the table, resting her head on her paws and shot me a little grin. “Heh, Laska’s favorite, right?”

 

I paused what I was doing, raising an eyebrow. “How’d you know?”

 

“Hah! Well, sounds like something she’d prefer.”

 

Was it that obvious to people other than me? Or did she have some kind of insight on the two of us?

 

As I finished cooking, Laska re-appeared. She still looked a bit on the grumpy side, shifting her gaze from Eralia, to me, and back again. Quietly, she pulled out a chair and sat at the table opposite Eralia. She didn’t say much, except for when I asked her something directly. Until the end of the meal, anyways.

 

“What were you doing in dad’s room?” Laska suddenly blurt out to Eralia while I was collecting the plates. I nearly dropped one of the dishes, but Eralia didn’t even flinch. “We were enjoying each other’s company.”

 

“And what does that mean?”

 

Sighing, Eralia looked my way. I took it as her sign that she didn’t want to explain things to Laska. I also kind of took it as her way of asking me why Laska wasn’t able to figure it out on her own.

 

As I searched for the words to say, she was finally able to connect the talk I had with her a while ago to the present. Her eyes opened wide as if she experienced some great revelation, then they quickly narrowed.

 

“So you had… sex?”

 

And there it was. In hindsight, I was a bit of a fool to think myself above awkwardness with my daughter after one or two talks. Eralia remained silent, looking at me to provide the answer. I cursed her for not excusing herself and leaving, but at the same time I realized she was forcing me to face a tough situation that I would have to confront at some point anyways.

 

I cleared my throat. “Ah, yes… we had sex.”

 

“So… does that mean you love her?” Laska said, pointing at Eralia, rather than addressing her by name. Or even looking at her. Despite the rudeness, Eralia had this bemused expression, like she wanted to hear my answer as well.

 

“I… well, I’m fond of her…”

 

The woman I was fond of let slip a coy giggle, and Laska continued to fixate on me. Her next reaction surprised, and troubled me, greatly. I’d expected her to pout, argue, or ask more questions. Instead, she simply muttered ‘I see,’ then quietly slipped from the chair and went to her room. Even Eralia, who had been cool and calm all the while seemed to be caught off guard by Laska’s sudden change in attitude.

 

“That… wasn’t what I was expecting of her,” she’d said.

 

“Yeah… I’m not sure what that was about…”

 

Standing, she then took a deep breath. “I think that it’d be best for me to go for now… but let’s keep in touch, huh?”

 

“Sure,” I said, letting my eyes drift towards where Laska had gone.

 

--

 

The days came and went, stretching into weeks and then over a month. After that morning, Laska returned to her normal self, for the most part. For another week or so, something seemed ‘off’ about her, and whenever Eralia would visit she’d become unusually mopey. I never got the feeling Laska hated Eralia, or even disliked her, so I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Whenever I talked about it with Eralia, she’d say it seemed like Laska had been alone with me for so long, maybe she viewed her as competition, or something like it.

 

It seemed to fit, but what was I to do? Maybe I had given into her desires and wants too often? Eralia and I saw each other fairly often, typically two or three times a week, but any relationship seemed stalled around the ‘friends with benefits’ level, and she seldom stayed longer than a single night.

 

Eventually Laska seemed to warm to her a bit, or at least stopped ignoring her completely – especially when Eralia had been the one to suggest she have her own dirt bike. I complained about the costs and the fact that there was nowhere to ride without having to haul the thing somewhere, but she had an answer and a cheap solution for everything. Finally, I gave in, making it an early birthday present for Laska. It’d made her happy, and I even wound up getting one for myself to be able to ride with her.

 

School started soon after, along with it the AP classes. Within the first week, Laska was becoming increasingly frustrated and annoyed with the course work. I suspected her isolation in the classes wasn’t helping either. She still hung out with Zoe before and after school, but not having someone in-class to be with was probably hard for her.

 

Occasionally her teachers would reach out to me, asking why Laska was so quiet in class. The first time I’d heard that, I had to have the instructor repeat it. Laska had always been sort of a troublemaker before, and now all of a sudden she was the quiet kid that never said more than a few words? They said it wasn’t cause for too much concern, but did worry about her lack of friends.

 

Another source of anxiety proved to be her test scores. Once at the top of the class every time, she was simply middling now, or even low on occasion. I’d wanted to help her out, but what she was learning was beyond what I knew, and she often wound up teaching me rather than the other way around. A curious thing about that, however, was that in getting me to understand the steps needed to solve the problem she seemed to further develop her own understanding and would sometimes have a breakthrough.

 

Unfortunately, her frustration seemed to boil over at times and for the first time since I’d known her she began to get angry. Not just annoyed or unhappy, but the sort of anger and self-hatred one develops when they believe themselves to be easily capable of something, but then fail at it no matter their efforts.

 

As the year went on, she seemed to be less… herself, and kept pushing and pushing to do well academically, but never quite made it. I chalked it up to her changing body and emotions; she’d complain constantly about her widening hips and expanding bust, and that she didn’t like how boys were starting to approach her out of the blue.

 

Near the end of the school year, she’d even started to ignore Zoe in favor of ‘studying.’ That’s about when I started to realize that there was more going on than just teenage hormones. Laska’s ‘studying’ involved taking out a book, attempting some of the practice problems or writing, and then she’d just stop after a scant few minutes. Sometimes she’d sulk on her bed, other times she’d push her coursework aside and do whatever on her PC.

 

Even though I was worried about Laska, Eralia and I began to feel more strongly for each other as well, and we finally decided to move in together. She had an apartment, so casting that off to move into my house was an easy switch for her, and the added income would be nice. The same day, I then told Laska about our decision to live together. By now she’d warmed up enough to Eralia that I thought she wouldn’t have any issues with it.

 

“Hey sweetie, you busy?” I said as I walked into her room while she was studying – or at least she said she was studying. The books were open, but she wasn’t really looking at them.

 

“Ah… no, not really. What’s up dad?”

 

“Eralia and I would like to talk with you about something. Can you come into the living room?”

 

Laska seemed unsure, maybe worried. “Okay…” she said, following me out of her room.

 

I sat next to Eralia on the couch, and Laska sat on a chair opposite.

 

“So… what’s going on?” Laska asked, her ears laying somewhat flat.

 

“Well Laska,” I said, looking at Eralia then back to her. “Eralia and I have been talking, and we’re going to start living together. She’ll be moving in at the end of the month.”

 

Laska’s reaction was… a non-reaction. A slight twinge on her face and on her ears, but otherwise nothing. Even her tail remained still.

 

“Oh… I see… how come?”

 

“Well…” I trailed off, thinking about how to answer that. Eralia seemed to pick up the slack for me.

 

“Probably because we’re becoming a bit… closer,” she said, patting at my hand.

 

It was then that I noticed Laska’s true reaction. Her eyes were constantly darting side to side while she looked down. A sign her thoughts were racing. She didn’t immediately reply, but sat motionless for a few seconds.

 

“I… see… so you two… love each other now?” Her voice was strained.

 

Eralia and I shared a glance. “I guess… sure, we’re probably in love now,” I said.

 

“So… am I not good enough anymore?”

 

“…What?”

 

Laska stood with a start, her paws clenched hard into fists at her side. “Can’t you see how hard I’m trying?!”

 

“Laska, what are you talking about?” My heart was beginning to race, my own anxiety rising in response to my daughter’s.

 

“It’s… so hard! And… and… so frustrating! And you don’t seem to care!”

 

“What?! Of course I do!” I nearly yelled, standing as well.

 

“Oh yeah? Then why… why are… you…” she trailed off, tears pooling and choking off her words. “Why are you saying I’m not good enough anymore?”

 

I had no idea what she was talking about; her words left me utterly stupefied.

 

“Even… Zoe doesn’t talk to me as much anymore…”

 

“Laska, that’s because you’ve been avoi-“ Eralia spoke up, almost as aware of how Laska had been acting as I was.

 

“Shut up, you… you whore! This is all your fault!” By now Laska was screaming, tears streaming down her face in rivers. Her voice quivered and shook, her body trembled.

 

“Laska! That is enough!” I shouted to match her voice as Eralia dropped into stunned silence.

 

“See! You stick up for her!” Laska thrust a finger at me.

 

“You wanted me in these fucking classes! Then when I’m not good enough you just… abandon me! You chose her over me!”

 

Where on earth did she get those ideas?

 

“Yes, because I thought you were capable of doing well…” I cut myself short, realizing my poor choice of words given the situation. They may as well have been twisting the knife she imagined in her back.

 

“But I’m not, am I? I’m just… fucking not what you thought I could do! I’m just a fucking stupid, ugly ass cat that was rejected by her own parents! No wonder no one wants me!”

 

Words were failing me at the worst time. What was I to do? Not even Eralia, who seemed to know just how to mollify Laska, was able to say anything.

 

“Why don’t you say anything?!” Her eyes bored into mine and she gasped and hicced with rolling sobs, desperate for an answer. When I didn’t give one immediately, it seemed like something broke inside her.

 

Just as quickly as her anger surged, it rapidly left, leaving Laska looking deflated. “I’m… I guess I can see why you got tired of me… I just…”

 

Tired of her? Did she really think that? How did she even reach that conclusion? I didn’t want to say anything without thinking it through, for fear of saying the wrong thing again, and unfortunately that proved to be just as fatal. But what was I to do? She was changing her argument and topic so rapidly there was no hope of me coming up with a quick reply. I had no idea what she was going on about.

 

Laska choked out a few more words, just barely audible. “I’m… tired of feeling like this…”

 

And then she took off, heading towards the window.

 

“What do you me-“

 

I realized too late what she was planning on doing. Using her damned abilities, she flashed through the window and then broke into a sprint while stripping off her clothing. I reached the door and after fumbling with the lock I threw it open and yelled for her to stop, to please come back, but my words had no effect.

 

As every article fell to the ground, that part of her went invisible, until there was nothing left to see. No one would know where she went now.

 

In the doorway, I collapsed to my knees as my emotions sapped my strength, making me feel dizzy and light-headed as my heart pounded. Eralia attempted to provide some comfort to me, but there was little she could say or do to absolve what had unfolded. I felt like I had made the worst decision of my life. A decision I wouldn’t be able to take back.

 

Within a few minutes I had managed to compose myself, and called everyone I knew. I told them to watch for Laska, and let me know if they saw or heard from her. Of course, I'd phoned the police as well, but they required she be missed for a certain amount of time before I could file a missing persons report. Thus I sat in the living room besides the phone, waiting and hoping. Eralia stayed by me the entire time, doing what she could to provide comfort. At some point in the night she drifted off, but my heart wouldn’t allow me to rest for even a moment.  

 

--

 

Then, at some point in the early hours, the phone rang. It was the hospital. They had Laska.