The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories (50 page)

My father's eyes shifted to me. I saw the attraction to the plan flicker and die. “And how would I ever trust him again? What would happen when his wife finds out about him and you?”

Richy glanced at me, less sure now. “Would that matter?”

My father straightened, looking down at both of us. “Apparently not to him, or you. But it matters to me.” He held my eyes for a moment and then turned away. The last time I saw my father, he was following Pike out the door. He didn’t look back at me, not once.

Richy took my paw. “Come on, Cef. There’s another way out.”

I followed him, tail between my legs, ears flat. We wound our way through the corridors and ended up at a small door. Richy reached into a small hole in the wall and pulled out a key. “This is our emergency door,” he explained, holding it open for me. He locked it from the outside and then pushed the key into a hole on the other side of the wall. I heard it drop and clatter.

We’d emerged into a different alley than the one we’d sat in the night before. This one was narrower and smelled worse. The walls were filthy, but I leaned against one anyway. “What are we going to do?”

“I’d imagine we should leave Divalia,” Richy said. “As long as your father is convinced you’re a thief, it won’t be safe here.”

I looked into those green eyes that meant the world to me. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He just smiled. “You have to ask?”

“You gave away all that money.”

“All I had.”

“For what?”

He took both my paws. “You bought me. I bought you. Now we’re even.”

“Oh…” I leaned against him, pressing my head into his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Come on,” he said gently. “The light’s going. We should get back to the Dirty Dog tonight.”

I sniffed. “But my father…”

Richy kissed my ear. “He said if he sees you. I don’t think he’ll come looking.”

That wasn’t what I had been about to say, but I let it go. “Okay. Then what?”

“Well…” He nuzzled me, holding me tight. “I’ve always wanted to see the ocean.”

10: The River

I collapsed onto the straw mattress and slumped against the wall. There was barely room to sit up under the other bunk, but I wedged myself in. Across the tiny room were two more bunks, luxurious accommodations for half of the eight-man crew of the barge
Moving Paw
. Richy and I had been allowed to move our mattresses together on the floor, while the two badgers who shared the room with us occupied the upper bunks.

Richy came in a few minutes later with a steaming bowl that smelled of meat and some floury sauce. He sat down next to me and set the bowl down on the floor near the mattress. “They told me you came back here.”

“I’m so tired,” I whimpered.

“I know. Let me see your paws.” I held them up, and he inspected them, then licked them gently. “They look better today.”

“You’re lying. You know what they call me? They call me ‘softpaws.’”

“You don’t want to know what they call me.”

I growled. “Who? Was it Annis?”

“Shh.” He shook his head and kept grooming.

I relaxed, and my mind drifted back to the day, our third on the boat. “I saw a pack of wild dogs, and stopped to look at them. The big one, the bear, what’s his name…Mirrak…told me to get back to work. When I tried to explain about how the wild animals fit into Families just like people, he told me to shut up.”

Richy lowered my paws and smiled. “I think he was just uncomfortable with anyone who knows more words than he does. That’s everyone.”

“And this mattress has bugs in it, and we don’t have any privacy…”

“Annis and Jare said they’d give us time when we wanted it.”

I sighed. “The worst part is that you have to go through all this too. Just because of me.”

“Hush.” He touched his nose to mine. “This is an adventure. It’s another part of my life. It won’t be forever. But it’s exciting and different, and one of the most different things about it for me is that I get to share it with you.”

“I know…”

“Do you still love me?”

I jerked my head up and hit it on the upper bunk. “Ow! Of course I do!”

“I’m sorry!” He reached up to where I was rubbing my head.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Why would you think I wouldn’t? I’m the one who screwed all this up, I should worry about you loving me.”

He held my paw, and it hurt, but it felt good too. “It was scary for me, leaving the Staff, but it was time. I really did like it there, but…” He looked away. “I had a friend there, years ago, who hated it. He liked the work, but he hated all the restrictions and he was convinced there was something better. I didn’t really know what he meant until I met you.

“You didn’t know anything about me except what I let you see. But I know you. You’re proud and passionate, young still, and impatient, and I think you’re adorable. I just didn’t know if you’d get tired of me when we weren’t just having sex.”

“Oh.” My voice sounded very small. Looking back, I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been, or how lucky. Even sitting in the squalid hold of a flea-infested ship, still slightly ill from the motion, I felt lucky. “I’m not tired of you. I’m glad you’re here. I just wish ‘here’ was someplace nicer.”

“Things will get better, Cef. We’ll look back on this time and laugh, or shake our heads. When we get to the port city, um…”

“Tiria.” I gave him a small smile. “You know everyone’s name on the boat in a day, but you can’t remember the name of the one city we're heading for.”

“People names I remember.” He nuzzled me. “When we get to Tiria, maybe we’ll stay with the boat. Maybe we’ll stay in Tiria. Maybe we won’t even make it there before we find someplace better. But I’ll stay with you, and you’ll stay with me, and that’s enough for me. I hope it can be enough for you too.”

I nodded, because my throat didn’t seem to work too well, and then I leaned close to him, because that’s where I wanted to be. Plain and simple.

About the Author

Kyell Gold'
s anthropomorphic erotica appears regularly in Sofawolf Press’s
Heat
, Bad Dog Books’
FANG
(www.baddogbooks.com), and his own LiveJournal (kyellgold.livejournal.com). He is currently working on a set of stories set outside of Argaea, though he’s sure to return there soon. He lives with his very patient partner in northern California. Search “Kyell Gold” on Amazon for more of his work.

About the Cover Artist

Sara “Caribou” Palmer
spends most of her time in a 100+ year old house chasing her Egyptian Mau cats and her young daughter, and managing to find time to draw as well. Her comic and illustration work has been featured in several publications, and she was the Guest of Honor at Anthrocon 2000. Her work can be found on the web at www.caribouink.com and in various Convention art shows around the country.

About Sofawolf Press

Find more quality furry literature at
www.sofawolf.com
, or search Amazon for “Sofawolf”