Love's Battlefield - Volume 8
Love's Battlefield: Volume Eight - Preparation And Surprise
By Joseph Raszagal
Sighing heavily as he slipped into a pair of bluejeans and a wrinkled Queensryche t-shirt, Forrest stared pleadingly out through the window as if to beg the sky to continue storming for just one more day. But the clouds didn't gather and the rain didn't fall, and the white wolf knew exactly why. Today was the day; today he would have his shackles attached and his chains tightened. Today Thomas would take command over his life and over the life of his lover. Turning his head to view himself in the mirror, Forrest's eyes locked onto the reflection of his bed; the mattress and rumpled sheets covering it still smelling faintly of fox. He'd made love to Danni a day earlier on that same bed and as wonderful as it had been, every second of it forever immortalized in his mind, it hadn't been enough to nullify the pain that contemplating his future was still inflicting upon his heart. And it hadn't been enough for Danni either. The prospect of sexual servitude and slavery left a bitter taste in both of their mouths, even after the joys of physical intimacy. The silvery lupine felt another torrent of tears welling up inside and nearly gave into the urge to make them manifest in physical form, but instead closed his eyes and counted upwards to ten, calming himself and fighting back the waterworks. He'd already cried several times since then; not only would another round of weeping solve absolutely nothing but he feared that he might very well dehydrate himself at the rate that he was going.
There are only so many tears that one can shed, right?
"You ready for school, dear?" Hurriedly questioned Forrest's mother as she raced past his bedroom door, steadily growing less and less audible with each hasty step. "Because you'd better be, it's almost 8:30. I've got to go right now, ASAP, but you know how to contact me if you need a ride home. I'll see you later tonight."
Snapping out of his pessimistic daze, the teenage lycanthrope gave himself a firm slap across the face before grabbing his backpack and exiting his room.
"Forrest." Stated a quiet but authoritative voice as he made it to the bottom of the stairwell. "Before you leave I'd like to have a word with you."
Sighing and turning around, Forrest found his father, Archer Lionel, standing in the hallway between the foyer and the living room; a look of worry coloring his otherwise neutral expression. Gripping a cane tightly in one paw, the stiff length of mahogany wood needed to support the portion of his weight that his paralyzed left leg couldn't, the older wolf limped forward and adjusted his round glasses. Behind the spectacles gleamed a pair of battle-hardened, time-tested, vermilion eyes.
Fidgeting and averting his own eyes, Forrest anxiously says, "Dad, I don't have time for a lecture right now; I'm going to be late for school. Didn't you hear Mom on her way out?"
"If your school feels the need to lodge a complaint involving your tardiness today, then feel free to redirect them to me; this is important and it easily supersedes anything that your Natural History class might have planned for you." Answered Archer seriously, placing a paw on his son's shoulder.
Stepping into the living room, both wolves took a seat on the family's one and only couch and faced each other. Archer, a former paramedic and emergency transport technician, had perfected a stern expression that few men could brag mastery of and utilized it well as he focused upon his son. After a tragic accident sent his ambulance spiraling into a building and damaged the nerves in his left leg beyond repair, he found himself with a lot of free time at home, being unable to carry on with his career, and apparently spent all of that time sharpening the Jedi-like qualities of his piercing gaze. Forrest had once claimed that his father could see through stone and read minds with his eyes, if only as a joke, but immediately regretted making those remarks as the eyes in question set their sights upon him. He knew his father to be a fair and reasonable man, one that despite his martial, militant upbringing favored using words to solve his problems as opposed to fists and sheer force. But Forrest also knew why he'd been asked to sit down and talk, and that worried him regardless. Archer originally had quite a bit of trouble adjusting to his son's orientation and lifestyle, and had staunchly opposed it in the beginning, but came to accept it over time. The time it had taken was more than three years, and those three long years were rockier than any Forrest could remember, but acceptance and understanding did finally take the place of disgust and persecution in the old man's heart. However, the young wolf wasn't sure as to what degree the family's alpha male had come to terms with his differences. For all he knew, Archer could have simply claimed to understand while secretly still harboring a grudge against him, his renegade son. On the other side of the spectrum, the older canine could very well have had a revelation of his own and, in light of this epiphany, finally laid to rest the vehement anger than once burned within him.
Either way, Forrest would find out what manner of man his father really was in the seconds to come.
"Forrest, you've been very distant recently and it's been worrying your mother and I." Said Archer as he folded his arms and tilted his head. "Now, I know that I haven't always been supportive of you, especially considering your slight differences and my supreme stubbornness, but that in no way states that I've ever wished unhappiness upon you. You're my son and I love you and above all else I want you to be happy. If there's something bothering you, I want you to talk to me about it, even if I might not understand completely. I can't tell you that I'll offer the best advice, or that I'll even know how to respond sometimes, but I can tell you that I'll at least try. I owe that much to you; every father does in regards to their children. So, will you tell me what's been bothering you lately? Does it have something to do with your friend, Danni?"
Swallowing the nervous knot in his throat, Forrest licks his lips and replies, "It has everything to do with Danni. He's my boyfriend."
Smiling and rolling his eyes playfully, Archer retorts, "I deduced that much on my own, thank you. What with your mother finding you both in bed together, it was more than a little obvious. I'm asking why you've been troubled, not who you've been dating."
"Are you sure that you want to hear this, Dad?" Asked the young wolf earnestly.
"If it's too graphic for the big screen, then feel free to censor it for all of the impressionable young minds out in the audience."
"Alright, but only if you're absolutely certain."
"I am and I'll assure you three more times if need be. Please expound."
"Well, I had sex with him twice since he stayed over two nights ago; once right after we got back sometime after midnight but sometime before dawn, and once more right before that huge storm shut down the entire city."
"Again, something I knew about already. Now, had you two been fully dressed underneath those covers, one might be able to argue otherwise, but that wasn't the case. Heterosexual or homosexual, I suppose that all teenagers are the same in the end; hormones boil over and the end result is procreation. I'm just glad that you chose Danni to... share your bed with. I might still be somewhat uncomfortable with the whole premise, and I'd be a baldfaced liar if I tried to tell you that I'm not, but it's a great relief knowing that your partner is such a well mannered, honest, and trustworthy young man. I've always liked Danni and although I can't say that I ever expected to call him my son-in-law, I can say that there are few I'd be prouder to say those words to."
"D-do you really mean that?" Stammered Forrest in surprise.
With a scratch of his chin, Archer places a paw on his son's shoulder and answers, "While not the most conventional love in the world, it is love nonetheless and my son's love as well, so although it's outside of the norm that I was raised to accept and identify with, Danni is certainly a fine choice and I would be honored to indite him into this family. I'm pleased to add that your mother agrees wholeheartedly."
In an instant, Forrest's arms were around his father as he hugged the aging wolf with all of his might. Sniffling and choking back the tears that he'd fought off mere minutes ago, the adolescent lupine found it difficult not to fall apart completely. He'd thought that the odds were stacked against him, that his father would hate him all over again after learning about Danni and what they'd done together, but Archer proved to be a bigger man and overcame the decades of prejudice that had been drilled into him by a more ignorant age. Forrest had the unconditional love of his family on his side and nothing and no one could ever take that away from him.
Still holding his son tightly, Archer tussles the young wolf's head of hair with one paw and quietly asks, "Now that I have your attention, or trust, or both perhaps, will you tell me what's wrong? I might not be full of the magical, sage-like advice that most teenagers receive at the end of every cheesy family sitcom, but I'm pretty confident that I could take the silver medal if I tried hard enough."
"You've helped enough for today." Answered Forrest as he sat up and brushed away a single droplet from one of his fuzzy cheeks. "That might sound like an insult after the moment that we just shared, but trust me on this one, okay? I think what I really needed was the knowledge that I still have allies, that I still have a loving family to go home to at the end of the day, and you gave me that reassurance. If anything, I think that asking for anything more would be selfish of me." With a neutral expression, he added, "Someone's been trying to stand between Danni and I, someone with nothing to gain other than the sadistic amusement provided by doing so, and I've been dreading the day that we'd meet up with him again. I was afraid of standing against him alone, of trying to beat him at his own game with no one there to back me up, but I realize now that I've had reinforcements ready to defend me all along. Today's the day. I'm still going to try to best him on my own first, as he has Danni and I backed into something of a corner and resolving this on our own would prevent things from spiraling even further out of control than they already have. But with that said, I won't hesitate to call in the cavalry if I CAN'T win alone. This guy has some dirt on us that could jeopardize our futures and he's threatened to use it should we try to seek help. I don't know him very well, but from my few past experiences with him I think it's fairly safe to assume that he isn't bluffing; he'll take us down with him if we put up too much of a fight. As scary as that may be, and believe me when I tell you that I'm still terrified, I think I'd rather take those chances than allow him to continue taking advantage of us; I'd rather go down swinging than throw in the towel. At the very least, if Danni and I do end up in the gutter after everything is said and done, we'll know that there are more than a few friendly paws willing to pull us back out. Does any of that make sense to you, Dad?"
Assuming his trademark expression, stern and serious, Archer replies, "From the sound of it, this is your battle. I can respect that; I'll keep my distance until further notice. However, I won't let this person get away with whatever they're doing should you be unable to reason with them on your own. If things get hairy, call me and I'll intervene."
"I promise." Stated Forrest strongly as he stood up and started walking for the door.
"And Forrest?" Beckoned the half-century old wolf at the last moment. "Thank you for informing me. I might disagree with you in that I feel that there's more I could do to help, but I suppose every man and woman alive has their own paths to follow and their own decisions to be made. Only you can make those decisions and I trust that you have the wisdom to make the right ones when the time comes to do so. Protect what's yours and stand strong in the face of adversity. I believe in you, your mother believes in you, and I'll bet that Danni does too."
Closing the door behind him, Forrest let out a heavy sigh of relief and then looked up towards the sky. Pristine blue without the slightest hint of a single cloud stretched across every horizon. Smiling, the young canine adjusted his backpack, shifting a majority of its weight onto one shoulder, before bounding down the wooden stairs of his house's weather worn porch. The day before, Forrest had felt as though all of the life and joy had been drained from his body and replaced with nothing but fear. Thomas had dominated his every thought; images of leather binds and handcuffs flashing before his eyes and sending icy chills shooting up and down his spine. But suddenly, after talking with his father and clearing the air between them, the white wolf's outlook had drastically improved. Sure, because of the risks and obstacles involved, his shared future with Danni still looked grim, but Forrest finally felt the wave of confidence that he'd been needing in order to face off against Thomas.
He was ready to take his chances and fight for that uncertain future.
"We're not alone, Danni." Muttered Forrest absently as he strode down the early morning streets with his head held high. "We're not alone at all."
Several minutes later, after having spanned multiple city blocks, the silvery lycanthrope reached a large pair of double doors and an equally massive sign posted above them. In a bold and easy to read font, the sign decreed: 'Hawthorne Academy'. A prestigious school that was renowned for its number of college applicants after graduation, it also served as an unlikely but nonetheless very active hotbed for city politics. A majority of Midnight's wealthy upperclass sent their children to this academy and, in doing so, successfully created something akin to a country club but for snobby, stuck-up teenagers instead of snobby, stuck-up adults. Here the adolescent elite mingled, made business deals, bribed each other, and slowly degraded into the same kinds of liars, cheats, and swindlers that their parents were. Only a small portion of the school's enrolled students fit into this strange aristocracy, but those that did were generally feared by the other students and treated with a level of respect that boarded on ass-kissing by the staff. Mostly, it was only this select group that did the kinds of things that could get someone instantaneously expelled and, possibly, sent to prison. However, Forrest and Danni had added themselves to that list after their raucous romp in the nurse's office and their subsequent adventure in the boy's shower room. They'd joined the ranks of the one currently blackmailing them, Thomas, one of the academy's most renowned and illustrious internal criminals. Nigh invulnerable to any accusations due to the amount of dirt he'd dug up on practically everyone else, usually VERY personal information that he'd taken part in, the lusty Lucario was pretty much free to do as he pleased.
Smiling wider, Forrest thought to himself, 'Not anymore.'
Standing in the lobby awaiting him, shifting nervously from one hindpaw to the other, was Danni. The fox's bushy tail swished back and forth as he stared anxiously at the floor, clearing away any dust foolish enough to occupy the linoleum behind him. Upon looking up to see who had walked through the entrance, his face immediately lit up; eyes opening wide and formerly white cheeks beneath their thick layer of foxy fuzz suddenly flushing with color. Rushing forward, Danni hastily threw his arms around the larger lupine without so much as a second thought and buried his face in Forrest's chest. The surprised wolf gladly accepted the loving embrace, closing his eyes and wagging his tail merrily as his arms mimicked Danni's and found their way around the fox's slender sides, pulling him close. Nuzzling each other, both boys moved in close for a kiss before self-consciously turning their heads to see if any bystanders had seen the very open display of affection. A few students had congregated in the hall since Forrest's grand entrance and two or three of them were indeed watching with a great deal of interest, but for the most part their hug had gone unnoticed. Grinning, the white wolf quickly pecked Danni on the lips before releasing him, much to the surprise of both the young vulpine and the small handful of onlookers still interested enough to continue eavesdropping. Blushing, Danni immediately set his sights on the floor, his heart pounding like a bass drum in his chest but the sheepish smile on his face remaining steadfast all the same.
Stammering, Danni quietly whispers, "W-wow, F-Forrest."
"It was called for." Replied the wintry canine with a grin. "After how rough the past couple of days have been, I figured that you needed some cheering up."
"W-well, that certainly did the trick." Stated the flustered fox softly. "A few people were watching, but I might be less inclined to care about what they think of me as long as I've got you standing beside me."
"Then you've nothing to worry about, because I'll always be right there by your side so long as you need me." Assured Forrest, clasping Danni's paw between his own and squeezing it gently. "Not only that, but you've got the support of my family too; my father told me so this morning just before I left the house."
Taking a step back, the teenage tod questions in shock, "Y-your father gave us his blessing? B-but wasn't he one of your biggest adversaries when you first came out?"
"He was, yes, but that was then and this is now." Answered Forrest with an affirmative nod. "He's not the same man that he was back when he made those threats; he sees that I'm no different now than I ever was before I came out. He even agreed to help us out of this insane situation we've found ourselves wrapped up in if we can't manage to wiggle our way out of it on our own."
"You told him?!" Exclaimed Danni all of a sudden.
Placing a paw over the vulpine's quivering muzzle, the spry lycanthrope hushes him softly and replies in the faintest of tones, "Whoa, calm down, there's nothing to worry about. After what my father told me and how much closer I felt to him immediately thereafter, I felt obligated to explain everything that's been going on with us to him in return. He listened to me, took the information in, processed it, and calmly agreed not to intervene unless all of our other options have already been exhausted. I made sure that he understood just how specific Thomas's threat was and that any outside assistance might very well mean the end for us; he won't jump in to protect us unless absolutely necessary, alright?"
Nodding his head, Danni responds, "O-okay."
"Besides, I don't plan on relying on my father's aid first and foremost. I'm going to try reasoning with him again and, if that doesn't work, I'll try using brute force as well. I don't want to have to resort to being a barbarian, but if he doesn't give me any other choice I'll stand my ground against him. He brushed me aside and hurt you once already; I'm not going to let him do it again, no matter what happens."
"But what if he~
"I don't care. If he uses what we did here after school hours against us as leverage, then we'll just have to face off against him in the legal arena. I'm not going to let him rule us; I'm not going to let him do anything like that to you ever again. Ever."
"Forrest."
Hugging the petite fox again as the day's first bell sounds off, signaling the beginning of homeroom classes, Forrest gazes deep into Danni's eyes and says most assuredly, "I share two classes AND lunch with Thomas so I'll do everything in my power to make sure that he understands that what he's doing is wrong and that we won't stand for it any longer, even if it means a bit of roughness on my part. If we don't stand our ground now, he'll walk all over us and do much worse over time. We have to stare him in the face and deny him his sadistic fun; we just have to."
Taking in a deep breath, Danni licks his lips and hesitantly agrees, "Y-you're right, absolutely right; if we don't stop him now, we'll never be free of him. I'll be afraid, my knees will probably shake too, but I'll be right there at your side just like you promised you'd stand ready at mine; I won't abandon you again."
"I know you won't." Said the white wolf with a sincere smile. "I know~
"Ahem!" Barked a shrill voice.
Taken off guard, both boys jumped in surprise and span around on their heels. Expecting to see the Lucario that they'd just resolved to free themselves from, Forrest and Danni were instead met with a rather unexpected interloper; a tall, lanky, and perpetually exhausted looking lion named Bradley Thorton. The school's newest instructor and, therefore, lowest totem on the pole, Brad had a bad habit of getting himself stepped on by the rest of the teaching staff and always ended up working himself to the bone doing errands for people that he barely even worked with. And it didn't help his image any that the class he'd been hired to teach, Parapsychology, was largely considered to be a sham and a mockery of the medical subfield from which it took its name. Few people at the academy toiled anywhere near as hard as he did and fewer still were treated as terribly.
In all honesty, it begs the question why someone with a list of credentials as lengthy and impressive as his would endure such bullshit?
"Well, you two seem to be having fun; I think I tried and failed to get your attention three times before you finally noticed." Spoke Brad from behind a sizable stack of papers that was, more than likely, not his. "I've got nothing against same-sex relationships, but I'm gonna have to ask you to save the hugging and kissing for later, boys. Not only did the first bell ring already, making both of you late for your classes, but open displays of affection are strictly prohibited on school grounds; that goes for relations between a girl and a boy, a girl and a girl, a boy and a boy, and any combination that I might have missed." With a short chuckle and a wink, the friendly teacher jestfully added, "Polygamy not included, of course; oh, those Mormons and their concubines."
"Oh, Mr. Thorton, hi there; we were just catching up on some things, some VERY important things, and kind of lost track of the time!" Explained Forrest hurriedly, not entirely lying. In his head he was thanking his lucky stars that the person to catch them in the act had been someone so humorous and agreeable. "Terribly sorry, it won't happen again!"
"Good, see to it that it doesn't." Retorted the bespectacled cat with a tired smile. "God only knows what would have happened if Coach McKinley or Principle Halls would have stumbled upon the two of you in my stead. It's a changing world, but I suppose there's always going to be a couple handfuls of bigots prowling around, looking for happiness to stomp into the dirt."
Grinning, Forrest chuckles, "Don't let either of them hear you say that."
"Hear me say what?" Laughed Brad as he carefully turned around, making sure to keep his stack of papers level. "Now move alone before we tempt fate any further and summon them; we never knocked on wood after all."
"Right, we'll get going now." Said Danni, waving to the young teacher as he disappeared around a distant corner. "The clocks won't stop just because we want them to, will they?"
With a nervous laugh, Forrest replies, "No, I guess they won't."
"So, we'll see each other again after the final bell?" Questioned the fox timidly, clasping his paws behind his back.
Cupping the younger fur's chin with his thumb and forefinger, the silvery canine nods his head and answers, "Absolutely."
"I just needed to hear you say it."
"It's alright, I'm afraid too; I needed to say it just as much as you needed to hear it."
Peering up and down the hall to see if anyone was currently watching them, Forrest moved in quickly for one final hug before taking off in the direction of his homeroom class. Smiling, Danni took a moment to sort his thoughts before doing the same and heading off for his educational destination at a mild jog. Elsewhere, some two or three hallways away, Brad smiled to himself and wagged his tail happily behind him.
"It's nice to see that the pride hasn't been washed clean from the new generation." Said the lion absently to himself. "Being open and free with yourself is always better than hiding and pretending otherwise. Always."
"Yes, it is rather heartwarming." Mused a sprightly French voice from just over the workoholic feline's shoulder. "Especially considering I can still remember a time in which such actions were rewarded with a freshly sharpened guillotine."
Rolling his eyes, Brad snorts, "And with that mental image, there goes the mood. Thank you, Dante."
Falling into step beside him, a human boy no older than ten shrugged and smirked mischievously in reply. Dressed in a tiny, child-sized business suit and sporting a highly professional looking haircut, his black locks trimmed evenly just above his ears, the boy continued to walk along Brad's side and at the lion's brisk pace despite a small group of students that had come down a stairwell and were currently on a crash course with him. Without looking down or noticing him at all, a teenage cheetah was the first to step into, and strangely enough, directly through Dante. Following her, two more furs and two humans did the same, stepping completely through him as though he weren't even there.
"Were you as courageous in your younger years?" Asked the strange boy as he quirked an eyebrow.
Turning his head to get a good look around the whole hallway, ensuring that they were alone again, Brad sighs, "Not remotely. I could barely hold Harrison's paw in private without having a panic attack, let alone in public."
"Sounds like Dominic from a year or two ago." Chortled Dante jokingly. "Lucas practically had to throw himself at the greenhorn before he finally gave up the ghost, excuse the pun, and agreed to experiment with him."
"I guess even wizards suffer from the occasional stomach full of butterflies." Smirked Brad as he came to a halt in front of a door that, had it not been for the numbered plate riveted to its metal surface, could have easily been confused for a supply closet.
Palming his face as they both disappear into the room, the French boy drawls, "You have no idea."