Shadow of The White Citadel- Chapter Eight

Story by Furry Sith Lord on SoFurry

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#9 of Shadow Of The White Citadel (Completed)


Chapter Eight

"When Pigeons Attack"

By

Furry Sith Lord

I left class talking to a few friends about the upcoming test we were taking in a few days. The paths had been shoveled and salted to prevent them from becoming slick even though it hadn't snowed since the weekend. Winter was nearly over and soon the warmer weather would be approaching. In about a month it was said to become the rainy season because the rain would wash away the last of the snow and prepare the ground for spring to begin blooming.

We thought about building a study group tomorrow to try and get ready for it. Our friend Laz, who is a sheep, was suggesting we study in his room. Not that we had a problem with it but Laz usually got bored quickly and would want to play video games or watch television instead of studying. Again not that any of us would mind it too much but if the point was to study them shouldn't we be studying instead of playing?

I've been avoiding Ben and even when I see him nearby I just pretend he's not there and move on without approaching or saying a word. I refuse to have him accuse me of not giving him his space. I've been trying to stay busy so the depression I had been feeling wouldn't return. It was why I was beginning to hate being alone. Every time I was I started thinking about him and how we either broke up or were still just giving each other space. I wasn't sure which but so far neither of us had approached each other nor made any attempt to contact each other.

Lyon had an away game coming up and he invited me to tag along but I wasn't sure how to say no to him. It's not that I didn't want to go but when I did I always felt like the third wheel of the group. It just felt like Dash and my brother were the only ones that wanted me around and the rest merely tolerated my being there because of them. I know they meant well but it felt like a pity invite because of what was going on with Ben.

The reason I also couldn't say no was that this was the first game where Dash and him would be dancing now that we helped give him the courage to shake his tail in front of others without being afraid. His dancing was 1000% better and he and Dash looked like pros now. The other team would hate them even more now that they had the dance moves to back up their playing. Lyon wanted me there for bragging rights so he could see how I helped him.

"How about we all hang after the test? I know a spot with a great view of the city. Plus the grass around there is super yummy." Sita, a ewe or female sheep, replied. She and Laz had been dating for about a month now.

"Wish I could but that's when my brother's game is." I said.

"Oh how's he doing?" Laz asked.

"He's doing great and he's super psyched about the game coming up." I replied.

"Poor thing he's the one that can't dance right?" she asked and I felt a touch of annoyance at her for talking about my brother like that. I know she meant no harm but still he was my brother and I didn't want to hear such things said about him.

"I've actually been teaching him some moves and building up his confidence. He's been dancing better now." I countered and I started dancing to the routine we had been working on with him. Sita started getting into it and she started dancing with me while her boyfriend and our other buddy were egging us on.

"Uh huh, that's right. Work it, work it, go, go, go, go." They were calling at us as he grooved. It felt good to dance with her and her boyfriend not get jealous but I figured that since everyone knew I liked boys, especially a certain boy tiger that wants nothing to do with me, he felt there was no reason to be bothered by it.

Ben walked by and stopped as he saw us jammin with the other two calling out to us. I flinched as I saw him but then went back and pretended I didn't see him. He shook his head and walked away but I wasn't bothered and felt a bit happy that he seemed bothered by it. Not that I wanted to hurt him but at least I think he got the message that if he was going to push me away then I was going to move on with my life.

I remembered the time my father came to visit and have the talk with me about how boys mount boys. I sat on my bed feeling extremely embarrassed as he stood trying to find the right words to say to broach the subject. I wondered how my dad was doing with Lyon as he gave him the talk also.

"Here," My father said as he pulled some grass out of his pocket and a red clover. It always struck me as odd it was called a red clover when it was purple colored. He passed the clover to me and he nibbled on the grass. I could instantly tell it was from his special garden and after I got punished for breaking the rules of entering his garden, he had made it an unheard of rule that he will share the clovers in it with me on special occasions. Or if I had a tummy ache it was to settle my stomach. Looking at his face I could tell both of us had upset tummies right now.

"Father, I..."

"No, it's alright, this talk is long overdue and I'm sorry I hadn't done this sooner. I was just afraid it might be too embarrassing to talk about this kind of stuff with me and hoped the health class would be better to explain it. I guess I was wrong." he interrupted me as I tried to organize my thoughts so I didn't mind but it was clear we were both uncomfortable talking about this.

"Father, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead,"

"Am I stupid for not knowing how boys mount each other?" I asked meekly.

"No," he said after a brief pause to reflect on what was asked. "Just to be clear I want you to understand that boys mount each other but men make love. I'm not here to teach a boy, I'm here to help teach a man." he continued. He spent the rest of the time explaining how he and my dad make love and it was definitely embarrassing to think of them doing 'it' but it did clear up a few things. In the end I was grateful he stopped by and I understood why he needed to talk to me in person instead of sending a letter.

"Oooh you a good dancer tiger boy." Sita said to me as I snapped out of my daydreaming.

"Thanks," I replied and felt foolish for not having a better reply than just that. Ben walked away and I kept my eyes on him to see what he'd do. I was hoping he'd turn and look back at me but he didn't. I felt a pain in my heart and wondered if I had gone too far.

My father calling me a man felt good and I wanted to kick myself for letting the drama make me act like a boy. I wanted to move past that phase as I was becoming an adult and I wanted our relationship to grow deeper but I guess he wasn't ready for that yet.

I didn't have long to focus on him as I heard my brother shouting and running by us with his arms flailing over his head as if to keep something from landing on him.

"Lyon!" I replied and he ran over to us.

"Filthy little bastards." he swore and I flinched because it's unusual for my brother to curse like that.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as the others stepped closer to listen in.

"Two filthy pigeons were after me." he whined. We all sighed because pigeons are not at all liked by any species. They were definitely flying rats but not as cool as bats are but unfortunately bats only come out in the evenings and pigeons are day time pests. They can be worse than getting fleas.

"For real?" Laz asked and Lyon nodded.

"So what happened?" Sita asked as she began to pet him to help him calm down. Both Laz and I were immediately jealous of Lyon for some reason. I guess it makes sense because who doesn't like to be pet?!

A few moments earlier Lyon was walking out of class, still wearing shoes because he forgot to take his off. He was walking in the middle of the quad and enjoying the fact that all the snow from the weekend had been shoveled aside making it easier to walk.

"There he is," Sam said to Erik as he pointed to Lyon while they flew overhead. They had been on the lookout for him since they last spoke to their boss. They had finally found him and decided to try and make contact.

"Excuse me sir," Sam said as he hopped towards Lyon. He turned and saw the white bird and immediately began to freak out.

"AHHHHH A pigeon!!!" He screamed and the sparrow and magpie looked at each other in shock. At first then once what he said registered they became immediately offended.

"Excuse me!!!" Sam shouted at him but Lyon was swinging his arms as if to ward them away while they stared at him.

"Get away, get away you rats with wings!"

"I beg your pardon?!" Erik screamed and both opened their wings in protest as if they were about to fly at him and attack because of his rude behavior. Lyon began to flail his arms as if to ward off the two birds and he ran from the spot.

"Two filthy pigeons were after me." he whined.

"For real?" Laz asked and Lyon nodded.

"So what happened?" Sita asked as she began to pet him to help him calm down.

"I was walking along minding my own business and they surrounded me and started screaming for food. They flapped their wings like they were going to attack and I ran as fast as

I could then I met you guys." he said.

"If there was one species I wish had gone extinct it would be them." Laz remarked.

"For real," I responded. They were a nuisance campus because they were always banding together and begging for food or money. Campus police were always chasing them out but they kept returning.

You did have to be careful of them because when we started school here we were told stories of a certain cult of pigeons that were involved in species trafficking. They would claim to be actors part of the theater group of campus and were looking for new talent to star in an up and coming movie. They would lure away mostly females to a van and claim they were driving to meet the director then the students wouldn't be heard from again. A couple of escapees claimed they were bound and sent across the globe to remote areas where they were forced to commit sex acts as they were turned into sex slaves.

It was no wonder after hearing stories like that; that he would be afraid of them. Even if they weren't the pigeons from the cult I could understand why he would be afraid of them. They do like to gang up on you and try and force you to give in to their demands. Especially if you are by yourself then you become easy prey for them. Because of this it's usually suggested that you travel in pairs.

"Walk with us, sweetie," Sita said and Lyon calmed down a bit. It's been awhile since I'd seen Lyon upset. He had been getting better and not getting afraid as he used to when he was younger. It felt like being a cub again seeing him like that.

"Sorry sir, we were not able to make contact." Sam replied into his cell phone.

"So you couldn't find him?" Bear asked.

"No we found him but we had a bit of a kerfuffle when he thought we looked like pigeons." Sam replied.

"What?" Bear asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry Papa Bear but when we approached he started screaming that we were pigeons and that we were after him for some reason."

"How is that possible? Neither of you look anything like pigeons?"

"I dunno, but before we knew it he was running away and screaming that we were gonna get him." Sam said.

"Most disappointing. Perhaps I should send in Sanic to get the job done right." Bear remarked.

"Now that hurts our feelings. It's not like we walked up singing 'Hey, Hey We're The Pigeons.' just to freak him out." Sam replied bitterly.

"True," Bear replied after a soft chuckle. "But Sanic may be better at dealing with him since he seems to overreact easily. I want you guys to keep on the tiger lovebirds and see if we can draw them in as well."

"As you wish," Sam replied.

"I am not a pigeon," Erik shouted angrily into the phone. "I heard you laughing!"

"My apologies for laughing but it was a nervous laugh because the whole thing just seems so ridiculous," Bear lied. Sam relayed the message and Erik puffed up but seemed to accept it.

"Anyway how do you want the tigers dealt with? Should we keep them apart or bring them back together?" Sam asked.

"I'll leave that up to you, do whatever is necessary to bring them over to our side."

"I'm gonna crap on that lion for calling me a pigeon." Erik muttered to himself as he groomed his plumage.

"Stop!" Sam ordered him as the fear Bear heard him was felt. If Bear heard anything, and he probably did, he made no sign of it.

"Check it out." Erik replied as they saw Ben walking by.

"Sorry gotta go Papa Bear," Sam said as he hung up the call and then did a quick flight over to him.

"Hey buddy, what's going on?" They asked and Ben looked at them in confusion then smiled after a moment.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"You look upset there, big guy, what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Boyfriend troubles." he replied and the other two nodded knowingly.

"Tell us about it, maybe we can help." Erik said.

"Tyger hasn't said a word to me in days, then today I see him dancing happily with a sheep and he looks at me like I'm a stranger. I mean I know we're on pause for the moment but it's like he's moved on as if we're over and done with."

"How awful," Sam remarked.

"He has a brother that's a white lion right?" Erik asked changing the subject.

"Yeah,"

"Is his brother retarded or something?" Erik asked.

"Will you shut the fuck up about the pigeon comment?!" Sam ordered Erik in a hushed voice as Ben watched them wondering what they were going on about.

"I don't think so but his dad sounds like it from the stories I heard and Lyon does take after the dad, why do you ask?" Ben asked.

"Well," Erik began.

"No reason we just heard he can't dance and after watching him he looked goofy and we wondered." Sam interrupted and gave Erik a dirty look.

"Don't say that to Tyger because he's overly protective of him and he'll hate you for saying it." Ben said.

"So let me ask you, if we got you two talking again then how would you pay us back for that?" Sam asked.

"I dunno, what would you want?" Ben asked, rubbing his head trying to think.

"Would you both come visit our home and meet our friends? Maybe consider joining us after you finish school?" Sam asked, hoping that Ben would take the bait.

"So it's a whole place with rare white fur species like us there?"

"Yes." Erik replied.

"What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"It sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch! Are you part of the pigeon cult that came to make us slaves?" Ben asked.

"WE ARE NOT PIGEONS!!!!" Erik screamed.

"Pigeon cult? Is that why everyone's upset about pigeons around here?" Sam asked as he tried soothing Erik.

"We've been warned that certain species have been coming on campus to abduct students and makes them into sex slaves." Ben told them.

"Well that explains a lot." Sam said.

After I finished my homework I set up my console to play some video games. Hopefully a couple of my buddies would be on and we could game and chat. I needed the distraction to help me relax and I planned to study later before bed for the test coming up.

I sat on the floor as Lyon was stretched out on the couch sleeping away and I reached over and gave his paw a squeeze though he had no idea. The pigeons going after him had tired him out but he wanted to be close. Honestly I liked having him near so that I could protect him even though honestly he didn't need it. It was my solemn duty as his big brother to look out for him and I was not about to let anyone say I didn't fulfill my end of it.

I saw that Ben was online and again seeing him made me uncomfortable. I forgot that I added him as a friend but I tried to ignore it and just go about seeing who else was on that I could play with. I then got a dm from Ben and was surprised he sent one.

My heart was both happy and sad because I had no idea what he wanted. It could be both good and bad because it may be him telling me that we were broken up for good or, as I hoped, that we were dating again.

I took a breath and opened it:

Wtxwt88

Hey I got a question and I hope it doesn't piss you off but I am curious

AntiSlaverT121

What is it?

Wtxwt88

Is your brother retarded? I mean special needs?

AntiSlaverT121

WTF?!!!

Wtxwt88

A couple of my buddies asked and I told them no but just wanted to make sure

AntiSlaverT121

... fuck you asshole

Wtxwt88

Come on man, don't be like that. I didn't mean nuthin by it.

I grabbed my phone and called him immediately because I wasn't about to let it sit that he was gonna call my brother a retard. He answered and I let loose a torrent swearing and cursing and he barely got a word in as I set him straight about how I felt.

"And furthermore I respect you enough to give you all the space you want and you have the fucking gal to call my brother a retard?! Well if we aren't broken up yet then we are now!" I stated and I could imagine steam coming out of my ears. I saw that Lyon looked at me groggily as my shouting had woken him. I walked over and grabbed his paw and used my thumb to rub it and he turned and went back to sleep.

"Whoa, that was not my intent! I'm just wondering because of what they said to me and if he was I would still stand up for him but I really don't know him so I was wondering." he replied.

"Fine, goodbye," I said as I was about to end the call.

"WAIT! I'm not trying to break up with you but I got a lot of things I need to work out. It's why I need you to be patient... unless you've already moved on and found someone else." he said but I was in no mood to talk to him any longer. He had crossed the line and now I was the one that had some serious thinking to do.

"I think I'm the one that has some serious thinking to do after you insult my brother like that. He's my own flesh and blood and I won't stand to have you speak like that about him."

"He's just adopted and not even your real brother."

"How dare you!!!" I replied and my heckles were pointing straight out.

"Think about it, your parents transferred their blood into you but neither of you transferred your blood into each other so you're not real brothers." he replied and I was torn because as much as I hated him right now he was correct even though I didn't want to admit it. I hung up the call and stomped my way into the kitchen and took a sharp knife then returned to where Lyon was sleeping.

I used the knife to cut the back of my paw and saw the blood dripping then I cut the back of Lyon's paw and pressed our wounds together. He woke with a howl then looked at his paw while mine was pressed against his.

"Tyger, what are you doing?" he asked

"Making sure no one can ever claim we're not brothers." He looked at me blankly and I started to explain about what Ben had said.

To Be Continued...