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Around the Bend

Part III

Sunlight streamed in the window disturbing Michelle's slumber. She rolled over attempting to sleep again, until a delightful scent caught her attention. She tossed and turned still not wanting to get up, but the smell eventually overwhelmed her. She pulled herself to the edge of her bed and rolled off, making a dull thud when she hit the floor. She slowly stood up, her eyes still half closed from sleep, and stretched, letting the sun from the window warm her still naked body. She grabbed a long night gown and threw it on, not even bothering to smooth out her fur that was sticking up in places, she would handle that in the shower. She threw open her door to glimpse an otter tail in the kitchen swaying in time to some unknown rhythm. She padded closer to find Otter singing quietly to himself as he prepared what seemed to be breakfast. He turned around to set a knife down and jumped in surprise when he saw Michelle standing there.

"Oh...Michelle. Good morning. I didn't mean to wake you." Otter said as he bowed slightly and turned around to stir what looked like eggs he had cooking on the stove. He was only wearing a pair of worn, black jeans, a hole torn in the left leg. His fur was wet looking, leading Michelle to believe he had already taken a shower.

"I only woke up because of the smell. I'm kinda surprised you can cook. Not many guys can." she said, yawning before walking to the bar-like counter and sitting on one of the stools. Otter walked over and placed a cup in font of her after pouring the eggs into a bowl and sitting it next to the rest of the breakfast he had prepared.

"Well I'm not just some guy," Otter said as he walked over to the coffee pot, the coffee already brewed. "Coffee?" Michelle shook her head. "Anything else? Orange juice? Milk?" Otter leaned under the bar counter and pulled up a bottle of liquor that was half empty. "Alcohol?" he said, shaking the bottle a bit.

"Sorry, I'm not legal yet." Michelle stated, holding up a paw to show she didn't want any. "But milk would be good." Otter nodded and went over to the fridge to get a carton of milk out. He walked back and poured some into the cup he gave to Michelle. After putting the milk up, Otter poured some of the liquor into the cup he was using. Michelle watched Otter drink what he had poured himself. "Are you even old enough to drink that?"

"I may not look it, but I'm twenty two." Otter lit himself a cigarette. Michelle didn't expect him to be that old, maybe twenty at the most. Before she could say something, Devin walked in, his tail dragging on the floor. Like Otter, Devin was only wearing jeans, but Devin's wasn't as worn looking. He sat on a stool next to Michelle and let his head hit the counter. Otter pulled a shot glass from the cabinet over the stove, poured some of the liquor he had been drinking, and slid the glass over to Devin. Without lifting his head, Devin caught the sliding glass in his paw and mumbled something that sounded like thank you. He sat up and downed the shot in one gulp, slamming the shot glass upside down on the counter. He wiped his mouth with the back of his paw.

"Should you guys really be drinking this early?" Michelle asked, looking back and forth between the two guys. Otter had poured more for them and they downed their respective shots before Devin answered Michelle.

"Wouldn't know. Doesn't seem all that early." Devin smiled at Otter who had snickered a bit. Michelle adopted a face of annoyance.

"I mean it. You guys are barely old enough to drink. This could lead to alcoholism or something." she said, taking a sip of her milk. Devin looked over at Michelle with a look of mock surprise.

"No way. Otter, did you know that?" Devin looked over at Otter who had poured another shot for them. Otter took a hit from his cigarette, then blew a smoke ring.

"My god. We should totally be worried about us." Otter said, as the two boys picked up their shots and downed them simultaneously. Michelle looked back and forth between the two boys, then stopped her gaze on Devin.

"He's been here less than twenty-four hours, and you guys are already working together to annoy me?" Michelle looked down at a plate Otter had set in front of her. It was the food he had cooked; pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Otter set a plate in front of Devin and himself before sitting down across from Michelle.

"It wasn't easy. I was just gonna ignore him until he brought out that bottle of friend maker there." Devin managed to say with a mouthful of food, using his fork to point at the bottle of liquor. "Then it was on."

"You mean you two got drunk last night?" Michelle said after swallowing her food and taking a sip of her milk. Otter shook his head.

"I didn't. He did." he said, pointing at Devin. Otter put the bottle of alcohol back under the counter before continuing. "And I don't mean tipsy. I mean drunk off his ass. He could barely hold onto the controller when we were playing games." Otter poured a glass of coffee for Devin and some orange juice for himself.

"Well we're gonna see how good you shoot for real." Devin took a sip of his coffee.

"How so?" Otter asked Devin, the two boys seeming to have forgotten Michelle was still there.

"A friend of mine is going to play paint ball today. He's the one who woke me up. Told him I'd go if you could. He agreed." Devin explained as he put his plate in the sink. He finished his coffee and set the cup with the plate and walked to the doorway to the living room. "You gonna come? If so, he'll be here in about an hour to pick us up." Otter finished his food and copied what Devin had done with his dishes.

"Sure. I'm basically ready. Just gotta get a shirt." Otter said, sitting back in is stool. Devin smiled.

"Hell yeah. Maybe today's the day Bryan goes down." Devin saw Otter raise an eyebrow. "He's the one taking us to paint ball." Otter nodded and watched Devin walk into the bathroom to take a shower.

"I hope you can shoot." Michelle said, pushing her plate forward and sipping on her milk again. Otter grabbed her dishes and put the in the sink.

"How come?" he asked, sitting himself down in front of Michelle again.

"For the year Devin's been here as my roommate, I've never seen him miss a weekend of paint ball. I think they play professionally." Michelle finished her milk and set the cup on the counter. "Well it's my day off. I'm gonna back to sleep. Thanks for breakfast." And with that, Michelle walked back to her room, closing the door behind her. Otter just sat there, thinking about what he was going to do when he played paint ball. Because he sure as hell couldn't blow his cover.

*********************

An hour later found Devin and Otter walking to the car belonging to the raccoon known as Bryan. Devin and Otter had both put shirts on by now, Devin a white tank top and Otter had a black t-shirt with the outline of a fist on it, the letters DUFN on the knuckles. Bryan was leaning against his car until Devin was close enough to greet.

"Hey there bitch cake." Bryan said, clasping his paw with Devin's and hugging him.

"You call me that now, but let's see what you say after the game." Devin was smiling and pointed over to Otter, who was standing to the side of the two friends with his paws in his pockets, his tail swishing nervously. Bryan looked like an average raccoon in terms of fur, though he seemed taller and more muscular, very similar to Devin. Which meant he, like Devin, was taller than Otter by almost half a foot. He was wearing jeans and a white tank top. If it wasn't for the species difference, these two looked almost identical. Otter blinked, trying to see if he was seeing things or not. Devin crossed his arms. "If he can shoot like he does in Halo, you're fucked." Bryan laughed.

"I hope he can. It'd be nice to have some actual competition." Bryan said, extending a paw to Otter. "'Sup. M'name's Bryan. Hopefully you can shoot?" Otter took the raccoons paw hesitantly.

"Otter. And I've shot a few BB guns before." Bryan raised an eyebrow.

"Otter? That can't really be your name." Bryan glanced at Devin then back at Otter. Devin stepped up, trying to keep Otter from having to explain.

"To you it is. Agent Otter here can't reveal his true name 'cuz people would try to kill him." Devin looked at Otter and nodded, a smile on his face. Bryan laughed again while Otter unknwingly glared at Devin.

"Well then Agent Otter, we better get going. Don't wanna miss target practice, do we?" Bryan said as he playfully punched Otter's shoulder. Then, like synchronized swimmers, Devin and Bryan got into Bryan's car the exact same way. Otter blinked again before getting into the car. Bryan shifted himself so he could look at Otter.

"Like Metal?" Bryan watched Otter stare blankly, his head slowly tilting to the left. "You know, Heavy Metal? The music genre?" Otter made a face like he suddenly realized what Bryan was talking about and nodded. Bryan shook his head. "Slow, aren't we?" And with that, the car took off, blasting music that would make you're mother choke her own cubs and cigarettes in all three mouths of the occupants.

Half an hour and a pack of cigarettes later the three furs arrived at the paint ball field. Well, more like a forest than a field. Otter followed Bryan and Devin up to the registration counter, already instinctively looking for advantage points in the marked area, or of what he could see. He almost bumped into Devin when he stopped, but managed to slide up beside him instead. The fur behind the counter, a panther in military camo, greeted them.

" 'Ey! My two favorite soldiers!" the panther shook the paws of Devin and Bryan. "Back for more I see." The panther was smiling by now.

"Yes sir!" Bryan and Devin saluted the panther. "And we brought you a new recruit." Devin said, grabbing Otter's shoulder and pulling him over. The panther looked Otter up and down before looking back to Devin.

"Seems a little ripe. You sure he can hold his own?" Devin looked over to Otter before nodding. The panther smiled at Otter. "Well alright then. I'll grab the guns for ya. The usual?" Bryan and Devin nodded. "And what about you, son?" The panther had turned around to get the other two their guns. Otter thought a bit before responding.

"Do you have anything long range sir?" Otter shuffled his feet, hoping the panther said no. He couldn't 'not' be good with long range. The panther reached under the table they were at and brought out a paint ball gun resembling a rifle, tripod and scope included. Otter's eyes lit up.

"Only thing we got. Not many people ask for these. You must be a good shot." The panther said, setting three sacks of paint balls in front of the guys. Otter picked up the rifle, looking over it carefully before slinging it onto his shoulder. Devin and Bryan looked at Otter, unsure of his choice in guns.

"You sure you want that man? You know we'll be playing in that forest." Bryan pointed out. Devin and the panther seemed to be thinking the same thing. Otter nodded.

"My friend taught me how to use rifles. I'm not very good with anything else." Otter said, picking up the sack of paint balls and walking to the edge of the trees. Devin looked a Bryan and shrugged. Bryan handed the panther the money he owed and the raccoon and skunk started into the forest, Otter following when they passed him. After a few minutes of walking Bryan stopped and laid down the rules.

"Alright guys, here we are. You can go three hundred meters from this spot. Don't worry, it's marked in bright orange paint. We're gonna play last man standing. Keep getting shot until you can't stand any more. When you're done, put the cloth cover tied to your gun over the barrel and hold the gun up. Be sure to yell too. Anything goes. Traps, ambushes, camping, whatever. You guys got it?" Devin and Otter nodded. "Cool. Thirty seconds to get set up, starting..." Bryan looked at is watch. "..... Now!" The three furs split up instantly, hopping over bushes and ducking under limbs. Devin dove behind a fallen tree when he heard the whistle signaling they could start shooting at each other. He loaded his gun, attaching the sack of paintballs to his thigh. He gave himself a few seconds before taking a glance over the fallen tree. Nothing. He crept over it, hiding behind a tree a few meters off. He peeked around to his left, but brought his head back instantly when he heard a paintball hit the tree, just centimeters from his head.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "How the hell have I been spotted already?" He peeked again, but no shot came. He sighed. "Must have been a miss from one of them." He laughed. "Otter musta thougt it best to try to follow Bryan. The poor soul. Probably already given up." He ducked down and sprinted to another tree big enough to cover him. Still no shots. He continued ducking behind trees and bushes until he spotted Bryan, standing behind a tree, glancing off into the woods every few seconds and not making any attempt to move to another spot. Devin shook his head. "Wide open. Dumbass. I'm gonna love this." Devin began making his over, careful not to alert Bryan to his presence. He finally made it to a tree right next to the one Bryan was behind when he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down to see paint splat on his pants. He looked up in the direction the shot came from and felt more pain as he was hit in the chest. He grunted in pain and hid behind the tree so he couldn't get shot again. He looked to his left to see Bryan looking back at him. He brought his gun up, aiming at Bryan's head. Bryan waved for him to lower it.

"Dude! Don't! Can't you see we're both pinned down?" Bryan said, peering around the tree and pulling back at the sound of a paintball hitting the tree. Devin thought for a few seconds before lowering his weapon.

"Pinned down?" he asked, peering around the tree he was behind. Again a paintball hit the tree, inches from his head. He brought his head back, looking at Bryan.

"This can't be who I think it is. No one is that good of a shot!" Bryan said, not even bothering to look around the tree again. Devin agreed, but he wasn't going to cut the thought out completely.

"I dunno, but the only way we're gonna know is to get close enough to see him." Devin started making sure his gun was in working condition.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Bryan asked, none to nicely. Devin looked down the site of his gun.

"Just start shooting in the direction of the shots until you get into cover. We can back each other up." Devin peered around the tree enough to entice shot, but not enough to get hit. Bryan nodded.

"I guess that's our only option. You go first, I'll give covering fire." Devin smiled.

"Let's show this guy who he's messing with." And with that, Bryan revealed himself from behind the tree, taking two shots, one on the chest and another on his left arm, before firing blindly. Devin started running, ducking behind a fallen tree thirty meters out. Bryan stopped firing, having taken another three hits, and waited for Devin to start firing. A few seconds later Devin started shooting, as well as getting hit. Bryan made his way up further than Devin did when Devin ducked back down. He counted the paint spots on him. Seven in total all across his upper torso and one in the head. This continued until Bryan and Devin could hear the shots being fired. They both ducked behind an abnormally thick tree. They were panting from the pain of being hit by countless paintballs, even bleeding in some spots that didn't have any protection at all. Bryan sunk to the forest floor.

"This is insane man, no one should be able to do this to us. I mean, fuck, we're professionals." Bryan managed to pant out through his labored breathing. Devin propped himself on the tree, trying too catch his breath. Bryan shook is head.

"I dunno if I can keep going man... I think I've hit my limit." Bryan said, tossing his gun to ground and slumping over. Devin slid down the tree next to him and nodded, neither of them having the energy to talk. They sat there for a couple of minutes to catch their breath, listening to warning shots hit the tree or nearby foliage and wondering how Otter managed to do this to them. Once they were adequately rested, Devin and Bryan stood and put cloth bags on the barrel of their guns. They sighed in unison as they rounded the tree, their guns held high above their heads, but unable to yell. Soon after they saw some tree branches rustle a few meters ahead, signaling Otter's arrival by him dropping to the ground. Otter straightened up, his rifle resting on his shoulder and a single paint splatter was seen above his left eye. Devin elbowed Bryan.

"At least we hit him once."