A Conflict of Interests - Part 1
Part 1 - Concerning the Matters of Cataratan Wolves
Part 2 - Northern Winds of Change
Part 3 - Denmate versus Lifemate
Part 4 - Night of a Thousand Romances
Part 5 - Future Perfect
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Part 1 - Concerning the Matters of Cataratan Wolves
As far as young male wolves go, London had everything going for him. He had a nice, quiet home in the village of Catarata. He had a steady job as a cashier at the local coffee shop, and was due for a promotion any time soon. And, of course, he had a girlfriend, the beautiful young wolf Lyran, daughter of the famed local hunter. Very much to his pleasure, London was in all respects a simple, yet respectable wolf, and very much enjoyed his life within the village of Catarata.
London was also quite mentally impressive, and very much an intelligent young wolf. London was known to spend his free time reading classical novels by famous authors, pouring over their contents. London was also up on the current events, often engaging in friendly conversation with the patrons to the coffee shop. He even carried himself with an air of dignity mixed with humility, the kind of posture more fitting one from the upper classes than his lower middle class status. He wore a simple shirt and vest on most days with a pair of jeans purchased from the local tailor, but those failed to hide his esteem even among the upper classes.
London, however, was not without a dashing physical appearance in addition to his astounding mental capacity. London was one who still had some of his youth left; being only a modest twenty three, though at five foot eight was smaller than some of the other wolves in the village. London was covered with a coat of jet black hair unbroken by any color except for the bright yellow of his eyes. He was also in very good physical condition, being that he had never gotten sick in his life aside from a simple cold he had as a young boy due to a habit of opening his bedroom window at night to let in the cool breeze; he had since taken extra precautions and found himself a much healthier fellow.
London's girlfriend, Lyran, was no slouch either. She was a strong sort of young wolf, only a year younger than London but very much his same physical and mental prowess. She stood only a few inches shorter than London yet could have won against him in a race any day. Whilst London spent most of his free time pouring over books, Lyran often took up a self-crafted bow and went with her father and some of her family's friends and traveled into the woods to the southeast of town on a hunting expedition. Lyran even worked at her father's hunting shop as his apprentice, taking it upon herself to learn her father's craftsmanship in creating weapons; it was because of him she had learned how to make her own bow.
And while to many it was a wonder how a mostly intelligent wolf like London with little regard for strenuous exercise could fall in love with a mostly physical wolf like Lyran and be loved back without repercussion, that was how things worked out. London would always be willing to join Lyran on any activity she was interested in and Lyran would often slow herself down and listen to London's intellectual conversations with a very keen interest. The arrangement worked out well for the two and both of them enjoyed it; London had tried his hand at archery and was becoming very skilled indeed, and Lyran loved the times she was able to relax with London in his library with a good book.
Despite this arrangement, there was a sense of nervousness in London that he never showed to anyone. Not to his family. Not to his friends within the village. Not even to Lyran. His nervousness sprang from Lyran, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with confessing to his girlfriend that she was the source of his concern. The idea of even telling Lyran that he was nervous made London even more nervous than before, and thus he kept his mouth mostly shut.
Truth be told, the entire reason that London was nervous was because he was quite deeply in love with Lyran, and on more than one occasion had thought of proposing to her. To a young wolf, this can be a very frightening prospect indeed, as they often have rivals among their species, and even across species, that would ultimately try and take Lyran as their own mate. But London was more worried than most other young wolves as he was afraid not of any rivals, as he had no rivals to deal with being both a kindly and respected figure in the village, but the feeling that Lyran might reject him. London worried about this prospect day and night, hoping and wishing that Lyran would accept him, but whenever he had the courage to propose, he found himself tripping over his own words before he could even think about it, and thus never mentioned the idea to Lyran. If Lyran did notice he was nervous, she had never pointed it out to him.
Due to his occasionally quiet nature, London often had a difficult time figuring things out or getting an outlet for his emotions. Therefore, he was very pleased when a notable witch came to town one year and started serving as a guidance counselor and healer at the local clinic. London had quickly become friends with the witch soon after she arrived, and the two often would meet up either at the coffee shop or at London's house and the wolf would just release his emotions.
The witch herself was quite the oddity, and thus it was strange how London had found himself friends with her. She had most of the looks of the fox, but was quite a bit shorter and had a bit darker fur than the normal fox would have. She also had a pair of wings coming out of her back, six long, thin, rounded appendages sticking out from her back, three on her back and three on her right, colored with shades of orange and yellow against black and white. While no one knew her true name, the nearly century old witch was often referred to as Autumn, due to the coloration on her wings similar to those of fall leaves.
It was one time on one of Autumn's visits to London's house one spring afternoon, while Lyran had gone out hunting with her father, that London revealed his interests to Autumn.
"I feel like I am falling in love with Lyran," London told the witch. "But it is more complicated than that. I want to tell her that I am in love with her. I want to tell her I am ready to commit myself to starting a family with her, to be there for her no matter what. But whenever I go to say it to her, I feel as if my mouth is sealed shut, and I cannot tell her anything."
The winged fox witch thought for long and hard at London, staring at him and looking him over with her own bright yellow eyes. "Well, you certainly have the desirable qualities in a man," she said in her soft and calming tone. "Honesty, intelligence, a good work ethic. Quite fitting for a young middle class wolf. However, perhaps your mind has not fully matured yet."
London seemed confused. "I don't get what you're trying to say, Autumn."
"What I mean to say, London, my dear, is that perhaps your head is ready to commit, but your heart is not."
London did not know what to say, so the witch continued on. "You say that you are ready to commit to young Lyran, but you can never get the words out. You always want to tell her how you feel, and yet when you try you feel like there is a muzzle over your mouth. Now, I do think that you are a good match for Lyran. However, I think you may need to spend a little more time thinking it over and making sure that you are ready, in fact, to accept the responsibilities of becoming a husband and a father before you thrust yourself into this situation."
London felt very insulted, indeed. "You mean to say that it's not right or the right time for me to propose to Lyran?"
"It never will be the right time if you're tongue keeps slipping beforehand," Autumn replied. Upon seeing the look of disdain on the young wolf's face, she added: "Of course, when the time comes, I'm certain that Lyran will be fully ready to accept you herself, and will accept you with open arms."
London was only slightly comforted by Autumn's words, but was thankful that he had a chance to release his pent up emotions. However, there was still the fact that he was in love with Lyran, and that he wanted to propose to her. And so, London ventured out with Lyran to the coffee shop near the top of the falls in the center of town in an attempt to propose to her that very evening.
"Thank you so much for inviting me here, London," Lyran said as the two received a cup of well-made home brewed coffee and a slice of sweet bread, sitting down at a table on the patio. "After a day of hunting, I needed this time to relax and calm down at the end of the day."
"It's no problem at all, really," London replied, feeling very calmed down after his talk with Autumn. "I was looking forward to spending some time with you, myself."
"And I with you, London," Lyran replied, her beautiful green eyes staring into London's own golden eyes. London was instantly struck with awe at the beauty of the silver wolf sitting across from him that he was automatically speechless and could not get another word out from his mouth until Lyran spoke again. "I like how you're an intelligent young wolf. I like how you and I can just sit down at a place like this and just talk. I really like how, around you, I can just be myself."
London blushed, half expecting Lyran to propose to him for marriage. Of course, London knew this was not common courtesy; no matter your species, it was more honorable for a male to propose than the female, and was a fair bit more natural as well. This left London waiting for the right moment to explain himself. But once more, London could not find the words to speak as he saw Lyran gazing out westward to the sun disappearing over the horizon.
"Well?" Lyran said, breaking the silence between the two. "How is work coming along here?"
"We just got a new shipment of coffee beans in today," London replied, "as well as some fresh cocoa beans in. I expect there shall continue to be a fresh pot of coffee or a steaming mug of hot chocolate should the need arise. And being close to both water and the Kantaran Mountains, I'll expect we'll continue needing them until late into the summer."
"Well, that's good news to hear," Lyran said with a hint of a laugh. "At least I can depend on the coffee here to be fresh. Not like the game out in the woods. We went wandering around for two hours today without sight of a single deer."
"You can trust me when I tell you that there'll always be someone here to pour you a cup of java or hot chocolate whenever you need one."
"That's good to hear," Lyran said, taking London's paw in her own. London felt the warmth from her paw as she massaged it in her own. London liked the feeling, and let the moment sink in, just the two of them staring back at one another, her eyes meeting his, a smile across both of their faces.
Sadly for London, the moment ended too quickly, as Lyran finished her coffee then stood up, gathering her small purse before she left a few copper coins on the table. "I'm sorry, London," she said, "I just remembered I was supposed to be home five minutes ago. I wish I could have spent more time with you, I really do. It's just my father was having a few friends over for dinner and wanted me to be there for the event."
London gave a knowing nod to Lyran. "I understand," he said. "Your father is an important man, and it wouldn't do good to leave him waiting on a night like this."
Lyran smiled. "Thank you," she said.
"For what?" London found himself asking.
"For understanding," Lyran said, then kissed him.
London felt the warmth of Lyran's lips touching his own, and found his eyes closing as Lyran's arms wrapped around him. London reciprocated the action as the two hung there as if suspended in time. London could tell that Lyran loved him and figured that, with this confirmation of Lyran's love for him, now would be the right time, if only he could ever release himself; he was in a moment that he did not want to let go.
It was Lyran who ultimately let go first. She and London pulled away from each other and looked into each other's eyes for another moment. "See you around, London," she said, then turned and made her way out of the coffee shop before London could say a word. Having nothing else to do with Lyran not around anymore to talk to, London walked back home and settled himself into the living room with the intent of burying himself in a good book.
But London's mind was distracted. He had been ready once again to propose to Lyran, but found it impossible to get the words out. Maybe Autumn was right, London thought. Maybe I really am not ready to commit to her yet. Perhaps I'll retire early tonight and sleep on it, then consult Autumn in the morning. With that, London put his book away and went to the bedroom, dressing himself a nightshirt and sweatpants and opening the window before lying down in his bed. Although the bed was comfortable and a cool breeze offset the warmer temperatures inside, London found himself easing slowly into a fitful sleep that plagued his night and made him obtain no rest.
The next day, London found that he had received a note from Lyran over the course of the night. London, wondering if Lyran had something important to tell him, opened the letter with some nervousness and began to read the letter: "London, I have something important that I would like to talk with you about. Meet me at the pool at the bottom of the falls this evening, around the same time as our coffee shop meeting was. Signed, Lyran."
London was completely mystified at the letter. He wondered what in the word Lyran wanted to talk to him about, and why she had to be so cryptic about it and hardly mention it in her letter. But life went on, and London had to report for his shift at the coffee shop, putting on a clean shirt and vest and pants before heading out and up the road by the falls to the shop.
At the shop, London was told to help unload a wagon of supplies that had just arrived from out of town instead of his usual spot as cashier. His ermine boss led London out front where the wagon was waiting; filled with a large amount of square pillows that seemed almost as wide as London himself was tall.
"What are these for?" London asked the ermine.
"New arrivals from outside of T'sivet," the ermine replied. "Strange race of beings, they are, but that means more customers nonetheless. The king declared that every town be made to accommodate a few of them for at least a year, if not more."
"So what are they?" London inquired as his boss helped him unload and carry one of the heavy pillows into the shop. "What would require a pillow instead of a chair? I've never heard of a dragon coming in here, and naga's are almost considered illegals."
"They're from outside of T'sivet entirely. They're a race of beings called Chakats. They're like some of the felines around here, but below the waist they have something of a feral body. They can't sit on the chairs here due to the feral portion, so we had to order some of these huge pillows."
"When are they arriving?"
The ermine looked at London strangely as they set down the pillow, then broke into a smile as they headed back to the wagon. "I've forgotten for a moment who I was talking to. Anyways, it started with the building of that one spaceport in our capital, Ikasarat, and that's the only one on T'sivet thus far. These Chakats are from some planet off here, and have traveled to Ikasarat as ambassadors of their race. They're all in Ikasarat right now, but they ought to be traveling up north here in a few days. Catarata's gonna have a few, along with the rest of the Kantaran Mountains and the other province. Moonrusher's lucky; they don't get to deal with all the extra expenses that come from having to house a Chakat."
London continued helping his boss for a while until another employee showed up. Soon, the ermine was directing London and his coworker around the shop, ordering him to drop off a total of eight pillows off before London was told to go back to his normal position at the cash register later that morning. London worked at the shop until his usual time early in the afternoon, then returned home to eat and take part in the ritual afternoon siesta Catarata had adopted from an Ikasaratan practice.
Despite being full from his lunch, London could not sleep. He was both worried and excited about what Lyran would want to talk to him about. Did he suddenly have a rival he now needed to compete with for her attention? Was Lyran going to step up and propose herself? London tossed and turned, and woke up an hour later to return to work feeling not one bit rested from his siesta.
London later met with Lyran that evening after he got off work at the designated spot at the pool. Lyran was standing there seeming quiet nervous and very hurt, and her mood did not improve as she saw London approach her on the sands, the water gently lapping on the shore. London walked up to Lyran, becoming nervous as well after seeing Lyran so nervous herself.
"London," Lyran said as she saw the wolf approaching. "I was wondering when you would get here."
"I had to drop off a few things from work," London replied. "What's up?"
"You know I love you dearly, London," Lyran began. "And, if I could, I would want to spend more time with you than we do now. But... due to unfortunate circumstances, my father does not want me spending time with you."
London was appalled. "What? You're father trusts me with you. Why does he not want us seeing each other anymore?"
Lyran sighed. "He wants me to find a mate that is more in tune with what he wants from him. He admires your intelligence, but he wants his daughter to have someone with a little more brains than brawn."
London's face fell.
Lyran took London's paw in her own.
"I love you, London, I really do." London could tell from the look in Lyran's eyes she meant what she just told him. "But my father just doesn't want me to be with you. I don't understand why. You're intelligent, kind, smart, hardworking, but my father wants me to find someone who is almost a hunter like himself."
"That seems a little selfish," London blurted out before he realized what he was saying. He immediately apologized afterward. "I'm sorry. I mean no disrespect to your father. I respect him; he's a well-known hunter around here."
"No, you're right. He is being selfish. He doesn't care that I've found a handsome young wolf with whom I have fallen in love with. I always wanted to tell you, but my father has suddenly decided he's not going to give us a chance. Oh, I only wish he'd have waited a few days before he'd even thought about the whole ordeal."
London seemed to have a glimmer of hope, however. "Explain this to your father. Explain to him that we are in love with one another, and that we are ready to be with one another."
"You know my father," Lyran said. "He sometimes doesn't listen to reason. It will go in one ear and out the other before he even cares about it. And by then it will be too late."
London looked downtrodden.
"So," Lyran continued, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to break up for just a few months. When my father sees there's no one else in this village that I love and is suitable for me, we can get back together and prove ourselves."
London's face fell. Lyran seemed to sense his sadness and wrapped her paws around him in a warm, loving embrace, London reciprocating the action. "I'm sorry, London. I'm so sorry." When the two released, both Lyran's and London's eyes were filled with tears, each of them knowing that a few months might turn into something longer.
At last, Lyran and London parted ways, living on opposite sides of the pool. As London returned home, he began crying for the first time in a long time, and ended up crying himself into a fitful and restless sleep. His dreams of wanting to marry Lyran had vanished before his eyes, and he couldn't do a thing about it.
London visited Autumn the next day, and told her the whole story. Autumn listened to everything London told her with rapt attention, even expressing her surprise at how Lyran had almost proposed to London herself. The witch lent a kind and comforting ear, and gave London a sample of a rare herbal tea to be mixed with hot water to calm him down. London thanked the witch and drank the tea that evening, finally able to obtain a restful night's sleep after the events the past few days.