Back in the Saddle (For me the Author, not the Characters)
It's been years since I've written anything for this site, and I have been feeling an itch to write some material. I hope you'll enjoy this quip of a story while I shake off the dust and brush out the cobwebs. Let me know what you think!
The soft morning light seeped into the room through the closed blinds, gently illuminating the room. Placed in the center of the room, was the massage table that Victor was intimately familiar with after the last 6 months. He had stood over top of many a client as he honed his craft of therapeutic massage techniques. He had spent even more time on the table himself, subject to his teacher's ministrations, as the old Moose quite literally pushed his knowledge into the willing apprentice. Victor took in a deep breath and let it out with an anxious shudder. Today would be the culmination of all his hard work and trials. He would have to perform every massage technique he had learned on his master to prove that he had retained all of the lessons given to him. The Moose, Tiebold, was an enormous man, and the rack of antlers on his head just accentuated his mountainous visage. The subject of his test quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him. It latched softly and Tiebold changed the slider built into the door to say "Session In Progress." He approached Victor with a soft smile on his face.
"Good morning Victor. I hope you slept well." Tiebold's voice was deep and rich, he spoke with a velvety softness that tickled the ears. "Yes Tiebold. Though I did wake up earlier than normal in excitement." Victor smiled bag and his tail wagged slowly. The Bearnine was several inches shorter than the Moose who averaged in around 7' tall, but still dwarfed most average Furs in height. Victor stood at 6'4 bear-canine hybrid, with his ursine traits being more predominant, but still maintaining the athletic build of most dogs. It was an interesting mix that meshed together well for Victor. He had the strength of most bears, but lacked the common paunch and heaviness normally associated with his father's species. "Shall I assist you in undressing Sir? Or would you prefer to remove your clothing yourself while I warm the stones and light the incense?" Tiebold stroked his short, greyed goatee thoughtfully for a moment before responding. "Light the incense and warm the stones, I will wait until you are done, and then you may aid me in disrobing. Though I hope you remember to have the stones prepared ahead of time in the future. It won't do you any good to be ill-prepared if a client requests stones in the middle of a session." Victor's ears flagged for a moment and he gave the moose a sheepish half-smirk. In all his excitement for today he had forgotten these small steps. He would do well to remember his master's words in the future, so as not to accidentally shorten a client's session.
Victor hurriedly placed the stones in the hot water pot sitting on the corner table and lit the hickory incense he knew was one of Tiebold's favorite. Victor smiled to himself as he placed a second portion of incense in the holder and lit it. This particular batch he had made in secrecy and hoped that it would boost his chances of success. Turning away from the incense burner after taking a deep breath of the woodsy, heady scent, Victor walked back to Tiebold who was standing patiently beside the massage table.