An Occurrence in Late Fall
An Occurrence in Late Fall
A mournful tune played on the jukebox, colorful diodes now ghostly and dead. Outside, clouds above toyed with the idea of snow. Deciding it was to their liking, an order was sent, and the storage clouds opened up sieves in their cargo doors, rather like saltshakers. The snowflakes fell as a fine white powder, dry to boot, the stuff skiers, sledders, and boarders love. The house, well insulated and stocked, was prepared for just about anything the weather could throw at it, and it's CPU had been monitoring weather reports. Sensors of a marvelous make detected the falling flakes and sent their findings to the house brain, who ordered servometers inside the walls to close the shutters; to prevent the weight of piling snow from pressing on the windowpanes, should enough accumulate.
Safe and warm, both inside the house, and within their beds, below thick quilts and winter sheets, the houses' guests snoozed on, tired from the last minute hike to the house, and the previous night's 'nocturnal activities.'
Near eleven, the sleepers three were tempted from their slumber by the scent of fresh brewed coffee, sizzling bacon, eggs, and syrupy sweet pancakes.
"Morning already?" yawned Natalie, both the youngest, at 21 going on 22, and only chick of the group. She sat up, stretching. The covers, obeying gravity, or course, fell off her naked vixen torso. Instantly, her nipples stood up against her perfectly formed breasts. "Damn" she muttered. "For a smart house, it should know to keep it warmer in the mornings." Her long-time lover, and fiancée-to-be, Raphael, a lion, stirred beside her. He pushed himself up with his elbows, and kissed his mate, passionately. After about a minute, she pushed him away and took a breath of air. He checked the digital chronometer on the nightstand. 11:08 A.M., 11-28-2031, the green letters plainly stated.
"Not really the morning anymore, babe. If the brunch I smell is telling the truth, too, we really overslept." The fox slid out of bed, completely naked, and walked to the bright oak wardrobe against the wall. Her mate tracked her ass with his eyes. He sighed when she slipped on the loose, light terrycloth bathrobe. As she tied the sash secure around her waist, Rafael sighed and slid out of bed. Opening the dresser with one clawed paw, and reaching for his pants, discarded during the previous night's festivities, with the other, he was caught in a very revealing position. Natalie glanced at her mate, and tried to stifle a laugh.
"I guess I'm not the only one who's cold this morning." The lion, now wearing his pants, warm blue-grey corduroy, reached for his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. "Hey, aren't you gonna shower?" Natalie asked.
"No" the lion grunted. "If Zed hasn't used up all the hot water, you're going to now. They'll be plenty heated after breakfast."
"There's no reason we have to take separate showers, big boy," Natalie said seductively.
"As much as I do enjoy a little love in the mornings," Rafael drawled. "It was fifteen below last night on the hike up here, and it was like four miles; I'm starved." The bathroom door closed softly, and the lion paused. After a few moments, he stood up, and headed out into the hallway. As he pulled the door shut, he heard the water start up.
"Morning Ralph!" a chipper English voice assailed. "Did you see the sunrise? Bloody brilliant, wonit?"
"Ughh, dammit Zed, I've told you; it's "Rafael," don't anglicanize it. I don't go around calling you Zedekiah, so the least you could do is get my name right."
"Well" the British otter retorted. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the marital bed. Breakfast is still hot on the table, thanks to the house's ovens."
Zed, wearing an expensive looking casual suit, moved past into the living room, leaving the lion to his share of the meal. He plopped down on the couch and reached for the television remote. The seventy-two inch television blared to life, a talking head giving a weather report. Other than the weatherman's non-accented voice and the occasional auto-driving car commercial, it was quiet. So quiet that they could hear the water click off, and the water heater roar as it fired up. A few minutes later Natalie, towel wrapped around her head and still wearing the bathrobe, emerged from the bedroom.
"How's breakfast hon?" she asked, sitting down across from the lion. Without the need to grab a plate, as the table had already been set, she piled eggs and bacon onto her plate.
"Good" the lion mumbled between mouthfuls, grabbing more pancakes of the oven-hot pile. Zed calling out broke the eating silence.
"Yeah, I wish you would've told me earlier that you wanted to use the cabin. I could've been out here days or even weeks ago to make sure it was all in top shape for you two."
"Hey, no, it's fine." Natalie soothed. "You do your thing, we'll do ours, and by Monday we'll all be back on our way home."
"If it doesn't bother you...Anyway, did I tell you all the interesting story about the mountain opposite this one?" he asked, muting the television.
"No" Rafael began. "But if I remember, it was dark, and cold, and we were just trying to get here and not freeze to death."
"All right. Do you remember, well, you couldn't really remember, but, do either of you remember your parent's talking about that hotel here in Colorado about fifty years ago?"
"I'm from New York, so, uh...yeah" the lion trailed off. He stood up and carried his dirtied plate over to the kitchen sink. Natalie scratched behind her ear, thinking.
"Wait, that one where the husband went mad and tried to kill his wife and kid? This house isn't built where it used to be, is it?" Natalie asked, beginning to panic.
"Oh lord no!" the otter exclaimed. "Mum and da tried to buy that lot, owner's grandkid still won't sell. But no, if it stops snowing, and you're looking just right, you can see the place where it once was." The jumpy vixen noticeably calmed.
"Not really that interesting then if all we can do is see an attempted murder site. In New York, you wanna see a real murder site, look around you."
"I thought it was good" the otter said defensively. "Anyhow, the telly says there's supposed to be another six inches by tonight."The lion returned to his seat.
"There goes my romantic picnic plan..." he said, looking sadly at the news report.
"You didn't say anything about a romantic picnic." Natalie began, looking at her lover. "Was I not supposed to find out about it?"
"I wanted to surprise you with it, but I guess now you know."
"Hey" Zed called from the other room. "I need to head back to town to pick up some things. It's not quite the same as a picnic, but its something at least." The couple shared a glance.
"That would be great. Just uh, be careful and whatever." The otter stood and clicked off the flat screen. He headed for the doorway, where winter clothes hung on pegs and thick boots leaned against the wall. He dressed quickly. Opening the door just a crack, he slid out, pulling it closed behind him. Seconds were all it took for the winter gale to find its way in, chilling the air noticeably. Natalie and Rafael were on each in seconds.
"Yes! Yes!" she screamed, pinned against the bedroom wall. The lion grunted, tired already from holding the naked fox against the wall. her legs rested in his hands, and her hands struggled to keep purchase on his shoulders. The lion's length pistoned in and out of her slit, and she moaned with pleasure.
"Harder, Raf! C'mon!" Natalie shouted, bucking against the wall to impale herself deeper on his cock.
"Oof" he managed between grunts. "Can't we do something a little more practical?" Natalie was rocking faster, trying to satisfy her needs.
"Just - just a little bit more babe, and oh! And then we'll do what you want." Rafael groaned in response, and leaned forward. He began to thrust faster, the motion carrying in his hips, with every move, a little bit more of his eight and a half inch length into the fox's tight hole.
"Ooh, ooh, good kitty!" Natalie whispered. "Finish me up and I'll make things so good for you. Ooh, faster!"
A sudden, screeching scratch at the shuttered window broke the rhythm of the two lovers. Rafael's grip faltered, and gravity took over. Natalie tumbled down, knocking the lion to the floor. She landed comfortably on his body.
"Dammit babe I was so close. Why'd you just collapse like that?" she picked herself up and walked towards the bed. The lion got up and went to the window.
"You didn't hear that screeching sound?" he pressed a button on the frame, and the shutters opened with a frozen grind. A single, deep gouge marred the surface of the window. Trees outside swayed in the breeze.
"Look! Right there, that huge scratch on the window. I knew I heard something."
"It was probably just a tree. The wind's been blowing all day. Now are you coming to bed, or are you going to keep staring out the window?" the lion walked towards the bed, but spared one last glimpse out the window. A stiff flurry carried snowflakes past, obscuring the view.
Natalie got up from the bed and took her lover's hand. She lead him to the bed and had him lay down.
"Yeah, that's right, just relax." The pretty fox cooed. She crawled over him, pausing at his crotch. She knelt down over him, putting one leg out to each side. Carefully, she lowered herself onto his throbbing dick.
Using her legs, she lifted up and slid down, slowly at first, getting used to the position. After about three minutes, the lion raised his arms and tried to drive the vixen down onto this cock. she leaned forward and pressed them back down, pining them in place with her elbows. She kissed him teasingly.
"Not yet big boy. First I get what I need, and then you can do what you want." Rafael groaned again, and tossed his head back in frustration.
"Soon baby; you can hold it, can't you, fuzzy?" she sped up, bucking him faster and taking in more of his lionhood. Scant minutes later, she came with a howl. The lion jumped to life, grabbing the fox and rolling. She was on bottom now, with him resting over her. He pulled out a bit, length wet and shining with precum. He growled, and clamped his hands tighter around her arms, pinning her down. He roared, sound waves rocking a nearby painting against the wall.
He drove his dick into, hard, growling all the while. Natalie laughed with pleasure.
"Oh yeah, I'm all yours baby. Fuck me like a lioness bitch!" his fiancée's encouragement spurred him on, humping his canine mate like there wouldn't be another chance tomorrow. He came with a roar, much louder than the first, animal instinct taking over and declaring the fox's body to be his. His hot seed spurted freely into her moist, fleshy tunnels. He pulled out quickly, ignoring the pain, and let the last of his cum, steaming from the temperature difference, land on her crotch. He rolled off and fell asleep beside her.
"You got the right idea baby" she said, fingering her cummy hole. She sighed, contentedly and fell asleep next to her feline lover.
Hours later, the storm had blown in, in force, and showed no signs of abating. Zed, back from the with a replacement air-conditioner filter and some groceries, had wasted time in the town seeing a new movie. He was sure he had given his friends enough time alone, and it took another hour fighting the steep inclines and blinding snow to get back. After changing the filter and replacing the groceries, he headed back to the couch. Some science-fiction channel original B movie played, but he wasn't paying too much attention. The mournful whines in the wind, and every now and then a new scratching sound occupied his interest.
"Now what could be doing that?" he asked, to no one in particular. "The trees are kept trimmed, and even if they opened the shutters, the house would've closed them again." He tried to focus on the movie, some hackneyed plot about a giant sea creature or some rubbish, but his excursion in the cold had tired him, and his eyelids felt heavy as lead.
Outside, the storm grew worse, depositing inches and inches of snow, drifting up against the house. Time passed slowly, as it always does, but the three people in the house weren't awake to experience it. Near midnight, they woke up, practically in unison. Rafael and Natalie cleaned up together, taking their time in the shower, and the otter stirred from the couch. They gathered in the kitchen later, eating re-heated leftovers from brunch.
"Something scratched the window in the bedroom," Rafael said at last. "I'm pretty sure it was just a tree, but I figured you should know. So you can call someone to replace the glass or something." The otter's wristwatch beeped, 12:01, October 29th.
"Hey" he raised his water glass. "A toast to the birthday girl. Happy 22nd, Nat, sorry I had to be here spoiling things for you two."
"It's alright Zed. We probably should've told you our plans earlier. And," she laughed, taking a sip of the beer raided from the fridge. "Mom says I was born around three a.m., so technically it's not my birthday yet."
There was a knocking at the door, and at the same time a loud tapping at the windows.
"Damn trees," the otter complained. "the groundskeepers were supposed to prune them all back before the winter."
"There aren't any trees by the door though. Maybe it's someone out there." Natalie remarked, looking towards the doorway.
"Why would there be someone out at this time of night?" Rafael asked. More tapping at the door, impatient sounding.
"The door has a peephole; I'll go see what it is. Probably just some animal." As he stood up to check, the pounding started again, a demanding, angry knocking.
"I know you are in there, little furries," a singsong voice called out between gusts of wind. "It is very cold out here; let me in so I can be warm with you," the soft but masculine voice cajoled.
"'Furries?' Rafael questioned. "So our visitor is cold, and a racist. We should leave him out there."
"He sounds like a foreigner to me, maybe he doesn't know the correct term." Natalie defended. "Besides, we can't leave anyone out there to freeze, even if they are a racist."
"I am getting very cold out here. Please, will you let me in?" The otter moved closer to the door.
"Look, there's a Remington 12-Gauge in the cabinet there, for uh, situations like these. Grab it, just in case. I'm letting the stranger in." Zed undid the deadbolt, and the door burst inward on its hinges. A human, strangely tall, ducked under the doorframe. Hoarfrost clung to his floor length black trenchcoat. He closed the door with an inhumanly long hand, bony fingers spinning the lock back in place.
"Many, many thanks, little furries. It is very cold outside." He stepped out into the room, and stood up, black felt bowl-shaped hat brushing against the ten-foot high ceiling.
"Hold on now" Rafael said, pointing the scattergun at the guest. "Are you wearing stilts or something?" the stranger bent down and pulled up a leg of his pants with one long, spindly arm, revealing eerily white, hairless skin.
"See?" the human asked. "Just plain leg. Maybe more than you are used to seeing." He turned his expressionless face towards Natalie. "You are very beautiful, and also compassionate. You must have been the one convinced them to let me in. Thank you." Under her fur, Natalie blushed.
"Hold on mister. I don't know what the customs may be in your part of the world, but here, you don't just waltz in and flirt with another man's fiancée." Rafael set the shotgun down on the table, but kept it within reach. A sudden and frenzied knocking on the window shutters drew captured everyone's attention.
"How silly of me!" the human exclaimed, bopping his forehead with his freakishly long and pale palm. "These friends of mine wait still outside, in the cold and the wind. Would you allow them in as well, beautiful?" Rafael reached for the gun again.
"Friends? How many more of you are waiting outside?" he asked, trying to find the safety on the gun.
"Not many" the human tall and skinny human answered, keeping his pale, so pale eyes on Natalie. "They love to dance. Shall we let them in? I know you all love to dance as well." Rafael found the safety and thumbed it off. Zed slowly opened his coat and drew a 1911 Colt from a shoulder holster.
"I think you should leave, friend" he said calmly flipping off the safety and chambering a round. "You just get back up and head out the door. It will be morning soon, and the storm will be over." Natalie stared at the strange human, enthralled by his eyes.
"Why can't we let him stay?" Natalie asked. "He may be a giant, but he's harmless. Look at him!" more pounding from the door. The wind outside picked up, threatening to tear the shingles off the roof, and the shutters off the windows.
"Yes, please let me stay. We'll dance and dance and have so much fun."
"Buddy!" Zed interrupted. "Get out of my house! You are not welcome here anymore!" the human snapped around to face the otter. He stood up fully, curving his back to stand up in, even in the height of the ceiling. He let his four and a half foot arms hang down from his shoulders.
"My friends will not like it that you force me to leave. Your beautiful companion does not want me to leave, but you do. Maybe she will come with me."
"Why does he have to go? What has he done wrong?" Natalie pleaded.
"Don't you see, Nat!?" Rafael shouted at her. "He's a psycho! There's no one else outside! It's like 20 below!"
"Come thou with me, beautiful one!" the man cackled with delight. "See how they yell at you? They do not want you here either!" the pounding grew louder, sounding like it would shatter the windows and knock in the heavy door.
"Hurry!" many voices as one called from outside. "Bring them out to us or us in to them! We want to play!"
"They are anxious for us!" the human called. "We shall dance and play and be merry with each other! Let us go out to them!"
"Yes" Natalie muttered from her trancelike state. "Let us go out to them." She stepped up from the couch where she sat and followed the strange figure.
Rafael grabbed for her arm, to keep her from following, and the strange man turned to face him. With a motion and an attitude like swatting away a bothersome moth, the man's stretched arm knocked the muscular lion aside. He smashed into the wall like a tossed rag, and slumped to the ground. Zed fired three shots in quick succession. They hit the man in the torso, and stopped. They stuck, flattened against his coat, hardly piercing the fabric.
"That was very foolish, tiny little furry," the human said flatly. His arm snaked out and smashed the otter in his temple, crumpling him to the floor instantly.
"We must hurry, my beautiful, for our friends grow impatient and tired." He ushered her ahead of himself, longcoat swirling from the motion. As they disappeared into the night, his long, slender fingers wrapped around the door handle, drawing it closed.
Later, when the two awoke, one with a shattered skull, remarkably still alive, and the other with broken ribs, sternum, and collarbone, they immediately began searching. One had the follow-through to call the police, and the official investigation found nothing but two sets of footprints, leading off towards the lake. Gradually, the smaller set of prints disappeared, flecks of blood and hair taking their place. the large set of boot prints, measured by the police as size twenty shoes, ended suddenly in the center of the lake. It was assumed that the figure had fallen through the lake, though the snow on the ice was undisturbed, and the ice beneath pristine.