Barn Night
A short little story that came up during a heated discussion with a friend of mine.
He hurriedly flitted about, mumbling quietly to himself as he cleared away the hay from the barn floor. The owl busily pecked up the few remaining stems and tossed them aside, completely ignorant of the eyes watching him from the darkness outside. They watched him glide around the small building, a moth darting about in the low light of a single lantern. Landing lithely, he kept his wing extended and brushed away any remaining dirt or debris. Finally satisfied, he sighed and nodded, flicking his wing to rid it of any residue. At a sharp exhale of air, he quickly swiveled his head towards the barn door. Despite the lantern's low twilight, his piercing eyes quickly found the intruder hidden just beyond the light's reach. He readied himself, fully prepared to drive off the interloper, "Who's there?"
Another exhale came, this time more clearly heard as a quiet laugh, and a young vixen stepped forward with a pleased smile, "Hello Thomas. A bit wound up, are we not?"
Thomas immediately relaxed his wings, though his feathers remained somewhat ruffled, "Oh Gloria, you scared me."
She walked up to her friend and wrapped her paws around him, "Oh, I am sorry. But it was rather amusing to see you so flustered with getting this old place clean," she let go and causally strolled over to the spot he had cleared, next to a plank, "I was here just this morning and you were completely content with me sitting in piles of hay. I do not see why a nice dinner with friends would prompt you to go through so much trouble."
Thomas smiled and walked, or waddled rather, past Gloria towards a short wooden bucket, "I know, I know, but I just wanted this to be nice if we are going to spend more time here. Besides," he reached into the bucket, pulling out a limp rabbit, "I wouldn't want the food to get dirty.
Gloria gasped, "Oh my goodness is that Dennis!"
Terror washed over Thomas' face as he looked down to the body in his wings, "I...I...what?"
Gloria laughed again, her paw coming up to her snout, with a bemused guilty expression, "Oh Thomas, forgive me. I was teasing again."
He sighed heavily, flattening down his disheveled feathers, his beak now with a tired smile, "Oh Gloria, I swear you are going to be the death of me."
They both chuckled lightly as he laid the rabbit on the plank. Gloria placed a paw on its stomach, "It's still rather warm."
He smiled as he sat across from her, "I wanted to make sure it would be a pleasant meal. And to that extent," he reached behind his back and pulled out a small bottle filled with red paste.
"I took this from town. I know how much you like raspberries," he placed it to the side of their meal.
Gloria gave the jam a small lick, her ears perking up, "Oh this is wonderful! But enough of that, we would not want dinner to get cold."
In mutual agreement, they happily started their meal. However, Thomas seemed to be less engaged in eating and more so in his companion. As he leaned forward to take a bite, he would often steal glances at her. He would see the way her delicate ears would twitch as she leaned forward, the way the lantern illuminated the edges of her fur into a red, velvet halo, the cute way she tilted her head as she looked at him, and those gorgeous eyes of hers. They seemed to have taken possession of the flickering firelight, each one holding a glowing sprites gleefully playing within the beauty of her face. Even now, they appeared to be stars, twinkling and shining as they searched deeply within his.
"Thomas?"
Thomas was thrown from his day dreaming by Gloria's repeated question, his feathers ruffling from embarrassment, "Oh, uh, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just...thinking."
Gloria tiled her head, licking her muzzle clean and wiping a bit with her paw, "Oh, about what?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about," he paused, rubbing his wings nervously, "I was thinking about how pretty well...enchanting, that your fur looks."
Gloria smiled, gently pushing aside the few remains on the plank, "Oh, well that is quite kind of you."
Thomas brushed one wing with the other, looking off to the side, "You are quite welcome."
Gloria leaned forward across the plank, "Well you are quite the handsome owl yourself."
Thomas' feathers fluffed again, requiring him to shake and flatten himself down, "Oh, well thank you."
Gloria smiled, Thomas' flustered expression causing pleasant warmth to spread throughout her body. Urged on by the growing feeling, she leaned forward and tenderly licked Thomas' cheek. She quickly lowered her head, bringing her paw over her face, "Oh dear, look at me. How brash!"
Thomas, having recovered from the shock of her action, gently nuzzled her with his beak, "Why wouldn't I look? You are quite the beauty to behold."
Gloria looked up and playfully tapped him on the forehead, "Oh you shameless charmer! Now I must do it."
Thomas smiled warmly, "Now, you have to do what, if I may ask."
Raising her head, she quickly leaned forward and kissed him fully. She lifted her paws, slowly wrapping them around his neck. Thomas tensed when she made contact with him, but gradually relaxed and let his wings find their way around her as well. Soon, they parted, a string of saliva breaking between her mouth and his beak. He pushed lightly against her chest, then rose up and led her to a nearby pile of hay. She gladly went along, pushing him down onto his back when he offered her a place. She positioned herself over him, the lantern behind her illuminating her outline, enhancing her unnatural glow, her eyes, burning more fiercely than the fire light. She lowered herself, giving a soft lick to his beak and proceeding downward, licking up tufts of feathers along his chest. She continued further until something firm bumped against her chin. She pulled away, curious, though vaguely aware of what she had touched. She brought paws over her mouth as she saw Thomas' manhood before her. His breathing was somewhat labored as he spoke softly, "Gloria."
She rose to his beak and kissed him quickly, her own breathing growing heavy, "Yes Thomas?"
He brought a wing to rest on her back, "Would you...care for dessert?"
Her ears perked as an almost unnoticeable blush came to her cheeks, "That sounds...wonderful."
Thomas brought his other wing and placed it on her lower back, rubbing her gently and lightly pushing down. Gloria, her tail swaying in anticipation, whined as she lowered herself onto her dear friend. The air echoed with a pleased hoot and howl as the strange couple dug into the next course.