FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It had rained for most of that day. It was probably going to rain for the rest of the weekend too. That's what it looked like, and for some it was a glum though. For others it might be a convenient excuse to stay home and sit at home to eat, sleep, play, read or some strange combination of those things. The rain didn't really ruin as much as people though really. It's not like a wedding stops because it starts to rain. Sure the brides dress and makeup is would be ruined and some relative starts cussing fiercely as he's forced to haul furniture inside. Chances are though, that a ring still goes on a finger, and someone kisses someone.

Rain was a nice thing, mused Vusi, it did a lot of good that not everyone was grateful for all the time. Farmers might love it but the city folk looked at it with contempt. The rain didn't want the credit after all, it was just rain. Part of good old mother earth. It wasn't like the rain was the sky trying to speak. If it was though, Vusi continued to comically muse, then it really needed to stop spitting some much when it spoke. That, and maybe shouting down at all of us to stop polluting the sky, though maybe acid rain was that conversation.

Vusi had no umbrella on him. He was reminded of this when he found himself standing still in the rain, peering up at it curiously like some random fool. Droplets trickled along the wide curve of his horns that pointed back at his black fuzz face, the few trickle soaking up the short goatish scruff at his chin. The grey coat he was wearing only did so much to protect his average joe body frame as it loosely clung to it, and the bottom of his black chino pants were already completely drenched. He hadn't worn shoes today. Rams like him and other hooved beasts like horses usually had the choice, and today Vusi had decided they were just not comfortable.

Vusi looked back down, away from the sky and to the cold hard pavement, and started into a paced trot. His dark hooves clicked and splashed along the ground as his brown eyes as Vusisiwe Jikazi quickened his pace still and told himself to stop wondering about silly unimportant things no one cared to hear about.

Of course, it wasn't like he could speak to anyone about them.

~

"Coriander, you can go on your break now"

The lynx named Coriander looked away from her till, away from the customer already walking towards her with pads in paw, and tiredly thanked the stallion "Thanks Jerome" and slinked off a little. Always a bit melodramatic, Jerome thought to himself as he looked on ahead and pulled out a handsome smile for the cat lady stepping towards him.

The smile was black, but only around the muzzle. The black crept upward into the mane of the confident looking stallion and trailed down to his neck, where his chocolate fur took over the rest of his body. His hands were stained black too, clearly visible as they reached for a bag and pushed medication into it. Trailing up those black stained hands was a body figure that most would be generally approving of, as small bulges of sinewy frame stuck out against his company uniform shirt. Not enough for you to think he seriously went at dumb bells, but probably seen the gym here and there. Each formulated line and response was given in a clear crisp voice, smiling as that voice carried a joking tune as the woman searched for where she could have put her keys and then immediately found them with a nervous chuckle. She left and so Jerome allowed himself to dwell over whatever was left to do for that day.

Boxes needed to be moved or shifted, the daily stock still needed to be checked, the planograms were due for a change again and he really needed to file a call for a worker who hadn't been paid yet. Bloody furry resources were getting out of hand now, there wasn't a soul who'd escape pay problems that month. Jerome had needed the money too. Life just wanted to make everything difficult sometimes. One of his cashiers just had to no pitch for work that day too, just to add to his problems in the gleaming white pharmacy of a building. He had hell to say when and if he got back, guy wasn't answering his phone too. Things like that really just drove you up the wall, and Jerome could handle problems, but people catching on nonsense just drove him into outbursts.

A quick sharp tap broke the stallions focus and he snapped his head down from gazing at the white ceilings. A ram was standing there, his jacket wet, staring at him expectantly. Jerome saw no items in his hands, though that didn't give him a reason to zone out. "Sorry sir, can I help you?"

The ram looked down at a package on the counter and give it a questioning gesture. Jerome peered at it comically "Oh flip." The equine looked about, but the cat lady was already out the door and out of shouting distance. He couldn't leave the till either, as the traces of a proper line starting up showed. Getting out behind the till was a mission in its own right. Looking back at the ram, he took a small chance "Sorry to ask you man, but can you just give this to the lady that just left? Cat, old looking, bitjie fat also." Not all the customers care about your problems, though the guy looked like he would care some.

The ram took the package without a word and made for a half sprinting walk out the entrance. Jerome couldn't see past that, so he just hoped the guy wasn't just going to steal the thing. He didn't have time to consider it long, greeting the next customer. A few seconds later, the ram reappeared in the open doorway with a fresh layer of rain on him. He didn't walk back to the till but gave a small thumbs up in its direction. Jerome smiled gratefully and nodded in turn as he read out a total amount, watching the guy disappear into the aisles.

It was nice to have customers like that. They never caused trouble. You could see yourself going the extra mile for them if they had a problem or letting a refund slide through. Sometimes it just took a few bad customers just to ruin your day entirely, so all of the nice ones were so valuable. One bad one was Jerome's weakness. That he knew.

By the second song playing on the radio over the pharmacy shop since he arrived, the ram reappeared at the counter holding his own little bag of medication and a small sweet.

"Thanks for helping by the way man. You don't have time to do everything nowadays hey." Said Jerome and he swiped the items.

The ram nodded affirmatively, raised his brow at the price of whatever pills or syrup he needed and started to fish out his wallet. Jerome watched him a short while and when he was handed cash, casually asked "You don't talk much huh?"

The ram smiled, almost sadly, and pointed to his mouth. He opened his lips and shook his head slowly, his horns stiffly shaking along with him. Jerome skewed his eyes in confusion. The ram then put his hands back in his pockets and pulled out his phone. He typed on it for a second, and then it rang out in a digitized unemotional voice 'I'm a mute'

Jerome's eye's suddenly widened. "Yoh man I'm sorry, that must be tough." He scanned the guy's features quickly, but the ram didn't look offended or annoyed. He looked more amused than anything else, and shrugged in a good natured gesture.

"But that must be interesting ne"

The ram tilted his head to the side in question.

"Being a mute. Must be an experience for you. I never met a mute person before so I don't really know how to react." The stallion went on, looking oddly fascinated by the idea "You can't speak like, at all?"

The ram shook his head again.

"So how do you talk to people then." Jerome was leaning a bit over the table now, as if something was hiding under the counter.

The ram lifted his phone and wiggled it a bit, then made a pantomime with his paws. It took a bit longer to someone who didn't recognise it but Jerome eventually did "Oh, sign language also."

The ram just nodded again.

"But that's funny hey. You never think about these things until you see someone who has it. I forgot about mute people. You only remember the deaf and the blind people because they've got glasses and sticks and hearing aids on them."

The ram stared at him. It was hard to tell if he was actually at a loss for words. Jerome rubbed his mane a bit, feeling increasingly more dopey as time went on. He was trying to hold a conversation with a mute.

"Uh...how do you tell people your name?"

The ram grabbed for the pen used for signing receipts on the table, and wrote on a forgotten piece of till slip.

'Vusi?" Jerome read out loud and gave a chuckle "I thought you would be named something like Silence or something. I heard a guy whose name was Tedious once. Funny stuff hey."

Vusi snorted silently in amusement and Jerome felt a bit better. At least the guy wasn't sensitive about it. Or maybe he was. He could be thinking the stallion was a boring annoying bastard and just hiding it really well. The stallion would never know the answer for sure, the way the ram held his expressions.

Vusi nudged his head behind him, where another customer had started to stand patiently. He grabbed his bag of drugs and sweets and gave a warm looking wave as he walked away, popping a sweet in his mouth as he went.

Jerome watched him go, right back into the pouring rain. His face didn't change at all at the sight of it. The stallion felt a sense of admiration for him as he again left his sight, and turned to the lady in front of him.

"Hi Jerome" She said, a regular "That guy doesn't talk much hey."

"He can't" Jerome answered as he scanned her items thoughtlessly "Mute."

"Ohhh no wonder hey. That must be terrible though. Nothing to skinner* about." She said

"He didn't look too bothered by it."

~

Vusi would reappear at the pharmacy store.

Again, and again and again

And it would seem Jerome was always on the floor when he did. In the aisles, near the tills and outside on his lunch breaks at the little fish and chip shop nearby that always smelt so nice when you walked past . Vusi would always give the same friendly wave in greeting as he passed by, with the same friendly smile. Jerome had more options of course. Some days it was a cheery "Awe* Vusi" followed by an enthusiastic non formal hand shake, some days it was just "Mr Jikazi" and some days it was the same polite wave of acknowledgement.

Jerome found it was a lot easier to make friends with a mute person than he thought before. He had to do a bit of reading sure but that wasn't so bad. Vusi's body language was good enough on its own to get things across that didn't have to do with specific names and numbers. He still found out quite a lot about the mute.

He learnt that Vusi had been mute for all of his life and that his family had not been fortunate enough to have enough money to get the operation to even try to fix it. He learnt that he'd moved further away from home and worked his way through an IT department to have his job he had now. He learnt that the medication that the ram kept getting was not for him but for his father, who was just getting older. He learnt how he drove home every so often and helped contributed funds since his parents didn't have the best pension funds, and he was the only son. He learnt that he had learnt sign language not specifically for the purpose of being able to communicate, but to teach other people how to speak it. In a class that he taught on the weekends for an hour or however long it took to understand the lesson of that day, for those that were deaf it didn't matter that he was mute. He learnt that Vusi had only recently discovered the pharmacy he was working in, and was now coming to it since it was closer to where he lived. He learnt that he could play the piano, and had promised to play it not by Jerome but by a Coworker of his.

And in turn, Vusi learnt things about Jerome. He learnt that Jerome came from a very humble family and was very attached to his home life. Vusi had even met some of them as they came to the shop. He learnt that Jerome had ambitions to finish his degree, since he only had a diploma, in management and wanted to open up his own store one day. He learnt that he was driven by good decent behaviour towards everyone and wouldn't hesitate to help you, just by watching him live his life. He learnt that in his spare time he enjoyed going to hip hop dance sessions and had met a lot of friends there as well, where he had been invited to come join as well. It had been a long time since someone had actively tried to be his friend keeping his muteness in mind. Usually and eventually confrontations ended in some kind of awkward silence that neither person knew how to continue with. Numerous things Vusi always had trouble finding out about people. It shouldn't even be hard, he could hear them tell their life stories with ease.

And one such day, on a windy August afternoon outside the chip shop, came a set of the more odd questions.

"So like" Jerome started, picking at the fish and chips parcel hungrily "What do you hear in your head, when you think?"

Vusi thought about that. And realised he was thinking about it. He made a silent laugh and reached down at the little writing tablet on the table beside his extremely plain looking chip roll.

"Your voice?" Jerome read out overly loud that all the passers-by inclined their heads to look at the strange scene "What's it sound like then?"

Another short scribble "What you think it would have sounded like...so what do you think it sounds like."

Vusi shrugged.

Jerome laughed "You don't see like letters or little sign language hands or something" he jabbed at the fish.

The wind blew a bit on Vusi's black fur as he shook his head with a comical expression.

"So how hard is it to date then. I mean, did you even go on dates."

Vusi seemed to go stone still. Only the wind blowing slowly on his face gave him movement, and somehow was even louder now to shrink out the ram's already non-existent voice. He looked glumly down at the little pad, a look of serious contemplation on his face. Even if he could speak he didn't seem to know what to say. His lips pursed as he wrote two words.

"Not easy..." Jerome read. The stallion felt bad instantly. He tried to imagine two mutes dating. It didn't look very romantic at all, just a whole lot of silence in an apartment. Flirting wasn't really as good as it was written down as it was spoken. The sounds at least gave the words meaning and feelings. Its not like you can go to the clubs with a pen and paper. "Sorry I asked"

Vusi shook his head, waving off the apology.

"So no dates?"

'Not proper ones'

Jerome rubbed at his mane, an old habit of nervousness. "That's rough man. You looking tho?"

'Kinda'

"So what you like in a girl then?"

Vusi fixed him with a look, seemed to sigh in conclusion, and wrote on the pad.

"Guy....oh...." Jerome smirked "That just makes this easier then."

Vusi blinked, tilting his head to the side. He did that whenever he was confused, always the same way like he had been doing it all his life and perfected a specific way to do it.

"Ok fine, what do you like in a guy?"

Vusi held the digital pen between his fingers, letting it loom over the tablet. He started down at it, his fingers twitching as if wanting to move but something else saying otherwise. He wrote instead 'Just a decent guy'

What is decent." Jerome leaned off of the table and backward onto his chair, an arm rested on the back an expecting interested face.

Vusi hesitated again on the pad, wondering if he really should write the short essay of things he though would be nice to have in a guy if you dated him. He just didn't like how it looked, a list of requirements. He wasn't much into creative writing either to make it look less boring. The wind whistled again in the silence and his chiproll looked much more appetizing to try and cover the conversation gap. Eventually he gave up and gave an open pawed awkward shrug.

"Why you so shy now?" Jerome chuckled, life sparkling in his eyes as he flashed a handsome smile. A smile Vusi knew he recognised as charming and handsome, that would have gone on the list. He looked to the side, giving off another sighing motion of annoyance and hopelessness.

"Agh man don't worry I'm just nosey on your business. A mute gay person just sounds like they would have funny tastes."

Vusi snapped his head back at him in with an accusingly questioning glare.

"Do you want to date another mute person? So it's common and stuff?"

Vusi paused, then made a maybe motion with his paw

"Drinker? Smoker? Don't care?"

Vusi shook his head and shrugged

"Big guy? Small guy? Handsome or pretty?"

Vusi furrowed his brows at the stallion

"Right, big handsome guy then."

The ram's brows furrowed even more as he crossed his arms, looking away again.

"If he wasn't mute would you want him to learn sign language for you?"

Vusi shrugged again, seemingly already divorced from the subject entirely. Jerome just smirked and kept firing questions at him, his posture casual and lazy as he was clearly enjoying the interrogation quite a bit. His fish and chip parcel was forgotten for the most part except the stray dart for a chip.

"Aw come now man, lighten up, I know few gay guys. Might organise for ya."

Vusi shook his head adamantly.

"What, my friends aren't good enough for you?"

Vusi looked back at Jerome. The stallion had such a warm smile. It was either welcoming or ready to help. It was such a comfort to have around sometimes. Even when it teased him Vusi found it was still working a charm. He struggled to think of something to respond to it. He knew it was a jest, of course he did. He didn't want the dating pity either. He really didn't want to have more silent introductions and people having to peer over at his writing pad to make out what he was trying to say.

"At least come with me to the movies or the clubs or something."

Vusi raised a brow.

Jerome raised his paws up "Hey I can't hang out with you either? These half hour talks is nice and all but I ain't seen much of your life. I'd be nice to see it. You could come visit at my home back in Bellville and have supper by the family or something. Or there's that new place they opened up near that shopping mall in Paarl. I don't really like the clubs in town, they not so cool if you ask me. "

'Are you asking me out?' Vusi scribbled quickly on the tablet. His face was more sceptical than amused.

"We can call it that if it'll make you feel better dude." Jerome fiddled with the end strand of his mane, remaining casual looking.

Vusi paused again, and wrote another sentence.

"Yeah, I am."

Another scribble

"You didn't ask, and you didn't tell me either hey."

Scribble, scribble, scribble

"Bra you can call it whenever you want. I'm just asking if you wanna chill sometime somewhere. Not everything has to be called a date and two guys can go somewhere with people without wanting to suck face." Jerome shrugged up into the air as he turned his head to watch the entrance of the pharmacy. His dark black mane had joined the wind dance and was swaying pleasantly in it.

Vusi looked at the other, a little stupefied and he wasn't sure why. He didn't know why it shocked him nor could he even begin to express it. He looked back down at the ground, at the little fallen leaves of the trees dyed brown and gold as they flew in the wind. The sun was out and bright, but the wind and air still chilled. At any moment it might start to rain again, he would never know until something along those lines happened. Looking up again saw Jerome, still as relaxed as ever, checking the time while stuffing chips in his mouth once more. The action seemed so free of thought, so careless, so unconcerned with what people ever wanted to think about how he looked or behaved.

So he just nodded, and Jerome smiled again.

~

Everyone who worked at the pharmacy knew Vusi with time. He came by too often for them not to. When he wasn't buying his dad's rather heavy looking medication packet, he'd buy something else small like a chocolate. Everyone greeted him by name, even if he had never spoken to them before. But of course, he couldn't do that at all.

Still, people actually wanted to speak to him, even though they knew he couldn't speak back. It was really not something he was used to. Not that it was so much speaking, but more queries on what it was like to be mute. It was like how people asked about what it's like to be gay, except being mute forced you to learn things. He'd had to display a lot of little phrases in sign language to one curious staff member.The lady Coriander was always perky, always making small talk, though she seemed to take his muteness as an invitation to talk more about her own life. There wasn't time or reason for idle chit chat it seemed, yet they were making it.

Vusi eventually found himself at an evening class that didn't have to do with muteness.

The room was cosy with activity and bustled to life as twenty odd people simultaneously moved to music. Each motion was a mirror of the next, not a single person was out of step. It was dark outside but the lights inside shone brightly on these highly animated people jiving and hopping to a beat as if it was all the spotlight and fame they ever needed in life. The sweat glistened from their scales, their fur and even feathers as energetic grins matched their lively footwork.

Vusi was just sitting in the corner, on one of the littler spectator chairs, where the spotlight didn't quite reach. He watched and darted his eyes between the dances as they went up and down, left and right, thrusting in all directions. His hoof tapped softly against the wooden varnished floors, the sound far too soft to even dare rival the room and stomps of the others.

It was a role that suited him, Vusi realised as he sat. Sitting on the side and watching the more lively people put on shows and have their fun drama. He could not call out things like 'hoppa' and 'aiyoh' to encourage a troop of dancers onward. He could not even dance.

He could only take selfish enjoyment in watching, and listening.

Jerome seemed all the more lively than usual. Vusi had not thought it possible for the stallion to look like he was having an even greater time than usual. He was one that called out strange shouts of cheer. He moved like water, very solid attractive water in a lose tank top and shorts gliding and stomping about on those iron cast hooves with grace that Vusi could only wish of having in his lifetime. His mane swayed from side to side as the head bobbed and dropped, every movement was made with uttermost confidence and was aware of how cool it looked the way it flaunted for all. Vusi was envious, but not unpleasantly so. He looked on, his muzzle in his paw as he leaned on it dreamily, and for the duration of the songs he forgot about the importance of having a voice as he stared.

A song died down and another flowed right back into the air, keeping it crackling with energy. They had shifted to a full dancing troop to a circling spotlight around three or four dancers, each one having their turn to strut any and all stuff they could muster. Vusi recognised the music, it was Rihanna. It's not really music he figured could be put more meaning into, considering the artist only crawled half naked across floors looking tortured. Yet each dancer mimicked the same routine till everyone had a turn, each one adding their own little bit of flare into it. Vusi had to admit, he didn't think Jerome could move his hips that way. Each routine mimic yielded an encouraging clap from their crowd. Vusi helped, it was the best he could do. He'd mostly been forgotten after all. He wasn't part of their grand feet art display.

His eyes lingered a bit in the large dance hall, and they saw not only dancers, but a piano. He scrutinized it as quietly as he always did. That seemed to be the moment he was remembered again.

"Vusi"

The ram's head snapped back in front of him. Jerome was standing there next to a cheetah. He had some body weight to him but he sure didn't move any slower than the rest. If anything he was moving faster than everyone. It was odd how typical it was that the fatter guy had more flair "This is ma bud Michael, he got me into the group"

Michael was all smiles, despite his obvious pant, and stretched out his paw "Nice to meet you."

Vusi shook the paw and nodded, and Michael took that oddly "Quiet type huh? You ain't said a thing all this time."

The ram just looked at the stallion who nervously laughed "Oh yeah. Sorry forgot to tell you Vusi can't speak. Dead vocals"

"Don't lie!" Michael shot back at the ram with an incredulous face, then looked at the ram and trying hard to fix his expression. Vusi just smirked and nodded in agreement "Yoh you could have phoned Jerome. Summa just introducing me to a person who can't talk" he cheetah paused and remembered that Vusi was not deaf but mute "No offence. Nothing wrong with that."

Vusi gave a dismissive wave. Sometimes he liked to see how people reacted to him. It was kind of funny the way they'd start tripping over their words a bit.

Jerome just laughed a bit more "It's no big deal. It's not for him anyway. Vusi's always chilled about it." The stallion looked at the stationary ram. He looked so confined, like he was doing everything in his power to suck himself into himself. A frown crept onto the edges of his lips "Not enjoying yourself?"

Vusi paused. He couldn't shake or nod his head , Jerome had asked in the negative. A thumbs up wasn't enough to say that he was actually very interested. He made a sighing motion, which he hoped wasn't being taken as the reply, and reached for his little carrier taking out the tablet and writing on it.

'No, I am. I don't get to see people dancing often so it looks nice and all. I was just looking at the piano is all. I can only clap anyway. '

Jerome and Michael had stood in almost dead silence, background music still playing, for what seems like minute on end while the ram wrote. It wasn't awkward for Jerome anymore, but the cheetah shifted on his feet very uncomfortably. They peered at the answer, then at the piano.

"Can you play?"

Vusi nodded

"Then go play." Jerome said, paw stretched out towards it.

Vusi shook his head more vigorously than usual, and quickly scribbled 'Just here to watch.' He looked up again to see a back facing him

Jerome had already turned around, not even bothering to read the tablet "People! Who wants to hear my friend play the piano?!"

Not a soul objected, not one dared to keep their voice unheard from the answer. They all shouted out for it like a well-oiled pep rally squad to the crowd. The attention shifted so quickly from quick entrancing movements to hyped music, to just a lone black ram sitting on a fold up chair. Vusi glared at Jerome. He'd been doing that a lot more lately, as Jerome became more and more familiar with him. The stallion would smirk back at him knowingly. He knew the glare wasn't really anything meaningful. He got his way, by majority vote and the power of speech.

Begrudgingly, Vusi stood and walked over to the piano as people continued to try and encourage him onward with their cheers. It looked old, like it had been in the hall for quite some time. The room looked new though, which meant the piano was one of the only things that probably stayed the same when things had shaped up. Maybe someone had thought it added a cosy look to the room, even though it had to be pushed up in a corner to not get in the way. It was just like him in a way, Vusi though. In the corner, watching other things be more amazing than it ever could and needed someone or something else to be able to make a sound. He sat on the little cushioned chair and looked down at the keys as he opened the lid. He paused there sitting, his new audience rudely shushing each other. Seconds passed.

Vusi shot up, walked back to his old chair, grabbed his tablet, scribbled on it and showed it Jerome. Jerome squinted at it and whispered something back. Vusi scribbled again, and Jerome whispered back again. It was a very comical scene to watch. The subtlety of having a hushed conversation was broken as the ram had to write his secrets down. The crowd giggled a little. It was almost cute to watch the truly silent conversation.

Jerome walked back to the piano and put the tablet on the music sheet stand and tapped on it a few times, apparently looking for something as he made sliding motions along it. Jerome added the buffer "He's looking for the song." Everyone made a long 'ooo' and nodded their heads. Some whispered rather noisily wondering what was going to be played. Everyone was excited, though Vusi could not understand why. It's like they'd never heard a piano before. He stopped at a music score and peered at it. His fingers twitched over the keys but didn't press. Everyone was waiting for him, and he didn't like that. But he was already there, sheet music already in place and nowhere to run and hide or protest to give. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself as he had done many times before at recitals, and gently tested a few keys with his fingertips

For the next few moments from beginning to end, Vusi burst with sound that was not his own but bended to his will. The song he had chosen was the Rihanna song that had been playing just moments ago. The piano gave it a much more dramatic tense vibe and the strong hard bangs on the keys resonated within the room. 'Where have you been all my life?' sang the keys with urgency and desperation as Vusi continued to play, going from the softer cries to the loud banging again. There were no encouraging calls for this music in the dance hall, no disruptive shattering to break the strong emotions the keys sang for them. Even the odd one or two mistaken presses went unnoticed as Vusi refused to let the song die until it was through, his eyes focused nowhere but the tablet sheet.

The music hushed as did the song, going off not it's its loud tunes but in a lingering whisper. Vusi looked up again, at the people. They were staring at him, as if he wasn't done. He added a quick rapt of a few more lighter keys in a comical fashion and leaned on a few with his elbow making another funny sound. The crowd clapped after that, and Vusi bowed modestly with a single nod.

"Sho" Jerome walked up to the piano "That's not as easy to dance to but it sounds good hey. You been playing long?"

Vusi was about to reach for his tablet but his paw withdrew and he just gave a nod. The crowd was still buzzing behind them but Vusi wasn't bothered by it all that much. A new kind of life charged through the room then before.

"How long?"

Vusi had to reach for the tablet that time, and scribbled on it quickly as he could.

"That's long eh..." Jerome said. He didn't seem to really have anything to say to the other male. He just stood there leaning on the other side of the old piano, smirking at the ram with his mane hanging just a bit lopsided over his face from the dancing. "You really something . You know that hey?"

Vusi stared back at him, his paws retracting into his lap but not writing on his tablet. That was perhaps one of the only advantages of being mute. If you didn't have anything to say, the silence was not as unexpected.

"I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a voice. And here's you, just going along like nothing's wrong. You very brave."

Vusi shook his head and wrote 'Don't have a choice'

"That's true..." Jerome looked at his hooves, tapping the wooden floor thoughtfully "So you're having fun?"

Vusi nodded, trying his best to put enthusiasm into it. He added jazz hands go it and smiled earnestly, the stallion laughed.

"So you gonna dance with me tonight then?"

Vusi didn't say no. That seemed like such a pointless thing to say to Jerome. Forcing was a bit of a strong word for it, it was more like very adamant encouragements. He instead wrote 'Next time'

"Next time...who says there's a next time?"

Vusi grinned back at the chocolate stallion. He matched the grin as best he could. He wouldn't keep falling for the bigger happier male's word nets. 'You can't stop me from coming'

"I guess I can't ne." Jerome blew some of his mane out of his face with a soft whiney. His ears flicked here and there. He looked relaxed. He could have been sitting at home in his underwear and his look would be the same. "Next time is in two weeks. Would have been next week but trainer's out of town. You mos know how it is."

Vusi nodded, body still retracted within itself. It gave off no hints, no suggestive expressions and yet no unwelcome vibes. It was guarded, but playfully so somehow despite how neutral it wanted to be. It was the face that blew it. Vusi's eyes were alive, attentive and focused at attention. His features down to his little sheepish goatee were light hearted. His face waited for questions as he could not ask his own.

'How you getting home?'

Jerome peered at the tablet, squinting at the lighting "Taxi"

Vusi gave an amused look and wrote some more 'Want a lift?'

"You sure? It's not that far"

Vusi nodded 'Not like I'm going clubbing later or something'

Jerome smirked, and leaned in towards the ram. Vusi leaned back against the plush chair, some of his guard broken. The stallion stared at him, that charming smile still in full swing. There was no way he could say 'what?'

"We should fix that sometime. You, me, Michael n a few other pals. Can't go your whole life avoiding the place just cause you can't speak. You must stick uit sometime hey."

Vusi's lips pursed into a very sceptical frown.

"It's not like you have to go make out with anyone just because it's a club. You can just go to dance and have fun and stuff. And I'll be there ou bra. "Jerome grinned "If you're not gonna drink you can make sure we all get home fine."

Vusi rolled his eyes, then closed them tight as Jerome reached out to ruffle the hair between his horns in a rough friendly way. He batted at the arm but Jerome had much stronger limbs.

"You must get out more Vusi man. You more interesting than you think. You just need some help and I mos said I would be there." Jerome retracted his paw, looking confident and happy. It's just one of those things that naturally to Jerome, Vusi noticed. "You said next time hey? I'm keeping you to that."

Vusi blew out air, which was the same as sighing to him, and gave the stallion a defeated look. It looked more tired than unhappy.

~

The black ram made a speedy walk towards the front counter. Jerome wasn't on a till today but was hovering nearby. He watched as the ram plucked a set of hearing aid batteries from the rail, pointed at it towards the cashier, threw money at her and resumed speed walking right back where he came from. Jerome fell in line from stacking cough mixtures on the shelf. "And now?" he asked as Vusi kept walking.

They reached the pharmacy side and Vusi jabbed at the sealed packaging that most people needed scissors for. He fished one out and gave it to a cougar, who looked mighty upset and grateful at the same time as he fiddled to get the battery into his hearing aid angrily.

"Customer's hearing aid broke just now" Piped up a pharmacist. Olivia was her name, old and set for life but bored with it so she worked even though she didn't need to at all. She was a kind ferret soul, with just a bit of a limp from the resent operation, her figure large and hugged tightly by her white coat. "You friend here asked him what he wanted and what batteries he used. Sign language."

Vusi just nodded when turned towards. Jerome immediately reached out and patted him on the back with a man's gusto "You more useful every day Vusi." Vusi coughed at the pat.

"Yeah, thanks for the free battery" the cougar chimed in, his hearing aid now fastened around his ear and continuing his conversation with Olivia over whatever issues the medical aid was having with paying for his medication.

"So we clubbing later ne? This Friday"

Vusi paused and just gave a complacent nod.

"Agh man don't be so" He kept patting Vusi's back as if it was just the cheer up and motivation he needed. Vusi coughed again. "You gonna enjoy yourself, promise."

Olivia turned her head to watching the two men. The stallion's arm was still firmly around the other's shoulder, casually even. It looked far too comfortable where it was. The shoulders that held them were even more relaxed under the pressure despite the ram's perturbed demeanour. She smiled.

~

Jerome tightly clutched an ice bag to his eye, taking long deep breaths as he did so. Half of his face hurt and the ice didn't feel like it was helping all that much. His pitch mane was dishevelled and was sticking slightly to his muzzle with short traces of sweat and just a bit of blood. A tear was at the collar of the stallion's previously smart looking shirt as he fiercely gripped the pack, slow calm breaths leaving his lips, thankfully not bruised in any way. The little curved symbol hanging from his chain was in full view, and again Vusi was glad it had not gotten stolen or torn off.

Vusi sat there, looking down at his lap where his paws had meshed together. He looked guilty, horribly guilty but he felt worse. He looked much easier for wear, though his fur was standing on end like it had gone through a wind tunnel. He tried looking around, at anything besides his paws and his lap. Jerome's apartment wasn't too shabby looking, all the essentials in their place. Some photos of what Vusi guessed was family and friends were scattered in small frames, the décor was very bachelor styled, no signs of a constant second entity to leave things behind with just a bit of clutter here and there from privacy. Everything else he supposed was already there, they didn't seem to go with Jerome's personal taste in furniture, but Vusi could be wrong about that. He assumed some of the ornaments were donated by friends. The kitchen looked loved enough that it got attention, perhaps not a lot lately.

"Sorry man..."

The ram jerked his head forward at the chocolate stallion nursing his wound. The black in his lips contrasted so horribly with the black around one of his eyes, it was like two different colours to Vusi. He opened his mouth, but shut it again and did his best to give a questioning gesture.

"I said it would be fun...and then that happened." Jerome looked disappointed, angry and hurt all at once. It hurt more that the stallion was trying to give a joking smile, like it was no big deal, like it happened all the time.

Again Vusi opened his lips, caught in mid animation for just a fraction a second and catching him again too fast. He slammed them shut almost painfully as he desperately looked around. He didn't have his pad with him, he didn't want to take it with him to a club where it could be forgotten. He didn't bring a little note book or pen either. His hand grasped for his pockets and pulled for his phone, bouncing his fingertips as fast he could manage without making spelling mistakes.

'It's ok.' Rang an emotionless voice, so unable to comfort in its tone. Vusi hated it more than he had ever hated the voice in his life.

"That fucker was asking for a thick lip though hey..." Jerome said more angrily than before. Vusi recalled the incident in his head as far as his conscious could recall it. Everything had been pretty ok for a good while. The evening had been a slightly cloudy one, the moon had been shining nicely down on the town. Not that you could see the moon from inside, but it was something Vusi had noticed as they had waited outside for a while for the rest of Jerome's friends to pitch. He'd felt like a high school student. A very inadequate high school student as he walked next to Jerome who was in university and had lured him out on a possibly dodgy evening , paid his entry fees and slid inside the enclosed jumping music blasting place.

It was much louder and noisier that Vusi had though before, and he though his ears were going to bleed previously. He felt his insides curl up more and more as they walked with the small pack of men inside a sea of other men shouting about each other like men did, trying to compete with the music pouring freely like artistic waterfalls all over the dance floor. The ram looked down at his hooves as they clopped on the floor, practically as quiet as he was as they were suffocated by sound.Just enough breath space was there, but the dancers were almost packed against another like grinding gears.

Vusi had really hoped it didn't show how utterly uncomfortable he felt on the inside for that night. The feeling never left his body like a wasp that refused to fly away and kept glaring at you waiting to sting. He knew he shouldn't treat it like it was a danger. He owed it to himself to try and get out like normal people. People said you couldn't hide behind excuses to go out and meet people. Then again, people 'said' you couldn't hide behind excuses, while Vusi could only nod understandingly. He'd like to think he had a good enough excuse to shy away from most clubs.

The only reason he agreed to go was because Jerome probably would keep pestering about it in that way of his. That, and having a few friends or at least company about made him feel a bit safer. Vusi was scared though, and he wasn't afraid to admit that. Lots of things gave him fear. The small wall of people that were going with him did help alleviate some, but it remained something that terrified his core. He barely knew them as well, though that didn't stop them from pouring their life out to him. Michael had a boyfriend of his own, a big burly looking crocodile named Wikus who only seemed to smile when Michael made a joke. The chubby chaser of a reptile loved his rugby and his braai's like most of his boer kind, and his heart looked in the right place despite his extremely intimidating outer shell. Vusi hadn't the chance to even try to converse with him to know his true colours. He couldn't remember the name of the hyena with a sarcastic but not unfriendly attitude nor the eagle wearing a tighter shirt than it needed to be but they were agreeable enough so they did help to make him feel belonged. A lot of jeers were shot at Jerome around how he'd even bring a mute on a date, to which he would just laugh and say that it was more to get Vusi out into the world then a date. He didn't remember liking either explanation, no matter how true the latter was.

They had stayed as a group huddled for a while near the bar, talking and yelling amongst one another, the group slowly dispersed itself. Michael and his Croc had long since left the urge to grind up against one another on the floor. The eagle was chatting up some other griffon on the farther edge of the bar, clearly into his own feather type, and the hyena was mildly bobbing his head to the music as he tried to get himself a drink. And that was the start of the evening, with Jerome near him looking complacent.

On that chair, Vusi felt stuck. He leaned a bit on the counter top and watched everyone else move and shake, having their own brand of fun that needed no one else. It looked fun, it really did. He looked over to Jerome after a while who had seated himself right next to him, also bobbing his head silently with a smile. Vusi almost hated how unbothered the stallion looked, almost. He felt even more of a weight over him, as the one sticking him to the chair wasn't enough. He remembered reaching for his phone and typing out a simple sentence.

'You can go dance if you want. I'll still be here =p"

Jerome flashed him a smile "You not gonna dance with me_?_ Yoh don't be like that "

Vusi shook his head and just tapped his screen a few more times, feeling slightly more retarded than usual when he lifted it up for the other to see. "In a bit, maybe."

Jerome looked at the ram,and probably resigned himself to taking the experience as slow as possible to the clearly anxious ram. He nodded and patted Vusi's back supportively "Just loosen up hey? That's all you need to do. Take your time."

Vusi nodded and Jerome stood there a while longer, before giving a wave and moving off into the crowds. Vusi leaned back against the table as much as he could without taking up anyone else's space, his elbows supported. Through the pounding music he heard the stallion's voice to him just once.

"Relax" It said

And he did. He took a long deep breath and looked out at the crowd. Back at the people having fun. He found that he didn't envy them too much. The lights flickering about half hid their movement and made even the dorkiest dancing look more breath taking to the naked eye. All sorts clambered in such a small spot, all enjoying themselves. It was a nice thing to watch, Vusi mused to himself, almost as nice as watching the rain. It was just louder, and more colourful, and feet stomps filled the gaps of falling raindrops. It was like a louder rainbow storm that bellowed out woops every chance it got. The next song played, but Vusi didn't find himself playing like he had promised. Jerome hadn't come back to make him fulfil his promise. He might have buckled then.

Vusi chuckled as he sat there, or at least made the look of laughing to himself. He had supposed he would be that friend who stayed sober and drove everyone home before they puked. He didn't know how true that actually was but that was what you heard about clubs, only the worst extreme of people getting drunk. His own head started to bob to the tech tunes, his feet kicking just a bit as he felt some of the rhythm trickle through him. The air was still hot and stuffy, the environment was still filled with agitations and he still couldn't speak, but the ram earnestly tried to enjoy himself. He could see the stallion's face in his head, smiling at him proudly from somewhere in the crowd.

Someone he didn't recognise sat next to him a short while later. He had paid the other male no notice and kept bobbing his head to his own mixed melodies. The man tapped his shoulder, and Vusi had to look over.

It was a zebra, very rough and rugged looking and even more very unkempt. The look in his eyes looked dazed and was only barely hanging on their focus. He was a mess, not a hot mess but just a mess and it didn't look like the brain cared one bit. If anything he might have thought he looked a decent catch. Vusi could judge books by their cover pretty accurate by now, having to rely on appearances most days, and it was someone he generally did not like having to communicate with.

"Hey" the zebra had started up. Vusi wasn't sure if he was drunk, high or both but it nothing less than those options.

The rest of the conversation Vusi didn't really remember nor did he want to. It was a short period of queries fire at him, some taking an inappropriate subject. Vusi hadn't meant to look as disinterested as probably had, but he couldn't help it showing without words to say. He didn't feel it necessary to explain his muteness to the guy. Surely, he had though, he wasn't interesting to keep trying to talk to when the best he gave were vague shrugs and head movements. He ignored the deeper questions. He didn't have any will to deal with sleazy guys and their suggestions. He just continued to wait till the zebra lost interest in him, even if he had to be cursed at, he didn't care.

The zebra indeed shows signs of patience being lost. His brows furrowed angrily, his questions became more demanding and loud. That's when Vusi was trying to look disinterested on purpose, adverting all gaze from him...

That was probably a bad idea, Vusi thought to himself later that night...thinking people would catch hints and trying to handle himself the worse way possible...

Vusi felt the other shove his arm forcefully while he was looking away. He just closed his eyes in annoyance. He really didn't want to have to move, to get himself more lost in the damn place, but he stood to his feet anyway. Barely a step away, he felt the zebra grip his arm forcefully. He looked back now. Anger burned brighter than any light in the club within the striped male's eyes. They were focused now, a very bad sign for everyone involved. Split seconds drifted past and each one brought on a social mistake Vusi realised he had made. He had made the biggest one yet.

...Falling into a situation where making noise was the only good solution.

He tugged on his arm but the zebra was much too strong. He'd probably said his name at some point but Vusi hadn't listened. He was listening now, and he remembered far too clearly the words he had heard.

"Listen here, bitch." He spat the last word out crossly "You don't ignore me. No one ignores me. If you think you can you wrong, and you know what you're gonna get for it?"

Vusi stared back, his faced hardening rapidly to hide the fear behind his eyes.

"A fat lip and a broken face unless you decide follow up what I was asking so nicely about. My cock's gonna break your face or your ass anyway." The rage in the eye mixed with randy in a second. It stayed there Vusi saw the superior stance of the other male, not so much remembering but getting the vibe of what the equine might have been saying to him before . "So what you say to that?" he slurred at him.

Vusi had already decided which he'd rather have. His face would heal, his dignity would not. A scene would be made but it would stop before anything serious happened. He'd been through something like this before once, so the ram wasn't too scared of what came after. It was punishment in a way for his own confidence. He wouldn't joke himself into thinking he could out fight the other male. Maybe dodge the blows, but not fight.

"Ek se brather." A forceful hand gripped the zebra's shoulder and pulled it back, making him lose his grip on the ram in the way. Vusi looked up to see Jerome's face as the zebra was turned around to face him. Where and when he had suddenly come from was beyond him but he was definitely not complaining. "Lay off the man."

Vusi couldn't see the zebra's face anymore, no longer the target of the burning red gaze but he could see them burning scars in Jerome's face. His hooves felt even heavier than they had on the chair. He couldn't just run away like some tragic victim, this was his problem to begin with. But he couldn't add a thing to the solution. He wasn't strong enough, he had no voice

The rest of that evening went by in painful sharp bolts of shouting, yelling and eventually punching. The only thing Vusi could do in the end, was try and pull Jerome back while he tried to go for another hook as the Zebra was being subdued by some other guy. The blinding enticing lights suddenly became an unpleasant rainbow barf to the memory, flashing out to him. More noises, more shouting, more of him stuck somewhere in the sound trying to do something helpful in a bad situation. Jerome's friends looked already to add their own punches but the fight had not lasted long thankfully, only the few cheap shots fired.

They all fled the scene, before someone chased them out. Vusi wasn't sure where Jerome's friends dispersed to or what they would do for the evening ahead, but he didn't honestly care. That was their business; he needed to do his own. His hands gripped his car wheel furiously as he drove, using his phone's map to navigate to Jerome's place as it barked emotionless directions to him. The stallion kept reassuring him that he was fine as he supported himself, but Vusi wasn't really listening to those. Nothing was fine, nothing at all was fine.

Nothing was fine, Vusi though, as he sat there watching the horse nurse that ice pack.

He felt the one eye looking at him, and he realised he hadn't replied to the question. Not that he had one, he just hadn't give a response at all. Vusi looked down at the floor, wondering what he would say. Would he have laughed and cursed at the stupidity of it all, would he profusely apologise for causing all the trouble. He looked up again at Jerome, smiling grimly at him.

He responded finally, with a short nod.

"Hey..." Jerome scrutinized the other with the one good eye "Don't beat yourself up about it...this is story you can tell someone someday..." Jerome paused and added on quickly "In a book"

Vusi stared back at Jerome. Was he just used to fighting that it didn't really faze him or didn't reach out for something to vent it out on.

"I still want to hear it too...what happened before he started grapping at ya."

Vusi looked about the apartment some more and noticed for the first time a laptop sitting on one of the chairs, probably forgotten in a will to leave or go somewhere. He pointed to it and made a typing motion with his paws questioningly.

"Yah you can use."

Vusi grabbed the computer and set it in his lap. It was still on, just sleeping. He began typing what he could remember had happened, pausing with dramatic effect every so often as if trying to hold suspense. He scooted around from his side of the chair to the couch the stallion was sitting so that he could see. He typed quickly, clearly having done a lot of it in his life, and always fixed his spelling mistakes as they happened over the relative few that he made.

What resulted was a short essay one might expect given to the police, though Vusi did try to make it more interesting as if he was actually telling the story out loud rather than how he had said it in his head. He added details like how he thought the guy was high, how scared he had felt, a previous occurrence similar to it that had ended a lot worse. And as he wrote, Jerome read it out loud for him, sentence by sentence.

"Sho..."

Jerome said, after reading the whole thing. His ice pack was sitting on the coffee table in front of them, showing off his blackened eye. It wasn't swelling anymore more but the mark was obviously staining it.

"Musta been a druggy. Too many of them around nowerdays."

Vusi gave an oblivious shrug.

"You nogals brave though"

The ram looked at the stallion again. There was a look of mild admiration in his eye. He didn't feel very brave, he only felt like a nuisance. He shook his head in his silent process, and Jerome flung his arm around Vusi's back, patting his shoulder roughly "You are. You don't know how brave you are, but you are Vusi, my friend."

Vusi sat still. A nagging voice in his head told him he'd been doing that a lot for the evening. He kept feeling trapped in placed, trapped by people, trapped in situations. His eyes were cast down at his hooves again, cut in half next to Jerome's fully shaped ones. He felt trapped, it's true, but it had not felt this pleasant. The arm firmly holding his shoulder, the same shoulder that had been forcefully grabbed, was being gripped with care. It occasionally slinked off to give his back a supportive pat and rub as well, but the other male wasn't letting him make gaps between them. The feeling was warm against his clothes down to his fur, not choking the veins underneath. He felt eyes on him, both of them, but they didn't burn. He couldn't look at them, he couldn't stare them down like he had before to another man, the meshed feelings of safety and inconvenience a dead weight hanging his head down.

The black ram wasn't sure how long he sat there in silence, being held in one strong arm with his own two timidly shrinking inside his lap. The only thing that registered eventually was a sharp flick along his horn, and then a tapping of the other one. He batted the probing hands away and Jerome laughed "Sorry, I was just wondering if these things get in the way when you get undressed."

Vusi fixed him with a look of bewilderment and mild shock. Carefree was the stallion's face, even with the glaring mark tarnishing it somewhat "Jus' wondering"

'You get used to them.'

"Good ta know..." Jerome looked at the floor for a moment, a short sink in. Sometimes Vusi wondered how taxing it might be to constantly have to fill the silence with your voice all by yourself when around him "How do you say I'm sorry in sign language"

Vusi blinked, and gave an inquisitive glance.

"Just teach me."

The ram snorted a bit a little and sat up properly facing the other. Jerome's arm left retracted from his shoulder as he straightened up. The ram did the motion slowly, like he was used to doing when he taught.

"Just like so?" Jerome looked at the motion and tried to mimic it.

Vusi shook his head a bit and lifting his dominant hand, doing the motion again except added emphasis to certain parts of his hand.

"Ooo..." Jerome made a thumbs up with his paw, and did the motion again.

Vusi nodded.

"Well then..." Jerome did the motion at Vusi another time.

Vusi smirked a bit, and signed something back. Jerome inclined his head "What's that mean now"

Vusi typed on the laptop, a little whimsical smile on his lips 'No problem.' He didn't know what to make of the sudden lessons, of the attitude, of their closeness at the moment, of the evening in general. Something told him it hadn't been all bad. A bad thing had happened...a horrible worse scenario to an otherwise not so bad evening had happened. A bad thing both men felt partially for.

But Jerome was smiling...

And so was he.

~

The school hallway was dimly lit, only half the lights in it on while the other's flickered on and off. Vusi's hoofs made clops across the tiled floors, followed by the clops of Jerome and his sister. She was an average looking woman, younger than her brother, with a blond mane she got from her father while Jerome had gotten his mother's hair. The evening had brought her out in a snug looking coat to cling to her in the cold weather and eventually tight looking tights that showed off the curves of her hips when she walked. From the little amounts that Vusi interacted with her, she was a woman who liked to get her way in things and was upbeat only when she felt she was comfortable doing so. She still considered her brother a nuisance at best but a useful tool to have in her life occasionally. They didn't look in an unhealthy relationship as far as siblings went.

Jerome was far less nicely dressed. A blue and red tracksuit frumpily sat on his body. Vusi didn't blame him, who had time to dress up for a cold evening in a class room with a bunch of people who would not be speaking. Besides, it suit his figure nicely.

Jerome reached a door and peered inside it. He saw a gathering, but he was listening to see how many noise he could hear. He didn't hear much of it, which was a good thing in a way.

He turned around the two horses both staring at him. He made a questioningly thumbs up at both of them.

"So, what are we going to do when we get in?" Gabriella, Gabby, asked. Her parents were somewhat religious and apparently only she had deserved to be named after an angel.

Vusi was used to dealing with 'the new that were not deaf but interested' now. He smiled. He took out his phone and started to type at it. Again two people were forced to stand in silence as he did. Once again Jerome was used to it but Gabby looked off put.

'Just follow me. You're not alone' Jerome read aloud for his sister to hear. She just nodded. She'd seen him as more responsible the few times she'd met him.

Vusi opened the door and walked in. Any noise in the class that had been made in the class immediately stopped like someone pressed mute. Jerome saw a wide array of ages and species sitting in the slightly more homely classroom. It was a grade 7 class during the week, so various school stationery sat on shelves here and there. A row of Styrofoam trays with cotton wool nursing little bean plants sat along the windowsill of what was a biology project while the white board looked newly added, as did the projector hanging from the ceiling. The school must have gotten a funding recently.

Jerome and Gabby stood near him at the desk in front as everyone stared at them, and smiled at them both and Vusi was setting up his laptop on the desk.

Eventually he turned to them all, and did a single wave of his right hand. They all did the exact motion, expressing their greeting with friendliness despite the simple action.

He walked between Jerome and Gabby and pointed behind him. They peered back as the projector was coming to life. A powerpoint presentation was showing.

HI was displayed on one slide. Next to it was a picture of Vusi, doing the motion he had done seconds ago to greet. It skipped to the next, which said:

We have guests today. Let's meet them! (Copy me)

Jerome chuckled at the slide and then it skipped to the next again. It was the same slide as before. Vusi looked at the two and did the motion slowly. They both did, both with an amused smile of sorts.

It skipped again, to the single word MY. Below it was another picture of Vusi doing a motion. The real Vusi put his hand on his chest, and his two companions followed.

This followed onward, till they had signed out "Hi, my name is..". Vusi made them practice doing that strip till he could see they were able to do it without much hesitation. The next slide had J E R O M E in big letters, with a finger spelling of each letter beneath them. Jerome turned around and looked at his name, and how you were supposed to spell it out. Gabby peered at her brother expectantly. Something about it was making her giggle. Vusi spelled each letter out with the stallion, repeatedly spelling the name till Jerome could do the motion without the little pauses to think. The next slide was G A B R I E L L A as Vusi turned around to face her, and spelled it out with her. Everyone watched in utter silence, but no one looked uncomfortable. If anything they gave hopeful looks and encouraging smile. There were children amoung the crowds of adults. She mastered her name much faster than her brother, despite having a longer one. She was also the first to actually say a word in the class for that evening.

"What's a Y?" the sound broke the silence without shattering the mood.

Vusi made a fist and pointed his thumb and pinkie out. With the knowledge gained, Gabriella spelled her name again with her nickname instead. Taking turns, they each introduced themselves with their paws alone, Jerome first then Gabby.

The next slide said ' YOU CAN SPEAK NOW. Most of everyone here can speak, just me that can't" it came with a little image of Vusi shrugging with a comical face.

Vusi smiled at them both. He looked very content with himself as he stood infront of the class room, and his students looked equally content. Vusi gestured from the two horses to the class.

"What?" Gabby asked

But Jerome already speaking "Hi. I'm Jerome. This is my sister Gabby." He pointed at her somewhat accusingly "I'm here to see how Vusi teaches, I'm not sure why she's here." Some laughed. Jerome wondered how many of them were actually deaf. "I'd ask how many of you guys are deaf but they won't hear me so...that's awkward."

Another laugh, not one seemed to take the remark offensively. That or they didn't hear it anyway. Vusi gestured to Gabby and the class again, the same way he had before. She nodded, while glaring at her brother "I'm Gabriella, gabby for short. I came because Vusi said it would be free."

Yet another small burst of chuckles. Everyone seemed in high spirits that evening. The two equines took seats among the class, next to someone, as the evening progressed. They looked to be the only new members of the class, everyone else was settled into it already. What followed was a very short revision section, after which came conversational bits in sign language. Gabby and Jerome each sat with a family. Gabby's was just learning for fun, while the other had an otter son who had ear damage earlier that year.

"He's a nice fellow isn't he" The mother had started up saying. Her husband and son were trying to figure out what horse was in sign language using the little picture dictionary. They looked very well off, and the child looked a little too happy for someone who couldn't hear anymore. "I thought learning from someone who couldn't speak would be hard but he's very good." She rattled off as Jerome understandingly nodded his head. The ram was walking from table to table helping people. They were supposed to be having phrase conversations in sign. Too bad the son wanted to say something he didn't know yet."

"Yeah, he has that way of getting around things."

"Have you known him long?" She asked

"Not really, couple months. He comes round where I work often." Jerome was half sprawled on the smallish chair and looked comfortable despite it.

"Ooo" he looked at her son, who had discovered his sentence. He looked at Jerome and did things with his hands. All involved stared at him a few seconds after he was done, then they stared at the little book where he had been looking. "I know he said 'are you' first and I'm guessing he said horse at the end there" The father said. Jerome nodded at the child, who was still looking expectantly at him, then at his father and then back to him.

"He wants you to answer in a whole sentence." The father laughed a bit "He takes the lessons very seriously"

"Oh, uh" Jerome looked around a bit, d at the little suddenly remembering what he was supposed to have been doing. He straightened up and looked at the dictionary again. "How do I do that?"

The father held up his hands "Yes. I. am. horse" showing the motions. Jerome turned to the rather innocent looking and tried his response, with a suggestive face of approval.

The child looked to his father again and signed something. The father nodded and signed something back. Jerome leaned into the elder otter "What they saying"

"He says your funny, and my husband said you're a nice man."

"And...what's thank you?" She showed him, and he signed it to the young boy. He smiled. The whole table was all smiles as Jerome resigned to learning, asking all the phrases the family knew. Vusi had been walking around, but he sat near them and watched them for a short while, silent as always. He didn't interfere with them, leaning over the chair as he watched people teach other people.

"Oh, uh...How do you say 'I love you'" Jerome asked suddenly, towards the mother.

Behind him, Vusi raised a brow as the elder otter woman giggled a bit "Ooo, for who is this?"

"I dunno. If I ever have to say it to someone it helps if you have more than one way. Makes it special you know?" Jerome laughed a bit.

Vusi had shuffled a bit closer to another seat. He extended his paws open and outwards at the group questioningly.

"Jerome wants to know how to say "I love you"" The mother had launched into her conversation before anyone else had a chance. She'd always been that way, and Vusi was used to it. The enthusiasm to announce and share what they were up to was always alive within her.

Vusi looked to Jerome, and lifted his paws in clear view. He signed once and paused hopefully. "I" said Jerome

Vusi looked more hopeful and signed another word, pausing again. Jerome stared at the hands for a few seconds, almost forgetting before saying "You"

The ram nodded and then signed one more word. "Love?" Jerome suggested to the obvious sign. Vusi rolled his paw gesturing back at him. Jerome nodded, and put the three together in one motion. He had stopped slowing himself down somewhat. Vusi nodded and gave a thumbs up of approval. Jerome was still staring at him. "Wasn't there another way?" Vusi looked amused, and lifted up his paw, making a fist then extending his thump, index and pinkie upwards. Jerome just mimicked him again, doing the motion slower for some reason.

Vusi had his tablet in his lap, and scribbled on it 'Though it's a very common phrase to act out. You can say it however you want to, they will understand.'

"I hope so" Jerome said, then pondered and asked "How do I say that?"

Vusi showed him, made sure he learnt it, then clapped his hands loudly for everyone to hear. The class period had ended moments ago, and everyone stood in turn, making sure to greet and say goodbye in complete silence of signing as they walked out the door. Vusi watched them pour down the forgotten hallway, some continuing their vows while the others broke out into talks again. Gabby came up to him at the door, her brother close behind. She looked lightened up, having spent extensive time saying goodbye to her chosen family "Th-" she stopped mid word and looked up in thought, then signed out 'thank you'. Vusi just smiled as he had been and nodded, glad for the influence and effort people had to learn.

She walked past, and Jerome stood beside him "You first, teacher."

Vusi shoved his shoulder but started walking anyway, closing the door behind Jerome. The muscular stallion wasn't following the silent example his sister had.

"That was fun ne. Didn't expect it could be but the people are nice." He paused. It was almost as if he expected Vusi to reply. When no sound came, he said "I might try and come back if I have the time...if I'm still welcome."

Vusi nodded at him with a pleasant face.

"Will it still be free?"

The ram shoved the other's shoulder again, his paws lingering on it for a while to feel the frame under the clothes, and then shrugged with comically sceptical expression.

"C'mon, save a brother some bucks" Vusi looked up at the male who had flung his arm around his shoulder. It was such a normal thing now, for the burly stallion to reach out and hug him around the neck. He never even bothered to flinch anymore at the contact, it was just something Jerome did. Jerome liked to grab him, to mess his hair up, to gently punch his shoulder whenever the two of them talked.

And they talked

They really did.

Vusi could never admit it out loud for as long as he lived, but he would only pretend not to notice himself leaning into each touch so easily given to him.

~

"Why don't you fix your voice Vusi?"

The ram looked up from his task. He was looking for one of Jerome's belongings. He had left them at his apartment. A week had passed since their last trip and Jerome had come again to the classes right after work.

The area was very neat and orderly. The lounge looked like it didn't entertain much, the books on the two various shelves looked used but where all still tidily stacked against one another like a librarian came out at night to catalogue everything. It was decorated with a few fake flowers and ornaments scattered about. The only thing cluttered was various notes and a few books standing on a stand.

Vusisiwe looked up at Jerome from the other side of the couch. Jerome was standing with his hands in his pockets, staring at him looking somewhat serious. The ram blinked and give him a very confused look.

"I just wanted to know why you don't."

Vusi kept staring back at the other male. His hooves felt rooted into the carpeting as the question struck him with unforgiving lack of real answers to give. He looked around the room again, moving over to the kitchen stand and getting a small page sized white board and a marker. He decided to keep it in the apartment in case any of his electronic typing mechanisms ran out on him.

He faced Jerome and started at him again. He looked at the blank white board in his hands, and then shrugged.

"Can't you afford it still?"

Vusi looked up at the ceiling, the bland standard ceiling. Everything was looking blank and boring as his mind on the subject. He wrote down 'I can, if I really wanted to' and turned the board around to show it.

"Don't you have the time for the operation?"

'I can get leave'

"So what then?" Jerome sounded increasingly agitated, his brows furrowed into an odd look of disappointment. Vusi couldn't understand why. It didn't sound like something that should bother someone else "Don't you want to speak?"

The air slowly grew tenser as Vusi started writing on the board, stopped, stared at what he had written, erased it and started writing again. Jerome hadn't stopped looking at him for the entire time. When the board turned around he started reading it aloud "I don't know, maybe?" Jerome looked up from staring at the board, into Vusi's eyes. They looked unsure, clouded and unfamiliar. "Don't you want to stop having to pick up something just to talk to someone."

Vusi's eyes were clouding in a different direction. They were becoming storm clouds as an agitated scowl fitted his muzzle. His arms started to write faster, taking away his neater cursive way of writing.

"Do I have a problem with it?" Jerome read "Of course I do! Do you know how annoying it is sometimes when I have to pick words to say to you when you don't have someone to write on?" Jerome's arms were stretched out in exaggeration.

Vusi's face scowled quicker, he wasn't looking at what he was writing anymore, only brief half a second glances 'Well I'm so sorry it's a problem for you.'

"You still won't tell me why you won't do the flippen thing. If you have the money, the time, the whatever why won't you just make your life easier for everyone?" Jerome was raising his voice, his face having turned a sudden grim Vusi had only seen once before, when he punched a drunken fool. The mood was changing so quickly, so fast that either male was sure how it got so dire at the time.

Vusi glared at Jerome. He'd never felt so insulted to his memory. The implications from the stallion were burning at him like furnaces snapping at his hooves and melted them into the carpet to root him. He looked down eat his white board. It still had his previous message on and he started messily whipping it away. He looked up for a moment and opened his mouth. How foolish it was. He didn't catch himself nearly as fast as he would have. It had clearly shown that he had tried to shout back.

"You see?" Jerome jumped on it, interrupting something that hadn't happened "If you had a bloody voice you could have just answered me."

The ram's body had gone completely rigid with infuriation as he ignored the remark as best he could, forcing his gaze down to the smudged pad in his hands. When he wrote his body shook. His mind was swarming like angry wasps stuck inside a glass, each a thought that couldn't leave his lips. So many dark emotions were creeping up on him, staying his hand as it wrote somewhat.

Jerome stared at him the entire time still. He watched the ram fluster up entirely, his fur ruffled up as writing an appropriate response was talking the ram too long a time. He could still hear his argument in his head, he knew he was on the winning side. He knew he was right. Every second given to him from the noisy writing, was time his mind was starting to question.

"Shut...up..." Jerome read loud again as the board was turned to him, with painful stress on either word. The white board was smudged in so many places, it looked like it had been violently attacked and not cleaned for days. After the words left his lips, Vusi turned the board around again, clutching it to his chest defensively like the last bit of a broken rusted shield he had left. The ram's eyes had gone the darkest of black he'd ever seen in someone as he stood like a gargoyle on watch.

The stallion looked down at the ground. Things sunk into him rapidly as his lips tightened around itself. He felt his breath once again, having fastened so dramaticly in so little time. He didn't even know how much time had passed since he asked, but it felt so quick when he thought of it. Words were barely said...

He turned around, and pressed his hand on the couch to lean on. He griped the plush tight and took a deep, loud, frustrated breath. He took another, and another, each one the same. He didn't hear movement behind him, so he knew the ram hadn't moved. When he turned around again, he took a long, scanning look at Vusi.

There stood the black ram, his horns giving him almost a devilish look as his face was still stained with unpleasantness. His body was retracted up, like it always was when he was defensive, curled tightly to itself as much as it could. His breath looked calm but the anger in his aura seethed off his body. He wasn't saying anything. But he couldn't...but what would he say even if he could speak anyway? Would he have just shouted back? Yell stupid bullshit at him like he himself had done moments ago to the defenceless lamb? Tell him how retarded the entire argument was?

Jerome's mind panged suddenly and repeatedly in realisation and he cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth as he shut his eyes tight as if hit in the stomach. More moments passed, in complete silence. All time was lost to the ether and to them, but Vusi moved again first. He held his board up to his view again, and started whipping it properly, pressing into the surface as he tried to get it all off. He started writing again, not looking up at the stallion.

Not seeing the stallion step forward to him, and press his hand on the other's shoulder in a grip.

He instinctively tried to shrug it off but it gripped tighter. The other thick arm reached out and curled itself around the back while the one already on him hooked around the neck. Each motion was quick, and Vusi didn't have time to resist as he was roughly pulled closer towards the stallion. He thrashed at the other, but was nowhere near strong enough to resist or break the hold. A strange de javu sense flooded his senses as he felt himself tear up.

The hand around his neck retracted and Vusi again struggled in trapped panic but Jerome was still too strong. His face had been jammed into Jerome's neck, where all he could see was the necklace he wore, which was oddly shaped just like a ram horn. He heard a loud repeated below him, and looked down quickly. Jerome was hitting a fist against his chest to get the attention.

And then it signed out 'I'm sorry'.

It went quiet again, so the hand did it again much slower, just to make sure it had been seen. Still silence. Jerome could feel the quivers against his arms, fearful but not unwilling. His hands ran slow lines of petting against the creased shirt of the ram, letting them curl into scratches occasionally. Still the ram stood motionless.

Too much silence "Vusi..."

Vusi didn't look up.

"I want to hear your voice Vusi"

Silent, motionless. Not even a cry or a sniffle. He'd seen the tears, why couldn't he hear them?

"Vusi? You alive buddy?"

A curt face hidden nod.

"Man...I don't know Vusi. I don't. But I really just want you to be able to talk to me. Just like that. Like normal. Like any talk. I want to share that simple trivial thing with you..."

The stallion resisted the urge to rock the other in his grip. He heard a sniffle, which was something atleast. Vusi was still standing in a weird stiff non embracing position, his hands at his sides as if afraid to touch him.

"Because I like you Vusi...." Jerome paused and looked up to the ceiling, trying to pick his words better but not really finding any "Fuck this sounds corny but I really do like you. You such a nice person...and a really good friend. You don't even need to speak to me or anyone to be a good friend."

Jerome wasn't sure why he kept pausing. Vusi wouldn't respond. He couldn't. The floor was open just for him to say whatever he wanted to no matter how stupid he thought it was "I just got upset because it sounds like such a problem...dating a mute person. I thought you just didn't want to make it easier for everyone else...but it's not like you owe anyone anything for it, I know."

Vusi looked up at him. The faintest of tear lines just barely showing in his dark fur, but his eyes were cleared up. They were not heavy tears, no deep emotional banks breaking but trickles of pent up frustration and loneliness. The clouds were gone in his face, his gaze just looked confused and lost in the open like trapped in headlights.

"But I remembered something...in all that time it took you to write down your sentences."

A disapproving brow furrow made Jerome crack out in a little humorous smile.

"We met because I thought you were so interesting, that you couldn't speak. I wanted to know how you manage...and you do manage. You don't need to speak really. It nogals makes you very special...special to me."

The brows moved back slowly around hearing the word special the second time.

"You still brave hey...Didn't even move while I was shouting at you. Didn't try to hit me. Didn't try to push me out, didn't walk away. Just took everything I had right to the face...A lot of people can't argue like that...Though I guess that's the nice thing about being mute. You don't get the chance to shout everything you think right off...have to think about what your writing."

Jerome was rolling his paw along the shirt fabric slowly, ironing and creasing it against his fingers quietly. Vusi's expression was plain but attention invested.

"Uh..." Jerome looked to his side, running a flattening hand through his mane against his skull. "Do you...want to date me? Cause I want to date you."

Vusi still looked confused.

"I mean I know I been a huge asshole just now but...I want to date you...and...I mean I'll learn everything I need to learn to do it proper. Here I was trying to fix you when I can change also."

The ram looked at the other. Something seemed to come back to him like he'd finished astral projecting to happier places. He raised his hand, and made a gap between his index and his thumb.

"What's that mean? Maybe? Yes? A little bit?"

Vusi pursed his lips somewhat and looked down at the carpet for a few seconds. The board he had been holding had dropped to the floor when he struggled. He hadn't even noticed, or perhaps he had just forgotten about it so quickly. He bent down slowly and took it into his hands just as carefully as he had bent, gripping the pen beside it and standing rigid again. The arms weren't around him anymore.

He wrote slowly, then faster as if relearning the art. He turned it around and Jerome read. He smiled and flung both his arms around the other, hugging him to himself "Better?"

Vusi nodded gently. He looked down, his pad pressed against the other's chest now with the space no longer there.

"Hey you can write on my chest if you want I don't care."

And so he did. He pressed on the pecs and wrote. Jerome peeked downward but couldn't see until it was moved to an angle that he could, answering after he read "...If you need time to think about it sure. Didn't really expect you to say yes...I was just taking a fat chance after being a bastard."

Vusi smiled a bit, and let the stronger stallion hold him a while, his hands pressing on the pad that pressed on his chest. He rocked a bit on his hooves, having to look up at Jerome. A big lug of a face stared back at him, smiling with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes.

He nodded slowly.

"Yes?"

Vusi nodded again, faster.

"Serious?"

The ram's face was turning more humorous, his features lighting up somewhat and giving a bashful smile, and nodded yet again, trying to express some happiness into it best he could.

The stallion's smile broke out into its more usual form. The form Vusi was used to seeing all the time. He was glad to see it back. He turned his head to the side, did a flexing fist pump and whooped a soft "Yussss"

Vusi leaned a bit into the other, and Jerome realised just how long he had been holding the other in their now suddenly romantic embrace. The conflict had resolved itself so fast he wasn't even sure how it had happened and who fixed it but he was glad he'd bumbled through safely enough.

"Is this how we're gonna hug from now on? With me holding you and you cuddling a white board?"

Vusi dropped the board again. Dropped it right to the ground where it made a thump against the carpet. The black arms crossed over and gripped onto Jerome as tight as they could muster within them. The act was very amusing and even cuter for the stallion recipient.

"So...me n you now...I guess I have to attend all your classes now...unless you want to give me personal lessons..." he paused "Wait, how do you do dirty talk in sign language. Gotta teach me that first."

Vusi pulled his head off the other's chest and looked up at Jerome with the weirdest bewildered and mildly offended face he could muster.

"What, we're being honest about everything now. I need to know how to tell you you're flippen sexy."

Vusi blinked a bit, then just looked down again. He rested his head against the other's clothed defined chest, giving them a warm friendly nuzzle and then looked up again with his chin resting on it. His gaze shifted to the one Jerome had always hoped he'd see.

Affectionate

They filled with life as his hands moved, one resting on the back then the other just above the waist. He leaned forward only on the one leg, making it inviting to pull him closer as he reached up with a paw and batted his eyelids very slowly as he tapped his lips just twice with the edges of his fingers.

"Sho..." Jerome grip was tightening around the other, creeping under the shirt and feeling up a short fur along the ram's back, clutching at clumps playfully. The ram didn't resist the motion, still leaning his chin up against the others' chest invitingly as he felt hands trailing along his frame, his lips catching the pendant of the chain and suckling on it just a bit. The other reached up and cradled his cheek, stroking it with his thumb slowly "Body language is enough eh?"

Vusi slowly licked his lips from one side to the other side and back again, another quick flutter of his lashes. Very subtly he wiggled his hips, the motion fully felt by the stallion pressed so close to him. He could feel the larger male starting to rumble ever so gently at attention.

"You can't say no to anything I want to do with you..." Jerome murmured. Vusi had never thought such a frightening sounding sentence would make him lean up and nuzzle into another man's neck invitingly, while feeling a hand leisurely stroke his back. Another trailed from his cheek to running along his horn, curling back to his neck and resting under his chin and tipping it upward. Vusi's eyes were closed, shutting off the major sense for the smaller ones. Scents of body spray wafted about his nostrils. He could feel a solid figure and softer coat cushioning against his clutching fingertips.

And then Vusi tasted something. He tasted Jerome, suddenly. He couldn't see it coming, it had surprised him but not enough to jolt him away, and he melted. The furnaces below his hooves were back, but they were sticking him to the stallion instead as he pressed back into the other's mouth, feeling it come alive and playful against his own. Heavy hungry lips pressed along his softer ones as they kept trying to playfully suckle and nibble on them, his teeth just lightly grazing them here and there. Thick hot steam huffed at his face, past his closed eyes and undeterred by his senses. The sounds they made together were hushed, light scuffles of lip and the ruffles of clothing tightly gripped with sudden dire need.

"..Mmm..." it was a long, happy moan. Breaking apart was an equally long to do for the two. Vusi kept toying and suckling at his muzzle here and there, nibbling at the tuff of beard in a passionate way. "You more forward then I thought you'd be..." the tone didn't sound disappointed at all "Sure can kiss well for someone who doesn't speak."

Vusi grinned, a shy but eager curling of his lips. He leaned into the touch as Jerome stroked his cheek again. He wasn't sure what had made him so willing, so wanting of the feeling but he could feel the pleasant warmth brushing along his dark fur with rough fingered care. The warmth leaked through his body like a crack in a dam wall, turning them fuzzy...It was a feeling he had always hoped to feel one day, when he would never ever need words to be in company, the feeling of natural acceptance within someone else's life. Being wanted...the selfish pleasure he wished he didn't want so badly deep down.

"So...um." Jerome rubbed the back of his mane again in thought "I'm glad..."

Vusi nodded at the other, try his best to express the happy feeling inside him. He clenched onto the stallion tightly and turned his head to lean on his side, only to have his horns get in the way. He heard the stallion laugh comically as he quickly turned the head back, glancing down.

He heard a soft whisper in his ear "You got alotta things in the way Vusi...but its chill vibes. Just means we get to spend some more time together workin through em...and you can work through all of mine too...me n you"

His eyes closed, his heart fluttered in its cage. He had no words to express his feelings...he possibly never would, but the way he felt was something he would remember always.

~

Jerome set the carrier bags down where everyone else had put theirs. The supplies sat innocently near the worn down looking half house. It had the essentials, the rest could be arranged. He bent himself up with a huff and turned around, looking out to the little camping group of people, all setting into the little huts along the open space. In the middle someone had put out a large mat where others were already lounging on. The day wasn't near done but the drive had tired out most of them. Trying to convince the drivers to move was beyond any effort.

The distance brought the distant sound of a water flowing. The sun had not yet given up, rays of persistent light bathing the grass in an earthy glow. The humming of birds and buzzing of bugs was in the atmosphere, filtering into the camp site beat by beat. He breathed the clean air in, a welcoming motionless breeze purging his lungs of the car air. He smiled.

Vusi walked past him, setting down the rest of the bags from their car in a huff. He straightened himself up and turned around himself and heading towards the blanket where everyone was sitting. Jerome's hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder quickly before he got far enough.

"Wanna walk with me?"

The ram looked back with a curious smile, but nodded.

They didn't make the leaving announcement, but people noticed. There was a coo of attention from friends, family. It'd only been recently announce their togetherness, so it was still a subject of discussion, or gossip depending on who was talking.

"Yoh bra! You just got here! You can pomp him later!"

It was Michael's voice. Jerome wheeled around and yelled back "We not going to pomp you bliksem!" while marching right back to them. Vusi stood there, half-forgotten and amused, as he crossed his arms and leant on a nearby tree. He didn't even need to be nearby to hear the conversation unfold like messy gift unwrapping.

"What else are you gonna do? Talk?"

"Ya, we gonna talk. We can do that."

"About what?"

"Where do you fall out from to be so bis on my business?"

"Because you can talk to him over here too."

"We bloody camping so I'm gonna go and do camp shit"

Micheal just raised his paws defensively while everyone else just stared on with the same expression of silent amused judgement. "Don't have to get so defensive bra. I'm just saying there's time for everything."

"When you go 'swimming' with Wikus you don't hear me calling back to play dominoes."

Vusi stood leant against the tree trunk, distanced but still feeling rather participant in the small agenda quarrel. He smirked brightly and considered walking over to add something, but chose to instead to just watch a while longer. Just like always. He watched the rest of the spectators add their own quips to a lone defenceless Jerome who had only stepped away for a moment. The volumes people could interpret was always amusing, as Gabby dressed as scantily as possible added her own two cents gaily. The play argument on plain shabby and dirtily coloured mat they had laid out dragged itself out to heights of greater humour with each taunting remark. The light hearted laughing argument brought the distinctive feeling of family out between all involved.

The ram straightened up after a moment more of looking and walked over.

"Ja well-" Jerome cut off his likely profane comment mid-sentence as he felt the ram's paw on his shoulder. He looked round to see the gentle relaxed features of his boyfriend, who only make a light gesture with his head behind him.

Michael snort at the action "He's taking charge. You better watch it hey"

Jerome made a swatting motion at the cheetah, who just shrugged it off and laughed a little more heartily. Always a clown that one. Vusi turned tail and the stallion followed suit quick enough, a light grumble in the throat. A few cat calls came but the rest of the group quickly found something else to discuss ,like who was making the food.

A short walking distance brought the two out of earshot and into the more vegetated area around them that had looked so nice driving in to the place. A dirt path guided them through the low woodlands where nature was still singing around them. The crunches of earth and twig beneath their hoofs sounded out their way, as no words left them at all.

Jerome had his hands behind his head as he walked, looking around at the pleasant scenery. He'd glance to the side to look at the black ram ever few minutes or so, who was looking straight forward at all times.

"You never been here right?"

Vusi shook his head. Jerome had already asked him that before they left. The ram didn't bother to give the stallion a questioning look. Slightly awkward sounding questions he was more than used to in life.

"Ah....I'm" he paused for just a second "I'm just gonna stop talking, till we get there."

The questioning look came now, and Jerome just smiled "You'll see. It' isn't much but you'll see."

The trek continued in silence once more. The black male's face was contemplative, thinking of a possible destination or event to happen. He couldn't find much outside of 'something natural' and mentally shrugged after a while, and just kept walking. The area around them was thinning slightly, the trees becoming much less dense in favour of smaller bushy plant life. The path led on, but Jerome patted Vusi's shoulder and pointed in towards the trees. Silently the ram followed, getting more curious by the second. Partially he considered the chance of an actual 'pomp' happening, and he wasn't sure if he would be on that train out in the wilderness.

He managed to shake the thought as the Stallion stopped at a tree, and sunk down against it. He patted the ground beside him, and the ram neatly settled beside him, shoulder to shoulder against the tree, which had a big enough trunk to for them both to lean on. Besides that, there was nothing special about the place Vusi could see. He waited a moment in the silence before looking at Jerome expectantly.

Jerome just chuckled "I dunno, just wanted to get away with you a bit before we do stuff with everyone."

Vusi's face lit up a bit into a smile, and he leaned his head completely against the trunk, staring up at the just barely swaying leaves on the tree. A squirrel or two was running along it's lengths, eager to escape the radius of the bigger animals.

A thick arm wrapped around his neck, and he turned to look at Jerome again. The chocolate furred male seemed to love to do that. It was kinda like their own special way to say they were talking. The arm going around his neck would be Jerome saying Hi. Vusi would look up towards him pleasantly, being the silent returning hello. And then Jerome would speak.

"I'm real glad you made me so angry that one time."

Vusi's face turned to pure confusion.

"Would have never had the guts to say what I said..." Jerome's muzzle leaned in slightly. His legs were stretched out on the ground, entirely relaxed while Vusi's were crossed and conserved. "That's the thing I love about you"

Vusi waited for whatever it was that Jerome loved about him

"You kinda make people say what they want to say...your like one of those therapy dolls they use to speak to."

Another confused and now bizarre looking stare from the ram. Jerome chuckled and shook his head "I know I sound stupid ok. I don't know what to say to you sometimes bra. It's hard being the only one talking here, because it makes me look like a dumbass."

Vusi's stare was a mixture of feelings Jerome couldn't really pinpoint which one it was between concern and cross. He looked to his lap in serious thought and looked back at his mate. He retracted his arm from the shoulder, and tentatively signed something out with his fingers, successfully saying 'I'm trying'

The ram smiled again, and signed something back. The stallion squinted at the motion as it happened and then said "Do again" After a few seconds. The ram repeated the motion without any show of annoyance or impatience, but a hopeful face.

"You...glad?" Jerome offered suggestively. Vusi just nodded, wearing the same smile he seemed to wear when people understood him.

"So uh...oh flip how do you say that again..." Jerome tapped his head soft in thought. Vusi reached out and took the hitting paw, pulled it to his muzzle and nuzzled it gently along the palm with his cheek. Jerome broke into a small laugh at the loving gesture "I love it when you do shit like that..."

Nestled together, Jerome didn't want to take his paw away but had to, He stared down at them both for a few seconds and lifted them and confidently signed out 'I love you'

'I love you too' came the mimicked reply of the ram. His feet relaxed out from their cross sit into a sideways lay. The few spotted rays of light running past the leaves of the tree hit Vusi's face and lit up his brown eyes to a gleaming hazel with a shy and giddy looking smile.

A silence came. A silence the two of them were more than used to by now. In some ways that's how they talked. The silence was saturated with their actions and feelings, the way they would look or touch one another. There were no words to describe or give reasons for their actions, pointless as they were to both of them. Closer they huddled under their shade, the breeze only barely tickling their dark tinted furs.

That time passed for them in agreed harmony. Second thoughts seemed trivial as Jerome reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. Vusi looked up from it's position in Jerome's neck but didn't question it's movement, only watched the hand move. The knife flung out from its place and stabbed at the tree. Jerome started trying to do it without really looking but then grumbled and sat up properly to face the tree as he continued to carve.

The muscles flexed as they pressed into the bark wood, trying his best to carve what looked like a small hand into the tree. Then came another, and another, and another and two more after. Jerome grunted and laughed a bit at what he had made and added a small plus below what was clearly the finger spelling of his name. He handed the tool to Vusi "I'd do yours too but I want you to see how hard it is to draw this in wood."

Vusi took the knife and carved his own finger spelling into it right under the plus. It was significantly less jagged than the set of hands above it. Jerome just scoffed and took the pocket knife back when offered by a smug looking ram. He reached up and carved a large heart around the two names "There we go...now anyone will know it's us."

Vusi nuzzled himself into the other's broad chest in a fast hug, gripping the stallion around his waist in a tight hold. Jerome offed at the sudden glomp but welcomed it just as fast. He laughed as Vusi started habitually chewing on his necklace and kissed the ram's forehead, then nose.

"So you're cool with this so far? Me n you?"

Vusi let go of the stallion just a moment and pointed to his mouth with both paws. He smiled a bright toothy smile. Jerome was about to say good. But he just raised his own paw and made a thumbs up, letting the ram hug onto him again. He rested his head between the horns and murmured "Think we should get back soon?"

He didn't see it, but felt the ram shake his head and close his eyes.

"Yeah..." the stallion closed his own eyes, and held his newest treasure closer to his heart, so that he may hear his heart beating with his own along with the rest of nature. To him, hearing the right answer was more important than how it was said. "Me either..."

-FIN-