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School continued normally for the next couple weeks, and as time passed, the newly formed couple grew more comfortable with their relationship while around their friends. Several times after a long day at school, the otters and their friends would find themselves gathered in Ariel's basement.

One of these times, half a dozen of them were playing the video game Skirmish Perils, with the exception of the pale blue otter. Instead, he was resting in a small sofa against his boyfriend who was playing the game.

"You sure you don't want to play?" Cloud asked as their friends prepared to start another round of trying to kill their virtual others.

"I'm too tired to play," Rye answered, looking up at the otter. "The pool had a small vandalizing problem so I've spent more time than I care scrubbing it clean."

Lazily he watched the projection of the game but couldn't focus, and his eyes wandered around the room at his friends and mostly the otter he was lying against.

In the dark room, Rye could see his friends but was still somewhat surprised to see Marvin and Shasta sitting next to each other so casually. The squirrel was sitting casually with his tail swaying back and forth in a slow swaying motion as if nothing ever happened between the caribou and him. Marvin, who had an emotional collapse over Shasta, seemed content but has kept at a distance from the otters since the incident.

Ariel and Patrick were playing the game as well, causing for enough violence on the screen for the pack of friends to laugh and yell at each other over it.

Before the current match could end, Nate walked in and pulled up a seat next to the otters.

"You look exhausted, Rye," he jested at the snuggled otter. "You're not playing?"

"No," answered Rye with a tired smile. "Long day at work today after school. We had a small issue with vandalism so I stayed and help clean it up."

"Vandalism?" repeated Nate, looking confused. "That's unusual. When was the last time the Lagoon had that kind of problem?"

"I don't think we've ever had that issue before," Rye replied. The white otter he rested on shifted slightly while he jammed at the buttons on his controller.

"Well, aren't you the bearer of bad news," Nate continued to tease before a proud expression crossed his features. "And I am the bearer of good news."

"What do you mean?"

"Diane transferred out of your class after school today," the wolf stated, looking pleased with himself. I was staying late at school, helping out in the office when I overheard her councilor approving the transfer."

"That seems a little dramatic, transferring this late in the year," said Rye. He wasn't the only one surprised by the news, as Ariel and Cloud briefly stopped playing the game to hear it. "What was her reason?"

"Well, obvious because she's jealous of you and Cloud," Nate answered. "You did turn her down for someone far more attractive."

"Attractive?" repeated Cloud, overhearing Nate. Knowing the wolf's sense of humor, Rye didn't pay any attention to his choice of words.

"I don't know what reason she gave the councilor," Nate continued, ignoring the otter. "But it must have been convincing. No matter the reason, at least your class will be a lot more enjoyable without her in it."

"That is true," admitted Rye. "I still think it's an overreaction from her."

On screen the match had ended, and another was being set up. Nate quickly volunteered to participate in the game, leaving Rye to rest.

"Don't stay up too late," Rye warned the white otter. "I want to take you the Beach Lagoon tomorrow. Ryan, the owner, has been asking to meet you."

"I'll call it quits before too late," promised Cloud, gently licking the back of Rye's ear. They smiled at each other briefly before the game distracted Cloud once again.

The tired otter's eyelids grew heavy in the darkness of the room. Resting his head on Cloud's chest, the sounds from the game faded and replaced with the slow breathing and heartbeat of the white otter.

The next morning when Rye woke, he found himself in his own bed next to his sleeping boyfriend. When the sleep haze lifted, the otter sat up and leaned back against the headboard of his bed. The sleeping otter next to him stirred but didn't wake.

The bright sun shining through their large window made the otter wonder how late Cloud stayed up to play the video game.

Crawling out of bed, the otter stretched and quickly realized that he was still in the clothes he wore the day before. His fur was uncomfortably matted with the outfit so he quickly stripped them off and headed for the shower.

After cleaning his fur and combing it comfortably again, Rye exited back out into his bedroom where Cloud was now stirring in the bed.

"Good morning," Rye teased before dressing himself.

"Morning," Cloud replied, his voice heavy with grogginess. "Did I sleep in long?"

"No, I only just woke up myself," answered Rye, now with his clothes on. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to the white otter. "How late were you up?"

"A little later than I intended," admitted the otter, his eyes still struggling to stay open. "Nate insisted on playing one more round. He continued to insist five rounds later. I think I'll rest for a few more minutes."

"No you won't," Rye declared, grabbing the otter's paw with a mischievous smile.

"Hey, wait, Rye!" Cloud yelled, while he was being pulled out of the bed.

The otter slid out of the bed and fell to the ground. Before he could cover his nudity, Rye sat on the otter smiling widely down at him. Cloud glared back.

"Are you awake now?" asked Rye, his smile growing wider.

"Yes, now let me up," Cloud answered, still glaring at his boyfriend. Rye stood up and stepped back from the white otter to allow him to stand. With a long yawn and stretch, Cloud stumbled toward the bathroom.

"We're heading over to the Lagoon once you're ready," said the triumphant otter before Cloud shut the door behind him.

Rye prepared a quick breakfast as a small apology for literally dragging Cloud out of bed that morning. When the white otter emerged from the shower, he was fully awake and already in a forgiving mood for the playful otter.

Before another hour passed, they otters started to walk to the popular recreational pool, Beach Lagoon. It was obvious that Cloud was still tired from his consistent yawning but he didn't voice any objections to the walk.

Within a few short minutes, they walked up to the main lobby and entered through the doors. As usual, waiting at the desk was Aaron.

"Good morning, Aaron," Rye greeted the fox stepping up to the counter. "Is Ryan in yet?"

"Good morning Rye and Cloud," Aaron returned the greeting taking his eyes off the computer screen behind the desk. "Ryan is here and has been waiting for you two. I'll let him know you're here so go ahead and head up to his office."

"Thanks Aaron," remarked Rye.

Instead of heading toward the door that led to the locker rooms, Rye turned toward the nearby arcade room. On the other end was a maintenance door that was only accessible by employees. Beyond the doorway was a stairwell, lit up by natural light because of the glass wall. After climbing two flights of stairs, they entered a thin hallway that was empty of employees but had plenty of rooms off to both sides. The hallway was well lit by the glass ceiling.

"These are the rooms for the employees," Rye explained, leading Cloud down the hallway. "Security surveillance is in there. That's where we keep our office supplies. Through that door are the employee locker rooms if anyone ever wanted to store their items somewhere else than the public ones. A few offices and conferences rooms, and here's Ryan's office."

Stopping at the door at the far end of the hallway, Rye knocked twice before opening and stepping in. "Ryan, you were waiting for us?"

Entering the room, the most noticeable feature was the glass wall that overlooked the blue waters of the pool, and the golden-brown sand of the pit. The room itself was decorated with different awards and certificates, photos of the manager's family and several other decorative items. In the middle of the room was the ermine himself, sitting behind a large desk gazing at a computer screen.

"Good morning Rye, good morning Cloud," greeted the ermine as he stood up. Unexpectedly he hugged the white otter briefly. "It's nice to finally officially meet you."

"Likewise," replied Cloud. He was obviously a little shy, though he did his best to cover that up.

"Please, have a seat you two," said Ryan, gesturing toward the seats in front of his desk. The ermine sat behind his desk once again. "Rye has been insisting that I offer you a job here, Cloud. Another otter on the team would be a valuable addition, and with Chymerage coming up we'll need the extra help. I just need to clear up a few things first."

"You could of told us you were ready to hire," Rye remarked rolling his eyes. "I haven't prepared Cloud for an interview."

Cloud remained silent and he appeared a little nervous as he glanced back and forth between the two other mustelids.

"Don't worry about trying to impress me, Cloud," Ryan said with a reassuring smile. "You aren't here for an interview. Call it more of an orientation because I already know that I wish to hire you. All I need to know what times you'd prefer to work, and to clear a few things up. I need to confirm that you two are involved in a relationship."

"We are," answered Cloud, with a little more pride than shyness.

"Then I must insist that you two do not have any sexual contact while on the premises," said Ryan, smiling a bit as he teased the two otters.

"We understand that Ryan," rebuked Rye, glaring a bit at his manager.

Ryan smiled slightly to himself before continuing on. "I have a file ready for you to fill out that'll cover everything else. I only need your PawPad contact code."

Pulling out his PawPad, the otter tapped a few the screen a few times until he received the enclosed file with the documents Ryan had prepared for him.

"Don't worry about filling those out right away," Ryan said, learning back in his seat. "When you finish them just send them back to me and I'll schedule a day for Rye to train on you on the boring details of the job."

"Thank you, sir," Cloud said, still surprised over the sudden job offer.

"Both of us should be thanking Rye," said the ermine. "Now I thought something was going on between you two, even before I saw the security camera of you two sneaking into the pool a couple weeks back."

"You know about that?" asked Rye, his eyes growing wide with shock.

The otter was not only shocked but also embarrassed to know that Ryan must have seen them sneak into the pool late at night. If Ryan had seen the security video then he also saw the affectionate moment the otters shared under the water that night.

Cloud realized this too as his ears folded back and he diverted his gaze.

"Don't worry you two," Ryan reassured them. "You two come here all the time so I don't mind that you wanted a private swim time. You two are welcome to work together, but only if you two aren't distracted by the other and no one gets hurt."

"I should have known you would be spying on us," remarked Rye, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm sorry Rye, it won't happen again."

"I said don't worry about it," Ryan repeated. "From what I hear you two have enough worries already."

"What do you mean?" asked Rye.

"Ariel told me about the other student has been short of stalking you Rye," Ryan stated, looking seriously at the otters. "And about some rumors she's been trying to spread around, and how she even assaulted you at school."

"You mean that mare, Diane?" questioned Cloud curiously.

"Yes, that one."

"What rumors is she spreading?" Cloud continued to ask.

"I haven't heard any of them myself," answered the ermine. "Ariel mentioned that the rumors contained bigotry remarks, and even exaggerations of how Rye abused her."

"That's a total lie," remarked Rye. His gaze drifted off as his eyes narrowed, finding the whole situation regarding the drama surrounding Diane to be an annoyance.

"I know it is Rye," Ryan said. "Aaron has even mentioned that he was harassed by this mare over the summer while she was looking for you. I didn't think much of it then but she must really be becoming a problem if she assaulted you."

"I suppose Ariel neglected how she handled that situation," muttered Rye, rolling his eyes. "She returned the favor and hit Diane back twice as hard."

"She did what?"

"It's not a concern anymore because Diane transferred out of our class," stated Rye, ignoring the ermine.

"That's rather dramatic of her," Ryan muttered before dropping the topic. "I don't intend to stir up any more drama for you two."

"Thanks, Ryan," Rye said, his narrowed eyes relaxing more now. "I really don't want anything to interfere with Cloud and me so we can just enjoy the holidays."

"Then I won't be another obstacle to keep you two from spending your time together," Ryan said, shifting in his seat again. "Rye usually works half shifts during the Games so he can spend time with his friends but I'll change it so you work before the Games this time and you can spend the whole festivity with Cloud. Do you mind working daylight on Chymerage, Cloud?"

"Not at all," answered Cloud, his ears no longer splayed back against his fur.

"We'll be off when the Games start?" questioned Rye, his eyes lighting up.

"You'll help prepare for the games but we'll have enough lifeguards for the night," replied Ryan, a smile spreading back across his maw. "The office personnel will be helping out with the Games too this year. I'm trying something new."

"Something new?" the pale blue otter repeated.

"Now that you're not working during the Games, I can't tell you," chuckled the ermine. "You'll find out along with all the other guests then. Thanks you two for coming up to see me. Go spend the rest of the day in the water."

"Thanks Ryan."

"I'll have the files completed before tomorrow," said Cloud while the otters stood to leave. The ermine went back to work on his computer while the otters exited the office.

"Now that you'll be working here, I can show you around some of the employees quarters," suggested Rye, leading Cloud to the employee locker rooms.

Entering the room, Cloud noticed that they appeared much the same as the public room downstairs, but smaller and cleaner. After a brief tour, he was led to the far end where there was the exit door that led to another staircase. At the bottom of the staircase, was another hallway that led back into the building. Near them was an exit door, which they went through and emerged outside among the pool and the sand pit.

"Think we should get changed?" asked Cloud, taking notice that they were both still fully dressed. Rye agreed and led them toward the public locker room doorway.

Entering through the tiled showers first, the otters ignored the cubs that were playing in the water and went straight to the rows of lockers on the far end of the room. After they quickly changed into the swim shorts the otters had stored in their locker, they went back out to the pool.

Dressed in only their swim shorts, the hot sun was much more tolerable with the cold breeze brushing the heat out from their fur.

"Want to go play a game of sandball?" asked Rye, glancing from the pool to the sea of sand.

"If we're able to go for a swim if it gets too hot," Cloud answered, following Rye onto the sand.

"Of course," commented Rye. Starting the game, Rye set the unique ball gently on the sand, where it burrowed beneath them. Whenever the ball would touch the sand, it would burrow and shoot up out in a different nearby location, leaving the players to scramble for control over it. They couldn't hold onto the ball, and had to rely on hitting it with their paws, hindpaws or tail to keep in the air to prevent it from burrowing again. The objective was to knock it into the opponents net.

With only the two otters playing, they had difficulties keeping it up in the air and the ball kept on burrowing. They didn't bother to keep score, the few times that they did manage to land the ball in one of the nets.

Their casual game gained attention as the other sand fields soon became populated and more pool guests started to play in the sand. Others even started up some of the barbeques to cook their lunch and picnic around the empty campfires or the stream that ran through the heart of the sand pit.

Rye noticed a hare and gazelle watching the otters. They appeared to be waiting for a field to open up.

"Do you two want to play with us?" Rye asked them instead.

"We two versus you two," suggested the gazelle, walking toward the otters with a completive smile. "Bucky and I will be fair enough competition."

"Stop calling me 'Bucky'," the hare, objected.

"You bet, Bucky," teased the gazelle as Rye passed him the ball.

"You're not overheated yet?" asked Rye, walking with Cloud toward the center of the field.

"I can play a few more games," Cloud answered, smiling at the otter he walked next to. He was obviously happy to be playing with Rye, out of the uncomfortable position the manager put him in not long ago. "I might need a few long drinks of water after this game though."

The ball was dropped, and it instantly burrowed into the sand. A few seconds later it shot up with a spray of sand less than a meter from where it was dropped. The four players spread out, Rye heading for the ball while Cloud maneuvered toward their opponents' net. The ball was falling rapidly, and both the otter and gazelle jumped for it attempting to knock it toward their teammate.

The gazelle managed to reach the ball first and sent it behind toward the hare. The ball flew towards the hare, until he sidestepped and kicked the ball straight for the otters' net. It missed by hardly a meter, landing in the sand where the ball again burrowed. For the couple seconds the ball was under the sand, the four players ran toward the spot it burrowed. It resurfaced with only the hare reaching it in time, but he tried to kick the ball again as it was flying up and missed.

Rye reached the ball as it was falling, passed it before spinning around and hitting it with his paw back toward the white otter. The ball fell short, fell to the sand and burrowed again. Once it resurfaced and shot up, Cloud spiked the ball toward the other team's net but it also missed.

The amateurs playing the athletic game competitively quickly grew tired after twenty minutes of gameplay, with only a few points scored on each side. They took a quick break so that the otters could get a drink.

"It's much more exhausting when we're playing competitively," Rye commented, breathing heavily. Cloud was drinking from a small fountain that simply had a river of clean water running through a small trough. "I don't know if I'll be able to play another game after this."

Wiping his whiskers dry, Cloud took a deep breath and agreed with Rye. "Me neither. We should go for a swim soon, a relaxing swim."

After Rye drank his share of water, wiped his own whiskers while staring at the white otter. "Cloud, I had a thought occur to me now that you'll be working here."

"What is it?" questioned Cloud.

"I didn't really think of it before since you sleep over at my place all the time now, and hardly ever go back to your place," stated Rye, diverting his eyes from Cloud's gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't ask before but do you want to move in with me? That way you won't have any commitments with your other arrangement."

Suddenly Rye felt himself being squeezed by the other otter, and his neck nuzzled. He gently returned the hug while Cloud answered. "I admit I've been waiting for you to ask that, Rye. I'd love to move in with you."

"I'm sorry I didn't ask before," repeated Rye, folding his ears back in guilt. He felt ashamed that he forced Cloud to work for his own apartment when he didn't even spend any nights there.

"Don't worry about it, Rye," replied the otter, pulling back from the hug. "I practically live with you anyways that I often forgot that I had my own place to maintain. Let's go finish this game then we'll go for a swim."

With a reassuring lick from Cloud across the cheek, Rye smiled and followed him back to the sand field where the other two players were waiting patiently for the otters. The four of them continued to play, even after they lost count of how many scores each of the team had. The hare and gazelle started to perform better than the otters as they had more stamina on land so the otters eventually called it quits and went over the pool.

For the majority of the day the otters were in the pool or drying off near the edge of it. After long pass lunch, they finally walked back to their apartment, giving themselves enough time for the otters to move Cloud's belongings into Rye's apartment.

Over the next few days, Cloud was officially moved in with the otter and he started his training at Beach Lagoon. He was given a tour on where everything was including all the employee supplies, and shown how to operate different equipment around the facility.

While Cloud was toured around the facility by Rye, he noticed that decorations for Chymerage were already appearing around the facility. Props from different settings from the Chimer stories were scattered around with different mythical creatures and characters from the stories.

"Are you ready for your test?" asked Rye, leading Cloud through the locker rooms. He was familiar with the annual decorations and didn't pay much attention to them, instead focusing on the lifeguard test he was giving Cloud now.

"As ready as I'll ever be," the white otter answered. He was a little nervous over the sudden testing to certify him but Rye reassured him that being a natural swimmer, he'll do fine.

Beyond the lockers and showers, Cloud found a portion of the pool roped off for him and the testing. The facility wasn't heavily populated this close to the holidays when everyone was waiting for the Games so there was still plenty of water for the other guests to play in during the test.

"To prepare for the test, we're going to try to mimic a real life scenario," said Rye, leading the white otter to the roped off area. "Usually when someone is drowning, it means they're panicking. When we're sitting in the sun all day, and have to jump into the pool suddenly, the temperature difference can be a little shocking and take away some of your breath."

"So you want me to sit in the sun for the first part of the test?" questioned Cloud, with a small giggle.

"It sounds silly, I know," Rye said, smiling back at his boyfriend. When they reached the roped off area, he gestured toward the lifeguards tower for him to sit in it. They had removed the cover to allow the sun to soak into the white otter.

"This is a test the least talented swimmer on the planet can pass," Cloud remarked, making himself comfortable in the seat.

"Only you can do the fine job of sitting that you are now though," Rye teased, standing below Cloud. "Anyway, one thing you must always remember is that if someone is drowning, it is most likely because they're panicking. When they're fighting for their breath, they will often try to use you to push themselves up to the surface. Try to approach from behind them if you can, wrap you arms around their chest and swim back up. Most of the time they're younglings so it isn't as difficult to swim back up with them even if they do unintentionally pull you down."

"Why don't we just bring rebreathers with us into the water?" questioned Cloud, while he gazed over the water's rippling surface. The thought of being trusted to save someone else was intimidating to him.

"If someone has inhaled water into their lungs, they'll cough if they try to breathe in anything which will make them inhale sharply again," answered Rye. "That can cause them to drown much faster and possible not recover from the incident. The only time that is advisable is when the person underwater knows a rebreather is available to them, which would have prevented them from panicking in the first place; similar to what you might see in training or stunt videos."

"Have you ever lost anyone?" asked Cloud seriously. The hesitation in the otter's voice said that he wasn't sure that it was a good question to ask or not.

"No, fortunately," Rye answered.

Half a dozen other lifeguards came up to the two otters, one of them being Ryan the manager.

"Good morning Cloud, you are excelling at this test already," he said mockingly while he grinned at the otter.

"Does that mean I pass?" Cloud questioned smiling back down at the ermine. "I wish school tests were this easy."

"I know many students who would agree with you, like Rye," the ermine snickered without even glancing at the blue otter.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" the otter questioned before letting out a scoff.

"We're going to dive in the pool now," Ryan continued, ignoring Rye. "Keep an eye on us as you would watch the actual pool guests. If one of us starts drowning, we're depending on you to save us."

"No one will drown under my watch," Cloud promised.

"Watch out if it's Ryan, he'll be a real brat about it if you try to save him," said Rye, sticking his tongue out at the ermine. He was rewarded with the ermine laughing before the lifeguards turned toward the pool edge and started diving in. "I don't know which one will be faking it since they knew I'd be the one coaching you."

"When should I expect it?" the white otter asked, watching the lifeguards spread out. Several them started wrestling each other causing a lot of splashes and waves, creating distractions for the otter who was watching for someone to be drowning.

"They're out there for fifteen minutes, so someone can drown at any time," said Rye, watching the lifeguards as well. He knew he couldn't tell Cloud if he saw someone drowning but he couldn't but help to keep an eye out too. "Whoever was chosen was instructed when to go under so that the others don't think that they need to."

Cloud remained watchful over the swimming lifeguards while he baked in the sun. Time continued to flow without any signs of someone drowning but Cloud knew it would happen soon.

Sitting on the edge of the pool, with his hindpaws submerged in the cool waters, Rye watched to see which lifeguard it would be to pretend they're drowning. Sometimes he would be out there to test the new lifeguards as well, but considering that he and Cloud were involved in a relationship, he was left out this time.

Rye wasn't paying attention when Cloud dived into the water suddenly. Behind the splashing of the other lifeguards, one was sinking beneath the water. He watched the white otter swim under the surface at an impressive rate until the water distorted him too much for Rye to see the actual rescue.

The otter broke the surface, with the other lifeguard in his arms. The lifeguard pretended to struggle a bit but he wasn't coughing up water, or actually panicking. Allowing himself to be dragged by the otter to the edge of the pool, the lifeguard was pulled up where he pretended to feint.

"Since he's just pretending, only mock some chest compressions," instructed Rye, standing next to the dripping wet otter and lifeguard. Cloud seemed nervous but he pretended to do a few chest compressions on the vole lying in front of him.

"You saved me," exaggerated the lifeguard. The vole sat up and smiled crookedly at Cloud. "My savior."

"So I did okay?" asked Cloud, breathing a little heavy from the excitement.

"I didn't drown," the vole answered, brushing his paw through his wet fur. "I'd call that a win."

"Next is the hard part," said the ermine, leaning against the edge of the pool. The other lifeguards were still swimming around as if nothing had happened. "You have to be trained on how to revive a unconscious swimmer. Do you know how to do that?"

"No," admitted Cloud, his ears started to fold back but he checked the motion.

Training for the white otter continued, under the careful watch and instruction from Rye. For most of the hours in the long day, Cloud was performing different exercises to test him in all different situations. The job wasn't easy and by the end of the day the white otter found himself exhausted.

The otter managed to pass the tests and he was officially certified to be a lifeguard at Beach Lagoon. With his training finally over, they were heading out when the owner of the pool stopped them.

"Rye, Cloud," the ermine said, approaching them. They stopped just before the main lobby doors and glanced curiously at Ryan. "I have you both working half shifts in the morning on the day of the Games. That way you two can have the rest of the day, and Chymerage, to yourselves."

"Thanks Ryan," said Rye with a smile. "Will you be joining us for the Games?"

"I'll be at the Games when you two are working, and working when you two aren't," the ermine answered. "Someone has to keep this place up and running. Now go home and take the rest of the day off."

"We have homework to do," Cloud mentioned. From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he wasn't thrilled to have more work to do after the exhausting day of training and testing. "Thanks for helping me with my training, Ryan."

"No problem, otter," said the ermine cheerfully before turning back toward the stairs that led to his office.

The otters left the building and walked back to their place with the sun setting over the horizon. When they arrived home, Cloud went straight to the bed and collapsed onto it. He curled up on it and seemed content on sleeping right then and there.

"Cloud, weren't we going to do our homework?" pestered Rye.

"Do I have to?" moaned Cloud, shifting on the bed to look at the blue otter.

"How about you make yourself comfortable there and we can do our homework in bed," Rye suggested. He caressed the white otter's cheek briefly before exiting the bedroom. The otter gathered most of the school supplies that were scattered around the tables and couches before grabbing a small snack for himself and Cloud.

Returning to the bedroom, he noticed that Cloud was resting under the covers now with his shoulders bare, as he lay on his stomach. Propped up on his elbows, his paws were fumbling with the homework files on his Pawpad. To the side of the bed was a small pile of the white otter's clothes.

"You look ready to sleep for the night," commented Rye, walking to the edge of the bed. "I brought you a snack."

"Thank you, Rye," said Cloud, turning on his side to prop himself up with an elbow. Accepting the fresh fruit, he eagerly began gnawing on it. "Our history homework is easy so I already started on it."

Glancing on the small device, the otter didn't see any answers being filled in. Instead he saw an image of his naked self being drawn by Cloud.

"Cloud," exclaimed Rye, reaching for the PawPad. The white otter giggled and pulled the PawPad just out of Rye's reach. "They can monitor that application on all of our phones, someone might see it."

"Then our teacher will really be jealous of me," Cloud teased, continuing on the drawing. "I live with this adorable otter."

"Erase it," pleaded Rye, climbing on the bed and over Cloud while he reached for the PawPad. Cloud continued to giggle and he tried to squirm away from Rye.

"Nope, I can't, I already saved it," said the white otter triumphantly.

"Then I'll delete it for you," promised Rye jumping on top of the white otter beneath him. Cloud tucked the PawPad under his chest and lied on it, chuckling while Rye desperately tried to retrieve the device.

"You're not going to get it," Cloud boasted.

Rye gripped both sides of the white otter's chest and tried to lift him up so he could reach the PawPad but Cloud squirmed out of his grip before he was lifted too high.

"Give it," he demanded, smiling to himself while he wrestled the other otter. Failing to lift the white otter, he grabbed onto him tight and attempted to roll and use his own weight to roll Cloud over with him.

Cloud was pulled on his side with Rye but he kept his body between the otter and the PawPad. Reaching around the Cloud the blue otter was just out of reach of the PawPad.

"We have to do our homework, give it up," Rye again pleaded, giggling every time he almost reached the PawPad only to have it extend out of his reach again.

"My history homework is finished," stated Cloud through his chuckling. "It's the best assignment that has been turned in yet."

"No it's not."

Deciding to take a more aggressive approach, Rye rolled away from the white otter briefly only to pounce on top of him and pin him to the bed. Straddling Cloud's hips, Rye finally was in reach of the PawPad, and grabbed hold of the white paws that gripped it tightly. He tried to loosen the grip on the device but it was difficult because the otter he sat on squirmed and bucked in an attempt to free himself of Rye.

"Rye, get off me," Cloud pleaded, squirming beneath the blue otter while he attempted to keep his PawPad in his grip. Rye attempted to pin Cloud down by placing on paw on his chest near his neck but only managed in tickling the trapped otter. "Don't! That tickles!"

Changing his strategy, Rye used both paws to softly scratch around Cloud's neck and he was rewarded with the otter's uncontrolled laughter.

"Stop, I'm gong to cry," Cloud sobbed between his laughter.

"Surrender the PawPad," demanded Rye, chuckling while he tortured the otter. For several seconds he continued to tickle him, even after tears started streaming down the otter's cheeks and he was struggling to catch his breath.

"Okay, wait!" Cloud managed to get out, halting the otter's relentless tickling.

Sitting on the white otter, Rye waited for the giggle attack to pass. Cloud kept the PawPad tight in his grip while he recovered his breath. Before he fully recovered, Cloud tossed the PawPad over the edge of the bed with a snickering laugh.

Rye hopped off the otter and dove for it, but Cloud grabbed him by the tail and held him back. The blue otter landed face down onto the bed, giving Cloud the opportunity to tackle the otter. Lying on Rye, practically spooning with him, the white otter attempted to hold back the other determined otter.

"You cheated," Rye claimed, unable to control his giggling now. He squirmed and pulled himself toward the edge of the bed while Cloud did his best to pin him there.

Using Rye's tactic, Cloud gripped him around his midsection and attempted to roll him over with his weight. Rye was still squirming, and bucked just hard enough that Cloud lost his balance, and they both rolled over the wrong way and off the bed.

The white otter landed hard on the ground, knocking the breath out of him when Rye landed on top him further crushing him.

"Ow," moaned the crushed otter.

"I'm sorry," Rye said hastily, his eyes going wide as he looked down on the white otter he landed on. "Cloud, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," answered Cloud, a little dizzy from the short fall. He managed to giggle a little. "That hurt though."

"I am sorry," Rye apologized again, his ears back slightly in shame. "You win, just no more drawing pictures on our assignments."

"No more pictures," Cloud agreed, still slightly dazed.

Attempting to sit up, Rye felt a pair of paws holding him tight against the white otter. Cloud smiled, leaned up just enough to gently lick across Rye's cheek.

"You're adorable when you look guilty like that," he said, his smile growing wider.

His smile was returned by Rye, who leaned back down and licked the fur between Cloud's ears. "You must have hit your head harder than I thought."

Cloud giggled and released the otter on top of him, allowing for the otter to crawl back onto the bed. On the bed, Rye organized his own homework on his own while Cloud retrieved his PawPad from under the bed before joining the blue otter. They snuggled up against each other before they started working on their school assignments.

The two otters worked on a couple homework assignments before Cloud unintentionally fell asleep. The exhausting day finally caught up with him and he was asleep before the sun was fully set.