The Otter
#7 of Box of Chocolates
Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. To the story!
Chapter 7: The Otter
Andrew was barely aware of what was happening around him. He could hear muffled voices and sounds, as if he was far away from everything else in the world. His body hurt, but only mildly, as if the ache was also far away. He could feel what he couldn't exactly call pain, but more like a small amount of pressure being pushed against him. Pushed against his muscles in small places, about the size of a fist.
He tried to open his eyes, but was unable. It was like he didn't really want to see the world. Like he didn't want to face the pain brought by the world. And then he heard the voices again, closer this time, more audible. He tried to make out words of what they were saying.
"Look... Face... itching... Thing e' 'wake."
All Andrew could understand was fragments, sometimes not even whole words.
"I think... should wake 'm up."
Then at once, a sharp scent entered Andrew's nostrils. He could smell again, he could feel more pressure. All at once, he was coming back. The pressure quickly became pain. Not really sharp pain, but pain none-the-less. Andrew sat up and looked around the room. The two voices had come from his friends Lexin and Rai. Andrew opened his mouth to speak, when Rai placed a finger on Andrew's lips to quiet him.
"Don't talk. You have a large bump on the back of your head, and a large bruise on each side of it. Other than that, you are ok. Not in the best condition though. Lexin checked for other bruises."
Andrew knew that they were just kidding, but still looked down to see that his clothes were on. Everything was in order. He had blood down the front of his shirt, and his sleeve. He looked around his room and saw that everything had been thrown out of their boxes.
It seemed that the two bulls had taken it upon themselves to unpack for him. They probably got angry after he fainted from the second blow to the head. There was no way that a Labrador, even with wolf blood, could stand up against two buff bulls.
Andrew tightened into a ball and wept. Rai hugged him and Lexin sat on the other side and laid his paw on the Lab's shoulder.
... ... ...
Andrew walked slowly over to where Daniel had just pulled up. If he walked too fast, his head would hurt and he would double over with pain. Rai had offered to get him some pain relievers, but he had declined. Daniel got off his bike and looked at Andrew. He didn't move closer, but just watched. Andrew hobbled over to Daniel in order to talk. Daniel just leaned against his bike and looked at Andrew with his stoic expression.
"Was it those bulls I taught a lesson to the other night? Yep, I can tell. Told you that Ned always brought some sort of pain to someone. Anyway, I came to tell you that Joey contacted me. He said that after moving away, it feels like something was lifted off of his shoulders. Even I got hurt, and I never get hurt on my bike. In case you didn't notice, I have a new bike now, BMW K1200GT..."
"Shut up. I'm in more pain. You can't possibly be hurting like me."
"True, you did get your face knocked in a bit. But still, my Ninja needs a new body. I have the money now, but still. And I came to tell you that I am moving now. So you will finally know where I live. But not my new house, just the current one. How are you feeling?"
"Not so good. I feel like I'm gonna fall over. My head feels like it is heavier than my whole body. Why didn't you ever want me to know where you live? And why are you hiding your new house now?"
"I need to fix up the new house a bit, and secure it. Until then, I don't know who to trust. And the new house I actually own now! It isn't just an apartment. Because of my game, I am going to need a faster master server, and a faster internet connection, so..."
Andrew wasn't really listening to the last few words. He had stalled after the words 'My game.' Had Daniel really created a game? Is that what he had been doing his last two years in the time not spent with us?
"Earth to Andrew." Said Daniel. "I think you should go inside. I have to go shopping. I will see you tomorrow." With that, Daniel got on his new bike and took off.
Andrew rubbed his head softly and started for his dormitory. He took no more then two steps when he felt the ground beneath his feet slip out from under him. He fell to the ground and felt a strong rush of pain flow through his body. He tried to pick himself up but was bound by the pain.
He cried till his vision faded and lost all connection to the outer world.
... ... ...
Rai sat at the computer typing up a paper when Lexin walked in dressed with a towel. "Almost done Rai?"
"Yeah. Finishing the last sentence now, and print." The printer distributed about five pages and he looked them over. "This is good." He set them beside the monitor and laid down on their co-joined bed. Lexin lied down next to him, still clad in his towel.
"You okay Rai?"
He rolled over and looked into Lexin's eyes. "I'm worried..."
"About Andy?"
"Yeah. You recognized the scent floating around in his room didn't you?"
Lexin hugged him close. "Yeah. It was the bovine again."
"I still can't get the site out of my head. Seeing Andy lying in the middle of that mess. I almost thought..." Lexin cut him off.
"Let me ask you something. Are we bigger than those bulls?"
"Of course. Way bigger. But what does that have to do with it?"
"If Andy could endure sparring with us, than he'll be okay against those two."
Rai smiled, but it was a weak one. "I guess that's true."
Lexin kissed him softly. He got up and put on some shorts and a t-shirt. "Hey. I need to go somewhere but I'll be right back okay?" Rai looked puzzled but nodded.
"Don't worry about it." Lexin left the room and his face grew into a snarl. "Now to take care of some business."
He walked to the back of the dorms, and called out, "You two, come out NOW!" Two figures appeared out of a group of trees and bushes. Both grinning.
"So what's this about," asked the appearing black bovine.
"You bastards know damn well what this is about!" shouted Lexin.
"Hmm...I can't think of anything. Can you Tony?"
"Nothing comes to mind Zack." The two laughed, but Lexin wasn't amused.
"You know what you did. Back off my friend!" Lexin growled loudly and tensed himself up.
"Your friend? Oh! You mean the Mutt? Now that was fun." Zack laughed again and Tony joined in. "We'll do whatever we please. If we want to beat that Mutt to a bloody pulp again, we will."
"No, you WON'T!" He darted at them, both fists clenched tight.
. . .
Andrew sat down and closed his eyes. His pain was slowly ebbing away due to the large amount of aspirin he just took. He thought about what had happened, and decided to spend a little more time at the gym when he could lift weights again. If he couldn't take on two bulls, he would at least like to damage one in a fight.
His thoughts faded as he began to sleep. He drifted out of consciousness and began to dream. His dreams all involved nothing but silhouettes. Nothing made any sense at all.
In one dream, there was an otter-shaped silhouette. Andrew watched it's body move as if it were made of the same water that it made it's home in. It looked enticing to his eyes. He couldn't pull them away.
"Come closer Andrew," It said. "I want to hold you. Andrew... Andrew..."
"Andrew..."
Andrew stirred awake and looked around the room. It was morning already. He must have slept for quite awhile. As he was thinking, someone shoved him.
"Andrew... finally you wake up. I've been trying to wake you up for awhile now. I need to talk to you. I brought breakfast in case you were hungry."
Andrew sat up and looked over at what looked like Ned. It was impossible to tell who it was, because the sun was shining from behind the figure. Andrew shook his head to clear his thoughts of the dream, feeling a little pain.
"Is that you Ned?"
"Yes, it's me. I need to ask you stuff. So, do you want breakfast? It's Jack-in-the-box."
"I guess. What do you want to talk about?" Andrew asked as he started to put a shirt on. 'How did he get in though?'
"Well, I need a place to stay. I'm not living anywhere at the moment, and I need a place to stay. I really need a place to stay. Could I possibly stay with Daniel or Victor?"
"I don't even know where Daniel lives. I doubt that he would tell. Plus, Daniel has many weapons at his house, and I don't think that he would trust you around them. From what I've seen, he already doesn't trust you. You should ask Victor if you can move in with him."
"I think I'll ask Daniel if I can stay at his house for awhile. I need to stay somewhere. I think that even if he says no, I can persuade him."
. . .
"No! You can not stay with me. No matter what you say. I think I can get Victor to let you say with him, but my house is out of the question!"
"Fine. I guess I'll ask Victor. He might say yes."
"I wouldn't count on it. I can get him to let you stay there for awhile though. And don't be surprised if he has a fur staying at his house with him. I get the feeling he has a new girlfriend. And he always had a like for dogs.
. . .
Victor stepped out into the hall. He had thought he heard something and thought he'd investigate it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so he turned to go back into his room. As soon as he turned around, he heard the sound again, this time it came from the kitchen. He turned back around and walked toward the sound.
As he neared the kitchen, a slight glow appeared from the doorway. After a couple of seconds it went back out. As Victor moved closer, a figure walked out of the kitchen and into Victor. Victor screamed and started throwing punches in the fur's direction.
Ned fell back about two feet and had blood running down the side of his muzzle. Victor was breathing heavy and just kept himself in that stance. Ned picked himself up and wiped his lower lip.
"Good morning Victor. Is it all right if I can move in with you?"
Victor didn't know what to think. Here he punched a guy that sneaks up on him in his house and he has the mordacity to ask if he can move in? He eased up and tossed a damp dish towel to Ned. "I'm sorry for the punch but you had no right coming in here like you did."
"Whatever I get, I get. So can I move in?"
Instead, he yawned and stretched and went to the fridge and took a few sips of milk. He looked over at Ned, who had yet to take his eyes off the bat. 'This guy seriously creeps me out.' He closed the fridge and leaned against the counter.
"I got a message from Daniel and he told me about your status," he sighed lightly. "But my damn conscious won't shut up. I swear it's worse than Andrew sometimes." He laughed at his own joke.
"Thank you and I'll see you later." Ned left before Victor could say anything more.
"Damn it Daniel. You, me, AND Andrew are going to have a serious talk later."
. . . . . . .
Andrew slouched around his room, feeling less pain, but still a bit out of it. "I can't believe Ned came into my room like that. Even more odd was that he knew which one was mine." He kept thinking about it till it started giving him a headache and he said screw it. At least it wasn't Them. The memory of that day froze him up inside. "I'm not much a dog if I'm this scared. Ow." He sat down on his bed and buried his face in his pillows. "I'm just glad there's no classes today...but I do have to go to work. Bills win over injuries every time." He slipped into some shorts and gathered his shower supplies.
He walked down the strangely empty halls. "Guess everyone's still sleeping." He silently made his way to the upstairs shower.
He draped his towel over the bar and turned on a shower head. He winced slightly from the sudden cold but waited till it got warm. At least he was more awake now. He picked up his shower gel and applied it to his fur. "I hope Matt doesn't notice or find out about this."
"Find out about what?"
Andrew turned around and saw Lexin and Rai standing by the dry zone, both wrapped in towels. Andrew felt his face start to warm up. "N-nothing." He turned back around with his ears folded back and turned off the water. He wrapped himself in his towel and attempted to leave but the two tigers were too big to pass. "Why did they have to be this big?"
"Hold on there Andy," said Rai. "Who's Matt?"
"Just a new employee at the gym. I don't really know him. Anyway, I'll let you two have the showers." He waited for them to move and let him through, but instead they blocked it more. "Can I get through please? I'm still a little sore and," Rai interrupted him with a snap from his towel.
"We'll move after you give us an honest answer. We went to the gym a couple of days ago and we met Matt."
Andrew rubbed his side. "Okay. I guess your going to see him around." Rai ignored him and continued.
"He is quite a looker that one. Isn't he Lex?"
Lexin grinned and nodded. "Maybe we should see if he's up for a little 'wrestling' with us.
Andrew knew what he meant and blushed. Rai noticed and teased him more.
"I wonder how well he would 'perform.' He's built very well for an otter."
"I guess he is. I don't know otters that well," said Andrew.
"Well maybe you should get to know this one," said Rai.
"We work together. He's helping me by being my trainer,"
"Oh. So you to have 'one-on-one' time?" interrupted Rai.
"Well maybe he can help you build up more and the four of us could have a 'tag team match,'" said Lexin with a glint in his eye. One that Andrew recognized too well.
"Guys, I gotta go. I need to get ready." Andrew was beginning to feel more red in the face and his tail was twitching up a storm, almost a dead give-away of how he was feeling.
"Got to look good for your fur. We understand," said Rai. Both him and Lexin made barely enough room for him to pass.
Andrew squeezed through but not before they sandwiched him for a few seconds. He squirmed away and jogged off.
Lexin grinned and pulled Rai into a deep kiss.
"Where did that come from Lex?"
"Well, turns out my hunch was right."
"And you're sure about this?"
"Yep. From the way he was reacting and from what I just felt on him. Something got stirred up." He grinned and hugged Rai tight.
Rai purred and wrapped his tail around Lexin's. "How about that shower then?"