by _Anthology
“Oh, Ross. Again?” That, too, had become a familiar refrain. Where Anil’s voice was sharp like a knife’s edge, though, Lindy’s was smooth like silk. Ross nodded again, but this time, instead of being pushed further, he was pulled into a warm hug. Lindy always gave the best hugs. Ross sank into it, tucking his wings down and kicking the door closed behind him.
Lindy let him hold on for a long moment. When she finally drew away, it was only to brush Ross’ hair out of his face. Finally, he looked up. She was so beautiful, with her pale skin and pink eyes and sleek white hair slicked back from her face. When he met her eyes, she smiled gently. “Tea?”
Ross nodded gratefully. “Please.” He even worked up a small smile for her. “Tea sounds wonderful.” She gave him a soft kiss and went to brew the tea. It was something of a ritual on nights like this. The hug, the smile, the offer of tea. Ross needed all of it to make the night feel good again. He kicked off his shoes by the door, and then went to slump down into the corner of the couch, his back to the arm and his legs stretched across the seat.
Lindy came back in a few minutes later, carrying two large, bowl-shaped mugs filled to the brim with tea and milk and sugar. “Thank you,” Ross said, when she handed one over and settled herself on his lap. When they were settled, cuddled close, he finally started to feel better. Logically, he knew that Lindy wasn’t any warmer than he was, but it felt good, having her body resting against his own.
Lindy’s murmured acknowledgement of his thanks was the last thing they said for a long while. Finally, though, as Lindy stretched over Ross to put her empty mug down on the table behind him, she said, “You need somebody to protect you.”
Ross didn’t say anything at first. He focused on putting his own mug down without breaking it. When he looked up, Lindy was watching him expectantly. Up until three years ago, Lindy had lived here alone. Ross had lived across the hall. When their rat of a landlord jacked up the rent, though, they’d agreed that it would be more sensible to move in together. Share the rent, share the cleaning, share the bed. It was an arrangement that worked well for them. Very well, in Ross’ opinion.
He shook his head. “I don’t need anyone else.” Snakes flocked, just like birds—nested, they called it—but he and Lindy, they were a pair. “You take care of me. We do okay.” Lindy smiled that gentle smile again, shaking her head. “I take care of you,” she agreed softly, “but I can’t protect you. You need someone who can do that, who can keep them from doing this to you, Ross.”
Lindy was always worried about Ross being protected. She worked at the police headquarters and he worked at City Hall, just a block away. She worked days, though, and he worked second shift, so by the time he was off work, she’d been home for hours already. She couldn’t change her hours and neither could he. She’d talked about coming back downtown to walk home with him, but Ross was afraid that Anil and his friends would just take their frustrations out on her, too.
“We do okay,” he said again, thinking of the card in his pocket, the cat he’d met in the alley on his way home from work. Tau. “I don’t need anyone else.”
To prove his point, Ross leaned up, catching Lindy’s mouth in a kiss. Her mouth opened against his and he licked his way inside, tasting the honey she favored in her tea. The little hissing noises she made when she was pleased, like now, were enough to make his feathers ruffle up with want.
Ross pulled back from the kisses to see Lindy’s face. As he watched, her pale skin gave way to even paler scales. He smiled and stroked her cheek, his fingertips sliding over smooth scales instead of skin. Her eyes were still pink and her hair still sleek and white; it was just her skin that had changed.
“You’re gorgeous like this,” he murmured. She was a beautiful woman and a beautiful snake, but he’d always thought she was most striking when she’d shifted halfway between, like she was now.
Lindy ducked her head a little as she smiled, leaning in to flick her long, narrow tongue against his lips. He wrapped his hands around her waist and tugged her up against him, kissing her firmly.
“Gorgeous,” he repeated, kissing from her mouth down to her jaw and nuzzling up into her hairline. She tilted her head and he took the hint, licking and sucking lightly at the soft scales just beneath where her ear would’ve been in full human form. In either form, the spot was sensitive, and it made her shiver, pressing closer to his mouth.
He kept his mouth on it, his hands moving to push her shirt up at her waist. She arched, writhing like the snake she was, when his hands slipped up under her shirt to slide over her back. She felt good, sleek and smooth all over, and it was even better when she shifted away and pulled her shirt off over her head so that he could touch more.
While she was kneeling above him, Ross leaned up to catch one of her nipples between his lips. She hadn’t shifted so far that they had disappeared, and he was glad of it. He thought her breasts were as beautiful as the rest of her. He cupped one in the palm of his hand, rolling his thumb over the nipple and pinching lightly. She shivered and tangled her fingers into his hair, holding his mouth against her breast.
He held her nipple between his teeth, pinching lightly, just to hear her hiss and feel her shiver again. She arched and ground her body down against his, making him moan and bite down harder. It was a vicious cycle, but a pleasurable one.
“Bed,” Lindy whispered harshly, rolling her hips again. He let go of her breast with his hand, let go of her nipple with his teeth. Beating his wings gently, he pushed his body to sit upright. He wrapped his arms around Lindy, one around her waist and the other under her ass, and then used the beating of his wings again to help him stand.
“Now,” she said, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Ross carried her into the bedroom and tumbled them both into bed. They both struggled out of their pants. Ross slipped down to the floor, kneeling between her legs. He licked up inside her until she was writhing against him, tangling her fingers in his hair again and begging for more. He gave her more, sliding two fingers into her and tugging gently on her clit with his teeth. Lindy arched up, crying out and pushing her body down against his hand and his mouth.
“Fuck me.” Her voice was soft and unsteady, but he knew better than to think she wasn’t sure of what she wanted. He pushed up over her and in, bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders. He rolled his hips and Lindy arched up, winding her legs around his waist to pull up against him.
It felt good, so good. Her body was hot and tight around him, sleek and soft under him. The noises she made, little hisses of pleasure, felt like they had a direct line to his cock, making him buck and writhe against her. The harder he moved, the more noise she made, which just pushed him to thrust even harder and faster, until they were crashing against each other and he couldn’t tell which of them was making more noise.
Afterward, lazy and sated, they lay spooned together on the bed until Lindy finally groaned and rolled away to take a shower. When she came back out a few minutes later, Ross was still sprawled out on the bed. “Feel better?” he asked, stretching slowly.
“Mmm.” Lindy smiled and started picking up all their dirty clothes. “What’s this?” Ross tensed when he realized what she was holding. She’d emptied the pockets of his pants and found the card Tau had left. “There was this man, a cat, I think. He scared off Anil and the others, gave me that. It’s no big deal.”
“He scared off the birds?” Lindy looked down at the card again, then back up at Ross. “What’d he want?” Ross rolled over, belly down on the bed. His wings were tucked down along his back, covering most of his body. He propped himself up on his elbows and picked at the skin around one thumbnail with the other. “Me.”
“He wanted you.” The bed dipped as Lindy sat down next to him. “He scared Anil off, protecting you from them, and offered to keep you?”
Frowning, Ross watched his cuticle split open and tear the skin just past it. Before it started to bleed, Lindy’s hand got in the way, curling over both of his hands.
“Yeah. He wanted me, wanted to keep me.” He looked up at her, still frowning. “Does it matter what I want?”
Lindy sighed and cupped Ross’ cheek with her other hand. “Of course it matters, Ross. I just…. I want you to be safe. That’s all.”
*** Anil didn’t come after Ross on his way home the next day, or the day after that. On the third day, though, Ross was only halfway home when he heard the unmistakable sound of feathers fluttering behind him, and he knew. Anil and his friends were back for more.
Without waiting to see what they would do, and against his better judgment, Ross started to run. The alley was dark, but Ross knew every step of his path from work to home. The beating of their wings stirred up the dirt on the ground, and all the awful smells of rotting garbage with it. One of the birds dove at him; the sharp edge of a beak caught him on the back of his neck. He couldn’t see to know who it was, but the caw that came after was so challenging that it couldn’t have been anyone but Anil himself.
The shock of cold air told him he was bleeding, but he couldn’t stop or even slow enough to put a hand to the wound. Keeping his wings tucked down against his back, Ross jumped over a trashcan that had been lying on its side on the ground for the past three months. He had to get away.
He dove into the narrow space between two dumpsters, pressing back against the wall. He could feel something wet under one hand, something sticky under the other, but he didn’t move. Maybe he could hide here until they went away. The opening was too narrow for anyone in full bird form to fit through; their outstretched wings wouldn’t clear the dumpsters.
The hollow, metallic sound of the birds hitting the dumpsters was followed by silence. That was almost worse. Ross couldn’t tell if they were leaving, or just lying in wait. He held his breath, trying to listen for even the smallest sound that would tell him if he was safe. His chest grew tight with the need to breathe, but he finally heard the faint tearing sound of someone shifting.
“You think you can hide in there?”
It was Anil’s voice, Anil’s footsteps moving closer. Ross pushed himself farther back against the wall behind him. Why couldn’t Anil just leave him alone? Wasn’t he bored with all this by now?
“That cat isn’t here to save you, this time.” Apparently not. Anil’s voice was closer now, and what little light there had been was now blocked by the solidity of his body.
“How do you know he’s not around here somewhere?” Ross challenged, trying to swallow down his fear.
Anil laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “He hasn’t been anywhere near you for days, little freak. Looks like you just weren’t good enough to hold his interest.” The words stung, even though Ross knew he was the one who was supposed to make contact with Tau. He hadn’t called, but if Tau had really wanted him, wouldn’t he have come looking again? “But I’m good enough to hold your interest?” he shot back, knowing that he was just provoking Anil now, making things worse for himself.
Sure enough, Anil screamed his anger and dove at Ross. Ross threw his hands up to guard his face, but it just meant the first blows fell on his hands and arms. He couldn’t stop the cries of pain that slipped free when one of Anil’s fists hit just right to smash his fingers into his cheekbone and drive the flesh of his cheek against his teeth. It wasn’t until he closed his mouth to swallow his next cry that he tasted the blood.
Anil didn’t stop there. His fist caught Ross’ jaw, snapping his head back against the wall. When Ross raised his hands to ward off another blow, Anil grabbed Ross’ fingers with one hand, his arm with the other, and twisted hard in opposite directions. Something cracked and then, suddenly, everything burned. Ross screamed, but Anil still hadn’t had enough.
It didn’t stop. It wasn’t ever going to stop. After awhile, Anil didn’t even have to hit him for the pain to spark through Ross’ body, Ross just had to try to breathe and it all started again. His breaths came shallower and more labored, and finally Ross found his relief in the quiet gray of unconsciousness.
***
When Ross opened his eyes again, the person in front of him wasn’t Anil. It was Tau. “What…?” he asked, or tried to. His voice came out as a rasp; he’d screamed his throat raw.
“Don’t talk, Ross. We’re going to get you some help.” That was Lindy’s voice. Ross tried to focus, but all he could see was a dark shape blocking the light over Tau’s shoulder. “I’m going to move you,” Tau warned, his voice a soft growl, like he was angry and trying to hide it. The sound made Ross flinch back, but Tau’s touch was gentle, not harsh, and it worked to help Ross relax again. “It’s going to be okay.”
Ross tried to help, but all he managed was to wrap one arm around Tau’s neck as Tau lifted him up. The movement was careful, but even so, every inch of skin and muscle and bone that Anil had touched suddenly burned to life. Ross cried out and jerked away, which sent another round of pain shooting through his body, chasing close after the first. He tensed, trying to hold still to stop the pain, but that, too, made things worse.
Tau didn’t stop moving him, though. He pulled Ross out of the cramped space between the two dumpsters. When there was enough room, he shifted Ross in his arms, so that the position put less pressure on Ross’ arms, which had taken the brunt of Anil’s anger.
Lindy was right there beside him once he was settled. “Shh,” she said, stroking his hair back from his forehead with the tips of her fingers. Where she touched felt like the only parts of his body that didn’t hurt.
“Let’s get you out of here. I have some friends who can help you.” “More lions? Your pride?” Ross was injured; a pride of lions would just see him as fresh meat. He still didn’t know why Tau didn’t see him that way.
Tau smiled, showing his teeth. “No. I don’t have a pride.” Ross didn’t have much time to mull that over. Once Lindy stepped back out of the way, Tau started walking. “I can walk,” Ross protested, rasping out the words. He could hear Lindy’s soft snort of protest.
“So can I,” Tau said, and kept walking. He had a slow, rolling gait that hardly jarred Ross’ body at all. They walked for a long time, around corners and down sidewalks, until Tau finally stopped at a narrow townhouse with a wide, wooden door. Lindy knocked and a boy answered the door. Before either of them could say anything, Tau spoke up. “Greetings, Gunnar. I need to see Apokni Nita.”
“Amoshi Tau….” The boy—Gunnar—flicked his eyes from Tau’s face down to Ross, and then back up again. “ Now, Gunnar.” There was an edge to Tau’s voice that hadn’t been there before. Gunnar noticed it and nodded quickly, then rushed off to find whoever Tau was looking for. He left the door open, so Tau carried Ross inside and Lindy followed, closing the door behind them.
“Where are we?” Tau had said these people weren’t his pride and, watching Gunnar, he knew they weren’t lions. They moved like bears.
“This is my family. My father came here a long time ago, when I was just a cub. They took us in, gave us a home. They’ll help you, too.” Before Ross could ask anything else, Gunnar came back.
“Apokni will see you, Amoshi Tau,” the boy said quickly, stepping aside to make room for Tau and Ross. “She’s in her office. She said for you to go on down.” “Thank you,” Tau said, already moving toward the doorway Gunnar had come through. Gunnar pointed toward a stairwell, but Tau seemed to know where he was going. Ross tensed a little as they entered a small, dark, unfamiliar corridor, but he could hear the soft swish of Lindy’s footsteps behind them and he relaxed again.
There were three doors at the bottom of the stairs. The two on the sides were closed and dark underneath, but the one straight ahead was open just a crack and Ross could see light inside. Before Tau made it to the door, it was pushed open from inside.
The woman standing there was older—in her forties or fifties, Ross guessed—with black hair streaked with silver-gray and skin darker than Tau’s. She had a kind smile and warm brown eyes. “It’s good to see you, Tau,” she sai
d, stepping back into the room so they could come inside. “You haven’t come home in far too long. Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
“This is Lindy,” Tau said, nodding toward her, “and this is Ross.” He dipped his head to nose gently at Ross’ cheek. “Oh, this is the boy you told me about?” the woman asked, stepping closer. Ross couldn’t imagine why Tau would’ve told this woman about him. Or when. They’d only met a couple days ago. “You can relax, dear. I’m a doctor. I won’t hurt you.” She reached out and gently touched the injured hand that was tucked tight against his chest. “Tau, why don’t you set him down so I can see about fixing him up?”
Tau grumbled a little, but he took a few steps forward and gently settled Ross on his feet. Ross swayed a little, and Tau kept his hands on Ross’ arms until he caught his balance by leaning back against the large, ornate wooden desk behind him. “Thank you,” Ross rasped, glancing up.
Tau’s warm, honey-brown eyes stared back at him. He brushed his fingertips over Ross’ cheek. “Don’t thank me,” he murmured, shaking his head a little. “I just made things worse, didn’t I?” He had, but Ross didn’t want to say it. Whatever was going on with Tau, he obviously hadn’t meant for Ross to get hurt like this. Ross looked down at the floor and Tau’s hand fell away. They both knew the answer, whether Ross said it aloud or not.
After another moment, Nita interrupted the silence. “Okay, Ross. Tau is going to take Lindy here upstairs and show her around the den. Don’t you worry, though. I’m going to get you all fixed up.”
When they were alone, Ross asked, “Why are you helping me? I’m not even a real bird, much less a bear like you.”
Nita smiled, shaking her head as though Ross had said something silly. “Tau may be a lion, but he’s still part of my den, and he’s claimed you as one of his.” “Your den really took in a lion?” Ross knew he sounded doubtful, but he couldn’t help it. Crossspecies friendships were uncommon enough, but bringing someone of another species into your flock was unheard of, in his experience. He’d heard that bears were more accepting of other species, but he’d never seen it for himself, and he’d never thought it extended this far. Most species were insular, kept to their own kind.
