Leisure at the Lake by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
It was a bright spring day, and birds chirped just outside a closed window. Within a young boy, who recently just had his 12th birthday, begins to rouse as a thin beam of light streams across his body. The light cascades softly over his form, only obscured by the slats in his window shade. Yet the most annoying of them projects right near his eyes as he wakes up from a long sleep. No alarm had gone off that day since spring break had just begun, and the cub didn’t have to worry about his usual school responsibilities.
Thiago’s eyes fluttered as the light finally got to him. Rubbing his eyes, the preteen boy sat up in his bed as he stretched and yawned. Staring at the clock, he could see it was later in the morning. He was a bit surprised that his mother hadn’t woken him up since usually, she did, even on days that he was off. The young beaver boy sat upright in his bed as he slowly came around and his vision cleared up from the long night of slumber.
Getting up, Thiago stretched a moment. His pajamas stretched on his lithe form, and a small bit of his stomach showed. The sleepwear was getting a bit smaller on him, especially since he recently had a growth spurt. Still, the stuff mostly fit him, and he was especially fond of it since it had designs of his favorite video game character on it. The cub yawned again as he padded out from his room and into the thin hallway leading through the main portion of his family home.
The young rodent was an only child who lived with his parents in the suburbs along the shores of one of the great lakes. The large Lake was right outside his very windows and was usually lively with activity. Thiago padded into the kitchen, where he found it just as quiet as the rest of the house. A small plate of fruit that had already been cut for him lay on the counter with a slip of paper next to it. The cub picked up the slip of paper and read it.
“Good morning, sleepy head. I saw you were still sleeping when I left. I spoke to Lorenzo’s father, and he said the boy can come over whenever you’re ready. Just call or text them or whatever. Don’t make a mess, or I will make you clean it up when I get home later today. Have fun, Ciao!”
The note was from his mother. Thiago knew the writing since it was clean and neat, something that wasn’t in the style of his father's. Smiling, the rodent realized he’d be alone today. Recently, he had been given more autonomy and personal liberty. He was very much enjoying the independence. The beaver decided to make himself something to eat before texting his best friend Lorenzo to come over and hang out.
Thiago made himself a small breakfast, nothing more than a bowl of cereal and an apple. He was a somewhat lazy cub who wasn’t great about his personal responsibilities. Sipping on some apple juice, he thought about the day before him. His mind eventually wandered to what he would do with Lorenzo. The cub looked outside and saw that it looked mostly clear. Perhaps they could go swimming in the lake, he told himself.
The thought of swimming in the lake seemed fun to him. His home was mere walking distance of it, so getting there wouldn’t be a problem. The beaver smiled as he finished chomping down on the crisp apple. In his mind, he had already decided that they would swim. Finishing up his meal, he didn’t bother cleaning up much but threw away the scraps of the apple and left the box of cereal where it was.
Busying himself for the next short while, Thiago got on his PlayStation to play his most recent favorite game. The boy was somewhat spoiled and got most everything he wanted. Already in the console was Astro Bot, a game in which he was pitted against various environmental hazards to save lost robots and defeat the vile Nebulax. Time frittered away as he played through a few of the levels, trying to complete each of the challenges for the various achievements and rewards they offered.
It wasn’t long before he overheard a knock at the door. Certain that it was Lorenzo, the cub exploded off his bed and ran down the hall. Making his way to the front door to open it. On the way, the clumsy cub tripped over himself but quickly got up undeterred by the slipup. Opening the door, the rodent smiled at his friend, who greeted him at the door. Lorenzo stood in front of him, the slightly taller Ermine cub whom he had known for several years.
Lorenzo was a stout young cub who was in the same grade as Thiago. The mustelid’s white furred body was thicker as he hadn’t quite grown into it yet. Not quite overweight, the boy was larger than his best friend in every regard. Wearing a simple graphic t-shirt with his favorite band on it and some beat-up old denim shorts, the boy was a music junky. Smirking at his friend, who still had not yet changed out of his pajamas.
“Ain’t you gonna change, yo?” The white furred cub couldn’t help but chuckle at the smaller boy.
Thiago blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry…I forgot.”
“You’re such a dweeb, you know that?” The mustelid enjoyed teasing his friend whenever he could.
The beaver huffed in frustration. “I’m not a dweeb. Take it back, you dork.”
“You're calling me a dork? You’re the one standing here in Mega Man pajamas.” Lorenzo waved to his parents, who were now pulling out of the home's parking spot.
The rodent rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Look, I was thinking maybe we could go swim in the lake if you didn’t wanna do anything else?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s hot anyways. Can I borrow one of your trunks?” The bigger boy had forgotten to bring one of his own.
Nodding the brown furred cub motioned for his friend to follow him. Lorenzo kept close behind him despite having been to the place before countless times. Leading him to his room, Thiago stopped by his dresser drawer and pulled out two pairs of swim trunks.
Tossing one over to his friend, the beaver pointed toward the bathroom. “You can change in the bathroom.”
Saying nothing, the ermine padded back towards his friend's bathroom. The inside of which smelled like bubble gum and sanitizing spray. It was an odd mixture of scents to be sure, but fortunately, the smell of the bubble gum overpowered whatever cleaning product the family had used recently. Stripping off his clothing, the mustelid boy changed into the swimming trunks. The bathing suit had an elastic waist to it, so it fit him just fine despite being bigger than his best friend. When he was done, he stepped back outside and into Thiago’s room. There was no sign of the beaver boy, and he couldn’t help but wonder where he had gone.
Stepping back into the hall, Lorenzo started looking for him. It was quiet in the house, and he began to think his friend was playing a trick on him.
“Where are you, T?” The boy called out in a somewhat raised tone of voice.
Yet there was no response for a moment until he heard a door open and shut. Sure enough, the rodent was there waiting for him at the exit inside the kitchen. Already, the smaller cub had dressed down to his own bathing suit, and he was holding a towel for both of them.
“Took you long enough. Here’s a towel.” Thiago handed him one of the towels.
The ermine thought the comment strange. He hadn’t wasted any time in the bathroom and couldn’t make sense of it. Even still, he ignored it and made his way toward the exit as he took the towel from the other boy. Both of them headed outside. It was warm outside, and immediately they were struck by the difference in temperature. The sun beamed down on their young bodies as they made their way toward the lake.
A short distance from the home was the lake. It was large enough that they could only see completely across it on a clear day. Some distance from shore, they could see a few paddle boats floating about and even further a few small motored ones that were speeding through the water with tubes or water skiers behind them. The largest of them was a trade ship coming from the north, carrying goods to the nearest port.
Thiago threw down the towel on the ground, not caring about the fact that it would get dirty. The other boy tossed his over in the same area, clumping both of them together.
“Tag…you’re it.” The beaver said playfully before darting off towards the water.
The white furred cub whined before running behind him. “No fair…”
Diving into the water, the rodent made a clean entry into the lake. Fortunately, it was deep enough where they were that he could do so without any problems. His body emerged from the water with his usual toothy grin. Lorenzo wasn’t far behind him. Cannonballing into the water as it plumed around his far less cleaner entry. Thiago tried shielding himself from the waves, but he was far too slow to offer himself any real protection.
“Dweeb…” The ermine boy spat water at his friend as he re-emerged from it.
The smaller boy playfully splashed him back. “Dork…”
A water fight ensued between the two cubs. Back and forth, each of them pushed water. Eventually, Thiago pushed himself back and began swimming off. His friend was all too keen to catch him as if it were a game of tag. Yet, the beaver was far too fast for him to catch up. Thiago was a much better swimmer than he was, as his tail made it much easier for him. Yet, even still, he pursued him all the same.
Coming ashore on land, the rodent ran as fast as he could out of the water. His paws tracked through the muddy soil as he scampered through it. Lorenzo exploded out of the water as he crouched down on all fours. The bigger cub was much quicker when he ran on all fours, and he used that to his advantage. Easily catching up to the smaller boy and pouncing on top of him the moment he was close enough.
Thiago grunted, his friend giving him a faux look of discomfort. Of course, he didn’t actually mind it as he was just as playful as the other cub was. The ermine looked down at him with a satisfied grin on his face. He loved nothing more than showing the other boy who the boss was. It was nothing more than a show of dominance to him, and in his mind, he had won.
“Say uncle…” The mustelid cub said, pinning the beaver's arms to the ground.
The smaller boy shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I can get up. Just watch!”
The rodent struggled for a moment, but Lorenzo was both bigger and stronger than he was. It was no good, and the ermine wasn’t giving him any quarter.
“Say it…” The white furred boy said it again to remind his friend who was in charge.
Thiago remained steadfast in his stubbornness. “Nope.”
Lorenzo stayed on top of him as they shared an awkward moment of silence for a minute. The ever constant dripping of lake water fell off his fur to the boy below. Thiago was continuing to struggle, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to put up any more of a fight.
“Get up, please…you’re hurting me.” The beaver made it apparent he was serious.
After a moment of thinking about it, the ermine slowly relented. Lorenzo had no intention of hurting the other boy.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” The white furred cub slowly got up before helping his friend do the same.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder for a moment, sharing an awkward silence. Thiago felt a bit more relaxed now they he wasn’t underneath the bigger boy. Lorenzo had always had a bit of a dominant personality, and somewhat often, it got out of hand when roughhousing got involved. The beaver felt something poking against the soft underside of his paw pads. Looking down, he lifted his foot and kicked the rock to the side.
Suddenly, he noticed something as he was looking down there. Right next to his paws were the other boys. Not much different than his own, they were somewhat bigger, but a small spot of blood had bubbled up around Lorenzo’s biggest toe.
“What happened? Did you cut your paw?” The rodent wanted to make sure his friend wasn’t hurt.
The ermine arched his eyebrow, confused by the question. “Huh?”
“Look.” Thiago pointed toward the bigger cub's feet.
The mustelid looked down and saw the slight wound. “Oh, I didn’t even notice. It doesn’t hurt much.”
“Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up. Then we can play video games or something.” The beaver didn’t want to admit it, but he was worried about the other boy.
Lorenzo wasn’t sure what to make of the request. The sound of playing video games overrode any lingering curiosity he had about it. Simply nodding, he followed his smaller friend back to grab the towels they had left at the side of the lake earlier. Thiago grabbed his own before tossing the other to the bigger cub. Standing for a moment, they dried themselves off as best they could. The warmth from the sun beamed down upon their bodies, warming up their bodies a bit after their recent swim.
Motioning for Lorenzo to follow him again, the rodent wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back inside. Inside the kitchen, both boys shivered slightly as their bodies adjusted from the warm temperature outside to the cool, controlled one within. Thiago led him back towards his bathroom, where the ermine waited just outside of it. Grabbing a small bottle of ointment, a cotton ball, antiseptic, and a bandage.
Thiago had been taught by his Boy Scout troop how to treat minor wounds. He had fixed himself up a few times and even picked up a few pointers from watching his parents do the same.
“Sit down, please.” The beaver moved to the side to make room for the bigger cub.
Pushing his way inside, Lorenzo figured his friend wanted him to sit on the lid of the toilet. It was the only place he could sit down in the small space. Plopping his but down, he moved his left paw up to his knee. The small spot of blood hadn’t gotten any larger, but it was still there. Dabbing some antiseptic onto the cotton ball, he soaked only the end facing him. Kneeling, Thiago applied the wet cotton ball to the top of the other boy's foot.
Lorenzo looked down at his friend working. “I didn’t know you knew first aid.”
“Yeah, well, I learned how to get my first aid badge in scouts. Does it still hurt?” The beaver applied the bandage after putting some ointment on it.
The ermine smiled at the attention. “It’s a little sore, but nothing I can’t manage.”
Thinking to himself a moment, Thiago wanted to make his friend feel better. Looking at the cub's foot in front of him, he could see that the bottom was a little dirty. An idea popped into his head as he brushed the bottom side of his friend's paw with a quick brush over.
“That tickles…hahaha…” Lorenzo had no idea he was ticklish down there.
The rodent smiled at him upon seeing the other cub perk up a bit. Scraping off a bit of the mud that had dried along the Ermine’s paw pads.
“Stop it..hahaha….” The mustelid was starting to squirm now as his smile grew a bit more.
Thiago was convinced his friend was enjoying it. The smile on the other boy's face was all too revealing to him. His slight motions shifted into a more innocent but light rubbing. His touch was much more methodical and slow as he put a bit of pressure on his friend's paw.
“That…feels nice.” The bigger cub was settling down a bit now.
The brown furred boy looked over at him. “Yeah?”
Simply nodding, Lorenzo said nothing as he leaned back against the tank of the toilet he was still sitting on. The beaver continued despite never having done anything like this before. Tightening up his grip, his touch became a bit more intentional. Stroking the fur and pads on the underside of his friend's paw. The ermine completely relaxed into his touch despite being in somewhat of an uncomfortable position.
Yet in that moment, neither of them seemed to care. Thiago continued to rub his best friend's foot, running a single finger along Lorenzo’s leathery paw pads. The ermine's mouth opened ever so slightly as he tried to deal with the strange sense of pleasure he was experiencing. Finally, the smaller boy stopped; being in the confines of the tight space was getting to him. Standing up, he stretched, trying to get rid of the stiffness in his young body.
“Aw…why did you stop?” Lorenzo whined ever so slightly.
The beaver turned around to face him. “Because my body was getting stiff. Come on, let's go to my room.”
Nodding, Lorenzo waited a moment to get up before following the other cub. His paw wasn’t sore at all now. The other boy's touch had left him wanting more, not that he was going to admit it. The thought lingered on the back of his mind as he padded back into Thiago’s. The beaver was setting up the console that they were going to play. As he thought about it more, an idea popped into Lorenzo’s head, and he blurted it out without thinking about it.
“Hey…how about we make gaming a little more interesting?” The ermine smirked at his own conspiratorial designs.
Thiago arched his eyebrow at the other cub before taking a seat on a bean bag chair. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…the loser has to do what the winner wants. Come on…it’ll be fun.” Lorenzo was confident he could win.
The beaver smirked at him. “Oh, you're on, Dork.”
“You’re gonna get stomped, dweeb.” The white furred cub took a seat next to his friend.
Thiago had already put in the latest installment of the DBZ Fighter franchise, “Z”. It was a game he knew they both liked. An anime they knew fairly well since it has released yet another installment of reruns in his area. The game powered up before long, with the usual menus showing up that let them pick the mode they wanted to engage in. The beaver selected a two-character sparring match with 1 stock of lives each.
Each boy was overly excited about the competition before them. Thiago picked out his favorite characters, Piccolo and Frieza, while his best friend selected Zamasu and Broly. It was an action-packed game built on the speed and power of each character. The characters in the game were different enough that each required a different skill set and mastery. Neither cub was great at it, but it was something they enjoyed all the same.
The match started with a frenetic attack from Zamasu, with Lorenzo keeping his distance and choosing to use ki attacks. Fortunately for Thiago Piccolo had a defensive tuning to him and the character was able to shrug off or absorb each of the blows. But Lorenzo kept up the offensive and soon followed up with a barrage of punches and kicks. Immediately, his Piccolo launched a counter and landed a launch onto the Zamasu with a crushing blow onto the ground beneath him.
Thiago did not let him; his assault continued with his own flurry of energy blasts. Throwing off the character's cape, he ended the first part of the match with a special attack. This Left Lorenzo with his last character, and quickly, he tried to recover with a buildup of energy. But the rodent did not let up and immediately swapped to Frieza. This momentary hesitation gave Lorenzo the opening he needed, and in a single clash of ki, Broly released a huge wave of energy that depleted Frieza’s life bar before the beaver could even get him going.
Now they were each down to their last character. Piccolo was Thiago’s best character, but his energy had been depleted by the first battle. Lorenzo launched another flurry of furious punches, running back and forth using transmission attacks. The unrelenting fury of Broly was quick to wither away whatever defenses the Namek had left. In a matter of moments, the match had turned, and before he knew it, Lorenzo had been declared the victor.
“I win!” The ermine said proudly, puffing out his chest in a moment of glory.
The smaller cub rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah you got lucky that Piccolo didn’t have energy left.”
“Still…now you gotta do what I want.” Lorenzo had a wicked sneer on his face as he’d already decided what he wanted.
The brown furred cub huffed and looked over at his friend. “Fine…what do you want me to do?”
“Rub my paws.” Immediately, the mustelid laid both of his feet on the other cub's lap.
Thiago gave him a strange look of confusion. “No, I’m not doing that.”
“Don’t be such a dweeb. You agreed to the deal. Now pay up and rub my paws.” Lorenzo curled his toes a bit.
The beaver gave a long sigh. “Fine…”
After a moment more of thinking about it, the smaller boy reached out and started slowly touching the bottom of one of Lorenzo’s paws. Lightly touching them, still harboring a bit of hesitation about the ordeal.
“Rub them, please…like you did before.” There was a look of need on the ermine's face.
Rolling his eyes again, the rodent finally relented and put a bit more pressure into his touch. Squeezing the other cub's paw between his thumb and index finger.Repeating the same process for every one of the mustelid’s toes before doing the same under his paw pads.
“That’s…nice.” Lorenzo closed his eyes slowly.
Thiago wasn’t sure why his friend was enjoying this. It didn’t make sense to him, but he wasn’t going to back out of the deal he made. Slowly, his touch shifted around every curve of the other boy's foot. Tracing around every arch and divot beneath the ermine's white fur. Lorenzo’s face was one of pure enjoyment as he was completely lost in the moment. The beaver could tell he was still enjoying it, so he continued as best he could.
Their little session of paw rubbing lasted for several minutes. Thiago did not let up despite his own reservations. Only pulling away when he was getting bored. Wanting instead to play the game again. Lorenzo’s mind was clouded over by the stupor of satisfaction, and it took him a moment to come around. He wanted more, but he didn’t want to make it even more obvious that he was enjoying the attention from his friend.
So…they returned to playing games. That awkward moment shared between them just moments ago fell into the past and out of mind. Only Lorenzo continued to think about it, plotting the next time he could eek out that small bit of pleasure he had just experienced. But he wasn’t so lucky in the next round, and Thiago made a comeback. When it came time for him to pick, the beaver had him do something much more silly and playful. Yet even as the day waned on…that wistful hope remained on the bigger boy's mind. Maybe one day they could do it again. Maybe one day…Thiago could enjoy it too.
