Chani’s tail twitched happily as she finished the mathematic equation on the spare piece of paper that covered part of her desk. For several seconds her left ear flickered in concentration while her lavender eyes roamed over the page and back down to her workbook. “That’s very impressive, Miss Durai.” she heard beside her as the teacher walked up to her desk. Peering up, she saw his hazel eyes as he looked over her workbook. “It looks as though you’re almost done with that page. If you like, you can work on the next group of math problems.”
Nodding, she started to flip the page, only for the bell to ring. “I guess I’ll have to do them for homework.” Chani suggested.
The teacher nodded. “Okay everyone, read pages 215 to 243 in your textbooks, and finish the problems from pages 45 through 50 in your workbooks.” he called out as he walked back up to the front of the class. “I want them done before the beginning of class tomorrow.”
Several students groaned, but Chani just packed up her math books into her backpack without any sign of discomfort. Getting up, she started for the door, her tail twitching to either side with every step she took. Upon reaching the hallway, she saw that most of the students were either at their lockers, talking amongst themselves, or just filing through the arteries of the school with purpose in their direction. She had been looking in the direction she had to go in order to reach the lunchroom, so it made her jump when a slender arm wrapped around her back, and a pure white, fluffy tail coiled around her body. “Mew!” she said just before she looked up to see Martin’s face. “Oh! You startled me!”
Martin smiled at the feline, “I’m sorry, but I was hoping to find you before reaching the cafeteria.”
“Oh?” Chani asked, “Why?”
Looking at the feline, he gave her a small smile. “Do you want to explain to Andrea and Tanya why we’re not going to be at the tree during lunch?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Not… really…” Chani mumbled. She then gave a sigh, “The thing is… I don’t really feel right about leaving them hanging when we talked about ourselves. You told us about your family, Andrea did the same thing, and even Tanya talked about her home life although it didn’t make her comfortable, so can I really push away my responsibility to tell all of you about my family too?”
“I just… didn’t want to push you to tell them everything.” Martin said softly.
Blinking, she nodded, “I know, but… you all deserve an explanation.” Taking a deep breath, Chani sighed so that the tension in her body would dissipate. Wrapping her arm around Martin’s torso, the young feline walked out of the classroom doorway just as the majority of the students thinned into scant numbers of classmates. Perhaps a dozen minutes later, the pair were down in the lunch lines, waiting for the rest of the schoolchildren to move through the selection of food before they could get their own.
Upon getting their food, the pair started for the door leading outside, with the mink pushing the silvery bar until that part of the cafeteria was inundated by subdued light. The sky above was cloudy and gray, roiling slowly across the sky, as if threatening rain any second. Over the course of a few seconds, the pair looked at the tree, only to see nobody sitting down at its base. “They must be inside still.” Martin surmised, only to hear someone calling out to them. Both teenagers turned to see a bunny standing by an open door, waving at them.
Walking over, they saw Tanya in stark relief to the dark gray stairs that headed up to the second floor of the gym. Once they were close enough to talk, the young bunny smiled, “Andrea, and I, thought that it was too wet to sit out under the tree today,” she remarked, “so we came in here to eat.”
“Good idea. That way if it rains, we won’t be caught getting wet.” Martin complimented.
Leading the way, Tanya took the pair up to the third floor gym. The door outside of the weight room was locked, with the room beyond dark and silent. Apparently the pair had been busy, because when the trio sat down with Andrea, the quartet were situated on a cushioned pad with a circle in the center. Setting their trays down, everyone started to eat. Barely five minutes after they started, Chani heard the porcupine in front of her speak. “Well, princess?” she asked, “Are you ready to tell us about your past?”
Chani sighed and nodded, “Yeah.” She shift to get a bit more comfortable. “As you know my last name is Durai, but it wasn’t always. My real name was Chani Eloise Sawyer, and I lived with my parents in Garden Village.” She took a bite of food, but not really tasting what she ate as the memories came flooding back. “That was… until the night of the break-in.”
Martin watched the young feline shiver, and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm and tail around her body. “You don’t have to…” he started to say, but she cut him off.
“I was nine when two men entered our house. All I remember was my mother waking me up, and telling me to go hide. Having been told about a panic room my parents made, I did as she ordered, and curled up in the compact space. Over the course of an hour, I heard some noises but wasn’t sure what happened.” Looking up at the group, she noticed their reactions. Andrea was decidedly upset with her mouth hanging open, while Tanya sat there shivering. Martin just held her, offering Chani both comfort and strength. She accepted both gratefully, as it gave her the strength to continue.
“The next thing I remember was waking up to a police officer beside me shaking my shoulder. He picked me up, but as we left my home, I saw the house was a mess. Broken furniture and shattered items were everywhere, but I couldn’t see my parents.” Everyone felt dread’s icy fingers clawing its way up their stomachs as Chani took another bite of her lunch and washed it down with some milk. “I learned while at the police station that my parents were killed during the night, but not the details of what happened.”
“Oh god…” Tanya’s voice trembled, with tears glistening in her eyes.
The teenage feline sniffed a little, but showed no other emotion as she continued. “I was then placed in the Durai City orphanage, but I was treated so badly there that I decided to run away.” Chani looked at the others, seeing only compassion for her plight, before she kept going. “I lived on the streets for a couple of years, usually stealing food to survive, and curling up any places with shelter or heat. During those two years, I watched a couple of men kill a pair of homeless people. For a month, I ran and hid, but they eventually found me.”
A yelp from Tanya caused Chani to pause while Martin only held her closer, feeling her shiver against his chest as she remembered the encounter. “Jesus…” Andrea breathed, her eyes wide.
“You all know about the wolf that came here on Monday, but there was a tiger too. They had me cornered in an alley. I-I thought that I was about to die, but I was saved at the last second when AJ showed up. He stopped them with a sword he pulled out from an umbrella, and took me out of that alleyway. At first I was scared that he would hurt me too, because I had never seen anyone like him before, but he took me to his home, treated me kindly, and introduced me to Jenny and Lee.” It was at that moment Chani smiled softly with tears in her eyes while nibbling some more of her food. “Together, they cleaned me up, made me feel welcome, and generally took care of me. After a week of staying with them, AJ took me back to the orphanage.”
Martin tenderly rubbed her back, making Chani purr softly. ‘Thankfully the horrible part is over.’ he thought silently.
“I was scared to go back there, but when AJ said that I was going to come back home to live with him, Crystal, Jenny, and Lee, I couldn’t help but be happy.” Looking up, she had tears in her eyes, and a broad smile on her face, “After he scared the headmistress of the orphanage, by saying something I couldn’t hear, he signed some papers and then he told me he was officially my father.” Chani wiped the tears from her eyes. “I learned later that he’s the prince to the island called Formosa, and because I was legally his daughter I was going to be a princess.”
“The dream of girls the world over.” Andrea commented, causing Tanya to giggle.
“Yes, but I just… I guess I don’t feel any different. AJ also told me that I was considered a citizen of Formosa because of my adoption, and that he had sent out a very special writ to the island informing them of my official status. Jenny and I are princesses, and my brother Lee is a prince.”
Both girls blinked as she finished her lunch, purring softly as her story ended. When she looked up at them, however, both Tanya and Andrea were sitting right in front of her, giving her tray barely enough room as they wrapped their arms around the feline. She didn’t even have enough room to mew questioningly, but she could tell that through the body language, and the tears that had streaked down both girl’s cheeks, the idea of questioning them would just seem… tactless. Wrapping her arms around both girls, she hugged them to her with a soft purr.
Nobody spoke for the rest of the lunch period, but Chani found herself practically sandwiched between Andrea, Tanya, and Martin, the latter of which had his tail wrapped around the trio of females. When the bell rang, nobody moved for at least a minute before the feline spoke with a soft purring voice. “Um… do you think we should be getting to class?” she asked, looking at the trio that encircled her body.
“You’re right,” Martin said in a gentle tone, “but I really like snuggling all of you with my tail.”
Andrea smirked, “I’ll bet you do, Fluffy.” She then leaned up nuzzling his cheek.
Tanya giggled, looking at the mink, “I don’t mind. Your tail feels really nice.”
Over the course of several seconds, the trio disentangled themselves from Chani, with the feline having to stand in order to remove herself from Martin’s lap. Blushing, she smiled at him, before wrapping the young mink in a tender hug. Everyone had barely managed to finish their lunch, and yet all four of them walked back to the cafeteria with broad grins. Getting to class, they found themselves managing to arrive just in time for the bell to ring as they took their seats.
For the rest of the day, Chani went through her classes with lifted spirits to the point that she approached her art class with a smile on her lips. Noticing a large, white, fluffy tail in front of her, the feline followed the mink to his typical table, before taking the one directly next to where he sat. Martin was so busy digging out his art supplies that he didn’t even notice the feline at first. When he did notice, all he saw was the teenage feline smiling at him, making him smile back. During class, he gave her several pointers, offering insight and information on the art style she was practicing as he worked on his own picture.
By the end of the class, she noticed how her bowl of fruit looked less like a collection of smudged circles, while the bottle had come to take on a mostly tubular shape, while Martin’s was almost a perfect black and white picture of the aforementioned items. The only things he had to work on was the lighting and shading for the neck, as well as on the table. In many ways, Chani was jealous of his natural skill, and yet she couldn’t help but enjoy him giving her pointers in the class. While everyone was packing up, she leaned in to whisper “I’m looking forward to our date tonight.”
“That makes two of us.” Martin returned just as softly.
Chani blushed as she glanced back at the mink, her hands zipping up the backpack while Martin flipped the flap over his satchel bag. They walked together into the hallway their lockers were positioned, the duo setting some books back inside while pulling out others to take home. Neither of the two teenagers even noticed Andrea and Tanya watching the pair as they followed to the front doors. Standing together for the most part, they would watch as both whispered to each other’s ears, catching the words “see you tonight”, and “I can’t wait”. At one point, the porcupine and bunny glanced at each other knowingly.
“I’ll see you in an hour.” Chani said softly as her line started to break away.
Martin nodded, “I’ll be there.” he managed to say just before her line broke off, and she shuffled off with the rest of the group into their bus. On the bus ride home, Chani thought only about what she would wear, daydreaming about how their date would go the entire time. She was so distracted by the thoughts swirling around within her head, that she nearly missed her stop. Blinking, she stood up, and exited the bus in just enough time to see her brother and sister doing the same on the opposite corner.
“How was school?” Chani asked Jenny as the twin otters joined her on their trek back home.
“It was fun!” Jenny giggled as Lee continued for her.
“We got a new student named Pandora in homeroom today. A really cute frog girl with black patterns all over her white body, and golden eyes.” Chani blinked, looking at the pair, a smile on her lips. “Thing was, when we introduced ourselves, she glomped us both, giving hugs and nuzzles the entire time.”
“She sounds friendly.” Chani commented.
Jenny’s tail wriggled behind the trio, “We’re hoping she’s ‘very friendly’ later.” the female otter commented with a giggle, “Either way, she’s really fun to talk with, although at times she’s so energetic I’m not sure if she doesn’t have a problem paying attention.”
“Do you know anything about her?” Chani asked, curious.
“Only that she just arrived from Brazil.” Lee commented with a shrug.
“But enough about that.” Jenny smiled as she glanced sidelong at Chani. “Are you excited about going on your first ever date?” she asked with a giggle, the fin of her tail flipping side to side.
Chani blushed, her mind playing through everything she hoped was going to happen that evening. “I’m… actually a little scared.” she said softly. “Part of me is worried that during our date he’s going to say something, or do something that shows me he really doesn’t want to be with me.” A shiver went down her spine as she opened the door to their house, making her tail twitch. “Martin’s such a wonderful person, I just… I really want him… you know… to like me.”
A sincere smile reached Jenny’s eyes as she placed a hand on Chani’s shoulder. “With how he was holding you in the bookstore, I would say that he likes you just fine, so you don’t even have to worry about that part.”
Nodding, the young feline smiled, but in the back of her mind she thought, ‘I sure hope you’re right.’
Inside the house, the trio called out “We’re home!” only to be greeted by Crystal smiling at her adopted children as she walked out of the laundry room.
“Welcome home. I have snacks in the refrigerator if you’re hungry…” she then blinked, “Oh, I forgot you three are going out on dates tonight.” She then smiled, giving the trio a wink to indicate that she hadn’t truly forgotten. Looking into the dining area, they saw candles, crystal wine glasses, and the good china out. It was then that the aroma of her specialized deep dish pot roast with marinated potatoes, baby carrots, with onion and bell pepper slices wafted up from the slow cooker.
“That smells great!” Lee said as he followed his nose into the kitchen, his stomach already growling from the aroma.
“Out of the kitchen, Lee.” Crystal ordered, “That’s for your father and I.”
“It just smells delicious.” the male otter commented, taking a few more sniffs before looking back. “Almost makes me wish we were staying in tonight.”
Chani stepped into her room, and removed her clothing to get ready. She specifically picked out a skirt and shirt combination that would work well together. Turning on the hot water, she stepped into the shower and took a quick one, scrubbing herself clean. When she was done, the young feline toweled herself off, and stepped into the skirt. Buttoning and zipping up the knee length, pleated fabric, she swished her hips side to side to feel the light blue fabric moving over her furred legs while her tail flicked around through the slot. ‘I love this color against my fur.’ she thought silently, a small purr in her voice.
Picking up the lavender t-shirt that was left on her bed, she slipped her arms and head through the holes, pulling it down over her naked torso until it stopped at the base of her tail. Looking at herself in the mirror, Chani pulled her hair out from under her shirt, and brushed it out until it waved and curled in all the right ways. Smiling, she walked out into the living room to find Crystal finishing up her preparations for that evening. “Mom.” the feline said softly, “Do you have any clip-on earrings for me to wear?”
Looking over at her daughter, Crystal smiled, “I’m sure I do. How about a nice set of magnetic studs?” she asked, “I have just the perfect color to match your skirt.” Following her mother back in to the room she shared with AJ, Chani watched as the dragoness pulled out a pair of aquamarine stones in silver settings. Placing them against the young feline’s ears, she set the magnetic part behind the furred flap of skin until they clicked together.
“Thank you, mom.” Chani said, but Crystal placed her hand on the young girl’s shoulder to stop her from moving.
“How about a little bit of something extra?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Chani asked in return.
She watched as Crystal then brought out a small chest with several small bottles inside. Having the feline smell the nozzles of several, she spoke softly. “These are some perfumes that are made naturally on Formosa island.” she commented while bringing out two small tubes. One was meant to highlight eyelashes, while the other was a small amount of lip gloss. “Hmm, I don’t think you need any accentuation for your eyes, they’re already hauntingly beautiful, but how about a little strawberry flavored lip gloss?”
Blinking at the compliment, Chani blushed, “Um… O-Okay…” she remembered how Martin had used that exact phrasing to describe her eyes.
Opening the gloss, Crystal smiled as she slid the small brush over the very edge of Chani’s lips, her eyes focusing for several seconds before she smiled at the finished product. “Good. Now do this.” the dragoness advised rolling her lips over her teeth, and watching as her daughter did the same. “Perfect! Now did you pick out a scent you like?” she asked.
“Yes, mom. I chose this one.” Chani commented, at which point Crystal took a sniff.
“Mmm, honeysuckle.” she practically purred.
“Is that a good one?”
Crystal nodded, “If he can keep his hands and mouth off of you, then that boy has either phenomenal self-control, or no sense of smell.” she commented as she gave Chani a spritz of it onto one wrist. “Now rub your wrists together and then rub both on either side of your neck.” Setting everything back where she had gotten it, she walked back over to her daughter, and helped her up. Escorting her to stand in front of a full-length mirror, the feline blinked as she looked at herself while the dragoness stood behind her.
For several seconds, her jaw dropped open as Chani looked at her reflection. “I-Is that really me?” she asked, looking up at her mother.
“Yes, honey. That is really you.” Crystal answered. “Don’t you look beautiful?”
Turning around, Chani wrapped her arms around Crystal’s waist, nuzzling into the dragoness’s chest as she started to cry. “I… Thank you!” she sniffled. She then looked back at her reflection, “I look… I don’t know how to say this, but I… look grown-up.”
“Shh, it’s okay, honey.” Crystal said with a smile, “Considering everything you’ve been through, you are a grown-up. You, Jenny, Lee, all of you have weathered so many hardships that I was worried none of you would grow to be as happy as you are, and I have to admit…” she pulled back to crouch ever so slightly in order to meet Chani’s eyes, “I am so proud of how all of you have weathered such hardships with such beautiful smiles.”
Hugging her again, Chani purred “Thank you, Crystal,” softly before adding, “I couldn’t have asked for better parents after everything that’s happened in my life.”
Returning the hug, Crystal smiled, nuzzling against Chani’s neck. “I couldn’t have asked for better children than you and the twins.” she said back to the feline. “Come on, now. You have a date to meet tonight.”
When they returned to the living room, Chani noticed that Jenny and Lee had just come downstairs, the otter twins already talking about what they were going to do on their date. “… that way we can get Martin to…” Both otters were dressed in a pair of jean shorts that looked like they could’ve been interchangeable between the twins. Her brother’s green polo shirt was bordered on its sleeves and collar with white, while a similar colored stripe went across his chest, while her sister wore a green t-shirt the same color as her twins, but with the words “Gamer Girl” in gold on her chest, with an image of a twenty-sided dice underneath in white.
Glaring at the twin otters, Crystal placed her hands on her hips. “You both will be leaving Chani and Martin alone.” she announced, glancing from Jenny to Lee, and back again.
“But…”
“No ‘buts’ young lady.” Crystal interrupted Jenny as the otter tried to argue. “Your sister and her date don’t need a couple of energetic otters looking over their shoulders.” She watched both otters look down at the carpeted floor. “Let them enjoy themselves, and you both can go off to enjoy yourselves too.”
“Fine.” Jenny pouted, “I just wanted to make sure Chani had a wonderful first date.”
“Me too.” Lee added.
“She can do just fine without your assistance.” Crystal countered with a smile, before giving all three a hug as she saw what time it was. “You both better get to the bus stop so that you can arrive on time.”
“Thank you, mommy.” Chani purred as she headed out, followed by Jenny and Lee.
Stepping off the bus with Tanya in tow, while Chani was busy getting ready for her date, Martin’s tail twitched as he tried to focus on their conversation. On the bus, the pair had been talking about school work. The fact that they now had more than enough time to work on their presentation was an added relief. When the bus squealed to a stop, so did they, although the bunny seemed more than a little insistent on continuing their conversation. “I’m sorry, Tanya, but I have a really busy night tonight, but I hope we can talk more about this tomorrow.”
“Yeah. That’s fine…” she said before looking down. “Just… have a good night.”
“I will. Thanks.” he said waving to her as he started walking up the hill toward his home. Waving to the teen bunny, he watched as she headed toward her house with a smile and a wave. A smile spread his lips as he reached into his satchel bag, and pulled out his cell phone. Checking the time, he blinked. ‘Crap! I have to get home or I’ll be late to my date!’ he thought silently as he dropped his phone back into his bag and started running.
Breathing heavily, he opened the front door to his house already pulling the shoulder strap of his satchel bag off to toss it into the corner. He never even looked at his mother or sisters as he sprinted up the stairs to take his shower. Stripping off his clothes before he even reached the bathroom, he hopped into the standing shower, scrubbing himself clean as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. It wasn’t until he was fully dressed in a sky blue button down shirt, a pair of black slacks, and a lavender tie that reminded him of Chani’s eyes that his heart was finally beating at a more normal pace.
Toweling off his tail until it was mostly dry, Martin headed downstairs to see his mom in the living room with his two sisters. Andais walked over to the dining room table with Yvette and Yvonne setting out plates and forks for dinner. “I’m going to head off for my date, mom.” he called out as he headed for the door, slipping his wallet into his pants pocket, and pulling his cell phone from his satchel bag.
“Ah! Ah! Let me look at you first.” Andais ordered as she set the pot down onto a holder that kept the heat from transferring to the glass table below. Turning around, the matron of the household got her first look at her son. “Oh my!” she said bringing her hand up to her mouth while heat flushed her cheeks, “Honey, you look so handsome.”
Martin blushed as he stood beside the stairs, his fluffy tail twitching behind his back. “Thanks, mom.” he said with a small smile as Andais walked up to him. She was dressed in a loose red satin shirt, a black skirt covering from hips to knees, and a pearl necklace as she stood in front of the young male. “I would almost ask if you were going out on a date too considering how beautiful you look.”
“Oh. This?” she asked, “This is just what I wore to work today.” Andais blushed slightly as she twirled her finger around. “Okay, honey. Turn around, I want to get a good look at you.” She watched as he sighed but turned around, his tail twitching the entire time as she looked over the line of his body.
“Is this really necessary, mom?” Martin asked, “You’re going to make me late.”
“Quit fussing.” Andais remarked with a smirk, looking over her son’s rump, “You want to look nice for your date, now don’t you?” Reaching down, she swatted at what she pretended was a speck of dust on his seat, just so she could touch his taut rump.
“Mom!” Martin said as he looked back at the female.
Andais looked at him, “What?” she asked, “You had something fuzzy on the seat of your pants.” She then let him turn around fully, “I almost wish I were a young girl again, so I could date you, honey.” She then leaned in giving him a peck on his nose, making him blush more. Giggling, she gently took his hand and guided him over to the couch. “Oh, while on my way home, I picked this up for you.” Picking up the bag on the couch that he neglected to see, she pulled up a navy blue sport coat with two buttons down the front. “Turn around so I can help you slip it on.”
Holding the jacket open behind him, she would slip it up onto his shoulders once Martin’s arms were in the sleeves. It was a little large for his current frame, with a more broad shouldered width than what he truly had. Walking into the hallway, he opened up a closet door to reveal a full length mirror. Even he had to admit that the jacket looked good on his smaller frame even if it was a little big. “I… It’s wonderful, mom. Thank you.” he said with a smile, giving her a hug.
“You’re welcome, honey.” Andais said softly as she pressed her breasts to his slender torso. “Oh, and I have something for you.” She then pulled a small black tube from the plastic bag. “Lift your chin a little.” Martin blinked, but did as he was told before he felt a fine mist impacting his neck and upper chest. “There you go. Now you better head out, or you’ll be late for your date.”
“But… what was that?” he asked as he smelled an aroma akin to a specific bodywash he happened to check out while shopping once before.
“It’s a body spray that I bought for you, but you don’t have any more time, honey. You better get going.” Andais said as she turned him to the door, and patted his little rump.
Looking back, he blinked at his mother as she stood in the doorway, waving goodbye to him as she slowly closed the door. Shaking his head, the young mink gave a sigh. “What was all that about?” he thought aloud as he walked down to the public bus stop.
Once he paid his fare and sat down, the young mink watched the rest of the city pass by, the sun dropping low on the horizon casting shadows over the streets. Even as he neared the bookstore, he could feel his cheeks burning from the memory of what he and Chani had done the day before, his tail tip wagging happily in response. ‘Tonight is going to be the best night of my life.’ Martin thought with a shiver of anticipation going down his spine.
