Best Friends
by Kinto Mythostian
The storm erupted without warning. Within a matter of minutes the sky over the Academy escalated from pale cloudy gray to midnight black to angry purple. A few seconds after the first raindrop scouts hit the treetops the rain was coming down in buckets. It was as though the oppressive humidity that had hung in the air all day had completely condensed in a single instant. Lightning chased itself across the roiling clouds, blazing jagged trails that burned into the sky and then were gone in an instant. Thunder cracked and boomed boldly in a continuous cacophony, boisterously proclaiming the storm's ferocity. The violent and sudden gale sundered branches and toppled trees. The torrential downpour quickly saturated the ground and turned fields and paths into bogs and rivers of mud.
Surprised by the storm's rapid development, devotees caught outdoors desperately dashed for cover through the deluge. Splashing through the mud, Jev the rabbit and Clover the wolf sought shelter in a small hayshed at the edge of a pasture near the forest's edge. The pair had been on landscaping duty doing minor maintenance on a forest path far from the center of the Academy when the storm hit.
The two friends were soaked through to the skin by the time they made it to the meager shelter. Their informal uniforms were sopping wet, their white wool dresses clinging uncomfortably to their soaked fur, the hems of their colored jumpers weighted down with mud splashed up by their desperate dash through the rain. The weather had been clear when they'd set out in the morning, and neither of them had thought to wear their boots. Their white wool tights were now stained with mud, their toes squelching unpleasantly with every step.
The pair collapsed panting to the blessedly dry floor of the shed as the incessant rain drummed rhythmically on the metal roof.
"Have you ever seen anything like that?" Clover asked her lapine friend.
Jev closed her blue eyes and shook her head, dislodging drops of water from her long furry ears. "Ugh. I don't think I'm ever going to be dry again," she groaned.
Clover chuckled. The black-furred wolf looked at her mud-spattered Dark Blue jumper and white tights. "I hate having to wear wet clothes."
"Me too." The silver-furred rabbit looked at the mud coating her own Lilac jumper.
The pair silently looked at their own uniforms for a moment and then at each other's. They saw each other looking and quickly turned away.
Jev could have sworn she saw the faintest hint of a blush on Clover's face beneath her dripping black fur. Not for the first time, Jev wondered if her friend's bold ebony fur covered her entire body. She looked back at Clover. Even though she knew it would be against the Rules, Jev couldn't stop herself from wanting to see Clover out of uniform.
Clover turned and Jev quickly redirected her gaze. Clover watched as a drop of water grew at the end of her lapine friend's floppy ear and then dropped to the ground with a gentle splash. The wolf smiled to herself; just being with Jev always made her feel warm inside. Clover decided to break the awkward silence that had descended. "It doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon," she observed lamely.
Jev nodded; she appeared lost in thought. "Clover?"
"Yes, Jev?"
"I really don't like wearing wet clothes. Would you... um..." Jev swallowed nervously; if Clover didn't feel the same way she did, she could get in big trouble. It was now or never. "Would you be offended if I took off my tights?" she blurted out and nervously awaited Clover's response.
Clover's golden eyes widened in shock. She wasn't sure how to respond; she loved Jev and she privately suspected that Jev felt the same about her, but if she was wrong she could get in big trouble. "But... but, Jev, the Rules explicitly say we're to never be out of uniform."
"I know. I know what the Rules say. But I'm cold and wet and... You're my best friend, Clover. Can I trust you not to tell anyone? I'll do penance later, I promise."
"Well..." Clover didn't want to appear eager, though she very much wanted to see Jev out of uniform, "I guess it'd be alright. I won't tell anyone, Jev."
"Thank you, Clover," Jev smiled. The rabbit reached under her Lilac jumper and white dress and began to peel her sopping wool tights off her wet silver fur. She was trying to be nonchalant, but the knowledge that Clover was watching and the knowledge that she was deliberately violating the Rules made her very nervous. Jev tugged and pulled until her legs and footpaws were bare and stood to wring the water from her tights, the splashing drowned out by the rain still pounding on the roof. Jev wiggled her furry toes in the dry dust that covered the floor; it felt wonderful. She looked behind her and saw Clover looking at her. Clover quickly looked away. Then, slowly, Clover's head turned to look at Jev again. Jev smiled at her.
Clover gazed at Jev's footpaws. Going barefoot was a violation of the Rules and Clover knew she probably shouldn't look, but she couldn't help herself. Jev's footpaws were covered in silver fur like her face, except for a single white toe on her left footpaw. Even though the fur was damp and matted, they were very pretty. It was a sign of how completely Jev trusted Clover that she was willing to let her see them. The wolf made up her mind. If she ever wanted Jev to know how she felt, it was now or never. "Maybe I... Jev, I think I'd like to take off my wet tights too. You won't tell, will you?"
"Of course not, Clover. Your secret is safe with me."
Clover anxiously tugged off her muddy, waterlogged tights and stood up next to Jev to wring them out. It was nice to feel dirt against her toes; she had not gone barefoot outdoors since before she came to the Academy.
Jev glanced down; the fur on her lupine friend's footpaws was as strikingly black as the fur on her face. Jev glanced up and realized that Clover was looking at her looking at Clover's bare footpaws. Jev quickly redirected her gaze.
"It's alright, Jev. I don't mind."
Jev looked back down; Clover wiggled her toes at her. It occurred to Jev that it was a sight that no else at the Academy had seen. "Clover..."
"Yes, Jev?"
"Are you... I've always wanted to know... Is your fur black all over?" Jev asked nervously and smiled shyly.
Clover nodded.
"It's... You're very pretty," Jev said quietly and blushed.
Clover's heart beat faster at Jev's timid compliment. She smiled in return and gently said, "Thank you, Jev. You're very pretty, too."
Jev's cheeks grew even redder beneath her silver fur. The rabbit could sense that Clover wasn't just being polite; the wolf meant it as sincerely as she did. Jev quickly turned away and set her tights down across a bale of hay to dry further. She sat down on another bale of hay, unsure what to do next. Outside, the pouring rain continued unabated.
Clover set her tights down beside Jev's and then sat down next to her rabbit friend on the bale of hay. Clover badly wanted to tell Jev how she felt now, but she wasn't sure what to say. One wrong word might ruin everything. She remained silent, looking out at the rain.
Jev looked down at Clover's furry footpaws again; they looked so soft. As she was looking, Clover gently touched her left footpaw to Jev's right. Reflexively, Jev pulled her footpaw away. Then, deliberately, she brought it back to touch Clover's black-furred footpaw again. Clover softly rubbed her footpaw against Jev's bare ankle. The rabbit looked up; Clover was smiling, her golden eyes shyly looking at Jev. The rabbit suddenly knew what to do. She leaned forward and gently kissed Clover on the lips.
Clover jolted back, a shocked look of surprise on her face.
"Oh gods, I'm sorry, Clover. I shouldn't have done that. I... I don't know what I was thinking..." Jev babbled. Inside her head she cursed herself; she'd thought that Clover loved her and she'd acted rashly and she'd gone too far too quickly and now she'd made a mess of everything. Clover would never forgive her.
"Jev..." Clover said.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That was... I shouldn't have..." Jev whimpered. It was over, all over.
"Jev..."
"I don't know what came over me... I wasn't thinking straight..."
"Jev, come here." Clover gently took hold of Jev's right hand with her left; with her other hand Clover softly cupped Jev's cheek and pulled her close. Tenderly, briefly, Clover kissed Jev on the lips. "I love you, Jev," she whispered softly, looking directly into her friend's worried blue eyes.
Jev was speechless.
"I... I don't just mean 'love' like friends love each other," Clover continued, "I think it's something more than that. And I think you love me like that too. If I'm wrong, just tell me and we'll forget this all ever happened, but..." Clover took a deep breath, "I don't think I'm wrong."
Jev's face broke out in a broad smile. "You're not wrong, Clover. I do love you. I... I think I always have."
Clover smiled back.
Clover and Jev embraced, nuzzled noses, and kissed lightly. Then they kissed again, deeply this time, holding together for several seconds before pulling apart.
The two lovers sat side-by-side in the shed, leaning against each other and intimately snuggling close while the rain drummed on the metal roof. They gazed lovingly at each other, each seeing their friend in a wonderful new light as the downpour continued outside. Their uniforms and fur were still wet, but they didn't much care; they were both warmed by the joy of knowing that their own love was reciprocated. Occasionally they would gently nuzzle, tenderly kiss, or affectionately stroke each other's soft fur as the wind gusted, sending the rain down in sheets. Clover and Jev sat hand-in-hand in mutual silence, speaking volumes without using any words at all, waiting out the storm together.
Author's Notes
First draft began April 23, 2010, on paper; transcribed to computer May 8, 2010. First draft completed May 9, 2010. Editing completed May 15, 2010.
