Concordat

Roci lay sprawled out next to him, his large, somewhat sqareish head laying on Bill's stomach! The Skiltaire's incredibly sensitive paws wrapped themselves gently around his waist. The smooth, innocent intent of his touch filled Bill with a pleasure that the Human had not felt in a long time.

Far too long. he thought to himself as he looked down sweetly at the Skiltaire next to him. Far beyond any sexual experience, Roci's gift of openness reached inside the Human and, for a moment, Bill felt that same warmth fill some small, far away part of himself. It seemed to radiate outward, relaxing him the same way Roci's massage had relaxed his tension. He laid down again, slowly, quietly and gently, not wanting to disturb Roci for all the stars! Before he slid back into the best sleep of his weary life, Bill dropped a hand gently to Roci's head and neck. As he let his strong fingers work gently through his rough coat and into the thick layers of muscle, Roci stirred, ever so gently.

"Chirp...!" the Skiltaire intoned softly, sending as much as saying it, and snuggling even closer to Bill beneath the covers! Bill lay back on his pillow dizzy and happy until sleep gently closed his eyes again.

Bill awoke slowly some time later. Like most Kurushani, Bill no longer needed a watch, but relied on the light, shadow and his instincts to tell him it was a few minutes past noon. His first impulse was to leap out of bed and race downstairs to his waiting duties. But all thoughts of that fled as he swept back the covers and looked for a moment at the contented ball of Skiltaire that lay snuggled close beside him! There was just something about Roci... Some indescribably soft, gentle feeling that touched profoundly as he looked at him. The Human hand moved forward gently, but the impulse to stroke Roci gently sublimed into a better idea as the Human spied the Skiltaire's brush laying bristles up on the small bedside table. Bill looked from the brush to Roci slowly, a slight smile spreading across the human face!

Bill's first reach for the brush was across his body, just out of fingertip reach. He swore to himself none too gently and dropped back into bed next to the Skiltaire. Then, he thought of something. Again he reached across his body to let his fingers linger in the air above the night-table. But this time, he thought, things would be different. It came to him somehow, much easier than expected. No spikes, no body draining surges, nothing so cornball. Just a slow, steady, fluid feeling that came up from somewhere inside him. He looked at Roci's brush and let the flowing sensation extend his fingers. The brush twitched, as if someone had brought a magnet near a compass needle. No, Bill thought to himself, I want the brush. It moved again, grudgingly, and suddenly Bill could feel the mass of the brush in his hand, even though his eyes told him it was still on the table. The brush lifted a bit and floated across the three inch gap, and dropped lightly into the Human's palm!

Bill allowed himself a brief and somewhat Savage smile of accomplishment. The decision to undergo the Will activation had been the key to opening the door to himself and his Kurushani nature. Using his Activated Will was rare enough these days. Considering Sandi's gift had almost killed him while it gave him birth, this use didn't seem at all that unique. But as he slid the brush onto his cupped palm and looked at Roci, he decided it was worth it after all!

He peeled back the blanket and top sheet. Roci was deep asleep, and the change of air made him stretch a bit, his paws opening wider, his tightly wound body becoming more relaxed. The Human took the flexible brush and began using it to best advantage to groom Roci's stripe as he slept. His touch was light, barely enough to disturb his rough guardfur.

"Chirp!" Roci piped up contentedly. He rolled over on all fours, his head still down on his paws. "Harder, and a bit to the right..." Roci whispered with a sleepy smile. Bill complied, pressing the thick, black bristles deeper into his friend's fur. On his fingers, Bill felt the change in Roci's coat as the brush stokes deepened. The conditioner had done it's work, cleaning and separating the layers of fur, adding luster to the thick coat. The brush served to untangle and add air to the mass of fur, forming and contouring it to Roci's well cut-up form. Roci needed no prompting to move freely beneath the bristles, and as Bill brushed, it became an exercise in fluid motion and smooth action. Roci moved with a corkscrew style which exposed each of his fur groups to Bill's steady, even strokes. When his top coat was done, Roci looped over, exposing his thick snow white underfur to the bristles. Bill paused, an uncertain look on his face. Roci's eyes were gleaming.

"Anything wrong?" Bill asked. "I never did Shyia's undercoat."

"I am not Shyia, Bill-San."

"She's beautiful and you're..." Bill let his statement drop, unsure which word he felt ought to be the one to say.

"Go ahead... I trust you, Bill-San..." Roci whispered softly.

"Just Bill, Roci... Just Bill..." he answered. Bill took his non-brush hand and slid it into the Savages chest fur, working his fingers open and closed slowly, enjoying the depth and smoothness of fur that now nearly hid his large hand.

"Handsome..." Bill finished his complement with one word, but from it's tone, Roci could tell that Bill meant something beyond that.

Roci smiled. "Arigato, Bill-San!" The Skiltaire's unique black paws showed their unusual strength as Roci took hold of Bill's wrist, and guided it slowly down his lean, well-defined body. "Go ahead, Bill, enjoy... I said I trust you, and I will not break..."

Bill moved his free hand, allowing the flexi-brush to drop to the bed.

Bill's massaging hands worked their way down his chest to Roci's ribs. The human was surprised to hear the male Savage laugh slightly! Bill made a quick mental note, hoping it would be for later use. Roci was ticklish! Among their people, it was a loss of face. It told Bill gently how far Roci had lowered his inhibitions, even those that were supposed to go to the core of what he was!

Roci made a brief show of resistance, but it lasted only a moment before Roci was twisting and turning smoothly under Bill's stroking hands! For Bill, it began as play, became an anatomy lesson, and dissolved into a free for all romp, with the Human and Skiltaire rolling on the bed in a good-natured but challenging test of dexterity, stamina, and controlled strength! Bill had wrestled Shyia often in the training dojo. The female Skiltaire had a strength-to-weight ratio nearly as good as Ryokyo's. It had taken Shyia less then ten seconds to plaster Bill to the mat as if he'd taken root there. He knew the strength that Skiltaire could tap if needed. He locked up with Roci expecting to feel as if he'd been hit by a grav-tank. His new friend didn't weigh as much, but what he lacked in body mass he redoubled in agility and strength. Roci could have blasted him across the room with a streak of natural lighting, but he had no reason or need to use his potential. Roci slipped behind him, locking his paws around his Human victim's waist. Fifty kilos of gently aggressive mustelid changed Bill's center of gravity, and he toppled gently to the bed. Roci took hold of Bill's arm, pinning it behind his back and forcing the human to flip forward onto his front if he wanted to keep his arm. Roci's technique was so polished that his opponent's chance to counter came and went in heartbeat. Roci rode up Bill's back, pressed hard against him as he fell over. Roci spun around quickly, pinning Bill's reversed wrist between his shoulder blades, while his strong hind legs clamped around his head and neck.

Taking advantage of superior position, Roci applied just a bit of pressure, using his body strength against Bill's shoulder and elbow. Rather than feeling pain, Bill began howling with laughter! His pinned hand flopped weakly as a sign of submission to Roci's advanced skill. Roci gave up his body lock, slipping down to nibble gently on Bill's fingers before releasing his laughing foe.

"God, I expected a battleship... and I got a PT boat... Fast, light, and stronger than he looks...!" Bill gasped between panted breaths from a heaving chest.

Roci blushed. "Shyia taught me from the time I could walk. I love to wrestle."

Bill was now convinced that his friend was a kindred spirit. "Never been so... close... to a male of the species... Are you about average?"

"What do you think?"

"Never happen..." Bill answered spontaneously. "You're a champ..."

"You are getting the right idea, Bill..." Roci said easily. As the Skiltaire flopped back onto the bed, Bill held back from his voice the thought of how attractive he thought the Skiltaire was. As he rolled over, Bill caught sight of his friend's hindquarters. He didn't mean to look, but Roci was so wonderfully erect that Bill couldn't help but notice.

As Roci put on his belt and collar, He heard Bill's voice almost whisper...

"Roci..." he said breathlessly, "You excite me... so much..."

"CHIRP!!" Roci said, turning around quickly. "So it is true!"

Roci paused, looking oddly at Bill. He stood up on his hind feet, stretching out to full length, before settling into a pose that sent a ripple through his body. His physique responded beautifully, and a slight shift in his stance gave Bill full view of the wild Male Skiltaire!

Roci watched Bill's eyes. His pupils widened as his gaze shifted focus. He heard Bill's breathing change at the same time. Roci locked his paws behind his head, and let a snap flex show off his chest, ribs and the base of his tail...

Bill couldn't hold it back anymore. He growled softly. To another Savage, the tone of the throaty chest-deep sound was, in that context, a cherished complement! Roci held the pose long enough for Bill to see all he wanted, then his lean body relaxed. Roci trotted over to Bill, who dropped to the bed, forming an instant lap for Roci the same way he'd done so often for Shyia. He snuggled down easily into Bill's lap, falling backward into his arms, into the cradle position that left his underside open the Human touch. He also reached up and put his forepaws gently on Bill's cheekbones, a sign of his absolute trust in the Man. Roci looked up at his Human friend through misty hazel eyes.

"What's wrong, Roci-San?" Bill asked. "If I... made you... uncomfortable... I'm sorry. I was only thinking about myself..."

Roci wrapped his paws around Bill's neck and gave him a soft but utterly compelling hug.

"You could never make me uncomfortable, Bill-San... No more so than you make yourself." Roci whispered gently as his hug deepened. "Is this what's been hurting you so much?" Roci asked gently, proving that Shyia wasn't the only one with a keen insight when it was needed.

"But..." Bill began... "Oh... it's... There's more..." Bill said, still struggling to dam up what some part of him said he wasn't supposed to feel...

"It is all right..." Roci spoke gently, his soft words taking the edge from the hard pain that ran so deeply through the Human and into himself as well. "This one of the reasons I have come... I am here to stay... If you wish it."

Bill wrapped his arms around Roci and broke down in tears!!

"It is no shame... Let it out... My poor Bill-San... Why did you hold it in so long?" Roci asked, lapping gently at Bill's cheeks as his tears fell. "Can I help you, Bill...?"

"Oh... You already have..." said Bill gently, sitting up and trying to look cool again. Roci knew better and so did Bill.

"Perhaps you would walk with me?" Roci asked. "I would see the land that you dwell upon." he said. "And I am HUNGRY!! Remember, We have the metabolism of a Skiltaire!" Roci said lightly.

Bill smiled broadly. Roci didn't know that the estate was planted with many native Kurushani fruit trees, and hybrids of a few of the indigenous nuts and grain stalks that formed the core of a Savage diet. Roci would get breakfast, all right.

Once outside, the pair forgot the well-manicured paths around the grounds. Roci seemed almost the perfect picture of a wild thing as he loped easily ahead by a stride or two, but always waiting for Bill to catch up with him. Bill ambled toward a familliar grove of trees. He watched Roci closely as the light breeze carried the scent windward from the edge of the woods. Roci stopped dead in his tracks and looked ahead, his eyes shining.

"Wild Dates!!" Roci said excited and zipped ahead, leaving Bill laughing at his friend's childlike surprise! Roci seemed to have come at the right time in more ways than one, for the prized fruit's season was only a few short weeks in late summer. After the torrid weeks just past, the semi-tropical tree had yielded a huge crop, which hung in heavy brown bunches from the frond bearing trees. They looked none too appetizing, unless you had the wisdom to peel back the leathery brown skin and expose the pod that lay underneath. Standing yards distant, Bill felt his mouth water, remembering the maple sweet taste of the dates! Suddenly, he wanted a handful as eagerly as his friend. He raced after Roci, following the thin trail through the tall grass that led into the grove.

Beyond the grass, the ground changed. The twenty-meter trees had a shallow root system, fitting their semiarid habitat. They were planted in shallow sand pits, drawing water from the air via evaporation from the broad area of their leaves. Bill came to the edge of the first miniature oasis, he saw a sight that to an animator's eyes was the purest form of art, nearly as sweet in its way as the fruit at the top of the tree. Roci's flying leap came in a single motion, without pause in his stride. It was as if some unseen giant had picked up the wiry mustelid and sailed him over his head toward the top of the tree!

In reality, Bill knew that Roci's leap had come from legs stronger pound for pound than a frog's, developed almost from the moment the newborn Skiltaire could walk. Tradition dictated a nearly relentless physical development program that gifted the Savages with a zest for life and the strength to go out and wrestle the best away from it!

He walked forward slowly, feeling woefully inadequate but smiling as he watched the nonchalant manner in Roci's climb. The tree was nearly a big around as a barrel, but the grip of Roci's limbs was stronger in scale than his Human hands! Bill also knew that the leap and climb was another form of his friend's easy exhibitionism. Roci's activated Will could let him sit casually at the base of the tree and knock down individual dates if he wanted to, including entire fifteen pound bunches of the fruit. But the Savage way was the physical way, so the leap and climb came as much out of pure pleasure as ingrained habit.

The Human stood back at the base of the tree, shading his eyes with his hands as he watched Roci work the tree for it's sweet prize. Bill had used many a silvery moonlit night to climb the trees in the cool air and chop out the hanging bundles of fruit. The first time on Kurusha, he'd taken a pocketknife. The next time, he'd preferred a carbide saw blade! The stalks for each bunch were as thick as Bill's wrists, and tougher than the husk on the fruit. Bill watched almost jealously as Roci snapped the stems with an easy bite. It was a graphic reminder of what the mustelid race could do, and equal reason never to tempt their wrath.

Rather than let his prize fall to the soft sand below, Roci held it by the shortened stem while beginning a fluid backward climb down the tree. Less that a quarter minute later, Roci met Bill at the base of the tree with a bunch of fruit nearly twice his size.

"These will be very sweet..." he said, picking one of the brownish-cast fruits from near the bottom of the bunch. Roci turned it over easily in his paws, running his claw along the natural seam in the husk. The tough outer cover fell to the ground. He held the soft heart of the fruit out to Bill.

The Human took the slightly sticky seed with a bow. Bill was about to take a bite when he stopped short and offered the date back to Roci. He reached up, extending his body and took the fruit from Bill's fingers with a gentle nibble! Bill reached down a bit, running his fingers under Roci's chin as the Skiltaire ate with visible relish.

Roci stopped chewing and looked at Bill oddly. "You..." he began slowly, expectorating the pit "...are all sticky!" he said with an unusual tone in his voice. Roci reached down and took Bill's fingers gently in an iron grip! Using his lower center of gravity, Roci flipped Bill judo style to the soft grass at the edge of the sand! the man's practiced tuck and roll prevented injury, but did nothing to reduce the shock value of the surprise attack!

Roci moved with his victim as he sailed through the air to land softly. The Savage used the instant that it took Bill to react to hop gently onto the man's chest! Roci reached down and took hold of Bill's sticky fingers, looking at them for a long moment...

Something primal filled Bill's mind with the picture of Roci biting through the date stalks... He almost wanted to pull his hand away. With a short growl, the wild male brought the fingers and hand close to his muzzle--and began licking them with tongue stokes so gentle, they tickled! Bill gave in to gentle, deep laughter as Roci cleaned and groomed his large hand, alternately licking between the fingers and nibbling on them gently over their entire length! By the time that Roci pressed Bill's clean hand back to his chest, the Human was turning bright cherry red, both with laughter and a touch of embarrassment over what he'd let his mind think for a split second before!

"That is better!" Roci said. "I do not like sticky." he added, switching to Kurushani.

"OH REALLY!" The Human interjected, grabbing Roci around the rib cage and rolling over in a smooth motion that pinned the startled Skiltaire to the lush grass! Bill looked down at Roci with eyes that flashed gentle fire.

"Churp!!" said the Skiltaire, betraying the slightest hint of vulnerability, and showing his trust in Bill's gentleness, all in one sound.

"You don't like sticky... But I like YOU..." Bill said in soft English. He held Roci's forelegs pinned against his body. It would have been no test at all for the Savage to escape... If he wanted to...

Bill lowered his head slightly, using it to raise Roci's chin as he moved upward. His underfur did show signs of the dark, sticky juice that came from the fruit...

Roci could scarcely believe what he felt the next moment as the Human's tongue swept gently through his coat! Slow, serene strokes that groomed the thick white throat fur, leaving it clean and dry!

"CHURP!!" Roci trilled softly, sliding his forepaws out of the Human's grip and wrapping them gently around Bill's neck as his mustelid body tingled gently all over. Roci squirmed a bit until his hind legs were free as well, trying his best to wrap them gently around the man's waist, as Bill continued to nibble on him, working down his chest from his neck...

After a minute or two, the thickness of the fur forced the Human to come up for another breath. He looked over Roci's broad, fluffy chest and saw his head rolling limply from side to side in the soft grass as he trilled softly with pleasure!

"CHURP?" The Human inquired, trying his best to emulate his friend's natural expression. Bill rolled to one side, leaving Roci laying on his side next to him in the green grass. "Still hungry?" Bill asked in Kurushani.

Roci rolled over slowly, his head still hazy, and made a grab for the bunch of dates. He rolled back again, leaving the bunch of fruit between himself and his Human friend. They looked at each other through the gaps in the bunch of dates, each knowing full well that it might well take hours to finish all of the sticky fruit!

They trotted out of the oasis together as the sun signaled late afternoon. Bill was worried.

"Maybe we'd better head back... The others will worry..." Bill said.

"No they won't..." Roci replied casually. "Shyia took everyone into another part of the House. They will await us there." He added. "We can join them after..."

"After what?" Bill asked with a sudden sharpness to his voice.

"After we become together, Bill-San..." Roci responded in the same tone. "Shyia said we needed the time alone..."

Bill's face mingled hurt with confusion. Roci softened both his posture and tone of voice.

"You give every bit of yourself to your Pridemates..." Roci stopped at Bill's feet, stretching upward, his posture asking to be picked up. Bill did, without a second thought. "Can you spare no part of yourself to share with You?" Roci asked seriously. "Will you try something with me, Bill-San?" Roci asked as he settled comfortably in Bill's arms.

Bill just nodded, unsure what to say.

"Imagine Yourself... Furry..."

"ME????" Bill asked, amazed.

"What do you fear, Mister Animator? Can you not do it?" Roci half taunted.

"I can..." Bill's sharp rebuke broke in mid sentence.

Roci could tell from the distant expression on the Human's face that he had tried. The sharp spear of pain he felt from the Man at almost the same instant told the Skiltaire that his friend had also failed!

"Aw C'mon... It's silly..." Bill covered up quickly. "You all know how furry I am when you're around me." he said, submerging his latest and most painful failure.

"It is not the same thing, is it?" Roci asked gently.

Roci locked his hazel eyes with the Man. He would brook no more lying, or his task would be impossible! "IS IT...?" Roci pushed hard and fast, just like Shyia had said he would have to do.

Bill stopped, and put Roci down. The man walked ahead a few paces, pretending not to hear the painful question.

Roci Stone was never one to give up easily. Especially not now, with so much at stake.

"HALT!!" He thundered in commanding Kurushani. The tone of voice alone was enough to petrify the Man where he stood. "You will answer me!" he ordered.

Bill paused for a moment, began to turn and respond, but after a moment shook his head and walked away. Bill's pace quickened with each step, becoming a full stride as he ran, fleeing from his hurt with every step he took, and condemning himself with his silence.

"You are still building the wall, Damn you!" Roci shouted, bursting into tears of anger and frustration as he raced after Bill, who was now at a dead run away from himself.

By the time Roci caught up with his human friend, his Savage anger was in full flow. There was only one way to get Bill to listen. So mote it be...!

Roci cut in sharply, darting between Bill's feet. The charge carried only a fraction of an ampere, but at enough voltage to knock down an ox. It sent Bill sprawling nearly twenty meters away into the neatly manicured grass! Roci looked on in horror and hurt as Bill rolled over, convulsed and then lay still.

Roci raced along the ground faster than he'd ever run before. Before Bill could draw two shallow breaths, Roci was at his side. He took Bill gently by the front of his coveralls and patted him gently on the cheek, until his eyes fluttered open.

The first sight the Human saw was a prismatic view of Roci's tear-stained but smiling muzzle.

"No..." Bill said distantly, reaching up and clapping a hand over Roci's shoulder. "It isn't the same... Remind me never to piss you off..." Bill added as his eyes focused again.

Roci smiled, a bit embarrassed. "That is the first time I have ever done that in anger. Forgive me, Bill..." he asked quietly. Roci kept his shoulder wedged under the human's hand until Bill got to his knees. His body still shook slightly. As he regained his footing, Bill noticed that white smoke curled around the bottom of his coverall legs, near his shoes. Bill patted them out casually.

"Will you come with me, Roci-San? I need to talk... with you..." Bill asked as he scooped Roci up again gently, and walked up the path toward the teahouse...