Pendant of Fortune (48 page)

“
Maybe you need some more training yourself.” He couldn’t stifle a huge yawn, though. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to give you a lesson now.”

“
I wouldn’t call it lucky. Maybe I’ll get luckier tomorrow.”

“
Maybe. Good chance, I’d say.”

“
Mmm.” Volle licked his muzzle gently. “So…are you okay? I promise I …”
Won’t do it again?
That sounded insufficient, somehow.

“
Hmm?”

The words came to him smoothly. “I promise I won’t be with anyone but you. Ever.”

A blue eye opened again and looked at him. “What?”

He held Streak tightly. “I won’t be with anyone else.”

The wolf hugged back silently, then rolled off him and rested a paw on his stomach. “I feel the same way,” he said quietly. “But…I can’t hold you to that.”

“
Why not?”

“
Not yet. If…”

Volle reached across his stomach and covered the white paw that lay there. “If you come back to the palace, you mean.”

Streak looked at him and his whiskers twitched. “Or if you come back to the farm.”

Volle sighed and nodded slowly. “Okay.” He nuzzled Streak gently. “We’re together
now
.”

“
Yeah.” The wolf snuggled closer to him, and before either of them could think of anything else to say, sleep had overtaken them.

In the morning, Helfer woke Forrin, or at least that’s what Volle assumed had happened; he woke to the low murmurs of conversation outside. Streak yawned and turned to him a moment later, eyes opening and muzzle stretching into a smile as he woke. They lay in bed for a little while, waking up and stroking each other’s fur. Volle marveled at how he felt he’d never really appreciated how lucky he was to have been waking up next to this wolf for the past year. He thought by the shine in Streak’s eyes that he felt the same way, and he was glad that there weren’t any lingering doubts from the previous night.

“
Think we should get up?” he said finally.

Streak brushed a paw over his sheath, carefully avoiding the wound, and grinned. “Feels like you’re already up.”

Volle smiled and kissed him. “I’m not the only one. But we shouldn’t keep Helfer waiting.”

The wolf’s paw slowly slid off him, making the fox shiver. “I suppose you’re right,” he said with some regret.

Volle resisted the urge to curl up and take Streak into his muzzle just to tease him. He had a pretty good idea that if he did, things would keep going. So he just kissed Streak and climbed out of bed, showing off as he stretched, wiggling his hips from side to side. Streak made a grab for the swaying erection, but Volle took a step back and stayed just out of reach. With a growl, Streak lunged, and ended up nearly on the floor as Volle stepped back again.

“
Not as quick as a fox yet, are you?” Volle teased, padding to the bathroom, then running as Streak chased him.

They ended up sprawled together on the floor of the bathroom, Streak pinning Volle down and tickling him until the fox yelped for mercy. Then they just sat and giggled together for several minutes, kissing lightly before starting their daily grooming.

Fifteen minutes later, smelling more of vanilla than of musk, they cracked open the bedroom door. Helfer and Forrin were talking quietly, and both looked up at the opening of the door. “Finally,” the weasel grinned. “In another ten minutes, we would have had to burst in on you.”

“
Sorry to disappoint you.” Volle stepped around the couch and into the room. “Forrin, are you coming on our run?”

“
Of course, my Lord,” the wolf rumbled, standing up. “I would be remiss in my duties otherwise.”

“
All right,” Helfer said with a mischievous look at Streak and Forrin, “let’s see if you wolves can keep up with us.”

For the most part, they acquitted themselves well. Forrin was in better shape than any of them, but clearly was not accustomed to running long distances with his sword, and he refused to leave it behind. As they rounded the mansion and started the second lap, he started to fall back, and so that he wouldn’t feel as though he were neglecting his duties, Volle fell back and paced him while Streak and Helfer ran on ahead.

When they met again at the gate, Helfer was wagging his short tail. “Ah, size isn’t everything, is it?” he chuckled, rubbing his paws together. “At least, not with legs.”

Forrin smiled good-naturedly. “I suppose not, my Lord.”

“
Well, I think I’m going to take a bath and spend the day relaxing around here, supervising the cleanup maybe.” The weasel gestured toward the meadow, though they had all seen while running through it that it was already mostly clean.

“
We’re going to the resort to get a proper bath.” Volle sighed at the thought.

“
Burning Waters, right?”

Volle nodded.

“
All right. Come on back up for dinner if you can.”

“
We will.” They waved a goodbye and climbed into a waiting buggy. Forrin didn’t join them inside, but sat up front with the driver.

They spent most of the trip talking softly about the resort, neither one willing to broach the serious subjects they knew were looming only a couple of days away. Volle told Streak about the sulfurous fumes and the sense of isolation, and the blissfully hot and cold pools. He mentioned the dust baths and massages, getting a curious look when he told Streak about the young otter (“not the same one,” was all he said), but he did not mention the whispering arches. He wanted to surprise the wolf with them.

When they arrived at the resort, the weasel at the front gate greeted them with a deep bow and a hesitant look. “Welcome to Burning Waters, my Lords. You are the guest of Lord Dewanne, yes?”

“
Yes,” Volle said. “Though I believe we may be guests of Lord Tistunish today.”

“
Quite so.” The weasel nodded and the hesitation was replaced by a smile. “Enjoy your day at Burning Waters.”

“
When I have my estate back,” Volle muttered to Streak, “we won’t have to be here as guests.”

Streak smiled and nuzzled him. “It’s okay,” he said. “Either way, you’ll be taking those clothes off soon, won’t you?”

“
Mm. And so will you.” Volle wagged his tail as they approached the hot baths.

Tish, Tika, and Volyan emerged from the house just as they were walking up to it. Volyan squealed and ran at Volle, flinging his arms around Volle’s legs. “Daddy!”

Volle knelt to hug the dripping wet fox cub, getting quite wet even through the cub’s tunic. Tish and Tika strolled up, also wet, but keeping their distance. All three reeked of the sulfurous water they’d been in. “Hiya, kit,” Volle said, nuzzling him. “How’ve you been?”

“
I’m here all by myself!” Volyan said proudly. “Mommy said I was old enough.”

“
You sure are. You’re just walking around with Tish and Tika because you like them, right?”

The cub nodded and whispered to him, “Mommy said I should keep a eye on them.”

Volle saw the grins on the wolves; the cub’s whisper was not exactly secretive. “As well you should,” he said. “You never know what trouble they might get into.”

Volyan’s eyes widened. Then he nodded and wagged his tail. “I won’t let ‘em get in trouble.”

“
And we won’t let you run on the wet tile.” Tika put a paw on his shoulder.

Volyan rolled his eyes to Volle, in a gesture so reminiscent of his mother that Volle had to stifle a laugh. “Who are they?” he said, pointing at Streak and Forrin.

“
Don’t point, dear,” Tika said, and Volyan lowered his paw.

“
This is Streak,” Volle said, and Streak knelt down.

“
Hi,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“
I’m Volyan.” Volyan examined the wolf and then said, “Are you white all over?”

“
Almost.” He grinned at Volle and the fox grinned back.

“
I never met anyone who’s white before.” The cub craned his neck around to look at Streak’s white tail. “Were you always white?”

“
Always.” Streak held out a paw. “But my fur still feels the same as yours.”

Volyan reached out and brushed the fur, and then grinned. “I know that. It’s fur. It’s just a color.”

Volle laughed, and gestured to Forrin to come forward. “Volyan, this is Forrin. Forrin, this is my son.”

The guard didn't kneel, but bowed deeply, and said, “A pleasure to meet you, young master.”

Volyan looked up at him with wide eyes, and only when Volle nudged him did he say, “Pleased to meet you.”

Volle smiled, holding the cub's paw, and looked up at Tish. “So are you all off to the cool pools?”

“
Yes,” Tish said. “You’ll meet us there?”

“
Or we’ll meet you at lunch. We got sort of a late start.”

Tish and Tika just grinned at him, and he rolled his eyes at them, imitating Volyan’s gesture. The cub giggled and nodded back.

“
We’ll see you later, then. Come on, Volyan.”

“
I wanna stay with Daddy,” the cub said.

Volle leaned close to him. “You’d better stay with them and keep an eye on them, like your mommy said. I’ll see you later.” He ruffled the cub’s wet head fur.

“
Okay.” Volyan nodded and licked Volle on the nose. “Bye, Daddy!”

Volle waved as the cub walked away with Tish and Tika, skipping over the dusty ground. Streak waved, too, and then smiled as they walked toward the hot baths, Forrin shadowing them alertly. “He’s cute. Very bright.”

“
Mostly his mom,” Volle said. “This is the first I’ve seen of him in a while. He hasn’t had a chance to pick up any of my bad habits.”

Streak chuckled as they entered the steamy, sulfur-scented room. “Hopefully he won’t. Phew, it does smell in here.”

“
Yeah. But it’s a nice way to get away from the world.” Volle put his muzzle into the crook of the wolf’s neck. “And you can still smell someone if you’re right up close.”

Streak giggled and turned to kiss Volle on the nose. “So this is where we take our clothes off?”

“
I would prefer to remain clothed,” Forrin said. “If my Lord permits.” He moved to the far doorway and stood there, watching the interior of the pool.

“
Certainly.” Volle nodded, and stripped his tunic off. “Streak, we can leave our clothes here.” When he had folded his pants, he noticed that Streak had only his tunic off, and was watching him. “Careful,” he grinned. “We’re still in public and you want to stay presentable.”

“
Just admiring the view.” The wolf smiled and dropped his own pants, and still managed to goose Volle under the tail as they walked past Forrin into the large room.

Volle jumped, but didn’t turn around. “Careful! You don't want to make me slip.” Streak snickered.

They could see three other shapes in the pool, but Volle was glad to see that the whispering arch in front of them was empty. He guided Streak around in front of it and pointed to the submerged bench below the arch. “Sit there,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Streak tilted his ears curiously, but lowered himself into the water, gasping at the heat as he did. Volle smiled and then padded quickly around the pool, waving courteously to the two otters he passed. They waved back, eyes fixed on him, and he reflected that they must be locals who hadn’t seen foxes around much, probably used to using the Canid pool when the others were too crowded. That led him to wonder where Dewanne was. Already made it to the cool pools, most likely.

He seated himself under the opposite end of the arch, lowering himself carefully into the water and sighing blissfully as the heat soaked through his fur. He slid down up to his neck, tilted his head back, and breathed softly out, watching the eddies in the steam as his breath passed through it.

“
Can you see me?” he whispered, and heard a splash from across the pool that traveled along the arch and sounded as though it were right beside him.

“
Volle?” Streak’s voice sounded confused.

“
I’m right here.” Volle closed his eyes. “Right next to you in the water.”

“
How…” Streak lowered his voice to a whisper. “How are you doing that? Can you hear me?”

“
Yes. It’s the arch. It carries sound.”