Shorts: The Furry Years (6 page)

I nodded, "So could I, so could you. That's part of life George, but he seems a decent kid. Maybe a tad under socialized, I think I'm gonna ask corporate to ship a boat load of developmental psychologists out here next week. You folks obviously need help in that department."

"That's why I'm worried about you taking him! This could be too much too fast! We've spent a lot of time on this project, we don't want it ruined by him freaking out on us."

"Well, I appreciate your concerns George, but I have my orders too. Don't worry yourself though, I was asked to do this job for a reason."

"I thought you volunteered," he blinked.

"Well I could have turned them down if I had wanted to, and I thought about it too. Glad I didn't though," I grabbed the doorknob, "See you at
noon
tomorrow George, and keep the display part short, I don't want Jeidyn up on stage for more then ten minutes."

He nodded and we parted company as I walked in.

I caught Jeidyn sneaking away from the door as I quickly stepped inside. I had to laugh. "How much did you hear?"

Jeidyn looked guilty, "You didn't knock!"

"Nope, not now, not ever. Remember that; there's only one time you can expect me to knock and this isn't it. Now what did you hear?

"Not much," he grumbled, "These doors are too good."

I nodded and went to my luggage, which was sitting in the center of the room. I opened it and got out a few things to check for listeners of another kind. Not that I expected any, but it pays to be safe.

"I take it you've heard a lot of things you weren't supposed to then?"

He looked at me, and I looked back. I took a real good look and memorized his expression.I checked my gizmo, the room was clean, so I sat down on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table.

"Son, the best thing you can ever do in your life is to be totally honest and forthright with me at all times. I can be the best friend you'll ever have in your life if you do. Maybe the only friend. Lie to me, or evade my questions and you will pay the price, you're smart enough to know who and what you are. I'm here to evaluate you, your life is in my hands and I
want
to help you.

His eye's narrowed a bit. "You could have me killed couldn't you?"

I nodded, "Yes, I could have them kill you, I could have them do anything to you I wanted." I watched him carefully as I said this slowly. He didn't like it, that I could tell, and I didn't blame him one bit for it. "But I won't."

"Why not?" he asked looking at me, still wary.

"Morals, Ideals, Beliefs, these things may only be a concept to you, but they are one of the most important things in existence. I cannot and will not compromise my belief's. That is why I am being honest with you now, upfront. So, back to the original question, what do you know that you're not supposed to?"

He tried to stay puffed up and wary, but I just kept smiling at him and he deflated and walked over to sit by me. Interestingly enough he sat on the floor with his head in easy reach. I took the hint and stroked his hair, or mane rather.

"Lots of things I guess. I know I'm a kind of freak, a created test subject, genetically engineered and all."

"Do you know about the others?" I asked.

"Before or after me?" he replied.

"You tell me."

"There are a lot more about half my age, I've never seen them of course, but I've overheard people talking about it. The technician's forget how good my hearing is, and often make mistakes and talk about what they shouldn't. As for the ones older then me, I've heard them talk about two previous test cases."

"Yes, there were two."

"They were killed, weren't they?"

I nodded, "They didn't work out, the genetics didn't match up well. Neither got past the age of one year though, so don't worry about it."

He shivered as I stroked him, "But I do worry about it, all the time. I'm just a thing, I'm not a person. I hear it in the way they talk about me, all the time."

I gave his mane a tug, "Enough of that talk," I said a little harshly perhaps, "You are not a freak, nor are you a thing. You are a person. Yes, you don't have any rights, but then when I was your age I didn't either."

"Which age is that?"

"Take your pick," I chuckled "You're either ten or seventeen depending on how you look at it."

He nodded, "But what is my purpose in life then Sir?"

"Bill in private, you can 'Sir' me in public. Your purpose? You are the first of your kind. There will be more, many more. You’re here to prove that its a good idea."

"And then?"

"Well, that's a tough one. You pretty much belong to me, and I haven't thought about that yet."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't know what you'd be like when I took this job, still don't know really, takes time to really know someone." I was surprised that the issue of my owning him didn't seem to stir a response.

"Anything else?" I asked.

There was of course, and he told it all to me, but none of it was as interesting as the first. I listened to all of it however and answered all of his questions. Except those dealing with sex, seems he had witnessed two lab techs doing things they shouldn't have been. And while he knew the theory, seeing it applied gave him even more questions. And I could easily see it had an effect on him as well. I forestalled him with a simple: "I'd rather discuss that topic a little later, when we know each other better, but I promise to cover it all."

By the time we had finished talking it was dinner time, and we were both fairly hungry. I enjoyed watching him eat; he had good table manners, and ate like any teenager I had ever seen: In great quantities. He did tend to like meat more, and liked it under cooked by my standards, but that was fine.

He was mostly quiet while I watched the news and some evening entertainment programs. Asking questions now and then. Most of it he wasn't familiar with, some he was however. It seems they did their best to educate him, but they didn't cover too much present day politics, or current events, at least not in detail.

I also found he wanted to be very close to me, I did nothing to discourage him of course, being curious about him myself, and in all honesty I've always enjoyed physical contact. Being a fairly jaded individual it didn't bother me in the slightest that he was male.

"Comfy?" I asked looking down at him as it got rather late and by now his head had worked its way onto my lap. He stiffened and looked so frightened that it was all I could do to keep from laughing, and when he tried to sit up I found out just how strong he was when I pushed him back down, which was stronger then me. "You're okay there Jeidyn," I laughed. "Honestly I don't mind, I actually enjoy it. I take it you weren't allowed to do this kind of thing?"

He smiled and his ears flicked, looking embarrassed, "They weren't supposed to let me, the people in charge were afraid I might act up as I got older. So I only got to do this a little, some of the nurses didn't seem to mind, if no one else was around. Most wouldn't let me though once I started getting big."

I nodded, "Well in private again, it's fine with me most of the time. If it's not, I'll let you know. In public however it's not okay. Many people do not like displays of affection in public."

He nodded, then smiled, "So, this is a display of affection?" he rubbed his head under my hand, so I fuzzled his head a bit.

"Yes, it is. And yes I do feel affection for you."

He actually did purr at that! I found the affect interesting, I also found myself eyeing him over closer then normal. He definitely was an attractive young man, I suspected that there would be more than a few women who’d be happy to teach him the facts of life when the time came.

"Well I'm going to go to bed," I yawned then and stretched. "You can either stay up or go to sleep yourself, just don't leave this apartment. And I will be getting you up around eight, so don't stay in bed too late."

He nodded, "Where do I sleep?"

I pointed to the other bedroom, "Your bed is in there, but if you want to stay up late and watch the TV you can nap on the couch tonight."

"First time I'm allowed to stay up late unsupervised and I think I'd rather go to bed instead." he said and giggled. Definitely a teenager.

I rubbed his head, "Well you'll have plenty of chances from here on in, so don't worry about it."

We got up then and I gave him a hug like I did with my own kids, totally surprising the heck out of him. "Well goodnight and I'll see you in the morning Jeidyn."

I left him standing in the room looking almost dazed, I was most definitely going to see to it that corporate sent out those psychologists, by the end of the week if not sooner, they needed to show these new 'kids' some love and affection if they wanted them to be well balanced and not end up with a bunch of sociopaths.

I awoke a while later, in the dark. He was standing there in the doorway, looking in, looking lost, not moving.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know," he replied just as softly.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

"Y..yes" he softly stammered.

I slid over to the other side, it was a large bed, and pulled the covers back, "Come then."

He slowly padded over, I could see in the dim light that he had shed his shorts and was only wearing a pair of boxers, I guess briefs would be uncomfortable with the short fur. After he got in bed I tossed the covers back over him and snuggled up close, he may have a young man's body but there were definitely some scared little boy parts in him as well. "Better?"

"I, I think so."

"Good, now get some rest," I said and yawned again. He shivered and tensed, then relaxed slowly as I gave him another hug. "You'll be fine, don't worry."

He nodded and I fell back asleep, but not before I had noticed his own breathing slowing down.

The next morning came soon enough. I awoke feeling quite comfortable, I had never been keen on sleeping alone myself and Jeidyn's body, all covered in fur over nice firm muscle did feel rather nice pressed up against my bare skin. I lay there still for a while, just listening to his breathing, and looking at one of his hands, or paws I guess, wrapped around me. The fingers were a little thicker then mine, his hands were definitely bigger, and I could see the openings in the ends, claws. I played with one carefully and teased it out a bit, before he began to stir. Quite impressive, if his teachings didn't include martial arts, I'd have to see him trained myself. Discipline was going to be important for him, lest he get carried away some day and accidentally shred something or, worse yet, someone.

"Morning sleepyhead," I said as he yawned in my ear. He paused a moment and taking in our relative positions, which were both close and a little intimate. Then in a sudden flurry he literally leap from the bed and began a profuse string of apologies, ears twitching, tail dancing, and I'm sure under that fur he was blushing profusely.

"I'msorryIdidn'tmeantodothatwillyoupleaseforgiveme..."

"Jeidyn!" I interrupted. He stopped and looked at me, almost comical in his distress. "Jeidyn," I continued in a softer voice, "Get back in bed."

He did so a bit nervously. I slid back against him and grabbed his arm wrapping it around me. Maybe I was being a bit forward, but the last thing I wanted was for him to be traumatized by something as innocent as snuggling up to someone in bed. "Jeidyn, I don't mind any of this. It is comfortable and pleasurable. Now if you find it uncomfortable, you are free to tell me so and move away. I can assure you that if I find anything you do uncomfortable, I'll tell you, okay?"

"Umm, okay" he gave me a little hug. "Are you sure it's okay?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, in private, yes it is fine. In public; not usually. You'll get a better understanding of what you can and cannot do in public as you spend more time there. The same will go for what you can do with someone in private. Some folks will think that being in the same bed means you want to have sex with them, others would laugh at that thought. Some folks will have problems with this," I motioned to the two of us in bed, "because we're both male; though I daresay there will be some of those who will have problems with you because you're not human anyway.