Volle (3 page)

As they emerged from the woods late in the third day, they saw the land rise up ahead of them, and got their first view of the land of Tephos. The mountains rolled gently across the landscape, lower, softer, and greener than the Red Mountains of Ferrenis. This was the northern edge of the range; to their left, the mountains stretched away southward. To the north, they subsided into rolling hills and then flatter farmland.

The open area the carriage was now entering sloped down to a river valley across a grassy plain. The river wound in tight curves through the plain, but to the north, where it fed the farmland, it widened and ran straighter. Volle studied the river with indifference. He could see a building where the road met the river, and supposed that would be the inn where they were staying, and the border post into Tephos.

“The Otrine,” Seir said, leaning past him to look at the river.

“I know. And those are the Ancient Hundred.” He indicated the mountains with his muzzle. “How closely guarded is the border?”

“Here? Not much. We’re still going to use the disguise for you, though.”

Volle stuck out his tongue. “I hate that stuff. My fur feels sticky for days.”

“I’d think you’d be used to that,” Reese said with a smirk.

“Not at all the right kind of sticky,” Volle returned, but that just reminded him that he hadn’t been sticky—the right kind—in days.

“Well, I am sorry, but it’s necessary. We don’t want reports of a red fox crossing the border here to have any chance of reaching the palace.” She took a large ceramic pot out of her pack and carefully placed it on the seat beside Volle. “Here. We’ll sit up with the driver if you want some privacy.”

“Privacy?” Volle’s ears flattened. “You mean it has to go everywhere?”

“’Fraid so.” Seir spread her paws. “We just have to prepare for every eventuality.”

“Great.” He opened the pot and wrinkled his nose at the slight tarry scent. “It smells,” he objected. “That won’t fool them.”

“Oh, we have some scent for you to put on over it. You’ll claim to be a woodworker, using pitch to seal the wood, and that explains the smell.” Seir hustled Reese out onto the running board. “Come on, climb up with the driver.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes. Now go.” She followed him and disappeared, but left the door latched open.

“I don’t care,” Volle said, but too late. He looked out the door at the grassy fields rushing by, and sighed. Then he took off his tunic and trousers and sat naked on the seat next to the pot.

It was almost arousing, if he thought of it that way: sitting here where he was exposed to the world. In his fantasies, a lithe highway-wolf would leap into the carriage. He’d have his sword out and a cocky smile on his muzzle, but the demands for money would die on his lips when he saw the naked fox. He’d lower his sword, walk forward, and take Volle’s paws in his own…

His fantasy provoked a reaction in his sheath, and his paw strayed down to brush up and down it, becoming in his mind the velvety paw of the highway-wolf. He brushed along the fur, and the quickly showing skin, and started to breathe a little harder. Eyes closed, he fell deeper into the fantasy, paw completely circling his length now, his body shivering with every stroke.

Something bumped the carriage above his head. The noise startled him and drove the highway-wolf from his mind. As he moved, he bumped the ceramic pot to the edge of the seat, and barely caught it before it toppled to the floor. For a few heartbeats he held it, panting, and then set it back on the seat. With a sigh, he got to work.

The pot contained a black salve, which coated his fur and turned it black. It felt heavy, but it would dry without leaving much residue on his fur. A casual brush, even a longer touch, would be fooled, though a close examination would probably reveal the secret. Seir carried the white salve that was necessary to dissolve the black one and restore the fur’s true color.

It was something the Ferrenians had worked hard to perfect. They were justly proud of their alchemical works, and in theory, Volle too was proud of them. In practice, he despised them. The black salve dried normally, but the white left a sticky residue on his skin that had lingered for days, the one time he’d used the salve last year in a training exercise. And that had been only on his back and shoulders! He couldn’t imagine using it over his whole body.

Well, use it he had to. He dipped a paw into the pot and drew out a glop of the salve, smearing it into his chest fur. As he did, he looked down and noticed that his arousal was fading somewhat. Mischievously, he took his black-coated paw and gave himself a few more strokes to renew it. He was rewarded with the odd sight of a black member streaked with pink in a couple places he’d missed. He grinned to himself and coated it more thoroughly with another pawful, then took care of the rest of his groin, until his sheath and sac were completely blackened. The sight made him grin, and put him in better spirits as he reached for the pot again.

He left his tail tip white, and left a white patch at his throat. When Reese climbed down from the driver’s seat, Volle was standing at the door, watching the river and the mountains, and letting the wind ruffle through his fur. He smiled at Reese and stepped aside to let him in.

“Put some clothes on, why don’t you?” Reese made a show of averting his eyes as he scrambled into the carriage.

“Got to wait for it to dry.” Volle flashed white teeth in his black muzzle. “What’s the matter? Tempted?” He posed alluringly against the door, angling his hips toward Reese.

Reese snorted and picked up the pot. “Turn around.”

“Good heavens! After five years you’ve decided you like my tail?” Volle grinned, turning around to face the door and giving his tail a little lift.

“You wish. Though it’d be almost worth it just to see if you put the coloring…there.” Reese grinned, and a moment later Volle felt the hare’s strong paws on his back. “Seir sent me to make sure you got your back done. You missed a couple spots.”

“Mmm. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have left other spots undone.” Volle brushed Reese with his tail, chuckling.

“And you’d have done those yourself.”

“Oh, so you like to watch?”

Reese snorted again. “I set myself up for that one.” He stepped back. “Okay, I think you’re good from behind.”

“So I’ve been told.” Volle grinned and turned around. He brushed his paws down his stomach and chest. “I think I’m mostly dry now. I can at least put the trousers on, if it’d make you feel better.”

“Please.” But Reese smiled as he held the trousers out to Volle, and Volle was smiling as he put them on. “You look really different. I wouldn’t know it was you. Even the scent is different.”

“This is good stuff. I forgot that I don’t mind putting it on.” Volle brought his tail around and brushed it with his claws. “It does look good, doesn’t it? Mysterious?”

Reese laughed. “You can’t have sex with that stuff on. They couldn’t help but notice.”

Volle winked. “How innocent you are. There is always a way.”

“Well, maybe not in Tephos.” Reese’s expression became more serious.

“What do you mean?”

“You know they’re mostly Panbestian Orthodox, right?”

Volle nodded. “Of course. You’ve already teased me about being lumped in with wolves and coyotes under the god “Canis.” What does that have to do with anything?”

“The Orthodox Church frowns on recreational sex, but they don’t really bother the straight couples because they can’t prove they’re not trying to have cubs. But the same-sex couples are…shall we say, discouraged.”

Volle stared at him. “Really? But that’s…they can’t do that.”

Reese shrugged, and the hint of a smile played around the corners of his muzzle. “I’m sure there are places where it goes on. But those would be seedy, grimy joints frequented by dangerous lowlifes. Not suitable for a peer of the realm.”

“But…that wasn’t mentioned in any of the texts.”

“Did they say that it wasn’t true?”

“No.” Volle stared glumly down at his paws. So his little adventure in the pub would be the last of its kind for quite some time.

“Your paws will be good friends, yes,” Reese said, and Volle shot him a dirty look. “Unless you decide to try out ladies.”

Seir swung down into the carriage and closed the door behind her. She saw Volle’s expression and looked over at Reese. “What?”

“I was telling him about the Panbestian Orthodox Church’s attitude toward some of his favorite activities.”

“Ah, yes.” Seir sat beside Volle and patted his knee. “You wouldn’t have had time for such distractions anyway.”

“I’d have made time.” Volle managed a smile. “I made time at the Academy.”

Seir shook her head, and grinned. “You probably would have, at that.” She lifted his arms, checking the fur all over. “You look good. I like the white patches. Nice touch.”

“Thanks.”

“Reese, you checked all the other areas?”

“Not as closely as he’d have liked me to, but yeah.”

Volle snorted. “You don’t trust me? I know how to cover
that
area.”

Seir chuckled. “I know you do, but a second pair of eyes is always better. So get your shirt on. We’ll be there in another hour. Everybody have their paperwork?”

Reese studied his. “I am Marik, returning home to Tephos after selling my wares to the peasants in southern Ferrenis. Why aren’t you the merchant and us your assistants?”

“This is Tephos. Females are treated somewhat differently here. Even me being an assistant might be a stretch if you were married. As it is, they’ll probably assume we’re sleeping together.”

Reese put on a look of mock indignance. “They’ll think I can’t do better?”

Seir swatted at him. “You don’t have to do anything, just don’t contradict them if they make assumptions. Volle, you have your papers? They’re huge on papers.”

Volle waved his papers desultorily. Seir nodded. “And Reese, we were selling in southern Ferrenis because…”

Reese shrugged, transforming something in his expression. “That is where the money is. I bring the money home to my motherland, at least.”

“Excellent. We’ll have no troubles.”

And they did not. The Ferrenian guard, a bored-looking marmot, asked Reese a couple questions, barely glancing at Volle and Seir before waving them across the bridge. On the other side, the Tephossian guard, an equally bored-looking weasel, glanced at all three papers, then waved them through without a single question.

They pulled into the stable at the inn, where Reese ordered the stable boy, a young badger, to look after their horses. He made a big deal of breathing in the air and bellowing, “Ah, Tephos! I am home!” His overacting was so amusing that even in his black mood, Volle couldn’t keep from smiling.

The pub was empty save for a dirty goat with matted fur sitting at the bar. He didn’t move when they entered, even when Reese called out loudly, “Innkeeper! A round of mead, if you please, and make it Vellenland mead if you have it.”

“No Vellenland,” the bear behind the counter replied. “We have Cauter mead, regular and blackberry; we have Forest mead, and we have Holtan’s ginger spiced cider. And Royal mead, of course.”

“Cauter regular, then,” Reese said. He chose a table, and Volle and Seir joined him at it.

“Cauter?”

Reese grinned at Volle. “Cauter’s second best to Vellenland. A distant second, but still ahead of third.”

Volle shook his head. “Who would’ve thought your drinking would be so useful?”

“Wait ‘til you taste it. In the palace I bet you’ll get Vellenland mead, too. Pity they don’t make very much of it.”

The bear plunked three mugs down on their table. “Six copper.”

Reese rummaged in a pouch and handed him six coins. The bear pocketed them, then stood by the table watching Reese.

The hare sniffed his mug, then touched it to his lips and took a sip. “Mmm. Excellent.” He smiled up at the bear. “Thank you very much.”

The bear smiled and nodded. “Pleasure, sir. Enjoy.”

Volle sipped his mead. It was good, but it couldn’t quite dispel his thoughts. He turned to Seir. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“About what?”

“About the Tephossians being…” he lowered his voice. “Panbestian Orthodox.”

“I thought you knew that. It was covered.” Seir had an amused expression on her muzzle as she sipped the mead. “This is very good, Reese. Nice choice.”

“I did, but I didn’t know how…I mean, their feelings about…” Volle sputtered and looked back and forth between the two of them.

“What, did you think this was going to be some kind of pleasure holiday? This is work, Volle. Whether or not you can indulge your personal tastes should be beside the point.”

“Someone still should have told me.” He took another drink from his tankard, but his mood was souring the taste.

Seir touched his arm gently with a paw. “Maybe they were afraid you’d react exactly this way.”

Volle was torn between resentment and self-pity. Did they really think he would have shunned his duty just because he would have to essentially take a vow of chastity? He had half a mind to do just that. He breathed in the scent of his mead and listened to Reese ask something innocuous of Seir, only half paying attention. The fatigue of the journey, the salve in his fur, and Reese’s news that afternoon were mounting to make him irritable, as much as he tried not to be. He reminded himself that he was here because he was the best qualified in his class, that a kingdom was depending on him, and that he should be honored.