I woke up, the light of the morning sun warming the fur of my face. The scent of lilac and musk tickled my sensitive nostrils. I stretched out underneath the soft coverlet and hugged my pillow closely, pricking up my ears and listening for sounds of any nearby activity. I caught the faint murmur of voices below me and recognized them as belonging to my two new friends. Silvermoon's words were hushed and insistent, whereas Mare was answering in a flat monotone. My tail thumped absently against the mattress as I strained to hear what they were saying.
(Yes, I have a tail, fuzzy ears, and a coat of fur that covers my whole body. Let me introduce myself, my name is Phaedrah. I was once a software designer in that world which you call reality. Let me tell you something. That world is not only one of many, but it is also quite boring and mundane compared to the one the consciousness of a certain Brian Murdoc woke up in after the accident. I remember swerving off the road in a moment of distraction and poof (!); here I was in a different reality, inhabiting a body that (despite it's obvious erotic advantages) was not what I would term comfortable.
I am a furry. To be more specific, I am a hermaphroditic, canine furry. It is most unsettling to wake up in a body that possesses the sexual plumbing and adornment of both genders. But, I must say, my breasts are most fetching, and I am endowed with much more "package" than I have a right to wish for.) I stretched and yawned, deciding that it was time I moved my lazy carcass out of the bed. My toenails clicked against the wooden floor as I padded naked over to the doorway and peeked out into the hall. It was deserted so I ventured softly out and down to the stairwell, where I could here the voices more clearly.
"You are stalling, my pony girl. Tell me what I want to know at once!" Moonstar's strident tones echoed up the stairwell. "Was it a virgin, or not?"
Mare's softer voice was harder to hear. But with my heightened canine senses, I easily made out her reply.
"Yes, my mistress, the little one was indeed a virgin. And I have what you require locked in my jewelry chest." Her tone was sad.
The confusion I felt at Mare's miserable tone of voice was cut short as a thin silken cord tightened around my neck. I barely had opportunity to slip my left fore paw in between it and my throat before my world became focused upon one thing, trying to breathe. The edges of my vision began to darken and I vaguely felt myself being pulled backwards toward the other end of the short hall. I then remembered the sullen clerk from the night before and his obvious distaste at the sight of me. I also remembered that his room was three doors farther down the hall than Mare's room. I redoubled my efforts to struggle free but the cord was digging harshly into my forepaw and neck. I flopped around enough to loosen the cord as my attacker tried to get a better grip on me, and twisted away from him. I instinctively snapped at his hands and kicked out with my sturdy hind legs. My perverse luck helped me evade death once again, as the night clerk was launched back into the wall. His hands were bloody, and he was gasping for breath. I felt a brief flare of pride for being able to defend myself successfully as my inertia carried me toward the opposite wall, and the open garbage chute. I fainted in terror before I hit bottom.
I awoke to darkness…and stench; a repugnant, foul, and inescapable stench that began to permeate my very being. Finding that nothing was broken, I attempted to navigate the garbage piles toward any means of escape. This involved much slipping and sliding until my fur was matted and sticky with slime. Then, as suddenly as I had arrived, I escaped my rubbish filled prison by falling through rotted gating over the cart access. I found my shabby, high-smelling ass out on the busy, midmorning street. After losing the tip of my tail to a wagon wheel, and a notch from my ear to some mangy, flea-ridden cur (growl!), I tumbled over to the other side of the street and into a quiet alley. I huddled, naked and smelly, behind a row of rain-barrels that lined the narrow, dark alcove. I had figured on watching the entrance of the boarding house for Silvermoon or Mare to show up outside in search of me. I changed my mind when a soft, tremulous whisper from the dark end of the alley made my blood run cold.
"My, little one, you look more wretched than even I feel. Come closer, and let's have a gander at you." I blinked into the shadows and sniffed the air. But my eyes didn't reveal any secrets and the smell of the garbage that still clung to my fur was overpowering.
"W-who are you?" I growled. I stood and took a stance that Silvermoon had taught me, head down and shoulders canted to present a smaller target. "Speak! I have no patience for tricks or flattery!"
A gentle chuckle meandered out of the shady dead end and broke my façade of bravado with ease. I shrunk a bit and sat back down against the barrels.
" I cannot hurt you, little pup. Of this I assure you." A slender white hand flicked out from the shadows and into the sunlight. It immediately began to smoke and blister. A quiet moan followed the path of the chuckle and the hand disappeared as quickly as it had come.
" I am…allergic to sunlight. Please forgive me if I don't come out to greet you. I was just curious as to your species. Most half lings aren't near as intelligent or eloquent as you. I only mean to talk, is this acceptable?" I thought I glimpsed a pale, regal face drift close to the light, but it could have been anything. I never got a chance to reply, though. A strong, loving hand grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and lifted me over the barrels.
"Phae! Me lovy! What's happened to ye? Ach, ye smell foul! What have ye been in, the garbage heap?" I found myself dangling in front of Mare's bright green gaze and comforting smile. "You'll need a bath, ye will. Come along!" she scolded. I was bodily heaved across the street and bustled into the kitchen. If you have never been unceremoniously dumped into a sink full of crockery and hot, soapy water… I don't recommend it. The effects on your dignity are quite devastating. I allowed myself to be washed and rinsed in sullen silence. But when she tickled my inner thigh while I was climbing out of the sink, I snapped at her hand and grumbled something about not being in the mood. Her eyes briefly misted over but she shrugged and smiled, apologizing primly.
" I'm sorry too, Mare…it's just that I was attacked and nearly raped this morning. The idea of any playfulness is the farthest thing from my mind." (I'm not totally heartless) " I am only concerned with his capture and just punishment."
"Aye, milady Silver has him. I believe she was interrogating him when I left to see if you had escaped outside. We should go to her before the lad is damaged beyond recovery." Mare said, matter-of-factly.
She dried me off and pulled a simple cotton shift over my body. I felt so much like a child at her hands that I was smiling at her when she helped me down off the counter to the kitchen floor. I held my hand out to her and she followed me out into the dining room and parlor. There I saw my assailant, trussed to a chair and looking a bit battered and bruised.
"Filthy mutt!" He spat at me, earning a hard slap from Sil's gloved hand.
"Don't make me cut out your tongue, Garrick. You are in enough trouble as it is." She turned to me and smiled in relief at my apparent safety and health. "There you are, little one. Are you unharmed?"
"I am ok, no thanks to this creep." I muttered, glaring at Garrick and showing him a canine or two. "What are you going to do with him?"
"That is not for you to worry about, little Phae. You just run along with Mare and stay out of trouble." She kissed my head and clucked in concern at my wounded ear, then waved us toward the door. "Mare, take it to the market and buy it some travel clothes, preferably leather. I'll finish here and join you for supper this evening at Callahan's Cross. Now shoo!"
I spent the afternoon trying on clothes and decided upon a leather harness top with a short skirt. Since I already sported a fur coat, the clothes were for mere modesty rather for protection against the elements. The top had two sewn-in sheathes at the shoulder blades, so I entreated Mare to take me to a weapons dealer for matching knives. I chose a pair of wicked looking elfin throwing blades with bone hilts. They fit into each sheath perfectly and felt like next to nothing. I was ready to take on anyone. We headed back toward the tavern as the sun was dropping below the horizon and reached it as the sky faded to rosy purple. As we entered a chorus of voices raised in greeting at Mare and she was pinched a half dozen times before reaching the bar. She laughed, slapping at their hands in mock annoyance.
"Your late, Mare. Who's the mutt?" The grizzled bear of a man behind the bar winked at me, eyes crinkling merrily. I unconsciously started wagging my tail as I smiled and winked back.
