This story is copyright Andrew Tripp, aka BlueNinja. Jonathan Winters is my creation. Amber and related works are copyrighted by the late, great Roger Zelazny, but since my character is based from the Amber DRPG, I'm kind of stuck mentioning them. Llyrrr and Reinha are joint creations of myself and Shirl Hayes. Please send any comments, criticisms, or point out spelling mistakes to the_blue_ninja@yahoo.com.
Llyrrr sat alone in her room, marveling at her new harp. It was only the latest of surprises in the day, but she hadn’t expected such an exquisite piece to be sitting on the bed of her room. Carefully she picked up the old wood, running the back of a fingerclaw across one of the carvings.
Suddenly the door behind her burst open, and she almost dropped it. Reinha bounced into the room, her fluffy, cinnamon colored tail swaying back and forth. “Can you believe this place?” She stretched, waving her hands around. “This place is fantastic! My apartment is at least ten times the size of our room at the labs!”
Llyrrr chuckled, almost nervously smoothing her whiskers back into place. “Next time, knock before you burst in here, alright? I almost dropped this,” she purred, admiring the harp again. It was just a simple lap harp, but the details on the carvings made her wonder how long it had taken to make.
Reinha flopped onto the bed and stared at it. “Wow,” she mused, “that is incredible.” She hopped up again, heading for the door. “I’m going to explore around outside. Jonathan did say he owned everything for a couple of miles.”
Llyrrr laughed throatily, and carefully put the harp back down on the bed. “Give me a minute to change and I’ll come with you.” The vulpine girl laughed as she bounded down the hall, singing Aerosmith to herself.
Llyrrr wasted no time in shrugging out of her velvet dress, and strode over to the closet door in a pair of black silk panties, invisible against the panther-like fur. Swishing her tail idly, she pulled open the door and stared in shock. The closet was big enough to fit a king-size bed in, with clothes hanging on rails on both sides. A set of drawers lay slightly open, showing her an assortment of underwear, and socks and wrappings for her cat-like feet.
She rummaged through the closet for a few minutes, eventually pulling down a halter top and a pair of jeans. Wrapping her paws in an unfamiliar thick material, she jogged down the hall to look for Reinha.
She looked up as the feline came out of the hallway, flipping through the CD collection in the middle of the rather cozy living room. Reinha grinned, and jumped over the bean bag on the floor. “Come on, let’s go!” Laughing, she dragged her friend through the opulent house and into the outdoors.
The house mostly extended underground, and the top and sides had been carefully buried, grass and flowers growing over the roof. They climbed the few steps to be on level ground, and breathed in the scent of the woods. All around them, for as far as they could see, was a light forest, mostly pine. Mountains rose up beyond the trees, making the triangular valley feel cozy and almost close.
Reinha laughed, running up the hill, and then rolling madly down the other side, recklessly through the wildflowers. Llyrrr followed more sedately, watching the rambunctious fox get up again, petals and loose grass caught in her hair. “You’ll have a hard time clearing all of that out,” she called down laughing, jogging carefully down the other side of the house.
Swishing her tail quickly cast loose most of the debris, and Reinha smirked. “Well, you are going to help me clean up later, right?”
The cat rolled her eyes in exaggeration. “Since the alternative is you taking a shower and then whining for hours about your fur being damp, I suppose I don’t have a choice.” Laughing, they followed a small trail into the woods.
An hour later, breathless from the steep uphill they had just climbed, the two stopped at a small pool. Not too far away, the water went cascading down the hill in a series of small waterfalls. Llyrrr sat down on a rock at the edge, unwrapping her paws and letting them slip into the water. Reinha followed suit, picking another rock nearby.
The cat looked over thoughtfully. “How do you think Bast is doing?”
Reinha laughed. “Are you kidding? From the way Jonathan was describing the lab she’ll be working in, she already built herself a bed from back issues of Scientific American.” The two shared a chuckle, before the vulpine looked serious. “She’ll be fine. No more Yuki-san to scream abuse at her, no more Opal to sneer at her for being a lab toy.”
Llyrrr nodded, watching the ripples in the pool as she moved her paws. Then the feline smiled, almost grinning at her friend. “You’re right. Even if we end up having to share Jonathan with each other.”
The fox snickered. “What, you mean Yuki-san encouraging you to ‘experiment’ with us other girls didn’t leave an impression on you?”
“You know what I mean, you silly fox,” Llyrrr replied, giving her a sardonic look. “I can enjoy it, as you know.” Reinha closed her eyes and fluffed her tail. “It’s just not what I prefer.”
Overhead, a shadow blocked out the sun for a moment, and they both looked up in surprise. Banking down into the valley went a blue-scaled dragon, and Llyrrr jumped to her feet. “Come on, we need to get back to the house!”
Reinha started wrapping her feet. “Don’t hurry so much, it’s not good form.” Llyrrr sent a small glare her way, and she shrugged. “Ok, so we’re supposed to be perfect companions and wait on his every need, but if you hurry you’ll just fall in the pool.”
The cat flicked her tail contemptuously, but indeed slipped as she tried to leap from the rock. She landed with a splash on the edge of the pool, soaking her legs almost up to the waist. “Oh no!” The cat fumed as she leaped out of the water, swatting at her drenched jeans and the wet fur underneath. Wisely, Reinha did not make fun of her friend, but helped her up.
The sun started to set as they hiked back, and Jonathan met them a short distance from the house. “I thought you two might have gone for a walk or something. How was it?”
Llyrrr shivered, but tried to keep a scowl from her face. “I fell in a pool.” Reinha rubbed her back consolingly as they all reached the clearing around the house.
Jonathan smiled in sympathy, and stepped up next to her, wrapping one of his draconic wings around her body. “Don’t worry, once we’re inside you’ll feel better. I’m betting you hadn’t finished exploring your quarters yet.” Llyrrr gave her master an odd look, but he just smiled enigmatically as they reached the stairs.
Inside, on the tile foyer, Reinha and Jonathan helped her peel the wet denim from her fur, and Llyrrr shivered again, despite the warmer air. Still with a wing around her, Jonathan led the cat back to her quarters, Reinha following silently.
They stepped through her quarters to the bathroom, and Llyrrr looked oddly at the two glass doors inside. Winking at her, he opened one door. “Shower, specially designed for cleaning dust and grime from fur coats like your own.” Reinha and Llyrrr made almost identical looks of distaste, and Jonathan pulled open the other door, leading Llyrrr inside.
Reinha stood at the door, watching them. Jonathan pointed at a small, waterproof panel set into the tile wall. “Temperature controls.” Pressing the button, hot air whooshed to life from all around them. Both furs jumped in surprise, but Llyrrr almost purred as the air swiftly started drying off her damp fur.
Both Jonathan and Reinha took a leg, rubbing the fur around to let the hot air dry it out completely. Once she was dry, everyone left the dryer, moving out of the bathroom and back to the main room of Llyrrr’s quarters. “Thank you, Jonathan,” she said, dipping her head.
He chuckled, brushing a hand across her whiskers. “Hey, it’s why I had the place designed for you.”
Reinha looked at him quite puzzled. “But … you left the Sukai showroom for less than fifteen minutes. How did you have this place built for us in such a short time?”
He sighed. “I’d love to tell you, but I don’t really want to get into discussions of the nature of the multiverse right before dinner.” He turned to leave, then turned back to Llyrrr, running a hand across the black silk panties that blended into her fur. With a chuckle, the human strode out of the room, wings flaring behind him.
Reinha and Llyrrr shared a look and a shrug. “Well, we do need to clean up before dinner,” the fox said, and her friend pointed towards the bathroom with a wink. Feigning shock, she shook her head. “Heck no! I hate water almost as much as you do.”
Snickering, Llyrrr went to the small bag that held her original belongings, and pulled out a short bristle brush. Shedding most of their clothes, the friends groomed each other’s fur with brush, fingers, and tongue. Once clean, Reinha departed for her own rooms while Llyrrr stepped back into the closet to choose something to wear.
They met for dinner not too long after, Reinha wearing a bright green silk dress, and Llyrrr in a blue silk dress. Jonathan stood at the door to the dining room, his wings shape-shifted away. “Ah, ladies, you are truly beautiful. Please, sit.”
The furs shared another glance. “Aren’t we supposed to serve you, Jonathan?” Reinha asked, looking awkward.
He laughed and rapped the table twice. From the kitchen door strode in a humanoid robot, the face little more than a speaker grille and a pair of glowing eyes. “Dinner is ready as soon as everyone is seated.”
The fox looked at the robot, slightly nervous. “How come we didn’t see it earlier, during our tour of the house?”
Jonathan smiled, stepping forward and leading the women to sit at the table. “Robbie is one of four robots that takes care of the mundane chores that keep the house clean. They are supposed to stay mostly unseen, but if you need one just call. They all answer to Robbie.”
The meal was served, and everyone ate rather hungrily. At the end of the meal, Llyrrr sat back in her chair, feeling contented, and only when Reinha smothered a giggle did she realize that she was purring, and that Jonathan was watching her and smiling. Her whiskers curled forward in embarrassment. “Did you wish something?”
He and the fox both laughed out loud. “I think if you were purring much more loudly, the table would be shaking, Llyrrr!” Her whiskers curled even further in embarrassment, and he reached out a hand, placing it atop one of hers. “I’m glad you both enjoy your new home here with me.”
“Are you kidding? This place is spectacular!” Reinha blurted out, before clapping a paw over her muzzle, embarrassed as well. Jonathan laughed at them both, winking at the fox as her tail brushed against his leg under the table.
Turning back to Llyrrr, he smiled at her. “Penny for your thoughts?”
She smiled slowly. “I am truly happy here, Jonathan.”
“You don’t miss the lab?” he asked, letting his fingers play idly with her fur.
Both furs shook their heads quickly. “No. I had many acquaintances, but few friends. Only Reinha, and Bast. My other friends had all left.”
Reinha took his other hand, pressing it to her muzzle. “Besides, we get an incredibly sexy shapeshifter to be companions to.” With an exaggerated seductive wink, she kissed his hand.
All three shared a laugh, enjoying the company in their new home.
Llyrrr slept happily, dreaming of some of her old friends from Eroti-gen, before most of them had been sold as companions to the wealthy and elite. There had been a dragoness, emerald scaled and friendly, several months older than Llyrrr. She had often comforted the feline after a harsh scolding from one of the tutors there, wrapping wings around the girl like a safety blanket.
In her dream, her friend was running a hand along her whiskers. It felt so real, that it took Llyrrr several minutes before she realized that the touch was in fact real. Startled, she jumped backwards in her bed. Jonathan looked at her concerned, and it took her a moment to find her voice. “You startled me.”
He chuckled. “Sorry, I was trying to wake you up gently. You were purring in your sleep.”
She ducked her head. “I was in the middle of a very good dream.” She looked up at him, sitting partly up in bed. “Did you need something?”
“Well, I hope you do remember I said there would be lessons. Be down in the athletic room in half an hour. We’ll do a workout, then have breakfast.” He rose from the side of her bed, closing the door behind him. Llyrrr glanced at the timepiece hanging on the wall, and thought she had gotten about six hours of sleep. Of course, she had stayed up half the night playing on the new harp, getting a feel for the instrument.
Rising, she crossed her room nude to the bathroom. Taking a few minutes, she combed and licked out her fur to something more presentable. Then examined her closet, finally choosing a pair of baggy sweats to wear. Fighting her tail through the hole in the back, she had to grab the brush again, but she reached the room with several minutes to spare.
Reinha wasn’t quite as sound a sleeper. When Jonathan opened her door, she blinked sleepily, and then sat up, automatically pulling the sheets with her. When he kneeled by her bed, she impulsively leaned over and kissed him. He returned the kiss quite happily for a moment. “Good morning,” he purred.
Reinha licked her lips. “Good morning. Did you need to wake me for something?” She let go of the covers, leaning back against the headboard.
His gaze followed the sheets for a moment, then looked back at her face. “I came to wake you up for morning lessons. Llyrrr’s already awake, and I don’t know if you need half an hour to get ready.”
The fox looked at the timepiece on the wall, and smiled reaching for him. “I think I can manage. Besides, she can’t start without you, right?”
He chuckled as she pulled his shirt off, then leaned forward to nuzzle her neck. “No. Are you sure she won’t be jealous?”
She laughed, kicking the sheets out of the way. “Perhaps a little that I was first, but she won’t be jealous unless you ignore her completely.” With a pleasantly surprised mrr, she fell back into bed with him.
Llyrrr looked up and stopped her stretching as Jonathan and Reinha both entered the room, smelling of sex. She gave the man a look of mock reproach. “I would have been very happy to take care of you, had you mentioned anything,” she huffed, making her tail lash back and forth.
He laughed, walking across the room to give her a big, dipping kiss. She grabbed at his shoulders to keep from falling backwards, wrapping her tail around his leg. As they broke the kiss, she noticed Reinha chuckling. “It’s not my fault,” he half-joked, “she held me down.”
She two girls teased each other for a few minutes, while Jonathan opened the storage closet. Pulling out a set of mats, they did several stretches, mixed with jumping exercises and push-ups. When he thought they were limber, he went back to the closet, bringing out three canvas jackets, and three fencing masks.
He handed them each a jacket, almost a custom fit, and then looked at the masks. “I picked colors on each mask so that we don’t get them mixed up. They were designed to fit your heads better.” He handed the black to Llyrrr, the red to Reinha, and donned the blue himself. Next, he handed out fencing epees.
Llyrrr looked at the swords in disappointment. “Um, Jonathan, I thought you understood, we’re not trained for combat.”
He sighed. “I know, but, well … fencing is a good way to stay in shape. Also, while I don’t expect either of you to act as bodyguards, if someone does decide to attack me, I want to know that you are at least somewhat able to defend yourselves.” The girls took their swords without further argument.
For an hour, they covered several basic thrusts and parries, until finally Jonathan called a halt. They all pulled off their masks, Jonathan wiping sweat from his forehead while the other two panted. “Alright, let’s call that enough for today. Hang your jackets and masks up in there, and let’s meet for breakfast in another half hour.”
Gratefully, the furs shed the extra layer of clothing. Reinha chuckled. “Next time, you should wear a halter top instead of sweats.” The cat nodded, still panting from exertion and heat. Both sweating under their fur, they walked back to their apartments, this time using Reinha’s apartment to clean up before breakfast.
The three of them ate quickly, and Jonathan went outside, shapeshifting into his dragon form and leaping up, soaring away into the clear sky. Reinha and Llyrrr both stood outside, watching his blue scales fade away into the sky as he headed across and out of the valley.
Reinha smiled, inhaling the scent of the flowers and pine trees. “Come on, let’s go for another hike today,” she said, bouncing up and down on her paws.”
Llyrrr laughed, smiling. “As long as it doesn’t involve any more streams, I think it’ll be fine,” she said. The two friends linked arms, strolling into a different part of the woods. It was a good second day.
Later than evening, when Jonathan returned, he found them in the large living room area. Both had donned headphones, listening to different styles of music. Judging from the way they both were tapping their paws and swaying their tails, vastly different music as well. Since neither of the girls had noticed him, Jonathan snuck over carefully behind Reinha as she lounged on a beanbag chair, shapeshifted wings into place, then pounced on her.
Her shriek of surprise brought Llyrrr up out of her chair, fighting to get the headphones off. As Jonathan rolled on the floor laughing, Reinha pounced him in retaliation, trying in vain to tickle him. Breathless, she finally cried, “No fair!”
Laughing, he effortlessly picked up the fox girl, tucking her under his arm. She squirmed for a minute, then settled for pretending to glare up at him. Llyrrr watched them, her whiskers curled forward and a happy smile on her face. Jonathan finally relented, putting her down.
The cat girl grew serious a few moments later, opening her mouth, but hesitating. “Jonathan,” she asked quietly, “what did you mean this morning, about being attacked?”
He sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting down in front of the entertainment center. “Well,” he answered slowly, “technically, I’m a member of the royal family of a country called Amber. I’m not in the line of succession, and unfortunately, some of my relatives don’t like me much. Before I had removed myself from the succession, one of my uncles hired assassins to kill me.
“Obviously,” he chuckled, “they didn’t succeed. And things have been pretty quiet for a while. I stay away from home unless absolutely called for, they don’t interfere with my life. But if something changes, I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He looked between the two girls. “I’ve lost a few friends that way.”
Llyrrr rose, walking over to stand beside him. “What about your family?”
He sat and thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table. Finally, he reached under his shirt, and pulled out a small case. Inside it were about two dozen cards, some drawn in the manner of greater Trumps from a deck of Tarot cards. Looking through the deck, he cast them out onto the table in a certain order.
Fascinated, the two furs stared as he went through, explaining some of his family tree, which relatives favored or hated him. At last he shrugged. “There’s still a lot of relatives no one knows about. Granddad was a horny old bastard. One point he said he had at least fifty children – legitimate and not. Considering that covers around twenty thousand years, it doesn’t seem like a lot.”
Reinha stared at the cards, eyes wide in shock. “Your grandfather was twenty thousand years old?” She pulled back a hand. “How old are you?”
Jonathan sighed. “I’m only about six hundred or so. I haven’t kept track for centuries. Most of my aunts and uncles are in the thousands too, but it’s a bit impolite to ask.”
Llyrrr brushed a hand across his cheek unconsciously. “In such a long life, how important are we to you?” she asked, very quiet.
He looked up, taking her hand and rubbing his face in the fur again. “You matter to me, both of you. I like both of you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. Love, even just friendship, seems like such a fleeting thing. If you don’t grab while it’s right in front of your eyes, you don’t get another shot.”
They stayed there in silence, one furry hand on either of his cheeks, simply seeking reassurance in each other’s touch and company. But Reinha finally turned, hearing one of the robots enter the room. “Dinner is ready, master,” it said. Jonathan nodded, gave both hands a squeeze, and got up from the chair.
Still somewhat solemn, they sat down to the meal, eating mostly in silence. As they finished eating, Llyrrr turned to Jonathan. “I think I’m going to retire to my room and practice my harp.”
Reinha made a bored face at her, before asking, “Is there anything good to read around here?”
He laughed. “Go down to the third floor. That’s the library. Well, the fiction anyway.” At her incredulous stare, he grinned. “I don’t think there’s much in Japanese, but there should be enough books written in English for you to find something you like.”
The fox shook her head. “The whole floor is nothing but shelves of books?”
“And the next one below it too. I’m afraid the books aren’t sorted by language, just by the author’s name. But I’m sure you can find something that you’d want to read. Or tell me what you like and I can make a few suggestions.”
She almost bounded out of her chair. “I think I’ll go look for myself. A whole floor!” Considering that the second floor of the house held an athletic room, a separate racquetball court, and a full-size Olympic swimming pool, it did seem like an incredible amount of books.
Llyrrr and Jonathan also rose from the table. “Do you mind if I come listen?” he asked her. Smiling, she shook her head, and they retired to her apartment.
Almost two hours later, Reinha burst in the door to her friend’s apartment. “My gosh, he wasn’t kidding about the –” The fox stopped, her ears flattening with embarrassment. Llyrrr looked up, lifting her head from Jonathan’s chest where they lay in bed. The vixen sniffed the air again, and gave a broad grin. “Wow, go Llyrrr. Three times!”
Jonathan cleared his throat, and she shut up, though the enormous grin stayed on her face. The cat’s whiskers flattened in embarrassment, and he gave Reinha almost a stern look. “Please, Reinha, either join us, or leave.
Her grin almost widened, though there didn’t seem enough room on her face for that. “While I would love to, I know Llyrrr only enjoys it on occasion, not regularly. See you later!” Clutching the almost forgotten book, she bounded out of the room, not quite slamming the door shut.
They lay there together, him slowly stroking her fur as she drifted off to sleep.