Something Extra - Hungry Heart - Ch. 3 (Patreon)

Author's note: Hi guys, it's time to follow Toru's adventures once more in the Something Extra space! The story is shaping up and I hope you will enjoy it! Many thanks to Dave for making this story possible! His generosity allows me to bring it to life!  (And here's a small heads-up - there will be another chapter this month :) )

Chapter One  / Chapter Two 

Chapter Three – Heads Or Tails?

Toru was lost in thought as he ambled through the town. Could it be that shapeshifters were welcome in Whitekeep? Varg appeared to be held in high regard by the townsmen, but in human form, maybe no one knew he was a mutt? Of all the people he had met, Duril and Rory were the warmest, and not only compared to the morose men and women he had seen so far. As a tiger, warmth was a close friend, and he always sought it in people, too.

But even to them, Toru wouldn’t have dared to show his tiger form. That meant that Varg had his secret tight in his fist. He would need to find a way to make sure the mutt king would keep his mouth shut. Until he had the mystery of the familiar scent figured out, he needed to tread lightly. 

One good thing had come out of the day. The sack of food was heavy, and it looked like Rory had put inside plenty of vegetables, cheese, and meat, as his sniffing had confirmed. Duril wouldn’t want for food, at least for a few days.

So, Rory had said something strange, about Duril not taking charity. The townsmen hadn’t struck him so far as the charitable kind, so the healer had to be safe from them trying to impose their good will upon him. As a general rule, Toru appreciated healers; they were usually humans with a soft touch, and Duril definitely had it, too, despite being only a half.

Maybe the townsmen didn’t like people like that. Toru scratched his head. That was all the more reason for him to keep his shifting abilities hidden. Now, it was time for him to pay back some of his debt.

***

Duril was surprised at the loud knock at the door. It was almost dinner time, and surprise left to make room for a fonder feeling in his heart. Maybe it was Toru. Suddenly, worry entered his mind too; he had promised to hunt but he had no weapons, and no armor. Duril pulled open the door and let out a loud sigh of relief. It looked like Toru was in one piece, happy and grinning. He also had a large sack in his hand.

“This is for you,” Toru said and pushed the sack into Duril’s arms.

“What’s this?” He made room for the other to walk inside.

“Food. For a couple of days or so.”

Curiosity got the better of him. Duril began to inspect the contents of the sack, taking the various foods out one by one and placing them on the table. There was bread, and cheese, potatoes, and cured meats, and even a pot of stew? The healer scratched his chin in thought. “What kind of hunting did you do today, Toru? I hope you didn’t steal anything.”

“Steal? I don’t steal.” 

Somehow, Duril had a feeling that was a bit of a lie. “Toru, the townsmen here are not forgiving people. Please, tell me how you came by all of this food.”

“Rory gave it to me,” Toru replied. 

“Rory? The innkeeper at the Tinker Inn?”

“That’s him.”

Rory had a good heart and he always made sure to buy some of Duril’s potions, although the healer suspected that he didn’t always need them. A boy of sixteen surely didn’t need anything to rejuvenate the skin and make wrinkles disappear. That was the only charity Duril accepted since he knew that Rory would find a good use for what he bought, by gifting the potions to other people. In a way, that helped with sales, too, since townsfolk who would never try his stuff would come afterward to buy more.

But all this food looked like too much to be accepted as charity. Duril began to put everything back into the sack.

“What are you doing?” Toru asked.

“You must have charmed the young innkeeper with your beautiful eyes, Toru, but under this roof, we don’t take charity.”

“I worked for it!” Toru protested.

“What work was that?”

Toru stopped for a moment, appearing to ponder over something, and then began to speak cautiously. “There was a big fight at the inn, and I spent all day brooming and putting back chairs and whatnot.”

Something was missing from that story. The day hadn’t been particularly good for sales. Actually, Duril barely had enough to complement the cabbage stew he had just finished. The feast in front of his eyes reminded him of how hungry he felt after a long day spent outside, trying to sell potions. He shook his head. “What caused the fight?”

Toru looked away and began twiddling his thumbs.

“You fought with people?”

“They started it!” 

Great. Now he had a petulant child on his hands.

“But I stayed behind and made things right and Rory paid me,” Toru said and crossed his arms over his chest. “And I have to pay you for saving my life. Please, Duril, just take it.”

When he looked at him with those golden eyes, Duril had no power to look away. Still undecided, he looked at the food again. That wouldn’t be for only two days, it would last for a week, or even more if he used everything wisely. One thing would be off his list of worries, that was for sure. 

“And this is for you, too,” Toru said and placed several shiny coins on the corner of the table.

“Just how bad was the fight? Was the entire place trashed?” Duril was beginning to picture quite vividly the events of the day.

Toru grimaced and then smiled. “Pretty much, yeah. It was a lot of work. My body hurts, all over. I’m sure you can do something about that, right?” With each word, he got closer to Duril.

“Where does it hurt?” He could prove that he wasn’t that easy to sway. There was something feline-like about Toru that wasn’t helping. Duril had had a kitten once, when he was little, but the tomcat had rushed into the street and a carriage had run over him. For hours, he had tried to bring the little body back to life, to no avail. It must have been that day that he had decided to become a healer.

Toru leaned forward and rubbed his forehead suddenly against Duril’s shoulder, almost causing him to lose his balance.

“Hey, watch it.” He tried to be stern, but it appeared that his reaction only left him open. 

Toru embraced him and began rubbing against his body. “This hurting, it’s everywhere, I’m telling you. But this works!”

“Stop rubbing against me, you rascal,” Duril protested. “What are you? A dog?”

Toru stopped abruptly and made such a disgusted face that Duril couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not a mutt.”

“Well, you smell like one. You’ll find a bucket of water and soap in the backyard. Go.”

While he could tell that his guest was not at all happy with that suggestion, Toru moved away and walked out of the room.

Duril shook his head. His eyes were drawn to the silver coins left by Toru on the table. For now, he would take them, but without any thought of spending even one. In the meantime, he would ask Rory about the true version of the story. As much as he liked Toru, he appeared a bit shifty, although not in a malevolent way. He was more like a big cat, trying to hide his shenanigans from his master.

***

“Humph, a mutt,” Toru mumbled to himself as he scrubbed his torso vigorously. “Duril is so lucky I like him.” After some debate, he pushed down his pants and proceeded to wash his lower body, too. He had noticed a small well in the back, so he went to replenish the water a few times until he made sure he smelled nothing like a mutt. 

It couldn’t be easy for Duril, missing one forearm and all that. But he was a skilled healer, and Toru couldn’t understand why Rory thought he would need charity. With his abilities, he should have been well off. Again, the thought of the townsfolk being against half-people crossed his mind.

He replenished the bucket one last time and left it there. When Duril would need it in the morning, he would find it full. And if he needed more, Toru would help.

Although he didn’t enjoy washing too much, the feeling of being clean was nice. He threw his pants and shirt over one shoulder and walked back into the hut Duril called home.

All the food he had brought was gone from the table, and now two plates filled with stew were there. 

“I ate my fill,” he said and patted his belly.

Duril stared at him, his mouth agape.

“Rory gave me plenty,” Toru explained. “What? He’s a sweet boy. I bet he gave me extra just because he felt like it.” There was still no sound coming out of the other’s mouth. “Am I fat?” He looked down on his body.

Duril inhaled loudly. “Put some clothes on! What are you doing, walking around naked like this?”

Toru grinned. Ah, that was the problem. He shrugged. “I’m clean now. My clothes might smell of mutt, still.” He sat on the narrow bed and stared at Duril. “What? Do I look that bad to you?”

To his satisfaction, Duril blushed. Even if the candlelight wasn’t bright enough for humans to notice little things like that, Toru had no problem seeing everything. 

“Just come and eat a bit with me,” Duril said in a strained voice. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s not like me. But please, put some pants on, at least. It’s so rare for me to share a meal with someone that it’s a special treat.”

For his sake, he would do it. Toru put his clothes back on and sat quietly at the table. “Sorry,” he said.

Duril patted his head. “No worries. You just surprised me is all.”

That felt nice. Toru pushed his head into the caress. 

“Now, let’s eat. It would be bad if the food got spoilt.”

“You made some, too.” Toru sniffed the air.

“Yes, but it’s hardly --”

“Give me that. You eat this one. I want what you made.”

Duril sighed. “It barely has any meat, and even that is just some bones. And cabbage.”

Cabbage. Toru pressed his lips together in an effort to suppress his disgust. But once he had made that decision, there was no going back. Valiantly, he grabbed his fork and pushed the full plate in front of him toward Duril. “I’m sure you don’t mind eating this.”

Without another word, his host moved around and brought another plate, but Toru decided to take the reins. There was no way food would get spoilt if he could help it. He took the pot left to cool on a shelf and placed it in front of him.

Duril opened his mouth to say something, but then he smiled. “Enjoy your meal, Toru.”

“Same,” Toru replied and dug in. He expected his tongue to have a fit upon tasting cabbage, but instead, he let out a small sound of delight. Yeah, it could use more meat, but those bones seemed juicy, too.

He was halfway through when he noticed that Duril was staring at him in unhidden astonishment. Now his host probably thought of him as a mutt again. While his eyes didn’t leave Duril, he slowed down. “It’s really delicious,” he said with his mouth full.

“I’m glad.” Chocolate eyes beamed at him.

They ate in silence. Toru observed Duril’s delicate manners, but his efforts to imitate him were fruitless. Even if he had eaten earlier, there was still plenty of room inside. As someone who didn’t know when the next meal would be, he was used to eating large amounts of food with no repercussions.

Duril didn’t eat the second serving, but he put it back into the pot and then took it to what looked like a small cellar under the wooden floor. Toru sighed in satisfaction and patted his belly. “Thank you for the meal,” he said, the moment Duril was back. “Now where do I sleep?”

***

Duril blushed under that intense golden stare. Good thing the candlelight was so dim, or Toru would be able to read his impure thoughts. “I’ll arrange the bed I use for patients.” It was rarely used, so there could be no problem in letting Toru sleep there.

He took a new sheet, a pillow, and a blanket and placed them neatly on the bed. Acutely aware of Toru walking around the room, Duril was filled with apprehension. It was something between being stalked by a wild beast who might have thought him dinner, and the improbable idea that his guest watched him with desire. Of course, the last bit was just a figment of his imagination. It wasn’t possible for Toru to think that. After all, he had paid for the services rendered, and now there was no need for him to offer his body. Yes, yes, it had to be his imagination.

Duril walked stiffly toward the bed he slept in every night, just slightly bigger than the other, and maybe a little more comfortable. Right away, he felt guilty for not offering Toru his bed. His guest was slightly bigger than him and he could use the extra space. “I think it would be better if you slept in my bed,” he said.

“With you?”

Surely enough, Toru sounded surprised. Duril felt the tip of his ears starting to glow red. “No. It’s just that it’s bigger. I’ll take this one.”

A warm hand rested on his shoulder, and he barely kept in a small jolt. People and beasts alike sought potions and remedies for ailments of the body, but a healer had to know that there were many ailments of the heart, too. One could be starved for another’s touch.

“No. I’m in your house, eating your food, and getting healing for free. I won’t take your bed.”

“Really? That’s generous of you.” Duril had experience mostly with people who preferred to take as much as they could.

A small snort was the answer. “You’re the generous one.”

“Thank you,” Duril said quietly. “Good night, Toru.” He blew out the candle before getting under the coarse blanket. 

“Good night, Duril.” 

That had been the most interesting day in a while. Duril didn’t know if he could keep in the excitement of getting to know the beautiful stranger now sleeping under his roof. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleep took him in its warm embrace.

***

Why did he feel so hot? Duril fought drowsiness with all his might, but his eyelids were heavy. There was no light from outside, so it had to be night still. As he blinked to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the room, something hard, but fluffy hit him across the face. Was that a tail? He yelped in fear. What kind of beast was in his room?

“What? What is it?”

That was Toru’s voice and it came from ... his bed? Duril jumped to his feet and, with a trembling hand, lit the candle. He held it high and moved it across the room. “I could swear there was some wild animal in here,” he explained, relieved but ashamed for having caused a ruckus for no reason. It looked like there was no intruder. To be sure, he checked under the table, and both beds, but there were few places where a wild animal could hide. 

With a sigh, he looked at Toru, with every intention to apologize. “Wait? What are you doing in my bed?”

Toru lay languidly on one side and offered a crooked smile. “I hate sleeping alone. If I can help it, I don’t.”

Well, that explained why he had felt so hot, but not why a wild animal’s tail had hit him across the face. Maybe he had been lost in a dream and imagined all of that. Now it looked like he had a bit of another type of trouble on his hands. “I can let you sleep in my bed, but not with me. I told you. I’ll take the other one.”

“If you take the other one, I’ll come sleep with you there.”

Duril felt a bit awkward, standing there with the candle in his hand and staring at Toru who appeared to be the embodiment of every single one of his fantasies as a lonely man. He had shed all his clothes - which wasn’t helping - and apparently had zero modesty. His manhood lay dormant, resting on one thigh, and even like that it looked impressive. Duril’s eyes remained glued to the sight in front of him much longer than was polite. 

“You can’t do that,” he protested meekly. “And we can’t be sure that the bed will hold the two of us.”

“It did a good job so far.” Toru patted the place next to him. “And if I wreck it, I’ll make you another.”

“Do you know how to make beds?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

There was no winning. Duril moved reluctantly toward the bed. He realized that he was still holding the candle when a bit of molten wax fell on his fingers. Annoyed with himself, he blew it out and placed it on the table. As cautiously as he could, he snuck under the blanket. “Wait, why are you sleeping with your head at the other end?”

Toru put one arm over his legs and rubbed against them. “It’s the only thing I can do to keep from doing things to you.”

There was no adequate reply to that. Duril said nothing, and this time, with Toru’s body so close to him, sleep didn’t come as fast.

***

Now, that had been a little stupid. But it had felt so nice in Duril’s bed, that the tiger in him had shifted on his own. He clearly needed to be more careful in the future. Duril had turned his back to him, and Toru had a mind to pinch his butt, just to test it. Even under coarse modest clothes, it appeared to be firm and round. He would bet it was juicy. But pinching his host’s butt would be bad manners, and he needed to keep himself in check. Unlike him, Duril slept in nightclothes, so he was very prim and proper.

Eh, he could pretend later that it had been an accident and let one hand come to rest on Duril’s hip. Maybe the healer wasn’t completely against men, judging from the way he had checked out Toru’s sleeping snake earlier. If that was true, he could work with it. But first, he needed to rest.

***

It was barely light when he opened his eyes. There was no time to waste. In the morning, the crisp air made all the smells appear more potent. If he wanted to find the source of that scent, he had to start looking for it. He snuck out of the bed carefully so that he didn’t wake up Duril. 

Outside, it was breaking dawn. Nose in the air, Toru focused on the elusive scent. It had to be somewhere around, or close enough. His steps couldn’t have been driven here for no reason. Lost in his thoughts, he bumped into a hard body. 

“Hmm, what’s a lost kitten doing up so early in the morning?”

Toru looked up, meeting Varg’s dark eyes. He took one step back to ensure that there was enough room between them. “If it isn’t the mutt king himself.”

Varg placed one hand over his heart. “A king, you say? You’re a flatterer, aren’t you?”

Something was seriously off in how the mutt behaved. Toru didn’t like to show his teeth, but his claws were sharp. Maybe a roar would take Varg by surprise and make him step away. The problem was that he couldn’t do that, or he would give himself away. 

Plus, he couldn’t ignore that Varg was well aware of his secret, and, the mutt that he was, he probably thought that he could use it against him. Tough luck, Toru didn’t intend to let him do that. Instead, he would be the one played. 

“Oh, but you are so kingly,” Toru said in a sugary voice. “Mutt,” he added under his breath.

Varg laughed. “I see that you can behave, kitty. That’s a good thing. Let’s go for a walk.”

Toru wanted to protest, but Varg’s heavy arm thrown over his shoulder quieted him for the moment. 

“Where are we going?”

“You were looking for a job yesterday, right? It happens that I have the perfect one for you.”

“What? Dusting the shelves in your den?”

Varg laughed, and Toru examined him through his dropped eyelashes. The wolfshifter’s throat was thick, and of a dark color. As much as he wanted to strangle him right now, that didn’t seem too doable. No, claws and strength had no place in what he needed to do to ensure that his secret remained safe. 

Therefore, he relaxed into Varg’s forceful embrace and offered a broad smile.

“Batting your eyelashes at me like that won’t work. You’ll have to earn an honest living if you want to be allowed to stay in Whitekeep.”

“If there’s another inn, I can start a fight there, too,” Toru replied, a bit pissed that it looked like his charms wouldn’t work this time around.

“Ah, so you admit to your wrongdoings. That’s a start.”

Toru wanted to stick his tongue out at Varg and bite it in frustration at the same time. Why did the wolfshifter need to be so goddamn annoying? He looked away and tried to shake off the heavy arm on his shoulders. The pressure and hold only increased.

“Where the hell are we going? Don’t tell me you want to feed me to your pups.” That was a laughable idea because he had no intention to let a bunch of mutts get anywhere near him.

“You felines don’t have good meat,” the reply came. 

Ah. Another hint at his secret. Toru couldn’t take it anymore. “Spit it out, mutt, already. What do you want so that you won’t say I’m a shifter?”

Varg appeared vaguely surprised. The slight hesitation wasn’t lost on Toru. “I want you to earn your keep, that’s all.”

“And make a profit off my hide, I’m sure.” Toru crossed his arms over his chest and began walking slower on purpose.

“That, too,” Varg admitted. “But I thought you’d like to hunt.”

Toru’s ears perked up. “Hunt?”

“Yeah. Hunt.”

“What are we going to hunt?”

Varg’s broad grin was a suspicious sign. Toru scrunched up his nose. He could bet it was some disgusting thing that only wolfshifters liked. But they liked meat, too, so it couldn’t be that bad. Hopefully.

***

It was exciting and unnerving at the same time to play with the tigershifter. Varg had smelled his insecurity related to his nature, and new questions popped to mind. It was a good thing that Toru intended to keep his true identity hidden since the people in the area didn’t take kindly to shifters. However, it wasn’t as much the idea of shifting-capable creatures living so close to them, but more the fact that Toru was a species not often seen in the area. If he could recall, a feline shifter hadn’t been seen in Whitekeep or anywhere around for more than thirty years or even longer. There were some bad memories about such shifters, too. But Toru had nothing to do with that old story, and nobody talked about it anyway. Varg still remembered; others must have known it, too, but the word wasn’t being passed to the new generations. It was better to let that dangerous memory lie. He had been a young wolf during that time, and, unlike him, many hadn’t survived. For that, he should consider himself lucky.

He smelled no evil in Toru. Maybe the tigershifter was brash and a brawler to the bone, but he was like a playful pup, up to mischief, without considering the consequences. It made Varg want to hold him close and protect him. Of course, above all else, he needed some tough love and guidance. Varg had been pleased to see him in such good health after that wound he had given him. It appeared that the tigershifter was in a league of his own. 

“The forest over there is filled with nasty creatures.” Varg pointed out at the sparse forest covering a tall hill in the distance. “They come into the town, steal everything they can, dirty the well water and frighten the young maidens.”

“And? Get your mutt army in shape and make them hunt down the thieves.”

“Nah. It’s a good job for you. Wolves don’t hunt birds.”

Toru was silent for a moment, and then he burst into laughter. “Birds? What? Do you want me to climb trees and hunt down magpies? Puppies can’t do what?” He parodied the last words and stuck his tongue out.

“If it’s magpies hiding in those trees, they’re dirty bastards,” Varg replied, ignoring the other’s delight at teasing him. “Let’s say they’re a bit too big to be that, and they don’t steal trinkets.”

“What’s the pay?”

That was more like it. “For each dozen, you get one coin.”

“Silver?”

“Copper. Did Rory spoil you without my knowledge?”

“Copper.” Toru made a disgusted face and ignored the question. “I don’t want to work for peanuts.”

Varg observed his companion for a bit. His golden skin was flawless; it made Varg want to touch it and enjoy its smoothness. But no, what was he thinking? His plan was to take that lost shifter under his wing; having no table manners and stealing prey from others was one thing. But there was more to it. He was lonely.

“So, if I hunt down these magpies for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut?”

And every good intention had to be welcomed by a slap in the face. Nonetheless, Varg kept in a smile, with much difficulty. At the same time, his fingers itched. When he needed to discipline the members of his pack, he dominated them by biting their ears. While the idea of keeping Toru down and munching on his ears had its appeal, he had in mind other kinds of punishment, which involved bending the mischievous feline over his knee and giving him a good hard spanking. Maybe that would make the little one behave. Varg smirked at the thought of calling the strong and proud tiger walking by his side ‘little’. He would surely bristle at that.

“You have one weird smile on your ugly mutt face right now. If you think you can make me work with no pay --”

“You don’t have to worry about that. We’re far enough. You know what to do.” Varg shifted and began running toward the hill. Time to get busy.

***

Magpies. Like, seriously? Maybe the mutt king thought he was no good as a hunter and wanted to test him. He would show him how it was done. Puppies were no match for true hunters. Toru shifted in a flash and followed Varg toward the hill. 

The forest was thin and made mostly from clumps of trees. Toru eyed the tall smooth trunks and looked up. It appeared that there were nests on the highest branches. Piece of cake. His tough claws sank into the soft bark and he began climbing. 

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” Varg teased him from below.

Toru ignored him. He couldn’t wait to be up in the tree and make fun of the ground-bound mutt. The nests were filled with eggs, and he used his paws to send them flying to the ground and then proceeded to destroy the nests. Maybe the nasty magpies would find another forest and another town to terrorize if they had no homes left. 

“How much do I get for this?” Toru shouted at Varg.

“Some eggs? Nothing,” Varg shouted back. “Only adult birds count.”

“Seriously? You’re one cheapskate! Where do I get adult birds? They’re nowhere around.”

He should have kept his mouth shut. A flutter of wings and something hard hit him on the head. Toru kept his balance, but barely. He sank his claws into the branch deeper and focused on the next attack. His eyes narrowed; those weren’t magpies. They were black winged monsters with beaks like steel and sharp claws, too. Toru wrapped his long tail around the trunk as an anchor. When the bird dived again, he was ready. His mouth opened wide and fast and his fangs reached for his attacker. The black monster thought itself smart, but Toru jumped slightly, enough to catch it by the throat. Its blood filled his mouth, and with it, the coppery taste of victory. 

Something landed on his back and Toru tried to shake it off. He let the dead bird drop from his mouth, as he fought to get rid of the other attacker. Trying to reach it was impossible, so Toru opted for a dangerous move and unwrapped his tail from the tree trunk. The strike was swift and the bird was sent through the air. It recovered from its loss of balance in midair, but not fast enough. Toru hit it with one paw, and it fell like a rock to the ground where Varg pounced on it.

“That still counts as two!” he yelled from the top of the tree.

The wolfshifter looked up, the dead bird in his mouth, but he dropped it. Toru felt his hackles rising, the sense of danger reaching him faster than Varg’s warning shout. Every hair of his fur stood up and his tail wrapped around the tree trunk of its own accord.

He looked above his head. The sky was dark and made of claws and feathers. How had they gotten so close to him without making a sound?

TBC

Next chapter