Right to a Bear's Arms, Ch. 21 (Patreon)

***Author's Note: please listen to the attached songs at the appropriate parts as they are tied to the narrative. These two are my favorite all-time songs by this band, who is also my #1 favorite band ever. I've renamed them to work in this world as Kelin's family band, but all my respect, love, and heart goes out to the actual group. If any of you somehow read this, I LOVE YOUR MUSIC SO MUCH!!! For all others, please enjoy and rock on! Skol!***

The drive back to Leod Hall was a quiet one.  Hera did not let go of Kelin's hand for nearly anything, easily able to steer with just one paw as they pulled off the interstate and back onto the long gravel road.  The warmth inside of her had yet to fade and she could feel the new necklace bouncing gently atop her collarbone as the wheels underneath them rumbled across the unpaved path.  They rounded the copse of trees and once again came in sight of Leod Hall.  Even after seeing it once already, the sight still took her breath away; it was a literal Viking castle right in the middle of rural Wyoming.  It was a home, welcoming and warm, to any and all who crossed its doors.

They pulled into the parking space they had been in before and quietly got out of the truck once Hera had turned it off.  She caught Kelin before he started up towards the front door and reached down to kiss his forehead, combing his errant strands of raven hair from his face to do so.  His curious but heartfelt look made her chuckle.

"I do not deserve you, my Kelin," she told him softly.  "I am blessed to share in your birthday and to have you in my life  It is a life that you saved, and one I wish to share with you for as long as I can."

He furrowed his eyebrows, no doubt using his macho facade to keep her from seeing how emotional he had become at her words.  "Hera, we saved each other, remember?"  He reached up then and stroked her paws on either side of his face.  Their foreheads bumped against one another and she heard him take a shaky breath.  "Wherever you go, I will follow."

The Ursid beamed.  "Then follow now," she told him quietly.  She kissed him one more time then stood back up to her full height.  His hand folded into her paw and they walked side-by-side up into the house.  As they entered, she couldn't help but notice the lights were all dimmed.  The cars parked outside told her that the Leods were no doubt still around.

Kelin looked especially confused.  He glanced up at her, to which she gave a shrug, then he let go of her paw and walked around, kicking off his shoes.  "Hello?" he called out.  "Guys?  Where you all at?"

Hera's phone took that moment to vibrate inside of her bra and she quickly recovered it before Kelin was able to notice the admittedly muffled sound.  Her eyes lit up as she read the text message on the screen.

'We're ready.'

She tucked the phone back into her shirt in its special holster and then cleared her throat just as Kelin was turning back around.  He still looked extremely puzzled.  She gave him her brightest smile, her eyes twinkling, to which he only looked even more confused by, if also delighted to see her doing so.  She started to slowly stalk toward him, swaying her hips a bit more obviously than she usually did.  "What are you doing?" he asked, voice wary but obviously enjoying the view.

She hummed and loomed over him.  She tapped his jaw with her furry finger, turning his head up toward her.  "How about..." she growled softly down at him.  "We sneak off downstairs for bit?"  She raised an eyebrow meaningfully down at him.

Kelin's face turned red after he stood there blinking for a second.  "R-right now?" he asked, voice squeaking a bit.  "I don't even know where everyone else is.  Their cars are all still here, so they're around.  What if they~"

She cut him off with a padded finger on his lips.  "You have spoiled me, Kelin," she growled.  "You have bought me gifts and presents.  It is your birthday, and I am pouty."  She stuck out her bottom lip at him slightly, noticing that it made him shiver a bit.  "What other kind of present am I allowed to get my most wonderful boyfriend on his birthday if not gifts?"  She leaned down slowly toward him, hair cascading down her shoulders as she reached back and undid the loose braid she had it tied in.  He always seemed to love it when her hair was loose.  "What special treat could my Kelin be wanting instead, hmm?"  Her voice had dropped to a sultry murmur.

His eyes, crystal blue, had gone completely round and wide.  He licked his lips, expression fervently hopeful as well as completely entrance.  There was also that slight element of fear and uncertainty of what to expect there, which just made her wriggle in delight even more.  "W-well..." he stammered out.  "I wouldn't want to sound...greedy or anything..."

She growled softly and rubbed a paw along his jawline, teasing his fair skin down his freshly shaven throat to his collarbone.  She toyed with the line of his clavicle and his shirt, clicking the sharp black tip across his necklace.  "Then let me spoil you a bit instead..." she purred right into his ear.  "This is acceptable trade, da?"  He loved it when she spoke Russian, a weakness that was all too easily exploited on her end.

"Da..." he mumbled up at her, eyes slightly hazy now.  He cleared his throat.  "I mean uhh...yeah...yeah sure."

She winked.  "Then...as you said...Wherever I go, you follow."  She turned from him then and walked towards the staircase that led to the basement.  She cast a look over her shoulder at him, paw on the railing, then she started to descend the darkened stairs.  She could see in the dark, but Kelin could not.  The nearest lights fixture was at the bottom.

As she arrived in the basement, she heard muted thuds and rustling.  She almost felt a little guilty, tricking him like this, but she had been setting this up with Kelin's family since early that morning.  The trip into town had even been part of the play.  Being dishonest for such a reason as this one though didn't bother her at all.  It was an innocent enough surprise.  Maybe she had come on a little strong but he had to know she was fully serious, even if the immediate payoff for it wasn't what he might be expecting.  She already had plans for such endeavors anyway.  She would not be interrupted in her planned future conquests forever.

"Hera?" he called down after her, just making her grin more.  "It's kind of dark, can you flick on the lights?"

"Nope," she called back up at him teasingly.  "Makes it more fun, no?"  She heard muted chuckles from around her.  Kelin's family was so much fun...  It was amazing to be included in a family that was so open-minded about these sorts of things.

She could hear Kelin huff before he resumed coming down the stairs after her.  She saw him emerge into the basement, looking around blearily.

"Come towards the sound of my voice," she told him.  She stood beside a prepared chair in the center of the room.  He did so, holding out a hand in the dark which she easily reached out, took, and guided him toward her.  He went willingly, a stupid smile on his face, before she settled him, ever so gently down, into the seat.

"Uhh...what's this?" he asked warily, sounding more concerned than excited now.  "Why's there a chair here?"  She slid away from him, paw gliding across his cheek, down his shoulder and arm, and lifting off with the barest touch as she stepped a few steps away.  She joined the others, giving the nearest shadowy figure a soft touch that they were all ready.  "Hera?" he asked as noises came from all around him.  This was going to be so much fun...

***

The lights came blazing on in full strength very abruptly, forcing Kelin to shield his eyes.  He blinked rapidly from behind his hands, then lowered them as he stared around in bleary-eyed confusion at what the heck was happening.  As his vision returned, his eyes went wide.

"Surprise!" Hera and the entire Leod Clan shouted en masse as he finally was able to see what was in front of him.  Hanging upon the wall was a white-cloth banner, with black lettering that spelled out 'Happy Birthday Kelin!'.  Everyone was here.  His mother, father, Erik and Cory, Uncle Rolf, and Idona.  The guys were even here too: Jeremy, Bryan, and Dylan, all with goofy smiles on their faces.  Hera towered over them all.  They had party hats on.  Balloons festooned the ground and ceiling.

He stared at them all in shock before his eyebrows narrowed and he glared sullenly at the entire group.  He crossed his arms and made to get up from the chair.  "I thought I told you guys I didn't want a party!" he stated very firmly.

Everyone laughed.  His mother beamed then pointed back down at the chair he was halfway out of.  "Nonsense," she stated firmly.  "This is a tradition for all of us, and you aren't exempt.  Now let us spoil you a bit!"  He gave her a look but she matched it with equal intensity.  He sighed and slumped back down into the seat.  Everyone laughed again.

He traded glares with each and every one of them.  Erik and Cory gave each other fist bumps.  Uncle Rolf popped a party favor in his huge hands, chortling.  Idona gave him a sinisterly satisfied smirk.  The guys all winked and gave him a coordinated thumb's up, to which he flicked them off.  That just made everyone laugh again.  His eyes turned last up towards his girlfriend.  She beamed at him so brightly that even his irritation at her leading him on couldn't last.  Sure, she had been making him think that something very different was going to happen, but he saw now that it was all part of the surprise meant for him.

Despite how much he hated these kinds of things, he couldn't help but feel the rush of emotion and flustered joy at seeing everyone there just for his sake.  It just was easier to hide it all behind anger and annoyance than to openly let everyone know how touched he was.

Then they parted ranks and he blinked in surprise.  They had the whole band set up again.  Sure, they lacked their usual costumes from when they used to perform, but everything was there: guitars, basses, a keyboard, even his mother's headdress and shamanic drum.  Microphones had been set up too, as well as the amps and stereo equipment.  There was even a video camera.  Idona snagged it off the tripod and turned it on, turning it then to face herself.

"Hello!" she shouted loudly as everyone started to get set up, grabbing instruments.  "This is the Crazy Leods with a special birthday performance for our very own Kelin Leod, also known on our family Facebook page as Little Tyr!"  She rushed over, turning the camera toward him.  "Say hi, big bro!"  He waved her away and she cackled.  "He's so shy when the spotlight is on him, ain't he cute?!  He's 20 now!  So old."  She pranced over to Hera who was watching everyone in the corner.  "And this is the newest member of the family, Hera Doring!"  His sister waved Hera to bend over and they posed in front of the camera while Kelin just rolled his eyes.

"Hello Internet!" Hera stated proudly.  "I am Little Tyr's girlfriend!"

Idona smirked at the camera.  "I know what you're all thinking: how did this," she turned the camera back to Kelin who glared at her.  "Get with this?!" she returned the camera to Hera who gave out a flustered giggle, hiding her muzzle behind a paw.  Idona turned the camera back onto her own face as she walked it over to the tripod again.  "We have no idea.  But we're happy to have her in the family now anyway!"  She attached the camera back onto its mount and turned it to face the room at large.

Kelin's father stepped forward then.  He had given his bass guitar over to Erik who was usually his stand-in while Cory often helped on the larger drumset in the back for shows.  The patriarch waved at the camera.  "Hello everybody out there!" he announced.  "This is Poppa Leod, also known as Theodore Leod at the Museum.  Like Idona said, this is a special performance being done for my oldest son, here visiting home from his big city life while attending Arknought University!"  Everyone clapped and Idona panned the camera around, zooming in on Kelin last as he waved them all down.  He had slumped into his chair, arms crossed, and trying not to let his face go too red at all the attention.

Theo resumed speaking, waving over Rolf who quickled joined him and leaned into the mic.  "Theo and I have been hard at work setting all of this up," explained the huge man, winking over at Kelin and pointing.  "This one's for you nephew!"

When Rolf returned to his position, strumming on his electric guitar to make sure it was in tune, Theo again faced the camera, and then Kelin once more.  "Son, we are all extremely and eternally proud of you," he stated.  Kelin's face heated up even more.  Thankfully, Idona kept the camera on their father.  "All of us here believe that the best way in life is to follow your dreams, and a premiere education is the best way to achieve that.  You're out there, doing what you love, and that's so important.  But you didn't just do that."  He looked back and waved Hera forward.  She walked nervously into the spotlight, and Idona turned the camera up so that she was in the shot too.

Hera smiled nervously at the camera then back at Kelin.  They exchanged a look and a small wave.  He eyed her curiously, his expression growing even more shocked as Ingrid moved a microphone out in front of the Ursid and set it to its tallest setting so she could lean into it easier.

"My son's girlfriend," continued his father, "Asked us to set this up in his honor for everything he's done.  Both as a person, as well as for her.  See, my son believes, as I'm unable to fully state how proud of him for it that I am, that it is our moral obligation to help those in need, no matter how or why.  He reached out to this young woman and brought her into our lives.  We are all grateful to him for that.  So, when she asked us to sing a special song that symbolizes who he is to us, well...we couldn't say no."  Theo looked back at Kelin, eyes glowing with fatherly pride.  "This is for you son.  Happy Birthday."

*** https://youtu.be/s8-kflR8WPc ***

Everyone took their places and the lights dimmed slightly.  Hera gave Kelin one last look as she gripped the microphone.  Theo let out a bass growl, strumming out a rhythm on his guitar to set the mood and Idona wheeled back the camera to give the entire show the best vantage possible.  Then the drums began to pound and Theo joined back in.

Kelin's eyes went wide as he immediately recognized the song that Hera had been listening to that morning.  It all made sense.  He only hoped that he didn't die from the embarrassment that everyone had gone to so much trouble just to sing the song that he had taken his family nickname from.  He also had to try as hard as he could not to also sing along.

With a heavy Viking "Hoo!" Theo, Erik, and Rolf began to slowly bang their heads.  Rolf's fingers already had begun to tap along on his battle-ax-shaped electric guitar, strumming out a recognizable melody while the drums pounded every louder in the background.  More vocals joined in, Kelin's friends even joining in on the background chanting by reading off of a karaoke machine set in the back.  Everyone was getting into it.  Then the music dropped away for just a single second...and Theo leaned into the microphone.  His gravelly voice immediately echoed around the entirety of the basement, setting Kelin's ears to pounding and his skin to be covered in prickly bumps.  A Viking could grow a beard to music like this.

And yet, even as Theo began to sing, Hera's angelic voice abruptly joined in.  Kelin's eyes went, if possible, even wider.  She wasn't reading off the prompter like the guys were, she was singing, word for word, alongside Theo at the appropriate parts.  After his Aunt had passed away, Ingrid or Idona had taken over female vocals, and while they weren't quite the same, they tried to do the songs justice.  Everyone looked at Hera though as if, for a split second, Aunt Ulle was back, singing her heart out alongside her brother.

The song hammered all around them as it continued to build.  Then Hera took over the main vocals temporarily.  As she sang, she locked eyes with Kelin, staring right into and through him as she sang of Tyr, One-Armed God of Justice.  He felt her eyes shining, heard her voice resonating throughout his body.  And then they reached the chorus.  Each pounding note had the entire family pounding their heads up and down, various manes, braids, and tails waving through the air with exclamations of 'Hey!'.  When they reached the finishing line of the song, every voice roared as loudly as they could 'It's Tyr!'

And then they kept going.  They blasted through another few stanzas of lyrics, everyone playing their hearts out right in front of him.  Occassionally, during the chorus, several people would turn and point right at him while shouting his nickname, Hera and Theo pumping their fists in unison to each pounding set of notes in between the shouts and cries.  And then Rolf launched into the guitar solo, swaggering to the front of the group like he usually did for them at shows and hammering on his instrument like it was a weapon of war.

Without meaning to, Kelin's fingers joined in on the movements and motions.  He had memorized that solo before any other, wanting to perfect it as the song meant so much to him.  He was enraptured by the music and the pounding beat, so much so that only when the guitar solo ended did Kelin look back up and notice that Idona had been recording him during that part.  He beamed cheekily at her and the device before it spun back in the interlude to the rest of the band.  They were all jumping in place, everyone laughing and only slightly breaking up the music before they settled back down and jumped right back into the ending of the song.

Hera had gotten so into it by now that she grabbed a hold of the microphone and lifted it high as she sang the final lead into the last chorus.  Her operatic throat extended the note longer than it usually was supposed to go on but everyone just kept playing along, watching her continue to lifting the cadence of her voice higher and higher, and yet still perfectly matching the pounding rhythm all around her.  Everyone stared at her in joy and wonder, Kelin most of all.

Barely even seeming to need to breathe, she dropped right out of it and resumed singing along with the others as the ending of the song finally arrived.  She was a trained performer, a natural, and knew just what kind of performance to give when it meant the most to her.  As the song finally ended, the last note echoing down into silence at long last, everyone let out a whooping war-cry cheer and began to clap.  Hera joined in but she had eyes only for Kelin, and he only for her.

"All right!" howled Theo joyously, still clapping his thick hands.  "Skol!" he roared, which everyone echoed, Kelin included.  More laughter.  With the smiles going on all around, Theo then seemed to latch onto an idea.  "Who's up for one more?" he demanded, an idea that everyone leaped onto.  Everyone threw out song names and ideas, but he looked only toward Hera.  "You're the guest singer and all this was your idea, Ms. Hera," he chortled, voice not even hoarse at all.  Kelin was amazed that anyone could use a singing voice like his dad could and not sound any worse for wear after.  "Do you have one more song for us to do?"

Hera beamed.  "Only if Kelin joins in this time!"  Everyone gave another cheer and she waved him up next to her, which he practically flew up out of his seat to do.  As his own microphone was set up as well as his personal guitar was plugged in and sound-checked, everyone made room for him easily.  Once he was ready, Hera looked back at Theo and Ingrid standing nearby.  "My favorite song of band has to be 'Defenders of Valhalla'!"

The leaders of Leod Clan's eyes both went wide and they beamed even more.  "Kelin, you picked a real Valkyrie!" whooped Theo.  "Hel yeah!  Defenders of Valhalla everybody!"  Everyone cheered and got ready immediately.  "Idona, drop the camera and come join in!" he called to the only member not standing in the huge huddle of performing family members.

"Somebody's got to make sure this looks good!" she called back, laughing.  "Let me set the video up for it!"  She gave them a countdown and another intro, as, of course, these videos were always uploaded to the 'Crazy Leods' Facebook account whenever they all got together to play like this.  It wasn't for popularity, but they did get quite a number of hits, gigs, and fan letters periodically.  The band itself might not have performed anymore, but it was always good family fun to jam out like this.

*** https://youtu.be/B3Y-w1QdzYw ***

The song began with the keyboard, taken over by Ingrid, who helped set up the pseudo-harmony of Celtic style notes alongside the strumming of acoustic guitar, given to Kelin, and the pounding drumbeats and heavier bass notes from Erik and Rolf behind them as the song got into its full swing.  Finally, Kelin switched to electric mode on his guitar and began to fully jam out to the utmost limit of his energy and level of skill.  It was a song that, invariably, always stoked the Leod Clan to their full potential.  Some jumped in place, others headbanged, and the guys in the back all performed air guitar right along with him.

As the guitar faded into an elongated note, his fingers expertly strumming the tuner to draw it out, he, Theo, and Hera all turned to bellow into the microphones in front of them.  'They can take away our Lives!' they howled.  'But they can never!  Take!  Our Metal!'

After that, Hera took over the lead vocals almost completely, with Theo and Kelin jumping in at various parts.  She and his father did most of the singing, able to work well off of one another, although it was not a hard song to do so with.  Theo's dark and raspy voice was always thrilling to hear, a fact that no one in the family would ever contest, and when accompanied by Hera's perfect pitch and operatic ability to hold a high note, it made for the most amazing performance Leod Hall had seen in years.

Hera got the most into it, and Kelin could tell that she had been practicing singing along to this song probably the most out of all the various ones he had shown to her once she had found out about the family band.  Her love of music, singing, and the passion she poured into it was unlike anyone else's that he had ever seen, and he matched her stroke for stroke, note for note.  Oftentimes, they would spend entire sections of the songs just staring at one another, beaming smiles of equal intensity as the song went on and on.  This was his very favorite song in the world, more so now than at any other time ever.

As the first stanza approached, Theo introduced it, striding to the front and gesturing wildly as if once again he stood upon a vast stage, overlooking a sea of cheering fans.  He missed those days, Kelin could tell.  His father's eyes were glazed over and when he looked at Hera, he didn't see the Ursid but his own sister back once again.  It was so heartwarming that Kelin had to fight hard to pour all his overpowering emotions directly into his playing.  It wasn't hard to accomplish this.  Hera responded in equal measure, raising her fist alongside Theo's as they howled out the final line of the first part.

Kelin's guitar playing took over the main focus again and he hopped in place to the beat, hand still strumming along and fingers dancing on the strings.  His ponytail waved around behind him, firmly contained by Hera's tightly woven band but still able to dance and be free as it trailed behind his head constantly.

Everywhere he looked, he saw the other members of his family doing much the same.  Cory was practically smashing his drumsticks onto the percussive instruments in front of him, once even using his own head to clash the cymbal from how into it he was.  His brother strummed along on the bass, using such a wide stance and swaying himself from side to side as if he were upon a rocking ship.  He'd even acquired a traditional Viking helmet from somewhere during the performance.  Rolf accompanied Kelin, taking over secondary guitar parts so that his nephew could jam out to his heart's content.  His expression was rapturous and fierce, the fire of his life reawakened fully despite their family tragedy which still hurt so fresh even after five years.

Ingrid helped along with background singing for Hera, her headdress no longer worn and just clapping her hands along to the song as she for once took a less active role.  Even so, the look she flashed at him was as warm as honey-mead and her smile could not have been prouder.  The guys were in full swing, not even singing along but jamming out and joining in on the furious chants and shouts whenever they could.  Their fists pounded the air, honorary Leods one and all.  As the heavier music fell away and the intro played again, the whole band turned as one to look at him.

Kelin took the queue.  Striding to the front, he adjusted the microphone on its stand, and right at the appropriate time, he opened his throat and mouth wide and belted out the best metal high note he could.  Then he tore into his guitar like none other, belting out the main rhythm again completely on his own.  He even danced in place to it, spinning from heel to heel, careful of the power cord, and headbanging right along with it to keep himself in time.  Hera had to catch him as he always went over and everyone laughed while the music kept going.  Again they all sang, and again the room echoed with their celebrations.

At the last note, Kelin drawing it out once again, every member of the band threw their fist into the air, Hera's paw nearly hitting the ceiling itself.  The cheers that erupted from them all nearly put everything beforehand to shame.  Hugs were passed around and everyone was laughing fit to burst.  Whoops, cries of victory, even a full-throated roar from Rolf and his boys came.  Idona joined in the final lap as everyone took turns hugging, nudging, high-fiving, or hair-tousling Kelin.  Then they all went upstairs and partook in a birthday cake Ingrid had prepared.  They shared stories, listened to music while they talked, and laughed.  Leod Hall had rarely had a merrier gathering.

Kelin and Hera had eyes only for each other that entire evening, however, practically sharing a seat from how close they sat to one another.  They even all posed for a new family portrait, including Hera and the guys.  Ingrid proclaimed that she would have copies made for everyone, and not for the first time, Theo commented, a mug of mead in his hand, "Boy am I glad we don't have neighbors!"  Everyone laughed at that.

It was the best birthday Kelin had ever had.  Perfect for company, for laughter, for singing, and for celebrations galore.  Eventually, they all broke apart for individual activities around the house.  Idona, Hera, and Ingrid went off to go outside, the twins took the guys out to play basketball, Rolf and Theo went back out to the shop, and Kelin sat with Jeremy to review his application for courses for the following semester at Arknought University.

By the time that true evening had passed, the entire Clan was exhausted.  Kelin received one last birthday rendition of "My Mother told Me," by all the boys, sung solemnly while the women stood off to the side, recording it on their phones.  Then there was a final round of hugs and people started to trail off to their beds.  Kelin's head was pounding and his face hurt from how much he had been smiling.  He kissed Hera goodnight and it ended up being a lot deeper and longer than he had expected it would.

Only at his father's chuckling note of, "Okay, wrap it up there son," did they break apart, blushing, and bid one another a last good night.  Kelin went to take a shower in his room.  He knew that a lot of people were probably doing so, so he kept his brief.  He came back out into his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist and one around his shoulders to catch errant drops from his hair, to see he had a text message.

"This was so much fun!" stated an excited Hera, alongside a smiling bear emoji.  "You must invite me to every single Leod gathering from now on."

"You're a part of the family now," he informed her, chuckling to himself and reclining on the bed once his hair was mostly dried off.  He didn't bother putting on clothes, happier just to talk to his girlfriend.  "You have to come anyway."

"That is fair," she told him.  They chatted about a few things for a couple of minutes before, when a lull came, Hera told him, "Did you know there is an app for Anthros like Humans use for social media?"

Kelin thought he'd heard something about that.  "Oh yeah, isn't it called like...Furz or something?"

"Furzoom," she corrected him.  "It uses filters like your Snapchat and such."

"That's neat!" he responded.  "I never got into that stuff because of how it's presented in the media.  Plus, it can get pretty toxic."

"Agreed, but I thought I'd give it a try.  There is a really funny feature it can do though.  Want to see?"

He sat up a bit, grinning.  It meant he would get a picture of her, and that was always a good thing.  "Absolutely!"

A second later, his media notification sound buzzed and he opened the message.  His eyebrows lifted up high.  "Umm...this is a trap, isn't it?" he asked warily.

She sent him back a confused emoji.

"Well this is an Ursid, but that isn't you."  He inspected the picture more closely.  "I mean...it looks just like you, but..."

Her next message explained it.  "Oh!  That is the feature!  It can alter your fur color and shade to other types of Anthros!  See?  I am Brown Bear Hera now!"

He rolled his eyes, smiling.  "Oh!  Ok.  That's really cool!  That makes total sense that that would be an app that Anthros would have."  He pondered it for a bit.  "Can you only do your own species?"

"Nope, I can do all kinds!"  Her emojis were much more excited now.  "Want to see me with Tiger stripes?"  He agreed, of course, and she sent him another picture.  Hera with stripes was strangely really cute, even if it was just her looking like she was wearing slightly off-shade black makeup across her face and throat.  She showed him all kinds, including zebra, lion, and there were even other filters to give her the ears or noses of other species as well.  It was extremely funny to see her pulling a silly face with a wolf muzzle on her obviously Ursid head.

"That is a really fun app!" he exclaimed.  "I wish Humans could do that sort of thing.  I bet it wouldn't look as good though."

"Probably not ;) " she sent him teasingly.  A few minutes later, his phone buzzed again.  "Hey, Kelin, have you seen my new necklace?  I can't seem to find it."

He sat up a bit more.  "Did you drop it when we were all performing downstairs?" he asked.  He knew how big of a deal it was to her, as she had barely stopped touching the medallion ever since she had gotten it.  "When did you notice you weren't wearing it?"

"When I was getting ready to take a shower, now that everyone else sounds like they're out," she explained.  "I'll look around one more time in my room.  If I can't find it, maybe you can come down and help me?"

His eyebrows lifted and he eyed the phone skeptically.  This sounded too good to be true.  An oh so convenient excuse for her to get him to come downstairs to the basement, on his birthday, to help her look for a necklace?  He knew how Hera's mind worked pretty well by now, he hoped, and he couldn't resist a thrill of exhilaration that maybe she was planning something else.

A few minutes later though, as he was getting himself mentally ready to go down there anyway, maybe try seducing her for a change, she texted him again.  "Found it!" she declared, using an adorable, ear-wiggling emoji.  He sank back onto the bed in defeat, grumbling to himself.  "Sorry to worry you!"

"It's fine," he told her, trying to hide his disappointment.  Talk about missed opportunities.  After all the fun he'd had today, would it really be so bad if he asked if he could come down anyway?  He wasn't usually this bold.  Then again, maybe it was for the best.  Doing that sort of...thing...in his family house would have made him too stressed out.  It would happen, he told himself confidently.  "I do kind of wish I could get one more goodnight kiss though..."

Hera didn't text back for a bit, she assumed she had gotten into the shower.  When she did respond, it still made him smile.  "You have a whole life with me ahead of you, chock full of bear kisses for morning, afternoon and night," she teased.  "Surely you can survive one less?"

"I don't know..." he texted back.  "I could very well die of loneliness right here.  Can I ask for something else?"

"Whatever would you like instead?" she shot right back.  Even with the hard-to-read tone of text messages, her tone still sounded coquettish coming from her.  Gods, how he loved her.

He wracked his brain, trying to muster up the courage to ask, just once, for something a bit less PC and more adult from her.  In the end, he just sighed.  "Can I see one picture of you in the necklace?" he asked first, then resumed typing out a longer post to go after it.  "I want it for a new screensaver, or maybe your contact picture.  I'm always so proud of saying 'This is my girlfriend' that I kind of want to be able to show it off every chance that I can get!"

He was just about to press send on the second message when a picture notification popped up on his feed.  He arched an eyebrow.  That had been easy.  He waited for it to load then clicked on it once it had been confirmed.  Right below it came another text line of "How's this?" as the phone took an extra second longer than normal to open the attachment.

Kelin sat up in bed fully, eyes going wide and his mouth dry.  His cheeks heated up completely red and his heart had begun to hammer seemingly in his skull.  She had put on another Furzoom filter again, once more wearing the dark pelt and chocolate brown hair of a Brown Bear.  Aside from the necklace around her neck though, that was all she was wearing...

Her paws were up over the swells of her chest, concealing the most intimate detail from him, but nothing was left to the imagination of the top shot she had sent him.  The Fenrir emblem hung between the mountainous globes, gleaming almost smugly as it rested upon the world's most glorious pair of pillows in existence.  She had even pulled an adorable face, winking one eye and sticking out her tongue from between her teeth.

Licking his lips, Kelin abruptly felt like tearing down through the house to get to her.  He'd never imagined she would be that forward and suddenly he felt all kinds of shy and bewildered on how to respond.  Then, with a rush of inspiration, he decided to throw caution to the winds.  Even as his phone chimed again with a text message alert, he lifted the camera up above his head, grinning, and made sure the towel was low slung around his hips but still concealing his intimate detail.  It showed off his lean frame, athletically toned abs, and pale-skinned chest, all the way to his pelvis and the deep v below.  He didn't have much body hair, and he tried to pose as if confident that she would enjoy the view.  He accompanied the message with an equally misleading text that stated, "Hopefully this says thank you for me."

He pressed send before his nerves failed him and he hurriedly changed into sleep clothes, face burning.  He heard his phone go off behind him as he washed his face in the sink and tried to calm his raging emotions.  Once he had succeeded, he went back out, crawled under his covers, and plucked up his phone.

Her reaction made him snort out loud.  He quickly covered his mouth with a hand as he read what she had sent back.  "...Ok I'll be good."

Grinning widely to himself, he typed back, "What?  You teased me, I tried to tease back."

She sent him a pouty-faced emoji, bear huffing.  It was the same one as before.  "You are lucky so many floors separate us right now."

"Yeah, well...I could have said the same thing before I sent that.  I was ready to sneak down there and damn the consequences."

She sent him a flustered expression.  "Don't promise Momma Bear what you can't deliver."  He could all but hear her growling voice as he read it.  Her next text actually made him smile much differently.  "I don't want to rush you into this stuff...You're too sweet and I don't want to ruin you."

"Ruin me?" he asked.  "Hera, I'm usually worried that I'm too much of a scaredy-cat and that I'm going too slow for you.  I'm just nervous.  I still want you.  I really, really do."

"Even if I'm an Anthro?"

"Even if I'm a Human," he told her.  "I don't see Race.  I see the world's most beautiful woman who just gave me the best birthday ever.  I know I love you, and I know I want to be with you in every form of the word.  I promise it'll happen."

She sent him a joyful, ear-wiggling bear emoji in response.  "Then I shall wait as long as I have to," she told him.  "For now, though, maybe we should go to sleep.  We probably need to head back to the city in the morning."

"I agree."  He yawned as he sent that message, blinking rapidly and taking off his glasses.  "Do you think we can go out on another date soon?"

"As many as you want," she promised.  "I love you, Kelin."

That single line made his eyes mist up and he bit his bottom lip to keep himself from crying from happiness as he read it over and over.  "I love you too, Hera.  Goodnight."

He saw that the message was left on 'Read' and placed his phone and glasses on the bedside table.  He snuggled into his sheets and closed his eyes.  He dreamed back to the evening of the karaoke bar, when, after all their emotional growth, he had fallen asleep in her arms for the first time.  He wished, more than even for anything else, to do that again for the rest of his life.

This truly had been the best birthday ever.  He couldn't wait to celebrate hers.  He already was making plans for it, whenever that was.