Chapter 27: Shower thoughts
Felix Sythias’ POV:
I sat on the sidelines together with Alex. He had surprised me by sitting by my side like that. It made some of the nearby students stare at us, but I ignored them. I also made sure to angle my wing in such a way that Alex wouldn’t notice them.
I was angry, but I found it difficult to remain angry with Alex at my side. The warm feelings that he gave me overshadowed any resentment I felt towards Alfred. I wanted to snuggle up with him like we did back in our room and just read a book together. But we were in public, and in a class. Besides, I’d told myself I wouldn’t do that anymore.
I looked down at Alex. He had rested his head on my shoulder, not even caring for the mud there. Maybe… I would ask to snuggle up later, anyway.
With a talon, I wiped away some of the mud on my face. I hadn’t expected Alfred to splatter that much. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought he was a dog rolling around in the mud. I’d have to shower later, which would be a pain.
On the field, a few assistants supported Alfred as they walked to a small building at the side. From the star-crab symbol above the door, it was clear it was the infirmary. I’d hit Alfred hard, and he wasn’t a very high level so his innate resistance to physical damage was still low, so he’d have some minor bruising and feel stiff for a while—especially his neck. But he’d be okay, the suit had made sure of that. Physically, anyway. I’d seen what that kind of trauma could do to a person if they didn’t reach out for help, and Alfred didn’t seem like the type to voluntarily reach out for said help.
After disabling the paralysis on his suit, and making sure he was okay, they’d let him join back up with the group.
“Enough chatting!” Scott shouted. “Now that you’ve seen that the suits work, you’ll split off into groups of four, and together with one of my assistants, you will spend the remainder of the lesson sparring. I’ll be walking around offering advice.”
The students didn’t look particularly comforted by my display, but they started talking and mingling, anyway.
Alex and I looked at each other and silently decided we would not be in the same group. I wasn’t interested in fighting with him, and neither was he interested in fighting me. I gave him one last squeeze with my wing, and we split off to find ourselves a group. I watched him for a moment while he found a group, and it didn’t take long; the first few people he talked to agreed to join up.
Looking away from Alex, I instead looked around to find my own group. I wasn’t sure who to talk to. There were so many people and I didn’t know a single one. Stars, why couldn’t this be as easy as talking to Alex? I sighed and, after a moment of mustering up my courage, walked up to the closest group of three. After I asked if I could join, they told me they already reserved the spot for someone else. Another group told me they didn’t want me specifically, and I couldn’t blame them—I was way above their skill level. After asking a few more groups, I gave up on asking and just walked over to Scott.
“What’s up Felix?” he asked.
“I’m taking you up on your offer. I’ll just sit right here while they all fight.”
“Huh? Why?” he asked, then looked up and around at the other students. “Oh, I see. But if you’re here anyway, you might as well help. I’m an assistant short and you know more than enough to fill in for one.”
“But—” I sighed, “Alright, just point me in the right direction.”
He pointed at a group, and I reluctantly walked over to help. At least I wouldn’t be sitting on the sidelines this time.
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“Stars, that was exhausting,” Alex said to me after the exercises. “I’m glad that all my next classes require is for me to sit down in a chair.”
“The class wasn’t that bad.”
He stared at me. “Easy for you to say, all you did was sit at the side.”
That stung a little. It wasn’t by choice that I didn’t participate, though he had a point. “You didn’t have to phrase it like that, but fair.”
“Sorry,” he said, “What do we do now?”
“I’m not sure about you, but I’ll be taking a shower,” I said.
Alex scraped a bit of dried mud off my back. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said, and then also scraped a bit of mud off his own arm. “Actually, I think I’ll join you. Between the mud you got on me and the spars, I could use a wash.”
He definitely could. He was covered in mud and dust. Most of it had gotten onto his suit, but enough had landed on his head, hands, and tail that it would need some serious scrubbing to get rid of it.
The showers here were communal, though, and I didn’t think showering together was the best idea. But I couldn’t think of a way to tell him that without making him suspicious or weirded out. No, it was best if I just acted normally, and normally I didn’t give two shits about nudity—it was hard to care about that when you walked around practically naked all the time.
I considered going back to the dorms and using my shower there. It was easier to use than the ones here, too. But I didn’t feel like walking all the way back to the dorms covered in itchy mud. And I wanted to use the break and the free period I had after to go visit a healer; I couldn’t do that if I had to go all the way back to the dorms first. Besides, it was just a shower, anyway, nothing more.
”You are rather dirty, yeah,” I said. “Alright, let’s go.”
We walked towards the changing room to take off our gear and wash up, but were stopped by Scott as we went past his ‘office’.
“Sorry for stopping you, but I wanted to talk with you before you went.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said.
“This Alfred kid, does he behave like he did today outside of class, too?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he, uh, does.. He’s already gotten in trouble for it.”
“I’ll make sure his punishment is increased,” he said. “Now tell me about that battle of yours last week.”
I sighed and repeated the story for the dozenth time. Telling it got easier every time I told it, but harder, too, since it also became duller every time I told it. It was strange how quickly such a big, important thing became… normal, for a lack of a better word.
“Would you mind if I used some aspects of your battle in my lessons?” he asked.
“Of course not,” I said. If he wanted to use it, he probably thought it would help keep other students safe. I did wonder what aspects he found worthy, though. It was a brutal, but straightforward fight. Not something to glean tactics from. I’d ask him some other time, or maybe I’d find out during next week’s class.
“Alright, cool,” he said with a grin. “I’ll leave you two alone now, then. See you next week.”
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He waved at us and walked over to another pair of students.
“Finally,” Alex said, “Can we go shower now? The mud’s stuck between my scales and it’s really starting to itch.”
I had sympathy for Alex. The same had already happened to me. The mud had gotten stuck in all the little crevices between my scales and then dried out, hardening and becoming very noticeable. Most had crumbled while I moved, but enough remained that I was now itching for a shower. At least I could actually do something about the itchy mud, unlike the itching of my regrowing wing. I couldn’t wait to go see the healer and get more of that damned salve.
When we finally got to the changing rooms, almost everyone had already left. There were only maybe ten people left, half of which were already putting their clothes back on. The rest were either undressing, talking with each other, and in one case still struggling with his armor.
Alex helped take off my enchanted ‘armor’, and I undid the straps of his suit. My armor was muddy too, but cleaning it wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Storing it, however, would. I couldn’t just drag it around all day, and I wasn’t planning on swinging by the dorms on the way to the healer—else I would’ve just showered there. Maybe I could ask Scott to keep it here for the time being? I could then pick it up at the end of the day. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, in any case.
For now, I just put the armor down on the ground in the corner. Not the most appropriate place, but the changing room was mostly deserted now, so there was plenty of space. There were only six of us here now, including me and Alex.
Done with my armor, I turned back around to Alex and froze in my tracks. He was standing there, hanging his clothes on a hook, completely naked with only a towel hung over his shoulder. The last time I’d seen him mostly naked was back in the cave. The context of the situation had been different then, and I hadn’t thought twice about the fact he’d been wearing nothing but underwear. And back then I hadn’t had a crush on him. Or at least, I hadn’t realized it yet.
Now, I saw him in a completely different light, and the sight enchanted me. Beneath his scales, his lean muscles were well defined, and they rippled with his every movement; I knew from experience he was surprisingly strong too. Going lower, he had a bit of a belly. It wasn’t much, only barely noticeable. I didn’t mind it at all; in fact, I loved it, as it only made him more cuddly. The scales on his chest and stomach were of a lighter shade than the rest of him, and that pattern stretched down past his groin and to the tip of his tail. I liked it; it was a pretty color, and the contrast made him look handsome. The lighter color also made his slit stand out more, highlighting it nicely; the slightly bulging ‘lips’ and the narrow opening looked enticing, and I felt myself growing aroused by its sight.
For the thousandth time since I hit puberty, I was once again glad for the fact that my dick was safely tucked away inside my own slit and only came out with physical stimulation; it had prevented many embarrassing moments like this during my teenage years. Most of my peers hadn’t been so lucky. I recalled the memory of someone getting an erection while giving a presentation. Poor guy.
Noticing my attention, Alex looked my way, and I broke out of my trance. It didn’t seem like he’d noticed me staring at him, thank the stars. I wasn’t sure how I would’ve talked myself out of that one if he had. I shook my head to get rid of the unwanted fantasies and gestured at his towel, keeping my eyes locked on his face.
“You’re ready?” I asked.
“Yeah. Don’t you need a towel, though?”
I shook my head, glad for the distraction. “I just use my magic to dry myself. Not the most efficient, but using a towel takes forever and I need to use so many.”
“Huh, makes sense. Well then, lead the way, mister magic.”
I chuckled and gladly took the lead. With him walking behind me I wouldn’t have to look at him, anyway. I did wonder if he was looking at me and lowered my tail.
The showers were standard showers for this kind of facility. No stalls, just a long room with showerheads lining the walls. That was good, since I wouldn’t have fit into a stall. There were two other students here. They stood in a corner and quickly jumped away from each other when we entered. Flushed red, covering their groins with their hands, they faced away from us, not saying a word.
I rolled my eyes; if they’d wanted privacy, they should’ve waited until everyone was gone. Then again, that risk was probably what got them going in the first place.
I walked over to a shower on the opposite side of the room. I turned two of them on and stood beneath both of them at the same time, letting the water flow over me. In a moment, I would use the sponge I brought with me, but for now I let the water wash away the dirt and dirty thoughts.
Alex took up a spot beside me, and I made sure I stayed turned away from him. Watching him run his hands all over his body surely was a bad idea, no matter how hot—I shook my head to clear my thoughts and I picked up the sponge and started scrubbing away what mud I could reach, focussing on that instead.
Stars, showering together with Alex had been a bad idea. What had I been thinking? I sighed. I couldn’t wait to dry off and get out of this nightmare situation. Thinking about drying off got me thinking about my magic, and I gladly went down that thought path, glad to distract myself. Couldn’t I do the opposite and use my magic to wash myself, too? I totally could. I’d even done it before. I just hardly ever used my magic that way—why would I when I had a perfectly good shower?
I was glad I’d come up with that, since if I hadn’t, I would have had to either ask Alex for help, which was never going to happen, or just deal with still having mud in the places I couldn’t reach.
While I scrubbed the mud away, the frisky teens we’d interrupted left. Once they were out of ear-shot, Alex spoke up.
“Were they really… kissing? Before we came in here, I mean.”
“Probably not just kissing, but yeah.”
“Oh,” he said, and I didn’t need to look at him to know he was embarrassed. “That’s, um—I’ve never seen two boys kissing before. It’s strange. And a little unreal.”
“Unreal?” I asked, as I scrubbed at my stomach.
“Yeah. It’s only ever been something in my head, like a fantasy or a dream. And then to suddenly see it in reality like that… I can’t quite wrap my head around it. It shouldn’t be real, but yet it is.”
I could sympathize. I’d had moments like that too. Like the first time I saw a beastkin. I had never seen one before, only read about them. But reading about something, and seeing pictures, just wasn’t the same as actually seeing it in real life. That first time I saw one, I couldn’t believe it. It was like a children's story had come alive.
“You’ll get used to it. Just give it some time; you’ll come across it often enough—especially this pair, seeing how brazen they were to make out here.”
“I know, it’s just… weird, is all.”
“It doesn’t make you uncomfortable?”
“Not really,” he said. “Well, a bit, but that’s because I felt like we intruded on something, not because they were both boys.”
I turned around and smiled at him, keeping my eyes on his face. “That’s good. Small progress is still progress. You’ll be the one kissing someone in no time, you’ll see.”
He smiled back. “Yeah,” he said, then his smile faltered a bit. “Maybe sooner than I think.”
I was about to ask him what he meant when the last two students walked in. I shut my mouth, knowing this was still a sensitive topic for Alex. And it was also a rather personal one. We could always just continue our conversation later, anyway.
I looked over and saw that the newcomers were both human. I ignored them and went back to scrubbing. I was almost done with the sponge and would soon need to switch to magic.
“Excuse me, mam?” one of the humans asked. “The changing room for women is two buildings over.”
I turned towards the two humans and realized one of them was looking at Alex.
“Are you talking to me?” Alex asked, his tone a little incredulous.
The boy looked a little unsure now, but forged on ahead anyway. “I am, yeah.”
“I think you’re confused,” Alex said. “I’m a man.”
The human glanced downwards to Alex’s slit. “Are you sure?”
Alex had caught him looking down and frowned. “Yeah, I’m sure. And before you ask, no, that’s not a vagina. It’s called a slit. Weren’t you paying attention during biology yesterday?”
I could understand the confusion. The two were very similar, but only in outward appearance. Like a vagina, it was a thin slit in the groin area where any other species' penises would’ve been. But unlike a vagina, it was more like a pouch or pocket inside the body for the dick to sit in while flaccid. It only came out when you needed to pee, or when the area was stimulated.
I personally thought it was much better than the dangly bits most other species had. Like Alex, I had a slit, too. And with it, my dick was much better protected, didn’t bounce around constantly, and wasn’t nearly as visible—the ‘lips’ of the slit bulged a bit, but you could hardly tell. The real benefit, though, in my totally unbiased opinion, were the extra nerve endings all over the slit and its walls.
“O-oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
The man turned back around, hesitated for a moment, then turned his shower off and left. All that initial confidence sure left quickly. The other human, seeing his friend leave, chased after him soon after, mumbling apologies to us as he went.
Once they were gone, I turned to Alex.
“Imagine if he’d only figured it out after he put his dick in one,” I said.
Alex looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering something, then burst out laughing. I tried imagining the look on the guy’s face and burst out laughing, too.