"Brea: Month Two" by Jess Kachine Hickman

"Hey! Brea!" A young female mountain lion/fox cross turned. She spotted a dark gray wolf coming up the hall behind her.

"Hey. How ya doin’ Lobo?" she asked.

"Pretty good I guess." The wolf looked slightly nervous.

"What’s wrong?" Brea asked her new friend. She has only been coming to this school for two months or so. Lobo was the first creature to accept the half breed who wore almost medieval clothing. Today she had on a dusky gray, long sleeved shirt with a belt around the waist and a pair of black jeans. It wasn’t her most Medieval outfit, but it was one of her favorites.

"I have a problem," Lobo admitted. He hung his head. "You know Anna?"

"Yeah. That pretty little husky you were going out with. What about her?"

"She…she left me."

"What? Oh Lobo. I’m sorry. How did it happen?"

"You remember how she disappeared a while ago?"

"Yeah."

"Well, while she was away, she decided she didn’t love me."

"I’m so sorry." Brea hugged him. Lobo rested his head on her shoulder for a moment before stepping back.

"Well, it’s okay. There’s another girl. I’m torn between her and Anna. I still feel strongly for Anna, but I think what I feel for this other girl is stronger.

"Who is that other girl? Maybe you should talk to her. I’ll be here for you no matter what."

"Brea, I…I’m talking to that other girl right now. She’s you," Lobo said quietly.

"What?!" Brea stepped back, turned around, and placed one hand on the wall. She felt lightheaded and shocked.

"Brea. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would be upset," Lobo started. He put one hand on her shoulder. Brea looked back, smiling.

"I’m not upset. I’m just surprised, shocked maybe."

"Oh."

"Yeah." She turned around, hugging him tightly. Tears began to run from her eyes. "And incredibly happy too."

"I know Hun." He held her, stroking her long, blackish brown hair.

Some where, a warning bell rang. The buses were leaving in another minute.

"Oh. I have to run Lobo or I’m going to miss my bus," Brea said. Lobo wiped a tear out of her fur.

"I’ll take you home today," he said quietly.

"But you have practice," Brea protested. Lobo smiled and shook his head.

"I realized I didn’t like football. Too rough and too much physical contact for my tastes."

"Oh." Brea hugged him again. "Okay."

"Yeah. Come on Kit." Lobo took her backpack. After swinging it onto his own shoulders, Lobo put his arm around her shoulders. Brea leaned close to him as they walked.

"Where’s your car?" Brea asked as they left the building. Lobo held the door open for her. She smiled shyly.

"Uh. Good question." Lobo looked around the parking lot. He then spotted his vehicle. "Ah. There it is." He took Brea’s hand before starting off again.

Lobo led the way to a blackish blue half ton truck. Brea looked it over for a moment before nodding in approval.

"Like it?"

"Yeah. Looks cool. Just your style too."

"You want to drive?" Lobo asked. He held out his keys.

"Me? But I just got my license. I’ve never driven a truck before!"

"Aww. It’s not hard. Trust me. Just think of it as an oversized car that sits higher up," Lobo suggested with a smile. He pressed the keys into Brea’s hands before kissing her cheek. "I know you can."

"Okay." Brea unlocked the door. She then climbed in. Lobo knocked on the passenger side window. Brea looked over. Lobo pointed down to the lock. Brea grinned and closed her door, shaking her head. Lobo’s eyes widened. He then laughed and began circling the truck. Brea locked her door. Lobo continued around.

Brea heard a thud from behind her. She turned to look, seeing Lobo in the bed of his truck. Too late she realized that the rear window was unlocked and opened a crack. Brea scrambled to hold it closed, laughing as she did. Lobo overpowered her weak grip. He tried to climb through but Brea’s pack held him back.

"Open the door!" Lobo laughed. He tried to reach the door lock but Brea grabbed his wrists, holding his hands down. They both laughed as they struggled.

"Lobo?" someone asked. Brea and Lobo both looked at each other before looking behind them.

"Uh. Hi Todd." Lobo grinned nervously as he backed out of the window. As he did, Brea closed it and latched it. She didn’t know that the latch didn’t work well. Lobo looked back. He laughed again. "You fink!"

"What’s gong on?" Todd asked.

"Huh? Oh. This." Lobo stripped off the bag before going to sit on his tailgate. "Me and Brea are just playing around."

"Uh huh." Todd looked at him. Confusion showed clearly in his eyes.

"Yeah." Lobo looked back at Brea. She grinned before sticking her tongue out. Lobo chuckled.

"When did you two become so friendly?"

"Oh, about twenty minutes ago. I kinda asked her out, sorta."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. Anna left me and I told Brea how I really felt about her."

"Awesome man! Awesome!" Todd held up one hand. As Lobo shook it, the fox thumped the wolf’s shoulder.

"Thanks. I have to go break into my truck now."

"Cool." Lobo stood up as Todd, one of his best friends, walked off to his own car. Lobo went back to crouch by the window. Brea looked out at him with a completely innocent look on her face.

"Please?" he asked. Brea shook her head. "Alright. You asked for it!" Lobo proceeded to climb onto the roof. Brea leaned forward, looking out the windshield, trying to see the wolf. When she did, Lobo threw open the rear windows from above. Before Brea could close them, Lobo put both feet in. Brea laughed again. She gave in, allowing Lobo to squeeze through.

"Would have been easier if you had just unlocked the door ya know," Lobo said as he leaned closer to her.

"I know. But, I like being difficult sometimes." Brea smiled as she ruffled Lobo’s shaggy hair. He caught her wrist and pulled it down off his head then smiled again, kissing the back of her hand.

"You have a beautiful smile," he commented as he released her hand.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Lobo stroked her hair again. "Well, let’s get going," he said quietly. He then slid over into the passenger side seat.

"Okay." Brea fastened her seat belt out of habit before starting the truck. She then carefully backed out of the space. "Where are we going?"

"Is there any one home at your place?"

"Yeah."

"Then I want to go there. I would like to finally meet your family."

"Okay," Brea said slowly. She put the truck in drive and slowly drove out onto the road. Once there, she stepped on the gas a bit heavier.

"See? You can drive a truck," Lobo commented. He leaned against the door, watching Brea.

"Yeah. I guess." She smiled. "Does your radio work?"

"Yep." Lobo leaned forward to turn on the radio. He pushed the on button on the stereo before carefully turning up the volume. He got just loud enough to be heard, but not so loud it was hard to talk over.

"You don’t mind country?" Lobo asked.

"Nope," Brea said with a grin. A silence descended upon the occupants of the truck.

When the song "I swear" came on, both Brea and Lobo began singing quietly. As soon as they had started, they both stopped and looked at each other. Lobo smiled.

"Don’t stop. You have a great voice." Brea smiled.

"Thank you." She continued singing, picking up in the middle of one verse, something Lobo had never been able to do. Lobo sat back and listened, smiling softly.

Brea lived almost a half hour away from the school. Her home sat in the middle of a field. Two farm houses were visible from her long drive, one on either side of the property. A mustang trotted through the field on the left, emerging from a small patch of woods. A buckskin stood and followed only moments later. They stood side by side, watching the truck.

"You have horses?!" Lobo exclaimed, keeping his eyes on the black mustang. The animal in the grass reared up before running in the same direction they were driving in.

"Yeah. Kinda. They are my step dad’s actually."

"Are you allowed to ride them?" Brea nodded as she put the truck in park then turned the key to off.

"So who’s home?" Lobo asked as he stepped to the ground.

"Everyone. Mom and my step dad are the only family I have right now."

"Oh." Lobo continued watching the horses. The black mustang had come almost to the fence. Lobo took a few steps toward the animal. He then stopped, turned, and looked questioningly at Brea. She smiled, coming up behind him.

"It’s okay. He won’t bite, at least, he hasn’t yet." Lobo continued towards the pasture fence.

"What’s his name?"

"Griffin. Grif for short," Brea answered.

"Cool. What’s the other one?"

"Buck, for obvious reasons." Lobo chuckled.

"Yeah." Lobo held out one hand. Grif sniffed at it. He then lifted his head and snorted into Lobo’s face. The wolf looked slightly surprised.

"He’s just saying hi," Brea explained.

"Okay."

"Brea! Who’s truck is that!?" some one exclaimed. Brea looked around the bush which slightly concealed the pair. Lobo soon looked too.

"It’s Lobo’s!" Brea called. The mountain lion on the steps came down, walking toward the pair.

"Who’s Lobo?" the male cat asked. He then saw the wolf. "Oh. Must be you."

"Yessir," Lobo said with a gulp. The aura of raw power surrounding the cat was amazing. The huge cat laughed.

"No need to call me sir." He thumped Lobo on the back. The wolf, who was no lightweight, stumbled forward.

"Okay," Lobo coughed in shock.

"That’s one nice truck you have there kid," the cougar commented.

"Thank you."

"So, Brea, why did you bring this guy home?"

"Lobo is my boyfriend, Dan," Brea answered.

"Oh really? Since when?" Dan asked. He looked Lobo up and down. "Well, he looks decent. Does he know how to ride?"

"I do," Lobo said slowly. He hadn’t been riding in a long time, at least five years.

"Hmm. Then I guess you can’t be all bad." Dan chuckled to himself.

"Can we take the horses out?" Brea asked.

"Yeah. Sure. Just make sure wolf boy there really does know how to ride first." Dan turned and headed back toward the house, swishing his thick tail behind him.

"Wolf boy?" Lobo asked. He looked over at Brea.

"Don’t mind him. Dan is a bit…well…" Brea shrugged. "I think you know what I’m talking about though."

"Yeah. I think I do too." Brea smiled before walking toward the barn. The two horses followed on the other side of the fence.

Inside the barn, Brea pulled a saddle and a bridle one stall.

"Grab those too," she told Lobo. The wolf nodded, picking up an identical set of tack. He was amazed at the weight and how easily Brea was carrying it around.

Brea opened a small gate in the fence. She stepped through, holding it for Lobo. As soon as the wolf/fox was through, she let the gate close.

"Buck, Grif, come on guys," Brea called. She set her saddle on the ground and held up the bridle. Lobo suddenly noticed it was bitless.

"I think you forgot your bit," he commented. Brea glanced over at him as the two horses began to approach.

"No I didn’t. Dan won’t allow bits in these guys mouths. He doesn’t like them. They are well trained so they don’t need them anyway," Brea explained.

"Oh," was all Lobo said.

Grif walked up to Brea. He nosed her shoulder as the mountain lion/fox slipped the bridle over the horse’s head. She rubbed Grif’s nose before fastening the buckle. Once the bridle was on, she led the animal to the fence and tied the reins to the top rung. She then went back for the saddle.

"Come on. Get that bridle on Buck." Lobo looked at Brea, then at the buckskin stallion.

"Okay," he said slowly. Lobo held up the bridle as Brea had done. Buck came forward, but paused a few feet away. Lobo approached slowly. Buck snorted before rearing with a squeal. Brea turned slowly as she tightened the girth on Griffin’s saddle.

"You scared him," she chuckled. Brea patted Grif’s neck before going to Lobo’s side. "Here. Do it like this." Brea stood behind Lobo. She positioned his arm so the bridle was off to one side and just above his shoulder height rather then over his head as he had been holding it. "Now call him in a soft voice."

"Okay." Lobo cleared his throat a bit. In a surprisingly soft and gentle voice, he called "Come on Buck old boy. Come on. I won’t hurt ya." Buck walked forward again. Lobo let himself be sniffed before slipping the bridle over the horse’s fine head.

"I’m surprised," Brea admitted as she walked next to Lobo. The wolf tied Buck to the fence.

"Uh, why?" he asked nervously.

"You don’t seem like the kind of guy who could sound that gentle." Brea hugged him. "I like it."

"Oh." Lobo smiled widely. He lifted the saddle to swing it onto Buck’s back. The horse shied away. "Sa sa sa. Easy boy. Here now," Lobo crooned. Buck’s ears twitched as he allowed Lobo to settle the saddle on his back. Brea smiled to herself as she went back to Grif. She untied the tether which held him to the fence before mounting. Griffin snorted while dancing in a circle. He tossed his head. Brea tapped his sides. Grif began to walk forward. She then tapped him again. Grif responded obediently by trotting. With one final tap, he began to run the length of the pasture. Brea pulled the reins to one side. Grif turned, heading back toward Lobo and Buck. The wolf/fox mix had just mounted up and was settling into his saddle. Buck snorted loudly as Grif stopped next to him.

"What was that all about?" Lobo asked. He looked over at Brea and her horse.

"Grif likes to run. Need to get some of it out of his system before hitting the trail or he fidgets and causes trouble. I’m going to be running him around here for a minute or two so you can get comfortable and get to know Buck while I’m doing it," Brea suggested.

"Okay," Lobo said slowly. He pulled the reins across Buck’s neck to the right. The horse turned and began walking forward. Lobo experimentally tapped the large Stallion’s sides. Buck began to trot.

The riding lessons his parents had made him take one summer came flooding back to him. He soon was able to easily control the buckskin horse.

Lobo grinned as Brea rode by on Grif. She was sitting tall in the saddle as the horse cantered. Lobo tapped Buck’s side, asking the animal to run. Buck obeyed and soon caught up to Grif.

"What are you doing?!" Brea asked over the sound of hoof beats. Lobo mimicked her posture as he slowed Buck down to a canter.

"I’m riding. What does it look like I’m doing?" he asked.

"You ready to leave the pasture?" she asked him. Lobo nodded. Brea grinned. She tapped Grif’s sides again. The horse sped up to a run. Lobo and Buck followed closely. As they neared the fence, it clicked what Brea was going to do.

"I don’t know how to jump!" Lobo howled.

"Buck does!" Brea yelled back. Griffin gracefully leapt over the fence, clearing the top rail by at least two feet.

"Oh man!" Lobo groaned. He leaned close to Buck’s neck. The horse took a shorter step before flying over the rail. He then pranced to a stop next to Griffin.

"Lobo, you can open your eyes now Love," Brea chuckled. Lobo opened his eyes and sat up.

"Uh. Yeah." He cleared his throat and smoothed back his rumpled hair. Brea laughed.

"Come on. Let’s hit the trail," she suggested. Brea turned Grif. She rode off toward the forested path. Lobo followed slowly. The pair was soon lost in the shade of the tall hardwood trees.

"Brea?"

"Yeah?" Brea asked as she ducked under a low branch.

"I meant what I said back at school. I do feel more for you then I ever felt for Anna. I’ve loved you since that day I gave you the rose." Brea smiled.

"I know." She moved Grif closer to Buck. "I fell for you that day too. No ones ever given me a flower before, much less a rose."

"Cool." Lobo smiled back at her. As he looked over at her, a low branch caught him in the face. Brea laughed.

"Oh Lobo! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. I think so," Lobo said while rubbing his abused nose. Brea made another small noise of sympathy. Lobo grinned broadly behind his hand, showing that he was still okay. Brea smiled again. She sighed happily, glad to finally be with Lobo.