A quick inspiration that I decided to make happen. This happened because I've been outside in the yard today, and working on my bike, and had wonderful sun shining on me. And it may also be because  toeclaws mentioned biking to me in a comment. And  doraneirok may also be to blame because well, I bet he misses Appalachian/Rockies terrains and huge adventuring in America. This one's for you Doreybutt, I'm ready to ride with if you ever come by.

This story is about getting outdoors with friends, enjoying spring and warmth and nature, and... learning to enjoy when three friends mix feet, mud, and massages together. I have to explain one thing: the names of the other people in there, $FUR1 and $FUR2 have those placeholder names, because i intend this as a kind of script for a comic I'd like to try. I'd like to actually draw a comic that illustrates this story, and open up two slots for two people, though the story grew and grew and I don't know how much to charge for it, or how long it would take to do. If you like it or you don't, please do critique, I need that, and if you REALLY like it, let's talk, maybe we can arrange something to make this comic happen! It'd be a neat challenge and would go really far to funding things like paying down uni debts so I can launch my life, and do these epic friends-filled bike rides FOR REAL. Heck i would be happy to write story/scene commissions for you! Long or short, footy or not, complex or simple. :>

Finally, I'm writing the absolute best and truest parts of who I actually am. I hope that gets across to you. I hope this spring and summer, you find friends to share experiences like this, whether it's camping for a week in deep wilderness or just hiking for an hour near your home. Get out and play. Enjoy. :}

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Kurra and $FUR1 and $FUR2 were riding, out forty miles. Among sidewalks, to paved trails, to hardpacked paths, which disappeared into narrow singletracks, Kurra had led them cycling through (and without telling had discovered new) routes that transformed their world from packed noisy suburbia to rural mountainous foothills.

The panorama was glorious. It was all roofed by the gigantic sky above the three of them, under the first truly warm day of the year. Kurra had managed to wrangle out two friends to celebrate sun and heat coming back with a day-long bike ride to as far as they could manage and it looked like they were going to hit a hundred miles by the day's end. They were in glory: trees coming green alive, brisk cheery breezes, and the first new grass of the year, deep green and un-trampled growing at the edge of the path. Some trees had only buds, some had very young leaves, and after the gray and brown winter this was nearly ecstasy to them all. $FUR1 inhaled as warm wind blew and promptly sneezed three times-- after all, spring brings layers of yellow tree pollen! $FUR2 chuckled a bit at $FUR1 and then grimaced while dismounting; more than two hours sitting on a saddle did make one's fun bits hurt a little.

The three of them were just specks on a yellow-gray sunbathed trail that wound upward on hills to the regional mountains, hills and mountains with lively fresh green, turning to silver when the higher winds turned up the paler underside of young leaves. As they relaxed and rested, $FUR2 shushed them, and listened to a woodpecker pakpakpakapakapaka on a tree, not too far away. And suddenly they were aware of the various bird calls, squirrel chitters, and other wildlife (even a falcon crying out!) all around them. Truly it was both energizing and awareness-expanding to get out like this.

Kurra suggested before they get too comfortable, they rest near the bank of a creek, over which the trail momentarily turned to asphalt, crossed on a bridge, and went back to hard packed grit.

The three of them easily made the quarter mile to the banks, and they cooled themselves standing on the retaining rocks on the bank of the creek, pouring clear water on their arms and face and knees to rid themselves of the salty sweat, freshening up. Heads out of helmets, they really appreciated soaking and shaking out their heads. $FUR1 even took off his shoes back on the grass, stretching his feet out from his stiff clip shoes.

"Good idea--" Kurra began, happy to see a moment of relief in baring feet, even if they were still in attractive thin performance socks. Until $FUR1 seemed to notice something and started putting his shoes back on. Kurra wondered at that, why do that?
$FUR2 was stretching his back out some distance away, sunbathing.

$FUR1 started to try to somehow hide scooting away, as Kurra plopped down, fat tail behind him. It hit Kurra, oh. $FUR1's feet. They smelled from being in those shoes, no ventilation. Ahh. Kurra didn't mind it, because honestly-- EVERYONE'S feet stink at times, why intimidate people over it? Kurra made a mistake himself, wearing his winter-insulation fivefingers on the ride. With no socks either! They were perfect for riding, thick and protective, tough and grippy on the pedals, and any other surface, just that they made his paws sweat immensely, and that led to stinkpaw if it kept up for more than ten minutes. And they left the city at sunrise....

Kurra didn't try to close the distance, he just unlaced his own toeshoes and bloom, the stinkpaw came out, as well as a LOT of comfort, bare paws on bare grass. As he grabbed the heel of his other shoe with his toes and slid that one off too, he turned to $FUR1, just a little self-conscious of paws, but otherwise okay:
"Hey $FUR1, you have pawstink too?" He grinned, there was a bit of uncomfort in reply. "Well it's okay, I'll show you a great way to get rid of it all."

"I'm-- I'm really sorry, I was just putting my shoes back on, heh," $FUR1 headscratched in polite anxiety. The sun made sweating paws both glisten and dry off, the smell was fading, and it wasn't real bad anyway. "How do you get rid of it then?"

By now $FUR2 had approached for company and caught the last words that were said. "Get rid of what?" $FUR2 squeezed drink from his bottle into his maw.

"Footsmell," Kurra replied simply, and with no more words sprang up to pad to the creek, apparently searching for something. He eyed whatever it was, and dunked his hands into the creek. He brought back dripping splatting palmfuls of brown-tan sandy mud and sat down again. His feet were just a little similarly sandy-muddy. "See? This!" he grinned very happily. His friends didn't know how the epitomy of dirty was supposed to make for clean. "Okay here, I'll show you. I learned this camping one time years ago..." and $FUR1 and $FUR2 listened to a short story about how Kurra fell on his tail while barepawing through a muddy offroad trail, and how soft his tail and legs were after they were caked with mud. The mud dried, and powdered off, sucking off dirt and grit, leaving nothing but the thinnest layer of dust and very smooth-feeling skin. It even got the junk out of his claws! So he said anyway.
He did all this while slopping the tan clayish mud on his feet, aaahhing and tonguehanging as he massaged his own heels and splayed and squished mud between toes and solewrinkles. His unusual fivefinger stink was indeed gone off him, and he said that the last part was to let the mud dry. "So come on. we can go wade in the mud there–" pointing at the creek– and I'll even give you a footrub. Pawstink stinks, but it rocks to be clean."
At this $FUR2 laughed and rocked back, he knew how silly of a pawfan his dragonbuddy was, and he accepted. $FUR1 had to try this to satisfy his curiosity, and soon there were three young bikers looking rather silly stomping the mud of a little creek into submission, in the middle of this spring scene. It was a good thing that this trail wasn't heavily traveled, and even Kurra felt self-conscious enough not to spend too much time there. With a pleasing sucking slop he pulled his now calves-coated muddy legs out happily, leaving mudprints as his two friends followed out, and they sat with legs straight out, and each one started to reach for a nearby foot to knead.

$FUR1 wasn't sure about all this, but $FUR2 piped up, "It's okay if you don't want, although the mud is going to clean your hands in the same way it cleans your paws. And..." $FUR2 devolved into nearly drooling out happy groans as Kurra massaged out forty miles of pedaling and hot shoes. Kurra was happy to make someone feel better that way. They were lovely pretty paws to massage, and toes slipped pleasingly between his fingers as he massaged and cleaned. $FUR1 opted out on rubbing someone else, but experimentally took one of his long feet and quickly understood why spas have those mud baths and frilly funny stuff. Grinning, Kurra took $FUR1's other extended paw and wringed it in his hands. The soothing flexing brought a grateful expression to $FUR1, and he nodded, "Yeah, I get this now, thank you. Aaah-aah, there, just– if you can spread my toes please, they cramp and–" $FUR1 let go of his paw and flopped back, little moans and groans of relief came out of him as Kurra slid knuckles up and down his soles, his other hand's fingers interlaced between curling toes, stretching wonderfully. $FUR2 grinned and made for $FUR1's other foot, doing the same.

The creek rushed, the wind let up, and the day kept on, no hints of storms or anything. At the end of this rest a half-hour had passed, and a few more mud runs happened. Socks and shoes were scattered, and there were flecks of dry mud on forearms, hands, all over knees and feet, and a new knowledge of massages and mudrubs was spread around. Sure enough, $FUR2 gently stroked the dust away off his arches, leaving a very clean refreshed set of feeties, and he even helped $FUR1 with his.

$FUR1 blushed, he didn't know he could like this about this experience– and he said it out loud, because he appreciated his buddies for it. "I don't know what I liked more... having my feet rubbed so well, feels so good... or that I could make you guys feel just as nice with those footsies we did. I dunno about the paws thing for sure Kurra but I liked how relaxed and tingly I feel after. Thanks."

Kurra could only grin so much, any more and he'd be a cartoon smiling from ear to ear. $FUR2 patted $FUR1's shoulder and joked: "Don't break him, he's still gotta guide us on the rest of the trail loop back!" Kurra blushed and chuckled at this, and with a rinse in the creek, wiggled his fivefingers back on. All three clipped on helmets, prepared their bikes, and the conversation gradually shifted from ankles and heels to compass headings and terrain elevations as they started again. The trail kept up the hills, it was hard work, but the reward was a glorious view into the next state, and back toward the city they came from, now faded, far away. It was all made more enjoyable by the fact that their feet and calves were tingly from the mud cleaning still, and in a quiet moment Kurra piped up.

"You know this is what it is for me, what it means. Spring, summer and all you know..." he looked at his friends, half-mounted on their bikes, rocking or leaning a little."

"Yeah, the rides and views?" $FUR1 asked.

"Being with buddies, good times, $FUR2 added, content, drinking from his bottle too.

"All that, and just... the fact that it's warm again, everything feels alive, and getting to share that," Kurra said. It was heartfelt. "It's really amped up by getting to go out barefoot, playing barefoot... sharing mud paw-cleaning stuff with people... thanks for being open-minded guys, not everyone gets that." His company lifted their bottles, said something about it being fine.
"For ever, even before I realized I liked paws like that, I knew that bare feet, using your feet, doing stuff feet-out, that was one of my favorite symbols of summer, happiness for me..." $FUR2 agreed: "I get that very much. I'm kinda the same, though maybe I don't notice it as much since in the summer everyone else is in sandals or just wearing less overall. And, we kinda noticed that about you," he winked. Kurra blushed but was a little proud to be noticed for that. He dipped his head.

"Shall we start back?" $FUR1 asked. "I'm sorta close to bonking, there was that bar with those huge subs and beer back in the little town. Get fuel and make it back by early evening?"

Kurra and $FUR2 checked their bike computers, it was a sensible time to start back... in a few minutes. $FUR2 agreed, "Yeah, I'm hungry as anything, what a sweet day so far. Let's roll."

The three riders got to enjoy several miles of downhill and flat portions as the afternoon kept on, welcoming sun and coniferous forests all around. Thoughts of food and cold drinks motivated them; though they all momentarily thought of the new interesting experiences as they crossed the bridge again where hours earlier they stopped.

They all caught a view of dried and wet deep pawprints leading into and out of that little refreshing creek under the trail bridge, hidden to most, familiar to them, a fun memory, and a great reason to keep coming back out again. To rest, refresh, to get clean and be free, all by getting barefoot, getting muddy.