Fistatoriik had the luxury of experiencing most seasons’ weather changes despite Jannovetur’s permanent chill, if only just slightly. It was the harvest, the air was returning to its usual cold after two months of being able to warm a home without a hearth for most of the day. To me, the land was at its most beautiful in these months before the winter. The leaves of trees wilted and died, but were beautiful as they did so, turning orange and red and violet. I didn’t call myself the type of man for walks until very recently, but this season always filled me with such a personal sense of comfort that I’d just have to go out and experience it. At least as much as I could allow myself the time to do so. The holidays, the smell of the air, the business and liveliness that possessed people when preparing for the coming winter, as well as…an addition to this year that made these days particularly special.



The large black bear shifts his head in my lap as I lean against the tree of orange leaves, a soft growl rising from his throat. Eldurkol opens his good eye to look up at me, his head resting on my thighs, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Are they really that comfortable?”

Eldurkol huffs, clearly amused as if the answer was obvious.

“‘Comfortable’ doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid… If only I could fall asleep on these every night..”

To emphasize his point, he lays his head on its side, nuzzling against my legs and poking my belly with his nose. I had to fight to keep down a chuckle from the feeling as I reached for the top of his head, running my bulky, ungulate digits through the forest of long, beautiful black fur. He had grown it rather long this year, almost like how he would when we were little. As my hand makes its way down and through his mane, an idea strikes me.

“Kol?” I wonder aloud, pulling him from what must have been another nap-to-be in my lap. He simply grunts as an answer, telling me he’s listening.

“Could you sit up for a moment?”

His eye opens again, a pleading look in his blue iris.

“Five more minutes?”

I scoff and lean down to peck his lips.

“I’m not going anywhere, I’ve just had an idea.”

Greedily, he comes up to peck my lips back before sitting up, his massive frame rising from the mossy forest floor. I was met with his slightly dirtied tunic framing his large back and strong, broad shoulders. Draped over them was the part of his mane that was longest, trailing down from the back of his neck and past his shoulder blades.

I shift closer on my hands and hooves, scooting behind him. So close, I’m reminded of how much he dwarfs me despite my own large size. He looks over his shoulder when he feels my thighs straddle his backside as he sits, slumped forward in a lazy posture. I examine what I have to work with, running my hand through the thick fur of his mane again, kept together in a simple tie, and start. The motions come to mind swiftly, and already he can feel what I’m doing.

“Aud. Don’t tell me you’re actually-”

“What? At least if they say it, it’ll be literal. It’d be the best defense, and with proof.” I finish the first braid and move onto the next, taking my time with a smug grin on my muzzle.

‘Braiding each other's hai...’ Eldurkol was thinking of the common innuendo levied at men who disappear with their male friends, to jokingly imply that their friendly activities were far more intimate. Luckily we’ve avoided too much suspicion so far, despite today being a rather risky day to whisk Eldurkol away while he visited my city.

However, suspicion or no, who could imagine the two lords of Jannovetur’s most bitter rivaling houses to be sharing a moment like this, even if our friendship was well known?

I work my way down, a large braid at the top, each below it being smaller. While I was mostly joking about this helping us avoid suspicion, I’m deathly serious about doing this to take care of his fur. It wasn’t awful by any means, Eldurkol seldom neglected his appearance too much, but he never quite did the same to take care of himself after the war. He wasn’t a messy man, but he wasn’t the most keen on remaining proper…or organized.

…Okay, maybe he is a little messy. But, I love him for it. Eldurkol doesn’t dwell on the little things. But, if only he could dwell on styling himself a little more.

Just as I was about to remark on this with words, Kol leans back into me, almost sending me off-balance. His shoulders bounce with the rumbling chuckle he lets out.

“Having fun back there?”

“I would be if you sat still.” I couldn’t help but grin at his impatience.

“Come ooon…you’re going really slow.” He fakes a big yawn.

“It could use a bit more treating, honestly.”

“Bahhh, not my hair again.” Eldurkol turns his chin up, letting out a big sigh.

“It’s beautiful fur, you’ve got to take care of it better. For me, at least?” I remove a hand from my braiding to rub his shoulder. It works like magic, and he relents.

“Products for that sort of thing don't come easy up north…” He rumbles, crossing his legs. I smirk.

“Then I suppose that’s what I’ll be sending you back home with this time around.” I smile as I finish the loose braid and tie off the tuft at its end. “There, all done.”

“Sovrans, finally...” And he leans back again, into me.

---

Part one of a short little comic I started in the fall last year with my deer character Audvald, and the big bear Eldurkol, who belongs to https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tamerthamer/ ! Both are characters from a world me, Thamer and a few others have been building. I'll likely compile all of their stories, concept art and cute one-off pieces somewhere here, when I finally get this page organized.