Life has a habit of throwing curve balls.  Three weeks after that
Friday afternoon, and we hadn't been able to get together since then.
Every time it seemed like we'd get some time together, either an
obligation or an unexpected event would kill the opportunity.

   Email was sometimes the only way we could talk.  We thought about
one of those instant messenger packages, but with Dale occasionally
looking over my shoulder as I worked, I vetoed that idea.  So we'd trade
complaints about classes, fellow students and the unfairness of life in
general.

   Dale wasn't the only problem I was dealing with.  A few others in
the school were trying to make my life difficult.  All of them had been
turned down by Shelly in the past, so they thought that they had a right
to try again.  Fortunately, none of them were a B or an A, so I didn't
fear any attempts to skin me or worse.  And physical attacks were
quickly forgotten when one tried to get me late one evening.  He ended
up in the pond, and I went on to my room.

   Of course, it didn't stop the rumors about us.  And we were
surprised when folks who we barely knew started defending us against the
rumors.  I didn't know that until one day while I was taking a break
between classes.

   I had started looking at some of the sites that Shelly recommended,
and soon had a small batch of printouts in my folder.  Some of them were
expertly drawn, others were fairly crude in design, but all of them were
of shapes that interested me.  A few went into unusual shapes, like the
two-headed wolf morph, others were stranger than that.  But all of them
I found sparking my curiosity, and I soon had a nice collection.

   "Mind if I sit down here?"

   I glanced up from the images to see a sandy-haired young man.
"Sure, I don't mind," I said, nodding at the chair.  "Make yourself at
home."

   "Thanks."  He sat down and looked over at me.  "Your artwork?" he
asked, and I looked up again.

   "Huh?"  I looked down, and chuckled.  "Oh, no.  I couldn't draw a
straight line without a ruler, and even then I wouldn't guarantee it.
It's just some printouts I made."

   "Mind if I take a look?"  I didn't see a reason why not, and handed
him a few images.  He glanced through them, then paused at one.  "This
is Sandy Parker's work," he said.  "I met her last year at a convention.
She's a real good artist."

   "She is," I agreed.  "I happen to like that image."

   "So are you into morphics?"

   I shook my head.  "I don't know what you mean by that," I admitted.

   He grinned, a rather amused look.  "Morphics.  Anthropomorphics.
Furries.  Humanoid animal shapes."

   His wording made me laugh a bit.  "I guess I am," I said.  "I'm Kyle
Martin."

   "I'm Tim Hoffman."  We shook hands, and he raised an eyebrow.  "C
class?"

   "B, actually."  I managed a smile.  "And a stylist, before you ask."

   "Hey, cool!"  He actually looked excited at that.  "I'm a were, and
kinda the head of the local furry group.  There's not too many of us
right now, just four of us fellow loonies."  He gave a lopsided grin.
"Maybe you'd like to get together with us, have some fun with the rest
of the animals."

   "Well, it wouldn't be just me," I told him.  "I have a girlfriend
who's also the same as me.  A stylist and a B."

   "Hey, great!  It's good to see two folks who are sharing the same
things.  We've got another were, and a pair of autos in the group, so
you'd be more than welcomed."  He thought a moment.  "We're going to try
to get together this upcoming Saturday around noon.  There's a spot off
of the path where a couple of folks can have a picnic, and that's
usually where we gather."

   I chuckled a bit.  "I know the spot.  Around noon on Saturday?"

   Tim nodded.  "That's the plan.  Be ready for anything."  With that,
he got up and headed on out of the room.  I shook my head in amusement,
then tucked away the images and headed off to my next class.

--

   "Actually, that sounds like a great idea.  Most of the folks I know
aren't really into animal shapes, so this looks like a great chance to
meet some others who understand the sort of things we're into.  Or
getting into."

   I chuckled at Shelly's phrasing in her letter.  There were things I
wanted to get into with her, but the desires and the need for patience
were warring for supremacy.  Being frustrated when you know that you
need to wait doesn't help the nerves.

   "So I'll see you Saturday at noon at the usual place.  If these
folks are anything like you've described them, I think we're going to
have a lot of fun together.  It'll be nice to be able to relax around
someone who also understands, like you do.

   "Talk with you tomorrow.  Love, Shelly."

   I saved the message to diskette, and shut off the mail program.
Saturday seemed like a long time away.

--

   It was a lovely day outside, with only a few clouds breaking up the
blue skies.  The mountain backdrop I still couldn't get over, such a
beautiful sight to just sit and stare at.

   I was doing just that from the picnic table, waiting for the others
to show up.  My habit was always to be there early, just in case
something happened.  But I didn't have to wait long, as I spotted a
young lady walking towards the table.

   "Hi!" she called out cheerfully when she was close enough.  "Tim
will be here soon enough.  I'm Angela Summers."

   "Kyle Martin."  We shook hands, and she grinned at the feel of my
power.  "Oh, you're a good one, aren't you?" she commented playfully.
"I can see why Shelly likes you a lot."

   Before I could make a reply, Tim's voice cut in.  "Angie, stop
teasing Kyle."  He waved hello, and gave Angela a hug.  "So what sort of
trouble have you been up to of late?"

   "Cervines."  She winked, and her form suddenly altered into a
morphic deer.  She peered coyly at us both, and winked.  "Would you like
a dear deer?" she said in a sultry voice, making us both laugh.

   I shook my head, recognizing the form from one of Shelly's images.
Bambioids, she called them, sexy deer shapes meant for one thing.  A
sharp sound came from behind me, and I nearly jumped.

   "Woof!  Woof!"

   Turning my head around, I could see a new person walking over.  He
was taller than me, but with a pair of wolf ears and a tail flicking
behind him.  Angela grinned and leaped out of her spot to go hug and
kiss him.

   "Woof yourself, Sven.  Say hello to Kyle."

   He shook my hand.  "Sven Johannsen, from Oslo."  He tilted his head
a moment.  "C?"

   I chuckled.  "B class.  And a stylist."

   "Just like me."  I turned and gave a huge grin as I saw Shelly
walking with way with another gal.  "Kyle, this is Gayle Phillips."  We
shook hands, and Gayle's eyebrows went up.

   "You are like Shelly, aren't you?"

   Angela laughed.  "He's not that her identical twin," she shot back.
"But he's definitely a keeper."  She winked at Shelly, who blushed a
bit.

   I managed to get back my own embarrassment.  "So this is the
mysterious furs," I commented.

   "Not mysterious, just misunderstood."  Angela grinned, reaching out
and tickling Tim.  "Weres and autos and stylists, oh my."

   "Actually, we all just share a love for the idea of the form furries
take," Sven explained.  "Not just the normal morphic shapes, but
anything that might be possible.  Even though we can't always change
that way, we still manage to explore a number of ideas."

   "And have fun doing it," Gayle added in.  She had settled down next
to Tim, while Angela was back to tickling Sven.

   "Sounds like we could enjoy that," I said, making myself comfortable
on a bench.  Shelly sat down next to me, and reached under the table for
my hand to hold.  "Anything we should know about?"

   Tim chuckled a bit.  "Not really, we just try to get together
regularly and take various shapes.  Sometimes for practice for classes,
but more often we'll do it just for the fun."

   "Mutual fun," Angela added.  Sven grinned and licked her nose.

   "Take for instance this doe," he said.  "She'll go wander off into
the woods, and the rest of us will chase after her in various shapes.
Whoever catches her first gets to do whatever they want to her."  He
gave her a leer, and she just wiggled in her seat.

   "Ignore them," Gayle told us.  "They're always like that.  I think
their libidos are running in overdrive."

   "Well, yours was the time you caught Sven," Angie quickly shot back.
"And you weren't complaining then.  Other sounds, yes, but that wasn't
one."

   Everyone laughed at that, while Gayle blushed a light red.

   "No, seriously, the only rule among us all is that anything that
happens must be mutual.  Be it changes in form, or something more
intimate."  Tim glanced at the rest of the group.  "If that's a problem,
better say it now, since we've all got rather active imaginations."

   I looked at Shelly, and could read her thoughts on the matter.  She
was doing the same thing, and we both nodded to each other, satisfied.
Turning back, she replied for us both.

   "As long as things go slow for us to start, we don't have a problem
with it.  I'm a little more experienced than Kyle is, but he's a very
fast learner."  She grinned, and winked at me from the corner of her
eye.

   Angela laughed and came around to hug us both.  "Good!  It's always
fun to share our kind of fun we come up with.  And with you two being
stylists, that just means that we can consider even more unusual ideas."

   Shelly turned and looked at me, grinning.  "Should we?" she asked,
already knowing what my answer was.  I held her hand tighter, and she
shifted as she sat there next to me into the same two-headed female wolf
morph from that afternoon.  Everyone stared in amazement, then let out
varying sounds of approval.

   "You two are going to be very popular," Gayle laughed.  "Very
popular indeed."