Crossing Boundaries

This is a short work of erotic fiction containing furry, or anthropomorphic, characters, which are animals that either demonstrate human intelligence or walk on two legs, for the purposes of these tales. It is a thriving and growing fandom in which creators are prevalent in art and writing especially.

Please note that all characters are clearly over eighteen and written as such in all stories.

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Kael fidgeted, anxious to see just what would come of the meeting, a young man with neatly trimmed hair. His father stood before him, taking the lead in the meeting, though it was the first time he had ever been allowed to stand so close to the anthro ambassador of their closest neighbours, a chameleon with a particularly noble look about his strangely rounded face. Long robes fell to the floor around his ankles and he tried not to make it too obvious just how uncomfortable he was in them, for they were ceremonial and not his everyday wear.

"Good sir, we are honoured to be invited once again into your kingdom," the chameleon, who went by the name of Lord Jevish in the human lands in keeping with custom and traditions after the war, said slowly. "I'm afraid I cannot fathom just what this meeting is concerning, however, for our trade agreements were set out just the past month gone. To what do I owe the pleasure today of your audience and presence?"

Ah, he was nervous. That was clear to see even to someone as inexperienced as Kael, not yet trained in the act and art of diplomacy, though he did not have that much interest in that sort of thing. It stood out, however, even if he knew just why his father was conducting the meeting in person rather than sending one of the dog servants to take care of it for him. For it was something very important to him, perhaps more so to Kael than it ever would have been to his father and mother, though it had implications that stretched far beyond the everyday life that he was used to at that time.

Lord Jevish stood with his hands clasped, though Kale knew that some anthros preferred to refer to them as "paws" or "claws", depending on their species. Having dog servants, the anthros that were native only to their human lands, with them, they'd always just called them "hands" as went things with the human tongue, but it was important to remember what other cultures took in hand, so to speak.

"Yes, it is most unorthodox that I have called you here today," his father said, his booming tone seeming to resonate up from deep within his chest. "But this is important business, new business. Quite simply, my son wishes to attend one of your magic universities, as his skills, home-trained, of course, have grown over recent years. He wishes to study with the best of the best and I only wish to see him at your most prestigious establishment, where his training may progress and bring the art of magic to our lands too."

Lord Jevish took a half-step back, though the tiny shift of relief in the relaxing of his shoulders was something that Kael could not help but note. If he had not wanted to learn magic so badly, his fingers, quite literally, itching and twitching to work, he would have been best suited to politics and diplomacy where it concerned the anthro lands, he was sure, for he had spent any time that had not been pouring over magical texts (what he had been able to acquire, that was) studying them from head to toe...or paw, as it was. But his heart was set, sweating minutely as his torso tipped forward, giving away his desire and yet not seeing any reason to hold it back either, not in a moment like that. It was simply too important to him that he was allowed to go.

"I see, my lord, that is good news indeed."

Lord Jevish was clearly relieved that things were heading in a more positive direction but, still, there were details to be discussed. With a lift of his hand, Kael's father called his attention.

"Kael? You may leave now."

He bristled. He wanted to know what was going to be said! Yet his presence was simply not required now that Lord Jevish had seen him and knew what was to come of the meeting. He was there merely, for that temporary span of time, as a diplomatic feature, his father continuing on the meeting without him.

Sir Jevish's mind raced. A human attending university in one of their nations would help move relations in a more positive direction, for sure, for they could never be quite certain just what it was that the humans intended to do with them, considering how their invasion had commenced after, well, the anthros had invaded them. Who could have known just what may have happened twenty years back if they had never invaded the human lands to begin with, how things could have turned out? As it had been shown, the skills of the humans in their psychic ability, like magic but not in their sense of intellect, and the weapons they created far surpassed the bounds of their magical defences. Keeping the humans on their good side, when no one, after all, wanted to lance into a second war, was imperative at the best and the worst of times.

Learning more about humans would bring them into better stead too but it had to be handled delicately, in his control and not that of Harrod, the human that he only knew by his last name. Harrod had never deigned to give his first, though the honorific imposed on Lord Jevish was merely symbolic, something that they both knew was surpassed by his diplomatic status as a politician in the human world. The lands prospered because of people like him but it was, at times, such a foreign concept to those in the anthro lands that they hardly knew where to begin when it came to gaining at least some scant understanding of humans and what they were all about in that regard.

One step, however, in the right direction was one step of the beginning of that.

"I will take care of the arrangements," Lord Jevish said, drawing himself up as tall as he could, though he was still shorter than Harrod. "Leave it to me. But, of course, what I would need to know upfront is of any requirements your son has in his studies, so that we can best meet his needs and training."

Harrod smiled but it was not a soft smile.

"Excellent. I will have one in particular to take note of..."

And it was that requirement for Kael's future that would change things for Kael and human-anthro relations forever even if it was never intended to do so

*

"What did they say then? I don't know why you didn't let me stay - I was already there!"

Kael paced and flung up his hands, though that was merely a symptom of his body expelling frustration: something like that could not be helped. When he had no need to reign in his emotions, he let them run freely, even as his father and his mother stood before him in more casual clothes, though she still wore skirts that draped to the ground and his trousers were loose folds of cloth that boasted at the fact that their family could simply afford that much quality.

"Of course. The deal has been set, son, we only needed to ensure that the proper requirements would be set in place for you."

Kael, however, barely heard that as he leapt and punched the air, his heart surging. Finally, he was going to see the anthro lands, study magic, do all that he had spent years coveting without ever truly being sure that he would be allowed to achieve! His parents smiled, Samuel Harrod and Evelin Harrod, though their name would be passed through the anthro lands from anthro to anthro, from mouth to mouth, as news of his approaching studies in their counties spread and spread. Gossip, after all, travelled quickly, even though it was something far more important than that.

He'd never seen either his homeland or the anthro lands, growing up in the territories that they had conquered in the war, though there were some remnants of the anthro history there. Magic, however, expired, so unless it was infused to last, sadly much of their architecture crumbled without magic to sustain it when that was something that humans were not interested in. Why rebuild what had fallen when they could create better with their technology? But it had been in the ruins of a splendid castle that he had found remnants of the anthros, the very first and most important relics that had fuelled his desire to learn magic. His curiosity was not something that could so easily be tamed, however, and times had changed, delving deeper and deeper into the books while he honed his magical skill. Some of the texts had had to be translated before he'd been able to read them fluently but that skill too had grown over time: magic was all about skill.

Whereas human psychic ability was intuitive, magic was something that had to be trained and practised, something that anyone, frankly, could do if they had enough time and inclination to push themselves towards it, more and more. Basic magic had come with difficulty to him without a proper tutor but Kael had still managed it, bolstered by his progress to such a point that, ultimately, he had come to that very moment where he had asked his parents to help him move into a magic university in the anthro lands. It would be the biggest step of his young life to date but the most important one also to take his future forward and out into the wide world.

"Whereas we do not understand why you would want to learn this magic," his father said, gently bringing him back to reality with his hand on Kael's shoulder, "you should know that we support you, son. Going off into a controlled environment such as this for your studies will give you greater world experience without risking you. These are less than tumultuous times that we live in and I would rather see you study than go on tour with other youths..."

His father's lips twisted a little and his mother giggled, bringing a rise of a flush to Kael's cheeks.

"Father... I don't want to hear about what happened on your tour when you were my age... You know I have no interest in that. All I want to do is to learn magic."

"Yes, yes, we know this, though to interact with the "lesser" races in such a fashion..." His father's lips pursed, neatly trimmed beard struck through with a hint of grey. "Well, that is for you to decide what you make of them. This is to make you happy and improve our relationship, though that is not something to concern yourself with, as long as you continue to conduct your dealings in the world with dignity and diplomacy."

"As you are surely still wise beyond your years, sweet Kael," his mother interjected, her brown eyes soft and warm, "I cannot see that this would ever be an issue. Oh, but son... Son, we are going to miss you so dearly."

His eyes pricked with tears, yet there was no time for emotion while his father held up his hand.

"One requirement, of course, has already been put in place. You will take a personal dog with you also to act as your bodyguard and your servant."

A small thing. A normal thing - to humans, at least. Yet one more link in the chain that would change things forever as he smiled and accepted, for it was nothing to Kael.

He was well as he was and, soon, he would be even better.

*

Kael did not know what to expect when he was taken to the training facility for the dog anthros that were native to their lands and, of course, their homeland too. The training facility was set on the edge of the mountains to have good access to more rugged terrain, which their human guide (he'd missed their name as he showed them around the facility) had said was perfect for attaining peak physical fitness.

"They are a kind, of course, that need to be challenged," he explained, sweeping his hand out to an obstacle course that appeared like something that the military-trained canines would have undertaken. "They are not like us in that they can tap into any psychic ability."

Of course, humans did not walk very often unless it was to make a point. At that very moment, all three members of the Harrod family were floating in the air, their feet a comfortable few inches from the ground as was customary. Why walk when one could float, after all? Maybe it was a type of magic to them, but such innate psychic powers that grew naturally with a person were distinctly different to magic and would never, truly, be the same, no matter how some did so like to compare them.

Either way, it stood out to them that the dogs did not float. Maybe that was why they were dogs, their faithful, loyal companions that were always there for them, though it was, absolutely, considered of the highest honour amongst dogs to serve humans. That they wanted to serve and be faithful went without saying, the dogs choosing which sectors that they wished to serve and work in, however they were best suited. Unless they had become tied or adopted by a human family, they could change where they worked pretty much at will wherever there was an opening. With their innate loyalty, however, they tended to stay where they were put, working hard and diligently to the very best of their ability. The bonds that tied, after all, went both ways and not merely from dog to human.

They trained and Kale gulped as he watched some particularly fit female canines shooting arrows at targets. They took a much greater distance than he did when he was practising shooting for fun, the nock of the arrows slipping into place precluding the hiss of them flying forth. It was not firing or shooting but, alas, yet another term that had slipped into a neat form of defence that had served them well at a distance in the war. Their guns and the like, however, were more threatening still but it was imperative that defence and offence covered all bases still. If there was one thing that the humans were, it was that they were prepared.

There was more set out for them, muddy drills putting them through their paces, though Kael suspected that those were some of the newest recruits, not the graduated dogs that he was there to see. They were working hard, clad in rough shades of green and brown, blending in, though they had not yet learned to stand out. One turned to look at him, a bulky Rottweiler of some breeding, and got a mouthful of mud for his trouble.

The dining facilities were of no interest to him, not as much as the dogs moving freely within. However, he did start as they exited the interior to an outdoor area where showers had been set up next to bathing pools that looked like several moderate-sized swimming pools set up near one another, their curves and undulations making them appear to fit there quite naturally with a walkway still available between each one.

Kael started, the heat of a blush that he should not have felt creeping up his neck. It was wrong, oh so very wrong, but it was right too, for the dogs before him were all entirely naked. Well, there were a couple just walking in after training that were still mostly dressed but he couldn't focus on that, not when his eyes roamed from one set of breasts to the other, even guiltily dipping between their thighs to the secret that lay there. That he was a virgin was neither expected nor unexpected for a man of his age, though it was not as if he had not had the chance to enjoy himself in that way before. It was more that no one, as yet, had caught his eye in that regard.

No one, except for the dogs, that was.

"These are the canines that have graduated training," their guide said, sweeping his arm out in a grand, sweeping gesture as if he wanted them to be impressed in that moment. "I'm sure you will be able to see, with your keen eye, that they are all top specimens and, frankly, none that are not quality and set to our high standards finish our training program. They go into less strenuous roles, of course, but all find their place in the world so that they have a family or an individual to serve."

Kael tried not to look too hard but it was hard not to stare, even though his parents and their guide didn't see anything wrong with that. When they were another species entirely to humans, there simply was nothing that attracted humans to them in the first place, comfortable with one another in that regard while nothing could happen between them. Kael sweated. Or could it?

It was not against the law, of course, but it was frowned upon seriously, as if a person who looked at other species, including the anthros in other lands, had something wrong with them. Could they not see, after all, the beauty in the human species too? Why would they need to go elsewhere? In his searching, listening to others in passing speak of it, he'd gleaned only little and not enough to satisfy his curiosity even in the slightest.

But with them all right there before him, showering off in the communal line of showers, water soaking their fur, splashing down their muzzles... He could not take his eyes away. It was impossible for his eyes to be elsewhere, especially as their guide told them to line up in a tone that neither carried a suggestion or a command but simply something that was expected from them. They knew their place in the world and, truth be told, they would not be as good at their roles in life as they were and so honoured to serve if they had not enjoyed and thrown themselves whole-heartedly into all that they did.

"They are our finest and all ready to leave the academy. Trained against magical and non-magical, physical combat, they are experts in self-defence and, if need be, offence. All modern weapons have been trained and some that may be unexpected, so that they may be best prepared at all times. All are licensed in what they have achieved accreditation in and have the proper documents attached."

It was not unusual to hear dogs talked about in that way, all very normal for them, and the canines did not seem perturbed in the slightest. Split more or less evenly between the males and the females, they stood to attention, some with smiles and others with serious expressions, though Kael did not yet know enough about canines to tell what they were thinking, what any more intricate expression meant. Maybe he would in time.

"Well then, son?" His father clapped him on the shoulder, for he was giving him a gift of sorts. "Which one do you like the look of the most? Do you have a form with their credentials against one another?"

"Sir, I assure you that every one of these dogs has been trained to the highest of standards..."

Seeing the expression on his father's face, Kael smirked, the guide stuttering to a halt. Oh, it was funny how they bowed to his father so easily but that was another little trick that his father, at the very least, had given him too. Maybe it would come in useful in later years or even when he was away, though it was more appropriate for those in his father's station in life than him as yet. Still, he appreciated how quickly the guide raced off, floating at quite a pace to get the requested forms.

It left him free to rub his chin and look them all over in turn, considering them each individually. He should have been more objective in looking the dogs over, perhaps going by which of them had the most muscle or were most like the typical canines used for guarding, but he eyed up the females the most. He could not quite refer to them as "bitches" in his head, even if that was the technical term, looking at them far too intimately for something like that to feel as if it fit at all.

"Maybe this one... Can I, uh, see her stats?"

The guide was back by then but he barely looked over the sheet before moving on. No, he had to see more, had to really think about his choice, which dog would stay with him. If she was to defend him, he needed someone strong. He would need her to be tall too, intimidating, a breed that made others back off...

Kael shook his head minutely. Oh, as if he had not known.

So I'm getting a female...

It probably went without saying, with his curious attraction, the heat tingling through him, that it would not be a male that he ended up with, though he still tried to put on something of a show of looking them all over equally. He knew without truly knowing which one he had picked when his eyes kept returning to a tall German Shepherd that was even taller than he was. Her large chest was a little closer to eye level for him, which could have been a factor in his decision, her arms rounded out with muscle even through her fur, clearly, by far, the strongest female in the line-up. She would be a good choice, if he did not go for a male, but it was her bust that most likely swayed the deal for him.