All the Best Efforts

© Cederwyn Whitefurr

20^th September, 2021

(This was actually the Weekly Writing Challenge for like, three weeks ago, I've been so tied up in my own works, I neglected to finish this one in time)

This Week's Writing Challenge: All best efforts still ended in failure.

Lacey sighed in exasperation, his hooflets clicking swiftly over the keyboard as one after another, words flowed across the screen before he twitched and instinctively reached up between his tubular ears to scratch at the antlers that had yet to spike and branch.

It always drove him almost to madness, how the new growth of his antlers itched so abominably. No other deer he knew of suffered so – he swore to himself, he'd consult with a Veterinarian one day to see if there wasn't some way to just be done with them for the rest of his life.

His reflection stared back at him from the screen, before he squinted and his pale furred face wrinkled as his eyelids closed to mere slits, almost masking the bright green eyes behind them.

Adjusting the brightness down he inwardly swore at the incompetence of the IT staff. He had asked – many times – for the brightness and gamma of these LCD monitors to be adjusted for one such as he, as bright lights frequently had adverse reactions to those like him.

There are none like me... Lacey thought to himself.

Reaching over, his hooflets clicked against the mug that sat on the edge of his desk and in his carelessness he accidentally knocked it over and its hot contents spilled out onto the desk and then the floor.

"Oh for the love of - " Lacey swore, then stood up and his paws wiped at the thin slacks he wore, trying to sweep away the spilled tea.

Pushing his chair backwards, Lacey splayed out his fingers of the desk, trying desperately to retain his calm as others looked over at him. Without a word, he turned and his cloven hooves pressed down the carpet as he made his way to the break room.

Taking a cloth, he ran it under the tap for a few moments, then wrung it out and walked back to his desk. Moving the keyboard and mouse, he sopped up the spilt tea as best he could, then looked down at the puddle that had permeated the fibres of the carpet.

“Wonderful - “ Lacey muttered then set the cloth down and rested his head in his hands.

One ear twitched by itself, as Lacey lifted his despondent head up just as the human boss dropped a large pile of paperwork on Lacey's desk and looked down at the deer before him.

“You feeling alright Lacey?" Come the low voice of the man beside him.

Lacey considered a possible myriad of answers, then settled on the truth.

“I'm sorry - “ Lacey began, then tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “I've been having some personal issues that are..."

His black nose twitched slightly, inhaling the scents around him – it didn't take much to scent the distinctive lack of interest in Lacey's problems, nor the awful colonue this human wore. Really, were human's sense of smell so inferior? Lacey felt his eyes begin to water at the strong scent, yet he held himself together – just.

“Get his mess cleaned up - “ Growled his employer, then turned away. “Please..."

“Sure..." Lacey nodded.

That please was thinly veiled, Lacey could tell. Yet he wasn't the only anthromorph who worked for this company. Right now, as Lacey began scratching again at his antlers, he wished he was anywhere but here...

*

Humanity and the Anthromorph's lived peacefully – for the most part – with equality and respect. Of course, that was the 'law', but often the law didn't hold up to the ideal, as some conflict and distrust existed between the human and the anthromorph's.

Some had intermarried – none had yet produced offspring – at least none that Lacey knew of. How certain species even had intimacy of a sexual nature – Lacey's mind wandered, as his left paw lightly held the wet cloth that started to drip. Coming back to full awareness, Lacey shook his head, his long ears slapping from side to side, before he returned to the break room and rinsed out the cloth.

Resting his paws on the bench, Lacey took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly as he held his eyes closed and forced his racing heart to slow. His boss rode him hard, almost singling out the deer – or so it felt – for special attention and Lacey knew, if there was extra work to be done, it'd be dumped on his desk.

Lacey's hooflets scraped on the laminate, as he startled as a female voice come from behind him.

“Hey Lacey? You okay?"

Twisting about and instinctively backing up against the counter, Lacey's widely spaced eyes focused on the young human woman who stood before him.

Lacey's furred throat rippled as he swallowed what felt like a medium sized apple that had gotten stuck there.

“Sure..." Lacey smiled weakly, then blinked and the smile spread wider.

Lacey hated himself, hated lying like this to his work colleagues, but humans couldn't tell when one such as he was withholding.

With a frown, the young woman gave a weak smile of her own and began preparing some tea. Lacey watched her out of the corner of his eye, surreptitiously, then sighed and leaned his head back against the cupboard.

“Johnson's on me like a tick - “ Lacey whispered, then flinched, almost as if his sibilant voice was shouted from a megaphone.

With a weak chuckle, the woman smiled a laid a hand lightly on Lacey's forearm in a comforting gesture.

“Descriptive – me? I'd think of him more as a leech..."

With a gasp, Lacey's eyes widened and his ears slicked flat.

Frowning, the lady turned and gently took Lacey's paws in her hands, then looked up at the pale furred stag.

“You are naturally high strung, but this... is so out of character for you Lacey? Do you need me to cover for you if you duck off to the Vet or something?"

Lacey involuntarily shivered, then shook his head slowly.

“You're sure? Really, its no problem, I got a fairly light schedule, nothing I can't push back a few hours..."

“Thank you," Lacey forced a weak smile, then gently squeezed the woman's hands in appreciation. “I'll be fine, its just – well – its silly, I know..."

Lacey gestured towards his antlers, then rolled his eyes and took the cup of tea his co-worker handed to him, then smiled shyly.

“Thanks for the tea – I think I need it, now, nose back to the grindstone and all that..."

Giving him a motherly look, the young woman smiled and lightly patted him on the forearm.

“Honestly, if you need some time, let me know, I'll cover for you."

Lacey paused, then sighed quietly and turned to look over his shoulder.

“I got a checkup with my Veterinarian after work, so I'm hoping for some answers, even better, some solutions. Thank you for your kindness though, I appreciate it."

Lacey nodded to his co-worker, then carefully made his way back to his desk, sitting the cup where he could keep a close eye on it, before he rolled his shoulders and set his mind back to his work.

*

“Sir?" Come the quiet voice from behind the desk. “Doctor Mered is ready to see you now."

Lacey started, ears slicking back, before he snapped the book closed then laughed nervously, setting it aside as he rose to his cloven hooves and quietly walked down the hallway.

Outside the examination room, a human doctor stood patiently, then gestured and followed Lacey into the room, closing the door behind them.

*

Lacey dropped the keys on the sideboard, then rested his head against the wall and sighed in exasperation.

“I hate my life...." Lacey muttered, his eyes squeezed closed as he shuddered from ears to hooves.

Pushing off the wall, Lacey clopped down the hall, tugging at the shirt that felt like it was two sizes two small and he made his way to the kitchen, only to stop, seeing the dark brown rump and heavy black tipped tail sticking out of the fridge.

“Really, Colin?" Lacey grunted.

With a startled squeal and a crash of its head striking the top of the fridge, the kangaroo backpedalled out of the fridge, a large carrot clutched in one paw, before it turned and smiled weakly.

“Hi honey!" Came the sweet voice, as the buck looked around, then bounded over and wrapped his slender arms around Lacey's neck and pulled the deer close.

Lacey at first resisted the cuddle, before his resolve collapsed and he gripped his partner tightly, feeling his love and warmth spread through Lacey's body.

“I need this - “ Lacey murmured, burying his nose in the kangaroo's neck and inhaling the musky scent.

As only a Kangaroo could, he leaned back on his tail, his spine curving, before he took Lacey's muzzle in his paws and gazed adoringly into Lacey's eyes.

“What you need," Muttered the Roo, before he kissed Lacey deeply and passionately.

Lacey shuddered again and nearly collapsed there and then, so overcome with the pressure and stress of work, now he was home, he just let it all flow away like water down an drainpipe.

“Is a nice hot bath!" Colin grinned, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened.

Lacey shuddered and began unbuttoning his shirt, before he just collapsed into a chair and Colin straddled his thighs and helped Lacey undress.

“You're too kind to me - “ Lacey murmured as he rolled his shoulders and the shirt fell to the floor.

Dressed in his stained slacks, Lacey unclasped the belt and pulled it off, then slid the slacks down his furred thighs and stepped out of them. Colin picked them up, then poked a claw at the stain, raising both eyebrows before looking up in Lacey's eyes.

“It was an accident - “ Lacey grumbled.

“Oh, I imagine it was quite an accident!" Colin giggled, then grabbed up the shirt and followed Lacey to the bathroom.

Lacey paused, leaning against the door frame, before he looked back over his shoulder and snorted. “It wasn't that kind of accident – I spilt my tea..."

“Uh huh, sure..." Colin giggled.

Lacey snorted and walked into the bathroom, followed by Colin.

*

Lacey lay sprawled in the bath, his cloven hooves resting in the stirrups at the end of the bath, next to the taps. Water that would almost scald the fur off his skin soaked him from shin to mid-chest as he leaned back, resting his head against the special head-brace on the end of the bath. Colin in turn, placed his paws around Lacey's neck and gently stroked and rubbed the taut chest muscles.

“Mmm..." Lacey gurgled, eyes closed and slowly relaxing under his partners gentle massage.

“Feels good, doesn't it?" Colin snickered, then walked his fingers slowly down Lacey's chest.

Lacey trembled the water rippling, before he swallowed and forced himself to relax. Colin just thought Lacey was tense from work stresses, so nuzzled his lovers ears and began to gently slide them down Lacey's chest and towards his belly.

“Paws above my waistline, thank you very much - “ Lacey mock-growled, tilting his head back to look up at Colin.

“Aww - “ Colin whined playfully. “I know how to relax you love..."

Lacey nodded and shuddered, then as Colin's paws slid back down her belly, Lacey suddenly twitched and snarled.

“I said no!"

Colin squealed and leapt backwards, as his eyes widened at Lacey's sudden, unexpected savage outburst.

“Lacey...honey?" Colin whispered, any romantic thoughts he'd had vanishing in a heartbeat.

Lacey sniffled, then shut his muzzle and just shook his head slowly. Quietly, Colin rose and crept meekly from the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind him, leaving Lacey to cry helplessly.

*

“Honey..." Colin began, as he reached over and placed a paw on Lacey's wrist. “Please my love, what is wrong with you?"

Lacey tried to snatch his paw away, but Colin gripped Lacey's slender wrist and held it firmly – not hard, but he didn't let go either. With a sniffle, Lacey looked to his left, then hung his head.

“Your...satchel? Honey, please!" Colin begged, turning Lacey's paw over and laying his on it, then curling his fingers to grip Lacey's hooflets.

Fresh tears welled in Lacey's eyes as he leaned over and tugged his satchel onto the table. With shaking fingers, Lacey flipped it open then pulled out an envelope and pushed it towards Colin, who let go of Lacey's paw and took the letter. Opening it, his eyes widened, then his ears went flat as he read.

Ms. Lacey,

It is with deep regret, I inform you that the tests were conclusive. Due to your unique physiology and other factors beyond your control, it is physiologically impossible for you to conceive a fawn. I know your past history, your upbringing, what was done to you in that orphanage.

Truly, I wish I could give you joyous news, regrettably, the scans and tests were conclusive, as I mentioned. I wish I had better news for you.

END