To the Edge and Back - Rewrite

This is NOT the second part to this story. This is a rewrite of the first. While I was writing yesterday, I realised that I could have much more freedom with the second part if I redid the first, making it longer and much more detailed. Hopefully this will tide you over to the second part's release. Also, Tyler's name has been changed to Taylor. You'll see why in the future.

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I felt pain. Searing pain coursing through my chest and legs, feeling as if my very blood had turned to acid, destroying me from the inside. I also felt a different kind of pain. This one emotional. I couldn't remember what had caused me this pain. It became too much for me to handle so I decided to escape the consciousness that was making me feel this pain. I saw black.

I woke up in my house, my parents looking at me in scorn, my mother's eyes, usually so full of warmth, were like the icy grips of space, so cold, so hurtful. My father insulted me, every word making me wince, making me feel more and more pain. I looked down and saw my chest crumpled, blood matting my fur and turning the carpet crimson as it poured from my body. It was then I realised I was dreaming, but I couldn't escape. My father screamed at me and pulled out a knife, coming closer and closer. I screamed in return, mine not of hatred, but of fear. I screamed as he thrust the knife into my heart.....

.....and woke still screaming back into the real world. After taking a few minutes to calm myself down, I started studying where I was. I was in a clean room, just medical appliances and the bed I was in. I came to the conclusion that I was in hospital, probably with the injuries I had suffered from my dad. Dad. I felt tears coming to the fore as I realised that my own flesh and blood had disowned me and beaten me half to death. All because of the fact that I was gay. I had built up the courage over a number of weeks to tell them, telling myself it was alright and that I needn't worry. God was I naïve. Fighting back the tears, I realized that I was alone. I had no friends, no family, no mate. I shuddered to think at what I would have to do once I got out.

I heard the door to my room being opened and looked around. A vixen in a doctor's coat had come in to check on me. 'Ah good, you're awake I see. I'll need to check if your perception has decreased and whether you have any memory loss.'

'I-I remember what brought me in here perfectly unfortunately. What damage was done?' I asked, feeling sadness at the memory.

'Well, you had three cracked ribs and one of your lungs was punctured. You've been out for two weeks dear.' She smiled apologetically, as if understanding the pain I was in. 'Hopefully, we'll be able to get you out of here within the next couple of weeks. Well, I'd better be off, you seem perceptive enough and no memory loss seems to have happened. I'll see you in a few hours.' and with that, she walked out of the door, leaving me as alone as I was before.

I was still shocked that my injuries weren't much greater. I remembered my dad beating me for a while. I decided that instead of dwelling on the thought, I'd better just get some rest, and with that, I drifted off to another nightmare filled sleep, always remembering what brought me there.

Two weeks passed very quickly, many doctors and nurses coming to see me and make sure that I was alright. The last week of my stay at the hospital, I'd had physio sessions to make sure that my chest wasn't too damaged to perform everyday tasks. My chest still hurt, but I'd grown to live with the pain, treating it as a guest to my body, however unwelcome, and just trying to cope with it. They'd slowly weaned me off the Vicodin I was on and, after the end of my second week conscious, they felt I was well enough to leave. I was signed out, given me my clothes, washed of the blood, and sent me packing. As I left the hospital, I felt cold, not due to the weather, which was very sunny, but the realisation I had no place to live. I had little money on me, my parents never bothering to get me a credit card or an allowance, all I had was what I had saved from birthdays and odd jobs.. I shuddered but then shook off the feeling, determined to make it clear I could stand on my own two feet, I walked, hopefully leaving my old life behind.

Two Weeks Later

I woke from an unpleasant slumber, one that I had grown used to over the past weeks, and, making sure my possessions hadn't been stolen, got up. I had slept on a park bench, one of many that had been my sites of sleep for the two weeks I had been out of hospital. I looked at the sky to check where the sun was. From what I could see, it was early afternoon and with that, I just started to think about the state I was in. I was living rough, my money not even being enough the buy one of the many cheap apartments in Eidra, the self-proclaimed 'Capital of Charity' Heh, I thought to myself, such a place of Charity seeing as I've been homeless for the past two weeks, no-one bothering to help me. Even if I found a place now, I'd not be able to afford it. After being rejected at over twenty different places, I fell into a bout of depression, seeing that the only way to numb it was alcohol. I went to bars every night, drowning my sorrows and pain in drink, becoming severely underweight and unclean due to not spending money on food or soap.

Now, my money was dried up, not even enough to buy a pint of cheap beer, poor as can be. I had tried homeless shelters to see if they would house me, but they all were supposedly full, looks of mock sympathy on the faces of the many shelter owners, secretly judging me when my back was turned. I came back to the present, no longer drowned in the sorrows of my past. I decided to walk towards the river, hoping that the fresh air surrounding the water would clear my head of the cobwebs preventing me from moving on. As I was walking, I passed a piece of reflective glass propped up against the wall. I looked at my reflection with sadness, seeing what I had changed into.

I was now a shadow of what I once looked like, my face becoming sunken and my hair starting to fall out. My grey fur had become dirty, caked in mud and alcohol. My chest, once muscled and toned, had wasted away, becoming extremely thin and wasted. My once proud 18 year old figure had become a husk of what it once was, the realization of it making me appalled as what I had done with my life. Then it crossed my mind that, even if I did try and get my life together, I had no-one, nowhere and nothing to go to. With a sudden grim determination, I started walking to the river again, this time heading to one of the less populated bridges crossing it. I felt weak but pressed on, the reasonable part of my mind dreading what I was planning to do.

After what seemed like an hour's walk, I had walked to the centre of the bridge, looking on at the river with tears in my eyes. I smiled, remembering how I had come here many times to draw the beauty that was ahead of me. I found it fitting that my life ended within the beauty that lay ahead of me. Slowly, I walked up to the guard rails of the bridge, and looked over them, gazing at the fall that my body would take. One moment of pain and then it would all go away. I prepared to go under the guard rail and just let myself fall.

'Wait!' I heard a voice come from nowhere, and I knew that the word was meant for me. Slightly annoyed, I turned to look at where the voice came from. What I saw was a wolf, just like me, running across the bridge. I remembered him somehow but I couldn't recall where.

'I know what you want to do, but don't' He said the words with conviction. It hit me then, he was a student at the college I went to. He was in the same art class as me. His name was Taylor. He seemed to always be looking at me in a way I couldn't understand. 'You can't just give up on life like this'

I was getting slightly annoyed at him now. 'Can you even remember my name Taylor?' I looked at him, sighed then turned back around to look at the inviting river below.

'Mark' He said, shocking me that he could remember even my name. 'Mark Duskfen. You're 6'5, you have a patch of white fur on your chest and you managed to get the highest score in our Art Class' He said, with an air of something, not smugness, I realized, but desperation.

'Just Mark now, my family decided to disown me and I don't particularly want to remember my last name' For some reason, I smiled at him. I didn't even know why I did it. 'But please, tell me, what is there in a life like this that's worth living?' I stopped smiling and started thinking about throwing myself off the bridge again.

'This' He said, and he came up close to me and kissed me.

It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, and I found myself not even reluctant to return the kiss, our muzzles around each other, tongues like a pair of dancers in the ballroom of our mouths, and I felt something that another person had never shown me. True, beautiful love. My parents had never loved me, they were just waiting to get me out of their lives, me coming out was just like Christmas come early as they had even more of a reason to hate me and a reason as to why to kick me out. This that I felt now, was pure ecstasy, finding someone that actually loved me.

After what must have been some minutes, we broke off from each other and smiled. Suddenly, I collapsed, remembering that it was sheer willpower that had kept me moving before. Taylor seemed concerned for me, instantly coming towards me and asking if I was alright. 'Yeah I am, hehe, but I may need to be carried my wolf in shining armour.' I grinned at him and ignored the pain I was feeling.

'Well, certainly my gorgeous wolf, anything to suit your needs' He grinned at me back and slowly lifted me onto his back. He started to walk us to his home and I felt happy, happy that I had found my love, the one who saved me when I was ready to leave the world behind, the one I felt a true connection with, the one who, when I was ready, would mate with me. I felt, perfect.

'So how did you find me anyway, I didn't think anyone would know where I was.' While I was being carried to his house I decided to take the time to ask him some questions.

'Wasn't easy I have to say, I found out that you had to go to hospital and from there, I found out where you'd gone each day and luckily, caught up with you today' He smiled at me but looked troubled still.

'Thanks, now don't worry, I no longer want to leave this world, not when you're here for me.' I playfully nipped his neck and in return, he scritched at the back of my ears.

'Heh, let's get you home pup' And with that, we continued along the way to his home. My new home.

His house was tucked away in a back alley, away from prying eyes, with a look over the river that I truly loved. I got down off Taylor's back, my legs finally strong enough to stand up and I just hugged him, tears of joy flowing from eyes at the kindness he was showing me, him just holding me there, stroking me on the head and comforting me. We stepped away and smiled each other and then went inside. The first thing I noticed as I walked in were the paintings across the walls. I knew in my heart that he'd done them himself and my respect for him just increased, me marvelling at his artwork as he took off his coat and hung it up.

'Come on darling, you're gonna be there all night otherwise' He chuckled, snapping me out of my daze. Slightly embarrassed, I followed him into his sitting room and instantly went over to the sofa and laid myself down, my legs and chest still aching. He told me to wait right there while he prepared dinner. To pass the time, I picked up the 'Artist's Weekly' magazine that was on one end of the sofa. I read through it, smiling at some pieces while looking at others with a grimace, wondering how some had made it in there. I was reading the artist names and found one that has been done by Taylor to my surprise. It was a drawing of him with a wolf I automatically recognized as me. We were at the beach, sharing a meal and kissing each other intently. My heart just melted when I saw the image, the realization dawning that he had secretly loved me for a long time. When he came back in with the meal and saw him look at what I was reading, it was his turn to be embarrassed, his ears lowering slightly and an impish look coming across his face.

'Tay, don't be embarrassed, I think that it's comforting that you've actually liked me for so long. It makes me feel even more secure with you, knowing you have thought this through.' His embarrassment faded to joy, him placing the food down at the table and then racing over to me, guiding me to the table while showing his affection time and time again. He'd cooked a generous helping of salmon with ricotta cheese and spinach, one of my favourite dishes that I usually had on special occasions. I thought to myself 'Well, this does qualify as a special occasion' I mused, letting the flavours melt into my tongue, while letting the sight of Taylor melt into my mind. As we ate, I took the time to study his features much more closely. He had a golden stud in his right ear, reflecting the light that came across it. He also had the most beautiful eyes, crystal blue and reminding me of the sea, having such depth and drowning me in their beauty. I came to my senses as he asked me something.

'Sorry what did you say? Was a bit, distracted.' I chuckled a bit to myself and Taylor laughed a bit, knowing exactly what I meant.

'Silly little puppy, you need to keep your ears open.' He smiled at me, a little smirk coming through. 'I asked what you were planning to do now.' I was actually curious about that myself. I hadn't really thought of what to do. I'd left college with not a single idea in my head and hadn't applied for any jobs. I was completely lost when it came to that.

'I seriously have no idea.' I was still struggling to think of anything that I could do when he chuckled and stabbed at a piece of salmon.

'I have the perfect idea, I saw the art projects you did in college, they were really good, how about we work together, being commissioned artists?' He let the idea sink into my head while he finished off the salmon on his plate. I had already finished mine, me being extremely hungry due to my time without food. I thought about it, us being self employed, being able to choose when to put time into things and, the most important part, we wouldn't have to go out and leave each other much, only for the occasional delivery and surprise outing. It was an extremely good idea.

'It does seem like a good idea, it's just that I don't think I'm as good as you' I was worried that I'd bring the quality of the art down.

'How dare you say that after me seeing your work, you're like a master. In fact, you're probably better than me. All you need to do is remember how to be the artist you were and we'll be well on our way to an enjoyable job and a comfortable life together.' He gave me a look that I knew meant that he was serious about it. He actually did think I was the better artist of us. I was shocked at the proposition.

'Wow, Tay, I really didn't think you held my work in such high regard. You, you make me feel so happy that I'm being appreciated' I fought to hold back tears and he noticed.

'Don't worry about crying my puppy, I'll take care of you here. Don't worry' His words relieved me of my embarrassment at crying and I let the tears flow freely and told him that I loved him and that I would always love him, no matter what. He just hugged me and let me cry into his fur as he had done previously, being my only source of comfort in the world. I finally brought myself to stop and smiled sweetly at him, Taylor returning the gesture. Suddenly, he picked me up. I, being shocked, gave out a yelp as he took me into his arms and started walking upstairs. 'I think that it's time for us to go to my, no, our room my sweet'

Not resisting in any way, I let him carry me up, Taylor never stopping or revealing a hint of me being too heavy. As we came up to the door, he paused for a moment. 'You know I've loved you for a long time. Well, I, just see for yourself.' He opened the door and I soon realised why he had hesitated. Almost literally covering the walls were a multitude of pictures and drawings. All of me. There were pictures of me at the gym, me in art class and me doing many other normal college activities. The drawings were what really caught my eye though. They involved me, with quite a lot also including Taylor, in many poses, clothed, half-naked and nude. I felt the pure emotion that was conveyed within them and also read the message they were writing from him to me. 'I love you' My heart instantly melted and I silenced any words that would come out of his mouth with a long romantic kiss, our muzzles connected, as were our hearts, by our love of each other. All the emotion that built up inside me was conveyed to him in that kiss, releasing the pressure that had built up inside me and telling him that I loved him also.

After a few moments, we broke apart. He smiled deeply into my eyes. 'I guess that my beautiful wolf over here likes them?'

'Oh yes I do my love, I find them wonderful. But now, you have the real me to enjoy' And with that, I gave him a scritch on the head. He took me to his bed and laid me down and then joining me, sitting next to me and stroking my arm.

'I think wolfie over here needs playing with' He chuckled, taking off my shirt and tickling my sides. I started uncontrollably giggling as he went at my sensitive sides with increasing force, ending up with me rolling around on the bed, unable to control anything I did. He stopped after a bit and as soon as he stopped, a sheepish look came over my face. 'I'm sorry, I just wanted to see what your sensitive parts are.' With that, I realised something. The pain in my chest had gone. I felt good. Scratch that, better than good. I felt fantastic. I was in no pain and I had found love. It was the happiest I had felt in my life.

'You're like a drug Tay' I giggled. 'You make me feel better, you're addictive and I just don't think I could live without you'

'Hmm' He started thinking to himself, making me endlessly curious as to what was rolling around his head at that moment in time. 'How would you like a lottle love-making?' I was surprised. I felt it was a dream come true. But then the voice of reason inside my head, the one that I hadn't listened to in weeks, told me to take it easy, I was still weak.

'I'd love to babes but, tomorrow I think is better. Then we can be sure I'm strong enough for that gorgeous body of yours. Plus, it's Saturday tomorrow' He didn't look at all disappointed.

'Okay, I understand completely. Besides, it gives me the time tomorrow to get what we'll need for it.' Giving me a smirk that I knew hid his dirty thoughts. 'Well, we might as well head off to sleep then' He said, removing all but his boxers and then removing my trousers. He lifted me up, put me down under the covers and kissed me on the head. He then got in next to me and pulled the covers at his side. He pulled my head over to his shoulder and whispered good night to me, turning off the light switch that was by the side of him. I was extremely tired but, for once in over a month, I felt that I had nothing to be afraid of. The nightmares would be gone and the memories would be just that. Memories. I whispered to him a single thing then fell asleep on the chest of the person I loved.

'Good Night my life-saver' 

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Hopefully you agree with me when I say that I feel this does the story more justice than the previous incarnation of it. For the people that think that the relationship is progressing way too fast, there will be an explanation when I release the second part to this. For now though, bye!