So, this weeks prompt prompted two stories. The egg is more subtle in this one...

Anyhow, Ast - or should i say, Aslan - and Ash continue to spend time with each other.

Hope y'all like! ^^

Quick Read:

Seaside Special

I like mirrors. They’re different than other surfaces. With a steel plate, you can see yourself, sure, but it will never be as clear as a mirror.

So, after Ash walked me back home and left (Not without a bit of staring on my part), I went inside, flopped onto the couch, and promptly fell asleep.

I woke up with a groan, rolling off the couch. “Ow!” I shouted as my head connected with the floor. With a groan, I rolled over and glanced at the clock. 6:48. “Shit!” I shouted, and scrambled up. “I’ve gotta meet Ash in an hour!”

The horse had agreed to come and pick me up at about eight or so, which meant I had precious little time to get ready.

I scrambled up the stairs to my, room tossing my shirt off as I did so. Once inside I shut the door quickly. I looked at the shirt I had been wearing. It was wrinkled now, the steel-gray camouflage pattern mussed. It was a polo, custom made. I tossed it onto my bed, and furiously searched through my closet. I needed something casual. I had no clue where Ash would be taking me, but I wanted to look good for it.

Eventually, I dragged a blue-gray polo shirt and a simple pair of blue jeans from my closet, and stripped down. I stopped for a moment in front of the mirror, admiring my nearly-nude body. I flexed slightly, smiling. I’d never get tired of my muscles, nor the bulge in my briefs. I shook myself, my mane slapping my shoulders. I hurriedly put on some deodorant, not having time for a shower, then I slipped into the jeans and shirt, and glanced at the clock. 7:36. Phew. Still had time.

I walked downstairs with a comb, using one of the hall mirrors to help me get any tangles out of my mane. It was unusually large for a male of my age, 17, to have. Then again, I’ve always been a big guy. I guess manes are just included in the package.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, startling me. I quickly combed the last tangle from my mane and opened the door. Lo and behold, there was Ash, grinning at me. He was dressed in a white-and-orange tee shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. In his left hand was a bouquet of fennel.

When he finally spoke, I noticed I’d been staring. “Do I look good, or do I have a stain somewhere?”

I blinked a few times before I found my voice again. “Y-yes! You look wonderful.”

“If you say so,” he said, his grin not letting up. “Now…I think there’s a wonderful, courteous, beautiful lion here who I bought some flowers for.” He fingered the bouquet idly.

“Y-you…Flowers, me?” I stuttered. I couldn’t seem to find my voice.

“Yes!” He extended the bouquet, smiling. “They reminded me of you, you know.”

I took the bouquet around his hand, holding it. “I…Thank you…Though I don’t know how I should take being compared to a flower.” I chuckled, grinning.

He laughed with me, my grin mirrored on his face. “Trust me when I say it’s not bad.”

“Alright, I think I will.” At length, his let go of the bouquet, and I held it to my nose. The flowers, or at least the seeds in them, smelled wonderful. I closed my eyes in happy bliss, my smile spreading. Slowly I brought the bouquet down, my eyes opening. Ash still stood there, smiling gently. “They look wonderful, and smell even better. Thank you, Ash.”

“Beauty is mirrored only in beauty. I couldn’t have gotten you anything else.” He grinned. “Now, either you can put those in a nice vase of water, or you can bring them with you, whichever you like. But I think you’ll love where I’m taking you.”

My eyes gleamed. “Will there be more fish?”

“Lots of it!” He grinned.

I quickly ducked inside and put the bouquet in my room, then dashed back to the door. Ash was still standing there, hands in his pockets, and a grin still on his face. “Alright, let’s go!”

We walked towards the wharves, but distinctly south, a completely different direction from where we met. Chatting, he showed me some parts of the city I’d never known existed. Not in the bad way, just places I’d never though to look at, shops I’d never stopped to think about, things like that.

After a while, I saw the outline of a fair-sized cruise boat, bedecked with lights. We were making towards it. I thought it was merely coincidence. After all, there was probably a fair number of good restaurants around there.

Soon enough, however, as we got closer to the boarding plank, it hit me. My eyes widened considerably. And I stopped for half a second, Ash being tugged back by my unexpected halt. He smiled, obviously expecting my reaction, and dragged me along gently. I was too bemused to try resisting.

When we reached the boarding ramp, I started to worry. I had no clue what was going on. But…It was Ash. But then, I wondered how he’d even be able to afford getting on here.

I resigned myself to wait. We got on after Ash talked to the attendant at the ramp, and the horse led me up. It was a fairly long walk, and I couldn’t help gawking at the multicolored lights hanging from the sides at all levels.

When we reached the main deck, another smell besides the bracing sea air hit my nostrils; to be precise, many smells. Cooking fish, frying eggs, roasting vegetables, simmering sausages, fragrant fruits, all these wonderful scents hit my nostrils, and I nearly swooned. Ash dragged me ever onward, while I noticed I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

He dragged me to a table by the railing, and told me to wait for him there. I didn’t protest, enjoying the view as he walked off, and then the view of the ocean. I’d never really taken time to just look at the ocean, and definitely not from this height. We were up higher than most of the wharf-front buildings, which where about six or seven stories high, normally.

After a bit, Ash came back, bearing two steaming trays and two glasses of water. One was piled high with fish, meats, fruits and eggs; the other was practically overflowing with vegetables and fruits. I think I ogled more at the food than him at that moment, it smelled so good.

He sat down and slid my tray to me with a smile. “Dig in, it’s delicious.” He tore at his plate hungrily. I wondered for a moment if he hadn’t eaten, either.

After a moment, I turned my attentions to my own plate. Ash had gotten everything he could think of, it seemed; there was a juicy, rare piece of filet mignon, more than three different types of fish, three or four scrambled eggs, and all variety of candied, dried, roasted, and sugared fruits. I’m not exactly sure when I stopped drooling and started eating.

After I’d finished, all that was left on my plate was the slab of filet mignon. I let out a sigh of contentment and leaned back into my chair, rubbing my stomach. “Ahh, that was delicious. How’d you manage to get us on here, Ash? I doubt even my family’s rich enough to afford an invitation to this party.”

He smiled, nibbling on the last pieces of his fruit. “Friend-of-a-friend thing. An old cooking friend of mine knows the chef here. He couldn’t come, so he invited me to come instead.”

I nodded. “Well, tell him to give my compliments to the chef here. The food was wonderful. Even the fruit.”

He cocked his head oddly, glancing at my plate. “But you left the steak. Why?”

I looked down at the filet mignon, sitting stoically on my plate like a slab of delicious guilt. “I didn’t want to eat it. I don’t doubt it would taste delicious, but, well…” I scratched at the back of my neck, at a loss for words.

“I…I guess I just don’t want it anymore. I’ve always liked meat, but…I think fish is better. Besides, fish like the ones they serve never have a chance at leading a significant life, like all the prey animals they get this meat from do. Hell, if you weren’t sitting here, and this weren’t obviously from a cow, I might even suspect that they chopped you up and served you to me. I don’t think I can eat meat like this now, after thinking that. And after finding out that fish is so delicious.” I grinned a bit, looking at Ash.

The horse blinked. Honestly blinked. I think what I said actually fazed him. He did look genuinely shocked. After a few moments, he spoke. “Well…I never thought I’d hear that.” He smiled. “That’s quite different from how most predators see things.”

“I know. And you’ve helped me think that way, so thank you, Ash.” I reached over the table to gently grasp his hand.

For a while we sat in silence, smiling at each other. Eventually, we fell to talking. Ash could relate very well to me, I found surprisingly. I agreed to allow him to teach me how to fish, this Saturday. It was Wednesday, so that gave me a few days to get ready.

Some time later, the party began to end, the lights on most of the main deck dimming. It was then that I noticed that I neglected to study the deck, so caught up was I with the food. I tried to now, but all I could really see where a lot of tables and a shallow pool in the center, which flowed with the shape of the ship. We were sitting pretty close to the bow, but still far enough to have a relatively quiet table.

As the party began to die, we finished our glasses of water and got up. Hand-in-hand, he guided me unabashedly through the city by yet another route, and pointed out yet more unknown things to me. Eventually, when we walked up to my front door, I didn’t want the night to end.

I squeezed him in a hug, which I don’t think he expected, then said good night into his shoulder. “Until Saturday, Ash. Don’t be late.”

He grinned. I couldn’t see it, but I felt his jaw against my shoulder. I’d had to lean to hug him, being almost half a foot taller than the horse. “I’ll be punctual as always, Ast. Or can I call you Aslan? It seems to fit you better, you big lion.”

I chuckled. “I think I like it.”

“Good! Then it’s settled. I’ll see you on Saturday, Aslan.” We held each other at an arms length for a moment, smiling.

“I’ll see you on Saturday, Ash.” We separated, and I watched him go, smiling to myself. I went inside a while after he vanished from sight, going to my room. I smiled at the bouquet, which I’d left on my bed. Scooping it up in one paw, I brought it to my nose, breathing in the heady scent. With a contented sigh, I fell backwards onto the bed, the bouquet held gently to my chest.