A Little Help From My Friends

Will A. Sanborn

8/9, 8/23/98 - 8/26/98

It was on a lazy Sunday morning when she came to me again. The gentle tap on my shoulder had awoken me, but as I stirred from my slumber, I realized who'd come calling on me. Holding still, I tried my best to maintain the illusion that I was still lost in sleep. I didn't need her bothering me just then.

Her touch became more insistent. The hand at my shoulder shook me, if only slightly, as she tried to rouse me. Waiting a moment, she shook me again, gently insisting that I give her an audience. My eyes still shut, I groaned softly and pulled the blanket tighter around me.

"Shhh," she chided me gently. "It's time to get up."

Sometimes having a muse seemed like more trouble than it was worth, it had definitely seemed that way lately, especially during this current dry spell. I sighed, and finally opened my eyes, looking up to see her face. I blinked as the image came into focus, resolving into the familiar form of the silver-furred lupine now standing over me.

She was as pretty as ever, she always was, but I didn't feel much like company that morning. The warmth of my bed was too inviting, and the siren's song of more sleep was whispering sweetly in my ear.

"No, I'm sorry," I mumbled, "not today..." and with that, I rolled over, turning away from her.

Of course I should've realized that she was going to be more persistent, especially since she'd been rather forgiving of late. It'd been quite awhile since I'd last seen her. Now that she'd come back for me she wasn't about to take no for an answer, not this time. She'd called out to me several times over the last few months, and even though I'd heard her and been inspired by her words, circumstances had conspired against us. Time and time again I'd ultimately ignored her.

Only a moment passed before I felt her hand on my cheek, her touch soft but firm. Glancing up, I saw her now standing on the other side of my bed. I sighed once more and brought my full gaze upon her. I knew I'd at least have to listen to what she had to say, it wasn't going to be that easy to ignore her this time.

"Alright," I said, with slight annoyance registering in my voice, "I'm listening."

"That's good, I've been trying to get a hold of you for a long time now" she replied. She smiled down at me, but I could see a hint of loneliness in her eyes as well. She wasn't happy with me, and I couldn't blame her, as I'd stayed distant from her for so long. A familiar twinge of guilt rippled through me as she spoke.

I lay there looking up at her, watching her for a couple of moments as she studied me, waiting for her move. After a brief hesitation, she said "it's time for you to start writing again, you've been quiet for too long."

"I know," I sighed, "but you know what's it been like for most of this year, what with things at work falling apart, needing to find a new job, and then the craziness of the current project I'm on..."

She placed a finger over my mouth to quiet me. "That excuse only works for so long, you can't use it forever." Her answer was spoken with a truthfulness that only she could tell, but I still didn't like hearing it.

She paused, looking down at me with those bright eyes. "You're not busy right now... today is a perfect day for a little work."

"But I don't feel like doing anything today," I protested. All I felt like doing was lounging around the house and enjoying a quiet break in my busy life.

"That's what you said the last time I tried to talk to you," she let out with a slight huff. "You've become too lazy over these past several months."

I didn't reply, I just lay there looking at her, watching her eyes upon me. I wanted to turn away again, but I felt compelled to stare into those eyes as she looked so deeply into my mind, touching at my soul.

Several moments passed with us regarding each other, until she finally asked "so, can I get you to spend some time with me today, or are you just going to goof off like you have been lately?"

I hoped that if I didn't answer she might give up and leave me alone again. It's not that I didn't care, on the contrary the guilt was gnawing at me, but for some stupid reason I still couldn't bring myself to act. The months away from her had taken their toll on me. The indolent habits I'd learned had gotten out of hand, and now they held me tightly in their grasp.

It was then her turn to sigh as she watched me laying there, not making any effort to get up. "I thought as much," she said in a low voice, as her ears drooped just slightly. Her words stung at me.

A moment later though, an idea seemed to strike her as a spark of inspiration came into her eyes. She grinned at me playfully as her ears perked up with determination. There was something in that grin that was a little unsettling, an evil gleam to her expression, and I shivered as I watched her, wondering what she had planned for me.

"I figured you wouldn't be all that motivated today, just like the last few times, so I needed something to get you going... I thought a nice little kick in the butt might do the trick." Her words were tinged with anticipation, and as her smile widened, I noticed her tail wagging ever so slightly behind her as she spoke.

A moment later the sound of purring caught my ears, but before I could react, almost before I'd even felt the new presence in the room, its strong hands were upon me. I cried out in surprise as the covers were grabbed and roughly pulled from me. I shivered as the rush of air washed over me. Turning my head around quickly, I looked up to see the impressive, tawny- furred form of a chakat standing over me.

My mind raced at the possibilities of the situation. One of my friends had been bugging me to get back to work on my creative projects over the past few months. He'd even joked about getting his muse together with mine to give me the good push I needed. Now seeing these two ladies looking down at me, each one standing on either side of the bed, I saw he'd finally made good on his promise, for better or for worse.

Laying there under their gaze, I swallowed nervously. I felt a little helpless confronted with both of them, and realized how foolish I must look. I was relieved that I didn't sleep in the nude. Thank goodness for small miracles, but I still must've looked pretty silly in my shorts and T- shirt, with my hair all messed up from sleep.

As I looked up at the chakat in embarrassed shock, shi grinned down at me. "Yes," shi said, speaking with an exaggerated purr, "the two of us talked about it and we realized this was the only way to get you going again." Shi flicked hir ear at me as shi smiled, and I heard the sound of hir tail thumping lightly against the bed as it twitched with hir amusement. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the smirk on my muse's muzzle as she watched my reaction. That was it, they had me now.

"So, how do you feel about doing some work now?" the chakat asked, giving the bed another thump with hir large tail.

"Um..." I swallowed nervously as I struggled with my reply. My feline visitor was less patient than my muse had been though, and as I struggled to think up a good excuse, hir arms sprung out and grabbed me. I gave a surprised squeak as I found myself being hauled out of bed by the strong cat-taur. My outburst only widened the smile on hir face as shi unceremoniously dragged me to my feet. Behind me I heard my muse chuckling as she watched the proceedings.

"There, that's better," the chakat stated as shi led me out of the bedroom and into my office. With a firm grasp on my shoulder, shi pushed me towards the computer. I sat down in the chair and turned on the monitor. I didn't hesitate to start up the word processor either, as I felt the claws on hir fingers pressing against my skin through the thin fabric of my shirt.

As the chakat sat hirself upon the floor, my muse took up her place behind me as well. A moment later, her silver-furred hand came to rest upon my other shoulder. Her touch was soft. She didn't apply much pressure to her grasp, she didn't need to with the persuasive friend she'd brought along.

"See, it's not so hard now is it?" my lupine bringer of inspiration whispered to me, her voice soft in my ear. "Now, why don't you be a good boy and get some work done for us, okay?" I felt another twinge of annoyance shoot through me at hearing the patronizing tone to her voice. While she was mostly just having fun, I also could tell she was doing this to get back at me for neglecting her. I supposed I deserved it, but she seemed to be enjoying this a little too much.

I sighed, pondering what to write about. I waited a few moments, but nothing came to me. No new ideas danced around in my mind just yet. I still felt just as unmotivated as before, though now with all this added pressure.

"Come on, don't make us push you any harder," she replied as I turned my head back to look up at her. "You don't want me to have to call out some more friends of ours do you? I do know of a couple of other people who'd probably like to speak with you..."

I felt another shiver pass through me, thinking of who else might show up for this strange party. If I hesitated any longer, I might run the risk of meeting up with any number of characters, maybe an ambitious dragoness who wanted some more of my time, or even a certain rrakith who'd become quite upset at being left languishing all alone for far too long.

My muse just smiled sweetly and winked at me when she saw my reaction to her whispered implications. It was then the chakat's turn to chuckle. Hearing hir low, rumbling laughter, and the thought of what else they might do to me if I wasted any more time, was the only motivation I needed. Turning back to the monitor, my fingers found the keyboard and I began typing, slow at first, but gradually pricking up speed.

I cracked smiled as the old, familiar feelings of inspiration began to wash over me. It had been far too long since I'd been there, and now with the sensations rushing at me, it was like coming home once again. Typing faster, I felt my thoughts go wild as the ideas formed in my mind and spilled forth, taking shape in front of me.

As I worked, I felt the gentle presence of the two magical ladies behind me. It was no longer threatening in their playfully-devious way, but now comforted me and helped spur me on. I felt my lovely wolf's hand gently stroking the side of my face, and I could tell she was pleased with me. I smiled, it felt good to be back spending some time with her again; I couldn't believe I'd let it go for that long.

As I continued to write, with the words flowing across the screen at a rapid pace, I gradually felt my companion's presence lessen. Moments later I realized that they were no longer physically there. Having given me the push, they'd disappeared back into the ether, gone to play amongst the thoughts of my mind.

I stopped typing, and paused my work just briefly. Looking up, I smiled, enjoying the new-found sparks of creative energy that had been given me. "Thank you," I whispered to the silence of the room, and knowing that she heard me, I then happily returned to my writing.

* * *

To my readers, thanks for allowing me this little bit of self- indulgence as I get back into the swing of things again. Hopefully this will lead on to other stories, something even more substantial for the next offering maybe...


Copyright 1998, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net
The Chakats copyright 1998, Bernard Doove