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Chapter 2
Native Beauty
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Hawaii
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Lenny was just about to lose his patience. He had flown to Hawaii and discovered he hated air travel or at the very least he hated lambda airlines. The cabin was loud and crowded and the food had made him sick to his stomach. That and the price tag for the flight had him seriously considering making the trip by boat until he saw what the price of a cruise ticket was.


"Never Again." Lenny muttered under his breath as he tried to break free of the throng of people who were all dedicatedly shoving or pushing their way to this or that gate. 


inevitably the crowd had thinned enough that Lenny started to make some progress which is when he also was shoved to the ground. barely avoiding landing face first on the concrete Lenny let out a pained groan and rubbed his lower jaw as he rose from the ground when he felt a paw on his hand.  Looking up he found a smiling otter girl with stunning green eyes like pond lilies. 


"That looked like a pretty nasty crash you alright?" the otter girl asked as she helped Lenny off the ground. 


"I'll be fine." Lenny said adjusting his glasses so he could take a better look at the lady who had helped him. The otter girl was slim but plainly stronger than her build showed her fur was rich and brown except for a streak of white that started under her chin and dipped below the neckline of her tank top and further down to the waistline of her shorts. She had silky looking black hair that hung down to the middle of her back.  Lenny was amused to note that her clothes which had seemed to be a green camo print with his glasses askew were actually paisley. "Though if tripping like that gets me a pretty girls attention maybe I should do it more often." Lenny clapped his hand over his mouth wondering what had compelled him to say such a thing true as it was.


the otter girl laughed. "Well that's better than The falling for you line that a lot of guys pull... oh you're bleeding." she said, turning away from him. "Follow me to the first aid station." she said, holding out her hand. Lenny took his paw away from his chin and discovered that it and indeed most of his lower jaw was dripping with blood. 


Taking the otters hand Lenny was quickly marched to a corner where a first aid box rested. with his clean hand he popped the box off the wall. Though he quickly found he could not open it only for the otter to pop it open for him.


"I'm Nani by the way." the otter girl said, looking steadfastly away from Lenny as he disinfected the scrape under his chin.


"I'm Lenny and thanks for your assistance." Lenny said as he tried to pad dry the area enough to apply a bandage. "I can tell this is making you uncomfortable, you can leave if you want."


"What makes you think I'm uncomfortable?" Nani asked.


"You have been looking everywhere but directly at me since you told me I was bleeding." Lenny paused. "guessing you've got hemophobia."


"fear of ...?"


"blood. Hemo is blood or blood related."


"Well I mean who doesn't freak out a bit at the sight of blood?" 


Lenny finally got a bandage to stay in place. "Well doctors but that's a fair point. I've stopped bleeding by the way." 


Nani turned back to face him. "sorry i just really can't do blood it just has some bad memories." The otter said her smile slowly returning. "how about i show you the sights?"


Lenny shook his head. "I'm not here for the tourist traps, I'm looking for actual history. culture."


Nani eyed him warily. "oh? So then what's on your agenda? King Kamehameha's statue?" 


"I mean that's probably not a bad place to stop for a bit but..." Lenny paused. "I'm not even sure because the things I'm after are almost never in a brochure. I want to understand the people who live here about the things that make them who they are. Where they come from where they want to go. I want honesty not the trappings they put on for tourists."


"So no fake luau's for you?" Nani asked. "no visit to the most active volcano in the whole island chain?


Lenny hummed. "No to the luaus, yes to the volcano because as touristy as it may be you have to stop and appreciate the majesty of the natural world."


"It's a big rock that spews molten rock." Nani replied drolly.


"Yes factually but it's so much more than that. "Everywhere you go on the islands is created by the same method every inch of stone and sand and even the trees were birthed from the very heart of the earth. it's..." Lenny got so excited thinking about it that he lost his ability to speak for a moment. "You can see on a micro scale how the earth as we know it was born. The way the earth was shaped and how it changed over time."


Nani looked at the wild almost manic grin on Lenny's face. "Hmm, maybe that is something special... I guess you live next to these things all your life and you just... forget that they mean something."


Lenny blinked. "The world is always beautiful, we just have to open our eyes and see it." Lenny gestured to the mad crowd about. "Like these people, they maybe aren't the most interested in the people that live here or the culture they come for but they see the beauty and that's shallow appreciation at best but it's not nothing."


Nani smiled a little wider. "I think I see a little better... why don't you come with me to a couple places and try to show me the world through your eyes."


Lenny lifted his glasses. "Okay but it's a heavy prescription." he chuckled and was joined by the otter girl.


*Morning*


Lenny looked on in awe at the tiki. then shifted his gaze to Nani, who looked on unimpressed. "You don't see how incredible this is?


"It's a big hunk of tree with paint and carvings." She shrugged. "they made thousands of them. this one's only special cause it's still standing..."


"Not just cause it's still standing..." Lenny paused and then gestured to the tiki's face. "Before they carved it, they stripped the bark cleanly and precisely they cut away this section as one whole without damaging the wood beneath. They treated it to protect it from the weather then they carved these patterns into its surface. They didn't have laser levels or even bubble levels. They did it by hand; they poured hours and days into carefully constructing this image and displaying it to the world. It's special because they made thousands because someone cared to see the beauty of a fallen tree.


Nani smirked at the Elkhound but she had to admit that something she saw as little more than a local distraction meant a tiny bit more now.


*afternoon* 
 
Nani grinned as she watched Lenny stare at the local grannies sitting in a group telling crass jokes and bawdy tales from the days of their youth as they wove mats and baskets or crafted little bits of jewelry and dyed clothes. "Come on Lenny you've got to admit this is a whole lot of nothing."


"Are-" Lenny turned to her and his expression told her that even if he hadn't said it the rest of that sentence was something like "Are you insane?" or perhaps something more crass. "that right there. Is the truest form of culture. You find it everywhere in the ways that people eat as much as what they eat, in the tales they tell. to the children, to their friends, to the world. It's found in every garment made by hand, the dynasty's rise and fall but a hand made pot tells how the people endured how they faltered or thrived. The most important artifacts in historical studies didn't belong to kings and queens, they belonged to the little farm boy whose father made him a little horse out of wood." Lenny declared fervently. "a hundred years ago their great great grandmothers sat where they are now and told stories while doing the things they are doing now."


Nani looked on at the group once more and shrugged again. "okay but you have to admit that it's still not the most engaging thing to watch."


Lenny held up a finger as if prepared to argue before nodding "yeah i'll grant you that one lets move on."


*evening*


"this is one of my favorite places." Nani said, gesturing to the waterfall grotto. Lenny was still panting from the hike. The air was a little thin up here for his liking. 


"Breathtaking literally." Lenny said as he looked around before sitting down carefully. "a hundred or more years ago... this was probably just a crater on the side of the mountain. It would have filled with rainwater and then flowed down the mountain that way." Lenny gestured toward the ravine they had just hiked up. "Erosion meant that the hollow got deeper and the waterway deepened cutting into the mountainside."  Lenny took a deep breath and laid back in the soft grass. "The volcanic soil rich with nutrients meant that the plants grew strong and healthy, breaking up more of the mountain. The healthy plants attracted insects and they attracted birds and other small animals. Finally you end up with this tiny spot where the world is a miniature of itself." Lenny explained. "you can't find this just anywhere even though it happens all the time in tiny little pockets all around the world." 


Nani had stood staring at the Lenny basically the entire time he rambled. "i just liked it because it was good spot for swimming with no one to bother me..." Nani explained to the breathless elkhound. "but it does seem more magical the way you talk about it." the otter said as she laid on the ground next to Lenny "tell me more."


Lenny didn't have any problem filling Nani in. His hunger for a life of adventure had seen him memorize all types of plants, flowers, minerals, stones and animals. Nani had no hope of keeping it all but what she would recall was the wonder. the joy that simple mundane stones and plants and bugs could bring to a person's life if they just sat and thought about the miracle that brought these things together. It was like she had gone her whole life blind and only now could see. 


"you must live in the most beautiful place on earth." Nani said when Lenny finally ran out of steam.


"What makes you think that?" Lenny asked, turning to face Nani directly.


"You just convinced me that the rocks are beautiful. How could you live any place less wonderful?" Nani asked with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.


Lenny laughed a bit before answering. "I guess that I never really thought about my home that way... maybe it's easier to see the beauty in new places than it is your own back yard."


"you think so?"


"It's certainly easy to find the beauty here." Lenny answered as he looked Nani straight in the eyes.


Nani flushed a little. "Oooh you are a smooth one."


Lenny grinned  and turned his head away. "No I'm really not but it isn't any less true."


"Oh there are prettier girls on this island."


"Maybe there are, I doubt it though." Lenny said almost on reflex. "I mean here you are a gorgeous young lady who runs up to help a stranger off the ground. He makes bad jokes while bleeding and even though you can't stand blood you show him first where to get help and then to one of your favorite parts of the island. I don't know, that's a special kind of beauty that can't be hidden."


Nani was stone silent before barely above whisper she asked. "Do you mean that?"


"Why wouldn't I?" Lenny said, rolling onto his side to look at the otter more closely.


"I-" Nani started and turned to face Lenny. "I was a late bloomer... and the rest of my family... wasn't and..."


"...and all through school you felt unwanted and out of place because everyone else was so pretty and everyone talked about how beautiful everything was but they never talked about you like that." Lenny ventured and the deepening frown on Nani's face told him he was at the very least in the ballpark. "I get it. I won't say I went through the same thing but it's close enough to guess."


"How'd you get over it?"


"I... haven't yet. I- I'm still the awkward nerd with no social life... I just left home."


Nani laughed suddenly and Lenny would swear the world got brighter. "You. aren't an awkward nerd. you're something i never saw before and i think there's something beautiful in you that you can't see."


Lenny blushed and looked away before noticing the stars in the sky. "Oh man... I didn't realize how late it was... I never checked into my hotel." Lenny said, rising from the grass.


"There's not a place on the island that keeps the front desk or check-in open this late." Nani said following him knowing he would need her help to get down the mountain.


"oh gosh where am I gonna sleep?" Lenny asked himself more than Nani. "My camping gear is in my bags which i never even picked up from the airport."


"You'll be sleeping at my place." Nani declared calmly. 


*night*


Nani unlocked the door and made a sweeping gesture as she allowed Lenny into her house.


"Thank you for putting me up for the night." Lenny said, walking towards the couch.


"It's no problem but Lenny?" The elkhound turned as the otter pointed to the left. "The bedroom is that way."


Lenny nodded and started towards the room before the implications of that sentence fully processed. 


"The guest bedroom?" he asked his mind struggling with whether he wanted her to say no or yes.


"There's only one bedroom in this house and it's mine." Nani said, closing the door behind her. "Is that a problem?"


"no just... checking." Lenny said as Nani hooked an arm around him and led him fully into the bedroom. 


"Okay maybe you are a little awkward but... I like you a lot. Nani said, stripping her top off revealing that she wasn't wearing a bra. "So let's enjoy each other's company for the night and if that's all there is to it..." she slid free of her pants and rested on the bed, her tail lifted out of the way for his viewing pleasure. 


Lenny gulped before stripping his shirt off. He hesitated before pulling his pants and underwear off in one go. "... and if there is more to it?" he asked as he approached the bed. 


"That's for tomorrow..." Nani said, rolling onto her back spreading her legs wide and showing off her sex to Lenny. "You seem nervous... your first time?


"No, I've done this a couple times. Lenny asserted as he watched Nani part the lips of her sex with two fingers. "Shouldn't we use a condom?" he asked as he climbed atop the bed and awkwardly atop the otter woman.


"I'm on the pill plus I like it raw." Nani asserted and Lenny had no further qualms about complying. The position was new to him but he knew what was expected. he was actually a little shocked at how much resistance he got trying to push it in he managed the tip and then had to stop. "Think we might need a little extra lubricant here. Nani said retrieving a bottle from under one of the pillows Lenny decided now was not the time for questions as Nani applied the cold fluid to his cock and her sex. Lenny grunted and pushed his cock against her sex and felt the lips part much more readily. He had no way of knowing that this was in fact Nani's first time and her claim of liking it raw was purely to get his motor running. Nani gasped and wriggled and writhed beneath the elkhound only used to a much smaller toy filling her. Lenny of course was far too inexperienced to recognize a virgin without being told or to recognize a lady out of her depths. He could certainly tell that he couldn't stuff as much of his cock into Nani as he had Minnie and that her sex hugged him tighter but given the size difference that seemed very logical. Lenny took things slow simply because he had never been in control like this before and he could see that Nani was enjoying it so he saw no reason to change his hips rolled back and forth rhythmically pushing into her depths as she moaned and wiggled delightedly beneath him. The pace let Lenny really appreciate the sensuous curves of her body in how her lithe form danced beneath him. When he heard the sharp gasp from the otter he froze thinking he'd hurt her which merely let Nani's orgasm ride out.


"Keep going, you're doing wonderful." Nani encouraged and Lenny grinned appreciatively.


The elkhound however had a thought. "would you mind if we changed positions?"


"so long as we keep going." Lenny nodded his cock slipping from the warm embrace of the otter's cunt as he got off the bed. grabbing her by the ankles he yanked her down the sheets until her rump was once more rubbing against his cock with her feet on the floor and her tail resting against his chest. Nani laughed as after that smooth clearly dominant move he missed his mark and simply rubbed her slick sex down his shaft. The otter then moaned as Lenny's cock slid into her much more easily the second time and lit up her world with wondrous new feelings. The elk hound was about at his limits he had bought himself some time by changing positions but not much. Nani took his cock better from this angle and it encouraged him to get a little rowdier with her. Lenny huffed and puffed as his hips worked double time and he hadn't realized until now how exhausting sex could be. Nani gasped again as she had a second climax and that was far too much for Lenny who blew his load inside the otter girl. 


Lenny's legs shook and his whole body felt like cooked spaghetti as he slumped over Nani to the bed. Nani giggled as she felt Lenny's cock slip from her sex and the dog started to slide towards the floor. 


"hey now no point inviting you to bed if you're gonna sleep on the floor." Nani said, shaking her rear to stir the half conscious hound. 


"mm sorry it's been a long day..." Lenny said as he pulled himself fully on to the bed not able or particularly caring to pull on his underwear. "very good, but long."


Nani slid up the bed next to the man who had taken her virginity with a smile as she stroked his face. "I feel like we can make tomorrow even longer and better... How long were you planning on staying?"


Lenny smiled at Nani, catching the implications. "Just two days really but I might be convinced to stay longer..."


*two weeks later*


Lenny was pretty sure he was in love, and so was Nani. His two day trip had become a week long exploration of island culture and then a two week long stop before he knew it. Nani would take him to everyplace she knew of the tourist traps and the more modest monuments and natural sites. Lenny showed her a world of wonder that had existed within her reach her entire life but that she had glanced over time and again. 


It was the sense of wonder at the world around her that Lenny brought that had made Nani fall for him. Seeing the world through his eyes was a strange feeling. For the otter it was like she was a child again with no clue how the world worked and having someone reveal the secrets. 


For Lenny it was the purest joy of sharing his knowledge of the world with someone who very clearly appreciated it. that she was drop dead gorgeous and very open with her feelings helped him fall hard and fast.


The sex the two were having was also a factor, whether they were at her home or island hopping and sleeping in hotels they could hardly keep their hands off each other. One night after walking around the marketplace Nani surprised him by wearing a flower crown, lei and a grass hula skirt and not a stitch more. She didn't actually know any hula dances but really she just wanted to show off for Lenny and that was more than sufficient to motivate him to pull her onto his lap and make love to her all night.


sadly this is where things start to turn sour. Nani didn't really have a job so it wasn't like she was in trouble at work but rather the reason why she didn't have or need a job was the problem. Nani's family owned one of the most popular hotel chains in the state. Hotels that were booked out months in advance even during off season. Hotels that per her family perks Nani stayed and was serviced at rent free. Hotels that reported that she was staying in multiple nights with a strange man to her parents. 


Nani's parents had been fairly hands off with their daughter in the past. However, the daughter who never seemed to date suddenly finding a man was of great interest. and just as quickly their interest turned to outrage. Nani's family had basically one rule for dating which was no outsiders. Or more accurately no one who wasn't a native to the Hawaiian islands. Nani was entirely unaware that most of her family were bigots because she had never really tried to date anyone before local or foreign


So she was just as surprised when two of her brothers, Kapu and Telai, turned up as Lenny and her were heading out for a day's adventure.


"OI, you Elkhound?" Kapu said and his glare and tone instantly raised Nani's hackles. She might have known what her brothers were doing here but she knew what that tone meant.


Lenny was quite clueless though and answered. "I'm Lenny Elkhound if that's who you are looking for."


Telai grabbed Nani by the upper arm, his claws digging through her fur to scrape her skin. "Let's go have a chat, little sister." he growled, attempting to drag her off.


"Get off me you-" Nani hollered and Lenny leapt to action


"Hey! hands off!" Lenny declared pushing out with both hands and shoving the otter to the ground. Lenny started to turn to ask Nani if she was alright when Kapu's fist connected with the end of his nose. Before he could even react to that a fist connected with his gut knocking the wind from him. Lenny wheezed with pain as Telai sprang from the ground and tackled him into a wall Lenny felt a fist on the left side of his face then the right then the left again. Lenny was thrown to the floor and a foot connected with his head a second later leaving him with a ringing in his ears. When a second foot hit his gut and a third landed on his upper arm something in Lenny   connected, this wasn't a school yard bully or a playground fight these men wanted him dead. Lenny tucked his whole body in tight and rolled free of the limbs flailing at him before springing to his feet his glasses were on the floor somewhere so he couldn't even see his attackers as more than indistinct blobs. The blood filling his nose and mouth meant his sense of smell was out.  the persistent ringing of his ears even meant he couldn't hear them. So when he swung wildly out at one of the blobs it was truly like some otherworldly force guided his hands, Lenny felt his knuckles impact the jaw of his target and with strength Lenny had never known himself to possess his foe's head turned skyward and his whole body flipped horizontal before he impacted the floor without rising. Lenny's left eye was swelling shut as he lashed out a second time a haymaker punch that landed roughly between the eyes of his enemy who toppled over backward like a tower stacked too high. 


"Nani!" Lenny called out or tried to say what actually came out was "NoMe!" The elkhound reached up to his face and felt the hot wet fluid running down his chin he couldn't even hear himself talking and he was looking through one eye as his left was now fully swelled shut. 


Nani was in tears looking at the bleeding mess her brothers had made of her lover. she couldn't turn away even though the sight of blood demanded it but nor could she get any closer. She was paralyzed by fear standing there as the paramedics arrived with the police. Nani told the police her brothers had attacked her and Lenny had jumped in to help her. It was after her parents arrived that she learned the truth of how her brothers had found her and what they were here for. Nani fled from her parents in tears and she hadn't stopped crying by the time she arrived at the hospital. By the time she finished sharing what she had learned with Lenny she was all out of tears for the moment.


Lenny smiled at her his grin intact and remarkably reassuring right now. "... dang I've heard of toxic in-laws before but that's crazy." Lenny laughed before clutching his side and wincing. 


"Is it bad?"


"broke my nose, bruised my left eye, minor concussion, three bruised ribs, bruising to my forearms and I split my knuckles." Lenny listed off before seeing how distressed Nani was. "But did you see me lay those guys out? cause i didn't." Nani found it in her to laugh at the joke even if it was in terrible taste. Lenny looked down at her. "You've had a rough day, I want you to head home and sleep it off."


"I've had a rough day??!?" Nani exclaimed in utter bafflement


"you have." Lenny said closing his eye and then frowning. "i was trying to wink but i just realized that's not gonna work right now..." the elkhound chuckled again and winced. "they're gonna keep me for observation overnight just to be safe. you get home you rest up and things will be fine in no time."


"you're sure?"


"On my mothers big beautiful heart I swear everything will work out." Lenny said, placing his bandaged hand over his heart.


*the next morning*


Lenny looked at the letter in his hands knowing he'd never be able to deliver it. The nurse came in with his discharge papers. 


"eh brudda why you lookin so down to clear outta here?" the big otter man asked as Lenny got up with a sigh.


"Can... I ask you a favor?" Lenny asked hesitatingly. "I need to drop off some mail but I won't be able to before my flight."


The nurse took the letter and his smile shrank a bit. "ah brudda i can feel it there's heartache in this envelope."


"Yeah... I can't bear to do it face to face. I haven't got the strength for this." Lenny swallowed back the sadness that threatened to spill from his eyes. "Sorry to make you a middle man.


"hey bruddah ain't a man alive that has the strength to conquer the heart." The nurse said as they left the room. "you get back out there and I'll take care of this."