I met Oliver downstairs and he was focusing very hard on the newspaper. "Good morning."

"Morning," I muttered back and sat down. I grabbed some coffee and poured myself a cup. "Knocking, yeah?"

"It's a fine concept. Definitely something I'll learn more of." He looked up from the newspaper. "I honestly thought you guys were still asleep."

"We weren't."

"Nope. Definitely not." He chuckled and poured himself some coffee too. "I hope Dion's okay."

"He's just embarrassed."

"Honest to gods, I don't see why he would be."

"Why?" I asked and frowned.

"Because he looked like he was in a very comfortable position."

I almost choked on my coffee. "We're never talking about this again."

"Bondage, huh? Your idea or his?"

"Nooope. We're not talking about this."

"Aw, come on man. Let me live vicariously through you while I'm here and Semele is so far away."

"You're getting fuckall, mate."

Oliver laughed and that was maybe not the right time for Dion to come in. His cheeks turned bright red and he turned around.

"Oh, no Dion, come on. I'm not laughing at you."

Dion stopped and sighed very deeply. Then he turned around again and came to the table, sitting down beside me.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, to get the heat off my flustered boyfriend.

"I've got us a boat, so I'm thinking we should go sailing. After that we can go out, if you guys are up for it."

"Yeah, that sounds nice. What do you think, Dion?"

He looked up from the table, his face still red. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Out where though?"

"There's a couple of clubs down by the beaches. They'll light bonfires and stuff. It's really cool."

"How about we save the boating for another day? Relax today, so we're ready for tonight?" Dion proposed.

"I like your thinking." Oliver smiled widely and nodded. "We can lounge by the pool until tonight then."

"There's a pool?" Dion perked up.

"Yeah out back. Didn't you see it?"

He shook his head. "I wanna swim. I'm not very good but I wanna learn and a pool would be a better place to learn right?"

"Actually, I used to be an instructor. I could totally teach you a thing or two. If you want. If that's okay?" He glanced up at me.

"Why are you asking me?" I laughed, offering him a shrug. "Dion's the one who has to learn."

"I'm all in," Dion said.

They stayed in the shallow end to practice, while I stayed in the sun, really enjoying the heat. Dion got better at swimming the longer they went at it.

"Arlo, come join us!" Dion yelled out as he swam on his back, looking much like a water nymph. Actually his blueish skin might be a testament to his maternal origins.

"I'm actually gonna stretch... A little. If everyone's okay with that?" I sat up on the beach chair. I'd usually try and shift a couple of times a month. While I didn't feel as comfortable as a hound as I did as human, I still had needs to stretch limbs. Like my tail. I'd get spine pains if I didn't.

"Stretch?" He swam over to the edge and grabbed onto it.

"He means he's gonna go hound on us for a bit."

Dion looked back at me and arched a brow.

"I get sore," I tried and smiled a little awkwardly.

"Bring him out," Dion said softly and pulled himself out of the pool.

"Uh right, Oliver." I wiggled my finger in a circle and Oliver rolled his eyes before turning around. I did need to get naked for this as I didn't wanna rip my clothes. And I didn't wanna rip my clothes.

Dion came over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I smiled and then started my shift. Bones breaking, fur growing. Before long I was back in my original form.

"Are you done yet?" Oliver asked.

"He's done." Dion sat down on the sunbed and stretched out and I lied down on the warm tiles that covered the ground around the pool. Dion's fingers ran through my fur on my back and I let out a very content growl.

Oliver pulled himself out of the pool and joined us, putting on some sunglasses.

"First time you see Arlo like this?" Oliver asked and ran a hand through his hair, between his horns.

"No. Arlo has shown me before." He patted my back and it felt so nice.

I turned my head and looked up at Oliver, my chin on my paws. Oliver looked down at me over the rims of his red sunglasses.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't tell me shit."

I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes at him. I couldn't talk when I was like this. My vocal cords wouldn't allow it. Neither would my mouth. It wasn't made to make the sounds people make. Instead we communicated in other ways. Ways I still had a hard time getting over. I didn't always understand why people didn't react to my body language as my siblings did. It had taken me so long to understand people don't have the same type of body language as we do.

"He showed me when we were at home," Dion said, putting an end to mine and Oliver's staring contest. "I didn't know he'd get sore though. Something he forgot to tell I reckon."

I made a snort. Dion laughed and leaned forward, scratching me behind my ear.

"You should be like this more often. You're so cute."

I growled a little and rose to my feet, shaking my fur out.

"Don't go in the pool. It'll just be filled with fur," Oliver said from behind me.

I looked back at him over my shoulder and barred my teeth in a grin before jumping into the pool. Under the water I changed back to my person form. I resurfaced to find Dion by the edge, holding my trunks out, I grabbed them and pulled them on.

"Feeling better?" he asked with a wide smile.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him in with me. We quickly resurfaced and I kissed him, despite him laughing.

"You absolute dick," he said and put his arms around my neck, his fingers in my hair.

"I couldn't help myself," I murmured and swam with him to the shallow end, carrying him out of the pool. "We're going to take a shower now, Oliver. So we can get ready for going out," I announced as I carried Dion inside.

Oliver just waved us away, probably happy to have a pretty big garden. Outside. Where he maybe wouldn't hear us.