"Whew! Sure feels nice to get back on the road, eh Whisper?" an energetic lemur clad in orange and black exclaimed, nudging the wolfy figure beside her.
"Mhmm," was her hushed, yet joyful response.
As the unlikely duo continued along the forested path, Tangle the lemur glanced back at her hometown. With a nostalgic smile, her mind was flooded with memories of Jewel and the other townsfolk. She knew it wasn't permanent, a simple few-day adventure. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel this way every time she left the cute little village.
"Man! I can't wait to see, uhh… what was that one place called again?"
"Mystic ruins."
"Mystic ruins, that's it!" recalled Tangle, adjusting her backpack.
A few more minutes of walking rendered Spiral Hill Village out of sight and, consequently, out of mind. "Oh, oh! I wonder if it's gonna have any of those cool temples that Jewel's shown me! Maybe they'll have some cool treasures in them! Or maybe…"
As Tangle's wild speculations continued on, the wolf of the two, who usually found entertainment in her companion's bursts of excitement, found herself being distracted from a more pressing matter. An issue involving a few too many cups of Jewel's tea, and one too few trips to the ladies room before setting off with the lemur. Tuning out Tangle's rambling, Whisper angled her closed eyes down towards her abdomen, a nervous frown forming on her face.
"What I would love to see, though? One of those… Whisper, you alright?"
The distressed wolf's inner worrying was pierced by her friend's enthusiastic-turned-concerned voice. Shaking herself free, she glanced up to meet Tangle's gaze. "S'fine," she lied, standing tall and concealing any sign of her rather embarrassing problem.
"You sure, Whisp?" asked the unconvinced friend, using the break in the walk to place her hands on her hips and lean-in skeptically.
"Mhmm," Whisper replied, praying Tangle would buy her fake assurance.
"Hmm…" For a near-uncomfortable amount of time, Tangle's skeptic squinting continued. However, the result that her wolfy friend desired was eventually achieved. "Alright, if you say so!"
Almost allowing her internal sigh of relief to become an external one, Whisper relaxed. Her secret was safe, but for how long? She hoped she wouldn't have to find out…
The rather uneventful journey seemed to drag along for both heroines. Tangle voiced her typical complaints of boredom as a simple winding path lined with trees and wildlife offered little variety or excitement. Whisper, on the other hand, would usually enjoy such a quiet, nature-filled walk. However, as seconds dragged on to minutes, and minutes approached a half-hour, the urgency of her situation only worsened. By this time, the wolf had made it a point to walk behind her companion. Whenever it was certain Tangle's attention was elsewhere, she'd take the necessary steps to hold back the building flood, rubbing her legs together and gritting her teeth in discomfort.
"Ugh! We've been walking for ages! When is something interesting gonna happen?" whined Tangle, drooping in boredom.
Even in her distressed state, Whisper had not neglected her task of navigator. She'd been keeping tabs on their location via a small tablet housed in her inside coat pocket. Once again masking her growing need for a rest stop, she pulled out the device, tapping a few buttons. A map of the area zoomed in on their location, with a small red blip indicating their position. "Halfway there," was the wolf's hushed response, having interpreted the map.
"Halfway?!" exclaimed Tangle in reply, jumping up and whipping around, continuing backwards along the trail. "It feels like we've been walking forever!"
In this state, the desperate wolf couldn't agree more. "Mmmm," she unconsciously groaned and squinted, feeling the pressure in her abdomen increase.
"Ok, stop," ordered Tangle, halting in place and holding up her arm, prompting Whisper to do the same.
Whisper acknowledged the command, much to her dismay, as this was obviously going to delay any trip to a ladies room that may have followed the conclusion of the journey. "Something wrong?"
"Yeah, there's 'something wrong!' You've been acting odd ever since we left! You're usually super into these nature-filled trails, but you've been staring at the ground and keeping to yourself the whole time! What gives?"
Whisper knew she couldn't keep her situation a secret much longer. If Tangle's growing suspicion and prodding didn't force her to come clean, her increasing desire to rub her legs together and hold herself would. Nevertheless, the wolf's embarrassment held her back from revealing the truth. "Sorry, just tired."
"Pfft, come on, that's the lamest excuse in the book!" scoffed Tangle, crossing her arms in disapproval.
"S'true."
Tangle grunted, clearly not buying the lie. Whisper watched as her companion's squinted eyes scanned her body from head to toe. She tried her best not to let her nerves affect her outward appearance, standing straight and peering back at the lemur.
The performance seemed to do the trick. With a huff, Tangle turned back around and resumed the journey. "Hmph! I guess if that's all it is…"
Once again, Whisper's secret was safe. "Mhmm," she replied with a nod.
With Tangle's focus back on the path ahead, the wolf knew that this was her chance. She lightly bit her lip, her legs collapsing together once more and rubbing together as she kept pace from the rear. A deep exhale escaped her nose as some of the stress lifted off her bladder.
Resigning to her fate, Whisper came to the conclusion that worrying about the increasingly dire situation wouldn't make things any better. Trying to distract herself, she turned her attention to what she usually loved about long walks such as this; The nature all around them.
In a tree to her right, Whisper spotted a hole dug into the trunk. Inside rested a family of Flickies. The wolf smiled as the mother bird tended to her eagerly chirping chiclets.
As their walk continued, Whisper's previously urgent problem seemed to recede into the back of her mind. It was still there, of course, but the beauty of the journey had served as a suitable distraction. The chirping and rustling of the wildlife, the light forest breeze, the… running water?
"Woah, a stream!" Whisper's lemur companion pointed out ahead. A stream dividing the path, but split by a very small bridge.
Immediately, Whisper's subdued bladder forced her need for the little wolf's room back to the forefront of her mind. Stunned by the pain brought on by an internal ocean crashing against her insides, Whisper immediately stopped, her legs flying into a crossed position. For an instant, even her eyes blinked open. She looked forward, praying that Tangle hadn't seen the display. To her relief, it appeared she hadn't.
The brunt of the blow subsided, and the wolf quickly regained relative control and caught up. However, she knew she couldn't keep this up much longer. Something was going to give, and with no end in sight, she had a good idea of what that 'something' would be.
"I don't remember seeing this on the map, though," stated Tangle, stopping for a moment to place her hands on her hips, looking forward to the approaching rush of water.
"Checking." Once again, staying dedicated to her assignment, Whisper pulled out the map and zoomed in. It showed the small stream and bridge, as well as their location. Uncrossing her legs, much to her body's objection, Whisper rotated the tablet around towards Tangle. "S'here," she pointed out, causing the lemur to look back and see the held-out device.
"Ah, ok. About how much further?" Tangle pressed further.
Nodding and entering a few more commands, Whisper roughly estimated their time until arrival. "About twenty minutes," she replied. A time that she knew she couldn't possibly make it until the end of, especially with the stream growing closer. She prayed that her bladder would back-off after they were clear, but until then, the sound of the torrent flooded her mind, which was what she was going to be doing to herself if she didn't find a solution soon. As the cherry on top, her near-overwhelming need to cross her legs or hold herself couldn't be met with Tangle watching her.
"Oh, so we're over halfway there? Awesome!" cheered the lemur, bounding upwards on her tail.
Finally, the desperate wolf's friend turned back around. Putting her tablet away, now was the opportunity to perform some much-needed leg crossing and holding! Dropping her facade, Whisper's legs began their urgent journey. However, before they could meet…
"I'll race ya' to the other side of the river!"
Whisper winced, fighting with all her willpower not to let her legs finish their cycle. Standing back up straight and clenching her fists, she couldn't help but bite her lip in agony after being so close to relieving some of the pressure.
She couldn't hide the expression as Tangle turned back around to see her tense lips. "Oh, sorry. Did I spook you?"
Thank goodness, that was all Tangle thought it was! "S'okay," was her hushed, wavered reply. "Mmmm."
"Still tired? Well, maybe a little friendly competition will help wake you up!" the lemur smirked, whipping around and taking off. "Haha, Head start!"
At least Tangle had looked away now, but Whisper knew that if she didn't participate, her companion would know something was up. Taking a much needed moment to glue her legs together and jam her hands between her thighs before proceeding, Whisper chased after the lemur.
"Mmmm!" Whisper groaned as she forced her legs apart to make them run. The lack of crossing; the sound of the stream that only grew more intense as she approached; the motion of her sprint. It was almost too much to bear! The lemur had a considerable head start, so winning was out of the question. But she had to keep pace.
As they approached the stream, Tangle was the first over, reaching the end of the short bridge and whipping around to claim victory. "Woohoo, I won!"
Whisper's boots skittered across the bridge. The proximity of the rush of water was enough to have her bladder practically screaming at her for relief. She tried to keep her focus forward, rather than on the ocean of contents now locked inside her lower half, or the plethora of trees on either side of the path that now began to look more and more like potential pit stops to her one-track mind.
Miraculously, Whisper managed to complete the race without holding herself, or springing a single leak. Her facade held, and she knew she'd have to respond to Tangle's boasting to keep it up. "No fair, had head start."
"Shoulda been more on your toes, Whisp'!" jested Tangle in response, smirking cockily. "Plus, I'm wearing a backpack, that definitely slowed me down!"
Some more uneventful banter followed as the two continued on the trail. Whisper fought with all her might to not give Tangle any clues. This was by far the most desperate she'd ever been. Her mind was at war with her bladder, and her bladder was slowly gaining the edge. The stream being left behind helped a tad, but even then, it wouldn't be long now. Whisper had resorted to longingly glancing around, looking for any sort of excuse to get some alone time. Just her, her aching bladder, and a nice tree…
Whisper tensed up once more, her legs and hands flying to their holding positions, with her eyes snapping open. Just the mere thought of the relief she didn't have gave her bladder the ammo it needed to threaten a total victory. Shaking her head violently, but still not making a sound, Whisper emptied the thoughts from her head.
"Phew, that run left me more parched than I thought!" announced the lemur out in front. Whisper managed to straighten herself out in the nick of time, just before Tangle glances back and beckoned to a bottle of water held in an outside pocket of her pack. "Could'ja grab my water for me Whisp'?"
Great, more water. Just what the desperate wolf needed. "Mhmm," she uttered. Reaching out and grabbing the container, handing it to the lemur's outstretched arm.
"Thanks!"
Just the mere sight of the liquid sloshing around in the bottle was enough to drive Whisper mad, but what happened next took the cake.
Her face rotated to the side, Tangle twisted off the plastic cap. Rather than bringing the bottle to her lips, she opted to drink waterfall-style. A column of water poured out of its container, dropping into her mouth with a splash.
The sight occupied every inch of Whisper's mind. She watched in agony as the water fell from one location to another. Something she more than longed to do for herself. Tangle may have been able to see her out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't bear it another second. Hold or leak, those were her options, and she opted for the former. She bit down hard on her lip and doubled over, crossing her legs. Her bushy tail flew in between them along with her hands.
"Uhhh…"
Whisper's eyes shot open wide. She glanced up to see Tangle staring down at her with a raised eyebrow of suspicion. She knew it was no use trying to straighten up more. Even if she could somehow convince her body to do so, the damage had already been done. "Mmmm!" she whined.
"Whisper, are you alright?! Do you need a doctor? Do you have a stomach ache? What's wrong?"
A plethora of possible excuses danced around Whisper's mind, but really, what was the point anymore? If she didn't get the relief she needed, and soon, she'd go through far more embarrassment than the mere fact of admitting she was desperate beyond belief. "Mmm…" this was it. She was done pretending. "Pee!" she shouted.
"Oh… that explains the, yeah…" Tangle replied in realization. Looking over the utterly bursting wolf, her confusion only grew. "Why wait so long, though? Plenty of trees around, and I won't judge. Heck, I'll probably end up going in the woods sometime or another during this trip!"
Whisper shuttered, wishing she could just bound off and squat behind a tree, but something still held her back. "Mmm, don't like going… outside," she stammered, having returned to her hushed tone. The begs from her bladder were now plain demands. A lost war with an ultimatum for a treaty.
"Wha-?! Haven't you gone outside before?" Tangle exclaimed in shock.
"Mhmm, but was alone," hissed Whisper. "What if…"
"If…" Tangle responded, waiting for the wolf's reply.
"You hear…" finished Whisper. Just then, another wave of desperation surged through her. Prompting her to hold herself even tighter. Her eyes remained slammed together, and her body bounced from side to side as her legs rubbed together, hobbling between feet.
"What? That's all? I won't listen, I swear!" Tangle insisted, throwing her arms out. "In fact, I'll plug my ears and turn around, you go as deep into the woods as you need. I won't hear a thing!"
"Ngh!" Whisper still held her reservations, but those paled in comparison to other things she was holding. "I…" her body shuddered again as her bladder sent out its final warning. The flood was coming. Whether it was onto her pants or a tree was her decision, one that would be made for her any second.
"Whisper, just go!"
One final push was all she needed to throw out her fears and embrace relief. "Going!" she shouted.
Frantically, Whisper twisted around and began hobbling toward the woods. So close, yet so far… With every step, her relief grew closer, but as-did her need for it. The nearest tree seemed like miles away, let alone how far could go to feel comfortable. Hobbling along wasn't gonna do it. She was out of options.
Mustering all the strength she had left in her drained bladder muscles, Whisper uncrossed her legs and made a break for it. She knew she only had mere seconds without the help of her arms and legs to hold back the flood. The edge of the forest zoomed ever closer. Forget running further in, she was going behind the first tree she got to!
As luck would have it, on the edge of a forest lied a rather sizable tree. One wide enough to hide her body and thensome. She beamed at the sight.
With one final push from both her will and her bladder, Whisper reached the tree and darted behind it. This was it, she was all alone now, finally! Having concluded the journey, her legs flew back together, accompanied by her hands and tail once more. "Mmmm… no," she moaned, still in a hushed tone. "Must separate!"
At this point, separation meant peeing, there was no strength left in her bladder muscles to hold back the torrent. Preparing for a speedy procedure, Whisper carefully removed her hands. The beginning of the end. She fumbled with the edge of her grey pants, grabbing onto the top of either side. She was ready to make the final motion.
In one swift action, her legs uncrossed and her tail darted out of the way. As predicted, her bladder's ocean of contents immediately began their journey, but she was ready. Her pants flew down, and she squatted in front of the tree.
Not even a moment later, it began. Out of her bare lower half rush a mighty torrent of clear urine. It crashed into the leaves below, generating a mighty rustling sound. However, this noise would quickly be drowned out by something else.
"Hmmm!" the peeing wolf's eyes flew open, her tail wagging madly. She couldn't possibly hope to contain herself. "Ngh! Ahhhhhh...!" Whisper moaned as she felt all the built-up pressure over the last hour leave her body and crash onto the forest floor. "Haaaaah..." The relief was indescribable. Far beyond anything she'd felt before. Becoming lost in the complete bliss, she threw her head back and caught herself with her hands, closing her eyes and envisioning the gushing waterfall leaving her aching body.
For over a full minute, the relief and all the immeasurable bliss associated with it continued. Eventually, though, the stream did begin to die down. With one final exhausted, relieved sigh, the rest stop came to an end. Whisper's tail wagging didn't cease as she stood and pulled up her underwear and pants, a satisfied smile still spread on her face. The incredible feeling of emptiness had Whisper leaning on a tree to catch her breath, panting lightly.
Soon after, Whisper exited the forest and saw Tangle holding true to her promise.
"Lalalalala, I'm not listening!" she shouted, her back facing the wolf, hands in her ears.
With a light chuckle, Whisper strode up and tapped Tangle's shoulder. The lemur turned to face her smiling companion.
"Finally! What were you keeping in there, a pond?" teased Tangle with a grin, gesturing down towards Whisper's midsection. Her face lightened up when the wolfy companion looked away, feeling an intense flush rush to her cheeks. "Kidding, kidding! Feel better, though?"
Shyly, Whisper nodded. "Mhmm…"
An awkward silence ensued, with the journey being put on-hold while Whisper finished recovering from her embarrassing ordeal.
"Thanks," the wolf uttered.
"Hey, that's what friends are for, helping in times of need!" Tangle replied, finishing with a smirk, "and boy did you need!"
A bashful smile spread across Whisper's face as she scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "Mhmm…"
With that, the unlikely duo set back out on their adventure. Now only a little ways away from the adventures that awaited them in the Mystic Ruins.