Spotty and Gray

Gray and Spotty had been born to the pod the same year, barely a week separating the two blue-nosed dolphins' coming to the world. It had been a rich year for calves, and the pod had grown by over twenty-five new lives. The two had taken to each other almost immediately, and had frolicked in the waters off the coast, and keeping their moms busy; they had shared in the protection of their mothers, and even had been sharing their milk. They were inseparable, and the mothers were happy to see them grow in friendship and in size. 

Not to say that all was fun; there were bullies in the new year calves, and the teens were not always nice either, but their moms had been efficient at protecting them from the perils of the sea, especially sharks and the ever dangerous killer whales. There seemed to have been a cordial entente between the two moms that never left them alone on the surface; they would take turns at keeping guard while the other went with the pack to hunt for food. The biggest danger they had faced was during the birth, when the mom had to cut the umbilical cord and push them to the surface for their first breath before they drowned. The blood of birth attracted sharks, but the pod had encircled the birthing mother, creating a net of defences that no shark had been able to breach.

Two years after Gray and Spotty were born, their moms weaned them from their milk, preparing themselves for a new birth that was due in the spring. That had been a shock to the young pair but they had to adjust and now the two hunted together, Gray being bigger but slower was helped by his smaller friend Spotty in encircling fish schools and trapping them with nets of bubbles. Both were sticking to each other, but slowly divergences emerged. Whereas Gray still focussed solely on Spotty, Spotty was more and more interested in the females of the pod and began to frolic with them more often. This left a sour feeling with Gray, but a feeling he could not understand. Nevertheless, he stuck with Spotty, and kept protecting his smaller friend from bullies and predators alike. On the other hand, Spotty did not understand why his friend Gray showed no interest in the females of the pod, even if they sure showed interest in him! But why should he complain? After all, the lesser the competition, the better it was.

Some time after spring came, their mothers gave birth. Gray and Spotty finally understood why their moms had pushed them away some months back. They were now both adults and Spotty wanted to find a mate. So he decided to leave the pod in search of another and try to take over a harem for himself. As he left the familial pod, he noticed he was accompanied by his friend Gray; he was worried that Gray had decided to go mate hunting at the same time, but decided to ignore his presence; after all, the Oceans were vast, full of danger, and chances were that if Spotty really found a pod, he would have very little chance of becoming alpha at his first try.

Their trip was a long one up the coast, around the cape of the big land, and then along the backside off towards the islands and reefs where they would find fish and other pods. Spotty was finding the company of Gray useful, as they travelled, since they crossed paths with sharks of variable species, and each time some threatened, Gray would ram his massive body into the gills, drowning the shark.

It took them six months to find a pod. Now, Spotty found the presence of his friend Gray cumbersome and wondered what to do; but even before this came to a head, the dominant male of the pod that interested Spotty came charging. He did not want to lose his harem, oh no sir! But he mistook Gray as his main target. He charged Gray and tried to bite the lumbering giant; Gray was not interested in the females, but he understood the challenge and knew he had to make himself respected, if not alpha. It took only a couple of hits from his tail fins to make his point across.

The defending Alpha decided to handle it on a different tack and to get rid of Spotty first. Spotty evaded the attacks and replied in kind, but was no match for the Alpha male, who had defended his position successfully for several years already. Their fight finally wore on to the point where Spotty was severely hurt, and feeling weak, and was going to drown; this situation did not escape Gray, who immediately came to the rescue, chased the defender away and lifted his friend Spotty to the surface so that his blowhole would be above the waves and he could breath anew.

Meanwhile, the Alpha male was recovering, and seeing that Gray was vulnerable, attacked him again. That enraged Gray to no end, because it was unfair in his eyes, and he really did not understand what all the fuss was about. Disengaging from under Spotty, Gray decided to really get the Alpha male and he attacked from below, lifting him right out of the water with a head butt in the underbelly. Rising well over six feet above the water Gray fell back on the Alpha male with his full weight, pushing the Alpha male under and trying to drown him.

Spotty saw all this and could do nothing to help his friend in the battle that was not his, as he was still coughing salt water out of his blowhole. The Alpha male escaped the drowning attempt and tried to head-butt Gray, to no avail. Now, Gray was decided to win, and win at any price. His friend had been hurt, and nothing would stop him from getting even. The Alpha circled, trying to get behind and below Gray, but Gray jumped and flip-flopped in the air, always keeping the Alpha in his sight. Gray played the fatigued dolphin routine, and the Alpha fell for the trap. He charged and came within reach of Gray; too late the Alpha tried to back off, and he felt the jaws that had fought tiger sharks bite him in the genitals. The excruciating pain told the Alpha that his years at the head of a pod were over and that he had very little chance of surviving this fight. The Alpha male left the scene, bleeding profusely, well aware that this would attract predators… all he could ask for was a quick and painless death.

Gray turned to see his friend Spotty floating slowly, almost comatose from the fight with the Alpha. Gray moved in, creating shivers of fear in Spotty, who thought Gray was coming in to finish him off. To his surprise, Gray gently slipped under him and lifted him on his back, moving him away from the blood-filled waters towards the pod, who were now watching them get closer with fear and interest. They had noticed the defeat of the previous Alpha, and were certain Gray would be the next one.

For the next few days, Gray supported Spotty and even fed him regurgitated food. It took a week before Spotty could finally swim and hunt for himself; yet he still did not understand what was driving Gray. The females of the pod were all offering themselves to Gray, but he still did not show any interest. As they got ever more frustrated, Gray made it clear that it was Spotty that was interested in them, not him. Finally the females consented to Spotty's advances and let him mate them. The females still wanted Gray, but he never accepted.

Later, after the mating season had passed, Gray rubbed himself against Spotty, and Spotty let him do as he wanted. The big male finally showed his needs and exploded after rubbing himself on Spotty's underbelly, which in turn had Spotty do the same, to his utmost surprise.

Spotty had finally figured out Gray: Gray was in love with him, and had always been; he was no competitor, but an ally in defending his harem against any external contestant of his dominance. Spotty did not mind Gray's love; he loved him in return, but he had other needs as well. As long as Gray was willing to put up with Spotty's interest in females, Spotty saw no reason to deny Gray his needs and to satisfy them both.