FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Other Earths, Axis City

Anthology of Short Stories

Saurian Earth - Ilsit Major, Part 1

copyright comidacomida 2025

Dymryn knew he was asleep as his senses were barraged by illusions and misinformation. While Humans often talked about 'dreaming', it was a far cry from the experiences Ilsit Majors had while sleeping. Dymryn had heard all about Humans and how their brains hallucinated experiences and events that were pure fiction or the nonsensical ramblings of the subconscious; for Ilsit, the experience was a replay of the Myrmyr that dwelled within them as an instilled record of the past, inherited from parents and lovers.

The Myrmurs for most Ilsit were a collection of important history, records of wonder, and experiences related to the magnificense of existence but, for every 98 Majors who received the grandiose collection of 15,000 generations of Ilsit, there was 1 that was relegated to the negative ones-- the bad times, horrors, and disgusting wrongness that often accompanied the imperfection that was existence. These moments of Myrmyr were no less important among the collective memory of the Ilsit, but they had to be properly curated and, as such, that was left up to the Sorrow Scales... the Ilsit Majors such as Dymryn.

As a Sorrow Scale, Dymryn didn't have a single positive Myrmur instilled in him by his progenators; his Sire and Dame gave over to him the task of protecting the Myrmyr that they did not want to share with any others-- ones that harkened back to the negative recollection of the Ilsit as a species. it was the task of a Sorrow Scale to always remember the bad times in the history of the Ilsit, serving as keepers of the dark truths so that they could speak on it and ensure that the Ilsit did not repeat the traumas of the past. It worked occasionally but, more often than not (in Dymryn's impression, at least), it simply left those selected as shunned-- both socially, and romantically.

Dymryn, still early in his prime at 66, had only two lovers in his time, both of whom had also been Sorrow Scales. No other Major would want to be intimate with a Sorrow Scale because the only Myrmyr they had to pass on during imtimacy were ones that nobody wanted. Among fellow Sorrow Scales, however, anything different, even if it was painful, had the blessed feel of something new and so it was known full well that sharing Myrmyr from one Sorrow Scale meant that they got what they got and gave what they gave. It was a relief in some ways, finding the physical closeness with another who shared the same curse but, at the same time, it did not bring comfort... just a temporary release and a new Myrmyr by which to be hounded.

The Myrmyr that disrupted Dymryn's sleep that night, however, was one that he hadn't experienced in over a decade. Some Myrmyr surfaced more often than others, but he'd thought himself past a several-thousand year old experience of an Ilsit Major diplomat being raped by a Viddinire noble. It was early on in the interaction between Ilsit and Viddin, back when the two species had first begun contact through their gateways between Saurian Earth and Plateau Earth. Despite it having been awhile, Dymryn had experienced the Myrmyr several times in his life, and he could tell the most recent reiteration was... different.

There was usually a multitudinal sharpness to it-- all kinds of Viddin males had barbs on the heads of their members, and Dymryn had always keenly remembered that from his prior experiences of that particular Myrmyr. The impression he got, however, was of much greater fullness, but not much in the way of spines. It was in that moment that the last vestiges of sleep were pulled from him and he realized that he was in his apartment, laying on his side, with his Human room mate's arm deep into his cloaca.

Blinking, Dymryn raised his head and turned to regard the man, who jumped in surprise, freezing as he stared up at the Ilsit. Calmly, Dymrn cleared his throat. "Dallas, what you are doing is uncomfortable for me. Further more, you did not gain my permission."

Dallas, his Human room mate was into him nearly to the elbow but, other than having been caught in the act of inserting, seemed rather unconcerned. "Oh... well know you said you weren't really interested but--"

The Human went to withdraw his arm, but Dymryn clenched down his pelvic muscles, trapping the man's limb. "You had asked, and I specifically said no. I do not want you masturbating me, Dallas."

Sighing, his room mate shrugged his free arm. "Dude, it's no big deal. I was just gonna take care of things while you were asleep. You know I don't make a lot of cash, and there are plenty of bars that pay premium for fresh Ilsit cum."

Dallas tried to extricare his arm again, but Dymrn's muscles continued clamping down on him, keeping him in place as the Ilsit admonished him. "We have already discussed this as well. That is not the way Myrmyr works, and adding Ilsit semen into an alcoholic beverage would not result in a Human having a vision."

The Human rolled his eyes. "I mean... that doesn't really matter, Dim. People'll pay for it whether it works or not. Dragon Butter Scotch is real popular."

Dymryn's eyes narrowed; he had been living with Dallas for nearly two weeks. As an Ilsit Major in the Human version of Earth known as 'Land Earth', life was not well-designed for a four legged sapient and, since Ilsit Majors given leave to live on Land Earth were not always permitted to have humanid Ilsit Drones immigrate with them, there were systems in place to match them to a Human room mate. Dymryn hadn't had a lot of luck with the placement system; Dallas was his third room mate in almost as many weeks and was by far the worst of them. Sighing, the Ilsit leveled his most exasperated stare at him. "Then perhaps you should have just provided them your own 'butter'."

Out of all of the things that could have impacted Dallas about the situation, that seemed to get the biggest response. "You kidding? That'd be false advertising! So... uh... you mind unclenching? I'd kinda like my arm back, Dim."

There were numerous things that Dymryn disliked about his Human room mate; being called 'Dim' was among the worst, but that still ranked above having him attempt to remove his agency and violate him while he slept. Reaching to the large reinforced data pad he'd been given during immigration, Dymryn leveled it and snapped a picture of the situation and, only then did he release Dallas' arm. "I would like you to leave tomorrow. If you are not gone by 10am or if I hear that you've signed on to be a room mate for another Major then I will send this picture to both the placement agency and the local authorities."

With a pop, Dallas' arm came free and he sprawled onto his back before hopping up indignantly. "Dude! That's total BS! It's not like I--"

Dymrn interrupted him "I encourage you to find alternative living arrangements promptly. Also, you were fishing around in my anus and nowhere near my sexual organ... wash your arm before you go."

Dallas stormed off to his own bedroom, but Dymryn was not particularly inclined to care. Although he attempted to remind himself that it was just another Human being self-centered and oblivious to others around him, the Major couldn't help but wonder if the experience would transition itself into a Myrmyr that would be passed on to future generations if he ultimately took a mate and bred. If so, he promised himself that the emotions accompaying it would be of exasperation and disappointment rather than violation or anger.

Although the clock noted it was not quite 3am, Dymryn was ready to stay up until morning if need be to ensure that Dallas left without further issue; fortunately he barely had to wait an hour until the Human, after having spent almost all that time in the bathroom, emerged and, grabbing his jacket, continued talking on his phone. "Yeah... the fucking lizard's kicking me out... god damn prude or something. I woulda fucking cut him in for a share, but-- nah, I dunno man... I'll figure it out." The casual discussion into his cell paused long enough for the Human to shout "I'm leaving the key on the counter. Good luck locking the door without fingers, ya shit-head!"

And, like that, Dallas was out of his life. Dymryn let out a long sigh, pulling himself up off his sleeping mat once the door was closed to ensure that the key was indeed in place. Seeing that it was, the Major moved his tail around to the door and used it to flip the deadbolt. After that, he returned to his sleeping mat and flopped back down. Dymryn lost over an hour of sleep, but he hoped to get a least a little more; he had a long day ahead of him at the laboratory.

* * * * *

The following morning, Dymryn was alone and he was mostly glad for it. Having been through three different Human room mates, the Ilsit came to the conclusion that there just wasn't much luck out there for him when it came to cohabitating. Back on his own version of Earth each Major had at least one Ilsit Drone to help them with the small day-to-day activities that required fine motor movements or manual dexterity. He'd signed up for a scientific exchange program and one of the stipulations was that only a limited number of participants could take part-- and that meant no Drones to accompany him.

He was ready for a change and so he jumped for the chance-- change was definitely what he'd received. As Dymryn stood he shook out his body and made his way into the bathing room; he'd heard that the condo he'd been assigned had previously housed a Longos businessman and that meant he was blessed with an enormous bath or, what he'd learned, Humans referred to as 'a swimming pool'. Since he'd awoken early the Ilsit took the opportunity to spend a little extra time in the water, enjoying the warmth on his scales. Ultimately, however, Dymryn realized that he had to get to the laboratory so he hauled himself out of the bath and moved to a section of the bathing room that the Humans had reinforced with heat-resistant tile.

Aiming for that corner, Dymryn closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and let out a few short blasts of his fire breath, allowing the initial spike in temperature and force of his breath lessen the dampness of his scales, at which point he slowly rotated in place, letting the ambient heat remaining on the tiles dry him enough for him to start his day. A waking Myrmyr flowed across his consciousness and he reveled in one of his own memories: when his mother had first showed him how to create a drying rock using his breath. His place with the Humans was a far cry from his life back then, but he enjoyed the occasional pleasant recollection nevertheless.

From the bathing room, Dymryn made his way into the main chamber of his open floor-plan condo; he was pleased to see that Dallas' personal belongings were gone. Apparently, he reasoned, social pressure was as effective with Humans as it was with Ilsit. From there, he traversed into the eating area abd the Major managed to use a singular claw to hook around the handle of the icebox and eased it open. A number of meal choices were available for him so he grabbed the easiest one to access: a ham hock, which he ate whole.

Making his way to the door leading out of his domicile, he was, for the dozenth time, pleased that those modifying the condo entry for him with a paw-pedal that allowed the door to open without him having to work the small door knob. The dragon paused, however, when, upon the door opening, he saw Jessica Costa, his caseworker standing there, obviously waiting for him. Before he could offer a greeting she stated "Dallas Price resigned as your room mate early this morning... but I presume you already knew."

Dymryn offered a succinct nod. "Yes. He deposited the keys on the table next to the door when he left."

Jessica glanced around him as he exited, stepping into the apartment to grab said keys, and then exit after the dragon, who waited for her. She closed the door and locked it, then slipped the copy into her purse; Dymryn could use the bio-signature paw-pedal on the outside of the door to open it without a key, which was for the benefit of a human room mate. Letting out a sigh, she stepped up to walk beside the Ilsit, who, once she was where he knew she planned on being, began a long walk down the hall, which was barely wide enough for the both of them. When he didn't say anything she spoke up. "He didn't give a reason for his separation from the apartment. Did he give you a reason?"

The dragon offered a blink of his nicticating membranes. "Yes."

"Would you like to share it?"

He didn't answer her for a long moment, shrugging his wing so that the satchel holding his datapad was more secure against his side. "Only if he signs up to be a room mate for another Ilsit Major."

Of all of the case workers Dymryn could have recieved (based on what he'd heard from other Ilsit Majors), he had one that was exceedingly patient, and very much on his side. "Are you protecting him over something that should be reported?"

Rather than answer her question, the dragon offered one back. "Did he sign up to be a Companion again?"

Despite only having only known him for three weeks, Jessica was apparently good at understanding him. Letting out a sigh, she shook her head. "No. He quit the program."

Dymryn stopped in front of the doors to the freight elevator that would take him down two floors to the ground level. "Then there is no reason to discuss the issue further but, rest assured, if he does sign up for a later point I will bring up the issue."

Jessica pushed the button and, as they waited for the elevator she flicked her finger against her data pad. "So... D. Price quit the program."

The Dragon let out a grunt of agreement before she continued speaking as the elevator doors opened, allowing them entrance. "B. Schulte said that you insulted her constantly."

Dymryn stepped inside and she folowed. "She was displeased that I was correcting her German. She constantly objected because she said she was a native speaker, but I have over two hundred years of experience in the language."

The dragon, in fact, found her to be an insufferable know-it-all and, granted, he did indeed have enough Myrmyrs that his total understanding of German was more than two centuries worth, it was decidedly an older dialect from the first millenia when the Gateways between a triumverate of Land Earth, Plateau Earth, and Saurian Earth were interconnected... but that, of course, was well before the much more recent reestablishment of connections among the various versions of Earth. He wasn't about to give Jessica the long version of events, especially because he didn't want to be seen as 'difficult'.

His caseworker offered up a fresh sigh of exasperation as the doors to the elevator opened and the two exited; in his mind it seemed to be her favorite non-verbal form of communication. As they headed out to the street she pointed out "You probably have plenty of memories of English too, but you don't bother correcting me."

He offered as amicable a response as he could. "The version of English I inherited is no longer in use. Besides, I am certain you speak English quite commendably, Miss Jessica. And, before you say anything, Harry, my first Human room mate and I both agreed that we were not a good fit."

Jessica put away her data pad, a hint of a smirk on her face. "Despite the primer, I don't think he was ready to deal with the dysecdysis."

The two shared a soft chuckle. Dymrym had been partially prepared for the experience because he HAD paid attention to what Ilsit needed to know about visiting Land Earth and one such topic related to personal hygine was that, rather than flaking scales and occasional skin shedding, 4 out of every 5 Ilsit Majors underwent a complete shedding of the thin layer of epidermis beneath their scales; the process was rare on Saurian Earth but it was common enough on Land Earth that it was given a proper name.

Letting out a long sigh in order to beat Jessica to it, Dymryn sat down on the sidewalk, looking down at her. "I presume it will take some time to find another candidate to assist me then, Ms. Costa?"

His case worker didn't bother pulling out her pad. "I'll do what I can. In the meantime, I'll be back today at 4 to check in on you and make sure you're doing alright."

Dymryn bowed his head to her in thanks. "I apprecaite the extra effort. My apologies for being a difficult case to manage."

She rarely acknowledged his thanks and, because he was in a hurry, he used it as a farewell. Arriving at one of many warm air vents that were dotted around the main thoroughfare in Axis to facilitate flight for smaller Viddin and the more powerfuly winged Ilsit Majors, Dymryn spread his wings and sprang into the air, using the warm updrafts to propel himself vertically, then aiming his wings so that the windflow facilitated forward motion. The largest Majors could barely manage to remain aloft even with the aid of the air vents but, one positive side effect of being a Sorrow Scale was that Dymryn was barely three quarters the size of a standard Major, making the task significantly easier for him.

Although it was not as easy as flying on Saurian Earth, he could still manage, and it was much faster than walking. Flying on Land Earth, he'd learned, was only allowed in authorized areas of Axis and those areas were specifically laid out to include the air vents so there was little chance a larger Viddin or an Ilsit Major would end up off the preapproved flight plans, but that was of little concern for him since the main thorughfare took him straight to the science lab where his appointments were scheduled.

Despite the fact that visitors to Land Earth were welcome to fly, Dymryn could feel the eyes on him; there really were not a lot of Majors anywhere other than Saurian Earth so he was still very much a novelty for those in Axis. Coming in for a landing, he targeted one of the long, broad areas beside the sidewalk that was delineated by a dotted yellow line; on it, written in the Ilsit script, Viddin runes, and several Human languages was "KEEP CLEAR. LANDING ZONE."

There was enough space for an unwieldly Viddinire to come in for a landing, so it was a significantly easier prospect for Dymryn, and he touched down right outside the entrance to the science building. Curling his wing so he could catch a glance at his data pad, he was pleased to see that it displayed 8:48. He was due inside at 9:00, which was a good thing; he greatly preferred being on time to being late and, even so, his ultimate preference was to be early. Wasting no time, he made his way inside after the door was opened for him by a Human attendant. The man at the door offered him a prefunctionary Human greeting via a nod of the head, which he responded to in kind; although the meaning was different for the Ilsit, Dymryn didn't want to be rude and, in fact, his own nod was much more suitable for his own kind.

The Major did not wait in the main lobby for long. Just as he was getting settled into an Ilsit lounging pad, one of the Dragon-sized elevators opened and one of the senior scientists stepped out. Her eyes caught him immediately and she didn't delay in coming to see him. "Good morning, Dymryn."

He dipped the leading edges of his wings in greeting to her. Although he was no expert on dealing with Hmans, Dymryn had learned a few techniques of etiquette, such as complimenting one's appearance. "Good morning, Dr. Blake. Your hair appears to be professionally coifed this morning."

The scientist offered what appeared to him to be a bemused smile; he was decent with understanding Human expressions. Sliding an errant strand of hair behind her ear, her response was noticeably a friendly jab at his comment. "And by 'professionally coifed', do you mean in appearance, or as in its execution?"

Dymryn blinked his nicticating membranes, knowing any humor regarding the distinction was purely for her benefit. Adjusting his compliment, he tried again to avoid what, in his opinion amounted to a dialogue trap. "I mean to say that 'it looks nice'."

It was a much more general statement, he realized, but he'd also learned that Humans often didn't require specificity in what they called 'small talk'. Apparently he'd chosen well as she pulled out her data pad and noted with polite professionalism. "Thank you. Your scales appear to be well-maintained as well."

The way she brought attention to his scales made him immediately self-conscious; he didn't have the many fine instruments to care for them on Land Earth as he'd had access to on Saurian Earth and, considering he didn't have a Human to assist in his self care-- "Ah... thank you for saying so. I am without a Human room mate again, so I am trying my best."

Dr. Blake offered a non-comittal sound as she motioned toward the elevator. "Ah... you seem to be going through them, it seems."

He followed after her, licking the back of his teeth in self-reflection. "Yes... 'so it seems' indeed."

Once they were inside the elevator, the Human woman pressed her data pad against the access control to the mechanism and they stared their ascent to the eigth floor. She spoke up as they rose. "You know... I'd be happy to reach out to the agency and make a request for a more experienced Human attendant. It's surprisingly common how often they connect first year signees to newcomer Majors."

Although he appreciated her offer, Dymryn was not one to accept assistance needlessly. "Thank you for the proposal, Dr. Blake, but this is my responsibility and, besides, I have a very good caseworker."

He heard the not-so-subtle beep-beep-beep from Samantha's datapad. "Oh. Jessica. Yeah... she's a spitfire. If anyone can find you a good fit it'll be her."

Dymryn realized that she used a turn of phrase, but it was one with which he was not familiar. "Spitfire? Please explain."

Dr. Blake let out a soft chuckle as the elevator came to a stop and the door opened in front of them. "I mean to say she's the kind of person who gets stuff done and doesn't let anything stand in her way."

The Dragon waited for the Human scientist to exit first before following after her. "I believe she is starting to get frustrated."

Glancing over her shoulder, Dr. Blake offered a reassuring smile, which contradicted her slightly chiding tone. "Well... most Ilsit Majors don't go through four attendants in three weeks."

Dymryn snorted indignantly. "Three Companions... not four."

She rolled her eyes comically. "Most don't go through TWO in the first MONTH, Dymryn. You may just have incredibly bad luck... but at least the team working with you here in the lab is a good one."

The dragon accepted the uplifting change in topics and he offered what he knew was the best facscimile of a Human smile he could manage with thin, scaled lips without showing his teeth. "Yes. Perhaps that is where all my luck lies."

As the two entered the first of four respectably sized laboratory rooms, Dymryn settled into one of the Major lounging sofas that were available to him; he found that the ones in the laboratory were far more comfortable than in almost any other area he'd experienced on Land Earth. They were joined a short time later by Dr. Klaus Huber, the second of three senior scientists on the team who were studying him. Dr. Huber was less personable than Dr. Blake but he was professionally polite and immediately jumped into things, speaking very proficiently in German after a clear and succinct "Guten Morgen, Herr Dymryn. Wie geht es Ihnen?"

The Dragon responded simply. "Gut, danke. Wo fangen wir an?"

It was a straight forward inquiry, asking the scientist what the day would entail. The explanation was a simple one: as their subject of study, they'd be working with Dymryn on a number of topics, and Dr. Huber was proposing an exploration of the breath admixture produced in the Dragon's mouth that resulted in his fiery breath, followed by a non-invasive study of the gas bladders that assited with the breath and with flight. Dr. Blake countered, proposing a lighter load to avoid too much overstimulation or use of the gas bladders and, instead, reviewing some flight metrics in the wind chamber instead.

Switching over to English for Samantha's benefit, Klaus asked "Well... what do you think of today's proposed activities, Herr Dymryn."

With no objections, Dymryn was able to agree. "It sounds acceptable... although I believe we've already discussed Ilsit Major breath on a number of occasions. If you're looking to see it in use in order to study it, I do want to mention that I've already used it this morning to dry off after my bath."

Dr. Blake nodded, tapping a few things out on her data pad. "We can play it by ear. As always, if anything seems to strenuous or is causing you discomfort, just say so and we'll change our plans accordingly."

All Ilsit knew that any Ilsit Major's capability to exhale flame came from their ability to secrete three chemicals, each from a different gland in their mouth-- one on either side and one beneath the tongue. The the lateral glands sprayed out their inert fluids so that they met and combined into a volatile admixture which ignited once it was hit by the third fluid which was ejected from beneath the tongue. The resulting ignition created a decently sized blast, but it was barely large enough a reaction that most hatchlings had trouble lighting a piece of wood on fire until they learned breath control.

The majority of the study from the scientists that morning was focused on having Dymryn expel the different chemicals one at a time. Most young Majors learned how to control their glands well enough to do such a thing by their tenth year so it was easy enough for Dymryn. They posed a few different tests about seeing his muscle control from all three glands and, as with most Majors, he had far much more luck with his sub-lingual gland-- the catalyst that lit the volatile combination of other chemicals. It was also a very caustic expulsion, and he was able to project it quite a ways.

Samantha nodded appreciatively. "That's over 40 feet... very nice, Dymryn."

Klaus nodded as well. "Wunderbar. Fast dreizehn Meter."

It was all mundane for Dyrmyn, but he appreciated their enthusiasm and didn't mind helping. Plus, he realized, his morning was filled with them engrossed learning about the various chemicals and physical systems involved in his fiery breath, but the afternoon would be in the wind chamber and, out of everything they ever did at the lab, the wind chamber was his absolute favorite. He truly looked forward to the afternoon.