Free Kicks
"Soccer ... mm ... don't we get a VOTE?" Welly asked. "Or something?"
"No votes," Advance assured, pacing back and forth on one of the white, painted lines. In the grass. They were in the simulation room. The holographic sun was at mid-morning levels, unobstructed by clouds. "I know most of you would prefer basketball, but ... I like soccer."
"I did not know that," Aria replied, arms folded neatly in front of her. Ross sticking close by, as if hiding in her shadow.
"That's because," Advance stressed, "we don't spent enough off-time together, as a crew. As a family. Aside from the fact that we all like yiff, what do we really know about each other? Mm?"
"Herkimer's a mouse," Welly said helpfully.
"Aria's from an ice planet."
"Well, those are OBVIOUS. I'm talking about ... what do we know about each other's interests?" the Captain asked. "Our hobbies? Our joys? Our personalities? I think some friendly competition will bring us out of our shells ... so to speak. Bring us closer."
"So, like, this is an order? We have to play?"
"It's eight in the morning," Advent scowled. Not a morning fur.
"It's either this ... or a daily briefing in the conference room. I thought this might be more refreshing." He got no arguments. So, continued, "So, yes, mandatory bonding. Today, we play one of MY favorite games. Tomorrow, we'll play one of Welly's. And so on. Everyone will get a turn. And, when we get through the whole senior staff, we'll start over ... "
Aria's eyes glinted a bit. "Everyone gets a turn?"
"I think ice hockey may be a bit too ... wobbly," Advance told her, as if reading her mind, "for the rest of us. All those blades and all."
"If I am to be inflicted to playing soccer, there is no reason you can't play hockey."
"I can't skate," the Captain defended.
"I'll teach you." The rabbit eye-smiled. "After all ... is that not how we BOND?"
Advance bit his lip, smiling. Almost giggled.
"I don't know how to play soccer, though," Bell-Bell protested, interrupting, raising a hoof-like hand.
"It's not that difficult. Just don't use your paws. And kick the ball to the goal," Advance offered. "Seriously."
"Well, if it's that easy," Welly muttered, "any moron could ... "
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Just clearing my throat," the skunk replied, putting on a toothy grin.
The desert mouse squinted. "Hmm ... " And he smiled and took a breath, still padding back and forth in the grass. "Now, I know most of you don't think of soccer as fun."
"No scoring," Herkimer supplied, fidgeting.
"Too slow," Welly injected.
"It's so ... "
"It was rhetorical!" Advance interrupted. "Rhetorical. Okay? So ... so, you will LEARN," he stressed, "to like it."
"Will we?" Advent asked, eyes squinted. Demeanor steely. Poised. Several furs between her and Herkimer, but the tension between the two ... very, very thick. And very evident.
"Yes," Advance said slowly. He cleared his throat. "Now, there's eight of us, so ... we'll have to do teams of four. I thought about asking some other crew-furs to join us, but ... I wanted to keep this as senior staff only. Plus Ross here, our ... new crew-fur." The Captain nodded at the vole. "I want him to feel welcome. He may have been human, but ... he's one of us now."
No one said anything. All of them still wary of the once-human ... now-fur.
Aria, however, nodded her thanks to Advance. She being Ross's mate now, and ... being the only one who wasn't scared of him.
Advent glanced at Ross with a sort of barely-concealed hatred.
"That's enough," Advance whispered to the jaguar.
Advent, looking to the Captain, tilted her head. Said nothing.
And the desert mouse turned to the rest of them. "Teams of four," he repeated. "I'll captain a team, and ... Aria will captain a team. Audrey's on my team, and Ross is on hers. So ... Advent, you're on my team. Herkimer, you go with Aria. Welly, you're with me. Bell-Bell, you're with them."
"How come Welly and I can't be on the same team? You and Audrey get to be on the same team," Bell-Bell objected.
"Each team's gotta be half males, half femmes. Otherwise, it won't be fair. Unless you wanna make a gender contest out of this ... "
"I think half-and-half is suitable," Aria agreed, nodding.
"So, how 'bout Welly and I are on the same team," Bell-Bell continued, "and you and Audrey split between teams ... "
"How 'bout ... I'M the Captain."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Advance nodded. "Teams are set. Now ... one fur from each side needs to be a goalie. I got some paw-gloves here."
"Do we get jerseys, too?" Welly asked.
"The teams are so small," Advance replied, "that I don't think we'll need them. We can all remember who's on our team and who's not ... so ... but we're gonna be doing a lot of running. It'll get hot. So, guys, you can go furry, if you want ... " Letting them know they could play without shirts. "Femmes, you all have tank-tops, anyway, so ... that'll do."
"To put such energy and planning into a simple game," Advent said, shaking her head, "is a waste of time."
"So is complaining," Advance told the jaguar smartly. "And, yet, you're still doing it."
The cat growled from the throat.
"That being said ... Advent, you look like you have some nasty energy to burn, so you're on the field with me. So is Welly. Audrey's our goalie. Aria ... "
"Bell-Bell will goal-keep for us."
"Alright." A nod. "I got some water bottles over here, and ... so, if you need it, take a sip, but there are no time-outs in soccer. And we're not gonna be making any substitutions, so ... as for the game time, we're gonna make this an hour-long game. Then, after, you can all hit the showers in the gym ... " The gym being right next door to Simulation Room One. "Then we'll have brunch in the mess hall. And then we're all on duty for the rest of the day. Got it?"
Some nods. Some squeaks.
"Let's go, then," Advance said, clapping his paws together.
The furs padded through the green, green grass. Perfectly manicured. With white lines painted all over it. It was such a perfect illusion. It was easy to forget that it was all a simulation. That they were simply in an empty, metallic room on Solstice. In space. Resuming their original course (the one they'd been on before being sidetracked by the human ordeal).
Advance and Aria, as well as being team captains, were going to co-referee ... as impartially as they could.
The mouse's team got the ball first, and Welly kicked it off. Booting it down the field. The black-and-white ball, in all its patches, skidding into the grass. Bouncing, skidding, and then rolling into the goal box at the other end. Where Bell-Bell scooped it up with her gloved, hoof-like hands.
Advance sighed, looking to the skunk.
"What?" Welly asked, blinking.
"You just GAVE them the ball!"
"You said to KICK it! I kicked it ... "
"Yes. Yes, to ME ... or to Advent over there," he said, nodding at the jaguar, who was covering the right side of the field. Advance was covering the left. Welly was in middle. "It's ... oh, never mind. Just try and get the ball back, okay?"
The skunk nodded, jogging off.
"What do I do?" Bell-Bell called, still holding the ball.
Aria, sighing, replied, "Kick it."
"Like, on the ground, or ... just drop it, and ... "
"Whichever suits you," was the snow rabbit's reply.
So, the deer drop-kicked the ball, and up it went. Straight up. Straight down. Bounce, bounce, roll ...
... and Welly still jogging toward it.
Bell-Bell grabbed at the ball again. "No," she said to the skunk, who stopped in front of her.
"No?" the skunk asked, amused.
"No. It's mine."
"The ball."
"Yes!"
"So ... I'm not supposed to try and score on you? Just cause you're my mate?"
"Well, it would be NICE ... "
"You want me to throw the game?" A giggle. "Bell-Bell ... it's a GAME."
"Just let me kick the ball out of here. Get out of my way."
"Maybe I'm gonna block your kick."
"With what?" she teased.
"Mm ... my tail."
"Can't do that. You gotta give me room. Isn't there a rule," Bell-Bell asked loudly. "Give me some space? Mm?"
"Give her room to kick it, Welly," Advance said.
The skunk grinned at the doe. "Mm ... it's almost good that we're on separate teams," he confided.
"Why's that?" A blink. Still clutching the soccer ball to her belly.
"Cause one of us is GUARANTEED to be on the winning team, so ... no matter what, we get a victory celebration." A wink.
A giggle. "You're just a yiffy devil, you know that?"
"I believe this game involves 'cards' ... should we 'card' the love-furs," Aria teased, "for delay of game?"
"I'm about to," Advance vowed impatiently.
"Sorry, sorry," Welly apologized, chuckling, stepping back ...
... and letting Bell-Bell kick the ball again. This time, the ball going FORWARD. Down the field. And across the half mark.
Where Advent intercepted it, tapping it forward with her foot-paw. Tapping, and then ... three paces, and KICK!
SMACK!
A squeak of pained surprise, as Herkimer flopped to the grass, twitching.
"You okay?" Ross asked, being the closest fur to the mouse. Going to him. Kneeling down.
"I, uh ... y-yeah," Herkimer stammered.
"You're bleeding. Your nose," Ross said.
Herkimer put a paw to his sniffy, twitching nose. Ruby-red blood dripping from it. Eyes welling. He was trying very hard NOT to cry. He just shook his head. "It's ... f-fine. It was an accident."
"That was no accident," Aria said, squinting.
"He got in the way," Advent said coldly. "I was trying to score."
"From this far out?"
"I have a good leg."
"Advent ... we're a TEAM. Try passing it. Try playing offense. And I think you KNEW," Advance told her, "that Herkimer was there."
The jaguar just shrugged. Very casually. Eyes golden, slitted, and indifferent.
"I think," Audrey called from behind them all, trying to lighten the suddenly tense mood. "I think all you males look cute without shirts on ... maybe we should have a new ship-wide dress code."
"A no shirts on males code?" Aria asked, raising her brow.
"Would you object?"
The snow rabbit eye-smiled. Eying Ross. Who was helping Herkimer sit up. And then helping him to his foot-paws. The two mice contrasting in fur color. Herkimer being grey-furred, and Ross's fur being a dirt-colored brown. A muddy color. Most mice were slender and trim. Very few mice were chubby. It was due to the amount of energy their mousey bodies burned.
Advance, padding to Herkimer, the sunlight glinting off his grain-colored shoulders, sighed. "You okay?" he asked softly.
The mouse, blood dripping down his lips and chin (from his nose), nodded. "Yeah ... yeah, I'll ... just need a towel. I think the bleeding's stopping."
Ross fetched a water bottle from the sideline, bring it back. "Here."
"Thanks," Herkimer said quietly. To be honest, Ross unnerved him. He used to be human, and ... how could he be trusted? But maybe he wasn't so bad. He seemed kind. And there was no WAY he was anywhere close to Advent's level of danger. So ... " ... thank you," Herkimer said again.
Ross, flushing, ears swiveling, nodded. "You're welcome," he whispered.
"Herkimer, you get a free kick. At the spot you went down."
"A free kick?" protested Advent.
"Yes. He was fouled."
The jaguar scowled. "Just PLAY," she demanded, stalking around a bit, extending her claws as far from her paw-pads as they could go.
Aria watched her closely.
Advance, keeping his voice low, asked Herkimer, "Is there something you wanna tell me ... about you and her?"
"No," the grey-furred mouse whispered, looking down at the grass. Ross now having returned with a towel. Helping to dab the blood away.
"Hey ... Herkimer, you can trust me, you know? I'm a mouse, too. I'm your Captain."
"It's ... it's private," Herkimer stammered. The mouse now collar-less. Had cut it off, but ... he still shuddered, remembering it there. As if an invisible weight.
"Alright," Advance said quietly. Whiskers twitching. "Um ... well, if you need to talk, I'll be here."
"Thanks," Herkimer said simply, sniffling. Clearing his throat. Blood cleaned up. Fur a bit wet (from having been squirted with the water from the water bottle). "I'm ready to kick."
Advance nodded and scurried down the field a bit.
Aria, going to up Herkimer (and Ross, who was still near his fellow mouse) ... she said quietly, "Pass it."
"To who?" Herkimer blinked.
"Him. Me. We need a strategy ... thus far, both sides have been blindly kicking the ball. We need to dribble and control it. With our foot-paws. Let's pass it around."
Herkimer nodded. Released a breath. "Okay ... okay," he went, nodding. And, after a few seconds, he tapped it to his left. To Aria.
The snow rabbit, in her shorts and tank-top ... her pure-white bobtail flickered and bobbed behind her. Her long ears slender and aware. Her body beautiful, reflecting every ounce of sun. And it made her appear as if she were glowing.
She kicked the ball across the field. To Ross. Who stopped it with his foot-paw. Went forward, stopped, and darted toward the middle of the field, kicking it back a few feet. To Herkimer, who went forward, forward ...
... and kicked it to Aria, who, close to the goal, booted it.
Missing. Going left. Missing the pole by a foot.
The snow rabbit sighed, raising her muzzle upward. Closing her eyes.
Advance was clapping his paws. "Good play ... really. See, this is how we do it," he told everyone, moving to Audrey. The squirrel, his mate, setting up for a goal-kick.
And Audrey kicked it to Advent. Who hadn't expected to be passed to ... and was forced to chase down the ball. But Aria slid from behind, knocking the ball toward the middle of the field, where it rolled, rolled, and where Herkimer booted it to Ross ... but it didn't quite get to him.
Advance, instead, jumped up, the ball bouncing off his trim, bare chest, cushioned off the fur, and then cushioned off the grass, and stopping. The desert mouse dribbling the ball a bit ... and crossing it over to Welly, who broke away, kicked it ...
... and had it swatted away from the goal by Bell-Bell.
Aria, having torn down there, tried to kick it out of bounds. But Advent's swinging foot-paw caught a glance of it. The ball skipped high up, closer to the middle of the field, and Advance, eyes upward, positioning himself, leapt ...
... as the ball came down. It went BOUNCE off his head ... hitting his head right between his ears (but not hitting the ears themselves). And the ball soaring, arcing and ... slipping two inches away from Bell-Bell's fingers. As she flopped to the grass.
And the ball sank into the back of the net.
The desert mouse, paws raised, bare chest heaving, nodded. "Yeah! Yeah ... "
"Whoa," Ross whispered.
"I can't believe you did that!" Audrey shouted, from the other end (in her own team's goal). "I didn't know you could do that ... "
Advance giggle-squeaked. Whiskers twitching, furred tail snaking. "Mm ... now you know," he said, winking.
Audrey literally drooled.
"Mouse, way to use your head," Welly said, patting the mouse on the back. Jogging back to the middle of the field.
"Well, as I said ... it's my favorite sport."
"From your celebration," Aria said, "one would think the game is over. I can assure you," she promised competitively, "it is not."
Advance grinned. This was more like it.
After the game.
The femmes and males had separate showers.
"Ross?"
The vole blinked. "Mm?" Sitting alone in the males' locker room. His underwear still on. His shorts, too. Paws clutching a towel.
Herkimer emerged into the open, foot-paws making a wet slapping sound on the floor. His grey fur matted (and, because of it, seeming a darker shade of grey). The mouse was naked. "You joining us?" he asked softly.
Ross bit his lip. Ears burning.
"You okay?"
"You're ... pawing in there."
"Yeah," said the mouse, not understanding. "So?"
Ross hesitated. "I don't know."
"Human friends don't ... paw together?"
"Not really, no." A shy shake of the head. "And ... and, anyway, what if Aria ... "
"The femmes are doing the same thing in the other locker room."
A whisker-twitch. "Really?"
A little nod. Herkimer took a breath. "Yeah. It's, uh ... you feel a bit of a headache, right, in the front of your head?"
"A little. I ... was gonna ask Welly for some medicine."
"Well, you probably haven't had an orgasm since last night."
"Oh. Oh ... two a day. Yeah ... Aria told me."
"You can go without it, but ... you'd get really irritable." An extended paw. "Come on. Captain wants you to join us."
Ross sighed and twitched, nodded nervously. And stood. And hesitated.
"Here," Herkimer whispered, pulling Ross's shorts and briefs down ... down to his ankles. "Lift," he said of the vole's right foot-paw. "And the other ... " Until the vole was just as naked as his fellow rodent. Both of their mouse-hoods pink and erect.
"Come on ... " Herkimer stepped with a wet slap-slap sound ... back into the open shower stall. "I got him, guys," the mouse said.
Ross saw Welly sitting on the long bench that lined one of the walls. The closest shower-head was aimed at the wall. The water ricocheted and rained down the wall. To the skunk's shoulder and back. "Huhn," he huffed, water spraying from his lips. He licked his wet lips. "Huh ... hey, vole-boy."
"Ross. Uh ... my name's ... "
"I know. Just ... p-playing," the skunk breathed, slumped a bit against the blue-tiled wall. His pink cock halfway out of its sheath. His paws smothering it.
"Good," Advance breathed, "game." He swallowed. Eying Ross. Offering a warm smile.
Ross shyly nodded back. The Captain sat a few feet away from Welly. He, too, smothering his cock with a paw. A shower-head pelting his chest with water ... " ... uh, Herkimer. Adjust that head. Put it like Welly's is."
The mouse stood on the tips of his foot-paws ... and did so. And then slapped over between the skunk and mouse. Sitting between them. And he patted the bench between himself and the Captain. Indicating for Ross to sit.
Ross did so. Eyes nervously darting. Whiskers twitching. And ... " ...ah," went his voice.
Advance, his other paw now gripping Ross's cock, steered it around a bit. It ticked upward a bit more. With a bit more blood. "Humans have sheaths?"
"Uh ... uh, kind of. Uh ... foreskins. Kind of like, uh, sheaths."
Herkimer, eyes closed and pawing himself, leaned his head on Ross's shoulder, breathing softly.
"Relax," the Captain told Ross, still holding the vole's cock. Eyes widening. "Go on ... foreskins?"
"Uh, yeah ... uh ... like, it's a sheath of skin ... for the penis to stay in. But, uh, I didn't have one."
Welly, huffing through the nose as he pawed, asked weakly, "Why not ... "
"I ... had it cut off."
"By choice?" The skunk blinked, eyes wide.
"No. No, it's ... when I was born. It's ... more sanitary. And, sometimes, it's religious, too. So ... it was a bit of both, really, in my case. I don't know. I never exactly asked my parents about it ... but, yeah."
Welly shuddered.
Advance, pawing himself AND Ross, nodded quietly. "Ignore him," he said, of the skunk. "Us rodents do that, too. Have our sheaths removed at birth ... we're proud of it."
"Whatever," Welly said, closing his eyes.
"Nothing to be ashamed of," Advance whispered, own eyes closing. He sighed through the nose, the water raining down on his head a bit. Traveling down the wall in strong rivulets. Soaking his shoulder and neck and back. "Mm ... relax ... "
Ross did so, adjusting his sitting position a bit. And leaning his head against Herkimer's. Their big, mousey ears bending against each other.
Herkimer breathed in, putting his nose into Ross's wet neck-fur. But keeping his eyes closed.
"Anyway," Advance continues, "it's been my experience that ... femmes like sheath-less more. It's more attractive ... plus, they know what they're getting."
"They do NOT," Welly scoffed.
"Your penis is all hid in a ... little pouch there. Mine's not."
The skunk shook his head, smiling. "Whatever, mouses ... cut your sheaths off. I don't care."
"It looks better. Admit it ... "
"Does it feel better?"
"I couldn't say. I don't know. I like my orgasms, if that's what you're asking ... anyway, it's easier to handle ... cleaner. Plus, our faith ... "
"Feels," Herkimer moaned, "fine ... to me."
Ross giggled shyly.
"Mm ... I respect that," Welly said quietly. "I do. As a branding of faith. So ... I'm not gonna play Mr. Mean-Fur and put you down for it. And, as a doctor, I buy the cleanliness thing ... that's true, but, hey, all the same: I like my sheath. I don't regret having it." A pause. "So, your penises can laugh at mine ... all they want. Bet they can't cum as fast."
"Mm ... who's trying," Herkimer moaned, his grey paw slip-sliding over his erect member, "to be fast ... "
"Oh ... oh," Ross panted. Advance now fondling his lap, letting go of the vole's cock ... letting Ross take over himself. The vole nodded, pawing himself now ...
"Uhh," Advance gurgled, leaning on Ross, who, snuggled by the other two mice, squeaked softly.
The three mice, all leaning on each other ... pawed. Penises going slick-slick and fap-fap ... their free paws caressing wet, matted fur. Tweaking at nipples. Advance was licking Ross's lips ... the vole, huffing, turned. It melted into a kiss. An eyes-closed, sucking kiss ... both still pawing their own, sensitive penises.
Herkimer nibbled on Ross's shoulder, sucking the water from his fur. "Uhn ... mmm ... " They were all soaking wet.
"I, uh ... " Ross, free from the kiss, panted. "Why ... why's he ... "
"Welly?" Advance asked, extending an invitation ... at Ross's request.
The skunk, eyes closed, very near his own orgasm, shook his head. "You three are effeminate ... male mice are wispy. Male skunks are not. Mm ... mmm ... no, thanks."
"Huhn ... mm, we're all," Herkimer huffed, "straight, Welly. We're just pawing, is all. Don't ... don't be a prude."
"I KNOW you're all straight. Look, us four could be presidents of the pussy-lovers club, but ... it's not a phobia thing. It's ... but ... I'd rather NOT paw without three squeaking mice draped over my body, okay?" the Doctor said. "I get claustrophobic. I'm serious."
Advance giggle-squeaked, arching. "Ahh ... ah ... " He was close, now, himself.
Ross had, while Advance and Welly had been conferring ... he'd started kissing Herkimer. Sucking his lower lip. And Herkimer, with the longer tongue, slipped it into Ross's mouth.
"Uhhn ... uh, yeah ... ohhhh ... " He gave a bark or two. Welly did. Spraying his semen against the other wall. And huffing hard. "Oh," he breathed, smiling happily. "N-nice ... mm ... but, oh, I need a drink now ... "
"Heh ... we're pelted with water. Being pelted with ... "
"Ice water," Welly corrected, giggling. "Uhhn ... stop it." His penis gave a few residual pleasure-spurts. "Mm," the skunk sighed, closing his eyes. Slumping against the wall. And both paws now free, gripping the edge of the bench. "Nice," he whispered again.
"Ahhh, ahnn. Ahhmmm ... " Advance moaned, cumming on Ross's belly. The white, steamy semen clung to his fur, slowly sliding down. The water starting to wash it away ... bit by bit ... " ... oh," the Captain huffed, blinking, water hanging from his whisker-tips. He shuddered as his cock kept twitching. And chitter-squeaked. Chitter ...
"Mm ... and then," Welly said cheekily, "there were two."
"Oh, ohh ... " Ross and Herkimer, pumping their own penises, suckling lips and whiskers ...
"Which one will give first?" Welly asked Advance.
The desert mouse, huffing, eyes still hooded from his orgasm, said quietly, "Well ... well, Ross is a wildcard. Herkimer ... I don't know. Ross will give. I think Herkimer's got it in him ... "
"Ah! Uh!"
"Hey, no fair!" Welly said, chuckling hysterically. "N-no ... you're massaging Ross's sac ... you can't bet on Herkimer and make Ross cum first!"
"I'm just being friendly," Advance replied, grinning.
Ross shuddered, squeaking. Squeaking in high, pleasured pitches. "Ooh! Ohn, ohhn ... " Semen flung from his tip. Twitch, twitch ... to Herkimer's arm. And to the floor. And to his own chest. "Huh," he huffed, shivering, eyes squeezed shut from the pleasure. "Huh ... "
" ... 'kay, Herkimer," Welly injected. "Let 'er rip! You win!"
The grey-furred mouse giggle-squeaked between moans ... and did so. Huffing, squirming, and ... penis flinging his seed in pleasured jolts. "Uhn, uh ... huhh," he went, twitching, raising his muzzle up. Getting a face-ful of water. Dribbling it out. The semen getting on Advance. And on the wall behind them. And a bit of it on Ross's neck.
Four male orgasms from four male furs.
And all four slumped, huffing, and letting the shower water rain onto their fur.
"Well," said Welly, taking a deep breath. "What's next?"
"Breakfast," Advance promised, "in the mess hall."
"I'm really glad we did all this. It's fun," Herkimer breathed. Huffing.
"That's the idea," Advance said seriously. "I want this crew to be a family. To be friendly. Not just ... furs thrown together for random duties. I think if we do this a few times a week ... you know, play a game, have breakfast, talk ... it'll help. I want this to be the BEST ship and best crew in the fleet."
"Aren't we already?" the skunk asked, grinning.
"Not according to the admirals who I report to. But ... to me? Yes," the desert mouse whispered. And he looked to Ross. "And I'm sorry if we've been cold to you ... at first. It's just ... furs and humans don't know much about each other. What we DO know of your people isn't very good. They want to destroy us."
"I know," the vole whispered, twitching. "But ... I don't. I really like you. All of you ... I just want to fit in. To make the most of my new life." A shy breath. "This felt really good, guys ... thanks."
"I know," Advance whispered back, stroking Ross's chest. "And Aria's a good mate for you. She's very civil. Very protective. You're in good paws."
Ross smiled shyly, nodding.
"Well," Advance finally said, taking a deep breath. Standing. And he stood directly under a shower-head. "Another minute, and we gotta dry up. We don't wanna keep the femmes waiting ... "
Welly chuckled. "Good one ... like they're gonna be done in the bathroom faster than we are? They'll be in there another twenty minutes." The skunk stepped beneath a shower stream, too.
Herkimer and Ross shared one, swaying with each other.
"All the same ... "
"Where's the fur shampoo?" Herkimer asked, looking around.
"I have it."
"Well, don't use it all," he demanded of Welly.
"Skunks have extra-silky coats," he defended primly. Chuckling. "Which require EXTRA-special care."
"Sir," Herkimer said, to Advance.
"Welly," the Captain said. "Don't use all the shampoo."
Welly grinned and tossed the bottle to Herkimer. Who caught it. And began to lather Ross's fur.
The water, so warm. And the company, so friendly. This was a good day.
In the femmes locker room, they were, indeed, still sitting. Still pawing on the bench in the showers.
Aria returned from the lockers, naked, lithe, white fur matted. "Here," she said simply, putting her paws forward.
Advent squinted, purring. "What are these?" she asked suspiciously. Her breasts hung loosely. Physically, in terms of muscle-strength and pure size ... the jaguar had an edge over the others.
Bell-Bell giggled.
"They're fake penises, Advent," Audrey supplied. "Mechanical ones, I hope?" she asked, looking up at Aria.
The snow rabbit shook her head. "I thought best not. What with the water and all."
"Ooh, good call. You're always so logical. I don't know what we'd do without you."
"Neither," said the jaguar, frowning, "do I." She took one of the dildos. The one with the knot at the end. A wolf's, most likely.
"Adventurous," Audrey said.
The jaguar looked to her.
"The knot."
"I take it you've never been tied?"
Audrey shook her head.
"Pity. But, then, as prey ... I doubt you could handle it."
"Does it hurt?" Bell-Bell asked curiously.
"Yes. But the pain gives way ... to the warmest, sustained pleasure. An erotic connection. It's ... not something any of you could handle."
"A presumption," Aria said simply, letting the others pick their dildos.
"Meaning?" Advent pressed.
"I've taken ... I've taken," she said, "a knot before. It was not as you describe. It was a very primal, brutal experience."
"You TIED? With who?" Bell-Bell asked.
"An Arctic fox."
The others stayed quiet.
"He raped you?" Advent guessed, showing her teeth. Almost grinning at the primal nature of it all. The predatory power of such an act.
"As I said ... a brutal experience," Aria offered cooly, quietly.
"The war must've been tough," the jaguar continued. Not letting it go. "How many predators did you kill?"
"Advent," Audrey interrupted.
"What?"
"Muzzle it."
The jaguar growled.
"What'd you do to Herkimer, huh?" Bell-Bell asked, piping up. Raising her voice to be heard above the running water.
"He betrayed me," was all the feline said.
"You were beating him," Aria said.
"Aria," said Advent.
"Yes?"
"Muzzle it," the jaguar growled, mimicking Audrey.
And there was a moment of silence.
"Hey, uh ... girls, let's all calm down. I mean, no reason to talk ... about all this stuff. We're in here to get clean, relax, and paw. Okay?" No answer. And another, "Okay?"
Aria nodded quietly.
Advent didn't nod. Just squinted.
Audrey, the squirrel, sighed. Those two had it in for each other. Or, more to the point: Audrey had it in for ARIA. One of these days, that cat was gonna explode.
Bell-Bell was the first to slip the tip of her dildo into her vagina. Just the tip. She sighed, closing her eyes. Leaning back. And pushed more of it in.
"What'd you get?" Audrey asked.
"Raccoon ... " The deer smiled, spreading her legs farther apart, pushed it in. Huffed. "Oh ... "
"Mmm," purred Advent. The jaguar pushing the toy wolf cock into her own vagina. "Mm," she sighed. And she used her other paw to rub her clitoris.
"Mm ... mm ... " Bell-Bell was tweaking Aria's nipples. The snow rabbit delicately sat in the deer's lap. Both of them pushing their dildos in.
Audrey, on the right side of them all ... got up ... and her bare, wet foot-paws sloshed through the water running through the drain. And the squirrel, her normally-bushy tail flattened by the water, sat on the puddled bench. Right next to Advent.
The jaguar squinted.
The squirrel leaned against her. "You can't be all that bad," she said quietly. Looking to her. Whiskers twitching.
The feline just tilted her head.
"Uhh," Audrey sighed, a kangaroo dildo halfway inside her. "Uh ... " Leaning more snugly against the feline, who started to purr. Purr, purr ...
Aria and Bell-Bell rubbed their own clitorises ...
Audrey now suckling on one of Advent's breasts. The feline purring and raking her claws gently down the squirrel's back.
Someone's dildo fell to the floor. And someone else's ... the squishy, slick sound of pumping fingers taking their place.
"Huhn ... can you ... just imagine," Bell-Bell panted, "the guys doing this? Heh ... "
"Would like," Audrey huffed, muzzle now on Advent's shoulder, "to have a camera in that locker room."
"Tell me about it," the doe replied. "Oh, I think it's SO sweet and cute ... two males ... as long as they don't yiff."
"Heh," went Audrey. "So, like, you like them all hanging on each other, kissing, squeaking, pawing ... but penetration action ... "
"No. No." A shake of the head. "See, we KNOW they're making out in there ... just like we are. We're group-pawing. It's friendly, and ... we need an orgasm to get through the day, so ... but, no, like ... if I THOUGHT they were yiffing in there, it ... "
" ... would make you uncomfortable," Aria supplied, rubbing the doe's sides.
"Well, yes. I mean ... they're our mates." A pause. "Most of them, anyway. I don't want them fucking each other in the ass ... like, there's a LINE, you know?"
"Agreed," Aria said, nodding. Water dripping down her ears.
"I know it's an unpopular thing to say, but I ... there's a line, to me," the deer confided. "We can't cross it."
"So, what's the difference?" Audrey asked. "We're fingering, kissing each other ... "
"But we're not having INTERCOURSE. We're not imprinting SOULS."
"Oh, please," Advent scoffed. "Don't launch into that rubbish ... "
"It's NOT rubbish," the doe said defensively. "See, you can't imprint souls by pawing, but ... intercourse? Or even oral ... you know ... "
"Faith is a weakness. Too many rules. You are kept in place by a doctrine of fear," the jaguar told her.
"Faith is a great source of hope, inspiration ... meaning," Bell-Bell stressed, "to billions of furs. To simply say it's an ignorant 'doctrine of fear' is to prove your OWN ignorance," she told the feline, "of the matter. And to prove your arrogance. Everyone who has faith is a mindless bigot? Way to simplify ... way to generalize, Advent ... "
"A weak system ... for a weak race. Prey," Advent scoffed, sitting up straighter, "are simply scared to face reality. Are simply scared by what they don't understand."
"Faith is ALL about embracing what you don't understand. Faith ... is complete trust and confidence in that which, perhaps, you can't see, can't prove, and to HAVE and HOLD faith in a universe where you're ridiculed for having it? Takes a lot of courage and conviction. I have a moral core. I know where I stand. And say what you want about me, but you can't call me WEAK," the doe said. "To understand faith," she whispered, "you have to have truly HAD it. And I'm sorry that you never have."
"Furs!" Aria said, her voice firm. Stern.
Advent, teeth showing, breathed hard.
The doe's eyes shone with fire.
"Furs," the snow rabbit repeated again. Agreeing, honestly, a lot more with Bell-Bell than Advent ... but needing to intervene and shut them both up. "I know that Advent is a predator. The rest of us are not. I know I'm from the ice. The rest of you are not. We've a diverse group of us ... in this room. But ... we can all get along. We're all ADULTS. Drop the subject. Both of you. We are simply pawing each other. There's nothing wrong with that." A breath. "If anyone has a problem with giving another fur pleasure ... then leave the room. We're here to have orgasms. Not to debate."
Bell-Bell nodded sheepishly. "You're right ... "
"Yes," Advent growled.
"Good. Let us continue," the rabbit said. And before Bell-Bell could open her mouth to say something else, the rabbit had resumed kissing her. Doing so until the doe went lax. Until she slipped her arms around the bunny's back.
Audrey, her soggy tail twitching, sniffed at the jaguar's fur. "Advent," she whispered.
"Mm?" The cat was pumping the wolf dildo in and out of her. Sighing as she did so. Moving it with a hard motion.
"Purr again ... "
The jaguar hesitated. But began to do so. Purr, purr ...
The squirrel sighed.
And Aria's ears danced at the sound, too.
"I'm sorry," Bell-Bell whispered, flushing. "I'm sorry, girls. Advent ... I didn't mean to rant. I ... I guess I'm still hyped up from the game." Her team had lost. She'd been the goalie. And the doe was still psyched up on competition.
The jaguar said nothing. Just purring. Until Audrey nudged her (firmly). And the cat sighed. "I accept your apology." And another hard nudge from Audrey, who whispered to say sorry. The cat growled. "And I am sorry, too. I was being ... verbally aggressive," she said. And left it at that. She was NOT going to admit to being unfair or wrong. Predators NEVER admitted their faults. That, in itself, was a weakness. (And, yet, their failure to own up to and correct their own errors ... was a character flaw all its own. One that ate away, collectively, at the predatory part of society.)
"It's okay," Audrey said ... " ... let's just relax, mm?" A sigh.
"Oh ... "
"Uhm," sighed Aria. Bell-Bell's hoof-like hand, her fingers ... had traced and touched all over her pussy. Before slipping into her heated, wet vagina. Past the knuckles.
Advent, huffing, pulled the wolf dildo out of her own pussy ... snatching the kangaroo dildo out of Audrey's.
"Uhn!" the squirrel grunted, filled with wolf cock. Knotted. "Uhhh ... "
"Mm ... " Advent purred. "Mm ... that was in my pussy," she whispered into the squirrel's ear. "My juices on it. Now, it's in you ... how's that make you feel?"
The squirrel panted, licking the water from her own lips. "You should've told me before you did that. That's ... a bit too intimate. And it's ... hurts. Take it out," she whimpered.
"You sure?" the cat purred.
"Yes," the squirrel repeated.
The cat hesitated. And pulled the wolf cock out. And put the kangaroo one back in. "Mm ... I loved that squeal you did."
Aria, seeing that the jaguar was toying with Audrey (a predator toying with prey) ... she drew the squirrel over to her and Bell-Bell.
"I'm content," the jaguar purred, as Audrey joined the other two, "to paw on my own. Just don't be frightened when I roar." She showed her teeth.
Bell-Bell, breath catching, her clit being fingered by someone (Aria or Audrey, she didn't know who), and the dildo being milked by her pussy-walls ... she spread her legs 'til they couldn't go any further. And she squirmed. "Uhn ... uhn," she whimpered. "Ohhh ... " Her hooves scuffed on the wet floor. Involuntarily. From the pleasure. "Ohhh ... yesss ... "
Aria, perfect head and perfect muzzle tilted back, let out a rabbit-bark. A yip. Yip ... as, Audrey's tongue swirled on one of her nipples. As Bell-Bell's fingers weakly caressed her slick, muscular vaginal walls, mimicking the friction of a male's penis ... and, and ... " ... ahhnn. Nn! Mmf ... hmm," the rabbit groaned, arching, sighing heavily. Very heavily. "Oh," she went, shaking her head. Eyes squeezed shut. As her pussy fluttered and fluid leaked.
Advent, massaging Audrey's tail-base, and giving the kangaroo dildo a good shove ... got the squirrel to squeal out. Squeak! Squeak out. And cum next. The squirrel shaking and head falling to Aria's breasts. The snow rabbit cradled her, eyes closed, very affectionately. While Advent messed with her behind. The squirrel giving pleasure-chitters ... as she endured her own orgasm.
And, finally, Advent having hers, giving a slow, leaky hiss ... hiss. Which got louder, and turned into a writhing, tooth-flashing growl. And a dull roar. Which died away with several sighs of nodding satisfaction.
The water from the shower-heads still jetting, raining, and patter-patting on their fur and on the tiled floor.
All having pawed, showered, and dried, the furs emerged from the locker rooms. And filtered into the corridor. Making their way to the mess hall for breakfast.
All the mates nuzzled.
Ross and Aria nuzzling noses, paws on each other's sides.
Advance and Audrey holding paws. Swatting at tails.
Welly and Bell-Bell whispering things in each other's ears ... getting chuckles and giggles.
While Herkimer quietly kept close to the wall. Giving Advent, who wore a blank, tired expression ... a wide berth. Knowing the other furs could sense the tension. But none of them said anything. What could they say? In public, especially?
So, Herkimer said a prayer, and ... tried not to think about it. Tried not to worry. And when they reached the mess hall, he put on a smile. And nibbled at his food. Trying, so hard, not to hate Advent. And trying not to be jealous of all his friends (for having loving mates).
Oh, the crew was a family alright. More than before, especially.
But, like all families: far from perfect.
But, like the ship they were on, they had light years ahead of them. They had hope. And, more importantly: faith.