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When the Night is Darkest

A Café Plaisir Tale

"This is MY forest, fox."

Raindrops dripped sullenly from the hidden canopy far above. They seeped through Zephyr's thin fur, sticking to him like limpets, while the cold breezes leaked his warmth and energy to the darkness of the uncaring night.

His toes caught on a fallen branch, and he stumbled, wind rushing past his face. He lashed out, trying to right himself - for a moment, he almost achieved a foothold, but the wet ground gave way and he collapsed helplessly to the floor. Pain spiked through his left arm and shoulder, and he found himself gritting his teeth to deal with it. He'd screwed his eyes shut too - not that it much mattered, in this light.

And anyway, that pain was nothing compared to how his insides felt. His throat had been rubbed raw, and his rear....

"I rule here, and its Pokémon are mine."

The fox tried fruitlessly to shove the echoing words from his mind, pushing himself up on his one good arm. Silvery shapes scattered the dense foliage ahead, barely showing edges to plants and ferns. The light of the moon was turning out to be a poor guide, and that was when he could even _see_it. Desperation pooled inside him like a tainted well. He tried to suppress it. It wasn't working.

He staggered another few steps forwards. Why had he wandered off? Of all the places to wish for some solitude, deep in the forest at night was_not_the place to do it, especially when his company had been his only guide. They'd barely been half an hour's walk from the Café, surely - how long had he been walking now? An hour, two? How could he possibly know...?

But he'd _had_to get away. He couldn't face Nature. Not after what he'd seen. Not after what he'd agreed to do.

The ground disappeared suddenly, gravity lunging at him with its omnipotent hand. Before he could catch himself, the dirty mire of a hill rose up to meet him, and he tumbled down a slope in a shower of mud and twigs.

When Zephyr cracked open his eyes, the distant canopy was edged in white around a small break. Through it, momentarily, he could see distant starlight - and then, he blinked, and they were gone. Nothing remained but the inky blackness of the void.

He laughed. Astonishingly, besides everything, he laughed. It came in ragged fits and starts, tearing from his throat each time.

He'd thought he'd seen stars, but there was nothing but blackness. How fitting a metaphor.

Another laugh ripped from him, and his throat burned once more. The hated laughter turned to coughs, then splutters, then retches as he rolled onto his front and hunched over, desperately grasping at the soil for any kind of comfort. He shook, gasped for as much air as possible, his oesophagus burning with even the tiniest breath.

Eventually, he managed to steel his resolve, fists clenched to try and push him into action. One thing at a time, he thought. Shelter, safety... for now, they could wait. In the meantime, he needed water, something to drink to soothe his throat, make it easier to breathe.

Zephyr dragged himself across the floor, ignoring the twigs and thorns digging into his arms. The sparse rain would hardly do, and he couldn't hear any streams nearby, but this forest had berries, right? Enough of those would settle his stomach, and hopefully give some relief.

His paws acted as his eyes in this dark undergrowth, moving along low stalks and branches. A could of times he brought something to his mouth, only to spit out a foul-tasting seed or a bundle of leaves. And sometimes, he was able to feel his way along a branch and find the sudden, blunt end of a twig, all that remained from a previously picked berry.

He coughed again, his arms shaking as search after search turned up nothing. Maybe he could just find a nice hole, he thought - curl up, wait for the morning, and hope that nothing decided to take advantage of a defenseless creature.

A grimace crossed his muzzle. In _this_forest...?

And then he stopped. Something was under his palm, something that didn't feel normal. He dragged himself forwards, cleaning away a mound of dirt, and running his fingers over the mottled surface.

It gave under his touch, even squelching a little. A root? Some kind of plant. He didn't know what, but one thing he did know was that by the feel of it... it was full of water.

Well... it was better than curling up in a hole and waiting to be eaten. He yanked it forwards, dragging a foot or so from the ground, and bit into it.

The taste was foul, almost sterile, and it clung to the tongue in a dry, harsh way. It was like something that would be made by someone who liked rubbing alcohol, but thought that it was overbearingly sweet.

And yet, the pain in his throat was slipping away with every grateful gulp. He sucked again and again, feeling the root wither under his grasp, until finally he dropped the husk to the ground.

His body still ached with exertion, but his neck seemed almost warm now against the harsh cold of the night. He coughed once, his throat remaining unhurt from it. A smile almost threatened to pass by his face.

He staggered to his feet, feeling almost light-headed. Well, that was one problem sorted. And now, maybe, he could find a way out of this forest.

He'd only taken a few steps before he collapsed, grabbing onto a broken stump of a tree in desperation. His head buzzed like he'd been struck, but there hadn't been any pain - just a thick cloud of cotton wool dulling his senses. His chest began to ache, but not as much as his hips did - both the outsides and insides started to sear, as agony jabbed all across his waist. He lifted his head, trying to drag himself forwards, but before he knew it he found himself curled up into a ball, quivering and shaking. His blood coursed through his veins like river rapids of lava, and no matter how much he clawed at the stump and the dirt, nothing was stopping the feeling that his body was... was....

And just like that, the worst was over. His blood began to cool, the sick feeling in his stomach was slowly sliding away, even if his insides still stung like a lump of hot coal and his chest still felt like someone had been kneading it like dough. Even his face felt warm, and when he cracked open his muzzle to gasp for breath, it felt almost alien.

He slid his paw down his body, a tactile damage report as his fingers roaming through matted fur and across the curves and contours of his once familiar form. _Once_familiar. Right now, they felt... strange. Different. Almost like...

He ran a paw down his stomach to his bare hips, across his stomach and to the slight mound of his crotch.

The unmistakable features of a vagina slid beneath his fingers.

He trembled. His free paw moved to his chest - predictably, horrifically, his fingers brushed over twin lumps of breasts, so solid and squishy beneath his grasp.

He began to pant, hyperventilating as realisation crashed through him. Oh gods... oh fuck, oh gods, what the hell...?

And that's when two red eyes appeared above him.

His heart thumped louder and louder like a jackhammer in his chest, his stomach catching in his mouth. Fear cascaded through his body, freezing it in place as he stared helplessly up at those eyes, mouth open in a silent cry of despair.

The two red eyes widened... and then, as the light of the moon appeared once more through the break in the canopy, the outline of the body of a Ninetales became etched in silver. His tails were curled neatly behind him, a small pack was slung across his back, and his mouth hung half-open in shock.

Zephyr's body rolled in the turmoil of emotions and fears as he stared up at the grand vulpine. As he watched, the Ninetales took a single, hesitant step closed, and lowered his head slowly.

"Are you... okay?"

Zephyr trembled under that gaze, but the moment those softly-spoken words slipped through him, he let out a breath. He began to swim in an ocean of relief, gratefully warming his body in its comforting waters.

"My name is Firenze. Come on... let's get you back to the Café." The Ninetales said, turning to fiddle with the pack.

Zephyr was in no position to argue.

In fact, he laughed.

* * *

The trip back through the forest was thankfully uneventful, especially laying across Firenze's back. Within a few minutes, the trees were already thinning, and the threat of any more red eyes or slithering serpents became ever more distant. By the time the brazier of warmth that was Café Plaisir appeared through the trees, Zephyr had begun to breathe easier. That was one problem down, anyway.

Now it just left... all of the others.

They slipped around the side of the building, and down a set of sunken steps, just past a few of the bedrooms. Firenze paused at the door only momentarily before it opened ahead of them, and they slipped into golden warmth.

Red carpet, hosting a tessellation of different shades, stretched down a long corridor. On either side a series of doors flanked them, and panels beside them were etched with room numbers. Small print-outs of names were there, too. He recognised a few of them - Eclipse, Vermont, Prometheus... were they in a waiter's corridor...?

A couple of Pokémon passed them - Zephyr could just make out black furred legs and paws scooting to the side to let them pass, and a conversation trailing off as they did. When it restarted, it was hushed, inquisitive.

They slipped through another door, and they were suddenly bathed a bright, clean light. Enamel tiles glinted as they passed beneath them, but before Zephyr could get a proper idea of the place, they were at another door, slipping inside it to find a much smaller room.

The decor hadn't changed much though, with those same white tiles and waterproof walls. Zephyr managed to look up, seeing a series of showerheads and dials on the side of the wall, as Firenze closed the door behind him with a tail. A lock clicked.

"There... you're safe now."

Zephyr slipped from Firenze's back, guided to the floor by a couple of tails. He stared up at the Ninetales, into that curious, kindly, angular face. It was strange but, every time he spoke, a fresh wave of comfort slid across Zephyr's mind.

Firenze turned, reaching out with one tail and curling the tip around a shower head, sliding it out of it's holder. "Don't worry, I'm just going to wash off all the dirt. Tell me - what's your name?"

Zephyr hesitated for a moment, then swallowed, drawing up his legs and wrapping his arms around them. Even they felt... different. Wrong. "Zephyr..." he replied, eventually, with a voice most definitely not his own.

Firenze seemed to pause. When Zephyr looked up, the Ninetales was looking back at him with a quizzical frown.

Well... no time like the present.

Zephyr sat there, huddled against the wall of the private shower room, and started to explain what had happened. How he'd left Nature on the way back to the Café, how he'd gotten lost in the seemingly shifting forest, the root, the change....

In fact, he explained pretty much everything, except the whole experience with that Serperior. He pushed the guilt of its omission from his mind - it wasn't like he didn't have other things to worry about. The tale he had to tell was unbelievable enough, and not only that - what Kusa had said...

Meanwhile, Firenze had started cleaning him part way into the story - the warm water trickled through Zephyr's fur so delightfully, it was almost unreal. He'd noticed too how Firenze held the shower head away from himself - he quickly figured out that even water this warm must feel uncomfortably cold for a fire type. Still, he pressed on, avoiding eye contact as much as he could. He could feel Firenze's eyes staring at him, judging.

"I... I never thought... this would happen." Zephyr mumbled as his story came to an end. "I know bad things can happen in forests, but I never thought _this_was something that could happen..."

"Neither did I, but it seems to have." Firenze said patiently, running the shower head across his shoulder.

Zephyr paused. He had expected a bit more disbelief than that. He looked up into those glinting red eyes. "Huh...?"

"I haven't heard of this before. It's certainly new to me, but I must confess that I'm not wholly surprised - saying that our forests are conventional is turning out to be increasingly erroneous." He paused, cocking an eyebrow. "Your presence here, for example."

A bitter smirk threatened to reach onto Zephyr's face. It failed, but only just.

Firenze turned off the showerhead. The pool of dirty water around them had slowly been getting less and less clogged with muck over the course of the story, and now it was almost clean. "It's thanks to Nature, by the way, that I found you." Firenze continued, turning to reach for a towel from a shelf high on the wall. "When you didn't return for an hour, he got worried, thought something might of happened. I doubt he was thinking something like this, though. He's probably still chewing on his tail, in fact, the poor boy. I can get him to call down here, if you wan-"

"No." Zephyr said, with enough suddenness to make Firenze raise an eyebrow. Zephyr broke the gaze, rubbing his legs once more. "No, not right now. I just want to find a bed and sleep."

"Well, we should at least get you checked out. We have several-"

"No, please..." Zephyr looked up, squeezing his knees together. "Tomorrow, maybe. I'd like to rest for now."

Firenze stared back at him. Zephyr felt himself withering under that concerned look, and yet it was almost like he was falling into a safety net - there was no sense of danger or worry when he held that ruby gaze.

And then, Firenze nodded his head. "Okay. I'll relent - as long as you promise you'll get checked out tomorrow."

Zephyr was in no position to argue, and he nodded, just before another thought crossed his mind, "Oh, and... one last thing?"

"Hm?" Firenze paused, the towel suspended ready between two tails.

"I... I don't want to be alone tonight. If you, I mean, if you're okay with that..."

Firenze's expression was strange. You could tell with just a glance that, behind those deep red eyes lay a mind - a deep mind, full of both emotions and rational thought at the same time. And yet, it was a juxtaposition that seemed to breed something strangely confident and domineering.

Firenze smiled. It radiated comfort. "As you wish."

After Zephyr had dried off, and was able to stand on two legs (albeit shakily, and holding onto Firenze for support), they slipped through the Café mostly unseen. It seemed like they never really entered any areas that customers usually would, instead opting for passing through a storeroom and even a generator room before arriving a short while later at a doorway. Firenze slipped a card into a reader, and opened the door with a tail, standing back to let Zephyr walk unsteadily inside.

The scene was, in a word, opulent. A red sofa stood in the middle of the room, facing a large, wood-burning fireplace, with a thick red carpet between the two. To one side was an armchair, the cushions bulging with padding, while on the other the light of the dawn was already beginning to illuminate a mighty four-poster bed, similarly covered in thick crimson blankets.

Firenze slipped around him, moving to the bed to close the curtains as the door slid shut, leaving just the light of a single bedside lamp to cast a golden glow around the room. The warmth was not just psychological, either - the room was almost as hot as that shower room had been after the steam had filled the air. After all he'd been through, Zephyr found it almost pleasant.

Firenze moved to the spot before the sofa, and with a single breath, let loose a lick of flame into the fireplace - a small gout of fire sprung up from where it had caught on the already half-blackened fuel. Illuminated from behind in the fire's glow, he turned to Zephyr again.

"You take the bed. I'll be fine on the floor."

Zephyr nodded. He would have stated his thanks more readily, but with the overbearing warmth and the sight of that bed, he wanted nothing more but to just sink into the pillows and finally get some rest.

He clambered onto the covers, and lay down, curling up and staring out at the far wall. The room lapsed into silence, broken only by Firenze's soft breathing from near the fireplace.

Sleep, however, evaded him. His mind still ticked over the events of the past day, a cycle of fear and worry that hounded his thoughts. He'd come here as many do when they seek out Café Plaisir - for pleasure, to enjoy himself, to take part in some delightful carnal fun. It had even worked, at first, with the not-so-soft touch of an Arcanine....

Then came the Serperior. After that, his own betrayal of his morals, and then this... transformation....

His future had seemed simple. Now, it was clouded, the events of the day choking what had previously been so clear. Not only that, but the one place he thought would be free from any sort of worries was the one place that had _spawned_them.

After a short while, he pulled himself up, and slipped beneath the top-most cover of the bed.

Café Plaisir was said to change many people's lives. He supposed that it was true after all.

"Good night, Zephyr."

Firenze's voice was a deep baritone in the quiet room. He almost felt it vibrate through the mattress.

Only then, with the hounds of fear leering from a dark future so present in his mind, did he finally fall asleep.

* * *

The only notable thing that happened over the next few days was a deepening of Zephyr's turmoil. He spent most of his time in Firenze's room, sleeping in his bed during the mornings while his host slept on the floor beside the fire. The Ninetales was more often on duty or dealing with Café business than not, which gave Zephyr plenty of time to slump on the covers, head in his hands, trying to unravel the tangled web of unknowns his life had become.

This new female body of his seemed as normal as any other feminine form, from what he could tell - sliding his paws up and down the curves of his waist, across his hips, they all seemed to tell him that. Then again, he wasn't totally sure - he could never get close enough to the mirror to check. Every time he'd try, terror would wash through him at what he might see, and he'd retreat to the safety of the bed.

He tried to pass the time with the vast collection of books that Firenze housed, the dark-wood bookshelves starting from the floor and extending no more than a metre and a half up the warm, pale yellow walls. It was an ideal height for ferals, Zephyr figured, before the thought of also being turned into a feral passed through his mind. Hmph - that wouldn't have been as bad....

Unfortunately, the books never seemed to offer much in the way of entertainment. Firenze seemed to have a penchant for the classics - which implied they'd be the best this world would have to offer and of great interest to people of all walks of life, but instead seemed to invariably mean dusty leather covers binding tomes as dense, thick and old-fashioned as the text they contained. Zephyr was no stranger to getting lost in a good book, yet these were truly impenetrable.

Even the literature in this world was against him now, it seemed.

He seldom left the bedroom. There had been an early visit to the Café's Sick Room, where an examination had apparently found him in a nominally healthy physical condition, aside from the whole issue of having the wrong genitals. Aside from that, and an occasional wander around the corridors outside the room, Zephyr felt like there wasn't really anywhere for him to go. If he could help it, he could avoid being seen by others too, as if that might somehow instill some kind of permanency to his new situation. Which was difficult, since every time he was left alone, the worries only haunted him all the stronger.

Fortunately, there were other ways. He was out of Firenze's room right now, sitting in a small room almost completely covered in cushions, which even extended half-way up the bare red-brick walls. To one side, a slanted window was tinted black, and looked down into another, much larger room, which he'd already known to be Captivate.

Captivate was the Café's ballroom-cum-strip club, which in all practicality was just a large room with a stage, catwalk, several poles, a bar, and a fair selection of seating - with a few curtained-off areas here and there for good measure. It was an ideal place for anyone wanting to use the Café for it's primary role as a brothel, so finding it to be rather popular on an evening like this one hardly seemed unusual. A myriad of whoops, catcalls and other cacophonies were only slightly muffled the glass.

Captivate was also the only source of light. While there was a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling (between that and the mostly bare walls, it was obvious this room wasn't used by people who wanted to spend time appreciating the decor), he hadn't turned it on. He might see his reflection in the glass if he did.

Eventually, the curtain that served as the room's door was pushed aside. Zephyr tensed, and only relented a little as a familiar Lucario slipped in and gave a small bow.

"Hey, Nature."

Nature's eyes were wide. It was a normal expression for him, Zephyr had come to realise, and yet even now he could feel those eyes drifting across his body, taking in everything that was different. Even the baggy T-Shirt and shorts that had been retrieved from his original room at the Café weren't enough to hide everything.

Eventually, Nature averted his gaze, as if he'd realised he was staring. "Uh... hi..." he muttered, his voice soft. He stood awkwardly by the curtain, paws grasped together in front of himself, looking like he was trying not to offend the room with his presence. For a typically so combat-orientated species, It was almost comical.

"You can sit down, you know," Zephyr said, leaning back against the wall, his large tail acting as some small comfort. "Though I expect you're more used to kneeling in this room, huh?"

Nature opened his mouth, floundered for a moment, before a smile quirked at his lips. "Something like that, yes." he said, before sitting down on a cushion, legs crossing.

Silence returned to the room. Zephyr hunched his shoulders and glanced at the Lucario - the poor guy looked to be feeling worse than he was. He sighed. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Um..."

He watched Nature's expression twitch; those large, innocent eyes flitted up to meet Zephyr's gaze, only to be caught in the act and become suddenly more interested in the floor.

"How am I?" Zephyr supplied helpfully.

Nature shrank back a little, but nodded with a fair bit of relief, his ears rising slightly.

"Not great."

"Oh..." Down those ears went again.

Zephyr sighed once again, leaning forwards. "Look, I'm sorry, I-"

Nature's eyes widened significantly. "No, no, _I'm_sorry! I mean, I let you walk off, and...!" He trailed off, staring at him.

Zephyr slumped back, choosing not to correct him. "Yeah, but it was my decision. It was a bad one too, surprisingly. That forest is dangerous."

Nature frowned. "It's... it's not that bad..."

Zephyr shook his head. "There's a lot in there you don't know about. And I'm not just talking about strange roots that do this to you..." He waved a paw up and down his body. "That forest... it's not a good place. And to be honest?" He glowered at the window, feeling energy drain from his shoulders. "I'm not feeling all that fond of the Café right now, either."

Once more, silence laid its ill-fitting blanket across the room, broken only by the continual racket from Captivate. When Zephyr finally looked back at Nature, he was shuffling across the cushion, shoulders hunched, ears flat against his head.

Zephyr watched him for a few more moments, then slumped backwards. "Been up to much?"

"Oh, just... work. In the garden, and in the bedrooms." Another pause, his tail shifting against the cushions. "You...?"

Zephyr stared out of the window again, hanging a leg off his own cushion. "Not much to keep me busy, honestly. Lots of books in Firenze's room, but they all seem to be terribly convoluted tales about people going to strange places and saying lots of words no-one's heard for a few centuries. And this summer heat... I thought a place like this would have better air conditioning. I thought it was just Firenze's bedroom, but it seems to be everywhere..." He paused, his mind still ticking over. He wanted to talk to Nature, to apologise further, but each time he even began to consider saying anything...

Those images of Kusa's glowering face were seared into his mind.

And then, an idea presented itself. He blinked from the sheer weight of the realisation. "Maybe... you could help."

"Oh?" Ears up, tail twitching.

Zephyr raised his eyebrows. "How about you tell me a story?"

Nature frowned. "A story? I'm not sure I know many..."

"What about how you got here?"

The tail stopped moving. The ears twitched, but froze. That was a nerve, huh...?

He was about to apologise, maybe change the subject, when Nature responded.

"Okay."

Zephyr went to say something, but decided against it. He wrapped his arms around one leg, and watched as the Lucario lowered his gaze, eyes glazing over as he stared into the past.

"I only came to the Café a few months ago. Before that, I lived only a few hundred miles away, actually. Was there since I was born."

"Never moved?"

He shook his head. "And almost no trips, either. I didn't get out of the house much."

There was something in that tone of voice which seemed to create a pit in Zephyr's stomach. "Go on..."

"My stepfather... he worked at the local gym. One of the ones that was a combined Pokémon Gym and human one. He was a Hitmonchan, always wanted what was best for the family... he said."

"Ah..." This time it was Zephyrs' ears that lowered.

"Yeah. My mother tried to help me and my brother, but he had this way of... being in charge. Everyone just went along with him. My brother became more like him every day, and my mother became less like herself. I didn't question it, because... that's just how it was."

Zephyr watched the Lucario, all those little twitches and shakes. This tale was doing a number on him. "Nature, if-"

"It's okay." Nature breathed out slowly, then gave Zephyr a reluctant smile. "This went on for a while, until they took my laptop and saw what kind of sites I'd been going on. I'd... not exactly waited until I was an adult, and... well, the customers I go for-"

"Are all male."

Nature nodded. A wry smile ghosted across his muzzle for just a moment. "They didn't like that. My stepfather especially, he was furious. He threatened to get me into his gym, watch me all day every day. Years with no internet, no outside world - just him." He paused for a moment, staring at the floor. "A few days later, the very night I became an adult? I ran away."

Zephyr pushed himself up, leaning forwards. "Ran away? To where?"

Nature smiled again, lifting his paws into the air. "Here."

"You ran away from home... to a brothel...?"

Nature almost laughed. His gaze flicked up to meet Zephyr's for a moment. "Well, it wasn't that it was a brothel. I hadn't even been here before, but I'd been talking to people here for a few days beforehand. It was just a way out, I didn't expect to stay permanently."

"And now?"

This time, the smile stretched right across his muzzle and stayed there. "The people here were more welcoming than I could imagine. Ceylon, Firenze, Jack, even Minka... they all greeted me with such big smiles. They barely knew me - only a few even knew about where I'd come from, but despite knowing so little, or even nothing about my past, they were all so... kind. Accepting. Happy." Nature shuffled his paws. "This people here... they're more of a family to me than anyone. I've never been anywhere like here."

The need for acceptance. Issues with family, searching desperately for someone to respect and look up to in his life. Things were starting to make sense... and yet...

"You ran away from home to come to a brothel you'd never been to, to people you'd never met, abandoning your previous life..." he frowned. "Just... how? How could you do that?"

Nature blinked, staring at him like the answer was obvious. "I had to. I had no choice - it was either that, or stay there. There was only one option."

"But it could have been terrible, it could have been worse than your family."

"I don't know if anything could have been... but, I had to try." Nature fidgeted with the cushion. "Oh... and, um... please don't tell anyone this story... I don't want a lot of people to know..."

"It's fine. I won't say anything." Zephyr nodded, and only then did he realise he was on the edge of his cushion. He glanced down somewhat sheepishly and leaned back against the wall. His gaze wandered back to the window, out into the evening hubbub of Captivate. "And at least you made the choice, instead of having it made for you."

"I think... it _was_made for me, though." It was Nature's turn to lean forwards. "I couldn't stay in that life. I had no choice but to come here."

"No matter what it would be like?"

"Oh, I was scared... terrified, even... but it happened. I couldn't go back. I didn't have any option, I had to go forwards. Sometimes, even things you have no choice in turn out to be the best things that ever happened to you... you just gotta keep moving and make sure they are."

Zephyr found himself staring at the Nature, who this time held his gaze. His chest ached with worry, fear... and realisation.

"You said that because it applied to me, didn't you?"

Nature wrung his paws, glancing away as a blush touched his ears.

Zephyr quirked an eyebrow. "You know, you could make a good councillor."

The blush only intensified. "Could... I continue working as a waiter too...?"

"Only therapist session with a happy ending included."

Nature broke out into a giggle. Zephyr watched the Lucario, such a beacon of innocence in a well of debauchery. He still hadn't told him about Kusa - it seemed pretty clear why Nature had attached to him so, with such a need for a parental figure. But, right now, that felt like a topic for another day - right now, all they needed was a laugh.

And what a laugh. Nature's giggling fluttering through the air like a babbling stream, mixing with the raucous guffaws and cheers of delight from Captivate itself.

Zephyr couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Zephyr stared at the canopy of Firenze's bed as the small hours of the morning slipped by unnoticed. There was a clock on the bedside table, but he hadn't looked at it since he'd returned after his talk with Nature. From experience, he'd found that staring at it only seemed to weigh down the hands and painfully drag out the passage of time - though, that wasn't why he wasn't looking at it. For first time in the past few days, he wasn't looking at it because he didn't actually mind what time it was. For first time in the past few days, he wasn't bored.

He lay there, thinking over his talk with Nature, as the sky outside slowly grew lighter and lighter with the dawn. It was raining again - not some great storm that sometimes touched the plains, a mere endless blanket of clouds that was dusting the ground with a steady stream of rainfall. The gentle patter of the raindrops against the glass had become a pleasant backdrop to his musings.

The door on the far side of the room opened, and Zephyr gave a start - but Firenze's reassuring smile appearing through the gap was more than enough to settle him.

"Evening..." Zephyr muttered, pushing himself further up the bed.

Firenze nodded in acknowledgement with a pleasant smile. "Morning."

"Time to sleep?"

"For once, no, as a matter of fact."

Zephyr frowned. "Huh...?"

Firenze moved over to a cabinet by the fireplace and retrieved a pack from it - Zephyr immediately recognised it as the same pack Firenze had been wearing that night he'd found him. As Zephyr continued to watch, Firenze began to slowly fill the pack with a variety of items on a nearby table. A compass, map, a small electronic tablet....

"You're going out?"

Firenze nodded as he began to close one of the pack's compartments with a tail. "I've had a couple of employees look around the forest, but they still haven't found anything like what you described, even with my directions. It is indeed a very extensive place, after all. The best chance at this point is for me to try and retrace my steps, see if I can locate the place I first found you." He finished strapping up the pocket, and looked back at Zephyr. "If we can find that root, then maybe we can start to figure out how to change you back."

"But..." Zephyr shifted, kneeling up on the bed, his baggy shirt tumbling around him. "Now?"

"Yes..." Firenze said, glancing to the side almost guiltily. "I'm sorry it took so long."

Zephyr opened and shut his mouth, before shaking his head. "No, I mean... in the morning, after a full day of work? It's... it's even raining...!"

Firenze pulled one of the pack's straps, and began to maneuver it onto his back. "There's no time like the present."

Zephyr stared at him. "You'd... do that?"

Firenze paused, his face creasing into a frown. "...most certainly, yes. Why wouldn't I?"

He hesitated, meeting the Ninetales' gaze. Those deep, ruby eyes radiated pure, unrefined confidence, dominance... and yet, it was a kindly dominance. A leader, not a boss. The altruism was clear in those eyes.

"My my, Zephyr, you're smiling."

Zephyr paused, moving as if to hide his face. "I..."

"No no, don't apologise... I've been hoping for a smile like that for days." Firenze smiled warmly back at him, then tightened the straps. "Hopefully, I'll only be away for a short time, back by noon. You get yourself some sleep, and-"

"Firenze, wait." Zephyr said it without even thinking. Firenze stopped, looking over at him with an expression of mild surprise.

Zephyr leaned back, averting his gaze. "I... don't want to sound ungrateful. I know I probably have been, recently. But, um... could you... possibly... just stay with me?" He breathed out slowly, paws grasping at the covers. "For tonight. Stay with me."

Firenze stayed where he was for a few more seconds. Those deep, red eyes seemed to stare right into Zephyr's...

And then he turned, unhooking the pack and lowering it to the floor. "Of course. We can always look tomorrow."

Zephyr smiled to himself, fidgeting as the Ninetales moved to the fireplace and lit it with a single breath.

"Would you want anything el-"

"Firenze..." Zephyr's tail brushed the blankets of the bed as he smiled at the Ninetales. A true gentleman - almost frustratingly so, it seemed. "Please, spend the night in your bed for once. With me."

Firenze nodded once more, even though Zephyr detected a little hesitation. Surprise, perhaps? It was tough to work out what was happening in that mind, but now that Zephyr came to think about, it really was tough to think of anything unkind or any selfish presumption that the Ninetales had made...

He shifted back towards the pillows as Firenze climbed up. The mattress sunk beneath the weight of the immense Ninetales, who towered over him only more intensely with every firm step.

Within moments, they were lying together on the bed, an all-encompassing aura of warmth settling around them. Firenze slipped his forelegs around Zephyr's torso, who sunk back into the thick layer of fur covering that feral chest. Firenze's body heat was intense, but Zephyr didn't want to pull away for a moment; instead, his ears slipped back - listening, feeling, every firm and powerful heartbeat. Those tails, too, sliding around Zephyr's legs and waiters, began to act as a vast blanket of fur.

Zephyr let out a long sigh, feeling his body deflating as he sank into Firenze's embrace. It was like he was being soothed all over, body and mind.

"I talked with Nature today..." Zephyr started, his voice soft.

Firenze shifted, nosing the top of his head. "Oh...? How did it go?"

"It went... well. He's a very kind boy, that one. Very good at talking to others."

"He's certainly a customer favourite." Firenze chuckled, the sound deep as it reverberated through his chest. "One of our rising stars. I'm very proud of him."

Zephyr nodded, stroking at one of Firenze's paws. "I can see why. We talked for a while, and he made me see things in another light."

"Oh...?"

Another long sigh. "I'm... sorry if I've been closed in or difficult the past few days. With all that happened, it felt like the world was closing in."

"It's entirely understandable, don't feel the need to apologise."

"Well, I don't know... I began to feel like the Café was the figurehead of all that. I came here with such high hopes, wanting to relax and have fun - and when that happened, I suppose I became a little resentful, needy..."

Firenze said nothing this time, instead seeming to wait for whatever Zephyr had to say. Warm air rolled across Zephyr's head in deep, long breaths.

"But, during my talk with Nature, I saw how much this place meant to him. What it has done for him, how his closest friends were here, his family almost... and, it made me think. This place... it's been better to me than I realised - _you've_been better to me than I realised, and honestly, I just wanted to say... thank you."

Firenze curled slightly tighter around Zephyr - a full-body expression, paws rubbing his torso, his waist, tails gently tracing up his body. "You're very welcome, Zephyr. It's my pleasure..."

"It's more than that, too." Zephyr curled up a little, nestling back into Firenze's embrace. "He made me realise - maybe, when bad things happen and you can't really change them... you have to go forwards. You have to keep going, because regardless of what happens in life, that's the only true choice you have. What you have control over is... how happy you're going to be in the future."

Again, attentive silence from the Ninetales. Firenze's tails brushed softly across Zephyr's hips, the fox's own tail cocooned in their warmth.

"I don't know if we're going to find this root again. I know it'll be difficult, what with the amount of forest there is..., and even if we do, I know that it's unlikely to mean I'll be able to just quickly change back to being a guy again. Things aren't really that simple. And yeah, I know the root will be of great interest to others. But for now, most likely, I'm going to be like this for a while, so..."

Zephyr took in a slow breath, feeling himself tremble. Firenze's paws squeezed gently. "Zephyr..."

Zephyr shook his head. "It's okay. I suppose I'm fortunate. Maybe people would love to be a girl, I know, and here I am. It wasn't my choice, but hey..." He let out a long sigh, and with it, it was like he was letting go of a myriad of worries with it. "Maybe... it isn't so bad... you know... being a girl..." He found himself smiling. He shifted, stretching out his body, feeling the soft fur of Firenze surrounding him - an instant comfort. "And anyway, I'll do anything I really can if it means staying here a bit longer. With you."

Firenze let out a long, rolling breath, a low murr that made the fur on the back of Zephyr's neck stand on end.

Zephyr closed his eyes, breathing in slowly. A paw trailed down his body, tracing his stomach, sliding slowly over the small mound his crotch. His fingers caressed the features through the fur... and a tingle made him tremble.

Firenze's grip tightened, that slender muzzle pressing against Zephyr's cheek softly.

Zephyr found himself smiling, his paw moving further, sliding past his hips and between his thighs. His fingers grazed far warmer fur, with a vague dampness to it. It twitched beneath his grasp...

He smiled ever broader, his fingers curling around that large, feral sheath. He let out a shaky breath, almost bursting out into a laugh of pure joy and relief....

"I'm a girl now." He said, feeling the tension tangibly slide from his body. "I might as well enjoy it. I'm a girl. Zephyr... the girl."

He..._she..._began to giggle. She couldn't stop it.

"Hi..."

Firenze's paws caressed her stomach through the baggy T-shirt, and he nuzzled against the side of her head even more firmly. When he spoke, his voice echoed delightfully through her mind. "Hello, Zephyr the girl. I'm very pleased to meet you. If you want anything, don't hesitate to ask, and in the meantime... welcome to Café Plaisir."

Zephyr laughed, snuggling back against him, wriggling her feminine body against the large male.

In that instant, she felt freer than she had for days. Not all of the weights of her life had been lifted, but this one had. She couldn't stop herself from smiling...!

And she moved that paw higher too, sliding along the growing sheath, until she reached the source of that heat. Wet, slick, and intensely hot, Firenze's shaft bulged at her very touch.

"Firenze..."

"You are a girl, Zephyr, just as you said. If you would like something of an introduction...."

She shivered, lidding her eyes. Her free paw grasped at the covers, and she bit her lip. "Nhhh... you... would...-?"

"Most certainly I would." Firenze's voice echoed with barely contained desire.

She moved her paw away, feeling the bulging shaft drop against her hips. It was a simple task sliding the baggy shorts down, her hips feeling only marginally cooler as she exposed them to the air - and every little wriggle she made to shift them off just made Firenze try to regain his position, pushing his hips against hers.

And now, with the unneeded covering tossed away, that shaft was pressed right at the base of her tail - another shudder, another gasp of need she involuntarily let loose. Oh, she could feel it pulsing, growing, while those strong vulpine hips pressed it ever more firmly against her...!

She grasped it again, pulling and guiding it between her legs - inadvertently, the tip slid right across her folds, and in an instant she just melted. In a haze of pleasure, Firenze's grip tightened, holding her in place. She trembled, the shaft throbbing barely able to maintain her grip on the shaft. Hot, wet pre splashed right across her thigh - a herald of what was almost unavoidable at this point, and one that made her gasp and pant with utter need.

Firenze's paws were already working their way up her torso, pulling her top up and over her chest. She let him slide it further, moving her arms to better let him pull it right to her neck, exposing those breasts to the air.

"Zephyr, I must say..." Firenze's voice, hushed in tone and yet so loud right next to her ear. "You make a _very_pretty girl..."

Zephyr whined. She couldn't stop herself. The sound, so full of delight and want, escaped her muzzle before she even realised what she was doing. Upon regaining some control of her trembling body, she grasped the T-Shirt, pulling it up and over her head and right down her arms - and then, she tossed it away, letting it join the shorts in some forgotten corner of the dark room.

She was naked, her fur the only covering she had between her and that big, softly growling Ninetales behind her.

Didn't it feel wonderful.

Firenze ran his paws up her stomach once more, pressing his hips forwards to grind against her crotch. She looked down, watching as that shaft gleamed with a mix of pre and her own juices... her own..._!_Her body needed this so much more than she thought, but right now, that wasn't anything of a surprise.

She reached down, taking the shaft in one paw, letting her fingers roam across the slick, black length. Firenze growled louder at the very touch, and it throbbed ever more powerfully with his own desire. This Ninetales, so imposing, so confident, wanted her. Wanted her so_much_....

This body... it really wasn't so bad, was it...?

Any last resistance to what she was doing was quickly bleeding away in the face of lustful desires, desires far stronger than any she'd felt before. Is this how women felt during sex? A need this strong, this utterly overpowering? Or was it some leftover residual of the vine? She couldn't possibly know, and right now she couldn't possibly even care. She simply, undoubtedly, wanted this.

And so, she pushed the tip of the shaft past her folds...

Firenze's hips pressed forwards with the unstoppable force of an armada. One moment, the tip was lightly brushing over her folds, sending delicate shivers through her lust-addled body, and the next her vagina was being spread wide by that shaft.

She shook, gasping for breath, for relief, for anything that would let her cope - but nothing could overcome even this small satiation of those deep desires, even as the pain began to grow from the sheer size of the intrusion. She writhed around the shaft, hips quivering, her mouth beginning to form the start of a call for respite - but they were lost to the seas of desire as Firenze pressed his hips forwards again, sinking yet more of that shaft into her.

He was slow, almost teasingly so, but those movements were like a glacier - powerful, each lumbering movement impossible to stop. And oh, how delightful that was, how it made her squirm and shudder and gasp in utter enjoyment as the shaft delved deeper into her over and over again, a slow and steady rhythm that continued to hit ever more intense buttons of pleasure.

No experience she'd had before had come close to this, no shaft she'd taken in her rear had done this to her... how her lips strained at the bulge in his vulpine length, how that exploring tip seemed to make her squirm and gasp in utter delight! It was incredible...!

She grasped at the blankets, lifting a leg higher as Firenze thrust ever further on, the warm fur and sheer mass of muscles in those feral hips pressing against her rear at the apex of each fluid, practiced motion. Oh, how his paws still grabbed her, sinking against her soft breasts, keeping her back pressed against his chest as he began to grow in speed and power.

And those tails too... swirling, dancing, caressing her legs and her own tail in an almost fiery waltz, delving in for delicate touches at the tail tip before sliding away from her hips in long, soft strokes. They _felt_like fire too, the intense, swirling heat becoming almost unbearable!

"So hot..." she mumbled, eyes half-closed as she pressed her head against the underside of Firenze's muzzle.

"I know..." came the deep, formidable reply.

"I've never felt this hot before..."

"Mmmh, but of course..."

Zephyr's eyes fluttered. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest as apprehension began to swirl around it. She tilted her head back, flashes of the fur of Firenze's muzzle passing across her vision. Another thrust made her gasp, but she was just able to get out a stuttered "W-why...?"

Firenze's hips began to slow, coming to a gradual stop at the apex of a thrust. His head slipped away, warm air tumbling across the back of her neck.

"You don't... know...?" Firenze's voice echoed a similar haze of cognizance.

"I've never been in a place so warm..."

Firenze's body shifted, his paws pressing a bit more firmly into her chest. "Zephyr, these have been some of the coldest days of the month..."

She couldn't even frown - it was all she could do to get as much air in as she could, feeling her chest rise and fall against his paw. "Then... why-"

"Zephyr, I thought you were aware... you're in heat..."

Zephyr stared back down at her hips, at the slight bulge in her crotch from the size of the shaft buried within her, and how that sheath glistened with her own juices. It took a moment for his words to sink in; that swirling apprehension grew and grew, becoming a whirlpool of dread.

"H...heat...!?"

Firenze nodded, stroking a paw across her chest. "I'm sorry, I thought you were aware - hence why I acted with such surprise earlier. I suppose I didn't realise how unaware you were of the symptoms when they were coming from you..."

She gulped, grasping the bedcovers tighter. Her gaze slipped up from that sheath, where just past them, the two golden-furred orbs of Firenze's balls loomed like monuments against a sunset.

"Is it... too late...?" The worry was dripping from each word, even as her mind started to clash - her mind versus her body, rationality versus desires...

"Not yet... if you wish, I can pull out..."

At those last words, somehow an even greater apprehension rose in her chest and spiked right at her heart. She bit her lip. "Do... do you... have to? I mean... what are... the chances, if you do it...?"

Firenze murred, the sound layered with a multitude of emotions - it was hard to tell which ones were strongest in that low, feral growl. "Nothing is set, of course... and I cannot give you a firm answer... but I have to say that in the past, I've found myself to be exceedingly virile..."

"Even... for someone like me...?"

She could feel Firenze nodding. "Indeed so..."

Zephyr found herself shaking, staring down at those balls. She hadn't thought this would be an eventuality...! But of course, why wouldn't it be? And why... why did her mind not instantly recoil at the thought? Why was she still wanting, needing it...?

Of course... _that_was why it was feeling so good, that was why she was practically begging for the shaft to be deeper inside of her. That was why she wanted him to finish so, wanted nothing more than that knot to stretch her wide, seal her up, keep all that seed locked inside her....

And yet... she couldn't do it. Despite it all, she couldn't commit to something so life-changing, not right now...

Firenze leaned over her, his muzzle delicately brushing past her ear. "I'll do whatever you wish me to do..."

Zephyr squirmed in an instant, without wanting to and without meaning to, and bit her lip quite involuntarily too. The shaft jerked and pulsed as, no doubt, another splash of pre spurted deep into her.

Didn't pre contain some sperm? It was possible to get pregnant from it, she seemed to recall that. She swallowed, beginning to shake with the uncertainty, fighting every desire to form her next words.

"Pull out... please..."

Firenze slipped his paws around her chest once again, and slowly, his hips began to draw back.

She gasped, hips shaking suddenly, a sudden wave of fear crashing through her chest. "No... no, wait...!"

Firenze stopped where he was, holding the panting girl in his paws. Zephyr swallowed again, closing her eyes, trying to cope with the maelstrom of emotions that was swallowing her mind.

"You've... done this before..."

Another nod from Firenze. "Many times."

She stared at her crotch once more, at those balls, and at her stomach. "And you take care of them? The girls...?"

His paws stroked her chest slowly, sensually. "Of course. I make sure they're well looked after."

Her jaw trembled. "And... if you do, y'know... do it inside me, tonight... I'll get pregnant..."

Another slow nod, his muzzle rubbing over her head. "I can almost guarantee it."

She closed her eyes.

The fight was over.

She let out a slow, shaky breath.

"Do it..."

His paws slid tighter around her waist, holding her in place as he drove his shaft deep into her once more.

An explosion of pleasure cleared away the lingering doubts that she'd just made a wrong decision, filling her with sudden joy, absolute ecstasy. She gasped and yelped as a sudden burst of pleasure overrode every last part of her body! An orgasm, a proper female orgasm, so different from any she'd had as a male, and so absolutely, intoxicatingly incredible...

Firenze didn't stop - hell, he hadn't even hesitated in restarting their deep passion! He thrusted faster, deeper, more firmly than ever, thrust after thrust slapping that wet shaft into her cunt, making those large, virile balls jump. Those balls, so large, so ready for the finale.

By the time she opened her eyes again, pleasure seeping away from her body, Firenze was an unstoppable force. His paws wrapped around her chest and waist, his legs had slipped between hers and kept them wide. Every thrust was slamming that growing knot against her, delving the throbbing shaft over and over into her. His muzzle pressed up against her ear, his breathing quick and laboured as he grew ever closer...!

Stop him...

Her mind was screaming at her - one last, futile stronghold of reason was somehow holding out against the unbeatable forces of lust.

Stop him, right now... you can still do that...

Yes, she could...

But there was no way she was going to. Not anymore.

Suddenly, the shaft began to bulge and swell. Firenze gasped, letting out a cry that dripped with desire, his next thrust slapping his hips against hers in one powerful motion. His knot, suddenly much bigger and far more intimidating, strained at her cunt - and then, it was pulled away, but as the fear that he'd pull out began to descend on her mind, he thrusted forwards once more - and the knot _slammed_into her.

His grip tightened, his claws slid out and dug into her flesh, his teeth gritted and he began to growl a growl of utter delight. She shook, feeling how that knot swelled, her crotch bulging with the sheer size of it as Firenze's paw pressed down, holding her right in place. She just saw those balls twitch, pulled up against his body...

That shaft - that slick, black, swollen cock buried so immovably deep inside her - gave a final and powerful throb.

And with that, she knew it was all over.

The orgasm was more intense than anything she'd experienced before. Her first female orgasm, with her cunt wrapped tightly around the shaft of a Ninetales twice her size, with virile seed pumped deep inside her. That shaft continued to jerk and pulse so deep inside her, each jolt spurting so much cum that it even began to hurt, the sheer amount managing to slightly swell her belly. Every feeling, every facet of the orgasm was accentuated as she descended into a world that swam with pure bliss....

She knew with every fibre of her being; it was right.

* * *

It took a while before she could stand, even after the knot had shrunk to the point where it could be pulled out of her. It had left her feeling empty, almost sad - not that it had lasted long, with Firenze's paws always roaming across her chest, rubbing her body, with slow and sensual strokes especially across her belly and cum-matted thighs. It was a lot of seed, too - some had already dried across her hips from where it had dripped out during the sex, the knot apparently unable to contain such a sheer amount. She idly wondered how much was still inside her....

Enough....

"Come on, now." Firenze muttered, watching her with those fiercely vibrant eyes.

Eventually, she found her feet, holding onto one of the bedposts. Firenze stepped onto the floor next to her, and her paw found his back. She leaned on him for support, letting out a sigh.

"Okay..." she said, almost breathlessly.

Together, with Firenze keeping her upright, they walked towards the other side of the room. One step after the other, paws sinking into the red carpet. The room didn't feel so hot anymore.

They came around the far end of the sofa, and with a slowness coming from that residual apprehension, she looked up.

Zephyr's reflection stared back at her from a long, full-body mirror. Her hair was still short, barely coming to her jawline, but her muzzle was more slender than before, and she swore her eyes and ears were slightly larger. Her upper body was only vaguely toned - her muscle mass had decreased, and her shoulders were significantly less broad than before, but those breasts were enough to draw the eye quite pleasantly. Below them, her thin waist stood just above those wide hips, covered in matted fur, still glistening with the last bits of her own juices and Firenze's seed.

But what drew her eyes the most was her smile. It was quite involuntary, but she found that she couldn't get rid of it. That seemed fine by her.

"You certainly seem to enjoy the view." The golden vision of Firenze slipped around her, his head lowering as he emerged from behind her back to nose across her waist. Deep, ruby eyes inspected her up and down, before coming to a long, lingering gaze at her belly. "I must agree..."

A tail slipped around her, wrapping around her waist. It was comforting - almost... possessive. She put a paw on it, letting the tip curl around her fingers. "It's there, isn't it?"

Firenze wrapped two more tails around her, a gentle pressure pulling her against him in such a delicate way. She leaned in, enjoying the heat of his fur as he spoke again. "I certainly think so..."

Zephyr swallowed. The paw holding onto Firenze tightened, pulling him closer. "And you'll-"

"Hushhhhh... Zephyr, my dear, don't worry now..."

She looked down into those deep, passionate eyes. They stared up at her -_into_her - seeming almost to glow in the fire- and dawn-lit room.

"I'll take care of you. You're safe in the Café, and you're safe with me. As long as you're here, I'll be looking out for you - the mother of my child."

Her smile had grown only broader. She swayed, still unstable on her feet, her free paw caressing her belly with a delicate gentleness. What would it look like when she started to show? She couldn't wait to find out....

Here she was, in the warmth of Firenze's room, in the many-tailed embrace of that Ninetales, in the heart of Café Plaisir. Just last night, she'd been cursing the place's name - and now here she stood, stroking the fur of her belly, knowing one thing in her heart.

This_was_right.

Every bit of it.

This was right after all.

Fin