Bare Blessings

Story by Tyvara_Panther on SoFurry

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#4 of Older Story Drafts

After barely surviving a recent mission, Rith and Nhean are sent to an occupied town for a little R&R, but the trauma endured over the slaughter of his comrades is still too fresh for Rith. Can a mysterious, local panda-girl give Rith the inspiration to keep surviving, or will he succumb to the effects of war?

Enjoy. ^^


Bare Blessings

By: Tyvara_Panther

Bullet-riddled bodies staggering against bloodied trees haunted Rith's thoughts. Awake or asleep, the horrors of war played back within his mind. The screams from felled soldiers as they scrambled to gather up their spilt organs, tormented him as much as their panicked eyes had. A question hung in those looks; they begged to know why he should live instead of them. Rith lay awake with that question on his mind ever since the remnants of his troop crawled back to base.

Hoping to drown the images in numbness, so he could fade into the buzz of the bar, Rith kept his bottle on a repeating course to his mouth. He should be back at home, with his wife, making lots of little tiger cubs - not mainland trudging through mud and monsoons for a war that didn't concern him. Just because he had a body designed for the field didn't mean he wanted any part of it.

Regardless, he still had a duty to his country - an obligation that had been otherwise a few days ago. Before he'd joked with comrades who moments later became engulfed by flames or ripped apart by debris: before he could only carry back those soldiers by the blood matted into his fur.

It had all been too much, too fast. Too many good men were lost in the sludge.

After a final swig from his bottle, he accomplished nothing more than a tingle through his whiskers. He resorted to swirling the long, glass neck along the edges of his finger-pads while his mind drifted. Only his friend, Nhean, with his familiar rhino grunt could pull Rith from himself.

"Slap a smile on that face and take a look at the tail that just walked in." He gave Rith what should have been a hearty pat on his back, though, Nhean's thick arm and hoofed digits smacked out a breathfull of air.

"I'm not interested in any tail," Rith wheezed.

Nhean's pat changed to a scratch, his way of acknowledging that he'd forgotten his own strength compared with the size of his friend. "Me neither, I want the bits underneath it."

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Nothing? Not even a peek?" He swiped the bottle from Rith. "I swear, she'll do you more good than this piss." Rith glared at Nhean, who responded by cocking a hairy eyebrow at him. "What? It's empty. Answers won't come from this bottle, but I bet that woman could show you God."

He growled enough to send a ripple through his upper lip. After all he'd seen, he doubted if God ever existed. If the point of his life was to experience all this anguish, then he didn't know if he wanted to believe anymore.

"Fine, fine, have it your way." Nhean clanked the bottle back on the bar and bellowed in a booming voice, "Hey, Barkeep! Let's get Major Blood'n'Guts another round."

"Nhean! Nock it off!"

"Yessir, Major Rithisak." He finished in a full salute.

"Dammit, Nhean."

"Come on. You can't let the crap out there get to you, man. We've got things to get back to - "

"If this damn war ever ends."

"We're winning."

Rith looked up at his friend. "If you call dragging our furry asses out of that wreck of an attack winning - "

"No, I call it Devine intervention. We were the only two who made it back intact, and we've gotta rejoice. It won't do us, or our friends, any good to dwell on how they died. We have to live for them."

Nhean had a point, but Rith chose to stare at his palm-pads until a new bottle replaced the image. Beyond the tunnel of his thoughts, he heard Nhean mumble something about finding someone more entertaining to hang out with.

After a few more swigs, he shifted positions, hoping to ease the stiffness in his limbs from sitting static for so long. An uproarious rhino-laugh echoed atop the din of the bar, and Rith turned in that direction.

Three women entertained a group of soldiers in the opposite corner. One, swished her fluffy red-and-black-ringed tail amid the dingy slacks of the soldiers. The other two - almost identical - stuck to the circle's edge.

Rith had never seen bears like these before. Their white faces only marred by a dark nose and black patches across their eyes. Both were dressed in the style of the prewar region: fitted silks that hugged their shape.

Women like this filled the town he and Nhean occupied for their R&R. The town was an oasis of silken butterflies. It boggled his mind how any of them could keep their clothes so pristine with all the rain his troop had endured. For all he knew this town never saw a drop.

It hadn't crossed his mind how long he'd been staring, until his sights caught those of one of the masked bears. A sultry pout lined her refined features. She sipped her drink, then fluttered her lashes at him.

He responded with a week smile, to which her lips curled in a grin. This must have been the girl Nhean wanted him to see.

She wore her black hair gathered up in complicated, twisted buns somehow held together by fancy clips. Around her neck hung a variety of stone-bead necklaces that draped over her large breasts. The bar blocked the rest of her, but Rith knew Nhean well enough that she had an ample backside to go with her top-heavy attributes. Both of them had similar tastes in women, and men.

She smiled again, and he watched her eyes scan him.

No problem there, years of war had thickened Rith's lean muscles, which made him bigger than most tigers of his kind. He scratched the mane along his cheeks, torn between his own confidence and the awkwardness of getting ogled by a gorgeous woman.

Rith looked away for only a moment, and when his eyes moved back to where she sat - she'd disappeared. It crossed his mind that she'd been a drunken vision, until she reappeared, slipping around the group of gathered soldiers.

She leaned over the bar and stretched out one of her silk-wrapped black arms to get the attention of the barkeep, who stood with his back to her. The densely packed stripes that lined his arms told Rith he came from an older line of island tigers; his lack of an eye, and heavily marred face, told him why he ran the bar.

While she whispered something to him, she leaned over the counter, giving Rith an excellent view of her curvaceous body. He let his sight trail over every line of her, enjoying the way each shade of silks graced around her hourglass frame. When she lowered herself off the bar and wiggled her white tail at him, his dick hardened.

"I told you she was just right," Nhean whispered in Rith's ear. "I'm sure, with her help we could get ready for action in no time." Rith went rigid as Nhean rubbed his neck.

Nhean couldn't be a better friend if he tried. He could be so focused on others that he'd be fine if everyone else stayed happy. Without Nhean, Rith might have given up, out there in the fogged swamps.

"You want me to call her over?" With Nhean's head that close, his war-worn horn blocked Rith's view of the sexy, monochrome bear. "No use letting her go to waste on those lieutenants. Two men would serve her better than one."

Before Rith could answer, Nhean called out in the booming voice common to his species. "Hey, baby! Instead of flashin' your eyes at my friend here, why not come over and introduce yourself."

Rith swished his tail behind Nhean and yanked his stubby excuse for one. "You don't have to be so rude about it," he said under his breath.

"Yeah but she's coming over, so deal with what works."

When she reached them, Rith spoke up first. "Forgive his gruffness, Miss: Rhinos can't help themselves - particularly this one."

She giggled, and Rith almost exploded at the sweetness of that sound. It had been far too long since he'd been in the company of a woman.

"I don't mind it. I keep a different sort of company than my friends."

Nhean grabbed Rith around the shoulder. "Well, this stripy murder-machine here is Rith. I'm Nhean, rampaging rhino extraordinaire."

"I'm Mahly." She held out her black hands and clasped one of theirs each. "I'm glad to meet you both." The smile she wore expressed just as much sincerity as her firm handshake.

The touch of her hand sent shivers down to Rith's tail. He'd forgotten that hands could feel this soft. It made him overly conscious of callouses that warped his worn pads. He rubbed his hands together once she released him, and shuddered at the gruff sensation.

"Don't let him fool you about rhinos, though." Nhean added, breaking into Rith's thoughts. "He's just jealous, 'cause we've got this lovely horn." He patted the thick mass that curved back from his nosetip.

"Come off it. It's not your horn." Rith grinned and punched Nhean in the arm.

"It is. It's all about girth, and my horn's got a lot of girth." Nhean turned to Mahly. "You know what they say about rhino's and their horns?"

Her lips quirked, but she shook her head. "Tell me."

Nhean bent forward and whispered just loud enough for Rith to hear. "You really want me to say it in a public place?"

"That's up to you." Mahly shrugged. "I just wanted to see how much you'd say out loud before you asked."

"Well, if we could all go somewhere private, I could certainly show you."

"That would be perfect." They turned to Rith, and Mahly touched his hand again. "I have just the place for you to relax."

Rith nodded. "I'll meet you up outside. I just need to take care of something first."

The two grinned, and made their way out of the bar.

When Rith turned around to get the barkeeps attention, he found the war-beaten tiger in front of him. "No worries about your tab, the lady's taken care of it." His gruff voice alluded to some of the trauma he'd suffered. "She's a good one. You treat her kindly and it'll see you through this mess."

After a quick nod, Rith left the bar. Outside, Nhean and Mahly waited, talking as she leaned against the building.

Mahly caught sight of Rith first, and reached for him. "Come, my home is just this way." She wrapped her arms in both theirs, and they walked down the dirt street. Along their stroll, Rith saw other soldiers chatting with more silk-wrapped women.

It wasn't long before she stopped in front of a shabby house. Beyond a covered archway and around the building's side hid the main entrance.

Inside, another bear similar to Mahly, greeted them before she removed their shoes. After a silent bow and squinty eyed smile, she retreated to the corner of the room, where she huddled over a large, steaming pot.

Mahly led them to an adjoining room covered in a variety of woven rugs. "There are towels and warmed water on the table. Feel free to wash what needs washing. I take my baths alone."

As Rith wondered where she'd go, Mahly flipped up the corner of one of the rugs. Underneath, she pulled at the handle of a square door, revealing a staircase.

"No one will disturb us down here, so join me whenever you're ready." She moved toward them, and touched her black hands to their cheeks, looking at them both in turn. "I'll be waiting." Mahly sashayed to the hidden staircase and descended, giving them a provocative smile as she did.

Once they were alone, Nhean and Rith eyed each other. They removed their clothes while Rith whispered, "I didn't think she'd be this into it."

"Hey, like I said, don't knock what works." Nhean wriggled from his attire first, and went to the table where he wetted a towel with water from a heavy bowl.

Rith followed his friend, first taking a glass from beside the bowl to rinse out his mouth. He chewed on a few sprigs of local mint while he cleansed whatever areas he thought would be appropriate, or in need.

The washing-water gave off a hint of some pleasant flower, and to his relief, it was just as warm as Mahly claimed. The gentle heat against Rith's fleshy bits engorged him again, and he watched Nhean bathe for a moment.

Without his soldier's plainclothes, Nhean's hairy body reminded him of the giant rhinos from the great frost, eons ago. Those ancients bore much thicker coats than Nhean's, which served him more as a rust-brown accent around his muscles.

When Nhean's cock stiffened, Rith caught his friend's gaze. "You gonna stare all day?"

Rith walked forward and cupped his friend's sack. "We've got a lady downstairs. It's rude to keep her waiting." He released the rhino, who gave him a gentle swat on his bare ass, before following him down the hidden stairway.

A sweet, citrus smoke filled his nostrils as they descended. Below layers of house and dirt, the earth opened into a large room washed in colorful bursts from covered lanterns against the tapestry-lined walls. A large bed set with more woven blankets rested in the corner.

After a quick glace around the room, he caught sight of Mahly. She stood, her long black hair loose about her body like a makeshift robe. Other than that, every patch of black and white remained visible. The large swells of her black breasts tapered to a firm, white stomach, that opened into wide hips atop thick, black thighs.

"Come here and kiss me." Her words were kind with only a hint of command.

Rith had no intention of arguing, and took her up in his arms for a deep, passionate kiss. His mouth lingered on hers, savoring the warm lusciousness there, while Nhean came up behind Mahly and kissed her neck. She broke Rith to turn to Nhean, and he watched his friend kissed the beautiful bear in his arms.

When she pulled away, Mahly trailed down the pair of them onto her knees. Now at a better level, she stroked Nhean's thick cock in one hand as she slid her lips around Rith's. She plunged him into the pleasant wetness of her mouth, letting her tongue swirl around his length. Then she took Nhean's length between her gentle lips, and stroked Rith with her delicate hand.

Mahly continued, back and forth between the two of them. All Rith's attention remained absorbed in her slick motions, until Nhean clasped Rith's hand, pulling him into a deep kiss. His breath tasted of mint. The smell of fragrant rhino musk filled his senses, while his prehensile lip flicked Rith's whiskers like instrument strings.

Each touch drove him closer, but when Rith seemed at the brink, Nhean broke away to let out a deep rhino bellow as he came. Mahly released Rith's dick to pump Nhean while she chugged down his sticky seed. He panted once Mahly released him, who paused only for a moment before she turned to Rith.

The seductive glint in her eye thrilled him as she pushed him to the bed, and straddled him, kissing while she maneuvered his cock along her slit. The warmth of Mahly's body atop him ignited his senses. The whiskers on her muzzle played with his and sent jolts of pleasure down through the head of his shaft.

A sharp, pleasure-filled growl escaped him when she slipped her sex around his, and his world exploded into soft, wet-heat. She bucked her hips, sending his dick against her voluptuous walls.

Rith let her, enjoying the pleasures that washed over him. When he wanted more, he took over, thrusting in and out of her slick cunny. Mahly threw her head back to let out a deep moan, her muscles flexing tight around his member with each thrust.

Each slap against her thick thighs urged a grunt from him. His rhythm steady until Nhean appeared in his vision. He pulled Mahly forward into a kiss. She responded with a delighted squeal, and Rith felt Nhean between his thighs.

The kiss continued while Nhean moistened her tailhole. After a telling tug at Rith's tail, he gripped Mahly to him, then lifted her with him off the bed. With Nhean's help they balanced her between them, and Nhean pushed his dick partway into her ass.

Mahly screamed, "Yes! Deeper. I can take it."

When Nhean slid behind Rith's dick, they all groaned in pleasure. After a few attempts, their rhythms synched and they slammed into her holes one after another. Then they took turns clutching and kissing Mahly while the other fulfilled themselves by thrusting.

On Rith's turn to thrust, the sensation of Nhean's hard length against his, amid the warm pillows of Mahly's sex, sent him over the edge. He unloaded into her, thumbing her taught, pink nipples while he came.

The throbbing slowed until Rith could gather his senses enough to slide from her, and moved back onto the bed. Nhean continued to thrust, holding Mahly's legs apart, offering Rith an excellent view. He slid up the bed and watched them, while his shaft twitched in growing desire. The sight of that beautiful body bouncing atop Nhean, her face lined in bliss, only made him want her more.

Nhean kept Mahly bouncing, until he trembled from climaxing. He clutched her while he finished, then pulled from her depths. He set her down on the bed, and pushed her up between Rith's legs, before burying his mouth in her nethers.

She clasped his horn as she let out groan so deep it could have come from her toes. Nhean licked, and she writhed, her body jolting in happy spasms. Not a curve of her could hide her delight.

Without wasting time, he climbed on top of her, his cock in her face. Nhean clutched her thighs and returned his attentions to her sex. An eager look lined her face once presented with his shaft, and she licked his long length, keeping her hands busy at the base.

The position afforded Rith a perfect view of Nhean's tight pucker, and he couldn't resist a lick. The attention got his rhino comrade groaning again. Excited, Rith doubled his efforts. An extra wriggle of his tongue spread Nhean's tight sphincter, and he tasted the fresh nectar hidden within. He licked that wrinkled hole until it glistened.

The moment Nhean's tight hole flexed and opened, Rith stood and plunged his length deep into his friend. Nhean released Mahly's pussy to belt out a rumbling moan; a sound that reverberated throughout Rith as he began to slide his cock in and out. His movements slow - steady - with Mahly holding Nhean's cheeks apart.

Rith's thighs rubbed against Nhean's at every full thrust. Short grunts emanated from the rhino, but he returned his attentions to Mahly. It didn't take much more before her entire body shuddered in a climax beneath them. Despite her squeals, she began to stroke Rith's balls.

Adding the electric sensations of Mahly's velvet paws to each deep delve into Nhean's tight, muscular ass, sent Rith wild. He kept his pace steady, while a building climax rippled through his sack. Nothing would stop him now.

In a split second, Nhean clamped around Rith's cock, and the rhino shuddered as he began to howl a long mating call. That was all he needed. Rith growled while he dumped spurt after spurt of seed into Nhean. Mahly's gentle touch remained on his balls, pulling more come from him.

The three shuddered for a moment, their bodies convulsing in a collective orgasm. Then, in a collective sigh, they pulled apart and collapsed onto the bed.

Rith relaxed while the colors sparked in front of his eyes. For an eternity in a second, he lost himself in those shapes, that is, until something soft filled his arms.

Everything faded back into focus once Mahly's lips were on his. In no way had Rith finished with her. He wrapped his arms around the satiny bear, and melded into her kiss.

A familiar wetness encased his dick, and the creative wriggle of Nhean's prehensile lip along his shaft told him who it was. His member swollen again, he moaned into his kisses; a sound that intensified once Mahly's warm depths replaced Nhean's mouth.

He broke away from her lips, and pushed her upward. Prolonging the moment, he slid his hands along her thighs. At her hips he gripped her, the taper of her waist allowed his large hands to hold her while he thumbed her clit.

Mahly's body jumped at his touch. Delight filled him at the prospect of giving her an orgasm, and he slammed his cock into her repeatedly, never once allowing the attention to her nub to falter.

Each thrust came faster and harder, and he kept going even as she leaned back to scream. Nhean clutched her, his hands at her breasts and nipples, while her climaxes rippled around Rith's dick. She shuddered, then fell forward, her hair splayed out atop him like a fan.

She slid off him, but Rith gripped her, and rocked her onto her side. With her round ass snuggled against him, he spread her lips and filled her sex again. His hands rubbed her breasts while he pumped. The motions pulled her wetness in a trickle over him while she let out a long, pleasureful bear howl.

The only thing that slowed his solid hip-movements was Nhean at his back, his hands on his ass. Nhean's cock demanded entrance, but Rith wanted it, and took him. After a few growls into Mahly's hair, Rith relaxed around Nhean's length.

Rith wanted this for so long without even knowing. The feel of a strong man behind him, and a soft woman in his arms filled him as much as he could have ever wanted. Never before had he felt so alive.

Their motions continued, Rith using Nhean's thrusts to slam deeper into Mahly's moist folds. He didn't want to stop, and he wouldn't. Every thrust took Rith deeper into the moment. All he could feel was Mahly's warm pussy and smell her spicy hair, while Nhean's thick length rubbed a spot inside him that sent his cock pulsing.

The world faded into sensations, and Rith lost all sense of time. All that remained was the back and forth motion of their three bodies. He knew he came - hard - so hard his balls ached. His hole felt fully sated with seed. Before another thought could cross his mind, he'd fallen asleep.

When Rith woke, the lights were dimmed so that he could see only a faint outline of the bed. Mahly snuggled against his chest, and Nhean's arm clung to his hip. His entire body relaxed; nothing bad would happen here. Without another thought, he melded back into a dreamless sleep.

Later, when his eyes pealed open again, Rith's entire body tingled, as if he'd been asleep for ages. The vibration in his sack reminded him of his recent activities. Not like he needed one; those images would carry him through the rest of his life.

Nhean still slept behind him, but Mahly had risen. He scanned the room and found her kneeling in the corner. Plumes of smoke spiraled around her still naked frame.

While he watched, a spicy citrus smell filled his nostrils, and whispered sounds reached his ears. As he watched, he lost himself in the sensations, almost neglecting to notice when she rose and saw him staring.

"Do you feel well, Rith?"

The sound of his name on her lips excited him back into the moment. "I never thought I'd feel like this again." He had to sate his feline curiosity. "What were you doing just then?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"I gave final prayers to my goddess, asking her to grant you blessings to keep you safe. It's a customary part of the ritual." Rith must have made a confused face at her, and she continued with a smile. "Let me explain,

"Before the war I was a great priestess. I suppose I still am, though this is nothing like it once was." She crossed to him and sat on the bed. "Sex is a large part of our rituals. The energy created through orgasm has many uses. I use it now to give blessings to the soldiers who visit our town."

"So are the other women?"

She nodded. "They are all followers of my path. I set this place up years ago after my goddess sent me a vision. In time, as the invaders gained more ground, the women came."

"How long have you been here?"

"So many years that I gave up counting. This is my home now. The alliance has kept their word, and taken good care of us. Without them - without you - none of what I do could be possible." Mahly stared down at the floor while she continued,

"The invaders are all about conformity. Everything that we are would be lost if the alliance hadn't come in and pushed them back." She looked back at Rith. Her eyes glistened in sadness. "I want to thank you for all you've done. You've given so much to me and my people."

Rith looked away, but Mahly took up his paw while she talked. "I don't know how much it's worth to you, but I know you'll come out of this alive."

After a glance from Rith, Mahly went on. "My goddess came to me, and told me to look for you and Nhean. She blessed you both, long before you came to me." She paused then added, "But, whenever you come to my town, I'll always be willing to preform rituals with you."

They smiled at each other. "I'd like that."

She kissed his cheek and left the bed. "You're both welcome to stay here for any length you please."

After Mahly ascended to the upper levels, Rith lay back on the bed. He listened to the steady sounds of Nhean's breathing while his mind wandered.

No matter what, he would keep going. None of these people had asked to be uprooted from their homes any more than he. He couldn't imagine the women here taking up arms the way their enemies had. Without soldiers like him and Nhean, they'd be powerless.

Maybe Mahly was right; he hoped her goddess did favor him. If some divine force wanted to keep him alive, he'd welcome the help. How could he not believe after a ritual like that?

The End