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A Couple of Idiots

Written by Mandag

Twokinds , as well as all characters from it are © Thomas Fischbach

The ceiling in Trace's guest bedroom had a very intricate motif.

Carved of wood and with a pompous yet standard pattern at first glance, it could upon closer inspection be seen to have a swath of tiny illustrations that almost resembled recognizable shapes, yet slightly too outlandish for anyone to make out. It didn't help that the carvings were so diminutive and light, it had taken him a good ten minutes of glaring to affirm there was even anything there, and not his eyes playing tricks on him. He had to wonder why anyone would bother wasting such skills on crafting something that very few would ever notice.

Keith pondered all this as he laid on his back, listening to Natani's light breath just barely audible beside him in the huge bed. It was slow and gentle, without the grating yet comforting snore that usually followed it. She was turned away from him, and he could just make out the outline of her shoulder as it rose and sank with her breath.

He could tell she was awake just like him; He had, after all, spent much more time than he would've liked watching over her unconscious body, listening with limp ears for a change in her breath, for any slightest chance she would wake up so he could look into her eyes again and tell her...

He took a short breath and prepared himself; Pretending to sleep was awkward enough, but a lot worse when they were two.

"Can't sleep either?" He mumbled, a little lower than intended. His voice could just barely be heard in the pompously oversized room but carried well enough through the silence.

"Nope," Came from the other side of the bed, clear and un-slurred by sleep. He'd been right. "How could you tell?"

"You snore when you sleep. Pretty loud."

"Ah, right. Forgot I do that. Zen used to pick on me for it, even though I'm pretty sure he did it even louder. Wasn't helpful on assassination missions."

Keith chuckled. That wasn't something he did often. "You two were terrible assassins, you know that, right?"

"You didn't seem to think so when you had an arrow in you."

"No... Changed my mind pretty fast though, after you failed to kill me, folding after getting a single surface wound."

"I didn't... That was..." She groped for words. "...You'd just shoved your sword all the way through Zen's chest! Some of that carried over to me. Wasn't exactly pleasant."

He sighed. "Yeah... Probably wouldn't have done that if I'd known..."

"Oh, stop it you." She cut him off. "You did that in self-defence. I shot first. Besides, I'm used to pain; Can't say it's the first time Zen or I have been impaled, and that time it wasn't even me. We were all fine in the end, so no harm done, right?"

An image from a few months ago flashed through Keith's head. It was of Natani bending forward, trying to staunch the flow of red that seeped from her stomach.

He winced a little.

"Yeah... No harm done."

A few awkward moments passed before she turned over to him, and he got to stare into her bright, heterochromatic eyes. Though he tried to stay unfazed, his breath got a little heavier.

"Soo..." He mumbled. "What keeps you up? You're usually a heavy sleeper. Was expecting to wake up to someone chewing on my ear again."

She scratched her head, and then the satin sheets. "I just... really don't know how to feel about this house. Sure, it's comfy enough... And this bed is softer than anything I've ever slept on... But I just can't get my mind off who it belongs to. Trace was always a horrible enemy of my people, and I spent most of my childhood hating the Templar with a passion."

She trailed her hand along the edge of her bedsheet;

"Of course, I learned later he's not as bad as I thought... Not anymore, anyways. But I could never shake the feeling that something just ain't right with this place."

She held her hand out, and Keith saw it glow faintly in the dark. "Over the years I've learned to sense magic whenever it's present. Been useful to gauge targets, and how difficult they would be to kill. And this house is brimming with it. Almost makes it a little hard to breathe, with how much magic is in the air. I'm guessing Trace got all kinds of fancy enchantments on it, from defensive wards to that weird ocean room. I can't even comprehend how half this stuff works, much less understand it. And knowing how much he used to hate wolves, I... gotta say I'm feeling a little exposed just walking the halls, not knowing if I'll suddenly trip over some defence mechanism against people like me and get turned into a chicken or something."

She puffed. "Not that I'm afraid of Trace or anything... But I'm pretty sure I overheard them say something about this place being enchanted by a dragon. And I don't trust any oversized lizard any farther than I could throw it."

She stared into the ceiling again with a slight smirk. "So that's what's keeping me up. What about you?"

Keith swallowed, and looked back up at the faint patterns.

He listened to Natani's breath, the warmth from her body radiating towards him under the covers, despite being a foot or two away.

He shut his eyes, and for a moment he was back on the boat, halfway unconscious, listening to her snoring, trying his absolute hardest to stay awake so he could make sure nothing bad happened to her.

"I dunno..." He heard himself reply. "Just not good at sleeping, I suppose."

"Well, I guess we're different there." She said. "Never had trouble snoozing under any conditions, be it a bed or a tree branch"

"Then why are you awake?"

...

They both paused awkwardly. The room was unnaturally silent, and Keith had a sneaking suspicion it had some sound-suppressing spells built into its walls, for all he could hear was her low breath, a little faster now.

"I just get restless in places like these," she eventually responded. "Hey... Wanna go for a walk?"

He tilted his ear out of habit. "What... You mean like in the corridors? Thought you said you didn't feel..."

She scoffed. "No, you idiot, Outside! There are some nice woods next to the manor, and I haven't seen a proper tree in weeks... Months, probably. I'm not used to boats, castles and huge houses like this one. Give me a good forest and I'm happy."

Keith shrugged; "But... isn't it snowing right now? We're in the mountains, remember?"

She stuck her tongue out. "What... scared of the cold? Is your little basitin fur too short?"

He felt his cheeks blush and fur bristle. "Well... Y-yeah! I'm supposed to live on a tropical island! I never even saw snow until after I got banished. My fur IS too short!"

She laughed, and even though it was meant to mock him, the sound made his heart flutter.

"Oooh Keith, you fragile little... Hey, let me try something..."

She rolled out of bed and rose with a spring in her step, then walked over to the great round table with the magical carvings and put her hand on it.

"What's 'winter jacket' in human?"

A few minutes later they were stepping through the looming hallways of the Legacy estate, tiptoeing despite the freakishly thick carpets dampening their footsteps; the corridors were dark and quiet, and almost haunting to Keith; he could easily see how Natani felt unwelcome here, and the knowledge of the magic laden within the walls like a gigantic spider's web didn't help.

"How's the coat?" She whispered beside him.

"A little... big."

That was an understatement; The long, heavy garb went almost to his ankles, and his tail was trapped beneath it for the lack of a tailhole. "No way was this made for Trace. He's way too small."

She gave a quiet snicker. "He's so tiny! Hard to believe I used to think of him as imposing, back before I met him. He's pretty much the least scary person I can think of."

"Then why are we whispering?"

Her eyes darted back and forth a couple of times. He pretended not to see it.

"Good question." She replied, still hushed. "Hold on."

The wolf fumbled inside the black cloak until her hands found the blue mana necklace; It was a much sturdier and well-crafted version than the one she'd used before. Under her breath she mumbled a few magic words, and the crystals lit up.

"There." She said in a normal voice. "Proximity based muffle spell. Creates a little bubble around us, so whatever noise we make won't go further than a few feet. Very useful. Coupled it with a similar type of invisibility spell, so don't stray too far from me, or you'll never find me again."

Keith whistled. "Damn, you're really good at that. Thought you said your magic knowledge was basic?"

"Pleeehh... It is simple magic. Nothing to really write home about." She said, but a slight grin and proud voice told a different story. "Simple... but very effective. I used it with Zen against you and Trace the first time we met. Would've worked too, if you weren't so damn stubborn on not dying."

Keith nodded and rubbed his chest; The scar left by the entry wound of Natani's arrow was still there.

"Yeah... That hurt."

The silence of the dark entrance hall was somehow even more oppressive without the echo of their paw pads against marble floor.

"This place... is so. Damn. Huge!" Natani blurted out as they sauntered down the wide stairs, her eyes jumping from the thick carpet, to the gilded fifteen-foot entrance door, to the distant glass dome far up above. "It's like a bloody castle! How much money did this guy have?! There's gold, satin and silk everywhere I look! Expensive, high quality paintings of his friends and family! I used to work for some filthy rich Keidran scumbag back in the day, but I never saw anything close to this kind of wealth... Other than a masquerade I went to as part of a mission, but I think that place was owned by a dragon, so it doesn't really count."

Keith shrugged. "Guess being the head of the Templar Order and the single most powerful mage in the world comes with some benefits."

"I guess... But I'm just not used to it. Even though he took me in as a guest, I still feel like I'm trespassing."

"That would be because you are. Both of you."

The voice came from behind.

Keith whirled on the spot, grasping at his waist for a sword that wasn't there. Natani did the same, but with a glowing hand pointed against the source of the sound, fur bristling and mana crackling.

"I would strongly advise against using those." The voice said again. "We already have enough livestock."

A few breathless seconds passed as they both focused their eyes in the dark. Keith noticed his tail had somehow gotten tangled with Natani's, though he couldn't remember it happening.

"Oh... It's you." He heard her say. Coldly, but with a subdued nervous quiver. "What are you doing here?"

Above them on the stairs stood the old snow wolf mistress Rose. Her greyed red hair shone in the faint light from the window in the roof, and she was clad in her faded emerald shirt and blazer. Her dark green eyes seemed a little clearer without the glasses.

"My job." She replied, equally cold. "But I'm more curious as to what you two are doing. You may be guests, and Master Trace may trust you, But I do not. This estate is my responsibility, and I have a duty to see that nothing goes missing."

She put some extra pressure on the last two words while setting her eyes dead on Natani, who took just half a step back.

"I-I... We were just gunna... I wouldn't..." She stuttered, before stopping with a confused expression. Keith could almost hear the gears turning in her head. "Wait, you can see us? What the hell kind of magic are you using?"

Keith decided to take over. Natani had many strong suits, but diplomacy and bargaining were not among them.

"We're heading out," He replied calmly. "We're guests, not prisoners, right? Guests can leave if they so desire, and I would never question the legitimacy of the Grand Templar's hospitality. The only thing that will 'go missing' tonight will be the two of us, and only for a short while. Surely that won't be a problem, right?"

Rose's brow rose just a tenth of an inch before she regained herself.

"That... hm."

Her eyes wandered quickly from Natani to Keith, and then, so fast he barely even caught it, to their intertwined tails, before jumping back to the forest wolf. Keith could've sworn he saw a brief smirk in the corner of her mouth.

"...That should not be a problem, as long as you return before dawn. It's not quite safe out there, but you seem to know your way around magic, and the short one has fast reflexes."

The short one. He would have to get used to that again, wouldn't he?

"Hmm...." The snow wolf gave them an indecipherable look. "After a bit of reconsideration, I can't see how a short escapade could hurt. This mansion was never designed to be a prison."

There was something in her voice that Keith could've sworn was smugness, but it was well hidden under a layer of stern professionalism. And if he didn't know better, he would've said there was a degree of sadness in there as well.

"Well go along then." she said. "I got the impression you two were in a hurry. It's the middle of the night, so you have a few hours to... do whatever you were planning before the sun comes up."

She said the last sentence with her eyes focused on their intertwined tails.

Natani blushed heavily and swished Keith's tail away from her own in a way that was just dismissive enough to not be convincing in the least.

"We're not... It's not like that!"

Rose's smug smirk got a lot less subtle, and Natani's blush grew a lot more pronounced.

The next time she spoke, her voice was openly angry. "Oh will you stop that? We're just two guys who're tired of being locked inside this stupid house by asshole templars and crusty old slave wolves like you who think they're better and smarter than us! I don't know what you are, but I for one am a free wolf, and I need fresh air to live. So, if you'll excuse me, I will be leaving for a casual stroll, with my close friend. Keith?"

Keith weighed his options for a split second before following Natani down the stairs, turning his back on the old snow wolf.

"Have fun, you two." Rose mused as they reached the bottom.

Natani flipped her off and put her weight against the door; the giant metal frame was as heavy as it looked.

"Can't you just use magic?" said Keith, with his shoulder against the gilded frame, his feet scraping into the carpet as he put his full meagre weight on it to help her.

"I'd rather not." She grunted in reply. "Don't wanna waste my mana on something as simple as a bloody door. Is this thing locked or something? Damn thing won't budge!"

"There's a bolt across the middle" came from atop the stairs.

Rose had turned away from them, but Keith could somehow hear the grin through her voice, along with a slightly rural keidran drawl mixed in her otherwise perfect formal dialect. He threw a look over his shoulder and could've sworn he saw her tail wag back and forth a little as it disappeared behind a corner on the second floor.

Natani stopped pushing, and instead focused on the bar holding the two doors in place.

It opened effortlessly, without so much as a creak.

"Oh goddammit."

The shift in temperature was drastic as the two stepped out of the relatively small gap in the giant doorway; The hallways of the estate, dark, huge and brooding as they were, were at least well heated by magic, and kept warm by impeccable insulation. The outside however was just below freezing, and Keith shuddered lightly when the first gust of icy air blew right through his jacket and fur. His giant ears were not made for this climate and lowered themselves to his head to borrow warmth from the rest of his body.

Natani on the other hand let out a long, satisfied sigh, and stretched; She wore nothing but her boxers, chest bindings and black robe, the latter fluttering in the cold wind as she spread her arms and threw her head back. Her winter coat had started to really set in, and her breath flew in a white cloud from her muzzle.

"Aahhh... That's better." She murmured. "Got sick of the luxury and the human-temperature rooms. That house wasn't made for people with fur. Don't understand how that crummy old snow wolf can stand it."

Keith rubbed his hands together; "Maybe she's used to the climate? She hasn't left the estate in years, you know."

Natani turned towards him, a little shocked. "Wha- why not? I can't imagine being inside for too much more than a week unless I'm forced to, much less years. But then again, I'm not a slave. Still... years?!"

Keith tightened his oversized jacket. "Heard she's bound here by magic. She can't leave even if she wants to. Not sure about the finer details, but that's the gist of it."

He saw Natani's ears lower.

"She... That's... horrible." She exclaimed. "I was joking when I said she was a slave. I didn't know. I thought she was just being an icy bitch, like most snow wolves I've met."

Keith shrugged. "She was a bit rude to jump us in the middle of the night like that. She also called you a thief, but it looked like you were about to blast her with magic. I'm sure she's heard worse things, from worse people than you, and with less reason. You could always apologize when we get back."

"I guess I can." Natani murmured.

The snow fell thick this evening. Keith's massive ears were already full of white dots, and Natani's fur had a similar white coating over the dark brown. It had been a while since Keith had seen her in natural light, and he'd almost forgotten how beautiful she really was. Now that she was out of the mansion doors, it was like she'd recovered something he hadn't noticed she had been missing; her ears perked up a little sharper than before, her one brown eye grew just a shade brighter, and her back was a little straighter, as if she wasn't tall enough already. The smile on her lips had a bit more soul to it than before, and even her hair seemed to get a little wilder, as a few locks had fallen in front of her face.

Keith took a moment to just take it in, how her masculine yet somehow simultaneously feminine features glowed in the faint, snow-muffled moonlight. Features that had laid dead in front of him for weeks, in something deeper than sleep. How much he had feared not ever being able to see that awkward smile again.

The slight, wolfish smile glared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"...Keith? Everything alright?"

There was a bit of worry in her voice under the carefree surface. He still couldn't quite believe that someone else could be so genuinely concerned for him. He had spent so much time worrying about her he'd almost forgotten that she could look after him in return.

"It's just the cold." He replied. That was partially true; another short gust blew against them, and his ears laid flat against his head.

"Well then I guess we'd better get going" She said and began hopping down the steps from the door. "You'll get cold if you stand still. Walking gets the blood flowing. Believe me, I've been on winter missions before."

The small plaza in front of the mansion was somehow clear of snow, despite how heavy it fell all around; Keith's sensitive ears picked up a thousand soft splats of snowflakes hitting concrete and evaporating moments later. He assumed the floor to be magically heated, from the mild temperature against his feet and how the wetness caused a wispy steam to rise around his legs as he followed Natani, who had started wagging her tail as they neared the treeline.

"Oh man, you have no idea how much I've missed this." She hummed as the forest engulfed them. "I would sometimes peek over at Zen's side of the link just to get a whiff of the woods and listen to the breeze. I wasn't made for grand marble halls and creaking old boats. This is where I belong."

Keith looked at her and noticed the almost immediate shift in her whole state of being. Something about the way she moved changed the moment the treetops formed a tangled roof over their heads; Her stiff, straight-backed and almost unnatural walk turned into a relaxed and fluid stride. Her eyes, which had earlier been darting from point to point like that of an uncomfortable animal searching for escape routes were focused ahead under calm brows, completely at ease and in control now that she was back in her element. Her lips were relaxed in a confident smile, but with a slight blush across her muzzle.

...A blush that grew a little redder when Keith felt her huge tail poke at his side, swipe down under his jacket to find the base of his own tail and curl around it. She then slowly brushed upwards, drawing it out until both their tails were in the open, tied around each other once again.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she replied with a "What. We've done that before."

He was aware of his own blush, a good warmth in his face. "Do you have any idea how lewd that gesture is where I come from? Touching the base of someone's tail with your own is equivalent to sticking your hand down their pants and squeezing whatever you find down there, maybe even worse. We're talking raunchy porn level here."

She turned away for a moment, and when she looked back her breath was a little quicker, the blush a shade darker. "That's... an exaggeration, right? It can't be that saucy for anyone to hold tails. To us wolves it's a normal show of regular old friendship. Hell, I've even done it with Zen a couple times whenever one of us were down in the dumps."

It was good to laugh. "Well if you openly held tails with your brother while visiting the isles, you'd get a lot of sideways looks, especially since you look so similar. You'd be breaking public and private decency laws, as well as a handful of other ones probably."

She scoffed and chuckled at the same time. It was the most hauntingly beautiful sound in the world.

"Hah. Bloody control freaks, the lot of you. How could you stand it?"

"I couldn't."

There was a short silence as what Keith said sunk in, and the only sound in the woods was the noise of fresh snow crunching under two pairs of paws. Natani didn't let go of his tail, and instead pulled it a little closer.

"Keith..." She eventually began. Her usually playful tone had an emotional edge to it now. "...What really happened at that trial? I didn't understand what was going on. Your ears were hanging limp throughout the entire thing, even after we apparently won. It was rough to hear those crusty old generals give you crap in a language I didn't know, and I kinda wanted to run up there and give them a lecture in the universal lingo of fist; Good thing their huge king showed up and set things right, or I might've done something dumb because I really hate being left in the dark."

Keith felt his ears sink further; They usually did that when he recalled the events from that day. It seemed like Natani noticed, because her grip on his tail got a little closer.

"A... lot of things happened at that trial." He said. "I lost my only real friend in the world on that day, as well as..." He didn't know how to word it anymore, what to call her. "...as well as someone I loved very much. I also came to learn that my father, whom I thought I'd killed because he was a murderous scumbag, was completely innocent, and I had made a kin-slayer of myself for no reason."

It still hurt, somehow.

On his shoulders sat Alaric, Laura, Cathleen and Cornelius. They weighed down his breath, and he knew they would be there forever, no matter how many years passed. Some wounds never healed fully.

"The... generals said I could keep my life, but they would have to execute you and the others for espionage, sabotage, arson, and..."

Even with the memory of Alaric falling to his death, his body crushed on the rocks below, Keith had to chuckle. It was just too absurdly stupid.

"A-and... eheheh... Breach of decency laws."

This time it hurt to laugh. But it was made a lot better when joined by Natani's course chortle as the dark absurdity hit her as well. "Your country is messed up, you know that? Did I forget to put on ankle wrappings or something? Is that bad enough to warrant execution?"

"Apparently Flora ran around naked at some point." He replied. Laughter and grief battled for dominion in his throat. "But your ankles probably didn't help."

They both fell quiet. The grief won for now.

"After I heard that, I... I thought our only way out would be to fight. I drew my sword and asked you to stay behind me. I was wounded, and I'm not that strong for a basitin on a good day, and you were unarmed. We would've been cut down in seconds. I almost got us all killed."

Keith had spent a lot of time thinking about the trial, and how close it had been. He'd gone through the memory over and over, the timeline still fresh in his head. He'd seen it in the eyes of the guards; The cold, un-caring glare for the boy who'd brought chaos and deceit to their doorstep, and an open disgust for the wolf in his tow. Their swords had been out and ready. It would've only taken a single command and half a second.

"I was so damn stupid. It's not like they would behead you right there; Proper basitin bureaucracy is about the slowest thing you can imagine, and it's not like we didn't have allies. All I had to do was sit tight and wait for help. But nooo, I had to pull out my big dumb sword and save everyone. Because that worked out so well the last time I did it."

He ran his hand along his right ear, down to the cleft where Alaric's blade had nearly cut it clean off. He'd lost a lot of blood in that encounter. But worse than that, he'd lost a childhood friend, by his own actions.

He almost jumped a little when Natani's hand joined his own, gently stroking the top of his ear. She was firm but gentle, examining the almost fully healed wound.

"You're doing it again." She said.

"Doing what?"

"Hating yourself for making the right decisions."

Her hand moved further into the base of his ear and scratched it. "You do it all the time, and I'm not even sure you notice. After you killed Alaric, you berated yourself for merely defending your life and beliefs... and me. You beat yourself up for losing Laura, even though there was no way out other than destroying that tower right there and then. When I was out cold, I get the feeling you were sitting at the edge of my bed all the time, somehow blaming yourself for what had happened to me. Hell, when you were about to throw your dad's helmet away, you were loathing yourself before you even did it."

She cupped his ear softly. "You've always followed your heart, and it has always been the right call, yet you still act like you've done something wrong. Without your good judgement we would've all been dead by now. I don't know what your problem is, or why you can't get over the bad things that've happened to you, but I'm getting a sneaking suspicion you may have a case of the rare 'Being A Good Person' disease."

Keith scoffed. He didn't know whether his eyes hurt from the cold or from the tears he was holding back.

"I think you got your diagnosis wrong, doctor Natani." He muttered, "You're talking to a murderer and kin-slayer who was too stupid and weak to ever find a better way out. I couldn't even help you when you were knocked out, and I made life a living hell for everyone around me. I'm as far from a decent person as you can get."

She crossed her arms and growled. "Oh, is that so? If you're a 'bad person', whatever that means, then what does that make me?" She snorted in his ear. "What you said earlier was right; Zen and I are mediocre assassins at best, but even so, I've killed more people than I can count..."

She looked down at her hands, counting on her fingers. "...Not that I was ever good with numbers. But I'm still pretty sure I've got you beat tenfold there. Unlike you, I almost never regret it, because just like you, I did it because I had to. If anyone's an asshole here, it's me. At least you feel bad for killing people."

"It's... That's not the same." mumbled Keith, and he heard how flimsy the argument was even before it came out his mouth.

"You bet your ass it's not the same." Natani continued, a bit angrier. "I've lived my whole life stabbing people in the back and mangling them with magic from afar. People I don't even know, who might have wives, husbands or children. Tell me, is that somehow better than killing your wife-killer dad, or defending yourself against a ruthless opponent who is way stronger, faster and smarter than you? Because it sure doesn't seem like it to me. Life keeps forcing you to make impossible choices, and that's not your fault. If you tell someone they're an asshole for long enough, they'll eventually start to believe it. Let them believe it for years and it becomes true. Trust me, I've lived around enough scumbags to know how they're made, and I have no plans on letting it happen to you."

Her tail rode back up under his coat and rubbed at his lower back as she turned towards him. He wondered if he should tell her that she was doing the basitin equivalent of fondling his balls but left it alone.

Her eyes had a layer of sadness in them under all the passion when she set them on him this time. "You are a good person, Keith. I know you're too bull-headed and downtrodden to see it, so I thought I should tell you outright. The world seems determined on making you do horrible things, to fool you into thinking there's nothing good in you, but that's simply not true, and I won't let you believe it; This series of tragedies, patricide and heartache ends with me. I don't know if it'll make your regrets go away, but I'm hoping to at least see these stand up straight more often."

She grabbed the tips of his limp ears and held them up like the hat on a puppet; "I don't know why they seem to be broken tonight, but I'll see what I can do to fix them so they'll face upwards again, in the only way I know."

"What, are you gonna kiss m-"

Indeed, she was.

Before he could finish the sentence, she fastened her grip and pulled his face forwards into the wettest and warmest kiss he'd ever known.

With one hand firmly holding his ear and the other at the back of his head, closed her lips gently around his, her lips drawn back as they sealed themselves around him. Despite her huge, sharp fangs, she managed to make herself soft somehow, a word Keith would never have used to describe her; even with her strong wolf-hands holding him resolutely in place, nothing about it was forced or brutish, not with the way her heavy nasal breath rose past his face in little clouds, or the way her heart hammered at him through chest bindings, flesh, fur and clothes.

He could vaguely make out the feeling of his ears rising to a rigid salute, teased up by her passionate strokes, both her hand against his ear and her tongue against his own.

The snow fell in thick white clumps around them as the embrace grew tighter. Natani moved her hand from his head and down to his back, drawing him closer until his body was pressed against her, yet she refused to break the kiss and settled for muffled breaths through her snout, with the occasional slightly intoned noise that sounded halfway like a moan and halfway like "Keith~"

Her thumb found his earlobe, and made itself busy with exploring it, fumbling its way into an area that would've caused most Basitins to either faint, punch her, or cum on the spot. Or all three in any order.

But Keith felt only a dull pain somewhere between his chest and throat, and it had nothing to do with how hard she was squeezing him. It was the same pain that had threatened to crush him when Natani had crashed into the floor of the Na'Rella, both eyes greyed out and lifeless. The same hollow agony that had stolen his breath as the ship went up in flames with her inside.

Back then he'd thought the feeling was fear, or maybe grief, with how similar it was to the haunting pain that had engulfed him when Laura's deep blue eyes closed themselves for the last time. The pain had faded since then, but never quite left him, always throbbing away somewhere between his throat and his heart. This soft ache was one of the hundred things that had kept him staring into the ceiling earlier tonight, pondering over wood carvings and missed opportunities.

And now, with Natani's hands massaging his sensitive ear, their mouths locked together in a hot, personal and deeply intimate kiss, it flared up again as an agonizing fire in his chest. It burned away all the air in his lungs and left behind a hard vacuum. He swallowed past the fresh lump in his throat, gasping for breath through his nose, clutching around Natani's back, his hands grasped at her long flowing hair like a drowning man clutching a lifesaver. He blinked into the snowy night, trying to make the wetness disappear from his eyes.

He had to tell her. This was the moment.

Natani's jaws had a strong grip, her teeth almost digging into the flesh around his mouth, yet he tried;

"Nata_hllnmhh_~"

She strangled his words by squeezing him even harder and pushing his tongue into the back of his mouth with a firm and slippery offensive. She kept it there for a couple of seconds before languidly pulling back, panting frantic clouds of steam onto his face.

"Don't... -haah- Don't speak. You're just gonna say something sad. K-kiss me instead. Just... -mhn-"

Without letting him get further than "Natani, I lo-" she went back in deeper than before. There was a fierceness in the kiss that went beyond regular passion, like she was trying to eat him alive, or at least get a thorough taste; She had him pinned beneath a set of huge wolf-jaws and a powerful wild tongue that licked against his mouth with strong, slow laps. He felt her left-hand press against his back, claws pricking at him even through the thick jacket, while her right one continued to finger his ear, thumb stroking resolutely at his inner earlobe.

'Don't speak' she'd said.

The pressure in his chest needed an outlet; Once again it threatened to break him like it had so many times before, stealing what little breath he could force down past the wolf's tongue.

And if she wouldn't let him say it with words, then he would have to find another way to tell her...

With his feet almost slipping in the snow, he began to push. Hard, but not as hard as Natani, he squeezed her lower back, fastening his hands in her black, snow-covered robe. Considering the size difference, it was quite an uphill battle; He had to plant his paws firmly into the snow and stretch himself to turn the kiss from a one-sided smooch into a mutual game of tongue-wrestling. Natani seemed to soften a little from this new offensive, her arms slightly looser around him, her breath a little stronger and faster. But Keith wasn't done yet. With a surge of passionate strength, he pushed with his entire body and felt her waver, before taking a single step back to keep her balance.

...Tell her how much he loved her.

Natani made a short, wolf-like sound of surprise as she was forced another step backwards, and then another after that. Barely keeping herself upright, she retreated until both their paws were stepping on dirt and roots rather than snow.

Distracted by Keith's oral advances she had backed them both up under the massive branches of a dark pine tree, busied with the task of staying on her feet. With a breathless 'whuff', and a low thunk, her back hit the rough surface of the trunk. Her canine exhale was followed by a muffled gasp; Keith rushed after her and lay himself against her chest until she was squished between his warm body and the cold tree.

Keith knew he was in unknown territory now; With Natani's uncertainty of her own gender and sexuality, this new and almost violent advance could be rude and respectless. He knew she should be the one to decide the pace, to take the lead. But the fire in him disagreed, and he thrust himself against her again, chests grinding heavily together.

Her voice echoed in his head.

'You've always followed your heart, and it has always been the right call'

With another powerful push, he pressed her against the tree, moaning into her mouth.

This was it. The right call.

_ _

***

Natani shrank under Keith's advance. She backed herself up against the trunk, holding him with trembling hands through every grind, letting him guide the makeout. Then her hands snuck in beneath his jacket to send a firm stroke down his back, all the way from his shoulders to the base of his tail, which went rigid and rose like a sword, strong enough to lift the heavy coat above his rear.

Her gesture was followed by a light moan, in a higher pitch than her usual voice as Keith returned the motion by slipping his hand under the black assassin robe to place it at her side, gently caressing her strong hips and haunches.

After a couple more full-body grinds like these, Keith freed his left hand to open his jacket. He didn't hesitate a second before throwing it off, instead warming himself against Natani's steamy fur. A few moments later he realized Natani must've done something similar to her chest bindings, because the surface he pressed against was suddenly softer and bulkier, his snout resting on a pair of hefty breasts. Her grip on his tail-base tightened, her long claws scratching his fur into a scraggly mess and forcing another growling moan out of him.

The throbbing pressure in his chest was still there, but it was eventually diminished as the minutes trickled by, coming out as light huffs on her bristling cheek. Keith suddenly noticed a trembling somewhere in his hips. He didn't know how long they'd been kissing, but at some point his legs had started shaking. He hadn't even noticed it, but now he could barely keep himself up.

He stroked Natani's thigh and found her shivering as well, having spread her legs a little to both bring him closer and to even the height difference between them. At some point she'd slung her arms around his shoulders, and now she was holding herself up by only her hands and the pressure from his chest pinning her against the tree.

Keith did one last push, grinding himself against her now sweaty and bosomy body, feeling her flex and harden in response, before pulling back just a little bit...

...And whimper as her claws dug into his shoulder, instinctively grasping at the closest thing they could find as she collapsed onto the ground with a surprised yelp.

"K-Kei-whuf!"

Natani was heavy, so all her claws accomplished was to drag him down with her. A soft thud and a breathless gasp later they were tangled in each other's arms, Natani awkwardly propped up against the tree and Keith leaning against her with his face buried between her breasts.

"Thah... -hah- Keith... -haah!-" She gasped, before giving up, snapping for breath. Keith did the same, huffing into her warm fluff. There was a sweet and gentle musk in his nose that hadn't been there before, and he realized she must've disabled her scent-blocking spells too. He knew he should probably let her know that at some point, in case it had been accidental. But for now, all he could do was ease himself into her moist fur.

With his ears perked up and resting on her chest, the sound of her heartbeat thundered through his head. Soon he felt her hand ride up to grope his ear again, this time only scratching the outer area near the tip, her thumb-claw rifling through the tufts of fur.

"You... Got a lot... better since the boat" She panted. Her voice was a little lighter than before, and slightly surprised.

She kept his ear stiff by firmly thumbing and fingering it, sliding her hand slowly back and forth from the earlobe and across the entire length. And though her movements were resolute and strong, she paid great attention not to tug at the old wound halfway down.

It wasn't something Keith had noticed while they'd been kissing, but now that they were laying in each other's arms, he noticed his ears weren't the only thing that'd hardened; The front of his pants were a lot tighter than before, filled out by his half-erect manhood poking awkwardly against Natani's leg.

Though he was sure she'd already noticed, he instinctively shifted to the side a little; That level of intimacy wasn't something he'd want to force upon her. But all she gave was an awkward chuckle, and another squeeze to his ear, making him stifle a light moan;

"Eheh... You know, Keith... This ain't actually the first time I've felt your... uh, sword against my leg. B-but it's okay, you can leave it there... I-if you want, I mean."

He looked up at her with in confusion and was met with a shifty gaze and the deepest blush he'd ever seen. Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment, but she didn't shy away, and instead relaxed benath him.

"It was... The morning after we got to the estate. You were out cold, but er... Well, most of you was out cold." Her eyes flickered back and forth. "Gave me a bit of a shock. Thought it was the tip of your tail at first. Then I noticed it was way harder than that, and also wearing boxers..."

Keith raised an eyebrow; He'd been about to apologize and pull away. "So... you're alright with this? I thought you didn't want to go further than kissing?"

She cleared her throat. "W...well... You were the one who kissed me so hard I almost choked on your tongue, while also grinding against me..." She stopped him from even opening his mouth this time. "...And no, don't apologize! I... I think we would've got here sooner or later anyways. I'm glad to see a more confident side of you for once. Your eyes are much prettier when they're sparkling."

She put her other hand up to his ears as well, holding them in a strong grasp like a captain manning a ship's wheel. Keith failed to hold back the gasp, and let it slip out into Natani's chest as he sunk his face into it.

"Does it really feel that good?" He heard her puzzle. "Having your ears massaged, I mean. I agree it's nice to get a good scratch and ruffle up there from time to time, but you said it was just about affection and intimacy. Is it a sex thing too?"

The muffled moan he gave was answer enough: Yes, absolutely.

She chuckled and groped a little softer, stroking gently along the rigid length. Once again, her hand stopped halfway down his right ear, thumbing lightly at the old gash.

Her chest rose and sank under his snout in a sad sigh. "...So many old wounds. You've got scars all over your chest and belly too."

He nodded into her breasts. "Yep. Been in rough weather a few times. Not a big deal."

Her thumbing in his ear got a little firmer. "It's a big deal to me. I really don't like to see you get hurt. You spent so much of that boat ride being either wounded or sad, and... well." She pinched the tips. "These things aren't as fun when they're all limp."

She let go of his ears and let them stand up on their own. "I-I guess what I'm trying to say is... I care about you. I want you to be happy, and I'm tired of seeing you sad."

Even if he hadn't heard her voice waver, Keith felt a slight tremble running through her chest when she said it. Her heart beat steadily at his face, a heavenly series of vibrations. He sunk his face in and relaxed, his body finally unwinding.

He'd spent almost all his life worrying.

Worrying about his own future. Worrying about Laura. Worrying about redemption to his country. Grieving over friends and family lost. But with Natani holding him so close, her body strong, warm and open, it felt like things were finally falling into place. The lump in his throat was still there, and it still hurt, but the warmth and comfort washed away the worst.

Natani's hand moved down his back again, all the way to the base of his tail. He hadn't noticed how hard it had been swishing back and forth this entire time, and he caught the sound of hers wagging and brushing against the ground beneath.

"So anyways..." She mused, in a tone that sounded like it was supposed to be casual, "What were you about to say, back when I kissed you? Were you just moaning my name or was there something more?"

He needed only a moment to consider, before looking her in the eyes.

"Oh, just your name..." He said. "...And ' I love you'... But I feel like that would've been redundant, since you probably know that."

There.

Now that he thought about it, the phrase 'I love you' wasn't all that grand or important. They were just silly old words, and rather contrived ones at that. He'd even said it in such a casual and unimportant way, it hardly felt like it could symbolize anything. He wondered why he'd waited for so long, and why he'd worked himself up so much; A tired old cliché of a phrase couldn't describe the ache and fire in his heart, nor how awful and fantastic it felt.

"Yeah..." He heard her say. "I-I knew that..."

Her reply had sounded casual as well, but the slight stutter at the start, as well as a subtle change in her breath told him it was a bit more complicated than that.

"That was... pretty obvious, actually. W-with the way you kiss, I mean..." She continued, her breath shallow and quick. Keith could feel her heart racing faster and faster against his ear. "A-and... just so you know, I... feel the same way about you."

Keith raised his head up from her chest to look her in the eyes, and was met with a deep blush, lowered ears and bristling whiskers.

"So... W-what I'm trying to say is... I-I..." Natani stuttered, before firmly grabbing hold of his ears again; "Ah screw it, I was never good with words. C'mere, I'll tell you in archaic Keidran instead_._"

This time she didn't have to pull his face closer to reach it with her tongue. Her breath flowed onto his face as she gave him a wet and heavy lick right on the snout, leaving a slick patch of saliva on his nose.

Keith raised an eyebrow, puzzled. He'd expected another kiss.

"What are you...ngh-"

She broke him off with another lick, this time directly on his lips, pushing her tongue into the roof of his mouth and past his teeth, then out and up to his snout again with a wet, sloppy noise. Her breath quickened as it blew against his eyes, keeping his face warm in the night.

"Y-you know how you said tail-holding was the lewdest thing in the world? Well, we keidran also know how to show intimacy... Most of them involving mouths and tongues. Thought I'd give you a demonstration." she puffed hastily.

Keith struggled to hold back a chuckle. "You know, Natani... I'm preeeetty sure licking people is a lewd gesture in most cultures, not just for wolves..."

He was silenced by a growl and another firm squeeze at his ear.

"Oh, shut up! I just want an excuse to try this out. Is that too much to ask?"

She brought him close and began licking him passionately; Her tongue was heavy and strong enough to deform his cheek as she pressed it against him over and over, leaving his fur matted and wet with warm, sticky slobber. Like a mother cleaning its puppy she lapped and nibbled his scruff, working her way down from his cheek and onto his jaw, and then his neck.

And Keith had to admit: This wolfish kind of sexual advance was just as effective as anything involving ears or a tail; Natani's hot and rapid breath, her wet tongue and her strong fingers in his ear stoked the fire in his chest and groin, and he had to stop himself from grinding against her, his erection straining happily into the front of his trousers.

Natani must've felt the same, for soon each breath came with a low whine from her nose. She leaned against the tree, grabbed his back and squeezed him so close he ended up rubbing against her lower belly regardless.

"Mhn... Keith..." She mumbled between two licks and pulled them both to the side, off the tree and onto the ground. It was a gentle move, and the dirty tangle of tiny roots made a decently soft surface for Keith's back as she rolled on top of him, still licking his face intently.

But rather than straddle him, she laid flat onto his chest and used her size and weight to pin him to the ground, luring her legs down under his hips to slowly squeeze herself against the underside of his loins.

Her tongue eventually worked its way to his snout again, and then down to his mouth.

The first lick only went as far as his lips, giving him a lipstick of canine saliva.

The second one painted the roof of his mouth once again, before trailing back out.

And with the third she tilted her head sideways to properly lunge in and fill his entire mouth with a kiss that almost went down his throat. She came down on him with her full weight and pushed him against the ground in a fully clothed reverse mating press, squishing him flat with two hundred pounds of hard muscle and soft breasts. She complemented this with a heavy forward thrust, rolling her weight across his front like an iron against a shirt. It didn't faze her that she was rubbing against his firm groin, nor that she let it poke her hard in the belly; She didn't seem to care when he squeezed back, wrapping his feet around her rear and gently thrusting upwards.

Keith opened his eyes but found that he couldn't see; Natani's hair had fallen down in his face, and his vision was blocked by it. All he could see was her mane as it brushed softly against his eyes.

All he could hear was her breath, a rough, deep and canine panting, paired with needful whines and low gulps as she sucked and licked at his mouth.

All he could taste was her tongue as it wrestled his own into submission. This time she didn't move it back for another lick, but kept it there at the back of his mouth, letting him enjoy its warm, strong and slippery fullness.

All he could feel was the intense heat from her chest and bosom; With his legs spread and locked around her butt, he was squeezed as close as he could possibly get. Her heart thundered wildly through her breast, and her body wiggled subtly back and forth, destabilized by a recklessly wagging tail.

And all he could smell was the unfamiliar and gentle scent of an increasingly aroused female wolf. It stood in stark contrast to everything else about her, a sweet and distinctly feminine aroma that wafted a little stronger against him with each second.

Every single one of his senses were Natani.

She was all he knew.

The moment was heavenly, and he wished it could last forever.

Sooner or later she had to pull away and ease the pressure. She opted for 'later', and Keith was left below her for what was probably more than a few minutes, still smushed into the ground, kept warm by her hard breath and loving embrace.

After what felt like ten minutes but should have been an eternity, her jaws loosened up just enough that they could both breathe through their mouths. A few moments of steamy panting later she pulled out. Her tongue slid against Keith's before breaking contact, and a few wet strings of drool trailed behind, dripping onto his face.

She got up on all fours and wiped her mouth; Her face had a tinge of red on it, her eyes locked deeply into Keith's. The wolf's long mane blocked out the rest of the world, and for all Keith cared, the rest of the world didn't exist.

She licked her lips. "That... that's Old Keidran for 'I love you'." She huffed. "I-I'm not good with sappy words, and I like this way better."

Keith couldn't agree more.

With Natani was out of mouth and a few moments to breathe, Keith noticed she'd managed to drag him a few inches along the ground, solely by the strength of her thrusts. He let his legs fall to the ground and stroked her haunches, trembling lightly. Her hands were on his chest as well, sifting through the fluff that had started to spring out with his winter coat.

"You've got... ah... Pretty strong hips." He commented awkwardly. "Where'd you learn to thrust like that?"

Keith hadn't though it possible for her to blush any harder, but he was proven wrong as she propped herself up on all fours, still positioned between his legs as if she were the man and he was the woman.

"I..." She cleared her throat. "I have the instincts of a normal man, apparently. I've also, uh..." She swallowed.

"What?" Keith tilted his ear. "I thought this was your first time?"

She looked back and forth like she was weighing whether to share a secret. It only lasted for a moment before she sighed in a way that screamed 'screw it, might as well'

"Y-yeah, it is. Technically."

She hesitated for another moment,a little unsure where to start. "I've... been out on the town a few times before, and it's not that I don't know my way around girls... I just don't have the... equipment to go any farther than kissing or light groping. Besides, I can't let anyone get that close to me. You know how it is."

Keith nodded; He remembered the first time he'd learned her secret, back in the Wreathwood bath house. Her eyes had flickered in a moment of murderous intent, before darting around and eventually glazing over with tears as she'd realized it was too late to hide it, all in a couple of seconds.

"...But that didn't apply to Zen." She continued. "With the whole Magi Brothers reputation, we were quite popular. He didn't have the same... issues as me, so he had no problem getting laid. Now, we were mostly busy hunting, working, drinking or mending wounds for things like that, but he did score every now and then. The mind link made it pretty awkward, since I sometimes caught glimpses of his side by accident. It was mostly annoying for him at the start, but eventually it made me jealous, as strange as it all was. I think he must've noticed, because one day he offered to let me... Er, 'come along for the ride', as he put it."

"What, like letting you... watch him?" Keith pondered with a highly telling eyebrow. He really didn't know what to make of the magical connection between the two siblings.

"No! Ew! Well... not exactly."

She bit her lip and placed her hand at his side, her pelvis still wedged between his thighs. "It was more like that time he took control over me to talk to you and Flora, just the other way around. He kinda moved himself to the back and let me take the reins. It was awkward, weird and a little gross to use his body for that, but..."

She shrugged. "I'm an adult wolf. I have needs, just like everyone else. My real body would stay at home and hug a pillow while my mind was occupied with the real thing. It wasn't perfect, but it helped me blow off some steam."

Behind the masculine self-confidence, her voice had a light shiver to it.

"Nice of him to let you do that." Keith commented. "Don't know if I'd willingly let anyone else inside my head. Did you ever thank him?"

Natani puffed a cloud of steam onto his face, a warm smile hiding in the corner of her mouth. "I did... By saving his ass multiple times, just like he saved mine. Never kept a tab on how many favours we owed each other. All I know is, he cares for me a whole lot, just like I do for him. There was never any point in saying 'thank you', since we both knew we had to rely on each other. My brother may be a big dumb idiot, but he knows how I feel, and he would always... watch... ov..."

Her brows furrowed into a focused frown before she could finish the sentence, like she'd just remembered something. From his position beneath her, Keith could see the hairs on her shoulders rise and her ears turn backward, as if she'd heard a sound from behind her somewhere in the woods.

Keith focused, but even with his refined ears all he could hear was Natani's breath and the low static of a million snowflakes settling on pine trees and dirt.

"Natani...? What's wr-"

"Are you SPYING on us?!"

She shoved Keith away, but kept a hand on his leg just in case as she pointed into the woods. "Do you have any idea how weird that is? Can't you see we're- that I'm... busy?!"

She looked down and made a feeble attempt at covering herself, which only made her breasts flop out past her arm as she squeezed them.

Keith followed her pointing hand, but saw only trees, snow and darkness.

"Natani, wha-"

"Oh, don't you dare give me that!" She continued, fuming. "I'm not the one lying in bed with a ruined leg, I actually know how to take care of myself! My life's none of your business, and you have no right to be hovering over it all the damn time!"

Oh. Right. Zen.

Keith wondered if he could subtly shift his erection so it would follow the leg of his pants without anyone noticing; Now that someone else was watching him, the huge awkward tent in the front of his trousers became painfully obvious.

But Natani paid it no mind and turned to face him instead. Her blush had become angrier, and her eyes dim when she spoke again.

"And that goes for you too, you little pervert!"

"Wh... What are you on about now?!" He stuttered in utter confusion.

She blinked a couple times, before making her voice soft. "Oh, s-sorry Keith. I... I wasn't talking to... Just hold on a second."

She blinked, and when her eyes opened, they were still pointing at Keith, but set on something else, like she was looking into the distance.

"No, you don't get to 'watch'! I don't even know what you are, and I want you out of my head! Both of you! Go away!"

The wolf put her face in her hands and growled, ears lowered. She then moved her finger around her head as if drawing a box. Keith could just make out the faint glow of mana trailing after her index claw. When she was done, her face was a frustrated snarl and her whiskers were trembling.

"There. Now we're... actually alone. Gods, what a headache..."

It was upsetting how quickly her mood and entire being had changed from the unbreakable and self-confident wolf into a nervous and angry teenager in the blink of an eye. Her voice had taken a noticeable shiver, her tail had placed itself defensively between her legs, and her arm was still clutched in front of her bristling chest.

A voice from the past shot through Keith's head;

'Natani's been through a lot of crap, and the last thing he needs is more. He won't admit it but he's vulnerable, and he's put a lot of trust onto you.'

This alleged vulnerability had never really presented itself to him; he was usually the one to lean on Natani for support... Or being forcibly pulled back onto his feet, rather. She was always the steadfast rock he could collapse onto, always the one to block the blows for him.The Natani in front of him now was a cracked facade, and her well-hidden weakness shone out from under her robes.

She shook her head and looked to him with a wavering grin. "What. You have no idea how annoying it is to have a bunch of other people in your head. I thought they would at least leave me alone while I'm... While we're..."

She looked back down at the sharp bulge in the front of his pants and swallowed. Then her eyes flickered between his face and his groin a few times, before going shut in frustration yet again.

"Ghhrrgh... I... I don't know about this. I don't know if I'm quite ready. N-not for that."

The level of uncertainty and defeat in her voice was unlike anything Keith had ever heard, and he felt the sting in his chest again. She had been increasingly playful and teasing about the subject of sex ever since she woke up from the coma, to an almost unnerving degree. But now she began to unravel, her hands shivering lightly, though he wasn't sure whether it came from angst, cold or anger.

But he knew it was time to step in.

"Look... We don't have to go any further unless you want to." He sat up and edged a little closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I've been with you for long enough to know how weird this subject is. I wouldn't mind just kissing the night away, as long as it keeps you happy."

She looked away from him, and he could feel her scowl.

"I didn't ask for this." She muttered rustily. "Living as a guy was always easy, apart from annoyances like estrus and chest bindings. But now, I..." She cast a quick look down at the bulge and took a nauseous breath. "I just don't know anymore. Part of me wants it more than anything else in the world, but then another part of me just... ghr- loathes the thought of... going all the way. Especially with a guy. I have no idea which one I want to-"

"Then don't!" Keith interrupted. "Don't force yourself to do anything you're unsure about. I don't know how the divide between your mind and your body works, but I don't want you to ever strain yourself with these things unless you're sure you want to. I never cared if you saw yourself as a man or a woman, because it wasn't your body I fell in love with. It was just... you."

He inched even closer, close enough to feel her breath. "The person who cared for me when no one else would. The one who carried me when I was too weak to stand, let alone walk."

This time it was his fingers that made their way to her ear and squeezed it softly. "Just be Natani. You don't have to be anything more. Not to me."

She swallowed again, and her leg kicked a few times as he scratched her.

"You know, Keith... Being myself was never easy." She mumbled. "After joining the assassin's guild, I made peace with the fact that I could never let anyone get close to me. That I would never have anyone to confide in but my brother, and definitely not..."

She looked at Keith's bare chest, at his glistening fur and the sinking bulge in his pants. "...Definitely not like this. There were so many times I had to scramble to cover myself, throw on a towel or a robe at the last second to hide my body. I learnt scent blocking spells, chest bindings and male canine body language pretty quick, because a single slip-up would mean expulsion from the guild at best, and at worst... Well."

She let out a snort.

"Let's just say most of the assassins wouldn't have cared that I was six. They would've seen a woman and done what criminal low-lives are known to do with young and scrawny ladies. It wasn't a pleasant mental image, so I made sure to tighten those bindings 'till my face turned blue, and triple-check my spells every time I walked out the door. Some part of me got a bit of a kick out of dressing like a guy and masquerading amongst them without anyone knowing, but I still did it largely out of necessity."

She smiled, but Keith could see the sadness in her eyes. "Then Zen and I went on our first real mission, and you know how that turned out. If there was even a trace of femininity left at that point, it went out the window when that spell hit me, along with everything else between my ears. I've had a few talks with the weird young version of myself, and she remembers it all. Don't know exactly how much I trust her, and I still haven't quite figured out where I stood before that spell hit me, but I know how much I came to hate this body afterwards. The instincts I had built up became natural. My clothes and chest bindings were more than just attire; They became my first and last line of defense against beatings, rape and death. It didn't help when I reached adulthood and started going into heat and grew breasts the size of coconuts. The thought of being seen naked went from scary to abhorrently disgusting, and it became harder and harder to hide. I've been in an uphill battle my entire life, and every feminine thought or action felt like a personal defeat."

She growled. "Whenever I got caught without my chest bindings it felt like I got hit with a sledgehammer. The sort of dropping sensation of your life being over. Even if it was just Zen, it still hurt."

The wolf brought a hand up to one of her breasts and weighed it. "Stupid bags of fat. The hell are they even for? They're soft, impractical and heavy, and they keep getting in the way of everything I do."

Keith saw his moment to disagree.

"I don't think they're that bad." He mumbled. "The rest of your body is so hard and muscular, it's a welcome change to see some softer parts. They made for good pillows earlier, when you smushed my face into them. You didn't seem to have any problems with it a few moments ago."

She shook her head, and a few locks of hair fell into her face.

"It's not really the boobs I'm worried about. I've gotten used to being seen by you, so it doesn't bother me anymore. In fact, I kinda like it. I-it's pretty refreshing to sit around bare-chested for once. Never had the opportunity to do that around others."

She massaged her breasts and ruffled the thick fluff between them. Her blush drew a faint line across her muzzle, and she blew a few strands of hair hair to the side. "No..." she continued. "It's more Zen's fault, really. I had no idea that idiot would be creeping on us, so it gave me a bit of a shock to feel his eyes on my neck. After booting him out, I looked down and saw your, uh..." She cast a glance at his pants, eyes flickering. "Your full Basitin mast. Then it hit me where we would probably be going with all this, and I just... got a little..." She groped for words again.

"Nervous?" Keith pondered.

"Mhhh... Maybe. There's more to it than that, but I guess 'nervous' is accurate enough. I ain't the kinda wolf to get anxious around people, but there's something about sex that I just can't wrap my head around. Licking, kissing and light groping is great, but anything more is... Rgh."

Keith nodded and moved close enough to feel the warmth of her breath; his spittle-covered whiskers had begun to freeze over, but the cold didn't bother him nearly as much as seeing the her so disheveled.

"Then we can lick, kiss and lightly grope our way through the night." He said. "Or all the way through the next day, Rose be damned. Your spell makes us invisible, and you're cut off from your brother; the world outside this pine tree's branches doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned. There's just you and me, and we can do whatever you want. You decide where we go next."

The wolf blushed, before giving a short chuckle.

"Damn, Keith. When did you become such a sappy little poet? Did my nap on the boat mess you up that much?"

He gave her a quiet look; yes, you big idiot. I thought you were dying.

Her hand found its way up to his ear again. "Well... You can start by giving me a good lick. Never felt a tongue on my face before, and it was fun to do it with you. Kinda wanna know how it feels myself. I guess we can see where things go from there... If we want."

"Mhm."

Keith complied, dutiful and passionate; Natani's cheek was a lot fluffier than his own, and he had to press his tongue hard into the thick fur to reach her skin, feeling it give way and squish under his touch. He licked her thoroughly along the jaw and almost all the way to her ear, leaving a slick wet rut in her cheek-fluff.

"How's that?" He murred into her neck.

"Kinda... wet." she admitted. "Warm. A little tingly. Did I ask you to stop?"

He replied with another lick in the same spot, while placing his hand on her other cheek to keep her in place. The fur was slightly dusty and tangled, but soon smoothed out under his careful grooming. His tongue lacked Natani's size, but the bumpy texture made short work of loose fur, and soon the wolf's cheek was glistening in the faint light, clean and moist.

He then made his way onto her long and powerful muzzle, this time against the grain, until he was lapping onto the black snout and her breath shot against his lips, almost uncomfortably hot.

He gave her mouth a lick and a short wet smooch before working his way down her other cheek and onto her jaw, his breath heavier than before; Natani's scent and taste were more intense when his nose was buried in her pelt, and it didn't hurt that her fingers had snuck back into the base of his ears, fumbling, groping and squeezing away at every Basitin's weakest spot. His pants began to tent once again, and there was nothing he could really do to stop it when Natani placed a hand on his lower back and squeezed him against her, pressing his erection into her lower belly.

"N-Natani, I-" he stuttered, flustered.

"It's okay," She mumbled, her voice flush. "It's fine as long as I don't think about it too hard. Just... keep going, like when you pushed me against the tree. I'll let you know."

Keith puffed and lowered his muzzle back to her cheek. The lewd hug made his ears blush and burn. But so long as she wanted it, he supposed he could...

With the wolf's firm grasp around his ear and lower back, Keith returned the embrace. His mouth moved gently from her cheek and down to her jaw; there was a patch of beard-like fluff jutting out below her lip, and it needed grooming.

With a couple licks and a few gentle nibbles, he straightened and cleaned it like a cat grooming its litter, feeling Natani's breath directly in his ear. Natani herself made a sound halfway between a whine and a happy dog noise, then moved her head skywards and exposed her soft, vulnerable throat to him, her tail wagging up a storm of dirt and pine needles.

Keith had spent enough time with wolves to know their body language; Intentionally leaving your neck exposed was a sign of ultimate trust, a move carried over from their animal brethren to show they were not the least bit afraid of an attack, that they would never consider the other a threat.

As he slowly licked his way past the underside of her jaw, Keith had to ponder exactly how large an effort it must have been for someone like her to ever display that gesture; she swallowed heavily, and her throat convulsed under his tongue.

Her fingertips were already prickling his back, her breath growing heavier every time he pressed his muzzle into her neck. By the time he reached the softest spot, his back was hurting from her claws, his left ear was moist from her steamy breath, his hands had found their way to her haunches again, and the hard bulge in his pants was throbbing against her belly.

He was waiting for it now. Waiting for the wolf to pull his hand away from her hip, shifty-eyed and uncomfortable. Then the guilt would hit him for having gone too far, trespassing on unsteady ground with the sexually confused wolf.

And sure enough, he soon felt her shaky yet resolute hand around his wrist when she pulled him off her haunch. Her grasp was tight as she led his fingers away from her hips, up her torso...

...And placed them directly on her boob, so hard he almost squashed it flat.

Keith nearly choked on his own tongue.

"_Ghrk-_Natnh-"

"Sh-shut up." She moaned quietly. "Don't... read a-anything into it. Just keep going."

'Not reading anything into it' was a tall order; His claws were already sifting through the soft fluff, and her breath had developed a high-pitched whine behind the usual raggedness.

But continue he did. Natani's neck was warm and soft against his whiskers, and he went at it with renewed vigour. Drawing his teeth back behind his lips, he closed his muzzle around her throat, careful not to bite. Her pulse beat strong in his mouth, and his tongue was forced back when she swallowed yet again, a hot tremor under his snout.

After a moment of hesitation, he ducked forward and pressed himself against her, nibbling at her neck with light and toothless bites. His left hand was buried in long locks of hair, and his right one busy with her chest; From all his hard-as-nails sparring sessions with the huge and masculine keidran, he'd never thought she could be so soft. The tit gave way for his finger like a feather pillow but was still firm and heavy enough to fill his hand when he cupped it, and then some. His finger brushed over a firm protrusion in the otherwise soft fur, and his ears perked up further when he realized he'd just rubbed over her erect nipple.

Keith heard the moan rise up Natani's throat before it reached her lips. It was a distinctly feminine noise, smooth and high in pitch. It sounded halfway reluctant, and halfway relieved as it blew into his ear.

"Mmnyeah~"

She squeezed him again, and he had to pull his teeth back not to bite her. The hard tent in his trousers laid itself against her hips, but it didn't seem like she cared or noticed, because soon after he felt her hand on the outside of his own, pressing it against her breast and reinforcing his grip as he groped and fondled it. The nipple grew harder and warmer when he rubbed at it, and soon it poked out of the fluff, red and tender between his index and middle fingers.

Keith used his free hand to fasten his grasp around the wolf's back, sneaking it in under her cloak as he nibbled, sucked and licked. The taste and scent nearly overwhelmed him, and he let himself get lost in her wet fur and mulled breath. Her pulse thundered past his snout, faster and faster every second.

Then, with heavy breath and a trembling hand, she trailed her fingers down past his chest, down his scarred torso and placed them lightly on his groin. Keith felt her strong hands stroke the tip of his member through his trousers, before nervously cupping his shaft, borrowing warmth from it in the cold night.

It was all so good.

In their heated kissing and groping, they'd slowly tumbled and dragged themselves away from the protection of the tree, out to where the snow fell heavy onto the ground. Natani's head rested on a thick white pillow, and as Keith raised his gaze from her neck, he saw her with a crown of snow and pine needles nestled in her mane. Her face was a mess of wet fluff, hair, dirt and frost, but her wide smile lit it up like a lantern, and for some reason she looked more at ease than ever before, even with her shallow and nervous breath steaming against his snout.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Something in Natani's stare always sent a tingle down Keith's back, and this time was no different; The sweet shock went down his neck, raising every hair on his back as it shot all the way through to his tail. The warmth in his chest almost made it hard to breathe, and it seemed as if Natani felt the same; her whiskers bristled, and her fur laid flat in a flush display of hesitation as her breath grew stunted and erratic.

Then her hand made its way further down, pressing against the sensitive sheath. This time her grip was firm, and she squeezed forth a low whine from his chest when she fondled the bottom of the shaft.

She took another shallow breath, gave one more squeeze, and spoke up;

"Ah-... S-screw it."

Her voice had an air of resolution to it.

With her free hand, she grabbed his ear and yanked it sideways. This time it was his turn to land on his back with a surprised outburst. Natani didn't wait a second before sitting up, crawling onto him and plopping down in his lap, this time opting for a wide-legged straddle over a manly frottage.

"Screw it all... I want you too much. I don't care if it'll make me feel like a woman, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Her hands made their way to his groin again and fumbled with the lacing on his trousers. With lightly trembling fingers, she pulled his pants down and was almost slapped in the face by his member as it sprung out of its confines.

***

Natani winced at the sight of Keith's exposed manhood, her breath stunted and uneven. It was like she'd pulled the top of his trousers down without thinking of what she'd find down there, and was now left bewildered and surprised by the pinkish-red shaft that peeked up like a dull dagger. Her nose twitched as the scent hit her, and the fur in her face went flat in a deep canine blush.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Keith, ears tilted "Don't you think you're going a little fast?"

She fumbled her boxers out of the way in response, and her hair fell onto his face as she leaned over him.

"Too fast? I've been with you for months!"

Natani's voice quivered as she pulled Keith's pants down for better access; "We've been naked together before, you're carrying more of my secrets than anyone else, and I do the same for you." In the dim light he saw her lower lip tremble "I feel like I've wanted this for so long, but I always blamed that on this woman's body, like it wasn't part of me."

She dived down to kiss him again, this time with a confident strength in her tongue. She pressed him against the ground almost frantically, jaw open wide and teeth locked around his lips in a feral smooch. Another growling moan rolled against him as a strong hand gripped around his shaft, pressing it into her crotch-fluff. She lowered herself onto him until the tip bumped into a wet and warm surface in the moist fur.

Natani winced a little but did not break the kiss. Instead she bounced her rear awkwardly, tightly pursed lips kissing Keith's tapered head every time it went down. Her brows furrowed and her breath grew strained, until she straightened herself with a focused expression.

"Everything alright?"

She blew some hair away from her face and renewed her grip around him, chest fluttering under the loose robe.

"Y-yeah. Just an... unusual feeling, is all. I'm good."

Keith had spent enough time around the brash wolf to know when she was feigning confidence; Her moves became a tad firmer, but he could tell she was flexing to hide the tremble beneath.

...A tremble that became readily apparent when she sat down on his cock, hard enough to squeeze the head halfway in. The sound that escaped her mouth was not a moan, but a strained yelp of pain followed by a wolfish grunt. Keith suddenly felt the agony of five claws scratching at his chest, as well as her other hand crushing his shaft as she struggled.

She clenched her teeth and bit her lip;

"C'mon_nnh-_... I-I can..."

One of her claws dug into his chest, past fur and skin. Her whole body contorted, but she somehow failed to go any lower; In fact he could feel himself slipping outr when her womanhood clenched around his head. But that sensation was hardly noticeable beyond the pressure of her fingers squeezing hard at his lower shaft, just above the sheath.

"Natani..."

She gave one more bob downwards, and this time it was Keith's time to groan as her sharp claws tore into his pec. A gasp forced its way past the wolf's lips, accompanied by a whimper and a cloud of steam. Something brushed against Keith's balls, her tail tucking itself between her legs.

"It hurts, Nat! Stop!"

Natani had shut her eyes with a furrowed brow and a focused grimace, but Keith's worried voice made her jump. The pressure around his member faded as she let him slip out completely, her hands shaking like leaves. Her claws, bloodied on his chest, retreated as well.

They spent a few seconds panting at each other, clouds of warm steam forming between their snouts. The fresh wound didn't hurt terribly; he'd mostly cried out from the pain written on her face.

She shut her eyes in a frustrated frown, her jaw quivering as she clenched it. Her heavy breath came out her nose in short and powerful snorts, and her fists were curled so tight Keith had to wonder if her long claws weren't pricking into her palms.

The wolf swallowed and licked her snout. Then she gave an agonized groan.

"Ghhrnnnn... God...dammit!" Her fist sent a tremor along the ground when she slammed it down a few inches away from Keith's ear. "I... can't do it! Why does it still feel so wrong? I thought sex was supposed to be pleasant! How do people enjoy this?"

Keith put his hand on her arm and stroked it gently.

"Did it hurt?" He asked stupidly.

Her breath slowed a little, and she eased up enough to lower herself onto his chest. Her soft breasts acted as a pair of pillows between them as she rested her face on his cheek.

"No. At least not much. And if it did, it wouldn't really be a problem since I'm used to getting hurt. I-It's more like... uh..."

She took a few seconds to regain herself, her face locked in a grimace.

"Do you ever get something stuck in your eye, and no matter how much you blink and rub, it just refuses to go away? Like a bug or a tiny speck of dirt?"

"Yeah...?"

She continued with an unsteady voice: "So when you get tired of blinking and squinting, you decide to do something about it; you try and pluck it out with your fingers. Only it's not that easy. The moment your eyelashes feel your claw or fingertip approach, you instantly shut your eye to keep it out. The reflex is so strong, and the feeling of putting something onto your eyeball is so unpleasant, you have to force your eyelid open with the other hand, and even then is it really hard."

Her hand wandered down to her lower belly again, to where Keith's member rested against her fur.

"...Now imagine trying to not only put a fingertip on there, but your entire goddamn hand. That's how it felt. Every nerve I have is screaming at me to stop, and even though it doesn't hurt that much, I still can't..."

She trailed off. Her hand went from her own lower belly and onto Keith's manhood again, index and middle fingers gently massaging the underside of his shaft. He could almost feel her blush as a warmth against his chin.

"But I know I want it. I want it so much." She sighed unhappily. "I'm so tired of it all, Keith. I'm tired of having to fight this body at every turn. I always thought I was stronger than this, that when the time came, I would be able to beat the instincts and take it all the way. But I can't even get started."

And the fire in his chest flared up again, painful as ever. It really _hurt_him when Natani was unhappy, as if the struggle and self-doubt was contagious. He knew he could tell her that it didn't matter. Tell her that they didn't have to do this, that they could keep kissing, groping and touching until he came all over her belly. That they could cuddle until the sun came up, and then decide whether they wanted to go back to the estate and face the awkward glances from the others.

It would be the easy way out.

"I think you might be approaching it wrong." He said instead.

"What do you mean?"

He gave the base of her tail a very gentle tug and felt it bristle, "I won't claim to know how your body and mind works, but I know you e not happy. You sure you don't wanna talk about it?" He held around her hands until the trembling went away. "I need to understand what it's like. It always seemed so weird to me, no offense..."

She scoffed. "Tch, none taken. If you think it's weird, imagine what it must be like for me."

"Mhm. But still, I think you may have things a little... twisted. When you were trying to lower yourself onto me, you did it with gritted teeth and clenched hands. It felt like you were contracting your muscles down there too. Like you were forcing yourself to do it even though you couldn't stand how it felt."

His member was still wedged between their bellies, kept hard and warm by Natani's slow strokes.

"Well... Yeah." She admitted. "Like I said, my body seems to hate it, even though I want it. I'm not good at making compromises, so I try to force my way through, like I do when I'm in heat and have to suppress all the girly instincts, just the other way around. I'm just not... Not strong enough."

There was a crack at the end of her voice, and it formed a lump in Keith's throat again. "That's my point: I don't think it's about strength, or you being 'too weak'. It's not about gritting your teeth and powering through the hard times. Because that's what you've been doing your entire life, right?"

She gave it a few seconds thought before nodding.

"...Mhm. That's how it's always been, and I've gotten pretty damn good at it. It was always me and Zen against the world, ever since mom and dad died. I was always alone, especially when it came to... woman things."

As always, she spat out the phrase 'woman things' like a worm in an apple she'd just taken a bite out of, disgusted and hasty.

Keith took a few moments to consider, before putting his hand on her inner thigh, teasing a light shiver up her lower torso.

"Not anymore." he spoke softly in her ear, "It doesn't have to be like that when we're together. Not everything has to be a hill you have to climb or a weight you need to lift on your own. I'm here too, you know. I can help. Making love isn't a one-person affair, and you don't have to treat it like that. I can help you.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I get that. But uh... what do you mean, exactly?"

Keith took a deep breath. This was once again dark territory, but...

He looked her in the eyes. Under the thinned layer of cool confidence, he saw the same uncertainty as before, but this time it had the company of a heated passion, and a confused need.

She loved him, just as much as he loved her. Maybe even more. She just couldn't do it alone, no matter how hard she tried.

"You trust me, right?"

The wolf raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah...?" She replied. "You betrayed your entire country, fought a dragon and punched the Grand Templar in the face, all for me. Of course I do."

Keith gave a short glance down her body. Her fur was slick with sweat and melted snow, her hard nipples just barely visible where they stuck out in tufts of fluff.

"Yes, but I mean... do you trust me with your body? Will you let me try something, without having full control over what I do?"

This question took a bit more consideration before it got an answer. But not a whole lot.

"Y...yes. I generally hate it when others are in charge, but that may just be because I've spent most of my life surrounded by total assholes. It's different with you."

She gave a quick and jumpy glance down to his cock, before adding "B-but do stop if I tell you to, alright? Whatever it is you're gonna do."

Keith nodded gently.

"Then lie down on your back, I can't do this if you're on top. Besides, it's getting cold down here."

The last part was definitely true. While Natani's breath and body had kept his front warm, his back was shivering from the cold seeping up from the earth and through his thin fur.

She sighed and got off him, plopping down on the ground. "I'm not cold. Is it that good old superior Basitin fur treating you bad?"

"Yeah. And if you're so warm, could you lend me your robe? Mine must be stiff by now." He motioned towards the tree, where his human-designed jacket lay on the ground. "Yours is wywyrm silk, right? Must be comfy."

She smirked, disrobed completely and handed him the black garb.

"I don't know if this thing is made of the wywhatever or if that was just the vest, but here. Would be dumb if you froze to death. Then I'd have to do all the work myself."

The assassin's robe was a little heavier than he'd imagined, and was already warm against his back when he put it on; Natani had left it somewhat damp with sweat, and her scent filled his nose. It sent a warm shiver down his chest, stomach and out his groin, making his member bounce and twitch a little.

Natani watched with what looked like a mix of want and nervousness.

"Man... The robes suit you way better than the human jacket. Might have something to do with the... open front." She looked down at his manhood again, eyes jumpy. "Oh. That thing's a bit bigger than I thought at first. Don't know if I can uh... fit all that inside my..." She trailed off.

Keith shook his head. "Don't worry about that, we won't get to that it unless you want to. We'll start easy. Like this."

He leaned forward with his muzzle first, an open invitation: Kiss me.

"Oh. Well that's easy."

She gave him a light smooch on the lips.

A light smooch that quickly turned into a deep and erotic snog when Keith opened wide and pressed his tongue against hers to once again surprise her with his strength. She was quick to return it and pulled him down on top of her. It was the same position that they'd had before, with one vital difference: There were no pants or boxers to separate them, and Keith's cock poked freely into the smooth and warm fluff on her lower belly. He gave her a single good grind before pulling back, leaving a wet rut of precum beneath her navel reminiscent of the ones he'd left on her cheek with his tongue.

No, not quite yet. Not unless she asked.

He wrestled her tongue for a while, before pulling out with a wet 'smlkh'. Natani followed hungrily after him, but her lips found only air.

"MmmKeith." She mumbled, voice heavy and dazed. "Why's kissing you gotta feel so damn good? I'll have to do it way more often now."

He gave a silent chuckle and moved down to her neck again. "Oh, we will. All the time."

He placed another smooch against her throat. Then her collarbone. Then the top of her right breast. And then, with his tongue hanging out, he closed his mouth around her nipple. It didn't take more than half a second before her hand was on his ear with a steady grip, and he heard her moan his name yet again.

The feeling of having your ears touched as a basitin was hard to explain to someone of a different species. They were so sensitive, both to sound and touch, that to Keith it felt like his entire right head and shoulder were getting massaged and stroked by Natani's heavy hand. He held back the gasp that would come over him every time she did that, and instead licked the erect bump in her fluff. It was warm and a little rubbery, and soon he sealed his lips around it to suck intently. He made sure to keep his teeth away, and instead let his tongue work hard at teasing the nipple further up.

There was another hushed inhale from Natani, he could feel it in how her breast rose against his face.

"K-Keith, I..."

He looked up. Up into those beautiful eyes, one gray and one brown. The eyes he'd fought for and readily given his life to protect. They were staring down at him past heavy lids, from behind a nervous yet excited blush. He made contact with them, and instantly knew there would be no need for words. He could see exactly what she was feeling, and so could she with him.

And right now, her eyes said "Keep going. Whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it."

Oh, he would.

His lips left her nipple wet and hard when he pulled back, poking up into the cold air, glistening with fresh spittle. He gave her a look as he went lower and caught a glimpse of her hand rising to massage herself.

The fluff on her chest had grown to a veritable jungle, and it nearly engulfed him when he let his snout sink into it.

Forest. She smelled like the forest. The time she'd spent on boats and in human houses hadn't rubbed off on her somehow, and the sweet and warm musk nearly blended in with the scents from the grove around them. Keith took a moment to let himself get lost in it, before trailing his muzzle further down towards her navel. His hands followed her sides, leaving ripples behind them as he stroked the fur along her torso. Her form had a masculine shape, strong muscles bulging and flexing in waves wherever his relatively small hands went.

He cast her a glance as he left a path of kisses and licks down her belly, and it seemed like she'd finally understood where he was heading, because her mouth was open in a half-formed word.

Keith raised his brows; Sure you want me to go on?

She waited only a second before nodding.

Though it was hidden in the fur, her bellybutton was easy to notice when he sunk his tongue into it. It was a notable valley in her stomach, and he made sure to lick it thoroughly before moving even further down.

Something tickled Keith's jaw, and he knew what it was; the tip of her tail which had snuck its way back up between her legs.

"I-Instinct." The wolf stammered. "Your tongue tickled a bit and I..."

She looked past his face, down towards her groin, and gave a reluctant groan.

"Ah, dammit. Spreading my legs for someone just feels so unnatural, I can't help it. Even when it's you, my instincts tell me that this ain't right, no matter how much I want it."

Keith rested his jaw on her lower belly and stroked the bushy end of her tail. The fire in his chest warmed him almost as much as it pained him when he saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"Mmm. I know." He said. "And if you really want us to do this, then we can work together to overcome them. If you lower your tail, then I'll help with the rest. But I can't bring myself to do that unless I know you're completely sure."

He underlined the last part with a gaze into her eyes, and this time she didn't flinch or blush. She looked back into him with a trust deeper than anything he'd ever seen. Then she nodded, took a deep breath, put one hand on his ear and the other on top of his head, and forced herself to relax.

Her legs spread and lowered themselves to the ground, and her tail rippled a bit before following suit.

Keith suddenly came to realize how long it was since he had seen her completely naked. The last time had been in the bathhouse on the isles, and even then had it been more than a little awkward.

Not that there was a whole lot to see down there; Like with most keidran females, her delicate parts were hidden by a thick layer of soft and tangled fur to keep her warm, concealed and protected.

"I don't really trim down there..." the wolf mumbled awkwardly as Keith's snout fumbled through the fur. "Wash, sure, but I don't groom or cut. Never thought I'd let anyone...-nffh!-"

Suddenly it felt like someone yanked at Keith's right shoulder; she'd curled her hand into a fist around his ear, right as his nose bumped into a moist surface deep in the bushy jungle. He'd made sure to keep eye contact with her the entire time, letting the fire burn through his gaze. And now he saw her eyes glaze over and her face scrunch up.

"Yeah..." She murmured. "T-there."

He could feel her tail against his chest again, and her hand trembling at his ear. He couldn't imagine the strain this put on her, and it hurt him to see her grimace.

But he knew she wanted this. They both did, and he'd do anything to fulfill it.

With slow and gentle movements, he reached up to where her fingers grasped painfully tight around the ear. He laid his hand around hers and stroked her whitened knuckles until the grip loosened. Then he moved it to the side to hold it tight.

Together.

Her eyes relaxed, and her tail lowered once again as she exhaled.

"Squeeze my hand, alright?" Keith mumbled from inside her bush. "And please, let me know if you want to stop."

Natani mustered up a chuckle.

"Pff, do I look like I'm made of glass or something?" her voice trembled "B-but yeah, I'll let you know. Don't stop unless I ask, though. I... I want to feel it deep. I know you're good with your tongue."

Keith nodded, and went back down. Once again his nose pressed against the wolf's wet bits. And once again her grip tightened, this time around his hand.

He gave her another nudge, exploring her feeling and scent. There it was, a pair of slick and tightly pursed lips, laden with the most intensely exciting aroma he'd ever known. He let his nose slide up and down the folds a couple times, from the inviting opening near the bottom to the hard button hidden under a pink hood near the top.

He felt another squeeze around his hand and saw her cringe when he nudged into her clit. But there came no command for him to stop, no awkward grunt of discomfort. Then he placed a light lick on the outermost petals and felt her hand crunch around his. She still had her other hand placed atop his head, and now her claws dug in past his hair.

Another lick, a little deeper. Not quite past her lips, but with enough pressure to slightly part her outer folds. He could feel her thighs rise on both sides, a reflex to close her legs around him. Her foot paws rested on his back now, pressing him down.

The third lick went inside her, split her enough to almost fully engulf his tongue until his snout pressed into her flesh. Her thighs flexed, twitched, and squeezed around his head to the point where he could hardly breathe. Her legs kept him in place, so all he could really do was exchange a teary-eyed glance with her and keep licking.

The fourth, fifth and sixth licks blended together, and so did the hushed exhales from the forest wolf. Soon he was fully eating her out, mouth locked to her lips, which were slowly loosening and widening as her breaths grew shorter and heavier.

Keith laid one deep lap to the wall of her chamber, then trailed his tongue up to her clit. He then let his breath steam against the tender bump to prepare her for what was coming, before giving it a heavy lick.

"-K-Keeeithhhnngh!-"

Even with her thighs pressed against his ears, the high-pitched and feminine moan rang through Keith's head. It was a piercing sound of need, surprise and passion all at once, and he looked up at her for reassurance. But gaining any eye contact with the wolf was impossible; She'd thrown her head back onto the snow, and all Keith could see was the underside of her jaw as she panted and swallowed convulsively.

He waited for a second, unsure what to do. Her hand had started trembling in his grip, and her thighs were shivering along his cheeks. The claws on her feet scratched his back, and her free hand smushed his face further into her vulva.

There was a squirt of warmth on his jaw, and a waft of her scent hit his face. It was reminiscent of the time she'd gone through estrus season while on the ship, just cleaner and less intrusive; The smell of horny wolf.

"Ahh... Don't stop!"

The command came with a hasty breath and a clench around his tongue; her lips tightened before widening further, wetter and hotter than before.

And he couldn't really object. Both her hand and her thighs held him in place, and he had to breathe with his nose through the increasingly moist fur, his mouth was occupied with more matters than drawing air: Every lap of his tongue made Natani flex her thighs, locking them around his temples. The fur on his jaw was dripping with warm fluids from her sex, and each lick made it wetter.

Keith himself wasn't doing so bad either; His body had warmed up under the robe and the chokehold only fired him up further. He felt himself throb away happily in the wide-legged stance he'd taken, and a few drops of precum dripped onto the clothes he'd thrown off.

He took to swirling his tongue slowly inside her, with his mouth agape and pressed hard against her to get in as deep as possible. His short fangs were drawn back as far as he could manage, but they still pricked lightly into her mound. It sounded like she tried to hold back a loud moan, but failed spectacularly:

"Khngh... Ghhhnhk-" The cry was cut short as she bit down, and the rest of it came as a long, whimpering exhale. She squeezed down around him once again, with both her legs and her deeper womanly muscles, so hard it hurt his neck a little.

It was getting hard to breathe. With his mouth full of wet folds and his nose filled with moist fluff, it really felt like he was drowning. And though there were certainly worse ways to go, he'd rather not...

He gave one last press into her pea-sized button and felt her loosen up down there, before he raised his head. Or tried to, at least. Her legs seized up around his cheeks, rock-hard muscles keeping his face locked in place with a grip of steel. Her hand clenched around his fingers like her life depended on it, making his knuckles creak. All he could see through his blurred vision was her jaw, which sent hot clouds of steam into the night.

It wasn't until he gave a muffled cough against her underside that she looked down and gasped.

"I-I... -haah-"

The grip loosened just a little bit, enough that he could raise his mouth to rest atop her now soggy bush. He gasped, sputtered and huffed; he hadn't really noticed how badly he'd needed air, and now he found himself panting heavily, his chest heaving against the underside of Natani's thighs.

Natani was gasping as well, her breath heavy with flush moans. There was a needful whine in there as well, amongst the huffs. It took her a while to calm her breath. Keith spent that time just relaxing down between her legs, watching her with a mix of love and slight worry.

"Are you alright?" She gasped, and let her legs sink to the ground so he could move freely. "I didn't mean to choke you."

Keith massaged his jaw and inched upwards a bit. "I'm okay... Your thighs are strong as hell, though. I'm not as robust as you, remember?"

He shifted his gaze to her rippled chest, where her breasts rolled and her nipples stuck out, hard and warm.

"And you? How'd it feel?" He asked.

Natani shuddered slightly.

"It... I..." She stammered. "It was... Weird and ticklish at the start. Every nerve told me that I should kick you away and defend myself..."

She blushed. "Then I saw your eyes, and I... I knew everything was gonna be okay. That it was just you. And then my body finally agreed. And man did it feel good. "

Keith locked eyes with her and felt his heart flutter and his chest tighten once again.

It was always there, the pain. Somewhere to the slightly left of centre. It didn't hurt that much, but it made his breath a little stunted and his head a little hazy. Funny, how it got stronger when he looked her in the eyes. How it made his world spin and his knees all weak and wobbly.

He loved her. He loved her so much it hurt. Even though his face was free now, it was still hard to breathe.

He crawled forwards until his face was right next to hers, so close he could see her whiskers bristle just like his own. He knew she felt the same way about him as he did for her.

"Keith..." He heard her mumble.

"Yes?"

"Your breath smells like pussy."

Keith wasn't used to laughing, and it felt really unnatural.

"That's just you, you idiot!"

"Oh... right."

The wolf paused.

"...Gimme a taste."

"Mhm-"

The kiss was short and almost informal compared to before, yet still heavenly. She bit him softly while trailing her tongue along his in a gentle yet confident manner, sampling the thin film of juices that covered it.

She licked her own lips and sighed happily. "Man, that's hot. I smell good too, now that I don't have the magical blockers on. Never got to go down on a girl myself, and I guess I just never..." She looked down at her chest. "...Never realized how much fun I could have with a body like this. I was too busy trying to hide it."

Her hand was still grasped around his, their fingers tightly woven together. Natani looked down, as if she hadn't been aware she was holding it.

"Sheesh..." She scoffed. "Did you really need you to hold my hand for that?"

Keith smiled warmly, with a smug curl at the edge of his lips. "Want to let go?"

"N...No... I just like the feeling, is all."

There was a brief pause. The world was dark and cold, and the only sounds were those of two naked people's heartbeats, and the nearly inaudible tingling patter of fresh snowflakes joining the myriad on the ground and in the trees, a few settling on Keith's ears to melt. The great pine they were under had slowly begun to buckle under the weight, its lower branches sinking towards the ground, which itself was slowly rising. The result was a cavernous little room for the two of them, walled in by fresh powder and heavy branches.

The blush on Natani's face grew deeper as she stared into the dark roof of pine branches. Her hand squeezed around Keith's, before leading it down towards her belly, and then a little further.

He raised an eyebrow slightly: Are you sure?

She nodded: Yes. Yes, I am.

***

The tree creaked as slowly melting snow weighed its branches down towards two enamored lovers. It was getting warmer, the snowfall abating. Dawn would eventually break, but not before the wolf and the basitin had time to explore each other.

Natani laid her hand on the outside of Keith's and brought it back through her silky nether-fur. Though her fingers were large enough to almost wrap around his hand, they still held a slight tremble when she placed his digits against the soft wet spot .

She took a shallow breath.

"Go... Go ahead. I always hated doing it myself."

Keith stopped and gave her a sideways glance. "Hated it? Then why would you ever do it?"

She blushed and puffed; "Weeell... Heat can get pretty bad. I hated touching myself, but the alternative was to never get any sleep, since I'd be up twisting, turning and panting. If I'm to follow what I said earlier, estrus was like the speck that got stuck in my eye." Her hand clenched around Keith's. "It never felt very good, not like when you licked me, but I had to quell the fire somehow. Don't think I even put them inside, I just rubbed myself until I... came."

The last word trickled out of her in an almost reluctant fashion. It sounded like she'd never used it in this context before.

"That was always the worst part" she continued. "I'd get these... visions. Fantasies. It was usually at the end of the cycle, when the urges were at their strongest that I got a bunch of... wants. needs, more like. I'd start fingering myself just to make the itch go away, but a few moments later I'd... wish for something more. I would sometimes lie on my back and imagine there was a guy on top of me, and that what I felt down there was more than just my own hand."

She shuddered under Keith's touch as his hand sifted through her groin-fluff.

"I was always too distracted to question it in the moment, but the shame would hit me like a falling anvil right afterwards, every time. It felt like I was on a slippery slope, that giving in to one fantasy would lead to more urges, that I'd start acting and talking like a chick, looking after the guys with a blush, swishing my tail like a peppy nine-year-old searching for a mate. My body always wanted to feel the warmth of someone else against me, but I knew I couldn't. It always felt so... You know how it is."

Keith nodded carefully. "But it's okay when I do it?" He asked, with his finger sliding along her lower set of lips. "Does it feel wrong, like when you did it yourself?"

She shook her head and gasped when the tip of his middle finger prodded in between her petals.

"N_-hnh_-no. It's weird and tickly, but at the same time it's..."

She locked eyes with him in a teary-eyed flush smile. "...At the same time, it's so very right. This is how it should be. It's what I want."

That was all he needed to hear. Very slowly, he let his digit sink in between her lips, watching her grit her teeth and exhale. Her warmth consumed his middle finger up to the second joint and refused to let go; she squeezed gently around him and let go a silent whimper. A whimper followed by a hushed gasp when Keith curled his digit a little and stroked the smooth wall of her most private chamber.

Her hand was at his ear again, holding him tight. She shut her eyes and gave a steamy exhale into the night. As her body tightened and shuddered, her bits loosened and relaxed around his finger to let it further in, opening itself for him.

Keith knew to wait a little before going further, and instead took to carefully rubbing at her sweet spot, feeling the vulnerable surface glide against his finger. After fumbling around for a few seconds he found an area which made her paws curl and her breath snap when he put pressure on it.

The wolf's other hand had gone up to her mouth and did surprisingly little to muffle her gasps when she bit down on a finger. Her fangs bared themselves to lock around her joints and her eyes shut with a focused expression.

Keith pushed a little farther. He leaned in closer until his face was right next to hers. "Hey, Natani."

Their eyes met. Within the brown one, Keith could see a bottomless well of trust and love, under the layers and layers of lust and need. Knowing what was coming, she took her finger out of her mouth and opened it, ready for him.

Her lips and her tongue relaxed and softened under him, and so did the rest of her; it almost felt like the wolf would melt like the snow beneath her when Keith's tongue danced with hers, her hand gripping at the ridge in his ear. She spread her legs further, and so did her sex around his finger, gaping wide enough to invite a second digit.

He prodded her with his index, a silent question of are you sure?

It took her a few moments to form a reply, with her mouth full of his tongue, but there eventually came a muffled "Mhyes, do it!"

Keith made sure to kiss her deeply when he squeezed into her with a second finger, feeling her ring tug softly at his joints before opening again. Her free hand was at his back, clawing into his fur, trying to find some form of grip. There was a huff, a surprised moan that rolled from her chest and up into his mouth. His digits were forced further in when she bucked her hips and thrust against his palm

He laid himself close with his groin against her thigh and his fingers buried in her folds, placing his member gently against her side. Her solid, flexing muscles were covered by a generous layer of soft fur that brushed against his exposed shaft, a fitting counter to his own hardness.

Her legs stiffened and trembled. There was another moan, another hot breath that went down Keith's throat. The fur on his back rose against the robe, Basitin goose bumps; he was cold, but it didn't matter. He had a blush to almost match Natani's, his whiskers strutting at her cheeks. He felt like he should tell her how much he loved her, but had long since reached the conclusion that words were woefully insufficient, so he instead talked with his hand, working passionately between Natani's legs as he tried to match the rhythm of her hips.

Her fingers trailed down until they placed themselves outside his, carefully following his movements. The trembling got weaker, her advances more resolute after a while, and soon she was helping his fingers in past the second joint, halfway to the third. Keith's entire hand was soaked in warm juices after just a few moments.

She gave his hand another push inwards; Deeper, dammit!

The fire in his chest flared up again. Oh, he could go deeper. He just had to know she was ready. He shifted his weight until he pressed her down to the ground. Gently, not to make her uncomfortable.

His tongue danced with hers, then wrestled it back as he sunk his fingers in until they could go no further, buried knuckle-deep between her lips. The noise that came from her chest sounded like it would have been a hoarse moan, had it not been blocked by Basitin tongue. He curled his fingers until they pressed against her sensitive walls and gave her an internal massage unlike anything she'd had before.

"Khthh_mmhh!"_

There was a layer of urgency in her voice. It was underlined by a twitch in her loins and a deep shiver up her torso, shaking her like a cramp. Keith felt her tense up and shake, breaking her rhythmic pelvic thrusts; It was like she couldn't decide whether to inhale or exhale, and ended up with sporadic gulps for air. Her grip on his hand slacked before returning like a vice.

Keith slipped away from her mouth to let her breathe, and was instantly assaulted by an urgent moan and a cloud of steam. "Aah- I'm gonna."

And then, as Natani's body hardened and her legs locked his hand in place, a loud and very un-manly moan rang out as the orgasm took hold of her, something Keith could feel through her entire body; How her folds contracted and sucked warmly at his fingers as if trying to keep them inside; How her thighs flexed and relaxed in rhythm with her throes; How the shocks rolled up through her chest and out her mouth in ecstatic barks of pleasure.

She came in waves, soaking his hand and pulling his fingers in by rippling her deeply feminine muscles around his hand. The moans and yelps forced their way out past her clenched jaw like grunts in his ear, sometimes accompanied by a soft "Keith~" or a hard "Yes!"

It was at around the fifth wave that he bent down and locked his lips around hers, gently and loving. Her hands clasped around his back, and on the top of her convulsions they pulled him hard against her chest, smushing his body against her. He could feel three rows of erect nipples poke out of the fur on her belly, brushing against his chest.

It took a long while for her climax to pass; She squeezed and relaxed with her entire body in an unsteady rhythm for what felt like minutes, her back arched and her muscles strained under her fur.

But eventually her nasal moans calmed to gentle panting, then soft breaths of "Mmmhh... Mmmhrr..."

Her legs spread and fell onto the ground, freeing the basitin's right hand. With a final squeeze, her outermost muscles locked themselves around his fingers behind the second joint, tight, moist and snug.

Natani's tail lashed a few times, and she shut her eyes. Only a light trembling lingered in her body, aftershocks of the wet release. She took a few breaths and relaxed her jaw. Keith took the hint and broke the kiss. A few seconds of calm. The night was silent and muffled by snow, so all he could hear was her gently shuddering exhale. She pulled him close, until his head rested on her shoulder and her mouth was at his ear.

"One... One more time." she whispered. She bit the tip of his ear gently, her fangs nibbling at the warm fluff. "I... I've never..." He felt her swallow. "I've never felt anything like... I-I never thought I could." Keith's strong hearing picked up a shiver in the wolf's voice, an uneven flicker beneath the gravely tone.

One of her hands let go of his back and reached down for his member, which lay throbbing against her thigh. "I want more, Keith." She said. "More of you."

He didn't need to ask her if she was sure, her body said it for her; The shivering breath, the relaxed legs and wagging tail spoke a language older than Keidran, Human or Basitin. The stifled gasp she gave when he pulled his fingers from her loin was as hushed as her breath, yet audible in the night. He left a string of clear goo from her lips, his whole hand soaked and slippery. He let it rest on her belly, painting a faint line from her venus to her navel.

Natani looked at the coated hand with a tilted ear. Then, with a light shiver in her movement, she picked it up and moved it up to her muzzle, inspecting it.

"You know, I always..." She puzzled hesitantly.

"You always what?"

She stared silently at his hand, before putting two of his digits in her mouth, sucking intently. They came back out a few seconds later, covered in spittle rather than scented juice.

"...Always wondered how it tasted. Can honestly say it's pretty hot. Never realized how... bountiful this body is."

Keith chuckled as he positioned himself between her legs; "You've got that right. I've thought about letting you know, but I wasn't sure how you'd feel..."

She gave a look down his torso, then to his eyes. The uncertainty was still there, but it was buried deep below a bottomless trust, almost enough to bring her to tears. He knew his own eyes had roughly the same glaze.

"It... It's okay." She mumbled. "It's all different with you. When you see me naked, I feel excited, not terrified. My fur ripples every time you touch me. When you made me cum, it was the best thing I've ever... I've..."

She broke herself off with a gasp; Keith's shaft rested on her mound, and he gave a long grind against her lips.

"Like that?" he mumbled.

Her hands squeezed at his back, and it seemed like she was fighting to keep her claws from digging in.

"Y-yea-aah- Somethin' like that."

"You can use your claws if you want." He mused. "A couple more scars won't hurt. Just look at Trace."

A mix of a scoff and a moan rose into the air. "Hahh... Flora's kitty-claws are tiny. Trust me, you don't want mine on your back, they're a whole other deal."

Nevertheless, the pricking of her claws tickled him right under his shoulders when he let the head of his member poke in between her folds. The breath in his ear went uneven again. "Easy... Slow and...nnnh-"

And at last, with Natani's hard claws and soft moan egging him on, Keith let the head sink in. She let out a strained breath, and he felt her body tighten and squeeze around him. She failed to keep her claws away, and soon they were fastened in his flesh, pointy and painful. Her legs flexed and wrapped around his back, locking them together in a tight hug.

Keith paid it no mind and pushed ahead, just a little bit.

He could hear her teeth grinding, just like before. She tensed up, and a whimper forced its way out past her jaws. He could tell she'd tried very hard to keep it back.

Keith raised his face a little, high enough to touch snouts. An extra point of contact; I'm here, it's okay.

After a few moments of light breathing, Natani unfolded herself, loosened her jaw and relaxed her loins. A warm puff blew against Keith's mouth; O-okay. A little deeper.

And deeper he went. The bumpy tip of his cock forged its way past the point where his fingers could reach, to depths that had never been touched. He'd never thought any part of the wolf could be so soft, warm and supple.

There was a short whimper, and the feeling of claws against in his shoulders again; Ow! That's far enough!

He stopped, holding his breath. Then, with his hands holding gently in her hair, he pulled out. He made it slow, both to comfort Natani and to enjoy the feeling of her walls as they sucked at his member, offering some resistance when it slid out past her lips, inch by languid inch.

With only the head still inside, Keith stopped, throbbing faintly. He shut his eyes and rubbed his nose against hers;

Again?

She rubbed him back;

Yeah.

This time he thrust a little faster, a little deeper. She hugged him once again, her claws only tickling him this time.

He pushed in to the point where he'd stopped last time, and half an inch further, feeling her fasten herself around him as if he was a lifesaver. Her breath grew ragged against his snout, and he stopped. A shiver ran through her lower body, shaking the private parts that she was still unfamiliar with. She clenched for a moment, a ripple that massaged Keith's cock.

He shuddered slightly, before giving her muzzle a light lick;

You alright?

It took a few moments before he felt her tongue against his own snout, along with a warm, unsteady breath;

Y-yes.

Then he pushed a little deeper, and went almost all the way out again, feeling her entire body shiver with the gentle motion. She was biting her lip, he could tell by how the strained exhales were warped before they hit his face.

Then he went back in and felt her hips harden, her claws dig into his skin.

The rhythm was as slow and deliberate as he could possibly make it, holding back with a restraint born of pure compassion. It was all so tender, her breath keeping his face warm in the night, and her firm grip pulling him close enough to feel her heart.

Keith moved his hips in a rolling motion, every penetration the same depth, just barely past the thickest part at the middle of his shaft. She'd wince and hold back a light whine whenever he got to that point, so he let it be with shallow thrusts. After a while, Natani's hips took on a similar movement. Hers were faster and spordic, cramp-like bucks that didn't quite match Keith's deliberate thrusts. She'd sometimes pull back when he did, and he'd slip out completely, then need to poke around a little before finding the spot. Then she'd push herself a little too far down his shaft, only to stiffen as the girth strained her.

It was at the apex of one of these thrusts that her breath changed to a deeper, throatier kind. She opened her mouth and let each huff carry with it a silent and hoarse moan, high in pitch. There was another shiver in her loins, and Keith felt it run all the way up her back, past his hands until it reached her face. Then there was her tongue, suddenly filling his mouth as she let her body speak where words fell short;

I love you.

She gasped and went a little softer in his arms, and Keith saw his chance to make his reply by shoving himself deeper in, almost to the knot. The moan she gave was softened by his tongue as he returned the kiss;

I love you.

This time there was no whimper when Keith's member ploughed its way past her lips and walls, only a slight ripple through her fur. Her goose bumps stood out and made her even fluffier than usual, letting Keith warm himself against her chest. She loosened up and moved her hands from his back and up into his hair.

Soon his own heavy breath mixed in with her rising moans, and every time he pulled out there was a fresh squirt of juice dripping from his sheath, preceded by a wet squelch; She'd been moist before, but now it fell steadily onto the base of her tail.

Then her moans grew sharper and higher, until she reared back and broke the kiss with an unrestrained wolfish cry, contorting yet again as it all overwhelmed her. The second orgasm was much louder and wilder than the first; This time she didn't bother to grit her teeth or clench her jaw, and the hard roar of pleasure made his ears ring.

It took a few more thrusts before the climax really hit her, and her body was wracked by the shock. Keith was nearly crushed as she folded herself around him, legs and arms wrapped passionately across his back, hard enough to halt his moves and lock him still.

And he let himself get lost in her once again, pressed so hard into her fur that it felt like they were one. It was all so warm and good and soft. The rest of the world was meaningless. Her claws scratched his back, a delicious ache that made his body arch.

Keith gave one more push, all the way to where his knot was starting to peek out of its sheath, before stopping. His chest was warm with a roaring passion, but it still needed air, apparently. Natani's moans grew lower, until they were hardly more than heavy breaths that rose into the cold air. At the end her ring clamped down hard around his shaft, so tight it was almost painful.

With Natani's hands holding around his back, her light breath in his rigid ear and her steady and fast heartbeat on his cheek, he knew it could never get better.

And it didn't have to. There was nothing else he needed in the world.

A soft tremor caressed his face, as if Natani was clearing her throat. Then another one.

"Eheh... Heh." It was the most carefree and beautiful chuckle he had ever heard.

The chuckle turned to laughter, and soon he found himself giggling along with her. It had never felt this good. They laughed and laughed for what felt like a full minute, his voice light and bubbly, hers deep yet fluttering.

Eventually he gathered enough breath to huff "Why are we laughing?"

Natani's chortling continued for a few seconds as she calmed her breath. When the reply came, Keith could hear the warm smile through her voice; "Ooohohoho... Oh, it's just that..."

Her hands stroked down along his spine, and the already goosebump-ridden fur stood up even higher. "...It's just... eheh- I haven't thought about it all that much, but this is the first time I've ever felt... happy. Dunno why I found it funny.

Ah. So that's what the feeling was; The unparalleled heat that had been spreading in his chest ever since she kissed him. The painful fire had slowly spread outwards and become a comforting warmth, keeping him from freezing in the harsh winter.

And he laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it felt so good. And as they laughed together, Keith realized he felt the same: He had never truly been_happy_ until now. Never in the same way. There had always been something missing, and he'd never even known.

They both took a moment to savor it the quiet love. There was a beauty in the silence, and it felt almost too good to break. Their little space under the tree had grown warmer, or at least so it felt. Natani's cloak had become redundant, and Keith spent a few seconds peeling it off.

It was good to be naked.

After a while he felt her hand reach down between her legs, to the point that connected them. Her trembling fingerpads examined her lips, before following his wet shaft up to his groin. Her snout was in his hair, giving his forehead a light nudge;

Okay... More.

This time they both shuddered when he pulled out; The hot and tight embrace was getting to Keith as well, and his body shivered from the friction.

It was a rolling, unified motion; Natani followed his movements with a blushing grin, her arms slung around his shoulders. She drew breath when he pulled back, and exhaled with a whine when he pressed into her, as if his cock forced the air from her lungs.

Every push came with an upward angle, hitting the wolf's weak spot on the way in; Her claws tickled his shoulders a little deeper with each thrust. Without the cloak to protect him, the tingle soon turned to pain. But the good kind.

The warm breaths that blew into his ear came stronger and stronger, and soon they were accompanied by soft moans again; He could feel the wolf's lips suck at his member, keeping it inside for a little longer each time.

It was heavy work, and Keith's constitution eventually began to crack; Natani's moans were joined by his huffs and grunts, only slightly lower in pitch than her own exclamations.

The embrace grew a little tighter when his knot slapped into her underside for the first time, and a muffled "yip!" escaped into his ear. He hadn't realized how deep he'd been going; His world was spinning, and Natani's grip was all he'd felt for the last few minutes. Natani seemed surprised too. He could feel her hand examine the hard bulb where it lay pressed against her lips.

"Wow..." she puffed. "I didn't... think it would... be that easy."

Her breath was heavy and uneven, and she snapped for air.

"Doesn't hurt, does it?" Asked Keith, gently scratching her neck.

"A... Only a little" She replied with an awkward grin, clenching lightly. "But it's good. Don't... Don't stop."

And Keith followed. He spread his legs a little, granting himself a better stance in the snow. Then he pulled out and drove himself into her again, harder than before.

He didn't know what was better; The quiet, wet 'slap', the silent 'whuff', the warmth that constricted his member, or the way her massive muscular body curled around him.

"Y-yeah! Like that..." She whispered.

Keithgrinned in compliance. This time he couldn't quite stop his own claws from protracting, sinking into her fur as he rammed back in. The little nubs on his cock had grown increasingly sensitive, and he knew he couldn't hold back for much longer. Every warm slap came with a shock through his spine, a tremor of pleasure that squeezed at his lungs and forced his breath out in loud puffs and grunts.

Natani was getting close as well; Her body curled around him, shaky yet strong.

Then he felt it. It started with every hair on his back rising in salute. His ears stood out like spikes, so hard it hurt. The pressure had been mounting in his body ever since she'd grabbed his ears and forcefully kissed him, or at least so he'd thought. But as it grew in his chest and groin, he came to realize it had been building for much longer than that; There had been an unsolvable tangle of emotions in his stomach for months now, tying down his breath and constricting his heart.

Worry, fear, joy, anger, passion, solemnity and other stranger feelings that he couldn't put into words had been swelling inside him for what felt like years. A strange combination of feelings most people called love.

And now this storm of emotions grew until it strained his chest, threatening to burst. He would explode in just a few seconds. The pressure filled his vision with white dots, and everything went numb. Even with his ears perked to the limit, he could hardly hear his own trembling voice as he moaned happily into her chest.

He got the feeling she knew exactly how he felt; Her hand was at his ear again, holding onto the section right next to the old scar. Then her other hand was at his lower back, scratching hard at the base of his tail, pushing him down and back into her.

Keith gave one more thrust, throbbing uncontrollably. He could faintly make out the feeling of his claws digging into her back, and the nubs on his member jutting into her flesh.

"Y-yes!" she cried. "Inside!"

Keith flexed and pushed. His knees had good grip in the dirt, and with Natani's legs locked around his lower back, the pressure soon forced her labia wide to take his knot. Her moans turned into a strained grunt and her entire body tightened as her bits stretched as far as they could go; The hard orb of musclestrained her, and even with all the wet juices to coat it, it still hurt.

He let go of her back, and traced his hand up along her arm until he found her hand where it clenched around his ear. The grasp was painfully strong, and he lured his fingers up into her palm with a firm stroke.

Soon her fist unfolded, and Keith let his fingers filter with hers.

This time he returned the favor when she nearly crushed his hand; Though significantly smaller, his fingers were was just as strong, and he curled it around hers as he drove his knot deeper inside, past the point of no return. He couldn't hold back the growling moan when he finally crested; The orgasm filled him completely, squeezed the breath out of him and egged his hips forwards in an unrelenting pump.

There was a soggy slap of wet fur as he hit her underside and finally hilted.

The moan became an unrestrained roar when he pushed again, even harder; Natani softened under him, before clenching up, clawing at his back. She didn't make a sound, save for a series of strained huffs that came streaming into Keith's right ear.

There was also a pain somewhere between his head and his shoulders, but he couldn't quite tell where, nor did he care; His body was rocked by wave after wave of delightful pleasure, and whatever air left in his lungs was forced out as Natani squeezed him tight with arms and legs, engulfing him. All he heard were her howling through clenched teeth, so near, loud and intense. His knot swelled to a dangerous side, straining her lips further as the first shot of seed came surging through. It landed deep, and was immediately joined by a second, then a third.

It felt like his body became a full pound lighter for every thrust, as if there had been a burden on his shoulder that he'd never even noticed was there until it was lifted. Natani moaned softly as he filled her, her claws digging deeper into his back. He was numb, but in the best way possible; All he knew was the feeling of his balls emptying, the cum taking with all the worry, pain and heartache on the way out, until he was empty and light as a feather.

He didn't know when their tails had become tangled, or when her teeth had sunk into his left ear. He concluded it must have been right in the middle of his climax, because he'd never felt it happen. As he rode his orgasm to the end, he felt Natani clench up a little behind his knot, moaning softly when the warm flood filled her to the brim, and then a little more. Soon it trickled back out, down past her lips and onto the base of her tensed tail.

Many spurts later, Keith was finished. There was a pleasant ache somewhere in his taint, like his seed had left behind a vacuum as it pumped out. He only noticed how much his ear hurt when Natani let go of it to draw a shivering gasp. He inhaled with her, and for a while they were panting in each other's arms, his light huffs blending in with her deep and canine ones. Her chest rose and sank under his face, and her breasts were a pair of breathing pillows on his cheeks as they both struggled to catch their breath.

It felt like words would only ruin the quiet magic, so they both went silent for a while to enjoy the afterglow. Natani's legs trembled against his back, still latched tightly around him, as if she was worried he'd slip back out. But the hard bulb at the bottom of his cock was planted deep enough to tie them together, and she soon let her legs rest at his side. Keith felt a gentle tug behind his knot, right outside the sheath as she gave a light clench, and it teased a gasp and a late trickle of cum from him. A thick drop tickled him as it rolled down his balls, onto the hard ground. Eventually her claws retreated from his flesh to instead stroke against the ridge on his back.

It really felt like they could lie there forever. The cave-like space beneath the tree had been warmed to a reasonable temperature by their lovemaking, a few drops of melted snow dripping onto Keith's ears every now and then as he rested them on Natani's chest. The world was a little brighter, quite literally; A warm orange hue crept in amongst the trees to herald the arrival of morning, and he caught the distant noises of the earliest birds waking up to sing. The time they'd allotted themselves was running out. Keith didn't care, and he doubted Natani did either.

It was when a drop of ice hit his left ear that the tender moment was dampened a little. The cold brought with it a sting of rather intense pain, which was amplified when his ear flapped out of reflex. He gasped, and felt Natani's worried hand at the side of his head again. This time she didn't touch his ear, but instead cradled his temple with gentle fingers.

"O-oh..." she mumbled. "Didn't mean to bite that hard. Doesn't that hurt?"

Keith thought about it for a moment. It felt like half his head was on fire, and he assumed her jaws must've crushed more than just superfluous tissue. It was very painful. But no, it didn't hurt.

"I've been worse." he admitted with a grin. "Doesn't hurt that much."

"But you're bleeding..."

She was right, he could feel a few drops of warmth hit his shoulder. His hand made its way down to her belly, sifting through the fur until he found the old scar from all those months ago. He couldn't believe it had been less than half a year since then. It felt like well over a decade.

"Then consider us even." He mused, pressing his finger against the scar on her belly. "I suppose we can stop hurting each other now."

He felt her hand stroke over his back, flattening his sweat-damp fur.

"Mhm. And hey, now you'll have one scar for each ear. I think it'll suit you."

Keith chuckled and gave her pelvis a light press with his finger, feeling her shudder a little. She clenched a bit harder behind his knot and filled his face with an elated breath.

"And you? I'm guessing the light nibbling was intentional, right?"

The scoff she gave was a thin mask to hide a sheepish laugh, he could tell. "Psheh. Of course. Just wanted to mess with your ear. Works every time." She paused awkwardly as she put her hand on top of his, before moving it down to point that tied them together, where his shaft was buried deep between freshly parted lips. "Really though, I... always thought I'd be freaking out over this." she ruminated. "That I'd feel ashamed, regretful or sad that I'd given up my masculinity or something. But now it really just feels... right."

She locked eyes with him and let the goofy smile shine. Keith could never have guessed a facial expression would be so contagious, because he felt himself smile back. That was when he realized how long he'd gone without properly grinning from ear to ear; It felt like his cheeks were covered in a layer of rust that was finally starting to come off. It was strange to move his lips in such an alien fashion.

"There we go." smirked Natani. "I was starting to think you were incapable of smiling."

"I just haven't had much... reason to..." he mumbled, before getting lost in her eyes. He could see the same feelings burn behind her brown-and-gray stare, just like he felt them bloom in his chest.

"I love you." He said instead.

And at last it felt right. What had earlier been a silly cliché of a phrase was now a genuine declaration. Just stating it made his hairs and tail rise to confirm it. Even his ears stood high as an exclamation point.

The words hit Natani with the same effect; she swallowed hard and wagged her tail against the ground, biting her lip while tightening herself around Keith's member. Then she took a fresh grip around his undamaged ear and replied by kissing him. Keith was already halfway into the same motion, and they moved as one when locking their lips together.

There wasn't much else to say at that moment, and they both knew it. All that remained was a warm and silent embrace in the cold late Autumn morning. Neither of them felt the sting of the cold, wrapped tightly together in each other's arms under pine branches that were soon dripping with melted snow, and when the sun peeked over the horizon and the woods resounded with careful birdsong they were still resting on the ground, Keith gently rolling his hips and Natani kissing him and stroking his ear while occasionally letting slip a carefree moan.

It didn't feel right to pull out, not to either of them. The thought of spending even a second apart felt ridiculous, and the idea of getting up and leaving seemed downright stupid now that they were finally one. Keith's body was enveloped by a soft and heavenly ache which rose and sank with his slow movements, and Natani's gentle sighs and occasional whisper let him know she had it the same. He thought she came a couple more times, but couldn't quite tell anymore; everything had slowly blended into a warm comfort, with her arms around his back, her shallow pecks on his mouth, her soft bits cradling his hard knot with a rhythmic clenching and releasing.

Natani's breath had a light shiver to it, and a bit of reluctance as she said the words that they both knew had to come. "We'll have to stop sooner or later."

Keith shifted his gaze from her neck and up to her eyes, resting his face on her chest. "Do we?"

"The others are probably worried."

"Do you care?"

"No."

The answer had come without a second of hesitation. "Zen knows I'm fine, and the others can ask him if they really care. It's just that... It kinda hurts. I don't think knots are supposed to stay in this long."

Keith flashed a smile. He could get used to doing that. "Five more minutes?"

Natani's moment of rumination was so feigned, Keith couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay. But nothing more."

It became a lot more than five minutes, which was something they both knew would happen. Keith pulled out shortly after, but it must have been well past noon before either of them even thought of breaking the embrace. The intimate hug on the ground was a more fulfilling resting spot than anywhere in the Legacy Estate, but the thought of trudging back while trying to forge an explanation for why they both smelled like fresh sex was much more comforting when knowing they'd be doing it together.

Because that was what they would be from now on. Together.

The end.

Acknowledgements:

Massive thanks to Quinn Auer for editing and proofreading this whole thing. That's not a task I'd wish upon my worst enemy.

Thanks to TKW for putting a smile and a blush on Natani's face from page 986 so I could use it as a thumbnail. Natani should smile more often. It suits her.

Thanks to the anons and not-so-anons of /trash/ for early feedback on the first chapter, and general encouragement. That last bit also goes to folks on FA.