FSE

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The Arctic Circle was cold in the winter. It was bitterly, hatefully cold. Jack was bundled head to paw in the warmest clothes that money could buy, but he still felt like he'd happily murder his tauntuan and crawl inside it for warmth if only he had one. The rabbit was pushing his way through a snowy field in a remote part of Norway, approaching an enormous mountain that towered over its less imposing brethren.

It wasn't hard to see why this place was so rarely visited. Jack and his best friend had risked everything to get here, paying for the trip out of pocket and making the long journey partly on foot when no plane would take them. The weather was dangerous and unpredictable in the area. It left even the most daring of pilots reluctant to risk an approach.

After hours of walking they reached the base of the mountain. The rabbit paused, turning his long body to the side as a windbreak. "You good?" he asked, almost shouting over the howling wind. His friend, a pudgy tiger with quite a lot of gear on his back, gave him a thumb's up. "Alright. Just a little more and we can set up our base camp. You sure this is the right place?"

Haroquen held up a satellite tracker and checked their location. "We're here!" he said. "Well, probably. Historians aren't totally sure about the path the expedition took."

Jack nodded. "Fingers and toes crossed." They shared a grin, then set out to make the long and arduous climb up the rocky slopes. The western side of the mountain wasn't as steep as its other faces, but made up for it by being extremely icy. The rabbit had things easier than his friend; his four legs offered much better stability, while his greater weight made his spiked boots grip better.

The day ended with the pair almost too exhausted to set up camp. Jack and Haroquen had a single large tent between them, just barely big enough to squeeze into and get warm. They hardly spoke, preferring to huddle around the lantern and enjoy some hot soup in silence.

"You really think we'll find it?" Haroquen eventually asked. He was reclining against the taur's midsection, enjoying the soft fur and body heat.

"Of course I do." Jack slurped down a noodle and wiped broth from his nose. "Frode Bo Harald wasn't just some glorified frat boy. He was a successful mercenary. He kept meticulous records. If he said he met a god, then he met something very much like a god."

Of course, there was always the possibility that an entire expedition of vikings had gotten lost in the mountains and frozen to death all on their own, without any kind of vengeful deity to blame. Still, Jack was convinced that Harald's party had encountered the last of a long lost species. Sphinxes had long been worshiped by primitive societies, and some cryptozoologists believed that a small subspecies had evolved to tolerate arctic temperatures.

They'd be rich if they could prove it. That was why they'd journeyed all the way to Norway, following in the footsteps of the lost expedition. Hopefully Harald's last journal entry stating that he was "scaling the mountain to challenge a god" was more than the ravings of a starving man about to die of hypothermia.

The next morning Jack set out on his own. Haroquen stayed behind to man the radio and guide his friend up the mountain's unpredictable slopes. "Let's hope this thing died where we can find it," he said grimly. "Be a shame if we stumbled over the bones in the snow and didn't notice it."

"Hopefully we'll find it a little better preserved than that," Jack said. He was almost halfway up and very winded. All the effort he'd spent training for this expedition really didn't feel like it helped. He was still a bit out of shape, still chubby around the middle and quick to tire. "I gotta take the stairs more often," he grumbled.

Shortly after that Haroquen got the shock of his life. He heard Jack yelp in surprise, then scream in pure terror. He begged something to put him down right before the signal cut out. The radio went dead, and the tiger was left in complete panic.

****

Jack awoke on a hard stone floor surrounded by the sound of howling wind. He blearily opened his eyes and looked around, squinting in almost perfect darkness. The bunny shifted his tauric half and tried to stand on wobbly legs. He was in a large cave, probably not too far beneath the mountain's surface. A storm had sprung up while he slept if the wind outside was any indication.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes caught his attention. They were feline, and judging from how high they were off the ground he was in serious trouble. Jack backed away as the creature approached, casting about frantically for his pack or the revolver that had been hanging around his hips. Both were missing. His hind paw bumped against a rock, which he immediately snatched up and held over his head. "B-Back off!" he shouted, trying his best to sound intimidating. "I mean it, kitty!"

The creature tilted its head to the side. A pair of oil lamps hanging from the ceiling sprang to life, bathing the room in an eerie flickering glow. Jack gasped, dropping the rock and covering his mouth in shock.

The sphinx was a lot bigger than he'd pictured it. She regarded him with a cold, bored gaze as he struggled to regain his composure. "Oh my God," the bunny whimpered. "Oh my god. You're...real. You're real!"

The magnificent creature sat back on her haunches and looked him over. She was gorgeous, mostly covered in white feathers and fur with occasional black streaks thrown in for contrast. Her exposed skin was the color of milk chocolate, and she didn't seem at all bothered by the frigid air. A shiny metal choker encircled her graceful neck, with a similar band of jewelry wrapped around her tail. Two barbell piercings through her nipples gleamed in the light, drawing his eye somewhere he didn't want it to go. The sphinx was incredibly well endowed, and if it was intelligent it surely wouldn't appreciate him gawking.

The creature opened her mouth, and Jack felt his fur stand on end. "You will explain yourself, mortal. Have you come to worship?" There was an awful lot of power behind that voice.

The rabbit was thrilled. This was way better than finding a desiccated corpse preserved in the ice! "Oh! Oh, not exactly. I'm a cryptozoologist. That's a-"

"I know what it is," the sphinx snapped. "So, you have come to hunt. You seek my pelt on a wall. Is that it? You will not find me easy prey, mortal. I am Sigrun, Goddess of the Fjords. I do not take threats lightly."

Jack's smile disappeared. "Goodness, no! I'd never do anything like that. I just wanted to prove to the world that you were real. I'd never want to hurt something like you."

She held up the missing gun belt in one paw. "Is that so? Then perhaps you'd care to explain bringing a weapon to my doorstep. How did you even find me? This area is quite unforgiving to lesser beings such as yourself."

He was doing his very best not to stare. Jack wanted to make a good first impression, but his eyes kept drifting downward to those piercings. Sigrun's breasts were huge, and the rest of her was equally stunning. "I followed the path an old viking war party took. Their leader described a creature killing most of his men before he climbed the mountain to do battle with it. He said it was either a god or a challenge sent by one. I thought it might have been a sphinx. Looks like I was right."

Sigrun pursed her lips in thought, then tossed his pistol away into the darkness. "Follow me," she said, and turned to lead him deeper into the mountain. Jack did as he was told, unable to avoid staring at her rear end as she walked.

The sphinx led him to a stone archway set against the wall. "Put this on," she ordered, and handed him a finely crafted silver ring inscribed with numerous Nordic runes. "I will know your true intentions in a moment. If you truly mean me no harm, you'll be free to go so long as you tell no one of my existence. If you're lying...well, let's just hope you aren't lying, shall we?"

The ring was obviously far too big for him, but why argue? He slipped it on, then got a surprise when it contracted to the perfect size. Jack tried to pull it off, but it was stuck fast on his finger. "You needn't worry," Sigrun said, her voice betraying a hint of amusement. "It will come off when I permit it. Now, let's peer into your heart, shall we?"

Sigrun placed her paws on his shoulders and stared deep into his eyes. He felt helpless, pinned to the spot like an insect mounted in an exhibit. "An academic," the sphinx said, and her plump lips curled into a smile. "You weren't lying after all. My, what a clever little thing you are. Anthropology, history, art, technology...." Her eyes moved back and forth, apparently reading something that only she could see. "You appear to be harmless, and I can see that you admire me. You're right to do so. In fact, I believe I sense lust within you."

Jack felt his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm really sorry," he squeaked.

The sphinx let out a breathy laugh, and he felt it tickle his fur. "Why should you be?" she asked. "Lust is an appropriate response. It's been so very long since anyone intruded into my domain. In the olden days I would demand tribute from pilgrims coming to see me. Have you brought me anything, Jack? Something to please me and earn my favor?" She leaned to the side, looking back along his lower half. "It looks to me like you have."

Sigrun pushed her guest towards the stone archway, which shimmered with ghostly blue light. He stepped forward and was suddenly somewhere else, flopping down onto a luxurious bed surrounded by glossy walls of darkly colored stone. "The hell just happened?" he asked, struggling to get his bearings.

The sphinx joined him a moment later. She appeared out of thin air, her bulk causing the mattress to sag and rolling him against her. "I've brought us somewhere more comfortable," she purred. "This is better than the cold floor, isn't it? Just lie down and relax, my pet. I'll explain everything."

Jack tried to argue, but Sigrun's powerful paw clamped his mouth shut. She rolled him onto his back, pinning him to the bed with ease. They were both about the same length when stretched out, which made the sphinx seem huge by comparison. "Every now and then my mountain home gets lonely," she began. "For a long time I had faithful servants, retainers that waited on me paw and talon. They're all gone now, sadly, but you're here and I've seen your heart. I know how gentle it is, and how eager to please."

She kissed his cheek, and the rabbit's hind leg gave an involuntary shiver. Jack fought the urge to pinch himself, just in case he was dreaming. "The storm will last at least until tomorrow," Sigrun murmured into his ear. "Serve me until then, Jack. Swear yourself to me for one night, just to get a taste of how it feels to be mine. If you don't like it, I'll release you at dawn with no strings attached. You have my word."

How could he say no? Jack kissed her, murmuring happily as she wrapped him in a soft embrace. He would do anything she wanted, and they both knew it.

Hour by hour, the bunny learned to attend to his mistress. It was mostly erotic, but not always. He brushed her fur, filed her nails, preened her feathers, and even massaged the powerful muscles hiding beneath her supple skin. The ring around his finger glowed brighter and brighter, keeping him warm despite the frigid temperatures. His mistress explained it as a simple enchantment to keep him comfortable, and far from the only one she'd placed on it.

Eventually Jack earned a reward for his service. Sigrun pressed him into the mattress, straddled his head, and pressed her mound to his face. "Lick," she commanded, that wonderfully smooth voice sending shivers down his spine. He obeyed without a moment's hesitation.

The whole "master/servant" thing had never really appealed to Jack before. He'd always assumed that it would be more fun to be dominant in the bedroom, though he had very little experience to back that up. Sigrun proved him wrong in every conceivable way. She took him when she wanted and how she wanted to, but was never uncaring or spiteful about it. Once he was allowed to mount her from behind, but even then she kept him in check with nothing more than a few words.

It was hard to keep track of how many times he came. Sigrun was thrilled with how productive he was, a far cry from his only other partner who had complained about the mess. Each time he would clean her again, often with nothing more than his tongue. Jack couldn't get enough of her, and when he finally finished for the last time she wrapped him in the most comforting hug he'd ever experienced. "Enough for tonight," the sphinx said, panting with exhaustion as she lay on her back. "No more, dear. I must rest."

"Me...too," Jack said, soaked with sweat and satisfied beyond belief. "That was incredible." He caught her eye and grinned, adding "mistress. That was incredible, mistress."

"You're learning," Sigrun said with a giggle. "Think carefully about what you'll do when the sun comes up, my pet. You may still leave if you wish, but I would rather you stay."

*******

Jack emerged from the mountain sometime around ten o'clock in the morning. He wasn't wearing his heavy clothes, but the cold didn't bother him. He leaned against the cave's entrance, inspecting the ring around his finger as he fiddled with his radio. Around his neck was a silver band with a small ruby set into it that bound him to his new mistress.

Haroquen's frightened voice came through along with a blast of static. "Jack!? Jack, is that you? Holy shit, man, you scared the hell out of me. I-I went looking for you, but this huge storm came along and I damn near got lost in it. Are you okay?"

"I'm great," Jack said. "Sorry to worry you, buddy. Listen, Haro, I've got something really weird to say and I need you to trust me."

"Fine," Haroquen said after a brief pause. "Shoot."

"I found one." Jack felt pride and excitement welling up within him, and looked out at the snow-covered mountain range with a whole new appreciation for its beauty. "I found a real arctic sphinx."

"That's amazing!" Haroquen exclaimed. "What condition is it in?"

Jack chuckled as he pictured the tiger quivering with anticipation. "She's still alive," he said, and let that sink in for a moment. "She took me in, Haro. We...well, let's just say that I'm now the world's foremost expert on arctic sphinx anatomy. She's offered me a permanent place with her if I want it."

Haroquen didn't answer right away. When he did, he sounded terribly confused. "Wouldn't she be, like, super old by now?"

The rabbit shrugged, even though there was nobody around to see it. "Nah, man. You know how some women age like wine? This one's aged like Galadriel. Listen, I know we made plans to go home together, but I can't leave. I'm staying here with her. I took this ancient oath of servitude and everything. She said I could call you so you wouldn't worry, but I need you to keep this a secret, okay? You have to swear to never tell a soul. Got it?"

"I hope you know what you're doing," Haroquen muttered. "Alright, fine. I'll keep quiet about it. Is this goodbye forever?"

Jack snickered. "Not at all. I'll get back in touch just as soon as she gives me her wifi password."