FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Joan took in a deep breath when a gust of salty sea air coasted over her form. She stood at the end of one of the long commercial docks, gazing out at the still ocean. The moon hung high overhead, reflected by the still water that lay before them.

"It's...really pretty..."

She shifted, looking at Damien out of the corner of her eye. It had been so long since he had spoken. She had assumed he was rendered speechless by the overbearing pressure of the city.

The journey across town had been a slow, monotonous trek for them. Damien wanted to take his time, so painfully out of his element that Joan thought he might break before they were even close to the piers. She was ready for that, ready for him to tell her he was ready to turn back. She had to give him credit for sticking through and seeing his desire to the very end.

"I guess it is if you can get over the smell of fish and wet trash."

"Heh...I think I can. My trainer never comes down here." He shifted on his haunches, leaning further back to glance at the sky. "Says we don't belong down here."

Joan found herself following his lead, gaze growing forlorn when she saw the vast void of darkness. There were no stars to view, the lights of the city powerful enough that they couldn't be seen. In the back of her mind, she remembered what the starry night sky looked like when you were living in the wild.

Joan had been thankful Damien hadn't been talking much, only because it prevented attention being drawn to them. She didn't like the thought of being seen with him; if any of her alley compatriots saw her with a trainer's pokemon she'd lose her credibility. His size made that very difficult, especially when they reached the dilapidated, run-down section of town she called home.

The arcanine's fur had practically turned white as they passed decaying facades of buildings. The atmosphere screamed neglect, a seedy location that Joan felt perfectly at home in. She knew everyone that lived here, of course, and she tried to mention to Damien on more than one occasion that he needed to walk with greater confidence.

Joan shifted uneasily, feeling so conspicuous at the end of the dock. They were in clear view, should anyone be walking the crumbling, cement walkways bordering the water. Damien hadn't wanted to go down the dock that was surrounded by large fishing boats, claiming they would block too much of the scenery.

"Is this what you wanted?" She asked. Joan hoped her sense of urgency wasn't conveyed too strongly. This job was supposed to be quick and easy, in and out, that she had needed to spend nearly two hours escorting him across town wasn't what she had in mind. She'd give him credit for one thing, however. His rich scent did wonders blocking out the greasy stench of the docks. "Got to see the city, now you want to go back, right?"

He shifted once more, about to say something before the loud, bellowing horn of a boat cut through the relative silence. Damien immediately yelped, jumping to all fours and nearly losing his balance on the edge of the pier. Joan had to quickly lean out and grab the scruff of his neck in her mouth to stop his momentum from carrying him forward.

It was a massive strain holding him back, and she grimaced at the mouthful of fluff she received as a reward. Damien caught himself soon after, realizing his mighty bulk was starting to pull her, even with all her strength trying to hold him back. Part of her had been tempted to just let him fall in for his negligence, although it was tempered by her desire to make this end quickly.

Joan realized just how strong her grip was when he stood up to his full height. Her hold on him slipped before she released it, coughing up bits of fluff with a disdainful growl. It wasn't until she heard Damien laughing that she shot him a glare.

"Damn, I can't believe how badly that scared me." He began to calm when he saw her annoyance, his amusement quickly replaced with a sheepish smile. "Could you imagine if I came home all wet? My trainer would kill me...he'll be mad enough about all the mud you, we," he corrected himself quickly, "tracked in."

With his goofy smile and good-natured laughter, Joan wanted to stay angry at him. She really did. It drew her in, made her reluctantly smile back, even while she continued to try to spit out the loose particles of fur that decorated her tongue. He was practically a child, at least, he acted as responsible as one. She knew pichu that were able to survive better in the city than he was.

"It would have been a pretty good way to end the night, I suppose...come on, let's get you back home before you do fall in." She expected an argument, or at least an attempt to dissuade her. As far as 'tours' went, he had received little more than a glance. It would have taken weeks to even scrape the surface of the city, let alone the nooks and crannies she frequented.

She was pleasantly surprised when he gave a nod of affirmation and got to his feet.

"Y-Yeah...I think that's enough excitement for one day...I'm getting really tired anyway." He stifled a yawn, doing his best not to let it slip past him when the two turned towards the beginning of the pier. The wooden planks groaned ominously under the canine's heavy weight, making her wonder if she should take a step away from him. Ultimately, she decided against it, her innate ability to predict disasters would have told her if something were destined to happen.

She ignored how it had almost failed her when he nearly went off the edge of the pier.

There was so much possibility in the city, so much chaotic energy swirling at all times in a mad maelstrom of chance. It dulled her senses, no matter how hard she tried to keep it keen. It didn't help that she had forgotten most of the lessons she learned from her mother that related to it.

"Do you like it in the city?"

The question was as sudden as it was unexpected. She looked at Damien quizzically, but he was still facing forward. The dock district ended right where the old part of the town began, their paws scraping on the cracked pavement. Damien walked on the outer edge of the sidewalk, flinching noticeably whenever they passed the yawning mouth of an open alleyway.

She toyed with this question before shrugging. "I like the energy of it. I like how there's always something to do and things to see." She paused. "I guess I would prefer it if there were fresher food in the trash or fewer dog catchers."

Damien effortlessly stepped over a pile of rubbish that had been left on the curb, his lanky build making it so he didn't have to move out of synch with her.

"Ugh, you eat trash?" He asked, skeptical about this. He even gave a glance back at the bags of garbage he had stepped over, before shaking his head. "Make sure you get something from my bowl when we get back, my trainers always give me too much." That note of glib chattiness had crept back into his voice, which Joan found herself surprisingly happy about.

It meant he had to be feeling at least a little better about being out here. She didn't know why it bothered her so much that he looked down on her home, on the living situation that had been all she ever experienced. Maybe it was because she didn't like the thought of an elitist pokemon pitying her or her situation that made her pride burn in her chest.

"I don't want your food, seriously."

He dropped that line of conversation as soon as he realized he wasn't going to be getting anywhere with it. She hoped he had been learning her social cues, she wasn't exactly trying to hide her emotions from him. It would do him a lot of good if he knew how his words were affecting other pokemon. Could certainly save him a lot of hassle down the line.

"I don't like it, to be honest." He shifted back to his earlier question, his shoulders partially drooping. "We used to live in Petalburg City, have you ever been there?" When he realized her silence was a refusal, he turned away from her towards the city streets. "Back when I was a growlithe. It was so cool...I swear I knew the names of every pokemon there. I had a bunch of friends to play with, we could run around and no one would care..."

Joan listened with a hint of envy brewing in her chest. It was something she tried to bite back, more than aware that it would be unfair to him. She shouldn't lash out at him for the failings of the city, especially since it had managed to captivate her for so long. Her love and hatred for Rustboro seemed to be constantly shifting in his presence.

It was something she never truly thought about. At what points did the negatives outweigh the benefits, and how would she get along if she went to a smaller city?

"Then I'm guessing...your owner moved you here?" That reaffirmed her reservations towards being a trainer's pokemon. She wouldn't want to have her life uprooted like that. His solemn silence established the truth behind her question, and she sighed loud enough for him to hear. "I bet that was tough."

"It was." He said softly, more melancholy than she had heard him before. His tail had begun to droop, nearly brushing against the ground. "It started when I found my first stone. It was a...a grass stone, that's right. We were out camping, just the two of us." He smiled at the memory, trying to pull himself from the pit of unhappiness he had begun to sink into. "There was this weird smell in the air, like burning pecha berries, kind of sweet and smokey, I guess?"

Joan tilted her head curiously when he explained his process. Her nose had been sensitive once until years of city dwelling had dulled it just like it had her sensitivity towards disasters. Too much exhaust, pollutants, and all manner of filth. His scent was the only thing that managed to cut through it, leaving her focused on it as if it were a lifeline to cling to.

"I kept smelling it and it was bugging me because I didn't know what it was," he paused when they came to the end of the block, before immediately stepping up with her, "finally went to go dig it up and...well, it was really cool. My owner was super excited about it. After that, we would go camping a lot more often. I thought he wanted to spend more time with me, ya know? This was when he started dating Denise..."

The absol led him down a narrow service street, little more than an alleyway that was enclosed on one side by a building, and the other by an overgrown lot. A building had once stood here, now reduced to little more than ruins. A chain-link fence surrounded it, one of the human's yellow signs saying 'Condemned: No Trespassing' hanging from it.

Joan knew there was a hole dug under the fence further down, hidden behind a dumpster. She knew because she had put it there herself, the entrance to her own home. It was a far cry from the opulence the arcanine lived in. Her only reason for taking him this path was to make sure no one had slipped in while she was out.

Fighting over territory was as normal a part of her life as foraging for food was. The hollow shell of what was once a warehouse wasn't much, but it kept the elements out.

"Then we...moved here. I think...," Damien stopped as he thought of this, "I think...he was selling them so we could afford to live in the city. So I guess it's my fault I'm here."

This had been something Joan assumed as soon as she heard of the trainer's interest in his favorite pastime. It was as she had learned a long time ago. If you had a skill that could be exploited and not enough sense to realize it was happening, you were going to be taken advantage of.

Joan was about to say something. It felt wrong to let him wallow in this bad memory. She had the words forming on her lips before twin headlights cut through the darkness. The rumble of the vehicle was soft, well-maintained so it wouldn't draw too much attention. She had been so distracted by Damien's story that she hadn't even thought to keep an ear out for it.

Rolling towards them was the bane of her existence, leaving her legs to tense up, the urge to run immediately coursing through her. Stronger still than that instinctual demand to flee was, unusual enough, a sense of responsibility to Damien. To run would be to leave him here, in the depths of the city with no idea where to go.

It also helped her decide when she noticed his tail had started to wag to and fro.

The vehicle stopped a short distance away from them, standing ominously while cutting off their path. It idled, left running like some great beast waiting to pounce; for Joan, it might as well have been. She steeled herself when the door opened, a tall man wearing a dark blue uniform stepping out of it.

"Damien...? What the hell are you doing out here?" The man asked, one of his hands reaching back in his truck when he noticed how close Joan was standing to him. The female pokemon and the human locked eyes, a silent challenge issuing forth from the former for him to make a move. "And I see you're...not alone."

"Hey, Chris! I haven't seen you in forever! It's so good to see you!" The arcanine's tail had begun to wag faster, nearly striking against Joan's flank. She hadn't realized she had been moving closer to him, trying to scrunch down against his bulk, as if it would make her less visible to the human. "My friend Joan's taking me out! Joan, this is Chris! He's my owner's best friend!"

She knew who he was. The wild pokemon in the city knew the names of every dog catcher that roamed the streets. They were akin to boogeymen, those that would pluck you from your routine and take you to be given away to humans. Some, like Joan, considered it far less desirable than being caught by a trainer outright.

Chris Rutherford. She had read that name on the stitched tag more times than she could remember. For a human, he had an intimidating presence, although she could say that for all of the catchers. They needed to be strong to handle most of the pokemon they tried to wrangle. The reason being their tool of choice, the very object that made Joan's eyes narrow.

From his truck he pulled a long, metal pole, a noose of white plastic at the tip of it hanging out. The catcher's rod was something she had grown to fear, knowing first hand just how it would feel when the lasso cinched around your neck. A phantom sensation of pressure formed against her throat just from looking at it.

She felt Damien tense when she touched him, her flank brushing against his own. It left a dirty stain on his fur, as unintentional as it was. His respectful nature prevented him from pulling away, and it surprised her just how quickly he picked up on how she must have been feeling.

"Chris, this is Joan. Joan's my new friend and she brought me out to see the city!" He spoke happily, his tail wagging faster. It was the most at ease she had seen him since she had brought him out here.

Joan felt the tension beginning to flow out of her body as he continued to speak so casually. It had been...a long time since she had someone speak on her behalf. She wasn't the type to put herself in the position of needing to rely on others. It was certainly something she hadn't expected out of him.

"I know who she is, big guy." He held the catching pole in both hands, keeping it in front of himself defensively. Joan wished she could have proved his fears right, no matter how disastrous an outcome it would bring her. "Does Tony know you're out here?"

That sense of confidence she had been feeling from Damien all but vanished as soon as he mentioned this name. It wasn't hard to imagine that he was his owner, especially since he seemed so worried about his approval.

"Well...no." He admitted, eliciting a small smile on the human's face.

Chris had already begun to take a few steps towards them, his jovial expression fading whenever his eyes met Joan's. To her, the message was clear. He might have been on good terms with Damien, but their history preempted any of that.

"What does it matter if his trainer knows or not. He's a big boy, he can look after himself." Joan said. She knew she had to step in quickly. Damien's resolve was wavering, and she didn't want to see what the human might try. "Besides, he's got me here, you going to take me in, huh? Leave him all alone out here? I doubt he can fit in the back of your truck."

She felt a smirk creep across her face as soon as she saw the hesitation forming in his stance. Damien had gone still, having considered this possibility. There was no doubt he was uncomfortable with this idea, and Joan pressed on.

"Better yet, why don't you choke me on your toy there in front of him. I bet he'd appreciate seeing that." Joan had been emboldened by the level of casual disregard for the man's authority that Damien had shown. It reminded her that while he was a catcher, he was still a human. Humans could be manipulated just as easily as anyone else. "Right, Damien? That would be a great way to end the night."

Her attempts were only fueled by the miserable little whimper Damien made. It sounded more pitiful than the one he had made after she smacked him earlier in the night, and even she felt bad for dragging him back into this.

"P-Please don't...she's my friend, Chris."

His hands tightened around the pole, grinding it in his grasp. Finally, he let out a sigh and shook his head. "Damn it, Damien, you really gotta make this hard on me, don't you..." He relented, turning back to his truck and already beginning to slip the tool back in. As soon as it disappeared, the weight on Joan's back faded, leaving her feeling so much more at ease.

Damien didn't thank him, nor did he seem quite pleased with the outcome. He still seemed distraught, his tail drooping low. Joan found herself easing back into his side, trying to reinstill that confidence he had been feeling. To her relief, it had the intended effect.

"We're going back home now, anyways. It was really nice seeing you, though..." He smiled briefly at the human, before turning to look at Joan. His expression was easy to read, happiness mixed with appreciation for her proximity, culminating in a wag of the tail. The thanks went without saying, and Joan was almost embarrassed.

It wasn't normal for her to give so much support to another pokemon.

"Make sure you do, bud. I don't want you out here," his eyes landed on Joan, narrowing to the slightest degree, "there are some dangerous pokemon out here. I know you're a big boy now, but I also know Tony didn't put too much work into training you before you evolved." He sighed and slipped into the front seat of his truck, hanging one arm out the open window and giving them one last glance. "All I'm saying is...be careful who you choose as your friends. I'd hate to see you get yourself in a situation you can't get out of."

The vehicle began to move, creeping past the two of them at a slow, torturous pace. Joan never stopped glaring, that look of utter loathing on his face spelling out just how he truly felt about her. The absol was used to it from him, from most humans as it was. Now, however, she had a rather large, fuzzy rock to fall back on.

As naive and innocent as the canine had proven himself to be, she had to give him credit for having such a strong presence. At the very least, it had inspired her to stay next to him.

Even then, Joan didn't allow herself to relax until the taillights of the vehicle had disappeared into the inky blackness of the night.

"Hey, uh...you're pretty close to me."

The words snapped her out of her trance, and she quickly pulled away from him, mortified she had allowed her self control to slip so far. The dark smudge on his vivid, red fur was a constant reminder that she had fallen to using him for support. It made her face heat up under her fur, especially when she saw his confused, yet apologetic expression.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean that it was a bad thing," he stammered, back to that timid pup she had first found him as "it was kind of nice. My owner's girlfriend Denise does it, sometimes...w-we'll snuggle on the floor and watch movies together, and she'll give me popcorn..." He cut himself off, silencing himself as soon as Joan held up a paw in his direction.

"Just...don't bring it up, okay? I...don't like that guy." It wasn't easy hiding her emotions, at least, when she was embarrassed. She was out of practice having to conceal those unique feelings from anyone. At least if she were angry, she could shoot him down or brush it off, but that mark on his side mocked her relentlessly.

He tilted his head, dark eyes reflecting the light of the moon overhead. Damien stepped a little closer to her, timid, fearful he'd be invading her personal space.

"Chris has always been super nice to me. I...did he ever...use that stick thingy on you?"

Joan turned away from him, trying to hold back the sharp retort. Of course, the dog catcher would be kind to him. He was the poster child, the paragon of his species, most pokemon would kill to be in the position he was in.

"It's a lot worse than it looks." She finally found herself saying. Even then it was hard to keep an even tone, lest any of her resentment towards the human leak in. "When I was younger, I made a mistake one day of thinking I might be able to..." She nibbled on her lower lip, debating whether she should go on.

In the darkness of the alley, their forms lit only by the moon, Joan felt oddly tranquil. The biggest fear in her life had been sent away with a simple conversation; no matter how she denied it, the arcanine was a bulwark against that fear. He hadn't moved away, rather sat on his haunches, his perked ears cluing her in on his intent to simply listen. For that, she was thankful.

Maybe the dog was learning how to read other people after all.

"I never liked going up to humans. But it was right after winter ended when I was still a pup. I was...well, I was starving. I couldn't find anything to eat, every pokemon was fighting for scraps." She spoke in a solemn tone, so soft that she wondered if he would catch it. "It was so stupid. A trainer's pokemon had told me they would help me if I went to them."

Joan's nose twitched, the arcanine's scent eliciting old memories that she had long forgotten. The wood of the forest, spicy tones that reminded her of cheri berries, plucked fresh from the vine. It made her nostalgic for a life she could no longer remember.

"Well, I went to them, all right." She spat this, bitter hatred welling up inside her like bile. "That Chris guy? I think he had just started, well..." she laughed to herself. It was hollow, echoing off of the brick wall to her left and rebounding back to them. "Didn't even let me say much more than a few words before he yanked that thing around my neck."

She tilted her head up slowly, feeling rather agitated when she heard how tightly the arcanine inhaled. It wasn't something she enjoyed sharing, that sign of weakness, the patch of fur that was missing under her neck. It was accompanied by a pink line in the skin, a scar from the rope being pulled too tight around her neck...and her desperate attempt to fight her way out of it.

That sense of panic had been something she never experienced in her young life. When all her choices and desires were snuffed and stolen from her by another person. She got the shivers just thinking of it.

That moment was when she had promised herself she would never rely on anyone

The chill of the night was thwarted by Damien's presence. He had come closer to her, looking down at her uncertainty, and, thankfully, without that pitiful contempt she had come to expect.

"Joan, I...I think I'm ready to go home...I'm so sorry that happened to you."

She shrugged abruptly and allowed her head to fall, covering the sign of weakness she was always desperate to keep hidden. This damnable dog just had a way of getting her to open up, that personable attitude working miracles on her. If he had talent other than digging up stones, it was certainly digging up emotions she had thought were long since buried.

"You have no reason to be sorry. Not like you were the one holding the stick." She moved back to all fours, allowing herself to stretch out slowly in a low bow. It was almost feline in nature, and to her amusement, she realized Damien had been watching this rather closely. "It was in the past. Shit happens, ya know? We all have our problems, right?"

Her attempts to calm his interest in her seemed futile. He hadn't pulled his eyes off of her for a second, no matter what movement she took. Normally, she wouldn't like such undivided attention, but tonight...

She smirked, allowing her jagged tail to flick up, smacking gently against the bottom of his muzzle. "Come on...we need to get you home before that asshole lets your owner know you're missing."

Joan took a few steps forward, and when she realized he wasn't following her, she glanced back over her shoulder. Like before, the canine was still staring at her, but his expression had changed. His eyes had widened partially, his ears folding back till they were practically flat against his head. She cocked her head to the side, inquisitive of his reaction before she suddenly realized what he had to be staring at.

When her tail had come up to flick him, it had left her completely bare. Right now, Damien's eyes were locked on the dark, ebony sex resting between her hind legs. Even against her black-colored fur, it managed to stand out. It was rounded along the top, coming down to a prominent point at the bottom, resembling a spade on a deck of cards.

In a drunken spiel, one of her companions in the alley had once commented on this. It had been slightly embarrassing for her, although she was used to having her sex on display. He was an older man, having imbibed too much on cheap booze. He had made mention that even though it was so different than that of a humans, he'd hook her up with dinner if she was willing to put out.

She had denied him, of course. She was normally hungry and desperate. Admittedly, there were times where she had given it up to her kind. To a human, though? Never. No level of desperation could ever bring her to allow a human that level of control over her. Especially not some trashy bum.

Like she had thought when Damien first offered her the bag of stones back at his doghouse, you never got something for nothing in the alleys.

From that encounter, she had learned just how exotic her sex was compared to that of a human woman's. She also learned, or rather, realized, that humans and pokemon could be more involved than what she had seen in public.

This entire time, Damien had been staring at her, and Joan was...inclined to let him look. It was flattering, in an odd way.

"What, you like what you see?" She finally asked, rolling her eyes at the guilty shadow that came over his face. "You act as if you've never gotten a good look at a bitch before."

Joan was content by the look of aghast horror that came over his face when this none too subtle voyeur was caught in the act. She wouldn't have pushed it further, but to her surprise, Damien huffed at her. Accompanied by a burst of smoke that escaped his mouth, he shrugged noncommittally, uncertainty abounding.

"Yeah...well...m-maybe I just wanted to return the favor." He was nervous at first when he spoke, however, a hint of firmness had crept into the foundation of his tone. It gave him a strength that stilled Joan, made her shiver. "I saw you looking at my...bits when we were back at the house."

The wide display of ivory canine teeth bared in a smile left her stumbling over her words. It was difficult to refute him, especially when he called her out on her attempts to catch glimpses of the arcanine's private parts. It was a surprise, even though she was used to male canines being rather proud to show off their manhoods.

"S-Shut up. It's not like I was staring at them like you are. You probably wouldn't even know what to do with a female." She shot back, a tonal shift from her exasperated state. She was quick to recover, casting aside that traitorous weakness that had left her gawking dumbly at him. That he would call her out on it made it embarrassing. The sense of relief that she didn't have to hide it anymore made up for it. "Big boy like you...probably has girls all over you."

When he shrugged once more, Joan grinned and pressed the situation. She turned, approaching him slowly in a waltz of slow, steady movements. One paw in front of the other, her eyes locked on his own while her tongue poked out of her muzzle. The arcanine was locked on her, curiosity and nerves setting the fur around the base of his tail to noticeably start to puff up.

"M-Maybe..." He shifted, his broad shoulders flexing. The agitation was clear as day, no matter how he took her scathing words. "When we go to the dog park...s-sometimes they'll talk to me and...well..."

"That's awful sad, don't you think?" She stood right before him now, facing down the canine that was near twice her size. In any other situation, with any other pokemon, she wouldn't have dared to get in his face like this. Most men didn't like having their dominance challenged; locking eyes with one for this long certainly would have elicited a negative response. "You have girls interested in you, and what...you turn them down?"

He growled finally, a hint of animosity carried on it. Joan thought she had gone too far, pressed his buttons to a degree where she had forced the alpha in him to surface. It was a relief when he shook his head and allowed his eyes to fall to his large, front paws.

"Tony always says I shouldn't waste my time with girls..."

Joan blinked and took a small step away from him. Seeing the fire dog this agitated made her realize just how much he needed this night out. Having the chance to shirk the strict rules placed on you by an authority figure must have been incredibly fulfilling. Call it rebelling against his title as a pet.

"Hey, bud...you know I'm just teasing you. For a house pet, you're not so bad. I've lifted my tail for less. I don't mind you taking a peek..."

She waited in silence after saying this, at least until the arcanine's eyes met her own. They had softened considerably, the dark pokemon reminding herself that while Damien needed to learn how to read people, she might have forgotten it along the way. It was hard to show compassion, especially after you realized those you had bestowed it on didn't deserve it. Her heart went out to him, her jealous squabbles and tendencies overshadowed when she remembered how much he must have lost out on.

That dismay was soon replaced by embarrassment when she suggested this. It had its intended effect, no matter the arcanine's feeling. He smiled, giving a gentle swish of his tail and chuckling under his breath.

"It, uh...you know, you're awfully pretty."

The words hung there between them, heavy on the still night air. Joan almost wished for something, anything to distract her from this. It wasn't normal for her to receive compliments that, at least seemed, to be entirely genuine. Her hackles began to rise, her face warming under her fur. She didn't want to let him see the telltale signs of her embarrassment.

"We should get you home." She said quickly, reminding both of them that this night needed to come to an end. That he was regretful of this there was no doubt. As soon as she said it, she noticed his tail beginning to droop, and...

She cursed, remembering how she had pushed herself up against him when she saw the black smudge on his side. This time it wasn't out of dismay at her own inability to stand up to the pokemon catcher. It was the knowledge that he may get in trouble with his owner if he were to go home like that.

"We need to get you cleaned up." She said instantly, drawing his attention to it. "No way I'm giving that asshole a reason to be upset with you."

"He's...not too bad, sometimes." He begrudgingly stated, obviously defending him solely out of pokemon loyalty. "I do think he'd freak out, though. Says we have to keep our appearances befitting our stature, whatever that means...I could just groom it out, it's no big deal."

"No!" She snapped suddenly, loud enough to get the arcanine's full attention. "You, uh...you don't want to taste that. Believe me, I learned that a long time ago. You'll be tasting grease and dirt for weeks."

Normally, she wasn't too aware of just how stained her body had become. It was second nature to her to have to go through life like this. Now that she saw how it looked on him, however, she was having second thoughts. For the first time in a long time, she realized just how uncomfortable it was having her fur matted down. It felt like she was enveloped by a wet blanket that was wringing her tightly.

She had let her personal hygiene fall so far behind for the very reason she had warned him. You only needed to try and clean one or two spots before you realized just how awful it tasted. That it had built up so much over time made her feel almost - and she hated to admit it - ashamed.

It struck her that she had never had someone she might have wanted to impress. She wondered why Damien hadn't brought it up, only to realize soon after that, of course, he wouldn't. Everything she had learned about him told her he wouldn't judge someone based on their appearance.

He listened to this, ears tucked back and his muzzle slightly pursed. His lip had pulled up, showing a hint of his fang in an unsightly grimace. "Thanks for the warning. I know somewhere else we can go." He sighed before she could question him on it. "Oh Arceus, I HATE taking baths..."

Joan raised an eyebrow at him, unbelieving that he knew anywhere they could find a solution. Any public fountains were routinely patrolled to keep out unwanted pokemon, and she doubted even he could talk his way out of that. Humans were rather surly when they thought their status symbols were being defiled. Her thoughts briefly drifted towards the magikarp pond Damien's neighbor had, leading her to grimace immediately afterward. It could do in a pinch, she supposed.

"You know somewhere?" She questioned, stepping up to him, before gesturing with her head towards the end of the alley. "Well, enlighten me. Lead the way."

Most of the clean water she found came with the rains. It wasn't easy collecting it, even worse making it last. If you didn't use it fast enough, it would stagnant into an odorous pool that left a sensitive nose reeling. It wasn't something you wanted to drink let alone bathe in, even if you had an iron stomach.

At first, Damien walked slowly, trying to match her pace, or rather, lag behind her. His aversion to being the one in charge manifested in his hackles rising and his tail tucking between his legs. They hadn't gone more than a block before Joan growled softly at him.

"Chin up." She said sharply. He looked at her in confusion, before nodding forward. "Keep your eyes up at all times. Don't make yourself look like a victim." She walked briskly, with a determined purpose contrasting his relaxed gait. "Tall, proud, lift your tail."

She continued to critique him, watching him for any signs that he might be falling behind or forgetting something.

"I'm sick of watching you walk around like a scared growlithe." Joan knew she probably sounded coarse, but it was frustrating for her. A creature like him that could hold such authority squandering it was something she could no longer abide. "You're an alpha male, aren't you?"

"Joan, this is silly..." His ears had started to fold down, only to shoot back up when she growled at him once more. The arcanine's tail had started to tuck further down, even with his broad shoulders rolled back into an imitation of the absol's appearance. "I'm no-"

"If you don't believe you're an alpha male, no one else will." She said. Her head tilted back, leaving her blade on full display. "I have this to show I mean business. You have your size, your attitude, and that growl of yours." A growl she hated to admit had a way of making her tremble herself. "Say 'I'm an alpha male'."

He sighed deeply, taking a turn at the end of the block. Joan was surprised to see they were heading towards the northwestern section of the city, where gentrification had changed the landscape. Buildings she once recognized were different, having become all manner of miscellaneous shops and restaurants.

"I'm an alpha male..." It was a grumble, one she had to perk her ears to hear. One look at her let Damien know she wasn't satisfied with that. With a roll of his eyes and a faint growl, he repeated himself. "I'm an alpha male." It was a little louder this time, his tail starting to climb ever higher.

Seeing this allowed her to gauge his attitude, as well as the faint smile that had crept over his muzzle. She was certain he had never been called that, or rather, had never thought of himself in that way. It was odd seeing it from a canine, considering their instinctual disposition to trying to take command of territory, females, whatever they wanted. All it took, however, was a little push for her to see what lurked below the surface.

"Yeah, you are an alpha male, aren't you?" She goaded him ever onward. The once silent streets echoed with her words, drawing curious glances from the occasional nocturnal pokemon. To imagine the show they must have been putting on was laughable to her. An absol coaching a male that was near twice her size was too comical to believe. "You definitely look more like one."

This wasn't an exaggeration. He had started to find some form of sureness in his steps. The confidence might have been a facade, or it could have been genuine, right now, Joan was just happy he seemed to be making progress. It caused a warmth to stir in her belly, just being able to see how he was holding himself now.

"I'm an alpha male." He said again, holding his head a little higher.

Sadly, the illusion he projected would fade whenever they passed anyone on the streets. Joan would notice his eyes drooping, his glance falling to the sidewalk instead of meeting anyone head on. As soon as they would pass them by, he would return to his previous attitude.

Joan didn't call him out on it. She didn't expect him to grasp this all in one night. It would be silly to think he'd change his entire demeanor that quickly. If nothing else, it at least told her she might have something to work with. She smirked and stepped closer to him, close enough that she could give the bottom of his chin a rather playful lick.

"You walk around like that at the dog park, and you're going to have every female there all over you." She didn't dare to imagine the dangerous weapon she might have imparted on him. Only time would tell. "Try to remember me when you find a mate of your own."

He started when her rough tongue lapped across his chin, leaving him wide-eyed and speechless. She knew she wouldn't have to worry about him, as his composure shattered like glass. He stammered from her affectionate lick, his ears tucking back and his eyes darting around rapidly.

"I-I wouldn't, uh...I mean...if t-they wanted to do something like that, uh..." He trailed off and swallowed before taking a few steps forward. "Hey look, we're here!" To get out of what was an awkward conversation for him, he darted around the corner of the building they had been walking against, leaving Joan standing by her lonesome.

She rolled her eyes and gave a mirthful chuckle. It was almost shameful to her that she felt such a strong sense of endearment for him. It came from more than that sense of gnawing longing that had started to spring up in her, a feeling that she had only felt rarely in her life. Never had she had someone so naive to play with, one that had so much potential.

To see just what he could become was...well, it gave her a purpose outside of the doldrum cycle of finding and consuming that street life presented her.

Joan joined him quickly, only for uncertainty to steal her mirth. Standing before them was the very park she used to go to, the one that had since been blocked off. A tall, metal fence stood between them and the grassy knolls on the other side. Decorative vines crept up the metal of the barrier, doing little to stem the imposing aura that it put off, as well as the sense of exclusivity it created.

"This is..." she began, letting her words fall flatly, "you know we can't get in there, right?"

He looked down at her, head tilting partially before he let out an amused chuckle. "What are you talking about?" He allowed his flank to brush against the fence, the vines and flowers catching on the fluffy fur of the canine. "I come here all the time with Denise on her days off! It's really, really nice. Although there's this boltund that keeps trying to mark the same tree as me, and he..." he caught himself, his apologetic smile speaking volumes. "It's nice, I think you'll like it."

She didn't have the heart to correct him, that she had been here before it was cut off from her. She also didn't care to tell him there was no way for them to get in. The gate out front had been closed, not nearly as imposing as the fence itself but lacking the natural floral decoration that stemmed its authority. A cobblestone path rested on the other side of it, leading straight to the main attraction of the park.

Seeing it made her feel a twinge of nostalgic desire. It had been a crumbling fountain at one point, little more than a water fixture she had enjoyed on hot days. The dull limestone had been replaced with pure, white stone, the figurehead of a majestic dewgong repaired and rejuvenated. Even from here, she could smell the pure odor of fresh water carried on the wind, beckoning her forward.

"Damn it."

Thinking he had finally realized the obstacle in her path, Joan was about to recommend they try somewhere else. The sight of Damien on his hind paws, pressing a paw against a section of the fence to the left of the door evoked curiosity. Stepping closer, she could see his large paw landing on a small, square pin pad. The digital screen flashed red at him whenever he tried to touch it, his massive paw completely eclipsing the buttons.

"Come on...come on...damn it!" He cursed again, drawing his paw back and growling as he stared down at it. "Denise makes this look so easy..."

Joan stepped closer, watching his clumsy attempts with a bit of a smile. "I don't think you're going to get that..." She stated, resting one of her paws on his flank. With him standing on his hind legs, she knew what she would have seen if she looked even slightly to her left. After being called out for it once, she didn't want to give him any more ammo to throw at her unless she was able to catch him in a similar situation.

He huffed, looking down at her with a twisted grimace on his muzzle. "It's 5-2-8-1, that's all you need to enter...ugh, damn these paws." He cursed and fell to all fours, glaring at the keypad as if it knew it was denying him. "Maybe...you could try?" He suggested, gesturing down at her smaller paws.

Joan wasn't sure if she'd fare much better than he had. To come this close to that tantalizing promise of roaming the park, especially at night when they'd be alone, was far too much for her to pass up. She brushed past him and leaned up on her hind paws, balancing against the fence and tilting her head to the side.

After hesitating for a moment, she smirked and allowed her tail to slowly drift up. Maybe she could catch him taking a peek, it was at least worth a try.

"So, all you have to do is enter it in?" She asked, innocently looking back at him. It was obvious to her just what his eyes had been fixated on. The arcanine's ears were pointed straight up, his muzzle hanging slightly slack-jawed at what lay just a foot or so before his face. "What's wrong, glameow got your tongue?"

She purred in delight, endlessly amused by this game of taunting and toying with him. Finally, she gave him the liberty of getting to work, but not without giving a small, tantalizing wiggle of her hips first.

It was tricky angling the tip of her claws on the buttons. It had been a long time since she did anything precise with them, let alone needing to toy with such a small device. It didn't help that they were chipped and dulled from years of walking on cement. Just like Damien, she found herself cursing it under her breath, her agitation making her clumsy. Right when she thought she wouldn't be able to do it, and was on the verge of giving up, it let out a cheerful beep. The light flashed green and a loud 'ca-chunk' was heard before the gate creaked open a few inches.

"I, uh, knew you could do it," Damien stated. He gave the absol an appreciative smile, still a little awestruck from her display. This time, he actually took the initiative to hurry ahead. It didn't give him the chance to hide what was so prominently on display. Joan caught only a glimpse of it, a bit of red poking out of the orange sheath hanging below his belly.

It was strangely vindicating for her. To know that even in her rather ragged state, she was still able to get a man worked up. With her head held high, she followed him, wearing that confident gait she had been trying to teach him.

Damien was already waiting by the edge of the fountain, and as soon as she approached, he clambered over the edge. The water splashed upwards, landing at her paws and making her reel back to avoid it. Even with his large size, there was plenty of room in the fountain for the two of them, should she wish to join him.

It was a difficult decision for her to make, even with that unease she had started to feel about it. To go back to wearing white fur might make her more of a target, and she huffed as she lifted herself onto her hind legs. She gazed down at her reflection in the water while listening to the splashes as Damien tried to clean himself as quickly as he could.

Joan realized at that moment that she didn't recognize the pokemon looking back at her. It followed her motions, tilted the head and narrowed the eyes, but it was so different than how she saw herself. It was the face of a hardened, filthy canine, grime caked on her from Arceus knows how long ago.

That itchy feeling in her fur, the greasy sensation that had been agitating her returned tenfold. It couldn't stay on her, not anymore. She could feel Damien's eyes on her, silently inquisitive as to whether she would join him. Joan could tell he was making room for her, expectant of it, even.

"The water's kind of cold, but it's nice." His voice rang out softly. "I think you'll like it."

This proved to be all she needed to hear. She climbed the small rim of the fountain and plunged into the cool water, allowing it to completely encompass her body. She stayed under, paws reaching up to desperately scrub at her chest, her sides, anywhere she could reach. It needed to come off, needed to get off of her before she lost her composure.

When she came up for air, she was rather disgusted by the sight of the black sea that surrounded her. It reminded her of the oil spills she would occasionally see at the dock, holding a rainbow sheen to it that spoke of chemicals and pollutants. It was such a relief to watch the filters in the fountain drag it away that she quickly went back under.

She lost track of time. It became a cycle of scrubbing, surfacing, taking a deep breath, and repeating. At some point, she realized Damien had left the fountain. He now rested on his side in the grass next to the pavilion, only a few feet away but close enough that she could keep a watchful eye on him.

His fur was matted against his side, steam slowly rising in small clouds as his fire type heat worked to dry him off. Even after his bath, she could still smell the natural, masculine odor of the fire type on the air.

It was strange, but she swore it seemed stronger than before. It might have been she had eliminated the contrasting scents that covered her body, or the scent of a wet dog just amplified it. She didn't let herself consider this for too long, for she had something much more important to focus on.

The whiteness of her fur was reemerging slowly but surely. Every time she went down, she would come back up a brighter sheen. From black to gray, and finally to an off-white that left her feeling satisfied.

Joan slowly moved to the side of the fountain closest to Damien, that smile returning to her muzzle as she met the arcanine's prying eyes. It left her chuckling, more curious than anything else.

"What? Do you have something you'd like to say?" It wasn't like before when the arcanine had been stunned or embarrassed by his attempts to sneak looks at her. It wasn't like when he had shut down after she presented herself to him, this was completely different.

"It's just..." he began, his bushy tail slowly beginning to swish to and fro, "you're...really, really pretty, Joan. I thought you were before, but now..."

Joan slipped effortlessly from the water, landing on the cobblestone sidewalk and giving her pelt a quick, firm shake. Water droplets cascaded off of her in a shower, dampening the stones under her paws. It wasn't normal for her to be vain, appearance had never really struck her as being more important that function. This, however, this was rather nice.

"I didn't realize how bogged down I had felt before." She grumbled, stepping on to the cool grass next to him. His initial flinching away from her didn't go unnoticed, not that he had a choice in the matter. Sighing happily, she flopped down on her side next to him, rolling on to her back to allow her eyes to fall on the night sky. "Kind of wish I were a fire type...would be nice to..."

She murred when she felt the wave of heat radiating out of him. Predicting what she had to say, he had kicked his temperature up high enough to help dry her. It left her feeling comfortable as she laid back in the grass and closed her eyes.

"I missed this place." She mused. She shifted in her resting position, allowing her front paws to drape delicately over the front of her chest. "It's...quiet, isn't it?"

It was almost relieving when she was proven wrong about this. The cadence started up softly in the distance, growing louder the more she tried to focus on it. It left her smiling, the hum of crickets, those very same little creatures she had heard at Damien's house, allowing the last of her tension to flow from her shoulders.

Years back, she remembered being a pup just hatched from her egg. Resting against the side of her mother in a dark den and fearing what might be hiding in the shadows. She remembered that hum, that soft cry that becalmed her and let her fall back asleep.

"Denise says this is her favorite place as well..."

Joan turned, partially rolling onto her side to get a better look at her companion. One of her paws rose and pressed against his chest, rubbing it in small semi-circles.

"You really like that human, don't you?" She inquired.

He tensed up under her paw, the back of his head landing on the grass like hers was. He allowed her to help him move, gently pressing him onto his back before he could voice a complaint against it. His eyes met her own, nervousness reflected back at her. She had started to stand now, almost looming over him.

"She's...just as pretty as you are..." He grumbled, giving her all the information she needed. "She makes me feel special, makes me feel like what I say matters. Gives me everything I could ever want..." His hips shifted, drawing Joan's attention to his sheath which had noticeably begun to swell up the more he spoke of this. "She...reminds me a lot of you. You're both smart, and pretty, and cool..."

Joan murred under her breath, rubbing his chest a little faster. When he didn't move to stop her, she started to allow her paw to drift lower. It ran across his midriff slowly, teasing the soft fur here. The feeling of control made this so much sweeter for her. Everything she needed to know about how he would react to this was revealed with just that simple touch.

"Do you know your tail starts to fluff up when you get excited?" She questioned. It made him blink and shiver, her paw stroking mere inches from his swelling sheath. "I saw it back at your house when I first asked if you expected me to lift my tail for you..."

Her voice dripped with feral longing, amplified by her persistent growling. Warnings to him to stay still, not to resist her actions. They were unnecessary, she knew. He wouldn't have ruined this opportunity, not when he was this close to getting what he must have been craving all night. That she would be his first would make things a little more complicated, but she had already thought of a way to get him riled up.

"I wonder...if you'll ever try to mate her?"

He locked up so fast that she was surprised he didn't have an episode right there from it. It wasn't hard for her to imagine just what he truly wanted, especially when the pointed tip of his erection slid free of his sheath. Her paw brushed against it as soon as it appeared, her entire body trembling when she felt just how hot it was.

"Oh, do you like that idea?" She questioned him, her paw stroking just above his growing prick, teasing him with her coarse paw pads. It was bright, angry red, covered in dark veins that crisscross it from the base to the tip. Four inches were poking out with no end in sight, and she found herself gulping. Just how big could he get? "I've never seen a human and a pokemon together...do you t-think she'd even be able to fit you?"

As more of him grew, she started to have her own doubts on whether she'd be able to take this. He avoided her gaze the entire time, his raised hackles and the intense heat he radiated voicing his embarrassment. It almost made her feel bad.

Almost.

"I could stop if you wanted me to." When she said this, she pressed her paw directly on his cock. It pulsed under her paw, the slick surface of it feeling so welcoming as she toyed with it.

It had been a while since she was last intimate with a man. There was an umbreon a few months back that had managed to scavenge her new bedding. He had been rather keen to help her break it in. Before him, it was a liepard, one that had assisted her in scaring off a nest of raticates that took over her den. She still remembered how those barbs felt in her, and it made her shiver in arousal.

None of them compared to Damien.

The fire dog was in a class all his own, she could see that now that ten inches jutted proudly from its hiding spot. It rested heavily against his lower stomach, drawing his attention and making him curl his muzzle.

"T-This is...so embarrassing..." He grumbled, before groaning as Joan answered by dragging her paw from the base to the very tip of it. It made him twitch, a few drops of clear pre staining his belly fur.

"Does it feel good, though?" She asked. She stroked him faster, freeing those last few stubborn inches that refused to come easily. "Would you rather have a paw on you or Denise's hands?" That image of the woman with him in the newspaper flashed back in her mind. She wondered what his owner would think if he were to steal his girlfriend, have her all to himself like he was soon to have her. "When she gives you belly rubs, do you ever try and get her to touch you..."

Fourteen inches of canine prick was her reward for her constant teasing. The bulge of his knot was apparent at the base, still trapped in his sheath, at least for the moment. She made a point to slowly circle the backside of a claw around the sensitive orb, putting enough pressure on the protective sheath that he could feel it.

"Come on, give me an answer," Joan growled. "Would you fuck a human? Knot her, drain these big balls into her," at this, she reached further down and pressed against his heavy sac. His orbs were thick and dense, giving her an idea of just how backed up the poor hound truly was. "You think you could look her in the eyes and ask her if she wants to be your bitch?"

Damien's teeth grit tightly together and his entire form seemed to vibrate with his plaintive growls. So many conflicting emotions rushed through his face that she had a hard time imagining just how he was going to respond. Desperation, embarrassment, fear, desire. It all had a place in his show of lust.

"Yes!" He finally barked, nearly warbling for her. "I want to mate with her! I want her to want me to mate with her! I...I w-want to mate with you, Joan!"

This time, his tone was enough to make her slow in her actions. For the briefest of moments, just like she had seen on the street, she saw that alpha male peeking through. She didn't realize she had gone still until she heard his whimper. She had almost been expecting him to try to take control of the situation. It seemed that wasn't going to be the case.

"Alright, big boy...you can fuck me...but you have to do something for me first."

Her salacious grin made his bushy tail tuck upwards partially, nearly shrouding his privates from view. He would quickly find he was trying to hide the wrong part of his body, and he grunted when her weight pressed down on his chest.

Joan was doing her best to be ginger in her movements, moving over the top of him and facing away from him. By the way he tensed up, he knew what she had in store for him. It wasn't hard for him to guess, especially when she lifted her tail, her dark spade right in front of his eyes.

She wiggled her hips slowly, tantalizing him with the view of her black sex, so much more apparent now that the fur around it was white. By how his cock twitched, she gathered he liked the view.

"You're going to put that mouth of yours to work," she purred, beginning to move her hips slowly. She wanted to give him an opportunity to prepare himself for the inevitable. Once she started, there would be no stopping her until she got the satisfaction she so craved. "This is something you'll need to learn if you want to win over Denise."

His paws had lifted, one of them resting on the small over her back. She thought he was going to push her off, and at one point she felt a hint of pressure. It reminded her that he was much stronger than her, that if he wanted to, he could easily have her in the same position he was in. That resolve faltered when she leaned down and slowly ran her tongue across the tip of his pointed cock.

The taste was sharp, spicy enough that it made her mouth start to water. The only other fire type she had ever been with was a houndoom, and his dark typing had overpowered the fire half. She found herself wanting more of it, and she licked again, even slower this time. Some of that watery pre splattered on her tongue, filling her mouth with the pure taste of arcanine.

When his warm, wet nose bumped against her spade, she couldn't hold herself back. She sat hard on his face, allowing her legs to rest on either side of his head. He jolted from the furry prison he found himself in, and she spared him little more than an amused snicker and a slow rock of her hips.

Outside of a few licks to get her ready, Joan had never convinced a male to go down on her. None would ever consider letting her do this to them, especially if they expected to breed her afterward. That elusive male to use their tongue on her had always avoided her, but Damien...he was malleable, susceptible to whatever she wanted to teach him.

"It's not going to bite. And, mmmph, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon." One of her paws pressed to the base of his shaft, toying with that swelling knot still trapped in the thick skin of his sheath. Her efforts weren't in vain, not when his warm nose began to twitch and sniff, his loud snorting signaling just how deeply he was breathing her arousal. "Come on...stop making me wait," she growled, "just lick meeeee!"

Her muzzled tilted upwards, unable to hold back the rapturous groan that burst from her lips. That tongue was HOT. Hotter than anything she could ever imagine. It was tentative, even though the size of it ensured he was able to lick from the very bottom to the top in one swipe. That one lick was quickly followed by another, the arcanine's nose slowly grinding against the sensitive skin between her tail hole and spade.

Joan nearly lost her balance. She hadn't been expecting him to take to this so quickly, but it would seem she had woken some part of his instincts long dormant. His tongue was starting to lick faster, putting more pressure against the front of her delicate spade. Each pass layered it in saliva which would then be cleared away by his consequent pass. She could feel it leaking slowly down her entrance, lathering her in slick wetness.

She was definitely going to need as much of that lube as possible. The arcanine's cock was undeniably intimidating. It made her heart pound just looking at it, and so far she hadn't done much more than tentative licks along the surface of it. Each time she touched it, she would feel Damien start, almost like an electrical charge was passing through him. It amused her to no end seeing how sensitive she was, and she also found something out rather quickly.

The more she touched and toyed with him, the faster and deeper he would lick her.

The absol's fears that he might not end up liking this were thankfully shattered. The tip of his tongue had caught in the entrance to her spade, inquisitively probing deeper. She groaned happily for him, her tail flagging as high as it possibly could. Every so often she would steal a glance back at him, trying to see the arcanine that was hidden under her rear end.

"You're...nnngh, a fast learner..." She breathed slowly. The last of the water coating her fur had evaporated already, the intense aura of heat he exerted more than enough to effectively dry her. Soon, it felt like it was all being directed into one place, his hot breath billowing across her silky spade. "Don't, don't stop..."

It was getting harder for her to focus, especially when the fire type's tongue managed to penetrate her. It was accompanied by a rumble of thunder deep in his chest, making him sound more akin to a diesel engine than a dog. Her hips bucked against her will, driven by her want and need.

Her neglect towards his shaft didn't last long. Reminded of how difficult it was going to be to fit him, she decided to forgo the slow tease she had been employing. Pressing her tongue to the bulging base of his cock, she lapped and licked rapidly around it. She drank in his musk, his taste, and what was inherently Damien.

To her delight, the bulging sheath finally pulled back, giving way to his swelling knot. She immediately assaulted it with her tongue, lapping all over the sensitive orb and making Damien moan for her. His musk was heady, making her feel almost lightheaded now that she was finally getting it directly from the source.

Joan almost felt like she could be here all night, drooling on his hard bone and savoring that tongue. It was lapping along her inner walls now, his nose feeling like it was trying to force itself in her with how desperate he was to get deeper. Any of her feminine juices were immediately caught by the greedy hound, pulled into his dripping maw and savored with a deep growl.

Damien's grasp on her lower back no longer sought to push her off. It had become possessive, his claws digging into her hide and making sure she wouldn't slip away from him. Joan loved that sense of dominion he was beginning to create, making her feel as if she no longer had a say in the matter. That this was initially her idea and demand didn't matter to the arcanine, he was making it completely his own.

She was certain that was the thing that set her off. That growl, that rumble that made him seem like the arcanine ideal she had been trying to make him fit. It wasn't hard for her to imagine that stud, that alpha male that would take her and breed her, make her his own. It was a sublime thought, one that distracted her so much that she didn't realize her climax was sneaking up on her.

The sound of her howl filled the park, echoing off of the trees and casting an unnatural still over the grounds. The crickets no longer hummed, startled away from the two lovers as one of them received the greatest pleasure they had ever felt.

Her body shook as the pleasure of release rolled through her body, nearly robbing her of her balance. If his paw hadn't been securely wrapped around her lower back, she would have fallen to the wayside. At this point, she wouldn't have been too upset about that.

"Nnnngh, f-fuck...oh Arceus..." She breathed, cursing and trying to regain the composure he had so completely robbed her of. Her long, black tongue hung far from her mouth, shamelessly allowing her drool to roll off of it. Planned or not, it landed perfectly on his prick, slowly sliding down his shaft and adding that final layer of lube they would need. "Damien...you're...amazing."

That tongue hadn't stopped moving. It gyrated in her, rocking her walls and cleaning the remnants of her climax. She hadn't even realized she had coated his muzzle and mouth with it before he lapped it up greedily. Her shoulders drooped and she sighed, not wanting to let this end, wanting to see just how long he would keep doing this for her.

The only thing that convinced her to pull away was the thought she might be able to convince him to do this again in the future. Well, that and the massive red rocket right in front of her.

"A-Alright, Damien...you, nnngh, can stop now." She stated firmly. Trying to pull away, however, proved to be rather difficult. The warning growl that he released and the pinpricks of his claws in her coat made her gasp. It was accompanied by another swipe of his tongue, the canine practically drunk on the female pheromones he had been forced to inhale this entire time. "C-Come on..."

She whined, her hypersensitive vaginal walls being forced to endure his coarse tongue longer than she desired. It wasn't uncomfortable for her, rather, she didn't think she could take it for much longer. Her breath came out in a billowing cloud, her body overheated to the point a layer of sweat coated her furry flanks.

Her yearning cries for more mixed in with her pitiful groans when his tongue pushed as far as it could go. She danced on the end of his tongue, practically a puppet for him to control as he saw fit. To her relief, he seemed satisfied with pushing the limits of what he could reach. It was only then that she felt the slippery muscle beginning to slowly, mind-numbingly so, pull out of her.

That paw had eased up on her, and she heard a long, pleased sigh from her partner as soon as his tongue came free. Accompanied by a lewd pop and the full release, Damien wore a goofy grin that seemed plastered on his face. Eyes half-lidded with lust, he looked to Joan and slowly licked his lips clean.

"Can we...do that again? You tasted...s-so good."

Joan took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She found herself giggling, a rather girlish sound she couldn't remember making in the past. Her head was spinning, making her wonder if she was going to be able to follow through with this. If nothing else, it gave her a level of confidence that might not have been warranted.

He watched her curiously when she began to shift on him. Like before, she did her best to be careful, regardless of how hard he was making it for her. Her excitement threatened to start her off whimpering, especially when his wet cock slapped lewdly against her dark spade.

"O-Oh, oh damn, Joan. Are we...we're really going to..."

She silenced him by leaning down and licking the front of his muzzle. A slightly sweet, almost bitter taste hit her tongue, reminding her of over-ripened berries. It struck her that this must have been her own juices, and her hackles rose from the depravity of tasting herself on him.

"Don't act so surprised..." She whispered, their eyes meeting as she rolled her hips back, before bucking forward. It had the exact action she hoped for, grinding her damp spade against his shaft. His girth alone caused her entrance to spread partially, allowing the inner, pink skin to show. That damnable heat of his was driving her mad, making her feel like she was in season herself. "Get ready, big boy..."

She moved and rocked her hips faster, almost humping against his cock in her desperation to get relief for her current predicament. Her tongue hung low from her mouth, her glazed eyes staring down at him in a mixture of affection and determination. He might have taken control of her for a moment, but the way she saw it, he was still hers. Her male, one she had worked so hard to train.

He was enjoying himself, of that she had no doubt. His paws had moved to rest on her hips, doing nothing to dissuade her movements, simply meant to keep her peace of mind she wouldn't slip off. The friction between their bodies made her mouth water, leaving her mewling like a pup.

She wanted him, and when she pulled far enough ahead and felt his tip catch, she knew she was going to have him.

His mouth hung open, slack-jawed and allowing his fat tongue to fall free. Seeing what had been buried in her just moments before gave her some small peace of mind that she might, might, be able to fit a decent portion of him.

Their noses pressed together as Joan's hips rocked back, securing his tip in the center of her folds. Moments later their eyes met, and as soon as they did, Joan pressed a gentle kiss on the front of his muzzle. That soft touch was a silent signal, and she felt him stiffen immediately afterward.

Her descent was a bit rough. She wasn't used to taking anything of this girth, after all. It made her grit her teeth, no matter how hard she tried to remind herself not to squeeze around him. With three inches resting in her, her legs were already wobbly, threatening to give out if it weren't for his paws lending her support.

Damien did a terrible job of hiding his true feelings. He was already groaning for her, whispering her name ceaselessly, trying to tempt her to take more. His hips had begun to rock upwards, slow, but with so much strength behind it that she couldn't help but grunt under her breath.

"You're so...so tight..." He moaned, the canine's hot shaft throbbed in her, reminding her of that warm pre he had been leaking all over himself. She could feel it joining with the saliva the two of them had left on each other, doing an admirable job of keeping her ready for him. "So...s-soooo tight..."

Joan wanted to tease and poke his buttons. She wanted to maintain that air of control she had been working so hard to develop. It was all thrown out the window as soon as she felt two more inches slip into her. With his constant slow thrusting and the addition of his pre, there was little her body could do to resist it, tight as she may be. She steeled herself, spreading her front paws wider across his chest.

She couldn't stop to think about how much she had taken, not unless she wanted to lose her nerve now. Her puffy spade was already bulging out around him, desperately squeezing him, trying to stop him from slipping out. Her dark flesh caressed him, left him wanting more of her welcoming body.

That goofy grin never seemed to leave his face. Joan couldn't blame him for that.

She shifted and moved, pushing down and forcing her body to accept him. It left her feeling weak, made her thankful for his reassurance. His pre had started to squirt into her, each throb of his cock signaling another thin stream. Where once she had been worried about lube, he had quickly proven her fears needless.

The wet 'schlick' of her flesh on his own filled the air, mixed with the sound of the canine pokemon's lewd panting. There was no attempt to hold it back, shame thrown to the side with Joan's caution. Damien was too naive to care, and she wanted this badly enough that she didn't care who saw them.

With paws scrambling for purchase on his fluffy chest, she sought the last of him. Her body felt like it was being pushed to the limit, not that Damien minded. Care for his partner had slowed his hips the closer she got to his fat knot, the ball of flesh at the base taunting her constantly. She wanted it, needed to feel it. If not to have it in her, then to at least grind her spade against it.

Their words devolved into a feral chorus of barks and whines, the two singing their pleasure for anyone that cared to listen. Lust ruled their actions, made Joan force herself to go further.

That umbreon was nothing compared to this. That Houndoom was nothing compared to this. Damien robbed her of rational thought, having gotten her so worked up with his tongue that every pleasure receptor in her brain was firing. Her eyes fluttered, before shooting wide open when she felt it.

The knot was bumping against her wet spade, incessantly grinding, trying to find purchase in her. Joan tried to pull away from it, suddenly fearful of it. It felt so much larger with fourteen inches of arcanine buried in her, nearly enough that she swore she saw a slight bulge in her stomach. She was panting endlessly now, unable to hold herself back. There was no stopping her, their wet sexes burning with heat and desire.

Joan spared Damien a lick to the nose, a glance before she began to stand upon him. His response was to growl and pull her back down just as quickly as she moved up. It made her yip when he accompanied it with a solid thrust of his hips, trying to fit that stubborn knot in her. She could feel her pussy lips starting to give way, but they ultimately held firm against the canine's assault.

She chastised him with a growl, baring her fangs at him and staring him down until his ears had folded back. In the throes of mating, she didn't blame him for losing control and forgetting who was in charge. She wasn't going to give him that courtesy again.

With the arcanine partially tempered against taking the initiative, she once again began to lift her hips. The twitch of his paws on her back made her curl her lower lip back to showcase her teeth, just in case. While this position was satisfying for her, it didn't warrant her the opportunity to slide too much out of her. With the tip buried deep in her at the apex of her rise, she was already starting to push back down, firmly squeezing him just above the knot.

Joan repeated this motion, picking up speed the more she became used to it. His length and girth would always be difficult to take, she was sure of that. Determination was her friend, lending her the thick-headedness that had always served her well on the streets. It was simple, she wanted his knot, and she was going to take it whether her body thought she could or not.

Her furry ass smacked against his groin as she became faster in her motions, starting to find a pace that suited them well. It left her planting her front paws on either side of his head, their muzzles nearly touching with how close they were. It was so much more intimate than doing it on all fours. Looking into the eyes of her lover let her see just how much he was enjoying it.

Damien seemed to have died and gone to heaven, even though the inexperienced dog had to have been reaching his limits. The grip hadn't loosened on her, had tightened even, a silent grasp to remind her he was there to support her. She found herself beginning to cry out louder, calling his name with a feral intensity that was almost comparable to her brothers in the forest.

He returned her call, howling for her, his shaft twitching at a quicker pace in her. They were both about to burst, to release the tension that had been building between them all night. Joan, however, wouldn't let it end just yet.

Her fangs bared when their eyes met, her lower lip vibrating before she snarled at him. With that, she pushed down as hard as she could, feeling intense pressure against the front of her spade. Damien's paws came down with his full strength on her hips, pulling her down until they both felt it slip in.

Joan lost it.

She howled at the top of her lungs, climax tearing through her body so powerfully that her mind went blank. It had already started to swell in her before she realized Damien was howling along with her, joining her in a chorus to signify just how glorious their lovemaking was. With Damien's knot tying her to him, she felt the first burst of almost painfully hot seed gushing into it.

Painting her walls with white, his large balls had pulled taut to his groin, twitching each time he filled her with another copious load. That she had collapsed on his chest didn't hit her until she felt a warm, wet tongue passing adoringly over her forehead, bathing her in affection she was all too happy to bask in.

She had done it, she realized. Her tail wagged at the thought, a grin similar to Damien's own coming over her muzzle when she looked down at their conjoined sexes. Her dark spade was bulging out noticeably, the root of his cock showing, past which the thickness of his knot was barely visible.

His paws had begun to drift higher, stroking along her back, never ceasing in their movements. Even after his climax, Damien didn't seem as exhausted as she was. His affection fueled him, and he playfully nipped at one of her pointed ears.

"Joan..."

She turned one eye up to him, her tail beginning to wag a little faster. She couldn't find the words, nor would they come. All she wanted to do was have him hold her. There was no better bed she could imagine than resting on the arcanine's chest.

"Thank you."

The simple phrase speaking untold volumes. After saying this, he went back to gently licking her head and allowing the two of them to enjoy the afterglow.

The sun had already begun to peek above the Rusturf Mountain range, allowing cascading light to shine upon the city. Joan hadn't realized just how late it was getting, and after their foray in the park, she had begun to feel the exhaustion sinking into her limbs. She knew her companion was feeling the same way.

Damien woke with his head partially lowered, sluggish in his pace, but wearing a big smile. He hadn't said too much after they had cleaned off a second time in the fountain, allowing Joan to wash his opalescent seed from her body.

She had watched the water carry it away towards the filter, a burning heat remaining in her abdomen. It left her certain that she would be carrying at least a part of him around for a while. If she was being honest, she didn't consider that a bad thing.

The upper-class neighborhood had come alive since she last saw it. Some yards contained pokemon going about their early morning routines, a few glances were thrown their way before they recognized Damien. A few called out to him in greeting, giving Joan rather friendly waves.

It made her feel rather prideful. She was certain if she still harbored the filth of the city in her fur, they wouldn't have been so forthcoming. For once, she wore her white fur as a badge of honor.

"I had a lot of fun, Joan." Damien sighed, contentment echoing from him. He led her down the back alley, allowing her to slip through the automated dog door behind him. "I never thought I'd get the chance to...to..."

Joan had to stop herself before she ran directly into Damien's fuzzy rear. The canine had stopped so abruptly that she hadn't been expecting it, and she was about to question him until she heard a voice call out to him.

"Damien? There you are! You scared me half to death!"

It was feminine, airy and soft. Damien's tail had begun to wag in front of her, leading her to step to the side to avoid it. The gasp that accompanied her movement caught her attention, leading her to freeze next to the arcanine.

Standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the back deck was a human woman. It had been a few months since her picture was taken for the newspaper, but Joan could still recognize her. By the way she spoke to Damien, and the way he seemed to have shifted the entirety of his focus to her, Joan surmised this was Denise.

She wore a white bathrobe, tied tightly around her waist with a pair of sandals. In one hand she carried a cup of coffee, and in the other was a rather large plastic cup, filled to the brim with pokemon chow. Joan had always been curious about human fashion and aesthetics, and this one was no different. Her hair was curious, blond near the base with white-tips in a short, shaggy style. It hung halfway in her face, covering her left eye partially.

Joan supposed fashion was tantamount to pride for humans. The white in her hair made Joan assume she knew why Damien had called her pretty.

"D-Denise, I, uh..." he looked between the two women, at a loss for words, "this is my friend, Joan."

Having been brought into the conversation, Joan sighed and stepped forward slowly, being mindful not to do anything to startle the human. From the way Damien had spoken of her, she shouldn't have had anything to fear. To her pleasant surprise, she didn't exactly flinch away from her, rather she was growing giddy.

"Oh, this is your friend? Damien, you know I told you I wanted to meet any of your friends!" She set her coffee gently on the railing of the deck and began to approach them. "If I had known you were having a guest over, I would have brought another bowl out. I bet you're hungry, fire fluff. Galavanting around the city with your lady friend all night..." she winked at him, "I bet you need a nice, long nap."

Damien's hackles raised when she pointed this out, followed by his ears shooting straight up. If he was trying to deny her subtle accusations of just what they had done, he wasn't doing a good job of it. He threw a quick, desperate glance at the absol next to him, leading her to shrug in uncertainty.

"Damien talks about you a lot," Joan said. She wasn't trying to throw the dog under the bus. By the way he reacted to this, noticeably shrinking down, she gathered she might have said the wrong thing. "You and, uh, Tony. He wanted me to come to meet you, was all."

"Are you the one that knocked over my trash can?" The question was pointed, yet playful, bordering on nonsensical. "I was wondering why it was tipped over. You can always come through the back gate, you know. We never keep it locked."

Denise was close enough that Joan could catch her scent. It was, surprisingly, reminiscent of Damien's own, carrying his spicy scent. If anything, it told her just how much time in close proximity the two of them must have spent together. It didn't do well to help her mood when she realized part of her was jealous of this.

"Tony doesn't...know I was out, does he?" Damien found the courage to ask this, his flank brushing against Joan's. It was a silent comfort for him, one that reminded Joan of how she had sought him out back when they faced the dog catcher. "If he doesn't, can you...not tell him?"

Joan found herself waiting with bated breath for what she would say. It wasn't normal for her to feel like she cared about a human's choices or decisions. This was different. She had already decided she wanted to meet with Damien again, as rocky as this first impression was, Denise didn't seem put off by her.

The relief was instant and both pokemon released their held breaths when she shook her head.

"He doesn't. You know him," she waved a hand dismissively towards the house, "doesn't want to come out and see you at all." Joan noticed her shift, one arm subtly wrapping around her opposite shoulder. "The only reason I knew was because I...well, you know I have trouble sleeping without my fire floof to cuddle with."

Joan turned and smirked at him knowingly. It was little more than a sidelong glance, albeit one that said exactly what she was thinking. 'Fire floof' she would tuck away for later, it sounded like good material to tease him with.

The relief that rushed through him was palpable, and it immediately made Joan feel better.

"Thanks, Denise...I'm sorry I m-missed you, though." His tail had started to wag faster, rhythmically swaying back and forth. "I...think I'm going to go to bed now." He glanced at the cup with food and nibbled on his lip, his impressive teeth put on display for just a moment. "I'm...not too hungry. I still have a full bowl. You can give it to Joan! She probably wants it."

The human raised an eyebrow and moved down on one knee in front of them, allowing them to look at her on their own level. "Well, as long as she doesn't mind a few chopped up rawst berries in it. Sometimes Damien eats too fast and he gets an upset tummy," the look of embarrassment on the arcanine's face just made her chuckle, "you know it's true, and I don't want to hear you grumbling all afternoon. We still need to go for our walk later! Joan, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other a lot in the future."

After saying that and leaving the cup at her paws, Denise stood and began to head back for the house. Damien had worked himself out of his stupor, his cheeks puffed up partially.

"I-I don't eat too fast." He stammered. One of his paws timidly traced along the grass, his thick claw digging partially into the soil and creating small rivulets. "She just knows I like them. Rawst berries are my favorite."

Joan had been eyeing the food since Denise set it down. After the night she had combined with her natural predisposition towards finding food wherever she could, this bounty was too good to pass up. She gently cuffed the side of the cup, allowing it to tip over and spill its contents into the grass.

Amongst the brown pellets, she could see the bits of blue and white, quite a few berries having been added to the meal. It made it slightly more colorful, but the real appeal came from the aromatic smell of ripe fruit. Before she could stop herself, she had stepped forward and begun to hungrily dig in.

Through mouthfuls, she struggled not to seem too greedy. Proving Damien right about her current state of hunger earlier in the night was irrelevant as far as she was concerned, but it still didn't seem proper.

"I can't remember the last time I had berries," Joan said, despite a full mouth, a few bits falling free from her slavering jaws. When she realized it had happened, she swallowed hard, trying to clear her mouth.

"Rawst berries?"

"Any kind of berries." It was surprising to find she was quite disappointed when she had demolished the pile of food. With nothing but crumbs left, she sat back on her haunches, running her lip slowly over her lips. "I don't go out into the woods, ever. Too worried some human might get lucky."

Damien shifted unsteadily, his body language tense no matter how he tried to seem inconspicuous. He had been like this since she began eating, his tail drooping and his ears flattening. One of his rear legs had begun to twitch unsteadily, like a human that couldn't control a restless leg.

"You know...if you wanted to, you could probably," he swallowed and sighed, "I mean...I would like it if you...maybe...wanted to stay?"

The silence that followed told him all he needed to know about her true feelings. She sighed, holding her head a little higher and getting back to all fours. As much as she didn't want to leave, she knew she couldn't stay. A human home wasn't what she wanted in life, no matter how much Damien might have wanted it to be.

His mighty head bowed when she brushed her forehead against the underside of his chin, the disaster pokemon being mindful not to catch him with her blade. It wasn't meant to be intimate, although the way she found herself almost purring for him made it seem that way. At least, in her eyes it did.

"Don't act like I'm going to leave you all alone." The look of shock he gave her when her paw brushed against his fat, fuzzy sheath made her grin. She had noticed it as soon as Denise had turned and began to walk away, but the arcanine's tip had started to poke out of his sheath. "Besides, I don't want to get in the way of you and your human friend...you don't want me getting jealous, do you? Gosh, after the performance in the park, I can't believe you can even get this back up...damn horn dog."

As far as goodbyes went, it was one of her better ones. Damien had started to wag his tail again, the fire of hope burning in his eyes. Behind it stood pride, excitement, a willingness to show her just what he wanted to do for her. It was all the great traits of that alpha he would one day blossom into.

Joan's traitorous paws fought to steal her autonomy from her. It took everything in her to begin heading for the back door until she heard Damien suddenly call out.

He rushed past her, disappearing into the interior of the dog house and returning moments later, the rucksack hanging from his jaws. Joan blinked before the realization hit her that she had forgotten about them entirely. It seemed bittersweet, especially when he set it down gently in front of her and beamed at her, showcasing bright, white teeth.

"You almost left without these! I'm sure your friends wouldn't want to miss out." His grin faded before he leaned down, resting his paw gently on the bag. It was a delicate touch, one that caressed his treasure with the utmost of care. "I know you'll get more use out of this than I will."

It felt wrong to take them, just like it had felt wrong when she thought to steal from his memento shelf. From the sounds of things, his trainer would be none too happy were he to give this away. This concern must have been obvious, as he leaned down and nudged it closer to her with his muzzle.

"Please, take them. I...don't want to think about you having to steal anything." His voice grew higher-pitched, almost cracking for fear she might challenge him on this. "I know you don't want to live here, but...I...don't want you to get in trouble. I like you, Joan..."

She took the few steps between them quickly, pressing her tongue along the side of his muzzle in a feral kiss that left him shivering. She cursed him, hated him for the effect he had on her, making her want to live this life of mundane servitude to a human. Joan knew she had to leave, lest she loses whatever nerve she had left.

"I won't. As long as...I get to keep seeing you...fire floof."

He nodded quickly, exhaustion taking the place of worry before he yawned and fidgeted. That he didn't want to leave her side meant she would have to be the one to take the first step, and she finally forced herself to. With Damien watching, she grabbed the rucksack in her muzzle and trotted over to the back gate. Their eyes locked one last time, Joan inhaling deeply around coarse material in her mouth.

The bag smelled primarily of wet earth, damp loam that was rustically pleasant to her senses. Below it was a different scent, one she couldn't exactly pinpoint. It seemed to be a conglomeration of many different sources, all combining to create one that confused her nose.

After taking one last look at Damien, her new friend and lover, Joan slipped out through the dog door on the back fence. With the sun beating down on her, the absol celebrated her pyrrhic victory by breaking out into a fast trot down the alleyway.

The night may have ended, but the day was going to be a busy one. Her first goal was to get home, sort out her haul...and try to forget the arcanine that still hung heavy in her thoughts. At least, until she came to visit him again. With Denise's admission that the back gate would be unlocked for her, she knew she would be seeing him again soon.

Very, very soon.