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Chapter 6

In the dark, a lantern swayed from side to side. Someone was patrolling the deck of the _Twilight Promise--_a marine, I was sure. Nobody in the crow's nest then, most likely. A large, powerful hand rested itself on my thigh and squeezed gently. I turned to look at Itsuo, who gave me that small, knowing smile, before putting his hand back on his bowstring and the arrow nocked there. He drew back, aimed at the wolf-featured figure illuminated by the lantern, and waited for the captain's signal.

For a few seconds, I couldn't take my eyes off Itsuo. He wouldn't forgive me for what I was about to do. How could he? It was awful. I was betraying him. I was betraying Mom. I was betraying all of them. But what choice did I have? Six months ago, my mother had made it abundantly clear she was giving me no other option. I hated it, hated all of this, but I wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of saving my children.

In the near-impenetrable darkness of the starless ocean midnight, I saw only the faintest shadows of three crewmates, high up on the mainmast, ropes in hand, ready to swing across to board the other ship. Down in the gunwale, the ballistae were armed with massive grappling bolts and pointed at the Promise, ready to blast holes in it, link the ship to ours so she couldn't flee, and generally cause chaos.

I turned back to our quarry, swallowed down the solid lump in my throat, and waited for the blood to flow.

* * *

August melted into a breezy wet September, and four weeks after my disturbing conversation with Geist, I turned in after work and collapsed into the chair in front of Nola's and my writing desk. She sat cross-legged on the bed, a babe on each breast, looking at me reproachfully. She still hadn't forgiven me for not keeping my promise, even after I explained what Geist had told me. She looked tired and hurt and lonely, and at least two of those things were my fault. I looked down at the twins instead of meeting that accusatory stare. They'd grown significantly already, their legs and arms slowly swelling with baby fat, their coats coming in thicker and glossier than their parents. Our oil glands had been permanently wrecked by the fumes of the Maw, but our children didn't have that problem.

"When they're in bed," I mumbled, "can we--?"

"No," Nola said irritably. "I'm not in the mood." She wasn't going to just fuck me because I asked, not when I'd turned her down like I had. We would have sex on her terms or not at all. I tried not to see it as petty, even though maybe it was a little. I'd certainly earned some pettiness against me, I supposed.

I did my best not to show my own hurt. "Okay."

She sighed. "We can cuddle though, if that's enough for you."

I blinked, swallowed, and nodded. "Whatever you want to give me, that's enough for me. I'm s--"

"If you say 'I'm sorry' one more time," Nola grumbled, "I will kick your ass, breastfeeding or no."

I gave her a weary smile. She could do it, too. She'd always been the better fighter and she knew it. Honestly, I don't even think she'd needed me to take Val off her hands before kicking Palms's ass--she probably had only done it as a courtesy to our son. Nothing worse than jouncing around after a big meal. "Fair," I said.

"Come sit with me," she commanded, and I obeyed. I plopped down next to her and rested my head on her shoulder, stroking Val's downy tuft of tawny headfur. His big head bobbed awkwardly with each suckle, little paws curling into and out of fists, his empty sockets wrapped in a small red silk band that he would probably wear for the rest of his life. I felt the familiar thrill of terror when I looked at him, fear of what he'd face that his twin would not, fear of whether he'd survive infancy at all. There was no healer on board, so no diagnosis as to the extent of his deformities. Maybe they ended with his eyes and tail. That was all we could hope.

"I love you," I murmured. Whether to little Valerian or my sister didn't really matter--it applied equally to both--but just so there was no confusion, I added, "all of you. I'm sorry I keep disappointing you."

Nollie sighed and licked my ear. "I love you too, stupid. I just... I just want to know I'm not some cum dump for you to knock up when you feel like it."

I raised my head and swatted her arm. "Hey!"

Her ear switched bashfully, but she didn't look away. "I know, I know. But it's hard not to feel that way. My emotions have been a mess since the pregnancy, I'm still trying to... balance out? I guess? But when you broke your promise--"

"Nollie, please," I begged. "I told you what she said! How could I be in the mood for anything after--"

"Okay, okay!" Nola snapped, then sighed and kissed my nose. "I know. I just... I miss you."

"I'm here," I said, kissing her gently. "I am. I promise."

"I'm scared, Leon," she whispered. "We're surrounded by murderers, our own mother among them. I don't feel safe here. The twins aren't safe here. You're not safe here."

I nodded miserably. She was right. And my thoughts drifted inevitably to Rika and our kits, making me feel both anxious and guilty. She was out there somewhere, maybe still fighting to free the slaves at the Pit, maybe on the run with our babies in tow, maybe dead.

My stomach turned at the thought. Rika had pushed me and Nola to go with our mother, thinking we'd be safe with her. But we weren't. Geist had proven that when she tried to put a bullet in my beloved sister's belly. I understood why, now, but that didn't mean I forgave her. And we were definitely in danger.

"We have to leave," I said.

Nola nodded. "She's crazy. If she did that once, who's to say she won't do it again?"

"I don't think she will, but that doesn't mean we're safe. Tomorrow, I'm going to tell her to drop us off at the Isle of Dreams."

Nola glanced uncertainly at me as Kiba gurgled happily, spilling out breastmilk from between her tiny lips and making a mess. Nola dabbed it with her shirt without paying much attention. "You think she'll really just let us go? I mean, we've docked roughly once a month since we came on board and she's refused to let us off every time. Now I wonder if she'll let us off even if we demand it. Besides, does she even know where to find the Isle of Dreams?"

"She knows," I said certainly. "And she'll take us there. I'll make her see reason."

Nola glanced dubiously at me but didn't argue. The twins had fallen asleep in her arms; she handed Val to me and gently placed Kiba in the low, flat crate lined with soft linen we used as a makeshift crib, then took Val and rested him next to his twin. They curled up against each other, mewling and squeaking softly. They were so beautiful I had to fight back tears.

Nola pulled me down to the bed and wrapped herself around me, kissing my cheek and neck fur. I put my flesh-and-blood arm around her waist and held her close, my paw straying slightly south toward her rump. She didn't stop me, so I squeezed it firmly, eliciting a gasp from her. She wrapped her legs around mine and pressed her crotch against my thigh.

"Sis," I whispered into her ear, giving it a small nip, "may I fuck you?"

She growled. "You make it hard to stay mad at you." She looked up at me and pressed her tongue into my mouth. I accepted it gratefully, letting her explore to her heart's content. My metal paw ran through the soft fur of her cheeks as she kissed me, and her gyrations increased, her wetness soaking the fabric of her pants and into my own. "Get these fucking clothes off and fill me up."

"Yes, ma'am," I murmured, and proceeded to doff my clothing with a speed which I hadn't thought myself capable of. Within moments, my sister had me on my back and my cock buried inside her. I gasped from the sensation of her hot, dripping pussy enveloping me for the first time in months. By Seina, I'd missed this feeling. I pushed my hips up to meet the sway of hers, her breath quickening, herpaws running throughthe fur of her thick tummy and up to her ample breasts, playing with her nipples.

I gripped her waist and began pushing her down on my dick. I needed my cum in her so bad I could taste it, but I knew what it could mean, too. "Nollie," I groaned. "I'm close--where do you want it?"

"Inside," she whimpered. "Fill me up, Leon!"

I needed no further provocation. With another three frantic, shaking thrusts, I slammed her down on my cock and held her there as I filled her insides with my seed. Part of me prayed she didn't get pregnant again--how would we tend to three kittens? Or four? More? But it felt so right, so beautiful, so overwhelmingly euphoric that the rest of my brain shut that small section away and basked in the torrent of sensation rippling outward from my erection through the rest of my body.

As I panted, rubbing affectionately at my twin's fur, she placed her paws on my face. "I'm not there yet. What are you gonna do about this?"

"Uh," I grunted helpfully.

Nola sighed exasperatedly and gyrated her hips a few times, sending electric shocks through my hypersensitive dick, making me gasp and whimper. I tried to press her down to stop her movements, but she was relentless. I found myself curling up and forward in overwhelming, pleasurable agony. I wanted her to stop. I wanted her to go on forever.

Needless to say, I remained rock-solid inside her, in the soft, warm folds where she'd made our beautiful children, and her gyrations became more insistent. She grunted, emphasizing each word with a thrust of her pelvis driving me deeper into her wet love tunnel: "I, have, two, more, holes."

I whimpered and wrapped my arms around her as her thrusts slowly became less overwhelming and more soft, wet pleasure. "I do love your tailhole," I moaned.

"Show me how much you love it."

I grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides, and lifted her bodily off my cock. She grumbled in protest, until I sat her back down slightly forward. My cum-slicked cock slid into her anus with almost no effort at all, the familiar hot tightness sending new thrills of sensation through my groin. I buried my face in the soft fur of her bosom and inhaled her sweet scent. How could we look so similar and smell so different? I never smelled this good. It was patently unfair.

She moaned as I penetrated her, and uttered a tremulous wail when she sat down all the way on my length. I glanced nervously at the twins, but neither of them had so much as stirred. I guess they were used to the noises Mom and Dad made at this point. I sighed and wrapped my arms back around my sister, this time at her waist, and licked the thin, bristly fur of her neck as she bounced on my dick, flinching with equal parts pain and pleasure each time she bottomed out. "Fffuck," she snarled, grabbing me by my ears and using her grip as leverage to thrust down harder. I flinched in pain with each drop, but I didn't complain. She'd earned the right to hurt me a little--after all, I'd hurt her, too. Letting her take out some of that aggression was the least I could do. Also, I had to admit, I didn't exactly hate it.

I felt her rectum tighten around my shaft as she quivered, her thrusts becoming less forceful and more erratic as her orgasm began to build. "Harder," I whispered. "Fuck me harder. Cum all over my stomach. Soak me. Please."

She growled and renewed her thrusts, battling her body's urge to stay still and ride out the euphoria, forcing herself to build it bigger and bigger with each aggressive thrust, until she couldn't take it anymore. She buried her face in my neck, teeth clamping down and arms draped loosely about my shoulders, as I felt hot fluids splash against my stomach and pour down my fur into my crotch. It dribbled past my balls and onto the sheets, soaking them wherever my butt didn't create a dam.

Not willing to let her off that easy, I gripped her waist and bounced her on my cock. She immediately noodled on me, drooping limply off my shoulders as she uttered one quivering whimper after another, splashing me with another long, hot squirt of cum. I didn't stop, just kept slamming her down, as I felt my balls tighten again. So close now.

I pushed her down again, and again, hard, clamping the thick flesh of her thighs hard enough to bruise, and she squirted once more as the pain drove her orgasm into another cresting wave, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. I shivered and chomped my teeth down onto her shoulder, biting harder than she did, hard enough to break the skin. She apparently had one more big gush in her, which she sprayed all over my now-soaked tummy, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went completely limp. Her rectum clenched, and it was enough to finish me off. My dick pulsed as it shot six hot, thick ropes of jizz into my twin's tailhole.

As my ecstasy slowly abated, I gently eased my teeth out of my sister's shoulder and sheepishly surveyed the damage. Our incisors weren't as pronounced as our feral cousins, but Lepids could leave a nasty wound when they wanted to. Thankfully, I hadn't bitten too deep. I gave Nola a gentle shake.

"Hey, you still with me?"

Nola mumbled something unintelligible and flopped her head against my shoulder. I took that as a "no."

I gently laid her down in our bed, admiring her rumpled fur and wildly splayed hair. When our hair first started to come in, I'd been slightly disappointed to discover it was a bland nut brown, just like our mother. I'd kind of been hoping for something exotic: red, blonde, or even black maybe. No luck. But right now, her matted, sweat-drenched hair sprawled in all directions like a corona. She looked gorgeous.

I sighed, stroking her cheek. "Of course you pass out before I can complete the trifecta." She had a talented tongue, too. Ah, well.

Nola turned her head in her sleep and wrapped her lips around my finger, sucking gently. I felt my flagging erection begin to recover. She wouldn't mind, would she...?

Before I could think too hard about it, I crawled up and knelt next to her face, her eyes still closed, a little droplet of drool collecting at the bottom of her maw. I paused, remembering that I'd just pulled my dick from her ass, but it didn't stop me long. She'd cleaned me off of her own volition before--usually eagerly. I touched the tip of my cock to her muzzle, and Nola's unconscious mouth immediately wrapped itself around the head and suckled. Her tongue even slid forward and pressed against the underside of my glans, as if by reflex.

I shuddered and pushed another inch into her mouth, and she whimpered in her sleep, sucking harder. I slowly pushed my hips back and forth, sliding in and out of her warm, wet, inviting snout. I would never get over how amazing she felt. Even after two orgasms, I was already building again. I pushed the rest of my dick into her mouth and felt my tip press against the back of her throat. Nola gagged, eyes fluttering open.

I froze. Would she be angry? But she gave me a confused glance, then an annoyed one, then took over by bobbing her head up and down my length. She pulled off momentarily, stroking me vigorously, to give me a gaze equal parts arousal and irritation. "Couldn't even wake me up first?"

"You were--uhnn--pretty out of it," I moaned. "But I w--mmmh--wanted the trifecta."

"Fucking your sister while she's unconscious," she growled, stroking me harder. "You're a fucking creep." With that, she shoved my dick back between her lips, slurping loudly, tonguing vigorously along the underside.

"S-sorry," I groaned. She gave me a sardonic look that told me in no uncertain terms that she didn't believe me, but she kept going with vigor. Her paw slid down her naked body and rubbed her clit as she worked.

Seeing her so horny after waking up with my rod in her maw put me over the edge. "C-cumming," I panted, and Nola gave me one last trio of vigorous, tongue-laden pumps of her mouth, then rested my glans against her tongue and stroked the base of my cock. I sprayed a burst of seed across her tongue and onto the back of her throat, making her gag loudly before swallowing, snorting heavily out her nose as her tongue lapped greedily against the head to milk out as much of me as she could. I spurted again, and again, and finally one last feeble splatter against her tongue. She held it in her mouth as she pulled off me, crooking a finger at me with lustful eyes. I dipped down eagerly, opening my maw to hers, and let her share my load with me. I didn't enjoy my own flavor as much as other Anthros', but I still loved indulging Nola's little perversions.

We snuggled up in the bed, my head resting on her bosom. "I love you," I murmured, gently kissing the nipple next to my lips. She shivered. "I'm sorry I wasn't seeing to your needs."

She stroked my ear, silent for several seconds before finally sighing. "I shouldn't have attacked you like that, the night you talked to Mom. Nobody would want sex after that conversation. I was just frustrated. I shouldn't have strung you along all week. Honestly, I did more harm to myself, I think. I've been itching for it this whole time and denying myself the pleasure out of petty obstinance."

I chuckled, nuzzling against my sister. "I deserved it. But I'm glad you let me tonight. I missed your pussy like crazy."

Nola snorted and swatted my ear. "Perv."

"You love it," I mumbled, feeling sleep overtake me. She'd really drained me.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I really do."

* * *

I stared incredulously at the charts splayed out on Geist's map table. Itsuo was watching my reactions more than the information Captain Geist had splayed out before us. My mother was oblivious, pointing to a long, curving line running across the great expanse of the Cheronigon Ocean and into the Kastigan Sea, from Voseg City, southward around the long, narrow band of Cornugon Isle, and up to Everflow. Her paw traced the line back and forth as she spoke.

"... huge shipping lane for the Autocracy," she was explaining. "Pretty much all their slave ships run through here. Everflow is near some serious volcanic activity and they're always looking for slave labor to work the mines running throughout the area, so there's pretty much a steady stream of slaves coming from the breeding pits in the capital. We hit three or four ships a year, usually, make an obscene amount of crowns, and they don't even bother coming after us because they barely notice the dent in their profit margins."

I gave Itsuo a look that I hoped aptly illustrated my disgust. Itsuo, as always, simply shrugged his big shoulders and gave me that apish smile, one big hand scratching his belly. I tried hard not to think of running my paws through the fur on that thick tummy while he filled my ass, instead concentrating on the task before me. Geist was talking about their next target. She was talking about stealing more slaves to sell in the Republic. I tried to tamp down my anger and turned to her. Maybe I could make her see the error of her ways by appealing to the one thing she really cared about: coin.

"What about a treasury vessel?" I asked.

Geist froze. Itsuo magically seemed to disappear, he made himself so small and unassuming. He was the smart one, apparently, because Geist slowly lifted her head up to look at me with hard eyes. "No."

I clenched my jaw to keep from yelling. "Why not? I've talked to some of the crew. Turns out the treasury vessels coming back from Everflow carry actual crowns and not people you can _sell_for crowns. You cut out the middleman! Plus, you're not trading in lives." I tried hard not to make that last part too accusatory, but I wasn't very successful.

My mother's paws clenched down on the edge of the hefty oak table. I actually heard it creak. "First of all," she said in a dangerously low tone, "I don't ever want to hear you've been talking to the crew behind my back. That's how mutinies start, and I will not fucking tolerate it."

"I--"

She cut me off. "Second of all. Treasury ships are armed to the teeth and manned with a compliment of highly-trained, exceedingly competent, and unbelievably deadly Autocracy marines. Third, even if we managed to pull it off without getting the entire crew murdered in the process, we'd be hunted. The Autocracy doesn't give two fucks if they lose a couple dozen slaves. Those are easily replaced. They get a dozen slave ships or more hit per year, and they don't go after us because it's more expensive to muster naval galleons to hunt us than it is to just replace the lost cargo. You take a fucking treasury ship and they will hunt you to the ends of Gaia to get it back. Slaves are replaceable, crowns are not." She leaned over the map table and glared at me. "We are not hitting a treasury ship. Ever."

"Oh," I said, crossing my arms and glaring daggers at her. "Sorry. I mean, I knew you were soulless enough to traffic in living, breathing Anthropa. I just didn't realize you were also a fucking coward."

"Itsuo," Geist said quietly. "Leave."

Itsuo paused, and his small, knowing smile vanished. He looked nervously between me and my mother, clearly torn. "Captain," he said quietly, "he hasn't hit a ship before, he just doesn't realize--"

Geist looked at him, and he shrank. I guess I couldn't blame him. I tried not to look at him, furious as I was, for fear he'd think I was angry at him too. I was the opposite, in fact. I appreciated beyond words that he'd tried to stand up for me. But I knew as soon as the words began leaving his mouth that it would be futile--my mother was going to eviscerate me, and nobody would stand in her way.

Itsuo slipped silently out of the captain's cabin and closed the door behind him.

Geist turned to me and strode over to me, standing close enough that I could smell her breath, slightly sweet with a strong hint of bourbon. Gods, was she ever not drunk?

"Never," she growled, "ever. Ever. Undermine me in front of the crew. Just because you're my son doesn't mean you're safe from getting fucking keelhauled yourself."

I snorted, unimpressed. "Yeah. You tried to murder us in the womb, why wouldn't you do it again when we're adults?"

Geist flinched.

I paused. Had I actually hit a nerve? Did she actually feel guilty? Did my mother actually have a soul?

"Yes," she said in a quavering voice. "I will."

I honestly could not tell if she was serious. "Do you have anything left in there, Mom?" I asked, poking one metal finger into her chest. "Is there any compassion? Any concern for anyone other than yourself? Or are you just an empty husk?"

"You have no idea what I've done for this crew," she spat bitterly. "What I've done for you. You and your ungrateful sister. What I've sacrificed for you. You think I didn't want you. And I didn't, at first. But when I finally held you two in my paws? When I felt your heartbeats next to mine? I fell in love with you two in an instant. You will never know what I lost when I sent you away."

I dropped my arms to my sides. "I want to believe you, Mom. But you sell souls for a living. You profit off the same suffering Nola and I have been through for the last fifteen fucking years. How can I believe a word you say?"

Geist turned away from me. "I... had no choice. I needed to survive, and this was the only option the gods placed in my path. I don't care about a bunch of living cargo. I care about my crew. About you and Nola. I don't care if you believe me."

"Yes, you do," I said. I wasn't sure if I believed it, but I wanted to. So, I said it with all the certainty I could muster.

Geist closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were wet. She walked to the cabinet near her desk and pulled out a bottle of some brown liquor. More bourbon, maybe. She took a long pull and wiped her snout with the back of her paw before sealing the bottle back up and turning to me. "You're a real shit, you know that?"

I shrugged. "What do you expect? I grew up in prison."

My mother really could surprise the Hells out of me. Instead of giving me an irritated glare or telling me not to give the captain lip, she tilted her head back and laughed. It was loud, obnoxious, braying, and so incredibly genuine I felt my chest ache with some unidentifiable need. "You really are my kid." She walked over and pushed the bottle toward me, but I gently rebuffed the offer with a paw. She shrugged and took another pull before resealing it and putting it back. She walked back over to me and raised one paw toward my face, but stopped herself and dropped it limply to her side before shaking her head again. "I know you're never gonna understand, but you have to trust me. We can't hit a treasury ship. It's not going to happen, so don't push it." She'd been surprising me a lot lately, but nothing shocked me more than when she looked into my eyes with a pleading expression and said, "Please."

I lost all my heat, and my shoulders slumped. "Mom," I muttered, "if you really want me to respect you, then this has to stop. Nola's and my story isn't unique. There's Anthros just like us everywhere. Every time you hit one of these slave ships, you're making more of us. More broken cubs, broken adults. It's never going to stop unless you stop it."

"Please," she repeated. Her jaw clenched, but she didn't look angry. She looked desperate. What wasn't she telling me?

There was nothing else to say. "I pray we're better parents to our kittens than you," I said coolly. "At the very least, we'll be better role models."

Geist snorted, looking away from me. "Says the Lepid fucking his sister."

"Yeah," I drawled. "So what does that say about you?"

Geist's face blanched again. I thought she'd lash out at that, but instead she folded her arms across her chest. "This conversation is over. Don't bother coming to the next planning meeting. Itsuo and I will handle it."

I wanted to be furious at her obstinance, but I just... didn't have anything left. "Fine." I slouched to the door, opened it, and paused at the threshold to turn back to her. My mother was staring at me with an empty, haunted expression. She was so far removed from the arrogant, sneering, cruel woman who'd rescued us from the Pit that I didn't even recognize her. She looked like she had more to say, more that was clawing at her throat to escape her mind, but she swallowed it down and moved to her writing desk, plopping down in her chair with her back to me.

Despite everything she'd said and done, I wanted her to love me. To love us. I wanted my mom. But she was just a body in a chair with its back turned to me. Maybe she always would be.