FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Had to work up a lot of effort for this one... not hardcore, but needless to say it is powerful ;)

I hope to make another chapter sometime but until my computer is replaced things will be slow >_<

~~~

I watched the still images on the television screen. The flat screen LCD monitor had really sappped away my soul lately, instead of going out and doing all those activities I had always done, I lazed about here at home infront of the tube.

Dad stepped into the living room and moved infront of the screen to get my full attention as he ruffled his hair in an attempt to make it appealing and not so geeky. He'd been dating for a few months now. I'd been the one to tell him to find someone, mum's death had shaken us pretty bad and I knew that he needed someone to be with so I had boldly gotten him into dating again, at first he had been skecptical but quickly dismissed all his worries and let the women talk him into a half daze.

Once or twice he had found someone appealing but something went wrong and ruined the night, this time he was confident.

"I'm going out with Martha, we're staying at one of those fancy, romantic motels that supply a dinner and breakfast in bed. If you need me, my cell will be on. Curfew... well you can't leave the house now until tomorrow after seven AM. Got all this?" he said as he finished fiddling with his hair, he gave Mina (pronounced, Mee-na, not My-na) a curious glance before returning his full attention to me again.

"Sure!" I chirped, just wanting him to go out and enjoy himself. My dad tried hard, it was always sad to see him get beaten back so many times.

"Right... well there's a roast in the oven, it'll be ready soon and you can give whatever's left to Charizard-"

"-Dad! Her name is Mina... sheesh, why can't you remember that?" I said in a mock tone, I was merely pushing his buttons.

"Uh, well give the rest to Mina after you've served yourself, okay?" he finished, he looked like he was worried and I knew he was cutting it close.

"Right, well off you go then Love guru!" I said with a wink as I got up and pushed him towards the front door.

He turned the knob and stepped outside. I waited until the car door slammed and he shot out into the street before I returned to the couch.

Mina, a female charizard, was my companion. I wasn't a trainer, though I did get challenged since Mina was rarely ever in her pokeball and seeing a human with a charizard automatically classed them as strong trainers. Sometimes I was annoyed, others relieved, she was a pokemon born for fighting after all. I had read up extensively on her kind and knew about the Charizard valley in Johto. There, charizards could battle each other, mate and even train themselves to greater heights. Many trainers had left their charizards there so they could get stronger.

And after the first three years of her being a charizard, I learned, quite slowly I'll admit, how they communicated. Now, pokemon all seem to be able to communicate, which is true, but learning just one species communication methods won't let you understand them all. charizards have three syllables, and in communication, syllables mean everything. As do tones, and all other things to do with sounds.

Over the past year, as I got better at understanding her, we realized that our bond was not merely that of a trainer and pokemon, but deeper. She, after torturing herself, had finally came out and kissed me before saying she loved me in her own tongue. My first reaction was to be shocked and immobile, but I knew deep down that after all this time and all we shared that she was more than a partner to have fun with when rock climbing, she and I shared something far more special.

I kept it all hush-hush, it was a big secret, and hard to hide but we managed it.

The buzzer on the stove buzzed obnoxiously and I sighed before getting up and wandering into the kitchen.

I could smell the overwhelming aroma of the roast, the herbs and spices mixed to make a powerful smell that obliterated your nose.

The floor boards creaked as Mina followed me in, her wings were tightly folded up and she sat down at the head of the table.

I fetched the roast out of the oven after getting my mitts on. I pushed the tray onto the sink and grabbed the carving knife dad had left out. I sliced off bits of the succulent meat and put them onto a plate along with some patatoes and pumpkin. I brought the rest of the roast over to the table and sat it in front of Mina who licked her upper jaw, her eyes set upon the meat as I shovelled some veggies around it.

I went back, got my plate and sate down next to her, as soon as I sat down we started to eat, she tore a peice of the roast ham from the bone and chewed it thoroughly as I started on my own ham.

We were quiet, or more accurately, I was quiet as she chewed noisily, it wasn't her fault so I didn't tell her otherwise.

I heard a crunching sound as she started to crush the bone too. I had just finished my meat and was starting to work on the veggies as she swallowed the crushed bone and then lifted the still hot tray above her head and let the patatoes slide down her throat.

I pushed my plate away, stuffed beyond being able to eat a single morsel more. Mina, on the otherhand, disposed of my left overs and then leaned back. She belched which was more lethal that you think and blushed.

I laughed, it wasn't everyday that a girl out belched a guy was it now? Especially when that girl was his girl and belched fire.

After washing down the food with water we went back into the living area and flicked the tube over a channel and left it there while a romance movie started.

Mina nuzzled my cheek gently and purred, a deep rumbling in her upper chest.

"You're so special," she said in her native tongue, it was possible for pokemon to learn how to speak human but it was harder than a human speaking pokemon. The use of letters instead of syllables was a whole new thing for them.

"So are you, my amazingly beautiful dragon girl." I said back. We were in that dopey love mood then. Anything was possible.

Suddenly I got up and walked into the kitchen, I quickly grabbed the bottle of red wine, ignoring the warning sticker on it that said 'Highly flammable' and returned with a glass and small jug.

Mina eyed the bottle before realizing what it was.

I poured some into the jug and handed it to her. I was legally of age so there was no problem with drinking wine especially at home. She waited as I poured myself a glass and we giggled before drinking it as we rested our heads together.

We couldn't have been paying any less attention to the movie, we immediately talked about us, and what we should do and how people would react. The first thing I was worried about was my father, how he'd react if I told him I was in love with Mina.

The conversations started to take an abrupt turn as we entered our third round of wine, suddenly Mina asked if I wanted children (hatchlings) which startled me but with the effects of the wine I wasn't as shocked as I would have been normally.

"Uh... well, I've never gave it a thought really... and since we kinda got together, I have to admit that human girls didn't really appeal to me." I said after a moments hesitation.

"Oh, so you wouldn't gape if you saw some womans clevage at the beach?" she asked playfully.

This was getting awkward.

"Well I'd look for a moment or two, but not gape. You're far more sexy than any of those models we see on the tube." I smiled at this, it was true though. I found her far more attractive than any human female which, in a way, disturbed me. Was I turning into one of those sickos that tried to get it on with pokemon? I'd seen court cases with those, the sad thing that also scared me was that the human was sentenced to two years jail on average where as the pokemon was sent to the gas chamber.

I remember crying when I saw the poor Quilava get gassed.

"Oh, so I'm sexy?" she said, her tone was getting playful to the point that it was unbearable.

I nodded.

"So what am I then? If you're sexy, what. am. I?" I asked her, raising one eyebrow.

"Far more manly and caring than any male charizard, that's for sure!" she said with a laugh.

I grinned, knowing that she thought that made me feel all warm and sticky on the inside. Heck, being around her made me feel like that.

"You're also the most sexually appealing thing I've ever seen in my life." she whispered into my ear before licking my cheek.

I went a shade of red as she snuggled up closer, her belly was against my hip and her chin rested on my right shoulder, the one further away from her.

We stayed in that position for a half hour, then Mina broke the silence. The tv had turned itself off a while ago.

"We've been together for a long time... it's about time we... you know." she started, her tone was something in between nervous and expectant. The nervous part startled me as she'd always been the strong figure in our lives.

"Uh... are you... well, sure?" I asked. I wasn't quite certain if we were ready, or if it was possible.

"Well I have needs you know, I am a pokemon after all." she said, her confidence was returning.

she lifted me up, I felt like a rag-doll as she looked into my eyes. Her's were like deep pools of water, dark ocean water. They were soft and a very deep shade of blue.

"Are you ready?" she asked, the question was half directed at me and a question to herself. I was glad I could understand her and we could actually talk things over, but I knew she'd feel neglected if I denied her, not to mention I had thought of it quite a lot lately, not that it was what made me live on, but it did cross my mind.

I nodded and she gently lay me on top of her, she tugged my top off as I slid my shorts down, they got to my ankles when she pulled my arms back up to her neck and we embraced for a moment as she propped herself up so she wouldn't damage her wings, nor accidentally crush me.

Oh... it was an experience I'll never forget, my one love right there on me, his breath on my neck and his arms wrapped around me as far as they could go... then the actual pleasure of being one complete being working together... it was so good, it was so much better than I had imagined. At first we had just layed there, then I finally got him prepared (no more information is needed here, teehee) and we joined as one.

Our perfect night, though I would have preferred that we had been up on that cliff where we had first admitted our feelings... the landscape below us and the seclusion from all these ridiculous laws the human leaders had in place.

I knew it was hard for Jack to simply get on with it. There are humans that desire only to satisfy their sick and primitive needs by using pokemon, Jack was scared that he was becoming one of those sickos, but it was love, not a sick demented dream.

The crooning, the moaning... it was a symphony that declared our true partnership, we were now a fully complete couple, we had stepped over the species barrier and risked it all to prove that we really did want each other.

Sometime during one of the breif moments of lucidity, I remember him fretting over actually fertalizing my eggs, which I found rather silly but he was still worried, it was true that humans and pokemon have only a small difference in DNA structures as I heard on that small black box called the TV. It was a mere 20% estimate between charizards and humans where as other species were in the 30-40 range. I wasn't worried, firstly I would be proud to bear his children, we'd raise them well, and there was still a good chance we'd be incompatible.

I was laying on my side, holding Jack close to me under the big blanket I had retrieved for us, his breathing was slow and steady, he was awake but quiet.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not scared about impregnating me are you?"

"Of course I'm worried!" he said, not moving. We would be happy to sit there for an eternity, which sadly wasn't possible.

"You know, I'd be delighted to have offspring with you." I said in as reassuring voice as I could muster.

"I know you would, but I'm more worried about the kid, would it be human? Pokemon? Both? How would we raise it, or them? How would I tell others? Oh I'll just say that my girlfriend gave birth to my children, who breath fire and eat large quantities of meat, then I'll let it slip that I did it with you..."

I giggled, he was overdramatic.

Suddenly he was snoring, he'd passed out in my arms and I smiled, he was a noisy sleeper but I slept like a boulder. I closed my eyes and welcomed the wonderful dreams that had the pitter-patter of tiny claws on the rock floor of a cave.

I woke up to the sound of shouting. My eyes opened slightly and I saw dad looming over me, then I remembered what had happened during the night and almost jumped out of my skin.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL IS THIS?" the full grown and well trimmed man bellowed.

I went a shade of red akin to that of a charmeleon's scales and tried to hide under he blanket and Mina.

Mina yawned and froze as she saw my dad looming over us, though she could roast him at a whim, she was a little scared by the adults deranged look. He resembled a snorlax that had been woken from it's sleep after devouring a field of fruit.

"YOU-SHE! GOD! WHY THE HELL?! YOU'RE A SIC-" he started to rant but Mina jumped up and shouted at him.

"Shut up you bastard!" she almost screamed, it came out as, "CHAR CHAR CHARIZAAAARD!"

I was horrified, my father had found out... now my love was about to tear his head off.

"Dad... I can-"

"YOU BETTER CALL YOU'RE BITCH OFF BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE, OR POKEMON CONTROL!"

I stood up, pulled my shorts up and swung my fist at his head, I loved my dad but he was being a complete asshole and he had no right to call Mina a bitch.

"If you so much as insult her again, she'll be the one swinging a fist, and she won't retract her claws," I let the threat hang as he rubbed his cheek.

"You... get out, NOW!"

"Look at you... you can't get a girl for yourself and when I fall in love you take all the pain out on me... after all I did for you dad... you've let me down too many times, not been there for me. I've wanted to tell you for so long but you always had to come first, you and those women you date."

"I want you out of my house, get out... or I'll call the Pokemon control and she'll be gassed and you put in jail."

He gave Mina a look that said more than words could and I punched him in the gut, he doubled over as I brought my knee up in rage. No one, not even my dad could ever treat Mina like that. He fell backwards and clutched his nose as blood seeped between his fingers.

I ran up to my room and grabbed a bag, Mina had gone out the front and was waiting for me outside my window.

I stuffed clothes, money and other tidbits along with a framed photo of my mother with me and Mina as a charmander, into my bag before opening the window and jumping onto Mina's back.

She leaped into the air and beat her wings, lifting us higher up towards the sky.

We spent the next week living on a cliff, there were many little indents that served as shelter from the elements and we chose one that was easy for me to reach myself but still appealing to Mina's instincts.

I would walk to work and work the registers of a fine clothes store, earning some money to ease the strain on our lives, I had to get medication for Mina due to a nasty cold she had developed and I needed to ask questions here and there.

I never brought any luxuries, we had no chairs or anything like that, we simply had a mattress made from the boughs of a tree and a few thick blankets, there were more blankets to keep me warm during the nights too.

At first it was tough because Mina blamed the whole incident on herself, she kept saying that if she had kept her sexual desires to herself that they could have kept on living back in the house. But truthfully I found this arrangement far more freeing and bearable. I didn't have to hide from my father, I could do whatever I pleased here. And best of all, I was in a place where Mina was naturally at home.

My dad, overnight, had become a monster... I silently prayed that my mother accepted my decision and I sometimes dreamed of her. In the dreams she would not directly approve of my decision to be with a pokemon, but she was proud that I was making a girls life so much better.

I avoided going near my dad's favorite haunts, and it worked well. Occassionally I was asked questions about the whole fight but I just said that dad had crossed the line and I had left while there was the chance.

I was taking one of my walks along the cliffs and I saw a rather large bush ahead. I had been talking to myself up until I saw the bush. For some reason I felt like I shouldn't poke around it... weird huh? and as I passed, I could have sworn I saw some red and white feathers and pink flesh...

I kept moving, my head spinning wildly.

Later on, I was walking past an electronics store just as a news reporter was giving us the low down on a recent court case. I almost passed by until I heard the words, Pokemon and Love.

I doubled back and watched the report.

After it finished, I wasted not a second in getting home. I skidded to a halt next to Mina who had a fish in her jaws and gave me a quizzative look.

"I -huff- just -huff- saw -wheeze-"

"Slow down" she said with a mouthful of fish.

I took a deep breath and started again.

"There was this guy, about my age, and he fell in love with a Gardeviour... and he was found out.. you know... and then they took him to court, the Gardeviour was put in the gas chamber but she teleported out and helped prove that it was an innocent, and true love... the judge then declared that if there was no proof of rape that the couples could go on... this means we can be together and not pulled apart because of the law!" I was overjoyed, this made the burden much less of a burden.

"I'm not going back to the house Jack-" she started.

"No, we live here now, this is our home. I just thought that you'd like to know that you won't be put in the gas chamber nor me in prison!"

She seemed to lighten up now. She swallowed the fish and hugged me, keeping her mouth closed due to the fishy breath she'd have for the rest of the day.

"Hey, wanna go and watch some battles?" I asked, it was one thing we enjoyed together these days.

She nodded vigorously before I climbed onto her back and we set off for the area used by trainers to battle.

We landed on the edge of the clearing and we sat down to watch the trainers duke it out against each other.

I'd been challenged twice and Mina had proven she was stronger now. Though I'm sure it had something to do with our communication skills and the fact she now had something to look forward to.

Today was a relaxation session as spectators.

The day whiled away until a kid who seemed to be about sixteen showed up, he was confronted by another trainer and then they both tossed their pokeballs into the air. The challenger's pokemon was simply a common nidorino, but the boys... he had a latias, a pokemon not native to Kanto. She had soft red feathers and white down covering her body, triangle shaped ears pointing back from her head, like an elves, she had steamlined wings and instead of legs she had rudders almost.

I leaned forward, quite a lot of the trainers had left now, and it was a small handful of them scattered throughout the area. I could hear the trainers commanding their latias and nidorino, the battle was rather quick, the latias dispatched the nidorino with a Mist ball attack and looked quite proud of herself as another trainer watched on with his nintenales at his side.

Mina was also leaning forward, she had been enthrawled in the battle but now the pokemon were called back into their balls as the challenger left in a huff.

Suddenly, the latias's pokeball burst open and instead of the latias coming out, a girl around the same age as the boy did. I almost fell over.

As I watched, she immediately pressed up against the trainers side as the four left the clearing.

I sat there, my mouth hanging open as I tried to make sense of it. Somehow, that trainer... had a rare pokemon, infact it was considered uncatchable due to the fact no one seemed to have them. Next it appeared as a human and was snuggling against him as they left!

Mina glanced at me and I finally closed my mouth.

"You saw-"

"Yeah"

"And-"

"Yeah Jack, I know... maybe you should go and meet them? If they are... then maybe we could all get to be friends? We'll need friends... just us is lonely... but to have others like us will make things easier right?"

I nodded slowly before standing.

"Let's go home... I'm tired and my head is hurting..."

Mina waited for me to sit on her back before we left the clearing and returned to our home in the cliff.

I nuzzled Jack, he had been quiet most of the night and usually we talked ourselves to sleep.

"Jack?"

"Yeah Mina?"

"Why don't we go camping like the old days? It'll be fun."

I was desperate to help him forget his troubles, all I wanted was for us to be happy and if I had to get us away from home then that was what I would do.

"Yeah... that might be fun!" he said, his usual cheer returning.

"We can even visit the cliff... I mean it's been almost a year now..."

He nodded, his eyes seemed to stare off into the past for a breif moment, then he returned to me and kissed my snout.

"This can be our anniversary eh? Perfect, we can spend the night on our cliff and we'll be drinking and eating by a campfire like last time!" he was starting to get into the whole thing now, it made me happier.

I licked his face, my tongue wasn't quite big enough to cover it all, but it still managed to get his cheek and nose together.

"What about... was it wine?" I asked, I had liked the alcoholic beverage very much, it had left a tingling sensation in my throat and stomach. Though I had been careful not to ignite the liquid with my fire breath.

His smile widened, "Sure! Red wine for a romantic anniversary!"

He snuggled up in the small indent between my collor bone and my neck, his head almost fit perfectly as we held each other. The blanket was cast over us due to the cold air, it had stung and clung at him until we got into the nest. Sometimes I wondered why he never complained, but then again, I didn't either.

I felt at peace, completely and totally at peace.

After gathering some supplies, we had set off for the cliff we had visited about a year ago. Neither Mina, or myself could remember the exact date on which we had kissed first, so we gave the week the title of anniversary and giggled at our uselessness.

The trip was pleasant and the fact I needn't climb was a bonus. She flew me up as the sun started to set and we both enjopyed the magnificient sight as I piled sticks together before Mina lit them. Once we had a proper fire going I pulled out the frying pan I had brought from a shop in town and put some fish on it. We waited as the aroma of cooking bass wafted around us and we both started to salivate.

I finally offered the pan to Mina, who took the larger bass, I cut the smaller one up and started to eat it out of the pan.

We watched as the last rays of light spilled over the woods and I noticed, by pure chance, that there were campers not too far away. A small collumn of fire rose from between the trees and I could hear off singing. I tried to hold in a laugh but failed.

Mina turned her gaze and saw the camp site too. She then realized what was so funny and joined in.

I quickly retrieved a blanket and we huddled up there. It was ice cold, below zero just because of the altitude. I swear that I'm lucky my balls didn't freeze into cubes.

We listned to the campers singing for a while until they fell quiet, then we moved back into the cave and snuggled some more. She managed to keep me from freezing as we were entangled in the blanket, which was a little bit of a problem when Mina had a wingspan that was big enough to cover the both of us.

Later on in the night, we heard sounds that were all too familiar, I suppressed a chuckle when I heard an incoherant cry "NIIIIIINE!" which literally meant pleasure.

We fell asleep to the sounds all through the night.

I woke up to the sound of someone shouting, "HOLY SHIT!"

I shook myself and rose up, I stretched my arms then paced back and forth before Mina called to me to come back, which I did.

"This is our holiday, our anniversary. Time to open your present!" she said with a cheeky grin. Her reptilian face probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I wished I could express that.

She pulled me down gently and playfully nudged my groin. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. By now I didn't worry about any of this, it was natural for creatures to mate, I was just another creature out here in the wilderness.

She ran a claw along the fabric of my pants, it sliced right through as she dragged it along, the whole time she was looking into my eyes as I leaned forward as best I could.

I pressed my lips up against the tip of her muzzle and kissed her.

Just at that moment, she tore my pants off, they were left shredded on the rock beneath us. Next to go was my shirt which she split in two. Finally my underwear was torn away by her as she delicately lifted them from my body in her jaws. I was left bare to the world, I felt defenseless but powerful all at once.

She gave a triumphant look and purred, a sound I only heard when she was at her happiest. She licked my groin and I have to admit, it was a completley new and different experience. Her tongue was like silk, it gently moved over my skin as she claimed me as hers. It sent pangs of excitement all over my body, especially in the pelvic region.

She then slid up, careful not to put her full weight on me as she did so. finally she curled her tail around my legs and her arms gently wrapped around my side, for a moment, we were physically one body, then her tail uncoiled and she slid down. She then rolled over onto her side, so she was in a comfortable position that didn't risk her wings as we held onto each other. I had my head resting on the top of her belly, my arms wrapped around her side as she gripped my back, she left small claw marks and slight burns from the excitement releasing her heat levels through her hands.

We went on for an hour or more, time didn't mean anything right then, infact the only thing I acknowledged was Mina.

I trilled, my claws gripping Jack's back. I knew I was accidentally scratching him and leaving tiny burns, but he didn't even wince, nor complain.

I had this deranged urge to shove him into my heart, to keep him there forever, where we'd never be seperated.

Then it came, the explosion of pleasure, it's undescribable, I felt it welling up, then it burst almost as if a dam had broken under the pressure. I let out a joyous wail, our grips on each other tightened, I pressed my mouth to his and our tongues met, we tasted each other before the next explosion hit us, this time our cries came as one and we were left hanging on the brink.

Finally we seperated. The air was warmer now, so we just lay there in the shade.

"You know... it's wrong that we're doing this... but it feels so right... it feels perfect and I know that it doesn't matter." Jack said quietly, he was still gazing into my eyes, a smile still plastered on his face. I had come to understand almost all human expressions, I could mimic them too, well not all of them, but most.

I kissed him again, I found that kissing was more satisfying than licking which was strange, it was a human action.

I shrugged it off and moved my head down, once more licking his groin. I knew it sent shivers of pleasure across his body, I had felt them. I stopped and then rested my head on his small body. My jugular was resting upon his groin.

The day went slowly past, we made love once more, this time we turned the tables and fixed up a bed which allowed me to put my weight on Jack without hurting him. I was more comfortable like that and so we spent longer that time.

The day was magical, we drank wine and ate food I would occassionally snatch from the river, or he'd pull out of that bottomless bag of his.

It was night again, we were both hot, our constant contact had made the natural warmth within me rub off on him and now he was warm constantly.

We watched the stars, then Jack jumped up onto my belly, wearing only his boxers.

"You know what? I don't give a shit about society, screw them eh? I love you, I LOVE YOU! no amount of shame induced by some ratty assholes will ever take that from me Mina, never."

I felt that weird feeling in my chest, humans call it the butterflies in your tummy, but I think that I was getting it far worse than you would normally get them.

We would be going home tomorrow noon, I wanted every moment on our cliff to be used properly.

I worked up the courage before asking again.

"Do you want offspring Jack?"

"I doubt it matters if I want any, I'll have probably set that path in motion after today anyway." He said with a laugh.

I gave him a serious look and he nodded.

"I'm not so worried anymore, I'm sure we'll handle it well enough. I'd love to have kids... god, I'm merely eighteen and three quarters and I'm saying I want kids!" He smiled, then lay down on my chest.

"Then let's make extra sure that we'll have offspring, this will be our last time here... let's make it that much more special than it already is..."

He slid down, his boxers had already fluttered down next to the packed bag and then I started purring, we flipped over and I was atop him. I leaned over, keeping my balance as I squeezed my thighs together and as I felt him push inside me, I pushed my tongue into his mouth and we did that kiss again. Our pleasures... the day had whiled away and we may seem like freaky sex maniacs, but I was desperately wanting to have a child, the experience was something I felt ready for. And we all know that mating is involved in making offspring.

I woke up, saw Mina above me and groaned. "How long was I out?"

"About five minutes... or somewhere near that." she answered.

We were still connected... I watched felt the burst of strange but exciting pleasure as she worked her muscles.

I ran my tongue over my mouth, I could still feel her tongue from last night, and the static feeling it left as it explored my mouth.

I let out a moan and she crooned suddenly, then we seperated.

She moved around then lay on her side. We still had all morning here, well we had forever, but this was our plan and we'll stick to it.

She returned to tending to my back.

We left at noon and got back to the cliff near sunset, even by flying we'd had to make a stop for water, and then to avoid a battle hosted in the air by bird tamers.

I wasn't sure that we'd ever be able to have kids, I wasn't worried about what they'd be... more about how we'd raise them, or hey they'd be treated in a world where their parents are unaccepted.

We collapsed in the nest/bed and huddled together. Sleep came quickly and sweeped us off into the realm of dreams, where I was greeted by a small child who had the basic figure of a human but claws instead of toes and fingers, a tail and breath that was sometimes accompanied by flames.