FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Dale snorted as he was woken up with a jerk as their taxi came to a stop. He yawned and stretched looking around; fourteen hours of travel had taken it out of the rabbit. The first few hours had been great, he had never been offworld and exploring Polar had been so weird. He was surprised by how welcoming the bears around the spaceport had been. Many of them greeted him by calling him ally. Benny had explained that the Polar deeply respected allegiances; by standing side by side in war with the Polar the Lapine peoples had become far more respected by his people.

It looked like fighting side by side trumped the polar dislike of the lapines predefinition for homosexual relationships. Many of the bears did give Benny an uncomfortable look and the first two taxis they had tried to hail had refused to carry him. By law they couldn't attack him but they could refuse to let him use their services.

The third taxi driver had given them both a hard stare and then gestured for them to get in. Dale was sure he had winked at them in the mirror, it had made the rabbit smile. After all the horrific scenarios he had ran through in his mind the trip had proven to be fun, so far. They had spent a few hours in the polar capital of Tarasa. He had bought some presents for Daniel and Brian. As well as a cute polar toy for their new hybrid funny, their son. Technically he was Fabbit, but Benny had taken the cute human word for rabbit, bunny, and fox and came up with a humorous play on words. At least humorous if your translator was calibrated to human speech.

They had then spent hours and hours on various forms of transport. Now they were on a taxi sled that would take them right to Benny's old home. In fact it had already taken them there and, as the rabbit looked around with keen eyes, as his bear signed a small credit transfer to pay for their journey.

They were up in some small hills above the main town of Tor, where Benny had grown up. There was a series of homes and, unlike those in the north, the southern buildings had a first floor above ground. Although the rabbit had noticed no buildings had more than one storey above ground. The houses were well spaced and were made of dark brown wood. The wood wasn't painted but each house had a facade covered in carvings. Some showed hills, mountains and others trees and flowers.

The house they had pulled up in front of had a beautiful mountain scene carved in it. Or it had once been a beautiful carving. Some of it was badly gashed and there were some round black burn marks, which looked disturbingly like the marks from blaster bolts. Dale didn't say anything, but he noticed Benny staring at them and they exchanged a glance. It had been a long time since Benny's mother had responded to a comm message.

The bear hefted their luggage easily over his back and they made their way to the door. Benny knocked on the door and a few seconds later it was opened by a stout polar female. To Dale's eyes she was younger than Benny and clearly not the polar he remembered meeting. You don't forget the face of the woman who stabbed your husband, it's one of those things you remember to your dying day.

The female looked at them both suspiciously and snarled, "what do you want?"

"Y... you're not my mother," Benny observed the concern in his voice very evident to Dale.

"Ha, I know that chum, now piss off," the female replied folding her arms and giving them both a determined look. Dale felt like she was almost challenging them to cause trouble. She glowered at the male polar and then started to shut the door fast.

Benny's arm was faster, he caught the door and pushed it back open firmly, "I want to know where my mother is."

"Hey, get off the door, I'm not alone you know? Guys, guys we got another one!" Shouted the female and to her credit she stood her ground, standing nose to nose with Benny and refusing to let him across the threshold.

Dale could hear thumping of paws on stairs and three more polar came into view. They were all young, younger even than the female. One was a male, he was the skinniest smallest polar Dale had ever seen, he was the same height as the average Lapine not even counting their ears. The other two were female and young, but big enough and they rushed forward to support their friend.

"Get out of here, you have no rights!" Shouted one of the female's.

"No right? This is my mother's home damn it!" Benny snarled and something caught his eye and he added. "My picture is still over the fireplace."

The three females didn't turn to look they stood side by side blocking his access. The young male looked at the pictures over the fireplace and then turned to Benny, then back to the pictures. Then he turned and hurried down the stairs.

"Wumpa dung!" Snarled the lead female, "now take your little alien friend and get the fuck out of here."

The three females started to try and force the door closed and together they were more than a match, even for an enraged Benny. "Hey, no...don't this is my home," he snarled putting his shoulder to the door trying to force his way in and failing. He was forced back inch by inch. Dale tried to help but the rabbit did little to balance the scales.

"This is our home," replied one of the females.

"It's his home too and he will always be welcome here," replied a voice, Dale and Benny couldn't see who was speaking. However, Benny's ear's twitched in recognition. The pressure on the other side of the door was suddenly gone and the bear tumbled inside landing on a matt in front of the door, with his husband landing on top.

Dale looked up and by the entrance to the stairs stood a mature female Polar, and he felt his stomach twist in knots, as he looked at the woman who almost took his husband from him. The silence of the moment was broken by the lead female whining, "Dar, you woke her?"

The skinny male looked embarrassed and he stepped back a little, behind Benny's mother. The rabbit spotted the slightly jealous look in his husband's eye as another male seemed to be stealing his mother's affections.

The older female didn't waste any time she took a few steps towards her son, but paused as Dale leapt to his feet. She saw the look in his eye and stopped a respectful distance away. "Benny, it is good to see you son and you too Dale, it is nice to meet you properly. Please come in and close the door."

Benny pulled himself to his feet and closed the door, "hello mother. You haven't been replying to my comms."

A smile passed briefly across the older female's face as she realised her estranged son had been worried about her. "I'm sorry, there was some trouble a few months back and my comm system was destroyed."

"You could have used a comm in town, or one of the neighbours," Benny pointed out his voice holding more than a hint of a rebuke.

"You think they would let her, after what she's done? Standing up for different people like us, giving us a voice?" The lead female half shouted at Benny in answer, her voice holding more than a trace of bile.

"Kaylee, would you Tray and Moir go and put the kettle on, we have guests," Benny's mother said quietly but firmly and she stared down the three other females who all backed down quickly. After they were gone she turned back to her guests and smiled, "please come downstairs we will get something warm to drink and a sit down for a chat. There's a lot I never put in my comms, I didn't want you to worry."

The elderly female led her guests downstairs, the young male Dar followed afterwards. The house was nice and warm after the frozen wastes of Polar, the wood panelling on the walls reflecting the heat of fires well. Most of the light came from the fires as all the lights were out, the wood inside much lighter in colour, and polished, reflected the light well. It gave the whole place a warm orange glow. They wandered down a spiral staircase and got off at the first floor. The staircase went on down much deeper. They walked down a corridor and into a large round room. It had several large sofa's all arranged in a circle.

"Please make yourself comfortable," Benny's mother said as she sat down. Benny chose a sofa next to her and Dale sat down next to him, placing a paw around him. As he did so he saw the nervous young male eyeing them in shock. He gave the male a reassuring smile and the young polar blushed and hid his face for a moment. Dar didn't sit down instead he stayed near the stairs.

"So, I guess you are wondering why I have so many people staying here," the female observed and then continued without waiting for confirmation. "Well, while things have progressed on Polar and it is no longer legal to kill someone for being gay. However, there are plenty of places where the guards turn a blind eye, or a family will cast someone out."

"They are all outcasts?" Benny asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes, I am well known for my work fighting for those... like you. Moir was the first one two years ago. She... her father decided that she wasn't gay and that she just needed to be shown... what she was missing," she muttered darkly her voice low and she saw the horror on Dale's face. The female sighed heavily with the weight of her responsibility. "What do you expect? We have preached for millennia that what you are is evil and wrong. We have twisted our morality to a point where I thought I should murder my child, to where her father thought he should pay several males too..." Even the strong willed female couldn't manage to finish that sentence.

"They had no-where else to go and I had a large empty home," the female said and she looked at Benny with tears in her eyes. "I failed to be a mother to you and I saw a second chance to do things right..." She stopped talking as she felt a warm paw land on hers, it was Benny leaning over.

"I forgave you for that," he said with a proud smile. "However, I am glad you are not alone and proud that you are helping those like myself."

Dale noticed the old female glancing his way, as if looking for absolution; he wanted to give his, but instead he turned his head away. She could apologise, but she could never take away the memory of what she did, of the fear of seeing his strong male brought down, to the door of death himself. He could see the logic of forgiveness, but this wasn't a matter of logic it was one of feeling, of heart and in his heart he doubted he would ever truly forgive or trust this female.

They were interrupted by the other three females bringing in a tray with a large steaming pot and several huge mugs. "Ah, there we go a nice warm drink to chase away the Polar chill, I imagine this place has seemed quite cold to you Dale." The elderly female said as the other females pulled out a foldaway table and quickly set it up. The pot was a large open pot with an inbuilt heater, the liquid inside was pink and a sweet and spicy scent filled the air. Moir used a small ladle to start filling the mugs.

"Well the temperature has been low, but I have to say the hospitality so far has been better than I anticipated." Dale replied graciously, trying not to look at the three females who had been so rude.

"In the larger cities our people are more tolerant of offworlders, I'm afraid out here I would advise you be careful. Don't go to town alone, in fact we always go in a group of at least three..." As Benny's mother said this Moir dropped the ladle and it bounced onto the floor. She looked up and for just a moment made eye contact with the elder female. It was all Benny's mother needed to see that something was worrying the young female. "Moir is everything ok?" Suddenly the elder female looked around " Where's Si?"

Suddenly none of the females was able to look at the elder bear, " Moir, Tray, Kaylee, Dar tell me what is going on." It wasn't a threat or a question, but it was spoken with absolute authority, the kind of confidence that comes with age and a certain amount of belligerence.

"We... ran out of that Kaya blend tea you like, Si went to get you some more," Kaylee said, she looked embarrassed but she had enough confidence and strength to hold the older female's eye, even as she could see the rage building.

"You let him go to town alone!?" Half shouted the older female leaping to her feet. "What were you thinking?"

"It was just a quick trip and it had been months since the last incident..." the younger female began to argue.

"Because we go in a group and they know they won't get away with anything, the guards have to protect us together, too many of us hurt will make some powerful people want to investigate," as she ranted the elder female began to move making her way to the stairs and when she finished speaking she started to climb. Benny was a few steps behind her and then the rest followed; Dale and Dar elbowed out by the larger dominant female Polars.

As Dale reached the top of the stairs Benny's mother opened the front door. There standing on it was two large male polar, one with a bloody gash on his cheek and the other wearing some kind of uniform.

"Si!" Benny's mother exclaimed her paws going up to cup the muzzle of the bleeding polar.

"What did I say about going out alone? Are you ok? What happened?"

The polar opened his mouth to explain only for the uniformed officer to jump in, "He got jumped outside the market, there was three of them. Fortunately I was just heading to the market to grab something for my lunch. I managed to break it up before things got really rough."

"Thanks Gary, thanks for bringing him home," Benny's mother replied ushering them both inside.

"Just doing my job, Estel." The officer replied with a nod.

"Are you going to charge the other three?" Benny asked stepping forward a bit.

The polar glanced at him and then his brow creased into a frown followed by a gasp of recognition. "Benny? I never thought I'd see you again." He muttered a scratched his head, before shrugging his shoulders to add. "Their word against his on who started it, the magistrate is the uncle of one of them. Who do you think he's going to believe?"

"So that's it, they attack him and they just walk away?" Demanded Benny his voice raising a few decibels as he took another step forward.

"Straight polar's accusing a gay one of wrongdoing, you of all people should appreciate which side the powers that be will be on." The guard bite back with more than a hint of a snarl his eyes shooting Benny vicious looks. "Things ain't changed that much, and don't you dare question how I do my job after what you did!"

Dale watched confused as the two exchanged glances, he knew his husband well enough to see the pain of some deep wound being stirred.

"Thanks again Gary, tell your mother..."

"My mother don't want to hear nothing from you!" Gary cut in sharply with a deep rumbling growl to his voice. Then he turned, shooting Benny one last hate-filled glance before he walked out, shutting the door hard after him.

The group stood in silence staring at the closed door before Si held up a small package. "I could use a brew." He observed breaking the silence and actually getting a few smiles from the younger females.

"Come on, I'll patch you up we already have some nice Anya tea warm downstairs." Kaylee said reaching out to touch the gash on his cheek. "Looks nasty."

"Ha! You should see the three other guys," snorted the male with bravado and a wink at Dar. The group headed downstairs, leaving Benny, his mother and Dale alone.

"He is still holding a grudge," muttered Benny to his mother his voice sounding strained.

"He is actually one of the best guards for us, never threatens the kids and when Dar's family attacked the house trying to get him, it was Gary who stopped them. I suspect his grudge is against you alone," His mother replied lightly patting the bear's shoulder and then turning to follow the others.

Suddenly alone with his husband the events of the last hour a weird blur in his mind, Dale found himself wondering aloud, "why would he hold a grudge against you being gay, I mean more than the others?"

Benny walked up to the window and stared at the slowly walking figure in green, "remember when we first met, I told you about my friend Chris?"

"Of course," Dale replied, they almost never talked about it but Dale knew the story. Benny had been in love as a teenager with his best friend, they had shared a kiss and Benny had been freaked out and confessed to his mother. Chris had ended up outcast and died, supposedly of the cold but Benny was sure he was beaten to death.

"Gary was his brother," the bear said with a deep remorseful sigh. "He blames me for his brother's death."

"That's crazy!" Exclaimed the rabbit reaching out to put his arms around the bear, cuddling up behind him.

"Is it? I am the one who told, I'm the one who accused him. Maybe it's not my fault that the Polar society views people like us that way. He should never have been killed for who he is," Benn said his eyes returning to the window as he felt a tear slipping down his cheek. "However, he took the blame and then... I turned out to be gay anyway and everyone knows it. His brother died and I lived, I think he will never forgive me because it turned out that way. Hell, I don't blame him, I still feel guilty for what I did. In a way I would gladly change places with Chris if I could."

"Talk like that will get us no-where," a voice replied from behind them it was Kaylee she had come upstairs to get some medical supplies. "You can't speculate about what would have happened if. If I hadn't been found out maybe I'd be married, living a lie with a cub on the way by now. Doesn't matter because I was and I'm not. We need to keep our minds focused on what is, we can piss our entire lives away wondering what if and not change a damn thing. What's done is done and personally I am mad at every one of those bastards for what they have done to us and thousands like us. Well, the times are changing and I plan to do everything I can to make em change faster."

She didn't wait for an reply, her piece said, she just headed back down the stairs leaving the couple a little stunned.

They stayed in each other's arms for a moment before Benny leaned down to place a kiss on the rabbit's forehead, "welcome to Polar and my family." He said with a smile and then led the rabbit back down to the living room.

The three females were fussing over Si, while Dar poured some drinks and the matriarch of the house put her feet up and read a book. It wasn't long before Benny left to go and start cooking. He insisted over the objections of the females, with the support of his mother, who was quick to extol her sons culinary skills.

Dale found himself wandering around the circular living room, looking at the books on the shelves, rows of ornaments and pictures. Pictures of his husband as a child, a young boy and then a young man. So distant from who he is and yet so familiar; he noticed a change in the older pictures, the bear's eyes growing sad and thoughtful. He knew why, part of him was shocked to have met the brother of someone so important to his husband, if only briefly.

It was as he was looking his felt a paw on his shoulder and turned to find Dar behind him. The young male had brought him another cup of tea. He had enjoyed the first it was sweet and yet tart. He took it saying, "thanks, Dar wasn't it?"

The young male blushed and nodded and was about to turn and retreat when he suddenly snuck a glance around the room to check where the other's where. "Dar," he confirmed in a voice so quiet and timid it was hard to believe it came from a polar. By comparison to the others he was tiny and scrawny, but to Dale he was still a huge wall of muscle and fur.

"Nice to meet you Dar, I don't think we were really introduced, I'm Dale," he said with a smile, the bear nodded and shuffled his feet awkwardly. The rabbit couldn't help but feel a protective urge around the young male, he had known a few polar in his time and none had seemed as beaten down as this one. Even Moir still had spirit and fight left. "Are you from around here?"

Dar shook his head in response, his eyes going glassy and then he backed away and was gone down the stairs in a second. Dale wanted to chase after him but felt he didn't have the right.

"He'll be ok," a deep voice said behind him. Dale spun around to find that Si had snuck up behind him. For big beasts the polar were able to move quiet when they wanted to, or so it seemed to the rabbit. Si certainly was big, taller and broader than Benny, almost approaching Dillon's size. However, his muscle was less defined and his face looked younger. Dale guessed he wasn't much older than Dar.

"I didn't mean to upset him," the rabbit observed.

"I know, he came from a farmstead some miles north of here. He made the same mistake as me, he told the people who said they loved him who he was," the big bear shook his head. "He was cast out into the cold, left to starve, they can't kill us directly these days. However, they don't have to help us. We were both lucky to find Ethel, she's been a real source of strength. Poor Dar was a lot worse than me when he arrived. Nothing but skin and bone, we tried to get a doctor, but none in the town would come, not until Ethel lost her temper. She's a tough old lady and when she gets mad stuff gets done."

"Yes she definitely takes action when mad," the rabbit observed unable to hide the bitterness in his own voice. It was hard not to think of that day when he thought of her, of the fear of rushing to the hospital and the blood stain on the carpet when he finally was forced to leave the hospital.

Si seemed to sense this was not a moment or thought to interrupt so he just sat back quietly and sipped his tea. Eventually while the silence became too much he sighed, "you are not seeing the best of my people are you?"

Dale smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "for quite a few years I have seen the very best of your people. Now I'm just getting a little bit of a reality check."

"We're not exactly an enlightened species are we?" The bear asked as he sipped his tea wincing with a little pain as his wounds ached.

"Indeed, well what would you call a race who killed people in the most brutal ways possible for the crime of not following the socially acceptable rules on sexuality?" Dale asked staring into his mug thoughtfully.

"Is that really all the outside universe thinks of us?" Si asked the surprise and sadness in his voice making Dale feel guilty.

"Actually, I was talking about my people, we have not always been such an accepting race. Do you know what my people used to do to individuals found guilty of the crime of hetrosexuality?" The rabbit didn't wait for the bear to answer for more than a second, he knew the bear wouldn't know. "They would tie them down and make them inhale the phermones of lapines going into heat until their own heat triggered. Then they watched as they criminals writhed, kicked and begged until their own bodies produced so many hormones that they poisoned their own brains." Dale shuddered as a cold chill went down his back, he remembered reading about those old punishments in history class. "It is a particularly slow and painful death, a really nasty way to go. So who am I to judge your people? We stopped and attitudes changed, your people have stopped and attitudes are changing. It wasn't a smooth or easy path for us and I doubt it will be for you, but it's one worth travelling."

"Thanks, that actually makes me feel better," the bear said with a smile.

Dale didn't get to reply as Kaylee wandered by and shouted, "foods on the table, get Dar and move your ass, last come last served!" A dire threat to any polar, doubly so when it was Benny doing the cooking.

Si winced as he stood up, "could you go get Dar? He'll be down in his room."

"Of course, go get yourself something to eat, save something for us though." The rabbit announced, "where is his room?"

"Two floors down, third door on the right." The rapidly disappearing bear replied over his shoulder. Dale couldn't help but notice the wounded bear moved perfectly fine when there was food on the go.

As he travelled down he couldn't help but notice the walls became ice, smooth and freezing, he let his fingers trace along the wall. Two floors down wasn't the last floor and the rabbit couldn't help but wonder just how deep this home went. Part of him wanted to explore, but his stomach told him that could wait until it was full and happy.

He rushed down the hall to the third room, the door wasn't fully closed and as he knocked it swung open to reveal Dar on his knees looking up with terrified eyes. There was a strangely familiar scent in the air and his brain identified it immediately, coffee. Which was to most races a stimulating drink to wake you up, to the Polar it was something different, a mild narcotic which could give them quite a high. "should you be drinking that?"

The young polar panicked and dropped the tiny cup he was holding spilling a thimbleful of coffee onto the floor. He dropped to his knees pulling out a cloth from his pocket and scrubbing the floor.

"Easy, easy, "Dale said soothingly placing a paw on the young bear's shoulders. "I won't tell anyone, don't suppose I could get a sip?"

For a moment the bear looked doubtful, as if being caught red handed wasn't evidence enough and he might still be able to bluff his way out. However, after a few seconds he got onto his knees and pulled a small device out from under the bed. With a press of a button he filled the little thimble cup with hot black liquid and then held it up to the rabbit.

Dar watched in awe as the rabbit knocked the strong coffee back with a single mouthful. He usually took an hour to sip that much, otherwise he knew he would get way too high and probably end up hitting on Si... again. Dale chuckled as the bear stared at him and then leaned over to whisper, "It's not a drug to my people, well not like to yours. I have been known to go through a good litre of this stuff in a single shift at work."

The rabbit got to enjoy the look of pure awe on the young bear's face as he heard the rabbit say he drank a litre of coffee in a day, and survived. Dale sensed a chance to get a little closer to the young male, "so, mind if I ask why you drink this?"

The bear shrugged and leaned close, "it helps." The bear's voice was soft and slightly higher pitched than most polars the rabbit had met, there was a slight tremor in it.

"Well that's understandable from what I have been told," the rabbit said giving the bear a light pat on the shoulder, he couldn't help but notice the bear winced as he reached out for him. "everyone needs a little help now and then, there's no shame in it."

The young male shook his head, "polars are strong."

"Yes you are, to still be here after what you went through," the rabbit observed.

"I don't feel strong." Whispered Dar with his head hung in shame.

"Well there is more than one kind of strength you know," Dale said comfortingly squeezing the young male's shoulders. "Some people are born to fight with their fists, others with their minds. The latter does all the real work and the former takes all the glory, doesn't mean the fight isn't worth it."

"I..." The young bear struggled to try and think of something to say, instead he just shrugged. Somehow the defeated gesture said far more to the rabbit than words ever could. Dale knew this was a bear who had been beaten into submission. It was a shocking sight to see, Benny, Dillon and every polar he had met had a sort of inbuilt self assurance that the rabbit always thought was genetic. They were rocks that the world broke on, he had seen them go through war, strife, annoying customers and a whole range of emotions. Dale had thought the polar race was unbreakable, now he knew he was wrong.

There was only one reaction he knew for that situation and he went for it without thinking, slipping his paws around the young male and hugging tightly. Dar stiffened under the rabbit's embrace and for a moment Dale thought he had made a mistake and then the male turned and return the hug, burying his muzzle in the rabbit's chest.

Dale held the young male for what seemed like ages while he cried, stroking Dar's head and whispering comforting words. Eventually his stomach announced its displeasure at the lateness of his lunch and the bear pulled back. For the first time Dale actually saw a slight smile on his face. "You're hungry." The bear observed.

"Well I last ate at breakfast, like twelve hours ago for me." The rabbit replied with a chuckle and a shrug. "There is a delicious meal on the table, I should know I married the chef. If you are feeling hungry that is."

"I could eat," the young male replied getting to his feet. "You... won't tell the others about..."

"Your coffee habit? No, there are worse vices, just be careful," Dale replied wondering if he was giving the worst parental advice ever. Then he wondered at how weird it was to be thinking of himself as a parent. "Lets go eat."

The meal was mostly over when they turned up, Benny's mother gave the rabbit an odd look but said nothing. Si teased the younger male that there was no food left for him, but Benny was quick to end the joke when he announced he had kept several dishes aside for the two late comers. He exchanged a glance with Dale, after years together the two could have whole conversations without saying a word and off a quick glance he knew enough to keep his mouth shut, that Dale would catch him up later.

By the time the meal ended the couple were very tired, it had been a really long day for them. Dale almost dozed off at the table and Benny gave a rather mumbled goodnight before escorting the rabbit to one of the guest rooms. It was a weird experience for the bear sleeping in a guest room in the house he was raised in. However, Si was in his old room and the old bear wasn't about to kick the young guy out, he worried it might bring back unpleasant memories. Not to mention he and Dale were not staying there for more than a few weeks.

Strange or not everything felt right and familiar when he wrapped his arms around the rabbit he loved and hugged him close. Dale was already asleep and Benny wasn't long to follow him, his mind briefly turned to his friends up north, he hoped that Dillon and Martin had received a good welcome and he tried to make a mental note to message them in the morning.

---

Martin woke with a yawn and a stretch, the bed beside him was empty. He guessed that Uncle Dillon had gotten up early. The bear had been very popular with his sister's two children, Cor and Corlina, ten year old twins. Once they had gotten over their fear of the two strangers, especially the alien rabbit; despite the fact they were both already Martin's size they were very timid around him, the two kids had loved playing with their long lost uncle Dillon. Aurora had told him that he was the first offworlder they had ever met.

The rabbit had taken a great liking to Dillon's sister, she had the same strength and spark of life as her brother. However, she was far more outspoken and yet at the same time she seemed happy, overjoyed to have her brother back. She had already called Martin her new brother and had introduced him as Uncle Martin to her children. After years of hearing about how hostile and unforgiving polars were about gays it was shocking to feel so accepted.

With a grunt he rolled out of bed and checked him comm device, no messages. He took a moment and sent a quick message off to Benny and Dale, letting them know they were ok and that they were staying with Dillon's sister and her family. Martin added a few details about how well things were going and then sent it off. Then he pulled on some clothes and went looking for the shower.

The house was huge and a bit of a maze, polars never run out of space in their houses, because there was always more floors to dig out of the ice. He wondered how that worked in a city, did people sometimes dig into their neighbour's homes by accident. Not that that would be a problem for Aurora and Dane, they lived miles away from everyone, on what they called a farm. Though to Martin it was nothing put a field of ice and snow.

As he wandered his nose caught a familiar and rather appetising scent, following it he found the kitchen. Aurora was in it standing beside a rather large polar oven beating some dough. "Good morning," the rabbit said announcing his presence.

The female bear turned and gave him a broad grin, "good morning, how did you sleep?"

"Very well thank you... I was looking for the bathroom, I really need a shower," the rabbit replied with an embarrassed smile.

"A shower? Oh dear, you are on Polar we don't get our fur wet, it's a good way to catch a chill." The female bear replied with a smile, she had a slight twinkle in her eye, which if Martin wasn't quite so tired he might have spotted was full of mischief. As she walked to the room next to the kitchen and pointed to a large pile of snow. "Fresh powdered snow, nothing better for scrubbing your fur clean, it's the traditional polar bath."

Martin stared at the snow in disbelief, then back at the female bear, "you... you mean, you scrub yourself clean with snow every day?"

"Absolutely, it's the polar way," Aurora enthused putting her paw on the rabbit's back. "In you go, the door locks so nobody will disturb you."

"I... erm...ok... I guess," Martin muttered looking doubtfully at the large pile of snow as his breath frosted in the cold air. Living in a home carved out of ice for a little while was one thing, bathing in snow was something else. However, he didn't want to offend his hostess; especially after seeing the punches she gave Dillon when she was mad. Polars express themselves very physically and while the joy of a polar was fun, the ire of one was painful.

Outside the room Dillon wandered into the kitchen, "Aur, the kids are hungry how is break..." as he spoke a rather shrill squeal emerged from the scrubbing room. The bear looked at his sister's back as she stood at the bench shoulders trembling as he could hear her sniggers. "fast... Aur what did you do?" A loud 'Ohhhhh' echoed through the kitchen.

"Sorry... I couldn't help it, he was looking for the shower..." Aurora replied as she burst out into full laughter. "I may have shown him the scrub room."

"You mean, you showed my offworlder boyfriend to the snow scrub, instead of the hot soak?" Dillon asked as another yelp echoed through the room, despite himself the bear couldn't stop a smile spreading across his face. "He's in there right now...scrubbing himself... with snow?"

"You.. could ... go get him?" Aur replied though her laughter as from the soak room another loud cry rang out.

With a shrug of his shoulders Dillon showed that he and his sister shared the same evil sense of humour, "it sounds like he is almost done anyway."

A minute or two later Martin emerged shivering fully dressed his arms wrapped around himself. Dillon gave him a broad smile, "good scrub?"

"Y...yes... it was invigorating," the rabbit replied diplomatically his teeth chattering as he shivered.

"Never could get used to it myself, I tend to just use the hot soak instead," Dillon replied with a wink to his sister, who broke down laughing again.

Martin's jaw dropped along with the penny, "you... mean... I just... you don't?"

"Well some of us do, most days anyway." Aurora replied as she got her laughter under control. "The hot soak is the next room down, if you want to warm up."

"What about my fur freezing?" The rabbit asked in shock.

"Ah, well there's these awesome devices called fur driers," Dillon said with a chuckle. "You know, like we have at home."

The rabbit was so flustered he couldn't speak he just turned and ran for the door they had said held the soak room. It was well named, the walls and floor made of wood, he guessed because of the heat of the huge tub sunk into the floor was impressive. His frozen body began to warm quickly. The tub looked quite deep and there was a set of stairs on one side. He tossed his clothes into a pile and the dipped a toe in the water carefully. The heat seared into his flesh wonderfully. With a deep moan of delight he stepped into the tub, walking down the steps pausing on each one to adjust to the heat. His muscles relaxed quickly and he found himself sinking gratefully on to a bench clearly intended for the occupants to rest on while soaking.

His relaxation was short lived, he heard the door open and he spun around, very much aware he had forgotten to lock it. Martin gave a snort as he saw it was Dillon following him in and then locking the door behind himself. "Hey sweety," the bear muttered as he began to strip. "Nice dip."

"After the ice scrub?" The rabbit shot back at the bear with a meaningful look.

"Hey, that was Aur, I had nothing to do with it," Dillon insisted as he stepped down into the tub, sighing happily as the heat sank deep into his muscles.

"And you ran to my aid to stop me while I was scrubbing ice into my nuts?" The rabbit asked with a snort.

"Well not exactly, ran... I mean you had already started and well... I thought... oh come on you rubbed snow on your nuts... that's funny. I only ever use the ice scrub on my face and chest. Only really hardcore bears use the ice scrub for a full clean these days," as he spoke the bear reached out, his paw stroking over the rabbit's thighs. "I am sorry, you know I only want good things for these." His paw stroked over and lightly cradled the rabbit's furry sac.

"Mmmm, you don't deserve to play with those," Martin observed and then moaned as a paw stroked his sheath teasingly as the bear leaned close and kissed his shoulder.

"No, no I don't, but you deserve something nice and fun as a reward. Going through your first full ice scrub is a Polar rite of passage." As he spoke the bear began to nip gently on the rabbit's shoulders. Despite himself Martin moaned leaning his head down a little, feeling his cock starting to slip out of its sheath and into the waiting paws of his lover.

"I do... that's true," he agreed and he chuckled to himself knowing that the bear had already won his forgiveness. Dillon, the military strategist, knew how to push a tactical advantage when one opened up. With a slight splash his paw leapt out of the water, catching Martin's cheek, he turned the rabbit's face to meet his. Their lips reuniting with a shared moan of bliss. The rabbit's arms lacing around the bear's broad shoulders. While under the water a white paw engulfed a pink cock,stroking the hard flesh quickly in the hot water.

Dillon pressed the initiative quickly sliding his hips closer, his own achingly hard maleness stroking against the rabbit's inner thigh. He tasted the gasps and moans of a rabbit far too lost to lust to retain even a shred of anger at a silly prank. Then he smiled, his other paw stroking quickly down the rabbit's back and under Martin's teardrop tail. With a whimper of lust the rabbit broke the kiss as a thick finger traced around his sensitive pucker.

"Y... your sister..." the rabbit panted his mind trying to think clearly as fingers danced over his hot flesh. Sensations of pleasure dancing up and down his hot length, while the teasing of his pucker made him feel empty and desperate to be filled once more.

The bear let out a soft growl, "she can't have you." He snarled lost to his own lust, his cock was already begging to sink into the warm lapine sheath it was so familiar with. The bear rose to his feet suddenly, the room filling with the sound of rain as water poured off his fur. Strong ursine paws lifted Martin and with a delighted squeak the rabbit was lain over the edge of the tub. A thick digit was pushed quickly into his ass, years with the bear had helped train the rabbit for such and entry. There was no pain only a rush of exhilaration as his body begged for what he knew was to follow. "You're mine!"

There was no force on Polar that could stop Dillon now, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy the sight before him. His beautiful brown bunny, prostrate over the edge of the tub. Martin's light brown fur somehow accented by the dark brown of the wooden floor, his tail high and quivering with excitement. The rabbit looking back at him, those beautiful eyes filled with lust and begging for him, for his cock. Dillon knew the rabbit wanted to feel the bear inside him, almost as badly as he wanted to sink into those perfect lapine depths. Strong paws caressed two golden mounds, squeezing those wonderful buttocks to get a gasp of pleasure and need from the rabbit.

"I... I love you," Martin whispered through the lyst that filled his mind. " Oh god, I need you... please d... don't tease me."

Dillon leaned over his lover kissing across his shoulders and whispering in reply, "I love you more than anything, I would never tease you... well not for too long anyway." While he spoke his finger pulled out from inside the rabbit and Martin felt a thick warmth pressing to his pucker. The bear moaned at the feel of his cocktip kissing the rabbit's warm hole once more. There was nothing he wanted more than to be right where he was.

Despite the years of training Dillon knew he needed to take it slow at first, the last thing he wanted was to hurt his lover. He knew his thick length was a challenge with only bathwater and pre as lubricant and little preparation. His paws gripped the male tightly as his huge body pressed Martin's slightly chunky frame down under him. Polar teeth teased the rabbit's ears as he ground his cocktip aganst the pucker, making Martin cry out with desire pushing back wantonly onto the thick meat.

The bear couldn't help but marvel, after all these years his lover's desire for his maleness still surprised him. It was endless, or it seemed that way, some nights the brown rabbit would ride it for hours, until every ounce of strength and drop of spunk was drained from the bear. Then they would lay together; fur soaking in sweat and cum, arms and legs entwined, hearts racing and breath coming in ragged pants. Those were moments when Dillon knew he never wanted to be with anyone else, that he would love this alien forever.

With a shared moan his cocktip speared inside the rabbit, their hearts racing together, as Dillon's paws landed on Martin's. Their fingers laced together and the bear nuzzled the lapine's cheek and kissed him softly. There was no need for words, their bodies did the talking, the bear thrusting again and again gently, rolling his hips as he did so and working inch after inch of his thick girth into the tight warm depths of the rabbit.

After each motion the bear's confidence and desire grew, his lover showed no signs of pain. In fact Martin pushed back wantonly with each thrust, moaning and gasping under him. He could feel the smaller male squirming under his huge bear form, yet he wasn't trying to get away, just push back into the wonderful thrusting bearhood. Martin was showing him again and again with his body how much he wanted him, how much he desired and needed him.

Their voices lifted up and for a moment the bear worried that his family might hear them. However, Aur had seen him follow the rabbit into the soak room, she was smart enough to guess what was going to happen. He was sure she would keep the kids clear and busy eating breakfast. However, he buried his muzzle in Martin's neck to muffle his moans; crying out into the soft brown warmth, his hips pressed to the rabbit's, hilting inside the warm lapine sheath.

He squeezed Martin's paws in his and felt the rabbit buck back, showing once again that his lapine lover was ready and desperate for more. His hips pulled back and he used every inch of his thick meat, fucking the bunny nice and slow using the full length of his cock to fuck as deep as he could. With each stroke the thick meat caressed over the rabbit's prostate, Martin's cock was laying in the water, the pre he was spraying washed away instantly as the bunnyhood throbbed and begged for attention. There was nothing Martin could do and he loved that, he knew Dillon well enough to trust that the bear would see to his pleasure.

With each passing moment the bear thrust faster and faster, carefully teasing his lover gritting his teeth and ignoring the burning need to fuck like a wild beast. This was Martin's first time on the bear's home world, he wanted to make it a special one. He fucked slowly and deliberately letting the pace of their love grow by tiny degrees, using the stamina years of military training had gifted him with to an effect the bear's instructors certainly would never have approved of.

Martin cried out softly as the bear's thrusting caught his prostate full on, he felt his cock throbbing and aching with need. A deep pressure was starting to build, his body squirmed on its own, trying to find the release it was craving. The bear's large bulk and strong paws held him firmly in position, and yet there was nothing the rabbit could do to stop himself struggling. His hips pushing back into the delightful thickness, with each thrust new sensations of pleasure filled his body. He bit his lip trying to quieten his moans of pleasure, however, as the pressure continued to build he knew he wouldn't be able to remain silent for long.

The bear groaned deeply, his body trembling as he fought every natural instinct inside himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back forever. He bite down lightly on the rabbit's shoulders, muzzling his cries of desire and taking the bunny in a firm mating hold, showing his dominance. With each passing moment his grip slipped and his needs took over, his hips thrusting faster, the water of the tub started to splash as his hips crashed into Martin's.

As his thrusting grew faster his resolve dissolved just as quickly. His hips started to thunder into the rabbit, breeding the male beneath him with desperate need, a small part of his mind hoped he would have done enough for Martin. Yet the majority was filled with nothing but desire and instinct, he needed to take his mate with every fibre of his being.

Martin cried out repeatedly, all thoughts of staying quiet gone from his mind. His balls ached with the need to cum, his cock was screaming at him as with each thrust it throbbed and tried to cum. The pressure inside his body was building, with each passing moment he felt like he might burst, his fingers clawed at the floor.

Dillon felt the very last vestiges of his self control evaporate and he mated his lover with everything he had. His orgasm rapidly approaching. Under him the rabbit squirmed and squealed and then suddenly the rabbit's ass clenched down hard milking the bear's cock desperately.

Crying out in desperate bliss the rabbit had felt the dam inside him burst, his cock throbbed and ached like it never had before, the pleasure hit him like a gunshot. He lost all sense of the world, of everything. All he had and all he knew was the feeling of the cock in his ass and the pleasure that it brought to him.

With a roar the bear thrust home one last time, pressing as deep into the clenching spasming tunnel as he could. His huge balls danced as they shot everything they had into his lover and mate. The bear gave Martin his everything, the two of them writhing together in a moment of pure ecstasy. Eventually the bear fell back into the tub, a small tsunami of hot water flooding the floor as he floated in the tub, his dripping cock waving above him; like a sticky drooling mast on a polar shaped ship.

---

Aur and Dane both exchanged looks when the two guests finally turned up very late for breakfast. However, neither one said a word, mostly because their two children were sitting at the table finishing off a huge breakfast. Martin had been shocked by the size of the average polar meal. He had seen both Dillon and Benny eat and yet seeing a full polar family sit down to a meal had been something to behold. The evening meal the previous night had consisted of no less than five courses, many of the dishes he recognised or were familiar to ones he had cooked in the restaurant. However, eating the authentic article had been an experience.

The rabbit had shyly asked the female if he could help her cook the next night, he wanted to learn from a native, other than Benny. Aur had grinned and said she would be grateful for the help, while Dillon had smacked his stomach and announced he would be glad to help eat the results afterwards. Dane hadn't said much of anything, the male seemed to let Aur do almost all of the talking and when alone he usually kept his responses to a few words. It was hard to judge what he really thought of his gay brother-in-law and his alien boyfriend.

With breakfast out of the way and no school that day the kids begged their uncle Dillon to take them out. The bear smiled and then said, "actually, I wanted to take Martin to see Risien today. If you'd lend me your transport." Martin's ear's perked up at the mention of where they were going, he remembered the first day he met Dillon the bear had spoken about the valley. It had sounded like a magical place, somewhere close the his heart. More than that though he remembered the look on the bear's face when he had said he would never get to go back. Just for a moment he lost himself in the memory of a bear lost and alone, who quickly became someone central to the rabbit's very soul.

"Oh wonderful, does Martin have something a little warmer, or properly heated?" Aur replied with a nod to her kids as they talked over the top of her, begging to be allowed to go too.

"Ah... no sorry I didn't think of that." her brother admitted, knowing that the cold weather clothes Martin had on were probably only good for a few hours out in the harsh weather on Polar.

"No problem, he's not exactly chunky but I bet some of Cor's stuff would fit him." The female bear replied and it was a shock for the rabbit to realise just how tiny he must seem to them when they thought about dressing him in the clothes of their ten year old. What's worse he knew they were right, Cor was only an inch or two shorter than he was. He was a good height for a lapine, but in the north of Polar they grow everything huge. Of course he knew that wasn't a bad thing.

The transport turned out to be a rather nifty snowmobile ride, a heavy duty vehicle with skis on the front on powerful tracks on the back. He rode in the back next to the children and he found the two had begun to warm up to their strange new Uncle. Martin taught them a couple of the games he used to play with his schoolmates while on long bus rides. It wasn't too long before he had them laughing and chattering away with him. The rabbit caught a few glimpses of Dillon looking back at him, the bear looked happier than he'd ever been. The rabbit knew the bear had always felt a little out of place on Lapros. It was wonderful to see him back with his family and fully accepted.

The ice fields proved to be just as breathtaking as Dillon had said they were. Martin had frozen to the spot as he jumped down from the snowmobile and looked out across the icefields. Two huge ranges of snow mountains one to the left and one to the right spanning on into infinity. Blue sky and clear sun shone through the ice and everywhere the rabbit looked he could see a thousand rainbows. The valley itself was far from smooth, two glaciers were in a state of eternal war, pushing into one another hills and cliffs of ice and snow were everywhere. The light and rainbows reflecting different from moment to moment, his foggy breath seemed to be frozen in front of him. All he could muster up the words to say was, "wow!"

Dillon smiled and put an arm around the rabbit, he leaned down to kiss his head and whisper, "welcome to my world."

"I just, wow... it's.. I mean... just wow," the rabbit whispered as he turned his head from left to right trying and failing to see it all at once.

"It is easy to understand how our ancestors thought this was the home of the gods, the elder gods, before Grall." Aurora said as she helped her children down to the floor. "The Ice Mother, her followers believed this valley was a great shrine erected for them to worship, in peace. Violence was forbidden within the valley. It was here their religion died, with the war lost and facing an overwhelming army the High Priestess summoned her devout to the valley for one last prayer."

"Then the Equat army showed up and this valley was where the last battle of that war was. The final desecration of the old religion." Dillon said with a slight snarl in his voice.

"Actually, it wasn't a battle. It was a massacre, the High Priestess and her followers refused to defile the valley with violence. They offered no resistance." The female bear informed them both with a matter of fact voice.

"That's just a myth," her brother replied.

"Actually in recent months a few papers have been published based on some archeological investigations conducted in Risen a hundred years ago on bodies recovered in the valley. They confirm the N'ase bodies recovered had only defensive wounds and no weapons." Aurora answered with a confident smile. "It was just like the myth. The Priestess final speech, I think she might have gotten it right after all."

"What did she say?" Martin asked feeling slightly guilty at talking of such dark things in such a magical place.

"The war of the body is lost, now we will fight in the heart and in the end we will win by turning our enemy into ourselves." The deep voice of Dane was a shock to the rabbit, he hadn't spoken such a long sentence since the couple had arrived in his house.

"And it's true, just look around. Maybe the war took a few thousand years but things are finally changing, you are no longer marked for death just because of your sexuality. Academics can release papers which fly against millennia of Grall doctrine. The teachings of Grall are starting to be abandoned, one by one the old hatreds are going to fall." There was a lightness in Aurora's words and she almost laughed as she spoke. "Maybe not in my lifetime, but maybe in my children's lifetime we will abandon the teachings of Grall altogether, maybe even embrace the older wisdom of the Ice Mother, or just make up something new for ourselves."

"Less talk, more exploration," Dane muttered and grabbed his children's paws and led them into the icefields.

Martin was quick to chase after them, Dillon and his sister followed behind talking as they did so. While Dane led the children and Martin down into the ice-caves the siblings stayed on the icefields. It was then that Dillon finally told Aurora about the war, how he was blackmailed into joining up. He cried as he told of the soldiers he had lost, of the guilt he felt for the stand at the fort on Prime. She held him and said nothing, just letting her brother get it all out, the betrayal, the loss and the pain of surviving.

Dillon didn't know if Aurora had asked for her husband to give them time, or if the bear had just sensed that he needed to talk. However, for whatever reason the other's didn't resurface for hours. Dane was carrying Corlina, Martin was holding Cor's paw and they both had a look of wonder on their faces.

A meal was produced from the snowmobile, then devoured in minutes and it wasn't long before the sun began to set. The spring days of Polar were very short after all, although Martin had no complains. Especially as the Eternal aurora began as he skies darkened, Dillon put an arm around him and he leaned into the warm embrace as they watched the beauty of the Polar world around them. While the rabbit watched the aurora dance, Dillon watched his mate, seeing the joy and wonder in his face filled his heart with warmth. For the first time in years he felt fully home and at peace.

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