FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is a very long story, and one that I had a lot of fun writing. It's mostly filled with orientation play, since that is a very niche kink I wish there was more of. No content warning for this one, it's all very nice and cute. Do enjoy.

They crested the pass into Imperial late in the afternoon, beneath a sky dark with blue-black storm clouds. It was Martin's turn to drive and so Kaia had occupied herself with digging through her duffel bag. She'd twisted around in her seat and was leaned back over the console, tufted leonine tail busily twitching. She shuffled through stacks of clothing and at last found her big mesh toiletries bag.

She'd meant to take her pill that morning at the motel, but they'd had to rush out in order to beat the weather. Even with all of the hurry they'd just barely done it. Snowflakes whipped around them and the light had acquired a shadowless, purply hue. This was supposed to be a very big storm.

Kaia unzipped her toiletries bag, sifted through the contents, and at last paused with her fingers over the empty space where her heat-blockers ought to have been.

“Ah shit." She muttered. An image flashed to mind of the missing container, white plastic and shaped a bit like the compacts that foundation came in, sitting forgotten in the motel bathroom.

“All good?" Martin asked, dark lutrine eyes lifting briefly from the road. He was small even for an otter and had to crane his neck in order to get a look at what she was doing.

Kaia chewed the inside of one cheek for a brief moment, then wriggled back into her seat, feeling annoyed with herself.

“Forgot my blockers," she sighed, doing up her seatbelt with a huff. “Stupid."

“We could turn around and find a drug store…" Martin began to say, but Kaia shook her head. The storm was practically on top of them now. If they went down the pass there was every possibility that they wouldn't be able to get back up again.

“It's alright." Kaia said with a breeziness she did not feel. Already she was trying, distractedly, to remember exactly when her last heat had begun.

“I don't think Imperial has a pharmacy." Martin warned. Kaia could see the otter examining the road ahead, looking for a place wide enough to allow a u-turn. She shook her head again, more firmly this time, suddenly terrified by the idea of derailing their plans.

“It'd be a huge pain in the ass to turn around. Besides, we're nearly there," she said, looking ahead to the last scraps of sky where the storm wasn't. “Another twenty minutes and we'll be up to our necks in ski slopes, fresh powder, hot springs—I still can't believe there's a natural spring way up here in the mountains…"

All of this must have presented as nonchalance rather than worry, for Martin relaxed.

“Yep," the otter said. “Up the hill from where we're staying, in a cave."

Kaia let out a slow breath, fussily dispelling the last hints of irritated worry that lingered within her. They'd made it. It had taken a lot of driving and far too much anxious monitoring of the weather, but they had cleared the final hurdle and made it. Ahead of them was a week in the little mountain town of Imperial, replete with snow, beautiful sights and excellent skiing. Or so Kaia had been told by a few of her track teammates at school.

None of them had been able to come, which was a pity. Instead, they were jetting off to Cabo, Hawaii or other places too warm for Kaia's liking. Why spend winter break somewhere cold? a few of her friends had asked with genuine astonishment. They'd never been able to wrap their minds around the idea of a lioness who preferred snow to sun.

Not that she minded their absence too much. Martin had agreed to come spend part of winter break with her, and that meant more than all of her teammates put together. Great as they were, she'd only known them since coming to university. Martin had been there practically since she could remember. The neighbor boy. Her very first real friend and still her best, loyalest confidant.

This despite the fact that they had never been very similar in terms of hobbies or interests. Martin liked to swim, befitting an otter, and enjoyed taking her on rides in the local pool, but he swam only for fun. Competition made him ill with worry and he much preferred reading to sports. Kaia had always enjoyed the look of mild bafflement that came to the otter's eyes when she tried to explain to him the joy of outrunning a whole slate of determined opponents.

In turn, she supposed he probably liked her fumbling, not at all successful attempts to enjoy history. Martin always lit up when he had an opportunity to dig into the pasts of small, oft forgotten places. This was how he planned to spend his spare time in Imperial; learning about the old silver mines and the town that had sprung up around them.

She could see some of that excitement even now, in the way the otter's little ears twitched. Even the round gold rimmed glasses he wore seemed to have collected a cheery gleam from out of the snowy dim.

Thinking about all of this made Kaia feel much better. Most of the worried, unhappy tension at the pit of her stomach melted away. It was nice how immediately willing he'd been to turn around and zip back into the teeth of the storm, purely for the sake of rectifying her dumb mistake. Though she supposed this was a bit gooey and saccharine, Kaia always felt a cozy, safe feeling within herself when she thought of Martin.

He'd been the very first person she came out to, ahead of even her parents, and the way the little otter had smiled immediately made her feel silly for ever having been worried. When it had come time to write anxious 'do you wanna go out with me?' notes to her ninth grade crush, Martin had dutifully served as courier. And when that relationship had fallen apart at the start of summer and Kaia had felt certain that she would never ever have another girlfriend, Martin had talked her down from the emotional ledge.

In turn she'd played a pretty excellent wingwoman over the years, even if Martin invariably turned into a blushing, pitiful wreck as soon as he was left alone with a prospective partner. This worked out sometimes—usually with predator girls who enjoyed using their fangs on the meek and the weak—but was hardly the sort of foundation that lasting relationships were built upon. So far as Kaia could tell, Martin endured the biting and pawing more out of polite obligation than any real desire for it. The otter always became reticent whenever she asked what he did want out of a relationship, and Kaia had eventually decided that Martin himself did not yet know.

Not that she was any better off. Part of why Martin had come along on this trip was almost certainly because she'd just been dumped. It hadn't been a bad breakup by any stretch of the imagination. There had been no screaming or yelling, no blocking each other on social media…just a polite agreement and a parting hug. This had all seemed very sensible in the moment, practically a relief, but the instant that it ended and the aloneness settled over her like a damp blanket, Kaia had gone to her dorm room, put a pillow over her face and cried for a long time.

The misery and sniffles were mostly gone now, but she still felt off-balance and lonesomely unmoored. It was very nice to be with a friend.

After some time they came to the reverse side of the pass. Martin took the descent very carefully. The road clung to the side of a steep limestone canyon which fell straight down for several hundred feet. There was no shoulder, nor room enough even for guardrails. The space beyond hung open, black and empty. Martin stared very hard at the windy stretch of patched asphalt before them, his ears were pinned back and the tip of his blunt tail swaying, always a sign that the little otter was concentrating hard.

“You want me to drive?" Kaia asked gently, but Martin only smiled at her, doing all he could to hide his worry.

“It could be worse," the otter said, then took a deep, bracing breath. “Just imagine what this was like before the road. You'd have to walk through the snow with your stuff strapped to your back, keeping an ear perked for avalanches…"

“The view's not bad." Said Kaia. She glanced down off the side of the road and into the chasm below, made murky by shadow and windblown ice. Immediately, a restless shiver went up her spine and she had to look straight ahead. She watched Martin from the corner of one eye, but though the otter's nerves were apparent his paws remained steady and he eventually delivered them to the bottom of the pass without incident.

The little town of Imperial had once been a very wealthy and important place, living up to its regal name. There had been two thousand residents at its height, back when the silver flowed and the mines were all humming. Then had come an economic crash (Martin found all of this considerably more comprehensible than she did) and the town had practically died overnight. There was tourism now; skiing, hiking and camping, but it had not brought many people back. Even the addition of a ski resort, hidden from view further up the valley, could only do so much.

They had rented a house on a hill at the northern edge of town, an old place that Martin was very excited about. The otter's nerves had disappeared now that they were back on flat ground and he gazed happily about as they cruised down the main street, pavement giving way to gravel.

Imperial's main street held the town's businesses; a little general store done up in a rustic timber framed western style, then a grand three story hotel (named after some Civil War general who had surely never come within five hundred miles of Imperial) and a network of kitschy tourist shops selling faux wild west apparel. The houses in town were all low and sturdy, with roofs made from colored sheetmetal and walls speckled with flakes of peeling paint. The whole town looked weatherbeaten and a bit shabby.

Their house stood separate from the rest of town, overlooking a cemetery surrounded by a waist high fence of splintered wooden pickets. It was a trim, small building, constructed in the same Victorian style that all of Imperial's very old buildings were. The walls had once been painted blue but wind and sun had flensed most of the color away, to the point that the house now looked cloudy and pale, like a timeworn piece of china.

Martin parked the car and stepped out, paws planted proudly upon his hips. He'd made the rental arrangements and looked very pleased with himself.

“This was where the town reverend lived," he announced. “It is the oldest permanent house in Imperial that wasn't built by a mining company."

Kaia fetched their bags. Despite herself, she felt tired. It was always weirdly exhausting to sit in a moving car all day.

Martin hunted for the key, found it and swung the door open with an air of great fanfare. The otter's tail had begun to swish and Kaia could see his eyes gleaming even in the low light.

The house was small and compact, the front door opening into a living room with a couch and an old tube TV placed next to a pot bellied black iron stove in the corner. Past that was a joined kitchen. All of the appliances were modern, in the sense that they had been manufactured perhaps seventy years after the house. The refrigerator was enamel fronted and the oven had to be fired with wood. Both were emblazoned with the logo of a company that had been out of business for half a century. There was a little steel bucket next to the oven filled with neatly split kindling.

It was all so old fashioned, the ceiling covered by tinplate moldings and the doors replete with creaky hinges, brass knobs and keyholes large enough to peek through. Gauzy lace curtains flanked the windows, stiff and faintly yellow with age. Martin made a zig-zagging pass through the middle of it all, brown fur fluffed up and a huge smile on his face.

“Fantastic!" He exclaimed, then caught himself and looked to Kaia. “Um, what do you think?"

“Retro." Kaia opined approvingly. She didn't know how a wood burning oven worked, but Martin's enthusiasm was infectious enough that this suddenly did not seem like a problem.

Past the kitchen was a long hallway which contained a bathroom and a pair of bedrooms right next to each other.

“Which one do you want?" Kaia asked, though there was really no point since both rooms looked identical. The big iron framed beds were made using sheets so old fashioned that they didn't even have fitted elastic corners.

Martin shrugged and so Kaia took the bedroom closest to the bathroom, tossing her duffel in with a thump. Martin went to fiddle with the thermostat and Kaia wandered back to the front room of the house.

For a moment all seemed well, then the quiet and stillness seemed to sink down somewhere inside of her and Kaia felt a disagreeable lurch of restless ennui twist her insides. She suddenly could not help but think of school and everything she'd left behind there. Her girlfriend…_ex-_girlfriend's face sprang to mind, how the other girl's gaze had skated away when she'd said that they needed to take some time apart.

Some time. People always said that, yet never ever meant it.

Kaia blew out a slow breath and looked into the kitchen, where Martin was putting away the few perishable things they had brought along. He turned to the high cabinets over the oven and rose high onto his tiptoes, straining to reach them.

“Kaia, could you—" the otter had just enough time to say, then she grabbed him around the middle and hoisted him high. Martin squeaked, caught off guard, then squirmed embarrassedly in her grasp.

Kaia snickered, holding Martin tight. He huffed and tried to protest for a moment, then sighed and grumpily opened the cabinets. They were stuffed with cans and jars, boxes of pasta and tins of powdered coffee. All the requisite staples for surviving a winter in the mountains.

“I think we're good on soup for the foreseeable future…" Martin glanced uncomfortably back, not wanting to have to ask that she put him down. Kaia contemplated making the otter beg, as she so often had done when they were kids, but…

She set him down and instead scritched Martin behind the ears, making the otter's fur sing with static. He shied away but could not contain a smile.

“You said the hot springs are nearby, right?" Kaia asked.

“Right up the hill," Martin confirmed, patting the prickles from his fur. “…Were you thinking about going?" He cast an uncertain glance out the nearest window, into the stormy blue murk.

“If it's not too far away." Kaia said.

Martin seemed to want to be careful and mind the weather, but instead his gaze strayed back to her and Kaia was pleased to see the otter's reservations disappear.

“Not far at all." He promised, then went to fetch his coat.

The wind had picked up considerably even during their brief time inside and Kaia flipped up the collar of her jacket, eyes slitted against flying slivers of ice. They were near enough to the wall of the valley that the mountains seemed to be almost directly overhead.

Martin, warmly bundled, a scarf wrapped tightly around the lower half of his face, pointed up the hillside, to an inky black gash amidst the snow. This had to be the mouth of the cave that the hot springs were inside of. Examining the slope below it, Kaia thought she could see the faint texture of a path leading up to it, following a switchback pattern. She took a deep breath, trying not to be intimidated by how the altitude pinched at the bottoms of her lungs.

“Ready?" She asked. Martin nodded bravely and so off they went.

There wasn't much talking as they climbed. Kaia went first, her steps short and careful, the wind poking icy fingers down the back of her neck. The snow had turned to hard pellets of flying ice and, looking down the length of the valley towards the pass, Kaia could see storm clouds slowly creeping forward.

Pausing for breath, Kaia glanced back down the slope. Martin had stopped some distance below and was bent over with his paws on his knees. She could hear the otter panting even over the wind. His scarf had come partially undone and there were white wisps of breath being blown in hoops around his head.

“All good?" Kaia asked, then couldn't help but tease. “…You need me to carry you?"

Martin straightened and flapped a paw at her.

“I'm fine," the otter wheezed. “Just…giving you a chance…to rest."

Kaia smiled to herself. Now that they were closer to the cave she could see that its mouth was encrusted with ice, giving the whole thing a polished, almost crystalline appearance. Pale clouds of steam drifted out from between thickets of icicles, like the breath of a slumbering dragon.

Kaia waited for Martin to catch up and walked with him for the home stretch. Curls of warm air tickled her nose and made her ears flutter. Though she'd worried that the cave might be dark, now that she was standing at its edge Kaia found that the whole space was surprisingly small, no more than a few meters from end to end. Most of that was dominated by a single round pool, its sides polished smooth and dyed a stripy pattern of oranges and yellows and delicate cornflower blues. There was such a profusion of steam that everything felt hazy and unreal.

“Whoo," Martin said tiredly. The otter's whiskers were crooked and he was trying his hardest not to wheeze. “…I might've undersold the distance a little. Sorry."

“At least you got some exercise, rudderbutt," Kaia said, throwing an arm around the otter's shoulder. She took a moment to admire the cave and let out a low whistle. “Geez, look at all the colors."

“That's iron, mostly," Martin panted, sagging against her. “And I think silver is what causes the blue streaks."

Kaia shrugged off her coat and let it drop on a dry shelf of stone. Standing there, enveloped by steam and shielded from the worst of the wind, it felt as though they had stepped into a warm, quiet cocoon. She tested the water in the nearest pool with her toes and shivered. Hot. Nearly enough hurt.

Martin made a test of his own and Kaia smiled at the sight of the fur on the otter's tail fluffing upright in uneven clumps. He made a pleased little lutrine noise that was nearly a purr, so cute that she could hardly stand it.

Kaia stripped off her clothes and stacked them carefully atop her coat. She could see herself reflected palely in the water; a tall, trimly muscled lioness covered with short golden fur. There was a ruffled, travel worn quality to her appearance, but that was surely nothing that a good soak wouldn't fix.

Before her, Martin shed his own clothes, exposing rumpled brown fur and a sleek lutrine frame. Not athletic by any means, but certainly trim and healthy. Well put together. The otter stretched, his tail shivering and his eyes slitting nearly shut, then he turned and slipped smoothly into the water with nary a splash. This composure lasted only an instant.

“Ooh, hot hot hot!" Martin gasped, popping back up. For an awkward moment the otter danced about, face screwed up, then he slowly adjusted to the temperature and sank down with a relieved sigh. The water in the pool was about chest deep on him when he stood upright. Kaia slid in more gradually, bit by bit, every strand of fur on the dry parts of her body standing upright.

Martin flopped onto his back and floated in the center of the pool, tail stirring lazily, just enough to keep him away from the edges. Now that he had acclimated, the otter again looked very warm and relaxed. Kaia could not help but look to her friend's thick lutrine sheath and heavy balls, dangling freely in their darkly furred sac. It had always fascinated her how readily this part of the male anatomy shrank or loosened depending on temperature. Her own equipment, tucked neatly away inside of herself, seemed so tidy by comparison.

Dispelling these frivolous thoughts, Kaia slipped fully into the pool, such a rush of frisson going through her that it briefly rimmed the edges of her vision with static. For a pleasant few moments there was silence, Kaia soaking and Martin floating, the two of them basking in the steam.

“Been a while since we swam together," Kaia remarked at last. “Pity there's no room here for laps."

“You just want me to give you a ride." Said Martin.

Kaia smirked. The truth of this aside, she liked seeing Martin in the water. It was always an experience to watch an otter swim. That Martin also liked to whisk her around the university lap pool, so fast that she often lost her cap and goggles, only added to the fun. One time she'd even lost her top, though fortunately Martin had been the only person around to see that. He'd gone and fetched it without delay. Without embarrassment.

That was another nice thing about Martin. He never blushed or tried to avert his gaze during moments of that sort. Even the first time they'd ever seen each other naked, during some silly childhood game, it had been perfectly casual. No more significant than it needed to be.

“I'm glad you came here with me." Kaia said.

“Glad I made it up the hill, more like," Martin said with a small, somewhat self conscious laugh. “I don't even know what the skiing is gonna be like. You actually might have to carry me if the hike to the lift is very long."

Kaia smiled gently.

“To Imperial," she said. “I appreciate you being here for me after…y'know. Coming up here means a lot…especially since we're probably gonna get snowed in."

Martin flipped over in the water and stood.

“Where else would I go?" The otter asked, producing a small, somewhat crooked grin. “My best friend asks me to come vacationing in the mountains? You oughta get dumped more often."

Kaia snickered and slapped water at Martin.

“Dork." She said, then was splashed in turn. For a chaotic few moments they splashed wildly at each other, Kaia's laughter ringing from the roof of the cave. Then Martin raised his paws and offered a surrender.

“Seriously though, you're my best friend," the otter said. He was still smiling, but there was something of a nervous edge to the expression. Kaia could see the tip of Martin's tail twitching under the water. “…And that was the first time I've heard you laugh since we left school. Even if we get snowed in for the whole week, at least it'll be with you."

Kaia felt her heart skip a beat and the sodden fur on her shoulders try to rise. Suddenly the corners of her eyes felt hot and she wasn't quite sure what her mouth was doing, except that the smile that had sprung to her face was far too crooked and wide. Was she purring? Oh definitely.

“Ah geez," she mumbled, then shook her head bashfully. “C'mere rudderbutt, you're getting a hug."

Before Martin could twitch so much as a whisker Kaia gathered the otter into her arms and squeezed him tight. Martin managed to free one arm and hugged her back, a little lutrine not-quite-purr shivering out to join hers.

For a long moment they remained like that, Kaia enjoying the feel of the otter in her arms, basking in his friendship, affection and every other little thing which had drawn him to spend this time with her rather than anyone else in the entire world.

Then Martin stirred weakly and Kaia felt his paw tap at the back of her shoulder.

“…Kaia…running out of air." The otter wheezed.

She let him go with an apologetic wince, but of course Martin was alright. They sat cuddled together, sharp lutrine whiskers prickling Kaia's shoulder. She could feel her friend's breath, warm for an instant and then cold as it settled over wet fur.

The hot feeling in her center had not dissipated and there was still a bit of a teary sensation at the back of her eyes, at once embarrassing and wonderful. All of it burnt together inside of her for a pleasant moment, then sank slowly down past the pit of her stomach, turning inexorably into a strange, enticingly tingly warmth.

Kaia blinked, snapped from the dreamy simplicity of the moment. She waited for the odd surge of arousal to burn itself out, but already it had taken root.

Right away she knew what this was. A familiar image came to mind once again, her blockers stupidly left behind on a bathroom counter halfway across the state.

“God_damnit."_ She muttered, voice low enough that Martin couldn't possibly hear. Why now? Again she tried to think of when her last heat had been, but this hardly mattered. When and how people were stricken was hardly a precise metric.

Kaia let out a slow breath, trying to center herself. Especially trying to ignore the worrying realization that she'd never actually gone through a heat without blockers before.

It was deeply disconcerting to suddenly be so unsure about matters concerning her own body.

Some element of this inner uncertainty must have bled into her bearing, for Martin stirred and glanced up at her.

“You okay?" He asked.

Kaia pretended she had been watching the mouth of the cave, where blue evening light now stained the steam.

“It'll be getting dark soon." She observed.

The otter nodded his agreement, somewhat reluctantly, and sat straight. Already Kaia missed the soft, solid warmth of him pressed up against her. Still, deceptions aside, the sun was going down and she didn't want to try descending the hill at night.

They dried off as best they could, buttoned their coats all the way up and stepped back out into the wind and storm, steam rising in ribbons from damp fur.

What remained of the sunlight had retreated low behind the mountains, all else black storm clouds and bluish veils of drifting snow. The lights of Imperial twinkled palely through the storm and Kaia realized, with a little flicker of worry, that she could barely make out their little house. Even the edges of the trail they had followed up were already being swept away.

They edged back down the hill, taking each switchback carefully. Martin trembled in the cold, breath leaking in shivery bursts through the folds of his scarf. It was a real relief when they finally made it back. Already the car was buried under a few inches of fresh powder and, looking back up the hill, Kaia could no longer see the mouth of the cave.

They spilled into the house, every bit of exposed fur glittering with frost. Martin undid his scarf, beads of ice falling from his whiskers, and immediately went to start a fire in the big iron stove as Kaia flopped onto the couch.

In went some kindling and balled up newspaper, then suddenly there was a flare of orange and a comfy, crackling glow lit up the room. Martin left the stove doors ajar and sat back against the couch, his head between Kaia's knees. She settled her feet comfortably upon his lap. Now that they were inside and had a fire going the storm seemed very distant. She could even ignore (mostly) the restless shiver of need slowly turning over between her legs.

“Thanks," she said at last, reaching down to scritch the otter fondly behind his ears. “…You all good, Martin?"

“Mmhmm…" Martin began to nod, then was overcome by a yawn, his ears and whiskers falling askew. The otter looked to be truly worn out.

It wasn't very late, but despite that the view out the windows was one of purest black, interrupted only by bone-white swirls of snow and ice. Kaia went and looked at the television and its shrunken collection of VHS tapes, even though she didn't especially want to watch anything.

“One…two copies of The Conqueror," Kaia remarked with a snicker. “We are all set for culture and entertainment."

“Hmm," Martin yawned again, more widely, teeth flashing and the pink of his mouth standing out for a moment. “…Ah jeez. Sorry, Kaia, I'm fried."

“Don't feel like you have to stay up for my sake," Kaia said, even though a part of her wished that the otter would. “It's been a long day."

Martin nodded faintly, looking relieved.

“I will see you in the morning then," he said. “G'night." And with that he traipsed off down the hall. Kaia thought about putting on a movie, or perhaps digging out her phone, but there was only so much she could do to look past the interminable, slowly intensifying burn which tingled so insistently between her legs.

It felt humiliating to acknowledge the heat and cede all ability to ignore it. To realize also that this was not the sort of thing that could be solved quickly or totally, no matter how enthusiastically she tried.

And yet, what else could she do?

Kaia slunk back to her room, dug into the very bottom of her duffel and came back out with a little round vibrator and, more substantive, a thick pink silicone dildo molded to look like a barbed feline cock. This had been a gift from her ex and looking at it filled Kaia with a complicated swirl of miserable longing and purest lust. Her ex probably still had videos of her using it, moaning and trembling, the fur on the insides of her thighs stained wet and dark. Lewd keepsakes that Kaia had enjoyed sending when she knew the other girl was off doing important things.

She shivered, pussy clenching tight and such a surge of need rushing through her that it was all she could do to stifle a moan. Kaia thought about putting the dildo away and going with her vibrator instead, but…Martin was right next door. It wouldn't be spectacular friend etiquette to keep the poor otter awake with irritating vibrator noise. Her own noises too.

“Ugh." Kaia muttered, out loud this time, and kicked off her pants. She was wet already and when she ran the dildo teasingly between her legs the shaft came away streaked with moisture. A little shiver animated her tail and made the walls of her sex clench tight.

No more messing around. Kaia braced the dildo on the floor and knelt over it, the pointed head pressing awkwardly against the inside of one thigh for a moment before she readjusted and slowly sank down. Normally she might have lubed the toy, but she was already soaked and impatience took the better part of caution. A warm, satisfied tingle spread through her, the sensation oddly similar to how she had felt when first easing her way into the waters of the hot springs. She had to clench her teeth tight around a growly, purring moan. The insides of her thighs began to shiver and Kaia found her breath quickening, coming in sharp, short gasps.

She hilted the dildo into herself, one paw gripping tight to the molded balls at the base, the other dropping between her legs to rub furtively against her clit. She leaned forward to bury her face in the softness of her bedspread, stifling a moan that she couldn't have otherwise hoped to silence.

Everything felt incredibly heightened, sensations which might have previously taken minutes of effort to coax out now seemed to rise at a mere touch. It seemed of the greatest urgency that she have the whole girthy length of the toy inside of herself. Little white hot sparks seemed to be emanating from each of its soft barbs and Kaia was startled to find drool wetting the corners of her mouth and bright, hectic spots of light spangling the corners of her vision.

She came with a cry, hips rolling against the dildo and her eyes screwed shut. It felt as though every muscle in her body tensed at once and a white hot, nearly electric feeling ignited between her legs. Strangled little noises, fragments of words and moans, leaked from around her makeshift gag and Kaia could hear her tail swishing erratically across the floor behind her.

It seemed to be a long while before the glow finally began to dissipate and the tension loosed from her middle. Kaia sagged forward, gasping, her cunt still stretched around the toy's girth. She could only pull it out slowly, for each movement of the barbs made her legs jerk and raised her fur up in uneven clumps.

Right away, even as she gasped for breath, Kaia knew that there would be no satisfaction, none of the typical calm afterglow which normally followed something like this. Instead, roiling up from within her was yet more need, shivery and desperate, originating from somewhere deep and chaotically primal.

“Fuck's sake…" Kaia mumbled, then stood upon shaky legs and shuffled to the bathroom. She washed the toy, hating how even the act of closing her fingers around the thickest part of its shaft made her pussy clench, and decided immediately that she wouldn't pleasure herself again for the rest of the night. She'd go right to bed, force herself to sleep and then reassess matters in the morning.

This resolution lasted all of two unhappy, increasing desperate hours, then another hour past her first shameful capitulation. By that point, lying in a darkness perfumed with her own arousal, fingers wet and legs trembling, Kaia was simply too tired for her thoughts to remain coherent. She didn't know exactly when she fell asleep, only that her rest was fitful and filled with fractured, lonely dreams. Her ex had come and wanted the dildo back, or they were trying to use the toy together but could not get it in. Exhausting, recursive dreamland junk.

When Kaia at last awoke, it was to palest daylight leaking through her lace curtains and the noise of snow falling from the roof. There were muffled noises coming from the kitchen, Martin already up and about. Kaia rose with a grumble, shuffled to the bathroom and washed the scent of frustration and arousal from her fur. She looked mussed and very much out of sorts even after a good brushing, eyes pink with fatigue and her tail swishing in crooked, unhappy arcs.

Still, she couldn't let this get her down. She was on vacation with her best friend. Definitely not a time to mope and wallow in self pity.

Kaia took a deep breath, pasted a look of casual assurance across her face, and strolled out into the kitchen. Martin had lit the firebox in the oven and was boiling water for tea.

“Good morning." Said Kaia, settling at the table. She thought about asking how Martin had slept or what would be for breakfast, the usual morning mundanities that a normal person ought to pursue, but already it was becoming difficult to concentrate. She had to keep her paws atop the table, lest they be tempted to wander between her legs.

“Morning," Martin answered, bringing her a mug of peppermint tea. “There's been a little break in the storm, but the weather says we're gonna get pasted again this afternoon. There's been so much snow already they're not running the lifts at the resort."

As he spoke, Martin's eyes skated off to the front of the house. Kaia could see the otter's nose twitching, but the rest of his expression did not change and she supposed, with a great feeling of relief, that he hadn't quite put together what he was smelling.

“Hmm." Kaia mumbled unhappily. She got up and went to the front window. There was a roughly car shaped hump of snow just ahead of her, then a field of purest white beyond. Even the sky and the mountains had been blanked out by a sheet of low hanging clouds.

“I figure we ought to go and take a look at town," Martin continued. “Maybe get some groceries if the store is open."

Kaia favored this with a decisive nod. Tramping through the snow, no matter how cold and miserable, would be a welcome distraction from other matters.

They set out soon after, warmly bundled and ready for anything. The wind had died and there was only a light patter of snow still falling. Martin squinted down into the valley, at the pale, beleaguered streets of Imperial.

“One time, just after they opened the road, there was a blizzard that cut the town off from everywhere else for three weeks." He said cheerfully.

Kaia winced. Though the logical forefront of her mind knew that the average heat only lasted for two or three days, she was suddenly certain (in the worst, most irrational way) that both the storm and her own damned heat would go on forever. Her mood collapsed into a fug of demoralization and desperate loneliness. It was only when Martin's paw landed on her shoulder that she was jolted back to the world.

“Ready?" The otter asked.

Kaia nodded and did her best to smile. They set off.

Kaia acted as trail-breaker, giving the otter's shorter legs a break. It was hard work to plow through snow that went up to her thighs, doing her best to follow the ghostly trajectory of the road. Martin traipsed behind her, up to his waist in powder, puffing for breath like a little lutrine steam engine.

It was only when they got down the hill and were right on top of main street that Kaia began seeing other lines carved through the snow, people making their own determined trudges out into the wild. Though she knew that storms of this sort were purely routine for people who lived in the mountains, Kaia still could not help but feel relieved.

Of all the businesses in town, only the general store looked to be open. They stepped inside, clothing clotted with snow and beads of ice clinging to their whiskers. The nearer shelves looked very much picked through, great empty patches evident even at a glance.

“Howdy." Came a voice from behind the checkout counter, an older white furred vixen setting down a dog-eared paperback. The cover was bright and lurid, a busty rabbit clinging to an improbably muscular wolf. Kaia had to avert her eyes amidst a pinkish blush of needly warmth.

“Howdy," Martin answered, brushing the ice from his whiskers. “What a storm."

The vixen offered an ambivalent gesture that wasn't quite a shrug.

“Hope you folks got arrangements for the next few days, they're probably gonna keep the pass shut for awhile." She said.

“We rented the reverend's house," Martin said brightly and, upon receiving a blank look in return, continued in a slightly more down to earth tone. “…Up by the cemetery."

“Hmm," opined the vixen, faintly surprised. “Usually folks from out of town stay up at the re-sort and don't really bother coming down." She pronounced 'resort' nearly as two separate words, both heavy with disdain.

“And miss Imperial?" Martin asked, with such earnestness that the vixen became briefly wary. She eyed the otter, detected no sarcasm, and only then relaxed.

“Just so long as y'all remember that local businesses exist," she said. “Can't promise an extensive selection, you two might've come here before the storm if you were keen on buying much produce, but I do have firewood for sale if you're in need…"

Kaia wandered along the aisles. There was some bread and pasta left, though the eggs and milk were all gone and the freezer section had been cleaned out.

Martin and the vixen were still chatting companionably by the time she came back, her basket filled with scavenged goodies. The otter asked after the old mines (abandoned for nearly a century now and all closed up behind iron gates) and some of the nearer ghost towns (spooky, said the vixen. Real spooky).

“It's not gonna be open 'til after the storm passes, but the town hall's got a little museum in the basement full of things from the mines. You might get a kick out of that." Said the vixen as she rang up their purchases. Kaia stood by, an odd feeling of irritated impatience roiling within her. Normally she would have been happy to see Martin so engaged, but now this feeling ran up against the greater obstacle of her heat. She wanted to get out of the store, well away from anything at all that required she stand still and be alone with the doings of her traitorous body.

All of this fidgeting must have been apparent, for Martin was quick to gather up their groceries and bid the vixen farewell.

“You got all of that?" Kaia asked as they stepped back out into the snow. Martin nodded distractedly, taking inventory of what she'd bought.

“Lotta gnocchi in our future," he observed. “Slim pickings back there, huh?"

“Mmhmm…" Kaia sighed. She squinted up at the sky, from which hard pellets of ice had begun to rattle down. The clouds nearest the pass were darkening in an ominous way.

They followed their old trail back through town, Kaia trudging grimly along. It felt as though a great pressure were building up inside of herself. Each shadowy, private place they passed seemed nearly to be an invitation. She might hurry off and do something, anything to sate herself. The snow and ice and damned storm might even be beneficial now. An image came to mind, red hot steel being plunged into a barrel of water. That would surely be what happened if she removed her clothes right now. A huge hiss and a gout of scalding steam.

“Kaia?" Came a voice, and it was with a sudden jolt of embarrassment that Kaia realized she'd begun to veer off to the side, abandoning their old path. Martin stood, watching her with unhidden concern. She glanced sharply back and tried to smile this away, but what came out was a crooked, toothy grimace.

“…You okay?" The otter asked gently.

Kaia thought about demurring or even doing something blunt to change the topic of conversation, but all of these reactive instincts buckled against the look in her friend's soft brown eyes.

She grumbled faintly to herself, suddenly feeling very bad for all of the grumpy, heat addled irritation and furtive secrecy which had settled over her like a tangled, knotted up net.

“I'm in heat." She mumbled, an unpleasantly warm glow of embarrassment lighting up the insides of her ears.

Martin nodded evenly.

“I kinda figured." The otter said with a tiny, almost apologetic smile. Kaia winced. Had he smelled her? Had he—god forbid—heard what she'd been doing the previous night?

“Sorry." She managed, the word slipping miserably out through tightly clenched teeth.

“Sorry for what?" Martin asked as she returned to the path and resumed her grim traipse back up the hill. But though Kaia knew that the otter was only trying to make her feel better, she could not bear to answer. Unhappy fragments ricocheted through her mind. It was her own damned fault this was happening, that she'd forgotten her blockers and consequently trapped herself (and Martin too!) in such an awkward situation.

It was gusting by the time they made it back up the hill, sheets of snow and slivers of stinging ice rattling off their coats. Kaia had to pause from time to time so Martin could catch up, the poor little otter staggering along through the snow. She'd asked a few times if she could carry the groceries, but each time was met by a brave, increasingly fatigued insistence that he could do it. She was clearing the way after all, bulling her way through a great deal of snow. He had to carry some of the load.

Kaia stoked up the fire, which had burnt to embers during their absence, and put away their groceries. Martin, very much caked in ice, lay on his back in front of the flames, trying to get the air back into his lungs.

“How does the altitude not completely murder you?" He panted.

“Cardio." Said Kaia, but couldn't even manage to be smug. Her thighs had begun to rub together, practically of their own accord, and the edges of her vision seemed to be shrinking inwards, everything growing taut and intolerably tense. Her own breathing, already a bit ragged from the climb up the hill, quickened yet further.

Martin watched her, seemed to weigh speaking for a moment, then forged ahead anyway.

“You don't need to pretend like everything's normal," he said. “If you need to—"

“Yep." Kaia blurted, then felt immediately bad for stamping on her friend's attempt at reassurance. She hurried away before the awkwardness could deepen, a frustrated mutter rumbling at the back of her throat.

Idiot. He's only trying to help. So on and so forth.

She dug out her dildo again, hating that such a blatant reminder of her ex was what her paws instinctively sought out, hating also the way her pussy clenched and her nipples went stingingly hard under her shirt.

But there was no helping it. She lay back and gathered a pillow to muffle her moans with (even if Martin knew what was bothering her, it would still be impolite to subject him to her yowling), then pushed the pointed head of the dildo into her soaked sex.

She fucked herself hard this time, trying to force an orgasm as quickly as possible, as though all the sentiment and pesky old memories could somehow be overwhelmed by sheer pleasure. For a little bit this nearly worked; Kaia squirmed and bucked upon the floor, eyes tightly shut and her legs kicking out into open air, one paw rising to push under her shirt and pinch, almost cruelly, the sensitive peak of one hard nipple.

But of course there were thoughts invading this hedonistic hunt for sensation. Old memories and wants interspersed with the greater reminder that she was all alone in this room. Alone because she'd lost her girlfriend and alone because she'd run away from her friend.

Alone because…

Wait a minute. Why was she thinking about Martin? Kaia shivered, caught badly off guard. For a long, strange moment she recalled the warmth and solid softness of him pressed into her arms the previous night, fur on fur, his breath warm against her neck. It had felt so incredibly nice to be close to someone, to hold another person and be held in turn, to know that they loved and valued her. That they would always be there.

She hilted the dildo into herself, grinding its full length into her soaked, spasming sex. Warmth rose, the steamy heat of the hot springs and the phantom press of a sleek, small body against hers, as though it were the otter driving into her, doing all he could to sate her once and for all.

The breath left her lungs and spots flitted across the corners of her vision. Kaia felt her legs draw up, curling tight as though around the hips of an intangible lover and then she was lying back, limp and momentarily spent, the pillow fallen aside and her breathing fast and hectic. Her eyes had gone wide and her thoughts were splintered. A part of her felt very warm and—was this contentment? Was such a thing even possible in the midst of a bad heat?—but all the rest roiled with confusion, horror almost.

Kaia sat upright, a faint soreness twinging across her abs, and shook her head until the spots vanished and the world once again seemed clear…er. An odd, heat-driven aberration, she told herself. Residual guilt and odd thoughts, like rival fronts of dueling weather colliding to create a lightning storm. Now that it had flashed so bright and weird across her mind, it was gone and would not recur.

Still, her eyes fell down to the dildo, where it lay between her legs, gleaming wet with moisture, and Kaia could not help but feel a somewhat superstitious aversion to even touching the thing again. She hesitated, growled at herself for being silly, then fussily grabbed the dildo up and went to wash it in the bathroom sink. Her eyes were wide and her fur had risen in clumps. She was still trembling.

“Fuck off." Kaia muttered to nobody in particular, then tossed the dildo back into her bag, where surely it would never again come out. She'd use her fingers or even the vibrator…noise be damned.

It was a real struggle not to involve Martin in this last thought, to imagine the otter lying in bed at night, listening to the buzz of her toy and knowing what it meant. What she was doing in the dark.

She sulked in her room for a long time, shivering and trying in vain to pat her fur flat where it had become unsettled. Every bit of her felt tense and electrified to the point of overload. The spots would not completely clear from the corners of her vision. They were all different colors, a psychedelic babble of heat-borne nonsense.

When the knock came at her door Kaia jumped, a little yelp caught between her teeth.

“Lunch is ready," said Martin. “I can bring it to you in here if you're, um, busy."

Kaia hesitated, tail jaggedly swishing and ears pinned tightly back. The sound of the otter's voice filled her stomach with butterflies and turned the spots at the corners of her vision dark and ominous. Shame percolated, worry and fear and purest guilt for having spent the day running away from him.

She couldn't keep doing that. Not when he was only trying to help her.

“I'll be out in a moment." Kaia said, more weakly than she would have liked. She thought about perhaps taking a shower and trying to scrub the awful needy heat scent off of herself, but that probably wasn't possible. Martin had sniffed her out in an instant that morning, even if he'd been polite enough not to say so.

Kaia dressed, tried (and failed) again to straighten her fur, then made herself take deep breaths until the worst of the worry stopped squeezing her chest. This would all pass, she reminded herself. Another forty eight hours, at very most, and she'd be in the clear.

She went out to the kitchen and sat at the table, thoughts narrowly focused and an air of calm rigidly imposed. That forty eight hours was in fact a very long time was not allowed to occur to her. Not when she was having lunch with her friend.

Martin had made gnocchi and Kaia made sure to compliment his cooking, though in truth she barely tasted the meal. It felt as though she were operating at a distance from the real world, buried behind such a layer of worry that it stripped the sensation out of everything. If she was to behave normally, perhaps this was the way to go.

“I'm sure you know all of this a lot better than me, but I read somewhere that hot baths can help with the onset of heat." Martin said. He spoke with a hint of shyness, ears fluttering back. It occurred to Kaia that the otter hadn't really touched his food and that his nose was busily twitching.

Her careful cocoon of false normalcy buckled. Still, she managed a polite smile and glanced to the window, where everything had once again gone totally white. Wind moaned outside, making the walls creak and the roof groan.

“It's a shame we can't go back to the hot springs." She said, trying not to look directly at Martin. The otter was doing the same with her, she realized. There was something blackly funny about that, the two of them trying to speak around each other even though they were the only ones in the room.

“Not until the storm passes." Martin agreed, eyes flickering to her for a moment.

The rest of lunch passed with glacial slowness. Kaia did the dishes and, once she was done, found herself accepting a stilted offer from Martin to come and play rummy. The idea of going back to her room, succumbing once again to the fevered insatiability of her heat, made her stomach clench and a frightened blackness descend upon the further reaches of her mind. Who knew what other bizarre, unwelcome thoughts would come if she were left to her own devices.

They played cards, talked about classes and even touched on what they might do over the summer. Martin had promised to stay with his family for most of it. He'd get a job and save some cash.

Talking about things like this, sedate and familiar, made Kaia feel a little better. Her own plans weren't nearly so settled, but it felt nice to imagine Martin working a job. Maybe he'd go back to the ice cream parlor where they'd both worked in high school. She'd spent a lot more time pilfering sweets than doing anything useful, but Martin had been diligent enough for the both of them.

Feeling newly grounded, Kaia managed to look her friend in the eyes, ignoring a tiny tremor of heated strangeness at the pit of her stomach.

“Sorry I've been so weird today," she said. “I know you're only trying to help."

“It's not your fault." The otter said, setting down his cards.

“It wasn't you that forgot my blockers." Kaia grumbled.

Martin gave her a small look.

“You're in heat," he said flatly. “Is it awkward? Sure. But it won't help if you blame yourself for something that's gonna happen no matter what."

Though a part of her wanted to remain watchful, Kaia couldn't help but melt into the sureness of the otter's gaze. It felt very nice to have him looking at her again. She let herself lean heavily against him and could not contain a purr when the otter wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

They remained like that for a while, silently snuggled together. Kaia, rather than ignoring the tingle between her legs, instead made an attempt simply to acknowledge it without action. Like Martin had said, it was natural. Her heat didn't necessarily need to be an adversary.

Still, it wasn't going away. Even if she felt calmer now, that did nothing to erase the urge to rush off and go to town on herself. Kaia made herself examine that possibility calmly, without judgment or malice, without dwelling on the unhappy thoughts which had haunted her previously.

It was only the otter's muted squirming which distracted Kaia. Reluctantly, Martin straightened. His nose was still twitching and Kaia caught a hint of pink dying the insides of his ears before the otter folded them back. He sat awkwardly, one paw gripped onto his upper thigh, as though he were trying his hardest to contain something inconvenient.

“Gotta use the bathroom, I'll be right back." The otter said, his gaze skirting hers. Kaia shuffled upright, mouth suddenly dry. Of course it made sense that the poor otter would be impacted by the smell of her heat, the sheer inescapability of it now that they were snowed in for however long the storm might last.

Kaia recalled Martin's words, his insistence that blaming herself solved nothing. True, but also not complete. No matter how natural her heat was, it still impacted others. And she did not want the poor otter locked into the same cycle of furtive, needful skulking that she'd had to endure.

“Bathroom?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

Martin blinked, then managed a bashful shrug.

“I think we're both…um…"

Kaia nodded, a shivery little embarrassed smile crawling onto her face at the absurdity of this all.

“How about I go instead," she offered. “You shouldn't have to run off just for my sake. Then, when we're both…finished…" She met Martin's gaze, cheeks burning, well aware that the otter could surely see the insides of her ears blazing red. Could probably also smell a sudden earthy intensification of her arousal. Even the idea of giving in made her heat that much worse.

Martin swallowed. Kaia thought that he might nod or even bolt upright and insist that he go, for her sake or whatever…but the otter did not move. He seemed frozen, caught by something unnameable. Though they were no longer touching, Kaia's shoulders and arms, the side of her face tingled with the sensation of Martin's fur.

“Or…" She spoke carefully, paws gathered carefully into her lap. “Maybe neither of us need to leave."

At this Martin looked over, broken from his paralysis. The otter's mouth opened, then slowly closed. The very tip of his tail had begun to twitch, as it had when he was driving down the steepest, most dangerous part of the mountain pass into Imperial. Kaia tried to smile, wondering if she ought to pass her suggestion off as some kind of awkward joke, but then Martin relaxed back against her, very close now. This had to be a conscious effort, for he was still tense and trembly. His eyes flicked up to meet hers.

“Right…" He agreed, the single word very small.

“I mean, we've seen each other naked plenty of times." Kaia continued. Martin nodded along but Kaia knew, and the otter surely knew also, that this was hardly the same. There was a heavy bulge at the front of Martin's pants now and looking at it, seeing something new and unknown about a friend she had known all of her life, made Kaia feel oddly lightheaded.

She moved first, hooking her thumbs into the waist of her pants and shuffling them down, static crackling across ruffled tawny fur. Immediately, Martin's nose twitched all the more wildly and the otter's tail thumped against the back of the couch. He blinked, surprised at himself, and then managed a self conscious little laugh. Some of the tension bled abruptly from the room and when the otter again settled back he was trembling considerably less.

Seeing this, feeling this, reassured Kaia. She allowed her legs to fall open, her thigh brushing against Martin's. The pressure of his gaze felt nearly physical. It tingled, passing through her fur and skin, seeming to warm the very center of herself.

Martin moved more slowly, fingers fumbling for a moment at the topmost button of his pants. He shuffled his pants and underwear down together and suddenly, with shocking abruptness, the thick length of his lutrine shaft bounced free, already wet with pre, the tangle of fur around his balls cut through with wet runnels.

Kaia blinked, caught off guard. Her heart performed an odd little flop in the center of her chest and she could not help but think, again, of her toy. Martin was very nearly as big. No barbs of course, but even the slick pink smoothness of his tapered shaft seemed formidable.

“Fuck's sake," she exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise. “How do you walk around with that thing?"

Martin squirmed, a bashful, mortified, ever so slightly prideful little smile settling upon his face. Kaia could practically feel the warmth of the otter's blush radiating off of him like heat from a furnace.

“Sorry…" He mumbled. This seemed to be a reflex more than anything else, for the very next moment the otter gave her a sort of startled look and then they were both snickering.

Kaia dug out her phone, still smiling, and went hunting for a video. If they were going to masturbate together it seemed only right that they have something smutty to focus on.

“Probably not the first time you've heard something like that from a girl, huh?" She asked.

Martin shrugged, still bashful. One of his paws fell to encircle the base of his cock. He could just barely close his fingers around it.

“First time from a friend." The otter said, then seemed to realize the awkwardness of this and quickly turned his attention to her phone.

“I've only got girl on girl stuff, so I hope that's fine." Kaia said. Even on top of everything else it felt oddly revealing to show her taste in porn to a friend. Lots of uniforms and role-play and gentle dom/sub stuff.

“Right, um, that's fine." The otter mumbled. He selected a video at random; a busty little bunny leading a larger tigress on a leash. Kaia very nearly said that this was one of her favorites, but…yeah. Too much.

She propped her phone on the coffee table in front of them, leant up against a stack of books. The audio was tinny, nearly overwhelmed by the whistle of wind and the groan of the old house enduring the storm. Kaia leaned back, sinking low into the couch cushions, and was strangely pleased when Martin seemed to mirror her motions. He glanced to her, then looked back to the phone screen.

They were still side by side, near enough that their legs touched and Kaia could feel minute tremors running through the otter. He stroked himself slowly, taking his time, and though Kaia burned with an urge to speed her way to climax (as if this would actually do anything…), she made herself relax and follow suit. To do anything else would surely spoil the moment and put her out of sync with her friend.

Though she tried to watch the video and focus on what was happening (the tigress's pink cunt stretched tight around the girth of a red canine dildo, the bunny urging her to take the knot), her attention kept drifting and it was difficult not to focus wholly on the feeling of sinking a pair of fingers into her sodden sex, of dragging a thumb with aching slowness over her trembling clit.

She began to stifle a moan out of instinct, the sort of thing that months of living in a dorm room had trained her to do, but…what point was there? Certainly Martin would no longer mind. She could hear the otter making noises of his own, tiny gasps and hitches in the regularity of his breathing, coupled with adorable hints of that same lutrine purr she'd liked so very much during their soak in the hot springs.

Kaia leaned more fully against the otter and was pleased when he reciprocated, a simple desire for closeness overcoming any momentary strangeness. She could feel the quick patter of his heartbeat and feel warm breath on her shoulder, the otter's hips bucking and a spurt of clear pre jetting from the tip of his cock.

Slowly, bit by bit, they began to accelerate their efforts, the otter stroking himself with a slick wet swish of fur on skin and Kaia sinking her fingers as deep into herself she could. A familiar wonderful tension began to gather between her legs and this time when she moaned it was accompanied by a growly, rumbly purr that made Martin shiver. For an instant he stared at her, eyes bright, then suddenly pushed his face into the join between her shoulder and neck. He panted helplessly, nose buried in soft tawny fur. Kaia felt a hint of sharp lutrine teeth and the warmth of breath, then her free paw found Martin's and their fingers interlocked.

She came just before he did, a white hot ecstatic blank descending over the world, shrinking all of existence down to just her and Martin. She moaned into the otter's ear, legs twitching and tail thumping against the floor. Her paw was soaked nearly up to the wrist and Kaia suddenly could not feel anything other than a pure expression of her own satisfaction, however momentary it might prove to be.

Even before she could see whether there would be an afterglow, Martin's hips bucked and Kaia saw his balls tighten in their sac. He came with a snarling, strangled groan, teeth prickling through her fur in something that seemed to be halfway between a kiss and a bite. Heavy jets of thick lutrine seed spurted from Martin's cock, spattering the coffee table and the floor beyond, one splash landing, wet and startlingly warm, across Kaia's knee. There was far more of it than she had expected, a half dozen pulses of cum that only slowly declined into a warm white trickle.

Martin sagged against her, panting, his eyes slightly out of focus. Kaia stared, still caught off guard. Her heart had gone somewhere high her chest and seemed to be skipping beats. The air had been pinched out of the bottoms of her lungs and there was a peculiar hot knotted up feeling roiling in the pit of her stomach. The spot on her shoulder where Martin had bitten(?) her tingled and it took Kaia a moment to consciously realize that they were still holding paws, that they had been doing so for a while now.

She didn't want to let go.

It took a few moments for them to both regain their breath, and another little while after that for words to come. Kaia examined the white streaks Martin had put across the surface of the coffee table, then stroked a pair of fingers through the spatter of seed which had landed on her leg. It was still faintly warm, surprisingly thick and sticky. Somehow she'd always thought that cum had same consistency as water. Clearly not.

“Sorry." Martin said tiredly. The otter looked spent, his cock already halfway back into its sheath. This was another thing Kaia hadn't fully considered about men, where exactly their equipment went when they were done using it, and the process had become weirdly fascinating to her.

“It's a miracle you didn't drench me," Kaia said, then had a thought. “Do all otters cum that much?"

Once more, Martin was overcome by an embarrassed and yet very pleased little smile. He was well into the afterglow now, Kaia supposed, where everything was calm and pleasant no matter what.

“I might've been pent up." He admitted.

“Poor thing." Kaia teased, but could not help being slightly jealous of the otter's contentment. The burn between her legs had not dissipated even a little, though at least now her thoughts came a little more clearly.

And…

She thought again about the feeing of Martin's teeth on her shoulder, the warm shiver which had convulsed her in that moment and just how hard she had cum with her friend right next to her (because her friend was right next to her?). Weird, all of it. But what had she really expected? That they'd sit primly apart, mechanically reach climax and then part with a friendly pat on the back? The air was filled with her pheromones, she herself was out of her mind with heat, and poor Martin was hardly any better off.

It was only then, still holding tight to Martin's paw, that Kaia wondered what would happen once her heat was over and things went back to normal. How would this feel then? How would Martin look at her?

A cold, dark feeling began to gather at the pit of her stomach and squeeze her chest. It insisted upon bleakness and doom. It precluded all other possibilities. It was…

Stupid.

“We're friends." Kaia said, half to herself.

“Hmm?" Martin asked, somewhat nonplussed.

Kaia looked down to where her and Martin's paws were still tightly joined, and no longer felt nearly so frightened.

“You're my best friend in the world and we can talk about anything," she continued. “Like…doing that with you was fun, and I liked it…but I also don't know what this means leading forward."

The otter smiled wanly, relief flickering across his face. There was something reassuring about that, to know that Martin had been having the exact same doubts and was now, just like her, arriving at the same reassuring conclusions.

They sat together in contemplative silence for some time, watching snow swirl past the window. It was getting dark out already, but whether this was the sun falling behind the mountains or simply the storm getting worse, Kaia could not tell.

“Once your heat is over then everything goes back to normal," Martin said at last. “No judgement, no embarrassment. And if we decide to do anything like this again…"

“Do you want to?" Kaia asked before Martin could finish his thought. The otter stammered to a halt, caught off guard, blushing through his fur. She felt his paw tighten on hers and saw the tip of his tail begin to twitch. For a moment there was a bright, instinctive flare of worry in the otter's eyes, then Martin caught hold of himself and offered a tiny nod.

“Yes." He said, voice small but unmistakably needy.

“Yes?" Kaia asked. Martin met her gaze, gathering himself.

“Yes." He repeated, and this time his voice was clear and his gaze did not waver.

Kaia kissed the otter on the tip of his little black nose.

“Better." She said, then pulled him onto her lap.

Martin settled straddling her hips. He looked surprised yet made no move to pull away, his gaze kept falling to where her nipples stood out against the fabric of her shirt. The otter's sheath was already thickening, the pink tip of his cock sliding slowly free.

Kaia slid her paws up Martin's thighs and under his shirt, pushing it over his head. In a moment he was naked, fur ruffled and glasses askew. Martin laid one paw gently atop hers, halting her from doing anything more.

“Listen," the otter said. It seemed to take a great effort for him to keep a nervous, lustful tremble from invading his voice. “If this doesn't do anything for you, you don't have to keep going."

Kaia smiled reassuringly, enjoying the way the otter trembled under her touch, how warm and soft and very present he was. The look in his eyes, so desperately hot but at the same time bound by the very purest care and friendship.

“Relax, rudderbutt," she said, stroking one paw through the thick fur covering his stomach, tantalizingly close to his hardening cock and heavy lutrine balls. “Let me make you feel good."

Martin obeyed, sitting back. He let out a slow, shivery breath, his tail sweeping across her knees. Kaia swallowed, her mouth gone suddenly dry, and could not help but immediately go for the otter's balls, weighing them in one paw. Her very first time doing this, so intimately touching a friend…a male…however she wanted to classify this new, strange experience. She thought of how they'd tightened at the height of Martin's climax and the great quantities of seed the otter had produced. If she kept going then he might do that again, except on her and maybe in her if she opened her mouth…

A strange, dizzy swirl of lust upset the spots coalescing at the corners of Kaia's vision. She felt lightheaded, overcome by possibility and novelty, the realization that her pussy had clenched tight and her breath was beginning to quicken. Her eyes flicked up to meet Martin's, the otter watching her with what felt like a matching expression.

Her other paw trembled as she brought it up and Kaia was mildly surprised by just how warm Martin's cock felt under her fingers, smooth and soft and intimidatingly firm all at once. It throbbed at her touch and Kaia realized that she could feel the quick pulse of her friend's heartbeat through it. Very different from her pink silicone dildo.

“Fuck…" A breath shivered out between her teeth and Kaia laughed nervously, glancing up at Martin. Now that she was here, with her paws on the prize, it was occurring that she had no real idea of how to proceed. Cocks were meant to be stroked, she'd watched Martin do exactly this, but actually handling her friend's length suddenly felt overwhelming. She didn't want to do it wrong.

Fortunately, Martin leaned in before she could fret any further.

“Need some help?" The otter gently asked. Even as she managed a tiny nod the otter's paws came down to guide hers, molding them around the base of his shaft. He rolled his hips, slowly pushing the full length of his cock across her paws, showing her how it was to be done. Kaia allowed herself to be instructed, beset with warm little shivers, her fingers damp with pre. There was something very nice about Martin taking charge like this, making small, gentle decisions on her behalf.

For the next little bit he guided her, murmuring how hard to grip and how fast to stroke. The otter sounded very calm, even as his breathing picked up and his whiskers fell askew. Finally his paws fell away from hers and Kaia helped the otter remove her shirt. He hesitated for a moment, beset by nerves of his own, then gently palmed her breasts. Kaia couldn't help but smile at the way Martin's cock jerked in her grasp. She pressed her chest against the otter's paws, inviting him to fondle her further.

Time seemed to blur, each new moment warm and filled with giggly fumbling, the two of them exploring each other. Martin's touch became surer, an appealing confidence rising to the otter's bearing as he fully grasped, apparently in sync with her, that this was a space where they might do anything. No judgement. No embarrassment.

Still, it surprised Kaia when she felt the otter trace a pair of fingers over her slit. She looked up at Martin's face but decided to say nothing. Her legs fell open and she let out a slow breath, focused on trying to make the otter feel good in turn. Just as she'd promised. His cock was slick with pre and the otter's breathing was heavy, fringed with gasps and tiny, delighted lutrine squeaks.

“It's cute when you make noises." She said, just barely mastering a little moan of her own. Martin ducked his head a little, pleasantly embarrassed, then pushed a pair of fingers into her slit, bracing the heel of his paw against her clit. Even reaching backwards, placing himself at such an awkward angle, the motion felt practiced and sure.

Kaia shivered and this time could not not hope to contain a gasp and a high, needy little moan. She gritted her teeth, enjoying the cocky little grin Martin gave her, how the otter knew that she was melting under his every touch.

She tried to continue working Martin's shaft, but her paws had begun to tremble and the corners of her vision swam with brilliant sparks, as though she were staring out at the world from the center of a roaring furnace. Her heart hammered, skipping occasional beats, and even through tightly clenched teeth Kaia could hear her own needy moans and purrs and trembly, gasping little groans. Her thighs came together, clasping tight around Martin's wrist and forcing the otter's fingers even deeper into her, the silken folds of her spasming slit clenched tight upon him.

“F…oh…mmm…" Kaia groaned, sharp little fragments of nonsense leaking from between her lips. She threw back her head, paws shivering away from Martin's cock, and instead ran them up over the otter's stomach and chest, fingers digging luxuriantly into his thick, soft fur. The otter's heartbeat was quick and Kaia loved the way he leaned into her touch, basking in every bit of her affection and desperate, heat stricken need.

She came with a cry, more abruptly than she had expected. One moment she was trying to brace for it and then all the world was golden and she plunged back upon the couch, mouth falling open and eyes slitted, her vision briefly doubling. She stared up at the tinplate ceiling and then to Martin, suddenly reluctant to let the otter from her view for even a second.

Martin let her come down, then gently withdrew his fingers. He leaned in close, hard length twitching against her stomach.

“You look adorable when you cum." The otter purred. Kaia tried to roll her eyes or smile but could not quite summon the requisite motions, so instead she leaned abruptly forward and tried to plant a kiss on Martin's nose, a tease to match his. But even as she moved Kaia realized that the otter was trying to do the same thing. They bumped noses and their lips came together in a strange halfway kiss, teeth clanking.

Simultaneously they withdrew and exchanged a startled look, a breathless laugh, then Kaia looped her arms around Martin's shoulders and dragged the otter close again. This time their lips met properly, Martin pushing forward with urgent need. She pressed her tongue against his, enjoying the warm, pleased gasp which came in return.

Kaia allowed herself to fall down to the side, lying back on the couch with the otter molded against her, Martin suddenly between her legs, the full length of his slick, throbbing cock pressed hotly against the inside of one thigh. The otter broke the kiss, startled. He looked at her, panting for breath, every bit of him suddenly trembling.

“…Are you sure?" He asked.

Kaia wasn't sure if words would come, so she kissed the otter instead and let him do the rest. The blunt head of Martin's cock pressed firmly between her legs, the otter gathering himself, then there was a great pressure and a huge tingly warmth as he pushed into her, stretching her sensitive sex around his lutrine shaft.

She clenched tight, despite herself, legs coming in to lock tight around Martin;s waist even before conscious thought could be applied. For a dizzy instant Kaia was surprised at herself, how her hips rolled so eagerly against Martin's, forcing the otter to hilt into her even as he met her eagerness with hard, messy thrusts of his own. They moaned and gasped together, Kaia trembling from head to tail, her ears tightly pinned and a wet rivulet of drool running from one corner of her mouth. She could hardly feel embarrassed by this, not when she was overcome by such grand, perfect sensations.

Just as she had when first touching Martin's cock with her paws, Kaia was again briefly surprised by just how different a real cock felt from her toys. So much warmer, possessed of its own lively movements and, of course, the weight and pressure and loving affections of the person it was attached to.

Martin wrapped his arms tight around her shoulders, using that little bit of extra leverage to pull himself as deep into her as he could. Kaia shivered, too overcome even to moan, and gladly leaned into a heated, messy kiss from Martin. The otter gasped as he pounded her, eyes wide with pleasure and delight and, behind it all, an ecstatic soft edged surprise at all of this, as though he were in the middle of a dream now bleeding over into waking life.

“I…I'm close…" The otter managed. Kaia pulled him close again and made no attempt to release her legs from where they were gripped tight around the otter's hips. She caught the edge of a surprised glance from Martin, but the otter did not complain and instead redoubled his efforts, breaking the kiss to instead press his muzzle into the hollow of her throat, eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted. He groaned and gasped and purred, Kaia gripping tight to his shoulders, not willing to let him go for an instant. She was trembling again, as though all the heat and unpredictable brightness of a lightning strike had been passed straight through her.

“In me!" She groaned, the edge of a desperate growl shivering her words. And though Martin could hardly have done differently, Kaia still felt his hips press hard against hers in the instant before he came. Eager spurts of liquid warmth painted her womb and overflowed her spasming cunt. The otter moaned, hips still bucking, tail thumping hard against the back of the couch, and at last he slumped against her, utterly spent.

Kaia hugged Martin close and for a few moments they simply lay still and tried to catch their breath. Kaia thought about saying something, offering compliments or an astonished question of where and how Martin had learned to do all of that…but it hardly seemed necessary. One little glance down at the otter and suddenly they were giggling, eyes darting shyly away only to be dragged right back, as though by some perfect magnetism.

The otter pressed his lips to hers, the kiss gentle and nearly chaste compared to what had come before. Kaia drew him nearer, pulling her friend into a slow, warm makeout, paced to suit the sedateness of their afterglow. And…for a moment Kaia really did feel it, the sort of euphoric calm which typically followed such an intimate experience. But this could only last for a moment, then the heat bubbled right back up, unwelcome and omnipresent.

At last Martin broke the kiss and pulled out, a little moan trapped behind Kaia's teeth as warm dribbles of lutrine seed leaked from her freshly fucked sex. It soaked the fur between her legs and wet the underside of her tail. She hardly wanted to think of what the couch looked like.

Looking down at her, Martin took a deep breath, paws gently braced on the insides of her knees. Kaia smiled tiredly up at him and whistled through her teeth.

“That kinda went from zero to a thousand, huh?" She said.

“Sorry…" The otter began to say, but Kaia only shook her head.

“No embarrassment," she reminded him, and then wondered if she was being too nonchalant. “…You wanna talk about it?"

Martin began to nod, then glanced again at the mess between her thighs.

“…Maybe we can get cleaned up too."

In the end Kaia had to lean on Martin in order to get to the shower, legs trembly and a definite soreness twinging in her core. She settled beneath the water with a sigh of relief, Martin stepping in to join her. For a silent few moments they simply rinsed away the worst of the mess.

“Did that…help?" The otter asked at last.

Kaia began to nod, then was caught by a sudden burst of confused indecision. It felt strange, going straight from…everything right on back to the old status quo. That she had so eagerly kissed and fondled and fucked her friend, her very male best friend, only complicated matters. And yet, what use would it be to try and ignore what had happened? Even the 'no embarrassment, no judgment' line suddenly seemed incomplete.

Kaia looked Martin in the eyes, until the otter met her gaze, then gathered him into a hug. They stood there beneath the warm spray, steam curling around them.

“Was that your first time with…?" Martin began to ask.

“With a guy? Yeah," Kaia hesitated, then laughed to herself. “Guess I can kiss that gold star goodbye."

Martin managed a wan smile, but Kaia could see the worry swirling underneath. The poor otter was tense in her arms, the tip of his tail trembling.

“I really liked it," he mumbled at last. Martin had to pause and gather himself before he could continue, but when he did his voice was somewhat stronger. “But that scares me to death because I don't want anything to change between us after your heat ends and, well…" Nerves overcome him and the otter's gaze skated off to the side.

Kaia stroked the back of Martin's neck.

“The only thing that's changed is, now I know you're the only person in the whole world I could have done this with," she said. “And even if it never happens again, I don't want to forget about that. You're my best friend, Martin, in every possible way." Even as she spoke Kaia felt a familiar hot blush at the corners of her eyes and something funny happened to her vision. Martin looked up at her, the otter's whiskers trembling and his ears pinned out to the sides. His relief was so apparent and pure that for a moment Kaia felt the heat within her gutter out, replaced simply by gratitude that she have such a person in her life.

They left the shower only as the water started running cold. Kaia felt greatly refreshed, legs steadier and her heat burning at a low enough roar that she could mostly put it out of mind. Martin watched her towel off and Kaia was relieved to see no worry or apprehension troubling the otter's gaze.

After dinner they cuddled together on the couch (it had taken some patient scrubbing to lift the stains) with a movie on and the tinny speakers just barely overpowering the noise of wind from outside. The storm still sounded as though it were directly overhead, lashing out at the whole of Imperial with all its might.

Kaia yawned, suddenly feeling quite tired. Together, her and Martin watched with detached horror as a gaggle of badly miscast pretend-Mongols galloped across the screen.

“They shouldn't have made this movie." She said.

“Definitely not," Martin agreed. “What a waste of time."

Kaia leaned against the otter, laying her head on his shoulder and giving him a meaningful look. Only a few seconds later they were entangled, Kaia giggling as Martin's paws roamed under her shirt. He fingered her to a shaking, mewling climax and lay cuddled up behind her as she lay there, spent and purring.

“You want me to…to take care of…?" Kaia was too out of breath to continue. She made a vague masturbatory gesture. Martin snorted with laughter, then shook his head.

“I'm not in heat," he reminded her. “I can only go so many times."

“Pity," she mumbled, then winced at herself. “Sorry, if I'm…"

“Don't worry about it," Martin nuzzled close against her with a contented sigh. “…Do you know where the remote went?"

Finally, after some sleepy drowsing, they finally stirred and traipsed off to bed. Kaia turned and had only just opened the door to her room when she hesitated. Martin had paused by his own door and their gazes met.

“Do you want to…?" The otter began to ask.

“Yes." Said Kaia, and joined him in bed.

Martin's room was considerably neater than hers, his bed correctly made up and a pair of extra quilts set out atop the dresser. They turned out not to be necessary. Two people cuddled together were plenty warm all on their own.

“If I start tossing and turning you can kick me out." Kaia mumbled sleepily into the back of the otter's neck. Martin had settled quite naturally into position as the small spoon. He snuggled back against her, his blunt tail twitching between her knees.

“Nope." Said the otter.

Kaia shut her eyes and was out like a light almost instantly. There were dreams in the void, splinters and colors and enticing phantom sensations which tingled erratically across her body. But she stayed asleep and it was only a white glare of daylight coming in through the window which roused her.

Martin still lay beside her, enclosed in her arms, peacefully drowsing. Kaia let him go, gently as she could, then sat slowly up with a groan. She felt achey, all the muscles in her core protesting at even the smallest movement. Martin had left his bedroom curtains halfway open and through them Kaia could see a slice of cloudless, bluebird sky.

The storm had passed.

Or, not entirely. Within herself, deeper than even her aching muscles, the heat still roiled. But it felt more diffuse now, Kaia could sense edges to its appetites, places where she might think and feel things that were not wholly colored by its influence.

Beside her, Martin patted the empty space where she ought to have been, then sat blearily up.

“Good morning," the otter said with a wide, pink mouthed yawn, then squinted at the sunshine. “Oh, would you look at that…"

“Morning," Kaia answered, then stood with a wince. Her legs ached too. “Ow…"

“You alright?" Martin asked.

“Fine," Kaia said, stretching herself straight. “Y'know how I go all tense every time I cum? I overdid it a little yesterday. But, on the bright side, I'll have killer abs at the end of this."

Martin smiled and shuffled himself out of bed. They brushed their teeth together and combed their fur as flat as it would go. A night cuddled together had left them both looking very rumpled, though Kaia thought that the otter looked even cuter all disheveled.

“I'll make breakfast." Martin said, then was off. He hadn't asked after her heat, which Kaia supposed meant he could still smell it. Funny how the idea of this was no longer embarrassing. Really, despite how much things had changed the previous day, she could not feel even the slightest surprise or shock.

A new normalcy reigned.

She stretched, touched her toes and did high kicks until the worst of the aches receded, then followed Martin to the kitchen. The otter had lit a fire, heated the oven and was mixing batter in a yellow ceramic bowl patterned with daisies. He hummed Gershwin, a few bars of Rhapsody in Blue repeated in alternating, crooked tempos. His tail kept fairly good time, thwacking against the refrigerator and the stove and whatever else he happened to be facing away from.

Fondness, warm and lovely, filled Kaia's stomach with butterflies and made her newly combed fur fluff upright.

“I think I saw a plow down the hill in town," Martin said, catching sight of her. “So the roads will definitely be clear before too long."

“They might even start the ski lifts tomorrow." Said Kaia.

“Y'know, not a bad storm all things considered."

Kaia smirked and glanced out the front window, where a great field of new fallen snow stretched out. The big car shaped hump still rose above it all, but was no longer nearly so prominent.

“We still have to dig ourselves out," she said. “Don't forget that part."

Martin set a dollop of pancake batter onto the griddle with a hiss. Seeing him at work like this, happy and active, still humming fragments of his music, it put a pleasantly heated shiver all through her. Kaia snuck forward, padding silently across the kitchen. She sank to her knees beside the otter, still undetected, ever the consummate huntress.

“Fortunately there are two snow shovels—" He turned and nearly ran into her. The otter blinked, at once surprised and enticed. “…Hi there."

Kaia hooked her fingers into the hem of the otter's pants and dragged them down, no preamble necessary. Martin let out a small breath, blushing through his fur. He let her guide him back against the counter, right next to the stove. Already Kaia could see his sheath thickening, could smell the earthy scent of her friend's arousal.

She buried her nose into the soft, dark furred hollow where his balls joined to his sheath, enjoying beyond words how the otter squirmed and yet also bucked his hips needily forward. Kaia licked his balls and kissed each one in turn, hefting their weight in the palm of one paw. Martin was achingly hard now, his cock already leaking clear, slick streams of pre.

In the midst of this the otter had to fumble and flip the pancake he'd already set on the griddle. It took him a few tries. Kaia smiled at this, then took a deep breath and lavished a long lick up the length of her friend's shaft, from base to tip. Salt filled her mouth, salt and a metallic hint of iron and, atop it all, the slick, surprisingly creamy texture of pre. It tasted…she wasn't sure exactly how she'd imagined it, but the flavor wasn't by any means unpleasant. A tiny hint of bitterness, but mostly it reminded her of Martin's scent, how he smelled when he was extremely, desperately aroused.

A rumbly, very pleased purr sounded when she opened her mouth. Kaia took a moment to try and find a proper angle, then slid the otter's cock back along her tongue, moving carefully, trying to—

“Teeth," the otter gasped. “Careful, Kaia…"

She pulled back, suddenly self conscious. One of Martin's paws came down to frame her face, settling behind one ear.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?" Kaia asked, but already Martin was shaking his head.

“It's alright," the otter said, tone reassuring. “You've never done this before, I'd assume, so…"

“So I might need some pointers." Kaia finished. Just as she had when first handling the otter's cock with just her paws. For an instant she felt embarrassed, but…well…everyone had to start somewhere.

“Open your mouth," the otter instructed, showing her exactly how wide with one paw. Kaia was sure he felt her shiver at his touch. Already the fur between her thighs had to be soaked. “Now purse your lips a little…like that, and stay exactly as you are."

Martin's paws went back to frame her head, fingertips rubbing coyly behind her ears. Kaia did all she could to stay perfectly still as the otter pushed his cock into her mouth. Though she'd already gotten an idea of his girth, having the otter's cock practically plugging her throat was another thing entirely. Kaia squirmed, sure for a moment that she was about to be strangled, then suddenly her nose was pressed firmly into a tangle of otter scented fur, Martin's balls against her chin.

“I didn't think you'd be able to take the whole thing," Martin said, and the genuine surprise in the otter's voice cheered her. He sounded proud, almost, as though she'd accomplished something noteworthy. “Now, hold your mouth open like that, keep your lips pursed and mind your teeth…"

Kaia slowly drew back, working in sync with the otter, and let him hilt again into her muzzle. He was almost exactly long enough to touch the back of her throat without entirely cutting off her air. Knowing this, and knowing that she could hold his entire length in her mouth without hurting him, all made this new act seem a lot more manageable. Now it was easier and more satisfying to focus on the otter, on doing everything she could to make him cum.

She shuffled closer, putting herself right up against Martin. The otter's breathing had quickened already and Kaia could taste more pre, hot little spurts splashing into the back of her throat each time she took the whole of the otter's length. She closed her fingers around the otter's balls, gently squeezing, enjoying the way they jerked in their furry sac.

At the height of her next thrust the otter's hips bucked sharply against her face, Martin's tail thumping against the side of the stove. She leaned into this new enthusiasm, a purr leaking from her cock stuffed mouth, tongue running busily across the underside of the otter's shaft.

“I'm close." The otter panted, the warning coming out sharp and urgent with need. Kaia supposed he was giving her a chance to pull away, in case she didn't want to take his load. She wondered for an instant what it would feel like to be splashed across the face or the chest, for her tawny fur to be streaked white, but…she was doing this for him.

Kaia leaned determinedly forward and let the otter pump her mouth, Martin pushing his cock against the back of her throat and burying her nose in mussed brown fur. A hot spurt of thick lutrine cum, salty, musky and faintly sweet, hit the back of her throat and Kaia found that suddenly she really could not breath. It took a great effort to ignore her instincts and remain where she was, desperately trying to swallow the otter's load. Martin gasped, teeth tightly gritted and eyes narrowed to slits. Kaia massaged his balls, as though this might make them empty even faster. Thick rivulets of cum drooled from the corners of her mouth and pattered across the front of her shirt.

Finally, bested, she pulled back with a gasp, catching one last spurt of hot seed across her muzzle. Martin sagged against the counter, panting.

“Was that okay?" She asked.

Martin only laughed, then sank down to the floor, legs giving way.

“That was perfect. Just like you." The otter said.

Kaia was certain that the red of her blush could be seen from outer space. But, even as she tried to think of something even nicer to say back, she smelled burning. In unison, her and Martin looked sharply to the stovetop.

“Ah shit…" the otter mumbled, then hauled himself up and quickly removed the blackened remains of what had once been a promising pancake.

“Oops." Kaia said with an apologetic smile.

“Well worth it," Martin said with a tiny shrug, then returned his gaze to her. “Do you want me to return the favor?"

“Nope," Kaia said, after hesitating for a squirmy, heated instant. “That was all for you."

“For…?" Martin seemed genuinely surprised, almost confused for an instant, then decided simply to accept the gesture. “Thank you."

The warmth of the otter's smile very nearly made Kaia forget the huge, outraged throb of lust burning between her legs. Bad as it was, she thought that it definitely felt less intense than it had the previous day. A promising sign…all things considered.

Kaia washed up and returned to a kitchen wreathed in the smell of freshly made pancakes. Martin settled next to her and when their elbows bumped as he sat down it felt all too natural to take the otter's paw and hold it tight. Pancakes could be eaten with one paw just as easily as two.

After breakfast they bundled warm and cautiously opened the front door. Facing them was a berm of snow that came up to Kaia's waist. She peered out across the space they would need to shovel. Beside her, Marten began to wilt.

“Fuck." The otter groaned.

“Good upper body exercise." Kaia said optimistically, then waded out into the snow and went hunting for the shovels.

Though the sky was clear and the sun was out, it felt even colder than it had the previous day. Kaia worked to clear a path from the front door to the road, Martin following along behind her to shore up the edges. She could see Imperial very clearly now, the town glittering with frost and looking more colorful than ever amidst the blinding white. A pair of orange snowplows, tiny as toys, were turning slow circuits along the town streets.

“Maybe they'll come up here and clear some of it for us." Martin said hopefully, already badly out of breath. Kaia decided not to stamp on the otter's hopes. She went back to shoveling.

Really, it wasn't too bad. The new fallen snow was airy and hadn't yet compacted into ice. Kaia tossed great fluffy shovelfuls of it ahead and around herself, trusting Martin to clear up whatever fell by the wayside. She swept the car clean and was just approaching the last stripe of snow by the edge of the road when they heard the rumble of an approaching diesel engine. One of the plows came trundling up the hill, glittering cheerfully in the sunlight, throwing plumes of snow off to the sides of its blade.

Martin waved at the driver and motioned for him to blast his horn, which he did. The very next moment the plow roared by and pushed a cascade of tumbled over snow right towards them. Martin had to shy back in order to avoid being buried.

“Fuck…" He moaned again, bleakly surveying the new berm of snow they'd have to clear.

“Think of the delts you'll have after this." Kaia said cheerfully, then nudged the otter to keep shoveling.

They finished their work just before the sun fell behind the mountains. Kaia traipsed back inside, arms aching and every bit of exposed fur gleaming with frost. She stoked up the fire and then collapsed onto the couch. Martin basked by the fire for a little while, until all hints of wintery chill had been chased away, then turned and knelt between her legs, warm paws sliding up the insides of her thighs.

Kaia looked down at him, pleasantly surprised. Her tail shivered and twitched. The otter slipped off her pants, then spread her legs. When she stirred to assist him, Martin gently pressed her back down.

“Relax," he urged. “Let me take care of you."

Kaia obeyed. She could feel eager affection in the warmth of the otter's breath and the gentle, loving kisses he planted over her clit and then the soaked, oversensitive lips of her pussy. She let the otter work, legs shivering and tail swishing. One of his paws found hers and their fingers interlocked.

Right away it was apparent that Martin knew what he was doing, the otter working diligently, eagerly to pleasure her. No instructions needed at all. Kaia squeezed his paw tight and made no attempt to hide her moans. Only right that he know exactly how must she was enjoying this.

She tried to hold out for a little while, so she could enjoy the feeling of the otter's tongue and the quick, warm huff of his breath, but her heat had been ignored all day and it roared straight past all of her strongest intentions. Kaia came with a snarl and a gasp, legs drawing up and her free paw coming to rest atop Martin's head, pressing the otter's muzzle to her soaked, spasming slit.

At last, gasping for breath, she sank back, perfectly aglow. Martin wiped his mouth and came to lie alongside her, arms looped around her middle.

“Mmm." Kaia purred, still not quite able to manage words. Martin kissed her, ever so gently. Beads of moisture clung to the otter's whiskers. She could taste herself on his lips, a coppery, faintly salty tang.

She slept in Martin's bed again that night, the otter resting peacefully in her arms.

“Good night." She murmured into his ear, and caught a kiss to the corner of her mouth in return. Once more it was mercifully easy to fall asleep.

Calm when she awoke, a silvery early morning glow leaking through the curtains and only the lightest whisper of wind. Martin was still fast asleep, the otter snuggled close. Kaia could feel his breath, slow and peaceful, ruffling her fur.

It took her a moment to realize that, for the first time what felt like a small eternity, there was no warmth or desperate, insistent need burning between her legs. Kaia took a slow, cautious inventory of herself, waiting nervously for this initial assessment to be proven wrong, but…nothing. Not so much as a whisper of reactive lust.

Her heat was gone. The final storm, one of a very different sort, was over at last.

She let out a slow sigh of relief, melting against the otter, nuzzling her face into the side of his neck. He stirred, just a little, and made a quiet, contented noise, muffled by her fur.

How wonderful it was simply to be able to lay still and think of nothing, to feel nothing other than her friend's close, cozy warmth. They'd only ever slept in the same bed a few times before this long, strange weekend in the mountains, and had never really snuggled. Never done a lot of other things either.

Her thoughts wandered, drifting across the events of the previous few days. The giggly awkwardness of their first kiss and the firm press of his tongue against hers, bringing them close in an entirely new way. Her astonishment at first seeing his cock, then Martin teaching her how to take it in her muzzle. She'd taken him off of his feet. 'Perfect,' he'd purred. 'Just like you.'

And though Kaia thought that she might now feel a sudden burst of shame or confusion as to why she had done any of it, instead her whiskers twitched and her fur rose and it was as though her stomach had been filled with butterflies.

No matter the intensity of her heat or the rashness of what it had motivated her to do, there had always been something deeper to their actions. Kaia relaxed against Martin and pressed her face into the join between the otter's neck and shoulder. He stirred sleepily, one paw groping to find hers.

“Hi." Kaia murmured.

The otter snuggled back against her.

“Morning," he answered drowsily. “…How do you feel?"

“Better. Clearer. No more heat."

This seemed to wake Martin up. He turned to face her and Kaia felt the otter's fingers tremble where they were interlocked with hers, convulsed by sudden indecision. Was he performing his own examination of the past few days, straining to find something he'd done wrong?

Before he could say anything, before he could devote himself to worrying, Kaia leaned forward and kissed her friend on the tip of the nose. Martin blinked, snapped from his thoughts, then kissed her back. He might have been aiming for her nose, but Kaia didn't let this happen. Their lips met and immediately Martin melted into her arms, the otter allowing her to overwhelm him with a slow, heated kiss.

Suddenly she was trembling, fur rising in tingly clumps and her chest squeezed ecstatically tight. Kaia broke the kiss and tried to say something, but her words failed and she could only laugh at how silly this was. Getting nervous about a kiss after everything that had already happened.

But of course it was different now. No heat this time to mask what lay underneath.

Martin's paws slid up underneath her shirt and Kaia helped him take it off, then molded his paws over her breasts. He was blushing, his whiskers askew, and Kaia felt a hard poke against the inside of her thigh when the otter leaned in for another kiss. She squeezed Martin's cock fondly, pre wetting her fingers.

Everything felt new again, as though they were exploring each other for the very first time, with none of the frantic heat driven haste demanding that they rush their way to the end.

Finally Martin broke the kiss and lay back, guiding Kaia to kneel over his face. She felt the otter's whiskers tickle the insides of her thighs and his nose press for a moment against her clit.

“I'm glad you want to keep doing this." He said, with such simple happiness that it filled Kaia with butterflies all over again. She sank down upon the otter's muzzle, enjoying the warm press of his tongue and how cleverly he used it. Enjoying even more the quickening of Martin's breath, the otter getting off on how wet she'd become, the achingly tight clench of her pussy on his tongue.

“Of course I do, rudderbutt," Kaia said, a shivery purr framing her words. “Because it's with _you." _

Martin squirmed bashfully underneath her and Kaia heard the otter's tail thump against the blankets. Supposing that he deserved some attention too, she turned around, Martin having just enough time to look up, his muzzle damp and beads of moisture singing to his whiskers, before she pressed her pussy back against his nose and settled into a sixty-nine.

Kaia stroked both paws out before her, ruffling the fur on the otter's belly and making him shiver. His cock was already wet with pre and his balls jerked adorably in their sac, all but begging for her to fondle and play with them.

She had to take a moment to recall Martin's pointers, patiently licking the otter's cock from base to tip as she did. Purse her lips, keep the fangs tucked away…all of it a bit hard to concentrate on with a talented lutrine tongue flicking eagerly over her clit.

Encircling the thick base of the otter's cock with both paws, Kaia leaned in. She started slow, making an effort to take her time. No hurry, no rush, no objective other than making her friend feel good. Lips pursed and mouth open wide, she took the head of Martin's cock, tongue swirling upon it. A heavy splash of pre hit the roof of her mouth and Kaia was pleased to feel the otter's hips jerk, pushing his length further into her mouth.

She went along, slowly sinking down. They worked in sync, her hips pushing in time with his, Martin's paws stroking along her thighs with trembly reverence. It was hard to keep from purring as she went and Kaia found herself wanting simply to sink forward and pant uselessly upon the otter's cock, all but overcome by a growing warmth between her legs.

The otter had to work much harder now that she was no longer in heat, but he could still reliably undo every bit of her resolve. Kaia panted, paws trembling and the swish of her tail increasingly jagged, working to lavish long, warm licks across the whole of Martin's cock. He was drooling pre now, achingly hard under Kaia's fingers. But, try as she might, there was simply no outdoing the otter. A hot, ecstatic curl of bliss ignited between her legs and twisted everything taut, Kaia's lips falling away from Martin's cock as she purred her delight, each exhaled breath coming as a sharp moan. She sat straight, grinding hard against her friend's face, teeth so tightly gritted that only a few low purrs and strangled, feline moans could escape.

It seemed to take a long time for the tension in her center to release and the white hot, halfway electric zing of her climax to lose its sharper edges. Kaia slumped forward, nose pressed up against the base of Martin's cock, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The otter squirmed out from beneath her with typical lutrine slipperiness.

“Fuck…" Kaia panted approvingly.

“I like the faces you make when you cum," Martin said, slipping in beside her. “They're adorable."

Kaia squirmed, but could only be pleasantly embarrassed. She teased the tip of Martin's cock with one finger, making his shaft bounce, then tugged him nearer, legs closing around the otter's hips. She shivered, no disguising just how sensitive she still was.

“It's alright if you need to take a moment…" Martin began to suggest, but Kaia didn't release her grip.

“Just think how hard I'll clench down," she purred. “Now come on, I want to see what faces you make this time."

A heated brightness had entered the otter's eyes and he pressed her back without hesitation. Kaia let him lay her onto her back, amidst a warm muddle of pillows, and rolled her hips against his when he pushed into her. A high gasp escaped her lips and she couldn't help but jolt as though she'd been shocked, the intensity of sensation between her legs nearly painful. She had to grit her teeth to keep from crying out, eyes slitted and fur mussed, every bit of her wound wonderfully tight.

Martin shivered as he entered her, the otter's ears laid back and his whiskers trembling. He had to work hard to get all the way in, his cock squeezed so tightly that Kaia worried for a moment that she might shove him right back out. Yet, the otter was strong and he used every bit of leverage in his hips and tail to hilt into her, to push and thrust and buck until she'd been reduced to a panting, mewling leonine puddle.

He fucked her gently, his thrusts long and deep, paws roaming indulgently over her chest and up to frame her face. Kaia kissed him, gasping into the otter's mouth. She forced herself to relax her legs from around the otter's hips, allowing him more latitude to take her how he wanted. He'd begun to tremble, desperately near to his own peak, and Kaia clasped her paw over his, squeezing tight.

_“Cum in me." _ She panted, all but begging, and melted all over again when Martin sealed his intentions with a kiss. The otter gasped, a purring groan shivering him from head to tail, then Kaia felt his hips roll hard against hers and the otter filled her pussy with eager, loving spurts of thick lutrine seed.

They lay quietly together through the afterglow, nuzzled close. Finally, at some point after she'd caught her breath and was sure that her legs would not tremble if she stood, Kaia sat up and stretched. Martin remained where he was, watching her.

“So what now?" He asked.

Kaia yawned. She looked for her shirt but could not find it.

“The lifts are probably open," she said. “Or…we could stay in town and go to that town hall museum, with all the old mine stuff."

“You remembered that?" Martin asked, halfway surprised.

Kaia smiled pridefully, but of course the otter hadn't been asking after just their plans for the day.

“What now…" She echoed, and was quiet for a moment. They contemplated together, without worry or doubt. “I think we take our time and see what comes. I thought for the longest time that I knew everything about the two of us, but that's not true at all."

“We might never figure everything out." Martin said, but did not sound even slightly worried.

“Probably not," Kaia agreed. She held out her arms and invited the otter in for a hug. “But I'd like to try."

The otter kissed her on the nose, his smile small and sweet. Then they were quiet, content to hold each other close.