FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Finally, we leave the light of The Swingshot's neon sign towards the entrance of the alley, entering the darkness in between.

With the corner of my eye, I notice the sylveon nervously glance around the corner before fully making the turn, showing the worries he had shared earlier.

«Relax; it's the black one right across the street.» I reassure him, pressing the button to unlock my car.

«Oh, wow! Never seen one so fancy!» he comments, visibly relieved by its proximity as he studies it.

«I would say "ancient"; it's not that much younger than me. Still, it runs well enough.» I retort as we cross the road.

I open the front door to let him in, allowing him to sit where Keiran would usually be.

«You wanted to drive?» I then ask him with a straight face immediately after he's done wearing his seat-belt, catching him off guard.

«Well, if you want to end up parked inside The Swingshot...» he finally retorts, a soft smirk uncovering his adorable fangs.

I chuckle as I turn the key. «Eh! I once tried making Keiran drive, so don't think of it as an impossibility.»

I leave the parking space, hitting the road.

«How did it go?» he tilts his head, his blue gaze filled with curiosity.

«Well, with some temporary "modifications" - meaning, a few books under his ass and a pair of makeshift stilts -, he did manage to reach the pedals while continuing to see the road, but even without going past the second gear, he was a bit TOO aggressive on the break... But that's what seat-belts are for.»

He raises an eyebrow, his grin spreading slightly.

«And you'd make a pokémon with no opposable thumbs try that?» he points out, showing his paws.

«It still wouldn't be the dumbest thing I have ever done.» I retort, pursing my lips.

As per usual, I get stuck at the traffic light soon after, which will likely hold me here for ten minutes to let nothing and no one pass through the intersection.

I glance back at Cody, who's struggling to keep his eyes open as his body slowly slumps against the door, unable to properly lie down.

While I'm watching his breath rhythmically fog up a small section of the window, I start hearing voices approaching from behind the corner of the intersection, hidden by the surrounding buildings.

I'm definitely not imagining them, as even the sylveon tentatively perks up his ears, before waking up completely.

«What's happening..? Drunkards..?» he yawns, shifting under the seat-belt as it leaves a dent in his fur.

Soon enough, a relatively small crowd begins crossing the intersection, all sharing a red, grey and white pattern on their scarves, armbands, and pins while they carry signs and rolled up banners under their arms, as if they were getting ready for a rally.

I can make out "Arceus didn't design this", "Man in the town hall, Mon in the pokéball", and similar nonsense on their banners, which is likely repeated in the small stickers they are applying on street poles and other pieces of infrastructure, and in the leaflets they are sliding in the mailboxes of the surrounding buildings.

«Fucking Owners..!» I grumble, before locking the doors as soon as I notice a couple of them looking towards me.

As they starts approaching, I get ready to switch my foot from the brake to the gas pedal, just in case they decide to repeat the shit they pulled against Keiran's shelter a few weeks ago.

The two look reasonably young, even if their features are mostly hidden by shadows and by their scarves and binis.

In the corner of my eye, I see Cody tense up as he keeps his eyes on them, his ribbons ready to defend him as they slither menacingly in the air.

«Hold on tight, Cody...» I tell him, placing my hand on the gearshift.

However, once near me, one of them gently slides a leaflet between my windshield and the wiper, a hint of awkwardness in the gesture.

As I silently glare at them, guessing they're just edgy teenagers in it over their heads, the light turns green, and I instantly speed past them, before invading the incoming lane to avoid the rest of the group.

«Samuel..! Slow down..! They are not coming after us..!» Cody tries to calm me down when I switch to fifth gear, tensing up in his seat as he his claws desperately cling to it. «And you wouldn't need to go past 20 to lose them..!»

Once far enough, I finally nudge the break with a sigh, until I can finally lower to a fourth.

«Sorry, it was... kind of personal.»

He exhales in relief as we go back to respecting traffic law.

«Oh, how I understand that..!» he agrees, before noticing the leaflet flapping on my wiper.

After opening a slit on his window, he lets his ribbons slide out to go fetch it, before bringing it in.

«By Arceus..! I'm not one to take away freedom of expression, but this is a lot..!» he murmurs, in disbelief.

As I quickly glance at it, I make out the picture of a machamp holding a girl with a leash, likely stolen from some niche porn site, with the caption: "Would you let a pokémon take your daughter?"

A chuckle escapes my lips at its absurdity.

«Ten to one that some of them jerked off to that before publishing it..!»

«Yes... if only they were all this idiotic and not... threatening.» he comments, his posture slumped and his ears flattened.

I fall silent as I place my full attention on the road, feeling guilty for my own lightheartedness.

«It's the next one.» he gives me the heads up, so I steer into the following side street.

Even in the first few meters of the latter, I see several more posters and stickers pasted across the walls, following the path of those brainless fools.

Thinking about it, they might have had a pinch of working neurons to spare: all of the buildings in the block seem to be equipped to have autonomous pokémon tenants, so they clearly aimed before striking.

«Okay, you can stop; it's this grey building to the right.» he replies, releasing his seatbelt as he tilts his head towards it.

After looking in the mirror to make sure nobody actually followed us, I park the car right in front of the entrance, and we both exit.

«Thank you for everything, Samuel!» he replies, giving me a tired smile as we approach the front door.

«You too, bud!» I return, amicably patting his head.

However, he freezes as he notices a sheet of paper hastily taped to the front door: "This is not your pokéball; don't make us take you back to your trainer!"

«Perhaps it's not too late to run them over..!» I hiss, before noticing Cody's distress and giving him priority.

«Do you want to call the police?»

He shakes his head, dejected.

«They would just take a statement and call it a day.» he murmurs, ripping the paper off the door to trash it. «I'd rather have them keep their eyes on the source of the problem, at this point.»

I crouch next to him, rubbing his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

«Want me to stay for the night? Just in case?» I offer, before the sound of wings flapping gets our attention.

A large avian audibly perches up on the adjacent stop sign, her stern look turning into surprise after she cranes her neck forward to get a better look at my face.

«Samuel..?» the staraptor lets out, in disbelief.

«Angela..!» Cody murmurs, his ears straightening and his expression brightening as he sees her, before rushing towards her as soon as she glides down to the sidewalk.

«Oh, Cody, my sweet boy..!» she envelops him with her wings, seemingly relieved. «When I saw those bastards walking along your path home, I became so worried!»

«Samuel gave me a lift!» he reassures her, stepping back to point at me with a ribbon. «And... he almost ran them over.»

She tilts her head as she studies me, seemingly perplexed, before she likely pieces together how we got to this point, and smiles at me.

«Thank you for looking after him, love.»

I nod, smiling back.

«Don't even mention it. How are you, by the way? Haven't seen you at The Swingshot in a while...»

She lets out a tired sigh, before resting her beak on his head.

«My boss is with them; I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason I was handed all the night shifts, this month.» she murmurs, nuzzling Cody's scalp. «But at least I'm free tomorrow, and he can't give me anymore for a while.»

I nod in acknowledgment, studying the mess of paper and stickers once more.

«They are getting bold, aren't they..?» I then observe, thoughtful.

She nods as her gaze follows mine, not hiding her worry.

«That's why I'll stay here with the boy, tonight. Just in case..!»

«If you two want, I can stay too.» I offer again, searching their eyes for an answer.

«Don't worry, Samuel! We can hold our own, and you already did plenty!» Cody ultimately reassures me from within her embrace, gently poking my leg with a folded ribbon. «You should watch over Keiran, if he's alone..!»

Angela nods in agreement, before releasing him to walk towards me.

As she spreads her wings, I crouch down to hug her, the warmth of her plumage blocking out the cold air even better than I had anticipated.

A small part of me envies the sylveon for getting such a blanket, but the rest knows he needs it more than me.

«Stay safe, love..!» she delicately caresses my back with a wing.

«I will.»

«And behave yourself..!» she motherly whispers to my ear as she affectionately rubs her cheek against mine.

«I won't.» I reply without changing tone, getting a chuckle out of both of them, before she hops behind me to playfully spank me with the same wing.

«Goodnight, my cheeky fledgling!» she finally concludes when Cody finally opens the door.

«Goodnight, mama bird.» I return, about to enter the car once again.

«'Night, Samuel!»

«Goodnight, Cody. Don't make her go insane..!» I warn him, before starting the engine to drive away. «Not too much, at least..!»

Turns out the Owners were on the move to reach Pacea, where they are being a pain the ass for the regional council by "besieging" its head offices, judging by what I've been seeing on social media in the past two days.

The bullshit they are spouting must be fairly entertaining to my coworkers, since they have been laughing at it for half an hour now.

«Busy today, aren't we?» I finally comment, at some point.

«Yes, it's a video lesson on... civic education!» Eric promptly replies, looking up from the screen.

«Civic education on WHAT?! You aren't even from here!» George retorts, nudging him away with a clear eagerness to start shit.

«Samueeel! George is racist-ing me!» the "victim" pretends to cry. «Again!»

I sigh, mindlessly scrolling my emails like every Monday morning.

«You're bigger and stronger: smack him and prove to him the superiority of Sinnoh's people.» I dismiss him, trying to get myself out of their ruckus before it gets too bad.

«Hell yeah!» he approves, before lightly smacking his colleague upside the head.

«Ow! Motherfu-!» George protests, trying to slap him back immediately after, but Eric is quick to step out of reach.

Feeling like peace is overrated, Kyle hands him a box of tissues, which gets promptly hurled against the young Sinnohite, and subsequently dodged as it flies into the hallway, followed by a few pens and many other office supplies.

«By Arceus's broken asshole, stand still!» George cusses, looking around for more things to throw at him while everyone giggles.

«Language..!» I distractedly scold him, more out of civic duty than anything.

Ignoring me, George reaches for an old pack of cigarettes from Mike's desk, and tosses it against his enemy, spilling what few cancer sticks were waiting for their fiery demise inside it.

«Hey!» The smoker protests, before trying to find this war's umpteenth makeshift weapon to retaliate with.

Eventually, he steals a squishy stress reliever from Kyle's desk to try and dunk it onto George, but he brutally misses, ending up instantly flattening it against the wall in a sticky green tortilla, making everyone in the room laugh their asses off, myself included.

«No..! Not Bobby..!» Kyle cries out in mock mourning as he kneels in front of the green splatter, his chest shaking from the laughter he's holding in. «You bastard..! You'll pay for that!»

With that said, he marks the start of a proper world war by chasing Mike around with his chair, trying to roll over his feet while the latter kicks him backwards after each attempt.

In the meantime, Eric and George have improved their offensive capabilities by getting hold of two document holders, and they're using their locking strings to shoot crumpled pieces of paper at each other as if they were crossbows, until one of them narrowly misses Lana.

The silence that follows is more deafening than any nuclear armament they would have eventually escalated to, only broken by Bobby as it hits the floor, having finally regained its shape and fallen off the wall.

The lopunny audibly exhales.

«Is playtime over?» she asks, trying to remain calm as she places the first tissue box on a desk.

The boys quickly return to their posts in shameful silence, aware of the heavy peace treaty hanging over their heads.

I look away, still feeling mildly threatened by her.

«If you have nothing to do, there's plenty of formative videos on the company website, aside from a lot of overdue reports from the four of you.» she continues, walking further into the room while she studies the floor, littered from the battle.

«And I strongly suggest you clean up this mess before William notices.»

She stops a couple of meters away from me, before turning with a half spin to walk away.

«On a final note, I would like you to know that that old wreck of a coffee machine you had in the break room has been replaced. Just so you don't have to rely on an ancient moka and its tetanus aftertaste. End of the transmission; you're free to work.»

Out of spite, stress, and curiosity, I stand up as soon as she leaves, willing to try out our aforementioned new toy.

«How many reports are you missing?» «10, you?» «40...» «Holy shit!» I hear the boys whisper to each other while I pass by.

The second I step into the break room, I spot the new machine: twice as large as the old one, with a touch interface more advanced than my phone's and a design so out of place from the rest of the vintage room, it looks like a prop from a budget sci-fi movie.

«I see I made you curious.» Lana startles me by sneakily joining me in the room, before resting on the counter a ceramic cup with the writing: "I'm not bossy; I'm the boss".

«Y- yeah...» I let out, about to grab a paper cup, when she offers me a steel one, with CasterNet's logo painted on it, a C in the shape of a parabolic antenna and a N as a lightning shooting out of it.

«Gift from the company. I'll let the others have theirs once they finish their overdue reports.»

I hesitantly accept it under her scrutinizing gaze, before placing it under the coffee machine. «Thanks...»

She keeps watching me in silence, like every other time she passed me by, allowing a hint of expectation to show in her posture.

«Ah, let me take care of it!» I offer, replacing my cup with hers, nervous.

«It can make up to three at a time.» she lets me know, leaning against the counter with a hint of amusement in her expression.

«I see.» I acknowledge, studying the GUI for a few seconds before trying to get it to work.

In the meantime, the lopunny tilts her head back to try and peer into our room from a distance, before readjusting her glasses.

«Did anything start that mess, or is this something that just happens spontaneously?»

«I mean, from time to time... Shit..! That's not what was in the picture!» I reply, getting startled by the coffee machine as it fires from the wrong nozzle. «C'mon..!»

«And you didn't join the fun?» she inquires further as her eyes follow my hands, betraying her entertainment.

«I try to make it impossible for customers to say that we're ALL mad in here..! Ok, I think I got it!»

The machine starts pouring black coffee into our cups, its pump humming through our silence.

«I wanted a macchiato...» she comments once it's done, resting her chin on her knuckles as she looks up at me once again.

«Let me see if I can get some warm milk in...» I sigh, returning to the main menu as I swallow back a heavy cuss.

«Uh-uh... would you say you're in good terms with them?» she then asks, returning to the previous subject.

«I mean, I'm a tad older than them, but I think we make a good team.» I reply, pushing the last button, and cussing as the milk comes out from the wrong nozzle again.

«Arceus fucking..!»

«Calm down; you should have guessed by now that I'm not going to spill your little secret.» she drops out of nowhere, sending a shiver down my spine as I turn to face her.

Her devilish smile peeks through her lips, even if more discreet than usual.

«So, how's your butt, Sammy? I've heard you got to know Cody...»

She gently pushes me back to take control of the machine, before quickly getting the hot milk inside her cup as my cheeks reach its same temperature.

«That's..!»

«...none of my business. Same as it should have been with what I do with my time and money, but I suppose that didn't stop you from digging around, in the end.» she anticipates me, stern, before picking up both of our cups and offering me mine.

I accept it in a shameful silence similar to my colleagues's, since she has a point.

«Who are you going to vote for?» she suddenly changes topic yet again, after taking a few seconds to blow on her coffee.

«Uh...»

«I'll make it easy: is it "Arceus's Truth"? Occhilupo's "Owners", if you will?» she precedes me again.

«Definitely not!» I confidently reply, raising my hand in denial.

«Good; at least you're not spying for them.» she comments, finally taking a sip.

I do the same, before asking «And you?»

«Solris Center, obviously.» she promptly replies as if I had asked her what color the sky is. «I like having rights, and using them to help others.»

I nod in acknowledgment, not sure what I was expecting.

«Like Mark and Rosaline?»

«If it weren't for them, and the lack of pokémon-owned businesses, the Swingshot would be more of a pastime for me, instead of a symbol for the mons around here.» she replies, her tone and gaze growing firmer as she wipes a stripe of foam off her muzzle. «I'm more focused on making dents where they actually matter, Samuel. As much as I enjoy exploring my own sexuality.»

She downs the rest of her macchiato, and drags a chair towards the sink.

«Some humans and their pokémon think that we should be thankful to them for even getting to breathe in their presence.

Their tailored silk suits were sewn by the labor of ariadoses and the skill of leavannys, and their fancy desks and cushy chairs were carved by bibarels and stuffed with altaria cotton, so they can fuck right off.» she states, stepping onto the chair to wash her own cup. «Others think we should be put on a pedestal as martyrs, as if we were just poor, defenseless children; they do that mostly to take the moral high ground in debates, so they can fuck off just as well. Both are just rich narcissists trying to get richer, each followed by an army of gullible morons and desperate, misguided souls.»

She glances back at me, a silent challenge in her eyes.

«Many of those that still see us as equals are either too busy trying to survive like the rest of us to come forward, or they simply are unable to make their voices heard above the former two. That's who I'm trying to help with said rights, by creating opportunities and giving hopes and wishes for something better. Where my time and money go, to put it bluntly.»

«I see...» I murmur, unsure of what to say.

«So, did my rant satisfy your curiosity, or do you wish to hound me some more?» she asks, ready to leave.

«Yeah, I'm good...»

«Well, in that case, I'll let you know that you can program the coffee machine from its network page.» she unexpectedly adds. «Just so the conversation doesn't end on a bitter note.»

Then, she starts walking away.

«Try not to let the boys mess around too much with it; I wouldn't want to come here on a Monday morning and find a foam penis floating in my cup.»

«Sure.»

She looks over her shoulder one last time.

«Also, since you're such a big, responsible boy, I can trust you'll be careful about who you go to bed with, right?»

«O- of course!» I reply, taken aback.

«Hm. Let's hope so.» she concludes, seemingly uninterested. «Now go finish Ferretti's stuff, before I have to read another one of his condescending emails.»

«Right...» I murmur, getting ready to go back to work myself.

I am not too proud of admitting that I spent a good four hours programming that coffee machine, and even less proud about discovering a forum filled with shitposty configurations for it only after writing a terrible one myself.

At least I still managed to package the customization for that snobbish fucker, and to make up for my "side-project" by making the coffee foam take the shape of the company logo - thanks to a lot of copy-pasting, trial and error, and about a liter of macchiato, obviously.

And finally, the long-awaited weekend comes, and I finally enter The Swingshot.

«Hi, Samuel!» Rose greets me, surprisingly cheerful even for her standards as she energetically sweeps the floor at the entrance.

«Hello! Someone's in high spirits, tonight!»

She smiles with stars in her eyes as she returns to her desk to get a test for me. «We have one of the most unique guests that ever visited our premises..!»

I raise a brow, curious. «More unique than me?»

The gardevoir stops, likely thinking on how to reply to my half-joke as she collects a sample of my saliva.

«Well... you don't see her kind often! In here or elsewhere!» she concludes, before tilting her head towards the lounge once the vial gives me the go-ahead. «I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I'll let you see for yourself..!»

I nod, interested. «And that I will. See you later, girl!»

«Have fun, Casanova!»

The utter dismay on my face is indescribable, and the rest of the customers must share my thoughts, judging by their disgusted faces.

Even Mark is surprised by the presence of the grimer "sitting" in front of him, its sludgy body completely engulfing the stool.

«Love, come here!» Angela calls me, her head surprisingly popping out from above the nearest stall.

«Hi!» I greet her with a whisper as I move without hesitation to sit right next to her, before finding myself facing Cody and Lana, much to my shock.

«Hello..!» he lets out, clearly intimidated by the lopunny right next to him, even if she's just checking her phone.

I wonder if she told him to mind his own business, too.

«Good evening, Samuel.» she coldly greets me without looking up from the screen. «I trust you let Ferretti have his customization before leaving?»

I groan as I finally sit down, annoyed. «Yeah, coupled with a 50 hexabyte zip-bomb for extra flavor.»

Cody chuckles while she graces me with an amused glance, before raising a brow.

«Save your little nerdy jokes for someone who can understand them, big boy.»

«Now, now, darlings.» Angela calls us to order. «You're neither in the office nor in a kindergarten; find a more constructive way to pass the time.»

«We could play treasure hunt with grandma bird's pills...» the lopunny immediately suggests, giving her a devilish grin and receiving a motherly glare in return.

«So, why is nobody going to the counter?» I ask instead, moving my attention to the ongoing exchange between Mark and the grimer, too far away to hear properly among the rustling of the other tables.

«Surprisingly, few mons want to sit by a semi-sentient toxic sludge.» Lana comments with a judgmental glare. «I honestly have no idea how it even got past Rosaline, given its stench.»

I furrow my brows, taking in some air from its general direction. «I can't smell anything.»

«And I can't read anything from it...» Cody adds, his ribbons extending towards the blob as they extend around Lana, who is quick to swat them away.

«First of all: that's rude. Second: bold of you to assume you can read anything resembling a coherent thought from that thing. Third and final point: don't you get me started on a human's sense of smell-» she grumbles, ending the sentence abruptly by looking at me with a mixture of suspicion and worry, before narrowing her eyes. «You weren't considering making a move on it, were you?»

I turn back towards the grimer, thoughtful.

«I can actually pick up something... it's just... white noise? Or its equivalent...» Cody interjects, before turning to me. «And you shouldn't try it, friend: it will give you dick rot!»

«Language!» Angela scolds him, making him flatten his long ears against his skull. «But I have to agree, love; it would be... unsafe to say the least.»

Yet, something's not right.

I've witnessed a grimer infestation back in middle school, and the first thing that's missing here is a trail; I tilt my body to check for a portion of the floor that is at least wet, but it's like that pokémon hovered its way to the counter.

Furthermore, it's way too "stable"; grimers are wobbly, and often bubbly as gasses build up inside them.

Finally, they can barely make sounds at will, while this one seems to be exasperating the bartender.

«Are you sure it's real?» I let out while lost in thought.

Lana lets out a sneering chuckle at my question. «Well, why don't you approach it and take in the delightful aroma of musty water and decomposing flesh, just to make sure?»

«To me it smells of expired chemicals and sweat...» Cody interjects, his nose scrunched in displeasure.

Angela narrows her eyes, perplexed by their statements.

«To me it's rotting semen and blood-stained feathers.»

After hearing all of that, I stand up.

«Please, tell me you're just going to the bathroom to hurl.» the lopunny mutters while giving me another worried look.

«I'm going to take a closer look.»

Angela's talons try to catch the back of my trousers, followed by Cody's ribbons, but I'm already out of reach.

«Love, it's a terrible idea!» «Samuel..!»

The closer I get, the stranger the reflection on its surface looks, too blurry to match the latter.

«I want good stinky water!» I hear it garble in an almost forced way.

«Again, you will have to be more specific than that... dear customer.» Mark replies, a small hint of annoyance and disgust in his usually stoic demeanor.

Eventually, I sit at the counter right next to them, feeling the room hold its breath, likely from more than just the supposed stench.

«Samuel!» Mark lets out, surprised. «Good evening.»

The grimer turns slightly, its eyes rotating in its semi-transparent orbit to lock onto me, empty and lifeless.

For a few seconds, it remains still, as if pondering its next move.

And out of nowhere, a foul stench of burnt plastic and hot sewage floods my nostrils, making me physically recoil.

This is not normal; it's like it did it on purpose!

«Arceus almighty..!» I mutter, glad I only had a sandwich, earlier.

«Hello, human friend! You like stinky water too?» it grovels with a slightly feminine tone. «Big dummy pokémon no know stinky water!»

The machamp blinks slowly while he breathes in deeply, likely trying to remain calm and collected.

I feel like whatever I'm looking at is actively trying to be a nuisance, for some reason.

«Hello... friend.» I reply, immediately noticing that covering my nose and mouth doesn't make an immediate difference, as if there were a dream-like delay in my senses. «Why did you come here to ask for... "stinky water"? There's plenty outside, and it's free.»

«I... smell good stinky here!» the stench wavers as it gives an uncertain answer.

«Uh-uh.» I nod, spotting a pulsating vein on Mark's neck at the mention of "good stinky" in the place he's constantly keeping clean even as we speak, trying his best to focus on washing dishes. «I'm sure the nice gardevoir at the entrance welcomed you with open arms when you said that.»

«Yes! She like stink too!» it insists, making the muscular pokémon bend a metal spoon between his fingers while he scrubs it.

I simply stare at the grimer in silence as it lightly shimmers, wondering if there's a proper way to approach this properly before the bartender finds a different use for his four hands.

«Enjoying this game of pretend?» I ultimately decide to confront it directly, feeling the urgency in the situation as the hulking mon glares at it over his shoulder.

The sludge stops for a second, before giggling in a completely different tone.

«I am!» it replies in a fully female voice, before its form bursts into sparkles like a huge, magical soap bubble, taking away the stench with it.

In its place, an elegant red and white figure is left, with a sinuous long neck, two triangular wings, and a pair of cunning, golden eyes, which begin studying me while a small amused grin appears on her muzzle.

There are no doubts about it: she's a latias!

No wonder Rose was so excited to have her here!

«Had I expected a human, I would have made a better illusion!» she comments, her eyes still carefully scanning me. «You are lucky, strange man!»

The whole room stares at her in disbelief, Lana conveying a silent "what the fuck" with her furrowed brows and parted lips - not sure if because I was right, or simply for the dragon's unexpected appearance -, while Angela and Cody are simply in awe like the rest of the witnesses.

Even Mark hesitates for a second, before finally regaining his cool.

«I suppose you're not after "stinky water" anymore.» he comments, resting his hands on the counter, distractedly leaving four wet prints on it.

She chuckles, likely still proud of her own antics.

«No! I want to try the fancy colorful ones behind you!» she confidently replies, studying the bottles before turning back to me with a tilted head and perked ears.

«What is a lone human doing in a place filled with pokémon?»

«Same thing as everyone else.» I reply, feeling strangely intimidated by her presence, despite knowing her species actively tries to avoid confrontations in normal circumstances.

I immediately avoid her gaze as the memory of Lana's Attraction comes to mind, but the feeling persists.

«So, going insane due to these strange waters and then mating to exhaustion?» she guesses as Mark places a drink filled with small colorful berries in front of her, before quickly wiping his own hand-prints off the counter as soon as he notices them. «That sounds fun!»

«I chose to bring you a Daiquiri with forest berries; it should respect the diet your species follows, miss...» he gives an explanation once satisfied with the dried counter, pausing to let her give us her name.

«Calypso.» she introduces herself as she lets her arms and claws extend from underneath her streamlined forearms to take the glass.

As she tastes the drink, her eyes widen and her dawn ruffles itself, turning her partially invisible for a few seconds, which makes me feel... strangely lightheaded.

«Oh, this is delicious! So sweet and... warm and cold at the same time? Strange...» she lets out, licking her lips.

Once her brief "light show" is over, Mark turns to me. «I'm sorry I left you behind, Samuel; what can I bring you?»

«Don't worry; I get it. Uh... A Nomel Spark for me, please.»

He nods, deftly getting to work.

In the meantime, Calypso has already downed the entire glass, and is now trying to capture the leftover berries at the bottom with her tongue, before her eyes meet mine once again, at which point she remains perfectly still.

Her demeanor is... unique, same as the way she referred to alcohol as if it were an esoteric concept, and the strange passing sensations I've been feeling in my head ever since she started speaking to me.

«I'm not going to eat you, steal from you, or cause trouble.» she openly states, before smoothly licking the remnants of the drink off her lips.

I blink repeatedly, taken aback by her words.

«I'm sorry?»

«You are suspicious of me.» she states, tilting her head while her feathered ears rotate slightly, listening to her surroundings. «Usually that's what pokémon are worried about, when I'm around.»

«In... in the wild, maybe.» I retort, confused, before a possible reason crosses my mind. «You're not from here, are you?»

«I live in the forests up north, near the big river that crosses them. "Shepherd", you call it, "because it brought all the trees around itself".» she confirms as if she were quoting someone else.

So, she's actually a wild pokémon.

I furrow my brows as I consider that some more, perplexed by her knowledge of human speech.

Usually mons pick it up from humans, like children, so she should have had little to no way to learn.

«Humans are not that uncommon or secretive, around the Shepherd. And they're so noisy..!» she pretty much answers my unspoken question, which makes me wonder if she has some sort of ability that lets her read emotions and intents, like Cody, or maybe something even more powerful than that.

Mark places the drink in front of me, which makes the latias flinch.

«So tangy!» she chirps, blinking as if the nomel berry's juice had been sprayed right into her eyes, before talking to the machamp.

«Hey, big pokémon? Can I have more berry water from earlier? The Da...»

«Daiquiri. Certainly, I'll put it on your tab.» he assents, getting ready to make another one.

She tilts her head again, perplexed.

«What's a "tab"?» she inquires, making him stop in his tracks.

«Well, you will have to pay me for the one you drank before, and any other beverage you will order subsequently. These are recorded in a list called "tab".» he concisely explains. «Unless you have a membership, in which case, the first one is on the house.»

«"Membership"..? I don't know what that is, either, but I'll gladly trade with you!»

With that, Calypso unties a small rope that was hidden under the plumage around her waist, along which are tied several small objects; on the fly, I spot a lone pearl earring, a small golden ring, and several other precious trinkets.

«Is there anything that interests you?»

Mark narrows his eyes, perplexed.

«While some of your items seem to be valuable, their origin is... unclear.» he replies, visibly suspicious. «If they were made by you, or directly usable as ingredients or materials, we could trade, but...»

«Oh, how about this, then?» she interrupts him, confidently plucking one of her own feathers, before placing it in front of him, causing him to furrow his brows further as he picks it up to inspect it.

The red feather glints under the neon lights, making it turn partially invisible once the latter hit it at the right angle.

The machamp sighs. «This...»

«The nice gardevoir at the entrance accepted one, too!» she insists, clearly determined to get that drink.

«She did?» he asks, his posture tensing up, and the latias nods in response. «I know humans like them!»

«I'm aware, but it's also not good to own too many, especially in such pristine conditions.» he retorts, seemingly worried. «It could get us investigated under the suspect of holding one of your kind captive, which is not an ideal rumor to have spreading around.»

Her confidence wavers as she's likely out of viable currencies, and disappointment starts to set into her expression.

«I will accept it regardless, so at least your current tab is covered.» Mark reassures her, gently picking up the feather to store it in a drawer.

Feeling sorry for her, I put the money on the counter. «I'll get her the drink.»

Her ears perk up, and her eyes quietly study me once more as the machamp nods. «Very good. Is there anything else I can bring you, Samuel?»

«No, thanks.» I shake my head. «One is enough for me.»

As soon as he turns to get more ingredients, she leans towards me.

«Are you courting me?» she asks out of nowhere, smirking in amusement as her gaze roams across my figure. «You feel like a shy human, so gifts would be a viable path for you to do so!»

«Excuse me?!» I reply, shocked.

«Oh, right! You must want to mate with me!» she adds, chuckling as her feathers rouse. «That's what happens in this place, after all!»

«Wait, hold on a second-!» I try to stop her, before she swiftly presses herself against me, rubbing her cheeks against my face.

«You know, I've seen many pokémon of different species mating together, but I wonder if we could make eggs!» she states, continuing to leave her scent on me as her movements grow more and more excited.

Embarrassed, I try guiding her snout away, but her sinuous neck allows her to quickly shift to another spot. «Calypso..!»

«Your Daiquiri.» Mark audibly puts down the filled highball, getting her attention back as he glances at me, raising his eyebrows to quietly ask if I need help.

«Oh, nice!» she replies, taking the glass and bringing it between us.

After drinking some, she offers it to me with a welcoming smile.

«Uh, no thanks-» I refuse, but she still pushes the highball to my lips, tilting it to make me drink me a good chunk of it.

«Don't be shy; we have to share to thrive together!» she states, kind, but firm.

«Mark..!» I call him, struggling against her surprising strength as I almost choke on the Daiquiri.

«Miss Calypso, you seem to misunderstand the nature of your relationship.» the bartender intervenes, leaning forward on the counter. «The Swingshot is meant to let pokémon have temporary companionship, and STRONGLY advocates for mutual consent, whether you choose to extend that past your time here, or not.»

The latias tilts her head as she turns towards him, disgruntled, but she at least takes the glass off my face. «So... I can't have him as my mate?»

«If he doesn't explicitly agree to it, no.»

She pouts as she looks back at me, her golden eyes studying me through furrowed brows.

Eventually, she grins slyly, much to my concern.

«So, Samuel, what do you like in a female?» she asks, purring as her shiny feathers rouse in a display of health and beauty.

I sigh, drinking half my glass in one go.

«Genuinity?» I then suggest while she sways lightly to show off her body some more, before instantly pausing with a confused expression.

She furrows her brows and leans towards Mark, keeping her eyes on me. «What does that mean?» she whispers.

«That you should be yourself instead of pretending to be something you're not.» he explains, more focused on cleaning her glass than anything.

«Whew! So I'm the female for you!» she concludes with a note of relief in her voice, before proudly lifting her chin.

I roll my eyes, realizing that I might need a second drink.

Likely noticing my "hesitation", she turns on her back while remaining in the air, before backstroking towards me to rest her head on my lap and smugly meet my gaze, almost making me spit the rest of the Nomel Spark.

«Maybe I'm too dominant for you? I can let you control me for a while, if you wish~! I'll act like I'm yours~! Do anything you wish~!»

«So long for genuinity...» I grumble, huffing as I shoo her off my thighs. «I'm not an Owner, so "controlling" like that isn't my style!»

She chuckles. «I am genuine! I'm simply adaptable and not bound by harsh rules or "morals", as you call them! Whatever it takes to survive and thrive!»

Then, she tilts her head, curious. «You thought of a really bad image when you said "Owner", by the way; what do you mean by that?»

«Essentially, if you see someone wearing a piece of red, white, and gray clothing, you turn the other way; if they catch you in a pokéball, you'll be treated like a slave.» I reply, sighing. «In the best case scenario.»

«So, they are predators?» she asks, interested.

I let out a bitter chuckle, the alcohol starting to loosen me up. «I wouldn't put it past them..! But they are mostly just insufferable assholes!»

She nods, focused on my face.

«They block roads to spout their bullshit, which nobody even cares about; they go after anything for pokémon, owned by pokémon, or related to pokémon in any way, shape or form-»

A mental picture of a latias orally pleasing me suddenly interrupts my train of thought, leaving me deeply confused and flustered for a second.

«Uh... And they transmit their... idiotic bigotry, for lack of better words, to the kids they bring with them, ensuring generations of morons-»

This time, the thought of her confidently presenting herself to me hits even harder, sending a jolt of anticipation down my body, making me shiver.

What the hell..?

Her gaze is still locked on me, her mouth curved in a faint smile as she listens, or convincingly pretends to do so.

«I-!»

Before I can resume, a third image captures my senses, making me face the latias as she rides me wildly, overwhelming me with the feral texture of her walls, her muzzle descending towards my lips to demand a kiss.

Immediately after, I find Calypso's head in the exact same place of her imaginary counterpart, her golden eyes peering right into mine as a fanged smirk crosses her expression.

Those sensations..! They felt so real!

Is she doing this?!

«You look funny when you get worked up!» she comments, cupping my cheeks between her claws with a mix of amusement and endearment. «But you should let yourself go, ignore things that don't directly concern you... and focus on what you desire.»

I can feel my blood racing through every vessel inside my body as the latter silently but not subtly demands her, ensnared by the powerful illusions she offered.

«If you don't want me to court you, I will stop...» she murmurs, resting her hand on my chest, her claws gently pricking the flesh under my clothes to feel my heartbeat, her feathers bristling with subtle excitement, as if she were about to steal my heart from my chest. «... even if it's likely too late, now.»

My emotions are in complete disarray, urging me to jump her on the spot, to claim her and be claimed by her in return.

This is not like Lana's hypnosis, or Cody's feelers!

«I can feel it, Samuel..! You want me to be your mate.» she tempts me, a claw trailing from my jaw down to my neck, my chest, and belly...

«Calypso.» Mark calls her to order, a spike of annoyance traveling from her mind straight to mine as her plan is temporarily foiled. «You are overstepping your boundaries; the decision is still his to make.»

The unbothered gaze of superiority she gives him, followed by the absolute coldness and possessiveness that fills her very being as her grip tightens above my heart send a shiver down my spine.

Not only is she ready to battle him, but she's also certain she will win.

«This is the last warning you will receive, miss.» he concludes, glancing at the opposite side of the room.

Following his eyes, it's easy to spot Rosaline at the entrance of the hall, warily glaring at the latias while her hair and gown sway lightly as if moved by a soft breeze, most likely due to her primed psychic powers.

Lana is leaning against the wall right behind her, just as attentive, likely being the one who went to warn the gardevoir.

Meanwhile, Angela is trying to hold Cody back, whose feelers are threateningly slithering in the air, pointed towards Calypso as his teeth are bared and his fur raised.

A heavy tension hangs in the air, the danger of a fight breaking out palpable as the latias's confidence barely wavers while she studies her potential opponents, the sylveon in particular.

«I consent!» my slightly slurred words split the silence like a searing knife through butter.

Mark turns towards me, surprised. «Samuel, you don't have to accept her, if you don't want to.»

«I'm okay.» I reassure him, despite not being fully convinced myself. «She just needs to work on her manners..!»

Calypso's mind instantly regains some warmth, a pleasantly surprised smirk appearing on her muzzle.

«Well, I guess we can have some fun together, at least!» she playfully comments, taking her keycard out of a feathery ridge in her plumage.

Her emotions resemble the climate on a mountain: as extreme as they are prone to change.

I've heard her species's emotional intelligence is among the most advanced in nature; that must be why she's like this.

Suddenly, she brings me up on my feet from my seat, before ramming into me rear-first, making me cling to her shoulders once I fall on her back.

«Oof! What are you-?!» I try to protest, but right after her claws tighten around my hands, she lifts me off the ground and speeds up the stairs in the blink of an eye, the sheer acceleration leaving me dizzy and disoriented when she stops just as suddenly in front of a room.

The second she lets go of my hands, I start stumbling backwards, but she immediately grabs a hold of my jacket to keep me from losing my balance.

«This door has the same symbol as the key... How do we get in?» she asks with perplexity while touching various spots on the door with the keycard.

«Put it there..!»

I groggily point at the reader, which unlocks the door with its usual beep when she rests the card against it.

«Now wait-»

But as soon as she gets the door open, she drags me inside the room, and once in its middle, she turns around in an instant, intercepting me as I come crashing forward from the momentum, wrapping her arms around my waist as her tongue invades my mouth in a fierce kiss.

Before I can fully recover, she instantly lifts us both onto the bed, resting on top of me while letting our lips temporarily separate, despite the bridge of saliva connecting them.

«CALYPSO, CALM DOWN!!!» I finally yell, breathless and dizzy.

Surprised, she pulls away by curving her neck into an arch, ending up looking a lot like a swanna.

«I am calm. Are you not feeling good?» she asks, tilting her head to the side as she licks the drool off her lips, curious.

«I don't think you realize just how fast you are..!» I reply, taking advantage of the break to catch my breath.

Her claws rest on my chest as she simply stares at me for a few seconds, thoughtful, before starting to rapidly smell my face, neck and chest.

«Am I your first mate? I can't smell anyone on you... wait, maybe one of those short blue and yellow fighters?» she asks, continuing, before pulling up a single blue hair from my trousers. «Ah, yes, here!»

«That's just my lucario's... and I've already had three partners in here. Why are you asking?» I reply, shivering every time I feel her warm breath through my clothes.

She pouts slightly at my words, before rubbing her cheeks against me once more.

«Well, if you're still so slow and inexperienced, they must have not taught you properly! They didn't even try to mark you!»

«That's not the issue! Your species-!» I protest, immediately getting nips on my skin in response. «Ow! OW!!! Calypso!!! That hurts!!!»

An annoyed groan escapes her throat as she starts licking me instead.

«You should give up and let me make you mine; I'm the strongest between us, and I'm a good mate!» she retorts, grumbling as I try to keep her tongue away from my lips.

«Why the hell would I do that?! We barely know each other, and I don't need any of this!»

She stops for a second to give me a mischievous smirk.

«Because you're helpless!» she croons, quickly but gently pinching my nose to tease me. «Without a strong mate to protect you, anyone can force you to do whatever they want!»

I move my hand to swat her claws off my face, but she retracts them way before I can even get close, all while cheekily holding my gaze.

«That hasn't happened yet..!» I partially lie as Lana comes to mind, and judging by her eyes narrowing, she must have already picked up on that.

«And I'm far from helpless!»

She crosses her arms, skeptically raising a brow as she shifts her weight on my chest.

«Think about the others back down there; how many of them could you fight off on your own?» she challenges me.

I remain silent for a second, before starting to retort «They aren't-!»

In the blink of an eye, I feel her fangs pressed against my neck, an "aura" of dominance exuding from her as she slowly releases me.

«But they could... and you are, in fact, helpless.» she insists, audibly clicking her jaws closed. «They could capture you, and take away your freedom forever. Or just eat you!»

Then, she moves slightly upwards in the air, her golden eyes glowing under the soft neons.

«I, on the other hand, could have beaten them with ease; the only ones who worried me were the nice psychic lady, and that little pink pokémon with the creepy tentacles. Well, I guess the big bird was scary, too, but she seemed too nice to threaten me!»

Her muzzle descends upon my face once more, her breath washing over my lips.

«So, why not just become mine?»

«And how would you be any different?» I retort, turning my head away. «You'd take away my freedom for your pleasure yourself!»

A claw gently placed on my cheek turns me back towards her.

«Well, I wouldn't hurt you. And we would be mates, not hunter and prey.» Her snout move closer to my ear, her large glimmering eye casting its light into my own. «With all the good things it would bring..!»

«I'm not helpless!» I firmly retort yet again. «And the world isn't out to get me!»

She sighs, frowning as she retreats.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, she smirks once more, but this time there's a predatory gleam in her eyes.

«How about we play a little game, then?» she offers. «Fight for your freedom; if you win, I will submit to you for the night.»

«And if I lose?» I ask, sitting up to better ready myself for anything she might do.

Her fangs peek from under her lips, right before her feathers audibly rustle to make her disappear.

«You can take three "wounds"..!»

My skin crawls when I notice the curtains move with the air on the other side of the room, proving just how fast and quietly she can move.

As I stand up, unsure on how to deal with the threat, the locker to my right rattles, startling me.

Immediately after, a loud tapping "runs" across the opposite wall as its paintings suddenly slant one after the the other, letting me know that she's inexorably approaching, taking as much time as she needs to terrorize me.

«Hey! This hardly classifies as fighting!» I protest, unnerved.

Out of nowhere, I feel her fangs prick the skin on my left hip, making me scream in surprise. When I finally get a hold of myself and try to catch her, she dashes back with a mocking sneer, before disappearing once more.

«Only because you're losing!» she then retorts, her voice moving rapidly across the room. «Two more wounds, Samuel!»

There's no way I'll ever catch her with my bare hands!

She's probably flying circles around me as I try to gather my thoughts!

I move towards the corner of the room, next to the bed; this should prevent her from sneaking up from behind.

But how do I stop her from attacking me directly? She will outmaneuver me anytime!

An image of myself right now, "snapped" from behind the locker, interrupts my thoughts, sending a shiver down my spine.

Obviously, she's not there, and by the time I'm done looking, a second one hits me, staring at me from the ceiling as I fearfully glance at her previous hiding spot, likely near the chandelier.

The fact that she didn't cast any shadows or obfuscate the bulbs in any way...

She can just toy with light as she pleases; I'm not sure if even Angela could spot her..!

A third image follows without warning, showing an extreme close-up of my face.

I instinctively recoil, hitting the back of my head against the wall, which makes her chuckle from wherever she has moved to now.

«Should I count that as a wound?» she teases me.

Was she holding her breath?! I couldn't hear nor feel her!

«I'm coming to get you, Samuel..!»

My body tenses up in fear, my legs trembling uncontrollably.

A weapon! I need a weapon!

My eyes desperately scan my surroundings, stopping on a pillow, which I wield in self-defense.

The latias slowly reappears a few meters in front of me, giving me a taunting look as she cockily raises her chin.

«Can you repeat what you said you weren't?»

«Fuck you..!» I let out, irritated and afraid.

Calypso giggles as she straightens her neck, aligning it with the rest of her body to streamline it, resembling a fighter jet as she obviously readies herself to charge me head on.

She can't go too fast, or she'll crush us both against the wall; can I intercept her in some way, once she slows down?

I search around some more, and once I spot the messy sheets on the bed, a desperate idea hatches in my brain.

«Are you sure you're quick enough for that to work?» she teases me, licking her lips in anticipation while she finally tucks in her arms and claws.

Immediately after, her figure becomes a blurred line as she rushes towards me.

Holding my breath, I toss the pillow against her, before instantly lifting the sheets, hoping they will at least force her to slow down, if they won't trap her.

However, the cushion is instantly shot away from the impact, and the blankets are inflated like a balloon by the sheer amount of air she moves before tackling and lifting me upwards.

«URGH!!!» I groan while I feel myself being spun around several times, until we end up crashing back on the bed, one on top of the other as we had started.

Once I manage to get my bearings, my gaze finds hers, staring me down triumphantly.

«You have one more try... but if you give up now, I'll let you have a nice spot in our nest...»

Her pelvis starts teasingly grinding against my own, making me flinch in surprise. «...right next to where I will lay our eggs!»

«You know, for someone so fixated on freedom, you seem to have a lot of disregard for others'..!» I retort, growing more frustrated with every hump.

«Only when theirs prevents me from enjoying my own..!» she cheekily retorts, delicately running one of her claws across my chest. «I just want you to be mine; I know humans live complex lives, so I would still let you do what you need.»

Her muzzle nears my lips, her golden eyes shining with possessiveness. «And you would receive my company and protection..! What's so bad about it, my lovely mate..?»

I move my hands towards hers, meekly taking them without betraying a single emotion.

Then, I move my lips next to her ear, under her warm gaze.

«I don't need your permission to do shit.» I whisper before clenching my fingers around her forearms, taking her by surprise.

Slamming my feet against the mattress, I create enough leverage for my legs to flip us over, bringing me on top of her as she chirps in dismay, her eyes wide open as I pin her arms along her neck, blocking her body under my weight.

«What if someone stronger were to apply the same logic back on you? Would you be content with that?!» I reply, angry. «And don't give me that bullshit about being adaptable, because it's obviously just a rephrasing of "bend rather than break"!»

For the first time, her emotions are dead silent, as if they took shelter within the inner depths of her mind, the slight, uneven rising and falling of her chest the only thing showing she is alive, while the rest of her keeps perfectly still.

«And there you go; all that talk, and yet, the "helpless" human is the one that does you in!» I continue. «Go on! Let your emotions flow freely..!»

I lower my face closer to hers.

«...I'll let you do what you need!» I bitterly whisper, before a powerful wave of lust floods my brain in an instant, sending a shiver down my spine.

I meet her gaze once again, bewildered, and while her ears are flattened in submission, her pupils are dilated, swallowing my figure, her breathing labored as her fins quiver.

«What... what are you doing?» I let out, feeling strangely more "powerful" than usual, her arousal definitely kindling my own.

She starts purring in response, gently moving her neck towards my abdomen as she keeps staring at me, before hiding her head within my shirt to delicately lick my skin, drawing a gasp out of me.

Is this really the same latias from two minutes ago?

Hesitantly, I free her arms, and she slowly settles herself on her belly, trying to flatten herself as much as possible against the mattress in another display of submission, her tongue still running across my skin.

Surprised and intrigued, I move my hand to her head to gently caress it, getting a shrill purr in return, followed by a spike of need.

Did she... submit to me? Is she treating me like a stronger latios?

Soon enough, she notices the tent her emotions made me pitch in my trousers, and tentatively nuzzles it with her snout, tilting her head to look up at me as she nudges it around, audibly taking in my scent, which turns me on way more than it should.

Finally, she rests her chin on top of my erection as she glances up at me once again, letting out a soft, begging whimper.

I'm not sure if it's her influencing me in some way, or if it's just a combination of arousal and spite, but I'm definitely enjoying seeing her squirm.

I delicately lift her head away from my groin, to which she peeps interrogatively, before I part her lips with two of my left fingers, taking her aback as I challenge her jaws to let them in.

With my other arm, I guide her onto my lap, before I feel something wet rub against me through my trousers.

As I turn her around to have her back against my chest, I glance over her shoulder, immediately spotting the drenched feathers at the base of her tail, from where a wild, yet oddly arousing musk is spreading, likely the umpteenth way she can hijack someone's emotions with.

«Good girl.» I find myself lowly growling in her ear, making her tremble as I see her wet plumage trying to ruffle itself up against the weight of her own fluids.

Continuing to tease her teeth until she lets me into her mouth, I slowly, delicately move her intimate plumage around, wanting to hear her beg some more.

Eventually, I uncover her thick, wide labia, vaguely reminiscent of Angela's cloaca, were it not for the separate anus; their texture is smooth and glistening with her nectar as they pulse, resembling a pair of lips trying to eat my fingers every time the latter barely graze them.

Her teeth start nervously nibbling me, her tongue lapping my fingertips as she whimpers, a hint of frustration escaping her mind, poorly concealing her enjoyment of it all.

I continue teasing her femininity for a little while, wetting my digits with her juices to lube them up, before finally moving them into her entrance, revealing two holes as I gently spread her folds.

Calypso cries out more as she nibbles me, her hips thrusting against my fingers on their own, but I deftly pull them out, getting a desperate yelp in return, followed by even thirstier, aroused thoughts.

Slowly, I dive my index and middle finger back into her larger hole, feeling it instantly clench around them, energetically yet harmlessly hugging them as she purrs in satisfaction.

I delicately rub her insides, looking for her g-spot as she mentally shares her thankfulness and pleasure, alongside the images of me on top of her, taking her wildly.

«Calm down...» I whisper into her ear, my voice not abandoning its dangerous edge, which makes all of her emotions and feelings take a metaphorical step back.

Despite that, her walls keep trying to swallow my digits, her actual mouth suckling and nibbling my other hand as her eyes lose focus once more, her purrs reaching my ears yet again.

Feeling her contractions and lust grow stronger and seeing her fins and wings flicking in excitement, I can easily tell she's close.

I pull my left fingers out of her mouth to bring her muzzle closer to my face for a kiss, which she reciprocates without hesitation, purring and chirping against my lips.

Her mouth still tastes like her Daiquiri, and judging by her tongue occasionally "jumping back", she must feel the tangy remnants of my Nomel Spark, even if she's too taken away to state it.

A few seconds later, her emotions run me over like a truck as her hole closes around my digits, before a small river of her arousal bathes my hand and trousers, her lithe yet powerful muscles contracting against me as she suddenly puffs up, becoming invisible for a split second.

I fall back from the sheer load her climax dropped onto my mind, similar to an extremely powerful electrical shock.

As I lie there, my fingers only fall out of her hole when she turns around to scoot closer to my face, which she timidly looks upon from just a few centimeters away.

«Samuel... Are you okay..?» she murmurs, finally remembering she knows how to speak as she hesitantly nudges my chin with her snout.

«You just dropped an emotional nuke on me... give me a minute to recover.» I reply like a voicemail, not fully there yet.

«I- I'm sorry. Males are usually capable of handling things like that..!»

«Humans already struggle with regular emotions; you're pretty much a gunship in that department, compared to us.»

«I don't know what that is... but it conveys an image of power to you.» she comments. «Similar to what your display from earlier did for me. You felt a lot like my brother...»

Well, that answers it.

«Can I... have it?» she suddenly asks, with the mix of hesitation and eagerness of someone who was holding in an uncomfortable question for way too long.

«Have what?» I raise my head to look at her, when I finally realize my erection is still pressing against her through my drenched clothes.

«Oh, "it". Uh... as long as you're gentle.»

Hopefully, if I act stern enough, she will keep behaving herself.

A note of her happiness touches my mind, similar to a kid receiving candy, and she arches her neck to reach my groin, her claws delicately scraping against my bulge, trying to move my trousers out of the way.

I wonder if I could actively share a mental image with her, instead of having her invade my entire mind every time...

Unsure on how she does it, I try by focusing deeply on her head and on the feelings of mild frustration she's sharing with me.

Calypso's ears perk up as she quietly glances up at me, taking me by surprise.

Did I "poke" her?

While focusing on her golden eyes, I picture myself slowly taking off my belt, making sure every step is clear, before mentally unzipping my trousers.

As soon as I finish that thought, she coos in a way that make it sounds like a "oooh!" of understanding.

And soon enough, she pulls up my shirt, revealing my belt and swiftly repeating the steps I pictured in my mind.

«So you actually saw that?» I ask her, with a hint of pride and disbelief.

«It was faint, but yes- More?!»

Her brows furrow as she finds my underwear behind my trousers, a hint of betrayal coating her thoughts.

«You can just move that aside, it's not secured.» I quickly reassure her before she can get frustrated again.

Done that, the latias finally finds herself facing what she was looking for, her eyes taking in my shape with curiosity.

«It looks like a tall mushroom.» she then states out of nowhere, making me chuckle.

«What were you expecting?»

«Uh... every pokémon is different, so I don't know...» she admits, gently touching its tip, sending a spark straight through my brain. «My brother's was bigger, and more... wriggly.»

I narrow my eyes. «"Wriggly"?»

«Well, it would try to hook my arm while I stroked it.»

My eyes widen twice their original size. «You- you stroked your brother's cock?» I ask, taken aback, with an automatic hint of disgust in my tone.

«Yes..? And he licked me down here!» she replies with a touch of annoyance, placing her fingers on her entrance, as if I were judging her for something completely normal. «Until he found himself a female and went off with her.»

«Uh... I see.» I try to conclude with, attributing it to "culture shock".

«We didn't mate, obviously!» she's quick to add, sensing my uncertainty.

«Okay, okay! I get it!»

«Just... this!» she starts stroking my shaft, before being briefly surprised by my foreskin. «Oh..! Weird!»

«Calypso, I got the point! You don't need to-»

«Well, he didn't have these, either!» she adds, feeling my balls with her claws. «But I did this, if he needed it!»

She gently takes my rod in her mouth, her tongue caressing my skin as she audibly sucks on it.

«Calypso..!»

Unable to reply for obvious reasons, she starts showing me scenes of her in front of a latios's groin, using both of her hands to stroke his sizable tapering penis, around three times my own, while its tip wriggles and bend in her grasp, as if it were trying to grab her back.

Surprisingly, I think I can feel his feelings of pleasure and affection for his sister, too, aside from her own, as if I were connected with both of them.

I guess this is how they share information and stories with each other?

Suddenly, I find myself back in the room, still inside her mouth as she looks up at me, her claws gently playing around with my balls, treating them like an interesting toy.

«Uh..!» I let out as I finally realize I'm getting close, since that memory took me away from my body until now.

«Calypso, I'm about to..!»

She emits a peep of approval, letting me know she's ready.

Soon enough, I finish down her throat before she lets me fall out of her lips, semi-hard and coated in a mix of saliva and semen.

«And this is how it ended most of the time; taking the white honey off my feathers was a nightmare, even if I bathed in the river..!» she picks up the previous thread. «Drinking it is far easier, even if it tastes weird! But we kept berries around for this very reason.»

«Well, you could have told me you didn't like doing that. Do you know what a contraceptive is?» I ask her, sliding out from under her to get to the usual cupboard.

She tilts her head in confusion, obviously clueless.

I open the piece of furniture, and I start looking among the human-like condoms, wondering what to use with her.

«Well, there are several types. They're from preventing the "white honey" from getting where it's not supposed to.» I briefly explain. «The ones I'm looking at act as a bag to hold it when it comes out.»

«Oh! Don't worry about it, then!» she replies, turning around to lift her rear, eagerly presenting her entrance to me. «It's supposed to go in here!»

I raise a brow in response.

«If you want to have chicks, sure.» I retort, deciding to go with a stimulating condom, since she's built for a male with a larger endowment than mine. «But that's not our case, is it?»

I can feel her pout without even looking at her, probably thanks to the poorly hidden annoyance coating her mind like a prickly mist.

I wear the contraceptive regardless, not putting too much weight on it.

«We've been through this already...» I retort, turning around to go back to her.

She huffs as she glares at me, before throwing the pillow from earlier at me as she sticks her tongue out in a mix of spite and playfulness.

«Cool. Thanks for that!» I retort, mildly amused.

«You're welcome!» she chirps cheekily, before raising her rear higher for me. «Can you at least make me feel like we're going to make eggs?»

«That I can do.» I agree, gently grabbing one of her fins to hold her still, getting a shiver in return.

Holding the base of the condom in place, I slowly enter her, feeling her warmth softly envelop me, her walls calm and welcoming as they accept my intrusion.

«Do you feel anything? Your brother was way bigger than me, so I'm not expecting you to feel full.» I inquire, tilting my head to gauge her reaction over her shoulder.

«It's nice! Like being pet inside!» she chirps, content, before her eyes suddenly narrow. «Wait... it feels... tingly?»

«It's the contraceptive; this one should make you slightly more sensitive.» I reply, hoping she can take it, since while there were no contraindications listed on the box, I doubt it was tested on her species.

«Oh..!» she gasps, trembling as I move inside her. «I like it..! Oh..! More, please..!»

Soon enough, she closes her eyes and starts cooing in delight, her claws grasping the sheets as she sends me images of a large nest with two sizable eggs, a blue one and a red one, along with strong feelings of love and longing.

«Only two eggs?» I playfully comment, patting her downy flank as her mood improves my own. «How about four, or six?»

Her eyes open wide, her ears perked up in surprise.

«Yep! All in here!» I wink at her, leaning forward to caress her lower belly as I thrust into her.

I'm fueling her fantasy, so she can at least enjoy herself properly.

The new image she shares shows four more eggs in the nest, and she thrills happily, the sheer volume making my ears ring lightly, before she pushes back against me, trying to get my rod deeper inside her, chirping as she urges me to fill her up, forgetting about the condom as she "returns" that feeling of dominance to my mind.

«Eager, aren't we?» I murmur, reaching out to cup her chin before caressing her cheek.

Her entrance nips at my member, which brings my attention back to the fingers I'm holding the rubber with, since it would likely only take a moment of distraction for the latter to get "snatched" and end up stuck inside her.

A series of strong contractions inside her, paired with her escalating feelings, makes me think she's about to hit me with a second climax.

Even after bracing myself, I go blind as soon as her walls clamp down on me, my entire nervous system going numb as her orgasm utterly obliterates my defenses.

Once I finally return to the world of the living, the first thing I feel is something hitting my groin repeatedly, which I quickly find out to be her rump, since she's still impaling herself on my rod, whimpering with wild need.

I sit up, finding myself still holding tightly onto the condom, to the point where my fingers and cock hurt, as if some external force were controlling my grip.

«Rest is for the weak, uh..?» I groggily let out, letting her have her fun as I lean back down on the bed, still trying to recover.

Eventually, the familiar sensation of my impending peak makes itself known, and I don't even bother to warn Calypso, since she's going to feel it from my mind, and the contraceptive will keep her dry... or at least prevent me to contribute to the flood that hit the sheets.

With a soft groan and a brief curling of my toes, my body announces its job its done, and soon enough, she stops, breathing somewhat heavily as she looks back at me, her pupils dilated and her mouth open as she heaves and drools.

«Well, it looks like you've enjoyed yourself, in the end.» I comment, amused.

«We're going to have so many chicks..!» she lets out, visibly excited, which gets a chuckle out of me.

«Ah, right, six eggs!» I recall from the fantasy as I pull out, before a wave of dread shakes me to the core as I see cum leaking from the tip of the condom while I drag it out of her.

A wave of possessive feelings creeps across my mind, making me feel hunted.

«W-what..?» I murmur, taking off the rubber to inspect it.

It definitely wasn't broken when I put it on!

I study the hole: long and thin, with burned edges, as if-

My eyes widen.

...As if it had been slashed with enough speed to give it friction burns!

«Calypso..! Did you-»

When I look up to meet her gaze, I find her slowly crawling forward, stalking me like a predator, her pupils nearly swallowing whole the gold of her eyes.

«All mine..!» she breathes out, purring as she licks her lips.

I swiftly pull up my underwear, before rolling off the bed as she tries to pounce on me, her claws grazing my back.

Once on my feet, I rush towards the door, shoeless and with my clothes barely clinging to me as I slam the handle open.

However, before I can call for help, the air is punched out of my lungs the second she tackles me like a shrieking truck, sending us both against the opposite wall.

As my head spins from the impact and the rapid acceleration, I can feel her wildly lick and nip at my neck and face, purring and chirping possessively, the musk of our coupling still clinging to her.

«HELP!!!» I finally yell, right before she energetically kisses me to silence me, biting my mouth with a warning low growl, her groin still grinding against mine as she forces images of happy couples of her kind sharing tender moments.

Trembling, I try to bring my hands to her neck, but she's way faster, pressing her claws against my throat as she reads my emotions like an open book.

I silently plead for mercy, fearful and uncertain of my fate as an aura of possession exudes from her, making her feel larger and stronger than she actually is.

«You're going to kill my only decent subordinate, that way.» a familiar voice invades the scene.

An annoyed growl escapes Calypso as she turns towards Lana, who's standing on the opposite end of the corridor, glaring at her.

«Leave! He's mine!» the latias hisses as she bares her fangs, her wings flicking in annoyance.

A half smirk appears on the lopunny's muzzle as she mockingly lifts a brow, before a series of glimpses from... my time with her from her perspective appear in my mind, and likely in Calypso's, to show Lana's dominance on me.

The dragon's growl immediately grows deeper and more menacing, her feathers standing up in rage.

«So you actually saw that. Good.» Lana comments, her expression showing amusement despite her tense body betraying her nervousness. «That means you can realize for yourself that, be it by "first come, first serve", or by pure prowess, all he's missing is my brand burned onto his unsculpted tummy.»

She fixes one of her long ears while giving her a smug glance. «In layman terms: you don't have shit on me, girl! Hands off my toy!»

Screaming with wild fury, Calypso lifts herself off me, and launches herself across the corridor, nearly tearing the wallpaper off the walls and pulling the furniture with her through sheer drag.

But the second she's about to reach the lopunny, four tendrils extend between them from behind the corner before firmly wrapping around the dragon's body, stopping it almost on the spot as Cody then jumps her, his fur bristled and his teeth bared.

I watch the scene unfold in disbelief while Rose sternly walks into view, her arms raised in front of her, hair and dress swaying from the psychic power she's emitting to help the sylveon hold the aggressor down.

«Your behavior is inexcusable!» she states, angry. «I could feel your outbursts all the way from the reception!»

The captive growls in anger as she squirms between Cody's ribbons, before he responds in tone.

«HOW DARE YOU FORCE YOURSELF ON HIM!!! I'LL BITE YOUR THROAT OPEN!!!»

Keeping her gaze on him, Lana speaks to the trapped latias.

«Needless to say, we're kicking you out, and you're officially banned from the premises-»

«Watch out!!!» Rose exclaims, her eyes widening as she tries to form what looks like a barrier around Calypso, before the latter shrieks once again, a visible shockwave bursting through the gardevoir's attempt, knocking down me and everyone else except the two psychic types, my nervous system abruptly overloaded.

Thankfully, as Rose manages to deflect a lightning fast barrage of Dragon Claw with her abilities, Cody is the first to recover, before repeatedly firing Swift from his sweeping tendrils like a machine gun, mowing the latias at point blank range while letting out a high-pitched roar.

«I'LL KILL YOUUUUU!!!»

However, Calypso seems to be taking way less damage than she should, likely due to her own psychic powers as they permeate her feathers like armor despite Rosaline's attempts at breaking her guard.

As the three fight, Lana skillfully weaves and twists around the various attacks, before finally rushing to me despite the nosebleed the first attack must have given her.

«You're a magnet for crazy, blood-thirsty bitches!» she groans as she helps me up.

«Including you..?» I manage to retort, struggling to stay on my feet.

«Shut it and get inside!»

But when the latias notices the two of us retreating, she unleashes a second burst that shakes us to our cores, even if it's not as powerful as the first one, her shriek still making my ears ring.

«Fuck me..!» Lana curses as her own balance wavers. «How much damn fight can there be left in her?! Fucking dragon types!!!»

Taking advantage of her distraction, Cody and Rose join forces to lock her in a chokehold, his tendrils and the gardevoir's powers clenching her neck in the same "noose" as an invisible ring digs into it.

«Don't kill her..!» I let out, grasping the edge of the door as Lana tries to drag me into the shelter of the room.

But Calypso's claws start glowing, and she manages to physically grab the half-psychic, half-physical vice her opponents are applying on her, slowly but steadily stretching it open as she gasps for air, her anger and frustration palpable.

However, after she lets out a final burst, the latias starts coughing blood, likely from the exertion, and instead of going for Rose or Cody, she glances at me with anguish in her eyes, before sharing a single thought of sadness and longing.

Immediately after, faster than Cody can even bring his tendrils back up, she bolts past him, almost unleashing a sonic boom as she blast through a window at the speed of sound, knocking over paintings and furniture as the shockwave hits them.

«COME BACK HERE!!!» Cody yells, his stance not fully stable from the last hit, his fur ruffled as his feelers snaking around him in anger, seeking their target. «I'M NOT DONE UNTIL ONE OF US DROPS DEAD!!!»

«Cody..!» Rose softly calls, quickly kneeling at his side as he heaves, his fangs still bared. «It's okay, we did it..!»

Lana moves to join them, crouching to try and hold his paw, to which he flinches, stepping away from her as his eyes fiercely study her, his ribbons tense and ready.

«Angela, come here!» the lopunny calls, and after a few seconds, the avian flies up the stairs and walks through the corridor.

«Cody, my sweet boy..!» she softly murmurs, his muscles trembling under the sound of her voice. «You can rest now..! You did so good..!»

His ears instantly droop, his fangs retreating behind his lips as his cerulean eyes scan the pokémon in front of him, slowly filling with tears.

Finally, he rushes into Angela's embrace, beginning to sob as soon as he buries his face into her downy chest.

«I'm sorry..! I'm so sorry..! I lost it again..!»

As the shock subsides and I find myself grounded back in reality, I slowly make my way towards the others, my legs still trembling.

«Hush..! You did good..!» The staraptor whispers, caressing him as she shelters his body between her large wings. «You were so brave..! You saved Samuel..!»

«Yeah!» I agree, sliding down the wall until I'm on the floor, overwhelmed. «That was..! I..!»

«YOU're a fucking moron!» Lana angrily interrupts me, marching forward to stop right in front of my body.

Her hands are resting on her hips as she leans forward, staring right into my eyes from a few centimeters away. «Were you thinking with your dick earlier?!»

«I- I was scared a fight would break out..!» I defend myself, looking up at her.

«And that she would get her own ass handed to her by twenty pokémon instead of just two?! How thoughtful of you!» she retorts, gritting her teeth.

«Lana-!» Rose tries to intervene, before the lopunny raises her index towards her to demand silence.

She takes a deep breath, likely trying to hold herself back.

«You could have gotten seriously, and I mean SERIOUSLY hurt, Samuel. Dragon types are no joke! In EVERY possible way!»

«I know..!» my voice trembles. «I... I didn't think she would be so...»

«Wild? Dangerous?» she suggests, less aggressive, but still harsh. «I warned you about who you go fucking for a reason! Like humans, not all of us have good intentions! And UNLIKE humans, sometimes we eat each other! Literally!»

«Lana, I get it!» I retort, weakly standing up, noticing an alien emotion in her gaze, similar to fear. «I'm not a child! I just didn't have a real choice!»

«He has a point, Lana.» Cody murmurs, emerging from Angela's plumage. «He was too close to her; fighting her in the main hall would have been too dangerous.»

«All because you wanted to check if a grimer was fuckable..!» she grumbles, one of her large ears flicking with irritation. «Maybe you're more of a child than you think!»

«Enough.» Angela states authoritatively. «What matters is that Samuel is safe, and nobody was severely injured. We've learned our lesson, so there is no point to dwell on it any further.»

Scoffing, Lana steps away. «I'm going to get the blood out my nose. Cody, come do the same, unless you want jagged cloths scraping your nostrils. Samuel, you call someone to pick you up; don't drive off on your own.»

I sigh, disheartened, before receiving an empathetic look from Cody as he follows her.

«There, there, love.» Angela moves towards me, since her "pink ribbon chick" has gotten out of her reach. «As I said, what matters is that you're alright, and that that latias can't hurt you anymore.»

«Yeah. Thank Arceus you managed to stop her!» I comment. «With a great plan, too!»

«Well, the "tripwire" maneuver was Lana's idea, to be honest. Psychic requires a reliable surface to attach to, and Calypso's body would have moved too fast for it to work, even without her own barriers.» Rose interjects as she straightens her gown and uniform.

«And I honestly was there just to help Cody with his PTSD, since they both figured he might have fallen into a crisis.» the avian adds. «All in all, you should thank her, once she calms down. And Cody, too.»

I groan at the thought. «What made her that mad, anyway? She doesn't react this strongly even when someone fucks up something sizable at work..!»

«Maybe she's grown fond of you.» the gardevoir suggests with a smile, trying to bring back some positivity.

«Well... her ears were moving around the whole time you were up here, before she suddenly jumped on her feet and got us moving.» Angela agrees, her gaze averted as she ponders the idea. «She was definitely worried throughout the whole ordeal!»

«I higly doubt it! She's as contemptuous as Calypso was horny!» I retort as I cross my arms, rejecting even the smallest chance of that being the case. «Either she was concerned about a wild pokémon trashing her property, - and she seemed to have a grudge against dragon types, by the way! - or she's worried about me not being there to tolerate one of our most annoying customers!»

The staraptor sighs, before fluttering up to force herself into my arms and wipe the blood off my face with her wingtips. «No matter, love. Let's focus on making sure on how to keep you safe; I don't know the full extent of her abilities, but Calypso might have not given up on you.»

«The broken condom!» I let out as it comes back to my mind, startling her. «She... she slashed it without me noticing!»

Their eyes instantly widen with worry.

«Samuel! You bear no responsibility on the matter!» Rose is quick to reassure me. «If she really tried to force you into it..!»

«But those would be... my eggs, if they came to be!» I retort.

«Yes, but you wouldn't be able to raise them even if you wanted to. She chose this careless path without considering the consequences.» Angela firmly retorts, likely speaking from experience. «Whether she manages or not to carry these supposed chicks to adulthood and autonomy on her own, she can only grow wiser from it, and still have plenty of time to enjoy her own life, since I've heard her kind can live for centuries.»

Her red eyes sternly look up at me, not betraying even a hint of sympathy for her. «Simply put, she'll live, eggs or not. Also, are you certain her species can have a spawn with a human, like Lana or Cody?»

«No... I have no idea what egg group a latias belongs to.» I admit.

«Then you should be more concerned about yourself, love.» the avian firmly states. «If I recall correctly, you live with a lucario; he could detect her presence, if she were to follow you home.»

«Alright... speaking of, any suggestion on how to get there safely? She could easily outspeed any man-made vehicle, and I have no way to detect her myself, if she turns invisible.»

«I'll come with you. Since she's lived in the wild, she's probably conditioned to avoid my kind.» she retorts, thoughtful.

«She said you felt too nice-»

«If I see her again, she'll change her mind.» she interrupts me, her talons slipping from her control for a second, their tips ending up lightly pricking my skin.

«Would you like me to come with you as well, Samuel? Mark can come pick me up after we close...» Rosaline offers.

«If Cody is in good shape, I'm sure he would want to make sure he gets home safely. I can also carry the boy home myself.» Angela points out, jumping down from my arms. «Plus, there's a chance she'll be vindictive, and settle with targeting your weakest customers due to her injuries; Mark alone can't defend them from psychic attacks.»

The gardevoir considers her words for a few moments, before finally nodding and glancing at me.

«Very well. After you've gotten your clothes back, let's go downstairs, so we have more mons around while we wait for Cody.»

Once downstairs, only a few fully evolved dark, ice, and rock types remain, aside from Mark.

A strange, faint mist hangs in the air, carrying the scent of... haban and payapa berries?

«Are you all well? Lana said Calypso flew away, and that you were "mostly unharmed"!» the machamp quickly approaches us, visibly worried, before gently taking his partner's delicate hands within his own.

«Don't worry; she was strong, but there were just minor injuries caused by changes in pressure. And some damages to the fixtures and the furniture.» Rose is reassures him, gently squeezing his strong fingers.

Mark sighs in relief, letting go of her hands. «I will fix them as soon as I can. We will have to close the premises for the night, though.»

Then, he turns his head to give me an almost disappointed look, making me brace myself for another chewing out.

«How do you feel, Samuel?» he asks instead, surprising me.

«As if a bus full of lead hit me...» I reply, averting my gaze. «...after I challenged its psychotic driver to run me over.»

He nods with understanding as he crosses his arms.

«I heard Lana scold you from downstairs, so I will not pressure you any further. Especially because you likely felt backed in a corner when you consented.»

After quickly thanking the pokémon who stayed to assist in the potential fight, he faces me yet again.

«Are you able to drive?»

«Yeah. And I guess Angela will carry me home herself, if I crash.» I joke, trying to reassure him I'm fine.

Out of nowhere, Cody rushes in and hops on the table behind me, his tail wagging lightly.

«I'll help you get home! So I can return the favor for last week!»

«Ah, my fiery steed!» I keep messing around as the tension in The Swingshot starts to ease, rubbing my hands together as I study him appraisingly. «You seem to be missing your saddle, though!»

The sylveon smirks cheekily, foretelling a powerful comeback.

«Last time you rode me just fine without it!»

«CODY!» Angela and Rose immediately scold him while I chuckle, and Mark tries to maintain his stoic expression despite the subtle grin creeping onto his sculpted lineaments, which ends up making him pretend to turn around to focus on something else.

«By the way, is Lana alright?» I then ask, making his ears droop slightly.

«She was... upset.» he replies, his ribbons twisting as he recalls. «VERY upset. But she dismissed me when I asked; she just wanted me to make sure you were alright.»

I realize that she might have heard me insult her from upstairs, after she risked her own life by using herself as bait and walking through a fight just to save me.

«Fuck me...» I let out, feeling guiltier by the second. «Should I..?»

«It's... best if we give her some time.» Rosaline gently rests her hand on my arm, her gaze averted, as if she were leaving something unsaid. «You should go get some rest, now. Stay safe, Samuel!»

«Alright.» I hesitantly nod, before starting to walk away. «You be careful, too!»

I wave at Mark as he works on closing up shop, getting a nod in return while I lead Angela and Cody out of the hall.

Despite doing my best to keep my eyes on the road, they can't help but dart around in the light evening mist around us, searching for any suspicious movements in the wind.

«Do you think she'll go after Lana, if she finds her?» I break the silence despite the fear of being heard.

«I doubt it, love.» Angela reassures me as she ruffles her feathers, annoyed by the seat-belt digging into them. «Unless you end up in the unlikely situation where she's the only one in her path to get you, she will probably avoid her.»

«Yes, she was still fixated on you while we fought; she was afraid of leaving you behind!» Cody agrees, his head popping over my shoulder.

«Wear your seat-belt!» I order, to which he pouts, before mama bird carries the message across by silently glaring at him.

«Moral of the story, unless she finds herself another male to pester, you're still the only one she might come back for.» she concludes.

After a few more minutes of driving, I continue. «Was it because I was ungrateful? Lana's mood, I mean?»

«Assuming she heard you, it certainly didn't help.» the sylveon nods. «But I don't think that's what did it; she has quite the tough skin, so that probably... came from within.»

«You'll have plenty of chances to apologize, either way.» the staraptor adds. «Even if she doesn't mind, it's the right thing to do.»

«Yeah, I guessed as much.» I nod, slowing down to park at my designed spot.

After I open the doors to let them dismount, they look around, taking in their surroundings.

«It looks safe so far.» Cody comments, his ribbons slowly scanning the area as his fur starts puffing up from the cold.

Angela's eyes narrow as she paces around me, watching the thin fog for any sudden movements.

Finally, she turns her head around, giving me a faint smile.

«Well, here you are, love. Safe and sound.»

«Surprisingly so.» I nod, looking back at the entrance to the building. «Thanks for accompanying me. And for putting up with me.»

«It's no biggy!» Cody reassures me as he squeezes my knee with his ribbons. «At this point, you're our human, so we have a moral responsibility to keep you safe!»

«YOUR human? So, am I going to find kibble and water at The Swingshot's entrance?» I smirk.

«Don't give Lana ideas..!» Angela grins back. «Trust a fellow female; she likely still thinks of the leash every time she looks at you.»

«And she'll probably be mad at you for a while, so...» he adds, just as amused.

«I get it, I get it. At least make sure she puts vodka instead of water in that bowl!» I retort, kneeling to hug them and kiss them on the cheeks.

«Do you really want to be drunk AND at her mercy?» the sylveon points out as he steps back.

«Fair point.» I shrug, standing up. «Even if after Calypso, it would just feel like a friendly spar...»

«Okay, enough about being ridden into submission for tonight.» the avian intervenes. «Cody, it's late, so I'll be taking you to bed, now.»

«But I'm gay..!» he quietly pouts as a joke, before receiving a feathered smack on the back of the head.

I look up at my windows, where the living room's light is shining.

«Yeah, I have to tuck someone's sheets myself.» I agree, locking the car as I start walking towards the entrance.

«Goodnight, guys! Thanks again!»

«'Night, Sammy!» «'Night, love!» They reply as they watch me enter in the palace, before Angela hops onto Cody's back to lift him off the ground and fly away, carrying him with her talons.

Leaving the cold night behind, I drag myself up the stairs, doing everything in my power to ignore my aching muscles and worries.

Is there actually a chance I could have knocked her up?

I doubt she's in the human-like or in the field group, but still..!

As I finally reach the entrance to my flat, I struggle to insert the keys in the hole as my ears pick up muffled voices behind the door, letting me know Sheila will be spending the night with us.

«Fuck!» I murmur, my heart starting to pound in my chest due to the risk of her nose picking up Calypso's scent.

I take a deep breath, ready to make a b-line for my room the second I get in.

Once made the final half-turn, I push the door forward, interrupting what must have been a serious conversation, judging by the way they are sitting face to face at the table, without a single snack in sight.

«Hello!» I let out, way too cheerfully for the late hour.

«Hi...» «Hi, Sammy.» I get from both.

While I hurriedly drop all the keys in their rightful places, I notice Sheila silently stare at me, her nostrils flaring lightly while her large ears delicately readjust themselves.

Keiran, on the other hand, is mostly focused on her, even if his aura sensors are standing parallel to the ground as he likely senses my underlying distress.

«Did I barge in on something important? I'll be out of your way immediately!» I swiftly anticipate any possible questions.

«Don't worry; we were about to... "reschedule" this, anyway.» he reassures me, sighing lightly.

Sheila throws him a momentary glare, but her eyes are quick to turn back to me.

«Have you hugged a dragon type, Samuel?» she asks, probably putting the final nail in the coffin of their discussion. «You have a strong scent on you...»

«Ah..! Yeah..!» I let out, immediately panicking inside. «Someone brought their latias over, and the alcohol made me just as affectionate as her..!»

I silently beg my lucario for help, hoping he's still reading me.

«Oh, wow, she must have been quite a sight!» Keiran comments, getting a second, longer frown from her.

«I mean, that's a rare, beautiful pokémon to see around. And so would be a latios, no?»

«Sure...» she huffs, a soft smirk appearing on her muzzle. «Quite a lot to handle, as well, judging by how much he's been marked.»

«Yeah, I think I remember her being... very exhuberant!» I add as I take off my jacket in a hurry.

A strong silence ensues, the feeling that we are all hiding something from each other growing stronger by the second.

«Whelp!» Keiran claps his paws together without warning, before standing up as he regards me knowingly. «I feel like it's a bit late for everyone.»

Totally..! Long night, too..!» I agree. «Are you staying over, Sheila?»

She nods, not particularly thrilled, which makes me wonder even more what they were arguing about.

«Hm. Er... Alright, no problem with that. Goodnight, then..!» I awkwardly conclude, slowly backing into my room.

«Goodnight...» «'Night, Sammy.» I get back right before I lock myself in.

Sighing in relief once I hear them enter Keiran's place, I let myself fall onto my bed without even changing out of my clothes, groaning as I cling to my pillow for comfort.

A message on my phone interrupts me, letting me know that my lucario and I "will have to talk about this evening tomorrow".

Relieved that he actually noticed my feelings, I take the opportunity to ask him what happened with his girlfriend, but I only get a "complicated 4 now", followed by a new wish for a good night, since he thinks she might be getting jealous, and has "2 cuddle r".

I take a deep breath, setting the device on the bedside table as I decide to call it a day on their situation as well.

At least they're still going to sleep on the same bed, by the looks of it.

I close my eyes and shiver as I still get a waft of Calypso's scent from my clothes, but exhaustion quickly sets in, forcing me out of the world for the night...

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