FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is a remake of sorts requested by the same person who commissioned the original, but it isn't officially a commission. The main characters have the same names and the setting is unchanged, but the plot and events that unfold are different this time around.

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When Arthur first heard it, he couldn't believe his ears: we were not the only intelligent species on the planet. Up in the arctic, where few humans had ever dared to tread, there were apparently three tribes of beast-people, all of them fully sapient and yet isolated from the outside world. Their first contact had been with some clumsy photographer, but the UN wasn't about to let that be their first impression; they swiftly assembled a team of anthropologists, biologists, ecologists, and countless other -ologists to examine these new species.

Arthur had been chosen as the team's chief medical officer, but it wasn't because of his experience as a field surgeon or modest training in veterinary medicine. Out of a hundred candidates, he was picked because he spoke fluent Russian, and even though it started as just a hobby, it now seemed a vital skill among these beast-people. Some of them spoke a few words of English, but the majority only knew an odd dialect of Russian. That was enough to get him on the chopper to their brand-new arctic base, and after some consideration, he agreed to join their mission.

Unfortunately, the base was more akin to the set of The Thing than the bleeding-edge research facility he'd envisioned. Its metal-walled cabins were just barely able to keep the air at room temperature, and the heat lamps dated back to sometime during the cold war. His office was little more than a desk in front of the examination room/lab/operating theater, and his tools were rudimentary at best.

Over the first week, however, Arthur frequently found himself out in the cold instead of inside his "office." Every damn quack with a bachelor's degree wanted their own interview with the creatures, and the mission's official translator became bedridden with a case of pneumonia a few days after landing. Arthur spent hours following those pricks around, listening to their jabbering while trying not to freeze his balls off… but luckily for him, it got him front-row seats to the freak show.

Well, freak show was hardly the right term for it. Unlike his previous conceptions, the anthropomorphic tiger people looked absolutely natural, standing a little under seven feet tall with thickly muscled frames. Some of them wore animal-hide clothes, others wore scraps of man-made materials, and some went without clothes entirely, letting him examine their naked anatomy from a few feet away. To his surprise, they had several human features: nipples hidden under their thick white fur, fully opposable thumbs, clear-cut muscles on the chest, and even fully-sized mammary glands on the females. He did his best not to stare, but even when he spent half of a conversation staring at a tigress's bare breasts, they didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Despite the tigers' cordial attitudes, the team's anthropologists were getting stonewalled at every turn. Every offer of modern technology was turned down, every offer to host an ambassador was rejected, and one of the tigers had mentioned in passing that they'd kill any human who approached their village. Frustrations were running high, and there were even rumors of pulling out altogether… but then, something unexpected happened.

"Hey, doc!" The voice crackled with static, interrupting Arthur's reading of Metro 2033 and sending the doctor's feet swinging off his desk. "We've got a situation!"

Arthur grabbed the radio. “What kind of situation? Is anyone hurt?"

“Not yet, but-" The guard was interrupted by indistinct shouting in the background from one of his colleagues. “A whole procession of tangos just showed up, they're not taking no for an answer."

“Understood, I'm on my way." Tangos was what the security force called the tigers, and judging by the shouting, things would devolve into a shootout if no one intervened. He clipped the radio to his belt, yanked his coat and scarf off a hook, then hastily threw them both on in the thirty seconds it took him to make it to the door.

Once outside, he could see the problem as clear as day: there were perhaps twenty of the tigers gathered at the base's perimeter, along with a half-dozen soldiers in blue helmets and winter-camo uniforms holding them back. Most of them were merely tense, but one had his gun trained on the lead tiger and was barking orders. “Stay back!" he shouted, “Stay back or we will open fire!"

Arthur broke into a sprint, bringing him close enough to hear the response from their leader. “Lay down!" she barked in broken English, “We not enemy!"

“Then stay the hell back! We-"

“Stand down!" Arthur shouted, finally reaching the troops. “You're just escalating!"

The soldier turned to look at him, and Arthur half-expected the man to hold him at gunpoint. “You don't give me orders, doc! These things-"

Suddenly, the soldier beside him grabbed his gun by the barrel and pointed it at the ground. “Mason, shut the fuck up before you get us all killed."

Mason glared at Arthur for a moment, then reluctantly relaxed. The other soldiers waved Arthur forward, staying just close enough to protect him if things went sideways.

The assembly of tigers stood about twenty feet away, with eight guards armed with spears standing in a wedge formation around the rest. The leader was a female who wore a tattered red cape on one shoulder, pinned to her makeshift attire with a tarnished gold badge. Tall and athletic, she carried herself like a grizzled general, but her frame was still strikingly feminine. She held a six-foot greatsword of scrap metal in both hands, though she let it rest on her shoulder as Arthur made his way to the front. “We not enemy," she repeated in a calmer tone. “We… ill."

Looking past her, Arthur could see several members of her group were either clutching stained bandages or leaning on companions for support. “My name is Arthur," he explained in Russian, “I'm a doctor. Did you come for medical treatment?"

As soon as he spoke in their native tongue, the leader let out a small sigh of relief. “Yes," she replied in eloquent Russian, “We have several people with festering wounds. We've tried to treat them ourselves, but… we know you have medicines, doctors, things that can save their lives."

“They're here to treat their wounded," Arthur relayed to the soldiers, “They just want help."

“Does this look like a hospital to you?" Mason snarled, waving one hand back toward the base. “We ain't here to play good samaritan with a bunch of fuzzy-wuzzies."

“Those spears aren't for show," another soldier remarked, “If they decide we're the only thing between them and saving their friends, we're fucked."

“I once saw one of 'em lift a snowmobile over her head like it was made of cardboard," a third added.

Arthur did his best to tune out their bickering as he turned back to the tigers. “We may be able to help, but I'll need to talk it over with my superiors. Could I get your name?"

“My name is Nika," the leader replied, casting a concerned glance back toward the base.

“And you're in command?"

Nika nodded. “I am the chieftain of my tribe. I couldn't send my people on such a dangerous mission without leading it myself."

Crunching footsteps in the snow heralded several people coming up behind Arthur, and he turned to see a small band of base personnel approaching. Thaddeus Rutherford, the base's director, marched at the head of the column, wringing his gloved hands nervously. He was an older man with a long career behind him, and Arthur often thought his graying beard and mustache made him look like an officer from some antiquated war.

“What's the situation?" Rutherford called out. He was addressing one of the soldiers, but they just turned to Arthur.

“This is Nika," Arthur explained, hiking a thumb back to the tigress. “She's the chieftain of this tribe. Several of her people have been injured and need medical treatment."

“Chieftain?" Rutherford made his way to the line of soldiers, examining the group of towering figures before him. “Hmm… and why are her people armed?"

“She believed it was dangerous to come here, possibly because of the heavily armed guards." He shot a sour glance toward Mason, who answered with a scowl.

“Interesting." The director stroked his chin for a moment, then stepped forward to address the chieftain with his chest puffed out ever so slightly. “My name is Thaddeus Rutherford, and I am the director of this outpost. We represent the combined interests of the free world, and we are here to extend a hand of diplomacy to you and your tribe. We understand that your people are in need of our assistance, and we are willing to provide it… provided you are willing to provide a few favors in return." He paused, then shot a glance back to Arthur as if he should have been translating mid-speech.

Arthur relayed the director's terms in Russian, leaving out the theatrics. As he did so, Nika's brow furrowed into a frown, but she finally nodded in agreement. “Fine, just as long as you help my people." She waved the wounded members of her group forward, but Rutherford immediately held up a hand to stop them.

"We need to iron out the details of our agreement before we can take decisive action." He paused for a moment to let Arthur translate, then continued. “First, we will need to send an expedition to your village. This expedition will include no more than two armed guards, and-"

“Are you seriously going to make demands while people are bleeding in the snow?" The words came from a young tigress a few paces behind Nika, though she pushed her way forward with a wounded tiger leaning on her shoulder. “My Mikhail will die without your help!"

Nika fixed the younger tigress with a scowl. “Olga, please, now is not the time."

“Then when is the time, mom? When my betrothed is dead? When these vultures get their pound of flesh?"

“Stop. I understand your anger, but let me handle this. No one is going to die on my watch… even if I have to tear this place apart with my bare hands."

While he didn't understand her words, Rutherford recognized dissent when he heard it. He stepped forward to issue an ultimatum, but he was stopped by Arthur's hand on his shoulder. “Sir, I don't think now's the best time to be making demands."

The director turned back to face him. “This might be our best chance to make progress with these creatures. If we just give them aid without setting terms, they'll go right back to stonewalling us once they've gotten what they want."

“If we withhold aid, they're going to hate us no matter what terms they agree to." Even though they weren't human, Arthur could see the anger and desperation written across the tigers' faces as plain as day. “If I was in their shoes, I wouldn't hold to any terms… hell, I might try and take our supplies by force."

Rutherford pondered a retort, but after a glance at their hulking warriors, his bravado finally deflated. “Fine. Give them whatever they need."

Arthur nodded. “Thank you, sir."

The director poked an accusatory finger into Arthur's chest. “But if anything goes wrong, anything at all, it's coming down squarely on your head. Understood?"

“Yes, sir."

“Good." With that, Rutherford turned and headed back toward the base, taking the soldiers and most of the gathered crowd with him.

Arthur breathed a small sigh of relief, then beckoned the base's only other medical personnel to join him. Jasmine might not have had the same qualifications as him, but she was still a skilled nurse with plenty of practical experience. Her raven black hair was tucked under her coat's fur-lined hood, and the only part of her Arthur could see was her keen brown eyes. Once she was beside him, he turned back to the tigers, addressing them as a group. “Bring the wounded forward. We need to know what happened, how long ago they were injured, and what you've done to treat them."

Most of the injured were able to walk with the help of their companions, but there were two who had to be carried on pieces of sheet metal roughly beaten into stretchers. Some of them were obviously wary at the prospect of being treated by a human, but most were simply relieved to be treated at all. Nika and two of her guards joined them, while the rest of the group stayed back.

“About three days ago, we had an explosive accident," Nika explained, “We pulled out the shrapnel and cleaned their wounds, but they still wound up festering."

“Hmm…" Arthur briefly wondered what she meant by “explosive accident", but he quickly refocused on the medical emergency at hand. “I need to inspect the wounds themselves, see how bad the infection is."

The chieftain nodded. “Olga, bring Mikhail over here."

The younger tigress who'd spoken out stepped forward, her lover's arm still slung over her shoulders. Olga fixed Arthur with a suspicious glare, but Mikhail looked more terrified than anything. He lifted one arm to expose the bandage on his lower ribs, and as Arthur peeled back the tattered gauze, he was assailed by the stench of pus. The wound wasn't large, perhaps two inches at its widest, but the infection had turned it a disconcerting shade of yellowish green. “Am I gonna die?" Mikhail fearfully asked.

“No, sweetie," Olga cooed, “Not if the good doctor wants to keep his head."

Arthur might've felt threatened if she didn't have the same fearful quaver in her voice as her boyfriend. “You'll be alright," he calmly replied, “I've seen plenty of people pull through worse than this." He then turned to Jasmine, who'd been quietly looking over his shoulder. “Looks like a laceration with infection and possibly metallic foreign bodies, and I'm guessing the other injuries are similar. Prep the operating room for surgery, check how much penicillin we have in stock, and see if you can scrounge up any shaving supplies to deal with the fur."

Jasmine nodded. “Think we can manage with local anesthetics?"

“We'll have to, there's no telling how their metabolisms compare to ours. I'll handle triage, then bring them in one at a time."

“Gotcha." With that, the nurse jogged back toward the base, leaving Arthur alone to inspect the wounded.

He began making his way between them, doing his best to determine who needed immediate treatment and who could wait a few more hours. “We'll treat them in order of severity," he explained to Nika, “One or two people can help move the patient, but I'm afraid the rest of you will have to wait out here."

“I assume your commander doesn't want too many animals in the base?" the chieftain asked, casting a glance toward Rutherford's retreating silhouette.

“It's more a matter of space," Arthur replied, “We've barely got enough space for us humans. I hate to leave you all standing in the cold, but people will start complaining if a few dozen tigers pile into the common area."

Nika smirked ever so slightly. “I appreciate the concern, but we can handle ourselves." She turned to her guards, getting their attention with a small gesture. “Anna, Pytor, get the tents set up. We're going to be here a while."

The two guards nodded, then began to direct the uninjured members of the band in setting up camp. As Arthur finished inspecting the last of the wounded, they pulled several masses of patchwork canvas from sleds they'd brought along and got to work erecting several tiger-sized shelters.

“Is there anything you need from us?" Nika asked Arthur. “We brought some things from our village to trade."

Arthur held up a dismissive hand. “We can talk about payment once your people are on the mend. Right now, I just need two volunteers to carry that stretcher."

Treating a half-dozen anthropomorphic tigers for shrapnel injuries wasn't an easy task by any means, but it wasn't nearly as exotic as it had first seemed. Once the tiger was on the operating table, it was a dance Arthur and Jasmine had both done before: anesthetize, debride, disinfect, extract, cauterize, suture, and dress. Thankfully, the tigers' dense muscles kept the shrapnel from going too deep, and even the youngest among them showed a remarkable tolerance to pain. Even when Arthur dug deep to ensure nothing was left inside, they let out no more than a grunt of pain, and their companions waited patiently for him to finish his work.

The base personnel, on the other hand, couldn't help but crowd around the windows to catch a glimpse of the spectacle. Those who didn't (or couldn't) observe the surgeries spent time ogling the other tigers, with a few making clumsy attempts at communication without a translator. These attempts mostly resulted in annoyed glances and cold shoulders, though one tiger nearly came to blows with a scientist over what he interpreted as remarks about his mother. Arthur had had to clear the situation up himself, leaving Jasmine to finish the sutures all on her own.

The procedures used up a good chunk of the base's medical supplies, and most of their oral antibiotics went towards preventing further infection, but by the end of the day, every tiger that had needed help was well on the road to recovery. As he led his last patient back to the camp, many looked to him with reverence and gratitude, especially once Nika came forward to speak with him. “I must thank you again," she said with a bow, “I had my doubts when I brought my people here, but it seems there's at least one trustworthy human in the world."

Despite the freezing temperatures, Arthur found himself blushing slightly. “It was the least I could do… and I couldn't have done it alone. Jasmine was a lifesaver in the operating room, and without the base's medical supplies-"

“But if you hadn't stepped in, your commander would've made us beg and grovel for scraps." She stepped awfully close to him, and before he could react, she set her hand on his shoulder. He'd expected a weighty, crushing grip, but it was more of a soft, gentle touch. “You've done a great service for our tribe… one we won't be quick to forget." She gazed down at him, forcing him to look up into her eyes rather than stare straight ahead at her breasts.

For a brief instant, it felt like he was falling into the beautiful depths of her amber irises, but Arthur swiftly tore his gaze away. “Well, I appreciate your gratitude," he replied, “But I think it'd be better to talk this over with the director…"

Suddenly, the chatter around the camp grew silent, letting him hear the crunching footsteps of three humans trudging through the snow. “Speak of the devil," Nika muttered, “And he shall appear."

“Ah, there you are, Arthur," Rutherford called out, “I've been looking for you all over the base."

Arthur turned to see the director with a guard on either side of him, both armed with assault rifles. The camp air seemed to grow a notch colder as he spoke, and the tiger guards tightened their grips on their own weapons. “Sorry, sir," Arthur replied, “I had to escort the last patient back to their camp."

“Well, it just so happens I need you to speak with Nika here… it's time to discuss our quid pro quo situation. We can meet in my office, out of the freezing cold." With that, he turned toward the base and moved to leave, but one of the guards stepped into his path on Nika's command.

The chieftain stood with arms crossed and feet firmly planted. “It's time to tell you what you get for this favor, director."

Rutherford took her very tone as a threat, and when Arthur translated her words, he began to get angry. “Now listen here," he said, leveling an accusatory finger at Nika. “We need to discuss these terms in good faith on neutral ground."

Nika looked utterly unfazed as she heard his translated argument. “These are the terms: we will allow eight humans to accompany us on a return trip to our village. Only two of them may be armed, and they will surrender their weapons upon arrival at the village."

The director listened intently to Arthur's interpretation. “Well… I suppose that's agreeable. Can we expect your people to return home soon?"

“I will escort your team to the village, but my people will stay here for as long as it takes them to recover."

“The expedition can leave as soon as we're ready," Arthur translated, “But it'll be a week before their wounded can be moved."

Rutherford's brow scrunched in thought as he stroked his chin. “Are you sure they can't be moved any earlier?"

Arthur shook his head. “They need time to heal, and then we've got to take their stitches out."

“Hmmm…" The director's frown deepened, but his expression eventually relaxed as he came to a decision. “I suppose we can manage that. We'll need half a day to get our people organized, and then we can go.“

Nika held up a single finger. “Oh, and one more thing: Arthur will be a part of the team."

Arthur found himself caught off guard, and before he translated Nika's words, he asked a question of his own. “Me? But I'm the only doctor here!"

The tigress's lips curled into a smirk. “What about that black-haired apprentice of yours? She seems competent enough to take over."

“Well, yeah, but-"

“It isn't a hard journey, Arthur. I'll keep you safe."

“But why me?"

Nika suddenly crouched, bringing herself down to Arthur's eye level. “Because you're the only person here I trust." Arthur might've felt talked down to if it weren't for her tone. There wasn't any hyperbole or slander in her words, just an appreciation of his candor and selflessness.

“Alright," he eventually replied, “I'll go." He then turned to Rutherford. “There's one last condition: Nika wants me to be the group's translator. She says she trusts my abilities, and she doesn't want to risk any more mistranslations."

“Mmmm… and that'd mean we'd have no translator for dealing with the camp."

“Sullivan's making a decent recovery," Arthur remarked, “He might be a bit out of it, but he's still a certified interpreter."

Rutherford's gaze wandered between him and Nika, eventually settling on the tigress. “Fine, Arthur can be part of the team."

Nika could hear the grudging acceptance in his voice without Arthur's translation, and she stuck out her hand for him to shake.

The director hesitantly took her hand as if expecting her to rip his arm off, but Nika merely gave it a firm shake. However, he could still feel the immense strength she held in check just by the way she squeezed his hand. He hastily pulled his arm back after a few shakes, then looked over at Arthur. “Be ready to leave by midday tomorrow. The security forces will handle your survival gear."

“Yes sir," Arthur replied with a nod.

“Return to the base once you finish with these creatures, I want a full report on our remaining medical supplies."

“Understood." As nice as it was to bask in the camp's collective admiration, he still had bookkeeping to do for the surgeries.

As Rutherford left the camp behind, Arthur began to formulate his farewells for the tigers, but before he could do much as turn around, Nika spoke up from behind him. “We could discuss the trip if you'd like." she purred, “I'm sure your punishment detail can wait until tomorrow…"

“Punishment detail?" Arthur turned to raise an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?"

“I might not speak your language, but I know that tone." With a few pacing steps, she moved to stand in front of him, blocking his way out of the camp. “It's the tone I use with Olga when I have to remind her who's the chieftain. I figure he told you to do some tedious chore, something to remind you who's giving the orders."

“Taking inventory of supplies isn't a chore, it's… it's part of my duty as the doctor here. We only get one shipment of supplies every month, so if we're running low on anything, we need to know."

“Then why not have Jasmine do it?"

Arthur shook his head. “I'm not about to force her to do all the cleanup. If you've got something to discuss about the journey, I'll probably be done in about two hours, alright?"

After a brief pause, Nika shrugged and stepped aside. “If it really means that much to you, go right ahead."

“Thank you, Nika." With his path clear, Arthur made began walking back to the base.

“Until next time, doctor."

“Until then." Arthur let out a soft sigh, tucking his gloved hands into his pockets. Despite his attempts to convince himself otherwise, Nika was right about inventory being tedious.

Upon his return, he and Jasmine went through each and every item in the storeroom from acetaminophen to zolmitriptan. Everything had to be counted, checked against their previous count, and logged in a report. Jasmine did the counting and Arthur did the scribing, but it still took an hour and a half to go through the entire stock. It gave Arthur a chance to decompress a bit after conducting life saving surgeries, but he found himself wishing he'd taken Nika up on her offer.

Just as they were nearing the end of their monotonous task, however, Arthur's radio crackled to life. The voice on the other end belonged to one of the guards, and from the way he had to shout over the wind, he was somewhere outside. “Hey, doc? The chieftain's here to see you."

Arthur hesitantly grabbed the radio and pressed the transmit button. “Is something wrong?"

“I dunno… she just walked up to the front door and said she had a meeting with you."

The doctor looked to Jasmine, then back to the radio. “I'm in the middle of something right now, but I can meet her in about ten minutes."

“Alright…"

The radio went silent for several seconds, prompting Jasmine to speak up. “I can finish up here and deliver the report if you've gotta go."

Before Arthur could reply, the radio came back on, catching the tail end of a scornful remark from Nika. “I think you'll have to tell her yourself," the guard said wearily.

There was a bit more silence, after which Nika's voice came through much clearer. “Arthur? Are you there?"

“Yeah, I'm here," he replied in Russian, taking a few steps back and turning away from Jasmine. “You wanted to speak with me?"

“Yes… could we meet in your quarters?"

The question caught Arthur off guard like a poke to the ribs. “My quarters? Why not at your camp?"

Nika's voice took on a sarcastic tone. “I assumed you'd rather talk somewhere comfortable, but if you'd rather sit out in the cold…"

Arthur's brow furrowed. “I… I appreciate the sentiment, but the director-"

“I don't give a damn what your director thinks, Arthur… I care what you think." Her voice suddenly softened, taking on an almost intimate tone. “If you don't want to meet in person, just say so. I just wanted to thank you in person for all you've done for us, but I suppose I can say it over the radio just as easily."

The line went silent, leaving Arthur alone with his conflicting thoughts. If the director didn't have him replaced, he might wind up stepping on someone else's toes, or worst of all, he might offend Nika and put their entire mission at risk. There were a dozen different ways things could go wrong, each with its own disastrous chain of consequences… but at the same time, he couldn't find the will to keep Nika at arm's length. She was just too honest, too genuine, too immaculate to be pushed away for the sake of safety. “I'll meet you out front," he finally said, hoping Nika was still within earshot of the radio.

When he turned around, he expected Jasmine to be confused or disappointed, but she instead fixed him with a knowing smile. “Go on," she said before he could speak, “I can finish things up here."

“I, er… thank you." Arthur passed her his checklist, then hurried out of the storeroom.

On his way to the base's entrance, he passed a few people in the hall, and it felt like every one of them watched him intently. Some of them paused their murmured conversations as he passed, kindling paranoia in the back of his mind. By the time he reached the door, doubt had begun gnawing at him, but once he stepped outside, it dispersed like a wisp of steam.

Nika stood not two yards from the door, arms crossed and face inscrutable. She didn't say anything as he emerged, but the way her mouth curled into a warm smile was worth a hundred words of greeting.

The guard beside the door turned to Arthur with an eyebrow quizzically raised. “So, uh… did you figure things out?" He cast a wary glance toward Nika as if expecting Arthur to shoo her away.

“Yes, we did," the doctor replied, “I'll be taking Nika to my quarters."

The guard shook his head. “I'm sorry, doc, but I've got orders not to let any tangos in the base without the director's express-"

“You want voyage, yes?" Nika interrupted.

“What?" The guard looked at her as though she'd just spoken Cantonese. “What voyage? What are you-"

Arthur quickly stepped closer to the guard, lowering his voice to a murmur with a conspiratorial glance toward Nika. “You know the director set up an expedition to their home base, right?"

“Yeah, of course. Aren't you leaving tomorrow at noon?"

“That's the plan, but there's been some… complications. We just barely managed to hash out a deal, and now the chieftain is threatening to call the whole thing off if she doesn't get her way."

The guard's brow furrowed. “Are you serious?"

“Dead serious." He cast another glance back toward Nika. “She might look calm, but she's had it up to here with bargaining. One wrong move, and this whole thing comes apart."

“But-"

“Look, I know you've got your orders, but I think the director will be far more pissed if this deal falls through. She's alone, she's unarmed, and she'll be with me the whole time."

The guard remained silent for a moment as he looked over Nika, weighing the wrath of the director against that of the chieftain. “Why's she want to go to your quarters, anyway?" he finally asked.

Arthur shrugged. “Do you know anywhere else private in this hellhole?"

After what felt like a minute of silent deliberation, the guard let out a dreary sigh. “Fine. But if she does anything-"

“-I'll take full responsibility, don't worry."

With that, the guard stood aside, letting Arthur back into the base with Nika in tow. The tigress had to duck under the doorframe, but once she was inside, she was able to stand up with only the tips of her ears brushing against the ceiling. Thankfully, it wasn't far to his private quarters, which sat right next to the operating room and across the hall from Jasmine's. Those they passed in the hall were equally awestruck and terrified at the sight of a giant tiger-woman walking through the base, but the fact that Arthur was with her helped alleviate their shock. No one ran off to security or to the director, and the mismatched pair made it to the cramped solitude of Arthur's quarters unmolested.

The room was about the size of a college dormitory, though it was far cleaner and more utilitarian. The main pieces of furniture were a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe pushed up against different walls, each made from plain military-grade steel. There was also a space heater in a corner, a folding chair at the desk, a cooler beside the wardrobe, a diffused light on the ceiling, and a small window covered by thick curtains.

“This is it?" Nika remarked, stooping through the doorway before closing it behind her.

“Yeah, it's… not much," Arthur replied, pulling out the folding chair and turning it about. “But space is at a premium, and it's better than most people get."

“Hmm… reminds me of home."

After pulling off his gloves and stuffing them in his coat pockets, Arthur began taking off his cold-weather gear and hanging it in the wardrobe. “You mean your village?"

“Yes… or at least, it reminds me of how it started out. Everything's small, metal, and only decorated with serial numbers." Nika looked around the room with a vague sense of fondness, unpinned her shoulder cape, and hung it from a hook on the door as if coming home. Her gaze then fell upon the plastic cooler, turning her fondness into curiosity. “What's in there?"

Arthur shrugged. "Drinks, mostly."

Nika's brow furrowed. “What kind of drinks?"

“Oh, mostly cola… but I think I've got a few beers still in there, too." Sensing her curiosity, he crouched down and popped open the cooler. Inside were a half-dozen cans of cola and two beers, all of which were cooled by snow gathered from outside. “Yup, still got 'em… you want one?"

The tigress paced over, inadvertently casting an intimidating shadow as she loomed over him. Arthur already had his hand on one of the beers, but Nika was much more focused on the bright red aluminum cans. “Could I have one of the colas?" she tentatively asked.

“Sure." Arthur pulled a can from the cooler and handed it to her, then grabbed a beer for himself. He easily popped the cap off with the desk's sturdy edge, but when he looked over to Nika, he saw she was perplexed by the sealed can. “Do you want me to-"

“No, I think I've got it." With a sharp poke from her thumb claw, Nika punched a hole clean through the top of the can, then moved to sit on the bed. The metal frame creaked slightly under her weight, quietly protesting as she settled herself with her back against the wall. She carefully sniffed at the beverage in her paw, delicately handling the comparatively tiny can like an antique vintage. “What's… in this?"

Arthur pulled out a second can and squinted for the moment at the label. “Carbonated water, sugar, coloring, and phosphoric acid, plus some flavoring stuff." He took a seat in the folding chair, sipping from his beer as he did so.

Nika furrowed her brow. “Phosphoric acid?"

Sensing her hesitancy, he held out a calming hand. “It's mostly just sugar water. It's sweet, give it a try."

“Hmm…" The tigress raised the can to her lips and tentatively drank from the ragged hole she'd punched, taking only a small sip before flinching. “It's… fizzy," she remarked, “Is… is that normal?"

“Oh, yeah, it's just got gas trapped in the liquid. It's a common beverage where I'm from."

Nika took another sip, this time pushing through the fizzy texture to taste the sweet flavor. “Mmmm… so this is the great 'American Cola'..."

Arthur's brow furrowed with confusion. “You've… heard of cola?"

“Oh, just in stories from my village… back before it was a village."

“What does that mean?"

The tigress savored another gulp before answering. “The first of us were raised by humans in a base much like this one, only ours was underground and heavily guarded."

Several scientists had already suspected the tigers were genetically engineered by humans, but hearing the truth straight from Nika still hit him like a truck. “Are they the ones who… created you?"

Nika nodded. “They were trying to make better soldiers in preparation for some great war… we overheard bits and pieces about the outside world, about 'capitalists' and 'nuclears' and great leaders of the state, but they treated us like animals. We slept in cages when they weren't trying to 'train' us to follow orders. At first, there were only a handful of us, but they made more every year. Then we started having children and before they knew it, they had a whole village of us."

As she took a long drink, Arthur realized half the base's researchers would kill for this kind of interview. She was spilling all the secrets they'd been trying to glean for months, and here he was after just one can of soda.

“Sometimes they would talk about the other side of the war, about America and its decadent elite… how they'd drink red cans of sugary poison. I always wondered what it'd taste like, but I never thought I'd find out."

Arthur stared ahead blankly for a moment as he processed what she'd said, then took a hasty swig from his own drink as he tried to think of something to say. “And, uh… how long ago was that?"

He half expected Nika to take offense at his clumsy probing, but she merely gave him a fond smirk. “Long enough for it to be history," she replied, “And we'll have plenty of time to discuss it on the voyage tomorrow."

“Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

“No need to be sorry," Nika interjected, “There's no shame in being curious, I'd just prefer to stay in the present for now." She finished off the rest of the cola, and as she set it to the side, her smirk widened into a grin. “And to that end, I think I could help relieve a bit of stress."

Arthur's brow furrowed in confusion. “And how would you do that, exactly?"

"With a massage." She scooted to the side and patted the other side of the bed, beckoning Arthur with a small nod.

“A… massage?" As far as Arthur could tell, she was being entirely serious, but he still felt an odd aversion to such an intimate gesture. He was supposed to be a professional, and accepting physical favors as thanks for his work seemed anything but. “I, ah… I'm not so sure that's-"

“I'm not going to hurt you, Arthur," Nika purred, “You've been working non-stop to help my tribe since we got here… I think you've more than earned a bit of respite."

Her words were as soft as velvet, muffling the anxieties rattling around in Arthur's head and coaxing him closer. The thought of retribution for fraternizing with the chieftain crossed his mind, but he quickly realized any such reprimand would have to get through Nika first.

“Well… alright," he finally agreed, “I suppose it couldn't hurt." Arthur kicked off his shoes, then sat down cross-legged on the bed beside her, offering his back to the tigress. “Just… go easy on me, would you?"

“Of course, my dear doctor." Nika wasted no time getting started, and Arthur had to stop himself from flinching as her large paws settled on his shoulders. With her terrifying strength she could snap his bones with ease, but all Arthur felt was a firm, calming pressure. Nika gently made her way along his collarbone, squeezing a firm rhythm with her digits as her thumbs kneaded the edges of his shoulder blades.

When her paws wrapped around the base of his neck, Arthur knew he should be frightened, but all he felt was pressure and satisfaction. A small, involuntary groan escaped his lips as she pressed into his back, leaning into the massage.

“That's not too rough, is it?" Nika asked, not pausing for an instant.

“No, it's…" Arthur let out another groan as she hit a knot of muscle with her thumb, using just the right balance of pressure and finesse. “It's just right…"

“Good… just relax." Nika rubbed and kneaded along his shoulders and back for quite some time, her strong paws making short work of Arthur's tense body. His muscles felt like putty by the time the massage reached his waist, and he barely moved to stop the tigress when she pulled his shirt up to his midsection.

A minute later, his shirt was off completely, and he got to feel the wonderful sensation of Nika's fur against his bare skin. He'd known the tigers' fur was supposed to be soft, but the firm, silky feeling of her forearms pressing against his shoulder blades was something else entirely. The pads on her paws were as smooth as human skin, and every accidental poke from her claws sent a shiver rippling through his body.

Before long, Nika had returned her focus to his neck, but this time she carefully shifted from sitting cross-legged to having her legs flanking Arthur's. The massage continued upward to his head, with both paws working in tandem to rub his whole scalp at once. The pressure and rhythmic motion working back and forth put him into a sort of daze, and he hardly resisted as Nika gently pulled him back against her body.

Arthur let out a content groan, then realized with a start he was right up against her breasts. The only thing between him and her cleavage was a patchwork top, allowing him to squish back into them like two wonderful pillows. He might have felt ashamed if Nika wasn't pulling him into her lap, softly pressing him into her bust while kneading his head like a ball of dough.

Eventually, the massage came to a stop, leaving Arthur laying in a dazed stupor. “Thank you, Nika," he sighed, “That was-"

He was interrupted by Nika pushing him forward slightly, which he might've been offended by if she hadn't then pulled off her patchwork top.

“Wait, what are you-"

Arthur was once more cut off as Nika pulled him back into her bare cleavage, pinning his arms to his sides with a bear hug. After a bit of adjusting, the tigress slipped his head between her furry breasts and let them rest on his shoulders. “What's wrong?" Nika purred, “You've been staring at them since you got here."

“Yeah, but…" Even though it felt taboo, Arthur couldn't think of a good counter-argument, and he finally relented with a sigh. “Thank you, Nika."

“You're very welcome, Arthur." She released him from her bear hug, but before Arthur could fully relax, Nika spoke once more. “Tell me, doctor," she purred, “Are you married?"

“What?" Arthur wasn't sure if he'd misheard her question or mistranslated some foreign term.

“Do you have a wife waiting for you back home?" Nika clarified.

“I, uh… no, not really." He squirmed a little in her lap, suddenly realizing what his present position might look like to someone barging into his quarters. “W-why do you ask?"

“Because I wouldn't want to make you unfaithful." Her paw suddenly landed on Arthur's groin, cupping his manhood as if staking claim to it.

“Whoa whoa whoa, that's a bit much, don't you think?" Arthur immediately moved to push her hand away, but it only worked because she let him. “I, ah… I appreciate the sentiment, but…" He tried to find the right words to articulate the shitstorm that would rain down if the director found out he was sleeping with the tigers' chieftain but ultimately came up short. “I'm just not sure it'd be… appropriate."

Nika let out a low, knowing chuckle. “Are you worried about what your director would say?" she asked, her paw sneaking onto his thigh.

“Well… yes, but-"

Nika leaned in close, her voice dropping to a fierce, growling whisper. “Do you really think there's anyone in your village who could stand in my way? Your director? His soldiers?" Her claws flexed against Arthur's thigh, demonstrating their sharpness and the strength behind them. “I could tear them all apart myself if they so much as laid a hand on you, doctor. We could make love on your director's desk in front of his whole army, and there's nothing any of them could do to stop us."

Arthur didn't know if he was scared or aroused, but his heart was hammering from both feelings at once. It was so easy to picture her words in his mind's eye, to imagine them rutting on top of Rutherford's pristine desk like a pair of animals. Nika would hug him to her furry bosom as he thrusted into her, smothering him between her pillowy breasts, crossing her legs behind his hips to make sure he gave every ounce he had to give. If anyone dared to interfere, Nika could toss them aside like a ragdoll, then return to him with an even greater lust than before. Arthur's manhood twitched to life in his pants, fueled by the lurid thoughts racing through his mind.

But then, just as he was about to rip his pants off and give himself to the tigress, Nika's paw left his thigh. “The only person in the whole world that could tell me no is you," she purred, “And if you just say the word, I'll walk away like this never happened."

A sudden disappointment wrenched at Arthur's heart at the thought of not consummating this strange relationship, and at that moment, he realized he'd wanted to bed Nika since the moment he'd laid eyes on her. “No, I want this," he murmured, his hand gently guiding Nika's paw back to his groin. “I'm all yours."

Without a word, Nika began rubbing the tent in his pants, teasing his member with a firm grip and a soft paw-pad. Arthur opened his zipper, then guided Nika's paw through his fly to his bare cock. The tigress pulled it into the open air, then began to massage the tip of his cock with her palm. “There we go," she purred, “It's thicker than I thought…"

Before Arthur could reply, Nika pulled him back into her chest, once more nestling his head between her breasts. Her free arm hugged him tight, pinning his arms to his sides while her feet held Arthur's legs apart. He felt a twinge of fear as her massive paw engulfed his member, but once she began rubbing up and down along his length, it melted into amorous desire.

It didn't take long for Nika to settle into a steady rhythm, and the more she stroked, the more Arthur's precum lubricated her paw. “I knew humans had smooth cocks," she mused, “But I never knew about their cute little tips…"

She gave his glans a little squeeze, focusing the pressure on the sensitive rim. Arthur couldn't help but gasp with pleasure, squirming a bit in Nika's arms.

“Ooooh, is that sensitive?" Nika used her thumb and forefinger to make a tight ring around Arthur's little head, then doubled her original pace, forcing a surprised groan from Arthur's lips.

“Oh god… Nika…" In the heat of the moment, Arthur switched back to English, but his sentiment was clear in any language. He knew the insulated walls wouldn't do much to muffle his moans, but he was hardly in a position to voice concerns. All he could do was press back against her chest and dig his fingers into her thigh fur, bracing against the onslaught of sensation.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed, Nika's paw slowed as her grip relaxed. She never stopped, but the slight reprieve kept him from exploding all over himself in less than a minute. “Seems you're carrying more than one kind of tension," she whispered into his ear, idly stroking his manhood all the while. “Did you never have a chance to unwind on your own?"

It took a surprising amount of effort to parse her words and even more to muster a reply in her language. “No, I… I never thought…" He punctuated the reply with a long sigh, though it turned into a gasp as Nika gave him a firm squeeze.

“Then I'll just have to work it out of you myself." She gripped his entire length in her massive paw like a catcher's mitt around a soda can, squeezing every sensitive spot he had at once as she stroked up and down.

It didn't take long at all for Arthur to reach the precipice of a climax, and through the pleasure, he tried to utter a warning to Nika. He'd hoped to last longer on this first round, but after months without any kind of intimate contact, he'd developed quite the hair trigger.

“Shhh… it's okay." Nika pressed him against her luscious bust as she leaned back, laying down on the bed with Arthur still in her clutches. “We're just getting started… so let it all out."

As the pressure in Arthur's loins neared the point of bursting, she covered his mouth with her free paw, muffling the sounds that escaped his lips. The closer he got, the louder he let himself be, until at last he reached his limit with a muffled yet passionate cry. Pleasure surged through his nerves like a tidal wave, forcing him to squirm back against the tigress as his manhood shot rope after rope of sticky seed into the air. A moment later, it fell back onto his bare belly and the tigress's paw, but both of them were too caught up in the moment to care.

Arthur let out a soft sigh once Nika let go of his mouth, gently panting as he caught his breath. “Holy hell," he groaned, “I think that was the best handjob I've had in… ever…"

“Mmm, I'm glad to hear it." Nika let go of his manhood, then wiped the cum off his bare belly with a lazy paw. She began licking it off her hand, grooming her fur with her rough tongue. “You taste quite different than men of my own kind… sweeter, perhaps."

“Huh… maybe it's a difference in diet." After catching his breath, Arthur rolled over onto his belly, peering at Nika over the soft mounds of her breasts. “Speaking of which… I think I might like to have a taste of you."

At first, Nika seemed a bit confused, but she quickly realized something. “Oh, of course… your tongues aren't nearly as harsh as ours. Well, you're welcome to taste all you'd like… at least until you're ready to ride."

The thought of her riding bareback on his cock sent a shiver of excitement down Arthur's spine, but after his thorough milking at Nika's hands, he needed a bit to recover. He drew back onto his knees and ran his hands through the silky fur of her thighs, feeling the steely strength of her muscles under her curves. Nika spread her legs wide as Arthur pushed back her patchwork skirt, revealing pink, slickened nethers nestled in a mound of almost downy fur.

Arthur ran two fingers down her labia, gently spreading her lips to reveal her clit and clenching canal. She didn't seem too different from a human woman, all slick and soft and invitingly warm, so he stuck two fingers into her muff while his thumb rubbed circles around her clit.

Nika got comfortable on the bed, relaxing like a cat showing its belly as she received his ministrations. Her legs splayed wide, and her paws came up to gently fondle her breasts in time with his strokes. “Mmm, that's it… you humans have such nimble fingers."

It didn't take long to find the sensitive little lump of her g-spot, and once her sighs turned into moans, Arthur leaned down to lick her clit. The sudden contact made her flinch slightly, claws hooking into the sheets. It seemed like she'd never been tended to with such precision before, as every stroke made her twitch and quiver.

When he began to gently suckle on her clit in time with his beckoning fingers, Nika's hips arched against him and her toes curled. She let out a sultry moan, then grabbed Arthur's pillow and pressed it to her face, muffling her ecstatic groaning and cursing. Her thighs clenched around either side of his head, pressing her fur against his cheeks and occasionally squeezing him like a vice whenever he hit just the right rhythm. She humped against his mouth and fingers, desperate to feel more of him, soaking his chin and hand in her feminine fluids after only a minute.

Arthur barely noticed as Nika trapped him in a headlock with her legs, grinding his mouth against her soft clit. The more her pleasure built, the louder her cries became, though the pillow helped muffle them to some degree. Her claws dug into it as she nearly smothered herself, piercing the pillowcase and threatening to slice through the fabric. As she neared the precipice, she tore eight thin slits in the pillow, her digits mirroring the seizure-like motions of her legs. The headlock tightened further with every moment, until, like a spring-trap coming unwound, Nika's hips bucked off the bed.

Despite the pillow pressed to her face, Nika's climactic yowl could be heard in the next room over. Her legs pressed Arthur against her loins almost to the point of smothering him as her canal clenched greedily around his fingers. Her clit and g-spot throbbed with life, and the longer Arthur rubbed, the longer Nika's surge of pleasure lasted. When it eventually came to an end, the tigress flopped back onto the bed with a muffled groan of satisfaction, her legs finally relaxing into a spread-eagle pose.

Freed from her headlock, Arthur sat up and took a breath of fresh air, then wiped his chin on the sheets. The first thing he noticed was that his manhood had throbbed back to full mast, and the second was that Nika was gazing at him with a lurid eagerness. Without a word of English or Russian, Arthur knew exactly what she wanted, and he carefully positioned himself on top of her.

With her hips tilted up slightly, it was all too easy to slip inside her, sheathing himself in her hot, clenching embrace with a single thrust. Once he got into a stable position, Arthur began pistoning back and forth, angling himself to hit her g-spot with every stroke. He held onto her like a life preserver, burying his face between her breasts as his fingers teased her stiff nipples. Every sigh and moan helped him find the perfect angle, and once he got into a good rhythm, Nika was forced to moan into the lightly-shredded pillow once more.

“You feel absolutely amazing," Arthur murmured into her breasts, immersing himself in the softness and scent of her fur. On every thrust in, her clenching provided deliciously slick resistance, and on every pull back, it felt like she was trying to drag him deeper.

However, in his pleasure, his rhythm began to falter. Nika gradually remembered that it was she who was meant to be rewarding Arthur, and the instant he paused to catch his breath, the tigress tossed the pillow aside and rolled him onto his back.

His manhood remained fully inside her, but the new position let her dictate the terms of their coupling. Instead of chasing her own pleasure, she zeroed in on what made Arthur moan the loudest, filling the air with the rhythmic, wet slapping of her groin against his. The energetic bouncing made the bedsprings squeal in protest, and even the frame itself began to strain under her. Her loins squeezed as tight as ever around his cock, and after a few more minutes, he found himself helplessly teetering on the brink of orgasm.

“Wait, Nika… I'm close…" As much as he wanted to cum inside her and just pray their genetics were incompatible, he still wanted to give her the choice of having him pull out.

Nika, however, had different plans entirely. Her wild rutting calmed to short, deep strokes, grinding the tip of his manhood against her canal in all the right ways. With a little help from Arthur rubbing her clit, Nika was able to bring herself to the same edge as him, then send them both tumbling into ecstasy with a few energetic bounces.

Arthur thrusted up against her weight, pressing his pubes firmly against her mound as he came. Her wild clenching and occasional spasm-like thrust made sure his balls emptied everything they had, spurting it straight toward her cervix in shuddering, throbbing jets. The aftershocks made her sit straight up, quivering as the electric surge ricocheted back and forth along her nerves.

Once the peak of her pleasure abated, she collapsed forward, looming over Arthur with her paws pinning his shoulders to the bed. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to: Arthur could see the bone-deep satisfaction in her amber eyes. After gently pulling off of him with a decadent slurping sound, Nika lay down on top of Arthur, nestling his face between her breasts with just enough room to breathe. She nuzzled into the pillow, settling herself down on her belly with the good doctor pinned underneath… but just as she seemed ready to pass out, several sets of hurried footsteps arrived outside their door.

Nika sat bolt upright, her ears flattening back as her lips parted in a vexed snarl. “It seems we have comp-"

Before she could finish the last word, a rough fist knocked urgently on the door. “Doctor, are you in there?" The voice belonged to one of the soldiers, and he sounded more frightened than anything else.

Arthur sat up a bit as well. “Yes, I'm just…" He glanced briefly to where Nika still straddled his naked hips, trailing off into silence. “Is something wrong?"

"One of the maintenance techs said they heard sounds of distress from your room. Are you okay in there?"

The blood drained from Arthur's face as he realized how loud they'd been in their coupling. “Well, yes, but… uh…"

There was a brief, hushed discussion on the other side of the door. “Is the tango chieftain in there with you?"

Before Arthur could reply, Nika swung herself off the bed with feline grace, and despite the doctor's hissed protests, she marched straight over to the door. Arthur barely had time to hide his shame under the covers before Nika wrenched the door open, and he could only watch in horror as the completely naked tigress stared down a whole squad of guards. However, it wasn't just a few guards: he heard other voices gathered out in the hall, including Director Rutherford's aristocratic drawl.

However, Nika didn't care one bit. There wasn't an ounce of shame or trepidation in her expression, just a fiery wrath and a glare that could melt steel. “No distress," she growled in jagged English, “Go." As she stood there, a drop of her own juices dripped from between her legs, and it was silent enough after she spoke to hear it hit the ground.

The guards were too fearful and too awestruck to retort, and most of the bystanders quickly remembered they had somewhere to be, but Director Rutherford seemed oblivious to what he'd stumbled upon. Instead of retreating, the older man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, a stiff smile curving under his mustache as he tried to resume their diplomatic talks. “You know, I don't let just anyone wander onto my-"

She jabbed a rebuking finger at the director. “You. Shush. Talk tomorrow. Go. Now."

With that, she slammed the door in Rutherford's face, and Arthur didn't know whether to feel mortified or vindicated. However, as Nika casually strolled back to bed, still dripping his seed from between her legs, the good doctor began to lean toward the latter. “I don't think I've ever seen someone disrespect the director quite like that," he mused.

Nika let out a short, dismissive growl. “And what will he do about it, hmm? Have his soldiers detain me?" She threw back the sheets and sat down beside him, looking over his naked body with an air of satisfaction. “You'll be safe as long as you're by my side, Arthur… never forget that."

After tenderly stroking Arthur's cheek, the tigress turned around and bent down over his groin, leaning in to lick their combined fluids from his pubes. Her tongue felt like a stiff-bristled brush, but she used it with such delicate care that he didn't mind having it licking his limpening manhood. It didn't take long at all for her to fully clean him off, after which she tended to her own nethers.

Arthur watched in amazement as she nearly folded herself in half, grooming the slimy substances from her fur with a feline's flexible grace. “Do you always groom yourselves?" he asked, his voice soft with intimate curiosity.

Once she'd finished, Nika shook her head. “It's easier to have someone else help. But don't worry, I've tended to myself plenty over the years, and as I understand it, you humans don't groom each other at all. I've heard you clean yourselves by soaking in hot water."

Arthur shrugged. “Eh, it's less about soaking and more about scrubbing… but yeah, it usually involves water. Sometimes I wish I could groom myself, though… around here, everyone has to share the same five showers."

“Mmm… then perhaps I can groom you in the morning," Nika purred. She got up briefly to turn off the space heater, then resumed her previous position lying atop Arthur, throwing the sheets over herself and sealing him in a cozy realm of fur and warmth. “For now, we rest… we've got a long journey tomorrow."

As soon as he began to get comfortable, Arthur felt a slight nagging at the edge of his mind, a little voice telling him he wouldn't be off duty for another hour. “Nika, wait… maybe we should-"

“Hush." Nika hugged him close, pressing his face between her breasts but not quite smothering him. “You've saved enough lives for today… I'm sure your apprentice can handle everything else."

“Mmfff…" After a brief attempt at resistance, Arthur found himself helpless to resist Nika's affections. She settled on top of him like a living, breathing weighted blanket, effortlessly pinning him to the bed. Her furry form blotted out all light, and the only sounds he could hear were her heartbeat and breathing. A purr like a diesel engine reverberated out from her chest, and despite its volume, Arthur found the noise strangely comforting.

With nowhere to go and nothing to do, the fatigue of such an eventful day began to weigh down on him. The room was already beginning to chill from the lack of a heater, but being so close to Nika kept Arthur nice and warm. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep in her affectionate embrace, and for the first time in a long while, he felt truly at peace.