Fare Thee Well
AUTHOR'S NOTE -- This is the Season Three finale, as it were, of Luminous. For those keeping track, Season One was "The Green Hour" through "The Autumn Defense" ... Season Two was "Little Emotional Feelers" through "The Twilight Perimeter," and Season Three has been "Extinguishing Cold Fires" through ... this episode here.
"Oh ... " Her soft, airy exhale. Whispering, "Oh ... "
The wolf chewing on her thighs. Nipping her brown (different shades of brown ... from mahogany to amber) furry pelt ... between his teeth. Gentle tugs. Loving nips to one thigh ... turning to the other.
Dotna leaned back in her chair. Eyes closed. Breathing a bit erratically. Paws on Pyo's head, gripping his ears ... giving them little, harmless pulls. Blunt chipmunk paws scritching at ear-bases.
The wolf, on his knees (on the floor in front of her chair) gave lusty growls from the throat ... as he chewed on her furry flesh, leaving momentary bite-marks beneath the fur. The taste and scent of her warm, rodent body ... so evident. She was such a warm soul. She was strong. But gentle. She was playful, but never crass. She was ... keen. She was ... so many things. She'd been his medicine. The wolf had believed, upon first waking aboard this Luminous ... that he could never escape the ghosts of his past. All that he had lost. All that he had done. But ...
... she'd helped him ... she'd been such a large part in his transformation: from a bitter refugee ... to a confident, at-ease fur ... he loved her. Pyro loved Dotna. Oh, he ...
"Uh ... P-pyro ... " She arched, furry breasts ... of average size, covered by a bra (the only thing she was currently wearing) ... arching outward with her belly.
Paw on her arching belly, Pyro firmly kept her pinned to the back of her chair. Kept her rump there. As his teeth grazed the outer folds of her pink, raw pussy-lips. Pink, raw ... heat. She was in heat.
The wolf hadn't come to the armory to fuck. He'd come to give her a computer pad from Rella ... but ... but the scent. He'd started chewing on her pelt, that looser part at the back of her neck ... fur-covered flesh ... and next thing he knew ...
... he was lip-nibbling her clitoris.
Dotna chittered ... high-pitched, rapid-fire chitters ... and an involuntary twitch. Jerking a bit, humping (quickly) right at his face, bonking his nose.
Pyro blinked, the impact sliding him to his rump.
Dotna swallowed, green eyes apologetic. "Sorry," she whispered, angular ears cocked. Hot. Wire-brush of a tail ... extending through the tail-gap in the back of her chair.
The wolf, pants and briefs collected at his ankles, gave a red-eyed smile ... " ... too sensitive?"
A flush. "I don't ... want you to stop," she answered.
"How ... " He caressed her thighs. "How long is your heat?"
"Five days ... every five weeks," she reminded. "For femme ... chipmunks. Femme mice, it's three days every three weeks ... squirrels ... four days once a month ... bats ... like, 8 days every two months, and ... uh ... uh ... "
"Mm ... mm ... " His tongue ran the length of her vulva. Nose flaring ... the soft, short fur on the perimeter of her pussy-lips, and the lips themselves ... and tongue worming between them. The slick wetness. The heat. Her scent had never been stronger. If this was nature's way of ensuring she was bred ... well, then ... it was working ... his penis was halfway out of its sheath, a drop of pre oozing out of the slit ... the impressive organ (which could knot) hung between the wolf's gray-furred legs. He wanted inside her ... wanted, wanted ... now, now!
Not that he could get her pregnant. He couldn't. Wolves and chipmunks were in NO way ... genetically compatible for reproduction. Not, like, say ... chipmunks and squirrels, or ... mice and bats ... so, it was safe to ... indulge. And they had five days ... mm ...
To be young and in love! And to have a second chance at life!
The wolf growled in gratitude ...
... as the chipmunk fumbled out of her chair. To the floor. To all fours.
Pyro grinned. Doggy-style. His favorite. He greedily (though lovingly) mounted ... glad that none of these weapons in the armory here ... glad they were phase and plasma based. And didn't use gunpowder. Cause the heat this love gave off ...
... could incite fireworks to pinwheel.
Ketchy was on her back. In bed. The sun (actual sunlight!) streaming through the windows ... Luminous still parked in the plains. In the temperate zones of this unmapped world. So much nature. So much beauty.
Adelaide and her Ops team were ... brainstorming ... about how to build a settlement out there. Complete with electricity, plumbing ... everything ... but it would take so much time. So much planning. And every-fur was loathe to leave Luminous. This ship was a like second skin. It was like ... their shell. To leave it ...
... they couldn't do.
So, for the time being, the crew was living aboard the ship. They'd harvested enough resources and materials to restore their energy levels, but ... the warp core was powered down. And the ship was stationary. They lived aboard her. Slept aboard her. Ate aboard her ... and still went about their duties. There were still things to do. Maintenance. Keeping the ship running. Scanning the solar system ... for returning wasps. Running surveys of the land and the planet's entirety, really. Taking shuttle-pods to various parts of the continent they were on. Collecting plant samples. Et cetera.
A lot of exploring and mapping and ... so much to be done!
But so much rest ... did they need.
So, they stayed on their ship. And, each day, they filtered into the surrounding nature. Lolled in the sun, the grasses, the fields ... the trees. Oh, the trees, and the creeks, and ... each fur on the ship was assigned a number. A one or a two. The two groups alternated by day. Basically, every other day ... was, for every fur, a natural shore leave. A day in nature.
Was rest.
And after having no home for over a year, and after ... surviving all they had ... a rest was needed. They were in no rush to build a settlement here. Were content to simply scan it, explore it. Stick to their ship ...
... take things slowly. As they happened.
As they would.
God willing.
Ketchy and Denali were in group two. Today was group one's day for being outside ... most furs walked. Some took the shuttle-pods ... farther out. But Luminous was landed close enough to the woods and fields and ... different regions. A few miles walking ... and stay for the day ... and walk back when the sun started to go down.
"I was thinking," Denali said, slipping into bed. It was only evening, but ... they had gotten off duty two hours ago. Had eaten supper together (in the mess hall), and had returned here. To their quarters. "I was thinking ... tomorrow, we should walk to the woods. The creek runs through there."
"Yeah ... mm ... a picnic?"
"Yeah ... " The otter, taller, stronger than her ... put a paw on her side. Rubbed up and down. "Us otters ... we're raised around water, you know? Mm ... I wanna make love to you," he confessed, "in the water."
"Mm ... not underwater, I hope." Her eyes glowed gently ... reflecting the rose-colored, melon-colored light that streamed through the window. That gently warmed their fur. Outside, it was spring. Mid-spring. Summer was a month or two off, and ... oh, what a time.
A chuckle ... " ... no ... heads perfectly above water, but ... you know, just ... in the creek."
A soft nod. A closing of her eyes. "That sounds so lovely ... " She put her nose on his neck. Into his rich, mahogany-colored fur. "You smell so good ... so safe."
Denali flushed a bit ... beneath his fur. Paw continuing to rub slowly up and down her side.
"You sure it's okay to ... yiff?" Ketchy asked. "With the baby?"
"Perfectly okay ... I mean, later in the game, when you're, like ... a month from labor ... we might have to reign it back, but ... it's perfectly safe, hun ... "
A soft smile. "Mm ... " She opened her eyes, putting her nose to his. Her nose twitched and sniffed. And her whiskers brushed his own. "Maybe, after we make love in the creek ... we can make love in a tree."
"A tree?"
"Us squirrels ... we're agile acrobats. I'm a great climber."
"I'm afraid of heights," he admitted. After a hesitation.
"You are not ... "
"I am ... "
"Mm ... maybe I can help with that." She kissed his lips. Softly. Sweetly.
"Maybe ... "
"Mm ... " A contented sigh. She was five days pregnant. The artificial insemination had worked (the first time, too). Wren's seed had ... done the fertilizing. So, her baby would be one hundred percent squirrel. She wished, deep down, still wished ... it could be half-otter. But ... squirrels and otters couldn't reproduce. Not like chipmunks and squirrels, or ... mice and bats ... for instance. One of the setbacks to interspecies romance ... you might not be able to have children with your mate. But ... it didn't matter if the soul in her belly had no otter blood. If it was all squirrel. She was a squirrel, and ... she was proud ... she was excited, and ... Denali would be its father.
"I've never seen you so happy," Denali confessed (at a whisper).
"I know. I'm ... I feel like I'm glowing." A pause. A smile. "Am I glowing?"
"A little." A warm, bright smile. And a nose-nuzzle to her cheeks. While his foot-paws bumped against hers ... legs rubbing. Tangling lightly. "Oh, hun ... "
Ketchy breathed deep. "Thank you ... so much ... " Her eyes welled. She shut them. Sniffed. "I ... when you told me, a few months back ... when you told me ... that you would find a way for us to have a baby ... part of me thought you were just humoring me. You know? I ... I'm sorry I thought that. I just ... no one's every kept their promise."
"Well, hun ... I ... it was Wren's idea ... you should thank him ... "
"But he told me you came up with the idea ... "
"Well, I mentioned that ... I needed rodent seed. That I wanted to artificially inseminate you ... for your birthday. I ... but I didn't expect him to be the donor."
"It doesn't matter ... I just ... it worked. Darling," she whispered. "Our child is in my belly ... I don't care if he's all squirrel. He'll still be yours. And he's mine ... and ... ours. Our child. He's growing inside me," she whispered. "We're going to have a family ... "
Denali let out a breath. Hugging her. "Mm ... " He nuzzled her cheek. His rudder-like tail rustled on the sheets ... while her tail, brushy and silky, like a flag, waved slightly in the air ... hanging off the side of the bed. "I'm glad you're so happy," he repeated.
"I'm just ... so grateful. I ... my faith has come back. I lost it, and I ... it was my fault. I made bad choices. But I ... I feel things are getting better. I have such hope, and I love you ... so, so much. You saved me," she confessed, "from my own ... faults. My ... "
"Hush ... hun ... "
Ketchy sniffled, nose against his chest. Sniffled. "I'm ... I'm sorry ... "
"Shh ... it's okay," he whispered, a paw on her back. Rubbing on her bare back. "Nothing to be sorry for. We've got a new home. We're safe now." A pause. "We've a whole undiscovered world, a whole ... country ... a whole future," the otter whispered, "ahead of us. A whole life. The past, and all the pains, all the regrets ... they can't own you. They can't stop you. You will flower," he told her. "I will see to it."
Tears streamed silently out of her eyes ... dropping to the sheets.
"Okay?" he whispered, lifting her chin with a paw. Directing her gaze to his.
A weak nod.
"Okay?" he asked again.
"Okay," she whispered, smiling, sniffling ... and blinking a few times.
And the sun cast them in such perfect shadow. The bold, orange and pink shadows ... were thrown over their body, coming through the windows ... casting like blankets.
The only thing to do, really, was ...
... to let the cover hold.
And to pass the time ... with kiss after kiss after ... caress after ...
" ... mm ... "
"I'm not scared," Field said ... leaning against a tree-trunk. "For the first time in my life, I think ... cause ... I don't remember ever being ... without it." A pause. The smell of ... freshness. Of cattails. Of ... moss. "I thought I wouldn't heal ... I thought ... but, you know, it's ... the past week, being in nature, and being ... with you ... and ... my ... it's going away."
"The fear?" Adelaide asked, crawling to him ... on all fours. Bare. Soaking wet. They'd just gotten out of a pond. Akira was back on the ship, being watched by Juneau and Chester ...
A quiet nod. Water droplets dripping from his whisker-tips. His dishy ears swivelled, and his pink, long tail ... was limp in the grass. Like a worm out from the rain. "I think I'm gonna be okay," he whispered. And looked to her. And looked away. "You keep me alive ... "
She leaned against the trunk, too, and ... laid her head against his. He leaned his head against hers, and ...
... mutual leaning. Mutual support. Co-dependence.
Need.
"Mm ... my mouse," she whispered, trying to nip at his ear. Playfully. Gently. "My wings are your shields ... " She continued nipping at his ear.
"Hey," he whispered, faking reluctance.
"Mm ... " A giggle. "You're good," she whispered into the ear, changing the subject, "on top. Mm ... even if you think you aren't." They had, on the banks of the pond ... made love. Field on top. Missionary position. Not something they often did ... usually, she topped him. Played the dominant half. Rode him, or ... et cetera. Field only topped her ... twenty percent of the time. Which, considering they yiffed every day (as all furs did), that made for ... like, twice a week ... they did missionary twice a week. Field on top. But, most of the time ... it would start with kissing, caressing ... and Field softly giving her oral. And, when he'd had his fill, she would wrestle him to his back, and ... hop on. And lean down and bite ... horizontally. Atop of him. Mm ... and the fangs. The bite! Always ... the bite. And ...
... oh, gosh ... the bat flushed, feeling hot. She was going to make herself yiffy again ... thinking about all this.
Suffice it to say: though the bat and the mouse had their particular yiffy preferences ... they tried to vary the actual act. They experimented. And, suffice it to say ...
... it was fun. Mm ... fun, fun ... mmm ...
Field blushed, giggling ... sensing her thoughts ... " ... mm ... I don't think I can go again ... quite yet."
"Mm ... " She playfully swiped at his mouse-hood, which was limp. "So, it does," she said, of his cock, "have a weakness?" A glint in her eye. "Takes a while to recharge ... mm ... leaves your flank open for ... mm ... "
A giggle. "Stop it ... this is silly ... Adelaide ... " He saw the look in her eyes. She was ready to go again. She'd worked herself up.
"Field ... mm ... " Paws on his chest. She was, indeed, yiffy again. She panted.
"I need ... a bit more time. I ... "
"Ten minutes?" she asked seriously. Eyes widening.
"Fifteen?" he countered.
" ... 'kay. Mm ... " A squirm. And a sigh. And a toothy grin. "Fifteen ... and I jump your fur and bones. Ready or not."
A giggle-squeak, eyes darting ...
And the bat sighed, leaning against him. Closing her eyes. Breathing of the scent of the ... fields. The grasses. The wild flowers. The trees and the leaves, and ... their wet fur. Both of them had damp fur. So nice, to ... feel the breeze in your fur.
The sky, through the tree-tops, it was turning a deep shade of blue ...
... oh, evening was coming! Oh, evening!
"What about ... walking back to the ship."
"We'll walk under starlight," she assured him. "And search for constellations as we go ... play connect the dots ... gaze into heaven."
A soft sigh. A closing of his eyes. "Listen to the birds."
Her eyes scanned the tree-tops, the limbs ... and she listened. And she fired off an echo-burst ... and smiled as it came back to her angular, swept-back ears. "I think they're watching us, too ... furs birdwatching, and birds ... fur-watching."
The mouse giggled.
"Mm ... "
"I used to know all the birds back home. Just by how they flew ... from a distance. And how they sounded. I ... maybe I can ... catalogue the birds here."
"Well, I'm the Ops officer, so ... that would fall under my jurisdiction, so ... catalogue away. Mouse in charge of cataloguing local avian life. One of your new titles."
A gentle smile. "Thanks ... "
She nuzzled his neck with her nose. "Mm-hmm ... "
The breeze blew through the leaves, and the trees ... with such gentle, cool ease. Such rest. If rest had a sound, it must be the breeze through the trees. Mustn't it?
The two mates leaned against each other, bare ... comfortable. Quiet. Breathing. Feeling each other's minds with their mental feelers. Soothing each other.
A bird called. Sing-song ...
... and the light got bolder. The blue overhead got bluer. The first start began to show. The first star of evening, and ...
... oh, the colors, and the smells of the country air. Of this ... nature.
And his tail snaking in the grass ...
... and her arms stretching. Stretching her wings to their full span ... as she yawned.
"You tired?" he asked, a paw resting on her belly.
"Mm? No ... just ... dozy."
"Dozy," he repeated, smiling warmly.
"You're not gettin' out o' yiffin'," she told him, mimicking his repressed rural accent. The mouse's rural accent had been phased out ... through years of schooling, through ... being too much a writer. Too much an artistic soul. But, when he was really, really comfortable, he would slip into it ... and she found it adorable.
"I'm not ... gettin' out," he responded, "of yiffin' ... "
"No?" Nosing his neck.
"I'm a mouse, but I'm ... not crazy, darling."
"Mm ... you're a good boy," she whispered, pushing him to his back ... in the grass. "A good mouse ... " Kissing him heatedly, and ... on all fours above him. "Mm ... and I love you, Field. I'm ... I love you so much." Her words were so sincere. So heartfelt. Her eyes watered. "I just ... darling ... " She swallowed.
The mouse took a breath. "You're gonna make me cry, too ... this always happens," he told her.
A giggle. A sniffle. "Mm ... well ... no tears, okay? No tears. And no fears." A cleansing breath. Of dandelion-like weeds, and ... of tree-bark, and ... the sound of flowing water, and ...
... so much. Oh, so much. Life!
"Our paws are on solid ground, darling," Adelaide whispered, lowering to a lie-down atop his body. Belly-to-belly. Lips brushing his. "We're on solid land, and ... our roots will grow, and we will ... flower. Flourish. Forever."
And ...
... the kiss. Kiss!
Nothing sweeter ... than this.
A life of love. What dreams were made of.