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[Companions Chapter 41]

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WARNING! The following text contains explicit adult subject matter. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, then you must stop reading now. The author has taken steps to ensure that this story does not appear in any subject-inappropriate or age-inappropriate forum. This version has been posted with the author's permission to Yiffstar.com.

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* _COMPANIONS_

* by Evoquus

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* (c) Copyright 2009, Evoquus, All rights reserved.

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* Feedback is appreciated: [email protected]

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Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex: M/F, M/M, F/F, Human, Mare, Stallion, Oral

Chapter 41: Thad

Daniel Racher was keenly aware of his two distinct personalities, one entirely gay male human and one entirely lesbian female Hipponaur, that, like Bizarro World vs. Home World, seemed to be drifting further and further apart. A third personality, that of a gay man trapped in a mare's body, bridged the gap to some extent, but this was a delicate balance that could easily tip in the presence of a stallion or a mare. And when they were both presently demanding his/her sexual attention, this third personality had no choice but to split into two: Daniel the human, and a fourth personality that took the reins of his equine body whenever Daniel wasn't at home. He gave birth to this identity the moment he gave it a name, and Pandora was certainly living up to hers. Daniel the human could not exist without Pandora the mare, and vice versa, and both were very much aware of that fact. Every day Pandora the mare grew a little more autonomous, less dependent on Daniel for her every muscle movement and more like an obedient trail horse that submitted to her trainer. And just like other trail horses, when turned out to pasture on her own, she sought the company of her own kind, which was usually a white-hot mare.

Shianna was quite taken by Pandora, especially when Daniel was being manly with Rovaun next door. It meant that the black mare had no hint of male essence to sully her femininity, and this allowed Shianna to completely indulge her own female primitive. Without Daniel at the helm, Pandora ran on instinct, which her primitive governed when Shianna was present. Wherever the white mare went, the black mare followed, to be with her, to care for her, to make love to her, because that's what mares did, because that's why they existed.

Lacking tactful self control, Pandora the mare often made the first move, and Shianna let her do it as long as no one objected. They groomed and nickered and nuzzled together which was typical equine foreplay before setting down on the ground to get down and funky. Shianna lifted her tail for her lover and Pandora's primitive did the same, meeting mare-to-mare like opposite bookends belonging to someone who only watched TV. The mares melded together to enjoy a tidal pool of incessant sex, strengthening a bond that only mares could comprehend.

Meanwhile, Daniel continued to evolve as a human. He held tight to his husband Rovaun, who regarded him with the utmost pride. They had only known each other for a month, but had already become living legends within the Hipponaur nation. Rovaun didn't care about fame; neither did Daniel, except that sometimes he could take advantage of his notoriety. Mainly he just wanted to be with his mate.

Daniel also wanted to be completely human again, though conceded that that would probably never happen. Nevertheless it didn't prevent him from trying. Right now he was trying to conjure accouterments, and he was starting to have notable success in that endeavor, except that every time a stitch of clothing appeared, Rovaun tore it off of him. For Rovaun could not get enough of being hugged by all shapes and sizes of naked men, as long as those naked men were Daniel Racher. Likewise, Daniel Racher didn't mind in the slightest having his clothes torn off by a horse, as long as that horse had a pulse, but that was more of a guideline than a rule.

Together they snuggled on a soft bed of grass while Shianna and Pandora messed around behind some bushes.

"It's good to be home," said Daniel, caressing his stallion. "And for once all the shit ended well before noon. I feel like I'm finally getting a vacation."

An attractive Stetson appeared on Daniel's head. Rovaun thought it looked good on him, so he let him keep it. Then he changed his mind and tossed it.

"How would you like to spend your vacation, Companion?"

"If you are who you say you are, then you shouldn't have to ask that question," said Daniel, quoting his favorite Anthraun.

"How foolish of me... Impaled by a horse."

"Of course, of course."

"Then you're going to have to find one, I'm afraid."

"What?" said Daniel sitting up.

"I'm fine, Companion, but I am not one hundred percent. My pastern and testicles are still mending. It would probably be wise to conserve my essence for one more day. I should be plenty virile for you tomorrow."

"Oh," said Daniel disappointed. "I'm sorry about causing all that."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know. I just bit off your balls and made you chew off your foot, that's all."

"And I recovered them and you within a day."

"I'm still sorry."

"Noted, now stop apologizing."

"Sor... ok."

Daniel slapped his mate's ribs and sat up. "I know what you need. I big heaping bowl of fresh blackberries!"

The stallion's eyes lit up in agreement as he maneuvered to get to his feet.

"No, no, you stay here. Blackberries are on me. I'll send Shianna over for snuggles."

The stallion settled down again beaming at his thoughtful mate. Daniel got up and snapped clothes on him once he was out of reach.

"Shianna, I'm going for blackberries. Want some... oh... wow..." His eyebrows surrendered at the very sexy sight of two mares making sweet love.

The white mare opened her eyes and smiled at him, but she was miles away in Shianna Shangri-la. Apparently so was Pandora. "Maybe just a few," blissed Shianna. "I'd love to feed them to Pandora."

"Um... cool. I'm really sorry to cut things short."

"Not a problem at all, hun," said Shianna getting up. She found it charmingly quaint that even though Pandora's primitive had pried his eyes wide open about what mares know, when he existed as a man he still primarily ruminated with his dick.

Shianna nuzzled his cheek, "We'll just pick up where we left off, which is also where we started, which is also where we'll end, and all the lovely little side trips in between."

Daniel merged into Pandora and instantly became ultra-mare again, all warm and tingly from many lovely little side trips shared with her lover. She nuzzled Shianna back, who then kissed her long and wet.

"Hurry back, Danny. I love you."

Pandora was initially puzzled by the male reference, but then understood it to be Shianna's acknowledgement of Daniel's true identity, and he appreciated it, even as a female.

"I love you too, Sugar, I won't be long," replied Pandora.

Shianna kissed her one more time then the two mares parted.

Daniel emerged again as a rider on Pandora's back, directing her at a canter to the blackberry patch on the far end of the meadow. He found that, like other trained horses, the more he expected of her, the more she performed for him. It was the quintessential symbiotic relationship, each depending on the other to exist, each only existing when independent of the other. Daniel sensed that she enjoyed being a mare just as much as he enjoyed being a human, yet she would always respect him as her benevolent master. Letting her out to play was good for both of them.

Though Bizarro Danny wanted nothing to do with a female persona, Daniel had yet to find a down side to it. Making love to Shianna was nothing at all like making love to Rovaun, and both were beyond compare. He dearly hoped that Destiny would never make him choose between them. Destiny always seemed to have other things in mind for him, anyway. Today he had already faced one deadly trial. He was about to face another.

He dismounted Pandora and left her on the meadow's edge to graze while he hiked into the trees where the blackberry vines preferred shade. His virtual talents nearly restored, he could have easily whipped up a bowl of the mushy muzzle mottlers for Rovaun. But that gesture would have been like taking him out to dinner for his birthday instead of preparing a meal from scratch. The restaurant fare would be far superior, but not nearly as yummy; it was the effort that made it special. Plus, Daniel's blackberries always tasted the same, but Nature never made two blackberries alike.

The best berries were always hiding in back, out of sight of the birds and out of reach of the lazy equines who preferred to forage for veggies that didn't needle them in the nose. As he carefully waded into the armored vines, he began to doubt if the effort was worth the reward, and perhaps his time might be better spent perfecting a virtual varietal algorithm instead.

Suddenly he sensed that he was being watched from the direction of a pine tree about a hundred feet away. He thought he might have caught a brief glimpse of something, like the tail of a timid squirrel ducking out of sight. He stood quietly, watching and waiting for whatever it was to reveal itself, but nothing did. He began to dismiss it outright, but then he caught sight of Pandora - the mare had all senses locked directly onto the tree. There was definitely something there that shouldn't be. Daniel silently thanked her for alerting him and was grateful that she was already learning how to watch his back. He commanded her to show him what was lurking in the shadows, then gasped aloud when she did: the unmistakable profile of an adult Anthraun.

Hiding behind trees spying on Daniel was not something that Josh would normally do. But Daniel only knew the typical behavior of Josh in Bizarro World. If Josh was now in Daniel's world, it made a twisted kind of sense that this might be his normal behavior.

"Josh," Daniel called to him, "I can see you. You can come out."

The Anthraun stepped around the tree, but he was not the Anthraun that Daniel had expected. Josh was a buckskin; this handsome fellow was a red and white paint. The first impression Daniel had was that the Anthraun was just as attractive, if not more so than Josh. The second, more practical impression was that Daniel had no idea who he was or what he intended. The second impression quickly faded.

"Don't you recognize your long lost best buddy?" he said offering a warm outstretched hug as he approached. "It's me, Thad!"

"Thad!?" said Daniel suddenly remembering his best friend all through high school. He grinned and ran to the Anthraun. They hugged tight and laughed and patted backs just like best friends who had not seen each other for a while - or ever - do. Pandora lost interest and returned to grazing.

"How have you been, Man?" asked Thad to his friend.

"I've been really good, Hoss," cheered Daniel. "Just look at you, all grown up and buff." Daniel patted the horse-man's chest.

"Yeah I was the runt of the litter back then," he chuckled.

"Not anymore," admired Daniel. "Woof."

Thad could read him like an instant message and wasted no time. He raised a sexy eyebrow and said, "Do you remember that time behind the garage when we..."

"First kissed?" said Daniel, remembering vividly an activity that could not possibly have not ever happened.

Though preferring voluptuous Anthraun mares when he had a choice, Thad kept an open mind when it came to other species and orientations, especially when it helped him achieve his goals. Lying was what the Anthraun excelled at, which made him a good actor as well. He did not object to Daniel's advances, since this particular human was very easy, and not that bad a looker.

They kissed again for the first time, and Daniel felt himself falling in love with his best friend all over again. The kiss increased from tender to steamy, then Daniel broke it off to rest his forehead on his friend. "God, I've missed you," he said adoringly.

"I've missed you too, buddy" said Thad with equal passion. "Remember the nicknames we had for each other?"

"Starsky and Hutch!"

They both laughed.

"Well it's good to see you again, Starsky. Say, bud, have you seen Josh around?"

For a brief moment, Daniel was confused, because he had always been Hutch, but then he remembered that it was indeed the other way around.

"Yeah I saw him this morning."

The Anthraun sighed and grinned. "Ah great! I've been looking for him all day."

"Do you know what I always liked about you, Hutch?" said Daniel drawing kisses down his front while dropping to his knees.

"Umm..." Perhaps this human was a little too easy.

"Swallowing that big horse dick of yours." Daniel already had Hutch's pants open and was working his own brand of magic on the Anthraun's crotch, which Danny had just remembered was the most favorite place for his face to be.

"Ok, that's really great. Listen, I'm kind of in a hurry... If you could... uh just point... me in the direction of... uh Josh... Ummm... Ohh...wohh...wohh...wohh...wohh.... niiiiiice..."

Daniel had been subconsciously mulling about Anthraun sex ever since he had seen Josh that morning, and Thad had just kicked in the door to his inhibitions. Having had a lot of practice with a lot of horse cocks, Daniel knew all the buttons to push. Teasing the base and the head inside the sheath never failed to bud, and gently sucking while swirling the concave tip never failed to tumesce.

Nervously, the Anthraun stopped him. "Hey, Starsky, I'd love to relive this moment with ya, but right now I really gotta see Josh."

Disappointed, Danny kissed the retreating dick and stood up.

"How do you know Josh?"

"You remember. I'm his brother."

"Oh right, he did mention a brother. It sure is a small two worlds."

"Yeah... Um... What?"

"Josh doesn't live on this one."

The Anthraun's heart fell into his stomach. "Say again?"

"Josh doesn't live on this planet."

Thad stared blankly at him, then cursed and sat down on a log to think.

"You ok, Hutch?" said Daniel sitting down next to him.

The Anthraun slid away a couple feet. "I gotta think, Starsky." He raised his nose again and concentrated. The signal was stronger. He had to be getting closer.

The only thing Daniel wanted more than helping his friend out was helping himself to his friend, the entrancing flavor still on his tongue and on his mind. But he made a concerted effort to push those thoughts aside. His friend needed his help more than his mouth.

"Does Josh have any family nearby?" Thad asked.

Daniel shook his head.

The Anthraun cursed under his breath again. Something didn't add up. His new friend had more information to offer, but he had to be careful how to tap it. His marks developed a psychic tolerance quickly, making it much less effective and often counterproductive. A tactic that usually worked was to become their instant buddies to gain their trust, allowing him to use other, more mundane tricks to get what he wanted. And then there was his secret weapon, which was as effective and just as useless as a doomsday bomb - a destructive device that was of no particular use to anyone.

Daniel sat quietly with him allowing him to figure out whatever it was he needed to resolve. His empathy was palpable. Thad had used humans before, but this one was different. He didn't know why, but he liked this one. He glanced at his sympathetic friend and could tell he was going to break a cardinal rule in his business: don't get involved.

"Let me help, Hutch," said Daniel, reaching out to his shoulder. The Anthraun allowed the touch that communicated sincerity. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't real, that it was based on a false premise, yet that did not seem to matter. He studied Daniel's honest face and found his own distrust fading. The Anthraun scooted toward him allowing Daniel's arm to slide around his back. Daniel brought his other arm around the front and held his best friend.

Lightly nuzzling and kissing Thad's neck, Daniel hoped that an intimate display of affection could ease his friend's pain. The Anthraun allowed it, permitting his baleful worries to fade for now.

"I don't want to hurt you again, Starsky," said Thad, who truly needed more than anything a friend that he could not hurt.

That pain of rejection from another decade suddenly surfaced for Daniel, but it was not the Anthraun's doing. The human mind had many dark crevices where sediment had settled years ago. It did not take much to dredge it all up.

"I pushed you too hard," said Daniel ironically. "But now I just want to pull you back." He brought the Anthraun closer and they tenderly kissed again.

"I wish this was real," sighed Thad.

"Why do you think it isn't?" asked Daniel, softly. "I never stopped loving you."

Thad felt sorry for this human, who had obviously had a very troubled youth.

"I'm not the same guy I was back then, Starsky."

"Then I get to meet you all over again, Hutch," he said, lovingly nuzzling his neck.

The Anthraun actually thought that was a good idea. A fresh start meant a possibly less dishonest one. "How do you do," he said extending a handshake. "I'm Thaddeus. Thad to my friends."

"Danny," said Daniel. "I only have friends. Pleased to meet ya, Thad."

"I'm going to kiss you now, Danny."

"What are friends for?"

They picked up almost where they had left off, kissing with the passion of reunited lovers. Thad knew it still wasn't real. In fact the ruse elicited fresh information from the mark, namely his name. But he had not been using any telepathic tricks for a while now. This was the real Danny if he had had a real Anthraun friend named Thad. Maybe now he really did.

Daniel pulled Thad's shirt off over his head, then gazed at the sexy equine-human torso. "Mmmm, Thad, the years have been kind to you." Daniel took a left nipple into his mouth and suckled on the Anthraun who lactated raw sexual energy. Thad held him close and fed him more emotions from his breast: angst, bitterness, fear, not emotions that Daniel would assimilate, but emotions that Thad needed sucked from his soul.

Daniel knelt down again and opened the Anthraun's pants. Delicious dick was already waiting for him this time. 'Yes' meant 'yes.' No time to waste.

The Anthraun was still afraid this would hurt his friend. It always did. Every single time. This time might be different. Every other time he had also thought that this time might be different. It never was. But maybe this time...

Daniel latched his mouth firmly around the base of the sheath, allowing the burgeoning cock to grow quickly into his throat. The Anthraun chuckled at the optimism of the human to do the impossible, still he let him have his fun.

But con artist and mark had switched places; when it came to deep throating horse cock, Daniel was the best cheater. For a human to engulf a full-sized stallion's rigid penis, Daniel didn't just bend the rules, he made origami swans out of them. Thad was about to discover that this easiest of humans had been seriously underestimated. Dropping to all fours, Daniel provided a straight path into his stomach. The Anthraun forever lost the upper hand.

"What the f... oh damn... you're good..."

He held on to Daniel's head and gently withdrew a few inches to test what could not be true, but the sensitive nerves all along his shaft confirmed the impossible: Somehow this human ate the whole thing. Daniel looked up at him and smiled, and Thad thought that maybe this time, really this time, his friend wouldn't get hurt. Daniel started rocking, producing instant moans from his best friend.

Thad joined in, holding onto Daniel's head and thrusting gently into him. The tip of his cock had ballooned inside Daniel's stomach, his esophagus preventing withdrawal until release. The thought of being physically tied to the man sent the Anthraun's blood pressure to new heights of excitement.

Daniel would set those heights even higher. Reaching between Thad's powerful legs, he snaked a finger up his ass and pressed it into his prostate.

The Anthraun squealed and convulsed, letting Daniel know that he had found the right spot, then his haunches thrust hard into Daniel with the rhythmic juicing of his gland, performing like a hand puppet for the human. Daniel didn't know why, but he needed this to be the big one. This orgasm had to be epic. The Anthraun had to come harder now than he ever had or ever will, and that was pretty close to happening.

"Um listen, Danny, I'm legally obligated to tell you.... Uhhh... oh god... I really shouldn't be doing this... Nnguh... I'm a registered sex offender... whooh... My ejaculate is legally banned as a controlled substance... NnnnggggguHH... that is highly addictive to humans..."

"No shit," mumbled Daniel, and certainly not about to stop because of that. He could feel the Anthraun's heart rate increasing, and increased the prostate milking to match. Thad had completely surrendered control to the puppeteer. The harder Daniel squeezed, the harder Thad thrust, and the harder he pulled the man's head slamming into his hot musky groin. Daniel had been addicted to this since the moment of his conception.

"Yeah... [pant]... They all say that... [pant]... What's one more ruined life... [pant]... Ok, last chance... [pant]... just so you know... [pant]... because you're about to get... [pant]... a lot of it... [pant]... right... NO I CAN'T DO IT!"

Guilt stole the pleasure from the Anthraun as he yanked his spasming cock out of Daniel's mouth, but he was one second too late. The amount of ejaculate was significantly less than his normal load, but the two ounces of the potent elixir that had made it into Daniel was more than enough to infect the human. Thinking he was just being a tease, Daniel laughed and lunged for the still spurting cock, knocking the Anthraun over. Daniel straddled him to hold him down while he engulfed him again, capturing the leftovers of the curtailed climax.

When there was nothing left to steal, Daniel hopped off him and helped him sit up. Then stood up and stretched, feeling particularly spunky.

"I'm sorry," said Thad finally, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"About what?" said Daniel, heading to Pandora.

"The addiction... you're gonna want more."

"Duh."

"No I'm serious, Danny. It's gonna get worse. I tried to stop in time but..."

Daniel wasn't listening, for this was too good to keep all to himself. Pandora anticipated him and lifted her tail so that he could share, his intentions only now becoming apparent to the Anthraun.

"Um, wait, Danny, no no no, I don't think that's a good idea..."

The human buried his face between the mare's cheeks and regurgitated the Anthraun into her.

"No. NO! Uh... fuck. God DAMN it!!!" Thad pulled out his mane hairs, watching helplessly as his curse snowballed again.

Daniel stepped back to see the mare's reaction, which was startling indeed. Pandora's eyes rolled back while winking her clitoris, faster and faster, churning the Anthraun seed into froth. Danny watched in amused fascination. Thad watched in utter dread.

Until now a neutral spectator, the mare suddenly took an interest in the horse-man. She came over to nudge him, then squatted and peed for his benefit.

"I think Pandora's in love," laughed Daniel.

"Of course she is," cringed Thad, now having to change his plan, but having no Plan B to change to.

"I gotta check this out." Daniel merged into Pandora causing the Anthraun to "eep."

"Ooohhh mmmmm," said the mare, reveling in a simmering afterglow. She flexed her neck and stretched some back muscles, then approached Thad as an intelligent being. "Pandora really enjoyed that."

The Anthraun cupped his gaping muzzle, attempting to fathom what he had just witnessed. "You're a Hipponaur??"

"MmHmm," said the mare. "Didn't you know?"

He let out a stress-relieving laugh. "You're a Hipponaur! Oh thank god!"

Pandora smiled at him, wondering what the fuss was about.

"WOO-hoo-hoo..." he laughed, raising a fist at the heavens as if he had just bested a celestial being.

"I'm sorry," he said, cheerfully calming down. "I thought you were an ordinary human and a horse. THAT would have been a problem... make that two problems. But you're not, so I think we're cool. Hipponaurs are mostly immune."

"Mostly, maybe," said Pandora affectionately. "But not entirely. You are one sumptuous stud."

"Trust me," he said getting back to business. "It's mainly psychological at this point." Then he caught himself being ungracious. "By the way Danny, that was really the best... I mean... whohh... We really should do this again sometime."

Daniel stepped out. "I'd like that. I've never met an Anthraun that I didn't."

Thad gaped at him again. "How do you do that?"

Daniel shrugged. "I just can because I want to. I'm a human soul living in a Hipponaur body. We just seem to be able to do this."

"But you're physically real."

"Virtually."

Thad put a hand on his chin, pondering the man. "How come you have clothes?"

"I make them. It's not a problem."

"Can you make other things?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno," he said wiping the sweat from his face. "A couple of beers on ice would be great right now."

"Coming right up."

A plastic cooler appeared at the Anthraun's feet. He reached down in amazement and opened it. Inside were two cold microbrews sunk into crushed ice and a bottle opener.

"Out-fucking-standing!" he said, opening the bottles. He handed one to Daniel and waited for him to drink first before sampling the brew himself, which he decided wasn't that bad, though he had had better. His luck had just improved enormously. If he could find the Anthrauns, he'd be golden, and Daniel had just hinted something about that.

"So, how many Anthrauns do you know?" Thad probed.

"Four including you and Josh."

That was another shot of good news. The sexual romp had been wasted time well spent. "Are the other two close by?"

"Yep. One of them's right in front of you."

He looked at Pandora and didn't get it. He smiled and shook his head, "Huh?"

"Come here," said Danny, "there's something I'm a little curious about."

He led Thad to Pandora and placed his hand on her side, then bent down and asked, "Tattoo, can you find Daddy?"

"No," was the tiny response.

"Ok, thank you." Daniel rose up to Thad and winked, "Just checking."

The comely smile on Thad's face suddenly slid off and splattered on the ground like Shepherd's Pie.

"Eahh!" he freaked, putting his forehead to Pandora. "He's an embryo!"

"Uh huh. So's his brother."

"They're BOTH embryos!?" Thad sagged to his knees that he wouldn't be having for much longer, for he could never harm an innocent. Then he laughed pathetically in defeat at his endless misfortune. "I'm dead," he said. "I'm so dead. And then I'm screwed."

"Anything I can do to help?" asked Daniel, treating this whole surreal situation like a harmless dream.

Thad shook his head without looking up. "No, Danny. You've done all..."

He suddenly opened his eyes and stared at him.

Daniel returned an eyebrow. "What."

He turned to Pandora, then back to Daniel again, studying him, coming up with Plan B that maybe he could live with. A plan that was dangerous and devious, but hopefully not quite so deadly.

"Maybe you CAN help," he said, getting up. "You look human to me, but I know that you can't be. No human could possibly swallow me whole like you did."

"Well," said Danny shoving his hands in his pockets. "I can make some necessary modifications when it suits me. And usually it's because of a horse dick."

"So you're a shape shifter."

"Um... I suppose so. But this is basically the only shape I know.

"Tell me more about Pandora."

"There are two versions of her, you've seen them both. She's my feminine alter ego, sort of."

Thad put a hand to his temple, staring deeply into Daniel, "Don't you remember, Danny? She has a virtual persona as well. She's a tall, gorgeous golden Palomino Anthraun. I'd love to meet her."

Suddenly Daniel lurched forward, feeling extremely woozy. Thad caught him to hold him up. Pandora also swayed and stumbled as if on the verge of collapse. For the second time that day her brain overheated, being fried by her feverish essence constructing a persona. Thad didn't know what he had done, and began to worry for the mare and her unborn, but the moment passed quickly. Daniel recovered, holding onto Thad for support at first, but was able to stand on his own.

"You ok, buddy," asked Thad, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," he said shaking it off. "I don't know what happened. It's like Pandora had a seizure or something, but it seems to be over. You wait here. I'll get her."

Daniel merged back into the mare, who stood quietly for several moments, then a shiny light-tan hoof emerged, connected to a sleek golden-haired leg that set down onto the ground. The rest of the eye-popping mare followed. She stood up tall and naked, running her hands through her flowing flaxen mane, shaking it out of her eyes. Though she wasn't moving in slow motion, for Thad, she might as well have been, because his heart was racing in the Kentucky Derby. Pandora continued to run her hands over her twenty-four-karat body that shimmered in the sunlight. Long slender fingers caressed her breasts, thumbing her nipples erect. She brought her matching flaxen tail around to straighten a minor kink in the silken strands, then let it fall behind her as she turned her full attention to the stud in front of her. Piercing him with green tourmaline eyes, she approached him slowly and sensually with the grace of seduction in mind. She had no trouble violating his personal space, laying her arms on either side of his head and bringing her forehead to his.

"You wanted to see me?" she oozed.

"M-my god," stammered Thad, utterly stunned into submission. "You are perfection."

She smiled and raised her head to plant a light kiss on his nose. "Tell me something I don't know."

Thad could think of nothing it all.

Pandora was born with an agenda which she wasted no time executing. Sliding her hand down her front, she slipped a finger wetly between her legs, then brought it up to her lover and drew a line between his flared nostrils. The Anthraun's lip twitched then curled tightly upward as he inhaled deeply the scent of a mare in season.

Flehmening in front of a mare was the most uncouth of gestures that most Anthraun mares took as crude and chauvinistic rather than complimentary. He tried not to feel embarrassed about it since she did not take offense. She smiled and turned away from him to find a comfortable place to recline, giving him a nice long look at her backside, walking with that same deliberate gait that tattooed an exclamation mark on every female part of her body, which was every virtual square inch. She lay down in the grass in a seductive pose that said 'come hither.' The Anthraun had no choice but to comply.

He struggled to remove his clothes as he had only seconds to spare. He was on top of her and in her when he erupted completely, finishing the orgasm that his conscience had prevented earlier. He was ashamed again for his teenage performance, but was so powerfully aroused that he remained hard and slid all the way in to be inside of this vision borne of a dream.

Pandora smiled, indeed treating the boorish behavior as a compliment. Her exquisite beauty could not exist without an ego to match, and she relished the thought of being able to cause stallions to soil themselves with the batting of an eyelash.

"It's all right, hun. It happens to virgins," she said light-heartedly.

"I'm not a virgin," he said, still disappointed in himself.

"I was referring to me," she said, kissing him. "Just hold me like this. It's all I need right now."

They wrapped their arms around each other while Thad remained inside of her. Winking around his base, she set his balls aflame again. He needed to thrust into her, but it was not what she asked, so he let her enjoy her moment, since he had already blown his.

Closing her eyes, she raised her head, gripping tight to her lover, holding still for a few seconds. Then she gasped subtly and slowly exhaled, releasing him. She opened her eyes adoringly at the stud above, melting his heart, ruining his plans.

She sighed blissfully again, running her hands down his powerful back, gripping his haunches and pulling him into her. He took the hint and began the love making that would take the rest of the day and night... if that had been her plan.

"My dick is very happy," said Thad, using it to put stupid words in his mouth.

Pandora disregarded it, for she was someplace else. "What shall we call him," she cooed.

The Anthraun smirked. "My dick?"

"No, not your dick, silly," she giggled. "Our son that we just made."

Love making was over.

"What!?" he said pushing himself up. "Are you serious??"

She smiled and nodded, anticipating this reaction. Nothing he could do or say could possibly spoil her moment of motherhood.

"That can't be!" he said, bending down to press his forehead into her belly. Then he opened his eyes with the utmost astonishment. "It can't be..."

Pandora admired her fingernails. "Would you like to name him?"

"No," said Thad, but not as an answer to her question.

"I was thinking 'Steed,'" she said looking up into the trees, completely ignoring the meltdown above her. "It has a nice masculine sound, short for 'stallion seed.' What do you think, Sire?"

"Huh?" he said, imagining the baseball bats that would be coming for him.

"Thad," she said getting serious. "You have a son now. That is a beautiful thing. And from the looks of his parents, he is going to be one dashingly handsome stud. Be happy for us."

"Pandora," he said, trying to make sense of this, "you aren't real. You didn't even exist ten minutes ago. You can't possibly be really pregnant. None of this is happening."

She calmly took his hand and placed it over her womb. He had no counter argument to the undeniably living fact.

"But how?" he pleaded, barely able to vocalize.

"I may be virtual, Darling, but I am still flesh and blood right now. You made our son real. Your seed is real. Its essence is real. It has bonded with my virtual egg, and imbued it with a real living soul. And as far as I can tell, he is developing normally. I agree this is a miracle, but it is a miracle that you made real, even more so than I."

"But what about Danny? You can't exist as an Anthraun for the entire term of your pregnancy. What happens to Steed when you cease to exist?"

She nodded to the mare. "Pandora will be happy to take care of him. I can set him up with Tattoo. They'll be womb mates," she giggled.

He observed the black mare calmly grazing, large and healthy, but he still had doubts. "Do you think he'll be all right? Mares rarely give birth to twins without tragic consequences."

"He'll be fine, hun. Anthraun foals are smaller than Hipponaurs. Pandora will be a little uncomfortable in her final weeks, but she'll manage. The twins will probably be born at the same time. Steed will be a little premature, but he'll have many Hipponaurs looking out for him."

"I don't think you should tell anyone about this just yet," Thad continued to worry. "Maybe not even about your Anthraun identity either."

Pandora saw no harm in revealing any of this to her dear husband, who was always thrilled at how his companion continued to evolve, but she acceded. "You're the father. I'll keep quiet for you, for now."

Thad pulled out of her slowly. "Can I please talk to Danny."

Pandora smiled and stood up, shaking the grass from her tail. "You won't be able to get rid of me that easily," she said, flicking his chin with a wink.

She walked back to the mare, still in one hundred percent seductress mode. Thad could not take his eyes off of her and she knew it, briefly flicking her tail to flash him her perfect ass. Even now he could not believe that he had been the luckiest Anthraun in the universe to have mated with this golden idol. She disappeared into the black mare, then a moment later, Daniel came out.

"Steed and Tattoo are already getting along," Daniel sighed gratefully.

"So you know everything that just happened?"

"Yep. I was there, remember?"

"That was you!?" Thad said, not finding the human nearly as intoxicating.

"I'm the only sentient being in this body. Pandora's personality is a vestigial influence of the mare's previous occupant. Normally she stays inside, but you managed to bring her out. She's very comfortable with you. And as she said, you can't get rid of her that easily."

Daniel put his arms around him. "I experienced it all. It was awesome."

Thad decided to kiss him for real, suddenly finding him a little more attractive; but Pandora was now his lover; the most Daniel could ever hope to be was his best friend. Daniel had already figured that out.

"It wasn't my intent to trap you into fatherhood," Daniel sighed, looking down. "That was more her idea than mine. She saw an opportunity and took it. I would have stopped her if I had thought it was a mistake, but I didn't, because I don't."

Thad wondered if Daniel would change his mind if knew how much he had been mind fucked today. Probably. But Daniel was a good person, and having another Anthraun to raise seemed to make him happy. Plus breeding Pandora was currently the highlight of Thad's life.

Thad lifted Daniel's head. "Neither do I. I'm a little worried about little Steed, but hopefully he'll be fine."

Daniel smiled and hugged him tightly. "I think we'll all be fine."

Suddenly reality slapped Thad hard in the face. Plan B had backfired spectacularly and he was all out of options.

"Danny," he said sitting down. "I've got a real big problem. I don't think I can stick around."

"I presume this isn't because you knocked up Pandora."

"No, I have some bad guys looking for me. I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt. If I could just get to another Anthraun, but you don't know any others."

"What about Josh?"

Thad shook his head again. "I can't use a Sentinel," he said, preferring not to elaborate.

Daniel felt as if he had just been punched in the gut. Somehow his best friend had found out about the Sentinels and he also knew that they were gone. The guilt of being significantly involved if not downright causing their disappearance suddenly weighed heavily on him, though he had no idea what that had to do with Josh.

"Yeah," sighed Danny, also preferring not to elaborate. "Too bad."

Thad put his head in his hands deciding the quickest way to commit suicide. Daniel knelt beside him and held his best friend close. "I really wish I could help."

"Help me blow my brains out," he grumbled.

"That's not what best friends are for," sighed Daniel.

Thad suddenly stopped grousing and peaked an eye through his fingers. Daniel's comment suggested that he somehow knew the history between Thad and the Sentinels. He looked over at Daniel and probed, "Too bad?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you say 'too bad' just now?"

Now his best friend was punching him in the kidneys. "Well... because the Sentinels are gone."

Thad dropped his hands in his lap. "What do you mean they're gone!?"

"They left," shrugged Daniel, not really knowing why.

This was news to Thad. He faced Daniel dead on to get some crooked facts straight. "You told me that you saw Josh this morning, then you said he was on another planet, and now you're telling me that there are no Sentinels here to get to him."

"Yeah?"

"So how the hell can all three of those statements jibe?"

"I know where the ulcer is," shrugged Daniel, not trying to be all that mysterious.

Thad grabbed onto Daniel's shoulders, either ready to hug him or choke him. "Are you fucking serious???"

"Yes," said Daniel, sensing this was good news.

Thad pulled him into his chest and hugged and kissed him all over. Daniel didn't object. The Anthraun was getting dizzy being volleyed back and forth between the Good News and Bad News teams. Right now he had just been aced into the Good News court.

"I thought I was the only one to find a Sentinel's ulcer," he said. "Danny, you just saved my hide."

"Good because I want it," he said reaching behind to grope and squeeze two awesome butt cheeks.

"Um, we can do that after I talk to Josh. I'm kinda on a timetable."

"Then let's go," said Daniel merging into Pandora. "Hop on. It's not far."

His riding experience somewhat lacking, the Anthraun held on for life as he bounced around on his mount heading directly to the bonding rock. During the short journey, he felt fortunate that there were no other witnesses to contend with. Though at this stage, nothing else really mattered if his mission were unsuccessful.

When they arrived at the rock, Pandora stopped too abruptly for the skill of her rider to dismount gracefully, sending him forward head-first into the granite slab.

"I'm so sorry," said Daniel rushing to his aid and helping him up. "Are you ok?"

"I think so," said Thad, rubbing his skull and feeling a fresh bump.

"Let me look at that," Daniel said, helping his friend to sit down on the rock. The bleeding was minor, and Pandora took care of it, instinctively.

"Why are you so desperate to see Josh?" he asked while tending him.

"He owes me money," Thad replied, "and I gotta pay off someone today."

The Anthraun's mood had changed considerably, but Daniel dismissed it; headaches made him cranky too.

"Then I'm afraid you're out of luck, because Josh doesn't have any money. He left it all behind to start a new life."

Thad shook his head. "He knows where it's hidden."

"I doubt it," said Daniel, "but that's between you and him."

"Damn right," muttered the Anthraun, still rubbing his head.

Despite the obvious disagreements between Thad and Josh, Daniel trusted his best friend implicitly, and did not see the harm in letting him find his brother. So he placed a virtual step ladder on the bonding rock and allowed Cain to go up unescorted.

"Josh is up there," said Daniel. "Try not to be long."

Cautiously, the Anthraun climbed the ladder. About half way up he had to stop to regain his balance due to vertigo.

"Um... do you need help?" asked Daniel earnestly.

"No, I just need a second. I'm fine."

Thad continued his ascent, but when he reached the top, no paranormal activity occurred.

"Where is it?" he asked, waving his arms trying to find an invisible portal.

Daniel stood back, befuddled. "It should be there. I passed through it twice this morning."

Thad climbed back down. "Show me!" he demanded, his aching brain making him a lot less charming.

Pandora snorted at his rudeness. Daniel nearly did the same, but he climbed up the ladder anyway, now more concerned about the missing ulcer than his best friend's migraine. He reached out for it, but confirmed that indeed it would not open.

"I don't know," he said climbing back down. "It was working fine this morning."

Thad sat down on the rock again, simultaneously rubbing his pounding head with one hand while pounding on it with the other. He did not know what this meant. It could be really good news or really bad news, and he was not even sure which court he wanted to be in anymore.

"It's obvious you're in trouble," said Daniel sitting next to him.

"Yeah," Thad replied, staring at the ground.

Daniel put a platonic arm around him again. Thad appreciated it, and was actually glad that it wasn't Pandora, since his cognitive ability diminished around her. He thought about what Daniel had said earlier, that Josh had left it all behind to start anew.

"I wish I could do that," he said aloud.

"Hmm?"

"Leave all my troubles behind and start a new life."

"Buddy, you already have," said Daniel. "You're safe here."

The Anthraun sighed at the uninformed human. The poor fool obviously had no inkling of how very wrong he was. Thad was not safe here. No one was safe here. He considered enlightening him, but then decided it would be more merciful to let him drown in blissful ignorance.

"Come on," said Daniel. "I'll introduce you to the others. I won't say anything about Steed or Pandora."

[End of _COMPANIONS_ Chapter 41: Thad]

[Next in series: Chapter 42: Unwelcome in Bizarro World]