FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Terracore Southpaw curled around his pillow, sinking his teeth into the soft cotton inside. His tears had already stained the big body pillow in a big wet spot. He tried to think of how he came to be in this situation. He remembered sitting at his computer, being perfectly happy, and all of a sudden, here he was, crying his eyes out. What was worse was that his whole family seemed to know something he didn't. He could only guess what was going on, why everyone was being so secretive, why they all hushed quickly when he entered a room when they didn't expect him to. He had just turned fifteen, and felt like he was facing problems that only adults should be facing. His friends seemed like they were disappearing, slipping through his fingers like trying to hold water in an open palm. The very worst of it, however, raged on inside him. Feelings he didn't know about ripped at his heart every waking moment, and nightmares of dark creatures chasing him and making him do things he didn't want to do, hurt dream-versions of his family and friends.

After many minutes, he sat up, drying his eyes on the green blankets that covered his bed. Standing, he made his way to the bathroom that adjoined his bedroom. He locked the door he had just come through, then walked across the tiled floor and twisted the lock on the door that led to the front hall. He leaned against the counter, wondering how on earth it managed to be so cold when his house was kept at a decent 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Looking up from the green marble countertop, he saw his reflection in the wall-length mirror. Of course his silver eyes were bloodshot, he had cried for a good twenty minutes. He hadn't, however, expected his shoulder-length black hair to be as disheveled as it was. Grabbing his brush, he ran it through the tangle a couple of times, effectively making it poof around his head. Glaring at his reflection, he used his hands to try to flatten it. Finally conquering his hair, his vision flicked up to his forehead. There, in the exact middle of his forehead, sat the monument to his father, memorialized in a foot-long horn that jutted from just above his eyebrows. Even in a world where one was insane to not want to fit in, this was the part Terracore liked best about himself. His eyes traveled lower down his body. He never had considered himself athletic; he guessed he could be classified as thin, but then again, he'd seen people who looked like they were about to break in half. Sports weren't his thing anyway, he was definitely more brains than brawn, but he still couldn't understand why he was feeling so horrible.

As his eyes traveled lower along his body, down his soft-furred chest and belly, they eventually came to where his belt held up his loose black pants. Fingering the wide belt, Terracore finally pulled himself together. It was nothing, whatever it was. He was just going through a rough patch, just like almost every other person his age. Already, six big, very public fights had broken out at his school, and he was not proud to say that he had initiated one of them. Unlocking the doors to the bathroom, he made his way to his closet and picked out a shirt, black with a Metallica logo on it, a concert tee he had gotten during the St. Anger tour. Stepping out of the closet, he looked at the clock, it was six-thirty on a Saturday night, only an hour until a party he had planned on going to. However, he had made a fatal mistake. A week ago, his parents had announced that they would be leaving on this very day to visit some family in a town that was so perfectly far away. Terracore had eagerly planned his time around their departure, making sure to attend every party within a thirty-mile radius. But their plans had been cancelled, and now he would somehow have to maneuver around them.

He slipped out of his room, barely making a sound except for his clothes rustling. His silver fur shone out in the fading light as he made his way past the living room and dining room to the kitchen, where both his parents were busy making dinner preparations. He was halfway across the room before his father, Joseph Southpaw, turned in a most untimely fashion to behold the silver fox trying to sneak past.

"And just where do you think you're going ten minutes before dinner?" His father asked, raising an eyebrow.

Terracore's father was by all means intimidating. Standing at six-foot-eight, coupled with the fact that he was a unicorn, the massive being always got an answer out of anyone. Anyone, that is, except Terracore, who had mastered the art of completely ignoring him.

"Mom, can I go to a party a friend of mine is having?" He asked plaintively. As it was, he didn't even know who was having the party, let alone who else was going, but he figured he could lie a little bit if it meant getting away for a few hours.

However, Cerine's response, apart from being what was completely expected, quickly flattened the easy route. "No." The vixen finally turned from the sink where she had been doing dishes. Getting into her forties, she stood at least four inches shorter than Terracore, and a full foot below her husband. Minus the obvious physical dissimilarities, however, she shared practically the same personality as her son.

"Why not? I know the guy who's having it, he's cool. His parents are gonna be there, you know." The silver unifox slipped over beside her, trying his best to look innocent.

His mother quickly saw through his facade, though, and looked to his father. Terracore knew this gesture well, and sighed, resigning himself to either another long lecture about how he should behave, or punishment.

"You're not fooling us. Get your tail out of here and set the table. If it's not done in five minutes I'm gonna lay out your hide as the centerpiece."

"Just let me go for four hours." He said, dropping the appealing attitude in exchange for a serious one.

His father growled, "You heard me, get out of here and do as you're told!" He stepped forward, shoving Terracore towards the hallway.

The unifox, sick of pretty much everything at this point, pushed back, "Hell no, I'm going to go to a party, you can take your shit dinner and shove it up your ass!" He ended his dialogue quickly and with a yelp as his father came at him.

"You son of a bitch! Get your furry little ass back here! I'll wring your neck!" The gigantic unicorn charged forward, arms closing around empty air as Terracore leaped back, toppling over furniture in his haste to get away. He made a break for the door, successfully making it outside,

"You have three seconds to get back here and apologize!" His father bellowed after him.

"Make it four hours and you got a deal. You won't even have to call me." He called back.

The unicorn grunted, "Two!"

"See you in four hours!" Terracore yelled, turning.

"GO!" His father practically screamed. There was a vein in his neck that looked like it was about to explode, so Terracore took his leave quickly before he recovered enough to continue the chase.

At the party, he quickly realized how much he actually had lied. There was so much smoke in the house, he could barely see five feet, and the music was so loud, he couldn't understand how people were talking. He tried several doors, managing to open one into a closet. Laughing a bit, Terracore closed the door quietly, and turned to see a positively stunning bunny-girl right behind him.

She smiled, "Playing explorer, or just looking for the bathroom? It's up that way, stocked with more pills than everyone here could handle. I heard there's even a heroin kit in the tank of the toilet." This last part was whispered, so that Terracore had to lean real close to hear. He wasn't too excited about drugs, it just didn't seem like turning into shell with more than a little bit of brain damage was too hot. However, the conversation had managed to get him into close proximity with a hot girl, and he was insane if he wasn't going to take this opportunity.

"Nah, I already stocked myself before I left. I found some painkillers in my dad's bathroom drawer. Hehe, it only hit me about halfway here. Do you know what street lamps look like when you're overdosed on Excedrin?" He laughed, stumbling forward a bit. She caught him, laughing along. Quickly, he flicked up his muzzle and caught her a kiss on her soft lips.

"Wanna see what they can really do?" He asked, running a hand up under her shirt. She moaned and fell into him, lips pressed hard against his, tongue seeking entrance between his sharp vulpine teeth. They remained glued together at the lips, hands exploring each others' bodies. Somehow, the girl maneuvered them onto a couch, and they stayed there for many minutes.

Finally breaking apart, the bunny girl sat up, straddling Terracore. He grabbed her breasts, squeezing them between his fingers, gently brushing her nipples. She moaned again, and her hands slowly found their way down to his crotch, proceeding to rub him through his pants. However, the moment was not mean to last.

"Hey, fuckhead! Who the hell are you?" A voice sounded out from the haze-filled room. Terracore quickly looked around, locating the source of the voice, a well-muscled lizard, the owner of the house, judging from the picture on the invitation.

"Oh, shit!" He thought to himself, rapidly pushing the girl off and standing up.

"Wow, he's huge...kind of cute too...Wait, what?!" He stopped moving. What had he just thought? That the huge reptile in front of him was cute. Since when did he care? Or, for that matter, even know a cute guy from any other guy? What the hell was going on here?

Even so, Terracore knew a junkie when he saw one. This guy was so loaded he looked ready to drop, probably all the more dangerous, though.

"Hey, look man, I got an invitation, I mean..." He threw a hard punch to the guy's temple, completely knocking him out. Cradling his fist, he swore loudly, looking around for the girl. She was nowhere to be found. He looked around in a few rooms, before he finally figured out where everyone was. He opened a door to find a huge crowd. The techno music was coming from here; he knew that by the fact that he could feel it move him, quite literally. Debauchery was everywhere. Smiling evilly, Terracore closed the door behind him. This was definitely his kind of life.

Back home, he had to endure more an hour of yelling. His parents alternated between yelling at him, with him, and at each other. Eventually, his father got so mad that he couldn't speak anymore and stalked off to the room he shared with Terracore's mother, slamming the door so hard that both the fox and unifox thought it was going to fall off. Terracore took this as the signal the argument was over, at least for the night, and went off to his own room. There, he sat on the edge of his bed, shaking uncontrollably from anger, or sadness, he couldn't tell which. He didn't want to apologize, however, but it still hurt. Somewhere along that line of thought he fell asleep, his body falling back against the bed.

When he woke up, he could almost feel the tension inside the house. Going to the kitchen, he saw that his parents had already reconciled, and were too busy doing last nights dishes together to notice him. Terracore stopped and studied them for a moment. His father had come up behind his mother, pressing his body against hers. Currently, his muzzle was buried in her neck, but his arms were helping her do the dishes. Sighing, the young unifox wished he could have that kind of relationship with anyone. Being able to come up behind them...Or the other way around.

For the second time in less than a day, he stopped, running over that last thought. What the hell was the matter with him? He couldn't figure it out, and right now, he didn't really want to. Just managing to get through breakfast without breaking the palpable tension would be enough. Shaking his head, he sat down, and his parents finally noticed him, for they immediately stopped laughing, and his father tore himself away from the beautiful fox he had chosen as his wife.

Sitting down heavily, the unicorn turned his chair to face his son, "Hey, Ter, what's up?" He said, too carefully. Terracore felt another surge of fury well up inside him, but fought it back down, just managing to keep his composure.

"Nothing, what's for breakfast?" He asked, turning away from his father a little.

Cerine turned around, still drying a plate, "Well, honey, we already ate, it's late, you know, I thought it would be best to let you sleep."

Growling under his breath, Terracore got up to fix himself a bowl of cereal or something. What did she mean, it would be best to let him sleep?! He looked at the clock, 11:05...Well, they could have woken him up. Goddamn idiots, they never could do anything right. Sitting down at the table with his breakfast, he noticed his father was no longer there. Looking around proved that he had completely left the room. Sighing, Terracore supplied his own answer: His dad was too angry to even be in the same room as him. Good choice on his part, Terracore didn't want any shit today either.

His mother, however, couldn't seem to take the hint, "So, you have this whole week off for Spring Break, what are you planning on doing?"

Terracore was really getting tired of all this goddamn interrogation. He grunted a little, and continued to eat his cereal, finally gulping down the last of the milk and getting up.

"I was thinking we could all go somewhere, how does that sound?" Cerine still persisted, and Terracore still loathed every second of it.

"Not good, I'm not going to be around a whole lot, so it's kind of pointless." He walked out of the room.

About an hour later, his cell phone went off. Answering it, he heard a lot of rustling in the background, sirens too...And someone...a familiar voice. Then, a much closer voice took over.

"Hello? Is this the home of Joseph Southpaw?" Odd, normally they knew who they were calling.

"Yes, it is, who is this?" Terracore said, frowning.

"This is Officer Carl Street, are you of any relation to Mr. Southpaw?"

This was beginning to sound very bad, "I'm his son, what's going on?"

"Well, Mr. Southpaw, is your mother there?" There it was, Terracore thought, he was no little kid, and damn them for treating him like one.

"Yea, she's here, but you'll tell me what's going on before you talk to her. Did something happen?"

The officer, taken aback, took a while to reply, "...Well then, it seems there's been an accident. Your father was driving south down the bypass, and everything's garbled from there. He's in very bad shape; he's being flown out of here as we speak...Hello? Are you there? I really need to talk to your mother. Hello?"

Terracore had almost dropped the phone. His father...In a car accident...Being flown out? This was bad, very bad. At that moment, his mother walked in through the door.

"What's going on, honey?" She asked. Terracore turned; there was no way he could tell her. He held out the phone, trembling fingers barely able to grasp it. Frowning, Cerine took the phone from her son, wondering what on earth could have made him react like this.

"Hello?"

"Terracore..." He looked up, Cerine stood in the doorway. God, she looked horrible. Even through all the fake smiles, he could tell how awful she felt. Like some sort of wave was cascading off of her, filling the room. He nodded, and she left, going somewhere alone, somewhere to cry. The unifox looked in the little mirror on his desk one last time, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair a quiet mess. How long had it been since he last saw himself look like this. Years, decades? No, only days, so much had happened since then. In five days, it was like everything fell into place, everything except one...Why? As he looked back in the mirror, flashes of memory came flooding back to him, almost making him lose it right there, miles and days away from the lifeless body of his father...

...He was sitting in the waiting room. Suddenly, a blood-drenched wolf came running in, screaming that his boyfriend had been shot and was dying. Terracore looked up. A male wolf...with a boyfriend. Off to his right was a young girl in the arms of her boyfriend, she was pregnant, their lives were probably ruined, but they were still together. Something clicked. All his life, he had thought of things as either this or that, right or wrong, one way or another. He was wrong. He was both. That realization hit him like a freight train, and it scared him to think that he was different like that. But, at the same time, it made so much sense, everything he had been thinking was okay again. It was like someone had finally stopped the earthquake his thoughts had become. He felt better, until not two hours later...

...He was in his dad's hospital room, watching the huge unicorn he had always looked up to die. He cried then, really cried, like it was the first time in his life. All the things he had said and done, what an asshole he had been, all culminating up to this point: sitting barely ten feet from his father and not even being able to talk to him, tell him how sorry he was. He was only fifteen; he wasn't supposed to be doing this, losing his father. He remembered how sad his father had been after his mother, Terracore's grandmother, had died, how it taken him weeks to get over it. And he was 46...

..Days after the accident, Terracore was in his room, putting on the heavy jacket that completed his suit. His hands were trembling once again, and he fumbled to fasten the golden cuff-links, finally getting them in the little holes in the sleeves. There was no way he was going to make it; this was going to be too much. Four days, eight hours, he was counting every minute. Now, once again, he would have to see it. That body, that goddamn body, lifeless eyes staring at him, telling him all the things he could and couldn't have done, should and shouldn't have done, making him hate them, wanting to do anything but look at them. Then, the horrible realization would come, what he was thinking, and he would cry, that his father would not be coming back, and he would cry, that he was now in the exact position he'd heard of so many times and thought that it would never happen to him, and he would cry.

He did cry, so much that day, and almost every day after, until he was seventeen and a junior in high school. Then he simply stopped. There was no more emotion, no more happiness or sadness, nothing. He had completely changed, and no one noticed...

Terracore was walking to his next class, goddamn History. He never got that stuff, never cared. What was past was past, if it happened again, damn it all to hell. He laughed a bit at that thought, not a cheerful laugh, just a cold, humorless laugh. It wouldn't matter anyway, everyone died, some quicker than most. If World War III happened on his way home from school and he got shot in the head, he wouldn't care. He would die, and everything would finally be easy. Just...nothingness. There was no God to take him to Heaven, no Satan to escort him to Hell, he would just cease to exist, and nothing would matter anymore. Somewhere along that line of thought, he ran into someone. It had been a long day; there had been two fire alarms, one a drill, the other some kid trying to get out of a test. Everyone was angry, but this person just lost it. Swinging around, he took a swing at Terracore. The unifox, while adrenaline and regular instincts gave him plenty of time to react, took it full in the chest; there were two people behind him and he did not want an innocent person getting hurt. So, instead it was he who fell to the floor. Normally, he would have gotten up and walked away, letting the offender make a fool of himself, but this time, a sound caught his ear. A clinking sound somewhere to his left. He looked. It was a necklace, a fine silver chain from which hung an amazingly detailed depiction of a smiling wolf on it. His necklace, his first boyfriend...With a feral snarl of rage, Terracore flew off the floor, faster than anyone could see, and had the guy by the throat, smashing him against the wall. Immediately, he was set upon by people trying to get him off, but his rage fueled his strength, and it was only when the struggles started to fade away that he let go, letting the dazed person fall to the ground.

"That was my necklace. It meant a lot to me. I just wanted you to know that, I'm sorry I had to hurt you." He held out a hand, but the person slapped it away, getting up on his own, searching for his backpack. When he found it in Terracore's hands, he snatched it and pushed off, jostling the unifox purposely. Terracore just stood there and took it, he had already won. But by this time the crowds were moving again, no one wanted to stay at a fight scene for too long, especially a boring one where one person apologized. Terracore looked for his necklace. However, it was obscured in the masses of people shuffling through the halls. He winced at the thought of it being mistreated so. His first boyfriend, a wolf by the name of Damion had given it to him as a going-away present. Damion's parents had not taken to his sexual preferences well, and did everything they could to stop it. When the two had learned that Damion was moving, they had spent their last days together trying to fit as much love and passion into them as they could. At the end, Terracore was there to watch them drive away; standing in the road, trying to serve as a roadblock, hoping against hope Damion's parents would change their minds. Damion's father had yelled something at the young wolf, bringing his hand down over the teen's head, something that had grown all too common since his coming out. He had gotten out of the car and walked over to Terracore. One final kiss, Damion pressed something, the necklace, into his hand and, tears coursing through his fur, matting down his cheeks, told Terracore to get out of the way. Now, Terracore was panicking at the thought of losing the necklace, losing those precious months of his life. A glint of silver, but it was just a piece of tinfoil trash. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, but he ignored them, still fervently searching for the necklace. Another tap, Terracore was growing desperate, if it didn't find it soon, it was lost forever. Finally, a voice spoke up from behind him.

"I think I have what you're looking for." It was a female voice, not high-pitched like some of the girls, but a lovely sound, like rain landing on bells. Terracore turned...

Wow...

A lot had happened in the two years between his father's death and now. He had grown taller, standing at six-four. He had remained thin, but his chest and arms had filled out with lean muscle. He probably could have been on the swim team, but practicing at ungodly hours of the morning did not intrigue him. He still wore black, still hung out with the few metal-heads that went to his school and hadn't graduated yet. But he had never met this girl, and now, he wondered how he had been able to miss her.

She looked taller than she actually was, thanks to large dragon wings on her back, but she probably stood around five-ten or so. Her scales were green, but her hair was blue, cascading down to the small of her back. Her upper curves were obvious, accentuated by the tight black Drowning Pool tee she was wearing, but her lower body was somewhat obscured by the baggy black pants. The most captivating thing about her, though, was her eyes. Violently red, they stood out starkly against the gentle green and blue, making her seem enigmatic, and all the more interesting.

She was holding out the necklace in a clawed hand, being careful not to scratch the figure. Terracore took it and examined the damage. The clasp had snapped, nothing more. Relief washed over him. He did not know what he would have done if anything worse had happened.

"Who's that?" The girl asked, jerking Terracore back to reality. He didn't really feel like sharing, not with someone he didn't know but...There was just something about her that told him it was okay.

"He was my boyfriend, a while ago." He said simply, hoping that she wouldn't press further. She didn't, only nodding. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"Thanks, for finding it. I...really didn't want anything to happen to it." He said, smiling gratefully.

"I understand, there are a lot of things I have that I wouldn't want broken...I guess we should go to class now, huh?"

"Yea, I guess..." There was an awkward pause, during which both of them half-turned away from each other.

'Screw it, I like her already, and...Damion told me to be happy...' Terracore thought, turning back. However, the girl was already walking away. He almost gave up, but he had already made the choice, and he wasn't going to back down now.

"Hey, wait up!" He called. He jogged up next to her, pushing past several people in the process. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but something was off. He watched her back, it was shaking. She was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" It was none of his business, of course, but he felt he owed it to her anyway. She turned; her cheeks were glistening with fresh tears, which she hurriedly wiped away.

"I...nothing. I just...never mind. I'll see you around, okay?" She said in a rush, once again turning.

"Wai-, wait a minute! I wanted to ask you something, but if you really don't want to talk, it's okay." Better leave her a way out; he didn't want her mad at him. She didn't use it, however. Instead, she turned around yet again, facing him with a quizzical expression.

"You...wanted to ask me something?" Terracore took a breath.

"Yea, I wanted to know if we could get together some time." Calm, cool, and collected. Until she broke down right in front of him. She practically collapsed into him, throwing her arms around his chest. Taken aback, Terracore could only stand there as she sobbed into his shirt. The bell rang, they were late, but it mattered very little to either of them. After a minute, Terracore regained his composure somewhat and tried to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay. Whatever's wrong, it'll get better. Trust me." But still she wept. He wrapped his arms around her, patting her shoulder and rubbing her lower back. She started to relax when he held her closer to him. He shushed her, still massaging her back, rubbing where her wings met the rest of her. Finally, she stopped crying. Terracore decided it was time to leave.

"Hey, let's go. Two periods aren't going to matter." She nodded, and he guided her through a side entrance, stopping only to collect her things from her lockers. No one saw them, but even if they did, no one would stop someone escorting a crying girl outside. Soon they reached Terracore's car.

"Hop in, where do you live?" He asked, opening the passenger side door for her.

"You really don't have to do this. I'm fine." She said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Yea, okay. Just get in, you're a mess. Where do you live?" He asked again, smiling.

She smiled back, climbing into the car, folding her wings so as not to crush them against the seat. Terracore grimaced at all the trash, but thankfully she didn't say anything.

"I could tell you, or we could go somewhere else. Besides, my dad's not home and I don't have a key." She said, curling her knees up to her chest.

"Okay, well, you don't want to go to my house, trust me. How about some coffee?"

"Ugh, coffee?" She smiled.

"Let's go then." Terracore smiled back.

Over coffee, the two got to know each other better. Terracore told her his story, and he learned a lot about her. She lived with her dad and her brother, she never said where her mom was, but Terracore could guess. Other than that and some likes and don't-likes, they didn't have a lot in common, but they shared mutual feelings.

"So, we know all about each other, except for one thing. What's your name?" He asked, laughing a bit.

"I don't know, what's yours?" She replied playfully.

"Terracore. Terracore Southpaw." Every time he had to introduce himself, he got kind of self-conscious. After all, who had ever heard of a name like Terracore?

"Hi, Terracore, I'm Wren. Wren English." She said, extending a hand. They laughed, and Terracore took the hand, holding on rather than shaking. Wren looked at their entwined fingers, but didn't pull back.

"I really like your name." She said, raising her eyes to his again.

"You don't think it's weird?" Terracore asked, mildly surprised.

"Weird? I'm named after a bird, buddy, I can appreciate weird." She said, rolling her eyes. They laughed again.

"I like your name too, though. It's pretty." Wren looked up, but he was serious.

"Thanks, not everyone says that. Some of them think it's, well, weird." She said, reddening. They talked more, but after a while, though, curiosity got the better of Terracore, and he had to ask.

"So, back there, what happened?" He hoped it wasn't too sensitive, he really liked this girl. Wren looked apprehensive, but she had already shared so much with this person. So much she had barely told anyone. She looked at Terracore for a while. His eyes showed concern, he just wanted to know. No, this one could be trusted; he would not hurt her.

"Um, I...it's really hard for me to explain, I-"

"If you don't want to, I'm not forcing you." Terracore interjected.

"No, it's just that...Can we leave?" She said, looking down at the ground. Terracore sighed; it had been going so well, now one goddamn question had ruined the whole thing.

"Sure, you can go wait in the car while I pay if you want." However, she chose to stay with him. Maybe she wasn't mad at him. Maybe. A few minutes later, they were in the car.

"Okay, do you still want to know about me?" She asked, turning sideways in the seat. Terracore was surprised; he had expected her to just tell him where she lived and drop her off. He wasn't so sure now. If she had had to wait until they were out of sight. But, it was obviously one of those kinds of secrets, the kind that you need to tell someone before it rips you apart.

"Yes." He said. She took a large breath.

"It would be easier for me to show you. Can I?" Now Terracore was confused. He looked at the windows. They were tainted black on the outside, but from here it looked like anyone could watch. He focused back on the dragon in front of him.

"Yes." Again. She took his hand. Once again she took a breath, let it out slowly. Then she started to guide his hand. Down, down, Terracore was just starting to get uncomfortable when she stopped, took yet another breath, and placed his hand on her crotch. Terracore said nothing, didn't even move. Something was off. The last time he had done this, felt this, it was with Damion. Something clicked, and he removed his hand, but only so he could grasp hers. She looked into his eyes. There was no hate, no disgust, only...trust.

"You're a hermaphrodite." He said simply. Shi shrugged.

"That's why I couldn't talk to you, I knew I liked you, I've liked you for a while, but we could never get together because of what I am." Shi said dejectedly.

"Ha, what you are, yea, that really makes a big difference. Look, I like you, and just because you've got what I've got doesn't mean we can't be together." Terracore said reassuringly.

"But you don't...think that it's disgusting?" Shi asked, but shi already knew the answer.

"No, I don't. In fact, it just makes you that much more interesting. You knew I liked guys, and I assume you guessed I like girls too. My only question is why it was so hard for you to tell me." He smiled, squeezing hir hand. Wren knew then, this fox, the one with a horn on his head, a monument to his dead father, was special. Everyone else shi had told: Previous boyfriends, close friends, and once when shi had tried to just accept it and told a complete stranger who asked hir why shi was shopping for baggy jeans. They had all reacted the same way: Disgust, anger, hate. Everyone except hir father, who was always the same, sweet and caring, no matter what his daughter did or said or looked like. And now Terracore. Two people in hir life that shi could trust. Shi was suddenly overwhelmed, and started to cry again. Terracore pulled hir over onto his lap, holding hir tight.

"Shhhhhh, it's okay. Everything is just fine. You're in a safe place, you're not hurt. Shhhhhh. You can tell me if there's anything else wrong." But Wren was past words. Shi could only do one thing. Shi looked up, at this unifox holding hir against his chest, warming hir, protecting hir against anything that could hurt hir. And shi kissed him. Shi melted into him as their lips connected. He placed a hand on hir cheek, holding hir head. He put his other hand on hir side, still holding hir close. Shi reached down and fumbled on the side of the seat, pulling a lever, and feeling the seat start to lower. Soon, shi was on hir side and Terracore on his back. And still they kissed, their tongues dancing inside their muzzles. Fireworks went off in Wren's mind; shi felt Terracore's hand on hir back, massaging hir wings where they met hir back. Shi broke the kiss, but only because the tears were coming again.

"Shhhhhh, you can go to sleep if you want. I promise you'll be safe." Wren gratefully accepted the offer, resting hir head on Terracore's warm chest. The last thing shi felt before shi fell asleep was the soft vibrations of Terracore humming and his hand stroking hir wings. It was a pretty tune, and Wren slept.

Wren's first thought was that it was very warm. Shi could feel a beat somewhere to the right of hir head, a heartbeat. Then something furry moved against hir back, and memories flooded hir mind. Shi smiled softly, nuzzling the fabric of Terracore's shirt. The hand on hir back squeezed a little, causing goose bumps to erupt on hir skin. Slowly, Terracore sat up, careful not to disturb the barely-sleeping dragon on his chest. As quietly as he could, he inserted the keys and turned on the car; feeling the cool blast of the air conditioner and hearing the soft tunes of the radio come to life. Wren stirred, but Terracore shushed hir, pulling hir closer to him. Shi wrapped hir arms around his neck and fell asleep again. Ever so slowly, Terracore eased the car out of the parking lot and onto the highway. He had looked in the sleeping dragon's wallet for any identification and found an insurance card with an address on it, so he headed in that direction, weaving in and out of evening traffic as smoothly as he could. About halfway there, however, he realized something that made his blood run cold. In order to get to Wren's neighborhood, he would have to take the bypass, the same bypass where his father had been fatally wounded. Somehow Wren sensed his discomfort and sat up, moving into the passenger seat. Shi still kept a hand on his arm, though.

"This is the place?" Shi asked as the trees flashed by out the window. Shi stared out the window, as if trying to see the wreck, the ambulances, and the helicopter airlifting this wonderful, poor unifox's father to the hospital, only prolonging the inevitable.

"Yea, it was right...here." Terracore made a split decision, and turned off onto the shoulder, hitting the brakes.

"You're stopping?"

"I want to see, and show you." Terracore pulled the parking brake and hit the emergency lights. The last thing he needed was another wreck, right on top of an old one. He opened his door, climbing out onto the hard pavement. He walked around the front of the car, helping the still-sleepy Wren clamber out. They walked a few feet before Terracore knelt. He looked around, staring pointedly at various objects, gauging his distance. When he was satisfied, he began to dig, clawing at the soft earth. It had rained recently, the digging went quickly, and soon he was scrabbling at something hard. He uncovered an edge and began to pull, and soon a shape came loose from the moist earth. Wren reached down to help him uncover it, using hir sharp claws to remove the roots clinging to it. When they were done, Terracore tilted it so that the fading light shone onto it. Wren gasped, covering hir mouth. It was a license plate: TER-ACR. Terracore sighed, cradling the rectangular piece of metal to his chest, despite its filthy state. Wren saw his shoulders begin to shake, as years of pent up feelings poured out. Shi moved forward, but the unifox shook his head.

"He was coming from that way," He said, pointing off in the direction they had been heading, "it had rained that day, too. No one knows what happened, someone told me he had purposely done it; someone else told me he had lost control. I think he did it on purpose, he was probably so angry with me he tried to teach me a lesson. All anyone knows is that about fifteen minutes after he left my house, he was found in a hunk of metal that could barely be described as a car, more of a steel prison, there was a truck off on that side of the road," Now he pointed to the other side of the road, where trees that had been smashed had still not healed fully, even two years later, "it was barely scratched, maybe the front was caved in, but not much else. They were both hospitalized, my dad with a collapsed lung, a caved in skull, and more blood outside than in, the other guy with a broken leg...a goddamn broken leg. My dad spent a week in the hospital, he never woke up. The other guy spent three days, recovered, and left. What was it; I think we got some money? As if that replaces anything, like I could buy him back or something." Terracore's shoulders were shaking hard; his voice was so shaky Wren could barely understand it. Shi moved closer, he didn't send hir off this time. Instead, he leaned into hir, motioning for hir to listen closely.

"I...I've never told anyone this. But I think I should tell you." Wren was taken aback, and more than a little afraid, but Terracore continued, paying hir reaction no heed, he had to tell someone.

"When my dad was in the hospital, he never woke up...Except once. No one was there, just me. I think my mom had gone to talk to the doctors somewhere, and had left me alone. I was sitting next to him, and he woke up. It was amazing, like he was just sleeping, and he woke up. He looked at me, said some weird stuff I couldn't understand. Then...everything was clear. He said, 'Terracore, I love you.' Then he went back to sleep, just like that. He died two days later." Terracore looked up, Wren was crying, too. Shi sat down next to him, and they cried together.

Seconds grew to minutes, minutes to an hour, and finally Terracore stirred. The tears had stopped long ago, but both of them were loathe to move. Terracore made to rebury the license plate, but Wren stopped him.

"I know it's none of my business, but I think you should keep that." Terracore nodded, getting up. He pulled Wren up to hir feet, and the two made their way back to the car. Fifteen minutes later saw them in front of Wren's house. The red-eyed dragon sat back, sighing. At length shi gathered her things and opened the door. Shi turned to face the silver unifox next to hir.

"I'd invite you in, but my dad is probably really angry by now." Shi smiled weakly; at least shi still had a dad to get angry with.

Terracore shrugged, "That's okay. So, when can I expect to see you next? It's almost Spring Break, are you going anywhere?"

Wren laughed, "Going anywhere? I haven't been on vacation since I was eleven! I'm free all week."

"Good, I'll see you soon then." Terracore leaned closer; just enough so that all shi had to do was...

"Terracore..." Shi closed the final inches, for the second time that day, their lips met, parted, and soon they were lost in their own world. The noise of Wren's front door slamming jerked them back to reality, and shi quickly gathered her things, stepping out of the car.

"Thanks." Shi whispered, and shi was gone.

Terracore sat back in his seat, sighing. Whatever he had done to deserve this, he was extremely grateful. But now that Wren was gone...

A slight smile pulled at the corner of his lips, he gripped the steering wheel with one hand, parking brake with the other. Slamming the accelerator, he let the wheels scream out their fury. Throwing back the brake, the car skidding forward, caught traction, and shot off. The previously complacent unifox laughed manically as he sped down the street.

Terracore pulled into his driveway just as the sun went behind the trees, throwing him into darkness. He looked at the clock on the car radio: 8:36. He was late, by an hour and a half. He shook his head, he was screwed now. Terracore knew what was worse than death, and that was his mother angry at him. God, the little fox could go, pinning everything down to global warming on his shoulders, screaming until his ears rung. He sighed and opened the front door, already wincing at the sound he knew would come...but it didn't. Instead, the front hall remained quiet, except for a small noise coming from upstairs. Curious, the unifox ventured forth up the stairs, recognition dawning on him when he reached the landing.

His mother was crying...

He walked forward, towards her door, stopping just outside it and sitting down, back sliding against the wall. Somehow, he gave his presence away, for Cerine immediately stopped her crying.

"Terracore? Is that you?" She asked, her voice frail and weak.

"Yes, Mom, it's me. Don't cry, please." He said, hanging his head between his shoulders, long black hair framing his face.

"Terracore, you'd never understand. God, I hope you never do. Promise me you'll never have to go through what I do, okay? Promise me."

"I promise."

There was an awkward pause.

"I met someone today, someone I think is special." He went on to describe the beautiful green dragon with whom he had shared so much of his life with already.

"We might be getting together sometime over Spring Break."

"That's wonderful, honey." Cerine's voice grew stronger now that they were off the subject of her husband.

"I...I took her to the site. Not to show off or anything, but I wanted to go, and I needed...someone...there with me."

"And...?"

"I dug up the license plate, looked at it some. I told hir the story, showed hir everything. Do you ever feel like you need to do that? Tell someone everything?"

"All the time, baby." The vixen showed herself at the door, peering out at her son, "There's some leftovers in the fridge, help yourself. I'm not hungry, I'm just gonna go to bed, okay?"

Terracore sighed, "Okay, Mom."

"And, Terracore? Don't...please...don't think about Dad anymore, okay? He wouldn't have wanted you to feel bad."

"Okay, Mom." Terracore stood up, made his way to his room, and collapsed onto his bed, fresh tears soaking the pillows.

The two saw each other as often as they could, two minutes between classes meaning as much as four hours after school. After about a month, Terracore's mother had bothered the unifox enough, and he finally consented to bring Wren home, but it had taken another month to set it up with their schedules, they were both so busy with school and other stuff. But they had finally done it, and he was waiting now for Wren to finish getting ready.

"Come on, Wren, it's just dinner." Terracore sighed, knocking on the bathroom door again. Finally, the knob turned and, accompanied by a large amount of steam, Wren walked out, shoving Terracore back against the wall.

"Rush me one more time, and I'll push you down the stairs." Shi said, but hir eyes betrayed hir laughter.

Terracore, however, wasn't paying any attention. He was too busy staring at his dragon's body. Whatever shi had done, it had worked.

"Good God, Wren. You look...amazing." He said, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Gold fabric met with green scales and blue jewelry matching blue hair, accented all the more by violently red eyes. Smiling widely, Wren spun around a couple times. Terracore caught hir around the waist and pulled hir close. His lips brushed hir's, but shi looked away, and they stood there a moment. They heard a noise downstairs, Wren's father moving around, and they parted, heading towards the spiral staircase. At the landing they met Wren's father. Even now, though he had met him many times, Terracore still had to stop and get his bearings. The dragon was by all standard means huge. He looked like he could have come out of one of those cheesy science-fiction movies where someone gets blown up to gargantuan proportions and stomps around, he was just that big. The massive red dragon filled the doorway to the living room, where the television was tuned to the radio, resonating out old soft jazz. Terracore couldn't help but tap his foot to the beat, even as he realized Wren's father was talking to him.

"...are you off to?" Terracore could have guessed as to what was being asked, but thankfully Wren jumped in and saved him.

"Daddy, you know I'm having dinner at Terracore's." Shi said, rolling hir eyes. The big red dragon laughed, a huge noise in itself that filled the house, resonating even more than the 7.1 surround sound stereo system the jazz was playing through.

"Okay, okay, I'm just joking. You have fun. And you," He said, rounding on Terracore, who winced slightly, "you make sure to tell your mother I said hello and thank you for taking Wren off my hands."

Terracore laughed, but quickly stopped at Wren's stern glance, which made hir father laugh even more. He said something about them being late and ushered them to the door. Once it was closed, Wren spun around to face Terracore. He winced, but only felt hir arms around his neck.

"I love you." Shi whispered into his ear.

Terracore was shocked. So much that he couldn't respond. Wren retracted, pulling hir arms to hir sides and blushing. The unifox realized how awkward shi was feeling and moved to hug hir. After a moment shi relaxed again, melting into his arms. In turn, he whispered into hir ear.

"Thank you." A simple phrase, but it meant so much more. He wasn't ready, not yet, anyway. Shi nodded, and they left.

"Dinner was delicious, thank you." Wren said, nodding at Cerine. The older fox smiled warmly and took Wren's plate.

"You're very welcome, Wren." Shi glared at Terracore as Wren looked away.

"Thanks, Mom." He said, smiling out of the corner of his mouth. Terracore met Wren's eyes and had to stifle his laughter. Eyes roaming, they fell upon the clock on the oven.

"Oh, wow. It's really late. Come on, I'll drive you home." He moved out of his chair, stepping towards hers, but shi waved him off. Terracore almost missed it, but in the wave was something else, a motion that said, 'we need to talk.' Terracore sighed and walked out into the main hall, leaning his back against the wall as Wren said hir goodbyes. Finally, shi emerged from the dining room.

"I want to stay here. I don't know why, but I don't want to go home."

"Ha, if I had a quarter for every time I've said that." Terracore said darkly, "You need to go home; your dad is waiting for you."

"Terracore, please. There's just...a feeling. Something bad will happen if I go home now."

"Then all you're doing is postponing it, and it will only be worse."

"Terracore..." Wren pleaded. Terracore realized that shi was scared, genuinely scared to go home.

"Baby, what's wrong? You've never been this way before." He stepped closer, but Wren pulled away, backing down the hall. Terracore cornered hir against the wall, and shi sank down, crying now.

"Wren. Tell me what's wrong. Now." He said, kneeling in front of hir and grabbing hir shoulders.

"It's...it's...my mom. She's coming back, to visit. But...I hate her! Shi hurt me; I told you how she hurt me. I don't want to see her ever again; she's going to hurt me and Daddy again, just like before she left. And...I don't want her to." Shi said, sobs breaking hir speech so Terracore could barely understand.

"Oh, God." Wren wailed as shi curled in on hirself, bringing hir legs close to hir chest and hugging them. Terracore sat down next to hir, trying to find a way to break through the wall shi had thrown up.

"You don't want to face her? Not even with me there?" He asked, touching hir arm. Shi shook hir head.

"Your dad will be alone with her. He probably wants you there." Shi nodded this time, and then spoke.

"I'll tell him to leave; maybe she'd like a taste of how it feels to be hurt." Shi clenched hir teeth, hir hands balling up into fists, talons cutting into hir palms. Terracore grabbed hir hands, forcing them open again.

"You'd do that? No, Wren. You're not like that. You wouldn't do that to anyone. Not even her." He put an arm around hir shoulder. At that moment, Cerine walked out into the hall. Waving his other hand, Terracore caught her attention.

"Go." He mouthed, pleading her with his eyes. Shi nodded, turned, and went back into the kitchen.

"Then...what should I do?" Wren threw hir hands out in despair, growling.

"If you won't go home, then tell your dad. But, you have to get a hold of your mom, and tell you you're sorry."

"No. I can't do that. That bitch, I'd sooner kill her."

Terracore lost it, "Wren, you're not listening to me! Being angry all the time will not solve anything, I would know! I've spent my life being mad as hell at everything, and look where I am! I could have done something to keep my dad alive, could have apologized, never gone to that goddamn party! But no, I went, I chose not to care, and now he's dead. You think you know sad? You have nothing on me! At least they're still alive!" He gestured out, indicating hir parents.

Wren was taken aback; Terracore had never brought up his father, not since they'd met. Shi stared at the silver unifox next to hir, realizing now how different he was from the boy shi'd heard about in his stories. Terracore paused a while, fighting to keep control.

"That's why...you need to talk to them. You know your father loves you. And...Even though she hurt you, your mom must love you. I can't believe that someone can stop loving someone else. She was hurting too, I can tell. It just got to be too much...Shit, whatever, you need to tell them if you're going to stay here."

Wren stared down the hall for a long while, thinking. Closing hir eyes, shi nodded, and hir tears stopped. Terracore took his cell phone from his pocket.

"Here. The number's on speed dial, just press 1." Terracore hugged hir closer.

Wren flipped the phone open and pressed the number. If shi paused, shi knew shi'd never get it done. The phone started to dial, and shi almost shut it, but Terracore stayed hir hand, shi looked up and he smiled at hir. He moved the phone to hir ear.

Terracore could only hear half the conversation:

"Daddy!"

"No, it was nice."

"I know I'm not home, but-"

"Yes, I knew she was coming, but-"

"Daddy, please, let me talk...I...I think I'm going to stay at Terracore's tonight. No, don't start! We talked...well...Terracore told me what I had to do and...Is mom there?"

There was a pause, during which Wren went through several emotions very quickly, Terracore saw hir face contort with rage, then relax so much he thought shi was going to cry, then become deathly serious, then collapse again into fragility.

"Mom..." Shi said, putting every single emotion shi had into that one word.

"Wren, baby, I'm so sorry." For some unknown reason, Wren's finger slipped and hit the speaker phone, and for a split second Terracore could hear Wren's mother apologize. Then, it was gone. He hugged Wren closer.

"I...I know, Mom. Thank you."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm staying at my boyfriend's house tonight."

"Yes, mom, it was you, but...I'm not angry. Tomorrow, I promise. I'll come see you."

"Yes...As much as I thought I didn't...I want to see you."

"I know...I...I love you too."

"Bye."

Wren closed the phone, dropped it, and collapsed into Terracore's arms, sobbing harder than shi ever had in hir life. Terracore had to try very hard not to join in, because a pang of longing for his father had welled up in his chest, threatening to cut him off from the world, isolate and destroy him. Instead, he threw both arms around Wren, and they sat there, both of them wishing that, for once, everything could just be all right.

"No, I'm going to sleep on the couch, it's your bed." Wren said.

"I'm not going to let you sleep on that thing; it's a thousand years old. Stay here." Terracore moved to leave, but Wren beat him to the door.

"No more arguing. I win." Shi said, closing the door.

Terracore put his hand on the door, sighing. Dragging himself away, he pulled off his shirt, throwing it on a chair, and unbuckled his belt, letting his pants fall down around his ankles. In his boxers, he fell into bed, breathing in the familiar scent of salty tears. He grabbed a book from his bedside table and began to read, early into the morning until he knew Wren would be asleep. Then, he got up and, quietly as he could, snuck downstairs. He found the green dragon stretched out on the couch, still in hir dress, curled in around herself to keep warm. Sighing, Terracore snaked one arm underneath hir shoulders, the other behind hir knees. Lifting hir with some amount of ease, Terracore moved back up to his room, trying his best not to jostle hir. When he got to his room, he lay hir down on the bed, grabbing the sheets and placing them around hir body. At this, shi stirred, groaning a bit, and hir eyes half-opened. Shi felt around, finding the soft sheets around hir.

"You moved me." Shi said accusingly.

"Yea, I couldn't stand to let you sleep like you were." He said, turning to leave.

"Stay here." Wren said.

"Wren. I'm tired; I want to go to sleep."

"Then sleep here." Shi said, raising the sheets for him.

Terracore turned, "You can't be serious."

"Look, even if you don't, I want to. At least, I don't want to spend the night alone. Not again, ever." Hir voice threatened to break and cry again.

"I want to too. But..."

"Come."

"Okay."

Terracore climbed into bed next to his dragon, his...shi had said it...his lover. He put his arms around hir, pulling hir body close to his. Hir own arms wrapped themselves around him, squeezing tight as to press their bodies firmly together. Terracore massaged hir back, running his hands along the smooth scales, pressing in between hir wings, where he knew shi was sensitive. Shi murred into his neck, tilting hir head back. Terracore dropped his hands lower down, pressing his fingers into the small of her back, eliciting more soft pleasure-noises. Finally, his hands fell on the soft flesh of hir rump, causing hir eyes to open.

"Terracore?" She asked, cocking hir head.

"Wren I...I love you. This...this is the only way I can think of to tell you." Terracore whispered into hir ear. He could feel his loins stirring, feelings of want welling up in his chest. He fought to keep them at bay, wanting his dragon not to be an object of desire.

"Will you...will you let me?" He asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth. Wren looked away, but only for a moment. When shi looked back, he saw the answer in hir eyes before hir mouth even opened to voice it.

"I am yours." Three words...that was all it took. All it took for Terracore's fear and uncertainty to be quenched. Now, it was only him and hir, two lovers just waiting, wanting to be closer than normal touch could allow.

Terracore moved his hands back up to Wren's neck, pausing only to unzip the golden dress and peel it away from hir shoulders. He continued down, slipping the garment off of hir until it rested at hir knees, where he could no longer reach to push it further. Picking up where he left off, Wren slid hir legs out of the dress, kicking it lower on the bed. Terracore's hands roamed hir body, caressing it, fingers brushing across sensitive skin, making hir shudder. Hir own hands moved towards his waist, hir thumbs gripped the hem of his boxers, pushing them down. Mimicking hir motions, Terracore kicked them off when shi could no longer reach any further. So they lay, both of them naked, enjoying the warmth the other radiated for many minutes. Soon, however, they both became aware of a presence in their bellies, a hunger for something more. Terracore became acutely aware of his erect shaft, pulsing hot against the cool sheets. He blushed slightly, a smile pulling at his lips, until he noticed a second warmth not far away from his own. Wren's own face turned slightly red, but only until Terracore bent his neck to kiss hir. Their tongues entwined and the two shifted closer, so that their bodies touched. Their respective rods pressed against each others' bellies, Wren's buried in soft fur, Terracore's against hot flesh. Their kiss broke, and both of them gasped for air, as though severely exhausted. Terracore threw off the sheets, letting the cooler air rush over their bodies. Wren shivered, pressing even closer to Terracore, feeling his heartbeat through hir own chest. Terracore rolled over, carrying Wren with him, so that shi lay atop his body, muzzle still buried in his neck. Slowly, shi sat up, planting hir hands on his chest. Hir hair cascaded down over hir shoulders to frame hir face. She smiled, and Terracore reached up to move it behind hir ears again. As he did, his member rubbed against hir inner thigh, making them both start. They looked down, finally taking in the other's body. Both of their cocks were jet black, about the same size, though Terracore's was thicker. Small rivulets of pre ran down either of them, looking like molten glass. Acting on impulse, Wren traced a claw across hir cock, drawing as much of the fluid as shi could. Tasting it, she found it slightly sweet, but otherwise wonderful. Satisfied with hir own taste, she ran that same claw up Terracore's member, invoking a soft moan. She found that the unifox's taste was startlingly different, more of a salty, tangy flavor, but still quite good. Underneath her, Terracore shifted sideways, reaching down into a drawer in the bedside table.

"I..." He paused, pulling out a condom. Wren nodded, agreeing. Terracore breathed sigh of relief, and proceeded to open it and put it on. Wren slid up, tracing hir fingers along hir unifox's chest. Terracore groaned, his own hands moving down hir sides to come to rest on hir hips. Slowly, shi sat back, until Terracore's member was just touching hir entrance. She sighed, closing hir eyes.

"Wren...are you sure?" Terracore brought up a hand to cup hir cheek. Hir eyes opened, and shi smiled.

"Yes. I love you."

Terracore grasped hir hips again and, with one quick thrust, buried himself in hir, breaking past hir barriers. Shi cried out softly, clenching hir teeth and tightening hir grip on his chest, claws digging into his fur. Terracore waited, stroking hir sides until she relaxed. Shi lay down on his chest, relishing the full feeling coming from hir belly. Shi could feel every vein pulsing inside hir, even through the latex condom. Shi moaned into Terracore's shoulder, rocking back and forth slightly. The silver unifox beneath her stroked hir neck and back, whispering I love yous into her ear. He began to rock back into hir, meeting hir rolls with his own. The two lovers voiced their feelings, soft moans filling the room as they increased in speed, fur meeting scales with soft slapping sounds. At the height of his pleasure, Terracore bit into Wren's shoulder, slamming his knot home into hir slit, causing hir to cry out in pain and pleasure as hir own climax hit, throwing hir wings out behind hir. Terracore felt his release hit with a clench of his muscles, his every fiber exploding. He hugged his dragon close, slowly stroking hir wings, and slowly the two came down from their euphoric high. Wren collapsed into Terracore's chest, hir seed fusing their flesh together for now. Hir pants filled his ear, his own ragged breaths wafting over hir back, making hir skin tingle.

"Terracore..." Wren trailed off, unable to speak. Instead, she touched the place where his horn met his head, running a hand up the protrusion, coming back to rest on his chest, hugging hirself close to him.

"I know...thank you." Terracore finished for her, letting unspoken thoughts remain unspoken, and the simple feeling remain. Presently, Wren fell asleep to Terracore stroking hir wings, leaving Terracore alone in the dark. His thoughts turned to...what else, but the night his father had been virtually killed. He remembered the phone call, the police officer, and...The noise in the background. A voice, familiar, calling out. His eyes widened, as he now knew who's voice it had been, and what was being called. A mental video filled his head, coming into focus as though he was just waking up. Two cars, well apart from each other, were on the side of the road. One, a large truck, was being towed out of the forest, the front end caved in and trailing plant life. The other was barely recognizable, but Terracore knew the subtle hints that told him it was his father's car. He saw ambulances and fire trucks, people in uniforms trying to extract his father's broken body from its steel prison. Then, a voice filled his head, though he did not cry...

"Terracore! I'm sorry Terracore! Help me! God, I'm so sorry! Please, don't leave me! Terracore!"

And Terracore finally understood. His eyes dry, he realized exactly what had happened. It was fate, or luck, or whatever else he could name it, except for him. It wasn't his fault...

"Thanks, Dad." Terracore said, and slept, finally at peace, finally happy.

Wren looked around; there were certainly a lot of people. They were in the middle of Time Square; Terracore had bought tickets for them for summer vacation to spend some time alone together. Even though they now lived together, they were still in the same city as their parents, and needed to get away. Almost eight years had passed since they had met, and two months after that shi had told him that shi loved him. That night they slept together for the first time, and almost every time they could after that. It never went beyond sleep after that first night, it was always enough to be with each other. Except now, they were not together. Here they were, one moment Terracore was next to hir, the next shi turns and he was gone. Shi was getting panicky now; shi frantically searched the crowds again, pressing the redial button on hir phone, trying to get a hold of him. Another five minutes and shi was getting hysterical, but then...

"Daddy? Mom?" The two had seemingly appeared out of nowhere from the crowd. Wren thought shi was losing it. But shi looked behind them.

"Mrs. Southpaw? What's going on?" Shi was really confused now. Shi searched again for Terracore, but he was nowhere to be found. Shi shook hir head, trying to see if it was real, but the images of the people shi loved remained, minus one...

There was a tap at hir shoulder and shi turned. At first shi couldn't see anyone, but then shi looked down. There was Terracore, kneeling in front of hir, smiling widely. A sudden thought hit the dragon like a train. Was he...?

"Wren Lauren English, will you marry me?" Terracore flipped open the small box he was holding. Inside, the most beautiful ring Wren had ever seen lay in black satin. It had a silver band, and one single ruby was set into it, encased in white gold. Wren felt a falling feeling in hir stomach. People were staring now; the whole Square had grown quiet. So quiet that hir answer echoed for what seemed like an eternity.

"Yes."

Terracore smiled, more brightly than he ever had in his life, and slipped the ring onto Wren's finger. People were clapping, but the two had no idea, lost as they were in their own world. Standing, Terracore took hold of Wren's shoulders, pulling hir close and kissing hir. Hir arms slid about his neck as their tongues slid across each other. When they broke apart, Terracore grabbed hir hand, pulling hir across the Square. Shi barely had enough time to yell goodbyes to their parents before she was whisked away. There was a cab waiting for them, revealing where Terracore had disappeared to. He pulled hir inside, and the driver took off, heading for their hotel. Shi flopped down, resting hir head on his lap, smiling ear to ear. Terracore ran a hand through hir hair, eventually cupping hir neck and pulling hir up to sit in his lap.

"I love you, Terracore" She said, turning hir head.

"As do I, my little bird." He said, using his favorite nickname for hir, one he had come up with one morning when they had woken up to find a wren's nest in a tree outside their window. Shi leaned in to kiss him, but he turned away, teasing hir. Shi laughed, sitting back and closing hir eyes. She dozed lightly until the cab stopped in front of their hotel, and the two got out. Terracore paid the driver and walked Wren inside. Once in the safety of their room, the two finally met with a kiss. Wren exhaled slowly, wrapping hir arms around Terracore's neck. The unifox picked hir up, moving them towards the bed. Collapsing onto it, he grunted as all of Wren's weight came down on his chest. Their kiss broke and the two came away, laughing softly. Wren looked away, frowning, hir eyes sweeping over the view from their room, not focusing on anything. Terracore touched hir arm.

"Wren, is something wrong?" He asked. Shi turned back to him, sighing.

"I...can't tell you." She said, crossing hir arms and sitting back on hir heels.

"Babe, you can tell me anything." Terracore set his hands about hir waist, pulling hir back so she lay atop him again. Shi sighed again, curling up against him, sliding an arm underneath him and draping hir other across his chest.

"I...I want to have kids." She said, tucking hir head into hir neck slightly in embarrassment.

Terracore smiled, stroking hir folded wings. Slowly, they unfurled, stretching to their fullest extend. Terracore ran his fingers over the membrane, pausing to trace along every bone. Wren twisted hir neck around to watch.

"You really like them, don't you." She said.

"God, what I wouldn't give to have a pair. We could just...go...wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I can't even imagine that kind of freedom." The unifox said, his eyes never leaving the almost-transparent wings.

"It would be fun...but...I could carry you. Dragons' wing muscles are the strongest in their bodies, I'm pretty sure I could lift you...if you really wanted to fly." Terracore wasn't satisfied.

"Yea, but...it wouldn't be the same. I still wouldn't be free, you know? Not like you. I want to fly on my own, but I know I'll never be able to..." He trailed off, the sadness in his voice making Wren want to cry. Terracore looked down.

"You really want to have kids?" He asked, his eyes serious.

"Yes, with you...I've wanted to for a while now. One of my aunts had a little boy a while ago...and I want that too."

"You're okay with it being before the wedding? I've already got everything planned for next spring, that's in eight months."

"Then I guess I'm getting married with a belly." She smiled.

"We'd have to do something first..." He moved a hand down hir back.

Wren smiled wider, throwing the sheets of their bodies, making a split decision.

"Come on, let's go." Shi said, grabbing Terracore's hand and pulling him off the bed.

"Where?" Terracore asked, exasperated.

"I want to show you something." Wren replied, pulling them out the door. They passed a multitude of rooms, and Terracore was just getting ready to ask hir again when they stopped in front of a staircase.

"In here, come on!" Wren whispered excitedly. Shi pulled Terracore in the stairwell and up the stairs, up past the 5th and 6th floors until they came to a small ladder that led to the roof.

"Wren, you've got to be kidding me. Where are we going?" Terracore asked as Wren climbed up the ladder. Shi pushed the door open and disappeared over the top, prompting the unifox to follow hir out. When he saw hir again she was standing at the very edge of the building, looking back and smiling.

"Wren...get down from there, what are you doing?" Terracore asked warily.

"Come on! Take my hand." Shi said, holding the proffered hand out to Terracore. He took it, ready to pull hir back if shi jumped, but instead, hir wings snapped open, waving in the breeze.

"Ready?" Shi asked quietly.

"Wren, I-" Terracore began.

"Do you trust me or not?"

"I...I trust you."

Wren pulled him into hir and slid hir arms underneath his, flapping hir wings once, twice, she leapt off the edge. Terracore felt the air rush past, watching the ground rush up to meet them...Then, it was disappearing, fading away as they gained altitude. He looked back behind him; Wren was flying both of them over New York. Shi smiled back at him.

"Is this what you wanted?" Shi asked. Terracore nodded, words much past him. He felt the dragon's powerful wing muscles pumping up and down, closing his eyes and pressing back against hir. Wren held him close, wrapping hir arms tighter around his chest. They were utterly alone, no one could touch them up here. They flew as high as they could, until it got hard to breathe, so they dropped back a few hundred feet, where they simply glided along, watching the buildings float slowly past. Wren flew them as long as she could, until hir wings were beginning to ache.

"Terracore, I need to stop soon." Shi said regretfully. Terracore, as wonderful as it felt, knew that the dragon couldn't keep them aloft forever.

"I know..." The sadness was obvious in his voice.

"If we land now, I promise I'll fly us back, and more before we leave to go back home. I promise." Terracore could hear the slight strain in hir voice.

"Okay, how about we land on that building over there?" He asked, pointing at a tall building in front of them. With a small jolt, they touched down. Terracore turned and embraced his dragon, holding hir close.

"Wren, that was amazing, the best gift you could have ever given to me. Thank you so much." He said in a rush, words tumbling together. Wren laughed, returning the hug. For a moment they stood, simply being, feeling the winds blow across them, almost urging them...

"Terracore?"

"Yes?"

"I know I've given you a gift you've always wanted, but...could you do the same for me?" Shi pulled back to look him in the eyes. Terracore realized what shi was talking about...

"You want to have kids...Yes, I can do that, after all you've given me, I can do this for you." He leaned forward and kissed hir. His hands traveled over hir body, loosening hir clothes and letting them fall to the floor. Wren shivered, pressing closer to Terracore, hir own hands working at his clothes. Soon, they were both standing naked on the roof of the building, both of them shivering from more than just cold. Wren circled hir fox, using hir tail to rub along his chest, evoking a naughty half-smile. Terracore grabbed the intrusive tail, pulling Wren back. The dragon, however, had other ideas, flicking the limb free and walking away.

"Gonna follow?" She asked seductively over hir shoulder, winking. Terracore smiled mischievously, stepping after hir. Wren turned and leaned against the wall, holding one arm with the other just above the elbow and propping one foot back against the wall, hir wings spread out flat behind hir.

"God, you look sexy like that." Terracore said, moving in. As his hands came into contact with hir abdomen, Wren replied.

"That's kind of the point, isn't it?" Shi whispered. Terracore turned hir around, pressing his front into hir back, his raging erection pressed firmly between hir buttocks.

"Ready?" He asked, massaging hir back where hir wings met.

"Baby, I've been ready for years." Wren pushed back against him, moaning as his flesh rubbed hir own.

Terracore moved back, positioning his cock against hir entrance. Slowly, he pushed forward, just enough so that the tapered tip of his cock slipped inside. Wren moaned, tensing up against the intruder. Terracore let hir adjust before continuing, sinking inch after inch of fox flesh into his dragon, claws digging into hir sides. Soon, he felt the heat and roughness of hir scales meet his thighs, and his hands changed positions, moving up to cup hir breasts.

"I love you." He said, slowly pulling back out, only to shove back in again. His thrusts grew in intensity, to the point where he was slamming his hips into hir's, making hir cry out every time he bumped into hir deepest walls. He moved one of his hands down along hir body, tracing hir scales until he got to his destination. Grasping hir cock, he began to pump it, causing Wren to arch hir back violently, hissing through clenched teeth. Even now, Terracore increased in speed, rocketing back and forth into his lover. Together, they moaned out their pleasure, Wren bracing hirself against the wall, Terracore pumping hir cock with one hand and squeezing hir breast with the other. Finally, they reached their climax, roaring and howling as their respective orgasms hit. Terracore slammed his knot into Wren's entrance, sealing it as he released his load into the body of his lover, planting their child within. Wren collapsed against the wall, hot skin against cold brick making hir shiver.

"Oh, God, Terracore, that was amazing...Thank you so much." She said between gasps.

"I love you." Terracore replied. They remained together until Terracore's knot went down enough to slip out, after which they sat together with their backs against the wall, holding each other tightly. Soon, however, Wren broke the silence, a sudden thought occurring to hir.

"Terracore...after Damion...you've never been with another male have you?"

"No, not after Damion." Terracore said, looking away. Wren looked up, running a claw through his fur, pulling his head back towards hir.

"Can I give you one last gift?" She asked.

Terracore was shocked into silence...but only for a moment.

"Yes."

Wren pushed him down, climbing on top of his chest, kissing him deeply. Slowly, their cocks grew to be fully erect again, and Terracore could feel Wren's pressing against his tailhole.

"Do it, please! God, I want it." He whispered, squirming against hir. Wren slowly sank hir shaft into him; giving him that wonderful full feeling he hadn't experience since his last night with Damion, when they had been in his room, crying, and all of the sudden...

"God, Terracore." Wren said, finally hilting inside him.

"I know, I love you." He said, bracing himself. Wren pulled back, sinking in again when hir cock felt like it was going to fall out. Terracore hissed, then moaned as Wren picked up the pace. He arched his back in pleasure, squirming as Wren ravaged his body. It felt so good, Terracore moaned again, wrapping his legs around his dragon's body. Wren moaned with him, speeding up one last time. Throwing hir head back, she let out an earth-shattering roar from the depths of hir lungs, collapsing once again onto Terracore. They lay there for a long moment, before Terracore spoke.

"Wren, that was the best gift you could have ever given me."

"Nothing could repay what you gave me, Terracore...nothing."

Eight months later...

"Okay, Mom, but only one more, it's almost time!" Terracore smiled. The camera was raised, and Wren turned his head to kiss him. The bulb flashed right as their lips connected, but was nothing compared to the feeling the two still felt, even nine years after they had met. As that last thought left his mind, Terracore felt a twinge of guilt. Today was exactly five years after his father died. But, with a little reassurance from Wren, he went ahead and planned for this date anyway, hoping that maybe it would drive some of the ever-present sadness away. But God, today was the day! Almost a year ago, Terracore had knelt before Wren and asked hir the question that would change their lives. The guilt vanished as pure, unadulterated joy spread through him at that memory. They were getting married, in less than an hour; there would be a new Mr. and Mrs. Terracore Southpaw gracing their home. Four years ago the two had bought a new house once Terracore had finished college, picking a large apartment in Seattle. It had been an easy pick, once Wren had heard about the rain. Terracore had learned early on that the green dragon loved rain, when they had stood out in a torrential downpour for half an hour, resulting in one very happy dragon and two colds. Terracore's new job as financial advisor to a large company had given them the money, and he was more than willing to pay any sum to keep his dragon happy. Now, however, quite a chunk of money had gone into this occasion, but it was well worth it. The unifox glanced up at the horizon, where a small podium and a large terrace perfectly framed the setting sun. They were to be married at exactly 7:46, the moment when the sun would be sitting on the horizon. At first, he had thought it would've been corny, but Wren had really warmed to the idea of a sunset wedding. Thinking of his dragon, he wrapped his arms around hir, pressing against hir swollen belly. He still didn't know if it was a girl or a boy. He and Wren had made a bet. She knew, of course, but if Terracore guessed right, then they would have another child. Terracore had to laugh...it really was a win-win situation, and he was positive that it would happen even if he guessed wrong. Still, he knew, somehow, that his child would be a girl. Some feeling in the back of his head told him he was right.

"Terracore, it's time!" Wren sounded out of breath. He had to admit, he was more than a little nervous, too. That was another funny thing about getting married. When you proposed, you were so sure of yourself. But then, as the wedding grew closer, you get more and more nervous. Still, his confidence returned every time he looked at his dragon, like now.

"I know...I'll be back, right on cue. I love you." He said, kissing hir neck and disappearing off to get ready. Wren looked after him until he was obscured by a large equine-something, Terracore's uncle or something. Then, the familiar tunes reached hir ears from a small orchestra gathered. Hir eyes widened, and she felt a tap on hir shoulder. She turned to see hir father, smiling warmly.

"Come on, girl, don't give up on him now." He said, hooking his arm around hir's.

Wren's breathing quickened with every step shi took. Slowly, as though time had practically stopped, shi made hir way with hir father towards the terrace. So many feelings surged up in hir stomach shi felt sick. She almost stopped once, but hir father's firm grip on hir arm kept hir going. Shi couldn't stop smiling, even if shi'd wanted to. Finally, after what seemed like years, they stopped in front of the podium, where a close friend of hir father's stood, holding a bible in one hand and a large smile on his draconic features. Quietly, he asked hir how shi was feeling, but, for fear of collapsing if hir concentration lapsed, Wren didn't answer. The dragon smiled even wider, and pointed towards the back. Wren noticed that the music had changed, and turned, looking to where the dragon was pointing. There, standing in his suit, was Terracore, smiling out of the corner of his mouth. Much more quickly than shi felt like shi had, Terracore made his way up the aisle, taking his place next to Wren. Hir father patted him on the back and moved aside, so Terracore could wrap his own arm around Wren's. The two hardly listened at all as the dragon spoken, they were too wrapped up in each other. They were jerked back to reality when he looked directly at them, and they knew that the questions he was going to ask were going to change their lives forever.

"Terracore Joseph Southpaw, do you take Wren Lauren English to be your lawfully wedded wife, till death do you part?"

Terracore answered practically before the dragon had finished talking, "I do." He said breathlessly.

"And do you, Wren Lauren English, take Terracore Joseph Southpaw to be your lawfully wedded husband, till death to you part?"

Wren answered just as quickly and just as breathlessly as Terracore had, "I do."

"Then, by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May you have very happy lives. And the same goes for your little one." He smiled, then gestured at Terracore.

"Well? Do I really have to say it?" He laughed.

Terracore turned, cupping Wren's cheek, pulling hir close for a kiss. As their lips met, their feelings finally found a way to vent. Their tongues entwined, fireworks going off in their heads. Terracore's hands shook, but Wren steadied them with hir own. The two kissed until there were no more fireworks, after which they simply stood as the sun sank behind the horizon. Flurries of activity as the others packed up went unnoticed, immersed as they were in each other. Finally, everything was packed, and everyone had left, leaving the two lovers alone.

"Terracore...I have no idea what to say."

"Neither do I, little bird...I love you."

"I love you, too, Terracore."

One month later, Wren gave birth to their child, a little blue female fox, whom they named Erin. Six years later, they had two more, twins this time, a boy and a girl, both foxes. The boy's fur was pure black, with no breaks except for his startlingly green eyes. The girl was normal fox-colored, orange with stripes of white down her back and the black "socks" that are the trademark of all foxes. They named the boy Xavier, and the girl Cerine, after Terracore's mother. Now, in their Seattle home, there is a shape hanging over the fireplace, a shape that, when the sun is setting, lights up to show hard metal edges and smooth writing: TER-ACR...