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The games we play for sex and domination

by hikit

Some story elements and characters of the Mating Season universe borrowed from WhimsicalSquirrel with permission. This story is set in an alternate universe, it isn't canon to Mating Season.

Prologue

The Everbrook valley was a vast lush territory teeming with fauna and flora. Rivers flowed with fresh water, trees grew up dozens of feet high reaching for the sky, critters of all shapes and sizes scavenged the fruits. Among their denizens were several tribes of anthropomorphic squirrels. They stood up on two legs anywhere from 5 to 6 feet tall, had rodent hands and feet with sharp claws which let them easily climb trees and had big bushy tails. Most of them built their huts atop the cradle of trees to evade predators but some were brave enough, or lazy enough depending on who you ask, to erect theirs on the forest floor.

Life was simple in the tribe. The main tasks were foraging nuts for food and transporting pots of water from the streams. The huts were little more than a nest of dried plants, sometimes with walls and a roof. Simple tools were crafted like bows, hammers and stone knives. Loincloths and armbands were fashioned from laboriously brain tanned skins. And of course they mated and had offspring.

Every 12 moons the tribe elders declared mating season open for the duration of 5 suns. This coincided with when females were at their most fertile and males most profusely secreted their musk. All males and females, squirrel bucks and doe as it were, would do their best to seduce the ideal partner they had set their eyes on. Some would sing, some would dance. Some just grab hold of them. One particular group however would go through with an elaborate competition.

Three of the would be participants lazed about the dirt ground of a small clearing, gazing at the beautiful sunset from their retreat. With the workday ending it was time to share some juicy gossip before they had to go off to sleep. Arelli, the rashest of the bunch, as usual was first to speak up.

"My boy Harkrel aced the field test 3 suns ago, and now he got promoted into the Eponti strat! How cool is that?" piped up the fiery redfur in fangirl mode. Arelli had lightning yellow eyes and super charged pride to be the best at everything. She was one of the few squirrels lazy enough, ahem brave enough to build her hut on the ground.

"Is that so? Well congrats to him if any buck deserves the promotion it would be him." seconded Feyla, a female with contrasting dark brown coat and emerald eyes. When she wasn't busy assembling hammers she enjoyed rocking her head to the beat of her drums. The darker chestnut red squirrel across from her, Aiya, simply nodded in agreement, her ruby eyes choosing to study the grass below. All squirrels in shamanic vocation liked to shroud themselves with an air of mystery but Aiya's unusually sombre shade genuinely made others wonder if she was born under evil spirits.

Arelli continued her blubber "I wish I were promoted to Eponti just to not be in a stupid strat named 'Chenbicuadro'. What was the elder thinking!?"

Feyla crossed her arms "Nobody calls it that, just say 'Chendo' like any sane squirrel. It does sound ridiculous compared to names of the other strats. From top to bottom: Memnar, Fenzo, Zubat, Elponti and then Chenbicuadro, like huh?"

Without raising her head "This can happen so long as the elder shaman possesses sole authority in naming the new strats," chimed in Aiya, "perhaps when we become the oldest strat we should change that."

"Speaking of new," Arelli rapidly moved on, "isn't Lo joining our strat tomorrow? Took her long enough to finally pass her rite of adulthood."

Feyla reflexively jumped to the defence of her best childhood friend "Hey every kid can set their own pace okay. Just like each strat moves on as young replaces old."

"Each strat regroups the members of a similar age and ability, there is no set time for a kid to pass the rite and join the lowest strat." Aiya stated in support.

"Sure but any longer and she might have gotten left behind in a lower strat," Arelli animatedly gestured behind her, "We were 10 squirrels in this Chendo strat, the elders could have closed this one and created the new one."

"Lo will also be eligible to take part in this moon's mating season." Aiya casually slid into the conversation. Feyla groaned and Arelli grinned.

"Well she wasn't left..." Feyla tried to steer the conversation away.

"That's right! She's not a kid anymore so she can grab a mate! Any idea who she would go for? My acorns are on Fen, they are the most adorable couple together!"

Feyla face palmed in annoyance. She was just as guilty about gossiping other pairings but felt very defensive when it came to her. "I guess, he is endearing and a complete opposite from that jerk Azel that's for sure."

Aiya couldn't resist a snicker "Azel can't ooze charm even if a snake injected some into him."

Arelli had to go on a roll "Yeah, he wouldn't be able to find the entrance to a doe's cavern even with a torch to guide him!"

"Are you volunteering yourself to guide my maleness into your cavern?"

A smug dark brown male emerged into the retreat, his thinly disguised lusty request making the three females' cheeks burn crimson. It was Azel, who fancied himself the ringleader of their strat and future chief elder. To everyone else he just came across as another baboon who built his hut on the ground.

Arelli reacted swiftly "Buzz off bug brain, nobody invited you to our private garden."

"Your private garden?!" Azel intoned in mock hurt, "You mean this spot of overgrown shrubs which was trimmed and tidied up by Rovio, Harkrel and I?".

"Hey! I also helped you clean this place."

"That may be so Arelli," Azel continued in a tone stabbing with fake pain, "but I found this place first. This is how you thank me for my discovery?"

"Hmpf, like I would be thankful for anything coming from a slimy worm like you."

"Keep up the flattery my little doe and I will reward you with a true warrior's mating this season."

Arelli fumed and fired back a slew of words blasting everything from Azel's empty hunting trips to his failed attempts at seduction. Azel didn't flinch, in fact at one particularly heated moment he sprung into the space just in front of Arelli and casually planted a wet lick upon her cheek. Arelli leapt back and brought her paws up in a fighting stance, throwing some punches in the empty air between them.

Feyla and Aiya tuned out the quarreling rivals, this was nothing new since Arelli and Azel were both obsessed with outdoing everyone, and especially each other, so clashes between their egos were a regular occurrence. They idly chatted about meaningless matters. This would mean however that they completely miss a crucial part of their escalating wagers.

"Azel, you couldn't catch a frog unless it leapt into your grabby hands. I could run circles around you until your tail gets twisted in a knot!"

"Is that so Arelli. Mating season is coming up, how about we put your story to the test with a game of predator-prey. You run, I hunt. If I capture you then I get to mate you."

Arelli bristled at the lewd proposition but she wasn't the type to back down from a challenge.

"Oh yeah, well if I escape then I get to paint ochre all over your hide like the dirtball you are."

Squirrels took pride in the color of their fur. Painting streaks of a different color was considered unattractive. Being entirely plastered in greasy ochre was an affront.

Arelli couldn't resist upping the ante. "You know, you wouldn't stand a chance of catching me just by yourself. Get the rest of the boys in our strat to join you as a hunting band. When I win I get to spread the filth on all of you."

Azel cocked an eyebrow at her. "You want six males to mate you? Have you not learned your lesson from last season Arelli, or do you always need so many males to satisfy your wanton desires?"

"You can't beat me. Or any of the other girls for that matter. You know what, I give you one shot at each of us. That way we get to make all of you dirty four times!"

"Your arrogance will be your downfall Arelli, I accept. Let us all meet up at Gavriel's hut to finalize the terms."

"Right away. Prepare to be filthy!"

"Only in your wildest dreams. I look forward to usurping your feminine throne. Again."

Azel gave a final wolfish wink and turned around to head back to the village's central hub. Arelli grabbed the arms of her two fellow female strat members to pull them along. They eeped in protest at the sudden tug.

"C'mon girls, we're going to dish out Azel and his boys their most humiliating mating season ever!"

Azel and Arelli had agreed to announce their competition to Gavriel, the head elder of the tribe, so that they would be honor bound to its terms. Azel rounded up the boys of his strat: Bjornio, Dansk, Fen, Izmat, Rovio. Arelli already had Feyla and Aiya with her so they went to get the new inductee of their strat, Lo.

"The whole band is going to chase me down and m-m-m-ate me?"

"Only if you're a slowpoke Lo," Arelli reassured in a not so reassuring way, "chin up. Harkrel is out of our strat and none of the other boys are anywhere near fast enough to catch us."

Lo's tan fur was trembling. Her blue eyes darted side to side visualizing her butterfly getting pierced by numerous sharp quills. Her shy nature naturally led her to leather tanning to stay apart from the group as most considered it a disgusting and boring task. She was hoping to hide herself for at least the first few mating seasons. Now she gets news of how her first mating was going to potentially be more vigorous than her worst nightmares could have ever conceived.

Off to the side Feyla was silently fuming. She was in no rush to mate and stayed single through her first 3 seasons. It was hard enough dealing with amorous males normally during mating season, but riling them up into a mating hunt? It was collective suicide to their feminities. Arelli had gumption and Feyla admired her for it but she debated if she really wanted to follow her down this rabbit hole. She got an earful of Arelli's adventures at the last mating season. She glanced at Aiya who kept her head down in her usual pensive stance. The way she acted was just as mysterious as her dark fur. She let herself get pressured into this by her as well. Aiya claimed this will make an interesting change of pace. "Really Aiya? I don't care how boring you believe your love life is," thought Feyla, "No sane doe could possibly prance around wanting to get rutted by a pack of predators."

The predators side of the organizing was only faring slightly better.

"Nope." Dansk firmly held his position. He was a buck of few words and stubborn as an oak, with equally unremarkable brown fur and eyes. Mainly helped with more burdensome tasks such as carrying heavy pots of water.

"Alright, then you could just stay on site to keep an eye on the shadow so you can warn us when time is up. You Fen however are not weaseling out of this."

Fen gulped at the accusatory finger pointed at him by Azel. A timid buck with a lighter brown coat and much more remarkable blue eyes. He spent most of his time doing leather work and stayed away from hunting and girls. Even from Lo, who he thought was really cute. They were just trouble anyways. This time however he was being roped into it whether he liked it or not.

"Of course not Azel, why would I ever consider not joining your hunting band?" Fen nervously babbled.

"Because you're a coward Fen, but that ends now. You will become a proper buck and teach those does the real power of masculinity."

"That's right comrade," Bjornio's boisterous voice sailed in. It served him well in regaling his friends with his shenanigans and could also be eerily toned down for recanting spooky stories at campfires. When not in the middle of a good tale the green eyed light brown furred squirrel expertly shaped pots and plates from earthly clay. "You have to show who is boss or you're doomed to live off of scraps."

"Don't be afraid, just do it." Rovio said matter of factly. The nests and tools Rovio built were just as plain as this advice but functional. His lighter brown fur and golden yellow eyes were his saving grace from being physically plain too. "They will be pleased."

"Thank you for that wonderful advice," Izmat couldn't help but deadpan. "I can't believe I wasted my time serenading them, silly me." As a shaman in training Izmat learned to keep track of the moon cycle and sun cycle, with each moon cycle lasting about 30 sun cycles, dutifully carving ticks in stone to mark their passage. In addition to his main duties of healing and warding off evil spirits he spent a lot of time accumulating knowledge, and knowledge about the female psyche was a welcome bonus.

"Quite silly indeed Izmat," Azel seconded not realizing the sarcasm in Izmat's sentence, "Pretty words are a method of the weak. Our objective as bucks is to overwhelm the does with our masculine bodies." He punctuated the following words with gravity: "Complete, and, utter, domination."

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Check out whimsicalsquirrel.sofurry.com to see art of the squirrels in this story. I'd like to say thanks to them for creating the Mating Season series which inspired this story and letting me write this alternate take, I had lots of great chats with you.

Thanks for reading, please let me know your thoughts in the comments!