Chapter Two - An Old Friend
#3 of The Combat Negotiator
Chapter Two: An Old Friend
(The next chapter, starting from where it left off...more or less. With yiff! Again, lemme know what you think...)
It was...later. The lions had left or had been detained, and the squads were clearing up. Outside the lion's den (in reality a series of squat, heavy buildings dumped on the savannah plains like a concrete virus, standing stark against the soft waves of gold grass), Lance waited for a lift off-planet, back to the large cruiser he'd been living on for the past few weeks.
Somehow, the hare-hostage they'd saved had ended up with him. The shaken fur, already as twitchy as the species were prone to be, was curled up against a wall. Unashamed tears ran faint lines down his cheek, zig-zagging as he shook.
'You don't have to worry now, they're...all gone.' muttered Lance, trying to suppress the thought that he sounded like he was talking to a child. He was better at the tough-love approach, but by the look of this fur, it'd just make things worse.
The hare looked up, blinking away his watered eyes.
'They were gonna ... hunt me.' he said quietly. 'Me! I'm a town-fur...I don't know how to hide.' he finished lamely, staring at nothing again. A pause. Then...'You killed that other lion. I saw...he hadn't really done anything to you. Why...why did you do it?'
The wolf paused, trying to think how to explain the necessity of direct threats. Of predator versus predator, the gut feeling never to back down...to a hare.
He was saved the trouble by the humming downwash of a dropship, which maneuvered itself as carefully as a chess piece onto the small patch of compressed long-grass beside them. The engines increased pitch loudly for a moment, then dimmed abruptly as they were cut. Waving at the pilot, who saluted back sternly behind the armoured screen of the cockpit, he turned back to the hare and jerked a thumb at the ride home.
'This one's for you.' he said shortly. 'Tell the pilot where you live, and he'll drop you as close as he can. Good luck.'
'Thank you...thanks, for doing this.' Came the reply, probably more out of relief then sincerity. Lance doubted if the hare would ever trust a predator again. Nodding absently, he fought down the urge to voice the cliché: 'It's my job.', and instead wandered a little into the grass, leaving the hare to scramble aboard.
Did he have to kill someone, then? Yes, he did. 'The prey's faithful puppy', Slater had called him. Using prey philosophy in a predator situation...no, it couldn't work. Despite what he'd been taught. And his way had worked, too - minimum loss of life, as much as could be expected from a building full of armed lions. One brain-dead from a synapse grenade (he'd be overdosed into death as soon as he was taken home...predators didn't believe in supporting the weak), three critically injured from friendly fire and one...dead. By his command. He shook his head, and tried to put it out of his mind. As he did, a picture of Bailey replaced it. A private memory, buried under five years of fighting and space travel. They had been mates, once...as close as predators ever got to it, anyway. It had worked, until the time had come when they'd been promoted. Lance first, her shortly afterwards. He'd gone into the diplomatic corps, probably as the most unorthodox case they'd ever seen, one that stretched 'diplomacy' to its limits. She'd gone into special operations, never to be seen since. Classified, all of it. No communication, no letters....maybe it was better that way. And now to see her, so close. He'd have to find her, even if it was just to...hell, just to talk. It had been too long.
Shaking out of his reflective silence, he noticed the dropship hadn't taken off. In fact, black-clad shapes were climbing aboard, shouting and joking in the fizzling aftermath of adrenaline. As he began to walk over, he recognised C group, their previously concealed faces revealing mostly wolves. A couple of coyotes, at the back. They were crowded around the entrance ramp, and as Lance watched the hare was pulled bodily out of the hatch, and thrown to the floor.
'Hey! What the hell are you doing?' he growled, and the sound carried over to them even as the engines began to cycle up.
'Hitchin' a free ride home, civilian.' sneered one of the coyotes. 'Don't see anyfur's name on it.'
Lance's eyes narrowed. He looked for the slightly shorter figure of Bailey, and when he caught her eye she had the grace to look embarrassed. But the other furs were already loading equipment onboard, leaving the hare looking just as frightened as before.
This wasn't...right. Even if special ops did take priority.
There was an interesting few seconds as Lance made up his mind, which ended with him slamming the coyote roughly against the armoured side of the ship. The fur gurgled as a clawed paw went round his throat, the other pinning him to the bulkhead with his feet off the ground.
'Now, I'm damned sure you're supposed to be securing the perimeter right now.' said the wolf, the words coming out at a low growl. The coyote tried to growl back, but all that came out was a strangled yelp as the paw closed tighter on his windpipe.
'And if you think I'm going to let a fur we've just saved from death just stay out here, you're even more stupid than you look.' he finished, fighting down the urge to bite.
'Hey, 's just a hare, don't get your fur up.' came the deep voice from another of the wolves. 'Someone'll pick him up later. We wanted some R and R before they ship us off to somewhere else...you know how it is.'
The coyote was released from the strange-hold, and slid slowly to the floor.
'Fine, but he's coming with you. And so am I.' said Lance, panting slightly from the instinctual rush of energy - faced with a rival. 'He can take another drop down once we get there.'
'but we-' began one of them, before he was quickly hushed into silence. Most of them knew that the wolf was obliged to report this breach of orders, even if it looked like he wasn't going to. Easier, then, to let him get his own way.
(about...seven minutes later.)
The drop shuddered slightly as it took off, jangling the safety-restraint belts. The hare sat like an afterthought at the end of the row of predators, nervously avoiding eye contact. He wasn't sure if he was safer here than on the ground, but once again the other wolf had secured his ride home. It was probably better this way.
Next to him, Lance made himself comfortable in the hard seat. He was used to them, even if they weren't customized for wolves. Years of travel in ships like these had dulled the tail-ache most furs got after riding them.
He caught Bailey glancing at him more than once, but in the cramped, fur-packed space it was hardly the time to start a deep conversation about past relationships. He contented himself with watching her tail, grinning as she caught him then hurriedly pretending she hadn't noticed.
Most of the other combat-furs were watching the monitor view of the cockpit. They were reaching the atmosphere's limits, and there was a moment of floating weightlessness as it crossed the invisible line, followed by the reassuring background hum as the internal gravity powered up. A badly-secured ammo crate thudded gently as it came back to the floor.
'Docking in six minutes.' Came the pilot's voice, amplified over the intercom. 'What deck do you want?'
'Engineering.' Said one of the wolves, leaning forward to press the mic-button. It made sense - engineering dockings were so common that they weren't checked or logged. Ideal for a group of furs breaking orders.
In fact, they were forced to dock at Deck Three - nonmilitary personnel. The mouse registering incoming traffic, alarmed at the sight of so many dangerous looking predators, waved them through hurriedly as soon as they started out of the hatch door.
'W-will you be needing any repairs to the ship?' he managed to say to the hare, who had been told to stay aboard - the pilot had agreed to ferry him planetside again.
'Um. No, I don't...think so.' came the reply, before the hatch door cut them off with an abrupt hiss. The mouse was left standing dejectedly as it took off again, wondering what to put in the log book. All the other passengers had gone.
Watching the departing dropship from behind a reinforced glass screen, Lance didn't notice a fur detach itself from the rapidly dispersing combat group. He felt it, though, as a paw reached from behind his back and slid up under his protective vest, scratching gently against the fur.
'Bailey...' he said, turning round. The wolfess silenced him with a kiss, muzzles meeting with a well-remembered passion. After a while he separated, body still touching hers.
'We need to...talk.' he said, shifting uncomfortably at his sudden arousal. These type of clothes weren't...accommodating, and his erection would be painfully obvious to any fur that wanted to look. But...her smell, the smell of her fur...had the same effect as ever.
'I know.' She said, smiling slyly. 'Good thing I've got some spare time coming up...was that entirely for my benefit, that you let us get away with it?'
'Partly. Mostly. Yes...' he admitted, with a smile of his own. 'I think we can...talk later, then. For now...'
'Yes. For now...let's find a spare civilian room. Quickly.'
(a short while later...)
The table, laden with complementary food, rocked slightly as a sleek female back was pushed against it. Caught in the heat of each other, neither wolf noticed as bowls of nuts and seeds began to crash to the floor, sliding with every push. The tail began to brush more bowls to the ground as it spasmed wildly.
Bailey, shorn of everything but her black trousers, which hung loosely from her hips as the belt dangled, lifted herself to sit the table and wrapped her legs around the stronger, heavier body of Lance. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her muzzle locked with his.
The closeness of her pussy only served to push his yiff drive even further, until he was humping futilely through two layers of cloth. Like her, he'd stripped down to the barest modesty, penis straining against his boxers.
'Just...fuck me...will you?' she said between kisses. 'I need it...now!'
Lance needed no further encouragement. The trousers fell away as he lifted her up by her legs, carrying her bodily over to the bed. As soon as her feet were free, she used them to pull down his boxers, arms still round his neck. They slid to the floor, unnoticed.
Bedsprings squeaked in protest as they were pushed down by the same sleek, female back, which arched as she finally got the reward she was begging for. Her legs parted further as the wolfy penis slid in, slowly at first, but driving deeper with an urgent relish. In...out, the full length already wet from her heat. In...out....in...out. The tempo of urgency increased, until it settled into the perfect, unbearably pleasurable rhythm that they knew and loved, her rocking hips moving in perfect time with his.
'Oh, God!' she whined as she pushed back against him, eyes half-closed. 'it's been...way too long.'
'Damn...right.' Lance managed, trying not to lose the pace as he rutted against her. His breath came in lupine growls and pants, tail twitching above him. 'Can we...knot?'
She nodded, unable to trust her voice. She wanted it...needed it, and the closeness afterwards would stop them from talking about anything too serious. Leave that for later.
He could feel the wave of pleasure building already, and the urge to drive as deep into her as possible took over any rational thought. Already, his swelling knot was pushing lightly into her pussy, coming free at every thrust with a slight pop. Then it was in, giving her a fullness only his shaft, his knot could bring.
She came at the same time as him, riding the feeling beyond mere senses, until she lost herself in the orgasm. The shaft jumped, ropes of wolf cum exploding again and again as he bit down on her shoulder - a mating bite that he'd forgotten, that now served only to intensify the feeling. A muffled howl escaped his muzzle as he came, breathing in the pure scent of her sweat and fur.
The two bodies kept sliding against each other for a while, like a child's toy that was slowly winding down. Then...a sigh. From her. A sigh of contentment, of unexpected happiness. The two had once had a relationship even some prey couples might envy...emotionally, physically bonded. She'd missed it more than she'd realised, and so had he.
'So...' he said, after a moment of relaxation. A grin formed on his face. '...how else did you miss me?'