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Luxury of the Land

Light winds rocked the Fortune of the Stone Skipper, catching in its sails and propelling it northbound with such speed it was jumping and skipping off the choppy waves of the Ijimulian Ocean. Navigator Ichaya remained high in the crow's nest, keeping a weathered eye on the horizon in anxious anticipation of land. Before their ship sailed the Storm of the Rift - the largest pirate ship sailing these seas and close ally of the Stone Skipper - piloted by Ilorek and navigated by Storm Gryphon the Chief of the Open Seas.

The destiny of both ships and crews were tightly entwined with one another ever since the Storm incident, wherein the Stone Skipper foolishly accepted the now-navigator of the Storm of the Rift - who was once a high ranking commander in the royal navy - onto their deck to avoid an oncoming typhoon, taking him with them to South Sanctuary Cove. As this was a defilement of one of the greatest pirate laws among the Nautical Liberation Front - the unauthorized smuggling of non-pirates into the NLF stronghold - Captains Ilorek and Valencia had to personally escort the crew of the Stone Skipper out of pirate waters before disposing of him, knowing that he might have learned too much.

However, after Valencia used what spells she'd accumulated to delve into Storm's mind and find him to not only be a defector from the royal navy, but also a prospective pirate, it was decided that he'd serve aboard the aptly named Storm of the Rift in the crow's nest as navigator. Not only was he an able-bodied and dashing gryphon, capable of combat and full of nautical skills, he was also once in the royal navy so his knowledge of their workings and tactics made him invaluable. As such, he'd grown to be a key player aboard the largest pirate ship in the Ijimulian.

As the ship that inadvertently discovered Storm, the Stone Skipper found itself constantly meeting up with the flagship to party, exchange booty, mingle, and fool around between crews. Over time, their meet-ups grew more frequent to the point where the Stone Skipper was more of a recon or scout ship for the larger, better armed Storm of the Rift, acting as an in-between the shore and ship. Now, they were nearly symbiotic, with their crews regularly trading members and the two ships never being far apart from one another.

Which was why it they were together as they headed north to a small island just off the western shores of Saff'Rald, where Ilorek's personal stronghold was hidden, and the vault for the booty the Storm of the Rift came to hoard.

Ichaya had never been to this island before, and had only heard of it through anecdotal tales of its existence. Ilorek had spoken of it dozens of times, Valencia had alluded to it on occasion, and the other members of the Storm of the Rift had told tales of the literal mountains of booty surrounding his home. Consequently, she had actually imagined a small little house in the middle of a valley with coins and jewels piled up high around it, protecting the building from heavy winds and rains. She knew this to be a fantastical interpretation of the stories, but she couldn't shake the image as she guided her ship to this illusive island.

"Lady Ichaya! Tell me what your eyes see!" Captain Tzerin called up to her from the helm. A dapper furred biped dragon, he had been her close friend since before building the ship and setting sail for adventure, and the remained the two closest companions between the crew members.

"I see nothing beyond the white crests of the waves and the wall of brown and black of the Storm of the Rift's hull, Captain!" She called back down.

He nodded, knowing to trust her keen eyes. "Then we continue northbound. Could you hop on over to the Storm of the Rift and speak with Captain Ilorek, see if perhaps he can give us an estimate as to how far out this island of his home is yet?" Such inquiries made sense to Ichaya, as the crew needed to know how much work was needed, when to pull up the sails to control speed, and when to tie down the hatches and prepare for docking. Plus, the tales of the island spoke of a maze between steep cliffs and jagged rocks that needed to be traversed and solved before entering the cove, so preparations needed to be taken to prepare for that.

"Aye captain. Stay true, I will return!" She said with a salute as she spread her wings and hopped up to the railing of the crow's nest, wind whipping at her loose-fitting clothes. After a gust of salty sea breeze hit her, she allowed herself to plummet and gain speed, catching a pillow of air in her wings and banking wide around the mast of the Stone Skipper to fly out over the sea, gliding so low that she could feel the bursts of mist hitting her on the face, slowing her controlled hover. Given that her wings weren't the biggest and not really best for flying, she knew she had to work hard and couldn't go far, so she flapped vigorously to gain just the slightest bit of altitude before sharply banking upward and landing on the banister of the Storm of the Rift. Many of the crew members were shocked to see her, but Valencia greeted her with an outstretched wing.

"Ichaya! Darling! What brings you to our deck?" She asked, taking her by the hand and guiding her over to the helm, where Ilorek had a firm grip on the wheel.

"Well, Captain Tzerin was wondering how much longer it would be before we are to arrive at our destination. My eyes fail to see land, and our crew members are hungry but don't want to eat any of the rations meant for the party." Despite having grown close to Ilorek over the past months sailing alongside him, Ichaya felt a little starstruck as he was one of the six pirate lords, and captain of the biggest and most powerful of the pirate ships. She was quite the fan, and no amount of exposure doused the flame of passion she held for him.

Tzerin may have been her lover at sea, but Ichaya harbored quite the gaze for Ilorek.

He smiled at her, warmth of his visage radiating heat throughout her torso. "Two hours, perhaps three at most. The cliffs are tall, but we should see them any minute now if our navigator is guiding us in the right direction."

Ichaya glanced up the mast to see glimpses of Storm through the billowing sails.

"You're more than welcome to snack on the food we've accumulated, it matters not if you enjoy it over a bonfire or in a stew below deck, I don't know why you or your crew are so worried about what we'd think. Not sure if you noticed, but we're pirates, not exactly fond of most traditional rules." He winked at her, the slits within his glowing emerald eyes dilating to nearly be perfectly round as his gaze matched hers. "So go have some sausage, or jerky, or whatever it is you need to keep up your strength, this is to be a celebration!" He shouted the last bit, pumping his flowing feathered fist to the sky, eliciting a roar from the dozens of crew members under his command.

Cause for celebration indeed, as the NLF had recently claimed a massive victory over the Coastal Discipline Authority - the ruling conglomerate of navies run by the leaders of the land. After a massive open battle along the Kaidurian coast, Many of the royal ships were left stranded as the Storm of the Rift, Ademane's Venomous Wrath, and the Spirit of Dalonia had plundered what might have been the biggest haul seen in years. The naval flagship known as the Gem of the Ijimulian - the largest vessel in the royal navy and the previous home of Storm Gryphon - had been completely plundered of its massive haul of loot, all of which was meant to go back to Arrenthen as an offer of peace from Kaidu.

All of that haul was below deck, divided between the three largest pirate ships in the NLF fleet. That's how big the Gem of the Ijimulian was, so large that its haul of loot needed to be divided among three other ships after a right plundering.

Many of the coins had been spent ashore, buying jerky and sausage and whole animals ready to be roasted as well as entire trunks full of fruits and vegetables, and of course rum. Lots of rum. In fact, when Ilorek strolled up to a local brewery, he simply tossed a bag of jade coins to the merchant and literally bought out their entire inventory for the month. That was the kind of story that made Ilorek such an infamous pirate, except it was no tall tale but an actual event in his history, and not the first time he'd done it.

The timing of the trip to his hidden homestead was also a factor in the freshness of the fresh meat that was waiting to be skinned and served at the bonfire, as it couldn't be left without an ice spell for too long, and the twin spellcasters Anax and Cero were growing weak and exhausted without food.

After hearing of the new estimate, Ichaya thanked Ilorek for the update and leapt over the banister, catching enough of an updraft to easily glide back over to her place in the crow's nest of the Stone Skipper. Once she was again comfortable and nestled in, she called down to her captain to inform him of Ilorek's insistence upon snacking while they waited for land. Tzerin instructed Febii - the Deck-lass - to head below deck and get some jerky for everyone, and they enjoyed a bit of a snack as their ship skimmed along the surface of the ocean water, en route to the elusive island.

Pretty much exactly on time, the slate gray of the island cliffs came into focus over the horizon, and Ichaya had to call down to indicate it was time to slow down.

Once a single sail had been lowered and tied tight, the rest of the trip was a gentle glide into the labyrinth of cliffs and rocks that served as a puzzle to the island. No person could or would access Ilorek's land without first proving themselves. Or without his permission. Either/or. Still, helping the usually nimble Fortune of the Stone Skipper through remained a challenging task for Ichaya to complete, as there were pillars of rock poking out from the water, as well as some mounds hidden beneath the surface that were partially hidden.

Ilorek's ship, The Storm of the Rift, went first to show the simplest and best route through the complicated maze, pulling off feats that seemed impossible for a ship so large. It wasn't until Ichaya's keen eyes saw the teal mist emanating from the cannon hatches that she realized their spellcasters were using magic to alter and manipulate the ebb and flow of the water, which in turn allowed them to strafe and go backwards.

Given that the Stone Skipper was a much smaller vessel, Ichaya was able to guide her captain through the path with relative ease, and didn't need to command Anax and Cero to use their magic to aim. All through her navigation, she kept her attention on the sea immediately around the ship, careful to avoid running aground on any of the rocks. Luckily, the water was crystal clear and could be seen easily twenty meters down, so she was given all the view she needed.

It wasn't until she emerged into the cove behind the Storm of the Rift that she let the image of his tropical ranch home wash over her.

Around them, a crescent moon shaped beach lined by thick vegetation, a wharf to one side with room for six ships and a wooden stairwell lined by tiki-candles off the other end leading up to what was presumably his home. Ichaya had plenty of time to fantasize and let her mind wash ashore as her crew mates moored the ship to the dock, the Storm of the Rift doing the same next to them. Her job was to navigate, she didn't need to do the grunt work, too.

Once the ship was appropriately anchored, she hopped over the rim of the crow's nest and spread her wings, gently gliding down to the deck to meet up with the rest of the team. After folding her wings up to her back, Tzerin came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her hips, pulling her in close to nuzzle at her cheek, long tendrils tickling her feathers.

"Be nice to stay on land for a bit, right?" He whispered with his silken accent.

Every feather of hers stood on end and she shivered, his touch and breath stirring her to life. She wanted to respond, to say something witty or clever, but instead just nodded as she tried to suppress her wobbly knees. Instead of affirming his desires, she stood in place and watched as he headed to the off-ramp with Rufus and Freia. At that time, Febii came up next to her, rubbing elbows.

"You know, I always think to ask but then forget, are you and the captain a thing? Like, I see you hanging out all the time and he seems possessive of you, but I don't know if that's just a matter of convenience or if there's something more." She grabbed Ichaya's rump a bit and winked, flicking her ear and sweeping her tail over to entwine with the avian's.

In truth, Ichaya didn't know the answer to that question. It was clear they were close and had spent the better part of the past year enjoying the intimacy of one another, even occasionally gong so far as to seem exclusive with how much he demanded her attention, but she never saw them as lovers. They were crew members who happened to like what the other had to offer. They just fit together. "Never really thought about it, but I'd say no. I'm sure he's got someone back at home, if he has a home." She paused and flicked her ear while raising an eyebrow at Febii. "What about you and Storm? Or you and Rufus? Or you and literally every other male you come across?"

"Cut it out, you know I'm not that promiscuous." She protested, grinning a toothy grin.

"Are you sure? What about Ilorek? Didn't you...while his mate watched?"

Febii paused to reflect on that day. "Well yeah, but that was at his request, I was just getting my bearings! I swear it!" The two shared a giggle before Febii stopped. "Actually, now that I think about it, I bet I really do come across a little slutty, don't I?"

Ichaya shook her head, wearing a solemn look. "Oh, no. Not at all. I would never describe your sluttiness as 'little', I'd say it was all-encompassing!"

"Shut up, I'm not that bad. Mostly people come onto me, and I don't see any reason to say no while I'm sailing or drunk. Who knows when I could get another chance? Seriously, literally every male I've met has tried to get with me, I only flirt with a few of them! Not my fault they're persistent!"

"But you still sleep with them, and you could say no!"

"Do not!" Febii said with force. "Usually I fuck em then leave em. They prefer it that way! No commitment or awkward mornings, you know?"

The two shared a look, one that spoke volume towards their desire to hold back laughter. Within second, they both broke down, giggling and chirping and purring at one another. Ichaya patted Febii on the shoulders, giving the wolgon's wing a bit of a rub. "Come on, let's go have a bonfire. You take a chest, I'll take a chest, and we will meet...wherever Ilorek tells us to meet him."

"Aye, navigator." Febii said with a salute before diving below deck, where the others had all gone to get chests of their own filled with ice and meats and vegetables. Every crew member took one chest or barrel and took it do the docks before heading over to the Storm of the Rift to see where they were to take their haul.

Ichaya went first, passing by the dragon duo of Lars and Kloog, one riding the other with saddlebags on Kloog's haunches. "Gentlemen." She said as she tipped her hat to them. They did the same back, then carried on down to the docks. As Ichaya made it to the deck, she saw Ilorek guiding his crew down each of the stairwells that led below deck, with Valencia perched on his back.

"Lexi, you go get the bread from the bow. Krendius, you get some meats. Oly, you go with Lexi, and Pariah you can get the box of spices. Ryuu, you're a big guy, you get the ulokar carcasses and toss em over your back. Oh, hey Ichaya. Here to help?" Ilorek asked as he saw her, Valencia hopping off his back to continue dishing out orders to the eclectic crew.

"Naw, I have a chest I gotta carry from my ship, I was mostly coming up to ask what direction I go to get to the...wherever it is we go." She hadn't ever been to this island before, as she and the rest of the crew of the Stone Skipper hadn't ever been on this island before and didn't know the layout.

Ilorek clicked his beak and nodded. "Fair. Very fair. Well, you could just follow my crew - all of them but Kloog and Lars have been here before - but if you need direction I can guide you. Up the wooden stairs, make it to the main level, and follow the trail. You'll make it to the homestead and the open fields of my land. There will be a red and black and yellow barn to your right, a ranch home before you, and a shack nestled in the woods to the north. If Rex is around, he'll greet you and show you around. If not, just put down the chest somewhere between the barn and house, because the bonfire will be there."

She nodded and offered a salute in respect and acknowledgement.

"Would you cut it out with that shit? This isn't the navy and I'd rather a ball fondle than a salute. Feels wrong to demand such respect. Better to earn it."

Ichaya shrugged and did as he'd insisted, reaching forth to grab him by the crotch, his massive balls resting heavy in her palm as she lifted them in what could best be described as a ball-shake. "Then it's my honor to fondle your balls, captain." She grinned, then sauntered off the ship with little care for the fact that the entire crew must have seen her fondling their captain's balls. It mattered not that he was likely joking, she had no reason to not take advantage of such a well laid joke opportunity, even if Valencia was right there.

She joined up with Storm going down the ramp; he had two massive barrels of wine - one in each hand - as he made his way to the deck, muscles bulging and wings twitching and shifting for balance. "Good for you!" He grunted with a grin, glancing down to his side at her. "You and the captain a thing?"

"Why does everyone ask that? Febii asked about Captain Tzerin and I not five minutes ago. I'm confident, not slutty. No, I just respect Ilorek enough to respect his wishes."

"He asked you to grab his cock? Seems unlike him. Now, I'd love for you to grab my cock, if you had the time, but not Ilorek. Not his style." He went to set down the twin barrels of wine, but then opted not to as he made his way down the dock towards the wooden stairs that Ilorek had instructed to follow. "Unless you want to. I mean, I've not had a pretty lady such as yourself for...it's been nearly half a day now."

Ichaya rolled her eyes with a deep rumbling chur of a suppressed laugh. "Oh cut it out, Storm. There will be plenty of drunk folks partying tonight, and I'm sure a strapping stud as yourself would have no problem finding a nice, soft hole to park yourself in. And who knows, depending on how things go my tail might be up for you, but let's not jump to any conclusions, shall we?" She smacked him on the rump and sauntered off to grab her chest before darting ahead up the stairs.

Everyone else remained behind them, sorting and adjusting their cargo as Ichaya pushed ahead as the first one up the stairs. She was excited to see what this secret hidden island had to offer, curious as to what was so special about it that meant that it could only be visited once a year on a special occasion, or at least very rarely; never once was it said that it could only be playing host once a year, that was just a theory Ichaya had concocted in her eternally curious mind.

As she made it to the top of the stairs and through the dirt path between the trees, Ichaya was graced with the most homely and beautiful of sights. Before her lie, as promised, a wide open field with a ranch on the opposite end and a barn off to the side. She didn't see the shack, but assumed it was nestled somewhere between the edge of the open grassland of the field and the foot of the mountainside that curved up into the sky on all edges of the property. The land had to be a few dozen square kilometers in total, a large oval with the homestead and bay at one end and forest at the other with a nearly perfect circle of open field in the middle.

Off to the opposite side of the clearing to the barn lie a fenced in bit of farmland, with a few dozen different crops in neatly tilled rows; next to that fenced off area a field with a few dozen ulokar and horses roaming. Next to the barn, a single pasture with a single horse in it; a stallion with chestnut brown hair, golden tips on his black mane and tail, as well as a light coat of small feathers over his shoulders and around his neck. She knew he was a stallion because his member was dangling low between his hind legs, a sight that made Ichaya pause for a moment before carrying her chest over to the grassy field between the house and the barn.

Out of the home came a biped tiger wearing only loose-fitting brown pants flanked by two tiny avians of gold and blue-gray mottled feathers flying behind him. He was waving at Ichaya and the others behind her, trying to get their attention. "Allo! Allo! Mates and lasses! Welcome! Welcome!" He picked up his pace to a jog to meet them in the middle of the field; when they met up he extended a paw to her, taking her talon in his and giving it a kiss. "G'day, love! Welcome to the Off-Ranch! Normally I'd ask what you're doing here, but I can see the crew comin' around, so I know exactly what you're doing." He'd never seen Ichaya or Storm or any of the Stone Skipper crew members before so it would have been his first instinct to ask what was going on or if the island was in danger.

The female avian landed on his shoulder, and the male landed on the ground next to him, neither of them saying a word as their dilated pupils and fiery red irises bored a hole through her. Both birds seemed stoic, yet interested and curious, as their heads bobbed and tilted with every syllable. Both of them were tiny, with the slightly larger male barely coming up past her knees and the other one just barely above the tiger's ears despite standing on his shoulder.

After getting over the oddness of the two birds, Ichaya answered. "The name's Ichaya. This here's Storm." She said, motioning over to the thick-bodied gryphon, trying to draw attention to the two massive barrels of drink he held under each arm. "We're having a party in celebration of a particularly hefty haul! And you are? All of you?"

"Rex, at your service, and this is Kentanni and Wrasir! I run this here island for the captain when he's out on the seas, and they help out. Take care of the ulokar and horses, raise the pigs and chickens and cows for when it's time to...you know." Kentanni drew a line on his neck with his claw, a symbol for slaughter. "Anyway, if Ilorek and the rest of the crew are coming around, I imagine you know where you're going to go, so I'll head out and down to the docks to help carry stuff." He turned to walk to the path, but was stopped by Ichaya.

"No need for that, I think they got it all. Lots of food, mostly, not a lot of coin as much of it was spent on getting us fresh fruits for the party. I think I'd rather have you show me the grounds." She wasn't flirting, but couldn't help herself from flashing her cool blue eyes. As she did so, the male - Wrasir - hissed at her, as if to demand she tone it down.

He glanced up and down the line of pirates, each with a chest or bag or barrel headed towards the drop-off point, before speaking. "Sounds good to me. My sister and I will escort the crew to the drop off point ad the hoard, while you can go flirt with the cat on your own time. But please be sure to drop off your chest, first." He commanded and hopped into the air, flapping his wings before Kentanni hopped off Rex's shoulder and joined him. The two soared above the line of pirates all walking in single file from the entrance to the trail to the side of the house where they were all dropping off cargo.

Ichaya joined them at first with Rex following in tow behind her as she set down her chest next to the two barrels that Storm had placed next to the pile. She smiled at Rex with a gaping beak, eager to have him take her on a tour just as she heard Ilorek calling from the other side of the clearing.

"Rex! There's lots of stuff to bring up to the house! Flirt with the crew later, you've got work to do!" He wasn't being rude or nasty, just stern.

"Aye captain!" He nodded and shrugged to Ichaya before bounding away down the line to the docks, leaving her there at the pile of goods as each crew member took their turn adding to it.

As the navigator, Ichaya was up all the time, constantly looking out for hazards and other ships and nearby land, busy constantly and perpetually alert. Given that, she decided it was time for her to take a bit of a break; she'd already brought up a chest from her ship, and there wasn't enough for everyone to take two so she knew some of them would only need to take one trip from the docks to the ranch, so why not let it be her? Plus, Anax and Cero were both massively strong naga, each of them could easily hoist three or four on their own.

Rather than join Rex or the two tiny avians, Ichaya silently snuck away from the group of pirates to disappear past the treeline and into the woods. She did have the slightest hint of guilt abandoning everyone, but she needed some alone time and felt it would be in her best interest to get away from anyone who could or would flirt with her.

Traditionally, pirates were mostly men, drakes, stallions, studs, and sires, with females being relegated to the kitchen and the homesteads back on land. While that hadn't been commonplace for decades before Ichaya's hatching, males still seemed to have a deep-rooted instinct to lay with a lady any chance they could grasp when sailing, with the subconscious thought that if they missed an opportunity they may not be granted another one for months. Though this may just be the pirates she kept company with - Storm and Ilorek in particular - she knew there had to be a cultural reason why so many cocked folks were so keen on flirting with her every chance they got.

Febii knew this well, which is why Ichaya and her liked to share gentle ribbing and teases every chance they got. The difference was that Febii took advantage of this and seemed to have a libido that rivaled that of any seafaring drake rather than only having a raised desire when in season, putting her into positions where she was powerless to stop herself from flirting back. Apparently she wasn't as lewd on land, as her life before one as a pirate was actually quite reserved in comparison; it wasn't until she joined the crew of the Stone Skipper that she let loose and indulged any and all fantasies she could, as if she'd been liberated from the land.

Ichaya had a very different perspective on the cost and benefit of self indulgence. When on land she was more open to experimentation and fun since she had nothing to lose. If she got wasted drunk and woke up next to some eternally randy stallion, then it didn't matter to her. However, now that she was a key crew member of the Stone Skipper, she was always on duty. At any time she could be needed to help with navigation or to fend off some naval officers. Ichaya was in a constant state of self control and was perpetually wary of those around her. It wasn't until she found herself comfortable on land that she could really relax and let loose.

Only when she was in one of the Pirate Sanctums or a place like Ilorek's private ranch island did she feel like her responsibilities melted away and she could just relax. That's why she was sauntering away from the crowd, disappearing into the dense foliage that encircled the ranch to explore away from the crowds; she had no more tasks to tend to and no longer needed to keep a close eye on literally everything in every direction while constantly assessing threats. She could meander, discover, and maybe even enjoy herself without the looming threat of violence.

Well, no violence meant to harm her. Pirates could get aggressive when drunk and they'd be starting to drink well before the food was cooked. This much was certain.

The farther she walked from the ranch, the happier she felt. As the cheers and chants of a dozen drunken pirates escalated in the distance, the sounds were drowned out by the thick woods and dense foliage. In her mind, she was mapping the island out so she wouldn't get lost; as best she could figure the whole ranch and surrounding mountains formed an egg-shape, with the thinner end pointing north but filled with the highest and steepest mountains. In the south end where it bulged, the crescent shaped cove and the near perfect circle of the ranch surrounded by a ring of trees that she was tracing with her meandering exploration.

Hours passed into the evening as she hopped over logs, stepped through streams that had come down from the mountains, and even climbed through a deep valley that cut through the forest in its northernmost region. The entire time she could hear the faint chatter of the partying pirates at the ranch in an increasingly loud and raucous celebration. It wasn't until she looped back around the west side and back south to the cove that she came to see that more ships had arrived.

From the vantage up the hill she could see four ships in total, including the Storm of the Rift and her own Stone Skipper. Curious, she slipped down to the docks through the steep embankment of sand and dirt to get a closer look. The sun was going down and her eyes weren't all that keen in the twilight. When she made it to the closest of the ships that she didn't immediately recognize, she got in real close to read what it said aloud.

"Spirit of Dalonia." It read. The ship itself was made of black and slate gray wood with splashes of brown on its hull and what looked like a snake-head battering ram. It was nearly as large as the Storm of the Rift yet still clearly smaller by noticeable margin despite being wider. Clearly not a ship focused on speed. The next one was about half the size of the Storm of the Rift, but that was because it was half as thick but just as long. "Ademane's Venomous Wrath." She said to herself with a bit of a giggle. "Someone's trying to be intimidating." The ship was made of sleek aqua tinted wood highlighted by black and red, clearly an aggressive design.

Ichaya thought this was cute, but didn't have any reason to stick around the docks, so she went to complete her lap around the island by returning to the wooden steps that would take her to the ranch. When she made it to the top again and walked through the forest path, she saw what must have been at least fifty pirates around a bonfire dancing five meters high. Some were drinking, some were singing and dancing, some were quietly off to the side enjoying a meal, and some were already passed out with a bottle of rum in hand as they splayed out in the tall grass, staring at the sky.

Some of them were even nuzzling and making out with one another, fondling and rubbing and hoping to get in the pants of whoever was drunk enough to let them. A pirate's life, of course.

In an odd turn, this actually made Ichaya avoid the clearing with the bonfire, instead opting to diverge from the path and head to the barn under the blanket of the encroaching night. As she skittered across the open lawn, she saw Ilorek turn and smile at her, his golden eyes glowing as they reflected the dancing flame before he turned back to the party, silently encouraging her to do whatever it was she was doing. Ilorek understood, and given that it was his ranch he was approving her to be free.

Ichaya had no solid plans in regards to her immediate future, only that she wasn't yet ready to join the others at the bonfire. The nearest location she found herself gravitating towards was the barn and field that housed the single stallion, so that's where she went. The barn itself actually blocked off much of the pasture from the folks by the bonfire, so she hopped between the fence boards and slipped around the side of the barn to hide.

It was then that she heard the telltale clopping of hooves on the ground behind her followed by the warm breath of a stallion tickling her wings followed by a gentle snort that sent shivers down her spine. When she turned, she saw the horse standing over her, head bobbing gently as he leaned forth to nuzzle at her shoulder, lipping her feathers.

"Hey there." She said quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself as she slowly reached up and cradled his chin. This seemed to spook him a bit, as he reared his head up and shook off, glistening golden mane tossing as he did so. "Whoa there, boy. Calm down." She tried to calm him, standing her ground while reaching out to lightly touch at his neck and shoulders. While Ichaya wasn't well versed with horses - not nearly as well as she wished - she knew that touching a well trained horse there would get them to calm down, and in this case she also got to run her fingers through his feathers.

Her touch did as it was meant to, and he calmed down enough to have her lean into him, pressing her chest to his in order to feel his warmth. As she drew in closer, he lowered his head and pressed his chin to her spine, holding her there as he raised up one front hoof to rest on her hip, wrapped around so that he was touching at the base of her tail. This felt oddly comfortable for Ichaya, who found herself leaned into him so that as much of her body could touch him as possible.

Then, as she was about to pull away, he whinnied and reared up, front hooves flailing gently before he stomped down to the ground. For that brief moment his front end was raised, she could see the glisten of the moon's reflection off his almost fully hard member beneath him. This should have scared her - his sudden rearing and clear intent to mount her - but instead it triggered her experimental instincts by making her weak at the knees. A coo escaped her beak as her wings quivered, a familiar throbbing in her loins gradually building; this was exactly the kind of lewd adventure she was looking for while enjoying the luxuries of the land.

She hurriedly untied the string that held up her pants as he nuzzled and lipped at her, the warmth and moisture of his exhalations dampening her neck and cheek while also moistening her nether lips. In mere seconds she'd gone from cautiously curious to insatiably lustful and hungry, longing for horse cock with little care for possible ramifications. At least until she heard a sound from beside the barn followed by a familiar voice.

"Oceris there has some unique biology." Rex commented as he leaned over the fence, reaching out to pet at the stallion.

Ichaya's heart raced and a burst of adrenaline exploded through her chest, but she kept her calm, holding her hands to the waist band of her pants, holding them up while glaring at him. "Think you could give me a little bit more warning before coming out of nowhere and scaring you like that?"

Rex smiled and shrugged. "Mate, I wasn't trying to be sneaky, you were just lost in the eyes of a stallion and didn't hear me. I can't blame you, though; Oceris is a wonderful specimen and he has that effect on pretty much everyone who visits. There's a reason he's here, alone in this pasture, while the other horses and creatures are all intermingling on the other side of the crop fields." He ducked under the highest fence board, joining Ichaya in the field.

"And what might that reason be?" She asked, trying her best to inconspicuously tie the string of her pants back up, her eyes never averting his gaze. "He's a gorgeous stud, but what makes him so special?" Though her mind was more focused on the task at hand, she was genuinely curious.

"Well, he ain't always a stallion." Rex said, as if that explained anything. When Ichaya gave him a confused glare, he elaborated. "He has a gender cycle, spending half his days as a stallion and half as a mare. I don't know the whole story, and I'm not sure I believe all I've been told, but according to Ilorek this here steed used to be part of some royal regiment in Arrenthen - the heart of the CDA's naval bases. The queen there used so many transformation potions on him in an attempt to give him longer life and greater resistance to wounds that his gender shifted. Once a mare, she would go into estrus only to finish up that part of the cycle and become a stallion."

Ichaya finally finished tying her belt rope back up as he finished and she was considering leaving, but she still had questions so she stayed. "Transformation potions? Are those even real? What sort of spells were they imbued with that Oceris started randomly changing gender?" None of that made sense, yet she was still intrigued enough to pay attention.

"I don't claim to know the details, but I've seen firsthand his shifting. When in estrus, he's a mare - well, she is - and when not in estrus, he's a stallion. No matter what side of his cycle he's on, he's always eternally needy, be it in rut or in heat; that's why we keep him away from the other animals, if we put him in the horse pen, he'd have every mare knocked up within a week and would be bloated with the cum of every stallion when she reverted to her mare form." He used a claw to clean his teeth of some meat he'd been munching on. "And now he's decided he wants you, so don't disappoint him."

"Excuse me?" She scoffed, feathers standing on end. As she did so, Oceris leaned in and stepped to her, standing tall over her as he rested his chin on her shoulder, upper lip peeled back.

Rex leaned against the fence, arms crossed over his chest for a moment before he reached down and pulled at the string of his own loose-fitting pants. "You heard me. I saw what you were doing when he reared up; I may not be canine but I can smell your arousal and practically taste your need. I know you want him, and he wants you, so where's the harm in having a go?"

"I'm not going to-" She started, only to be interrupted by a strong bite to her upper arm. "H-hey! Cut it out!"

"Well, if you get him excited and leave him hanging, he will be one heck of a problem later, all restless and aggressive towards the fence until he gets his release. Not a good idea, and I'd have to go out of my way to alleviate his tension myself; not a problem, really, but I'm a little too tired for that tonight so I'd much rather enjoy watching you take care of him for me. I know you want it, and so does he, and so do I." His pants fell to the ground and he kicked them to the other side of the fence and out of the pasture. "So I insist, carry on, and don't mind me."

She did want that, for sure, but didn't want him to watch. The whole point of her excursion was to get away from others and enjoy herself on her own. Though, to be fair, she wasn't ever planning on doing anything with a gender-shifting horse until minutes prior so her plans were being made up and adapted with each passing second.

A small part of her wanted to dismiss him and walk away, but a large part of her couldn't help but accept that she'd been caught with her pants down and nothing was going to change that. He already knew what her plan was, he seemed okay with it, and Oceris was getting increasingly peckish with every passing moment where she didn't do anything with him to the point he was hoofing at her belly and chest, biting at her shoulder and arm.

Ichaya's plan was to relax and be a bit more indulgent while on land, on vacation, and this was about as adventurous as she could imagine. The little voices in the back of her head were screaming with reluctance, telling her not to be stupid and not to lose herself in her desire - she wasn't even in heat - yet those were drowned out by the insatiable lust and swollen loins she felt deep to her core. "Fine." She hissed, pulling on the string to loosen her pants. "But if you tell anyone else, I'll-"

"Everyone is drunk and so am I, who would believe me?" He asked, making a very fair point.

"Guh, whatever. Just...don't get in my way." She grumbled, stepping out of her pants to leave her lower half completely exposed. After taking in a long, deep breath, she closed her eyes and waited for Oceris to make a move.

His breath was warm on her loins, tickling the fur there as he leaned into her, velvety snout rubbing against her thigh and hip.

"Kind of hard to have him mount you in that position." Rex pointed out, once again reaching into his maw to pick away bits of meat from his teeth. "Not that I mind foreplay, but he's more of an in-and-out kind of horse, if you get my meaning." His eyes glistened with desire as he cocked his head to the side, waiting.

At this point, it was too late to change her mind or go back on her bold desires so she took in a long and deep breath and let it out slowly, only to be nipped at by Oceris. She pushed his head away and hissed at him, kicking her pants under the fence to join Rex's before leaning back into him in an attempt to regain his trust and compassion. Rather than hug her or nuzzle at her, he reared up again on his back legs with his cock swelling firm and aimed right at her, its tip spurting a splash of precum onto her belly. As he fell back down, she ducked and slipped under his front legs to end up completely beneath him, squatting down with her moisture-dripping loins exposed above the tickling tips of the long grass.

Oceris spun around, trying to get another proper angle at her until she reached up and grabbed at his cock, lightly squeezing just behind the soft-tipped end of it. Like a switch had been flipped, Oceris stopped moving and lowered his head, snorting and shaking his mane as the feathers on his shoulder flared and puffed out.

"Gonna help me with this?" She asked Rex, keeping a firm grip on the stallion's cock while glancing back over her shoulder at him. Ichaya could tell that the moment she'd let go he would rear up or step away again in an attempt to mount her, and her hand was all she needed to keep him subdued and tame, but she also felt vulnerable under a horny stallion. When Rex shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at her, she rolled her eyes and turned back to the gushing tip of Oceris' member.

While she would have loved to turn tail and take him right there, she felt it would have been in both his best interest and in hers if he was more thoroughly lubricated. As such, she captured some of his drooling precum in her palm to spread it around his head and halfway down his shaft, using her fingers to stroke him up and down before returning to the head and collecting more. Curious, she gave her gooey fingers a bit of a lick and found his essence to be sweet and just a little salty; perfect for her as an avian, so she wanted more.

Ichaya gently shifted in place, keeping one hand squeezed tight around his shaft as she yanked his member to the side, tongue out and ready to catch and more of his seed if it dribbled out and she failed to catch it in her palm. Then, just as she was about to lean in for a lick, Oceris bucked heavily and stabbed her beak with his engorged cock tip, smearing his fluids all over her and nearly knocking her off balance. Still, she kept her grip and squeezed harder, which seemed to excite him more to the point his glans started to flare up in her palm.

"Whoa there!" She said, letting go of his shaft behind his flare. "Calm yourself!" Her command was impassioned but firm, kind yet strict, and it worked. He stopped moving and spread his legs a bit, his hips gently rocking in twitchy spasms every time her fingers shifted around his length. Though it was clear she may have been in over her head with an aggressive and thick-cocked stallion, the musky scent that now emanated from the precum on her beak curled her toes and loosened her loins to the point where her grasp of reason was slipping. With every passing second, her desire grew and her reservations melted away.

Hungry, she licked her beak and wrapped both hands around the stallion's length, holding him in place and stroking gently as she gaped open her maw beneath the dripping opening, catching a single bead of his essence that she swallowed up. Then, as if triggered by his masculinity, she wrapped her beak around him and shoved every bit of his cock down her throat and gulped heavily, eager to feel his meat throbbing in her gullet.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rex's exposed member glistening in the rising moonlight, his own arousal beading before dripping into the long grass and forming a series of slimy webs. This image made Ichaya more ravenous, so she leaned in hard and pushed back against Oceris' front legs, forcing her beak to slide over his cock in its near entirety, the bulge of it expanding her throat even as she gulped and swallowed and writhed about against the pressure. She felt like she had to spit up, but given that she had an avian gullet that could stretch nearly to the capacity of a snake, she had no problem rhythmically bobbing her head back and forth, relishing in the pleasure of his throbbing shaft sliding in and out of her throat.

As expected, Oceris bucked his hips again, slamming his sheath and belly hard against her beak tip with enough force to nearly knock her over, but she was unfazed by this and simply clamped down, her muscles massaging him and sucking deep, the peristaltic waves of her gulps starting at his base and travelling down his shaft to squeeze his swollen tip. She had a malleable maw past the beak, and had no problem handling all he had to offer - in fact she felt her throat could probably handle him better than her loins could, even if she was in season and well warmed up.

Ichaya focused on the gulping motions, bobbing her head back and forth while using her hands to stroke what little shaft length was left between her beak and his sheath, tongue extending to cradle his underside all the while. A wash of arousal flooded her, and she couldn't help but pleasure herself as she squatted down, two fingers parting her lips and gliding in and out of her in rhythm with her bobbing head. The more she rubbed herself, the more needy she grew and the lower she squatted in a vain desire to swallow more from both ends.

Just as she was about to shift and adjust herself in a bid to get a better angle at the stallion's cock, he bucked his hips again and stepped forth, knocking her right off her squatting perch onto her back and nearly stepping on her. His cock slid from her beak, popping out of her gullet with a deep and fleshy squelch followed by a belch that bubbled pre-seed in her open maw. The resulting slime and mess washed over her chest like a blanket, coating her feathers and soaking her deep as she licked herself clean.

Directly in front of her head, his cock bobbed and swayed with strands of his arousal forming webs across her. She jovially tried to chase his tip with beak open, eager to taste every bit, but got distracted when she saw Rex step up behind Oceris' rump. His presence seemed to spook the stallion a bit, as he stepped forth and once again nearly stepped on Ichaya, but she grabbed his cock and started to stroke, doing her best to keep him pacified while she observed her feline companion.

She idly rubbed and squeezed Oceris, cradling the cock in her palm and gently nuzzling at it while Rex brushed the stallion's tail to the side, exposing his rump. Without hesitation, he buried his muzzle between ass cheeks, hungrily licking and kissing at the pucker with a vigor that could best be described as passionate and loving. It was clear that Oceris liked this attention, too, as his cock started to drip with a more steady stream of arousal, all of which Ichaya was eager to lick and suck up.

By this point, her entire chest was matted with precum and lubrication and her own saliva, his member firm as could be with veins trailing down its length and glans threatening to explode and burst cum all over her. She needed to do something about that and she didn't want to waste such a gloriously well-built eruption of stallion seed on the dirt beneath her, so she stood up and bent over, legs spread and tail curled up high over her lower back to expose her plump, blue-fleshed lips. While bent over, she dug her claws into the grass, relishing the squishiness that gummed up her toes thanks to his prior releases.

She didn't wish to wait long, and she could feel Oceris' muscles in his torso tensing for another thrust or a flick of his tail on Rex's head, so she grabbed his member tight and guided him directly under her tail, the gooey warmth of his glans smearing his arousal up and down her flesh. Again, Ichaya curled her toes and grabbed at his front leg for balance before pushing back against him, using her weight to ease him into her.

His member popped through her opening in a glorious splash of fluids that trickled down her inner thigh as she squeezed down tight. A scream of pleasure threatened to escape her mouth, so she let go of his cock and used that hand to clench her beak shut, still leaning tight against his front legs. Inside her pussy, she could feel the spongy tissue of his cock throbbing and swelling as his flare exploded to full girth, the thickness of it pressing out against her abdominal wall and forming a horse cock shaped bulge.

Unlike most horses, Oceris didn't do the usual thrust thrice, pop into the womb, deposit his seed, and go soft. In an odd way, Ichaya would have preferred that, because that would be fulfilling but not require stamina from either of them. Instead, he arched his back and thrust so hard into her that his flare slammed her closed-off cervix, forcing her to stumble into his front legs, her shoulders pressed tight to the back of his knees. She winced and raised a leg to alleviate some of the tension in her depths, but it did nothing to loosen her loins. Instead, it seemed to tighten her in such a way that he couldn't help but thrust again.

Luckily, her flesh remained malleable enough to pass an egg the size of his flare; had she not been granted elastic skin in that region, she may very well have been split down the middle. There were spells and a few magic users who could heal her up - Cero and Anax generally didn't drink much and had remarkably slow metabolisms so any booze they drank would take days to get into their system so they were never drunk - but she wasn't planning on letting it go that far. This was her adventure, her vacation, and the stupid thing she was going to do this weekend regardless of anyone else.

As she glanced back over her shoulder and wings, she saw Rex, now pulled away from Oceris' haunches with his hand wrapped tight around the base of his tail, his other hand buried elbow deep in horse ass. He was rhythmically pumping in and out, flexing his arm muscles to give Oceris a deep tissue massage, presumably to the prostate. In fact, Ichaya was starting to correlate the pulsations and twitches to her depths that came from the stallion's throbbing cock in time with every thrust that Rex offered his rump.

The stallion tensed up his hips and flicked his tail downward like a pump, his motion both bucking against Rex and thrusting into Ichaya at the same time, his member messily squelching in and out of her depths with his flare tugging at her lips with every motion, threatening to pop out again. She gasped and whimpered, beak agape as she clenched her pelvic muscles in a desperate bid to keep him inside her with that massive flare of his sliding up and down her pussy's walls, pressing out against her muscles and tenderizing her while also marinating her from within with the combination of precum and seed.

Oceris let out a long, drawn out snort as he bucked into her one final time, his flare expanding to its absolute thickest as a gooey mess of his essence inflated her pussy, swelling her belly and seeping into her womb only to be plugged at the blockade that was his flare, its rim pressing so tight against her walls as his member throbbed and urethra pumped more seed into her that none of it seeped out of her. Not until he gave that final thrust, his length expanded as that last surge of seed burst into her, and his flare started to go soft. Then, the moment she could feel his once-hard member growing limp and sagging between his body and hers, a torrent of lumpy stallion seed splashed out from her swollen blue lips, cascading over his wrinkling member and dripping into the grass from the lowest part.

With one final grunt and a gasp, she clenched down with the forced needed to close her loins off and push him out, his now-flaccid cock swaying between his hind legs and slapping against either of his inner thighs. Ichaya tentatively stood up, a soreness and stiffness in her lower back cramping her a bit due to how much effort she was putting into clenching her pelvic muscles closed, ensuring she retained as much of the cum as she could. Few things were as sexy as the idea of harnessing a semen-egg in her womb.

Behind Oceris, Rex kept in place with one hand past elbow deep in stallion rump with his other paw on his member. He seemed to not be at all concerned at the look she was giving him.

She had a tingling warmth in her sex, a telltale sign she was satisfied post climax, yet she wanted more. Satisfaction didn't equate to a lack of farther desire. Her beak shuddered a bit as she held back a pleasured coo, her eyes catching the glistening mess that smothered him from the horse's rump to his shoulder, showing clearly how deep he'd buried himself inside the stallion. "Having fun there?" she asked, her hips swaying a bit and more of the stallion's seed trickling out from her loins to moisten her inner thighs. She didn't mind, no shame in enjoying oneself.

Just then, Oceris lowered his tail and hopped away, his rump releasing air and squelching in the absence of Rex's fist. Rex leaned forward and tried to again return to the warmth of stallion haunches, but Oceris had been satisfied and was ready to move on, as he was already swishing his tail back and forth and his cock swaying while he casually munched some grass.

Rex stood up tall - a full head and a half higher than Ichaya - as she approached him. "Yeah, Oceris is a good friend of mine. I prefer when he's a she, but he loves my attention either way. What about you?"

Ichaya stepped in close to him, pressing her stallion-musk soaked body against his as she grabbed his clean hand and guided his finger into her, where he felt the silken mass of seed trickle out into his palm. "You tell me." She whispered into his ear while gently preening at his cheek

"Oh. Yes, I can see you're having quite the fun time." Though she didn't realize, he could actually feel the fluttering of her heartbeat in her loins, walls clenching around his digits as bits of cum escaped her, the gooiest and messiest creampie this side of the mainland. His bold side took over and he leaned back into her, other hand wrapped around her body to cradle her and gently ease her back onto the ground with the grass raised high around them. "But we're not done yet, are we?"

She instinctively spread her legs and flicked her tail tip, the slit of blue flesh giving way to the creamy whiteness of Oceris' essence dribbling out of her. Still unwilling to waste any of the cum, she collected some between her fingers and was about to lick them off when Rex grabbed her by the wrist and sucked her fingers off, one by one. This intrigued her, so she encouraged him to continue. "Go on; I'm not stopping you." She ushered him, loins twitching to release just a little bit more.

Rex said not a word as he crept backwards over her, his head coming to hover between her raised thighs. Then, before she figured him out, he wrapped both hands around her upper legs and nuzzled into her, sniffing deep at the musky scent before burying his snout against her lips, purring all the while. His rough-textured tongue lapped at her folds and tugged at her flesh, every impassioned motion coaxing more and more from her. His purring and his tendency to hover a bit longer at her clit made her relax, releasing more for him to lick up.

Again and again he alternated between cleaning her up and pleasuring her in such a way that she couldn't help but lose just enough control to give him more. Up and down he went, lapping at her folds and suckling her clit, all while a deep rumbling growl emanated from his throat to vibrate the both of them. In between each cycle, he paused to press his lips to hers and suck, eager for every drop.

Before long, Ichaya's loins were letting loose less and less of Oceris, but that didn't stop Rex from using his thumbs to pry her open and extend his dexterous and surprisingly long tongue as deep as it would go into her avian folds. She grabbed at his ears and clamped her thighs tight on either side of his head, holding him there as her eyes rolled back in her skull, another burst of pleasure exploding from her core to travel up her spine and down her tail, followed by her going limp.

When he was sure she was satisfied, he crawled up over her, his body utilizing a silken motion like a slithering snake as he kissed her every few inches until he was nuzzling at the underside of her breasts.

"I think that's enough for now, unless...." Ichaya started, reaching down to grab his cock. "Unless you want to finish me up with that." Her fingers snagged on the gentle barbs that rounded his tip, but that didn't dissuade her; she'd just been railed by a particularly vigorous stallion with a flare the size of two fists pressed wrist to wrist, she could handle some barbs.

His toothy grin spoke volumes as he leaned into her, letting her guide his member to her flesh as he eased himself in. Her lips swallowed him up and squeezed tight, her muscles twitching against his touch. When her beak touched his cheek and preened at his fur, he shuddered in delight and a deep growling purr intensified from his chest, spine moving in waves as he pumped his member into her. Slowly, his pace quickened and she grabbed at his cheek fur, kneading him gently as she trilled and cooed at the sensation of his barbed member tickling her.

Ichaya grinded up against him, pressing her hips to his with an accenting squeeze every time as he pulled out, coaxing his seed as well. He wasn't ready to give himself up and end his encounter so quickly, but her skill and desire won him over and he couldn't help but pick up the pace.

The two of them both pressed their bodies together as their spines slithered against each other in unison, his purring and her chirping creating a symphony of pleasure in the field with Oceris still contentedly munching on grass only a few meters away. They were growing in intensity, with them bth getting more and more into each other, until Rex noticed that he was edging closer to his climax.

As he was about to pull out, an explosion could be heard coming from the bonfire, the startling noise tensing up all his muscles and bringing him to his own explosive orgasm in the split second before Ichaya slid out from under him and jumped to her feet, ready for a fight.

She could feel the silken mess he'd deposited in her, but her adrenaline was flowing already and she was prepared to come to blows if it turned out that there was an attack. She quickly dove through the fence slats and grabbed her pants, stepping into them and leaving Rex on his own in the field as she emerged from behind the barn. What she saw shocked her, in that it was absolutely nothing.

The bonfire raged and the flame danced high into the night sky, with fireworks shooting up and exploding over the ranch house. Of the fifty or so pirates who had come to the party, every one of them were eating, dancing, drinking, making out, or sleeping in a pile on top of themselves. It was a typical pirate party, nothing out of the ordinary.

Ichaya knew she couldn't stay away forever, and while she knew that her gait was affected by how sore her loins had become thanks to the vigor of the stallion, she didn't think a bunch of drunk pirates would notice. She made her way to a nearby log, hopped over it, and sat next to Ilorek and Valencia with her head on his lap, a smile on her beak, noticing out of the corner of her gaze that Rex was slowly walking up on his own to join them.

Nestled up together under Ilorek's feathered ankles lie both Kentanni and Wrasir, their feathers and fur mixing up well enough that Ichaya couldn't tell which was which. A cute and fitting end to her first day of vacation and a proper way to have a personal adventure.