FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hayes tapped the CausDok and snorted with impatience as the light atop of it still failed to glimmer gold. He folded his arms across his chest as he thought about how comms had been more reliable on Zerin I, and that had been a planet wracked by ion storms and infested with Beta rejects. Now here he was on Earth, or at least a close enough approximation converted from a long ago conquered planet, and this machine advertised for instantaneous help on mental matters wasn't even connecting to the server found planetside. He had a few choice words, but he had been warned many times that the language he had practiced during the war wasn't so acceptable in normal society. Warned, that is, by the same machine that now failed to function. So, he just thought them instead, glad that he hadn't been issued the model that picked up on thoughts.

Finally, with a beep, the light on top shined gold, nearly blinding Hayes with its brightness before it died down. He glanced at the CausDok's screen, and it was of course black. It was strange; he would've thought that seeing the face of one's therapist would be more effective in any sort of treatment, but the Post-Combat Center had told him quite the opposite, at least in his case. So, all he had was the therapist's voice to go by.

"Hey," he said. "You there?"

"I am, Michael," the CausDok replied, the voice soft and soothing and indiscernibly gendered. "What seems to be the problem? Are you dreaming again?"

"No," Hayes replied with a shake of his head. "Not dreaming. Peaceful sleep except for..." He sighed. "Except for those damn dinos."

"Language, Michael," the CausDok reminded.

"Right," Hayes snorted. "Language. I wouldn't be swearing if I wasn't upset, but...you've really got to do something about these dinos."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? You have to! You're the one who put me here!"

"And it's the place you need to be." The CausDok whirred.

"The place I need to be? Right." Hayes rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not one to question our federation, but--"

"Yes?" the machine implored.

"This can't be the right place. I mean..." He glanced around his abode. "The accommodations are nice. The bed's soft, I've got space, almost too much space, the pool is cool, and I never have to cook a meal, but--" He sighed. "It's not the place; it's the neighbors. Surely I was meant to be around...people?"

"While your neighbors do not have the honored privilege of your military surface, they are still citizens of the federation and possess the intellectual capacities to be classified as persons. I'm worried about you, Michael. You're showing signs of xenophobia that did not show up in your Post Combat Center's survey."

"Xeno..." Hayes started, then shook his head. "It's not xenophobia. I've served along plenty of weird things--xenos, half humans, even a brain in a bot it's just that..." He frowned. "Why was I relocated to a sector where the 'people' don't have a tidbit of decency? They--" He gestured to his open window. "Some of them walk around outside without a top on which, you know, should be fine for a normal reptile, but they've got breasts. Breasts! And those that aren't letting their tits hang free, well, guess what? I hope you don't mind seeing dino pussy every few minutes!"

"Language," the machine replied.

"Language?" Hayes raised his arms in exasperation. "It's the truth! And no, this isn't xenophobia, it's just I've never been a xenolover per se, and there's nothing wrong with that, right? And nakedness?" He shrugged. "Corps has communal showers, and I've been naked with a bunch of species and seen some things I haven't ever wanted to see." He blinked. "Maybe some things worse than what I saw on the ground..."

"So your naked neighbors are triggering negative memories of your recent service?" The machine murmured. "This was not in your initial analysis."

"No. No, no, no." Hayes shook his head quickly. "That last part was a joke, and seeing some scaly breasts and p..." He paused and bit his lip. "Vagina?"

"The correct term is 'vulva,'" the machine supplied.

"Right." Hayes rolled his eyes. "The point is that I'm not upset at seeing some scaly breasts and...vulvas. I'm a guy, I like those, but not on..." He sighed. "Not on xenos. Is that really xenophobic? Can't a man have tastes?" Before the machine could answer, he held up a hand. "And that's not even the problem, really. I'd love it if it was a bunch of human women walking around. No, the problem is that these dinos like to party. No, love to, as in that's all they do. Day in and day out."

"Have you joined them?" the machine asked.

"What?" Hayes shook his head. "No! Of course not! I'm trying to relax here. I'm trying to..." He frowned and shuddered. "Get over seeing my friends and squadmates eviscerated on Mak'Don VII or remembering every night the screams of the Dashillians as I incinerated their nest or trying to remember what happened with that mirror." His frown deepened. "What was that in the mirror, so familiar and yet..."

"It doesn't matter, Michael," the machine said.

"Call me Hayes," Hayes growled.

"You are Michael Hayes, and calling you by your surname not only is reminiscent of your recent military service but means I am unfamiliar with you. I, however, am intimately familiar with you Michael."

Hayes shivered.

"And that is why you are here, Michael," the machine continued. "Because after my analysis of your survey, verbal responses, and mental readings, it was determined that this area was best for the improvement and sustainment of your mental health."

"This area," Hayes muttered. "Nice house, nice pool, and plenty of raptor chicks with tits."

"Language, but yes," the machine said. "The species does indeed have breasts. Does this disturb you?"

"No," Hayes said quickly. "It's the partying, the noise, the music, the, uh, sounds of fu--" He grimaced. "Sex, I suppose. It's not a warzone, but hell if it ain't loud. Can't you do something about it?"

"Yes. I can make a suggestion--"

"Thanks," Hayes sighed. "Suggestion isn't much, but--"

"That you interact with them. Perhaps it would not disturb you so much if you understood why they celebrated so much."

"Are you serious?"

"Indeed. It would aid with your previously unrecognized xenophobia, a condition you will have to no longer possess if you wish to rejoin the war after your year of recovery, and we are only at month three. Your chances of rejoining are low considering developing such a condition shows regression, not progression. Extreme adjustments would be necessary for you to erase such tendencies not accepted in federation service."

"But I'm not xenophobic," Hayes protested. "And I've never been noted as being xenophobic!"

"I suggest you not dwell on your past so much, Michael," the machine said. "It may be the cause of this regression."

"Maybe the cause of this 'regression' is those damn dinos' noise!"

"Language. As for noise, that is a complaint you will have to take up with your neighborhood association. I am not allowed to interfere in such matters. Alternatively, you may merely use the alternate room we have provided in case of noises that trigger your memories. If that fails to function, then that is something I may have fixed."

"Oh." Hayes huffed. "Just talk to a bunch of...never mind. And you're right, I'll just use that alternate room that's so quiet I can't even hear myself breathe. You know, the one that reminds me of death. Great idea, thanks. "

"You are welcome, Michael. Is there anything else I can assist you with at this time?"

"No." Hayes shook his head. "No, you've done quite enough."

"You're welcome," the CausDok replied. A moment later, its golden light died down, leaving Hayes staring at a screen that was always black. He growled and turned away from it, thinking to what had just happened. So much for help.

He glanced outside the window and saw that it was a beautiful day. Of course, he couldn't go run or even bike considering such activities might trigger his recollections of fleeing from Xani Flesheaters, but it didn't mean he had to stay cooped up inside all day. He considered going on a simple walk, but that would probably mean encountering at least a couple of dinos since they tended to travel together, which made sense considering they mostly resembled raptors. But was that xenophobia itself to assume that they would model their closest long extinct Earth relative? He shook his head because there was three things wrong with that question: First, they were far scalier than feathery. Second, they were sapient even if their choice in music sucked. Third, he wasn't xenophobic!

Still considering what to do, Hayes meandered out of the small room that contained the CausDok and into his living room. He plopped down on his couch and considered just watching some streams on his DekScreen, at least until he turned his head and saw the glass doors that led outside to his pool. Of course, he couldn't swim because that reminded him too much of the death of Lewis, his squaddie, that had foolish tried to swim away in safety in lava after their squad had been surrounded by Atrocan deathdealers. But...

But he could sit outside and watch streams out there or read or just enjoy a sun that didn't peel one's flesh away without adequate protection.

Nodding, Hayes rose and went out onto his pool deck, softly sighing when he felt a cool breeze run over his skin. He glanced about, but there were no raptors around, at least none that he could see over the low fence that surrounded his pool. He could, however, hear some of their music, but it was distant and not accompanied by the usual saurian shrieking. Hayes smiled. Near silence was close enough to silence for him. Glancing about once again, he sidled over to his poolside chair before lying down on it. He looked up into the sky and noted just how blue and beautiful it was with a few clouds here and there. It reminded him of home, or how home had once been before the Betas had attacked and Betaformed it, wiping out his relatives in the process.

He frowned at this memory and pushed it away. CausDok was right--he shouldn't be dwelling on his past so much. Not that he had a choice at times, but right now he did. All he had to do was stare at the sky and enjoy the view of the pleasantly blue heavens lit up by a bright golden sun, a clear sky unmarred by explosions, a radioactive haze, or a Beta blockade. It was nice and relaxing, and almost made him entirely forget about--

Hayes's peace was shattered as something swam over his vision, rendering it black. He cried out and sat up, only for the obstruction to fall away out onto his lap, his vision now running red. He blinked and looked down to see a large black bra laid between his legs. He frowned and angrily threw it away just as he heard a hissing giggle. Still frowning, he looked up to see one of those raptors leaning over his fence, her scaled bare breasts drooping over the fence line while she looked at him apologetically, or at least as apologetically as Hayes could tell, given her saurian snout.

"Oopsie!" she said, nearly golden yellow scales shining in the sun. "Sorry about that!"

Hayes wasn't sure how to respond. This was actually the first time he had spoken to one of the raptors, and he wasn't in the mood to talk. He grunted and picked up the bra.

"Is this yours?" he asked.

"I hope so!" the raptoress said, smiling with so many teeth. "Doesn't look to be your size!"

Despite himself, Hayes smiled even as his skin tingled all over oddly enough. He shrugged it off and stood as he held out the bra to her.

"What?" she said, looking at the bra pointedly. "Do you want me to leap on over and take it from you?"

"No," Hayes said. "Here, I'll just--"

He tossed it, and the raptor caught the bra in her claws. She held it up, then glanced between it and her breasts. She shrugged and tossed the clothing away behind her. With her chest still exposed, the raptor started to turn around before stopping and glancing towards to Hayes.

"Say, what's a cutie like you doing out here all alone?" she asked. "Don't you want in on the party?"

"No thanks," Hayes grumbled, scratching idly at an itching arm. "What's a, um...dino like you doing throwing bras at people like me?"

"Oh that?" The raptor laughed. "It an invitation! You just look so bored that..." she shrugged, her bust wobbling. "You don't have to come now, cutie." She winked. "Party's just getting started!"

Hayes frowned, and the raptor turned, tail waving over a rump that had neon stripes painted over it. He stared at that and the fact that she was wearing nothing below, at least until she turned her head. Mortified, he stepped back and felt his feet clench in his shoes as she winked again. He smiled nervously, scratching at his hair that he still kept at Corps length, keeping his gaze focused on the raptor girl's visage even if he swore he felt some of that same hair falling away. The raptor laughed, a sound halfway between genuine laughter and a saurian shriek, and then was off, breasts bouncing and tail waving enticingly as she sped off towards the music. Hayes blinked as he watched her go, wondering why her tail was so intriguing. It had never been something he had thought of before, but there was almost something suggestive with how it had moved. He shook his head, trying to force that strange thought aside, but it remained, along with some sort of envy because of it. Did he...did he want a tail?

"Damn dinos," he muttered, turning back towards his home. He really wanted to go inside, not only to avoid any more of the raptors, but also because his skin felt so irritable. He idly scratched at his increasingly scaly skin as he made his way inside, wondering all the while if this sun wasn't so good for him after all. He considered consulting CausDok about this and his encounter with the raptor, but he was remiss to do so after his previous consultation. The therapist would probably insist it was all his fault, that his xenophobia was to blame for catching a bra on his face. Ha! He had just been sunning his scales when--

He frowned. Scales? He ceased scratching at his arms and saw that his skin was in fact speckled with scales, smooth, cerulean colored scales. They were as if they belonged there, and for some reason Hayes felt that they belonged. After all, it explained his troubles with the raptors. It wasn't their enticing tits or tails that bothered him, but their scales. He was envious because they were fully scaled, not some half scaled freak like himself.

He frowned. Since when was he the freak? Why was it his fault that his service in the Corps had led to his current appearance? While he was out there finishing the fight with the Betas, these raptors were the ones going around naked with their tails lifted and twirling about, no modesty or decency among any of their number! He bet they all had scale itch, the lot of them!

At the thought of itch, his scales did indeed itch, worse than before. He swore and scratched at them even though he knew he shouldn't, then swore louder as one of his nails pierced his skin. He lifted the offending hand up and stared at the nails that seemed longer and darker than he remembered, not to mention how completely covered the hand was by the cerulean scales. He flexed the hand and wondered how he could have been so clumsy to have cut himself when he knew the damage his claws could inflict. After all, he had torn out the throat of a traitor after he had revealed his seditionary side or--

Or had that been with a knife?

Hayes sighed and shook his head as the rest of his hair fell away. He hardly cared because he hadn't had any hair since it had been burned away on Atroca, the same place he had lost Lewis.

"Lewis," he murmured, running his hands over his increasingly scaled head even as the claws on his fingers lengthened and sharpened. He paused for a moment as he heard his own voice. Was it just him or was it slightly raspier, even a bit deeper? He shrugged. "You stupid son of a bitch."

Even as the memory of that horrible death rose up, he couldn't help but smile as he imagined CausDok correcting his "foul" language. That machine or therapist or whatever it was could suck it. None of its advice had helped so far today, and he wasn't keen on following its suggestion to deal with the noise, because it probably meant he'd have to interact with those raptors. After all, if they lived here, who else would run the neighborhood association? Surely not those like him, tailless and tortured!

Hayes's thoughts were interrupted by the noise of the distant party's music finally rising to a volume that he could not unconsciously ignore it. He hissed and retreated into the interior of his house, stopping to remove his shoes so that his feet could breathe. While he would never walk around barefoot, nothing seemed wrong with exposing his taloned feet in here alone, though their clacking against the floor was more notable than he recalled. Hadn't his claws' clicking got someone killed before, perhaps on a patrol on the outskirts of Mars III? It seemed right and yet not right. Why wouldn't he have been wearing full Corps gear? Most importantly, why wouldn't he have perfectly normal human feet?

Hayes looked down at his feet and was greeted by the sight of feet that were decidedly inhuman. They were covered in cerulean scales instead of soft skin, he had four long black talons, one larger than the rest, instead of five pink toes, and his heels were up rather than in nearly constant contact with the ground. Something about the sight disturbed as much as it simply didn't bother him. He tried to think of what was wrong, but his feet were perfectly healthy looking, claws with a healthy gloss and scales that shined slightly under light. They weren't even replacements, they just were part of him as much as his scales and likewise clawed hands were, and yet...

He knelt down and pulled up one leg of his pants to find that the skin beneath was scaled, of course. Why wouldn't it be? Abruptly he stiffened, wincing at what felt like his spine stretching, but that was surely a painful reminder of but one of the many times he had been flung by an explosion and landed hard on his back, and not his spine actually stretching, extending, and lengthening as a small nubby little thing grew over above his butt. He shook his head, muttering a curse that was lost among the music as the distant party no longer sounded distant. The music was loud and obnoxious, reminding him of the beats that he and Lewis had heard after taking shore leave at the ill advised locale of 010, where the synthetic populace preferred music as synthetic and repetitive as them. It was good to dance to and good to take federation contraband to, but it wasn't the sort of music he wanted to hear right in his house, especially right now at a time when his thoughts were the most muddled.

Hissing, he fled towards his alternate bedroom, one that was mostly soundproof and meant for those nights when any sound might disturb him. Strangely, the tone of the music seemed to shift, the low noises more prominent and the higher notes less so while he made his way over there even if the song didn't change in that time. He paused just outside his bedroom and ran his claws up the sides of his head and nearly panicked when he felt only flatness. Then he relaxed as he felt them finally, his hearing holes that didn't protrude so comically as human ears did. Sure, he didn't have the same range of his hearing as his comrades in the Corps, but that hadn't been a problem when it came to the Songbirds of Sirus Minor and their maddening songs. He had been able to sleep without stuffing gauze into his ears on that night.

Today though, he just might need something to plug his hearing. He grit his teeth together, jaws aching as he discovered that even though his soundproof room blocked off the music that played so loudly that he swore the raptors were raving in his backyard, there was still the problem of the vibrations. He could still feel the vibrations of the repetitive music in his bones and it caused his stubby tail to dance along, and as much as he tried to control it, it ignored him, its motions taking on more flourish and fancy as it took on a range of movement he did not recall it having before.

No matter. He sprung into bed and quickly hid under the sheets, his motions controlled so that he did not tear the cloth with his claws. While the vibrations of the music were more muted beneath his coverings, his constrained tail kept dancing beneath the sheets. Worse was that it was not the only thing constrained, for he had to keep on tilting his head further and further to the side so that his protomuzzle didn't keep pushing his coverings up. Already annoyed, he couldn't help but hiss and gnash his sharpening teeth together as a particularly bassy song seemed to shake his house.

Damn dinos, he thought. Why couldn't his close kin be more like him? That is, not so noisy and keeping more to themselves. He had thought being assigned to this neighborhood would have made him more appreciate of species other than humans. As it was, the raptors could keep their tits and tails to themselves. As least humans like his fallen friend Lewis had the decency to cover themselves up!

Sometimes snarling, sometimes hissing, Hayes somehow fell asleep even as the music rumbled while his snout stretched and the final scales set into place of his saurian shape.

---

Hayes was out by the pool again, and the sky was beautiful and blue. He hadn't even consulted CausDok today, which meant it was a good day. The machine had treated him differently ever since he had complained about the noise, and Hayes still didn't really understand why. So what if he didn't fit in with his "kind?" If his kind didn't even have the decency to cover themselves and had the audacity to be so disruptive each and every night, why, he could do without them! Especially those that threw bras at him, a veteran!. Who cared if they had great tits and tails, especially that one? There was something more important than those and that was respect. Whether or not he liked to acknowledge it all the time, he was a veteran of an interstellar war. At least he had a reason not to be working. Why, as soon as he finished up his eight months here, he would be back to the fight! What was their excuse for not doing anything other than having fun?

He snorted softly, nostrils flaring. Fun? What was so fun about being surrounded by bunches of other nearly naked saurians that spun and swung to the tune of the music, tails twisting and turning and entwining while some got more physical than others, seething, scaly bodies pressed together as they rutted right there and then among the masses? Of knowing that the scaly slit that one thrust into had probably been previously visited by every other male at the venue, of knowing that every girl was more than willing to tease and prod at one's slit before the main course emerged to be lovingly licked at by a prehensile tongue.

Hayes blinked, realizing that his member had poked out of his sheath. Blushing, he sat up and caught sight of something out of the side of his vision. He turned his head and saw that there was a nearly golden yellow scaled raptor girl leaning over his fence, a wide smile across her saurian snout as she stared pointedly at his crotch. Awkwardly, he shifted himself around so she couldn't see the bulge and she laughed because of it.

"Hot out today, huh?" she chittered, even if the erect nipples of her bare breasts proved otherwise.

Hayes hissed at her but this seemed to only encourage her. He sputtered as she leapt over the fence, landing with a twin set of clicks on her taloned feet. Hayes stood and put his hands on his hips, giving her the most disapproving look he could while he willed his arousal to diminish. Surprisingly it did, and he felt his shaft begin to recede into his sheath even as the raptoress sensually slinked over to him, hips and tail swaying in an almost hypnotic pattern. Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks and stood upright, totally nude before him. She looked over him quizzically, golden eyes gleaming.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You act like you've never seen a girl naked before."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hayes snapped. "I'm--"

"A raptor, a real cute one," she said. "And yet I've never seen you at one of the raves before. What's that all about?"

"I'm here to relax," Hayes said.

"Then relax, big boy," the raptor girl said with a grin, suddenly at his side. Hayes hissed and stiffened, wanting very much so to push her away, but something kept him from doing so. He puzzled this over as she slid her claws down his clothed chest. Just as her hands reached his pants was when he realized he was attracted to her; he kind of wanted this to happen, which was why he wasn't doing anything, and yet he also felt nothing below as she slid her claws underneath his underwear to his crotch. He looked down just in time for the raptor girl to remove her claws. She stepped away and looked to him with a puzzled expression on her saurian snout.

"What?" he snorted.

"I could have sworn..." she shook her head and smiled. "You hide it well, girl."

To Hayes, it felt like that word had force behind it. He stepped back and then it was he whose claws were down his pants. He traced them down his crotch and reached his slit. He froze, realizing that the raptor girl was still staring at him, but he went for it anyways. Carefully, he prodded his slit and then hissed as he felt some response, not from inside the slit, from his slit itself.

Her slit.

Hayes recoiled. It was she who could have sworn that she was male. She couldn't be female! Hadn't she just had an erection?

Still, she pushed further into her slit and was greeted only by an electric tingle of pleasure and some slickness, and certainly not a throbbing shaft that pressed out of her slit that was only supposed to take in. She shuddered, her hips aching and letting out a barely audible pop as they pulled apart.

"And here I thought you were trying to relax," she heard the other raptor girl laugh. Hayes hissed and ignored her for now, still not believing in her newfound femininity. Sure, she could feel lit, but she had to see it to believe it.

Without any hesitation, she pulled down her pants and they came down easily enough, sliding off hips that they were ill designed to fit. Lowering her tail, she slid off her boxers next and then peered at what she had uncovered. She blinked in disbelief at what she saw: a cerulean scaled slit, the lips puffy and pink and topped by a nubby clit that throbbed even now. There was nothing male about the flower of femininity that lay between her legs.

"There we go!" the raptor girl across from her cheered. "Can't relax if you let yourself be constrained! Come on, let's get that top off next. Your girls deserve to be free!"

Hayes looked up at the other raptor girl and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. So she gulped and it felt for a moment as if she had actually swallowed something, something gruff and deep, and so she hissed and her hiss sounded higher than she recalled, certainly not as masculine if the difference in hissing between genders could even be decided. Still, she tried to speak again.

"I--" she began and stopped when she heard her voice. It was indeed higher and lighter, and that was wrong because--

Because she wasn't a girl, right? But then what about her slick slit that even now she felt throb? Didn't that mean she was female? But even that reality between her legs was not enough. It felt off, it felt wrong, and it wasn't only her pussy that felt out of place. For a single, terrifying moment, her form felt totally, completely wrong--the scales, the claws, the many sharp teeth, but most of all that tail that swayed with uncertainty above a rump that seemed more rounded than before. She felt as if she should be softer somehow, if not in spirit at least in skin.

Then that moment passed and she still felt uncertain, but no longer was there dysphoria involving her saurian aspects. She was a raptor, sure, but a woman raptor? Slowly she lifted her gaze to the other raptor girl who still smiled encouragingly at her. For some reason it felt like this was all her fault, but that felt faulty. What was the other raptor responsible for? Chucking a bra at her and uncovering her womanhood? She only meant to help, right?

"Off with the top!" the other raptor chanted as Hayes began to hear that repetitive, raving music not so far off, wincing as her back burned momentarily. "Off with the top!"

As if hypnotized, Hayes grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began to lift it, and then--

Stopped. She stopped and fled, running inside her home with her thick tail waving behind her like a white flag. She ran through her home, the sound of her claws clacking against the ground echoing harshly throughout, before she entered that small room that held the CausDok. She stood before it, uncertain and unsure of what she was going to say until a thought came to mind. What was it that the machine called her other than Hayes? Surely that was something to ask it. She quickly tapped the machine and folded her arms across her chest, relieved to find no breasts there.

"Come on," she hissed as she waited for that golden light to shine, claws tapping impatiently against the floor. "Come on..."

The machine beeped, the light flashed gold, the distant music muted and Hayes gasped as she felt a pulse between her legs. Unconsciously she rubbed her legs together, and was it just her or were her thighs thicker, with less space between them?

"Hello," she said. "Are you there?"

"I am, Mikael," the voice replied, the voice soft and soothing and somehow distinctly feminine. "What seems to be the problem? Are you dreaming again?"

"No, I--" Hayes paused, staring at the black screen while she her heart throbbed in her chest. "What did you just call me?"

"Mikael," the machine said. "Mikael Hayes. Calling you by your surname is--"

"Reminiscent of my recent military service," Hayes said with a shiver, clicking her claws together and shivering again as it felt like something brushed over them and her talons. "Damn it, what are you playing at? Why are you repeating yourself?"

"Language, Mikael," the machine warned. "And I answer the same because you've asked before."

"Yes, but..." Hayes frowned, tail lashing in frustration. "You didn't answer the same! You called me..." She blinked. "Called me..."

"Mikael, because that is your name," the machine murmured. "Unless you are admitting to the federation that you have falsified your identity."

"No, no!" she said, shaking her head. "I'm...I'm..." She took a deep breath as she swayed her hips from side to side momentarily. "I'm Hayes."

"Yes, and what is the problem, Mikael?" the machine asked. "Is there a problem? You seem to be adapting well. I notice that you are even garbed as your neighbors."

Hayes opened her mouth to question the machine when she realized what it meant. She looked down at her naked half and crossed her legs, tail coming around to cover her slit.

"O-oh," Hayes stuttered. "I..."

"Seem to have overcome your xenophobia, or at least trust your neighbors to emulate them."

"Oh, oh no, that was a mistake, this all was a mistake, I'm only naked because..." she looked down at the ground. "I'm not sure I'm female."

"Dysphoria? Biologically you are a fully functioning female, but your mind may think different. What do you think, Mikael? Is this a recent development? This did not come up in your survey, but among military women it is not so uncommon that--"

"No, no, it's not that, it's just--" she searched her mind for any memory keyed masculine or feminine, but all that came to mind was war, and those horrors weren't unique to any specific sex. She shivered and tried to push those unpleasant memories away, but they surged up anyways, unpleasantness on unpleasantness. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered charging through the plains of Planet Chromite and nearly stepping on a Synthesis S-Mine before Lewis had caught her by her tail and dragged her to safety. She had looked over to him and thanked him and caught something in his eyes, and now she was surprised to recall that there had been something of sex in that memory, at least a longing for it on her end at the time, but was that really right? For some reason part of her mind insisted that she didn't like men at all, but then the truth that she very much liked Lewis, and he was a man. She had liked him quite a bit, more than quite a bit, really, which made him poor planning in escape even more tragic, now more than ever.

She sobbed and it spilled out.

"I miss him," she said, staring into that black screen.

"Miss who?" the machine asked.

"Lewis," she answered immediately. "I think...I think this is about him."

But even that sounded wrong somehow.

"I see," the machine murmured. "You miss that companionship. Have you interacted with others?"

"No, because..."

Because why? Even she didn't have the answer for that. While she still wasn't fond of the raptors and their music, the raptors themselves didn't seem so bad now. Even the one she had interacted with so far had only been kind, save the bra flinging. She had just been trying to get her fellow female out of her shell and now Hayes agreed with that, especially if she could find someone who reminded her of Lewis.

"Because what, Mikael?" the machine asked. "I think further interaction would help. If you continue down this path, I see no reason not to release you at the end of your time."

"Alright," Hayes said with a growing smile. "I will interact further. Thank you, CausDok."

"You are welcome. Is any further assistance needed?"

"No," Hayes said, shaking her head. "You've done enough."

The golden light went dark and right at that moment Hayes heard the music start off, distant but recognizable with its repetitiveness. She considered leaving right there and then, but her standards hadn't fallen so low yet. She might show up to the raptor rave naked, but she was going to shower first. Who knew what she might get into? She shivered in excitement and left the room.

She quickly made her way to her bathroom. Before entering the shower, she took off her shirt, her last piece of clothing, and it did feel oddly liberating even if she didn't have any "girls" to free. She stood in front of the mirror and initially shied away from it, but it wasn't that mirror, not that there was a reason to fear any mirror. She took her position in front of the glass, claws set on her eggbearing hips as she looked over herself. Her muscular frame was mostly covered in cerulean scales, though as she turned her back she saw spotted scales shaded bright pink. She traced her likewise pink claws over those spots, wondering when those had appeared, before turning back to find there were two pink spot on her chest--her nipples, of course, but they appeared puffier and pinker than normal. She shrugged, because the rest of her seemed to be no different than normal. Cerulean scales, equally blue eyes, pink claws and talons, saurian snout suitable for her likewise saurian form, thick tail that seemed to have a mind of her own, a nicely rounded rump, and wide hips and narrowed shoulders that had allowed some species to identify as female despite her lack of breasts. Why didn't she have those? That other girl seemed to. In fact, all the other raptor females had breasts that they weren't afraid to show off. Perhaps she was just exceptionally flat chested. No, she was exceptionally flat chested and it had proven more of a boon than burden. If she'd had breasts at the Battle of Slowdown, why--

She shook her head. The past was the past. Lewis certainly hadn't cared either which way.

Satisfied with herself, Hayes stepped into the shower and turned on the water. Immediately it cascaded out, hot and steaming and satisfying. She sighed and leaned back against a tiled wall, closing her eyes and relaxing as the hot water rinsed over her scales, washing away more than her normal accumulation of grime and dirt. She felt her past worries and insecurities wash down the drain and for a time was even able to relax. Then her nipples twinged and she hissed, pulling away from the hot water and covering her chest protectively. Her nipples twinged again, and she had the oddest sensation of her arms being pushed away by flesh that was soft and sensitive yet firmly attached to her chest. She opened her eyes and looked down to see two scaled breasts bobbing on her chest, puffy pink nipples peeking out of her soft scales. She blinked and her mind immediately went to the last thought that she had before she'd entered the shower. Lewis certainly hadn't cared either which way because...

Because she'd always had breasts, they just weren't the biggest and there was nothing wrong with that. Not like the guys ever saw them anyways. She bound them up tight and it was only a privileged few that ever got to see them, and only one ever got to touch them. She wasn't a slut unlike seemingly the rest of her species, and she hadn't joined the Corps to take advantage of its one free cosmetic surgery. No, she had splurged that on those pink spotted scales on her back and pink claws, if only to remind herself sometimes that she was female, something easy to forget when she was surrounded by so many men.

Men.

She shuddered at the thought, and one of her claws reached down between her legs. She drew back into the line of fire, shivering in ecstasy as the hot water splashed off her scales and breasts while the music of those party so close by rose. She slid a claw against her slit and shivered again.

She licked her lips as she imagined what sort of men she might find at the rave, claws actually dipping into her slit. She moaned, imagining there was no one quite like Lewis, but surely there was someone tender among the raptors that would be found there. Tender...she parted her tender lips and dug one claw in deep while her other clawed hand rose to squeeze at a likewise tender breast. She closed her eyes and heard the music clearer, following its beat and her instincts both as she thrust in and out of herself, alternating her tender penetration with tough squeezes of her nipples. Tender, she thought of the raptor male, moaning as she dug in deeper, but tough, like her. Or was it tough but tender?

Hayes didn't know and she didn't really care. She made it to her peak, hissing and shrieking and tail lashing against the tiled walls as she climaxed, scaled lips pulsing and tugging for something that simply wasn't there. Soon, she thought as she washed off herself one more time before shutting off the shower and dried off her scales, looking to the shirt that she had thrown to the floor. She bent down to pick it up and then stopped herself. She shrugged and left naked, following the music with a spring in her step.

---

Hayes awoke facedown sprawled on her bed in the room that was not soundproof. She looked back over her shoulder and noticed three things: first that she couldn't remember what had happened the night before, second she had a bracelet wrapped around her wrist that glowed gold, and third that there were neon stripes across her back and claw marks on her rump as if she had been well handled the night before, and based on her aches, that could very well be the truth. She groaned and rolled out of her bed, landing on her floor with a thud and another groan. Unsteadily, she rose to her feet, tail lazily lashing behind her. She was sore all over, as if...

As if she had had a wild night indeed. She blinked and looked down at herself. Aside from the marks on her rear and back, there were no signs of anything else, but she still couldn't help but be disappointed with herself. She was a soldier, damnit, not a slut, and yet she didn't want to guess how many times she had raised her tail the night before. What had she been thinking? The federation hadn't sent her here to get laid, they had sent her here to--

What? She couldn't quite place a claw on it. She knew she was out of the war for now, but there must be a reason for that, a reason why she wasn't out there fighting. She remembered battles and skirmishes and some other things that were all awful, but those memories were hazy at best. More vivid and pressing on her mind were the recollections of things she had done out of combat and she had done quite a lot! Hell, she remembered her first time in the communal showers. Not even five minutes in and--

"No," she gasped, trying to think out the flood of lewd images that entered her mind. It couldn't be right, shouldn't be right! She had used the showers to, well, shower, not suck off every male in the battalion! She looked down at herself and blinked as she realized she seemed slighter somehow, less muscular, less masculine, and were her breasts...bigger? She seemed less of a soldier and more of a slut.

She giggled at this and then immediately slapped a claw over her snout. What was she doing? What was she thinking? She was a slut first, soldier second! No, soldier first, slut second! No, neither of those were quite right!

She ran from her room and towards another, hating how her hips swayed slowly, seductively and how her tail was raised as if she was trying to pick up any imaginary males that were around. What was up with her? Had that one rave really changed her that much?

She entered the small room, the one with the machine, and was glad to see the golden light was already glowing, although she paused and wondered why it was already on. Had it detected her need?

"H-hello?" she stuttered, her voice higher and more feminine than before. "Are you there?"

"I am, Mika," the CausDok replied, calm and confident and surprisingly masculine. Its deep voice sent shivers down her spine and to the tip of her tail that she tried to fight and failed. "What seems to be the problem? Are you dreaming again?"

"No, I..." she shook her head. "I don't even remember last night."

But that was a lie, at least it was now. She did remember last night, the music, the masses, the sounds, the sex, oh God, so much sex. She shivered and shivered again as the machine chuckled, deep and disturbing.

"You had fun, Mika," the machine said. "It's been weeks since you've last reported and you report that you have finally been able to relax? You're halfway through your term and you seem fine. Six more months and you may rejoin the war."

"Six more months?" Hayes blinked. "But, it was..." her tailed lashed and her breasts bounced. She looked down at them and noticed that they were larger, had to be bigger, but she swore she had spent her surgery on her scales and claws. Had she paid for this herself?

"Time flies when you're having fun, Mika," the machine murmured. "You're fine. You seem to have no need of my services. You're where you belong! Go relax."

"But--"

"Go mate," the machine ordered.

"I--" she began, but what she meant to say slipped her mind. She wanted to argue with the machine, but thus far it had been anything but wrong. She had railed against it initially for placing her here, but now it seemed here was best. Time had flown and left her behiyond and she had picked up her usual practices in the meantime. It hadn't been just last night that she had been getting busy. Perhaps it was so difficult to remember last night specifically since it wasn't the first or last time she would have so much fun. Hell, she remembered the frozen wastes of Bjord and how she had kept each of her men warm, especially Lewis. She blushed at the memory and looked down from the ever black screen.

"Yes?" the machine asked.

"You're right," she said. "I...I should have my fun. I should..." she looked up, eyes gleaming. "I should mate. But--"

"But what, Mika?"

"But I don't think I'll be rejoining the war," she said. "I--"

"No need to justify," the machine murmured. "That's all we need to hear."

The golden light died and the screen went white. Hayes paused and frowned, but her attention was drawn away from the seemingly malfunctioning machine by the sound of that familiar music, repetitive but in a good way, with a beat that she could swing and sway to all night long. Well, that, and do other things as well...

She laughed and left the room, following the music out to her pool. She stopped, but was unsurprised to find the near golden yellow scaled raptor splashing completely naked in her pool. When she saw Hayes, she smiled and climbed out of the water.

"Ready already?" she asked, water sliding down her scales. "You're early today."

"Am I?" Hayes asked, suddenly uncertain of herself.

"Are you?" the other raptor laughed. "Comparatively? Yes. It took me months just to get you outside!" She turned around and then looked over her shoulder, swaying her tail enticingly over her firm rear. "So, are you coming, girly?"

Hayes froze at the word. Girly? She wasn't girly! She was a slut first and, er, something second? No, no, no, she thought, that wasn't right. She was something not just sexy. She was...she wasn't sure but she was sure it had something to do with weapons, yet all that came to mind was cleaning weapons and she could only giggle when she thought of what that entailed. She could certainly clean weapons!

Something still seemed wrong with that, but then the other raptor was walking away and Hayes couldn't help but follow her, especially since she was moving towards the music, and the music meant others and others meant fun, like mating. She walked close to the other raptor, tail swaying excitedly behind her.

"What are you so amped up about?" the other raptor asked her with a toothy smile.

"Mate!" Hayes announced. "I'm going to mate!"

"Are you?" the other raptor snorted. "With who? The same one who marked you up last night?"

Hayes stopped in her tracks. With who indeed? The question was tougher than she thought it would be. The obvious answer was anyone, but there was something she held in her heart that she couldn't quite let go of, a name that meant much to her. Though, she realized, that name was in the past.

"I don't know, but--" Hayes smiled, striding forward with a haughty swing to her hips. "I'll know him."

"Ooh, confidence?" The other raptor girl chittered, running to catch up. "From you? You're always surprising me, Mika!"

"What?" Hayes said, pausing again.

"What?" the other raptor girl echoed. "It's the truth, girly. Usually you're so uncertain but, girl..." she winked. "You're going to get your breed on, I can see it. Your tail's already half lifted just talking about it!"

Hayes nodded excitedly. She strode faster now, excitement rising even higher as the volume of the music rose. Soon they were upon the party, or at least the exterior of it, a big, dark building that had its roof slightly retracted, allowing Hayes to see the lights shining within, rapid flashing lights of so many colors. The doors were open and so she and her friend entered, her bracelet beeping as they crossed the threshold.

Inside was what Hayes had imagined and so much more. There were raptors of every scale coloration imaginable, though they shared nakedness, a wristband of some metallic or chromatic color and stripes of neon down their back, butts, or tails that glowed in the near darkness of the facility. The raptors danced in synch with their music, the glow of their neon stripes trailing around them in the dark. A memory came unbidden to Hayes mind, of standing on a starship and watching some stars trail through the vastness of space, but then it was bumped away out of her mind as something strong and solid came into contact with her. She yelped and would have been pushed to her side had not a claw caught her shoulder. She looked up and her eyes gleamed gold before fading to their normal blue hue as she looked upon a raptor taller than her, male and covered in ruddy scales.

"Well, well, well," he said, a smile on his saurian snout and in his eyes. "What have we here?"

"Here is, um..." the raptor shook and watched as her friend winked her golden eyes and disappeared into the rave. "Mika!"

"Well, Mika," the raptor said, leering at her. "I like your scales." He traced his claws along her back, eliciting a gentle shiver in the girl. "The pink ones especially. Quite a girl, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah!" Mika nodded excitedly. "That's me and..." She turned and laid her hands on the raptor's shoulders with a seductive hiss. "I can be your girl, if you'd like."

"I would like that," the raptor said.

"So uh, what's your name?" Mika asked.

"Doesn't matter, girly." The raptor snorted. "You've got my scent, don't you?"

Mika inhaled it and nodded. The raptor grinned and they separated. They stared at each other for a few moments and then were dancing, flowing into the music as if it were natural for them to do so. They spun and clicked claws, touched snout and tangled tail, rolled and swung between other partners, took on other raptors and their rhythms that touched tender spots of Mika, the raptor girl as her breasts were squeezed, nipples tweaked, and her increasingly aroused scaled slit was teased and parted by snout, tail, and claw. Before long, she was hot and ready, the need to breed at the forefront of her mind as she and that certain male were back together, and while Mika was thirsting for it, she knew it wasn't time just yet. They separated again and Mika found herself going through several partners: a lithe lime green raptor male with wild eyes that gave her a loving lick at the end, a white scaled raptor with a black back who moved fluidly despite the eggs weighing her down, and her raptor girlfriend who smiled at her knowingly the whole time with her golden eyes, leaving her with a squeeze of her breasts and whispered words of what was yet to come for her. Afterwards, the lights went down and at first she despaired, but then she smelled him among the tangle of raving raptors and when she found him the music intensified, faster and lighter.

And then it suddenly stopped midnote, and for a moment those raptors on the floor froze and Mika froze too, staring at what lay ahead of her, the raptor male that gazed at her expectantly. In that moment, she gazed into those golden eyes and uncertainty swelled up. She...she was a lady raptor, curvy and slender with a tail that was just as enticing as the breasts that bobbed on her chest from her unsteady breaths, but what was wrong with that? She was female true, one that felt the heat welling up from below that meant it was time to breed. It was natural and yet still felt wrong. Confused, she dug through her mind for the reason and remembered recollections of conflict, but those were fading away, returning back to the distant stars they belonged. Those thoughts were more wrong. She was a raptor, a raptor girl, meant to breed and please; why was she standing still when there was a handsome male nearby holding her chin, that she currently kept waiting?

The music resumed as if it had never stopped. She hissed a near purr and smiled as she fell to her knees, lewdly licking at his genital slit, gently teasing his member into movement as his tail continued to sway behind him, its stripes leaving after trails in the dark. He shuddered and she let out a happy squeal as his member emerged just as the music shifted again, slower and deeper and somehow more meaningful. Mika ceased her licking and for a few moments only listened to the music, her heart beating and throbbing in time with its beat, though she soon realized that wasn't the only thing throbbing. She smiled and stared up her saurian snout at her soon to be raptor lover. He nodded, she nodded, and then he was upon her, turning her around and forcing her on her front, claws latching onto her plump rear as he thrust into her. She gasped, he huffed and then they were at it, him thrusting in time with music, the music that was what was really important, the music that made it so easy for Mika to focus on all that mattered and that was love, the love she was currently making. She hissed, spurring him onwards as her inner walls clenched, talons digging into the ground while her foreclaws groped and squeezed at her breasts. He went in deeper and deeper, bending ever so slightly to bite tenderly into her shoulder as the tone of the music deepened, the impact of their actions seemingly reverberating throughout the entire facility. She hissed again, vision so unfocused with pleasure that all she could make out were the traces of neons in the writhing, breeding mass of raptors around here. Still they continued, further and further into the song, confusion and uncertainty fading, each passing moment one of triumph and pleasure and pride and love, and then they made it, their climax precipitated by a shudder and a grunt from the raptor above her.

The music winded down with a hiss of white noise that matched the collective hiss of every pair of successful scaly lovers, the beat behind it filtering into a hazy facsimile of what they had just finished. She shuddered, even as she lay there panting and pleased with the sensation of his seed spilled into her womb, it was as if the music allowed her to relive those last few moments of peak pleasure, spiking her satisfaction but also reminding her that she was in fact successful. She looked up to the male so close to her, blue eyes aglow with lust and love brightening into gold. Mika had found a mate, she had been bred, and it wouldn't be too long before her stomach swelled with her success, and if not? Well, she had been placed here for a reason. There was always another day, another male, another party. Plenty of time for her to fill her role while a war blissfully forgotten by her mind waged on a galaxy away.