FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As nice as it was to sleep without an alarm, Hunter found himself waking up early. Perhaps he was finally getting adjusted to the new schedule. He relished the feeling of just rolling around in bed without the looming feeling of deadlines. A deep breath revealed that his nose had grown accustomed to the smell and tuned it out, giving him the mental clarity to mull on the events of the last few days.

Em stirred below him and he heard her stretch with a long sigh.

"Good morning, Em." He toggled his tablet on to give off a little bit of light.

"Good morning, Hunter." Her head loomed in the darkness, eyes blinking away the remnants of her sleep. "Gonna hit the lights."

She flicked on the lights and quickly dimmed them, saving both of their eyes from the ache. Her tail coiled around her, nearly encircling her sitting form.

"Smell not too bad?" Even in the dim light, Hunter could see the green of her face flush.

"No, no, not at all. I think I got used to it." He knew that it would last only as long as he stuck around her.

"I'm glad." Her claws clicked on the floor as she stood and turned to the door. "I'm going to take a shower. See you for lunch?"

"Sounds good." He laid back down and waited for the door to close before sliding out of bed. While it was true he had gotten accustomed to the scent, it was still present. It lingered on the edge of his sense of smell, but his body had no problem reacting to subconscious stimuli.

Hunter skipped the last few rungs of his bunk ladder and winced as his paws touched the cold floor. He took his time preparing for the shower as he tried to will away the raging problem that had been plaguing him as of late. A bit of thigh flexing helped and he slipped out of the room for the warm, cleansing showers.

There was a maintenance crew that was taking advantage of the relatively empty barracks to perform some upkeep. Hunter quietly acknowledged them and slipped into the showers.

He was halfway through rinsing soap out of his fur and deep in thought about the sudden increase of the word "cute" in relation to a dragon when he heard a commotion outside. There was a thud that reverberated through the floor and some shouting. Hunter shut off the water and perked his ears, trying to hear what was being said, but the voices faded before he could tune in.

Since the commotion stopped as quickly as it started, he assumed that the maintenance crews had dropped something. Still half covered in suds, he grabbed a towel and covered himself modestly. He really hoped that if anyone needed help, it would only require one hand.

"Hey, what happened?" Hunter asked the maintenance workers that were in the hallway. Nothing seemed broken, but they had stopped working and were talking excitedly.

"Scuffle in the dragon showers, sir." One of the wolves pointed to the communal dragon showers. "Said it was nothing, but there was quite a bit of blood. They seemed fine though."

"Was one of them green?" Hunter's blood ran cold despite the hot shower.

"Yeah, the big one."

The wolf kept talking, but the words fell on deaf ears as Hunter ran to the other shower room without a second thought. The more sensible part of his mind wanted to know what a naked wolf would do against a dragon, but the rest of him didn't care. That problem was future Hunter's problem.

His wet paws left footprints on the dirty floor and slapped against tile when he reached the other shower. The smell hit him first. Metallic and acrid. The water that trickled between the tiles ran pink as he turned the corner.

"Em?" Hunter called as he entered the much larger shower.

The dragoness sat under a spout to his left, letting the water run down her bleeding head. Her eyes flicked open and she turned to him with a surprised look.

"Hello, Hunter. Didn't expect to see you here." She looked down at his towel. "Especially not dressed like that."

She had several wounds on her shoulders and head that was making the water run red, but nothing he could see looked particularly severe. Her casual reaction also comforted him about the nature of her wounds.

"What happened?" The room was a chaotic mix of smells and it was difficult to sort through them. Blood, dirt, water, soap, heat, musk.

"The easiest way to describe it would be aggressive flirtation?" She stepped out from under the water and it flowed down her sides. The bleeding mostly stopped without the constant stream of water which was a good sign.

Hunter sighed in relief and held up a finger as he stepped back out into the hallway. He hollered at the wolves that he knew were just out of sight and asked them to grab the large medical kit from the wall.

"Everything okay, sir?" The two of them handed over the large box.

"Yeah, she'll be fine." He took the first aid kit from them, struggling the bear the weight with just one hand. "Thanks."

"Okay, so you were saying? Aggressive flirtation?" Hunter returned to the bleeding dragoness.

"That seems unnecessary." She nodded towards the medkit.

The box hit the ground with a thump, splattering bloody water onto the waterproof walls. "It's a precaution. What happened?"

Em sighed, obviously irritated that her attempt to avoid explaining what happened had failed. Hunter opened the case and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic spray.

"I got... Propositioned." She watched the wolf inspect the wounds.

Hunter carefully checked each of the cuts as she explained. The smaller ones just got sprayed, but the one on her side and one of her neck would probably need more treatment. "And does that usually end with bleeding?"

The dragoness winced a bit each time he sprayed a wound. "I guess that depends on what you're into."

"I'm being serious, Em." He did a full orbit of the dragoness and once he was satisfied that he had found all the cuts, he set the spray down and returned to the medical kit for bandages.

"And I'm telling you that isn't necessary. I know that you must think that I almost got taken advantage of, but if that were the case, there'd be a dead dragon in here."

"So, it's a cultural thing?" The dragon bandages were absolutely massive and difficult to manipulate with one hand. Luckily, Hunter found a clip inside the kit and fixed the towel around his hips.

"A little bit? We still fought and I don't like him, but his sin was being an asshole, not attempted rape." Her tail flicked across the tiles, sending water splattering across the room.

"Good luck selling that to the Captain." First, Hunter took the gauze and placed it over her wound, allowing the material to stick to the wetness of her hide and the blood. Then he placed the large bandage over it and pulled the activation cord. It adhered to her side and secured the gauze against the wound.

"It's already sold to the Captain. He's known this would be a possibility since I joined the unit." She inspected his work, nosing at the bandage to check for any gaps in the seal. When Hunter had done the dragon first aid training, he hadn't expected to use it this soon. "As long as no one ends up in the hospital for longer than a day or two, he won't press the issue too much."

Her explanation still didn't sit right with Hunter. He understood that he was looking at it from a wolf point of view, but regardless of the cultural dynamic, she was attacked and hurt. Though, he didn't particularly want to know what the other dragon looked like at the end of the fight. From the state of her wounds, he knew that most of the blood in the showers didn't belong to Em.

"Hunter?" Her voice snapped him out of deep thought and he realized he hadn't said anything while applying the second bandage.

"Sorry, just processing things." Hunter ran a finger along the edges of the bandage and stepped back, leaning against the cold wall of the shower. There were no benches in the dragon showers, but for once, Hunter found himself wishing for stupid military design decisions.

"If it makes you feel better, you could guard me while I shower from now on?" It was undoubtedly meant as a joke, another of Em's attempts to lighten the mood, but it seemed like a good idea. Truth be told, there was little Hunter could do if another dragon got aggressive, but he hoped that at least his presence would deter them.

"Okay, as long as you don't mind." It amused him how uncomfortable the thought of watching her shower made him. She never wore clothes and he frequently had to reach under her tail, but add some water and he felt like he was watching something scandalous.

With the larger wounds treated, she returned to her still-running shower cubicle and shut off the flow by pressing one of the large pedals on the ground. "I still have some blood on me. Mind helping me wipe it off?"

"Sure, give me a minute." Hunter pushed off the wall and looked around. As far as he could see, the only towel in the room was the one around his waist. Luckily, the first aid kit had some sterile sponges, saving him a trip to the other shower. He peeled the protective wrapper and walked over to a shower. Dragon showers were new to him, but there were three pedals. On/off, hotter, colder. How complicated could it be?

"You mig-" Em's words were drowned out as Hunter pressed the activator pedal and was immediately drenched in water.

The wolf stumbled out of the torrent of water with his original mission of wetting the sponges complete, but with severe collateral damage as well. He shook himself out of instinct and coughed out the water that got into his nose, clearing his eyes of wet fur so that he could see.

"Very graceful." The dragoness snickered.

"Learning experience." He intentionally stepped closer to her and shook again, spraying water in all directions in an inescapable bombardment. When the world stopped spinning violently, he realized two things. The first was that she had just held up a wing and blocked most of the water. The second was that somewhere along the way, he had lost his towel. He looked around and found it soaked, floating over the tiles and towards the drain.

"Aw, I thought you were starting to get comfortable with me." She flicked her tail and brought it down on the runaway towel, giving him the opportunity to pick it up without chasing it awkwardly along the floor.

Hunter could only imagine the view he was giving her as he leaned over to rescue the waterlogged towel. Much to his disappointment, he found that the clip had been lost completely and the weight of the fabric would be too heavy to stay wrapped on his hips. With a defeated sigh, he tossed it towards the wall where it landed with a splat. At least he could use it later when he went back to the wolf showers.

He could feel her gaze on him and he did his best to not mention it. Without saying a word, he wrung out the sponges and got to work wiping the blood off her hide. She didn't mention the soap suds that still clung to his fur or the fact that he was naked. She just watched and Hunter wasn't sure if he wanted silence or a snarky quip from her.

With the silence settling and the adrenaline fading, Hunter was presented with a different problem. The way he had reacted was more than just fear and a desire to help Em. Beneath it all, there was a simpler emotion. He knew what it was, but he wasn't sure he was able to admit it quite yet.

Complicated. Complicated was a good word to use.

"What's on your mind?" Em's nose bumped against the back of his head as he worked on clearing her green side of blood. The warm breath ruffled his damp fur and made his ears flick unconsciously.

Hunter quickly formulated a response to avoid speaking his mind. "How scandalous this would look if someone were to walk in on us."

She laughed and it made him smile as the pleasant sound hit his ears. His tail wagged ever so slightly and he hoped she wouldn't notice.

"As far as I know, we are pretty much paving the way for a lot of riders. Rules, regulations, and probably a lot of paperwork will be created because of things we do."

"Hopefully the first thing we create isn't a rule against interspecies sharing of shower spaces." Hunter switched sides and carefully cleaned around the bandage. The thin material was fairly durable, but he didn't want to test that claim.

"Why is this weird?" She asked, making him pause to think about the question. "You shower naked. You shower in a communal space with other wolves naked."

"I don't brush Fang's back in the showers." That made her stop. They made eye contact and burst into laughter at the mental image.

"I suppose that's fair. Well, my excuse is that I lack opposable thumbs and flexible limbs."

Hunter finished up the cleaning and they both stepped under the large dryer that was near the entrance. It blasted them with warm arm, removing most of the leftover water on Em and almost knocking Hunter over. It didn't last very long which made sense, but it did do a good job of making Hunter's fur slightly less damp. He retrieved his soaked towel, wrung it out, and wrapped it around his hips again.

"I'm going to finish up my shower. Then I'll get another towel for our paws." The water ran clear again, but after standing in the bloody mixture, his paws still felt dirty.

The two of them passed the maintenance wolves again.

"Can you guys call for the cleaners? The dragon shower's going to need a good decontamination. Let them know there was quite a bit of blood." Hunter asked. They were gawking at her wounds and quickly stopped staring when he spoke.

"Can do, sir. We'll go ahead and block it off for the time being." The two of them hefted their ladder to use as an impromptu barricade and set about their assigned task.

"Thanks." Hunter and Em continued to the wolf showers. Much to Hunter's surprise, Em squeezed in with him and sat near the door as the space near the showers themselves would be too small for her to be comfortable.

He gave her a quizzical look, but didn't question her. Instead, he threw his wet towel into the dirty towel chute and returned to his shower cubicle. It annoyed him that it still felt embarrassing considering the last few minutes. Culturally ingrained norms were a bitch.

"I didn't know you were into wolves like this, Em." Hunter said jokingly as he washed away the last of the deeply embedded suds from his fur. He spent some extra time scrubbing his paw pads with a good handful of soap.

"Like I said, I'm a one-wolf kind of dragon." She chuckled.

It felt like Hunter was overthinking things, but it felt less like a joke this time around. Maybe it was the tone of her voice or the way she looked at the wall like the tiling was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

The wolf rinsed himself off and switched to the drying cycle as thoughts raced in his head. His heart fluttered and he both hated and loved what that meant. He needed time to think. Unfortunately for him, the dry cycle completed and his fluffed fur signaled that he was completely dry. He stepped out of the cubicle and retrieved the clothes he had abandoned earlier and an extra towel.

With his modesty restored, he dampened the towel and added some soap. "Goodness, I pamper you, don't I? You think any of the other riders do this?"

She lifted a paw for him as he knelt down to clean them. "Probably not. You care a lot more than most other riders I've met. Some even view dragons as equipment to be maintained and nothing more. They rarely last long in the program."

"Shocking." He rubbed the sudsy towel between her paw digits and along the rough pads. "The other dragons might get jealous if they find out about this."

"It's a precaution. Can't be too careful when it comes to bloodbourne pathogens." She set her paw down and lifted another. From the gentle purr that could be felt through her entire body, he could tell that she was enjoying it.

Jokes aside, the towel did turn a light shade of pink by the time he was done cleaning all four of her paws and he felt relieved. Both because it felt like a conclusion to the exciting events that had transpired, but also because he was no longer crouching under her tail. Hunter threw the towels into a clear bag and left it by the other bins.

"Okay." He let out an audible sigh as the last of the adrenaline and tension left his body. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Stings a bit, but nothing unbearable." She leaned down and bumped him with her nose, something that had become frequent enough lately for him to brace himself. "How are _you_feeling?"

"I feel like that question should be reserved for the dragon that's bleeding." Hunter laughed as the two of them left the wolf showers. He had the post-adrenaline rush jitters, but he thought he had been doing a good job of keeping it check.

"You looked a bit shaken when you showed up. I imagine you weren't just stunned at the sight of a dragoness in the shower."

"Well, I felt a small quake and then was told that you were in a fight. I thought someone had died, of course I was a little panicked." The two of them ended up back in their room. Em plopped down in her bed and Hunter leaned against the wall by the door.

"I'm sorry I worried you." Em rested her head on her paws and splayed out her wings.

"You don't have to apologize for the actions of others."

Across the room, his tablet chimed as he got a message. He carefully stepped over Em's wings and read the text.

I just got an alert about what happened. Nim checked into the hospital with lacerations and wounded pride. I'm assuming Alci won the fight and has already been patched up, regardless, let me know how she's doing and any comments she might have about what happened. Hunter, I am approving you for open carry on base. Armory personnel have been notified that you are cleared for a sidearm and smacks. I'm hoping that it'll serve more as a deterrent than anything else.

In other news. The shuttle was having some minor mechanical issues on top of some bad weather just outside the base. I have extended the leave another two days. You and Alci stay safe and let me know if you need anything.

It was signed by Captain River.

"Leave's been extended two days. Issues with the shuttle and some inclement weather it seems." Hunter started to type his reply.

"Guess we get more time to ourselves." Em replied from behind him.

"The Captain also asked about how you're doing and asked that you send him any comments about what happened." He typed that she was doing fine aside from a couple of cuts that he had taken care of.

"Oh, it's from the Captain? I'm amazed word got to him so quickly." She sat up and looked over his shoulder, reading the message and seeing his reply. "Tell him that I don't have anything to add, but would be happy to tell him more if he has questions."

Hunter added what she said and sent off the reply.

"A gun seems unnecessary." Em said as Hunter returned the tablet to its cubby.

"Like the Captain said, it's more for deterrence than anything else. With smacks, I doubt I could really fight a dragon." He returned to his usual spot by the door and sat down.

"Do they hurt?"

"Like crazy. It'll leave welts under the fur, though I doubt it'll do anything to a dragon aside from pissing them off." Hunter had memories of basic training and getting peppered with the non-lethal training rounds. "I once took a round to my butt and one to the front of my hip. I couldn't sleep normally for a week because I'd roll over a welt and wake myself up."

"Color me curious, but not curious enough to actually get shot by one." She chuckled.

They sat in their room until Em got hungry, which admittedly didn't take very long. The two of them ventured out to eat and Hunter took a quick detour to pick up the weapon from the armory. A bored looking wolf handed over a pistol, a holster, and three magazines. Hunter secured the holster, then slid two of the magazines into the loops on the belt. The third clicked into the gun before it was slid into the holster.

Hunter thanked the wolf before returning to Em just outside the armory. The weight of it on his right hip was a constant reminder of how unusual this situation was. He did his best to ignore it.

Throughout lunch, Hunter found himself looking across the table at the dragon he had been lucky enough to get paired with. They didn't talk as they ate. They didn't need to, as even silence was comfortable when in each others' company. It gave time for Hunter to confirm what he already knew.

His chest tingled whenever he looked at her. He found himself smiling and briefly splaying his ears whenever they made eye contact. He had intentionally sat on his own tail, but the furry tip that poked out wiggled, hoping to tell everyone within eyesight how he felt.

Hunter loved Em. The last of his mental resistance buckled and gave into that fact. It was not just simple lust or his mind submitting to the idea of being inseparable from her. Having acknowledged that, he started to struggle with how it would make things more complicated. He shifted in his seat and felt the holster catch slightly on the edge.

Well, more complicated than it already is. He thought to himself.

The wolf almost immediately regretted accepting what he was feeling as it opened the door to countless more mental struggles against the logical part of himself. Should he tell her or just keep it to himself? One could foul his entire partnership with Em while the other could eat away at him, fostering frustration and resentment. What were the rules on that kind of relationship? Were there any? Were they physically compatible? Did she mean what she said in the shower or was he just over-analyzing a joke?

"Hunter?" Her voice dispersed the endless questions that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Hm?" He looked up from his empty tray at the dragoness, making his heart flutter slightly.

"Ready to head out?" Her tray was also empty aside from a couple of scraps.

"Yeah, ready when you are." Hunter collected the two trays and walked them over to the collection area. When he returned to the table, the two of them left the mess and wandered out onto the base again.

They wandered aimlessly in silence, walking to the barracks, then to the runway, then back to the barracks.

"Let's spend the night out." Em said out of the blue.

"Out?" Hunter asked.

"Camping." She replied as if it was such a simple task.

Hunter knew from survival training that deserts were not to be trifled with, even with proper preparation and gear. Preparation, Hunter already had as sniper school involved extensive training in all environments. Gear, however, was a bit trickier.

"I don't any equipment for that except for clothes and a gun." A gun with non-lethal rounds, at that. He had never done a longer desert excursion with a dragon, but it was better safe than sorry.

"I can take care of that. Go get the bed and our helmets and meet me outside the mess." She turned and walked away before he could answer or object.

Hunter trusted Em, so he obliged without chasing her down to tell her it was a bad idea. He returned to their room and hefted the dragon's gear. It was clunky to carry for a long distance and he found himself walking blindly as he clutched the bed with both arms. He made it to the mess after only a single collision and waited for the dragoness to join him.

The door to the mess slide open and Em stepped through carrying a small crate in her jaws and several pouches draped over her back.

"What's all that?" Hunter asked as pulled the bags off of her.

Em spit the crate's carrying handle out and lowered herself onto the ground to grant him easier access. "One emergency survival kit, one medical kit for wolves and one for a dragon, water, rations, dinner, a heat lantern, extra power packs, a tent, and a bottle of whiskey."

"How did yo-" He paused as his brain caught up to the list she just rattled off. "A bottle of whiskey?"

"Distilled by Wood Splinters Distillery down in the colony. Apparently they're the official distillery for the officer's club." How casually she talked about the equipment she had somehow obtained only created more questions for Hunter.

He asked them one by one as he pulled the bags off her back and equipped the bed. "How'd you get all this so quickly?"

"I was in logistics before joining this program, remember? I pulled some strings." The dragoness just watched as he secured the bed and then began the long process of securing each and every bag to her sides. He had to guess the weight of each one and try to balance the load to the best of his ability. "As for the whiskey, Captain River told me I can access the officer's club if I wanted. Never had a reason to until now."

Hunter wasn't sure that the Captain meant she could take a whole bottle of whiskey, but he wasn't going to argue with her about it. "And... The colony has a distillery?"

She nodded. "Yup, it's run by one wolf who started out distilling before the colony ship was completely disassembled."

That part was the most believable to Hunter. No matter the circumstances, people always had time to make alcohol. "I mean... I'm still not totally sold on sleeping in the desert, but I guess I'm too far along to back down now."

"It won't be out in the open desert. I have a spot." She said as he secured the last bag.

Hunter still wasn't thrilled, but he helped her don her helmet then wore his own. After double-checking everything, he dragged the crate away from the mess hall into the open and mounted the bed.

Em took off gracefully as always and circled around to snatch up the crate with a paw. Each beat of her wings took them further from base and into the desert. Hunter vaguely recognized the route they were taking as they headed west, but once the base was out of sight, it was only a guess.

His guess turned out to be true as the familiar buttes came into sight. She curved gently around the largest one they had a picnic on and headed to one of the smaller outlying towers of stone. Near the bottom, a small opening led into the rock face. The landing was a bit jarring as Em folded her wings and torpedoed into the cave, skidding to a stop just before she collided with the wall.

"Sorry for the bumpy landing. There's no lip outside the cave to land on." She lowered herself and let Hunter dismount before turning to face the entrance.

"I'm in one piece." Hunter replied as he peered off the edge. It turned out to be significantly higher than he had anticipated and he wondered how she would take off again.

The cave was a bit of a mystery. Hunter wasn't an expert on geology, but he could tell it wasn't formed through natural means. At the same time, there was no sign of previous habitation aside from the roughly hewn rock walls.

"Why is there a cave here?" He asked as he began the process of stripping Em of her gear and cargo.

"I'm not sure. My best guess is boredom."

"Bored people do weird things." Hunter pulled his helmet off and regretted it immediately. Even without the filters active, the helmet had the smell of breath and metal and during their flight, his nose stopped filtering out her scent. It assaulted him with renewed force as he pulled bag after bag off the side of the bed.

"Yes they do. I found it the same day I found these buttes." She watched him as she had nothing else to do during the process.

He soldiered on and finished unpacking the gear as his nose got acclimated with the smell again. They picked a relatively flat spot and started to set up camp. More specifically, Hunter set up camp and Em watched and offered advice. In the end, Hunter managed to create a fairly comfortable little sleeping spot for the two of them. He repurposed the tent to create a curtain across the cave entrance. It kept the wind and the sand out and allowed them to use the rest of the space as their shelter. The heat lamp turned on low gave them light and the unfurled sleeping bag gave Hunter a bed. The emergency supplies, empty bags, and the dinner crate were set to the side.

"It cleans up nicely." Em commented from her spot on the ground.

"Yeah, more comfortable than I thought camping in the desert would be. He sat down on the spread out sleeping bag and pushed the heat lamp away until he couldn't feel its radiating warmth.

The dragoness settled around the wolf, giving him a warm seatback to lean against. They did what they had done so much of lately and just talked. Hunter wasn't sure whose idea it was, but the bottle of whiskey was opened. The smell burned his nostrils and he could tell that the bottle lacked the benefits of time and experience. It burned just as much going down and Hunter scrunched his nose. It was whiskey, but the recipe needed some work.

Hunter took turns with the bottle, pouring some into his mouth then pouring some into the dragon's moth. He never would've guessed her to be a whiskey person, but she seemed to enjoy the unrefined taste.

"Excuse me, watch the fur." Em said suddenly as she turned her head to face the back of the cave.

Before Hunter could ask for clarification, she let out an odd cough and spewed a small jet of flame that splashed off the stone wall and extinguished just as it hit the ground. The wave of heat washed over Hunter and made him recoil slightly.

"Sorry, some alcohol built up in the glands. Had to clear it out." A bit of flaming goo dripped from the corner of her mouth and sizzled before being stomped out with her paw.

"Oh wow!" Hunter couldn't hide his excitement. His tail wagged, his ears perked, and his eyes shone like a pup that had been shown his first slab of real meat. He had read about this ability that dragons had and even knew the mechanics behind it, but to see it in-person was something else entirely. Due to the dry nature of the environment, dragons were forbidden to spit flames anywhere on base.

He took the opportunity to learn more about this alien ability, pestering Em with questions about how it felt and how she did it. It ended with him literally sticking his snout into her mouth to see the glands.

When his curiosity was satisfied he sat back down and laughed. "There should be a saying about sticking your nose into the most dangerous part of a dragon."

"I'm pointy all over. Tail could give you a good thumping too if you aren't careful."

"I said _most_dangerous."

Before he knew it, the sun was starting to set and the temperature was quickly falling. They turned up the heat lamp and ate dinner. The bottle of whiskey was finished and the two of them lay there, warm, slightly inebriated, and full of food. There was no topic too mundane or too intimate between them. For the first time in recent memory, he didn't feel on edge. There was no one to impress this far out in the desert.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he awoke feeling uncomfortably warm. His eyes slowly opened and he blinked away the dryness. At sometime during the night, Em had put a paw on his lap, trapping him against her side. He gently ran his hand over her paw and yawned. The sun was rising again, casting light against the curtain and warming the air inside quickly. Hunter reached over to the sunlamp, straining against the dragon's paw to turn it off.

He managed to slap the button and shut off the extra heat before settling back against the dragoness who sighed and shifted slightly without waking up. With more sleep eluding him, he slumped against the warm hide and gently stroked the paw that was trapping him.

He noticed that despite the curtain, the sand and dust had gotten in and coated them with a thin layer of fine powder. His paw wiped a streak off of her hide and he watched in amusement as the dirty green gave way to the normal jungle green of her hide. It made him wonder if there was more variety to dragon hide. Wolves had a wide variety of fur color and pattern, but he had only seen dragons that were one or two colors at most. It was a question for a dragon geneticist, but the idea of a spotted dragon made him smirk.

The wolf lost himself to his thoughts and before he knew it, the dragoness stirred behind him.

"Morning." He looked at the groggy dragon. She had drank most of the bottle the day before, but he wasn't sure what it would take to get a dragon truly drunk.

"Good morning. Ready to pack up and head back?" Em lifted her paw and freed the wolf who winced as pins and needles filled his legs.

"I'm ready for a shower." Hunter massaged his legs until the feeling returned to them bit by bit.

"No kidding." She looked at her paw and noticed the stripe he had given her. "Trying to make me striped?"

"Just trying to imagine you with different patterns." He laughed and pressed a hand to her side, leaving a nice imprint in the dust.

"I think I would look alright in just about any pattern, though I'm not sure about this dusty brown color." Her tail curled around and drew random shapes in her own hide.

Hunter stood up as his laughter died down and helped her. A couple minutes later, she was probably one of the strangest looking dragons in history. Shapes, squiggles, paw prints, and even Hunter's nose print adorned her hide, leaving her hide a strange quilt that was hilarious to look at.

But like so many other pieces of art, it was meant to be temporary. Hunter equipped Em with her gear and the bags, wiping away some of the designs. It didn't take very long to load up all the equipment and double check all the straps and before the sun had reached its zenith, they were ready to leave.

"I didn't mention this yesterday, but getting out of the cave is going to be fun, isn't it?" He meant it sarcastically as he knew there was no way for her to unfurl her wings until she was outside of the cave. The cave that didn't have a lip for her to stand on.

"Oh, you know it. All set?" She looked back with a visible grin.

Hunter checked his straps again and tapped the top of his helmet. "Fuck. Sure."

She immediately took off towards the mouth of the cave and took a leap out into the nothingness. Hunter's stomach lurched up into his throat and he gripped the bed with all the force his limbs could muster. The ground was approaching quickly.

Her wings unfurled with an audible snap as they caught the wind and started to level them out gently. Hunter went from free fall to pinned against the bed in a matter of moments and didn't draw another breath until she was back to level flight.

"The crate was heavier than I thought." She said as she flapped her wings.

Hunter looked down and saw that they were barely above the surface of the desert. "I feel like you're just trying to impress me at this point. I already know you're a good flyer."

"If you're impressed, I'll just say that's what I planned." Em chuckled as they regained some altitude.

Hunter found it funny that too close to the ground and too far from the ground were both scary to him. There was no middle ground where he would've felt safe. "Impressed and a bit scared"

"Then you'll love this."

Before Hunter could ask, she angled up and beat her wings furiously, gaining altitude and the steepness of her climb. All he could do was hang on as she tipped past vertical and started to flip backwards, straining the straps that kept him from plummeting to his death. She made a full loop and raced back towards the ground, pinning Hunter to her back again. Off in the distance, he saw a small object falling, the gray color contrasting against the usual color of the desert. As they raced towards it, he realized it was the crate that she had been holding.

Em intercepted it perfectly, grabbed the falling box and continued on their course like nothing had happened.

"Some warning would be nice." Hunter yelled, even though his helmet mic would've picked up on a whisper. "Was that the box? When did you let go of it?"

"When we peaked. I fairly confident we had the altitude to pull it off even with the additional weight."

"Your confidence astounds me." He righted himself on the bed. With the constant death-grip he had, he knew was going to have joint problems sooner rather than later.

"Do you calculate every step when you walk? What about when you're carrying a backpack?" She asked, turning her head to look back at him. Her eye shone just as bright beneath the transparent shield on her helmet.

"Of course not. Doesn't mean I don't trip and smash snout once in a while."

"Exactly. I've crashed a few times, but I can fly without thinking about it most of the time. I do have an unusual weight balance right now, though."

"You keep saying that. Are you calling me fat?" He reached up and pat her on the neck to let her know that he was joking.

"Not at all! I just have a crate that isn't very aerodynamic. Anyways, you look perfectly handsome for a wolf."

From his position on her back, he could barely see her smirking. "That last part was unnecessary."

The both of them laughed. Hunter could tell that the mic and speakers were high quality because the laugh that came through sounded just as warm as he was used to. It made him shiver in the heat of the desert and sigh happily as they soared through the air.

About midway through their trip, the wind picked up and reduced visibility. It kicked up sand and small granules tapped against the eye protection on his helmet. Hunter lost all sense of direction and altitude, however, Em seemed perfectly comfortable. Each gust of wind caught Hunter off guard, but he could feel her adjust to each one just moments after it hit them, smoothing them out before Hunter could even register the direction it had come from.

Hunter cheated just a little bit and pulled up his helmet's compass which showed that she was still flying straight as an arrow. Despite the adverse conditions, he felt safe with her.

A slight jump in his stomach told him they were descending, though the wolf wasn't sure why or where. "We're landing?"

"Of course. We're here." She replied.

Hunter heard the crate hit the ground and slide to a stop behind them as the ground appeared out of the sandstorm to greet them. Em landed and jogged to a stop. A sudden gust of wind hit her still-spread wings and shoved her to the side, threatening to topple her.

"Where's the base?" He asked as he quickly undid the buckles to dismount.

"Barracks are dead ahead. I'll lead you there."

Em shielded him with her folded wing and the two of them walked side by side through the sandstorm. The huge building seemed to materialize out of the wall of sand. It made him extremely thankful he had Em, otherwise he would've been lost to the storm.

During severe weather, the automatic doors were disabled which meant Hunter had to battle the strong winds to slide it open. Em's help made it significantly easier and the two of them slipped inside, slamming the door shut to stop the endless stream of sand that followed them in.

The wind roared outside and the sand skittered against the bare metal, making the inside unusually loud for an empty building. They took a moment to collect themselves and looked at each other.

They burst into laughter again as they both assessed the damage the storm had done. Hunter could feel the grains of sand that were sifting through his fur and could only guess at what he looked like. Em on the other hand didn't have fur to catch sand, but it didn't stop her from being covered head to toe in a thick layer of fine dust.

"I wasn't aware I had a red dragon for a partner!" Sand fell off of him with each heaving laugh.

"Well, I think you're looking for a different dragon because my rider has a lot more brown and white fur.

His tail wagged, leaving a lingering cloud of dust behind him.

"We should probably go shower. I can feel our continued existence causing a headache for the janitor."

They walked to the showers, leaving a trail of paw prints that could easily be tracked through the barracks. The weight on his hip reminded him that the other dragon could still be around and he excused himself for a moment to dip into the wolf showers. He grabbed a stack of towels and pulled a bottle of shampoo out of the dispenser before rejoining Em in the halls.

"Looking for any excuse to watch a dragoness shower?" There was that odd flirtation again. Hunter laughed it off.

The two of them went to the dragon showers. It had obviously been cleaned and unused since the incident the day before. Thankfully, it seemed that the crew had left behind some equipment packed away in crates, giving Hunter a surface to put his stuff where it wouldn't get wet.

Em's equipment was caked in dust and sand which caused small clouds of red to explode off whenever Hunter jostled it too hard. He removed all the gear and tossed it hastily into a pile as it would need to be unpacked and cleaned anyways, but that was future Hunter's problem.

He picked a shower near the crate and hesitantly stripped down. A couple showers down, Em started her shower, covering the tiled floor in a muddy water. Hunter placed the gun and holster on the edge of the crate. It was outside of easy reach, but if he found himself in a situation where he desperately needed to go for it, he doubted non-lethal rounds would save him.

The dirty clothes were tossed into a piled on the ground as they were going to get thrown into the wash later anyways. He grabbed the shampoo and activated the water. Inch by inch, he stepped into the torrent of water and had to brace himself against the force of it. It blinded him and soaked him instantly. He stepped out, wiped the water out of his eyes and lathered himself with soap before taking a deep breath and stepping back under the water.

He found it oddly relaxing. It almost felt like swimming. He was surrounded by a gentle pressure and the warmth of the water. It drowned out all his senses.

Hunter stepped out of the water and gasped for breath. He repeated this several times until he was satisfied that there was no more soap or sand on his body. Another benefit was how much faster the dragon shower was. Wolf showers took a while to soak his fur and the weak pressure meant he had to massage all over to get rid of the deeply embedded grime or suds. The dragon showers just blasted it all away, though some spots required more attention.

Em was working on her wings, moving around to position the limbs under the stream of water so that the layer of dust would be washed off the smooth membrane. Since it seemed like he had time to kill, he sat under his shower, just on the edge of the curtain of water. It poured onto his back without blinding him, letting him keep an eye on the entrance to the showers.

Without really meaning to, Hunter watched the dragon shower, interested in the process more than anything. Soap was impractical and apparently unnecessary as the water pressure did a fine job of cleaning her of filth. The finished both of her wings and worked down. Wings, head, neck, back, tail. When the water ran clear, she rolled onto her back and let the water clean her belly.

It was amusing to watch. She twisted and wriggled and rolled under the water like a puppy playing in a fountain. They briefly made eye contact and Hunter gave her a smile before returning his gaze to the entrance.

It amazed him how far he had come with how comfortable he was with Em. Hunter from a few months ago could never have imagined that Rider training would involve him sitting in the dragon showers naked, watching his dragoness clean herself. Yet here he was, getting pounded by a torrent of water as he waited for Em to finish cleaning herself.

He looked back over to Em and his breath left him. She was laying on her side under the shower, though she was no longer focused on cleaning herself. Well, not in the usual sense. She was curled like she was sleeping, though her head was between her hind legs, one of which was held up.

It immediately filled all the gaps in Hunter's knowledge about his partner's physical looks. The lighter green did indeed go all the way down her chest and belly, meeting with the underside of her tail. Her tongue traced gentle circles around her slit and her eye flicked to Hunter before returning her attention to what she was doing.

Hunter felt himself flush and he briefly looked away, but he it wasn't long before the burning curiosity got to him. He watched, both entranced and a little ashamed by his lack of self-control. The shame took a back seat as she stopped licking herself and looked over at Hunter again, almost as if she were ensuring that he was still watching.

His body ran hot, hotter than the water was and he felt a familiar tingle run through every nerve. Teasingly slow, she pressed her tongue on her lower belly and trailed it down. Her lips were slightly swollen with arousal and they had a red tinge to them, making her slit stand out. Em's long tongue finally reached her sex, lingering over her clit before pressing into her depths.

The display made Hunter shudder. He knew how warm the dragoness was and could only imagine the heat of her pussy. A ragged breath escaped his snout and he glanced down to confirm what he already knew. The tip of his flesh was peaking out of his sheath, on display with no way to conceal it. At this point, he was too far along to feel conscious about it.

Her tongue traveled the entire length of her slit, spreading her lips slightly. She started to lick herself repeatedly, slowly repeating the motion as she let out a quiet moan that could barely be heard over the sound of running water.

The wolf's tail flicked with pent up energy as the rest of his cock slipped from his sheath. The dragoness' golden eye looked over at him again. Just like Hunter could see all of her, she could undoubtedly see all of him as his red flesh was on display, contrasted against his lighter belly fur.

Her tail curled around and joined her tongue. She used the tapered tip of her tail to spread her lips, exposing more of the pink flesh that Hunter had been getting glimpses of. The long limb rubbed against her as she gave her tongue a break, making her groan and pant as her arousal covered the hide in her juices, only to be washed away by the water.

His nose picked up on the smell of her lust as it saturated the room and instead of trying to ignore it, he drank it in. The forbidden sweet smell that he had been fighting for so long filled his lungs, making every nerve in his body tingle.

Em paused and flicked her tail back and forth, catching Hunter's gaze as it returned to her slit and gently prod against it. The tip quickly slid into her depths and inch after inch of her tail vanished into her body. She gasped and moaned as thicker parts of her tail penetrated into her. Hunter saw her shiver in pleasure, relishing the feeling of her tail for a moment before pulling it out.

Hunter felt like he was going to explode as she teased him. He could hear the sound as her tail plunged into her, the wet squelch as she bottomed out and pulled out. She gave him a few moments to soak in the view before her tongue rejoined her tail. Em focused her attention on her clit, licking and gently suckling it as her tail continued to thrust away.

Her sounds of pleasure were quickly becoming more ragged and he could tell that she was close. The wolf's body knew what it wanted, but his mind disagreed and it was driving him mad as he sat and watched, frozen with indecision. He desperately wanted to walk over to her and take over for her. To feel the one place on her body he hadn't felt before and to feel the intimate touch of another after so long.

But he knew he couldn't. The most obvious reason being that getting caught stuck knot-deep in his partner might cause issues. Then there was the moral issues and the emotional issues. Maybe she was doing this under the assumption that he was keeping watch.

Why couldn't anything be simple? Hunter sighed and rubbed his eyes. He loved Em, but kept running it through his head, double, triple, quadruple-checking to see if he was reading his emotions right, because right now, it certainly just felt like lust.

Em's moans were becoming longer and more frequent and Hunter could tell that she was nearing her climax. Her motions became a bit more disorderly as her body shuddered in bliss. Her tail continued to work in and out, but she gave up on licking to let out ragged moans. Toes curled and her wings flexed as she lost herself in the pleasurable sensation that Hunter could almost see coursing through her body.

Bit by bit, the orgasm abated and he watched as she seemed to relax, sighing contently as she slowly pulled her tail out of her slit. A strand of her arousal followed her tail before getting washed away by the water.

They made eye contact and her face darkened as she lowered her hind leg.

"Feel better?" Hunter asked, trying to act like he hadn't just watched his dragon partner masturbate in the showers.

"Much." She righted herself and let the water wash her fluids off of her tail.

Without saying anything else, the wolf stepped out of the water and shut it off with a paw before turning on the dryer. The blast of warm arm almost toppled him, but it did a wonderful job of removing a lot of excess moisture.

He joined a resistance group to fight, and yet, here he was trying to unpack the intricacies of fucking a dragon. There were no rules regarding this, but it still felt wrong. Hunter did his best to bury the complicated feelings and pretend like he had seen her do that dozens of times.

When he felt relatively dry, he shut off the dryer and fetched a towel to complete the drying process and cover the raging erection he had been sporting for the past several minutes.

Em was already dry and ready to leave by the time he was done. Benefits of hide, he supposed.

Hunter realized he had forgotten a clean change of clothes in their haste to take a shower, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and hoped that nobody was around. He rolled up his dirty clothes in the wet towel, gathered the rest of his gear, then walked out with the dragoness.

He could feel her gaze on him and the thin towel, but didn't say anything. Lucky for him, there wasn't a soul to be seen in the barracks. After a quick stop in the wolf showers to drop off the borrowed items and dirty clothes, they returned to their room. The silence between them wasn't awkward or tense, but an energy hung around them that couldn't be ignored. A conversation was inevitable. Hunter knew what it would be about and had practiced it in his head so many times when he lay awake in his bed or in the showers.

After putting on a fresh set of clothes, he did his best to distract himself. The dragon gear was retrieved from the shower and unpacked. Hunter was tempted to clean everything, but that would be handled by the quartermaster and Hunter didn't have enough towels.

Em watched quietly, though she seemed to be deep in thought as well. Equipment maintenance took up a significant portion of the day, something that Hunter didn't mind as it gave him an excuse to minimize conversations with the dragoness. He cleaned the bed after removing the packs, stripped and cleaned his sidearm, and organized everything that needed to be returned in the hallway outside their door.

It gave him valuable time to think, though nothing useful came of it. He knew he loved Em, but he didn't know if or when he should tell her. At least he knew he shouldn't right after such a sexual display as it might be taken as just another male lusting after her. His imagination came up with as many possible scenarios to how she would react and very few ended well, though he knew that was the pessimistic side of him speaking.

The storm raged on outside, limiting them to indoor activities. They wasted time as best as they could. Hunter finished cleaning and started to read, though his eyes glazed over and skimmed over the words. Having already taken a shower and outdoor travel inadvisable, they tore into shelf-stable rations that were stored in the common area for situations like this. Conversation was minimal, with most of their discussion being about how awful the rations were. Hunter still shared a bit of his, as the dragon rations were nothing more than nutrient bricks.

After what felt like forever, bedtime approached. Without much to do, both of them decided to turn in early.

Em turned off the lights and they both said goodnight to each other. Unfortunately, Hunter wasn't sleepy in the slightest. In fact, with the absence of a distraction, his mind was running wild. Part of him tried to draw the line in the sand and establish an exact moment when he would talk to Em about his feelings for her. Another part was vividly replaying what had happened in the shower.

He had always had an active imagination, though that wasn't what he wanted at the moment. His treacherous mind recreated the scene with impressive detail. The sight, the sound, and the smell. The worst part was that his imagination was filtering out details to make his fantasy more appealing. The sound of rushing water faded and despite the fact that his nose was accustomed to her scent, he could recall it.

Hunter let out shuddering breath as his body stirred to the fantasy.

Dammit, dammit, dammit. Why was nothing easy?

He felt the last of his resistance crumble away as his heart slammed away against his ribs. The wolf knew he would probably regret this, but there was only one way to know for sure. Moving as slow as he could manage, he reached under his blanket and gently grasped his erect cock, eliciting a quiet sigh of pleasure.

It had been too long.