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This is an illustrated novella that Nulkurrak has written for Crytrauv: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/crytrauv/

Description: This 6 chapter novella is the tale of Crytrauv, an arctic fox in search of his mysteriously-vanished tribe whose journey takes him through a mythical forest. Where there is magic, there are dragons, and the one who first finds him charges an extravagant toll to safely escort him through it.

But Crytrauv has his own sly plans, one which includes charming one of the dangerous, majestic, elusive beasts.

Rynthara the furred dragoness (c) is my character

Crytrauv the arctic fox (c) belongs to Crytrauv https://www.furaffinity.net/user/crytrauv/

Cover art done by https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/godzi15/

***A trek through the Nightwood chapter 4***

Sunken deep beneath the waves of her thoughts, Rynthara only noticed Crytrauv when the fox produced a low cough to rouse her faltering attention. The suddenness of the sound forced the dragoness to scramble onto her paws, her eyes inadvertently skipping to his groin, and to his shrunken malehood now safely retreated into his furred sheathe.

"I wouldn't have worn those garments even if washed," he said. It was only now that she noticed his bemused look at her sudden curiosity with his gender, one that she barely took note of even when erect.

"I made you a promise after all. Besides, my nakedness shouldn't trouble a dragon, let alone the rest of the Nightwood's denizens. If anything, they'll appreciate me more, now that I only wear my coat. Asha made sure to point that out to me."

Despite his reassuring words, his whiskers tensed, and his ears turned away from her, intent on draping along the back of his skull in shame at finding himself unraveled before her. However, Crytrauv was quite proficient at subduing whatever doubts he had beneath his playful nonchalance, and now, he tried to convince her--and also himself to a degree--that he always chose the right solution to any problem.

"We will encounter another of my dens during our trek, so I will help you replace that which you have lost," Rynthara said, more than willing to make up to him after this mighty embarrassing episode.

"I anticipated as much, but it's hardly necessary," he dismissed her with a sly smile as he dusted off the lines of dust that gathered at the edges of his now nonexistent garment, a mere memory that he'd soon wash away, should he wish to also bathe. "A bath is all I need, and I'm not eating a bite until then. I suppose the same goes for you, given that your problem is of a far more obvious nature than mine."

He pointed his nose at the area between her legs, where her newly emerged arousal caught the feeble light of the waning moon, glistening ever so softly. Her tail twitched with the urge to hide that shameful spot, but she relaxed it rather than allow it to conceal that well known fact from him. It was no longer needed after what she had witnessed; after what Crytrauv did for her. So, she settled herself back onto her side, one hind leg splayed over the grass, the other raised towards the sky to avoid spreading that damnable slime on the inner surface of her haunches as well.

"That doesn't look as comfortable, nor as convincing as you wish to make it look," Crytrauv noted, wrestling his eyes off her sex to favor her a meek glance.

Rynthara already suspected his veiled intentions, so she dismissed him without a second thought. "Gather your things. We shall fly as soon as you are prepared."

"My offer to lick you still stands," Crytrauv insisted, still evading her more than obvious swollen folds for reasons that baffled her mind. "We shall both bathe, yes, but I don't suppose that body of water is situated at a convenient distance for us, and flying while...well..." the word caught in his throat like a pesky fishbone that wouldn't budge, causing his eyes to widen in an instant as the realization subdued his wit. "Wait, flying? As in, me upon your back?"

"Yes," Rynthara responded, unfazed by what he implied. "It is the most effective way for the both of us to travel in our compromised state, especially now that you are also uncovered in more ways than one." She poked her snout towards his gender as well, mirroring his gesture from earlier.

"I...fine, I suppose," Crytrauv met her generosity with one of his customary shrugs. "Given your confidence, I assume you have conceived a plan while I fulfilled my promise, one where I don't just grab clumps of your fur and sink my claws into your hide as hard as I can."

She snorted in amusement at his version of flying. "Nothing of the sort. You took long enough for me to come up with a proper solution to our mutual issue, so I had plenty of time to carefully consider every detail."

"Hmm, I see," Crytrauv said while twirling the fluffy clumps of his neck fur between his fingers to straighten out the individual strands of fur. "Though I didn't take that long. At least, I assume I haven't. And if I did, it's because the roots of the vegetation here are particularly resilient. And many," he also added to further conceal his debauchery.

Quite endearing, but futile nonetheless. Just like her parents and siblings, Rynthara almost spilled the truth out to him, repelled by the idea of playing the games of bipeds, but something held her back. Curiosity, or perhaps propriety. Maybe also just a pinch of confusion derived from her observations. She couldn't quite place the reason, but the result still charmed her more than her previous habits did.

The more she glanced at the disheveled state of his groin, the more agitated Crytrauv grew, pacing around and turning his body this way and that so that she had as little access to that area as possible without giving himself away. For all purposes, he masked his deed quite well, his half-dried fur ruffled and unkempt, yet still retaining its fluid appearance rather than the jaggedness Rynthara anticipated, given the consistency of his seed. How did he manage to clean himself so thoroughly without rinsing himself with water? There was no river or stream or pond or puddle nearby, and he made for the forest with naught but his soiled garments, absent one of his containers.

After throwing her a few furtive looks, Crytrauv's willpower to protect his façade crumbled, forcing him to turn to her and explain himself. Only, instead of an elaborate reply, a whine fled Crytrauv's petite muzzle, his tail immediately fleeing between his legs to cover his malehood, his ears and eyes sinking to his left paw that idly clawed at the grass.

"It's far easier to keep a secret from humans. Their senses and intuition aren't nearly as sharp."

"And neither do they concern themselves with things more important than pettiness," Rynthara said, switching onto her haunches to give Crytrauv his due attention, now that he became the target of the great shame that had been inflicted upon her earlier. A perverse excitement flowed through her, willing her to treat Crytrauv with the same hospitality he showed her, to make him acutely aware of how it felt to become the victim of his own instinct. "Regardless, I appreciate your initiative, especially when you seemed so...little in control earlier."

The dragoness' toes curled, the tips of her claws drawing thin furrows between the strands of grass as her own sex quavered in want at obtaining the same release from the burden of her own instinct. No matter how nonchalant she tried to be, the weight of her own secret hung upon her mind, just like the sights and smells she had witnessed imprinted upon her sex, keeping her absurdly warm and moist.

"Loneliness does that to you. I mean, generally speaking. Not you as a dragon, or you as yourself," Crytrauv said, licking his muzzle as if to swipe away the nervousness clinging to his stuttering words. "It's just that..."

He lifted his eyes off her swishing tail tip to look at her instead. "I haven't been with a female in months, and my instinct, just like yours, cares not for partners and circumstances, so I intended to quell it before it creates grave misunderstandings between the two of us. That's all there is to this matter."

"Does it have to be a female? Isn't your kind particularly resourceful when it comes to alleviating such wants?" Rynthara added when Crytrauv's eyes narrowed at what her first question implied.

"Some are," he responded plainly despite the tension welled within his jaws, or the stiffness of his fingers that wanted nothing more than to ball into fists. There was a story behind this, but not one Rynthara intended to hear just now, so she remained silent to give Crytrauv the chance to find his own way out of this predicament.

"As you may have deduced, I do not count myself among them. It is not a belief, nor a particular preference, but the duty bestowed upon our respective genders. If I cannot find a female willing to accept my seed, then I prefer to let it spill during my dreams than encourage it to flow myself. Unless the circumstances beg otherwise," he concluded with a nod that came across as less than confident.

Rynthara beamed inwardly at hearing his philosophy. Simple--primordial, even--and yet so rare amongst his kind, where males no longer saw the female, but only what dwelled between her legs. Or so she had heard.

"For a male so keen on mounting a female, you seem quite proficient with the use of your paws. There is not a drop on them, neither is your sheath particularly filthy," Rynthara wove around the subject, narrowly avoiding in giving herself away.

Fortunately, Crytrauv showed no hint of suspecting otherwise. "It is not the first nor the last time it happens. Desperation requires us to forsake our very identity in order to mold into new settings, doesn't it? An experience best avoided, if you have the means."

"You speak so highly of a produce that replenishes quicker than you can milk it," Rynthara noted, and Crytrauv met her with a sardonic smile.

"Just because you are painfully aroused and outside of your heat, that hardly means you'd let any male mount you. Such is the case with me. I'd rather soil myself due to a particularly enjoyable dream and then wash my loneliness away than make the conscious decision of degrading myself further. For if I grow accustomed to convenient pleasures, then who is to say when I'll stop? If I will stop?"

He paused to shake his head resolutely. "No. That is not me. If tamed, desire can make you appreciate the opposite gender beyond trivial platitudes. Mutual respect is nurtured, bottled cravings are uncorked, and fantasies are fulfilled. I'm not about to throw all of this away for a moment of respite. Unless the situation asks for it, of course, like it did here."

Quite fortuitous for Crytrauv, to divest himself of his conviction right now. He must've met many other females during his travels, so why wait so long? Why wait for her to have an accidental, arousing dream to resort to a means he clearly despised? Pompous as he sounded, Rynthara couldn't help but appreciate his efforts, and also to respect his decision of going against himself for the betterment of their relationship.

Rynthara opened her mouth to further chide him for the coincidence surrounding his initiative, but she promptly closed it when a gust of wind caressed the wetness beneath her tail, reminding her of the carnal thrill she had also experienced while watching a male drain his seed for the first time. Worse, Crytrauv didn't picture his mate while doing it, nor a female of his kind. He fantasized about her, a dragon who would never become part of the vivid scenarios he probably conceived in his mind.

That should have bothered her. Enraged her, even. But the more she dwelled on in, the more fascinated she grew with the petite fox's ambitions. Not even dragons dared cohort with beings far above their station, and yet, Crytrauv somehow had the courage to do so.

"Very well then," Crytrauv broke the unnerving silence in her stead. "That matter settled, I suppose it is best that we set off while the denizens of the Nightwood are still asleep. Wouldn't want your animal friends to draw the wrong conclusions, eh?"

Rynthara swallowed back the temptation to poke and prod at Crytrauv's embarrassment some more as she pushed herself onto her fours. "Which is why flying you to the waterfall is the most efficient and safest option at our disposal. Wouldn't want the other dragons who eventually devour you to hear that I have taken your tribute without guiding you at least halfway through the Nightwood either."

She expected an equally clever remark from him, but instead, she was met with sagged ears and an involuntary whimper that fled Crytrauv before he straightened his back to recollect himself, his eyes once again sharp and calm.

"You can certainly fly, but give me proper guidance to find that waterfall as well. It is quite demeaning to carry a biped whose groin is marred by our combined lust," he invoked the first excuse that crossed his mind in order to slither his way out of this.

"You will help wash my back if that is the only reticence that holds you back from accepting my proposition. An easy task, now that I grew accustomed to what your hands can achieve," Rynthara dismissed that ridiculous worry, but Crytrauv failed to relent.

"I will also have to saddle you like a mule, otherwise I will fall, along with all the fur clumps I manage to pull off while trying to hold on to you."

Rynthara snarled at first, only to lick her muzzle to wipe away the offense she took, an old habit that she no longer had a use for. "Forsake that foolish notion. As I have implied earlier, I shall create a saddle by blending my magic with your instructions. It will hold you still and secure upon my back, so that none of my fur strands are damaged in the process."

"Great, but even the best saddle will chafe your back raw, given that you have never worn one. Think about it, Rynthara. It is hardly a comfortable contraption, unbefitting for a majestic creature such as yourself."

She appreciated his concerns, but not their timing. Alas, what more could she say or do to convince him? She saw him tap his foot idly on the ground before during arguments that grew longer than he expected them to, but this time, he also did it to mask the slight shivers that kept his fur on end at the thought of flying.

Then, it dawned upon her. As a dragon, the sky often felt more comfortable to her than the ground, but Crytrauv had no wings to guide him through the air, and neither did he harbor the necessary amount of trust in her to put his life at a risk he perceived as real.

"If the sky terrifies you such, then I will have to carry you on my back like a glorified mount." She tried to put as much disdain into her voice as she could manage, but the thought of challenging herself in this new way appeased to her more than she dared to admit.

"Carry me?" Crytrauv quirked an eyebrow at her, only to chuckle and shake his head. "On foot, I am just as agile as you are. More so, depending on the obstacles and vegetation."

A challenge! Just what she had been expecting for!

"I look forward to being proven wrong," she said, fluttering her wings and flexing each of her limbs in anticipation. "Perhaps you wish to further impress me by demonstrating your tracking skills. It shouldn't be difficult to pick the water's trail, and even easier to follow my prints if I somehow take the lead."

"I accept." Crytrauv crossed his hands over his groin, scouting their surroundings for the first clue of a trail that might indicate the way to the waterfall. His lips stretched into a confident smile when he found something, prompting him to grab his knapsack and strap it to his back.

"When do we start?"

"Once we settle on the boon for the victor, of course," she said, blinking in disbelief at the fox's surprised expression.

"That's not necessary," he waved a hand dismissively, approaching her side to ready himself for the race. "Truth be told, I never expected you to grant me more time than what I've bargained for. For all intents and purposes, I simply wanted to experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, at which I've succeeded solely because you allowed me to. It is clear to me that we both enjoy each other's company, or at least the challenges it brings."

His lighthearted grin stirred a strange feeling within her gut; a warmth that spread outward through her bones and limbs, pricking at her hide. It only lasted a second, but it shook her all the same.

"We are a curiosity to each other, nothing more," she tried to rationalize that eerie feeling. "Once the novelty passes, we'll forget each other."

"Hah, not likely for me," Crytrauv said, his hand freezing less than an inch from her shoulder. He immediately retreated it, glancing back at the spot he noticed earlier. "The moments I shared with you are--"

"That is the correct route indeed," Rynthara cut him off. "Should you encounter a predator of any kind, present them with one of the feathers from your knapsack, and they will immediately understand you are under my protection."

"Is that going to protect me from the other, possibly demeaning ways I may have to undertake to gain their trust?"

Rynthara favored him a sly smirk. "It all depends on how convincing you can be."

Without giving him a cue to start, Rynthara bolted straight for the forest, keeping her wings tucked tight against her back and swerving her tail during sharp turns between the trees to maintain her balance without decreasing her speed. The temptation to glance behind and see how Crytrauv fared ever nudged at the back of her mind, but the freedom granted by her leaps, twists and careful weaving between trees and under boughs kept her focused on the task at hand.

Not to win or shame Crytrauv by reaching the waterfall long before he did, but to wear herself out and forget about the slime lingering between her legs. Exertion masked that particular need of hers better than anything, the fire pumping through her muscles a blaze compared to the sparks of lust hovering across her sensitive, slightly swollen folds.

The sounds and scents of the Nightwood converged upon her, bringing comforting familiarity to one that had never spent so long away from them. It had been but one day in Crytrauv's presence, and she already felt slightly disconnected from her animal companions. She met Nilra at the base of the slope leading up to the Dawncrest Waterfall, and further up, she encountered a member of Vargra's pack, a dark wolf with faint, violet stripes across is sides and back. She named him Runt in honor of his submissive behavior, for he quickly scurried between bushes at the sight of her.

Signs of the Dawnfall Rapids began to emerge the further she clambered on the gentle slopes of the Dawnbringer Mountains. Down here, at the end of the rapids, the water flowed slow and lazy between blunt stones of all shapes and sizes, its height barely passing her ankles. Rynthara kept to its side, following a slant that carried her up to the Sunrise gorge, where the rapids picked up in strength. The rocky terrain on the narrow slope she climbed on forced her to decrease her speed and rely on her claws to find purchase between boulders.

At the end of the gorge, she made left onto a mossy patch that marked the beginning of the Dawnseeker trail. Footprints of all types and sizes littered it, all belonging to predators that had long scared the prey away from this route. The path wove between the gnarled, ancient boughs of the Dawndew trees, the tiny pockets of sap growing into the silver veins of the large, spade-shaped ultramarine leaves sparkling like miniature suns into the emerging morning light.

The Dawncrest Waterfall emerged at the bottom of a small-sized plateau surrounded by cliffs on all sides. As soon as she reached the cliffs overlooking it, Rynthara bellowed her roar for the entire valley to hear her temporary claim on the waters. The reason for it made her stomach knot into a painful ball, but given the nature of her situation, she had no choice but to bar the access of the other predators to this plot of land for the time being.

A few flaps of her wings carried her down onto the muddy shores of the lake pooling at the base of the waterfall, their cold softness immensely comforting to her slightly raw paw pads. After strolling along it until her heart settled in her chest and her breath evened, Rynthara dropped on her side like a boulder, panting and licking away the few lines of drool that escaped her maw during her prolonged dash. Down in the mud, her coat felt soggy and disgusting, but for the time being, she had no more strength to get up and refresh herself with a few gulps of water, let alone wash herself.

The muscles of her hind leg protested as she lifted a haunch to inspect her sex, finding it less flushed and barely moist. The scarce amount of arousal that had yet to harden in her fur lingered only in the narrow space between her lips, barely a concern anymore.

"Grrrrrhhhhhh...." The dragoness sighed loudly, shifting onto her belly and to rest her head against her shoulders and avoid staining it in the process. Her heavy eyelids draped over her eyes, the calming song of falling water lulling her to sleep in the muck like moss swines often did. For a moment, that prospect tempted her with its novelty, but her thoughts on how Crytrauv fared kept her from falling into slumber.

Pity. She should have done just that, given her advantage over the slow, overconfident biped. She could even wash and dry herself off long before his arrival, then find a patch of grass to lounge upon and get some well-deserved rest. And if he arrived earlier than expected, he would help soothe her paws by rubbing them.

Pushed forth by the thought of his hands on her pads, Rynthara strolled into the water, craning her neck to lap up the cool, refreshing liquid on the way to the aquatic curtain. All she had to do was sit under it, and the force of the crashing waters did the work for her.

Something stopped her on the way there. An errant thought--no, a crave--to enrich this experience beyond the usual. Crytrauv was a limited-time resource to her, one that had proven to be quite...resourceful. Why stop at a regular bath when his hands--the same that had treated her paws and body to such sensuous caress--could bathe her instead? To scrub her, and to stroke her down there until she surrendered her pent-up weakness to the cold, uncaring whims of the waters? These days proved the fallacy of her ignorance concerning this matter, and if she could both understand and temporarily rid herself of her slime at the same time, then she might just know peace.

But how to broach this topic to him while retaining her dignity?

Rynthara waded through the water in circles for a time, becoming more and more convinced that if she somehow helped wash him, he'd feel obliged to do the same.

"What...was that roar?" Crytrauv's barely audible voice came from behind. A quick glance at the shore convinced him to unburden himself and sit on the edge of the cliff, his paws dangling from the side. "And how am I supposed to go down?"

Rynthara pointed her tail to the far left, where the cliff shrunk enough to permit safe passage. "As owner of this territory, I am allowed to lay temporary claim to certain areas during certain periods of time, such as early morning or late at night, when the Nightwood is mostly still. Mated pairs usually do this," she concluded with the most important bit of information, too tired to continue.

"Oh. Then we better wash fast before the wolves I encountered come here."

It took him a while to get to the water, but once he did, he rinsed himself from the waist down in less than a minute.

"The water's yours," he said, turning his back to her, groaning when he realized that he forgot the knapsack up the cliff. "I guess that buys you enough time to finish yourself fully."

He grinned at her, then broke off into a run that left her completely bewildered. He wasn't supposed to bathe himself that fast! And he didn't even offer to help her!

After he recovered his knapsack and brought it to the shore, Rynthara watched Crytrauv patrol the length of the lake, his pink tip eager to emerge out of his sheath every time he glanced her way, yet forever contained by the male's stubbornness to appear vulnerable before her. He had also washed only from the waist down, as if he wished to put this embarrassing episode behind him far more than she did, which perplexed Rynthara a great deal. He didn't suffer the disgrace of having his privates wiped with a rag by an equally intelligent creature who understood--and sympathized--with his plight. Unlike her, he tended to his issue through discreet, elegant means which left no scent marks to follow, compared to the trickles of arousal she had leaked onto the grass during sleep.

And if that wasn't enough to explain his peculiar behavior, Crytrauv's self-pleasuring session remained fully and utterly private in his mind. She had been particularly careful in avoiding discovery, and a male who considered her a fantasy come true would have at least poked around for clues of the opposite, either to elevate that fantasy to new heights or to slay it before it grew too dangerous for him to keep pursuing.

Crytrauv did neither. Left with little else to do while waiting for her to summon the necessary courage to forward her request to him, he simply patrolled the shore, scouting the forest from afar, as well as the cliffs and the sky for signs of other predators while the waters idly rippled against the lower part of her legs.

"That is a futile endeavor," she commented on his redundant activity. "If a dragon wishes to bathe, you won't be able to convince them otherwise. Pools of water belong to everyone, regardless of territory. My roar is more like a request for privacy, not a demand."

"At least I can alert you of their presence, so that you can wade further into the water and hide your shame from them. Or you can simply wash yourself instead of going through this ritualistic waiting of yours. There's mud all over you."

She should have done that, but that came before the coolness of the cascading waters tempered her burning urgency of masking the product of her wanton lust. With every small wave caressing at her soaked fur, her agitation lessened, thus allowing room for her desires to grow unchecked. Acting on them, however, was an entirely different matter, so Rynthara further delayed this matter by employing the colorfulness of her wit. "Your presence is the only shameful thing in this oasis. No bipeds have washed away their dirt here, let alone their seed."

"You wouldn't have noticed it, had I not told you."

Rynthara snorted a wisp of smoke at that to keep the deceit alive long enough to gain the upper edge over Crytrauv. "But you did tell me, which means you feared my impending realization far more than you respect your pride."

"Be that as it may, you are the one who has brought me here, Rynthara; the one we are waiting after. I assumed we are both to wash away our respective disgrace, not frolic in the water and stare at the water lilies."

She pushed one of the mauve flowers in his direction, surprising the arctic fox when the plant traveled along the rippling water farther than its stalk should have allowed. He walked into the water up to his ankles to grab it, then turned it on all sides, muttering something under his breath before he dropped it with a panicked yelp.

"They're...not exactly..."

"Magical, yes," Rynthara pointed out the obvious. "After they are severed from their stalk, their bottom petals assimilate a small portion of the life energy that imbues the water and use it to nurture the plant. Were it not for the Nature Imbuers, this lake would be covered in lilies, so it falls to each of us to tend to the Nightwood. To you, they are naught but regular lilies, but for me, they are an aberration that should be kept in check."

"Otherwise the whole world would drown in enchanted water lilies..." Crytrauv's soft words matched his carefulness in picking the same flower from before, raising it to his muzzle to smell it. He drew back, coughing from the pungent perfume.

"H--heavy," he said, hacking a few more times. "And familiar."

"They have their uses," Rynthara confirmed his supposition. "Especially for those of us who can mold their life energy."

"Fascinating as that sounds, I doubt you mean to use these lilies as a way to make me accept magic, so I must ask again. What are we waiting for?"

When Rynthara's apprehension to share her honesty with him still kept her silent, the arctic fox crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head to the side as if to regard her as a curiosity, just like the water lily.

She didn't know. Nor did it matter. This Crytrauv might have seemed like a better prospect than the previous the day before, but after what transpired this morning, she refused to let this opportunity go to waste.

"I wish that you assist me," she finally unburdened herself of that want while braving the shallows nervously, the soft bedding of sand beneath the tranquil waters as relaxing to her paw pads as Crytrauv's touch. "As already proven, your hands are effective at a multitude of tasks, including more menial ones like scrubbing a dragoness' fur. And only the fur," she emphasized so as to not appear too eager before him.

Crytrauv didn't seize the opportunity right away either. Instead, he cocked his head in bewilderment at her proposition. "The closer I am to you, the harder it will be for me to rein in my urges."

Rynthara snorted at the ridiculousness of his concern, yet she turned around nonetheless to ease his apprehension. "I will have my back to you and my head forward. If I can't see your malehood, then it does not bother me."

A quick glance behind revealed the fox scratching at the back of his neck instead of springing into action, glancing at her sheepishly, not quite convinced of her intentions. She had never seen him so rattled, so uncertain of himself.

So afraid of being perceived the wrong way.

Something stirred in her then, a foreign, gnawing feeling that warned her against pressing this matter further. So, without any witty remark, she walked further into the water until the waves kissed the fur of her breast.

"See?" Crytrauv said from the shoreline, seeking a patch of sun to dry his coat. "You are perfectly capable of washing yourself. Go under the waterfall and let its waters fall on you. They'll do a better work than my hands."

His reticence to offer her even a modicum of help should have soothed all of her remaining worries regarding his uncouthness, but instead, it troubled her more than it should have. His brashness entertained her, and his courage to drain the lust out of his system inspired her to glance past the wall of self-doubts she had erected around herself. For better or worse, his unconventional methods helped her not only understand his kind better, but also herself, and if they came to a jarring stop, so would the rest of the opportunities he provided.

"Had you doubted yourself from the beginning of our partnership, I would not have entertained your ridiculous propositions, and we would both have missed an opportunity at sampling each other's cultures and habits. Turn to the side while you wash me, or force your member between your legs or behind your tail if you must, but I will have your hands assist me regardless."

"Is that a demand?" Crytrauv taunted her, sparks of excitement permeating his voice.

"A request," she clarified the matter for him, turning around to face him. "One for which I offer nothing in return."

Luster returned in Crytrauvs eyes, his ears and tail once again perking in excitement. He waded through the deepening water to reach her, his groin disappearing beneath the surface sprinkled with water lilies, along with his hips.

"This does count as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so how could I possibly turn it down?"

His sly smile infuriated her more than it should have. Almost against her will, her tail whipped through the water, drenching a gasping Crytrauv from head to groin.

"You didn't accept it quick enough," she hissed.

"Because I needed to be certain you're aware that neither of us might stop at just this simple bath!" Crytrauv retorted, harsher than he meant. His whimper of submission proved as much, as did his sagging gaze.

He didn't need to explain himself further to her. She already knew of the desires he harbored for her, but by the Nightwood itself, did she want to hear it from his lips! To help unravel his tongue, she took a step forward, only for her heart to skip a beat when he raised his arms to stop her.

"You are not ready," his grave, solemn words contrasted with the playful, nonchalant ones of Arnalvast from her dreams, making her stomach tighten at the reality of her situation. "But I am. Always have been, and this difference between us is too...broad for me to pursue this matter forward."

"Have it your way." Rynthara turned her back to him, splattering another miniature wave over him for his stinging honesty. She made her way towards the waterfall, ready to bask in its crashing waters and put this ridiculous matter behind them. She already obtained the answer to her dilemma from him, so this outcome might just have saved her of the disappointment she might have incurred otherwise.

"Wait," he stopped her, rushing after her. "I...will explain my reasons at a later time, but until then, I should still give you the help you requested.

"Should we go under the waterfall?" Rynthara asked of Crytrauv when he made it to her side.

"Not necessary. We shall leave the soaking for the final stage of the process, called the rinsing. For now, I'll require proper footing and the use of my hands, so it's quite ideal that the water doesn't pass my stomach."

His muzzle pointed at the water's surface, speckled by verdant leaves carried from the willows growing on the farther edges of the lake. "Lower yourself in the water, so that you moisten your fur."

Rynthara glared at his request. Given the chill permeating the water and the boon she asked of him, the dragoness expected more from Crytrauv, and he knew it.

"Or you can lift your wings to give me access to your body, so that I can splash water over it. That will take care of the sudden dunk you are obviously afraid of."

Her wing smacked him over the back of his head for that. "Apologies. I'm used to doing this alone, as you well know."

Crytrauv snorted in amusement, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Depending on how you like this, you'll get used to this."

The arctic fox lowered a hand in the water, then splashed it over the upper portion of her foreleg. He did that a couple more times until her fur dripped, then began to weave his fingers along her muscles, using the tips for light scrubbing motions. Every now and then, he sprinkled more water to help guide away lines of dust Rynthara scowled at.

"You may bathe often, but scrubbing's as essential as it is pleasant for us furred ones. It doesn't start off this way, but the more you grow, the more you appreciate the little, trivial things, even more so when somebody you care about tends to you."

Rynthara's breath shuddered from the ripples of prickling warmth dispersing through her frame as a result of Crytrauv's skill with his hands. He squeezed, gently scratched, and softly caressed every muscle that hid beneath her short, white and purple fur, using his claws and finger pads to both stimulate her body and rid her of tiny particles of grime hid under her coat.

"Her name was Jhahani, and she was to be my future mate. She was strong, bold, stubborn and with a sting to her tongue, not all too different from you." He flashed a warm, genuine smile at Rynthara filled with emotion that tugged at her heart, almost drawing a gentle croon from her. Fortunately, she restrained that impulse, but Crytrauv must've found something in her silver eyes, for he continued ever softer, just like his touch across her side, under her wing.

"She was also three years older than me, a Proven member of our tribe, yet curiously alone. Males sought her, yet none made it past her sharp wit, clever remarks, and fighting spirit. Our wolf neighbors mistook her for a male during one of her visits to them, for she had the bearing of one. But she had her tender side, closely guarded, and all it took was the right approach to get her to show it to you."

Rynthara's wing twitched and tensed in its frame when Crytrauv massaged the muscle attaching it to her back, eager to envelop him in its protective embrace. However, this wasn't her tender side as much as it was her possessive nature. This fox fascinated her at times, and therefore, she felt the irrational urge to avoid sharing him with other dragons, should one spot them together.

"The night before my Proving, she bathed me just like I bathe you now. I've washed her multiple times, but she never offered until then, most likely because she understood that I, a fox more feminine than her in a number of ways, might not make it back. Unproven foxes cannot mate, so for our last night together, she caressed, squeezed and kneaded my malehood while I stroked her surprisingly moist femininity with just the tip of my finger. She had to lean over my barrel to keep from falling. That was how sensitive her weak spot was."

Crytrauv's hands froze on her flank, his gaze absent as he stared at the drifting leaves being carried away by the slow, calm waves. Curious to test a theory of hers, Rynthara made use of his momentary lapse to fish for his cock beneath the surface, her pads finding it more than halfway out.

"EEP!" Crytrauv yelped, stumbling against her, hugging her in a similarly ungainly fashion as Jhanani did with the barrel from his story. "What was that for?"

Rynthara drew her head back slightly from his wrinkled, snarling muzzle, taken aback by the fire smoldering in his amber eyes.

"You stopped," she said plainly as she settled her paw back down, pinning her ears back when she realized just how ridiculous that sounded. "And I was also curious to see if you males can grow from a tale of stimulating nature."

"Just as easily as you moisten from a dream you have, as a matter of fact," Crytrauv said, sneaking his hand under her belly to cup her nethers in his palm in a similar manner.

They both froze at that. Crytrauv's eyes widened in shock as the realization beneath his playful gesture struck him like a thunderbolt, while Rynthara's lips contorted instinctively to bare her fangs at him. Either of them should have broken contact with each other, but for a few bizarre heartbeats, they remained like that, him stunned, her hissing her shallow threat at him.

"I...I didn't mean it to..." he mumbled while his fingertips instinctively stroked at her slick, bare, heated flesh, not all too dissimilar from his massage meant to alleviate the tension built within her muscles. Only, it wasn't her foreleg that he fondled, but her very sex, the short, feeble motions of his fingers causing the dragoness to rock and stumble for purchase, quaking from neck to tail from the intensity of the eerily pleasurable feeling dispersing through her. Sudden tremors rushed through her underbelly muscles, causing them to contract and relax so fast her head turned light due to how hard this addling, mysterious sensation struck her.

Blessedly, Crytrauv's slime-covered hand retreat in great haste upon noticing that, allowing Rynthara to suck in a deep, calming breath as her spread toes sunk into the smooth sand, her claws helping to secure her in place, lest the waves washed away her feeble form.

"I'm well aware." Her voice rattled, the words distorted by equal amounts of nerves and ecstasy derived from this all to unique experience. She swallowed back her onrush of redundant emotions, blinked to clear the haze from her eyes, and pressed a forepaw down on the ooze-covered hand Crytrauv found himself starting at to force it into the water. "Dragons are quick to take advantage of each other's weaknesses. I am not surprised that you did the same."

"I...I shouldn't have," the arctic fox's resolute eyes met hers. "I didn't ask for permission. I went against the very promise I made earlier, and I...I am sorry," he ended his train of thought, as if there was no more strength left in him to confront his shame. His ears sagged, his tail curled around his waist, yet his gaze remained fixated on her, unwilling to turn away from his impending punishment.

In retribution, Rynthara flicked her tail across the water, causing him to gasp and stumble back from its invigorating touch.

"We don't punish our young for going back against their word or not heeding ours the first time, and not even the next few times. If they refuse to learn, they are left in the wilderness to their own devices, to make their way back home with their own strength. For if they know better than their parents, then that means they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves."

She didn't mention that one of the parents always kept a vigilant eye on the disobedient hatchlings, for Crytrauv was already used to the harsher ways of his people.

"I'm grateful," he said, only now daring to lower his head. "And I swear upon my life that such oversight shall not happen again on pain of my voluntary departure from your side."

Excessive, but commendable. So much, in fact, that Rynthara's blood sizzled at the opportunity that he had presented her with. Not only did he stoke her conviction to go through with her ploy to conquer her doubts, but he also presented her with an excellent chance to test his willpower right here and now.

"So will it be," she said, turning around and arching her tail across her back to present him with her slick vulva. "For now, I wish for you to wash me, so that we can both forget this slight of yours."

The fox almost turned away from her, afraid of another wave of frigid water, only to lick his lips and find himself transfixed by both sight and request. His hands rushed to his chest, fingers twiddling idly as he glanced back and forth between his task and her, suspicion narrowing his eyes.

"I wasn't supposed to touch you there. We agreed--we determined--that my hands wouldn't stray where they don't belong."

"And still, they did, thus revealing intentions that you tried to withhold but couldn't properly restrain." Rynthara said, shifting her weight from side to side to emphasize her thinning patience in no unclear terms.

"I...it was just a simple..."

Rynthara's head swung to face him, her pupils thin, her lips tense. "Are you going to continue washing me or not?"

"Yes," Crytrauv said, swallowing back whatever irrational modesty held him back. His shoulders straightened, hands reaching for the base of her tail to rub it reassuringly. "I suppose I can't convince you to just lower yourself into the water and let the waves solve our dilemma, hmm?"

She would have, but the mystifying nervousness still fettering his frame abolished every reservation Rynthara held up to this point. She might not know why Crytrauv inexplicably chose to distance himself from her after insisting to lick her lust away, but his change of stance shifted the balance of power, giving her extra reason to push him past the boundaries of his imposed limits.

"You didn't overlook the ache in your cock either earlier this morning, so don't ask me to do what you hadn't."

With that, she turned back to the waterfall to hide her satisfaction at completely obliterating any chance of resistance from his side. The mystery of his approach to his task filled her with electrifying giddiness, similar to the times when her parents took her to a new and distant portion of their territory, only twice more potent.

Her wings shifted in their sockets, toes kneading at the riverbed restlessly as Crytrauv continued to massage the sides of her tail, showing no signs of descent.

"You are to use the same method from before," she clarified that matter for him while inspecting the jagged cliffs from which the water rolled down.

"It's not the method, but the outcome." Crytrauv squeezed her tail slightly, transferring some of his reluctance into her. "What if the warmth of my hands proves better than the coolness of the water? What if you show no signs of wishing me to stop in time before you..."

For some strange reason, he couldn't voice that undoubtedly familiar word upon his tongue.

"Do everything that you consider necessary until I tell you to stop." She came to a halt, her chest tightening, her stomach drowning in nerves that tried to hold her back, like they had always done so far.

"And if I don't instruct you to stop, you are to continue up until and throughout my peak. If that is what males of your kind do," she added, only to instantly regret this proof of blatant ignorance on this matter.

Even Crytrauv chuckled upon hearing the last part of her request, his strokes along the base of her tail growing smoother, more confident. "I made a promise, and I intend to keep it, but since this is your first time, I'll--"

"Spare me the details and proceed," she cut him off, pushing against his back with the bottom of her tail to bring him closer to her. The more he delayed this matter, the more uncertain she grew, and the more her control over this matter wavered.

"As you wish."

Rynthara gasped when one of his palms landed right next to her sex without giving her a chance to get acclimated to his touch. The other followed, both of them rotating in circular patterns, teasing her with the promise of tenderness that a splash of water immediately swept away.

"Rrrah!" she roared, jolting forward from the jarring sensation. She unfurled her wings for extra balance as she pivoted on her hindlegs for her quick and sudden turn to snap her jaws inches from his petite muzzle.

"I am washing you," Crytrauv shrugged his shoulders with utmost nonchalance, not a thread of fear or panic clouding his eyes.

"Wash me after I..." Rynthara trailed off, her features softening in an instant. Unable to hold the gaze of the fox who was acutely aware of how easily she gave in to her need for release, Rynthara presented him with her back a second time, her mind hard at work at salvaging her remaining dignity. "There is little point to cleaning me now, given that you'll have to repeat the process."

"My thoughts exactly," Crytrauv accepted her decision, for better or worse. Was she still in control? Or had he tailored this situation in the exact way he wanted? His doubt troubled her, but no more than his unwavering stance in the face of her complaint, as if he readied himself for it long before it came.

As soon as his hands returned to her lower belly, all of Rynthara's thoughts channeled into the foreign sensations building within her. Part of her still wished to stay in the present and deal with the matter at hand, but the gentle throbs of her flesh distracted her, and the tingles scattering along her lips made her restless and eager to finally rid herself of this burden that she had held onto for far too long.

Her haunches instinctively buckled when the slightly rough pads of Crytrauv's fingers traded the furred surface surrounding her sex for bare, soft, oversensitive flesh. As an introduction into the stimuli another's touch roused when landing upon that most vulnerable area, Crytrauv slowly flattened his palm over her genital slit, covering it almost in its entirety.

"Rrrrrrrrh," came Rynthara's sizzling rumble, her claws digging into the sand for purchase as waves of elation began to pulse outward from deep within her, traversing her insides, converging upon her ripe, slightly swollen gender. He only just cupped her rift, and she already felt on the verge of breaking loose from how fulfilling it felt to be touched by someone else down there.

And that was only the beginning. Crytrauv's palm set into motion, beginning to slowly drag up and down her vent, the fox employing the slight coarseness of his pads to not only scratch away the feverish itch permeating her lips, but to stimulate them beyond the limits of her expectations.

She could have stopped him. Although silver-tinted tears appeared on the corners of her scrunched eyes and her ceaseless growl turned husky from a lack of respite from the simple but relentless pleasure, Rynthara still possessed the strength to swing away her hindquarters from him; to wrestle that highly exposed weakness from his grasp, and to continue her fight against the burdens of her instinct.

Yet she didn't, for Crytrauv hooked four of the fingers of each hand around the edges of her vent, applying subtle pressure to spread her open, so that the slightly abrasive pads of his thumbs could caress the first set of fleshy, malleable, shallow but awfully sensitive ridges that provided texture to her nether walls.

Rynthara stumbled for purchase, loosening a series of choked moans as spasms seized her lower spine, forcing her hindquarters to shove against the source of that all too delightful sensation, to invite it further inside, so that she could relish its full potential. Her wings began to flap erratically to adjust for the sudden and jarring motions, and her tail arched all the way across her back so as to remove any obstacle that might get in the way of the male who bestowed such otherworldly sensations upon her.

Despite the short, sudden motions of her haunches, Crytrauv stuck to her like a leech, refusing to abandon her sex or stop the rapid motion of his thumbs that braved just a little deeper inside her. Rynthara's efforts to shake him off combined with her humping motions to receive him deeper inside her, until her struggles suddenly came to a halt as the overwhelm from Crytrauv's ministrations overtook her mind and senses.

Pushed to the brink and unable to dislodge him, Rynthara's hindquarters lowered in a similar way with the stance she took while making her water, her young, untested mind adopting the first familiar pose that graced it. With her sex hovering just an inch above the surface, Crytrauv grabbed her tail with one hand and used the other to cup her soaked, sweltering sex in order to keep the frigid water from dispelling her euphoria. All the while, he grinded the pads of his palm against her trembling lips, giving her no quarter, flaring the flames of her passion into an uncontrollable blaze.

With a sharp, keening roar, Rynthara erupted into his hand, the unrelenting shudders traversing her canal so potent they dizzied her. To keep her body from wobbling and crashing, the dragoness dug her claws as deep as she could into the riverbed, keeping her eyes scrunched throughout the whole blissful ordeal that turned her body weak and her throat raw from the prolonged cry that simmered into a growl towards the end.

Once she regained her breath, Rynthara blinked the tears back from her eyes, slowly raising her hindquarters into a more dignified position. Crytrauv's hand remained glued to her nethers despite the generous amount of fluid weighing it. She knew she expelled a great deal of it, for some of it clung to her sex while the rest continued to drip drip drip into the cold, uncaring waves.

"You did great," Crytrauv tried to compliment her for her initiative while he continued to slowly caress her vulva, but Rynthara couldn't even bring herself to nod. Everything was a blur, like a dream that lost most of its clarity upon waking up, and try as she might to recall it, all she managed to do was gather together the pieces. The unrelenting throbs of her nether canal, those warm pulses of warm essence that fled her body, and above all, the all too intense euphoria that had claimed her body, carrying her to a plane of existence beyond the physical one.

"I...I wish to lie down a moment before you wash me," Rynthara said, turning to watch Crytrauv milk the last remnants of her climax off her tender lips.

"Of course," he said, retreating his hand and watching longingly at the film of thicker, silvery ejaculate that marked the product of her first orgasm. She had always known that something came out of both male and female during such acts, but she didn't expect hers to be quite so...regular, almost dull.

"I'll join you after I rinse myself," he said, redirecting his soiled hand to his back to hide it from her in case its sight repulsed her. Maybe it should have, but in her fatigued state, all Rynthara focused on was the slow, methodical shuffle towards the shore, her wings stretched halfway for balance.

Yet, despite her urgency to lie down until weakness fled her, Rynthara still sneaked a glance behind to see if Crytrauv kept his word.

Of course he didn't. How could he, when the stronger, sharper scent of her climax already wrapped around his mind? It only took a glimpse of his tongue dragging along his palm for Rynthara to turn her head back to the shore, a sly smirk of satisfaction tugging at her lips, heart soaring in her chest.

***The End of chapter 4***

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