niromi
By Nightshade
Colin Young copyright Chris Castillo
Colin Young rubbed the back of his neck as the door to his quarters swished open. He stepped inside and sighed deeply. "Ohhh, what I need is a nice long sonic shower," he said as the door closed after him. As he came in, he saw his roommate huddled over the cabins small desk on the side of the room. A tired smile creeped onto his muzzle as he leaned back against the wall. "Hey Niri," he said in a tired low tone. The artic wolf looked up from her work and smiled back. Niromi-shiro; the ships pilot and Colin's good friend. 'Niri' for short. "Hey Colin, long shift?" she asked. Colin murred softly and nodded as he raised his arms over his head stretching his 23 year old dire wolf body, scratching his black fur. "Yeah, tons of comm. traffic from Ganymede station." She shook her head and stood up stretching, her paws clasped behind her back and making her chest jut out. He couldn't help but watch the way her body rippled when she did so and just kind of stared at her form. She was a very attractive artic wolf, her green eyes like emeralds set in her white fur, her hair a mane of deep black. She sighed and rested a paw on her hip as he looked back to Colin. "Have we passed the turbulence at the orbital point yet?" The question brought Colin back from his study and he shook his head to clear it. "Um yeah, Harvey did a good job plotting the right flight path." Niri nodded. "Yes he's a good pilot." Colin pushed himself off the wall and slipped past her. "Not as good as you," he muttered next to her ear. She smiled and wagged her tail slightly, giving him a wink as well. "Sweet talker." He chuckled. "Hey, isn't that what friends are for?" Colin asked with a smile of his own. The clock on a nearby shelf chimed and she hurried to get ready. "My shift is coming up soon, catch you for chow later?" Colin nodded and sat down on his bunk. "Sure thing." He then remembered something. "Oh and watch out for Swathe. I saw him buying flowers today. I'll give you two guesses to whom they're for, but you'll only need one." The mention of that name made her sigh heavily. "Thanks for the warning Colin, ill be sure to keep an eye out." She then gave Colin a brief smile, turned, and left for the bridge. As soon as the door hissed closed again, he stripped down for his shower and tossed his dirty clothes into a laundry chute. The clothes would find their way to an area of the ship for cleaning and then delivered back to the room later on. He padded into the bathroom and stepped into the cubicle, his fur all black except for a splash of white fur on his chest, he pressed a button and murred deeply as the sonic waves began to sweep over his body, cleaning his fur and soothing away the stiffness of his muscles.
"Hey wait up!"
Niri closed her eyes as she stepped into the lift and suppressed a sigh. She idly held the door and a tall bobcat squeezed in. "Thanks love," he huffed, breathless from the sprint to the lift. She nodded absently and pressed the deck number on the lift panel. "Welcome," she groaned inwardly. 'Goodie, Here we go again'. The bobcat smiled at her. "Have a good rest period?" Niri heard him but ignored what he said. He spoke again. "I uh sent a surprise to your quarters, I hope you like it." More silence. "Hey listen, they're showing a Deyna Otter film tonight and I saved us a couple of seats. Would you care to join me?" he said with a pleading tone. Niri looked to the feline with a neutral expression on her face. "Thanks for the offer Swathe, but I've got plans already." The truth is she would have rather taken a space walk without a suit then be with him in a dark room. Swathe looked crestfallen and drooped his ears. "Oh, um, that's okay, another time then." The lift reached her deck and she stepped off a little faster then usual. "Have a nice shift." Swathe called after her. The doors closed and the lift started again. 'Plans huh?' he snarled to himself. 'Plans with him.' He clenched his paw tightly and snarled as he threw a fist against the wall, his claws digging into his flesh and drawing a few drops of blood from his palm. He growled and opened his paw, holes in his paw with blood oozing from them. 'I'll have you Niromi, one way or another. I love you Niromi, I would never hurt you.' He fished out a rag from his pocket and grasped it in his bloodied paw, the pressure stinging it slightly and soaking the rag in crimson. 'But if I cant have you, then no one can.' The lift doors opened again and he stepped out onto the mess deck.
Colin had just got on a chow break and was eating in the mess hall when the bobcat walked up took a seat in front of him. "Hey, Blackie," the bobcat said in a low but calm tone. Colin sighed and set down a fork as the bobcat's presence pretty much killed his appetite. "Hello Swathe. She shot you down again did she?" Swathe blinked and tilted his head slightly to the side. "How did you know?" Colin smirked and tried to resume his meal "Lucky guess." The bobcat scowled and leaned over the table fairly close to the wolf. "You think you're so smart don't you? That you can just take her from me? You just wait, I'll have her yet." Colin looked at him set his paws in front of him on the tabletop, paws clasped and fingers laced. "Why do you do it? You know she doesn't like you that way and you're just making things worse. Why do you think she moved out of your quarters and the captain gave you the new recruit?" Swathe shook his head and laid his ears flat against his skull. "Oh and I suppose you think she likes you?" he scoffed. "I think not. I'm bigger than you, smarter, and lot more handsome. I could have any female on this ship" Swathe empathized his point by waving his arm over his head and hitting it against the table. "and I will have her!" He stalked out and Colin shut his eyes as he took this little encounter in. He looked down at the table and spotted a small smear of blood on the area where the angry feline's fist came down. 'Be careful Niri, please.' he thought to himself as he got up and headed back to the bridge.
The stars shone brightly in the bay window as Colin looked out. So lovely and peaceful this was. He was glad he had gotten a posting on the Uranus run. This cargo cruiser, the 'Swiftpaw', was a newer and more luxurious model than any cargo ship he'd been on before. His mind came to the reason for such comforts on a cargo vessel, to pass the time on runs. He chuckled as he remembered the rumors he'd heard about one ship in particular, rumors that had been confirmed by some comm. traffic he'd relayed once. What was the name of that ship again? Oh yes the 'Scurrier'. Colin murred as he remembered the stories what the crew did to pass the long time between stops. His thoughts drifted to Niri and some rather strenuous activities he would love to do with her. True he found her attractive, but to him she was a little sister and shook those thoughts. He shook his head and striped down to his boxers and rummaged through a desk drawer. He pulled out a data pad and keyed in a code to unlock it. Text and pictures scrolled up the screen and Colin typed in a few more keys to find his previous spot. He was a sucker for romance novels and it seems he left off at a good part. He sat down at the desk and began reading. Soon, less then pure thoughts about his friend flashed in his mind and he shook his head. 'Stop that,' he scolded himself mildly. Niromi had originally shared quarters with Swathe until his constant attentions had prompted her to file harassment complaints and move out. Colin had been so happy when she had been posted as his roommate. Things were bumpy at first, such as living arrangements with various knickknacks here and there. Or the one time that Colin had walked in on Niri changing and saw her in all her naked white glory. Both were embarrassed beyond belief. After that they agreed to lock the door or change in the head. They had become the best of friends quite quickly, though these past few weeks the increase in both of their duties had caused their shifts to alternate. When he was on the bridge she was here resting and vice versa. He wagged his tail slowly as soon they would be back on the same shifts and be able to spend more time together. He yawned as he pulled the covers back and slipped into bed to rest up. The thoughts returned soon after he shut his eyes.
Niri moved her paws with practiced ease over the controls, keeping an eye on the readouts as she adjusted the ships course with precision. "Course adjusted, all set for Triton base beacon, captain," she reported to the female serval captain. The cat nodded, "Very good, carry on." "Aye ma'am." Niri engaged the engines and the autopilot kicked in.
She stood and walked along to the comm. station, leaning over the shoulder of the fennec fox sitting there. "Hey Kin, anything juicy out here?" she asked with a hint of mischief in her voice.
The male chuckled softly, his large ears swiveling. "Nope, just the standard chatter of nothingness." The fox wagged his tail and turned to face her. "What about you? Any luck with what we talked about?"
Niri flushed a little under her fur. Usually when she had a problem she would discuss it with Colin. However things were different with this one; it was about Colin. "No Kin, no luck yet."
The fennec looked at her curiously. "Really? It looks like youre trying pretty hard."
"Darn, is it that obvious?"
Kin grinned and nodded. "Only if you're not blind and deaf." He patted her paw. "Good luck kiddo." Niri smiled. Kin was 35 and an old friend, so only he got to call her 'kiddo', though she was 21.
She left his side and took her station again, sighing inwardly as Swathe waited for her beside her chair. The feline handed her a report pad and smiled winningly. "Are you sure you're busy tonight?" Finally, the frustration of the entire run and his constant and unwanted attentions came flooding out. She looked at him with a feral look in her eyes and bared her fangs. "Look Swathe, I already told you, I have plans and promises to keep. I'm not going to cancel them just to give you a chance to get into my panties. Now give me that pad and go away!"
His eyes glinted with heartbroken tears and his fist clenched anger of his rejection. He began to raise a fist but then got control and passed it off as his paw running through his head fur. "I'll talk to you later then," he said as he walked off.
Colin was reading up on new comm procedures clad in only his boxers when the door opened and Niri entered. She looked haggard so he set his pad down and hurried to her side. "Are you alright? You look beat." He helped her to sit onto his bunk and she did so gladly, leaning her head back with a groan. She straightened her head back up and saw the bundle of roses on the table, a white card with a certain bobcats name written in red. She then looked to Colin and he nodded. She took them into paw and tossed them into the nearby disposal. "Oh, I don't think I can take Swathe much longer." She groaned as she sat back down onto the bunk. He sat next to her and gently placed his paws on her stiff shoulders. She felt his firm paws begin to rub her sore shoulders and she murred. "Mmm that's nice."
He chuckled and smiled. "Welcome to Colin Young's Massage Center. Goodness, you came in at the right time, your muscles are harder then the hull," he said in his best femme voice. She giggled softly and closed her eyes as she relaxed and hung her head down. Colin cleared his throat and spoke in his normal voice as he kept massaging. "What happened with him this time?"
She sighed. "He cornered me in the mess hall, practically begged me to have dinner with him. Then he tried again on the bridge. When I turned him down, I think he almost lost it. I thought he was going to hit me."
Colin growled softly in his throat and squeezed slightly harder on Niri's shoulder. "That asshole."
She leaned her head back and looked up at him. "Yeah, I think he's getting desperate. I talked to Anna, the new med-tech, and she told me he tried to seduce her last week. No surprise she shot him down big time."
The dire wolf shook his head. "He's a controller. He wants to own people, not be friends."
Niri slipped from his grasp and turned to face Colin. He blinked as Niri took a paw into hers. "You're not like that."
He felt his cheeks burn slightly under his fur. "Well no, I'm not."
Smiling tenderly, the artic wolf stood up. 'Here goes nothing,' she thought to herself. "You're kind and caring and you always listen to me. It's really made me feel special." She faced him, her tail wagging slowly. "Colin, I·I have to say that I've had a crush on you for months now."
He blinked in disbelief. "You, you have?"
She nodded and lowered her eyes slightly. "Uh huh." She murred softly and slowly straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. "Hold me Colin, let me hear your heart beating."
He kissed her back softly and put his arms around her, letting her snuggle into his bare chest fur. "Oh Niri, sweet Niri. I had no idea."
The kiss deepened as they held each other close. Niri moaned as he moved his head down to her neck and she leant into his kiss. "Oh Colin you're so handsome." She ran her paws over his back, snuggling closer, panting softly. He nuzzled her tenderly, murring deeply. "Oh, I need you Colin, please love." His heart and sheath leapt at those words. "A-are you sure?" She looked up at him and nodded, giving his nose a quick lick. "Very sure."
She giggled softly and then moaned as he kissed her nipples, his tongue flicking over them. "Mmmm."
His paws slid over her body as they lay naked in his bunk. "So lovely," he murred as he tenderly stroked her thighs and the soft wetness between. She arched her back and panted loudly at the gentle caresses. "Colin, uhh." He kissed her and she moaned into his mouth, their tongues entwining and moving together. She panted and licked his cheek lovingly. "I need you darling, now." Colin licked her lips softly as he slowly climbed on top of her and slid his hard cock into her tight pussy. "Ohhhhh!" she softly gasped and her legs slid up around his thighs as they moved together as one. "I love you Colin," she panted as he pumped into her tenderly. "I love you too Niri."
They held each tightly, the feelings they had felt secretly for months rising to the surface in a torrent of emotions and pleasure. She ran her paws up and down his back as her breathing quickened. "Colin uuunnn." He looked down and at her as she gasped softly, her body shivering as she hissed in a sharp breath. She gripped his shoulder tightly as she came, her sex rippling along his shaft and her claws digging into his shoulders. "Ohh OH MMMNNN!"
"Nnnn mmmm oh yesss." Niri panted as she rode Colin slowly, her head leaning back and mouth hanging open. The bunk rocked and creaked slightly as they moved together. He moaned as he looked up at her, her slender naked body glistening with sweat. She gripped his paws tightly as she tilted back her head, "Ohh here it comes again, Ohhh MMNNNNNN!" She shuddered and he groaned as he felt her sex ripple and clench over his shaft deep inside her. He moved within her and she bit her lip. "Ohh ohh ohhhhhh," she panted. They had been making love for three hours and he had lost count of her orgasms. Colin himself couldn't have taken much more and then, as Niri drove herself harder onto his shaft, his balls tensed and he grunted. "Niri...I."
She panted softly as she looked down at him "Yes my love, do it. Give it to me."
He moaned and gritted his teeth as his shaft bucked within her and she tensed up and gripped his paws tightly as she felt his seed surging into her. "Mmmmm, oh its so hot, feels so good." He sat up to kiss her breasts as they shuddered together in ecstasy. With one last shudder and deep moan, she lay over him as they kissed and nuzzled tenderly. "Mmm I've wanted this for months Colin." He smiled and stroked her wet hair softly. "So have I Niri, so badly." he kissed her once more and she smiled softly as she drifted to sleep in his arms.
"Have a good shift," Colin murred as he kissed Niri deeply. "Mmmm, I will, see you tonight hun." They slipped out of each other's arms with reluctance and Niri left. Colin smiled as she blew him a kiss, the door closing between them. He smiled to himself as he stripped down for his daily shower and tossed his clothes into the laundry chute. The last couple of weeks had certainly been interesting. He had overheard reports from the captain and the rest of the crew that she had been very happy on her shifts, though she had been idly scolded for her decision to loop the loop around that passing asteroid. Colin murred softly as he recalled a rather vigorous session on the bridge during the graveyard shift. After their first night, they had slept together many times. Not always making love, just being very close which was just fine with them. He smiled softly as he started the shower and the waves washed over him. A few minutes into it, the door chimed telling him a visitor was here. He shut off the sonic waves and stepping out of the shower, he slipped on a robe and answered it.
it was Swathe. the bobcat looked terrible, his eyes were ringed with fatigue and he was breathing hard. His paws twitched erratically and his mouth was twisted in a snarl. "You!" he growled.
Colin tried to close the door fast but a paw was thrust into the opening and the door reopened, the safety feature kicking in. The bobcat burst into the room and locked the door behind him. "You took her from me. I told you, she was MINE!" Swathe growled and Colin gasped at his eyes. He was gone, lost, totally mad. "Swathe listen we can talk this out. You don't want to do anything rash. I had no idea she liked me, I was surprised."
A strong arm lashed out and knocked books and other items off a shelf sending them flying to the floor. "LIAR!" The crazed bobcat advanced slowly with claws bared. "You had this planned from the start. I loved her," he said, in a singsong voice, his eyes glazed. "But you stole my love, now you have to pay." He leapt towards Colin in a blur of teeth and claws.
Colin tried to reach the comm panel but went down under the weight of Swathe as the bobcat cannoned into him, knocking the breath out of the wolf. The bobcat swung as Colin tried to grasp his paws. "Swathe stop, I don't want to fight you!" He struggled then cried out as the cat slammed a fist into his nose repeatedly. Blood dripped down his face and smeared into the felines paw. Colin struggled again to reach the panel and brought a leg up to kick his attacker off of him. The feline slammed against the entry door and slumped to a heap on the floor as Colin tried to crawl to his feet. Swathe got to his feet and pulled on Colin's leg. "No escape for you!" the crazed cat snarled. Colin tried to kick him off his leg and looked up to the blinking panel. A sickening crack and intense pain made Colin cry out as Swathe snapped his ankle with a control hold they were taught in basic training. The pain was too much for Colin and he panted and lay face first on the carpet. Swathe stood up and looked down at the injured wolf. "After you, the bitch will pay! I'll teach her for taking a mutt like you instead of me."
The thought of Niri in danger gave Colin new strength and he fought back with renewed energy. Colin rolled over and, with his good leg, kicked the felines feet from under him, sending the cat sprawling to the floor. With the wind knocked out of him, Swathe was on the floor panting as Colin proceeded to beat the life out of him, his fists striking and his claws gouging into his muzzle and chest. After thinking he beat Swathe senseless, Colin struggled to his feet and suddenly remembered his foot was broken. Did he ever remember. With Swathe momentarily on the floor bleeding, Colin was able to reach his goal and he set off the alarm with a desperate slap at the panel. But Swathe knew a good strategy when he saw one and repeated Colin's own move, by kicking his opponent's feet from under him. As Colin's skull struck the desk with a sick thud hit the floor, Swathe sat on Colin and clawed at him. Swathe's paw came down and Colin screamed as agony exploded in his left eye and everything went dark...
"Security to room 413." The computerized message rang out over the comm. and Niri looked up with a gasp. "Captain!" The serval captain nodded as she started keying buttons on her chair. "Get a security detail up there now!" she yelled into the microphone on her control panel. The artic wolf's relief took her place and Niri hurried at a dead sprint down the corridors, praying. 'Oh gods, please let him be all right. Please'
She saw a group of security guards trying to force the door open and sped up. As she came to the door, the at last got it open and rushed in. A stunner flashed and cracked and the sounds of crashing within stopped suddenly. They dragged a struggling and foaming at the mouth Swathe out of the room and shove him roughly against the hard wall of the hallway. "I HAVE TO KILL HIM! HE MUST PAY!!!!" he was raving and struggling as his claws flailed and struck a guard, slashing his arm. The rest of the guards tackled him to the ground beat him until they were able to bind his paws and legs behind his back. Swathe's fur was slashed and torn, his nose was smashed and he was bleeding heavily. A guard looked into the trashed room and called for medical units to come now. Niri pushed into the room and cried out at the crumpled heap of black fur on the floor, she ignored the piles of debris and knelt by his side. "COLIN!" she sobbed, tears pouring down her face. "Oh please don't leave me love, please." The med-techs arrived and very carefully set him on a stretcher and took him away. As they laid him on the grav stretcher, the artic wolf gasped and buried her face into her paws. His face was a mass of bloody gashes and bruises. His left eye was savaged and dangling out of its socket in a white mass. She went with the med-techs straight to sickbay.
Niri was sitting by Colin's bedside, as she had for the last two weeks. She jerked awake as she almost nodded off. She shook her head and then took another gulp of synthetic coffee. She made a face at the terrible and bitter taste, but at least it kept her awake. She looked at her love and her heart leapt as it always did, trying to figure out how a body could take so much and keep going. The ship had limited resources and technology to repair what damage his body had taken so they could not do anything but pray they had time. They had taken Colin to Triton station for his treatment and she had gladly stayed with him on board. The captain had given her full leave with pay knowing full well there was no way in hell she would have left the dire wolf's side short of knocking her out and dragging her out. The doctors had worked on Colin for hours. Had the ship not gotten there sooner, judging by the amounts of blood and internal injuries, Colin would not have lived. Swathe was in full lockdown on the 'Swiftpaw' and was going to stand trial for attempted murder when the ship got back to Earth. He had come very close to killing Colin and she was so glad the fight had been stopped before it actually did. Colin was suffering from several broken ribs, multiple internal injuries, a skull fracture, his left arm and right foot had been badly broken and he had lost his left eye. The nurses and doctors were surprised he held on for that long.
Weeks after he was injured, Colin stirred groggily and opened his remaining eye. "Niri?" he croaked.
Niri jumped to his side and looked down at him, trying not to cry. "Yes Colin, its Niri."
He moaned and closed his eye once more. "Did I win?"
She laughed and wiped tears away as she took his paw in hers, careful to watch the IV needle. "Yes love, you won."
He smiled raggedly, his face a mass of scars. "I'm glad you're okay." Niri let the happy tears fall as she sobbed into the space on the hospital bed beside him. He tried to lift his head but she stopped him with a gentle paw. "No love lay still, the nanos need to do their work." Inside Colin, Billions of tiny machines worked on repairing the extensive damage to his organs and bones. He settled back and swallowed, his mouth and throat painfully parched. "Oh, I feel like I had a collision with a comet." She smiled softly and again wiped tears away, leaving her facial fur matted and wet. Colin opened his eye again and discovered he could open the other one. "Niri, Why is my left eye covered?" Niri gulped and hesitated before she told him the news. "You lost it in the fight. They couldn't save it love, I'm so very sorry." There was a long silence and she could see Colin was holding back tears himself. One found its way out and rolled down his cheek. "It's okay." He gulped and closed his eye again. "As long as I stopped him getting to you." She put a tender paw on his chest and nodded softly as he drifted to a medically induced sleep.
Over the next few months, Niri was by him day and night. Eventually, the medical staff had to literally drag her from his side to get her own sleep. The nanobot injections had healed his cuts and helped to knit his bones, but he still had to wear a patch over what had been his left eye. Physiotherapy was hard and painful at moments but she was with him every step of the way, as he learned how to re-use his body. After they had spent nearly a year on Triton station, the 'Swiftpaw' returned with another load of supplies and the pair got back on board. She stayed with him in sickbay as he continued to recover and after almost a year and a half they finally reached Earth and a new life together.
Colin never liked hospitals, the place was depressing and the smells of harsh chemicals and other unmentionables were brutal to his canine nose. But his visit this time was another important one. The pair sat in front of a desk in a separate wing of the building. An older human doctor sat in his chair reading over a report as the pair waited. Finally after setting down the papers he looked at the pair with a slightly saddened look. "Unfortunately, Mr. Young, we cannot regrow your eye. However we can offer you a biotic replacement. It's not exactly the same as your original eye, but there are some clear advantages in a bionic replacement." The doctor told the news as they sat in his office in San Francisco, the pairs new home. Niri held his paw as he nodded slowly. "Alright, let me see what you have." The doctor stood and led them to a room with an array of artificial eyes.
"It suits you." Niri smiled, as he looked himself over in the mirror.
Only a slight scar along his eyebrow showed that his left eye wasn't real. It was otherwise identical to his right in almost every way. He murred softly as her paws wrapped around his chest. "It was a small price to pay to save you darling."
She giggled and wagged her tail. He twisted around and looked at her with a wide grin. "As the good doctor said, it has special features too."
She tilted her head and perked her ears. "Oh? Like what?"
Signals from his brain and neural implants sent them to his new eye, activating the various vision enhancements until he got to the one he was looking for. He murred deeply at the lovely sight of his mates heat signature. "Infrared is one of the many things I have now. I can see your body-heat under that dress and youre not wearing underwear." She giggled and sat on the bed with her legs spread slightly, showing Colin that his new toy hadn't lied. "Well, that is certainly a good feature..." She laid back and patted the space beside her. He advanced towards her, grinning happily.
The End
For now
authors note---
a request and a chance to revisit the future of 'the new recruit'. Colin was kind enough to give me all the info i needed to write this, and also did an excellent job editing it.