FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Steven shot up from bed as a loud noise reverberated through his house, making the structure slightly shake. Still groggy, he stumbled to the window and looked out. Construction crews were all over the place nearby. Houses and other buildings were being built as apart of his mother's project to turn this middle-of-nowhere patch of Maine into a habitable town. Unfortunately, such construction involved heavy machinery and occasionally explosives to level the earth. Nothing overly close to the house to be hazardous, but loud nonetheless.

A moment later, Steven's alarm went off. Impeccable timing, he thought to himself. Sometimes he wondered if his mother has the workers get loud at eleven in the morning just to make sure he doesn't sleep the day away. Either way, it was time to get up and get dressed. He had a few things in mind for the day, so now was a good time to get going.

After a refreshing shower, he tossed on some clean clothes. Steven's wardrobe never consisted of anything fancy. Some dark colored t-shirts, loose-fitting jeans, a couple pairs of raver pants, a few pairs of shorts for the uncommonly warm days and a pair of rather worn-down sneakers. When it came to clothes, he was more of a practical person. Using what he needed and and only buying new outfits when the old ones started to turn to tatters. He did keep an emergency "formal" outfit in his closet, mostly for formal events he gets forced into by his mother or for job interviews. There wasn't a lot of job opportunities as of yet in the area, so the outfit has mostly just been collecting dust since he moved up here almost a year ago.

A moment after he threw his jacket on, his cell phone started to ring. The screen displayed the name "John" on it. Steven chuckled to himself, surprised to hear from one of his old city friends.

"What's up man?" Steven said.

"Yo Steve!" John replied, "Been ages since I've heard from ya, man. How's life in Canada?"

"I'm in Maine, genius."

"Eh, same thing. What are you up to?"

"Not a whole lot. Just got up and gonna head out for the day. Got a few things I want to take care of today."

"What's there to do up there, anyway? Aren't you in the middle of nowhere or something?"

"My house is, but that's rapidly changing. New houses are being built and my mom is supervising the construction of a town hall not far from here. They're planning on turning this 'middle of nowhere' into a town. Homes, stores, businesses, all that jazz. Besides, there's another town about fifteen minutes from here. Probably gonna go apply for a job or something. You know, keep myself busy."

"Sounds pretty good, dude. Looking into colleges, myself at the moment. Hooked up with this girl that works at the library downtown and we're both probably gonna enroll together when we find a place."

"Oh yeah? Nice, man. Been seeing someone myself lately. Been together for about a year already."

"No shit? How the hell did you find someone out there?"

"Let's just say she kinda found me."

"What's her name? She good looking? You gotta give me the details."

Steven froze for a moment. He had to think hard about what he could and couldn't say. While the idea of saying he was sleeping with an eight-foot tall dragon girl was appealing from a comical aspect, he should probably leave such details out, for her sake. It took him a while to come up with something to say, since a lot of his experience here revolved around Alexia, her siblings, and the myriad of strange creatures he's seen in his travels in the area.

"Um," Steven said, trying to formulate a convincing answer, "Well, she older than I am, pretty tall and well built. She's wicked smart, has an awesome family and she's absolutely wild in bed."

"Damn, man!" John replied in awe, "Congrats. You two gonna make it official or have you already?"

"Not yet, but one of these days, maybe. Look, dude, I gotta run. Things I have to do today are gonna take a while and I need to get a head start on them. I'll talk to ya again sometime, alright?"

"No problem, Steve. Keep in touch, OK? Bummer not hearing from you for months at a time."

"I'll do my best. Take care, John."

Steven hung up the phone and tossed it back in his pocket. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. It wasn't easy keeping his mother in the dark about Alexia and her family, but at least he had the benefit of her not being around a whole lot to ask questions. The ability of her and the rest of her kind to take human form made it much easier, but it wasn't the difficulty of hiding the truth that bugged him. Lying was never something he enjoyed or was even good at.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat in the kitchen as well as some lunch for his mother and the cell phone she forgot again, he took off from the house and made his way to the new center of town to meet up with his mother. As much as he liked to walk everywhere, the car his mother got him a few months ago helped a lot. The car was nothing special, a silver late 90's sedan that got pretty good gas mileage and was easy to maintain. It did everything he needed it to do. On the plus side, Alexia's brother, Mykell, said he'd get a a nice sound system and install it sometime this week.

The drive was fairly short, but bumpy. The road turned from dirt to paved back to dirt a few times as he went through construction zones. The new center of town was going up pretty nicely. Spaces for stores were mostly finished and the town hall was more than half done. There was talk of a small apartment complex and hotel being built nearby as well, but they hadn't started on them just yet. It was pretty amazing, knowing that most of the work that had been done so far was because of Alexia's contribution to the project. He also figured that, because of her contribution, a good number of the people that will initially call this place home would be of the non-human kind. He couldn't help but wonder how they manage to keep their existence a secret so well, and if there were any others that wanted to lift the curtain and come out to the rest of the world.

He pulled up to an mobile office off to the side of the town hall. This is where his mother spent most of her time, head buried in blueprints and plans, constantly writing, revising, and rewriting design plans for layout of the town center. She always left at the crack of dawn to get a head start on her work. She also almost always forgets something at the house and hardly has time to fix herself anything to eat. Steven decided to pick up the slack and bring her lunch and any of her forgotten essentials when she needed them. She worked too hard sometimes, he thought. He was old enough to take care of himself and certainly had other things to keep himself occupied, but as her son, he worried about her from time to time.

Inside the mobile office, his mother, Susan, was predictably hard at work. She was putting the finishing touches on the interior layout of the town hall as well as the parking arrangements in the front and back of the building. Other blueprints and designs on the table involved streets, traffic light placements, police and fire departments and such. Steven placed the bagged lunch and her cell phone onto the table in front of her.

"Forget something?" he said, leaning in and giving her a hug and kiss.

"Oops," she said with a sigh, looking up to him with a smile, "I'd probably forget my head if it wasn't screwed on. Thank you, sweety."

"Ever think that maybe you're working a bit too hard on this, mom? I know it's wicked important, but you shouldn't have to make yourself suffer for it."

"Yeah, maybe I am. Most of the major stuff is already designed and finished and just needs to be built. I guess it just comes with being a habitual perfectionist. Once these current projects are drawn out, I'll try to tone it down."

"Thanks, ma. I'm just worried about you, ya know?"

"And here I thought that was supposed to be my job. No problem, sweety. Got any plans on your agenda today?"

"A couple things. Gonna meet up with Alexia in an hour or so. Until then, figured I'd cruise around here and see how things are shaping up. No one's gonna yell at me for doing so, will they?"

"They better not. If anyone gives you trouble, just call me and I'll set them straight. Oh, is there anything special you want for your birthday? It's only a week away, you know."

"Haven't really thought about it, honestly. If I come up with anything, I'll let you know."

"Alright, sweety. Have a good time and let me know if you need anything. I'll be home around six or seven tonight. Oh, and there's some woman from the media that's been wandering around for the past couple days. Try to avoid her."

"How come? Who is she?"

"I think she's a tabloid writer. Has some crazy conspiracy theory about aliens on earth or something. Not all there in the head, you know?"

"I'll keep an eye out for her. Thanks, mom."

Steven stepped out of the office and started to wander. He kept clear of the actual construction areas, but close enough to get a good look. Everything looked pretty nice and he had no doubt that the new town center would turn out pretty amazing. He even fancied the thought of this place become popular enough to become a full-blown city some time in the next decade. He could see near the new buildings people in suits, probably business owners checking out the area as well as some random people who probably were just passing through and stopped to get a look at what's going on. Steven even spotted a few people that were walking about that he swore were non-humans in human form. Over the past year, thanks to being around Alexia and her family, he was developing a knack for picking disguised creatures out on sight. He never really approached them himself. It was just something he did to amuse himself.

"Sup shorty!" a familiar male voice said followed by a friendly punch in the shoulder. Steven turned to face him, looking his greeter up and down for a moment before realizing who it was.

"Mykell?" Steven said in a surprised tone before letting out a chuckle, "One of these days, I'll finally get used to seeing you in disguise. And who're you calling 'shorty'? I'm taller than you in human form."

"Unwritten rule. You date my sister, I get to call you anything I want."

"Alright, fair enough. What are you doing out this way?"

"Just checking out what Alexia spent some of her wealth on. Not bad, if I do say so myself. As long as they get an electronics store and a shop for retro video games, I'll be happy. Hmm, maybe I'll open one of my own. Could be fun."

The two of them decided to wander around together for a while. Checking out the locations, silently poking fun at the people in business suits and how ridiculous they look, as well as Mykell pointing out a few non-humans present in the small crowds of onlookers and even some of the construction workers. Steven couldn't help but think about the whole double-life thing once more.

"Does it ever bother you?" He asked casually.

"Does what?"

"Having to stay hidden like this? Constantly hiding from the rest of the world?"

"Once in a while. Being in this form isn't the most comfortable at times, but it's necessary. Besides, the alternative would probably be far worse."

"What is the alternative?"

"Humans have a hard enough time getting along with others of their own race based on skin color. How would you think they'd react if everyone knew that there were actually different races in the world?"

"Never thought of it like that."

"One of these days, our existence will be common knowledge. We won't have to wear disguises to exist among humans. Maybe we can REALLY coexist. But for right now, I don't think we can, so we keep up the facade. Who knows, maybe we'll live to see the big 'coming out' and see if it becomes a party or a war. Why you ask, anyway?"

"I dunno, just feels strange. Not a big fan of hiding things from my family and friends, you know? Kinda feels like leading a double life. I mean, would it be a catastrophe if I at least brought my mom into the loop?"

"Hmm, I guess I can understand how you feel. I don't have many in the way of human friends, myself, but I can sympathize. As far as your mother, well, I can't make that call by myself. Personally, I have no objections to it, but I can't speak for everyone else. What happened between you and Alexia was a huge risk on her part, but it turned out good. Don't worry, next time all of us are together, we can discuss it. You're pretty much family now, so we'll do anything we can to help out."

"Thanks man, I really appreciate it."

"Excuse me, young men!" a female voice called from behind them. Steven and Mykell turned to face a woman in her mid-thirties with puffed out curly brown hair, thick framed glasses and a business casual outfit. She wore some kind of ID badge and carried a clipboard in her hands and a camera strapped around her neck, "Can I trouble you with a few questions?"

"Questions?" Steven asked, guessing to himself that this might be the woman his mother warned him about, "about what?"

"Reports of strange activity in the surrounding areas. Do you both live in the vicinity?"

"I'm sorry," Mykell said, "who are you again?"

"My name is Elenore Jenkins," she replied, whipping her ID badge inches from both of their faces, "I'm with the American Inquisitor. I'm researching reports of strange sightings."

"American Inquisitor?" Steven asked, a sarcastic expression washing across his face, "You mean the tabloid that claimed to have proof that the stars were a projected illusion made by aliens? Or that the president is actually Joseph Stalin after undergoing age regression and cosmetic surgery?" The two of them couldn't help but snicker.

"We chase stories when we're given credible evidence, like any good news organization should."

"I guess 'credible' became a subjective term when we weren't looking," Mykell said, trying hard to keep himself from cracking up.

"Say what you want about how it sounds," she retorted as she pulled a photograph from her clipboard and showing it to Steven, "but I doubt anyone will be laughing once they see this."

"What, that bigfoot has been spotted in Maine?" Steven said as he looked over the blurry picture. Elenore glanced at the photo and quickly retracted it. Trying to not look foolish, she produced another and showed it to the pair. This one, however, was not so easy to make fun of. The sight of it caused a lump to form in both of their throats.

"What is this?" Steven asked, but deep down, he and Mykell knew the answer.

"An anonymous person sent us this. In case you can't tell, it clearly shows, at least a part of, something that is not human entering what looks like an abandoned building. Don't know who, or what, it is. Don't know who submitted it, and the only thing we know about the location is that it's somewhere in Maine. A note was attached to it saying an urban development project would be the best place to start investigating. So here I am. And my question to you two is if you've seen a creature like this and if you might know where this photo was taken?"

Steven and Mykell looked at each other, trying hard to put on their best poker faces. Steven took the photo and looked at it closely. Judging by the angle and the amount of zoom, it was taken outside the entrance to Club Serpentyne and depicted Alexia walking in the door. Only part of her body and her tail were visible and the photo was slightly blurry, but he knew it was her. He wasn't sure how old the photo was. He had never seen her walk into the club outside of her human form. She always changed into her true form after getting inside the building. Many questions ran through their heads; who took the photo? How old was it? Why was it taken?

"Well?" Elenore chimed in, snapping them to attention.

"Can't say I've seen anything like that myself," Mykell said.

"I've been living in the area for about a year and I've been to the surrounding towns. Doesn't look familiar, to be honest. How do you know this is real? I don't imagine it's hard to make this with an existing photo and a computer."

"Normally," She replied, taking the photo back, "you'd be right. I'd honestly be skeptical of its credibility myself. But this was printed from a film negative that was sent to our office, and an independent photo analysis lab confirmed the negative was genuine. Clearly there are a lot of unanswered questions, but I have no doubt of the authenticity and implications."

"Sorry we can't help you out more, but we need to get going," Mykell said.

"Alright," she sighed, shuffling her paperwork back onto the clipboard and handing them a business card, "if you learn anything, give me a call. I promise, if I find anything with your help, I'll make sure you're credited for your assistance."

With that, she walked away towards her vehicle across the road. The two of them started walking back to Steven's car in a mixture of confusion and concern. The remained silent until they got into the car and closed the door, checking to make sure she didn't follow them.

"Was that what I think it was?" Steven asked, visibly worried and slightly shaking.

"I hate to say it," Mykell replied, "but it was."

"Who took that photo? And why the hell would they send it to a tabloid?"

"I wish I knew. Outside of you and maybe one or two others, no humans know that Club Serpentyne even exists. But those others are very well trusted, especially by Lady Crimson."

"What do we do? I mean, she works for a tabloid after all, no one really takes those seriously. Should we be worried?"

"Personally? It's unnerving. I always thought someday our existence would be revealed, but on our terms. Not like this. I don't think we have to worry too much just now. No one of consequence is going to tell her anything."

"Should we tell Alexia about it?"

"I don't think we have to right now. But I'll probably bring it up to Lady Crimson the next time I see her. Let's try not to fret over it too much just yet. No sense in letting a perfectly good day go bad."

"Alright, if you're sure. You going back to the lair?"

"Not till tonight. Got a few friends to meet up with around here then heading to the club."

"OK, I'll be there tonight, too. See ya then."

Steven and Mykell parted ways and retired to their cars. Off in the distance, however, Elenor was keeping watch and scribbling in a small black notebook. She dialed a number on her cell phone as she started her own vehicle's engine.

"Find anything useful?" A gruff male voice asked over the receiver.

"Nothing concrete," she replied, "But I have a feeling this is the right place to start. Got a couple of leads so far. Two guys who seem to know more than they're letting on. I'm gonna keep tabs on them and let you know if I find anything else."

"Very good, Elenor. We'll be in touch."

***

Steven pulled his car off the small dirt road towards the abandoned railway tunnel. His mind had been wracked over that journalist for the whole drive. He took a deep breath, switching off the car and stepping out, doing his best to put it in the back of his mind. Mykell seemed slightly worried, but suggested not to make a big deal out of it just yet. Maybe he was right, Steven thought. He had other things to think about besides some crazy tabloid writer. For all anyone knew, the photo was the product of a prank and wouldn't go anywhere anyway.

After a lengthy trek into the tunnel, Steven finally reached Alexia's den. He opened the door and was met with a very pleasant scent. She was cooking something and it smelled amazing. She was expecting him, so the home cooked meal wasn't a huge surprise. Walking into the kitchen, he find something else to be surprised about.

She stood in front of the stove top, her back to him, wearing nothing but a black cloth apron. He had seen her naked plenty of times over the course of the year they spent together, but he never got tired of it. Her strong shoulders, the glowing golden symbols on her back, the perfect curvature of her hips and, of course, her amazing butt. Steven could never get enough of seeing every inch of her bare scaly flesh, and she certainly loved showing it off to him.

She heard him slowly approach from behind and couldn't help but give her rump a slight wiggle in his direction, letting her tail slowly sway back and forth. Steven needed little enticing, but enjoyed the little display nonetheless. Getting behind her, he ran his hands down her bare back and slid them to her front, gently caressing her belly and her hips, making emit a long sensual purr in the process.

"You're late," she said, glancing back with a smile.

"Ran into your brother in town," He replied, "Kinda hung out a little longer than I thought I would. Besides, from where I'm standing, I think I came just in time. What are you cooking?"

"Some stir fry vegetables and steak. The veggies are done, just need to wait for the meat to cook."

"How long will that take?"

Alexia slowly turned to face Steven, subtly reaching and undoing her apron and letting it fall. She stood before him, resting her claws on his shoulders and coiling her tail around his waist. "More than enough," she said in a sultry tone as her tail tightened around Steven's waist. She hoisted him off the ground, eliciting a surprised squeal from him, and brought him to eye level. She held him there for a moment, staring into his eyes. Steven returned the gaze, seeing many things in her eyes. A mix of passion and love with a hint of lust.

The human and dragon embraced as she pulled him closer and locked into a deep kiss. Steven embraced her as best as he could, his hands moving from holding onto her shoulders to the sides of her snout. He smiled slightly as they made out. He loved kissing her, maybe more than the wild sex. Maybe.

The two of them slowly separated, her claws caressing his face before running a single digit down his chest, "I think you're a little over dressed for what I have planned," she said with a wide smile. Steven returned the smile and kicked off his shoes. Her nimble claw effortlessly lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, followed by deftly undoing his pants and letting them fall to the floor. She lowered him back to his feet, naked and quite aroused.

"That's more like it," She continued, running her finger along his member.

"Ah," Steven moaned, "What if Lynn and Kyleen walk in on us?"

"I doubt that they would mind. Or us, for that matter."

"Fair enough. So what did you have in mind?"

"How about," she said, lifting herself up and onto the kitchen table and spreading her legs wide, "We start with an appetizer?"

Steven smiled as she presented herself to him. He approached slowly, running his hands along her thighs and to her scaly belly. She purred deeply in anticipation and gently rubbed the back of his head with her claw while her tail caressed his back. Knowing exactly where he would start, Alexia guided his head towards her body and let out a sharp moan as his tongue flicked at one of her nipples. Her head and neck arced backwards as his hands continued to wander and rub at her nude flesh, his tongue doing wonders on her sensitive breasts.

She leaned backwards away from him and spread her legs wide. Needing no other incentives, Steven lowered himself to her wanting pussy, which was already wet from arousal. First he gently kissed the flesh around the slit. He loved doing this because it made her squirm in such a cute way. Soon after, he started to softly kiss her slightly swollen lips, making her writhe in place even more.

"Oh godsssss," she purred heavily, "You are an incorrigible tease!"

"Only cause I know you love it," he replied right before running his tongue along the length of his slit, making her moan very loudly.

Steven wrapped his arms around as much of her waist as he could and started to thoroughly eat her out. Alexia panted heavily, her tongue hanging from her maw as her body became awash in a wave of pleasure. She loved how Steven could orally please her. Despite being significantly smaller than her, his skill with his mouth and tongue rivaled even her most able partners. She coiled her tail around him and fondled her own breasts, licking at them herself to further enhance the pleasure. She could feel herself building closer to climax. As much as she wanted it, she had something else in mind.

"Not quite yet sweety," she said, somewhat reluctantly pulling him away with her tail, "I've got a craving for something else."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, wiping the moisture from his mouth and gently rubbing his now painful hard-on, "And what would that be, love?"

Alexia pushed him back a little bit and licked her lips. She turned away from him and bent over the table. She raised her tail high, showing off her amazing ass. She glanced back at him with eyes full of lust. She reached back and, with a single digit, gently rubbed at her inviting tailhole. Steven returned the lustful grin in kind. Anal play was somewhat uncommon between the two of them, but when she was in the mood, it was always amazing.

Steven started rubbing her voluptuous rump, giving it an occasional spank and eliciting a excited squeal from Alexia. He spread her cheeks apart, exposing her dark crimson pucker. She swayed her butt from side to side, enticing Steven, who was more than willing to 'dive in'. He leaned in and gave her tailhole and long and slow lick, making Alexia moan at an almost deafening tone. His subsequent licks elicited various meeps, moans, and purrs that changed with his speed, length and depth.

After several minutes of relentlessly assaulting her pucker with his tongue, Steven pulled back. He chuckled to himself as he used his foot to drag a nearby chair towards him. Being two feet shorter than your lover comes with some inherent challenges, but overcome with a little "support" at times. He vaulted on top of the chair quickly and took Alexia's thighs in hand. She pushed her rump back a little bit as he moved his hips forward, both letting out a sharp moan as the tip of his cock prodded into her surprisingly tight ass. He took a deep breath, held her hips tight, and slowly pushed forward until his entire length was buried under her tail.

The two of them remained in that position for a moment, Steven relishing in the incredible warmth and Alexia enjoying each throb from his member resonating from her rump to the rest of her body. He slowly withdrew from her ass until just the tip remained in her, only to slam back into her, the sound of his hips hitting her butt along with her lustful moans, echoing in her entire lair. Slowly but surly, the two of them worked into a rhythm; Steven plowing her rump with all he had and Alexia pushing herself back into him to get as much of him into her as possible. Her claws dug into the kitchen table, leaving deep scars in the wood.

The pressure began to mount as Steven quickened his pace. Alexia, unable to control her wild urges, took the opportunity to reach under herself and between her legs. Her fingers prodded and rubbed the swollen lips of her pussy before she started to furiously thrust her digits in and out of herself. Her moans quickly turned into cries of intense pleasure as her ass was taken with almost reckless abandon. Steven leaned over her, releasing her hips and holding onto her tail, hugging it tightly. He moved himself a bit closer, shortening his thrusts and pickup up speed, causing the pressure in his loins to rise quickly.

Alexia and Steven bore their teeth as the ecstasy built up to its inevitable conclusion. A sudden burst of speed and strength from his hips for just a few seconds was enough to send them both over the edge as their orgasms struck. Their bodies tensed and their muscles locked up. The powerful muscles in Alexia's rump clenched tight and held onto him like a vice, holding him balls-deep in her ass as cum erupted and flooded into her. Spurt after long spurt jetted from his cock, a lot more than usual. Steven had been keeping himself pent up for the past week just for her, and the final release was nothing short of amazing.

It took almost a full minute before Steven had spilled the last drop of seed his loins could produce, slumping onto her back, spent and exhausted. Alexia, finally feeling her own climax slowly ebb, laid flat on the table. Cushioned by her large breasts, she panted heavily and happily content. She could feel the pool of her own sexual juices between her legs as she withdrew her fingers from her pussy, bringing the digits to her snout and giving them a sensual lick. Though she would never admit it for fear of seeming somewhat narcissistic, she loved her own taste as much as she loved the taste of many other males and females she has been with.

Steven used what energy he had left to slowly lift himself off of Alexia, her ass finally releasing his now flaccid member. He slipped himself off the chair and to the floor, trying hard to not collapse under his wobbly legs. Alexia slowly turned around and gave him support as he put his clothes back on and slumped into a chair by the table. Alexia, opting to not bother putting anything back on, leaned against the table for a few minutes to regain some energy before checking on her cooking.

"Looks like dinner is ready," she said tiredly, both of them eager to get some food in their bellies and perk back up for tonight.

"Can't wait," Steven replied with a smile.

For the next half hour, the two of them enjoyed her home cooked meal. Alexia was a girl of many talents, cooking being one of her more exceptional skills. Her sister, Lynn, was a pretty good cook as well when she decided to do so. Her brother, Mykell, However, almost exclusively uses a microwave, and for good reason. The last time he tried to cook something himself, the underground living space was full of smoke for a full day.

Steven and Alexia polished off the food on their plates followed by a generous second helping. Their stomachs now content, they could feel their strength steadily returning. Steven stood and gave his body a good stretch while Alexia moved into her room to finally, though somewhat reluctantly, put on some proper clothes. She emerged about ten minutes later, wearing a very alluring red skirt that stretched only halfway down her thighs and a tight black shirt that showed off her belly and her cleavage.

"Looking good, babe," Steven said as he approached. She leaned down in response to give each other a loving kiss.

"Thanks sweety," she replied, "Just about ready to go?"

"I'm ready. What about Lynn and Kyleen? Are they coming tonight?"

"Not this time. Their spending time with Sedrin. He's become pretty big since those two had their way with him. The three of them might be able to go out casually soon, but he'll be bedridden in a couple months before the little ones come along."

"I still can't believe those two are gonna be mothers."

"I think you're more terrified at the thought that you might have to babysit one of these days."

The thought sent shivers up Steven's spine. He could tolerate human infants as long as they weren't relentlessly wailing all through the day and night. He wasn't sure how dragon and shark children acted. Given that they would probably still be overly energetic added with sharp teeth and claws, crying would be the least of his worries.

With that, the two of them made their way out of the lair and towards Steven's car. Alexia took the opportunity inside the railway tunnel to assume her human form for the trip. As they exited the tunnel, Steven couldn't help but think back to earlier in the day. The tabloid writer and that photo she had. He really wanted to tell Alexia about it, but maybe Mykell was right. Maybe he should keep it to himself until her brother could look into it. Besides, she was in a really good mood and he'd feel awful to put that kind of stress on her.

"Something on your mind, sweety?" She asked as they got into the car.

"Nothing," he replied. He didn't realize he had a worried expression on his face, "Well, I'm kinda nervous about tonight."

"Don't worry too much, love. I think you'll do fine. Just stay calm and be yourself."

"'Be yourself'? You've been watching too many of those feel-good family shows, haven't you?"

"You know what I mean!"

Both of them let out a good laugh as they drove off towards Club Serpentyne. As far as Steven knew, there wasn't anything special going on at the club tonight. Despite that, he did notice that there was still a pretty respectable crowd. At any given time, there were at least several dozen patrons of the club, with theme and specialty nights drawing sometimes over a hundred attendees of all sorts of species.

The area around the club was fairly empty, but for good reason. Steven didn't notice the first few times he visited, but there was actually a rather vast underground parking structure below the building. It made perfect sense since this kind of crowd didn't exactly want to draw attention from random human passerby's. It served its purpose wonderfully, but it did raise a sudden question in his mind. Thinking back to the photo, how did the photographer know where to look? He could feel himself become worried again and quickly put it to the back of his mind before Alexia could notice.

They could hear the music as Steven pulled into the to lower area of the parking garage. Alexia returned to her normal form on their way to the elevator lobby. It was very similar to the lobby at the street level entrance, save for the very non-human bouncer at the door. Morris was a large anthro-rhino and a man of few words. No one could ever tell what his disposition was due to a perpetual angry look on his face. Since he was the only anthro-rhino he had ever met, Steven just chalked it up as a racial thing.

The lights and music were in full force inside. Plenty of people dancing, several at the bar getting their drink on, and a surprising amount of pairs and groups making use of the private rooms. Steven got various pleasant greetings from some of the regulars along with a few pinches and gropes to his butt. Steven always blushed when it happened despite coming to expect it. At first he was rather worried that someone much larger than him, which represented a vast majority of the patrons, would drag him into the private rooms and have their way with him. But he learned early on that everyone follows the rules for the most part. He did wonder if it was because everyone was honest or if they were just too afraid of Lady Crimson.

Alexia led the way from here, bringing Steven towards the bar and ordering him a drink. She moved to the end of the bar towards the phone, picked up and started to talk. Steven couldn't hear her over the sound of the music and crowd, but he suspected she was talking to the club owner, Valentina. Steven watched her intently before his attention was brought to a glass of soda being placed in front of him.

"Didn't expect to see the two of you today," the bartender said. Ron, an anthro-wolf, was a great conversationalist and probably the oldest one in the club. Relatively speaking that is. Different species, as Steven had learned, have different life expectancies. There were probably plenty of patrons and employees that were older in years, but Ron's age certainly showed. His normally silver furred muzzle gave way to dark shades of white and gray along with longer hair below his chin similar to a beard of the same color. He spoke with a somewhat raspy voice caused by many years of smoking thick cigars. Smoking wasn't generally allowed on the floor or near the bar, but Ron was an exception. More than likely, Valentina allowed it because he is, more than likely, the best bartender this side of the country.

"Yeah," Steven replied, taking a sip from his glass, "well I told Alexia I was gonna be looking to get some kind of a job, and she suggested coming here. Figured 'why not?' Plenty of people here know who I am, the club scene is where I enjoy being, so yeah. Could be something up my alley."

"Heh, now that would be a sight to see. A human working in Club Serpentyne. Would certainly turn some heads around here. Think you're up to whatever Lady Crimson has in mind for you?"

"Well, I hope so. I've had a couple small jobs during high school, so I have experience in the service industry. I don't think things would be TOO different here. Are they?"

"Well, there's plenty of things to do here. That's for sure. She'll probably start you off as either a doorman or busing tables. On the off days, you'll get shifted around the place to try other jobs and see what your good at. If you work as hard as you party, I think you'll do good here."

"Thanks, Ron."

"Valentina wants to see you in her Chambers," Alexia said, finally coming back from the phone.

"Already?" Steven replied, "No application to fill out or anything?"

"She's a very good judge of character. You going to be in there alone with her, so don't get too intimidated if she reads you like an open book."

"Or tries to eat you," Ron butted in with a chuckle, which was met with a stern look from Alexia, "What? Just saying."

Steven knew he was just messing around. While Valentina was well known for her love of eating people as a fetish, she wasn't a violent or angry being. She could be a task master at times and exhibit a dry (and sometimes dark) sense of humor, but she always meant well.

Steven polished off the rest of his soda and made his way towards Valentina's room. This would be the first time he's been inside since he first met her a year ago. That night was still fresh in his mind as probably one of the most bizarre and kinky things he had ever engaged in. Since then, there has never been any kind of physical exchange between him and her outside of brief conversations. She's mostly been busy with the club or engaged with other patrons.

Steven thought about how the interview might go as he walked up the ramp leading to her Chambers. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings and bumped into something just outside the door. He looked up and found a tall and slender dragoness looking down at him. Her scales were jet black all over her body while her underbelly seemed to have a shimmering quality. She bore a pair of thin whiskers similar to Mykell and wore a pair of very short shorts and a sports bra over her average sized bust. Her hair was long and straight with an almost translucent color that seemed to shift with the flashing dance lights and extended from her head down her back and tail in a long strip. Her eyes, while certainly beautiful, were an intimidating deep red color, and they looked him directly into his own eyes. A sultry smile slowly formed on her snout.

"I'm, uh" Steven stammered, "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Quite alright," she replied. He voice, while clearly feminine, was as intimidating as her stare, "I was just leaving. So you're the human I've heard so much about."

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am. I'm Steven. I didn't catch your name."

"Sylvia," she said as she lowered herself to his level. She moved her head closer to him, her snout hovering just beside his face. Steven froze, unsure of what action to take or how to respond. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent and letting out a content cooing noise, "And I'm sure we'll get to know each other better in the future. But for now, I must be off. Give Alexia's brother my regards, won't you dear?"

She stood back up and swiftly continued on, not looking back. Despite being quite attractive, she had a scary presence. Her slender body, the way she walked, how her whiskers seemed to defy gravity and float as if she was under water. Just thinking about her sent a quick shiver through Steven's body. Maybe he was overreacting, he thought. He was rather nervous of his impending interview. She was probably visiting for some kind of "private fun" between her and Valentina. She did seem to have a preference towards other females, or so he had heard.

"Come in," Came Valentina's voice just before Steven could knock. He opened the door slowly and walked in, finding Valentina just finishing getting dressed in her signature emerald colored corset. "Close the door and sit down."

Steven complied and sat himself on a wooden chair in front of a heavy wooden office desk near the entrance to the room. She slithered up behind the desk, rested her claws on the polished wooden surface, and looked at him. Her gaze was intense. If Steven didn't know any better, he could have sworn that she was staring into his soul. He could feel his hands start to tremble slightly. No questions yet asked and it was already the most nerve wracking interview he had ever been in.

"Alexia tells me you're interested in working for me," she said finally with a smile on her face, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Only human in my club and now you want to work here. I'm impressed."

"Thanks," he replied, her words bringing him a little solace in the situation.

"So what is it you wish to do here?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I guess I can start as like a bus boy or a doorman? Work my way up from there?"

"Where you start is for me to decide, little man. I want to know what you WANT to do."

"Oh. Um, well I always loved watching DJs spin and create music and it's been something I'd love to learn how to do someday."

"Interesting. Have you ever done it before or created any of your own music?"

"I've shadowed a friend of mine at a club in Boston a couple years back for a week, but haven't gone solo myself. I've messed around with some music makers on the internet, but mostly it's stuff for me."

"Our current DJ is on vacation at the moment. I'm not going to put you in front of the crowd just yet. Not without some proper training. He'll give that to you when he gets back in a couple days. Until then, I want you to become accustomed with the club itself. Layout, inner workings, the people and the rules."

"OK, I can do that. Who's gonna be showing me around? Is it someone I know?"

"No. The people I have in charge of basic training tend to work behind the scenes. Don't worry, I'll make sure to choose one who will do you the most good."

"So when do I start?"

"The night following this month's Vore Night, which is in 2 days, but I expect to see you here for Vore Night for my own little 'orientation' session."

"Orientation?"

Valentina slithered around the desk and behind Steven. She rested her claws on his shoulders, gently rubbing them as she let out a devious chuckle. Steven started to get nervous again as her tail tip reached up and rubbed him under his chin.

"In the time you've been in and out of my club, especially on Vore Night, you remain the only person who I've ever been intimate with that hasn't spent time in my belly. If you intend to work here, I intend to change that."

Steven gulped hard at her words. To date, the only one who had ever swallowed him was Kyleen last year. He would have freaked out if Alexia hadn't followed him into her stomach to keep him company for the night. No harm came to either of them, and he knew Valentina wouldn't hurt him either, but the thought still scared the hell out of him. But he really liked the possibilities of this job.

"Umm," he muttered, thinking long and hard about what she wanted, but ultimately conceded, "I guess I can live with that."

"Very good," she purred, "Alexia said you might have reservations, but don't worry. After a month of working for me, you may start to enjoy it. So, I expect you here, in my room, two nights from now. Then you can consider yourself hired. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Excellent. If you don't have any questions, you can show yourself out. I have some business to attend to."

"Actually, I did have a question if it's not too much to ask. Who was black dragon girl I passed?"

"Sylvia Obsydian. She's a someone of 'interest' to me, and that's all you need to know for now."

Steven stood up, nodded to her, and made his out of her chambers. Exiting and closing the door, he took a deep breath of relief. He was excited for the job, but the condition somewhat worried him. He had no choice but to tough it out. Maybe she was right, he thought. He has yet to back down from any of the bizarre kinks he's been put in front of since falling into this community. Maybe getting swallowed by a sexy plump naga girl wouldn't be so bad.

Steven snapped out of his train of thought when he bumped into someone yet again. Steven tumbled to the floor surprised and scolding himself for not paying attention. This time, it was Mykell he had walked into, who was obviously in a bit of a rush

"You OK, man?" he said, reaching down and effortlessly hoisting him to his feet, "Didn't see ya there."

"Yeah," Steven replied, shaking off the stunned feeling, "I'm good."

"What were you doing in Valentina's room?"

"Applying for a job. I got it, but under one condition..."

"Say no more. Had a feeling she'd find a way to coax you into her mouth one of these days. Actually, I need to talk to her myself."

"About the photo and that journalist?"

"Yeah. Hopefully she can shed some light on the situation. If not, maybe we can find out who took the photo and sent it out."

"Hope something gets worked out. The whole thing has been bothering me all day."

"Try to not let it get to you. Not until we have the full story. Let me take care of it for now and we'll go from there. Just keep an eye out for that journalist after you head home and avoid her if you can."

Steven and Mykell shared a quick hug and parted ways. He returned to the bar where Alexia was busy sipping at a mixed drink and waving teasingly to a group of guys practically drooling over her. Steven pulled himself up on the chair where another drink was waiting for him.

"How'd it go?" She asked, gently rubbing and scratching his back to ease some of the tension.

"Looks like I got the job," Steven replied, "Just not sure what to do until I start."

"The night is young. How about joining me on the dance floor?"

"Sounds good to me! Can't believe Valentina's condition for me to work, though."

"Oh?"

"She wants me here on Vore night in two days so she can eat me. I mean, I know it's what gets her off, but I figured you would have told her that I'm still kinda iffy about it."

"You'll be fine, sweety. I promise. If I thought you wouldn't be, I wouldn't have suggested it to her."

"...What?"