FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The journey back to the Exile Star took significantly longer now that James travelled at the speed set by his quadruped companion's wings. Without the wind shield required for flight at higher velocities he was for the first time exposed to the impressive ambiance of Man's new planet.

Most noticeable were the distinctly foreign sounds that seemed to assail him from every direction. The higher frequency twittering and shrieking came in spurts, distinctly alien tones only audible as the two passed close overhead the likely equally alien species they belonged to. Symphonic bass filled hums whispered to him from untold kilometers away, significantly more impressive to his ears despite the reduction in intensity. There was no reason to suspect the beasts that intoned such haunting sounds were aggressive, but the tiny residue of instinct that even an Ancient could not shake could not help but make him wonder.

Being exposed to the higher altitude winds was actually rather informative; they were, surprisingly, significantly gentler and more consistent than those he had felt at ground level. It seemed the high density atmosphere caused a number of separate convection layers to form at different altitudes, each of which became less prone to turbulence as the heat differential between them decreased.

Theorizing how the structure of the mid layers of the atmosphere caused such a smooth flight had distracted him from the fact that Fiona was not flying with him. He had assumed she would catch up to him after he took off, and completely forgot about her when he broke two hundred meters into the beautifully smooth air. Managing only a quick look behind him he saw her, still relatively far away, flying noticeably below and behind him. Though far away something about her image in flight appealed to him, and though he longed to look again was too worried he might collide with another strange flying creature if he did. Without the protective windscreen a collision would be most devastating.

<Uhh.. Fiona? Why are you flying so far behind me?>

<I am showing my dominant the proper respect.> She sounded decidedly submissive. He now realized he had taken oral sex far too lightly with her; she really considered it a showing of dominance! If she was to live among humans for an extended period of time, she needed to know how their society was handled. The last thing James needed was her trying to 'dominate' some other human.

<Well humans don't really behave like that. Could you fly next to me?>

<If you like.> The distinct whoosh of her wingbeats startled him as she closed the probably fifty meter distance between them in mere seconds. A reflexive turning of his head brought her into view, and what a view it was.

The grace of movement the dragoness had shown on the ground paled in comparison to that she displayed in the air, almost as if she had been born on the winds themselves. Golden flakes that speckled her emerald skin, difficult to discern on the ground, shimmered brilliantly as she twisted and turned in the air in a unique and what almost seemed to be ostentatious dance of flight.

With every movement her body flaunted the millions of years of evolution the planet's life had spent adapting to the heavy atmosphere. James thought it curious Fiona's tail had no aerodynamic surfaces adorning it, but seeing her fly made him realized its inertia helped her to maintain or change her body's direction, as well as help her perform tight turns. It seemed to always be in some kind of motion, twisting elegantly with her wings as she more swam than flew next to him.

<Well?>

James blinked a few times, brought out of the entrancing visage of her flight with the realization that he had just been asked a question. Still his eyes did not part from her undulating wings, flexing and pulsing with incredible smoothness to balance lift and drag in an unbelievable physical symphony.

<Sorry, what did you say?> She cocked her head at him, obviously aware how he had lost his concentration, though she did not offer protest.

<What do you mean 'humans don't behave like that'?>

<in our society we're all treated as equals. Male or female, weak or strong, all humans have the same rights.>

Fiona gave him a strange look, and a number of wingbeats passed before she said anything.

<Ridiculous. How would your clan endure if the strong did not lead the weak?>

<I never said all humans ARE equals, just that they are treated as such.>

<But why should the weak enjoy the same as the strong? They do not deserve good meals or good mates!>

<Perhaps, but don't you have any compassion for them? You've learned to see me as more than just a male, after all.>

Fiona's gaze softened unexpectedly. <You are.. special. You are strong.>

<And if I told you I was weaker than you?>

<What? You have..> She shivered slightly, her dance of flight momentarily freezing. <Proven your strength..>

<It's true.> He assured her. <I'm actually as shocked as you are, if that's any consolation, but the only reason I am stronger than you is the result of tiny tools in my body.>

Fiona's eyes widened in sudden realization, more wingbeats passed. James still had a bit of a difficult time reading her facial expressions, but she seemed to be.. overwhelmed.

<Your race.. they are all equal in strength.. Who leads?> Her thoughts resounded confusion and fear, which slightly alarmed him as well. She was really having a difficult time with this!

<Strength was once relevant to us, but no more. It is our knowledge that gives us strength, that decides who leads.> James almost felt bad, exposing this creature to concepts radically different from what she was used to. Was this whole endeavor a mistake?

<Knowledge! I.. I don't understand. How can this be possible?>

James did his best to reassure her. <It's okay if you don't understand just yet. I know it must be hard to equate facts with actual, physical power, but you have to trust me.> He took a second to think. <Do you know how I fly with no wings?>

She gave a brief shake of her head.

James reached over his shoulder to point out the gravpad.

<This uses gravity to provide lift and acceleration.> Subtle contortions in the dragoness' wing shape sent her rolling about her length as she flew above him, inspecting the device in closer detail. He waited patiently while she inspected the device, and shortly returned to his altitude on his opposite side.

<With enough knowledge my clan was able to create this tool, giving us the power of flight.> James hoped such a concrete example would settle the dragoness.

<I.. see.. How can you use gravity?> She sounded more comfortable now, even a bit curious. Maybe she was willing to learn..

<Gravity is what we call a force. Specifically, gravity is the force that pulls you toward the ground.>

He stretched out his hand. <Wind is also a force. Though it is caused by something much different than what causes gravity, it has the same effect on you. It pushes you. So gravity isn't special, it's just a type of force. Just like the wind, it pushes on you. Do you.. understand?>

The fire of realization sparked in her beautiful amber eyes. <Different causes.. both forces?> James nodded excitedly.

<Is 'acceleration' a force?> If anything, Fiona sounded more curious.

James smiled. This might be fun.

--

The long flight was uneventful, but graced with Fiona's company, far from boring. The pair conversed rapidly and with interest, so much so that it surprised James how eagerly and quickly Fiona absorbed Newtonian mechanics. He was glad to see that the dragoness was capable of more than just eating and mating.

<So your planet's gravity is three times this one? Does that..> Fiona trailed off as she finally got a good look of their destination. Two beasts, one squat and one long dominated the grassy clearing, more enormous than any creature or object she had seen before. Strings of tiny glistening dots swarmed around the shorter leviathan, matching the harsh glare of the beasts' metallic hides. The scene was profoundly disturbing and bizarre to the dragoness. Once again the bizarre nature of mankind caused her to feel ill at ease.

<Is.. Is that beast eating the other one?>

<These are not alive. My kind built them to travel through the stars and to live on this planet.>

<You.. created these things?> Fiona was in awe. <How is that even possible?>

<Knowledge, Fiona. They are just more tools, like the one on my back, like the ones in my body. Perhaps now you see why strength is so irrelevant to us.>

<I.. I am beginning to..> She sounded less intimidated, though her eyes scarcely left the craft as they drew ever nearer to it. Parts of the huge object appeared to be missing, and she could make out the oddly tall forms of humans inside, some even staring out at her.

<We're going to go inside now, but there are a few rules I need you to follow, okay?>

Momentary hesitation yielded to curiosity, and a persistent feeling of submission. <What are they?>

<First, you must not harm any human. They won't harm you, but some of their actions may look unintentionally hostile. Okay?> He waited for her nod.

<Second.. do not try anything sexual with me or any other human. Will that be a problem?> He saw the objection in her eyes as she called out in sorrowful tones.

<But I really like mating with you..> James suppressed a smile, tried to keep his assertive tone.

<Well, you can't. Will that be a problem?>

She took her time to answer. <..No.>

<Okay, good. Follow me.> Despite his command she hesitated, watching him land and disappear inside a deformation at the top of the imposing object before moving in to land.

--

"Holy shit! Look who decided to come back."

James found himself face to face with a Shield retrieval team, covered head to toe in high-mass nano armor, equipped with the standard nonlethal electro weaponry. Well, nonlethal when the voltage was kept at reasonable levels.

The commander, chest armor distinctly marked with thick diagonal stripes of red, blue and gold, stepped toward him, helmet separating smoothly into eight pieces around him to reveal his stout face, upturned in a grin that looked far from natural on it.

"Reginald Forsa, Shield commander." He held out a huge armored fist, to which James bumped his own. "You must be James. Where the hell-"

The Ancient cut him off. "Commander! You and your men must remain calm. We have a guest."

Almost on cue the clatter of Fiona's claws on the hull surface echoed through the amorphous airlock door. Her steps took on metronomic suspense, increasing in intensity as she drew nearer to the airlock and holding the attention of all five pairs of human eyes and ears.

Considering the tension blanketing the room, the way Fiona's head sheepishly appeared in the doorway, ears pinned, was immensely comical to the Ancient. He held his laughter however, and beckoned her inside.

<It's okay Fiona, come in.>

Her lithe body flowed into view, wings tightly folded to avoid contact with the strangely gray hull. The sight of large armored creatures were disturbing, but seeing one without a head covering made her realize it was just another bizarre covering humans wore.

A number of exclamations left Reginald's three shielders at the sight of her, including a "Dios mio!" The commander, however, held his hard gaze in silence. The dragoness stopped close to James, oddly more comfortable in his presence.

"So this is what they look like in the flesh." The line turned James' head back to the commander.

"Robin showed you the photo? Why?" The commander's face told him before he could respond.

"You're her brother, aren't you."

Reginald blinked in surprise. "How.. how could you tell?"

"Faces are more expressive than you know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get her down to the core." James' fingers danced in the air as he re-enabled his communications and made a contact request to Robin.

It took Reg a second to recover from the Ancient's unsettling display of experience. He had never met one before now, but this one had proven their reputation was by no means exaggerated. "Wait, what the hell were you doing for the last sixteen hours? And what do you mean HER?"

The Ancient's face gave nothing away, though he was more than a little perturbed inside. "First Contact took.. longer than expected. She's a female, the species has the same sexual dichotomy as us. Anything else?"

Robin's slender form phased into view of every human in the room, interrupting Reginald just before he could respond. Fiona had taken to simply observing the curious exchange her lifemate had with the others of his kind, and was both amused and confused when all of them turned to regard the same seemingly empty space.

"Hi Robin." She looked surprised. "I found the dragon and brought her back. She is, indeed, sentient!"

The emotion in his voice was shocking in comparison to the earlier impartiality it held, even to him.

"Holy shit.." Robin was flabbergasted.

"I need you to pressurize the core so we can bring her down, okay?" Robin nodded, her image staring ahead at invisible readouts.

"It's gonna take.. thirty minutes.. ish.. for the atmosphere to cycle."

"There's no need for that. Calculate the compositional difference in the atmospheres and synthesize the missing mass. It'll take less than five."

Robin had much the same reaction as her brother. "Uhh.. Y-yeah, that could work! Hold on."

Her image disappeared, and Fiona watched as the three helmeted humans unabashedly returned their gaze upon her.

"Well, I guess we can get out of this gear." Reginald's fingers sailed through the air, and seconds later Fiona could notice his shiny steel covering changing shape, losing definition and seeming to evaporate into thin air, his flesh showing through in rough patches as the last of the material left it.

Things had only become increasingly strange and awe inspiring to the Champion. The other humans waved their hands as well, and their coverings, too, had come off. She tried to reconcile what she was seeing with what James had told her. How could knowledge allow them to complete such feats with only their hands?

Her lifemate also seemed preoccupied with the strange motions, though his seemed to have no visible effect.

<We'll need to wait here for a short time before entering the ship proper.>

Fiona was happy to gain some clarification, unable to discern anything from the unintelligible speech still resounding through the room.

<Why?>

<Our air is different than yours. If we went in now, you might die.> More confusion.

<How could you be in my air, then?>

<Tiny tools.> James reflexively looked at her and smiled, remembering their earlier conversation.

"James?" He realized what he was doing, turned back to face Reg. "Did you hear me?"

The commander's stout face looked at him strangely, wondering why he had smiled at the dragon. Multitasking was not a human strong suit, and the matespeak still required some concentration to use.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"You said this.. dragon was sentient, but is it civilized?"

"They do have a society, though it is.. tribal at the highest grouping, and, as you might imagine, rather different than our own at the personal scale.. By no means are they savages, if that's what you're implying."

"I'd just like to make sure my sister doesn't get eaten when this thing gets hungry."

Slight annoyance pierced the Ancient's demeanor as he glared at Reginald. "I wouldn't have brought her back here if she was dangerous."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just busting your chops, bro." Reg gave him his best goofy smile.

"Your immaturity is noted."

"Sorry to interrupt your little back and forth, but pressurization is complete." Both turned to see holo-Robin watching them, arms crossed.

"All right, we're coming down now."

Reginald and his crew watched James again turn to the dragon before they both disappeared down the corridor to the core. He hadn't seen any kind of communication between the two, yet the way he looked at the creature suggested they understood each other. Wild thoughts began to tickle the back of his mind, likely the result of watching too many science fiction holos. Was this species capable of mind control or something? One thing was certain; he would be keeping close tabs on their new guest.

--

Robin's eyes were fixed on the core entry long before it opened to allow man and dragon to pass through. Fiona paused just inside the core, taken back by how large the space was. James continued on toward another human in the room, and the dragoness was once again subject to the sounds of a language she could not understand. Not keen on sitting through another one of those, she walked into the enormous room to get a better look.

A perfect sphere of dull white was centered in the room, itself also spherical and colored entirely in an unnatural grey, save for the area around the two humans, which was completely transparent. She did not need to move any further into the space to see it was completely empty otherwise. None of the inner space was in use, and she saw no other humans present. For a time she pondered what purpose such an enormous space served a species that could not fly.

"My god, look at it.. the photo doesn't do it justice." Fiona cast a nice side view of herself from her angle to the humans, as well as a nice demonstration of gait when she walked. James was relieved she hadn't spoken to him. Managing multiple conversations was quite headache inducing.

"Her, Robin. She's female."

"So they have the same sexual duality as us! Fascinating." She did not take her eyes off the dragon while she spoke. "How did you manage to communicate with her?"

"Well, here's the thing.. we can hear each other's thoughts."

Robin furrowed her brow. "What? They're psychic? My god, I-" This succeeded in tearing her gaze from the creature.

"That's what I thought too. They're not. For some reason we share a kind of connection, what they call a matebond."

"Matebond?" Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Does that mean you-?!" James quickly cut her off.

"Apparently it forms between sexual partners, but the phenomenon is so rare we can't be certain that's the case. The fact that it formed between her and I lends credence that it is not based on that." He gave her an excellent dismissive glare, carefully hiding his nervousness.

"R-right. I'm sorry that I assumed.." She trailed off, visibly embarrassed.

"Don't concern yourself. I am not easily offended." By no means did he want anyone to know what he had done out there, but neither did he want to lie. Omission after all was perfectly effective so long as the right questions are not asked.

"That's true." Robin took a second to absorb what she was being told. "That's also.. incredible. How is such a thing even.. even possible?!"

James gave her a smile, unusually broad for someone who less than a standard day ago looked about as full of emotion as a construction drone.

"That's what we're going to find out. Well, what YOU'RE going to find out."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Me? What are you going to be doing?"

"We can speak to each other. I'll spend the next week or so constructing a translation map for her language. Then we'll be able to understand all of them."

He saw the flash of realization in her eyes, a sight not unappealing to him. "Ah, I hadn't considered that. So, does she have a name? Does.. the species have a name?"

"The species.. is something unpronounceable. I guess we'll stick to calling them dragons for now. It's not completely inappropriate. Now, I have some ideas on how we can test the physical nature of the bond. If we-"

Robin raised an eyebrow, interrupted. "You didn't answer my first question. Does she have a name?"

This omission, though less embarrassing, still would have rather been left alone. "It's.. Fiona." Before she could inquire further, he continued. "The name of my first wife."

Slight sagging of tone and face gave hint to the sadness the Ancient concealed. Robin was disturbed at how radically the man's outward demeanor had changed. He seemed.. almost like a regular human now, rather than one of legend. What had happened out there on the planet?

Cautious to not delve into memories best left forgotten, Robin turned to the impartiality of science. "Now that is even stranger. This phenomenon is more complex than I care to guess at."

The dearth of interesting objects in the enormous space left Fiona even more bored than watching humans talk, and even her curiosity seemed to fade rather quickly. She stalked slowly back toward the two, just now realizing they had been watching her the entire time.

More concerned with the room than the humans, the dragoness only now got a good look of the other human, and what she saw confused her greatly.

<James, what are those things on that one's chest?>

James found he hadn't heard what Robin had just said. "Hold on, Fiona's talking." The Engineer scrunched her face, though she kept her annoyance otherwise hidden. Of course learning everything they could about the dragons was a priority, but that did not stop her from feeling ignored. She noticed the dragon staring at her, and James continued to look at her as well. Were they talking about her?

<Oh! Those are.. breasts. They are the major sexual characteristic of our females.>

She gave Robin a critical look over. Her musculature was significantly less defined than the males, and her hair was longer, with a more slender facial structure. Though nothing hung between her legs, her.. breasts.. seemed like they might be even more difficult to maneuver with. How did humans get around without tearing something off?

<They look weird. Do you belong to this female's harem?>

Robin became even more curious when he started laughing.

<No.. Our sexual relationships are different than yours, as well. She's just a.. friend.>

<You mean you haven't mated with her? Is she unattractive?>

He briefly glanced at Robin. <She's.. attractive.. I just don't mate with every female I see.>

<Should I consider that a compliment?> She circled him slowly, tracing her tail along his chest.

<You never really left me a choice the first time.. and stop doing that!> He pushed her tail off of him.

<Maybe, but you didn't seem to object after that..> Was she seriously teasing him?

"Uhh.. James? What's going on?" Robin was watching the scene with visible curiosity, and no doubt suspicion.

"Fiona just had some questions about human females. As you may have noticed, they don't have breasts. Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Ah.. Yeah. Do you want me to figure out this matebond thing first or should I focus on dragon biochemistry?"

"Biochemistry. We need to know just how compatible we are with this world. For all we know the enzymes in our saliva could cause severe allergic reactions or something." Little did she know, he had all the empirical evidence he needed to disprove that.

"Right. I guess you should get going, then." Robin's tone was depressive, which made James feel bad. He had, after all, pretty much abandoned her from the moment he had awakened.

"Tell you what. Nightfall's in about two hours, Fiona should be getting tired by then. When she passes out, would you like to have dinner together? I feel bad for leaving you on drone duty."

Her face told him her answer. "That'd be lovely, though I don't want you to feel like you have to.." She took measured steps toward him, stopping less than a foot away.

"I want to." Their eye contact and smiling angered Fiona. They were not lifemates!

<Aren't we supposed to be doing.. something?> James was surprised at the jealousy in her thoughts, though she was right.

"Well, I'd better get started with Fiona before sundown. See you soon."

"Yeah.." She looked through the glassy screens that scattered themselves about her vision at the pair as they walked into the core room. Though she didn't know what had caused the Ancient's change in attitude, she certainly was not displeased with it.

James flipped through the synthesizer screens, trying to decide what Fiona would be most comfortable with. A free swinging door, since she's not used to using tools with her hands.. Gold colored cushion, though she may prefer the floor.. The walls an appearance of the terrain, in case she's claustrophobic.. Not bad at all! The request was submitted, and he watched as the reality materialized before him. Synthesis was a commonplace event among humans, so he didn't say anything before starting the process, keeping a close eye on Fiona as she observed the likely inexplicable appearance of a room. He was more than a little impressed when Fiona turned to him.

<More tools?>

<Yeah. The tiny tools that enhance my body can also construct objects. That's all that's happening here.>

<I understand. You make it sound simple, but it's incredible to me... We must seem like savages to you..>

<That's not true. We're awed at finding intelligent life other than ourselves, in fact. Not to mention you have traits humans find rather desirous.>

Fiona's tail went rigid. <Mating?>

James sighed. <No... well, yes... but I was referring to your other physical abilities. You're strong, fast and can fly. Not things humans can do without help.>

Once again he found her tail caressing his back. <If you like mating so much, why can't we do it here?>

<If the others knew we were lifemates it would complicate things. Don't worry about it. We should really get started. Come with me.>

With that he entered the newly constructed structure, holding the door for her. She entered in short order.

<This is a common structure, a door. This one you simply have to push to enter, but most doors have a locking mechanism you need to disengage before they'll open.>

If she was listening, she didn't show it, consumed with the synthetic vista that seamlessly masked the room's walls. James had to hold back laughter when the dragoness walked face first into one of the walls. She was intelligent, but her knowledge and experience was no greater than that of a human child.

Fiona stepped back, growling instinctively. <What is this?>

<An illusion. I thought it would make you more comfortable. Come sit down.> He gestured to the large, flat pillow opposite the chair he was now sitting in.

She approached the comforter, sniffing it carefully before placing down a tentative paw. James couldn't help smiling when she let out a tone of satisfaction, flopping onto the cushion and rubbing her face affectionately against it.

<This feels wonderful! What is it?>

He chuckled softly. <I'll tell you later. Right now I need your help with understanding your language.>

With that he switched the AI to voice control. "Computer, prepare for language translation. Will provide corresponding word to input."

The AI's feminine voice responded in kind. "Action confirmed. Awaiting input."

<Okay Fiona, say 'the' for me.>

She obliged, confused. He waited for a second while the computer processed.

"Sample obtained. Speak corresponding word."

"The."

"'The' confirmed. Next."

--

<Are we done? I'm kind of... tired...>

<If you want to sleep, go ahead. We don't have much left to do.>

James left his chair, crawling over to Fiona and running his hand along her sweetly textured flank. She said nothing, though the soft high notes that whispered to him gave ample evidence of her satisfaction. Minutes went by and her vocalizations ceased, though his caress lingered a while after.

"Good night..." He softly intoned to nobody in particular, surprising himself. He had come to care for a being entirely different from him. More than just the novel nature of the dragoness, more than the mating, for some untellable reason he felt.. connected to this alien. Perhaps it was understandable, given they were lifemates. Though they had known each other less than an Earth week he felt closer to her than he had anyone in a long time.

It was with great reluctance that he carefully left the room. He did, after all, have Robin waiting for him.

Robin, he found, was more than ready for him, sitting at a table from the French Revival Era, with the traditional Revival French dish of sashimi laid out on it.

"An interesting era choice." James said without discernible emotion, taking a seat opposite the red haired Engineer.

"Rather appropriate for tonight, I thought.." The suggestiveness in her voice was as clear as day to the Ancient.

"It is rather appealing. I'm sorry again for leaving you in charge of the drones."

"Don't worry about it."

The meal proceeded, and so did the conversation. Robin was every bit as intelligent and driven as he had been lead to believe, though he hadn't expected just how interested she was in him. When she leaned over the table to kiss him the only surprise he felt was at how long she had waited to do so.

It was also no great shock when she pressed him to take it further than just a kiss. Before meeting Fiona he would have rejected her outright, but she had succeeded in reawakening a libido he had long thought lost to the ravages of time. James decided to indulge her, if only for a night. Locked in coitus, neither human noticed the shimmering of amber eyes watching them from the darkness.