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A Friend Indeed

_ DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing and original characters are copyright 2008 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment._

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Chapter 3

An Awkward Moment

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Dew's parents took us both home and scolded us greatly. We explained that we were out in the flower fields and took a nap, but overslept and woke up far later than we were supposed to. They didn't accept that as an acceptable response, but at least we didn't have to go into exactly what we did out there.

I wasn't sure if Dew wanted to talk to them about it or not. I couldn't remember if we talked about whether or not we'd tell her parents about it, so I figured I'd let her make the call and just try to avoid mention of it. After all, I didn't want them to get the wrong idea... even though we both had kind of settled on the fact that it was inevitable.

Moyst patched up my wounds with some medicinal herbs. Thankfully, I only received a few scratches and bruises. Oh yeah, and a bite. The bite on my tail was painful, but it didn't really inhibit me all that much. She said I might be a little sore for the next few days, although I knew that, after enduring the initial pain, I could handle it. Plus, she didn't seem too concerned anyway, which relieved me.

We both got punished by being forced to stay inside of the den for the next few days. Moyst also agreed to let us be in the immediate outside of the den in the daytime, although only while they were watching us.

That punishment pretty much sucked, especially since we already had such high expectations for those days. I wanted more of that delightful taste that came from Dew's vagina! And, from how she made it sound, I'd bet she'd want to feel it again, too. I also wanted to know if I could feel that feeling for myself, especially since we both got too distracted to worry about my own needs. How on earth would we be able to do that kind of stuff while in lock-down mode at the den?!

I guess it was a better alternative that getting eaten by that Mightyena... but now that we'd both had a glimpse of the joys of mating, how would we be able to resist our intensifying curiosities for several days?

***

The first day was extremely boring. We stayed inside of the den all day, under close surveillance by Dew's parents.

I really wanted to talk to her about all of the events from yesterday, but ended up just talking about our fight with the Mightyena and praising her for how well she fought. She said she didn't know what came over her, but I sure was glad that it did, because otherwise it wouldn't have turned out so well.

Eventually, that seemingly never-ending day finally ended, and night fell. We both were at our beds, feigning sleep until we were both sure that her parents were asleep for real.

"You think they're asleep?" I whispered over to her.

"Yeah," she answered. Now believing that it was safe to do so, the Mudkip scooted over to where I was sleeping and let me hold her in my arms.

"Today sure was boring, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was... I'm sorry, Florel..."

Hmm? "Sorry? Sorry about what?" I really didn't know what she had to be sorry about. It was just as much my fault as it was hers.

"If I didn't fall asleep yesterday, we wouldn't have taken a nap and woken up at night... and then we wouldn't have gotten into that fight with the Mightyena."

"Hey!" I exclaimed through whisper, shaking her slightly to indicate my disagreement instead of shouting. "It's not your fault! It wore me out too, heh heh."

"Yeah, but..."

"No butts except yours, got it?" It took her a moment to catch the joke, but when she did, she giggled and lightly tapped my chest with her paw. Thank goodness it was my back that was the part of me that was injured and not my chest!

"Florel... it felt so amazing yesterday, what you did..." she said, changing her tone.

"Yeah, it sounded like you were enjoying it. I hope I didn't get too weird when doing that, but whatever it was coming out of there tasted just so good."

"Did it really?" asked Dew, looking up at me with a sincere look on her face.

"I thought it did. Let's do it again sometime!" I said with a smile, not caring if she could see it or not.

She nuzzled against my chest and licked it a bit. "I wonder how you taste?"

Good question. "The Mightyena didn't seem to think so good," I said jokingly, earning a humored laugh from Dew in response. I was worried she'd blow our cover with her laugh, though, heh.

"That's not what I meant, silly!" she exclaimed after her laughter, again pounding my chest. "I mean... your penis... hehe."

"Well, only one way to find out, huh?" I stated, kind of hoping that she would be eager to try it for herself. After all, if it felt so good for her to be licked down there, it's gotta feel pretty good if she licked my member.

"You don't have a hole like I do, though... do you think it'd be the same if I licked your penis?"

I didn't know for sure, but I could only assume it'd be at least somewhat similar. "Yeah, probably. You can feel free to get creative if you like it. I'm sure that however you do it, it'll feel good!"

"Oh... if it feels anything like what I felt yesterday... you'll love it!!"

"Great. Now we just have to wait for some alone time. I don't want to risk it while your parents are around... at least, not until we tell them about us... you know?"

Dew nodded against my chest. "Yeah. I don't know what they'll think..."

"You mean about us being mates?" To be honest, it didn't just worry me, it really worried me, especially after seeing her father completely wreck that Mightyena. He'd snap me like a twig if he tried those moves on me!

"Mmhmmm... I don't want them to freak out or get mad at us... or stop us from being mates..."

I wanted to assure her that they'd be fine about it, although I really didn't know how they would react, so I just shut up and said a simple, "Yeah," in response.

"Florel, thank you," she said, reaching up to lick my face.

I looked down at her adorable face that was smiling up at me. "Thank you for what?"

"For being my friend. Even if we weren't mates or in love and things were just like they were before... I'm so glad to have you as a friend..."

I hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad to have you for a friend, too, Dew. But I'm also glad that I can say that I love you, because I do."

"I love you, too, Florel!" she exclaimed.

We cuddled for the next few minutes before Dew returned to her side of the room. I fell asleep shortly afterwards, looking forward to the time when we'd finally be able to pick up where we left off as far as exploring each other's bodies went.

I was very glad to hear that she wanted to try and taste me, especially after hearing just how pleasurable it sounded. It made me wonder exactly why it was so pleasurable, but I could only guess, as it'd probably be too revealing if I asked Dew's parents, not to mention awkward.

It also made me wonder if that feels so good, how good would mating feel? Dew looked completely euphoric after she released that liquid all over me. Everything she's said about that experience made it sound phenomenal. Mating's gotta be even better, but then how good would that make it?

I could only fantasize about the day I would find out.

***

The next two days that passed were incredibly slow and boring. Each night, Dew would tell me that she was getting more and more anxious, almost to an obsessive point by the end of the second night. It was so difficult trying to refrain from our new curiosity. It was unfair that we had to, too.

At one point, we considered telling her parents about our relationship, but we eventually backed down before actually going ahead with it. The time wasn't right. Acting out of desperation like that just in an attempt to satisfy our curiosities and move forward with things wasn't a smart idea, although it was actually me, for a change, that was convincing Dew to think rationally about it. She was the one who was pushing for the idea and not thinking it through.

Was I really like that? I guess we have become a bit like each other since our confessions. I've become a lot more cautious and relaxed, while Dew has become more excitable and brave, even a bit reckless.

During the afternoon of the fourth day of our punishment, we were excitedly surprised when Torent and Moyst said that they'd have to go out and gather food together for tonight's dinner. They gave us explicit orders to remain in the den and said they'd be back in an hour or two.

We said our goodbyes and, after we were sure they were far off into the distance, we migrated back into our sleeping area and finally had a moment alone where we didn't have to be worrying about interruptions or getting discovered.

"Florel, come on," said Dew anxiously, jumping on me and pinning me to the ground. "We only have an hour!"

I don't think I'd ever seen her so desperate about anything before. It was like she was just ready to burst she was so excited. Of course, I was excited, too, but I don't think on quite the same level. Maybe it was just because she knew what it was like.

Hey wait, though, I'm supposed to be the one who likes to try new things! How could I not be as excited as she was? Especially because she claimed it felt amazing! I must be losing my sense of curiosity or something.

"Are you sure you want to do it right now? I mean, what if they come back early?" I asked, trying to make sure she had thought her actions through.

"I just really want to try it," she said in an almost begging tone. "It'll be fine, don't worry..."

I couldn't refuse her. I really did want to try it, too. I just also didn't want there to be any problems. It felt a lot more risky doing something like that in the den as opposed to the freedom the flower fields offered. "Alright... do you even know what you're doing?"

"Um... I'm supposed to lick your penis and get creative?" The way she asked for confirmation was really cute. It was something about the innocent tone she used.

"Yeah, and let's just hope it's roughly the same." It wasn't until now that the realization of exactly what it was she'd be doing sunk in. She was going to be licking and tasting my penis! What I pee out of! It seemed kind of gross, but then again, I did the same to her... it just didn't quite hit me since it wasn't mine.

While still on top of me, she walked around until she was facing against me, similarly to how we were at one time in the flower fields, giving me a fine view of her girlhood again.

"Florel, can you please touch me there?"

I didn't have to contest it; of course I'd do it for her. "Sure!" I used my paw to gently rub up and down her slit a few times, then settled by simply rubbing it across that sensitive bump of hers instead of trying to stick my digit inside of her, partially in fear of causing her to bleed again.

She moaned in glee, then dipped her head down and, as anticipated, ran her soft, floppy tongue across my sheath, which was quickly getting ready to reveal its contents. The Mudkip licked and licked across it, licking around in various spots until I finally felt my member poke out of its hiding spot.

I felt a sensational pleasure as, for the first time, she ran her tongue across my exposed boyhood, sending a shiver of delightful sensations through my body. She kept it up and gave a few more licks across it until it was fully erect, which didn't take too long at all.

The feeling of her tongue was quite a bit different than the feeling of her paws touching it. I think I enjoyed it even more than her paws, because it was wet and very gentle, yet so inviting and commanding. Her tongue danced around my member, touching the tip, the sides, and even down to the base during its highly erotic dance.

"How do- ooooh... how do I ta-aa-aste?" I asked through several moans.

She paused her licking just long enough to answer. "It, uh... I can't really taste anything. It tasted kind of bland."

That was odd. I was sure there'd be some sort of taste produced by it, especially after how flavorful her liquids were. Wait, did I have liquids of my own down there? I knew that it took a little bit to produce them. Maybe they just weren't there yet?

"Is there any fluid or anything on it? Like at the fields, where it was kind of slimy?" I asked her, trying to remind her of that day.

"No, I didn't see any..." answered the Mudkip.

"Oh, well, hey, maybe that's all that's wrong? Just keep licking; it feels good, and that sticky stuff always shows up when it feels good."

Without saying anything in response, I felt her continue licking my shaft, sliding her tongue all across its red flesh. It was really hard to describe just how sensational it felt. It was almost like it was tickling, except in a very enjoyable way. Rather than wanting to laugh, I wanted to moan. I guess that would be the best I could describe those feelings...

Eventually, I heard her murmur something positive, although I couldn't quite make out what it was that she said. Whatever it was, though, it caused her to start licking with even greater intensity, focusing particularly around the upper part of my member. That was fine, because that was where I felt the most pleasure from her licks, although I did enjoy the feeling all over the place.

She took a brief pause from her work to give me a status report. "It tastes... kind of weird, but kind of good, too."

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"It's, uh... kind of salty, a little bitter, I think... and kind of sweet, too. I don't know how to describe it."

"Well, do you like it?" I guess that was all that really mattered.

"Yeah, I think so," answered the Mudkip, who turned her face back towards my member and resumed her licking. As long as she liked it, that was all that was important to me. Ah, what am I talking about -- me liking it was important, too!

"Mmmm... you said get creative, right?" she asked me, taking another brief pause from her tonguework.

"Y-yeah, I did. What are you thinking?" I asked back, curious as to exactly what it was the Mudkip had planned for me.

"It looks and kind of feels like I could put it in my mouth..." she suggested. "Umm... does that sound too weird?"

It did sound kind of weird, but I suppose no more weird than me sticking my tongue deep inside of her. It'd just be kind of... inverted. "Uh, I don't think it sounds too weird." Actually, the thought of having my member engulfed by her warm, wet mouth sounded quite appealing. "As long as you're fine with it."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want to try it," she said, chuckling and having a very true point. Aww, Dew. I resumed my rubbing against her girlhood to show my encouragement, after kind of spacing out for a few minutes.

She twitched slightly at my treatment, then actually went ahead with taking my member into her mouth. I felt her lips greet it as it made its way inside. Her moist tongue was waiting for it as well, as were the new feelings of hot breath and additional moisture.

It was absolutely incredible! It felt even more sensuous than I ever would have thought it to be, still amazed by the thought of actually having my penis inside of her mouth. At first thought, it seemed wrong and dirty, though my curiosities couldn't resist. However, the result was most favorable, and it really did feel amazing.

There was a brief pause while she led my boyhood into her mouth, trying to adjust it inside and likely survey its size. It couldn't be too much bigger than anything we'd eat. I was worried that she'd get the wrong idea and try to take a bite out of it... but knowing Dew, I knew I'd be fine.

The little Mudkip then navigated her tongue around in her mouth, rubbing at my member and teasing it in a very pleasurable way. The way she was playing with it... rolling her tongue around it, guiding it all around her mouth and letting it rub the sides of her mouth... it was fantastic.

She surprised me when she lifted her head up off of my penis and started panting lightly. "Ha... It's so... I... I don't know what to say, I..." she said back to me, although not bothering to turn her head back, rendering it rather difficult to hear. Dew followed up by lowering her head back down onto my member and resuming her work.

Dew never said if she liked it or not. Judging by the tone and her actions, I'd say she did, but just how much was a mystery. If it was anything at all like how I felt when I was sticking my tongue inside of her, I could see difficulty in trying to explain it. Regardless, however much she was enjoying, I was almost certain that I was enjoying it more -- it was beyond fantastic!

As she continued sliding and maneuvering her tongue all over my cock, I felt an unusual sensation. It was so powerful that it caused me to reactively buck my hips forward and slide a bit more of myself into her mouth. I hope I didn't hurt her, but wow, it felt like... something was almost coaxing me to pee. Her mouth was actually completely engulfing my member and I could feel it closing somewhere along my length. Was she... was she sucking on it?

"Mmmn... uhhhhnnn... ohh, Dew...! Whatever it is you're doing, it feels so... uhhhnn... so good...!" I moaned over to her. My paws fell to the ground beside me, laying sprawled out and with their palms facing the sky. I did feel guilty for not pleasuring Dew any longer, but the feeling I felt was just too incredible that I couldn't think or function properly at all. Hopefully she'd forgive my selfishness.

In addition to that incredible sucking feeling, I felt her begin bobbing her head up and down on my shaft, sliding the rim of her mouth against my now moistened member and providing even more pleasure.

Such pleasure caused me to squirm on the floor, completely overpowered by the intense feelings her actions were sending through my body. My legs were moving almost uncontrollably, repositioning themselves almost constantly in erratic manners, trying to find that perfect comfort spot to bask in the glory of her tonguework.

I was sweating, panting heavily, mumbling and moaning, and totally engrossed in the bliss I was receiving from her. I really wished that she'd talk and tell me if she was alright, but she wouldn't take a break and I was just too excited to try and tear her away from her work, especially given what an amazing job she was doing on it.

Her bobbing was continuing, although I noticed it, along with the tonguework, pick up in pace by a bit. The timing was curious; at that moment, I was also feeling an incredible sensation building at the base of my shaft and working its way up to the tip. It felt sharp -- far, far sharper than the feeling of having to pee, and even sharper than the pleasure I was feeling when rubbing against her or when she licked me those few days ago. It almost felt like it was burning or boiling, and it felt so, so good.

Without any further warning, I was completely powerless to submit to such an overwhelming feeling. I felt something just click in my mind and in my groin and it felt incredible! It was just too good, too amazing, too powerful to do anything else but let my body lose control.

"D-daah-uhnn... D-Deewwwwwww!!" I screamed out as I was overtaken by extreme feelings of ecstasy and euphoria. I felt my penis squirt something out of it and into Dew's mouth, but in spurts rather than a steady stream like I was used to feeling. It also felt thicker and more forceful. Did I mention that it felt unbelievably amazing?! Ahhh...!!

I completely lost any comprehension of anything going on around me as I laid totally limp on the ground, panting and utterly euphoric. If I could have seen myself, I'm sure I would have been glowing. I felt Dew remove her mouth from my penis and thought I heard her give a cough, but... ahhh... I just didn't have it in me to say anything else to her... I was just too relaxed... too... blissful...

"Mwah, Fworel, whuh is ish shuff?" I heard Dew say to me, still laying on top of me, but wagging her tail. Maybe I'd just... "Fworel? Ih aces iynah ood... buh hould I shwallo ih?"

"Uhnn... Dew... I can't understand a word you're sayin'..." I told her, still with my eyes closed. To be honest, I couldn't tell if it was her or me that was having the problems; I felt so out of it that maybe I just wasn't hearing straight. Ahhh... I figured I should at least see what she wanted.

As I opened my eyes, I remembered that I was indeed on my back and it wasn't that I was somehow on the ceiling like I felt I was. My vision was still a little blurry for some reason, like I'd just woken up and was still super tired, but I could see Dew. It looked like she was over by the entrance to the den, though. How'd she get over there that fast?

Wait, I thought to myself as I shifted my eyes upward -- or was it downward? -- looking at the Mudkip's tail swishing about. If she's there, then what was... uh oh. Almost afraid to find out the answer, I turned my eyes back to the entrance, trying to regain as much focus as I could. It looked funny, being upside-down and all, but after staring for a few seconds...

"A-ah! D-Dew!" I exclaimed in worry as I shot up, sat on my rump, and twisted my body to look behind me, accidentally knocking Dew down and causing her to stumble onto my lap. That was actually unintentional, and it felt good for the moment I felt it, but as I quickly turned my head around to see what it was that I thought I saw, I felt my heart just completely stop.

"Florel? D-Dewdrop?!"

I heard Dew gulp. "M-m-m-mom!?" She quickly jumped off of me, got on all fours, and gave a spooked stare to the entrance of the den, where it became obvious her mother was standing. I couldn't help but notice a little bit of white goo along parts of Dew's mouth and dotting her face. Did I do that?

Oh no, they saw us! They were going to know exactly what we did and punish us forever! They might... oh no, they might throw me out! Just the thought of Torent, Dew's father, nearly killing that Mightyena was enough to get me worried for my life. He could do the same to me if he wanted to!

I didn't know if I should turn my whole body around to face them or just cry and cower out of fear where I was. After a few seconds of debating -- and of awkward silence -- I braved up and turned myself around using my butt so I was facing them.

Dew was right by my side, completely frozen and speechless. For that matter, I was, too. Torent had joined Moyst, coming in from outside, although kept silent as he contributed to the awkward staring and silence that was taking place in the den we called home.

I think that might have been the most awkward moment of my entire life.

***

The silence was eventually broken and the four of us had the lunch that Dew's parents brought back. They were surprisingly ignorant to what just happened -- almost suspiciously so -- and both made small talk, as if that whole moment never happened. Dew remained entirely silent throughout the whole meal and barely ate a bite.

After lunch, Torent told us that he had to have a little chat with us and directed us both into our room. Neither of us wanted to, I'm sure, but we really had no choice in the matter, so we obliged and proceeded to enter our room. He and Moyst followed behind us and sat at the entrance, essentially blocking our only exit.

There was some more of that awkward silence as I noted them both staring at us with a look in their eye I'd never seen before. I really wanted to look over at Dew, who was sitting right next to me, to see how she was faring, but didn't want to send any signals to her parents... just in case.

"Dew, Florel..." started Torent, looking at us in total seriousness. "I'm sure that, uh... I'm sure you have plenty of questions..." The top question on my list was just how he intended to kill me.

"We want you both to know that we aren't mad or going to punish you; we just want to talk to you about... recent events," said Moyst.

"You... aren't mad?" I asked them bravely, breaking my silence and alleviating some of my worry.

"Florel, no... we just, we... we didn't think that it would... ..." said Torent, who was having difficulty talking properly.

"We didn't think that it would be this soon," interrupted Moyst, finishing her mate's speech. "You two are both still young, but you are also at that age where you begin to become curious about things. Particularly mating."

I couldn't help but feel embarrassed -- even more so than when they gave us the mating talk, as now I actually had some first-paw experience. Well, sorta.

"In fact, it's more than just a curiosity, but more like a conscious feeling and desire to mate. It's your bodies way of telling you that you are ready to mate," the female Swampert added.

"Wha?! Our bodies way?! We're ready to ma-..." It hit me that I actually said that out loud rather than kept it to my thoughts. I had to stop doing that! Oh well, might as well finish. "We're... ready to mate?"

"Your bodies are," answered Moyst, nodding her head.

"But just because your bodies are," said Torent, jumping in, "that doesn't mean that you are." He sat down on his rump and crossed his arms, still looking at both of us. "Kids, I know that we've given you a talk before about mating. You might have been just a bit too young then, but we knew it was important that you knew about it so it wouldn't be so much of a mystery to you."

I didn't get it. It still seemed like a pretty big mystery to me, even after they told us about it. "We, uh... we didn't mate, though. Not like you explained it, at least..." I didn't really want to have to tell them exactly what we did, but I was telling the truth in the fact that we didn't mate in the way they told us. It wasn't even like that Poochyena couple, so... it couldn't have been that bad... right?

The two Swamperts looked at each other for a few seconds, then Moyst sat down beside Torent as they both resumed their gaze upon us. "We understand," assured Moyst, though I wasn't sure how.

"Listen, Florel, Dew, we told you about mating and the functions of your genders. We told you how its done and what it does," said Torent, although pausing for a few seconds after that last bit. "Uh, heh, how to put this... there are other things that you can do... that are also enjoyable, though not quite mating and purely for... enjoyment."

Moyst lightly punched Torent's side before she interrupted him. "You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to. You didn't do anything wrong, either. We just want you to be safe and happy. All we want is for you two to know that you can ask us questions and you can open up... we love you both very much."

I wasn't quite sure whether to simply say thanks, to stay silent, or to actually ask some questions about the whole situation. I certainly didn't want to make Dew -- who was still petrified -- uncomfortable, but a part of me really did want to just open up like they said. It was some pretty important stuff, after all!

However, it wasn't me who broke the silence, but it was actually Dew! "Mom... dad... I..." she started, taking a step forward. I looked over at her and saw that she had her eyes closed and was shivering. Wow, she really looked very uncomfortable... Poor Dew! "I... uh... ..."

"Dew, don't worry," I assured her. "Go on, don't hold anything back." Hopefully my encouragement would help. I wasn't quite sure what it was that she was trying to say. Maybe it was that she loved me? Maybe it was a question about mating? Maybe... maybe she was going to ask if they thought we were ready to mate?

After a few more seconds, her twitching paused. She hung her head low and nearly broke out in tears. "I-I'm sorry... I-... I'm sorry for everything... I-... ... I just don't know what to say... ... ..." Tears finally began falling from her eyes and hitting the ground beneath her. Dew...

"Dew... we aren't looking for apologies. We aren't even looking to judge you and we certainly aren't looking to make you feel bad! Dear... we just want to be there for you and let you know that you can talk to us. We're your parents. We love you," said Moyst, getting up and walking over to her daughter, picking her up and holding her in her arms.

"Hey Moyst, come on, I think maybe giving them some time to talk would be good. Besides, I need to talk to you anyway." The male Swampert pointed to the other room. He then looked over at me, causing me to worry slightly. "Florel, I want you two to talk. You can calm her down better than we can, I'm sure. Just come to us if you have any questions, otherwise we'll just put this whole thing behind us."

I nodded in response, too nervous to really say anything back. Torent was intimidating, yes, but rarely as frightening as he's seemed in my mind recently. My now-obvious relationship with his daughter and the fact that I was only adopted by him.

"We'll be in the other room, Dew," said Moyst in a comforting tone as she set Dew down, briefly looked over at me, then followed her mate into the next room, leaving the two of us alone.

Well, it was just the two of us again. That sure was weird, but went a lot better than I thought it would. I felt bad for Dew, who really looked completely overwhelmed by the situation. I walked over to her, gave her a pat her on the back, then tried to reassure her that everything was fine. "Hey, cheer up, it's not the end of the world."

"I'm sorry... Florel... I- I'm... sor-ry..." said Dew through a few sobs. She was still crying over what happened.

"Dew! It's just us, now! What are you sorry for? Answer me honestly! Remember, you promised me that you'd be brave," I ordered her, trying to get her to talk. Raising my voice was probably a mistake, especially because I didn't want Dew to think I was mad at her, too... well, too late to change it.

"I..." She gulped. "I'm sorry that I let you down..." The depressed Mudkip hung her head even lower until she finally fell to the ground and started crying again, burying her face into the ground.

"Ah! Dew!" I sat down right beside her and tried shaking her to rouse her attitude. "Dew, you didn't let me down! You didn't let them down either, now come on, let's just talk about this rather than freak out!"

It really made me sad seeing Dew as sad and depressed as she was. I hated the powerless feeling of being unable to convince her that things would be alright. Maybe I was just handling it too well, or maybe it was just that I didn't quite realize how bad of a situation we were in. I really didn't know. I only knew that she really wasn't taking us being discovered very well and wished that I could just talk to her about it.

***

After half an hour or so of nearly non-stop crying and sobbing, Dew's tears finally let up. I never left her side and never ceased rubbing her back with my paw. I gave up on trying to communicate with her sometime throughout that time, but now that she sounded a bit better, I decided to try again.

"Dew... are you feeling any better?" I asked her softly, not trying to upset her.

"Y-yeah... I... I'm sorry..." she answered, sighing. More apologies weren't what I wanted to hear.

"Hey, Dew, come on already... you don't need to apologize for anything. They're gone. Let's just talk, you and I, okay?" I smiled down at her.

She looked up at me with her beautiful eyes and agreed. "Alright... let's." I was glad that she finally was opening up again. I really hated seeing her sad...

"Okay, so... first... I never got to thank you, Dew! Get over here!" I pulled Dew in closer to me and tried bringing her in close for a hug. It wasn't quite so easy as she was laying down and was a lot heavier than me, but I managed to at least get her on my lap and nuzzle against her to show my appreciation.

"W-wait? Thank me?" she asked. Had she forgotten already?

"Yeah, for... 'mating with your mouth' or whatever we want to call it! It felt amaaaazzzing!" I exclaimed, chuckling and laughing to try and raise her spirits. It really was the best feeling I'd ever felt!

She looked up at me and blushed, turning her eyes to the side, then laughed as well. "Hehe, it was, um, pretty interesting... I'm glad you liked it! It kinda tasted weird, that stuff that you shot in my mouth!"

I blushed as well. "Heh yeah. Only weird? Not great? Your stuff tasted great!" I exclaimed back to her, reminding us both of that last moment we shared together when I first got a taste of her juices. They tasted so good... I really wanted to try that taste again!

"I wanted to taste it and I liked it, but it just tasted weird!" she retorted, getting a little defensive, perhaps.

"It's alright if it didn't taste great, as long as you liked it. But hey, you were trying to say something right before your parents showed up. What was it?"

"Oh, that... hehe, I was just... I had it all in my mouth and-"

I couldn't help but interrupt her. "All over your face, too," I said with a smile. Actually, I could still see pale stains on her face from my release. Hehe...

She lightly slapped me with her tail. "Hey!" exclaimed Dew, giggling and looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, go on."

"Well, I had it all in my mouth and I didn't know if I should swallow it or not. You said that you really liked, um, my taste, I guess, but I just wasn't sure... Then, uh, well then mom and dad came in... and I didn't know what to do, so I went for it, even though it felt really funny on the way down..." Dew sighed and then closed her eyes.

"Right. It felt great, you know... ah...! Wow! I really hope we can do that more often!" I said, jumping an inch off the air once. Yeah, I might have been just a bit excited, you could say.

"Heh, maybe," said Dew with another sigh. "Florel?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think it means?" she asked me cryptically. I had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. It sounded like she forgot to say something aloud -- something I certainly had no trouble with.

"Huh? What do I think what means?"

"Um... just... mom and dad... they... I don't want things to change between us..." the Mudkip said, facing down at the ground and appearing quite worried.

"Change?" I still wasn't quite sure what she meant. Change could mean a lot of different things. Did she not want us to... not want us to become mates?! Was she having second thoughts about it? "What do you mean?"

"I... I really like the time we spend together... I really love being with you... and I just... I... I just don't want mom and dad to think that we really have grown up... I don't want to have them treating us differently just because of, um... what they saw..."

The specifics of what she meant or what her point was still eluded me. I really didn't know. Whatever it was, though, it looked like Dew wasn't quite finished speaking. She was just taking a brief pause, like she often does when giving those heartfelt speeches that I admire her for.

"I want to be friends like we always were, going to the flower fields and the lake and all of the other places you'd take me... They're always going to be looking at us weird, Florel. Every time we go out somewhere together, they'll always be wondering, 'Do you think they're mating?' And every time we get back, they'll give us odd looks..."

"Hey, hey, I think you're worrying too much. You really think your parents would give us odd looks?" If those 'odd looks' were anything like the looks they gave us earlier, I could see why she'd feel uncomfortable. Although they were very understanding from what I could tell, they definitely were looking at us differently... Oh twigs, I really am worrying like Dew!

"Remember when we saw the Poochyena couple mating? Remember how hard it was to not think about it? We're not just some random Pokemon, though... we're not even just friends of theirs... we're their children! How could they not think about us doing that every time they looked at us?"

I did see her point, actually, but would it really make that big of a difference? "Dew, that was just one thing that we did that they happened to see. It's not like that's the only thing they'll ever remember us for! They just saw one thing. That's it. They probably, uh, have done it themselves... I mean, did they seem concerned or angry about it? They didn't seem angry, did they?"

Dew shook her head, although still kept it low. "N-no... they didn't..."

"If what we did was so bad that they'd never forget it, don't you think that they'd be a bit more angry or concerned about it? Or something? I mean, we've been caught outside twice at night recently and have been yelled at and punished for it! But they'll forget that like they have in the past."

"But Florel, it's mating... it's different..."

"We didn't actually mate, did we? Not like they told us how to, at least. We were just... uh... checking each other's parts out... and stuff. As I understand it, it's not like doing that is going to get you pregnant." I've actually never said 'pregnant' aloud before. I knew what it meant, but the situation never called for it. Somehow, it felt so weird thinking that one day Dew might be pregnant and have a growing egg inside of her... containing our child...

"But still... they are going to think of us differently now! They might treat us differently or try and encourage us to-" Dew paused.

"Encourage us to...? To mate? Is that what you're worried about?" I asked her, realizing that somehow that might be a fear of hers, although I would never know why if it was.

"M-maybe... I just... I don't know... I just wish they never found us like that. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life!" Well, at least I could relate -- it was the most embarrassing moment of my life, too. I chose to believe I got over it, though.

"Dew... were we ever going to tell them that we're mates? Or rather, that we love each other?" I asked her in a serious tone, trying to remind her of a few times we'd discussed it but both agreed not to for fear of them getting angry or upset with us, at least, not for now. My point was more towards the future, because I knew we could only and should only hide it for so long.

"We... um... we were..." she answered slowly.

"Then why not just come clean about it now? They weren't mad -- it didn't even seem like they wanted us to stop! Maybe we should just talk to them about it like they offered and be honest about how we feel towards each other...? You do love me, right? I know I love you... for the very reasons I said and so much more... but if you think that you were just sayi-"

My Mudkip friend was quick to interrupt me when she heard where I was going with my speech. "No! I love you, Florel! I don't care what they or anyone else says... I don't want to tell them because I don't want to have to stop loving you! I don't want for things to change between us!"

"But Dew, they already have. I mean... look, in the past week or two, look at what's happened... I found out you loved me and were trying to tell me... we admitted our feelings toward each other and can now both say we're more than just friends, but we're really in love with each other! We learned a bit about each other -- and about ourselves -- that we never knew before...

"Dew, really... we have to accept that things have changed. I mean, so what your parents might look at us differently; at least they'll see that we're in love and we won't have to hide it! Someday, we are going to mate for real and we might start a family of our own... Don't you want the best for our kids, Dew?"

"O-our... kids...?" She looked up at me and blushed, though never turning away.

"Yeah... our kids." It felt really good to say that. Up until recently, I've never thought about things like that. The only concern I had was what new locations there were to explore. I guess things have changed and would continue to change, huh?

"I do... I do want the best for our kids!" exclaimed Dew, finally smiling at me and wagging her tail back and forth.

"We need to tell your parents, then. They probably already know anyway, or worse yet, they might think that we're not even in love and just overly curious! Don't you think we should at least let them know that? Maybe ask them about things... I mean, that first talk sure did us a lot of good -- it wasn't even that interesting really the first time I heard it because I didn't know what they were talking about!"

Dew giggled at me and nodded. "Yeah, hehe. Maybe you're right... but I still... I really don't know..."

"How about we talk to them about tomorrow, then? Together. If you really, really don't want to, we don't have to... but I think if we really are going to be mates and love each other, we need to do this. I don't want to live in fear while loving you!"

"Alright... tomorrow," she said. "Tomorrow it is. Tomorrow... I'll tell them that I love you!"

"Just remember... you can be brave, Dew. You really are a lot braver and tougher than you think you are. You stood up and actually fought against that Mightyena that attacked us... and you probably saved my life... it felt so weird, because I was used to saving you, and there you go and protect me. Dew... you're so great!"

I saw the bashful Mudkip blush at me shyly, clearly quite flattered by my compliments and encouragements. "Florel! I didn't save you! We just did what we could to both survive together! But hey, Florel..."

"Yeah?" I answered, curious as to what she was going to say.

"Do you think that Mightyena was... the Poochyena from earlier?" she asked me, smiling cheerfully afterwards.

"Hehe, I was thinking the same thing..."

We both laughed and hugged each other, then spent the rest of the day playing outside. Her parents didn't bug her any more about what they saw, even over dinner. She did look a bit uneasy during dinner, even though they seemed to be just fine, but she was much more settled than lunch, that was for sure.

Night eventually fell. After a little bit of chatting inside of the den, Dew and I both went back to our room and talked for a few more minutes alone before finally falling asleep, glad that the day was over and nervously awaiting the trials of confronting her parents in the day to come.

***

What would happen if Dew and I mated? Would it really mean the end of exploring and adventuring like I was used to? I didn't really think much about that until I heard her bring it up. I knew it was a commitment and that raising kids was a big responsibility, but it really did make me question whether or not I was even ready for it.

The feeling I felt... her sucking on me until that golden pleasure shot through my body... if that was just a preview of what mating feels like, it would become very difficult to resist it before too long.

Part of me did feel bad. I wasn't entirely sure if Dew really did enjoy what she did. She didn't show the same kind of enthusiasm afterward as I did after licking her that one time. She said she enjoyed it, but maybe she was just trying to avoid hurting my feelings.

Then again, it was her idea to do that in the first place. She showed the same kind of recklessness that I usually had! I guess it wasn't really too much of a surprise that her parents showed up. They said they'd be back in just a little while. Heh... I even warned her, for a change. I was actually the one that was somewhat against taking chances.

You know, it just keeps becoming more and more obvious just how much we've been taking on the other's characteristics. I've gotten a lot more calm and reserved, though still far from shy like she tends to be, whereas Dew has gotten a lot more bold and daring, taking chances and sometimes standing up for herself.

If only she'd stand up for herself to her parents. She just didn't have it in her then and I really worried that she'd back out of telling them the next day.

***

"Come on, Florel, wake up..."

That voice. It wasn't Dew's...

"Florel, come on, up and at 'em."

It sounded really familiar... I slowly started opening my eyes to see that it was still dark out. Not only that, but there was the face of a Swampert looking down at me!

"Ahhh!" I exclaimed out of surprise. As I gained consciousness, I found myself cradled in the arms of the Swampert, being held in its arms and looking right up at it.

"Hey, kid, it's me... Torent. Listen, I'm sorry to wake you up like this, but... I figured we should have a little talk, male to male. I wanted to talk to you earlier, but it was more important that you were with Dew."

"Tor-torent? Wha? Wait..." I looked around while still cradled in his arms to see that we were outside somewhere. A glimmer of moonlight shone down on us.

The burly Swampert set me down and rested his paw on my shoulder. "Florel... you really have grown into a fine Pokemon since the day we took you in."

Somehow hearing compliments like that come out of the blue made my heart skip a beat. Where was he going with this? Did he want something from me? Oh no, what if he was trying to talk to me about yesterday... Ah! What if he took me out to the middle of the forest planning to snap me like a twig!

"You know, I never knew your parents, but I'm sure they'd be proud of the Pokemon you've become." His speech kind of broke me out of my worrisome thoughts, but he still didn't give me any level of comfort. What was he planning, anyway?

"Thanks," I answered, not entirely sure how to answer, but assuming what he last said was intended to be a compliment.

"When we first took you in... I... well, I regret the way I first treated you. Moyst had brought you home and begged me to help take care of you, but I didn't want to... not because I didn't want to help you, but because I didn't want to unfairly divide the love I would be giving to my first and only daughter. She and Moyst both meant the world to me..."

As long as I've been alive and through everything I've heard about how they took me in, Torent never told me about that. Neither did Moyst, for that matter.

"I don't remember you treating me badly, Torent..." I said, honestly not remembering such times. Of course, I was pretty young back then, only about two or three weeks old, they told me.

"I ignored you... I made you sleep outside... About the only thing I did for you was feed you." He sighed. "It really makes me feel so damn guilty now that I think about it. It's not easy for me to say that, either..."

"What changed it, then?" I asked him.

"It was Dew," stated Torent, pausing and crossing his arms. "She adored you. At first, she was really intimidated by you, but you played with her nonetheless. Ever since then, you two have pretty much been inseparable."

I couldn't help but blush. We really were together for a long time... I couldn't remember when I first met her or when we first played. It just always seemed to be. "So, uh, what then?"

"Then I saw just how much you meant to her. I saw just how happy she was being around you. Moyst adored you as well and treated you like you were her kid as well. To be honest, that was another thing that made me jealous... the fact that you weren't mine. But Florel, I got over that. I got over it a long, long time ago."

"Why?" I felt pretty awkward right about now. Torent was always that father-figure in my life. I looked up to him. I knew that he changed, because I also knew he loved me like a son, but... ah, I don't know, it was just awkward still.

"Because it was stupid. I was naive and maybe even a bit arrogant back then. Having a kid changes that, heh. You really did become part of the family, Florel, and I don't want you to ever doubt that I love you now. You may not be my son by blood, but you're as good as any son could possibly be."

"Thanks, Torent... though, can I ask where you're going with all of this?"

"Heh, sorry. I'm pretty awful at these heartfelt speeches. I knew I shoulda had Moyst do this... nah, it's a talk we need to have, male to male. Florel, do you want to start a family of your own someday? Or is it something you aren't interested in?"

That was a bit unusual of him to ask me, not to mention awkward. But, I guess I've never really had a male to male chat with him before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course, I already knew the answer to that question. "Yeah, I do," I answered honestly, thinking about those pleasant thoughts of raising a family with Dew.

"Family is a big responsibility, you know..." he said convincingly. "It changes your life and forces you to consider your family over yourself. I was... just a bit older than you when I first met Moyst."

"Oh really?" I'd never heard that story before, either. I especially didn't know that he was only a little bit older than me at the time he first mated.

"Yeah... I loved her with all my heart. But we rushed into things a bit too fast. We were both just... just so damned curious. I mostly blame myself... I was so confused when I found out that Moyst was pregnant and I was going to be a father. I'd contemplated leaving her out of fear of losing my freedom and being forced to raise a family."

I gulped. If only he knew... how close Dew and I were. However, it was very interesting hearing what he had to say. I never really knew about his past. I didn't really know anything about how either of them came to meet each other! Love just wasn't an interest of mine until recently.

"Boy did I feel small. I felt horrible for a few days and even left Moyst for two. But you know what?"

He was talking to me, wasn't he? "What?"

"I also realized that, yes, my life was about to change, but loving Moyst was more important than anything in the world to me. I did have the choice between my freedom and love... and it really shouldn't be a choice. I went back to her and never left her side since.

"We had a beautiful daughter and never had I felt a greater sensation of accomplishment and fulfillment than the moment I first held Dew after she hatched from her egg." Torent smiled at me. He was no doubt thinking of Dew. I knew I was.

"Aww..." The thought of Dew hatching as a baby Mudkip... it was just really endearing. If we did have a child together, it would also be a baby Mudkip... and I'd know that feeling Torent was talking about.

"Nothing has been more rewarding in my life than caring for Dew and Moyst. You'll know the feeling someday, I'm certain. Just remember... I thought I had rushed into things with Moyst, but it all worked out fine in the end. My only regret there was leaving her. When you fall in love, Florel, give her time, make sure she loves you back, but don't wait and worry over starting a family, either."

"How will I know it's time?" I asked him, looking for his words of wisdom that he seemed to be generously handing out.

"You'll know. You and your mate will know. I can't really explain it any better than that. And it's different for each couple. It might be after you've known her for a week or two, or it might be after months and months... or almost your whole life. But don't wait your whole life for it, either."

Months and months... we're both maybe nine or ten months old... it sounded like Torent really wasn't as old as I thought he was, either, especially since he was just a little bit older than me when he first mated. And he didn't even know Moyst that long! I've known Dew almost all of my life... maybe I really was ready to start a family.

"Does it really feel that good? Mating?" I asked him without thinking. I felt kind of embarrassed about asking, but... well, I wanted to hear his answer. Of course it was intriguing to me!

"It feels amazing. Absolutely amazing..." he responded, trailing his voice.

"And, uh... does mating... does it always mean making an egg? I know you said that's how eggs are made and you told me a bunch of stuff about it, but I just want to know... if there are any ways to mate without making an egg...?"

To my surprise, I heard Torent chuckle. That was pretty rare of him to do, so I must have said something. Oh, wait... unless having her suck on my penis was one of those ways... heh heh... heh.

"There are ways. Only when you reach your climax with your penis inside of your mate's vagina -- which is the standard definition of mating -- will you ever have to worry about getting her pregnant. There are ways to 'mate' without actually mating... and there are ways to actually mate without fear of impregnating your mate, although they require more practice."

Well, the good news was he made it sound like there was a way to mate for real without getting her pregnant! Even though I did want to start a family with her, one thing that worried me was that if mating really felt as good as it sounded and if it really did feel better than what I felt earlier, it'd be really inconvenient to have a child each time we wanted to mate. Not that I'd mind a lot of kids, but it just didn't seem fair.

The bad news, though, was that it would require practice. Although... that really wasn't too bad. "Alright," I said back to him.

"Would you like to hear those ways, or would you rather learn about them on your own?" asked Torent, looking slightly reluctant. "I'm not going to pressure you."

I really did want to know... my curiosity was too insatiable to turn down such explanations, especially since I knew they'd come in handy with Dew. So far, he seemed to completely ignore what he saw earlier. It seemed to be a completely normal chat, other than a little awkward, perhaps.

I couldn't help but worry that if I said yes, he'd be thinking I'd be doing those things to Dew, especially after already catching us in the act of one of them... but then again, if we were going to tell both he and Moyst in the morning about our relationship anyway, it really wasn't like it had to be kept a secret.

"Sure," I answered. "I'd like to hear them. Just so... just so I'll be ready. Male to male chat, right?"

"Male to male chat," answered Torent with a wide smile. The Swampert sat down, invited me to sit down next to him, and gave me a side hug.

He started telling me about mating in general, refreshing a lot of the terms he told me during the first talk that he gave both Dew and I. However, he followed it up by going into more detail... explaining that the little bump thing I felt on Dew was called a clitoris and that females will bleed if its the first time they've mated -- or sometimes if their hymen is torn through inserting an object.

Well, I guess that would explain why it was she was bleeding that one time. Oh wait, that might mean she wouldn't bleed when we mated for real! That was good; I hate blood.

Torent continued and told me all about 'oral mating' and masturbation. He even went on and told me about mating in the butt! Licking her privates seemed gross enough, but sticking my penis in her butt would be crossing the line for sure. He did say that it could sometimes feel like normal mating but without the risk of pregnancy, but also said that it can hurt a lot sometimes.

I did end up asking about how to mate normally without having kids, and he told me that if a male pulls himself out of a female right before he hits his climax, there's a significantly lower chance of the female actually getting pregnant. He warned that it's not something to rely on, but it can be a good way to feel the pleasures without almost ensuring the consequences. He also told me that not always will mating the normal way get a female pregnant, too.

We spent the next few hours chatting away about mating and love. I never told him that I was in love with Dew, nor did he ever ask, although I did kind of have a feeling that he knew anyway... which was maybe why he wanted to tell me all about mating.

Regardless, I appreciated both the fact that he didn't pry into my love towards Dew -- including what he saw earlier -- and the fact that he was telling me so much about a subject I really knew so little about.

Eventually, he took me back inside of our den and led me back to my room. Dew was sleeping there, rolled over on her side and snoring softly. He told me that I might be tired tomorrow for staying up late, but that he also enjoyed having a chance to talk with me. To be honest, I really enjoyed talking with him, too, and it gave me a lot more confidence about facing he and Moyst in the morning.

After I lay down, he gave me a kiss on my head before leaving, and I fell asleep for the second time that night.

**-~+~-

End of Chapter 3

-~+~-**