{"sf1_id":5740,"sf2_id":"ZmMjqLqn","title":"A Treasure, Freely Given","author":"Aethan","words":7501,"posted_at":"2005-05-13T07:11:00.000Z","tags":["Anal","First Time","M/M","Mouse","Oral","Plot Development","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/5740-a-treasure-freely-given","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ZmMjqLqn","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=5740\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"My name is Haliday Dasker. I was born on the planet Halivar, in the Omicron Zeta system. When I was seventeen, I had graduated from Low  \nSchool, and I had high hopes of attending the Academy, back on  \nHomearth. Oh, I know, since the big religious furor of twenty years  \nago, Homearth's been kind of prejudiced against us, but I had my  \ndreams. I knew where I wanted to go, and I knew how I wanted to get  \nthere. Since my first days as a mouseling I had been brought up on  \ntales of the Great Space Expeditions of the Old Thirties. Sleek star-  \nbarques wending their way around nebula clusters. Ion drives propelling  \nTel-Stellos Cruisers into pitched battle with pirates. The great colored  \ngas-clouds of Regulus Minor. Oh, yes. The stars called me, and I begged  \nmy mother to get me a ticket on a Tel-Stellos Starliner rather than the  \nfar more expensive but far faster 'Port-tube. She was unhappy, but she  \nacquiesced, knowing that there would be no changing my mind. She had  \nseen me in the yard with my telescope, gazing in rapt wonder at that far  \nstarry sea, and she knew there was no keeping me. When the cosmos calls  \na sailor, he must sail where the Solar Winds take him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Admittedly, this is all very romanticized. As far as I knew, the Star-  \nliner trip would just be a fling before settling into the routine of  \nclasses at the Homearth Academy. But, still, something inside me longed  \nfor it to be more, and, as it turned out, it was.  \n  \nMy mother saw me to Havilar Prime Starport, where my ship, the great  \nfreighter Nebula Skipper, was waiting, my home for the next six-months  \non the trip to Homearth. She tucked a handkerchief in my coat pocket  \nand hugged me, making some of the starsailors titter. She silenced them  \nwith a look, and then smiled, sadly, at me. \"Please be careful,\" she  \nbegged. \"I don't know what I'd do if your ship reefed on an asteroid  \nbelt, or if you were captured by pirates.\" I assured her that I would  \nbe fine. I promised to be careful, and chuckled at her mention of reefs  \nand pirates.  \n  \nI spent a blissful three weeks enjoying the life of a passenger aboard  \nthe Skipper. Although I was only one of three 'Lifted amongst an other-  \nwise human crew, I wasn't bothered overmuch. I got a certain amount of  \nribbing from the captain and his men. I have always been something of a  \n\"pretty boy\", and the reputation of Havilar as the planet that the  \noriginal Homearth settlers set up as a pleasure palace didn't help  \nmatters. More than a few humans find the 'Lifted attractive, and I had  \nquite a few offers, all of which I was disinclined to accept. Despite  \nmy planet's reputation, I had made it this far through life without any  \nsexual contact, and I was very shy on the subject. So I more or less  \navoided the crew, finding quiet hideyholes that they couldn't locate or  \nstaying in the lounge-decks, where they dared not make any untoward  \nadvances. The lounge-decks had huge view-screens, and I enjoyed amazing  \nviews of the stars, like never before. Those first few weeks were  \nidyllic, and I smiled at my mothers fears. Reefs and pirates, indeed.  \nHa!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Three weeks after leaving Havilar, while skirting the Zephyr Asteroid  \nReef, we were attacked by pirates.  \n  \nI knew nothing of what was happening. My berth was deep in the ship's  \ncore, and I'd had no suspiscions of what was occuring. I was reading,  \nin my hammock, when the lights dimmed, and the ship rocked, as if we'd  \nstruck something. I knew we were in the Zephyr Reef, so I assumed we'd  \nhit a smaller rock. I assured myself that if anything were wrong, the  \nwarning claxons would sound, and I would be able to panic properly. I  \nresumed reading, until a massive tremor ran through the ship, and the  \nlights went dead, as did the omni-present thrumming of the ship's Ion  \nDrives.  \n  \nAgain, trusting soul that I was, I assumed that the ship was  \nexperiencing a minor power failure, and I switched on my personal  \nlightbar, which worked from batteries. When it, too, failed to  \nactivate, I began to really panic in earnest. I attempted to step out  \nof my bunk and found that gravity was also non-functioning. I was just  \nlucky the life-support was still on! I floated, floundering, panicking,  \nuntil I saw a light. It was a small laser-knife, cutting through the  \ndoor to my little room. Of course, part of my brain said. If power's  \nnot-functioning, the doors won't open, and the crew would need to cut  \nthe doors open. I'm being rescued. I relaxed, a little, until the  \nnewly-cut metal fell to the floor, and the light of the knife  \nilluminated the face of a one-eyed otter I'd never seen aboard ship.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; My brain cried out one word: pirates! And, mercifully, I fainted.  \n  \nWhen I came to, there was light, at least, and gravity. I was lying on  \nmy side, my hands tied behind my back, clad in only my sleeping-shirt,  \nwhich hung down to my knees. \"Wha-what...?\" I managed to stammer,  \nbefore a vicious-sounding voice snarled out, \"Silence, you dog!\" I was  \ndragged to my feet by the otter I'd encountered earlier, and he leered  \nat me, looking me over in a way I didn't fancy at all. There were  \nseveral other pirates around, 'Lifted, all, and they watched, either  \nwith distaste or else with detatched amusement. They were all busy  \nseeing to their own prisoners, the crew of the Skipper. The otter  \nturned my face this way and that with his rough paw, examining me.  \n  \n\"Yer a prissy lil thing, ain't ye?\" he chuckled. \"Are ye a boy or a  \ngirl under all them blond curls?\"  \n  \n\"I'm a b-boy,\" I sputtered, somewhat indignant despite my predicament.  \n  \n\"Are ye?\" he snickered. \"I don't much care, ye unnerstand. Any port in  \na storm. Heh, heh.\"  \n  \n\"Look, you...\" I began, but a cuff across the face shut me up quick.  \nMy eyes watered, and I saw Captain Harker of the Skipper give the otter  \na contemptuous glare. The brute shook me, and I whimpered. How could  \n'Lifted be so cruel to one of their own? He cuffed me again, harder.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Quiet, slave,\" he growled, \"Or its the cat fer ye. Or worse, maybe  \nye'll be planked.\"  \n  \nSlave? I thought to myself. Oh, mother! What had I gotten into? The  \notter's paw stroked the fur of my knee, and started to slide higher up  \nmy leg. \"Mmmmmm...you must be Halivari. Yer fur is so soft.\" His paw  \nslid higher, up my thigh.  \n  \n\"Please don't, sir,\" I whimpered. \"Please.\"  \n  \nThe otter chuckled. \"Ooooo, all polite now, ain't we?\" He caressed my  \nleg, his fingers in the fur of my inner thigh. \"Well, laddie, I will,  \nactually, do whatever I want.\" I whimpered, again, which made his smile  \nwider. He nodded over his shoulder to where some of the other pirates  \nwere taking an interest in what he was doing. \"An' then some of the  \nother lads'll have their turn.\" A couple of the others grinned and  \nnodded. One cat licked his lips. I shuddered, closing my eyes. \"An'  \nthen...\"  \n  \n\"Riverdog!\" barked a voice from behind the otter, and he winced,  \nsnapping to attention, his paw leaving my leg. \"Stop badgering the  \nprisoner.\" I opened my eyes. The speaker was a red fox, neatly-dressed  \nin the naval uniform of a Tel-Stellos officer.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The otter sneered, relaxing a little. \"Terrible sorry, Lieutenant.\" He  \nspat the word like a curse. \"This little thing was giving me lip, and  \nI was...\"  \n  \n\"That little thing is the captain's property until we divvy, or have  \nyou forgotten the rules? What if he's some sort of nobleman's son? We  \nwant him intact for ransom.\"  \n  \nRiverdog snarled at the fox, who seemed quite unimpressed. \"You and the  \nblasted captain and yer bloody rules! Damn ye all!\"  \n  \nThe fox smiled. \"I doubt you would speak so if the captain were here.\"  \n  \nThe otter snorted, \"Well, he ain't, and...\"  \n  \n\"Captain on deck,\" the fox barked, with military precision. The otter  \nfroze, mid-sneer, and his eyes went wide. The captain, a huge wolf,  \nmaybe forty, with a long jagged scar twisting his muzzle into a  \npermanent scowl, stepped forward. He, too, wore the uniform of a Tel-  \nStellos officer, blue and gold, with red tassles on the shoulder,  \ndenoting a high rank. Captain Harker wore the same coat, and his face  \ndrained of color as the wolf entered. \"Captain Fang,\" he whispered,  \nhorrorstruck. The effect on the pirates was amazing, they all, with  \nthe exception of the otter, snapped into a near military attention,  \nsaluting, and the wolf nodded approvingly at them.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"At ease,\" he said, in a low, gravelly voice. \"Mr Riverdog,\" the big  \n  \n'Lifted said, eyes on me, rather than the otter, \"what, precisely, is  \nhappening here?\"  \n  \n\"Cap'n Fang,\" gulped the otter. \"I was just bein' a bit... um...  \nplayful while securing the prisoner. And, uh, Reynolds...\"  \n  \n\"Lieutenant Reynolds,\" interrupted the wolf.  \n  \n\"Ah... uh... yeah. Lieutenant Reynolds was suggesting that I...\"  \n  \n\"That you keep your bloody paws to yourself,\" suggested the fox, with  \na smirk. \"This boy,\" the fox nodded to me, \"was terrified, clearly.\"  \nThe otter scowled at his nemesis.  \n  \n\"I can imagine,\" the wolf said with a nod at his lieutenant. \"I know  \nwhat playful means to you, Riverdog. If Reynolds hadn't interrupted,  \nthis boy would've been buggered by you, and then, at your instigation,  \nanother half the crew, I imagine.\" Riverdog scowled at the wolf, who  \nsnarled, his scar making this a terrible sight. One large hand lashed  \nout, grasping the otter by his fur and vest, and lifting him off the  \nground, almost effortlessly. The otter struggled, but the wolf gripped  \nhim tightly.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"You dare not be insolent to me, Riverdog. My rules say that Tel-  \nStellos crewmen, especially 'Lifted, are to be treated with respect and  \nhonor.\" He pitched the otter into a bulkhead, where he landed with an  \nexhalation of breath. \"This is hardly the first time you have ignored  \nmy rules. You will be downloaded at the next safeport we reach. The  \nQuartermaster will give you full wages, but you will never speak of me  \nor my operations to anyone, or I will find you, and I will kill you.  \nIs that clear?\" The wolf turned away, barking over his shoulder, \"The  \nrest of you get back to work securing the prisoners.\"  \n  \nHarker spat as Fang walked by. \"Murderer!\" he cried. \"You're a traitor  \nand a murderer, Fang.\"  \n  \nFang looked down at him. \"No, Captain. You are wrong. That is a myth  \nthat Tel-Stellos has dreamed up to explain to their officers why I am  \nattacking them.\"  \n  \nHarker glared. \"Good men died when you fired that EMP-Cannon at us,  \nMurdering Dog.\"  \n  \nFang looked sad. \"That is regrettable, but this is war. You and your  \ncrew are quite safe; I only want your ship and its cargo. You'll be  \ndropped off at safeport with Mr Riverdog. For now, you'll be my guests,  \nthough I fear your crew will be accomodated in my brig. They will,  \nhowever, be safe. You have my word.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"The word of a 'Lifted! What is that worth?\"  \n  \nFang's face contorted into a mask of grief and rage. It looked like he  \nmight strike Harker. \"Oh, Smythe,\" he sighed at last, relaxing, \"why  \nmust humans be such fools?\" He leaned down, squatting on his haunches.  \n\"You live or die at my sufference, but still you bait me, just for the  \nsake of a specist insult. Nonetheless, you are only a product of a  \nwrongly-made society, and I do not hate you for it. I shall not,  \nhowever, subject my crew to your wicked tongue.\" He looked to the fox,  \nas he stood up. \"Lieutenant Reynolds?\"  \n  \nThe fox saluted, smartly. \"Sir!\"  \n  \n\"Muzzle him.\"  \n  \nThe bound captain glared, but Reynolds knelt and, with expert hands,  \nslipped a ball-gag into Harker's mouth, fastening it in place with  \nleather straps. Harker was a fountain of muted and muffled threats and  \ncurses. \"Thank you, Lieutenant,\" Fang said with a sigh. \"I'm truly  \nsorry, Captain, that it has come to this.\" He started to walk out  \nagain, but I saw Riverdog rising, laser-knife in hand.  \n  \n\"Damn you and your rules,\" the otter whispered, and I realized that  \nReynolds, busy securing Captain Harker, couldn't see that his captain  \nwas in danger. Pirate or no, I couldn't let this happen.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Captain Fang!\" I cried, \"Look out!\" The otter leapt at the wolf, knife  \nglowing, but the captain whirled around, his own blade out of its  \nsheath. I recognized a uni-cutlass, even as its mono-molecular thin  \nblade cut through otter flesh and bone. A spray of otter blood splashed  \nthe rest of the crew as Riverdog was cut completely in two. The grisly  \nremains fell in two uneven piles on the floor, the laser-knife  \nclattering uselessly to the floor.  \n  \nReynolds had hardly had time to look up, but the captain had reacted  \nas quick as thought, and he wasn't even breathing hard. \"Thank you,  \nlad,\" he said, softly. \"Reynolds, have someone plank Mr Riverdog's  \nremains.\" He looked at me. \"And Reynolds? If anyone lays a finger on  \nthis boy again during the trip? Plank them. You have my full authority  \nin this matter. He is to be given crew status, rather than prisoner.  \nGive him free run of the ship.\" The wolf turned again and walked out.  \n  \nThus began my career aboard the pirate ship Beloved Daria.  \n  \nI spent a week doing what is generally considered grunt-work amongst  \nthe pirates. I learned to swab the decks and work with the solar-sails,  \ndull work, but very good for building one's muscles. My childish paws,  \nso dainty, got blistered and raw. I made friends among the crew, most  \nof whom, I found, were very decent folks, not like Riverdog at all.  \nRiverdog had not been well-liked, and the Captain was considered nearly  \ninfallible by his crew. One of my best friends from day one was Swally  \nMcTaggert, a 'Lifted housecat who had joined the crew three years  \nbefore. Lieutenant Reynolds had put him more or less in charge of my  \nwell-being, and he'd taken a liking to me.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; One day, a week after my \"capture\", we were sitting on the abovedeck,  \nthe great forward viewscrews giving a beautiful view of the stars. We  \nwere eating, and eating well. Toliver, the ship's cook, a 'Lifted  \nferret, could really handle a replicator, and his food was almost  \nalways delicious. I was asking Swally if the crew were angry with me  \nfor getting Riverdog killed. \"Riverdog was a rapist and a bully,\" he  \nsneered. \"He hurt me bad me first week aboard. It was just always hard  \nto prove he'd done nothin'. He was a sly bastard, but he'd been  \nbuildin' up to a full mutiny fer a long time, now. Can't allow as I'm  \nsorry t' see him go.\"  \n  \n\"Captain on deck,\" came a call from below us. We jumped to our feet  \nas Captain Fang came out onto the abovedeck.  \n  \n\"At ease, lads,\" he said with a smile, his scar making it seem more  \nlike a sneer. \"Well, Mr McTaggart, how's our newest hand coming along?\"  \n  \nSwally grinned. \"Slowly, sir. I don't think 'is hands have seen so many  \ncallouses since he first hit puberty.\" Both men shared a laugh while my  \nears turned a bright pink.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"What's your name, lad?\" Captain Fang asked.  \n  \nI straightened my shoulders. \"Haliday Dasker, sir.\"  \n  \nHe smiled. \"And your homeworld?\"  \n  \n\"Halivar, sir.\"  \n  \nHe chuckled. \"Well, well, you must be making friends among the crew,  \nthen.\" When he saw my discomfit, he immediately stopped smiling.  \n\"Sorry, lad. I, of all people, should know better than to fall back  \non a stereotype. Where were you heading when we took you on this little  \nside-jaunt?\"  \n  \n\"Homearth, sir. To the Tel-Stellos Academy.\"  \n  \nHis face turned a little sour then. \"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll be an  \nexcellent student, Mr Dasker.\" His voice held a note of sarcasm.  \n  \nI felt a strange pang of disappointment for having said something to  \noffend this gallant pirate captain. \"I'm sorry, sir. Did I say  \nsomething wrong?\"  \n  \nHe shook his head, sighing softly. \"No, lad. Not your fault. Tel-  \nStellos and I are not on the best of terms right now. That's all.\" He  \nsmiled a bit. \"In three days, we'll be putting into port at Nouveau  \nTortuga. From there, you should be able to find another ship to  \nHomearth.\" He gave us both a smart nod, turned, and headed off.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"What about Captain Fang?\" I asked Swally. \"How did he become a  \npirate? He seems so...so...\"  \n  \n\"Decent?\" Swally said with a grin.  \n  \n\"Exactly! So how'd he end up as captain for...um...\"  \n  \n\"Us scum?\" Swally winked.  \n  \n\"Oh, no, no, no! I didn't mean that!\"  \n  \n\"I'm only funnin' ye, Hal,\" he said (for so I had been nicknamed).  \n\"Well, as it happens, Cap'n Fang is about the most decent, fair-minded,  \nlaw-abidin' citizen of the Tel-Stellos Confederation ye might ever wan'  \nt' meet. He were, as ye might've guessed from his uniform, an officer  \nin the Tel-Stellos Stellar Naval Corps. Well, thirteen years ago, he's  \naway on mission, an' he hears that his home planet Varga Prime, has  \nbeen attacked by Squigglers...\"  \n  \n\"Squigglers?\" I asked.  \n  \n\"Aye. Yer bein' way out on the Starward Rim, ye might never have heard  \nof 'em. Closer to the Prime Center, we used t' have lots o' problems  \nwith 'em. Squigglers is Reptile 'Lifted, one o' Smythe's first  \nexperiments. Like lizards, only wickedly big an' smart an' vicious.\"  \n  \nI wrinkled my muzzle, my whiskers wiggling in distaste. \"Yuck!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He nodded. \"Yuck indeed. The Squigglers have been givin' trouble to  \nboth the humans an' the Furry 'Lifted fer since their creation.  \nThirteen years ago, it were more or less war with 'em, an' they'd  \ncaptured all kinds o' Homearth Tech, includin' starliners an' stuff.  \nCap'n Fang, he were a Cap'n in that war, an' when he hears how the  \nSquigglers have hit Varga Prime an' killed his mate, Daria, an' his  \nson, Willet, he goes just crazy! He takes the war t' th' Squigglers,  \nan' he hits 'em so bad, they fall down to nothin', like. Even now they  \nain't much of a threat. So he comes home from the war, an' he gets th'  \nbig hero's welcome on Varga Prime, an' he goes home, an' he sees his  \nlil house, all burnt an' blasted t' pieces. An' he cries.\"  \n  \n  \nWe both sighed, thinking of the noble Captain Fang, grieving for his  \nlost loved ones. \"Well,\" says Swally, \"He looks around, an' he starts  \nt' notice things. Things only someone what fought the Squigglers'd  \nnotice. See, Squigglers are terrors when they have a laser cannon and  \na targeting system, but hand 'em a starlock pistol and they won't hit  \nye from five feet away. Terrible aim with lasers. Somethin' about the  \neyes, methinks it is.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Anyway, Cap'n Fang realizes that th' house is shot up real good. I  \nmean they hit everything what they was aimin' for. An' he gets t' see  \nthe bodies of his wife and kid, an' they've been shot just so, in the  \nhead, through the heart. An' there ain't no Squiggler even can shoot  \nhalf as good. So he gets a friend t' do some diggin' through the Tel-  \nStellos computers, an' he finds out its all been a set-up. His family  \nwere deliberately targeted by Tel-Stellos troops durin' th' fight, so's  \nhe'd get really angry an' go kill all the Squigglers fer Tel-Stellos.\"  \n  \nI was stunned. \"Tel-Stellos did this?\"  \n  \nSwally nodded. \"Zat so, Hal. Tel-Stellos considers all 'Lifted  \nexpendable, an' the Cap'n's psych-file said that he performed  \nremarkable fierce when he was angry. Really vicious, like. They killed  \nhis family so that he'd kill th' Squigglers fer 'em. The whole  \nSquiggler war was just a bad drain on their resources, an' they  \nfiggered Cap'n Fang was more or less just a resource t' be used as they  \nneeded. If he'd win the war for 'em angry, well, wasn't it worth it t'  \nkill his family?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"See, the battles 'tween human and 'Lifted way back were th' big fights  \nabout what we were an' if we have souls. Lots o' humans think we're  \njust dumb animals, so's why should they care if we die? Tel-Stellos  \nplays like they're our friend, but we're still just animals to 'em. If  \nkillin' a few will save 'em some cash, they'll do it.\"  \n  \nI think I might've started to cry, then. Tel-Stellos, to me, meant  \nheroic space-rangers making the stars safe for colonists. It meant  \npeace, order, and fair-play. I could barely reconcile my childhood  \nimage of that great big brother of the cosmos to this ruthless,  \nmanipulative conglomerate that was being described to me.  \n  \n\"So the Cap'n, he finds out all this, an' he goes crazy again, but its  \na sad kinda crazy. He'd grown up worshippin' Tel-Stellos. Heck, which  \nof us din't? Tel-Stellos funded all of Smythe's 'Lifting experiments.  \nWithout them, we wouldn't even exist! But they just think of us as  \nanimals, expendable animals. Since we can breed true, we don't cost  \nnothin' t' them. We make great soldiers, scouts, explorers, an'  \nworkers. So Cap'n, he pull a fast one on 'em. He takes his ship, an'  \nhe goes buccaneer on 'em. He renames his ship fer his dead mate, an'  \nhe makes war on Tel-Stellos in th' name o' her an' his son. He wants  \nTel-Stellos to admit what happened, but they won't, 'cause they know  \nth' 'Lifted will walk away from 'em in droves, so he's makin' it very,  \nvery expensive for Tel-Stellos to ignore him. Tel-Stellos tol' alla  \nother Cap'ns that he's gone rogue, he murders folks, an' such, but he  \ndon't. He jus' takes their ships an' cargo an' blows 'em up or sells  \n'em for booty against th' divvy. S'when we put into a safeport, one  \nthat Tel-Stellos don't control, an' divide up all th' plunder we've  \naccumulated on our voyages. Fun, eh?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I nodded, but my thoughts were elsewhere, with the sad wolf captain who  \nwas waging a war for the right for the 'Lifted to know the truth about  \nthe company that parented them. I felt that strange pang again, and my  \nwords came without my willing them. \"Has he ever taken a mate since  \nthen?\"  \n  \nSwally considered this, then said, \"Well, I ain't known him but the  \nthree years, but he hasn't in that time. An' I can't recall anyone  \nsayin' he ever did. I dunno.\" Swally and I both went silent then,  \nthinking of the love that he must've had for his mate if he hadn't  \never taken another. There was passion and nobility in the gallant  \npirate than I would've guessed, and the thoughts of him followed me to  \nbed that night, wandering around in my head.  \n  \nI visited Captain Harker the next day. He and the rest of the crew had  \nbeen confined in the brig. They weren't too glad to see me, and I left  \nin a hurry, after Captain Harker talked about me \"getting in good\" with  \nthe enemy. I knew that Harker didn't know about Fang's history, but I  \ncouldn't forgive him. You should know better, I thought. You should  \nreally know better.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Once again that night, I thought of the pirate captain, feeling those  \npangs more and more frequently and knowing, now, what they meant. I had  \nhad crushes on various people before, but I felt truly smitten. My  \npeople, the Halivari, have a phrase. We say that when a Halivari youth  \nis ready for love, he finds someone and impales himself on the thought  \nof that person. That was how I felt. It seemed that Captain Fang was in  \nmy heart and in my mind, and, when I touched my cheek with my hand, I  \nimagined it was his paw I felt there. I thought of him lying, sad and  \nlonely, in his cabin, and I wept, softly. There, in my bed that night,  \nI made a vow to myself, and I fell asleep thinking on it. If he finds  \nhe wants me, I thought, I swear he shall not be lonely again.  \n  \nThe next day, I worked through my chores, mind only half on my work.  \nWhen I was off-duty, I had dinner with Swally, as usual, and then  \nslipped away. I fished some simple clothes out of the luggage the  \nDaria's crew had rescued from the booty for me. I examined myself in  \na mirror. Simple knee-length pantaloons, a black vest, and a ribbon to  \ntie the blond-curls out of my eyes. I walked to the captain's cabin and  \nplaced my hand on the entry-screen. The computer scanned my hand, and  \nthe door opened. I found Captain Fang inside, reclining on his bunk  \nwith a book. He was clad only in a pair of shorts when I entered, and  \nhe seemed quite surprised to see me. \"Mr Dasker,\" he said, marking the  \nbook with a bit of cloth and putting it down. \"What may I do for you?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"I'd like to speak with you briefly, sir, about my leaving the ship at  \nNouveau Tortuga.\"  \n  \nHe nodded. \"What about it?\"  \n  \n\"I'd rather not, sir.\"  \n  \nHe looked at me, curious. \"And why not?\"  \n  \n\"I have...heard the story of why you fight with Tel-Stellos, sir. And,  \nSmythe willing, I'd like to help.\"  \n  \nFang sighed and gestured to a chair in front of him. \"You may be at  \nease, Mr Dasker.\" I sat, as he continued. \"This life is not a boy's  \nadventure book. We are at war with Tel-Stellos, and they will not rest  \nuntil I am dead, or until it becomes financially impossible for them to  \ncontinue pursuing me. Anyone who books ship with me runs the risk of  \ndeath on a daily basis.\"  \n  \n  \n\"I understand that, sir.\"  \n  \n\"Do you? Do you understand what it is to wonder, every morning, if you  \nwill survive to go to bed that night? I do not think so, Mr Dasker. No,  \nmy crew are here for the potential of monetary gain, because they have  \nnothing to lose, or because they hate Tel-Stellos as much as I do. Only  \nReynolds, myself, and a handful of others are fighting for any sort of  \nidealistic cause.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"And I would like to join you, sir.\"  \n  \nHe shook his head again. \"You're young, Mr Dasker. You have a whole  \nlife ahead of you. I cannot ask you to throw it away on my personal  \nwar.\"  \n  \nI smiled. \"But your war has far-reaching social ramifications. If you  \nwin, it will mean a new independence for 'Lifted everywhere. You'll  \nhave done more for 'Lifted rights than any other in the history of our  \npeople.\"  \n  \nHe sighed. \"What can I say to convince you?\" He reached out and took  \none of my hands, resting it paw-up in one of his. \"These hands have  \nnever known manual labor. They're so soft. Don't ruin them swabbing  \ndecks and hoisting rigging.\"  \n  \nI looked into his deep amber eyes. \"Isn't there any other job I can do  \naboard? Something more suited for my size and strength?\"  \n  \nHe shrugged. \"Such as?\"  \n  \nI sucked in a breath and exhaled. \"Captain's Cabin Boy?\"  \n  \nHe stared at me for a moment, then released my hand. \"Mr Dasker,\" he  \nsaid, sounding a little angry, \"you will be put off ship in Nouveau  \nTortuga tomorrow. I recommend you get some sleep.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I blushed, my ears a deep crimson, and I turned to go, my heart  \naching. \"I'm s-sorry, Captain.\" I bit my lip, fighting back a tear.  \n  \n\"Dasker,\" he said, much softer. I paused. \"Its not that I don't think  \nyou're attractive. You are. Very. And your offer is very tempting. But  \nno one can replace Daria for me. No one.\"  \n  \n\"I don't wish to replace her,\" I said, softly. \"Only to ease your  \nloneliness. Would she want you to be lonely?\" I stayed, facing the  \ncabin-door, in case he ordered me out. Instead, I heard the creaking  \nof his bed, and, suddenly, a tentative, trembling paw lit on my  \nshoulder.  \n  \n\"She always told me,\" he said, softly, \"that if anything happened to  \nher, she wanted me to find another. But, whenever I tried, it always  \nseemed like a betrayal.\" He ran his fingers along my bare arm. \"Its  \ntrue,\" he said, softly. \"Halivari fur is as soft as silk.\" His other  \narm turned me around. \"Little Haliday,\" he said, softly. \"You are, in  \ntruth, very beautiful.\" He touched my cheek, as I had imagined him  \ndoing, and I pressed my skin against his gentle fingers. \"Its been a  \nvery long time,\" he said, with lips trembling, slightly. \"And you are  \nso very young. My Willet would be about your age, now...\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I took a step closer, and his arms came around me. I felt his fur, warm  \nand fine, against mine, and I closed my eyes, drinking in his heady  \nsmell. \"I will never try to banish Daria,\" I said, \"but I hope I have  \nher blessing to make you happy.\"  \n  \nHe stroked my hair, lightly, then tilted my head back, his fingertips  \nunder my chin, and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. I kissed  \nhim, nuzzling lightly, arms exploring his back as he held me in those  \nhuge, muscled arms. He lifted me, easily, like a child, and carried me  \nto the bed. He stood beside it, looking down at me, eyes soft and a  \nlittle sad. \"I do not wish to do anything you don't want me to,\" he  \nwhispered. \"It is not my first time with a male, but... I have not...  \ndone it often.\"  \n  \n\"It is my first time at all,\" I whispered, taking his hand. \"Please,  \nteach me.\"  \n  \nHe sat on the edge of the bed and lifted me into his lap, his lips  \npressing to mine again. I kissed him once, deeply, then nibbled along  \nhis muzzle, tenderly licking the scar, the mark which would never seem  \nfrightening or ugly to me again. His paws crept, trembling up my chest,  \nthen slipped back to gently lift my vest off and away, dropping it  \ncasually beside the bed. I hooked my fingers into the waistband of my  \npants and stripped them down as he lifted me out of them. I was naked,  \nnow. I had not been naked in front of an adult since my childhood, and  \nI felt, rather than saw, his eyes roam over me hungrily. I have always  \nthought myself rather plain on Halivar, and to be lusted after was  \nexciting and a little frightening.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He pulled me close, again, kissing me, his tongue exploring my lips,  \nsoftly. I parted my muzzle, and his tongue tentatively explored inside.  \nI had certainly never been kissed like this before, and I opened my  \nlips a bit wider, giving him leave to do more. His tongue, long and  \nwet, slipped into my muzzle, exploring and stroking. I felt excited and  \ndizzy, and I began to suckle on his tongue, softly, which seemed to  \nexcite him all the more. Our hands caressed each other, now, both of us  \nfar less tentative. I felt his chest, so broad and muscular, while he  \nstroked my curving, smooth back with its baby-like fur. He leaned  \nforward, suddenly, and took my nipple into his mouth, licking it,  \nlightly. I gasped, and he smiled. He nipped it, softly, taking it  \nbetween those terrible teeth, and it felt like a jolt to my crotch.  \nI felt my sheath thickening in response. Fang might not have been with  \nmales too many times, but he had learned well from those experiences.  \n  \nHe winced a little, and set me down on the bed. Standing, he stripped  \nhis shorts off, revealling that his sheath had not only filled, but it  \nhad slid back, revealing a large, thick shaft which was oozing precum  \nsteadily. He almost blushed. \"They were getting tight,\" he said,  \nsoftly, and I smiled and nodded. He really was aroused by me! The  \nthought affected me, and I felt my ownsheath beginning to skin back,  \nthe rosy head of my small cock beginning to emerge. He smiled, gently  \nwrapping a paw around my shaft. \"A hidden treasure,\" he smiled. He gave  \nme a squeeze, and I moaned, softly. \"What good deed have I done  \nlately,\" he mused, \"to deserve such a prize?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I blushed. \"I'm no prize,\" I said, softly. \"Just a plain little  \nHavilari.\"  \n  \nHe licked my throat, and I tilted my head back, gasping, my cock  \ntwitching in his grasp. \"Far from plain,\" he murmured, leaning his  \nhead down into my lap. \"Watch,\" he commanded me. \"You're supposed to  \nbe learning.\"  \n  \nHe gave a long, lingering lick along the head of my cock, and I  \nwhimpered, clenching my teeth. He didn't hesitate; his muzzle suddenly  \nenclosed my shaft, and he sucked on it hard. My fingers curled tightly  \ninto the sheets, my eyes screwing shut. Never had I been touched  \nbefore, and I felt my hips beginning to move of their own volition. I  \nopened my eyes, watching in fascination as my slender penis moved in  \nand out of my Captain's lips. I knew that, with one snap, he could bite  \nme in two, but I couldn't fear him. I loved him, I think, in that  \ninstant.  \n  \nHis hands weren't still while his mouth worked. One hefted my balls,  \nrolling the little orbs around on his fingertips, while the other crept  \nup between my legs to tickle at the base of my cheeks. I moved my legs  \nopen, and my tail curled around his wrist, holding him there. I've  \nheard that Havilari have had sexual instincts deliberately bred into  \nthem. I don't know if it is true, but I know that my lust overwhelmed  \nme at that moment. I arched my back, and I felt his middle finger  \npressing to my anus, my tail holding him tightly, not letting him take  \nhis hand away, even if either of us had wanted that. A feeling I knew  \nwell from my solitary experiences was building within me, and I tried  \nto speak, to warn him. I had no voice, however, and I barely managed a  \nsqueak before my balls exploded, sending a gushing stream of my seed  \nout of my cock and into his mouth. I was terrified that he would be  \nangry with me, but, to my surprise, he swallowed, suckling every drop  \nout of me. I moaned, my hips still thrusting, and emptied the load and  \nmy virginity down his throat. He devoured both, my hungry wolf captain.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; After a moment, his finger withdrew from my ass, and I started to open  \nmy mouth to say something, anything, but he drew away from my cock,  \nthen, thrusting his tongue back into my mouth. I tasted the soft,  \nsticky strands of my cum on his tongue, and I suckled them away. He  \npushed me down onto my back, slowly climbing atop me, his tongue  \nplundering my muzzle brutishly. I felt my legs rising: wrapping around  \nhis waist. I was dizzy, having barely had a moment to catch my breath  \nbefore his tongue had licked its way into my mouth. Our tongues  \nwrestled, playfully, and I felt his working down deep, tickling the  \nback of my throat. I coughed, a little, but it wasn't unpleasant.  \n  \nHe smiled, slowly drawing his tongue out. \"Are you ready to try  \npleasing me, Cabin Boy Dasker?\" I nodded, panting, and he rose,  \nsquating down with his knees on either side of my head. He rubbed my  \nears, softly, eliciting another little squeak. My ears have always been  \nsensitive, and, upon at least one occasion, I had brought myself to  \norgasm solely by stroking their velvety inner surface. His red, red  \ncock was thick and large, and I could smell its clean scent. I  \nextended my tongue, and the tip was barely able to touch it. A drop of  \nprecum ran onto my tongue, and I tasted it, thrilled by its thin, spicy  \nflavor. I opened my mouth, ready to receive my Captain's shaft and take  \nwhatever he gave me.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I didn't get it. He lowered himself forward, and his balls bumped my  \nnose. \"Lick, Mr Dasker,\" he commanded, and I dared not refuse. My  \ntongue caressed over the silky- soft surface of his heavy, dangling  \nscrotum. I had never considered the deep, thick smell of an excited  \nmale before, and it made my head swim as my Captain emitted this  \nstrong scent, moaning and rumbling in his deep voice. \"Harder, Mr  \nDasker,\" he commanded, and I pushed my tongue against his balls,  \nlicking and swirling my tongue through the short hairs. I was rewarded  \nby a hoarse groan and his hand on my head, caressing and guiding my  \ntongue to where he wished it.  \n  \nThe next thing I knew, he pushed me back down and leaned forward. I  \nopened my mouth to take a breath, and he teased his cockhead along my  \nlips. The flavor was strong, almost overwhelmingly so, and I nibbled  \nthe warm tip with my lips. He smiled, stroking my ears. This made my  \neyes cross and my cock begin to fill again. He pushed his hips forward,  \nand I suckled the whole head, now. I loved it; the flavor overloaded my  \nsenses, making me hungry for more. I sucked and sucked, while he began  \nto thrust. The feeling of his cock moving along my tongue made me dizzy  \nwith sexual excitement. I pushed up, feeling his shaft rubbing along  \nthe roof of my mouth, and I knew he felt it, too, because his whole  \nbody shook.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Fang pulled out, and he rolled off of me, rolling to his back. \"Climb  \nup,\" he panted, his eyes full of a need I wanted so much to fill. I  \nobeyed, of course, standing up to squat over his shaft. There was no  \nneed for him to tell me what he wanted. I knew what he wanted, and I  \nmirrored that desire. I lifted my tail as I lowered my hips, slowly,  \nand his huge hands cupped my buttocks as I got close. I felt the thick  \nknob pressing to my virgin hole, and I whimpered, a little afraid. He  \nmassaged my cheeks, gently, and I felt my anus opening, slowly, wanting  \nso much to be filled. \"Put your hands on my shoulders,\" he commanded,  \nand I complied, leaning way forward. I was now terribly aware of how  \nmuch larger he was than me. He was over six feet and heavily muscled,  \nwhile I was merely four foot and very slim of build. I bit my lip,  \nafraid, but one look into those gentle golden eyes dissolved me fear.  \nMy Captain would never harm me, I knew, and that knowledge relaxed me  \nso much, I opened wide, and he slipped inside of me.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I would be lying if I claimed there was no initial pain. There was a  \nlittle, but the feeling of being filled by this large sexy male, who  \nfound me sexy in return, was so intoxicating, that my head swam with  \npleasure, not pain. I dimly became aware of my body sliding down his  \nshaft, and I gasped, in amazement, when my bottom settled into his lap.  \nHe smiled. \"You're perfectly sized, Mr Dasker,\" he said, happily. I  \ngrinned back, in a daze, and I'm sure I nearly fainted from pleasure  \nas he rocked forward, his cock thrusting deep within me.  \n  \nNow, I was young, as I've said, but I was not so naive as to not know  \nthat there was something that made males enjoy intercourse with one  \nanother. I knew there was pleasure involved. But I had had never heard  \nof a prostate gland, let alone become aware that I possessed one. And  \nso, when I felt his cockhead touch my prostate, rubbing it roughly deep  \ninside my body, it was as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to my  \npleasure centers. I cried out, my body straining with sheer exhausting  \necstacy, and I gripped his shoulders. Fang just smiled at me and  \nsnugged me around the waist. He thrust again, and I cried out again.  \n\"Yes!\" I screamed. \"Oh, Captain, yes!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Yes,\" he moaned in answer, and he slowly rolled over, trapping my  \nlittle body beneath his. He began to thrust, rhythmically, his hips  \nmoving against me in a slow fucking motion. I was totally yielding to  \nhim, now, my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs wrapped around  \nhis waist. I grew incoherent, just crying out wordlessly with every  \ndelicious thrust. My cock, trapped against his soft, furry belly, was  \nbeing excrutiatingly over-stimulated, and I was utterly stunned when I  \nfelt the feeling building inside me again. I hadn't come twice in the  \nsame night since I was thirteen. But here it was, my second orgasm,  \nslowly building towards a messy climax.  \n  \n\"So good,\" I managed to gasp out, my lips pressed to his ear. He raised  \nhis hips and started giving me hard, fast, rolling thrusts in answer.  \nI groaned, nibbling his neckfur, then suddenly screamed. My prostate,  \nbattered by my Captain's assault, was going spastic, and I felt my cock  \nthrob. He was panting, his eyes closed, lips curled into a lusty, manic  \ngrin of pleasure. His cock was hammering into my body, and I became  \nsuddenly aware of something else of his trying to push inside me. His  \nknot was fist-sized, and I bit my lip against the pain of it trying to  \nget into my poor rear. He gripped my hips and gave one, desperate  \nshove! With a cry from me, and a howl of desperation from Captain Fang,  \nhe heaved himself forward, his knot popping past my anus with a  \nblinding wave of pain.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; When I could think straight again, I realized that, trapped as he was,  \nCaptain Fang's thrusts had grown shallower and more erratic. His face  \nhad pulled into a panting mask of need for release, and I was sure I  \nlooked the same. He lunged forward, his cock slapping my prostate one  \nmore time, and I burst. With a long yell of orgasmic bliss, I came a  \nsecond time, the thinner load splashing over his belly fur. This caused  \nmy anus to squeeze down hard on his knot, and he spasmed, his voice  \njoining mine in a note of triumphant climax. I felt a warmth suffusing  \nmy rectum, and I knew he was coming. I smelt it when his cum filled me  \nand began to leak out of my ass, and I felt his cock jumping crazily  \ninside me. I wanted it just to go on and on, for him to fill me with  \nload after load until my body exploded. But, as always happens, our  \norgasms slowly subsided, and we lay, tangled and panting, embracing  \neach other tightly, his knot ensuring that we would stay where we were.  \n  \n\"That was...intense...\" Fang said, when he had returned to his senses.  \nI could barely nod, but I did, smiling and moaning, gently. \"You're  \nbeautiful,\" the wolf grinned, \"and you're wonderful. Thank you for  \nbeing patient, and for helping me remember what it is to feel alive.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I smiled back, unsteadily. \"Thank you,\" I said, \"for teaching me how to  \nplease you.\" He rolled over again, pulling me atop him, his arms around  \nme. \"Um...do you still want me to get off the ship at Nouveau Tortuga?\"  \n  \nCaptain Fang stared at me. \"Do you want to?\"  \n  \n\"God, no! I want to stay here, with you.\"  \n  \nHe smiled. Turning slightly on his side, he touched a button on his  \nwall-port intercom. \"Mr Reynolds?\" he said.  \n  \n\"Sir?\" The fox's voice crackled slightly through the electronic  \nconnection.  \n  \n\"Have Mr Dasker's things brought to my cabin, will you? He's going to  \nbe staying on after Nouveau Tortuga, as my personal cabin boy.\" Fang  \nsmiled at me.  \n  \nSeveral excited voices came over the intercom. I heard comments like,  \n\"Told you he would!\" and \"Way to go, Hal!\" I blushed, hotly, feeling my  \nears go red, and Lieutenant Reynolds' voice held a note of relief and  \nand joy. \"Very good, Captain. Um. Shall I belay that order until  \nmorning, sir?\"  \n  \nFang chuckled, watching me going even redder. \"Yes, please. And  \nLieutenant Reynolds?\"  \n  \n\"Aye, Captain?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Tell the crew to mind their own business. That goes for you, too.\"  \nThe wolf's voice held a note of humor that belied his stern words.  \n  \n\"Yes, sir!\" the fox's gleeful call came.  \n  \nCaptain Fang and I remained in each other's arms, snuggled up tightly.  \nEventually his knot shrank and he slipped from my body, but I knew our  \ntie was stronger than that. \"Happy?\" I asked him.  \n  \nHe nodded. \"Very, Mr Dasker. I think Daria would've liked you.\"  \n  \n\"Call me Hal,\" I said, resting my head on his chest.  \n  \n\n"}