Close Bonds

Story by Kalan on SoFurry

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Charra believes she's found a way past the old way of thinking that will allow her to have a truly tame and controllable Companion without resorting to slavery. What she doesn't realize is that sometimes, the old ways are best.


The push of the cloth worked over the gleaming silver mirror that reflected every move Chara made as she leaned forward and put her weight into it. The oil that she smoothed over the surface distorted her features, creating ripples that ran along the edges and elongated her muzzle at a strange angle. It didn't matter if her reflection was perfect or not, it only mattered that the fragrant oil covered it all evenly. The Cha'Rik Lizard closed her ruby eyes and concentrated on the mantra that she had always used when polishing and cleaning as an apprentice. The mindless work she had done for so long that she could remember, patterning her days and nights under her Master's eyes in an effort to learn from him. Except now, it wasn't just a mindless buffing chore, but one that moved across the wall section by section. Where she passed along the cloth the faintest shimmer of liquid silver rippled as she moved onwards.

Her own beige hide was darkened all the way up to the elbows where the oil had rubbed off on her, but she ignored it as she tried to keep her mind on her work. She had slaved for Master Atarn for twelve years, ever since she was three years old, she had scrubbed and carried, cooked and cleaned. She had done all the menial tasks that an apprentice was supposed to do for her master, and Chara had seethed about it. Her parents had paid for her apprenticeship, not a great deal, but he had still been paid well and he used her like his personal servant when she wasn't actively learning. And the times she spent learning never seemed to equal to her domestic chores. She had always assumed that her master simply kept her hanging with just enough knowledge to say he was training her, but never enough to lose her. Until now.

Today she refused to take his excuses for why she should have patience and continue learning slowly. She had smuggled her way into his library and taken two books that she knew would hold the answers that she sought about the Apprentice's Trials. She had studied them nightly, forgoing sleep so she could memorize the lines and techniques that she should have learned years ago. She had devoured them, rarely leaving them out of her thoughts as she went about her daily chores. Magic opened up to her, a world where one could make the first Calling and so step away from being the barest student, but into something far greater. A Journeyman, no longer required to be bound by her Apprenticeship and expected to do menial chores. She would be a partner, able to work with her Master on his greater Magicks.

I will be given respect. The young lizard flicked her long slender tail back and forth, curling the tip of it while looking over the mirror. Her nostrils flared a little bit as the scent on the air came with a slight charge to it, like ozone. My entire Clan will be given respect.

The Cha'Riks were among the lower Clans that populated their world, smaller lizards that boasted earth tones that matched the work they did in the land. Her entire town had lived their entire life supplying the jewel-toned Cha'Tril with the food and gems that they desired, it was their sacred duty. In the mirror, Charra could see herself and winced as the wall behind her boasted a portrait of her Master. He was pure Cha'Tril, a noble class with hide the color of the azure sky and brilliant green eyes the color of leaves falling from the trees. At nine feet tall he towered over her, and he always would, even when she attained full height she'd top out at barely 5'3 if she were lucky. A little muddy brown lizard, like so many others of her kind, the muted colors made her blend in with her environment, not stand out. Most clans were like that unless they were lucky enough to produce talented offspring. Charra was her clans way to elevate themselves as they had bred offspring with magical talent and would have some reputation for future children.

Once she was a journeyman, at least. As long as she was still counted as an apprentice she was still nearly as negligible as she had been as an adult. Until she proved herself worthy of the talent, she couldn't achieve anything. She couldn't even go home. To prove herself worthy, she needed to make her first Calling. A summoning spell that would reach into the Oether and give flesh to the creature with her own inherent talent. It would be the physical embodiment of her magic, called forth and made by her words and blood, bound to her by the spirit in a way that would transcend any connection she would ever experience. Her companion would enhance her magic and the view of the Oether, it would help her to cast spells and develop her connection to the world.

Atarn's companion was a phoenix, a lovely blue and red creature with the sweetest disposition she had ever seen. It had even learned how to speak in a sweet toned voice after so many years with it's master. She didn't want sweet, she wanted impressive and large. She was, by nature, common looking and would never impress a possibly employer on first meeting, but a large and flashy companion could make her stand out. She had heard stories of men riding dragons and women capturing fierce unicorns for their Companions. She couldn't hope for anything so rare and powerful, not at her age and education, but there were other creatures out there that she could call. She only had to spill her power out to attract one and call it through the mirror to her.

"Here it goes..." She panted shallowly and took another pace back before spreading open her arms, her fingers stretching out as she blew out a breath.

With a final breath she began to chant shallowly, her fingers flexing against the air as the words spilled from her narrow tapered muzzle. The words weren't her own language, but they were familiar, she had memorized them from the book as each section of the mirror started to flare to life, brilliant silver that glowed as the metal started to melt and liquefy under the magic. She called it forth, feeling her own energy pouring out of her, spilling towards the center of the mirror and reaching outwards. The words gave her magic form, stretching into the Oether and the nameless, formless spirits that dwelled there like a shaft of light. She lured and called to them, murmuring sweet names to bring them towards the mirror that became a portal between the worlds.

There were hundreds of spirits, small sparks of lights that she could see just behind her minds eye, but she dismissed them. She didn't want small, she wanted large, she wanted something to bond with her that would be impressive and intimidating, not a small spark like a fairy. She pushed through the smaller spirits and passed to the larger ones, most of them were dismissible as she searched for one that stood out from the rest. She could feel the strength sliding from her as she spread her search further and further, her unseen fingers spilling into the spirit world until a flare of golden light caught her 'eyes'. The creature glowing and pulsing with power, crackling along the edges with flares of palest white that made her inner eye lose focus momentarily. It was exactly what she wanted, what she needed, a creature that would overawe any who sought to dismiss her, and it was that spirit she lured towards the mirrors.

She brought I to her with gobbets of energy, luring it forward until the liquid silver that had become the mirrors ran around it, offering it the wordless portal to the physical realm. It was her energy that created the portal, but it was the spirit that would give itself the form it desired. While the liquid silver rode over it, bowing outwards with the passage, she spun her magic around it. A binding spell that she sang from low in her throat as she stepped towards the mirror. The books had spoken of binding it to obedience and servitude, enforced slavery that would ensure no breath of disobedience or hint of hesitation on the orders she gave it. It would give its life if she had to drain her companion to make a spell work, but that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want a blind slave, she wanted a companion in truth.

She wove her spell, not to entrap it with obedience, but to make the creature view her as one of its own, let it see her as a part of its pack or flock or herd. Let it view her with loyalty and protection, with affection and even love. It wasn't a spell of chains and shackles, but of silken rope that coiled around it while the mirror bowed further into the room, a set of powerful legs dropping onto the ground and a muzzle pushing into view. Charra didn't have time to watch it form, she continued to throw out the spell that bound them together with pure golden strands of energy. She gave it form, but not purpose, only kinship that would hold them together with true affection. Let her Master enslave his phoenix, she would have a creature that would truly understand her heart and soul. Two sides of a coin meshed together as one being.

The magic spun together and ended with a sudden snap that rebounded against her as her new companion pulled the last of its body threw the mirror, shaking liquid silver magic from its body with a low rumble that sent her stumbling back to the wall. The world tilted wildly beneath her as a wave of giddiness hit her from weakness and Charra lowered her muzzle to pant shallowly, her dark purple tongue hanging out. She knew that it was supposed to leave her weak, but she barely had enough energy to raise her tail as she heard the rough clicking sound of something on the smooth polished in front of her. Her new Companion, she had done it.

"Shhh...." She made a soothing sound in her throat as she found just enough energy to lift her eyes up to the creature that was looking around the room with large orange-red eyes. Her own spreading wide in amazement as she took in the creature she had called into flesh. "It takes some adjusting to, doesn't it?"

The creature was just as impressive as she could have hoped for. It stood as large as a draft horse, with a leonine head framed with a thick obsidian mane that hung down around the spread of his neck and down towards the broadness of his chest. The eyes were strangely avian looking, set above a creamy-gold muzzle and the largest set of fangs she had ever seen in her life. The entire body shape was leonine, save for the legs that lost the smooth golden fur and became rougher stiff looking hairs all the way down to a set of paws that weren't entirely paw like. The nails were too thick, more like hooves, but sharp at the very tips. There were two large claws at the front, almost like cloven hooves, and two dew claws at the back which were wickedly hooked. And there was nothing mammalian at all about the curve of the powerful haunches and the tail that extended back.

It was massive and serpentine, large overlapping scales rested one over another, all of them pale white gold and edged with metallic silver. It was slender at the tip, was broader at the base, the scaling spilling out of view as the creature lifted his head and snuffed the air curiously so the whiskers shivered into place. It was a melding of goat and lion and serpent all into one, seamlessly shifting in a way that it was hard to pinpoint where one started and the other ended. She had never seen one in the real world, but she had seen pictures in books often enough. A distant cousin of the common gryphon, a chimera. Though, not the sort she had been expecting, with three heads, but a blending of creatures in a strangely beautiful creation that made her breath catch in her throat.

"Chimera..." She breathed out the word and pushed herself to stand on firmly on her two legs and swallowed, her tongue going dry. "My Chimera..."

The creature swung its, no his, with that mane it could only be male, towards her with the rounded ears pricked forward at the sound of her voice. She could feel the line of energy that joined them, it spun around her and clung to her senses. Her spell had worked, the beast didn't snarl out at her, nor snap when she walked towards him. She extended her hand out, the palm up while letting out a soft noise in her throat meant to reassure. He wasn't bound to her by slavery or magic bonds that would hold up to test of its temper, but by an alternation that offered so much more. The chimera lifted his head and extended it just enough that he snuffed towards her hand, the orange-red eyes focused on her as he moved forward with a click of the cloven-claws.

"That's right.." Chara murmured softly. "You know who I am, we're the same you and I. You can feel that sameness can you not?"

The creature chuffed out a breath against her palm, a warm tickling that sent a thrill through her as the whiskers brushed against the sensitive hide of her palm. "Malshek. Your name will be Malshek, Golden Heart." She whispered the words and moved her hand up to slide beneath the chin, feeling the soft fur pressing against her. "My golden heart."

The chimera let out a low sound and pushed his head forward against her, rubbing against the touch as he approached and loomed over her. He was so large she could easily ride him if she could train him to do so, there was no doubt in her mind that this was the doorway to power. The first stepping stone to a new and glorious future. Malshek would still any tongue that dared disparage her for her size or breeding. Her life, and the world, opened up before her as she sank her fingers into the thick dark mane, feeling the warmth of her Companion and the great rumble of his purr.

"My Mashek.." She whispered softly as his head dropped towards her chest and pressed there lightly, almost bowing to her.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Two Years Later

~ ~ * ~ ~

"Your Majesty, I assure you, they will not attempt to overrun your borders again." Charra gave a slight smile down to the man who claimed to be a king.

The glittering male had scales like silver, his clothes the finest silk and jewels adorning his body, even pierced into the spines along his back... And still he didn't garner as many looks as she did astride Mashek. The Chimera towered over the small palfrey, the nervous horse only drawing eyes when it moved and snorted in panic. He required no halter or bridle, not even a saddle, his own golden color set him apart as he yawned lazily so the long deadly fangs were bared and the serpentine tongue flickered out briefly, ignoring the nervous looks. Charra ignored them as well, her attention devoted to the would-be king and the leather bag that clinked rewardingly to her keen ears. After two solid years of being a journeyman, she was finally able to work on her own and earn coin.

Well, not quite coin that she would use, she was still under Atarn's mastery and what she earned she did so under his name. Much of the coin went to his coffers, but a tidy sum remained her own as well, something that she could set aside to build her own home one day or send back to her Clan if she so chose. Eventually she would have her own contacts and set off into the world without his shadow looming over her, but it would be a long time indeed before she would be ready for such an adventure. Or so she had been told, and she already knew that what she was told was hardly the truth. If she had been content with his mutterings she wouldn't be sitting beside a king, astride a Chimera and watching an army fleeing into the valleys with their tails tucked between their legs.

"Your payment, I am quite pleased, young journeyman." The king drawled the last words, the slightest hint of a frown lingered on his larger muzzle. "Your master was right in recommending you to me."

"He would have come himself, Majesty, but his time is overly filled with so many constraints that he would not wish to do you a disservice." She murmured and took the pouch to hook onto her belt. "This was excellent for me, as I have never before seen a battle."

"And you still haven't." The male barked a laugh and nudged his mount so the horse stepped away. "Will you return with us? You might enjoy the victory feast and a place of honor."

"Would that I could be so blessed," Charra smiled and moved her heels so that Malshek stepped back with a bare twitch of her his ears. "But my master will be eager to hear of my success and Malshek must soon hunt if he is to remain in such good health."

And I refuse to allow myself to be around a group of drunken males. She added the last to herself, well aware that a few of the body guards had been looking at her with their nostrils flared. She would be damned if she'd be around them compromised when she was in season.

"Indeed." The king's eyes flicked down to her Companion nervously before going back up. "Then go, and I will send my compliments to your master with the next messenger."

Charra gave a slow bow of her head, shifting her weight so her Companion turned gracefully on his broad cloven-claws and turned towards the road away from the army. It had taken her nearly a year to train him to accept her on his back, but once she had, it had been a heady experience to see the world from so high up in the air. Malshek was intelligent, so brilliant that he learned what she wanted by leaps and bounds from the very first day that she had bonded with him. She had always read that Companions had to be taught with repetition and discipline, that they would struggle against commands and orders in the first few years before they learned that they had no choice but to obey. Malshek showed none of that, he was eager to learn and picked up what she wanted swiftly enough even when it was strange. Despite her Master's disapproval that she had bonded with him without using links of obedience and force, she felt that it was all worth it.

Now, he seemed perfectly at ease as he picked up his legs and slipped into a ground eating lope with her body leaned forward over his shoulders. He didn't move with a jarring trot, but with the a smooth graceful roll of muscles that made her easily fall into motion with him. Her hands didn't need a bridle to guide him, she did so by weight and sank her fingers into the thick softness of his mane. He was everything that she ever dreamed, an easy going Companion that was impressive to look at and entirely in tune with her. He helped guide her magic, reaching out into the magic of the world as well as into herself. Already her Clan had improved their lot in life, the knowledge that she came from that village had made the rest of the neighboring Clans treat them with the utmost respect for fear that she would avenge any slights against them.

The lizard twitched her lips a little bit in a smile and relaxed as Malshek padded into the forest with a rumble and the tension along his sides and back as the shadows spilled over them. In the past two years he had grown, despite the fact he had emerged fully grown, he had matured and filled out and his personality had developed. He was much more than just a magical creature that so many saw him as, but a Chimera with a sense of humor and quirks all his own. He disliked open places where the sky was spread out above him, but thrived in the forest and caves where he could move through hidden places unseen. Her master had snorted in amused tolerance when she had insisted that he be allowed free run of the grounds, but it had helped make him more secure and more easy to work with. Why would she deny him the forest when it made him so happy?

Atarn had always hinted that giving him so much independence would make him believe he was dominant and would only come back to haunt her when he decided he didn't want to do a thing, but she had always found the small comforts had ensured he would show himself to be more eager to please her in return for a return to his 'home'. He didn't see that the bond between herself and the Chimera were ones of mutual affection and devotion. Malshek didn't see her as his master, but as one of his own kind, strangely shaped, but he believed she was another Chimera and treated her as such. His gentleness with her and devoted protection was reflected to how he would treat another of his species. It was absolutely perfect, no matter the condemnation of her master.

It took them most of the day to travel through the forest, allowing the Chimera to pick his own way towards their home. He had a good sense of direction and a better gauge of his own strength than she did, and it was a relaxing time for both of them as they passed along the paths and the only sound was the forest around them and the occasional rumble of Malshek beneath her. By the time the sun began to go down she found herself nearly falling asleep on her mount, her chin dropping down slightly while her legs tightened along the furred sides. It wasn't until he stopped and gave a shake that she brought her head up and blinked her eyes a few times at his signal.

"Tired, eh?" Charra smiled to herself and yawned hugely. "Well, we could probably make it if we pressed on into the night."

Malshek lifted his head and turned it so that one orange-red eye was fixed on her in visible annoyance as if he understood the suggestion. She suspected he did.

"Alright, alright, we'll stop. I could stretch my legs as well." She rubbed along the curve of the shoulder, stroking lightly before swinging her leg over his back.

She slid easily down from him, bracing herself against him briefly as she swayed back and forth to keep her paws beneath her, her legs a bit weak from the ride. Malshek turned his head and nosed her with a snort as she stroked against the line of the shoulder lightly and stepped away. The clearing wasn't ideal, but it was serviceable enough as she pulled her back from his back and gave his haunches a light slack. The chimera snorted and shook himself all over, barely waiting for her to move clear before he dropped down to the ground and began to roll about, itching his back and sides from where she was seated making her laugh to herself. His underbelly was scaled with bold white-gold scales that caught the light as he wriggled shamelessly.

Getting her camp set up didn't take that long, it just took a bit to get her bedding spread out and a fire up and working with a touch of her magic. In that time Malshek didn't pad off to go hunting the way he normally did, instead he remained sprawled out and watching her with large red-orange eyes and the occasional rumble in answer to any movement that he perceived as too far away from him. In the last week he had become a bit more protective of her. It was her first time coming so far from her Master's home, so obviously he was out of sorts, but it was growing annoying when she tried to leave his sight and heard him lumbering behind her chuffing out questioning noises. Especially any time she tried to go to the bathroom.

"Go lie down, damnit!" She laughed as she rebuked him as she moved to the bushes and heard him heaving himself up. "I can do this on my own.

A whining chuff was her answer as Malshek shifted back onto his haunches and gave her an anxious look before she disappeared. He didn't follow though, allowing her the chance to do her business in peace. She'd have to train this out of him before she set out again, it had been alright when she had been working, mostly because she had wanted to keep most of the males away from her, but in another environment it could be devastating. He would have to learn to be on his own without fussing, something that she could work on once she got back home.

She nearly crashed right into him as she moved out of the bushes, the large beast looming nearby with his nose down to the ground and snuffling busily. She gave a quick look down to see the long forked tongue flickering out against the long leaves before stepping away with a shake of her head. She must have startled out a rabbit or some sort when she'd gone in and he was checking for a nest, though she didn't think that she could stand seeing him snapping up a baby rabbit or some other small fuzzy creature and swallow it down. She hated seeing him eating another adult animal, but a baby was another matter.

She resolutely set about getting her bedding in order, stripping off her dirty shirt to throw it to the side and began to dig through her bags to find something a bit more fitting to slip on so she could sleep in it. She wasn't paying attention to the chuffing chimera, not until movement caught her eye and she saw his head lifted up and his lips peeled back. His long red-black tongue was fluttering in and out rapidly as he sucked in a deep enough breath that his chest swelled outwards. It was such a strange behavior that she just gaped at him while a low vibrating sound burst from his spread muzzle and he lowered his head again to draw in a breath.

The fuck is he doing? She blinked for a few more moments and dropped down on her blanket to watch him with her brows furrowed.

His serpentine tail lashed faster, twisting through the air, jerking and coiling upwards before dropping down again. It was lifted too high, far higher than normal so that the line of his haunches was tensed up slightly and the muscles stood out. There was the faintest shudder of his hips and then his head lifted up again to suck in a great breath, his lips peeled right back again to show his tongue. Charra watched him repeat the motion several times, his nostrils flared open wide and eyes nearly thinned down to slits of brilliant orange-red. Finally, Malshek turned his head and flared his nostrils open wide and shifted his attention in her direction, an almost dreamy look on his face as he took a step forward with a deep throaty rumble, chuffing out another breath. And it hit her.

Dark black and glistening, the tip of the cock slowly extended out from between the powerful haunches as the genital slit began to spread open wider and wider. It wasn't until she saw that reaction that her mind snapped into what he was doing, he was scenting where she'd emptied her bladder, he hadn't been snuffling after any sort of animal that she had startled out, but the scent of her heat. And he was enjoying it, he stepped forward towards her with his eyes opening all the way and his pupils dilating open wide, focused on her and the bedroll.

"Malshek! Down!!" She snapped the words out, putting force behind them as she straightened up. "Lie down!"

"Rrrrrff?" The Chimera tilted his head and chuffed again, but he stepped forward without even hesitating. The length of his black-red tongue uncoiled itself on the air, fluttering further out to gather up her scent.

With a muffled curse Charra reached out with her mental fingers to feel for the bond between them. The golden strands were brilliant as she reached out to send her command along them, a wordless rush of magic that tried to ensure that he would stop. Malshek paused and tilted his head as the command hit him with more than just his ears, his nose still quivered, tasting the air and examining it, but he didn't advance towards her. She felt a giddy rush of relief and leaned backwards as her Companion gave her another long look. She hadn't anticipated he'd think about her in that way with her season.

I've come into season before around him. Her brows furrowed a little bit in confusion while the Chimera moved back and snuffed the bushes where she had gone.

She had gone into season before, her kind typically went into season once a year, possibly twice, so he had been around her during that period. She wracked her mind, trying to remember when she had last come into heat. She didn't keep track, she wasn't an animal, it was just an annoying period, but relatively harmless as long as she didn't indulge with any males and risked being pregnant. Why was he reacting now? She shifted a little bit and Malshek's head jerked up and watched her with narrowed eyes, the inky black girth still jutting out beneath him as he sucked in a deeper breath.

He didn't come near her, but moved to one side, padding forward with a low rumbling noise before lifting his tail up along his haunches. She saw a flash of the tapered tip before he sprayed the tree purposefully. He didn't try to relieve himself, he was marking it with a pungent hit of musk before moving on. The eyes remained lock on her as he padded a few feet away and marked again, his nostrils flared open wide as he proceeded in a circle, marking the trees and bushes as he went. He was trapping her in a ring of his scent, deliberately making sure that no matter where she went she would pick up that harsh thick musk.

Charra scrambled up onto her paws, and the moment she did Malshek did the unthinkable. His lips peeled back to show his fangs before snarling at her, his black-red tongue snapping out in his rage forcing her to drop back down on the ground. His lips dropped back down again in reward before he started to advance again, only coming to a trembling stop when she reached for their bond. He didn't back off, he swayed his head back and forth, but stopped advancing on her. Through their bond she felt his focus, his eagerness and anticipation that came with the rich fertile scents on the air. He had locked her in with his scent, and he wouldn't let her leave until he had made her his mate.

It wasn't in words, only emotions that lapped at her thoughts and briefly let her touch his intentions as she huddled against her bedroll. For now they were at a standoff, the habit of obeying her held him back as she pressed on their bond, but it wouldn't hold forever. He didn't sit down, he remained stiff and tense with his head extended out to savor her scent. She couldn't keep that pressure on the bond forever, eventually it would falter, eventually her exhaustion would catch up. And if she faltered.... Fear went through her while she watched another inch of inky dark shaft pushing from the vent, a silent offering of what he had for her.

Oh god.. he doesn't realize I'm not even a chimera....

~ ~ * ~ ~

Charra jerked awake with the sound of paws on the leaves and the scrape of cloven claws, her entire body tensing up enough that Malshek stopped his approach. The great chimera tilted his head to one side, watching her intently for several moments before backing away again with a low angry growl. It was a snarl that sent real fear down the line of her spine while she hunched her shoulders and scrubbed her eyes with one of her paws. She had to stay awake, she couldn't sleep, she had to keep him at bay at all costs. The only benefit she had now, was that the light of the sun was starting to slide up and lightened the sky behind her, shadows forming beneath the trees.

She had spent the night with Malshek pacing and circling her eagerly, his head lowered towards his shoulders waiting for his chance to claim her. She had kept a hold of their bond, but it was now something tainted and terrifying as the echo of his thoughts down it was fueled with lust and desire. He was watching her as he always had, a member of his own kind, his devotion was ever there, but now it was tainted with the devotion to a mate. He could smell her season, not even pausing at the strangeness, it had awoken parts of his mind that were fully male and adult. She was no longer a 'hunting partner', she was the future of his genetics.

The little lizard had tried to send her own thoughts along their bond, tried to impress that she was too small, too strange, too lizard like to possibly be a Chimera, but it was too late. The magic bonds she had thrown over him when she had first summoned him had had time to settle and deepen. Every passing year ensured that those thoughts were thoroughly settled over him, they had sank too deep, gone too far and the span of a few hours couldn't undo it. He had been watching her all this time as a youthful male, what she had thought of as his viewing her as a sibling had gone so much further. The warnings of her Master were like a mockery in the back of her mind as she struggled to stay awake. If she showed any weakness, any moment of relieving the pressure on their bond, he would exert his rights.

Malshek didn't have to stay awake, he didn't even need to remain on alert. Several times he had dropped down onto his belly and dozed off, but she couldn't even sleep then. She had tried once and woken up to a hot blast of breath against her hip as her Companion had taken the chance to creep up on her step by slow step. Only the fact she had woken up in time had driven him back. Since then, she had watched the beast sleep and kept herself awake by any means necessary. She pinched her arms, bit her lip, shifted repeatedly, anything to keep her eyes open instead of falling asleep and finding herself awakened by the demands of the Chimera.

As the sun rose the beast moved around again, purposefully keeping the fierce eyes directed towards her as he began to mark the bushes again. The entire area was harsh and thick with his scent, it was almost unbearable as he continued to try and make sure she wouldn't breach his 'territory'. He could feel just enough of his emotions through their bond to know it also served to keep away other males. He would fight for his right to her, kill if he had to, something that sent a shiver down her spine as she tried to see a way out of this. Her best hope would be if her master came and looked for her, but would Malshek allow the mage to approach? Or would he attack and kill, or try.

Atarn would kill him... He wouldn't allow him to live. The thought sent an unwilling tremor of terror through her as she drew in a breath and watched the Chimera lift his head to test the scents on the air again.

"Malshek.." Charra breathed out his name softly and the beast paused to flick his ears upwards, staring straight at her intently. "You need to let me go, I'm not like you. I can find you a female..."

Or something like a female.. Her mind was already working for something she could offer him that would at least satiate his need to breed.

The male rumbled softly and took a step forward, his hoof like claws crackling on the ground as he let out a low prumbling noise in his throat. He turned his head away and began to pace again before she dropped her head back down onto her hands with a low noise in her throat. She was exhausted, her muscles were almost shaking as she tried to keep her burning eyes open. It wasn't just that she had been awake all night, it was the fact that she had been struggling to hold Malshek back with their bond, the magic was sucking every resource she had because she couldn't use her Companion to boost herself, she had to fight him.

She was starving as well, she couldn't even get to her pack, any attempt to move from her spot was punished with a snarl or, worse, the muzzle tried to slide along the underside of her tail. Her pack was a dozen feet away, it was taunting her while her stomach cramped painfully from the lack of food. She had been forced to pull up some dandelions around her legs to chew on them, but it wasn't enough. Working magic took energy and she needed food to replenish it if she wanted to keep herself in good condition. Never in her life had she been deprived like this, the only thing she wasn't being deprived of was water. Her water sack rested nearby so she had been able to gulp as much water as she wanted, but that didn't take away the pangs in her belly. She had to get out of here and away from him.

She heard him pacing again, the low rumble that was vibrating low in his throat before it turned into a snarl. A whip cracking sound that sent a rush of fear through her so she lifted her exhausted head up. Malshek bared his teeth towards her and took a step forward, his tail lashing back and forth as she reached for their bond. She fumbled for it, trying to halt him with that hold, but she couldn't grasp it hard enough to make her will understood. Her mind felt raw from struggling all night and he only paused for a moment before stepping forward with a low throaty growl and peeled his upper lip backwards. The dark red-black tongue jabbed back and forth, curling and twisting a little bit while he puffed out a breath and edged towards her.

"Down!" She stammered and scrambled backwards a few steps only to have him rush her with a muffled roar when she tried to escape.

Their bond frayed as he came, her attempts to grasp it made it slip away and her panic only made it worse as the Chimera twisted about and swung out one of his powerful legs and caught her right along the hip with one of his cloven claws caught against the line of her hip and yanked her backwards. The massive golden face loomed over with a blast of hot breath as she stumbled backwards and swung her legs up to kick roughly against his broad chest. The powerful forelegs slipped to either side of her, but the dew claws slipped up to scrap right along the line of her bare belly, skidding along her scales.

"GET DOWN!" Her voice broke as she shrieked out the words, trying to command him, but her only response with a sudden vibrating rumble. Not a growl, but a deep pleasured purr as his head lowered to snuffle hotly against her bare scaled chest.

His tongue flicked out as it had at the bush, lashing almost against her as he sampled her scent and remained high above her. She'd always been proud of how large he was, large enough to ride, large enough to intimidate any other creature they came across, and now she was terrified of his size. His tongue snapped against her lightly while he continued to purr, exuding his pleasure that he had finally gotten past her attempts to hold him back. It was a wordless ripple down their bond, but one that made her nearly sob as all of her hard work to hold him back was seen in a new light.

He didn't view it as her denying him a chance at her, that she wasn't his kind or that she might not be in season. He had been watching her challenge him, he thought she was trying to make him prove that he was worthy of breeding her. It had been a game to him, one that was designed prove to her that he was worthy of her, and now he thought that this was her signal that he was. Even her struggles excited him, in his mind this was what it was supposed to be, he was supposed to claim her, to meet her struggle and overcome it.

All this ran through her in a flash as his tongue suddenly curled down and scraped along her stomach eagerly. She felt the slime of his saliva coating along her scales as he began to chuff under his breath. One of the large cloven clawed paws moved up to pin down against her chest, the thick claw tips scraped roughly as the muzzle dropped downwards. She kicked at him, snarling threats, but he didn't do anything more than push his tongue down and suddenly rasped against the ridge of her pants. His hot breath panted out a bit shallowly, pushing downwards roughly enough that he tugged against the coverings that protected her.

"Damnit! Stop!" She hissed out the words, trying to force him to obey while lifting her hands up to shove against his maned head.

The Chimera didn't do more than lift his head up a little bit and regard her before his paw slid down along her chest. The claws raised welts beneath her hide as he dragged a lone line before the claws hooked roughly right beneath the ridge of the pants and gave a rough yank backwards that tore against the material. It hurt, a startled cry of pain broke past her lips as the band cough roughly against her hips and the seams strained. He dug against her stomach, letting out short rough noises while he tried to peel the material down, but it was tough enough that it couldn't tear.

With a snarl she twisted herself, kicking outwards to hit against his chin as she rolled over onto her stomach and writhed forward, wriggling her hips back and forth to escape the digging pulls of the claws. Malshek didn't miss a beat, the moment she tried to lunge forward his massive jaws closed down around the base of her tail and yanked her backwards making her squeal out in shock. He lifted her haunches up by the hold while she kicked her legs backwards wildly. Her toes lifted up from the ground as the beast clawed at her hips again, the claws biting roughly against her as the material tore above her tail with a sudden tearing noise. The material loosened and fell down along her hips while Charra squeezed her eyes shut as the pants fell down and hit along her thighs.

The teeth scraped along her bruising tail, but mercifully it lowered her back down while she tried to jerk her hips forward. She whimpered shallowly and dropped to her knees before the jaws released her aching tail making her tuck it down tight. She felt a dribble of blood from the hold of the teeth, but at least she could lower it down and feel it throbbing as the sharp pain that had been there faded away. The Chimera didn't give her time to recover, he had what he wanted and drooped his broad nose down so the elongated forked tongue pushed up between her thighs. The slippery spread of the tongue snapped against her heat swollen folds greedily, curling forward with a hot rush of breath.

She tensed up slightly with a whimper as the heat of the tongue worked back and forth, working forward and pushing against her outer folds. The twin tongue tips started to stroke along the outer edges of her folds while she struggled to put her hips downwards while the muzzle kept her tail shoved up and out of the way. The heat blasted against her, panting out shallowly and curling along the line of her belly while the tongue tips worked to push and force the wetness from her body so he could scoop it up. A heavy cloven paw dropped down to pin her shoulders to the ground as she made an attempt to jerk forward, halting her so the agile tongue tip started to curl a bit more firmly against her heat swollen opening.

The tongue tip soon pushed forward, spreading her open and plunging into her passage so Charra let out a high pitched squeal. Her cheeks burned with utter humiliation as she felt the long agile tongue working through her. The curling tip scooped her slickness out before the muzzle worked and the tongue pulled backwards again. It caressed through her, but not in any manner she had ever experienced. The few lovers she had had weren't like this, they paid attention to her pleasure, they wanted her to experience it. The beast only wanted to taste her, his nose pad shoved up roughly against her ass crease.

The claws flexed against her shoulder blade, digging in before the male pulled his head backwards with his tongue slipping free with a lewd wet noise. She twisted her head around, blood rushing to her face to see the muzzle lifted up high, damp with her wetness of her heat and his tongue flicking in the air. His rumble vibrated along the line of his foreleg, hitting against the line of her spine as he tasted her fertile scent. She snarled back at him, an instinctive outraged noise when he shifted his haunches and flashed the underside of his belly with the movement.

She had another view of the dark black shaft, the oozing tip spilling a bit of wetness towards the ground while he slid his cloven paw forward over the line of her shoulder. She felt his eagerness, she could almost smell her own fertile scent as she writhed forward, trying to tear herself out from beneath him. He didn't give her the chance, he moved forward almost lazily and the jaws roughly caught her against the shoulder so that she could drag him back. The slow pull made her cry out as she twisted away and scrambled forward before another yanking pull backwards. The wet spill of precum splattered against her haunch, spilling along the edges and making her whimper out under her breath.

I can't do this! Gods! This isn't right! She choked back a sob as the rough paws hook roughly against her haunches and yanked them upwards so her tail was forced against his chest.

She tried to drop her weight down, attempt to just lie flat on the ground, but the cloven claws yanked her roughly upwards and nearly tore at her brown hide. The cock pushed right up against the line of her asscheek, sliding up high enough that the wetness smeared just at the base of her tail. She could feel it throbbing and pulsing, large enough that she squeezed her eyes shut, her tail struggling to snap down along the line of her ass cheeks. The wetness spread along her tail base and then higher up along her body, pushing against the line of her spine as she felt the weight dropping down harder against her small body.

The mane spilled along her shoulders, she could feel the edge of it brushing along her cheek as Malshek contorted himself above her to send his cock higher up to the point that the thickest point, nearly as thick as her tail, rested against her spine. Her relief at not feeling him seeking for her opening was short lived as the scaled tail curled between her legs. She felt it brushing along her inner thighs, pushing upwards to slide along the line of her belly making her jerk up higher. She had to struggle against the power of the weight pressing down against her, but she was able to twist her head down, fighting the hard grip of the teeth clutching against her shoulder so she could see the tail coiling up beneath her belly.

It dropped down until the thickest portion of the tail base pushed between her legs and a vent spread open. She felt a stab of shock at seeing the opening as something dark red-black slipped out into view. She had never truly looked for long between the beast's hind legs, but she'd never seen that he had another opening hidden beneath the pale scales. Now she saw the slender length push forward, a brief flash before the tip pressed intimately between her legs. It was blunt and as thick around as one of her digits, and she had no idea what it was for. Did he boast two shaft's? She writhed and out a high pitched noise as the staff jabbed against her heat swollen folds.

The Chimera didn't move his hips as Charra swallowed a groan when she felt the tip prying her open and nudging into her passage. It slipped from the vent and into her body, caressing through her passage in a smooth slow stroke, pushing along her sensitive folds as they were forced to wrap around him. She clutched automatically, shuddering as the scaled tail coiled along her belly and wrapped around her. Malshek let out a rough groan and shifted his jaws against the line of her shoulder as he continued to press the girth deeper and deeper into her body. Her walls clamped down tightly, contracting and squeezing as the tip suddenly pressed in deeper.

The glans jabbed forward roughly, suddenly pushing in deeper as the base slid past her plump swollen folds. The tip wedged roughly against her dilated cervix, forcing it to bow inwards with a sudden cramp that made her snarl out. She twisted beneath the weight, writhing back and forth while it drove against her with unrelenting pressure. The tail clutched around her as the narrow opening was forced to stretch open wider and wider, peeling back and making her claws scrape against her bedding, trying to scrabble out from under him as he wedged into the narrow tube before the tip suddenly pushed right into her vulnerable womb.

The moment the base sank into her she shrieked out in pain as the grip of her cervical passage triggered hundreds of wickedly sharp barbs to flare open inside of her. They hooked into her swollen tender flesh, dragging backwards so that burning pain spilled through her and made her grind backwards against him, desperately trying to stop the pain. Tears rose to Charra's eyes, but her Companion released her shoulder with a groan, his weight moving into a better position while the shaft started to pulse inside of her body. The tip of the engorged shaft that pierced through her cervix shifted as the barbs dug in harder as the spire stretched open wide and forced the walls open wider and wider.

A thick bulb slipped along the girth, stretching the passage open wider and wider as she intimately felt the barbs flexing against her tender flesh. Fresh tears rolled down Charra's cheeks as the pinching burn of the barbs made her push back harder against him, anything to stop it. The orb pushed higher up along the shaft, sliding along her passage while her muscles contracted instinctively in reaction, unable to do anything to escape what was happening to her as what he was doing was outside any experiences she had ever had. It ached and hurt as the another orb pushed past the base while the first began to slide forward to nudge right against her forcibly spread cervix.

The pressure began to grow, it pushed harder, forcing the wall open wider and wider as she let out a pained noise low in her throat. She clamped her jaws shut, her breathing came out in short hot pants as a sudden splash of something hot and thick spilled into her body before the weight of the orb slipped past the tight band of her cervix. She felt it pushing deeper as the next orb pushed upwards, rippling past the painful barbs that kept him locked inside of her and slipping up higher along the shaft. Through it all she felt the weight of his throbbing shaft resting along her spine, the wet patch growing as he didn't even grind it against her, instead he depended entirely on the smaller one.

The hot spurts of wetness that oozed into her uterus sent a shock through her, it wasn't burning, but it felt likes pins and needles in a place of her body that she should have never felt so intimately and it pushed in deeper. Her stomach roiled and tensed, flexing and cramping as the sensation of pins and needles pushed in deeper as the orb forced the tight band open wider again and the spill of wetness splashed in deeper in thick heavy ropes that weighed down her stomach. She could almost feel it forming a slight swell, dropping downwards while her breathing came out in short shallow bursts, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she tried to draw in a deeper breath.

As the orb pushed inside of her, she barely had time to become acquainted with the additional weight before Malshek yanked his tail out from under her belly. Pain shout through her, it tore through her body, burning along the line of her stomach forcing a screeching scream from her throat as the stiff shaft pulled backwards from her body. The base raked the barbs through her, pulling from her swollen sensitive vent and slipping free with a wet hot spill as the girth pulled backwards and left a sticky strand oozing down her leg. Her passage throbbed in pain as she dropped herself down towards the ground, trembling and shuddering, only her hips remaining up in the air from the hold on the curve of her hips.

She didn't want to move, her lower body hurt and throbbed, it felt weighed down as tears rolled down her muzzle and stained her hide dark. Her mind nearly shut down, all she knew was that she hurt in a way she never imagined. In all her time with Malshek, Charra had never imagined the beast would do this to her, hurt her this way, and she couldn't even get away. She just wanted to curl up in a ball to escape it all, anything to end the way her lower body felt. A slippery tongue flicked out and dragged right along the back of her neck, coiling lightly against the edge of her shoulder while she whimpered.

"Get! GET!" She shrieked the last word, almost sobbing it out, but the Chimera didn't even startle as he worked his tongue along her neck. She didn't care if the beast bolted and never returned, she didn't care if she remained a magician, all she wanted was to be let go finally!

The powerful haunches dragged back so she felt the ridges of the still hard shaft pulling along her ass cheeks as the beast crooned down at her. His teeth scraped the back of her neck while he crouched his hips lower so the inky black length pulled down and slipped free of her ass cheeks to slide along her inner thighs. She only paid real attention when the tapered tip rubbed up and caressed right against her throbbing aching folds. The feel of it made her let out a trembling whimper, her hips jerking forward away from him, only to feel him following and pushing himself against the swollen lips. The smearing precum spilled down along the edges, coating her with the slick goo while she shook.

Isn't it enough he did this once?! She snapped her eyes open wide and let out a rasping protest as the massive tip jabbed against her outer folds.

Charra dug her claws down against the ground, tearing against the dirt while the engorged tip started to dig between her outer lips. Her outer lips were forced in on themselves, yawning open wider and wider, straining to the point that she let out a short high pitched scream when the tip slipped inwards. A thick jet of precum splattered out into her passage, coating her inner walls and pushing in deeper as she tried to pull her hips away. The scaled belly only pushed harder against the line of her back and the leonine jaws dropped down to catch right at the back of her neck before clamping down.

Malshek's hot breath hit along the line of her spine as he gave another rocking thrust and the glans popped into her body with a lewd slick noise. Her walls were forced to stretch into a lewd O that wrapped tightly around him. Her entire body shuddered in place, fingers flexing down against the ground as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her walls were already aching from the barbs, and now they were forced to cope with the inky black spire that began to steadily dig its way inwards. The pressure of the haunches forced her hips higher into the air as another few inches pushed ever deeper, her body unable to cope as the first ridge slipped in, pushing out the edges of wetness by the sheer size of it. It hurt and ached, not as painfully as the barbs, but in a new torment that made her walls contract down in an attempt to squeeze him back out.

The Chimera let out a grunting growl against her throat before she felt the hind legs slipping open wider, pushing up along either side of her hips before another few inches pressed inside of her. The tip burrowed higher up, making her stomach feel even more distended as the swollen channel was stroked through as the ridges slipped in one at a time. It wasn't until the blunt tip pushed right up against her sore cervix that the male growled and gave a roll of his hips, briefly putting pressure on the opening before yanking backwards. Charra let out a high pitched screech as ridge after ridge pulled out, the slippery precum coming with it until just the glans rested inside of her.

Malshek nearly yanked his way entirely out before plunging back into her body, harder this time, and the paw on her stomach yanked her back roughly as he forced her muscles to stretch in a tight sleeve over him again. The ridges caressed through her, in what might have been a pleasurable sensation, save the way she was being stretched made it a new torment as the ridges stretched open her body time and again, pulling and making her mold around him as he bottomed out inside of her with a messy dribble of sperm-rich preseed smearing along her cervix.

It was still better than before, the smoothness of the inky shaft helped ease away some of the sting the barbs had given her, but it came with pain of its own, and utter humiliation. The Chimera lewdly plunged himself into her body with all the eagerness of any male breeding, the harsh grunts and growls were intimately heard as saliva spilled along the line of her neck to darken her hide. The ridges worked themselves in and out with slippery wet noises, squelching back in as the tip continued to grind right against her cervix. It was making her let out helpless noises each time she felt it pushing right up against the barrier.

The pins and needles sensation had slowly slipped away, but that in no way meant that the sensations of what he'd pumped into her was gone. It was heat, it was a cramp in her belly and the way that his body plunged into her forced some part of her to react to him with her muscles suckling around the dark spire. It was blossoming over her, making it hard to concentrate on just the pain when his haunches rolled backwards and sent a shock rocking up along her body. Her claws gripped harder against the ground, thickening as she tried to brace herself against the rough brutal thrusts that hammered through her.

She couldn't figure out what was changing, only that her body was on fire as the ridges caressed and pulled through her. The oozing precum spilled deeper, pushing against that barrier to where her stomach felt so weighed down. His tip dug roughly against her cervix, bowing it inwards, as the cock seemed to push in deeper on each and every stroke inwards. She felt his chest resting harder against her back while she drew her legs up, scrabbling against the ground wildly. Her hips suddenly cracked with a popping noise as Malshek drove himself inwards, sinking so deep that she squealed out in protest as her body cramped up.

It was the popping sensations that drew her mind past the pain and heat, past the feeling of pressure and weight. Her claws flexed against the ground, two powerful thick claws as her outer digits pulled upwards along the back of her wrist. They lifted up higher while her weight was suddenly pushing the male up higher. Something fringed along her slender jaws, sliding up along the edges while she shrilled out her panic. She threw her weight upwards, her legs, her hind legs shoved against the ground as she watched the pale fur sliding over her blunt muzzle and her canines thickened.

He was changing her! Charra screamed out in her panic as she grew and the driving pace of the cock inside of her no longer felt so painful as her size was growing in relation to her body. Fur was spilling over hide, rapidly thickening along the line of her belly and chest, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her arms adjusted, thickening and shifting towards powerful forelegs, but still Malshek loomed over her. His greater weight kept her pinned in place as he began to drive himself into her body, forcing her tail upwards so that it was draped against his hips.

"SHAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!" Charra screamed a word, but a coughing roar came out as she felt the ridges driving deeper, wedging and forcing against her changing womb.

The jaws on her neck shifted, yanking roughly so that the nape was twisted viciously to one side as her stomach roiled and twisted. The world narrowed down to pounding of her heart and the scrape of the forelegs that curled along either side of her hips. She was tall enough to hold him up, but the weight was enough she had no choice but to lock her legs. If she tried to step forward she'd collapse under him, so she splayed her changed legs to either side while feeling the heat pushing in deeper and deeper. Her walls clamped down tightly as the male suddenly lunged forward and she felt his scaled under belly suddenly crashing right against her haunches.

Every last thick inch of his ridged cock sank into her aching tunnel, the tip bottomed out against her cervix, while her Companion let out a harsh muffled snarl. The ridges that had tormented her started to stiffen and thicken up while her silken walls clutched about him. Her hips were nudged higher up in the air as she let out a short screeching noise as the tapered tip wedged itself right against the sore opening of her cervix.

The first throb that ran along the stiffened cock made her walls clamp down roughly around him, pulling tightly as the Chimera's last thrust forced the blunt tip of his cock just into the narrow passage. Malshek took no chances, he forced himself in just enough that the first pressured rush of seed erupted into her vulnerable womb. She felt it splashing in deep, hammering and spreading into her womb in a hot thick wave as the sperm rich cum invaded every part of her heated body. Charra gaped her jaws and let out a wordless roar of denial, her changed muzzle refusing to shape the words as her walls started to pull and milk, coaxing the drops every deeper into her weighed down form.

The gripping muzzle released the nape of her neck as Malshek let out a low groan as his hips started to pump, grinding and working the ridges through her body while she dropped her head down. She could feel the thick claw-like hooves that rested on the ground, her muscles trembling as the Chimera let out a soft chuffing noise of pleasure above her. He resonated satisfaction and triumph, it echoed through their bond while the last pearly spill splattered into her, millions of sperm already plunging their way inwards to lay claim to her vulnerable ova.

All of this watched beneath the pale blue gaze of a bird perched high in the trees. Notable only because of the faint glow that spilled along her feathers and tail.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Atarn leaned backwards and opened his eyes from the midst of his trance and dismissed the lingering edges of exhaustion from his perception. He flicked his tongue out to lick his lips, crinkling his muzzle back in a mingling of annoyance and lust that meshed together. Annoyance because he had officially lost his journeyman, after so many years invested in Charra's training and attempting to get her to the point that she began to earn her keep. Lust because there had been something incredibly sweet about seeing his lessons driven home after being dismissed for the last two years.

This wasn't the first time that some youngster believed they could have a Companion that was superior to the old way of binding them. They always seemed to think the chains of slavery were too harsh and they could adjust it so that they wouldn't be forced to subdue another being. Most of the time, if they were lucky, their Companion fled at the first chance they could, others had been known to be killed outright because the bonds attached weren't strong enough, but sometimes... not often, but sometimes... a Companion was bound too tightly, too intimately and they suffered for it.

"Sometimes the old ways are best, aren't they Tareera?" He murmured to the phoenix who landed gracefully on the window ledge with a crackling of false sparks.

His Companion blinked her eyes and settled down to preen herself while he shifted on his chair to pluck up a sheet of paper. There was no coming back for Charra, not after Malshek had finally gotten her to succumb. Companions were spirit's made flesh, they had no chance of taking mates unless they were able to take matters into their own hands. For better or for worse she was changed, her form ripped away by the very bond she had boasted about. Perhaps, if she were lucky, Malshek would release her once she laid her clutch, but it was unlikely she would ever return to a lizard again. He had watched it all, the large bodied male pinning her down, implanting his eggs in her to start the change and so much more. There had been such possessiveness, such lust, it had been like nothing he had ever seen in his life.

It pains me to write this, but your daughter, Charra Et'Hohen, has failed in her training as a journeyman...

Atarn began to form the letter to her parents, his other hand gliding lazily beneath his robes to where his pink shaft jutted from his slit. Perhaps he'd send his Companion out again to keep an eye on her... At least until she was out of heat.