{"sf1_id":694689,"sf2_id":null,"title":"06 Duir","author":"assilsasta","words":5420,"posted_at":"2014-04-19T06:22:00.000Z","tags":["Aura reading","Barter","Chance Meeting","Dear/husky","Deer husky hybrid","Discernment of Spirits","Druid","Emancipated","Female","Hybrid","Lynx","Male","Nature","New experience","New places","Nudity","Ogham","Orphaned","Outdoors","Paganism","Sheltered","Spiritual gifts","Tree meanings","confusion","hiking","pagan","self discovery","supplies","trade"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/694689-06-duir","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/694689","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=694689\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nThe Forest Through the Trees\n06 Duir\nby Assilsasta\n  (¯`·.\n.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-( Consultation )-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··. .·´¯)\n \nSonet stirred as\nthe woods fell unnaturally quiet. She felt Donovan's chest move with each soft\nbreath of slumber as the dear rested on his fur. She looked over the soft blue\nglow of his energy, more calm and tranquil than he had been since they had met.\nHe'd gone through so many emotional changes over the few days they had been\ntogether, and she knew he would go through many more. She felt him shift as she\nran her fingers through the long thick fur of his cheeks and watched his eyes\nflutter open. \n \nHe looked down\nat her, his arm still around her shoulder from the evening before. For the\nfirst time the fact that he was completely nude with the deer girl cuddled\nclose to him, he felt no shame or embarrassment. Sonet watched as the light\nblue shifted to a muddied brownish green as his mind shifted back to the\nreality of the situation he was now in.\n \n \n\"What is wrong\nDawn?\" Sonet asked as her paw moved to his bare chest. \"What are you thinking\nabout?\"\n \n\"The same thing\nI was thinking about last night,\" he answered as he looked into her brown eyes,\n\"I know you think there is nothing wrong with what we did last night...\"\n \nCutting him off\nmid thought she said, \"What we did was wonderful.\"\n \nWith a little\nsmile as the sensations of their coupling meandered through his memory he\nreturned, \"I'm not going to argue with that, and I'm not going to say I don't\nwant to do it again. But, the thing is I still feel like I need to do\nsomething. Like I am skipping the most important thing for us.\"\n \n\"You mean the...\"\nThe deer hybrid trailed off as she tried to recall the word he used the night\nbefore.\n \n\"Marriage,\" he\nsaid finishing off her thought, \"But, we're too young to do that. you're too\nyoung.\"\n \n\"We are not too\nyoung for a handfasting,\" She replied, \"And we are in just the right place to\nhave one.\"\n \n\"I... um...\" Donovan\nlooked up toward the top of the canvas dwelling where the wooden poles met. \"I\ndon't know. I don't even really know what that is.\"\n \nSonet rolled on\ntop of the slightly older boy, straddling his abdomen to look into his eyes.\n\"You said it last night. It is a ritual to affirm to the gods and those present\nthat  we are dedicating our lives to one\nanother.\" \n \nHe looked up\ninto her eyes for a moment before his gaze drifted to her unclothed body, her\nsmall, perky breasts, the soft brown fur of her chest and belly. He was\nmomentarily mesmerized by her hair as the brownish-red locks cascaded over her\nshoulders. He shook his head to drive out the thoughts of rolling her over and\nreliving their shared passion in more than just his mind.\n \n\"I...\" the young\nlynx thought about what to say next as he closed his eyes to ward off the\ntemptation of the girl that rested on top of him. his pecker slowly stiffening\nbehind her. \"I think we need to talk to someone about this first. This isn't\nsomething you just jump into after knowing someone for only a few days.\"\n \nSonet bounced to\nher hooves, Displaying her slightly spread nethers to Donovan as his eyes\nreopened at the sudden change of her position in relation to him. \"Then let's\ngo talk to the priestess. She did Marks first handfasting, and I am sure she\ncan set your soul at ease about this.\" She reached her paw down to him as she\nspoke.\n \nDonovan reached\nup and took the offered paw as he sat up. \"I should put some cloths on first,\"\nhe said as he glanced down at the bright red tip that peeked out of this\nsheath. \"And how do you even know this priestess is even here?\"\n \nSonet reached\ndown and tossed him the shorts he wore the day before as she said, \"She is\nhere, they are all here. The circle is being readied for tonight.\"\n \n\"How long have\nyou been up?\" Donovan asked as he pulled the shorts on, not worrying about his\nbriefs. \"Did you already go out or something?\"\n \n\"No,\" She\nreplied, \"It's just too quiet, they've been here for a while now, Many of the\nanimals are still not used to many of the outsiders that come here.\" Without\nmuch more warning or any attempt to clothe herself, Sonet pushed past the flap\nof the tent, followed closely by the lynx.\n \nAs Donovan\nstepped out into the open air he saw the quiet activity of the festival goers\nas they moved through the new grouping or peddlers and crafters. In the\ndistance several furs had gathered around the altar stone with one older Bengal\ntiger directing their activities. Sonet swiftly took hold of Donovan's paw and\npulled him with her as she glided silently through the crowd, the only noise\nfrom the pair was that of the slightly off balance lynx snapping twigs and\nkicking rocks as they moved.\n \nAs they approached\nSonet stopped short of the tiger and pressed her paws together as she spoke,\n\"Merry Meet, Sister Sharleen.\" As she spoke she bowed slightly. Donovan taking\nhis cues from her mimicked the movements.\n \nThe tiger turned\nto meet the young couple as she returned the greeting, \"Merry meet, Sister\nSonet. What may I do for you?\"\n \n\"Dawn and I have\nquestions about a handfasting,\" The young Doe said, the husky tail wagging\nbehind her. \"As I have never considered such a thing, Grandfather never fully\nexplained it to me.\"\n \nA bit\nembarrassed by Sonet's frankness Donovan chimed in, \"Its... umm... well...\" As he\nstumbled over his word the tigress smiled. \"I really don't know anything about\nthis stuff, or how any of it works. Its... umm...\" He trailed off as he tried to\nfigure out how to put his thoughts into words without sounding like a pervert\nor lunatic. He thought about the fact that he had only known the girl for three\ndays, yet could not picture not being at her side. Then the memories of his\nfather rushed in to torment him over the lust he felt for the young doe, and\nhow foolish it was to think that love could be found in such a short time. He\nlooked down at the ground as he fought with his upbringing. \n \nThe priestess\nsmiled as she placed a paw on the Lynx's shoulder, \"A proper handfasting is no\nsmall matter, and nothing to be taken lightly.\" She looked at Sonet as she\ncontinued, \"It is a binding of souls and an affirmation of love. It is a\npromise before the Goddess to be bound to each other in a union of spirits. As\nyoung Dawn is new to our ways we should follow the tradition of a year and a\nday.\"\n \nDonovan looked\nup at the tiger as he asked, \"A year and a day?\"\n \n\"It is tradition\nthat an initiate, any new comer to our ways, Practice and study for a year and\na day before being fully initiated into a coven or circle. This is done for\nseveral reasons. The first and most important of which is that you fully\nunderstand the basic principles of our beliefs. And for you two, it would be a\ntime to follow your paths and be sure they run together.\"\n \n\"Well, You see,\"\nDonovan started to explain, \"last night we... umm...\"  Donovan's voice trailed to a whisper as he\nfelt the hot blush  run into his cheeks\nand ears. \n \nAs her new lover\n's arua shifted through colors of confusion and mixed emotions, Sonet turned to\nthe Priestess and spoke, nearly without thinking of the words she used, \"Bhí\norainn gnéas, agus imní sé air mar gheall ar an mbealach sé ina chónaí.\"\n \nSharleen looked\nat Sonet and her mind stumbled through translating what the young Doe has said.\nShe dropped her head for a moment in slight dismay as her lack of practice in\neveryday use of the nearly forgotten language had caught up to her with the\nyoung forest dweller.\n \nSonet frowned\nslightly as she watched the muddied yellow glow \nswirl around her. The young doe took hold of Donovans paw as she\nreworded her comment, \"We mated, He has claimed me as his own, and I have\nclaimed him. He told me that it is his tradition to marry  the mate you have chosen, but he says we are\ntoo young to do that. Years ago, you performed a handfasting for Brother Mark\nand the bunny girl. How is that different than what I'm asking?\"\n \nConsidering the\nyoung doe's question carefully, an odd look came to the priestess face. \"Unless\nmy memory has failed me, have you not seen fourteen summers sister Sonet?\"\n \n\"Fourteen\nsummers have passed, eight summers since I last left my grove to come here, \"\nThe young doe said as Donovan's comments about her age spun through her mind.\n \n\"Then I may\nunderstand his concerns,\" she said as she looked to the lynx. \"And what is your\nage, if I may ask Dawn?\"\n \n\"Seventeen,\nma'am,\" the lynx said falling back to his proper educate when talking to\nelders. \n \n\"I see, and I\nwould assume then that you are from somewhere other than the state of Colorado.\nBy law, even as members of a faith that most consider... nonstandard,\" the\ntigress said with a slight sigh in her voice, \"we are still bound by the laws\nof marriage of this state. In this case young man, since she is of the age of\nfourteen, she can indeed choose to marry \nwith parental consent, as long as her chosen mate is no more than three\nyears her elder, So your age is not an issue, if this is truly what you both\nwish. The only obstacle would be that there is no one to give consent for her,\nas her mother and grandfather have both passed through the veil. Normally this\nwould prevent her marrying anyone. However, Sonet does not adhere to the laws\nof anyone other than those of her beliefs. That would be of no comfort to you,\nbut what may be is the fact that as she is the only living member of her\nfamily, another person not related to her could give their consent,  if they are convinced that it is her true\nwish, and in her best interest to do so.\"\n \nAs the tiger\nspoke Donovan's eyes widened in disbelief. Unsure of how to respond he looked\nto Sonet, her tail wagging as they listened. He looked back at the tiger as he\nasked, \"But... who in their right mind would think it was a good Idea? I mean\nshe's fourteen and I am seventeen. Neither of us have a job, and she lives in a\ndirt hut in the woods. I understand that she knows how to live and survive in\nthose conditions, but most people would think that by itself was crazy. Now\nyou're talking about the possibility of finding someone that would think her\nmarrying a jobless drifter that she met only three days ago is in her best\ninterest? It sounds like a bad plot twist in a poorly planned story. I'm not\nsaying that I don't want to stay with her or marry her or anything, it's just\nthat the odds of that are like...\"\n \n\"Meeting someone\nin the woods that goes out of their way to help you when they don't even\nunderstand your ways?\" Sonet asked softly as she squeezed his paw in hers. She\nlooked over at the priestess with a smile as she said, \"The mother smiles on us\nalready, she will bring what we need and bless the union herself.\"\n \n\"As she always\ndoes sister Sonet,\" the priestess said with a gentle smile on her lips. Looking\nthe lynx squarely in the eyes she continued. \"If a union with Sonet is what you\nseek, then consider this. You seek one that will accept her decision,\nregardless of their own thoughts. One that will put nothing above her best\ninterests, and her happiness. Look to those among this community that know her,\nand would set aside their own prejudices and allow her to find the things she\nseeks. There are still a few that would do so willingly, even it goes against\nwhat they believe to be best for her.\"\n \n Donovan looked at sonet for a moment. \"Well,\nthe first person that comes to mind would just call me a stupid city slicker\nthat doesn't know shit, and shoot the idea down in a heartbeat before either of\nus could get it off our tongues.\" Suddenly he dropped his face into his paw,\n\"What the fuck am I thinking.\" Then looked up again at the tiger, wide eyed,\n\"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am  I should pay more\nmind to my language.\"\n \nNot giving the\nPriestess time to react to the lynx apology, or even contemplate what he had\nsaid, the nude Doe hybrid took the half-dressed lynx by the paw as she began to\npull him into the crowd again. \"We should look for Brother Mark, He should\nunderstand.\"\n \n \n(¯`·. .··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(\nAppeal )-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··. .·´¯)\n \n \nAs the young\nrecently married couple arrived at the meeting grove they were greeted by many\nofferings of congratulations. Each one met with a polite thank you despite the\nfact the pair were beginning to grow weary of the attention. After entering the\ncommon area of the grove Mark pulled his wife to the side, avoiding several of\nthe less frequent visitors that always seemed to seek him out.\n \n\"Ariel honey, I\nwas honestly tempted to let this festival pass, but with Sonet here... let's just\ntry to find her as quietly as possible so I can make sure she's alright. Then\nwe can do whatever you want, or slip out of here and go get something to eat\ninstead.\"\n \n\"Mark, if you're\nso dead set on keeping your promise to her grandfather, tell me this. What is\nit you have against Donovan?\", Ariel asked giving him a wilting look as only a\nwife or mother can muster.\n \n\"It's not that I\nhave something against him exactly honey, It's just that he's in so far over\nhis head without a clue of how much his life will change if he stays with\nSonet. Honestly, I have my concerns whether the guy can tough it out or not,\"\nthe Bernese boy said shaking his head slowly. \"I know many, even in this\ncommunity, that would think me a fool to leave that doe where she is. But they\ndon't know or understand her upbringing and her ways. Taking her from that\ngrove of hers would be like putting someone on the moon in a pup tent.\"\n \n\"Maybe it would,\nbut she seems so certain that Donovan has been sent to her to help her and be\nwith her. What makes you think otherwise?\" the collie asked.\n \n\"I'm not saying\nthat he hasn't, Sonet has always been far more connected to her beliefs and in\ntruth to the old ways than anyone I've ever known, including her grandfather.\nShe may be right about the lynx. I'm not worried about her nearly as much as I\nam about him. She is more than capable of taking care of herself, or both of\nthem to be honest. But my main concern with Donovan is whether or not he thinks\nhe can walk away from the world he's known his whole life and accept hers\nopenly and completely. If he can't, or thinks he can meet her halfway....he's\nonly fooling himself, and setting her up for a hurt she should never have to\nknow. I made a promise to watch over her, and I intend to keep that promise no\nmatter what it takes. But even at that, I can't put my own concerns above hers,\nshe simply knows herself better than I can possibly know her.\"\n \nAs the teen\ncouple had been speaking, walking slowly around the outer edges of the grove\nMark had paid little attention to the more central area of the circular grove.\nA noise off to his side catching his attention suddenly caused him to look to\nthe side. His eyes widened slightly as he caught a glimpse of the doe hybrid\nand lynx near the altar area as the pair spoke to the priestess. Taking hold of\nhis wife's arm Mark pulled her to a stop, pointing to the altar as he said,\n\"and there they are now. Looks like everything is okay, and he hasn't bolted on\nher.\" After a few moments the Bernese boy began to chuckle softly, his mate\nbeside him giving him a stern look as she asked, \"what's so funny?\"\n \n\"Oh nothing,\nunless you consider that two days ago he would barely look at her, and she\ncouldn't get him out of his boots. Yet there they stand, him half nude and her\nso close to him that she's nearly leaning against him.\" The canine pair stood\nwatching the doe and lynx silently as they spoke to the priestess.\n \n \n(¯`·. .··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(\nAppeal )-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··. .·´¯)\n \n\"Wait,\" Donovan\nstarted as he was helplessly led through the growing throng of furs, \"Mark\nthinks I am the worst person for you to be with. I bet he even wishes I never\nset paw on his land.\"\n \nSonet stopped\ncold in her tracks. The sounds of the gathering drowned out the natural sounds\nof the wildlife as she turned to him. Donovan instantly recognized the fire in\nher eyes as she started to speak, \"His land? This is a forest of the mother, a\nliving, breathing  thing. It can't be\nowned, one cannot own the life of another. We live with the land, through the\nland, not on it.\" She looked him in the eyes as she continued, \"You've learned\nto live a disconnected life. I see how weak the mothers touch is on you. I see\nit in Mark, Ariel, and all the others here. You all have a separation, a\nbarrier. You've shut the natural flow of energy out. Those here are slowly\nlearning to re-open that path, to accept what the Mother offers.\" She broke eye\ncontact as she looked at the ground. \"You, Mark, even the priestess are missing\nso much, and you can't even see that is is missing. But I know Mark will\nunderstand what we want to do. You may not like him, and he may not like what\nyou represent, but he will... He will understand that I need you.\" \n \nDonovan wrapped\nhis arms around the shorter girl and pulled her nude body against his bare\nchest as he rested his muzzle on her head, between the small nubs of horns.\n\"Okay, We can at least ask him. The worst he can do is call me stupid and walk\noff, right?\"  He stood there, with her in\nhis arms for a long moment in silence, his eyes closed. The feel of her\nbreathing, and relaxed in his arms felt right, as if she was meant to be there.\nHe was uncertain of how much time passed as they stood, other furs maneuvering\naround them, before the realization and images of her developing breasts\npressed against him invaded his tranquility. \nHe gently pushed her back to look her in the eyes as he felt the\ntightening of his shorts over his member. \"Let go find the the mut before it\ngets too late to do anything.\" \n \nAs Sonet looked\nback up at him with a smile she pointed to the side and said, \"They've been\nover there watching since we left sister Sharleen.\"\n \n\"Wait, what?\"\nDonovan looked to the side in disbelief as he caught sight of the pair. \"Then\nwhy have we been wandering around looking for them if you knew they were over\nthere?\"\n \nThe doe tilted\nher head to the side with a smile, \"Because he is trying to watch us from a\ndistance and its fun to let people think they have gone unnoticed.\"\n \n\"Wait,\" Donovan\npause for a moment to think, \"Did you know I was there when I first saw you and\nbolted?\"\n \n\"No, you really\nsurprised me,\" she said, \"No one's ever been that close to the grove before.\"\n \n\"Well it doesn't\nreally matter anyway, are you ready to talk to them? I'm ready for the tongue\nlashing I'm sure he has ready.\"\n \n\"No, not yet,\nit's time to have a little more fun,\" The young doe smiled as she suddenly\nturned and bolted away from the crowded area and into the trees, almost\nimmediately vanishing from sight. \n \nDonovan took a\ndeep breath and sighed knowing that he had no chance at all of following her or\neven finding her. Resigned to his task he turned and started to walk toward the\nBernes boy and his wife as he thought through what he was going to say until\nSonet returned for whatever fun she had planed. He looked at the ground as he\nmeandered closer to the couple, bare pawed, wearing nothing more that the\nshorts he slipped on when he left the tent, and his paws in his pockets.\n \nHe looked up\nfrom his beeline path to the pair to be certain they hadn't moved while he\nlooked aways. He made eye contact as he gave a halfhearted wave of his fingers,\n\"Hey Mark, Ariel, fancy meeting you here.\"\n \n\"Donovan,\" the\nBernese boy said in return. \"I see Sonet hasn't scared you off yet, and from\nthe looks of it either you forgot to do your laundry, or she's gotten you to\nloosen up a little.\"\n \n\"Nice to see you\nagain Donovan,\" the young collie said as she smiled at the young lynx. \n \nDonovan shrugged\nweakly as he said, \"It's kind of like going to the beach I guess, everyone's\ndoing it so why bother fighting, go with the flow and all that jazz. Besides\nSonet kind of rushed us out this morning. She gets a little excited about\nthings.\"\n \n\"Indeed she\ndoes, always has and likely always will. So...\" Mark said, pausing for a moment\nto look the lynx over more carefully, \"how long did she let me stand here like\nan ugly tree before she told you we were here?\"\n \n\"I guess from the\nstart,\" the lynx answered, \"Back when we were talking to Ms. Sharleen. Which\nkind of brings me to a question.\"\n \n\"A question?\",\nMark responded, a hint of surprise in his voice. \"I'll admit you looked like a\nman on a mission as you walked this way. But to be honest I thought perhaps\nthat was to tell me to fuck off and leave. After the ass chewing I gave you the\nother day.\"\n \n\"Thats on my\nlist of top phrases I would like to use, But this is for Sonet, not me,\" he\nsaid still running things through his head as he wished the doe would reappear\nout of the thin air she went into. \"Okay, so its kind of for both of use. And I\nam fully ready for the condescending rhetoric you surely have built up, and I\nalready ran through everything my family would say. They'd disown me on the\nspot if I wasn't already emancipated.\" He looked up into the  green canopy the blocked the view of the blue\nsky as if  the words he was looking for\nwould grow out of the trees. \"Sonet and I... We kind of... Well, its like this....\" \n \nThe trio all\njumped with a start as the melodic voice spoke from only inches behind the  canine couple, \"We want to be handfasted, or\nmarried... or whatever its called. And did you really think I wouldn't notice you\nwatching us?\"\n \n\"You want to\nbe...\" Mark began, stunned that the doe had been so brazen with the statement,\nthough he knew he shouldn't have expected less. Her question momentarily\nsidetracking his train of thought as the doe looked at him. \"No Sonet, I did\nnot think I could go unnoticed by you. I even asked Donovan how long you let me\nstand here like an ugly tree before you pointed us out to him. But this getting\nhandfasted, I take it that was what you were speaking to sister Sharleen\nabout?\" he asked the young doe cocking an eyebrow at her.\n \n\"Yes,\" she said\nconfidently, \"but everything seems so complicated. Why can't it be simple? Your\nlaws get in the way of everything. It makes me just want to go back to my grove\nwhere things work the way the Mother intended.\"\n \n\"Well, I was\nthinking of a few things lasts night and just now as I was walking over here.\"\nDonovan looked at Mark with a renewed confidence with the young doe close by.\n\"See, I promised Sonet that I would stay with her, and I can do more to help\nher from a... um... real world standpoint?\" He questioned his wording, knowing that\nMark would disapprove or think it condescending of Sonet's lifestyle. \"See, I\nam emancipated so I can do just about anything I would need to from a legal\nstandpoint. And if we were married...\" He trailed off a moment, \"Okay thats a\nstupid reason to consider it. I like sonet, I even think I love her. I want to\nbe by her side and do everything I can for her and it... it just seems right. No\nmatter where I look or what question I ask the past three days come to the same\nend in my heart. I don't know much about the handfasting stuff, just that its\nsomething like marriage from a pagan perspective, but I was brought up that if\nyou have feelings for someone like I have for Sonet...\" \n \n\"From a real\nworld perspective Donovan, it sounds to me like there is something you are\ntrying very hard to not say to my face. A pagan handfasting is not like a\nmarriage, it is a marriage. A very serious commitment to someone, which in this\ncase you have known for only a few days.\" Raising a paw to stay the lynx from\nspeaking he continued, \"I'm not saying that you can't fall in love with someone\nso soon. I would be one of the first to tell you otherwise, I know personally\nhow quickly it can happen. But in this case I wonder if it is truly love, or\nmore of a case of guilt and regret for your actions.\"\n \nDonovan closed\nhis eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. As he let it go  he looked the Barnes boy in the eyes, and\nstarted to speak, \"I really could care less about what you think,or wonder, or\nyour opinion of me. That has nothing to do with why we even came to you. I\ndon't need your permission or insight on why I decide to do things. What I need\nYOU for is simple, and we could\neasily go to someone else, but you were the first fur to come to mind for both\nSonet and I. Since she is only fourteen and has no living relatives we need\nsomeone to give consent for those stupid REAL WORLD rules and laws that she\nthinks are getting in the way, and right now I agree. Really I don't give a\ndamn about any of that right now, for all I care we can just walk off into the\nwoods and vanish like she does so well. But I want to do this the right way. Both\nin the way I was raised and something at least close to her traditions. So I'm\nstaying with Sonet, as my mate, with or without your help.\" As he finished his\nrant, Donovan braced for the backlash from the dog boy as he started to prepare\nhis retorts.\n \n\"Alright, you\nhave had your say, and I will have mine. I only ask that you return the\ncourtesy of not interrupting me as I did for you. Whether you realize it or not\nDonovan, my only concern in any of this is and has been Sonet and what is best\nfor her. While I will give you your due for your tact, you have admitted more\nthan you realize as far as your actions with her, and your intents towards her.\nI was unsure until just now whether you were being honest with her, and more\nimportantly with yourself about your feelings for her. But I won't harp on what\nI now know you have done. Regardless of my promise to her grandfather I do\nrealize that other than her beliefs and upbringing she is a normal female with\nall that that entails. That is not my business to interfere with. Her happiness\nand her safety are what I was charged with protecting by the man that spent his\nyears raising her. To hear you say that your intent is to stay with her as her\nmate, and to take on the very person that you're convinced thinks you're a fool\nproves that you are sincere. There are only two things that at this point I\nneed to know to answer your request one way or the other. Those are if you and\nshe can honestly look me in the eyes and say that you love each other. That and\nthat this is without a doubt in her mind, that this is what she wants.\" The\nBernese boy said flatly, his voice steady and even as he spoke. \"Now, can you\ndo that Donovan? Or you Sonet, can you look me in the eyes and say that without\nreservation?\"\n \n \nSonet looked at\nDonovan, then they both looked at the canine couple. Donovan started with, \"Yes\nI love her, I can't even imagine being without her.\" The doe followed with, \"I\ndo not doubt my choices, as it is the Mother that guides me. Donovan and I are\nmeant to be together. Do you intend to stand in her way?\"\n \n\"What I intend\nSonet, is to do exactly what I promised your grandfather I would do. To protect\nyou as best I can. It now seems that the best way I can do that, is to grant\nyour request and put you and Donovan in the paws of your chosen mate. I will\nnot stand in the way of the Mother, or of the daughter that listens to her,\"\nMark replied as he looked Donovan squarely in the eyes. \"Against my initial\nhopes Donovan, you have come to understand, at least to some degree, what it\nmeans to accept Sonet into your life. The only thing I will say is this,\nconsider carefully how much of our world she truly has need of, or to be exposed\nto. You may find that you prefer her world far more than you can imagine. For\nas long as you wish it to be Sonet, I will continue to keep the promise of\nkeeping the grove and the rest of the land the Mother has charged me with\ntrying to keep it safe from the greed of my world. You and now Donovan will\nremain unhindered, and in peace by everyone and everything from my world that\ncould intrude otherwise.\" Having said all that he felt needed to be said the\nBernese boy smiled broadly, looking to the young doe as he added, \"so... I\nbelieve we should let sister Sharleen know that you have found the one to give\ntheir consent, and will be more than happy to do so.\" Before anyone could move\nhe turned to Donovan again, leaning near to the lynx, his voice low as he said,\n\"may the Goddess, the Mother, and your God watch over you both, and give you\nstrength Donovan, she's in your paws now.\"\n \n \n \n \n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/582531-chapter-5-band-of-the-broken.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/613613-chapter-7-grand-company-part-2.json"}