FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Crickets and other insects chirped noisily while Otho panted and fanned his face. The morning humidity was particularly bad, and it was hot enough to where he considered abandoning his clothes for once. Looking down, the fabric was sticking to his fur making the situation that much more unbearable. "Aww man." He grumbled peeling his shirt off.

"Why you take that off?" Rik peered closely looking over his exposed upper body.

"It's so hot and sticky." He groaned hanging it on a low branch.

"Cooler air sometimes." She said flicking her tail.

"I can't even imagine that at nighttime." He admitted fanning his face for some relief. Nighttime did provide relief, but they slept through all of it. 'A frigidarium would be wonderful out here.' Any cool room for that matter to at least escape from the heat would be nice, but the jungle wouldn't have something convenient like that sitting around. "Wait, where are you going?" He watched the vixen heading into the jungle by herself.

"Get wood for fire!" She answered before disappearing behind the green foliage. Otho continued to fan his face looking down at the shreds of red and yellow by his feet. Scattered on the ground were a few peelings from when they ate earlier. Rik preferred to forage one day and then hunt the next, which was a pace that he could keep up with. Clawing his way in and out of the jungle practically took a day to recover anyway. The raccoon scuffed his shoes over the peelings feeling his upper body cool off some much to his relief.

'I can't keep dressing like I'm on base every day.' He eyed his shirt hanging half dead on the low limb. The pilot nearly passed out every evening from the suffocating heat his clothes trapped between him and his fur. It was a long sleeve shirt at that, which was meant for use in a cool ship and not a suffocating jungle. His pants were the same red and white colors that sorely stuck out in all the earthy and green foliage, and most of them had to go. 'I hope these didn't cost much.' Otho found Rik's knife and sat down. He carefully cut the pants off at knee length and set the new legging pieces aside. "Wow. That feels so much better." He relaxed feeling the trapped heat dissipate from his body. Otho walked around briskly, now able to feel fresh air against his bare fur. The air was still humid and warm, but it couldn't fester inside his clothes as easily now. "I can wear the shirt for whenever I help Rik outside of camp." He nodded to himself and looked at his relatively bare body. 'Although, I wonder what the crews back on base would think of this new fashion.' It wasn't hard to imagine nearly every set of eyes gaping at him. The raccoon smiled to himself feeling a lot more comfortable without having the synthetic fabric plastered to his upper body. It wasn't exactly normal for him to show off so much black and grey fur, but anything was reasonable in the jungle. Rik came back into camp with a small pile of wood to make a fire later before nightfall.

"Still not enough." She added the few pieces of lumber to the pile. "Is something on you Otho?" She asked as the raccoon stared at himself.

"How do I look Rik?"

"Look... Same." Rik commented with her hands resting on her hips.

"Well, you would look very different with clothes on." The vixen merely frowned, unable to imagine such a thing actually happen. "What about for running around in the jungle? Is it ok for doing that?" He asked hoping to help more than just picking food off the vine. Rik approached and closely observed the adjustments that he made.

"Too long. Get caught on something." She tugged on the pilot's modified pants.

"Ok, what would you suggest?" He asked. The vixen didn't waste time and cut the bottom half off with her knife leaving tattered cloth around his ankles. "That's shorter." He remarked at how they were now the same length as his undergarments, halfway to his knees.

"There. Can move." She stood up. It was odd for the male raccoon to wear little more than sleepwear in front of a female, but the tight fabric no longer restricted his movements.

"Is there anything else that I can do to help you around here?" Otho wanted to help as much as possible for everything that she had done for him. Rik tapped her muzzle in thought.

"Yes." She stated walking away to retrieve something.

'Never know when I'll need these.' He stuffed the leggings into his backpack as she came back.

"Here. Practice with bow." She handed it to him along with an arrow. "Can help hunt."

"Shouldn't be too hard." He looked at the foreign contraption before giving it a few experimental tugs, trying to hold it like a gun.

"No. This way." She demonstrated the motion.

"Both ways don't make much sense to me." He looked down at the bow in hand.

"Show you." She walked up to him. "This." She held a proper stance and pretended to hold the weapon with an outstretched hand. "Aim." Her other hand pulled back an imaginary string before letting go. "Shoot then done."

"Like this?" Otho recreated her motions and stances.

"Yes. Now aim and shoot at something."

"Like what? Aim at you?" Otho grinned.

"How I a target?" She asked placing her hands on her hips curiously.

'Two full A or B cups... With tanned centers.' He kept the remark about her chest to himself. "Well, just for fun. What should I use instead?"

"Log or tree." She guessed pointing around the area. It did didn't take Otho long to find a decent log before he set it up next to the fire pit.

"There. This should work." Otho declared.

'Too dirty to sit on.' Rik thought looking at the top covered with mud. "Only use that arrow. Don't lose in tree."

"Got it." He looked over the simple, effective design of the weapon.

"I back soon!" Rik happily called out disappearing into the woods again.

"Ok!" Otho waved before concentrating on the bow, this time holding the weapon properly. 'Shouldn't be too hard.' He thought only to find himself unable to pull the string back into a draw. Grunting in annoyance Otho pulled only to fail again. Taking a deep breath, he jerked his arm back succeeding in a draw. Arm wobbling, he aimed only to let go too soon. The arrow skittered over the ground all the way to a tree at the end of the clearing. 'Oops!' He hurried over and retrieved the thin projectile. "Not broken." He picked it up with a sigh of relief after checking the tip. 'Let's try at a half draw.' He started to pull only for the arrow to fall to the ground. A few choice words buzzed in his head as the raccoon started over. Again at half draw Otho fired only for the arrow to miss and land in the ground to the left. He held his muzzle in frustration, but remained unwilling to give up.

Minutes quickly turned into an hour, and then another while Rik made several trips for dry pieces of wood. "How does she do this so easily while hunting?" He sat down to stretch his arms. The raccoon tried hitting the center at least a hundred times only to barely catch the edge of the log on occasion. Plenty of new divots in the ground were visible surrounding the unscathed target.

"Are you done?" Rik asked dropping the last load of firewood.

"No." He mumbled not even bothering into sit up. The raccoon looked up seeing the sand vixen standing above his head, curiously looking back down at him. She offered her hand and he grasped it. "Can you help me with aiming?" His tail drooped as she helped him up.

"Yes. Like helping." She dusted his back before grabbing the bow and an arrow. Otho watched her move back, properly stand, pull back, then aim. "Like this." She held the draw and suddenly let go. The arrow hit the log dead center with a quiet thump leaving the raccoon astonished.

"Why can't I do that?" He asked himself as Rik retrieved the arrow along with a dozen others she had.

"I help." She gave them to him and moved around behind him. Otho stiffened feeling the sand vixen press up against his back faithfully.

"Uh, are you sure?" He questioned as her arms snaked over his own to properly hold the bow.

"Yes!" Her head popped over his shoulder to see. He awkwardly stood there as the sand vixen checked him over. "Wider." She nudged on the inside of his leg, and Otho adjusted his stance. "Yes. Hold that way... Two fingers here." She showed him on the drawstring.

"And then pull?"

"Yes! Aim too." Rik advised.

"How do I aim this thing?"

"Arrow and here." She quickly showed him. "Look out to log from there." Otho nodded and pulled back before letting go. The little projectile was wedged firmly in the log off center, but closer than Otho had shot the entire day.

"That's pretty close!" He liked the improvement. 'Maybe this will work.' He thought.

"Pretty? It's a log." Rik furrowed her brow in confusion.

"No, I mean the arrow is close to the center." Otho picked up another arrow. "Let's try again."

"Keep legs wide." She reminded him with a nudge.

***

Otho collapsed beside the fire, not even bothering to stare at the night sky. "My arm has never been this sore." He mumbled rubbing over the sensitive spot along the muscle. That bowstring took a lot just to draw back, and Rik made it look so easy!

"Sore?" Rik looked over at the raccoon across the flickering orange. "How?"

"That bow of yours." He spoke as if it could feel guilty about it. "Your arms must be made of iron." Otho said making Rik giggle.

"Pull, aim, let go." She reminded him as if it was that simple. The raccoon grumbled already falling asleep from the strenuous day's work.

The jungle's understory was very shady for the evening, indicating thick cloud cover above. It was usually cloudy every other day or even foggy, but the cloud cover never bothered Otho like the humidity and heat used to. The raccoon peered ahead at a close limb where a couple of ripe pears were waiting to be eaten. Keeping his feet steady on the limb he was standing on, Otho edged forward and reached for the food.

"Why slow?" Below him at the base of the tree, Rik patiently waited wearing his backpack.

"I don't want to fall."

'Not fall.' She smirked knowing he was doing just fine. He plucked the pear off its perch and handed it to her. The sand vixen carefully placed the piece of fruit into Otho's backpack that she was wearing. "Very good to have." She patted its synthetic sides as if it was an obedient pet.

"I'm glad that I brought it, but you are supposed to wear it on your back Rik, not your front." He pointed out handing over another piece. With her gun in hand, the vixen looked like a plump military guard watching over him.

"Then I can't see where I am putting it." She demonstrated setting the fruit in the front pocket where her bow and a few arrows were also located. Otho had been practicing for days with her bow whenever he could and gradually improved much to their delight. Although he hadn't exactly helped her with hunting yet.

"This should be good." He gave her a fifth one before climbing down. Rik zipped up the bag quickly.

"You take pack. I look around." She quickly wormed out of the straps before climbing onto the first limb.

"I'll get a drink of water then." He put it on properly as she climbed past a second limb. There was a creek just a dozen or so steps away, one of three that he knew of in the jungle that they frequented. A frog jumped into the water as he approached. The waterway was mostly bordered by small green ferns and plenty of moss. A fallen tree nearby acted as a bridge for any small animal needing to cross giving the entire area a picturesque look. Otho knelt down and cupped his hands in the water. He drank a few handfuls of cool water before drying his hands on his pants. 'Very refreshing.' He stood up and looked at his reflection in the calm water. A slim raccoon stared back wearing only a short pair of pants and shoes on the water's surface. Even wearing his long sleeve shirt contributed to the heat so it remained folded up in the backpack. A ripple disturbed the image of himself.

"Rain Otho!" The raccoon heard his friend yell from somewhere nearby. His ear flicked as a drop of rain landed on him before countless other drops began falling around him. 'Uh oh.' He could hear a downpour well on its way. The raccoon grabbed his backpack and bolted to the nearest tree that would keep him dry. When it rained it was usually serious, never less than a modest drizzle. This evening was no exception as the weather quickly became a downpour. As soon as he settled down against the tree trunk, Rik hurried over towards him gun in hand. The vixen quickly joined him under the tree as the rain continued to pour with heavenly fervor. She shook her fur and scattered a few droplets that had managed to land on her. "Hey there's more than enough water to go around you know."

"You wet." Rik giggled feeling his ear.

"Well I'm not the only one." He ruffled her already disheveled head fur. She playfully batted his hand away and stayed nestled close to him. Thunder rumbled in the unseen sky for a couple seconds before returning to the sound of rain. "Do you sleep here often when it rains?" He asked enjoying the water's constant life giving thrum. There wasn't much daytime left anyway.

"Yes." She looked down at the ground. "Peaceful, and rest." Otho looked out seeing one of his foot prints become a puddle as a rivulet of water flowed into it.

'Relaxing.' The heavy rain dimmed the already shady undergrowth. Otho dug in the backpack and pulled out Rik's knife along with a pear before cutting the fruit in half. "Want some?" He handed her the other half.

"Yes. Thank you." She took a bite of the juicy piece. The duo contently ate silently and watched the rain fall. Plenty of thoughts flooded through the raccoon's mind with the sudden spare time, but his whole adventure with archery gave him an idea.

"Am I improving with the bow?" Otho suddenly asked.

"Doing better." She commented laying down before yawning. Her legs unceremoniously rested over his own, but made themselves comfortable. "Hit good." A nap would help pass the time.

"Can you teach me to hunt?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. Takes time." Time was something he had a lot of now. "You have to be quiet." Rik added knowing how untrained he was in the environment.

"I've made it this far." His optimism brightened her smile.

"So loud!" She whispered with annoyance as his feet continued rustling leaves and snapping twigs. Otho lifted his shoe seeing the broken twig underneath the sole.

"Sorry!" Of course she wouldn't make as much noise. The vixen knew what she was doing and wasn't as tall either. Every low branch that existed seemed to smack the raccoon's head, or at least scratch his skin. Otho had failed so many times within the past two weeks he considered giving up to save Rik the burden of having to start over and hunt somewhere else. However, the sand vixen was more determined than him despite all the hardships they encountered. 'I was doing fine when we started.' He frowned carefully stepping one foot in front of the other. The former exploration pilot kept his senses peeled, stalking relatively quiet in the understory. He paused to listen and look every other minute just like Rik had taught him. Although both were fairly difficult because of all the sights and sounds to filter through. 'Where, oh where-' Rik tapped his shoulder, ending the frustrated thought, and pointed towards a tall tree. On an exposed gnarly limb maybe ten meters high was one of those fat birds Rik had caught before. He gave a quick grin to her in thanks. Otho quickly notched an arrow and took aim. Rik silently watched as the string's tension mounted before launching its projectile.

Both held his breath as the arrow sailed with untraceable speed through the air. The body teetered backwards off the branch as its wings tried to extend. "I got it!" He cheered seeing the bird fall to the forest floor.

"Good shot!" She ruffled the fur on his head before he excitedly took off through the brush to where it fell. He held the prize up and they made their way back to camp. All of the jungle's typical noises and sounds were applauding cheers to Otho's ears. "Walking fast." Rik noted his upbeat tone.

"You might say I'm hungry." He beamed proudly almost hopping over the beaten pathway. The sand vixen leisurely followed with a pleased smile. The camp nearly gave the excited raccoon a standing ovation as he paraded to the soon to be aflame fire pit. He sat down with the dead bird in front of his lap.

"You cut and clean?" She asked as he looked at the knife, then the bird. His appetite momentarily dropped.

"Eh... Can you can do all the gross parts?" Otho returned the knife to her.

"Gross? Clean food then cook it!" She shook her head with a silly grin. The raccoon turned away while she did the messy handiwork, but helped dispose of the feathers she set aside. The sand vixen's skillful hands had the bird skewered above the fire in record time, slowly cooking its way to a good meal. "Uh oh, forgot knife." She frowned checking over her person. "Watch food." The vixen quickly hurried back into the jungle.

"Dang, she's fast." He blinked finding himself alone once more as the vixen's tail slipped out of view. Otho relaxed, sat back, and watched the food slowly cook into something edible. 'I wonder what Rik does for fun around here?' He gazed around the surrounding foliage. 'If she does anything for fun around here.' He corrected himself with a sobering shrug. Boredom and spare time may not have existed back on base, but it wasn't fun to experience nonetheless. There wouldn't be a single virtual reality clinic that normally lined every jump plaza. Major Bulganin put on a lot of weight for spending so much time in them. Otho wondered how Rik would handle being in a modern city, then again the sand vixen already combated super robots as a hobby. 'She could beat nearly every soldier in the army.' The pilot knew that claim wasn't far fetched. He sat up and looked around the jungle hearing something nearby. 'It's just Rik.' He gave a happy sigh seeing a pair of foxy ears above a tall bush. There was no sign of any other machines since he crashed, but being extra careful wouldn't hurt. The sand vixen quickly walked over to the fire pit where their food was cooking and sat down.

"Set in backpack." She mumbled and handed over the knife to him.

"You don't look so good." And it was pretty rare for the sand vixen to not be smiling.

"Ugh." She huffed an agitated groan with her legs stretched in front of her bent at the knee.

"Are you hurt?" He asked with concern moving up to her legs. Rik shook her head and pointed down to her footpaws. They weren't different from his at all except in their fur color. Four block like padded toes with claws rested on top of each one, and the surface of the sole was dominated by two black pads at the heel and ball with the center covered in short creamy white fur.

"They really sore. Rest for a day."

'Sore muscles huh?' He thought sitting cross legged beside her more comfortably, and carefully grabbed each leg by the ankle. Rik uneasily grabbed a vine resting beside her as he placed the vulpine paws in his lap.

"What are you doing?" The vixen quietly asked feeling his thumbs make contact with a sore pad.

"Well if you are too sore to walk, then both of us are going to starve. Besides, I did take a physical medical therapy training course three years ago and can help." He explained holding the vixen's left foot before pressing his thumbs into the bottom heel pad. 'Although it was originally meant as a cheap way to meet ladies.' Otho recalled before returning his focus on her. She immediately stiffened up before relaxing and letting the vine go.

'That doesn't feel bad.' Rik thought feeling his thumbs rub in circles. She curiously watched him continue and felt his thumbs slowly creep up past her first black pad. His motions were slow and methodical, pressing earnestly into the tired muscle below as if it were a tangled vine. She smiled at how nice and warm the raccoon's thumbs were. He gradually traveled up to the center that lacked a pad and quickly found a tender sweet spot. "Oh! There!" Her four toes splayed before she laid down completely. "Mmmm." Otho slowed to deepen his motions over her sole. The ball of her foot was almost as tense as the middle despite having a leathery pad covering the area. Rik cooed graciously work to the four digits above. He was careful to avoid the claws each one possessed, but they kept lightly poking him from curling so much.

"Either I'm really good at this, or you've never had a massage before." He teased finishing the last one. Before he could even set the vulpine's foot aside, her other one immediately went to his hands eagerly pressing its sole to him. She didn't reply but chose to hum and murr instead as the second one received the same treatment. "Maybe a little of both." He murmured noting how relaxed she was. The sand vixen was very relaxed, more so than any time she could remember and the treatment Otho gave was heavenly. But all too soon, she felt him set her legs back on the ground. "There. Now you shouldn't feel any soreness." He proudly told her.

"Thanks!" She waved a hand in the air beaming a happy smile.

"You are very welcome, and I think our meal is cooked." It smelled delicious whatever kind of bird Rik called it. He checked the roasted bird before pulling it off to cool, although cooling wasn't the best way to describe the air's effect. A smoky flavor filled his mouth with the first bite as he handed it off to his friend. Rik set the vine aside and took a bite of the cooked poultry.

"Tasty bird." She happily said with a mouthful.

"Hmm. Tasty indeed." Otho remarked taking another bite for himself. The meat was dry for his preference, but the fact he was in an unknown jungle made every meal a luxury. They exchanged the bird between themselves until Rik chose to relax with her paws propped up on a log while Otho ate what remained. The pilot definitely earned the entire meal in her eyes. 'Definitely a good bird.' He flicked a smaller bone into the fire pit, enjoying the full stomach he had. Otho wiped his nose and muzzle in the crook of his arm only to catch a whiff of odor. The raccoon grimaced scrunching his nose from its presence and lifted his arm seeing the source. His underarm was a slightly darker shade from moisture and a lack of cleanliness on his part over the weeks. 'I really need to clean myself up.' He looked over his hands that had been all over her unclean paws. Plenty of spots in his fur were marred with bits of dirt and who knows what, but to his surprise Rik appeared relatively tidy. Furthermore, not a single part of her body smelled bad where his reeked according to his nose. Otho stood up and fanned his face. "Is there a lake or river nearby that I can take a bath in Rik?"

"Go that way." She pointed to her left. "Small pond nearby."

"If I get lost, I'll scream." He walked to the direction she pointed.

"No lost, no scream." Rik stated leisurely as he went into the jungle. Brushing large leaves out of his way, the raccoon was extra cautious to retain his direction to prevent becoming lost. The last thing he needed was to lose direction and run into who knows what without Rik's protection. After a few minutes, he rounded a large tree and found the pond right in front of him. Birds already there flew away as the raccoon approached the water.

'How have I not seen this before?' He was surprised at how relatively close it was to camp. The small pond was probably less than a meter deep, and about the same size of a small room, but it looked more than refreshing to the raccoon. Half of the bank on the other side was sunny from a break in the canopy and covered in short grass. The entire scene vaguely reminded him of a vacation brochure in a mountain climate. Not wasting anymore time fantasizing, he shucked his clothes off feeling just how dirty his fur had become. 'Yuk! I really do need a bath.' He held his nose prying his shoes, then socks off. Testing the water with a foot, the temperature was revealed to be cooler than the air much to his delight. The raccoon smiled almost forgetting that he was openly naked to the entire world and stepped in. The pond was shallow as he waded a few steps to the center with the water level barely approaching his thighs. "Ah." He smiled sitting down, easing his body into the cool water. The soft silt even made a comfortable seat as the heat practically evaporated away.

"Ah." He heard a feminine voice beside him making the fur jump off his back.

"Rik! When did you slip in?" He backed away to a shallower end seeing the sand fox ease down and submerse herself to her chest in a shallower spot.

"Just now of course." She giggled at his strange question. One of her foot paws appeared above the water's surface before quickly dipping back under. "You ok? Look sick." She watched his incredibly nervous facial expression stare back at her.

"No, no, I'm fine. The uh water was cold at first." He reassured her maintaining eye contact. For once it wasn't that she was naked around him, but that he was naked around her. She remained skeptical but didn't press the issue further.

"Did you have ponds at your home?" She asked starting to scrub through her fur lightly underwater.

"None that I used to bathe in." He looked down into the water thankful that it was more opaque than translucent. The raccoon at least started scrubbing his arms.

"So you had a river to wash in?"

"No. It's very different." Otho had no idea how to explain showering or plumbing to the nude vixen. "Imagine a waterfall in a small space that you can control." He motioned in the air with a hand. She splashed some water onto her face and smoothed out her fur.

"Sounds tricky." She admitted going over her arms. Otho nodded going ove this legs and torso. The problem with showers was that everyone seemed to have a completely different model, which made operating one a big hassle. The duo took their time washing up since there wasn't any need to hurry, but Otho's eyes found themselves looking at the sand vixen more and more. He couldn't help but watch at the vixen cleaned her upper body meticulously from ears, cheeks, neck, shoulders, to her chest. Otho bit his lip and watched her stand, water dripping from her form, before rubbing over her mound with a hand. Rik quietly hummed with an innocence that made the raccoon's body shiver in a distinct tingle as his mind wandered. Otho focused his eyes on his submerged lap fearfully.

'No! Please! Not here!' He froze feeling his length steadily slip out, fully engorging itself with blood. 'Why did I have to move to the shallow spot!' His hands clamped down on his thighs afraid to touch it and make everything worse. The female was oblivious and continued washing in front of him even as the tip nearly broke the water's calm surface. 'Can she see it?' He found himself unable to submerge himself any lower without being noticed. The translucent water reflected his worried expression. Otho's legs tensed as the raccoon frantically thought of what to do. Water rippled nearly scaring the fur off his shoulders as Rik started walking towards him. He tensed his body as she waded closer. His heart raced with a powerful rush of nervousness that overcame him making his mind go blank. Water rippled by him harmlessly as Rik waded onto the opposite shore. The sand vixen fluffed out her wet fur the best she could before laying back onto the grassy embankment. Otho could see the soles of her paws all the way to between her open legs and the curve of her breasts. Her vulpine muzzle poked up between the soft hills pointing directly to the sunlight shining through the open canopy above.

A long minute passed before his gaze slumped down to the water with a silent sigh of relief. 'Talk about embarrassing. That was way too close!' He stirred the water around with a paw feeling his problem finally retract.

"You not drying?" She suddenly asked sitting up.

"Huh?" He snapped his mouth shut feeling how dry it had become. The raccoon hadn't thought about drying his fur properly.

"Dry before clouds cover sun." Rik recommended laying back down in the sparse patch of grass.

"I... ok." He hastily sighed closing his eyes. Staying wet too long would be a problem in itself, especially at night when it wasn't hot like the daytime. After combing his hands through his sides once more, Otho waded out close to Rik where there was still a fair amount of grass. He was very reluctant to continue closer to shore as the water level went down past his waist, but he stepped forward with his hands shielding between his legs. Wearing a brave face, Otho walked out dripping wet and laid down in the grass with enough distance between Rik. 'This is embarrassing!' He kept his hands covering between his legs nervously. She didn't seem to care though and remained on her back with her eyes closed. The sun gradually dried their fur, and Otho finally moved his arms to his sides when he rolled onto his front. Feeling dry and clean under a warm ray was pleasant. Sunning was a luxury that he never indulged in on base simply because there was little time to relax peacefully while on duty.

"So nice." Rik sighed contently in the soft green grass. A couple of birds were chirping and tweeting in the trees around them creating soft music for the area. Despite the potentially dangerous habitat he found himself in, Otho found everything to be very peaceful and serene when he took the time to observe his surroundings.

"Um. Rik?" The vixen turned her head causing their noses to touch. Otho quickly scooted back to make some room. The raccoon blinked staring at her innocent and happy expression.

"Yes?" She asked after a momentary silence ensued.

"Oh uh," he looked away briefly, "you didn't notice anything different while bathing, did you?" The raccoon really hoped that she didn't notice.

"Different?" She asked. "Just you." The vixen poked his side smiling.

"Me?" He questioned.

"With someone. I like that." She grinned looking back at him. "Never with someone in so long." A little smile formed along the raccoon's lips as he looked back up to the canopy and sky. Despite the awkward situations, he liked having someone to be with through all of this too. "Mm. I think fur dry." Rik felt over her sides and front leisurely before sitting up. "Get grass off my back?" She asked turning around presenting her light brown furred backside.

"Sure." He carefully sat up and kept his body facing away from her just in case she did turn back around. His hands combed through the vixen's luscious coat, ridding her of the numerous green blades of grass. "At least your fur is soft." He felt her back lightly vibrate in a murr.

"Mmm. Thank you." She leaned back enjoying the raccoon's gentle touch. For a female she had strong wiry muscles underneath her soft sandy pelt, but that didn't surprise the raccoon any more. Living out here your entire life would shape your body to suit its demands.

"That should do it." He flicked away the last blade from her back.

"Thank you. Can't by myself." The fox arched her back in relief.

"You're welcome." He turned to retrieve his clothes only to jump as Rik's hands brushed his back.

"Jumpy!" She laughed uncontrollably as he flattened his hackles.

"Do not scare me like that." He tried acting calm as she finished brushing grass and bits of moss off his back.

"Only helping. How do you want me to scare you?" She continued to chuckle with a bright smile even as he frowned dressing himself again. Rik liked having him at the pond with her. It was much more fun than just being here by yourself. The vixen gave a stretch and rubbed her front feeling how warm and dry the fur was.

"Can we head back now?" Otho asked tightening the lace on his shoes. He couldn't remember which way led towards the camp. "It's getting late." Rik glanced at the sky and noticed the sunlight wasn't as strong as midday.

"Ok." She nodded and stood up. Otho eagerly followed her through the dense thicket. "Fun at pond." Rik smiled holding a branch back for him.

"Yeah." He admitted with hesitation at the near disaster that could've occurred. "Sunning was nice. I never had time for that before."

"What you normally do after bath?"

"I guess sleep or work. I rarely had time to pause." He realized that even with exploration by himself out in space there was still a tight schedule to work with. Although spare time was a constant companion after Rik "found" him weeks ago.

"Really?" She held a branch back for him. "What work?"

"Sailing around space in my ship before I crashed here. I would explore for places that inhabited or could potentially support life." It would've paid well for an early retirement due to all the dangers space could offer, but very few stuck with the profession anyway.

"Could you see me and others that high up?" She asked with fascination pointing upwards like a kit.

"Not exactly. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between large bodies of land and water."

"Aww." She briefly frowned unable to grasp the concept entirely. "So I couldn't see you with stars?"

"No I'm afraid not, although you would've been able to see me burning up in the air before crashing." He followed Rik through a wall of vines finding that they were already back at camp. Otho grabbed his journal from the backpack to write a few things down while Rik started a fire.

"Help me hunt another day?" She asked trying to get a good spark.

"As long as you don't mind a little extra noise miss." He readily agreed.

"Miss? What miss?" Her head cocked in confusion.

"You. I meant you. It's like an appointed name." He pointed out.

"Name is Rik. Just Rik."

"Alright, ma'am." He chuckled. The sand vixen gave him a confused look and returned to starting the fire. Otho finished writing down the day's events just in time for the fire to light up in the darkening jungle. The sand vixen fed the flames with a few pieces of wood before sitting back with her legs stretched out.

"Mm. Good day." Rik nodded with a flick of her tail. It really had been a good day. Otho caught food successfully, helped Rik out with some sore muscles, and finally took a decent bath after weeks of wearing the same clothes.

"I have to agree with you on that." He set the journal aside and edged towards the dancing flames between them.

"Can you rub my paws every day Otho?"

"Why? Are you sore again?" He asked only for the vixen to shake her head.

"No. I like the feeling." She admitted rocking her paws side to side. "Like it very much."

"Oh, well," Otho smoothed over his cheek fur in thought, "maybe not every single day, but we can figure something out." He certainly owed Rik something for keeping him alive every day.

"Thank you!" She smiled gratefully. As usual the sand vixen laid down to sleep before Otho did, who chose to look around the dark scenery and think. The stars twinkled beautifully in the night sky. Their patterns looked so different from the sky back at his home and other places.

'I wonder how my hometown of Siena is doing...' He thought as the stars remained silent. 'Lieutenant Horthy and everyone else back on base as well.' It wasn't long ago that he was just an ordinary exploration pilot wondering when his next long assignment would come in. There were plenty of times when he talked to superiors about it, but they always had an endless list of minor busy work and jobs to complete first. Filing papers was the worst when the database automatically held records. A chill caught his attention abruptly from the brief nostalgia. Otho rubbed his hands noticing that the air was strangely cool this night. 'The one time it gets cold.' He frowned blowing hot air into his palms, and curled his tail around his legs. The raccoon stayed close to the fire but the half of his body turned to the jungle remained cold. His hands could only warm his body temporarily, and he soon started to shiver. "Can't we make the fire bigger?" He rubbed his uppers arms to fight the incessant chills away. How a jungle could cool down so much during the night was beyond this raccoon's knowledge. Rik did tell him a cold snap was occasional at best, but that didn't even seem remotely possible.

"No. Flame burnout fast." She replied with a flick of her sandy tail trying to return to sleep. Otho curled up into a warm ball the best he could, but it wasn't enough for him. Back on base, temperature was regulated to a constant tolerable warmth and the raccoon never had to worry about it changing.

'Only the highlands could be this cold.' He looked over at Rik sleeping quietly. She looked toasty warm without the possibility of getting burned. Mustering all his courage with the cold edging him on, he eased himself up onto his feet and crept over to Rik. The sand vixen took no notice until she detected breathing right behind her head. An arm wrapped over her midsection and brought her mind to full attention.

"Otho?" She tried turning over only to bump into him as he scooted closer, lightly pressing his front to her back. His right arm held onto her torso as the vixen's tail flicked freely between his thighs.

"Sorry Rik, but you're warm." He shyly said feeling the night chill leaving him. The vixen lifted her head as his left arm threaded under it. Rik wiggled slightly feeling the warm contact around her. She mumbled something, but luckily didn't protest to his questionable action. Otho rested his short muzzle where her neck and shoulder met. Taking a relaxed breath helped calm him as their combined body heat staved off any potential chills. Her wilder scent filled his olfactory like a strong perfume. It wasn't particularly musky, and it was more comforting to know that someone would be there with him. "Good night."

"What?" She asked sleepily with a confused look.

"Sleep well." He rephrased.

"Oh, ok." The fox replied softly enjoying the convenience of his arm as a pillow. "You too." They both fell asleep to the low crackling fire, keeping each other warm throughout the night.