FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Mom! Dad!" Ilaria rushed out of the grass and onto the patio surrounding her parents' swimming pool. "You'll never guess where we just came from!"

Catherine submerged under the water, swam below to the edge her daughter was near, and emerged with a splash. "You didn't even say 'Hi' first, sweetie. Give me a kiss."

"We just circled Jupiter three times, mom. ~Jupiter~."

Iolvin walked up behind his twin and then gently nudged her so she'd comically flop into the water. "You can tell them later, sis. Manners first."

"Yoyo!"

"Don't bully your sister, Iolvin." Vasily sat up in a deck chair nearby, a cigar and whisky in each paw. "She's got enough problems as it is. Besides, I don't much like seeing a handicapped fur getting pushed around in general."

"Yes, sir. Sorry about that, dad." Yoyo crouched down and pet his sister on the head. "And sorry, Lulu. I'll owe you a free punch or something."

"Nah, I'll take payment right now!" Ari grabbed her brother and reeled him into the water by his chest fur. "Now we're even."

"And it was looking like it would be a quiet day. Oh look, the grandpups." Vasily corrected his position so he could sit upright better, but in seconds the kids locked arms with his and pulled him to the pool as well. "Woah! I'm not much of a swimmer, girls!"

The twins just squeaked as they fell into the water, taking their unwilling grandfather with them.

"Girls, that's not too nice..." Ari pulled herself over and grabbed her father's glass before it sank to the bottom. "I might let it slide just this once, though. That ~was~ pretty fun to watch."

"Remind me to get you nothing but coal this holiday." Vasily chomped down on his soggy, extinguished cigar and cleared the wet hair from his eyes. "Now the whole house is gonna smell like wet dog."

"Well maybe some of us ~like~ that smell and think it's ~sexy~." Cat waded over, plucked the cigar from her husband's muzzle, gave him a deep kiss, and replaced the cigar when she was done. "It has been a while since you've jumped in here though, honey."

"Yeah, we could barely read the last time I remember." Yoyo gave each of the girls noogies and then let them go free. "So does this count as family time?"

"It does." Adrian sat on the edge and slipped his legs into the water. "Gotta take it in while you can. Who knows how much free time we'll have coming up?"

"You're busy?" Vasily nuzzled his wife and then gave his children his attention. "What's Carbon got you guys doing now?"

"Saving the world. The usual." Ari nudged her snout to her ship and reset her previous conversation. "We just made it to Jupiter and back in only a few days. Actually, my whelps made that possible."

"Oh, so exploration? Searching for new resources or the like?"

"More like... the girls just being the girls." Ari watched as her kids circled and wrestled with each other in the deep end. "They took us out there by surprise, but it might be useful in the end."

Yoyo swished over to Dee and played with his hindpaws, eventually settling on massaging between his webbing. "Strange how nobody questions how we ~got~ out there. I'm still waiting for a layman's answer to that."

"Well I sure as hell don't understand their signing regarding any of that." Ari sighed as the frustration of learning a new language nagged her. "I need to get them to spell it out on a screen or one of their hologram things first. I'm sure between myself and Dee we could figure it out."

"I did focus on astronomical and applied physics in school." Dee cooed lightly at the massage and leaned over to peck a kiss on his fiancé's cheek. "Something tells me I could write my doctorate's thesis on what they figured out in about five minutes though."

"At least our grandpups are smart." Cat hugged her husband close and smiled for her daughter. "You're raising them well, even if they're growing up far too quickly."

"Thanks, mom." Ari joined in on the hug, this time sighing in relief. "You don't know how much it means to hear that. Those whelps are a pawful, to say the least."

"So were you two. We had quite a few problems with you guys growing up, but I'd change none of it." Cat threw out another arm and enticed her son into the group hug. "We love every bit of you two."

Yoyo rolled his eyes at the awkwardness of the pool-hug, but joined in none the less. "Love you too, mom."

"That's something you'd only see with otters, I swear." Cid walked up to the edge of the pool and fumbled with a few of her pockets. "Ah, left it charging. I wish I had my phone for a pic."

"Your..." Both twins reached for their phones, but only Yoyo actually tried futilely to wake his up. "Well, fuck."

"Don't worry about it. Carbon's loaded so he'll help you get a new one if you ask." Cid looked about the whole back patio and sighed. "Where is that little oddball anyway? I've been looking for him for a while now."

Ari's eyes went wide as she held back a laugh. "Trust me, you'll want to find his hiding spot. Have you tried my quarters?"

"Well I did, but--EEP!"

The source of Cid's girlish squeak revealed itself, A worbled version of the surrounding scenery having broken open where a light-furred paw grabbed her arm. "Cid, I need you for a minute."

"Carbon?" Cid spun around to find the source of that familiar voice but only a rough silhouette to greet her. "Why are you wearing that suit?"

"I could ask you the same thing right now..." Carbon shook his head and tugged on Cid's arm, trying to lead her inside the house. "...Uh, forget that. I'll explain inside. We need to talk... in private."

"Aww, come on old pal!" Vasily waded over to the edge of the pool and pulled himself to sit on the lip. "I've got more stogies. Forget work for a bit and join the party."

Carbon yanked once more, finally winning Sydney over. "Not now, Vasily. We'll only be a little while, then we can have fun."

"Ah, important I take it." The husky grumbled and turned back to his family. "Well do what you need to do and get your tail back out here. I've got a bottle of rye I been holding onto for you."

"Sure thing, Vasily." Carbon pulled the almost helpless meerkat into the living room, then after a brief pause to think of a location he grinned and headed to Ilaria's room in playful revenge. "Sorry, Sydney. I'm not... thinking straight."

"Only time you're like this is when--"

As soon as they rushed through the bedroom door, Carbon shoved Sydney against a wall, flipped his mask upward, and mashed his muzzle hard against hers. "No talking." Then he mashed something else hard against her thigh. "This first."

Cid stood herself up straight and grumbled to her forceful partner. "Uh... I don't mind but, uh..."

Carbon looked down to his outfit and chuckled as he turned off the active camouflage of his bodysuit. "Sorry about that. Just hit me with some cold water or something if I'm rushing you."

Sydney slid a paw down Carbon's back, then hooked her thumb into the opening seam. "I was sort of wondering what was going on when you hid yourself this last day or so. You turning into a girl again? I know you tend to go right into heat when--"

"No, just... blue-balled. Compliments of Ari." Carbon huffed out a sigh as he pulled off his mask and head shroud, revealing his changes to the meerkat. "That and... Well, Eve made a few changes. She said... you might like them..."

"You, ~shy~? Shit, there's a first for everything." Sydney noticed all of Carbon's hair ends were chopped off unevenly and harrumphed at the mess. "You'd look great if it weren't for that rabid weed-whacker that viciously attacked you."

"I figured maybe you could fix that...?"

"Just so I can keep myself from laughing." Cid smiled and gave Carbon a slower, softer kiss. "I do appreciate the gesture though. Thank Eve for me."

"Huh?" Carbon offered a tendril near Cid's nose. "Why don't you just tell her yourself?"

"Oh... I forgot I could do that." Sydney gave the bud on the tip a lick and smiled. "I'd rather have my muzzle occupied another way though. You've... sort of got me into kissing now."

With a wide grin Carbon gingerly kicked the door shut and turned the lock with a free queo. "About that, Sydney--"

"I don't... want to hear it. We probably need to take care of your little problem first."

Carbon ground his crotch against Sydney's thigh again. "We can definitely do that."

Cid peeled the back of Carbon's suit open and slid it down until it hung from his knees. "Wow. Okay, that's impressive." She broke free of Carbon's hold and sank down to inspect the poor hybrid's swollen member and grapefruit-sized balls. "They're actually blueish. What the hell did that girl do to you?"

Carbon kicked off his suit and knelt down, breaking free of Cid's paws and allowing him to start removing her pants. "She teased the fuck out of me. What else?" After the belt, Cid's pants didn't last a pawful of seconds, nor did her undies. "You've never seen me like this before, but let me tell you something. It hurts like hell, so I'm just gonna get right into it."

"Mmm... forceful. I like you like this sometimes." Sydney shimmied the rest of the way out of her own pants, then the otter's reach as she jumped backwards onto Ari's bed. "Just don't forget there's people on the end of that cock and I don't mind."

"People?"

"Ahem..." Evelyn appeared in the same pose next to Sydney, then pointed to her host's vines. "If you don't mind..."

"Oh, yeah." Carbon walked over to the edge of the bed and slithered a queo up to Cid's crotch, allowing the tip to rub against her awakening flower. "Sorry about that, Eve. So should I just...?"

"For fuck's sake, just screw me already ya' pussy."

Carbon snickered at the meerkat's brash bedroom talk, then scurried into position over her. "I might not last too long like this, but damn if you won't get a hell of a payload out of it."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I know you have ways to please sans cock." Sydney winced as Carbon's tendril slithered up her ass just enough for Evelyn to appear in her vision. "Gods, I didn't mean like ~that~."

"Well you said to leave your mouth free, so my options were limited." Carbon slid up his partner until they met face-toFace, then slowly hilted his manhood inside her. "Goddess, it's taking everything I have to not fuck you so hard it'll hurt."

"So why don't you?" Cid smiled to Evelyn and then shot Carbon the bedroom eyes. "Give the girl a show."

Carbon started slowly moving his hips, aiming for Sydney to loosen up a bit more before upping the ante. "I would, but then I'd just blow my load--!"

"For fuck's sake..." Cid wrapped her ankles behind her lover and forced him to slam flush with her. Then she pulled his head down and locked lips with his, the two sharing tongues and lungs for a brief moment. "When I say you can fuck me, I mean ~fuck~ me."

Carbon just churipped and began slamming his hips down hard as he plunged as deep and forcefully as he could manage. "Damn I love you like this."

"And I--" Cid's words were cut short when Carbon forced another kiss, the extra stimulation literally causing his love to grow even larger for the meerkat. "Woah... Fuck, I'll take it."

Carbon froze for a moment, then resumed his bucking while his cum splashed deep into Sydney in a constant, heavy stream. "Goddess... I'm sorry, Sydney..."

"The hell you are..." Cid forced the two of them to flip over, then gyrated her hips atop Carbon as she went in for another share of tongue. "You weren't kidding, handsome."

Cid slowed her motions, but Carbon started shoving his cock back in for more as his hefty orgasm continued. "Just... a bit more..."

Suddenly Cid slipped free and moved down to Carbon's manhood, one paw clamping down tightly on the base of his cock while the other squeezed his much smaller balls. "Oh no you don't. You can't keep going if you let all that jizz out."

"I'll... use my... muzzle..."

"Well cock is on the menu and I want a dish now."

"Carbon... wow..." Evelyn sat up looking quite lightheaded, then nudged a hand towards Carbon's mask. "You need air, love."

Carbon pawed for his mask and brought it loosely to his muzzle for a few heavy breaths. "Sydney... That wasn't even half of it. Could you please just let go?"

"Nope." The meerkat waited until her partner's constant flow of cum ceased, then removed her paws to lick them clean. "I want to make sure you've got some fuel in the tank for another drive."

"Some fuel..." Carbon shot upright, tossed off his mask, and reeled Sydney in for a passionate kiss. "You're brilliant! Damn, were the girls outside? I need Ari's kids."

"Uh, what? You're ditching me?"

"Oh, sorry." Carbon dove in for another kiss, this time more delicate and tender. "I'll owe you a good time later... like tonight, maybe. Dinner too... if you're up for it?"

"Carbon..." Cid flopped on her back and pulled the hybrid over her, almost demanding another kiss like that. "Are you asking me out... on a date?"

"Only if you're up for it." Carbon enticed the meerkat with that kiss, this time much slower and deliberate. "I'll even buy you a nice suit for the occasion... or a dress, perhaps."

"Don't remind me of that." Sydney gave Carbon's rear a spank. "Make me cum at least three times tonight and you've got a deal."

Carbon stood up and adjusted his mask before unlocking the door. "Then it's a date. Now to find those pups."

"Uh..." Cid pointed to Carbon's unclothed, sticky body and then to the pile of garments on the floor. "Forgetting something?"

"Cat keeps this house very free and liberal," Carbon commented as he wiped some of his fizzy cream from his chest, "but for your sake I guess I should take a shower first, huh?"

"Yeah, we don't need ~those~ rumors spreading." Sydney stood next to Carbon, a paw playing with the tingly goo that leaked out of her and down her thighs. "Maybe I can get the rest of this out of you and into me in the span of a shower..."

Carbon looked down at his perma-hard cock and shrugged. "Not like the little guy can say no like this. So you like getting filled now?"

"Maybe." Cid brought her paw to her mouth and licked it clean. "I think I'm developing a taste for it."

Carbon fumbled with the door to his penthouse, his paws busy with the control panel as well as the side slit of a certain meerkat's cocktail dress. "I can't believe you actually went with a dress." The hybrid found Sydney's panties and pushed them down her legs just enough to allow access to the prize beneath. "It does make some things easier though."

"Well don't forget the deal, ott." Cid sensually kissed Carbon's neck to emphasize what she wanted, and how punctually. "You owe me three mind-blowing orgasms, Carbon."

"Hey now... That's not right." Carbon smiled as he pulled Sydney through the threshold and towards the couch, though surprisingly she forced Carbon down first to lay on top with a grin as wide as the hybrid's. "I thought took one off my tab earlier, in the shower. Where'd you--?"

Without declaring herself as she usually did, Fleur suddenly walked in from another room and slapped Carbon hard enough to open his mask. "Idiote moche! Vous avez oublié notre anniversaire de rencontre pour avoir des relations sexuelles avec elle!? Ce prostituée?"

"Ah, fuck... What? Our anniversary?" Carbon sat upright, forcing Cid to do the same. "No, Fleur. I'd never blow something like that off just to have sex with someone."

"I heard 'prostitute' in there somewhere..."

The elk quite visibly had to hold back her hoof as the urge for a second round of slaps crept up. "Oui, vous êtes une sale pute!"

" Fleur! Watch your muzzle, young lady!" Carbon grimaced as he processed what his adopted daughter was saying, and more importantly why. "As great as my memory is, I do happen to forget things sometimes. I'm not perfect, Fleur. That sucks, but that's no reason to start losing your shit."

"Carbon," Sydney mumbled as she cowered a bit to the other end of the sofa and corrected her lowered panties, "you're never like this. What's wrong? What did she say?"

"She's mad because I forgot about today, then started throwing around some unfriendly names for you. That's where I draw the line." Carbon took a few deep, purposeful breaths and forced himself to calm down. "We normally celebrate today. It's the anniversary of the day we met and I took her under my wing. Plus, since we don't know her accurate birthday, it sort of acts as a replacement for that."

"And you let her drink on her birthday, do you?"

Carbon quirked his head at that, then looked over to his daughter and noticed both a wine glass in one paw and a nearly-drained bottle of pinot noir on the kitchen counter. "Fleur? What's with--" The hybrid held his tongue to try again in Fleur's native tongue, her slight slurring and refusal to use English making more sense now. "<What's with all the wine? You never have more than a glass or two.>"

"Uh, Carbon..." Evelyn highlighted another bottle barely poking out of the kitchen trash bin. "Something's not right."

"<You always find other women, or buy them for a night...>" Fleur groaned and sat down next to her father--opposite of Cid as well to appease her odd mood. "<I was looking forward to our dinner tonight. You don't need those prostitutes when you can have fun with me, papa.>"

"<Prostitute? She's not a prostitute, Fleur. You know Sydney.>"

"I'm hearing a lot of 'prostitute' near my name..." Sydney smirked, only to have Carbon frown in serious response. "Sorry. Anything I can help with?"

"No, she can't." Eve drooped her head and slumped against Fleur's free side. "I'm getting hints of pheromones, Carbon. She's starting her heat."

"Oh. Well that's explaining a lot." Carbon shook his head for Cid and then hugged his daughter. "<You missed having a man around the house? If your heat really is that bad, you don't need to suppress it with wine. I can always call Adrian for some relief like last time... or a nice prostitute if you'd prefer that...>"

"<But I don't want him or anyone else. I want ~you~.>"

Carbon let those words burn in the back of his and Eve's brain for a few seconds. "<Fleur, I'm your father. I'll try to help however I can and look out for your health, but I'm not condoning incest when you're under an external influence like your heat.>"

"<But you're not really my father, papa.>" Fleur gripped her father's persistent erection and snaked his tip out the lip of his pants. "<I really love you, papa.>"

"<But Fleur, we-->" The elk dropped her muzzle down and gave Carbon's engorged head a few licks, only to engulf the top half with her mouth a moment later. "<Fleur! I said no!>"

The girl popped her lips free with a slurp and replaced her maw with her paws. "<I know we both want this, papa. You just aren't admitting it yet.>"

"Even your own daughter falls for you, eh?" Cid thankfully stepped in and pulled Fleur's paws away. "Sorry, kid. He already promised that to his girlfriend."

"So... you're my..." Carbon wedged his cock back into his pants and then gave Cid a peck on the cheek. "<Yes. Fleur, we're dating now. I'm not going to cheat on my partner. Are we clear?>"

Fleur threw around a baffled, disappointed expression as tears welled in her eyes. "<No! Why now, papa!?>"

"<Not now; we've been sort of a couple for months, even if we didn't know it.>" Carbon scooted back and pulled Cid up to sit across his lap. "<I still love you, darling. And trust me, I will ~definitely~ help your heat, somehow. But we both need to start making room in our lives for Sydney now. Can you at least understand that?>"

Fleur slowly nodded, then collapsed into a sobbing mess upon the couple. "<I'm sorry, papa! I don't want to lose you!>"

"<Lose me? No, just gain a closer friend is all I'm asking.>" Carbon gave his child a calming back rub and Cid joined in as well. "<Think of her... like you think of me, maybe. You know I'm not your father, but we've built our own type of relationship anyway and become close. Could you try that with Sydney? Please?>"

"<You mean... I have a mother now?>"

Carbon smiled and looked over to Cid, but the meerkat beat him to the punch. "<Her ~mother~? You mean...?>"

"Cid?"

"<I never thought about that. If we become a couple... I'll have to be her mother, won't I? Would I make a good mother?>"

"Cid..."

"<I mean, I've always thought about having kids. I'd always planned on retiring first though...>"

"Cid!" The meerkat finally shut up and comprehended the odd look Carbon was giving her. "How the hell are you speaking French?"

"<I don't...>" Sydney's eyes shot wide at the realization when she started listening to her own voice. "<Holy crap. I ~am~ speaking French.>"

"Excuse me, hon." Carbon reached out a paw and touched his queii to Cid's nose. «Eve, find something out please.»

«Gladly. This is weird.»

«Yeah, you're not the only one surprised.» Cid finally realized something and offered Carbon a query. «This feels the same as when I was talking a moment ago. Are we using another language when we chat like this?»

«No, more like we just send each other the intent normally tied to specific words and we just... understand what each other is thinking.» Carbon kissed Fleur's forehead, making sure she wasn't forgotten for a second time. «Now that I think about it, that might be how veilee handle translations for their hosts. Eve? Anything yet?»

«Well, there's a bit of a change since earlier. I think the little one's matured some.»

«Well that sounds like a good thing to me.» Sydney watched as Eve stroked over Fleur's shoulders, then made that gesture quite real with her own paws. «So she's just a little kid right now? I kind of like the sound of that.»

A chime at the door attracted all heads present, but Eve was the first to figure out a game plan. «We've got to get it. Fleur's out for the count and Cid's in a dress.»

«Fuck. We'll figure this out in a bit.» Carbon withdrew his paw, chuckling to himself as he realized how silly it must have looked prior. "Maybe it's Lilly. Haven't seen her in almost a week now." He placed a paw on the door controls and found an image of Ilaria greeting him on the security feed. "Ari? I thought I told you to get some rest."

"Could you just open up?" Ari moved out of the way and revealed her kids using her to hide from the camera. "Why are my girls telling me we're going to another world? We need to talk."

Carbon groaned and opened the door a tiny bit, only to have all three furs barge their way inside. "Ari! Hey, I've already got company!"

Ilaria froze when she found Cid trying to sneak away with Fleur, then flat out laughed upon noticing the fancy dress clothing her. "Wow. Sorry Cid, but that's just... wow."

"Just them? It's... fine if she wants to look then." Sydney turned a bit and showed off a few more angles of the garment. "Do you... think I should dress like this more?"

"Not if it's so you can let her walk all over you." Carbon shut the door and accepted a set of hugs from the twins. "Ari told you not to treat her like you owed her anything, right?"

"If you owed me anything, that dress just paid off the debt. Seriously, I'd never thought you could pull something like that off."

"Yeah, yeah." Sydney struggled to hold up Fleur as she started to doze off. "Carbon? Which room was Fleur's again?"

"What's wrong with Fleur?" Ari walked over and helped move the girl, then picked up a whiff of her breath and immediately understood. "You let her drink? What the fuck?"

"I... Sorry. I didn't grow up with rules and stuff." Carbon followed behind the others with Ari's pups towering to either side of him. "Actually, I grew up about as fast as these two here so I didn't have much of an adolescence at all."

"Well generally you don't let kids drink alcohol..."

Carbon walked up behind Ari and nudged her out the way, taking Fleur's arm for himself. "I figured it wasn't uncommon for the French. If her mother was still around, I'm sure she'd let her have a bit."

Sydney shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "It was more than ~a bit~ though."

"I'm doing the best I can!" Carbon wanted to throw Fleur on her bed, but forced himself to be gentle on the poor elk. "I've not a damn expert on all this!"

"Carbon..."

Ari joined Cid in trying to calm the frazzled hybrid. "Maybe... keep it down?"

"I just wanted to have a nice night with Sydney, maybe show her how much Eve and I care! How am I supposed to know about this!?" Carbon stomped out the room and slammed the door closed. "And then you fucking barge in here demanding answers! Fucking... ~fuck~!"

Both of the twins calmly walked over and slapped the ever-living shit out of Carbon's mask, only to then correct its seal and sign their opinions. <You're scary like this, Uncle Carbon.>

Ilaria pulled her children back a step and held them close. "Carbon, we're sorry. We didn't realize you had a lot going on. How can we help?"

"Don't... Don't worry about it. We'll have a meeting in the morning about our next sortie. You've got a crew coming, so be prepared." The mentally exhausted mustelid sighed and fell across the couch in defeat. "Just Fleur's enough trouble for now. Sorry we couldn't finish our night, Sydney."

"The fuck we ~couldn't~." Cid walked up to Ilaria and guided her to Fleur's door. "Could you maybe... Well, there's no easy way to say it. Could you ~screw~ his daughter for us? She's in heat and it's making things worse for her."

Carbon poked his head over the back of the sofa at that odd request. "Sydney?"

"You mentioned Adrian before, but isn't he engaged now? About the only furs I trust around here that're both single and have dicks are you and her." Cid cracked open the door and revealed the elk was somewhat expectedly digging her paws into her pants now that she was alone. "She's in a bad place, and I know Carbon rightfully doesn't want to do the deed."

Ari looked at the poor girl, then down to her own children. "I guess I could, if she'd even have someone like me. But what about the girls?"

Carbon sat upright, albeit backwards, on the sofa. "Couldn't they just watch? Or are you holding back the... ~full~ tribal experience?"

"Err..." Cid took each of the twins' paws and led them over to the sofa. "We'll watch them for you."

"Sydney... I was trying to clear us some time to--"

"I know what you were trying to do, Carbon, but I'd rather be nice to Ari. Plus there's no telling what these ~hellions~ would try with Fleur." Cid sat down and allowed the twins to wedge on either side of her. "Besides, I kind of like the girls. They remind me a little of myself when I was younger."

"Well... alright. Our fun can wait a bit, as long as Fleur's going to do better anyway."

Ilaria stepped in the bedroom and peeked through the door as she shut it. "I'll take it easy on her."

Sydney sighed and hugged the twins against her sides. "One thing at a time, Carbon. Once Fleur's sated and sleeping, maybe we can finish our date the right way."

Carbon slid closer, but couldn't act quickly enough to prevent two tendrils from creeping under Cid's dress, past her panties, and slightly inside her nethers. "Girls! Hey, stop that!"

"Gah! What the fuck are they--!?" Cid jerked upright at the odd sensation of a Link being forced to form three ways, then froze when she found two veilee standing near the coffee table. "Shit, I forgot they were like you, Carbon. Do they each have one of those... 'veile' things?"

"Yeah, they do. Io and Europa, remember?"

"Oh, so that's what that was about." Suddenly another two veilee appeared next to the others, both quite furry and more like Cid. One somewhat matched Cid's fur patterning and colors while the other went for pink, and loads of it. "Uh... the fuck?"

"What?"

"I'm staring at two more, and they look nothing like the twins."

Carbon stood and moved one of the girls away, causing the other to naturally follow. "I have to see this. Girls, could you please sever your Link so I can..."

Both girls retracted their vines, giggling as they tasted the buds on the ends.

"Thanks." Carbon went to place his paw somewhere that a connection could be made, then shrugged his shoulders and crammed his fingers up Sydney's cooch. «Sorry about that. I don't see anything. Eve, could you...?»

«Already on it.» Evelyn worked her magic, sending a few waves of differing emotions over both hosts present until she found a chemical balance that worked and brought the two new female veilee into Carbon's sight. «Wow. I'm surprised they can manifest avatars when they're still so young.»

«They, huh?» Carbon inspected the two, finding that they both had a glow about them that pulsed in sync with Sydney's glowing. «They're both hers? Can that happen?»

«No recorded cases of it yet, so not likely.» Eve walked over and waved for the two unknown entities, then offered a hand to each. «But if I'm the first sentient veile and the twins managed to let me reproduce... maybe this is the start of something new. Physical beings can have twins, so why not veilee?»

«They're not twins, though.» Sydney squirmed at the intrusion between her thighs, but tried to hold still so Carbon wouldn't break his Link on accident. «It's not just the color or shape or whatever, either. They... hold themselves differently from each other.»

Indeed, the more muted of the two took Evelyn's hand while the pink one cowered back a bit. «She's... right. I can only read one of them like this, too. They're separate beings, with different genetic codes.»

«Well maybe you're right about your kids then, Eve. I guess they're yours and Sydney's... and the twins' I guess... and mine partially if you work down the genetic chain enough.» Carbon noticed Cid's discomfort and retracted his paw on his own. "We'll have to look into it, I guess. Hey, is there a reason they look so young, Eve? I thought you could choose your appearance."

"Well that's what they chose. It felt like they indeed thought of themselves as Cid's daughters. Perhaps... they want to be treated like kids to satisfy her motherly instincts?"

Carbon laughed at the thought of Cid acting motherly, but calmed himself when a hint of that motherly instinct manifested itself in her expression. "How's it feel, being a mother?"

"A surrogate one," Cid reminded. She reached out and touched the one that was more forward, smiling as her nerves were stimulated so she actually felt that touch. "I think I could get used to this, though."

Carbon smiled, then turned to the twins and signed, <I don't know what you did, but... thank you.>

Both girls bent down and kissed Carbon on his cheeks. <We hope they make the three of you happy.>

Carbon watched as Sydney smiled towards her new symbionts, then noticed a warm smirk on Evelyn's face as well. <They do, girls. They absolutely do.>

"So is this everyone?" Carbon looked around the mess room and found most of his team, save Lilith and Viola, as well as a generous quantity of fresh faces. "I guess I'll get started then. Listen carefully, because some of this is a bit out of this world."

"Literally," Ilaria added with a chuckle.

"Okay then. So the simple form of my plan is--"

"Wait! We're still coming!" Viola jogged into the room in her normally conspicuous manner and drew all eyes her way. "Did we miss anything?"

"No, we just got started actually." Carbon shook his head at the loudness of the girl's tardiness, then perked up at the heavy footsteps resonating much slower behind her. "Wait, you said 'we'. Is that Lilly?"

The fluff drake in question silently slipped into the room and found a nearby seat, ducking her gaze down to the floor after Carbon began staring. "I might just be here as... formality or something."

"That's fine, Lilly. Take your time if you're still not ready. No pressure. I'm just glad to see you out and about for once." Carbon nodded to Lilly, then to the rambunctious wild dog. "Take a seat, please. So... I guess I was at the short of it. We're gathering more fuel so we can intercept our enemies in an ambush."

Carmine raised his paw, which was somewhat necessary for once due to the large attendance. "Major, don't we have all the fuel we could want? I thought you bought it out of pocket."

"He pays for this himself?" one of the newbies hushedly remarked.

"Yes, I make sure we've got all the conventional fuel we'd ever need." Carbon looked around and found a jar of oxydium he'd stashed in a bag. "This glowing goop here is what we're really needing, though. Ilaria and her friends here coined it 'oxydium', though our enemies call it 'æti'. Memorize the latter; it's in their native tongue, so if you hear that you've found an enemy or one of their collaborators."

Ari stood up and joined Carbon. "I'm Commander Ielunschra Rihzyet. For most of the new faces around here, I'll be your commanding officer and captain." She took a smaller battery capsule of oxydium from the bag and swapped it out with the one in her chest, the humming glow under her skin gaining renewed vigor. "This stuff is extremely powerful, and in some cases it can be unstable. It's also exceedingly rare. What's in this room is mostly artificial, and will lose effectiveness after a short while. We need the real deal, and there's only a few hundred pounds, maybe a ton, on this planet. We require about two metric tons."

"Ma'am?" Another recruit, a very well-decorated poison dart frog with about as much metal on her face as her uniform, stood and presented her question. "How is that goal obtainable? Do we have an extraterrestrial vessel in the fleet now?"

"Yes, we have one... But no, it's not in any fleet. She's my own baby."

"A private venture, for the military?" The amphibian shrugged her shoulders and appended another query. "Please tell me she's the ship I'll be flying, ma'am."

"You're our pilot?" Carbon squinted his eyes and folded his arms in ponderous contemplation. "What's your name, officer?"

The girl saluted her superior as she answered. "Chief Warrant Officer Copenhagen, sir."

"Huh. And your real name?"

"Alexandria, sir." She loosened up as she tried to understand the persisting expression Carbon was giving her, then tried, "Trick, sir?"

"Ha! I knew you'd pick something like that." Carbon gave Alex a quick salute and motioned for her to relax. "I knew you looked familiar. I served with your grandfather." The hybrid checked Trick's bars on her shoulder and smirked. "And Cheat was only a Warrant Officer One. You're younger than him and a rank higher? I like the potential, officer."

"I'll... try to live up to the name, sir."

"That's all I ask of any of you." Carbon chuckled to himself, then jokingly groaned out, "The lot of you better be alright with some rough flying if it runs in her genes. Her granddaddy was scary good."

"Sorry to interrupt," Ari stepped forward and presented the larger jar of go-juice, "but we're in the middle of a briefing, Major."

"Sorry, Commander." Carbon smiled and shook his head at Ilaria's self-appointed, though entirely appropriate, naval rank. "I'm not here to confuse you guys with tangents. Any questions before we continue?"

A pair of giraffes whispering to each other both raised their hooves, the male allowing what appeared to be his sister speak. "Are we at war? Did the Chinese get greedy again? I thought we settled all this territory crap in the Reclamation War."

"We've been fighting a secret war for centuries, and it definitely ain't the Chinese." Carbon looked around and spotted Rose hiding in an adjacent room in her typical shady style. "Rose, could you come over here?"

"You saw me?" The Yangurran stepped into the open and crept up behind Carbon, unsure how the crowd would react to her alien likeness. "What's this about? I was just listening."

"I know, but I need an example of what they're up against. Sorry for putting you in the spotlight like this." Carbon swapped places with the girl, holding her steady in front of himself for the team to see. "Rose here is on our side, but she's a pure-blooded Yangurran. It may not make much sense for a while, but her family, and our enemies, are from another planet. Needless to say, that's the classified part of this detail. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"No need for the theatrics, guys. Just do your jobs and I won't enforce protocol." Again Carbon chuckled and shook his head. "So, most Yangurrans are bad. There's a few that are secretly on our side though, so don't just shoot first and ask questions after."

The giraffe stood and proposed an addendum to her query. "What's their beef with us, Major?"

"That we exist. Apparently they've got a war of their own going back home and we stand a threat if we decide to pick a side." Carbon sighed as he remembered a bit of the past he never liked. "They're the ones that made us nuke our own planet. They're better at outwitting us, and know that they don't need to kill us. Why do that when you can prevent the enemy from developing technologically or just make them kill themselves?"

"That's some evil shit, sir."

"Agreed." Carbon looked up to the giraffe and nudged his chin to the pair. "Your names, crewmen?"

The brother stood and gave a soft salute to the hybrid. "Ensign James Morgan, and this is Midshipman Janet Morgan."

"Ah, James. You're our marine detachment leader. I've heard good things." Carbon nudged to his sister next. "Janet, though... I don't have a Janet on the duty roster."

"I'm... ship coxswain, sir."

"Our Boatswain! Don't sound down about it. You won't believe how much we've been dying for someone to upkeep the ship." Carbon smiled, refusing to break gaze with Janet until she did the same. "We're all friends here. Doesn't matter what we each do."

"Aye, sir."

"Commander, they're all yours."

Ari nodded and took the floor again. "That's about the gist of it, really. We're fighting evil aliens. Our only chance of doing that though is to get fuel that doesn't exist. That's where some crazy shit comes into play. Girls, back me up here if I get off track."

The twins stood up and joined their mother, standing on either side of her. <Sure!>

"You see, we only have a little oxydium here on Earth. Our Earth. However if we think about all the infinite other Earths that might exist out there in other universes aside ours, there's an infinite supply out there waiting to be mined." A few paws went up at that notion, but Ilaria just pushed ahead to answer the obvious question they all had. "My ship can ~traverse~ between these universes, with a little coaxing from my children here. Our goal is to secretly drop in on other versions of our planet and take whatever they've already mined."

"We're stealing," Carbon found a seat but continued speaking his mind, "but it's for a greater cause. If we can gather enough oxydium in the next eight months, we can ambush our enemy."

"THat's right." Ari pointed to Carbon as he spoke, then explained the imperativeness of their operation. "They're sending a cleanup detail to finally wipe us out. If they get here, we don't stand a chance. Deployed on the ground, they're unstoppable. That's why we need to take the fight to them when they think we're incapable of doing so. We can catch them with their pants down and take them out."

Trick raised her webbed hand and confirmed, "So we're the ones going on the first attempt?"

"No." Ilaria looked down at one of her ship's portable terminals she'd brought with her and pulled up a hologram depicting the various Ashes on the security feeds. "We've come into contact with these universes a few times, and recently came back from a full expedition."

"Oh. Well that's... impressive."

"I don't ask that you're impressed by me, only that you follow my direct orders. Other than that, my home is your home." Ari pulled up a simplified interior map of the ship and highlighted the crew quarters. "For now, I'll just leave you with a few days to get comfortable with the ship and your stations. You'll be staying in the aft heart of the ship. Bunks are up to you guys if they're unlabeled. Oh, and there's a special room on the fore dorsal end... Don't touch it. It's a clean room for my kids."

Trick hesitated, but choked out another question while hoping not to make anyone feel stupid. "Ma'am, what's the ~name~ of our ship?"

"The Starbreeze, Trick."

The whole lot of newbies started to chuckle at the somewhat unconventional name, but Trick just smiled and repeated it to herself a few times. "Starbreeze... I like it. Not bad for a first ship."

"Ahem!" Ilaria frowned at the rest of the room, but smirked when she saw Trick's more generous expression. "That name means a lot to me, crewmen. You'd do best to get used to it."

Carbon chuckled at the way Ari handled things, then stood and saluted the new crew. "That's all for now, I guess. The Starbreeze is only accessible via the west elevators, on deck three. You have your orders. You're dismissed."

Ari waited until the crew started to disperse, then grabbed her terminal and headed for Carbon. "That wasn't too bad. I think this might work."

"Well you did great up there. You've definitely got a knack for leading a ship."

"Or I sound like I do, at least."

Carbon threw an arm around Rose and walked out into the hallway. "Well the real test comes next, and I'm sure you'll make the grade."