Companions Chapter 09: Heaven

Story by Evoquus on SoFurry

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#9 of Companions


[Companions Chapter 09]

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WARNING! The following text contains explicit adult subject matter. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, then you must stop reading now. The author has taken steps to ensure that this story does not appear in any subject-inappropriate or age-inapropriate forum. This version has been posted with the author's permission to Yiffstar.com.

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* _COMPANIONS_

* by Evoquus

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* (c) Copyright 2002, Evoquus, All rights reserved.

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* Feedback is appreciated: [email protected]

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Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex: M/M, Human-Stallion, Anal, Oral

Chapter 09: Heaven

I'm back inside the black void of Oblivion's womb. This is the ultimate sensory deprivation environment: Nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to feel, nothing to worry about. Just me and my thoughts. What thoughts? Am I thinking? I think so. Hee-hee, I think, therefore I am, except that I am not. And now I'm confused. Who am I? I know who I am. I am Daniel Racher. And I died.

My Companion is alive, and so is my son. I wish them well, and I know that they will be. Now I AM feeling something: sadness and a longing to be with them. My Companion is strong, and I know he will survive, but I regret that my passing will cause him much pain. I hope he will forgive my frailty.

What am I, I wonder. Am I awake? I feel like I am awake. I can think quite clearly, in fact. Have I become pure thought? Pure energy? Two plus two equals four... that isn't much of a test. How about: the square root of the sum of sixty-nine and one hundred equals thirteen. Not bad, but I sense I am capable of much more. What is the cubed root of four point five? I can actually see the digits: one point six five zero nine six three six two four.... How did I know that? I know I was not so mathematically inclined when I was alive. I would rather be alive, though. Who needs to comprehend differential calculus when you're dead?

Will I see my Companion again? Will I have to wait for him to pass on? Or is this my Hell - to spend eternity alone with only a mental calculator for company. No! It doesn't make sense. I am Daniel Racher. I KNOW who I am. I am a MAN. How can I be dead and still know who I am? I can remember things - I remember Rovaun, and Shianna, and Parceph, and Azgard - who could forget Azgard?

But I also remember dying, and that was no dream. The hollow point slug ripped out my heart. There was nothing Rovaun could have done to save me. I am dead, and yet, I exist, that is, I think I exist. Where the fuck am I??

I see something. A pinpoint of light. How marvelous! Is this the famous light tunnel of the afterlife? I hope so... it means I won't be stuck here. It is growing larger - Hooray! This is deja vu all over again, except it is not quite the same as before. It isn't moving so fast, just steadily approaching and flickering. And there's something else - a sound, a very faint kind of a drumming. It is getting louder as the light grows nearer. I'm on some kind of ride. Whatever it is, it is delivering me to my destination. I don't have to swim or crawl or claw my way to it - I hope that is a good thing.

Now I can see why the light is flickering. It is not so much a light as it is an image - a moving image. I can make out shapes and colors - green, gold, brown and blue, and vertical lines coming at me - it's a forest! It's a moving picture of passing through a forest - and it is daytime. And the drumming sound is louder, more distinct - hoofbeats! The image keeps getting closer - overwhelmingly closer! I'm in the front row of an IMAX theater. The curtain keeps opening - my field of vision must be at least 300 degrees! And I can hear in Dolby surround sound. I hear thundering hoofbeats and the roaring rush of air pumping through lungs, and - a thumping heartbeat! I have a heartbeat!! I can actually feel and hear my heart BEAT!!!

And I can feel my arms and legs. I am running on my arms and legs. I want to stop running and check this out. How do I do that? Just stop... Hey, it's working! I'm slowing down... trotting... walking... shuffling... stopping... stopped. Good!

Okay, now look down. There they are - hooves - beautiful sexy hooves! Hallelujah, I made it to Paradise - I'm a horse! Hee - hee - hee! Hey everyone! I can hear myself whinny!! WOO-HOO!! And I can rear up like a rogue stud, see!! YEEEEHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Ohhh... this is wonderful... and it is so beautiful here! There's no one else around, though. I hope I'm not the only one here. The novelty will surely wear off after a decade or two.

"Good morning, Companion," said a warm and familiar voice. "Welcome to Heaven."

"Rovaun!" I looked around, but couldn't see him. "Where are you?"

"I am here, with you, dear Companion," he said, "or more precisely, you are here with me."

"I am with you?... You mean, I'm inside your body?"

"Yes."

"How did I get in there... or here?"

"Before you passed on, I took the liberty of scanning your memories. I hope you will forgive me for that personal transgression. It is yet another violation I could be exiled for."

"You downloaded my brain!?"

"Most of it."

"How the hell did you do that? You only had a couple of seconds."

"Compared to a Hipponaur brain, the human brain is severely lacking in detail. No offense, Companion, but there really was not that much to 'download.'"

"But I remember everything... My first grade teacher was Mrs. Harrington. She made me stand outside the hall for whistling in class. How come I can remember that?"

"Because that event was somehow traumatic or otherwise significant. What happened on the forty-third day of first grade?"

"...I don't know."

"How about days fifty through one hundred?"

"Okay, you made your point."

"Let me now make another point. Do you see that sycamore tree in front of us?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to close my eyes now."

"Okay."

"Do you still see the tree in your mind?"

"Yes... VIVIDLY."

"How many leaves are there?"

"Seven hundred forty-eight thousand, two hundred and twenty- ... eight, no nine. WOW!"

"Very good. It probably has more than that since we can't see all of them from this vantage point. But because of this little mental exercise just now, I will forever remember that this tree at this time had that many leaves."

"I'm impressed, Rovaun. I would have expected your brain to be full by now."

"Companion, it was 'full' a thousand years ago. But synapses and neural pathways that atrophy from disuse, are easily recycled. As a result, insignificant details, such as the number of leaves on a tree I ate lunch under six hundred years ago, cannot be fully recalled. The best I could do would be to estimate to the nearest hundred or so."

"Well, I hope downloading me didn't cause you to overwrite anything that you'll miss, later."

"Not likely. I have all of the memories I care about," he said warmly.

"That's so sweet," I responded in kind. "But Rovaun, I'm still just a clone. I'm not really Danny."

"If you were truly just Daniel Racher's memories, then I would agree. But, Companion, you are so much more than that. For it is not just your memories that dwell within me."

"You captured my soul?"

"Not so much 'captured' as provided a compatible environment for which it can dwell. Your soul is free to leave at any time."

"I don't want to leave!"

"Then by all means, please stay with me."

"So... I'm really here! I'm alive!!!"

"Yes, Companion."

"How long can I stay?"

"As long as we can tolerate each other."

"Oh... I'll be good, I promise. I'll be the best roommate you've ever had! Please let me stay - I love this! I love you!!"

"Of course, Companion. That is why I scanned you in the first place. I was not ready to say good-bye. Shall we continue on our way?"

My arms and legs started trotting again by themselves.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to Hipponaur, as you had requested."

"Oh, right! Yeah, we have to tell everyone the crappy news. Where's Shianna?"

"We decided to split up and go to different cliques. We could get the message out quicker that way."

"Good idea... How long have you been traveling?"

"It has been nine days since your passing."

"Nine days!? Geez, I must have been out cold. I don't remember anything until waking up just now."

"Yes, your part of my brain was in a coma during that time. It took nine days for your soul to become accustomed to its new environment."

"Did you know that my soul had entered you when I died?"

"I sensed something very faint, but I could not tell whether it was real or just wishful thinking. I did everything possible at the time to provide you a comfortable new home, and waited long enough for the transference to take place."

"So Shianna doesn't know I'm alive."

"That is correct. I did not know you were alive, either, until I found myself making meaningless mathematical calculations. Achieving consciousness is the most significant milestone in your development. It indicates that your soul has completely adapted to my Hipponaur brain. You should be able to learn how to operate your new body in no time."

"Aren't I operating it now?"

"No, right now, I am. But you also have access to my basic motor functions. It is like an airplane that has both pilot and co-pilot controls. Only one of us should ever be flying at one time, otherwise, we will likely stumble or fall."

"Okay, I'll just pretend I'm riding on your back."

"An excellent, and wonderfully appropriate idea."

We picked up speed and were soon skillfully galloping through the forest. I had no idea where we were going, but we were going there in style. Rovaun could react to obstacles instantly, jumping over logs, ducking under branches, judging the density of underbrush to decide whether to jump over, go through, or go around. He was a master at operating this ultimate Ferrari - and soon he'd let me drive! It felt so wonderful to be alive, and as powerful as a locomotive.

I was a stallion! I had a perfectly tuned sexy body. I could feel my stallion balls. I could feel my stallion dick. I could feel my stallion ass. I was in love with myself! I wondered how limber I was, if I could reach any of the fun parts with my nose and tongue. I sure wouldn't mind sniffing my hot and sweaty balls right now. I remembered that wonderful smell. My new brain remembered every molecule it inhaled. Oh, man I was getting horny. Hey, cool!... My dick was coming out. Uh, why are we slowing down?

"Companion," he said, "you must control yourself. I cannot run safely while I am aroused. I might get... caught on something."

"Sorry, Companion, but I can't help it. I'm living in a wet dream. We are quite literally ONE. Our destiny is beautiful! I have no regrets, do you?"

He slowed to a canter. "My only regret is that your life was cut short."

"Companion, my life is INCREDIBLE! You should have killed me when you first met me!"

"You don't mean that."

"Yeah, you're probably right. It would have been nice to spend some more time with you as a living human, and then turn into a horse later. But my life as a human was over, anyway. If the Fed hadn't killed me, we would have been on the run forever. What kind of a life would that be? The way I see it, we both have been spared a whole lot of heartache."

"Perhaps."

"And this is so much fun. It's like the ultimate link. I can feel every part of you - I AM you. And I can't stop thinking about your balls. Can you let me smell them again?"

"Not directly, but I suppose I could rub them on a tree stump or something."

"Nah, that won't be the same. Half of the fun of smelling your balls is having my nose in them. But I can remember it so clearly." I inhaled in my mind, causing my equine lips to curl. "Ahhhhhh."

"Great!" he said in frustration, "Now I'm fully erect."

"Well, let's deal with it. It's been over a week since you've had any sexual release, right?"

"That is true. It would be nice to make love to you again, Companion."

"Then let's see what this amazing brain of yours can do. Sex is all in the head, you know."

"Yes it is. What memory would you like to relive?" he asked.

"I don't know. We had some good ones, didn't we... But we're both alive. Let's make some new ones."

"I am open to suggestion."

"Give me a moment to think," I said.

I still had a human identity, and he had completely mapped my body with his senses. I concentrated on what it felt like to be human, and his mind was so organized and powerful, that it was almost trivial to do so. Through my equine eyes, I saw my right hand emerge from my right front hoof, as if breaking out of a cocoon. The hoof remained intact, but my human hand and arm were free of it. I held it in front of our eyes, and saw it as clear as day.

"Rovaun, can you see that?"

"Yessss!" he said, mesmerized.

I brought my hand forward and touched our face. I could feel it, too.

"Rovaun?"

"Yes! Yes!! I can feel my face being touched!! This is wonderful! Please continue!!"

I stretched out my arm, concentrating intensely, and more of my human body emerged. I carefully stepped naked out of the horse, but not completely removed, for I sensed I still required physical contact with my host to maintain the illusion. But physical contact - or its virtual equivalent, was the whole point of this experiment. I stepped in front of him, keeping my left hand's fingertips inside his shoulder. I could see his face, as clearly as if I were facing him for real, and he was crying.

"Companion," he said with astonishment, "I can see you!"

We pressed our lips together, and kissed with the passion of reunited lovers. It was not just a memory, though of course it was based on one. We were both alive, and though we were aware that it was only occurring in our collective mind, this kiss was real, and just as real as any other. In fact, it made the others pale in comparison.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly and scritched his mane, and he hugged me back and broke down, overcome with emotion. "Welcome back," he whinnied, tearfully.

I nuzzled and kissed his shoulder with my human face. "How many times have you saved my life, Companion?" I sighed, contentedly.

"Not nearly as many as you have saved mine," he whickered.

"This feels so real," I said. "It is almost as if nothing has changed. Did you know your brain was capable of this?"

"No," he said, nuzzling my perfectly-restored tattoo. "And I do not believe it is just my brain that is responsible for this miracle. It is also your soul's doing. You are a quick study, Companion."

"I have a good teacher. I'd say we are truly one now, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," he smiled, "we could not possibly be more 'one' than we are, now."

"Do you remember what you said you would do to me on the day we truly became one?" I asked, with a single raised eyebrow.

"I do indeed," he said, raising his own.

"How about over there on that log."

"I will follow you, dear Companion."

I lead him to a low decaying redwood log. It was sufficiently rotted soft so as not to cause any scrapes. Though there was no danger to my own virtual body, Rovaun could still get splinters in delicate areas that would be impossible to remove (virtually).

"Before we begin, I need to make some temporary modifications to my body image."

"I agree, that would be wise," he said.

If I was going to successfully fit all thirty inches of horsedick inside me, I would have to BELIEVE that it could be done. That meant I had to delete most of my digestive system, and double the length of my large intestine, connecting it directly to my throat to make one big tunnel o' love. And just to be safe, I relocated my heart well out of the way. And the final touch, I imagined that the entire length was lubed up warm, wet and slippery.

While still maintaining some physical contact with Rovaun, I got down on all fours and stuck my ass in the air for him. "The Wraith is ready for bonding, Azgard," I said, which caused him to snort and tremble. "Do it to me, Companion. You've been waiting thousands of years for this moment. It is time to fuck my brains out!"

He whinnied and moved into position, placing the tip of his cock in my ass.

"I've still got a sphincter, so take it easy...."

He snorted and drove all the way in.

"... or not."

He thrust violently into me, completely giving into the Primitive. I didn't really mind, so I let him have his fun. I could feel his glans running completely through me, and tried not to think of Parceph's poor companion getting a similar not-so-virtual fuck from Kronan. The shrieks of lust from Rovaun were disturbingly out of character, and I was glad that he wasn't linking with me, even though he was clearly having the time of his life. This was the first time he could let the Primitive have its way, and I suspected it was excellent therapy.

The roars and grunts and violence increased as his glans engorged. It was like getting fucked by the business end of a toilet plunger. Once his balls rose up, I knew he was close, so I helped him over the edge by imagining my colon being one long sphincter that tightened around the entire length of his cock. He squealed ecstatically and pounded faster and harder, right on the edge, ready to explode, but couldn't quite make it. He fucked at a hundred miles an hour and I tightened as much as my virtual ass could squeeze, but I couldn't bring him off, and his screams and whinnies took on a desperate pleading tone for help. Gripping him tighter only made him work faster, increasing his lust and my thrashing, and I seriously feared that now HE was the one who was getting fucked to death.

I considered breaking the link to save him from a stroke and coronary and then have to endure his resentment for the rest of the day, but then I realized what was different between this rape and that of the First Time: so far, this one had been bloodless. I braced myself and prayed it wouldn't be too painful, then allowed my guts to rip open and fill with blood. I winced at the virtual stabbing, as the Primitive turned my innards to jelly, but the fiery reaction it produced from him told me its bloodlust was now satisfied. Rovaun trumpeted his release, filling my throat and mouth with an explosive geyser of steaming cum. I vomited the continuous blast like Linda Blair in The Exorcist, splattering a tree fifteen feet away. It wasn't quite the beautifully intimate ending I had envisioned for the first time we made love as "one," but it was definitely a new memory we made together, and I had no virtual regrets.

After the Primitive had had its way, Rovaun slowly came back to his senses and settled down, keeping his engorged cock inside me.

"Companion," he said, still breathing heavily from exertion, "That was [wheeze] pretty [wheeze] good."

"On a scale of one to ten?"

He paused to catch more breath. "To quote a very wise man, 'Seven hundred forty-eight thousand, two hundred and twenty- ... eight, no nine. WOW!'"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"That was, without a doubt, the most intense orgasm of my existence," he said, still hyperventilating, "and I did it basically by fucking AIR!"

"Ain't life grand?" I said, so happy to have pleased him this way. After all, he had finally reached this anticipated milestone in his life.

"You," he said, sternly, "are NEVER leaving me again!"

"Aw come on," I said modestly. "I can't take all the credit. Varyl's psycho gets most of it."

"I suppose," he said, "but you figured out how to beat him. Well done. And the body image is PERFECT. Don't change a thing."

"Okay, I'll file this one and write-protect it... Uh, should I still keep my teeth?"

"Yes, I like your smile. We can come up with another image to deal with that, later."

"Okay, but I think we should keep the psycho down to maybe once a week. I fear for your blood pressure."

"Once a week is more than enough bloodlust for me. I am truly impressed, Companion," he said sincerely. "For a human soul to so masterfully manipulate a Hipponaur brain within only an hour of attaining consciousness is nothing short of miraculous. It can only be Destiny!"

"Or maybe it's just you and me," I said. "Let's give credit where it's due. We should probably get going."

"Yes, you are right."

He pulled out of me, and at that moment we lost contact with each other. Immediately I became disoriented, and my body vanished. The next thing I knew, I was back inside Rovaun's head, looking through his eyes. He lost his balance and stumbled a bit, but soon recovered.

Back inside, I could wallow in the satisfying afterglow of a really REALLY good fucking and could finally get my mind off of sex for a while. We reeled in our penis and continued on our way to the clique.

"Companion," I said, "do you think this is what your visions of our beautiful destiny were ultimately all about?"

"I don't know, Companion, but I suppose it is possible. However, my track record for comprehending my visions lately has been somewhat less than satisfactory. And what concerns me now is YOUR destiny... specifically, your final dream."

"My dream of the sunset? I thought it foretold my death. Isn't that the end of it?"

"Perhaps, but perhaps not. If your dream was simply a metaphor for your corporeal death, then we can safely assume it is over and done with. However, your dream could also be taken more literally, in which case, it foretells the death of your soul. The sunset is the key to a doorway in which non-corporeal souls pass from this world. Your dream could be more literally interpreted to mean that at some point, I kiss your soul good-bye."

"But I remember feeling so much love from you during that kiss," I said. "Why would we purposely give that up forever?"

"I don't know," he said. "Perhaps it was not on purpose. Hopefully, we will never find out. There is also one aspect of your dream that I did not understand and find particularly troubling: the sunset's malice toward you at the dream's end - I have never seen that before."

"I don't remember telling you about that."

"I saw it when I scanned you."

"Oh, right... You now know all of my dirty little secrets."

"Yes, and the dirtier, the better," he chuckled.

"How come I can't read your dirty little secrets?"

"Because your soul is not familiar with my memories, just as mine is not familiar with yours. I can access your memories, but it is like looking up data in an encyclopedia. They provide little insight as to who really is Daniel Racher. That is why it is so important to retain your soul as well as your memories. Your soul knows how to sequence your memories, to make sense of them, to put emotion into them. It is what assigns context to emotion, and is what gives you consciousness. In time, you will be able to access more and more of my own memories, and then we will have another problem to deal with."

"Egad, what now?"

"The longer we remain as one in this manner, the more we will inevitably invade each other's privacy. When two souls have full control over one brain, there is no place for either to find solitude. Resentment builds and eventually one soul will evict the other."

"No..."

"I'm afraid so, Companion. It may come to pass that one of us will have to go. Your dream suggests that it will be you. However, I would rather that you stay behind and let me ride into the sunset instead."

"Absolutely not, Rovaun! I'm the interloper. If one of us must go, it's me!"

"We need not decide this now," he said.

"No, but we can take steps to prevent it from happening." I emerged from his body and rode on his back as a human. Virtually outside of him, we were nearly separate entities. I felt like a human, not a horse. Hopefully, this trick would cheat Destiny a little longer.

"Very clever for a human," he said.

"Thanks," I said, "and watch out for those low hanging tree branches or you'll virtually knock me off."

"Understood."

It was much easier to ride my mount when it was all in my head, but no less enchanting. Riding naked like this made me feel like Lady Godiva. And the rippling of his spine and back muscles while we galloped through the woods massaged my ass and genitals, making it difficult to not think about sex again.

"Companion..." he said in exasperation, feeling his dick start to drop.

"Sorry! Tell me more about disembodied souls. That ought to keep my mind out of the gutter."

"All right," he said. "Yours is nearly disembodied as we speak."

"What!?"

"Yes, Companion, but there is no immediate danger. I believe it is not just a mental image that you are projecting outside of my body. It is also your soul that has left, but as long as it remains nearby, you are able to retain your identity via a link to your part of my brain."

"And when you pulled out of me earlier," I said, "I lost contact, breaking the link?"

"Yes. Your soul was completely disembodied for a brief moment."

"I remember being confused and disoriented. It's lucky that I found my way back to you."

"It is more physics than luck."

"Beg pardon?"

"A disembodied soul is attracted to a compatible host, much like an electron is attracted to a proton. Your soul would have found me eventually, since I am probably the only compatible host on the planet. However, there is a danger at sunset. You must never leave my body in view of the setting sun. Its pull is very strong."

"So we can never watch the sunset again?"

"Yes, we can, but only as one. Inside, my body you will be safe."

Rovaun sped up, running full tilt at a large fallen cedar. I held on for dear virtual life as he leapt over the six-foot obstacle, easily landing on the other side and returning to a more steady pace. We could have made a fortune on the steeplechase circuit. Maybe we still could.

"How come you know so much about this stuff?" I asked. "Humans don't have a clue."

"It has to do with bonding. Nearly every human soul is compatible with only one host - the body it was born into. When the body dies, the soul is freed. It may search for another host, but none exists. Eventually the soul is caught in the sunset, but until then it can wander indefinitely. The bodies of bonded Hipponaurs, however, become compatible with each other's soul. If one dies, whether it is stallion or mare, its soul often invades the living body of the other."

"But bond mates hate each other!"

"That is true," said Rovaun, "which is why the living mate usually climbs a mountain to watch the very next sunset."

"Wait a minute - you said it would be safe for us to watch the sunset."

"We, dear Companion, are deeply in love, and love is a very powerful attraction between compatible souls. It can easily overpower the sunset's influence. But when there is no love, it is not difficult for the stronger soul to evict the weaker invader, simply by despising it enough. It is how Hipponaur Elders carry out execution."

"They execute the soul!?"

"Essentially. A Hipponaur condemned to death, is taken to a place in view of the sunset, and his soul is exorcised from his body. If he is resigned to his fate, it may require the presence of only one other Hipponaur to do it. If he is not willing to die, it may take as many as three executioners. Once freed, the soul accelerates toward the sunset, eventually achieving escape velocity.

"I know my high school physics, Rovaun. Forces, acceleration and escape velocity only pertain to things that have mass."

"A soul does have mass. It is small, but not zero."

"I was not aware of that. What happens to the body after the soul is gone?"

"It is left on the hill in a dreamless coma, and is usually eaten by morning."

"That's horrible! The body's still alive!!"

"It is not as barbaric as it sounds. No doubt the physical death is excruciating, but there is no one home to feel the pain. The soul's death is, in fact, quite peaceful."

"Except when it is eaten alive by the sun," I muttered, recalling my own impending, potentially gruesome end.

"I do not understand that at all," he said uneasily. You are not the first to dream of your soul's death. But I know of no other that ends so ominously."

"It means I'm going to Hell."

"I refused to believe that," he said. "And I refuse YOU to believe that, too."

"Okay, Companion," I said, "I love you, too."

We slowed down to cross a large stream. Rovaun waded in up to his belly. I lifted my legs to keep from getting my feet wet, then realized how silly that was, and let them dangle in the cool waters. When we climbed out onto the other side, water actually dripped from my toes. This uncharted area of the Hipponaur brain made the illusion effortless to maintain.

Rovaun set down to allow me to dismount. "I need to shake off," he said. I slid down off of him, forgetting that it wasn't real, and again became dizzy and disoriented when we lost contact. I had a momentary attack of amnesia, but soon all was right with the world, and I was once again safely inside his head.

"Sorry about that," I said, as he recovered from my sudden re-infusion.

"It is all right, Companion," he said, shaking water off of his coat and sprinkling the riverbank. "I forgot, too. Consider it a compliment to your craft."

I re-emerged onto his back, and we continued on to Hipponaur.

"Thanks for being such an attractive proton," I said.

"It is my pleasure, Electron," he said. "Tell me what it feels like to be disembodied."

"I lose track of everything," I said. "I don't know what's going on. It's like I have advanced Alzheimer's."

"And that, I believe, is further evidence that your soul is truly outside my body when you take on human form. While we maintain contact, you have access to your memories. Once that contact is broken, your soul becomes lost. A soul by itself is not conscious. It is an entity, but nothing more. It cannot think, and therefore is perpetually confused. A soul that has access to its memories and emotions graduates from an entity to an identity. It can achieve consciousness and awareness."

"I think, therefore I am."

"You do, therefore you are. And I can see it is getting easier for you to maintain your human form. Companion, I would not be surprised if others will eventually be able to see you as easily as I. I am very proud of you."

"It's your brain, Rovaun."

"And you have found new ways to use it that no Hipponaur has ever dreamed. Every day, you change our destiny a little more."

That compliment made me nervous. Changing Hipponaur destiny was a dangerous ambition, and I was no longer sure it was my calling. Some good things had come of it: Malaya would no longer be forced to bond against her will. Theoretically, she would now be able to choose her bond mate, but Destiny had already made Tantau her choice. So, essentially, her bond mate will still be forced upon her, she just won't think so. However, if they're happy together, then that would certainly be a significant improvement.

Human ambition with access to Hipponaur gray matter could become a formidable weapon in the wrong hands. I knew my heart and soul were in the right place, but were my hands right or wrong? I couldn't tell. I just wanted to stay with my Companion and not change anything else. My life was finally just the way I wanted it.

"You don't really think we'll get on each other's nerves, do you Rovaun?"

"At this moment, dear Companion, I cannot imagine ever wanting to be apart from you - even when you annoy me."

Well... the next time I'm annoying you, just tell me and I'll stop."

"You're annoying me right now," he said.

"..."

He laughed. "I am kidding, Companion, but it surprises me that you still do not seem to understand why I like you. If you did not annoy me at all, I would find you very uninteresting. If you annoyed me too much, I would certainly find you intolerable. So you see, you annoy me just the right amount to keep me entertained. And often the times when I find you to be the most annoying are the times when I learn the most about myself. So by all means, continue to be your usual annoying self."

"You know, you're pretty annoying, too."

"Which must be why you like me as well," he said.

"That and your balls."

"Goes without saying."

"So, are we the very first couple who actually WANT to shack up together? Maybe that's all it takes to make it work."

"Empirical Hipponaur evidence suggests otherwise," he said. "True, I can think of no recent cases of two Hipponaur souls intentionally sharing one body. However, in Mourne's time, when bond mates were often in love, it was more commonplace when one of the bonded pair passed on. Evictions always occurred from within a week to a year of cohabitation."

"Rovaun, even an extra week with you will be worth it to me."

"I agree," he said, "unless at the end of the week we are at each other's throats."

"Won't happen," I said confidently. "Remember my dream - we love each other up to the very end."

"I do not wish to rely on your dream in that respect. I do not understand what the ending means, therefore it simply is not a very useful premonition. We do have a couple of things going for us, though," he said on an upbeat note. "First of all, there has never been another case of Human-Hipponaur soul cohabitation, so there is no evidence to suggest that it won't work. Second, I do not believe we ever completed bonding. My body is compatible enough to serve as host, but perhaps not enough for you to completely take over. That may explain why it is so easy for you to step outside of me, and while you are outside, it feels no differently to me than when you were alive inside your own body. Companion, I think we CAN make this work."

"We have a third thing going for as well," I said, leaning forward and kissing his mane.

"Yes," he said warmly, "we certainly have that as well, forever and always."

We emerged from the woods into a grassy meadow where Rovaun stopped to eat. Although I knew he was eating for both of us, it still made me hungry to just sit there on his back while he filled his belly.

"What does grass taste like?" I asked him.

"Come in and see for yourself," he said, lifting his head while munching away.

I stuck my head inside his briefly then pulled out again.

"Kind of dull," I said. "Greens with no dressing... is this what I have to look forward to for eternity?"

"What would you rather I eat?" he asked, sarcastically, perhaps even a bit annoyed.

"How about a big fat barbecued hamburger."

"I have never tasted one."

"You must have downloaded hundreds!"

"Yes, but without your soul to interpret, it meant nothing to me."

"In that case," I said, "let me give you the ultimate barbecued hamburger experience."

I stuck my head inside his and thought about biting into a freshly cooked, medium rare, one inch thick burger patty with lettuce, tomato, onions, and ketchup - mmmm, mm!

He spat out his cud and snorted, "That is revolting! I demand that you never eat that thing in my head again!"

"Okay, okay, okay, calm down. I keep forgetting you're an herbivore. Let's see... Oh I know you'll like this: a cinnamon roll from Stan's Donuts."

Stan's Donuts was a Mom & Pop donut shop that made the best home-made cinnamon rolls on the planet. They were fried like raised donuts, not baked, and when they were warm out of the fryer, they were Nirvana. I had just eaten one the day before my destiny changed forever, and it was still fresh in my mind. I could envision holding the steaming delight in front of me and inhaling the cinnamon aroma. Rovaun curled his lips slightly when I did so. Then I bit into the sweetly glazed doughy delight. The roll was as light as a souffle that melted in my mouth when I tore off a piece. The cinnamon filled my sinuses, causing Rovaun to snort with pleasure. He had his mouth open and eyes closed while I ate the confection, causing drool to dribble down his chin. Each bite I took caused him to bite the air and chew it slowly, savoring the flavors on his tongue and ultimately swallowing them. When the cinnamon roll was gone, I licked my fingers clean, then pulled out of his head. He opened his eyes and closed his mouth, and was humbled for a moment. I also saw that his shadow had a full erection.

"I will permit you to eat a cinnamon roll," he said. "And I would like you to show me this donut shop."

He bent down and tugged at a bunch of fresh grass and began chewing it, but it looked like it now tasted like... grass.

"I'm sorry, Companion," I said. "I didn't mean to spoil your dinner."

"Well, you did."

"Maybe I should eat another hamburger."

"NO!"

I let him eat in peace while I sunbathed naked on his back, and for once, I didn't have to worry about sunscreen. I relaxed on the back of my Companion, watching the hawks soar against a bright blue sky, broken only by white wisps of cirrus clouds. Was I finally immortal as promised? Or was this yet another false hope that Destiny was dangling in front of me before yanking it away? Only time would tell.

After about an hour, Rovaun was full and ready to go on, so I sat back up - in pain.

"Oh, man, I don't believe this!" I said.

"What is it?"

"I'm sunburned!"

"Interesting. Perhaps Destiny is punishing you for forever ruining my appetite."

"Oh yeah? Just for that, I'm going to eat something else!"

"Anything but hamburger."

"How about some horse?"

He considered, saying no, but then relented. "Oh, all right, but make it quick."

I rolled off of his back, being careful to maintain physical contact, then made my way to his rear. He was not feeling very cooperative so I knocked on his tail to get him to move it out of the way. While relaxing just now, I had remembered what Rovaun said we would be doing sometime between our 4000th and 5000th time, and I didn't feel like waiting that long.

I started by eating his ass thoroughly while massaging his sheath, and though he really wasn't in the mood, his dick couldn't help but come out and play again. Soon he finally just gave up fighting it and let himself enjoy the good time I was showing him. It was going to get a whole lot better.

This plan would take some serious body re-imaging, so I really had to think about it beforehand. Once he was fully erect, I made my move: I forced my head into his ass. He whinnied and reared up at the violation, but I kept pushing in, forcing his hole open, pressing in with my virtual head, and finally popping through passed his sphincter which then clamped tightly around my neck. His powerful lungs echoed in my ears, and told me he was dealing with his controlled rage. My re-imaged body didn't need to breathe, so I was now free to go to work. There was no light, so felt around with my nose - just as he had done to me once. Soon I found my target - his prostate. I licked it hard, causing it to spasm, resulting in a single shot of semen firing from his swollen cock. Of course I was not physically licking his prostate. But the virtual lick shorted the connection between the nerves in his brain and those in his gland, causing the muscles to contract. It wasn't a full blown psycho-orgasm, just a little one, but there were an unlimited supply of them. I licked him again, he spasmed and fired again. That was two. I licked again. Three. And again. Four. Again. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten... Seven hundred forty-eight thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine. WOW!

Then the stallion collapsed.

I broke the link and quickly re-entered his head.

"Rovaun! Are you okay?"

"Yes, Companion," he said blissfully. "I could not communicate with you to request that you offer me a respite from the unending pleasure. Falling over was the simplest way to get your attention."

"You scared the shit out of me!"

"Forgive me," he said. "That was not my intention, or maybe it was,... I feel so good right now, that I really don't care."

I emerged in front of him and sat down cross-legged. He put his head in my lap and gently nuzzled my groin, attempting to return some sort of sexual gratuity, but his battery was completely discharged, his essence literally drained from him and now feeding the grass. I stroked his head gently. He whickered and closed his eyes, deciding just to relax and enjoy the intimate closeness of two souls who cared very much for each other. He fell asleep, but I knew he was okay, because I was still awake. I thought it odd that I, too, did not feel drained. Surely we both relied on his essence for survival, but perhaps he needed more of it than I did, especially when I was outside. I suspected that if I merged into him, I, too, would fall asleep.

But it was also nice to enjoy the afternoon quietly with him this way, my lover asleep in my lap like a very, very large cat, his lungs peacefully cycling the fresh country air. Where was his soul at the moment? Was it in my lap or was it a million miles away? And how could his brain be capable of sustaining my illusion while he slept? He claimed it was full, but I was beginning to think otherwise. There were entire quadrants only now just beginning to come alive. If it didn't have to do with sunshine, grass, companionship or sex, then the field was wide open for discovery. In the wrong hands, his brain was not just a formidable weapon - it was a weapon of mass destruction. What was I thinking.

After an hour's nap, he opened his eyes.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

"Never better" he said, sitting up.

"Did my little anal foray adequately live up to your expectations of the 5000th time?"

"Indeed, Companion," he said. "What happened was very similar to what I had envisioned, which was why I did not protest much once I realized what you were up to. Though, I must admit that at the time of the vision, I had not interpreted it quite so literally."

"I'm sorry it got out of hand. It seemed like you were enjoying yourself."

"You completely drained me of seed long before I collapsed. It did not seem to make the experience any less pleasurable - I simply continued to shoot blanks. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed every one."

"But it also drained the life out of you."

"Only to the extent that it made me drowsy. Your lap makes a nice pillow, by the way."

"Can you stand up?"

"Yes. It will take a while for my testes to replenish, though, and that will drain more essence from my blood. I will be perfectly fine, as long as we do not do that again for a day or two. But I am certainly looking forward to the next time."

"Uh... maybe between the psycho and prostate attack, we should be more conservative, say, alternating weekends?"

"What is the point?" he smiled. "You'll just find other ways to drain me in the meantime."

"You're right," I laughed. "You're doomed!"

He leaned forward and kissed me.

"Can you believe this is happening to us?" I said, dearly.

"I believe what I see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and most of all, perceive. Yes, my Companion, I absolutely believe it. Unfortunately, at this rate, we will never get to Hipponaur."

"You're right. I'll knock off the shenanigans. We should go now. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, but I could use a little boost. How about eating one more cinnamon roll before we get on the road?" he asked.

"You experienced it - eat it yourself!"

"I have tried, but I cannot eat it as well as you can."

"Well, I think you've had enough for today. Too much virtual reality can't be all that healthy. I tell you what. I'll eat one for you once we get to the clique. Deal?"

"Deal!" he said, rising to his feet. I hopped onto his back and we were off again, veering back into the woods.

[End of _COMPANIONS_ Chapter 09: Heaven]

[Next in series: Chapter 10: Hell]