FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I felt your lust all the way from the desserts, and I thought I'd drop by and say hello." Shelandra sounded bright and chipper, an odd contrast to a voice Khaesho was used to hearing as laden with lust. He almost said something, but Kalokin beat him to the punch with a subtle few words to his vessels.

Translation: It's night time in the deserts and she was feeling lonely. I'm only surprised that she didn't show up earlier and ask to join us.

Kesh bit his tongue to keep from laughing, and only barely succeeded. Before her baleful eye fell upon him. To save her mate a little bit of grace, Shouyousei volunteered a tease's worth of information about what they'd done.

"Oh, you know... he didn't want you to get any wise ideas from the twisted fun we had earlier... Kalokin coiled around one of Khaesho's shafts, and slithered into... uh... me... while Khaesho kept me stuffed full."

She murmured it warmly, as she turned a little to Shelandra, smiling softly. Her ears twitched some and she nuzzled into the Goddess that she was actually growing to be quite fond of. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot, sure, but Shelandra clearly cared for the wellbeing of a certain mischievous pair. She was confident that they'd strike it off as fast friends once they'd spent a little more time together.

She was still filled with Khaesho, and hadn't moved from being knotted, so she didn't move far. A pleased rumble as she nestled against Khaesho and lied just like Kalokin would have wanted; smooth, clean, and convincing.

Nice save. Shou smiled and thought back, equally subtly. I can think on my feet sometimes.

Shelandra squealed like a teenager and all but tackled Kalokin to wind around him.

"Details!" Shou still wasn't used to the ethereal vision that she was learning to control, but she saw what she surmised to be a portion of Shelandra diving into Khaesho's mind to relive his memories. "Let me see... Oh my... Mmmm, no wonder I sensed that, it sounds like the three of you had a quite the time. You're not the first to have the idea, but I do commend you all for execution... but perhaps, you'd invite me along, next time? It iss still night time in the deserts, and I do get lonely sometimes, when all my friends are asleep and my family is off gallivanting through the world."

She said this with a pointed glance towards Kalokin, who shrugged it off with a perfect distraction.

"Actually, Sister, I wanted to ask you about something... do you think this would be at all possible?"

A brief spike of information, delivered too fast and too dense for mortal minds to comprehend. Shelandra closed her eyes and shivered down her entire length, nodding her approval immediately.

"Brother, you're my favorite insane kind of genius. I am ever so glad that you stopped..."

She halted as if she'd run into a brick wall, gave a very conspicuous glance towards Khaesho and Shou, then continued in a significantly wooden tone.

"I am glad that you finally stopped acting like a child."

Kalokin laughed at her poor attempt to cover her tracks.

"Don't worry Sis, you can say it. You're glad I stopped moping. You're glad to see me smile. I don't have anything left to hide from this pair, I told them. Everything."

"You WHAT?!? Kalokin, you of all people know what could happen if-"

"Relax! The chances of them ever talking to another Serpent are slim to none, and even so, they can keep a secret. More importantly than that, they deserved to know."

Shelandra pouted, but before she could open her mouth to point out several very valid arguments, Shou interjected into the conversation.

"I... appreciated him trusting us, not for the story behind it, but because it would help Kalokin. I care for him... and knowing his past, knowing his burdens helps me to support him where he needs it." Reaching out, she trailed her fingers along Kalokin, and then along Shelandra for a moment, a stroking pet for two ethereals that acted more like squabbling children than beings of almighty power. A soft smile before she continued. "That's what being a Vessel is about, right? He helps us, and we help him."

Shou had a valid point, one Shelandra couldn't refute without seeming uppity. She wasn't convinced, clearly, but Kalokin knew far better than her how to handle politics and intrigue, and as with many things, she just had to trust that he wouldn't make a complete hash of it. Still, she drew her head tall and adopted a regal tone.

"... fine. I will deign to forgive you, on one condition." She smiled wickedly and rubbed up against Shouyousei's fur. "Next time you plan on having fun in the early hours of the morning, you invite me along? Khaesho can vouch for my... entertainment value."

"Gee sis, I don't know. Shou is fixated on monogamous relationships, I'm disinclined to believe that she might be amicable to such an illicit endeavor."

Shelandra gave a blank look for a few moments before sighing dramatically and slithering out onto Shou's arm. "Curse you Brother, you know my grasp of Bipedal speech is poor at beast! Shouyousei, what nonsense did that wicked thing just spout?"

Shou was half caught between a smile at Kalokin's mischief and a frown at the reminder of her anxiety about her loves. She thought for a moment, then did her best to explain in small words a concept utterly foreign to the succubus. "He was saying that I am... I am the type to have only one partner, for life, to the exclusion of all others. I my society, multiple partners is a shameful thing to have. To have more than one lover labels you a whore, and ruins whatever reputation you have. I am still coming to terms with a relationship with both Kalokin and Khaesho - it is easier than I believed, but... I still feel tinges of worry, and shame."

It was the first time that Khaesho would hear her worries, fears he hadn't even considered before. He squeezed around her to comfort her as she continued. "I fret about things like this... multiple partners... Perhaps some years down the road, I will not be bothered? I'm uncertain what the future will hold. But for now, I'm... I apologize, Shelandra, I'm trying to... I'm... It makes me insecure, and afraid."

Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked ashamed, her ears splayed. A softly pained whine escaped her as she glanced down and away, anywhere but into the eyes of these three serpents who she felt like she was disappointing. Shame crawled up and gripped her heart, making her whimper a little more.

Shelandra, with her usual lack of tact, said exactly what was on her mind.

"Only one partner? For life? But that's absolutely redic-"

All sound abruptly vanished. Kalokin quickly turned and sank his fangs into Shelandra's neck, and they both disappeared to somewhere, leaving Khaesho with the now mortified Shou. Khaesho wrapped his arms around her to talk softly into her ears.

"She doesn't know any better, and she spoke from ignorance. Everything she knows and believes revolves around an entirely different way of thinking... she just needs some time to adjust to the idea that bipedal culture is different."

What he didn't mention was that he was having the same problem of culture shock. To refuse another's advances without good reason, in the desert at least, was viewed as a mark of excessive pride, that others were unworthy of their time. There was a word for them in the serpents' tongue, with the same level of negative connotation that was attached to "whore" even if it meant the exact opposite.

His hasty words weren't enough though. Her ears pinned to her head at Shelandra's words, and her heart sank to her stomach. Tears rose, and she hid her face against Khaesho's chest. Even as he wrapped his arms around her, she whined softly. Ears remained pinned firmly to her head as she trembled just a little. Her throat was tight, and she felt ill, because she knew such a thing would be a problem, if not now then later down the line.

"And... your way of living too..." Then she began to babble. "I'm afraid, Khaesho, that you'll resent me because of this, that you'll leave, that you'll find someone you care for more. In bipeds like me, it's been proven that sex and love are linked - and most cannot have sex with another without some sort of attachment, there are exceptions to this, but... for most, for me, that is how it is. And I... I don't want you to hate me for this, for my fears, and uncertainty... it isn't that others are unattractive it is that... for me... for my kind... there is nothing more intimate than devoting your life to another, your everything... it is a show of love, and to sleep with another is a betrayal. I've... I have felt that betrayal once, and I am trying so hard to not be afraid... to not... to... I've t-thought of doing something, with another, just to please you... but I worry about... how I will stand it. You saw my Soul, h-heard my deepest fears..."

Her words devolved into tears. He had heard the things that made her ugliest. If such a thing were to happen again, her spirit was still recovering - and unfortunately it left her weak. She was so afraid now that Khaesho could scent her terror, and she curled up a little against him. Face hidden and shoulders trembling.

"If you want... to g-go... to find someone... b-better... I would... I would understand..."

Khaesho stroked his hands down the broad stripe of scales running down her back, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. When he spoke, he spoke in the Serpents' Tongue, in part to remind her of what they shared, but also because it was the language he knew best. He was getting decently skilled with English, but the language of his home was his best tool to explain how he felt. Syllables flowed from his mouth without pause like sand through an hourglass, flowing with passion and truth. Shou still had her ears pinned to her head, and was even trying to curl her tail between her legs... an impossible feat, considering Khaesho was still knotted against her. She held tight to him for comfort, but as he spoke, she calmed slightly. She'd not heard him speak in the serpent's tongue, before, but somehow... she understood it. Kalokin had mentioned wiring a knowledge of sandtongue into her mind while she slept, but this was the first time she got to appreciate it. Soft words soothed her soul by just the sound of him speaking, more so from the words that his voice carried.

*Do you know, what I think of, whenever I touch your scales? They remind me, of when I almost lost you. They remind me that I beat Shelandra herself into ashes just to have even a slim chance of saving you. They remind me that you were willing to trade your body your mind, even your soul, just for a slim chance that we could one day raise a family together. They remind me that we belong to each other, more so than anyone ever has. I love you, Shouyousei, with all of my heart, my mind, and my soul. If all that I need do is abstain from the touch of another, then I might live a thousand years and still call myself exuberant to feel your hands on mine. For me, and for Kalokin, you have sacrificed your body, your mind, your name, your entire life. Let me bear this burden, so that you need not sacrifice your morals and your pride as well. I can make no promise for Kalokin... the spirits are slow to change, if they change at all, but I swear to you, I will never seek another woman's touch, and that I will spurn all such advances from another, unless you yourself, freely and wholeheartedly say that I may.*

Gone was the hesitant, stuttering snake that made her smile when he tripped over consonants. Gone was the uncertainty, the fear that any word he said might have the wrong connotations. Gone was the confusion, the mental barrier of speaking in a language he'd barely begun to discover. She barely recognized his voice, so sure, so confidant he was. He seemed strong, strong enough that she could hold to him, could anchor herself in his grasp while the tumultuous winds of her emotions pulled at her.

*I cannot lie, and say that I might never be tempted by another. I cannot lie, and say that I will not dream of the sands, of you and I with all the friends I left behind. I cannot lie, and say this will be easy, for it goes against my nature as surely as my way of life would go against yours. That said, I am willing to struggle. You have sacrificed so much of yourself for me. Let me sacrifice a little of myself for you.*

Looking up at him, there was shame in her face, tears in her eyes, and she was clearly upset. Her bottom lip was trembling slightly and her breathing trembled a little bit. More tears to rose, spilling out over her cheeks in dark furrows.

"You should not have to sacrifice anything, and I am deeply ashamed that you must sacrifice at all... But I... I will try, m-maybe not now, maybe not f-for a few years... I... I may yet be comfortable enough to... to do anything you ask... b-but... it is too much o-of a change too soon..."

It had after all, only been a little more than a week. This was a core belief, something intrinsic to her personality, something fundamental to her soul. A soul can change, but not so drastically, so quickly. Every small movement she made as she squirmed against him sent sensation racing through him, which kept him a little hard even as his knot started to deflate. Thin tendrils of lust vyed for his attention, seeking entrance into his mind, but this was not the time for that. He shook his head, barely even allowing her to finish before he spoke.

*No, don't. Do NOT try to force yourself to change for my sake. Do not try to change your own ideals in an attempt to please me. If ever you do decide that you want to try something with someone else, I want it to be because YOU want it and because YOU are happy with it, not because you think it would make me happy. It is a crime to destroy something beautiful to create something perfect. You are beautiful, so beautiful, and neither do I need, nor want you to change, if it would be only an attempt to become perfect.*

Kalokin and Shelandra had returned at some point, and quietly curled in an unobtrusive corner. Upon noticing the spiral of blue and brown, Khaesho smiled and directed Shou's attention towards them.

*Lock-who-has-no-key, and Fount-of-scorching-passion, bear witness to my words. Never shall I allow another into our arms if I do not believe that my love honestly yearns for such a presence.* Invoking a Deity's primal name was a dangerous business; they didn't take kindly to words being bandied about, and that went doubly so for oaths. That said, Shelandra was up to speed on the situation, and they answered with the gravity that the situation demanded. The undersides of Shelandra's scales glowed ember-orange, outlining every scale with the color of fire, while Kalokin's eyes shone bright, paling until they seemed to be crystals, shining from within. When they spoke, their voices seemed to ripple outwards in a wave. *We hear your oath, Knife-of-the-Moonless-Night.*

Shou was able to pick the syllables of their names from the flow of soft speech, but she recognized them as something more than just vocalizations. Khaesho winced slightly, for reasons unknown, but soon enough turned towards Shou. *Until such a day that you can honestly claim to be happy for another to join us in lust, I refuse to allow you to try and force something upon yourself.*

His trembling little mate broke down into soft tears, even as she hid her face against his chest scales. Curled against him, and aware of him still within her, but she couldn't stop the soul crushing relief. It was enough to make her break down, cry, and unable to speak at all. Her ears hung nearly limp, her shoulders trembled, and her chest heaved with her tears. It was a complete and utter breakdown. One that they had not yet witnessed as she finally allowed herself to experience the pain, and worry and to cry for it. To cry and release the tension that had sang in her bones, in her spirit, all the way to her trembling soul.

For the first time, she let the knowledge of all that had happened, all that had changed, catch up and she cried for it. Everything she had lost... They'd torched her apartment, she was listed as a missing person, she didn't know if she'd ever have the comforts of a calm life back, and she didn't even know if she'd still be able to dance with such a weighty tail. She cried for everything that had happened to both of them, for the loss of her innocence at a young age and for the dark burden that she still felt weighed upon Khaesho's soul. Until she had no more tears, and her throat burned from agony, her chest heaved with gasps as she tried to regain what little breath she could manage. All the while, she clutched Khaesho, and trembled. Unable to speak, all she could do was murmur her relief in her mind, for Kalokin and Khaesho to hear. Soft thanks, declarations of her love, and pure adoration for the pair. Kalokin had promised he would not break her heart, and now before two Gods, Khaesho had sworn before two gods that she alone could make him happy.

It released a tight band around her heart that had slowly been strangling her in fear. In her state of emotional vulnerability, she was more keenly aware of the souls rubbing up against hers: Khaesho, steadfast in his declaration, willing to bear any burden and fight the gods themselves for her. Kalokin, the trickster enigma with a cracked soul, the dark oceans of his soul calm now, peaceful as Nikolak and Kalokin both echoed Khaesho's sentiment, a quiet vow to uphold her whenever she needed an arm to lean on. And Shelandra...

From the noontime smith, she felt pain. An unfathomable, inexplicable pain that felt exactly as a polar opposite to the relief Shou felt now. She only saw it for a moment; it vanished beneath a thick blanket of thought... hidden, but not gone. Smothered, but not removed. More confusing was the fact that neither Khaesho nor Kalokin seemed to have noticed... they were focused on her, so much so that the didn't hear the quiet thought Shelandra slipped towards Shouyousei before the copperhead vanished with the sun rising over the desert.

I wish you all the happiness a mortal life may bring.

The words slipped from bittersweet lips, confusing Shou and planting a fresh seed of anxiety in her heart. Such a thing wasn't Shelandra's intention, but the wolf now believed that ocean of pain to be her fault, and this new worry gnawed at her... and would continue to do so until she figured out what exactly she'd seen.

Khaesho didn't say anything else... he didn't need to. He and Kalokin simply wrapped around her, squeezing gently and cradling her as the rush of emotion dwindled. As she stabilized, Kalokin slid a portion of his soul directly into Khaesho's, so they could speak privately.

Nice work Khaesho. She's been worrying about that ever since she learned that Snakes like to fuck in groups.

So WHY didn't you tell me about this earlier? We could have saved her a small world's worth of worrying!

Because she would have known that I told you if you raised the subject out of the blue, but also because I wanted to make sure you would be able to tell the truth when the topic came up.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Kalo, did you think I would LIE to her?

No. That doesn't mean that the truth would have been something she wanted to hear. If she had brought this up, say... back when we had just fixed her soul. Shelandra stayed to the side ONLY because she thought it was too soon, that her involvement might interfere in helping Shou. If she had asked to join, and Shou had declined, how would you have responded?

...

Your silence answers my question. I needed you to be sure of yourself before this topic came up, but more importantly, Shouyousei needed you to be sure. If you hadn't believed in every word you just said, with every fibre of your being, it wouldn't have been good enough. It might have been mostly real, with good intentions to cheer her up, but it wouldn't have mattered as much as it just did.

He pondered that for a few moments. He had just sworn off something that he believed was good, right, and healthy, and he hadn't thought twice about it. He didn't regret anything he'd said or promised, but it was curious that his outlook had so radically shifted to revolving around Shouyousei... just as her life now revolved around him. She wasn't his Srhilei, not yet... he had all the plans to make her so, but he wanted a ceremony, something grand... at least, as grand as an exile could organize. Kalokin had mentioned favors... but those were thoughts for another time.

His knot had gone down enough that he could have pulled out, if he wanted to, but he didn't want to ruin the moment. He would hold her as long as she needed to be held. Shou finally managed to get her thoughts together enough that she sent a few small thoughts to Kalokin. Her voice even trembled in her thoughts.

Kalokin, could you... can you... explain to Shelandra..? I'm not... She didn't know how to word it. She wasn't spurning the Goddess, but she wasn't comfortable with that idea either. Part of her wanted to believe that Shelandra just couldn't handle the thought that someone didn't want to bang her, but a deeper part of her knew there was more to what she'd seen than that. The chances of her welcoming another embrace were much higher than before - her entire genetic structure had changed. But more than that, she was certain to be influenced by the two males she had tied herself too. The only hang up on that, was time. And of everyone in the world, she was most likely to involve the Sun Goddess first and foremost. Why? Because she had already allowed her into her soul to watch, and feel. And because she liked her.

As she finally calmed down, finally relaxed, she reached a hand up to rub at her face. Her eyes were pained and her fur was soaked. Looking up at Khaesho, she looked a little like a scolded child. "I'm sorry, Khaesho... Shelandra is..."

I explained a little to her, Shou, but the sun is rising soon in the deserts and she wanted to return before her vessel awoke and noticed she was gone. There's a lot of metal that needs forging, she doesn't get much time off. I'll talk with her more tonight, while you both sleep and I have nothing to do.

Khaesho licked her cheek, slightly surprised by the salty flavor. He knew what tears were, but he hadn't expected them to be delicious. It brought a smile to his cheek, and he allowed himself to lick her again.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I would much rather give up a little bit of fun than see you suffer for selling your soul."

His darting tongue quested forwards again, but it was bound for her lips this time. On finding them, he kissed her, softly, sweetly. He could still taste Majoram on her tongue from his seed, but he also tasted mint, and the heavy, spicy flavor mixed with the piercing, cold one to create something... perfect. Just like they did. Alone, they had been nothing but a Snake and a Wolf, each looking for something, but together? This was beautiful. It wasn't perfect, but the joy was in chasing that ideal, not attaining it.

I don't want her sad, I don't mind her paling around in my head whenever she wants to feel loved... but I need to... I will... I thank you, Kalokin.

Her eyes closed, and tilted her head, tongue swept against his and she kissed him. Deep and passionate as she pulled back once she ran out of breath, panting against his lips and offering a small, loving smile.

"I still... I feel badly, I am sorry. I feel selfish, and childish, but I..." A few more tears fell, and then she kissed him back. Arms wrapped around his neck, clutching him in desperation. Trying to convey the love, and warmth, and happiness she had at being with him.

"My life is perfect with you and Kalokin."

His hands found her hair, tangling his fingers in the shock of purple.

"I love you, Shouyousei, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving it."

Touched, her heart was full to overflowing, and more tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, but it was happiness that prompted it this time. Smiling gently to him as she kissed and nuzzled against him.