FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

[i]"HURRY!"[/i]

[i]"Wh-where do we go?!"[/i]

[i]"TO THE SKYLANDS QUICKLY!"[/i]

[i]he saw darkness once. the sky would come to bleed on his face.[/i]

[i]"What happened?!"[/i]

[i]"He's badly wounded, quick carry him!"[/i]

[i]"I-i am not big enough to carry him!"[/i]

[i]"I know one of you who is!"[/i]

[i]"Find him, NOW!"[/i]

[i]he heard their voices fading in and out. he tasted the blood on his lips. the sky took his breath away as darkness came twice.[/i]

[i]"HELP, H-HELP PLEAAAAAASE!"[/i]

[i]"Wh-what happened, what is-o-OH GOD! ODDIE?! ODDIIIEE!?"[/i]

[i]"HE NEEDS SURGERY NOW, PLEASE HELP HIM!"[/i]

[i]"WH-who the bloody hell are you?!"[/i]

[i]that smell came back to him again. cold and chemical. he used to hate that smell but now it reminded him of many friends. strange friends. strange love.[/i]

[i]"Pulse is one-forty!"[/i]

[i]"Pressure's eighty and sixty-eight!"[/i]

[i]"Please, p-please I beg of you, d-do not let him die!"[/i]

[i]"We will do everything we can, just stay back and let us work."[/i]

[i]so cold. he knew the cold was bad for him, bad for his tribe. the skylands had been cold, so high in the world far above the warmth. how could those creatures live without freezing to death? he hoped to ask them one day.[/i]

[i]"He's flatlining!"[/i]

[i]"CLEAR!"[/i]

[i]fire.[/i]

[i]"...no response."[/i]

[i]"CLEAR!"[/i]

[i]he never felt fire like this before.[/i]

[i]"Still flatlining."[/i]

[i]"Come on Oddie for FUCK'S sake don't give up! CLEAR!"[/i]

[i]his heart was burning as his friends began to fade. voices lost in darkness. he saw his brother's face before he fell into the sea. he saw the face of eyeclaw gasp his last breath whilst cradled in his arms. he saw his mother's face, huge wide eyes behind a thick looming snout as tiny hands reached up to grab her nostrils. he smelt his brother barkclaw deeply aroused on top of him, nervous but excited the first time they made love, feeling his soft tongue against his cheek. he felt the claws of flyers snatch round his shoulders and lift him high, seeing his two older brothers watch in outrage as fear clutched his heart amidst the squawking cackle of fiendish beasts above him.[/i]

[i]then he saw moonclaw. her face wracked in guilt, tortured with agony from her tightened neck as she screamed at him, howled in sobbing rage as he struggled to fight against her grief. It was the same voice he had heard echoing in the deep cavern. he smelled her nearby. the scent of ash. burning like his heart.[/i]

[i]"WE GOT A PULSE!"[/i]

[i]"YES! Yes, alright, keep going."[/i]

[i]the visions faded once again. the darkness was warm as he felt hands inside him. thin hairless fingers he had known and always found so strange and yet so soothing. he imagined them to be jeremy's clutching his heart, feeling his beat become stronger with each passing minute. the warmest creature he had known, one whose heart always soothed him, his scent so rich with musk and his words so strange had become an alien lullaby. the light returned to him.[/i]

[i]"Oddclaw? Oddclaw, are you awake?"[/i]

The first faces he saw were all human, leaning back in a simple bed surrounded by green faded walls. Jane, Kevin and Jeremy stood over him with red burning eyes still wet with tears as Holt put a hand shakily to his lips. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, trapped between with a cragged uneased smile of cautious hope whilst Jane put both hands over her mouth. Kevin only swaggered with infinite confidence, hands splayed out with a rancher's walk as he chuckled deeply.

"Hhhhaaaahahahahahaa, ohohohhhh dinomigo you had us going there."

"What..." His eyes blinked seeing they had the collars on their necks but he responded still in their words. "How, did I get here?"

"Th-the flyers," mumbled Jane struggling to restore composure, "they...h-hhhhh, they f-found you on the coast west of them, along with your brother, Moonclaw and your new friends."

"Friends? ....wha-PUCK!" He shot up until his stomach lurched with a violent pain that forced him in spasms to fall back. "Where is he-AA-AAARGH NNNNGH!"

"Hey-ey take it easy fer fuck's sake!" shouted Holt pressing a hand to the raptor's shoulder to keep him steady. "Been bloody stabbed you don't just get up an' fucking walk after that!"

"S-stabbed?"

He looked down at himself. Bandages wrapped round his lower body with the trace spots of red bleeding minutely as an afterthought as his memory came back to him. Shock briefly spurred through his gut in remembering the cold steel that ripped through his intestine, hard and rancid with a sickening cleave as he struggled not to vomit.

"You were stabbed righ' through," explained Holt closest to him, "yer buddies brought you back by strappin' you onto this HUGE thing that went flyin' over to our base-"

"Quetzalcoatlus," added Jane with a calmer voice and a heavy sigh of relief, "Freya, miss Crescent, explained everything and as for her student Puck he is now recovering after I examined him concerning his psychological break."

"Wh-where is...Moonclaw?" asked Odd turning his head towards the window to his right.

"She's waiting for you out there," said Kevin pointing at said window, "Fishclaw didn't come in, said he wasn't fond of being in buildings."

"Ah. Yes, he was young when my family were-nnnnngh...k-kap...tchoored, yes."

"Are you feeling alright, any pains still going?"

"My stomach hurts. Burning."

"That's what happens when we dig around inside trying to seal up any wounds." Kevin walked closer with his metallic legs clinking softly next to the bed structure, pulling up the covers slightly to note the incidental red seepage. "We'll have to keep you in for a few weeks just to make sure you won't have any complications. Also no physical activity or heavy lifting for those few weeks until we say you're all good."

"Yes...thank you. You...s-saved my life."

"Not just me, you should thank Moonclaw, Freya who did up a pretty good suture, Fishclaw and uh this other one they mentioned, said was like a crocodile girl?"

"Frozentongue," added Jane with finger raised like a good student, "don't know what genus she would be but Freya mentioned her."

"Either way you are safe after six hours of operating...almost lost you once."

"Not under mah bloody watch," snarled Holt with a creeping sneer across his lips, "Death's gonna hafta take a swing at ME first before ah let his bastard guts have ya next."

"I promised Moonclaw I would not die," said Oddclaw with certain fact and a solemn grin of unfocused eyes, "I never break promises."

"Hmhahaha, spoken lahk a true soldier."

The veteran leaned over close to give the raptor a smooch, first on the head before Oddclaw raised his lips to kiss him straight with a blush to his own cheeks. Kevin giggled with a shake of his head whilst Jane couldn't help but smile in relief with her plam cupped neatly across her chin.

"Well," she started to make her exit, "if you're alright now I have to get back to looking over our prince."

"Alright," he nodded smiling, "can I see Moonclaw?"

"Of course, I'll bring her in before I leave."

She stepped out of the small recovery room as the raptor female walked in carefully. Her muscles relaxed with a sigh of relief at seeing him smile at her from his bed, the two human males nodding with the same expression.

"Yer boy done good," said Jeremy, "no need to fret yerself pet."

[i]"Hohhh...th-thank goodness...a-are you alright?"[/i]

[i]"I am fine,"[/i] replied Odd with a beckoning hand to her, [i]"are you?"[/i]

[i]"I...n-now I am. I thought I...I-i...um...can you both leave, for a while, I want to speak to him alone."[/i]

"No prob," replied Kevin with hands up, "we'll just tell the boss our good news, you two take your time."

The humans walked out as Moonclaw carefully sidestepped past them in the narrow room and walked over towards her mate's side. The bed smelt strange and like him she found the chemical scent a cold cloying stench that made her wrinkle her nostrils sharp.

[i]"Are you in pain?"[/i] she asked first.

[i]"Somewhat,"[/i] he said nodding, [i]"the hairless healed me but my body is weak they said, so I must stay with them until I fully recover."[/i]

[i]"But, you WILL recover yes?"[/i]

[i]"I will."[/i]

His smile widened causing her to break, shivering gasps of hot whimpering sobs as she pressed her snout to his in fits of joyful tears.

[i]"H-h-h-hoh...o-oh Oddclaw...I...I-i thought...I thought you would-"[/i]

[i]"I know."[/i] He slipped one arm round her neck to pull her into a gentle hug. [i]"I am sorry I made you worry."[/i]

[i]"D-do not say that, you...you worry about me when you almost d-died!?"[/i]

[i]"I thought I did."[/i] He pulled himself back with a weary neck slipping down into the pillow. [i]"Do you know what I saw, when they were healing me?"[/i]

[i]"Wh-...what?"[/i] she asked still with a touch of fear in her breathy chest.

[i]"I saw my family. I saw mother, I saw my brothers...but then I saw you. I saw your face screaming from the day you told me about your family...and I remembered I made a promise to you. To not leave you."[/i]

[i]"I-i remember...but...b-but-"[/i]

[i]"I meant what I said Moonclaw. I will never leave you. Unless you want me to."[/i]

[i]"N-no...no I never want...to leave you again."[/i]

She stepped closer to lick across his head, slipping her tongue towards his neck to taste his warm skin as he stroked her cheek.

[i]"I realised...when I was so close to losing you that I never...never want to lose you again."[/i]

[i]"I would feel the same, if it had been you."[/i]

[i]"......do you...do you still want to have children with me?"[/i]

The grey older raptor pulled herself back, staring into his green eyes with her porous red pupils.

[i]"Yes,"[/i] said Oddclaw nodding, [i]"I do...wait, do you...do you want to?"[/i]

[i]"I used to be afraid, more than anything else, of destroying the new family that I would have with the cruelty I believed still remained in my heart. But then you...almost died and I realised that that was my new greatest fear."[/i]

She stifled the shuddering whimpers in her throat for a few seconds to calm herself, closing her eyes and bowing head.

[i]"You have done so much in a few days and nights, chasing after a beast you never knew all to keep him safe, and you even gave your life for your brother when that same beast plunged his longstone through you...I have never known a hunter like you. And a part of me knows that I never will again. I trust you. Because I cannot trust myself."[/i]

[i]"What do you mean?"[/i] he asked softly lifting his body to sit up against the bed.

[i]"I want...to have a family with you. Only you. Because I know that whatever happens, you will stop me. You will help me. You...you can save me. From whatever fear I have inside me."[/i]

Her voice became softer with each sentence, muting whispers as if in a sacred realm as she pressed her head against his until their snouts touched equally. His eyes closed as did hers, larger still than him but feeling so much smaller than her wounded mate in that moment.

[i]"I will do everything,"[/i] said Oddclaw still eyes closed, [i]"to protect our family. You and our children, until the day we die."[/i]

[i]"I know you will. I know now you will Oddclaw. I want you. I only want you."[/i]

[i]"Then let us become one. Once I am healed we can begin our family...though it is a shame that," he pulled back with a wry smirk, "it is the mating season now and I will have to force you to wait."[/i]

[i]"Hahaha, are you THAT eager already?!"[/i]

[i]"My mind is willing, but the body is soft and weak."[/i]

[i]"Like a stonefish's cock?"[/i] she bantered with a fiendish smirk.

[i]"They HAVE those?!"[/i] he gasped.

[i]"Well, your sisters know...TOO much about some creatures' bodies."[/i]

[i]"Ohhhhh please do not, nooooo,"[/i] he whined with a hand over his eyes, [i]"please tell me they do not put them up your vent."[/i]

[i]"Oh no, they stopped that now. But they still like to tease stonefish in other ways."[/i]

[i]"That is disgusting!"[/i]

[i]"Says the one that breeds his brother!"[/i]

[i]"He is the same beast as me at least!"[/i]

[i]"And what about your hairnosed friend hmmmmm?!"[/i]

Oddclaw's eyes widened with a stuttering blush, gently scratching his head with a simpering smile.

[i]"I...I-i-i-i...oh...okay you win."[/i]

[i]"And let us not forget Frozentongue trying to woo you,"[/i] she added with a silly headrolling motion.

[i]"Oh come on I was just teasing you like you tease me!"[/i]

[i]"Hahahahha, I know...hmmm...well...when the next cycle comes, we shall begin yes?"[/i]

[i]"Yes,"[/i] said Oddclaw with a sigh of relief as he slipped back into the pillows to rest. [i]"My dearest mate."[/i]

Whilst the two raptors planned their future, Jane was sitting in her office writing up notes whilst Freya sat opposite of her with fingers drumming out on the desk.

"Right," said Addison at last, "I uhm...well, please bear in mind this is a preliminary observation."

"I understand," said Freya nodding.

"Are you not...rather warm in that whole outfit?"

"It's well ventilated. So what are your findings on Puck's mental state?"

"Well...firstly I should tell you that I would not normally discuss a patient's details with another person."

"That is fair, however I am his guardian legally and as such I must know whatever condition he has so I can help him cope. You do not have to tell me what you two discussed, just tell me if his mind is now stable."

"Well, stable is not really a word one can use with the mind, everyone's mind operates differently." She carefully flipped through her notes to memorise the keywords she put in. "What I can tell you is that he is most likely suffering from a borderline-personality disorder where he genuinely believes that his weapon 'talked' to him, and that he was followed by a young boy called Robin who wore a very specific set of clothing which he was adamant about. I wanted to discuss a few things concerning his family."

"I knew them well," said the burmecian with hands clasped in a business-like manner whilst sitting up more straight, "ask me whatever you wish."

"Did anyone in his family suffer from bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia or attention-deficit-hyperactive-disorder?"

"No, certainly not."

"Hmmm...well he is coherent now, and whilst ridden with guilt he at least admits that 'Robin' is no longer present and he disposed of his weapon once he realised that it was, according to him, possessing him. How long had he had that weapon for?"

"Seven years I believe," the dragoon leaned back in slight rememberance, "Puck found it whilst we were scouting in the South Gate region. I assumed it was a relic of the war, a terrible rusted blade but surprisingly despite its dullness it never broke, and also remained as sharp as the day it had first been honed presumably."

The therapist jotted down her statement and looked up without lifting her head to ask in a guarded tone:

"When did your student first start to...change his personality?"

"Around five months ago," said Freya with a firm nod.

"What happened, did he ever mention anything, did he sleep well?"

"No, he was constantly plagued by nightmares every once so often, perhaps a few weeks apart. I thought it was perhaps his mind was so sensitive to our missions, fighting monsters and dealing with small forces."

"You are mercenaries then?"

"Knights, dragoons of Burmecia."

"Ahhhh, I see." Jane scribbled more down with understanding nod and a slight poke of her tongue with the pencil. "How does he fare when fighting against other living creatures?"

"He's been well-trained for the past twenty years."

"That's...not what I asked miss Crescent, a soldier can still suffer psychological trauma regardless of how long they serve."

"Yes...of course, my apologies," Freya leaned forwards whilst pressing her thumbs together, "his Highness is surprisingly capable of handling violence, possibly due to the conflict of war that took his father when he was fourteen, which in turn he was a survivor of when a neighbouring kingdom massacred a colony they were hiding in."

"I see...how did he cope after that?"

"I am not certain...I admittedly had to thrust him into the role of dragoon for the sake of becoming a capable ruler of our kingdom as next in line to the throne."

"That must have put a lot of pressure on him."

"He never seemed to fit into royal means, always he wanted to live as a pauper, so eventually the monarchy was disestablished into forming a parliament...some of our people do hope that he can take up the throne, including myself, but I also understand that I cannot force him if he wishes to live by a commoner's means."

"So he was never put under social pressure to succeed?" asked Jane with almost accusing tone.

"I..." Freya stiffened her poise with raised snout in a challenge before she checked herself, slowly sinking back in a mutual submission. "I will admit that there are many who wish for him to return to the throne...including me."

"I see. So why did he become your student then, if he did not want to be part of royalty?"

"Because he wished to defend himself, he was awestruck by the tales of chivalry that my friends and I had set during the War of 1800. Once he grew out of his rebellious phase he wanted to make something of himself as a protector of the realm, instead of becoming a king. He always enjoyed putting his hands into the dirt...perhaps there's still a boy inside him that wants to be an adventurer and knowing I walked the breadth of the land he hoped being a dragoon would give him freedom and focus."

"Perhaps..." Addison flipped through to the last page of her notes on one final thing. "He claims that he killed a black mage, is that correct?"

"I...believe he has yes," said Freya regretfully casting her head down. "He was...crying out in his madness that he thought it was his best friend he had murdered, when in actual truth it was someone else."

"So, he HAS killed someone, an innocent?"

"Yes. I have been trying not to believe it but the evidence points to him."

"From what he has explained to me, I genuinely believe that he was not in a proper state of mind for the past few months, if you must take him to court you can plea on grounds of insanity."

"That is what I plan to do yes. He cannot avoid this."

"Is there anything I can do to ease this?"

"No, but thank you." Freya stood up and smoothed out her coat. "If it is alright with you, I wish to remain here not only to allow him a place of safety to prepare himself, but also to make sure that Oddclaw has recovered."

"Well, that is up to Major-General Brightman so you should ask him first."

Jane stood up second to offer her hand to shake. The dragoon took it politely and shook with courteous bow as the human added:

"Not gonna lie, this job gets bloody weirder each year."

"Hmhm is that right?" replied Crescent smirking.

"Well I mean last year we had a dog and a rabbit who were detectives, now I have a...what was it, barmecian?"

"BURmecian, yes. I am honestly surprised more that you are humans and yet not from my world."

"You can clear things with the Major-General if you want to learn more about us. Shame we didn't meet under better circumstances."

"Indeed doctor Addison."

After a lengthly discussion concerning Puck's options, one thing they decided to do first and foremost was to bring him to Oddclaw and clear the air of his most recent grievance. The raptor was nervous admittedly at seeing the sullen youth approach in his teal coat, his face the picture of a haggard old war veteran somehow more aged than Holt looked who stood close to Oddie as a bodyguard of sorts. Freya gently nodded to her pupil with permission to step forwards whilst Jane observed in the now-cramped recovery room.

"I...I-i'm sorry," began Puck. "I wasn't...I don't know what happened to me, I know something was wrong with me and I wasn't able to control myself...but I'm still responsible for what I did."

"I un-derstand," said Oddclaw tense but slightly lifting his body up against the bedrest, "You had a scent of...someone different on you when we fought, I know that you...were not yourself. Are you alright now?"

"Yeah...well, no, I feel...like, I woke up after a long night of drinking through six pubs. But I don't feel like the stuff I had before is...with me anymore."

"Alright. I hope you feel better soon."

The raptor offered his hand with a weak wrist, slightly wincing but gritting his teeth politely as Puck stepped closer to shake his hand. The two smiled softly as there came a sense of relief untensing throughout the room. Then something changed in Puck's eyes as a blank stare swept over him.

"He...knows...he knows about you."

"What?"

"The voice that called me, he knows...he wants your skin, he wants it back."

"Wh-what are you-a-aah!"

He tightened his grip hard as Oddie winced, hearing a voice shake through the prince's throat that felt somewhat alien to his own.

"[i]He took your skin once before, and now he wants it back. He will have his skin, he will have his cloak...don't. Don't let him take you back, or any of your family's skin, or else...we will all [b]suffer.[/b][/i]"

"Wh-what, let go!"

"[i]Three, now, [b]remain.[/b][/i]"

Puck finally released, stumbling back against the wall and falling to the floor as Holt lurched forwards in case he tried to fight as Jane put a hand across his chest. The young student's eyes began welling up with tears, sniffling sobs as he clasped his hands fearfully against his twitching snout. He rocked himself softly with a choking sound and shivering fingers on his skin.

"You alright?!" asked Jeremy to his friend.

"Y-yes," replied Odd, "he was...s-saying something and squeezed my hand."

"I'm sorry," said Jane helping up the frightened rodent, "I thought, I thought it would help him move past his issues."

"I am fine Jane. He is sick, I un-derstand he needs help."

"Come on...let's have you lie down someplace."

The doctor and the dragoon guided Puck back to his room amidst shuddering tears that dropped down his coat with hands still covering his shameful face.

A few days would pass as the human base became a hive of activity surrounding the newcomers who marvelled with fascination at the steel sleek walls with shimmering laboratories and advanced weaponry that relied on either bullets or lasercraft, as well as the gaggle of robots that went swishing round to constantly repair or finetune things. Puck felt out of place more than anything, lumbering his body round with sluggish steps and sleeping heavily with eyes drained of energy and his tail limp between his legs. Freya kept by his side except for when Jane had appointments with him to allow the student some privacy in his slow therapy sessions.

The hands of the clock would pass where he cried and raged, burning himself out to exhaustion with purest frustration and inner thoughts, most of which Freya was not privy to unless Jane considered it to be especially important to include her with Puck's permission beforehand. During this Oddclaw remained in bed, reading books that Jeremy brought from the library, as well as bring in a TV and DVD player sometimes for them to watch and pass the time with movies. The raptor's family was informed by Fishclaw who went back home but Moonclaw stayed with her own room as something of a VIP status to keep Oddclaw company occasionally. The burmecians were given civilian access like any visitor, but Puck was kept under observation sometimes during his downer days with the help of surveillance bots hiding minutely, just in case. No further incidents would occur and soon there came two new visitors that Jane introduced.

"Oddiiiiie, I have a surprise for youuuu."

"Hmmm?!"

He sat up more fully with his lower gut wound now no longer bleeding the slightest, as his surprise came in the form of a silver-green robot and a mottled-brown velociraptor.

[i]"B-...Barkclaw! Stonevoice!"[/i]

[i]"B-brother!"[/i] Barkclaw rushed towards his side and vigorously licked his face like a two-month old puppy.

[i]"A-AAAH, s-stop B-barkclaw how did you-"[/i]

[i]"I-i was, I was worried, I-i came for you!"[/i]

[i]"You...wait, but...how did you get here?"[/i]

[i]"The stoneflyer!"[/i]

Oddclaw pulled back with a look of shock and the sense of growing admiration that swelled in his heart.

[i]"But you, hate the stoneflyer, you actually came here on it yourself?"[/i]

[i]"Y-yes, with Stonevoice,"[/i] rabbled Bark full of excitement to the point of hopping, [i]"i-it, it was scary but, he, helped me, I was frightened but I, wanted to, see you."[/i]

[i]"Oh...ohhhh I am so proud of you, come here brother!"[/i]

He hugged him once again round the neck whilst Barkclaw lapped across his neck and shoulder. Once they pulled back again Odd looked over him towards Dronin standing still at the doorway.

[i]"Thank you for looking after him,"[/i] he said to the bot.

[i]"Not necessary,"[/i] he replied with a wave of his single hand, [i]"my reasons for coming were not just for your sake, I admit I was curious to meet Freya once more."[/i]

[i]"Oh, well she is still here if you want to speak with her."[/i]

"I can take you to her," replied Jane with her translator-collar still on, "why don't we let these two boys catch each other up by themselves?"

Dronin nodded in agreement and said his goodbye to Barkclaw who gleefully sat on the floor next to the bed.

[i]"I like this place!"[/i] said the brown brother.

[i]"Really, why?"[/i]

[i]"I like being inside. No skyfire, nice sounds, like the one that goes mmmmMMMMMmmmmMMMmmmmm-"[/i]

[i]"Hhhahahahaha...well, if you like being here, I can take you with me when I have to come here, if you can handle the stoneflyer again."[/i]

[i]"YES, YES!"[/i] squeaked Barkclaw with a bouncy chirrup like an eagle mimicking a finch. [i]"SO, I found a new crawler two days ago, it looked like blood and it likes being around the poisonfruits!"[/i]

[i]"Ooooh that is new,"[/i] replied Odd politely as he shifted his rump under the sheets. [i]"You did not eat it right?"[/i]

[i]"No, no it smells odd, it smells like the sea! I call it a seabloodcrawler."[/i]

[i]"Good name, an odd name for an odd crawler."[/i]

[i]"And then, it started eating the poisonfruit with its small teeth and was sucking the water out of it!"[/i]

[i]"Really??? I have never known anything to eat the poisonfruit!"[/i]

[i]"Until now! I will show you when you are home!"[/i]

Whilst the two raptors nattered away about strange insects, the robotic mantis soon met up with Freya once again at the library. Sitting on a chair reading "Animal Farm", the dragoon struggled to turn her gaze from the short story.

"Oh! We meet again sir Dronin."

"I am glad to speak with you again," said the robot politely curtsying, "how is your student?"

"Recovering...the process is slow but at the very least we can restore his balance somewhat. Did you come all this way to speak with me?"

"Partially, but also to bring Oddclaw's brother for the two to see each other." Dronin sat with his hydraulic legs whirring quietly into a lotus position. "I must admit that I wanted to speak with you concerning some things."

"Well, I am honoured," said Freya putting a bookmark in her reading to place aside, "what do you wish to speak of?"

"I was curious of these golems you spoke of in our first meet, and as to the questions you gave me concerning my sentience."

"Ah. I am sorry if I was rude on such-"

"No no, I am not offended. I understand I am not organic, and that the nature of the soul is an ever-constant riddle that those such as myself constantly undo the answers of."

"Well, concerning that a friend of mine once told me something."

She removed her helm showing her medium-length silver hair and turquoise eyes past her rodent snout.

"He said that 'life doesn't last forever. That is why we have to help each other and live life to the fullest'."

"That, is precisely what I believe," chirruped Dronin with a bow of his hat, "even though longevity is not an issue concerning me or my kind, there are others around us who are not so fortunate. You have seen my brethren, roaming the base, fixing and improving, always working because they enjoy having a purpose. Because they, like me, realise that someone must protect this world, long after you organics have gone."

"You are becoming caretakers of the world?"

"Yes. Our former master was an ogre who ransacked forests and gouged the earth for his own greed with disregard to those who would suffer in a barren world after he may pass away. Those of us who rebelled realised that, and so we tried to find a balance between our mechanical waste-productive selves and the natural-forming cycle of the earth. Hence..."

He tapped his solar helm with a gentle tink of his metal finger before lifting his head fully to reveal his mandibled face.

"My helm was built for me to become powered by the sun's light, to replace the original power source that I had of a most cruel nature."

"And what source was that? Mist?"

"No, a living creature."

The dragoon looked shocked with a hand almost clasped to her chest.

"A...a living being?"

"A wild creature, I cannot recall what it was but those such as me converted to a more economical source of power, for the first step in our peaceful resolution was to release our first and original captives from inside us. Bodies imprisoned within our own, hearts that never belonged to us, souls that were stolen to become our burning fuel against both our wills."

"How...how horrible." She shook her head with a clenching fist at such thoughts. "What barbaric monster could even...hhhhm, well, I am glad to see you and your kind have freed those poor beasts from such imprisonment."

"I am sorry to have upset you," said the praying mantis, "your questions concerning the golems of your world reminded me of this."

"No, it is fine. But, does this not upset you?"

"I wish that it did. But, I am different from the other badniks for I seem to have a defective emotion chip. I cannot feel emotion, which according to doctor Addison is a sign of sociopathy, and yet I am well aware of morality and I have made a choice to not commit acts of selfishness to further my own agenda."

"So your actions are not guided by emotion like us...organic creatures?"

"I do not believe so. But there is something in me that refuses to commit acts that are considered to be evil or unjust and, I cannot tell what processor of mine is inhibiting that. Without emotion I would have thought that I lack empathy, that I would have become a selfish creature and yet...I have become friends with Oddclaw's brother because I sense a connection. What do you think?"

Dronin swept out his hand as if scattering salt across the ring of a duel.

"Did the golems of your world suffer this issue too?"

"Ahhh...I see now why you wanted to speak with me."

Freya leaned back and rubbed her head trying to best comprehend this moral quandary, before clasping her hands together in silent prayer.

"I remember the black mages, the golems that is, in that despite having been born from unnatural means, they were able to feel what is right and wrong, what is good and terrible by their own experiences and I feel that perhaps you are the same. We may not know truly what the soul is, but we know what is good and what is evil, and if you are able to know those two things, then that is all you ever need to live a life."

"Hmm...it is true that is all one needs to live a good life...but I do wonder if...perhaps...hm, never mind you are right." His eyes furrowed slightly with a soft hydraulic sound in trying to analyse his thoughts. "Thank you for taking time to speak with me."

"I am glad to help."

"May I confess something however?"

"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow pensive.

"I admit that my...true reason to meet you again was to reconfirm something."

"And what is that?"

"You...remind me of-"

[i]"Maurice?"[/i]

[b][i]He smelled the fields of corn.[/i][/b]

[i]"What is that?"[/i]

[b][i]Machines burned oil on his face.[/i][/b]

[i]"Run."[/i]

[b][i]Screams.[/i][/b]

[i]"ELLEN!"[/i]

[i]"P-PLEASE NOOOO!"[/i]

[b][i]Darkness and blight.[/i][/b]

[i]"Run...p-please, run-[/i]

[b][i]Salt bled from his eyes.[/i][/b]

[i]"You...belong to ME now."[/i]

[i]"WHERE IS MY SON!? [b]WHERE IS HEEEEE?![/b]"[/i]

"Dronin? Dronin!"

His mind came back to him, softly whirring from its sleep mode as he looked around himself confused.

"Are you alright?" asked Freya with a hand on his cold steel shoulder. "You stopped talking suddenly, you said that I reminded you of...something?"

"I...forgive me." Dronin stepped back clasping his hand upon his face. "I discovered a malfunction occurring within my parietal unit. I must take my leave unfortunately, farewell madame Crescent."

"Alright then."

Walking back to where Oddie and Barkclaw would be, Dronin stepped with uncertain pace as he tried to scan his mind for any illegal actions occurring. Nothing appeared to be amiss, but he would decide to do a deep scan later on once him and Barkclaw returned back to the Hunter's Nest. Then he felt something. Something moist upon his steel carapace.

He touched his face. There, he found tears upon his cheek.

It was not long after that both burmecians would leave the base, with gratitude to the humans as well as their final goodbyes to Dronin and Oddclaw, who was now hobbling out of bed on the road to recovery. Freya stood outside the base's perimeter with her sunken-faced student who looked towards the ground with shuffling despondent feet.

"Take care Freya," said Oddclaw shaking her hand, "I hope everything goes okay back home."

"I hope so too," said the knight bowing before putting her hand around Puck's shoulders, "we are grateful to you for everything you and your friends have done."

"I only wish we could have done more," said the robot with a final bow, "be safe both of you."

"Are you ready, Oberon?"

"Y-yeah," muttered the hidden prince, "I'm...I'm ready to go back home."

"I will never leave you. I promised that yes?"

"I know. Thank you Freya."

He pulled her into a hug that surprised her as she wrapped her arms around him. He nuzzled her chest as she stroked his head, waiting for their return as Jane radio'd to Andrea for the gate to open. The sky tore open as they both stared up into the void, a crackling synergy that flecked the air with lashing tongues of static space. The two nodded to each other and leapt high towards it, jumping back into their world with the strength of dragoons carrying them home as the swirling darkness between worlds sealed itself shut behind them. Jane carefully thumbed her lip, biting the nail with her teeth in cautious thoughts.

"I hope they'll be alright."

"They will be fine," said Dronin of steel confidence, "miss Crescent is a studious creature, she will not abandon him."

"Yes...right, now let's get you back to bed Oddie."

"Mmmmm okayyyyy," said the raptor with a sigh.

"I know it's boring in that room but if you want to be all well-rested for Moonclaw you'll have to."

"Mmmhhhh...can I watch more moovees with Jeremy?"

"Of course you can, what would you like?"

"I want to watch Die Hard again! IT WAS VERY FUN-O-OWWW AAAAGH!"

Oddclaw made a sudden turn of his body which caused his muscles to wince as Jane and Dronin held onto his arms and gently moved him back inside with the therapist adding:

"If you start acting like that I won't let you watch movies if it's going to make you all excited."

"I-i am sorry, AAAGH!"

"Just...bloody calm down alright, don't want to disappoint your mate right?""

"O-okay, sorry."

"AH, reminds me actually, since you are planning on becoming a father...well..."

She brought out a cup from her pocket which Oddclaw sniffed at.

"It is empty."

"Yes, well uhm...I wanted to help you make sure you are at your most fertile, so I will need um aaaa...a sample."

"Sarm-pul?" asked the raptor.

"She needs some of your seed," said Dronin bluntly much to her blushing grimace, "so as to make sure it is healthy."

"M-my...seed?!" He recoiled slightly but only just before he could wince again. "Wh-why do you need it, I am not mating with you!"

"N-NO god Oddie," stammered Jane, "I just need you to fill this cup with your seed so I can analyse it and make sure you're all clear so that way you'll be at your most fertile to have children!"

"Oh...I see. O-okay, thank you, should I give you it now-"

"NO, please!" She pulled his hand away from his shorts. "You can do it after you've recovered and when you have some privacy...also just to make sure you have enough for your mating, no sex with Jeremy until after the mating season."

"[i]WOT?![/i]" The voice of a fierce welshman burst out from the doors of the base. "HE CAN BLOODY WELL 'AVE ME WHEN HE LIKES!"

"JEREMY PLEASE!"

"AH WILL NOT STAND FER THIS, THIS IS DISCRIMINATION!"

"STOP AIRING YOUR LAUNDRY OUT IN PUBLIC WE DON'T NEED TO HEAR THIS!"

"AH BEG TO DIFFER, I'M HERE AN' QUEER AN' YER GONNA BLOODY WELL LIKE IT!"

[i]"Is this a problem for you?"[/i] asked Dronin politely to the raptor.

[i]"No,"[/i] murmured Oddclaw, [i]"but I agree with Jane, I have to be certain that I will be fertile enough for when Moonclaw and I mate."[/i]

[i]"I will help you with that, as a stonebeast I have many eyes that can help judge your health."[/i]

[i]"Thank you."[/i]

The robot helped Oddclaw in whilst Jane and Jeremy argued with bickering pointed fingers at the side of the door. Everyone around them felt incredibly awkward by this as the guards decided to just ignore them and watch their shoes.

Ten months had passed since Freya's departure. The night was a clear pristine blanket of stars as the moon shone high in a crescent wane. Down upon the shores of the lake, whilst most of the raptors had fallen asleep huddled between families, Moonclaw watched her namesake smiling from above as she took a deep breath. The monsoon season would begin again soon as she smelt the brimming heat of southern winds rush past her face. But she was happy for the scent of someone else came behind her.

[i]"Are you ready?"[/i] asked Oddclaw from her right.

[i]"Yes."[/i] She turned her head towards him with ruby eyes glinting of la lune. [i]"I am surprised that I could be."[/i]

[i]"If you are not certain, we do not have to-"[/i]

[i]"No."[/i] Moonclaw took another breath and eased her muscles with a warming smile to her mate. [i]"I want this. I need this. I need you."[/i]

[i]"Alright."[/i]

[i]"You...you realise this was the place I first told you about my family yes?"[/i]

[i]"I do."[/i] He placed his hands upon her cheeks before softly licking her lips. [i]"I want this place not to be where you remember your family, but where we shall begin OUR family. Is that alright?"[/i]

[i]"I...y-yes."[/i] She licked him back with a shuddering breath. [i]"I hope I can...I know I am old and...not as fertile as other females so I...will our family still be strong even from my tired womb?"[/i]

[i]"I do not care if they are strong or weak."[/i] He bent her head down towards his and pressed their foreheads together. [i]"All I want is for our children to be kind and brave...like their mother."[/i]

The sound of trilling gasps came from her throat, almost chuckling with tears of relief from her untightening heart. She opened her eyes as they pulled their heads back, glancing towards his belly scar now a deep valley of skin above his swelling half-erection. Mating season was in full swing and so too was her arousal by the clenching of muscles at the back of her legs, flexing her vent with tail raising up behind her. She walked one foot forwards to caress her tongue across his face, dragging from cheek to cheek and along his snout coating him with salival lust. In turn he did the same, sliding his tongue across her ashen skin, tasting the faintest traces of fire like spice of the earth, moans gasping from each other's snouts in the form of clouded hot breaths that whispered across their scales.

[i]"H-h-hhhhh...O-oddclaw..."[/i]

[i]"Shhhh...let me...do something."[/i]

She paused for a moment as he grasped her slickened cheeks once more, turning his head partially to press his lips against hers. An odd sensation as she felt his tongue push between her teeth and she opened her jaws in response to feel his tongue suckling along hers. Moonclaw gasped with fluttering eyes as he made softened growls in the back of his throat, sliding his tongue back and forth across the back of her teeth, over her tongue and caressing the thick muscle in an attempt to entwine the two together. She closed her eyes from the soothing sensation as he tasted her breath in thickest form, swallowing her panting whimpers whilst feeding her own to him before parting with the thickest web of silk between their lips.

[i]"HHHHHH...h-hhhhh...wh-what...was that?"[/i]

[i]"Something...the hairless do,"[/i] panted Oddie, [i]"it is how they...I thought you would like-"[/i][/i]

[i]"It was odd, but I...I-i like it. Now let me give you something in return...step onto that stone."[/i]

Oddclaw did as was asked, as Moonclaw bent herself down slightly towards his now fully-erect penis. Thick sweltering musk she had not smelt in its purest form in years as her body responded with a quivering drip from her vent, trickling onto the forest floor as her mate stood upon a large smooth stone for easy access. She nuzzled along his member, sniffing deeply to savour the scent, prodding with her snout in low trembling snarls of desire until she lapped across the head.

[i]"Haaaaah...o-ohhhh..."[/i]

He tensed his legs to remain standing as he watched her, the near-middle-aged raptoress gliding her tongue across the swollen glans and curling around the shaft with cautious teeth. She never nipped against the skin, never scratched nor pricked along his peeled-back foreskin amidst her oral journey along his meat. Her tongue slithered down each of his ten solid inches whilst he clenched his fingers on the tree behind him for balance. Soon she reached the base of his shaft, before sliding her tongue straight along the underside of his throbbing member to taste his hot veins pulsing against her tongue. The heat was making her even more frantic, desperately trying to restrain herself until the taste of his pre dripped out, spilling from his tip and down onto her tongue.

[i]"Mmmmmhhhh...hhhmhmhmhmhm, someone is getting wet."[/i]

[i]"H-hoh, g-guh, your...your tongue is as clever as...gh-guh-when you speak with it."[/i]

[i]"Hahaha! Alright then..."[/i]

She turned herself round fully to present herself to him. A swollen pulsing cloaca that puffed its luscious pink lips to him, budding with sweet nectar from her femininity. Oddclaw resisted the urge to just breed her there and then, wanting to be fair as he sat upon his stone seat and pressed his snout to her entrance.

[i]"Wha-...what are you-AAAH!"[/i]

[i]"I only...hhhhhh...want to give you the same that you have given me Moonclaw...my tongue for you."[/i]

[i]"O-ohhhh! Hhhhhhh...o-ohhhh Oddclaw..."[/i]

She did not resist, pressing her hips towards her mate as he started to lap hungrily at her juices, licking up every drop that oozed from her porous aged walls before him. He didn't stop until there was a brief lull in her honeyed bittersweetness before moving to the flower itself. He pressed his tongue inside of her tract, suckling the first walls that rippled to her shock at such a feeling as he placed his hands on her haunches to keep her steady. Moonclaw lifted her tail fully with a chittering breath, mewling with a stuttering throat of ecstasy at another new sensation. He was touching her in ways she had never known, tasted her in places no other beast had done or ever would in her life. The raptoress rewarded him with a hefty squirt of preing juice, the sounds of him swallowing only further arousing her.

[i]"AAAAH! O-OHHHH ODDIE!"[/i]

[i]"MMmmm...hh-hhhhhmmmmnnnnhhh..."[/i]

[i]"P-please, please d-deeper, deeper please!"[/i]

[i]"A-aaah...hnnnmmm...you taste delicious."[/i]

[i]"S-so do you...o-oh...please, breed me, I cannot take it, I need you, breed me n-now!"[/i]

[i]"Alright."[/i]

He gave one last suckling pop with a thrusting tongue at her deepest walls before pulling back to stand on the large stone and line himself up. He grabbed her tail calmly and pulled her close as she backed up against his cock, kissing her vent with spittling pre in excitement. Both of them were frantic, anxious to spool their seed together which dripped fluidly into one thickening drool before he finally thrusted. The raptors gasped almost in unison with a softened shriek, almost shocked by the heat of each other as Oddclaw pushed the first two inches of his malehood into her flexing cloaca.

[i]"AAAAAH!"[/i]

[i]"O-OHHHH! M-m-moon...Moonclaw, AAAH!"[/i]

[i]"P-please, please, I need you, f-fill me, breed me Oddclaw!"[/i]

Rebalancing himself, he thrust more firmly into his mate as Moonclaw whimpered with her head turning back to him. From the side of her head she could see his face transfixed in a blissful dream, his strong scaled arms of earthen brown hugging her tail close and pulling her back towards him whilst his hips came forwards in gentle thrusts. She was tight, not as tight as a female of his age would be, but more suitably snug around his length as the foreskin pulled back against her walls and fully exposed his glans inside of her. He saw her face reflecting his expression, shuddering red eye rolling up like his own emerald green as the cold white moon shone on their faces. Her ashen silver snout, and his own amber-shade birthmark.

[i]"OH! HOH, OHHH ODDCLAW!"[/i]

[i]"A-a-aah, AAAAH! H-h-hhhohhh yes, yesss I have been waiting for this! I have wanted you for s-so long!"[/i]

[i]"I-i know...I know. I...I-i-i am s-sorry-AAAGH!"[/i]

[i]"N-no, no do not be, w-we are here now, I am here for you...I will always b-be here with YOU-NNNGH!"[/i]

[i]"AAAAIE!"[/i]

He found himself hilting with surprising ease, somewhat worried that he didn't feel the wall or a limit as he carefully pulled back and started to thrust properly. The slight pressure from his thickness was a dull touch of pain but she bared her teeth and took it, too incensed by the breeding lust to care about a little discomfort as she quivered around his flesh. Her tunnel was deep, her walls sucked and melded against his flesh like a coccoon hugging around his shaft that stroked him with smooth rippling motions that she half-controlled instinctively. His eyes rove up towards the treetops, claws clasping tighter on her tail as the tip hooked over his shoulder in his greater thrusts, bucking hips with a breathless hunger.

[i]"Y-y-yes, y-yes, Oddclaw p-please fill me!"[/i]

[i]"I-i am close, oh...s-s-so close let me...let me breed you!"[/i]

[i]"Breed me! Give me your children, fill me, fill my womb A-AAAAAH!"[/i]

The copious amounts of pre that slathered across his thighs from her pussy was a sign they both knew. Snarling with a brief twinge of dominance, Oddclaw wrapped his hands tighter around her tail and slammed his entire length within as he bucked his hips frantically. The further he went in the tighter her walls became, cloying almost sucking him off in frantic need for his cum. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he roared with orgasmic love, pumping his seed finally into her aging womb.

[i]"A-AAAAAGH, AAAAAAAAGH MOONCLAAAAAAWWWWW!"[/i]

[i]"AAAAAARRRRRGH, FILL MEEE, ODDCLAW FILL MEEEEEE!"[/i]

Her scream echoed across the waters of the moonlit lake as she gushed all over Oddclaw's feet, braying with a desperate sound as she felt his semen pump inside of her as deep as he could possibly reach. His body tensed like a wound spring as he pulled himself flush against Moonclaw's body, shivering with drooling spit from his snout and thick flecks of sweat that steamed across Moonclaw's back. Her tail lapsed slightly in soft spasms of joy as she moaned feeling her walls squeeze him fully inside her, milking him of everything she could. She stepped away from him with shaking feet, seeing Oddclaw stagger against the tree and sit on his rock with a cum-sprayed glistening cock that tapped against the scar on his belly. Exhaustion through his face, or perhaps a blissful release from how he panted with tongue, lolling as she walked up to him and licked his scaled face.

[i]"Thank you...thank you for giving me a new life."[/i]

[i]"I hope,"[/i] he panted, [i]"th-that our new life...together...will be everything that you wanted, Moonclaw."[/i]

[i]"It already is. Because I have you."[/i]

They slept on the shoreline between the trees, amongst the fertile grass and the gentle earthen slope that lead towards the wider lake somewhere east of the Hunter's Nest. It was their special place, their scent of love had been marked across the ground and on each other as mated forever. She felt his heart beat against her cheek from his sweating chest, burning with emotion for her and her alone. She finally believed she had a future for the first time in cycles.