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Ratash and Irus Hunt

by Tagenar (https://twitter.com/tagenarauthor)

#Prake

1

The toothless feline was feeling Ratash's killing claw with both paws. The raptor lay on his back so Prake could feel whatever he wanted, but he seemed fixated on the claws on his inner toes, three times larger than the others. Ratash hadn't washed in as long as he could remember, so those claws had the scent of everything he had killed on them, but the Copi was more interested in the sheer size of it. It was bigger than his head. He nuzzled it. The Copi were not a scent-based species, so Ratash knew he wasn't getting much from that. Just being free to touch a predator's claws was an exotic experience for the feline.

Prake looked up Ratash's body and met his eyes. “You were on the night side of the planet?"

Ratash held his hand claws together in a Relian smile. “Me and Irus lived with the Yro for a few cycles before switching to the daylight."

“You can see in the dark?"

Ratash clicked his hand claws, laughing now. “Easily, and if it's too dark, I find my way around by scent and hearing."

Prake held his arm up to Ratash's killing claw for comparison. “What do they look like? I know how they speak, but I still haven't seen one."

“Scaly birds. They're a bit taller than me. You ever feel a reptile's scales before?"

“No, not really."

“Feel mine all you want. Then imagine the Yro's are even smoother."

The young feline's paws migrated from Ratash's feet to his legs. Unlike the Yro, who had uniformly black scales, Ratash had orange scales broken up by green stripes that formed a waterwave pattern across his whole body. He stopped just shy of the knee and then stood up and walked away. His paws felt good on Ratash's scales so he hoped Prake would feel him all the way up.

He turned to the fox sitting beside Ratash's shoulder like a quadruped, which put the feline at ease being so close to a couple predators.

“You've never met Relians before?" Ratash asked.

Prake approached Irus. “No, we never went near the predators. I never saw anyone like you before."

Irus wagged his tail. “More than half the people in the contacted universe are predators. You should meet more."

Prake went straight to the fox's muzzle. Irus opened his mouth. Prake moved in for a close look, practically putting his muzzle inside Irus's. Prake reached up with a paw and felt the fox's teeth.

“A mammal with teeth," Prake said. “Amazing. And you both can live with the Yro?"

“Comfortably," Ratash said.

The raptor rolled to his side and raised his head. The herd of Copi milled among them, about thirty felines half Ratash's size, all covered in black fur. They were about Prake's age, and Ratash guessed they had been together as a herd for most of lives. When he and Irus had arrived here, they had just come from night on another world, so they remained in the dark on Ssesus to start off. Sharing kills in the dark with a nocturnal species of flying reptiles had made the meat taste delightfully exotic, the kind of change he and Irus needed from the usual hunting.

Then they took a portal to a forest settlement in daylight to meet the Yro's companion species, the Copi. A Relian pair had fascinated everyone in this settlement, but none more than this group of young felines. At first individual members of the herd approached and spoke to them, but when the group saw Prake feeling their claws and teeth for such a long time, the herd began to gather around them. They surrounded the Relians now, meaning they considered Ratash and Irus one of their own, probably as a matter of instinct and not deliberate decision.

Prake stepped away from Irus. “You hunted with them? How?"

Irus closed his mouth. “Ratash does all our hunting. The Yro fly, but they still hunt animals on the ground. Keeping up with them is the hard part."

“So why did you come here?"

“We lived with the predators long enough. We wanted to get to know their former prey."

“So, who are you? You don't have a herd?"

“Relians live in pairs. One raptor, one canine. Ratash keeps me from becoming an animal."

“What do you mean?"

Irus thumped his tail on the dirt. “Not important. Ratash is my herd, and I'm his."

“I've always thought scales and teeth go together. A mammal with teeth and claws. It's so amazing. How long are you staying?"

“As long as we want," Ratash answered. He looked around. “Your herd seems interested in going offworld all of a sudden."

“Yes, we've been talking about it for a while. It's so hard to break away. The Yro are always talking. I've been sharing messages and speaking through the portals to a few of them all my life. I don't want to leave them. I wish they could come with us."

“We'll come with you," Ratash said.

“We have to," Irus continued. “We're part of your herd now."

Prake looked around, just now noticing his usual group had surrounded them. “Oh... Seems they're comfortable with a pair of predators."

Ratash rolled to his stomach and lay facing Prake. “You're comfortable with us, so they're comfortable. I think you led them."

“I couldn't have." Prake's tail rose straight up and twitched, their way of smiling and laughing.

“How do herds work with the Copi?" Irus said.

“Oh, before we discovered portals, the Copi migrated as a single herd. Eight thousand of us searching for nectar together, keeping up with the daylight. The portals freed us from migrating, so now we gather in smaller groups."

“How did you get in with this herd?"

“We grew up together. That's how it usually works. Copi form herds by age, offworld travel, other interests."

Ratash clicked his claws. “I like herd species. Especially mammals. Always makes me feel so special when they let a theropod be one of them."

“We'll be leaving just before dusk."

Prake scampered away and joined the herd as it flowed around them, dozens of voices mixing together.

Ratash noticed the long shadows of the trees as the red daytime star began to slip below the horizon. He looked at the canine next to him and confirmed his fox noticed, too. Irus wagged his tail. Ratash rubbed his claws together in a Relian smile.

Night on this planet only happened once every sixty-two Relian days. Ssesus had the longest day/night cycles of any planet in the contacted universe, and it was also one of the smallest worlds, which meant the people who had evolved to live here were able to take advantage of this.

Ratash lay among the Copi, the only theropod among the herd of long-haired, toothless cats. Irus waited eagerly. All these scents surrounding them made Irus slip out of his sheath. Ratash clicked his claws. He was proud of Irus—it had taken the raptor years to teach his fox to react this way to the scents of people nearby. Nobody seemed interested in a Relian canine though. Irus had been with eight Yro on the night side of the planet, and still he craved more. Ratash hoped he'd find just as many here, but so far none of the felines showed interest.

Ratash rolled to his back again and spread his legs, hoping someone would notice his slit dripping and would wonder what it was.

The mood in the herd had changed but not because of the Relians trying to entice a feline. The consensus had become now that they had let a pair of predators into their fold, they wanted to meet other predators in the contacted universe. Ratash turned to Irus. His fox was looking at him, and they knew one another well enough to know what the other was thinking: it was fascinating to watch a herd species. They both wondered what happened when someone didn't agree. They presumed before portals, any deviation was abandoned and left to be overtaken by nightfall. Now people who didn't get along with the herd were free to join another.

The shadows continued to lengthen, but nightfall was still days away by Relian time measurements.

2

Most planets had a single, central hub somewhere that connected everyone to other worlds. Ssesus had two identical hubs, one on each side of the planet to accommodate the two sentient species who lived on this world.

Ratash and Irus stood with the herd of Copi as dusk approached. This clearing had been one of the first places the Copi and Yro had realized the other was sentient and began leaving messages for each other, so it was chosen as the place where offworld portals would go. A circle of offworld spheres hugging the treeline. Ssesus was not a major hub world, so there were relatively few portals here, only thirty-six in total. The portals that led to other worlds looked like spheres of water suspended just a claw's reach above the ground, each showing a view of the planet it led to.

The Relians observed how the herd milled around the circle of spacetime spheres resting on the ground. To their ears, there did not seem to be debate or discussion going on, but it was happening. The herd was slowly reaching a consensus about which planet to visit first.

This hub was unique in that there were no spheres leading to different parts of Ssesus. Those were inside each settlement.

About sixty offworlders were here: sentient insects, bipedal mammals, reptiles, quadrupeds. Many noticed the Relians in the herd and laughed in their own unique ways. Ratash and Irus smiled back, sometimes imitating the laughter of other species. Fellow predator species always found it amusing when a herd of prey accepted predators into the herd.

For all the milling about the herd did, Prake seemed to migrate his way back to Ratash and Irus. It seemed the herd had chosen him to speak for all the members of the group. Prake stood beside between them right now as the herd decided.

Irus was peeking from his sheath. Ratash dripped from his slit. Nobody seemed to have noticed.

Prake had just commented that seeing a mammal with claws and teeth looked so wrong, and so did seeing a predator in the daylight. Ratash had just replied that seeing a feline without teeth looked equally wrong to him, and he wondered how a cat could survive without them.

“I've heard about other felines," Prake answered. “Our only defense is our instinct to avoid darkness."

“What do you eat?" Ratash said.

“We drink plant nectar and eat pollen from certain bushes that grow all over the land."

Ratash clicked his claws. “Plant nectar. That's adorable. So I'm curious about you and your companion species. I heard it from them, but I want to know what your point of view is."

“The Yro evolved to hunt under the cover of darkness," Prake continued. “The Copi evolved to migrate with the daylight to keep away from our predators. The Yro followed us. They can't see in the daylight. It hurts their eyes, so we lived this way for hundreds of generations until one day. Both species realized the relics the other left behind implied intelligence and civilization. We began leaving messages for the Yro to find when they passed through again. Eventually, those messages became a written language. We would find messages the Yro left the previous night and would leave messages of our own for the Yro to find the next time night fell and the flock flew this way. We couldn't meet, but we learned about one another, and we grew to understand. This led to the discovery of portal physics. We can't see in the dark, and the Yro can't see in daylight, we still keep to our own zones for the most part. The portals saved us from having to be constantly on the move, and now we live in more permanent places. We can just take a portal back and forth from one side of the planet to the other, each keeping to its own zone. Now instead of traveling to find what the people of the previous day or night left behind, we speak through portals. We still leave messages for each other."

“We know," Ratash said. “You know someone by the name of Ahaka?"

Prake froze in place as he looked up at Ratash. “You met him?"

“You two have been writing to one another since you were children. He said you tried to speak to each other through portals a few times, but you were too scared to be in the dark, and he can't even live in twilight. He wanted me to give you a message."

Prake did not move. Ratash bent down and extended a claw. He carved a few lines into the dirt. Prake read it.

“It took me and Irus a while to learn your spoken language. I'm still learning the written language. What does this mean?"

Prake's body gave off a peculiar scent. His body language suggested he was terrified and excited at the same time. “He says 'I want to'."

“What to what?"

Prake hesitated. Ratash took in his scent. So did Irus. The fox peeked from his sheath even more. Ratash dripped. The feline looked ahead. The group seemed to have figured out where it wanted to go, as everyone was facing one particular portal. It lead to a desert. Ratash recognized the world as Crexa, its arid regions home to a sentient species of reptile. Predators.

Irus leaned closer. “You know what fascinates me, Prake? Your instinct to avoid nightfall is stronger than your instinct to avoid predators."

Prake's tail rose and vibrated. “Darkness is the predator to avoid."

The herd began to move. Irus leaned against his raptor as the herd carried them into the sphere. They emerged on hot sand and walked with the herd of Copi.

Crexa was a large planet and one of the central hubs of the contacted universe. Archeons maintained spheres to nearly every planet on these worlds. Ratash and Irus did not envy the life of an Archeon, becoming so aware of quantum physics that they became able to perceive the true nature of the universe and take control of it. Just perceiving the true nature of the universe was enough to be able to transcend it, and they formed connections between points in it. Then they had to meditate on these calculations for their entire lives. They never understood how anyone could be happy doing that, but some people seemed to thrive being an Archeon.

The hub was so large it needed portals of its own to navigate, and it was so busy people had covered the path in stone to keep the soil from being worn down. They even built stone arches over the canals so offworlders could walk about freely and mingle with the three sentient species who called this world home.

Most people in the contacted universe recognized a herd when they saw one, and they were careful not to cross it without permission. Ratash clicked his claws as people noticed him and Irus inside it.

A few of the natives of the desert region world approached the herd and tasted them with their tongues. Individuals did not know what it meant, but some members of the herd did, and they reassured everyone it was how Crexian reptiles understood their environment. Taste and scent were the same sense to them, and they were getting to know the herd.

Having met predatory reptiles, the herd moved in the general direction of the desert. Their settlement was just off the hub, and Ratash and Irus followed the quadruped lizards who were built like canines.

Irus looked at Prake, who hadn't left the Relians' sides. He wasn't blinking. Irus nudged him, and the cat looked at the fox.

“What do you think of them?"

“Lizards who walk like felines."

“And they're predators," Ratash said, rubbing his claws.

The Crexian lizards stood about as tall as a Copi at the shoulder, and they moved so much canines it was easy to forget they were reptiles.

Irus peeked from his sheath. Ratash watched the Copi. Their testicles were so large relative to body size, and they looked adorable swinging in the desert breeze. Ratash wanted to lean forward and nuzzle the sac in front of him, but he turned to Prake instead.

“Ahaka spoke about you a lot while we were with the Yro. He speaks highly of you. Have you two met?"

Prake turned to the orange theropod. “Not really. We first started speaking to each other through a portal. One of the switching ways."

Those were the portals used exclusively by both species to cross between the two groups of settlements to follow the daylight.

“Did you see him?"

“No, it was still too dark. He could barely get close to the portal. Said it was too bright, but dusk was almost there. That was before I matured. Long before. We kept left messages for each other from then on. Sometimes we met at the portals as dusk neared, but writing is so much easier."

“How long since you matured?"

“Eight years."

Ratash lowered his neck to be at his eye level. “He wants to meet you. It's far easier for a Copi to go to the night side of the planet than a Yro to be in the light."

Prake walked with his tail between his legs. “I know. We've been discussing it for a long time. I really want to meet him, too, but... It's so difficult."

They had reached the local settlement, where the reptiles actually lived. A fresh kill lay on the sand, and the Crexians were busy pulling it apart. A canal cut through the sand and led to the center of this settlement. The herd moved toward it. Six members of the aquatic species of Crexa were in it, blowing bubbles, the varying size and shape of which made up their language. Ratash and Irus didn't know it, but they did know the language of the land-dwelling creatures that lived here. Ratash and Irus often wondered what it would have been like to grow up on a world that had three sentient species on it.

Gradually, the herd of Copi allowed the Crexian reptiles into the herd. Ratash greeted them in their custom, by smacking tails, a leftover behavior from their primitive days when thickness of tail was an outward sign of a good hunter and a worthy member of the group. Ratash had the thickest tail of all of them. Several of them surrounded Irus and tasted him from head to toe. Irus emerged from his sheath. The Crexians checked with Ratash. He bobbed from the waist. Irus lay on his back. A male climbed on top of him and stood on his shoulders. He slid out of his slit and shoved it into Irus. Two females and another male formed a line. Ratash rubbed his claws.

Prake stood against the raptor's hip. “Relian canines do this often?"

“They need it," Ratash said.

Prake watched with detached fascination. Ratash lay on his stomach and leaned against Prake. Feeling fur against his scales made his slit drip. All around them, the Crexian reptiles mingled with the Copi. They told of the three sentient species on this world, how they had met, how learning about one another led to the discovery of portal physics, and then they joined the contacted universe. The reptiles enjoy it when other predators came here to hunt the prey on this world. Prake listened, but it was hard to hear over Irus moaning and the lizard on top of him hissing.

“Ahaka tells me you haven't been a female. I'm curious what you prefer."

“Other males, definitely. I've been with three of them in this group. Tilo, over there, was my first. Why did Ahaka tell you that?"

Ratash rubbed his head against Prake's hip. “Just something he mentioned."

Prake wasn't responding to the gesture. Ratash huffed at the difficulty of enticing visual species.

“What do you prefer?" he asked again. “What works for you?"

Prake leaned into it, then leaned away. “I'm not sure. It hasn't been that long since I matured. Why do you ask?"

“You seem pretty fascinated by me. You love feeling my claws. Do you prefer reptiles?"

“I, uh, I don't know."

Ratash growled. Most prey species would react to that, but Prake did not. “I like mammals. I'll let you feel my claws if you'll met me feel your buds."

Prake looked at him, tail raised. Ratash was tempted to reach behind Prake and cup them, but the Copi was stunned Ratash had used the slang word for testicles. Words like those were usually not for offworlders.

Prake nudged Ratash. The raptor rubbed his claws as he rolled to his back. He turned around and picked up Ratash's killing claw. His rear was now in Ratah's face. Just the sight of the sac made the glands in his hips squeeze, and he dripped. Ratash nuzzled them. Feeling the weight of them on his muzzle made him slip out of his slit, and the scent was so much better up close. He licked them. Prake shuddered as he held Ratash's killing claw up to his neck. The size of it clearly amazed him, but Ratash noticed he hadn't come out of his sheath.

He then let his foot go and stepped away. Ratash lay there, penis halfway out of his slit and throbbing. Half the herd noticed, and a few were curious but did not approach.

Ratash growled. “The Yro have a claw like that on each toe."

Prake was now sitting, facing the raptor. “I know. Talons for gripping prey from the air and hanging on. Ahaka told me. It's amazing to think about."

Ratash turned and looked at Irus. He scented him from a distance and determined two males and one female had been with him, and Irus was still hard. The herd watched, amused. One Copi female seemed to be in line. Ratash rubbed his claws.

He turned to Prake. The feline was staring at his penis. His slit was dripping lube. Ratash licked his muzzle, got another zip of mammal bud scent, and he dripped faster. Prake stared at it, probably the first time had noticed.

“It's a lubricant," Ratash said. “I drip when I'm in season."

“I thought only the foxes needed sex."

“I drip a lot more than most Relain reptiles. Always have. Especially when I'm around mammals."

“That's interesting. I like your claws. Thank you."

“Feel them any time you want," Ratash said, rolling to his back and letting the midday heat warm his underside.

Prake rose to all fours and walked across the sand, listening to the story of Crexa and how it entered the contacted universe. Ratash listened to Irus enter a Copi.

3

They had met at least thirty reptiles and watched three of them hunt, taking down four animals. Watching the hunting and killing process did not seem to agitate the Copi, and their attitude around Ratash and Irus did not change even as the raptor helped down take down one of the largest predators known to the contacted universe. Watching him feed Irus, and then watching Irus clean his raptor off did not seem to affect them. They still treated Ratash and Irus as one of their own, and they still allowed the Crexian lizards to be among them. Ratash and Irus couldn't stop smiling as they stood with the herd in front of the sphere that would take them to another desert region, this one on the day side of Crexa.

Night was approaching, and the pack was waiting until the last possible moment before they had to leave. Each was testing their limit for how long they could tolerate the fading light before they had to move. It had once been an instinct that preserved life. Now they played games with it.

Prake was getting anxious. The Relians watched him intently, how he took half a step forward and then half a step back, sometimes moving his paws in different directions, looking around. Every Copi was doing this to one degree or another. The Crexians were tasting them, taking in the emotion. Ratash and Irus sniffed Prake discreetly.

Ratash's slit was still dripping from that last kill. Iris still smelled like he'd had sex with five Crexians and two Copi.

Crexa's star slipped beneath the horizon. One Copi fidgeted out of her place and ran headlong into the portal, and into daylight. The rest of the herd began following. Ratash raised his killing claws. Irus slipped out of his sheath.

Six Copi had migrated through the portal. Prake followed behind one female. Ratash waited until Prake was five paces away, and then he crouched and dashed toward him. He leaped on Prake's back and rolled to his side, throwing both of them to the ground. Prake gasped and flailed his limbs, wiggling his entire body. Ratash brought his legs in and curled into him, slit positioned over his tail. Irus ran into position and clamped his teeth around Prake's neck. The young Copi panted through his nose, still struggling.

Ratash growled. “Let's stay a while."

Prake flailed again and tried to get up. Ratash embraced him tighter, pulling his backside against his slit, covering Prake's hip with his leg and squeezing him. The rest of the herd turned and looked at him. Tails rose and twitched, and they filed through the portal even faster.

Quickly the light faded. Ratash's eyes switched to night vision. Irus released Prake's neck and stood to the side, now completely out his sheath and giving off such a strong fox scent Ratash wondered how Prake couldn't be affected by it.

Prake was out of breath. “Ratash. What are you—? What's—? Please, what—"

Ratash squeezed him tighter, running his hand claws through his chest fur.

The last of the Copi herd had gone. In mere breaths, the land went dark. Prake shivered.

Ratash held his muzzle up to Prake's ear. “Now you're mine."

Four-legged lizards ran everywhere. Prake heard them but could not see them, and the sounds made him glance in all directions. He shivered harder. Iris rubbed his sheath.

Ratash kept his voice a low growl. “Ahaka told us a lot about you. He read us all the messages you've written to him over the last year. The fantasies you confessed. You don't want to be with a Copi, do you?"

Prake was panting. Ratash inhaled his breath. His scent had changed. Ratash felt the feline's neck with his claws.

“That's what was missing. It entices you, but you're still scared to make that leap, and it's not what you wanted. You wanted a predator to pull you into the dark. You wanted Ahaka to catch you."

Prake's breathing had changed again. Irus now moved, shoved his muzzle between Prake's legs. Irus's tail wagged wildly, confirming that Prake was out of his sheath now. Irus stood over him, also growling.

Ratash curled up even tighter. “The fantasies Ahaka told us the two of you shared. You asleep when the herd left, alone in the dark, Ahaka flying down and snatching you up, and then breeding you instead of eating you. Is that what you want?"

Prake gasped a few times. Ratash could hear the cat's loins throbbing now. “Yes."

“Ahaka wanted to do it, too, but he can't come to the daylight. He sent us here to pull you into the dark. I told him I could help you get over your fear of the dark."

“H-h-h-he-heh-h-how?"

“Same way I helped my fox learn to take his instincts. Would you like that? I promise when we're done, you'll love the darkness."

Prake twitched. Ratash felt his tail trying to move. The raptor ran a hand down his flank, parting the fur with his claws, dragging the tips down his flank. Now he reacted the way prey normally did, but with a twinge of excitement.

Ratash slid out of his slit and let it rest against Prake for a moment. Prey liked it best when they didn't know when it would come. Ratash relaxed his legs and let Prake spread his legs a little. Now Ratash could smell the Copi was out of his sheath.

“I knew you wanted this," Ratash growled. “Just needed to drag you out of the light."

Prake squirmed. The fur brushed against his chest and stomach and thighs. He slid out of his slit even more, and it pushed into Prake. The feline gasped. Irus dropped to all fours and licked Prake. Irus's hips bucked involuntarily.

Crexian reptiles walked about, some coming closer to taste what was happening, most going to sleep as the temperature dropped and their metabolisms slowed. The sound of so many footsteps around him he couldn't see made Prake's breath catch, but he remained hard.

Feeling him squirm made Ratash hard as well. His slit squeezed again and he bucked his hips, sliding deeper into Prake. He didn't know how much of Ratash he could handle, so he went slowly.

Irus had dropped to his side and was now suckling on Prake. Ratash wanted to trade positions just so he could feel those buds, but it felt good to satisfy the hormones after a hunt. The raptor growled.

“You're completely helpless. I can do anything to you I want. You can't get away. Even if you could, you can't find the portal."

Ratash pulled out and thrust again. Prake gasped and bucked his hips.

“That's right," Ratash continued. “Just listen to all those lizards around us. They're watching us. They know you can't see. They're waiting for you to escape so they can have you next."

Prake moaned. So did Irus. Ratash worked his way in a little deeper.

“You're alive because I want you to be," Ratash said as he thrust again, barely half his length, but it was all Prake's body could handle.

The fox's tail waved, and he suckled harder. Prake had finished. The Copi reached up and held the raptor's claw as he panted and gasped. Ratash growled for him.

Irus rose from between Prake's legs and licked his muzzle. He was all the way out of his sheath, swollen to the second stage. Some canine species had an extra gland at the base that swelled when fully aroused, but a Relian canine's entire penis swelled a couple different times when fully aroused. It would be difficult for him to mount anyone right now.

Ratash rolled Prake to his feet and gripped his neck in his teeth. He pushed Prake's head to the ground, and his penis kept his rear in the air. Prake's hind legs were shaking. Ratash thrust a few more times. Prake gasped and shuddered. Ratash reached under his legs and cupped Prake's buds. The weight in his hand and the sway as he thrust made his thighs tingle, and he finished. Prake lost his breath.

As soon as Ratash finished pulsing, he pulled out and backed away from Prake. The feline collapsed on his stomach, gasping. His tail was twitching but it couldn't seem to rise all the way up. Irus also backed away from the Copi.

He left Prake alone for a while. A few Crexian reptiles were still up and about, and Prake turned his head, trying to see them. He shivered a little. Ratash bobbed his neck at Irus. The fox began circling Prake, not growling, just letting his footsteps surround the cat. Ratash stood still while his penis retracted.

Prake seemed to come back to his senses. He realized he was suddenly alone in the dark. Ratash now started circling him. Prake's scent changed from arousal to panic—the old impulse coming back. He rose to all fours, hind legs wobbly and unstable, and took off running, opposite the portal to the bright side of the planet.

Irus let him run a few steps, and then Irus gave chase. Prake tried to run faster, but his hind legs barely worked now. Irus pounced, grabbed him, rolled a few times, and stopped on his back with Prake gripped against his chest. Irus didn't thrust for a moment. He let Prake calm down.

“You can't even find the daylight portal," Irus growled. “There's no escape. We're all here, Prake, and we're coming for you."

Irus shoved himself in. Ratash had already loosened him up, otherwise the fox would not have been able to fit. Prake screamed and held Irus's hand with a paw. Irus pushed all the way in. Prake emerged from his sheath. Ratash trotted around them, scenting them. He always enjoyed the scent his fox gave off when he mounted someone.

Now Ratash stepped carefully and approached without making a sound as Irus held Prake across the chest and pushed his entire length in. He lowered his muzzle to Prake's and growled.

The shock of someone else being so near him made him try to jump. Irus held him and bucked his hips harder. He was swelling again, and Prake was feeling it. He screamed.

“So many things hiding in the dark," growled the raptor. “And they all want to breed you."

Prake reached up and felt his muzzle. He felt the face. Ratash rose and placed his foot on Prake. The cat felt the scales all the way down to the killing claw poking him on the chest. Ratash pushed in just far enough for the feline to feel it. Irus had swelled all the way, too large to move easily, and he snarled as he finished. Ratash leaned down and scented it. He smelled Prake finishing again. Ratash rose and scented that as well, noting Prake had been feeling his killing claw the whole time. Prake's semen was watery. Most mammals did. He liked that about them.

Irus panted and felt Prake's chest fur. “Nighttime is wonderful. It's when all the predators come out to play. You're wonderful to play with."

Ratash backed away from Prake. He bobbed his head at Irus, signaling for him to do the same as soon as he could pull out. Ratash figured they'd give him a few breaths to rest, and then they'd hunt him again.

4

The people of Ssesus were pouring into the switch portals. It was twilight, and the low light compelled them to move to the settlements on the other side of the planet. It wasn't quite dark enough yet for the Yro to come here; they never came over until all the light was gone.

Prake sat still while the Copi trotted around him. He was breathing hard, fighting the instinct to run and indulging in the excitement of what he was doing. He had never waited this long before. Until Ratash pulled him back, he had never been in a place this dark before. Now he sat, peeking from his sheath and trying to keep his breathing regular.

The last Copi entered the portal. Some looked back at him as the light faded. They could barely see Prake. They waved their tails at him out of respect. Many Copi fought the impulse and went into the dark, so they all gave their respect to Prake.

Ratash and Irus sat a short distance away, watching Prake. The mammal had done very well with the Relians. They hunted him for three nights on three different planets, coming back only when Prake could walk with them through the dark without shivering. He still needed a lot of guidance, as the instinct to fear the dark was extremely strong for the Copi, but Ratash knew he was ready now. He had come far enough to meet not just any predators, but the reason his kind had an innate fear of the dark. Prake wouldn't run. Ratash and Irus were sure of that. They just wanted to be here for it.

Prake fidgeted in place but remained sitting as the last of the light retreated to the clouds. Now the Yro poured through the portal. Wings flapped and talons tapped the ground all around Prake. The feline sat still and tried to keep his breathing calm.

When a Copi joined them in the darkness, the Yro had a special way of greeting them. It was meant to help them feel welcome and to show the two sentient species of Ssesus no long hunted each other and the Copi had nothing to fear in the dark.

The Yro surrounded Prake, touching him with their talons and beaks. They could kill him easily with these, but now they were companions. Prake sat still and kept his breathing calm. He reached out to a few of them and blindly felt their faces and wings and talons. They felt him in return, speaking assurances to him.

Every scaled bird separated from him except for one.

“Ahaka?"

The predator held him with both wings. Prake rose and stood on all fours, tail straight up. Ratash and Irus noted he was still out of his sheath. Ratash held his claws together, smiling quietly. Irus wagged his tail, keeping it from hitting the ground.

“I'm glad you came. I promise to guide you. So much I want to show you. I want to take you to Eiae. It's a planet that never sees daylight! It's such a beautiful place!"

Prake's tail twitched. He was terrified and excited at the same time, and now he knew what to do with the conflicting feelings.

Ahaka turned to the Relians. “Thank you for helping him"

Ratash stood up. Irus followed, leaning on his raptor. “Glad we could help. Take good care of him."

Prake looked in their direction, surprised they were here. “That was amazing. I hope we'll meet again."

Irus beat Ratash with his tail. “With Ahaka this time. I'd love to feel both of you in me."

Ahaka made a few high-pitched squawking noises, a vocal laugh. “Soon. I plan to keep Prake in the dark forever."

Predator humor was something else Ratash and Irus had prepared Prake for. Prake's tail twitched as he shivered and slipped from his sheath even more. “Let's go."

The Yro turned Prake around and led him to the hub. Other Yro flapped and walked around him, all thrilled to have a Copi among them. The Relians stood still in the dark and waited for them to be out of sight.

Ratash grunted. “Sight-based species are so difficult to entice."

“Too bad they're not scent-based," Irus said. “They can't smell us all over him."

“Next time we meet, I hope Prake smells like Ahaka."

“They seem right for each other. I wonder how long Prake will stay in the dark."

“He'll be dependent on to get around, and whenever Ahaka lets go of him, he'll hear predators all around him day and night and can't go anywhere." He clicked his claws. “He'll never want to live any other way."

Irus leaned on Ratash and nuzzled his neck. “I wish more raptors hunted with their foxes. Sharing mammals with you is so much fun."

Ratash clicked his claws. A drop of lube fell from his slit and plopped on the dirt. “Let's go back to Rel. I'm in the mood for hunting with my eyes."

They turned and walked into the portal that led to the dayside of the planet.

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