FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zera fidgeted anxiously with her claws as she eyed the blocked-off entranceway into the human's home, her scaled form stretched out across the cool stone floor. The dragon was used to lying on stone; she had spent most of her life sleeping in various caves and rocky hollows. The surface here was far more comfortable than such dwellings, being completely smooth and free of loose material that could catch on her emerald-green scales. Last night was the best sleep Zera could remember having in a long time.

She had slept the whole way until mid-morning, until the human woke her with a start. The dragon had panicked briefly before she recalled the inexplicable events of the night before, and realised where she was. The human had been quick to calm her, reminding Zera of their agreement and his offer for her to sleep at his home. An agreement which had been due to end as soon as she woke in the morning.

And yet, Zera was still here.

The human, Marcus, had been surprisingly hesitant about telling her to leave, despite his previous insistency. He had allowed her to exit the 'ga-raj' and head to the grassy area behind his home to relieve herself, telling her to return afterwards. When Zera arrived back inside, the human was waiting for her. He waved his hand, and the metal covering closed off the entranceway once more. Marcus had looked to be deep in thought before he asked her something completely unexpected.

“You, uh, need somethin' to eat? You look pretty hungry."

Zera was entirely taken aback. “Y-you're offering me food?"

“Don't get the wrong idea," he replied, scratching the back of his neck. “I'm not sayin' you can stay. Just thought you could use some food before you head back to… wherever it is you're from."

The dragon could hardly believe her ears. It had been so long since she'd eaten a proper meal. That was the very reason she'd set off for this gods-forsaken City in the first place, a desperate gambit that Zera thought had ended in total failure just last night. Yet there she was, sitting in the home of a Two-leg being offered food as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

She could barely contain herself as she frantically affirmed her assent.

And so, Zera waited. Marcus had returned a moment after leaving, apparently having forgotten to ask her what dragons actually ate, and he seemed to relax when she told him that raw meat was just fine. Zera had been waiting here on the stone floor for what felt like an age, even if she knew it could only be a short while. As she imagined herself tearing into a huge, bloody chunk of flesh, the dragon began to salivate against her will. Her stomach ached with sharp hunger pangs, now that she was so close to her prize.

By the time Marcus finally returned again, Zera was practically frenzied with hunger. As soon as the human opened the entranceway and came into view, the scent of fresh meat hit her sensitive nose like a physical blow, and she began to pant uncontrollably. Marcus raised his eyebrows as he moved into the room, carrying two hunks of raw meat on some sort of flat white stone. Each piece was almost the size of her paw

“Don't go crazy on me now, fera- uh, Zera…" he cautioned, although the dragon was hardly listening. Her gaze was fixed on the bloody meal in front of her. Manners be damned, she was starving here! Zera could wait no longer, and she lunged forward aiming to grab one of the mouth-watering chunks and tear it to pieces. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough. Marcus reacted before her, snatching away the meat and shouting a warning at the ravenous dragoness. Zera growled on instinct, baring her teeth at the creature that dared to deny her the meal she was owed.

“Hey! Control yourself! Zera!"

Zera blinked, and her stance softened as her mind refocused. Immediately she became aware of Marcus' defensive pose and his raised limb, poised to strike at her. Despite her hunger, Zera faltered and backed off. The dragon's own loss of control terrified her, and she struggled to compose herself.

“I'm- I didn't- I-"

Marcus relaxed his stance and exhaled forcefully. “Calm down, for fuck's sake," he began. “I can see you're very fuckin' hungry and don't worry, you're gettin' your food. But," he looked her dead in the eyes, “you cannot come at me like that, got it? Keep it together or we're right back to where we were last night," he said in a commanding tone. “You go wild on me and things are gonna get bad for the both of us."

Zera gulped and nodded. “I'm sorry, I-" she stopped to lick up a strand of drool that had escaped her maw “-I didn't mean to…I couldn't-"

“Relax, Zera. Here," Marcus set the flat stone holding the meat on the floor and took a few steps back from it. “Don't go eatin' it too fast, you'll…"

The human never finished his sentence, trailing off once Zera practically pounced on her long-overdue meal. She grabbed the first hunk with a paw and bit straight through it, tearing the piece clean in half. Zera swallowed the first half whole, barely having time to savour the rich, succulent flavour before she tossed the second half into her maw. The dragon was in heaven. She hadn't eaten proper meat in over half a cycle, and the lean, barely filling flesh of a rabbit couldn't even compare to the wonderfully tender meat she now enjoyed. It had an unfamiliar taste; unlike any prey she had eaten in her life before- and far better than them all.

When she paused for breath and to lick the dripping juices off her muzzle, Zera noticed the human staring with a look of mild shock. Any other time the dragon would have felt self-conscious about being seen in such a state, but right now all she cared about was the other piece of meat still lying before her. She grabbed it without hesitation and ate it just how she did the first one. All too soon it was gone, and Zera stepped back to look up at the human, blood and saliva covering her once-pristine muzzle. glared

“More…" she panted.

At that, Marcus harrumphed in apparent disbelief. “You're welcome… and, no." When Zera pouted at him, he shook his head and continued. “Don't give me that look. You've just fuckin' demolished two whole steaks in about a minute, any more and you'll get sick. You're starvin', right?"

Zera nodded emphatically. Despite having just eaten, she still felt a gnawing hunger in her gut. “Yes! I need-"

“Not what I meant…" he sighed, interrupting her. “I mean you haven't eaten properly in a while, by the looks of you."

By now, the dragoness had calmed down enough from her feeding frenzy to properly consider the human's words. She carefully sat down on her haunches, focusing her gaze on his feet. Zera felt some shame in admitting her own failure to feed herself, but knew that total honesty was the only fair approach after what Marcus has done to help her. “Yes… not for over a cycle now" she admitted.

The human seemed puzzled. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “A cycle? Cycle of what?"

Now it was Zera's turn to feel confusion. Surely the Two-legs, with all their sophistication and ingenuity, must understand the concept of measuring time?

“A Lunar cycle" she answered hesitantly. Marcus appeared to think over her response for a brief moment before recognition flashed on his face.

“Ah, like a month. I get it." He nodded his head, a familiar gesture that the Two-legs apparently shared with her own kind. “See, if someone who's been starved for a while eats too much too quickly, they can get pretty fuckin' ill. Can even kill ya', if you overdo it too much."

Zera blanched, her ears pointing straight backwards. “Oh my… I've never heard of that…" she uttered. “Are- are you sure?"

An unreadable expression passed over Marcus' features for just a moment. “Yeah…" he said quietly. “Seen it before."

Thinking of how she had gorged herself just seconds ago, the dragoness' mind filled with worry. “Will- will I be alright?" she asked frantically, meeting the human's piercing blue eyes. “Will I get sick?"

Marcus raised his hands to face her. “Calm down, darlin. I swear, are all Ferals this highly strung?" The human sounded exasperated, and Zera once again felt embarrassment over her own actions. “And the answer is no, I don't reckon you will. No offence intended, but you're pretty big, so I'm guessin' a normal meal for you is more than what you just ate. Correct?"

The dragoness wasn't sure what she could have taken offence from in his statement, especially since -as far as Zera knew- she was a relatively small dragon. But the human's words gave her comfort, and she visibly relaxed. “Uhm, yes. Mother and I would catch much larger prey every day, before…" she trailed off, unsure what to say or if she should say it. Zera felt an unexpected ache in her chest when she mentioned her mother, the emotion a mix of sadness and regret.

It must have shown on her features, because Marcus straightened up and regarded her with a look that was not at all unkind. “But you're on your own now" he correctly deduced, the words clearly a statement rather than a question.

“Y-Yes." Zera answered anyway, suddenly finding a lump in her throat. She could practically see the human's mind at work as he scratched his chin thoughtfully, no doubt piecing together the rest of her story before she could tell him herself. The dragon wondered if all Two-legs were this astute.

“Hmm… and without your mom to help, you couldn't get enough to eat, right? 'That why you're here in the first place?"

Zera simply nodded in response, all the talk of her mother threatening to overwhelm the dragon with emotion. Despite their unpleasant relationship, Zera's mother was also the only person she'd had in her life, for its entirety- until just a cycle ago. That loss felt like a gaping wound inside her, a wound that had been festering the whole time since her only parent's death. One that threatened to open Zera up and swallow her whole.

“She died, huh?"

Another nod. Tears stung at the corners of Zera's eyes.

Marcus almost looked concerned at Zera's visible upset. His gaze flicked down to the floor. “I'm sorry." He spoke softly, using a tone she had never heard from him before. “Musta been hard for you."

The words pierced her heart with sorrow, and Zera shuddered as the first tear began to fall. Others quickly joined it, and like a spring flood they burst forth as the dragon started sobbing openly. She raised a shivering wing, the brownish membrane serving to hide herself from the human's view, even now embarrassed at what a foolish image she was surely presenting.

Even with all the pain and torment she had caused her, Zera still loved her mother as any lonely hatchling would have. Having spent every day since her passing struggling to survive alone, the dragon had been given no real chance to grieve her mother, aside from one wet and stormy night when she had briefly broken down in despair. But this was different. Deep sadness and crushing loneliness overcame Zera, as the realisation that she was well and truly alone in the world finally sunk it. She could do nothing but cry and sob in anguish, barely aware of the human hidden from view by her sheltering wing, even as he coughed and spoke.

“I'll, uh, give you a minute." The grief-stricken dragoness almost didn't notice the soft 'click' from the entranceway as Marcus departed the room, leaving Zera to her misery alone.

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As Marcus collapsed back onto his couch, mercifully pain-free thanks to the tablets he took a few hours previously, he began to wonder yet again how he'd ended up in this situation. The muffled, wracking sobs of the Feral in his garage were still audible from across the room, and the human groaned quietly to himself as he brought his left hand up to massage his temple.

How had things gotten so complicated?

He had already fulfilled his promise to Zera from last night. He'd let her sleep for the night in his home, on the condition that she'd leave first thing in the morning. Marcus himself had then gone back on that condition, even opting to give her a decent meal out of a perhaps-misguided sympathy for her situation. Then he was going to send her on her way, but…

But…well, they'd started talking, and he'd begun to put together her story when the pieces started to connect. It clearly wasn't a happy one, based on Zera's current state of distress. He himself could understand the pain of losing a parent all too well. Even over a decade later, he still felt a dull ache in his chest when he thought of his own mother. The human sighed, at a total loss about what to do next. The rational part of Marcus' mind reminded him, once again, of how much simpler things would be if he'd just sent away the Feral last night and been done with it.

Yet, he hadn't.

And now, Marcus was stuck with a troubled, emotional wreck of a dragon crying inconsolably in his garage. He could hardly kick her out at this point -as heartless as Marcus was, even he felt sorry for Zera. When she had started to break down, he had no idea what to do or say to alleviate the situation and had instead opted to leave once the awkwardness became too much for him to bear. Marcus could kill repeatedly with no hesitation, yet the idea of expressing comfort or empathy to someone in distress was a far more difficult task for him. The human snorted in humorously at that thought.

His grim amusement quickly soured, however, when he thought back to his own actions the previous night. How he'd threatened and terrified the dragon into submission, how he'd promised to -and been ready to- kill her without hesitation if she didn't obey. Marcus shifted uncomfortably on the couch. It didn't sit right with him, doing that to someone who didn't deserve it. Marcus had few qualms about threatening to kill other people in his line of work -or following through with those threats. As far as he was concerned, anyone in the game was, well, fair game.

Zera, however, had committed no crime other than deciding to sleep under the wrong tree. Sure, she had displayed some hostility during their brief confrontation. Marcus has actually felt threatened at one point. But, contrary to his initial assessment, the human now recognised that dragon's apparent aggression was more likely a response to his own antagonism. After talking to her this morning and realising just how fragile and timid the Feral actually was, Marcus felt he could have easily de-escalated the situation if he'd only tried to talk to her.

He sighed. That wasn't all that weighed on his mind. The way Marcus had treated Zera even after he decided to help her picked at his conscience, too. His short-temperedness and the speed at which he lost his patience, the degrading hose-down he subjected her to in the backyard. Leaving the dragon on the cold concrete floor of his garage and generally treating her like a dumb animal -Marcus felt guilty about all of it. Zera wasn't some enemy or prisoner of his. She was innocent -as far as he knew- and naïve to a fault, so could hardly be blamed for her accidental trespassing. Especially considering her desperate situation.

The human ran a hand through his short black locks and started to weigh his options. Option one, go back into the garage and kick Zera out as planned, was looking less attractive by the minute. Based on her condition and what she'd told him herself, a single night's rest and a meal wouldn't be nearly enough to set her back on track to a full recovery. He'd have only delayed her demise, and would essentially be sending the weak and starved dragon back to her death, barring a miracle. Marcus' recent attack of conscience proved stubborn, and the image of Ekon's girlfriend staring down the end of his barrel continued to replay in his mind.

The human could never undo her death. He could never undo all the wrongs he had committed, all the death and pain that he had caused. But he could attempt to balance the scales, one tiny bit at a time. Here was a chance to actually do something good, something selfless, something his reawakening moral compass told him was the only correct choice to make.

Option two it was, then. Let her stay. For a while at least.

The practicalities could work, he realised. Zera's timing had been convenient. After his successful raid on Zianos' compound and acquisition of that special little file, Marcus would need to lie low and wait for the heat to die down -as well as recuperate from his unanticipated injuries. He had enough food and supplies at home to stay in for months without leaving, and he'd be waiting several weeks before reaching out to his network of contacts to attempt to sell the valuable data file. So, Marcus figured, his total lack of responsibilities for the near future meant he could allow Zera to stay here for at least a couple of weeks under his supervision.

“Alright, alright… yeah, that'd work…" the human mumbled. This whole inexplicable situation was still bizarre, and yet Marcus was already beginning to accept the idea. So, what exactly was he still afraid of? He attempted to weigh the downsides of letting the Feral sleep under his roof until she recovered fully. Food was no issue, as he'd already determined. And despite the dragon's brief aggression when he fed her, Marcus no longer believed she was a threat to him. He was willing to let that incident slide due to her obviously malnourished state.

Security. That was the only problem that still concerned him. Every time he let the dragon outside, there was a risk she'd be spotted by prying eyes. And, Marcus noted, he actually had no idea about the legal status of Ferals in Horizon. If Zera was spotted on a drone camera or reported by a nosy passer-by, would the authorities descend on his house to detain her?

Perhaps she'd already been tracked here, he thought with worry. From years of previous experience as a cop himself, Marcus knew that police drones regularly swept the city on scanning patrols. Yet, across those years he'd never seen or heard of any laws regarding Ferals, such was their irrelevance to Horizon's society. And, based on the current lack of armed officers breaking down his door, the human guessed that wouldn't be a problem any time soon. However, he still wanted to minimise the amount of time Zera spent outside where she could be seen. That meant attempting to teach her to use the shower and toilet, he realised with a frown. Marcus wasn't looking forward to that particular task.

But he'd made his decision.

Standing up from the couch, the human felt an odd chilling sensation in his chest. The regen-injection from this morning was starting to make itself felt again, as his painkillers began to wear off. In about an hour the pain from his broken ribs would return, and he'd be back to gingerly navigating the house like some decrepit old pensioner.

He made for the garage door. Zera's loud sobs had reduced to soft whimpers, still audible in the living area thanks to the human's aural implants. Maybe a bit of good news would cheer her up.

Cracking open the door, Marcus was met with a sorry sight. His unexpected guest had been reduced to a shivering wreck, curled up on the floor with both wings extended out, attempting to cover as much of her conspicuous green and brown-scaled body as possible. Zera's breath still hitched and her form shook with each silent, worn-out sob. Marcus cleared his throat to announce himself, but the dragon either didn't hear or didn't care to respond.

“Zera."

Her right wing shifted only slightly, enough to expose a single bright blue eye still brimming with water. She seemed to regard him for a moment, before lowering the wing once more and hiding herself again. Marcus sighed, and lightly crossed the garage floor towards her, dropping to a crouch near her wing-covered head.

“Hey," he said gruffly. Receiving no further response from Zera, Marcus hesitated for a moment, before reaching out and gently placing a hand on the dragon's shoulder, just past the base of her slender neck. She froze at his touch, and the human took a moment to appreciate the novel texture of her scaled body. While there were reptilians living in Horizon city, they tended to keep to themselves, and Marcus had certainly never been in physical contact with one. A patch of lightly discoloured scales caught his eye, an obvious sign of the dragon's severe malnutrition. He was so lost in the moment, he didn't immediately notice Zera's head peering out from behind her wing, looking at him uncertainly. The dragon heaved a great shuddering sigh and relaxed her wings somewhat to uncover herself.

“Ah, there y' are. You, uh, all good now?" He asked awkwardly, his synthetic right arm still outstretched to touch her.

Zera's silence told him all he needed to know. Her timid gaze regarded him cautiously, and Marcus hesitated in saying what he came to say. Instead, an uncomfortable surge of guilt at his behaviour the previous night forced its way into his mind. He slowly removed his hand from Zera's hide.

“I'm sorry about last night," he said finally. “About threatenin' to kill you. Puttin' you under the hose. All of it." Marcus tried to strike a conciliatory tone. “I treated you like an animal, an' that wasn't right. You didn't deserve that."

An extended silence followed, eventually broken by the dragoness. “It's alright… I understand…" she muttered, although the human suspected that wasn't true. Before he could interrupt, Zera continued. “And… I'm sorry for all th-this…" she mumbled hoarsely, unable to look him in the eye. “I must look like such a f-fool…"

Marcus smiled. “You kiddin'? You've nothing to be ashamed of, y'know. I cried like a bitch when my mom died." He looked down at his right arm thoughtfully, hardly registering the dragon's stunned reaction to his words. “Losin' shit is part of life. It sucks, but you just gotta keep goin'." Suddenly self-conscious at his own openness, Marcus cleared his throat. “Erm, anyway," he began, “I was thinkin' stuff over earlier. I'm not gonna make you leave today."

The prone dragoness blinked, apparently taken aback. “W-what?" she stammered, gazing hopefully at him.

“I figure a single meal and a night's rest isn't gonna help much if you're still starvin'. So, uh, I'd not feel right just kickin' you out now." Marcus saw Zera's jaw hang slightly ajar and she almost seemed to quiver in suspense. “So, you can stay here until you're all recovered, if that's what you'd like."

The dragon was frozen, not speaking a word even as her eyes gleamed with emotion. Marcus was unsure what to make of her response. “Erm, I've got plenty of food for you to eat, an' for sleepin' I can get-"

The human almost stumbled back when Zera lunged towards his still-crouched form. Briefly, Marcus panicked, but no attack came from the Feral.

Instead, she did something entirely unexpected.

Zera pressed her elongated snout onto Marcus' left shoulder, resting her jaw on his collarbone and touching her scaled neck against his own. She leant some of her body weight against him and took a deep, shuddering breath, her smooth breast pushing against the human's torso. The moment seemed to last forever. Zera's body felt surprisingly warm against his, and Marcus' mind raced to try and make sense of what was happening. It finally occurred to him that he was receiving the draconic equivalent of a hug.

“Thank you..." she murmured, her voice gently rumbling against the human's shoulder. Marcus felt compelled to -somewhat awkwardly- return the gesture by lightly patting Zera on her back a handful of times. She lingered for a moment longer before pulling back, immediately flinching when she saw the human's bewildered expression. “Ah! S-Sorry, I'm not sure why I did that…" the dragon fretted, her cerulean eyes still brimming with emotion.

Marcus' face shifted through a dozen different expressions as he struggled to process his own thoughts and emotions. “S' alright." He scratched the back of his neck. “You're welcome." The human grunted quietly as he leaned back from his crouch and sat cross-legged on the concrete floor of the garage, still somewhat uncomfortable over the unexpected physical contact. Marcus wasn't really one for emotional intimacy, and hugging wasn't something he ever willingly participated in. He had no living family or close friends, and on the very rare occasion the human might hook up with a one-night stand he always made his excuses and left as soon as the main event was over. So, to receive that kind of contact from practically a complete stranger -and such an unusual one, too- was just weird for him.

It didn't help that Marcus felt he didn't deserve even an ounce of her gratitude.

Zera's head followed Marcus silently as he sat himself on the floor. The dragoness looked like she was anxious to speak, and indeed she licked her lips before raising her unsteady voice to say a single word.

“Why?"

Their eyes met. “Why what? Why help you?" the human asked after a moment.

Zera nodded. “Why do all this for me? I'm grateful!" she added quickly, “But… why?"

Marcus almost snorted in amusement. He'd spent a lot of time over the past day reasoning it out himself. He couldn't tell Zera the whole truth; he doubted she'd even understand his true reasons for helping her. So, he chose to give her a half-truth to avoid complicating matters -and incriminating himself.

“Well… you needed help. An' given what you've told me, I felt I should give it to you." The human looked thoughtfully at the floor for a second. “You're, uh, not what I expected."

The dragon relaxed somewhat, fully folding her wings and letting her tail hang loosely as she lay opposite Marcus on the floor. “What do you mean?" she replied.

“I mean, as a Feral. You're not-" He considered his next words carefully, realising that what he almost said could easily be offensive to Zera. “I've never met someone like you before," he finally managed.

Zera tilted her head inquisitively. “A dragon? Is that what you mean by, uh, fer-al?" She enunciated the word slowly, as if she wasn't quite sure on the pronunciation yet.

“…not exactly. It's a word we have meanin' the big, four-legged creatures that live out in the wilds. Outside Horizon." Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So all dragons are Ferals, yeah, but not all Ferals are dragons. You get me?"

“Um, I suppose… so, would you call a wolf a 'fe-ral' then?" she asked curiously.

Marcus was taken aback by her quick deduction. “Yeah, I guess we'd call wild wolves Ferals. Not the ones in Horizon though, I doubt they'd take kindly to that!" he chuckled to himself.

Zera apparently didn't see the funny side, only looking confused. “What is Horizon?

“What's Horizon? You're in it, darlin."

The dragon creased her brow, then swept her gaze around the room as if searching for some further explanation. “I thought this was a ga-raj?" she finally asked.

That actually got a small laugh out of Marcus. “Not this room, Feral. You're in Horizon City."

“Oh." Zera sounded surprised. “I didn't know it had a name…"

“But you knew about cities, though. 'Else you wouldn't have known to come here lookin' for food," the human deduced, thinking out loud.

“Uhm, s-sort of." Her ears flattened back against her head, a gesture that Marcus had learned meant apprehension or unhappiness. “My mother told me about them. Sh-she warned me never to go there, that they were dangerous for us, that the Two-legs-"

“Two-legs?" Marcus exclaimed. “You call us Two-legs?"

Zera looked down at the floor. “You call us Ferals…"

The human froze. “Ah… guess you got me there." He shuffled uncomfortably on the cool concrete floor. “So, why did you come here if you knew it was so dangerous?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his linguistic faux pas.

“I… I was starving," she began shakily. “I didn't go looking for a city, I just… found it. And I remembered that m-mother had told me the Two-legs didn't hunt for their food, so…" She shrugged her wings, a universal gesture that apparently translated across the cultural boundary. “I guessed you must make your own food. A-and I hoped I would be able to… get some." Zera finished sheepishly. “It was a stupid idea…"

“I dunno about that," Marcus said nonchalantly. “I mean, it worked, didn't it?" he asked, a wry smile on his lips.

The dragon's eyes brightened at his words, and she appeared to relax again. “I suppose it did, in the end. Thank you, again" she added humbly.

“Like I said, don't worry about it." The human could hardly believe how well-mannered Zera was for a wild-living dragon. Even if she didn't possess the same vocabulary as them, she was more well-spoken than the vast majority of Horizon's citizens. Marcus thought back to one of his earlier curiosities. “So, how'd you learn to speak common? No offence," he added quickly. “I'm just surprised since you're not from Horizon, y'know?"

However, Zera didn't appear offended, but bewildered. “I'm not sure I understand…"

Marcus grunted. Perhaps her people had a different name for it. “Common? The language we're speakin' right now?"

The dragon frowned and appeared to think it over. “Do you mean… do you mean that not everyone speaks like us?" she asked.

“Hmph." The human didn't exactly feel like explaining the entire concept of languages this afternoon. “Yeah. Do all dragons speak the same, then?"

“Well, my mother did… I never really knew any other dragons," she said with a tinge of sadness.

“Oh. I guess she taught you herself?"

Zera shrugged. “She taught me everything really. Hunting, flying, fighting… I never was good at any of it, though…" she sighed.

Marcus couldn't help but feel sympathy, his hard heart be damned. He lengthily mulled over what to say in reply.

“Sounds like your mom cared a lot about you."

Despite her obvious emotion, the dragon actually snorted in what seemed like grim amusement. “My mother hated me," Zera uttered bitterly. “I'm almost certain she only did so much for me because her own p-pride wouldn't let her raise a f-failure of a daughter!"

“…oh, uh… really?" Marcus was somewhat stunned by her suddenly resentful tone.

“She all but told me so herself," the dragon frowned. “On her d-deathbed, the last thing mother told me was how d-disappointed she was in me!"

The human froze. “I'm, uh, sure she didn't actually mean that."

“She had every reason to..." Zera said miserably.

Great, Marcus thought. Of all the Ferals out there, he had managed to find the one with severe mommy issues and an inferiority complex. As sympathetic as Zera's case was, he had enough emotional baggage of his own without being laden down with hers as well.

“You ever know your father?" Marcus immediately cursed internally at his total failure to change the subject away from the potentially sensitive topic of family.

Zera shook her head. “Hmph, that drake left before I even hatched. Mother said he abandoned us both as soon as my egg was laid. May curses fall on him…" she muttered.

Marcus grinned. It seemed like the pair had finally found common ground. “Heh, you can say that again. My dad fucked off before I was born too -so fuck 'em both, I say."

The dragoness straightened her posture slightly, and the ghost of a smile played out on her muzzle. “I assume that word is an insult?"

“Er, in a way, yeah."

“Then I concur," Zera grinned, giving Marcus another glimpse of her wicked teeth. It amazed him how quickly the dragon's confidence had grown over the course of their conversation. Underneath the obvious emotional trauma, there was a whole lot more to Zera than he could ever have anticipated.

The pair continued to talk for a while, as Marcus did his best to answer an increasing barrage of questions from the dragon while trying to steer away from talking about his own life specifically. It was better not to reveal too much, the human reasoned. Not when considering exactly who and what he was. The dragoness, for her part, didn't seem to notice or care about his not-too-subtle evasiveness, instead appearing preoccupied with her own insatiable curiosity about the world of the so-called 'Two-legs'.

“So, you can just have as much water as you want, whenever you want?"

She was currently trying to wrap her head around the apparently fascinating concept of indoor plumbing.

“Sure can," Marcus replied indifferently.

“And… it's completely clean? No taint or sicknesses at all?"

The human shrugged. “More or less."

Zera was sat up on her haunches, with her head now several feet above Marcus -who remained sat on the concrete floor. She bore an incredulous expression. “But, how? The City is immense, I saw it all from the sky! How could you possibly… no river would-"

“Hey, don't ask me," Marcus interrupted, holding up his hands in defence. “I'm no fuckin' engineer. I just know it works."

“Amazing…" she murmured. “It's no wonder you Two-legs choose your Cities over nature… you have everything you need here."

Marcus huffed. “Trust me, things are far from perfect here."

“Still, surely-" Zera cut herself off as she let out a deep, rumbling yawn, once again exposing her predatory jaws to the human. Marcus noticed her eyes had begun to droop half-lidded.

“You look exhausted," he remarked.

The dragon looked sheepish. “Uh, well, I must admit, I am f-feeling rather tired."

“In that case," Marcus began, grunting in discomfort as he slowly stood up from the floor, “I'll fuck off for a while. Got shit to do, so you can rest or sleep or whatever."

Zera blinked. “Oh! Um, thank you. That would be good."

As Marcus made for the door, he watched the dragon stand and stretch tenderly, before circling once and lying down with her head resting on the balled-up towel he'd given her the night before. She regarded him with a tired gaze as he opened the garage door.

“I'll be back this evenin' with more food for ya," he said. “You need anythin' before then, just shout."

“I will," Zera murmured softly. “Thank you…"

Marcus was sure the dragon was asleep before he even shut the door behind him.

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Archer woke drearily to the sound of his communicator blaring from across the bedroom. The horse groaned, pulling himself out slowly from under the duvet to sit on the edge of the bed and rub sleep out of his eyes. He looked behind him to see with some surprise that the room's other occupant was still soundly unconscious. Some human redhead whose name he couldn't even hope to remember lay snoring quietly, even as Archer's communicator continued to ring out. Probably still hungover, he thought. Although, the horse wasn't much better himself, given the throbbing headache and unsteady stomach that made themselves known as soon as he stood up.

Last night was all a blur to him. Archer remembered chatting up the girl as the two slammed drink after drink until the lights came on, then all of a sudden he was back in his apartment plowing her like his life depended on it. Picking up humans was always easy for a horse -his species reputation for well-endowment preceded them, and Archer took pride in always leaving a girl satisfied. He grinned to himself at the memory. Maybe when she woke up, they could go for round two -there was no better hangover cure, after all.

What wasn't helping said hangover was the incessant beeping of his communicator. Archer stumbled across the sparsely-furnished room to grab it from the desk it sat upon. But he froze upon seeing the identity of the caller -his superior.

“Shit!" he muttered. Quickly accepting the call and securing his earpiece, he was greeted by the displeased growl of an incredibly pissed-off jackal.

“Archer, you fucking useless sack of shit! Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get you all morning!"

“All morning?" Archer croaked, his throat dry and hoarse from a night of vigorous partying. “It's my day off, Sergei!"

Another growl. “That's Boss to you, you lazy fuck! And frankly, I couldn't care less if it's your fucking wedding day -I need you in, asap!"

The horse froze. He'd never heard Sergei this worked up before. Something was horribly wrong. Archer racked his brains trying to push through his foggy memory. What had happened yesterday? It was something important, something about a-

“The Feral!" he sputtered in realization.

A sigh. “Yeah. The one you called in yesterday."

“What happened?"

“Asset retrieval botched the job, that's what!" the jackal snarled. “Waited until the thing had an open sky before engaging, and it just fucking took off! Can you believe that? Bunch of fucking amateurs!"

Archer kept the call connected as he scrambled to dress himself. “Wait, so it can actually…"

Sergei snorted. “Yeah, those wings work just fine. I've watched the footage myself. Never seen anything like it. Those idiots never even got close enough to use their stun batons!"

“Didn't they at least shoot it with a tranq?"

“They tried," he huffed. “Apparently the round bounced right off! That thing's armoured up to all hell, I'm surprised it didn't stay and fight."

The horse finished pulling on his boots. “So, what now? Did we track it?"

“I fucking wish! All we've got it a general flight path and a handful of eyewitnesses. And," he added, “about ten thousand camera feeds to sort through. Which is why it's all hands on fucking deck right now! How soon can you drag your ass in here?"

Archer gulped. “Uh, shit, twenty minutes? Maybe?"

The jackal grunted. “Suppose that'll have to do."

Hastily scribbling a note for his still-unconscious partner to read once she woke, Archer grabbed a pack of cigarettes and left the dingy apartment. He slammed shut and locked the front door before jogging to the elevators. “Why so many feeds?" Archer asked. “Surely we could just pick a few cameras along its flight path and triangulate where it ended up from there?"

“If only!" Sergei growled. “You might be surprised to learn that pretty much every camera in this fucking city points downwards."

“Oh. Shit" He hadn't considered that at all. It made sense, though. The only things flying in Horizon were drones and airborne transports, both of which could easily be tracked by their inbuilt transponders. There was usually no need to watch the sky.

“Yeah, shit. We're down to looking at half-glimpses of the thing at the edges of frames, shadows, even fucking reflections! It could take us weeks to get through all that data. So you better get here, pronto!"

“Yes, boss." Archer anxiously tapped his foot as he waited for the lift to descend the forty-three floors to street level.

He heard Sergei sigh. “You did good tagging this Feral, Archer. But if we let it get away now, it'll be all our necks on the block."

“I understand."

“Good. Now hurry up -there's more riding on this venture than you know."

The call disconnected.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zera scratched idly at a loose scale on her forearm as she lay curled up on the cool floor. In contrast to her earlier exhaustion, the dragoness now found herself wide awake as the day drew to a close. True to his word, Marcus had returned earlier that evening to bring her a second meal -two more delicious pieces of dripping red meat. Zera had taken care to devour them somewhat less ravenously than the first two, after which the two conversed some more about all sorts of topics.

The dragoness found herself utterly fascinated by the strange and alien lives the Two-legs lived. Zera learned that, free of the need to hunt and forage for survival, they instead filled their time with tasks known as 'jobs' -the nature of which was apparently quite varied. Marcus had attempted to explain to her about something called 'credits', but she found herself quickly lost and the human then purposefully changed the subject.

That frustrated Zera. The more she learned about this place, the more she felt like an ignorant child, totally oblivious to the world around her and too simpleminded to understand it. If Zera had already thought herself useless and inept as a dragon out in the 'Wilds', as Marcus described it, then she felt far more so here in the City. While she was immeasurably grateful for all the human's help, it wounded what little remained of her pride to be fed and watered as a hatchling would be by its mother.

Something else gnawed at the dragon, too. Zera couldn't place the feeling initially. Now that she was rested, fed and already recovering from her injuries thanks to her draconic physiology, she found it difficult to relax. A subtle restlessness began to take root in her mind, and as the evening dragged on Zera found herself sprawled on her back, idly kicking her hind legs up in the air as she fidgeted with the loose scale until it finally broke off, giving her only a momentary satisfaction before she quickly started to miss having something to focus on.

Zera was bored.

She was used to being busy. Especially so after her mother passed. Every waking hour of her day would be spent travelling, hunting and foraging, with almost no downtime other than sleep. Now, the newly energised dragon was having trouble keeping her mounting frustration at bay. Zera didn't know if she could stand even a single day more in here without things to keep her occupied.

Talking to Marcus was one such thing -she was genuinely beginning to enjoy their conversations, despite how utterly terrified she had been of him barely a day ago. Whilst the human had projected an incredibly intimidating presence when he threatened to end her life, it appeared that was simply his response to a potential threat. Zera didn't begrudge Marcus for his actions when they first met; he was simply defending his territory, just as any dragon would do. Besides, he had sincerely apologised and more than made up for it with everything he'd done for her since then. So, she now felt comfortable with and even enthusiastic about being around the human -so much so that she'd felt compelled to give him a brief, grateful and awkward embrace earlier, when he announced his intention to let her stay.

Marcus wasn't here, however. He was busy inside his home doing gods-know-what, and Zera was left to simply stew in her own monotony.

And then, something happened.

Despite her idleness, Zera didn't initially recognise the feeling that began to take over her. The dragoness became more restless; she moved and fidgeted, changing her laying position in a futile attempt to feel more comfortable. Before long, a tingling ache set in below her stomach. Zera briefly worried that she had indeed eaten too quickly, and was getting sick as per Marcus' warning. However, when the feeling spread to her inner thighs and the opening just below her tail, the dragoness finally understood what it was.

Zera had experienced this feeling before. The first time it had come over her, back when she was an adolescent, it was followed by an awkward and terse conversation with her mother about draconic reproduction, and about males. Unlike many of the animal species they hunted, dragons did not have a yearly 'season' when mating occurred. Instead, due to the isolation of their species, mating was opportunistic and random -and as such a dragon could be struck by the mating urge at any time. Zera had not felt it in some time; not since before her mother died. Weeks of exhaustion and slow starvation had taken their toll on Zera's body, but it seemed now that her recovery had begun things were beginning to return to normal. As inconvenient as it may be, she realised the return of this irritating desire was likely a good sign of her improving health.

As for what to do about it… her mother's advice on the subject had been limited. Zera was told to find a cold river or stream if ever the urge took her, and bathe in the frigid waters until the feeling subsided. Under no circumstances should a dragon ever attempt to 'relieve' the need themselves -Zera's mother considered such an act debased and beneath the dignity of their species. The only allowable circumstance for attaining that release was in the company of a suitable mate -after the proper courting process had been completed, of course.

The dragoness shuffled uncomfortably. The sensation in her lower body had grown into a burning, throbbing need which centred on her slit. She lay on her side and squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to sate the feeling. Instead, it only redoubled the problem, and she actually found herself craving even more stimulation. This was a problem that would not resolve itself.

Zera knew her mother would disapprove. But, frankly, the older dragoness was no longer here breathing down her neck every moment of the day. And, despite the pain and uncertainty of that loss, it simultaneously had lifted a restricting weight off Zera's back. She was freer to make her own choices now. Moreover, it wasn't like there was a convenient lake or river nearby to jump into -and this was one problem Zera could never ask Marcus for assistance with.

So, with trembling hesitation, the dragon reached a trembling forepaw down towards her aching nethers, gasping quietly as a single digit made contact with her slit. Still laying on her side, Zera craned her neck down to watch as she began to gently trace up and down the line where her umber scales separated, revealing the light pink flesh of the dragon's sex. Zera flushed when she saw how swollen and puffy it was, the fluids of arousal already staining the scales around it with a sticky sheen.

Hesitation flickered in her mind and she paused, worried about being intruded on by the human during the act. She'd knew likely never recover from the embarrassment. But Zera was too far along to stop now -her body simply wouldn't allow it. So, the dragoness resolved to rely on her keen hearing to alert her of any possible interruptions, and continued.

Making sure not to carelessly let her claws slip out, Zera began to press harder against the parted lips of her sex, softly rubbing it with two digits now. She savoured the pleasurable sensations that coursed from her sensitive nethers, feeling her heart quicken and her breaths deepen.

Gods, she needed this.

This wasn't the first time she'd carried out this act -despite her mother's rigid instructions, Zera had slipped off into the night more than once in the past, under the excuse of relieving herself. Instead, she'd been attaining a very different kind of relief, one which was far more enjoyable than the alternative of a freezing bath in cold waters. And so, she had discovered how to pleasure herself, along with all the euphoric sensations that came along with doing so.

Zera's private area was dripping wet now, and she watched as a rivulet of her juices ran down the scales of her underbelly and onto her thigh. Soon, just stroking her outer lips was no longer enough for the lust-addled dragoness. Halting her motions for a moment, Zera hissed quietly as she slipped a single toe into the soft depths of her slit. She felt it clenching around the intruding digit, which only served to heighten the already enormous pleasure she felt from the act. After rolling from her side onto her back, and spreading her hind legs out to the sides, Zera began to gently finger in and out. Her tongue lolled out of her open maw, and she fought back a loud, lusty growl when she inserted a second toe, spreading her tunnel wider and doubling the pleasure.

Before long, Zera had three toes buried in her unbelievably hot sex, pumping in and out with increasing intensity while her thumb rested to the side for leverage. Her head was thrown back in bliss, and her head swam with images of strong and powerful male dragons -at least, what she imagined them to look like. Zera was panting audibly now as electric sensations coursed from her nethers through her lower body, right down to the tip her tail. The dragon's lust-addled brain was struck by a perverted idea, one she'd only acted out once before.

Ceasing her ministrations briefly, and immediately missing the sensations, Zera withdrew her three digits from inside her slit -which now felt achingly empty. Instead, she used two of them to spread her lips wide, before craning her head forward to watch what she was about to do.

Zera curled her prehensile tail in on itself, bending it back until the tip was pointing back up her underbelly. She reached her free forepaw down to grip the end and pull it into position right by her entrance. The dragoness' rational mind could hardly believe what she was doing, but she didn't care. Her dripping wet sex was already very well lubricated, and with two toes spreading it open it took almost no effort to slip her narrow tailtip inside.

The sensation stole her breath away, and Zera threw her head back once more to let out a barely-stifled moan. Gradually pushing her tail deeper and deeper into her sex, she relished how it widened as it went in, spreading her ever wider as she went. Zera imagined a male dragon in place of her tail, driving his length into the velvety depths of her tunnel. She groaned with pleasure as she thrust her tail in as far as it could go without injuring herself. Looking back down at her vent, Zera revelled at how wide her tapered tail was spreading her. She continued to watch as she slowly withdrew it from her dripping slit, and let out a quiet whine at how empty its absence made her feel. So, she wasted no time forcing it back in again, quicker this time aided by her increased arousal. That satisfying fullness returned, causing Zera to involuntarily squeeze down on the intruding limb and multiply her pleasure even further.

She began to move faster now, repeatedly pulling her tail out before sliding it back inside the hot, wet depths of her sex, the alternating sensations of fullness and emptiness along with the slight friction from her heavily-lubricated tail driving the dragoness wild. Zera whimpered and groaned, her vocalisations accompanied by the recurrent wet slapping and squishing noises coming from her nethers.

Still just about aware of her surroundings, Zera listened out with one ear for any sound from inside the 'house', but could hear nothing. The fact that her own keen hearing could sense nothing from inside Marcus' dwelling reassured the dragoness that the human would not hear the vulgar sounds emanating from her own body, and she relaxed fully into the experience once more.

Zera continued to thrust her tail in and out of her slit, finding a steady rhythm as she worked herself into higher and more intense throes of pleasure. The dragoness could hardly believe how good it felt. She had carried out this particular act with her tail once before, but either her memory was getting fuzzy or her previous experience wasn't nearly as amazing as this one. Perhaps, Zera would later reason, it was simply due to how awful the last cycle had been for her that such a simple, hedonistic act would bring her so much joy. Right now, however, she as simply lost in the moment -and enjoying every bit of it.

Gradually, Zera sensed something new building inside her, separate from the electric sensation she was already feeling in her entire lower body. The dragon knew what it was, from the way her muscles began to tense, and her inner walls quaked and squeezed with increasing intensity. She was approaching the peak, the climax of the mating experience, and from how powerful the incoming wave seemed she knew it would be her most intense one yet. Zera gritted her teeth, her reptilian muzzle frozen in a mask of concentration as she focused on driving herself to that blissful conclusion.

She was almost there. But it seemed like her tail alone wouldn't be quite enough. So, Zera reached her free, shaking forepaw down to the spread lips of her sex. Using the soft pad of a single toe, she began to rub gently at the sensitive spot located just above her entrance -an act which immediately increased her pleasure twofold. Quickly increasing her pace and pressing down harder, the dragoness was overwhelmed with the feeling which came over her, as one last thrust of her tail finally tipped Zera over the edge.

The world turned white. Zera bit down a squeal of delight as her entire body was enveloped in ecstatic waves of euphoria. The feeling spread from her sex all the way to her wingtips, which shot out from underneath the dragon and spread out onto the cool stone floor as her whole body tensed and shook. The inner walls of her sex spasmed and contracted around the end of her tail, each squeeze sending a new bolt of pleasure coursing out. Zera was lost in bliss as she rode out the experience, until all-too-soon it began to fade away, the last euphoric waves finally waning to leave her tired, sore and satisfied.

Zera panted, opening her eyes. She looked down at her nethers, as her green tail slid out of her sex with a wet pop. Sticky fluids coated the entire area, along with her paws and a good portion of her tail. Some had even dripped down her side and rear onto the stone floor, staining it in dark patches.

“Oh gods…" she mumbled. Now that the mental fog of arousal was lifting from her mind, pangs of guilt and shame developed, and Zera started to worry about how careless she had been. What if she'd been too loud? And how was she going to clean up the gods-forsaken mess she'd made? There was no river or lake to wash up in here -and the human would surely notice if she didn't attempt to do so. Still sprawled on her back, Zera frantically looked around the room for something to assist her.

The dragoness' building panic was halted somewhat when she laid eyes on the large piece of fabric which Marcus had granted her. According to the human, the 'tow-ell' was used for cleaning and drying down, so she reckoned it should suit her purpose well. It thankfully lay just within the reach of her forearm, and Zera stretched out to grab it. She quickly got to work, and in short order managed to dry off most off her lower half and forepaws. Zera also cleaned the floor as best she could, but by that point the fabric was becoming damp and sticky itself, so she balled it up and tossed it aside where the human would hopefully ignore it for now.

Zera took a deep breath and rolled onto her side once more. Her vigorous self-pleasure had left the dragon's muscles aching, especially her tail, and her sex too felt sensitive -but also satisfied. Whilst she now felt some embarrassment from having carried out such a …lewd… act, Zera couldn't deny that it was the best she'd felt in a long, long time. Now, she was sated, relaxed and pleasantly tired. Marcus had presumably retired to bed himself, and the dragoness felt that urge begin to overtake her as well.

With a contented sigh, Zera curled her scaled body in on herself, and gradually slipped once more into a peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Automatic gunfire tore down the narrow hallway, impacting and denting the bare metal wall opposite Marcus. His motion tracker displayed one contact approximately three meters past the corner the human was currently taking cover behind. Marcus swore as one of the rounds ricocheted off the dark grey alloy towards him, barely skimming past his ear.

His opponent had him pinned; this single corridor was the only thing standing between the human and his target, yet it was also the most defensible position in the building. No cover and bright illumination meant that, unless his opponent was a terrible shot, Marcus would be dead the second he poked his head around the corner.

So, he waited as bursts of fire periodically peppered the nearby wall. His enemy was attempting to keep him pinned until backup or, even worse, law enforcement arrived. Marcus had no intention of engaging his former employers; the idea left a bad taste in his mouth. And besides, he knew that they'd never stop pursuing if he did -whilst Horizon's police force was notoriously ineffectual at combating most crime, cop-killers were hunted down with all the resources that could be mustered.

Finally, the opportunity the human had been waiting for came. The incoming fire stopped momentarily, and Marcus's aural implants allowed him to hear the quiet curse of his opponent along with the crucial sound of a magazine being ejected. Not wasting a millisecond, Marcus whirled around the corner and aimed his own rifle in a single movement. He squeezed the trigger, sending his own burst of automatic fire down the hall. It hit the still-reloading canid centre mass, dropping him like a stone as the high-velocity rounds shredded through his flimsy body armour like paper.

Marcus quickly paced down the hallway with his rifle still raised. His motion tracker was clear, aside from a single ping from inside the apartment the now-deceased canid had been guarding. That was the human's target. As he stepped over the warm corpse, Marcus felt a sense of unease creeping in the pit of his stomach.

Something wasn't right here. His memory was fuzzy, but it felt like there was some critical detail that he'd forgotten.

“No. Focus," Marcus told himself. There was a job to complete, after all.

He reached for the metal door handle, hesitating for just a moment. He knew his target wouldn't be armed, but….

Wait, how did he know that?

The door swung inwards; Marcus hardly aware of having pushed it. Inside, hunched on the bare floor, was….

“Zera?"

The dragon was sobbing quietly, and her eyes were sunken and dark when she looked up at Marcus to meet his gaze. “P-please don't k-kill me…" she choked.

Marcus took an unsteady step back. “What the fuck? How did -what?" he stuttered, now completely confused and disorientated. The room started to get darker as the lights dimmed seemingly on their own; something his corneal implants should have mitigated -but apparently couldn't. The human's heart pounded against his chest as 'Zera' stood up and bared her teeth, her eyes beginning to glow blood-red.

There was barely time for Marcus to react before the Feral lunged at him, jaws open and claws outstretched, ready to tear out his throat. He roared, his face frozen in a mask of fear and violence. In one instantaneous motion he raised his rifle and held the trigger down, the muzzle flash now the only light source to illuminate the leaping dragon going for his jugular.

Suddenly, everything was dark. Marcus heard a heavy thud among the still-echoing gunshots, and with shaking hands he lowered his rifle. It took a moment for his augmented vision to adjust to the unexpected darkness. He could hardly make out the shape of the body on the floor in front of him. Marcus tentatively leaned down to check her, even as his frazzled mind struggled to process what had just happened. Zera was dead. She was dead, and he had killed her.

Then he saw her face.

Marcus cried out and stumbled back. Where the corpse of a dragon should be, the red-furred figure of Ekon's girlfriend lay still and unmoving, a single bullet hole right in the centre of the fox's forehead -where Marcus had put it himself.

“No!" he shouted. “That -this ain't fuckin' real!"

To his horror, the fox-girl's eyes opened, and she stood up stiffly from the floor, like a puppet on strings. As the living corpse moved it began to decay, its skin withering and rotting as clumps of red fur fell to the ground. Marcus felt bile rise in his throat when one of the corpse's eyes popped and began to leak out of its skull.

Then it spoke. It spoke -not with the fox's voice, but with Zera's.

“Why did you kill me, Marcus?" it gurgled through a rotting maw, teeth and bone becoming visible as the flesh melted away.

“No!" he cried. “Get back! Get the fuck back!" As the reanimated horror began to stumble towards him, Marcus suddenly found himself backed into a dead end. He began to fire wildly, too overtaken with fear to properly aim his rifle. The corpse didn't even slow as it trudged towards the panicked human, dripping melted flesh and decaying fluids as it went.

He fired until the rifle ran dry, to no effect. Marcus dropped the gun, intending to punch the thing's head in with his powerful prosthetic arm. To his alarm, however, he looked down to find the limb gone -replaced by a gaping, bleeding hole in his right shoulder. The human could do nothing but cry out in shock as a rotting, clawed hand went for his throat…

*

Marcus jerked his head up off the sofa, a silent cry quickly strangled in his throat as he comprehended where he was, and that he was safe. The human grunted with pain and brought a hand to his chest to gently massage his aching ribs. Despite his discomfort, Marcus was filled with relief when he realised the horrific experience he'd just been through was simply another bad dream -although it had been perhaps the worst one yet.

“Shit…" he mumbled. Even as they began to fade into memory, the terrible visions from his nightmare continued to play across Marcus' psyche. To his agitation, he noticed his real arm was shaking a little -whether from adrenaline or fear he couldn't quite place. It was probably both. The human slowed his ragged breathing with some effort, attempting to focus and calm his racing mind.

Gradually, the shaking stopped.

With a grimace, Marcus stood up from the couch and haphazardly gestured at the viewscreen opposite him. The display brightened, causing Marcus' corneal implants to adjust automatically as the darkened house was suddenly illuminated. The human was taken aback when he saw the time -already after ten at night. He'd apparently fallen asleep shortly after giving Zera her dinner, when he sat down to browse for something to watch. Evidently, he hadn't-

“Zera," Marcus muttered. She had been there! He shot her, she… she was fine, he remembered. His unexpected guest was still safe in the garage where he'd left her. The human frowned in irritation. Being this frazzled wasn't like Marcus. The last few days had been too chaotic and stressful, even for someone as hardened as him. Too much had changed.

But then, wasn't that what he wanted? Change?

A jolt of pain in his chest brought Marcus' attention to more immediate matters. He was almost overdue another regen-injection, but his last dose of painkillers had already worn off and he'd already exceeded his self-imposed limit of three per day. “Fuck it," he thought. He'd allow himself one more, just this once. Otherwise, he'd likely be kept awake half the night by the pain.

He moved gingerly up the step from his open-plan living area into the kitchen, before proceeding to grab a single painkiller tablet from his cupboard of medical supplies. As Marcus filled a cup of water and prepared to down the medicine, his aural implants picked up a strange, barely-audible noise coming from somewhere inside the house.

The human froze.

Then it sounded again, somewhat louder this time. It almost sounded like a quiet grunt of effort -or a groan of pain. His first thought was of an intruder. Marcus was about to dash for his gun before he stopped himself, resolving to assess the situation first. As he listened carefully, he heard the sound again. It seemed to be coming from the garage. At that he physically relaxed -it was likely just Zera moving around, he reasoned.

“Might as well check," he mumbled. Still standing behind the kitchen island, Marcus gestured casually towards the viewscreen in his living room, opening up the camera display for the garage. Thankfully, nothing was amiss. The dragon was reclining idly on her back, with a front paw-

Marcus choked on his water, almost inhaling the tablet he'd been trying to swallow. He set the glass down, coughing and sputtering, and looked back at the viewscreen to confirm he'd not somehow hallucinated that.

“You've got to be fuckin' jokin'…" he muttered. On the screen, displayed in full high definition, was a live feed of the Feral in his garage doing something… sexual. Marcus' brain struggled to formulate a sensible reaction to the total craziness he was watching. Out of all the strange things the human thought he might witness in his life, not even his wildest nightmares even came close to the sight of a dragon… well, masturbating. Inside his own home.

The human released a breath he'd been holding before rubbing his eyes forcefully, as if to cleanse the image from his vision. It was still there, of course. “What… what the fuck_?" Marcus whispered hoarsely. He couldn't even begin to guess why Zera had decided to do… that, what with the prospect of getting caught, and… what in god's name was she doing with her _tail?

Marcus could do naught but gawk at the scene unfolding on his viewscreen. It felt like watching a car wreck in slow motion -he couldn't drag his gaze away no matter how much he tried. The human had no idea what to do or how he was supposed to react. He simply kept watching.

Unfortunately, Marcus' body reacted for him. A tightness arose in his groin, straining against the fabric of his underwear regardless of his mental disinclination, and his face began to flush. Immediately, he gestured at the screen to close the camera feed. He quickly leaned into the sink, cupping his hands to repeatedly splash cold water over his face. Marcus felt disgusted by his apparent voyeuristic enjoyment of a private act he was clearly never meant to see. He should have realised that Zera had no idea about the cameras placed throughout his home. How would she have known? Anyone from Horizon who found themselves in her situation would have assumed they were under precautionary surveillance, but the dragon probably didn't even understand what a camera was in the first place!

A dozen different emotions played across Marcus' mind. Taking prime position were disgust, guilt and shame. Disgust and shame at himself for reacting the way he did, and because of who and what Zera was. Person or not, she was still a Feral; to even think a sexual thought involving someone like her was just wrong.

Wasn't it?

Marcus sighed. Even aside from the species issue, the human felt immensely guilty for betraying the trust of someone he'd decided to aid. It was like he'd just negated any of the good deeds he'd carried out by helping Zera, as if their increasingly friendly relationship was now tainted irreparably by Marcus' unintentional voyeurism.

As if to accentuate that thought, Marcus heard further noise coming from the garage, now more obviously sexual in nature. He tried to mentally block out the muffled groaning sounds which were just audible to him from the kitchen. Suddenly, a stifled, feminine squeal pierced through his concentration, leaving only silence in its wake.

He could hazard a guess as to what that was.

“Hm…" Marcus grunted. Well, he decided, he wasn't entirely to blame in this situation. It seemed Zera was not as innocent and naïve as he'd been led to believe, and it'd been her choice to carry out the 'act' when the human could have walked in at any time, camera or none. Maybe it would be better to just forget the whole incident, he thought. Or at least try to. Things were getting far too complicated as it was. Though, Marcus worried, he might never be able to look at his not-so-innocent guest the same way again.

Silence settled heavily across the house, broken only by the quiet drip of a faucet not completely shut off. Marcus glanced at it in mild irritation. Wordlessly, he retrieved another painkiller from the sachet and swallowed it down dry.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________