Chapter 36: The Day of the Deceased
 
(Octokew 31st, Year 665 of the 4th Age)
 
I had mixed feelings about this day. On the one hand, it was a somber day as the nation remembered the dead, primarily the ones that were once youthful, and the Darkened Seven aggrandized the somberness. The flip side meant that Þýyraekuorja would be over tomorrow, and it would be a grand bacchanal in celebration of Faer’s rejuvenation. Today was also the day I would spend the night at Gellir’s house and deal with his begetter. The thought of entering a dragon’s lair sunk into my physique as fast as my bed ingurgitated me.

I finally left my cot and had breakfast, identical to the start of the sacrosanct remembrance. My brother glared at me as we engorged on victuals. We had our little spat days earlier after he found out I would be at Gellir’s domicile. He was reticent while he ate. His expression was adequate for his mouth. My eyes briefly glanced at Róstran, and Róstran looked at us with some trepidation, so I dissimulated my inimicality by jocosely rubbing his head.

The festivity commenced by going to the largest bethel erected in town because the mayor needed to speak to everyone. My family was one of the lucky ones to nab spots inside the church with the pups, and only Róstran elected to remain in his vestments. I stared at the pilose mass that extended well beyond the main entrance. A male Fenri with black and red fur on his well-toned body emerged, being one of the exiguous few who had habiliments on. He began with a funereal declamation about the youth who died prematurely, including some recent examples.

Then, the chosen priest took over and started a homily about another significance of this day. It was also the moment when the Fenri almost faced extinction by Salföðgrí in the 2nd Age because Þakúrötyðlý and Faer killed each other days before. Tomorrow marked the end of Þýyraekuorja and the inauguration of Faegravlörin, celebrating Faer’s temporary return to defeat Salföðgrí by cranking sybaritism to the max. He supplicated to our god to ensure the protection of the living and to guide the souls that sauntered in the afterlife toward deliverance.

The furry throng moved as one as it vacated the chapel, divagating in the streets to the cemeteries. Dad took his clan to the ossuary for the military veterans. We followed him across the wide area of grass, gravestones, and mourning families to where his group was, encountering Tandri kneeling in front of a grave naked. I observed them palaver after dad ensconced next to him, but the distance made it arduous to discern the topic, fretting Tandri would divulge my sin, so I scooted closer.

“Not as many of us as it used to be, Brákfur,” Tandri sighed melancholically, coughing violently into his left fist a couple seconds later.

“It gets smaller every year,” dad replied, wrapping his right arm around Tandri’s neck. “At least they’re with Faer now and no longer have to bear the toll we have.”

“And he knows by how much.” Tandri stood up.

Dad assisted Tandri. “Going to visit Sóldögg next, I presume.”

Tandri nodded. “Albeit shorter than usual.” He glanced up to the blue sky. “I’ll see her soon.” He and dad were silent for almost a moment until he expected again. “Ahh. Have you thought about what you want on your grave for people to remember you by?”

Dad grunted. “Faithful. Fearless. Caring.”

Tandri chuckled slightly mirthfully. “More cocksure than I am.”

Dad’s ears twitched. “You don’t have any?”

“I only have one that I yearn to earn: completed. Other than that,” Tandri shook his head slowly, “nothing.”

I glanced down as a random sprightly pup suddenly bumped against me as she ran by, looking back at dad as I heard him utter, “I can’t believe you don’t see the other two characteristics.”

Tandri turned his cranium toward dad. “I’m curious as to what those that are apparently flagrant to you.”

“First one is easy.” Dad lifted a finger. “You’re gentle. I’ve seen you pissed off on rare occasions, but the rancor never culminated into a paroxysm of violence, and the pups around town aren’t timid of you.”

“That is true, although I may have said or did something I repined later.” Tandri hacked again. “And the other?”

Dad lifted another finger. “Resolute. You stick to your beliefs no matter what, and if they did change, it wasn’t a flip-flop. I remember when we were captured and witnessed you undergoing torture, and you told the torturers to burn in hell every time basically.”

Tandri shuddered fugaciously. “So, you admire my exactitude. Would that change if it ended up making me do regretful actions?” My alarm was piqued.

“We spent many decades together, so I know that there isn’t a pernicious bone in your body and trust your actions and reasons are noble.”

Tandri rubbed his chin. “So in a hypothetical scenario where you discover I kept something pertinent to you a secret for awhile, you won’t consider the action an act of bunko of our friendship?”

Dad shook his head. “I would consider that reaction sinful if I didn’t give myself a chance to hear you out on your reasoning. It would tarnish the oath I made to you as my brother and dearest friend for many years.”

Tandri grinned, blending in some lugubriousness. “I’m jocund you think of me that way.” Dad pulled him closer for a hug, and I beheld their penises obtruding out of their sheaths. His penis was above average for a regular Fenri when it was erect, and he became flustered as it caressed dad’s testicles and shaft. “Sorry.”

Dad chuckled a bit, patting Tandri on the back, and he held him tighter. “Don’t fret about it. There’s nothing you could do that would make me think less of you.”

“You don’t mind if we stay like this for a little longer?”

“Take as much time as you need, brother.” I watched dad and Tandri embrace each other for a few minutes, observing their genitalia pressed tightly together and leaking precum. I caught Tandri furtively grinding his penis against dad’s penis. They would’ve stayed there for Faer knew how long until mom made an exaggerated cough, causing me to shake the thought of them osculating and rubbing each other perfervidly. At the same time, their cocks penetrated each other’s sheath. “That’s the signal for me to get going.” They surceased their coddling. “Take care, Tandri, and you’re more than welcome to stop by my house more often, you realize.”

Tandri waved dad farewell. “I might take you up on that offer,” he pointed at mom, “especially if she’s in the mood at making that wonderful dinner from last time.”

“I can reserve a day soon,” mom responded, waving at Tandri.

We followed dad to another cemetery where the vast sea of fur was. I saw Róstran fragment from the group immediately after we entered the gate, although dad and the stepbrothers were unconcerned with his behavior. I followed Róstran with Lárus on my tail.

Róstran stopped at a grave in a penumbra from a nearby tall tree. He knelt in front of it, produced a bouquet of lavender, and placed the flowers on the ground. I heard him start humming. It got louder and louder until he produced words.

I’m lost in the void and scream out your name
Oh, Death, strike a deal— I will

And it feels, and it feels like
Paradise’s out of reach
And it pains, and it pains
Now the world’s so frozen
Ever since you departed

Lárus and I waited for Róstran to finish the lyrics before ambulating to him. I noticed the letters spell out Svanhæri, flattening my ears. “So, that’s what I happened,” I uttered.

Róstran jumped a bit despite the lugubrious aura smothering him. “Gah! When did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago,” Lárus answered.

“One of these days, someone will spy on you two without your knowledge and see if you enjoy your comeuppance,” Róstran grumbled.

Lárus incurvated his body closer to the gravestone. “Who’s Svanhæri?”

“My sister,” Róstran replied with a frown.

Lárus flattened his ears. “Oh. What happened?”

“A monster killed her in front of my eyes, and I was impotent to do anything about it.” I saw Róstran start to quaver from losing his cool. “Today is the fifth anniversary since she immolated herself for me, right before we—” He retrogressed further, and we moved in to comfort him, but he suddenly jolted and repelled us, covering his head. “Don’t hurt me!” He insufflated his lungs in a panic.

I lifted my hands up. “It’s just us, Róstran. No one’s here to harm you.”

Lárus also had his hands up. “Like anyone could get past us. Right, Kaera?” I nodded affirmatively, and he scanned all over the purlieus.

Although his breathing was still rapid, Róstran reverted closer to his normal state. “Sorry about that,” he apologized to us.

Lárus shrugged it off. “Don’t fret about it.”

My cognate brother and I flanked Róstran’s side after he spent a few more minutes at Svanhæri’s grave, and I caught him staring intensely at his feet. Our parents weren’t where we last saw them, so we wandered the vast sepulcher. I noticed Hjálmveig with her naked parents at another grave, so I took them on a circumnavigation to her.

Hjálmveig waved at us insipidly. “Howdy,” she spoke in a croaky voice.

I recoiled slightly at her intonations. “Eesh. Somebody’s under the weather in more ways than one.”

Hjálmveig cracked a small smile. “Lucky for me, the full brunt just dissipated, or else I would still be in bed and not get the chance to pay respects to my older sister and best friend for being the one I felt safe in confiding secrets with.” She coughed into her left elbow. “Æðöggyt is not a bitch to trifle with. Forgive me for not talking much.”

“We understand,” Róstran uttered, nodding once, and my twin sibling and I shook also. “We’ll let you convalesce and regain your voice.” Hjálmveig acknowledged with a hand gesture, and we introduced ourselves to the maturer, fecund Fenri couple with golden fur before leaving.

We resumed our search for our parents or stepbrothers amongst the furry legion, discerning them in the distance. An obstacle hindered us, and I perceived a familiar voice. Manasína was at one of the graves with Vakörr and Ingileif, all three in the buff, and he appeared cantankerous.

“Hi, you three,” Manasína greeted us with a wave, and she ran toward us.

Lárus reciprocated the wave. “Hello.” Manasína stopped just short of him. “What has your father pissed off?”

Manasína shrugged insouciantly. “He gets irascible this time of year. We are visiting his parents’ graves right now, and then we’ll head to the ossuary for military to pay respects for Arngils.”

“Sorry for bringing that old wound up.”

Manasīna waved the apology dismissively. “All’s good. I was a young pup when the news arrived, so I don’t have much recollection about him. Hey! Did you see Hjálmveig at all today? She’s somewhere around here.”

“We just saw her not too long ago,” I answered, frowning a couple seconds later. “That illness she’s recovering from must compound on the already disconsolate day for her.”

“Yeah, considering she loves her older sister… well… adored actually. If you want my exhortation, I advise avoiding Hjálmveig on her birthday because that’s when her sibling committed suicide.”

Thank you for dropping adamantine on my mood, Manasína, I thought. “Oh.”

“Some canard about Æggylín made the rounds in school several years ago, and it caused her to take her life, according to what the lore I heard supposedly said.” Manasína started to eye Lárus’s junk.

Lárus appeared uncomfortable, rubbing his neck. “That would be rough to have that occur on your birthday.”

“Hey, Kaera!” I looked to my left, discerning a naked Gellir waving at me.

I returned the gesture. “Gellir!”

Gellir jogged up to where we were, and I heard Manasína whistle stentorianly at his erection. “Hubba-hubba.”

“It’s fortuitous that you are here.” Gellir gesticulated behind him without turning his head. My father and mother are just beyond that hill behind me, so you can visit my domicile sooner.” He turned to Lárus after Lárus growled transitorily. “Hey, Lárus. Ready for the second biggest game of the season in a few days?”

“Yeah, sure,” Lárus responded curtly and swiftly. He immediately stormed off with his arms folded, and Róstran appeared conflicted, glancing between him and me.

Gellir’s amicable smile transmogrified into a morose frown. “Will he ever not be pugnacious about my adoration for you?”

I grabbed Gellir’s right arm and nuzzled him. “His contumely won’t have any weight,” I temerariously grabbed his penis and stroked it, “once you stuff your knot in me and fill my vagina with cream during our Mating Ceremony.” I quickly released his pecker once I realized how brazen I was by holding it. “Swear to Faer you won’t mention this to anyone.”

Manasína had her left palm facing me. “I swear.”

I promptly stared at Róstran, whose expression was redolent of Lárus’s demeanor. “You swear?” I asked sternly.

Róstran flinched from my assertiveness. “I swear.”

“Good.” I looked at Lárus as he walked further away. “Tell mom and dad that I’ll be with Gellir’s family now,” I vociferated. He waved while ambulating without turning around, and I turned to Róstran. “You can go with Lárus. I’ll be fine.” Róstran nodded and ran to him.

I held Gellir’s left metacarpus as we headed up a hillock, and his nude parents were on the declination on the other side. They took us to their coach. The trepidation emerged within me from beholding Rikka, increasing further when I entered it and sat in front of him while abutting my inamorato, and the wheels started moving. My nose twitched from a smell I knew too well. Rikka’s mate was in her estrus.

Rikka had his wife procumbent and began perforating her cunt the moment the carriage got out of the cemetery. I watched how they copulated. He just dove right in, treating the act as a matter of inconvenience. I averted my gaze to the window adjoining me, taking surreptitious glances at Gellir and his progenitors. Would they become my fate? Would the lust between Gellir and me evanesce and Gellir would start treating me like an incessant pest? Did all couples suffer the same kismet? I supplicated that Gellir and I would live happily ever after in the fairytales I heard and from the books I read just so my brother couldn’t claim victory over this battle.

The carriage shook and bounced from the trail and the strenuous sex between Gellir’s parents. Rikka swiftly climaxed, growling like he was glad to be finished with an irritant, and I beheld his testicles shrivel. I thought he would’ve left the act, but he demonstrated some love towards his spouse. He went for her vagina after his knot shrunk, licking his semen flowing out, and his gonads had quite the reservoir. The lights from a house on a hill appeared in the distance.

My stupefaction stood alongside my disquietude when I got a closer view of Gellir’s monarchical dwelling. It gave my mansion a run for its money. The servants promptly emerged in an orderly manner and welcomed us by opening the coach, and escorting us to the foyer. They had us sit at the furnished dinner table, coming out with viands next. The cynosure was a duck roasted whole, including its head and neck, and one of the assistants lit it on fire. It immediately burst into a blue conflagration, leaving a burnish on the dark brown skin at the end, and I dug in after a server carved some meat for me.

I scanned the pictures of Rikka while ingurgitating on the comestibles. They showed him and his family, going from the most recent to what I assumed was Gellir as a newborn pup to after he mated his wife at the Mating Ceremony and beyond. He still had the scary stoicism in every edition he was in, and it appeared his lineage had deep connections to the Alpha Prime, like my stepdad’s heritage. I went back to one of the naked family reunions that had Gellir and about to scrutinize Aðalstænn and Sæarún further when his spouse spoke.

Rikka’s wife got his attention by waving her silverware. “You won’t believe what I picked up from hanging out with my girlfriends recently.”

“What?” Rikka sundered some flesh off the duck’s leg.

She skewered some pabulums with her fork. “There’s a horde of potential suitors vying for the coveted spot of being Ilmur’s mate.”

Rikka wiped his lips with a napkin. “I could’ve conjectured that.”

The feminine spouse paused from engorging on the food, lowering the fork. “Well, rumors are spreading that Kellam is one of the challengers.”

Rikka raised his eyebrows briefly, even though he maintained a phlegmatic expression. “That is some news.” They furrowed while he tapped his index fingers together. “He would be a serious asset to the Church of the Red Wolf. The members from the fringe sect may be a bunch of jingoistic iconoclasts, from what I gathered from my association with my brother, but that could be what this country needs.” He chuckled as he swirled some rubicund liquid in his glass. “It will be such a shame for Íkamæn to plaster his face all over the snow.”

“The Alpha Prime should just choose my big brother immediately and spare everyone else the embarrassment of combating against him,” Gellir vaunted gleefully. “There’s no one that can match Íkamæn.”

I was taken aback by the drastic change from Gellir, clearing my throat. “Doesn’t Ilmur have a say since her Mating Ceremony is especial?”

Rikka shook his head, sounding amused with my inquest. “Negatory. She will have sex in front of the whole capital with whoever wins the tournament.”

“So, she doesn’t have a say in whatsoever?”

“Nope.” Even Rikka’s smile had a minacious aura. I ate my dinner in silence, listening in on my future family’s gossip. Then, he accompanied me to my assigned room, stopping me halfway and gesticulating at a closed door. “If there is one ukase I must belabor it is this— do not enter this room under any circumstance. There are secrets in there only meant for Alphas.”

I nodded vigorously and had horripilation from Rikka’s gruff voice. “Understood.”

My room was opulent and more of a suite than my actual chamber, my mouth hanging open— sorry, dad. It had a huge walk-in closet, but my favorite was the extravagant bathroom conterminous to the bedroom. I didn’t have to leave it to succor my bladder or intestine or to soak in the tub that could comfortably house two people. I could live contently if it had a larder and a cooking method and if my culinary skills were adequate.

I immediately filled the bathtub when I was alone. I dipped my toes in the water, slowly submerging myself until it just touched my chin. The tub was redolent to the spa I went to in the Red Zone. My mind dwelled on Róstran’s sister. I filled in many blanks on what she appeared, giving her what I deemed perfect proportions. Her breasts were symmetrical and less saggy than my mammillae, and her fundament was plump. I gave her brown eyes and a smile that could enliven people. Yeah, only a monster could have the effrontery to purloin her life from this world, surmising she was a roseate individual.

The images of Svanhæri became ribald, and I gradually immersed myself in her, fondling her boobs, flashing her vagina in various positions, and having coitus with Róstran. A knock, followed by a sudden intrusion by Gellir, rescued me before I got too engrossed with Lárus and I joining them for a foursome.

“Ahh!” Gellir sighed after submerging in the tub and forcing me to relocate my feet.

“So, is that what you truly believe about the Mating Ceremony?” I catechized seriously. “That it’s a game to further your family’s power?”

Gellir paused as he leaned back, reversing direction. “My apologies for coming off that way during supper. I received severe castigation and objurgation from my sire for the jeremiad I gave at your house, so I’m eschewing his asperity for awhile.”

“You sounded indubitable.”

Gellir placed his elbows on the tub’s edges. “Then, my histrionics is still sharp.”

I sat up just a smidgen above the water, giving Gellir a pellucid view of my tits as I placed my arms on the tub. “You’re serious that you want me at our Mating Ceremony out of unadulterated adulation?”

Gellir looked at the door to the bedroom as if he expected someone to enter from the hallway and barge through at any moment, turning his head back to me seconds later. “Just between you and me— I plan on telling him that I’m not interested in politics, won’t be his pawn, and give an affable, sententious valedictory that means fuck you to him.” He tilted his head up. “Or I can be brusque and say fuck you and fuck off to him, skipping the magniloquence entirely.” His head returned to its original position. “Either way, my father won’t matter much in our lives once we officially mate and move out no matter how acrimonious his philippic will be.” I observed him vacate the bathtub and grab a towel, wiping his front with his back facing me. “While we’re on the topic of mating,” he turned around, and the towel worked on his back, “we can do an ersatz version tonight, and you can be the magnate this time.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You staid?”

“I swear to Faer and also depose under him that this will count as two out of three for your debt.”

I stood in the tub, snapping an arm in the bed’s direction. “Then, get into position.”

Gellir acknowledged with a nod. “Aye, aye.”

I noticed Gellir had a miscellany of lubricous items on my bed once I dried myself. I assayed each one, narrowing them to four: a collar with a leash, an artificial phallus that vibrates, a spiky ring, and straps. He became erect and atingle when I tied him to the bed with the straps and inserted the vivacious vibrator in his anus. I sensed the dominance astir within me as I attached the collar and leash on his neck and tightened the ring around his scrotum despite not having anyone pull my tail recently. If only I had a lascivious outfit that was fitting for a feminine predator.

I had Gellir’s penis perfectly straight as I straddled my taint above the acicular tip, swiping a bottle of lubricant from the bed. A viscid, limpid glob plopped on the glans, and I slathered it all over his dick, smelling a fruity aroma. My hands twisted the shaft in addition to the jerks, giving the tumescent part tight compressions. With the bridles on his appendages, he writhed as best as possible, and I savored watching him squirm and huff.

The testicles dangled further from the studded ring attached to the sack. I grabbed it where I didn’t have to contend with the spikes and yanked them. Gellir went ballistic, and he sounded like he enjoyed the torment, so I continued tugging them tightly while stroking his endowment, getting him closer to his orgasm. My mission was to be two-thirds of the way through my debt promptly. Plus, Rikka would erupt if he caught us copulating before our Mating Ceremony, regardless of whether his prominence could prevent us from the ornery consequences.

I hovered my butt over Gellir’s cock, tugging harshly on the leash as I repeatedly plummeted strenuously on it. His knot was a protrusive obstacle, barely getting farther into my anus with each declension. I varied my speed in hopes it was the key to loosening it. He acted like I was effervescent and rough just for him when I actually wanted to fulfill my end of the bargain quickly, and I had to shut his muzzle. At least someone extracted some enjoyment out of this, even if he acted. I derived some pleasure from being dominant, although I mainly felt insipid. I managed to get Gellir to tie and climax inside my posterior orifice. However, I didn’t achieve my crescendo, perceiving a void instead.

Gellir’s knot eventually dislodged from my pucker, and I swerved around, presenting the pink aperture and my pussy to Gellir. I pulled him closer, sensing his tongue going to work back there. The ecstasy poured into my cauldron, steadily filling it. He frequently got an iota obstreperous and licked my anus and the sperm that leaked out, so I kept refocusing him via his leash to keep my cunt wet and stimulated.

I got a hold of my inamorato’s cum-covered penis, sampling the flavor of his maleness. I tasted a concoction of fruity, salty, saccharine, and gamey while I bobbed my head, taking my time to not expunge the supply while I still yet to obtain my sexual apogee. Doubt came in as I noticed the unusually prolongated time to orgasm. Then, fear crept in, fretting that I retrogressed to my battle at taming my heat. I pulled harder on the leash and pressed my fundament on his physiognomy while bathing his penis in saliva. At this point, I didn’t care which orifice got his tongue.

Eventually, I got my orgasm, and it didn’t have as much puissance as before despite the sacchariferous deluge on his visage. I sensed a vacuity within the beatific abysm, siphoning the rapture away. I excogitated about the sudden arduousness in reaching it. Perhaps I wasn’t in the mood and more focused on settling the debt than engrossing myself in the amatory side of sex. It didn’t actually mean the spark between Gellir and me lost its effulgence, and it would persist when we fornicated and became mates for life.

I got off Gellir’s countenance when I perceived the paroxysm in his muscles. He insufflated his lungs through his nostrils and beckoned me with his tied-up fingers. I got closer, receiving a surprise from the osculation. He kept the last amount of semen that came from my ass, exchanging it with me. Salty and earthy flavors stormed across my tastebuds. The repeated swaps aggrandized the cum’s volume while diminishing its taste.

I drained the jizz out of Gellir’s testicles throughout the night and barely came a couple of times. He insisted on keeping the ring on his ballsack while he slept after I untied him and removed the plug. He dozed off first, holding me close to his chest. I heard him hum the lyrics to My Precious Possession as my eyes shut, and I had a familiar dream.
