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After many more years than I can even count at this point, I'm finally churning out some prose again for public consumption. This short story is part of my \"Sexy Short Stories\" series that I want to run for the year of 2025, mostly to shake the dust and cobwebs off and to try to get myself back into the routine of creating content in one of my favorite formats for others to (hopefully) enjoy.\n\nFirst up in a two character story involving Skandir the coyote and Ki'hera/Cricket the river otter. The two of them are separated from their homes and by mere happenstance, end up together to help each other survive without the support group they grew up with and are used to. Pondering and thinking a little bit about their past lives does lead to an unexpected interaction between the pair of them, which I hope is enjoyed by those who choose to read it. I'm kind of a sucker for interspecies pairings and awkward romantic encounters, so if either of those things are up your alley, I hope you'll give it a read and let me know your thoughts. Expect more content like this next month, including the potential for some polls in the future to try to gauge what content is most interesting to prospective readers.\n\n[b]Story & Characters[/b] ©: @Varwulf\n\n[b]Character(s):[/b]\n[url=https://toyhou.se/6735181.skandir]Skandir[/url]\n[url=https://toyhou.se/6735089.ki-hera]Ki'hera[/url]","description_bbcode_parsed":"Welp, it's finally happened. After many more years than I can even count at this point, I'm finally churning out some prose again for public consumption. This short story is part of my "Sexy Short Stories" series that I want to run for the year of 2025, mostly to shake the dust and cobwebs off and to try to get myself back into the routine of creating content in one of my favorite formats for others to (hopefully) enjoy.

First up in a two character story involving Skandir the coyote and Ki'hera/Cricket the river otter. The two of them are separated from their homes and by mere happenstance, end up together to help each other survive without the support group they grew up with and are used to. Pondering and thinking a little bit about their past lives does lead to an unexpected interaction between the pair of them, which I hope is enjoyed by those who choose to read it. I'm kind of a sucker for interspecies pairings and awkward romantic encounters, so if either of those things are up your alley, I hope you'll give it a read and let me know your thoughts. Expect more content like this next month, including the potential for some polls in the future to try to gauge what content is most interesting to prospective readers.

Story & Characters ©: \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVarwulf\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVarwulf\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t


Character(s):
Skandir
Ki'hera","writing":"\tSkandir had sighed while lying on his stomach, his chin rested on his forepaws and his eyes closed. His belly was full of fish and his ears were tuned to the sounds of the many songbirds chirping away in the trees that made up the vaguely secluded location that he and his companion were sharing for the evening. His audible exhale was enough to get the attention of the she-otter lying with her back against the base of a nearby maple tree, where she had been picking scales and small pieces of fishy flesh from her teeth with the needle-point tip of a fish bone. Her moss green eyes flashed as her gaze fell on her canine partner, her mind only moments ago being lost in focus on the mundane task of cleaning her sharp teeth.\n\n\t\"Hmm?\" the young she-otter murmured in her friends direction. \"Is something the matter, Skandir? Is the fish not sitting right with your stomach?\" she had asked him, her tone suggesting she was mildly concerned for her companion's wellbeing.\n\n\tSkandir grumbled and his body fidgeted slightly, though he didn't turn his head to meet Ki'hera's gaze, for she was positioned to his right and toward the rear of his current location.\n\n\t\"Huh? No--no, it's--nothing like that...\" he responded promptly, also clearly being shaken free from something his own wandering mind had conjured up during their relaxing downtime together. He stretched out his hind legs behind him, splaying his paw-toes as he attempted to relax his body once again. \"I was just thinking, Cricket, that is all,\" he added, his tail flicking behind him.\n\n\tKi'hera's deep green eyes studied his body language closely and she knew that he was keen to flick his tail when he wasn't entirely being truthful with her. They had been travelling together long enough now that some of his tells were easy to detect and discern. The fact that he had addressed her by her nickname rather than her birthname too, was in its own way a tell. She quirked a brow and discarded her fish bone toothpick before pressing her muscular tail into the trunk of the tree, using its strength in conjunction with the muscles in her hind legs to raise herself up onto her back two feet. She pressed her shoulder blades into the tree's bark and crossed her forelimbs over one another as she eyeballed her friend's flank and contemplated how best to diplomatically call his bluff.\n\n\t\"You know,\" she started, pausing as if for dramatic effect as she closed her eyes and angled her snout closer to the ground just in front of her hind paws, \"I know I am no coyote, Skandir, but--I am the closest thing you have to a packmate right now. I'm sure that--were you still with your packmates, you would be a little more open to discussing your feelings with them, would you not?\" she asked him tenderly, as she lifted her gaze once more and opened her eyes again, looking out toward him for any sign that he might have a positive response to her suggestion. \"We became friends out of necessity, to help one another survive without our homes or our families, but--I know I've come to view you as more than just a coyote who has my back, and--if I'm to be a good friend and the best partner that I can be for you, it might help to know exactly what's going on in that mind of yours, wouldn't you say?\"\n\n\tShe had tilted her head slightly as she finished asking her question and her voice had taken on a curious blend of a motherly tone and a slight upward inflection that playfully conveyed the concern a close friend might share with another, while perhaps being a little bit of a tease at the same time. She waited patiently for any sound or other sign of life from him.\n\n\tEventually, Skandir would elicit the softest of scoffs, something bordering quite close to a snort. Though she would not see it from her position at his five o'clock, the coyote had even lazily rolled his eyes.\n\n\t\"You would think so, wouldn't you?\" he mused, his voice carrying with it a tone of a sarcastic nature, which caused the young otter to quirk her brow and frown ever so slightly. Skandir knew his sarcasm had registered, as he then went on to clarify himself and his tone. \"I mean--you are right, Cricket, and I know I've at least--alluded to it before, but--she's just been on my mind a lot more than usual lately, you know?\" he asked her, his gaze lifting toward the sky, or what little of it he could glean through the tree canopy above their heads. \"Maybe it's--just the season, but--I cannot stop thinking about her lately...\"\n\n\tThe otter was not a fool and her mind immediately clicked together the pieces. \"Sukira?\" she asked, though it wasn't much of a question as it was a statement. Eveb though it wasn't very common for the coyote to talk much of his past to her, what little she did know made it painfully clear to her that her partner had something of a falling out with one of his packmates, this 'Sukira' he's mentioned a few times before. She also knew that his pack was no more and that for one reason or another, he harbored quite a bit of guilt over it.\n\n\t\"How long has it been since you've seen her, again?\" the otter asked him after a momentary pause.\n\n\tSkandir sighed and finally rolled onto his side, propping his body up onto his right side, allowing his chest to face her, but also his muzzle and brown eyes, for the first time since their conversation began. \"About two or three seasons now,\" he stated plainly, his gaze meeting her own.\n\n\t\"Have you thought about looking for her?\"\n\n\tSkandir snorted and rolled his eyes once more, but this time the action was accompanied by another scoff. \"Even if she is still alive--she probably has a mate and a litter of pups to look after now,\" he retorted bitterly, a pained look crossing his features. He didn't want to admit to her that the thought of Sukira finding another male made his heart feel leaden.\n\n\tThe she-otter had noticed his expression and knew better than to pry into her friend's romantic feelings. Instead, she focused on the part of his statement that seemed the most concerning to her.\n\n\t\"And, what do you mean by 'even if' she is alive?\" she asked him, tilting her head to the side and studying him as he sat there, his forelegs crossed over one another. \"I know you had suggested before that the pack had been wiped out--dispersed since you had left, but you've survived out in the wilderness, on your own, without your pack. Surely, the same is likely to be true for Sukira as it has been for you, yes?\"\n\n\tThe coyote shrugged and turned his attention away from his musteline companion, his gaze drifting downward toward his crossed forepaws, his tail swishing listlessly behind him. \"Maybe,\" he replied quietly, a sense of doubt lingering in his words.\n\n\tKi'hera took a breath and then moved her attention to the fish bones strewn around the area, where she had been gnawing away at them to strip the meat from their surfaces. She plucked a few from the ground and began to toss them back and forth between her forepaws, catching them every time they bounced off her furred digits. She suspected there was more to the tale than he was letting on, but she didn't want to scare him off of talking about it more than she had already done. She knew she had to be tactful and cautious with her approach. \"Tell me about her, Skandir. What was Sukira like?\"\n\n\tHe had watched her fidget with the fish bones, catching them with ease in her webby paws each time without fail, but the moment she asked him the question, the bones hit the ground, having bounced free from her paws. He looked away from her once more, his eyes now trained on a spot somewhere in the distant landscape. He felt his heart ache the moment she had said her name and his mind filled with the memories of their youth together, their first hunt, and how he had been such a fool to have fallen for her the way that he did. She was not his and she never was, yet the memories of their shared moments, of the way her body felt against his own, it all haunted him. It had haunted him ever since he and she had fled their home.\n\n\t\"She was...\" he had begun, struggling to find the right words. He felt the heat creep into his face and his ears twitched as he considered the weight of the memories.\n\n\t\"Beautiful?\" Cricket suggested, her voice cutting in gently, not wishing to disturb his thoughts too much. She could tell, from the look in his eyes and the way his ears were flickering, that he was reliving some very powerful emotions and memories, ones which clearly hurt him, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself.\n\n\tThe coyote turned his head to look at her, his gaze almost surprised, as though her guess had caught him off-guard. He nodded his head slowly.\n\n\t\"Yes, very,\" he replied, his tone soft, his gaze dropping again. He could see her, clear as day, in his mind. Her light gray fur and her brown eyes, the way her snout tapered at the end, her cute, pink tongue that hung lazily from her lips when she slept. The way her hips swayed when she walked and the way her tail stuck straight out behind her when she ran. \"And--brave, and strong, and a cunning huntress,\" he went on, his eyes still not meeting his companion's.\n\n\tKi'hera tilted her head slightly. Though the coyote rarely ever spoke of her, this 'Sukira' had certainly left a big impression on him. It was the first time she had ever seen Skandir so enamored with anything, which was a far cry from the Skandir she was used to; the Skandir she had come to know had always been so serious, so dry and almost brooding most of the time. It was clear that her friend was deeply troubled and clearly missed his former packmate.\n\n\t\"If she was a hunter, why would you assume that she has not survived on her own?\" the otter had inquired, her eyes watching the coyote carefully, though she didn't want him to feel scrutinized. She was merely curious.\n\n\tSkandir scoffed, his expression taking a slightly sour turn. \"She wasn't the biggest coyote or the strongest, but she was the most cunning in our pack,\" he explained, his tone a little bitter and sarcastic, \"but I suppose cunning is only good when you have something or someone to hide behind, right? I--should have stayed with her when we both fled, when we saw those wolves coming.\" He looked down at his paws and shook his head, a low whine emitting from his throat.\n\n\t\"Wolves?\" Ki'hera questioned, her eyes widening a little bit.\n\n\t\"The Helvon wolf pack,\" he told her. \"They're--they're a large, well-organized, ruthless, and merciless pack of wolves. They had taken over the Corjunia coyote pack and the entire territory surrounding it. Sukira and I had seen them coming, or at least, we saw what we thought was all of them coming,\" he grumbled, \"she wanted to flee from there, knowing we didn't stand a chance and believing that maybe, just maybe--we could seek out help from somewhere. I thought she was foolish--and a coward--I wanted to head back to let the rest of the pack know that we saw these thuggish wolves approaching from the east, and we argued about what the best course of action should be.\"\n\n\tHe paused and looked down, his claws kneading the dirt, his expression darkening. \"She told me I was being a fool for wanting to return, that no amount of warning would change the fact that we were outnumbered and outmatched. In so many ways, she was right, but I still felt it was--our duty--to warn as many as we could,\" he explained. \"I--I said things out of anger, I--I called her names that I can never take back, and--and she ran from me with tears in her eyes,\" he whined softly, his paws still working the earth beneath him. \"And, I let her go,\" he growled, his tone angry. \"I didn't try to stop her, or chase after her. I didn't care where she went or if she lived or died. I just--knew that she was wrong, and that I needed to warn the rest of the pack before these wolves fell upon them in surprise.\"\n\n\tKi'hera's gaze had dropped and her brows furrowed with sympathy, her own paws now fidgeting nervously as she watched her friend. She wanted to interject at this point, to say something encouraging, but truthfully, she was at a loss of words.\n\t\"She was right,\" the coyote went on, \"about everything. They were already upon us when I made it back, the rest of their number had circled around from the north in surprise and had moved on our positions from the west as well as the east and--I don't even know if anyone else escaped or if everyone was slain. I know for a fact, though, that if I had just followed her, had just listened her and trusted what her instincts were telling her, that at the very least--she and I would be together now--we would have each other, and I would know that at least someone else from the pack had survived. But, instead, I'm just here, and I'm alone.\" He turned to look at Ki'hera, his eyes watery, his expression a blend of anger and shame.\n\n\tThe otter's heart broke for her friend and she wished she could give him the comfort he clearly desired. At the same time, it equally pained her that he considered himself alone in the world right now, when she was standing right in front of him, listening to him pouring his guts out to her in the manner that he was. Still, she easily could understand his grief and how he might easily overlook that fact in the heat of the moment. As she stared into his moistened, pain filled brown eyes, she had a momentary vision of him as a father, with five or six little pups running around the place and in that moment, she could not help but to offer up the faintest of smiles.\n\n\t\"I would love to meet this 'Sukira' of yours one day,\" the otter had said to him, her tone calm and sincere. \"She sounds like she's a real fighter, and--you would do well to have someone like her fighting by your side.\" She paused, her smile growing ever so slightly wider. \"I don't know a lot about coyotes, but I'm sure there would be plenty of females who would be more than willing to throw themselves at a handsome male like yourself, especially if they were to get wind of the kind of loyalty and bravery you showed when you opted to go back and warn the rest of your pack, risking your own life and limb to do so,\" she told him. \"You deserve that, Skandir, you deserve a loving mate in your life who would be as dedicated to you as you would be to her,\" she added softly.\n\n\tThe coyote's face flushed at her compliments, his gaze dropping as he felt the heat rise into his cheeks. He felt a little ashamed for being flattered by the young she-otter's words, but he could not deny that they gave him a small flicker of hope. He knew his friend meant well, but he also knew that his chances of finding someone else were slim, and even slimmer now that Sukira was likely dead and gone. Lone coyotes didn't last very long out in the wild without a pack to call their own, and yet, Cricket had raised a valid point--he had survived multiple seasons without a pack now, surely there was a good chance that Sukira had done so as well.\n\n\tSkandir had sniffled softly and had lifted his right forepaw to his eye so as to brush away his tears, his brown eyes drifting back to Ki'hera's face as he did. \"Maybe she was lucky enough to find a friendly, lone otter out in the woods who was willing to help watch her back and keep her fed as well,\" he mused in a soft and almost playful tone of voice. He couldn't help but smile ever so slightly, his eyes glistening with a renewed sense of hope.\n\n\tKi'hera grinned and shrugged. \"Stranger things have happened,\" she replied, her grin turning into a warm smile. She had to admit though, talking a little about his own life and past did make her feel the slightest bit homesick, as well as a little guilty about the circumstances surrounding her own withdrawal from the only life she knew. She could not help but to think of her own parents, her uncle and even her siblings and friends. She missed them and wondered how they were getting along and if any of them were thinking of her the way that she was thinking about them right now. She did not regret leaving, but the feelings of guilt and grief were certainly strong.\n\n\tShe had shaken the thought from her mind and found Skandir smiling at her with a strange glint in his eye she had not noticed before. She tilted her head slightly and gave him a questioning glance. \"Heh, what is it? Do I have some fish scales on my face?\" she had asked him, bringing her paw up to her nose and cheek to try and brush away any scales that might be there.\n\n\tThe coyote had chuckled softly, shaking his head. \"No, nothing like that,\" he told her. \"I was just thinking--about how in many ways, you sometimes--remind me of her,\" he suggested, his tail beginning to wag slowly behind him. \"I mean, I know otters hunt fish instead of rabbits and the like, but in an otter sense, you're very much like Sukira in that you both are great hunters. I also cannot get over the way that you managed to get me to--talk about all of that, even though I didn't want to. Sukira was always very good at--getting me to do things I really didn't want to do and she could be very persistent when she wanted to be.\"\n\n\tThe otter smiled and her face had turned a little red from the flattery, her chest puffing out a little with pride. \"Well, thank you, Skandir. I can honestly say that it is one of the highest compliments you could give me,\" she told him, her tone soft and sincere. She could not help but wonder though, if this coyote had developed a little crush on her. After all, he was comparing her to his own crush from his past. She hoped that, should she ever ask him, he would have an honest answer for her.\n\n\t\"So, are you feeling a little better now?\" the otter asked, her gaze still locked on his.\n\n\tSkandir nodded, his expression shifting slightly, his tone a little more serious than before. \"I am,\" he replied. \"Thank you.\"\n\n\t\"Good,\" she said, her smile still there, but her tone changing, as well. \"I'm glad to hear it. I know that--talking about some painful things can be a good thing, and--I want you to know that I am here for you whenever you need someone to talk to.\" She had moved herself closer toward him now and she lifted her webbed paw to touch his shoulder tenderly.\n\n\tThe coyote's ears pricked up a little and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He had not expected her to move closer to him at that moment and was unsure as to how he should react. Her touch was comforting, yet it was also a little awkward. She was an otter and he was a coyote, and yet, the more he looked into her moss colored eyes, the more he thought about Sukira and the many opportunities he had missed out on with her. He could feel his heart starting to race again, but this time, the fear that coursed through his veins was different. It was the kind of fear that came with not knowing what would happen next.\n\n\t\"Cricket,\" the coyote had murmured, his breath catching in his throat. He knew she could sense his nervousness, but he didn't want her to worry. He also did not wish for her to think of him as a coward. He swallowed his fears and took a leap of faith, his eyes closing as he pressed his muzzle against her cheek, his wet, slobbering tongue slipping out and gliding slowly over her chin and one side of her face.\n\n\tKi'hera blushed a bit, a soft squeak escaping her lips, her heart hammering away in her chest, the paw she had resting on his shoulder now lifted up to gently clasp his cheek fur, showing him some tenderness in kind, but also giving her some options if she needed to push herself away from him if things escalated too quickly for her liking. She understood that talking about his lost love likely had stirred up some turbulent feelings inside of him and she wasn't about to discourage him immediately after helping to raise his spirits regarding Sukira. She figured, if he was going to kiss her, he was likely going to have kissed her regardless. It had only been a matter of time before something like this had happened between the two of them, given the way they lived.\n\n\t\"Hey now,\" she protested playfully, pushing her paw into his cheek in a futile effort to push him off of her. \"I know otters like to have moistened fur and I appreciate you expressing this side of you, but you might want to save it for--\" She cut herself off when she felt his tongue slide up the length of her cheek, making a mess of her fur and getting slobber everywhere. She tried to pull away from him again, but he had his left foreleg wrapped around her now, his paw having slid down her spine and by now had grabbed her haunch, holding her steady. His muzzle was pressed firmly into the side of her face and she could smell his warm, fish scented breath on her face.\n\n\t\"Skandir, please,\" she implored him, her tone growing a little more urgent. She had never been intimate with a canid before, or even with a member of her own kind for that matter, despite an otter's reputation for being rather promiscuous. She didn't want her first time to be like this, but she also didn't want to upset her friend either. The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she didn't reciprocate his feelings, which was true, at least to some extent.\n\n\tShe could feel his paw kneading her haunch and her back arched instinctively, an involuntary moan escaping her lips as his digits moved over her supple flesh. The coyote's tongue slid lower down her face, tracing a wet line over her throat and up toward her ear. He nipped the edge of her ear and nibbled gently on the furred appendage, a low growl emitting from deep within his chest.\n\n\tKi'hera's muffled moans had grown more audible and more frequent, the heat between her thighs building rapidly. Her tail swayed back and forth, her paw moving from his cheek, down to his throat and neck. She felt his grip tighten on her haunch and she sensed that he was not going to let her go anytime soon. She felt as though she had no choice but to accept his advances, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.\n\n\tSkandir soon brought his forepaw to the ground behind Ki'hera and he used his nose to guide her onto her back, while his tongue gently lapped at her chest fur. He could feel the young she-otter trembling under him and he wondered if perhaps, her trembles were not those of excitement, but rather those of fear. In his mind, he knew she wanted him and it was all too easy to imagine that she was Sukira beneath him, panting with excitement and desire. Still, there was a part of him that felt guilty for advancing on his friend like this in the first place, and another part of him that felt ashamed for imagining that he was with his old crush.\n\n\t\"Cricket, please relax,\" the coyote told her, his voice soothing and gentle, but firm, \"I won't hurt you.\" He brought his head up from her chest and stared into her eyes, their noses gently touching as he did.\n\n\tThe young otter blushed heavily, her breathing quick and shallow. She wanted to say something to him, but the words simply wouldn't come. She didn't know what she could say to him to convince him that they shouldn't do this, that maybe they should stop and think about it before blindly taking their relationship into an entirely different plane of existence. She couldn't bear the thought of Skandir regretting his decision to mate with her, or worse, hating her for letting him take her maidenhood.\n\n\t\"We shouldn't,\" she began, her voice weak and timid, her paws shaking. She felt her insides twisting into knots as the coyote continued to press his weight down on her, his muzzle hovering just above hers, his hot, fishy breath washing over her snout. \"It's not--we shouldn't,\" she whispered. \"You don't want this.\"\n\n\tSkandir lowered his muzzle and kissed her forehead gently, his nose then touching her cheek and his tongue sliding up the side of her face once again. \"I want you, Cricket,\" he told her. \"I want you. I have for some time now. Please, don't deny me this,\" he whispered into her ear. He knew he wasn't exactly being truthful with her, but he had already made peace with the thought of imagining Sukira beneath him as he bred the only female he could get his paws on and nothing was going to dissuade him now.\n\n\tKi'hera swallowed hard, her breathing heavy and erratic. \"Skandir, I'm--not who you think I am,\" she murmured, her voice low and her gaze dropping. \"You should find another,\" she suggested.\n\n\t\"I've--made up my mind,\" Skandir told her gruffly, his paw now pressing firmly into her chest, his digits kneading the soft flesh. He could feel his sheath hardening and his member throbbing inside, eager to slip out and worm its way into her writhing body.\n\n\t\"Then at least be honest with me,\" she retorted. \"Tell me what you truly desire.\" She wanted him to admit that he saw her as his long-lost friend, his crush from his days back in his pack, or at least tell her that he wished she was Sukira. She knew if he told her the truth, that it would be enough for her to put a stop to this nonsense and save the both of them a lot of pain and grief.\n\n\tThe coyote growled softly and shook his head. \"What is it that you want from me?\" he asked. \"Are you trying to discourage me from mating with you? Is it because--I'm a coyote? Are you afraid of being hurt?\" He narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming a little more defensive.\n\n\tKi'hera frowned. \"I don't want to be a substitute for someone else,\" she told him firmly. \"Especially when you are using me as a means of forgetting her.\"\n\n\t\"But, I thought--you said we were friends, that you were here for me, and that--\"\n\n\t\"We are friends,\" she interrupted him, her brows furrowed. \"I am here for you, and I will be, for as long as you want me to. I just want you to be honest with me.\" She could see his expression had softened and his frustration was now replaced with a sense of shame.\n\n\t\"I'm sorry,\" he told her, his ears flattening. \"I shouldn't have assumed--my--my mind is a mess right now--\"\n\n\t\"No, you shouldn't have,\" she replied, cutting him off once again. \"And, you shouldn't be apologizing, either.\"\n\n\tSkandir gave her a confused look, his tail curling beneath him. \"But--what would you have me do?\" he asked, his gaze now cast downward, his eyes meeting hers.\n\n\tKi'hera reached down and touched his paw, giving it a squeeze. \"Admit what you want,\" she replied.\n\n\t\"But, I told you, I--\"\n\n\t\"You didn't,\" she corrected him.\n\n\tSkandir nodded after a brief period of silence. \"Very well,\" he said, his voice low and barely audible. \"I want to be with Sukira. I--want to have her, make her mine. I want her to know that I've loved her all along and--the thought of her with some other coyote--tears me up inside.\"\n\n\t\"So, why do you have me pinned beneath you then?\" the otter asked.\n\n\t\"Because--you are the only female I have access to,\" the coyote replied, his tone a little embarrassed. \"And--because, I know you wouldn't deny me.\"\n\n\t\"No,\" Ki'hera said softly, shaking her head, \"I wouldn't--under the right circumstances.\"\n\n\t\"Will you help me then, to pretend that you are her?\" the coyote pleaded, his expression full of hope.\n\n\tThe otter frowned, her brow furrowed and her gaze dropping. She did not want to give in to his demands, but at the same time, she didn't want him to hate her for refusing him, either. She sighed and looked up at him, her expression softening.\n\n\t\"Do you want to make love to me, or do you want to make love to her?\" the otter asked, her tone soft and curious as her moss green eyes bore into him, searching him as though she were trying to read his deepest thoughts.\n\n\tSkandir stared down at her for several moments of silence before a low growl escaped his throat. \"I--can be gentle, if you want me to be,\" he whispered, seemingly hoping to quell her concerns without answering the question.\n\n\t\"You didn't answer my question,\" Ki'hera insisted, her tone calm and even.\n\n\tThe coyote blinked, his eyes widening slightly. \"I--\" he stammered, his gaze dropping. \"I want you, Cricket,\" he finally said, his voice a soft whisper.\n\n\t\"But you wish I was her,\" the otter added, her voice almost a whisper, her expression neutral.\n\n\t\"Yes,\" Skandir confessed, his eyes closing briefly. He knew the young she-otter had a right to be upset, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her about his true intentions, nor could he find the words to express his mixed emotions.\n\n\tKi'hera nodded, her gaze lifting once more, her eyes locked with his. \"So, you would treat me like you would her, then?\" she asked.\n\n\t\"I would,\" the coyote agreed.\n\n\tThe young otter was silent for a few moments, her gaze drifting from his eyes, down to his nose, and finally, settling on his lips. She was confident now that he was telling her the truth and in a twisted way she believed it would be cruel of her to deny him this request. Perhaps it was more a sense of survival and knowing that if he left her now, she would truly have to fend for herself, or perhaps, she was more worried about him being alone and trying to survive? She didn't like the idea of being a surrogate for someone else, but if she was going to be one, she at least wanted him to be honest with her about it.\n\n\t\"Then--do so,\" she told him. \"And know that--you are welcome to come to me anytime you want, whether I am in the mood or not,\" she added, her tone stern.\n\n\tSkandir smiled, his heart leaping with joy. He had not expected the young she-otter to be so understanding, nor did he expect her to be so open to the idea of being treated as a replacement. He was grateful and he leaned in to kiss her softly, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he did.\n\n\tHe could feel the young otter stiffen underneath him and her paws had grabbed his cheeks, holding him firmly in place. He broke the kiss after a few moments and glanced down at her, his expression a little concerned.\n\n\t\"What's wrong?\" the coyote asked.\n\n\tKi'hera gave him a slight shrug. \"Nothing, really,\" she replied. \"I'm just not used to kissing--canids.\" She had to admit, kissing him was an odd sensation, especially since his tongue was larger and longer than her own, not to mention the fact that his muzzle was much longer than hers as well. His fur was softer and finer than any otter's fur that she had ever touched, and the smell of fish on his breath was not an unpleasant one, despite its strangeness.\n\n\tThe coyote chuckled softly and his ears perked forward. \"Well, you can pretend I am an otter if you want to.\" he replied with a teasing inflection to his voice. He assumed she had likely kissed other otters before at least.\n\n\tKi'hera smirked slightly and nodded. \"I might just have to. A tall and goofy looking otter,\" she replied with a little bit of sass.\n\n\t\"Tall and goofy looking?\" the coyote said in mock indignation, his paws pushing against her shoulders, holding her in place.\n\n\t\"Yeah, but in a cute way,\" the otter giggled, her paws reaching up to cup his cheeks, pulling him down for another kiss. She closed her eyes and allowed her tongue to slip out of her mouth, gliding over his lips before pushing itself passed his teeth. She felt his tongue meet hers halfway, twisting around her slick appendage, causing a low moan to escape her lips.\n\n\tSkandir had arched his back and begun grinding himself against the young otter, his hips rolling back and forth slowly as he did. He could feel the tip of his member sliding against her lower belly fur and his testicles had started to tighten, a warm sensation beginning to build up inside his lower abdomen.\n\n\tKi'hera tensed up immediately went she felt something hard and warm pressing firmly into her lower tummy as it began to grind back and forth against her short, dense fur. She held her paw to his cheek still, but it was almost as though the reality of the situation had finally sunken in about what was about to transpire between them. Her whole body felt tense and she could now only visualize her small body being subjected to the relentless pounding of a sex deprived and emotional male canine. She clenched her teeth as she slowly withdrew from his face and attempted to steal a glance at the equipment he was now sliding against her underside.\n\n\t\"C--can I see it first?\" she asked. Her eyes were wide and her expression was a little fearful.\n\n\tThe coyote's eyes widened and his gaze snapped downwards toward his nethers. He had not anticipated that she would request a glimpse at his member before they actually mated.\n\n\t\"Of course,\" he replied, his voice a low, impatient growl. He was still very much aroused and he could feel his sheath and scrotum growing warmer and tighter by the second. His erection was becoming painfully hard and he knew he needed a release more than ever.\n\n\tKi'hera watched with trepidation as the canine rolled off of her and sat up. She could see the bulge in his sheath now, and the length of his semi-flaccid member protruding out of the top of his sheath. He was not fully erect yet, but the sight of his exposed tip and a few inches of his length was enough to send shivers down her spine. Even in a state of being at half staff, he was already thicker and longer than that of an average otter.\n\n\tSkandir watched her curiously as she put some distance between him and her by scurrying away slightly, still on her back.\n\n\t\"What's wrong?\" the coyote asked, his tone a mixture of impatience and concern.\n\n\t\"I just--it's going to hurt, isn't it?\" Ki'hera asked him nervously while still clenching her teeth, her eyes locked onto his exposed flesh.\n\n\t\"If you relax, it won't hurt so much,\" Skandir replied. \"But if you continue to tense up, then yes, it's likely to hurt. Just take a deep breath and try to relax,\" he attempted to encourage her. In truth, he had no idea how much it would hurt her, but his impatience was doing the talking for him now.\n\n\tThe otter took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to ease the tension in her muscles, but her fear continued to build as she once again moved to stare at the coyote's partially unsheathed cock. She didn't understand how such a massive organ could possibly fit inside a creature of her stature and she knew enough about canid mating to know that once the male got going, it would be fast and violent, the fear was simply too overwhelming.\n\n\tSkandir could sense the young otter's trepidation and he moved a little closer, his paw laying gently down upon her belly. His eyes fell on the space between her hind legs, where a brownish hued patch of flesh lay visible amongst the sandy colored fur of her underside. Indeed, her vulva looked quite petite to his eyes, but more important he could see and smell that she was barely aroused at all. Though he had never mated before, he had seen it happen between the alpha of his former pack and his mate. He could remember the smells, the sounds and the chaos of it all and how the alpha would snarl and flash his teeth when any other male drew closer out of curiosity and interest. As his brown eyes stared at his otter friend's tiny mound, a thought occurred to him.\n\n\t\"Well, you're not in heat--so I guess--I guess I should do my best to make sure that--it doesn't hurt when it...\" he trailed off, and his muzzle lowered gently between her legs, his cold and damp nose gently brushing her sensitive flesh as he sniffed her genitalia.\n\n\t\"Wha--what are you doing?\" Ki'hera inquired, her voice shaking with nervousness, her whole body tensing up the moment his nose touched her in that manner.\n\n\t\"Hush, Cricket,\" the coyote said, his tongue licking at her moistening slit. The taste of her feminine musk was strong, but not entirely unpleasant. She did not smell much like coyote, or any female canid he had ever smelled before, but there was still something about her scent that electrified his senses and told him to carry on with his task, and so his tongue would wash over her sex with another experimental lick.\n\n\tKi'hera gasped at the sensation, her tail curling on the ground behind her and her hind legs clasped around the sides of his head. She could feel the coyote's tongue gliding along the outside of her vagina, and it was not unlike the sensations she had experienced when playing with herself back at home. The two primary differences were that his tongue was far wetter and larger than her own digits, and that she was not in control of the appendage currently tantalizing her sensitive flesh, so the feeling of control and power over her own body was not there, and thus, it was difficult to fully relax and enjoy the sensations.\n\n\tSkandir was now getting into a rhythm, his tongue gliding back and forth over her exposed flesh, occasionally poking at the opening of her vagina. He could hear the young otter gasp and moan softly, and he could feel her legs beginning to spread further apart, granting his cheek fur and his whiskers more room. He continued licking her, his paws now spreading her thighs apart, his tongue pressing harder and more insistently into her opening. He could taste her nectar as it eventually began to seep out, and the aroma was beginning to drive him crazy.\n\n\t\"Mmmfff, that feels--weird,\" the otter groaned, her eyes closing, her mind attempting to focus on the pleasure of the sensation, rather than the thoughts and feelings that she would inevitably feel for allowing herself to be taken like this.\n\n\tSkandir ignored her comments and pressed his muzzle even further between her thighs, his nose bumping against her tiny mound as his tongue pushed deeper inside her, causing her to squirm and whine. He could feel her vaginal walls beginning to tighten around the tip of his tongue, her muscles flexing and contracting involuntarily as her arousal began to mount. He could only guess as to how close she might be to an orgasm, assuming that was his objective in the first place.\n\n\tKi'hera's hind legs spasmed and attempted to clasp around the sides of his face again, her hips bucking against him as he continued to lick her. Her breathing had become heavy and ragged, and her paws had grasped the top of his head, her claws digging into his flesh as her pleasure intensified. She wanted to say something to him, or even give him some sort of sign, but her mind was so clouded with ecstasy and her body was reacting so violently to his probing tongue, that she could barely form a coherent thought, much less utter a word or phrase.\n\n\tSkandir could smell her excitement now, the musky scent of her juices filling his nostrils, reminding him vaguely of that sweet scent of a female coyote in season. He knew she must be ready, and his body responded eagerly, his member now fully erect and throbbing quite eagerly ahead of his sheath. He withdrew his tongue from her sopping mound and his right paw returned to her chest where he would apply some weight to her in order to keep her still. With a low growl, he once again lowered himself down onto her, guiding that pointed head of his toward the space between her hind legs. He could feel the warmth radiating from her entrance, the wetness and the scent of her desire calling out to him.\n\n\tKi'hera had opened her muzzle, as though to say something, but only a pitiful squeak managed to escape her throat. She was still panting and left rather flabbergasted by how intensely and how suddenly things had transpired, that her voice had seemingly chosen that moment to leave her.\n\n\tSkandir growled low and deep in his throat, his eyes narrowing as his left paw was soon positioned to her shoulder, ensuring that she would remain on her back for the rest of their time together, or at least until he had his way.\n\n\tHe had found the opening to her vagina, and his tip was now pressing into her damp, inviting flesh, the slippery warmth beckoning him. With one mighty thrust, his hips lunged forward, burying his girth deep inside her. He heard her squeak loudly and his ears immediately flattened as a wave of guilt washed over him. He had been too eager, and his impatience had gotten the better of him.\n\n\t\"S--sorry,\" he whispered. \"I--I didn't mean to hurt you,\" he had uttered out in near silence. Tears slowly began to well up in his eyes.\n\n\tKi'hera winced as her body adjusted to his considerable size. She had not expected him to be so large, and the pain she was now feeling was excruciating. She couldn't even speak, her entire body was frozen, her eyes squeezed shut, her jaws clenched tight. She could only hear his words and she could only hope that the pain would subside, and soon.\n\n\tFor Skandir, however, the feeling of a wet, slippery tunnel engulfing the first inch or so of his member was a feeling of pure bliss. His mind reeled with a flurry of thoughts and emotions, memories and dreams of what could have been and what is currently unfolding. Pleasure, fear, guilt all welled up inside of him, leaving him feeling physically satisfied, but still somewhat hollow inside. Despite his attention being entirely on himself, subconsciously sensing Ki'hera's pain, he slowly eased half of his embedded length back out of her again, allowing her body to naturally clasp around him in an attempt to return to form. All the while, those tears were gradually building in size and threatening to break free as his eyes continued to excrete.\n\n\tKi'hera's maw had opened up as her lungs filled with air, as though a great weight had just been lifted off of her chest and she could breathe again. Her eyes were now wide and she was panting intensely, desperately trying to acclimate to the intense pain that had just been wrought onto her. Despite her situation, she had managed to lift her head enough to gaze up at Skandir where she would notice that his eyes were closed and he appeared to be crying. Her mind was allowed to wander for a moment despite everything. Was he somehow able to feel her pain? Was he racked with guilt in having coerced her into taking their relationship to this stage? Was he just feeling the intense joy of finally being able to be intimate with a female, even if she was not of his own species? Was he thinking of Sukira? Any and all of these possibilities seemed plausible to her at least, though in some small way, seeing him like this softened her own feelings toward him in the moment, and she felt as though she could bring herself to endure the intensity of his lovemaking if that is what he needed. She lifted a shaking left paw up to gently clasp his cheek, silently signaling to him that she forgave him and that he had her blessing to continue.\n\n\tSkandir had frozen for a moment went he felt Ki'hera's paw on his face. It was then that he realized that he was trembling too, though perhaps not to the same extreme that Ki'hera had been up to and during his penetration of her body. He sighed heavily, feeling the tightness in his chest and shoulders subsiding as he gently lowered his nose to the top of her head, allowing his tongue to meekly glide over her tuft of head fur. It was in that moment that the coyote realized that on some strange level, he loved her. She was not just a convenient friend and a partner in survival, though she was not quite a mate or a lover either. He could almost liken her to a family member, or a packmate, somebody willing to put their own desires and wishes aside in order to lend aid to another. The fact that he had even been able to think about Sukira in that moment, and compare her to Ki'hera had caused him some distress as well as more confusion, and a wave of fresh tears came cascading down his face and dripped from his nose onto her cheek.\n\n\tKi'hera winced again at the sensation of more weight being applied onto her lower abdomen, her body still very much in pain. She could hear the coyote's voice above her, whimpering and muttering something under his breath, though she couldn't quite make it out.\n\n\t\"Sssssskandir...\" she finally managed to squeak, her voice hoarse and ragged.\n\n\tThe canid lifted his head up slightly, his eyes opening slowly. His vision was blurry, the tears making it difficult to see.\n\n\t\"Ki'hera...\" Skandir replied, his tone one of worry and regret.\n\n\t\"You're not done,\" the otter told him, her tone somewhat annoyed, but gentle and understanding nonetheless.\n\n\t\"I can't...\" the coyote began, his voice wavering, his eyes welling up with more tears.\n\n\t\"You can,\" Ki'hera insisted, her eyes locking with his. \"Just go slow,\" she added.\n\n\tAfter a long moment of silence between them, his eyes staring into hers and hers into his, Skandir relented.\n\n\t\"Okay,\" Skandir agreed reluctantly.\n\n\tSkandir shifted his weight, his left paw moving from her shoulder to the ground beside her body. His right paw remained planted on her belly, keeping her pinned to the ground while he pulled his hips back, the first few inches of his member withdrawing from her body, a wet, slurping sound emanating from her as his length left her passage. He took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, his mind attempting to process what had happened and how he felt about it. His cock had still been painfully hard and he could feel his tip throbbing intensely as the blood pulsated through his member. He could feel her warmth around him and the pressure of her sex around him, her vaginal walls tightening and loosening in response to the changes in his position.\n\n\tThe otter beneath him shuddered, the sensation of his cock retreating from her body almost a welcome relief as the pressure on her insides was finally relieved. She could still feel her muscles flexing, attempting to expel the foreign object, but her body had no success, it was he who was ultimately in control.\n\n\tThe coyote grunted softly, his head hanging low, his eyes locked on the space between Ki'hera's hind legs where the brown, furry skin of her mound and the pink, wet flesh of her vulva was still very visible. He could see her inner lips clinging to him, her entrance stretching and latching tightly around the tip of his length. A strange feeling of power surged through him and a low, throaty growl escaped his maw. With a slow and steady pace, he pressed himself back into her, her sex spreading to accommodate him. \n\n\tThe otter groaned loudly as her walls were spread wide around him, her vaginal passage becoming even tighter as her inner walls clung to his phallus, squeezing him. The pain was intense and she could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage. Her breathing had become labored and her chest was rising and falling quickly.\n\n\t\"S--so much...\" she whimpered, her mind overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she felt herself biting down on her lower lip. She didn't know what to say, or if there was anything that could be said to make the situation any better.\n\n\t\"Hrrraugh,\" Skandir grunted as he pulled back again, the wet, squelching sound of her flesh against his own growing louder as his tip slid along the inside of her, the friction of her muscles pulling against him adding even more sensation for the canine. Even though he had only penetrated her up to nearly half of the total length of his member thus far, he could only wonder how her body could possibly handle so much internal expansion.\n\n\tThe otter could feel his tip bumping nearly to the end of her vagina when he thrust into her, and while the sensation wasn't entirely unpleasant, it stung and was quite strange and unfamiliar. She knew she was small compared to him, but it hadn't really occurred to her that there might not be enough room inside of her for a cock that size, not until now anyway.\n\n\tSkandir began to build a slow rhythm, his hips rolling slowly as he moved himself in and out of her, her vaginal passage clasping tightly around his member, her lightly lubricated walls providing him with just enough stimulation to continue the assault. As he moved, his eyes remained fixed on her face, watching for any signs of pain or discomfort. He was trying his best to be gentle, but he had never done this before and he had no idea how to make it easier on the both of them. His instincts told him to hold her tight and to pound her until he reached his own satisfaction, but he felt a powerful, protective desire to hold himself back so that she might enjoy herself and be subjected to considerably less pain.\n\n\tAs his thrusting increased in tempo, he could hear her moaning and gasping, her voice sounding distressed, her expression one of anguish.\n\n\t\"I'm sorry,\" he whispered, his heart breaking as that tear trail had worked its way down half the length of his muzzle by now. He knew that this was hurting her and he wanted nothing more than to pull out and give her some time to recover, but his instincts and his body encouraged him otherwise.\n\n\t\"Keep going,\" Ki'hera urged him, her voice cracking. She knew this wasn't right, and it wasn't the most pleasurable experience, but the last thing she wanted to do was ruin the moment for her canine companion.\n\n\t\"Mmmff, I can't...\" Skandir muttered as he struggled to look her in the eye, though he had noticed that tears had welled up in her eyes by this point and that she was clenching her teeth.\n\n\t\"Please,\" the otter begged, her eyes straining to meet his. \"I--it feels better,\" she lied, her body shuddering, her paw-toes curling and the claws on her front paws digging into the dirt beneath her.\n\n\tSkandir felt compelled to stop things right there in order to spare her anymore misery, but he was already so close to climaxing that it didn't really matter. He could feel his testicles throbbing in their sac, and his member was pulsating urgently within her depths. He sighed, his muzzle lowering to her chest where he would begin to lick at her fur in a comforting, apologetic manner.\n\n\t\"I'm sorry,\" he whispered repeatedly as his thrusting began to increase in speed and intensity.\n\n\t\"Don't--stop,\" Ki'hera begged, her voice a pitiful whine.\n\n\tSkandir eventually did as she asked and continued his movements, his hips thrusting and jerking wildly, his cock sliding rapidly in and out of her, the friction causing him to grunt and groan. He could feel her tightness around him, her muscles squeezing and contracting, trying to milk him of all his seed.\n\n\tHe couldn't hold back anymore, his thrusts became more rapid and frantic, his body shuddering and jerking spastically. His cock twitched and throbbed, his length swelling with the pressure of his approaching climax. With one final, desperate thrust, he buried himself as deep into her as he could manage, his tip bumping against the end of her vagina, nearly prodding her cervix. He gasped, his paws clutching desperately at the dirt and grass beneath them as his orgasm began. Despite the shallow depth of the successful penetration, his knot had inflated to its full girth without the vestibule of a female to envelop it, leaving it throbbing in the cool air between his body and hers. His testicles tensed and tightened as his climax hit its stride.\n\n\tKi'hera elicited a soft scream as she lifted her left paw to clutch onto the side of his face again, just passed his whiskers. Her right paw joined in soon after, holding to the opposite side of his face. It was at that moment that she wished she could have been a coyote, or at least a creature of a larger size, so that she could have allowed her friend to have been himself and let instincts guide him so that they both might enjoy one another properly. She wanted to kiss him full on the lips, to apologize for coaxing him on but also to signal to him that she forgave him for pressuring her into all of this in the first place. Her mouth did open wide, however, when she suddenly felt the sensation of immediate relief when the coyote pulled himself out of her mid-orgasm.\n\n\tSkandir had clenched his teeth when he felt the first stream of his ejaculate jettison freely from his throbbing tip, coating the depths of Ki'hera's vaginal tunnel in his warm, slippery seed. His mind was reeling with a torrent of emotion, but she had given him what he ultimately desired most in his emotional state and in his mind, he wanted to end her suffering sooner rather than later. He had quickly pulled himself back, his hind paws pushing into the grass in an effort to remove himself from her once the deed was done. He could feel her elastic, pink flesh tugging and gripping him the entire way as his seed drooled forth from his retreating penis, coating her passage with ropes of coyote cum on is way out. The act of pulling out, as delayed as it was, proved to be a mentally intensive task and the coyote's legs trembled when the cool air hit his wet, sensitive flesh. Because he was still standing over her, several more ropes of his semen shot forth, blanketing the otter's tummy and lower chest with stream after stream of the warm, slick fluid.\n\n\t\"Nnngghhh!\" Skandir had grunted, his maw hanging open, tongue lolling as his orgasm continued unabated. His eyes were still closed and that tear continued to trail down the length of his muzzle.\n\n\tThe otter, her eyes now closed, was able to breathe normally for the first time since her sexual encounter with the canine had begun. The pain had subsided somewhat, and the feeling of his cum coating her insides had actually been somewhat pleasant, the heat of his seed soothing and calming her. When he had pulled himself out of her, the feeling of her vaginal walls being stretched to capacity had finally subsided and the sudden rush of air had been a welcome sensation, as the pressure was relieved and she was free to partially close her hind legs and relax her muscles.\n\n\tWhen he had pulled back enough and began to shoot his semen on her body, she couldn't help but smile a little. While the thought of being marked by a canine, even a friendly one, was a strange, foreign thought, she didn't find it all that repulsive. The coyote was her friend, after all, and the fact that he cared enough about her to stop his thrusting and pull out of her mid-orgasm was enough of a signal for her.\n\n\tKi'hera's maw was wide and panting as she laid there in silence, listening to the sounds of Skandir's heavy breathing. She closed her eyes for just a moment and allowed herself to stretch out a bit. In doing so, her left, webbed hind paw made contact with Skandir's still exposed member, easily sliding down the slick flesh and causing her paw to bump into his bulbous knot. Her eyes opened once again as she found her gaze drifting down the length of her body, toward her hind paw and the object it was unwittingly fondling.\n\n\t\"Ooh,\" she uttered, her voice a soft coo, her eyes noticeably widened now when she got a glimpse of the impressively large girth at the base of his penis, a sight certainly quite foreign to a young female otter. \"Is--is that also part of your...?\" She had asked, her voice trailing off as her eyes locked with his.\n\n\t\"That's my knot,\" Skandir said quietly between his intense panting, his gaze meeting hers. He could still feel the otter's paw gently gliding over the bulbous protrusion and he could feel a strange warmth welling up in his chest, the fur of his cheeks tingling, and the hair on his back raising. The soft, velvety fur on her hind paw was quite satisfying to the touch, especially on the part of his organ that received no attention during their actual intercourse. \"It swells when I'm close to climax, and when it does, it traps me inside my partner,\" he explained, his breathing slowly beginning to regulate.\n\n\t\"T--traps?\" Ki'hera stammered, her tone one of worry.\n\n\tSkandir nodded his head softly, his eyes still meeting hers as he cleared her throat. \"Lucky for you, I--don't think your body is large enough to--ever have to worry about my knot,\" he told her with a mild, awkward chuckle.\n\n\tKi'hera looked up at the coyote for a long moment, her mouth hanging open as though she wanted to say something, but was too stunned and confused to know exactly what to say. \"That--doesn't sound very comfortable,\" she told him after awhile, her left hind paw still stroking the sensitive gland at the base of his penis, a sensation which he seemed to be greatly enjoying.\n\n\t\"For some--I suppose it's not...\" he told her, his eyes slowly closing as a low grumble emanated from his throat, the feeling of her short, silky fur continuing to have an affect on him. \"It--it can be painful for some females, but for others, it's--very pleasurable,\" he explained, his breathing growing more rapid once again.\n\n\tKi'hera smiled up at him, her left paw still gently stroking the knot. \"Which would you prefer?\" She asked him, her tone light, playful as her hind paw continued to gently work itself into his fleshy appendage.\n\n\tSkandir clenched his teeth for a moment as his eyes fell upon her once again. She had just been used by him, and now she was lying there on her back with her much smaller form, seemingly in full control over the situation at least for the time being. If he was honest with himself, it would be difficult to find anything decidedly unsexy about her current demeanor and the way she was currently servicing him while egging him on with her playful banter.\n\n\t\"I uh...\" Skandir cleared his throat as his mind could not help but to wander back to Sukira and he imagined how he might prefer to have her reacting to his knot if it were her body beneath him instead of Ki'hera's. Sure, it would be more enjoyable for the both of them if she greatly enjoyed the sensation of being tied to him, and he could feel her lithe body writhing beneath him as they shared an orgasm together, but that pseudo-rivalry he shared with his former packmate also left him wanting to see her in maybe just a little bit of pain if he would ever be so fortunate as to be her mate one day.\n\n\t\"Well?\" Ki'hera asked him as she gazed mischievously up at her larger partner, her paw still stroking back and forth against his swollen member as though she were trying to torture a confession out of him with a painfully slow application of pleasure.\n\n\t\"I--\" Skandir cleared his throat yet again, the lump in his esophagus still refusing to subside. \"I think it would be nice to see my partner enjoying the experience,\" he finally managed to get out, perhaps only giving her a half truthful response. \"Seeing--you in pain like that, it was--very difficult to proceed--despite how badly my body wanted me to...\" He trailed off, his eyes lowering as a look of guilt swept over his expression.\n\n\tKi'hera, sensing his sudden shift in demeanor, retracted her hind paw from his phallus, her eyes still locked with his.\n\n\t\"It's okay,\" she assured him, her tone gentle. \"We were both--in unfamiliar territory...\" she said, her voice trailing off, her words sounding somewhat empty, almost hollow. \"You stopped though, and that's what's important,\" she added, her lips curling into a gentle, reassuring smile.\n\n\tSkandir could sense her attempt at being reassuring, and her words had been comforting, but he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that had crept into the back of his mind. Perhaps, it was best to divert their attention away from such an ugly topic. As a slight smile began to form on his muzzle, he leaned down and toward her hind paw, running his tongue gently over it with a single, slow rake of his tongue. He could taste the saltiness of his own essence on his tongue, but he also could taste some of that uniquely mustelid musk he had come to associate with his friend and it caused his tail to wag slowly behind him.\n\n\tThe otter lifted her head and looked down the length of her body, her eyes meeting the canine's.\n\n\t\"What are you doing?\" She asked, her tone slightly suspicious.\n\n\t\"Showing appreciation,\" he told her, his eyes locking with hers.\n\n\tKi'hera chuckled, her cheeks reddening a little. \"I can take care of myself, you know,\" she assured him, her left hind paw playfully brushing his snout.\n\n\tSkandir's gentle smile shifted to a suggestive grin as a low growl rippled from his throat. \"Oh, I am sure that you can, and some day I wouldn't mind watching you take care of yourself,\" he suggested with another low growl, a confident grin plastered on the end of his muzzle. \"Until then, however, I feel like it's my job to take care of you--to show you my appreciation for being so--accepting of me, and all that...\" he told her, before moving his right paw toward her flank and gently flipping her over onto her belly. He wasted little time at all in sticking his cool, wet nose beneath her tail and running his tongue over her sopping little mustelid pussy.\n\n\tThe otter was about to protest, her muzzle opening as she readied herself to tell the coyote that this wasn't necessary, but when she felt his tongue slide over her, a moan escaped her lips and her eyes fluttered and closed. She had been trying her best to keep the mood light and friendly between the two of them, but when he had rolled her over and exposed her rear, the sensation had taken her breath away and her heart began to pound in her chest. She could feel the heat radiating from her sex and a wave of warmth spread through her body, causing the fur on her neck and shoulders to stand on end. She could hear her own breathing and the blood pumping through her ears, the sensations causing her to shudder.\n\n\tSkandir's tongue continued its work, sliding back and forth across the otter's pink, abused flesh. He had placed his hind paw on her rump, so as to keep her firmly in place while he went to work cleaning her up, while potentially holding the secondary objective of bringing her to an orgasm in the back of his mind.\n\n\tKi'hera couldn't help but moan as she pressed her paws against the ground, her foreclaws digging into the grass. She could feel her body shuddering, the tip of her tail twitching rapidly in the air as the coyote continued his work.\n\n\t\"Hhhaaaaauuuhhh,\" she panted, her eyes fluttering open as she felt his warm, wet tongue probing her. She could feel the rough, textured surface gliding over her soft, supple flesh. Every lap seemed to send a ripple of pleasure coursing through her, the sensation building with each passing moment. She could feel her pulse racing, her heart hammering inside her chest. Her breathing was ragged and labored. Her entire body was shaking and trembling uncontrollably. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, the world around her seeming to spin and blur.\n\n\t\"Aaaaahhh...\" she whimpered, her voice quivering as her paws clawed desperately at the ground, tearing up clumps of dirt and grass. Her body convulsed violently, her muscles contracting and relaxing in waves. Her hind paws pressed into the dirt beneath her, attempting to raise her rump up higher, but the weight of her partner's paw pressing down on her butt kept her in place.\n\n\tSkandir had heard the otter's soft cries and whimpers and her attempts at wriggling out from beneath his paw. He could feel the air brushing passed his face as her tail swished this way and that, her body writhing beneath him. She was trying to get away from him, but his paw held her fast and his tongue continued its assault. He could smell her arousal, her excitement, through the scent of his own ejaculate. The scent was intoxicating, driving him wild with lust.\n\n\tThe coyote licked his chops, his tongue flicking over his teeth, his breath was hot and heavy. He felt a surge of power, a rush of adrenaline. He knew she was enjoying this and it filled him with a sense of pride. She might be trying to escape, but she was enjoying every second of it and he knew it.\n\n\tKi'hera continued to struggle and squirm, her eyes tightly closed, her lips parted, her breathing heavy. Her body shook and trembled, her muscles quivering. She was so close--so close...\n\n\t\"Hhhaaaauuughhhhh!\" Ki'hera cried out as her body spasmed and her orgasm struck like a rogue wave. Her legs shook and trembled, her back arched, her claws tore into the dirt and grass beneath her.\n\n\tHer voice trailed off and her body slumped forward, her chest heaving. Her eyes were half-closed, her vision blurred. Her body had become almost numb to the hungry, greedy lapping of her canine friend's tongue against her sopping sex. Even as his tongue had transitioned to her thighs to lap up every drop of her nectar, she remained on her tummy, panting heavily but rendered completely exhausted in the process.\n\n\tWhen Skandir was finished cleaning her, his eyes turned toward her once again. The otter had been reduced to a pile of fur and limbs, her body slumped over and her chest heaving. The coyote couldn't help but to chuckle, the otter looking absolutely adorable in her current state. His own member had since retreated into his sheath and his testicles were now a lot less swollen than they had been. It was almost a shame, really. Seeing her with her rump partly in the air like that almost left him with the urge to mount her and have another round with her. He knew better though than to subject her to another painful experience so soon after their first coupling.\n\n\tInstead, the coyote stepped toward the river's edge, dipping his paw into the cool water before splashing some on his face, the chilly sensation providing a welcome reprieve from the heat that had built up during his sexual escapade.\n\n\tHe looked back at the otter, a small smile forming on the end of his muzzle.\n\n\t\"Feeling alright, there, Cricket?\" He asked, his tone amused.\n\n\tKi'hera opened her eyes before turning and lifting her head to look over at the canine. Her lips curled into a tired smile as her gaze met his.\n\n\t\"Not bad, but next time, I'm going to tie you down,\" she teased, a playful glint in her eyes.\n\n\tSkandir's smile broadened a little. \"Oh? I would surely like to witness how you plan on accomplishing that,\" he told her with a teasing tone of voice as drops of water dripped off his cheeks and muzzle.\n\n\tKi'hera laughed softly before rolling onto her back and stretching, her limbs extended as her claws flexed and her toes splayed outward. She yawned widely before curling her fores and hinds inward and closing her eyes.\n\n\t\"I'm sure I can surprise you--just as you have surprised me tonight,\" Ki'hera told him, her voice sounding sluggish and somewhat dreamy already.\n\n\tSkandir chuckled somewhat and turned to pad his way back over to his friend. Seeing her curled up the way she was caused him to lie down beside her and to press his muzzle close to her side, his chin on the top of his forepaw, while coiling his other forelimb around her in the process. He closed his eyes, but he could sense his tail swaying slowly behind him, his fur gliding over the blades of grass. He couldn't quite explain it exactly, but he was feeling much better about himself and his current situation now. Perhaps, talking about what ailed him with his closest friend was the medicine he needed, or, perhaps, more simply, the act of engaging in some fairly taboo and satisfying sex with said friend was what really cured what ailed him. Either way, he knew that he was happier right now, in that moment, than he had been for many moons.\n\n\t\"Hey, Skandir,\" the otter suddenly whispered, tearing him from his thoughts, her eyes still closed.\n\n\t\"Hm?\" Skandir mumbled, slightly caught off guard.\n\n\t\"Thanks,\" the otter told him.\n\n\t\"For what?\" Skandir asked, his tired voice sounding a little surprised.\n\n\t\"For being here for me--with me,\" Ki'hera said quietly, her voice soft.\n\n\tSkandir was silent for a moment as his mind traced over each and every moment of the evening he had just shared with his companion, and how in so many ways it could have gone wrong and created a rift between the two of them. In so many ways, he felt as though he was the one who should be thanking her. She had given him a pair of ears to pour his heart and soul out into, as well as a warm body to comfort and satisfy him when his primal urges had blinded him from sense and reason. He didn't know what other adventures or antics he and Ki'hera might get up to together, or if anything might come along some day to disrupt their strange relationship, or if he might ever see Sukira again or how things might transpire between them if he did cross paths with her again. There was much he wanted to say in that moment, but as he sensed sleep burrowing its talons into him, as well as her, a soft sigh escaped his lips.\n\n\t\"Don't mention it,\" Skandir assured her, his eyes still closed.\n\n\t\"Good night, Skandir,\" the otter whispered, her own eyes closed as a peaceful slumber crept over the pair.\n\n\t\"Sleep well, Cricket,\" Skandir muttered in a tired, hushed tone.","writing_bbcode_parsed":"\tSkandir had sighed while lying on his stomach, his chin rested on his forepaws and his eyes closed. His belly was full of fish and his ears were tuned to the sounds of the many songbirds chirping away in the trees that made up the vaguely secluded location that he and his companion were sharing for the evening. His audible exhale was enough to get the attention of the she-otter lying with her back against the base of a nearby maple tree, where she had been picking scales and small pieces of fishy flesh from her teeth with the needle-point tip of a fish bone. Her moss green eyes flashed as her gaze fell on her canine partner, her mind only moments ago being lost in focus on the mundane task of cleaning her sharp teeth.

\t"Hmm?" the young she-otter murmured in her friends direction. "Is something the matter, Skandir? Is the fish not sitting right with your stomach?" she had asked him, her tone suggesting she was mildly concerned for her companion's wellbeing.

\tSkandir grumbled and his body fidgeted slightly, though he didn't turn his head to meet Ki'hera's gaze, for she was positioned to his right and toward the rear of his current location.

\t"Huh? No--no, it's--nothing like that..." he responded promptly, also clearly being shaken free from something his own wandering mind had conjured up during their relaxing downtime together. He stretched out his hind legs behind him, splaying his paw-toes as he attempted to relax his body once again. "I was just thinking, Cricket, that is all," he added, his tail flicking behind him.

\tKi'hera's deep green eyes studied his body language closely and she knew that he was keen to flick his tail when he wasn't entirely being truthful with her. They had been travelling together long enough now that some of his tells were easy to detect and discern. The fact that he had addressed her by her nickname rather than her birthname too, was in its own way a tell. She quirked a brow and discarded her fish bone toothpick before pressing her muscular tail into the trunk of the tree, using its strength in conjunction with the muscles in her hind legs to raise herself up onto her back two feet. She pressed her shoulder blades into the tree's bark and crossed her forelimbs over one another as she eyeballed her friend's flank and contemplated how best to diplomatically call his bluff.

\t"You know," she started, pausing as if for dramatic effect as she closed her eyes and angled her snout closer to the ground just in front of her hind paws, "I know I am no coyote, Skandir, but--I am the closest thing you have to a packmate right now. I'm sure that--were you still with your packmates, you would be a little more open to discussing your feelings with them, would you not?" she asked him tenderly, as she lifted her gaze once more and opened her eyes again, looking out toward him for any sign that he might have a positive response to her suggestion. "We became friends out of necessity, to help one another survive without our homes or our families, but--I know I've come to view you as more than just a coyote who has my back, and--if I'm to be a good friend and the best partner that I can be for you, it might help to know exactly what's going on in that mind of yours, wouldn't you say?"

\tShe had tilted her head slightly as she finished asking her question and her voice had taken on a curious blend of a motherly tone and a slight upward inflection that playfully conveyed the concern a close friend might share with another, while perhaps being a little bit of a tease at the same time. She waited patiently for any sound or other sign of life from him.

\tEventually, Skandir would elicit the softest of scoffs, something bordering quite close to a snort. Though she would not see it from her position at his five o'clock, the coyote had even lazily rolled his eyes.

\t"You would think so, wouldn't you?" he mused, his voice carrying with it a tone of a sarcastic nature, which caused the young otter to quirk her brow and frown ever so slightly. Skandir knew his sarcasm had registered, as he then went on to clarify himself and his tone. "I mean--you are right, Cricket, and I know I've at least--alluded to it before, but--she's just been on my mind a lot more than usual lately, you know?" he asked her, his gaze lifting toward the sky, or what little of it he could glean through the tree canopy above their heads. "Maybe it's--just the season, but--I cannot stop thinking about her lately..."

\tThe otter was not a fool and her mind immediately clicked together the pieces. "Sukira?" she asked, though it wasn't much of a question as it was a statement. Eveb though it wasn't very common for the coyote to talk much of his past to her, what little she did know made it painfully clear to her that her partner had something of a falling out with one of his packmates, this 'Sukira' he's mentioned a few times before. She also knew that his pack was no more and that for one reason or another, he harbored quite a bit of guilt over it.

\t"How long has it been since you've seen her, again?" the otter asked him after a momentary pause.

\tSkandir sighed and finally rolled onto his side, propping his body up onto his right side, allowing his chest to face her, but also his muzzle and brown eyes, for the first time since their conversation began. "About two or three seasons now," he stated plainly, his gaze meeting her own.

\t"Have you thought about looking for her?"

\tSkandir snorted and rolled his eyes once more, but this time the action was accompanied by another scoff. "Even if she is still alive--she probably has a mate and a litter of pups to look after now," he retorted bitterly, a pained look crossing his features. He didn't want to admit to her that the thought of Sukira finding another male made his heart feel leaden.

\tThe she-otter had noticed his expression and knew better than to pry into her friend's romantic feelings. Instead, she focused on the part of his statement that seemed the most concerning to her.

\t"And, what do you mean by 'even if' she is alive?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side and studying him as he sat there, his forelegs crossed over one another. "I know you had suggested before that the pack had been wiped out--dispersed since you had left, but you've survived out in the wilderness, on your own, without your pack. Surely, the same is likely to be true for Sukira as it has been for you, yes?"

\tThe coyote shrugged and turned his attention away from his musteline companion, his gaze drifting downward toward his crossed forepaws, his tail swishing listlessly behind him. "Maybe," he replied quietly, a sense of doubt lingering in his words.

\tKi'hera took a breath and then moved her attention to the fish bones strewn around the area, where she had been gnawing away at them to strip the meat from their surfaces. She plucked a few from the ground and began to toss them back and forth between her forepaws, catching them every time they bounced off her furred digits. She suspected there was more to the tale than he was letting on, but she didn't want to scare him off of talking about it more than she had already done. She knew she had to be tactful and cautious with her approach. "Tell me about her, Skandir. What was Sukira like?"

\tHe had watched her fidget with the fish bones, catching them with ease in her webby paws each time without fail, but the moment she asked him the question, the bones hit the ground, having bounced free from her paws. He looked away from her once more, his eyes now trained on a spot somewhere in the distant landscape. He felt his heart ache the moment she had said her name and his mind filled with the memories of their youth together, their first hunt, and how he had been such a fool to have fallen for her the way that he did. She was not his and she never was, yet the memories of their shared moments, of the way her body felt against his own, it all haunted him. It had haunted him ever since he and she had fled their home.

\t"She was..." he had begun, struggling to find the right words. He felt the heat creep into his face and his ears twitched as he considered the weight of the memories.

\t"Beautiful?" Cricket suggested, her voice cutting in gently, not wishing to disturb his thoughts too much. She could tell, from the look in his eyes and the way his ears were flickering, that he was reliving some very powerful emotions and memories, ones which clearly hurt him, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself.

\tThe coyote turned his head to look at her, his gaze almost surprised, as though her guess had caught him off-guard. He nodded his head slowly.

\t"Yes, very," he replied, his tone soft, his gaze dropping again. He could see her, clear as day, in his mind. Her light gray fur and her brown eyes, the way her snout tapered at the end, her cute, pink tongue that hung lazily from her lips when she slept. The way her hips swayed when she walked and the way her tail stuck straight out behind her when she ran. "And--brave, and strong, and a cunning huntress," he went on, his eyes still not meeting his companion's.

\tKi'hera tilted her head slightly. Though the coyote rarely ever spoke of her, this 'Sukira' had certainly left a big impression on him. It was the first time she had ever seen Skandir so enamored with anything, which was a far cry from the Skandir she was used to; the Skandir she had come to know had always been so serious, so dry and almost brooding most of the time. It was clear that her friend was deeply troubled and clearly missed his former packmate.

\t"If she was a hunter, why would you assume that she has not survived on her own?" the otter had inquired, her eyes watching the coyote carefully, though she didn't want him to feel scrutinized. She was merely curious.

\tSkandir scoffed, his expression taking a slightly sour turn. "She wasn't the biggest coyote or the strongest, but she was the most cunning in our pack," he explained, his tone a little bitter and sarcastic, "but I suppose cunning is only good when you have something or someone to hide behind, right? I--should have stayed with her when we both fled, when we saw those wolves coming." He looked down at his paws and shook his head, a low whine emitting from his throat.

\t"Wolves?" Ki'hera questioned, her eyes widening a little bit.

\t"The Helvon wolf pack," he told her. "They're--they're a large, well-organized, ruthless, and merciless pack of wolves. They had taken over the Corjunia coyote pack and the entire territory surrounding it. Sukira and I had seen them coming, or at least, we saw what we thought was all of them coming," he grumbled, "she wanted to flee from there, knowing we didn't stand a chance and believing that maybe, just maybe--we could seek out help from somewhere. I thought she was foolish--and a coward--I wanted to head back to let the rest of the pack know that we saw these thuggish wolves approaching from the east, and we argued about what the best course of action should be."

\tHe paused and looked down, his claws kneading the dirt, his expression darkening. "She told me I was being a fool for wanting to return, that no amount of warning would change the fact that we were outnumbered and outmatched. In so many ways, she was right, but I still felt it was--our duty--to warn as many as we could," he explained. "I--I said things out of anger, I--I called her names that I can never take back, and--and she ran from me with tears in her eyes," he whined softly, his paws still working the earth beneath him. "And, I let her go," he growled, his tone angry. "I didn't try to stop her, or chase after her. I didn't care where she went or if she lived or died. I just--knew that she was wrong, and that I needed to warn the rest of the pack before these wolves fell upon them in surprise."

\tKi'hera's gaze had dropped and her brows furrowed with sympathy, her own paws now fidgeting nervously as she watched her friend. She wanted to interject at this point, to say something encouraging, but truthfully, she was at a loss of words.
\t"She was right," the coyote went on, "about everything. They were already upon us when I made it back, the rest of their number had circled around from the north in surprise and had moved on our positions from the west as well as the east and--I don't even know if anyone else escaped or if everyone was slain. I know for a fact, though, that if I had just followed her, had just listened her and trusted what her instincts were telling her, that at the very least--she and I would be together now--we would have each other, and I would know that at least someone else from the pack had survived. But, instead, I'm just here, and I'm alone." He turned to look at Ki'hera, his eyes watery, his expression a blend of anger and shame.

\tThe otter's heart broke for her friend and she wished she could give him the comfort he clearly desired. At the same time, it equally pained her that he considered himself alone in the world right now, when she was standing right in front of him, listening to him pouring his guts out to her in the manner that he was. Still, she easily could understand his grief and how he might easily overlook that fact in the heat of the moment. As she stared into his moistened, pain filled brown eyes, she had a momentary vision of him as a father, with five or six little pups running around the place and in that moment, she could not help but to offer up the faintest of smiles.

\t"I would love to meet this 'Sukira' of yours one day," the otter had said to him, her tone calm and sincere. "She sounds like she's a real fighter, and--you would do well to have someone like her fighting by your side." She paused, her smile growing ever so slightly wider. "I don't know a lot about coyotes, but I'm sure there would be plenty of females who would be more than willing to throw themselves at a handsome male like yourself, especially if they were to get wind of the kind of loyalty and bravery you showed when you opted to go back and warn the rest of your pack, risking your own life and limb to do so," she told him. "You deserve that, Skandir, you deserve a loving mate in your life who would be as dedicated to you as you would be to her," she added softly.

\tThe coyote's face flushed at her compliments, his gaze dropping as he felt the heat rise into his cheeks. He felt a little ashamed for being flattered by the young she-otter's words, but he could not deny that they gave him a small flicker of hope. He knew his friend meant well, but he also knew that his chances of finding someone else were slim, and even slimmer now that Sukira was likely dead and gone. Lone coyotes didn't last very long out in the wild without a pack to call their own, and yet, Cricket had raised a valid point--he had survived multiple seasons without a pack now, surely there was a good chance that Sukira had done so as well.

\tSkandir had sniffled softly and had lifted his right forepaw to his eye so as to brush away his tears, his brown eyes drifting back to Ki'hera's face as he did. "Maybe she was lucky enough to find a friendly, lone otter out in the woods who was willing to help watch her back and keep her fed as well," he mused in a soft and almost playful tone of voice. He couldn't help but smile ever so slightly, his eyes glistening with a renewed sense of hope.

\tKi'hera grinned and shrugged. "Stranger things have happened," she replied, her grin turning into a warm smile. She had to admit though, talking a little about his own life and past did make her feel the slightest bit homesick, as well as a little guilty about the circumstances surrounding her own withdrawal from the only life she knew. She could not help but to think of her own parents, her uncle and even her siblings and friends. She missed them and wondered how they were getting along and if any of them were thinking of her the way that she was thinking about them right now. She did not regret leaving, but the feelings of guilt and grief were certainly strong.

\tShe had shaken the thought from her mind and found Skandir smiling at her with a strange glint in his eye she had not noticed before. She tilted her head slightly and gave him a questioning glance. "Heh, what is it? Do I have some fish scales on my face?" she had asked him, bringing her paw up to her nose and cheek to try and brush away any scales that might be there.

\tThe coyote had chuckled softly, shaking his head. "No, nothing like that," he told her. "I was just thinking--about how in many ways, you sometimes--remind me of her," he suggested, his tail beginning to wag slowly behind him. "I mean, I know otters hunt fish instead of rabbits and the like, but in an otter sense, you're very much like Sukira in that you both are great hunters. I also cannot get over the way that you managed to get me to--talk about all of that, even though I didn't want to. Sukira was always very good at--getting me to do things I really didn't want to do and she could be very persistent when she wanted to be."

\tThe otter smiled and her face had turned a little red from the flattery, her chest puffing out a little with pride. "Well, thank you, Skandir. I can honestly say that it is one of the highest compliments you could give me," she told him, her tone soft and sincere. She could not help but wonder though, if this coyote had developed a little crush on her. After all, he was comparing her to his own crush from his past. She hoped that, should she ever ask him, he would have an honest answer for her.

\t"So, are you feeling a little better now?" the otter asked, her gaze still locked on his.

\tSkandir nodded, his expression shifting slightly, his tone a little more serious than before. "I am," he replied. "Thank you."

\t"Good," she said, her smile still there, but her tone changing, as well. "I'm glad to hear it. I know that--talking about some painful things can be a good thing, and--I want you to know that I am here for you whenever you need someone to talk to." She had moved herself closer toward him now and she lifted her webbed paw to touch his shoulder tenderly.

\tThe coyote's ears pricked up a little and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He had not expected her to move closer to him at that moment and was unsure as to how he should react. Her touch was comforting, yet it was also a little awkward. She was an otter and he was a coyote, and yet, the more he looked into her moss colored eyes, the more he thought about Sukira and the many opportunities he had missed out on with her. He could feel his heart starting to race again, but this time, the fear that coursed through his veins was different. It was the kind of fear that came with not knowing what would happen next.

\t"Cricket," the coyote had murmured, his breath catching in his throat. He knew she could sense his nervousness, but he didn't want her to worry. He also did not wish for her to think of him as a coward. He swallowed his fears and took a leap of faith, his eyes closing as he pressed his muzzle against her cheek, his wet, slobbering tongue slipping out and gliding slowly over her chin and one side of her face.

\tKi'hera blushed a bit, a soft squeak escaping her lips, her heart hammering away in her chest, the paw she had resting on his shoulder now lifted up to gently clasp his cheek fur, showing him some tenderness in kind, but also giving her some options if she needed to push herself away from him if things escalated too quickly for her liking. She understood that talking about his lost love likely had stirred up some turbulent feelings inside of him and she wasn't about to discourage him immediately after helping to raise his spirits regarding Sukira. She figured, if he was going to kiss her, he was likely going to have kissed her regardless. It had only been a matter of time before something like this had happened between the two of them, given the way they lived.

\t"Hey now," she protested playfully, pushing her paw into his cheek in a futile effort to push him off of her. "I know otters like to have moistened fur and I appreciate you expressing this side of you, but you might want to save it for--" She cut herself off when she felt his tongue slide up the length of her cheek, making a mess of her fur and getting slobber everywhere. She tried to pull away from him again, but he had his left foreleg wrapped around her now, his paw having slid down her spine and by now had grabbed her haunch, holding her steady. His muzzle was pressed firmly into the side of her face and she could smell his warm, fish scented breath on her face.

\t"Skandir, please," she implored him, her tone growing a little more urgent. She had never been intimate with a canid before, or even with a member of her own kind for that matter, despite an otter's reputation for being rather promiscuous. She didn't want her first time to be like this, but she also didn't want to upset her friend either. The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she didn't reciprocate his feelings, which was true, at least to some extent.

\tShe could feel his paw kneading her haunch and her back arched instinctively, an involuntary moan escaping her lips as his digits moved over her supple flesh. The coyote's tongue slid lower down her face, tracing a wet line over her throat and up toward her ear. He nipped the edge of her ear and nibbled gently on the furred appendage, a low growl emitting from deep within his chest.

\tKi'hera's muffled moans had grown more audible and more frequent, the heat between her thighs building rapidly. Her tail swayed back and forth, her paw moving from his cheek, down to his throat and neck. She felt his grip tighten on her haunch and she sensed that he was not going to let her go anytime soon. She felt as though she had no choice but to accept his advances, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.

\tSkandir soon brought his forepaw to the ground behind Ki'hera and he used his nose to guide her onto her back, while his tongue gently lapped at her chest fur. He could feel the young she-otter trembling under him and he wondered if perhaps, her trembles were not those of excitement, but rather those of fear. In his mind, he knew she wanted him and it was all too easy to imagine that she was Sukira beneath him, panting with excitement and desire. Still, there was a part of him that felt guilty for advancing on his friend like this in the first place, and another part of him that felt ashamed for imagining that he was with his old crush.

\t"Cricket, please relax," the coyote told her, his voice soothing and gentle, but firm, "I won't hurt you." He brought his head up from her chest and stared into her eyes, their noses gently touching as he did.

\tThe young otter blushed heavily, her breathing quick and shallow. She wanted to say something to him, but the words simply wouldn't come. She didn't know what she could say to him to convince him that they shouldn't do this, that maybe they should stop and think about it before blindly taking their relationship into an entirely different plane of existence. She couldn't bear the thought of Skandir regretting his decision to mate with her, or worse, hating her for letting him take her maidenhood.

\t"We shouldn't," she began, her voice weak and timid, her paws shaking. She felt her insides twisting into knots as the coyote continued to press his weight down on her, his muzzle hovering just above hers, his hot, fishy breath washing over her snout. "It's not--we shouldn't," she whispered. "You don't want this."

\tSkandir lowered his muzzle and kissed her forehead gently, his nose then touching her cheek and his tongue sliding up the side of her face once again. "I want you, Cricket," he told her. "I want you. I have for some time now. Please, don't deny me this," he whispered into her ear. He knew he wasn't exactly being truthful with her, but he had already made peace with the thought of imagining Sukira beneath him as he bred the only female he could get his paws on and nothing was going to dissuade him now.

\tKi'hera swallowed hard, her breathing heavy and erratic. "Skandir, I'm--not who you think I am," she murmured, her voice low and her gaze dropping. "You should find another," she suggested.

\t"I've--made up my mind," Skandir told her gruffly, his paw now pressing firmly into her chest, his digits kneading the soft flesh. He could feel his sheath hardening and his member throbbing inside, eager to slip out and worm its way into her writhing body.

\t"Then at least be honest with me," she retorted. "Tell me what you truly desire." She wanted him to admit that he saw her as his long-lost friend, his crush from his days back in his pack, or at least tell her that he wished she was Sukira. She knew if he told her the truth, that it would be enough for her to put a stop to this nonsense and save the both of them a lot of pain and grief.

\tThe coyote growled softly and shook his head. "What is it that you want from me?" he asked. "Are you trying to discourage me from mating with you? Is it because--I'm a coyote? Are you afraid of being hurt?" He narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming a little more defensive.

\tKi'hera frowned. "I don't want to be a substitute for someone else," she told him firmly. "Especially when you are using me as a means of forgetting her."

\t"But, I thought--you said we were friends, that you were here for me, and that--"

\t"We are friends," she interrupted him, her brows furrowed. "I am here for you, and I will be, for as long as you want me to. I just want you to be honest with me." She could see his expression had softened and his frustration was now replaced with a sense of shame.

\t"I'm sorry," he told her, his ears flattening. "I shouldn't have assumed--my--my mind is a mess right now--"

\t"No, you shouldn't have," she replied, cutting him off once again. "And, you shouldn't be apologizing, either."

\tSkandir gave her a confused look, his tail curling beneath him. "But--what would you have me do?" he asked, his gaze now cast downward, his eyes meeting hers.

\tKi'hera reached down and touched his paw, giving it a squeeze. "Admit what you want," she replied.

\t"But, I told you, I--"

\t"You didn't," she corrected him.

\tSkandir nodded after a brief period of silence. "Very well," he said, his voice low and barely audible. "I want to be with Sukira. I--want to have her, make her mine. I want her to know that I've loved her all along and--the thought of her with some other coyote--tears me up inside."

\t"So, why do you have me pinned beneath you then?" the otter asked.

\t"Because--you are the only female I have access to," the coyote replied, his tone a little embarrassed. "And--because, I know you wouldn't deny me."

\t"No," Ki'hera said softly, shaking her head, "I wouldn't--under the right circumstances."

\t"Will you help me then, to pretend that you are her?" the coyote pleaded, his expression full of hope.

\tThe otter frowned, her brow furrowed and her gaze dropping. She did not want to give in to his demands, but at the same time, she didn't want him to hate her for refusing him, either. She sighed and looked up at him, her expression softening.

\t"Do you want to make love to me, or do you want to make love to her?" the otter asked, her tone soft and curious as her moss green eyes bore into him, searching him as though she were trying to read his deepest thoughts.

\tSkandir stared down at her for several moments of silence before a low growl escaped his throat. "I--can be gentle, if you want me to be," he whispered, seemingly hoping to quell her concerns without answering the question.

\t"You didn't answer my question," Ki'hera insisted, her tone calm and even.

\tThe coyote blinked, his eyes widening slightly. "I--" he stammered, his gaze dropping. "I want you, Cricket," he finally said, his voice a soft whisper.

\t"But you wish I was her," the otter added, her voice almost a whisper, her expression neutral.

\t"Yes," Skandir confessed, his eyes closing briefly. He knew the young she-otter had a right to be upset, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her about his true intentions, nor could he find the words to express his mixed emotions.

\tKi'hera nodded, her gaze lifting once more, her eyes locked with his. "So, you would treat me like you would her, then?" she asked.

\t"I would," the coyote agreed.

\tThe young otter was silent for a few moments, her gaze drifting from his eyes, down to his nose, and finally, settling on his lips. She was confident now that he was telling her the truth and in a twisted way she believed it would be cruel of her to deny him this request. Perhaps it was more a sense of survival and knowing that if he left her now, she would truly have to fend for herself, or perhaps, she was more worried about him being alone and trying to survive? She didn't like the idea of being a surrogate for someone else, but if she was going to be one, she at least wanted him to be honest with her about it.

\t"Then--do so," she told him. "And know that--you are welcome to come to me anytime you want, whether I am in the mood or not," she added, her tone stern.

\tSkandir smiled, his heart leaping with joy. He had not expected the young she-otter to be so understanding, nor did he expect her to be so open to the idea of being treated as a replacement. He was grateful and he leaned in to kiss her softly, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he did.

\tHe could feel the young otter stiffen underneath him and her paws had grabbed his cheeks, holding him firmly in place. He broke the kiss after a few moments and glanced down at her, his expression a little concerned.

\t"What's wrong?" the coyote asked.

\tKi'hera gave him a slight shrug. "Nothing, really," she replied. "I'm just not used to kissing--canids." She had to admit, kissing him was an odd sensation, especially since his tongue was larger and longer than her own, not to mention the fact that his muzzle was much longer than hers as well. His fur was softer and finer than any otter's fur that she had ever touched, and the smell of fish on his breath was not an unpleasant one, despite its strangeness.

\tThe coyote chuckled softly and his ears perked forward. "Well, you can pretend I am an otter if you want to." he replied with a teasing inflection to his voice. He assumed she had likely kissed other otters before at least.

\tKi'hera smirked slightly and nodded. "I might just have to. A tall and goofy looking otter," she replied with a little bit of sass.

\t"Tall and goofy looking?" the coyote said in mock indignation, his paws pushing against her shoulders, holding her in place.

\t"Yeah, but in a cute way," the otter giggled, her paws reaching up to cup his cheeks, pulling him down for another kiss. She closed her eyes and allowed her tongue to slip out of her mouth, gliding over his lips before pushing itself passed his teeth. She felt his tongue meet hers halfway, twisting around her slick appendage, causing a low moan to escape her lips.

\tSkandir had arched his back and begun grinding himself against the young otter, his hips rolling back and forth slowly as he did. He could feel the tip of his member sliding against her lower belly fur and his testicles had started to tighten, a warm sensation beginning to build up inside his lower abdomen.

\tKi'hera tensed up immediately went she felt something hard and warm pressing firmly into her lower tummy as it began to grind back and forth against her short, dense fur. She held her paw to his cheek still, but it was almost as though the reality of the situation had finally sunken in about what was about to transpire between them. Her whole body felt tense and she could now only visualize her small body being subjected to the relentless pounding of a sex deprived and emotional male canine. She clenched her teeth as she slowly withdrew from his face and attempted to steal a glance at the equipment he was now sliding against her underside.

\t"C--can I see it first?" she asked. Her eyes were wide and her expression was a little fearful.

\tThe coyote's eyes widened and his gaze snapped downwards toward his nethers. He had not anticipated that she would request a glimpse at his member before they actually mated.

\t"Of course," he replied, his voice a low, impatient growl. He was still very much aroused and he could feel his sheath and scrotum growing warmer and tighter by the second. His erection was becoming painfully hard and he knew he needed a release more than ever.

\tKi'hera watched with trepidation as the canine rolled off of her and sat up. She could see the bulge in his sheath now, and the length of his semi-flaccid member protruding out of the top of his sheath. He was not fully erect yet, but the sight of his exposed tip and a few inches of his length was enough to send shivers down her spine. Even in a state of being at half staff, he was already thicker and longer than that of an average otter.

\tSkandir watched her curiously as she put some distance between him and her by scurrying away slightly, still on her back.

\t"What's wrong?" the coyote asked, his tone a mixture of impatience and concern.

\t"I just--it's going to hurt, isn't it?" Ki'hera asked him nervously while still clenching her teeth, her eyes locked onto his exposed flesh.

\t"If you relax, it won't hurt so much," Skandir replied. "But if you continue to tense up, then yes, it's likely to hurt. Just take a deep breath and try to relax," he attempted to encourage her. In truth, he had no idea how much it would hurt her, but his impatience was doing the talking for him now.

\tThe otter took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to ease the tension in her muscles, but her fear continued to build as she once again moved to stare at the coyote's partially unsheathed cock. She didn't understand how such a massive organ could possibly fit inside a creature of her stature and she knew enough about canid mating to know that once the male got going, it would be fast and violent, the fear was simply too overwhelming.

\tSkandir could sense the young otter's trepidation and he moved a little closer, his paw laying gently down upon her belly. His eyes fell on the space between her hind legs, where a brownish hued patch of flesh lay visible amongst the sandy colored fur of her underside. Indeed, her vulva looked quite petite to his eyes, but more important he could see and smell that she was barely aroused at all. Though he had never mated before, he had seen it happen between the alpha of his former pack and his mate. He could remember the smells, the sounds and the chaos of it all and how the alpha would snarl and flash his teeth when any other male drew closer out of curiosity and interest. As his brown eyes stared at his otter friend's tiny mound, a thought occurred to him.

\t"Well, you're not in heat--so I guess--I guess I should do my best to make sure that--it doesn't hurt when it..." he trailed off, and his muzzle lowered gently between her legs, his cold and damp nose gently brushing her sensitive flesh as he sniffed her genitalia.

\t"Wha--what are you doing?" Ki'hera inquired, her voice shaking with nervousness, her whole body tensing up the moment his nose touched her in that manner.

\t"Hush, Cricket," the coyote said, his tongue licking at her moistening slit. The taste of her feminine musk was strong, but not entirely unpleasant. She did not smell much like coyote, or any female canid he had ever smelled before, but there was still something about her scent that electrified his senses and told him to carry on with his task, and so his tongue would wash over her sex with another experimental lick.

\tKi'hera gasped at the sensation, her tail curling on the ground behind her and her hind legs clasped around the sides of his head. She could feel the coyote's tongue gliding along the outside of her vagina, and it was not unlike the sensations she had experienced when playing with herself back at home. The two primary differences were that his tongue was far wetter and larger than her own digits, and that she was not in control of the appendage currently tantalizing her sensitive flesh, so the feeling of control and power over her own body was not there, and thus, it was difficult to fully relax and enjoy the sensations.

\tSkandir was now getting into a rhythm, his tongue gliding back and forth over her exposed flesh, occasionally poking at the opening of her vagina. He could hear the young otter gasp and moan softly, and he could feel her legs beginning to spread further apart, granting his cheek fur and his whiskers more room. He continued licking her, his paws now spreading her thighs apart, his tongue pressing harder and more insistently into her opening. He could taste her nectar as it eventually began to seep out, and the aroma was beginning to drive him crazy.

\t"Mmmfff, that feels--weird," the otter groaned, her eyes closing, her mind attempting to focus on the pleasure of the sensation, rather than the thoughts and feelings that she would inevitably feel for allowing herself to be taken like this.

\tSkandir ignored her comments and pressed his muzzle even further between her thighs, his nose bumping against her tiny mound as his tongue pushed deeper inside her, causing her to squirm and whine. He could feel her vaginal walls beginning to tighten around the tip of his tongue, her muscles flexing and contracting involuntarily as her arousal began to mount. He could only guess as to how close she might be to an orgasm, assuming that was his objective in the first place.

\tKi'hera's hind legs spasmed and attempted to clasp around the sides of his face again, her hips bucking against him as he continued to lick her. Her breathing had become heavy and ragged, and her paws had grasped the top of his head, her claws digging into his flesh as her pleasure intensified. She wanted to say something to him, or even give him some sort of sign, but her mind was so clouded with ecstasy and her body was reacting so violently to his probing tongue, that she could barely form a coherent thought, much less utter a word or phrase.

\tSkandir could smell her excitement now, the musky scent of her juices filling his nostrils, reminding him vaguely of that sweet scent of a female coyote in season. He knew she must be ready, and his body responded eagerly, his member now fully erect and throbbing quite eagerly ahead of his sheath. He withdrew his tongue from her sopping mound and his right paw returned to her chest where he would apply some weight to her in order to keep her still. With a low growl, he once again lowered himself down onto her, guiding that pointed head of his toward the space between her hind legs. He could feel the warmth radiating from her entrance, the wetness and the scent of her desire calling out to him.

\tKi'hera had opened her muzzle, as though to say something, but only a pitiful squeak managed to escape her throat. She was still panting and left rather flabbergasted by how intensely and how suddenly things had transpired, that her voice had seemingly chosen that moment to leave her.

\tSkandir growled low and deep in his throat, his eyes narrowing as his left paw was soon positioned to her shoulder, ensuring that she would remain on her back for the rest of their time together, or at least until he had his way.

\tHe had found the opening to her vagina, and his tip was now pressing into her damp, inviting flesh, the slippery warmth beckoning him. With one mighty thrust, his hips lunged forward, burying his girth deep inside her. He heard her squeak loudly and his ears immediately flattened as a wave of guilt washed over him. He had been too eager, and his impatience had gotten the better of him.

\t"S--sorry," he whispered. "I--I didn't mean to hurt you," he had uttered out in near silence. Tears slowly began to well up in his eyes.

\tKi'hera winced as her body adjusted to his considerable size. She had not expected him to be so large, and the pain she was now feeling was excruciating. She couldn't even speak, her entire body was frozen, her eyes squeezed shut, her jaws clenched tight. She could only hear his words and she could only hope that the pain would subside, and soon.

\tFor Skandir, however, the feeling of a wet, slippery tunnel engulfing the first inch or so of his member was a feeling of pure bliss. His mind reeled with a flurry of thoughts and emotions, memories and dreams of what could have been and what is currently unfolding. Pleasure, fear, guilt all welled up inside of him, leaving him feeling physically satisfied, but still somewhat hollow inside. Despite his attention being entirely on himself, subconsciously sensing Ki'hera's pain, he slowly eased half of his embedded length back out of her again, allowing her body to naturally clasp around him in an attempt to return to form. All the while, those tears were gradually building in size and threatening to break free as his eyes continued to excrete.

\tKi'hera's maw had opened up as her lungs filled with air, as though a great weight had just been lifted off of her chest and she could breathe again. Her eyes were now wide and she was panting intensely, desperately trying to acclimate to the intense pain that had just been wrought onto her. Despite her situation, she had managed to lift her head enough to gaze up at Skandir where she would notice that his eyes were closed and he appeared to be crying. Her mind was allowed to wander for a moment despite everything. Was he somehow able to feel her pain? Was he racked with guilt in having coerced her into taking their relationship to this stage? Was he just feeling the intense joy of finally being able to be intimate with a female, even if she was not of his own species? Was he thinking of Sukira? Any and all of these possibilities seemed plausible to her at least, though in some small way, seeing him like this softened her own feelings toward him in the moment, and she felt as though she could bring herself to endure the intensity of his lovemaking if that is what he needed. She lifted a shaking left paw up to gently clasp his cheek, silently signaling to him that she forgave him and that he had her blessing to continue.

\tSkandir had frozen for a moment went he felt Ki'hera's paw on his face. It was then that he realized that he was trembling too, though perhaps not to the same extreme that Ki'hera had been up to and during his penetration of her body. He sighed heavily, feeling the tightness in his chest and shoulders subsiding as he gently lowered his nose to the top of her head, allowing his tongue to meekly glide over her tuft of head fur. It was in that moment that the coyote realized that on some strange level, he loved her. She was not just a convenient friend and a partner in survival, though she was not quite a mate or a lover either. He could almost liken her to a family member, or a packmate, somebody willing to put their own desires and wishes aside in order to lend aid to another. The fact that he had even been able to think about Sukira in that moment, and compare her to Ki'hera had caused him some distress as well as more confusion, and a wave of fresh tears came cascading down his face and dripped from his nose onto her cheek.

\tKi'hera winced again at the sensation of more weight being applied onto her lower abdomen, her body still very much in pain. She could hear the coyote's voice above her, whimpering and muttering something under his breath, though she couldn't quite make it out.

\t"Sssssskandir..." she finally managed to squeak, her voice hoarse and ragged.

\tThe canid lifted his head up slightly, his eyes opening slowly. His vision was blurry, the tears making it difficult to see.

\t"Ki'hera..." Skandir replied, his tone one of worry and regret.

\t"You're not done," the otter told him, her tone somewhat annoyed, but gentle and understanding nonetheless.

\t"I can't..." the coyote began, his voice wavering, his eyes welling up with more tears.

\t"You can," Ki'hera insisted, her eyes locking with his. "Just go slow," she added.

\tAfter a long moment of silence between them, his eyes staring into hers and hers into his, Skandir relented.

\t"Okay," Skandir agreed reluctantly.

\tSkandir shifted his weight, his left paw moving from her shoulder to the ground beside her body. His right paw remained planted on her belly, keeping her pinned to the ground while he pulled his hips back, the first few inches of his member withdrawing from her body, a wet, slurping sound emanating from her as his length left her passage. He took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, his mind attempting to process what had happened and how he felt about it. His cock had still been painfully hard and he could feel his tip throbbing intensely as the blood pulsated through his member. He could feel her warmth around him and the pressure of her sex around him, her vaginal walls tightening and loosening in response to the changes in his position.

\tThe otter beneath him shuddered, the sensation of his cock retreating from her body almost a welcome relief as the pressure on her insides was finally relieved. She could still feel her muscles flexing, attempting to expel the foreign object, but her body had no success, it was he who was ultimately in control.

\tThe coyote grunted softly, his head hanging low, his eyes locked on the space between Ki'hera's hind legs where the brown, furry skin of her mound and the pink, wet flesh of her vulva was still very visible. He could see her inner lips clinging to him, her entrance stretching and latching tightly around the tip of his length. A strange feeling of power surged through him and a low, throaty growl escaped his maw. With a slow and steady pace, he pressed himself back into her, her sex spreading to accommodate him.

\tThe otter groaned loudly as her walls were spread wide around him, her vaginal passage becoming even tighter as her inner walls clung to his phallus, squeezing him. The pain was intense and she could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage. Her breathing had become labored and her chest was rising and falling quickly.

\t"S--so much..." she whimpered, her mind overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she felt herself biting down on her lower lip. She didn't know what to say, or if there was anything that could be said to make the situation any better.

\t"Hrrraugh," Skandir grunted as he pulled back again, the wet, squelching sound of her flesh against his own growing louder as his tip slid along the inside of her, the friction of her muscles pulling against him adding even more sensation for the canine. Even though he had only penetrated her up to nearly half of the total length of his member thus far, he could only wonder how her body could possibly handle so much internal expansion.

\tThe otter could feel his tip bumping nearly to the end of her vagina when he thrust into her, and while the sensation wasn't entirely unpleasant, it stung and was quite strange and unfamiliar. She knew she was small compared to him, but it hadn't really occurred to her that there might not be enough room inside of her for a cock that size, not until now anyway.

\tSkandir began to build a slow rhythm, his hips rolling slowly as he moved himself in and out of her, her vaginal passage clasping tightly around his member, her lightly lubricated walls providing him with just enough stimulation to continue the assault. As he moved, his eyes remained fixed on her face, watching for any signs of pain or discomfort. He was trying his best to be gentle, but he had never done this before and he had no idea how to make it easier on the both of them. His instincts told him to hold her tight and to pound her until he reached his own satisfaction, but he felt a powerful, protective desire to hold himself back so that she might enjoy herself and be subjected to considerably less pain.

\tAs his thrusting increased in tempo, he could hear her moaning and gasping, her voice sounding distressed, her expression one of anguish.

\t"I'm sorry," he whispered, his heart breaking as that tear trail had worked its way down half the length of his muzzle by now. He knew that this was hurting her and he wanted nothing more than to pull out and give her some time to recover, but his instincts and his body encouraged him otherwise.

\t"Keep going," Ki'hera urged him, her voice cracking. She knew this wasn't right, and it wasn't the most pleasurable experience, but the last thing she wanted to do was ruin the moment for her canine companion.

\t"Mmmff, I can't..." Skandir muttered as he struggled to look her in the eye, though he had noticed that tears had welled up in her eyes by this point and that she was clenching her teeth.

\t"Please," the otter begged, her eyes straining to meet his. "I--it feels better," she lied, her body shuddering, her paw-toes curling and the claws on her front paws digging into the dirt beneath her.

\tSkandir felt compelled to stop things right there in order to spare her anymore misery, but he was already so close to climaxing that it didn't really matter. He could feel his testicles throbbing in their sac, and his member was pulsating urgently within her depths. He sighed, his muzzle lowering to her chest where he would begin to lick at her fur in a comforting, apologetic manner.

\t"I'm sorry," he whispered repeatedly as his thrusting began to increase in speed and intensity.

\t"Don't--stop," Ki'hera begged, her voice a pitiful whine.

\tSkandir eventually did as she asked and continued his movements, his hips thrusting and jerking wildly, his cock sliding rapidly in and out of her, the friction causing him to grunt and groan. He could feel her tightness around him, her muscles squeezing and contracting, trying to milk him of all his seed.

\tHe couldn't hold back anymore, his thrusts became more rapid and frantic, his body shuddering and jerking spastically. His cock twitched and throbbed, his length swelling with the pressure of his approaching climax. With one final, desperate thrust, he buried himself as deep into her as he could manage, his tip bumping against the end of her vagina, nearly prodding her cervix. He gasped, his paws clutching desperately at the dirt and grass beneath them as his orgasm began. Despite the shallow depth of the successful penetration, his knot had inflated to its full girth without the vestibule of a female to envelop it, leaving it throbbing in the cool air between his body and hers. His testicles tensed and tightened as his climax hit its stride.

\tKi'hera elicited a soft scream as she lifted her left paw to clutch onto the side of his face again, just passed his whiskers. Her right paw joined in soon after, holding to the opposite side of his face. It was at that moment that she wished she could have been a coyote, or at least a creature of a larger size, so that she could have allowed her friend to have been himself and let instincts guide him so that they both might enjoy one another properly. She wanted to kiss him full on the lips, to apologize for coaxing him on but also to signal to him that she forgave him for pressuring her into all of this in the first place. Her mouth did open wide, however, when she suddenly felt the sensation of immediate relief when the coyote pulled himself out of her mid-orgasm.

\tSkandir had clenched his teeth when he felt the first stream of his ejaculate jettison freely from his throbbing tip, coating the depths of Ki'hera's vaginal tunnel in his warm, slippery seed. His mind was reeling with a torrent of emotion, but she had given him what he ultimately desired most in his emotional state and in his mind, he wanted to end her suffering sooner rather than later. He had quickly pulled himself back, his hind paws pushing into the grass in an effort to remove himself from her once the deed was done. He could feel her elastic, pink flesh tugging and gripping him the entire way as his seed drooled forth from his retreating penis, coating her passage with ropes of coyote cum on is way out. The act of pulling out, as delayed as it was, proved to be a mentally intensive task and the coyote's legs trembled when the cool air hit his wet, sensitive flesh. Because he was still standing over her, several more ropes of his semen shot forth, blanketing the otter's tummy and lower chest with stream after stream of the warm, slick fluid.

\t"Nnngghhh!" Skandir had grunted, his maw hanging open, tongue lolling as his orgasm continued unabated. His eyes were still closed and that tear continued to trail down the length of his muzzle.

\tThe otter, her eyes now closed, was able to breathe normally for the first time since her sexual encounter with the canine had begun. The pain had subsided somewhat, and the feeling of his cum coating her insides had actually been somewhat pleasant, the heat of his seed soothing and calming her. When he had pulled himself out of her, the feeling of her vaginal walls being stretched to capacity had finally subsided and the sudden rush of air had been a welcome sensation, as the pressure was relieved and she was free to partially close her hind legs and relax her muscles.

\tWhen he had pulled back enough and began to shoot his semen on her body, she couldn't help but smile a little. While the thought of being marked by a canine, even a friendly one, was a strange, foreign thought, she didn't find it all that repulsive. The coyote was her friend, after all, and the fact that he cared enough about her to stop his thrusting and pull out of her mid-orgasm was enough of a signal for her.

\tKi'hera's maw was wide and panting as she laid there in silence, listening to the sounds of Skandir's heavy breathing. She closed her eyes for just a moment and allowed herself to stretch out a bit. In doing so, her left, webbed hind paw made contact with Skandir's still exposed member, easily sliding down the slick flesh and causing her paw to bump into his bulbous knot. Her eyes opened once again as she found her gaze drifting down the length of her body, toward her hind paw and the object it was unwittingly fondling.

\t"Ooh," she uttered, her voice a soft coo, her eyes noticeably widened now when she got a glimpse of the impressively large girth at the base of his penis, a sight certainly quite foreign to a young female otter. "Is--is that also part of your...?" She had asked, her voice trailing off as her eyes locked with his.

\t"That's my knot," Skandir said quietly between his intense panting, his gaze meeting hers. He could still feel the otter's paw gently gliding over the bulbous protrusion and he could feel a strange warmth welling up in his chest, the fur of his cheeks tingling, and the hair on his back raising. The soft, velvety fur on her hind paw was quite satisfying to the touch, especially on the part of his organ that received no attention during their actual intercourse. "It swells when I'm close to climax, and when it does, it traps me inside my partner," he explained, his breathing slowly beginning to regulate.

\t"T--traps?" Ki'hera stammered, her tone one of worry.

\tSkandir nodded his head softly, his eyes still meeting hers as he cleared her throat. "Lucky for you, I--don't think your body is large enough to--ever have to worry about my knot," he told her with a mild, awkward chuckle.

\tKi'hera looked up at the coyote for a long moment, her mouth hanging open as though she wanted to say something, but was too stunned and confused to know exactly what to say. "That--doesn't sound very comfortable," she told him after awhile, her left hind paw still stroking the sensitive gland at the base of his penis, a sensation which he seemed to be greatly enjoying.

\t"For some--I suppose it's not..." he told her, his eyes slowly closing as a low grumble emanated from his throat, the feeling of her short, silky fur continuing to have an affect on him. "It--it can be painful for some females, but for others, it's--very pleasurable," he explained, his breathing growing more rapid once again.

\tKi'hera smiled up at him, her left paw still gently stroking the knot. "Which would you prefer?" She asked him, her tone light, playful as her hind paw continued to gently work itself into his fleshy appendage.

\tSkandir clenched his teeth for a moment as his eyes fell upon her once again. She had just been used by him, and now she was lying there on her back with her much smaller form, seemingly in full control over the situation at least for the time being. If he was honest with himself, it would be difficult to find anything decidedly unsexy about her current demeanor and the way she was currently servicing him while egging him on with her playful banter.

\t"I uh..." Skandir cleared his throat as his mind could not help but to wander back to Sukira and he imagined how he might prefer to have her reacting to his knot if it were her body beneath him instead of Ki'hera's. Sure, it would be more enjoyable for the both of them if she greatly enjoyed the sensation of being tied to him, and he could feel her lithe body writhing beneath him as they shared an orgasm together, but that pseudo-rivalry he shared with his former packmate also left him wanting to see her in maybe just a little bit of pain if he would ever be so fortunate as to be her mate one day.

\t"Well?" Ki'hera asked him as she gazed mischievously up at her larger partner, her paw still stroking back and forth against his swollen member as though she were trying to torture a confession out of him with a painfully slow application of pleasure.

\t"I--" Skandir cleared his throat yet again, the lump in his esophagus still refusing to subside. "I think it would be nice to see my partner enjoying the experience," he finally managed to get out, perhaps only giving her a half truthful response. "Seeing--you in pain like that, it was--very difficult to proceed--despite how badly my body wanted me to..." He trailed off, his eyes lowering as a look of guilt swept over his expression.

\tKi'hera, sensing his sudden shift in demeanor, retracted her hind paw from his phallus, her eyes still locked with his.

\t"It's okay," she assured him, her tone gentle. "We were both--in unfamiliar territory..." she said, her voice trailing off, her words sounding somewhat empty, almost hollow. "You stopped though, and that's what's important," she added, her lips curling into a gentle, reassuring smile.

\tSkandir could sense her attempt at being reassuring, and her words had been comforting, but he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that had crept into the back of his mind. Perhaps, it was best to divert their attention away from such an ugly topic. As a slight smile began to form on his muzzle, he leaned down and toward her hind paw, running his tongue gently over it with a single, slow rake of his tongue. He could taste the saltiness of his own essence on his tongue, but he also could taste some of that uniquely mustelid musk he had come to associate with his friend and it caused his tail to wag slowly behind him.

\tThe otter lifted her head and looked down the length of her body, her eyes meeting the canine's.

\t"What are you doing?" She asked, her tone slightly suspicious.

\t"Showing appreciation," he told her, his eyes locking with hers.

\tKi'hera chuckled, her cheeks reddening a little. "I can take care of myself, you know," she assured him, her left hind paw playfully brushing his snout.

\tSkandir's gentle smile shifted to a suggestive grin as a low growl rippled from his throat. "Oh, I am sure that you can, and some day I wouldn't mind watching you take care of yourself," he suggested with another low growl, a confident grin plastered on the end of his muzzle. "Until then, however, I feel like it's my job to take care of you--to show you my appreciation for being so--accepting of me, and all that..." he told her, before moving his right paw toward her flank and gently flipping her over onto her belly. He wasted little time at all in sticking his cool, wet nose beneath her tail and running his tongue over her sopping little mustelid pussy.

\tThe otter was about to protest, her muzzle opening as she readied herself to tell the coyote that this wasn't necessary, but when she felt his tongue slide over her, a moan escaped her lips and her eyes fluttered and closed. She had been trying her best to keep the mood light and friendly between the two of them, but when he had rolled her over and exposed her rear, the sensation had taken her breath away and her heart began to pound in her chest. She could feel the heat radiating from her sex and a wave of warmth spread through her body, causing the fur on her neck and shoulders to stand on end. She could hear her own breathing and the blood pumping through her ears, the sensations causing her to shudder.

\tSkandir's tongue continued its work, sliding back and forth across the otter's pink, abused flesh. He had placed his hind paw on her rump, so as to keep her firmly in place while he went to work cleaning her up, while potentially holding the secondary objective of bringing her to an orgasm in the back of his mind.

\tKi'hera couldn't help but moan as she pressed her paws against the ground, her foreclaws digging into the grass. She could feel her body shuddering, the tip of her tail twitching rapidly in the air as the coyote continued his work.

\t"Hhhaaaaauuuhhh," she panted, her eyes fluttering open as she felt his warm, wet tongue probing her. She could feel the rough, textured surface gliding over her soft, supple flesh. Every lap seemed to send a ripple of pleasure coursing through her, the sensation building with each passing moment. She could feel her pulse racing, her heart hammering inside her chest. Her breathing was ragged and labored. Her entire body was shaking and trembling uncontrollably. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, the world around her seeming to spin and blur.

\t"Aaaaahhh..." she whimpered, her voice quivering as her paws clawed desperately at the ground, tearing up clumps of dirt and grass. Her body convulsed violently, her muscles contracting and relaxing in waves. Her hind paws pressed into the dirt beneath her, attempting to raise her rump up higher, but the weight of her partner's paw pressing down on her butt kept her in place.

\tSkandir had heard the otter's soft cries and whimpers and her attempts at wriggling out from beneath his paw. He could feel the air brushing passed his face as her tail swished this way and that, her body writhing beneath him. She was trying to get away from him, but his paw held her fast and his tongue continued its assault. He could smell her arousal, her excitement, through the scent of his own ejaculate. The scent was intoxicating, driving him wild with lust.

\tThe coyote licked his chops, his tongue flicking over his teeth, his breath was hot and heavy. He felt a surge of power, a rush of adrenaline. He knew she was enjoying this and it filled him with a sense of pride. She might be trying to escape, but she was enjoying every second of it and he knew it.

\tKi'hera continued to struggle and squirm, her eyes tightly closed, her lips parted, her breathing heavy. Her body shook and trembled, her muscles quivering. She was so close--so close...

\t"Hhhaaaauuughhhhh!" Ki'hera cried out as her body spasmed and her orgasm struck like a rogue wave. Her legs shook and trembled, her back arched, her claws tore into the dirt and grass beneath her.

\tHer voice trailed off and her body slumped forward, her chest heaving. Her eyes were half-closed, her vision blurred. Her body had become almost numb to the hungry, greedy lapping of her canine friend's tongue against her sopping sex. Even as his tongue had transitioned to her thighs to lap up every drop of her nectar, she remained on her tummy, panting heavily but rendered completely exhausted in the process.

\tWhen Skandir was finished cleaning her, his eyes turned toward her once again. The otter had been reduced to a pile of fur and limbs, her body slumped over and her chest heaving. The coyote couldn't help but to chuckle, the otter looking absolutely adorable in her current state. His own member had since retreated into his sheath and his testicles were now a lot less swollen than they had been. It was almost a shame, really. Seeing her with her rump partly in the air like that almost left him with the urge to mount her and have another round with her. He knew better though than to subject her to another painful experience so soon after their first coupling.

\tInstead, the coyote stepped toward the river's edge, dipping his paw into the cool water before splashing some on his face, the chilly sensation providing a welcome reprieve from the heat that had built up during his sexual escapade.

\tHe looked back at the otter, a small smile forming on the end of his muzzle.

\t"Feeling alright, there, Cricket?" He asked, his tone amused.

\tKi'hera opened her eyes before turning and lifting her head to look over at the canine. Her lips curled into a tired smile as her gaze met his.

\t"Not bad, but next time, I'm going to tie you down," she teased, a playful glint in her eyes.

\tSkandir's smile broadened a little. "Oh? I would surely like to witness how you plan on accomplishing that," he told her with a teasing tone of voice as drops of water dripped off his cheeks and muzzle.

\tKi'hera laughed softly before rolling onto her back and stretching, her limbs extended as her claws flexed and her toes splayed outward. She yawned widely before curling her fores and hinds inward and closing her eyes.

\t"I'm sure I can surprise you--just as you have surprised me tonight," Ki'hera told him, her voice sounding sluggish and somewhat dreamy already.

\tSkandir chuckled somewhat and turned to pad his way back over to his friend. Seeing her curled up the way she was caused him to lie down beside her and to press his muzzle close to her side, his chin on the top of his forepaw, while coiling his other forelimb around her in the process. He closed his eyes, but he could sense his tail swaying slowly behind him, his fur gliding over the blades of grass. He couldn't quite explain it exactly, but he was feeling much better about himself and his current situation now. Perhaps, talking about what ailed him with his closest friend was the medicine he needed, or, perhaps, more simply, the act of engaging in some fairly taboo and satisfying sex with said friend was what really cured what ailed him. Either way, he knew that he was happier right now, in that moment, than he had been for many moons.

\t"Hey, Skandir," the otter suddenly whispered, tearing him from his thoughts, her eyes still closed.

\t"Hm?" Skandir mumbled, slightly caught off guard.

\t"Thanks," the otter told him.

\t"For what?" Skandir asked, his tired voice sounding a little surprised.

\t"For being here for me--with me," Ki'hera said quietly, her voice soft.

\tSkandir was silent for a moment as his mind traced over each and every moment of the evening he had just shared with his companion, and how in so many ways it could have gone wrong and created a rift between the two of them. In so many ways, he felt as though he was the one who should be thanking her. She had given him a pair of ears to pour his heart and soul out into, as well as a warm body to comfort and satisfy him when his primal urges had blinded him from sense and reason. He didn't know what other adventures or antics he and Ki'hera might get up to together, or if anything might come along some day to disrupt their strange relationship, or if he might ever see Sukira again or how things might transpire between them if he did cross paths with her again. There was much he wanted to say in that moment, but as he sensed sleep burrowing its talons into him, as well as her, a soft sigh escaped his lips.

\t"Don't mention it," Skandir assured her, his eyes still closed.

\t"Good night, Skandir," the otter whispered, her own eyes closed as a peaceful slumber crept over the pair.

\t"Sleep well, Cricket," Skandir muttered in a tired, hushed tone.","pools_count":0,"title":"Tides and Trails Part I","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"2","rating_name":"Adult","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"4","name":"Sexual Themes","description":"Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal","rating_id":"2"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"t","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"2","views":"294"}