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  "description": "Artist - :IconNib-Roc:\nWriter/Ceylon - :iconRuna216:\nEzra - :IconTrashyPanda:\nRex - :iconTigerXtreme:\nLeera/Fidget/Afearnia - :iconRuna216:\n\nPart 1 - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56565096/\nPart 2 - \n\nJust some self-indulgent world building and personal kinks. I notice my writing style is vastly different when writing just for me vs for a commissioner so I went with first person. \n\nI am sure you'll enjoy. Quite sure.\n\n=====--=--=====\n\nEggs is Friends (Not Food)\n\n\tBalance is key in life, love, and work. It doesn't matter whether it's deciding what ingredients to put in a meal, what kinks to explore with a partner, or what work to focus on at any given time, finding a proper balance between key components is required to find the right recipe for your life. \n\n\tI love my job. I do. It's the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. I bring joy to many people and I do so by being my true, authentic self. I'd do it free of charge if I could get away with it, but I have expenses the same as anyone else. Potion Development is a big industry and I've spent many years growing NoThEn Labs to be a company that pushes for wholesome, healthy representation and I like to think my efforts have helped countless people worldwide in discovering their authentic selves as well.\n\n\tBut even with all that in mind, sometimes I need to get away from it all. Sometimes I just need to trust that my employees will handle the work without me and disappear for a month.\n\n\tMost people in my position could vacation three quarters of any given year and their company would do fine without them – CEOs only exist as corporate representatives and usually serve to make money – but I am not one such leader. I actually am often in the labs, producing the ademane, or handling actual business nine days out of ten. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist so I have my tendrils in almost every aspect of the company, so even when I'm out of town I'm still managing things. \n\n\tOnce a year, around the same time every year, I make a point to get out and just not work for a solid few weeks, sometimes as much as a month. There's something about spring time that fills me with creative joy and spiritual energy. The trees are getting green again, the ademane mists blanket the land more and more frequently, the flora is blooming and the fauna is fucking. Everything is magical.\n\n\tMaybe it's just the contrast between the relative desolation of winter where most things are dead or hibernating, but the sudden burst of life gets me in the mood every time. This year, after a particularly rough three seasons, I had packed up and flew to Klyneth to be with my wife. My mate. My snake partner Leera.\n\n\tShe ran a similarly busy life operating a vore brothel and theme park/safari zone called the Vore House of Klyneth. My company headquarters was in Caiden. We spent long periods away from each other, often going weeks or even months apart. \n\n\tFor most that would be a punishment worthy of the fiery depths of Dalon themselves. For us it worked. Both of us were pretty introverted and were perfectly fine going days or weeks without any agen contact whatsoever. I could perch in my loft library and she could curl up in her geothermal heated den and even when we were in the same building we rarely saw each other. We had a healthy relationship and we were by no means codependent. We love the company of each other but don't require it to live fulfilling lives.\n\n\tBesides, with some of the breakthroughs happening with high-energy ademane portals being developed it was only a matter of time before we could share intimacy without having to be in the same room. A friend of mine had been pushing for 'portal panties' for years now and I was helping to fund their development for a while. It would happen, we were just working on stabilizing the connection between wormhole ends. \n\n\tPlus it wasn't actually a portal. Not in the way sci-fi liked to portray it. The portals we were working on were more for personal use, not instantaneous transportation of goods. Two appropriately sized discs could be linked and split, mimicking each other remotely. On one end, stick your hand in the portal and it'd be like slipping your hand into a fluid that read your every move and recreated it on the other side via a mix of hard light and portal fluid. The sensations would be mirrored back on the giver, so it felt like your hand or item was truly where the portal receiver was located. \n\n\tFor the proposed Portal Panties that were in such high demand, that meant you could put your dick in one end and it'd recreate your dick in the panties on the other end, sending signals back so you felt exactly what it would be like to be inside your partner from afar without any actual matter transferal. So far it could only go one way and the power sources needed to be stabilized, but we were certain this technology would be two-way eventually. \n\n\tWe already were able to send data two ways, but it was incomplete and sometimes laggy. This meant that putting one's hand into a portal on one end would feel like it was slipping into a glove or condom rather than it being raw. Another element we were sure to fix as time went on.\n\n\tAlas, having that was a lot of fun because we got to play with the prototypes and I loved slipping my hand in one end to give her a mawssage. A maw massage. She was a snake, she had such plump lips and gums and jaw muscles. Plus she loved it when I gave her throat a kneading. It was as close as we could get to indulging our kinks from afar. Of course these massages could go either end and she liked to slip her tail into the portal to see how deep into me she could go until the portal connection dissipated and the device collapsed. \n\n\tIt's the little things that keep a relationship fresh. \n\n\tEither way, after nearly a month apart with her mostly lost to brumation – hibernation for scaled creatures – we were going to be meeting up at Ilorek's Ranch and going on a week-long hiking trip in an effort to get away from it all. \n\n\tI was particularly excited to see what form she chose. The pair of us both had a strong grasp of transformation magic and we used that to blend into crowds or put on a show. Both of us had public facing morphs that we used in work and business and our own natural forms that served as default as well as a collection of features that mixed and matched for ease of shifting.\n\n\tMy natural form was quadruped. Well over two meters at the shoulders with broad, majestic wings, a tail maw, and non-gendered genitals. Well, they looked more female on the outside but were sterile on the inside. The tail maw connected to my womb and was new but I actually had the ability to change what my base was, unlike most others. It was something I did for friends occasionally. My base coloration was mostly white with black stripes and spots as well as some golden brown accents on the plumage around my neck and upper body. \n\n\tShe was just a snake. A massive, twenty meter long snake as thick around as me at my widest and as hefty as a full sized dragon. Her base colours were a spotted and speckled pattern of earthy browns, yellows, and blacks, said patters dictated by the scales lining her body. \n\n\tWe often reverted back to our base forms when we were at home in the mountains but still maintained some sort of morph or transformation while we were dealing with others. While my base form was quadruped, my business presenting form was bipedal. A touch under two meters tall, no wings, and no external genitals aside from a meaty-looking slit. Still led to a womb, but that womb was not fertile and I didn't identify strictly as female. Complicated. \n\n\tBipedal and androgynous was my public facing form. Hers was vastly different, as she morphed herself some arms, slithered while upright, and changed her colours completely to be a distinct pattern of green and yellow with blue and red spots. She worked as a predator at the Vore House so the bright primary colours gave her a marketable image. \n\n\tI had no idea what to expect upon arrival at The Ranch. Would she be her natural, full sized form? A more portable compact form that I'd be able to carry around? Something in the middle? I could have called her. Texted her. But she hated using her cellphone. If she didn't have arms and a satchel hanging over her temporary shoulders she literally had to keep her phone in her gullet, only heaving it back up when she felt the buzzer go off. I totally understood why she hated dealing with that. \n\n\tIf nothing else I imagined trying to press buttons with a flicking tongue or blunt tail tip alone just wasn't worth the effort.\n\n\tAs it turned out I was the last to arrive at The Ranch. A beasty brothel in what looked to be an elevated plateau surrounded by a volcanic rim. My buddy Ilorek used his alchemy money to purchase this land because any farmer that tried to till the fields in the crater – which was raised ten meters above the surrounding pastures and plains – found that the fruit and seed all had some strange mutated properties that made them unfit for consumption. Ilorek bout the land, put his alchemy skills to the test, and was able to turn the property into a viable ranch with a dozen different pastures.\n\n\tNow it was a thriving business making Feral x Agen porn and operating as a beasty brothel. According to Ilorek's wife, Valencia, whatever was in the soil that was making the crops mutate was helping her pyschic abilities and thus mitigating the 'consent' morality issues when dealing with ferals. \n\n\tMilling about near the pond were a handful of my closest friends. Ezra brought two of his girlfriends, Afearnia and Fidget, while Rex was standing by some of the ranch equipment. Coiled around that equipment was my lovely Leera in her natural feral form, only a smaller version of it. Not her naga form with the arms. I was glad I didn't try to call her. She was naturally coloured and about as thick as my upper thigh while being what appeared to be a rather tame four or five meters long. \n\n\tI was in my bipedal form. Wingless, gender fluid, upright. \n\n\tThey waved and I waved back, the excitement welling up inside me. Ezra seemed happiest to see me, which made sense. He was one of the first people I ever offered to permanently transform to better be his true self. Most potions or spells one could conjure either were deliberately temporary or needed constant updates to maintain, especially the transformation-based ones. Any time someone did transformation they had to constantly maintain the spell or feed the potion to keep it active. Hence why there was a difference between 'base forms' and 'morphs'. My base form was a quadruped with wings; my bipedal morph was my forward facing version. \n\n\tIt cost no magic to remain in one's natural form, and the closer to that form the less magic was needed for maintaining a transformation. That's why for Leera it cost very little to be her normal form but a smaller version. For me, staying bipdedal was something I'd been practicing for what seemed like lifetimes so it was almost as natural to me as my base form. Plus, since I'd mentally and internally categorized established morphs instead of making it up or altering them as I went, I could measure my magic use.\n\n\tStill, all transformation magic was costly. Exhausting. Draining. Demanding. Even I sometimes got a little tired if I maintained a morph for too long or slipped out of one of my established forms. \n\n\tTransforming Ezra took a lot out of me but the dude's been a sweetheart for as long as I knew him so I knew he deserved it. While others would need to take potions for the weekend or implant crystal shards for a long term ademane replacement procedure, I rebirthed him anew. Took him into that sterile womb, concentrated all my magics, and had him be reborn in his new form. \n\n\tThat new form was basically the same as his old form but with a canine vagina nestled under his scrotum, but that's what helped him realize his true self. \n\n\tAnd it wasn't just aesthetic or for show. All the female anatomy in there was fully functioning. Heat cycles, periods, the ability to get pregnant, all of it. Potion-based stuff was rarely strong, long-lasting, or precise enough to recreate that level of authenticity. But I could. And I did. Because he deserved it. Now he was a fully functioning herm, though he still used male pronouns.\n\n\tI had a vagina, but given my externally androgynous appearance I didn't really care what people called me. Sometimes I felt masculine. Sometimes I felt feminine. Most of the time I didn't really feel anything other than myself. And given my transformation abilities I was the very definition of fluid. \n\n\t“Fashionably late, I see!” Ezra called out as he jogged over to meet me. He, like everyone else and myself, was completely nude. Clothing was mostly optional in the region due to a newly passed law. People felt it was unfair for quads to be able to dangle dick and flag tail in public for all to see, so they lobbied to get the ruling powers to agree that it was unfair to inconsistently apply the laws so now clothing was optional. Period. \n\n\tI waved back. “Yeah, sorry. I could have flown myself but I plan on saving all my energy for the hike. I have no intention to transform a dozen times and wipe myself out before we leave.”\n\n\t“Yeah that makes sense.” He agreed. We embraced for a shoulder to shoulder touch and a pat on the back while Leera slithered up behind him, her head at about rump height. \n\n\tShe leaned into my open palm and slid up my arm, eventually draping herself over my shoulder and around my waist. I noticed she was considerably heavier than she looked, which was not uncommon for a basic shrinking transformation. Oftentimes, when one didn't want to completely alter their body for a new form, they'd just shrink. Same mass, a fraction of the volume. Higher density. That much heft made it so I felt every muscle contraction and release, every rolling scale as it slid across my feathers and fur. “Glad to see you too!”\n\n\tLeera was more than capable of talking but she wasn't the most vocal. Snakes don't usually have the anatomy to speak freely so it was extra work for her. Instead, she exclusively used her telepathy to communicate with myself and the others. She could hear us without telepathy but found this easier. “Of course! I always miss you even if I can live without you!” She flicked her tongue at my cheek as she made her joke and I leaned into her, cradling her chin and nuzzling her. \n\n\t“So what's the plan? We leaving immediately or is there a pre-departure barbecue planned?” I asked as I carried Leera over to the rest of the group. Everyone heard what I asked, as I wasn't too far away when I spoke. Plus I was not exactly quiet. \n\n\tRex the tiger was the one to answer. “We have no plans but if you're hungry Ilorek keeps the outdoor freezer stocked with meats and stuff.”\n\n\t“I suppose I could eat. Wouldn't hurt I don't think.” I agreed. “Burgers and sausage?”\n\n\tLeera side-glared at me when I said sausage. \n\n\t“I didn't mean it as a joke, hun. And, you know, not like you need to eat for a few weeks.”\n\n\tFidget laughed a bit. “Well she consssumed me at one point but it wasn't with her mouth!” she even made a bit of a hissing accent and slithered her body. \n\n\tLeera just laid her head on my chest to steal my warmth as the rest of her body squeezed tightly for stability. “No need for the vore jokes, dear. Unless you wanna use me as a sleeping bag later.”\n\n\tThis casual joke made Ezra pause for a minute and rub his chin. “Okay, so, I have an idea. Night one, we use Leera as a tent. Right? Ceylon, you go in the front door, prop open her maw with a stick and light a gemstone for visuals. The rest of us will go around back. Afearnia and I in her womb, Rex and Fidget somewhere in her guts between us. Three distinct chambers, a traveling living tent!”\n\n\tSuch an absurd suggestion got laughter from everyone. \n\n\tNobody wanted to eat before we left and there were few bags to carry. Each of us strapped a satchel or two on our hips and a small backpack for water and a few snacks but the trail was laid out in front of us and our first stop that evening would be a well-stocked cabin. \n\n\tThere were dozens of alternate routes to the same cabins we planned on hitting. And since the whole point of the hiking trip was to get away fro civilization for a week or more, each cabin was nearly a full day's worth of hiking away from the other. I'd only just arrived at the Ranch early morning but it would be nearing nightfall by the time we reached our first checkpoint. \n\n\tA full trip from Klyneth to the shores of Great Sapphire Lake would be three to four days on foot for the average sized biped. Perfect. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend a week with friends.\n\n\tWe departed almost immediately. Afearnia and Ezra were naturally the strongest walkers since they had such long legs, and they were the closer couple. Ezra was also casually dating Fidget, but Afearnia was the reason he got involved with that group of poly lovers anyway so it made sense. \n\n\tThe glorious thing about healthy relationships is that jealousy shouldn't be an issue if trust is present. Fidget trusted Ezra to be honest so she wasn't the jealous type. Not that there was much to be jealous of. They weren't monogamous. Fidget wasn't dating Rex but I could see it in her eyes she'd have a taste for tiger seed before this trip was over. Skies above I anticipated every one of us was gonna swap some fluids one way or another. \n\n\tAs it should be. None of us were monogamous. All of us were confident and self-assured. In fact, that was a key defining feature of every person in the group. All of us had found a way to better open up and project our true selves. Ezra acquired a true form he was proud of and got introduced to his tribe and had gone from a little shy and socially awkward to a leggy fellow who kept his head held high and his chest puffed out. He was confident and content.\n\n\tRex used to keep to himself but by working on The Ranch he found himself to be more outgoing, which was a similar story with a once-introverted Afearnia who used to cook and play music but hated socialization. Well, she's still introverted but she's far better at managing her social energies now. She knew when and how to interact and when to keep her space. \n\n\tFidget used to be a rather dull gal, but not by choice. Before she started experimenting with potions and discovered her super power as a young adult she had no access to magic. Which meant that as a young woman during her formative years she couldn't do any of the stupid, dangerous, exciting experimentation others could. With no inherent magic – like most people had – she had no natural resistance to roughness or ability to adapt to adventurous partners. Without the same natural magics we all had she was basically handicapped, unable to do much of anything without fear of damaging herself.\n\n\tShe couldn't visit other cultures without their customs being damaging, she couldn't test her limits because where anyone else had intrinsic healing magic to keep the cuts from scarring and the damage from going to deep, she had to be safe. Any misstep could break a bone and she'd be put down for weeks. Months. And the worst of all, she was part bunny and part doe, so the only sexual partners she could play with were other rabbits and bucks. \n\n\tIf she ever tried to date a stallion...well, she'd be in hospital every time she went into heat. With most people, their biological magical adaptation allowed them to at the very least experiment with other races even if breeding wasn't an option, but she didn't have that. \n\n\tWhile she lacked magic and thus the natural ability to adapt to volatile interspecies experiences, she found out as a young adult she was hyper-sensitive to potions. Recreational potions are generally meant for adults only as many of them have body-altering properties. Temporary properties, but still body-altering. Her lack of magic meant that potions were tenfold more effective. Their effects were felt faster, they lasted longer, they were far more intense, and she needed a fraction of the concoction others would need for the same effect.\n\n\tBeing hypersensitive to potions made her invaluable to Ilorek's alchemy research, which made her rich within a matter of years. Rich enough to start her own potions delivery company. When she started testing every experimental potion known to the agens of the academy, she 'transformed' from a timid, vanilla gal to the most shameless and adventurous person I knew. It was lovely to watch. \n\n\tAll of the other five friends who traveled with me on this hiking trip were great friends, they all learned to find and express themselves, and they were all going to be a tonne of fun the whole way.\n\n\t=====--=--=====\n\n\tAlmost instantly my mood soared. The moment we made it through the north pass that took us from Ilorek's ranch to the treeline of the Vast Emerald Wood, I felt like I'd returned home. The forest, especially this one, was gorgeous and verdant. Its emerald moniker was apt as I could swear the vegetation there glowed the green of its namesake gemstone, dotted with the rainbow of colours in the form of flowers, mosses, and ademane crystals that grew there. \n\n\tIt helped that ademane was a glowing teal coloration, not too far off the color of emeralds. That mixed with the natural greens of leaves and fronds and mosses blended to basically give the entire region an emerald glow.\n\n\tRegardless, the views were astoundingly entrancing. Sometimes I try to be overly poetic or try to make things sound prettier than they actually are but that wasn't the case in the Vast emerald Wood. No matter how many times I visited or how long I lived nearby I could never quite get over how wholly fulfilling it felt to be surrounded by the vegetation in that region in particular. \n\n\tThis region, the immediate surroundings in the foothills of the Cradle of Dalon, was the most fertile land in all the world. The Cradle itself was an unnaturally tall mountain range with a plateau high in its peak. It was so tall that it was virtually impossible to climb and much like the peculiar geographical anomaly that mutated the crops of The Ranch, it hummed a magical energy that made it impossible to fly over or take photographs of. A true enigma. \n\n\tAll that magical energy meant that everywhere surrounding it was unique to the region. The Cradle of Dalon, Great Sapphire Lake, The Vast Emerald Wood, Cottonwood Crescent, and the Blood Crags of the north were all internationally protected lands. Free of development. The closest city – and the oldest settlement known to modern agens – was Klyneth. This region was historically the most important land in all of Dalon.\n\n\tAnd yet, despite the tourism and attention, it remained virtually untouched aside from the occasional campsite and cabin. This was made possible because the Cradle of Dalon and its surrounding geographical anomalies were the only ones in the world said to be watched over by spirits. Credibly cited, as well. Not just half-drunk kooks with too much tonic and not enough critical thinking skill. Actual spirits had been well documented and observed by researchers eager to learn more. \n\n\tHilariously, the studies done on the region confirmed that these spirits were keeping the region free of pollution by ejecting anything not natural to the forest edges, and if those who left the mess were seen by these spirits in the region again, bad fortune would befall them. \n\n\tI can confirm. Honestly I felt they were being too kind by just kicking ungrateful people out.\n\n\tSo now there was a staggeringly large region smack dab in the middle of the Saff'Raldian nation in its pristine, untouched state, protected by local laws and the avatars of the planet itself. Exactly as it should be. I've lived too long and seen too many instances of arrogant agens thinking they were more important than the planet itself. Fortunately, the planet had ways to defend itself. At least in some areas.\n\n\tThis is why I so easily got lost in the beauty of it all. I've seen it all. Done it all. I've traveled the globe dozens of times over, visited every nation and gotten familiar with every nook and cranny this world had to offer and there was something special about the Vast emerald Wood. Of course I have plenty of personal history in the region but even without that qualifier I can't find a better place to be.\n\n\tThe Vast Emerald Wood and Great Sapphire Lake served as an amalgamation of pretty much any natural features you could hope to expect. The lake itself was lined by beaches, with a tropical island in the middle. The surrounding forest closest to the shores were dense rainforests that slowly faded into temperate forests ending with mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. There were hills, waterfalls, cliffs, valleys, marshes, and patches of vast meadows and plains amidst rocky shield. The more desolate environments like desert and scruffland were in and around the blood crags. \n\n\tIronically, something I remembered each time I tried to recount the area, the region surrounding the Cradle of Dalon hosted the glowing green of the Vast Emerald Wood, the vibrant blue of Great Sapphire Lake, the deep red of the Blood Crags, and the brilliant yellow of the Cradle itself. The same colours Leera chose to be part of her public-facing morph.\n\n\tHuh. Neat.\n\n\tDespite being with some of my best and closest friends, we didn't actually need to talk to each other very much. Between pairs of us branching off to take different paths or going ahead or falling behind, it was rare for me to be with anyone other than just Leera, who remained draped heavily over my neck and wrapped tight around my midsection. She wasn't much of a talker anyway so I spent most of my time taking in the view and basking in the emerald glow of the forest.\n\n\tThe trails were well defined, but none of them were paved or covered in gravel. Part of the tentative deal with the forest spirits seemed to be that stone pathways were not welcome. Trails were welcome, but no outside materials were to be used to tarnish the land. And since the intention was to keep everything as natural as possible some of those trails were incredibly hard to follow.\n\n\tAt multiple points in my hike I had to scale a cliff or use a vine to swing over a valley. At one point I even had to wade through a waist-high creek that had been slightly flooded. The land was kind and generous, beautiful beyond words but it was also still treacherous to those unprepared. Luckily the six of us were well prepared. Leera and I particularly.\n\n\tShe occasionally slipped off my shoulders to slither away if I had to get over something complicated or climb a cliff. Given that she'd only shrunk herself and not made the appropriate transformation adaptations to also be an appropriate weight, as in she was the size of a mid-sized snake but weighed the same as her beastly full size, she was really weighing me down and she knew it. \n\n\tThe sound of birds and bugs buzzed and chirped around us all, sometimes getting so intense we couldn't hear each other. Well, we could all hear Leera, since she spoke telepathically. The rest of us had to suffer with boring old vocal cords. \n\n\tEventually, we all ended up at the top of a cliff overlooking a valley that our first campsite was located. It was still a few hours out at least but I could see the avian perch poking out above the canopy somewhere near the edge of the horizon. \n\n\tEzra stood tall next to me, the wind atop the cliff whipping his cheek fur. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to absorb the scene. Afearnia stepped up next to him and nuzzled his arm. Both of them looked out over the valley that had a mix of tall, pointy coniferous trees and plump, verdant deciduous trees of all types. I didn't want to take credit for that but it was nice seeing him happy and confident like that. When we met he had insecurities that kept him from being truly happy. This was the most content I'd ever seen him, just cuddling with a partner overlooking a valley. \n\n\tIt reminded me of the times Leera and I did the same. There are few views more pristine than that. Just a never-ending expanse of life and spirit. \n\n\tOff to the other side, Fidget and Rex both saw Ezra and Afearnia hugging and Leera on my shoulders so they shrugged and embraced like it was the expected thing to do. Fidget even leaned in and pecked him on the snout, tickling his whiskers. It was meant to be cute and funny but there was a brief moment where I saw sparks before they parted and held hands at arms length. \n\n\tI'd let them figure that one out on their own time. \n\n\tA gust of wind pressed into all of us as we silently enjoyed the view. Time passed slower for a while before one of us decided it was time to move on. We had to carefully make our way down the winding path in the foothills of the cliff to make our way through the valley and that was gonna be a bit more work than trudging through the underbrush and occasionally hopping over a fallen log.\n\n\tFidget was the first one to make a move down the cliff. She was the smallest of us all and she delivered potions to remote locations like this all the time. The bunny-doe gal could almost dance her way down the cliffs, kicking and jumping and flipping off outcroppings and half-rooted vegetation. Watching her move was glorious. \n\n\tI could have flown. Use some magic to grow a pair (of wings) and glide down with Leera and anyone else in my arms, but I chose not to. It kinda defeated the purpose, so I guided Rex to follow Fidget and the pair of us hopped over the ledge and carefully made our way down. Just like before, Leera took pity on me for carrying her compressed weight and slithered off my shoulders to slip into a crevasse to make her way down the cliff face. \n\n\tHer snake body meant she could squish and squeeze and adjust and tightly ease her way in and out of and around every tiny bump and groove in the rock. I was almost jealous. \n\n\tBy the time the four of us reconvened at the base of the cliff but still the top of the winding path of the foothills that bled into the valley, we all noticed that Ezra and Afearnia were still at the top of the cliff leaning into each other as the wind rolled up the rock face and ruffling the fur on their faces.\n\n\tFidget asked out loud. “Should we say or do something about that?”\n\n\tRex solemnly shook his head. “Naw, they'll come down when they're ready.”\n\n\tI paused for a moment a smile gently curving up the edges of my beak. “Yeah, they'll come when they're ready.” I knew that to be true. One thing that I'd seen in Ezra especially was that he was getting a lot better at knowing his limits, taking time to appreciate the little things, and not being shy or ashamed of who he was. Afearnia was a great fit for him, as she was pretty confident on her own and was definitely helping him to maintain his mental and emotional balance. “They know where we're headed. Come on. I'm sure they'll catch up.” \t\n\n\tThe other four of us turned and jogged down the steep, zig-zag path that eventually tapered out as we found ourselves deep in the underbrush once again. \n\n\tFrom this point it was pretty straightforward as we made our way to the first campsite. The trail wove between trees, avoiding rocks and conforming to the formation of the land itself much like a river would find its way meandering in whatever way felt natural. \n\n\tThere were predators in these woods. Dangerous ones. But they rarely came after bipeds. There seemed to be an aura of 'don't mess with me and I won't mess with you' in the Vast Emerald Wood. Convenient but effective. No hunting was to take place there and the geographical anomaly that defined the region and guided the spirits took heed. \n\n\tOf course, it was also a 'fuck around and find out' situation. People who harmed the local wildlife rarely made it out alive and those who did were not the same. \n\n\tAgain. Convenient. If only the different people of Dalon could get along as naturally as the flora and fauna of the Vast Emerald Wood.\n\n\tOne thing that had actually surprised me was that up to this point I hadn't seen a single other person along the trail yet. Yeah, it was a massive forest with an interweaving web of pathways interlaced with creeks and streams and ponds and the chances of seeing each other was pretty low in such a large area, but there were also defined paths. Well-walked paths. We were following one of the most popular trails. Within an hour of leaving Ilorek's Ranch we'd followed the branching path to the biggest and most used trail in the entire southern region of the Vast Emerald Wood. \n\n\tWe should have seen someone by now. Maybe just one or two. But someone.\n\n\tI dismissed my concern. It was still pretty early in spring and it made sense that tourist season hadn't really started yet. To be clear, this is not foreshadowing or something. I just noticed it when I was thinking about Ezra and Afearnia. It doesn't really come up again. \n\n\t“Is something up with them?” Rex asked as he pounce-leapt over a log that was blocking the path. He was not part of their poly group and thus the only one who didn't really know the intimate details of their personal lives. \n\n\tFidget was the only one fit to answer so I didn't bother to interject my opinion. “Nah. They're both good. They just don't get out like this often and I'm sure they're just enjoying the view for a bit. Or maybe they're making out or something. I don't know. Not really my place to speculate. I don't get any bad vibes from them right now. I'm sure it's just the beauty of the Woods.”\n\n\tLeera slithered back up my arm, once again folding herself over my neck and shoulders. “If they needed a place to cuddle I could offer them a nice, warm space to get real close.” Everyone paused. It wasn't like Leera to crack jokes. She was usually a bit more motherly than cheeky.\n\n\tI huffed and clicked my beak. “Yeah. That makes sense.” We all had a good laugh, but then I saw something ahead I recognized. “Oh, hey, I know where we are!” \n\n\t“We all know where we are.” Fidget countered. “You really shouldn't be hiking this far away from town if you're not familiar with the area.”\n\n\tI curled my tail around forward and used the curl to flick her butt right next to her stumpy tail. “You know what I mean. That rock formation. We're closer than I thought.” \n\n\t“Oh yeah, I guess the camp site will be just on the other side of that ridge. I'd race ya but fatty MsSnekButt is kinda giving you a handicap.” She snapped her fingers and winked at me. Despite saying she wasn't gonna race, she bolted off and made her way up the incline to crest the hill first.\n\n\tRex and I shared a glance. He shrugged, going with the flow. “Meet ya there!” And he picked up the pace to try to catch up. In truth he stood no chance. \n\n\tFidget ran terrain like this for fun and for work. She loved the experience of free-running trails and was a master at doing so in the rough. No log or rock could slow her down. She was as graceful in the woods as a dolphin in the open ocean. As slick as a snake slithering through the grass. By comparison I was a galloping oaf of a bird. If only because I had Leera's extra heavy form on my back.\n\n\t“You know, I could race her if you just, you know, offloaded some of that mass.” I playfully scorned Leera while cradling her plump snake cheek. \n\n\tShe flicked her tongue at me and gave me a snake kiss – as in she briskly opened her maw and 'bit' down on my beak before nuzzling into me. “Don't whine. I know you can take it.”\n\n\t“I'll take you.” I teased back.\n\n\t“Ah yes, the old 'threaten me with a good time' gambit. Bah to you. Come on. It's almost sundown and I do get the distinct impression that Afearnia was the one who wanted to take a break. She's not as, uh, outdoorsy as the rest of us.”\n\n\tI agreed. I didn't want to take advantage of the fact that I could empathetically feel that as well. Valencia taught me a thing or two about reading people's mood and intentions without actively reading their mind. It was a nice way to gain insight without invading their privacy. “I'm sure they'll keep up. No harm in breaks. Everyone needs a bit of time to themselves. And who knows, maybe they'll have some steamy fun overlooking the valley. That'd be quite the memory.”\n\n\t“Yeah. Yeah.” She gave me a sly side-eye before slithering back off my neck, deliberately coiling once around my upper thigh to tease my loins with her scales before flicking me once with her tail tip and disappearing into the thick foliage of the underbrush. \n\n\tI slumped in place, then rolled my shoulders a bit as I tried to mentally block the pleasure she'd teased me with. Scales on flesh was definitely a weakness of mine, especially snake scales like hers. Once I'd centered myself and contained my arousal, I took off after her, jogging up the incline to catch up with them all. “No fair, Leera. You can't just do that and bail like that!”\n\n\tOne by one we all made it to the camp grounds. Fidget was first, of course. Leera actually was second, as it turned out she could slither quickly if she wanted to. Plus, Rex didn't care about the race and thus held back until I caught up so we both were last together. \n\n\tThe camp ground itself was quaint. A small clearing in the forest with a bonfire pit in the middle and four small cabins made exclusively out of grown wood. As in, the cabins were not made out of cut logs and hammered or stacked together, but the buildings themselves were grown by the spirts and the shamans that communicated with them.\n\n\tNatural architecture was something that was not too common but could be done with the right application of magic and spiritual empathy. I actually learned about this from Fidget's 'pet' friend, Shiazo. The poly group of theirs had a floral golem who had suffered a blood vine infection and had their spirit extracted from their body during the zombification process as plant matter took over the last of their flesh and blood. When the spirit – or wisp, as it was more commonly referred – was put back into their body which was now made of plant matter, they could control it like normal without being lost to the base feoral (feral-floral) instincts. \n\n\tThis unique floral golem had control over plant matter, being able to manipulate it and control it and merge with it at will. Using this power they were able to summon vines and grow wood on command and into any shape they desired. That was what happened at the camp site. The cabins were rooted to the ground, living floral matter that was wrapped in vines and coated in flowers and leaves but just so conveniently shaped like a cabin. \n\n\tIt was grown. The buildings were grown. Shiazo helped me to understand this process and I was fascinated by it. I really needed to ask them if they could do that for me some time. \n\n\t“Love this.” Fidget said with a beaming grin as she thumb-pointed towards the cabins. “Reminds me of home.” This made sense, as Shiazo had grown their communal home in much the same way, and they even adjusted it as needed as members joined the poly group and moved in or out.\n\n\t“Be sure to treat it like home.” Leera warned as she slithered up onto the deck of the nearest of the four cabins. “You know that this place is protected by the floral spirits!” \n\n\t“Skies above I'd not consider disrespecting the Vast emerald Wood.” Fidget assured Leera. “I am hungry, though. What did we bring?” \n\n\tRex slid out of his backpack and started listing things off. There was a cool mist of icy frost billowing out from the sack, as he had an ice-infused gemstone in there to keep the food chilled. “Well, I can't comment on what Ezra and Afearnia brought but my bag is chock full of a dozen steaks, a dozen chops, two dozen poultry breasts, nearly a dozen fish fillets, and a whole lot of jerky.”\n\n\tFidget looked into her bag as well. “And it looks like my contribution is mostly veggies. Got a bag of carrots, two – no, three – full heads of broccoli. Five bell peppers, at least a dozen hot peppers. Onions. Potatoes. And two satchels of potions but that's not what I'm hungry for.”\n\n\t“Wow, you two really lucked out. Did you synchronize?” I asked. “Meat in one, veggies in the other. I bet Afearnia and Ezra have the dairy and grains.” \n\n\tRex raised a finger to comment, since he had mostly packed independent of the others, but then stopped. “You know, that's probably right. Afearnia's a chef, so she probably knew I'd bring all the meat, then made sure you all had the rest of what we needed.”\n\n\t“She did do most of the preparation. So that tracks. Hey, is there a place to put all this meat for the night so our chilling gemstones don't run out?” Fidget asked, stepping away from the bag and carrying it up to the deck where Leera was now basking with head resting on the hand rest.\n\n\tI shook my head. “There are resources here that feed off the ademane mist of the land that blankets the Vast Emerald wood overnight, but we don't need to worry about that. Those chilling gemstones, I enchanted them myself and pumped so much energy into them they'd last months. Plus our bags are all insulated. Leave the food in there.” I took my pack off and leaned it up against the nearest pair of cabin stairs and made sure all three were there. We were still waiting on Ezra and Afearnia to make their contribution.\n\n\t“What did you bring?” Fidget asked, playfully bending over with fingers waving over top like she was waiting for permission to check for herself. \n\n\t“A little bit of everything. I didn't know we were coordinating and Leera doesn't need to eat. Well not eat food.” I sly-winked at her and flicked my ear to show I was being cheeky. She just stared with a dull gaze as she flicked her tongue in response. “So yeah, I got two of each plus some pasta, rice, cheese, cream, and coffee and tea.” \n\n\t“Nice.” Rex commented. He also stepped up and walked past Leera to check out the inside of the cabin. “Actually, I don't think I've ever been at this campsite in particular. It's nice. Single-room, but nice. Uh, no bathroom, though.” \n\n\tI poked my head in behind him. He was right. One room. Bed in each corner. Shelves and desk in between. Looked to be storage underground. No bathroom. “Probably because the whole point of a place like this is to be all-natural. If a tiger shits in the woods, do people question it?”\n\n\tHe just stared at me. Wasn't a fan of that joke in particular. “Fair. Uh, does the ademane mist like...deal with it?”\n\n\t“I dunno. I didn't really think of it. Why, gotta go?”\n\n\t“Nawh, I took some fiber before leaving. It'll be a couple days before I gotta-” He stopped, realizing this wasn't the sort of thing that needed to be discussed. “I'm fine for a bit.”\n\n\tI just nodded, knowingly. I did the same thing but with some potions. Leera and I had manufactured a 'vore potion' that basically made it so that you didn't need to eat for a few days and your entire digestive system was flushed out and the fluids were replaced with Leera's biologically breathable fluids. In other words, we made a potion that made anyone a potential predator. We then modified it to simply do the safe cleaning out without the lack of an appetite. I still wanted to make some campfire food. \n\n\t“Oh, and I brought one pot with a lid for making rice and pasta. One cast-iron skillet for most other things, a plate, and some utensils.” I added while sauntering back to the bonfire. As I looked around I noticed that the light had dimmed a bit. The sun must have been slipping behind the Cradle of Dalon. The shadow of the Cradle of Dalon did tend to reach nightfall about an hour or two earlier, depending on time of year. That's also when I reminded myself that Ezra and Afearnia hadn't shown up.\n\n\tFortunately, that concern lasted all of about three seconds before I heard a stick snap just over the crest outside the campsite. Ezra burst over the ridge and was quickly tackled by Afearnia. The two of them tumbled over each other a bit before ending with Ezra on his back and Afearnia straddling his waist. She grinned down and gave him a gentle snout-lick of a kiss before standing up over him. \n\n\t“Be careful, you have the cream in your pack.” She warned, then offered a hand to help him up.\n\n\tHe gratefully accepted and she helped get him to his feet. \n\n\t“Ooooh, were you two makin' out on the clifftop?” Fidget crooned. “Cookie kissin'? Dogmeat packin'? Pup poundin'?” \n\n\tAfearnia berated herself as she snapped her fingers. “Ya know what, you're right! We never thought about it. That would have been so magical!” She turned to Ezra and looked up at him, grabbing his chest fur. “We missed a perfect opportunity to make a memory! We coulda filmed it and made some coin! We should go back and-” she stopped mid joke and brushed her hair away from her eye. “Nah, we were just relaxing a bit. Wanted to enjoy the view a bit longer.”\n\n\t“Oh good, I was about to say. Don't leave! If you're gonna get wet do it here! We're just unpacking and about to light the bonfire.”\n\n\t“Yeah, I see that.” Afearnia slid around behind Ezra and got him to slip out of his pack so she could take it over to the pile of others next to the one cabin. As soon as she put hers down as well, she immediately went to check on Rex's. Once she saw what was inside it, she pumped her fist, triumphantly cheering to herself. “Yes! I knew it.”\n\n\tEzra leaned over her, not sure what she was referring to. “I knew Rex would bring the meat. I packed us all appropriately thematic food groups assuming he'd be the carnivore. You got the dairy. I got the grains. Fidget's is the veg, and Rex is the protein. Which is of course all meat. Couldn't get a bit of peanut butter?” She lightly chastized. \n\n\tEveryone made a motion of silent approval aside from Rex, who huffed. “I'm sorry, I don't like licking peanut butter off my partners like you do, I didn't think to bring it.” \n\n\t“Ah, yes, canine jokes. Love em.” She stepped past Rex and stroked his chest. “Need I remind you I packed a cucumber in Fidget's bag?”\n\n\tRex opened his mouth to protest; he stopped himself as he couldn't help but appreciate the slap back. “Fair. Fair.”\n\n\tEzra rubbed his groin a bit and yawned. “You know, for how tall I am that trail really took it outta me. Big long legs like mine do not like scaling cliffs.”\n\n\tLeera hiss-laughed. “So what you're actually saying is that you were trapped atop the cliff because you were too scared to climb down?”\n\n\t“Exactly!” Ezra mock-agreed with a pair of finger guns. “Let's go with that.”\n\n\tWhile they were all enjoying their banter, I was rooting around in my bag for the right combination of fire gem and ademane kindling. A bit of crushed gem-sand on top of an alight fire gem would keep a bonfire going overnight. Perfect for cooking and I didn't want to run the risk of using the sticks and branches of the Wood for fear of angering the spirits.\n\n\tI only needed to place the gemstone in the middle of the fire pit and sprinkle a handful of the gem-sand around it before activating the magic, igniting the teal flame. “Aha! Let there be, you know, heat and light and food and stuff!” \n\n\tAnd everybody cheered and clapped. Like for real. Except it was more mocking than sincere.\n\n\tOnce that mild assault on my ego dissipated everyone came to sit around the bonfire with a selection of chosen foods at the ready. Afearnia was going to do the cooking since she was the expert. I knew a thing or two about cooking myself but I was an amateur home cook whereas she was a professional chef. Similar levels of passion, vast disparity of skill and capability.\n\n\tOn this first evening as the sun set fully, leaving us all blanketed in dark, illuminated only by the teal glow of the ademane fire, She made us all butterflied chicken breast with cheese and broccoli on the inside as well as creamy alfredo pasta with garlic and pepper. She prepped and tied up the chicken and cheese then fried it on the skillet I brought while boiling the pasta in the pot with some water. Once the chicken breasts were appropriately browned and cooked the way through, she collected the pasta and fried it up in the juices from the chicken and some crushed garlic. Soon thereafter she used the water from the pot and some cream and other cheeses to make a proper alfredo sauce. \n\n\tFive breasts. Five dollops of pasta. Everyone got one except Leera. And I got half of Fidget's portion since she was tiny and I was larger. Plus I had to constantly use magic to counter Leera's heft and thus needed a little extra. \n\n\tOnce we were all done and the dishes were cleaned and all messes were tidied up, we all ended up laying down on the ground, stuffed to the brim and relaxing to let the food settle. \n\n\tI laid down and Leera coiled up between me and the fire. She clearly wanted to absorb as much of the heat as possible. Afearnia played big spoon to a nappy Ezra, and Fidget sidled up close to Rex, hoping for him to wrap his arm around him for a cuddle. \n\n\tHe seemed a little uncomfortable. Not because he didn't like the attention, but because of respect. “Hey, uh, Fidge? Why are you not cuddling with them? We're not dating.”\n\n\t“I know, but they're happy and you need love, too.” \n\n\t“Yeah, but isn't this like, cheating somehow?” He was not trying to be rude, he just didn't fully understand the parameters of the poly relationship. In truth, Rex had been with Fidget many times throughout the years, but never in lieu of one of her partners who were sitting right there.\n\n\tFortunately, Fidget was happy to explain and not be offended. She straddled his lap and started massaging his belly and chest fur. “It's not like that. We're all together but we're not exclusive. Not within our group or beyond. And even as we're all awesome together, not all of us have the same, uniform attraction. Afearnia and Ezra are closer to each other than I am to either of them. And that's okay. For tonight they have each other, and you can have me! If you want, of course.” She smacked his chest with both hands then rolled over so that she was curled up next to him, head on his shoulder, leg wrapped around his thigh, and arm on his chest. \n\n\tRex glanced over to the other two to make sure this was okay. Ezra managed to put a thumb up to his face, barely seen across the bonfire, while Afearnia raised a thumb high and defiant like she was rallying a warcry. \n\n\t“Go nuts!” She said from behind Ezra. She then brought her fist down and wrapped it around Ezra's upper body, holding him tight to her breasts. He grabbed her hand and nuzzled into her upper arm, which he was using as a pillow while being the small spoon. A mildly comical image as he was a full head and shoulders taller than her. Everyone deserved to be the little spoon sometimes.\n\n\tOnce he'd relaxed a bit, Afearnia slid her hand down his chest, trailing past his belly button to tease his sheath, lightly fingering the opening at the tip. His eyes were closed and he smiled broadly, shifting position to better press his back to her chest. \n\n\tShe actually grinned while resting her chin on his shoulder, staring right at me while she started stroking his length through the sheath. I guess she liked an audience. I was happy to oblige. While I watched she slipped her thumb inside so that it was nestled between his emerging member and the soft sheath flesh that was wrapped around it. Not only did she slowly peel it back but she tugged the opening to the side, gaping it a bit around his shaft. \n\n\tEzra let out a gentle whimper, eyes still closed and just the very tip of his tongue poking out from his lips. Content, he slid a hand down to reach hers only to slide right on past so he could tease his meaty spade. I could only imagine how plump it was. Couldn't see due to the cracking teal fire.\n\n\tAfearnia was not shy, of course. She slipped down a bit more so that her lap was cradling his rump and her arm was within better reach of his loins. She leaned over him so that she was laying draped over his midsection, encouraging him to shift on his own and cradle her from a position on his back. Once she had the proper leverage and the right angle she delicately peeled his sheath away and slid it down to the base, happily wrapping thumb and forefinger around the base of his knot, occasionally squeezing to trigger the swelling sensation that would make the lobes grow. \n\n\tAll the while she couldn't help but grin at me in between each shift of her body, sure to focus on Ezra to make sure he was enjoying himself and then glancing at me to ensure I was enjoy the view.\n\n\tShe shifted once more so that he was completely on his back and she was giving him a sensual, pressure-driven hand job, tugging and only gently rubbing his bulging knot lobes occasionally. Canines were more about pressure than friction. She knew this, clearly, and was expertly playing his body like an instrument. She was a bassist in a band, I was not surprised she was able to wave her fingers in a way that both teased his sheathe and tickle his knot at the same time.\n\n\tEven more of an expert with her hands, she then slid down and wrapped her other hand around Ezra's backside, wedging it in between his rump cheeks and tail to have her finger tips teasing his spade. I confess I couldn't actually see what was happening given the angle but between his meek whimpers, her confident look, and the psychic energy they were both giving off I could decipher it.\n\n\tAfearnia used her angle and Ezra's fingers to guide her own hand, slipping all four fingers into his spade with little to no resistance. She paused a moment to flick his clit ring with her thumb before having it join her other fingers. All finger tips were converged to a single point, which she used to ease her fist into him, twisting and grinding until his flesh twitched and released, letting her slide in with a lurch of spattering juices I could hear over the light crackling of the gem-sand. \n\n\tEzra was so lost in the moment he started panting, grasping at her hip from his angle, his other hand still rubbing his spade under his ball sack, applying pressure to the clit between his digit and her wrist. Not only was he panting heavily but he was whimpering and grinding into her paws right as she leaned in close to whisper in his ear.\n\n\t“Ready to tie the knot?” She asked, giving me a side-eye as she waited for a response. His meek nod was enough. I saw her forearm clench up as she balled her fist up inside him, the bulge of the fist coming to rest just inside. The knot pocket. The wider length of passage just inside that was able to handle the extra firmness and size a fully engorged knot but tight enough at the very entrance to keep it from popping out. She used her fist like a knot while cradling his knot in her palm, two fingers on either side and cradling it like a wine glass. \n\n\tHe couldn't help but slowly pump strand after strand of mess onto her wrist, so much of it she couldn't help but eagerly lap it up and catch all she could on her tongue. \n\n\tI knew they'd be there a while. Knot pleasure had endurance, his spade would not let go of her fist until they were both ready to curl up for the night. \n\n\tAnd honestly, the image of that made me pretty damn wet. I was usually pretty good about not being the needy type as I was asexual most of the time but with the right inspiration and setting I could be insatiable. I wanted to play with some fists. I wanted to feel flesh envelop me. \n\n\tSo as I lay there with Leera curled up next to me I decided to test my luck with her. I spooned her by laying a hand onto her coils and wormed my way underneath her until I found the base of her tail where her body ended with cloaca. \n\n\tShe shifted in place to look up at me, flicking her tongue and smiling while she laid her chin on part of her body for comfort. At the same time, she shifted every scale on her body in waves until her cloaca was rolled and exposed to me, the ventral scale peeled back to reveal the bright pink of her insides accentuated by the teal fire. \n\n\tUnlike Mammals, Reptiles had clits and extra-sensitive erogenous zones on either side of the cloaca where scales met, not on the anterior wall. With this in mind, I scooped up her tail end and laid it on my lap, ventral opening heavy on my lower belly. I wrapped my fingers around the base of her spine and wrapped my thumbs around to grind both of her clits, tugging her pussy open from either side with a glorious gape that she was able to amplify by relaxing every muscle in her body. \n\n\tI got a teal-accented view a solid meter down her pussy from that angle as the deep guttural whorls of air entering her rumbled down her form. A view that was so perfectly tailored to my personal desires I couldn't help myself; I took hints from Afearnia and kept one hand wrapped around the base of Leera's tail while I slid the other one into her all the way to the elbow. \n\n\tHer belly scales distended and her flesh stretched taut around me, the pink in between the yellows and brown growing semi-transparent enough to see my black flesh pulsating inside her. She was snug, yet felt like she had room enough in her that I could lose myself within her malleable tunnel. I could. I knew I could. I'd done it before but usually only when she was full sized. My hands would have to do, even if each of my forearms was a bit thicker around than her tail end.\n\n\tSerpent flesh was known to be quite malleable. I was not worried. I could literally see the distinct bulge form of my hand balled up inside her and yet she seemed to want more.\n\n\tWith her vent wrapped around my forearm, sputtering waves of air and her natural fluids erupting form either side of her opening as she clenched around me, I let go of the base of her tail to see how she reacted. She could have pulled off, but instead she clenched up her body and pushed harder, sure to not lose her leverage on me. If she clenched too hard and didn't counter it by pushing down on my arms, the strength of her abdominal muscles would force me out. That was fun if we were playfully seeing who won, me pushing in or her pushing out. A lot of fun. I had other ideas.\n\n\tI did my best to keep her in place as I slid my other hand up my forearm, collecting much of the juices she'd ejected onto me in order to lube my palm and digits up. It took a bit of work from the right angle but I was able to force my fingertips alongside my forearm, knuckles grinding along her clit as I got my second fist in.\n\n\tAnother bellowing squelch echoed from deep within her as the tiny crooks between my arms let more air in. This was quickly pushed right back out as she clenched down with all her might. As expected, had she not been anchoring herself in place to specifically counter that pressure it would have forced me out with ease. Unlike a canine's knot pocket, Snakes were equally sloppy and loose or tight and controlled all the way through, so there was nothing locking my fists in even as I entwined my fingers into a double fist. \n\n\tThe image of my black-fleshed forearms dilating her cloaca and her scales so distended there were patches of pink in between them I could see through was blissful. The teal accents along each glistening ridge and scale was an added bonus. Then, to make it even better, I tried my best to twist my arms so that my elbows were each grinding against her clits. \n\n\tUnfortunately the angle was a little weird. She had to wrap her tail around my one bicep to stay in place as I twisted and pushed against her, eager to give her the sort of pleasure I was building inside me. The pleasure inherent to my fantasies that mostly involved disappearing into her. \n\n\tTo my delight and surprise, a moment later I felt her chin slithering over my upper thigh, the throbbing sensations of her throat shifting as her tongue flicked. I widened my stance to part my legs, granting access to my plump vulva and winking mare-like clit. \n\n\tPerhaps I'm bragging but I was so glad at that moment to have such a deep connection to my snake partner. She knew exactly what I wanted, how to give it to me, and how not to stop too early. \n\n\tLeera offered the faintest of nuzzles, her broad snake head grinding back and forth to part my lips and tease my clit with her tongue. This got her soaked all the way to the neck with the liquid of my arousal. She had to twist sideways given the vertical alignment of my vulva but the moment she did she was merciless! She practically struck my cervix like a snake attacking prey, plunging a half meter of her upper body into me as I tensed up and widened her cloaca so far it was gaped wide enough for a third arm to fit.\n\n\tMy fists were each as big around as she was, so two of them side by side were distending her to be more gryphon than snake! I could clearly see the distinct shape of my balled up fists shifting inside her, the bulge of my flexing forearm parting each belly scale so that it was nearly see-through. \n\n\tMuch as I wanted to keep at it, the sensation of her head and neck inside me threw me over the edge. The texture of her scales was especially potent, doubly so as she started slithering in place, forcing her spine to grind in waves over my anterior wall. You know, that g-spot. \n\n\tThis overwhelming pleasure and potential mixed with her body tensing up forced my hands to burst from her cavernous cunt as she slid off me, leaving her gaping and her cloacal flesh unfolded the length of a belly scale or two outside her. \n\n\tWith her slither-fucking my pussy I just let myself go to my desires; I grabbed her tail with both soaked and slippery hands, forcing her budding flesh over the curve of my beak. Her vent dilated easily, wrapping around my face and nearly swallowing my whole head. The up-close look of her twin clits throbbing as they threatened to pass by my eyes was the last impetus I needed to let the orgasmic delight wash over me. \n\n\tI clenched every muscle in my body, forcing her to pop out in a gush of creamy gryphon fluids while she did the same, forcing my beak and face out of her with a silken torrent of her own arousal.\n\n\tThe aftershocks of pleasure shot up and down my spine, making my plumage stand on end and my beak chatter. My ragged breaths cast webs of her fluids off my beak and onto my neck, where her cloaca came to rest and grind all over me, smearing all she had to offer into my plumage. At the same time, she slithered up my belly to get my own fluids off her scales, ensuring I was coated in the scent of both of us. \n\n\tLimitless options ahead of me and I just flopped down, all limbs spread out and chest heaving with a hyper-dense snake coiled up on top of me and draped over me. \n\n\tThe last thing I remembered seeing before I let fatigue overtake me was the image of Fidget sitting on Rex's face, riding his purring muzzle like a sybian while doing all she could to suck his cock and fist his ass. Clearly everyone got similar ideas. \n\n\tStill the teal fire crackled and the gem-sand popped, keeping the campsite warm overnight.",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Artist - :IconNib-Roc:<br />Writer/Ceylon - :iconRuna216:<br />Ezra - :IconTrashyPanda:<br />Rex - :iconTigerXtreme:<br />Leera/Fidget/Afearnia - :iconRuna216:<br /><br />Part 1 - <a href=\"https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56565096/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56565096/</a><br />Part 2 - <br /><br />Just some self-indulgent world building and personal kinks. I notice my writing style is vastly different when writing just for me vs for a commissioner so I went with first person. <br /><br />I am sure you&#039;ll enjoy. Quite sure.<br /><br />=====--=--=====<br /><br />Eggs is Friends (Not Food)<br /><br />\tBalance is key in life, love, and work. It doesn&#039;t matter whether it&#039;s deciding what ingredients to put in a meal, what kinks to explore with a partner, or what work to focus on at any given time, finding a proper balance between key components is required to find the right recipe for your life. <br /><br />\tI love my job. I do. It&#039;s the most fulfilling thing I&#039;ve ever done. I bring joy to many people and I do so by being my true, authentic self. I&#039;d do it free of charge if I could get away with it, but I have expenses the same as anyone else. Potion Development is a big industry and I&#039;ve spent many years growing NoThEn Labs to be a company that pushes for wholesome, healthy representation and I like to think my efforts have helped countless people worldwide in discovering their authentic selves as well.<br /><br />\tBut even with all that in mind, sometimes I need to get away from it all. Sometimes I just need to trust that my employees will handle the work without me and disappear for a month.<br /><br />\tMost people in my position could vacation three quarters of any given year and their company would do fine without them &ndash; CEOs only exist as corporate representatives and usually serve to make money &ndash; but I am not one such leader. I actually am often in the labs, producing the ademane, or handling actual business nine days out of ten. I&#039;m also a bit of a perfectionist so I have my tendrils in almost every aspect of the company, so even when I&#039;m out of town I&#039;m still managing things. <br /><br />\tOnce a year, around the same time every year, I make a point to get out and just not work for a solid few weeks, sometimes as much as a month. There&#039;s something about spring time that fills me with creative joy and spiritual energy. The trees are getting green again, the ademane mists blanket the land more and more frequently, the flora is blooming and the fauna is fucking. Everything is magical.<br /><br />\tMaybe it&#039;s just the contrast between the relative desolation of winter where most things are dead or hibernating, but the sudden burst of life gets me in the mood every time. This year, after a particularly rough three seasons, I had packed up and flew to Klyneth to be with my wife. My mate. My snake partner Leera.<br /><br />\tShe ran a similarly busy life operating a vore brothel and theme park/safari zone called the Vore House of Klyneth. My company headquarters was in Caiden. We spent long periods away from each other, often going weeks or even months apart. <br /><br />\tFor most that would be a punishment worthy of the fiery depths of Dalon themselves. For us it worked. Both of us were pretty introverted and were perfectly fine going days or weeks without any agen contact whatsoever. I could perch in my loft library and she could curl up in her geothermal heated den and even when we were in the same building we rarely saw each other. We had a healthy relationship and we were by no means codependent. We love the company of each other but don&#039;t require it to live fulfilling lives.<br /><br />\tBesides, with some of the breakthroughs happening with high-energy ademane portals being developed it was only a matter of time before we could share intimacy without having to be in the same room. A friend of mine had been pushing for &#039;portal panties&#039; for years now and I was helping to fund their development for a while. It would happen, we were just working on stabilizing the connection between wormhole ends. <br /><br />\tPlus it wasn&#039;t actually a portal. Not in the way sci-fi liked to portray it. The portals we were working on were more for personal use, not instantaneous transportation of goods. Two appropriately sized discs could be linked and split, mimicking each other remotely. On one end, stick your hand in the portal and it&#039;d be like slipping your hand into a fluid that read your every move and recreated it on the other side via a mix of hard light and portal fluid. The sensations would be mirrored back on the giver, so it felt like your hand or item was truly where the portal receiver was located. <br /><br />\tFor the proposed Portal Panties that were in such high demand, that meant you could put your dick in one end and it&#039;d recreate your dick in the panties on the other end, sending signals back so you felt exactly what it would be like to be inside your partner from afar without any actual matter transferal. So far it could only go one way and the power sources needed to be stabilized, but we were certain this technology would be two-way eventually. <br /><br />\tWe already were able to send data two ways, but it was incomplete and sometimes laggy. This meant that putting one&#039;s hand into a portal on one end would feel like it was slipping into a glove or condom rather than it being raw. Another element we were sure to fix as time went on.<br /><br />\tAlas, having that was a lot of fun because we got to play with the prototypes and I loved slipping my hand in one end to give her a mawssage. A maw massage. She was a snake, she had such plump lips and gums and jaw muscles. Plus she loved it when I gave her throat a kneading. It was as close as we could get to indulging our kinks from afar. Of course these massages could go either end and she liked to slip her tail into the portal to see how deep into me she could go until the portal connection dissipated and the device collapsed. <br /><br />\tIt&#039;s the little things that keep a relationship fresh. <br /><br />\tEither way, after nearly a month apart with her mostly lost to brumation &ndash; hibernation for scaled creatures &ndash; we were going to be meeting up at Ilorek&#039;s Ranch and going on a week-long hiking trip in an effort to get away from it all. <br /><br />\tI was particularly excited to see what form she chose. The pair of us both had a strong grasp of transformation magic and we used that to blend into crowds or put on a show. Both of us had public facing morphs that we used in work and business and our own natural forms that served as default as well as a collection of features that mixed and matched for ease of shifting.<br /><br />\tMy natural form was quadruped. Well over two meters at the shoulders with broad, majestic wings, a tail maw, and non-gendered genitals. Well, they looked more female on the outside but were sterile on the inside. The tail maw connected to my womb and was new but I actually had the ability to change what my base was, unlike most others. It was something I did for friends occasionally. My base coloration was mostly white with black stripes and spots as well as some golden brown accents on the plumage around my neck and upper body. <br /><br />\tShe was just a snake. A massive, twenty meter long snake as thick around as me at my widest and as hefty as a full sized dragon. Her base colours were a spotted and speckled pattern of earthy browns, yellows, and blacks, said patters dictated by the scales lining her body. <br /><br />\tWe often reverted back to our base forms when we were at home in the mountains but still maintained some sort of morph or transformation while we were dealing with others. While my base form was quadruped, my business presenting form was bipedal. A touch under two meters tall, no wings, and no external genitals aside from a meaty-looking slit. Still led to a womb, but that womb was not fertile and I didn&#039;t identify strictly as female. Complicated. <br /><br />\tBipedal and androgynous was my public facing form. Hers was vastly different, as she morphed herself some arms, slithered while upright, and changed her colours completely to be a distinct pattern of green and yellow with blue and red spots. She worked as a predator at the Vore House so the bright primary colours gave her a marketable image. <br /><br />\tI had no idea what to expect upon arrival at The Ranch. Would she be her natural, full sized form? A more portable compact form that I&#039;d be able to carry around? Something in the middle? I could have called her. Texted her. But she hated using her cellphone. If she didn&#039;t have arms and a satchel hanging over her temporary shoulders she literally had to keep her phone in her gullet, only heaving it back up when she felt the buzzer go off. I totally understood why she hated dealing with that. <br /><br />\tIf nothing else I imagined trying to press buttons with a flicking tongue or blunt tail tip alone just wasn&#039;t worth the effort.<br /><br />\tAs it turned out I was the last to arrive at The Ranch. A beasty brothel in what looked to be an elevated plateau surrounded by a volcanic rim. My buddy Ilorek used his alchemy money to purchase this land because any farmer that tried to till the fields in the crater &ndash; which was raised ten meters above the surrounding pastures and plains &ndash; found that the fruit and seed all had some strange mutated properties that made them unfit for consumption. Ilorek bout the land, put his alchemy skills to the test, and was able to turn the property into a viable ranch with a dozen different pastures.<br /><br />\tNow it was a thriving business making Feral x Agen porn and operating as a beasty brothel. According to Ilorek&#039;s wife, Valencia, whatever was in the soil that was making the crops mutate was helping her pyschic abilities and thus mitigating the &#039;consent&#039; morality issues when dealing with ferals. <br /><br />\tMilling about near the pond were a handful of my closest friends. Ezra brought two of his girlfriends, Afearnia and Fidget, while Rex was standing by some of the ranch equipment. Coiled around that equipment was my lovely Leera in her natural feral form, only a smaller version of it. Not her naga form with the arms. I was glad I didn&#039;t try to call her. She was naturally coloured and about as thick as my upper thigh while being what appeared to be a rather tame four or five meters long. <br /><br />\tI was in my bipedal form. Wingless, gender fluid, upright. <br /><br />\tThey waved and I waved back, the excitement welling up inside me. Ezra seemed happiest to see me, which made sense. He was one of the first people I ever offered to permanently transform to better be his true self. Most potions or spells one could conjure either were deliberately temporary or needed constant updates to maintain, especially the transformation-based ones. Any time someone did transformation they had to constantly maintain the spell or feed the potion to keep it active. Hence why there was a difference between &#039;base forms&#039; and &#039;morphs&#039;. My base form was a quadruped with wings; my bipedal morph was my forward facing version. <br /><br />\tIt cost no magic to remain in one&#039;s natural form, and the closer to that form the less magic was needed for maintaining a transformation. That&#039;s why for Leera it cost very little to be her normal form but a smaller version. For me, staying bipdedal was something I&#039;d been practicing for what seemed like lifetimes so it was almost as natural to me as my base form. Plus, since I&#039;d mentally and internally categorized established morphs instead of making it up or altering them as I went, I could measure my magic use.<br /><br />\tStill, all transformation magic was costly. Exhausting. Draining. Demanding. Even I sometimes got a little tired if I maintained a morph for too long or slipped out of one of my established forms. <br /><br />\tTransforming Ezra took a lot out of me but the dude&#039;s been a sweetheart for as long as I knew him so I knew he deserved it. While others would need to take potions for the weekend or implant crystal shards for a long term ademane replacement procedure, I rebirthed him anew. Took him into that sterile womb, concentrated all my magics, and had him be reborn in his new form. <br /><br />\tThat new form was basically the same as his old form but with a canine vagina nestled under his scrotum, but that&#039;s what helped him realize his true self. <br /><br />\tAnd it wasn&#039;t just aesthetic or for show. All the female anatomy in there was fully functioning. Heat cycles, periods, the ability to get pregnant, all of it. Potion-based stuff was rarely strong, long-lasting, or precise enough to recreate that level of authenticity. But I could. And I did. Because he deserved it. Now he was a fully functioning herm, though he still used male pronouns.<br /><br />\tI had a vagina, but given my externally androgynous appearance I didn&#039;t really care what people called me. Sometimes I felt masculine. Sometimes I felt feminine. Most of the time I didn&#039;t really feel anything other than myself. And given my transformation abilities I was the very definition of fluid. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Fashionably late, I see!&rdquo; Ezra called out as he jogged over to meet me. He, like everyone else and myself, was completely nude. Clothing was mostly optional in the region due to a newly passed law. People felt it was unfair for quads to be able to dangle dick and flag tail in public for all to see, so they lobbied to get the ruling powers to agree that it was unfair to inconsistently apply the laws so now clothing was optional. Period. <br /><br />\tI waved back. &ldquo;Yeah, sorry. I could have flown myself but I plan on saving all my energy for the hike. I have no intention to transform a dozen times and wipe myself out before we leave.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah that makes sense.&rdquo; He agreed. We embraced for a shoulder to shoulder touch and a pat on the back while Leera slithered up behind him, her head at about rump height. <br /><br />\tShe leaned into my open palm and slid up my arm, eventually draping herself over my shoulder and around my waist. I noticed she was considerably heavier than she looked, which was not uncommon for a basic shrinking transformation. Oftentimes, when one didn&#039;t want to completely alter their body for a new form, they&#039;d just shrink. Same mass, a fraction of the volume. Higher density. That much heft made it so I felt every muscle contraction and release, every rolling scale as it slid across my feathers and fur. &ldquo;Glad to see you too!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeera was more than capable of talking but she wasn&#039;t the most vocal. Snakes don&#039;t usually have the anatomy to speak freely so it was extra work for her. Instead, she exclusively used her telepathy to communicate with myself and the others. She could hear us without telepathy but found this easier. &ldquo;Of course! I always miss you even if I can live without you!&rdquo; She flicked her tongue at my cheek as she made her joke and I leaned into her, cradling her chin and nuzzling her. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;So what&#039;s the plan? We leaving immediately or is there a pre-departure barbecue planned?&rdquo; I asked as I carried Leera over to the rest of the group. Everyone heard what I asked, as I wasn&#039;t too far away when I spoke. Plus I was not exactly quiet. <br /><br />\tRex the tiger was the one to answer. &ldquo;We have no plans but if you&#039;re hungry Ilorek keeps the outdoor freezer stocked with meats and stuff.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I suppose I could eat. Wouldn&#039;t hurt I don&#039;t think.&rdquo; I agreed. &ldquo;Burgers and sausage?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeera side-glared at me when I said sausage. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;I didn&#039;t mean it as a joke, hun. And, you know, not like you need to eat for a few weeks.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tFidget laughed a bit. &ldquo;Well she consssumed me at one point but it wasn&#039;t with her mouth!&rdquo; she even made a bit of a hissing accent and slithered her body. <br /><br />\tLeera just laid her head on my chest to steal my warmth as the rest of her body squeezed tightly for stability. &ldquo;No need for the vore jokes, dear. Unless you wanna use me as a sleeping bag later.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis casual joke made Ezra pause for a minute and rub his chin. &ldquo;Okay, so, I have an idea. Night one, we use Leera as a tent. Right? Ceylon, you go in the front door, prop open her maw with a stick and light a gemstone for visuals. The rest of us will go around back. Afearnia and I in her womb, Rex and Fidget somewhere in her guts between us. Three distinct chambers, a traveling living tent!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSuch an absurd suggestion got laughter from everyone. <br /><br />\tNobody wanted to eat before we left and there were few bags to carry. Each of us strapped a satchel or two on our hips and a small backpack for water and a few snacks but the trail was laid out in front of us and our first stop that evening would be a well-stocked cabin. <br /><br />\tThere were dozens of alternate routes to the same cabins we planned on hitting. And since the whole point of the hiking trip was to get away fro civilization for a week or more, each cabin was nearly a full day&#039;s worth of hiking away from the other. I&#039;d only just arrived at the Ranch early morning but it would be nearing nightfall by the time we reached our first checkpoint. <br /><br />\tA full trip from Klyneth to the shores of Great Sapphire Lake would be three to four days on foot for the average sized biped. Perfect. I couldn&#039;t imagine a better way to spend a week with friends.<br /><br />\tWe departed almost immediately. Afearnia and Ezra were naturally the strongest walkers since they had such long legs, and they were the closer couple. Ezra was also casually dating Fidget, but Afearnia was the reason he got involved with that group of poly lovers anyway so it made sense. <br /><br />\tThe glorious thing about healthy relationships is that jealousy shouldn&#039;t be an issue if trust is present. Fidget trusted Ezra to be honest so she wasn&#039;t the jealous type. Not that there was much to be jealous of. They weren&#039;t monogamous. Fidget wasn&#039;t dating Rex but I could see it in her eyes she&#039;d have a taste for tiger seed before this trip was over. Skies above I anticipated every one of us was gonna swap some fluids one way or another. <br /><br />\tAs it should be. None of us were monogamous. All of us were confident and self-assured. In fact, that was a key defining feature of every person in the group. All of us had found a way to better open up and project our true selves. Ezra acquired a true form he was proud of and got introduced to his tribe and had gone from a little shy and socially awkward to a leggy fellow who kept his head held high and his chest puffed out. He was confident and content.<br /><br />\tRex used to keep to himself but by working on The Ranch he found himself to be more outgoing, which was a similar story with a once-introverted Afearnia who used to cook and play music but hated socialization. Well, she&#039;s still introverted but she&#039;s far better at managing her social energies now. She knew when and how to interact and when to keep her space. <br /><br />\tFidget used to be a rather dull gal, but not by choice. Before she started experimenting with potions and discovered her super power as a young adult she had no access to magic. Which meant that as a young woman during her formative years she couldn&#039;t do any of the stupid, dangerous, exciting experimentation others could. With no inherent magic &ndash; like most people had &ndash; she had no natural resistance to roughness or ability to adapt to adventurous partners. Without the same natural magics we all had she was basically handicapped, unable to do much of anything without fear of damaging herself.<br /><br />\tShe couldn&#039;t visit other cultures without their customs being damaging, she couldn&#039;t test her limits because where anyone else had intrinsic healing magic to keep the cuts from scarring and the damage from going to deep, she had to be safe. Any misstep could break a bone and she&#039;d be put down for weeks. Months. And the worst of all, she was part bunny and part doe, so the only sexual partners she could play with were other rabbits and bucks. <br /><br />\tIf she ever tried to date a stallion...well, she&#039;d be in hospital every time she went into heat. With most people, their biological magical adaptation allowed them to at the very least experiment with other races even if breeding wasn&#039;t an option, but she didn&#039;t have that. <br /><br />\tWhile she lacked magic and thus the natural ability to adapt to volatile interspecies experiences, she found out as a young adult she was hyper-sensitive to potions. Recreational potions are generally meant for adults only as many of them have body-altering properties. Temporary properties, but still body-altering. Her lack of magic meant that potions were tenfold more effective. Their effects were felt faster, they lasted longer, they were far more intense, and she needed a fraction of the concoction others would need for the same effect.<br /><br />\tBeing hypersensitive to potions made her invaluable to Ilorek&#039;s alchemy research, which made her rich within a matter of years. Rich enough to start her own potions delivery company. When she started testing every experimental potion known to the agens of the academy, she &#039;transformed&#039; from a timid, vanilla gal to the most shameless and adventurous person I knew. It was lovely to watch. <br /><br />\tAll of the other five friends who traveled with me on this hiking trip were great friends, they all learned to find and express themselves, and they were all going to be a tonne of fun the whole way.<br /><br />\t=====--=--=====<br /><br />\tAlmost instantly my mood soared. The moment we made it through the north pass that took us from Ilorek&#039;s ranch to the treeline of the Vast Emerald Wood, I felt like I&#039;d returned home. The forest, especially this one, was gorgeous and verdant. Its emerald moniker was apt as I could swear the vegetation there glowed the green of its namesake gemstone, dotted with the rainbow of colours in the form of flowers, mosses, and ademane crystals that grew there. <br /><br />\tIt helped that ademane was a glowing teal coloration, not too far off the color of emeralds. That mixed with the natural greens of leaves and fronds and mosses blended to basically give the entire region an emerald glow.<br /><br />\tRegardless, the views were astoundingly entrancing. Sometimes I try to be overly poetic or try to make things sound prettier than they actually are but that wasn&#039;t the case in the Vast emerald Wood. No matter how many times I visited or how long I lived nearby I could never quite get over how wholly fulfilling it felt to be surrounded by the vegetation in that region in particular. <br /><br />\tThis region, the immediate surroundings in the foothills of the Cradle of Dalon, was the most fertile land in all the world. The Cradle itself was an unnaturally tall mountain range with a plateau high in its peak. It was so tall that it was virtually impossible to climb and much like the peculiar geographical anomaly that mutated the crops of The Ranch, it hummed a magical energy that made it impossible to fly over or take photographs of. A true enigma. <br /><br />\tAll that magical energy meant that everywhere surrounding it was unique to the region. The Cradle of Dalon, Great Sapphire Lake, The Vast Emerald Wood, Cottonwood Crescent, and the Blood Crags of the north were all internationally protected lands. Free of development. The closest city &ndash; and the oldest settlement known to modern agens &ndash; was Klyneth. This region was historically the most important land in all of Dalon.<br /><br />\tAnd yet, despite the tourism and attention, it remained virtually untouched aside from the occasional campsite and cabin. This was made possible because the Cradle of Dalon and its surrounding geographical anomalies were the only ones in the world said to be watched over by spirits. Credibly cited, as well. Not just half-drunk kooks with too much tonic and not enough critical thinking skill. Actual spirits had been well documented and observed by researchers eager to learn more. <br /><br />\tHilariously, the studies done on the region confirmed that these spirits were keeping the region free of pollution by ejecting anything not natural to the forest edges, and if those who left the mess were seen by these spirits in the region again, bad fortune would befall them. <br /><br />\tI can confirm. Honestly I felt they were being too kind by just kicking ungrateful people out.<br /><br />\tSo now there was a staggeringly large region smack dab in the middle of the Saff&#039;Raldian nation in its pristine, untouched state, protected by local laws and the avatars of the planet itself. Exactly as it should be. I&#039;ve lived too long and seen too many instances of arrogant agens thinking they were more important than the planet itself. Fortunately, the planet had ways to defend itself. At least in some areas.<br /><br />\tThis is why I so easily got lost in the beauty of it all. I&#039;ve seen it all. Done it all. I&#039;ve traveled the globe dozens of times over, visited every nation and gotten familiar with every nook and cranny this world had to offer and there was something special about the Vast emerald Wood. Of course I have plenty of personal history in the region but even without that qualifier I can&#039;t find a better place to be.<br /><br />\tThe Vast Emerald Wood and Great Sapphire Lake served as an amalgamation of pretty much any natural features you could hope to expect. The lake itself was lined by beaches, with a tropical island in the middle. The surrounding forest closest to the shores were dense rainforests that slowly faded into temperate forests ending with mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. There were hills, waterfalls, cliffs, valleys, marshes, and patches of vast meadows and plains amidst rocky shield. The more desolate environments like desert and scruffland were in and around the blood crags. <br /><br />\tIronically, something I remembered each time I tried to recount the area, the region surrounding the Cradle of Dalon hosted the glowing green of the Vast Emerald Wood, the vibrant blue of Great Sapphire Lake, the deep red of the Blood Crags, and the brilliant yellow of the Cradle itself. The same colours Leera chose to be part of her public-facing morph.<br /><br />\tHuh. Neat.<br /><br />\tDespite being with some of my best and closest friends, we didn&#039;t actually need to talk to each other very much. Between pairs of us branching off to take different paths or going ahead or falling behind, it was rare for me to be with anyone other than just Leera, who remained draped heavily over my neck and wrapped tight around my midsection. She wasn&#039;t much of a talker anyway so I spent most of my time taking in the view and basking in the emerald glow of the forest.<br /><br />\tThe trails were well defined, but none of them were paved or covered in gravel. Part of the tentative deal with the forest spirits seemed to be that stone pathways were not welcome. Trails were welcome, but no outside materials were to be used to tarnish the land. And since the intention was to keep everything as natural as possible some of those trails were incredibly hard to follow.<br /><br />\tAt multiple points in my hike I had to scale a cliff or use a vine to swing over a valley. At one point I even had to wade through a waist-high creek that had been slightly flooded. The land was kind and generous, beautiful beyond words but it was also still treacherous to those unprepared. Luckily the six of us were well prepared. Leera and I particularly.<br /><br />\tShe occasionally slipped off my shoulders to slither away if I had to get over something complicated or climb a cliff. Given that she&#039;d only shrunk herself and not made the appropriate transformation adaptations to also be an appropriate weight, as in she was the size of a mid-sized snake but weighed the same as her beastly full size, she was really weighing me down and she knew it. <br /><br />\tThe sound of birds and bugs buzzed and chirped around us all, sometimes getting so intense we couldn&#039;t hear each other. Well, we could all hear Leera, since she spoke telepathically. The rest of us had to suffer with boring old vocal cords. <br /><br />\tEventually, we all ended up at the top of a cliff overlooking a valley that our first campsite was located. It was still a few hours out at least but I could see the avian perch poking out above the canopy somewhere near the edge of the horizon. <br /><br />\tEzra stood tall next to me, the wind atop the cliff whipping his cheek fur. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to absorb the scene. Afearnia stepped up next to him and nuzzled his arm. Both of them looked out over the valley that had a mix of tall, pointy coniferous trees and plump, verdant deciduous trees of all types. I didn&#039;t want to take credit for that but it was nice seeing him happy and confident like that. When we met he had insecurities that kept him from being truly happy. This was the most content I&#039;d ever seen him, just cuddling with a partner overlooking a valley. <br /><br />\tIt reminded me of the times Leera and I did the same. There are few views more pristine than that. Just a never-ending expanse of life and spirit. <br /><br />\tOff to the other side, Fidget and Rex both saw Ezra and Afearnia hugging and Leera on my shoulders so they shrugged and embraced like it was the expected thing to do. Fidget even leaned in and pecked him on the snout, tickling his whiskers. It was meant to be cute and funny but there was a brief moment where I saw sparks before they parted and held hands at arms length. <br /><br />\tI&#039;d let them figure that one out on their own time. <br /><br />\tA gust of wind pressed into all of us as we silently enjoyed the view. Time passed slower for a while before one of us decided it was time to move on. We had to carefully make our way down the winding path in the foothills of the cliff to make our way through the valley and that was gonna be a bit more work than trudging through the underbrush and occasionally hopping over a fallen log.<br /><br />\tFidget was the first one to make a move down the cliff. She was the smallest of us all and she delivered potions to remote locations like this all the time. The bunny-doe gal could almost dance her way down the cliffs, kicking and jumping and flipping off outcroppings and half-rooted vegetation. Watching her move was glorious. <br /><br />\tI could have flown. Use some magic to grow a pair (of wings) and glide down with Leera and anyone else in my arms, but I chose not to. It kinda defeated the purpose, so I guided Rex to follow Fidget and the pair of us hopped over the ledge and carefully made our way down. Just like before, Leera took pity on me for carrying her compressed weight and slithered off my shoulders to slip into a crevasse to make her way down the cliff face. <br /><br />\tHer snake body meant she could squish and squeeze and adjust and tightly ease her way in and out of and around every tiny bump and groove in the rock. I was almost jealous. <br /><br />\tBy the time the four of us reconvened at the base of the cliff but still the top of the winding path of the foothills that bled into the valley, we all noticed that Ezra and Afearnia were still at the top of the cliff leaning into each other as the wind rolled up the rock face and ruffling the fur on their faces.<br /><br />\tFidget asked out loud. &ldquo;Should we say or do something about that?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tRex solemnly shook his head. &ldquo;Naw, they&#039;ll come down when they&#039;re ready.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tI paused for a moment a smile gently curving up the edges of my beak. &ldquo;Yeah, they&#039;ll come when they&#039;re ready.&rdquo; I knew that to be true. One thing that I&#039;d seen in Ezra especially was that he was getting a lot better at knowing his limits, taking time to appreciate the little things, and not being shy or ashamed of who he was. Afearnia was a great fit for him, as she was pretty confident on her own and was definitely helping him to maintain his mental and emotional balance. &ldquo;They know where we&#039;re headed. Come on. I&#039;m sure they&#039;ll catch up.&rdquo; \t<br /><br />\tThe other four of us turned and jogged down the steep, zig-zag path that eventually tapered out as we found ourselves deep in the underbrush once again. <br /><br />\tFrom this point it was pretty straightforward as we made our way to the first campsite. The trail wove between trees, avoiding rocks and conforming to the formation of the land itself much like a river would find its way meandering in whatever way felt natural. <br /><br />\tThere were predators in these woods. Dangerous ones. But they rarely came after bipeds. There seemed to be an aura of &#039;don&#039;t mess with me and I won&#039;t mess with you&#039; in the Vast Emerald Wood. Convenient but effective. No hunting was to take place there and the geographical anomaly that defined the region and guided the spirits took heed. <br /><br />\tOf course, it was also a &#039;fuck around and find out&#039; situation. People who harmed the local wildlife rarely made it out alive and those who did were not the same. <br /><br />\tAgain. Convenient. If only the different people of Dalon could get along as naturally as the flora and fauna of the Vast Emerald Wood.<br /><br />\tOne thing that had actually surprised me was that up to this point I hadn&#039;t seen a single other person along the trail yet. Yeah, it was a massive forest with an interweaving web of pathways interlaced with creeks and streams and ponds and the chances of seeing each other was pretty low in such a large area, but there were also defined paths. Well-walked paths. We were following one of the most popular trails. Within an hour of leaving Ilorek&#039;s Ranch we&#039;d followed the branching path to the biggest and most used trail in the entire southern region of the Vast Emerald Wood. <br /><br />\tWe should have seen someone by now. Maybe just one or two. But someone.<br /><br />\tI dismissed my concern. It was still pretty early in spring and it made sense that tourist season hadn&#039;t really started yet. To be clear, this is not foreshadowing or something. I just noticed it when I was thinking about Ezra and Afearnia. It doesn&#039;t really come up again. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Is something up with them?&rdquo; Rex asked as he pounce-leapt over a log that was blocking the path. He was not part of their poly group and thus the only one who didn&#039;t really know the intimate details of their personal lives. <br /><br />\tFidget was the only one fit to answer so I didn&#039;t bother to interject my opinion. &ldquo;Nah. They&#039;re both good. They just don&#039;t get out like this often and I&#039;m sure they&#039;re just enjoying the view for a bit. Or maybe they&#039;re making out or something. I don&#039;t know. Not really my place to speculate. I don&#039;t get any bad vibes from them right now. I&#039;m sure it&#039;s just the beauty of the Woods.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeera slithered back up my arm, once again folding herself over my neck and shoulders. &ldquo;If they needed a place to cuddle I could offer them a nice, warm space to get real close.&rdquo; Everyone paused. It wasn&#039;t like Leera to crack jokes. She was usually a bit more motherly than cheeky.<br /><br />\tI huffed and clicked my beak. &ldquo;Yeah. That makes sense.&rdquo; We all had a good laugh, but then I saw something ahead I recognized. &ldquo;Oh, hey, I know where we are!&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;We all know where we are.&rdquo; Fidget countered. &ldquo;You really shouldn&#039;t be hiking this far away from town if you&#039;re not familiar with the area.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tI curled my tail around forward and used the curl to flick her butt right next to her stumpy tail. &ldquo;You know what I mean. That rock formation. We&#039;re closer than I thought.&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Oh yeah, I guess the camp site will be just on the other side of that ridge. I&#039;d race ya but fatty MsSnekButt is kinda giving you a handicap.&rdquo; She snapped her fingers and winked at me. Despite saying she wasn&#039;t gonna race, she bolted off and made her way up the incline to crest the hill first.<br /><br />\tRex and I shared a glance. He shrugged, going with the flow. &ldquo;Meet ya there!&rdquo; And he picked up the pace to try to catch up. In truth he stood no chance. <br /><br />\tFidget ran terrain like this for fun and for work. She loved the experience of free-running trails and was a master at doing so in the rough. No log or rock could slow her down. She was as graceful in the woods as a dolphin in the open ocean. As slick as a snake slithering through the grass. By comparison I was a galloping oaf of a bird. If only because I had Leera&#039;s extra heavy form on my back.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;You know, I could race her if you just, you know, offloaded some of that mass.&rdquo; I playfully scorned Leera while cradling her plump snake cheek. <br /><br />\tShe flicked her tongue at me and gave me a snake kiss &ndash; as in she briskly opened her maw and &#039;bit&#039; down on my beak before nuzzling into me. &ldquo;Don&#039;t whine. I know you can take it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&#039;ll take you.&rdquo; I teased back.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ah yes, the old &#039;threaten me with a good time&#039; gambit. Bah to you. Come on. It&#039;s almost sundown and I do get the distinct impression that Afearnia was the one who wanted to take a break. She&#039;s not as, uh, outdoorsy as the rest of us.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tI agreed. I didn&#039;t want to take advantage of the fact that I could empathetically feel that as well. Valencia taught me a thing or two about reading people&#039;s mood and intentions without actively reading their mind. It was a nice way to gain insight without invading their privacy. &ldquo;I&#039;m sure they&#039;ll keep up. No harm in breaks. Everyone needs a bit of time to themselves. And who knows, maybe they&#039;ll have some steamy fun overlooking the valley. That&#039;d be quite the memory.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah. Yeah.&rdquo; She gave me a sly side-eye before slithering back off my neck, deliberately coiling once around my upper thigh to tease my loins with her scales before flicking me once with her tail tip and disappearing into the thick foliage of the underbrush. <br /><br />\tI slumped in place, then rolled my shoulders a bit as I tried to mentally block the pleasure she&#039;d teased me with. Scales on flesh was definitely a weakness of mine, especially snake scales like hers. Once I&#039;d centered myself and contained my arousal, I took off after her, jogging up the incline to catch up with them all. &ldquo;No fair, Leera. You can&#039;t just do that and bail like that!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tOne by one we all made it to the camp grounds. Fidget was first, of course. Leera actually was second, as it turned out she could slither quickly if she wanted to. Plus, Rex didn&#039;t care about the race and thus held back until I caught up so we both were last together. <br /><br />\tThe camp ground itself was quaint. A small clearing in the forest with a bonfire pit in the middle and four small cabins made exclusively out of grown wood. As in, the cabins were not made out of cut logs and hammered or stacked together, but the buildings themselves were grown by the spirts and the shamans that communicated with them.<br /><br />\tNatural architecture was something that was not too common but could be done with the right application of magic and spiritual empathy. I actually learned about this from Fidget&#039;s &#039;pet&#039; friend, Shiazo. The poly group of theirs had a floral golem who had suffered a blood vine infection and had their spirit extracted from their body during the zombification process as plant matter took over the last of their flesh and blood. When the spirit &ndash; or wisp, as it was more commonly referred &ndash; was put back into their body which was now made of plant matter, they could control it like normal without being lost to the base feoral (feral-floral) instincts. <br /><br />\tThis unique floral golem had control over plant matter, being able to manipulate it and control it and merge with it at will. Using this power they were able to summon vines and grow wood on command and into any shape they desired. That was what happened at the camp site. The cabins were rooted to the ground, living floral matter that was wrapped in vines and coated in flowers and leaves but just so conveniently shaped like a cabin. <br /><br />\tIt was grown. The buildings were grown. Shiazo helped me to understand this process and I was fascinated by it. I really needed to ask them if they could do that for me some time. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Love this.&rdquo; Fidget said with a beaming grin as she thumb-pointed towards the cabins. &ldquo;Reminds me of home.&rdquo; This made sense, as Shiazo had grown their communal home in much the same way, and they even adjusted it as needed as members joined the poly group and moved in or out.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Be sure to treat it like home.&rdquo; Leera warned as she slithered up onto the deck of the nearest of the four cabins. &ldquo;You know that this place is protected by the floral spirits!&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Skies above I&#039;d not consider disrespecting the Vast emerald Wood.&rdquo; Fidget assured Leera. &ldquo;I am hungry, though. What did we bring?&rdquo; <br /><br />\tRex slid out of his backpack and started listing things off. There was a cool mist of icy frost billowing out from the sack, as he had an ice-infused gemstone in there to keep the food chilled. &ldquo;Well, I can&#039;t comment on what Ezra and Afearnia brought but my bag is chock full of a dozen steaks, a dozen chops, two dozen poultry breasts, nearly a dozen fish fillets, and a whole lot of jerky.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tFidget looked into her bag as well. &ldquo;And it looks like my contribution is mostly veggies. Got a bag of carrots, two &ndash; no, three &ndash; full heads of broccoli. Five bell peppers, at least a dozen hot peppers. Onions. Potatoes. And two satchels of potions but that&#039;s not what I&#039;m hungry for.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Wow, you two really lucked out. Did you synchronize?&rdquo; I asked. &ldquo;Meat in one, veggies in the other. I bet Afearnia and Ezra have the dairy and grains.&rdquo; <br /><br />\tRex raised a finger to comment, since he had mostly packed independent of the others, but then stopped. &ldquo;You know, that&#039;s probably right. Afearnia&#039;s a chef, so she probably knew I&#039;d bring all the meat, then made sure you all had the rest of what we needed.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;She did do most of the preparation. So that tracks. Hey, is there a place to put all this meat for the night so our chilling gemstones don&#039;t run out?&rdquo; Fidget asked, stepping away from the bag and carrying it up to the deck where Leera was now basking with head resting on the hand rest.<br /><br />\tI shook my head. &ldquo;There are resources here that feed off the ademane mist of the land that blankets the Vast Emerald wood overnight, but we don&#039;t need to worry about that. Those chilling gemstones, I enchanted them myself and pumped so much energy into them they&#039;d last months. Plus our bags are all insulated. Leave the food in there.&rdquo; I took my pack off and leaned it up against the nearest pair of cabin stairs and made sure all three were there. We were still waiting on Ezra and Afearnia to make their contribution.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;What did you bring?&rdquo; Fidget asked, playfully bending over with fingers waving over top like she was waiting for permission to check for herself. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;A little bit of everything. I didn&#039;t know we were coordinating and Leera doesn&#039;t need to eat. Well not eat food.&rdquo; I sly-winked at her and flicked my ear to show I was being cheeky. She just stared with a dull gaze as she flicked her tongue in response. &ldquo;So yeah, I got two of each plus some pasta, rice, cheese, cream, and coffee and tea.&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Nice.&rdquo; Rex commented. He also stepped up and walked past Leera to check out the inside of the cabin. &ldquo;Actually, I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever been at this campsite in particular. It&#039;s nice. Single-room, but nice. Uh, no bathroom, though.&rdquo; <br /><br />\tI poked my head in behind him. He was right. One room. Bed in each corner. Shelves and desk in between. Looked to be storage underground. No bathroom. &ldquo;Probably because the whole point of a place like this is to be all-natural. If a tiger shits in the woods, do people question it?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHe just stared at me. Wasn&#039;t a fan of that joke in particular. &ldquo;Fair. Uh, does the ademane mist like...deal with it?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I dunno. I didn&#039;t really think of it. Why, gotta go?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Nawh, I took some fiber before leaving. It&#039;ll be a couple days before I gotta-&rdquo; He stopped, realizing this wasn&#039;t the sort of thing that needed to be discussed. &ldquo;I&#039;m fine for a bit.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tI just nodded, knowingly. I did the same thing but with some potions. Leera and I had manufactured a &#039;vore potion&#039; that basically made it so that you didn&#039;t need to eat for a few days and your entire digestive system was flushed out and the fluids were replaced with Leera&#039;s biologically breathable fluids. In other words, we made a potion that made anyone a potential predator. We then modified it to simply do the safe cleaning out without the lack of an appetite. I still wanted to make some campfire food. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Oh, and I brought one pot with a lid for making rice and pasta. One cast-iron skillet for most other things, a plate, and some utensils.&rdquo; I added while sauntering back to the bonfire. As I looked around I noticed that the light had dimmed a bit. The sun must have been slipping behind the Cradle of Dalon. The shadow of the Cradle of Dalon did tend to reach nightfall about an hour or two earlier, depending on time of year. That&#039;s also when I reminded myself that Ezra and Afearnia hadn&#039;t shown up.<br /><br />\tFortunately, that concern lasted all of about three seconds before I heard a stick snap just over the crest outside the campsite. Ezra burst over the ridge and was quickly tackled by Afearnia. The two of them tumbled over each other a bit before ending with Ezra on his back and Afearnia straddling his waist. She grinned down and gave him a gentle snout-lick of a kiss before standing up over him. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Be careful, you have the cream in your pack.&rdquo; She warned, then offered a hand to help him up.<br /><br />\tHe gratefully accepted and she helped get him to his feet. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ooooh, were you two makin&#039; out on the clifftop?&rdquo; Fidget crooned. &ldquo;Cookie kissin&#039;? Dogmeat packin&#039;? Pup poundin&#039;?&rdquo; <br /><br />\tAfearnia berated herself as she snapped her fingers. &ldquo;Ya know what, you&#039;re right! We never thought about it. That would have been so magical!&rdquo; She turned to Ezra and looked up at him, grabbing his chest fur. &ldquo;We missed a perfect opportunity to make a memory! We coulda filmed it and made some coin! We should go back and-&rdquo; she stopped mid joke and brushed her hair away from her eye. &ldquo;Nah, we were just relaxing a bit. Wanted to enjoy the view a bit longer.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Oh good, I was about to say. Don&#039;t leave! If you&#039;re gonna get wet do it here! We&#039;re just unpacking and about to light the bonfire.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah, I see that.&rdquo; Afearnia slid around behind Ezra and got him to slip out of his pack so she could take it over to the pile of others next to the one cabin. As soon as she put hers down as well, she immediately went to check on Rex&#039;s. Once she saw what was inside it, she pumped her fist, triumphantly cheering to herself. &ldquo;Yes! I knew it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEzra leaned over her, not sure what she was referring to. &ldquo;I knew Rex would bring the meat. I packed us all appropriately thematic food groups assuming he&#039;d be the carnivore. You got the dairy. I got the grains. Fidget&#039;s is the veg, and Rex is the protein. Which is of course all meat. Couldn&#039;t get a bit of peanut butter?&rdquo; She lightly chastized. <br /><br />\tEveryone made a motion of silent approval aside from Rex, who huffed. &ldquo;I&#039;m sorry, I don&#039;t like licking peanut butter off my partners like you do, I didn&#039;t think to bring it.&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ah, yes, canine jokes. Love em.&rdquo; She stepped past Rex and stroked his chest. &ldquo;Need I remind you I packed a cucumber in Fidget&#039;s bag?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tRex opened his mouth to protest; he stopped himself as he couldn&#039;t help but appreciate the slap back. &ldquo;Fair. Fair.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEzra rubbed his groin a bit and yawned. &ldquo;You know, for how tall I am that trail really took it outta me. Big long legs like mine do not like scaling cliffs.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeera hiss-laughed. &ldquo;So what you&#039;re actually saying is that you were trapped atop the cliff because you were too scared to climb down?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Exactly!&rdquo; Ezra mock-agreed with a pair of finger guns. &ldquo;Let&#039;s go with that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tWhile they were all enjoying their banter, I was rooting around in my bag for the right combination of fire gem and ademane kindling. A bit of crushed gem-sand on top of an alight fire gem would keep a bonfire going overnight. Perfect for cooking and I didn&#039;t want to run the risk of using the sticks and branches of the Wood for fear of angering the spirits.<br /><br />\tI only needed to place the gemstone in the middle of the fire pit and sprinkle a handful of the gem-sand around it before activating the magic, igniting the teal flame. &ldquo;Aha! Let there be, you know, heat and light and food and stuff!&rdquo; <br /><br />\tAnd everybody cheered and clapped. Like for real. Except it was more mocking than sincere.<br /><br />\tOnce that mild assault on my ego dissipated everyone came to sit around the bonfire with a selection of chosen foods at the ready. Afearnia was going to do the cooking since she was the expert. I knew a thing or two about cooking myself but I was an amateur home cook whereas she was a professional chef. Similar levels of passion, vast disparity of skill and capability.<br /><br />\tOn this first evening as the sun set fully, leaving us all blanketed in dark, illuminated only by the teal glow of the ademane fire, She made us all butterflied chicken breast with cheese and broccoli on the inside as well as creamy alfredo pasta with garlic and pepper. She prepped and tied up the chicken and cheese then fried it on the skillet I brought while boiling the pasta in the pot with some water. Once the chicken breasts were appropriately browned and cooked the way through, she collected the pasta and fried it up in the juices from the chicken and some crushed garlic. Soon thereafter she used the water from the pot and some cream and other cheeses to make a proper alfredo sauce. <br /><br />\tFive breasts. Five dollops of pasta. Everyone got one except Leera. And I got half of Fidget&#039;s portion since she was tiny and I was larger. Plus I had to constantly use magic to counter Leera&#039;s heft and thus needed a little extra. <br /><br />\tOnce we were all done and the dishes were cleaned and all messes were tidied up, we all ended up laying down on the ground, stuffed to the brim and relaxing to let the food settle. <br /><br />\tI laid down and Leera coiled up between me and the fire. She clearly wanted to absorb as much of the heat as possible. Afearnia played big spoon to a nappy Ezra, and Fidget sidled up close to Rex, hoping for him to wrap his arm around him for a cuddle. <br /><br />\tHe seemed a little uncomfortable. Not because he didn&#039;t like the attention, but because of respect. &ldquo;Hey, uh, Fidge? Why are you not cuddling with them? We&#039;re not dating.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I know, but they&#039;re happy and you need love, too.&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah, but isn&#039;t this like, cheating somehow?&rdquo; He was not trying to be rude, he just didn&#039;t fully understand the parameters of the poly relationship. In truth, Rex had been with Fidget many times throughout the years, but never in lieu of one of her partners who were sitting right there.<br /><br />\tFortunately, Fidget was happy to explain and not be offended. She straddled his lap and started massaging his belly and chest fur. &ldquo;It&#039;s not like that. We&#039;re all together but we&#039;re not exclusive. Not within our group or beyond. And even as we&#039;re all awesome together, not all of us have the same, uniform attraction. Afearnia and Ezra are closer to each other than I am to either of them. And that&#039;s okay. For tonight they have each other, and you can have me! If you want, of course.&rdquo; She smacked his chest with both hands then rolled over so that she was curled up next to him, head on his shoulder, leg wrapped around his thigh, and arm on his chest. <br /><br />\tRex glanced over to the other two to make sure this was okay. Ezra managed to put a thumb up to his face, barely seen across the bonfire, while Afearnia raised a thumb high and defiant like she was rallying a warcry. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Go nuts!&rdquo; She said from behind Ezra. She then brought her fist down and wrapped it around Ezra&#039;s upper body, holding him tight to her breasts. He grabbed her hand and nuzzled into her upper arm, which he was using as a pillow while being the small spoon. A mildly comical image as he was a full head and shoulders taller than her. Everyone deserved to be the little spoon sometimes.<br /><br />\tOnce he&#039;d relaxed a bit, Afearnia slid her hand down his chest, trailing past his belly button to tease his sheath, lightly fingering the opening at the tip. His eyes were closed and he smiled broadly, shifting position to better press his back to her chest. <br /><br />\tShe actually grinned while resting her chin on his shoulder, staring right at me while she started stroking his length through the sheath. I guess she liked an audience. I was happy to oblige. While I watched she slipped her thumb inside so that it was nestled between his emerging member and the soft sheath flesh that was wrapped around it. Not only did she slowly peel it back but she tugged the opening to the side, gaping it a bit around his shaft. <br /><br />\tEzra let out a gentle whimper, eyes still closed and just the very tip of his tongue poking out from his lips. Content, he slid a hand down to reach hers only to slide right on past so he could tease his meaty spade. I could only imagine how plump it was. Couldn&#039;t see due to the cracking teal fire.<br /><br />\tAfearnia was not shy, of course. She slipped down a bit more so that her lap was cradling his rump and her arm was within better reach of his loins. She leaned over him so that she was laying draped over his midsection, encouraging him to shift on his own and cradle her from a position on his back. Once she had the proper leverage and the right angle she delicately peeled his sheath away and slid it down to the base, happily wrapping thumb and forefinger around the base of his knot, occasionally squeezing to trigger the swelling sensation that would make the lobes grow. <br /><br />\tAll the while she couldn&#039;t help but grin at me in between each shift of her body, sure to focus on Ezra to make sure he was enjoying himself and then glancing at me to ensure I was enjoy the view.<br /><br />\tShe shifted once more so that he was completely on his back and she was giving him a sensual, pressure-driven hand job, tugging and only gently rubbing his bulging knot lobes occasionally. Canines were more about pressure than friction. She knew this, clearly, and was expertly playing his body like an instrument. She was a bassist in a band, I was not surprised she was able to wave her fingers in a way that both teased his sheathe and tickle his knot at the same time.<br /><br />\tEven more of an expert with her hands, she then slid down and wrapped her other hand around Ezra&#039;s backside, wedging it in between his rump cheeks and tail to have her finger tips teasing his spade. I confess I couldn&#039;t actually see what was happening given the angle but between his meek whimpers, her confident look, and the psychic energy they were both giving off I could decipher it.<br /><br />\tAfearnia used her angle and Ezra&#039;s fingers to guide her own hand, slipping all four fingers into his spade with little to no resistance. She paused a moment to flick his clit ring with her thumb before having it join her other fingers. All finger tips were converged to a single point, which she used to ease her fist into him, twisting and grinding until his flesh twitched and released, letting her slide in with a lurch of spattering juices I could hear over the light crackling of the gem-sand. <br /><br />\tEzra was so lost in the moment he started panting, grasping at her hip from his angle, his other hand still rubbing his spade under his ball sack, applying pressure to the clit between his digit and her wrist. Not only was he panting heavily but he was whimpering and grinding into her paws right as she leaned in close to whisper in his ear.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ready to tie the knot?&rdquo; She asked, giving me a side-eye as she waited for a response. His meek nod was enough. I saw her forearm clench up as she balled her fist up inside him, the bulge of the fist coming to rest just inside. The knot pocket. The wider length of passage just inside that was able to handle the extra firmness and size a fully engorged knot but tight enough at the very entrance to keep it from popping out. She used her fist like a knot while cradling his knot in her palm, two fingers on either side and cradling it like a wine glass. <br /><br />\tHe couldn&#039;t help but slowly pump strand after strand of mess onto her wrist, so much of it she couldn&#039;t help but eagerly lap it up and catch all she could on her tongue. <br /><br />\tI knew they&#039;d be there a while. Knot pleasure had endurance, his spade would not let go of her fist until they were both ready to curl up for the night. <br /><br />\tAnd honestly, the image of that made me pretty damn wet. I was usually pretty good about not being the needy type as I was asexual most of the time but with the right inspiration and setting I could be insatiable. I wanted to play with some fists. I wanted to feel flesh envelop me. <br /><br />\tSo as I lay there with Leera curled up next to me I decided to test my luck with her. I spooned her by laying a hand onto her coils and wormed my way underneath her until I found the base of her tail where her body ended with cloaca. <br /><br />\tShe shifted in place to look up at me, flicking her tongue and smiling while she laid her chin on part of her body for comfort. At the same time, she shifted every scale on her body in waves until her cloaca was rolled and exposed to me, the ventral scale peeled back to reveal the bright pink of her insides accentuated by the teal fire. <br /><br />\tUnlike Mammals, Reptiles had clits and extra-sensitive erogenous zones on either side of the cloaca where scales met, not on the anterior wall. With this in mind, I scooped up her tail end and laid it on my lap, ventral opening heavy on my lower belly. I wrapped my fingers around the base of her spine and wrapped my thumbs around to grind both of her clits, tugging her pussy open from either side with a glorious gape that she was able to amplify by relaxing every muscle in her body. <br /><br />\tI got a teal-accented view a solid meter down her pussy from that angle as the deep guttural whorls of air entering her rumbled down her form. A view that was so perfectly tailored to my personal desires I couldn&#039;t help myself; I took hints from Afearnia and kept one hand wrapped around the base of Leera&#039;s tail while I slid the other one into her all the way to the elbow. <br /><br />\tHer belly scales distended and her flesh stretched taut around me, the pink in between the yellows and brown growing semi-transparent enough to see my black flesh pulsating inside her. She was snug, yet felt like she had room enough in her that I could lose myself within her malleable tunnel. I could. I knew I could. I&#039;d done it before but usually only when she was full sized. My hands would have to do, even if each of my forearms was a bit thicker around than her tail end.<br /><br />\tSerpent flesh was known to be quite malleable. I was not worried. I could literally see the distinct bulge form of my hand balled up inside her and yet she seemed to want more.<br /><br />\tWith her vent wrapped around my forearm, sputtering waves of air and her natural fluids erupting form either side of her opening as she clenched around me, I let go of the base of her tail to see how she reacted. She could have pulled off, but instead she clenched up her body and pushed harder, sure to not lose her leverage on me. If she clenched too hard and didn&#039;t counter it by pushing down on my arms, the strength of her abdominal muscles would force me out. That was fun if we were playfully seeing who won, me pushing in or her pushing out. A lot of fun. I had other ideas.<br /><br />\tI did my best to keep her in place as I slid my other hand up my forearm, collecting much of the juices she&#039;d ejected onto me in order to lube my palm and digits up. It took a bit of work from the right angle but I was able to force my fingertips alongside my forearm, knuckles grinding along her clit as I got my second fist in.<br /><br />\tAnother bellowing squelch echoed from deep within her as the tiny crooks between my arms let more air in. This was quickly pushed right back out as she clenched down with all her might. As expected, had she not been anchoring herself in place to specifically counter that pressure it would have forced me out with ease. Unlike a canine&#039;s knot pocket, Snakes were equally sloppy and loose or tight and controlled all the way through, so there was nothing locking my fists in even as I entwined my fingers into a double fist. <br /><br />\tThe image of my black-fleshed forearms dilating her cloaca and her scales so distended there were patches of pink in between them I could see through was blissful. The teal accents along each glistening ridge and scale was an added bonus. Then, to make it even better, I tried my best to twist my arms so that my elbows were each grinding against her clits. <br /><br />\tUnfortunately the angle was a little weird. She had to wrap her tail around my one bicep to stay in place as I twisted and pushed against her, eager to give her the sort of pleasure I was building inside me. The pleasure inherent to my fantasies that mostly involved disappearing into her. <br /><br />\tTo my delight and surprise, a moment later I felt her chin slithering over my upper thigh, the throbbing sensations of her throat shifting as her tongue flicked. I widened my stance to part my legs, granting access to my plump vulva and winking mare-like clit. <br /><br />\tPerhaps I&#039;m bragging but I was so glad at that moment to have such a deep connection to my snake partner. She knew exactly what I wanted, how to give it to me, and how not to stop too early. <br /><br />\tLeera offered the faintest of nuzzles, her broad snake head grinding back and forth to part my lips and tease my clit with her tongue. This got her soaked all the way to the neck with the liquid of my arousal. She had to twist sideways given the vertical alignment of my vulva but the moment she did she was merciless! She practically struck my cervix like a snake attacking prey, plunging a half meter of her upper body into me as I tensed up and widened her cloaca so far it was gaped wide enough for a third arm to fit.<br /><br />\tMy fists were each as big around as she was, so two of them side by side were distending her to be more gryphon than snake! I could clearly see the distinct shape of my balled up fists shifting inside her, the bulge of my flexing forearm parting each belly scale so that it was nearly see-through. <br /><br />\tMuch as I wanted to keep at it, the sensation of her head and neck inside me threw me over the edge. The texture of her scales was especially potent, doubly so as she started slithering in place, forcing her spine to grind in waves over my anterior wall. You know, that g-spot. <br /><br />\tThis overwhelming pleasure and potential mixed with her body tensing up forced my hands to burst from her cavernous cunt as she slid off me, leaving her gaping and her cloacal flesh unfolded the length of a belly scale or two outside her. <br /><br />\tWith her slither-fucking my pussy I just let myself go to my desires; I grabbed her tail with both soaked and slippery hands, forcing her budding flesh over the curve of my beak. Her vent dilated easily, wrapping around my face and nearly swallowing my whole head. The up-close look of her twin clits throbbing as they threatened to pass by my eyes was the last impetus I needed to let the orgasmic delight wash over me. <br /><br />\tI clenched every muscle in my body, forcing her to pop out in a gush of creamy gryphon fluids while she did the same, forcing my beak and face out of her with a silken torrent of her own arousal.<br /><br />\tThe aftershocks of pleasure shot up and down my spine, making my plumage stand on end and my beak chatter. My ragged breaths cast webs of her fluids off my beak and onto my neck, where her cloaca came to rest and grind all over me, smearing all she had to offer into my plumage. At the same time, she slithered up my belly to get my own fluids off her scales, ensuring I was coated in the scent of both of us. <br /><br />\tLimitless options ahead of me and I just flopped down, all limbs spread out and chest heaving with a hyper-dense snake coiled up on top of me and draped over me. <br /><br />\tThe last thing I remembered seeing before I let fatigue overtake me was the image of Fidget sitting on Rex&#039;s face, riding his purring muzzle like a sybian while doing all she could to suck his cock and fist his ass. Clearly everyone got similar ideas. <br /><br />\tStill the teal fire crackled and the gem-sand popped, keeping the campsite warm overnight.</span>",
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  "title": "Eggs is Friends (Not Food) 01",
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