Sleeping With The Enemy

CODE: M (set in the Manitou Island storyline)

TAKES PLACE DURING (specific story): Scene 1: NA (after Manitou Island, prior to Return To Manitou Island); Scene 2: NA (after Return To Manitou Island, prior to Escape From Manitou Island)

PAIRING: Ocryx/Shadow Water (M/F)

EXPLANATION: Potential spoilers. "Sleeping With The Enemy" was written before the end of Manitou Island, though I believe by then I knew that this was what I wanted to happen in the story. Shadow Water, daughter of Ocryana, had just gone through so much crap by then--beaten and tormented by her mother, forced to fool Justin Dupries (see "Two Of A Kind") as well as the serial) and then believing herself betrayed by him once he found out, and generally just not liked by the Islanders, it was about time she got a break. She wasn't REALLY a bad guy, she just needed somebody to understand her. I thought it would be quite interesting if that someone turned out to be her mother's greatest enemy and rival--Ocryx himself. (Yes, the relations among all of the characters on the Island are kind of...pervy...but don't get me started.) It was pointed out that Ocryx's rescue of the battered Shadow Water near the end of the serial was rather unexpected and hard to explain, but I feel it was in perfect keeping with his character; he just loves women. Especially ones who are part demon themselves. Shadow Water was like the only one besides Red Bird who he hadn't been with yet, so... Plus I also wanted to show that he had his soft side too...and so right when Shadow Water needed a knight in shining armor the most, along came Ocryx. This is what happened afterward...awwwwww!! ^_^

"Emerald Cave" is new as of September '04, and is basically a fluff piece, with Ocryx's and Shadow Water's now-grown daughter, Khiieta, watching on to try to gain some pointers for her own relations with her mate. (See "New Mates" for those two. AWWWWW!)

DISCLAIMERS: A few details might be off, particularly concerning the later parts of "Sleeping With The Enemy," but I think it's mostly accurate. (That baby at the end turns out to be Return To Manitou Island newcomer Khiieta--who looks on in "Emerald Cave.")

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Sleeping With The Enemy

Ocryx remembered when he had carried the battered and bleeding Shadow Water, beaten by her mother, back to his lake to tend to her alone...how she had awakened and cringed away from him, terrified, as he merely licked her wounds clean, coarse tongue running over her bruised skin. He remembered the strange look in her eyes as he finished, the question there that she never worked up the courage to ask. He remembered her slow recovery, how she kept to herself in the corner, too afraid of him to come near; how, one cold night, he awoke somewhat surprised to find her huddled up close to him, shivering and curled in tight on herself. He had placed his wing over her, felt her shivering die away as she slept. He remembered how, in the following days, she had started to become used to his presence, still keeping mostly to herself, yet seemingly not as afraid of him anymore. At one point she finally managed to ask him, voice childlike and confused, "Why have you not killed me yet?"

At which he had scowled and said, a bit too harshly, "Because I am not the way she describes me to be."

Who "she" was was understood...her mother...Ocryana, his former mate. He did not know why he took the daughter of his rival in. He decided not to question his decision or else he would end up regretting it. He became used to her as well, to the point that finding her wandering around in his caves whenever he returned no longer startled him. She never tried to flee anywhere while he was gone; he wouldn't have cared if she did. Or would he? He decided not to think about that very much either. He simply brought her food when he sensed that she was hungry, kept a spot cleaned for her to rest in when she was tired, and enfolded her in the warmth of his wing when she was cold.

He had no other purpose in mind for her, but for her company, he supposed. His rescuing of her had been entirely unplanned; he vowed never to do anything so drastic on a whim ever again. Now he was stuck with the whelp of his enemy to raise.

He ignored her most of the time, except for when he fed her or tended to whatever other slight injuries she incurred while wandering around the caves. Sometimes he had to wonder whether she hurt herself on purpose just to receive his attentions. He didn't much care. As annoying as it was he sometimes welcomed the break in his routine. The place had become so...quiet without even Red Bird near anymore...

And he tried to shove that last thought out of his head as foolish for an Ocryx to think.

Still, she seemed to persist in trying to gain his attention, or approval, or something...once in a while he would return to find that she had tried to prepare some sort of food while he was gone, usually unsuccessfully, but the look on her face whenever she offered it to him...he could barely stand to refuse. And she would always smile, just slightly, as if too timid to do so, when he finished. She no longer slept in her little corner. Every night when he lay down to rest, she joined him, curling up under his wing as if she had been with him forever. It unnerved him at first, her growing trust, but he brushed it off as one of the consequences of having brought her in with him so abruptly.

And then the time came when, having lain down upon his furs, she snuggled close to him again, and began to gently lick at his muzzle--not kiss, but lick, as Ocryana had the few times when he'd been with her. That had been a surprise...yet for some reason he had not pushed her away. Her human tongue ran along the short velvety fur around his mouth and chin, licking his lips, his teeth when he bared them, whether to growl at her to stop or to welcome her, he wasn't certain; but all he knew was that after a while he began to lick her back, feeling her tongue slide against his. His thoughts grew hazy as he assumed that he drifted into sleep with her near him; yet after what seemed to be some time he came to, to find Shadow Water kneeling on all fours upon the furs, him atop her, his hands clenched around her arms and pelvis thrusting hard yet slowly against her, inside her...at first he didn't know whether she had submitted willingly or he had forced her, yet then he heard, above his low grunting, her own soft whimpering, as if she were just a pup, but with her head tilted back and eyes closed, lips quivering. She trembled against him. He had no memory whatsoever of mounting her, yet apparently he had. He had even leaned down to gently score at her nape with his teeth, and instead of crying out in pain, she whimpered more loudly, shaking with obvious pleasure. The feel of him, of her, her smoothness as he slid in and out of her...he could not believe he had no memory of how this had even started, his head had been so clouded with apparent lust for her.

This realization had only made him angry. She was exactly like Ocryana...her mother...using her witching skills to deceive him, to lure him into coupling with her against his wishes. At this he snarled angrily and pulled himself from her abruptly, leaving both of them gasping with sudden pain; he ignored the bewildered look she gave him, ignored her questioning whimper, turning and stalking away from the bed to be in his own corner of the room. His lust was too great, so his hardness would not die away immediately; he sat scowling and agonizing in his head over yet another abrupt decision. Yet he couldn't allow the wench to control him so, the way that her mother had.

Still, she had come to his side, touching his arm, still with that damnable whimper...he'd jerked away from her with a snarl, causing her to cringe back with fear. The way she shook, he could tell it was not all terror...their interrupted coupling had left her unsatisfied as well. He didn't care. At least, he told himself he didn't. It was her problem to deal with...he would have no more part in this. Ocryana had probably set the whole thing up, beating her so he would take pity and bring her back, where she would seduce him, and trick him again as Ocryana herself had...

But still she had persisted, trying to figure out what she had done wrong...she never once spoke aloud to him, only whimpered as a wolf pup would do. At first it annoyed him no end, and he continued to snap at her when she got too close...but even the way that she approached him, keeping her head low, sniffing the air to gauge his reactions, once even gently nudging at his arm with her nose...everything about her said wolf. He had no idea what to think. Either Ocryana had raised her this way, to believe that she was part wolf as the Ocryxes were, or she had picked it up herself from watching her mother. Whichever it was...for some strange reason he found it compelling...and not only compelling, but strangely erotic as well.

He had tried to keep his mind from it...It's merely another one of her lowly tricks...but as always, he could not...not when the promise of so much pleasure was involved...Shadow Water was young and nubile, darkly exotic, her strange slanted eyes reminding him of his own son, Tal Natha, but her body both slender and fitted with just the right curves, to fit against him perfectly...he suddenly remembered that, like the other half-Ocryx children, she had the ability to change her form to one more like his own...and the moment he thought this, it was as if she read his thoughts, for she threw back her head and began to shimmer and change, until a slender, tawny-furred Ocryx stood before him, slanted eyes seeming to ask, Is this acceptable?, and he couldn't seem to get images of mating with Ocryana out of his mind. Only Shadow Water kept taking her place beneath him in the visions. And it was as if the desire in him was finally too great to tame...for once more his mind grew hazy, until he felt an immeasurable ecstasy surging through him, and came to again to discover that again he had mounted her, and pushed within her hard, hard, again, again, his eyes scouring her tawny back and slender neck, taking in her pink tongue lolling over her small white teeth, her pointed ears and golden wings flaring. He had seized her nape again, this time with more ease, tugging at the fur with an animal growl, hearing her puppyish whine in response, the sound driving bolts of flame up within him. It had been so long since he had been with one of his own kind, that he determined to make the most of it...

She had not complained as they made love for the first time, climaxing in unison and collapsing panting upon the floor...had not complained when he pressed her to the floor to take her again...had not complained when he bent to lick at her juices, tongue trailing inside her--she had even taken his shaft in her own mouth, tongue swirling, moaning softly...had not complained when he lifted and brought her over to his stone bench to take her standing from behind, furry hips pumping slowly, guttural growl of pleasure rising in his throat, hands roaming her body...had not complained when he turned her around, mouth seeking out her teats to suckle at them, her breath gasping in her throat as her tongue ran along his ear...had not complained as he took her standing again, from in front...had not complained as he brought her back to their bed of furs and buried her in it beneath his own body, grunting heatedly as he heaved himself at her, tempo much more rapid than before...had not even complained as, panting and dripping with exhaustion, still he had sat upon his haunches, drawing her upon him, her own thighs pressed to his, thrusting upwards into her, biting at her shoulder. On their climax Shadow Water, gasping for breath, had shimmered again, shifting, changing back into her true self, and collapsed against him. They had coupled six times, not counting their mouthing of each other...he remembered the time when he and Ocryana had conceived Tal Natha, he had taken her a total of seven times...and this realization fueled him on, so that he pushed her into the furs and plunged into her a seventh time, puffing rapidly; and then, as if merely to spite Ocryana for their time together, he brought his exhausted mate to her feet, pressed her to the wall, hands caressing her now smooth body, cupping her full round soft breasts, hips grinding against her, buttocks contracting as he pushed. She moaned huskily--he was larger inside her now that her form had changed--yet she tolerated him. For some reason, this eighth time together, he found the most pleasurable, panting hard as he moved, relishing her feel, claws and teeth scoring her salty skin; he felt as if he were on fire. She had whimpered one last time, loudly, as he came, bringing her own climax; his fluids filled her for the eighth and final time that night, and he had to carry her back to their shared bed. Once there he had licked the tears of exhaustion from her face, allowed her to put her arms around his neck and embrace him close; they had slept together, like that, bodies pressed tight, and for some reason he had had no regrets.

He remembered the days afterwards, their getting to know one another more, even without speech; they rarely spoke to each other, rarely even formed coherent thoughts for each other. Instead they seemed to rely on something deeper than silent communication. She seemed to know what he wished for, and he knew what she wanted as well. He remembered how they served each other in silence, his smoldering stares, her shy yet knowing smiles. He remembered their nights...and sometimes days...spent in each other's embrace, sometimes merely holding one another for comfort, other times coupling frenziedly with mad animal cries. He remembered how often he would awaken from a pleasurable dream to find himself already hard, and would roll her over to take her as she still slept (she would invariably awaken once he was within her, of course), or how she herself would whimper in the throes of some arousing dream, so he would lean down to lick her juices from her, and often they would end up pleasuring each other with their mouths. Ocryana had never done such a thing...he found it incredibly exciting, to feel her smooth tongue swirling around him...

Inevitably the day came when she discovered, and told him, that she was carrying his pup...he should have known it would be only a matter of time, considering how many times they had been together, and how fruitful his encounters with other women had been, if Tal Natha, X, Silver Eagle Feather, Red Bird, Justin Dupries, and others were any indication...still, he was angered to hear it from her, and only scowled and stormed away, leaving her stunned and with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. He wouldn't have minded so much if she hadn't been half his own kind...the child then would have been only half Ocryx, and would not have been a problem. However...her child, by him, would be three-quarters Ocryx...and could only be a threat to him in the future, should it follow its grandmother's alignment. And so he had not treated her kindly on hearing this news; instead he went to sulk inside his cave, damning himself for ever having taken pleasure with her.

Later in the day, after searching for her for some time, he had come upon Shadow Water seated beside a stream, tears streaming down her otherwise set face, grimly yet determinedly striking her belly with her balled fists, attempting to cause the child to miscarry. He had bellowed at her in fury, causing her to cringe back sobbing; then he had picked her up and carried her back to the lake and the caves. She had felt as light as feathers in his arms, her head leaning against his shoulder, the tears drying on her face, her eyes dull. She had been bleeding, and so he feared for their pup...still, he said nothing as he licked the blood away from her legs, and the salt from her face; when she reached out for him with a whimper he did not push her away, even though she had started all of his troubles. She had buried her face in his fur, sobbing again, slender body shaking against his, and he had held her close without a word. That night they had made love again, two times; once with her in her own form, as they knelt upright upon the furs, their hips rotating slowly, so slowly, her head falling back and her neck arching in ecstasy...the other time with her in her Ocryx form, the two of them leaning over his stone bench, his hands lifting her hips up slightly with each slow push, squeezing into her skin, parting her supple buttocks, guttural groan in his throat...and after all of this they had pleasured each other once more with their mouths, Shadow Water's mouth closing around his penis, hard and long, Ocryx's tongue flicking over her anus and inside her, muzzle poking slightly as their juices collected in each other's mouth. He could not believe the sensual satisfaction he gained from her.

He remembered her slowly swelling belly in the months to come, and many apprehensive looks cast at each other; during these days their couplings were less frequent, though most certainly not nonexistent. He could not go for very long without her. She seemed to...complete him in a way that neither Ocryana nor Red Bird had ever seemed able to do. He was free to sate his lust any time he wished, and she never refused him, no matter what he decided to do...he remembered how, when she was overdue to birth their child, still he took her, grunting with frustration as he refused to push within her completely in her advanced state, how she had mouthed him afterwards in the most stimulating way, so that he came in her throat with a satisfied sigh. And then he had mouthed her. Not only to give her the much-needed pleasure...as she came, so too again did he, his seed spraying the floor...

He remembered the pain that had struck her, without warning, how he'd suddenly realized that he had no idea what to do; how he'd sought out Silver Eagle Feather's assistance, and how asking her to accompany him back to the lake had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. He hadn't wished to even face her, knowing that the circumstances of Shadow Water's troubles were much the same as those that he had inflicted on his own daughter when in a moment of uncontrolled lust he had gotten her with child. Still, she had borne X successfully...and he didn't wish to see his next pup die. He told himself he did it for Shadow Water and not for his child. There was the chance that she might die, as well.

Silver Eagle Feather had come with barely a question, to his great relief, and had assisted the poor Shadow Water, who for hours howled and screamed in agony, Ocryx flattening his ears in a futile attempt to block out the piteous sounds, pacing around his caves so he didn't have to see it, yet knowing that his young mate was in trouble. His daughter calmly informed him, on looking in, that the baby was not going to come easily. There could be consequences. This had sent him wandering his caves again, attempting to put hideous thoughts out of his mind. And so he had not been there at the moment that he heard a first weak, then stronger cry fill the caverns, the cry of a newborn pup--his newborn pup--and he had raced back to see it for himself.

Silver Eagle Feather had held up a small, wet, squirming Ocryx, its creamy fur stained dark with blood and juices, tiny mouth whimpering in protest. "A daughter," she'd said, simply, and that was all. He had not needed to hear anything else. With a swift step forward he was licking the pup, cleaning away the blood and drying its fur, licking the scum from its eyes and nose until it cried so loudly that she handed it over to its rightful mother.

Shadow Water had been very weak and exhausted, verging on sick. He remembered how Silver Eagle Feather had stayed for a week or two to care for her, making her meals, keeping her clean, nourishing the baby when her mother was too ill to do so. All the while Ocryx hovered around the edges, watching everything warily, taking it all in. When his mate had finally begun to recover her health he began to come out more to sniff at her and at the newborn pup, making certain that they were both healthy; it was then that his daughter appeared to understand that she was no longer needed, and left without complaint. He was grateful for her silence. He couldn't deal with thanking her for her services, not now.

It was he who tended to his ailing mate now, feeding her to make her stronger, bringing her their pup to care for when she was well enough. She crooned low soft wolfsongs to her when she slept. Ocryx watched them always, not certain why he felt such a need to keep an eye on them, but feeling the need to do it anyway. He had never watched so closely over any of his children before. Perhaps that itself was why...

Lastly he remembered, he remembered how Shadow Water came to rest with him again, cradling their pup between them in the night; how once she had finally regained all her strength and health, some nights while their child slept nearby they would spend the time locked in each other's embrace, bodies meeting, coupling for the sheer pleasure of being with each other once again. He remembered all of this, and the memory calmed his spirit.

Emerald Cave

Shadows filled most of the caves far beneath the lake, throwing almost everything into darkness. The occasional crystals and torches kept a few of the caverns lit, however, enough to traverse the place without running into any accidents. One could easily wander the cave system for days without crossing the same place twice. There were some who said that the demon of the lake himself did not even know where all of the tunnels led; it wasn't known whether this was true or not, though it wouldn't have been too difficult to believe.

Ocryx had never had much reason to widely explore the cave system, himself, content to stay to his own suite of caverns as suited him. Khiieta was the one who explored, curious to know what lay within every crevice of the place; so far her wanderings had always been rewarded by various interesting finds. She named each new cave in her head, based on how they looked or what they made her think of--the Crystal Cave, the Red Cave, the Toothed Cave--and her excellent memory easily kept track of where each one lay. Her favorite so far was one which she had named the Emerald Cave, for its floor was almost entirely obscured by a small pool of brilliant green water, lit from above by one of the various glowing crystals. Discovering this little cavern had been a joy, and she'd spent the better part of a day splashing around in the water and wishing that her mate X'aaru could be there. Although the two of them had their own cave, she occasionally liked to return to the lake of her parents, but X'aaru was not welcome there. She knew better than to ask her father for permission for him to come; though Ocryx was X'aaru's father as well, he did not seem to like the idea of a male Ocryx entering the lake. Her mother, Shadow Water, had attempted to explain it to her once, but it had not made much sense to Khiieta. She failed to understand why her father should be so afraid of his own son. Still, she had had to sport in the water by herself, though she made plans to invite X'aaru to some spring or other on the Island surface, once she returned.

She wandered the cave system today, poking about at some of the trails she had already walked, making certain that she hadn't overlooked anything. It was good to know all of the secret corners of this place. After some pacing and sniffing she realized that the Emerald Cave could not be too far away, and this thought made her ears prick up. She picked up her pace in anticipation of reaching her favorite spot, when a noise from further within the cave system, off to her left, made her pause and then melt back into the shadows.

She peered out of the dimness and saw two shapes making their way in the same direction that she had been going in, and she blinked on recognizing her parents. Her mother, Shadow Water, walked ahead, her hand on Ocryx's horn; she would skip along a few paces, then turn to him and touch his face, then turn and skip forward again. They were far away, but Khiieta could hear her giggling, and this puzzled her, especially judging by the way in which the demon stalked along, his ears and tail flicking and his gait stiff. He seemed angry or displeased, but still Shadow Water skipped ahead of him, touching his head and laughing. She stopped after a moment and faced him again, taking his head in her hands and leaning toward him so their noses almost touched. Khiieta held her breath when she spoke in a murmur.

"It's just ahead. I found it just the other day. I know that you'll like it there."

Khiieta heard her father snort, then they started walking along again. As they vanished from sight around a corner Khiieta's ears flicked and she hurried to follow them, curious as to what they were doing. It was rare to see them leave the main part of the cave system, but her mother seemed to have something in mind.

She was careful to slow down and creep close to the ground as she neared the corner they had rounded, and peeked around it. They had gained some distance on her but she could still see them ahead. A lit cave entrance silhouetted them, and she started when she recognized it.

Emerald Cave! Is that where they're going--?

She held her breath again when her mother leaned forward and put her face to her father's, and they appeared to briefly kiss each other. Then she stood up and stepped toward the cave, taking hold of his horns and playfully pulling him forward with her.

"Right through here," she cajoled, and went inside the cave. Ocryx's tail flicked again and he snorted, climbing in after her. As he stepped over the threshold Khiieta's eyes grew. The sheath between his legs was thick and swollen and his shaft extended from it at its full length, glistening and hard. The two of them disappeared into the cave, and Khiieta finally understood. Her father hadn't been angry at all; she'd seen him act the exact same way whenever he wished to mate with her mother. No wonder they were acting so oddly; they must have just discovered the little cave themselves, and had an idea much similar to the one that Khiieta had had in mind for X'aaru and herself.

Her ears pricked again. She could hear her mother laughing inside, and suddenly had the wish to see what was happening. Her parents' coupling had always intrigued her, not for any sensual reason, but because she found that it was a good way to gain ideas for her times spent with X'aaru. She wouldn't have had any idea how to even first approach her mate if she hadn't observed her parents doing the same thing. So far X'aaru had enjoyed everything she'd shown him, but she hadn't had the chance to observe her parents in quite a while now. What if they knew some other techniques that she hadn't learned yet? Her curiosity burning, she loped toward the cave as silently as she could, then ducked aside. It would do no good to simply peer in the main entrance to the little cavern; what if they saw her? She'd seen several smaller holes in the walls before; perhaps some tunnel led up to them, where she could watch unnoticed.

She sniffed about for a short while and found one such tunnel, but it was too small for her. A little more searching revealed a second tunnel some distance from the first, and she crawled inside. It was a tight fit, but if she kept her wings pressed to her back, she could make it. A little light ahead showed her that it indeed overlooked the Emerald Cave, and she wriggled a bit more quickly when she heard splashing and more laughter from her mother. Her father snorted loudly, and then her mother's laughter changed to murmuring as she assumed that they must be kissing again; she paused as her squirming made some amount of noise, and she didn't want to alert them to her presence. She waited until the splashing began again, though no laughter joined it this time. She strained her ears as hard as she could, until she could hear her mother's whispering instead, her voice thick and husky.

"Oh...oh...oh yes...oh, my mate...yes...oh yes...oh, yes...ah..."

Khiieta's ears flared. The rhythmic nature of the splashing should have warned her that they were already mating, yet somehow she had missed it. She tried crawling forward again, yet her horn chose that moment to lodge in a bit of outcropping rock, making her stick. She started wriggling her head in dismay, trying not to make too much noise, though by now her parents seemed so preoccupied that she didn't think they would notice her anyway. The splashing had grown louder and her mother's voice had risen as she assumed that their pleasure grew, and still she had not even reached them yet!

"Oh...oh, Ocryx...oh, my mate...oh yes...oh yes...oh, please...oh, yes, ah...oh yes..."

Khiieta finally managed to break her horn free just as a low grunting noise filled the cave. The end of the tunnel was tighter than the rest had been, and she had to be even more careful not to make too much noise as she crept. The little window neared above her and she at last very carefully pulled herself toward it. Her mother's moans still came, interspersed with her father's grunting and the water's splashing, and the acrid scent of his musk made her fur prickle. She inched her nose forward bit by bit, until she could finally peer down at the scene below.

Just as she had assumed--and as the noises had long before made obvious--her parents had discovered the cave on their own, and her mother had apparently suggested it as an interesting spot for a diversion. Shadow Water knelt in the shallow green water, her arms wrapped around Ocryx's and the back of her head pressed to his breast. Her legs splayed wide and the demon hunched over her, his tail lashing across the water and making the splashing noises as his hips thrust quickly, his thighs tightening and loosening. They faced Khiieta's direction so she could see the looks on their faces, the ecstatic, close-eyed look of her mother, the lustful, determined look of her father. She knew that they had enjoyed each other many times, yet it never seemed as if they would tire of each other. She hoped that she and X'aaru could last as long.

Shadow Water ran her hand up and down Ocryx's arm and her lips parted as she continued gasping and moaning aloud. "Oh...oh my mate...did I...did I not tell you...we would enjoy it here...? The water...I know how the water...makes you feel...oh..."

The demon snorted and thrust. His teeth were bared. I would prefer it much more, if you were to dispose of this silly thing--! And he lifted one hand to run a claw along the sleeve of her dress, slicing it open. Shadow Water shivered and laughed breathlessly.

"I...I cannot remove it, now...yet I know you can..."

This seemed to be all the permission the demon needed. He pushed himself upright, making her gasp--she was much smaller than he was--and with one quick motion sliced open the back of her dress, from neck to waist, where it had been bunched up around her hips. Another couple of cuts and it fell from her in pieces, sinking into the water. Khiieta's nose quivered on seeing her mother naked now, her bared breasts heaving as the two of them moved, her nipples hard. Ocryx lowered himself again and kept one hand raised to squeeze one of the orbs of flesh, his claws lightly digging into the skin; Shadow Water shivered again and tossed back her head so he licked at her neck.

Would that you still had milk in these, so that I could suck them...

"You may...pretend they are still full...and suck all that you desire..."

He snorted loudly, his thrusts increasing. If I could be certain they would all be female--I would get you with pup again, and again, and again, simply to have the chance to suck the milk from your teats!

Shadow Water grasped his arm, her thighs trembling and her eyes still closed in rapture. "Even if...even if it were a son...I'd like nothing more...nothing more than to give you...pup after pup after pup...whole litters of them...just to make you happy..." She jerked and trembled, her mouth going wide. "Oh, my mate!"

Her words seemed to have had an effect on him, as he started pushing faster, a growl rising in his throat. Khiieta still watched though her interest waned. What they did right now was nothing she had never seen before, though what they spoke of intrigued her. Although it was still quite early along, she already carried X'aaru's pup in her belly, and daily she checked herself in vain for any changes. She had not noticed any; her mate had told her excitedly that she had grown a little bit plumper, though she could not be certain that he didn't say this merely to make her happy. But her parents' talk interested her. She and X'aaru had spoken often of the family that they would start, but so far they had really talked of only the one pup they knew she was to bear. In her time living in the caves she had grown to learn that the lake manitous, potent creatures that they were, placed much emphasis on siring as many calves as they could, and she had more than once heard the great manitou of the lake, Mitchi Manitou, boasting of his own skills; she had even watched him couple once, and had heard his undisguised thoughts of siring endless broods of young manitous. Something about the talk seemed to inflame him, and it appeared to be no different with her parents. As they rocked and splashed she wondered if such talk would work upon X'aaru. The thought of having a large family was an appealing one...

Her thoughts dissipated at the noise now created by her parents below, the two of them grunting and crying out in unison as they neared climax. Her father pushed so hard now that he held Shadow Water by the shoulders to keep her in place, and he bared his teeth as he thrust, growling savagely. The action probably would have hurt any other human, but Khiieta knew that her mother was only half human, and used to the demon's attentions, so she merely threw her head back and moaned aloud, trembling with pleasure. Ocryx finally bucked against her with a loud snort and his hips quivered, the two of them freezing in place. Khiieta could see his thick shaft still impaling her from beneath, juices and water trickling down her thighs as he loosed his seed. After a moment or two they let out their breath and sank into the water, though he made certain to pull himself out of her and move to her side, so he would not crush her. She allowed him to draw her down to himself as he lay upon his back in the water, and she lay atop him, her leg tossed across his belly and her breasts pressed to his own. She murmured and giggled, tracing her fingers through his fur.

Khiieta sighed to herself and rested her head against the ledge. So far she had yet to learn anything new, though it was rare that her parents satisfied themselves with merely one coupling. So she decided to wait.

For a while Shadow Water let Ocryx mouth her breasts, and Khiieta rather wished that she could offer X'aaru something like that. She had her own teats, it was true, but they were not round and smooth like her mother's were. She wished that she knew how to shift into human shape, if it were even possible; what would her mate think of taking her in that form? He had never so much as hinted that he wished her to change in the least, yet still she wished that she could show him something different and exciting. It was not as if he was bored of her, but she loved to surprise him.

She lay in the tunnel and boredly watched as her mother shifted into demon form, to better suit her father, Shadow Water crouching in the water again as Ocryx clambered atop her and mounted her from behind. This was of course nothing new either, and she even yawned as they quickly moved, her father panting and heaving himself heavily at her mother, who spread her wings and whined. He bit her nape as he did so and Khiieta reminded herself to remind X'aaru that she liked this gesture, herself; although he'd done it before, he often seemed reluctant to do it lest he hurt her, though the action couldn't easily hurt an Ocryx. The last time he'd done it she'd felt such an intense pleasure that she had trembled all over, panting with desire; the feel of her mate's teeth upon her neck as he pushed into her drove her wild. She loved X'aaru and his shy, peaceful nature, yet even so, the few times he became aggressive with her during their coupling just drove her into even greater paroxysms of lust. She wondered about how to best tell him this so he would actually believe her.

Her father barked and her mother whimpered loudly, alerting her to the consummation of their second mating, though she didn't look down to witness it. Her thoughts were focused so heavily on X'aaru now that she felt a stirring herself, and sighed just thinking about him. She would have done anything to make him happy, if she only knew what.

Her curiosity was aroused when she saw her mother wading toward the edge of the pool, where the wall sloped down into the water, forming a slight incline. Ocryx followed her closely, and she expected her mother to press herself to the rock and let him take her again, this time upon solid ground. In fact, as Shadow Water pulled herself up the slope, her father caught up with her and pulled himself over her, covering her body with his and grunting heatedly as he pushed his hips at her own several times. Khiieta could tell, however, from the lowered position of her mother's tail that he had not entered her; it was only when Shadow Water paused to allow her mate to continue with his odd motions that she realized that he was rubbing his sheath against her backside, his fur prickling and his own tail rising as he aroused himself. But for her mother's tail being down, it would have looked just as if they were mating with how Ocryx's legs quivered stiff at her sides, his head held back and his hips quivering. His tail thrashed back and forth and his grunts grew in intensity until he snorted loudly and pushed himself up, rising onto his haunches. Shadow Water took this chance to roll herself over onto her back, smiling up at him, and Khiieta's view was such that she briefly caught sight of her mother's hand stroking against her father's sheath, from which his penis now rose, thick and hard. His tongue lolled over his teeth as he panted, staring down at her, and he drew his claws along her teats. Shadow Water's smile grew and she shifted to spread her thighs, her feet disappearing into the water and her claws digging into the rock beside her. Her pink opening bared, Ocryx snorted again, his tongue running across his teeth, and swung his leg over hers.

Khiieta blinked now and raised her head, ears pricking forward. Her father was so eager for her mother's attentions that by now he had already thrust himself fully inside her, Shadow Water's head falling back with a whimper of ecstasy. Just as before his hips started moving, even more quickly than before, the demon grunting heavily with each quick thrust and Shadow Water's body writhing beneath him. He dropped his head and nuzzled through her fur until he found her nipple, then he started suckling at her noisily, the sounds filling the cavern along with his snorting and grunting and Shadow Water's whining and splashing. It wasn't any of this that caught Khiieta's interest, though. What surprised her was how they mated. She had never seen her father couple with her mother as she lay upon her back before.

This did not mean that they'd never done it, only that she had never witnessed it. Khiieta watched them in growing interest. Although it was most common for male demons to take their mates crouching from behind, it was by no means the only way to do it--she had seen them lean against the cave walls pressed to each other, she had seen her mother crouch with her hindquarters raised in the air as her father plowed at her standing, she had seen them turn themselves about and lick at each other's wetness, she had even seen her mother, in human form, cling to her father's waist, her legs wrapped around him and her face buried against his breast, as he sat back and clutched her buttocks and impaled her. Yet she had never seen him take her from in front when she was in demon form before. It was so unusual that it captured her attention immediately, and held it, and she found her thoughts racing as she thought of X'aaru and what he might think of the activity.

Her mother whimpered aloud again--"Oh...oh...oh, my mate...yes...please...oh, please...please...fill me...oh please...yes...oh, please, yes..."

Only in Khiieta's mind, the voice changed into her own, higher pitched and whimpering in rapture, and the hoarse grunts of her father shifted into X'aaru's softer noises of desire, and instead of her father and mother preoccupied on the cave floor below she now saw herself lying upon her back, legs spread wide, X'aaru heaving himself at her as his tail swished from side to side, his tongue running over her teats. He had complained to her once before of how he wished that he could mouth them as they made love--now, he could do exactly that. She imagined his sleek shaft plunging into her as she cried out loud and clawed the earthen floor of the cave they shared--and then she envisioned him running one clawed hand over her belly, round and swollen with pups, and this was the image that sealed it. Khiieta jerked and suppressed a whimper, squirming her legs uncomfortably in the narrow tunnel. Her parents seemed nowhere near release, despite the loud desperation of the sounds that they let out, but Khiieta was suddenly filled with a heated longing for her own mate, and crouching in this tunnel watching them wasn't going to help her any. As quietly as she could, she backed her way out, being careful not to catch her horn on the rock this time.

As soon as she descended to the cave floor again she paused just long enough to press one hand to her belly. Still flat. She sighed in disappointment. But in only a few months, it should be rounder. And it did not matter that it was not fat with pups yet. It would be, soon enough, and in the meantime she could still show X'aaru what she had learned. He could still take away the sharp bite of pain inside her...and his claws running over her belly, and the pleasured noises that he would let out, could be proof enough for now that soon they would not be the only two dwelling in the cave.

Her breath quickening, and a slickness forming between her legs, Khiieta turned and ambled from the cave as quickly as she dared, her tail flicking in anticipation of her pleasurable greeting of her mate.

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This item is not looking for critique. It was written solely for entertainment's sake. Although a scene from a possibly longer story, it is complete in itself and unless otherwise stated there is not going to be any more of it written. Additional unrelated SCENES may be written, but single scenes themselves are complete as they are. So please do not expect more. If you are interested in reading the series which INSPIRED the scene, just look elsewhere in my portfolio and you should find something. (Use the "story codes" given in the scene headers. For example, "MI" = "Manitou Island" series.)

I am not looking for critique on grammar, spelling, style, sentence structure, flow, or the mechanics of writing. What I AM interested in is commentary on such things as characterization, plot, symbolism, theme, etc.--the deeper aspects of the story. I like to know if a scene is believable, if the characters are interesting, what you thought of how they interacted, if the writing evoked any emotions, things such as that.

Feel free to criticize, but just keep in mind that I'm working on more important projects and shared this just for fun and/or to illustrate character interactions, so I don't plan to revise it any time soon. Comments on the characters, theme, etc. are more than welcome.