The Scent of Soil - IV

Story by Bjorn on SoFurry

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#4 of The Scent of Soil (Novella)


The shrill hysteria of the phone rang through the house. The mare rolled over, facing the light; and blinked sleep from bleary eyes. Eventually John picked up the receiver, and she heard his soft voice floating through the house.

She sat up, stretching, feeling energised, and looked down at the sleeping wolf. He was silent, eyes closed heavily, tired from the previous night.

Dressing slowly, calmly; she smiled at the tranquil grey skies beyond the window, the trees swaying gently with a soothing murmur. She heard the click of the phone laid down.

The bull walked into the hallway, evidently not long woken himself, some of his cropped hair still ruffled and out of place. He wore a neutral expression and his lips twisted slightly as he saw Scarlet.

"That was the office. No one's been down to the Dredwich site since the storm started, they want someone to go and take a look. Do you want me to?" Scarlet frowned a little and then shook her head.

"No, no, I'll go; don't want to be seen to be neglecting things. You make some breakfast and stay with Tom." She smiled. The bull gave her a bemused look, and paused to kiss her on the lips as she walked for the door.

She paused by the mirror for a moment, washing in the sink by the door, smoothing the hair covering her face, before walking out with a small smile and a wave. Outside, the calm leaden skies and soft call of the wind invigorated her.

For a few minutes she sat on the damp stone bench beside the porch, watching the waving of the trees, and sifting her memories from the night before. Though she had hidden it from John as best she could, she was concerned.

She could remember that feeling of openness, but the sensations of touching the minds of the two males was skewed, as if viewed through water in her mind's eye.

She cursed quietly, bunching her emotion inside of her, unwilling to face the bizarre events surfacing like bubbles from the silt of her thoughts.

What had happened to her over the past days? All of her memories were jumbled, only the elation of coupling with the others was sharp, like a crystal. The storm winds blew in her head, softly, rustling her train of thought like leaves in a sighing breeze.

Suddenly she stood up and walked purposefully towards the Shogun, eager to lose herself in the normality of a damage assessment; to let the technicality of her work obscure the confusion in her head, and suppress the accursed, ever-present heat inside her.

She fired the engine and drove out, fingers seeking the radio. She flicked on a CD, a lone guitar playing gently. The quiet calm of the instrument clashed with the still-disturbed countryside outside her window.

After several miles of grey, misty fields littered with debris, soaked to the bones of the hills, it began to rain, a firm rush of droplets caressing the vehicle with a persistent patter.

It was a long drive, few cars besides her own frequented the road, most choosing to shelter from the fury of the skies. The rain became hail for a few minutes, like hornets buzzing around her; before resting once more.

Eventually, the CD came to a finish, and the blessed oblivion which had covered her head faded as the sounds of the storm once more filled her skull.

She shook herself as tears came unbidden to her eyes for a moment, her insides wracked with confusion. Had she really been so bold as to bring someone else into this? Tom had barely been a friend, but she had so quickly invited him back to her home.

For a moment an image of that cold island of cloud, the clarity of the ice creeping upon her hooves, broke over her and she gasped, before it slipped away once more, into the gloom.

She sought the image again, but it was like holding water in cupped hands, and she was forced to pull over, the wind buffeting her truck, as she pressed her head to the steering wheel and thought desperately.

‘Why do you push me?' The voice was a whisper of rustling leaves, and she shivered. ‘Get out of my head...' Her thoughts were decidedly half-hearted, the enamouring qualities of that cold wind overcoming her concern.

‘Why, little one?' More intensity this time. Another shudder. ‘You accepted me. You haven't the right. I will convince you only once. Do not betray my trust again.'

With a flash, she felt that clarity once more. Her vision was outside of the truck, clear of the mist and the rain. She felt the pulse of the hill, ponderous, and the rapid thudding of her own heart.

That crystal clear vision vanished again, and she gasped as she returned to her eyes. She pulled her head back, and for the first time felt that glowing of her eyes, as the thunder inevitably rolled overhead. She nodded slowly, and started the engine.

After some hours, the day hit its peak of light, a washed out grey covering every surface as the rain continued to swish around the car. It took most of this time for Scarlet to make sense of her head yet again.

The truck wound its way up the wide access track and the large quarry loomed out of the sheets of rain. As the tall hillsides rose around her, she stopped the truck close to the entrance building, the gates to the main yard being closed and chained.

The rain fell only gently now as she paced across the slick gravel and opened the door of the prefab shed that formed the site entrance. She shook wet from her hair and walked in slowly. The voice of a bitch shook her from her dazed state.

"Oh, hello, miss!" She looked up, and blinked, losing that sense of inner thunder. She smiled, coughing and shaking her head slightly, pulling herself back to her senses.

"Hello, I was told there was nobody on site today?" The collie behind the desk, very much typical of the residents of the area in appearance, stood up, walking around the desk to shake Scarlet's hand. They shook.

"I only came up half an hour ago miss. I couldn't really get through until today; the weather's been just awful." Scarlet nodded and gestured to the far door.

"OK then, thanks, I'm going to go and check on things, have you been out?" The collie shook her head.

"No, I've just been looking over the orders, but the phone line damage has made things tricky. Sorry." The mare shook her head dismissively, smiled, and walked out into the quarry yard.

She whistled softly, forgetting the strange experiences of the drive for a moment. The yard had been battered by the winds. One of the JCB's, parked on a flattened stone mound, had been caught as the mound collapsed with the rain, and was up to its wheel arches in rubble.

Detritus was scattered over the ground, bits of roof tile, buckets and tools. She walked forwards, tutting, making a mental checklist and thinking of costs. She surveyed for half an hour or so, then retrieved a slightly damp notepad from one of the small office sheds, and began to jot down possible values.

As she paced, engrossed in the considerable damage to the yard, the rain thickened a little, and the wind, so strong on that exposed hill, whistled through the holes in the roofs stripped by the storm.

Sam walked out of the office, frowning at the gently falling rain. She wasn't a fan of bad weather, preferring dry, overcast skies. She took a cigarette from its box, and cupped it with her hand, lighting it as she paced quickly to the nearest shed. She stepped inside and perched on a low wall, inhaling gently, watching the rain fall through a grubby window pane.

She continued to gaze, a little at a loss as to what to do. The calls had been checked, sorted, and double-sorted in boredom, and the boss had arrived to check out the damage; a job she'd thought she would have to do herself. She sighed, and closed her eyes, leaning back against a plywood board.

Outside, Scarlet continued her assessment, uncaring about her now soaked clothes, or the slight chill. She was frowning, worried about the extent of the damages. The figure she had come to was in the vicinity of maybe a hundred thousand. Not money they had to spare at all.

At best, she could consider that they might leave the covered JCB without repairs and make do without it for a season, till some new turnover flowed in. She sat, thinking hard, on a pile of stones, and watched the rain sweeping over the lowland below the yard.

The events of the storm soon pushed their way back into her head, and while they should have added to her worries, they seemed to soothe them, as she found that wind in her head again. She kicked her hooves, thinking of the two males back at the house with a wistful smile.

She was suddenly filled with the urge to get out of the quarry, and head home, the assessment had proved depressing, she was hungry, and eager to follow up on the previous night. She stood slowly, the wind still stronger in her head than out.

"Feeling melancholy?" The voice seemed to come from inside her head and, for a moment, in her current relative lucidity, Scarlet thought she was having a repeat of the already hazy event in the truck on her journey. She heard a scuffle of claws on stone, and spun around.

Crouching upon a rock above her; atop the dug-out walls of the yard, perched a lizard. Its scales were a grey like they stone it rested on, and though Scarlet had little experience with reptiles, it was obviously female.

The lizard jumped down and stood up, long tail tracing the wet ground. Around her belly, thighs and on her shoulders were patches of pale, almost white scaling. Her head was cocked, she stood askance, and her face was inquisitive. Noticeably, she wore no clothes. She spoke again in a sibilant, half-hiss.

"You're an interesting one, horse. What's your name?" Scarlet frowned, and crossed her arms, the lizard was one of the wild creatures that were fairly common in the hills, she guessed.

"Are you really going to ask me my name without explaining why you've been watching me?" Scarlet's voice was terse, irritated at the intrusion. The strange, almost archaic nature of the reptile irked her.

The grey lizard giggled, and grinned, revealing razor teeth.

"You're too obvious to act coy. My name is not one you would find useful, but call me Roxanne. You're a storm child." She spoke the words as a child might accuse a playmate of some minor offence.

Scarlet was taken aback, and clacked her jaw.

"What the hell does that mean?" She played angry, but in reality the lizard's words had struck a tender chord with her. She wondered if perhaps the reptile could hear the wind in her head. Roxanne twisted her lips.

"I told you not to play a fool, mare. I refuse to believe you have not realised something is different, when you smell like you do." The mare genuinely was angry at that, and glared at the lizard. "Don't be foolish, I do not mean you are unclean." The reptile stepped slightly closer, and her nostrils flared.

"You smell of... wet grass after rain. The scent of soil." Abruptly, before Scarlet could speak, she walked past her, heading for a shed. "If you want more, then follow me." The reptile was almost camouflaged against the wet rock.

Scarlet hurried after her, starting to speak but biting her lip, irritated but intrigued. Curiosity poked at her skull, overcoming the storm in her mind for a time.

Sam woke gently, and watched the rain fall. She sat up with a start; a figure was pacing through the yard, hard to see through the weather, low cloud having sunk over the quarry while she slept. She peered closer, wiping grime from the pane.

Now she was sure â€" someone stepped out of sight, into the largest shed, that housed the makeshift garage. And behind her walked Scarlet... She stepped out into the rain as they entered the shed, a born busybody.

Scarlet pulled the shed door closed with a rattle and a clang, and looked at the lizard, who sat calmly on a tool crate.

"You damn well shouldn't be in here." She'd left the shed open, thinking she might return, and wished she'd locked it somehow. Roxanne was too nonchalant, too slick, and she wished she had made her fumble. The lizard smiled and wrapped her tail around a beam.

"Well, perhaps you would have done well to lock the door. Now, drop your mask or I will leave." The mare sat on a crate opposite the lizard, and tried to be peaceful. She breathed deeply, and looked at Roxanne.

"Ok then, talk to me. What's happened to me, who are you, and how could you tell?" Her voice was tight; it felt odd to talk so openly about what still seemed ridiculous, her conscious refusing to give up its conception of normality.

The lizard still smiled. "You have been touched by the storm, and willingly held it, even if you can't remember doing so. I am an interested individual, and anyone with a sense of how nature works could have seen what you were in an instant. I cannot speak clearer than that."

Scarlet couldn't shake a feeling that the reptile was wrong somehow. Every time she looked at her, the wind in her head seemed stronger, angry, hail buzzing like wasps in her brain.

"How can a storm touch me? I don't understand what you mean." Scarlet's tail swished irritably. In the dim light of the barn, her clothes refused to dry, but she felt no discomfort. Rain simply seemed to run off the lizard.

"A storm like this is more than just wind, mare. It is conscious yes, and even malevolent. You would do well to be rid of it." The words had the wind in Scarlet's head screaming, and she winced visibly. "Oh, so it can already hear my words? Then you have taken it deep indeed. Do you wish to be rid of it?"

Scarlet gasped at the force of the storm, cradling her head. From outside, a startled collie watched the scene with growing distress and confusion. Scarlet shook her head and held out a hand.

"Shut up. Agh... Dammit just shut up." The wind died down slowly, Scarlet forcing her will around it, trying to calm the sound. It took a moment, but it quieted. She glared at the lizard.

"Alright, what do I need to do to get rid of it?" She spoke quickly, still pushing the wind down inside her. The lizard giggled again and beckoned the horse with a claw.

"Oh, I'm not just going to help you like that. You're a storm child, and I know that means you have some privileges. I'll make a primitive offer. You have sex with me; I will free you from the storm." She grinned, her tail swishing. Scarlet sighed and stood up.

The heat inside her, still pulsing underneath, made her eager to agree. She nodded, confused by the battery of the wind against her.

"Alright." She had few qualms, the heat needed sating, and she was growing sick of not understanding her own head. Already what had happened in the truck was out of her memory; she could not recall the storm in her head, or the feeling of seeing from the clouds.

The mare slipped her wet shirt from herself. Her golden hair dripped onto the dusty floor, and the lizard sat back, its tail flicking about luxuriantly, smiling. Scarlet pulled off her wet jeans, then unclasped her bra and dropped it on a crate. She walked forwards, letting her urges rise. She didn't find Roxanne particularly attractive, the lizard's sharp face was disconcerting, but she shrugged it off.

Outside in the suddenly heavier rain, Sam watched through a slat, eyes wide, biting her lip. She wasn't really sure what was going on â€" their words still didn't make any sense. She kept looking, anyway.

The female lizard put its clawed paws to the mare's arms, and winked at her. She lay back, sitting on the ground, pulling Scarlet with her. Scarlet whinnied and felt her arousal begin to mount as Roxanne licked at her tender ears and curled her long reptilian tail around Scarlet's chest, tickling her breasts.

The mare responded little as the lizard began to kiss her chest, touching her slit gently with a clawed digit, the entrance already hot and beginning to become slick. She was fighting the wind in her head, which was roaring at the very scent of Roxanne. Like some forgotten puzzle, the solution was just on the tip of her consciousness, eluding her.

They lay, the mare straddling Roxanne's lap, hooves meeting behind the reptile's spine. She shivered as the lizard began to stroke her clitoris, her engorged mound quivering under the touch. Her nipples were hard from the forked tongue licking at them, and the reptile's powerful female scent rolled over her.

Finally, as her spine arched in pleasure, Scarlet felt the wind scream to a new pitch, crashing thunder. And there was that elusive sensation. She slipped her control in under the force in her head, and her eyes glowed bright. The lizard let out a soft croon, as the thunder exploded for real overhead this time.

She felt herself drift out, her head expanding, and remembered fully. She was the storm, not some touched child. She could see her own pleasure, and let it rise. But the lizard's head was like some closed box. She probed at it, intrigued.

Sam jumped at the thunder, squeaking, hoping she hadn't been heard. She had not, but Scarlet saw her panic rise and snapped her attention to the collie. She realised it was no threat, and turned back just as quickly to Roxanne.

Beneath her, she felt the lizard twitch and growl gently, roughly pushing two fingers into her wet sex, beginning to finger her rapidly, still stroking at her clit. She nudged at that closed mind again, with more force. Roxanne moaned, and she saw hints of pleasure leaking from the shell about her invisible consciousness.

Scarlet moved her own fingers to the lizard's slit, long arms reaching behind and up. The pleasured whiffs strengthened and she saw tinges of panic, too. She was a little confused, and intrigued, so kept poking, trying to arouse the lizard, both mentally and physically.

The collie watched, confused and wet, in more ways than one. She felt the arousal that seemed to slough off of the mare, and rubbed gently at her own sex. She couldn't understand what was going on.

As Scarlet started to finger properly, murring and rubbing her breasts against the lizard's own flat chest; Roxanne hissed and pulled her fingers free. Instead, she curled her tail into a thick, phallic shaft and pushed inside of the mare, taking no time to begin fucking her, determined to break the storm-child's concentration.

But the lizard had made a mistake, Scarlet was further gone than she'd thought, and the arousal only served to encourage the mare, who bucked and ground on the tail, and slapped at the lizard's skull with her ethereal head.

Scarlet let out a whinny of success as the nut cracked and she saw the true emotion of the lizard shining through. She saw the consternation, panic and arousal, and flooded the other with her own pleasure, causing Roxanne to shiver and moan. Scarlet's fingering began to yield wet slurps.

The lizard redoubled her tail fucking, gripping the mare's waist, holding on as her sex was fingered rapidly, another finger entering her tailhole, making her wince. She had made a serious underestimation, and tried to shore up her mental walls. It wasn't working.

Scarlet could see another shell inside the reptile, and began to prod at that too. Roxanne screamed in ecstasy and came, honey flooding over the mare's fingers. She spoke to the reptile, without moving her lips.

‘Not so sultry now, are we lizard? What are you hiding from me...' Roxanne squealed in fright, and unwillingly, her tail started fucking the mare at lightning pace, making Scarlet moan happily. ‘Yes...Make me cum...' Roxanne's inner wall was faltering now.

The lizard came again, rapidly, and Scarlet's mental giggle of satisfaction reached out, touching Sam, making the watching collie climax. Sam looked at her soaked clothes, and fled for her car.

Roxanne groaned, as her tail's probing brought Scarlet to a screaming orgasm, her tantalised g-spot burning with pleasure. The mare's arousal slammed at the lizard like a hammer, and she whined as her mental barriers crumbled.

The mare continued to fuck the lizard with her fingers. Roxanne tried to rise and flee, but found herself pinned. She fought for her self-control, but the mare's voice was irresistible; and she began to fuck her own arse with her slender tail. She came for a third time, throat dry and sore.

Finally, Scarlet was satisfied, as the lizard's fourth orgasm made her twitch and buck. She pushed Roxanne away and stood up, swaying a little, eyes alight. She pored over the reptile's intentions, buzzing in her head.

As her honey dripped over the dust in a torrent, Roxanne shrieked, jumped to her feet, and brought her tail round with a whip crack; smashing Scarlet in the chest, throwing the horse to one side. She leapt forward, claws extended, aiming for the mare's throat.

Scarlet was wordless physically, her face shocked, but as she saw the lizard's suddenly blinding desire to kill her, she understood. A hand reached out, slowly, to Roxanne.

With an earsplitting roar, the shed exploded into flames and detritus. The thunder was deafening, and Roxanne flipped back through the air, falling gasping to the stone. Her hide smoked, and her ears rang.

Scarlet stood up, and brayed, shouting at the now revealed sky, as the rain drenched the burning shed.

‘How DARE you!' Her inner shout was tumultuous, and made the lizard twitch, as Roxanne scrambled for freedom. ‘The storm cannot be KILLED!' She reached out again, roared, and a second bolt stabbed down. Roxanne was already away, and the forked strike merely blew a hole in the foundations.

"Get back here, you bitch!" She screamed and jumped atop the melted ruins, peering like a hawk over the hillside. There was nothing. She felt a flicker of the lizard's presence then it was gone. "Shit!" She jumped off the debris and sat down, brooding. Eventually, as her rage cooled, she dozed, the wind stroking her to sleep, with approving whispers.

She woke up, back in her own eyes, and felt the memories slipping away again. She swore and cradled her head, trying to hold on. It did not work, she remembered only snatches. It was growing dark. She looked at the tattered shed, but did not feel alarmed. That was... right somehow.

She knew then it was unimportant she had forgotten. The storm was shushing in her skull, she felt calm. So Scarlet walked, tired, to the truck, clothing herself in a set of overalls and grabbing her notes from the office. Things were strange that day, but work was important.

She began to drive back, watching the terrain quietly, thinking hard. She wanted to get things clear in her head, but they were not. She seemed less lucid that she had been in the morning, but that wasn't troubling her terribly. Nonetheless, despite the angry hum that it called up from her head, she decided she would make sense of things; so began to recall events.

She knew she had completed her survey, but she had not noted the destroyed vehicle shed. She could remember someone threatening, and that they had been grey. Where had the collie from the office gone? She must have headed home; the weather had gotten serious for a time, though it seemed to have stopped raining now.

What had that sensation been again? Some wider vision, an out of body experience. That ought to have alarmed her surely, but her head was still confused. She managed to establish a slight order, and decided she would be best employed if she avoided anger. Her hands tingled painfully, and that was the fault of getting enraged, she was sure.

The wind was cold in her head, she could feel its disappointment; and tried to probe why it had been approving before. She couldn't quite sense it. She felt a little worried, and that was almost reassuring â€" if her normal thoughts were still there, it couldn't all be bad.

Over the hours of the long drive, night fell, dark and heavy. The lights of the truck swept through the rain, and as the storm took hold, unworried by the sun, the thoughts Scarlet had tried to order on her departure faded from her memory. Things seemed normal again, for that night.

She thought of the two males at home and smiled slightly, licking her lips. She would look forward to their reception, she was eager to see how they had gotten on in her absence. Eventually, she arrived at the house, brooding in the foggy dark, and hurried inside.

The fire was burning and the room was warm, but empty. She peered about quietly then snuck up to her room. The landing lights were off and she couldn't hear anyone. She looked at the clock. Only nine, they couldn't be sleeping. She changed out of the overalls into a silk dressing gown, washed, and perfumed herself. She hoped the boys were feeling horny.

"Hello? Scarlet?" It was Tom's voice, the wolf was downstairs. Her heat rising, she calmed herself, the wind in her head whispering happily, and descended the steps.

Tom stood by the table and smiled as she arrived. She stepped forward and kissed him, a deep kiss that lasted for a while, till she pulled away, the wolf grinning happily.

"Where's John?" She spoke softly, walking over to an armchair, sitting down elegantly.

"He's just downstairs, in the cellar. We were patching up a leak. Did you have an OK day? We missed you." Scarlet smiled and nodded, looking at the cellar door.

"It was fine, thanks. I've missed you boys too. Tell you what though, I'm starving, is there any food?" The wolf chuckled and nodded, taking a plate of lasagne from the warming oven. She ate quickly, still in her chair, as they exchanged small talk of the day. It seemed the two males had just chatted and fixed up any new storm damage.

John opened the door, and smiled at the pair sitting, chatting. He walked over, as Scarlet stood and embraced him, kissing him on the lips. Tom sat by and grinned. She could already smell his eagerness on the air.

"How was it, Scarlet?" She told him of the damages, neglecting to mention the melted shed, and John fetched wine. They sat and talked idly for a while, the scent of both males strong on the air.

When the wine was done, Scarlet stood up and let her robe fall away. John and Tom stripped off eagerly, needing no encouragement, and the three of them embraced, the smell of musk thick and strong.

They made love in the same spot as the day before, double-teaming her; covering the couch in a fresh coating of seed. As they coupled, the mare's arousal rose slowly.

She felt that catch click again, and gasped as she reached her open state. All was clear again, the males' thoughts, her own arousal. All clear. She remembered, and as the males continued to pound at her, she stoked them, stirring them to faster rhythms.

She thought about the lizard, as they carried her to the table, seeking a new position, John underneath her, in her tailhole, Tom in her slick sex. She had been trying to kill her. Had she wanted to stop the storm? She was a fool if she had, the storm was not mortal.

‘She does not matter. You are ready. You will not cope well if I rescind my guidance again. Your mind was strained. The confusion will pass.' She whinnied in response to their attentions and, as the wind whispered those words to her, she embraced it.

The wind left her alone then, for that evening. She finally felt true clarity. She was with the storm, and she was unstoppable. She saw an orgasm approaching for John, and as it rushed over him, she pushed stamina into his head. The response pleased her.

John gasped and bucked, struggling to handle the explosive force. The sex had been heady so far, the sensations with Scarlet were like nothing he had ever felt with another woman. He came gigantically, his balls churning out seed, pumping her guts full, till he pulled out and sprayed Tom heavily. He groaned in exhausted pleasure.

The wolf grunted in surprise, still thrusting relentlessly in and out of the mare. The seed soaked into his fur, and filled his sensitive nostrils, but he didn't care. Scarlet was too perfect, too tantalising. He growled and continued.

"Mmm... nnngh... yes..." Scarlet moaned happily, her control of the others was precise and perfect. She would not push them into submission. She saw that doing so before had been foolhardy; she could easily make them willing.

They continued to fuck until Tom came. Scarlet tested the water, trying the same trick on the wolf as on the bull. It worked, and as he howled, she was gorged with wolfcum, stretching her belly. His knot tied them together, and over the table, balls throbbing with fatigue Tom and John slept. Scarlet lay, eyes wide, on top of and beneath the sleeping males.

She opened her fingers, and the rain outside stopped. A brief satisfied close of the digits, and it began again, redoubled now. She pulled at the wind with her consciousness, and it howled through the trees. She gasped physically with the feeling of power. This was control.

She was exhausted, her efforts to stimulate the males had been somewhat inefficient, and her stamina only went so far. She attempted one last act of experimentation, and from the splintered gaze of the storm, she sought out a tree.

In the darkness, pure light lanced from the turgid storm. The tree was gone, hot splinters of detritus spun through the night sky. The thunder rocked the house, but the boys merely shifted in their stupor.

Scarlet giggled, sweet tiredness swamping her, and let her mind open to the storm. The winds poured back in, their whispers were tender now, no longer did they fight her. She slipped into the dark, smiling.

‘We are one.'