FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER 5

Coping with the Aftermath

Darkness, an empty void of nothing surrounded him. It wasn't cold or warm and though no light permeated the emptiness, he could make out his own features very well. He looked down at his naked form, his small paws, the scars on his chest and stomach, and most noticeable of all his package. What he saw was not a rodent penis, but feline. There was a sheath covering the base of an erect cock and at the tip were a large number of small, brittle barbs. A small amount of pre-ejaculate was leaking out and dripping down into the nothingness below. He looked up and standing before him was his wife, naked as well, holding her arms close to her chest with her back to him.

He tried calling to her, but nothing came out. He tried calling again louder, but still made no sound. Finally she turned to him and showed him her despondent eyes. Tears flowed freely down her cheek. Rishi stood in total embarrassment at his current presentation to his wife who said nothing, except a single word that was as mute as he was, but he was able to make it out: 'why?'

I had no choice! he tried to yell back, but still voiceless as before. She merely shook her head and he began to panic. _I had no choice! h_e yelled again still without a sound. She didn't seem to understand why he had done what he did, that he did it all for her and their kids. The way she stared back at him, it seemed like she did know, but didn't care. She cried more tears before turning her back to him and walking away. Rishi began to feel the tears welling up in his own eyes as he did nothing but stand there and watch as his wife abandoned him in the darkness. He wanted to do something, but for some reason his mind wouldn't let his body do anything. He shook, trying to move, to go after her. He jolted and jerked and used every bit of energy he had to finally break free and...

"Wha-" he woke with a startle, jumping slightly and waving his arms around. The mouse soon realized that the darkness he was a moment ago surrounded by had been replaced by a light-filled room. Where am I? he thought. Am I in my bedroom? After a quick cursory glance he soon realized that he was not in his own bedroom, but still in Sir Amarro's bedroom and he still lay in the lion's bed. I must've fallen asleep after they were done. A quick turn towards the door made his heart flutter when he saw a tall cougar lord standing in the doorway with a lynx leaning against the door frame and a lion standing in the corner with his arms folded. All were smiling and all were still completely naked, though their penii had retracted into their sheaths. Rishi caught sight of the tiger in back of the cougar, but he couldn't see the cheetah anywhere. He felt a tinge of embarrassment and shame for having fallen asleep after the Court's sexual musings.

"Morning sweety," Lord Allon stated in a mock loving tone.

It was all a dream. He started to feel himself calm a bit, but soon his heart beat wildly and he sat up in shock. "What?!"

The three royal members chuckled loudly. "Calm down," the cougar replied. "Don't worry. You've only been asleep for maybe twenty minutes, twenty-five tops."

The lord's musing gave the mouse a bit of a shock that woke him up pretty quickly, but after a moment his heart and stomach began to settle and he was able to relax enough to where the exhaustion that had taken its toll on him crept up again. He looked down at his own figure, still laying flat on the bed with his legs hanging off the edge, and noted that he was still naked and still filthy from sweat and saliva. He retained matted fur on his crotch, ass, back, and all over his head and face. He even still had the small stream of cum that Amarro had left on his cheek right after pulling out of the rodent's muzzle. He breathed in a bit, trying to get his body to fully recover and the smell of sex and musk still permeated the room and was making his nose burn, but it wasn't making him queasy.

"Congratulations!" Rishi looked up at the cougar as he spoke. "You have graciously made your tribute and as I speak for all members of the Royal Court, we are very happy with your performance and we are all grateful for your offering. You are now paid up and you and your family are now safe and secure here in the Plains." The words made Rishi smile inwardly and he felt ecstatic now that this horrible dilemma was finally over for the night and he'd be able to better prepare for next time.

"Until next week's tribute, that is," the lion responded. The statement brought a sense of confusion as well as dread over the rodent while the lion smiled wickedly at him.

"Two weeks, Amarro." The lion stared back at his lord with befuddlement. "Remember, I said that since young Rishi was giving me his tight and wonderful virginity..." he stared at the mouse seductively as he said that, "... I would offer him a month's worth of protection. Add that to this week's tribute and he has been paid up for five weeks. Making up for the last three weeks without a tribute means that he has two whole weeks until he has to come back to us." Amarro nodded as he was corrected.

Rishi was relieved to hear the lord say that. It brought chills to the mouse thinking of coming back only after just one week, without enough time to heal, and having the cougar tear him open again. Thinking about the wound in his ass was enough for him to feel the burning sensation it produced and he once again shuffled around and winced from the pain.

"That is, of course, unless you'd like to come back sooner." The cougar was smiling sadistically at the mouse, knowing full well he'd take as much time away from these felines as he could get.

"M- my lord. I mean... Lord Allon, I- I think-"

"You wanna take more time to adjust. Alright. Besides, I think you need a little bit more time to heal that wound of yours." Rishi felt himself blushing under his white fur. "I'd hate it if you came here week after week and I kept opening it up time and time again. So you take some time, rest, don't overwork yourself, and come back in two weeks and I think you'll be much better prepared."

Rishi, feeling the relief dwindle away at the thought of returning here to be bred by these creatures, simply gave a weak smile and nodded. "Thank you Lord Allon." Rishi soon noticed the taste in his muzzle and remembered all the cum he'd drunk that night, either directly from Amarro or Jarai, or indirectly from Allon or Dubois. He then remembered that he hadn't yet finished his obligation to his offering by cleaning off Kish's cock. Not wanting to have to be reminded to do it before he left he decided to bring it up. "Um, I just remembered. I haven't cleaned off Kish yet. Since it's expected of me for my tribute, shall I clean Sir Kish's... member?"

"Too late, mousy," Rishi heard Dubois from out of sight. Allon moved aside and out of the doorway to reveal the cheetah on his knees leaning next to Kish with his arms around the tiger's waist and his head propped up against his hips. "You'll have to wait til next time." He licked his lips and smiled exuberantly. Kish was petting the cheetah's head. The scene might be sweet to the rodent if circumstances were different.

"Alright. I guess that means you've fulfilled all your obligations. You may get dressed and leave now. Your clothes are right next to the bed." The puma pointed at the foot of the bed to Rishi's left.

Rishi didn't take much time before shuffling over onto his side and motioning towards the edge of the bed. When he moved, he was careful not to move too fast or too much to prevent his anal wound from causing anymore severe anguish. He felt as if he'd showered in sweat and spit and if he hadn't been exposed to the stink of sex throughout the last hour or so, he was certain he probably smelled like it too. He let one leg slide off the bed and find his footing, making sure both legs were relatively straight before putting weight on it. He saw his clothes on the ground and reached for them, taking them all and placing them on the bed. He stood up straight, the tear in his ass reacting to him as he did so and he almost froze as another jolt of pain ran through him. He managed not to squeal or whimper, taking a big breath before grabbing his clothes and turning to Lord Allon. His eyes were low and sullen and he looked quite tired to the felines in his presence. Allon merely smiled at him, standing next to the doorway.

"Lord Allon. If you don't mind, sire, I would appreciate it if I could wash up before I left."

Allon cocked his head to the side. "Why? Don't you have a place to wash up at home?"

"Yes, sire, but... I would like to wash up so that my wife doesn't smell me when I walk in the house."

"But why should that be such a bother to her. She's already expecting you to smell like this, so why do you want to hide that fact?"

Rishi didn't realize that the Royal Court expected him to divulge his tribute to his family. "M- my lord- I mean Lord Allon, I didn't want-"

"You did tell her what you were coming over here to do, didn't you?"

The mouse was starting to feel a bit downtrodden with the expectations the lord was putting on him. He gulped and his lower lip started to quiver as he began to think he might have to go home smelling of sex. "Lord Allon... I- I didn't... I don't want-"

"Ugh." the cougar sighed and rubbed his temple. "Rishi, every native of the Plains makes a tribute to the Felis Army and its Royal Court and everyone in Darreen knows what every native is offering as tribute. I don't see why this should be any different."

The rodent's eyes were starting to burn as he was ready to cry again, but he was so dry that it was uncertain whether or not he could. He did all he could to keep his wife in the dark so she wouldn't worry about her husband, but now the Lord of the Plains was telling him that he would be forced to distress his lover. He let his muzzle hang open a moment. "My Lord, please. This isn't like offering a basket of wheat or bottles of spirits. This is too embarrassing."

"Are you saying you are embarrassed by the members of the Royal Court?"

"No, Lord Allon," he was quivering now and he was trying desperately to make new tears to cool the burning in his eyes. "But if anyone finds out... they'll... they'll..." He didn't know how to finish his thoughts and he felt more and more despondent.

"I am the Lord of the Darreen Plains. You have made your tribute and I am very satisfied with the results and as long as I'm satisfied you are a protected member and subject of these lands. If anyone has a problem with your tribute or does you harm for it, then they will answer to me and my army. You understand that?" Rishi gave a weak and sorrowful nod, followed by a sniffle. "Good, but I have no intention of keeping this a secret and so you better not expect it to stay a secret. Get it out now and you'll be able to come to terms with it sooner rather than later. Understand?" Once again, Rishi merely nodded.

"Very well. Now then, I think it's about time you were on your way. The rest of us do need to wash up and take care of official matters before the night ends."

Rishi, feeling crushed for trying to hold onto his one last shred of dignity, submitted to the Lord's will and began to dress himself right in front of the other felines. He put on his braies, his pants, his tunic, and his belt, all very slowly as his fatigue and pain prevented a speedy dressing. He straightened himself out and with a very soft and defeated voice, he said, "Thank you, Lord Allon."

The puma smiled and nodded. "Your welcome, Rishi." He was certain the rodent didn't mean it, but his willingness to say it is what mattered.

Rishi slowly walked passed the cougar, the lion, and the lynx, the latter of which waved at him with an interested smile as he passed. As he stepped by Allon, the cougar stopped him by placing a paw on his shoulder. Rishi stopped and looked up at him, shaking a bit as the cougar just stared at him a moment. He then brought a paw up to his chin and held it in place as he leaned forward. Rishi was getting a bit more nervous now as the feline slowly stuck out his tongue and lapped up the string of jizz on the rodent's cheek. Rishi merely stood still as Allon finished cleaning up the evening's mess. He licked his lips before giving him a very soft rub on his cheek and nodding his head to the side, signaling for the rodent to move along. The mouse quickly stepped out of the room and gave a quick bow to the tiger and the cheetah as he passed, feeling a bit more respectful for the duo than he did for the sexually dominating felines in Amarro's bedroom. They nodded back and he began walking down the stairs, taking each step with one foot making the step before bringing the other foot down on the same step. It was slow-going and the felines watched with a hint of pity as he did.

The mouse heard Lord Allon behind him as he walked. "Oh, one thing before you leave, Rishi." Rishi stopped and turned to look back at the cougar. "Find yourself a couple of long, dull objects of various sizes that you can use as practice for the next two weeks. It'll help you stretch out your tailhole more and make you more responsive to us when we take you in your ass." It was a helpful suggestion, the rodent knew, but still hearing the giant cat talk about it to him made him extremely uncomfortable. He nodded, though, with respectful gratitude. "Oh, and also I'd recommend olive oil or something like that as a lubricant. It'll make the process of insertion a lot easier." Another shot to his comfort levels. "Maybe you can even ask your wife for assistance."

Rishi's eyes went wide at the suggestion, belying his distaste for the idea. He wanted to berate the Lord for suggesting such an idea, but kept his composure and simply nodded. "I'll keep that in mind my Lord."

"Good. Then have a good night and thank you again, sexy."

The cougar still had that devious smile to him and Rishi wanted to get away from it as fast as he could, which at the moment was not very fast. He turned and began down the steps again and Allon was looking rather sorry for the rodent. "Oh dear, that won't do at all. The way you're walking, it'll take you hours to get home and that's assuming you make it before passing out. Kish, have one of the guards give the little guy a ride home."

It almost sounded a bit patronizing to the mouse the way the Lord said it, but if he was sincere in giving him a ride and not forcing him to endure the pain the entire way home, he would be exceptionally grateful. The tiger nodded and smiled at the cougar. "Of course, Roland." The tiger began following the mouse, who smiled back at Allon for helping him out in the end before turning back towards the entrance.

As they walked, Kish spoke up. "Another word of advice: we don't always stop after just cumming once. We can all get off a few times before we're done. We have a lot of stamina. So my suggestion for next time would be that you go to bed late, get up later in the day, and take a nap sometime during the day so that you're well rested when you come back."

Rishi wasn't certain how well he'd be able to perform if they all came more than once, but the suggestion was once again very helpful and he was grateful to receive it. "Thank you, Sir Kish."

"You're welcome, Master Rishi."

'Master Rishi.' It was a title they'd used twice now and it was one he wasn't sure he was comfortable with them using. As a subject of their nation and now a sex partner at their whims, he didn't feel like the title of Master was one he deserved... or that even made sense. He knew the tiger was just being respectful, but it still made him uncomfortable. It took a moment, but they'd reached the door and Kish unlocked it and opened it for the mouse to step outside. The evening had gotten colder and the sun had almost completely set. The cool air quickly affected his matted body and he felt a strong chill move throughout his form.

The lion and cougar were still there, one standing on either side of the door. The cougar caught the first whiff emanating from the halls as Rishi exited the building, ruffling his nose with intrigue. "Fun evening, Kish?" he asked the tiger who nodded with pleasure, standing in the doorway still completely nude. The cougar then eyed the mouse who had turned around and stood on display in front of the three felines, his eyes on the ground with his arms holding his stomach.

The cougar cocked an eyebrow, taking a few seconds to put it all together, but once he caught the scent of the mouse and smelled the musk of felines on him, his eyes almost popped out of his skull. "Wait, with the mouse?" The tiger nodded, highly amused. "That was your tribute!?" he addressed Rishi, who just stood there, looking away extremely downcast. The cougar grew a huge smile on his face. "Ooooh man! Now I'm really upset I missed that!" Rishi was somewhat glad for the cold air because he still had trouble bringing tears to his eyes and they were starting to burn with sadness.

"I'm really upset that I wasn't a part of it," the lion responded staring hungrily at the mouse.

Kish just stood there chuckling at the humor the two guards were getting out of this while Rishi was holding back whatever tears he might still have left. The tiger finally addressed them. "Anyway, Lord Allon doesn't want this guy walking home right now, so I want one of you to give him a ride."

The cougar was laughing and smiling with absolutely glee. "Sure, I'll take him. From the way you were walking, I assume your ass is pretty sore, huh big guy?" Rishi knew he was being addressed, but preferred not to respond.

"Great! Thanks Tony," Kish replied. "Good night Rishi. See you in two weeks." The tiger waved at the mouse who bowed in response. Kish then turned and shut the doors, leaving the mouse in the dark with the two guards.

"Ahalright, mousy. Let's get you home." The cougar, Tony, still chuckling at the mouse's expense, started walking around to the side of the building. As Rishi began to walk in his direction, the cougar held up a paw. "You stay right there. I'll get it." The mouse then waited a few minutes as the cougar guard went to secure a courier with a horse-drawn carriage that was standing by.

"You OK there, buddy?" the lion asked Rishi.

The rodent nodded his head, looking the lion in the eyes. The guard wasn't smiling. He seemed quite serious. "You don't look OK. You looked like you've just been raped." Rishi started to look a bit guilty when he said that. "But I know that's not the case because I know the Royal Guards and they are not rapists and our great lord is certainly not a rapist. You came of your own free will and don't forget it, mouse. You've had a great opportunity here to bed the great Lord Allon. You've essentially slept with royalty. You are truly lucky. You just don't see it yet."

The mouse took the lion's words to heart and agreed that he did consent to it and he wasn't raped. However, once his wife finds out what happened he wasn't sure that she'd agree. Rishi just gave another nod to the lion. "Yes sir."

A moment later, Tony arrived with the carriage. It was a simple carriage, nothing fancy, with two rows of seats. Tony sat up in the front seat with the driver, a bobcat and luckily not the same one as the previous day. "Alright, let's go," the cougar commanded, still smiling. Rishi, with effort, managed to climb into the backside with some assistance from the cougar and the lion and before long they were off.

The ride home was relatively smooth for the rodent. The driver managed to avoid hitting most major bumps in the road which made things easier on his injured rump. The trip wasn't without its issues. The carriage did manage to hit a few bumps along the way and each time it sent a huge jolt of pain up into Rishi's tender anus. He squeaked and whimpered each time it happened, clutching at the sides of the carriage and straightening out to try to get more comfortable, but it never helped. It always garnered a hard to read look from Tony up front. Maybe he was concerned or maybe he was just curious, but Rishi never figured it out.

They passed by groups of people on the road. Identine citizens would give a wave to the soldiers at the front of the carriage who would respond with a wave back. The Plains natives would give a respective bow to the soldiers who would give a light nod in their direction. When the natives looked to Rishi, it was with stern derision and anger. The mouse always avoided eye contact when he spotted someone he knew, but he could almost feel their eyes on him. When they moved along, he caught a few people commenting on his smell and his humiliation just got deeper and deeper.

The comments seemed to stir the cougar in the front seat who turned to look back at the depressed rodent sitting behind him. "You're almost home, buddy. Soon, you're gonna be able to soak yourself in warm water and wash till you smell of roses." He spoke with a bit joviality.

"Yeah, and we can't get there soon enough," the badger with the reigns chimed in, though addressing the cougar. "The guy smells like sweaty arm pit and piss."

"Whoa! Easy there. He just gave himself to the Royal Court of Darreen and let each of the members fuck him long and hard. To be honest, I don't think I could do it. If I were asked to let a group of men fuck me and tell me to suck their dicks, I wouldn't. I'd just pack up my stuff and leave. You got balls mousy, I'll give you that. You're certainly attached to your home."

And my wife and kids, the mouse thought to himself. He knew that most men wouldn't be able to go through with this, but he just didn't have the level of pride that so many others have that could justify him refusing the offer. He'd rather do something uncomfortable, but safe as opposed to life-threatening. Although, his current state of embarrassment and humiliation that had been ongoing throughout the evening was making him question his choice again. At this point, as word would eventually get around, everyone would know what he'd done and his shame would no longer matter. And as he thought about that, the thought of his wife popped into his head and he began to worry about what she would have to say about it. He kept it from her to keep her from getting upset, but after she's heard she'll be even more upset that he didn't tell her. He began to wonder how he would justify keeping it a secret just to have her find out while her husband smells like cock, spit, and sweat, of which most of it was feline, not to mention the fact that he couldn't walk normal and had a bloody wound in his sphincter. She'll be devastated and he knew it. He was dreading what was coming even more so than making his tribute.

As they rounded the corner for his street, the driver hit an unseen hole in the road and it loosened the wheel on the carriage, causing it to detach and the cab to drop to the road. It landed with a thud and rather loud screech from Rishi. The bobcat looked annoyed, but the cougar just ignored it. The two felines got out of the carriage to inspect the wheel.

"Dammit! It came loose," the bobcat said.

"It doesn't look too bad. I think we can get it back on pretty quickly," Tony replied.

They began to get to work when Rishi looked up and down the road, spying for any travelers out for a walk tonight and seeing none. He decided to disembark the vehicle. "Um... excuse me. I'm OK now. I think I'm just gonna walk the rest of the way."

"No, don't worry about it. We'll have this fixed in no time," the cougar responded.

"Um... actually, I'd prefer it if I walked. I... kind of need a little time to think before I get home." The mouse was melancholic.

"You sure?" Rishi nodded. "Alright, but keep your head low. If anyone gives you shit or tries anything, just let them know that they'll be dealing with Lord Allon if they do."

"I will. Thank you Sir Tony."

"No problem. Have a good night."

They went back to work on getting the wheel back on and so Rishi just turned and began walking home. If anyone spotted him on the road and decided to harass him, trying to threaten them with Lord Allon would do little, if anything, at all given his low status among the locals. As it stood, it seemed like it wouldn't be an issue. His street was dead that night and he was lucky it was so. He could smell himself and anyone he met along the way would have no trouble deducing what happened to him. He felt embarrassed, not just for himself, but also for the Royal Court. Yet they didn't seem to be so embarrassed by it and he couldn't figure out why. He was just a lowly Plains mouse who barely makes a living growing crops and their lord is a cousin to the prince. Surely that fact would be an embarrassment to the rest of the Felis Army. And yet they were completely open and unfearful about the judgment of others. The army truly does have great respect for their leaders. I wonder what that's like, he wondered.

His house was in sight fairly quickly, but his stride was slow. He truly did want to bide his time before facing his loved ones. Even if his pucker didn't hurt like someone dropped a piece of hot coal on it, he'd still be walking relatively slowly. He played out various scenarios in his head as to how this night would end. She could leave him, she could console him, she could throw stuff at him, she could lecture him, or she could even laugh at him. None of it was a prediction, but a way for him to plan for the worst and best possible outcomes. He wasn't expecting the best.

He was enjoying the cool breeze in the air. It was chilling his body and making his wound feel less irritating and in the heat of his sexual exploits, he needed to let his body cool for a bit. The darkness that had set in on the Plains was becoming a bit of a blessing as it seemed nobody wanted to stroll aimlessly through the streets if they could barely see where they were going. Rishi smiled at the small miracle and was happy that things were starting to look more optimistic. He was even feeling less encumbered by the anticipation of facing his wife and children. That is, of course, until he noticed the silhouette of someone standing by his house and it wasn't Samantha.

The mouse's heart suddenly sunk as he realized that someone was waiting for him. He couldn't see who it was, but he knew whoever it was it wasn't someone he wanted to talk to right now. The outlined figure seemed to spot the small rodent as he moved away from the house and began moving towards the fence. As he did, a group of people began moving from behind his house and following the figure. It was an ambush. Rishi hadn't anticipated this. His heart began to palpitate and he moved away from his own farm towards the opposite side of the road when he heard a noise and spotted that plague-among-rodents Priesto exiting his house and running towards the road. Gregorious, Orroyo, and a few others were following quickly behind. He had people on both sides closing in, ready to gang up on him. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't outrun them and they were moving pretty fast. Even if he turned and began rustling away, they'd be on him in a second. As his fears began to rise, he had a flashback of the previous night's events and the utter terror he felt when the canines attacked. Though these weren't canines, but Plains people, in his weakened state he wouldn't be able to fight and he wouldn't be able to avoid them. There was little he could do but cower and hope that whatever they did, it would be quick. He considered threatening them by informing them that if they harmed him, he'd go straight to Lord Allon, but he figured it would do little good in this situation. If they wanted to hurt him, they weren't considering any possible consequences.

"Well, well, well," Priesto called out to the mouse as he rushed out of the gate, fury in his voice and in his movements. "Looks like the great 'lord' is a liar after all because you're still here which means he didn't deal with you like he said he would."

Rishi was feeling his own anger build up towards the rat, but he was also feeling quite helpless and meek. He backed away from the advancing rodent as groups on both sides charged after him. The ones who had been waiting by his house either walked through the gate or jumped the fence. They all closed in on the poor mouse who simply back into the fence and held onto it like a frightened child, ears splayed back, tail tucked between his legs, and his head lowered in submission. In a moment, he had at least a dozen and a half anthro animals on him like a lynch mob, though none of them were carrying torches and pitchforks. Again, minor miracles.

"You..." the rat said with extreme force while pointing at the mouse, "... should be on a cart on your way to the edge of the Plains by now! And yet, once again, here we- Whoa! What is that stench?!"

Priesto took a step back, wrinkled his face in revulsion, and held a paw up to his nose to cover the smell of Rishi's odor. The other animals made similar faces and comments in disgust as they caught Rishi's scent and the mouse lowered his eyes and hugged his body against the fence, holding his arm in complete humiliation, feeling as naked as he was in the High Court.

"What did you fall into a wastebasket of soiled breeches?" the rat mocked angrily. "I'd say it suits you and gives everyone here all the more reason for you to just leave." Rishi said nothing, averting his eyes. "Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Rishi shuddered as the rat yelled at him, but didn't obey. "I... I gave my tribute. Lord Allon was satisfied-"

"Oh horseshit! You expect me to believe that you could make a Lord of the Felis Royal Court happy in any way... especially when you smell like that? No. No one is happy and I assure you that his lordship certainly isn't." Everyone else seemed to agree with that sentiment. Rishi knew he was right in assuming he wouldn't be able to use that as a threat. "I am certainly unhappy," he said moving menacingly towards the mouse. "I am the complete opposite of happy. I was humiliated today during the offerings because of you. Allon, and his pet lion, were defending you from me. I got yelled at by the lord in front of the entire Royal Court and was led out like a common criminal." He was on Rishi, merely inches away, yelling and making the hapless mouse flinch. "I didn't deserve that! I've earned my respect! I deserve my respect!" He grabbed Rishi roughly by the arm and shook him hard, igniting his sore pucker. "You're the little shithead that's been making a mockery of us locals!" Rishi grimaced as he did, closing his eyes and hoping someone would come along and help him.

"Easy there, Priesto. You don't wanna get in trouble again," Gregorious informed the rat.

"You know how the army feels about this vermin. You really think anyone's gonna care if I smack him around a bit?" The pain was intensifying and Rishi was about ready to start begging Priesto.

"Probably not, but if it gets back to Lord Allon, then you'll be getting more than a simple yelling at for disobeying orders."

Priesto stared back at the rabbit, eyes wide, betraying the fear that he felt toward the Royal Court and its power over its people. With a rough shove, he let go of the mouse, earning another grimace from the mouse who stood there slumped over in front of everyone. They all stood there, judging him, hating him, harboring nothing but contempt for him. With seemingly no more chance for physical abuse, the only thing left was mental abuse and the mouse had been dealing with that the last month. He could take a few more minutes.

"Hey, I suddenly remembered why that smell seems so familiar," Orroyo stated. "I went to visit one of the guard's barracks to deliver some weapons when I walked in while they were having a big orgy. It stank to high heavens and it smelled just like that rodent does now."

Rishi was flush with embarrassment at the words from the raccoon. Everyone began smiling mockingly at him, particularly Priesto. "Oh, so the little vermin was acting as a plaything for the Felis Army." A roar of laughter came from the crowd. "So what did you do, Rishi? You give the lord a blow job? Maybe let him use your tight little ass in exchange for letting you keep this dump?"

Rishi kept his eyes low and said nothing, accepting the mockery in hopes it would soon be over. More derisive laughter came at his expense and it continued for a long time. The laughter eventually died down and the smile on Priesto's face began to fade. "Hey Rishi. What, you..." More silence from the mouse and soon the rat's expression changed from one of judgmental derision to one of concern. "Rishi, you didn't, did you?" When the mouse said nothing and gave no indication to contradict the rat's taunts, an air of shock came over the mob at the realization at what his contributions actually were for the Court's offering. No one said anything, no one was smiling, and no one looked at the rodent with anything other than utter surprise. "Rishi, I..."

While the rat stuttered to find the words, Rishi took advantage of the stunned crowd and pushed passed everybody towards the gate to his land. Nobody tried to stop him, but a few people made sympathetic remarks. Rishi didn't care for it. He wanted the night to be over and he wanted to get away from everyone. "Rishi! Wait!" Priesto called to the mouse, but he didn't stop running towards his house. He kept his back to the crowd, which at that point had everyone looking guilty, particularly the rat that almost attacked him.

Rishi ignored the pain in his backside in order to reach his house as quickly as possible. Once he got to the door, he knocked on it hard. He heard Samantha on the other side. "Hello?"

"Sam, it's me," the mouse replied through labored breaths.

"Oh, Rishi. I was so worried. I heard noises outside. Are you alright?"

The doorknob jiggled and Rishi grabbed it to stop her from opening the door. "Don't open the door. Don't open the door!" he screamed.

"Rishi, what's wrong?"

"Sam, I need you to bring the kids to their room."

"Honey, please don't scare us like this. Just tell me what's wrong." There was panic in her voice.

"Sam, please, just put the kids in their room. You'll find out what's wrong in a sec."

Rishi could hear his wife holding back tears, but he soon heard her corralling her kids and ordering them upstairs. They protested, of course, but she insisted. After a moment, he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and once those footsteps reached the top, Rishi turned the knob and hurried inside. He shut the door and shuffled over to the den. "Rishi!" his wife called out to him as footsteps began racing down the stairs. Rishi got into the den and immediately fell on the floor, hurting his knees as he did. He lay flat on the floor, legs outstretched with one arm holding his stomach.

His wife entered the den and saw him lying there. "Rishi! Oh my God!" She raced over to him to try to help him, but in an instant she smelled the stink of sex on him and backed away, covering her nose and cringing. Rishi just lay there, unable to respond and unwilling to move. He kept his eyes shut. She no doubt suspected at that point what had happened. She'd experienced something similar to this before and she'd told him that she still remembered everything about it: the sensations, the emotions, and the smells. He just waited for her response and it was quick.

She moved her paw away from her muzzle as the revelation hit her. Her eyes were wide and her lower lip had begun to quiver. There was an expression of horror on her face. "Rishi, what happened? I know that smell very well." Rishi said nothing, keeping his eyes shut. "Rishi!"

Rishi shuddered and opened his eyes staring at the wall in front of him. "Lord Allon gave me three options if we wanted to stay. One, we give him our crops. Two, I sacrifice myself for my family, but that would've only bought a short amount of time."

Sam shook her head in despair. "Rishi." She said the name in as soft a voice as she could muster as the tears welled up in her eyes.

Rishi hesitated as he revealed the third option, his voice shaking. "Three, I offer my body to be used by them as they wish."

With that, the tears flowed freely and Sam became filled with utter sorrow. "Rishi, how could you do this? How could you allow them to do this after what those canines did to me?"

"Sam, please, try to understand-"

"There's nothing to understand! Those felines used your misfortune to force you to be their-" She couldn't finish the sentence, her face already soaked from crying. "We should have left! We should have taken our chances out in the wild!"

"You know that wasn't an option. We would've been captured and then we wouldn't have had a choice what happens to either of us."

"So you just walk over there and offer yourself to them willingly?" She wiped away tears, though it did little good.

"Sam, I know it's hard to believe, but this was the best option." Even he wasn't sure he believed that.

"This was the best option?! Look at you! You're lying on the den floor cradling yourself and you smell like... like... like you've just been raped!" Rishi's stomach began to turn again, this time from emotional stress. He began to feel tears welling up in his own eyes as he slumped on the floor. "How could you do this to me?"

Rishi finally turned to look her in the eyes, eyes that said 'betrayal.' His impression was correct and that guilty feeling he'd had while sleeping with those cats was felt by his wife as well. She brushed away some more tears and turned towards the door. "Sam, wait, please!" but it did no good. She rushed out of the room and after a moment he heard the door to the bedroom slam shut. It was enough to push him over the edge and he began crying again. He'd lost count how many times he'd shed tears that evening, but the way things were going, he might be shedding more than tears soon enough. He cupped his face and sobbed, allowing himself to finally cry like someone who truly lost something. Suddenly, the pain in his ass didn't seem so bad compared to this. After all, he did this for his wife, or so he thought. He knew she'd be upset, but right now he wanted her to yell at him more than anything. He wanted her to call him selfish and reckless and thoughtless, anything if it meant that she was back in there with him.

After a minute or so of sobbing, he sniffled a bit and slowly began to climb onto his arms and legs and with some effort and suffering he managed to get to his feet. He limped over to the pail that was lying on the stove from earlier. He grabbed it and walked over to fetch water from the well in the corner. He was shaking as he dumped it in and could barely lift it up, let alone keep it steady. He was shaking so hard from weakness, almost half the pail was empty before long. He began to cry again.

"Let me do that." He turned quickly to see a gray female mouse with matted cheek fur walking over to him. "You sit down and rest." She spoke quietly and sternly, but nevertheless he was thrilled she came back. He handed her the pail, still dipped in the well, and moved over to sit on a nearby stool. Sam dipped the pail in and brought it over to the stove, grabbing some coal and a match and setting up the fire. She then grabbed a wooden pail and began bringing water over to the tub.

"Thank you Sam," he said with a sad, but grateful smile.

She turned to him and gave him a shrug. "Well, I think it was just the shock of having to find out like this that got to me more than anything. I wish you had told me, honey."

"Would you have let me go?"

She stopped and thought a moment before chuckling a little. "No, I wouldn't. But would you have let me go if they had asked for me to be the offering?"

Rishi wanted to lie, but she knew better. He shook his head. "No, I wouldn't. And that's why I couldn't tell you."

She dumped a few pails of cool water into the tub and waited for the water on the stove to heat up to mix in with it. She placed the wooden pail by the well and sat on the edge, searching for the words to say. The whole situation was a mess and Rishi knew there wasn't an easy way to fix it. He gave her a moment, but after waiting too long for her to speak, he finally asked, "What is it, Sam?"

She took a deep breath and said, "How was it?"

He gave her a rather surprised and confused look. "What?"

"How was it? Was it as bad as it was with the dogs?"

He thought a moment. "Um... it hurt. They... took my virginity, so to speak." Sam obviously didn't like hearing him put it like that, but she listened intently. "Um... everything smelled bad, it tasted worse, and I just wanted it to be over as soon as possible."

She nodded along, still seemingly trying to figure out what to make of everything. "Did they hurt you?"

"Actually... no. They were... surprisingly respectful. They didn't treat me like an object. They treated me like a high-priced escort." Sam was still contemplating the events. She wiped away more tears from her eyes. "Sam... something happened yesterday, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I was attacked."

"What? By who?"

He took a deep breath. "I accidentally wandered over to Latrans Forest and caught the attention of several canines."

"What?!"

"I managed to get back to the city, but they followed me inside. Fortunately, a small troop of felines scared them away." Samantha looked relieved. "The problem is when I went to thank the feline soldiers, they told me that if the canines had decided to grab me and drag me away with them, they wouldn't have done anything to stop them." The look on Sam's face after he told her that told Rishi that she finally realized why he agreed to be taken by the felines. "We have no support, barely any supplies, and three kids to worry about. Lord Allon, despite what he was offering, did offer a chance for us to be safe and secure. It was an acceptable offer. It means our kids wouldn't be in danger and we'd be able to keep our land and our savings." Samantha seemed to slowly realize and understand why Rishi agreed to their offer. "Please, just try to understand."

She nodded. "I do, Rishi. I do understand." She stopped crying. "But I don't know if I'm ever going to be OK with this."

"Baby, I'm not OK with this, but if this is what I have to endure in order to keep you guys secure, it's a small price to pay."

"Did you enjoy it?" she said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Hmph. I almost threw up a few times." She chuckled lightly, but still looked like she wanted to cry some more. "I know it's a lot to take in and I'm sorry you had to find out like this. Of course, by tomorrow, I think the whole of Darreen will know."

Sam just sat there a moment before speaking again. "Thank you," she said softly. The pain in Rishi's anus was building up again as he sat there on the hard wood. He winced in pain and stood up slowly, getting a concerned look from Sam. "What is it?"

"It's nothing. It's just... like I said, it hurt."

She nodded in understanding, then looked at the pail and saw the water was beginning to bubble. "It's almost ready. Let's get you undressed."

She stepped over to her hubby and helped him to get ready for his bath. She began with the belt and then assisted with getting his tunic removed. She saw spots of matter fur all over his body, including his back, and she wanted to ask what happened, but didn't. She had to remove his pants herself as any bending of his knees would stretch his wounded tailhole. Once the pants were off, she began to get a better whiff of the results of the evening's happenings and she clenched with disgust, but still said nothing. The silence was killing Rishi and his shame grew as she removed his clothing, revealing the unbridled stench that they were partly masking. He lifted his feet a little to allow room for her to take his pants and toss them to the side. The moment of truth came and she reached up for his braies, which were moist. She lowered them down, uncovering his genitals and got a face full of the sexual aftereffects of feline matings and she balked at the smell.

"Ugh," she groaned covering her nose and mouth. Rishi drooped with embarrassment. Sam took a moment to collect herself. "I'm sorry."

He sighed. "Don't worry about it. I had to retch a number of times before I got used to it."

She continued to lower his underwear, holding her breath as she did and breathing in through her mouth when it was pointed away from his crotch. She tossed the article aside leaving her husband completely naked... again. She stood up and looked into her husband's eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, the shame that he bore taking its toll on their relationship. They said nothing, but exchanged glances.

"So, you're going to do this every week?" she asked.

"Every day of the tribute, yes. This is what they expect of me and it's all I have to offer. The good news is they said I was paid for the next two weeks, so I don't have to worry about an offering next tribute."

"Really? That is good news." He nodded and she smiled before a dismayed look grew on her face again. "Um... I'll get the soap." She stepped behind Rishi and grabbed a basket that contained a variety of different colored soap bricks. When she turned around, she eyed her husband with a look of pity on her face. As she glanced down his backside, she noticed a red stain mixed in with matted fur and she went from pity to worry. "Respectful, huh?!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he asked craning his neck.

"I thought you said they didn't hurt you," she said pointing at his butt.

He soon realized she had seen the blood from his wound. "Oh, that. That... was inevitable." She stepped right next to him ill at ease. "It's because... the lord himself took me first and he was... ... big." She looked vexed. "I'd say about a foot long," he said with a joking smile, but she didn't smile back. He turned back around and stared at the floor. He wasn't sure how she would react, but he was hoping she wouldn't start yelling again.

"So you're sure the lord wouldn't want a female mouse as his offering?"

Rishi couldn't help but chortle at the statement. He would let out uncontrolled laughter if his body wasn't so sore. He hunched over and held onto the edge of the tub to keep himself balanced. She rubbed his back and smiled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No. I'm glad you did." He stood upright and turned to face her. "I love you, Sam."

"I love you too, Rishi."

They stared into each others eyes and smiled lovingly. "Um... I should probably get cleaned up first, then I just want you to hold me Sam."

"OK, Rishi." The water had started to boil and Sam walked over and grabbed the pail off the oven. She brought it over to the tub and poured it in, allowing it to mix with the cooler water, bringing it to a more tolerable temperature. She dipped the pail into the well again and put it back on the fire. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up."

He grinned before bringing a leg up and over the tub and then the other. He slowly bent down and sat in the lukewarm water in the tub. His wife walked over and grab a bar of soap and began to scrub him down, extricating him from the remnants of his unpleasant activities with the felines of the Royal Court. They spent some time with Rishi in the tub, washing him up, staring at each other, kissing each other, and doing it all over again. Sam stepped out to check on the kids before returning to her hubby. Rishi contemplated things: his future, his relationship with Sam, his acquaintance with everyone in town, and most importantly getting himself ready for the next tribute. He tried before to anticipate their needs and failed. This time, having spent one evening with them, he had a better idea of what to expect. They did say that he'd be more likely from now on the sleep with each one individually as opposed to two at a time and also that they'd have him for longer periods than he experienced today. He had time to think about that later. He paid his tribute and now he just wanted to relax and find comfort in the woman he loved.