In Other Lives

Story by Lorekeeper Bereryce on SoFurry

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#7 of Archived Zebraverse - Old

Odah follows a mysterious smoke trail on an important journey, but the implications of this distraction are far grander than at first realization.


Odah didn't expect to see smoke on the horizon, especially so close to the border, the no-man's land between the wolven grounds and the human kingdoms- His destination. At first, peering over the hillside, surveying the land, he was nonplussed by the smoke trailing into the early sunset. However, as he plodded on, it continued to irk him. Why was there someone here? The smoke was too large to be from a mere campfire, so it had to have been from a home of some sort. But during the day, when smoke would be the most visible, in an area where doing so would just be asking for trouble?

Damn his eyes, Odah couldn't resist a mystery.

Deviating from his original path deeper into human territory, he followed the dark pillar into the orange sky. Close, closer, and closer still, he reached what he assumed to be its origin rather quickly, surprising even him.

He approached a clearing surrounding a small hill. In the exact center was a wood hut, with flickering lights from within, and a chimney billowing that same black smoke. It was a slightly ragged, but well-built thing, as if it'd seen countless harsh winters, and yet still stood proud. There was a dirt path, he found, right under his hooves, which led right up to the doorstep of the mysterious hut.

As if tugged along on an invisible leash, he walked the path, soon finding himself standing in front of the softly creaking door. He hesitated, staring at the greyed, old wood of the portal. Only now did he find himself wondering if this was such a good idea. He looked over his shoulder behind him, but sure enough, he was the only one in sight, his only companions the swaying blades of grass, and the treeline beyond that. He swallowed and turned back to the door, but it was now open. Beyond it, however, peering inside, it was pitch-black. There was definitely lighting from within, as far as the windowlight told him during the walk up, but peering inside through the door, there was nothing.

There was no question. He stepped through without thinking.

The inside was much cozier than he would've first imagined. A warm fire blazed in the center of the wood-floored hut, surrounded by a stone pit. Around it, various furs and pillows were strewn about. Above the fire was a cooking kettle. Along the walls were various accoutrements- Some animal skulls, charms of some variety Odah couldn't discern, designs daubed in ink, a hammock, and even what looked to be a bookshelf holding both tomes and supplies for scribing.

However, none of these things occupied his attention quite like the figure sitting cross-legged on the furs near the fire pit. Female, and visibly naked, the white-furred wolf breathed in, eyes closed, a small smile on her face. Her flared nostrils gathered in the bits of smoke that wafted up, only to exhale a few moments later. Her arms were languidly stretched out to her sides, as if she was attempting to gather as much warmth from the licking flames as she could. Odah, without thinking, closed the door behind him with a creak and a small "thud". The wolfess didn't so much as look up at him, but the smile grew on her face, showing teeth.

"I'm so glad you've finally come, my Incarnate. It has been much, much too long."

Odah blinked a few times, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. He set his pack down beside the door. "...I don't follow. Who are you?"

The woman finally opened her eyes- Deep blue things, before running her loose, stark-white hair back from her face with both hands. The two of them locked eyes, and he felt his very soul being prodded. She giggled, her chest bouncing from the movements. "Says the one who doesn't know himself. How cute!"

Odah's eyes narrowed, but he took a seat by the fire, placing himself on his knees and leaning back on his haunches. "I know who I am, thank you very much."

"Yes, you know who you are."

There was a pervasive silence as the wolfess stood, her nubile form trailing like the smoke that rose from the fire. He remained on the floor, but he watched her move. He had to admit, she cut a very nice figure in the firelight, and he found that his body was giving a very particular reaction to her nudity. He decided not to focus on it for now, since he had more important questions. Before he could speak, however, the wolfess had swayed behind him, her hands on his broader shoulders. "But you forget who you were."

Odah looked up at the standing wolfess, gazing past her chest as she stared down at him. "...I was as I am, when I was born."

One of the woman's hands brushed itself into his hair, her nails rubbing his scalp, much like a doting, loving mother would brush a child's mane. "And before that?"

"Before I was alive?... What?"

She nodded her head, going to her own knees behind him, massaging his scalp still, but with the other hand trailing over his shoulder and down to his waist. It made him shudder ever so slightly, being touched as if he were her lover, though the two had never met, as far as he was aware. She breathed softly into his ear. "You were alive, before you yet live."

Before he could react, she nipped at one of Odah's ears, letting out a playful little growl. He winced, but a loud huff escaped his flared nostrils, and his body reacted appropriately. He could feel her front press against his back, one of her hands buried in his mane, but the other wandering around, her arm draped across his stomach, wandering lower and lower. Odah hissed with the sudden sensations, but the wolfess continued. "But you forget, don't you? Every time, you forget... Such a shame. Such is the price."

Odah let out a grunt, but found himself pressing back into the woman. "I don't und-" He was cut off with a harsh moan from himself, lips parted. He stared at the wolfess' hand, which had finally found the base of a very aroused, very hard member. It didn't take much to rile him up, he knew that, but she had played on every bit of what he liked. She bit into his neck playfully, applying the slightest bit of pressure to both it and the trunk of his thick, ebony, equine-shaped mating tool. His spine shook and he gasped, his preseed welling up from his flared tip to drip onto the floor of the hut. Her teeth scraped at his flesh, a long, broad tongue following. Her digits sunk deeper into the heated, bloated rod of his. She began to stroke, dragging her fingers up towards a swollen medial ring. He pressed his hips out into her hand with a loud, unthinking groan, his testes meeting her palm. She sighed, and he felt her kiss his cheek from behind. "Good... Doesn't this feel familiar?"

Aside from Odah's previous escapades of a similar nature, there was the most brief sensation of nostalgia from somewhere deep within him. There was a moment of déjà vu, but it was incredibly distant. His half-lidded eyes were staring into the firelight, with the kettle burning and boiling above. He then realized that there was a different, odd scent in the hut that he didn't yet pick up on. A slight scent of herbs, or some acidic liquid. He didn't know, but neither was he equipped to discern it, considering the present circumstances. The wolfess' hand was hungry, and thoroughly explored the waiting inches of his manhood, stroking and squeezing along to the blunted tip of his equine package. He huffed aloud, hips jutted out on instinct, his balls swelling and clenching. Her efforts were rewarded with a globe of seed that welled at the tip, which she gathered in her palm. Her hand retracted, and she licked the collected bit of virility. She grinned and let out a very pleasured sigh of contentment. "Very good." She then took the remaining globe of virility, what she hadn't lapped up with her tongue, and reached forward to scrape it against the bowl of the kettle.

He winced, suddenly afraid the metal would burn her, but her hand wafted over and left it with nary a singed hair. When his virility entered the kettle, though, the scent grew stronger and stronger by the moment. Herbs, incense, and other sensations he couldn't describe filled his thoughts. He found them muddled and hazy, the smoke growing in intensity, though now it was a pale color. The fire seemed to glow with a stark yellow, instead of the normal orange-red of flames. He whimpered, but no words came out, the wolfess still stroking him from behind. He didn't stop jutting his hips for her, but he felt his mind grow tired, his body a little more limp. The woman cupped his sack, but her other hand turned his head around to face her at an angle. Their lips met. He didn't fight it. Instead, he pushed into the embrace as much as he could, though he felt his body giving out. His surroundings were turning into a smoky white, coalescing form, as if losing awareness. Her lips left his, but she whispered to him.

"Remember."

Everything went white.

She could hardly remember such a beautiful evening.

The sun had begun its descent into the dusk, painting the sky a dozen shades of orange and pink, blazing trails through the clouds, rays dancing towards the scattered jungle canopy. Tall, towering structures of sturdy stone pockmarked the landscape in every direction, with crowded streets and bustling, happy people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and races. She leaned on the etched stone balcony, watching below as people went back and forth about their day, with the sounds of commerce, conversation, and laughter drifting on the wind.

She was decorated with stripes from head to hoof, a long mane drifting behind her back and flowing in the gentle jungle breeze. She was bare, with only the gold-studded piercings in her ears, nose, and tongue to clothe her. She was shorter than most other zebrafolk, but she was of a curvy sort, with a semi-motherly figure. Young and nubile, yet intelligent-looking with blue eyes that pierced whatever they looked at. Her full breasts swayed with each movement, her plump, shapely buttocks jiggled at the slightest touch. She breathed in, a small, contented smile on her face, and then exhaled in a nostalgic sigh, watching the sunset.

She didn't sense the owner of the massive, hairy arms that wrapped around her midriff. They were sturdy, with cords of thick muscle visible. She felt a large warmth envelop her from behind, and she jumped at the impact, but then relaxed as soon as it had startled her. Something hot and fluffy landed on her shoulder, and rubbed up against her. She leaned into the other's face, caressing their muzzle with her own.

He was a massive wolf, with fur the color of a dull midnight, splotched with dirt brown streaks in every direction. His eyes were a blazing yellow, his body tall and wide, thick with muscle. He tugged her into him, licking her cheek while giving a low, soft growl of affection- One which she returned with a happy giggle. Soon, their lips met, her arms wrapping around his, their hands meeting, fingers intertwined. The massive wolf pulled away first, letting out a soft hum of delight, still keeping the zebress within his arms. "My darling," he growled, hands tightening their grip on her slightly thick tummy.

She pressed herself back into his front, feeling the entirety of his soft fur, and hard chest. She gripped his hands tighter with a wide, ecstatic grin. "My love," she returned, adjusting herself to about-face, now eye to eye with her massive, primal wolven lover.

He was as gorgeous as ever, she thought. He had scars marring his face, chest, arms, and back, earned from fights and battles he'd experienced in the past. Some were made with claws or talons, and others with steel. She loved those scars. His hands caressed her hips, but one traveled up to her cheek, cupping it in his padded paw. She relaxed, and settled her head into him. His thumb rubbed her forehead and she sighed with content, the zebress pressing herself into his form. "I missed you," she whispered.

"And I you," he hummed. "I'm sorry it took longer than I expected, Biola."

She craned her head to the side, kissing his palm. "You need not apologize, Eret." She placed a hand on his own chin, rubbing his muzzle. It had the slightest hints of greying fur. "I'm merely glad you're here again. With me."

Before long, their kiss resumed, lips having met in the middle, even introducing tongue. His was long, broad, and powerful. While Biola's own narrower appendage was no match, Eret proved the gentleman, letting her take control of their kiss first. She explored his mouth before he soon returned the favor, the hand at her hip lowering to her thigh. She let out a soft, breathy moan, her sizable thigh flesh giving way for the insistent warrior. She pulled away, her breath coming more often. "I'm not yet showing signs, as you can see."

The wolf nodded his head, kissing her forehead by licking it a little. She giggled. "Then we'll merely try again." He grunted. "And again... And again... And again."

His smile was wolfish, as to be expected. He was likewise as naked as her, with a concealed manhood hidden within his sheath, but a pair of deliciously huge orbs below that, the size of large fruits. One of her hands went to his full, bloated sheath and she gripped the familiar, yet addictive thing. He gave a soft hum of delight at the touch. His hand tightened on her thigh. She let out a soft moan. She could already feel herself twitching down in her most sensitive of places, becoming wet with excitement. "Here."

Eret chuckled deep, his voice reverberant. It made her shudder. "Here? Impregnating you on the balcony?"

Biola nodded her head in the affirmative, her hand caressing over the fat, turgid sheath before her. Already, Eret's manhood began to appear. Angrily red and hot to the touch, the first fat, obscenely long inches of wolfcock started to form. "Here. Now."

The wolf's grin only widened, but it took him only a moment for him to grasp her hips and lay her down on the warm stone. She reclined on it, arching her back up, resting her arms behind her head. She spread her legs on instinct, as she and him had done so many times before. None of those times had taken, but she had a wonderful feeling about it this time. She had hoped the charm she acquired from the wolfess she had met a span ago would finally work, the thing hanging above their bed. But here would be fine, she decided, and so she revealed her wet womanhood to him with a smile, biting her lower lip, watching Eret's throbbing erection grow. It surprised her every time. No matter how often they laid together, often multiple times a day, he continually impressed her with how large he was.

Eret followed suit, and his own legs spread, having lowered himself onto his knees. He massaged his sheath continuously, but his face leaned forward. Instead of having his manhood get the first greeting, his tongue did, instead. It dragged over the plush entrance and she squealed in delight, her thighs wrapping about his head and neck, more or less locking him in for the time being. She let out unrestrained, passionate mewls as Eret lavished over her labia, his tongue tip digging at her canal, attempting to worm inside to warm her up. He lapped and suckled, with one hand at his own iron-hard, crimson, canine member. Biola's fingers dug into her own full, heavy breasts, splaying out slightly from having been lain on her back. She huffed and winced, but she adored the attention, her back arching, spine shaking with each heartbeat, her breath coming much faster and harder. She mewled his name, but he gently parted her legs with an arm, soon towering over her. Their eyes met, his mouth drooling slightly from the attention he paid her body. She was panting, mouth open, tongue out, but they kissed regardless, the wolf's tail shaking wildly behind him.

There was still a thin trail of saliva that connected their mouths. Eret rubbed her cheek with the back of a hand. His voice was gruff, deep, and tender. "I love you."

Biola took the hand in hers and squeezed. "I love you, too."

Eret worked himself inside of her body quickly thereafter, soon having reached a steady rhythm with which to continually shove his knotted prick into his lover. She gasped and whined, but the look on her face was hungry for more, her thighs wrapped about his waist, arms at his shoulders. His breath washed over her, hot and heavy, thick with virility. She loved it, backing herself into him whenever possible. He spread her out wide, wider still, his obscene member an absolute delight to take where nature intended, and even where it didn't, which was often. Bialo whined, with Eret having worked himself up, thrusting down and into her on instinct. His primal need to breed his lover having taken control, he hefted her thighs up, and instead, worked himself down and into her, instead. She mewled aloud with the endless sensations of being bred into the stone of the balcony, breeding with her lover in the light of the setting sun.

It wasn't long until Eret was working himself down to the obscene, thick knot that lay at the base of his tool. She could feel him bulge her out, the outline of his cock appearing in her belly, his virility preparing to dump itself into her womb directly. She wanted for the entirety of him to enter her, tugging him down with her thighs, feeling how his hips rocked and shook her body time and time again, his testes slapping noisily at her shaking, jostling, striped ass. He gave a few more primal, bucks and with a low, long, and loud growl, he ground at her entrance. She could feel her walls giving way, bit by bit, for that egregious knot of his, but she wanted it. "Yeeeeessss," she meweled out, her nails dragging and digging into his shoulder, "breed me."

He knotted her. She felt utterly, fantastically full, so much so that she shook and whined, nostrils flared, her core tightening around the barbaric, turgid intruder in her gut. Her orgasm came not long after, as no part of her insides were left untouched by his amazingly large manhood. She spasmed, gushing, twitching on his member. It wasn't long until he let out a low howl, having no breeding tool left to give, when he climaxed with her.

Torrent upon torrent of wolven seed rushed into her body, pummeling her walls, painting them white with that searing hot, virile cream of his. His testes churned and twitched, pulsing, growing and clenching with the effort of his orgasm. He produced way too much for her to handle, and despite his knot, she leaked out what simply couldn't fit in her slightly inflated gut. They were left a panting, sweating, satisfied mess when their orgasms subsided, staring at each other with half-lidded eyes, though they weren't as out of it as to not embrace each other in the dusklight.

Night had fallen, and they lay together in her large bed. Her room was made mostly of stone, though rugs, pillows, chairs, a body-sized mirror, and even a desk occupied the space, with hanging series of lamps dangling securely from a vaulted ceiling. Eret caressed her naked, still leaking form. He licked her cheek, spooning her, and she licked back, their tongues wrestling briefly. He snickered, but then jolted as if remembering something. "Ah. I forgot."

Biola's ears perked. "Hm?"

He arose from the bed, and she likewise. By the entrance, there was a small satchel she didn't recognize. Eret walked over to it, opening the bag and digging in with a hand. "I told you I was visiting the far northern Humans, yes?"

"Indeed, you did. It went well?"

"Of course, love, but I also picked something up while I was there."

And with that, he withdrew a cord, and held it up for her to see. It was a leather necklace, but at the end, there was a gold pendant, its rim studded with sparkling blue gems. There was a word etched into the gold in the center, outlined in silver: "Biola".

She gasped. He grinned. She let out a loud series of giggles, even snorting once. "You didn't need to do that, Eret. I'm perfectly content without baubles."

He smiled. "It was a gift, as a matter of fact."

Biola chuffed. "I have an admirer up north? What, from my last visit?"

"Apparently." He chuckled. "They gave this to me, said it was a gift from their tribe for you. You made quite a few people happy last year."

"All I did was work a peace between their warring tribes."

"And they're thankful."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't keep a blushing smile from her face. He lay a hand on her side. "And I couldn't be more proud of you, Biola."

She felt sheepish at Eret's words, but the wolf's lips caressed hers. She returned the brief embrace. He gestured at the mirror. "May I?"

She stood still, holding her head up. The wolf's burly, thick arms wrapped about her, a leather cord with the pendant swinging between them. He draped it around her neck, Biola watching her naked form, still idly dripping with her love's seed. A hand unconsciously met her stomach, almost wishing she could feel children being made into this existence within.

She spoke.

"I still don't understand."

He cocked his head as he tied off the cord behind her. "What about?"

Biola blinked her eyes, as if waking from sleep. Her words didn't feel like her own. "...What is this meant to show me?"

She then realized the truth.

The wolfess smiled at Odah's naked form, rubbing the necklace newly draped around his throat. "I'm surprised. How long have you been in there, watching?"

Odah let out a breath, his own manhood drooling, as if recovering from an orgasm. The wolfess was likewise naked, her stark-white form draped around his. One arm of his own was hooked around her waist, fingers digging into her thigh. "Around an hour."

The wolfess kissed Odah's cheek, but he returned the favor without really thinking. She remained at his side while he spoke. "Was this real?"

"Yes." She replied freely, pressing her front into his side. He could feel her pert, lovely breasts press into him. He gave one an unthinking grasp, fingers plying into her flesh. "From long, long, long ago. A memory of someone you once were."

"...I was Biola?"

The wolfess' smile was as large as it could seemingly be. "Yyyessssss." She let out a long breath. "And many others. Man and woman alike. You think your desire to be treated like a mare, at times, comes from nothing, Odah?"

His core tightened. "...So that's why-"

"Why you desire both men and women." She hummed, leaning into him fully, draping over his form. He held her tight, but she circled around to his front, pressing her back into him. She split her legs open enough to let that half-limp manhood of his drool between her thighs, his topside rubbing against her tender lips. "Imagine that. Most of them have only lived one life before they return to the hereafter, but you?" She smirked, arms hooked back across her head, around his neck. His hands caressed her thigh and her stomach, squeezing her here and there. "You've lived countless."

Odah's stare narrowed, still staring at the wolfess through the mirror in front of them. "...What about my brothers?"

"They, too, are Incarnates, yes." Her backside rubbed against his pelvis, grinding and gyrating over and over- An action he reciprocated, his manhood physically swelling, slowly but surely in response. He grunted aloud, the white wolfess letting her idly drooling womanhood caress and slide along the base of his member. "Though they have, and will only, be men. They will not desire other men to such an extent as you. It is not a bad thing, certainly. It's simply the will of nature for them to desire women above men."

Odah let out a long grunt under his breath, looking down, past his... Partner's back to gaze at her rear end. It was a thick, womanly, swaying thing that made him drool from his blunted tip. He pulled back, but pushed her forward ever so slightly, enough to glide her off of his rod. She let it happen, but she languidly doubled over, arching her back down and rear upwards. Her thighs split open to reveal that womanhood for her. He hefted his manhood to meet hers, blunt-tip first, pressing it against her. She let out a groan of delight, staring into the mirror to watch the younger-looking zebra work at her body. He paused, briefly, locking eyes at her through their reflection. "...Are you Eret?"

She let out a grunt of excitement, feeling him prod against her in such a fashion, feeling that blunted cockhead rub her lips. Their desires aligned perfectly. She let out a breath, and took one in, deliberating her answer. "...No. He was not an incarnate, as much as I wish he was. He is at peace, passed of old age in a time few even know of."

He slowly pulled away from the white wolfess' nethers, the woman feeling that pressure and warmth drifting away from her desired entrance. She bit her lip, and shot him an accusatory look through the mirror, her smile drooping into an unamused frown. Odah smiled, worked his grip and waist slightly, and then she felt a poking and prodding in somewhere else. A shudder went up her spine, her fluffy tail lifting on instinct to expose her tighter entrance where nature didn't necessarily intend for women to take it in. "So, who are you, then?"

She sighed and split her own thighs apart further, her tongue hanging out of a panting mouth. Her grin was naughty. She approved. "If you make me howl, I'll tell you."

It was a quick, rough lay. Both Odah and this stark white wolfess needed it. They could both tell. Odah was hasty in his entry, having worked himself up aplenty, lubing himself with his own virility before jamming himself against her tight, winking, eager tailhole. She wagged her tail furiously, whining aloud, fingers gripping the mirror in front of her for support. He growled, feeling her insides spread and hug his pole, milking and flexing with every heartbeat. It was several moments of rough pushing until he finally felt his hilt meet her rear, his hips pressing into her plush asscheeks, his testes nestling and grinding at her hot, wet nethers. With this, he started to properly piston his powerful set of hips into her, grinding and grunting, gasping as he hit new, tender places within her insides, causing him to leak into her. She was a shaking, panting mess already, having her ass filled and spread out by thick, ebony zebra cock. He worked to the medial ring, and then pushed back in each time, never leaving her absent of his member for very long. He could feel his core tightening, his rapid breath wafting over her form under him. Her knees shook and shuddered, with trails of feminine liquid seeping from her nethers to dribble down her thighs, splattered across her backside from those slapping balls of his. Leathery, obese, and pent-up, they were begging for release. From how the wolfess ground back against Odah, she'd happily grant them their release- If she could hang onto her own faculties for long enough. She stared at Odah through the mirror, whose eyes were closed shut in concentration, feeling the woman rock against his body, at his rough bucking and the feeling of being balls-deep inside her. She loved watching him work, seeing his muscles flex, his form manipulate her own, making her breasts sway below her, causing her ass to shake profusely and clap against his waist.

Their conjoined orgasm wasn't far off. The point hadn't been to last, but to fuck openly, quickly, and hard. They succeeded in their goal. The wolfess, true to her word, howled in utter delight, letting out her own orgasm. Her feminine seed rushed down her legs, netherlips quivering whilst Odah dug himself to the hilt, the entirety of his immense shaft buried in her ass. There was a sudden rush of white-hot seed that poured into her guts, the shaking, panting zebra sighing and grunting, moaning boyishly a few times. Her belly could feel each droplet pump into her stomach, her walls outstretched, rendered a howling, drooling, cum-filled mess. Odah stayed hilted inside of her, even after their orgasms ended, as quick and as rough as their proper encounter. They remained close, panting, tongues out, breath wafting into the dreamscape jungle air. The mirror in front of them shook and wobbled from the white wolfess' own pleasure-wracked hand, but she kept from falling over. At least, until he slid out of her thoroughly used ass, dragging his inches back until that blunt, fat crown popped free, the excess seed that couldn't rest inside her drooling out in fat ropes of the stuff.

It wasn't long before he was kneeling behind her, having tugged her body into an upright position. His hands had traveled up her front to grasp a breast each, her pillowy, delightfully perky things providing the perfect handhold for him to molest her with. He sighed and panted across her neck, while she seemed to be busy regathering her senses, even though his spent, half-limp member pressed between her thighs and out the front, hanging low and heavy. Her hands went to the back of his neck, like before, up and over her head to caress him, even a little, as he did the same to her body. He licked up her neck, to her chin, and then bit her wolfish ear. Revenge for before. She let out a canine-like whine that trailed into a soft chuckling, even as she panted. "There you go... Didn't that feel great?"

His fingers found her cute nipples, sliding over them and twirling, circling and even tweaking them a little. "Mmh..." He nodded, licking the crook of her neck and even kissing it. "Yes. Yes it did."

Several moments passed, and even Odah forgot that he had asked a question before their brief, rough encounter had began. She spoke first. "In some lives, I'm a consort, or a close friend. Some, a lover, or a mate. An advisor, sometimes."

He cocked his brows, realizing that was the answer, and that he had asked at all. "...Every time?"

She shook her head. "Not every time, but for many, you and I were connected in some way or another."

Odah nodded, his manhood still drooling idly onto the floor with the leftovers of his afterglow. "Were you also a man in some lives, as you say?"

The wolfess bit her lower lip, using her powerful thighs to entrap his manhood between them, letting him hotdog her still wet nethers above. "A few times, but more often, I have been a woman."

"Why do you remember, but I don't? It makes all of this... Difficult to believe."

The woman tugged on a cord on his throat. He'd forgotten about the necklace Eret had given to Biola. Even with the knowledge that he and Biola were the same person, it still felt... Not so, like it was information that needed to sink in to properly register. The wolfess pulled away from him, stood, and then turned to the spacious bed in the center of the room, brushing Odah's face with her tail on the way over. She extended a hand towards him, sitting on the edge of the plush, rather regal-looking bed.

He took it, but rather than sit beside her, he pulled her arms around his neck, and his around her waist. Her hips were at his, his still-half-limp manhood draped loosely across her stomach and crotch, as if they were testing how deep he'd be inside her. She chuckled in response, but let it happen, wrapping her thighs around Odah's midriff. "Time, mostly. We all remember with time."

"How many other... What did you call them? Incarnates?"

"Incarnates, yes."

"How many of them are there?"

She paused in thought, her hands caressing Odah's shoulders tightly, rubbing the back of his neck. He craned his noggin into her attentive hands while she responded. "I don't know, exactly, but there are still a small portion hidden among the normal folk of this world. They're of all races, but they will only stay that race throughout all their lives. The majority will be born as only a man or a woman, but..." She bit her lip up at the zebra whose dick hung loose across her crotch. "There are exceptions."

"Like me, yes?"

"Indeed. And myself, to an extent. But every Incarnate, given enough time, will slowly start to remember their past lives. Eventually, they will remember everything."

"So one day, as you say, I'll remember Biola as though I were her?"

"Yes. Everything she- You, did, whom you loved, triumphs, failures, lessons, and experiences. It will eventually return."

Odah let out a small breath. It was, quite frankly, a gigantic amount of information to process. "See... You say this, but it's still..."

"A bit to take in?"

"Exactly."

She leaned up, sitting a little more upright on the bed. Her lips met his, and he didn't fight back. They pressed into each other on mere habit before splitting apart. Her smile was small, but genuine. "You need not believe me. Have you had dreams that felt so real, you can't tell if they're memories you've forgotten, or mere dreams?"

Odah blinked. "...Yes. More and more often, actually."

She nodded. "Good. Then you're already on your way. You'll remember, given a little more time."

Odah still appeared confused. The wolfess grinned, showing teeth and giggling through her nose. "You're cute when you're confused."

Odah's face flushed a little darker. "Oh, hush. I'm handsome, not cute."

"Well, Aalum thinks you're cute."

The zebra's eyes widened. "...What?"

"You heard me."

He blinked. "How do-"

"It wasn't that hard. I've been watching you for a bit, now, and I know you're travelling to the human kingdoms to meet him."

Odah let out a breath. "...First of all, that's creepy."

"Oh, please. I think it's adorable how you have a crush on a man who's more than twice your age."

"...That's creepier."

"I'm actually tempted to jump him sometime myself. He's quite the stallion."

"...That's creepiest."

She bapped him on the snout, and he chuckled aloud. "Shush. Just because I'd take his children doesn't make me a pervert."

"But stalking and having a lover from a past life bone you in a dream doesn't count?"

She let out a bark of laughter. "I'm not Eret, I told you. And besides, you didn't say no."

"It's still slightly creepy, even if maybe a little flattering."

She gave him a mock frown, but he still smiled at her, though it was tinged with confusion and annoyance. She let out a small breath. "...No, you're right."

"...I am?"

"Yes. I was..."

"Pushy? Assertive? Maybe a little manipulative and not forthcoming about your identity or intent?"

She scowled, but a grin on her face formed after a few seconds. "...You sound exactly like your most recent self."

Odah let out a breath. "...What was my last self like?"

"You were a warrior in one of the western zebra tribes, but I was a wolven man. We were friends, and eventually, lovers."

Odah bit his lower lip. "I was mated to a wolf boy?"

"You've had stranger."

"That's supposed to reassure me?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was cute, don't be a downer."

Odah then realized something. "...But Eret? Everyone else I might've..."

The white wolfess' grin dimmed. "...They're gone."

Odah felt his grip on her loosen. Eventually, he pulled away, and then sat next to her properly. She leaned against him, head on his shoulder. She let out a breath. "And that's the curse. We'll outlive everyone, every time."

Odah could still see the mental image of Eret and Biola together, laying, loving, about how much they truly cared for each other. Biola, in a sense, was still here, still living on, but Eret was gone. He felt a sort of longing, a distant sorrow in his gut, thinking about how many of the lovely, bright stories from his past lives had turned tragic, knowing that any of his past lovers, friends, and family may not be anymore.

"Part of why I pulled you here was to prepare you for it."

"...I'm sorry?"

"Eventually, when it all comes back, you'll remember everything. And at how much of it is gone. It's... Rough."

He nodded thoughtfully, though his mind seemed to be miles away. Her hand found his, cupping it. He squeezed. "A lot of incarnates don't live long. The loss and pain become... Too much for a lot of them."

Odah's eyes closed in quiet contemplation, but his head shook in the affirmative. "...What can I do?"

She pulled him in, kissing his forehead. "Accept that the past is the past."

"I understand."

"Do you?"

"...No. But I'll try."

She couldn't stop a small, sad smile from crawling across her lips. "You always were too honest for your own good."

He chuffed, squeezing the white wolfess' hand in his. He let out a small sigh, but he felt his surroundings becoming hazy. It reminded him of when he was first going under into the memory. The wolfess rubbed her muzzle against his neck. "Looks like time's up."

The zebra looked to see white smoke emanating from the mirror. Out on the dreamscape balcony, a large wolf and a smaller zebra kissed. It was their world, not his, and now, he had to leave. He heard the wolfess' voice. "I will be with you, Odah." Eret and Biola coalsesced into the same white smoke as everything else. "When you're lost, I will find you."

He felt slightly dizzy as the surroundings of the jungle at night disappeared into white smoke. He held tighter to her. He closed his eyes. "What's your name?"

He felt the world turn to smoke around him, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. Everything faded as his mind was pulled back from within the deepest pits of his forgotten memory. There was a whisper.

"Taha."

"Odah?"

"Wake up."

It felt like he was being shaken.

"Is anyone home? Wake up, you."

Odah's eyes opened. An early morning sky greeted his strained eyes, but there was a looming figure over him. He grunted. "There you are. I've been trying to wake you up for a good while. How're you feeling?"

The voice sounded familiar. It made him feel relaxed. Welcome. His eyes focused on the tiny speckles of grey in an equine-like mane of hair.

Aalum smiled down, a slightly older, rugged, handsome face greeted him. "Are you well?"

Odah grinned and nodded sleepily, yawning. "I'm fine," before attempting to stand. "I was... Asleep, I think."

The older man laughed. "You think? Odah, you were lying on your ass in the middle of a field, of course you were asleep. Did you march yourself to exhaustion?"

"...Field? What? No, there's a..."

He looked around, but sure enough, it was an empty clearing in the middle of a forest. There was a tiny hill in the center, of which the two of them stood, but aside from that, there was nothing else. Odah swallowed. He was sure that there was... Something, but he forgot exactly what.

"...Are you okay?"

Odah blinked and turned to a confused-looking Aalum, who was cocking his head in his direction. The zebra took a moment to gather his still-sleepy thoughts, though the details were fuzzy, like a half-remembered dream the morning after. Something about a wolf, a jungle, and him being someone else? It was hard to tell. "...Have you ever had one of those dreams where, when you wake up, you're not sure if it was a dream, or a memory you've forgotten?"

Aalum's eyes fluttered a few times. He rubbed the back of his mane for a few seconds, but then, a smile cracked his lips. He let out a small chuckle, his eyes twinkling with some sort of realization only he knew. "...Do I ever."

"...What?"

Aalum looked back at his friend and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. Probably more than you do, actually."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Aalum just stared at Odah, like he said something prophetic a few moments before, but now the meaning was totally lost on him. Which may or may not have been the case. Then Aalum made an "aaah" noise, like someone coming to a sort of realization. "No, it's nothing. I just know what you mean by the "if it's a dream or a memory" sort of thing."

Odah chuffed and shook his head. "You're weird."

Aalum cocked a brow, still smiling. "You know you like me."

Before long, their lips met, the two stallions meeting in the middle. The both of them let out a small breath, with even Odah's arms wrapping around Aalum's neck and shoulders. The older, more mature stallion's arms caressed Odah's hips and waist, squeezing him gently before letting go as they separated. Odah let out a laugh. "Still crushing on young boys, old man?"

"Oh, please." He snickered. "There's a lot of reasons why I crush on you, but young isn't one of them."

"But it does help."

"Admit it, you like it a little, too."

Odah's face flushed ever so slightly, the older stallion beaming at his friend and occasional lover. The zebra grinned. "Got me there."

The older male gave Odah another hug, which the zebra returned. "You were vague in the letter you sent."

"Oh, that!" Odah suddenly remembered why he was there with Aalum at all. "I didn't want to mention the specifics, but you get the general idea, right?"

"I do."

"What do you think?"

Aalum let in a breath through his teeth. "You really think they'll try to do something like that again?"

"I can't be too sure. The Roots of the World are vague, but they all point me there."

"I felt it too, but sometimes they're not very good at communicating." The more older of them crossed his arms in front of his bare chest expectantly. "I suppose you had a plan? You said as much."

"I actually do, as a matter of fact."

Aalum smiled. "Alright," he concluded, clapping his hands together. "Let's go."

And with that, they began to march through the grass, towards the treeline, Odah hefting his pack over one shoulder. They marched side by side, but Aalum held up a finger. "Question."

Odah turned expectantly.

"Were you serious about that whole "next time we meet I'm putting it in you" deal?"

Odah blinked, but then smiled impishly. "You bet."

Taha perused through the big, fat tome lying on the table, open to roughly the middle. She poured over, reading line-by-line, translating the text onto a parchment binding to the side. However, a voice pierced the silence behind her. It was slightly boyish, with the barest hint of something deeper. "You really do have a soft spot for him, don't you?"

The white wolfess rolled her eyes. "You didn't HAVE to watch, you know."

The voice returned. "You think I'm not gonna watch as you get your ass railed? You thought wrong!"

Taha swung around in her seat to stare at the source of the voice. He was short, coming up to about the wolfess' midriff. With cloven hooves, large horns protruding from his forehead, a slightly curvy body, and fox-like tail and ears made his identity as a demon all-too obvious, save for what seemed like leaves for hair, with most hanging about his forehead, some on his chest, and dotting along before his loincloth began to barely cover up what he had on offer. Taha frowned at him accusingly. "Summoning you was a mistake."

"And it's yours to live with," he remarked, marching up to gently float right next to her, staring at the desk she was working at. "...Are you translating something?"

She nodded. "Yes, actually. An ancient Igni-Human text."

He let out a small laugh. "Hey, I taught you that language. You better credit me too, jerk."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she flipped her manuscript to the first page, hastily penning in "& Anuras" beside her own name. "There," she pointed to the still-wet ink. "Satisfied?"

Anuras, the demon boy, seemed to stare pensively at the book. "...Why'd you conceal me from that zebra, if I can ask?"

Taha flipped back to her previous spot within her manuscript. "It's not your job to ask questions."

"Even if I ask why you lied?"

"I didn't lie!" She chuckled, then shrugged her shoulders. "...I embellished."

"When the older guy he's with finds out you lied to him about him being an Incarnate-"

"I didn't lie on that, either."

"Oh, please. You lie like a rug."

"It's his fault for believing it! I wasn't the one who was so easily suggestible."

"And when the Incarnate he's with finds you?"

Taha paused. She didn't have an answer ready.

"Exactly," Anuras gave her a pointed look. "You're just an Enchantress. You really think you can take one of the most powerful Incarnates out there?"

"I won't have to. Odah'll do it for me."

"You're betting on Odah believing you to keep you safe from that dude?"

"Indeed."

Anuras chuffed. "So then why lie to the zebra? Even I wouldn't spin a yarn THAT long."

"I need Aalum out of the way."

Anuras was silent for a few moments, a pensive look descending on his visage, resting his chin on a knuckle, even though he continued to hover in the air beside his summoner. "...It never was about Odah, was it?"

"Nope. I planted the seed in his mind so I can use him later. He'll remember what we did eventually, but by then, I'll have done my work, and he'll realize he was manipulated. I get what I want, he realizes he was lied to, and he learns a valuable life lesson. That, and I get rid of a bothersome stallion for another generation."

"And if the zebra actually IS an Incarnate?"

Taha blinked, then swiveled to face him. "...I refuse to entertain that possibility."

The impish demon leaned back in the air, as if taking a seat on a throne, crossing his legs in front of him with a sly smile on his face. "Oh, ye of little faith."

"Oh, me of actual fucking statistics. It's nearly impossible that he's one, I guarantee you. Besides, it was YOUR idea to tell him he was an incarnate."

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to take it that far. I just thought you wanted to use it to get in his good graces, not manipulate him to that extent."

"And here I thought you were a demon! Where'd your balls go, Anuras?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'll make you choke on 'em."

"Oh, hush. This plan'll work, trust me."

"As long as the zebra isn't actually an Incarnate, otherwise you just gave him a massive boost in how close he is to re-manifesting himself."

"But he's not an Incarnate. You checked, remember?"

Silence.

Taha stared at Anuras. The demon's smile was pervasive. The wolfess' eyes narrowed dangerously. "...You DID check, yes?"

The demon nodded. "Indeed. I checked."

Her stare was feral. "...You lied."

The demon shrugged. "Must've slipped my mind!"