FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The quiet of the morning was shattered by an alarm, waking Hunter with a start. With his heart pumping adrenaline through his body, he blinked his dry eyes and looked down at Em. The loud wail repeated twice before shutting off.

"PT at 0500. Riders gear up and move to the assembly area." The quiet returned with a click.

Hunter climbed down the ladder, meeting Em's tired gaze as his feet touched the ground. A wide yawn spread across her face as she rolled onto her back and stretched her legs up. Her eyes closed slowly, and for a moment, Hunter thought she had fallen asleep again.

"Good morning, Hunter." She groaned in annoyance, rolled onto her belly, and stood up. Despite the drowsiness that laced her voice, she offered him a warm smile. When she was completely out from under the bunk, she ruffled her wings, reached her forepaws forward, and arched her back.

"Good morning, Em." He stretched too, releasing a pent-up breath as he lifted his arms and felt his muscles tense up then relax. As Em stretched, Hunter walked over to the door, ruffling the fur on his snout to set it straight before peeking out of their room, trying to get an idea of what he was supposed to be doing. A few others had the same idea as him. In front of each door was a neat pile of equipment. He picked up the pile and slipped back into his room.

Carefully balancing the stack of equipment in his arms, he reentered the room. He set it on the ground next to the closet, wincing as a piece of the armor clattered onto the floor and skid away from him. Em stopped the escaping piece of metal with a paw, picked it up with her large paw, and offered it to Hunter.

"Thank you." Hunter nodded in gratitude as he took what looked like a part of leg armor from her.

He knelt down and examined what the pile of gear had. Four black flightsuits, ten pieces of matte gray armor, and a fully loaded backpack. With a general idea of which piece went on where, he arranged the armor on the ground in sets and started to pick out a fresh uniform from his closet. He quickly changed his clothes, trying to minimize the time he spent undressed in front of the dragoness.

"Are you supposed to wear clothes under that?" Em interrupted him, reminding him that she was still watching.

Hunter hesitated before pulling his leg out of the flightsuit. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to or not. The thought of undressing in front of her again his face warm, but he did it regardless. He stripped as fast as he could and slid the flightsuit on. It fit snugly, but the zipper, even with the small flap of fabric underneath it, picked at his fur as he zipped up. It wasn't too comfortable around his groin, but it was something that could be ignored.

He picked up the chest armor next. One piece for his upper chest and another for his belly and hips. "Which one goes on first?"

Em cocked her head to the side. "I don't know. We didn't learn much about your armor... Or how you put it on."

Hunter felt dumb for asking. He put on the chest armor like a shirt, sliding it on over his head and onto his shoulders. Then he slipped his legs through the lower section of the torso armor, only to find that the bottom piece was designed to fit under the chest piece. Realizing his mistake, he tucked the armor into their correct spots, making a mental note about it for the future. The moment it was in the right place, both the pieces of armor started to move. It molded itself until the armor fit snugly against his body.

Amazed, he sat down and reached over to grab the set of armor for his legs. The thigh pieces snapped shut over each leg. They carefully molded to perfectly fit his thigh just like the chest piece had done. Next he grabbed the armor for his lower legs, only to discover that they were actually meant for his arms.

Even though he couldn't see her, he could feel her gaze on him. His face felt warm from embarrassment. He set aside the armor and grabbed the correct set. They were slightly bigger than the ones meant for his arm and they clamped on over each calf.

It didn't matter. He could get the problem fixed later. For now, he had to finish equipping his armor. He covered his left arm first, one piece of metal on his bicep and another on his forearm. Then he repeated it with his right arm. Each part shifting and forming until it grasped onto his body. With his new armor equipped, he tested his flexibility by twisting and bending in various ways.

"Feels good." Hunter replied as he leaned from side-to-side.

Much to his surprise, he found that the armor didn't make much noise as he moved. The only noises he could hear were the sounds of his flightsuit stretching and the occasional clack of metal when he accidentally tapped one piece against another.

With all his equipment on, he knelt to investigate the content of the backpack. It has the usual gear that he might need in the field, but one item in particular caught his eye. A circular embroidered patch with a blue border. It showed the silhouette head of a wolf and a dragon, bearing their teeth, one on each side of the knife that split the patch down the middle. At the bottom, the words "Precute Desursum" were stitched in black. Strike From Above.

He held the small unit patch in his paw, admiring the design. With a hint of pride on his face, he tucked it back into the bag for use when he didn't have his combat armor on.

"Any idea where I go now?" He asked Em, who was busy looking him over. Again.

She didn't say anything for a moment. "Probably the armory. You go out the front and it's to the right."

"Thanks." He put away the remaining flightsuits, shouldered the heavy pack, and walked to the door. Em followed after him.

They exited together and joined a few other trainees as they trickled out of the barracks. Some walked alone, some with their partner. Hunter couldn't help but watch the dragon as they walked side-by-side. At that distance, he could see each individual scale shift as she walked. Her wing limb bounced lightly with each step, spots of light and shadows danced across the thin membrane.

He was so transfixed on the dragoness that he almost ran into the door. The sound of it hissing open stopped him from smacking his nose into the metal. Splashed of pink and orange highlighted the early morning sky as the sun started to rise from behind a far horizon, casting long shadows across the dusty ground.

She stepped away from the barracks and unfurled her wings, showing Hunter the true size of her immense wingspan. With her wings arched, she looked back at him with a smile. "Good luck, Hunter."

"Thank you, Em. Good luck to you too." He returned the smile.

"Thanks." The settled sand quickly turned into a blinding flurry as she took off with running start and strong flaps of her wing. When he could open his eyes again, she was gliding towards the SCAR airstrip.

"Okay... Armory." Hunter muttered to himself and started to walk towards the side of the hangar. Just like Em said, the armory was right next to the barracks. He hit the button next to the door, waited for the heavily armored door to open, then entered.

A few wolves were already there, arming themselves with one of the numerous weapons that were neatly lining the walls. Only one wolf had a patch on his shoulder. Blood red encircled the silhouette of a wolf and a dragon, the words "Nusquam Abscondere" stitched underneath.

"Gear up and get to the runway. Sim rounds on the table." The instructor pointed to a rack of rifles that took up the majority of one wall.

Hunter joined a few others at the table first and started to load the red-tipped simulation rounds into empty magazines. Click. Click. Click. He pressed the small bullets into the three-feed magazine. Each section of the magazine took twenty bullets each. The filled magazine fit perfectly into one of the several pouches on his chest. He repeated the process again and again until all of the mag pouches were filled.

He stepped away from the table and pulled a rifle from the weapon rack. More and more trainees trickled into the armory, so Hunter decided to inspect the weapon while walking to the assembly area. The sun was quickly warming the air as he fell into a steady trot and looked at the gun. The design was similar to the rifles he had trained with, but sleeker and more compact. The magazine receiver sat behind the trigger and despite the short length, it still had plenty of space for attachments.

By the time he reached the runway, he was somewhat familiarized with the rifle. He fell in with a few other trainees on the ramp that was surrounded on three sides by the base and the short runway on the forth. Several instructors stood by a large troop transport, waiting for all the new Riders to arrive. 0500 came and went, and yet more trainees joined the growing group, filling in the three neat rows.

The group grew to twenty-seven trainees before an instructor said anything. "Load up!" Was all he yelled before he turned and boarded the ship.

Without being given an explanation, the trainees followed the officer into the shuttle. One by one, they strapped into a jumpseat as the engines spooled up. The whine of the engines gradually filled the cabin before the ground slowly fell away as they took off towards their destination.

A sudden quiet and a thud marked the closing of the ramp. After several minutes of uninterrupted engine droning, the officer stood up. "You have until 1200 to get back to base. If you are late, you will be skipping lunch to do it again!"

Speckles of sand crept in the moment the ramp started to lower, thrown around by the engine. The officer was the first off the ship, dropping the short distance to the desert. One by one, the candidates followed after him, shielding their eyes from the sandstorm that the engines kicked up.

When all of the trainees were on the ground, the shuttle gunned its engines and rocketed away, pelting them with stinging grains of sand.

Hunter shook himself to throw off the granules that had settled on his head as the rest dispersed with the breeze. He shielded his eyes from the rising sun as he oriented himself. The ship had dropped them off between a cliff and a large rocky outcropping.

Shadows stretched west as the morning sun rose from the east. Luckily, the cliff wasn't between them and the base.

The other trainees took a moment to orient themselves and one by one, they started the journey around the outcropping that stood in their way. Part of him wanted to fall in the with group and just follow their lead, but he knew that plotting a course first would be easier than backtracking. With a reluctant sigh, he started to carefully pick his way up the huge, sun-bleached rock. His boots gave him plenty of traction, but each step uphill strained the muscles in his legs.

Dry, sun-bleached desert stretched out as far as the horizon, making him forget the building heat, his pounding heart, and the burn that was starting in his calves. Just downhill from the rock that he stood on, the landscape turned into a rough landscape with scattered rocky outcroppings and rolling dunes. He quickly spotted several places that would be impassable without significant effort or special gear. It took him a while, but he eventually plotted a course that would avoid the larger obstacles and skirt around most of the smaller ones.

It was beautiful in its own desolate way, and the only reason he tore himself away from the view was the sight of a few classmates at the bottom edge of his vision. Not wanting to get left behind, he started to trot down the boulder, carefully slowing himself until he came to a running stop at the base of the outcropping. Using his momentum, he chased after his fellow wolves. His eyes scanned the ground before him, planning each step as he let gravity carry him down the hill.

Hunter caught up to the rest of the group just as they reached the edge of the rougher terrain. He fell in with the others, following them around the base of several smaller dunes. The sun continued to rise in the sky, beating down on the trainees and the land. Heat started to absorb into the exposed parts of his flightsuit and slowly bleed into his fur, it wouldn't be long before the armor would turn into a sauna.

Each step, despite the additional strain from walking in soft sand, became repetitive, and his mind started to wander. Of course, it stopped on the latest development in his military career. Everything he had read about the SCAR program had suggested that all the dragons that were selected were male. Exact details eluded him, but from what he could recall, it was because of how their culture worked. The amount of information he had tried to absorb when he learned he was going to be working with dragons was too much for him to retain.

The temperature continued to rise, quickly going from uncomfortable to dangerous as the trainees trudged their way back north. They maneuvered around the largest obstacles, walked over the smaller ones, and made good progress. Each step started to require more effort and he noticed that he was panting to relieve the heat that was trapped by his suit and fur. Each pant sent a cool wave throughout his body despite the warm air, but it also sucked in sand, leaving a gritty taste in his mouth.

As he questioned whether to hide his panting or not, the group came to a halt. The line collapsed on itself and everyone saw why they had stopped. A long dried up river had worn its way through the sandstone, leaving a deep ravine that ran perpendicular to their path.

A quick glance around told Hunter that everyone else seemed to be struggling to orient themselves and find a way around the deep gash in the ground. One of the other trainees started to scramble up the biggest dune he could see, he followed to double check his position. The wolf he followed was completely black furred and Hunter felt sympathy for him, the black flightsuit was bad enough, but he couldn't imagine how hot he must feel.

Hunter caught up with the other wolf and surveyed the ravine.

"I say we go east, the ravine narrows and we might be able to find a place to cross." The nameless wolf had a confidence in his voice that made Hunter doubt his own judgment.

He kept silent for a moment just to make sure he was in the right place. "No. There is a way to cross over there." It took quite a bit of self control to make himself sound sure of his information. It still lacked the power and absolute confidence that the ebony wolf had.

"You sure?" His tone was a mix of doubt and cocky assurance of his own decision. As if his tone wasn't enough, the wolf was physically imposing as well. His eyes were a piercing amber color, contrasting heavily with the dark fur that covered his toned body. Even in the blistering sunlight, he seemed capable to outlasting any of the other wolves.

Hunter swallowed the sudden resurgence of doubt he had and nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

"Then let's go."

He had just gotten his breathing back to a normal pace when the other wolf started back down the incline. After a moment to rest, he hefted his increasingly heavy rifle and followed. By the time he caught up, the wolf had already informed the others in the group about the route, and he didn't share how he had come up with the information.

They traveled parallel to the ravine until they came across the natural bridge that traversed the crevasse. It was wide as wide and sturdy as Hunter had hoped so the crossing was uneventful and slow as wolves crossed a few at a time.

Minutes turned into hours, and each step blended in with the next, but the fatigue became harder to ignore. Worse than the strain was the dry heat that even permeated the sporadic shade. Even his relatively light armor and weapon were starting to take a toll on him. His gun moved from one arm to the other, and no matter how he held it, his muscles ached. Each individual piece of armor pulled at his body with each step and knots screamed for attention from under his backpack straps.

The group started to thin out as stragglers fell behind and created more of a line, stretching as far forward and back as he could see. Occasional breaks allowed them to catch up and stay relatively together as a group. A red tint started to dominate every part of them. Weapons, armor, backpacks, fur. It was all covered in a fine dust.

Red tinted dust started to encroach in every possible space with every heavy boot-fall. He felt granules of sand sift through his fur with every slight movement and he was sure he could leave a cloud if he gave his tail a few good whacks.

"Finally." Hunter let out a sigh of relief as the distant shapes started to arrange themselves until they resembled the base he had arrived at the previous day. His chronometer read 1125. He hefted his gun, which seemed to have magically gained weight, and straightened himself, trying to pretend away the fatigue that gripped every muscle in his body. Forcing his tail and ears to a more neutral position proved much harder than he expected.

It took another twenty minutes for them to reach the outskirts of the base where another officer met them. The wary looks quickly vanished as one by one as they passed the officer, some hid it better than others.

"Debrief first, then you boys can wash up and get some lunch."

The heat-exhausted group of trainees fell in line behind the officers as they were led to the armory, where they unloaded their guns and ammunition. The brief time in the temperature controlled building and being free from his heavy equipment reinvigorated him on the short walk to the headquarters.

His paws started to throb as he slowly sat down, carefully tucking his tail to his side. He denied the others the sight of his discomfort, despite the urge to massage his aching calves or to shake the sand from his fur. Less embedded granules skittered onto the tiled floors, leaving a trail of sand as the trainees gathered in the room.

Once everyone was settled, the officer who had been with the group during PT stood up at the end of the table.

"Well done out there." His gaze passed around the room, looking at the new candidates. "I'm captain River, an instructor here at SCAR."

Captain River was not quite as physically imposing as the black wolf, but he didn't need to be to radiate authority. His fur was copper colored, with patches of white coming up the front of his neck and under his muzzle, a sudden change from the black armor that covered his toned form.

"What we just did wasn't just PT. We know that you are capable of overcoming physical challenges. That's why you are here." His brown eyes flicked from wolf to wolf. "What we wanted to see is who can lead and how you work as a group."

A few wolves shifted as they realized the true purpose of the exercise.

"Being a part of SCAR requires communication and an ability to make decisions. We will be looking for those who can take up that mantle." After a short time to let the candidates process what was said, he spoke again. "This airfield is named after the first rider Dusk. Though he didn't live to see the creation of this unit, we expect you to follow his example. He didn't volunteer to lead, but his ingenuity and decision-making allowed his group and the dragon he rode on - Umbra - to escape. You all know the story. You are part of the unit he created."

The captain tapped the wall behind him, bringing the hidden screen to life.

"Training will be three phases." The screen displayed a slide that summarized what he was saying. "Phase one will be small unit training. You will learn how to operate in a small strike group that utilizes unconventional tactics. Get to know your partners, you will be spending most, if not all of training with them. You will fly with them and fight with them."

He tapped the screen to bring up the next slide which showed images of Anten, shrouded in near-constant sandstorms. "Phase two will be survival/isolation training. It will teach you all the skills you need to survive anything from fighting alone to behind trapped on a Pack planet. Phase three is an extension of phase two that focuses on extreme environment training. As your final test, you will be dropped on Anten, Aliquam's hellish brother, and you will have to make your way to an LZ. Just you and your partner."

The thought of that made Hunter shudder.

"I'll go into more details as the time comes. Any questions?" There were none. "Alright, then get washed up and get something to eat. Rest of the day is yours to get to know your partner. Dismissed."

One by one, the candidates stepped back out into the blistering heat and made the short walk to the large hangar. One retinal scan later, he stepped into his shared room and began to remove his dusty armor.

A layer of red dust coated everything. His armor, his flight suit, his fur, and it was even starting to coat the floors. He made a mental note to stash some towels in his room for cleaning the dust that would find its way in over time. Moving slowly, he unequipped his armor and carefully set it on the floor besides the door until he was just in his flightsuit and boots. He unlaced his boots and slipped out of them, setting them next to his armor to be washed after he was clean.

Small wafts of red dust fell off of his flightsuit as he walked over to his closet to grab a fresh set of clothes, leaving a light trail. In just the one-piece flightsuit, he walked through the two set of doors, toes curling slightly on the cold tiles. He quickly padded over to the shower to escape the painfully cold floor.

Small, chest-high diving walls created smaller booths that gave a semblance of privacy in the large room. Hunter picked one that was isolated from the few that were occupied and stripped completely, flinching slightly as the zipper plucked a few hairs off of him. Even the matted fur that was hidden underneath was sprinkled with grains of sand, glued on by the light sweat that was quickly whisked away by every slight gust. He set his clean clothes down on a nearby bench, draped his dirty flightsuit over the dividing wall, then turned the knobs on the shower, starting the flow of frigid water.

Gradually adding more and more hot water, he waited until it felt bearably cool against his hand before he stepped in. He had to force himself into the chilly stream, but he found himself letting out a long sigh of pleasure as it washed the days worth of sand and sweat off of his overheated body.

The water that ran off his body was tinted pink from the red sand as he dispensed a generous amount of shampoo onto his hands. He started from his feet, working his way up his body with his paws. His fingers massaged away the deeply embedded grime and worked the suds throughout his fur, burying his gray and white fur in a mass of blue bubbles.

It was a long process, but it did make him wonder about how the dragons cleaned themselves. Did they depend on a special shower to wash themselves? Did they just groom themselves? He decided to read more on dragons after grabbing a quick lunch. Hopefully, it would ease the discomfort he felt being around them, let alone sleeping above one.

Clean and smelling slightly sweet, he let the water rinse him free of suds and he combed his fingers through his fur to get what the water didn't. Once the last of the soap was whisked down the drain, he shut off the water and activated the dryer. Strong blasts of warm air threw his fur in every direction, splattering water on the dividing walls as it quickly dried him. He ducked down and ruffled the fur on his head, trying to dry and keep it relatively orderly at the same time. One by one, he used his hands to ruffle-dry every part of his body until it fluffed up.

He shut off the dryer and ran his hands through his fur again to set it straight. His tail proved less cooperative, reverting to a puffy ball.

"Fine... Be that way." Hunter gave up and let his tail go. He made his way back to the bench and started to redress. Another trainee sat down on the bench near him and started to dress as well.

"Not too comfortable, are they?" He held up the flightsuit and chuckled lightly. "You'd think they'd design them to be worn with undergarments."

"They were." The other wolf tilted his head slightly to the side. "I wore mine with underwear and it was comfortable enough."

"Oh..." Hunter felt his face flush, but he tried to laugh it off. "I guess that explains that."

He chose the silence that followed to beat a hasty retreat, cursing himself for being unable to come up with any response. Frustrated with himself, he nabbed a few towels and hid away in his room. Without a chair to sit on, he sat down on Em's bed to rest his aching legs.

Some part of him wanted to go to the mess hall. Wanted to socialize with the others, make some connections. But he felt the familiar feeling in his mind, a wall that he knew would bar him from making the move. He hated it, but he knew that it was part of him that would be almost impossible to change.

It was a new base, new people, and a new chance. "Fine! Fine! I'm going." He yelled at the empty room. It made him feel insane, but it gave him the push that he needed to finish changing and get himself out the door.

The mess hall was bustling with activity as base personnel of all types ate lunch. He joined the line and shuffled his way through. The meal consisted of slices of meat that smelled familiar, but not totally identifiable, the sign of a domesticated animal that was acclimated to the local planet.

He loaded up a plate, filled a cup with cold water, and looked around for familiar faces. A lot of the wolves looked familiar, and the constant second guessing in his mind didn't help. It was never easy for him to socialize in crowds, the smell of numerous strangers, and the echoing voices made him want to pin his ears against his head to quiet it all.

Friends and connections are immensely beneficial, just suck it up and talk to people.

A long table was taken up by the new arrivals. Some were already striking up basic conversations, some were scanning the other wolves, and others sat quietly, eating their food. The wall in his head started to build again, so he quickly sat down and focused on the conversations around him in the hopes of joining in. He slowly ate his food as he listened in, he picked up a few places he could've said something, get involved, but he was his own worst enemy. The worst possible outcome manifested in his head. Stumbling over his own words, saying something possibly offensive, or just being ignored.

The battle raged and his portion of lunch shrank, taking away his excuse to stay seated without talking. Frustrated with himself, he gulped down the of his water, angrily biting the extended lip on the cup. He set the cup on his tray and got up from his seat.

He skirted around tightly packed tables and tails to leave his tray on a rack before pushing his way through the nearest exit. The blissful silence enveloped him as the door slid shut behind him, leaving him to his thoughts, frustrations, and the sounds of the base.

Nicely done, idiot.

It only took a few moments for him to reach the barracks again, moments which were filled with him growling at himself quietly. He stomped his boots and pat down his clothes, trying to limit the sand that would inevitably find its way into his room. A dusty set of much larger paw prints led to his room door telling him that he wouldn't get the alone time he desired.

He braced himself mentally and entered through both set of doors.

"Good afternoon, Em." He gave her the best smile he could muster in his state.

The green dragoness he had met yesterday was curled up on her bed facing towards him.

"Hello, Hunter." She lifted her head off of her paws and smiled. "How was it?"

"It was hot and dusty." There was nowhere for him to sit aside from his bed so he looked for something to keep himself from standing there awkwardly. He knelt down and picked up a towel to wipe down his now-used armor. "How was your morning?"

"Good, good. Did some low altitude formation flying." Her wings ruffled against her sides and she wiggled excitedly. "I can't wait until you get to experience that with me."

Flying wasn't something that Hunter had given much thought to, he knew that she would be carrying him, but it had always been a surreal idea. The reality of what he was going to be doing hit him like a wall and he started to have doubts. Em was undoubtedly a very powerful dragon, but she was just a few feet longer than he was tall. Something of his size and weight would severely throw off her flight.

"Do you think you can fly with me?" His tone had more disbelief than he wanted. "I mean... I'm almost the same size as you besides your tail, and I know how delicate flight mechanics are..."

"I can with training dummies. You'd be surprised how much weight we can carry as long as it doesn't create too much drag." She turned her body and extended a wing, showing him the true length of it. "Just don't try to sit up. It'll end badly for both of us."

Her green limb covered most of the distance between the beds and him, casting a green tint on the floor below as light filtered through the thinner membrane. "What's your wingspan?"

"Twenty-six feet. Give or take a few inches." She replied proudly, retracting the wing and tucking it against her side again.

"That's impressive." He set aside his clean chest piece and picked up the armor that went on his left thigh. Swaths of dust wiped off with each wipe, staining the towel, but leaving the dark metal as good as new. "What's the average wingspan?"

"Around twenty-three feet."

A sudden excitement built inside Hunter. This was what he wanted to know. Knowledge about dragons from a dragon. He quickly stifled it because he didn't want to make a fool of himself by letting something slip.

He replied with an impressed huff, staring at the dragon with a mixture of awe and anxiety.

"You know you can ask me things, right?" Her voice made him realize that he had been staring for far too long.

"Sorry... It's a lot to take in. Training to be a sniper, then I'm told that I'm going to be a rider." He paused, unsure of how to continue. "You're the first dragon I've met."

"It's fine. You must be curious."

"Among other things." He paused and made a note to himself to find a chair to commandeer for his room. Sitting on the floor to talk to Em wouldn't do.

"Well. We have the rest of the day to get to know each other." She stood up and crawled out from under his bed. "Did you eat?"

Hunter nodded.

"Want to take a walk?"

A part of him wanted to just stay in the room and read. His legs agreed, but her inviting smile made it hard to decline.

"Sure. Let me just put this away." He stood up and stowed his armor in his closet, neatly arranging it for easy access.

The green dragoness patiently waited for him in the small dividing room, holding the inner door open with her tail.

"Thank you." He stepped through and slid the armored door open, gesturing her through before he stepped out.

She let the door close behind them, slinking out with a surprising amount of grace for a creature of her size. "And thank you."

They walked side-by-side through the hanger, saving discussion for when they were outside. He walked at a faster pace, trying to keep up with her deliberately slow speed. It gave him another opportunity to study his partner. Her sleek, but powerful body rippling with every step as each scale shifted to accompany her movement. He did his best to match her deliberately slowed pace.

This time, Hunter kept an eye on their distance to the door, wary of embarrassing himself again. The sun was dipping below its zenith, stretching shadows across the sand. Em led the way, heading onto the assembly grounds and heading north.

Their pace slowed and they took a leisurely path across the SCAR training grounds. "So, tell me about yourself."

Hunter ran his hand between his ears and sucked in a deep breath. "I have no idea where to begin." He scratched the back of his head gently. They watched as a group of wolves jogged past them. "Not much to say about me. I was born on Onust, oldest in a litter of three. Trained to be a sniper on a nameless chunk of rock."

"I'm glad I got partnered with a good shot." She gave him another heart-warming smile, something that made him more at ease every moment they spent together.

Hunter couldn't help but chuckle as he recalled the weeks of practice that he needed to just pass the test. "I might disappoint. I trained on the S-230 while... Not flying."

"You'll get used to it." Her words of encouragement did little to boost his confidence.

"What about you?"

They neared the headquarter building on the north side of the assembly grounds and to Hunter's surprise, she turned right, heading towards the small runways.

"I was the youngest in a clutch of three born aboard the Vitae and raised on Sileo. Much to my mother's dismay, I took after my father's colors..." She paused as they watched a in-atmosphere fighter take off, drowning their words in the roar of the engine. "When I first joined, I was assigned to logistics on a backwater planet in the middle of our territory."

A dropship rolled onto the runway and idled, waiting for clearance to takeoff. To his confusion, the dragoness sat on the edge of the assembly grounds, facing the runway.

She continued to her story. "I kept track of inventory, but I was also trained to deliver supplies to places shuttles couldn't go."

"How'd you end up here?" It suddenly dawned on Hunter that he had no idea what roles dragons served in the Splinter forces. He couldn't imagine Em counting boxes inside a warehouse, but logistics to special forces was quite the jump.

"I demonstrated my abilities. Showed them I could do any combat role they could give me." Her chest puffed up a bit with pride as she spoke.

"That's impressive." He didn't know what else to say.

"Not really. I just pestered them until they relented." She laughed and flicked her tail, loosely circling Hunter.

The shuttle's engines started to spool up, cutting off the conversation again as it thundered past them and took off.

"There is a certain grace to your aircraft." Her eyes followed the shuttle as it shrank to an indiscernible dot in the sky. "Not quite the same as flying on your own wings, but still amazing."

Hunter didn't share her enthusiasm for flight, but he understood why. He imagined flying without the boring safety of a metal bulkhead. "What's it like? Flying?"

"It's muscle memory. Like walking is to you, but it's so freeing. To feel the ground fall away and the wind to whip at your face." She paused, seemingly gathering her thoughts. "There's a reason dragons value their wings so much."

"I guess I'll feel that soon." His legs started to ache, reminding him of the morning PT and pleading with him to sit down. He listened to his complaining muscles and sat down next to Em, noticing her tail for the first time.

"Yes you will." The tip of her tail twitched just barely. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

The sun slowly set behind them, stretching their shadows towards the runway as a fighter landed and rolled to a stop.

"Why'd you join?" Em asked as the aircraft started to taxi off the runway and back towards the hangers. Her golden eyes looked down at him with genuine interest.

"I hated watching some people be treated like lesser wolves because of who their parents were." He bared his fangs as he thought about the archaic hierarchical system that their race followed.

"Are you a..." The dragoness seemed to lose track of the word she wanted to use. "Beta?" Despite the brief pause, it was clear her guess was carefully picked, even though the majority of the population were omegas. Her deliberate guess took Hunter aback. He had expected her to ask if he was an omega, something that could've been considered offensive.

"Omega." He met her gaze, only to realize that her eyes were flicking from one of his eyes to another. A slight heat burned the tips of his ears and he turned his head to conceal his blue eye under the guise of staring off into the distance. "I wouldn't have been upset if you guessed that first, after all, it is the largest group. Especially in the Splinter forces."

"I know." Her gaze remained on him. "I just didn't want to offend you."

Hunter tried his best to avoid glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "How'd you learn about that? Past experience?"

The dragon shook her head and turned to look off in the direction Hunter was. "I read about it."

Her answer surprised him. He had never imagined that he would be working with a dragon, let alone a dragoness that was educated on wolf culture. "What book told you about that?"

"It's something I gathered while reading fiction, actually. It always seemed to be used as a sly insult."

The wind started to pick up. At first, it merely ruffled his fur, but as the breeze grew stronger, it flung grains of sand at their backs.

"How long have you been around wolves? You seem perfectly comfortable around us." Something I wish I could do. He had to stop himself from saying the last part.

"Most of my life. Where I grew up was right next to a wolf colony on Sileo."

The irritating assault of sand suddenly stopped and a shadow enveloped him. Em had extended her right wing behind him, covering his entire body from the wind and sand. He couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Em."

"My pleasure." She turned towards him again to give him another smile. "How about you? Any experience with dragons?"

"None. Saw my first dragon yesterday." He briefly met her eyes before turning away with warmer ears. "I've seen the news. Seen pictures and read stories, but things are always different in-person."

Her head tilted to the side slightly. "What about us didn't match your expectation?"

Hunter gave himself a moment to phrase his reply correctly. He didn't want to come off as groveling, but he also didn't want to sound fearful. "Pictures don't capture the..." He paused again. "Sheer power you guys radiate... And you're a bit smaller than I imagined you guys would be."

She giggled and wriggled in exaggerated delight. "Thank you. I do my best to keep my form slim and powerful."

His laugh joined hers and he found himself wagging his tail, kicking up small puffs of dust with each pass. "You're doing a good job."

As they laughed together, her long, tapered tail curled closer around him. A movement that didn't go unnoticed. Before he could gather the courage to ask her about the gesture, she spoke.

"We should probably go back to our room before it gets dark." She pushed herself up onto all fours, keeping her wing open to shield Hunter.

"Something interesting happening tomorrow?" He stood up with her and brushed the sand off his clothes.

"Nothing too interesting. You're going to start on your classroom instruction. The reason I'm suggesting such an early bedtime is because training is intense and the shorter days will start to affect you soon." She went over what she knew, outlining the coursework he could expect. It had a heavy emphasis on dragons, but that wasn't too surprising to him. "Well, all that and I like sleep."

"Sleep is nice." Hunter chuckled. He could feel the creeping edge of the effects of the day cycle change and he knew from experience how brutal the adjustment could be.

They went their separate ways to shower when they reached the barracks. Hunter grabbed a fresh set of clothes and went to wash. The warm water gave him more time to let the training sink in. The last remnants of the surreal feeling went down the drain with the grime and dust.