FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

By the Feet of the Trees

Written by Leo_Todrius

Supported by my Patrons

Red strobing lights and the smell of singed circuitry filled the cockpit. It felt as if everything was happening at once. The control dashboard had shifted to hues of orange and yellow to warn of the impending doom Santiago knew he was already facing. The windshield on the capsule was growing pink and red halos at the lower edge as he began to scrape the atmosphere. The ejection from FTL had been abrupt. If he had been even slightly off of the navigational markers, he might have wound up tumbling through space forever. Instead, he was sinking into the gravity well of a forested moon. The green and orange jewel looked like a weathered copper sphere, beckoning him and welcoming him into its dangerous embrace. Santiago hoped he'd live enough to tell just what planet he was crashing onto.

The rumbling shook through the capsule, vibrations shimmying and shaking everything not held in tight confinement. Santiago's crash harness did a fairly good job of keeping him affixed to the ship, but the shaking was making his teeth clatter. Should mouth guards be standard issue? A sudden shake made Santiago yelp, then another, then a third. He was descending through enough atmosphere that the inertial compensators had slowed him down below the speed of sound. The vast mélange of green and bronze clarified into a vast canopy of trees. Some seemed to be evergreen, others richly colored in hues of fall. Birds began to scatter from the howling noise that the wind made as it split across the red hot capsule. Santiago began to control his breathing, nudging the compensators to try and level his descent.

When the capsule hit the first treetop, Santiago was lurched forward. There had been a change in speed to be sure, but it wasn't enough to slow the capsule. More twigs, more branches, more limbs. He skipped across the canopy like a rock across a pond - and just like that rock, he inevitably sank. The arching course nose dived and he went tumbling down. The trajectory suddenly shifted as he rolled, buffeting between ancient tree trunks before being unceremoniously deposited on the forest floor. The capsule skidded a few more meters before coming to rest between two split roots of a massive tree.

What had been nothing but noise and chaos became stillness. The console went out, the lights snapped off. There was dirt on the dashboard. Santiago was left in darkness. There was only the clicking and popping of an overheated pod cooling down rapidly - that, and his own panting. Santiago remained there for several moments, realizing he was hanging sideways. He reached up to loose his crash harness, coming half way free and sinking down a foot and a half. He was sideways, but he could work with that. Freeing himself of the harness, Santiago carefully lowered his boots to the deck plating - plating that had lost its magnetic charge. He shook his head. Dead as a doornail. Grabbing for the nearby consoles, he carefully maneuvered himself around, climbing toward the back of the capsule. A few manual releases later, the hatch hissed and popped, explosive bolts launching the metal free. It went skidding across the detritus of the forest floor, revealing the world beyond.

It was not like any forest on Earth... The trees were massive, rising up to the height of skyscrapers - that much was within the realm of imagination - but the branches that formed the canopy seemed to bow out and bend back, creating teardrop shaped skylights that let sun pierce down into the world below. The roots of the tree were likewise alien. Each tree split out into four feet-like trunks that anchored into the moss covered ground. The forest floor was covered with a thick, lush, clover like wildflower and clusters of larger pink succulents bobbed and wove on the faint breeze.

There was the sound of rustling leaves, of bird song, of reptile croaks and insect chirps. It was a living, breathing ecosystem so familiar and primal and yet so foreign and unknown... though perhaps Santiago was the most alien element. His flight suit looked as if it had been poured out of metal and plastoid, forged in shades of gunmetal and carbon, his visor a distinct bronze. Faint lights on his chest plate thrummed with an unseen pulse of amber. Santiago stood there, stocky and a little shorter than average for his species, but strong despite his time in zero gravity.

For several moments, Santiago merely took stock of his situation. His ship was dead, yes, but there was a chance it could be repaired. There were tools and spare parts, of course. There were also rations that could last him a week comfortably, more if he rationed. The idea of being a survivalist was not appealing, and the idea of engineering his own escape was even more dubious. The simple fact was that he'd come out of FTL while on beacon for the navigational markers. That meant that this planet, whatever it was, had at least been an outpost or waypoint during colonization. That meant communications systems, synthesizers, maybe even a whole civilization. Santiago grinned, imagining that he'd crashed into the middle of a city's vast central park and he merely had to walk over to Main Street.

Bringing up his arm, Santiago checked the panel. The air was a standard oxygen/nitrogen mix with just a bit more argon than one was used to, but not in a dangerous concentration. A secondary check ran a litmus test of possible biohazards from microbes, spores, germs and allergens. A yellow alert popped up indicating that anyone allergic to ragweed, juniper pollen or rye grass might develop similar symptoms was enough to reassure the pilot that it would be good enough.

Hands came up, depressing releases on the sides of his helmet. There was a hiss and a pop as the pressurized interior was equalized and the helmet slipped off. Long, dark coils of black hair fell down around Santiago's face as he shook them free, revealing honey brown eyes and a faintly tan complexion. Two long stripes of dark hair ran down the back of his cheeks, ending in perfectly shaved chevrons while the rest of his face was bare. A quartet of thick, dark black earrings ran up the back of each ear, looking fierce and hardy.

"There, that's not so bad..." Santiago murmured to himself, breathing in. He could smell decayed wood, moss, flowers, clover, and something spicy and sweet at the same time. It was quite nice, and far better than stale recycled air. He yawned a little, moving back to the shuttle. He hung his helmet up on a hook, grabbed a sling bag to draw across his shoulders and clipped a water bottle to his waist. It wouldn't do to travel farther from the capsule than half a bottle of water would last him so he'd use that as a measure.

After a brief deliberation about the merits of dragging the capsule hatch back over, he decided to pass. The rations were hermetically sealed so no animal would be able to sense their presence, and a human that found the capsule would, hopefully, try to find and help him. With the decision made, Santiago picked a direction and started walking. A small smile crept across his face as he looked up at the forest around him. He hadn't imagined crashing today, but there were far worse places he could have landed.

****

Three hours and twenty five minutes... Normally Santiago wouldn't have spoiled a nice forest walk by checking his chrono, but there still was an element of mortality involved. He had changed his direction once when he'd found a small creek, leaving a trail marker of his original trajectory. It was still a long shot given the completely arbitrary way he'd set out, but humans and most near human species tended to set up camp where small bodies of water met larger ones. Geographical features carved map lines. Even if he didn't find his hypothetical outpost, he could find a place to forage and gather. Santiago felt the urge to just keep walking, exploring, to surrender himself to the forest... but he was coming up on the self imposed limit of his water bottle. His breathing was a little heavier as he warred with himself. Should he go back? Should he turn around? Should he-

A glint of metal. It passed over his eye for just a moment. Santiago turned his head back, catching the light again. Whatever planet he'd landed on had far longer days than Earth did, but the first hues of sunset were reflecting off of something metal up ahead. The four footed trees had been fairly spread out on his walk, but up ahead they seemed to be closer together and at more regular intervals like fence posts. It was only then that Santiago realized that what he saw between the trees was not more forest, but open sky instead.

His pace quickened, though his eyes remained cautious. His water bottle clicked back to his belt, his sling bag still resting over the armored portions of his back plate. The sound of his armor cut through the general white noise of the forest, but as he ran, everything came into more clarity. There was a structure, clearly human in origin, perched on the edge of a cliff. The creek went all the way up to the edge before tumbling off the edge. The cliff curved in a crescent shape with the structure just off-center of the base while the forest continued out to two lookout points on either side. Santiago slowed, seeing the cliff faces descending downward, though he couldn't see into what exactly from here. All he knew was that he'd found a slice of home.

Reigning in his excitement, Santiago moved up to the structure. It was weathered, for sure. Moss and lichen filled in recessed portions of the prefabricated walls. The metal was older, a heavier alloy than he was used to. It had a reddish tinge to the otherwise gray hue. There were no windows on this side, presumably because all of the environmental and utility systems had been loaded in the back to preserve the view to whatever canyon laid beyond. A heavy clang came as Santiago ascended the steps, reached the structure proper, and touched the hand panel next to the door. To his surprise, the door slid into a recess to the side with barely a protest or hesitation.

Stepping into the outpost, Santiago was struck by how normal it all felt. The door slipped swiftly shut behind him and in that instant, the alien world was gone. He could hear the buzzing of faintly high blood pressure behind his ears. He could feel the subtle weight of his brain in his skull.. He could feel the threadbare world weariness that had come from a life where every choice was made in an effort to get by, but things steadily got worse and worse and worse. The forest had distracted him, given him a focus. It wasn't until that moment that he'd started to ponder the cause for the malfunction... He'd spent as many credits as he could on maintenance, but there was always a deficit.

A dissatisfied tongue ran along the edge of his upper teeth, a callous sneer at the edge of his lips. This wasn't the time for a self pity party - especially since moments before he'd been so elated. He ran a finger through his long hair, sweeping it back as he took a breath and centered himself. He took a few steps on deck grating before finding more even deck plating. The short hallway reached an open area and Santiago turned to take in everything. The view was magnificent, looking out over the crescent canyon. The reddish orange hues of the Grand Canyon were mirrored beyond the vast window, although there were bands of purple that delineated the sedimentary layers, adding a little variety. Vast leather winged reptiles flapped and fluttered on updrafts and eddies, gliding into the distance.

The majesty of this world returned to him and a more innocent, softer smile came back to Santiago's lips.

Looking around, some of his assertions were correct. It was a human outpost from the expansion phase. ZircaCorp emblems were stamped on several pieces of equipment, dashing his hopes of a synthesizer that could fashion more than rudimentary protein. Most of the consoles were dark, but what Zirca lacked in comfort it made up for in reliability. With a little effort he'd be able to get a bearing on his location and probably a beacon out to the traffic lanes for a pick up. Santiago reached up to the spot between his shoulders, depressing a relief on his back collar.

There was a pop-snap and his gear released. He pulled the chest plate off and set it on a workbench before doing the same with his belt. Metal plates came off his legs, clattering to the ground. He wriggled and shimmied until he was standing in a black bodysuit with gray hexagons running down the sides from his shoulders, across his ribs, and down the sides of his legs. The bodysuit hugged his muscles, showing off his biceps and triceps and his pectorals. He stretched a bit, relieved to be out of the confines of his suit. He walked over on the bodysuit equivalent of socked feet to warm the synthesizer up.

"Good afternoon, adventurer!" A recorded voice declared as the rectangular recess in the wall snapped to a greenish-white form of life.

"Default survival meal." Santiago commanded.

"Would you like bar or paste?" The synthesizer asked. Santiago grimaced slightly.

"Bar... And water packet." he added.

"Please wait, processing." The synthesizer replied as a humming began inside the machine. Somewhere below the bar was being printed from constituent elements. Santiago returned to look around at his surroundings. He recognized a few of the posters taped to the wall, apparently classics never truly died. There were a few potted plants with small pink succulents... Did that mean someone was taking care of them, or were they just good enough to survive from the sunlight through the windows and the humidity in the air? And there, slid against the wall that segmented the entry hallway, was the most comfortable looking couch he'd seen in years. There was no way it was standard issue... The cushions were broad, the fabric garish, the springs sagging just a little in the middle. There was even a coffee table with physical magazines and an assortment of bottles of some sort.

Knowing that his meal would be several minutes away, Santiago moved over to the couch and the table. He picked up one of the magazines and looked at the cover. It sported pictures of a hover gang, the bearded bandits that had roamed the Neo-New Mexico deserts a hundred years before Santiago had been born. Their over the top beards had faded in and out of style a half dozen times since then... Santiago reached over to pick up a dark brown glass bottle, wondering if it was beard oil for an equally hirsute explorer. He unscrewed the lid and lifted it up, taking a sniff.

Glowing orange particles wafted out of the jar, swirling and spiraling, sinking into Santiago's nose. The particles glowed all the way in, even as they settled into scent receptors and passed into his bloodstream. Santiago shuddered, feeling an almost instantaneous rush. His heart beat harder, his skin tingled, and his eyes glowed. The honey brown shifted to an iridescent orange. The tingling grew more intense before it began to settle in specific spots, making his nipples harden and press out, creating distinct nubs in his mesh suit. Far more obvious motion came as blood began to engorge in his manhood, causing Santiago's cock to squirm and shift, slithering across his groin.

"Fuck..." Santiago panted, feeling both as if he was a universally stupid idiot and like he was hornier than he'd ever been in his life. The intensity only grew as he did, his slothful cock coming out of its dormancy as it began to pry itself away from his body, stretching the bodysuit out into a tent. A hesitating, quivering hand reached down, brushing over the black material before he sputtered, shuddering, eyes clenched shut. His hands coiled around the shaft as he began to squeeze and stroke and rub at himself. He panted harder and harder, lips curling in pleasure before he grabbed the glass bottle in his other hand, stuck the rim of the bottle to one nostril and inhaled deeper.

The crashing waves of lust were like a tsunami as they swept over him. He fell back onto the couch, landing hard, his eyes going wide as the orange burned brightly from them. His chest was aching as his nipples grew harder and fatter and fuller than they ever had before. His anus was already writhing and pulsating, undulating, beckoning as the flesh swelled and pressed outward. There were flutters deep in his intestines that he'd never felt and hardly understood, and his prostate was pulsing with enough power that it could have been picked up from orbit... but none of that compared to the locus of his lust, the fixation, his entire reason for being.

The flightsuit had been designed to accommodate its pilot in any situation. That obviously meant it had a release to go to the bathroom, but that release was controlled by an external pressure sensor that Santiago had not yet pressed. The black mesh had stretched so tight that it hugged his cock like a latex sleeve, showing off the fat mushroom shaped tip, the veins, the slight curve outward before his long shaft... and even his ample, respectable balls. A drop of drool collected at the corner of Santiago's mouth as he wrapped his second hand around his cock, squeezing and stroking, gliding up and down, up and down, up and-

With a swish, the suit retracted as the back of his palm hit the pressure sensor. A pillar of brown throbbing Spanish cock was standing before him, aching and throbbing. It was as hard as reactor casing but oh so much hotter. Santiago jerked off there with glowing orange eyes, watching his cock stretch past his usual six inches, then eight, then ten before it finally started to slow. It was fatter, too, stretching the skin incredibly tight. Santiago gazed at his manhood, wondering how no one had ever heard of this stuff before? If it could do this, maybe the person that discovered it didn't return to civilization.

There was no elegance to the way his hand jutted up and down. It was too fast and ragged for rhythm or balance. His head leaned back against the well worn couch, both hands gliding up and down. He panted hard, eyes squeezed shut, shoulders pressing back into the couch. He began to bounce his hips up and down until he heard something bumping up against the wall. It would have been logical to assume it was the couch itself, but the impact noise was too specific, too localized, too distinct. Reluctantly, Santiago opened one glowing eye and isolated the source of the sound - a long, wide translucent tube with a blue rubbery end... an end that looked distinctly like an asshole.

Santiago was hit with a flurry of thoughts; how many years had it been since sanistrine had been invented? If a rescue party came, would he leave a perfectly good sex toy behind? And most importantly, was he really about to do this? The answer was yes. Santiago reluctantly let go of his achingly hard cock, grabbed the toy off the back of the couch and brought it over the swollen head of his member. With a half breath to steel himself, he brought the toy down. A slight shuddering coo escaped his lips.

It was warm to the touch, tight at the end and stretchy inside, and the more he drew the toy up and down, the more it seemed to pulse, undulate, and throb. There was also more than enough room. It didn't take Santiago long to inch the toy down lower and lower, engulfing enough of his meat that he shifted his other hand off of his rod. Both sets of fingers were firmly snared around the toy as he drew it up and down, feeling it tug and suck and massage. It was a miracle that he had held on as long as he had, or perhaps it was a side effect of what he had inhaled.

As the moments ticked by, it began to feel as though Santiago was transcending the mortal worlds. His blood flowed like unrestrained energy, sweeping into and out of his cock. His skin tingled, his muscles simply 'were'. His cock felt impossibly large inside of the tube and the pleasure was so good that he couldn't even lift his head. He kept going, panting, loving and lusting. The view of the canyon beyond shifted from hues of salmon and violet to navy and indigo. There were ribbons of crimson light rippling and dancing far above the surface before even they started to fade. What even was time? Santiago's eyes began to roll into the back of his head as he slipped unbidden over the edge, cumming openly and unrestrainedly into the toy coiled around his cock.

Twitches, spasms, shakes, and then one glorious arching back. Santiago was frozen in place for a long moment before his entire body relaxed suddenly. The adventurer went limp, at least mostly, as he splayed out on the couch. The toy still continued to gently suck and slurp and massage his immense shaft. His hummingbird-like heart relaxed to a slower beat as he slipped well below the line of consciousness. Somewhere across the room there was a faint ding as his protein bar and water rose up into visibility.

****

There was no way to count how many times the sun had fallen and risen again while Santiago had been in the outpost. He had been operating entirely on instinct and animal urges. A pile of empty water pouches and the crumbs of protein bars surrounded the human as he sat on the couch, arms spread across the back, his chest rising and falling with panting breath. His neat and tidy sideburns had started to sink into a sea of stubble that was darkest across his upper lip. His curly black hair seemed a bit longer, and the achingly hard cock that rose up like a stone column along his abs and came to rest just below his nipples was barely starting to soften.

The glow had eventually faded from Santiago's eyes and instead of the glowing particles he smelled the rank spicy, salty, musky aroma of his own euphoria. The atmospheric scrubbers apparently weren't working well enough to clear that. Santiago ran a tongue over his parched upper lip. Had he really spent days jacking off? He knew he should have felt ashamed or regretful, but he didn't. A soft groan escaped his lips as he rose to his feet, realizing there were entire muscle groups he hadn't used. His bare feet padded across the deck plating as he stretched a little, though his eyes were keenly scanning for that brown bottle. Even if he found it, the odds were that the contents had filtered out when he dropped it after his first sniff. Perhaps that was why he'd been so entranced for so long...

"Fuck..." Santiago winced as he crossed the deck grating in the short hallway before reaching the back door to the outpost. It hissed open, bringing with it a gust of fresh air. It was not as cool or humid as he might have expected, but it certainly smelled of forest. Santiago pushed his swollen member down and pulled his pants closed over it, the material sealing up seamlessly while leaving an obvious outline of an erect cock. With some form of modesty, Santiago padded down the short steps and began walking across the moss. Bird song echoed through the canopy, the chirp of insects came. A blue and black bumble bee settled on a flower before an eerily shiny purple tongue began lapping up pollen and its abdomen began to swell.

Santiago reminded himself to be careful, looking around for danger and threats. As careful as he was, though, he froze when he felt his foot sink into soft dirt that had no moss covering. He looked down to see his foot outlined by a much larger, broader footprint. It was fresh, complete enough that he could make out the circle and loop grooves of a fingerprint like indentation in each calloused digit impression. What struck Santiago, though, was how human the footprint was... big toe, four little toes, an arch, a heel... But it was gigantic. It had to be bigger than any basketball player's print.

"You like feet?" Another voice asked. Santiago nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around, his heart thumping. Seeing the source of the voice didn't help, given that it came from a simian mouth a good two feet higher up than his. Santiago stumbled backwards before he fell on his ass, looking up at an eight foot tall alien with four arms, two legs, a leathery chest and face and the rest of his body covered in hair and fur. There was no distinct transition between the two, but it clearly looked as though he had chestnut brown dreadlocks, darker brown fur at the edges, and then a reddish brown beard that framed his proto muzzle before descending down to his navel in a big, bushy V-shaped mane.

The creature's four arms and legs were covered in chestnut brown fur, though leathery dark brown hands and feet extended from the fur as if it ended in cuffs. All of that took several moments for Santiago to process before he realized that there was a pelt of fur hanging down over the alien's groin, but even with that, it was clear to see a six inch long sheath and what had to be a furry set of balls big enough to hold two acorn squash. Seeing the human spin, fall, and gape, the being scratched at his chest with his lower right hand while rubbing his head with his upper left.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you..." the creature murmured. He clearly spoke English, though there was a grit and gravel to his voice as if it had not entirely been built for it. Santiago was still staring, but he swallowed.

"Sorry, I, uh... I crashed a few days ago. I'm still adjusting." he murmured. A small smile crossed the creature's muzzle.

"And you've kept yourself busy in the meantime?" he asked. Santiago started to blush. The creature reached down one hand, offering it to Santiago. Despite his embarrassment, the pilot accepted it and was pulled to his feet so fast that he nearly tipped over the other way. The human looked up... and up... at the local.

"My name is Santiago." he introduced.

"Brehr." The other replied, looking at the human curiously, especially the piercings in his small human ears.

"Do you live around here?" Santiago asked. Brehr shook his head, his considerable beard sweeping side to side.

"I just come here when I want some alone time." Brehr said. Santiago's lips curved into a frown.

"I'm sorry..." Santiago said softly, "I didn't mean to intrude, I-" he started to blanch and pale even more. The age of the outpost but the recent use of the sex toy... The remote location and the alien coming here to be alone... The footsteps leading toward the outpost that he stumbled onto. Santiago looked up hesitantly. "And, uh, I didn't mean to crash at your... um, place? I just stumbled across it when I crashed and I didn't realize that-" A large, leathery finger pressed to Santiago's lips.

"My metal hut is your metal hut... and I can tell from your scent that you made yourself at home." Brehr grinned a bit, showing off rather sharp teeth, "You're not quite like the u'mans in the magazine, but you look like you can mate like one." he considered.

In that moment there could have been a half dozen responses. Santiago could have been ashamed, embarrassed, shy, or even angry. Instead, he decided to take pride in the rather open approach the alien was taking. If he wasn't making it into a big deal, did it have to be? Was it something they could bond over instead? Surely you attracted more blue bees with honey than you did vinegar.

"Oh, I can mate real good, although I think you had some stuff that went a long way to helping the process. That brown bottle, what was that stuff?!" he asked. This time it was Brehr who looked surprised.

"You inhaled Iuric pollen?" he asked. Santiago nodded.

"Is... Is it used as an aphrodisiac?" he asked.

"Yes, I just didn't expect it to work on a U'man." Brehr said, running his fingers through his beard before he looked down at the bulge in the human's pants, "Were you always that big?' he asked.

"Not really, no... The pollen really must-" Santiago was again silenced as Brehr shook his head.

"The pollen doesn't do that." he said. Santiago grew worried.

"What does?" he asked.

"I don't know what you've been doing..." Brehr said almost defensively. Santiago gritted his teeth.

"I mean, I used... That toy thing too, that fuck sleeve?" he murmured. Brehr looked simultaneously amused, thoughtful, and contemplative. After a moment his mouth parted into what Santiago could only guess was a gasp.

"The joiners..." Brehr murmured. Santiago's eyebrow arched.

"You'll have to be more specific..." he said.

"Yes, but... Maybe not here. Let's go inside, huh?" Brehr asked, putting a large hand on Santiago's back. It was large enough that the thumb curved on his left ribs and Brehr's pinky almost reached his right. It was oddly comforting...

****

A heavy hum came as the air cyclers sped up to full force. They had been operating on a principle to keep the outpost air balanced in a sort of homeostasis. Now it brought in fresh air from outside while scrubbing out noble gasses a bit too exotic for humans. Santiago moved around to frantically clean up the mess he made before he turned around, seeing Brehr had already sunk down onto the middle of the couch. Santiago ran his tongue over his teeth again before he stepped over to the synthesizer.

"Two beers." he commanded. The synthesizer chortled a bit of a complaint before it begrudgingly began working on the far more complex liquid. Waiting for it to finish, Santiago moved over. Brehr patted the couch next to him and the human obliged. Sitting down on one side of the couch, Santiago was naturally pulled into the bigfoot's gravity well, winding up with his head almost slipping between the twin set of arms. "You were saying something about joiners?" Santiago asked.

"Ah, yeah..." Brehr said, pulling himself back from the distractions around him, "When humans first came to Ahrpol, they found it pretty accommodating... but so did the indigenous species. Usually when colonizers show up, it doesn't go well."

"Guns, germs and steel..." Santiago said, recalling an ancient textbook, "My ancestors were... not blameless in such things." he admitted. Brehr shrugged.

"Well, when dealing with alien worlds, sometimes the rules are different. It wasn't the locals that fell victim to the guns or germs. The colonists weren't as suited to adapt. Most left, and those that stayed began to grow weaker over time... But some shared interests with the locals, and in their... friendships... a compatibility was discovered. The more they shared with one another, the more the joiners became part of our tribe." Brehr said. Santiago's jaw dropped.

"You mean more than just culturally, don't you?" he asked. Brehr nodded.

"The pollen doesn't make u'man dicks bigger, our cum does..." Brehr said, grinning. Santiago was stunned, realizing he might have been over confident that the sex toy had a sterile function. He looked down at his bulge, then back up at Brehr.

"It felt so fucking amazing... Between the pollen and the toy, I felt like I was breeding stock, useful for nothing other than rutting..." Santiago said as if a wellspring of enthusiasm had burst out of him. Brehr chuckled lightly.

"I don't know, like I said, those joiners had shared interests... I like males, and to have that much of an effect on you, you must too. I don't think you're breeding stock material." Brehr said. Santiago's lips fluttered but he nodded reluctantly. Most strategists would have assumed it was enough to keep their eyes on Brehr's four arms but only the most skilled xenobiologists would have known to anticipate that he would use his foot. Despite its large size, it folded as easy as a human hand. The toes were dextrous as they curved around the bulge in Santiago's flight suit. The human murmured, half torn between gasping and moaning. Brehr only seemed to grin.

"I think you might be right..." he managed to reply. Brehr grinned at that. Santiago looked up at the larger male.

"Will you show me your city?" he asked. Brehr was contemplative.

"I would love to, but... they would not accept you as you are now. Your face is too smooth." Brehr said. Despite the food on his groin, Santiago frowned.

"You mean I have to wait months?" he asked. Brehr reared back a little.

"Is that how long it takes u'mans to grow their mane?!" Brehr asked. Santiago grimaced. While keeping his foot on Santiago's erection Brehr leaned over and opened a portion of the wall that Santiago had not even assumed was openable. There was a small cupboard beyond and something covered in a canvas like material. Brehr brought it out, holding the plate beneath the material. He peeled the canvas back, Santiago was hit with a pungent, savory, salty aroma that nearly knocked him back. His eyes were actually starting to water.

"What is that?!" Santiago murmured before wiping his eyes on his sleeves. The fresh air the cyclers had brought had been gunked up by the foul aroma in moments, but as the human's eyes cleared, he realized it was a loose, moist cheese like substance. Santiago swallowed a bit.

"What is that?" he asked. Brehr grinned.

"Cheese." he answered. Santiago let out a small huff. Sometimes life really was like that.

"Something to keep me busy while I wait?" he asked. Brehr shook his head.

"This will put hair on your face... and chest... and probably other places. Very potent." Brehr said.

"I got that impression." Santiago replied. Brehr pursed his proto muzzled lips together.

"You're nervous? Anxious?" he asked, guessing.

"Yes? Both? Neither? I don't know what to feel like. I mean, I'm honored that you're putting up with me trespassing. I just don't know how I got here, what I should do about it, what to do next." Santiago replied. Brehr reached over, running two huge fingers through the other man's curly black hair.

"You could trust me... We stand by the feet of the trees, where everything is at the mercy of nature. You were brought here for a reason, brought to me. I know you'll make a fine member of our society, and you will make someone a fine husband as well." Brehr said. Santiago did not look bemused this time, only curious.

"And all it takes is some cheese?" he asked. Brehr shook his head once more.

"The cheese is only the first step... The rest will be a lot of work, and a lot of fun." Brehr grinned. Santiago looked down at the plate, hiss eyes still threatening to water.

"If nature brought me here, maybe I-" Santiago's poignant moment was interrupted as two fingers shoved the wet, foul cheese into his mouth. The taste rippled across every surface, tainting his saliva and sinking into his teeth. It was so awful that Santiago loved it. The pungent flavor made his nipples hard, his cock ache and his skin tingle. In fact, his pale skin began to redden as the circulation ramped up into overdrive. He clumsily sucked Brehr's fingers clean and was rewarded with another chunk. He brought his teeth down, though he hardly needed them. The cheese crumbled apart and melted on his tongue, filling his nostrils and sinuses with the scent.

Brehr grinned, finding an odd joy to feeding this u'man. Sure, he was scrappy and hairless like some kind of pet... But with time, care and affection, he knew that the space man would grow. After all, he'd found himself to Brehr's wank shack. Surely that couldn't be coincidence. They were destined to meet, and Brehr was going to give Santiago everything he had to offer.

****

A rustle rippled through the canopy of trees as the breezes picked up. More and more had turned to shades of red and gold, signaling the coming autumn. The days were still incredibly long, though Santiago had learned that Brehr simply napped whenever he wanted to without any set schedule. The bigfoot seemed almost amused that the human slept for so long in one stretch and then didn't for many hours at a time. They had swapped stories of their respective worlds, of spots, of stories and legends. They often told those stories as they sat on a wooden bridge that spanned the creek. They sat foot to foot, though Santiago's bare human feet fit neatly into the large arch of Brehr's dark brown feet.

There was a comfort as Brehr tightened and relaxed his toes, cupping Santiago's, almost as if they were holding hands. Santiago shivered as the newest treat Brehr gave him sent delight jolting across his spine. They looked like cinnamon and maple coated almonds, but they were actually a cross between a tree nut and a pinecone. The sweet dusting and meaty interior encouraged animals to consume the seeds and spread them as waste where they would be fertilized and grow.

Brehr's smile was docile, but his dark eyes were constantly fixed on his human friend. It had only been three days since he started eating the cheese and already his upper lip was covered with a mustache, his sideburns were unruly and jagged, his stubble was creeping down his throat and up his cheeks and his curls hair was straightening out, hanging down longer and longer across his shoulders. Brehr's erection slipped out of his sheath slowly as he imagined Santiago with furry arms, furry legs, his feet growing bigger and bigger and-

"Or is there just two?" Santiago asked in clarification to a question Brehr had apparently missed. Brehr's proto-muzzle pursed.

"S-sorry, I was distracted. What? Two of what?" Brehr asked with some embarrassment. Santiago only grinned.

"You were staring right at me, but not listening? Am I that weird looking?" he asked, brushing a long tress of black hair away from his cheek, only revealing how thick his sideburns were. Brehr was taken aback again, looking at him. It wasn't exactly a custom in his people to practice foreplay. He brought his legs back under him, reached out with one hand to hold Santiago's head, leaned in and kissed him.

The embrace was strong and powerful, Brehr's lips able to move in ways Santiago wasn't able to comprehend. To Brehr's surprise, the human tongue that slipped in his mouth was nimble and flexible, tasting like the purest water. Their embrace brought with it other sensations, though, as Brehr's long busy beard rubbed and brushed against Santiago's face, his throat, his chest and his groin. Santiago reached out to give it a stroke, tracing his fingers through it. Brehr moaned and Santiago gasped.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked with concern. Brehr's pleasure glazed eyes blinked.

"What? No, it felt very good..." Brehr murmured.

"Even the light pet?" he asked. Brehr blinked a little.

"Do you not feel your beards?" Brehr asked. Santiago's mouth hung open a little.

"I mean, we feel if someone tugs on them... Do you feel more than that?" he asked in shock. Brehr nodded.

"We feel the heft, the shifting weight, the caress and the pull. It is an extension of us." Brehr replied. Santiago's surprise soon blossomed into something more. It was a mischievous smile that was framed by the start of what would become a magnificent beard. The mischievous grin had formed as Santiago sunk both hands into Brehr's beard to massage, pet, stroke and fondle the thick facial foliage.

Brehr let out all manner of sounds that ranged from pleasurable moans to the mating call of an animal. His eyes squeezed shut and his sheath let loose as inch after inch of hard, thick dick slipped free. The dark brown flesh glistened with a dewey perspiration. Santiago didn't stop even as he felt the blunt end of the beast's rod slipping up his bare stomach, across his chest, then higher. Santiago leaned forward to give Brehr a quick kiss before sliding back, letting the long and pulsating shaft reach its destination. Even as Santiago fondled Brehr's beard, the shaft slipped into his lips. The taste that erupted across his tongue was shocking and familiar at the same time. It was salty and savory, an edge of musk, overwhelming in ways that were just a hint foul and far more savory. His eyes snapped open as he pulled back.

"The cheese..." he whispered. Brehr moaned, panting, huffing, sweat gathering along the edges of his mane where his leathery face became visible.

"I mean, yes, I put a little something in for flavor... But I didn't know you'd take to it so well. You've grown a good three inches in just three days, and you're so much stronger." Brehr said. Santiago was once again stunned as he looked down, seeing his arms, his legs, his... his feet... He'd wound up straddling the larger man, legs splayed on either side, but he was right. His toes were longer, his feet wider, his heels thicker. He looked down to see how much more his pecs were sticking out, his abs. It was true and he hadn't even noticed it...

It felt as if Santiago was at a crossroads, but in all honesty he was too far gone. He inclined his head forward, slipping his lips back over that fat, thick cock. His eyes looked up at Brehr as he began to suck and slurp, circling the slit before his tongue began to dip into it. As Brehr moaned and leaned back, Santiago combed his fingers through Brehr's beard, then pet it, fluffed it and rubbed it. He was rewarded by a spurt of salty precum. It saturated his teeth and tongue just as the earlier flavor had. Santiago embraced it, making it a part of himself, going for more.

As much pleasure as Brehr got from his beard being pet, he was excited and surprised as Santiago's hands wandered. The beast's four nipples were teased, his abs rubbed, the base of his cock stroked, his balls fondled. Despite straddling him, Santiago found his hands could wander anywhere they needed to be to please his partner. More pre, more gulps, more swallows and sweat. His skin was tingling, bordering on burning. Thousands of tiny hairs pushed out of his cheeks, blazing forward from his sideburns to crash into his mustache and goatee. The dark stubble coalesced into a short but dense beard, filling in until his fair skin faded beneath.

There was a silky slinking feeling along Santiago's back as his hair lost most of its natural curl. What had reached his shoulders in bouncy coils now sank to the small of his back in long waves. New hairs burst from his knuckles as a fine downy coating began to settle across his shoulders like volcanic ash. The legs that were splayed on either side of Brehr stretched out longer and longer, aching as they extended.

A gurgle came from Santiago's stomach. It was a sound both of hunger and digestion. Everything that Brehr had been feeding him was being used up, consumed and converted into new tissue and muscle and bone. He felt aches in every joint, a vague stabbing pulse from his leg bones and his arms. It hurt, and yet he felt so alive! Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt the tug of the planet's gravity well, the rustling that came from crashing through the trees, the shock of impact. Everything in his life had led him to this moment.

Santiago's head slipped down until the head of Brehr's cock brushed the back of his throat. Santiago thought he'd cough or gag or choke, but he didn't. He relished the change, moving deeper, letting the cock squeeze down his esophagus. Brehr groaned a deep and resonant gravely moan. As he did, a few more spurts of pre erupted before a thicker, honey like semen began to pour out. It coated Santiago's throat, collecting and congealing in his belly. It was as if someone had struck a match in a dry desert. The stubble that had been thick but short began to push out of his cheeks. His already thick mustache grew longer, plunging over his upper lip until it disappeared. His sideburns unfurled outward and downward, his cheek hair rapidly catching up. All of it honed to a point, a descending crest of hair pouring out from his chin.

In moments he had gone from pilot playboy to forest mage... but humanity was slipping away. Thick, soft fur began to erupt from Santiago's forearms and ankles, forming cuffs around each. His toes popped and snapped as the digits grew longer. The rigid web of bones began to loosen as new muscles and ligaments webbed their way across, allowing his swelling feet to bend and contort in ways they never had before. Santiago's broad back shuddered, stretching wider and taller. His vertebrae expanded, his rubs separated, his lungs expanded.

Inch after inch, pound after pound. It was unimaginable growth. Santiago's dark beard reached his collar bone, then his sternum before it finally started to slow. His long black hair was almost down to his waist. His long head hair brushed over furry shoulders and a leathery chest. In the few areas where hair and fur had not grown, Santiago's fair complexion had become thicker and more leathery to protect itself. He was a contrast of darkest black hair and lighter skin than Brehr. He was beautiful to his partner and getting more handsome by the second.

A numb stiffness spread across Santiago's face. It made it harder to suck off his partner, and that made his brow furrow. When they did, the flesh began to thicken and the bone beneath began to swell. Dark shadows cast over his brown eyes as his brow bone pushed out. Framed by his beard, his mouth extended as well as his lips made room for bigger, broader teeth. His mouth continued to extend until it formed a sort of proto muzzle.

Brehr grunted and groaned, feeling inch after inch of legs slink past his hips even as new fur coating claimed his extremities. The fur slipped down the small of his back and across his ribs, coiling down his legs before plunging into the forests on his lower legs. The last gaps closed until the only flesh visible on Santiago's body was a portion of his face, his chest, his hands and his feet. Brehr had never seen another male so perfect, and he needed him. Brehr reached out, petting Santiago's new, lush beard. A shock of infinitely fragile and crystal clear pleasure radiated into his face, making him buck backwards and gasp. That was the moment he needed.

Brehr's four arms moved quickly. Santiago was flipped until he landed on all fours. He was used to being on his hands and knees, but he was a lot higher off the ground in that position than he'd ever been before. Added to that, his lower legs extended a good two feet longer than they had that morning. His cock wobbled beneath him, heavy and engorged. Santiago moaned, feeling four hands caressing him at various points before he inhaled sharply. The hot, blunt, fat cock head of the bigfoot was nudging itself between his puffy ass cheeks.

There was a rush of slick lubricant from the tip of Brehr's cock, coating the pucker of flesh below. Despite all the friction the excessive hair offered, Brehr was able to start pushing into Santiago with ease. The former human dug his newly calloused fingers into the wood of the bridge, bracing and holding on as inches, then feet of cock slid up his ass and into his belly. Even with the newly strengthened skin, his stomach distended with each thrust from his master. His master? The word had been a surprise, but it felt to be a welcome one.

In and out, back and forth. Even with different anatomies and solar systems, sex was sex. The added benefit was that Brehr had enough hands to hold Santiago's shoulder, his hip, his thigh and to reach around and jack him off at the same time. Brehr was loving it, but Santiago surrendered himself to it. He could feel the sweet autumn breeze in his long black beard, his silky hair, even the fur on his arms and legs. He was a being of nature and this felt very natural. His body rocked forward and back, his newly minted muscles barely able to hold him there.

Brehr grunted and growled, bearing his blunt teeth, his wide ears twitching as his ass quivered. He threw himself at it, claiming Santiago as his. Their bond was complete - well, except for one thing. Brehr's hand positions shifted, centering on Santiago's waist and legs. The beastly male pulled him closer and tighter until there was no room left. Satisfied that he was stretching the former human to his limits, Brehr threw his head back and roared, slamming his upper pair of fists against his chest while his lower arms still held Santiago there.

A searing, hot, sticky load of cum blossomed in his stomach. It was both almost too warm and too plentiful for him to manage, but somehow he did. He felt the fire consuming him, cementing his changes and rearranging his organs. His heart was beating differently, his lungs expanding far more than before. The wood bridge groaned under the weight of two bigfoots, two beasts, two men... but something wasn't quite right, something wasn't there yet...

Santiago drooled openly, his eyes a rusty brown color now. Hair hung down around his face, his mouth parting to pant, his teeth barely visible behind curtain after curtain of hair. His body felt mostly good, but there was an odd pressure. It was almost painful, radiating down his arms. His biceps and triceps that had been so full moments before seemed uneven, distended, creating peaks and valleys. The pain and pressure grew and grew and grew, becoming distracting. When the pain became so intense that Santiago thought he was going to scream, he did. The raven haired bigfoot threw his head back and roared. Instinct told him to raise his arms while gravity implored him to keep them down, steadying his posture. Strained for resources, his body tried to do both.

There was a sharp tearing snap of flesh, a wet thrum of skin snapping back. One set of arms rose, the others remained where they were. Realizing he had just gained another set of arms, Santiago moaned, shuddering as his cock spasmed involuntarily and sent out rope after rope of golden cum. It was the color of honey, of sunlight, of autumn leaves. It was spicy and heady, delicious looking and savory. Santiago's eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head. He started to crumple, but before he could, four powerful hands scooped him up.

Brehr rearranged his legs, leaning back and then laying on the bridge. Santiago fell back across him, his head now resting on Brehr's shoulder. They were almost the same height, though Brehr was far more muscled. Santiago would catch up in time. The two lay there by the feet of the trees. Santiago was but a sapling. Willowy and sparse, but he would be nurtured and fertilized, fed and tended, growing like a weed. Brehr murmured in satisfaction, though his large lips parted as he let out an immense yawn. It was time for another one of his naps and Santiago made the perfect blanket. The two curled up together, surrendering to sleep as easily as they had surrendered to their new lives.

****

There was still a bit of a burn as Ahgo, formerly Santiago, used his four arms to descend from the tree tops. It felt as if the bark was practically corrugated, allowing his fingers to find easy holds each and every time he reached for one. It was an astonishing miracle that invasive plants hadn't spread across the landscape. Everything just seemed to work as one. As Ahgo reached the ground, his large, broad, leathery feet found the moss and soil comforting. A sigh escaped his proto muzzle as he stepped back from the tree and turned around. He could hear the bird song and the flutter of the leaves. His eyes scanned the horizon until they settled on a strange ovoid mass covered in moss, an ovoid with a distinct cutout of a hatch.

"Hard to believe it's been a month already." Brehr said, sliding his lower right arm around Ahgo's waist while his upper right arm snuck over to start tracing the outline of Ahgo's immense, bushy black beard. Ahgo moaned, his back arching, his loins stirring. Brehr merely grinned.

"Part of me wanted to drag it into the lake and let it sink. I never want to leave." Ahgo said.

"But if it remains and someone else crashes, it might encourage them to seek out our shack as well?" Brehr grinned. Ahgo's thick brow arched.

"I'm not enough for you?" he asked, "I could go amplify the beacon right now." He said with mock-scorn.

"We don't have to put our foot on the scales... I'm sure nature will provide, lover." Brehr added for extra emphasis. Seemingly placated, Ahgo leaned over and gave his partner a kiss before they began their walk. Their strides were long and graceful, their big feet sinking down into the welcoming soil beneath them. Two pairs of large footprints tracked their way through the forest. They had bodies built to climb to the tops of the trees and the hidden wood cities up there, but they found their largest comfort by the feet of the trees.