FSE

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When Zerrex wakes up, he doesn't know that today's going to be hell. All he can think about is that the new episode of Galactic Heroes is on, and that if he stays up late and sneaks downstairs, he can watch one of those more-adult shows he's been into lately. Sure, he's only eight... but he can handle it. Besides... he finds a strange appeal in the violence, and the things that happen. It's only make-believe anyway, right? Everyone knows that television is pretty much all made up stuff... and he's smart enough to know that.

The Drakkaren yawns as he sits up in bed, scratching his head and glancing at the clock with a bit of a smile: it's seven forty-two in the morning. He's always been an early riser, even on weekends... something that's never really ceased to irritate his mother, since he tends to wake her up with his antics and eventual hunt through the fridge for breakfast. And now he scampers out of bed, clad only in a pair of underwear and rubbing at a chest that's already surprisingly well-muscled for an eight-year-old... but his father keeps him on a rigorous training schedule and he has the advantage of prime genetics on his side as well.

He glances back and forth, then reaches up and plays with his hair a bit as he walks over to the large mirror hanging on the wall, just above his dresser. He peers at his reflection, still not exactly used to the weird freak of nature that's both blessed and cursed him with hair: it makes him stand out even more than he does already, and he's not really sure if he's exactly fond of that fact or not. But at least now it's nowhere near as long as it will one day grow to - no, for now it's short and almost cropped, a conservative, polite hairstyle that his father insists on him maintaining.

Then he shakes his head quickly and smiles at himself in the mirror, rubbing a hand over a face that already is beginning to lose its innocence: even at this young age, he's already learned most of the truths of life, from sex and death to the hard, cold fact that good people don't always win. He's learned that sometimes he won't be punished for shoving over people smaller than himself or hurting others who get in his way... and likewise, he's been improving his ability to sidestep the laws written by both his mother and the world outside.

Zerrex stretches and yawns, then he grabs a pair of pants from where they hang on the back of a chair. He slides them on, then leaves his room and starts towards the stairs before pausing and instead glancing towards his mother's room. The door is open a crack, and he can't help but smile a bit and quietly walk forwards, almost wanting to make an exaggerated tiptoeing motion but knowing it wouldn't really help.

He quietly slides a hand into the opening, then he pushes the door open and sticks his head in: his mother is deep asleep on the large, fluffy bed that takes up most of the room. It's mostly dark, the only light shining in from the edges around the curtain, and Celestial DePriese Narrius is snoring quietly, her blanket thrown off to the side sometime during the night. Zerrex stands quietly in the doorway, admiring her, and feeling strange sensations running through him as he looks over her.

She has scales that are a gentle evergreen, lightening on her chest, and they have the faintest purple tinge to them - it gave them an interesting, almost-glow in the light, and sometimes she all but sparkled with the dark color when she moved. A strange but beautiful paradox that just made her look all the more beautiful to her son, as he steps a bit deeper into the room, looking over her shapely form, lithe body, firm breasts and smooth stomach. She's only dressed in a pair of panties and a long, wrinkled sleep shirt... but this has been mostly pulled up, and he has a good view of her body from where he stands. He wants to get closer... he wants to touch her... but he knows at the same time he shouldn't hold these feelings for his mother, so instead he quietly backs out of her room and heads downstairs.

In the darkness of the room, Celestial opens a single eye - it's a brilliant green, even brighter than her son's - and watches him leave as she gives a bit of a quiet smile. She knows he's confused, and that he doesn't always do the right thing sometimes... and hell, sometimes he doest the wrong thing just because it seems fun... but she also knows he means well. A child of abuse herself, she wants to do right by him... despite knowing that her first and largest mistake was letting herself get involved with the monster that is Zerrex's father. But these are Zerrex's memories, Zerrex's past, and he can't guess accurately to what happened or her thoughts much past this.

The Drakkaren, however, now is happily seated downstairs in the living room of the small house, enraptured in the television as he sits cross-legged on the carpet, ignoring the small couch to one side of the room and the armchair behind him. The only furnishing he's bothered with is the small table, and all he's done is pull it a bit closer so he can put the juice box he's grabbed from the fridge on it without having to reach too far. He likes this house, and in fact he likes it more than he does the Estate he spends so much time at but works so hard to otherwise put out of his mind, and he thinks that one day he'll own a house just like this, even if he becomes rich like his father... except for some reason, he wants a basement, thinks that's important. He doesn't know that his plans for the future will indeed come true, unlike so many others his age, and perhaps this is also a gift.

For a little while he sits and watches the cartoons and plays on the television, sipping at his milk, not feeling any distinct urge to go and grab breakfast for himself... then, after some time, he pushes a hand against his chest and looks back and forth, thinking about some of the things he's seen on the late-night shows and the sex-talk he had with his mother not so long ago. He glances down at his crotch, wondering to himself as he sometimes did about if he could make his penis get hard like it was supposed to... sure, he thinks it's happened once or twice by itself, but those times he was busy watching one of the adult shows, and it always seemed to happen when one of the scenes came up where the hero and his female counterpart started doing the sex thing together.

He frowned slightly, then glanced over his shoulder before searching the room and finally settling his eyes on the clock hanging on the wall: it's only eight-something, and he figures he has at least until nine or nine thirty before his mother wakes up, if he keeps quiet. He bites the inside of his cheek, almost giggling a bit to himself, then he finally stands up, unbuttoning his pants and then pushing both them and his boxers down. He looks around as he steps out of the lower-body clothing, then he blushes a bit as he sits in the armchair, settling himself and looking down at his hanging penis and rounded navy-blue testicles.

Right now, it isn't to the point where it's hard to put tight pants on - but that will certainly come in the future - but it is still surprisingly-large for an eight year old. It's also thick, and he thinks that's a good thing... his mother mentioned something about thickness, anyway, when they had their little talk. He pauses, then smiles a bit at the thoughts of his mother... she was only a foot and some inches taller than he was, but she was so beautiful... and he thinks back to her in bed upstairs, with most of her body revealed and almost shimmering in the light...

Zerrex blinks as he feels a twitch, and he glances down before his eyes widen slightly at what's happening with his shaft. He watches, tilting his head and licking his muzzle slowly, excited by what's happening as his penis begins to grow a bit... and he realizes with something like a mix of horror and ecstasy that thinking about his mother is what's causing him to get an erection. He stares at himself as it grows big and bulging, thick and incredibly stiff... and almost hesitantly he reaches down to squeeze the firm shaft, blinking again at the feel before he quickly gets up, looking around the neatly-kept room excitedly and heading over to a cabinet, his hard shaft gripped firmly in one hand, testicles bouncing with every step.

He opens one of the drawers and begins to rummage through, looking for a ruler so he can measure himself... and then he hears a throat being cleared and he straightens in surprise, eyes widening and face turning beet-red as he looks towards the stairway: his mother is standing at the bottom of the stairs, her head tilted, a bit of a smile on her face as she stands in her nightshirt, one hand resting lightly on the banister. Zerrex opens his mouth, horrified that he's been caught - and naked, no less - by his mother, and then he turns to her before realizing that he's still hard: in fact, seeing her standing there, silhouetted in the light of the window, beautiful beyond his ability to say... well, it's done nothing to make him lose his erection.

Celestial looks at her son with softness and affection in her eyes: she understands better than Zerrex does about the feelings he has, and about what's going on... and she has something she wants to do, as she strides slowly across the room and leans down a bit, hands on her knees and putting her muzzle end-to-end with her son's, smiling into his eyes as the tall but still so young male gulped and looked back nervously. She knows it might be wrong... that society would take her son away from her and lock her up if they ever found out... but she wants to share it with him. She realizes to a point she's repeating a past she herself hates and loathes... after all, her first sexual experience was at around the same time as her son's will be, when she was raped by her father. But at the same time, she wants to amend her own past in some freak way... she wants to give her son a good first experience with someone who can be trusted to never betray him or what will become their little secret. She doesn't realize the effects this will have on Zerrex in the future, both negative and positive... and nor does she realize what she's setting in motion for the days ahead.

She kisses her son's nose, making the tall reptile twitch back a bit, then she reaches down and gently takes one of his hands, brushing the steely firmness of his shaft, making her son let out a soft breath of surprise as she stands and tugs on his arm gently. He looks up at her with blind love and loyalty, and she smiles again, tilting her head quietly and saying in her wonderfully-soft, gentle voice: "Come on, Zerrex. I want to do something with you... a bit of a continuation of our little sex talk, I guess you could say."

Zerrex merely nods, then allows himself to be led by his mother through the living room, watching her nightshirt billow as she moves, unable to take his eyes from her. Still, his penis is throbbing, still it remains ridiculously hard and makes him feel like an idiot... but his mother takes all those feelings away and makes him feel happy and loved with just a smile over her shoulder. She's the polar opposite of his father, who he respects but also hates, the few strings of love he feels - and it is love more out of bitter responsibility as a son than real care - fraying already. He is disgusted by his father and his actions, and he wishes that he could live only with the angel who is his mother.

She leads him up the stairs, and once more into the comfortable darkness of her room: together, they sit on the bed, and they look at each other for a few moments, not speaking, before finally his mother breaks the quiet, still holding his hand with one of her own and reaching the other up to stroke his face gently as she says: "I love you, Zerrex... let me love you, okay?"

The hand moving gently down his muzzle pulls back as her son gazes up at her with affection in his emerald eyes, then he simply nods and delights in his mother's smile. Then, slowly, she reaches gently out...

He closes his eyes, letting out a quiet gasp as she wraps her hand around his penis, squeezing it slowly, making him tremble a bit in a feeling of ecstasy. He squeezes her hand tight, then his eyes open with worry and he looks up at his mother's loving, soft features, tilting his head and asking in a meek voice: "Mom... this is... we're not supposed to do this, are we?"

"It's okay." Celestial responds gently, leaning forwards and placing a soothing kiss on her son's cheek, making him smile a bit and tilt his head, eyes partially closing as he lets out another breath at the feeling of his mother stroking him gently once again. "Every family has its secrets... let this be one of ours. It's okay between us, because we love each other... it's making our love physical. You want to do that, don't you, son? Show me how much you love me?"

Zerrex opened his eyes again, then he nodded vigorously, making Celestial laugh quietly as she moved a hand to press gently against her son's abdominals, rubbing slowly there as she met his eyes as he spoke: "I do... I just... I wanna be really good, and if we do... you know... I... don't wanna make you disappointed..."

He blushes at his own words: to him, they sound so adult, and like something he could get in trouble for. But Celestial merely looks at him softly, then she leans in and gently whispers beside his head, as she traces a finger down his firm length: "I'm sure you'll be the best I've ever had, my son..."

The Drakkaren swallows a bit and nods, then his mother smiles at him as she gently grips his shaft, leaning in and whispering quietly: "But hey. My big boy looked like he was going to get something back downstairs. What was that?" As she speaks, her hand moves slowly to the base, and she can't help but be amazed despite herself at the size her son is already - it's large and thick enough to make many the average adult male jealous already. She has an idea that in the future, her son will definitely be around the same size as his father... big enough that his penis will almost always guarantee a lot of tearing and stretching, in other words. She doesn't know why, but this makes her proud... and she smiles at her son's fidgeting and blushing.

Finally, he says in an embarrassed voice: "I uh... I wanted to measure myself and see just how big I was..." He blushes deeper, then tilts his head curiously as his mother nods and releases him before slipping away. He watches as she gets off the bed, then she pauses and smiles over her shoulder at her son, who stares and lets out a quiet sound of awe as his mother slowly strips her shirt off, then pushes her panties down and stands nude, with her back to him... then she opens her dresser, and pulls out a small box - it's her sewing kit. She turns back around, and Zerrex's eyes fall on her naked body. He's seen her naked once before, when she explained sex to him and pointed out the parts of her form, demonstrated the differences between females and males... but he takes in the curve of her hips and breasts, the shape of the lips of her sex, all this like it's brand new. His mother sits on the bed in front of him, opening the kit, but his eyes are locked on her body as he feels his penis throbbing almost painfully, and his heart skips a beat when she looks up at him with the love and adoration he feels for her reflected deeply in her eyes.

Then she pulls out a measuring tape and puts the kit aside on the nightstand, gently putting a hand to her son's surprisingly-strong chest and pushing him down: he lets himself fall back onto the fluffy heaven of her blankets and mattress, and then he half-lifts himself up to watch with incredulity as her mother gently presses the metal end of the measurer at the base of his shaft, making him twitch a bit at the feeling of the cold pressing lightly against his flesh, and then she pulls it slowly out, keeping the cloth measuring tape pressed tight against his penis, making him swallow at the feeling of it. She laughs quietly, and reads off the measurement, saying softly: "Ten inches. My boy's big... would he like me to measure how thick he is, too?"

Zerrex swallows and nods, smiling, touched deeply by his mother's attention... but he bites the inside of his muzzle before shaking his head, instead looking up into his mother's eyes and saying in a shy, quiet voice: "No mom... I... I just wanna make love to you..." His eyes are almost pleading as he gazes up at her, and she realizes that he's likely already close to release: after all, it's not like her son has yet done much in the way of masturbation, and even the gentle touchings upon his shaft must be both exotic and erotic for him.

She nods, then gently pushes him against the bed, holding him down for a moment as she leans down to kiss his cheek: then she pulls back a bit, letting their eyes meet, before she slowly pushes her lips to his. Their muzzles meet, and then she gently kisses him in a way she knows mothers shouldn't kiss their sons, but the feelings she has for him are undeniable. Zerrex's eyes flutter, and he is frozen with amazement for a moment at the feeling of his mother's mouth on his own... but then he is kissing her back as best he can, letting their tongues entwine, feeling his mouth moving with hers as his eyes slide closed in bliss.

A few moments later, Celestial pulls back, then traces gentle kisses down her son's masculine breast, moving her hands down to gently grip his waist: there's one other thing she wants to do before they get started. She wants him to experience all the joys of sex, wants this to be their first but not last time, wants to go over everything she can with him... and so she trails soft kisses along her son's abdominals to his waist, and she feels him but a hand on her head out of reflex as she grips his shaft in one hand, tilting it up slightly. She looks up at her son as he tenses up a bit, but he relaxes as their eyes meet... before his head tilts back, toeclaws curling and a quiet moan coming from his muzzle as Celestial lowers her head and takes her son's penis into her jaws.

His shaft is hot and throbbing, and feels him buck as he moans again, his back arching a bit, his hands moving to grip his mother's head firmly. He is in an unspeakable ecstasy as his mother forces her head down a bit more, her muzzle finally pressing to his waist firmly as she takes all of his long shaft into her mouth. She feels his hips buck again, but the feeling of his bulging, rounded cockhead rubbing gently at the back of her throat doesn't bother her, as she slowly begins to draw back up his penis, one hand moving to grip the base of his shaft gently as her muzzle remains sealed around the firm, hot flesh.

She draws up until only the head remains in her mouth, then she bobs her muzzle back down firmly, drawing her hand away and pushing it gently down onto his abdominals as his fingers squeeze lightly into her skull. Once more she takes his entirety into her muzzle, but she can already feel him stiffening up, can hear her son's moans roughening with bliss... and so she carefully opens her mouth and draws her head up, letting the saliva coated shaft drop back down and feeling it slap her hand gently as she gazes up at her son lovingly.

Zerrex pants softly, amazed at the feelings rolling through his body, then he slowly tilts his head down to gaze at his mother with wonder and adoration. She looks back with a soft smile, letting him rest for a few moments as he moves one hand to gently rub his chest before finally shifting her body to straddle him, putting a leg on either side of him and sliding up so that her crotch floats over his, and she gazes down into his eyes and asks softly: "Do you love me?"

"Yes, I do, Mom... I love you..." The young Drakkaren replies, nodding seriously and meeting her eyes almost solemnly. Celestial smiles quietly, then she leans down and gently kisses his lips for a moment, making Zerrex's own smile cover his muzzle for a few moments as his eyes remain locked with his mother's, green and green looking deep into each other. Then she reaches down and gently grasps his throbbing shaft, pulling him slowly up as his eyes roll down her body, over her breasts, taunt stomach and finally to the slit that the head of his penis now presses against, the young child swallowing thickly.

"It's going to feel even more amazing than what I just did." Celestial says softly, and Zerrex nods, nervous nonetheless - he wants to please his mother. Then, he feels her lowering her body, and watches as his penis pushes into her lips, parting her sex and then sliding smoothly into her passage: it grips him with a firm, wonderful heat, and he grunts quietly before looking up at his mother as she gives a soft moan.

Her eyes are closed, and her expression is of the deepest pleasure as she lowers herself with agonizing slowness, feeling inch after inch of her son penetrating into her vagina before finally, her lips kiss his waist. She lets herself sit upon his body, knowing his strength is enough to easily support her, and then she opens her beautiful green eyes to look down at her child as she gently reaches down to take her son's hands; she leans forwards a bit, guiding them up to her breasts, and Zerrex blushes quietly even as his mind rollicks with joy. He says nothing, but only goes on instinct, hands gently squeezing into his mother's large, firm swells... and he begins to fondle them with a bit more confidence and firmness at her encouraging smile, before he lets out another quiet groan as she begins to rock her body slowly up and down his shaft.

Automatically, he starts to thrust slowly up into her body: when she gives a soft moan, he thinks he's done something wrong for a moment and almost stops himself, before he realizes it was a sound of pleasure, his mother lowering her head and gently lifting one of his hands to press against her face, squeezing it tight with her own and keeping it placed firmly there. Her other hand drops, giving him free reign to play with her bust as he pleases, and his eyes once more drop to watch her gently-bouncing breasts, the tall-for-his-age Drakkaren filled with awe.

Zerrex feels a strange sensation building in his body, and his muscles are bulging, as if he'd been working out: the feelings rolling through his mind and the instincts guiding him only let him look at these odd new feelings with a weird distance, however. Most of his body and mind, instead, are dedicated only to feeling the immense pleasure growing in his form as he thrusts steadily upwards into his mother's body, loving the feeling of his penis pushing deep into her, blissful at this new idea of physically making love.

He only lasts a few moments more before a strange hardening sensation takes over his shaft, and he groans quietly as he suddenly feels the urge to buck faster: his mother's breaths shorten as he begins to pound his shaft up into her with surprising strength, and soon she's unable to keep up with the rate of his thrusts as his hand squeezes firmly into her breast, the other staying pressed tightly against her features as she opens her eyes, releasing a quiet groan at the ecstasy rolling through her form from her son's movements.

Then she feels the release, and Zerrex's eyes widen before closing tight as he arches his back, thrusting hard again and again up into his mother's body as he feels his stiffer-than-steel penis firing burst after burst of his seed into her, spilling into her as he lets out a groan and rocks his head back and forth, feeling his mother's body falling forwards a bit, her hand pushing firmly against his chest as she bucks her hips powerfully down against him: a few moments later, it's over, and he releases the firm grip on her breast but keeps his other hand pressed against her features as he stares up at her lovingly, still buried inside of her, penis still throbbing and hard as he pants quietly.

Her eyes gaze lovingly back down at him, and she shifts a bit, heat and amazing pleasure rolling through her own body: she's impressed that her son almost brought her to orgasm. At the most, she'd expected that he'd give a few thrusts and then release a short load into her... but as she slowly shifts and pulls herself slowly off of his penis, she feels a bit of his seed leak down her thigh and she smiles as she lays in bed next to him, wrapping her arms tight around the child as he rolls against her and presses to his body. He's done far better than she thought he would... and she's confident that next time she'll get her wish.

He lays against her, head pressed against her breasts, panting softly still as she strokes gently through his hair, and Zerrex can do little else than revel in the pleasure and listen to his mother cooing about how well he's done with a swell of pride. He curls up a bit, enjoying the feeling of cuddling like this, feeling himself still hard and leaking a bit of the strange white stuff from his still-hard but amazingly-sensitive penis, and for a few moments he's in Heaven. This becomes one of his treasured, most secret, and most wonderful memories of his mother... laying with her after sex, after making love, and simply enjoying each other's company.

They spend an hour like this, sometimes sharing gentle affections, and every kiss is as wonderful as the first for Zerrex. Celestial feels nothing but adoration, pride, and love for her son... and she soon realizes that she loves him far more, far deeper than she's ever loved his father. More, she wants to be with him through all his years of growing up, and remain both a friend and loving parent... and that maybe one day, when he's old enough, she wants to... well, that's something to consider for another day. But then she pauses in her thoughts, her hands continuing to massage up and down Zerrex's back as he half-snoozes against her body, tilting her head upwards before she smiles faintly at her own critical misstep. They are both Drakkaren; as it stands, she could be carrying his children. Little as she wants to, it means she has to take some steps to ensure that Zerrex doesn't become a father at the ridiculously-early age of eight... and so she slowly gets up and climbs out of bed, as Zerrex watches her with affection and love, shifting so he rests with his head propped up on one arm.

Celestial glances up at the large, oval mirror mounted in the wall, and she blinks: for a moment, it's like she almost sees a different person in that bed, a much-larger, more-powerful Drakkaren... as if she catches a glimpse of the future for a moment. But then it goes back to being her son - impressive, but no adult yet, and nowhere near as large as he will someday become. She gives a bit of a smile, then looks over her shoulder as she begins to sort through her dressers, saying softly: "Mommy's gotta go out for a while, okay, kiddo? I need to pick up something to make sure that we don't burden our little family any more than we already are."

She pauses, thinking of the consequences, and barely represses a shiver at the thought of what Zerrex's father would do should he ever find out about what had just occurred: it's truly a terrifying thought. But then she shakes her head a bit and continues to get dressed as her son gives a sound in the affirmative, continuing to watch her with nothing but undiluted affection. Celestial can feel his eyes on her body, and she enjoys the warmth his gaze bestows upon her: enjoys the fact that he still looks at her as if she is the most beautiful thing in the world even after she's put her clothes back on.

Then she's dressed, and she ushers Zerrex gently out of bed and back into his pants. He smiles as he hops into his clothes, before Celestial gently steers him down the stairs. She pauses for a moment, thinking about calling a neighbor to watch him... but then she glances down at her son softly and studies him for a few moments as he heads over to the fridge, opening it and pulling out the milk. She decides that if he's old enough to experience sex, then he can likely take care of himself for a half-hour or so while she's out... and again, she remembers that he's not like other children his age. As Zerrex goes about the chore of making himself a bowl of cereal, she watches him, slowly picking up her purse and taking the keys for the car off the hook by the door. Her eyes are a bit sad: she knows that already, Narrius has corrupted something inside their son's soul, that Zerrex is already becoming like his father in ways he doesn't yet know... and she only hopes that she can mend that somehow, someday.

But then she shakes herself from her thoughts and follows Zerrex to the living room, squatting down by him and smiling as she looks eye-to-eye with her young boy. "I'm going to just go out for a little while... you can be a big boy and take care of yourself for a little bit, huh?"

"Yes, mom." The Drakkaren smiles at her and nods, meeting her eyes affectionately for a moment before looking back to the television and continuing to eat his cereal. Celestial feels strangely sorrowful at his behavior: it's so complacent, so genial... so much older and wiser than he should be acting. But then she nods back and stands up, stretching a moment before heading to the door in the kitchen and letting herself out.

Zerrex pauses in his breakfast, then he gets to his feet and walks to the window so he can watch his mother depart: he has no problem being alone - in fact, part of the harsh training he's had to endure from his father is to be alone for extended periods of time, often in the darkness, and often with nothing to eat or drink. He gazes out the window at her with a strange longing he didn't want to express, forgetting for a moment that his mother was different... and he wishes now he had hugged her, clung to her, as she pulls out into traffic-

What Zerrex sees next is one the first steps towards the ruination of his spirit and his descent into the darker side that exists within him: as his mother backs slowly out into the peaceful street, a car suddenly spins around the corner. The windows are tinted black, the car is small but moving fast, and Zerrex's eyes widen. His sharp eyes pick out the figure of his mother staring out the window at the car suddenly rushing towards her own, and then he sees her turning to try and drive out of harm's way, but she is too late.

The car collides with hers, making a horrible crunching sound as the passenger's side takes the impact: it's enough to make his mother's classy, old but well-kept car shudder and twist to the side a bit, his mother rocking visibly in her seat as the windows shatter and the passenger wall of the car crumples. And in that first second, everything looks okay: it's the next second where all hell breaks loose.

The innocuous, small car that has just rammed his mother's jounces once on its wheels, the hood smashed in and the front of the car ruined... and then, without warning, it simply explodes in a fiery, impossible blast that releases a boom loud enough to rattle the plates in the kitchen and crack the windowpane. Zerrex falls backwards, covering his face at the flash of white light and letting out a horrified, childish scream as the sound of the explosion fills the air and deafens him: the flash of white light, too, has left him temporarily blind. He blinks, trying to climb to his feet, and then sound and vision blur back into being and he leaps back towards the window, shrieking: "Mommy! Mommy!"

There's a flaming wheel rolling slowly down the road, and chunks of broken metal everywhere - the remains of the little explosive car that has just rammed his mother's vehicle. That car is in better shape, but barely: the windows are gone, the top of the car has peeled back like a piece of tin, the entire passenger's side is blown to shards and twisted chunks of metal. The car is in flames... but his mother isn't inside. Zerrex looks back and forth wildly, pressing against the window hard enough to send more cracks through the glass, fear tightening in his body... and then he spots her.

At first, he thinks she's okay... and then he realizes with horror that she is on fire. Celestial stumbles around the street, her arms waving, head tilted back, apparently trying to scream but unable to find the voice. Her dress is tattered and in flames, and she is coated in her own blood - fragments of metal stick out of her limbs, and a horrible, terrible spike of twisted iron is stabbed into her skull. Then she falls forwards even as Zerrex screams again and stumbles back from the window, his last vision people streaming from their houses, some to help and some to simply gawk...

It's hours before the child awakens... and a few hours more to calm him down from his hysteria after he wakes up in the neighbor's house. He cries, he is not comforted by their pathetic soothing words, he wants to know what has happened to his mother but no one will tell him. Then, suddenly, he falls silent as one of the neighbors brings in his father and hulking uncle. Narrius is cold and calm as always, his eyes settling on Zerrex with contempt at his tear-streaked features and pain... Requiem, on the other hand, looks at Zerrex with quiet, unspoken sympathy. Then Zerrex stands silently and bows his head, and Narrius says a single word: "Come."

They leave together, and return to Celestial's house, one of Narrius's hands grasping his son's shoulder hard enough to dig his claws through his shirt and draw blood, hard enough to grind bones together. They enter, and the first thing Narrius does is throw Zerrex hard forwards, and his face slams into the counter before he crumples forwards, mouth and nose bleeding, and Narrius speaks in a disgusted voice: "You're pathetic. Crying over that whore. Get up, go clean yourself up, and clean yourself up." He stops, then looks at his son with a snort as Zerrex stands shakily up, keeping his head bowed and eyes on the ground. "And put on something respectable."

Narrius himself is clad in his leather police jacket and a plain dress suit... it looks casually-elegant, but doubtless costs at least as much as the house he now stands in. As Zerrex leaves, Narrius glances around the kitchen, then he tilts his head and says idly to Requiem: "Don't even think about comforting him while I'm gone. I need to get to the hospital... I want you to run interference with the neighbors and have Zerrex disassemble and clean the guns in the briefcase."

"Yes, brother." Requiem says quietly, as Zerrex heads up the stairs. The child goes quickly to the bathroom, then he runs water over a cloth and wipes his face with it, getting rid of the tearstains, the blood, and the wincing at the bruise that's already beginning to form. He tests his muzzle and head gingerly for any more severe damage, but finds nothing, and is at least thankful for that. He closes his eyes and lets himself relax for a moment, despite the hate, anger, and fear boiling in his body... at the least, he knows his mother is likely still alive, or Narrius wouldn't be in a rush to get to the hospital.

One of the things Zerrex has been taught again and again is to analyze all information taken in by his senses, and it's been pounded into his system again and again... sometimes literally. He knows that his father is a heartless, cruel bastard who toys with people, but knows enough to protect his own ass... and he knows that if he's going to the hospital, it'll be to visit his mother and see how she's doing. Zerrex, however, is still trapped in the illusion that Narrius loves Celestial, and would never hurt her in the ways that he's hurt his son... but it won't be long before he figures out who sent the car bomb. For now, however, Zerrex merely decides that his father is showing compassion for a change, in his own weird way... and he hates himself for showing weakness and begins to blame himself and even agree with his father's actions against him.

He cleans himself up, then heads to his room and quietly pulls out the clothing he knows his father wants to see him in: plain black dress pants, and a fitted, button up white dress shirt. Then he heads downstairs to find an open steel briefcase on the floor. The inside is lined with foam, and the foam is fitted to the various guns that are stored in the case: three handguns, and a rifle broken down into three parts.

Requiem is already polishing one of the handguns silently, and Zerrex looks at him quietly for a few moments. His uncle looks back, then he shrugs and nods to the velvet cleaning cloth and silver container of cleaner sitting on the table, along with a set of cleaning tools. "Your father said he wanted the guns cleaned. Do you remember how to break them down?"

"Yes." Zerrex nods to the huge Dragokkaren: it's odd. He remembers Requiem wearing the same style of suit and belt that day, all those years in the past, as Requiem did on the day he confronted Zerrex after so many years of searching. As Zerrex reaches for a handgun - police issue, plain 15mm - he looks down quietly at the ground and adds quietly: "I think I was supposed to do this by myself."

His uncle pauses for a moment in cleaning the chamber, then he merely shrugs again and silently begins to put the gun back together, his hands moving with remarkable ease for a person who's never fired a gun. "He didn't say that specifically. But I guess we just won't tell him, then."

Zerrex nods again as he begins to pull the 15mm into pieces, placing them down on the floor around him and picking up the rag, then he stops and glances at his uncle with the faintest of smiles and appreciation in his eyes. "Thank you."

Requiem nods again, but his eyes flicker with compassion as he leans past the young reptile, placing the now-clean .45 back in the case and pulling out the pieces of the rifle. For the next half hour, they quietly work on the weaponry, then Requiem replaces the cleaning stuffs in the false-top of the steel briefcase and closes it, carrying it over to the door before he comes back with a book on martial arts and a weightlifting magazine. The former goes to Zerrex, who begins to study silently as he sits cross-legged on the floor, and Requiem lounges in the armchair as he reads from the book. The silence between them is almost comforting for the young Drakkaren, who appreciates the presence of his uncle: having someone spend time with him, even like this, is a rare gift from his father's side of the family.

An hour or so later, Narrius finally arrives back at the house, apparently irritated over something... but that was often the case with the Dragokkaren. He walks into the living room, then glances down at Zerrex before his eyes rove coldly to Requiem, and he asks in a soft voice: "Did he clean all the guns."

"Yes." Requiem responds, lowering his magazine to meet his brother's gaze. He is one of the few people who can withstand the glare of those ruby eyes... and who can dare to match eyes with Narrius without some sort of painful retribution. And finally, it is Narrius who looks away first with a snort and a nod. Although he places absolute trust in no one, and has even made Requiem suffer and dance just for his own personal entertainment... his brother is perhaps also the only person who he places his faith in.

"Good." Narrius mutters, then he glances at Requiem again and tosses him a set of keys, saying idly: "You should go and lock up the guns back in the safe at home, and pick me up a few changes of clothes and some proper weights while you're there. Then come back here."

Valise City is more than three hours to the north, and it's already nearing nightfall in this small town: Requiem, however, takes the keys without hesitation and nods respectfully to his brother before leaving. He doesn't question, doesn't protest, merely goes about his duty; one moment he is in the chair, and the next he's heading towards the door, magazine forgotten on the living room table. Narrius smiles slightly at this, then he looks down at his son and steps forwards, putting his hands behind his back. Zerrex immediately stands, keeping his head bowed humbly forwards, and then he looks up as Narrius says softly: "Your mother was badly injured, but she's alive and well. Asleep... and will remain so for the next day or more... but she'll be awake soon. And I also had them run a few other tests on her... and they found male sperm in her. Interestingly enough, it had a similar genetic makeup as hers... so I was curious as to what you and she were up to."

Zerrex swallowed, and suddenly shivers wracked his body. He shifted uncomfortably on the spot, then remembered his father's short temper and knew that soon he'd be hurt - and likely badly - for not answering. But when he looks up at Narrius's features, the Dragokkaren was smiling coldly, and his ruby eyes held a strange interest... and Zerrex decided to go with the honest truth: "Mom and I... made love."

Narrius snorts at this sentiment: the child couldn't tell whether it was in contempt, disgust, entertainment, or a mixture of the three. "Made love? That's cute... not to mention pathetic and weak." His hand lashes out, and Zerrex winces as the backhand slap caught him hard in the muzzle, firm enough to send him reeling before the same hand grabbed his skull and twisted into his hair, jerking his head back as Narrius kneeled slightly with a dark grin on his features, his son trying to fight off tears of pain and humiliation as his father continues to speak in his terribly-charismatic voice: "You fucked, that's what you did. Your precious mommy used you to get laid, because she hasn't slept with anyone since I decided to leave the worthless whore here and live on my own-"

"Don't talk about Mom like that!" Zerrex suddenly bursts out, and then the world freezes for a moment before he found himself on his knees, not so much in pain as simply numb. Then his brain backfired and started working again, and the Drakkaren child screamed at the agony burning in his stomach, blood and ichors running from his muzzle, limbs trembling, and staring at a pile of vomit that he hadn't even realized he'd thrown up.

Narrius kicks him hard in the face, sending him crashing onto his back before the Dragokkaren planted a foot firmly on his chest, looking down at him with anger burning in those terrifying crimson eyes. "Don't talk to your father so rudely, Zerrex... I'm just trying to show you the truth. Your mother used you, that's all. She just abused you and hurt you. I bet she said a lot of pretty things... but I'm sure it was just to mask the lust she felt and the need for a good fuck." He stops, then snorts and crosses his arms, and then he slowly shakes his head and adds softly: "I want to help you, since you're my son... I want to help show you the truth..."

Zerrex is only able to stare, being crushed under the heel of his father, wanting the pain to end and feeling a worm of distrust and doubt slithering into his mind: he closes his eyes tightly, trembling, not wanting to believe... and then Narrius adds in an almost idle voice: "By the way, I can prove it to you, you know."

The Drakkaren's eyes open, and he looks quietly up at his father for a few moments as Narrius looks back down at him with that horrible, contemptible smile on his features... and then Zerrex whispers: "How?"

Narrius merely laughs quietly and leaves the room for a moment: when he comes back, he's carrying several video tapes, and he tells Zerrex to sit and watch. Zerrex does so... and then a video starts playing, and he sees his mother with some male he doesn't know... and to his horror, she starts touching him, starts doing things to him and whispering things that are nearly the same as she has told her son that morning.

The Dragokkaren watches with cruel amusement as Zerrex's heart is broken, and his beliefs shattered: he enjoys the pain, enjoys manipulating him, and doesn't feel any urge to bother with an explanation of what his mother is doing, why his mother is having sex with these males, whispering those words. He feels there's no need to explain that Zerrex's mother first worked in the adult film industry doing romantic tales of lust, both soft and hardcore... and so now he uses the terrible past that Celestial has tried so hard to forget and move away from to his advantage, to destroy her son's belief in her.

Zerrex is forced to watch every moment of every tape: to watch her mother 'make love' to male after male, and even groups of them. He starts to cry hard, shivering, snot leaking from his nostrils and reduced to a broken heap... but still Narrius forces him to watch, to not miss a moment. There is only one pause - just long enough for Zerrex to clean up the bloody vomit on the carpet - before they go back to the movies.

When the last film ends, it's late at night. Zerrex feels hopeless, his dreams shattered, his mother turned into a whore, a manipulative slut in his eyes... and Narrius takes out the movie and puts it down before kneeling in front of his son, locking his crimson eyes on the child's emerald and saying in a terrible, soothing voice: "I know it hurts. She's hurt me, too, Zerrex. And all people are like this... you can't trust anyone but myself. The only thing you can do is learn to control them, through pain and power, and to turn their weapons against them... would you like to see how to do that? Would you like to see how the strong rule over the weak?"

Zerrex swallows thickly, and the faintest of lights in him - a light that never quite goes out - whispers to him to say no... but the child of eight is no match for his father, a Dragokkaren who is nothing less than a cruel god in his eyes who has shown him a 'truth' he can never forget. Who has taught him something he will never quite relinquish until almost too late... and the only thing he can do is rasp, as tears flow from his eyes: "Yes."

Normally, Narrius would have crushed his son for the emotions he's displayed... but instead he's let them grow, to achieve his own ends. Now he uses a tactic far crueller than sheer brutality, and one that shows that despite his constant fight for power and his raw, physical methods, he still has a terrible intelligence and cunning that matches the devils that lurk in the darkest pits of Hell. "Then you have to make yourself strong... no more crying, no more giving up or giving in. You'll have to be cold, and ruthless. You'll have to learn to be as hard as I am... but I know you can, for I am your father, and you are my son. I care about you, and have faith in you."

"Thank you... father..." Zerrex whispers, his eyes still locked, entranced by the crimson of Narrius... and Narrius smiles before he stands and ruffles his son's hair gently. He slowly walks away, then picks up another video tape and heads to the television. He places it into the cassette player, and then he glances over his shoulder, watching Zerrex compose himself and harden himself.

"Think of your mother when you watch these... think of hurting her this way. Think of revenge, and let your hate and anger grow in you. Sharpen them to be your fuel and your tools... think of all the ways you can rule with this power." Narrius says, as the film begins. Then he walks past his son, and tilts his head, adding idly: "I want you to watch all these films tonight and memorize them and what happens. Then get some sleep. When you get up tomorrow, watch them again. Study them... and remember to be cruel, and to be strong. Remember that the strong will always rule over the weak. Take care of yourself and don't bother me... this is part of your training."

"Yes, father." Zerrex says softly, not looking away from the screen: he watches as a large male Drakkaren grabs a female and throws her against a wall, watches as she screams, watches him slap her, hurt her... and part of him rejoices. He lets this part flow through him, and he can't help the growing excitement he feels as he watches the Drakkaren tear down his pants and force the female down, forces her to suck his massive, bulging cock. Inside, his soul is beginning to tarnish and darken, as he lets the feelings take over and run through his body... soon, he finds himself hard, his pants bulging, eyes locked on the television. He is not tired at all... and he will watch every movie tonight, every scene.

They are all rape films... gangbangs... gang rapes... snuff films... bondage... the hardest of hardcore, the most vicious, and many illegal or real acts caught on tape and strung together into a series of violent sex scenes with no coherency, plot or story. And as commanded, Zerrex memorizes as much as he can, watches everything, and takes it all in... little does he know that already, even at this young age, he's begun his training for the day he will take the role of Captain of the Goth Legion. He doesn't notice Narrius coming or leaving, and nor does he notice Requiem's entrance, or the Dragokkaren moving Narrius's luggage and possessions into what was once Celestial's rooms. But he can almost feel the pain and pity of the Dragokkaren as he goes about his work.

Zerrex spends two days like this... and then Narrius brings home his mother from the hospital. When they arrive, Zerrex is in his room browsing through porn magazines his father has bought him: not for entertainment, but to study the ways the larger dominate the smaller, the stronger the weaker, both male and female. He hears his father call him, and he quickly comes downstairs... and stops to stare silently at his mother.

She is standing in the middle of the living room, supported by a crutch and wincing at Narrius's grip on her shoulder. Narrius is grinning, and tears are rolling down Celestial's cheeks - she is naked. Burn marks scour her body, scarring her and turning her from beautiful to ugly... and she has ripped her stitches. A large bandage is wrapped around her head, and then her emerald eyes look at her son's, and as Zerrex looks back coldly, a new pain enters them and tears roll freer down her cheeks. She tries to speak, but Narrius clenches harder into her shoulder, his claws ripping through her scale and burying to the first knuckle into her flesh, blood rolling down, and all she's able to do is groan. Her legs nearly buckle, but the cruel Dragokkaren behind her easily holds her up from just the shoulder, looking at her with cold satisfaction in his ruby eyes.

They look at each other, and then Narrius commands coldly: "Show your mother what you've learned. Hurt her like she hurt you."

Zerrex nods silently, then he starts to step forwards... before he sees his mother's eyes again. He hesitates as she looks away, then her eyes flicker back and once more emerald meets emerald. Suddenly, Zerrex's body goes weak at the sight of her, and he forgets everything he's been shown and taught and told... and at the pain in her eyes, the strange way that her eyes had flickered so deep with hurt at his willingness to try and hurt her than all the agony she must suffer from her 'car accident...' he realizes the truth, and his legs give out under him and he falls forwards.

Tears fill up his eyes and roll down his cheeks, and then he whispers: "I'm sorry, Mommy... I love you."

Celestial gives a faint smile, leaning heavily on her crutch, and mouths the words back as behind her, Narrius blinks slowly... and then he snarls furiously. He steps back, then slams an elbow into Celestial's back and sends her crashing to the ground: immediately, Zerrex leaps up, opening his mouth to yell angrily at his father... but Narrius steps forwards and slams a foot hard into his son, sending him crashing back into the armchair and knocking him senseless for a moment. Then he shakes his head and starts to struggle up to his feet, determined to somehow stop Narrius from hurting his mother anymore... but then he stops as he sees his father on one knee, an arm wrapped tight around her throat and the other on her skull, that infuriated snarl still on his features before he yells angrily: "I was going to let her live and be your bitch, but fine! Since you can't fulfill your duty, your job, then you get to see your precious mommy die!"

There is a sickening crack, and Celestial's eyes - full of pain - suddenly look surprised for a moment. They roll in her head, and settle on her son for one last time, and she almost gives a smile... before the once-brilliant emeralds go glassy, and Narrius lets out a vicious growl as he twists again and jerks hard on her neck, and there's a sick tearing of sinew and flesh as her neck rips and blood bursts from her nostrils and muzzle, leaking down her body as the stitches along her chest tear open and bubble out their own last stream of living blood. Then he drops the corpse, and slowly stands, looking down at his son with nothing but disgust.

"You're a failure." He says softly, as Zerrex begins to tremble violently, and then he steps forwards and slaps him hard, sending the child onto his side. He raises a foot, and stomps: the blow connects hard enough to shatter most of his son's ribs, and Zerrex releases a scream of agony as Narrius grinds his heel into the broken set of bones, his words soft but laced with venom: "You let your mother die. You couldn't fulfill one simple act of revenge, and now she's dead... and you will always be a failure as a son and everything else. You're just a pathetic, stupid runt who can't do anything right... and you will never be at the same level as me."

He draws his foot back, and then slams it into Zerrex's gut: the reptile chokes for a moment, unable to inhale, then he pukes blood and grabs his stomach, tears leaking from his eyes. Narrius snarls, then he raises his foot again, but then glances up to see Requiem standing in the doorway. The Dragokkaren looks horrified, and Narrius is distracted by this long enough to halt his attack, lowering his foot back to the ground and snorting in disgust. "What? You knew she was nothing but a nice fuck to me."

"Brother... please... think of your son." Requiem says quietly, gesturing at Zerrex with a hand: and suddenly, Narrius is past Zerrex, and the huge Dragokkaren flies backwards and into the wall under the stairs, his muzzle wrinkled in an agonized snarl, hands clutching at a wrist. Narrius's fingers are locked around his throat, and his red eyes glare into Requiem's sapphire furiously.

"I think about him... I think every day about how he's a worthless piece of shit!" Narrius shouts into his brother's face, slamming his head back into the banister, other hand gesturing at Zerrex, who is spasming on the ground, crying, and trying to crawl to his mother's corpse... but who is also soaking up every word of the conversation. "I think about the fact that our bloodline somehow managed to produce a runty, useless crybaby, and about how the fuck I'm supposed to make him a proper heir to our family's name!"

He slams Requiem back into the wall again, and then snorts and drops him: Requiem coughs, one hand settling on his neck, feeling the indents left by his brother's fingers as Narrius steps back and looks down at him furiously. Then he snorts and shakes his head in disgust before heading for the door, calling back over his shoulder angrily: "You and the crybaby can clean each other up... and get rid of that body, I don't want to deal with any more bullshit today. Throw it in the trash or have some pathetic funeral for the whore, but have it gone by nightfall. I'll be back later."

Zerrex cries quietly as he crawls to his mother's corpse, and he gazes into her eyes, the once bright, once brilliant emerald eyes that have gone so glazed and dark, and then he hugs her tight around the neck: he doesn't care that he's smearing blood on himself, or that her once-warm body is already starting to cool... he doesn't care that he's hugging a corpse, or that he's still bleeding out the mouth from something ruptured in his stomach. All he wants to do is be with his mother... and not knowing what else to do, he finally kisses her as he had only learned to kiss her a few mornings ago, snaking his tongue into her dead mouth, tasting her blood before he draws back and pushes his head against her neck. His sobs wrack his body, but even through them he manages to swear an oath that he will one day fulfill, and that will leave him more haunted and cursed than proud and righteous: "One day I'll be stronger than he is... one day I'll be crueller and colder, and I'll turn all his teachings against him... I promise you, Mommy, I'll make it up to you, I'll hurt him for everything he's done to us... one day I'll make him pay..."

And Requiem could do nothing but stand there and watch... and then he looked down silently, lowering his arms and head, closing his eyes. Eventually, Zerrex would realize that the Dragokkaren was behind him... but until then Requiem merely stood a silent watch and felt a shame and weight on his shoulders that would stay heavy on him for many years to come.

Cherry looked down silently as Zerrex halted in his story. The Drakkaren had spoken in a dry, quiet voice through most of it, and she'd been courteous enough to keep her eyes down or closed, resting against his chest... besides, it scared her to see Zerrex crying, even if it was just a single tear or two that rolled down his cheek.

They sat together for a little bit, Cherry now curled quietly up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat - a bit quickened, and she didn't blame him. She'd never had any idea about his past... never realized what he must have gone through to turn him into the killing machine everyone envied. Finally, though, an idea of what she could do for the Drakkaren came to her, and she silently sat up: Zerrex looked at her with an expression that was almost terrified, reaching up, opening his muzzle - and she knew he was going to beg her not to leave, and she wouldn't be able to bear that.

She rose a finger quickly, pushing it to his lips and silencing him... then she sat back a bit against the couch and opened her arms quietly. For a moment, Zerrex only looked at her... then he trembled a bit, closing his eyes tight, before he dropped his body forwards against her, wrapping his arms tight around her neck and pushing his head against her bosom, his body shaking quietly.

Cherry rubbed his back soothingly, then planted a silent kiss on his forehead as he rocked him slowly in her arms, closing her eyes as she rested back against the couch and gazed down at her husband quietly. She let Zerrex calm himself, relaxing against her bit by bit, before finally she built up the nerve to ask in a voice that she hoped was respectful enough: "What... what happened to your mother's body?"

Zerrex glanced up at her quietly with eyes that were a bit too bright, then he closed them and curled his muscular, larger form against her slighter one, resting on her as she lay down a bit more against the couch to make him more comfortable on her form. "Requiem... and I... we loaded her body into his car, and... we took her out to a nearby field. We... gave her a burial there, and Requiem gave me time to say goodbye... before he came back and got me, and we went back home." He stopped, then laughed faintly and looked up at her silently. "I remember that he gave me a hug. The only time he ever did... and... I didn't appreciate it then, but now I do. It meant a lot to me... even if I've never showed that to him."

"And now Requiem's here to kill you..." Cherry sighed softly, looking down quietly and then murmuring before she could stop herself: "Your family is so fucked up."

Zerrex gave a broken laugh, however, and then he nodded slowly against her. "Yes... yes, it certainly is. I... I managed to fulfill my promise, but... I really think that I've done enough storytelling for today."

"I agree." Cherry looked down at the Drakkaren quietly, then she leaned forwards and gently rubbed their muzzles side by side for a moment before sitting back, holding him close to his body before she smiled faintly. "You know, I... I love you, Zerrex. And I want to be here for you as much as I can, Boss..." She stopped, then glanced down quietly. "So I guess that... Cindy is... kinda your new candle in the darkness, huh?"

"One of them." Zerrex said quietly, then he glanced up at Cherry. "You're another one, you know. Since we've been together and... changing, working through things, I mean."

"Yeah." For once, the tough female didn't want to give a retort or make a joke out of it... and instead, they simply sat there, together, resting quietly. Eventually, Zerrex fell asleep... and Cherry followed soon after, her last movement before sleep overtook her to stroke her lover's hair from his features, her last though reflecting on how much they had changed... and how much she had grown to truly care for this powerful and deeply-scarred reptile.

Cindy yawned, raising her head slowly and blinking tiredly a few times. She tried to get up, but something held her in place, and she frowned a bit, blearily looking around. Then she blinked before remembering where she was, and letting out a loud curse as she immediately began to struggle against the chains tightly entrapping her to the log, glaring back and forth. "Fuck!"

"Relax." Requiem said mildly, and Cindy blinked before looking over at the Dragokkaren: he was seated at the metal table, polishing some tool he had apparently found laying around the sawmill. He paused as he examined her, then he stood and stretched slowly; he was already dressed, today in a rancher's style outfit of blue jeans far too nice to be meant for working in, and a white silk dress shirt that was buttoned up to the collar. He even wore some sort of choker: a rhombus-shaped obsidian stone with flecks of gold running through it, and with two long, neat black laces hanging down to adjust its position.

Cindy muttered to herself, then she paused before tugging against the chains again and saying in a whiny voice: "I need to pee!"

"Then pee." Requiem crossed his arms, looking at her flatly as the female Drakkaren gave him a horrified look. "I told you. I'm not letting you out of there again... if you have to urinate, you'll just have to do it there. As for myself, I'm going to go out to pick up some groceries... I'll pick up some air freshener so you don't have to sit in the reek of your own urine, at least."

"You're so thoughtful." Cindy said acidly, then she winced and clamped her legs together, crossing her ankles and glaring at the giant. "Why don't you get some liposuction for your fat head while you're at it?"

"I don't believe in plastic surgery. And my head's not fat." Requiem responded absently, picking up his keys and wallet from the metal table before he glanced over at her and paused. "I'll allow you water throughout the day, but don't bother whining for food. And to be fair, I'll warn you now... if you get too obnoxious, I'm going to use a gag to shut you up. I have no issues keeping your muzzle tied shut for any extended period of time, either, so behave yourself."

Cindy muttered grouchily under her breath, glaring at the Dragokkaren, but otherwise remained quiet, and Requiem nodded before heading to the door and exiting, making sure to lock it from the outside just to be careful. He paused to glance up at the sky, looking in the direction of the sun and frowning a bit as he judged it was probably around nine in the morning... he hadn't wanted to leave before Cindy woke up, but she had slept what seemed like a ridiculously-long time to him. Zerrex never slept more than a few hours a night... even when he was a kid, it wasn't much. She can't have gotten that laziness from this side of the family.

He shook his head a bit, then headed for his car and climbed inside, sliding the keys in the ignition, but then pausing a moment as a van slowly drove by. He watched in the rearview mirror as it passed, but he couldn't tell who was inside or if they were likely to double back once he was gone. Then he shrugged and backed out onto the road, figuring there wasn't much he could do in either case... he'd just continue to play things as they were dealt.

The Dragokkaren slowly drove over the rickety bridge, then headed once more into town: he had already memorized the layout of the areas he had driven through, and for now he wanted to stop in and pick up some supplies from both the medical and grocery store in the area: fortunately, they were in the same area, so he wouldn't have to drive around too much.

Within a few minutes, he pulled into the nearly-empty parking lot of the grocery store: he frowned a bit, glancing around the area as he pulled into a space - technically, two, since his car was enormous despite the fact he still had to scrunch up a bit in the seat - then he pulled the keys from the ignition and got up, spinning them slowly on one finger as he closed the door. He glanced at the supermarket first, then shook his head and turned instead to head back towards the street, pausing to look both ways down the road before crossing quickly to the store that had originally caught his attention. He frowned a bit as he looked back down the road, however, feeling a bit disgusted as he noticed a cherry red sports car weaving back and forth on one side of the road. The driver was either drunk or an idiot... and Requiem thought that this one was more an idiot.

The idiot-in-question, however, made an even bigger swerve into the other lane as he looked up from his singing along with the radio to check the road... and instead spotted a certain red-scaled giant squeezing his way into one of the new small businesses that had started up in the Apple Villa area. Lone did a double-take, then he quickly grabbed the wheel and jerked hard to the other side, bouncing over a speedbump and hastily parking in the same lot as the giant had, grabbing the sides of his car door and leaning out the window to stare through the front window of the medical supplies store. "Holy shit."

Lone had been doing everything he could to avoid his assignment to help out Zerrex... and ever since he'd sulked off to pretend to try and look around for Requiem, he'd been wondering if he could somehow get the giant on his side, in order to teach the Drakkaren a lesson and regain his grip on the town. After all, Requiem had wiped the floor with Zerrex... hell, it hadn't even been a real fight! Lone snorted under his breath, then he quickly tore his keys out of the ignition and almost fell out of his car when he threw the door open, slamming it behind him and then starting forwards.

His shirt - today a ridiculous, loose Hawaiian-style one that was far too big on him - caught in the door, however, and he let out a yelp as he fell backwards on his ass, wincing and rubbing at it tenderly before getting up and yanking his door back open, grumbling under his breath as he slammed it quickly again. Then he quickly ran to the street... barely managing to leap back in time as a truck sailed by. Lone winced, pawed feet hitting the ground and making him give another whine of pain as he landed on a sharp rock, and he quickly shook the offended body part before straightening and trying to make himself look as respectable as possible... not realizing that looking respectable was nearly impossible when his chosen attire also included pants so baggy he could likely pitch them as a tent, and a pair of sunglasses that were currently askew on his forehead.

The wolf was caught between fear and anxiousness, as he ran across the street and towards the medical building, paws slapping the dusty concrete before he pressed against the front window of the place with big eyes, like a child in a candy store. Requiem stood inside, examining what looked like a tube attached to a plastic mask of some sort, and the Dragokkaren seemed to be idly chatting with the clerk behind the counter. The wolf frowned at the casual look of the clerk, thinking he must be an idiot to not realize the engine of destruction in front of him that he hoped to soon pull towards his side...

Requiem, however, was somewhat pleased with the fact he wasn't being stared at in terror for once, as he glanced over the device he held in his hands - part of a urinal system for people who were bedridden or paralyzed. "So it's almost like a mask that I put on between her legs?"

"Airtight and has a suction function if you get the motor model as well. Neat little thing." The lion behind the counter nodded, relaxing in his chair and rubbing idly at a leg that was supported by a metal leg brace. Then he smiled a bit, the elderly cat tilting his head upwards and brushing at his greying mane. "I heard some of the college kids were using these things as beer masks for drinking games."

The giant Dragokkaren gave a snort of amusement, then he nodded and put the display model back down on the counter. "Some kids. But alright. I'll buy the full version, then, and a plain bed tray." He paused, then glanced at the window: the look was enough to cause Lone to fall backwards on his ass with a yelp of fear that came through the window as a muffled gulp. "You know, I think some of those dumb kids never grow up, either."

"I think you're right, there." The old lion nodded, glancing at the window as well with a hint of sour amusement, then he grunted and picked up a cane, heading towards a back door with an obvious limp. Requiem frowned slightly at this, however, then he quickly moved ahead of the lion, pushing the door open for him and slipping his large form through to hold it, his eyes roving over the shelves of bar-coded boxes that littered the miniature warehouse. "Hey now, mister-"

"It's no problem." The Dragokkaren said, glancing down at the lion, who gave a bit of a snort and rapped him lightly on the shin with his cane. He couldn't resist the faintest bit of amusement from escaping onto his features, then he glanced around the room. "Just point out the box and I'll carry it out for you."

"I suppose a strong young male like yourself can do that. There need to be more courteous people like you these days." The lion responded, and again Requiem had to repress a smile - he was likely as old as the elderly lion, if not older. But he didn't bother to say anything, instead following the feline's cane as he used it to tap a large, white box on the top shelf. "There. It's the one labelled 'Bosch-522B."

The giant nodded, then he reached up and easily picked it off the shelf with one hand, putting it under his arm and then letting the aged lion once more go through the door first before following, the steel construction finally swinging closed. Requiem set it on the counter, and the feline scanned it with the electronic sensor by the register before tapping a few buttons and glancing up at Requiem. "That'll be 220.82, sir."

The lizard nodded once more, producing his wallet and opening it to pull out five fifties. He dropped them on the counter, then pocketed his wallet again as the feline took the money, picking up the box and saying absently: "Keep the change."

"Hey now-" the lion started, but Requiem was already heading to the door and slipping his impressive bulk through, leaving the feline to stare after him with faint entertainment. "Nice lad, that. Bit big, but pleasant."

Requiem paused as the door to the medical supplies shop swung closed behind him, then he glanced up at the sky before saying calmly: "Only an idiot would hide there. Come out and tell me what you want."

Lone paled a bit in his hiding spot from around the corner, ceasing to breathe and pushing flat against the wall as his ears laid back, eyes widening in terror. For a few moments he remained silent, deciding that the huge lizard must be bluffing... then he winced as the Dragokkaren spoke again, his tone less-than-amused. "I'll give you a count to three, wolf. Your choices are to run, keep hiding, or to show yourself. If you do either of the former, I'll break you if you ever show your face in my presence again. If you do the latter, you'd best have a damned good reason to. One."

Immediately, the wolf leapt out and stumbled in front of the Dragokkaren, throwing his arms out as he whined in a loud, obnoxious voice: "I do have a damned good reason! We're on the same side, we want the same things! We can help each other and... I mean... you... we could make a great team, and obviously we both don't get along so well with Zerrex, and-"

The Dragokkaren, however, merely rolled his eyes and brushed past the lupine, losing interest in what he had almost immediately. Obviously, the lupine was some rival or enemy of his nephew's... and certainly not a worthy adversary, from the deceitful and dishonorable tactics it seemed that he used. He thought he remembered him from the picnic as well... but he hoped he was wrong. Thinking that Zerrex would harbor a traitor in his midst made the behemoth lizard honestly wonder if his nephew had gone soft.

He shook his head a bit, but the wolf followed behind, still babbling; he at least had to give him points for being determined... then again, as Lone almost stumbled into traffic when he stopped to let a car pass, he narrowed his sapphire eyes and figured it could simply be stupidity. A hand reached out and snagged the wolf's arm as he kept walking, eyes staring up at the Dragokkaren, and then he yanked him out of the way as a short line of cars passed by.

Lone stared, then he coughed and gave a small grin, reaching up to rub his arm slowly as he turned his gaze to look at the passing vehicles before turning the strange, somewhat-awed expression back on Requiem. "You got a hell of a grip, champ. And since you didn't let me go splat, I guess you must be realizing I can do a lot of good things for you."

Requiem looked at the wolf flatly, then reached out a hand and gave him the gentlest of pushes - it was enough force on the giant's part, however, to knock the lupine flat on his ass, making him yelp and his ears fold back. Then the reptile quickly strode across the road, muttering as Lone scrambled on all fours up to his feet before loping after the reptile... even this bit of exercise, however, was almost enough to get Lone panting. After all, much of his lost weight wasn't from working out, as he so often bragged... but simply because he wasn't allowed to stuff his face every moment of the day, since some mole in his staff ended up telling Zerrex he wasn't taking care of himself, and then Zerrex ended up getting all mean and stuff on his ass. I mean, exactly! I am an adult, I should be able to do exactly as I please with my body... stupid... head... just doesn't get the concept he's not my caretaker.

Lone snorted indignantly at his own thoughts, nodding firmly to himself and pausing for a moment on the other side of the road to stop and rest for a moment, leaning down a bit and putting his hands on his knees. His head bowed forwards, eyes closed, as he panted quietly for breath. Even after these three years, he still harbored both a deep bitterness and envy of the Drakkaren who, in his eyes, had usurped the town from him... who had used force to steal away his city, and who continued to puppet him on strings of fear into doing everything he wanted. Tax breaks... saying the police program is overfunded and that the Department of Internal City Investigation is just a mask for bribes... making me 'take care of myself' because he wants me to remain healthy... "Ha! That last one's a joke." Lone muttered, but he absently reached up to touch the pocketwatch that Zerrex had given him on his last birthday. "He just wants me to stay in mayor so he doesn't have to manipulate anyone else."

Zerrex himself would have agreed this was one of the reasons... but he also would have pointed out that Lone dying of a heart attack or some other health-related issue - like a bullet to the head because he couldn't waddle fast enough from the hired hitman - was not exactly in his best interests. And Lone, of course, was also careful to 'forget' the times his horribly-bad shape had almost cost him his life and Zerrex had to come and pull his ass out of the fire, like when an extremist group from the old Comfort Town had tried to shoot him and Zerrex had been forced to step in and teach them a lesson.

Lone snorted and muttered under his breath, puffing himself and his ego up with more memories of the past that were all slightly changed or tinted to his better interests... then he glanced up and blinked as he realized Requiem was already entering the grocery store. Immediately, he let out a yell and began to run across the parking lot, before tripping on his baggy pants and going face-first into the concrete. He gave a screech of pain and grabbed his face, tears coming to his eyes at the pain that rolled through his head nose as he rolled on the ground and clutched at his slightly-bleeding muzzle, looking more like an oversized child than anything else.

Requiem paused at the doors of the grocery store for a moment to glance at the squalling lupine over his shoulder, then he rolled his eyes and entered through the double doors, ducking down as usual... but pleased that he didn't have to scrunch down at all once inside the high-ceilinged building. Now he thought he could understand Zerrex's motives to keep Lone around a bit better... the wolf wasn't so much a bitter adversary as a crybaby child.

The giant took a cart from where they were kept in their own little pen at the front of the store, then he turned, the few other shoppers giving him stares of both fear and awe as he wandered down towards where the fruits and vegetables were kept, then he paused to pick up a head of lettuce in each hand, comparing them. He looked remarkably casual as he wandered the store, and why not? In places like this, he felt no urge to play the role he usually did... it was nice to be the casual shopper every now and then.

Requiem had soon filled his cart, staying mostly between the shelves as he heard Lone yelling at some poor shopboy about his location: the Dragokkaren was unsurprised at the fact that the wolf was apparently used to stomping all over everyone he could, but he had a feeling that with whatever had happened earlier between him and Zerrex had toned the lupine down quite a bit. He thought it was a pity that Zerrex had left the wolf alive, however... he wondered again if his nephew had been putting too much faith in people over the last few years, as he paused to glance from one box of cereal to the next. Then he picked them up and idly looked over the ingredients, finally snorting and throwing the box with the smiling pirate back on the shelves and taking the plainer, no-name brand. "That's disgusting. There shouldn't be that much sugar in anything."

He continued to the end of the isle, then rolled his eyes as Lone skidded to a stop in front of him, grabbing the end of the cart and looking up at him with a wide smile that he probably thought was charming, his body heaving as if he'd just run a mile. "There you... there you are!" He panted, his fingers squeezing the end of his metal cart tightly as Requiem glowered at him. The wolf, however, seemed used to taking angry glares from large reptiles by now, and it seemed he'd learned to differentiate between simple irritation and when things could get violent. "I... I was looking all over for you! Hey, did I introduce myself? I'm Lone, Lone Wulfe!" He leaned a bit more heavily on the cart at this, smile stretching into a grin and extending a hand.

"Get out of my way or I'm going to run you over with this cart." Requiem said flatly, and Lone blanched before hopping backwards and raising his arms. The Dragokkaren pushed by, turning in a U to go down the next isle, and he frowned a bit as the wolf reached up and patted him a number of times on the arm. "Don't touch me."

"Why not? I mean, a big muscular hulk like you must be proud of himself, right?" Lone wheedled, but the giant mostly ignored him as he wandered down the isle of nutritional supplements. He stepped away from the cart for a moment to pick up two different brands of meal replacement milkshake, looking over the labels. The wolf was continuing to speak and dance around beside him, but he only caught a few words like 'Zerrex,' 'ass,' 'you,' and 'teamwork.'

"Go away." Requiem finally steamrolled the wolf with a glare and his simple statement, before putting one of the drinks back on the shelf and picking up another brand, reading it over quickly before deciding to go with the one he hadn't yet dropped. He picked up two cases of the plain substitute, placing them in the cart with his other groceries, then decided he was set as Lone looked at him stupidly, his mouth still half-open, one hand raised.

The Dragokkaren turned his car around carefully, then he brushed past the lupine and headed towards the row of checkout counters. Lone blinked slowly, then he gritted his teeth and quickly followed, deciding that the giant was going to be a tough sell... but hey, he'd been one of the best sellers in the company for his company, so it shouldn't be impossible, right? Nothing, after all, was impossible for Lone Wulfe. "Hey, wait, we aren't-"

"Yes, we are." Requiem said coldly, as he loaded items from his cart onto the thankfully-empty conveyor: one of the clerks had been open and was now fumbling with the Dragokkaren's food, his trembling hands betraying him and making the usually-easy process of scanning and bagging the food properly difficult. Thankfully, however, the reptile hadn't decided to buy anything as fragile as eggs.

Lone winced at the giant's tone, then he stepped back and rubbed his head, trying to think of a different course of action. He looked up at the behemoth, then he finally brightened internally as he lied: "Zerrex talked about you a lot, you know, he always said-"

Slowly, Requiem turned his gaze to lock eyes with the wolf, and the lupine's speech died in his throat at the silent, deadly look the Dragokkaren was giving him. He slowly backed up several steps, trembling slightly and then tripping over the hem of his pants to once more land on his rear, but the icy eyes of the reptile told him he had crossed the line. Thankfully, however, the behemoth simply snorted, then he spat on the trembling lupine sitting on the floor before turning his attention back to the clerk, emptying the last large bills from his wallet before he'd even been rung up and saying mildly that it should be more than enough to cover.

The clerk merely nodded, looking up at the giant with a shiver at what the Dragokkaren could do if he wanted to, and then Requiem stepped past his now empty cart: he paused, however, then looked at Lone and said coldly: "You want to make something of yourself? Try doing some real work for a change. You can start by taking my cart back.

With that, the reptile gave the metal cart a firm boot, and it rolled back and into the wolf, falling on him as Lone squealed at the pain that burst in one of his paws from one of the stubby wheels striking it. He struggled up to his paws, but by the time he was standing, he could already see Requiem striding across the parking lot with his shopping bags in his hands.

Lone muttered angrily to himself, rubbing at his wounded foot before he bad-temperedly kicked at the cart, smart enough to use his heel at the least to avoid injuring himself further. Then he stormed out past the clerk that was still staring off out the window, the wolf knocking down a display stand and sending postcards and magazines fluttering as he snarled and muttered: "Stupid lizards are all the same..."

He stomped out into the parking lot, ruffled and offended, looking back and forth bad-naturedly to hide the shivers of fear that were still wracking his body: after all, he'd now managed to make enemies of both surviving members of the Narrius family... both of whom also seemed to be ridiculously oversized and powerful. The lupine muttered to himself, then he blinked and his ears perked as he heard a catcall from behind him.

The wolf slowly looked over his shoulder, then he bit his cheek and tried to hide his surprise and apprehension as he saw several figures sitting on the benches under a large cloth canopy, in the small, park-like area that was next to the store. One of them motioned for Lone to approach, and the wolf shrugged inwardly before doing so, sizing up the three members of the local gang, the Godkillers.