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"...and you should be glad that you're getting only a commendation for your excellent tactics in the battle, Captain Wren. I've heard talk of there being a statue in Luminous' honor."

Wren could see the eye-smile from the aged snow rabbit. Still, it made him squirm to think about it, even within the safe confines of his ready room. "Thank you, Admiral Flint."

"As for the matter of your lost crew members," the admiral continued, "I understand that the shuttle has already docked to your ship?"

"Yes sir. They're in sickbay right now getting a check up from our medical officer. I'll have them make their report as soon as they're able." Wren hestiated for a moment, then went on. "You must understand, sir, that this may take some time," he said, delicately.

"No need to explain, Captain. I'm aware of the condition of your ops officer. Please have them make the report at their earliest convenience."

The squirrel captain nodded. "I will, sir. Thank you."

"Thank you, Captain. Flint out."

With that, the channel cut, and Wren let out a huge sigh of relief. "You did do good, captain," assured Rella, who had been standing to the side the entire time.

"Yeah..." In a very un-captain-like gesture, he leaned against her, letting their cheeks brush.

"That relieved that Field and Adelaide are back, mm?"

Wren blushed. He couldn't help it. "Is it that obvious?" At her nod, he groaned. "The crew is going to think I'm playing favorites..."

"Oh, they already do."

"What?"

"Relax, Wren. It's not really a secret anymore about you and Field's prior relationship with Kody. In large part, the crew doesn't really care since Kody's proven himself a capable doctor, and Field's shown that he's got the mettle for senior command."

Wren blinked. "He has, hasn't he?"

Rella nodded, coming around the command chair and sitting in Wren's lap, letting her large tail lay to the side of the chair. "He's going to be alright," the squirrel said, resuming her nuzzling. "And besides, he has Adelaide."

"Just like I have you?" the captain prompted, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her toward him.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to worrying about me," she smiled.

Wren looked up at Rella's face. "Do you get jealous of him?"

Rella looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sometimes." She was quiet for long enough for Wren to want to prompt her, but she continued just before he said anything. "Mostly because he's had more time than me to know you better. But then I remember that we still have an opportunity to rectify that, so the feeling fades."

"Oh. I'm... sorry that you feel that way."

"Captain, I am sitting in your lap right now."

That brought a grin back to Wren's mouth, and he leaned in for a chaste kiss that turned into a longer, fuller one. But when he pulled back, he remembered something. "Hey Rella?"

"Mmhm?" Her arms hung loosely around his shoulders.

"Didn't Admiral Flint say something else? Something about a hare that was also found by the arctic foxes?"

**--**

Kody flinched initially because it was Pyro that had arrived at sickbay. While the time that he and Dotna were together had been more or less smoothed over, the wolf did cut an imposing figure aside of just being a predator. It didn't help that the sounds of mouse squeaks and bat chitters from behind the closed door had him dealing with a tightness in his pants. But then, there was the immediate tension between the wolf and his newest patient, the silver hare he had been checking up on before he ceded Sickbay to the couple.

"Pyro," said hare acknowledged. She had a look in her eyes that Kody could barely decipher, and didn't have the spare mental capacity to try. "Been a while."

The wolf's red eyes had a similar, but not the same, look. "You're... alive?" he said, frowning as the question rolled off his tongue.

"She looks to be," Kody couldn't help but interject, performing another scan while the results of another came back. "And aside from some slight malnutrition, in pretty good health."

The comment drew the wolf's eyes for a moment, before they focused back on Sheila. That was her name, right? "I'm just... surprised, really. Thought my nose was lying to me."

"It does that?" The hare's expression was cool. Or at least that Kody could see. The results were taking their sweet time in processing, making the rabbit impatient. He paused to adjust his pants when the mouse/bat sounds reached a higher pitch.

"Not... often," replied Pyro, his nostrils twitching. Again the red eyes moved from gray ones, this time flicking toward the sickbay door. "Kinda thought you were dead," he continued.

"Thought the same of you." Finally that unwavering stare moved, glancing at the door for a moment before looking the wolf up and down. "You look pretty good for a corpse."

"Tried pretty hard not to be one." The wolf squirmed. Going by the little hitches in Field's squeaks, Kody judged him being pretty close right now. Briefly, he entertained a memory of the mouse while the scans finally came back. "Look, Sheila... if I had known--"

A paw came up, stopping him. "Save it, Pyro. They separated us, probably told you the same thing they told me; we were going to be experimented on, and after the experiments were finished, we were going to be disposed of." All three looked at a particularly loud squeak, followed by rapid panting. Even Kody could smell it now, and he saw the wolf suddenly have to rub his nose. He wondered how much worse he was getting it. "Doctor Kodiak?"

Kody's head suddenly jerked upward, realizing that his name had been called. "Yes?"

"How am I?" Sheila asked, her gray eyes turned on him. A brief glance showed the wolf about as confused as he was.

Kody took a moment to run through the scan results. "Uh. Okay. Aside, again, of some brief effects of malnutrition, which should go away with a recommended diet a shade heavier than normal, you... should be fine. Clean bill of health."

"What about for some... vigorous activity? Like exercise?"

Both wolf and rabbit twitched, though Kody held the steely gaze. "...so long as you keep it light, then you should be fine."

Sheila turned to Pyro. "They got an exercise deck here, right?"

Pyro frowned. "Wait, you wanna...?"

"I need to move. I'm sick of lying on a bed. Besides, let's do it for old time's sake."

The wolf's muzzle quirked before he glanced over at Kody. Kody shrugged. Whatever message the wolf was trying to send, it was beyond him. Pyro seemed to accept this, then jerked his head. "Let's go."

Kody was left standing while the other two went off. The scent was still pretty heavy, so with his console in hand he changed the status of Sick Bay to "Occupied, Do Not Disturb" before adjusting his pants. Maybe Ketchy was around and had a few minutes to spare.

**--**

"Sure this is a good idea? I mean, you've been holed up for a while. You haven't forgotten how to fight, have you?" Pyro asked, cracking his neck and loosening up. When he opened his eyes, there was a playful gleam in them, the wolf settling into a fighting crouch.

"Funny. I was wondering the same about you." Sheila settled into a similar crouch, her gray eyes narrowing on the wolf's. "What are you on this ship, huh? Beta? Delta?" A grin. "Omega?"

The punch came at her head, which she ducked under, delivering a counter-punch. That, however, was deflected away while the wolf dropped his guard and moved to her left. "Nice," he said nodding. "Very nice. When the doc said you were in pretty good health, he wasn't kidding. Though now I wonder how you kept in such good shape, or alive at all?"

The guard came right up again, absorbing a few blows before she kicked in the way he had been moving, shoving him the other way. "The wasps are fighting a war against furs," Sheila spat out, punching toward his stomach and catching him at least once. "Maybe they wanted something to poke and prod when they got curious and bored. I don't know, and they never gave me a chance to ask."

"I guess not," replied the wolf, tongue lolling from his mouth while a roundhouse went over her head. "Can't have been easy, though."

"Not. Really." Sheila feinted to his stomach, then fired a quick punch at his chin.

The wolf weaved backward and twisted to her right, smirking a little. "Careful there. You're moves are a little aggressive."

"I thought you liked aggressive."

"I do! But you're too wild, tryin' to catch me off-balance and failing. What y-- unh!" Pyro was moving left again, circling when he suddenly caught an elbow to the chest. He didn't see the hare spin and trip him and he landed hard on his back. "Oof!"

She was soon straddling his chest, holding him down by his shoulders. "Now," she said with a grin, "how did I knock you down?"

"...by catching me off-balance?" Pyro managed a chuckle.

"Exactly. You've gone soft, Pyro."

"Oh have I?"

"Yeah, but don't worry," Sheila went on, moving shifting her body lower. "Shouldn't take that long to get you hard again."

The smile faded from the wolf's face. "Didn't know we were talkin' about that kinda hard," he said, ears pulled back.

"Is there any other kind?"

"A few."

"Oh come on, Py." There. That name. Nobody had used that name on him in a long time, and even Dotna hadn't yet. "We both know that sparring is foreplay to predators."

"Not all of us like that."

"Yeah, but it is for you. Has been ever since I knew you." Sheila stopped and considered something. "You have a sparring partner already?"

He swallowed. "We've never sparred before but... "

Sheila smirked. "What's one more?"

"I only have the one."

"Didn't know you were the type to stick with one." She snorted. "So what's this all about, anyway? You invited me, so what do you want?"

"It's not about what I want," he started.

"Yes it is. It always was. You had your own ship, remember? You made the rules. You did whatever the hell you wanted, whoever you wanted."

Pyro breathed a sigh. "Like I said--"

"Why don't you just tell it to me straight," she told him, eyes narrowed.

The wolf frowned. "You know, that's kinda funny, coming from a feddie."

"Former feddie, or did you forget that part? Now that would be pretty funny, since you told me that the Federation didn't care enough to find out if I was alive or dead. Probably didn't care much about prey in general, since I find out here that the predatory branch of the Fed Council decides to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the end of the civil war by starting a new one. They even launch a strike on the snow rabbit High Command and sign a non-aggression pact with the wasps. The Federation is corrupt and dead," she spat out, before taking a breath. "You don't understand what that's like, to be let down by everybody, even family and so-called mates. All I wanted was something that I could count on: some real structure, some order."

"You're starting to sound like a wasp."

Sheila narrowed her eyes at him. "Watch it, wolf."

Pyro lowered his head slightly.

The hare's ears twitched as she collected herself. "The Federation was the only anchor I had left. Hundreds of species working together, united for a common goal: to create a peaceful, productive society. It was supposed to be solid, to mean something, but in the end, it was just a lie. So here I am, drifting, and of all the furs in the universe, I find you on the ship that rescues me: the former captain of the one ship in the UT that picked me up." She lowered her head, her paws gripping harder into his shirt. "It's hard to know where anyone stands anymore, Pyro. I've been out of the world a while, and so much has changed. But I know where you stand. You didn't have ideals to betray, because you never tried to be ideal."

"What do you mean?" he broke in, speaking softly.

Sheila smiled a small smile. "You're real. Genuine," she said, nails dragging over his chest. "I didn't know it before I got captured, but you were my anchor."

"Sheila..."

A finger was placed on his lips. "I haven't bred in..." She tried to think of how long. "...way too long. Hares just... don't go without for that long. I can't bear it anymore, Py. I wanna feel something good, something real. I wanna feel just... something, anything at all." Her gray eyes looked into his. "You owe me that much."

"Owe you?"

"It was your ship that I got captured off of, Cap. The... whatever the hell you called it."

"The Red Rocket."

"Didn't you name it after your dick?" she accused gently.

The wolf smirked and shrugged. "Subconsciously, maybe."

Sheila shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You got some catching up to do." She raised her arms up, shedding the sports bra that kept her breasts contained. They were small enough to fit perfectly in his paws, Pyro remembered. It was difficult to not take the offer.

"I... I really don't think that this is a good idea," said Pyro gently. He could see her starting to crumble already. "You should know that I'm--"

The hare shook her head. "I don't wanna know who she is. I don't care. There's just you and me in here, right now." She swallowed. "Please."

The wolf made a sound. He considered it. Even through the desperation that came off of her in waves, there was a strong current of arousal. But he couldn't help but think of Dotna still. She was short, as most chipmunks were, but she was security personnel for a reason. She was feisty, but also quick-witted, capable of deflecting or returning any of the numerous light barbs he tossed at her, resulting in sparring matches. Then, there was that cute chittering noise she made when she--

"Pyro," Sheila said, jabbing him in the chest.

"Ow! Yeah, um. Yeah..." He sighed heavily, then looked up at her. "Look, Sheila--"

"You don't want me anymore, do you?" The facade broke in another place. He could see the cracks in the foundation.

"No. I mean, well, yes but--"

"You haven't pulled your punches before, Py. Why start now?" Her hands gripped into his chest again. "Haven't I proved I can take anything you dish out? Or are you too marshmallow soft to tell me?"

Again Pyro looked away from her, thoughts of the past creeping up on him again. After the first sparring session, she demanded that he not go easy on her, predator or no. So, smirking, he did so, promptly putting her on her ass. Then she knocked him down. Back and forth they went, neither able to string more than two victories together. He never could stand the weepy females, but a girl that could take it as well as dish it out... now there lay some attraction. Sort of like Dotna, Sheila had been an equal.

She punched his shoulder. "You keep drifting. Out with it already."

The wolf's ears went back. "Fine. I think you have some issues. And you know what? That's understandable. You got captured by wasps; if you came back the same way from that I'd be surprised. They broke you, Sheila." He stopped, and then went on, but softer. "Maybe it's hard to admit. You've always been so disciplined, but you're acting a lot more... needy now. And I can understand that, too. If I was solitary for that long, I'd wanna hump the next warm body I saw."

A weak smile crossed her face at that.

"If we have sex, then you'll feel good for a time," he went on, folding her hands in his. "You'll feel loved, feel a connection with somebody, which is what I think you really want. But what about tomorrow, huh?"

"What about tomorrow?" she spat. "And what about our connection? Or did I imagine that while I was with the wasps?"

Pyro's ears went to the sides. "Oh, hell, I don't know, Sheila. I mean... I like you." It felt so lame, to only be able to offer that. But she wanted truth.

"Right." She sighed, her head rolling around. Stress lined her features, making her appear different than the fresh-faced Feddie he saw long ago. "I just need a good fuck," she muttered.

"You know, I can get you a good Eros program if you want," he offered. "You remember the doc, Kody? Well, he has... or had this huge collection of Eros stuff. I can go borrow one for you. You got a preference?"

Silently, Sheila shook her head.

Pyro blinked, smelling the unshed tears. "You... need me to stay?"

"No." She heaved a sigh, and stood up, grabbing her bra and putting it back on. "I'll just go."

"Are you sure, Sheila?" Pyro sat up, too, confusion and concern warring on his muzzle.

She smiled back at him, sadly. "At least I know I'm still in your crew." The rabbit got to the door and tossed on her shirt, but stopped at the threshold. "Hey Py?"

"Yeah?" He'd gotten up by now, ears perked toward her. She looked so sad...

"She must be a hell of a female, to put you on a leash." Sheila threw the look over her shoulder with a smile, a shadow of her former self and the humor she had buried deep within.

Pyro grinned back, though more hesitantly. "Leash only comes out if we're feeling kinky."

She'd turned away again. "I'll bet," she said, and stepped through.

**--**

Barrow followed the line of desperation, finding the source in the mostly empty mess hall. In the corner was a hare with silver fur, slouched over the table. Grinning to himself, the powder blue bat walked over. "Mind if I join you?"

"Yes," she said without looking up.

"You gonna beat me up if I sit down anyway?" he said, sitting down across from her.

He felt the primary emotion shift from desperation to annoyance. "I might." She looked up then. "Even if you're a bat."

"How's the pudding?" he asked, nodding toward the cup.

Sheila (since he was able to read her name) looked back down. "Fuck off."

"So you don't wanna get laid?"

The hare stiffened. "...excuse me?" she asked, and the look on her face was dangerous.

Barrow simply grinned. "Am I wrong?"

"No. Just brazen, even for a bat."

Barrow indicated his head. "Telepathic. I can't help but pick up whatever your brain's broadcasting."

"Glad to know that I've bared my soul to you." The annoyance was getting higher.

"Not your entire soul," he said. "Maybe half. I can read whatever's on the surface, but I can't get deeper."

She sneered. "So even mighty bat powers have limits."

"Oh, I can get all of you," he insisted. "I just have to give you all of me."

She frowned.

"It's like a circuit," he went on. "I get you when you get me. That requires us to be connected physically, in order to close off from outside interference."

"Meaning?" He could taste the edge of sarcasm.

"While we're fucking, I have to be biting you. Two points of contact."

She mulled that over for a bit, and Barrow caught the flash of curiosity. "Sounds complicated," she said, still pretty sarcastic.

"It's much easier than it looks."

"I'll take your word for it," she said flatly.

"So are you saying that you're not intrigued by my offer?"

"Which is?"

"Sex. Breeding." He skimmed her recent memories. "A good fuck." Sheila twitched, and Barrow grinned wider, flashing teeth. "'Sides, I'm not attached to somebody like most of the crew, including your red-eyed wolf."

She bristled. "How did you--?"

"Telepath," he said, indicating his head again. "And really, it's a shame that he didn't help you. Even one night would be preferable to one more night without, wouldn't it? Surely he would have been able to explain, since you two are such old friends."

"And what do you get out of this?" Barrow could see the gears turning in her head.

"What any male gets out of it: the privilege of being inside you," he replied, flashing fangs again. "That, and I've never had a... hare before."

"Most furs think I'm a rabbit."

"Obviously, I'm not most furs."

"No," she agreed. "You're a hell of a lot more arrogant."

"You mistake arrogance for confidence."

"I'm not the one making that mistake."

Barrow waved that away. "Be that as it may, you don't need to be a telepath to sense your need. And I'm the only one that's even bothered to approach you. Everybody else is too polite and wrapped up in themselves to make a move."

"So what's your game?" she asked, trying to look deep into him.

He laughed, leaning back against the chair. "On my honor, my 'game' is as shallow as it seems."

"And what honor do rogues have?"

"More than you'd like to think," he said, smiling despite the verbal slap. "The wasps are a threat to all of us, and we thought that we could assist. We weren't about to go to the Federation."

"Why not?"

He shook his head. "When you dispose of a resource like the Federation has, then you deserve to lose access to it when you find out that you actually need it." Barrow went into his pocket, pulling out a datapad. "You know you're way around the ship, right?"

"Why?"

The bat tapped the screen a few times, then slid it across the table. It depicted a map of the ship, with one room highlighted. "This is my room, on D-deck. I'll be there from, say, 2000 hours on."

Sheila snorted in a very unladylike manner. "You still think I'm going to sleep with you."

Barrow stood. "I don't think you are. I know you are." With that, he walked away, knowing full well that among the myriad of jumbled emotions Sheila was feeling at his exit, curiosity was chief among them. If nothing else, she'd bring back the pad.

**--**

It was one of the few places she could be alone.

Surprisingly enough, the observation deck was one of the less populated areas on the ship; by now, nobody was a tourist. Sheila had seen enough of this ship to know that it was a lot fancier than any vessel she'd served on. They'd even found a way to spruce up the deck with a few tables and chairs, aside of a wide view of the vastness of space. Still, she didn't feel much like looking out, contemplating that when there was plenty to be lonely about already.

"Is there some fur in here?" came a voice, followed by steps. "Oh! You must be the new girl."

"Yeah."

"I'm Soldotna," the other went on, walking into view. "You can call me Dotna, but not Dotty!" There was a little laugh as the chipmunk came into view, walking right up to the window. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Sheila looked up from where she had been sitting on one of the benches, arms curled around her. It was the same space it had always been: big and empty. "Yeah."

A silence passed between the two, and it wasn't exactly comfortable. Dotna cleared her throat. "So... how are you finding Luminous so far?"

The hare thought of all the ships she'd been on previously, and how relatively clean and sleek Luminous was. "She's nice."

Dotna suddenly sighed. "If I tell you something, will you get mad at me?"

"Huh?"

"It's just that... well, Rella sent me after you."

"Rella is...?"

"Senior security officer."

"Right. Makes sense."

Dotna smiled. "We do it to everybody. I even tailed Pyro for a little while. Have you met him?"

Sheila stiffened. "...Yes."

"Oh? When?"

"I used to be on his ship, back when he had one."

"You mean-- Oh." The chipmunk blinked, her nose twitching. "What was he like?"

"Pretty much the same." The hare was going to end it there, but she went on with "I was his back then."

"His?"

"Captain's Femme." Sheila gestured to herself, her paw right under her chest. She was pleased to note that she was a bit bustier than the chipmunk. "Something he reminded me of when we met earlier." At that, Sheila cut her eyes at the chipmunk, finding the expression on her face oddly satisfying. So this was the femme he'd chosen over her? Bitch.

Soldotna's fists clenched. "What did he do?"

"We just caught up on old times, you know. But it got a little rough and tumble. He likes it like that." Sheila looked at Dotna's face as if she was just chatting. "Did you know that sparring gets him hot?"

"It does, does it?" said the chipmunk through gritted teeth.

"Mmhm. I'm still sore."

"Right. Excuse me." Dotna turned and moved to leave, and suddenly Sheila felt bad. She was possibly ruining a relationship for what? She didn't know her at all, and already she'd cast judgment as if she was unworthy... and probably fixing Pyro up to get his ass kicked.

"Wait."

"What," said Soldotna flatly, glaring at Sheila. The look was enough to quail her.

"It... it may not have been entirely his fault. I may have started it."

"That's fine. I'm going to finish it." Without another word, the chipmunk stormed off, and Sheila's ears wilted against her head.

**--**

Pyro was still jumping rope when he heard the door open and a familiar scent come in. "Hey babe," he called out to Dotna, stopping. "How are y--" Then, he detected the difference in that scent, and looked at her a moment before she threw a pair of boxing gloves at his chest. He barely managed to catch them, dropping the rope. "Dotna?"

"Put those on."

"...What's going on?"

Dotna finished tying hers on, and punched her fists together. "We're having a fight."

Pyro blinked. "A... what? Babe, wh-- ugh!" He didn't see the blow to the stomach because he didn't think she was serious. A strike across his chin spun him, and he only barely managed to stay upright. "Dotna, what the hell!"

"I said, we're having a fight."

"I'm not going to fight you until you tell me what the hell's going on!"

"Fine." She charged, swinging again at his midsection, one strike aimed upwards at his chin.

"That's not... what I meant!" he sputtered, dodging those punches and the two that came after them. "Dotna!"

"I said fight me, dirtbag!"

"Why the hell am I a dirtbag?" he growled back at her, taking a strike to the ribs, but settling into a fighting crouch. Now his blood was up.

She didn't answer for a couple more swings, a few he counter punched but only met her blocks. The chipmunk was reckless, looking like she was just trying to pummel him. Finally, she caught him in the shoulder, spun him, then knocked him down with a punch to the ribs. "'Old times' mean anything to you, asshole?"

"What?" Pyro blinked.

"You slept with Sheila!"

The wolf had been getting up when his head jerked up at that. "I--what?"

"You. Slept. With. Sheila!" Punches punctuated every word, and they were barely fended off by the wobbly wolf who ended up on his ass again. "Bastard!" Instead of blocking, this time Pyro grabbed her wrists and pulled, making her tumble into him. He was quick to roll and pin her, but she kicked him, breaking the pin. But now he was actually mad, so he went right back at her, trying to pin her by a few wrestling moves that he half-remembered.

He got her again on her back, her squirming legs held down by his knees. With bared teeth, he growled out "I didn't sleep with Sheila!"

"Then why would she tell me you did?"

"'Cuz she's a vindictive bitch."

"What about her being the Captain's Femme, huh?"

"I'm no longer a captain."

"So what's that make me?"

"My bitch," he said, and kissed her.

**--**

The fact that Sheila didn't show up with his pad only occurred to Barrow as she was leaving. And really only because she had made a point to say that she hadn't. Her conflicting emotions roiled across his doorstep, loud enough that before she hit the call button, he opened the door to let her in. "Wine?" he offered, gesturing to the bottle he had on ice. "I hear that the snow rabbits make some potent stuff."

Immediately, he could tell that she hadn't expected any of this, despite the eventual realization that yes, he was actually a telepath. "Come in and join me for a drink," he offered. The bat detected some kind of mental shift, and chalking it up to her military background, started pouring glasses. "They call this an azure wine, probably for the color. Though it isn't made out of grapes, like the wine from Homeworld. Some kind of fruit more suited to the climate. They also say it's best served chilled." Picking up one, he offered it to her. "I'm beginning to wonder if they don't secretly eat ice cubes."

The joke fell about as flat as he expected. Still, she hesitated, so he shrugged, putting the glass on the table. "I'm not seeking anything complicated, and neither are you. The least we can do is act civilized toward one another." Another flash, and Barrow scoffed. "Any drug I could possibly use to spike your drink I could do by myself with considerably less time and effort. More to the point, I could make you forget you were ever here."

"You've done that?" she asked.

"We did what we could to stay hidden," he answered. He caught her acceptance a moment before she nodded, and she picked up the glass and sat at the table. Wary still, she watched him drink before sipping any herself. "How is it?"

"It's different," she said after a moment of hesitation. "But good."

"Good," he said, grinning. "Drink as much as you like." Evidently, she took him at his word, and she tipped back the entire drink. "Now why would you do something like that?" he asked. "I hope it wasn't for poor old me."

Sheila swallowed, then looked at him. And it was here that he realized there was a blankness in her mind that had nothing to do with her stare. "When you've been pent up for so long, sometimes it takes a little nudging to undo the cork." The smile gradually faded from the bat's face, and he narrowed his eyes. "You keep trying to read my mind. Don't."

Barrow twitched. "How--?"

"Have you bothered to find out anything about me? Have you even looked at my file?"

"File...?" Things were rapidly becoming undone, and Sheila's mind was still blank. What was going on? "I-I know as much about you as you do about me!" he said, trying to laugh it off.

"I didn't think so." She pushed him into a chair, and his arms flailed. "You probably just went around and picked up stray thoughts about me, right? Something like that." The hare made quick work of his pants, tugging them down... and her scent was starting to become stained with her arousal. "Hm. Adequate." Her fingers curled around his stiffening shaft and tugged him hard.

"What?" Barrow stammered.

The hare's steel-gray eyes went right back to his face. "Your name is Barrow. You're 31 years old. You graduated from the Rochester Institute of Medicine, one of the top 10 schools of medicine in the entirety of Homeworld at the age of 24, with honors." Now, her pants were coming down, panties clinging to the apex of her legs for a split second. That she was aroused wasn't even an issue. "You set up a primary care office right after you finished your residency and ran it for 4 years, and patient reviews were through the roof. Referrals came often. Some of these were from the government. Officially, your practice ended due to business drying up, partially due to complaints of invasive practices. It was rumored that you were using your telepathy to access several patients' secrets and were collecting bribes to keep them, but no reports were filed. All your credit accounts were either closed or were seized by bankruptcy courts. Holofeeds have you boarding a shuttle out to the periphery, but exiting before it made it's final destination on Galen with you disappearing into a crowd. Reports got spotty as to your movements from then on, though whenever you did allow yourself to be shown, it was always in the company of other known rogue bats." Off went the shirt, leaving her in just a sports bra. "If you know as much about me as I know about you, then you'd know that I've been a prisoner of the wasps for a considerable amount of time, at least." Her steel-gray eyes caught the recognition in his. "Yeah. Wasps. Psychics, some of them. They liked to toy with my mind, just to see how I would tick. It's a wonder I didn't go around the bend. But I did everything I could to keep sane." She chose then to sit down on him, treating Barrow to the hottest pussy he'd ever been in. Quite possibly the tightest as well, her hips grinding to his. "Oh yeah... it's been too long..."

Usually, Barrow was the one in control. But now, things had spiraled so far out of control that he had to go along with things and try and keep up. He gasped as she rode him, her hips stirring and smashing into his, a wet sound coming from the staccato pace. Even though a part of him was fuming that she had been able to put one over on him, another confused as to how she had trained herself into forming a mental wall, there was a larger part of him that pushed up into her. Sheila felt that, and sneered, and suddenly his compulsion to bite grew larger. It was the best way to bypass the wall.

Before he could bite down on her, though, her paw found his throat and held him back against the chair. "Nuh-uh."

"I... I need to bite!" he gasped.

"Nice try," she said to him, and allowed a memory to drift through. She used his own pad to look up bat physiology!

"But--"

"No biting," she said, picking up the pace. Her breathing got harder, ears tilting backwards as she used him like a toy. Barrow was starting to get close himself, but then she went over, and suddenly she was tighter than ever around him.

A full body shiver ran through Sheila, her eyes tightly shut. Barrow saw this as an opportunity, but that was squashed as she just threw him back against the chair. She didn't say anything for a full thirty seconds, about when her pussy relaxed. "Mm. I said no biting..." she told him, tone gently chiding. Her nose touched his, her gray eyes more like fog than steel. "You need to listen to other furs more," the hare whispered. "They like you better when you do."

"...I need--"

"Don't..." she began, extending her tongue and slowly licking along a neck tendon, following it to his jaw "...lie to me. Sex is the most honest thing there is. Don't sully that." The hare's lips tugged on his. "You don't want to get into my head, Barrow. It'll ruin the mood." Drawing herself from his lap, she sauntered, hips swaying, over to his bed, crawling onto it. Sheila tossed back a smoldering look. "Now come over here and fuck me."

It was a command, not a request. And the part that rankled Barrow most was how fast he obeyed. "That's right," she cooed when he entered her, his cock slamming into her still-tight passage. "Fuck me hard." The anger he felt at having lost so much control translated into bruising thrusts, but she took it all and goaded him for more. She started insulting him, reaching back and slapping his ass, and when she went over a few minutes later, he joined her. He barely had time to relax when he found his cock leaving one warm, wet cavern for another, Sheila bobbing over him to keep him hard. It hurt, a little, but he couldn't disobey her insistence. She pushed him down and rode him again, shuddering through two more climaxes before he could muster a second.

When she turned to bring him a third time, he pushed her away. "Too much for you?" Sheila teased, swinging a leg over the bat's chest to bare her sex. "I want one more..."

"I don't... have any more!"

The hare stopped, her hands having closed in on his spent member. With a flick of her ears, she went up to all fours. "Then lick me." Her pooftail twitched, and Barrow's ears went back. Lick her? She wasn't serious, was she? He'd just--

"Don't mistake this for a request," she told him, and grabbed him by his head, mashing his muzzle right up against her messy folds. "It's your mess... clean it." She was strong, probably because of her military training. Though he had his hands on her rump to try and prevent it, the struggle was brief. "Lick," she commanded him, and he did. The hands to push away became hands to squeeze and spread. His long tongue reluctantly slipped into her, gathering up the fluid he'd deposited, and she ground back into his face, making all sorts of pleased noises.

Her desires became even more clear when the remnants were cleared up and she didn't let him go. And though his jaw started to ache, he guided her through another climax (her sixth? He'd lost count) when she finally released him. She sighed; he panted, and the two of them remained like that for a while: him on his back looking up at the ceiling, and her slumped over on her arms, rump still raised.

Finally, Sheila shifted herself, climbing from the bed and starting to put her clothes back on. The movement caught Barrow's attention, but he made no move to calling her back. "I had a good time," the hare said, looking back at him. "Thanks also for the wine. I'll have to pick some up later. Also, I don't have my own pad so I'm keeping yours. I'm sure you can just get another one, right?" With that, she walked out.

Barrow swore. He cursed her, her attitude, and the fact that he'd been so completely taken off guard by her hard-won mental shielding. He cursed that he'd been so easily cowed. But most of all, he cursed the fact that if she hadn't drained him, he'd be so hard right now.

**--**

For the moment, the only sound that could be heard out of the gym was panting. Then words. "You're still a dirtbag."

A chuckle managed to make its way out of the wolf's muzzle, and he settled for simply nuzzling her neck. "I love you, too."

A sigh, and a shake of the head. "Well, I do know that she was right about one thing, at least."

"Mm?"

"Sparring gets you hot."

"Heh... yeah. It's just... my thing, you know?" he said with a squirm.

"Oh, ngh, hey... stop... stop moving!"

"Sorry." He laid a kiss to the top of her head. "Better?"

"Yeah... but don't move so much, okay? I don't want to be stuck here forever and I already know I'm gonna be sore tomorrow."

"From the fighting?" There was a distinct thumping sound, like a stiff tail hitting a mat.

"From everything. Ass." They rested together for a moment before the chipmunk spoke up again. "You didn't sleep with Sheila, did you?"

"Nope."

"That's what I thought."

"That's what you thought?" he said, incredulous. "So what was all this for, then?"

"Wasn't sure."

"You weren't sure?"

"Mm-mm. But after experiencing this, I'm pretty sure Sheila wouldn't be sitting how I found her on the observation deck."

"I can only hope."

She hit him on his side while he laughed, but she went on. "Also, if you'd just been this... vigorous, then you wouldn't still be in the gym, working out."

"It's a workout onto itself."

"Besides, after that thing with the entire ship and you and Ketchy--"

"For which I am eternally sorry."

"--and for which I will eternally forgive you, because you're not the only one that was messed up there--but after that whole mess, you've always been careful around Ketchy. I'd imagine that you were the same sort of careful around Sheila."

"Pretty much," he said.

"Pretty much?"

"She had me pinned."

Dotna's ears splayed outward. "I'll ask you for details later."

"As you wish." His arms tightened around her briefly, before they went back to lazy relaxation. "You know..."

"Mm?"

"If they're gonna end up like this, then maybe we should have fights more often."

She hit him again, harder this time.