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The Shape of Things: Where the Heart Is By Green

Tai Linus slipped out from under the blanket draped over her shapely body and the somewhat uncomfortable couch she'd been sleeping on in recent nights. Peering around the corner, making use of the feline night vision she'd 'borrowed' of late, the shapely tigress grinned, finding the coast quite clear, and promptly pulled her pyjama pants down, leaving her in a loose T-shirt and panties. Thus 'equipped', she crept down the hallway towards one of the apartment's two bedrooms, trying the doorknob and finding it locked. Grinning, she bent down and utilized a trick that had been inspired by a movie she'd seen since leaving her homeland and coming here in search of the man sleeping on the other side of that door; she placed the back of her hand against the floor in front of the door, and her fingers silently stretched out and flattened, easily slipping under the door and creeping up the other side until they found the lock, which she managed, with some trouble, to turn until she heard a satisfying click. That done, the purring shapeshifter pulled her fingers back out, whereupon they promptly shrank back down to a size that 'normal' people wouldn't find horrifying. Slowly opening the door, then closing and locking it behind her - something she did to keep her quarry guessing - Tai took a moment to just gaze upon the man sleeping in the bed before her. The blanket had slipped down to his waist, which meant that she could see that, as he was known to do, he'd fallen asleep reading a book, still splayed across his shirtless chest, which was why the small lamp on his bedside table was still on, bathing the room in a soft, slightly yellowish glow. The man himself, this bedeviling male she'd come so far for, was an arctic fox with a rather average build - not chubby, but not muscular - and fur that was snow white, despite it being slightly out of season for a winter coat, and shot through all over with bold, emerald green stripes in a pattern that he seemed to adjust every single day, unable to find one that fully satisfied him. Of course, that was easy for him because he was as much a fox as Tai was a tiger. In truth, the two of them were of the Mokaji, an ancient race of shapeshifters that was secretive to the point of paranoia, to the point where modern society in what the Mokaji referred to as 'Outside' (with their hidden homeland being simply referred to as 'Inside', or informally as Home) had no idea the species even existed. But more than that linked these two, of course; the male, Vincent Linus, was Tai's older brother, her niola.

And at the moment, she was ogling his half-dressed body with lusty enthusiasm and licking her lips.

Ever since she had unexpectedly dropped in on her brother, Tai had been rather unsubtly trying to seduce him; he'd often wake up in the morning to find himself cuddling her, and that's if he didn't wake up in the middle of the night to find her touching and teasing the more sensitive parts of his anatomy. She didn't know why he hadn't immediately and wholeheartedly returned her affections, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that he'd spent so much time Outside, where the people had a rather less tolerant view of incest, she assumed because they didn't have as much direct control over their reproductive systems, the poor bastards. Whatever the cause, he was obstinately refusing to give her what she wanted, stubbornly clinging to... Well, she didn't know the 'what' anymore than she knew the 'why', actually. After all, they'd had quite a few such dalliances back Inside before he left unexpectedly to explore the world, so it wasn't like he was personally repulsed by the idea of being with her. Tai was nothing if not persistent, though, and she was convinced that she was close, that if she just kept on trying, she would break through and find his true feelings for her very soon. Of course, Vinnie's roommate, Andrew, was not at all pleased by Tai's efforts to claim her brother as her own, but so far he hadn't gone any further than loudly sighing or frowning when he happened to be around. But the lizard was the furthest thing from Tai's mind as she slipped into bed with her niola and pulled the blanket down further. Vincent stirred quietly in his sleep, but did not wake, and she took the moment to just admire his almost nude body, lying there in his boxers as he was. She actually shivered with the strength of her attraction to her brother; she wanted him so badly, it was a wonder she could ever think about anything else! As she crept closer, she began fantasizing about her latest attempt to make him hers. Maybe she'd give him a show tonight, let him finish on her face, or take him into her muzzle while maintaining eye contact, that had always driven him crazy... Tai began to worry that her purring would wake him; she was getting wet just looking at his handsome, sleeping form, and a part of her ached to just take him, to discard her underwear and let him wake up to the sensation of being buried to the hilt in his sister's wet warmth... But no, as much as they would both enjoy it, she steadfastly refused to take that step... not until he'd uttered the words she so desperately needed to hear.

Unable to resist another moment, Tai moved forward and took hold of her brother's boxers, tugging them down his thighs. As he began to stir and wake up, Tai stared, dumbfounded. Admittedly, she hadn't been expecting this. His pelvis was smooth and featureless, covered in the same fur as the rest of his abdomen. Using their species' greatest gift, the Change, he'd hidden his genitals inside his body before he went to sleep! With a groan, Vinnie blinked himself awake, sitting up and looking around blearily. "What... oh." Sighing, he put a hand to his face and began to rub his eyes, inhaling sharply, startled, as Tai moved her hand to his smooth groin and began to gently rub the backs of her fingers against the spot where his penis and scrotum should be, as if she were rubbing a lover's cheek. "This was a clever trick, big brother," she said, using a term of endearment she mostly reserved for when she was trying to tease him, "Wasn't expecting you to look like a Ken doll." Vincent gave her an unreadable look and sighed again. "At least you're reading up on your pop culture references," he muttered, "You know, I thought about making myself female, but having my body look the same, just to catch you off-guard... but somehow I don't think that would put you off." Tai laughed softly, charmingly, and raised her free hand to her lips, crassly holding her fingers up in a V shape and wiggling her tongue between them. "For you? Damn straight it wouldn't," she said, proudly, "I admit I don't have much experience with girl-on-girl, but I'd love to go down on you, niola. Or maybe I'd just toggle and make you mine... provided you said the magic words." Every member of the Mokaji species was technically a hermaphrodite, but unlike most such species in nature, instead of carrying aspects of both genders at once, the changelings could toggle their bodies between male and female, a more involved Change that took a fair amount of time and was usually undertaken in private.

Leaning back against the head of the bed, Vinnie gave her a decidedly unhappy look. "Tai..." The tigress grinned at him, undaunted. "Still not gonna say it? I know you'll crack sooner or later," she said, confidently, "But for now, I guess I'll just have to give up, seeing as you've hidden all the fun bits inside you..." The fox sighed with relief, visibly relaxing. "Thank you -" he started, only to be cut off by a gasp as Tai suddenly darted her hand down to the junction of his tail and his butt, and teased her fingertip against the tight pink ring of muscle she found nearby. "Orrrrr I could just shove a finger in here and tease you until you come inside yourself!" she suggested, giggling at the look of complete shock and embarrassment on his face. "Oh come on, niola," she teased, "I may not be a reptile anymore, but it's the same me you used to fool around with all the time. I remember the way you used to mewl and whimper when I fingered your backside, just like I remember how much harder you came when I did it, no matter how much you tried to deny it! You didn't think I forgot about those things, did you? I know all your secret kinks and weaknesses. So what'll it be, big brother? I make you sticky from the inside out, or you bring the boys out to play?" Vincent's ears instinctively lowered towards his head submissively, and he bit his lip, clearly wanting to surrender to his sister's demands. But then, to Tai's dismay, that look was replaced by one of intense irritation, the lips on his canid muzzle peeling back to reveal his teeth. He snapped a hand forward and grabbed her wrist somewhat roughly, pulling it away from his entrance. "Dammit, Tai, I swear if you had anywhere else to go I'd have thrown you out by now!" he growled, every word a dagger of ice in her heart, "Seriously, what are you hoping to accomplish by trying to molest me every night, niara?" The word was Mokaj for 'sister' - or more accurately, 'person who has the same parents as me and generally prefers to be female', owing to their rather more complicated system of pronouns, and hearing it spoken by her brother when he was so pissed at her brought up incredibly conflicting emotions in the shapely changeling.

"I - I..." She frowned back at him, embarrassed by this response, shamed by the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Switching to Mokaj, she jabbed him in the chest with her free hand. "You act as though I'm some kind of deviant for doing this, just a freak who wants to have her way with her innocent brother!" she spat, "But let's not forget, you were the one who started things with me back Inside! You were the one who told me I was beautiful, and that I shouldn't worry about what the others would think! And then, out of nowhere, you flee to the Outside like the angel of death was chasing you, and you act as though even thinking about these things disgusts you, even as I can see the truth in your eyes!" She leaned in close to his face, hissing her shame and hurt, not afraid to let it show. Vincent flinched, but leaned in himself, glaring into her eyes. "It doesn't work that way out here, sister! These people have different ways, different customs, and we can't just act the way we did Inside while we're out here!" Undaunted, Tai gestured back and forth between their rather different-looking forms. "Look at us, the way we look right now," she said, "No one would even know we were defying their ways unless you told them." After a moment, she shook her head and sighed in what she hoped came across as pity. "You try so hard, so very hard, to pretend to be one of them, brother, like you think it'll make them love you more," she said, poking him again accusatorily, "But open your eyes, Vincent, you're as much a fox as you are a toaster oven, you're not one of them and you never will be!" Tai narrowed her eyes as much as she could while still being able to see. "Do you know how much it hurts me when you lie to my face like this, brother?" she said, much quieter, "Do you know how much your denials and side-stepping drive a knife into my soul, when I can see just by looking in your eyes that you don't truly mean it? Why, Vincent, why won't you just admit what we both know to be true? Why did you run from me when I -" The false fox turned away from her, closing his eyes. The expression on his face was somewhere between shame and sadness. "Just go, Tai. Get out," he interrupted, his voice a harsh whisper, "Just get out, and in the morning, we'll pretend this never happened." Tai tried to come up with the words that would keep her brother talking, that would stop him from shutting her out, but despite her best efforts, she felt the tears starting to flow into her fur, felt her voice catching in her throat, and as he let go of her wrist, the tigress slipped out of his bed, ears low in shame and defeat, tail hanging limply behind her. She tugged on the door, closing her eyes in embarrassment as she remembered that she'd re-locked it when she came in, and clicked the door open before slipping out into the hallway. Behind her, Vincent pulled his underwear back up and walked across the room to close and re-re-lock the door, but Tai's focus was now entirely on making it back to the couch before her fragile emotional state collapsed. As she fell back onto the cushions, she couldn't help but re-live that argument over again. He'd refused her affections more than once, but she'd thought he was just reluctant or playing hard to get; after all, he'd accepted her offers on a couple of occasions, hadn't he? But Vincent had never so outright rejected her like that, especially as she brought up what she'd long thought was the reason he'd left their homeland. For all these years, she'd lived with the goal of leaving Home herself, to find him and make him admit the truth she felt in her heart. But... what if she was wrong? What if the hope she'd been striving towards didn't exist? What if she'd left her people far, far behind to come into this strange world, living in such humble conditions with an uncertain future... and it was all for no reason?

She didn't get any further than that in terms of lucid thoughts. At that point, her resistance shattered, and Tai Linus broke down, sobbing bitterly into her hands as hot, wet tears ran between her fingers. Unnoticed by the weeping tigress, across the main room to the apartment, was the large silhouette of Andrew Raynor, Vinnie's roommate, a Komodo dragon. He'd woken up for no reason in particular and found it difficult to fall back to sleep, so he'd headed out in the direction of the kitchen to see if there was something to eat amongst the leftovers. But he halted in the entrance to the hallway as he stumbled across Tai crying on the couch. Instinctively, the dragon looked back in the direction of Vinnie's room, just in time to see the glow under the door from the reading lamp go dark. Andrew taught classes in psychology at a community college, but one hardly needed his level of expertise to put two and two together and figure out the source of the girl's despair. Shaking his head silently, the reptile turned around and discretely returned to his room, leaving Tai to her sorrow.

* * *

The next day, Vincent unlocked his door and peeked out into the hallway, ears down, not proud of how he'd handled that confrontation the previous night. With no sign of his sister, he sighed and changed into a more presentable pair of pyjama pants. In his groggy morning state, he was somewhat confused after discarding his boxers when he reached down to scratch his balls and found them misplaced. He blushed as he remembered the precautions he'd taken before going to bed; he'd felt so clever when he did it, like he was out-thinking his sister, but now it somehow just felt childish to hide his parts inside instead of just telling her firmly to knock it off. As he brought his bits back out, he sighed. As much as he couldn't bring himself to tell Tai what she wanted to hear, he somehow found it even harder to contemplate telling her he never wanted to see her in his bed again. As he left the room, he caught himself leaning to the side, desperate to see the couch as soon as possible, only to find it empty, its blankets tossed aside casually, which was entirely in keeping with his younger sister, who'd always been almost as sloppy as he was. Vinnie felt rather conflicted at the sight of the empty apartment, and couldn't decide whether or not he'd have preferred to have found Tai there. He'd felt guilty more or less the instant she left, but had been paralyzed by indecision, worried that going to comfort her would just make things worse. The fox sighed as he headed into the kitchen and resigned himself to the loneliest bowl of oatmeal he'd had in months, only to hear the heavy footsteps of his roommate and best friend coming down the hall towards him the instant he sat down.

As Andrew Raynor walked up to the table and sat down across from him, Vinnie said nothing, just continuing to stir his oatmeal, looking down at it as though the task required his full attention. He could already feel the psych major peering at him with an analytical eye. He hated when the dragon did that, made him feel like a criminal being interrogated by a cop. The maddening thing was, Andrew only ever seemed to use this trick when Vinnie was genuinely guilty about something, so he always felt like he deserved it. "Morning, Vinnie. You missed your sister," Andrew said lightly, though Vinnie had known him long enough to suspect that his casual tone was very deliberate, "She headed out right after she woke up, said she was gonna go to the library and read up on her pop culture. Do you guys really not get our movies and video games and stuff in... wherever exactly this Home of yours is located?" Vinnie thoughtfully pushed a spoonful of oatmeal around his mouth, before finally sighing through his nostrils and looking up to face the music. Swallowing, he gave his roommate a look. "Good morning. It's not so much a matter of not getting it as it is how much of everything is out there. Do you have any idea how many books get released every year in English alone? What about when you add in all the other languages, plus the difficulty of getting stuff Inside?" Leaving that question rhetorical, Vinnie leaned back in his chair and scanned the reptile's face for evidence that he had cards up his sleeves. "So what else did she say?" he asked, "Or are you just here to chat about her lack of knowledge of 80s movie references?" Andrew laughed, and this at least sounded genuine enough. "Man, forget her not knowing who Mr. T is, the other day I found out she's never heard of Star Wars, man! Freaking Star Wars!" The Komodo shook his head and chuckled at the memory, "Your homeland must be under a pretty big rock for someone to have missed that particular part of our culture." After a moment, Andrew's expression grew more serious. "But she didn't say anything else," he continued, momentarily relieving Vincent, until he added "She didn't have to. I woke up last night and went out to get a snack, and there was Tai, sitting on her couch, crying like a kid who had to watch someone else eat all their Halloween candy. You wanna tell me what that was about?" "No," Vinnie instantly responded, which caught the other man off-guard enough that he snickered. The levity didn't last long, though, and Andrew crossed his arms and leaned back, regarding Vinnie somewhat tiredly. "Alright, fair enough, but we still need to talk about it," the lizard persisted, "Look, I'm still not sure how I feel about the idea of you - of you having a past with your own sister, but whatever the problem is, it's starting to create friction right here in the present, and that's a pretty big issue when I have to live here too. I mean, that's my couch, man..." For a moment, Vincent felt the urge to deny everything, claim he had no idea why his niara was so upset, but the truth was, he was really, really tired of lying lately. With a sigh, he gestured to his oatmeal with the spoon still in his hand. "Alright, alright, just let me finish this and grab a shower, okay?"

Feeling considerably better in a fresh set of clothes, his fur nice and brushed and smooth, Vincent sat down in their living room, ignoring the brief urge to lie down on the couch and say Well you see doc, it all started like this. At best, only the fox would think it was funny, and at worst, Andrew would start lecturing him on the difference between psychology and psychiatry again. "Okay, so, uh... I've told you about the way we - I mean my people - identify each other, right?" Andrew nodded, slowly. "The sixth sense, right?" he replied, "You just 'know' someone else is a Mokaji?" The fox leaned back in his chair, feeling more nervous by the moment. "Uh-huh. And if we know that person, we know which Mokaji they are, even if we haven't seen them in ages, or they look completely, totally different from the last time we saw them," he said, perhaps unnecessarily. "Well, the whole thing with Tai and I started back Inside, there was this huge celebration, lots of people, and, uh..." he took a deep breath and forced himself to continue, saying "I saw her dancing from a long way away, it was a form she hadn't tried out before, and... she was so, so beautiful. I mean, we change the way we look all the time, so we get pretty good at reading each other, makes me wonder why I'm so bad at reading Outsider body language, but, uh... I could see from looking at her that this was a happy, relaxed, uhh - just such a good person! I'm sorry, I'm having such trouble putting it into words..." He averted his eyes, staring down into the carpet. "When I realized it was her... Look, Andrew, you've gotta remember, my people can't conceive unless both would-be parents consent, there's no such thing as an unwanted pregnancy... so when I realized it was her, it was less 'holy shit, I was checking out my sister' and more 'I never realized my sister was so beautiful before.' So I... I just kinda told her, afterwards, when it was just the two of us, walking home together." Vincent smiled slightly, the memory easing some of his discomfort. "At the time, I just meant it as a compliment, to tell her what I saw when I looked through the eyes of a stranger, but... but she stopped me right there and then, gave me a great big hug, and told me that she'd seen me the same way for years."

Vinnie trailed off, lost in the memory, remembering the look in Tai's eyes, the shy smile on her lips, and the way the moonlight gleamed on her scales - for back then she'd been almost exclusively interested in reptilian forms. He was brought back to reality as Andrew cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable, somewhat fidgety. "Uhh... I didn't ask for the Lifetime movie summary of your secret relationship with your sister, Vinnie," he said, frowning, "I asked you why she was crying last night and why she's been so, so weird since she arrived." Blushing, Vincent returned the glower and crossed his arms. "So 'weird', eh?" he asked, "Is that your professional diagnosis, doc?" Andrew responded with a gesture that hardly suggested he'd spent years studying the intricacies of the mind. "Alright, alright, look..." sighed Vinnie, "we got close, I got scared, and then I left home without saying goodbye. Oh, and it wasn't a 'secret' relationship, just not one you bring up in polite company. There. You happy?" The dragon looked down into the carpet thoughtfully and sighed after a moment. "...Fine, I'll admit it," Andrew said, begrudgingly, "I'm curious about all this. Not just about your people, but about, you know, what makes you and the cat tick. I mean, what kind of psychologist would I be if I wasn't?" The Mokaji grinned slightly as he looked up. "Well, alright," he replied, "Since you asked so nicely..." After a moment, he laughed softly, shaking his head. "It can basically be summed up with the last time we, ah, met alone before I left for Outside. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Years earlier and a hell of a long way away, the iguana hurried out from the treeline, walking up to the edge of the ridge, and paused a moment, enjoying the supple range of colours in the early evening sky, watching the sun slowly lowering towards the horizon, casting long shadows over the many trees, boulders, and other assorted natural phenomena that made the valley such a quiet, picturesque place. "Wow, what a view!" the Mokaji who would one day be called 'Tai Linus' muttered to herself, turning and calling "Come on, niola, you gotta see this!" After a moment, an uncharacteristically tall, muscular chinchilla, who would eventually answer to the name 'Vincent Winterwind Linus' stepped out from the forest and looked at his sister hesitantly. "Do I have to?" he asked, dubiously, "You know how I am with heights..." Tai put her hands on her hips and grinned from ear to ear, or at least she would have if iguanas had visible ears. "If you do," she said, teasingly, "I'll do that thing you won't admit you're way into..." Vincent blinked a few times, then hurriedly moved to join her. "On my way, niara!" he said, cheerily, as she giggled at his obvious enthusiasm. He slowed down as he neared the edge, the rodent's ears lowering and whiskers twitching with anxiety as he looked at the drop, which wasn't that bad really, if one ignored the fact that it ended in a field that seemed to be entirely comprised of random rocks and stones. He finally looked away from the imposing sight as he felt the other Mokaji slip her hand into his. He closed his hand as she wove her fingers between his, and he couldn't help but smile at her. "S-see? I made it all the way out to the edge," he said, silently cursing himself for stuttering. After a moment, he blushed, allowing himself to add "...Can we move away from it yet?" Tai laughed, free of stress or worry, and stood on her tiptoes to plant a brief kiss on his lips. "You know," she said as they walked back towards the treeline, her grip on his hand keeping them at a sedate pace, "chinchillas are supposed to be really tiny, you're a bit big and muscley for one of them." "The word is muscular, sister," he said, trying to ignore the point of her statement. When that didn't work, he snickered and shrugged. "So I like being your big strong man, can you blame me? Here..." closing his eyes, he swiftly Changed his body so that he was actually an inch shorter than she was, his arms and legs significantly skinnier. Wiggling his whiskers as he opened his eyes again, he smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "There, you happy?" She leaned in and hugged him tight, playfully licking his nose. "Oh yes," she said, letting her hands slip down to grope his butt, "Very much so."

As she leaned in to give him a bit more spirited of a kiss, Vincent stepped away, blushing. "L-let's wait until we get to the clearing, okay?" he said, looking around nervously, "There might still be hikers around..." Tai giggled and pulled him back into her arms, this time boldly slipping her hands down the back of his pants to fondle his buttocks directly. She giggled again as he gasped in shock. "Let them look," she teased, "I don't care if everyone knows about us. You do know that Mother and Father are perfectly aware of what we do together, right?" The chinchilla whimpered, blushing even harder. "Ohhhh... I was really hoping I imagined that look in Father's eyes as we left the other night... she was an eagle, and they always look judgemental..." Letting go of his butt, Tai nuzzled against her brother's cheek. "No, no, no," she cooed, "Father would never judge us for what we do, she's just a worrier, you know. She's just afraid others might not approve of us... but I don't care, I'm not afraid." She leaned in to kiss him again, and he placed a single finger between their lips. "That being said," he replied, hastily, "I'd really prefer we got to the clearing first, niara, the blanket we left there will be so much more comfortable than the ground right here, so we can get as carried away as we like." Tai yelped in surprise as her brother snaked a hand under her tail and goosed her. He returned her gesture of affection from earlier, licking her snout with his emerald-green tongue. "And you're not the only one who wants to get carried away."

Soon enough, they'd retreated to the clearing where they'd set up their tent and left their packs, wanting to claim the spot as theirs before moving on to take a look at the view. Tai briefly dipped into the tent and produced a thick, plush blanket from her backpack, giving it a heavy flick and laying it out on the ground in front of the tent. She then gave a squeal of surprise and delight as Vinnie swept her off her feet and into his arms, dipping her low to the grassy soil and kissing her hungrily as she clutched onto him for dear life. When he stood up again, he kept her in his deceptively skinny arms for a moment before setting her on her feet. "Just so you don't go getting any crazy ideas like I'm losing my nerve for these little playdates of ours, or anything," he said, churring happily, "I just don't like the idea of putting on a show for people we don't know are there." As she stood up again and the chinchilla immediately moved a hand to one of her pert breasts, Tai giggled, shaking her head with a what am I doing to do with you grin on her face. "Did you say playdates?" she asked, "I haven't used that word since... well, since I had a very different idea of what it meant to go play in the woods with my big brother!" Leaning in to kiss her on the side of her neck, Vinnie sighed with pleasure. "Ohhh, call me 'big brother' again, that gets me so hot..." he whispered, in between kisses, "God, I never thought you'd be up for this stuff but I swear you love it even more than I do..." He slipped his hands under her shirt and grinned as he cupped his hands over her breasts. "Now I know you were wearing a bra when we left home," he chuckled, squeezing one of her naked teats, "because I was peeking in on you putting your shirt on." Tai laughed at that, loud and carefree. "I can't believe my suave, gentlemanly big brother is such a perv," she giggled, "Spying on his own sister in a moment of vulnerable nudity... tsk, tsk, tsk." She nipped at his shoulder, the iguana's beak causing more of a playful pinch than a painful bite. By now, Vinnie had slid his hands around her back, and where one of them was merely holding onto her as he moved in to kiss her more properly, the other was rubbing along the scaly flesh on her shoulder blade, tracing from memory the spot on her back that was marked with a chocolate brown crescent moon. It didn't feel any different from the rest of her back, but he knew just where it was, and where it would always be. It was Tai's Calling Card, a physical feature she was powerless to change, a trait universally shared by their species, as if the universe had decreed that the Mokaji should have some kind of mark for Outsiders to distinguish them by. Vincent's own was the emerald green hue of the tongue that was currently dancing with his sister's inside their mouths. As he reached down to take hold of her belt, though, the lizard broke off the kiss and pushed him back, so that he fell onto his butt on the blanket. "Not like that, niola," she teased, "I wanted to make it special for you." Vincent grinned and leaned back onto his arms, eyes locked on his sibling. "So are you gonna tell me how you got your bra off without me noticing, or are you trying to be mysterious?" he asked. Tai laughed and shook her head. "Just shut up and watch," she said, as she winked playfully and began to dance.

Tai's movements were smooth, sinuous, not at all the kind normally associated with iguanas. Which made it appropriate, perhaps, that as she danced, her body began to Change into something that wasn't an iguana at all. Her leathery scales grew darker, more pronounced, changing from a green-brown colour to a dark, reflective black, with patterns of yellow stripes starting on her muzzle and running up her head and down her back, changing to a pleasing blue as they reached her tail, which flicked back and forth playfully as she peeled her shirt up and over her head. Vinnie's eyes were briefly drawn to the way her Calling Card, the chocolate moon, remained exactly the same colour, size, and shape, even as the texture of the skin it was on changed dramatically. He suspected that Tai was deliberately facing away from him, she'd proven to be rather self-conscious about letting him watch the effect the Change had on her breasts and other girly bits. The chinchilla looked back up at her head as she slipped out of the shirt and smiled at him, revealing that the loose, somewhat jowly flesh around her throat had tightened up significantly while it was hidden by the fabric, changing to a smooth, womanly curve. As she turned around, shaking her rump in a pair of tight pants that ended just below the knees, showing off her shapely calves, Vincent watched the spines along her back slowly absorbing back into her body, until she was a much sleeker, more feminine creature altogether. He couldn't help but smile at how obviously delighted she was to be holding his attention so thoroughly. "You're such a skink, niara," he teased, winking. She responded by throwing the shirt into his face. When he pulled it away, she'd opened up her belt and was slowly, slowly pulling her pants down, exposing her shapely legs inch by inch, and getting her brother preposterously worked up as he ogled her. Finally, when she was clad only in her panties, she got down on all fours and slowly crawled towards him, her tail flicking back and forth behind her, her eyes locked on Vincent's. As he took her into his arms, he churred again, approvingly, as he ran his hand along the top and back of her head. "Mmmm, I really like this shape," he whispered, "It's so smooth and sleek... niara, have you ever thought about hair? I think you'd look good with some tumbling down to your shoulders." She snickered and licked his nose. "You think every female would look good like that," she replied, "But you know, maybe I'll give it a try someday... just for you." She looked down as Vinnie took hold of his own belt buckle and slapped him on the back of the wrist. "Uh, uh, uhh..." Tai scolded, "Just relax and lie there, big brother, let me take care of you..." As she moved down his body and took hold of his belt, Vincent swallowed, shivering with glee. That sounded like a fantastic idea.

With her big, round eyes locked on her lover's, the skink unfastened Vinnie's belt, almost painfully slowly, using her fingertips to tug the material out of the clasp mere millimetres at a time. Lowering his ears and trying to look cute (which admittedly wasn't very hard for a chinchilla), Vincent whimpered and pouted, hoping to encourage his sibling to pick up the pace. But she just giggled and smiled at him. "You're in such a hurry today, niola," she whispered, sensually, "making us leave our packs here when I wanted to peek at the canyon, trying to ditch your clothes the instant I touch you... peeking in on your sweet, innocent little sister in a state of undress..." The emphasis she put on her third example helped it finally sink in. Her lethargy was to deliberately tease him, to playfully 'punish' him for the voyeurism he'd proudly admitted to. As she finally freed the tongue of his belt from the metal buckle, Tai leaned in and playfully licked Vinnie's cheek. "So, big brother," she breathed, her tone low and sensual, "How about we mix things up tonight? I brought some lube, so how about I toggle and you finally let me under that sweet tail of yours?" Her voice was silky smooth, her words strangely enticing, and the chinchilla felt his rear entrance clench involuntarily as he briefly toyed with the idea of letting his sibling exercise the 'usually' part of the translation of 'niara' and take him from behind as a big, strong male. Almost immediately, though, he shut his eyes tight and shook his head vigorously, whimpering. "N-no, sister, please," he replied, "I - I've told you, I'm not ready for that yet..." Tai sighed with exaggerated regret and shrugged. "Shame, you're so small, I bet you're really tight," she teased, "Ah well, at least we don't have to stop so I can man up. Get it? Man up?" Vincent gave his sister a Look, and she giggled unashamedly. "You know you love it," she whispered, and before the chinchilla could respond, she suddenly yanked his pants away, having stealthily opened his fly while he was pondering the idea of taking it in the rump.

Tai moved down her brother's body and began to nuzzle against his erection through his underwear. "Mmmm, it's been a while since we've had time for this... I've missed your scent, niola," she whispered, "so confident, so playful... so you." Vinnie was flattered, touched even, and didn't know how to respond, but apparently she didn't need him to. The skink began to squeeze and knead his prick through his underwear. "Maybe I should tease you, keep you on the edge a while, hmmm?" she suggested, "See if the scent gets stronger as you get more desperate..." Shuddering, Vincent swallowed as his erection throbbed, leaking pre-come into the fabric. "C'mon, little sister," the chinchilla replied, "stop fooling around, I need you so bad, you've been all I could think about all day..." He knew from experience that playing to her ego like that was really effective with Tai, and her grin told him it was working, but she still playfully delayed, touching one fingertip to the wet spot at the tip of his manhood as she pretended to think it over. "Decisions, decisions..." she muttered, "Well, alright, but only because I can't stand to wait any longer either. You lucked out this time, brother." She winked at him, and he grinned, knowing she would never really torment him that way, not unless they were both into it, anyway. As she pulled his underwear away, her smile widened as she took in the sight of her brother's stiff cock, and Tai leaned in to shamelessly partake of his masculine scent. "God, yes..." she murmured to herself as she inhaled deeply, shuddering against him. After a moment, she glanced up at him. "You can take your shirt off now, I've had my fun." Vinnie responded by doing just that, but this too was a trick; no sooner had Vincent covered his own face with the fabric than Tai blindsided him, and the fuzzy rodent cried out in shock and pleasure as his little sister leaned in and ran her tongue from the base of his cock all the way to the tip... just as one of her fingers, slicked up out of sight with the lube she'd referred to earlier, easily pushed past his anus and slid up into his tight backside.

As Tai licked eagerly at his dick and worked her finger around in his rump, Vinnie squirmed helplessly beneath her, unable to keep from moaning as he tried to free his arms and head from his shirt. When he was finally able to discard the garment, he looked out just in time to witness his sister taking his penis into her mouth. "Oh - oh niara!" he gasped, shuddering at the feeling of her warm mouth and supple tongue teasing against his length, at the way her probing digit teased against his weak spots, sending pulses of embarrassing pleasure dancing along his nerves. He closed his eyes and focused on the Change, but before he could affect even the slightest alterations, Tai leaned back from his cock and scolded him. "Don't you dare move your prostate away from my finger, niola," she said, "I told you I was gonna do the thing you won't admit you like, didn't I?" As she slid another finger into his rear, Vincent moaned softly. "I - I thought you meant the... the other thing I really like but won't admit it..." he protested, "You know, the thing with the..." Apparently reading his mind, Tai scoffed. "Pshaw, you just like pretending you aren't into that one because I have so much fun teasing you about it," she said, "I was talking about the thing you really are too embarrassed to admit you like." Lying back down, Vinnie pouted. "I d-do not like getting f-fingered..." he lied, trying not to shudder with pleasure, "I get off in spite of that, not because of that!" Tai giggled, and for all his shapeshifting skill, he couldn't prevent the blushing. "Then how come it's the only way I'm touching you right now," she asked, innocently, "And you're dripping pre all over the place?" Caught, Vinnie whimpered and lowered his ears submissively, still refusing to actually say the words out loud, and Tai, a gracious winner, went back to suckling on his rigid shaft.

Vinnie lay there for a while, trembling and twitching from his sister's dedicated services. He just couldn't get over how good it felt having his lover's fingers buried under his tail, rubbing and massaging at his inner walls. Finally, he could take no more, and groaned out loud. "Ohhhh, damn it, niara," he whimpered, "If you're going to be all dominant and have your way with me just the way you like it, at least let me touch you! I'm dying for your body over here..." Her tail flicking back and forth excitedly, Tai lifted her muzzle away from his cock and grinned. "That seems acceptable enough," she said, very businesslike, "After all... my body is dying for your touch." With a grace and sinuousness more often found in snakes than in lizards, Tai repositioned herself so that she was lying at an angle from Vincent's body, with her head in his lap and her fingers under his tail. The chinchilla eagerly reached out and put a hand on her side, stroking along her scales approvingly. "I like this form, sister, very sleek..." he whispered. She sighed approvingly as he teased a fingertip across her bust, toying with a nipple and squeezing one of her soft breasts. Some reptilian females didn't have such supple teats, but as always, Tai had tweaked her form in a way that best suited her needs and desires. Finally, unable to resist any longer, Vinnie let his hand slide down her smooth abs and onto her pelvis, where he waited until she glanced up towards him, and then slipped his hand into his sister's panties, cupping it over her mound and making her moan around the prick in her mouth.

Adjusting his hand only slightly, Vinnie began to stroke Tai's outer lips with his first and pinky fingers, while his middle and ring fingers immediately slipped between them and into the heat within. He was just in time to feel his little sister's juices flowing along her channel, feel her folds swelling up slightly with her arousal, reacting to his touch, to his taste. "That's it, niara, that's it," he whispered, almost too quiet to be heard, "Get nice and wet for your big brother, make me feel wanted..." Tai moaned again, more softly, as her juices ran along her inner walls, flowing over her sibling's fingertips even as he rubbed at her, seeking out sensitive spots and wondering if she'd moved them since last time. Making love with a Mokaji - no, having sex, he corrected himself, blushing - was always new and exciting. As he brushed a fingertip over one of these spots, Tai trembled and shivered, and Vincent encouraged her by gently rubbing the heel of his hand back and forth against her clitoris; when applied to the most sensitive flesh on her entire body, even this rough, imprecise stimulation was enough to make her toes curl up and her tail slap hard against the blanket. He kept it up for a bit, just to watch her writhe, until she finally pulled away from his cock with a gasp. "Oh God, brother, d-don't you dare make me come yet!" she said, pouting, "I'm looking forward to you ret-turning the favour when I'm done here, and I won't have you going and s-spoiling it by making me cream in my panties! Aaaagh, stop that!" Vincent laughed delightedly. Naturally, he'd responded to her demand by rubbing her clit again, just to see the look on her face. When she'd recovered from the wave of pleasure and glared at him, he sighed exaggeratedly and lifted that part of his hand away... for now. "Fine, fine, be that way" he muttered, as though not getting his sister off was a major chore, "Here, let me make a note about it: 'My niara doesn't want to come. Whatever you do, don't let her come.' There, you happy?" Tai stared at him incredulously, but even as her hairless brows furrowed, he could see the corners of her mouth struggling not to curve upwards. For a member of a species with such a mastery of deception, Tai was pretty awful at hiding her emotions... just like her big brother. "What? No! Don't put it like that! I d-don't want to be teased all night or anything!" she protested, though he could tell from her tone that she was just playing along, "You know I was just kidding when I suggested that earlier, don't you, my smart, handsome big brother?" Vincent just laughed and winked at her.

After Tai gave up on trying to hide the smile and giggled with delight, she went back to her niola's prick, which pulsed against her tongue as she resumed suckling on it. "God, yes..." he breathed, shivering. There was just something so erotic about the way Tai always dedicated herself wholeheartedly to getting him off. When the two of them mated - no, dammit, fucked - Tai didn't act like his pleasures were just an obligation to be fulfilled, or a price to be paid in exchange for her own ecstasy. No, quite the contrary, Tai was always very committed to pleasuring her brother, got turned on herself by touching and playing with his body, and she always seemed downright proud when she was able to bring him to the summit of his pleasures. At the moment, Vinnie wished he could play with her breasts as well as her nethers, but Tai was always very deliberate about their positioning when they fooled around. She'd just mentioned that she wanted him to go down on her afterwards, but had made no effort to try and initiate a sixty-nine instead of taking turns, which the chinchilla knew had to be because she wanted this moment to be more about him than it was about her, wanted him to focus more on the pleasure she was bringing to him than on the act of pleasuring her in return. And indeed, she was making it quite difficult to focus on anything else, the way she was bobbing and slurping along his turgid length, using her lips and tongue and cheeks to their maximum potential even as she continued to gently finger his backside. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, wanted to think that he was enjoying the blowjob less than he would have without the fingering... but the way her nimble digits rubbed against his tender inner walls, the way she gently worked those slender fingers in and out of his entrance, teasing against the tight ring of muscle she'd overcome with ease, it was driving him almost as crazy as her mouth on his prick. He closed his eyes and shuddered, swallowing a whimper as she pressed against his prostate again and he felt himself throbbing, leaking pre against her tongue. She hadn't actually said it, but they both knew this was the biggest reason she was so persistent in trying to talk him into letting her fuck him as a male, because she suspected that doing so would prove how much he liked it when she played with his ass, once and for all. Despite these mildly troubling thoughts, the chinchilla was brought right back to the present as Tai began to rub and massage directly on his prostate. He wasn't even sure how she'd found it, but he couldn't help but moan, closing his eyes and spreading his legs slightly. One of his ears twitched at a quiet sound, and while he wasn't certain, he could almost swear it was a muffled chuckle of amusement.

Vinnie wasn't sure when his sister had become so, so dominant like this, she certainly didn't behave so forcefully in more social settings, but more often than not she preferred to take charge in bed, suggesting positions and acts with such enthusiasm that he found it difficult to say no. Of course, he'd discovered, somewhat to his chagrin, that he really enjoyed letting his little sister have her wicked way with him. He'd never realized that he had such a submissive streak until they'd started fooling around. He could still remember their first night together, could remember cringing as he admitted he was still a virgin, thinking she would mock him, and the way she'd smiled, seemingly delighted to hear that, to learn that she would get to exchange her own innocence for his. He'd been a little surprised to learn that his bright, outgoing sister had saved herself that far, but he'd hardly complained, finding it a genuine honour that she would let him be her first... As if she could sense that his mind had wandered, even if it was to memories of her, Tai pulled him right back to the present with an unexpected jab to the prostate and a playful squeeze of his balls. "Ohhh, niara, that's s-so good..." he moaned, arching his back and shuddering. She said nothing, clearly not wanting to interrupt her task, but he could see the smile in her eyes.

Before long, Vinnie was squirming and whimpering, his fingers shaking involuntarily deep inside his sister's snatch, and he knew that the end was near. By now the sun had gone down and the stars were out, but out here in the mountains, they were bright enough that he could still clearly make out the female's carefully-sculpted features. "Oh fuck, n-niara..." he managed, "I'm so close, I'm so fucking close... don't stop, I'm g-gonna coooome..." It was quiet, and hard to hear over his own panting, but Vincent was sure he heard the lizard whimpering with desire at those words, a further sign of the enthusiasm he loved about her. Before he had time to realize the exact wording of that thought, much less curse himself for it, Tai pulled back, leaving the head of his cock in her mouth and wrapping her free hand around his shaft, which shone in the starlight with her saliva, beginning to stroke energetically as Vinnie moaned, helpless against his own pleasure. She did this more often than not when she went down on him; Vinnie knew it was so she could taste his come, keep it from slipping down her throat before she could savour it. She'd once cryptically told him, after he teased her about it, that it was less about the semen itself and more about who had created it, and why. But the brink of orgasm is no place to contemplate such things, and so Vinnie let it slip from his mind, along with every other thought, as he hurtled towards the point of no return. Sure enough, less than a minute later, the chinchilla with the green tongue arched his back, stiffening from head to toe, and wordlessly cried out his pleasures into the night, briefly alarming the wildlife that had been slumbering nearby. Vincent trembled and shook, dots swimming in front of his eyes as his cock pulsed and spasmed, spilling thick, gooey jism into his sister's warm, inviting mouth, the sensation of his seed on her tongue making Tai moan with pleasure around his dick. Vincent distinctly felt her inner walls clenching down involuntarily on his fingers, which twitched helplessly within her even as her own fingers, still buried under his tail, switched from light teasing to directly rubbing the most responsive of his sensitive spots. Vincent's come had always been very thick, he'd never shot for distance so much as let it ooze out, but Tai found this perfect for oral, as it made it easier to gather it inside her mouth so she could relish the unique flavour. Vincent, of course, wasn't thinking about any of this, just the ecstasy that pulsed through his body as he shuddered and came, and the glorious sensation of emptying himself, as his niara's eager tongue and lips worked his throbbing cock, her fingers gently massaging his prostate, lovingly doing everything she could to draw out his pleasure.

As Vinnie slumped down to the blanket with a low groan, he let his head loll back, looking straight up into the stars and wishing they would stop dancing around like that. He just lay there for a moment, his muscles twitching at random from residual pleasure, as Tai let his penis slip out of her mouth... though she seemed to make a point to keep her fingers buried to the knuckles in his rear, softly teasing at his inner walls to make him tremble. She liked to do that whenever she got him off with her hand in that position; he'd asked her why once and she just quipped that it was very cold that night, and nice and warm inside his butt. It got him thinking though, maybe... maybe she was right. Maybe he did come harder when he let her finger him. It was a lot easier to contemplate the possibility when he was lying naked with her, still wrapped in his own personal afterglow. When she finally pulled her fingers away, he felt a mild tremor of pleasure that made him inhale sharply, and pushed him just a little bit further towards admitting she was right, at least far enough to tell her maybe she wasn't as full of crap as he'd previously claimed. Tai began to move up the blanket, obviously intending to lie down next to him, though she was careful to keep from dislodging the hand that was still shoved down her panties, cupped over her wet, heated slit. Closing his eyes against the embarrassment and whimpering submissively, Vincent took a deep breath and admitted his suspicions. "N-niara, I've been thinking, m-" Or at least he tried to admit his suspicions, but before he could get that far, he was interrupted by his sister's lips pressing against his own. Automatically, he reached up to embrace her with his free arm - only to tense up and gasp in surprise, his eyes opening wide as Tai's gentle tongue pushed into his mouth - along with the copious amount of jism he'd ejaculated just now. He reached up to touch her head - to push her away or hold her there, he couldn't say, just reacting blindly on instinct - and she easily grabbed his wrist, holding it firmly for the two seconds it took for Vinnie to relax again, shivering and blushing as he surrendered, closing his eyes and kissing his niara back. It was unlike any kiss they'd ever shared before, and not just because their tongues were coated in Vincent's hot, freshly-spurted semen. There was something new in the way she was kissing him, something more than the lust that normally drove their encounters, something softer, tenderer, which seemed entirely opposite to the incredibly kinky act they were sharing. Vinnie was far too embarrassed to think about it coherently, so he just kissed her back, shuddering occasionally at the taste of his own seed.

When they finally broke it off, a suspiciously thick bridge of saliva joining their tongues for a moment, the siblings looked into each other's eyes for a long, silent moment. A smiling Tai slowly licked her lips and swallowed what was left in her mouth, and Vinnie blushed and lowered his ears submissively, self-consciously doing the same. "You, uh... we've never done that before..." he said, finally, unable to stand the silence for a moment longer. "Mmmm," she murmured, shaking her head in agreement, "I was gonna, you know, wait until you finished and, um, swallow it all, but suddenly that seemed irresistible. Did you... like it?" Vincent bit his lip, aware that Tai was incredibly perceptive when it came to her big brother, and was probably reading volumes into his body language already. "Y-yeah," he finally whispered, "I wasn't expecting it, and I wish you'd, uh, warned me before we started, b-but it was actually kinda nice. Weird, but nice." Tai beamed happily, smiling from earhole to earhole, and then gazed at her lover like he was a painting she was scrutinizing for hidden meaning. "You know, niola," she said, conversationally, "You're cute as a skink." Vincent tilted his head to the side and frowned, trying to fathom the meaning of her words, before he blushed even harder than when she'd snowballed him and looked down at his arm, which was now dark and covered in shiny scales. "Oh - oh shit!" he gasped, grabbing the top of his head and finding no fur whatsoever, as well as learning that he'd only thought he'd been lowering his ears in submission to his lover, he had no external ears at all right now. "I - I love-copied you..." he moaned, averting his eyes in embarrassment, "again!"

Tai giggled delightedly, which didn't help things much, and the suddenly-reptilian Mokaji groaned, shaking his head. When Mokaji first became sexually active, some of them developed an issue that the shapeshifters just referred to as 'love-copying'; if a sufferer was sexually active with a partner, at the moment of orgasm, he or she would involuntarily and sub-consciously Change into whatever species his or her lover was currently mimicking (or in the case of Outsider partners, of course, whatever species they actually were). It was considered embarrassing but harmless, and most Mokaji who had the issue managed to work out a way to retain control over their shape even when climaxing, and only had to suffer through a handful of embarrassing afterglow sessions before they got the hang of it. On the other hand, though Vincent and Tai had been siblings-with-benefits for more than a year now, poor Vinnie still copied Tai's chosen species almost every single time she made him climax. Even when he was consciously struggling against it, he often failed to prevent the Change. While such extended battles with love-copying weren't unknown, they weren't especially common, either, and Vinnie found it absolutely humiliating. "Don't worry, niola," Tai said, suspiciously supportively, "love-copying is a perfectly natural thing for a boy your age to suffer from, it's nothing to worry about, and it'll probably go away as your body matures." She waited a beat, and then frowned. "No, no, wait, that's wet dreams, and I was thinking of puberty, not doing The Deed." Vinnie then presented exactly as much control over his blushing as he'd displayed over his shapeshifting, and Tai laughed happily. Vincent frowned and moved to cross his arms, but Tai whimpered, letting her casual mask slip and revealing the strength of her need as she grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from removing his hand from her panties. "H-hey!" she protested, before blushing herself and smiling sheepishly, "Y-you know I'm just teasing, right big brother? I really do think it's cute when you do that. It's not that big a deal, you can relax..." As if underlining her words, she clenched her inner muscles as she winked at him, squeezing down on his fingers with her vagina. Vinnie let out a long sigh. Once he moved past embarrassment, he usually felt this sense of dejection. "Well, you might not judge me," he muttered, "But once I find myself a real mate, it would be humiliating if I let that happen!" Tai frowned again, even more strongly than before, and it briefly struck her brother as odd that she would get so put off by the idea of him humiliating himself with his future mate, but she interrupted his train of thought by shrugging and leaning in close. "Well, we'll just have to help you learn to deal with it, hmm?" she said, kissing his scaly cheek, "I know it sounds like a chore, but we'll just have to set aside some time so I can make you come, over and over and over again, until you figure out how to control the Change." The falsely begrudging tone to her voice did absolutely nothing to disguise how appealing she found this idea.

After giving his sister a Look, Vincent closed his eyes and began to tremble, this time from nothing to do with arousal. This time, the trembling was caused by the muscles, bones, and skin of his body re-arranging themselves all the way down to a genetic level. Distinct scales flattened out and joined together, forming one solid surface of softer skin covering his entire body, and his limbs, tail, and head re-shaped themselves from something reptilian to a much more mammalian form. Then, so suddenly it almost felt like the silence was wrong, like it should be accompanied by a cartoon poof, profoundly soft grey and white fur burst forth from the skin to cover Vinnie's entire body, growing longer and longer until it settled down into the natural pelt patterns of a Peruvian chinchilla. When he opened his eyes again and gave his whiskers an experimental twitch to make sure they felt right, Tai sighed exaggeratedly. "Shame. I wasn't just teasing you when I said you were cute as a skink," she commented, "I don't know why you're so into mammals anyway." Grinning, Vinnie reached up with his free hand and caressed her scaly cheek. "I dunno, mammals are just so soft and fun to cuddle, I always feel a little bit happier when I'm touching fur, even if it's mine. And, uhhh... I've kinda got a thing for feline girls," he admitted, smiling sheepishly, "They're just so cute and playful, and I'd love to cuddle with a girl who was purring, I bet all my problems would just melt away..." Realizing he was starting to get carried away, he coughed fakely and changed the subject. "Uhh, you know you're not really a reptile, right?" he asked, rubbing her face, "You're all warm to the touch." As he said this, he wiggled the fingers that were within her, feeling up slick walls that were very warm indeed. Tai moaned and squirmed on top of him, clenching down on his fingers and holding them in place. "Nnngh... God, niola, I'm - I'm so horny..." she admitted, blushing uncharacteristically, "P-please, would you..." She trailed off, and Vinnie made her yelp cutely by suddenly yanking his hand out of her body and underwear, licking her juice off his fingers as he maintained eye contact with his suddenly self-conscious sister. "Return the favour and eat you out?" he said, blatantly, between licks, "I would absolutely love to, little sister. Mmmmm..." Tai giggled at this, seeming a little more herself. "Such a gentleman," she commented, lying down next to him and kissing his cheek, "Hey, tell you what, if it'll make you smile, maybe I'll give mammals a try. I have heard about this thing felines can do that's supposed to be super cute... and they're so, heh, flexible."

Brother and sister shared a sweet, tender kiss for a few moments, and then Tai broke it off, reluctantly getting out of her lover's embrace and standing up. She actually giggled as she took stock of her underwear. "God, these are drenched," she muttered, "Maybe I should have let you go first after all." She looked up as she was suddenly bathed in light, a look of panic briefly flicking across her face before she realized that Vinnie had slipped into the tent to retrieve the lantern they'd brought with them, and was now eagerly leering at her desire-soaked panties, grinning as he returned to the blanket. He whistled, shaking his head. "Damn, niara," he muttered, "I didn't know you were this... juicy." She blushed at his choice of words and narrowed her eyes just slightly, but before she could snark at him, he continued. "...It's a good look on you," he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear, "Makes you infinitely desirable..." Realizing he was staring while rambling about what may or may not be a newly-developing kink, Vincent blushed and forced his gaze away. "Uhh, it's no b-big deal anyway," the chinchilla said, gesturing around them, "Nobody else is gonna see you like this, right?" As he dared to look up, the skink was smiling again. "I guess not." When she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her underwear, Vinnie called out, surprising both of them. "No, wait!" As Tai looked up, a curious expression on her face, he smirked bashfully and put the light down next to the blanket, approaching her slowly. "...Let me."

Soon, he had Tai lying down on the blanket, much as he'd been, though facing the other way ('for variety', she'd said, which seemed to deeply amuse her for some reason), and he crawled up on all fours as the lizard girl eagerly spread her legs to welcome her big brother between them. To her surprise, instead of stripping her last article of clothing away, he reached out and touched her, smiling at the incredibly lewd sight of how the juice-soaked fabric was clinging tightly to her mound, perfectly outlining the shape of her pussy to his eyes. Vinnie traced a curious finger up and down her slit, a light, teasing touch, and Tai bucked her hips with a gasp of pleasure, blushing at her own reaction. Thusly encouraged, he began to run his fingertips up and down along her entrance, massaging her lust-swollen lips and teasing at her hard, throbbing clitoris. It was difficult to tell, but he thought her panties got just a bit wetter as he did this. "God, brother, I n-need you so bad..." she breathed, no doubt trying to encourage him to hurry up, "Please, get them off s-so you can get me off..." Smiling at her silently, Vinnie reached up and touched his fingers to the waistband of the troublesome garment... and pressed in hard, holding the panties tightly in place as he leaned forward and began to lick at his lover's needy mound right through them, lapping at the core of her femininity with a delighted enthusiasm, like she was a particularly delicious ice cream cone. Contrived metaphors aside, though, Tai arched her back with a moan that was almost as much frustration as it was pleasure. "N-niolaaaaa!" she cried, protesting her predicament, even as her body betrayed her, bucking her hips against her brother's face, as if he could lick her deeper through her panties. When he finally leaned away, he licked his chops exaggeratedly. "God damn you're delicious, niara," he said, casually, as if discussing the temperature or an amusing anecdote he'd heard from a friend, "I was gonna knock it off about now, but I kinda want to just keep doing this, so I can taste you for longer. What do you think?" Despite her normally dominant personality, the skink was helpless against the strength of her arousal, and she whimpered cutely as he touched a single fingertip against her clit, not even rubbing or moving it. "I th-think if you don't stop teasing me, my panties will never dry out!" she said. The laws of physics didn't back up this claim, but Vincent liked the idea of getting his sister so aroused that her underwear would drip with her juices until the end of time. "Come on, niola," she continued, "This is starting to not be fun for me anymore, I'm s-so horny it almost hurts... I just wanna feel my big brother's tongue against my naked pussy, is that s-so much to ask?" If he hadn't caught on that she was using such explicit talk to turn him on, the way she followed that question up by batting her non-existent reptilian eyelashes at him would have made it clear. Dipping down for one last chaste kiss, pressing his lips against her cleft through her sodden panties, Vinnie winked at her and unclasped the button in the back that held the underwear in place around her tail. "Well, when you ask so nicely," he whispered, "Who could say no? Lift that perky butt of yours, sweetie..."

Aroused to the point of desperation by her lover's teasing foreplay, Tai trembled with anticipation as she lifted her shapely rear from the blanket and Vincent slowly pulled her underwear southwards, peeling her panties away from her slick mound, which was so heated by this point that she shivered from head to toe as it was exposed to the cool night air, just as a gentle breeze wafted by. Vincent considered just diving in as soon as her pelvis was freed, but instead took the time to completely remove her panties, turning and throwing them towards the tent so that they passed through the entrance and landed inside, his ear twitching all the while. When he turned back to his lover, he shrugged disappointedly. "I was hoping they would go splat," he said, earning a laugh from the shapely lizard. With that, he lay down between her legs, cradling her thighs against his arms, hands resting on her belly for the time being as he started with his mouth, deciding she'd had quite enough teasing for tonight (and hoping to prevent any thoughts of similar retaliation in the future). As he leaned in and kissed her pussy, Vincent sighed with pleasure, a sound that was drowned out by the moan that Tai let loose. Seemingly picking up where he'd left off before undressing her, Vinnie began running his tongue up and down her slit, tracing his niara's tight cleft and lapping up the juices glistening on her labia. After a moment, he paused, smacking his lips and glancing up to the face that watched him intently. "Mmmm, who'd have guessed that my sweet, innocent baby sister had such a delectable pussy?" he asked, rhetorically, "Why, if I hadn't corrupted you into joining me in debauchery, you probably would have lived a chaste life and the world might never have known!" Tai grinned, already looking relieved, her tail lightly slapping against the blanket as she toyed with her own breasts, currently squeezing her soft teats, but ignoring her stiff nipples. "D-don't call me your baby sister, makes it sound like I'm - oooh - like I'm underage or s-something," she chided, "And I was the one who kissed you first, remember?" Vinnie looked up and grinned, his muzzle already shining with her arousal. "Yes, but only after I admitted I had a sick, deviant attraction to my own sister's body," he said, overacting the words as if describing the mind of a serial killer. To his surprise, Tai sat up, frowning, and poked him in the forehead somewhat roughly. "Hey, don't use those words," she complained, sounding one hundred percent serious this time, "there's nothing s-sick about the two of us expressing our - uh, sharing our bodies with each other, niola, it's healthy and natural and - and it makes us very happy!" The chinchilla lowered his ears as a sign of respect and nodded slowly. "Sorry, niara, I, uh, didn't realize you felt so strongly about it. You know I don't really feel that way," he replied, softly, "If it felt sick or evil to - to be with you, I wouldn't be doing it." That seemed to placate her, and the skink smiled slightly and lay back down again.

Vinnie was still surprised and somewhat curious about the strength of that outburst, but with more important things to focus on, he tried to put it out of his mind. Leaning back down, he flicked his tongue across his lover's stubby clitoris, 'pushing her love button' as they liked to call it. She briefly tensed up and made a pleased noise as Vincent moved down to her opening, finally pushing past her outer lips and gently tonguing his sister's folds. Vincent ran his tongue along her inner walls, feeling her vagina squeezing down on it and wondering if she was doing it on purpose to encourage him or if she just couldn't help it, clenching involuntarily in spasms of pleasure. Either way, as she moaned happily, Tai was rolling her hips towards his face, wanting ever more stimulation, but slowly, gently, not with the urgency and desperation with which she'd been bucking against his muzzle when he was teasing her through her panties, denying her direct contact. After a while of quiet slurping and gentle licking, gathering up her juices and drinking them down, Vinnie pulled back without warning and moved down just slightly, smoothly moving a hand down to her entrance and slipping a pair of fingers inside her, taking over for his mouth while he pressed his tongue against his sister's tight anus. He felt her tense up all over, and the corners of his mouth curled up as he continued teasing at her back entrance. "Ahh!" she gasped, caught by surprise, "Jeez, niola, I... ooooh, that's actually kinda nice... j-just give me a little warning next t-time, okay?" Vinnie chuckled softly and rubbed his thumb across her clit, enjoying the way she clenched down on his fingers. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I find you poking at mine!" he teased, before he went back to licking at her rear. As Tai settled down and relaxed, her muscles slackened, including the taut ring beneath her tail, and Vincent took the opportunity to push his tongue inside her, enjoying the quiet whimper and shudder this earned him. The last time they'd made lo- fooled around, Tai had pulled the same trick on him under the pretense of giving him a blowjob, and had instead stroked him to release with her soft hand while her tongue was buried in his backside. He'd refused to admit how good it had felt afterwards, and yet mysteriously hadn't been the least bit upset with her. The chinchilla figured it would feel a little different on her female form, but hoped that it was still toe-curlingly pleasurable for his niara.

A few minutes passed like this, Vinnie working his fingers in and out of Tai's tight, squeezing pussy, using his thumb to tease her nub and keep things interesting, and licking along a channel he'd never explored before, getting acquainted with the unfamiliar textures of her other inner walls. While Tai seemed to get off to giving her brother reluctant pleasures via his rump, though, Vinnie soon began to long for the taste of her arousal, and the scent of her pleasure (which his nose was now in the perfect position to enjoy, practically shoved against her slit as it was) just wasn't cutting it anymore. When he pulled back, he moved his free hand down and slipped a single finger into his lover's rear, then peeked up and made eye contact, unaware of exactly how hard he was blushing, or of how flat his ears had become. "Hey, uh, c-can I switch back now, or are you not okay with that?" he asked, "I could, uh, move my real tongue inside and make a fake one to eat you out with..." Lifting a hand from one of her boobs, Tai stroked her chin thoughtfully. "A fake tongue, hmm?" she asked, "Would you be able to taste me with it?" Vinnie almost frowned, as that was an incredibly obvious question to one of the Mokaji, but then realized that its sheer obviousness meant that she was being playful again. Grinning, he played along. "No, I'm afraid not, unless I took like a year to recreate all those taste buds..." he answered, faux-dejectedly. Shaking her head, Tai clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, we certainly can't have that, you'd better just switch back with the real one, then." Grinning eagerly, he winked at her. "A logical and well thought-out decision. I approve." Tai giggled even as he moved back and pulled his fingers out of her snatch, easing his emerald-hued tongue between her outer lips and back into his sister's moist warmth. The lizardess inhaled sharply at the renewed sensation, briefly stiffening at the unexpected touch, but it was Vinnie who moaned softly, so deeply did he enjoy the flavour of his niara's desire.

As Vinnie continued to tongue his sister's depths, using his finger to keep teasing her backside, Tai began to squirm and tremble, her legs twitching from time to time as she started to fondle her breasts with more need, more gusto, tweaking her nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and rolling them around even as she squeezed and groped the soft base of each teat. "Oh, niola," she whimpered, "D-don't stop... keep going, just like that... fuck you're good at this, have you b-been practicing? Should I be jealous?" He pulled back just long enough to reply, grinning as juice dripped from his chin. "Don't be silly, little sister," he teased, "We both know you're the only woman in my life right now." As he spoke, he flicked his thumb across her clitoris again, which must have really hit the spot, since Tai arched her back and squealed with delight, raising her legs and scissoring them shut around her brother's head, her strong thighs none-too-subtly pushing his mouth back against her heated vulva. "God!" she whimpered, grinding her slit against his muzzle, "I'm s-so close! Ohhhh, God, please f-finish me, brother, I wanna come I wanna come I wanna cooooooome..." From there, she fell into mostly incoherent whimpers and moans, helpless to resist the pleasure being coaxed out of her by her brother's tongue and fingers, and as the shapely skink writhed and shuddered, her tail slapping the blanket with such force it made an audible thud each time, Vinnie only grew more and more encouraged, wanting his lover to come just as hard as he had. As she approached the edge, marked by her breathing growing shallow and ragged, her toes curling up behind him, and of course her inner channels clenching down involuntarily on his tongue and finger, he sought out her most sensitive spots, rubbing and licking and teasing without mercy as he began to stroke her clitoris like a miniature erection, rubbing his fingers up and down its minute length in a concentrated effort to bring his sister to orgasm. It didn't take long before his efforts bore fruit, and Tai arched her back one last time, crying out her passion into the night and going stiff from head to toe as her climax burst forth from within her. A gush of her nectar spurted out to mark her lover's face, and her thighs squeezed down harder on Vinnie's head as she shook and trembled under the force of the pulses of pleasure which spread through her body in perfect time with the throbbing of her clit, and her brother worked even harder to keep licking and rubbing even as her vagina squeezed down on his tongue so tightly he had difficulty moving it within her.

After Tai had come down from her ecstasy, lying in a limp, quivering heap on the blanket, Vinnie continued to tease her body, working his finger in and out of her rear and slowly licking at her love button, the lizard squirming and whimpering as her niola's tongue slipped across the oversensitive flesh again and again, rewarding her with aftershocks of pleasure and him with more of her delicious juices. Finally, she'd had enough, and uncrossed her legs, rolling over on her side to deter him, curling up into the fetal position and still twitching with residual bliss... only to find her playful brother following her, teasing his tongue across her slit, which was peeking though the gap between her legs. With a sound that was about half moan and half giggle, Tai weakly reached out and put a hand on his forehead, trying to push him away from her pussy with arms that felt about as strong as cooked spaghetti. It didn't help that he'd kept that finger buried snugly under her tail. "Niolaaaa," she pouted, as she tried not to smile, "I'm g-gonna go crazy if you don't stop teasing me..." Vinnie chuckled and finally gave up on teasing her, pulling his hands away and sitting up. "Alright, I've had my fun," the chinchilla said, sitting back on his knees and watching her tremble, sweat glistening on her scales, making her look even more beautiful than usual in his eyes. Vinnie gathered her up in his arms, and she let her head rest on his shoulder as he picked her up, somewhat awkwardly stooping to grab the blanket from the grass and drag it behind him as he carried her into their tent. Enjoying the moment of afterglow in her brother's arms, Tai grunted disapprovingly as he set her down in order to go through their packs. "...Niara, there's only one sleeping bag in here," he said, after a moment, "I distinctly remember packing two." He looked over his shoulder to see the blanket spread across the floor of the tent, and his sister lying atop it, smiling at him and looking incredibly pleased with herself. "Ah yes, that's right," she said, "I'm afraid I had to take one out, in order to make room for... naked cuddling with my big brother." He couldn't help but snicker even as he shook his head. He'd always liked that directness about her. "Well, that is the best kind," he acknowledged, "I just hope there's room for both of us." As she stretched out on the blanket, he ducked outside to retrieve the lantern and then closed the flap behind him as he returned, only too eager to return to his little sister's warm embrace.

As soon as he knelt down beside her again, Tai rolled over, stretching her arms up towards him, and Vinnie moved to accept her hug, leaning in to kiss her as he lay down next to her. The skink moved in close, pressing her body against his, only to lean back with the kiss, inhaling sharply and looking down. "You're hard again," she whispered, surprised, swallowing as she looked at her brother's hard-on pressing against her pelvis. "Of course I am," he replied, licking her cheek and grinning, "I just got to go down on the most beautiful girl I know, how could I not be hard?" Tai smiled back and adjusted their positions; she put her legs on either side of one of Vinnie's thighs, pressing her glistening vulva against his fur and exposing his penis to the air of the tent... so she could reach down and take hold of it as she moved to kiss him. She didn't stroke his dick, didn't tease it, she just curled her fingers around the rodent's erection, holding it loosely as their lips met and their tongues began to entwine. This was something she did from time to time, sometimes in foreplay, sometimes in moments of downtime like this one, Tai seemed to enjoy just touching her brother's penis as if to tease him with the light touch... or maybe she was just possessive, wanted to remind herself that, for the moment at least, he was hers. She moaned softly as she tasted her own nectar on her lover's tongue, shuddering against him and unconsciously squeezing his cock, beginning to grind her slit against his thigh. He brought a hand up and cupped the back of her neck as he kissed her with a passion most Outsiders would have considered unthinkable to share with a blood relative, thinking to himself (and not for the first time) how much more erotic he would find that moment if she had long, silky hair cascading down her back... And then he blushed for fantasizing while he had a real, live naked woman in his arms, one who was, if history had taught him anything, going to be quite eager for his body before long. As their tongues slipped together, rubbing and swirling and dancing around each other, Vincent let himself get carried away in the sensations, get lost in his niara's warmth, as if the world outside their flimsy plastic tent had ceased to exist in its entirety, and all that mattered was showing this woman how deeply he cared for her... he found himself blushing at the strength of his emotions, reminding himself not to get too carried away, but soon that thought had vanished, along with all the other stress in his mind, replaced only by his sister's supple lips and nimble tongue... and a wonderfully soft hand wrapped around his rigid prick.

After a few minutes of tender kisses, gentle caresses, and even a brief, playful spat of purring, emanating from a species where it doesn't belong as a 'demonstration of the benefits of mammaldom' from Vinnie to a giggling Tai, the skink reached up and placed a hand on her lover's cheek. "Big brother... how... how do you want to take me this time?" she asked, blushing slightly. There was that directness again, combined with a self-consciousness that looked adorable on her, no matter her species. "Do you - are there any positions you'd really like to try?" she continued, "Any new acts? I..." she averted her eyes, blushing even harder and smiling demurely. "Whatever you want, I'm willing to try... I'm yours, niola." Nuzzling against her hand, the rodent smiled at her, his whiskers twitching with delight. "How about... whatever we can manage inside that sleeping bag," he said, nodding towards it, "Somehow, I think we're flexible enough to pull it off." Her smile widened at his enthusiasm, and she pulled him in a little closer. "Mmmm, wonderful..." she breathed, "But before we get to that, I'd like to just savour the feeling of lying naked in my big brother's arms while we make out for a while. How's that sound to you?" Slipping a hand down her back and squeezing her pert rump, Vincent grinned eagerly at her, his tail twitching in enthusiasm behind him. "Fantastic."

They kept it up for a while, their hunger for each other growing as their hands explored every inch of their lover's body (which, for the Mokaji, could be a new experience every time they did it), showing each other the strength of their need through the movements of their tongues and lips, pressing their sweaty bodies together as if they were trying to merge into one being - a trick their species was not actually capable of, for clarity's sake. Having been denied the chance by their positioning earlier, Vincent was boldly squeezing and groping his sister's breasts, which were soft and perky, fitting perfectly into his hands as he massaged the soft flesh and teased his fingers across her nipples. Tai could have given herself any size boobs she liked, Vinnie knew, or gone with none at all, a look some real reptilian females were known for, so he considered himself incredibly lucky that by chance, she kept her girls his own exact favourite size and suppleness. He briefly wondered if their preferences fit so well because they were siblings, but by then Tai's hand was fondling his balls, so he let the thought evaporate. Soon, their bodies were responding to their growing desires; Tai was grinding her slit against her brother's thigh, her juice soaking into his soft fur, and Vincent was leaking pre-come all over the delicate hand that still maintained a selfish grip on his prick. Vinnie broke first, leaning away from the kiss with a gasp and lowering his ears submissively, something that he knew made Tai smile. "Oh fuck, I can't stand it anymore, niara," he whimpered, pausing for a moment to chastely kiss her lips, as though he could barely even stand breaking off the kiss long enough to talk, "I - I need you so bad, I've got to have you." With a benevolent smile that masked the raging inferno of desire within her, the skink helped her brother to his feet as she stood up, and walked with him the few steps towards the sleeping bag they'd be sharing that night. As he knelt down to unzip it, she hugged him from behind, letting her breasts press against his back and rubbing his abs with both hands. "I told you already, my lo- my big brother," she whispered into his twitching ear, "You've already got me." She kissed him on the back of the neck, her next words coming out in the form of a lusty sigh. "I'm yours."

Hurriedly, eagerly slipping into the sleeping bag, trembling with anticipation, Vincent lay on his side, making as much room as he could for Tai to join him. They'd slept together many times before, but as she zipped up the bag behind her, smiling beatifically, and he became aware of her body heat against his skin and the many places where she was touching him out of necessity, his heart began to beat faster. She reached up out of the bag, touching the lantern they'd left at the side of the tent, clicking it off and throwing them into darkness. "Since we can't see anyway, we might as well save the batteries," she said, managing to make that practical sentence sound quite naughty somehow. It was true enough that their heads were outside the enclosed portion of the bag, so they couldn't see their bodies, but he'd wanted to look into her eyes as they coupled. He was going to let it slide anyway, but he soon discovered the real reason behind her actions; with his eyes blinded, he became much more aware of his sense of touch, and of the fact that he now shared a small, enclosed space with his little sister's warm, naked body. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, still on their sides, licking her cheek in the dark. "Since we're conserving energy," he said, "let's get nice and close, so we can keep each other warm." The line would have worked better if it weren't the heart of summer and fairly nice out even at night, and both of them knew it, but Tai was only too happy to hug him back, the siblings giggling and chuckling in the dark as they blindly felt each other up.

Having already tested the limits of his patience, it wasn't long before Vincent boldly slipped down into the sleeping bag and nuzzled against his sister's tits, making her gasp and giggle again. "Mmmm, I've been looking forward to this all night," he mumbled, "Hello, girls, I've missed you..." As the chinchilla took one of her nipples into his mouth, Tai sighed happily and rubbed the back of his head. "If you really want to talk to them, I could make them talk back," she said, helpfully, "It wouldn't be much trouble, just grow a pair of lips, redirect some air from my lungs..." She stopped as Vinnie reached up and placed a single finger on her lips before he released her teat. "Niara, you know I love the sound of your voice," he deadpanned, "But when it comes to your boobs, silence is golden." As he switched to the other mound and resumed suckling, Tai threw her head back and laughed at that, a pure, happy sound that made the corners of Vinnie's muzzle curl up even as he tongued her stiff nipple. "Have it your way, brother," she sighed happily, "You just make it so tempting when you talk to them." Without missing a beat, Vinnie leaned back and began squeezing and nuzzling against her chest again. "Don't listen to her, girls," he said, "She's just jealous because you love me more than her." When he went back to suckling on his niara's soft breasts, one of his favourite things to do, Tai laughed again, and Vinnie felt more content than he had in months.

As he continued worshipping his lover's chest, Vinnie was careful to divide his attention between her boobs evenly, keeping whichever teat he wasn't currently suckling nice and stimulated with some gentle massaging and squeezing. After a while, he slipped a hand between his niara's legs for good measure, marvelling at just how wet and needy Tai's vulva had become by now, how warm her labia were to the touch. Eventually, she hooked a hand under his shoulder and tugged upward, signalling her brother that she'd had enough, and Vinnie somewhat reluctantly left those perky mounds behind and popped his head back out of the bag, genuinely taken aback by how much cooler the outside air was. "There you are," the lizard said, licking his nose with a tongue that had become mildly forked since last they kissed, "I - I can't stand any more teasing, Vinnie..." she leaned in and whispered her request in his ear, in a low, needy tone that he'd proven powerless to resist on previous occasions, and only partly because she always asked for things he desperately desired. "Please, niola... I want you inside me." Shuddering from head to toe, and probably leaking a fair dollop of pre into the sleeping bag, Vincent moaned and took her in his arms again without a word, reaching down to encourage her to lift her legs and wrap them around his waist. She managed it, but she had to cheat a little, adjusting the flexibility of her legs on the fly to make it work in such a small space. With that, the rodent took hold of his dick and leaned forward, running the tip along the entrance to his little sister's tight pussy.

As he continued teasing the head of his penis against her opening, Tai lifted her top leg, spreading herself as wide as she could on her side inside the tight confines of the bag. "Ask me again," he whispered, breathily, "I want to hear you say it." Without hesitation, she held her mouth next to his ears and replied, her voice huskier than ever, as she touched one of her hands to the one he was using to hold his prick. "Fuck me, big brother," she replied, "I want to feel your cock deep inside me, spreading me open..." Barely suppressing a groan of arousal, Vinnie nipped at her shoulder ineffectually, given that the teeth of a chinchilla and the scales of a lizard aren't the best combination for play-biting. Ignoring that, he spoke again anyway. "Well that's good, because it just so happens that I want to feel my little sister's pussy from the inside, squeezing me and holding me tight..." With the two of them now so hopelessly turned on from some of their usual last-minute banter that they could barely stand it, there was only one course of action for them to take; as Vinnie pushed his hips forward, Tai tightened the grip of her legs around his waist, and both siblings cried out in pleasure as his steel-hard prick easily parted her folds and slid into her all the way to the hilt in one smooth, easy motion. Trembling, Vinnie held his lover close, savouring the feeling of her body in his arms almost as much as the feeling of her hot, tight channel gripping his erection. The two of them were breathing harder than usual, feelings entirely focused on each other, on this moment that they shared, every twitch, every minute adjustment of their bodies instantly felt by the other. It was the closest Vincent had ever felt to someone else, and he somehow just knew without asking that Tai felt the same way. Finally, he felt her tense her inner muscles, her slick walls clenching gently around his shaft, and Tai kissed him on the cheek. "Niola..." It was just one word, just three syllables, but it told Vinnie everything he needed to know. Nodding as though she'd asked a question, Vinnie pulled back, feeling her shiver as his cock slowly withdrew, slowly left the welcoming channel where he wanted to stay, both of their bodies protesting this cruel and unnatural treatment, and then, just before he slipped out of her entirely, the chinchilla buried himself in his sister's body once again, this time faster than before, this time without stopping. Tai's grip on his back tightened as she whimpered to herself, and Vincent began the rhythm they'd both been hungry for all night long. Grunting as he pushed back inside despite her muscles clenching down at that exact moment, Vinnie grinned blindly in the dark, opening his lips as Tai captured her brother's mouth with a kiss. It almost felt like the entire night before this, the banter, the flirting, each of them bringing the other a joyous orgasm, it had all been foreplay for this moment, and the shapeshifter had only one thought on the subject. Let the games begin.

Vinnie's tail wanted desperately to flick back and forth with the pleasure he felt, but it could only thwap ineffectually against the inside of the bag as he drove himself into his sister's welcoming body again and again, his balls slapping against her pelvis every time he hilted himself in Tai's wet, eager pussy. The chinchilla broke off the kiss to moan, and he once again attempted fruitlessly to nibble on his lover's shoulder, forgetting his earlier failure in the face of his passion. "Goddamn, niara," he panted, "You're - you're so tight!" He gasped out loud as she played her own considerably sharper teeth along his considerably softer shoulder, and she laughed happily. "That's not all I am, brother of mine..." she teased, stroking his face with a free hand, "Have you noticed?" He wondered why her words seemed muffled, given that her hand was nowhere near his ears... and then he realized that when she'd nipped at him, said ears had flattened against his head so completely it mildly impeded his hearing. As though she were reading his thoughts, just as he was hoping she hadn't noticed in the dark, she teased a single finger along one of his ears. "My cute, submissive, brother of mine..." He blushed as she giggled and licked his cheek with that forked tongue of hers, and tried to take attention off of it by answering her question. "Oh, I noticed, alright," he said, quickly, "What is it this time, 'ribbed for his pleasure'?" Tai's laugh changed from teasing to delighted, and she clenched down on him again. "Very good, big brother," she said, "I wasn't sure you'd notice a little thing like texture." Groaning and shuddering as he pressed into her again, feeling her walls spreading before the head of his prick, making room for his rigid flesh, Vinnie couldn't help but grin. "Ohhh, believe me, niara..." he murmured, licking her cheek and groping her butt, "To the guy inside you, texture is a very big thing!"

As he continued thrusting into his sister, Vinnie's hands wandered her body, sometimes fondling her breasts, sometimes playing with her thick, muscular tail, and sometimes just cupping the nape of her neck so that he could kiss her more energetically. At the moment, he was firmly gripping her rear with both hands and exaggerating the movements she was already making, helping her push back against his thrusts as if to get as deep into her warmth as possible. With her naked body pressed against his, and her vagina gripping his prick selfishly, it took him a while to notice, but Tai was beginning to whimper, and it didn't sound like a noise of pleasure, more like... anxiety? "Niara?" he finally asked, managing her trick from earlier and concentrating his concern into a single word. She moaned in frustration. "Oh, God, big brother, it's so good, it's almost perfect, but - but something is wrong, something is just off," Tai whimpered, "I can't... I don't know... it's like t-trying to scratch an itch but you can't quite reach..." Releasing her ass in order to caress her face, Vinnie was about to ask what he could do to make it better for her, but just as he opened his mouth, Tai cried out, the shrill sound of a frustrated woman who's reached her limit, and grabbed onto his arms, hard. Releasing her legs' grip around his waist and pulling her limbs back, Tai suddenly threw all her weight into lifting her surprised brother off the floor, shifting their positions inside the sleeping bag and rolling onto her back so that Vinnie ended up on top of her, only to keep pushing her momentum and continue the movement all the way, so that in the end, the blind, disoriented chinchilla found himself lying on his back on the floor, his sister sitting atop him, pinning his arms down.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so aroused.

Releasing his arms, Tai reached down between them somewhat awkwardly. "Now then!" she cried, "Where were we, my dear brother?" Vinnie swallowed as he felt her fingers close around his cock, which had slipped out of her in their impromptu wrestling session. The skink adjusted her position and that of his manhood, and lined him up with her slit, which by now was so wet she was literally dripping with arousal onto his pelvis, something which made her lover's toes curl up in pleasure. As soon as she lined the tip of his dick up with her entrance, Tai pushed down with all of her weight, impaling herself on his cock, such a fast, abrupt feeling that Vincent gasped even though he'd been expecting it, and Tai threw back her head and cried out. "Yes!" she moaned, tensing up from head to toe. She pulled her legs up, calves on either side of her sibling's pelvis, and experimentally rode him for a few strokes, pushing off with her legs until Vinnie's prick was barely inside her, and then pulling herself back down, aiding gravity and sheathing her brother's cock back where it most belonged, tightly gripped by her squeezing, kneading pussy. She let out a long, shameless groan of pure, unadulterated relief. "Ohhhhh, God..." she muttered, shuddering against him, "Oh, that's so what I needed, fuck, that's much better..." She couldn't do him cowgirl-style, since they were still enveloped in the sleeping bag, but she lay her torso down atop his and flicked his nose with her tongue, reaching up to scratch her lover behind the ears playfully. Vinnie didn't know if real chinchillas enjoyed that as much as the canines who were famous for loving that particular show of affection, but he did know that at the moment, it felt_amazing_. "S-so I'm a really good scratching post?" he asked, trying to sound casual and failing, "Always glad to be of service to m-my little sister..." She leaned in and made a low churring sound, and even in the dark, Vinnie could tell she was grinning from ear to ear. "Mmmm, thank you..." she whispered, her breath hot on his snout, "I love you, niola." Before he could return the endearment, she'd captured his lips and begun to ride him again, deep strokes, their bodies slapping together wetly every time he bottomed out inside her, and their only communication was in the form of pleasure.

The two siblings continued their confined copulation, and Vinnie was astonished as to exactly how good it felt with Tai on top, taking charge of things. She wasn't holding his arms in place anymore, but with the weight of her upper body directly on top of him, he still felt somewhat pressed against the floor, and had to admit that that aspect felt good too, in its own slightly embarrassing way. "Ohhh, niara..." he moaned, shuddering against and within her, likely drooling pre-come into her tight channel. Grateful for this change she'd thrown into the works, he'd dedicated one of his hands to rubbing and teasing at her love button, knowing that as much as she was obviously enjoying herself, just getting a good dicking wasn't everything she needed to reach a glorious release. "You're so b-big, niola, oh God, I love the way you're s-spreading me open inside..." Tai whispered, playing on their mutual love of such talk, "Ohhhh, hell, I s-swear you've done something to it to make it - ahh! - to make it perfect for my p-pussy..." Vinnie let out a choked chuckle, his breathing a bit more ragged. He wasn't quite sure how he would go about customizing his prick to make it the perfect tool to please a specific woman, but he loved the idea. And yet... "You know," he admitted, "I was just thinking the s-same thing about how tight you are, and how good you f-feel around me..." Tai shuddered atop him, squeezing against his body with her knees, before she began to ride him a bit more energetically, the lewd noises of their joining growing a bit louder in the still night air. "Oh, niola," she whispered, "you see how well we fit together?" At the time, he thought it was just a dirty joke, and grinned at her, but his mind would later come back to that question and wonder. For the time being, he was more focused on her body than her words, using his free hand to fondle her chest as she leaned down to kiss him, showing Vinnie the strength of her desire for him without making a sound.

A few minutes later, both changelings were trembling and whimpering from the strength of their struggles against their rapidly-building pleasures, a war both knew from experience was futile, a war where they were always overcome, and yet, somehow, like their frantic rutting itself, it was also a war where both sides always won. At the same time, however, Vinnie was especially apprehensive about his impending summit, for he knew that he would be fighting a war on another front at the same time. But despite his best efforts, he was helpless against the feeling of Tai's naked body pressed against him, her pussy tightly gripping his shaft even as she ran those walls along his length again and again, and her mouth kissing him so hungrily. The next time she broke it off, to play her forked tongue along the side of his stubby rodent muzzle, Vincent let out a sound that was half moan, half whimper. "Oh God, my niara," he gasped, consciously lowering his ears, "I c-can't hold back m-much longer, I'm - I'm going to come!" Tai seemed positively thrilled by the idea, groaning in pleasure and redoubling her efforts, riding her brother's cock for all she was worth. "Yes!" she cried, surprisingly coherent in her excitement, "Don't hold back, my love! Give me everything you've got! Ohhh, fuck... Make me yours, niola, and I'll make you mine, come inside me, fill me up!" There was something odd about that statement, but Vinnie had no time to dwell, for her words pushed him over the edge into a rather powerful orgasm.

"Ni-niara!" he gasped, arching his back and tensing up all over, his body twitching and shuddering as Tai slammed herself back home, hilting her brother inside herself one last time. As the pleasure he'd been fighting finally overwhelmed him, flooding throughout his entire body, Vinnie moaned out loud, his prick beginning to throb and pulsate, spurting hot, wet gouts of sticky, viscous come deep into his sister's tight pussy, running along her walls and filling in what little room existed inside her. Even as he ground himself against her, even as he emptied his balls into Tai's welcoming, eager channel, Vinnie was clenching his teeth, eyes squinted shut despite the darkness, focused on something which threatened his pleasure; the power of Change. Even now, his body was fighting him, wanting to re-arrange itself, become more like the woman cuddled against him. Even now, patches of his fur trembled and shook, the skin beneath trying to grow hard and shiny, his tail trying to reshape its structure as it spasmed beneath him. For once, he was actually finding himself on the winning side, forcing his body to remain in the shape of a fuzzy chinchilla - and then Tai cried out, the sensation of her brother climaxing inside her having apparently pushed her over the edge into an orgasm of her own. With a groan, she leaned down and hugged him tight as her body went stiff as well, her clitoris pulsing against his fingertips, but Vinnie's attention was far more focused on the way her vagina was clenching and squeezing along his length, his sister's rippling inner walls massaging his spurting erection, both prolonging and enhancing his pleasures as he ejaculated even harder, painting her walls with his sperm. With that additional pleasure, it became hopeless, and Vinnie let out a cry of ecstatic release that was tinged with just a hint of despair as he felt his control collapse completely, felt his body Changing and re-arranging itself as he came and came and came, unable to focus on the details through the haze of lust.

When their pleasures had finally burned themselves out, the two Mokaji siblings lay there limply, bodies still entwined within the sleeping bag as they panted and trembled from the occasional aftershock. Vinnie felt embarrassed and mildly ashamed, not needing to be able to see to know that he was now a skink, with an identical scale colouration to that created by Tai for her shapely form. As he felt his deflating cock give a gentle throb, leaking a little leftover come into his sister's pussy, he sighed, reaching out of the bag, groping around in the dark for the lantern. "I'm sorry, niara," he whispered. Tai's response was immediate and gentle. "Whatever for, brother?" she asked, "That was wonderful, one of the best we've ever had." He sighed again, blushing hard in the dark. "Not that, the sex was fantastic, I came so hard I could see stars, it's..." he swallowed a whimper before he continued, saying "I - I love-copied you again." As he said this, he found the lantern and pulled it closer, while he idly reached up with his other hand and laid it atop his sister's body, resting it on the small of her back... and found it covered in light, fluffy fur. "...What?" he asked aloud, confused. Flicking the switch, he cringed against the sudden brilliance of the lantern, blinking until his eyes adjusted to the light... and found that while he was indeed a male skink with black scales (and yellow and blue ones elsewhere, no doubt), the person he was cuddling against was a rather sheepish-looking female chinchilla. Tai pouted and lowered her ears, quietly whimpering. "...Oops." Her self-conscious embarrassment seemed genuine enough, but looking closely, Vinnie could see that she wasn't actually blushing, and he chuckled softly, ruffling a hand through the fur on her head and smiling from metaphorical ear to ear. "I don't believe for a second that you just happened to suffer from the same problem I do when I did," he said, gently, "But I really appreciate the thought. Thank you, niara. Heh, I told you you'd look good as a mammal." She chittered happily as he rubbed her cheek, and after a moment she nodded towards the flap in their tent. "Hey... you mentioned seeing stars," Tai said, "That sounds like a nice way to spend our afterglow... and it would give us a chance to air out the tent." He laughed softly at that. "After you, little sister."

Moments later, Vincent stood outside, stretching to get the kinks out of his muscles, the cool night air feeling good against his sweaty scales, and he turned to see that Tai had finished smoothing out the blanket on the grass. She had already turned back into a skink, and he felt a tingle of taboo pleasure as he saw that her inner thighs still glistened with a mixture of his semen and her own juices. He'd remained behind to open the sleeping bag and front flap, to let the absorbed body heat melt away into the night, so that the two of them would be able to sleep comfortably. Tai had also been right about airing out the tent; they hadn't noticed after being in the thick of it, but the tent reeked of sex, even now his nose was tickled by the scent of sweat, juices, and their mingled arousal. Turning around, the blanket ready, Tai smiled up at him as she beckoned him closer. "Come on over, niola," she called, "I miss your touch already!" He grinned and set the lantern down a short distance away from the blanket, so they'd be able to see each other clearly, but they wouldn't be too blinded to watch the stars. As he knelt down on the blanket, Tai lay down in a provocative pose and raised a hairless eyebrow. "Aren't you going to change back?" she asked, "I mean, I kind of like us looking the same, makes it feel even more like we're siblings, somehow... but I thought you preferred warmbloods?" "Fair point," he acknowledged, then closed his eyes and focused on the Change. He didn't normally have any difficulty at all with it, of course, it was just when he was in the throes of orgasm that his body chose its own path. However, while his scales melted away and fur burst forth from his skin, it wasn't the same fur, and he could hear the blanket rustle as Tai leaned back, surprised. Soon, most of his body was covered in bright orange fur with beautiful white highlights, as well as tall, pointy ears, a doglike muzzle, and a luxuriously fluffy tail.

Opening his eyes, he saw his sister looking at him with a little smirk on her face, like she wasn't sure how to respond. So he egged her on a little, spreading his arms theatrically and grinning from ear to ear. "Eh? How do I look, niara?" he asked, playfully. She giggled and smiled more confidently. "Like a fox," she answered, stating the obvious, "What happened to the chinchilla?" Lying down next to her and taking the skink in his arms, Vinnie shrugged. "The chinchilla was fine, there's nothing wrong with rodents," he said, "but I've been trying out vulpines lately, and there's something there that really appeals to me." She ran a hand along his fuzzy cheek, as if testing out the feeling of his new fur, much coarser than the famously silky pelt of a chinchilla. "Now that you mention it, you did really seem to enjoy being a fennec a while ago," she commented, nodding in recognition. "Yeah, that's where it started," he said, "There's just something that isn't quite right yet, but I'm sure I can work it out." He licked her nose playfully, making her giggle, "But there'll be plenty of time to think about that when we aren't snuggling." Tai winked at him, scratching him under his chin. "Well, there's one thing to start with," she said, teasingly, "You're definitely cute, it's just a shame the orange really clashes with the green." Vinnie snickered and kissed her, hiding that green tongue where she couldn't see it, firmly inside her own mouth.

A few minutes later, the siblings really were stargazing, lying there in each other's arms, Tai spooned against Vinnie's side as he tenderly stroked her back. "Do you think the constellations look different Outside?" he asked, "I wonder sometimes how different things are out there from how they are at Home. I mean, they're all stuck with one species, everybody's gender is set in stone, nobody can Change at all! If you have to be the same thing all the time, how do you even deal with the boredom?" Nuzzling against him, Tai sighed contentedly. "I'm sure I don't know, niola," she whispered, "But I guess they must find something to do to keep themselves from going crazy, or there wouldn't be anybody Outside to begin with. I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly happy staying Inside, with the people I love." Vinnie shrugged noncommittally. "I dunno, I'd kinda like to see Outside someday, but I guess you're right." The two of them lay there in the stillness for a while, just enjoying each other's body heat. Eventually, Vinnie looked down at the girl in his arms. Tai looked completely at peace spooned up against him, her attention on the sky above, her hand resting above his heart. There was something odd about the moment, a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. He'd noticed it once or twice before, during similar after-cuddles with his sister, but it had always faded before he could really dwell on it. He just felt... good. It felt silly to simplify it to that level, but it wasn't just that he felt nice; at the moment, it seemed like he couldn't feel bad, like there were no problems in his life, like all he wanted to do was exactly what he was doing. He felt quietly but thoroughly happy, just lying here with his arm around Tai. He smiled and settled his head back down, glad to have become closer with his sibling, even if it was in such an unorthodox manner. He was really going to miss these cuddles when she finally started dating, something he assumed would happen well before he managed to find a mate of his own. Just as he focused his attention back on the night sky, a shooting star streaked across their field of view, perfectly framed by the circle of trees around the clearing. Tai pointed up at it and inhaled sharply. "Oooh!" she cried, obviously delighted, "Sky-tail!" Unlike the English term, the Mokaj word for the little streaks of fire focused on the light they left behind, not their speed. Vinnie leaned down and laid a kiss on top of his sister's head. "Make a wish, niara," he said, happily. She glanced up at him, smirking. "Close your eyes, big brother, or your wish won't come true." He did so, playing along to appease his sister, only to be surprised when he opened them again. Tai had subtly Changed herself; still a skink, she now had long, flowing locks of ebon-black hair that nicely matched her scales. Grinning at the look on his face, Tai interrupted his obvious question with one of her own. "So, niola," she said, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, "What did you wish for?"

Unable to help himself, Vincent reached over and touched his lover's cheek, then brought his hand up to slowly run his fingers through her hair. He felt his pulse increasing - and then blushed as he realized she could too, since she'd returned that hand to the center of his chest. He was just overcome by... by how incredibly beautiful his sister was with long hair, just as he'd imagined. "Mmm?" she said, prodding him on a question he'd barely heard, "What's the matter, big brother? Was it something embarrassing? Were you wishing I'd play with your butt more often, perhaps?" he blushed and coughed, trying to calm his suddenly agitated nerves. "Uhhh... I wished..." The fox took a deep breath and settled himself before trying again, smiling gently. "I wished that our people had more interest in telling their own stories rather than just gathering ones from Outside," he said, "There's nothing wrong with that, and they have a lot of interesting things to say, but... I'd really like to have a voice of my own." She smiled at him and booped him on the nose. "I think I'd almost have preferred something pervy," she teased with a wink, before smiling a little more warmly, "But really, that's a very nice sentiment, niola, very noble. Very you." Grinning at her, playing her game and not mentioning the hair, he nodded back. "Thank you," he acknowledged, "What did you wish for, little sister?" Tai had clearly been expecting that, but she still seemed rather nervous, getting up into a kneeling position, reaching out and taking Vinnie's hand as he sat up to follow her. "Well, niola, I know sky-tails are good for making wishes, but that's not the... only thing people say about them," she said, "They're supposed to, um... provide blessings of luck and good fortune if you..." The lizard trailed off, obviously agitated, and Vinnie found he couldn't remember how that particular old wives tale ended. "Big brother," she finally said, "I need to tell you something."

Tai gave his hand a squeeze and took a deep breath. "Do you remember what I said the day you told me you'd realized how, um, 'beautiful and attractive' I was? Your words." Vincent nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. "Of course," he replied, evenly, "You said you'd seen me that way for years, and were glad to hear I'd 'finally opened my eyes'. Your words." She didn't return his smile, at least not in her eyes, where she still seemed stressed. She lowered her head, and Vinnie realized she was trembling. "Niola, I... I didn't tell you the whole truth. When I began to see you differently years ago, I didn't just notice that you were a very attractive person..." By now the skink was definitely shivering. "Oh, brother, you're - you're kind, and fair, and witty, and you have such passion for these dreams of yours of telling your own stories, where I haven't even figured out what it is in this world that I'm good at," she said, closing her other hand over the back of his, clasping it tight like a beloved family heirloom or sacred artifact. When she looked up, Vincent was genuinely taken aback. "Niara..." he whispered, "you're crying." When he reached forward with his other hand, she shook her head, her new hair swaying gently as tears flicked off. "No! Wait! I - I have to say this or I'll never get the courage again!" she insisted, leaning away. When the fox reluctantly lowered his hand, Tai swallowed and kept going. "I - I don't know when it happened, I don't even know if it was before or after we started having sex," she said, "but it was only in the last couple of weeks that I became certain." She tensed up and made a noise very much like a poorly-suppressed whimper. "Niara, are you alright?" he asked, "You're worrying me now! What is it? What did you realize?" She finally met his gaze again, and he was surprised by the look of her beautiful eyes, which were shockingly clear despite the tears running down her cheeks and tracing patterns between her scales. "Ohhhh, niola, my niola..." she whispered, quiet words that were deafening against the sudden silence of the night forest, words that would forever afterwards be etched into her brother's memory, "...I've fallen in love with you."

Vincent sat there, staring at her, for a moment. His brain was still working just fine, he wasn't in shock or dazed, it was simply as if absolutely every last thought in his mind had fallen silent from the sheer magnitude of Tai's revelation. She sniffed, giggling at the look on his face, and wiped her cheek. "Well, you didn't run away screaming, I was kinda worried that might happen, so this is a good start," she said, surprisingly calmly, "Oh, my beautiful brother, these are tears of joy, I - I can't believe I finally got to say the words. And now that I have, if we become a couple, it will be blessed by the stars themselves!" Finally, Vinnie's mouth began to move, and he seemed surprised by the sound, as if he hadn't even noticed it happening. "...Confessions of love," he whispered, "Sky-tails are a good omen for confessions of love. I remember now." Vincent suddenly understood that he'd been wrong earlier, as they began having sex. He could see now that Tai had been planning to confess already, regardless of stellar phenomena; this was what tonight had been building to all along. He blinked, and Tai was suddenly in his face, sitting on his lap. He was completely spent, but he still suddenly felt nervous and agitated about her being so close. As he started shivering, overwhelmed with emotions, she reached up and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes as if she could read his entire soul's story. "I love you, niola," she whispered, "My God, it feels so good to say that... I love you as my big brother, and I love you as the Mokaji I want to - to become my mate." His vulpine ears flat against his head, Vinnie's eyes widened. "Your - your mate?" he asked, stupidly, "But I'm - but you're..." She placed a finger on his lips, nodding. "I know, my love, I know. We're blood siblings," she acknowledged, "It's... unusual, I'll admit that, and we would probably get some unfair judgements from... from the same kind of people who would mock our mother for only having one gender. But our race is ancient and wise, and we know things that the Outside world does not, we could take steps to... to protect any children we might have against the perils that come with love between kin." Okay, now Vincent was light-headed and dazed. "Children?" he repeated, his voice unusually high-pitched. Seeing his agitation, Tai began to stroke his cheek. "Don't worry about that right now, I'm sorry for mentioning it," she said, quickly, "I just wanted you to know that I'm serious about this, that I'm serious about the idea of having a future with you... oh, niola, don't you see? You're my ji'ren-re, you always have been!" The word was Mokaj for 'beloved', at least when it applied to a couple of their current configuration, and it was not something that was used lightly. If Tai was willing to use the J-word, then she was absolutely convinced her feelings were real. Vincent reached out behind himself and braced his arms against the blanket, suddenly afraid he was going to faint.

"Ohhh... oh, niara, are you listening to yourself?" he asked, trying to force himself to look anywhere except into those soft, beautiful eyes, "How can you talk about - about us having a serious future?" He suddenly remembered, with perfect clarity, that she'd called him 'my love' while they were wrapped up in the sleeping bag, and he hadn't picked up on it because he'd been on the brink of orgasm. So many little comments she'd made in the last few weeks suddenly seemed totally different with this new information. Even the way she'd said 'I'm yours' while they were in the midst of passion had been a reference to a very old traditional Mokaji expression of deepest devotion; 'My heart is yours, to do with as you will. Within and without, whatever my face, I'm yours.' The look in her eyes was strong and confident, like there wasn't a hint of doubt in her mind. "I can say these things, ji'ren-re, because they're true," she replied, calmly and smoothly, "I love you, and you know what? I believe you love me too." Vinnie had thought his mind couldn't be any more boggled than it already had been. He was wrong. "What?!" he gasped, somewhat put off by the way that only made her gentle smile widen. She reached out and put a hand back on his heart. "I've been watching you very carefully since I accepted the truth, niola, since I stopped denying that the man I loved was my own brother," she said, "And I think that you're where I was when we first started making love. I believe that you have romantic feelings for me, and you haven't even realized it yet." Vincent wanted to snarl that that was a stupid idea, that it was impossible, but before he could respond in any way, she took one of his hands and placed it on her own chest, just above her cleavage, so that he could clearly feel her heart beating. He swallowed, his outrage extinguished, as he realized that hers was beating exactly as fast as his. Logically, he knew that plenty of things could cause the same heart rate, like fear or excitement or exercise, but in the moment, under the gaze of those soulful eyes and that gentle smile...

"I can see it in the way you light up when you first see me walk into a room, or the way you enjoy snuggling after sex so much. Hell, whenever you smile at me, niola, I can see it in your eyes, you've told me yourself that when we're together, all your stress melts away." Vincent blinked at that, taken aback. "I..." he trailed off, not sure what to say to that. He wanted to deny it, but of course she was right, he did feel really good whenever they spent time together. "...N-no, that's - that's just how every couple that sleeps together feels, it doesn't mean we're in love," he insisted, "Maybe you're just, uh, reading too much into it." Tai tilted her head to the side, and Vinnie watched intently as her hair spilled off that shoulder, and then flinched, telling himself that this was not the time to admire his sister that way. "Are you sure, brother?" she asked, confidently, "Because I'm the only person you've ever slept with, remember? And it seems to me that most of the casual sex I've heard of, even between people who do it regularly, is all about getting each other's rocks off. We go to bed, I come, you come, we lie there long enough for the adrenaline and afterglow to wear off, and then it's pants on, thank you very much, back out into the world to do whatever." She began to scruff her fingers through the fur on his chest. He didn't want to admit how good it felt. "We, on the other hand, take some time to touch and tease each other, all kinds of foreplay to get each other nice and worked up, and then we cuddle and smooch for ages afterwards," she said, smiling, "How many nights have we fallen asleep in each other's arms already, niola? How many mornings have I been the first thing you've seen when you woke up? You even keep giving me that cheesy line about how your best days are 'bookended' with us in bed. Oh, ji'ren-re, just stop panicking about what other people would think, stop worrying over what it could mean for the future, and listen to your heart. You're in love with me, and on some level, I think you've known that for a while now."

Vincent felt his ears lowering again, but he was way beyond the point of being self-conscious about his body language at the moment. With every word she spoke, every point she made, he was shivering harder and harder, his heart beating louder and louder. She was so confident, so compelling, and everything she'd said had been completely true. Could... could he really have fallen in love with his own sister? Had it started when they'd started sleeping together, or had he felt this connection with her before that? His head swimming with conflicting thoughts and emotions, he closed his eyes and turned his face away from her. "Oh... oh, God..." he whimpered, unaware that it was out loud. Tai leaned in closer and hugged him tight, stroking his cheek and whispering to him soothingly. "Shhhh, it's okay, niola, it's okay..." she breathed, "Don't fight it, don't be afraid, just listen to your heart, not your fears, and everything will be alright. I'm here for you, big brother, and I always will be, I promise." Against his better judgement (or at least what he thought was his better judgement, he was even confused about that at this point), he opened his eyes and looked at her again, feeling tears running down his cheeks. "N-niara, I... I'm afraid," he whispered, "Afraid of what it would be like for us if I... if we..." He shook his head, unable to even say the words. Nodding understandingly, Tai kissed his cheek. "It's okay. I know, it's a lot to take in, and I'm sorry that I kind of ambushed you with it," she said, "But now it's out there, we can both face the truth, and we'll be better off for it." She nodded in the direction of the tent. "It's late, niola, don't try to work it all through right away, it took me days, just sleep on it, face it with a clearer mind and a calmer heart tomorrow, no pressure. It's like I said, everything will be okay." The siblings stood up, and after gathering the blanket and the lantern, they returned to the tent, where the heat and at least some of the scent of sex had faded away. Closing themselves in again, they retired for the night into the same sleeping bag where they'd made love, spooned together in a surprisingly comfortable position. Tai let her head rest on her brother's chest and fell asleep quickly, a peaceful expression on her face as she listened to the fox's heart beating and wondered if it was beating for her. But Vincent lay there, staring blindly into the dark for a long, long time before sleep finally claimed him, an insane, reckless plan beginning to piece itself together in his mind.

* * *

Years later, Vinnie let out a deep sigh, shaking his head at the memory. "The next day, we hiked back home, and before Tai could get me alone again, I..." he took a deep breath, shame evident in his tone, "I packed some bags, wrote a letter to our parents, some screed about wanting to explore the Outside world, and I just left. I hated myself for doing it, knew it would hurt her so badly... but I did it anyway. It wasn't entirely out of cowardice, I mean I knew I should have confronted her, but I thought at least if I was out of the picture, she would be able to, I don't know, move on, I guess, and find a relationship with someone she should really love, even if she hated me forever." With that, he sighed again and finally raised his head, looking over at his roommate, who'd sat there silently listening to his entire tale. Vinnie was somewhat taken aback to find the dragon glaring at him, cheeks burning with embarrassment. After a moment, when it was clear that he was done, Andrew cleared his throat and raised a single finger. "Okay, one... TMI, dude. Waaaaay too much information," he said, shaking his head, "I could have done without all that... detail." Vincent's white ears slapped down against his skull, his cheeks erupting with a powerful blush as he realized exactly how much he had said in his distracted reverie. As he self-consciously adjusted his pants, he averted his eyes, trying not to whimper. Andrew raised a second finger. "And two... I didn't realize it was that strong, I thought she just had a weird crush on you, or she was just a perv or something... I didn't realize she was trying to get into your heart, not your pants." The komodo gave Vinnie a look he couldn't read. "But there's a detail you seem to be deliberately ignoring, Vinnie. A rather important one." After a moment, Vinnie frowned. "Are you going to make me ask? Or were you hoping I'd guess?" he snarked, crossing his arms. Andrew didn't take the bait, and continued looking at him totally seriously. "When she told you she was in love with you, you didn't tell her she was crazy, or that it was impossible. When she suggested you were in love with her, you didn't outright tell her you weren't, and when she gave you time to think things over, you ran away. Hell, when she tracked you down years later and tried to pick things up where you left off, you still didn't tell her you didn't love her, you just complained about her constant attempts to get you to admit it!" Vincent was rather taken aback by that. Not as taken aback as when Tai had dropped the L-bomb outside that little tent, of course, but pretty shocked all the same. Andrew was right, that had never occurred to him before, like he'd been trying not to think about it." "Should." Vinnie looked up again, frowning slightly in confusion. As one-word-sentences go, this one wasn't very clear. "Excuse me?" he asked, warily. Andrew gestured to him. "Just now, you said that when you left, 'I hoped Tai would be able to find a relationship with someone she should really love.' Should, not could, Vinnie." Blushing again, feeling rather on the spot, the arctic fox crossed his arms. "What's the difference?" he asked, trying not to whine. "The difference," replied Andrew, "is that if you said you wanted her to find someone she could really love, it would mean you don't love her, and don't think her love for you is real. You said someone she should really love, which suggests - suggests! - that you think she really does love you romantically, but it would be a bad idea for you two to be a couple."

Vincent bit his lip and looked away. "I... I don't know," he finally said, "Honestly, I hoped I'd never have to think about it again after I left, I thought if I ever saw her again, she'd punch me in the face for what I did. Shit, when I saw her at the door here for the first time, I kinda thought she was here to kill me or something." "Vinnie, she literally leaped into your arms and said 'I missed you so much, big brother'," pointed out Andrew, deadpan, "The only way it could have been any more obvious she still liked you at least is if she'd been wearing a Japanese schoolgirl outfit and called you 'senpai'." Vinnie made a face at him before he continued. "...Andrew, the truth is, I - she made a lot of really good points, and I - I don't know whether or not I'm in love with her." He didn't dare look over at his roommate, but he still flinched as he heard a deep, heavy sigh, knowing that Andrew wasn't a big fan of the idea of two siblings fooling around. Hastily going on, aware that he sounded defensive, Vinnie rubbed the back of his neck. "B-but even if I was, it's been years since I've even seen her," he pointed out, "and now she's just suddenly jumped back into my life, and I'm even less sure how I feel." "It's not like she's currently interrupting anything," Andrew dryly pointed out, "You haven't been dating anyone in months." Looking back over at him, exasperated, the fox raised his arms in frustration. "Man, whose side are you even on?" he asked, "It almost sounds like you want me to hook up with my sister!" The dragon leaned back in his chair and regarded the other male. "What I want is to untangle this mess so my apartment doesn't turn into an emotional minefield," he said, as Vinnie made a mental note to steal that metaphor for his writing, "Doing that means figuring out what the two of you want first." Vinnie didn't say anything, embarrassed at how reasonable that sounded.

As Vinnie looked down at his feet, his snow-white fur contrasted nicely against the dark carpet, he saw Andrew lift a hand to the back of his own neck from the corner of his eye, and a movement he thought was a shrug. "I gotta admit, this whole situation is pretty weird to me, and under normal circumstances, I would never even consider advocating brother-sister incest, but..." The komodo sighed, and reluctantly finished his thought, saying "But then, I didn't grow up with all your... shapeshifty nonsense, so I don't have your cultural background, where it's more accepted." There was silence until the Mokaji looked up, and Vincent realized Andrew had been waiting for eye contact. "Look, Vinnie... the truth is, it's pretty simple. Either you're in love with Tai, or you're not," he said, raising a hand before the fox could complain, "I know, I know, it's really hard to work through, but the fact of the matter is, you need to finally decide which one it is. You literally ran away from that decision back in your homeland, and you can't exactly just bail on your life here, can you? No one else can make that decision for you, not me, not Tai - no matter how much she'd like to think she can... nobody. You need to figure out, once and for all, how you feel about her, and just tell her." Vincent nodded slowly and sighed again. "...You're right. I suppose I've known that all along..." he said, barely audible, "I guess I just need some time to really think things through, work out where I stand." A moment passed, and then, "Thank you, Andrew. For hearing me out and offering advice and all, you're a good friend. I'd buy you a beer, but - well, you know." Andrew grinned at him and nodded. "Ohh, don't thank me yet," he said, "I'm writing a thesis on you two." As the dragon got up and walked away, Vincent made a face at his back. "Oh, har dee har har," he said, shaking his head, "Reeeeeal funny, dude, hilarious joke there... That was a joke, wasn't it? Andrew? Andrew?" As he got up and went after his friend, there was much laughing in the apartment, and Vinnie felt normal again for the first time all day.

Several hours later, Andrew sat on the couch, reading a book, on the very spot where Vinnie had been sweating it out earlier. The white fox himself had stepped out to get some takeout for dinner, so Andrew didn't look up as the door opened. "Have any trouble with traffic?" he asked, wanting to finish the page. Across the room, Tai smiled mischievously and strode confidently towards her brother's roommate, her body shifting and altering as she went. "No, not at all, Andy, thank you for asking," she said pleasantly, as the komodo looked up in surprise... to see a lizard covered in rough scales with a multitude of extremely fine spines covering her throat and a long, thick tail whipping back and forth behind her. "Tai?" asked Andrew, somewhat unnecessarily. He knew it was her, it was the same voice and all, it was just jarring to see such a complete overhaul of a person's appearance; since he'd known Vinnie, his friend had mostly restricted the Change to little things like the colour of his fur, aside from the occasional bout of silliness. To Andrew's surprise, Tai walked right up to him and sat down in his lap, draping her arms around his neck. "You recognized me, even with all this!" she said, delightedly, "I knew you would, you're very clever, Andy." She gave him a very warm grin and tilted her head to the side as he carefully put down his book, which had been pushed aside. "Uhh, thank you for saying so, but would you do me a favour and not call me Andy?" he asked. She ignored him and breathed in deep, making the spines along her neck swell slightly. "I'm thinking about being a bearded dragon for a while," she said, casually ignoring his request, "You're a real reptile, what do you think, how do I look?" Just in case sitting in his lap hadn't been blatant enough, she literally batted her eyes at him. Clearing his throat, Andrew resisted the urge to push her away and gave her a suspicious look. "You look fine, Tai," he said, diplomatically, "just like the real thing." He'd never actually met a bearded dragon, but he didn't really want to get into an extended conversation at the moment. "That's good..." she said, before leaning in just a little closer and whispering "Do you like it, Andy? I did it just for you." Before he could respond to that, she nodded in the direction of the hallway. "What do you say we go to your room so you can make a more... complete inspection, hmm?" she asked, teasingly, "Make sure I got all the little details right." As she giggled, Andrew frowned at her. "Tai, get off me," he said, flatly. She just laughed a little louder and coyly covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh my, that's a very forward request, Mister Andy," she giggled, as he sighed loudly and rolled his eyes.

Finally, Andrew just reached up and closed his hands around her wrists, gently pulling them away from his neck. "Come on, Tai, you're obviously just doing this to try and make your brother jealous," he said, calmly, which made her pout, "You've shown zero interest in getting in my pants before about one minute ago." Frowning at him, Tai huffed, which briefly made her beard of spines inflate. "It's not just that!" she insisted, defensively, "I... I haven't been able to figure out which way you swing, and it's driving me crazy!" Andrew was a little taken aback by this, and gave her another weird look. "The moment the direction of my swing becomes your problem, I promise I'll let you know," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words, before his eyes widened slightly and he grinned, adding "Wait a second, you're trying to find out if Vinnie and I have fooled around!" Abruptly squirming out of his grasp - he swore her wrists suddenly became thinner - Tai leaned forward and hugged him tight, pressing her soft breasts against his chest and cupping the back of his neck like she planned to kiss him passionately. "Let's not talk about my big stupid brother right now, baby," she said, ignoring his previous statements, "Come on, Andy, aren't you at least a little bit... Tai-curious? Sex with a shapeshifter can be mindblowing." Unmoved by her unsubtle attempts to tempt him, he glanced down at her neck before he spoke again. "Seriously, Tai... you tried to seduce me with a bearded dragon?" he asked, making her giggle again. "I figured you'd go for the dragon," she said, "But I wasn't sure if the beard would be a dealbreaker for you... is it?" He sighed exaggeratedly and gave her an exhausted look, trying not to smile. Her capacity for self-amusement was weirdly endearing, not that he'd tell her that. "Heh... no comment," he said, "Look, I'll tell you what, you look great, I admit it, you make a really good-looking reptile, there, you happy?" She stopped smiling, a look of intense interest on her face. "Buuuut would you fuck me?" she asked, persistently, "Because if you wouldn't, I can just step into the bathroom for about five minutes and -"

At that moment, the door to the apartment swung open again and Vinnie walked inside, laden with Chinese takeout. Tai, still straddling Andrew's lap and holding him close, gasped theatrically upon seeing him. "Niola!" she cried, leaping off of the komodo as though he'd suddenly turned freezing cold, "I - I didn't know you were coming home so early!" As she crossed the apartment to the counter where he was unloading the bags, looking at her impassively, Tai was smoothly Changing herself again, fur in brilliant orange and shadowy black bursting forth between her scales as they shrank away, her tail slimming down to a long, ropey feline limb, and her head restructuring itself so completely that Andrew considered himself lucky not to be looking at her face at the time. "Heya Tai," Vinnie said evenly, not sounding especially perturbed, "I was hoping you'd be back, got you some of that shrimp-fried rice you liked last time." Tai stood there, scrutinizing her brother carefully as she completed Changing back into a tigress. "So, dinner then?" she asked, "Nothing else you want to talk about? No secret worries or paranoid thoughts, perhaps?" Pausing as he unpacked a plastic carton of chicken and vegetables, Vinnie thoughtfully tapped one finger against his chin for effect, switching after a moment to stroking the short goatee-like tuft of fur he kept there for just such occasions. "Hmmm... Nope, I think I'm good," he said, "Well, I was kinda worried that the homeless dude on the corner of Eighth was going to bite me, but he loves to shout about things like government mind control and the spirits of superstition and all that -" Across the room, finally standing up from the couch, Andrew helpfully chimed in. "The demons of superstition," he said, cheerily. Vinnie nodded at him. "Right, demons. Anyway, he loves to shout about all kinds of crazy nonsense," he said, "So I wouldn't classify being afraid of him as paranoid." Pouting, Tai crossed her arms, her ears lowering towards her head in frustration. "Come onnnn," she persisted, "you're not the least bit worried I might be having a torrid affair with Andy right under your unsuspecting nose?" Vinnie finally failed to hide his smile. "Not really," he deadpanned, "You're not exactly his type. Hey, 'torrid' is a pretty good word, though, nice choice." Tai frowned even harder for a moment before her eyes widened excitedly. "Wait! Am I not his type because he's, you know, a great big rump rumbler?" she asked, leaning forward, whiskers twitching intently. To her dismay, Vinnie shrugged noncommittally. "Sorry, niara, I've been sworn to secrecy," he said, nodding towards his roommate, "Said he finds it much too funny to let me spoil the game." As Tai pouted again, Andrew gathered up some of the plastic dishes and grinned at them. "Better luck next time, kitty, you'll just have to wait until I come home from a bar totally shitfaced with some tender young thing on my arm so you can see who it is," he said, "Now if you don't mind, I'll be eating in my room, I believe the two of you have some serious talking to do -" here he shot a pointed glance Vinnie's way - "So I'll leave you to it and avoid being the third wheel... or an excuse to put it off. Later." The shapeshifters watched the komodo walk back to his room, and then Tai turned to her brother curiously. "I've been poking around all week, but I only asked him about it for the first time like ten minutes ago, before you got home," she said, "How did he know I was trying to find out which way he swings with enough time to swear you to secrecy?" Vinnie smiled softly. "Psych major, sister, psych major." A moment passed and then Vinnie looked at the tigress sideways as they carried the remaining dishes to the table. "You know he's a teetotaller, right?" he asked, curiously, "Never drinks, much less gets hammered and brings one-night-stands home." As she sat down, Tai regarded her brother with a look of exasperation on her face. "Wait, what? Dammit!" she said, "I thought he was serious!"

A few awkward moments passed in silence as they portioned their food out onto their plates, and then Tai spoke up, poking at a shrimp peeking out of the rice with the end of her fork. "You know, the only reason I tried this stuff last time is because you said it was one of your favourites," she said, a small smile on her face. Vinnie grinned at her. "I could kinda tell," he replied, "I'm glad we have that in common." After a moment, he looked down at the plate and sighed. "Look, Tai, I'm sorry about getting angry last night, but I - this needs to be said," the fox began, "it's really good to see you again after all this time, it really is. But even for our kind, even with history, it's kind of bad form to just jump into someone's bed after a gap like that, don't you think?" Tai let out a sigh of her own and nodded reluctantly, ears slowly lowering towards the back of her head. "I suppose so..." she muttered, "I guess I'd just been missing you for so long that I hoped you'd, like... seen the error of your ways, you know? And that we could just pick up where we left off." When she looked up, she found Vincent with his ears down in respect, shaking his head sadly. "We aren't exactly where we left off, though, niara..." he said, pausing a moment before adding "...And I'm sorry for that." He popped a wonton into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully for a moment before he reached out and placed his hand atop his sister's. Tai blushed immediately, looking at him uncertainly, clearly wanting to interpret it one way but afraid to hope for it. "I've never admitted it before, but I was afraid, Tai. That's why I left," he whispered, a tinge of shame to his words, "I was afraid because you were in love with me, and because I was worried that you were right and that I... had feelings for you." The tigress' lips parted into an O of surprise, and her bright blue eyes darted back and forth between his, as if looking for a hint of cruel deception. "I was afraid of the idea of wanting to be with you," he continued, "Afraid of how the world would judge us, how our family would judge us, if we became mates. Oh, my sweet, beautiful little sister, I can never apologize enough for just running away instead of facing it like a real man... instead of coming to you with my fears. But I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

Putting down her fork, Tai reached over and sandwiched her brother's hand between both of hers. "It took a lot of courage for you to say that, niola," she whispered, "And I have to admit, it hurt me so badly when you left, there were nights at first when I thought I hated you, when I wished you'd never been born... but in time I realized you would never do something like that to me out of callousness, that it must have been something else that drove you away... so I - I forgive you, brother." She leaned in close to him, and though Vincent tensed up with worry, Tai just kissed him chastely on the cheek, not at all unlike the way he'd seen some especially close family members behave since coming Outside. When she leaned back in her seat, Tai pulled her hands away, holding them close to her chest, her tail flicking nervously. "Vincent, I'm sorry, but I have to ask, I can't not ask..." she said, "how do you feel about me now?" As his tail did its level best to tuck itself between his legs while he was still sitting down, Vinnie swallowed a whimper. "I... I don't know, sister, I've deliberately been ignoring that question ever since I left," he admitted, "But no longer. I'm going to work out how I feel about you, I swear, and you're going to be the first one to find out when I do. But, ah, until then, would you please do me a favour and not surprise me in bed anymore?" Tai giggled at that, seeming a bit more relaxed. "Alright, alright, since you were all polite about it and stuff," she begrudgingly replied, "I'll stop trying to get into your pants." After a moment's thought, she grinned and added "But I'm not going to stop trying to win you over... big brother."

With that, the conversation turned to relatively lighter fare, with Tai discussing what she'd learned while looking up pop culture at the library and Vincent talking about an upcoming article he'd been writing for Modern Canid magazine. When Tai finished, she gave her brother's hand a squeeze and brought her dishes to the sink, then headed off to the bathroom, seeming about a hundred times cheerier than she had the last time Vincent watched her leave. Coincidentally, Andrew happened to be coming out of his bedroom at that point, carrying his own plastic dishes to the garbage. As soon as Tai closed the door behind herself, though, the dragon sat down next to Vincent, who was finishing his Szechuan chicken, and leaned in conspiratorially. "So, did you tell her?" he asked, his eyes burning with interest almost as brightly as Tai's had when she was questioning her brother on the komodo's orientation. Swallowing his latest bite, Vinnie tilted his head to the side slightly before answering. "I told her that I was going to be honest with myself and figure out how I feel about her," he responded, carefully, "Is that what you meant?" Andrew stroked his chin, though unlike Vinnie's earlier display, he was legitimately pondering the situation. "Hmmm... I'm not sure I like the idea of dragging this situation out, Vinnie," the reptile said, idly scratching a loose scale off, "Things are already awkward without you telling her there's a chance." Looking up at his friend, Vincent sighed. "Well, that's the idea, isn't it?" he muttered, "I'm gonna make things less awkward around here... I'm gonna make it right." Seemingly satisfied with this, the dragon stood up and disposed of his trash, pausing in the hallway before heading back to his room. "For what it's worth," Andrew said, "Just as long as you do the right thing, I think everything will be okay." The arctic fox didn't respond, and Andrew disappeared back into his room. As Tai washed up in the bathroom, Vinnie took advantage of these last few moments alone to put his arms up on the table and rest his face on his forearms, muttering to himself as he shook his head worriedly. "I think I'll settle for things not going horribly..."