All sentient creatures in this story are over 18 years old.
*****
Priesterly drained the dregs of the Rat.Pac protein pod. Stakeout, on the edge of the Western Protectorate. Westerly had just dropped into his sleep shift, following the end of morning-twilight joint-observation hours. He had sent the morning report to Command before turning in for his 4 hours of rest: "No activity observed." The two days and nights since their posting had been uneventful.
The morning mist had mostly cleared, vague traces clinging to the damp recesses of the soggy rainforest. Frequency of full cloud envelopment had been on the rise in this sector recently; that was why they were here on surveillance detail, alert to any evidence to back claims of sightings and even whispered rumors of direct encounters.
Priesterly slowly rose, legs tense after long hours of stillness. The hairs on the young Trooper's neck suddenly stiffened, something almost inaudible slightly sounded from behind. Smooth swivel, stunner raising automatically to hip level.
{be still little-one}
Priesterly paused. The voice soft and rich, arising from within, brought a calm, disarming the Trooper, now face to face with the answer to that question. Now it was just a matter of surviving to make the report.
***
Rhai'ni followed the swiftly shifting mist, doing her best to keep up with the fast moving troop. She was still young and curiously engaged in the world, especially distracted by the new feelings that had been arising in the presence of the males of the troop, with their growing awareness of her imminent mating readiness. Distracted as she was she had fallen behind, briefly enchanted by a large swarm of butterflies hovering over a small clearing of wildflowers.
She moved in a fluid, leisurely momentum thru the lush greenery, water droplets glistening along her smooth thick pelt. She felt for the presence of the others, further upslope, deep in the dense mist. She felt the tug of their bond pulling her in their direction. With her attention projected far ahead she had failed to notice the little-one nestled among the ferns at the edge of the small thicket she approached until it rose.
She'd never seen one this close before; the troop took care to maintain a discrete presence far from their dwellings and would drift into obscurity if they encountered them in the wilds. But elders were so much better at maintaining vigilance for the group, and as she attuned she felt that the troop had not passed this spot directly but had arced around it; perhaps they had sensed the little-one's presence. Rhai'ni had followed a straight line toward their current location in her haste to rejoin them.
Now her inertia brought her almost into direct contact, halting just short of tumbling the little-one over in her passing, hands braced on the forest floor. If she'd had her wits about her more she might have shifted her path and imperceptibly drifted by the position. Now she stood still in surprise as the little-one turned in her direction and they gazed into each others eyes for the first time.
{be still little-one}
Rhai'ni attuned to its consciousness, ensuring it there was no danger; she had felt flickers of fright among the open wonder the little-one emanated. She felt a keen interest in this creature, an opportunity to discover something rare and somewhat forbidden. Elders had often counseled her on being headstrong and impulsive, urging discretion in her impetuous nature. Life was so full of possibility it was hard for her to pass up the allure of a fresh experience.
***
The two gazed at each other across the small clearing, absolutely still. A swarm of butterflies fluttered along its edge. The low sun sparkled thru thousands of miniature liquid prisms. The hush of the forest was heavy around them.
Rhai'ni could smell that this little-one was female before she discerned it clearly from the form concealed within the strange covering. It was said the little ones had lost their pelts as they wrestled with the fire spirit, the cost of holding it in submission; she was curious to discover the truth.
Priesterly was stunned, gazing upon the massive form of the sasquatch; she'd always considered their existence unlikely, now it was undeniable. As was the intelligence sparkling in the creatures eyes. And that voice in her head, echoing still, tender. She registered the strong, musky scent wafting around her, slightly sweet, evocative. A hand extended, tentatively reaching toward her across the narrow space.
Rhai'ni wanted to touch the little-one, knowing that the elders would disapprove; they were ever so concerned about maintaining discretion. But she knew she might not have an opportunity like this again, so she followed her impulse and gingerly reached out to stroke its hairless face.
Priesterly barely contained her excitement as the soft finger gently caressed her cheek and trailed across her lips. The size and velvety texture vaguely reminded her of a rigid male member, tho by far larger than any she had yet experienced. The odor was similarly heady, pheromonal. She felt a desire to submit, to surrender to this creature's exploratory touch.
{open to me little-one}
Priesterly complied, her lips and teeth parting to allow the thick digit to enter, softly probing. She felt a chill run thru her, a damp heat awaken in her crotch. Her tongue smoothed along the underside, her lips pursed, and a small moan escaped her as she began to suckle.
Rhai'ni was amused that the little-one responded like a newborn to a teat, perhaps it was a juvenile. She didn't find this one so threatening as the elders warned the little-ones might be. She waggled the tip of her finger slightly and the suckling became more eager. The little-one's breathing was coming faster and it's feminine aroma blossomed more fully, reminiscent of the heat-scent emitted by the mature females in their mating readiness, which she herself was verging on.
Priesterly was melting, molten. 'Molting,' she thought, 'shedding.' She was feeling stifled and sweaty inside her tacis. Her left hand loosened its grip on the stunner, letting it swing down alongside her leg; she reached for the zip at the base of her throat and togged open the front of the parka, relishing the cool air against the flushed damp skin of her chest.
Rhai'ni was delighted to see the bare skin, confirming the tales. She was surprised by the twin swellings of the little-one's chest, slightly larger than any she had seen on the nursing mothers of the troop. She must have a young one then; perhaps she would get to witness it nursing, as this little-one did now. She eased her finger from the hungry mouth, dragging the tip gently down along the exposed throat to curve around one of the swellings, slightly lifting it from the underside, feeling its weight drop as she moved to the small tight point at its center.
Priesterly quietly protested the withdrawal of the digit from her mouth but acquiesced as the moistened tip slid along her warm, bare skin to her left breast. When it came to rest on her hard jutting nip, flicking up and down softly, she felt an almost orgasmic rush. Thru the haze of serenity and arousal, her ego rebuked her acting like a horny teen rather than a trained warrior; shouldn't she be doing something other than allowing this creature to gently molest her?
Rhai'ni attuned outwardly while lazily toying with the stiff, tiny teat, sensing for the little-one's young, eager to watch it feed. Yes, there was another, barely perceptible, huddled asleep on the ground nearby. As her sensing deepened she was confused; the other felt more like a mature male than an infant, she teased out the thread of its scent, subtle behind the stronger reek of the female's increasing heat-scent. Perhaps this was her mate and her offspring was elsewhere, that might explain why her teats were so swollen. She was now excited by the prospect of watching the little-ones mate.
Priesterly experienced the play of conflicting thoughts and emotions. The sensations coursing thru her body from the creature's slight touches we're almost overwhelming. Her sense of duty was sounding somewhere in the background. Shouldn't she alert Westerly? They had been issued formal rules of engagement, for subduing and apprehending a specimen, tho the potential of actual engagement had seemed dubious; none of the rules offered a protocol for what she was experiencing presently.
Rhai'ni trailed her fingertip down the little-one's belly, toward the source of her heat scent, encountering another covering circled by a variety of ritual items suspended around its waist. She was curious about theses objects the little-ones clung to, their tendency of material acquisition. Like the body covering, it was an aspect of the little-ones she deemed highly peculiar. But for now they were concealing her primary interest.
