This is a short work of erotic fiction containing furry, or anthropomorphic, characters, which are animals that either demonstrate human intelligence or walk on two legs, for the purposes of these tales. It is a thriving and growing fandom in which creators are prevalent in art and writing especially.
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Loving a Unicorn
Heartbeat Passage
Chapter Four
"Are you sure this is okay?" Christian asked, peering around the birch tree with silver, peeling bark.
Keeping his distance, he followed Celeste with slow, careful footsteps as if afraid of where he was putting his feet. Everywhere he tread seemed to be covered in pristine moss and wildflowers, their colours so vibrant that he felt an imposter simply walking through the grove. Brushing a hand through his roughed up hair, Christian made no attempt to avert his eyes from Celeste's behind, rippling with muscle as she strode confidently onwards. He only just whipped his gaze away in time when the unicorn turned, encouraging him with a little bob of her head.
"Nearly there."
She walked on, giving him no choice but to follow. It was not as if he didn't want to see Celeste's home - he was more curious than he cared to admit - but he half dreaded what the other unicorns would make of him. He would be walking in with their princess. He still wasn't sure he'd wrapped his head around that. Undoubtedly the herd would be as polite and friendly as Celeste, though he couldn't deny that it would be intimidating. At least she'd promised him that her parents were away for the time being, on royal business no doubt. He licked his lips nervously, wondering if they were meeting with the gryphons and their alpha, the memory of a few weekends ago.
Time passed so quickly with Celeste but he had other matters to concern himself with as they approached two unicorns in dun and black, coats gleaming even in the low light of oncoming evening. Christian winced, feet sore; it had been a long walk but it was understandable why the unicorns lived so far from civilisation. Although the pair of unicorns, who could have been guards, eyed Celeste, they dipped their heads to allow them passage.
Stepping between them, Christian tried not to stare. He had 'his' own unicorn to stare at, though considered himself more hers than she was his. She led him into a village composed of open shelters for socialising, formed from all natural materials with leaves for the roof - likely kept in place through magical means. At first he found it odd that they were all single storey abodes until he remembered that, of course, stairs would be more difficult for an equine to traverse. It was easy to forget that she walked on four legs.
As they moved further into the village, with plenty of space between large, roomy homes, unicorn after unicorn poked out curious muzzles, eyes bright and ears twitching. A human! Whatever next? He huddled into Celeste's side, trying to seem as small as possible and take in every unicorn in sight, the herd closing in. Eventually, it was impossible for Celeste to make further progress and she came to a halt, tail swishing over her hindquarters. It was all Christian could do to not watch it move over that beautiful rump.
The nearest unicorn, a darker silver-grey with a slice of pink on his nose, stretched out his head as if to touch Christian's arm. Green eyes warm, he whinnied a welcome, upper lip curling up from his teeth. Snorting, Celeste rested the tip of one hind hoof on the luscious grass, every inch the image of equine impatience. She had somewhere to be and they knew it too. Christian scratched her shoulder, pretending his palms weren't sweating like a waterfall.
Celeste nosed the other unicorn in greeting, appearing as familiar with him as she would be a brother. He, for what lay under his belly left little to the imagination, squealed and pranced like a colt, head thrown back as the herd shifted in response, one organism breathing as one.
"Quiet!" Celeste nickered, eyes dancing. "You will frighten this one if you crowd him!"
"What have you returned with this time, Celeste?" The stallion nickered, head bobbing as he "A pleasure to meet you, sir. What would your name be?"
"I'm Christian." Feeling oddly formal he planted his feet together and bowed - it was not as if he could shake the stallion's hoof. "A pleasure to meet you too..."
He let his last word hang in the air and the unicorn finished for him, head lifting higher.
"Diernon." He introduced himself. "I'm Celeste's cousin."
"Although your act denotes you as a ruffian rather than one in the royal line." Celeste quipped, a smile on her muzzle. "Alas, we must endure your presence, for you have some redeeming features."
He squealed, mock affronted by her comment. Even as he reared, the smile never left his eyes and Christian laughed along with the rippling nickers of the herd. Their laughter was as infectious as Celeste's.
Emboldened by Diernon, other members of the herd stepped forward to greet him, welcome on their lips, but Celeste stamped a hoof, shuffling them back. She shook her head, mane spilling to the other side of her neck, head arching around Christian as if to block him from view. There was nothing, however, that he required protection from and he craned his head around her, smiling at a younger, slimmer chestnut mare who could have only been born a year or two prior. It was good to see young life in an otherwise mature herd.
"Enough of this," Celeste said, hustling Christian along as the herd made a path for her, curiosity sated for the time being. "You shall meet Christian and speak as much as you desire. But that must wait for another time."
She made no further explanation as she nudged him in the small of his back, encouraging him on as his step faltered, eyes roaming. Perhaps a princess did not need to explain every word. Regardless, he had plenty to look at as they made their way through the village at a brisk pace, more open shelters for socialising and communal dining for feasts beckoning him in with lowered tables and slots within for fine food to be heaped, contained by what reminded him of a 'hay bar' for horses.
A larger dwelling with precious gems set into the white stone walls - magically enhanced, he could only suspect - lay ahead, the largest abode in the village. Set apart from other shelters, every colour of the rainbow glimmered in the walls, dragging Christian's attention from one glimmer to the next in swift succession. Christian looked up at the huge, wooden double doors permitting entrance, reaching out to Celeste for reassurance. The warmth of her coat never failed to slow the frantic pace of his heart and bring it to a new kind of beat.
Celeste brushed her nose against his cheek as they approached, tail lifted high.
"This is my home."
Opening the doors with magic, she led him through the private gardens of her family, full of flora that Christian had thought had died out many years ago in all the colours of the rainbow. There was no pause to admire as she smiled and guided him into the hallways, wooden floors and smooth walls ingrained with the memory of wood making him feel as if he was inside a tree itself. Indeed, living branches and roots curled from walls and floor, an essential part of the abode as nature thrived on unicorn life and unicorn life thrived on nature.
It was a beautiful companionship.
Taking him through the rooms in her home, she showed him a sliver of her world, for it would have taken many days for him to absorb everything. Eventually, he found himself herded up a slope with a gentle gradient to a private room with a bed set into the floor. Shivering, for it was Celeste's bedroom she had finally brought him to at the conclusion of their trek, he tried not to look at the bed for too long, instead sweeping his gaze around the tapestries layering the walls to depict scenes of unicorns. Her history? He was sure he would have the answer if he did but ask. Christian paused at the window, high enough to look out over the village in its entirety between the trees and, a little further afield, the sparkle of a lake stroked by sunset. He sighed. Was it so late already?
"Your home is lovely, Celeste," he said politely, hands clasped behind his back as if to push his chest out. "But surely we must be leaving once more? It is nearing nightfall and it will be quite a trek home."
He frowned, scratching his forearm. His fingernails rasped through a light coating of dark hair to match the mop atop his scalp.
"If you're tired, you don't have to walk me back either." He assured. "I'm sure I can find my way back through the forest." Christian chuckled. "I have my torch still."