Chapter Ii Sharing Heat

Quick Warning for readers who get queasy: this particular chapter contains a rather detailed scene of an animal being cut up for meat. I promise it's a quick scene that can be skipped if you prefer. And it is a non-sentient animal, so no depictions of any cannibalism or anything extreme like that. While this is a world of anthro characters, some animals will still be portrayed as feral, or non-sentient.

Sharing Heat

Snap!

The arrow broke as the cardinal had desperately tried to remove it from his shoulder.  To no avail, these wolf arrows were sturdy and dug deep.  Why wouldn't they be?  The birds' signature barbed arrowheads were a lupine invention.  They had been allies for so many years, and now they'd let that all be thrown away in the space of one bloody battle.

Orion remarked how his red feathers made it hard to tell he was even bleeding, but he felt it.  He had cuts, gashes... Blood in his eyes.  He moaned balefully as he stumbled through the snow, tripping over fallen wolf and avian alike.  His already struggling heart sunk as he came to the tragic sight of the two chiefs, permanently locked together in death, a spear in the wolf's gut, a sword through the eagle's heart.  Neither fell, they clung together in an eternal embrace.

Then Orion saw his friend.

The blue jay coughed blood as he too stumbled over the corpses of birds he grew up with.  He saw Orion through the cloudy haze of disorientation and allowed himself a single sad smile.  Justin fell into Orion's open arms and the two males embraced each other desperately to share body heat.

Justin only stirred after he felt wet tears on his cheek, "Don-don't cry, Orion.  We're both alive."

Orion clutched his dearest friend closer, "But for how long?"

...

"Orion!" Caryn cried out as she awoke from another nightmare.  The cardinal female sobbed hysterically as she realized her husband was still away.

Kali embraced her friend tightly, "Caryn, calm yourself.  It was only a dream."

Caryn shook her head, "My Orion, he's gone... He's dead, I can just feel it."

The jay bird rubbed her friend's shoulders desperately, "No, no.  You can't think that way.  My husband is gone too and if Orion died, then that means he died too.  Justin loves Orion as much as you and will always protect him for you, you know that.  We must believe that our husbands are alive and they're on their way home right now!  Please believe?  For me, Caryn?"  She sniffed as tears came to her eyes.

Caryn calmed down somewhat, "I believe.  Thank you, Kali."

Maureen laid beside her friends.  The pine marten cried silent tears herself, she too missed Justin.  It had been three weeks since the war tribe departed for the northern wolf pack.  No word had been sent about what happened, no messenger, no letter.  The marten jill rubbed her growing belly.  Her baby felt about ready to come out.  She looked to her side and there sat the eggs of her friends.

She prayed both to the avian goddess, Rhia and to her own mammalian god that the husbands would return so they could see their chicks hatch.

...

Meanwhile, in the late chieftain's hut, traitorous Nestor lay with his mate, his cousin, Vera following another of many lovemaking sessions they'd shared.

Vera let her mate preen her feathers as his seed warmed her belly.

The curtain to Nestor's room swung open and Feroz stepped in.

Nestor held his mate as he addressed his companion, "What is it, Feroz?"

The vulture gestured for the eagle to follow then stepped out before his friend could react.

Nestor shook his head, "I'll be right back, my dear."  He kissed her before getting up.

Feroz waited outside.

Nestor approached, understandably upset at being pulled from his woman's arms, "What was so important you'd drag me from my bride?"

The vulture gave a sly smile before presenting Nestor with a new chieftain's headdress that he had made for the new village chief.

Nestor held it, amused at the hero worship bestowed on him by the muted scavenger, "Ah, Feroz, a fine crown for a king."

The headdress had been crafted from the feathers of Nestor's ancestors, twined and glued with sap from the oldest tree in the forest, then decorated with luxurious golden baubles and gems.

The eagle's gratitude was soon overshadowed by a different emotion.  He held the smiling vulture's beak, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you hunger for your chief's cock, dear friend."

The vulture endured his friend's cutting words.  His eyes were always for Nestor, but Nestor had his own needs and the vulture remained a quiet onlooker for much of their years together.

Nestor could read the vulture's expressions, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Feroz unashamedly nuzzled his chief's broad chest; though the vulture was older than the eagle, he would be every bit the perfect lover if Nestor allowed it.

"On your knees then, and pay respect to your chief, Feroz." Nestor said, aroused already by the prospect of having another male submit, not to mention an older male like Feroz.

Feroz did kneel and began to lick his young master as the eagle's thick shaft slid from his genital slit.

Vera, meanwhile, watched from the doorway as her cousin/mate took the beak of an older male.  Her face remained unreadable as to what emotion she felt from watching their display.

...

Justin felt strange for the past few days.  First, he was cold and in pain, now he was warm and near a soft, supple body, one which he eagerly ground against in his sleep.  Images of his two lovely wives he left at home came into his horny bird brain and he furiously humped the being next to him.

His bedfellow turned in their sleep and held him.  Justin felt a beak against his own, and felt no breast, so he assumed this was Kali.  Half-awake by now, and fully erect at the prospect of breeding his wife, he climbed atop the slender bird and ground his shaft against his lover's warm slit.

Below him, awake, bewildered and fully aroused, lay Orion.  The cardinal had awakened the moment he felt his wounded friend press against him in such a husband way.  The bird quickly realized his sleeping friend was about to mate him.  Before he could wake Justin, the blue jay had already mounted his cardinal friend and Orion blushed as his friend's erection sank inside his slit, the cardinal's hardening shaft clashing with Justin's in the tight cock-sleeve.

Justin was mating his wife in his mind, not even noticing the glaring detail of his cock grinding against another male's tapered member.

And Orion let it happen.  The red bird didn't know how he and his friend had wound up here in this warm bed, in this cottage, all bandaged up but his friend was here; his best friend he'd always coveted in their youth but never had the courage to say so, especially when Justin had begun courting Kali. He loved his Caryn deeply, he wanted to be in her arms again, but he'd never have this opportunity again.

They were here now, his best friend, this brave warrior was in his arms now, making love to him and he, somewhat selfishly, didn't want this to stop.  The red bird put his feathered arms around his lover and preened Justin's shoulder while the blue bird did the same.  Their beaks met in the middle and the wounded warriors kissed.

Here was where Justin finally noticed something was amiss.  The beak he was kissing was a lot shorter than the narrow black beak of his Kali.  He then realized the appendage he'd been humping felt just like his own.

Orion held his male lover ever more tightly, now blissfully ignorant to Justin's waking.  The cardinal gripped his friend's firm buttocks then began to buck in time with the blue jay while their cocks ground together inside Orion's slit.

Justin shuddered and thrust hard against Orion as a climax drew near.

Both birds hit it together and Justin finally opened his eyes to see his friend in mid-orgasm.

The cardinal blushed both as his friend's seed flooded his genital slit and as he saw his best friend staring down at him.

Justin gulped before he felt the stickiness leaking out around his length.  He looked downward to see himself, buried to the hilt in his best friend's slit.  He looked at Orion, "Did we just..."

Orion laughed nervously, "We did..."  He touched beaks affectionately with his friend.

Before Justin could say more, cold wind blew inside this cottage as its front door swung open, forcing both birds to separate.

A slender creature in heavy winter clothes stomped inside, followed by two more creatures of varying height and build.

The first one disrobed in front of the fireplace, warming her nude body with no shame in front of her two avian guests.  She was an arctic vixen with the prettiest, sharpest blue eyes that reminded Justin of his wife.  The rest of her naked body drew his poor, horny birdbrain.  She had a perfect hourglass figure, perky tits, thick snowy white fur all over minus the black points on her ears, her paws and her tail.  He thought she had a nice rear to admire as well.

She turned to warm her bare hindquarters over the fire and finally saw the naked birds looking right at her.  She giggled and winked, "Good morning, dirty birdy."

Orion showed more tact than his horny friend, but was no less aroused by her display himself.

The vixen's two traveling companions disrobed as well, but not to her extreme.  The tallest of the trio revealed himself to be a handsome brown weasel with a fine build for one who lived in these wintry woods.  He had a playful smile that could melt a female's heart; some males too, which was just fine for him.  He stood beside his vixen friend as he warmed his bare chest, pretending not to notice her breasts within his field of view.

The brawniest of the trio lugged a heavy deer carcass into a small corner that served as kitchen and dining room for this cottage.  She dropped it on a table then dressed down to prepare the animal for cooking.  She was a mountain lion, with tawny fur, big yellow eyes with large black pupils, and big tits to go with her beautiful, brawny build.  She wasn't the overly muscular kind of female that almost looked too mannish, but a perfect balance of muscle and looks.

The vixen redressed and went over to help the lion while the weasel walked over to their guests.  The weasel sat on the bed with the two birds, "Well, it looks like my medical training has paid off, I was about to start digging a couple of fresh graves for you pair."

Justin smiled at the weasel, "Thank you... So you found us?"

The weasel chuckled, "Actually, it was Leona over there who found you."

The lioness acknowledged her companion with a friendly nod as she peeled the pelt off her fresh kill.

"She's our huntress, though Eve and I are reasonably good ourselves.  And I'm Carlyle.  I'm not country folk like my companions, but I couldn't imagine a life without these two."

The vixen, Eve, feigned blushing, "Oh, Carl, you're so sweet." as she held a bucket for the deer's entrails.

Leona carefully removed all the choicest organs from the big buck.

Eve gagged when the lioness had to squeeze out the deer's last meal into a separate bucket.

The lioness laughed, "Pretty foxy can't stand a little bit of a bad smell."

The vixen swallowed whatever was about to come back up and tried to combat the smell assaulting her nostrils.

Orion got out of bed, completely forgetting about his nudity to help the gagging vixen, "I'll take this for you."

Eve gladly let him take the bucket, then ran outside to wash her paws in the snow.

Justin stayed in bed to let Carlyle check his wounds.

The weasel was thorough and very talkative, "Are you birds fine with meat?  We're all carnivores in this house and we rarely have guests out here."

Justin grunted as Carl tightened the bandaging on his right arm, "We're fine with meat, we ate our fair share of fish and small mammals around our village back home.  Blue jays like myself and cardinals like my friend, we can eat anything as long as it tastes good." He chuckled, unconsciously leaning into the weasel's firm hands, "My wife makes a mean fish, I should show you when we get home."

Carlyle politely patted the affectionate bird on his cheek, "And I'll look forward to eating fish in your home, but now its winter, the roads are snowed out and it would be too dangerous to try to go back." He'd finished fixing the bandages on Justin's back, then moved on to administering a thorough massage to ease the bird's aching muscles, "You and your helpful friend are our welcome guests for the next weeks until the spring thaw, I'm afraid."

Justin sighed sadly, "We're supposed to be home right now.  Our wives are with egg, our chicks will hatch and we won't be there to hold them."  He turned to the kind weasel, "My name is Justin, by the way, and the momma's boy over there is Orion."

Orion stuck his beak up indignantly, "Oh, that one time I ran to Mom because you spilled my porridge!" he scoffed while helping Leona clean out the deer's digestive tract.  "Whew, and I thought rats stunk bad."

Leona laughed, "Everything is stinky when it dies, you'll be stinky, I'll be stinky, it's just nature."

Carlyle finished his massage, "And we're done, you can walk around now if you want, and you, Orion?"

The red bird looked up, his hands covered in the blood of the carcass, "Yes?"

Carl beckoned him over, "I'll need to look at you now."

Justin patted his friend's shoulder, "Go on, I'll be right here."  He took the cardinal's place in helping Leona.

Carl helped Orion back into bed so he could examine him.  He saw Eve as she came back inside, "Eve, will you come help me with our guest?"

The vixen smiled dutifully, "Yes, Doctor." She sauntered right over to a blushing Orion whose eyes were glued to her barely concealed bust.

Leona laughed, "You birds act like you never see tits before."

Justin laughed with her, "Well, we're birds. Our women don't have 'tits' like you females."  He boldly poked the lioness in the valley between her own pair.

The lioness purred, "Fresh!"

...

About an hour or two later, the deer had been butchered properly and then cooked.

The three carnivores and their avian guests sat together around the dinner table eating the deer which had been cooked in the fireplace in a cast-iron skillet.  They had that with some potatoes, practically the only vegetable any self-respecting carnivore would admit to liking, and for dessert, Eve made bread pudding.

Justin enjoyed everything, "Wow, Eve, could I steal you?  I've never had anything that good before."

The vixen smiled, "You don't have to steal me, I'd come quietly."

Carlyle wrapped his tail around her waist in a seductive manner, "I've never known you to cum quietly, dear." He leaned in and nibbled her soft neck.

The vixen held her breath as the debonair doctor pushed her buttons in ways only he knew.  And the weasel shamelessly groped his vixen girlfriend openly before their avian guests.

Justin and Orion both shuffled uncomfortably at the scene that unfolded before them. Orion gave his friend a side-eye look before the both of them snickered at the absurdity of their situation. Their attention was soon diverted by the pair of big paws that pulled them into the large breasts of Leona.

The lioness petted the birds as she held them against her bust, "The way I saw you two birdies when we came in, I'd took you for a couple of fays."

The two of them both looked at each other.

Justin stammered, "Wh-what?  Oh no, we-we are not..."

Orion nodded in agreement, "We're both happily married, to females."

Leona purred, "Oh?  Well, ya sure fooled me, because I know I smelled birdy cum off the both of you before, and your 'friend' here was dripping all over our floor before."  She petted Orion.

The cardinal blushed ferociously, "Oh dear, I knew I should have cleaned up..."

Carlyle spoke up, stripped of his tunic as he held his vixen close and she patiently kneaded at his shoulders while he talked, "I should have said something, but I'm, oooh, not a naughty kitty like Leona here..."

Justin protested, "I didn't even mean for that... I-I thought Orion was, was my wife and I..."

Orion gulped, "And I should have stopped it before it even went that far, but you're so damn irresistible, Justin."

Leona chuckled, "Ah, someone's lettin' his true feelin's out."

Justin ignored Leona's remark but he looked at his friend, "You mean that, Orion?"

The cardinal blushed but he nodded, "I-I just never knew how to tell you...  you and Kali were always so close, and of course, Caryn stole my heart.  Justin...  I don't expect things to change when we get back, but, what happened between us just now, was one of the best moments of my life."  He looked his friend in the eyes while the couple across from them had stopped their activity, both enthralled by the drama as it unfolded.

Justin blinked a couple of times before he exhaled then brushed a hand through his crest, "Orion...  I had no idea."  He wracked his mind for the best words he could use now.

Orion gulped, always nervous, as he waited to at least be put down.  He knew his friend would at least give him that.

Justin reached over and he touched his friend's face, "Orion, thank you and... I'll admit, as shocking as it was to wake up as we did, it wasn't bad... I'd never even thought of other males in that way before but... if it's you, I'm okay with it."

Orion felt a tear in his right eye, "You mean that?"

Justin gently touched his friend's shoulder, "Yes, I do."

The two lifelong friends hugged each other while the brawny lioness who sat by them commented, "Aw, it sure warms my heart to see such good friends, become more than friends." She giggled with a husky laughter.

So Justin and Orion made themselves at home, to await the spring thaw, then hopefully make it home to see their wives and their new hatchlings.

...

Miles away, back home, the eagle prince Nestor gave a mighty grunt as he flooded the asshole of his trusted friend, Feroz.

The vulture had fully submitted and let himself be used by the younger male how Nestor saw fit.

Vera, Nestor's cousin and mate had objected at first, wanting to keep Nestor for herself, but then she became pregnant with his egg and she was more tolerant of her cousin's extramarital interests.

She sat by the bed, rubbing her gravid belly as she watched the two great birds of prey sharing their bodies.  She turned away though when some older birds stormed into their hut.

The oldest of these birds cringed at the homosexual act he'd walked in on, "Nestor!"

The eagle growled under his breath, "This had better be important, for you to interrupt me."

The old sparrow furrowed his brow, "Important?  For you, I would say this is the most precious news you could hope for, Chief."

Nestor sat up while Feroz set about cleaning himself and his lord.  "Chief?"

The sparrow nodded, "It has been weeks since your father left us to battle our former allies, the wolves.  No word has come back, and it is too cold to send scouts.  A full month has passed without your father, so we assume he has died and so, you must take his place as our new chief."

Nestor had let the time get away from him, a month's time had already gone.  He hid the glee he felt for achieving what he'd planned and replaced it with genuine surprise.  He cleared his throat, "No man nor woman could replace my father, or the things he'd done for our tribe in his time with us.  That being said," He sat up proudly, hugging closely Vera, who slightly fidgeted from her cousin still smelling of his vulture lover, "I fully accept my new duties."

The elders each nodded while the sparrow spoke, "Good!  Now, clean up well and get dressed, we'll need our new chief and his lovely mate," he gestured to Vera "to look their very best when they present themselves."