His Father looked even older, but only nodded, sitting down in his great chair and looking away.
It was time to go home.
***
Growl.
Growl more.
Not like smelly man.
Not like voice.
Not like looks.
Not like smells.
Not like.
Growl.
Not like smelly man house.
Rub against An neal. Make sure An neal not smell like house.
Growl.
Unhappy.
GO.
Yes.
Go now.
Rub against An neal.
His man.
Not smelly man's An neal.
His.
City bad.
People bad.
Men stupid.
His An neal good.
Growl.
Rub.
An neal pet, scratch. Praise.
Rub. Rub. Rub more.
Growl at smelly men.
His An neal.
Growl at buildings.
Can't have.
His.
Tail around An neal's legs.
His.
"Soon, Feris. We will be on our way home."
Home.
An neal and himself.
Purr.
Yes.
Home.
~Chapter Sixteen~
They were free.
Free of the city, and of his father, and even of the trade caravans. They had left the last of the people that very morning. The relief was crushing. He thought perhaps Feris felt the same way, for Feris was acting almost kittenish, bounding ahead, growling and running and chasing anything that moved. The big cat would disappear for a few moments and then come running back to him, going full out toward him, making a sharp turn before getting to him and then taking off again.
He could almost hear the laughter.
His own heart was lighter, happier, because the flatlands were giving way to the rolling hills, and they were moving back in to the area he knew now as home. With Feris. Oh. He wanted. He needed Feris, soon.
He wondered where Feris had gotten to as it had been quite some time since that black-tipped tail had disappeared up ahead.
Feris appeared suddenly in front of him, leaping out from behind a rock and pouncing on him. A short, sharp cry burst from him as he went down under Feris' weight, landing on the packed dirt of the trail and wheezing as his breath left him. Feris chuffed at him, bending to lick at his face.
He petted Feris' face, rubbing the soft cheeks. "We need to find a place to make camp, my Feris. I have a need."
Feris purred, licked his cheeks again and then his neck. Then his dear Feris wriggled down along his body muzzles nuzzling at his groin.
"Feris!" He was only faintly scandalized, more needy. But he still felt the need to make a token protest. "Not here."
Feris raised his head and growled, one big paw replacing Feris' muzzle upon him.
"Yes. Yours. Always yours." Once he would have feared that paw, feared the sharp claws it held. Now the possessive gesture thrilled him beyond words.
Feris' growls gave way once again to purrs and that massive paw rubbed against his need.
"Oh!" So quickly he was hard, swollen. Ready.
Feris grinned at him, head bending, mouth open against him. He could feel the warmth and wet of Feris' maw through his trous.
Anneal thrashed, trying to get more. Finally it occurred to him to open his trousers, and he unlaced them, Feris' tongue rough against his fingers.
Feris licked his fingers and soon his prick, tongue rough, wet and hot.
"Yes. My Feris. Please." Was there really a time not long ago when he thought this wrong? Now it felt so perfectly right.
Feris' licks grew longer, stroking him from base to tip, making him shiver with pleasure.
Oh. Oh, he would not be able to last any time at all. Anneal lifted his hips, looking for more, begging.
That tongue slid down beyond his balls, dragging up along his hole, his sacs, to the tip of his cock. And then again and again. Feris' breath was hot against his damp flesh.
When Feris' tongue hit his hole for the third time, pushing in just slightly, Anneal dropped his head back to scream, his release pushing from his body in great, heated pulses.
Feris' purrs vibrated against him, that long tongue licking him clean now.
He lay on the trail, legs sprawled, trousers down around his buttocks, and looked at the sky, letting Feris care for him. Their sky. Their land. They were free.
~Chapter Seventeen~
Itch.
Rub against tree.
Itch.
Rub against rock.
Itch.
Roll in grasses.
ITCH.
Growl.
Roar.
Bad.
Itch.
Man.
Rub against man. Roar.
Itch An neal.
Help.
An neal woke up, snorting. "Mmmm?"
Rub against man more.
Itch!
Help, An neal.
Roar and rub.
Itch.
"Mnfh." His man sat up. "Oh. Hello, love." Fingers dug into fur, soothing the itch.
Push into scratch.
Purr. Purr. Purr.
Ah...
Purr.
"That must be some itch." An neal smiled, scratched harder.
Paw on An neal leg. Purr.
Paw on An neal heat and not hard now. Purr.
Scent An neal heat and not just soft now. Purr.
Scratch good.
An neal smell good.
An neal growing hard good.
Purr.
"Mmm. Is that my reward, love?" An neal shifting under his paw, face red, still scratching.
Mouth open, surround An neal hot and hard. Careful.
An neal want careful touch.
Silly man, Feris not hurt.
Purr.
Moans for him, deep, like purring. An neal spreading for him.
Lick the heat.
Lick the soft rounds.
Lick the strong musk place.
Lick and purr.
New itch.
Different itch.
Lick and purr.
"Mmm. Nnnn. Feris. Surely there are laws against this..." An neal opened, panting.
Growl.
Shift.
He licked again, angling his tongue and taking An neal with it before slowly sliding up along An neal's body, skin against skin. "Spoilsport."
"Mmnnuhhh." His An neal was not always at his best after a quick awakening. "I did not mean to spoil anything. I was simply making a statement."
An neal smiled, taking a kiss.
He rolled them, making An neal on top. His man wasn't too heavy, but was a solid enough weight.
Chuckling, An neal pushed him down flat, kissing and nipping.
He purred, idly testing the strength An neal was using to hold him down.
An neal put more effort into it, pushing at his shoulders while biting down on his chest.
He growled, arching beneath the touches. It made him hard, made him need when An neal held him down.
"Mmm." An neal growled his own growl, nipping at his muscles, licking his nipples, hands hard on him.
He bucked, pushing his heat against An neal. He needed, this itch even more insistent than the other.
An neal knew, knew just how to make the itch stop, rubbing against him, pushing their heat together, mouth hot and wet.
"Love." It was only a word, but it matched the feeling in his belly, it matched the itch.
"Yes." An neal moved down, holding wrists now instead of shoulders, licking his belly, chin nudging his shaft. Heat and need and man scent.
He growled, body pushing and eager. "More." Demand or plea -- it would be whichever would get An neal to keep going.
"Yes." Again, An neal gave him what he needed, mouth moving down to close a
round his shaft, tongue working underneath.
He roared, hips pushing up hard, instinctively trying to bury in that wet heat.
Holding him in place, An neal gave only a little, sucking and licking, making him wait.
He bucked and shifted, growling, needing, wanting.
The teasing went on, An neal's fingers digging into his hips, lips riding up and down, until finally An neal relented, sucking hard.
He roared, pleasure shooting through his body and pulsing into An neal's mouth.
His love drank him down, cheek rubbing his belly, fingers scratching his thighs. "Did that get your itch, my Feris?"
He purred, hands moving to An neal's hair, fingers digging into it. "Yes."
"Good. I love your taste."
"You may have my taste any time you want."
"And I will scratch your itch any time you need me to, love."
Scratch. Good. Purr.
***
Feris was sleeping.
Anneal sighed. Feris did that a lot in the winter. Not that he did not sleep a great deal in his own right, for he did, but spring must be coming on, for Anneal felt a certain itch.
An itch that only Feris could scratch, so to speak.
Or to put it another way, the sap was not the only thing rising.
He had tried every subtle thing he could think to wake Feris, so that he did not seem demanding. That was Feris' job. Neither did he wish to seem desperate, though he was. Sighing loudly had not worked, nor had light strokes of Feris' tail. Discreet rubbing had no more success.
Anneal was beginning to wonder if he might have to resort to waving his stiff cock under Feris' nose when the big cat stirred. Finally. Feris stretched out, big paws kneading lightly at the air before the big cat settled again with a soft purr.
Oh. Well. Anneal pondered his next move. Perhaps he ought to just get the oil and do it himself.
Yes, undoubtedly that was the way to go about it. Feris was sleeping, why disturb him?
Anneal went to get the oil from his pack, giving Feris a sharp nudge in the ribs with his toe as he passed. Accidentally, naturally.
Feris growled and one of those big paws hooked around his ankle, tripping him up.
The floor of their cave was very hard. Anneal had noted that on previous occasions and sworn to get rugs. Too bad he had not, for that certainly took care of his problem when he fell in an ungainly heap. Anneal curled up around his throbbing elbow with a whimper.
The next thing he knew, Feris was curled up around him, licking his cheek, tail sliding between his legs.
Oh, that was much better. Anneal turned into Feris' warmth, hands digging into soft fur.
Feris purred for him, the sound vibrating against him.
And that tail...
Long and thick, it slid up and down along his inner thighs, the tip seeming to tease at his crack.
Oh dear. His rising need was back with a vengeance, cock hard and hot, need gathering in his belly. That was... surely that was improper. "Feris..."
Feris purred louder at the sound of his name. The scrape and tickle of Feris' tail against his sensitive skin was nigh unbearable. Anneal wiggled, trying to get closer more now please. Feris seemed to chuff, almost laughing at him and then he was being licked, tongue warm and insistent on his face and over his shoulders, his neck. That tail moved now, slid loosely around his shaft.
A gasp escaped him as his hips rocked, moving into the touch as his hands opened and closed against Feris' coat. So good.
Feris' tongue found his nipples now, lapping at them as Feris' tail slowly tightened around him.
Entire body tingling, Anneal moaned, hands coming up to hold the great head to his chest as he squirmed and rubbed. "Feris. Yes. Please."
Feris' understood, kept licking, kept exciting him with that long, clever tail.
Such loving still held the spice of taboo, still made Anneal both excited and somewhat shocked, and it only added to his pleasure. He hooked a leg across whatever part of Feris he could reach and humped madly, loving the wild scent of their loving, the deep sounds that reverberated in Feris' chest.
Feris' huge paw wrapped around his back, drew him closer still to the long, furry body. He could feel the great muscles moving beneath the surface, could feel the heat pouring from the big cat.
So hard that he ached, his skin seemingly too tight to contain him, Anneal rubbed like a man possessed, that wonderful tail caught between them so the pressure he needed was acquired. "Soon. I cannot. Oh."
Feris growled loudly and he suddenly realized the cat was rubbing against him as well, shaft hard and unbelievably hot where it rubbed along his skin.
Oh. Oh, spirits above and below! He had never. They had not. Anneal cried out, his seed bursting from him in time with great jerks of his hips, eyes rolling in his head.
Feris roared, the sound filling the cave, even as the rich, sharp musk of the big cat's seed flavored the air.
They lay together, panting, wrapped in Feris' warmth, and Anneal was amazed at himself. Amazed but too content to question. How could anything he and Feris do be wrong? He smiled, nuzzling into Feris' neck. "Mmm."
Feris was purring again, licking lazily at his face.
Soon enough, Feris slept again, the great chest rising and falling beneath Anneal's lax body.
Drowsy himself, Anneal settled in for a bit of a nap as well. Might as sleep some. Especially since that annoying itch was gone.
***
The last sprig of the herb Anneal found went into his belt pouch, and he grinned, making his way back toward the spring camp he and Feris made home. He wondered if Feris would like it as much as the lemon candies.
If his cat did, he would be a very lucky man indeed.
He whistled as he walked, the warm still air and sun on his face making him happy to be alive. Though he was even happier to see Feris, stretched out long and lean, sunning himself with abandon.
The big cat opened his eyes lazily and gave a low growl of welcome.
"Hello, love." Anneal dropped his pack, stretching his muscles. A good morning's gathering. He would eat well this night. Feris growled and his ears perked up, the great muzzle sniffing, scenting the air. He hid a grin. Of course, Feris could simply be trying to ascertain what he'd brought back altogether. Feris the man was learning to like his cooking. "Did you enjoy your nap, love?"
Anneal casually unpacked his roots and tubers.
Feris growled and got up, stalking toward him. He'd either smelled the herb or was feeling randy.
With Feris the latter might actually be more likely than the former. His cat was quite a lover, needing close physical contact at every opportunity.
Feris' nose landed up at his groin, the low growl getting louder, a big paw hitting his belt-pouch.
"Oh! That's right." Making a show of snapping his fingers, Anneal unfastened his belt pouch. "I found you something, Feris."
Feris growled again, taking the pouch in his mouth and shaking it.
That was the beginning of what could only be called a kitty frenzy, with Feris rolling all over the clearing, mauling his belt pouch. By the time Feris was on his back, pouch between paws as he chewed on it, Anneal was laughing helplessly, belly hurting he laughed so hard.
Feris gave him what he knew was supposed to be a menacing growl, but it was rather ruined by the fact that Feris refused to stop chewing on the belt pouch, back end slowly wriggling.
He chuckled some more, tears running down his cheeks. It was wonderful.
Feris made a snorting sound and went back to his belt-pouch, seeming quite content to maul and chew for the foreseeable future.
Which meant that it was time to take it away. If he could. Feris was so wrapped up in the herbs that he did not even notice Anneal's approach, and Anneal pounced, ripping the pouch away and running.
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