Finding Trix (Felines of Furyne Book 3)

by L. M. Brown

  “I find that a little difficult to believe.”

  “That’s your problem, not mine.”

  “We’re trying to help you.”

  “I don’t know. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a whore, one who spreads his legs for anyone with the credits to pay me. With so many shoving their cock in me, it’s rather hard to say who’s responsible for my condition.”

  The insectoid made a buzzing noise and snorted with amusement.

  “Do you even know the species?” the avian asked. “There are rules amongst some species to ensure that parents take responsibility for their actions.”

  Trix shrugged. “I don’t know.” How many times did he have to tell them before they gave up?

  “Can you even take a guess?”

  “Why? I’ve no wish to drag either of them into this mess.”

  “Either of them?” The avian pounced on his slip. “Then you at least have an idea of who it might be?”

  “Canine or avian,” Trix admitted, while silently cursing. Why were they so interested in who had fathered his litter? It was none of their business.

  “Well that’s a start at least. Can you narrow it down any more than that?”

  “No.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Trix was starting to get annoyed, and he hissed before answering. “They both fucked me on the same night. They were the only two to have taken me that way. I won’t know until the birth which is responsible, and then only if they have a bushy tail or feathers to give me a clue as to their parentage. So no, I can’t narrow it down any more than that.”

  “What sort of avian?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “It might? The royal and noble clans have laws to ensure they are held accountable for their offspring. The lesser avians are a little more lax in this regard.”

  “He was from the swan clan.”

  “Oh.”

  Something about her tone raised Trix’s curiosity. “What is it?”

  “What do you know about swans?”

  “Not much.”

  “They mate for life and are incapable of being unfaithful.”

  “I know that much. He had no mate at the time.”

  “Did you know that if he’s the one to have fathered your litter, then he’s bound to you for life?”

  “No. He was due to take another mate shortly after our night together.”

  The avian chuckled. “He might find that rather difficult.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that by impregnating you, he has begun to form a mating bond with you, and will be incapable of being unfaithful, even to take a mate. Unless the canine is the one responsible, in that case the avian is no doubt happily mated and thinking back with fondness on the night he fucked a feline.”

  Trix frowned. He recalled hearing this about the swan clan before. “I guess it was the canine then. Unless the avian intends to stay celibate for the rest of his life rather than be stuck with a whore for a mate.”

  “I guess you’ll find out when you give birth. Now, have you seen a healer?”

  Trix snorted and shook his head. “Felines don’t need others poking and prodding them all the time.” It was bad enough that he had to answer all their nosy questions, now they wanted to pry into the workings of his body too.

  “You really should have a healer check you over.”

  Trix rubbed his belly, feeling the movement of his young inside him. “I’m fine, and so is my litter.”

  “We could insist?”

  Trix extended his claws and scraped them menacingly along the surface of the table. There was no more suggestion of a healer.

  The insectoid and the avian whispered between themselves. Trix wasn’t even curious enough to try to eavesdrop. He was tired and he just wanted this over and done with.

  “Okay.” The avian, who appeared to be in charge, speared him with a glare. “Who are you putting forward to take custody of you?”

  Trix shrugged. “I have no one.”

  “Do you realise how much trouble you’re in?”

  “I got caught fucking in a public area. Just give me my punishment and I’ll no longer be your problem.”

  “Do you understand that we’re trying to help you?”

  “If you really want to help me, you’ll let me go to the docks and hop a ship out of port,” Trix replied.

  “You know we can’t do that.”

  “I didn’t think so,” Trix snarled. “So don’t sit there, pretending to care about what happens to me, when we all know the truth.”

  “You’re making this very difficult for us. If you can’t give us the name of someone who can take custody of you, we’ll have no choice but to deliver you to the Cage.”

  Trix shivered at the mention of the huge spacecraft which was nothing more than a travelling prison. No planet that he knew of wanted the responsibility of having criminals incarcerated on it. The inhabitants of each world wanted to feel safe, and not worry about dangerous members of their species escaping from a nearby prison. The prison craft were the answer. They travelled throughout the sectors, picking up prisoners and dropping off those who had completed their sentences. In this sector, the ship was called the Cage. He had seen the craft once or twice before he left Furyne. It was enormous and many a parent had pointed it out to their young, warning them that if they didn’t behave they might end up on it.

  “I see you don’t like the idea of the Cage.” The avian leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I used to work security on it, and believe me, you don’t want to go there. It’s not a good environment for felines, and certainly not pregnant ones. Is there no one who can take responsibility for you? If not the father of your litter, what about your parents? Siblings?”

  Trix sighed and shook his head. “I’m dual-gendered. There isn’t anyone.”

  “You aren’t giving us any other choice, you realise?”

  “I don’t have anyone,” Trix repeated, his face heating with shame.

  “The minimum sentence for fornicating in public is one cycle,” the insectoid said.

  Trix rubbed his bump again. He would be giving birth on the Cage. The thought wasn’t one he wanted to linger on.

  “The litter will be taken from you after they’re born,” the avian said. “The Cage is not a good environment for the young either.”

  Trix nodded and closed his eyes, blinking away tears.

  “You’ll be notified of the family they’re homed with, and once you’ve served your sentence you’ll be able to visit them. When you’ve established your own dwelling, you can apply for them to be returned to you.”

  Trix didn’t need them to tell him that the chances of him being able to get back on his paws were slim. At the Pleasure Station there had been several residents who had done stints on the Cage. They had come to the Pleasure Station for the security it offered. He wondered how many of them were now back on the Cage already. He supposed he might find out fairly soon, since it was clear he was going to be joining them.

  He returned to his cell and curled up in his nest of cushions. He supposed he should’ve been grateful that, after they had checked for weapons, they had let him keep his belongings in the cell.

  Thoughts of the Cage weren’t pleasant, but Trix didn’t think it could be any worse than giving birth alone and afraid.

  There were also the problems of what would come after the birth if he was still at one of the space ports. His credits would only last so long and then he and his babies would be homeless. Hiding himself had been difficult enough, keeping however many babies he gave birth to safe, would be even harder.

  He hated the idea of someone else raising his litter, but he knew he had no choice in the matter, and in his darkest moments, he admitted they would probably be better cared for by a stable family, than they would be by a homeless whore. He just hoped their new family loved his babies as much as he did.

  * * * *

  From a distance, the Cage was immense and im
posing. Close up, it was terrifying. Trix entered the ship, flanked by two insectoids who had come to take custody of him. At first, he had been glad to leave the close confines of the room he had been held in at the spaceport, now he wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t be better off back there.

  “Lucky for you the Cage was out this way,” one of the guards commented. “It means you can start serving your sentence quicker.”

  It took a moment before Trix realised that the three days he had been held on the spaceport wouldn’t count. Not that it made much difference. Either way, he was going to be giving birth on the Cage.

  Another guard, this one an avian, looked him up and down from behind his desk. “Name?”

  “Trixi.” He cringed at having to give his real name, but having already gone through the embarrassing process of having to explain it back on the spaceport, he was well aware that he didn’t have a choice.

  The avian nodded and spoke his next words towards the holo-projector. “Trixi, feline, dual-gendered, pregnant.” He glanced at Trix. “You’ll be seen by a healer, then allocated a sleep capsule in the feline quarters.”

  “I don’t need to see a healer.”

  “Nevertheless, you will be seeing one. It’s not optional.”

  Trix stifled a sigh. He could see there was no way he was going to be able to avoid an examination.

  One of the guards used a device on his wrist to open a door to the right. “This way.”

  Trix followed him, noting that the guard used the same device to secure the door behind them.

  They went down the passage and through several doors, each one as secure as the last. The place was strangely quiet, though he supposed the prisoners weren’t likely to be allowed near the entrance.

  He tried to take note of his surroundings, but everything appeared the same. There were no signs on the doors or any way of distinguishing one room from the next. It wasn’t as if he had any plans or hopes of escaping the next time they reached a port, but if he had, he would be lost in no time.

  They entered a room that appeared to be the examination room of the ship’s healer, or one of them. On a ship this size there must have been more than a single healer on board.

  The canine at the desk didn’t even try to conceal his sneer when he looked at Trix. He gestured to the examination table. “Well, don’t just stand there gaping. Get on there and spread your legs. I’m sure you’re quite familiar with the position.”

  Trix cringed, but hurried to do as he was ordered. The sooner he got this over with, the better. At least the canine’s dismissive attitude towards him meant that he was unlikely to want to closely monitor his pregnancy with frequent examinations. Chances were, he wasn’t that bothered about checking him now, but protocol demanded he at least did a cursory examination.

  He climbed onto the table, wishing it was lower, and that he was as agile as he had been before his belly and breasts had begun to grow.

  It seemed he wasn’t positioned to the canine’s satisfaction, and he pushed aside Trix’s legs with rough hands. Trix closed his eyes and willed the ordeal to be over with as soon as possible.

  When the canine, who hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself, declared he had finished, Trix clambered off the table and adjusted his toga.

  “Well, get out of here,” the canine barked.

  Trix guessed that was it. No questions as to his health, no advice for what to do or who to ask for when he went into labour. He hoped that when the time came it was anyone other than this healer who assisted him. He’d have been quite happy to go through the birth on his own rather than have the canine anywhere near him.

  The insectoid had waited just inside the door and gestured for him to go back out into the corridor. Trix left the room with relief, and they walked in the same direction they had been headed in before.

  A metal spiral staircase headed down at the end of the passage.

  “There’s another guard waiting for you at the bottom,” the insectoid said. Trix guessed the guard wasn’t going down with him.

  Trix wasn’t on his own for long. The guard at the foot of the stairs waiting for him was a feline. Even though she scowled as much as the other guards, she was at least a fellow feline.

  Like his previous escort, the feline opened the doors with her wrist device. Trix soon lost count of the twists and turns as they navigated the ship. After several minutes, the sounds of other beings signalled that they were close to their destination.

  “It’s meal time,” the guard said. “You’ll be allocated an additional portion of cream due to your condition.”

  “Portion?” Trix asked. How did that work?

  “Cream is donated by those on board and served to the feline prisoners. You will be expected to provide cream daily, more if you can manage it.”

  Trix was still confused. He had assumed that felines on board would be allowed to feed from each other, and he had hoped to find someone amongst the prisoners who wasn’t opposed to feeding a dual-gendered, pregnant feline. What the guard was saying didn’t sound like that.

  The guard opened a door and revealed a room even smaller than the one on the spaceport. It contained a bed and a small shelf on the wall. The shelf contained a spare set of clothing, a jug of water and a glass, and a strange tube like container. The guard picked up the tube from the shelf and pointed to a ridged line circling it. “You will be expected to fill this with cream to at least the height of the indicator each day.”

  Trix stared at the object and tried to consider whether he even had enough cream in him to manage such a feat.

  “If you fail to provide your share of cream, your own portion will be halved.” She gave his belly a glance. “Or at least it will be once you’ve given birth. Each day will be noted and when you’ve given birth your portions will be reduced. Understood?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever produced that much cream in a week,” Trix muttered.

  “You aren’t the first to make such a comment, but I think you’ll find it’s easier than it seems. If you should manage a full container you may take a day’s reprieve from providing cream.”

  Trix snorted. He wondered if anyone had managed it.

  The guard replaced the container and led him back out of the room. “Your cream provision duties will start tomorrow. Your cream today will be provided free of charge. Now, if you’ll come with me.”

  At the end of the row of rooms a door opened leading into what appeared to be a large communal area. Felines sat at several long tables, licking at bowls and talking amongst themselves.

  “Cold cream isn’t as nutritious as that taken straight from the source,” Trix commented as he realised what he was seeing.

  “It is adequate for maintaining good health,” the guard replied. “You’d also be wise to remember that while it isn’t against the rules to feed cream directly to another prisoner, such cream will not count towards the amount you are supplying to the community. We find such methods assist in discouraging inter-prisoner forced feeding or other acts that result in wasted cream.”

  They arrived at a counter to find several felines who appeared to be allocating cream to the prisoners.

  “New prisoner,” the guard said. “Free cream today, and additional portions until he gives birth.”

  One of the servers reached over and took Trix’s arm. He slapped a device around it and keyed in some information. “Name?”

  “Trixi,” Trix replied, keeping his voice as low as possible. It might have been required for the staff on the Cage to know his true name, but the last thing he needed was the other prisoners hearing it too.

  “Room?”

  “J6,” his escort replied before turning to Trix. “Your cream container is assigned to your room. The band on your arm will record what you have provided and any missed days. The band will also allow you to lock and unlock your own room, as well as the door to this area and the ablutions facilities.” She waved vaguely across the room to point out the latter. “You are free to come
and go as you please within this area. If you are needed elsewhere, you will be escorted by one of the guards.”

  “Um, what about when…?” Trix gestured to his belly.

  “There is always a guard stationed here in this room. Just report your condition and they will have someone come to fetch you.”

  Trix nodded, took the bowl of cold cream from the server, and since his induction appeared to be over, he took a seat at one of the quieter tables. He frowned at the watered-down cold cream, something he had never had to take before. It didn’t appear appetising at all.

  The feline across from him leaned over. “If you don’t want that, you can trade it.”

  Trix grimaced. “It’s not that I’m not hungry, I am, but I’ve never taken it cold before.” Even on the spaceport he hadn’t been forced to this. While waiting for the Cage, he had fed from one of the night guards who had been watching over him.

  “Oh, is that all? You’ll get used to it. Lap it up and enjoy that extra portion while you can.”

  Trix braced himself and gathered up the cream on his finger, sucking it hesitantly. “Urgh.”

  “Like I said, you’ll get used to it.” The feline grinned and turned back to his own meal. He even seemed to be enjoying it.

  Trix forced down every mouthful and cleared his bowl. Even though it tasted nothing like the cream drawn straight from a cock, he had to think about his litter. If this was all he was going to get, he had to make the most of it.

  When he was finished he took in his surroundings. Across the room he caught sight of a couple of familiar faces. He wasn’t surprised that other felines from the Pleasure Station had ended up here, too. They hadn’t spotted him, and since they weren’t felines he had spoken to before, Trix made no effort to approach them. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to hide in his room for a while.

  He left the table, deposited his bowl in the stack for cleaning, and went through to his room. With no numbers on the door, he realised he had no idea which one was his. However, when he approached a small vibration on his arm alerted him that he was close and the door opened when he reached it.