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Storms were best avoided when flying. Especially when flying low and under one's own power. Flare didn't have much of a choice. A line of dark, deep, intense rain sprung up quickly around him, giving him little chance to find shelter before he was caught in it. He pressed on, hoping he might be able to locate a town or even just a cave he could use to wait the storm out in some degree of comfort. The storm on the other hand had other ideas. It picked up quick, turning from just rain to thunder and lightning and strong, intense winds. Once or twice, he could have sworn he saw some sort of swirling in the clouds. He needed to find somewhere to set down quickly.

The half wolf, half kitsune lifted an arm to shield his face from the battering rains that bit sharply like a thousand little insect stings. His single white-feathered wing flexed and strained, trying to keep him on course in spite of the heavy wind. Fatigue was setting in, threatening to make him drop out of the sky, and he would be thrown about as he fell. That he was sure of. If he didn't land soon, he was sure to end up crashing, and that rarely went well.

Flare dipped himself towards the ground, at least what he thought was the ground. He was so disoriented by the storm he could scarcely tell. It looked like a forest, and that meant he might be able to find some sort of natural hollow he could hide in for a while. As he dropped his altitude further, determining that even just hiding under a big tree might be enough, he was taken off guard by a sudden change in the weather. It was like passing through a curtain into a different room.

The rain had died down considerably. He could see further, providing him a wider view of the terrain below. It was indeed a forest. A good distance away he could make out the faint shape of a mountain range. And closer than that, he could see several exceptionally large trees in close formation. In their center stood one absolutely, remarkably enormous tree. What caught his attention about this grouping was there were lights amidst their foliage. He couldn't make out much of the sight before him aside from a silhouette. But there were lights. That meant shelter.

But there was another problem he had not considered, and it hit with more force than he expected.

The hard wind that had been forcing him to rock one way or the other to maintain a steady course suddenly vanished. He cried out in surprise as his efforts to stay aloft were suddenly made a lot easier. He overcorrected and sent himself tumbling, careening through the air. Flare cried out in dismay as he dropped closer and closer to the treetops below him, desperate to keep from running into them at speed. With a great strain to himself, he managed to steady his flight, but only enough to keep from bashing into the very unwelcoming branches, leaves, and needles of the woods under him.

The strange grouping of trees and their lights drew closer and closer, giving him hope that he might make it. But he was so tired. Just the effort to right himself had been costly. He was losing the battle. If he could just find a place to set down, he would be willing to walk the rest of the way. And then, as if his prayers had been answered, he spotted a clearing in the trees. That would be all it took, just a place for him to touch down and catch his breath. Flare sighed in relief at the sight before him, aiming for it as best he could muster. He might make it out of this mess unscathed yet.

A gust of wind kicked up and he tried to compensate, but he was just too tired. The wolfsune lost control and fell, smashing through the branches of the highest parts of the canopy under him. He winced and shouted in pain as he felt the wood splinter against him and dig into his skin. Down he dropped through the trees, quickly losing all will to even try to save himself. The pain of his crash was too great. He couldn't focus on anything past how tired he was and how much he hurt.

As his fall brought about more injuries, he ultimately lost the strength to cry out in agony, even as his lone wing suffered a sickening crunch. And then it all finally stopped. Flare hit the ground hard, but he was on the ground. And it was covered in a soft, almost luxurious grass. It was soaked by rain, but it had softened the blow somewhat. He was dazed, unable to think much beyond how badly his entire body hurt. Every limb had to have been broken to some extent. He knew he had at least a few cracked ribs. One of his shoulders felt like it had separated. And he was covered in innumerable cuts and scrapes.

Flare didn't dare bother to look at himself, certain that he had been impaled in a few places. Everything was weak and spent, not wanting to answer the call from his mind to try and drag himself to his paws. His breath was labored and shallow. A hard ringing filled his ears, drowning out the sound of the rain around him. And then the darkness started to close in. Was this to be the end? Did the storm mean to claim him like this? He couldn't even find the will to push past that thought to fight for survival. He was just so very tired.

Paws falling on the grass finally reached his ears. Someone was running towards him, several someones in fact. He lifted his gaze, one eye refusing to open, the other only responding halfway. He saw several blurry figures racing towards him. They were carrying lights. He had been seen. They were coming to save him, whoever 'they' were. As they drew close enough, he could make out voices. There were words being shouted, at least he thought they were saying words. It was too garbled for him to understand.

Flare was rolled over onto his back, making him whimper in pain. Someone pried one of his eyes open and shined a light into it. Then they pried the other open to do the same. They were checking to see if he was alive. One of his saviors turned and began shouting something he couldn't understand to the others. Then, everything went dark.

The pain faded with the world around him. The wolfsune welcomed the relief. If this was to be his end, then at least he was no longer suffering.

"Get him on the stretcher! Infirmary, this is a code blue! We have one critically wounded in the summer quarter! We're bringing him up! Massive lacerations to the trunk and arms, several penetrations to critical areas, heavy blood loss! Have a crash cart and pint of O-Neg a on stand-by! He's going into a-fIB: Beginning chest compressions! Looks like he got caught flying in the storm and crashed!" shouted an otter into a radio linking him back to the medical facility he was calling out orders to.

He stood up as the team lifted the unconscious wolfsune atop the very stretcher they had been ordered to put him on. The otter pressed his paws against the canid's chest, pumping strongly in a steady pace. The group of four who had come to Flare's aid loaded him into a covered vehicle, brightly lit and lined with a number of medical devices and supplies. Once everyone was in and the doors closed, the craft lifted off and banked hard, screaming back towards the Inn. Flashing lights and a siren signaled they had wounded aboard and needed priority clearance through the air traffic. Thankfully there wasn't much to direct around them.

Within less than a minute, they were pulling into the landing pad just outside the Inn's Infirmary. Another team waited patiently to take over and try to save the poor visitor. The ambulance's doors swung open and the stretcher was slid out, pushing the unresponsive wolfsune into the sterile interior of the building held aloft in the trees. The otter who had been calling out details to the waiting team remained with the group. His hands had taken on a soft white glow as he tried to use what skills he had been taught to slow the canid's progression towards terminal.

"Get me a bio-scan. I want to see inside him, now." an angelic dragoness stepped in close to the otter as she gave one of the nurses the order.

She slipped on a pair of what looked like safety glasses, but they weren't to protect her eyes. A transparent heads-up display appeared before her and the scan she requested started to spool across her patient. It was appearing as it was gathering data about him. Shayna would have given both of her wings to have that kind of clarity of detail a few hundred years ago, so she made use of it whenever she could. The situation was grim.

Flare had numerous broken bones. He had lost enough blood that he was in danger of simply bleeding out. A couple of vital organs had been damaged, torn, or bruised. One of them had even been ruptured. It was going to take a lot of work to stabilize him. Thankfully, the wolfsune had been fortunate enough to crash land on the grounds of The Treetop Inn. And Shayna had been on duty when he crashed.

"Get him hooked up with a transfusion immediately. Get him started on ventilator. I need Elliot here on the double. It's going to take two healers to stem the tide." the dragoness continued to call out her orders.

Minutes ticked by as the team did everything they could to keep the unfortunate flyer alive. They could have let The Promise catch him, that was a potential option. But they didn't know anything about him. That usually made such a move risky. And Shayna had made it a point to not allow The Promise to be the first line of defense on newcomers. Not in situations like this, when their state of mind was a big question mark.

The dragon-rabbit she had asked for, Elliot, showed up promptly. Together, they began working what magic they felt was safe to use. Everyone always thought healing spells were cure-alls, that you could just throw whatever you wanted at someone who was hurt and it would be just fine. That had been the norm a very long time ago, but when the advent of modern medicine came about, it became clear that a healer's abilities were not absolutely perfect. They were powerful, yes, but just another tool to be used, and that meant there were times when it was appropriate, and times when it wasn't.

Too much healing and too quick could make the wolfsune's bones knit up incorrectly, especially when in a hurry to keep him alive. Spending too little time in one area could mean what was believed to be healed would fail moments later and lead to complications. There were dozens of examples of healers in emergency rooms making things worse rather than better by way of misapplication of the power. Shayna herself had learned that lesson the hard way, and intended to make sure it would never happen again on her watch.

They would need to leave him broken, injured, imperfect. At least for a little while. For now, they just needed him stable. And that was something Shayna was exceptionally good at achieving. After that, she could take her time and do things right, rather than blunder through trying to bring someone back to full health there in the ER. She knew better than most just how easily speed could kill.

An exhausting half hour passed before the team could finally relax. Shayna stepped back and pulled her HUD visor off of her face and took a breath.

"Good job everyone. We grabbed him off of Death's doormat. That bastard will just have to deal with another ding-dong ditcher thanks to everyone here. Elliot, Levi, stick around for a bit. We need to plan out his recovery." the dragoness coiled her tail around a rolling stool and brought it close to sit down.

The drabbit nodded, moving to lean against one of the walls as the nursing staff took their leave, going back to handling their regular duties. The otter who had heroically tried to keep the wolfsune alive with his careful, managed use of the gift he had been given waited to be reprimanded. He knew protocol, and he had broken it.

"Shayna, I know what I did. I used a healing charm without checking his vitals and injuries thoroughly first. I screwed up. He was on the ground, going into shock, bleeding out, and his heart was giving up. I couldn't think of anything else to do." Levi lowered his gaze, waiting for the coming scolding.

It never came.

"You're right. You did do that. You broke protocol. And because you did, you kept him alive long enough for the rest of us to do our jobs. I could see what you had done on the med scanner. You didn't use a general healing charm. You focused it. You reversed the damage done to his heart and kept it pumping. You even closed a few of the damaged arteries so he wouldn't bleed out as fast. You did good." the angelic lady pulled her latex gloves off, tossing them into the hazardous waste bin.

"I... I did?" Levi looked up, more than just a little shocked, "I focused it?"

Shayna nodded with a smile.

"You did. You're learning where it comes from and how to control it. Lisa's got an advantage on you in that area, but you're catching up. You didn't panic, you stayed calm. You knew he wouldn't make it back here the way he was, so you did whatever it took. Sure it was a bit of a rush job and it was a bit messy, but it's nothing we can't take care of. I'm proud of you." the dragoness beamed.

"Th-thank you. I learned from the best." Levi felt a bit of a grin tugging at his lips, trying not to look smug.

He did feel pretty good for what he had done, but only after Shayna had told him what he had actually accomplished. He fell silent before Elliot stepped in to add her thoughts on the matter.

"I think we might want to keep him on emergency response duty. He got out there within sixty seconds of the crash. He was the first on the scene. He was shouting for transport on the radio the instant he saw what had happened." the drabbit grinned.

"You know, you have a point. In fact, I think the rest of our ER team could learn a thing or two from him," Shayna turned to look back at the otter directly, "Consider yourself head of the emergency response team. I'll expect you to put together a training program for newcomers."

Levi's eyes lit up, darting his gaze back and forth between the two angelic creatures who had been giving him praise he had not expected to receive.

"Head of... yes ma'am!" the otter stood ramrod straight, trying hard to keep from smiling too broadly.

"At ease, soldier," Shayna laughed, "This isn't the military. And before you go running off to tackle your new responsibilities, we need to talk about what the future holds for this poor fellow."

"He's not going to be awake for a while. And he's going to need more immediate care," Elliot frowned as she looked over the wolfsune, "I'd hesitate to continue the healing charms until we have a better understanding of his history."

"We could keep him in the ICU until he comes around. He may not be much help in a conversation though." Levi added.

"I think I know what we need to do. I usually hesitate to consider this method with a stranger, but... I'm currently unoccupied and he needs gentle, constant life-support and care. It's the option I can thank of that has the greatest chance for success with the lowest chance of complication," Shayna crossed her arms, "Do either of you have any objections or alternatives to consider?"

Elliot shook her head, coming to the same conclusion as the chief of the infirmary.

"Surrogacy sounds like the best choice for me. A couple of weeks and he should be right as rain, no matter what." the dragon-rabbit shoved her hands into her pockets and stood up, still gazing at the unconscious Flare.

"Does that mean you'll be using that thing you'd been talking about? What did you call it... a uh... um..." Levi snapped his fingers trying to recall the term.

"Predscape. And yes, I think he might make a good candidate for it. I'd be able to get all the information we need to treat him properly. And it'll keep him from freaking out if he wakes up before he's done 'cooking'." Shayna nodded.

"Well, if that's the course of action, let's get him sorted. Delivery room two is open." Elliot stepped away from the wall and began unlocking the mounts on the bed Flare was resting in, dropping it onto its wheels.

Levi assisted, making sure all the support equipment attached was switched over to the bed's onboard power supply. Shayna joined them, then the trio began walking the wolfsune out of the room he had been rolled into for the duration of his initial workup. They wheeled him down the hall and into the delivery room Elliot had suggested they use. And there was a reason for not simply doing it where they had been. The recovery room was too small. Shayna had planned on making a change.

As soon as they arrived, the otter and drabbit began working on reconnecting the bed's equipment to the Infirmary's power grid. Meanwhile, Shayna had begun undressing. Her snowy-white hide gleamed softly in the bright lighting, appearing almost opalescent. Neither the drabbit or otter thought anything of what she was doing. They had both seen her naked, in fact, they had both spent time inside her as the wolfsune was about to.

Once the dragoness was undressed, she folded her scrubs and set them aside. There was no reason to leave things untidy in her estimation. Once she was sure all was as it needed to be, the angelic lady closed her eyes and began to grow, stretching out taller and taller. When she finally stopped, she was nearly tall enough to drag her horns on the ceiling. There was a reason why she rarely returned to this height.

Levi and Elliot began removing the sensory equipment from the wolfsune, as well as his hospital gown. They were preparing him for what was coming. And Shayna was preparing herself. She sat down on a large, low-laying bed and leaned back with her legs spread. Her nethers were plainly visible earlier, but now it was impossible not to catch a glimpse of them when looking to her.

"We're ready to start here. Just let us know when you're good." the dragon-rabbit said, giving her adoptive mother a nod.

"I'm ready. Let's go ahead and cast." Shayna replied.

The two shorter medical professionals nodded and stood at the head and foot of Flare's bed. They began working their magic back and forth between one another, almost like kneading dough, then poured it into the cushion supporting the wolfsune. It bubbled up around him and lifted him off the sheets, slowly working its way over his form in a softly brilliant pale blue light. It enclosed the wolf in a pill-shaped bubble that allowed all three to see the silhouette of his form, but no details. They lifted the floating 'pill' away from the medical bed and drifted him over towards the waiting dragoness.

There wasn't any need to speak. Everyone knew how this operation worked. It was one that was done almost monthly around the Inn. Elliot, who had taken the head, moved to stand to one side as she and Levi brought the 'capsule' to rest against the big dragon's folds. Shayna took a breath, fighting the urge to squirm. She reached down with one large paw and gripped at the smooth encasement. It was purely of magical construct, having form but no true substance. It offered her something to hold onto, but it would blend with the walls it would be sunk into momentarily to integrate its passenger with his new hostess.

And so it began.

Shayna's lips parted and stretched around the wolfsune's protective covering. She hissed softly as she felt him slowly glide in, the smooth surface offering no resistance whatsoever. Normally she preferred to do this at her previous height, and without the field. But then that was when she was feeling like using the act in a more intimate context. Now, she was doing this purely for medical reasons. And that meant sex was entirely secondary to the moment. Elliot and Levi helped to guide the wolfsune's capsule into the warm, dark, protective environment of the angel dragon's interior, not at all making any move to stimulate, just to insert.

They'd get a chance to offer the lady a bit of pleasure some other time.

Little by little, the two meter long 'pod' eased into the waiting folds. Shayna's breath deepened and quickened, coming in powerful but slow gusts. Her stomach stretched outward as he eased in, making the shape of the 'capsule' in her tummy. It slid upward along her form as she progressed, then when it reached the back of her womb, she shuddered. Instead of pushing up along her further, it began to deform, taking on a more spherical shape. Inside, the canid was made to curl up, still not making contact with the walls of his protective bubble.

When half of him was inserted, Levi and Elliot stepped away, removing their influence from the act of guiding him in. Shayna reached down past her swelling middle and pressed a paw against the far end of the cylindrical shape. She pushed slowly, gritting her teeth as he was brought deeper into her core. Her palm worked its way closer and closer to her groin until she felt skin on skin. Her petals closed around the rounded end and her belly shifted and surged gently. She sighed and relaxed her form. Paws moved to her stomach as she cradled the gravid swell.

The dragoness now appeared as if she had only a couple of months to go before she might give birth. It was a lovely motherly shape, one she was always quite happy to wear. But it was not to remain that size. All three involved began slowly working their magic about between one another, then sank it into Shayna's belly. She shivered as the dome shrank, closing in against the unconscious Flare. She felt her womb make contact with him, gently squeezing against his form as he was made to connect with her, supported by her entirely. The magic faded, and the two were joined, patient and caregiver. It had been a fast job, but effective.

"Ooo, okay... he's in for the duration. Thanks you two." Shayna smiled, patting her tummy.

"No problem. Any time. You want me to do a work up on you in the morning?" Elliot asked.

"That would be lovely. I'll make contact tonight and get the details to you first thing." the dragoness said.

"Well, since my job here is done, I'm gonna go ahead and head back to the emergency response unit, familiarize myself with it. Thanks again for the vote of confidence, boss." Levi offered something of a salute to the big lady.

"You earned it. Now, I think I'm going to go ahead and close out my shift and head home to take it easy the rest of the night." Shayna said as she sat up.

She closed her eyes and began to shrink, regressing back down to her original height over the course of perhaps a minute or so. The result was her belly--which had been one size, then shrank--began to swell out relative to the rest of her. Flare had remained the same size, stretching her as she collapsed down to a height the Inn was more accustomed to contending with. She shivered and groaned, trying very hard not to take too much pleasure in the sudden and expansive pregnancy.

"That sounds like a good idea, mom. You head on to bed, maybe do something about 'relieving a little tension'. I'll keep things running around here." Elliot leaned in, running one of her paws across the dragon's belly while also planting a quick, short, loving, little kiss on Shayna's lips.

The dragoness returned the affection quite happily, letting a purr escape her as she rocked forward to stand up. She was a bit unsteady, but adjusted to the weight and size quickly.

"You're my sweet girl. Thanks honey." she cooed.

She didn't bother with her scrubs. They wouldn't fit her at this point. And being naked right now was far more comfortable. Tomorrow, she might come dressed in her usual robes. They were designed to accommodate such a swell, and breathed better than traditional medical attire. For now, she simply left the delivery room and walked through the infirmary, massively pregnant and completely naked.

The angelic lady turned a few heads, as she tended to regardless of her state of dress, but she paid no mind to it all. The trip to the owner's suite was brief, but she wasn't looking terribly forward to it. Smokey was away on business and wouldn't be back for at least a couple of weeks. It was a rare thing for him to spend so much time away from the Inn, but on occasion, the matter was required. She looked around the empty bedroom once she had arrived there and sighed. She didn't feel like being alone.

So, she left. Shayna departed the owner's suite; again, not bothering with attire. She made her way through the Inn until she arrived at the selection of gates across from the dining hall. Each one would take her to some distant corner of the grounds, but she had one place specific in mind. She turned to walk into one of the large rings standing vertically and arrived in a village full of wolves. They were all dressed in a manner becoming of their tribe. They no longer lived in collapsible conical tents or domed huts, but earthen cabins that offered a more permanent place to rest. The rains had not stopped, but Shayna did not seem to mind.

Many stopped to see who had arrived. As soon as they saw the angelic dragoness, a few rushed forward to offer her protection from the storm. She thanked them and asked if they could take her to see the chief. He had not been in his room provided up in the main drag of the Inn, which meant he had opted to stay with his people. She was guided to a lodge not far from the center of the village and escorted in. Inside, it was warm and dry. The light was low, appearing to be provided by candles or lanterns. She knew better than to think that was the case. It was an aesthetic choice made to make the whole dwelling feel much older than it was.

"Shayna? Is that you? I heard the others outside talking and I thought I heard your voice." came someone from another room, their footsteps bringing them towards the foyer.

"It's me. I'm a little wet from the rain. I hope that's not an issue." the lady said, running her palms over her heavy, round belly.

"Not at all, my home is your home," offered the voice, coming from a wolf of white with a black star over his left eye that appeared in one of the doorways, he froze seeing her completely naked and exceptionally swollen, "Well, I take it you had an eventful shift in the infirmary?"

"You could say that. I'll tell you all about it. But, would you mind if I stayed here with you? Just until Smokey gets back?" Shayna waddled her way towards the lupine.

Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around the dragoness, offering her a tender, all too brief kiss.

"My dear, you are welcome any time. Maybe we could convince your husband to come with you next time you want to pay an extended visit. Smokey keeps saying he's going to spend a good long while down here getting to know everyone and he's just been too busy." the wolf turned, guiding the lady deeper into the 'chief's lodge'.

Flare drifted quietly in darkness, unaware of just how long he had been there. He had no sense of time. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. Perhaps longer. At least he wasn't feeling the pain of his injuries. Just as he settled in to think this was all there was to the afterlife, a light broke in on him. It felt like warm sunlight. And another sensation reached him, something comforting against his back. It felt soft, like a cushion or a bed. He opened his eyes and was shocked to find he was in a room, laying down, staring up at the ceiling above him. And that ceiling was rather ornately carved and painted.

Flare sat up. He looked around the room he had found himself in. Strangely, it looked like it belonged in a very wealthy monastery or temple. As he marveled, he found something else quite odd. He wasn't in pain. He looked down to find his injuries were gone. A quick glance over the shoulder showed his wing was in perfect working order. This was all incredibly strange, fortuitous, but strange. Before he could say anything aloud, or even stand up from his bed, he heard a knock on the door. It opened before he could give his permission.

"Hello, sorry to just barge in but, I assumed you'd probably be rather disoriented." said a white dragoness, only poking her head in.

"Y-yeah... you could say that," Flare blinked, not having seen a lady quite like her before, "Where am I?"

"We'll get to that in a bit. First, introductions are in order. May I come in?" the dragoness asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not." the wolfsune remained seated.

As the snowy-colored dragon stepped in, he blushed sharply seeing she was completely naked. He dropped his gaze to his lap, then immediately realized he was naked as well. He yelped and crossed his legs and cupped his paws over his groin, terribly embarrassed that he had not noticed the lack of clothing before permitting the woman entry.

"Oh don't worry about that. We're all naked here. Not much need for clothing in this place. Anyway, my name is Shayna. You took a very nasty spill not that long ago and you were in pretty rough condition when my people brought you in. You weren't even conscious to tell us your name, and you didn't have any identifying paperwork on you." the lady pulled a masterfully crafted chair from the corner and sat down within arm's reach of the wolfsune.

The one-winged fellow was still deeply flustered by the fact that they were both completely nude, but if she saw no reason to be unhinged by it, then he should at least try to get comfortable with the notion.

"F-Flare. My name's Flare. And thank you. I crashed pretty hard. I'm impressed that your people were able to heal me completely so quickly," he paused, realizing he didn't actually know how much time had passed, "How long was I out?"

"Technically, you're still unconscious. It's only been a few hours since you were brought in. And you're not completely healed. This is just a convenient way to make you more comfortable." Shayna explained, leaving out some crucial details.

"I'm... still unconscious... and I'm not completely healed," Flare echoed back slowly, "So, I'm dreaming? I must be pretty bad off if this is how I have to be to not be in pain. Really bad."

It was a troubling revelation, one that prompted another question, one he hoped he wouldn't get an even more troubling answer to, "Am I going to survive?"

"You're stable, and you're well on the mend. You should be back to your old self in a week or two. My staff did a near miraculous job keeping you alive and getting you to cooperate. Which brings us to where you are right now. I'll start broad and focus inward," Shayna took a breath, ran it through in her mind one more time, then began, "You crash landed in the garden of a place called The Treetop Inn. It's a luxury resort and hotel. You landed specifically in the summer quarter of the garden. My staff saw you crash and jumped on you as quickly as the could. It was actually a pretty remarkable response time given the fact that the storm had made it pretty unpleasant out. After that, you were brought to my infirmary for treatment. Once you were stabilized, my staff and I decided that the best treatment for your rather comprehensive injuries was surrogacy."

"The Treetop Inn... I've heard of that place. I thought about visiting sometime but, well... never got around to it," Flare interjected, then paused and furrowed his brow, "Wait... surrogacy?"

He knew what the word meant, but didn't understand how it applied in this particular context. He couldn't make the leap between what he knew the word to mean to how he was being treated. Shayna nodded slowly, expecting the next part to perhaps be a bit much for him to take in.

"Yes. We have several options for trying to treat people in such dire conditions as yours. Sometimes we let them lay in bed and recover on their own like in a regular hospital, though we have faster treatment methods to shorten your stay. If someone is really bad off, we often let The Promise catch them. That means we let them die and a powerful enchantment on the Inn and the surrounding grounds restores them to life, healed and unharmed. I'm not fond of that method for someone who's never been here before. Since you were unconscious, and would likely stay that way for a long while, I decided it would be best for me to use surrogacy to treat you. Right now, you're in here." the dragoness leaned back in her chair and placed a palm across her trim, flat stomach.

That puzzled the wolfsune, making him screw his face up in confusion even more.

"How can I be in you? I'm right here, sitting on a bed in a room in the Inn. I'm sorry but this isn't making any sense." Flare said.

"You're forgetting that you're not actually in a room. You're unconscious. I'm carrying you like you're my unborn child. I'm your surrogate, your host. I'm keeping you alive, safe, and stable while you heal. This place," Shayna lifted her arms and looked around the room, "Isn't real. It's an illusion. An illusory realm of my own making. The term used by those who create them is 'predscape'."

"Predscape?" Flare raised an eyebrow, "A fake world that you created for people who are inside you?"

"That's right. You're not the only one here, either. I've got quite a few people who live here. They're mostly old friends who were on their death bed and I wanted to give them a comfortable place to spend eternity. Their own personal heaven. Don't worry, you won't be staying that long. Just a week or two. I need to get some medical and personal information from you so my staff and I can do a proper work up on you." Shayna explained.

"You keep people here forever? How many? How big is this place?" Flare stared at the woman, appearing to have fairly quickly accepted the explanation.

He had to confess that his 'healing' had been too miraculous to be true. And after he thought about it for a moment, he realized he wasn't hungry or needed to relieve himself in the bathroom. In fact, when he tried to hold his breath--simply not breathing out rather than making a show of it--he found he never felt the need to take another breath. This world was indeed not real.

"Not important at the moment, but I can tell you all about that later. First and foremost, I need your information, who you are, where you come from, what you were doing when you crashed, where you were going, all of it. It's terribly important. You see, right now, I'm asleep in bed. I don't know how long I'll stay that way. Sometimes I can stay for a long while, sometimes I get pulled back into the real world sooner than expected. I run a hospital wing. It's just the nature of the matter. So, if it would be alright with you, I'd like to try and focus for a moment." Shayna leaned in, taking hold of both of Flare's hands to try and draw his attention entirely to her.

It was an effective tactic. He quickly agreed and began answering the multitude of questions the dragoness posed. They all took on the fairly clinical tone he expected from a nurse or a doctor. When she was satisfied, she helped the wolfsune onto his paws and guided him out of the room, showing him around a bit. As it turned out, the angelic dragoness had constructed a 'predscape' that took on the appearance of a grand building in the middle of a clearing surrounded by a massive forest. The structure itself looked like a cross between an ancient gothic temple and a surprisingly modern hospital.

There were quite a few people present, roaming about, some just enjoying themselves, some appearing to be terribly busy with some sort of work. Shayna explained that some lived here just to be comfortable after a hard life out in the real world, and that it had been some centuries since last she brought someone in under those circumstances. The newer residents were members of her staff. The temple-hospital building was a reflection of an identical facility that existed out in the grounds of the Inn, and it was once a sanctuary for those Shayna had sought to protect. Now it was a research facility, allowing anyone who took up residence there to investigate a great many medical curiosities and mysteries.

Since living in Shayna's 'predscape' meant they didn't need to sleep, eat, or tend to any of the usual functions life required, it allowed them to work non-stop if they saw fit. And she could replicate the effects of their work here in her little 'pocket dimension' then allow them to send record of their work out to their real world counterparts. She never let anyone stay longer than a week or so. There was a real danger of becoming addicted to using her as a research vessel. Among other reasons.

After the tour was complete, Shayna returned Flare to his room. He was free to go essentially anywhere he liked, so long as it wasn't restricted by the researchers or caretakers. They said their goodbyes and parted ways as the dragoness felt the morning finally coming on. She had to rise and shine just like everyone else after all. As if she had been an illusion herself, Shayna slowly vanished from before the wolfsune's eyes and he marveled at the feat.

He was still in bad shape out in the real world, but he was in her care and she would make sure he wouldn't suffer while he recovered. That was a comforting notion.

Shayna yawned and rolled onto her back as she woke. Sirius' arm was draped across her tummy, having been cuddled up behind her all night long. She had found it terribly comforting. She smiled and gave the still sleeping wolf's nose a gentle kiss, then paused as she felt another body pressed against her from the other side. She turned her head to see a grey fox resting his head against her chest. He had followed her over as she adjusted position. It was Brian, the wolf-dog's husband. She giggled and wrapped her arms around both of them, giving them both a fond squeeze.

Unfortunately, she had to get up, no matter how badly she wanted to stay wrapped up in their embrace. And no matter how much her belly tried to keep her pinned there. After she extracted herself from the all-too comfortable sleeping arrangement, she contacted Elliot who was already in the infirmary, ready to handle the day. She relayed the information she had collected from Flare while she was asleep, and gave a positive prognosis. Everything sounded like it was going to work out just fine. All she had to do was take care of her passenger for a while, and all would be well.

Rarely did things go exactly according to plan at the Inn.

Days passed without incident. Shayna waddled her way through the infirmary, tending to patients and paperwork, opting to remain in her flowing white robes, or even going naked. Flare continued to recover. His daily checkups were proving encouraging, suggesting he might only need one week. His fractures were mending. His organ damage was shrinking, showing smaller and smaller signs on any scans. And to top it off, he would be scar free. It still bothered her that he had lost one of his wings, and that she wouldn't be able to take the time to make that grow back before he was otherwise fully recovered. But what was bothering her more was the fact that she had consigned herself so something of a celibate state.

She was married, but that wasn't why she was refraining from anything sexual related for the time being. It was for her patient's benefit. Flare might not appreciate that, nor might he appreciate the side effects that tended to come along with being sexually active while acting as a surrogate. It wasn't terribly easy. She was effectively pregnant, and that came with a series of hormonal shifts that were sending her sex drive into a steady climb. As soon as she gave birth to the wolfsune she was carrying, she would just get down and dirty with the first person she could get her hands on. That she had promised herself.

But here it was, just past the end of the first week and Flare was still needing more time. Shayna was getting antsy. And everyone around her could see it in her face, in how she walked, and even smell it on her. Elliot had ribbed her about it, having suffered a similar bought of trouble in the days following the start of her 'new life' as she liked to call it. Shayna didn't entirely appreciate it, threatening to stuff the drabbit back in. But then Elliot would have probably enjoyed that.

The angelic lady sat on the edge of the bed she had been sharing with Sirius and Brian for the last several days, running her palms idly over her swollen belly, rubbing her thighs together. She wasn't sure she would make it. The fire was burning rather brightly.

"Are you okay, honey?" Sirius had been watching her stare off into space for a few minutes.

It jerked Shayna out of her trance, and she sighed.

"I'm fine. Just... a little pent up. I could use a little 'action'. But I don't want to cause Flare any trouble, you know?" she gazed down at her gravid middle.

"I know what you mean. So, why don't you just lie back and let me help you out? I can give you a little relief without making a mess." the wolf settled onto the mattress next to the lady and wrapped his arm around her, giving her cheek a fond kiss.

"You're not gonna try to climb up in there with him, are you?" Shayna smirked.

"Of course not. I mean, it's tempting, but I'm not completely without self-restraint." the wolf offered a low growl, his version of a purr.

"That's not what Smokey tells me when you pin him down. But then he likes it when one of us takes charge like that." Shayna snickered.

"I can be a perfect gentleman if you give me the chance. I just hate to see you in such a state, especially when I know I can help." Sirius pressed his nose in against the lady's cheek, holding there to let her enjoy the affection.

The fire below was burning pretty powerfully. And he was pretty good with his tongue. Maybe it would be okay. The dragoness turned her head to bring her muzzle to meet Sirius' in a slow, tender little kiss. As soon as it broke, she leaned back in for another, growing more insistent. Then she realized she was in trouble. The dragoness wrapped her arms around the lupine, making sure they couldn't back away from one another, and mashed into his lips. Her feral side was starting to show, and she couldn't stop it. And she kind of liked it when she couldn't reign it in.

After a moment or two, she broke the kiss, gazing into Sirius' eyes with a deep, carnal lust ripping through her. She would regret this later, she was sure of it.

"Screw it. On your back. Now." she commanded.

Sirius blinked. He had only seen this side of Shayna in rare moments, but he knew better than to try and stop her. He simply did as he was told, laying down on his back atop the blankets crafted from the spun and sewn shed fur of his own wolf tribe.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, honey? I don't want you feeling bad about this when it's over." he offered quietly, keeping his voice low so he might not sound like he was threatening.

"I don't care. I'm getting what I want." Shayna growled softly.

She rolled herself over on top of the white wolf, straddling his hips. Her belly, huge and heavy, weighed him down so that he might have a difficult time contending with her should he try to appeal to her more rational side. Her hands dropped down on his wrists, keeping them pressed into the bed next to his shoulders. She began grinding herself against his groin, making him rumble in his throat. There was no stopping her at this point.

Normally, she would be tending to her needs enough to keep this side of her from coming out, but clearly her efforts to refrain from partaking had left her far too needy. There was going to be a discussion about this later, between herself, Sirius, Smokey, and her sister. Ivory likely knew all about this all consuming urge. But none of that was on her mind right now. All there was, was the need to mate.

The wolf's sheath bulged under her, and her dominance over him was making it swell quite strongly. In those rare moments when the dragoness turned beastly, he found he rather loved being one of her 'victims'. And now was no different. He simply hoped it wouldn't have any blowback.

The dragoness continued to grind and growl, even bringing her tail about to tickle at the lupine's crotch. She could feel him swelling, flesh protruding from his sheath. She spread her legs wider and wiggled her hips, making sure he would slide directly into her. And he did. A long, low growl rose up from the wolf-dog as he was made to stretch and fill her. He couldn't help himself. He had to give her what she wanted, and it was such a lovely time doing so. He bucked upward into the crazed dragoness, making her hiss.

Shayna lifted her hips and dropped them down on top of the canid under her, slamming down into him with the full weight she had at her command. And there was quite a lot of it given her current state. She began to bounce roughly atop him, twisting one way, then the other, adoring the sensation of his length dragging across her flesh as she squeezed over it. The fires burned brighter and brighter as she took what she desired. Losing track of the time the longer she went.

A swell formed at the base of the wolf's member, pressing against her folds, wanting to join the rest of the rod trapped between her thighs. Sirius was working hard to sink his knot into her, baring his teeth as he let out a snarl in his exertion. He was getting frustrated. She was directing how everything went, and that meant she wasn't letting him finish, not until she would let him. It was a good frustration.

The two lovers pounded against one another, making the bed rock and jostle about. Their voices filled the room, and even drifted out into the path just in front of the lodge. Passers-by were able to hear the chief in the throes of passion with his dragon companion. There would be stories of it later to add to all the others. And then there came a howl. Shayna had pushed herself down one final time, sinking that knot into her hungry folds. It set the lupine off, just as she tilted her head back and loosed an avian-like screech.

A rush of heat shot through the dragoness as she accepted Sirius' contribution. It warmed her belly and made her twitch atop him. Each spurt added to the growing sample swirling around in her. Slowly, she eased herself back down from the high of climax, having left a sticky sheen across his soaked lap. She panted and looked into the wolf's eyes, still hungry for more.

"You're not done." she growled low in her throat.

"Whatever you need, honey. I'm here for you." Sirius replied.

He had managed to free one of his paws in the commotion and lifted it to cup against the lady's cheek. She leaned into the affection and shivered, letting her eyes drift shut for a moment. Then, before the wolf even had a chance to properly 'relax', she pulled herself off of his length. His knot popped out with a wet slurp, making him jerk. Before he could do much more than sit up, the dragoness was upon him again, this time, her muzzle was in his lap, slurping greedily at his thoroughly lubricated shaft.

Shayna crouched there on her knees, bent over, tail lifted high in the air, exposing her rump and drooling petals, a few stains of white blending with the opalescent scales of her hide.

"Sirius? What the hell is going on in here? I thought we'd all agreed on the no sex thing." Brian called out as he walked in.

He had heard the noises they had made from outside and came running back to see if they weren't in distress. They very much weren't. He picked up on the scent of their arousal the minute he opened the door to the lodge. Shayna jerked her head off of Sirius' shaft and shot a glare back at the two-tailed fox. He could have sworn her eyes were glowing, like a pair of cat's eyes peering at him from some dark crevice. He froze in place before she spoke.

"I just rode your husband. Now get over here. It's your turn." she snarled quietly.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and when at last Shayna was clear of head, she had fallen asleep and awakened in the temple hospital that was her predscape. She stretched and cooed happily, feeling oh so terribly satisfied from what had happened that afternoon. Then she froze, her eyes opening wide as it all came crashing in on her. She had given in to her animal side. She had mated with Sirius, then Brian. Then mated with them again. Multiple times. She had been insatiable and almost vicious about it.

She knew the boys wouldn't hold that against her. They loved that sort of thing. But, it meant there was a complication she had to address. Sheepishly, she climbed to her feet from off her own large, luxurious bed in her stately personal quarters, and navigated her way to Flare's room. She could sense he was there. She could sense where everyone was in her 'sanctuary', connected to them all through the nature of it being part of her.

Shayna knocked quietly on the door, waited for a response, then opened it and stepped in.

"Oh, hello, Shayna," Flare smiled brightly, his rusty crimson fur looking well groomed, "How's it going out there in the waking world? Am I getting close to waking up?"

"You're doing good. Making great progress... but... we need to talk. There's been... a development." she bit her lip and pulled the same chair back towards the edge of his bed.

"A development? Is everything okay? Did you find something? Do I need a different kind of treatment or something?" Flare frowned, now worried that something was terribly wrong.

"Well... no. You're fine. I just... I made a mistake. A pretty big one. See, I've been trying to be good and refraining from... intimacy. At least while I'm carrying you. I didn't want to accidentally 'lock you in' so to speak. I'm usually pretty active when it comes to my sex life and... I... well... I had a moment of weakness." Shayna explained.

"Okay... so... you had sex while you're carrying me. That's no big deal. It's your body. I'm just a guest. What's this about 'locking me in'?" the wolfsune tilted his head.

"I had several moments of weakness. All afternoon," Shayna blushed, "I usually don't let myself get so out of control like that. I'm usually a lot better at keeping a handle on things. But... I'm a dragon. Sometimes, if I don't take care of things, I kind of... go feral. And you got a pretty lengthy sticky bath. I assume you know how sex goes and what usually comes from it."

"Yeah..." Flare said slowly, beginning to gradually piece it together.

"Well... I may have... accidentally, through no intended action... adopted you." Shayna winced.

"Adopted me? I don't understand. I'm going to be let out soon and I can go on about my life, right?" Flare asked, denial rearing its ugly head.

"No," Shayna shook her head slowly, "No, you're not. See, when I put you in me, I became pregnant with you. Not quite the same way a mother ends up pregnant after sex, but similar. Well... I had sex. And now I am. I'm genuinely pregnant with you. You're locked in for the duration. The whole nine months."

"Nine months... I'm stuck for nine months... and you're my mom now?" the hybrid canid blinked as he was spelled out for him.

"I'm afraid so. I wouldn't blame you if you were mad at me. Especially since... well... you're going to go through some changes." she answered.

"What kind of changes!?" Flare balked, suddenly rather concerned.

"You're going to regress. All the way back. I'm going to wake up in the morning and I'm going to look like I did before you went in. And over the next nine months, you're going to grow back out into a baby that I'll end up giving birth to. If I've guessed right, you should grow up faster than normal. It should take you only a few months to reach adulthood after you come out," Shayna had switched to a slightly more clinical explanation of the matter at hand, then put on a bright smile hoping to try and soften the blow with a bit of good news, "But hey! Glass half full! Since I've got you for so much longer, I can make that other wing of yours grow back! You'll have a functioning set again!"

Flare just blinked, unsure exactly how to feel about the whole matter. He hadn't asked for it, but he couldn't really find a reason to be upset, at least other than having it happen to him without knowing. It didn't mean he wasn't upset. He was giving up a good portion of his life. But then, if it hadn't been for Shayna and her staff, he wouldn't have that chunk of his life to give up. It was still quite a lot to contend with regardless.

"Will I stay the same... 'age'... in here? In your little private world?" he asked.

"Only if that's what you want. If you want to go back to being a baby in here too, I can arrange that. But I suspect you'd prefer not to. You'll be getting plenty of that in nine months," Shayna scooted in close, taking the wolfsune's paws in hers, "I'm so sorry for this. I know it's not what you were promised or what you expected. This is entirely on me. I screwed up. I couldn't keep a lid on my urges. And now you're paying for it. I promise that I'll be the best mom I possibly can be for you."

For a quiet moment, Flare didn't say anything. Everything was swirling around in his head, making him wonder if he was really going to be stuck even longer or if she was pulling his tails. And he had a bunch of them to pull. Shayna watched him, studying his face to read his reactions. He was a tough one to get a bead on.

"You said... I'd get my missing wing back?" He asked.

The pregnancy had gone just as smoothly as Shayna had expected. It wasn't her first time going down that road after all. She woke up the next morning finding she was trim about the middle just as she had expected. A quick pregnancy test confirmed that she was indeed on the path to motherhood. Again. Slowly, she swelled back out over the course of the nine months that followed. She had been worried about losing control of herself again throughout the course of the pregnancy, but then she knew better. Once the regression had started, no amount of sex would make her 'change course' like that first night she had given in. And that was of great comfort to her.

Smokey had been shocked that he came back to find his wife pregnant and Sirius and Brian were responsible for it. It was hard to tell which one of them had actually been the culprit. Sirius had gone first, but they were both fairly generous in their contributions. But it didn't leave the blue drake angry. Just disappointed and feeling left out. Shayna made sure to make it up to him. Hormones being what they were, she was quick to pin him down very shortly after he returned.

As a result, Flare was lucky enough to have a mother and three fathers, along with countless other family members and close friends of theirs. And she kept her promise to Flare. She had been an excellent mother. She had a lot of experience with that after all. When she finally gave birth to him again, it was a relaxed process. She had been through it so many times that she could have gone through the event without needing to visit the infirmary. But she wasn't about to chance anything. When Flare was slipped free of her greedy womb, he was a perfect little infant version of himself. The world was bright and new all over again, and he would get to grow back up all over again, albeit in a greatly accelerated fashion.

It was a rather lovely environment to grow back up in. His second childhood, a terribly abbreviated one, had made for a rather lovely vacation. A lengthy one. It had cost him just over a year to finish it up, and he wasn't quite back to normal yet. The little wolfsune, now sporting two wings, and a pair of short, ivory-white horns, ran around the Inn happily pestering the good-natured staff to his heart's content. He wasn't so much a terror as he was simply curious and excited about everything. Eventually, he would have to go back to being an adult, but for the moment, he was too delighted to stay as he was.

--If you plan to go flying, make sure you check the forecast first. I made that mistake and it nearly cost me my life. Thankfully, I happened across The Treetop Inn. They have this bubble that protects their forest from the really nasty severe storms that sometimes roll through. I crashed into their garden and nearly died. But their medical staff found me and took care of me. The head of their infirmary even played surrogate for me to recover nice and gently. Things didn't go quite as planned and now, she's kind of my mom. It's kinda of awkward trying to type on a phone with little cub paws, but they tell me I'll be back to full size again in a month or two. But hey! Being a kid is kinda great! And it's been one heck of a relaxing diversion from life in general! If you can afford the downtime, I really recommend it! Five stars!--