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Chapter 1: Fate

Season of the Scion, Day 203, 1326 AE

A young charr walked down a dock in Shiverpeak Bay, clutching her frayed woolen cloak to her side. Her tawny feline pelt, marred with black splotches, offered little protection against the frigid environment. Frozen tears marked her face as she looked from ship to ship, her tiny fangs biting into her lip in indecision. Her choices were few in the frozen north. Few boats had cause to be here, and most were heading south for the season. Tenderpaw did not want to go south. South was war: of flame and famine, of her burning village and painful memories.

Tenderpaw looked to the north. No flames danced on the northern horizon. Instead, mountains rose to the sky, offering defiance to the gods. Icebergs along the shore provided a natural blockade against most sea travel. Most, but not all.

She pulled her hood down tight against her muzzle, turning to the side as a pair of charr walked past her. Their swords clanked loudly against their plate armor as they laughed and jostled one another, boasting of their exploits. Each of the adult males stood head and shoulders above Tenderpaw's slender frame. Tenderpaw counted to ten after their footsteps faded into the fog. Certain the warband was out of sight, Tenderpaw stepped out onto the dock and walked briskly in the opposite direction.

A Kodan koch anchored at the far end of the dock. She hustled towards it, wary of any more charr suddenly appearing. The koch's reinforced iron hull presented a stark contrast to the southern merchant ships and the solitary charr warship. A single mast stood with its sail pulled up tight, rigging dangling in the wind. Barnacles slipped beneath the waves with each ocean swell. The oak railing encircling the deck looked recently polished.

Tenderpaw wiped the cold tears away from her cheeks and stepped onto the wooden plank leading up to the ship. The word _Redemption_was etched into its starboard hull. She counted six Kodan moving about the deck, preparing the rigging and sails for departure. The Kodan closest to her had his eyes closed. His mouth moved wordlessly in prayer.

"Hullo!" She called out. The Kodan ignored her. She took another step. "I said, HULLOOO!" She cupped her paws to her mouth for emphasis, her squeaky voice rising above the wind.

The Kodan's black ears flicked in her direction. His wordless prayer ceased as he folded his arms, searching for the origin of the squeaky feline voice. The Kodan's expression softened slightly as his searching eyes found Tenderpaw.

"Hello, little charr. Are you lost? Do not despair. Koda looks after all, lost and found, young and old," spoke the deep-voiced Kodan. His eyes were deep and black. There was no judgment or condescension in his gaze.

"No. And I do not know who Koda is, but, tell him I'm not lost." She took a deep breath. The speech she had prepared in her head was rapidly fading in the presence of a polar bear twice her height. The Koda looked large from afar, but were absolutely enormous up close. White, hairy arms as thick as her waist remained folded across his bare, muscled chest. The bear wore leather leggings with a red sash around his waist. The gauntlets across his forearms were etched with patterns and runes.

Raising her eyes up from his chest, Tenderpaw met his gaze. "My name is Tenderpaw. I seek passage to the north. I can work the rigging and I'm not afraid to pull down a sail in a storm. I'll earn my room and board - no need to pay me." She folded her arms in an attempt at mimicking the Kodan's demeanor.

The bear pondered her for a moment. He responded slowly, gauging her reaction. "I believe you, little charr, who names himself Tenderpaw. Come closer." Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he added, "My name is Resolute Augur, and I will not harm you. Now come." The great bear rumbled, unfolding his paws as he knelt down and beckoned her forward.

Tenderpaw walked as confidently as she could muster towards the bear, pausing at the very last step. Did the bear just call her a him? She tried to stand tall like a Kodan, not hunched over like a charr. Resgur, at least she thought that what he said his name was, leaned over to sniff at her, his ebony nose twitching.

"Ash. A young charr boy comes from the south with ash on his fur and wishes to board a Kodan boat to the north. A lost family, perhaps an entire lost village. He seeks something different than his charr upbringing."

Tenderpaw's eyes widened. "How...?"

"I see with my eyes, I smell with my nose, I listen with my ears. The boy named Tenderpaw has four ears. He should listen twice as well, I think." Resgur grinned a toothy smile at her. "You may come with us, little charr. But know this: we are not your home. We are but a path on the road that is your fate. Now come."

"Oh! Thank you, Resgur, thank you-"

"Resgur?" The bear laughed, a deep rumble that set his belly bouncing. "The boy has four ears and listens with none. That will change. Come."

Tenderpaw scampered up the plank after Resgur, taking two steps for each one of his. The deck was a slow order of activity. No Kodan seemed rushed, but all had a job to do. Some paused to look at her curiously before looking to Resgur in askance. Resgur would nod or lay a hand on their shoulder and the look would melt away.

Resgur led her to the aft of the koch. She followed him through two large oaken doors beneath the helm. Tenderpaw was unsure if she would be able to open one of them on her own. Resgur paused here. "Listen carefully, Tenderpaw, with all ears this time. The door in front of you is the captain's quarters. Do not go there. He is busy and has much on his mind. Too much." Tenderpaw bit her lip and nodded vigorously, ears bouncing. "Behind you is my cabin. I am our ship's shaman. Listening to the spirits and guidance of Koda, I guide us through our fates as best as I can. Including your fate now, little charr."

Tenderpaw didn't really understand much about fate. Charr made their own fates, her father had told her. Not wanting to think about her father, her mind wandered, the activity on deck catching her attention. Resgur poked her belly.

"The boy should listen. His fate brought him here. How often does a charr boy think a Kodan ship docks here? How many ships sail north at this time of year? Think, Tenderpaw, think. And when you are done thinking, listen, listen to the spirits who are guiding you."

Tenderpaw's stomach rumbled loudly, the noise echoing in the small room. Resgur's black lips twitched into a smile.

"You can put your things in my quarters. You will stay with me. Go now, to the galley: whence we came, through the hatch and down the stairs. You'll smell it. If any Kodan shall ask, say fate brought you here. I'll speak to the captain."

Tenderpaw nodded again, tugging at her sleeve as she blundered for words. Finally she spat out a "Thank you - I'll work hard!" She turned and skipped towards the galley, just as Resgur said. She didn't know why he kept referring to her as 'boy' and 'him' but if it let her stay on the boat, it was a secret she could keep.

Chapter 2: Cabin Boy

Season of the Scion, Day 236, 1326 AE

Tenderpaw's paws were sore. Her arms ached. But she kept her head down and kept scrubbing, working her way around the helm and the captain. The captain's name was Silent Star. When Resgur first explained her presence onboard the ship, the Captain spoke to her precisely once: to welcome her aboard Redemption and to follow Resolute Augur's instructions. Tenderpaw felt his name was apt.

Resgur didn't believe in idle paws. "Tenderpaw! Tenderpaw is a land name. When you leave Redemption you might choose a new name for yourself. Ironpaw, perhaps!" After scrubbing the deck nearly ten times, Tenderpaw was beginning to know precisely what he had meant by that.

She quickly learned of her mistake of Resgur. His real name, Resolute Augur, she found difficult to pronounce. Her raspy feline tongue stumbled over the words for a day when she learned of her mistake. Resgur only laughed and told her to call him Resgur. He didn't seem to mind. He did not mind much at all really. Besides his droning talks about fate and Koda, he was perfectly pleasant to be around.

Groaning, she finished her cleaning duties for the morning. After storing the supplies she loped across the deck on all fours. Resgur taught her the ways of the Kodan at lunch, sharing stories of their god, Koda, and the balance of the world. Tenderpaw stuffed her maw with hard bread and listened with four attentive ears.

"The world has shifted, Tenderpaw." Resgur said. "Fires of war consumed your village. Fires melted our home iceberg, Calm Ice. Now together we search for a new home. Do you see?"

"I see the ocean, Resgur. I see more icebergs," she said plainly. She swallowed her bread and looked around for some meat.

Resgur shook his head. "See with your eyes. Look there." Tenderpaw followed his pointing paw to the southwestern edge of the horizon. A black haze feathered upwards, obscuring the line between sea and land, between land and sky.

"Smoke from fire. We will not put into port there. Too much fire, Tenderpaw. Not enough ice." Resgur shook his head. "When you are a man, you will choose. The path of charr is fire and war, smoke and iron. You can be different."

Tenderpaw stiffened at Resgur implying that she should grow into a man. The Kodan shook his head, "Not man like human. I did not mean to offend. Grow into a leader of a male warband. You would take a wife and lead your people to victory. Is this not what you were taught?"

Tenderpaw shrugged apathetically and chewed on her jerky. She hadn't paid attention to much warband stuff in her village. The majority of her cubhood was a haze and blur as far as she was concerned.

"You have a choice, Tenderpaw. Let Koda guide you. The world does not need more warbands and fire. The world needs peace and ice."

"Resolute Augur!" The captain's voice rang out across the deck. Resgur sighed and heaved his great mass up from his seat. All ten feet of him looked north, then back down to Tenderpaw. "To my cabin with you, Tenderpaw." Tenderpaw opened her mouth to protest. "A boy remembers his promise to obey. Now go."

Tenderpaw stuffed the rest of the jerky into her muzzle before returning to Resgur's cabin. Inside her lower ears picked up the low resonances of Resgur's and the captains voices. They weren't arguing. Kodan didn't argue, not really. Not by charr standards at least. But Resgur's voice sounded disappointed. The captain's voice was taut, with an aura of finality.

Tenderpaw sprawled on her hammock, yawning. The voices moved out of the reach of her ears. Boredom threatened to creep into the cabin. The unnatural quiet made her eyes heavy. At night Resgur's snores could rock the ship, a sudden snort a clap of thunder. Tenderpaw had quickly learned naps were required to get all of her sleep in.

The gentle swell and heave of the ocean comforted her. Her eyes fluttered close, tail tuft brushing back and forth against the deck as her hammock swung with the motion of the sea, rocking her to sleep.

Chapter 3: Warmth

Season of the Scion, Day 270, 1326 AE

_Redemption_bucked and heaved, rolling with the swells of the sea. Resgur's cabin was lit by his own spell, a tiny incantation which glowed from the ceiling. Resgur was with the captain.

It felt like a storm, but there was no lightning and thunder like Tenderpaw was used to on the plains. In her village a thunderstorm would roll through in an hour. The only danger would be ice from the sky. Here there was no ice from the sky, nor water, nor thunder or lightning. Just constant, terrible wind.

The wind brought the cold. It found its way through the seams between planks. Tendrils of frost crept in from the exposed hull. Tenderpaw couldn't stop shivering in her hammock. Her worn woolen cloak had since been replaced by a Kodan leather hide. But the Kodan were polar creatures, born and bred in the icy weather. Tenderpaw's short fur gave her little protection against the sudden drops in temperature.

The door to the cabin opened with a loud _bang!_She scampered to her feet and hunkered down for balance, tail out. Roaring Dawn stood in the doorway, the captain's first mate.

"The jib, charr!" he boomed. Tenderpaw sprang onto all fours, running past Roaring Dawn as he gave her instructions.

The heavy footsteps of the Kodan followed behind her, his voice roaring over howling wind. "The spirits turn against us. The wind spirits threaten our jib. Stay out of the leeward side lest it snap you into the stormy depths." Tenderpaw gripped the rigging, ready to climb, when she felt his paw on her shoulder.

"Resolute Augur wishes to convey his faith in you," Roaring Dawn said before lifting his paw and taking a step back.

Tenderpaw's heart beat rapidly. Tenderpaw could unravel and fold the jib with her eyes closed on a clear day. It was the first thing she had learned. Now Redemption was a pitching and heaving mess, threatening to toss her into the sea like a horse bucking off its rider.

Strangely the cold she felt earlier was gone. Her paws gripped the rigging confidently as she made her way up. Keeping his advice she stayed off the leeward rigging. The jib whipped and strained, snapping with each gust.

Tenderpaw climbed higher. When she reached the boom her paws immediately went to work on the knots that secured the jib in place. Once the knots were unfastened she found her rhythm. Pull, wrap, tie. Pull, wrap, tie. Carefully, inch by terribly blow inch, the jib started to come up. It was hard work. Her arms ached with the effort, her legs entwined in the rope to keep herself from falling.

The wind was a physical force that shoved and pushed against her little form. She swayed and hung on. Several times she dropped the rope entirely, throwing her slender arms around the boom to avoid being tossed into the surf.

Each pitch of the rolling sea sent a wave of frigid seawater spraying against her. Her eyes stung with saltwater. The Kodan clothing kept the first ocean sprays off of her, but before the jib was halfway up she was soaked through. The cold returned in force. Her teeth chattered as she worked, little paws turning numb.

After what felt like an eternity, the jib was finally up - and not a moment too soon. Securing it with knots taught by Resgur, she finished her work and sighed. Redemption pitched and rolled, diving wildly into one swell before barely cresting the next. A koch was built for breaking ice in calms seas. She knew this storm threatened their lives.

Tenderpaw started climbing down like she had mitts on her paws. The ropes, soaked with saltwater, were turning icy. Getting down looked to be more difficult than getting up.

She hit the deck on all fours, landing roughly and with a faint wince. Now that the need of the situation was gone her adrenaline rapidly faded. Instantly her legs and arms felt like they were made of lead. Small icicles hung off of her cheek-horns, making her look like a frozen walrus. Tenderpaw didn't care.

Voices in the wind murmured out their thanks and appreciation before fading into the background. She nodded past the few Kodan brave enough to be on deck and stumbled towards her room on all fours. When she pushed the door open she found Resgur sitting on his bed, looking anxious and alert.

Resgur's beady black eyes lit up with happiness, and then, concern. "Tenderpaw! Thank Koda. I had faith. But you were gone so long." Resgur sat her next to him on his bed.

Tenderpaw shivered violently, her teeth chattering as she answered. "I g-got the j-jib. T-Told you I w-was useful." She sniffled.

"Indeed, Tenderpaw." Resgur snorted, feeling the bed begin to soak through with frigid salt water. "Now get those clothes off." Tenderpaw looked at him with wild eyes. Resgur scoffed dismissively. "You're soaked through and shivering. The cold will take you if you do not get warm. This is no time to be modest, Tenderpaw. Now, off."

"But-" she stammered.

Resgur leveled his gaze at her and narrowed his eyes. She nodded and stood reluctantly, holding an arm out against the wall as the cabin continued its wild pitch. Turning away from Resgur, she wriggled out of her wet cloak and shirt. It wasn't the shirt she worried about. She never had found quite the right way to explain it... she had hoped she would be off _Redemption_before anyone noticed. She unlaced her breeches, paws quivering. Slowly she stepped out of them, kicking them to corner.

The young charr girl had no further way to conceal herself at this point. The excess moisture in her fur caused her calico pelt to cling tightly against her svelte form, making it impossible to ignore the faint hour-glass shape of her torso. Her water-logged tail kept low against her bare haunches to help preserve her modesty, inadvertently highlighting the natural dips and curves of her back and flanks. Even the tell-tale fringe of her tail couldn't be mistaken for anything but female, even if it was a dripping and droopy mess.

"Tenderpaw..." The tone of recognition, surprise, and shock in Resgur's voice was unmistakable. Now he knew the truth. "Turn around, Tenderpaw."

"No! I don't want to." She stood, naked, facing away from him as she shivered and held onto the side of the cabin, drops of water falling off of her ears onto the floor.

Resgur folded his arms and hmpf'd loudly. "Into bed with you, Tenderpaw. I'll look away."

Tenderpaw nodded. She grabbed a towel, quickly drying herself off as best she could before crawling across Resgur's bed, sliding herself beneath the blankets. She curled up against the wall as far away from the door as she could, clutching the blankets to her chest. The warmth in his bed was encapsulating. Her paws flexed, the icy pain fading slowly from her extremities. Her heart leapt into her throat, however, as she felt the sturdy bed creek and tilt as a large presence slid across the mattress to lay next to her.

"There is no other place for me to sleep, Tenderpaw," the Kodan murmured apologetically. The bed was long, but it was not very wide. His warm polar fur rubbed against her back as she shivered. After a moment of tentative silence, Resgur asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just-" Tears came to her eyes. She thought back to that day. She thought of getting kicked out, or rejected. "I just thought, if you knew, you wouldn't have let me. You know. Stay," she snuffled, her vision blurry.

"So you lied," he said softly.

"I didn't lie!" She turned and faced him, glaring defiantly. Her flat chest rose and fell heavily as she wiped her tears away. "You assumed I was male. I just... never corrected you, is all. I never lied."

"Mmm," he pondered, remembering. "I believe you are right. It seems I am the one who needs to learn to see with his eyes and listen with his ears." His large paw wrapped around her, pulling her small form against him.

"My body will warm you, and your secret is safe with me. Now sleep, Tenderpaw, and let the spirits guide your dreams."

She wanted to struggle against his arm, to tell him she didn't want him holding her. Instead she curled up against his chest and laid her head in the crook of his arm. Her shivering subsided, replaced by a glowing warmth that spread throughout her entire body.

Chapter 4: Finding Redemption

Season of the Colossus, Day 271, 1326 AE

Tenderpaw awoke naked, her head on Resgur's chest. He was still sleeping. It wasn't even dawn yet. Her eyes took a moment to wander over his brawny form. He had stripped naked as he did every night. She was used to seeing the fuzzy outline of his sheath and scrotum, barely visible against the swath of fur around his crotch. The anatomy of a male wasn't anything new to her. The children in her village usually abandoned their clothing during the heat of summer, much to the frustration and chagrin of their parents.

Tenderpaw unwittingly thought of her parents. One time, just before her fifth birthday, her father's warband had been called to action. Her mother had acted proud and excited but Tenderpaw knew how anxious she had really been. The relief on her mother's face the day her father came home was palpable. Their hut that evening echoed with the sound of groaning, snarling, and the final roar punctuating the end of charr mating.

Tenderpaw knew what sex was. She knew her mother had offered herself to her father to thank him, or to welcome him home. But that was before they had all burned. She sighed and shook the memory out of her head, looking down at Resgur's chest instead. Her gaze wandered down to the shadowed section of his loins, obscured by the presence of the blanket. Her paws moving without thought, she tugged the blanket towards her, exposing Resgur's lower half so her curious eyes could see.

His cock was hard. Tenderpaw's eyes widened. The sheath was pulled back, his penis rigid and flexing into the air. Was he awake? Tenderpaw froze, looking up at him. No, just dreaming. A dream about a wife, perhaps? Or a memory?

She couldn't take her eyes off him. His penis was a deep fleshy red color, and tapered, thick at the base before narrowing to a slender tip. No barbs like a charr's. She carefully wiggled out of his arm and slid down his side until she found herself adjacent to his hips.

Resgur had been good to her. He had vouched for her on Redemption. She wasn't naïve of that fact. She knew the last thing the captain probably wanted was a young charr scampering around his ship. But Resgur had found her a place, kept her safe, and now shared his bed with her.

She knew what was expected of her. A charr did not share a bed just to cuddle. Two charr shared a bed for one reason: to breed. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat, looking up and down at Resgur. She had never been invited to someone's bed. She was too young during her time in the village, and too alone by the time she escaped the smoldering wreckage. Maybe Kodan customs were different. In any case, she knew her duty: Resgur had invited her into his bed last night, and she had willingly accepted.

Tenderpaw shrugged off the covers completely now. Her paws ran through Resgur's fur, feeling the warmth and rock hard muscles below. She swung one leg over to straddle his broad chest. Both of her paws trembled. Would he make her cry, like some charr males did to other females? She hoped by taking the initiative he would go easy on her.

The small charr girl pressed her belly and groin against his body as she wriggled down further, letting her silky fur follow the grain of his own dense pelt. Reaching behind her she found his cock. It throbbed as she touched it, fiery hot to the touch, yet curiously pliable when gingerly squeezed with her fingertips. Her heart hammered furiously in her chest: she had to do this! With a determined face she elevated her curved hips so she could guide the long shaft up against the inside of her thigh, stopping when she felt the tip of his cock against her virgin folds.

"Tenderpaw!"

Tenderpaw yelped and removed her paw immediately, abandoning his rigid flesh and quickly dropping her bottom to rest atop his groin. Resgur's cock was flat against his belly, her tight slit pinning it against his fur.

"I'm sorry! I- this is my first time sharing a bed. Please forgive me!" She bit her lip, looking down at Resgur.

Resgur regarded her in complete bewilderment. His paws gripped her around the waist, ready to lift her off of him, but he paused. "Sharing a bed?"

"Y-yes. I know what sharing a bed is. When two charr share a bed they... they mate. I thought you wanted..." she murmured softly.

"Tenderpaw..." His cock throbbed against her as he held her hips. Resolute Augur was no stranger to females, but even he had to admit it had been some time indeed. To wake up and find a willing female in his bed, straddling his chest... it was enough for him to get lost in a brief fantasy. Resgur sat up abruptly and picked Tenderpaw off of him, setting her down on the bed. He stood, naked, and walked over to the door. He lowered the latch, turned around, and sat next to Tenderpaw on the bed, putting an arm around her.

"Tenderpaw... " he said again. "You don't _have_to mate. I shared my bed to keep you warm."

Tenderpaw's paws folded over each other anxiously. She had been ready to take his cock inside her. Now she wasn't sure if she was being scolded, punished, or seconds away from being kicked out. "But I wanted to! It's okay, I mean, I would have said when you asked to share. I knew what you were asking."

A big, white arm wrapped around her shoulders, hugging her close. "Well. Listen to me. Our fates are entwined more closely than I imagined. You wonder why I was not there last night, when you were working the jig?" She nodded. She had been wondering. "I was praying. The wind spirits were angry with us. With me. I had seen the signs but did not believe."

"Believe what?" Asked Tenderpaw.

"I do not know, exactly. A feeling. We give our lives to understanding Koda's desire. I now believe that Koda has intertwined our fates. For what I do not know." Resgur's paw squeezed gently at her neck and shoulders. The warm and reassuring gesture progressed down her side, holding her firmly at the hip.

"If you believe, and if you trust me, lay back down, little Tenderpaw. If you do not - and I will not force you - you can be on your way at the next port. I will not endanger you any further on Redemption. This I promise," he spoke gently into her ears.

Tenderpaw's wispy tail swept across the sheets behind her while her violet eyes stared up to his face, her little fangs protruding just beyond the smile of her lips. The look said it all. Of course she trusted Resgur. As she began to wiggle her legs to help scoot her bottom across the mattress, seeking out the warm depression in the bed where he once lay, Resgur moved forward with a relieved smile on his muzzle. His broad paws lifted her by her waist and moved her higher up the bed, resting her back on a pillow to elevate her hips.

Resgur took a moment to admire the unobstructed view of her naked body. The soft fuzzy arch of her pubic bone trapped between her spread thighs helped highlight the vertical pink rift of flesh embedded in her tawny pubic fur. Before she could say a word, Resgur sank to a knee and pressed his muzzle between her legs, lapping at her slit with his broad, rough polar bear tongue.

Tenderpaw breathed out a soft crooning little moan, "Oooh..." She squirmed in a fit of conflicting emotion. She had licked herself between her legs while grooming many times, or even a tiny bit of experimentation, but to feel someone else do it was entirely different. She had no control over him - his warm, broad tongue lapped and wriggled, pressing at her in ways she never expected. A single lick covered her loins from tailhole to belly button and everything inbetween. A swarm of butterflies stirred in her belly.

Wet slurping noises filled the cabin. Tenderpaw's back arched, a shiver of pleasure travelling down her spine. Her tail coiled and uncoiled itself, batting against his chest with frantic indecision. Her hips alternated between squirming away from him in the throws of overstimulation, to bucking upwards, silently encouraging him to bury his muzzle into her slit.

Resgur's attentive ears picked up what made the little charr gasp the most. With a low huff the polar bear's nostrils flared, inhaling her scent. Nuzzling gently into her crotch he moved his muzzle lower. Each lap of his tongue spread her slit open, ending with a gentle lap against her clit and audible squeaks from Tenderpaw.

His tongue lapped clear across the stretch of her backside, tucking low into the clustered fur at the root of her tail. The broad flesh licked warmly across her tailhole and rump, only to end with a return to that moist little slit. The single lick across her backside was enough to make Tenderpaw squirm heavily.

Resgur quirked an eyebrow. With a shrug he grabbed her tail with a paw, gently pulling the fringed appendage aside.

"W-wait!" Tenderpaw squeaked and squirmed in his grasp. He kept her tail held out of the way, acquiescing to her body's unspoken demands. Resgur's rough tongue moved firmly over her clenched anus, treating her tight pucker to a flurry of licks. Tenderpaw's resistance subsided immediately, replaced by a heavy purr. The tail tuft stopped trying to squirm away and began to coil and uncoil itself, her little hind-paws clutching at the air.

Between the steady, wet licks he nuzzled at her thigh and exhaled atop her slickened sex. "Don't deny your body, little charr. Let your pleasure flow through you. This is your spirit coming alive. Embrace it..."

The licking turned into kisses, the polar bear moving his lips along her inner thighs before working his way back up to her slit. He kissed her atop the apex of her sex, treating her outer folds to a shallow probe of his tongue before moving onto her belly, trailing a series of kisses up her shallow stomach and flat chest. Every time his cold nose touched the thin fur across her tummy she breathed out a giggle and squirmed from the shock of two temperatures. "Ticklish?" He grinned at her. "Adorable."

Resgur's paws seemed to be everywhere to Tenderpaw. Considering one of Resgur's paws was larger than her waist, it only took a tap of his palm or a touch of his fingers to keep her mind trapped in a whirlwind of tactile confusion. No one had ever come close to touching her like this before. The warm paws roamed on her belly and back, down across her rump, squeezing and massaging as they went from one erogenous zone to the other.

Tenderpaw's legs splayed wide as Resgur kneeled directly in front of her. He grabbed her hips, tugging her towards him until his cock rested between her legs, draping across the front of her small slit. It looked much, much larger than when he had been dreaming. A single bead of moisture dribbled down from the tip of his aroused cock.

"Relax, little Tenderpaw. Let your spirit free," he instructed in slow breaths. Her eyes closed as her breathing became steady again, her frantic heartbeat starting to calm down. Her ears relaxed, tail no longer twitching with anticipation or anxiety. "That's it..." His paw moved between her legs and stroked his thumb up across the petals of her moist folds, repeating the motion until wet schlick, slick noises filled the cabin.

Gripping the base of his cock he brought his tip up to her folds, letting her feel the contrasting heat between his rigid flesh and the chill of the cabin. He looked down on her, rubbing over her chest with his other hand. "Beautiful little charr, open yourself. Let your spirit soar. Lose yourself in your senses: see, smell, feel." He leaned over her, letting his heavy cock rest between her legs. It looked so big to Tenderpaw, and so hot! It flexed up at her, widening as Resgur grunted with arousal. The base of his cock rubbed against her slit, parting her slender lips as his balls bumped up against her rump.

With a kiss to her forehead his hips moved back, his hot flesh rubbing down against her until his tip lined up between her legs. He pressed forward into her young slit, her velvet inner folds spreading lewdly around his cock tip.

Resgur rumbled with pleasure. With difficulty he held back his carnal instinct to ram his cock into the little charr as if she were a Kodan female. Even still she whined and bit her bottom lip, seeing the stark difference between his adult Kodan flesh and her young charr body. Resgur brought his paw up from her chest and swept it behind her skull and horns, fondling her ears in an act of kindness before pressing the edge of his palm against the fangs of her petite muzzle.

"In birth, there is pain. In love, there is pleasure. In breeding, little Tenderpaw, there is sometimes both. Bite. I will share any discomfort," he spoke to sooth her nerves.

Without hesitation or pause to let her consider his words, Resgur bucked his hips in a smooth but practiced motion, bullying his way past the natural resistance of her hymen before subjecting her to the first half of his bulky cock. Tenderpaw clenched her teeth across his paw and bite down on his paw, her eyes screwing shut in a wince of pain.

With a sudden shift of his weight and a gasp in pleasure he slid half of his cock inside her, causing another clench of her jaws on his sturdy paw. She felt so full, and her body reacted with instinct: her inner walls alternated between squeezing that hot flesh between her legs and relaxing. Everytime she relaxed, another inch of his hot cock slid into her slender body.

Slowly the feel of him became less pain and more pleasure. The feeling of being full was now incredibly arousing. She whined and squeezed, her no-longer-virgin folds wrapped fully around him. The biting stopped. Her jaws slackened around his bitten paw and she moaned. Reaching down to feel where his cock was spreading her, her curious paw squeezed around his cock, encouraging him.

His cock stretched her slit into a lewd little circular shape as he bred her, conditioning her insides to conform to his bulk. Her small paw gripped around the hard cock, feeling the heat welling up as she felt around where their bodies connected. She fondled him, feeling how his hot girth spread her slickened sex. Every thrust rocked her back into the bed and sent a wave of pleasure into her loins, causing her toes to curl.

Tenderpaw's breath came in short gasps. Suddenly the pleasure was overwhelming. The waves of tingling sensations in her spine turned into a fiery lust as she finally understood what Resgur was saying: she let her spirit free. She let him guide her into a new realm of bliss and satisfaction she never knew was possible. Her insides squeezed and rippled across his tapered cock as she let out a loud salacious growl, no longer holding back or trying to keep quiet. Her hind claws raked into the air as Resgur plowed into her, compressing her little spine and scooting her across the mattress until the pillows bundled around her head stopped her from thumping the headrest. His heavy balls slapped across the base of her tail, kissing her recently groomed rump.

There was no growl, no shout of delight, no roar of satisfaction like her kind often produce, but suddenly he was breeding her. His cock throbbed and pulsed inside of her, tugging upward against the roof of her pelvis while sending a sticky warm jet of cum deep inside her belly, pulsing in time with the tug of his shaft. She could feel every batch of seed sent crashing against her little cervix, glazing her insides and pooling at the barrier of her womb while her muscles milked him for more.

Slowly she came back down, her spirit reuniting with reality. Resgur stayed inside of her, his paw stroking her belly while he watched his seed leak out from the narrow space between his girth and her slit, dribbling onto the bed. He leaned over and kissed her, first on the forehead and then the lips. Wordless, she kissed him back, his whiskers tickling at her nose.

Eventually he softened and rolled onto his side, laying next to her with his heavy paw tucked underneath her small shoulders. Tenderpaw stayed flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling of his cabin - their cabin, now - while casually leaking seed onto the bed. A large polar bear paw stroked along her belly, smoothing over the tufted fur where his belly had met hers in the crash of motion.

"You did well, Tenderpaw. I think we will be spending much more time together." He kissed her again, nuzzling his polar bear muzzle into two of her ears.

Tenderpaw nodded and reached down curiously, feeling the sticky mess left between her legs, then bringing it up before her eyes. The fluid bridged between her fingers like a sticky spider web but did not drip off or show signs of breaking without force. Resgur chuckled at her. "Kodan seed is strong, but I do not think a new spirit will quicken in your belly. Instead let us look forward to the future. I still have much to teach you."

"You're not going to leave me, then?" Tenderpaw asked timidly, finding her voice at last.

"No, little charr, I think not. But I think our time on Redemption is done - for both of us."

Chapter 5: Fate, Together

Season of the Colossus, Day 281, 1326 AE

Tenderpaw and Resgur stood together on deck, watching the bow of Redemption crest through the waves as she sailed for port. Occasionally a large swell sent sprays of ocean water up at them, causing Tenderpaw to huddle against Resgur's chest.

Ahead of them to the west the docks emerged from the horizon. A Kodan port. Most boats were small kochs like theirs with a few fishing boats mixed in. A large brigantine sailed past them as she sailed for the same harbor. Her twin masts billowed with the wind as she made better speed than the iron-hulled Redemption. The Kodan on each deck paused to wave at one another before moving back to their work, as there was always more work to be done, especially on port day.

Behind them, the sun crested the eastern horizon for the few hours that remained. Each day only had a few hours of sunlight now. But today was blessedly warm, minus the constant spray of seawater onto deck. Tenderpaw sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the crashing waves and smelling the salt on the air. It smelled like home. But Redemption could never be her true home. She expected the Kodan port to be full of new smells, new people, more new things. The thought unnerved her. Leaving Resgur's side she draped herself over the oaken railing, gripping it tightly as she gazed west.

"What do you see, Tenderpaw?" Resgur asked. Tenderpaw looked. She saw the docks and boats. She saw a clear horizon with no smoke. A mountain range now lay between her and southern fires of war. No large towns or smokestacks dotted the horizon, only the fresh white powder of a recent snowfall.

"I see change, Resgur." A broad polar bear paw rubbed over her forehead, fondling her ears.

"The little charr sees well." His paw left her as he folded his arms. "Change and hope, I think. The captain is not happy I have decided to leave. He is happy you have decided to leave. As with all things, there is balance."

Tenderpaw wrinkled her nose and looked up at him, sniffing at the wind. "Is he angry with you, Resgur?"

"No. The Kodan do not anger one another. We only seek to understand our fates. In time, he will come to understand that my fate lies with you, little Tenderpaw." Tenderpaw bit her lip and nodded, shifting her weight back and forth on her paws in time with the rocking of Redemption.

"Now come, we must pack and make ready. I have a map," he patted his belt reassuringly, "so we will not wander without aim. Across this land there are many dangers, but also many wonders which will help guide our path. We will face many challenges, Tenderpaw, but we will face them together."

Tenderpaw nodded. She gripped the railing for one last time before dropping down onto all fours, loping after Resgur as they made their way back to their cabin. Inside two empty packs lay on the bed: a small backpack made for a Kodan child, and a large one. Tenderpaw could fit herself into the larger pack if she wanted.

Wordlessly Tenderpaw opened her tiny sea-chest. Her meager belongings barely filled it. Most of her possessions were gifts from the crew. Others she had earned with her work. New clothes, leggings and shirts and boots, a thicker cloak. All of it she stuffed into her pack. A tiny wooden replica of Redemption sat on top of her clothes before she drew the strings taut and shouldered the pack. It felt heavy.

Resgur grunted as he shouldered his own burden. Out on the deck she could hear Roaring Dawn shouting orders as Redemption_docked. A loud _clunk reverberated around the cabin. Tenderpaw's ears perked. Resgur smoothed them down. "We are here. Now come, little charr: let's see what this day brings."

Tenderpaw held onto his paw with her own. Her small paw could only fit around a few of his fingers. Together they walked from their cabin and onto deck, embracing whatever fate was in store for them.