Claws

Over it

Depictions of graphic sex and mentions of SA in this chapter. For 18+ users only.

APOLLO

     A few exhausting revelations took place in the cool night air.
     One, the ranch's main compound was much larger than I had previously thought.
     Two, the cattle pasture was even larger.
     And lastly, there were a lot of oak trees on the ranch.
     After wandering around for half an hour without any luck, I sat down on a low-hanging tree limb to rest.
    Sudden, blaring static from my bird collar made me jump. A crackling, "Apollo, do you read me?" came through the tiny speaker next.
     Once a deep breath had entered and exited my body, I replied, "Loud and clear, Supreme Leader Master Luka."
     "Just checking on you." The human clarified before asking, "Everything okay?"
    "I'm lost." I groaned, "I can't find wherever the pack is meeting."
    "Hold on, I'll check your location...." Luka hummed, followed by mumbling, "Is it this button? No.... What about this one...? This stupid thing is too complicated...."
     I inspected my flight feathers in the moonlight as my master struggled. Deciding to make conversation, I broached a topic that had been in the back of my mind all night.
     "I really enjoyed what we did earlier. I almost wasn't nervous."
     The fumbling stopped for a second of surprised silence, then started up again as if nothing happened.
     "I noticed." The brunet said lightly, "I'm really glad. I think you're starting to get over the whole Riya thing."
     Instantaneously my face contorted to shocked anger and my tone grew hot. "What do you mean, "get over the whole Riya thing?""
     "That came out wrong. What I meant to say is that it's not affecting you anymore."
     "Not affecting me how?" I demanded, "Just because I had sex with you, being raped suddenly doesn't affect me anymore?"
     "No, no!" Luka's tone was growing worried, "You know what I meant, hun."
     "No, I actually don't." I growled. "So which is it, did I "get over it", or is it "not affecting me anymore"? Because I'm pretty sure the daily flashbacks, panic attacks, and inability to have sex or touch myself without tremendous anxiety is still there."
     "Apollo, please—"
     A clawed hand, perfectly sharp, sliced off my bird collar in swift one motion. Gravity pulled it to the ground, and for good measure I stomped on the device with as much force as I could muster, shattering the TENS unit and radio.
Sans navigator, I did the only thing I could to find my way. A raspy breath entered my body. Then another, and another, and another, all getting progressively shakier and shallower. With all the space in my lungs, I took in as much air as I could muster, and howled for my pack.
The howl communicated to all lionheart that could hear that I was lost in more ways than one.
Seconds passed, and another howl responded. It was deep and centered me: Atlas.
Light and song-like, intertwining with the first: Ember.
Two hauntingly-similar howls filled the sky: the twins.
A high-pitched, miniscule howl that tried its hardest to be heard: the young one.
Middle-ranged and chilling, but filled with want and frustration: Blizzard.
The howls kept coming and coming; I knew exactly where to go. I ran as hard and fast as my muscular legs could take me to the North-East, towards tiny lights.
Not five minutes later, I was at my destination: a dark blue farmhouse with fairy lights skirting the black-shingled roof. The trim of the building was white, and it must have been at least seventy feet long and forty feet wide, not to mention two-story.
As soon as I slipped through the barn doors, the pack was on top of me.
"Are you alright?" Asked Fig Newton.
"What happened?" Pried Roomba.
"Did you get lost?" From Fuzz.
The various lines of questioning were quieted with a, "I'm okay, I promise."
"You sounded really sad." Said the little girl.
"I'm okay." I was convincing myself now.
"Birds don't howl like that if they're okay." Retorted Ace.
"My master and I got into an argument." I confessed, "But I'll be okay."
"If you need to, you can sleep here for the night." Offered Atlas.
A small smile grew on my features as I met his brown eyes. "Thank you, Atlas."
"Where's your collar?" Asked Blizzard.
When I turned to met her gaze, I noticed something off about her. She smelled different, and her complexion was glowing. Her eyes were brighter, too.
"I tore it off." I confessed, and every bird around me rose their eyebrows. A few communicated their surprised with short whistles.
"Why...?" Asked the female twin.
"I don't want to talk about it." I stonewalled.
"Come sit down." Atlas gently took me by the wrist and lead me to a giant, gray sectional. The rest of the birds in attendance— about a dozen, followed suit.
Roomba took the seat next to me on the other side of Atlas. Not a second later, he was snuggled up against me, nuzzling my neck with his head. It was clear he had missed me. I had missed my friend too.
I took the brief intermission from questions to inspect the birds around me. There was Roomba of course, the Filipino mullet-ed bird with brown coverts and tawny flights. Then Fig Newton, the forty-eight year old gray hunter. Ace and Fuzz, the two Native American birds with jet black wings and beautiful, flowing black hair. Then there was Fawn, the petite African bird who now wore her hair in long brown-and-blonde braids. Ember, the red-haired-and-winged show bird and Atlas, the huge Hispanic bird with a buzz cut. The now-identified twins: Onyx, male, and Obsidian, female, as the tags on their bird collars read. The little girl, Lavender as her tag read, strawberry blond with matching wings, standing maybe five feet tall and perhaps twelve years old. Finally, there was the blond-haired male with curls; his tag read Cornbread.
"You're safe here." The little girl, Lavender, reassured me.
And I did feel safe. I didn't know the birds very well yet, but their presence was undeniably soothing. In lieu of my family, these birds would do.
"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Ember asked softly.
     "Not particularly." I admitted, "It's kind of personal."
     Fig Newton shared their wisdom. "It's not going to get better if you don't talk about it."
     "That sounds about right." Said Roomba from my shoulder.
     "He's got a point," Cornbread added, "and we won't judge you."
Human lies we're not my strong suit— I decided to go with a half-truth instead. "I just got into an argument with my master, that's all."
"Was it about....?" Roomba whispered from where he was snuggled into me.
At my minuscule nod, he wrapped his arms around me in a big hug. "It'll be okay, Apollo."
"I'm also concerned he's going to tan my hide." I half stressed and half joked.
"Most likely." Agreed Blizzard.
"Well, let's make the most of your freedom while you still have it." Fig Newton brought the wisdom one again, "Who wants drinks?"
Collective yipping filled the barn as Fig hopped up to get alcohol. The twin birds got up to follow them, Atlas, Ember, Cornbread, and Lavender left to spread to give us some space, leaving Roomba, Fuzz, Ace, Blizzard, and I to remain.
Fuzz, who sat nearest to Blizzard, cocked his head in confusion. Slowly but surely, he inched towards Blizzard, before sniffing her about a foot away. The female bared her teeth and let out a hearty growl.
"Woah," remarked Ace, "that time of the year?"
Blizzard sent her a death stare before huffing and tearing down her angry facade. "Yeah." She answered simply, with just a touch of guilt over growling at the other bird.
"Been there, done that." Roomba's tone grew suggestive. "If you ever need any help with that, sweetheart, just let me know."
Both Blizzard and Ace gave him well-deserved hisses. Ace jumped to her defense. "Try anything and you'll see the wrong end of my claws."
Roomba stuck his hands up in an "I surrender" position. "Woah, woah, sorry. Just trying to help."
Fuzz looked uncomfortable. "It really wasn't funny, Roo."
Roomba looked to me for some help.
"Sorry. I don't think it was funny either." I grimaced through my words.
"Okay, my bad, Blizzard." Roo relented.
An awkward minute passed before Ace offered, "Come on, Apollo, let me show you around the barn."
I eagerly took the opportunity to escape the situation. Blizzard did too, and the three of us started a tour of the hideout.
When entering, the large, gray sectional was to the left, with an eighty-inch mounted TV sharing a wall with the barn doors. To the right was a kitchenette complete with a toaster oven, refrigerator, sink, dishwasher, cupboards, and island with barstools.
Eating up the rest of the main floor was what looked like an oversized playground combined with a cat tree— towers with hides built in, scratching posts for too-long claws, a trampoline built into the floor, rope bridges connecting the towers, and two giant hammocks that reminded me of Kennedy.
Way in the very back of the barn were two rooms spanning the width of the building, which were revealed to be a storage closet to the left and a bathroom to the right.
The second floor was mostly rafters with a single platform on the middle-right side of the barn. Upon the platform laid a giant hide big enough for four. Shaped like a dome, it was minky and dull blue with a singular circular entrance facing the center of the barn.
Ace, Blizzard and I made our way to the comfortable hide on the second story. It was the perfect solace from the world below: I didn't have to think about Luka here.
     Our trio chatted about simple things for a while. That is, until Fig Newton yowled out "Drinks!" in our native tongue. A symphony of yips filled the air as birds from all across the barn made their way to the kitchen.
     "Y'all coming?" Asked Ace.
     "No, I'm okay." I answered simply.
     "Can't." Blizzard replied.
     "Suit yourselves." Ace responded, "See ya later."
     The native bird hopped out of the hide and disappeared from sight.
     Blizzard turned to me with a questioning look on her face before asking, "Did you say no just to be alone with me?"
     A surprised laugh left me at her suggestion. "No, I just don't drink." I clarified, "I've had a history of bad reactions to sedatives and I don't want to risk it."
     "Okay, that's fair." The white-winged bird said with relief.
     "Why aren't you drinking?" I asked innocently.
     Blizzard went quiet. Maybe to think. Maybe because of embarrassment.
     I decided to ask something that was absolutely none of my business. "Are you an alcoholic?"
     "What?" Blizzard furrowed her eyebrows.
     "It's okay if you are." I reassured her, "We can stay sober together."
     "No, no," Bliz started to laugh, but the giggles died down quickly. "My mistress wants to breed me this heat cycle."
     "Holy shit." I reacted with horror , "I'm so sorry, Blizzard."
     The female chuckled again, and this time it was my turn to be confused. "No! I want fledglings. This is just my first time, and my mistress wants to pair me with this bird I don't even know."
     "That sounds awful." My voice was graven.
     She sighed. "It's literally the worst."
     A moment's silence passed before I offered, "My master wants to breed me to some big-time agility star."
     "You sound unhappy." Blizzard seemed perplexed.
     "I'm terrified." I confessed, "I don't want to be bred like an animal."
     "Why?" Blizzard pushed, "You don't have to do any of the hard stuff. For males, breeding is a fifteen-minute commitment."
     It took several minutes to get my words out. Here and there I started with "I—". Other times, it was "Well....". Occasionally, an "It's—".
     The white-winged bird just laid and listened patiently.
     "I was raped." The words finally escaped me.
     Blizzard's expression shifted to shock, but all she did was nod and give me room to speak.
     "I just don't want to go through it again." I whispered as if the walls could hear me.
     "You won't." Blizzard said simply.
     "What?" I asked.
     "You won't." She repeated, "The general practice is for the female to be tied down. She can't rape you."
     "That sounds so much worse." My voice grew uneasy.
     "It is." The bird replied easily, "That's why I don't want to be bred to some random bird. I don't know what they're going to do to me."
     It was my turn to give her room to speak.
     Blizzard let it all out. "Of course, my mistress will be watching to make sure he doesn't do anything crazy, but what if he carves me up? What if he bites me? What if he doesn't stop when I tell him to? And it'll happen again and again until I get pregnant, and then what? I have to give birth?"  A huge groan left the bird.
"I'm scared." She whimpered in our tongue.
     There was nothing I could say to make it better. Instead, I opted to give her the biggest hug I could muster as she held her face in her hands and hyperventilated. Wrapping my arms and wings around her frame, I squeezed until the heavy breathing stopped.
     Blizzard took a few minutes to calm down. We both sat criss-cross while I rubbed big circles on her back between two white wings. Gradually, her panting turned back into deep, albeit shaky breaths. I was still expecting silence when she said,
     "I want you to do it."
     "W-What?" I stammered.
There's no way I heard her right.
     "I said," Blizzard crawled into my lap and straddled me, "I want you to do it."
     The strange, indescribably intoxicating scent got multitudes stronger. It made me feel odd, like my mind was flying away.
She leaned in to whine into my ear, "Please. Please don't let it be a stranger."
Indecision froze me stock-still. I wanted to help her. Thoughts of what Riya did to me raced through my mind— I could never let Blizzard go though that, even if we hadn't known each other very long.
The sensation of straining against skin-tight ropes was all too real again. The feeling of claws sinking into my skin. The way my body came without my permission.
How could I let that happen to Blizzard?
Then I remembered that Luka said I was "over it". That it "wasn't affecting" me anymore. A burning anger began to build up in my chest. I took a deep breath of Blizzard's scent, and reminded myself.
I'm over it.
I took another deep breath through my nose, and felt my inhibitions lowering.
It's not affecting me anymore.
Taking and holding another giant sniff, I started to feel high.
I'll show you who's over it.
Another breath in through my nose, and I almost wanted her.
Thoughtless hands wandered to her hips, and I absently wondered what consensual sex with another lionheart would be like.
Blizzard seemed to take the action for consent. "Thank you." She whispered.
The white-winged bird bared her throat to me, and I took it as an opportunity to mark her. In an "Apollo was here" fashion, I licked, sucked, and nipped at her sensitive flesh until I had her moaning softly.
Blizzard's soft hands interlocked with my black hair and pulled. My mind briefly drifted to memories of Samuel's torture. That is, until the bird put her tongue in my mouth.
     Tongues touched and danced delicately. I let mine outline the inside of her teeth and felt her moan into my mouth. She kissed me harder, and I felt arousal grow throughout my body. Protracted claws wandered down my back, snaking in a serpentine motion and ending at my waistband where they played impatiently.
     We separated briefly for air. A line of saliva connected our lips before Blizzard purred, "Touch me."
     Surprisingly, I didn't have to be told twice. Warm hands slipped under her baby blue t-shirt. First I reveled in how my hands seemed to fit perfectly on her waist. Then, I let them climb higher, slowly traveling underneath her lacy bra to cup her breasts. They felt perfect and supple in my palms. I squished them lightly, pinching and pulling her nipples just enough to make Blizzard bite her lip and whimper. I really, really wanted them in my mouth.
     As I was pulling off her shirt, she assisted in wiggling out of the garment. Blizzard kissed me hard as I fumbled haphazardly with the closures on the back of the lacy black bra. She stopped kissing me, smiling and giggling as she did so.
     "Like this." She purred, then showed me. The lionheart guided my hands to the little hooks between the straps of her bra and helped me unfasten them. I held my breath as she slipped out of the material, casting it aside, and felt my cock harden at the sight of her breasts.
     It was so strange to me. I had never felt this way about a female before. Blizzard's enthralling scent made it so much easier to relax.
     I could get used to this.
     Careful not to reveal my fangs, I kissed up and down her chest, licking and sucking along the way. She let go of tiny little sighs when I licked sensually, and weak moans when I gave hickies here and there.
     Next, I worked up to her nipples. My tongue traveled around the left in circles, and my fingers pinched and pulled on the right. They were perky and hard when I finally put them in my mouth. Protracted claws tried their hardest not to dig into my back as I teased them between my teeth, right and then left.
     I could feel little trickles of blood easing down my back in a lazy river and soaking into my now-hole-y shirt along the way. It reminded me of Riya sinking her talons into me, but somehow, I didn't care.
     My shirt came off next. Blizzard pushed me onto my back and leaned down, kissing from my neck to my happy trail. It made my dick throb when she flicked her tongue under the exposed waistband of my underwear.
     With less difficulty than I had with her bra, she dismounted me to unbutton and unzip my jeans, tugging and pulling them off of me while my hands assisted hers.
     It was painfully obvious how much I wanted her in just my boxers.
     Again, it became her turn to lose clothes.
  "Can I take off your pants?" I purred the question to her as I sat up on my heels, and she nodded her head in agreement.
     Blizzard guided my hands to her waistband and let me pull off her black leggings. I noticed that she was wearing black, lacy panties that matched her bra.
Had she planned this?
     Unperturbed by the question in my head, I felt my human-like teeth turn into fangs as I noticed how wet her underwear was. They chattered together unconsciously with need. I was all animal now.
     Without prompting, Blizzard slipped out of her underwear. I almost let my hands wander to her, but knew better than that.
    "May I touch you?" I asked as purred as politely as I possibly could.
     "Not yet." She growled assertively, and I showed my throat to communicate that I respected her boundaries. The lionheart took the opportunity to kiss the exposed flesh, sucking strongly to leave hickies. I whimpered submissively at the arousing sensation.
     Her fingers played with the waistband of my boxers. She pulled back, meeting my eyes with the question. My lip found it's way in between my teeth. A nod from me, and the female began pulling my underwear off.
     A part of me that was pushed deep down wailed for Kennedy, but the inebriating scent of Blizzard's heat smothered it.
"Can I suck you off?" She purred the question nonchalantly.
One whimpering, "Please." was my response. The bird got down on her forearms and knees, sticking her ass in the air where I had a wonderful view of it.
Blizzard's tongue licked up and down the front of my shaft. I almost let my head roll back in pleasure, but watching her big blue eyes look up at mine as she licked me was far too good to miss. My claws sunk into the padded flooring of the hide as I tried to keep quiet.
Her course went further south to encompass my balls, which she took into her mouth and juggled with her tongue. Then the lionheart traveled back up my shaft, never breaking contact, and swirled her tongue around the head of my penis. A breathy moan escaped my body.
Finally, Blizzard took me into her hot and wet mouth. Panting as she started to suck, my clawed hands traveled to the back of her head where they gently interlocked with her long, blonde hair. A hand joined her mouth to reach what her throat couldn't, stroking my length up and down.
I couldn't decide whether to purr or to whine, so I whimpered instead. "That feels so good, Blizzard,"
The bird's tongue continued to sway back and forth against my length while it was in her mouth. Gorgeous white wings framed the lionheart, and I spied her voluptuous ass past the curves of her waist.
All too soon, she stopped, and I found myself whining for more. Blizzard chuckled sadistically and rubbed my inner thighs.
"Your turn." I purred eagerly, and the bird opposite of me smiled a fanged grin, flipping onto her back and opening her legs to expose her soaking wet pussy.
Jesus Christ, this is actually happening. Okay, Apollo, you can do this!
Methodically, I took a leg in each arm and pulled her closer, sliding the lionheart across the padded floor. A conscious effort was made to sheath my claws and dull my teeth for the next part.
I settled onto my stomach and set my tongue to work. Starting at Blizzard's clit, I licked down in a snaking motion all the way to her vagina, then back up again. She tasted exactly how her heat smelled, and I found myself falling ever-deeper under her spell.
Spreading her wide with my hands, I let my tongue find her clit again. First, I sucked on it tenderly. Then, I played with it in little circles. Next, I stroked it up and down with my semi-rough tongue until Blizzard was squeezing my head in between her thighs, pulling my hair, and moaning loudly.
I kinda felt bad for the birds downstairs.
"Please, Apollo, finger me!" The lionheart whimpered out, and I didn't need to be reminded.
Two dull fingers entered her. It was warm and moist and tight and the feeling made my dick throb just thinking about putting it in her.
Okay, how do I do this? Is there a prostate in here somewhere?
I took my chances and fingered her in a "come here" motion with my palm facing the sky. Apparently I was doing something right, because Blizzard started to buck her hips and whine. I took the opportunity to lower my head back down and play with her clit using my tongue some more.
It wasn't long before Blizzard whimpered out, "Oh my god, Apollo, oh my god! I'm gonna come!"
If experienced serves me right, I should keep going.
Man, was experience serving me right tonight. Blizzard's pussy tightened and let go of my fingers over and over again while she moaned out, "Apollo!".
I kept going after she came until she pushed my head away from the overstimulation. Blizzard laid panting with her eyes closed while I sucked my fingers clean, reveling in the taste of her.
When Blizzard's eyes opened once more, they were still filled with lust. She pounced on me, knocking me onto my back, and straddled me just below my cock. Her wet pussy lips pressed against my hard on and all I could do was purr out, "Please let me fuck you, Blizzard."
Eager hands guided her hips up and onto my erection. We both moaned together at the feeling of me slipping inside of her. There was no getting away from it now— we were doing this.
Blizzard rode me up and down. I met her in the middle, thrusting up as she came down, and we both whimpered at every impact. We went on like this for about five minutes before I flipped her over into missionary position.
I took hold of one of Blizzard's legs and propped it over my shoulder to reveal the spot she loved so much. With each thrust she let out a shaking, breathy moan, which only encouraged me to pound her harder.
Next, we did it doggy-style. I pulled a handful of her hair back as I thrusted deep into her over and over. She bucked her hips back at every pump, and I loved to watch as she panted with her tongue out and dug her talons into the floor.
    As I got closer, I tried my damnedest to fight the growing urge to sink my claws into her.
     "I want to claw you." I snarled out, feeling my orgasm build up inside of me.
     "Then do it." She growled back.
Hesitation stopped me.
     "Do it!" She snarled.
Two hands gripped her hips as I pounded her. Right as I came, I sunk ten claws into her flesh and pressed as far into her vagina as I could. Blizzard squirmed and squealed, but I didn't let go until I had spurted out every drop of semen into her.
It was then that I realized that I had a handful of claws sunk into each of her hips.
Blizzard yelped continuously as I slowly worked my talons out of her to prevent more damage. The last claw popped out, and she turned over onto her back. When I went to apologize, she held up a hand to stop me.
"I'm okay." She mrrrred softly then purred, "I wanted it."
"You're bleeding." I whined, "I'll get you cleaned up."
Blizzard didn't protest as I threw on my boxers and jeans. Peeking out of the hide, I saw that most of the birds had gone home— all who remained were Fig Newton and Atlas. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for more than likely driving everyone else out.
Focusing on Fig Newton in a hammock, I shimmed out of the hide and glided down to them as quietly as I could. Upon noticing me, the old bird winked.
"First aid kit?" They guessed.
I nodded sheepishly.
Fig procured the first aid kit elsewhere on the hammock. As they handed it to me, I asked, "Were you waiting for me?"
"Yes." Fig Newton answered simply. "I figured it was your first time, and I didn't want Blizzard to get an infection."
"How did you know....?" I questioned with bewilderment.
"That you would claw her?" Fig completed the sentence for me. "She's in heat. I didn't think you could help yourself."
Their response left me with more questions than answers. I settled with just saying, "Thank you, Fig." and getting back to my....partner?
When I ducked back into the hide, I immediately set to work tending Blizzard's wounds.
"I'm so sorry." I apologized in English. It didn't feel like words would ever be enough.
"Apollo, for real, don't apologize." Blizzard said seriously, "I'm in heat, you couldn't help it."
I must have missed lionheart sex ed. I'll have to ask about this later.
Once all of her wounds were disinfected and bandaged, I felt like I had fulfilled my purpose. I did everything that Blizzard had asked of me, but was unsure of what to do next.
Blizzard seemed to read my mind. "I need some attention." She remarked expectantly.
Gently as not not upset her injuries, I took a spot next to her in the hide. She looked at me with her big blue eyes, and I opened my arms to her, allowing her to scoot into them. I wrapped the bird in a tight embrace, stroking her hair and laying a shielding wing over her still-naked body.
And just like that, we fell asleep together.