Commission for Anon! Thank you so much for commissioning me!

	The roar of the waiting crowd made Garmra’s canine ears twitch. Anticipation made her heart pound. She sat in a dark room, only dimly lit by a lantern in the corner that cast an orange glow. The weapons racks, armor stands, benches and tables all cast long shadows across the walls. In the corner of the room, Garmra was putting a leather shirt over her light ashen skin. She next put a chain shirt over that leather. To contrast her black, natural hellhound fur that adorned her forearm, hands, ankles and feet, she draped a white wolf fur cape over herself. 
	Garmra turned to a small, wall mounted mirror and picked up a little wooden bowl, being careful not to spill the light blue paint it held. She used a smoothed wooden stick and applied the paint to her face. Little blue dots under her eyebrows, lines down her cheeks, large streaks across her forehead in a V shape, and lastly a line from one cheek bone to the other across her nose. She took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. Was she showing enough skin? She wondered as she adjusted her shirt to reveal a little more of her cleavage. Her rear was covered up by the cape as was her anxiously wagging tail.
	“What a glorious showing!” The announcer hollered over the roaring crowd, “Let’s hear it for our victor, Lina!” The crowd of canine monster girls howled in unison and shook the building as they stomped their feet. 
	Garmra panted as her heart pounded. It was almost painful as the pre battle anxiety continued to wrack her. Minutes were passing as the current fighters left the arena. She stood as the roaring of the crowd quieted down, the anticipation was killing her. The thirst for combat was too great to resist as she went to the weapons rack and picked up her demon silver axe. Her tail wagged faster, the fire in her eyes burned brightly, and the chainmail on her helmet clinked as she put it on. Garmra’s ears twitched as she started to stomp to the gate, eagerly waiting for it to be lowered for her. She put her hands on the bars, shaking them as she looked into the sand covered arena. No blood was splattered on it today, a good sign for the battles to come. Blood being spilt in their ‘for fun’ fighting arena was generally considered an ill omen. 
	“IIIIIIIIIIIn this corner!” The white haired queen of the arena shouted, her tail furiously wagging with excitement, she waved one hand in the direction of her opponent as their gate slowly rose, “Hailing from the sandy lands of Egypt! Looking to prove herself to her new peers! Jomanaaaaaaa!” 
	The crowd roared as a dark, tanned anubis in chainmail with light-weight golden plating and a gold helmet strutted out onto the sands, waving one hand at the crowd before drawing her black and gold painted demon silver khopesh. As a show to hype herself and the crowd up she slammed it against her tall shield adorned with scarabs. 
	“AAAAAAAAAnd in this corrrrrner!” The queen shouted again, hardly audible over the rising excitement of the crowd, “A returning fighter, looking to show off to her future hubby!” A few giggles rose from the crowd, “Garmraaaaaaaa!” The queen hollered, the gate quickly lowering and letting the mad hellhound out into the arena. Howls rang out from her fans, boos from her nay sayers, and a general cheering excitement from the others. 
The arena was roughly 300 feet long and 160 wide, the size of a football field and was oval in shape. At one time this had been a football field but had been converted for the bloody games. The ground was covered in sand that was no more than an inch deep with a few stones scattered about. The walls were stone, leading up into the plush seats that the excited crowd sat in. Mainly dog girls, along with their men, and a few ‘honorary canines’ made up the crowd. In the middle of them all, high up the steps on a stone platform was where the queen of the arena, Sarah sat with her husband on a long, velvet couch. He looked tired, just like he always did around this time. The queen was keeping him attentive to the action at least while demanding he feed her grapes as two kobolds fanned them. Even if the new arena had some air conditioning, she loved the feeling of power and regality it gave her, like the Roman emperors they had so much fun aping.
	Garmra raised her axe above her head, howling along with her fans as she took her place, slamming the butt of her axe on the floor. The two fighters approached one another as the queen nodded approvingly, the crowd went pretty quiet as the two warriors stared one another down, sweat pouring down their bodies as they walked, looking to the queen of the arena as she looked the combatants up and down when they stopped next to one another. The queen wore a toga that was as snow white as her hair and tail, and it whipped in the wind of her servant's fans as she stood up on her platform still as a statue. She nodded with satisfaction after looking at her husband at her side, “Warriors! Fighters! Gladiator dogs!” She cried. The two fighters crossed blades, giving Garmra a moment to size up her opponent. The anubis was quite tall, her jackal ears giving her the extra height to match the hellhound’s. The friendly gesture ended before the two started hurrying back to their sides, putting about fifty or so feet between them. Both gripped their weapons, eager to begin as both dropped down into running forms. The queen held one hand in the air as the crowd stared at her. She glanced at the crowds and the fighters, letting their tensions and anticipation rise. Garmra and Jomana shuddered, sweat pouring down their muscles. 
The queen smirked and brought her arm down, horns blared and the crowd started to cheer as Garmra and Jomana rushed one another. The hellhound brought her two handed axe down and swung up as the anubis got close. Her big shield blocked it, spraying sparks as they collided, but made her stumble as she wasn’t prepared for the force behind it. The crowd was already starting to yell and holler. Garmra bellowed a war cry, following up with another horizontal swing, forcing Jomana to go under it. The anubis swiftly swung with her khopesh, striking the hellhound on the side. She grunted in pain as the crowd cheered, retaliating with a punch to Jomana’s stomach, winding her as she pulled back and panted, catching her breath. 
The crowd was howling at Garmra to finish off the anubis. She pressed her advantage, bringing her axe up, and slamming it down on the anubis’s shield. She made a grunt as the axe dented the shield, nearly breaking through it as she reared back for another swing. The anubis brought up her shield but wasn’t prepared for the hellhound to use the butt of her axe like a spear which she drove into the tanned woman’s bosom. Swiftly, she tried to recover, but the hellhound was still on the offensive, dropping her axe and rushing in. 
	Jomana swung her khopesh, getting Garmra in the arm then attempted to bash with her shield. The hellhound shoved the shield aside and grabbed the jackal in a bear hug and lifted her into the air with a grunt as the anubis flailed her shield and sword against the hellhound’s armor. The crowd went wild as Garmra brought the anubis down, slamming her on her back. What little air she had was expelled from her lungs as the sword and shield fell from her hands. 
	Garmra huffed as the crowd howled, screamed, and cheered while the hellhound went for the axe she had dropped. She jabbed the butt of it into the anubis’s chest as she painfully tried to get back up. The hellhound looked to the queen of the arena. A little smile spread across the white haired canine woman’s lips before she held out her hand, a thumb pointed to the side as the crowd quieted down, waiting for the queen to pass judgment. Everyone knew the outcome, but it was tradition at this point. She smiled and raised her thumb up, sparing the defeated combatant. 
	Garmra removed her axe and pulled Jomana to her feet, “You alright?” The hellhound asked as she brushed the sand off the anubis’s helmet.
	“You didn’t have to punch me so hard,” She chuckled, finally catching her breath. 
	“Sorry, I got a little too into it,” She laughed back as the two shook hands then went into a friendly hug to show there were no hard feelings between them.
	Jomana grabbed Garmra’s wrist and held the victor’s hand into the air, “GARMRA! GARMRA! GARMRA!” The crowd chanted the hellhound’s name, her tail was wagging at dangerous speeds now. She lived for the glory and honor of it. 
	“Dedicating this win to anyone?” Jomana wondered as the two picked up their gear.
	“My boyfriend, of course!” She grinned, looking off into the crowd where she had been sitting less than half an hour before. A young man sat alone, a seat open next to him. He smiled at her, his elbows resting on the guard rail of the stands. Garmra kissed her palm and blew it at him, making him jokingly catch it and hold it to his heart, swooning for her in a silly, overblown fashion. 
	“Let’s hear it for our combatants!” The queen hollered over the noise of the crowd. The gladiator dogs in the crowd howled and stomped their feet as the warriors on the field waved to the crowd before the two of them walked out of the arena, “That’s it for tonight! Thanks for coming out, everyone!” The queen shouted and got claps and cheers in response, “Come back next week for our special event! Simulated naval combat where we will fill this arena with water!”
	Garmra felt nothing but dread as she reached the changing room with Jomana, “You okay?” The anubis asked as she started to doff her armor. 
	“Hm? Yeah, yeah,” The visions of boats, hollering warriors, and combat with unsteady footing entered her mind. But beneath that… the churning, black water, roiling under the overhead storm. Waves crashed against the boats, nearly capsizing them as the combatants struggled to maintain their footing. The wind howled, and the rain poured as a warrior got hit with a blunt weapon, sending him careening into the dark waters, flailing for his life before–
“Garmra?” A voice said her name,  a soothing and kind voice full of concern, “You’ve been staring at the wall for five minutes. Daydreaming again?” 
	The hellhound spun around in surprise, “Oh, Kelvin,” She sighed, “Yeah, just thinking.”
	Kelvin ran his fingers through his long blonde hair, “You are always overthinking things,” He chuckled, “What is it this time? Come on, let’s get this armor off while you talk.”
	The hellhound started undoing the straps of her armor as her boyfriend started to wipe her down with a rough, wet cloth, “I’m thinking about that boat battle that the queen wants to do.”	
	“I see,” Kelvin sighed, “That bruise looks pretty gnarly…”
	“It’ll be fine, I’m fine,” Garmra huffed, trying to sound tough. With the slightest bit of pressure on it, she started to whimper quietly. 
	“You don’t need to act tough with me,” Kelvin whispered. Even if they were the only two in the dim locker room, he knew how precious her image was in the face of her peers. 
	The hellhound growled and grabbed him in a big bear hug as he tried to wipe the paint off her face, “I am tough!” She bellowed as she started to rough house with him, flipping him around so she could put him in a headlock. 
	“Okay! Okay, you are!” He laughed as she put him down. She quickly put on a pair of gym shorts and a tight fitting shirt, still revealing her well toned stomach. She looked her boyfriend up and down before ruffling his long, blonde hair. Kelvin pushed her hand off and picked up her bag, “C’mon,” He led her out of the locker room where a group was waiting.
	“Garmra!” The first, a lanky, black furred werewolf greeted, “You did great, girl!”
	“Yeah!” The second was an unusually strong looking kitsune with orange hair and white tails, “It was amazing!”
	“We’re gonna destroy them in the naval battles!” The last, a stout kobold hollered.
	“Yes, my mother is going to be sponsoring us. All we have to do is put her company’s brand on the side,” The kitsune proudly explained.
	“Yup!” The werewolf excitedly nodded, “I’ve been practicing my doggy paddle and everything. What about you, Garmra? Are you prepared?”
	“I… yeah…” The hellhound’s mind was still fixated on the visions of deep, black ocean and the raging storm.
	“Garmra?” The kobold whimpered.
	“I think she’s just tired out,” Kelvin explained as he shook her, “I need to get her home.”
	“Right, well, we should practice soon, Garmra,” The kitsune said with a smile, “Have a wonderful night, you two.”

	“Garmra,” Kelvin tapped the steering wheel of his little car as the hellhound sat staring out the window in the passenger seat. The foggy, cold night was devoid of cars and horse drawn carriages. No pedestrians were out and walking the streets, leaving the couple alone in their own thoughts. Garmra was watching the street lights go by, the yellow glow blinding her as they passed each pole, “Garmra…” Kelvin repeated with a frown on his face, “Hey, come on. What’s wrong?” He reached over, past the middle arm rest and gently shook the hellhound. 
She shook herself and looked over at her boyfriend, “Huh? What is it?”
	“You’ve been unresponsive since your fight. What happened?”
	“I’m fine. I’m telling you I’m fine,” The hellhound grumbled.
	Kelvin grumbled in Danish to himself, the language of their home country, “I have known you since birth. You can’t lie to me about this, Garmra!” He cried, turning and frowning as he stopped at a red light, “You were fine right after the fight, then in the locker room you were spacing out. Even in front of your team you were acting weird.”
	The hellhound folded her arms and sat back in her seat, “I… I’m thinking about that naval combat the queen was talking about.”
	“The Gladiator Dogs don’t do that very often,” Kelvin muttered. He rubbed his chin and looked over to see Garmra sweating and shaking. The fire in her eyes had nearly gone completely out, “You’re thinking about the water.”
	“Well…”
	“Garmra, I know how you feel about water.”
	“I-its just water. There’s n-nothing wrong with it. Nothing to w-worry about,” Her lower lip was trembling and she was whining quietly like a scared dog.
Kelvin shook his head, “Come on. I’ve known you forever. I know you’re afraid of the–”	
	“I AM NOT AFRAID!” She shouted, slamming a hand on the dashboard in front of her, “I’m not afraid of anything! I fear nothing in this world! Nothing from the old world!” She panted and sweat, staring out the window of the truck as it barreled down the lonely country road. They had left behind the overhead street lights, sidewalks and businesses. 
	Kelvin put his hand on the hellhound’s wrist, running his fingers gently through the fur as he waited for her to calm down, “It’s that overactive imagination again, isn’t it?”
	“It’s not just my imagination. Those visions of the vikings on the sea, chanting and rowing as they went are real visions from my ancestors!” She insisted, “That feeling I get when I look down into the deep, black sea and when I feel the howling wind on my skin, and smell the salt from the waves spraying me as they crash against the side of my boat… it’s too vivid not to be real.”
	She took a turn putting her hand on his wrist and gently running her claws over the pale skin, “I know your dad has Norse ancestry, but your mom is from the old world. Same as my parents,” Kelvin said as he slowly took a sharp turn, “Maybe it is that latent mamano magic that lets you feel your ancestors, but I don’t know. If you’re afraid–”
	“It is not fear,” She corrected him quickly, “I’m just… anxious.”
	“Anxious? The great and powerful Garmra is anxious about water but not afraid of it?”
	“Shut up!” She groaned and folded her arms, “I just don’t like getting wet. I smoke and I stink when I get drenched in the rain. I’m anxious that you’ll think I’m gross,” She quickly redirected, “I’m not afraid nor anxious of stupid water, I just hate it, dummy.”
	“Uh huh,” He gave her an incredulous look as he blew raspberries, “Whatever you say. We’re almost to your place,” He announced as he took another corner, “You’ve got class tomorrow, right?”
	“Well, yeah, it’s Monday tomorrow,” She groaned, but was very glad to be off the topic of water.
	Kelvin smirked, “Yeah I’ll be there too. Class and swim team practice.”
	“Ugh, you know how much I hate you being on the swim team,” She huffed as Kelvin turned down a gravel road, “You could AT LEAST be on water polo and play for glory, but now you’re just trying to go fast? I don’t see the sport in it at all.”
	“Do you know how big the mamano on the polo team are?!” Kelvin cried, “I’d get slaughtered! Human girls and smaller mamano get their own league, but men and big girls are in the same league! They’re so much stronger than us. You’d be good at it.”
	She froze, a chill running down her spine as she even imagined stepping down into the pool, “I, uh, I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’m not doing that.”
	“It was a joke, Garmra,” Kelvin sighed, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
	“Text me when you get home,” Garmra leaned over, hugging her boyfriend with one arm and ruffling his hair with the other, “Good night.”
	“Yeah, night,” He gave her a thumbs up as she climbed out of the car and closed it, staring in through the window at her boyfriend as he shifted into drive. He gave another wave and a smile before slowly driving off, leaving Garmra alone in the cool evening air.
	She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked up at the stars then down at her parent’s farm house. She missed the frigid snows of home, only getting really cold air three of four months out of the year. She shook her head as she stared at the porch light that was always left on for her when she went out with Kelvin like this. She kicked a rock in the gravel as she went, wishing she could drive herself and not have to rely on her parents or childhood friend. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and went inside, ready to rest her weary body, turning off the porch light as she went.

	Garmra trudged down the busy halls of community college. The night had been sleepless, the nightmares had continued to wrack her in her sleep. Along with that, she had tossed and turned all night thinking about the potential of her boyfriend and childhood friend drowning. What if he fell off a boat? What if he was under the water for too long? The hellhound found herself shaking and sweating as she thought about it, struggling to keep her mouth closed as her body heated up to an uncomfortable level. She didn’t like to pant in public and the sweating hardly helped. Her flaming eyes had turned to smoke, and her body shuddered. The hellhound looked around as most students entered their classrooms, leaving her nearly alone in the long, off white hallway. She sighed, she was done with classes and desperately wanted to see her boyfriend and she needed to be sure he hadn’t drowned himself. 
	It was a short jaunt to the college’s gym– especially for Garmra with her long, athletic legs. The claws on the end of her paw-like feet clacked against the tiled floor as she walked through the halls. The visions kept playing in her head. Stormy oceans, rocking boats, the cries of combat. She managed to distract herself before the visions of falling into the water would wrack her. She could stop the shuddering for a time, but if she kept thinking about it, she was going to start ruining her clothes with sweat. She started to jog. She needed to see Kelvin soon.

	Garmra walked through the gym after scanning her student ID card, past the workout machines, weight racks, and numerous cardio machines that she was intimately familiar with. The further she went, the less she knew what she was getting into. A gym where a few students played basketball, and an open room where a handful of students participated in yoga led by a tall ogre who contorted her body in strange ways. As she turned a corner by a wall ball court, the scent of chlorine assaulted her senses. She nearly gagged as her nostrils flared and her eyes water. She was tempted to turn around, to leave the building and get some fresh air away from the stench of chemicals, but the splashing she heard in her ears… it sounded frantic and desperate. All she had to do was step through the double doors at the end of the hall and she would be at the pool, and that’s where Kelvin was. Against her better judgment, Garmra started to slowly walk down the hallway, the dread and anxiety she felt was akin to that of an inmate on death row marching toward their death. Or, in a more modern sense, on their way to have their mind ‘changed’ by a mindflayer. Or a human woman who was to be forcibly monsterized. At least it's what the young woman imagined either of those felt like. An inevitable end of who you are. Death– or some kind of ego death. 
	Was she being too dramatic? Probably. She pushed the double door open as she realized how silly she was being. The scent of chlorine made her feel sick, but she managed to walk into the room and look around. All leagues of the swim team were present. Young men, monsters and even human women did laps or sat at the edge of the pool, watching others. It was an olympic sized pool, long with ropes separating each lane. As the last of the swimmers stopped, a few girls from the aquatic mamano team, everyone politely clapped, then started to get out of the pool. The captain of the swim team, a lithe nereid in a one piece swimsuit cleared her throat, “That’s enough for today everyone! Go shower up and head home.”
	Garmra scanned the area, looking for Kelvin which was surprisingly difficult. Numerous men in little more than shorts and maybe a swim cap were all around. Almost every one of them was getting chatted up by a monster girl. The hellhound scowled, even forgetting about the terrifying blue pool for a moment as she looked more, still refusing to stray from the double doors.
	“Isn’t that your girlfriend?” Someone asked, hardly audible over the others. 
	“Huh?” After removing his goggles and swim cap, Garmra could easily recognize him. Her tail started to wag as relief washed over her, “Yeah, that is her. I’ll catch up with you later,” Kelvin walked around the pool to her, “What are you doing here?”
	“I, uh, was just thinking about you. And I wanted to see you,” She quickly explained in an entirely unconvincing fashion. She did like seeing him shirtless, gazing upon his muscular, shirtless form was some wonderful eye candy to her. 
	Kelvin put his hands on his hips and gave an incredulous look, “I see,” The two moved to a bench across from the pool as most people left, “I’m surprised you actually came in here.”
	“Why’s that? I can walk into a room…” She glanced at the deep pool and started to sweat again, “Even if there’s a big, blue, deep… long… wet, pool,” Her voice cracked and she gripped Kelvin’s arm.
	The man leaned towards his hellhound girlfriend before gently putting a hand on her arm, “Garmra. You can tell me if you’re worried about something. What’s on your mind.”
	“I… I… You can swim well, right?”
	“Yeah, I’m not the best in my league but I’m good at it,” He chuckled.
	“C-could you… teach me?” She whimpered.
	“Teach you to swim?”
	Her hand covered his mouth, “Not so loud!” She hissed as a few swimmers walked by, not paying the two any mind, “I don’t want people to know I can’t.”
	“Okay, okay,” Kelvin chuckled at his girlfriend, “Are you sc– nervous?”
	“Yes! I am!” She growled, her face turning dark red.
	“I’ll keep you safe,” He assured her, taking her hand gently, “Hey! Captain!” He called out to the nereid who walked over to the pair, “No one has the pool reserved after us, right?”
	She shook her head, “Nope. Are you two gonna do some swimming together?” 
	“Garmra here needs some practice,” He explained, “It’ll be better if it's just the two of us. She’s a little nervous.”
	“I’ll lock it behind us and put a note that it's reserved for the rest of the evening,” The captain grinned,  “Remember, no skinny dipping!” She joked as the last of the swimmers got ready to leave.
	“Hey, Paula, can Garmra borrow an extra swimsuit?”
	A big oni looked over, looking the hellhound up and down, “Yeah, sure,” She tossed them a key, “Locker 231. I’ll get the key back from ya in chemistry tomorrow, Kelvin. Take the silver one. Just wash the suit before ya return it.”
	“Thanks!” He handed the key over to Garmra, “Go get changed and rinse off. I’ll take care of you when you’re ready.”
	Garmra swallowed nervously, “Okay…” She got up and went to the locker room alone, trembling nervously as she walked by the pool. 

	After a short while, Garmra reappeared from the locker room dressed in a silver one piece swimsuit. It was a little loose, but would cover her body. Kelvin was in the shallow end near her, gesturing for her to come in, “It’s warm, come on!”
	“O-okay…” The hellhound stood at the ladder to get into the pool. Her boyfriend stood in the shallows, hand out to take hers. She reached down, firmly grasping the man’s hand. He could tell she was trembling as her claws started to dig into his hand. The fear was obvious on her face. Her eyes were dilated and there was no fire or smoke in her eyes. Her tail was tucked between her legs. The two stood there, hand in hand for what felt like hours– especially for Garmra.
	“Garmra?” Kelvin squeezed her hand, despite the crushing of his hand, he was more focused on her, giving her a little tug to join him. 
	She let go, scrambling to the wall, “I, uh, I ate recently. My stomach is gonna hurt.”
	Kelvin started getting out of the pool, “Garmra–”
	“I’m gonna stink like a wet dog if I get in!” She shouted.
	He approached her, “Come on–”
	“I’m going to drown if I get in!” She wailed, falling to her knees, “Just like my ancestors!”
	Kelvin knelt down gently running his fingers through her hair, “Garmra. This isn’t the ocean. It’s four feet deep.”
	“But… can I even learn to swim?” She whimpered. 
	“You know I teach people how to swim, right? Like, as my job?”
	The hellhound’s ears flattened against her head, “Well… yeah, but I’m not a kid.”
	“I taught a teen aged oni just a few days ago. I’ll lead you in, this will be a lot less awkward than that situation,” He joked, “I won’t let you drown. You trust me, don’t you?”
	“Well, yeah, but…”
	“Garmra,” His voice got stern as he changed tactics, “I will call Sarah right now and have you barred from fighting this week. I’m not letting you drown there in front of everyone. Get in the pool,” The hellhound whimpered as she was pulled to her feet, “If not for your team, for me.”
	Garmra swallowed nervously. Her mouth was dry and her heart was racing. She looked past her boyfriend at the water then back at him, “Okay. I-I’ll do it.”
	“Good. I’m gonna get in, then you get in after me, alright?”
	“Y-yeah.”
	The hellhound watched her boyfriend jump into the pool then hold his arms out for her. She found herself frozen with fear once more. She squeezed her eyes tight and began slowly walking toward the pool. Just looking at the water would be enough to throw her into a panic. But was not looking at it any better? She was nearly hyperventilating, but she was carefully and slowly approaching, “Garmra?”
	“I–” She fell face first into the pool, quickly being covered in warm water as she started to thrash, panicking as she desperately tried to get above water. 
A pair of arms grabbed her around the stomach and lifted her up, “Garmra! Stop flailing!”
“Huh?” The drenched hound wiped her face. She was in the pool. Gently, she was put down so her feet were on the bottom of the pool, “I’m… I’m in the water!”
"Yeah, you are!" Kelvin cheered for her and gave her a tight hug.
	The hellhound squeezed him, “Now what!?”
	“Here, let’s have you try floating in the water. Once you learn to do that everything else will be easy."
	“O-okay,” The hellhound looked down at the water, seeing her feet distorted in the semi-reflective liquid. 
	She put up no fight as Kelvin gently gripped her larger form, easing her back into the water. He could feel her pulse rising as she squeezed her eyes shut again, “Just stay still,” He ordered as he helped her lay flat on the water, “You won’t go under if you relax. Don’t tense up.”
	Despite her trembling, the hellhound did as she was told, nodding silently even as she felt the water around her neck and torso. She whimpered, gripping her boyfriend’s upper arm as she tried to relax, “Am I doing it right?”
	“Put your limbs out like a star,” He ordered, both hands on her back to keep her afloat. He wondered for a moment how buoyant her muscles were before gently letting her go. She floated on the water, still squeezing her eyes shut, “You’re doing good! Keep like that for a bit!” He reached over and scratched her belly, making her tail slowly wag as she felt a wave of happiness. 
	Garmra's ears were full of water and the small waves were crashing against her face. Even with her mind wandering, the overimagination was giving her visions of a calm, sunny ocean. She was floating on a pool ring, bathing in the sunshine in a two piece swimsuit. To the left was more ocean and to the right was a sandy beach where Kelvin sat on a lawn chair with a sun umbrella over him. She felt nothing but bliss, “Kelvin?”
	“Hm? What's up?” He helped her stand up in the pool.
	She lurched forward and hugged him around the neck, “I love you.”
	“I– I love you too,” He replied, unable to fight back as the hellhound grabbed his face and brought it to hers, kissing him passionately on the lips for a long moment. 
	The hellhound’s eye flames had returned, “What’s next?”
	“The– the doggy paddle,” Kelvin took a moment, shaking the shock from him, “Uh, after that we can try freestyle.”
	“Alright! Come on, help me do it!”
	He nodded, “I’ll show you first. You won’t swim like Michael Phelps in a week, but you’ll survive your fight!”
	
	“Row, dammit!” The kobold shouted at the crew.
	The crowd howled as the viking boat rocked and slowly made its way toward the roman styled ship at the opposite side of the arena. The water was eight feet deep and Garmra, the kitsune, the werewolf, and the kobold all rowed their boat straight at them, their fox shaped ram on the bow of the ship aimed right at their opponents. The roman hounds all panicked as the ‘Fox-Mart’ branded long boat rushed toward them. The logo was on the sail that was only raised for looks, on the side of the boat and on all the shields strapped to the sides. It must have been somehow worth it to her kitsune team member’s mother to buy them this vessel and Garmra just hoped she would make her money back from all this, “How are you feeling, Garmra?” The kitsune asked as she adjusted her ‘Fox-Mart’ branded samurai armor.
	“I feel good!” The hellhound laughed, as she helped with a powerful row. Her tail wagged and flames billowed from her eyes as the thrill of combat neared. 
	“I can’t believe you never told us you couldn’t swim!” The werewolf huffed, her tabard was also sponsored by the kitsune’s mother’s store. Underneath that, her light chainmail clinked. 
	The kobold shook her head, wearing her own gambeson with a hood with her canine ears sticking out, “Good think your boyfriend is part fish, huh?”
	“What? His mom is a manticore, not a mermaid or sea bishop,” Garmra gave her an incredulous look and tilted her head.
	“I was– never mind,” The kobold sighed, “We’re getting close.”
	“Incoming!” The kitsune shouted as she dove to the floor, a volley of spears struck the deck of their longship, narrowly missing the kobold who turned pale, glad she wasn’t skewered. 
	“Row faster!” The werewolf barked. The crowd kept yelling and shouting, their excitement increasing exponentially as the boats got closer and closer. The roman vessel was trying to avoid them now, struggling to get their ship to move quickly enough. 
	“Oh, these morons,” The kobold laughed as the enemy exposed the side of their boat, “Brace yourselves!”
	“Get ready to board!” The hellhound shouted. 
	As the boat splintered and groaned, the crowd went nuts. Howling, cheering, stomping, screaming, and clapping all rang out in a deafening uproar. Garmra was on the enemy ship before they could recover. It was her four against their six, but after she cut one down in a single swing of her axe, a smaller kobold, they were down to five. The demon silver put the kobold down as her energy swiftly left her body. Garmra’s allies boarded too, each one engaging in single combat on the rocking ship. Garma went toe to toe with two combatants, a werewolf and a smaller shiba inu looking dog girl. They came at her with demon silver gladiuses and shields. Garmra smirked, she liked a challenge. She kept her footing as the boat lurched again as it collided with the arena wall by digging her claws into the deck of the roman boat. The werewolf stumbled, getting an axe blade to her side and falling to the boat floor. The smaller dog woman yelped loudly as she fell overboard into the water, splashing as she went under. The woman was obviously weighed down too much by her armor from the desperate flailing she was doing. 
Garmra took her helmet off and dropped her axe before cannon balling in after her. The hellhound felt the weightlessness of being underwater for a short time as she recalled Kelvin’s instructions. Due to her armor, she sank like a rock as expected. She exhaled slowly as she began to take long strides across the sandy arena floor. With one of her strong arms, she grabbed the kobold who had just gone under before bending her knees, jumping up and launching herself to the surface of the water where she dug her claws into the side of the roman boat, making it lurch to that side as she kicked her legs to help her stay afloat. Her kitsune ally dropped a rope over the side and fastened it before Garmra carefully climbed out of the water, the coughing dog girl slumped over her shoulder. She dumped the woman on the ground after they reached the deck, totally sopping wet, who started to cough and sputter as the crowd cheered. Garmra’s kobold team mate was laying on the ground, defeated, but the kitsune and werewolf hadn’t taken much damage. One of their enemies was climbing out of the water in shame, having lost. Garmra and her allies raised their hands in the air in victory. 
	The hellhound looked to the crowd to her usual spot. Kelvin was sitting there with a big smile on his face. He made a heart with his hands and winked. Garmra blushed and smiled back. She was looking forward to going to his place tonight for ice cream. If she was feeling adventurous, maybe some cuddles too. It was probably a bit of a stretch to expect it, but a girl could dream, couldn’t she?

Everything I write about people’s waifus instantly becomes cannon. You cannot stop me.

A little something I wrote for IfTheArtistConsents for fun.

	“You want me to be your plus one?” Gordon asked as he suppressed a groan into his phone. 
	“Well yeah,” His friend Jack answered with a grunt, “Who else am I going to ask?”
	“Maybe your wife?”
	“She’s already going! Besides, you need to get out more.”
	Gordon’s face contorted into a grimace as he gripped his chubby stomach, “Yeah, I know.”
	“And you need to find a wife to get those lolibabas off your back!” 
	Gordon would have grimaced more if he could, countless high pitched “ay papis”s ran through his head, “What makes you think I’m gonna find one at a barbeque?”
	“I dunno, but I’ve got a good feeling about this!” Jack assured him, “And some of these ladies can cook. The foods free, anyways so no harm in it, right?”
	“...Right. I’ll go.”
	“Great! I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

	“You want me to cook?” Kiara asked.
	Her older, taller sister nodded with a wagging tail and brightly burning eyes, “Yes! You’re the best cook I know! Please, little sis? Please!?”
	The younger hellhound stood up and adjusted her Argentina football (The European football, not handegg.) jersey. Her older sister was wearing the same, “You land a new job and all the sudden you have to bring food?”
	“Well I offered before thinking about it. Plus I can bring a plus one so I wanted to bring you anyways and I forgot I’m not a really good cook... Please, I’ll be in your debt! Those ribs you make are to die for!”
	Kiara sighed but nodded and relented. She was husbandless and any reason to leave the home was probably a good reason, “Fine. But you’re paying for everything!”

	Gordon idly tapped his fingers on the picnic table he sat at with six others. His friend Jack and his gremlin wife, a friend of Jack’s who had a yeti wife who looked much too hot, and a succubi with facial piercings who was smoking with her husband who she kept blowing smoke at. No one was sure if he was enjoying it or not but he said nothing. Most everyone at the little get together was from either Grem Tech or MonOptics. The former was the massive gremlin run tech conglomerate and the latter was the much smaller cyclops made precision weapon company. There had been an acquisition of MonOptics by Grem Tech and MonOptics had decided to throw this little lunch gathering with Grem Tech’s local branch which happened to be one of the biggest. Even the local owner, Jack’s wife, wasn’t really into it and had taken to tinkering with something rather than socializing. 
	Off to the side, a handful of cooks were preparing food. A cyclops had a massive automated grill flipping burgers, a gremlin was making corn on the cob and salad, as well as a few other big machines to easily make massive quantities of food. A little closer to where Gordon and Jack were sitting was a group of three hellhounds with the shortest of the three grilling up some ribs. The two taller hounds wandered off leaving the shortest alone with the grill. Gordon stared at her, she was one of the thickest and shortest hellhounds he had ever seen. He couldn’t help it as he watched her idly attend to the meat she cooked. Gordon wasn’t sure if he wanted her or the meat more.
	“You gonna go talk to her?” The gremlin at the table teased.
	“She looks like she’s your type~” The yeti concurred.
	Gordon shifted uncomfortably, “Should I?”
	“Yeah, she’s right about that hound being your type. She’s got nothing on under those spats,” Jack smirked, “Just go talk to her. I know you want those ribs too.”
	Gordon swallowed nervously, feeling how dry his mouth was, “Fine,” The man stood and made his way to the lonely hellhound. Most other lunch goers were busy with the impressive machines that were automating food prep.
	As soon as Kiara noticed the man actually approaching her, her tail started to wag. That guy had been staring, not that she minded, she thought glasses were cute, “Hey there,” She gave a little wave with her furry hand.
	“H-hey,” The man gave a weak smile, “What’s uh, your name?”
	“Kiara. Yours?”
	“Gordon.”
	“I like your glasses,” Kiara smiled.
	Gordon started to sweat and desperately looked for something to comment on, “I like your, uh, bike shorts.”
	“Really? Aren’t they great? So breathable and skin tight! Super easy to wear!” She turned around, showing her plump rear to the man.
	Gordon began to sweat even more. His heart was pounding, knees weak, palms sweaty, ready to drop his pocket spaghetti,“So uh, I kinda expected a hellhound to bring fried chicken,” Gordon snickered at the hellhound as he glanced down hungrily at the ribs she was making.
	“Why’s that?” Kiara wondered.
	“Y’know, uh, fifteen but also half?” His little joke got nothing but a blank look, “I’m making a joke about you being black,” He weakly explained.
	“Black? Gordon,” She gestured to her shirt proudly.
	“What?” Now it was his turn to be confused.
	She smiled, “I’m Argentinian.”
	“What does that have to do with anything? How can you be Argentinian if the portal event was only three years ago?”
	Kiara scoffed, chuckled, shook her head, and gave Gordon an incredulous look, “First of all, Argentina is white. And for your second question, being from Argentina even if I’m from the Old World, well that’s not something a human would really get, I guess. Who knows, I might even be related to that Adolf guy that the cheshires keep telling me about!”
	“Uh. I guess it's possible,” Gordon looked back down at the meat, “Do you think it's almost done?”
	“Yeah, I think so. Do you want some?” Her tail wagged due to someone being so interested in her cooking, the first of the day!
	“Of course I do. I-I hope I didn’t offend you or anything,” He nervously chuckled at the short hellhound.
	“Of course not! Anyone who eats my cooking is a friend of mine. I just gotta leave some for my sisters,” She smiled at the man and winked.

	Soon Gordon was plated up with a massive stack of BBQ ribs. He was salivating as the proud chef– who was also salivating– watched eagerly for him to eat it. Slowly, Gordon tucked a napkin into the collar of his shirt before picking up a piece of the ribs in his bare hands. He licked his lips before digging into the masterfully cooked cut of meat. He took bite after bite of the BBQ sauce covered meat and chewed each one in total bliss. Kiara’s tail was wagging at mach speeds. She was hungry for meat of a different kind as Gordon chowed down, the most ravenously the hellhound had ever seen anyone eat her cooking. As the flames in her eyes turned the brightest they ever had, she turned to her two sisters, “I need that man,” Her voice was shuddering.
	Her two sisters held her back as the hellhound lurched forward, “No! Kiara! Not in front of my coworkers!”
	Kiara fought against her bigger sisters who struggled to hold her back due to her low center of mass, “LET ME GO!” She screamed, her flaming eyes fixed on Gordon.
	Jack looked at her as the rest of the table glanced and went back to her food. His gaze slid over to Gordon, “I think she likes you!”
	Gordon looked at her, his mouth covered in delicious BBQ sauce and mouth full of wonderful meat, “If she’s gonna cook like that for me, she can do whatever she wants to me,” He decided as he stood up, arms out for the hellhound who wrenched her arms from her sisters and ran, diving over the table and tackling the man, licking the sauce off his face and passionately kissing him as he ruffled her hair, in total bliss.
	
	No one at the event bat an eye at this as at least six other forever marriages were created in just a few hours.

	. . .

	“Honey! It's 3 PM, time for your spats session!” Kiara called as she lay out on the office floor, rear proudly in the air, and her tail wagging violently.
	“Yes, dear,” Gordon replied diligently as he stood from his latest drawing where he made a race mixing joke and called a hellhound black just to upset people. Cheshires seethed and anons divorced their wives at the mere sight of his shit posting prowess. This is what gave him that power. His hands were laid upon the smug hellhound’s rear, feeling the smooth, slick spats and plump buns. It was heavenly. He would have nodded, but his neck was in a brace due to Kiara using his neck as a stripper pole the other night after Argentina won the big game. Years ago he thought how strange it was just how many hellhounds played on that team. Nowadays it was more entertaining to see the feud between the Argentinian hellhounds and the Egyptian ones.
	“How is it? I’ve been doing squats!” Kiara boasted as the man pulled away, she stood to her feet and hugged him, “I’m loving this new house, Gordon.”
	“I’m glad to hear that,” He felt a bit of relief, “Especially since you blew the back wall off the last one with that level three super.”
	Kiara swooned as her flames burned bright, “Oh, and the mailman roleplay that burned down the one before last? I could do that again.”
	“Come on, give me a little break,” Gordon groaned, his entire body felt sore just thinking about a rough night with his wife.
	Kiara grinned, “Doesn’t your cast come off soon? I’ve been practicing my secret technique!” She climbed up on a sturdy desk, “Surra de Hounda!” She cried, throwing her ass out, “Guaranteed to blow your mind!”
	“And break my bones, huh?” He held out his arms, letting the hellhound jump into them. She was a little hefty due to her fat tits and big ass, but Gordon had been training for this, “I can’t wait to see it.”
	“Good. How about some ribs?”
	“Only if you’ll kiss me to clean up my face,” He chuckled as he sat back in his chair with Kiara curled up on his lap, facing him and hugging. The two gently kissed one another, their minds running wild as they imagined what they’d do to one another after dinner. 
	“Love ya, champ,” She yawned.
	“Love you too.”

Commission for Iphidiris! Thanks again!

	The blaring of my alarm roused me from my slumber. Slowly, I rolled over and hit the snooze button to shut it off. With a stretch, I tried to push the grogginess from my mind. I sighed and stared at the ceiling with what little time I had before I needed to get ready for work. It was much too early to be forced to wake up to go to work. The sun was hardly up at this time and it wouldn’t be for another few hours. My bed felt cold and lonely like it did every morning. All I could do was pile on more blankets when that happened. With another yawn and a stretch, I finally got out of bed. In the dimness of the room, only illuminated by what little sunlight peeked through my windows, I could see my meager living space staring back at me. Twin sized bed, a simple desk with a comfy chair and a computer, a few posters on the walls, a tv, a couch and a kitchenette all had their places in my tiny, overpriced studio apartment. The only two doors were the bathroom and the exit to my little living space. I stripped down and slowly stepped to the shower as I tried to fully wake up and get my day going. After a quick and hot shower, I had a small breakfast and checked my phone. Social media was slow as it always was, my email box was nearly empty other than the obvious scams, and I had only received a single text from my landlord reminding me that rent was due in a week. With a sigh, I finished my cereal and completed my morning ritual by getting dressed, shaving and putting on deodorant. 

	I stepped from my car and pulled my jacket around me as I felt a cold wind blow down my neck. The light rain splashed against the concrete and my car, the sky threatening to unleash a torrent of rain. I quickly stepped to the front door of the pharmacy as I was eager to get out of the rain. I had been working in my grandfather’s pharmacy for years now. It was usually just me and him, but he had hired on two part timers to help out. Unfortunately I would be alone in the shop for most of the morning, but thankfully in such a small town there wasn’t much traffic at the start of the day. Really what I mostly hated was the boredom after I had finished my morning duties. Unlocking the front door, turning on the lights, cleaning up the storefront and putting the shopping carts outside were only a few things on the list of my oh so exciting opening routine. I had a few customers come in in the morning, regulars mostly. 
An old kitsune with thick glasses and graying tails was one of the sweetest women in town. She always came in every other week to pick up some medicine for her husband and some pills that were supposed to help her keep her tails fluffy, “Thank you, dear,” She smiled as I rang her up.
	“You are very welcome, ma’am,” I replied with a small smile. I started to bag up her things in a little paper bag.
	“Did you ever find yourself a sweetheart, dear?” She asked with a frown.
	“I’m… Working on it, ma’am,” I replied as I tried to keep up my already fake happy exterior, “Just looking for the right lady, you know?”
	“You will find her, sweet heart,” The kitsune assured me, “My hubby sure as shit took his time finding me!” She laughed at her own joke.
	I grinned back as I pushed the pain down, “Hopefully I won’t take that long!”
	“I simply cannot wait to see what kind of lucky girl you wind up with, dear. Anyways, I should be off. My hubby is waiting patiently in the car for me. Ta-ta!” She turned away, her silvery tails swaying behind her. 
	My interactions with the regulars were all about the same. Pleasantries were exchanged, I’d get their prescriptions and maybe the old women would give me a hollow compliment or two. Eventually, someone else stepped into my little store. I knew instantly that she wasn’t a regular. I put down what little was left of my coffee and watched her wander about the store. She seemed to be about my age, a mouse girl. She had brown hair and big brown ears. She slouched as she sleepily walked. Her long, thin and pink tail dragged on the floor. She uttered an exhausted groan as she grabbed some vitamins, chips, candy, and two energy drinks from the cooler. She stomped to the front and put everything in front of me as she stared with dead, tired eyes. 
	“G-good morning,” I stammered. I struggled to keep eye contact with the cute girl. With half closed eyes, she merely blinked at me, “Enjoying the rain?”
	“Eh,” She grunted.
	“Y-yeah, me neither,” I chuckled as I finished checking out her things. I gave her the price and she put a credit card into the card reader, “Here’s your things. Have a good day,” I gave her a smile.
	“Yeah,” She merely huffed before trudging back out of the store. I sighed and got back to work. I knew my grandpa would be coming into the store in only a few hours and then I’ll get to go on lunch. I hoped that the day would pick up at that point.

	I walked through the sparsely populated streets with my bag slung over my shoulder. I only had a bottle of water and my lunch with me. Work was rough, but at this point I was more than halfway done with my shift. I walked by monster girls on the street and just like every other time I was simply ignored. I wasn’t really sure if I preferred this or not. Just like any other man, I desired the companionship of a woman, but I wasn’t sure if I would ever find it. With monster girls around, most found it much easier to wind up with a partner but for whatever reason I struggled just as much as when they were merely a fantasy of the lonely people of this world. I shrugged and kept walking to the local park. The sun beat down and staved off most of the cold from the remnants of winter, but still I found nothing but a chill running through my body. Spring was here and with it came sun and rain. For now the rain from this morning had subsided giving way to a warm and sunny day. Not warm enough for shorts, but warm enough to sweat a little when wearing a coat. I basked in what little sunshine was out for as long as I could on my little lunch break. Soon I would have to return to work at the pharmacy. At least my grandfather was in now and I’d have someone to chat with during the lulls in activity. 
	With long and quick strides I walked into the park. There were a few people around, I spotted a dad with his three golden yellow colored kobold daughters playing catch with a frisbee. I watched for a few moments as the tallest pushed her two sisters out of the way and dove for a low flying throw. The family all giggled as the younger two tackled the older one. I quickly looked away as some weird deep buried instincts started to rear their heads. It was what I imagined what single or childless women would go through when looking at other women with their own babies and children. I had heard it referred to as the woman’s maternal instincts going wild or them ‘going baby crazy’ for one reason or another. I had always wanted a family of my own to raise and love. A loving wife, a boy and a girl, that’s what I wanted. I desperately wanted them now. It was hard to find human women at this point so they were out. Monster girls were my only option but I was having issues with them. All I could do was bide my time and wait. 
	I stepped across the soft, damp grass as I tried to push my own baby crazy emotions out of my head. I had better things to focus on like the model kit I was in the middle of back home and my exercises. I was proud of the gains I was getting no matter how minor they were compared to what some other people were getting. I was just glad I had the little gym at the apartment complex all to myself. As I walked toward my usual seat, I saw a couple having lunch together on a bench and the feeling came back. The man sat on the bench and pulled bits off of a sandwich and fed the white colored cockatoo harpy that perched on the back of the bench by hand. She would squawk, chirp, and sing happily before demanding more in her sing-songy voice. The man would chuckle and give her some crackers or fruit. 
	“I’m not lonely,” I lied to myself, “Just gotta keep working on me,” I said quietly as I tried to keep myself in high spirits. Trying to keep myself busy, I walked a little further than normal and found an empty bench on the edge of the park facing the street. Past that street was a quiet neighborhood that I drove past on my way to the pharmacy. It had some smaller houses, probably something perfect to move into if I had a wife and maybe a kid or our second kid on the way. I went for my lunch. Mustard, lettuce, cheese and thin slices of lunch meat turkey on two slices of nice and soft wheat bread, “Everything is fine,” I grunted as I chomped down on my delicious homemade sandwich. My mind began to wander. I first thought about the shows I was currently watching that I wanted to finish binging. Monster girls made some pretty good shows in nearly every genre. The only one I found lacking was action movies, they had to inject way too much romance for my taste. Not that I didn’t enjoy romance, it just… made me feel a little lonely when it was shoved in my face all the time. I sighed and let my mind wander further. It went away from movies, shows and anime and turned to romance again. I had to shake off the feelings of loneliness again. It, unfortunately, dominated my thoughts when I got on it. All I could do was finish eating and wait for the next thing to occupy my mind.
	“When is someone gonna cut me a break?” I asked the world as I desperately tried to think of something else to focus on. I stretched and moved onto my little bag of chips. Salty, crunchy, barbeque flavored chips. I grunted and looked around, watching the cars drive by as I idly munched on them. I blinked as I looked down at the grass under my feet. I saw something small and red dart across the grass out of my vision. I frowned and wondered if that had been a lady bug or something else. I shrugged, I didn’t care much for bugs anyways. I looked down as I went for more chips and saw the red thing again. It was a dot, a laser dot and it was trained right at my chest. My heart started to pound but I didn’t dare move. My mind raced as I tried to find somewhere to hide. There were a few trees but the treeline was too sparse. My next thought was that I was just over reacting, who on earth would wanna whack me? I haven’t really done anything to anyone, have I? What if--
	CLACK!
	I jumped as I felt something strike my chest. I threw my chips aside as I gripped my chest. I had expected to look down and see warm and crimson blood on my hands but I didn’t see any. I sighed with relief and wondered if some dumb kid has just shot me with some over powered nerf gun with a laser on it. I looked down and saw a little black thing sticking into my chest. With my heart still pounding, I grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a dart with a black needle on it and a black plastic body. It was a cylinder that was about an inch long and maybe an inch wide with the needle protruding out of one of the flat ends. There was a decal on the black plastic, a pink heart with a silver arrow through it. I frowned as I turned it over in my hand. It hadn’t drawn blood nor had it even left a little hole in my coat.
	“Confirmed hit, over!” I heard a woman call with a bright and cheery voice. I shot up in my seat and looked around. A woman with large, pink, feathery wings landed in front of me with a proud look on her face and smiling pink eyes. She was wearing a pink digital camo uniform, a pink beret, and had an old looking bolt action rifle on her back that the wood had been spray painted pink on. I stared blankly at her. A garbled voice came through the radio, “Alright, I’ll make sure he’s fine, over,” She groaned, “Are you alright? Did the injection work?”
	“W-what?” I was taken aback, “Did you shoot me?”
	“You don’t know what the Cupid Corps are? Have you been living under a rock!?” She scoffed at me, “Our goal is to spread love in any way possible!” She struck a cheesy pose for me as she brandished her pink gold badge.
	I perked up, “Spreading love? I’m all for that! So what did you do to me?”
	Her eyes sparkled, “Good!” She grinned, “I shot you with the pink dart and now I just have to find someone else…” She quickly glanced around the park with a pair of pink binoculars.
	“Uh,” I held the dart up for her, “I got hit with this one.”
	She put the binoculars down and turned to me, “Th-that’s the… lead dart,” Her cheerful demeanor quickly faded away, “Oh no. Sweet Eros, its my first day and I already messed it up!” She put her head in her hands, “Uh-- uh,” She grabbed her also pink radio and turned away from me, “C-come in base this is arrow seven!” The radio gargled back at her, “H-he got hit with the lead dart, what do I do!? Uh, over!” I still could not hear the radio despite them getting louder. It sounded like this cupid was getting reprimanded. I felt a little bad since it was her first day and all, but I was also terrified as to what she did to me, “O-okay, I’ll tell him. Over. Listen, guy,” She turned to me, her face pale, “I-I gotta go back to base and get the cure. J-just stay here!” She was obviously starting to panic.
	The fear quickly spread to me, “W-what did you shoot me with? Am I gonna die?”
	“N-no! Of course not!” She assured me in a way that did not inspire much confidence, “I-I’ll be back! Just stay here!” With the powerful flapping of her wings, she took flight. I quickly lost sight of her as she awkwardly flew away with all of her heavy gear.
	“Just my luck, huh?” I mumbled to myself. I sat around and tried to finish my lunch but found myself sluggish and just not hungry. Having had nothing before lunch other than some coffee, I should have been starving still. I frowned and checked my phone. I only had a little bit of time left before I needed to be back at work. I sighed, unable to get away from my sadness and loneliness as I tried to think of something else. I wanted to wait for her to come back, but I couldn’t stay, I needed to continue to be reliable for my elderly grandfather. I frowned, got up, and headed back to the pharmacy. 

	After another three hours of work I was about to head home. My body felt heavy, my heart felt cold and I was completely unable to shake the feeling of loneliness from my heart and mind. I had spent that last three hours hardly able to communicate with anyone and nearly unable to simply operate the register. My grandfather wasn’t picking up on my emotional state either which didn’t help, “You found any cute girls yet?” He had asked just like he did every day while he was refilling prescriptions.
	“No, grandpa. But you know I’m looking,” I could only smile weakly at him which he didn’t pick up on either.
	“I am sure you will find someone. We can’t all find our special someone so quickly. The longer you wait, the more special it will be,” He smiled warmly before returning to work. 
	“Yeah, thanks grandpa,” I turned away from him and tried to occupy myself by stocking the shelves.
	The drive home was short and without much of note happening. I pulled into my usual parking space and quickly scanned the parking lot for people. As I saw that the coast was clear, I stepped out of the car and hurried inside. The side entrance I usually took brought me inside and next to a scarcely used stair well. Sluggishly, I took light steps up the stairs as I desperately tried to get to my room and hide away from the outside world. I felt cold and depressed now. It wasn’t exactly new, but it felt worse than before, maybe the worst it's ever been. While wondering if that dart I had been shot by was doing this to me, I stepped into my apartment and locked the bolt behind me as I shuddered from a chill. I groaned and collapsed onto my bed in an exhausted fashion. I groaned and curled up before grabbing a blanket and encasing myself in it as I tried to warm up. I shivered as the chill ran to my core. The skin deep warmth that it provided hardly helped at all and I found myself wondering if I would be able to sleep tonight. I closed my eyes, hoping that I could in fact sleep the cold away. I could only hope it was some kind of overnight flu.

	I stared at my dark room. I felt miserable and groggy, though I had at least stopped shivering somewhat. I hadn’t slept a wink and it was now past seven. I was wide awake and restless despite how I felt. I sat up in bed, letting the blanket fall off of myself as I slid over to the edge. With or without the blankets, I felt the same, cold. My heart still felt like it had been replaced by a block of solid ice. Even if I wasn’t hungry at all, I knew I needed to have something. I grabbed some turkey lunch meat and ate it with a banana. My stomach felt a little bit better but I still felt frozen. I glanced at the bathroom and considered just taking a long hot shower, but today was supposed to be arm day, I couldn’t just skip it. I trudged around sluggishly as I changed out of my clean work polo into a plain short sleeve shirt, after that I slinked over to my dresser and grabbed a pair of sweats before dragging them up to my waist, tying them on and folding over the hem as I was still a little too thin for them. Lastly was my pair of old running shoes with fading colors. 
	Without checking the hallway, I stomped out of my apartment and made my way back to the disused staircase. From there I trudged down one of the back halls. There were two public areas set aside for use by people who lived in the small apartment complex. One was a little gathering area with a TV, some comfortable but old seats, an ancient pre monster girl era arcade cabinet and a big table that some of the older women in the apartment complex would play mahjong and card games at. Next to it was the mostly disused gym that I generally had to myself. To my surprise, there was someone else there. A well built monster woman sat on one of the benches doing bicep curls with massive weights. The first thing I noticed about her were her eyes, they were black as night with fiery red and orange pupils, coming out of the corner of her eyes were jets of flame that petered out a ways above her head. Those fetching and intense eyes stared down at the weight in her hands. With each curl she did, more fire spat out from her eyes. What I at first thought was a trick of the light making her skin look darker, turned out to be a real thing as she had an ashen complexion across her rippling muscles. Her features suggested some form of canine, arms and legs covered in a thick and black coat of fur; her hands and feet were more bestial than other monsters, more like paws though still shaped like the extremities of a human. To finish the look off, she had matching dog ears that stood straight up atop her head and a sleek tail that hung off the bench, wagging slightly.
	I found myself staring at her face. There was something enchanting about her, despite being at least ten times as strong as me she had real feminine charm: long lashes, a cute nose, full lips and a slender face. The way her hair gracefully fell on her shoulders despite being mid work out, her muscles shaping her into one of the finest female forms I had ever seen with my own eyes. It was like someone had expertly carved her from marble in a way to compete with the sculptures of Michelangelo himself. Suddenly, the hound woman put down the dumbbell with a grunt. She looked up at me, making eye contact before smirking and folding her arms, which made me quickly and nervously turn away. My once cold heart started to beat a little faster. I hastily assumed it was because she had suddenly startled me. I tried as hard as I could to push her from my mind, she would just ignore me like all the other girls did and I wasn’t sure if I could go through that pain again, especially with how cold my heart was already. I started on my workout, I grabbed some dumbbells and started on my seated shoulder presses. The gym was mostly free weights with a few treadmills so I did what I could. As I got into the zone, doing my reps with little rest in between, I closed my eyes and focused on my aching muscles. I grunted and carefully put the weights down as my reps ended. A sigh escaped my lips and I stretched before opening my eyes, “Good form, guy,” A resonant and captivating voice praised me. I shuddered and opened my eyes to see the hound woman staring down at me. She stood a foot or two from me with her hands on her hips. A smirk spread across her lips in a somewhat sultry fashion, “Looks like you know what you’re doing.”
	“Oh, thanks,” I squeaked in reply and looked away from her nervously. The woman stood at about seven feet tall with shapely, womanly curves that drew in my  eyes against my will. She was wearing yoga pants that clung to those curves and a shirt that was much too small for her and revealed her toned midriff. 
	“Think you could spot for me?” She gestured to the bench where she had a bar set up with some heavy weights. 
	She had a presence about her, intimidating but also warm. I found myself unable to say no to her, “Uh, sure,” I nodded as my heart started to pound a bit harder and feel a little warmer. She smiled, showing me her sharp, pearly white fangs. I watched her saunter back to her bench, her tail wagging behind her shapely rear before she got down on the bench, laying on her back. It took me a moment to gather myself and follow her over. I stood near her head and watched as she gripped the bar and started her work out. I found my mind wandering as I stood by, ready to help her with what meager strength I had. My mind very quickly returned to her curves and shapely body. Her breasts seemed a little small but I had to assume she was wearing some kind of sports bra that compressed it for easier lifting.
	“Damn, dude,” I heard her say, “You fuck with that dick, or what?”
	I shook myself out of my daydreaming and blinked at her, “E-excuse me?”
	“You’re poppin’ a boner, dude,” She giggled as she put the dumbbar aside and sat up. I stepped away as I looked down. Even in my loose shorts I hadn’t felt… that. I blushed and turned away, trying to hide it even after the fact. It was way too late, she had already seen it and the embarrassment was killing me, “Don’t be so embarrassed. I’m not mad or anything. Besides, nothin’ wrong with liking what you see,” She got up and posed for me, turning her rear to me and flexing one arm as she peered at me over her shoulder, “These pants look great on my ass, huh?”
	“I-I… yeah,” I admitted sheepishly as I took a peek at her. 
	She laughed, turning back to me, “See? You just gotta be honest with yourself. What’s your name, guy?”
	“It’s Anon,” I answered as I turned to face her. Both of us sat on benches across from one another. I felt kind of warm and cozy as I listened to her comforting words and surprisingly soft voice.
	She smirked, “Mine’s Tiffany. You got a cute name. Almost as cute as your face.”
	“A-are you flirting with me?” I asked, completely bewildered.
	“Hell yeah I am. Takes a lot of guts to put a boner in the face of a hellhound you’ve just met,” She put on a more serious face for a few moments, “Besides, you’ve got this look about you.”
	“W-what kind of look?”
	“Like you need my help! Here, lemme help you finish your reps,” Once again Tiffany didn’t even give me a chance to say no.

	“...and twenty! Good!” Tiffany pat me on the back before helping me put the weights back up on the rack, “I knew you could handle it!”
	“T-thanks,” I stammered, a little awkward about being coached, “My arms are starting to give out,” I whined.
	She laughed, “Alright, I’ll let up a bit. Let’s do some stretches,” She grabbed two yoga mats and dropped them on the floor next to one another. Quickly, she started leading me through some rigorous stretches, sometimes helping me to contort my body a little further than I could do myself, “There you go,” She smirked as I grunted, “How long have you been living around here? I moved in just a few days ago.”
	“I think I’ve been here for a little over a year,” I answered.
	“What do you do for work? I do some construction work but things have been a little slow right now. I had to move down here for more work,” She explained.
	My back popped as she pushed me a little further into the stretch, “I work for my grandfather as a pharmacist.”
	She nodded and let up before helping me rise to my feet, “Sounds neat. Wanna hang out at my place?”
	“Uh…” I was a little shocked that she wanted to spend any more of her time with me, especially since we had only just met. Was this how monstergirls were normally?
	Tiffany smiled, “Woah, hey. I get it, you’re nervous. We can hang at your place, I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable there. C’mon,” She took my wrist and led me out of the gym, “Where’s your room at?” She switched to wrapping her arm around my shoulders as we walked. I gave her my room number without resistance. Getting close to her now, I felt her body heat, which could have thawed my frozen heart alone, I wagered. Even if she had just been working out pretty hard, she didn’t smell at all, or rather she smelled amazing like the smoke of freshly burnt wood at a campfire. Soon, we were at my apartment and I unlocked the door for the two of us. Stepping in first, I turned the lights on with the hound woman right behind me, “Damn, nice place, Anon.”
	“Thanks,” I nodded.
	She plopped down on the couch, “Real cozy. I don’t even have this much furniture,” I stood around nervously behind her, “Hey, quit looking like that and come sit down!”
	“A-are you sure? I’m kinda sweaty.”
With a smirk, her long arms quickly grabbed me and held me at arm’s length. Tiffany silently stared at my face for a few moments and I found myself only able to stare at her with wide eyes. Her mischievous grin slowly turned into a frown, “You’ve got that look in your eyes. You’re cold aren’t you? Lonely too?”
	“How did you--?”
	“Anyone with eyes could see it. You’ve got that look in your eyes like you desperately need some lovin’. C’mere, I’ll warm you up,” Before I could protest, I was yanked towards her and forced into a tight, hot and comforting bear hug, “Feel better?” With a nod, my head ended up in her breasts, resting between them and just breathing her in, “Sheesh, you need more help than I thought. Couch time,” She wrapped her arms under mine and lifted me up before carrying me to the couch. She put me down first before sitting next to me and forcing her weight on me, “Put on a movie, would ya?” I nodded and grabbed the TV remote to put something on. It didn't matter what it was, I was starting to feel something besides dead cold.

	My eyelids were heavy as my heart finally thawed. Tiffany had put my head on her lap some time ago and had been silently stroking my hair, “Never seen a guy this happy just to get some attention. Seems like you really needed it,” She had a big smile on her face as if she was enjoying this just as much as I was. 
	“Yeah, I did,” I gave her a smile.
	She stretched for a moment before returning to providing me with her warmth, “Did something happen recently? Or were you born like this? Mom used to say that dad was always lonely.”
	“Well…” I trailed off, “A little bit of both I think. Some crazy chick dressed in pink accidentally shot me with a dart earlier today. She left and never came back with an antidote?”
	“Was it a pink or black dart?”
	“Black?”
	There was a sudden, rythmic thumping as Tiffany’s tail started to wag harder, “A black dart, huh? There’s only one cure for that!” As she manhandled me again, I was sat on her lap facing away from her.
	“What is it?” I asked, completely clueless.
	“I’m gonna have to get well acquainted with something you shoved in my face earlier,” I felt her big warm hand grab my crotch.
	“Woah, woah, woah! We just met!” I half heartedly protested.
	With a chuckle, her grip got firmer, “Back in the old days, monster girls would see a man and just know if they were the one. I’ve been looking for YEARS, Anon,” She started to pant as she felt me start to get stiff, “And I’ve found the one. I’ve got him in my arms and I’m not letting him get away.”
	“B-but--”
	“You don’t have to be cold and lonely, Anon. I’ll be right by your side to keep you warm and happy. Don’t you want that? All you gotta do is say yes.”
	I could feel her hot breath on my neck. It gave me goosebumps to think about her and I could only imagine finally having that family I always wanted, “I’ve been looking just as long as you have for my special someone,” I said with confidence in my voice. "and I can’t see myself with anyone else now, Tiffany. So yeah, I want this."
"YES! LET'S DO THIS!" Tiffany had me on the carpeted floor in seconds. With ravenous hunger, my clothes came off in a flash of torn fabric. Next, her lips were pressed to mine as she lapped at my lips before forcing herself on me. Her clothes came off just as fast and her beautiful ashen body was laid bare before my eyes. I could see nothing but pure joy--and a bit of hunger-- in her eyes, “I’m so happy,” She told me in between barrages of warm kisses, "I want to make you happy, too. Let me show you my feelings for you," She breathed heavily before straddling me. 
	She rubbed her hot and wet pussy against my already throbbing member, licking her lips in anticipation. I found myself getting excited as well, even if I instinctively covered my face in embarrassment. "No way," She pretended to chide me before grabbing my hands and placing them on her thighs, "I wanna see that handsome face on display,” I did as I was told and watched her rise up, hover over my member for half a second before taking the plunge, piercing herself on me with a triumphant cry. Her hips began to rock, making the floor creak as she rose up and slammed back down. She was completely in control of our pleasure, and soon she was leaning over me, her shapely breasts pressed against my face. "Come on, Anon, haven't you ever wanted to tease a girl's nipples?" I grunted and rolled my head between her breasts in search of them, taking one of her nipples in my mouth and gently licking and sucking it, “Good boy,” She cooed between her pants for air, "Just like that. Don't forget the other one…" I grunted at her between her heavenly, smokey smelling breasts before searching for the other one. Once I had my lips around it I bit down gently. Tiffany squeaked excitedly before getting more assertive with her movements. She slammed down against me with force, making the floor shake slightly, “You’re doing great!” She praised before raising herself up to stare into my face. One of her hands caressed my face before grabbing my chin and forcing my head up so she could kiss me. Again I couldn't help but notice how warm her lips were before she parted them and forced her hot tongue onto mine. As I reciprocated her kisses, I only seemed to excite her further. She pulled away, leaving a trail of saliva between us before she positioned herself over me with a grin, either of her hands beside my head, "Alright, buddy, your turn, gimme some thrusts."
	“Yeah,” I said weakly. I firmly grasped her waist and pushed my hips up into hers, making her moan as I pierced her. 
"That's it, you're doing it,” Tiffany continued to encourage me as she pet my hair, “Just like that. You're… almost… THERE!" She grunted loudly and grabbed my wrists, forcing them over my head, “I’ll tell you when,” She instructed. She had been going easy on me until now, that much was evident. She roughly started to ride me, slamming herself down like a piston. I could feel her powerful legs start to buckle. The pressure in my loins had built to the boiling point and I was struggling to hold it in, "Just a… little bit… more!" She shouted, her panting blowing smoke down onto me. Her panting was turning into cries which became a howl as she shoved herself down to the hilt of my member, “Now!” She howled in pleasure. Her pussy clamped on my cock like a vice as she began to orgasm, her entire body shuddered and her back arched as my throbbing penis was forced to cum inside her. 
	I couldn’t stifle my cries as I shouted her name, "TIFFANY!"
	“ANON!” She shouted back as she gripped my wrists tightly and leaned over me, her violent orgasm slowly subsiding as mine followed suit. I groaned at the residual pleasure as I basked in Tiffany's heat, both of us panting while we laid on the floor, “Good boy,” She ruffled my hair as her tail wagged violently, “How are you feeling?”
	“Warm and happy,” I replied with a smile.
	“Good!” She kissed my face before getting up and pulling me up as well. She cradled my smaller frame and carried me over to the bed where she roughly tossed me into the mess of pillows and sheets. She got in after me and continued assaulting me with kisses and grabbing my crotch again. My eyes got heavy again as I snuggled up against her.
"Don’t you fall asleep just yet, we're only gettin' started, Anon!” She grinned before straddling me again, “I’ll go easy on you this time, think of it as a cool down before going hard again!”
	Despite my weak groan of protest, I was more than happy to continue into the night.

	I dutifully performed my opening tasks at the pharmacy like I did every day. I refilled everything I could out on the floor and checked in the two small deliveries I had that day. Despite my thoughts being on my hellhound wife, Tiffany, I found all of my duties were going by incredibly quickly. I felt warm, almost hot as I had a little smile on my face remembering the kiss we shared this morning as we went our separate ways for work. We were going to share a lunch together later today at the park. She had wanted to go to a restaurant but neither of us had the time that would take. Instead, we’d save that for a nice date this weekend that I had promised for her. She made a few of her own promises for this weekend for 'dessert.' I spent the morning cheerfully chatting with the regulars, the old kitsune and her husband, the young, eternally tired mouse girl, and a few others. Some of them, like the old silver kitsune, noted how much happier I looked, and even guessed that I had found myself a girl. Most of them wanted to meet her and I told them I’d have her come in with me a morning or two when she got some time off so they could say hello to her. After about five hours of work, my grandfather came in so I could be relieved from my post for lunch.
	“Ready to go on your lunch, Anon?” My grandfather asked as he hung up his coat.
	I shook my head, “Gotta wait on someone today.”
	“Oh? Going on a date?” My grandfather teased.
	I shrugged, “Something a little like that,” I said coyly with a smirk. 
	“You’re meeting with Tiffany aren’t ya?” My grandpa took a pretty obvious guess.
	“Nothing ever gets passed you, huh?” I joked, acting a bit like an ass.
	My grandfather chuckled, “She’s definitely put you in a much better mood, Anon,” He commented before going to fill a few prescriptions. 
	“Hey. I just need this,” A gruff voice told me.
	I turned back to the counter, “One second-- Oh! Hey, Tiffany,” I greeted the hellhound. 
	She giggled and switched to her normal voice, “Are my dumb impressions that obvious?” She grinned. She had a button up shirt and jeans on. There were a few stains on her shirt from work, but I didn't care, she made it work for her.
	“Nah, you had me going this time,” I chuckled back. I looked at the stuff she had brought up to the counter, “Tiffany, we talked about this,” I frowned as I grabbed one of the three energy drinks she had brought to the front.
	“What, come on! I just like how they taste!” She complained as I set them aside.
	“You’re gonna give yourself a damn heart attack,” I scolded as I looked back at the rest, “Are we really out of zinc pills?” 
	"We're gonna need them this weekend for all those protein shakes," Her grin widened as she spoke quietly, “Plus for all those after workout ones I get.”
	“Hello, Tiffany,” My grandfather called from where he worked.
	“How’s it goin,’ old man?” She greeted back with a wave.
	He smiled, “Quite well, thank you. You two go have fun on your little date. I’ll see you back here in an hour.”
	“Thanks, gramps!” Tiffany called, “Come on, finish checking me out, Anon! I’m hungry!” 
	“Alright, hold your horses,” I scanned the candy, soda and pills that she had brought up. After another minute I handed her everything in a bag and her receipt. I grabbed our bagged lunch from the fridge in the back and punched out for lunch. Soon the two of us were headed toward the park, walking hand in hand as we went. The sun beat down, and only a few large and fluffy looking clouds were in the sky. 
	“Wanna know something?” Tiffany grinned at me.
	“Is it that you love me?”
	With a pout, she nodded, “I do love you.”
	“Yeah I love you too,” I chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. 

Commission for Zarama. Thanks again!

    “Friday,” I said to myself with a little smile, “The best day for the working man!” I stepped through the city streets as I made my way home. My mind wasn’t on work anymore, I had an entire weekend to enjoy! All I had to do was not wander into the monster girl part of town and everything would be alright. I started to text my friends, looking for a wingman for tonight. I didn’t mind being a wingman either, just getting to see my friends was enough but pretty much all of them were already dating or married, most of them to monster girls. I didn’t hate monster girls or anything, I just found them intimidating was all. I very quickly received a slew of ‘busy tonight’ or ‘going on a date’ texts from the more honest of my friends. A few ghosted me, but that was expected too. I shrugged, I didn’t need them. My own two legs could carry me bar hopping on my own! I would find myself a girlfriend one way or another!

My glass hit the bar counter with a loud clunk. I wiped my mouth before sighing as the bitter liquid slid down my throat. I was more lonely than I thought I would be. I was only in my first bar of the night and I was already depressed. Usually I only got this down in the dumps when I had gone to my second or third bar but it was hitting me fast tonight. None of my friends had time to hang out anymore. I didn’t resent them or their wives or anything like that, I just missed my friends.
    “Any other drinks for ya?” The barkeep, Chuck, asked as he wiped down a glass. He was a friendly man with a big mustache and without a hair on that almost sparkling bald scalp of his. If I wasn’t one of the people helping keep his little pub afloat, we might have been friends. He would always put in some effort in chatting with me no matter how busy his pub got.
    “Yeah,” I grumbled sadly.
    “Not even drunk yet and yer already sad, eh, Anon?” He commented, “No friends here either. Here, your regular, on the house,” He quickly and expertly mixed rum and Coke. He slid the glass down the bar to me.
    “Thanks, Chuck,” I gave him a little smile as I caught the drink, “Always taking care of your regulars, huh? 
    “It’s just good business, friend. So, what’s on yer mind? Friend problems?” He paused for a moment before giving me a toothy smile, “Girl trouble?”
    “Little of column A and B,” I sighed, “Mostly A. You know I’ve never had luck with girls.”
    “True,” He offered me little more than a shrug, “I was just hoping yer luck had turned around recently.”
    “Well--” I sat up straight as I heard loud, boisterous laughter. A small pack of people pushed their way into the bar, joking and hollering at one another. They got up in one of the patron’s faces and started barking at him, demanding to know if he was dating a monster girl.
    “Ugh,” Chuck grumbled, “Damn trouble makers. Prowling around and looking for fights.”
    Each person was wearing light armor with a tabard over it and had a weapon on their hip or back. Usually swords but one carried a mace. I easily recognize the iconography on their tabards as the sigil of The Order. A group of monster girl haters that had set up in this city a while ago for one reason or another. There was a total of five, three women and two dudes. It was quickly obvious to me that four of them were paired together and the fifth, a muscular woman with long auburn hair and a cute face seemed to be alone, “Give me that shot of that liquid luck stuff, Chuck,” I demanded as the five settled into a table in the back.
    “Ya want ta...” He trailed off as he stared at me in disbelief.
    “You always said you’d give me the last of that stuff. I’m ready.”
“Alright,” He sighed, “I won’t question your taste in girls. Ya’ve always had weird taste.”
    I shrugged as he grabbed a bottle from a high shelf. An old bottle of irish whisky with a cartoon caricature leprechaun on the bottle. Chuck was a superstitious man and he always claimed that bottle carried magic with it, even before monster girls showed up in this world. He believed that whoever drank a shot of that stuff would get whatever their greatest desire was within the week. He had seen people win the lottery, find the girl of their dreams, ace a test and score jobs after downing it. Hell, he said he got the bar after drinking some himself. And right now, my desire was a girl. A strong one. My heart thumped as I watched him pour it for me into a special gold inlaid glass. He muttered to himself as he slid the glass to me. I gripped the glass with a strange reverence. I wasn’t a firm believer in all that stuff, but I needed all the help I could get.
    “Oi, barkeep,” A woman growled at him. It was the woman I had my eyes on. The luck was already working and I had only picked up the glass. I quickly downed it eager to feel its effect, “Three beers, and not the watered down shit, a margarita, vanilla lemon drop and five shots of tequila,” She barked. Chuck nodded silently before beginning to prepare the drinks. The lady knight’s gaze turned to me, “What are you staring at?” She hissed.
    “Uh, your eyes. I don’t see a lot of girls with such pretty emerald eyes,” I did my best to compliment her, “Those muscles too. Damn girl you put in work for those,” I chuckled nervously.
    A range of emotions flashed across her face in quick succession. First her lips curled back into a snarl, then disgust, then a big smile. My heart thumped as I thought she was about to flirt back, “Oh, my god!” She laughed, “YOU are trying to flirt with ME!?” She laughed in my face, “Hey, guys! Look at this scrawny loser trying to flirt with me!” She laughed again. The smile on my face fell away again as depression once again took hold, “You are so damn lucky I’m in a good mood,” Her voice turned threatening, “Get out of here loser. Or I’ll kick your shit in.”
    “O-okay,” I stammered, “Chuck can I get my tab?”
    “Just go,” He shook his head, “Come back and pay whenever you can.”
    “Thanks. I guess the luck ran out some time ago, huh?” I sighed again and left the bar, listening to that lady knight laughing at me with her friends. I stepped slowly and sadly down the street under the light of the moon and the dim street lamps. I considered going home, but now I just wanted to drown my depression in more liquor. I frowned, I didn’t want to risk running into those five again. I quickly decided that I’d walk across town. I wasn’t against taking a cab back to this side of town, the side where I lived. I was just a little buzzed as I stepped through the quiet streets. I gave myself a little smile, deciding that I would turn this night around, or at least try to.
    
    I looked at the bright lights on this side of town. Some theaters, restaurants, offices and apartments lined the streets. I didn’t wander down this way much, but I just needed a pub to wet my throat. I saw a few couples out, walking hand in hand through the streets as they went about their business, usually coming and going to various restaurants. If I had a girlfriend, I’d probably bring her here. These looked nice. Eventually, nestled between two somewhat classy restaurants I noticed what seemed to be a bar, ‘Money Shots.’ I frowned at the name, afraid I was about to walk into a porno theater but I did see a sign for friday night drinks. I sighed and stepped through the front door. 
    I was only three steps into the building before a big hand was put on my shoulder, “Hold up, pal,” A gruff voice told me, pushing me back towards the door, “ID,” She demanded curtly. 
    She was a tall woman. Definitely a monster girl based on that ashen skin and tall dog ears on the top of her head. She wore a tight black t-shirt that showed off her arms and revealed her toned stomach. She folded them, which made her arms appear even more muscular and intimidating. The most striking thing about her was her eyes which were black but for the blazing red irises and fire billowing from her eyelashes, “Yeah, yeah,” I grabbed my wallet and put my ID in her black furred hand. Looking at her, she was a hellhound head to toe, without a doubt. 
    She eyed it and turned it over in her hand, before she nodded slowly, “Alright, you’re good. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, don’t cause any trouble, Anon,” She grunted at me.
I simply nodded at her and headed in. The pub was small but quite comfortable. I quickly found a seat at the bar after being distracted by all the colorful framed movie posters on the walls. I put my elbows on the table and put my hands under my chin to hold it up, “Rough night, hun’?” A very kind and noticeably older voice asked. I looked over my hands to see a woman standing before me. She had brown hair with small, round, and very soft looking animal ears on the top of her head that immediately tipped me off to her being a monster girl. She wore a bowtie with a nice dress shirt that clung to her body, making her breasts look quite large. She had a drink mixer in her hands that she idly shook before pouring the blue liquid into a martini glass and passing it to a waiting kitsune with a black tail. I glanced at her and she winked at me with her crimson eyes. 
    “You could say that again,” I grumbled.
    “Rough night, hun’?” She repeated with a snicker, “Anyway. Can I get you anything?”
    “Ehh, how about something light and kinda fruity?” 
    “Right away, hun’,” The woman turned around, showing off her ringed and quite fluffy tail. She mixed me something with lemonade and slid it across the bar for me. She put her elbows on the bar and stared at me, “What’s your name, hun’?”
    “Me? Anon,” I sipped on the drink. It was surprisingly tasty.
    “Anon, huh? Cute name for a cute face,” She giggled, “Much too young for my taste, though. Lots of younger, single girls in here though,” She gestured to the rest of the pub. I looked behind me. There were a handful of monster girls in the bar either by themselves or with other girls. Most were eyeing me. Other than them there were a handful of couples and a group of all dudes in the corner. The hellhound bouncer was still eyeing me. I turned back to the woman behind the bar, “We don’t see too many single men in here. Don’t let the girls’ hungry eyes bother you too much. All the regulars are nice,” She smiled, “My name is Jess, by the way. Let me know if you want any more drinks.”
    “Look, no offense but I was just looking to get hammered tonight and drown my sorrows in booze. I didn’t mean to wander to this part of town. Any way you can keep these girls off my back?” I asked, nearly begging her to save me. I wasn’t gonna make it out that door without at least three girls stalking me home.
    “Me? Oh, heavens no! I can’t do much for you, Anon,” The danuki giggled, “You’re at their mercy now.”
    I turned back and scanned the room looking for some way out. Most girls looked at me with the hungry eyes that Jess had warned me about. Most single girls seemed interested except for one. The hellhound bouncer by the door. She leaned against the wall by the door as she stared at the hard wood and checked her watch. I got up and walked straight over to her. She didn’t look up until I was right in front of her, “Need somethin’ slim?”
    I felt a pang of pain as I recalled that the knight had called me something similar, “Look,” I started, confidence swelling in my voice as I stopped giving a damn, “I’m having a really bad night and I just wanna drown myself in liquor. Can you make sure no one bothers me?”
    Her eyes widened as more fire than before started to spray from her eyes, “W-wait, are you asking for protection? From me?”
    “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I shrugged, “Maybe I can buy you a drink or something, too, as payment.”
    Her tail started to wag, “Well, if you insist. I’ll make sure those other girls keep their grubby little hands off of you!” She grinned. She turned and grabbed one of the nearby tables and dragged it near where she stood, “You have to sit here. By me.”
    I nodded and put my ass in one of the chairs she offered. I sighed with relief as I leaned back, the last of my lemony drink in my hand. I was amazed that the hellhound had agreed, maybe there was still a bit of that liquid luck in me after all. I glanced up at my new guardian or guard dog. She looked as pleased as a cheshire on catnip. The fires in her eyes burned brightly and her tail wagged violently as she folded her arms in a smug manner. I glanced around at the bar and noticed all the girls chatting quietly to one another while glancing over at me. There were a few giggles exchanged but I had stopped caring a long time ago. I finished my drink and got up to get another one but the hellhound put a hand on my shoulder and forced me back into my chair, “Stay here. I’ll get you something.”
    I shrugged, “Whatever you say, lady,” I gave her my glass which she hurriedly took to the bar. I watched her excitedly chatter with Jess for a minute or two as the watchful danuki began to mix another drink. It looked like a simple greyhound, some grapefruit and vodka. I could only wonder if this was some kind of joke. 
    The hellhound strut over to me and placed the drink before me, “Here you go, slim,” She didn’t make the slim nickname sound demeaning or belittling this time, thankfully. 
    “Thank you, uh…” I trialed off as I realised I didn’t even know her name.
    “Maddie.”
    “Yeah. Thanks Maddie,” I sighed as I gripped the glass, retreating into my depressing thoughts for a few moments. 
    The earth shook as Maddie sat down in the chair next to me, “You haven’t drank any of the drink I bought you yet,” She pointed out, “Or do you just like the cold on your hands?”
    “You bought it for me? You didn’t need to do that,” I grumbled, my sad frown staining my face.
    “I get a free drink a day. You can have it you sad sack. Greyhound is one of my favorites, so I thought you might like it.”
    “Hmph,” I made a noise before bringing it to my lips and drinking some, “Yeah, it’s good.”
    Maddie wrapped an arm around my shoulders, “Hey, you could at least smile when you say it!” She laughed loudly. 
    I chuckled nervously, wondering why she was suddenly acting like this. My brain snapped out of its depressed stupor for a few moments to try and calculate things. The friendly nicknames, the way she got flustered when I asked her to protect me, how happy she suddenly was… my eyes grew wide as I stared into my drink. I knew I had just royally screwed up or screwed the pooch or soon to be screwing, whatever... I had to get out of that pub and fast, “W-would you look at the time?” I chuckled to myself, “I’ve uh, gotta get going. My mom is gonna be worried about me a-and--” I tried to get up but I was quickly pulled back into my chair by the powerful hellhound.
 “Hey, you wanted me to protect you, didn’t you? Your own personal guard dog? If your mommy is gonna worry about you just tell her your in the care of the best bouncer on this side of town!” She laughed as she snuggled against me, “Gotta make sure you’re warm too. Come on! Drink! I’ll make sure you have a good time tonight,” She grinned earnestly at me. 
    I liked how warm her half hug made me. It was almost as if she was thawing my ice cold and depressed heart with her fiery spirit. My nervousness was still getting the best of me however, “W-what are you gonna do to me?” I asked quietly.
    She leaned in close, “I’m not gonna hurt ya if that’s what you’re thinking,” She assured me quietly as her other hand caressed my chest, “My bark is way worse than my bite, especially for such a cutie. You don’t look assured yet. Here, lemme give you a little taste of what I’m gonna do to you,” She gave me a kiss on the cheek that made my heart pound with life and warmth.
    “Oh, haha...” I chuckled nervously. I knew I was boned now. 
    She leaned in and flicked her tongue across my lips before forcing me into a deep passionate kiss. She was surprisingly gentle as she assaulted me with kisses. She pressed her lips to mine again and used her tongue to push my lips apart. Her much larger tongue entered my mouth and began to wrestle with my own. I didn’t fight back against her, there was no hope in that and I really didn’t want to set her off. Or maybe that was an excuse my alcohol raddled brain came up with. Eventually, she released me, licking her lips as she smiled at me, “I wanna drink shots outta your mouth,” She laughed to herself. Maddie stared at my still doubt filled expression before touching my face, “Something wrong? You don’t like monsters or something?”
    “No… It’s not that. You said it yourself, calling me slim. I’m just some scrawny loser, why would a gorgeous and absolutely shredded hellhound want me?” I grumbled.
    “Who the hell called you a scrawny loser!? I’ll kick the shit out of them!” The hellhound suddenly growled.
    “D-don’t worry about it. I’ve just had a lot of bad luck with a lot of things recently, Maddie. Especially girls. I don’t want you to get invested in me and realise you’ve made a huge mistake,” I explained.
    Her concerned look gave way to a big grin, “Look, slim. Should I stop calling you that?” I shook my head, I kinda liked it, “Well, Anon. First off, I’m not some human harlot running around and playing the cock carousel. I know what I like and what I want,” She jabbed a clawed finger into my chest, “Second, I have never had a guy come up to me and just talk to me so damn confidently and tell me exactly what he wants from me. It… was pretty hot, Anon.”
    “R-really?” I stammered, staring into her fiery eyes.
    “Mhm,” Maddie smirked, “I want you to be mine, slim. I’ll keep you safe, don’t you worry your handsome head about it.”
    “You two seem to be getting along!” Jess practically sang, “I’m glad to see you’re doing something other than kicking out the rabble rousers, Madeline!”
 “B-boss, don’t embarrass me in front of Anon,” The hellhound whimpered.
    The danuki laughed to herself, “A little something on the house for you two,” She placed a tall margarita with two straws on the table and slid it over to us, “You two enjoy yourselves~” She smiled before returning to the bar. 
    Maddie kissed me again on the cheek, “What do you say, slim? Want to drink with me?”
    I sighed but gave in as she pulled me firmly against her, “Sure. Why not. I’m sick of drinking alone anyways,” I shrugged.
    “That’s the spirit!” She grinned at me before planting another deep kiss on my lips.

    Hours passed. Maddie kept mackin on me, kissing my cheeks and lips as she pleased, even making me drink liquor then making out with me to get some of it, “Yous gots a reeeeeeaaaaally cute face, you know that slim? Yous just a big ol’ cutie patootie!” Her slurred speech told me she was getting pretty tipsy. She was getting handsy too, her big fluffy hands rubbed my thighs, stomach and even ventured pretty close to my crotch.
    “Yeah, you keep telling me that,” I smirked, I was still quiet and unsure, but I was warming up to her.
    “You knows what, slim? I thinks I like that abouts ya! You agree with me all the time! It’s great! I’ll just have to fuck some of that confidence back into yous and then you’ll be fine!” She laughed to herself before bringing the two straws up to our lips and making me down the icey, fruity drink with her, “Not that yous not already fine,” She laughed, “But I wanna see that confidence again,” With a grin, she smooched me again.
    I smiled back at her, “W-well, m-maybe it’ll come back.”
    “I hope so! Lemme gets yous another drink, slim,” Maddie decided before getting up and stomping over to the bar. She glanced back at me and gave me a little smirk as she waited for the danuki to be done serving a couple that had come in recently. 
    I slouched and smiled back. Maddie’s tail had been wagging since I had asked her to protect me. That tail came out of a little opening in her tight and torn up jeans. I found it pretty cute. The hellhound herself was pretty hot. I still wasn’t entirely sure if it was good luck or bad luck running into her. I stretched and sipped on my drink. I was trying to stay as sober as I could as to keep my wits about me. I watched as the tipsy and excited hellhound chatted with the smiling danuki. 
    I glanced over as I heard the jingle of the pub’s door opening. My heart sank as I saw a familiar set of light armor stomp into the bar. Order Knights, five of them to be exact. I felt even more dread creep into my heart as I realized I recognized the off duty knights from earlier. The ones that had come into Chuck’s bar. I saw Jess scowl at them from behind the counter, “What do you Order goons want?” The danuki demanded.
    “Don’t get your tail ruffled, ring tail,” One of the men grunted, “We’re off duty.”
    “Just bar hopping, lady,” The other man growled.
    “But if we see anything off, we won’t hesitate to report it,” One of the women huffed.
    “You Order Punks don’t hold any authority in this town,” Jess redminded them, “So quit your games and buy some drinks, or you can go on and get,” Most everyone in the bar glared at the human supremacists except for Maddie who still has her eyes on the bottles behind Jess. Her tail had stopped wagging. 
    I tried to keep my head down as some of the knights went to grab a table in the middle of the bar. Most of the monster girls uneasily returned to their conversations, “Wait a second…” I heard a familiar voice hiss, “I recognize you,” The same lady knight as earlier turned to me, “You’re that scrawny loser from earlier!” She cackled evilly, “What, no luck with real women so you had to come down here for the easy stuff?” She and her posse of knights laughed at my expense, “Pathetic!”
    Maddie slammed her first on the counter making every glass in the bar rattle. She turned to face the knight that was making fun of me with a completely blank face as she tried to maintain her composure, “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” The hellhound requested calmly. She had completely sobered up in a few short moments.
    “You can’t tell me what to do, hound,” The knight barked.
    “She IS the security,” Jess shrugged, “So she can.”
    “You’re gonna kick me out for HIM?” 
    “I’d kick you out for making fun of anyone’s date, not just mine. But I’m extra pissed since you already laughed at him today and he doesn’t deserve your shit,” Maddie stomped past her and stood near me and the door with her muscular arms folded, “I can’t stand you Order tramps that think they’re better than us,” I put on a little cocky smile, feeling totally safe next to the hellhound.
    I hardly had time to react as the pissed off knight tried to throw a punch at me. Even faster was Maddie’s hand which grabbed my attacker’s wrist and counter attacked with an open palmed slap to the knight’s face, “Y-you--” The knight’s eyes started to water as the pain and shame set it. Bested and disrespected by a monster, her honor was tarnished, “I-I am an Order Knight! I-I will not be slapped around by--”
    Maddie shut her up by slapping her other cheek. Every monster loving patron in the bar laughed at the woman’s slapping. The rest of her team stood up to back her up which made every other patron in the bar stand up. They had their hands on their own weapons in response to the knights going for their swords. Jess put a magazine in the uzi she kept stashed behind the bar and glared at the knights. Even the other humans in the bar were cracking their knuckles menacingly, “Leave. I won’t ask again,” Maddie demanded slowly.
    Wholly humiliated and in tears, the puffy cheeked Order Knight ran out of the bar, “The rest of you get too!” Jess hissed from behind the bar. Not wanting to upset the danuki with a gun, the four of them quickly filed out, “Don’t let me catch you on this side of town again!”
    The patrons all laughed and clinked glasses with one another before sitting back in their seats, the lively and friendly feel of the bar quickly returned. The hellhound leaned down and kissed me on the lips, “Sorry, slim. I didn’t want you to see me get violent.”
     I gave her a big smile, “Hey, it's fine. You kept me safe like you promised, thank you.”
    “Madeline! Anon!” Jess called as she put the uzi away, “I think there’s been enough excitement for one evening. Take your man and head on home, Madeline. Don’t worry about those goons coming back, their armor blocks claws, not bullets. I can keep the bar safe for an hour.”
    “Alright boss,” Maddie nodded, “I… I think I’m ready for that bonus you promised me. I’ve had a good time tonight and I’m not letting this guy slip through my fingers,” The danuki’s eyes shined before she nodded quickly. She rummaged around under the counter and retrieved a little case and opened it. The hellhound quickly snatched something from the case and offered it to me. A little silver ring, “You, uh, wanna make me the happiest hound on earth and let me keep you safe forever?”
    I smiled at her, “I don’t know how I can refuse. I guess that shot really did make me the luckiest guy on earth,” I chuckled to myself as I let her put the ring on my finger. She put a collar in my hands and instructed me on putting it on her as the whole bar clapped and cheered for her. Maddie made out with me again before staring into my eyes with heart shaped pupils. Before I could say anything, she scooped me up in a reverse bridal carry.
    “Have fun you two~!” Jess called as the excited hellhound carried me out of the bar.

    “S-so now what?” I asked coyly as Maddie dumped me on her bed. I knew exactly what was to come.
    She ran her hands up and down my body with a big smile on her face, “We consummate our marriage. You’re mine tonight.”
    I nodded, “I would be upset if that wasn’t what you wanted to do.”
    The hellhound smirked, “You could at least pretend to be resistant to it.”
    “Make me,” I challenged.
    The fires in her eyes burned brightly, “Oh, you’re so gonna get it!” She pushed me down on the bed then began to kiss me, quickly forcing her tongue into my mouth. She started to dry hump me like a horny dog, getting us both hot and bothered as we started to grope one another. I touched her breasts and she grabbed my ass and rubbed my crotch with her own. She pulled her shirt off letting me take in the sight of the muscular body before removing her pants as well, “Touch it,” She growled as she forced my hands to her stomach. I ran my fingers over her washboard abs. They were hot to the touch and surprisingly soft. That is until she flexed, showing me how tough they really were. She grabbed the back of my head and forced me against her stomach. She was panting as I kissed her abs. I could feel them twitch in response as my stubble brushed against them. The hellhound ran her fingers through my hair before lifting me up and kissing me on the lips again. My hands moved to her biceps which she flexed instinctively, “You like that, huh, slim?” She smirked before forcing me to kiss both of her arms. I nodded before she shoved me down on the bed. My clothes were off next. Maddie stroked my already hard shaft before shoving herself down on it, taking me to the hilt forcefully. She howled and I moaned as we began the act of love making. My hands went to her hips but were immediately forced over my head as the hellhound began to mercilessly impale herself on me repeatedly. I started to struggle against her grip as the tremendous amount of pleasure was getting to be too much for me to bear. My moaning and shifting beneath her powerful body only excited her further as she forcibly used my body to please herself. I struggled to hold it in as her powerful thighs rocked my body. Every little twitch or throb of my member made her gasp or moan, “Come on, slim,” She challenged, “Give in to me.”
    I gasped, “Dammit.” 
She took me to the hilt again and rocked herself back and forth that pushed me over the edge. Maddie howled as I started to orgasm, shooting my cum in her womb, which in turn caused her to climax. Both of our bodies were shaking as she continued to slam her hips against mine. She came to a stop slowly as both of our climaxes faded. My body felt weak and my chest began to heave as I tried to recover a bit of my strength, “Done so soon?” Maddie snickered, “I’ve got you all night, slim, so don’t think I’m letting you off that easy,” She kissed me on the lips again before her hips began to rock, shaking the bed and my world as she fucked me to her heart's content.
    I once again wondered if I really was all that lucky after that shot...
    
    
    

Commission for MinutemanFMJ. Thanks again!

    “Private Oliver Woods,” I quietly introduced myself to my new squad while we sat on boxes of supplies in a foxhole.
    “What happened to the rest of your team?” Another private asked me as he loaded long brass bullets into his Lee-Einfield magazines. 
    “Shelled to hell and back,” I sighed.
    “How did you make it?” Another asked as he thumbed through his journal.
    “I tripped and crawled back after I watched them get obliterated,” I explained sheepishly as I flipped my metal helmet in my hands. One of the straps had broken and I had hastily repaired it with some string and a needle I had bummed off of another private. I wondered how he was doing. I prayed he had not gotten his skull blown open by some german sitting God knows how many meters away, or gotten blown to bits by artillery, or coughed his lungs out in the trenches from that damned gas. I did not want to be here. I was a damned farmer, I missed my ma and pa and the farm, “Britain’s finest... bah,” I muttered to myself. 
    “Don’t let the captain hear you say that, Woods,” The man next to me nudged me. His uniform was much dirtier than mine. His leg looked like it had been bandaged up from a grazing hit to his thigh, “Massif’ British nationalist. What did ya’ do before ya’ came ‘ere?” He picked up his rifle and fiddled with the bolt, opening and closing it, making sure that it was working.
    “Farmer. I miss it. Used to dread getting up early to milk cows, but I keep hoping I’ll wake up and be back in that bed,” A frown crossed my lips as I thought about it, “You?”
    “Worked in the factories. Started makin’ guns before gettin’ drafted. Dreadful here, kid. These trenches. I’ve been here too long.”
    “I miss green grass and blue skies,” I sighed as I tried to clean my uniform a little bit. The caked on mud wouldn’t come out of my already somewhat brown uniform, “Dreary greys are all we get here. The sky, the ground after havin’ been hit with artillery, even the dirt here looks grey. The only splash of color we see is the orange of the explosions and the flash of gun fire. Sometimes the red of blood before it mixes into the mud.”
    “Ya sound like a painter,” The other guy ribbed me, “I hope ya make it outta here alive, Woods.”
    “We are already in hell, friend. Just a matter of time before we get to see the Devil.”
    “If I had any liquor, I would drink to that, Woods,” He downed a pretty big swig of water instead.
    I shuddered as I heard a loud whistle, “Damn it all,” I shook myself, trying to prepare myself to charge over the trench. I threw my hat on and quickly did the chin strap.
    “Come on, lads!” The captain called into the fox hole, “For Britain!”
    “What’d I tell ya?” The man I spoke with earlier snickered, “Bleedin’ heart nationalist. Up and over, shoulder to shoulder.”
    I grabbed my rifle and loaded it, ready to go over. Ready to get this over with. I swallowed nervously, standing side by side with the people I had just met. Another whistle blew. I climbed up along with everyone else, leaning my head down as I stomped across the muddy, war torn earth. There was silence for a few moments before the cry of machine gun fire started to ring and the screams of bombs began to hail from the sky. The unmistaken sound of far off artillery, launching mortars through long tubes with a dull fwump before crying through the air and exploding into a hail of fire.
    I watched men get shredded by machine gun fire and get blown up by artillery. I shook in my boots, praying that my turn wouldn’t come next. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see the pearly gates, “Incoming!” Someone cried. I looked up just in time to see something hurtling towards us, crying as it flew through the air.
    I didn’t even have the chance to scream before it hit us.

    I felt... Warm. I felt something ticklish and cool between my fingers. My eyes shot open, staring at the blue sky for a second before I started to squint. I sat up and looked around. My hands furiously pat my own body, making sure all of my limbs were intact as well as my body. All my limbs and head were still on. I didn’t seem to have so much as a hair out of place. I got up and took my helmet off, letting the sunshine hit my skin. I breathed a sigh of relief as the ringing in my ears subsided. Had I blown up? Had I died? It didn’t really matter to me at that moment. I took a quick look around. I was standing in a wooded area. There was grass beneath my boots and flourishing trees all around. Flowers of red, yellow and pink all swayed lazily in the breeze. I leaned down and picked a flower, smelling it, making sure it was real. The land was picturesque, something I could really only pull from my imagination in recent times. 
I looked at the ground, amazingly, my gear was here too. My rifle, my shovel, canteen, all my things. I grabbed it all and threw it on my body. Although I was happy to not be in the trenches, I still needed to figure out where I was. I waited for the signal to start marching. It took me a bit longer than I would like to admit to realise I had to start walking on my own. There was not a soul around to give me orders. I was my own man for what felt like the first time in my entire life. With a shudder, I started walking. I had my helmet in one hand and a single flower I had picked up in the other.

    I felt like my eyes were playing tricks on me. It was dusk now, the once blue sky was now shades of bright orange and deep purples as the moon prepared to show its gorgeous face. I missed seeing the moons and stars just as much as I had missed the blue sky, the green foliage and the warm sun. The constant clouds and smoke of war had continually obscured them. 
I jumped again as I heard some rustling behind me. I turned around and could have sworn I saw something big leap out of sight just as I moved. I kept walking, praying I was just imagining things as the isolation and fear creeping into my mind was getting to me. As I marched along, in a line of one, I looked up to the trees. I froze as I saw a massive bird, it looked down at me, wings outstretched. I could only see its freakishly humanoid shape and the glow of its yellow eyes. I picked up the pace, nearly jogging as I kept looking for some sign of civilization. 
Another noise behind me made me turn around, I caught the form of whatever had been tailing me for an hour, maybe more now. Vaguely human in shape with slim, wiry limbs. I hurried along, trying to find somewhere to hide now. These bushes would do nothing for me, the one trailing me would spot me for sure. There! On the branches was the form of that massive bird again. What were these? I asked myself as my heart began to pound. Demons? I pondered silently. To the left, I saw some flames in the darkness that quickly vanished. To the right, I heard a low growl.
I started running, desperate for some respite from the demons that haunted me. What had that light been? I wondered silently. It was almost like a fire trailing me, maybe two little streaks of fire showing their faces to me every so often. I suspected it was the Devil, who else would have any power over fire? I could only wonder if this was some kind of test like the Bible mentioned Jesus going through.
I glanced up as I saw the bird-like form swooping at me. I wasn’t fast enough to duck out of the way before it crashed into me. I landed on my back with the beast straddling me, sitting on my stomach. I held up my arms to defend myself, but didn’t find myself getting clawed at or my eyes being pecked at. I slowly removed my arms as I heard giggling. I looked up into the face of a woman. A cute one. A very cute woman. She was young and had a thin face, her chest was bare save for feathers that were affixed to her skin. She leaned down and put her cute glowing eyes near my face, “Oooooh,” She blew sweet smelling breath onto my face with her noise, “Aren’t you a cute one!” She flapped her arms-- wings. Her arms were wings that flapped and blew cool air into my face, “I’ll take you back to my nest! And we’ll make a lot of babies! And--”
The bird woman cried out as another form tackled her. I sat up and watched the bird fight with another woman. She was much larger but still thin. It had to be the thing that was trailing me, “I found him first!” This second woman hissed as she pinned the bird. She glanced at me with eyes that shot fear through me. While the bird’s eyes had been human, this was a woman with brown soft looking fur on her limbs and eyes like that of a cat. Narrow slits that pierced my body and stared into my soul. Other than the strange animal-like features, she was quite beautiful with her soft features.
    “He’s mine! I touched him first!” The bird woman shrieked.
    “Shut your mouth before I lose my patience,” The cat woman hissed as the pointy ears on top of her head twitched. 
    “Off me, hag!”
    “No, you harlot!”
    I climbed to my feet, eager to get away. I turned away from them, ready to walk in the other direction. I took two steps, not looking where I was going, before my head collided with something squishy and warm. I looked up, terrified of what I was going to see. A woman with round ears on the top of her head, a warm smile on her lips, and arms that ended in furred claws looked down at me. She was quite pretty as well. I ducked out of the way as she tried to wrap me in a bear hug, “Where are you going?” She asked, genuinely sounding sad.
    The cat and bird leapt up, “You skank! I saw him first!” The bird cried.
    “No! I did! But I’m still gonna kick your ass, grizzly!” The cat hissed.
    The grizzly frowned and faced her two attackers as they leapt at her. All three girls fought in the grass, none gaining the upper hand or really injuring the others. I watched them, caught in a stupor, confused as to what I was seeing.
    A howl filled the air. A hellish cry to the moon overhead. The three girls fighting on the ground all shuddered and leapt to their feet. Each one scurried away, the fear obvious on their faces. I grabbed my rifle and pulled the bolt back, ejecting a single unused round and putting another one into the barrel. I picked up the unused bullet and started to slowly trudge through the woods again. I had my finger off the trigger and the safety on as I walked, terrified of what could have scared off those powerful looking girls. It was definitely not a man, most likely some manner of beast that stalked these woods.

    As I walked through the dark, my heart pounded. I needed to rest, but I didn’t feel safe anywhere I went. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I wandered through the woods. I had to be going in circles. These trees all looked the same and the grass didn’t keep my boot marks. The light of the moon was hardly enough to guide me. I hadn’t seen any of those three girls again and I was unsure if that was something to celebrate or not. I swallowed nervously, the rifle was feeling heavy in my hands and my gear was digging into my shoulders. I needed to rest but I felt like I couldn’t stop now. I paused for a moment, putting the rifle down, propping it up against a tree. I panted as I caught my breath and took a sip from my canteen. I was out of water. I was starving too. I groaned and leaned against the tree. 
    I glanced behind me. I could see that fire again. It was moving towards me, definitely. I picked up the rifle, aiming it and flipping the safety off, ready to shoot. I swallowed nervously, my mouth completely dry. I waited till I saw the whites of its eyes but I hesitated as the being came into view. Definitely a woman, but her skin was ashen. Similar to the bear and cat ladies from before, her legs past her knees were covered in a thick coat of fur. Her arms from the elbows down were the same. Both ended in sharp claws. Her chest and loins were covered by some cloth, but her muscular abs were still visible. She stared at me with quite literally fiery eyes. A jet of fire shot from the corner of both eyes. Neither eye had whites, the sclera was black surrounding bright red eyes. She sauntered towards me, standing at way over two meters tall, not counting the dog-like ears on the top of her head. She grinned at me with pearly white and sharp teeth, “How you doin’?” She called at me.
    I shook in my boots, pointing my rifle at her, “I-- Uh--” I stammered.
    She laughed, stopping about four meters away from me. Her tail wagged rapidly, “Put that toy down, boy,” 
I shook my head, “Stay-Stay away from me!” I squeaked.
    She laughed even more boisterously, “Oh? A fighter?” She stepped towards me, grinning wildly, obviously excited. 
    I pulled the trigger, my heart dropping as I only heard a loud click. In a panic, I pulled the bolt open and closed it again, chambering a new round. Another click with no bang. the hound woman stood near me, watching me panic with a smile on her face. I grabbed my bayonet and affixed it to my rifle. I thrust it at the woman with a wild cry. I watched as my blade merely slid off of her skin, leaving the smallest scratch. She laughed at me, “B-back! Back Lucifer! My faith in the Lord protects me!” I cried as I threw down my rifle.
She looked confused, “Lucy-fur? I kinda like that,” She shook herself, “Well, since you’ve been so much fun. I’ll give you a head start. Five...” I took a few steps away from her as she leaned down and picked up the rifle, “Four,” I turned and ran, leaving some of my gear behind as I tried to escape the demon, “Three,” She shouted. I couldn’t hear her until I heard a loud howl that sent a shiver down my spine. I turned back, looking for her. I could see the fire charging right for me. I kept stepping backwards, my mind racing on what to do. I took a step, losing my footing as I fell back, hitting my head on something hard. I could feel the air leaving my lungs as I started to faint. My lungs emptied with a moan of pain as I watched the woman run towards me, a look of fear on her face as she carefully started to pick me up.
I blacked out as she carefully cradled me in her arms.
    
    I groaned in pain as I woke up. My eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing the stone ceiling above me. I rolled to my side, I was in a decently large cave towards the back laying on a sort of makeshift bed. A tiny fire crackled, illuminating the area and providing heat as it roasted some meat sitting above it. Rain poured outside the cave. I sat up, my head ringing and hurting making me clutch my head in my hands, “Take it slow,” I heard a woman order somewhat softly as she plopped down next to me. It was the hound woman. She stared at me with concern in her eyes as she wrapped her arm around me, rubbing my shoulder with her big hand, “You took a bad fall, boy. Drink,” She ordered as she put a bowl in my hands. 
I stared down into the clear water for only a moment before downing it. My fear of this woman had been replaced with a feeling of comfort as she tried to take care of me. I sighed with relief as the cool water slid down my throat, “Good boy,” She cooed as she ruffled my hair. I set the bowl down in front of me as I tried to gather my bearings. She had stripped me of my dirty clothes and left me in my underwear and tank top. I touched my neck, feeling a leather thing applying pressure to it. A collar? I tried to remove it, “Leave that,” She growled and bared her teeth. With lightning speed, I took my hands off of my neck, “Good boy,” She praised again, gently forcing me onto my back, “Good boys follow orders, hm?” She grinned as she stroked my hair and scratched me under the chin. 
    “Wh-who... What are you?” I squeaked. 
    “Do you really wanna know?” She had a sly smile on her face, “It’ll cost ya,” Without a second thought, I nodded, “You’ll be calling me Lucy. I like that name a lot. As for what, hellhound,” I stared at her blankly as she stood, “Name?” She demanded.
    “Private Oliver Woods,” I answered immediately, too worried as to what would happen if I didn’t.
“Private? That's a cute name. You cut me pretty bad last night and it needs some kisses to feel better,” She declared in a mocking tone, “On your knees Private,” She barked, grinning. Her grin started to turn into an angry scowl as I hesitated. With a whimper I got on my knees. I closed my eyes, terrified as to what she would do to me. Her large paw hand pet my hair and held me still as she forced me against her hard and warm abs. She smelled of campfire and meat, “Lick and kiss,” she ordered. I rapidly started licking, “SLOWLY!” She barked. I whimpered again before slowing down, running my tongue across her hot abs. Her hand released me and started petting me again, “Good boy,” She muttered repeatedly through excited gasps. 
Was she getting off to this? I asked myself. Another smell reached my nostrils, the scent of sex. She reached down and tore off the makeshift skirt she was wearing. I could see the pink of her pussy now leaking with thick love fluids. I didn’t dare stop kissing and licking her abs. 
    She grabbed the collar around my neck and pulled me away, “Such a good and eager boy,” She leaned down and put her hands under my chin, cupping my face before kissing me on the lips, “Good boys get treats,” She pushed me onto my back again with force. As I tried to recover, she put something in my mouth and strapped it to my head. A gag. She grabbed my crotch with one hand and squeezed. I didn’t know if the tent I was pitching was because of fear or arousal as I stared at her massive, shapely breasts. She petted me roughly, “Is Private ready for his treat?” I nodded, eager now. She pulled my underwear off and started to stroke me before lining it up with her pussy. She gently slid me into her, gasping as her back arched. I tried to cry out, but my voice was caught in the gag. Her tight, wet and almost burning hot pussy was too much for me to bear. She grinned as she grabbed my wrists, holding them over my head.
    She lifted herself up and brought her hips crashing down into mine. I shouted, half in pain, half in pleasure as her massive ashen rear settled into me. She grinned at me, “Oh, Private. You feel so good,” She sighed and leaned in close to me, settling in as her arms wrapped around my head. Her hips rose and came back down again and again as she mercilessly fucked me. The fire in her eyes roared as she used my member to pleasure herself. There was a steady plap, plap, plap noise as the hound woman howled in pleasure. Lucy was drooling now, staring down at me as she let loose, losing herself in the feeling. Pleasure shot through my body as a feeling started in my loins. It quickly started to build, turning into a pressure forming right behind my cock. I started to cry out again as I struggled to hold it in, “Hm? You gonna cum, Private?” She grinned, “Ya gonna cum for me?” She asked. She was even more voracious at the promise of my love fluids, “Do it,” She barked loudly, “Cum in me!” She took the gag out of my mouth as I started to shout with pleasure. She grinned as she listened to me cum inside of her, howling my lungs out as I put my baby batter right into her womb, “Good boy, Private. Such a good boy. My little good boy,” She cooed as I turned into a quivering, whimpering mess, exhausted from emptying myself into her. 
    “Drink,” She ordered again as she pressed the bowl to my lips. I drank from it greedily, a few little streams of water running down my cheeks. She pulled it away and wiped my face, “Hope you liked your treat, boy. Now its time for me to get my fill,” She licked her lips and put my gag back on. She grinned at my tired whimpering as she started to fuck me again. Even if my body was exhausted, my member was not, with the last of my remaining strength, it stood at full length for her as she repeatedly pierced herself on it. Again and again she slammed against me, howling and shouting my name as she rode me like a stolen horse. The pressure built once more, I was nearing another orgasm, “Cum!” Lucy ordered as her pounding became even more ferocious, “Now! Hurry!” She cried as her back arched and her body shook. I felt her pussy quiver and firmly grip my member. It easily coaxed an orgasm out of me, making me cry out as I came inside of her again. She howled, shaking me with the strength of her cry. 
Lucy collapsed on me, her powerful pussy still held my penis with its powerful grip, “Good boy. I’m gonna have lots of fun with you,” She giggled as she pet my hair. The hellhound took the gag out of my mouth and sat me up against the cave wall. She grabbed the meat that was cooking on the fire and brought it over to me. Grabbing my body, she pulled me into her lap and held me against her, my head resting between her breasts. With powerful claws she tore up the meat, easily dropping it from the bone and setting it on a plate for us to share, “Eat, Private. You’ll need your strength for our next round of baby making,” She kissed me on the cheek before chowing down on a big chunk of meat. 
I picked up some meat for myself and took a bite of it. It was a little charred and needed some spices, but it was the best thing I had eaten in some time. I let myself lean into her hot body as she pet my hair. I stifled a laugh as I smiled back at her, I never would have thought that being in the clutches of a hound from hell would have been so nice.