Enter the Shaker

Grave awoke from his deep hibernation, his senses coming back to him one after another. His large body was slowly becoming aware. His hands wide and taloned for parting rock, folded against his chambered chest. Two massive wings made of skin and scale unfolded from his back formed a roof, ceiling and floor roughly the size of a coffin surrounding him.

In his groggy state, his wings began shifting its hard protruding scales in waves. He tunneled this way through the earth, his back toward the surface.

His consciousness fully returned. Absently, his arms extended downward into the empty space his wings created, seeking a body that wasn't there. Grave frowned, and remembered there had been no female to join him last sleep.

His kind were regarded as gods for their power over the earth and rock, they were called Shakers. His body was built to tunnel through the earth as fish do in water. His specialized wings muscled and dug through solid rock with ease. The fang-like "scales" on the outside of his wings simultaneously crushed and burrowed, like thousands of long bone fingers. Although mostly solitary, his kind were responsible for earthquakes when they moved in unison.

He was compelled toward the surface, tunneling 4o miles upward, Grave tried to sense whether the sun was up. He could tell by the warmth of the earth, it was at least mid-day. He could tell by the way the earth parted, it was spring. The earth was softer in the spring, he thought, they said so and it was true.

He slowed his progress roughly one mile from the surface. He was completely blind, the male Shakers had no use for sight. From deep in his chambered chest, Grave let out a percussive beat. The low frequency sound shook the surface above him, and the returning soundwaves gave him a picture of the landscape. He was in the desert, near canyons.

Not wanting to get involved with the Flyers, he changed course away from the rock formations, and sought flat landscape.

Grave felt an ache in his chest, a burning hope. It was unnatural for Shakers to be completely solitary. The males used their powerful wings to part the earth and keep their comparatively more vulnerable bodies away from the pressures of rock and temperature. The largest of the three Kind, even their massive bodies seemed small compared to their wingspan.

That was because the females of his species depended on living wrapped in the wings of a male. They were unable to control their own body heat, and the males provided warmth. The male's wings would shield the female and any young at all times. Young males would leave their father's wings once their scales grew in. Young females would leave once an unaccompanied male was available. `

Grave's parents had been the last of his colony. There were no other young around them where he was born. So when his scales came in, he set out to find other colonies in the hopes of finding a mate.

His kind were never meant to be alone, but he had spent years searching for more of them. The social need of being a Shaker required him to hold onto a member of the opposite sex. It was a need he'd never had the chance to fill, and the years of it's absence have had its toll. He'd practiced over and over in his head their sacred language. How he would introduce himself to a female. His mother had been warmed by her mate and her son. He remembered her cool flesh and how he'd been comforted by it. He remembered his father's nest, and how the two of them were always in embrace. Truly, the Shakers only looked like complete beings when there were two.

Grave maneuvered easily through the spring earth. He let out short probing beats from his chest periodically, not strong enough to wake any slumbering members of his species, but enough for him to locate where they were.

After a few hundred miles, his heart sank in his chest. He couldn't identify a single nest. In a panic, he let out a distress signal. The vibrations reached the surface, shaking stones, and traveling far.

He waited in his blind earth. Every scale a receptor anxious for a response.

As his distress call returned, he noticed something unusual about the subterranean landscape. Evidence of his kind wandering through this rock, the remnants of a colony. But a few miles east, there was what was left of a nest. He could make out the pocket in the ground, and the layers of shed scales that hallmarked a nest. The sound indicated that no male was occupying the space, but it wasn't empty.

Grave stilled. The only reason a nest would be unaccompanied by a male is if there was a young that needed feeding. He wondered if he should investigate, or if disturbing a family unit at a sensitive time would result in violence. Making a mental note of that nests' location, Grave slowly moved closer in proximity, and stopped far enough to send non-threatening probes.

He would stay far away and wait until the male got back into the nest.

Joa lay still in the remnants of the family nest she found. The disturbance she felt sent terror into her body. There was a male nearby calling in distress. He was a distance away but she didn't have the ability to see him the way another male would. Unlike the male Shakers, the females had working eyes. But they served little help when alone in a nest. She took the long talons at her back, where wings were on males, and sunk them into the ground. Immediately she was able to sense the direction of the male, his probing calls.

The warring of her youth left her battered. She was only a young when her father was called to fight off the nearby Flyer colony. When he didn't come back her mother became too cold. There were males that were holding onto multiple females at once as many found themselves mateless due to the Flyers. The mated females got territorial and fought with the refugees, even though they knew better, there was definitely intimacy involved with being wrapped, and the mated females could only take it for so long. As more males fought, less females could survive.

The only reason Joa survived was because she'd been unmated, and because her mother built a relationship with the Firestarters. In the unforgiving desert night, the cold was unbearable to a naked female. But the firestarters taught her to make fire. It was a poor solution, she nearly had to lay in the flames just to survive at night, but the alternative was death.

The distress from the nearby male could be anything, but she feared there could be Flyers attacking again. He was probably defending his female, but there would be no backup from her colony, she was the last one. She wondered if they had young to protect, and maybe that young was male. She was too old to dream of a mate. She didn't dare leave the colony for fear of the crippling cold. Her spines told her the male was sending probing signals. She considered sending distress back. Maybe the female would allow her to share if only for transportation. That was too risky though.

What she could communicate was limited. She took a deep breath and sent a probe herself. The pulse inquisitive, an "everything ok?"

There was a stop in the probing. Then, suddenly, an exposing beat, one that would tell him every detail of her in the nest. Oh shit she thought. What if this nest belonged to that male? What if he'd been battling and calling out to his mate and young? She knew she could be killed for being caught trespassing another's nest. She was sure this one belonged to deceased Shakers. If the male approached, she would run.

Grave halted his probing at the communication. It was dimmer than his own and sharp. There was a female answering his distress with concern. He wanted to see her. As soon as the thought crossed his mind he sent a powerful pulse, one that gave him every detail of the nest in his sight, one that told him this female was alone, no young. He would do the courteous thing, and approach from the surface. Without hesitation, he tunneled up swiftly breaking ground. He felt the sun on his wings, parting them, on his face, hands, and feet. On all fours, he began walking toward the nest.

As he approached, he was blind. He could sense where the entrance would be on the surface. This approach ensured the nest's privacy from his pulses, and made himself more vulnerable, exposing himself as to not pose a threat.

He was nervous, but the compulsion to meet another of his kind was the reason he came here.

Joa could sense the male's footsteps on the surface, and she could tell he was massive! She'd forgotten how large the males were. His footsteps proof that he was carrying tons of weight from the wings and scales. She could almost feel his footsteps in her chest. Any fear she had at the thought of his approach dissipated the moment he broke the surface, the Shaker equivalent of crawling on your knees toward another. Especially as she assumed he was in tow with a female. They meant no harm to her. This was her chance to escape!

Grave hesitated outside of the entrance, and shook his scales, inviting the inhabitant up to meet him with it's sound like rain.

The female climbed upward and scented the air. He could smell her and the moment it registered in his brain he knew there was no male anywhere near this female.

His reaction was immediate. His need to wrap around this female great, he wanted to invite this female in, he watched himself in disbelief as his wings opened and his blood heated, he even had an excited pulse of greeting in his throat that came out as a purr. The female jumped, startled, and he knew she was examining him from the nest entrance. Almost involuntarily, his scales began clacking in waves, his weight shifting to his back legs, his palms up. A blatant display of how eager he was to take her into his wings, one he felt no embarrassment for. It was now or never.

His senses were focused on the female in front of him, her amazing scent reminding him of how incomplete his life had been thus far. She was unmated, and that knowledge alone awoke a predatory instinct within him. Grave was barely breathing. He stood in complete disbelief as her movements demanded his every focus. As if only just realizing they were on the surface, he noticed there was a sizable distance from the entrance of the nest to where he stood. The thought of making his female close that distance was offensive to him. He bowed his head so she would see, and slowly trudged closer. He would have her, he would have her in his arms now.

All of his thoughts of possession halted as his female spoke. He couldn't understand her words! But the sound of her voice was the most beautiful thing he ever heard. Grave responded in the sacred language: "I am Grave, and I freely give my blood"

The female hesitated, but as soon as she stood away from the nest Grave took the acceptance and his chest swelled with triumph. She approached him and all but ran into his arms. It was like a switch had been flipped. At the moment of contact, his body took over. His arms wrapped around her form, the feel of her cool flesh against his heated body electrified them both. His nose was drawn to the crook of her neck, scenting her fear, relief, and joy. The instant peace from this female nearly brought him to tears. His wings wrapped around them and he was tunneling them down into the ground. For the first time in his whole life, he had what all Shaker males were meant to have.

The female in his arms smelled like sweet rain. Her form was so much softer than his own, he marveled at how their bodies clung to each other as if they had grown that way. She began to relax in his embrace as his blood warmed her chilled body. He was purring. Chuffing against her neck. He had no clue she would smell so good. He was vaguely aware of himself as he took a lick of her neck from her collar bone to her ear. Then the female froze.

Joa could tell by his coloration that he was from a colony far far away. She was completely beyond thought as this beautiful male brazenly displayed for her. His scales were mesmerizing, the waves shouting every song of health and strength. Her eyes went right to the masculine center of him, that had all but lit up, and his powerful scent hit her, calling to her. His stance irreverent of her position before him, his arms open, and head down as he closed their distance. Her entire body screamed to get near his warmth. Without a thought she'd run to the source of that heat, to his scent, the chill in her bones melting in his embrace. Once in his heat, she nearly lost consciousness at the relief she felt. He wrapped her body in his arms, then in his wings. She couldn't believe how careless she'd been. The male was unmated and without another female escort. She froze as he licked her. He froze in response.

"What are you doing?" She asked, pulling backward to stare at this warm male's eyes that could not see her.

In the Sacred language, he answered "I can not understand"

"Why do you do this?" She asked back in what she thought was as specific as she could be in the Sacred language, putting her hand on his mouth to accentuate the "this" part.

Her palm on his nose had a delicious scent as well, he meekly licked her there before fully processing what she'd said. Oh. She'd pulled back her palm.

"Do I displease you?" He asked. Feeling her limp form in his grip was a gift, that she needed his warmth and that he provided such to make her so pliant brought him satisfaction like nothing else.

She breathed shallowly, and answered with a question. "Where is your female?"

His unseeing eyes opened before her, she could see them in the dark. An action meant to increase sincerity. She noticed his efforts to be polite. His chest was vibrating softly, almost a hum.

"My female" he growled low, and touched his forehead to hers. He was broadcasting his desire to her in their private bubble. He tucked her face under his chin and purred louder.

Her flesh was a cool balm, a heatsink for his boiling blood. He reveled in this moment, and realized he was instinctively orienting them in the earth with her on the bottom. His outer scales were hurried to get them away from the surface, so they could be acquainted in the privacy of his hold. My mate, I found my female, she's mine all mine. His thoughts swarmed with possession. As they descended, he was memorizing her form. His mind focused on the part of her that wouldn't warm, deep in her torso he could feel her chill. He wondered what her underbelly would feel like, and it was that thought that awakened for the first time in his maturity, his masculine desire. The part of him that was meant for his mate heated, expanded and ached. His body reacted in ways he didn't really understand. But she was responsive.

Joa found the male incredibly erotic, and surprosed herself when she growled approvingly. His pure desire pouring out of him, all for her. She felt his torso heat up, tempting her body upward. The opening that ran from her ribcage to her rear swelled. The folds became flush with liquid. As soon as he scented her they began to plummet, she gripped his shoulders with her claws.

She was opening for me, accepting me. Grave thought he had imagined it, but her scent in his nose told him all he needed to know. He needed to cover this female in his scent. His wings buried them further, they were dropping. The flap that lay on his abdomen unfurled. Like a prehensile tail, it sprouted from the base of his spine and moved between her legs, wrapping like a third wing over her ass, and held their pelvises together. Two smaller secondary wings without scales popped from underneath his primary wings. They were filled with blood, warm, and coated in a special secretion. As they wrapped around his female, she was starting to purr. The sound brought his own to a roar as he felt her, their most sensitive areas aligning as she was completely wrapped by him.

Joa submitted to the force of this male. He was so hot, her body electrified at his every touch. He was bonding them, and she needed more. In the sacred language she said "I am Joa, and I freely house your young"

At the words, his eyes popped open. They plummeted faster, and his growls pumped out of him is possession. He nipped at her throat, cheeks and mouth. He licked the side of her face and nuzzled into her. She felt his underbelly open, pushing a molten wet mass toward her vulnerable fold. He would mate her here, and now, and they've only just learned each other's names.

Grave's mental state had gone to pure male instinct. Nothing was going to get in the way of him cherishing this time with his female. He wanted her, and her willingness and readiness for him was the validation he didn't know he needed. He caressed her entire body, feeling the supple curve of her ass. He nuzzled down to her breast and latched onto one of her nipples. He was mewling like a young, taking the nipple into his mouth. He thought about how he would guard over her as she fed their first young. He fantasized about her being filled with milk and heavily pregnant. All things to look forward to. He reveled in every sigh, wanting to bring her pleasure like no other male ever would. After this, she would be his mate alone. He would never spend another hibernation alone again. They would be attached like this until they died.

He felt his penis pressing against her fold. The secretions from his head would make her extremely narrow opening able to take his massive girth deep into her for their first mating. He growled as they made contact, her core blooming for him. With great restraint, he eased over her, touched their foreheads, and found her mouth with his. As they kissed, he pulsed twice, to get a clear image of his female. His bonding scent produced by the glands in his neck kicked into overdrive as he saw how beautiful she was. He purred his adoration into her mouth, sliding his cock back and forth from the slit cutting through her torso. She moaned as the head of him caught on her opening. His penis was prehensile, he fed it into her like a snake with it's own free will. Once penetrated, his mating wings locked Joa's body to his. His penis plunging in and out like a measuring tape, the girth of him stretching Joa's opening so wide, she thought she'd never felt full in her life. Grave's bonding was a cascade reaction, a positive feedback loop. Her slick seeped into his cock, her pheromones starting a knot in the base of his erection. The opening of his cock was at the end of a tapered head. His plunges inward landed him rubbing erotically at the opening to her cervix.

His secretions were relaxing the muscles of her deepest entrance. Grave nearly cried out as he realized he could feel the stretch of the small cap over his penis. The sensation went right to his knot, expanding to the size of a softball inside of Joa. She moaned his name and nuzzled his neck with all of the endorphins. His knot was large enough to lock them together at this point, all he could do was hold his mate close as nature took its course.

"Oh Joa" He moaned, petting her head, nuzzling her cheeks. With his heartbeats, his knot swelled, and she orgasimed hard. Her uterus and cervix spasming, quaking against the insistent tip of his cock. Finally, with his secretions, Joa's cervix accepted her mate, and another orgasm rocked Joa's body.

She was whimpering through her contractions, Grave nuzzled and licked the tears from her eyes. Grave's knot would swell further over the next few days. By the third day, it was the size of a watermelon. Joa's abdomen expanded between them. Grave posessively roamed his hands over Joa's distended form again and again. His sizable knot took residence in her birth canal, the rest of his tapered length was penetrating her cervix, resting in her womb. The prehensile appendage paid ministrations to each of her ovaries, causing them to produce thousands of eggs at once.