Friendship in the Far South

Harkwin wasn't going to turn down that request. He wrapped his wing around Nacen's body and pulled her tighter against his side. "It's efficient to share body warmth, but I'm not sure hugging is very professional."

"Mmmrrrr..." Nacen again made that pleased, rumbly noise. "We're not professionals. Maybe we were professional explorers, but now we're just survivors. We're going to survive this storm, you and I, together. Hopefully."

The beds back in Central Camp were usually kept warm with heaters and thick blankets, but this was a different and arguably superior sort of warmth. In all the months of the expedition, there hadn't been hugs or much sort of physical contact at all, and Harkwin couldn't quite enunciate just how nice it felt to snuggle with Nacen. He wanted to hold her and hug her and never let go, feeling that intimacy and comfort from her close presence.

Just huddling together for warmth would have been good enough, but Nacen made it even worse (or even better?) by her constant motion as she shifted and kept rubbing herself against his side. An intense desire ran through Harkwin's whole body, sending a shiver down his back. Harkwin nosed at the side of her neck, then he murmured in her ear. "You really should keep still, or this hugging session is going to get even more unprofessional."

Nacen's crest fin flicked back up. "Is that a promise?" Leaning in, she nuzzled at the side of his neck. "Harkwin, you're one of the few actual friends I have on this expedition. I really like you..."

Harkwin grinned. "I like you too! It's nice to have friends." He could feel the slow, gentle motion of Nacen's tongue as she licked his neck—the action of one dragon licking another was sometimes a display of affection, but that was more often reserved for parents and young hatchlings. It was far too intimate of an action to do to casual friends or acquaintances.

Lowering his head, Harkwin sniffed at Nacen's neck, and then he licked her in return. When his tongue reached her crest fin, she shivered and let out a soft gasp as he licked that sensitive membrane. "Ahh. Oh, yes... That feels—mmmhh...!" Whatever she'd been about to say, it was cut off when Harkwin kissed her.

Snout to snout, with eyes closed, the two dragons let their tongues touch against each other's. Harkwin let himself get lost in that intimate sensation, slowly exploring Nacen's mouth—it was slightly sloppy, but that didn't stop either of them. Hot, eager excitement was coursing through his veins, and he had to deliberately clench down the muscles of his underbelly to restrain his arousal as blood pumped to his loins. His phallus throbbed and tried to extend, pressing against the walls of his genital slit.

When they finally pulled back from each other, Nacen blinked her eyes open and her gaze held a deep, intense longing. Without any words exchanged, she stood up and pushed her shoulder against Harkwin's wing base.

Harkwin obliged her and rolled onto his back, unfurling his wings partially so that he didn't lie on them. Nacen stepped over him so that they were chest to chest, pressed right up against each other. She pressed her snout against his, but didn't quite kiss him. "I want you... I want you so bad. I don't think I've ever been more turned on in my life, which is strange because we're caught out in a deadly storm and we could very well freeze to death in a few hours," Nacen murmured.

"Maybe it's the danger that makes it more exciting," Harkwin replied. He playfully licked Nacen on the side of her nuzzle, making her grin.

"Possible." Using her forepaws to clutch at Harkwin's shoulders, Nacen slid her body back and forth, lightly humping against him. At this point, he couldn't quite control certain instincts anymore. With Nacen's underbelly pressed up against his, his genital slit muscles relaxed, allowing his phallus to push out of the fleshy internal compartment that normally kept it contained. Out in the open, his erection rapidly grew to full length and girth as it filled with blood, sent by the rapid beating of his heart.

It had been many months since Harkwin had last had any sort of intimate contact with anyone at all. Before he'd even set out on the polar expedition, he'd had a break up with his last partner as it became clear their paths were set to diverge—with him going to explore the far south, and her staying on in the city. That end of that companionship had been mutual and necessary, yet also painful, for that relationship had lasted more than a year before circumstance had broken it. But now, past partners and previous experiences were the last thing on Harkwin's mind, for Nacen had all his attention. He ran his paws down her sides, feeling her curves, her scales, her warmth.

Nacen surely could feel his erection pressing against her underbelly, leaving a thin trail of wetness on her scales as pre-ejaculate dripped from its tip. "I've fantasized about this moment quite a lot," Nacen casually admitted. "I've spent plenty of time all alone in my outpost tent, wishing that I'd had someone with me to be company... you, preferably."

"Why did it take a storm and life-threatening danger for this to happen?" Harkwin wondered.

"Probably because you just kept missing all my obviously-far-too-subtle hints that I was fond of you," Nacen muttered. Turning herself around, she switched her attention from his upper half to his lower half. Instead of just licking at his neck and snout, she spread his hindlegs apart and slowly ran her tongue up the side of his genital slit, teasingly avoiding the rigid length of masculine flesh jutting out of his slit.

On his part, Harkwin was treated to the sight of Nacen's underbelly right in front of his snout. "Mmh. Now that's a lovely view..." Nacen's scales were beige coloured on her sides, but her underbelly was a slightly paler shade that was closer to white, and her genital slit had a faint pinkish tinge. Right between her hindlegs, the smooth interweaving lines of her scales became even smaller until there was a short cleft that was slightly wet with slick arousal. Harkwin was lying on his back and Nacen was straddled over him, and he eagerly sniffed at and began licking at her slit. Her scales felt smooth and slightly slippery, but right at the line of her slit the exposed flesh was warm and soft against his snout and tongue.

Harkwin's enthusiasm was equally met as Nacen started playing with his reproductive equipment. One of her paws rubbed the side of Harkwin's genital slit, while her other paw wrapped around his phallus and started gently stroking it. Pre-ejaculate was leaking from the tip and also from his genital slit, and Nacen's paw spread that lubricating fluid all over his length.

Just as was the case for any male dragon, Harkwin's erection was a sleek, unscaled length of smooth flesh which tapered to a point, jutting out proudly from his genital slit. It curved slightly towards his chest and was smooth down most of its length, though right at the base were a series of fleshy, increasingly protruding ridges right before it anchored into his genital slit. Most drakes just had a slight bulge at the base, but having ridges instead was a semi-rare anatomical variation. All that blood-engorged tissue was highly sensitive, and even though Harkwin's view was blocked by Nacen's body, he could feel every slow motion of her paw as she stroked him. Tingly jolts of pleasure coursed through his erect length, especially when her paw slid over those extra sensitive ridges near his base.

Harkwin wasn't sure if he had ever been more aroused in his life. Even ignoring companionship, it had been more than a week since he'd felt any sort of sexual pleasure even from his own solo effort. There wasn't much privacy in Central Camp's dormitories, and flying all day as a scout often left him too tired out at the end of the day to even bother with self-pleasure. But now he had Nacen, and the two of them were trapped here together.

The cold, hostile roaring of the storm seemed to fade away, as nothing really mattered except for the drakka right in front of him. Harkwin pressed his snout against her underbelly so that he could bury his tongue as far into her as he could reach, licking and slurping at her slit for that wet, salty, musky taste of her arousal. Nacen moaned softly, and she stroked his length more firmly, rewarding Harkwin with more pleasure and making him twitch.

Nacen smelled really nice; too nice, in fact, such that a faint warning sounded in the back of Harkwin's head. Even under the mineral-rich odour from the bubbling hot spring, he could smell Nacen's scent. It was totally normal for every dragon to have a certain unique natural smell about their scales, but the smell faintly reminded Harkwin of one particular pheromone-laden scent that had more specificity, and signalled something more concerning.

Nacen had just started daintily using the tip of her tongue to lick at the tip of Harkwin's erection, but as much as he didn't want her to stop, his sense of personal responsibility demanded that he interrupt. Pulling his snout back for a moment, Harkwin tapped Nacen's rear with his paw. "Uhh, Nacen? I have a question."

Nacen rolled her tongue around the tip of Harkwin's erection, then she sucked and gave it a quick kiss, which made his hindpaws clench up. "Hmmm?"

Harkwin swallowed nervously. It shouldn't have felt awkward for him to ask, but he still felt awkward. "You're not in heat, are you? Because... you smell really good. Sort of like you're in heat."

That made Nacen stop, and her crest fin perked up in curiosity. "Oh. Do I?" Curling around, Nacen nosed at her hindquarters and sniffed herself, then she stared at Harkwin. "Smells fine to me. I don't think I'm in heat? Probably not."

Leaning forward, Harkwin tried to lick Nacen's snout since she was half turned back towards him. With him still lying on his back, his tongue could only barely just reach. "How can you not know for sure? Isn't it... well, it's your body."

Nacen responded by using the base of her tail to lightly thump Harkwin on his head. "Hey, easy for you to say as a drake! You've never had to go through a heat cycle."

Unlike some other creatures, dragons were intermittent breeders and females were only fertile for a brief period each year—called their oestrus cycle, or simply heat. But the complicated part was that the specific time period was unique to each drakka, rather than being linked to something common like the seasons.

"Being in heat isn't like a... period of madness and lust. It's not always as obvious as some people might think," Nacen continued. "For me, usually I just feel a little more easily aroused than normal, and maybe a little warmer too. I don't... quite think I'm feeling like that? I mean, yes I'm feeling warm and yes I'm feeling aroused, but I think that's just from you."

"But you keep track of the dates, right? So you should just... know if you're in heat or not...?" Harkwin asked hesitantly. He didn't want to question Nacen too heavily about her own body, but there would be consequences for them both if they didn't get this right. From past experience with previous partners, Harkwin was somewhat familiar with what heat smelled like; but that was as a warning not to mate, lest they end up accidentally making an egg.

Nacen frowned, her snout scrunching up in a cute expression. "Well... it's more complicated than that. How do I explain this? Ever since I had my first fertility cycle when I was a fledgling, my cycles have been really irregular. I thought it would get better as I got older, but a decade on, things are still off."

Harkwin wasn't quite sure how to process this. He was still really aroused. "Um... You know, I've never actually thought about it that much."

Using her paw, Nacen casually gave a few strokes to Harkwin's rigidly erect length. "No surprises there. You drakes are lucky—you never have to worry about heat. You never have to be worried about going out one day in the city and getting weird looks from every passing drake because you stink of heat but you can't smell it yourself. No, you're just always fertile and ready to breed, aren't you? This thing here shoots off all year round, haha."

"I believe that's how it works," Harkwin agreed.

Nacen grinned. "Anyway, as I was saying—my heat cycles aren't very regular. I once went into heat twice in a single year, then after that it was more than a year and a half before it happened again. Just... so annoying. It's weird back there."

Harkwin sniffed at Nacen's underbelly, then he resumed licking at her genital slit. Her slit looked increasingly puffy and it glistened with liquid arousal, openly broadcasting that she was ready to mate. "It's nice back here..."

That comment made Nacen laugh. "Hahaha... But seriously—I don't think I'm in heat. Four months ago I was due to go into heat right as the expedition started, but then my heat just never came. I think the stress of the whole expedition and the constant cold (which meant I'm using frost magic all the time) got my body confused and put the whole thing on hold."

"Oh, that's good." Then Harkwin paused, and it was his turn to frown as he thought through his comment. "Or is it bad? Umm..."

"It's bad in that I wish my oviduct would stop being inconsistent, but it's also good in that we can do what we're about to do without having to worry about responsibilities." Humping her hips, Nacen lightly rubbed her genital slit against Harkwin's snout. Then she suddenly stood up and spun around so that she was once again head to head with him. Sitting down on Harkwin's lower torso, she nudged his snout with hers. "But I'm not infertile! I'm a healthy, young, very independent and capable drakka. I'm not broken."

Harkwin felt slightly aroused by hearing Nacen's bossy confidence. It turned him in a way he didn't realise it could. "I didn't say you were."

"Good, because I'm not. Whenever my heat eventually comes, I bet I could make an egg. Not that I'm going to, but I could," Nacen said.

Hearing that sort of thing also got Harkwin aroused too. The mere thought of breeding Nacen and making an egg with her was distinctly exciting, even if it wasn't something they could do. "Can I make a weird confession? I find it kind of sexy when you talk like that."

Nacen giggled. "Hehe. Why would that be weird? Reproduction is the most natural thing in the world. Not that I'm going to do that right now... Settling down with a lovely mate to call my own is more of a longer-term goal." Nacen laughed again, glancing away embarrassedly. "Aha... My turn to make a weird confession—sometimes when I'm all alone in Outpost 20, I fantasize about that too. Not just the, 'I want to seduce that hot, friendly scout who visits me every few days, and have dirty, dirty, rough sex with him in my tent' fantasy, but the, 'in the distant future wouldn't it be nice to have a handsome, kind mate and a modest but liveable home in the city and maybe a family with a cute little hatchling or two' fantasy." Nacen paused, and her crest fin twitched. "Is that too deep of a confession?"

Harkwin smiled, and he used his paws to hold Nacen's paws, right where they were pressing on his chest. "That is very deep, but also sweet of you! I've never really put that much thought into my future."

"Oh, I've put way too much thought into my future!" Nacen admitted. "My scales are yellow-beige, yours are a grey and white, so I've even fantasized about what sort of colour mix our non-existent future child could end up being. And... I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Harkwin burst out into amused laughter. "Hahaha, that's actually adorable. I bet our non-existent child would be real cute. You might as well fantasize while you can, Nacen, because we could very well freeze to death in the next few hours or days."

"That's true. I guess I'll just settle for what I can have," Nacen replied. She touched her snout against Harkwin's in another slow, drawn out kiss that seemed to channel all his energy into white hot arousal.

Pulling away, Nacen stood up and took a few steps back onto her own sleeping bag, before crouching down her forelegs and raising her hindquarters. Her tail flicked from side to side, and Harkwin's gaze tracked the movement of the appendage. Then Nacen lifted her tail in a graceful curve, exposing her underbelly invitingly as she took up a mating pose.

---

"Oh, you are so beautiful, you know that?" Pushing his wing back against his sleeping bag, Harkwin flipped himself onto his belly and sprung to his feet to run over. In his eagerness, one of his forepaws got caught on the edge between his sleeping bag and Nacen's, and he nearly tripped up before managing to regain his balance with a small hop. "Woah...! I'm fine."

Even while holding her mating pose, Nacen had been glancing over her shoulder to watch him, and she giggled. "Hehe... I appreciate your enthusiasm."

"Just pretend I didn't do that. I'm normally way more agile and light-footed," Harkwin muttered jokingly. Taking just a tad more care, he trotted up behind Nacen. A simple, primal instinct called for him to lower his snout and sniff at her slit, but there had already been plenty of that just a moment before. He already knew what Nacen smelt like—young, healthy, female, and aroused, which was about as good as smells went. Now an even deeper instinct demanded that he mount her properly, and Harkwin happily did so.

Stepping forwards and rearing up on his hindlegs, he moved over her so that his chest was against her back and wings, with his hips aligned up with hers. His phallus was still fully erect and it stuck out rigidly from his genital slit, just ready and waiting to be used properly. Every moment he spent not penetrating her felt like time wasted—his phallus had been coaxed out of his own genital slit, and now what he needed was to return that sensitive organ to a soft, warm place.

Harkwin used his forepaws to hold onto Nacen's hips and sides, while he jabbed about at her underbelly, trying to find that one exact spot he was looking for. Each time the tip of his length poked at Nacen's underside it would leave a small spot of slick pre-ejaculate on her scales, and Nacen would shift her posture to try and get him lined up. "Higher up. Higher..."

There was a brief moment of anticipation for them both, then finally he made contact—instead of smooth but rigid scale plates, Harkwin felt a spot of warm and softness right against his tip, and without hesitation he made a slow thrust forward. "Tss!" Harkwin grit his teeth and let out a pleased gasp, and he heard Nacen moan.

"Ahh..."

That first, exploratory stroke was absolute bliss. All around his rigid, sensitive length, Harkwin felt a wonderful sensation of warm, moist, softness. As he slid himself in, he could feel Nacen's muscular walls spreading apart to let in his erection, then contracting to squeeze him lightly, and there was just the perfect amount of wet, stimulating friction. Harkwin clutched at Nacen's sides, pulling her back as he thrust in deep, and he wasn't the only one moving—Nacen pushed her hips backwards as well, until finally his genital slit brushed against hers and he was fully penetrated.

Holding onto Nacen, Harkwin hugged her close and rubbed his cheek against her neck. Buried deep inside her, it was a level of intimacy that had him almost dizzy from sheer arousal and desire. "Nacen you are... just..."

Nacen made that soft, rumbly, reassuring noise again, and he could directly feel that vibration from in her chest. She curled her head back to plant an affectionate lick on his snout. "Hmmmmmrrr...! That feels good! Very filling. Oh, it has been way too long since I've had something like this..."