Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Tentative title: War, Love and Partnership.  Part 1: War

   Keris wiped blood and offal from her helmet's visor, peering out onto
the battlefield.  Her horse snorted, stomping on the entrails of the dead
and dying, pushing them into the thick mud of the battlefield.

   The air screamed as the archers let loose with another volley.  Longbow
bolts tore into the air, then dove for the enemy lines.  Soon, though, it
would not be enough.  Already, she had reports of Montaire's mounted
cavelry, in full armor, advancing on their position.  She knew her troops,
though ragged mercenaries culled from a thousand shattered armies, could
handle Desalle's legions here, the re-enforcements were another matter.

   The archers were running low on ammunition.  Enemy salvos had killed
many longbowmen and Montaire's approach was a surprise.  /Nonagression
treaty my tail/ thought the wolfmorph as she motioned to her lieutennants.

   "Keep an eye out for Hecht and his signal.  He's our third hand.  If he
can't stop the re-enforcements from arriving, we'll have to retreat behind
Calavar ridge." Smacking their fists against their armored chests, they
rode to their lines and regrouped their men.

   Another salvo sailed into the air, whisteling as signal arrows followed
their deadlier cousins.  In the distance, a line of troops fell, tumbling
down the high ground into the valley filled with blood and bodies.

   "Dammit, Hecht.  Send the signal..."

   ***

   In the cover of the tall grass, Senvar waited.  Dabbing his gloved
finger in a small pot of vegitable oil, he smeared the translucent juice
against the joints of his laquered armor.  No squeaks, nothing could be
heard.  He had to be silent.

   Until the screaming began.

   Hours before, they watched Montaire's army cross the boarder, heading
for the clearest path to the main battle.  While he marched, Hecht and his
men worked.  Hiddin within the tall grass, they strung lengths of wire so
tightly pulled, they cut skin as surely as a blade.  Lengths of grass
desguised pits filled with spikes and specially designed crossbows hid
themselves in the shrubs, ready to fill the entire plain with bolts.

   Then, they sat and waited for the screams to begin.

   The triggers were set so the entire troop formation was within the plain
before the traps exploded around them.  In a flash, bolts designed to
puncture armor cut into hundreds of men, sending them screaming.  Those who
ran impaled themselves and their horses in the pit traps, or sliced their
throats as the whip-wire sailed through the air on rocky weights,
decapitating man after man.

   Senvar knew his task in particular.  He'd been placed in the front by
Hecht for a very specific reason.  As he peeked over the grass, his eyes
focused on Montaire, the canine-morph's regal muzzle poking free of his
half helmet as he slashed as a tangle-chord.  Senvar's crossbow joined with
his hand as he raised it, aimed, and fired.

   One shot.  One kill.  The bolt speared the general through the eye. 
Diving into cover again, he reloaded and searched the field for another
officer.  Three more fell to his bolts, and as the leaders crumbled into
the bloody soil and trampled grass, so did the army.

   Hecht strode towards him through the carnage and shouted, "Fire the
signal skywards.  Then ride to the main army and tell them we'll be
marching on Desalle's backside in six hours."

   Senvar nodded, saluted, and strode from the high grass to the woods
beyond.  Climbing the tree they'd fixed with a look-out post days before,
he removed the signal arrow from his jacket and reached for the longbow he
hid in the branches of the tree.  Knocking the arrow, he raised it
skywards, and fired.

   The signal arrow spun through the air, holes in the head whistling as it
streaked through the air.  At an appointed height, it hovered, its speed
and the pull of the land balancing just long enough to trigger the
magically impregnated crystal within.

   A flower of explosive purple light filled the sky.  The signal sent, he
descended the tree and quickly mounted his horse.  General Hecht had left a
wrapped gift for him.  He grasped the salted bundle and streaked for the
battle.

   ***

   When the signal blossomed in the sky, Keris nearly howled for joy. 
Drawing her lieutennants close, she prepared for another assault, smelling
the nervousness pouring for Desalle's troops.  The signal was not one of
theirs, and certainly did not herald the arrival of re-enforcements.

   Unfolding a spyglass, she peered at Desalle's encampment, hidden beneath
sharpened trees, stained red with the blood of her troops.  Soon, Desalle
appeared from the barricade, surveying the field with two lieutennants. 
Wishing she could strike at him from this range, she simply watched.

   The rear ranks suddenly broke, disgorging a lieutennant with a white
bundle in his hands.  The size of a ripe summer mellon, he handed it to
Desalle.  Even from here, she could see the young Wolf'Morph's body shaking
with fear.

   Desalle unwrapped it and froze, as if it contained the eye of Sados
himself.  One of his lieutennants dropped his sword.  Keris lowered the
eyepiece and said, "Attack.  Now."

   "Yes!  And, General, one of General Hecht's men has arrived..."

   "Show him in..."

   Wreathed in black, laqured armor and covered in a thick mixture of blood
and mud.  "Are you satisfied with the work?" he said, voice rasping through
the armor.

   "Very," she said.

   "General Hecht will be happy to hear that.  Do you have any messages for
me to convey to him?"

   "Just one," she said, eyes narrowing.  "Tell him if he doesn't end up
dead, then we've won."

   Two hours later, as she sat astride her horse, watching the last of the
opposing army caught between her troops and Hecht's men, she almost felt
sorry for them.

   But, for the most part, she felt sorry for herself.  Because, as her
eyes tracked the clouds of flies rising from the sun-baked corpses
littering the ground, sorry was all she felt.

   Part 2: Love.

   It was nearly noon when Keris reached the cave, though you'd never know
it from the sky.  Dark storm clouds piled up overhead, like a black tent
stretched over the mountains.  A broad-shouldered wolf-morph, her gray fur
couldn't betray the years creeping up on her, though the aches in her scars
did.  It was going to be a hell of storm.

   Keris dismounted, cursing the ache in her bones.  She led her horse into
the cave, tying him to a worn wooden post.  She removed his saddle and the
packs, fumbling in them for a stub of candle.  It was darker than all the
hells further on into the cave, and with the storm coming up, she wanted to
be as far from the mouth of the cave as possible.

   By the time the wind began to howl outside, She had set up camp in the
far back of the cave.  Her bedroll had been laid out beside the small pool
in the back, and a small fire had been built, with a large pile of wood
beside it.

   As she warmed her hands by the fire, wiping stray drops of heavy, black
rain from her armor, her notched ear picked up something at the cave's
front.  In a flash, her hand went to the crossbow on her horse's saddle and
aimed it, armed and waiting, at the cave's mouth.

   Another crossbow slowly entered the firelight, followed by a young and
bedraggled Coyote.  Handsome boy, no notches in his ears.  His armor was
odd but familiar.  Laminated with some kind of varnish and laid in strips
instead of plates.  His eyes brightened.

   "Major Keris, ma'am?  It's Senvar.  I served under Hecht yesterday,
before he got speared." The coyote smiled and his eyes twinkled, but the
crossbow never faltered.

   Keris grunted, and gestured with the crossbow.  "Under, eh?  One of his
saboteurs...  Sit, damn it.  And it's not major anymore.  Not as of three
days ago," she said.  When the war ended, the bodies had been couted, and
the irregulars discharged.  " I'm just another merc now.  And put that damn
cross bow down before your arm gets tired."

   Senvar nodded and lowered the crossbow, quickly disarming it and stowing
it on his own horse.  He tied the beast up by hers and said,"You've
survived more battles than I.  I owe you that much respect." He seated
himself by the fire and removed his cloak, revealing a barrage of hidden
throwing knives.  Those he striped away as well, peeling off his armor.

   "I'd suggest you get out of that soaking armor as well.  Can't be good
for the wounds..."

   Keris arched a brow, "And what would you know about wounds, with that
pretty face of yours?  Why don't you make yourself useful, and start dinner
for us both."

   He smiled.  "Dinner.  Good idea." He rummaged through his saddlebags for
cookware.  "And I keep my face unmarked by healing my wounds properly,
instead of letting them get infected."

   Keris finally unnotched the bolt, and lay her crossbow down beside her
sleeping roll.  Her plate armor took longer to remove than his, the
numerous buckles resisting her stiff fingers.  She gritted her teeth,
refusing to show frustration or curse in front of this whelp.

   "Need any help?" he asked as he unstrapped the rest of his armor and
tossed it on the horse,chest naked.  A few light scars covered him but, all
in all, most appear to be healed and vanishing.  The fur covering them was
soft and slightly damp.  His nipples were raised against the wash of cold.

   Keris grunted.  "Leather straps are wet.  I'll manage." She was damned
if she'd ask a cub for help.  She'd been fighting battles since before he
was weaned.  She finally got the armor off, and stripped off the padded
jerkin and tunic beneath.

   Keris was careful to avoid looking at Senvar.  Nude to the waist, her
fur was coarse with age, though softer on the belly.  Gray grizzled with
white, patches of it ran in the wrong direction, marks of scars now
vanished beneath her coat.  Her breasts were small and high from the brief
glimpse he got.  Then Keris pulled a knee length black tunic from her pack
and shrugged it on before turning back to the fire.

   Removing a slab of salted beef from a sealed leather sack, he began to
slice it with a knife and place the strips in the pan.  His eyes danced to
Keris's figure and he says, "Care for some roots I dug up?  The locals call
them potatoes.  They're quite good when fried in beef juices..."

   He let the beef sizzle while he striped away his leg armor and boots. 
The wet leather of his pants, though covered in protective oils, clung
tightly to him.  The long bulge of his sheath stood out in sharp detail. 
His eyes climbed all over Keris' tunic.

   Keris grunted letting her eyes rest on Senvar's form.  "I'll try
anything once." Her expression was unreadable, as she watched him,showing
no signs of shyness in looking him over.  "I've got some tea in my pack. 
That will round out the meal." She got a battered tin teapot and a tripod
out of her pack, and filled the pot with water.  She leaned over next to
him as she arranged the tripod and pot over the fire.

   Slicing the potatoes thinly, he let them fry over the beef, occasionally
turning them over with the tip of his knife.  "The leather must be chafing.
I know mine does when it dries..." he says, looking to her breeches.  "You
can hang them to dry.  We're soldiers.  Modesty isn't something we're
allowed on the field."

   Keris grunted.  "And not like I've got anything to tempt a cub like you,
eh?" She stripped of her leather pants and boots, hanging the out to dry.
The fur around her sex was well trimmed, keeping it free of armor but
allowing her labia full visibility.  "Going to be stiff in the morning. 
Hope you had enough sense to pack a change."

   Senvar speared a bit of beef and munched heartily on it, eyes peering
deep into Keris'.  She seemed to ignore him, however, as she used a thin
dagger to stab herself a piece of beef from the pan.  She added the tea to
the pot, giving it a few minutes, before pouring them both a cup.

   "You do yourself a disservice, Keris," he says, sipping the tea."You're
quite attractive." He spears another bit of beef and slowly chews on it, it
slowly.  "And I did pack a change.  But...  I trust in the integrity of my
own fur."

   Another pause and a long sip of tea.  "Here.  Take off your coverings
and I'll prove to you you're still beautiful."

   Keris snorted.  "Prove t' me you're blind you mean.  Or you're a hell of
a liar." She ignored him, continuing to eat pieces of beef between sips of
tea.  "Or are you that hard up for cash already?  Gambled away your pay?"

   "No, my pay is quite safe..." He rose and walked over to Keris's side of
the fire, leaving his empty tea cup on the ground.  His eyes burned
slightly, like an ember from the fire.  "But I hate seeing beautiful women
deny the truth...take off the covering." An odd energy radiated from him.
It glowed along his arms and chest and bare feet.

   Keris froze at the change in him.  This...  was wrong.  Her instincts
screamed at her to run, and run now.

   With the lightest of touches, he caressed her muzzle, eyes burning and
hypnotic.  "I can hear your heart.  It's thumping wildly.  Are you
afraid?There's nothing to fear from a young whelp like me...is there?"

   Keris leaned into his touch, nuzzling at it almost despite
herself."No... No reason to be afraid..." And she wasn't.  She felt
something warm begin to glow down in her belly, and she started to peel off
the tunic.  How long had it been since her last lover?  Did ones she had to
pay for count?  If a young cub wanted to make love to a woman old enough to
be his mother...  why not take advantage of it?  None of it would matter if
they ever met in the field...

   Her body was very fit, the lean muscled body of a fighter, but most
would not call her beautiful.  Her fur was coarse, and beginning to go
white with age.  It refused to lay down sleekly, patches and stripes of fur
growing in every direction, legacy of a lifetime of scars.  Where the fur
thinned over her breasts and belly, you could see the scars themselves,
white areas of tight, shiny skin.  If someone was kind, they could perhaps
call her handsome.

   Eyes still meeting hers, his hands slid down her shoulders,caressing the
fur with an odd delicacy.  "All of it," he whispers into her ear, breath
hot and cloying.  "All of it.  Take all of it off."

   Keris slid off her briefs, leaving herself naked before him.  The soft
tangle of hair at her loins was already damp.  She leaned forward to caress
his chest, feeling the young softness of his fur, the lean muscles
beneath."I want you...." her voice was a harsh whisper.

   His hands slid to his own breaches, undoing the leather strips holding
them shut.  Slowly bit by bit, they fell open.  Soon the soft fabric slid
down his legs.  From the waist down, his body matched the rest.  Muscular
legs, strong fur only lightly scarred..  From his pelvis, his sheath
blulged and slowly the red shaft of his sex rose and bobbed.  Heady, earthy
scents covered them both, filling the air and clinging to their fur.  He
kicked a bedroll open and said, "Lie down..."

   Keris growled softly, nipping once at his shoulder before laying down.
Her eyes devoured his body hungrily as she stared at him without shame.

   Senvar kneeled over her, the tips of his incisors lightly pulling at the
skin around her muzzle and throat.  His finger traced along the edge of her
collar bone, finding a trail between her breasts, moving with the swirl of
the fur there.

   "You want me?" he said, nonchalantly, as if he had a century or two to
toy with her.  "No...you should want yourself first." His hands went to
hers, clasping them.  Bringing them to his mouth, one by one, he licked and
sucked each finger before placing them over her breasts.

   "Feel them...massage them...I want you to know what it feels like when
someone takes your delicious breasts in their hands and teases your
nipples..." Moving her fingers as if they were his, he began to stroke her
breasts with her own hands.

   Keris trembled with pleasure, her eyes half closing at the sensation. 
Her nipples grew taunt, and her breathing quickened.

   He slid her hands downwards, over her muscled stomach and down to her
mons.  His fingers guided her fingers between her dripping lips.

   "There.  Massage yourself.  You're hungry down there.  Are you hungry?"

   Keris moaned softly.  "Yesss..." Her fingers caressed her clit, playing
over it, stroking and rubbing it.  The scent of her musk mingled with his,
filling the air.

   He bent his head and kissed her, tongue flowing over hers like honey. 
"Ask me to devour your tits, then..."

   Keris returned the kiss passionately, her free hand reaching up to
caress his back.  "Devour my breasts...  make love to me, Senvar..." She
tried to pull him down to her, her eyes watching him eagerly.

   Senvar simply took her hands and pressed them to her sex.  "Don't stop
on my account." Lying down on his side, he kissed her once more.  His
strong leg swung over hers, pinning them to the ground.  Slow trails of
warm kisses flowed down her body to her nipples.  Chucking, Senvar nipped
at one tit with the edge of his teeth before dripping his tongue on it,
then pulling the erect flesh into his mouth and sucking it.

   Keris growled softly, her eyes closing completely.  Her fingers worked
frantically at her clit, her body tensing, arching.  She snarled in
frustration, her fingers working faster as she fought for release.

   Growling, Senvar shifted his weight, letting his body rest against her.
The throbbing of his sex against her thigh was as loud as the thunder
outside.  His mouth worked the other breast, torturing it with pleasure and
kisses.  One hand continued to work her fingers against her clitoris,
lightly plunging them into her sex.

   "Good," he whispered.  "Very good."

   A growl was Keris's only reply as she trembled against him.  She turned
her head to bite down on his shoulder.

   Senvar turned the planned bite into a searing kiss before he plucked at
the skin of her neck with his incisors.  His fingers pressed her finger
into the growing soft wetness between her legs, spreading blue fire along
her hips and thighs.  Then, a pause and Senvar pulled away.  Fingers
reeking of her musk, he took her muzzle in his hand and knelt before her
head, erection screaming upwards to the sky.

   "Still hungry, eh?" His hands pressed her nose against the stiff,wet
member.  "It's your turn to devour me." Senvar's voice reverberated through
the cave, sending ripples down their fur.  A small drop of clear liquid
welled at the tip of his sex and dripped down the length.

   Keris trembled, and lapped at the salty drop.  A moan escaped her throat
as she licked her way to the tip of his member.  Her mouth opened, and she
gently took his throbbing cock inside, her tongue swirling around it as she
whimpered like a cub.

   Shuddering, Senvar's hips gyrated, thrusting the thickening member
deeper into her mouth.  Warmth swirled with warmth as the head bumped the
back of her throat.  Keris gagged slightly and tried to pull away, but her
head was held fast.  Her breaths rattled from her snout, nostrils flared.

   Then Senvar roughly removed his cock from her mouth.

   "No more of that..." he said, chest heaving.  "Not now anyway."

   Keris shivered beneath him...  She licked her lips, her head held
helplessly between his hands.  "Senvar...  please...  fuck me..." Her
fingers plunged in and out of her sex dripping with her juices, her thighs
soaked.

   Licking her ears he whispered to her, "On all fours.  Lift your tail and
show me how hungry you are..." His heart thundered, out pacing the storm
outside.  Rivulets of milky liquid ran down his shaft and his tongue sought
out the soft scruff of her fur.

   "Show me..."

   Keris whimpered as she removed her hand from between her thighs. 
Shakily she sat up, then moved onto her hands and knees.  Her tail lifted,
showing her dripping sex, the lips swollen with her lust.  The thick, musky
scent of her arousal filled the hair like a drug.

   Senvar shivered, the nakedness of the desire that hung in the air like
incense surprising him.  Hands shaking he caressed her flanks and bent his
head beneath her tail.  His tongue flickered from his muzzle, lapping at
her with long, thick strokes.  Now covered with her scent, he nibbled his
way along the length of her tail until he kneeled behind her.  Letting her
tail slip under his arm, he rubbed the length of his sex against her lips,
hands massaging her back.

   "Yes?" he asked, body shuddering like a teapot closed too tightly, about
to explode.

   Keris shivered.  "Enter me...  enter me now, please..." She rocked back
against him, trying to take him into herself, growling softly with
frustration and need.  "Don't tease me...  please...  I can't take
anymore."

   Nibbling her back fur slightly, he whispered, "As you wish," and plunged
his length into her.  A shudder danced along his body as he felt her warmth
and wetness surround him.  Tightening his belly and hips, it was all he
could do to keep from spilling himself inside her at that very moment. 
Panting, his hands moved to cup her breasts, palms rasping against the
nipples as he drew her up onto his lap.  The head of his shaft plunged
further into her as Keris' weight settled onto him.

   Tongue seeking her ears, fingers lightly pinching her nipples,he slid
one hand down to her pulsing clitoris and began to stroke it.One finger
sliding along the small pearl there, slipping inwards until it met his
shaft, then sliding out again.

   Keris shuddered, her clit throbbing under his touch.  Suddenly her back
arched, her whole body tensing as her tight, hot folds convulsed around his
length, milking it.  A wordless scream of pleasure escaped her throat as
she climaxed, joining the thunder of the storm outside.  Unable to resist
the sudden warmth tightening, clenching him Senvar's cock swelled and
filled every small space within her heartbeats before blue waves of searing
pleasure toppled him.  Body convulsing, hips thrusting without care or
conscience, his member opened up, spraying bolt after bolt of hot seed deep
inside her.

   The world became a fury of heat and light as red and orange snow flooded
his vision.  All he could hear was his heartbeat moving in time with hers
and the muscles in his pelvis, contracting in time with her...no, their
cries of pleasure.

   Keris shuddered, then collapsed, laying face down on the bedroll.  She
could feel Senvar's weight pinning her, his breath warm on the back of her
neck, his member still within her.  She gasped for breath, wondering what
had possessed her to do this.

   His own breath still rattling in his chest, his sex empty and growing
slack, Senvar slipped himself from her very reluctantly.  Straddling her,
he gently turned Keris' over and looked into her eyes before kissing her
deeply then lying against her.

   "I hope you enjoyed this..."

   Keris held Senvar gently, almost as if afraid he would break.  "I did...
But I am almost afraid to ask why.  Has it been that long since you had a
woman?" Her tone made a jest of it, almost laughing.  But the pain in her
eyes was very real.

   Senvar toyed with a swirl of fur on her belly.  "Why?  Because the
moment I saw you in your armor, charging the field I thought you were the
most beautiful women I'd ever seen..." His eyes met hers for moment and he
kissed the hollow of her throat.  "When you took the armor off, I knew I
was right.  I'd be out of my mind if I passed up a chance to make love to
you."

   Keris grunted.  "You're either crazy, boy, or blind...  I'd bet on
crazy." She didn't push him away though, instead she caressed him gently,
her hands tenderly exploring.  She softly nuzzled at his throat,murmuring
"It's going to be a long, cold evening....  and a colder night.  We'll be
warmer piling our bedrolls together."

   "I'll go get them," he said, pausing to kiss her before walking tote
horses.  His fur almost shimmered, glowing in the half light of the dying
fire.  Soon another bedroll curled on the floor beside the unexercised and
a thick blanket joined.  Senvar lingered at the cave mouthful moment,
humming to himself, before returning to her embrace.  "I took the liberty
of setting a small alarm at the cave mouth.  Just in case someone decides
to interrupt us."

   His hand slid against her belly beneath the woolen blankets, then moved
to cup her breasts.  The act was almost comforting.  Soon, heat from his
body flowed across to hers and a small cocoon of warmth grew beneath the
blankets.

   Keris sighed in pleasure, wrapping her arms around the younger man and
caressing his back.  "What ever possessed you to take this trail through
the mountains?  Most of the mercs are still back in Overstone spending
their bonuses."

   "Well, while the others are drinking their bonuses I was hoping towhead
over to Dellvale, across the range," Senvar said, curling his tail around
hers.  "There's an excellent knife smith there and steady work guarding
caravans." He pauses, sliding his hand across a nipple.  "The fact that you
were heading this way as well was no small enticement,too..."

   Keris shook her head.  "So you headed this way on the chance of work in
Dellvale?  Into the throat of a storm?  She nipped at his throat lightly.
"You're as crazy as I am."

   He smiled and slid down a bit, nose pressing against her nipple, cooling
and stiffening it before his tongue lapped at the sensitive rise.

   "What can I say.  I'm crazy.  But I'm crazy for you..."

   Keris hissed softly with pleasure, letting her nails scratch lightly at
his back.  "Truly crazy...  but maybe the world could use a few more crazy
people in it." She rolled over, playfully trying to pin him down.

   Senvar rolled with the tumble, bringing her atop him but pinning her
body against his by grasping her waist tight and entangling her legs. 
Their fur snapped and crackled with electric contact.

   "Mm mm...A most pleasant position," he murmurs, lapping at her breasts.
"A most pleasant position indeed..."

   Keris found herself surprised into a laugh, and her eyes halftone
pleasure.  She stroked his hair softly, relaxing at the feeling of his
mouth on her breasts.  "Travel with me as far as Dellvale.  Safer than
traveling alone." Her voice seemed to make it more of an order than
question.

   "Of course, madam Keris," he said, voice muffled by her fur as he spoke
between laps of the tongue.  "I had no intention of doing otherwise." He
gazed up at her eyes and said, "Now...how shall we spend the rest of the
night?"

   Keris murmured, "I think you've already guessed." She bent to caress
him, pulling them both under the blankets.

   Part 3: Partnership.

   As light broke over the cave's mouth, Senvar sat atop a flat stone,
watching Keris sleep.  He'd slipped from the bedding, pulling on his shirt
and boots with the utmost reluctance, then set to sharpening, preparing the
horses and getting breakfast cooked.  Outside, the faint mist was all that
remained of the storm clouds.  From the smell of the air, it would be a
nice day.

   /A good balance,/ he thought to himself as he watched her.  /We form a
good balance/.  Even now the urge to sneak his muzzle under the covers and
awaken her with a few well placed strokes of the tongue.  But he watched
instead, blanket half covering her.

   Keris opened her eyes and stretched, inhaling the smell of breakfast. 
She gave Senvar a half-amused, half-accusatory look.  "You let me
oversleep." She rolled out of the blankets, stretching the soreness out of
her muscles before going over to her packs and pulling out an old, worn set
of clothing.

   "I let you sleep," he said, shaking his head.  "Besides, it's only
moments past dawn.  I doubt the revelry officer will be about to wake us
considering he decapitated and trampled..."

   Senvar watched her dress before reaching for his own bedraggled clothes.
"I hope wren's eggs are to your liking..."

   Keris chuckled.  "Something that's not smoked, salted, or boiled to
tastelessness?  I'll love it." She shrugged into her padded tunic, and gave
her armor a baleful look.

   "I'll give your armor a good buffing when breakfast is done and cleaned
up," Using a flat throwing knife, he flipped over the omelette he was
cooking cooking and let it sizzle.  "I left the sharpening and cleaning of
your weapons to you."

   Keris chuckled, "Are you auditioning for husband or squire?" She checked
her weapons over, cleaning them on the principle of it, and sharpening one
knife that she wasn't quite satisfied with.

   Taking the pan off the fire, he quickly sliced the omelet into sections.
The knife blurred in his fingers, his dexterity turned from lovemaking to a
deadly display.

   "There you go.  Pick a slice."

   Keris grinned, a flash of white teeth.  "Show off." She pulled
outermost, and began eating neatly off the tip.

   "Oh," he says, munching down on a slice, "You didn't mind me showing off
last night." He smiled in that sweetly playful way only coyote's seem to
manage.  He pulled on the laminated leg bucklers of his armor, strapping
them into place as he ate.  "Oh, and there's a bit of tea still left."

   Keris looked at the pot.  "Oh, so if I didn't wake up feeling that
something had crawled into my mouth and died, you wanted to make sure that
I could enjoy the experience." She finished the last of her eggs, and
drained the dregs of the pot.

   "Actually, I find that if it's cold enough and you add a bit of sugar it
tastes quite nice." He motionedd to his own cup then glanced outside.  "The
alarms are untripped and the roads should be fairly solid soon.  When do
you think we leave?"

   Keris began burying the ashes of the fire.  "As soon as possible... 
Have no way of knowing how much of the road washed out last night...this
could prove to be a very muddy day.  And there are no camps as good this
one between here and Dellvale."

   It didn't take her long to put on her armor, and saddle up her horse. 
For some reason she was not really looking at Senvar, lost in her own
thoughts.

   For his part, Senvar had already snapped his armor into place and
mounted his horse.  The cave was cleaned and, aside from a rustle of free
dirt, appeared empty.  A light tunic covering his throwing knives anodizing
from sight, he reigned in his horse and says, "Where you lead, I'll
follow."

   His eyes seemed distant, as if watching the trees to see which way the
shadows moved.

   Keris lead the way, her eyes moving constantly.  In some places the
trail was all right...  in others they rode through water and mud which
which could drown whole devisions.  More than once, Keris gestured for them
to dismount and walk the horses for a distance.  Throughout it all, she
never spoke a word.

   In a small clearing just before a patch of tall grass, Senvar paused,
startling Keris' horse a bit.  He glanced over the grass,watching it fade
into another cops of woods.

   "We should either go around this or get up a tree to look for trails in
the grass..." He rubbed his chin.  "A favorite outlaw trick is to hide trip
wires and traps in the tall grass.  When travelers forged through them,
they'd topple men from their horses and kill them...

   Another glance to Keris.  "Should I go aloft and look?" he asked."Or is
this not what is bothering you?"

   Keris growled softly.  "Too quiet...  There should be shepherds, goat
herds...  not so much as a track.  Go up and see what you can find..."

   Senvar nodded...then froze.  In a blur of motion, two of his throwing
knives flew from his fingers and straight into the grass,followed the
gurgled cries of men dying.  One rose above the green, a knife briefings
skull dead between the eyes.  The hilt was visible, but the blade was well
seated in the brain case.

   "Trees!" he bellowed, raising his crossbow and letting an arrow fly.

   Keris growled with rage, raising her crossbow.  Three well placed bolts
flew throught he air, then she dropped it, drawing her sword as the band of
bandits approached.

   Metal screamed against leather as Senvar withdrew his sword, a curved
and wickedly sharp creature.  Placing his back against Keris, his eyes
darted around to the bandits appearing from the wood and the grass.

   "I see five.  Three in the grass, two in the wood," he snarled,placing
his back against Keris' for protection.  Two knives appeared in his hands.
"What's the plan?  I hate stand up fights..."

   Keris bared her teeth.  "I'll try to make it short then..." With al oud
cry she spooked the horses, sending them running in two directions.  The
bandits gave a yell, and two of the tried to grab the reins of the horses.
Keris used the distraction, leaping at the man in front of her, her sword
swinging down in a vicious arc.

   Not one for roaring death cries, Senvar let loose with his throwing
knives.  One caught a bandit in the throat, the other in the right knee. 
Stepping forward, the shining edge of Senvar's sword whistled as it
decapitated one of the bandits.  The hobbled one blocked his slash just in
time, but Senvar rolled with it, eyes jumping to Keris and the horses.

   Keris's mare reared, dragging her reins from the hands of a bandit.  She
came down again with her hooves lashing at the bandit, knocking him down
and trampling him.

   Senvar's horse, with pig iron hooves, reared up and knocked the sword
from a bandit in stolen Caledonian armor.  Sparks flew as metal struck
metal and the bandit abandoned the horse, diving for Senvar with a serrated
short sword.

   Keris turned, meeting the sword in a perfect counter.  She stared
bandit, her face a cold mask.  Their leader, and the most skilled fighter
among them, was good.  "Senvar...  get the horses..." Keris missteped, her
guard open a bit on her left.  The bandit swung towards the opening,
intending to gut her.

   He found the end wide edge of Senvar sword instead.  The bandit's
insides fell to the ground with a wet slurp.  Wiping the last remains of a
bandit's intestine against a leaf, he whistled into the air.  His horse
approached...as did her mare.

   The mare, normally wild and unfriendly to strangers, nuzzled him as he
whispered to her.  His hand lightly stroked her mane.

   Slashing the last bandit into small pieces, Keris turned to see Senvar
and her horse.  She watched, slightly incredulous, as her war-horse lapped
at Senvar's hand.  /Seems he does that to all the women he meets.../

   The twin horses hooves trotted through the remains of the bandit crew,
mud and entrails squelching under the weight.  "Shall I go check the grass
for traps?" Senvar asked.

   Keris grunted.  "Yes...  and watch out...  there could be more of them."
She watched Senvar move off with a slightly disbelieving look.  Keris shook
her head, inspecting the horses carefully for any signs of injury.

   Vanishing into the tall grass, Senvar became a blur of motion.  Aside
from the rustling of the grass in the wind, it was silent.  Until several
sharp whip cracks cut the air.  Chord of some kind could be seen flying
through the air from various parts of the grass, leading all the way to the
edge of the field and the low grass that began near the second stretch of
woods.

   Moments later, the stalks of tall grass toppled under Senvar's sword. 
Cleaning plant blood from it, he sheathed the blade and moved toilsome.

   "I've cleared all the traps.  Nothing sophisticated.  And I chopped us a
path to the next stretch of woodlands.  There's also a creek up ahead. 
Deep one." He patted down his horse, checking it for wounds.  "The horses
fine?"

   "Yes, but they'll need cleaning up...  as do we, for that matter."She
lead her horse towards the rough path he had carved.  "Even with the delay,
we'll make Dellvale tomorrow.  I'm well known to the gem merchants guild
there."

   "Oh?" Senvar looked up from his careful examination of the bandit's
bodies.  He hefted a few sacks of loot, cut from their belts with a knife
as he retrieved his weapons.  "Well, we might be able to return these as
well...I prefer not to hang on to bloody jewels."

   Keris nodded and, almost as an afterthought she added, "'S easy to find
work for two as it is for one."

   A smile crossed Senvar's face as he bowed.  "I'm honored that you would
consider me worthy enough to fight with you.  Now, may I ask your
assistance in chucking these bandits to the side?  Road hazards and all..."

   Keris grunted and nodded.  She and Senvar dragged the bodies,tossing
them off into the underbrush.  They made a good thump when they hit the
ground.



   Liquid diamond.  The creek had to be made of liquid diamond.  Nothing
else could have sparkled the way it did in the noon sun.

   Keris sighed, and led her horse to the edge of the creek to drink."If we
press on, we'll make Dell vale just before noon tomorrow...  if we follow
the road.  It will mean a dry camp t' night though."

   "Think we've got enough time for a quick bath?  I'm afraid I've got bits
of bandit in my fur and I don't want the files to get at it," Senvar said,
sitting on a flattened rock, scooping handfuls of water into his muzzle.

   Keris grunted.  "Good idea to clean our armor as well.  Don't want them
mistake us for the bandits." She began to peel hers off, keeping away eye
on the woods.  "Tomorrow night, an inn with hot baths."

   "Yes, hot baths indeed," he said, skinning off the slats of lacquer. 
The boots went next, followed by his shirt and pants.  Only two daggers,one
strapped to each leg, remained Stretching, Senvar plunged into the creek.It
was deep, hip height at it's lowest point, but after the heat adaptor the
bandit's blood, it felt good on his fur.

   Dunking his head beneath the surface, he swam for a bit right uptake and
surfaced again, shaking himself off.

   "Come in.  Anyone approaches and I'll have a knife in their throat
before they can blink," he said, eyes shimmering with the water.

   Keris chuckled, shedding the last of her clothing and joining limited
water.  "You sure you aren't an otter in disguise, cub?" She ducked her
head under the water, letting the stream carry blood and sweat away.

   "No," he said, curling around Keris beneath the surface.  His hands
quickly found the rise of her breasts, caressing them.  "I just enjoy the
water.  Now, be a good girl and let me scrub you down..."

   Keris gasped at the touch, melting into it.  "If you wish to...  Don't
any objection...." Her eyes half closed with pleasure at his caresses, her
body slowly relaxing after the tension of the earlier battle.

   Growling, teeth nipping at her cheek, Senvar turned her to face him and
lapped at her muzzle.  Even in the chill of the water his sheath released
his member, pressing against her belly fur.  Shudders, of cold or passion
it didn't matter at this point, traveled along their bodies.

   "Thank you," he said.  "Now...open your legs so I can scrub you down
there."

   "Yes," she whispered back, tongue raking across her cheeks and jaw,
tasting the edges of her canines.  He slid a finger along the lines of her
sex, following the curve into the depths of her warm velvet cavern.  All
the while, Keris kept thinking, /Maybe this partnership won't be so bad
after all./