Rough story: (Patreon)

It had been some cycles since Raine had met Aidoneus; Hades having introduced them, and then becoming near-instant friends despite the female drakes standoffish nature.

So, when Aidoneus started to see her in a different light, she didn't notice. For many orbital cycles, Raine was near-inseparable from Aidoneus. They took missions together, hung out in their off time, ate together, commed each other, and were as close of friends as two drakes could be.

Raine had been through a lot, and had grown close to Aidoneus in a way she was with very few others, Asura being the only notable reference, and even she was a friend Raine had met after she'd known Aidoneus for some cycles before.

Raine felt a sense of comfort and security from him that she didn't with anyone else she knew, and so she'd dial his datapad whenever something went wrong. Naturally, he never failed to answer, and she would open up to him about whatever troubled or plagued her, and as always he'd listen quietly, console her, and do his best to offer advice.

On the day she lost her voice, she'd called him in a panic, her datapad was skewed and the camera seemed damaged because he'd been unable to make out her face well, he only knew she was terribly upset and something awful had happened. Aidoneus plotted a course to her location, the trip would take him a few weeks, even with his small ships hyperdrive, and he spent the entire time pacing the cabin of his vessel. She'd gone radio silent on him, so he didn't know if he'd arrive to a corpse or not. Pacing was all he could do to keep from driving himself insane.

An agonizing three weeks later, he'd landed on the world she was on. A small, dusty rock with no large native life. How had she gotten here? When Aidoneus found Raine, she was in a critical state. Her body muscle had atrophied and her fur was dirty and covered in her own blood. She had three massive gashes to her throat that had partially healed, but become infected, and several other old bruises and patches of fur missing. It seemed that whatever she'd gotten into a fight with had left her for dead.

Aidoneus' eyes stared down at the mess before him and as he knelt to push the hair from her eyes, he softly called her name. When she didn't even move to respond, he scooped her into his arms.

The female drake, large for her gender, slipped an arm around his shoulders instinctively, but her grip was weak and she was more resting against him than holding on. He carried her battered body to his small ship and sent signal to her own vessel to follow in tow behind his. In all likelihood, Ezrael's ship would be months away by the time he'd caught up to her, so he would have to handle the medical treatment without the use of the large automated machined from her vessel.

Over the next few weeks Aidoneus had taken care of her. Bathing and patching her wounds, combing the burrs from her mane, giving her vital fluids and small meals with a variety of proteins added. She'd get sick and retch and he'd console her and clean her up, wait several hours, then try to feed her or give her fluids again.

He never left her side, even when her voice cracked when she tried to speak, and they learned her vocal cords were badly damaged, he knew his limited medical skills would be of no help to her. He wanted to know what had happened to her, but she'd been unwilling to undergo surgery on a non-drake vessel or planet to fix her voice, and didn't seem willing to budge on discussing it either, so with the help of a few comms from Asura, Raine learned to sign.

As she healed, it became evident how damaged her personality, along with her body, had been during the ordeal, and silently Aidoneus kicked himself for not doing something sooner. Meanwhile, some part of her knew some part of him had changed, and become softer than before.

Or rather, he'd stopped politely holding back. Many times he'd shown the formal types of affection from their world; Nuzzling and rubbing his cheek against hers, keeping his teeth away from the sensitive hollows, but not being shy about wanting to be in physical contact with her.

What happened was something that happened less-than-commonly among their species, he'd formed a subconscious bond with Raine, a one-sided one, and she noticed it, though she brought no attention to it. Over a span of weeks, he'd grow more assertive in his nudging for affection, going as far as to preen her in such a way as paired drakes would, sharing foods from his maw, or drinks, and he'd begun to fall asleep not just at her side, but in the quarters for her he'd provided. He went as far as coiling around her while she slept, like he was guarding her. And Raine grew to enjoy the physical contact.

It wasn't long before the attention she'd become accustomed to became something she'd previously denied herself, a genuine interest. There had been an emotional attachment between the two drakes for numerous cycles, as they'd been supportive of each other for a long time, and Raine had made him her personal project, stating she'd help him find a mate and even give him lessons. All as her way of thanking him for all of his continued help and support. She couldn't have known at the time, of his interest in her, but years later, after her body had been damaged to the point of nearly killing her, she would finally understand.

The first time he pushed the boundaries to their max with her, he'd snaked his way into her bed, only this time, entirely devoid of clothing, allowing Raine to press against his bare fur and significantly warmer body. He'd turned his larger head to press into her neck and breathe against her fur, sighing softly at the scent and she too sighed, from the feeling of his breath near her hollows.

It was almost like a dance, he kissed at her neck, and she made small grumbles in her throat. He pressed on, kissing up along her jaw until he reached her hollows, his snout blowing warm air against the furless gap of sensitive flesh under her jawline.

The small shiver she gave as response to being touched in such a...loving way gave him the ammunition he needed to continue, and soon enough he'd pulled her closer against him, so the slightly smaller female could feel all of him, and the growing warmth between his legs.

That sensation, the feeling of a males heat pressing and nudging against her made Raine let out a growly moan, her broken voice not hiding the pleasure she felt.

He didn't say much, there was too much to say and too many feelings in the way of the words, so he kissed and embraced and held her tightly, trying to squeeze his affection into her through their bodies touching. He'd been patient for so long, waited and needed for so long, and she was there now, underneath him and pulling him closer, wanting him. His tail-tip practically wagged with emotion as he pinned her to her bed and guided himself inside her, gritting his teeth as she tensed and made broken noises under him, her claws finding his back and digging in, pulling him closer.

For the next several hours they'd coupled again and again, Raine ending up exhausted by the end of their sessions. It had been so simple and natural, the way it happened, neither of them had questioned it at all. Asura, when she read the news in the data stream feed Raine sent her, thought it was precious, and supported it, telling Raine it was wonderful for her.

Yet, there was a silence that clung between the two women. Things neither wanted to say, but Asura would, regardless. The event that had left Raine so traumatized, and physically broken was involving another drake. Naturally, Raine kept as much of the event as she could, to herself. Her friend Asura however, had no problem explaining what had happened.

She owed Raine no such promise of silence, so when Raine ultimately found out, she couldn't be upset. Despite being partially aberrant, she was mostly rehabilitated, and her and the other aberrant drakes had formed a micro-unit within the larger drake unit on Ezrael's ship. The captain, an augmented drake, was less-sane than any of the aberrations combined.