Right to a Bear's Arms, Ch. 26 (Patreon)

Season 2, Hera Takes the Stage

Content Warning: NSFW!

(( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YwTn_ukmyA ))

The sizzle of the pan on the stove was a cheerful sound, complimented perfectly by the music blasting from her Bluefang speakers on the counter neaby.   Her culinary efforts filled the apartment kitchen/dining room with the wondrous scents of eggs, spices, and melted butter.  Hera's nose twitched happily as she stirred the omelet with a spatula, checking the edges and making sure they had not gotten too firm just yet.  Timing was key in cooking after all, or at least so said the energetic, flamboyant chef on her phone.  She giggled again at his deliberate pronunciation of eggs as "eggees", his energy reminding her much of her Kelin.

Humming along softly to the music and nudging the corners of the rounded disk of light yellow eggs, seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh chopped green onions, the Ursid woman reached into a plastic baggie near at hand.  Careful not to grab too much in her huge paw, she sprinkled the cheese she acquired from it along the center line of her creation, adding just a bit more than she might have otherwise; Kelin liked cheesy things.  Grinning, she watched the Colby-jack shreds immediately begin to melt upon contact with the eggs.  A dash of homemade salsa she had bought from the farmer's market, a couple of sliced olives, not something she liked personally but Kelin had mentioned he loved them, and she was done.

Using her spatula, she folded the entire affair neatly into a sleeve, melted cheese oozing out of the ends, and this she slid off happily onto a plate nearby.  With plenty of butter left in the pan, she dipped two pieces of toast into them lightly, extricated them after allowing the residual heat to heat the bread, then finally swirled honey over both before adding them to the ensemble.  Even over the clattering of her utensils, Hera could still hear the shower running in the back of her apartment.

Carrying the plate gingerly in her massive paws, the Anthro Bear carefully deposited the laden platter onto the table, along with a large glass she filled with a mixture of grapefruit and orange juice.  Her eyes glowed with joy as she surveyed her hard work, endlessly proud of herself for making breakfast, even a simple one, for her wonderful boyfriend.  She had never been much of a cook before so this felt like a major achievement for her.

Even as she straightened back up to her full height, beaming happily around her quiet, simple little life, her ears abruptly perked up as a familiar, light-hearted tune began to play.  Her paw shot out on instinct to turn the volume up more.  Immediately her eyes lit up even more and she tapped her paws in time to the beat as the first word of the song began to play.

"Invincible..." she sang softly along, grinning ear to ear as she floated along on the notes.  Her bare footpaws slid across the polished tile floor of the kitchen, powerful legs swaying her Amazonian build from side to side as the key kicked up and became louder.  Unable to stop this rush of confidence and joy from overtaking her, Hera began to dance, adding deliberate hip-sways and shimmies of her wide shoulders, singing along as she went about cleaning up after attempts at cooking.

"I'm gonna bring it on...you better listen!"  Starting off low enough to still hear one of her absolute favorite songs, the Ursid dumped the plates, pan, and utensils into the sink.  Seeing there were a few more left over from dinner last night, she just shrugged her shoulders and set to washing them by paw, using the music as motivation and bouncing in place as she went.  With the water running, it was slightly harder to hear, so she just turned up the music a few more clicks and sang a bit louder in concert with it.  "I can do it, gonna do it..."

As she went, the words flowed into her, through her, filling her up with the absolute freedom and rapture she used to feel when she sang.  All at once, Hera felt like a teenager all over again, belting out the chorus.  Only a few months previously, she would have been mortified to be so carefree; now she was alive again, and never more alive than when she was singing.  Washing dishes was so monotonous and required so little thinking that it was easy to lose herself in the lyrics as she worked.  The silvery-white fur of her paws and forearms dampened in the spray of the faucet as she scrubbed and sang.

"I am, Invincible, Unbreakable, Unstoppable, Nothing's gonna shake me~!  I play, by the rules, and I'll never lose!  I'm...gonna take what's mine, everybody's gonna see me shine~"

Prancing much more openly now as the second set of the song rolled on, Hera closed her eyes and sank ever deeper into her little impromptu performance.  The kitchen and sink fell away and once again she stalked a long platform stage.  Lights flashed and fireworks blazed as hundreds of fans screamed before her, waving their hands, paws, banners, flags, and phones up in the air as she glided before them, singing her heart out.  The microphone in her paw was a touch small for her size but she held it easily, twirling in place and hair spinning about her in a cloud of liquid silver.

A glance of her yellow eyes behind her allowed her to see her old bandmates, her fellow Idolz.  There was Nana the Rabbit in her docked Oriental robes as if she were some kind of pop-star shrine maiden, ears flopping and huge smile on her chubby cheeks as she beamed up at the large Ursid.  Beside her was Kiko the Squirrel, dressed like a gothic fairy princess in lacey frills dyed black, with two fluffed up, dual-colored pigtails on either side of her head and her huge bushy tail swaying behind her.  Then there was Monay, the Human sparing her young protégé a grin on her severe yet eternally youthful face as she sang back-up and lead the other two as dancers, dressed like a schoolgirl with straight dark hair around a glowing, angelic face.

The sight of their loving, delighted smiles at her, the center and lead of their beloved band, made Hera's heart swell even more and she turned back to the phantom crowd of years passed and raised her fist to the sky, black and red robes standing out ever more sharply against her pale fur.  The onlookers roared in response, mirroring her fervor and passion.  There in the VIP area were her adopted family, all painted up in the band's colors and cheering her on with everything they had.  She couldn't very well disappoint, could she?  She opened her throat and sang for all she was worth as the real-world song hit its second refrain of the chorus, perhaps not a song she had ever sung live but the fantasy was as real as could be for her.  Thank the Spirits the walls were soundproof.

Away she spun from the sink, grabbing up a ladle in her paw and raising it to her muzzle as she bounced and danced back and forth, skipping back on her footpaws and pounding her fist alongside the beat in her heart.  The dark purple, thigh-length shirt she wore billowed out around her hips, baggy even on her, displaying her trunk-like, powerfully corded legs and flashes of her toned, broad abdominals.  Even as big as she was, she felt as light as a feather, lifted up by the lyrics and memories of the past, back when she was more innocent.

Even in her reverie, Hera was no longer that little girl anymore, and no longer the scarred, social shut in that she had become.  Someone very special had come into her life, reached into her darkness and pulled her out, guided her to become the woman she had always dreamed she might be.

She selfishly imagined Kelin in that crowd, his eyes more bright and meaningful than any others.  So emboldened was she by that image that as the song wound on, she even began to dance a bit more sexily for his phantom's benefit.  She swayed and bounced, deliberately arching her body as if performing at once for just him as well as the hundreds of people present.  It was not lewd, but she was assured of herself, told over and over by him how beautiful, how sexy, how gorgeous she was when she was smiling and confident.  He was the one who made her that way, finally allowing her to believe she was worthy of such praise.

Again the chorus kicked in for a final time and she threw everything she had into it, not just with her voice but every inch of her.  She jumped and spun in place, throwing her fist wildly in time to the beat, silver mane billowing behind her as her footpaws pounded the reinforced floor.  The spectral view of the stage and audience flashed before her and her golden-yellow eyes slid happily open as the song finally came to a close.

Gone were the screaming fans and the overjoyed cheers of her family, the bright, approving grins of her bandmates.  The lights, the guitar, drum, and bass players, even her fellow Idolz, all of them faded away into the nostalgic warmth of memory.  But one person in all of it lingered when all the rest had gone, his smile the same as she had imagined it would be, his eyes twinkling just like she always loved to see.   Hera blinked, staring across the room at Kelin as he lounged against the corner of the wall that connected her kitchen to the rest of her apartment.

Kelin Leod's eyes were just the same as they had been in her fantasy, although he was dressed now in his usual black, heavy metal t-shirt, bearing the insignia of his own family band, as well as plaid, dark blue sleep pants.  His dark hair, freshly washed, was combed back into a lazy bun with a few strands hanging here and there, and his stubble had not been shaved lately.  Right then and there, he was the sexiest and most self-satisfied-looking man she had ever seen.  And he was staring right at her, most likely having been there for Spirits knew how long.

All at once, Hera's confidence and swagger came crashing back down to Earth and the huge Ursid woman stared blankly across the span of maybe ten or so feet that separated her from her smugly grinning, bright-eyed boyfriend.  There was a profound silence, the radio continuing to buzz along in the background as barely distinguishable noise, for maybe a handful of seconds.  Kelin's smile deepened and his eyes twinkled with mischievous glee.

"Good morning~" he hummed at her.

Hera immediately let out a high-pitched whining growl and sank down onto her plush, firm bottom behind the kitchen counter, leaving only her folded-over ears and the top of her head to stay sticking out and visible.  She covered her burning, fluffed-up face with her paws, still holding onto her ladle-microphone; she had never been so embarrassed in her life.

Kelin's laughter filled the room, making her flinch even more, trying to hide her eight-foot-tall bulk completely from view.  She wanted nothing more right then than to shrink down to the size of a bug and go run and hide in her room, like the first time her adoptive brother Tyrin had walked in on her doing much the same as now but much, much younger.  All of her fur stood up on end, hiding even her incredibly heavy musculature as she practically turned into a living fluffball of shame.

"I gotta admit," she heard her boyfriend teasing her, feeling his bare feet slowly shuffling closer to her along the tiled floor.  "I wasn't expecting to come out of the shower to a private concert."  She felt him pause in front of her, his smug smile radiating down at her without her needing to see it.

"No..." she whined, trying harder to curl up into a ball.

His chuckles echoed in her ears.  Soft stroking hands touched her bunched-up, clenched paws, petting her tense knuckles and somehow managing to pry them away from her face despite her being so many times stronger than he could ever hope to be.  She glared reproachfully at her bent-over Human boyfriend, his Nordic necklace hanging brightly from its double-braided chain around his neck.

"Oh come on..." Kelin teased as he caught sight of her flustered expression and sullen, yellow eyes.  "It was amazing!  Best way to start the day ever."  Then he winked and leaned down to nuzzle his nose against her black snout.  "Well, one of the best ways."  His salacious grin was as wide and smug as she had ever seen it.

Groaning out loud, Hera batted at him gently with her paws, trying to get him to go away.  "No...!" she repeated like before, growling in utter embarrassment to herself.  "You were not supposed to be watching!"

"I like watching you!" he countered, laughing still and still able to somehow stymie and deflect her blind, half-hearted slaps.  "You have the body of a Ursid goddess and the voice of an angel, my Hare-bear."  He continued to try and vainly tug her up to her feet but she kept herself firmly planted on her butt and resisted his pulls, despite how she glowed inside from his praise.  His laughter intensified.  "I didn't even see all of it, just some!"

Peeking out from over her crossed arms from what little he had managed or that she had allowed him to uncover, she glared suspiciously up at him.  "How much?" she growled.

"Just some!" he repeated, raising a fist to his heart.  That mollified her somewhat and she sighed, making to stand up at last.  Then he added, "I mean...enough to think you really should wear that thong more often..."

Immediately her shame redoubled and Hera growled out louder at him, slapping with her paws wildly.  He made a good show of deflecting her mock-furious salvo before one lucky, errant swing of the ladle in her paw bonked him in the temple and he jerked back with a startled yelp.  Immediately her eyes flew to him and saw him rubbing the side of his head.  Even through his wince, she saw he was still smiling.

Hera huffed and crossed her arms hotly over her chest, shirt straining over her muscles and assets as it was tight over them but loose around her waist.  "Is what you deserve," she growled half-heartedly.  Her stern, icy facade, once such a permanent fixture of her presentation, melted away from the heat of her always prevalent worry and need to care for her little Human.  The only thing perhaps that ever could overpower her self doubt, she knew as she hauled herself up to her feet, only half-begrudgingly.  "Let me see it..."

Lowering his hand, Kelin dutifully leaned up and towards Hera as she towered over him, turning his head to the side and displaying the slight red spot on the side of his face where her lucky blow had landed  Her paw pad rubbed gently over the tiny abrasion and he made a huge show of wincing before he met her worried eyes with his own, gleaming amused ones.  She rumbled and his hand closed over the knuckles of her paw, his hand easily barely half as big as hers.

"How bad is it, Doctor?" he teased.

Despite herself, Hera couldn't resist grinning down at her little Kelin.  "I am thinking you will live, unfortunately," she shot right back, but she did plant a soft kiss on the spot.  "I prescribe regimen of kisses to make better."

"And people complain that they don't like medicine," Kelin joked.  His arms wove around her about half-way and he stepped in closer to her, beaming up at the Ursid from their over two-foot height difference.  "I'll take my dosage now, if that's allowed."

A deep rumble of an entirely different kind settled into her chest and her powerful arms easily encircled her tiny Mate, lifting him up onto his tiptoes without even a shred of effort expended on her part.  Spirits, how she loved having such a tiny boyfriend.  His breath was fresh and he smelled of his minty shampoo and bodywash; she could happily have drowned in it.  A small, pleased growl resounded from within her throat.  "Kelin is awful," she whispered as she set him back down.

"No, what's awful is imagining that you're gonna leave me hanging right now," he shot right back.  He even made a point of trying to rise up again as high as he could toward her, closing the gap just a little bit more between their lips.  Feeling a touch more confident than usual, even what some might call bratty, Hera leaned back an inch or so, grinning wickedly down at him.  "Hera..." he whined cutely.

"You tease me, I tease you," she chuckled.  Then she leaned back down and just as he was about to retort, she planted her muzzle lips against his, squashing their mouths together in a fervent, claiming kiss.  She might as well have been sucking the breath from him for how he gasped into it, hands tightening their hold in her thick fur and causing the most wonderful little tugs through her shirt.  The edge of the counter hit her back and she felt his feet dangling in the air as she held him easily up off of the ground.  He tasted utterly wonderful and it reminded her of all of the hundreds of similar kisses they had shared over the course of their tumultuous but paradise-like relationship.

The last few months had gone by in such a breeze, barely a blink at all noticable amidst the rapture and glow that had become her daily life.

It was hunger and passion, ardor and need, all of it wrapped up in a delightful, all-encompassing warmth that came from how much she loved her little Viking, and how much she knew he loved his Ursid.  Their souls, their Spirits, might have come from different worlds but she was firm in the belief that there was a second half to every person, making them whole, and she had found hers.  After years of struggle, heartache, and pain, she had found him, as she always would.

Eventually, they broke apart, both of them panting slightly for breath, and she lowered him back down at last.  Stars danced in those crystal-blue eyes of his as they opened back up and she giggled like she had never let anyone hear her do so at his dazed expression.  "Feeling better?"

Clearing his throat and swallowing, no doubt savoring the taste of her lips and tongue as she was his, Kelin chuckled weakly.  "I...think that dosage was perfect, but maybe...a second?"  His eyebrows lifted hopefully.

Rolling her eyes, the Ursid pecked him once more on the forehead, smiling despite her attempt at sternness.  "Your breakfast will be getting cold if you spend all morning snogging your Ursid," she retorted.

Blinking in surprise, Kelin glanced over from her for perhaps the first time that morning.  His gaze fell upon the laden breakfast tray on the table, omelet still steaming lightly.  Actual tears came to the edges of those perfect, lake-like orbs and he gave a small sound of joy.  "You made me breakfast?" he asked, sounding incredulous.  She hummed in reply, overjoyed to see him so happy at her efforts.  His eyes returned to her and beamed, and it was like the sun coming out from behind clouds.  "You really are the best girlfriend, ever, like in the whole world and all nine realms."

Hera's heart fluttered in her chest and she bit her lip with her sharp teeth to stop herself from sniffling at how much that meant to her.  Shyly glancing from him, she played with a strand of her silver hair.  "K-Kelin is...just as good to me as he thinks I am," she muttered.

"No way," he crowed.  "Hera Doring is absolutely the greatest in all existence.  15/10."

She shrank in on herself a bit shyly from his praise but managed a small grin.  "Only 15?"

"20!" he corrected at once.  "30.  100 out of 10!"

Hera laughed and it filled the kitchen, echoing off of the walls.  "Ok, ok," she giggled hard.  "I am...pretty good."  She drew herself up a bit smugly as Kelin wasted no more time, crossing over to the table and took a heaping bite of the food she had made for him.  "How do you like?" she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

The moan he let out made her Aggression spike, reminding her of their previous nights' activities when she had heard him utter sounds similar, if for very different reasons.  Settling in at the counter, she hummed as she watched him take another steaming bite before he had even managed to finish the first.  "Oh...my...gods..." he mumbled.  He sipped at his drink, took a bite of toast, and then shoveled another heaping spoonful into his mouth.  "This....is just..."  He leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, and chewing reverently.

Turning around, Hera had to fight hard not to let out an all-body squeal of joy that he liked it.  "I am pleased it is to liking," she managed to let out with only the smallest squeak to her otherwise heavy, rasping accent.  "I have never made omelets before."

"There is no way that I could ever have been able to tell," he glowed.  "It's perfect," he added through yet another full mouth.  She heard him swallow hard and then let out a short, heavy sigh.

Hera looked back at him in surprise, immediately worried she had done something wrong.  He was staring hard at his plate all of a sudden, looking contemplative.  "Kelin?" she asked, hurrying over.

"It's just..." he managed to let out, looking extremely conflicted.  "It's so good, I want nothing more than to just inhale all of it."  She beamed more and then he met her eyes.  "But I know if I do, I'm gonna be so full that there is no way I'll be able to do anything more than lay on the couch for probably all day."

Rolling her eyes, Hera feigned suffering by lifting a paw to her brow.  "Oh darn, Kelin has figured out my master plan." Then she grinned.  "If it is too much, I can always put it in fridge for later?"

Kelin shook his head and looked up at her.  His eyes were heavier than before, his smile deeper.  "No, Hera, it's not that.  It's just...I feel bad that I'm not as hungry as I should be for it."  He raised an eyebrow as if she were supposed to know what he meant, but she hadn't a clue.  Noticing that, Kelin only seemed to grin even more, although his face flushed just a tiny bit.  "I mean I am hungry but...I'm hungry for...something else."  He almost seemed to be looking through her at something.

Glancing around, Hera tried to spot whatever he might be very obviously trying to clue her into.  "If it is something else I can make, I would be more than happy to do so," she responded.

There was a shuffle, a scrape of chair legs, and then Hera suddenly growled in surprise as Kelin's weight pushed hard against her legs, somehow pinning her against the sink and counter behind her.  She looked down, the shelf of her chest obscuring her view most of the time, but was still able to see the tail of Kelin's hair poking out just below the hem of her loosely hanging shirt.

"What is Kelin...?" she demanded in surprise, then her voice abruptly jumped up an octave as she felt hot, heated lips press against the front of her thong.  All at once, the huge Ursid woman froze in place, mouth hanging slightly open as she felt his breath ghosting through the fabric of her underwear, heating the fur and flesh underneath.  Her powerful limbs trembled like jelly and her paws gripped the edges of the counter hard enough she worried she might crack it.  Kiss after heated kiss brushed the silky cloth covering her loins, making her fur fluff up and her ears twitch rapidly atop her head.  "Kelin~!" she gasped out.

"Your kiss," she heard him mumbling from down below, his own breath sounding heavy as it was against her, each word broken up by yet more and more kisses.  "Made me hungry...for something else...other than...food."  His shoulders and hands burrowed in between her thighs, parting them with ease and forcing her to adjust her stance to compensate her balance.  Wasting no time, her boyfriend wormed his way in deeper to now kneel right between her powerful legs.  His kisses resumed, making her head spin and eyes roll dangerously close to the back of her head from the intensity.

"Kelin..." Hera moaned, leaning back farther against the counter on instinct.  It creaked slightly beneath her weight, but Anthro construction was built sturdily to match its crafters.  One trembling thigh even began to lift up, paw raising onto tip-claw as Kelin delved ever more greedily and deeply in his heated exploration of his prize.  Then there came a small break in the constant stream of lathering kisses and tongue and Hera tried to draw in a shaky breath to steady herself.  "That was...wonder..." she started to say, but was interrupted once again.

The slide of her thong to the side was the only warning she received, the cool air of the apartment briefly touching her sensitive, not to mention heavily dampened loins, before Kelin's mouth once again dove inwards like a hawk hurtling towards a meal.  Now nothing lay between the Human's tongue and lips and her delicate nethers. The zing from first direct contact made Hera's back arch in a bow.  Breath exploded from her once again in a great snarl of joy as Kelin probed her depths with his tongue, tasting her flesh, occasionally fastening his lips around her to suckle and kiss lovingly on her core.

Without thinking, one of her paws flew to Kelin's head, nestled so pristinely between her trembling, muscular thighs, and there her clawed fingers wormed into his dark black tresses.  She took a solid grip of them, chewing on her bottom lip in reverence for the sensations of blazing pleasure and heat radiating from each and every touch he employed to please her.  As if worshipping at a temple, her tiny Acolyte devoted even more fervent praise and adulation at her gripping of his hair, loosening his neck even in absolute subjugation to her will.

Sensing his surrender of control in lieu of complete obedience, Hera felt a surge of satisfaction she'd never really known well up inside of her.  Her teeth showed and her still grounded leg flexed hard to keep her balance.  With ease, her raised leg lifted yet higher, draping itself around Kelin's slender form beneath her, effectively pinning him in place as she began to grind herself against his willing mouth, using his hair as a handle.  He obeyed, letting out muffled groans through her which only served to make it even hotter.

That, coupled with his previous aggressiveness and the absolute rapture of being serviced so exquisitely, meant that Hera was not meant to last much longer.  Firmly in control of where he directed his tongue, Hera aimed him right at the perfect spot and shoved his head more firmly against it.  He took the queue like the good boy he was, mouth moving upon her tiny feminine nub and making her blood surge.  Muscles throughout her core, arms, and legs tightened, and her teeth began to grit as a wave rose steadily higher within her loins.

"That's it..." she rasped, panting for breath between her fangs down at him, unable to see much of her tiny Mate but knowing he could hear her regardless.  "Good boy...Kelin is such a good boy..."

The words at any other time might have been enough to reduce Hera to fits of embarrassment, but right now it seemed the shoe was on the Human foot.  Kelin's reaction to her dirty talk, even as bad at it as she was, was utterly divine.  Where his tongue seemed to finally have begun to slow, possibly from a cramp, now he burrowed ever deeper against her with renewed fervor.  His hands lifted, grasping her thighs around him and squeezing them against himself.  Hera obliged as the pressure and dancing heat inside of her kept building, squishing him between her thighs for both his enjoyment and her stability.

With one last glorious rasp of breath, Hera clenched her teeth hard and held it.  Every muscle in her flexed, paw crushing his face against her groin harshly and locking him into place as her orgasm finally peaked over the cliff face it had been rapidly ascending.  There it rushed over with a roar like crashing waves, rushing through her blood and filling her with the sweet satisfaction and utterly wonderful pleasure that only such actions could bring.  Solo play just could not compare.

As her gaze began to clear and her senses returned from the sex-induced haze they had become shrouded in, she felt a heavy tapping against her thigh.  Whatever could that be?  She glanced down, past her heaving bosom, where twin peaks stuck prevalently out through the fabric of her shirt, to where her paw and legs continued to tremble in the aftermath.

Realization struck hard and Hera's eyes widened.  She immediately released her hold on Kelin's head, bumping him forward with her thigh to dislodge him from where she had effectively been smothering him.  Her Human flopped back onto his butt on the floor of the kitchen, face red and hair turned into a veritable bird's nest from where she had dislodged it from its usually faux-messy bun.  His chest heaved and he sucked in a great breath of air before panting hard, arms trembling as they helped hold him up.

With the rush of adrenaline and ecstasy still coursing through her, Hera gingerly knelt down, worriedly leaning over Kelin.  She brushed him with a paw.  "Kelin?" she panted, still slightly dazed.  "I am so sorry my love...I did not hurt you, did I?"

Kelin rolled his head back, finally revealing his face from beneath the mop of tangled black hairs that lay over it.  He combed a shaking hand through them, turning one glazed eye over to her.  Her human beamed, white teeth flashing, his mouth and chin looking distinctly wet from where he had just been.  Still heaving in great lungfuls of air to make up for nearly being suffocated between Ursid thighs, he still managed to throw her a cheeky thumb's up in response.

"Death...by...Snu-Snu..." he panted, sounding completely, utterly, deliriously pleased with himself.

The Anthro Polar bear sighed in relief, biting back a giggle at his reference, then without preamble, gathered Kelin up in her arms and snuggled him ferociously close.  He fit into her lap like a puzzle piece she had been missing for so long, resting in her arms as light as a doll.  His shaking hands wound around her as much as he could reach and together they rested for a long minute as their combined heartbeats slowed from the racing tempo they had been at during their little escapade.

Her snout burrowed deeply into his dark hair, taking great whiffs of his natural scent, coupled with the minty cleanliness of his shampoo.  How lucky a woman could she be to have found a man like Kelin?  In response to her intense snuggles, he replied in kind, wriggling deeper into her embrace and resting his head on his favorite of pillows, practically smothering himself yet again as he breathed deeply of her 'floof', as he liked to call it.

Minutes crawled by as Hera held her Kelin in her arms, racing heartbeat settling into a deep, happy pounding within her chest.  Through his arms around her, the Ursid could feel so too was his, beating along as if in tune to her own, their tempos almost seeming to converge into a single, synonymous drum.  His breathing was a soft nuzzling against her fur, and he curled up into a tight ball, completely held up off the ground in her lap.  There was something so pure about that moment for her, and she reveled in it.

At last, their eyes fluttered open at the same time and met each other's gazes with a happy, childish grin.  Kelin's was as roguish as could be, bright, confident, and playful, mixed with earnest joy all but radiating from him.  "So..."

"So..." she mirrored, a warm glow suffusing her from the inside out.  She cocked her head to the side slightly at him, ears twitching and a knowing smirk falling onto her features.  He shifted in her grasp at that and she inhaled of his scent deeply, finding the telltale signs she knew would be there.  "Is Kelin still hungry or...?"

Blinking, her Human glanced over at the table where his breakfast still sat, half eaten.  A guilty look passed over his features, crinkling them adorably as he looked back at her.  "I...didn't mean to let it get cold."

Beaming, she giggled and with a sigh, slid him up off of her lap before she climbed back up to her feet.  Heavy tingles raced through her from her lingering euphoria and she leaned against the counter again as she smirked down at him.  "Nothing the microwave can't fix," she offered.  Scooping up the plate, she deposited it into the nearby appliance, setting it to Warm rather than just reheat and potentially dry the meal out.  "So what is Kelin's plan for day?" she queried.

Hearing him getting none-too-steadily to his feet, Kelin slid back into the chair he had previously been sitting in, a human-sized one that could still see over her taller-than-Human level dining table.  "I figured...we hang out for a bit, maybe watch a show, then I need to head up to campus."

The microwave dinged and Hera carefully extricated the warm plate from inside it, carrying it over to her boyfriend and setting it down before him.  She stole a single kiss from him before she straightened back up to her full height, tasting herself and her cooking upon his tongue, making her growl inside with joy.  "That is good plan," she agreed, sitting down at her own chair and plucking up her phone to turn on the universal remote app.

The TV screen in the nearby living room area flickered on, just in time to display the dramatic, silvery logo of one of her favorite shows.  Her golden eyes lit up immediately and she beamed at the display of flashing lights on a gigantic stage set before 4 judges, comprised of both Humans and Anthros.  The commentator, a beautiful if non-gender specific Wolf beamed at the camera, microphone in paw, as they timed themselves perfectly to the end of the intro.

"Welcome back, Arknought and the World!" they howled to a crowd of thousands of cheering fans spanning every species imaginable.  "This is Arknought's Most Talented!  I'm Solar Nix and today we are seeing the best, brightest, and most creative of Arknought duke it out on stage.  Don't worry, we won't actually be fighting."  Their good-humored wink made her giggle.  
"For all of those coming to us for the first time, let's catch you up to speed!"

The camera panned in a flash to the judges' table.  Solar's voice continued on off-screen as they introduced the assorted people there.  "Everybody's favorite Corvid-comic, Taggert Graves!"  A Crow Anthro tipped his fedora to the screen, grinning cheekily.  "Shining star of the Pop world, Opherea Vandos!" a buxom Leopard woman with outrageously beautiful fur and brightly-tinted spots blew the fans all a kiss.  "All the way from across the ocean..."

"Pond," corrected the judge.

"Pond, sorry, it's all water to me," Solar carried on with perfect timing, making the crowd laugh.  "Makes my fur go crazy when it dries out.  Witty and always eager to correct, stern but fair, and I mean just look at that hair, Silas Princelwold everyone!"  The handsome, silvery-haired Human gave the crowd around him a friendly wave, seeming to beam at the occasional light-hearted booing, especially from his fellow judges.  "And last but not least, oh please won't you be mine, Gina Hong!

A massive specimen of a Panda Ursid lifted a fluffy black paw to acknowledge Solar's introduction.  For obvious reasons, she was easily Hera's favorite on the panel, Poppa Doring's too, the two having spent countless hours debating, arguing, and singing along to their favorite acts so many years ago.  Even now, she felt closer to her adoptive father just by watching this.

"You really are adorable, you know?" came Kelin's voice from nearby, startling her.  Her honey-colored eyes glanced down at her human, glowing inside to see the way he beamed up at her.  His freshly cleaned plate barely had any remains of his meal, practically mopped up to the last drop.

Bashfully, Hera ducked her head down slightly, hiding within her voluminous silver mane before reaching out and clasping his tiny hand in her big paw.  "I am only what Kelin makes me feel," she retorted.  She returned to watching the show, watching a recap of the previous seasons' finalists.  "Kelin has seen AMT?"

"Can't say I have," he responded, worming his fingers ever deeper into her paw pad where they cleverly began playing along a scar across her palm.  "Human shows like this always feel so scripted."

"Never this one," she protested vehemently, growling slightly but good-naturedly.  "May not always agree with rulings on who is best, but always seeming fair to me."

"If you say so, my love.  You'd know singing better than anyone so I trust your judgement."

She felt a soft kiss to her furry knuckles, again earning him the high honor of pulling her gaze away from her show to glow down at him adoringly, a look he mirrored happily.  Wasting no more time, she scooped him up in her arms again and transported the both of them over to the couch.  With him safely once again wrapped up in her burly arms atop her lap, Hera settled into the cushions, muzzle buried in Kelin's thick hair.  As one of the old season's favorites clips was being played, she began humming along to the song they had performed.

A deep sigh from her lap preceded Kelin murmuring up to her, "I could listen to you sing for hours..."  He shifted in her arms, curling up more against her.  She held him tighter as they watched the recap and following interviews with new applicants.  Apparently this was the start of a brand new season.  For a moment she imagined what it would be like, actually applying.  Spirits, wouldn't that be fun...if also terrifying.  Never in a million years...

"Hey Hera," came Kelin's voice again.

She hummed in response, easily able to pay attention to him along with the TV.

"You really love this show, don't you?"

That made her start, jerked entirely out of her imaginings of seeing herself on the screen like she had been fantasizing earlier.  She looked down to see Kelin staring up at her intently, smile and eyes bright.  That look alone could always make her entire day, even on top of an already amazing one so far.  "Yes," she admitted sheepishly, knowing her fangirl side was showing.  "I have many good memories of watching this with Poppa."

"Was he the one who encouraged you to sing?"

"Da," she replied, eyes shining with the memories of the long-bearded man singing along with her to some of their favorite songs.  "He was so horrible a singer...but his was my favorite of all.  Always used to be saying 'Someday it will be Hera's name up in lights.  Golden bell ringing just for my little Ursid girl.'  Whenever I felt down or alone over the years, I knew I could sing and feel better.  Closer to him."

"I can't help but agree with him.  You're more talented than any other singer I've met, and I come from a family of musicians.  Only one that could rival your chops would have been my Aunt.  Mom and Dad keep calling asking when you want to come back over for another jam session."  His bright blue eyes twinkled much as hers did at the memory of his birthday party.

"Kelin is flattering me," she chastised, trying and failing to keep her fluffing up under control from shy embarrassment caused by his praise.  She pressed a kiss to the top of his head, nuzzling him through his hair with her muzzle.

"You say flattering, I say stating the truth," he rebutted cheekily.  He pressed a kiss of his own to her collarbone.  "Those judges would be blown away if they could hear you."

Scoffing hard, Hera nonetheless, if shyly imagined her up in front of them all.  Stage fright from miles away nearly paralyzed her, but brought back from it by Kelin's clever massaging fingertips worming into her thick fur.  She hummed happily at his touch.  "Would mean that my concerts no longer would be just for you," she teased down at him.

He fixed her with a frown that made her giggle.  "Yeah, only downside is that," he agreed before the twinkling light came back to his eyes.  "But it'd be worth it; seeing you singing on stage at the karaoke club was like seeing a real like Diva come to life."

Trying to hide yet more of her fur from fluffing up around him, Hera decided to humor him.  "Kelin would not be jealous if I were to apply to AMT?"

"Jealous?  Try uncontrollably proud!"

The volume and sincerity of her boyfriend's voice shocked her out of her playfulness, their eyes fixed solely on one another's.  He had sat up more in her lap, turned to face her entirely even as the TV hummed along in the background.  Soft music played around them as he leaned up, stroking the fur of her cheeks and her hair.  Those soft yet calloused hands always knew how to take her apart at the seams, building her back up at the same time with gentle, loving affirmations and praise.

"Seeing you come out of your shell has been nothing short of inspiring, Hera," he told her earnestly.  "I never dreamed I could love someone as much, or be as proud of someone as I am with you.  You are the brightest shining beacon in a world full of twinkling stars.  I'd give anything to show the world just how amazing you are."

Hera's eyes glistened at the corners, feeling hot and tight as tears threatened to spill over.  Her arms wrapped around him even more tightly, never crushing but his strength and durability always surprising her.  "Kelin need not say all of that..." she murmured weakly.  "I am nothing without you."

Rising up from her lap, Kelin kneeled atop her now, finally near to head-level as he pressed kisses all over her nose, brow and cheeks.  "You are everything you deserve to be, and more," his voice whispered in her ears, the only person who could do so.  "Your gift would blow them all away, guarantee it."

Trying to save face from the close-to bawling she was trying hard not to let out, Hera weakly growled and shoved him hard into her fur, nuzzling possessively.  "Kelin is just as wonderful...your music makes my heart glow inside.  Spirits...I am so bad with words..."

"You don't have to be good with them," he replied, words like silver and honey in her ears, a voice only she could ever be allowed to hear.  "You're amazing with everything else.  I am so unbelievably lucky for you to have found me."

"But Kelin is the one who found me," she countered weakly.  "If not for you asking me to spot you..."  It did not even bare thinking about, what her life would have been like if she had told that little Human to go away like she had to everyone else.

"And now we are together," he finished for her, making her beam down at him.  They snuggled like that for a while, barely able to take their eyes off of each other, before they finally turned back to the screen.  Something about enrollment and interviews, not that she really cared right then.  "Man...wouldn't that be fun..." she heard him mutter.

"Perhaps Kelin should apply," she teased sleepily.  "I could handle mine own jealousy to see Kelin on big screen too."

"I'll only do it if you do."

Their eyes met once again.  She was shocked to see the honesty shining up at her.  So many doubts warred around and within her: her fears, worries, trepidations, hesitancy, traumas.  She had sworn she would never again subject herself to that kind of life, no matter how wonderful it had all been before she had been attacked.

"I...I could not..." she weakly tried to say.

Kelin cut her off.  "You could, but only if you really wanted to.  I won't pressure you about it, never mention it again, but seeing you sing earlier...I really saw joy in you.  Not the kind of joy that you get from anything else but singing.  I can tell you really miss doing it."

Weakly, she nodded despite herself.

"We could...do it together."

That made her snort.  "Kelin is offering?" she teased, trying to regain some of her composure by trying to be flirty and teasing.  "I thought you had need to get to college?"

His grin melted her icy walls before they had even a chance to try reforming.  "I'd wrap you up and never let you out of the bed if I could," he teased right back before his eyes softened again up at her.  "But I mean it.  We could go audition together."

"I..." she tried to say.  "I...do not...know if I...could."

He nodded.  "Just think about it?" he asked, to which she could only nod.  "I won't pressure you at all; if you'd like I won't bring it up again.  It was just a...really fun idea of something we could do together."  A sudden buzzing from his own phone nearby on the counter made them both jerk.  With a sigh, Kelin made to climb down from her lap.  "I guess that means I need to get going or I'll be late."

Feeling like she had abruptly let him down, Hera stopped him from extricating himself from her arms.  He happily allowed her to do so, as reticent as she was about being apart from her as she was from him.  "Kelin is not...upset at me?" she implored.

"Never!" he protested immediately.

A touch relieved, Hera leaned in and pressed a kiss to her human, a gesture he returned whole-heartedly.  When they finally leaned back, she met his eyes.  The conviction in them, the confidence, the love of life; they were nothing short of inspiring.  Kelin saw the world entirely in his own way.  Would it be so bad...to try?

"If...Kelin...thinks we could do it..." she sheepishly grated out.

"I don't wanna force you!" he started to object, but she silenced him with a furry finger over his lips.  He immediately went silent, shuddering softly against her paw pad.

"If Kelin thinks we could," she resumed, feeling more confident now at being so in control with him and of herself, the only time and person with which she ever felt so.  "Hera will...think about it.  Do research and...tonight we...discuss it?"

Kelin's beaming smile was brighter than any sunrise and he flung himself forward past her paw to embrace her as tight as he could.  She grunted at his surprising level of strength for being so small before she enveloped him in her arms again.  Their snuggling was abruptly cut off again as his phone alarm rang once again.  Glancing at the screen, she chuckled to see the message on it.

Stop snuggling Hera and get going!

"Kelin's phone is yelling at us," she giggled softly to her love.

"Yeah...it does that.  I hate it when it's right...anything that pulls me away from you is the worst."

"I agree," she hummed, then granted him one more kiss.  "But the sooner you go, the sooner my Kelin comes back to me."

The way he lit up anytime she called him by that title always made her glow inside; to have someone so loving and dedicated was something she never expected she would be so blessed to have in her life.

With a grunt and a sigh, they finally extricated themselves from one another and she watched as he scurried off to get dressed.  He emerged from their bedroom, officially theirs now in her eyes, dressed in his usual rock and roll casual attire, hair put back into its usual bun now.  He slid past her for one more smooch.

"Always one more," he breathed against her muzzle.

She beamed.  "Always one more," she agreed, peppering him with kiss after kiss until, laughing, they seperated.  He walked to the door, glancing back at her just once, and then left her apartment.  Trying not to let the dissatisfaction of seeing him leave their home bum her out, Hera busied herself with getting ready for the day herself.  Maybe a good workout session at the gym would occupy her time enough until Kelin was free to return to her once again.

She glanced once at the screen before she too left the apartment, AMT's logo flashing again across it.  Performing again, together with Kelin, on one of her favorite shows, like she had always imagined growing up.  Maybe...just maybe.  It was an exhilarating, terrifying, wonderful thought.

So too was her life in general.  Hera Doring was back, and she would no longer let the pain and fear of the past control her life.  She had far too much to live for now.

**Welcome to Bear Arm's Season 2 Y'all!**