Fuma silently ran through the desert, the full moon beating on her head like a searchlight, the green sparks from her footsteps leaving a short-lived trail in her direction like a skipping stone. She sat down behind a rock formation, keeping a lookout over her shoulder. It didn't LOOK like anyone was following her, but she knew better than to trust what she could see. Even though she had chosen to travel through the Scorched Expanse, she questioned the wisdom of that choice with every step further in. Not because of the heat. Not because of the wildlife like the beast who had killed her. Not even because of the psychotic outlaws that roamed these lands. But because she was exiled from here. Almost completely devoid of resources, most thrown into this wasteland do not survive, as was the case with her. If she were to be caught again, she imagined the consequences wouldn't be very pleasant. She took off running again.
　　　It was right then that she was caught. She yelped and fell flat on her face. Pushing herself up, she spat out sand, and looked behind herself. There was a snare around her ankle, and a crossbow bolt in the back of her leg. It was times like this she was grateful that she wasn't able to feel much pain anymore.
　　　A shape jumped out from behind one of the dunes, and on it stood out the glint of golden eyes, the silhouette of a flowing cloak, and the head of another bolt gleaming in the full moonlight. Fuma tried to tug at the rope around her paw as this person stepped closer, before stopping.
　　　"Dammit. Guess I haven't caught dinner after all," said a gruff but high pitched voice. "But it looks like I did catch an intruder, didn't I?" The figure put his weapon away and lit a torch before squatting down to get a better look at his prey. To Fuma's shock, he had big ears, a large, pointed snout, and rich tawny fur. This was a Durri, like herself. And not just any Durri, either; anyone of her species would know this particular face. He went by many names. Dragon Slayer. Master Thief. Bane of the Arachin. But most knew him as simply Vurk the Devious. And he seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him, judging from how his thick eyebrows jumped up.
　　　"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" he said, meeting her gaze.
　　　"W-what are you talking about?" Fuma said, the ghostly echo of her voice that all Graveborn shared, coupled with her tremoring, making her speech difficult to understand.
　　　"I'm talking about I don't like your face... and I don't mean your eye patch, Cyclops."
　　　Fuma gritted her sharp teeth, covering up her eye patch with both hands.
　　　Vurk sat down and feigned thinking aloud. "Hmmmm! I seem to remember a big trial a while ago. There was this really trembly girl from my warren who went out with her litter on a mission to kill that Lightbearer necromancer who was targeting our kind. When she came back, she came back alone, covered in blood, and with a black magic sigil tattooed into her left eye socket." His mocking tone and exaggerated expression kept getting stronger. "She was charged with murder, and practicing black magic. Found guilty on all counts. Then they threw that coward into the Land of Exiles where she belonged, and some say her dead body was spotted getting up and walking towards where that necromancer was rumored to be. You wouldn't happen to know anything about all that, would you? Fuma!" he suddenly shouted.
　　　"I... I..." Fuma struggled to speak through her tears, then gave up.
　　　"Glad we've gotten that cleared up. So why are you here? Come back to round up even more of our people for your master?" His face twisted into a wicked snarl, his gold tooth gleaming. He stood back up and pointed the torch down directly at her face, ashes dropping on her muzzle. "Give me just one reason why I shouldn't cremate you right now."
　　　Staring into the flame, Fuma gripped the sand under palms and shouted, "Because I didn't do it!" The loud echo in Fuma's voice made Vurk stumble back, his ears twitching. She pulled the crossbow bolt from her leg and severed the rope around her ankle with the point. A green flash of light pulsed from her pendant down to her hands as she pushed herself backwards and landed on her feet before rushing towards him, green sparks coming out of her footsteps. Given Vurk's reputation, she had to disarm him if she wanted a chance to speak.
　　　Vurk gaped at the display, not expecting her to move that fast, but he was no sloth himself. He kept his distance, soaking his next bolt in one of the phials at his hip. "I've dealt with plenty of filthy Graveborn like you before. I'm going to enjoy sending you back to Hell," he said as he took aim.
　　　Fuma stood stone still in front of him, her hands glowing.
　　　"...you're making this too easy," Vurk growled. "You're planning something."
　　　"I swear, I'm not! I don't even want to fight!" Fuma said.
　　　"Yeah, yeah. Anyway. Because I'm such a nice guy, I'm giving you one last chance to get out of my sight. Going once..." Vurk raised his crossbow.
　　　"Wait!"
　　　"Going twice..." He squinted and lined up the sights.
　　　"Let me talk!"
　　　"Sold."
　　　Vurk pulled the trigger, the poisoned bolt streaking through the air.
　　　It was right on target, but it didn't hit. Fuma caught it with both glowing hands in midair, shivering with horror as the sharp tip stopped less than an inch from her remaining eye. The poison burned her palms, and she screamed — for the first time since she'd died, she was feeling pain. Actual, physical pain. After so long of only feeling numbness even if stabbed or shot, the feeling was... nostalgic.
　　　"...h-how...?" Fuma said as she dropped the bolt, staring at her hands.
　　　Vurk had been staring incredulously at her display of reflexes and strength, but it didn't take long for his sinister grin to return. "Nothing like a good fight to make you feel alive, is there?" He burst out into laughter, approaching her. "I told you, I've dealt with plenty of Graveborn before. I know poisons to shut down the nerves of the living... and potions to reawaken the nerves of the dead."
　　　Fuma stopped to think, losing herself in her memories. "...does it only work with pain?" she said, sitting on the ground and seeming to forget where she was. "Can... can you make me feel other things, too?"
　　　Vurk stopped in his tracks. "Uh... well, if I wanted to, I could probably—" He shook his head as he realized what he was saying. "Wait a minute! Why are you asking me? I am LITERALLY trying to torture you!"
　　　Fuma picked up the bolt from the ground, recoiling as the poison burned her again before she dropped it. "I'm sorry. It's just been so long since I've felt ANYTHING. ."
　　　Vurk lowered his weapon. "You're really NOT here to cause any trouble, are you?"
　　　"I'm not. I promise. I just need somewhere to hide. I'm being chased." Fuma said, getting up and stepping towards him. Even with how short all durri were, Vurk still practically towered over her. At least, that's what it felt like right now.
　　　"Hrm..." Vurk walked around her, looking her over. "I guess I can hear you out."
　　　"Thank you, I—"
　　　"But there's got to be something in it for me." Vurk got a gleam in his eye as he spotted her pendant, and yanked it off of her. "I believe the lady's jewelry will do nicely. I should get some nice gold for this..."
　　　As soon as that pendant left her neck, Fuma felt a sudden hollowness. Her thoughts went blurry. "...no... not..."
　　　"It's either your necklace or your not-being-a-pincushion-ness, you damned traitor," Vurk said, putting the pendant around his own neck. "You want my help? Then you do everything I say. Everything!" He jabbed his finger against her snout. "Capiche?"
　　　Vurk's thoughts filled her head, and she couldn't tell them apart from her own. Thoughts of anger, hatred, sadness, but above all, opportunity. Trying to keep some sense of self, she gave a belabored nod, her heart sinking. She certainly wouldn't have any trouble doing what he said now. Depressingly used to this situation, she closed her eye and resigned herself to her enslavement. Her only comfort was that Vurk didn't yet know just how much power over her he now had. Maybe he'd give her some mercy since they were of the same tribe? No... if anything, that would only screw her over even more. SHE knew she was innocent, but right now, Vurk thought she had sacrificed seven others of their race — she knew that without a doubt from his thoughts of what happened coursing through her brain as clearly as if she were daydreaming it. She was lucky to still be in one piece at this point.
　　　Vurk grabbed a different phial from his satchel, one filled with a wispy white liquid, and handed it to her. "First of all," he said, "drink this."
　　　Fuma wanted to ask what it was, but her hands were already shoving it against her mouth.
　　　"I used to use those on my hunts all the time. I don't much anymore, but I keep 'em around just in case. It'll make you invisible for half an hour. I could get in a lot of trouble if I'm spotted smuggling a Graveborn into the city."
　　　Fuma could still move her eye freely, but only her eye. Her body gave Vurk back the empty phial, and she watched her arm disappear, followed by everything else. EVERYTHING else. The world went black.
　　　"You'll probably lose your vision, but don't worry about it, it's temporary," Vurk said. "Side effect of invisibility. Something about light not hitting your eye or something. Now you know why I stopped using those... Anyway! Just strip down so you don't look like a floating outfit, and grab onto my tail. I'll give 'em back, I promise... there's no way I could sell those rags anyway."
　　　Fuma complied surprisingly quickly, as it was against her will, first dropping her anklets, followed by her ripped skirt, her tattered top, and finally her eye patch. Vurk picked up her clothes, and the two of them walked into the Scorched City, filled with stone buildings, crude tents, and a lot of sand. Vurk already knew exactly where he wanted to go.

---

　　　Even though she couldn't see anything, Fuma knew which building she was in. It was a while since had been to this pub, but she could tell that not much changed from how she remembered it. It certainly sounded the same, with rowdy Maulers of several tribes discussing their kills and occasionally belting out drinking songs, most of which were off-key. There was also the sound of some furniture cracking, probably from a bar fight, and she remembered that even the intact furniture was a prime breeding ground for splinters — she recalled some nasty encounters with it in the past and made a note to watch the furless patches on her side and tail. There was one out of the ordinary thing, however: the sound of a deep snort, and a pungent odor like a horse that had been rolling around in a puddle of raw eggs. She knew that stench well. There was no mistaking that there was an iron-jaw in here — a large, robust creature with black, lancelike horns and skin as thick as armor. They were one of the more dangerous creatures native to the desert; if she were physically able to, she would have ran at that moment. She didn't have time to wonder what it was even doing inside a building before Vurk approached it and sat nearby.
　　　"I was just wondering where you were, Brother," said a somewhat nasally voice with an accent that was unusually suave for a Mauler. "What kept you? Had trouble catching anything this time?"
　　　"Not exactly, Skreg," Vurk said. "Hey, where's that barkeep?"
　　　"Dealing with someone who had a little too much." A piece of wood, probably from the broken furniture, clattered onto the floor.
　　　"Uuugh..." Vurk said. Fuma heard a thud, probably Vurk's forehead on the table. "I'm fucking hungry!"
　　　"Dura's ghost, Vurk, be patient." A loud sip came from Skreg's direction. "What's with that necklace you're wearing? That looks like the seal of the Graveborn."
　　　"Compensation," Vurk said.
　　　"For?" Skreg quirked an eyebrow.
　　　"I'm getting to that. Listen, Skreg. Remember that trial?"
　　　"Which one, Brother?"
　　　"The one with that girl from our warren."
　　　"The one accused of selling her family out to Garrick?"
　　　"Yeah. That one."
　　　Fuma paid close attention. Her eyebrow furrowed at the mention of Sebastian Garrick, the ex-Lightbearer necromancer who cursed her.
　　　Skreg sighed. "I'd rather not think about that trial. I liked her. And I still don't think she did it... she couldn't hurt a fly even if she wanted to. But she's gone now."
　　　Vurk chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't say THAT..."
　　　"Huh?"
　　　"She's still around." Vurk's chair creaked as he leaned back in it. "In fact, she's my prisoner."
　　　Fuma gulped upon hearing this. She wondered what exactly he had in mind for her.
　　　"But... how?" Skreg said, before glancing at the pendant again. "Oh... so SHE'S Graveborn now, huh? I heard rumors, but, is that even possible? For a Ya to turn Graveborn?"
　　　"Apparently so."
　　　Skreg thought for a moment. "Vurk, have the staff here found your... place?"
　　　"Nope. Still safe and sound," Vurk said with a smirk.
　　　"Let's go there to talk. Even with as loud as it is right now, someone else might still hear us here."
　　　"You mean right now?"
　　　"Preferably."
　　　"Can't that wait until I get some fucking dinner first?!" Vurk said, slamming his fist on the table. "I've been waiting all night to eat SOMETHING and all I caught was her! And I ain't eating her."
　　　Skreg grumbled "Dura's ghost..." with his head in his hands. "Fine. Meet up with me after you've stuffed your face. But first, gimme the necklace so I can look it over."
　　　"Hey, I stole this fair and square!" Vurk said, clutching it. "If you're thinking of taking a helping of my treasure—"
　　　"There's something not right about it, Vurk. Besides. Won't it look a little odd that you're wearing another faction's emblem?"
　　　Vurk sighed and took it off, handing it over. "Point taken."
　　　Fuma felt dizzy and confused as the pendant changed hands. Vurk's thoughts left her head and Skreg's thoughts forced their way in. His feelings right now were much milder than Vurk's; mostly of annoyance, suspicion, and... hope? But, neither of the brothers knew about the pendant's power, and Skreg didn't even know she was there. With no will she was compelled to follow, Fuma began to regain some control of her own body, albeit very spotty control, as if she was getting signals through a frayed radio antenna.
　　　Skreg got up and left, saying, "Savagehorn, make sure my brother doesn't run off... he's not sticking me with his bill again."
　　　The Iron-jaw snorted obediently.
　　　Vurk whispered to Fuma, "Follow him." Though she couldn't see Skreg, she figured he probably spent a lot of time around that Iron-jaw if it was in the building with her, so she followed the smell.
　　　The Iron-jaw stared at Vurk and grunted.
　　　"...and what are YOU looking at, Stinky?--BLAUGH!" Vurk said as the beast licked his face.

--

　　　Fuma and Skreg climbed down a deep, hand-dug tunnel hidden beneath a makeshift trapdoor in the pub's storeroom. It led to a small underground chamber, lightly furnished with a few crude shelves, a chair, a small cauldron, and a simple bed. Skreg, still not knowing he wasn't alone, decided to sit back and relax for a while, grabbing a bottle of firewine — almost certainly stolen from the pub by Vurk — from one of the shelves. "What was he talking about?... eh, it's been a long day, I'll worry about that when he gets here," he muttered as he first took off his chin guard, then popped the cork. He sat on the bed and looked the pendant over as he drank: it had a silver chain, gold adornments, and a large green crystal shaped like an eye. No — it WAS an eye. A REAL eye, encased in the crystal, but as it had turned green like all Graveborn eyes, one couldn't tell unless they were looking very closely. He quickly tried to take a gulp of the wine, wishing he hadn't seen that, but something knocked it out of his hands.
　　　"OW!" Skreg said as he felt somebody trip over him, then fall into his lap. "Augh...!" he said the bottle broke on the ground, its contents spilling into the sand. He only knew one person who knew how to turn invisible. "Vurk, is that you?"
　　　Fuma could only give a small, exasperated whine. Skreg's ears perked up, recognizing the voice.
　　　"...Fuma?" he said.
　　　"...I... help... who..."
　　　"What's wrong, Fum? Did... did Vurk do something to you?"
　　　Fuma's vision began to clear up. A half hour had passed since she'd taken the potion, and into her vision came a light-furred durri with red eyes and spiky black hair, who gasped seeing her in this state. Far from the similarly-colored durri to himself that he remembered, her fur had faded to a pale blue, and clumps of it on her stomach and tail were missing, showing deep teal skin. Her ears were tattered and ripped. Her left eyelid drooped uselessly, nothing behind it. She stared at him listlessly with her remaining eye, her mouth drooping open. Skreg fought back tears. He knew she had to be in bad shape after her sentencing, but...
　　　"Fuma. Can you hear me?" he said.
　　　She didn't understand. Right now, she didn't understand much of anything at all. All she knew was the pendant in Skreg's hand. She tried to reach for it.
　　　"Um, you want this back? Here," he said, putting it onto her neck. At once, the fog over her thoughts lifted as her own will filled her being once again. She sat up and put her hands on her head as she tried to get adjusted to her surroundings.
　　　"Are you alright?" Skreg asked her, watching the immediate change in her disposition.
　　　"Huh? I... guess." Fuma said, looking at him. "Who are you?"
　　　"It's me, Skreg. Skreg the Cunning. Don't you remember? We were in the same warren."
　　　"We were...? Um... hi, Skreg," Fuma said embarrassedly, though she was having some trouble remembering him at the moment. The name sounded familiar, but...
　　 Skreg, relieved, gave her a warm smile as he petted her, finding the sight of her easier after the initial shock. She did seem to be fine now, relatively speaking...
　　　"I have to say, that necklace looks very good on you," he said. "Especially where it is right now. Heehee."
　　　Fuma glanced down at the pendant, dangling between her bare breasts. She squeaked in surprise and covered her nipples and pussy with both arms, having completely forgotten that she was naked.
　　　"You didn't know? Goodness, I'm so sorry—" Skreg said, looking away.
　　　Fuma sighed and let her arms drop. "No, no... you've already seen everything, so just forget it. You can look if you want."
　　　"O-kay!" Skreg said, immediately turning his sights back to her, a grin plastered on his face as he looked her up and down. "You know, for a Graveborn, you've taken remarkably good care of your body... and it's as lovely a body as I remember."
　　　Fuma couldn't help but smile hearing that. She didn't care much about her looks while she was alive, but in this state, she knew how fragile she was; if she didn't preserve and heal herself properly, she could have easily been much worse off, and actually looking attractive to someone was a sure sign that she was doing things right. "Thank you...!" she said, a blush rising to her cheeks.
　　　"In fact, Fuma, would you mind if I gave you a little touch, too?" Skreg said, his eyes locked on her pussy, which had turned teal like the rest of her flesh.
　　　Fuma flinched, looked at him, and gritted her teeth, not entirely sure how she felt about this, before shutting her eye. "...I won't feel it, so go ahead."
　　　Skreg groped her butt before sticking a finger inside of her vagina, wiggling it around and pressing his thumb against her clit, only to slow down and stop, frowning dejectedly when she didn't react at all beyond some slight shifting around and blushing.
　　　"I told you I wouldn't feel it," she said.
　　　"How did you end up like this, Fum? I mean, how did you REALLY end up like this? Because... I don't believe the charges against you. Not for a second," Skreg said, resting his face in her breasts before licking at her nipple. She held him close, welcoming his affection now that she knew he actually believed in her.
　　　"It's a long story."
　　　"I've got time."
　　　"Alright. Well... it goes back to what I was accused of," Fuma said. "Do you remember about that necromancer Garrick kidnapping and experimenting on other Durri?"
　　　"How could I forget?" Skreg said. "I still have no idea why we could have been targeting US..."
　　　"My siblings and I had a plan to ambush him, and we found out why. It was because he thought our kind were convenient and expendable."
　　　"Expendable?!" Skreg said, nearly falling backwards.
　　　"Yes... as many of us are born and as many of us die in a short time, he thought nobody would notice if a few Durri go missing... and he was right. Our people made perfect test subjects for his experiments because nobody noticed. Nobody cared. We were just lab rats, to quote him."
　　　Skreg's eye twitched. He was at an almost complete loss for words that someone would have so much disregard for the lives of his species, and just to rub it in, going as far as calling them "rats" — something which Durri considered very offensive. He couldn't even focus on the naked beauty in front of him. "So that's why none of the other tribes looked into the disappearances..." he muttered. "Is that what Drez was talking about when...?"
　　　Fuma continued, her eye closed. "Our plan failed... and I'm ashamed to admit, I was responsible."
　　　"Really?" Skreg said quietly, hoping she wasn't saying what he thought.
　　　"But I didn't sell them out, and I didn't kill them!" Fuma said, watching his eyes, her arms shaking. She paused to catch her nerves. "I got scared at the wrong time. I was too slow to do my part. And he caught us."
　　　Skreg knew Durri had cowardice in their blood. Even he himself couldn't overcome the instinct without immense effort, and Vurk was an anomaly. So Fuma's mistake, to him, was an understandable one. He held her close and said, "...I'm sorry."
　　　Fuma continued. "After that, He locked us up, and used my siblings as test subjects, one by one. He saved me for last, but he got to me, he said he got all of the data he needed from the others, and said I could go home. When I didn't, he guessed that it was because he knew how suspicious it would look if I came back alone. So he offered to protect me. I didn't know how he would, but I panicked, and I didn't have any other choice."
　　　"So how did he do it?"
　　　After some hesitation, she held the pendant in front of her empty eye socket, which Skreg flinched at seeing. "He took my eye to make this, so my soul would go to it at the moment of my death. And when I died in exile... I became his servant. Since he had this, he had my soul, and with it he had complete control over me. Everything he wanted me to do, I had to do. Even things impossible, like... jumping over a chasm to steal a relic, my body was forced to obey. It would find the strength to follow its orders somewhere."
　　　"Dura's ghost. How did you get out?"
　　　"He couldn't order me around while he was asleep. Those were the only times I had some idea who I was. I used one of these chances to steal the pendant from him and escape." She let the pendant fall back into her cleavage. "And since I had it... I discovered I could command my own body in the same way, beyond my natural capabilities. I used it to kill Garrick with my bare hands, and then run away faster than I otherwise could. But he'd already used it to turn himself Graveborn as well before that... So he's still after me. He wants the pendant back, and he still needs his immortal servant for something."
　　　"...can you show me?"
　　　"Hm?"
　　　"You said you can control yourself with that pendant. Can I see?"
　　　"Oh, um... sure," she said, standing up. The pendant flashed, and green light pulsed down to her paws before she leapt to the ceiling of the little chamber—which, though short, was still well over three times her height—grabbing onto one of the crude support beams. Skreg walked under her and stared straight up.
　　　"Wow," Skreg said, before smirking, his eyes locked on her paws, pussy, and bottom. "And I get a lovely view as a bonus," he said as he poked her foot.
　　　Fuma still wasn't quite used to his forwardness, but she continued to blush and smile, beginning to warm up to it.

--

　　　"Phew..." Vurk said as he climbed down the tunnel, satisfiedly rubbing his stomach. Unfortunately for him, Savagehorn followed soon after and landed on top of him.
　　　"Ow... shit! Get your weird dog off of me, Skreg!" Vurk said.
　　　Skreg, holding back a giggle fit, said, "Hey, buddy. Why don't you go over there, and stash a few of those drinks for me later?"
　　　The iron-jaw snorted and got off of Vurk, walking to the shelves to put some of the wine bottles in his saddlebags with his mouth. He came to Skreg's petting hand afterward.
　　　Vurk stood up to pop his back and fix his mullet. "You really need to stop asking the bounty board to help feed him, Skreg. That thing needs to lose weight, and what... are you two up to." He looked up and saw the nude Fuma grabbing onto the ceiling. She tried to cover herself, but lost her grip and fell right into Skreg's arms.
　　　After catching her, Skreg shot her a sultry look and cupped her breast in his hand, giving it a few squeezes, Fuma looking mortified that Vurk was looking at them. Vurk turned away and grabbed one of the firewine bottles himself, trying to hide his own bashfulness.
　　　"Fuma was just explaining her situation to me," Skreg said, playfully squishing and rubbing Fuma's nipple before sucking on it.
　　　Vurk rolled his eyes. "What, are you drinking the explanation out of her?"
　　　"Hey, she's a sexy doe, and she can stop me anytime she wants."
　　　Fuma gulped, not fighting him but still embarrassed beyond words.
　　　"Yeah, yeah, she's cute and all," Vurk said, "but don't forget about what she did."
　　　"She really didn't do it, Vurk," Skreg said. "Also, she keeps the pendant. That is not negotiable. Understand?"
　　　"Oh?" Vurk said, turning around with his arms crossed. "And why is that? Because she still owes me for hiding her."
　　　Fuma got off of Skreg so they could summarize what was going on to him. Vurk listened and nodded.
　　　"Okay. And she's getting dirty with you because of that?"
　　　"That's between us!" Skreg said.
　　　"Whatever, corpsefucker," Vurk said with a light chuckle.
　　　"Do you believe her?" Skreg said, again trying to change the subject.
　　　"Mrh... I guess so," Vurk muttered with a sigh. "Come to think of it, the kidnappings did stop after she died... Anyway." He turned to face them. "I actually agreed to hide her here for a reason, and that reason hasn't changed whether she's guilty or not, and pendant or no pendant."
　　　"Why?" Fuma said.
　　　"That's easy," Vurk said. "You said the reason you need hid is because you're being chased, right? I assume it's Garrick?"
　　　"Yes... and he's going to find me. I won't be able to stay here long."
　　　"And how are you sure?"
　　　"It's because he cursed himself with the pendant, too. It links him to me."
　　　"Perfect," Vurk said. "Listen. Skreg and I, we want Garrick gone just as much as you do. Even if he's stopped abducting our people, we've still lost too many friends to that bastard already to just forget about him."
　　　"Where are you going with this?"
　　　"If what you say is true, Fuma, then you may be just what we need to take him down once and for all. If we know he's coming this way, then I know exactly where to set a trap. Then the three of us can tear him to shreds together! What do you think, you two?"
　　　"I'm in," Skreg said, "but what do you think, Fuma?"
　　　Fuma was silent for a moment. Not only would, if this were successful, avenge her family and rid her of the biggest danger to her soul out there, but she was also getting another chance to do the job she had failed to before. Clenching her glowing fists with renewed resolve, she gave them a firm nod.
　　　"I'll do everything you need me to," she said. "He's not going to get away this time."
　　　"Good," Vurk said, pacing around the chamber. "That's settled, then. Now, we just wait," he said, before trying again to reach for the bottles.
　　　"Could I have one?" Fuma asked Vurk. "...and my eye patch? Please? I'm... kind of sensitive about..."
　　　"I thought Graveborn couldn't taste anything?" Vurk said as he handed the eye patch over.
　　　"...right," Fuma said as she put it on, her ears drooping.
　　　Skreg's face slowly curled into a smirk. "Can't taste anything, hmm?" he murmured into her ear, grabbing the front of his slacks. Fuma immediately realized what he was implying, and stammered. Touching was one thing, but...!
　　　"What's wrong, Fuma?" Skreg said, giving her a cuddle. "This wouldn't even be the first time between us, don't you remember that night behind the training grounds?"
　　　Fuma thought back. Durri were indeed very prolific breeders; sex was almost always impersonal, only being about increasing the size of the colony, along with relieving some of the stress of a durri's cutthroat existence. In fact, an of-age durri who's had less than four or five different sexual partners was an exceptionally rare sight, and though she never managed to bear pups, Fuma was still not one of those exceptions. She remembered now — in her case, Skreg was partner number three.
　　　"Goodness," Fuma said. "That was you? You were a lot different back then..."
　　　Skreg let out a nervous chuckle. "I was much more skittish at the time, I must admit... you can thank those two for how confident I am now," he said, glancing to his brother and his iron-jaw.
　　　As Fuma thought on it more, she saw an opportunity and smirked herself. "Yes, I remember you were so skittish and excitable that it took you less than a minute to cum," she said. "Which was lucky for me because you had the wrong hole anyway."
　　　Skreg froze, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Vurk pointed and howled with laughter. He could have sworn he heard Savagehorn snort-laughing as well. "S...shut up, you guys!" he said, his voice squeaking.
　　　"Okay. Okay," Vurk said. "Phew... I just got an idea."
　　　"What?" Skreg said.
　　　"Fuma asked me something strange earlier," Vurk said as he went to another of the shelves, this one filled with alchemical ingredients. "If I could make her feel things besides pain. If you two are gonna get freaky, I may as well help her enjoy it... on one condition, of course."
　　　"...and what's that?" Skreg said, quirking an eyebrow.
　　　"I get to join in," Vurk said, and dropped his pants, swishing his tail as he removed his cape, belts, and chestplate, until all he wore was a loincloth. "I haven't had a good lay in... I can't even remember."
　　　Fuma looked between the two of them, and nodded, smiling under her continually-growing blush. Skreg winced and covered his eyes at the sight of his own younger brother getting undressed.
　　　"Ah, get over yourself, Skreg," Vurk said, discarding the loincloth as well and stepping towards them, his fluffy sheath and heavy balls on full display. "It's not like we've never seen each other naked before."
　　　Fuma giggled and bit her lip as she looked between the two of them, finding herself imagining what times they might have already.
　　　"...N-not like THAT!" Vurk said after noticing her expression, frantically waving his hands. "I meant like, you should know there wasn't much room in the warrens, we had to change in close quarters, we were practically rubbing against each other, and... this isn't helping me."
　　　Skreg started laughing as well. Vurk grumbled and went back to his cauldron. Fuma stared at his toned bottom, with his hole on display and his sack dangling below, as he bent over to work.
　　　"Well, Fuma, shall we continue?" Skreg said, discarding his robe and leaning towards her. She turned to face him, and he ran his hands down her sides, being careful of the furless patch right of her stomach. With how weak Fuma's sense of touch was right now, she couldn't feel the same kind of tenderness and warmth that anyone else would in her position, but she could at least feel that she WAS being touched, and even that made her feel closer to anyone than she had in a long time.
　　　Skreg jiggled Fuma's breasts up and down, watching the pendant bounce off of them as it rested in her cleavage. "You are so beautiful..." he said, before shimmying out of his pants. Though he was also using a loincloth, it wasn't doing much covering right now with how ready he was underneath. Fuma gasped; she'd seen Skreg's penis before, but because he was so clumsy with it last time, she'd completely forgotten how big it was.
　　　"...can I touch?" she said.
　　　"I wouldn't dream of saying no," he said before pecking her on her boob.
　　　Fuma giggled, pulled the loincloth down, and gripped his red shaft, coaxing an eager growl out of him. She backed up to give herself more room, laying on her stomach. She stared at the appendage in front of her, and cradled his soft balls in her palm.
　　　"Ready, babe?" Skreg said. Fuma nodded, and opened wide, only to let out a sharp yip as a sudden jolt of sheer joy coursed through her body.
　　　"Haha, it worked!" Vurk said, kneeling behind Fuma at the foot of the bed. "I really amaze myself sometimes." He stood up and walked in front of her, wearing only his signature gold-toothed grin. "So, whaddayathink, Fum?"
　　　"It's so cute...!" Fuma said, staring at him. He was fully erect now, too, and she couldn't help but give his length a little kiss, though keeping her hands on Skreg's. Vurk shivered happily.
　　　"Hhaaahhh... I meant the potion, silly. But I always appreciate a good compliment," he said, playfully prodding her nose with his tip. "I only gave you a little at first, just to see what would happen. Now for the main event!" He returned to the foot of the bed and soaked two fingers in the potion bottle, beginning to trace along the outside of her vagina. "A lady like you needs some lipstick, wouldn't you agree?" he said with a chuckle as he slathered more on, rubbing in an even coating.
　　　Fuma tried to answer, but she couldn't stop moaning and squirming—she'd gone so long not even being able to feel when she touched herself that the sensations she was getting now were nothing short of miraculous, and it only grew when he brushed his hand up her bottom and gave her pucker a thick helping as well.
Fuma tried to muffle herself using the big inviting mouth plug right in front of her, opening as wide as she could, caressing Skreg's member and pointing it towards her mouth as he wiggled with glee. Fuma looked up at him, as if wanting his approval before she started pleasing him, and he laid his hand on top of her head, nodding.
　　　"It's okay," Skreg said gently. "Go on."
　　　Vurk was also ready. He grabbed Fuma's ankle and pushed it into the air, and stuck his fingers into her pussy before spreading her lips. Gazing into his prey, Vurk licked his lips, bringing his mouth closer and closer to her treasure, and then all at once shoving his muzzle against her, driving his tongue deep inside. Fuma squeaked as she shut her lips around Skreg, who stroked her hair and let out a blissful sigh.
　　　Vurk wasted no time shoving his tongue into every crevice he could get to. Holding on tight as she reflexively jerked her lower body about, he seemed to have hunting down her G-spot down to a science, watching every little twitch she made, listening to every sound that escaped her. When he finally found the spots that made her wriggle the most, he loudly dug his tongue into it before slurping up her whole entrance, pleasantly surprised that she was still able to drip with excitement — and she certainly was. Vurk shut his eyes and delighted in her taste, reaching down to give his own aching penis a stroking to pacify it until he could find a chance to really act.
　　　"I thought you said you weren't going to eat her?" Skreg said with a breathy laugh.
　　　"...ah, shut up, Skreg," Vurk said before getting back to work.
　　　As Fuma dealt with the jolts of bliss, jerking around, she tried to keep her focus locked on what was in front of her. She gripped onto the base of Skreg's shaft and exaggeratedly dragged her tongue up to his tip before taking the entire thing into her mouth. She grasped the fur on his hips, taking advantage of no longer having a gag reflex to effortlessly treat him to the back of her throat.
　　　"F...fuuuuck...!" Skreg said, finding himself holding Fuma's head down. She was on him so deep that her tongue could reach his balls, which she was happy to demonstrate. He turned himself towards her so he could get to her better, held onto her sides with his clawed toes, gripped her hair, and began passionately thrusting up against Fuma's snout. Fuma returned the favor by, whenever Skreg's dick entered her throat, swallowing around it as much as she could.
　　　"Fum... I dunno how much longer I can—EEP!!!" Skreg said. Fuma had snuck her hand underneath his bottom, and shoved her finger inside him as she doubled down on her deepthroating him. She felt his balls tighten up against her chin, and she pulled back before driving herself down again. Skreg bit his lip as his resistance collapsed, trying to rub his groin against Fuma's face to squeeze more pleasure out of their act before his throbbing cock pumped his love all over her tongue. Her inability to taste meant the bitter flavor of semen didn't bother her at all. She swallowed every drop without any hesitation, and opened her mouth to take a breath, though this was difficult as Vurk's tongue was still squeezing squeaks and yips out of her.
　　　"Skreg... Vurk..." she said, whimpering with glee and caressing Skreg's hips. "This is the best night of my li... well, this is my best night," she said.
　　　"Aww. You're so sweet, Fuma..." Skreg said, panting.
　　　"Y'Know, Fum," Vurk said with a gleam in his eye, before standing up and smirking at her. "Since I can't have the pendant, I believe this is how you can pay me back for hiding you instead." He grabbed Fuma's ass and squeezed, stroking her tail. "By being my little blue cocksleeve. How does that sound?"
　　　Fuma smiled, but before she could answer, Vurk turned her over, and then shoved himself against her, his growls of primal lust mixing with Fuma's squeaks of ecstasy as their loins collided, again, and again, and again. Breathing heavily, he bent over her, gazed into her eye, and flashed a maniacal grin, touching his nose to hers and looking her in the eye.
　　　"Fum... get ready, because I am going to fuck you so much that you're going to have my pups, Graveborn or not," he said, satisfiedly watching her face flush bright blue, and then squeezing both of her breasts to keep himself steady.
　　　Skreg wasn't done yet. Lifting her by her shoulders, he climbed underneath her bit by bit until his cock wedged up against her ass and firmly up into her backdoor, aided by the slick potion lubing her. "Have I still got the wrong hole, babe?" he said, before giving her ear a light nibble, which she tried to giggle at but the waves of pleasure rippling through her body made them come out as shouts. He held onto her in a hug, nuzzling the back of her hair, and shooting Vurk a quick smirk as the way he was positioned made him do all the work moving Fuma on his cock. Vurk didn't care, as he grabbed onto the both of them as he dragged and lashed his tongue all over Fuma's breasts as furiously and loudly as a kraken swings a tentacle into a ship.
　　　Fuma, being completely pinned down on both sides by the brothers, was not able to do much from where she was. She reached down, and spanked Vurk. He yipped with surprise, and Fuma used that chance to pull him into a kiss. Vurk first stared at her shocked, but then closed his eyes and gave her an actually-sweet smile. He was so thrilled to be spending the night with a sweet doe that he didn't even care that her mouth tasted like his brother's cock.
　　　Skreg held onto the both of them with his legs, trying to put them on Fuma's hips but gripping Vurk's rear by mistake. At first embarrassed by this, they both then used it to their advantage by squeezing Fuma tighter between them as they massaged her inside. She breathed harder and harder, and went totally rigid as she let out a gleeful whimper which turned into a delighted shout.
　　　While Fuma was distracted by her orgasm, Vurk grabbed the pendant, and shut his eyes as his thoughts invaded her mind. As they were both touching it at the same time, Fuma was able to keep her consciousness, but the mental image that Vurk injected into her head, of shoving herself to and fro on the brothers' cocks faster and faster, was one her body had no choice but to obey. Beyond her control, she freely slid around between them as easily as moving through air. Fuma's eye rolled back as she felt like she was about to faint from the growing pleasure.
　　　Skreg grunted, struggling to hold on to Fuma's breasts. And Vurk slammed himself against Fuma as much as he possibly could, his cock feeling like it was going to explode.
　　　"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Skreg said, squirming helplessly as Fuma's ass plowed him on its own without any sign of stopping.
　　　"Getting ready to pop, too, Brother?" Vurk said through his gasps.
　　　"I can't hold it in anymore...!" Skreg whined.
　　　And with one last slam, both of them let out a passionate groan, their essence flooding Fuma inside. Fuma, soon coming down from her high, shivered at the splashing in both of her entrances. She wished she was alive because, right now, she desperately wanted these two studs to impregnate her.
　　　Vurk let go of the pendant, giving Fuma control of her body back, and collapsed on top of her with a dramatic sigh, falling facefirst into her cleavage. Skreg, after catching his breath, gave her a kiss on the cheek.
　　　"Fum, that was... fuck, you have no idea how much I needed that..." Vurk said, the usual growl in his voice considerably lightened as he rubbed his muzzle up against her chin, whiskers twitching. "...darn it, you're really pretty, you know?"
　　　Fuma giggled bashfully. She smooched Vurk's nose before looking behind herself to get Skreg's as well.
　　　"I'm just glad you came back," Skreg said. "I never thought it was fair what happened to you."
　　　"That reminds me," Vurk mumbled, his head swimming with too much sexual bliss to think straight. "...no hard feelings about earlier?"
　　　"Of course not. Don't worry," Fuma said, cuddling Vurk and burying her face in his thick, flowing mullet.
　　　"Hey!" Skreg said. "Big guy!"
　　　Savagehorn, who had curled up for a nap, looked up and grunted at them.
　　　Vurk's eyes shrank. "Brother, please, please, PLEASE tell me you're not gonna ask that thing for a foursome."
　　　"Wha...? No! No I'm not!" Skreg said, cringing behind Fuma at the thought, before looking at his mount walking up to the group. Fuma couldn't resist petting the iron-jaw's nose, pleasantly surprised at how friendly this one seemed. Skreg pulled his cock out of Fuma, and sat up. Vurk and Fuma followed suit in disentangling themselves soon afterward, wondering what he was doing. Skreg reached towards Savagehorn and pulled out the bottles that he'd asked him to grab earlier, before giving him an affectionate nuzzle.
　　　"How about it, guys?" Skreg said, handing one to Vurk and Fuma each. The three of them clinked them together before opening the corks with their sharp teeth. Fuma still couldn't taste hers as she drank, but she didn't care — it wasn't about the taste. She hadn't had a chance to share a drink with other Maulers since the day she was exiled. But now, she had FRIENDS again. And this made her feel far more alive than any potion ever could. They were going to have their work cut out for them carrying out their plan later, but for now, they were content with each others' company.