Pony: Hooray for more intimacy! Muahahahaha!!

Disclaimer Dude: Pony still doesn’t own Neopets.

Pony: Not yet…

The Tale of a Lupe and a Faerie

Chapter Six: In Need of Comfort

“Okay, almost done,” Blaze called to her. He dried off the last bowl and set it upon the stack. The lupe headed to the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Letting out a big yawn, he picked up the comforter that had fallen on the floor the previous night and climbed into bed. He curled up snug and warm and he smiled tiredly at the Soup Faerie. “Goodnight.”

The Soup Faerie had the irrational urge to find a sword to lay between them in the bed. Shaking off her misgivings, she found the corner of her own messy blanket and slipped under them, wiggling until she was comfortably cocooned underneath them. “G’night, Blaze.”

Blaze drifted off to sleep with a smile on his furry features. A few hours had passed when the lupe started tossing and turning, shaking the bed. His dreams had been intruded by visions of the Neopian Pound, only they were horrifyingly exaggerated. He rolled back and forth, the comforter eventually rolled off the bed with him, and fell onto the floor. After a few more minutes of wriggling in his sleep, his eyes snapped open, his chest heaving.

The small faerie was a fairly heavy sleeper, and was oblivious to her bed partner’s nightmare, until he rolled off the bed and hit the floor. The loud noise, combined with the sudden cold as all the covers on the bed were pulled to one side, half woke her. “Hm?” she murmured, curling in on herself and reaching for the covers. “That you, Blaze?” she asked, half-conscious. There was no response, and she slowly became more awake, half turning over to look for him. He wasn’t there, and she followed the covers over the side of the bed, finding him thrashing on the floor. She stretched down to touch his shoulder just as he woke up, breathing hard. “Blaze, what’s wrong?”

Blaze sat up, panting from the adrenalin caused by the disturbing dream, and looked up at the faerie. “Oh… just… nightmare…”

Taking fistfulls of blanket, she gathered her comforter around her shoulders like a cape before slipping off the bed. The floor was icy, so she tucked the blanket beneath her, and wrapped it around the lupe, even over his head, creating a cave of warmth. “Tell me about it.”

“… It… showed… disturbing images… of… starving pets at the Neopian Pound,” Blaze explained, still shaken up from the nightmare. “Spending years there… I should be use to it, but… seeing them suffer like that… it…” The lupe closed his eyes and shuddered, unable to continue.

She could feel him shaking next to her, and reached out to take one of his paws, holding it between her hands as she leaned into him, sharing her warmth and support. He had not only suffered, but witnessed the suffering of others, and narrowly escaped death. She wasn’t surprised he was traumatized by it. “You’re going to try to help them, aren’t you?”

Blaze accepted the comfort, needing it badly. He brushed his muzzle over he head and nuzzled her. “Yes… somehow I will…” He lowered his muzzle and began nuzzling the side of her head, his nose unintentionally rubbing against her ear.

She had leaned her cheek into his shoulder, thinking of nothing but reassuring him. His soft muzzle against her temple was comforting. His words worried her, however. What those pets were going through was terrible, true, but he could only do so much. And even if he succeeded in jail breaking the starving pets, what would they do next? Without the protection of an owner, most would be easy pickings for the big bad things lurking Neopia. Her worried musings were completely derailed when his nose touched the shell of her ear. Every muscle in her stomach tensed and warmed and her heart picked up speed. ‘Control yourself.’ “You won’t go without a good plan, I hope,” she said, swallowing delicately.

“Yeah…” Blaze breathed into her ear as he continued nuzzling her. He closed his eyes, absorbing the comfort. Just her being there made him feel better. His nuzzling became more passionate. Right now he didn’t care how it looked, he felt the need to show her how grateful he was to her for taking him in. He felt that she needed to know, and he did not bother thinking and he let his next words flow freely and gently into her ear. “Miss Soup Faerie… thank you for everything… I don’t think I would even be alive if it wasn’t for you… You’re the best thing that ever happened to me…”

“Good,” she replied, but her voice was hardly a whisper, as her throat had gone dry. The intent behind his touch was becoming much more evident, and she could no longer pretend he wasn’t interested in more than a friendship with her. Her lips parted, her breathing deepening. Instead of feeling horrified at his advances, or simply embarrassed, her whole body responded with heat and sensitivity. A shiver traced down her spine. Large eyes showing her surprise, she turned to look at him. “Um,” she said, at a loss for words. “Y-you’re welcome. I was glad to do it. I’m sure you would have been fine without me, but I’m… happy I got to meet you.”

Blaze ceased his nuzzling to smile back at her lovingly. He brought his muzzle to the other side of her head and resumed his affectionate cuddle. He lifted a paw up behind her head and he began to slowly stroke her hair as he continued nuzzling her.

She held very still, neither encouraging nor discouraging him as he moved closer. She soaked in the sensations. The velvet against her cheek, the gentle sweep of his hand over her hair, all of his warmth and softness against her, nearly overwhelming. Inside, she fought with herself. Should she stop him? Did she want this? A tiny sound like a moan escaped her, a response to her inner turmoil and the sensations he evoked.

His ears twitched at the soft sound that left her mouth and a rush of excitement surged through him and encouraged his actions. He continued stroking her hair, but instead of continuing his nuzzling, he began licking her cheek continuously. His other paw that was held by the Soup Faerie’s hands shifted, his thumb repeatedly stroked the skin over one of her hands.

Unable to help herself, she tilted her head up and back, and lifted the hand not trapped beneath his to his torso. Her fingers ran through the thick fur of his chest, up and over until she was holding him close to her with her palm against the crook of his shoulder and neck.

As the Soup Faerie tilted her head back, his tongue grazed the sensitive skin on her throat. He figured that was where she wanted to be licked, so he did. He could hardly believe that she was allowing him to do this much with her, and even more so that she was responding. He shivered pleasurably as she ran her fingers through his fur. He was dazed and lost in what he was doing and his heart thundered wildly in his chest out of his love for her.

Melting, the Soup Faerie sagged against Blaze. His tongue slipped over the soft skin of the side of her throat, and again, her delicate fingers sank deeper into his fur. Her body made up her mind for her. The hand he was stroking gently turned until she could twine her fingers into his. Her eyes were closed, and she could feel the heavy thump of his heart against her chest, as her own made her shudder.

Though Blaze had never done this before, his instincts guided him on what he should do. Now they were telling him to do something else. Following them, the paw that was located at the back of the faerie’s head slid down her side and stopped at her hip. He was being told to rub it, and he did. Unbeknownst to him, he was now rubbing one of the pleasure points. His tongue glided along the skin on her neck before it stopped at the side of it. There, he applied pressure with his tongue, massaging the area.

As his palm coasted down her body, she moved with him, almost subconsciously shifting into his hand. When he stopped at her hip, she tensed, hips moving automatically. His tongue added to the sensation, and her hand brushed up through the fur at the back of his neck, her fingers briefly twirling over one of his large ears before she cupped his cheek, holding him close to her. Her voice came out on a whimper. “Blaze?” She wasn’t even sure what she was asking for, perhaps reassurance that what they were doing was okay.

He paused at the sound of her voice. Bringing his muzzle back to her cheek, he nuzzled her reassuringly and topped it off with not a lick, but a kiss, a furry kiss on her cheek.

The Soup Faerie felt the gentle kiss and went still. She looked up at him as he drew away, and her expression was inscrutable. It was an entirely chaste kiss, considering the circumstances, but it was perhaps the most intimate thing he had done so far. She thought she could feel her heart shake. This meant more to him than a simple matter of a need for comfort after a terrible nightmare. She used her hand against his cheek to keep his eyes level with hers. “Why are you doing this?” she asked seriously.

Blaze felt every muscle in his body tense up at the question, growing very nervous. There would be no way out of this, especially since he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to fib to her, even if it was to cover up how he felt about her. The lupe swallowed hard and forced out his words. “I-I…” He sighed briefly and got a better hold on himself. “Miss Soup Faerie… I-I d-don’t know… h-how I’m g-gonna tell you this w-without it… it sounding… c-crazy…”

Likewise, she sobered quickly, the stark arousal he had ignited in her banking. Her expression was absolutely serious, and she tried not to let the sudden fear he had started with his words get to her. Terrible scenarios leapt into her mind, and she squelched them, preferring to hear him defend himself first. Still, she pulled her hands away and clasped them in front of her stomach. “I suggest you tell me, sir,” she said, calm.

His ribs expanding and contracting at a faster pace as his breathing quickened with shaken nerves, he was close to panicking. “I… I l-love y-you…” The large red lupe was trembling, more frightened than he had ever been in his entire life, dreading a negative reaction, and the look in his eyes made it perfectly clear.

“Oh, gosh.” The Soup Faerie’s serious expression vanished. She ducked her head, shoulders going down, her whole spine losing its starch as relief unknotted her tight muscles. A short huff of a laugh shook her, and she looked up at him with a smile. “Is that all? Here I was worried some slime ball sent you to seduce me out of my secret ingredients or something.” Sympathy flooded her when she saw his deeply worried face, and she picked up one of his hands, patting it reassuringly. “But a crush is entirely different.”

Blaze felt a sweep of relief at the faerie’s reaction. Though he had told her how he felt about her, she merely took it as a simple crush. At least that was better than the negative response he had expected from her. He offered a small smile and nodded.

“But I feel I have to tell you, hun, I don’t think I’m the one for you.” Her face was kind and sincere. “You’ve been trapped for so long in that awful pound, I’m sure it must have been such a relief to find a place of warmth and comfort and understanding. But that isn’t love.” It didn’t even cross her mind that it could be real love. He didn’t know her well enough to love her. The thought made her momentarily sad - she had never found anyone to love before, never let herself try.

Blaze’s smile disappeared and his ears fell back as a sharp, stabbing pain exploded in his chest. She had it all wrong, what he felt for her was so much more than a crush, but he could understand that it would be difficult for her to take in, or even accept. After all, they were different species. “It’s… because I’m a lupe… isn’t it?”

‘Shucks.’ The lupe’s whole demeanor said he was crushed, and she bit her lip, her heart going out to him. “Well, that wasn’t what I meant. I mean, we only just met. But, yes, the fact that you’re a lupe is… part of it. You have to admit, it’s never been done.”

Blaze could feel tears sting his eyes, the blow of heartbreak was overwhelming and cruelly excruciating. If only she would give him a chance, he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had; the children were the exception. It wasn’t his fault he was what he was. His outward appearance was the very reason he was abandoned at the Neopian Pound, why he was never adopted, and why he had been rejected by every single female he attempted to court - he could not blame them for rejecting him, it was instinct. It would go against the female neopet’s natural selection of a mate to choose one too large for her. Such a folly would result in undeveloped offspring that could very much so end in death for both mother and children. The lupe lowered his head, not wanting the Soup Faerie to see that he was on the verge of crying. “I feel so stupid. My size has always kept me from being loved… I guess there’s no reason why that would change…”

“Hun, look at me.” Her voice was uncompromising. To emphasize her command, she lifted his chin with her crooked finger. When she saw the welling of tears in his eyes, her heart broke for him. Tears of sympathy welled up, and she fought them down. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “You are the most lovable lupe I have ever met. Somewhere out there is a girl just as perfect as you, waiting for a hero.” ‘I don’t need a hero,’ she told herself, trying to believe it.

“Have you ever seen any female neopets near my size?” Blaze asked. He certainly hadn’t. he never even heard of any female neopet that matched his stature. All the ones he saw, male or female, were normal in size and any of the unusually large ones were not even close. The only huge pets he had heard of were towering giants that could crush him.

She thought about it, and sighed. “No, I suppose I haven’t.” Much as she wanted to think it didn’t matter, it did. But that didn’t mean she was the answer. Her expression showed how upset she was to have hurt him, and how certain she was that she couldn’t be what he needed. Letting go of him, she rubbed her hand over her face. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, feeling like she was failing him.

“Then… I guess I’m destined to be alone…” he said to himself as he lowered his head again and rubbed his eyes. Wait… what was he thinking? Blaze shook his head lightly. Why should he have to spend his life alone? He could at least ask the Soup Faerie for a chance to make it work. It would be more than enough to make up for the countless rejections he had endured throughout his life. He lifted his head to face her, gazing into her eyes. “Please… Miss Soup Faerie… I just… want to ask you… for one chance… just one… please…”

She covered her eyes, miserable, hearing the dejection in his voice. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t be with him. As much as he could turn her on, kind as he was, as good with children, as heroic… she was a faerie and he a lupe. Her head lifted when he spoke again. His tone had changed, and he met her eyes earnestly. When he looked at her that way, she couldn’t say no. “Everyone deserves a chance,” she replied solemnly.

Blaze’s expression conveyed joy as the Soup Faerie accepted his request. In his unbridled happiness, he began covering her face with licks.

“Hey, now!” she squeaked as she was bowled over and smothered with happy licks. “Don’t get too excited.”

Blaze backed off. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” He leaned in again, slowly this time, and planted another kiss on her cheek.

The Soup Faerie’s heart fluttered, but she pushed down the sensation. She was going to be practical about this if it killed her. “I think we should sleep on this. I know I at least need the sleep for tomorrow.”

He nodded with a loving smile. “After you, milady.” He gestured with a paw and a slight bow.

The Soup Faerie wondered what she was getting herself into. In retrospect, she wasn’t comfortable with giving Blaze false hope. But she lived by the idea that everyone deserved a chance. So she got to her feet, blanket still wrapped around her, and climbed up on her bed, flopping down and shifting over to leave him some room.

Blaze climbed into bed after her, pulling his comforter with him. He wrapped it snuggly around his body. “Goodnight… again.” He leaned in momentarily to place a kiss on her forehead, then settled down, closing his eyes.

Eyes already closed, she ducked her head as if he could see the blush that tinged her cheeks in the dark - when he gave her a swift peck. With an effort of will, she quelled her worries and the pesky butterflies in her stomach, and tried to go to sleep.

-

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