The image of the rat delicately perched atop the dragon's neck, her red surcoat fluttering from the impact and her spear impaled in the beast's skull, was already burned into your mind. It was understandable, considering the fact that said dragon was mere seconds away from torching the flesh from your bones. To see that very image again before you, albeit under more controlled circumstances, still caused your heart to skip a beat and chill to run up your spine. A close encounter with a very painful death, and the face of the one who was there to pull you out of it in the nick of time, undoubtedly left their mark on you. Freya Crescent. Her name alone brought a smile to your face, and a sense of safety to your heart.

At the very least, you had pulled your weight in this fight against the reptilian; the crossbow bolt lodged in it's eye attested to that. As the dragon gave a final, parting sigh of life, Freya pulled her weapon free, and leapt gracefully off towards you as you lowered your weighty arbalest and threw your fist up into the air in jubilation, an enthused "Haha! Got 'em!" escaping your chest. Despite the cause for celebration, her face remained stony, a small frown of disappointment on her face. Your heart and your mind pulled in opposite directions; you knew what it was that ailed her spirit, and it hurt you even to think about it That was why you needed to keep smiling and be merry. Not for your own sake, but for hers.

"I am getting slower..." Freya mused, turning her head back to her kill.
"Not slow enough," you fired back, walking to her side and offering up your fist. "Just ask him."

Her green eyes turned back to you, almost hidden by that distinctive red hat of hers, and your felt another stab of emotion in your chest. You had figured it out not long after she saved your life, and you had taken to following her around to at least try to return the favor, and in those emeralds you saw the same crushing pain you had seen since you were first captured by them.

She wanted to die. 

And still, she stood. What you thought were words of encouragement, she had taken to be a taunting remark of the death the beast's own inadequacy had denied her. After the third week of refusing to leave her side she had, in a drunken outburst of raw emotion, opened her heart to you and dumped a staggering amount of baggage. Her home had been razed and her people driven almost to total annihilation, and all on her watch. The man she loved had no memory of her, of the love they shared, and even know he eventually fell in love with her all over again, she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't the same anymore. It was a hollow shade of what it once was. And as if life didn't have enough cruelty to spare her, she was barren. Utterly unable to her lover's children. With a final nail to the coffin, she had discovered that in his desire to be a father, her lover had sought the comfort of another woman. It was then she left Burmecia for a final time, never to return.
As far as Freya saw it, she had failed her people in every step of the way. She wasn't strong enough to prevent the fall of Burmecia, she wasn't quick enough to prevent the obliteration of Cleyra, and she didn't even have the tenacity to aid with the repopulation effort. 
If it were you, you would have taken your own life then and there. But honor would not allow her such a reprieve, so she hunted monsters and dragons, ever increasing in their size and ferocity. She chose to end her life on the battlefield, and once again, your smile beginning to fade as you stared into her weary face, she found herself walking away from the field to find another that she might finally lie down and rest.

You were just trying to defend your sleepy little village when you met her. You liked to patrol in slowly increasing circles around the place, disappearing for days at a time to explore the southwestern part of the Mist Continent. The Mist had been gone for a few years now, as were most of the monster it brought to the plains, so small farming villages began to tentatively spring up in their wake. When she saved your life, and you saw the lack of spark in her eyes, you had resolved to return that favor. You often wondered if she resented you for it. Perhaps she did; she had dragged you along the breadth of the Lost Continent, all the way to it's northern reaches, in a vain attempt to get you to give up and go home. To your credit, and her hidden dismay, you were far more tenacious than both of you had presumed.

After what seemed like an age, her own closed paw gently collided with your hand, and you spied the tiniest of smiles peeking out from her muzzle, reigniting your own. 
"...Aren't you going to claim your tooth?" she asked. It was now you realized just how long your had been staring at her.
"...Yeah. Yeah!" you stuttered, jogging over to slain beast. "I actually earned it for once."

----------

You shivered a little as you lay naked on the bed, the cold that gnawed at your body offset by the warmth around your groin that a certain rat was eagerly providing. Not content with dragging across the burning emptiness of the Forgotten Continent, she had taken a ship to the frozen Lost Continent, and to a small town by the name of Esto Gaza. A religious sort of village, from what little you had gathered while you and Freya got quietly drunk before retreating to a small bedroom to engage in the more carnal pleasures.

It wasn't the first time the two of you had rutted together in an intoxicated stupor, but you never heard even a peep about it while she was sober. You knew better than to chase the issue; she certainly was the proud, dignified sort outside of these few, precious hours where she let her guard down. She had elected to begin in the same way as she had before; baiting you into thinking she was too drunk to walk, before throwing you onto the bed before she leapt upon you with a ferocious lust, battling your tongue for domination of your mouth while you fumbled with each other's clothes. Eventually she'd pull away, trailing kisses down your neck and chest, dragging her tongue along your stomach and groin before she finally settled her body on your legs, pushing her nose against the tip of your exposed member.

She took slow, deep sniffs as she gently squeezed and stroked your cock, smiling contently as she reached between her legs. She seemed to enjoy the scent of your musk; she would remain like this for a while, her eyes closed lightly as she caressed the both of you, placing gentle, loving kisses occasionally. She had a keen sense of when you were reaching your limit, too; no sooner than your loins began to bubble with the threat of release, her eyes snapped open like a predator catching a glimpse of it's meal, tender and inviting. She lowered her nose to the base of your pelvis, her hand coming to a stop, and took one last whiff of your scent, a satisfied sigh washing hot breath over your balls. You let out a groan as your climax began to recede. Her tongue slipped out, sliding over your balls and up your shaft with an almost agonizing slowness, pulling you back to the edge without giving you enough pleasure to be thrown over. Her tongue finally paused at the back of the head of your throbbing cock, and she drew her head back slightly, her maw opening. Another pitiful moan escaped you, and you stared with a silent pleading into her beautiful green eyes; you knew what was coming.

With a sudden, aggressive finesse, she arched herself forward and took you into her mouth, her tongue wrapping around you as she bottomed out, and her hand taking a firm grip of your balls. She suckled on you once, and your hips thrust desperately against her as your climax snapshot back up and into her needy mouth. With every shuddering rope of seed you shot, her tongue dragged up and down your length and her fingers kneaded at your sack, eagerly coaxing the next load out of you and down her throat. Again and again, she sucked and squeezed, prolonging your orgasm until you finally stop twitching. She kept herself there for a minute, ensuring with absolute certainty that you had no more to give for now, before she slowly slid back up your length, pausing to suckle sweetly on your head before releasing you with a wet, warm parting kiss.

"Mmm..." she moaned, bringing a hand to her mouth to wipe away a bit of drool, gazing at your cock with a satisfied smile. "I got it all that time."
You grunted out your appreciation as best you could, lazily lifting up a hand to give a thumbs up. The afterglow was overwhelming tonight. You heard her giggle, and you already big, dumb grin widened. Music to your ears.

The bed shifted as she slowly crawled on top of you, resting her warm, fuzzy body against you, her legs hugging your waist and the heat of her arousal pressing against your own. You ran your fingers through her short, soft fur, exploring the firm curves of her body. Her usual outfit hid just how toned and athletic her form was, with the exception of her legs; she had caught you staring at them many times. Your hand finally rested on one of her suprisingly plump buttocks, and you gave it a yearning squeeze.
"Ready to go again?" she asked, pushing her nose against yours in a loving fashion. You could smell an odd mixture of alcohol and your own odor in her breath.
"Mmhmm," you replied, pressing your lips against hers. Her legs relented for just a moment, one hand pushing your shoulder down as the other snaked between your legs, and with a slow, sensual roll of her hips, she dropped herself back down with a smooth, satisfying ease. She moaned with a tone that screamed 'finally', and immediately began to ride you with an almost worrying pace.

She always wanted to be on top. Not that you minded at all; you were simply happy that she wanted to initiate anything at all, and not just for your own satisfaction, but for hers as well; it was the only time you would see her smile, honestly, from the bottom of her heart. The drunken pleasure she claimed from you chased her depression away, and even if it was temporary, it was worth it.
Your hands caressed up her thighs and her waist, your eyes set on her bouncing tits, another bountiful surprise hidden by her modest surcoat. As your hands settled on them, your fingers running over her nipples, she winced and let out a small squeak, her rough riding coming to an abrupt stop and her hands instantly springing to your own,pulling them away from her chest. 

"Shit," you panted. "Sorry, are you oka-"
"I'm fine," she grunted, slowly reopening her eyes to gaze into yours, her fingers weaving themselves between your own. "They're just a little sore tonight."
She raised her hips and dropped them on you again with a forceful slam, winding you a little and making you exhale suddenly. A playful smirk appeared on her face, and seeing your punishment was sufficient, she continued with her lustful motions. 

You pushed your head back into the pillow and closed your eyes; your entire body was afire with utter ecstasy. Even your hands, entwined with hers, burned with an intense pleasure. You wanted to give in to it completely, and tell you that you loved her. Why else would you follow her to the ends of the earth, to make sure she wouldn't throw her life away into the jaws of some uncaring creature? For all the failings she flagellated herself for, for all the cruelty the world had heaped on her shoulders, she had saved you. And for that, you wanted to devote yourself to her entirely. 

Your balls churned again, and her walls tightened around you; both of you were reaching your limit. You abandoned each other's hands in favor of a complete lovers' embrace, your arms wrapping around her shoulders as her tongue invaded your mouth and wrestled with yours. Caught off guard with overlapping, overwhelming sensations, you surrendered to her completely, your hips instinctively bucking up to bury your dick as deep as her body would allow. Her strong, muscled legs filled the void suddenly, locking you inside her as she let out a muffled scream into your mouth, her pussy contracting with a final, forceful squeeze that dragged you tumbling over the edge with her. You exploded inside her with an orgasm that left you momentarily blind, deaf and dumb, and rendered you a twitching, drooling mess. Her body shuddered, pressing against you with a need that was equally as desperate as your own.

Eventually, the two of slowed your grinding down to a total stop, and she finally broke the kiss to slide down to your side, panting with total exhaustion. Your mind struggled to piece itself back together as you basked in a second afterglow that the first had not even prepared you for. You opened your eyes after a minute, finally resolved to turn to face her, gaze into those perfect emerald eyes, and finally profess your love to her.
Her breast rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, her arms and right leg lightly wrapped around your body, her eyes closed and an expression of total peace on her whiskered face.

Another time then, you decided, placing a soft kiss on her lips and settling in to her warm embrace. Sleep hit you like a dragoon pouncing upon it's prey.

----------------

You woke up alone. This you were used to; Freya was always absent after these encounters you had, and was usually making her way out of town by the time you finally caught up to her. Trying to escape you, no doubt, but you figured she found your persistence somewhat endearing. If she really wanted to get away from you, all she would need to do is jump. You couldn't follow her then. But she never did.
This time, she was sat at the window overlooking the broken Shimmering Isles, her underclothes only half fastened, a hand absentmindedly 
stroking her stomach.
"...Freya?" you spoke quietly and carefully, sitting up in your bed. A sense of dread and worry descended on you.

Her ears twitched, and she looked at you with a wide-eyed stare. She had been crying. An uncomfortable silence settled as she looked at you with an expression that you couldn't read. Was it fear? Disgust?

Finally, she broke that horrifying silence with something that rendered everything in a shattered, confusing light.

"...I'm pregnant."

Your stomach dropped out and through the floor, and your jaw made an attempt to follow. "...I-"

"-It's yours."

Fin.