The red-orange light of Azurea-2's sun sparkled against vibrant, blooming forests, cloud-piercing mountains, and whisper-still lakes. The planet's triplet moons, Azurea-2A, B, and C, hung against the amber sky like pearls cast into a flame, and the cries of countless fauna rang out to shatter the silence.

There was no other way to describe it; Azurea-2 was absolutely beautiful. In a system filled with little more than asteroids and a handful of 'dead' planets, it was a paradise, a fertile, blooming oasis untouched by any being outside of her atmosphere for hundreds upon millions of years...

That was, until a few days ago.

Almost on cue, the sleek, angled hull of the starship Avis-3 peeked out from one of the planet's moons and began to slowly bleed out into the sky. Her dark red-blue colors stood in stark contrast to everything around her, and the ship slowly arced through low orbit.

Avis-3 was a scout, a lightly armed and armored needle-like craft with a curled bow bulging with sensor equipment. She had been a common sight in the Azurea sky for well more than a week. Her native faction of the Sirius Expanse had been scouting for days for any and all planets suitable to life and colonization, and Avis-3 had done just that; if the tests went well, the colony ships would come hot on their trail.

With a sudden flash of light, a sphere streaked through the atmosphere and out towards the planet before leveling out a few short kilometers from the surface. It was a shuttle, and that very moment it carried a handful of advance scouts to the very earth of this new, alien world. Their mission? To boldly take samples and go where Sirius' robots could not. They were heroes.

But they were not the first to land.

Among Azurea-2's forests Cesar the fox watched the shuttle streak across the sky until it faded into the horizon. It was just one of many, a part of his group that was almost as numerous as the stars themselves, and his eyes kept staring into the sky. He'd practically lost count of how many shuttles Avis-3 had launched. His own had landed a few short hours ago along with his fellow crew member, Kip, and after a few more moments, Cesar's gaze dropped back down to his work.

Like everyone else on Azurea-2 at the moment, he was an advance scout. Part soldier, part scientist, and the rest adventurer, his only real duty at the moment was to see if Azurea-2's environment really was as safe as the environmental scientists had predicted.

Cesar smiled. For once, they'd actually been right; Azurea-2 had an almost perfect atmosphere that was free from corrosion, toxins, and extreme pressures, and the air was completely safe to breathe for his species. No suits, no masks, no rebreathers: nothing but a light, loosely-fitted jumpsuit. Cesar had almost forgotten how refreshing it was to feel natural air flow against his scarlet-black fur and fluffy curled hair.

He let his tongue jiggle half-outside his mouth as he took a sample and trotted over to the next area. The handheld PDA beeped and whirred happily as it sent data up to the science nest deep within Avis-3, and the fox kept moving from point to point, particle to particle, in a dance that almost made him look like a glorified automaton.

But Cesar didn’t mind. Even if the task of "Advance Scout" required little more than lackeys, it was worth it. He got on the ground days, sometimes months, sooner than the mechanics, soldiers and scientists he was working for, and planets like Azurea-2 made it all pay off...

The fox suddenly felt a nudge on his arm, and turned to face a widely grinning Kip, "Hey, you got any more errands?" she asked in a homegrown accent, "It’s our field day, and if we miss out I’m gonna yank your fluffy tail right out of those ugly sweats!"

Cesar blinked at the bright little calico and her bright green eyes before looking back to his PDA, "I think there are a few more, Kip," he swiped through a few screens, and glanced between her and the device, "Command needs additional samples north and northeast..."

Kip pushed the device away his nose, and yanked his chin so he was staring straight into her face, "It was a rhetorical question. We’re leaving. NOW."

Without another second the cat released the fox and started striding off, tail swishing happily beneath her legs. Cesar stared in shock.

"Kip! Kip!" he called out and hesitantly stumbled after her, PDA in paw, "This is highly inappropriate!"

"Inappropriate my ass! Hurry up!" Kip glanced back and waved for him to join her.

The fox kept staring. Everyone had heard of crew mates getting a little anxious when they found an appropriate planet, but he’d never imagined seeing it in someone he knew. Field mission or not, Kip was twisting orders, at the very worst disobeying them, but as Cesar glanced around Azurea-2, he couldn’t help but feel the same way...

"Oh for crying out loud, Cesar!" Kip marched away without another glance, "Come on, you big pet, let’s get out there and poke some aliens!"

"Coming!" with a flip of his finger, he switched off the PDA and began trotting after Kip. The cat was right. There was no guarantee they’d be part of the landing party tomorrow, and he had the privilege of staring at screens all day inside Avis-3. It was time to live a little.

He joined her at a hill overlooking another deep, wide forest that seemed to stretch to eternity, and the pair watched as several flocks of birds burst from endless treetops. Azurea-2 had to be one of the most gorgeous things they had ever seen.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?" the cat sighed with a smile, before adding almost dreamily, "I hope we get to blow something up."

"Wait, what?" Cesar gasped and looked at her in shock.

Kip gave him a shove that almost sent the fox tumbling, "Oh, you know I’m just playing with you! Come on!" she leapt forward on all four paws before somersaulting down the hill. Cesar trotted closely behind.

After a few seconds, the cat flopped into a lazy pile at the base of the hill and looked back with a laugh, "You’re such a slowpoke with all your gadgets!"

Cesar opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it. She was right; from the diagnostic and sensory collar on his neck, the few equipment pockets littered across his clothing, to the dagger and laser on his hips, there was no mistaking Cesar for anything less than a tech addict.

The fox finally opened his mouth in defense, "It’s all standard issue! You could get reported for packing so lightly; what if we get stuck out here?"

She shook her body to summon a cloud of dust that Cesar stepped right into, "Nobody ever gets stuck out here," she shrugged at both truths, "And even if we did, I’m pretty sure I would do just could fine."

Cesar coughed a little and brushed himself off, "I don’t doubt you would," he smiled as he gave her the compliment. He honestly admired Kip’s abilities, in a strictly career-based way of course, and moved in a small half-walk half-jog as he followed her closer to the jungle’s edge. He always chose to accompany her on missions for a reason.

"In my opinion, all you need is the bare minimum of your body and what you can find out in the forests. Anything else is just a bonus."

"And forego intelligence and everything it’s created?" Cesar patted the uniform control panel on his wrist, "These things aren’t standard issue for nothing. It’s dangerous out here..."

"Eh, it’s just a bag of too many tricks," Kip grinned and looked back, "I’d rather rely on my body than choose from all that stuff; it hasn’t failed me yet!"

Cesar frowned for a moment. His gadgets, or "tricks" hadn’t failed him either.

Kip slowed to a halt. In what seemed like a flash, the forest ahead of them had thickened to the point that it now impossible to see beyond one to two dozen trees on the outside; what had looked so beautiful five minutes ago now seemed to teem with danger.

The cat just watched, her eyes and ears twitchy but focused on the sheer expanse of a forest in front of her. Azurea-2 wasn’t so fun anymore; eagerness had given way to nervous uncertainty.

"So..." the fox spoke up and pulled out his PDA again, "Remember when I said we had to go northeast? Well this is it," he tried to flash a grin as he showed Kip the PDA, "Lead the way, adventurer!"

The cat swatted away the device, pushed away any trace of hesitation, and forcefully punched the fox in the arm, "Oh, shut up," she playfully snipped before trotting off to bound over a few rocks and logs. After a few seconds she turned back with a mischievous grin, "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, just... just give me a second," Cesar muttered and swiped through his device. Whether he liked it or not, Command required a few samples from the forest since it was too thick and technical for their robots, and the fox wiped the frown off his face and pushed forward. They had to make up for that temporary lack of discipline, after all.

After a few more seconds, Kip suddenly lowered her head and sniffed around as the fox resumed taking samples. She could smell a... sweetness in the air, almost like a kind of honey, and she walked around for a few more moments before tilting her head up at a tree. The cat suddenly leapt up and threw her arms around the tree trunk as she randomly scrambled noisily into the branches.

Cesar glanced up in response to the noise, and was just in time to watch her tail disappear up into the leaves, "Come on, Kip," he muttered, "We have a job to do, you know?"

"Oh, trust me, I know!" the cat shouted back down, "Here, catch!"

A small bag of fungus suddenly flew down towards Cesar, and he almost had to drop his PDA to catch it. The first whiff made his nose curl, "I’m not kidding, Kip! You think they’ll send you back out here if you keep acting like this?"

"Of course they will!" she laughed, "I’m gettin’ stuff done!" she gracefully dove from the tree and took the bag from Cesar. The fox decided to drop the conversation; they needed brave volunteers anyway.

"Besides," Kip said, "I know that nobody else here can climb like me. I’m getting some samples we ca haven’t even seen yet! Look!" she held out a jar with a brown, strange-looking bug inside, "Isn’t she precious? She looks just like a part of the tree!"

"How do you know it’s a she?" Cesar asked and eyed the jar. It just looked like an insect to him.

Kip shrugged, "It’s probably not a she or a he, so I figured it wouldn’t matter."

"Alright," Cesar grinned and went back to taking scans and samples with his PDA, "Time to get back to work, Kip."

The cat plopped down on a log instead, "But isn’t it time for lunch?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Cesar couldn’t disagree. He switched off the PDA and sat down on the surprisingly comfortable wood beside her, "I guess we can’t really work on an empty stomach, huh?"

"My thoughts exactly," Kip said and slipped an energy bar out of her pocket. She wasted no time in stripping off the wrapper and taking a generous bite, "Huh. These things taste worse than I remember."

"You always say that," Cesar smirked and ate his own, "If you wanted real food, you should have stayed on Avis-3."

Kip laughed, "I made sure to grab a couple home comforts," she pulled out a baggie containing a few pieces of meat jerky and didn’t wait a second before chewing a piece off, "The hard part is making it last."

The delicious smell of real-life meat tickled Cesar’s nose, and he was just about to ask the cat for one before she suddenly tensed up. Her ears began twitching again, and her face shot out at an angle slightly head of them as fur rose up around the clothing.

Cesar immediately looked the same way, "What is it, Kip?" his voice held a nervous edge.

"I heard something out there."

The fox pulled out his PDA and held it out in front of him, "I’m not picking up anything," he turned to her, "It’s likely nothing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kip remained tense but slowly shifted her attention back to the food and took another bite, "Um, just out of curiosity, if we WERE to run into something dangerous, what do you think you’d do?"

Cesar shrugged and chewed loudly before answering, "I’d follow standard protocol, I guess? Evade or fight it off, depending on what we’re up against. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. That noise just freaked me out," she laughed, "Me? I think I’d probably bolt up a tree. I know it’s silly and simple, but it works!"

"Not against anything with a brain and a laser," he joked.

Kip laughed, "I assume that means you," Cesar grinned and she continued, "But I don’t think we’ll deal with anything that’s got lasers," she kept staring out into the trees, ears swiveling every few moments.

"You hear anything?" the fox asked again and performed another scan, "Maybe the trees are interfering, but I really don’t think there’s anything significant out there..."

Suddenly, a crackling sound burst from the edge of the forest. Kip leapt up, tensing and ready to bolt away, and the shrubs parted with a loud crash that sent the cat darting up a tree. Cesar stood nervously, fingers closed around his laser pistol as the seconds ticked away, and suddenly, a small, innocent rabbit-like creature hopped into the clearing.

"Aww, it’s adorable!" Kip called out as she slid down with a laugh and exchanged a happy glance with Cesar.

"Look at you, scared of that!" the fox teased and took his fingers away from the weapon, "It’s so cute!"

The ‘rabbit’ hopped a few yards closer into the clearing, rummaging through the forest floor, but then a second huge crash erupted from the forest’s edge and a massive, chilling roar shattered the silence.

In a split-second, a giant, multi-legged canine creature exploded into the area and hovered in the clearing. Its head was practically as large as one of them, with its body nearly five to ten times that, and the alien slowly swung its head back and forth, side to side, six dark, beady eyes taking in Kip and Cesar. The drool covered, bulldog-like jowls slowly shifted beneath it, and parted to reveal a dark, circular, worm-like mouth lined with hundreds of teeth. Its soft, furry body was propped up by six stubby legs, and both could almost feel the ground shift with its every move...

Kip froze halfway up the tree and stared at the ‘dog monster’ with wide, nervous eyes, "Whoa... he’s beautiful," she turned to the fox, "Cesar, don’t make any sudden movements..."

"Okay..." Cesar mumbled and put his fingers on the pistol grip, "What else?"

"Stay calm, let’s just watch and see what he’s going to do..."

The rabbit suddenly let out a piercing squeal; the dog now held the animal partially hidden behind one of its paws. The creature was squeaking madly as it fought for its life, and kicked and struggled to no avail as the monster slowly turned its head and blocked the rabbit from view. The throat and mouth seemed to jiggle for a few brief seconds, and the screams were quickly cut short as a distinct lump raced down the monsters body. It only took a second before the dog turned back with a loud, spittle-spewing burp.

Cesar immediately ripped out his pistol, aimed it squarely at the monster’s head, and set it to stun. That... thing only had one intention with the way it was eyeing him, and the fox carefully stood his ground as he waited for its next move. If only the weapon didn’t suddenly feel so weak in his paws...

The dog lowered its head, sniffed the air, and made a lumbering, almost clumsy step towards their direction. Cesar only waited a split-second before firing a searing warning shot.

ZAP

The alien paused and glanced back as the shot flew and sizzled against a tree; a moment later it grunted loudly and continued forward, almost as if to mock the feeble attempt.

"Kip..." Cesar muttered and began slowly stepping back. Before he could get a response, the creature suddenly charged.

The cat bolted up the tree and the fox immediately fired two shots that connected with the creature’s head. There was a flash as they burst against the fur and thick, rubbery flesh, and the animal slowed for a moment before continuing at nearly full speed. Its jowls pulled against the edges of its mouth in a wild, alien snarl that showed an almost endless circle of teeth inside its jaws.

That did it. Cesar fired three more shots, two stun and one set to kill, but they still did nothing. This dog was shrugging off heat and voltage designed to kill something three times its size, and the fox fired one more haphazard burst before the alien closed the distance. Still to no effect.

With a chilling howl, the monster leapt towards Cesar with agility its bulk had never suggested. The fox didn’t get a chance to scream; the enormous creature’s head and enormous mass connected to him send and his weapon crashing to the ground a sheer yard away.

Immediately the alien was on top of him, legs and shaking mass just barely avoiding his body, and it snarled again to cover him in drool, putrid warm breath, and system-wide panic. Cesar let out a piercing vulpine shriek and tried scrambling away on all fours, but the dog rammed him down with its head and let out a cry of its own that was a thousand times worse; Cesar’s and even Kip’s paws dove over their ears.

"HELP!" Cesar screamed and began to reach down by his pockets for his electric knife, "KIP! KIP! HELP!"

But the cat stayed on her branch, wide, observant eyes watching the dog and fox fight madly beneath her. Her shaking paw tried to grasp the pistol within her own pocket, but the alien made another shriek and her fingers froze, "Oh shit!"

The dog snarled again at Cesar and the fox finally freed his knife. With a flash of fur, he ripped it back towards his chest, waiting for the perfect moment, and suddenly rammed his finger into the activation button and shoved it into the side of its face.

A yelp erupted from the animal as its body shuddered with serious, visible pain and it began clawing and scratching at the electric knife with two of its paws. Cesar immediately kicked off the ground and scurried away. He was almost too weak to stand, and had to try one or two times before he finally made it up to his paws.

The fox stumbled away, paws clumsily touching on and off the grass, and shifted into the steadiest sprint he could manage. Nothing seemed to be able to kill this thing; the only tactic now was careful, calculated evasion.

The dog looked up after a second, eyes carrying even more of the piercing, animal fire. The knife laid by its side, and the face was completely unharmed; Cesar’s weapons hadn’t even left so much as a mark.

With another loud snarl, the alien started off after the fox. Prey that fought this hard must be absolutely delicious.

Cesar’s breaths seemed to scratch his throat as the fox weaved through trees and over logs and rocks, and he started tapping the suit controls on his wrist. It should have activated a cloaking field that rendered him almost perfectly invisible from the tips of his ears to his black-toed paws, but instead, all he heard was a loud, frustrated beep.

The fox glanced at the control panel in horror; it was nearly shattered beyond recognition, and he gave it a few more mad taps before throwing it off his wrist and letting out a low, terrified whine. Even when sprinting as fast as possible, he couldn’t outrun the dog monster, and now he had just completely exposed himself. He had never felt so utterly vulnerable.

"KIP!" he screamed and glanced back at the advancing alien. His voice was so shattered it seemed to cut against his throat, "HELP! KIP! HELP!"

"Cesar," she whispered and glanced around from her perch, feeling for something, anything on her to save his life. But it was hopeless; there was nothing she could possibly do at this point. The fox’s tricks had utterly failed him.

Cesar let out another vulpine scream as the dog kept coming closer and closer with every second, and glanced back to be greeted by the sinister, circular mouth and six soulless eyes.

It was the last thing he ever saw. In a sudden, effortless swoop, the dog’s tooth-filled maw shifted behind his head and opened up to roughly twice the fox’s size before closing shut beside extended jowls. It hovered there for a split-second as Cesar kept sprinting widely, and then, gently brushed against his head.

What happened next was nearly too fast to watch. As soon as the mouth made contact, mucus moistening his hair and the tips of his ears, the lips suddenly spread open and with a rapid rush of air, sucked Cesar’s head inside like a candy.

He didn’t even get a chance to scream before every inch of his face was pressed tightly against the wet, throbbing mass. The mouth closed tightly around the tips of his shoulders, and the alien dog slowed down to a trot and tilted his head upwards as Cesar’s body flailed and squirmed in sudden midair. He took a few more happy, shaking steps before sitting back on his haunches and arcing his head higher up to finish this delicious little creature.

With a moist plop, the lips suddenly surged open to force the fox deeper in through a careful mix of both air and gravity, and as soon as a foot or two disappeared, tightened back up for another attempt. Only Cesar’s legs and tail hung out now, both of them fighting and flopping madly outside of it, and with another quick, noisy gulp, the dog sent the rest of him racing down into his throat.

Kip watched with horror as the last bits of scarlet and grey vanished with a flash. Just like that, the fox was gone...

"Oh shit," she whispered before calling out, "Cesar? Cesar!"

The dog let out a loud, unapologetic burp almost as a response to her cries, and began clumsily lumbering back to the clearing before flopping down on its side with a loud, satisfied groan. Kip stared warily; it was only less than a few yards away now.

The alien let out a happy sigh and closed its eyes. It shifted on its stomach a little to let out a few loud gurgles and pops, and Kip began to quietly wonder what to do. This monster didn’t look that fast now, but then again, it never did.

After a few more minutes, Kip decided to take her chances. The cat slowly climbed down the tree, back to the creature and glanced over her shoulder every few steps. So far it didn’t seem to notice. The dog looked like a bloated puppy now with its paws curled tightly around its belly. They twitched every few seconds, and the stomach underneath gurgled loudly and jiggled with every move. It was almost cute; the alien looked better than ever.

If only the same could be said for Cesar...

As soon as she reached the base of the tree, Kip dropped off onto the ground and began slowly stepping across the clearing. She had a better look at its face now. The eyes were half-open in an expression of sleepy animal bliss, and the tongue flopped down between its jowls and fur. Its entire body shifted as it breathed, and she kept eyeing it warily; the deceptive innocence made it almost difficult to believe that this was what ate the fox.

SNAP

The cat’s entire body froze, and she looked down at the broken twig beneath her paws. Immediately the dog reacted, and lazily glanced up at her before letting out another groan and flopping over on its side. Its head just barely managed to curl around its body, and it almost seemed to be staring at her with happy, expectant eyes as it let out an undeniably adorable, begging whine.

Kip took another careful step forward, and then paused as she watched the dog. It clearly didn’t show any interest in her as prey at this point, and she shifted on her paws before suddenly catching Cesar’s laser pistol a few feet from its side. That did it. Since she had the opportunity, she had to at least retrieve any the fox’s equipment, and maybe even take a few samples from the alien if it let her, and she began to sneak up to the creature’s side.

It kept watching her with the same happy eyes, and began to pant quickly as it realized her intentions. The dog made another low, happy whine, and rolled over to present more of the furred, bulging stomach to her. It almost looked like it was begging to be touched.

Kip continued to eye it warily as she bent down, collected the pistol and stuck it in a pocket. She was now scarcely five feet away from it now, and carefully made her way closer and closer until she finally knelt down beside the animal’s body.

The dog kept whining and moving happily, and Kip managed to gather the courage to stretch out a paw and gently stroke the belly fur. It shifted and squished under her, almost like a leathery water balloon, and Kip gave it a few more pats. Cesar wasn’t anything more than fox slush now.

"Sorry Cesar," she whispered and drew her knife. She held it above the animal’s fur for a few moments, and then finally snipped off a bit of fur and dropped them into a small plastic bag.

The stomach gurgled again, much louder now, and she began stroking it with her free paw. The alien shook with excitement, and bent its head around to thank her before raising it again in simple, animalistic joy.

"You like that?" Kip spoke and put both paws on the belly before starting to rub vigorously, "You’re just a big happy doggy, aren’t you?"

‘Doggy’ made a few small barking noises and rolled back and forth happily. Its eyes were half-closed, and the tongue and jowls flopped around across the ground and fur. The hind leg rapidly kicked the air, and it kept making loud, pleasured whining noises as Kip kept rubbing faster and faster.

She kept going for about half a minute, and then the animal’s movements began to gradually slow. Its eyes completely shut, and the mouth popped open in a goofy grin that caused Kip to burst into a smile. Predator or not, it was just too cute right now, and as she rubbed a little faster, the stomach gurgled loudly again.

There was a rumbling beneath her paws, and Kip felt a thick, liquid lump flow past her and up towards the neck. Doggy suddenly shut his mouth with a gagged choke, and then let out a loud belch and spat out about half a gallon of digested chyme and a few bits of fox bone.

Kip watched as the remains hit the ground and the juices began burning the grass. The acid content must have been high enough to strip the fox within minutes, and she glanced at what was left. She made out Cesar’s collar, a few unidentifiable bones, and finally, the fox’s bleached, steaming skull that had landed almost right next to her. She stared at it for a few seconds, and as crazy as it sounded, it looked like it was smiling. The fangs and eyes were curved into an expression that could only be taken for genuine, undeniable joy, and she watched it for a few seconds before giving Doggy another pat.

"Ooops, sorry about that, Cesar."

The stomach gurgled happily in response, and Kip bent down to collect a bit of chyme off the grass and stuck it into a jar. That should be enough samples for now, and she gave the animal another pat before turning to go.

Doggy seemed to be almost sleeping now, and gave out a few last happy squeaks before his breaths gave way to a series of long, drawn-out snores and he rolled back onto his belly. Kip patted him one final time, nodded at the smiling skull, and then picked up the collar with a double-folded towel. It was standard protocol to retrieve the collars due to their ‘black box’ functionality.

Kip leaned against a tree and began wiping it off. She was careful to keep the towel between her and the juices, but as she made another stroke she accidentally hit the activation switch. Immediately, a small holographic screen bloomed out of the device to give the fox’s final vital signs, readings, and actions, and Kip tossed the towel aside and frowned.

"Oop," she spoke and stared for a few seconds. Everything looked normal, or at least as normal as a death like Cesar’s was, and she was just about to switch it off when she noticed something unusual about the readings.

"Heart rate was through the roof," she muttered and advanced through the pages, "Sweating, and a spike in... oxytocin? Huh. I wonder," she swiped through a few more pages and finally got to a diagram of the fox that displayed Cesar’s circulatory system.

As soon as it flashed up, her eyes dove to the screen to confirm everything she’d thought; most of Cesar’s blood flow had been directed towards his cock. The fox had died with a full, surging erection. There was no denying it; Cesar’s final moments inside Doggy had been some of the happiest, exciting, and pleasurable moments of his life. The skull really had been smiling.

Kip laughed, the fact that the fox had at least enjoyed it lightening the weight of the tragedy, "Wow, Cesar. You never struck me as that kinda guy."

She looked back at the still-grinning skull and Doggy’s bloated, gurgling stomach, "Lucky you. I almost wish I could join ya in there; it’d certainly be preferable to having to explain this to command."

Doggy gave out a happy, agreeing burp, and with that, Kip the cat made her way back through the forest and to the shuttle, leaving Cesar to churn, digest, and otherwise enjoy his time inside their newfound friend...