Echo meandered through the crowd in the Kasan tribe’s banquet hall, wandering aimlessly as she took in the sights of the festivities around her. The hall, filled with raucous chatter, was crowded for the local holiday. Each time a new group arrived through the door, the heat from outside would sweep through the foyer, a warm breeze ruffling the fur over her nude form. She didn’t normally walk around like this, but she was adapting to the local customs fairly quickly. It was Fertility Day, after all. And not to mention that this particular custom made the desert heat just a bit more bearable.

It was a difficult adjustment at first. After crash landing her spaceship on this primitive planet, she had been left with no connection to her past life, and no obvious means of getting off-world. Her ship had barely managed to get her down in one piece, let alone ever be able to take off again. She knew she should have left the salvage scene before those pirates had shown up. Then again, hindsight is 20-20, right?

Fortunately, a friendly local, out on scouting duty, had been the first to find her. On a world as primitive as this, it was good luck that they had been the same species; both painted dogs, an uncommon sight in Imperial space. Vega, the scout, had introduced her to her tribe and shown her how to blend in with the locals. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. But a pleasant one. All good things must come to an end though, and Echo had soon departed for the nearby tribes, in hopes of finding a ticket back to civilized space.

So here she found herself, mingling with the Fennecs of Kasan, right at the peak of their fertility rituals. She was a bit stressed from her recent ordeal, and could certainly use a bit of R&R. And, well, when in Rome…

Echo scanned the room, her large ears like radar dishes as they swept to and fro. Noticing a particularly quiet section of the large room, she caught sight of a pretty little Fennec all by her lonesome, stretching for the dance later that evening. Her flexibility was impressive, one leg almost vertical in the air. It made for quite the view, given the notable lack of clothing. With a predatory gleam in her eyes, Echo approached the young woman.

“Hey there, cutie,” she said with a friendly tone. “Need a hand with that?” She clearly had it covered on her own, but the question gave Echo the opening she needed.

The Fennec girl looked up, the motion not distracting her impeccable balance for even a moment. Her eyes traced up and down the curves of Echo’s body, taking in her foreign form and making her feel momentarily self-conscious. “Aren’t you a little far from home?” Her tone was slightly disapproving, but she smiled nonetheless.

The fox-folk had always been distrustful, but Echo found that in one-on-one conversations, they’d often give the lead to her. The noticeable difference in stature and her more predatory form, no doubt, had a subconscious effect. She just had to be assertive enough to seize the initiative, and they’d be putty in her hands. In this case, maybe literally.

“Well it’s certainly been a long journey,” Echo replied. She took the lack of an answer to her own question as an implied yes, and stepped around the young fox. She smoothly placed one hand on the girl’s hip from behind to keep her steady, and wrapped the other around her uplifted ankle. With a bit of force, the painted dog helped her to stretch just that little bit further. “But this little festival of yours piqued my interest. I wanted to come check it out for myself.” She brought her muzzle down low, side-by-side with the fennec’s large ears. Her voice barely a murmur, she whispered, “And I could certainly use someone to help me relax tonight.”

Her words had exactly the desired effect, and she felt the fox-girl’s body tense slightly as she momentarily lost her balance. Echo adjusted her grip, keeping tight control of the girl’s position. “Well,” the smaller woman said. “You’ve certainly come at the right time of year for that. I’m Ryn, by the way.”

“Call me Echo,” the painted dog replied. “Let’s stretch out the other side now, shall we?” Echo slowly brought Ryn’s leg down, releasing her from her exercise. She brought both hands down to the fox’s hips, resting there just slightly longer than strictly necessary. Then she slid a hand down the opposite side this time, keeping in constant contact with her partner’s soft fur. She admired the beauty of the fox’s toned legs. When she had reached far enough, she gently wrapped her fingers around the ankle and began to lift. Ryn complied at first, but suddenly stopped as she lost her balance.

Echo knew it was a ploy; the girl had shown such skillful dexterity up to this point. And she was now conveniently falling in the direction of a nearby pile of pillows and blankets, set up for the numerous couples sure to form on such a fertile night. That cunning fox. Thinking quickly, she rolled along with the fall, pulling Ryn close so that they gently landed together among the pile.

Their legs were tangled from the “clumsy” fall, and no doubt they had drawn some attention from those nearby. But neither of them noticed. Ryn brought a hand to her thigh as she tried to recover, and Echo seized the initiative back, placing her own hand on top to keep her in place. They looked each other in the eyes, and Ryn blushed deeply. Echo knew she had her, and a predatory grin broke out across her face as she licked her chops. She leaned in for a kiss, and there was no resistance.

Soon, Ryn was kissing back, and their legs entwined even further. Echo released her partner’s hand and reached around to the fox’s backside, exploring her partner’s body. Ryn’s hand, now free from Echo’s embrace, reciprocated the affectionate touching, sliding through the foreigner’s exotic coat. They left no part of each other’s body unexplored as they pulled each other close. It would seem that Echo was quite fortuitous to have arrived at the start of such a festival, and she could tell it was going to be a fun night...