Keywords: Adult, Chemical
Species: Dragon, Plant
Plant Life
By Divigon


The dragon stepped out of the transport and looked around the cluster 
of buildings.  A centaur was walking over from one of the prefab 
huts.  The dragon nodded to itself and stepped towards the equine.

"Dr Livingstone I presume?" asked the dragon with just a hint of 
irony.

The centaur looked confused for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I'm Dr Parker," he announced.  "Just call me Earnest."

The dragon nodded and extended a scaled paw.

"Jacques," it announced, shaking the centaur's hand.

Earnest nodded and motioned towards one of the huts as the transport 
began to charge its engines.

"This way," he said stepping forward.  "Welcome to base camp, Camp 
Delta seven four.  Or as we like to call it, D74."

Jacques rolled its eyes, centaurs were not known for their 
imagination, but followed anyway.

"We run a skeleton crew," Earnest had already begun explaining.  "As 
you know, this planet is new to the exploration.  Virgin territory if 
you like, and we intend to keep it that way.  There is only me, as 
the station leader, two technicians, one other scientist and a 
machinist.  However, we seem to go through staff fairly quickly.  
Unfortunately most of them are out on an expedition at the moment.  
There is only Holly and myself here at the moment.  Speaking of 
Holly, here she is."

The door on the opposite end of the room had opened and a small 
female fox had snuck in quietly.  Jacques managed to get a good look 
at her as she slid discretely past, noting she would be called 
beautiful in most parts of the galaxy as well as very well endowed.  
She had what appeared to be a yellow dust sticking to her red fur and 
had a lab coat draped around herself.  She seemed to blush a little 
as both of them stared at her.

Jacques's nostrils flared slightly, catching the unmistakable smell 
of arousal and he was about to say something when Earnest spoke 
first.

"Oh Holly," he said with a sigh.  "Not again?"

Holly's head drooped lower as she nodded slowly.

Earnest shook his head, "Ok, well, go and clean up then.  This by the 
way is Jacques, our new botanist.  Perhaps he'll be able to figure 
something out."

Jacques waited until Holly had left the room before speaking.

"Actually, its shi, not he" shi said softly.

"What...?" muttered Earnest leading the dragon into a small lab.  

"Shi, not he," Jacques repeated.  "My species of dragon is 
hermaphrodite.  It should have been in my personal file."

Earnest nodded, "Ahhh, yes.  Shi.  Sorry about that.  Not use to the 
two gender thing.  Can't say I have met too many hermaphrodites 
before.  And yes, I did know, it was one of the reasons why I 
requested you especially."

Jacques nodded, then raised an eye ridge questioningly.

"You requested me because I'm a hermaphrodite?" she said.  "That's a 
first."

Earnest paused, then looked over his shoulder.  "Jacques, this whole 
planet is a first."

Jacques was about to say something when the centaur started to talk 
again.

"You probably didn't notice as you came in, but there is a distinct 
lack of insects on this planet.  There is a huge gap in the planet's 
ecosystem.  We've found bacteria, simple celled organism, then it 
just jumps to fish, reptiles and birds.  Finally at the top are the 
higher mammals."

Earnest had his back turned to the dragon, so he did not notice 
Jacques's red tiger stripes flash slightly at the talk of the higher 
mammals.  

"That doesn't explain why you need a botanist," countered Jacques 
after shi had recovered.

"Actually, it does," explained Earnest.  "On every other planet, the 
vast majority of plant life is centred around insects.  Bugs break 
down the dead material, clean up the forests and provide most of the 
reproduction facilities.  This planet doesn't have that and yet it 
seems to have managed."

"Well, why did you need a hermaphrodite botanist then?" asked 
Jacques.

"Ahhh, well..." began the centaur, blushing slightly.  "A lot of the 
plant life here uses the higher animals for reproduction.  Previous 
botanists have been, well, I shall just say preoccupied when they're 
out in the field.  We're hoping a hermaphrodite will not be as 
susceptible to the plant's powers as a single sexed being."

Jacques raised an eye ridge again.

"A plant's powers?" shi said with a questioning tone.  "You sound as 
if its war out there."

Earnest smiled slightly.

"In a way, it is," he said, walking towards the door.  "Come with me, 
I'll show you."

They stepped outside and began walking through the thick underbrush, 
Earnest talking as they strode deeper into the jungle.

"As far as we can tell, the plants respond to the natural pheromones 
given off naturally by creatures, luring in an animal in much the 
same way as it would an insect.  It then relies on the animal to 
spread its pollen to another plant of the same species.  
Interestingly, it seems that one species of plant is tailored for a 
particular species of animal.  How the plants do this, we're not 
sure, especially since they appear to be able to adapt to new species 
of animals that are not even native to this planet.  As well as the 
plant being able to adapt, sometimes it seems the animal is adapted 
by the plant as well.  It's a very complex relationship."

Jacques stopped walking and held up a wing as a sign to stop.

"Woah doc," shi said.  "Let me get this right.  You're telling me 
these plants attract an animal in the same way flowers on other 
planets attract an insect, then use that animal to carry its pollen 
to another plant."

Earnest nodded, "That's it exactly."

"Every animal gets attracted to a plant?" the dragon asked.

Earnest nodded, "Every animal that we've found.  The plants only seem 
to be effective when the animal is sexually mature, probably because 
that is when they start producing pheromones."

Jacques contemplated this for a moment.

"Every animal..." shi said slowly, mulling over Earnest's previous 
conversation. 

The centaur nodded, "Every animal...  And not restricted to native 
animals I can assure you."

The dragon cocked hir head towards the centaur.

"So that explains why Holly was covered in pollen earlier?" shi 
asked.

"Exactly," Earnest nodded, "Actually I'm about to show you her 
plant."

They set off through the undergrowth again, stopping a few minutes 
later in a small clearing.  It took a few moments for Jacques to 
realise that the small clearing was in fact a single plant.  The 
plant had grown from a single base, but had put out branches over the 
ground in a radial pattern.  Each of the branches were dotted with 
small cream coloured flowers.  In the centre was a small stem, about 
two foot tall, two inches in diameter with a rounded top and oozing a 
white sap.  The dragon's nostrils flared once more, catching the 
familiar sex scent shi had smelt earlier.

"Is that what I think it is?" shi asked.

Earnest nodded, picking up a stick about seven foot long with a fork 
at one end.

"Stand back," he warned.  "This tends to surprise people the first 
time they see it."

He reached out carefully with the stick and ran the fork lightly down 
the stem in the centre.  With barely a sound the branches closed up 
quickly, forming a green onion shaped dome with bars that Jacques 
knew would be too small to pass through.

Earnest dropped the stick and turned around again.

"I am told," he began.  "That sap is almost intoxicating to foxes, 
some have managed to avoid it, but once Holly catches a slight whiff 
on the breeze she is caught.  Luckily for us, once you visit two of 
these particular plants, its lure is neutralised for a few days or 
else we'd never see her.  That, and since she is a vixen after all, 
if she goes missing for a few hours every three or four days, well, 
she can handle it."

"Two plants?" questioned Jacques, eyeing the green prison warily.

"Yes," said Earnest, beginning to walk into the bushes once more.  
"The first plant deposits its pollen via all the small flowers on the 
side leaves that close up around her, once the leaves open again, in 
about an hour, the pollen gives her a sexual buzz that must be sated.  
The only way to sate it is to find another plant.  There, the two 
pollens counter each other and the pollen from the first fertilising 
the second plant's flowers.  However, the sap which is absorbed 
through the vaginal walls, triggers a sexual lust in a few days time, 
starting the cycle once more.  Quite clever actually.  The plant does 
no lasting harm, but ensures its reproductive cycle will continue."

Jacques thought this over.

"You can't counter the plant's agents?" shi asked.

Earnest shook his head, "We tried last time Holly took her annual 
leave.  Thought we had it solved, but it turned out we didn't.  Holly 
was apparently a little wild for about three weeks until her body 
broke down the chemicals naturally.  I am told star-base six four six 
had never seen anything like it."

Jacques started, "Six four six...?  You mean that Holly is That 
Holly?  I thought that was just a myth."

Earnest chuckled softly, "No myth, I can assure you.  I don't know 
how she did it, myself.  That base must have had over three hundred 
males on board.  How can you run out of them?  Anyway..."

Both of them were lost in their own private thoughts as they began to 
make their way back to camp.  Then Earnest stopped and seemed to be 
sniffing the air.

"Oh no," he groaned.

"What?" asked Jacques looking around.

"Looks like my plant is in flower," said Earnest, pacing nervously.  
"If you keep heading that way you'll come across the camp.  Can't 
miss it.  Don't stop to smell the flowers though."

Before shi knew what was going on, the centaur had set off on a brief 
trot in a different direction.  Jacques turned towards the camp, then 
stopped and set off curiously after the noisy centaur.  It was not 
long before shi heard grunting and stopped too late to avoid stepping 
on a twig.

The grunting stopped at the sharp crack.

"Come on out Jacques," called Earnest's voice.  "I guessed you 
wouldn't head straight back."

The dragon stepped out slowly from the plants and looked over at the 
centaur.  Earnest had his front hooves up on a fallen log, at first 
glance it looked as if he was trying to urinate on a small patch of 
greenery, but when you looked closer, Jacques noticed firstly that 
the centaur was fully erect and secondly his large length had slid 
into a long tubular orange flower.

Earnest had began thrusting again, his hind legs spreading slightly 
as he began to pant.

"This is my bane," he said through clenched teeth as one foot slipped 
on the log, causing him to step sideways quickly to compensate.  
"Luckily for me... there are not too many of them...  They put out a 
scent exactly like ... a mare in heat...  impossible for me... to 
avoid..."

He finished talking and grunted loudly, stepping towards the plant as 
his tail flagged.  He breath ragged as the flower bobbed up and down 
on his shaft, his body limp.

"Now this is the bit I hate..." he said seeming to brace himself.

To the dragon, nothing much seemed to happen, then Earnest gave a 
groan, his equine half pitching forward, then pulling back suddenly, 
his now limp length pulling free of the flower and dribbling his 
juices onto the ground.

"That still feels weird," exclaimed Earnest, bending his torso down 
and looking between his front legs towards his distended shaft.

"What happened?" asked Jacques, hir scientific mind taking over.

"Look at the flower," said Earnest.  "Don't worry, it only attracts 
equines."

Jacques stepped in to where the horse had been and looked at the 
dribbling flower.  It was an dark orange colour.  Shi reached out and 
held it up, it felt warm and a little squishy to the touch.  Much to 
her surprise, there was a long anther running up the centre of the 
tube.  Shi looked over at Earnest who had recovered a little and was 
doing the best to clean himself up with the aid of a few leaves.

"Yes," he said without looking up.  "That's how it works.  It 
deposits its pollen into me.  My body stores it in my reproductive 
tract, just behind the prostate, then when I climax, I deposit it in 
the new flower and that flower injects me with some of its pollen.  
No, it doesn't hurt, but it feels seriously strange having something 
put in there.  The anther isn't released until I climax, then it 
literally shoots out into me.  No, the pollen doesn't affect my body, 
except for the fact I have sex life that some people would kill for.  
Does something to my libido you see."

Earnest stood up from where he was lying down, his penis now almost 
fully back inside his sheath.

"If you'll excuse me," he said, moving around awkwardly for the first 
few steps, "I'm going to go back to the lab.  You're welcome to have 
a look around if you like."

Jacques nodded.

"Thanks," shi said.  "I think I'll do that."

The centaur disappeared into the greenery and the dragon looked 
around, picking a direction to walk in.  Shi just wanted to get 
hirself familiar with the lay of the land first.  If shi could find a 
tall enough tree, shi could probably glide over the canopy, that 
would be useful.

Shi guessed shi had been walking for about two hours in a rough semi 
circle around the camp when shi first sensed it.  It was something 
strange, the faintest of scents that pricked at something primal deep 
within hir brain.  The first steps towards it were unconscious ones.  
Once shi realised what shi was doing, it was scientific curiosity 
that drove hir on.

The dragon ended up standing in front of a huge brilliant white 
flower.  Each petal was at least six foot long and growing directly 
from the base of a large tree and seemed to call to hir.  Wary of 
what happened to the other two, sie stepped around it, fighting it in 
hir mind, but not noticing how hir hands were running over her 
sensitive burnt orange underside.

The centre of the flower was a deep yellow, its anther standing up 
from its base while multiple stigmas hung down from the top.  After 
ensuring the petals were not spring loaded in anyway, shi stepped 
forward slowly.  The petals were soft and slightly spongy under hir 
talons, angled downwards towards the calyx.  Carefully shi made hir 
way towards the centre of the flower, peering down for a closer look 
at its reproductive organs.  The anther glistened with a sap that was 
oozing from pores that were marked with tiny red circles.  The 
stigmas stood at the end of curved styles, the smell of the plant was 
making hir dizzy and shi stood up before it overpowered her.

Unfortunately hir foot tripped on the soft petal, reaching out to 
counter hirself, hir talons shredded the white petal and shi dropped 
to hir knees.  The anther slipped smoothly up hir underside, 
disappearing into hir swollen female sex, making hir eyes open wide 
as shi gave a gasp at the unexpected sensation.

Hir first response was to pull away, but raising hir hips spread a 
wave of pleasure through hir body and shi sank back to hir knees, 
giving another gasp as the hard length of the plant sank into hir 
once more.  At the same time, hir weight caused the styles to press 
against hir swollen sheath.  Shi had little control as hir penis slid 
out, the stigmas circling that almost perfectly, causing hir to groan 
as hir hips bucked again.

Realisation dawned on hir and Jacques made a supreme effort to pull 
hirself away, as shi pulled back, this triggered something within the 
plant and vines that had been up the tree suddenly dropped and coiled 
around hir, holding hir torso firm as hir hips bucked.  The more shi 
struggled the more vines dropped from above and the tighter they held 
hir.  Shi pulled hir head back to cry out, but only a soft gasp of 
pleasure escaped hir lips before a vine that appeared to have been 
waiting for that moment dropped into hir mouth.  Immediately hir lips 
bit down on it and shi swallowed the thick sap that flowed from it.  
The plant's alien chemicals rushing into hir body, preparing it as 
she pushed hirself closer to orgasm.

Hir efforts of escape dissolved into a pleasure filled haze.  Shi 
felt hirself climax again and again, the flower pulsing below hir as 
it pushed its bounty into hir.  Finally it became too much and shi 
sank into a deep pleasure inducted exhausted slumber.  When shi 
awoke, shi knew it was several hours later.  The vines that had 
dropped from above had begun to coil themselves up again, except for 
the one shi had bitten, that remain dangling before hir and shi 
licked at it slowly, savouring the strange taste before shi 
reluctantly pulled hirself off of the anther.

Shi gave a groan of ecstasy as hir reddened and sensitive underside 
brushed against the flower, but there was little sexual lust, just 
the delicious afterglow of pleasure.  The stigma's looked a little 
the worse for wear from where shi had pushed against them, their 
branches sticking together from hir seed, but they would recover.  At 
the centre of the flower, a small sticky puddle of juice and pollen 
rippled as shi crawled to the safe ground on the outside.

Groaning, the dragon hoisted hirself up and looked at hirself and 
groaned again.  Not only was shi covered in a sticky mess, hir belly 
bulged with unmistakable lumps.  

Shi shook hir head and made hir way very slowly back to the camp, hir 
wings drooping with exhaustion as shi entered the lab.

Earnest looked up from his post, studying hir for a moment or two.

"looks like hermaphrodites aren't immune," shi said softly, leaning 
against a bench for support.

"Big white one?" he ventured.  "Up against a large tree, vines above 
it?"

Shi nodded slowly, feeling a touch of shame.

Earnest stepped over to a desk and picked up a brown seedpod, egg 
shaped and smooth, about five inches around.

"Ahhh," he said consolingly.  "We wondered what sort of species it 
would take to have one of them."

"Don't worry about it," he tossed hir the seed pod.  "You're going to 
be a mummy.  A seed carrier...  Haven't had one of those before."

Jacques looked down at the seedpod in hir hand, then at the similar 
size bulge in hir belly.  Shaking hir head in disbelief, but unable 
the shake the faint thrill of excitement and anticipation shi felt.

Earnest went back to his work.

"You've probably got a few days," he said peering back at the screen.  
"Just long enough to move far enough away from the original site.  
Don't worry about it.  You'll know what to do when the time comes."

Jacques nodded, squirming a little to settle the seeds, before 
thinking about a shower.  Suddenly wondering if shi could ask for an 
extension on this assignment.