From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)
Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.furry
Subject: Journal Entry 142 / 0918 [ Reunion, Part 2 ]
Date: 11 May 1996 19:15:42 GMT
Organization: Pendor, UnLtd.
Lines: 1350
Message-ID: <4n2p0u$pfm@news.halcyon.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com
Noren, Narnya 21, 0918
Nickolai awoke to a soft chiming sound repeating in his ear
informing him that dawn had arisen an hour ago. Groaning, he
rolled over and touched the 'snooze' button on the radio
transmitter case, regretting the day he had ever had his Wearman
installed with an alarmclock option. Rolling back over, he landed
in a faceful of fur which made him sputter and roll back again.
"Pfui?"
"Huh?" Jofuran said, picking up her head and looking over her
shoulder. "It wasn't a dream." She turned in bed to face him,
pulling him close and kissing his cheek. He slid closer to her,
pressing his thigh between her legs and kissing her nose. "Good
morning," she said.
"Hi," he said shyly. "I'm not sure it isn't a dream still. I
can't believe I'm here." His hand stroked her fur, caressing the
soft sides of her body. The grey fur ruffled under his touch. His
emotions all roiled to the surface, feeling surprised at the
qualities about her that held him to her. It wasn't just that she
looked inhuman, but that she possessed qualities few humans would
have considered "attractive," such as her wide hips or small
breasts or small eyes. But for some reason, he couldn't help but
think of her as beautiful. And from his reading on personal
grooming and appearance standards, Furry was very beautiful... for
a Markal.
"Nickolai?"
"Just thinking, Furry. I'm still surprised at how beautiful I
think you are."
"I can tell," she giggled, and Nickolai felt her hands stroking
between his thighs, caressing his morning erection. "Or are you
going to tell me again that this is just because you have to pee?"
"Well, I do have to go," Nickolai admitted. "But I could
always give you some attention before I go."
Jofuran pretended to be shocked. "Some attention?" she said.
"You better give me more than just 'some,' buster."
He rolled on top of her and she parted her thighs slightly.
"Is this the kind of attention you want?"
Jofuran opened her legs further and her slid down the open V
between them, his cock sliding up against her cunt. "That's it,"
she said. "Undivided and unconditional." He pressed his cock to
her opening and slid in easily.
"You're wet."
"I was dreaming about you."
He smiled and pressed down until he was buried between her
grey-furred lips to the hilt entirely. She held his cock within
her and he leaned over to kiss her. "I'm glad. I dreamed about
you." His hips moved even though he didn't think about them, his
cock withdrawing and reentering her gently. She closed her eyes as
a small smile traced its way across her muzzle, a sigh escaping
her. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose again, and
without opening her eyes she opened her muzzle and they kissed,
tongues intertwining as they made love. He moaned as he slowly
pumped his shaft within her; he could feel her tightening and
loosing her muscles, gripping and massaging him as they made love.
There was nothing else to be needed from either of them.
Furry moaned, "I want you to come inside me, Nickolai." He
began stroking her a little faster, looking down between their
bodies to see his cock disappearing into her.
"You definitely have my attention," he breathed to her as he
felt his climax gaining strength within him. "And I love you,
Furry." He stroked her cunt a little faster; for some reason, he
didn't want to be forceful this morning. He wanted to be able to
look down at her every second of their lovemaking. He wanted to
watch her face, her ears and her whiskers as her head rolled back
and forth slowly. His orgasm grew more apparent as it tickled the
base of his cock and the base of his brain, and he kept his eyes
opened and watched her a whimper escaped him
and his orgasm wiped away any thought at all but that he loved her.
- - -
Garth awoke to gritty eyes and bright sunlight streaming in
from overhead. He wondered if Pendorians thought of
natural-setting image technology as chic, or did they really enjoy
waking up to having an unlicensed and uncontrolled fusion source
blazing overhead twenty-four hours a day? Thirty hours, Garth
reminded himself. Thirty long hours.
It suddenly occurred to him that in Pendor's case the sun might
not be entirely uncontrolled. After all, didn't they have a huge,
potentially electromagnetic coil wrapped all the way around the
star? They could do anything they wanted with that, including tame
that star if they so felt.
Garth felt oddly displaced; it was hard to imagine being here,
even though "here" was only 6.38 light years from Earth. He smiled
to himself as he crawled out of bed. "Only." Hah; if he had a
telescope he could go back in time and look at what he was like
back when he was just twelve. "Can you dim that?" he asked,
pointing up at the ceiling. The AI didn't answer, and nothing
happened. Remembering dimly that sometime before bed he had asked
the AI last night for "a little privacy," he hit the "service
restore" button it had indicated and repeated his request. The
skylight dimmed appreciably, and Garth flopped back down into bed.
But sleep wouldn't come and his back, already complaining about
his sleeping in yet another different bed from his own, finally
forced him to stand up and stagger into the bathroom. His
reflection in the mirror was an unhappy one; his fur went in every
direction, and he had apparently bent his ear in the night and it
wouldn't stay up this morning. He sighed and stepped into the
shower.
Liquid soap was a standard for furries in all of explored
space, and he was happy to find a bottle waiting for him. It
wasn't until after he was soaking wet, though, when he remembered
that his furbrush and his toothbrush were still in his carrybag.
Struggling again to remember the AI's name, he finally said "Lex,
can you bring my bag to me?"
"Which one?"
"The little red one I was carrying around."
"This one?" Lex asked. "I left it outside the shower door."
Garth opened the magnetically-sealed door and looked down.
"Yeah, that one. Thanks."
"You're welcome." Garth was beginning to like this, having an
AI at his beck and call. It certainly beat getting out of the warm
shower and tracking water everywhere. He soaped himself up,
starting at his shoulders and working his way down his body. As he
washed himself, his cock slowly slid out of its sheath and became
erect. He smiled, looking down at it. Most guys awoke with an
erection, but his always came several minutes after waking up,
which seemed to defeat the theory that such erections were caused
by needing to urinate.
The soap felt silky on his hands as he reached down and closed
around his cock. He leaned back against the shower wall and closed
his eyes. Stroking his cock slowly, He felt the skin of his sheath
peel around and away from the head. He sighed; he had always
enjoyed masturbating first thing in the morning. His hand curled
around the head of his cock rapidly, sliding the soap along the
length. He had started doing this a long time ago as a means of
cleaning under his sheath, and when puberty hit it just seemed to
take him longer to clean himself.
He chuckled softly, his other hand reaching down to grasp his
sac, tugging it downwards, pulling the sheath down further and
stretching his foreskin a little more. His imagination brought him
images of Kiza kneeling before him, sucking his cock with wild,
uncontrolled abandon, and of him with his mouth shoved deep between
her legs. He imagined fucking Kiza in any one of a dozen
positions, each flashing before his eyes like a high-speed slide
show. He imagined her underneath him, kneeling with her ass in the
air, his cock slamming in and out of her cunt. His hand stroked
faster in the hot water, and as the soap wore off from the
friction, he started grabbing his foreskin and tugging it up over
the head of his cock and then back down. He stroked harder,
knowing he was close to coming, and finally he gasped softly as his
semen shot out of him. He opened his eyes finally, breathing
deeply in the steam-filled space. He looked down at the little
puddles of come on the floor, and grabbed the showerhead to spray
it down the drain.
"What the?" he said as the showerhead came free of the wall, no
pipe or hose attaching it to any source of water, and it continued
to spray water everywhere. "Oh," he said, finding the small dial
at the back. Everything he knew about Pendor was becoming useful
to him, but seeing that book learning put into practice was still
an experience. He turned it down and rinsed the floor of the
shower clean, then finished washing himself off, taking extra care
of his teeth. Actually, having the showerhead portable like this
was pretty useful. He wondered if he could spray someone outside
the shower stall, or was it programmed to not allow that? It was
certainly possible to program it that way, and if that was the case
it was probably possible to turn that feature on and off.
He put the showerhead back on its mounting. "If you like," the
AI's comforting voice suggested, "instead of towels we have
full-body blowdriers installed in the showers."
"You mean, like a furmatic?" Garth had had a chance to use a
furmatic once, in a hotel during a trip to Moscow. The experience
had been sheer heaven.
"Exactly," Lex responded. The air began to whirl around
Garth's body, and he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and
propped himself up on the walls of the shower as the warm air
swirled and spun about him. He felt the heat penetrate his fur and
his fell, and with one hand he rubbed himself to let the air get
deep under his pelt to where the water would sometimes hide. The
air died down a little, and he took another breath, and then it
came back up to speed.
After two minutes, he was much drier and felt much better. He
sighed and looked around. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Garth dressed simply, a white denim skirt and oversized cotton
pullover accentuating his brown fur. The sleeves on the pullover
were cut to de-emphasize the length of his arms, which some Terrans
found Katckinkind's most unappealing feature. Not that he cared,
really.
He walked out into the hallway, and approached the door to the
Shigokai's house. It opened for him, and he strode in. Kiza was
already there, sitting at the dining table with a plate in front of
her. "Hi!" she said, waving.
Garth waved back, feeling a little ashamed because of the
fantasies he had enjoyed just minutes ago, and he hoped his guilt
didn't show on his face because he did want to get to know her
better as a person. "Hello there," he replied, trying to sound
casual. He hoped it succeeded.
"Want breakfast? I'm just having some fruit. It's honeydew."
"Sure," Garth replied. "How?"
"In the kitchen. Feel free to serve yourself."
"Why not have the AI do it?" Garth asked.
"Because that's rude. It's a demonstration of laziness. You
can do it, and I bet Lex would do it for you, but it's rude if you
do."
"Oh," Garth said. Nickolai had confirmed many of the tourbook
warnings about Pendor's weird customs, especially when it came to
AIs. He guessed that this was just one of them. He walked into
the kitchen, found some oranges and the melon Kiza had sliced into,
and made himself breakfast. "Kiza, do you want a refill on your
OJ?"
She came hopping into the kitchen with a smile and handed him
her glass. "Would you?" She hopped out again.
Garth blinked; he wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but
he wasn't going to ask. A few minutes later he returned to the
table with his meal and began eating. Kiza had already finished
most of her meal, and so watched him intently as he ate. He looked
across the table at her once in a while, and she giggled and looked
away when he did. Her actions left him feeling a little
uncomfortable, but not much. "Kiza?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Look, um, I'm sure our roommates are going to be busy all day,
and I've been separated from my tour group. I don't know what your
schedule looks like, but if you have some time, maybe you could,
well, show me around?"
She nearly squealed with delight. "Of course! I'm sorry, I
didn't think about you being separated from your group. I'd love
to show you around! Where do you want to go?"
Garth suddenly blinked. Where did he want to go? What were
his usual stops when he was in other cities on Earth? He paused
for a moment and realized that he generally hit tourist traps and
shopping centers, neither of which were in much abundance here on
Pendor. "I'm not sure. Where can you suggest?"
Kiza shrugged. "I'm not sure either. I don't know many
places; this is the first time I've ever been here. There's the
university where I go to school, and there's my town. I guess I
could show you that."
The door to the bedroom opened, and Nickolai and Furry stepped
out, happy and partly abashed smiles on their faces. "G'morning,"
Furry said, bouncing into the kitchen. Nickolai sighed and sat
down at the table next to Garth. "How you doin'?" he asked.
"Good question," Garth said. "I was just about to ask Kiza
what there was to do around here for the next month."
"Nickolai?" Lexander's voice interrupted their conversation.
"I have three messages waiting for you."
"Messages?" Nickolai asked. "From who?"
"From Molly Shardik, Skii Narrone, and Ken Shardik."
Garth blinked and looked at Nickolai, wondering. "You weren't
kidding, were you? You really do know Ken Shardik."
"Sort of," Nickolai agreed. "Molly first."
"Hello!" the voice came from a screen that appeared at the edge
of the table. "Welcome home, Nickolai! I'm going to be home for
the next month, so if you call, I'll definitely get your message."
Molly's Vulpin smile grinned out of the screen. "Look, um, things
haven't really
changed for me, but I would still like to get together with you two
and your friends."
Garth's eyes looked surprised. "You know her?"
"Yeah," Nickolai said, smiling. "She's a nice girl. I showed
her to you in the photographs, remember?"
"It's been a while since I saw those photographs, and you
didn't say how well you knew her."
"Well, you'll get to meet her later. Skii next."
"Hey, Nickolai," Skii blared out of the screen next. "I got
your message about the raincheck. Are you still serious? Dave
knows where to find me, so if you want to talk, I'm always willing.
I'm serious about the offer if you are. And... I'd love it if you
brought Furry too."
"Shardik last, please."
"Welcome back to Pendor," Ken Shardik smiled out of the screen,
as large as life. "Don't be surprised that I've been looking
forward to your return to Pendor for some time now, because you
mark the start of something big, kiddo. While relationships
between Pendorians and Terrans have occurred before in history, you
mark something really new, and I think that you two have the
strength to do it. I don't expect you
to be examples for the rest of the universe, just to be the first
and then to be yourselves.
"I want you two over my home sometime today, the earlier the
better, so we can go over old times. Today's cerenya, and you
should know by now that we have our outdoor picnics on those days,
weather permitting. Probably won't be any Dragons out today, but
that shouldn't stop you from showing up, right? Besides, Molly and
Skii were really bouncing off the walls to see you guys."
"Remember that first sight is easy, Nickolai, but love is
tough. Take care of yourselves. See you later today, right?"
Garth stared at the screen as it reduced to a point and then
winked out. "Wow. He's real."
"As real as it gets," Furry said, coming out of the kitchen.
"That
didn't sound like a request; more like an order."
"When Shardik says he wants you to stop by for dinner, you
eat," Garth said. "You guys made it through there in one piece,
right?"
Furry nodded, as did Nickolai. "I actually got bored there.
It's a house, and if you don't find ways to amuse yourself you sort
of get shuffled out in the whirlwind of children and grownups."
"Are we done eating?" Furry asked, starting to clean up plates.
"We could head over. Nickolai and I still need showers, but after
that we can just take a SDisk to the Castle." She grinned at
Nickolai. "I wonder if the lockout was ever revised."
"We'll find out. If it wasn't, well, we can always try all the
other ones, right?"
Furry nodded. "I'd like to see you end up on the one that
takes your clothes off."
"I don't know if that's possible," Nickolai said. "Remember,
Dave said he gets to choose where people go when using that SDisk."
"I remember," she said. "Still like to see it though." She
leaned over his chair and gave him a hug. "I love you, my brave
Nickolai."
"And my brilliant Jofuran. I'm going to go jump into the
shower. Would you care to join me?"
She pulled him up out of the chair by his hand. "You're on!
Excuse us!" She hauled him out of Garth and Kiza's sight.
- - -
Nickolai grinned at his friend, able to finally turn the
tables. "Nervous?"
"Yeah," Garth admitted. "You can't call me a liar for that
one!"
Nickolai snapped his fingers and laughed. "No, guess I can't."
"You're worrying too much, Garth," Furry said. "There's
nothing to it. You just walk up to him and say 'Hi. I'm Garth,
and you must be Ken Shardik.'"
"Something like that, anyway," Nickolai said, patting him on
the back before pulling Furry close again for another hug. Garth
found himself envying the simple ease with which Nickolai touched
and held her and her total attention to him every time he did.
Worse still, the flutter in his gut just wouldn't give way to calm.
She was right, wasn't she? There wasn't anything to it all. It
was just another roadtrip. He'd met important people before,
right? Ken Shardik was just another one of those.
"Okay, everybody, onto the SDisk," Nickolai said. Kiza stepped
first, then Furry. Garth went third and Nickolai last. "Lex, I
want to go the Shardik Castle."
The world blinked. Garth was never going to get used to that.
And resolved itself into a beach. Garth looked down to find
himself standing on water. "Come on," Kiza said. "Before the
circle disappears." She ran for the beach; Garth recovered her
wits enough to follow her. "Made it!" she said.
"Made what?"
"Sometimes people program those things to fade on you," she
said, pointing to the SDisk that hovered, then vanished into the
water. "It's a nasty trick because you'll find yourself floating
on the water one second, swimming in it the next."
Garth nodded, then looked around. The shadow behind him first
caught his eye; it had been what he had been expecting when they
had first arrived. Shardik Castle hovered overhead without visible
means of support, a column of water falling from the center of the
bottom face to the small body of water underneath. Shardik Lagoon.
Or, when on the Castle Grounds, just "The Lagoon." The Castle
itself looked made from segmented rectangles of sandstone
intermixed with dramatic pieces of some silvered metal or glass.
Here and there were the open porches of residencies, but they
didn't stand out quite like the general color of earthen yellow and
steel.
The lagoon itself was covered in pale yellow sand, similar in
color to that of the Castle. Where they stood was the largest
patch, a wide expanse of sand that ended in the stone walls of the
crater in which Shardik Castle sat. Garth knew that few of the
plants and short, stubby trees that lived in or lined the walls of
the crater were native to either Pendor or Terra; The popular news
media seemed eternally entranced by Aaden Shardik's "alien garden."
Across the lagoon the walls were bare and sheer and Garth could see
a hollow of sand that disappeared under the walls into a shallow
natural cave. As his eyes traced around the rim of the crater, he
found the crack that led to the ocean, providing an drain for the
water that collected in the lagoon.
Nobody was immediately visible except his three friends and
then a voice overhead shouted "Nickolai!" Garth's head snapped to
see who was shouting and saw a Felinzi, the Pendorian "housecat"
variant (and, Garth thought sourly, far more "successful" at being
both feline and humanoid than Katckins would ever be) leap off the
edge of the castle. Horrified and convinced that the Felinzi was
risking death, Garth was stunned when he fell to the ground in a
completely controlled fashion after falling maybe 30 or 40 meters,
rolled forward, and stood up. "Ta-dah!"
"Skii!" Nickolai said, running forward and grabbing the Felinzi
about the shoulders. "It's good to see you!"
"And you, Nickolai," Skii replied, grinning crazily. "How have
you been?"
"Oh, you know," Nickolai replied. "This and that. Good and
bad. Now that Furry and I are together again, I'm doing much
better. That didn't look like you had any gravitics help at all."
"Didn't," Skii replied. "Ever hear of the Shatha line of
nanochine?"
"Yeah," Nickolai said. "Didn't your dad develop those?"
Skii nodded. "You remember! Pulsive, Kolya. Yeah, he did."
"Aren't they dangerous?"
"Only when abused. And I can't visit Earth. Gee, like I'm
missing something." Skii gestured in the air, twirling one finger
carelessly. "Meanwhile, I'm completely reinforced. I can jump
nearly ten meters straight up! I can survive a fall from nearly
any height as long as I'm ready to land. I can lift my powered
armor as easily as it can lift me!" He grinned.
"But you have to eat more," Nickolai said.
"Only a little more if I don't use it, and a LOT more if I do.
Speaking of which, I'm hungry." He glanced at Nickolai. "Are you
game?"
Nickolai laughed. "We ate less than two hours ago."
"So? No reason not to have more."
"Why don't we just watch you," Nickolai offered, shading his
eyes. "And we can head inside rather than baking under this sun."
"It's nice out, Nickolai! How could you say such cruel things
about our Pin?" Skii laughed. "Who are you friends, anyway?"
"Oh, pooh," Furry said. "You know damn well who I am, you
boy-crazy Felinzi!" She walked forward and hugged Skii. "It's
good seeing you again."
"You never left, lady," Skii said. "You could have always
given me a call."
"I had school. And you had trouble to raise."
"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses."
"Are you still banned from driving?"
"Nope. Who's this?" Skii asked, surprising Garth by pointing
at him.
"Garth, meet Skii Narrone. Skii, meet Garth, my roommate from
Terra."
"Really?" Skii said. "Pulse. And this lovely fem?"
"Kiza, this is Skii. Watch him," Furry said. "He's a letch."
"And I'm good at it, too!" Skii laughed. "Come on, let's go
inside." The SDisk reappeared in the lagoon and Skii leapt upon
it. Everyone followed him and teleported.
Garth hoped that the constantly changing scenery would stop
soon. Things were progressing far too damned fast for him. He
could barely remember the name of the Felinzi he had just met. Now
they found themselves in a large, almost-square room with a hole in
the center of both the ceiling and the floor. "We opened up the
grav-tubes a little," Skii was saying. "It seems to be working.
Nobody's gotten hurt yet, and the Centaurs and Ssphynxes seem to be
able to get around better."
The Felinzi disappeared through a pair of swinging doors to
their right, and everyone seemed to be following, so Garth did as
well. Inside, Skii disappeared behind a large metal table and
rummaged about inside some cabinets, returning with a round
sandwich in his hand. "Corned beef. Anyone want something?"
Nickolai shook his head. Furry, though, asked for a ham
sandwich, which Skii promptly tossed her. "How about you two?"
Garth admitted to himself that he was hungry despite breakfast
but he didn't know if it was polite to accept or refuse an offer of
food on Pendor. Furry was already halfway through hers. "What
have you got?"
"Name it," Skii asked.
"Pastrami with sauerkraut."
"Not only do we have that," Skii laughed, disappearing into the
cabinet again, "But it's one of Ken's favorites." He tossed the
requested sandwich, wrapped in waxed paper, to Garth, who caught it
easily. "Nice catch."
"Thanks," Garth said, smiling up at Skii despite himself.
Although he knew already that much of Skii's talents were the
results of nanotech microsurgery, there was an openness to him that
Garth found refreshing. He tore open the paper and found exactly
what he had asked for; the sauerkraut was even sharp the way he
liked it, although the pastrami tasted strong and a little unusual.
He commented on that to Skii.
"That's because it's real beef," Nickolai explained. "Not that
artificial stuff we get at school."
"You mean, grown from cows?"
"Depends," Skii said. "There are cattle ranchers around,
mostly just to keep the breed alive more than anything else, and to
supply people who want to go out and attend the slaughtering
themselves. But that's rare; few people have the strong stomachs
it takes to do something like that. Ken does, sometimes. He goes
back and forth between being queasy and being barbaric." Skii
laughed. "Most beef is grown in tanks, though. It allows us to
control both the quality of the meat and to get a good ratio of
nutrients-to-meat. You be amazed what a good LSAP/nanotech farming
facility can achieve with sunlight and a pound of dirt. The really
strange thing is that most vegetable processes are still best when
grown the old-fashioned way. A few things can improve the process,
like nutrient delivery systems and stuff
like that. But in the end it's all optimized photosynthesis and
when it comes to sunlight, we're still looking for ways to improve
that ugly green molecule."
"Sounds to me like you've got a hobby, maybe?" Jofuran asked.
"Me? A farmer?" Skii asked. "I doubt it. Come on, you guys
know me. I'm a rock-and-roll, starship-driving kinda guy."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Nickolai said. "We all know about your
driving."
Skii smiled. "Okay, okay, enough. Let's go take you guys up
to talk to the folks."
"Sounds good," Nickolai said. "I know the way."
"Guess you do," Skii mentioned, his mouth full. "But I want to
go with you guys. So..." He led them out again and up the grav
tube to the top floor. "This is just a hallway that leads
upstairs. There's nothing really here. I can't figure out why
they don't just fill this space in and make the grav-tube go
straight up to the center of the roof." Up a ramp, around a
switchback, and they walked out into blinding sunlight once more.
"Is it always so bright?" Garth complained.
"Sun's always directly overhead," Furry pointed out. "What do
you expect? It's either cloudy, or it's bright. Even in winter.
And believe me, you can go blind much faster in winter."
"Blind?"
"Yeah, from all the glare. It'll drive your eyes craz--"
"Nickolai!" The voice made Garth's head snap up and look down
the metallic-grate walkway. "You made it!"
Nickolai smiled and walked into the bearhug of a man barely
taller than he was. Wearing a loose-fitting shirt of thick,
off-white cloth that fell about his waist and pants made of some
dark, vaguely reflective material, Ken Shardik held Nickolai out at
arm's length and examined him. "You've gotten taller."
"I certainly hope so, s... Ken."
Shardik roared with laughter. "You still haven't gotten used
to that, Nickolai. Come on, learn! So, who are these people
you've brought with you?"
"You don't remember me?" Furry sounded positively indignant.
"Of course I remember you, Jofuran. How could I forget the
beautiful smile that so wonderfully graced my household two years
ago? Surely you'll stay longer this time?"
"If it pleases you," Furry replied.
"If it pleases you, you mean," Shardik said, pointing back at
her. "I would hardly keep you here if you were miserable. Come,
come, you two. Introduce your friends."
Nickolai reached back and with one hand grabbed Garth by the
shoulder. "Come here, you. You did this to me a year ago. Now
it's my turn. Garth, this is Ken Shardik. Ken, this is Garth El
Baum, my roommate."
Shardik extended a hand. Garth reached out and shook it
carefully, trembling. "Garth," Shardik said in a voice that seemed
to flow over his nervous twitch and calm him, "You have nothing to
worry about."
"Tell that to my nerves!" the Katckin replied, laughing.
"I tried," Shardik replied. "And who's this?" He indicated
Kiza.
Furry answered for her. "Kiza Lessap, Ken Shardik. Ken, this
is my roommate, Kiza."
"Pleased to meet you," Ken said. He stood up and clapped his
hands together. "So, you are all going to stay for dinner?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Furry said. "Where is
everybody?"
"'Everybody' is out at the moment. Um, I hate to tell you two
this, but Molly got called away unexpectedly. She won't be back
for a while. Don't know when. It's weird, too. We have days like
this, when there's absolutely nobody around. Right now I've got my
political hat on, so I'm going to be busy until around eleven with
these papers I have to read. So I'll apologize if I ask that y'all
give me that time to myself today. Meanwhile, feel free to have
the run of the Castle. Garth, how would you like to spend your
vacation here?"
"Sir?"
"Seriously, Garth. Right now this Castle is almost empty.
With ten residences in place I've only got six families living here
right now. It's Shardik, Mahn, and Lewis... you know, the usual
gang on the one hand, and Carver, Traken, and Majors on the other.
Four open doubles for anyone who wants them. You up for it?"
"Uh... Yeah, I guess I would," Garth said, forcing a smile.
"You don't have to, you know," Shardik said. "It's not like
nobody ever said 'no' to me, and I won't be upset. I can
understand how you could be a little intimidated by the place, but
I assure you I have no intention of forcing you into anything
you're not interested in."
"I'd like to stay, sir."
"Good!" Shardik said. "Stop calling me 'sir,' too, dammit.
You're my guest, not my prisoner. Skii, give them the room next to
the guest room."
"Dad, that's where P'maya and Termo are staying."
"So it is. How about the one next to that?"
"That one's empty. Has been for nearly twenty years, too, and
you know why..."
"Oh." Ken nodded. "Still, it's the one closest to the guest
space. Tell Dave to clean them both up and then show them to their
guests. Look, I'm really busy. Nickolai, Furry, you can show your
friends where everything is and I'll be down around twelve to start
setting up for dinner. There's nobody here so you may as well take
advantage of that fact and go swimming or something. Aaden will be
back around ten, P'nyssa around twelve. Skii, start set-up at
twelve whether I'm here or not."
"Got it. Dave, don't let me forget."
"Have I ever let you forget?" a voice from nowhere replied
dryly. "I will remind you. Their rooms will take half an hour to
prepare. In the meantime, there are towels and such in the
commons."
"Thanks," Skii said earnestly. "Come on, you four. Let's go."
He
led them back into the castle.
- - -
Several hours later, Garth rejoined Nickolai on the beach. He
had been swimming in the lagoon until the chill had reached through
his fur and proven unbearable. He marveled at Nickolai's ability
to fit in. Sitting naked under a tree that looked like nothing
less than a blue- leafed palm with his legs bent at the knees to
prop up a PADD, Nickolai looked calm and content.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," Nickolai replied, smiling up at his roommate.
"Good swim?"
"Yeah. Kinda strange, though. I'm used to having a lot of
people hanging around. Especially at ocean beaches."
"I know. I felt it too the first time I was here." Nickolai
put his PADD down and stretched his legs out. "Oof. I'm stiff."
"Interesting reading?" Garth asked, gesturing to the PADD.
"Oh, sure. I'm reading about some of the voluntary biographies
of people who have gone through the Great Hall."
Garth looked puzzled for a moment. "Any reason why?"
"Yeah." Nickolai smiled. "I'm going to walk it soon."
Garth nearly exploded. "WHAT?" He stared at Nickolai,
unbelieving. "What about all that talk about loving Furry as she
is and as you are? What about all that about finding someplace to
live that didn't require that you change?"
"Calm down, Garth." Nickolai gestured to the sand, and Garth
took the hint and sat down. "Nothing's going to change."
"You don't know that! You could come out as... as..."
"As Nickolai Dittrich, Human."
"What?"
"The rules have been changed," Nickolai stated, repeating the
words as Shardik had told them to him. "People going through the
Hall don't change."
"You're kidding. That means... "
"That means that you go into the Hall and come out the other
side the same shape as you went in. Now, you can choose to change,
but if you do the Hall determines what you come out as. Then the
old rules apply."
"That's weird. Wait a sec. If you're going through the Hall
and nothing's going to change, why do it at all?"
"Because I didn't say that nothing was going to change. I will
get some of the Pendorian benefits, like the nanotech healing
factor and the language implants and stuff like that. And I'll be
fertile."
"Fertile?"
"Yeah." Nickolai glanced across the sand to where Furry and
Kiza were sitting and talking to Skii. He was apparently telling
them some outrageous story replete with expansive hand gestures of
swooping vehicles and dramatic explosions. The fems were giggling.
"Not that it does me much good."
"Yeah," Garth agreed, looking in the same direction. He was so
busy looking back and forth between the fems and Nickolai that he
failed to notice the low, black shape creeping through the
underbrush a few meters away.
Nickolai did notice it. "Garth! Look out!"
"Wha--- IEEE!" Garth screamed as a huge, powerful feline
creature leapt out of the bushes and sailed at least five meters
through the air to land in front of him, snarling. The snarl died
down, the head tilted to the left slightly, and then the jaws
parted open to erupt in what had to have been laughter although it
felt to Garth as if someone were pulling a catgut bowstring across
his feline ribs, his heart inside providing the percussion counter-
rhythm. "Shit!"
"Karin!" Skii's voice cut through his recovering terror,
making the six-legged black Pamthreat look up, laughter redoubled.
"That was not funny!"
"I know," Karin giggled, her voice sounding oddly hollow, "But
I just couldn't resist. The Pamthreat looked up at Garth. "I'm
sorry. I just saw new people sitting on the beach and had to sneak
up on you. You should have seen your face! I've never seen
someone so terrified in a long time!"
"Ken's warned you about that. If someone has a cardiac because
of your mischief he'll have your head, you know that."
"Aw, Skii. Besides, even if they have a cardiac they've always
got back-up."
"The two gentlemen here do not."
"Oh!" Karin's head picked up and she looked at Garth. "You're
Terrans! I'm so sorry. I didn't know! I could have killed you!"
"I think... I'll live," Garth said, looking at the Pamthreat.
"Besides, now that I think about it, it was kinda funny."
"Speak for yourself!" Nickolai said. "Even though I knew it
was coming I was still scared out of my wits!"
"Anyway," Garth said, "Hi."
"Hi," the Pamthreat replied quietly. "Karin Mahn."
"Garth El Baum." Garth held out his hand, not sure if
Pamthreats shook hands or what, but Karin approached it and nuzzled
it with her large, blunt head anyway. "Pleased to meet ya."
"Same here."
"Actually, Karin, you've showed up at a good time. Do you have
a drone under your command, or is it just hands today?"
"I can get one," Karin said. "What do you need?"
"Everything," Skii said. "Ken said to start set-up at twelve
and it's twelve-twenty now. I need the firepit opened up, the
tables and baskets dragged out, everything. I assume that Paul and
Carroll are going to be handling the food today since they're the
ones on the schedule but I'm still responsible for the physicals."
"Gotcha," Karin said. "Garth, would you and your friend
there--"
"Nickolai," Nickolai said, smiling. "I was hoping to be
introduced."
"Ooops. Sorry." Garth blushed.
"Nickolai-- like to help me move some tables?"
"Sure. I've done this before."
As they were setting out the baskets of picnic cloths and the
drying racks for used towels, people started assembling. Although
he didn't know all of them, Nickolai did his best to introduce
those he did know to Garth and Kiza. When he got to Aaden and
P'nyssa, Garth felt genuinely dwarfed by the huge Mephit and even
by the smaller Tindal standing next to him. The skunk's short,
smiling muzzle and penetrating stare made him aware of just how
much history stood before him. "Garth, this is P'nyssa Traken,"
Nickolai said, indicating the female Tindal. About the same height
as he (he measured 173 cms), she had indigo-blue fur except for the
whites rings about her eyes.
"How do you do?" she asked, holding out one of her tentacles
that Tindals called "tens" and were in approximately the same place
humans kept their arms. He took the fingerless mitten in hand and
shook gently. "Come on, Garth, you can shake hands more securely
than that, can't you?" she asked, smiling. He shook harder,
watching the shake ripple up her arm. He had the distinct feeling
she did that deliberately. "Pleased to meet you."
"Uh... I'm please to meet you as well."
"And I'm Aaden, but you knew that." The enormous Mephit
reached out a hand and Garth took it, shaking just as firmly.
Although he knew intellectually that Aaden Satpulov was only one
centimeter taller than Ken Shardik and only twelve centimeters
taller than himself, he felt tiny compared to the physical and
emotional mountain that Aaden seemed to be.
"Since you're our guests for the evening, why don't you come
sit with us?" P'nyssa offered.
"You mean that?" Garth asked.
"Of course they mean it," Nickolai said.
"Nickolai, he asked me," P'nyssa chided him.
Nickolai seemed genuinely abashed. "Oh... Uh... I'm sorry?"
P'nyssa laughed. "You're trying to get into the feel of being
a Pendorian too hard, Nickolai. On the one hand, I do mean
everything I say, so if I invite you to eat with us, Garth, I mean
it. On the other, I like to take care of inquiries directed at me
by myself. It took me a century to break Ken of the habit of
interrupting me."
Nickolai nodded, apologetic.
"Come on," P'nyssa said. "Grab your two friends and--"
P'nyssa rolled her eyes-- "Skii, I guess." She smiled. "He has
too much energy, even for his age. Meet us over there. You won't
be alone; I imagine Ken and Aaden will have their usual crowd of
friends and followers."
"I'll get them," Garth offered.
"Would you? I want to ask P'nyssa something," Nickolai said.
"Sure thing." Garth trotted away across the sands in search of
Furry and Kiza in what had rapidly become a loose crowd of bodies.
"Now then, what did you want to ask me, Kolya?" P'nyssa said
after they watched Garth disappear between two Centaur and
continued on their walk down the sands towards Ken Shardik.
Nickolai felt a touch of reassurance at her calling him
"Kolya." it was a note of familiarity, and indicator that she
wasn't still upset with him. And while he tried to be
equal-handed, it meant a lot to him that P'nyssa Shardik liked him.
"You said Ken and Aaden have 'followers.' Don't you?"
Aaden chuckled quietly. "She does, but not here."
"I still haven't broken him of it," P'nyssa grumbled softly.
"What he means is that Ken and Aaden have hobbies and activities
that encourage amateur adherents. There are 'professional'
sadomasochists, pilots, botanists, writers, and the like, but many
more aren't. So they tend to prefer meeting in non-professional
settings, like picnics and the like. Medicine doesn't have that
kind of leeway and so is rarely seen as a 'hobby.' And as for my
other hobbies, they're generally quieter. Sometimes I write a book
review for something I read that I enjoyed and sometimes I go to
readercons and sometimes I submit articles on interspecies adoption
and mothering, but these aren't the sorts of things that one has
loud discussions about it." She laughed softly. "You know, for
such a distinctive family, we have such traditional roles
sometimes."
"Speak for yourself," Aaden chuckled. "The first time I sent
an article to Interspecies Parenting Digest I was terrified. My
reputation was about to be ruined!"
"Somehow, Aaden, I doubt anyone really thought you were losing
your s/m touch."
Aaden's reply was interrupted by Shardik shouting "Hi!"
"Hi yourself!" Aaden fell to his knees and gave Ken a hug,
rolling across the blanket.
"Careful! There's an open jar of mustard with no base on the
blanket!" Ken shouted.
"Whoa," Aaden agreed, stopping short just in time. "How was
your day?"
"Hairy." Ken proceeded to complain to Aaden, P'nyssa, and
anyone else who would listen about how uncompromising the new
interstellar conglomeration of four worlds that called itself
jokingly "The Empire" was and how he could never get in touch with
their ambassadors. "They're such prima donnas! I thought we were
bad!"
Aaden laughed and tousled Ken's hair. "We are bad. They're
just worse."
"Yeah, yeah. So, Nickolai, are you ready to walk the Hall?"
"I think so. Tomorrow I want to do it."
"You're sure?"
"I can't think of a single reason not to." He glanced around
and found Furry standing next to him. He reached out a hand and
took hers in his. "And I have all the reason in three worlds to."
"Good man!" Ken said. "That's the power of love for you.
Makes men into fools and fools into men. Don't ask which category
you fall into, Nickolai, because either way you won't like the
answer. Trust me on this one."
Nickolai laughed. "Yes, sir."
"So, Garth, tell me while we have a quiet moment. What do you
think of Pendor?"
"It's very... hospitable."
"By Horus, I hope so!" Ken laughed. "But what else? Tell me,
are you bored yet?"
"Bored?" Garth felt surprised by the question. "How could I
possibly be bored?"
"It's very possible," Ken replied. "You've been sitting on a
beach relatively alone all day. Eventually you must get bored."
"Sir, after an entire year of grinding at textbooks and doing
biocybe lessons and physical exercise, I can think of nothing more
pleasant than lying on a deserted beach and absorbing sunlight."
Ken laughed. "Good lad! What else have you noticed?"
"Well, I'd like a chance to look around, honestly. See what I
can see. I need a tour guide for that, and Kiza's offered."
"I'll do it," Skii said.
"Skii... " Ken growled softly.
"No, really. I mean it. If I'm not his type I understand
completely and I'll keep my hands off. But I like the Terrans you
find, Father. They're really con and I appreciate having them
around."
"Garth?"
"What do you mean, 'If you're not my type?'" Garth asked.
"Just that. I happen to like mels and I'm not ashamed of
admitting to being a little predatory." Skii grinned.
"Oh. Well, I don't know. It's been a long time since I
thought about that. I don't know."
"Hey, no pressure," Skii asserted, waving his hands as if to
push away the suggestion. "I just wanted to point two things out,
Garth. I'd like to be your tour guide because I happen to like
Terrans, and I'd like to get to know you better because I think
you're good-looking."
"Me?" Garth asked, surprised.
"Yeah, you," Skii replied. "You find that surprising?"
"A little," Garth said.
"Well, it's true. In fact, let's take a survey. Okay, there
are..." Skii paused to count his way around the several blankets
closest to him. "Fifteen people around here." He stood up.
"Okay, how many people here think Garth here is handsome?" A
small forest of arms and tentacles went up.
"Hey!" a voice Garth remembered from earlier that day rang out.
"I don't have a hand to raise!"
"Then we'll count you as a 'yes' vote," Skii told Karin.
"Anyway, Garth, there you have it. You're good looking."
"It's still hard to believe."
"Believe it," Aaden said over Skii's disagreement. "On Pendor,
'beauty' is a real issue. Too many people start out with the
assumption that because they're Pendorians they're automatically
beautiful people. But beauty is different to us here, in this
Lagoon, at least I like to think so. It comes from inside. I
know, that's a funny, touchy-feely kind of thing to hear me saying.
But it's true. You have a youthful kind of handsomeness to you,
Garth, that you shouldn't underestimate just because you're a
Katckin."
"But I'm so gangly," Garth protested, turning to Skii. "Look
at you. Your head and face are so much more feline-looking than
mine, but your arms are at least in proportion to your body
compared to most of the Humanoid races in the galaxy."
Skii thought for a moment. "Differences in design and the
skills of the designer. Look at Karin. She's not humanoid-looking
at all. But she manages."
"I do better than manage, you mangy..."
"Okay, okay, enough!" Ken's hand came down between Skii and
the Pamthreat. "If I must break up this fight one more time
between you two! Skii, you're nineteen years old, and that's old
enough to stop needling your sister. Karin, you too."
"I'm only thirteen."
"And old enough to stop picking fights with your brother. Now
then, let's get food since I see that it's ready."
A half-hour later and around a mouthful of something that had
been referred to as 'beefalo,' Garth turned to Ken and asked "Is
there a reason why I shouldn't walk through the Great Hall?"
Ken nearly choked on his sandwich. But then he stopped,
thought, turned to Garth and said "As a changeling or as yourself?"
"As myself," Garth replied.
"You were talking about how you didn't like your Katckin body
just a short while ago."
"I think that was different," Garth replied. "I... I don't know
if I believe all of you that I'm handsome, but that's different
from not liking my body. I'm used to my body. I don't know if I
would adjust to having it changed. The idea that I could go
through the Great Hall and get all the benefits and none of the
disadvantages is powerful incentive."
"It is indeed," Ken agreed. "You know, there is no
disadvantage to it if you go through at all. You could retain your
Terran registration, your Right of Replacement, everything. There
is nothing about you after the Hallwalk that's obvious to
observers. Nothing at all. A close physical might find some
things."
"What about that... the heart implant?"
"You can get that during or after the Hallwalk. The difference
is that after the Hallwalk it's surgery. During the Hallwalk,
well, you're sorta trusting the magic of the Great Hall, aren't
you? And don't ask me what that is. It's a secret." Ken smiled.
"What about my fertility?"
"What about it?" Ken asked. "Who's gonna notice? You
certainly can't get any femKatckins on Terra pregnant; they're all
sterile, remember? And if you're really worried about pregnancy,
there's always the tiny contraceptive implants. We perfected those
centuries ago."
"What are they?"
"Furry, you explain. My sandwich is getting cold."
Furry accepted Shardik's offer. "They're tiny valves about six
millimeters on a side. They get placed over... what are those
things called in males?"
"The vas deferens," P'nyssa supplied.
"Them. Anyway, they block off sperm flow from the testicles to
the penis. In females they block off the fallopian tubes."
"How do you get them open?" Garth asked.
"Magnets," P'nyssa replied, picking up the medical part of the
thread. "We have a small electromagnet. It's about the size of a
writing pen." She pulled one out of a pocket on the jumpsuit she
wore. "It's a little thicker, but about the same length. There's
a little switch labeled 'open' or 'closed' and a small light. You
run the round end over the skin until the light comes to full
brightness. It's just a simple magnetometer. Then you put the
switch in the direction you want the valves to be. The thing gives
off a small hum and the valves get changed."
"That easy?" Garth asked. "I'm surprised we don't have
anything like them on Earth."
"You do," P'nyssa replied. "Your species haven't needed them
for the past four centuries because Saman Transfer has made you all
sterile. But even on Pendor they're called 'Dutch Valves' because
they were invented in Holland."
"Wow."
"Nothing surprising about that," P'nyssa said. "Most of the
truly important things on Pendor were discovered on Earth."
"Like?"
"Like consciousness," Ken said. "Like symbolic language. Like
mathematics. Like theatre. Romance. Everything around you here,
Garth, is a combination of ideas, all of which existed on Terra for
years before Pendor existed."
"But doesn't it matter that someone with the tools to make it
happen did?"
"Of course. But I think people give too much credit to some
artists and not enough to others. Anyway, all this philosophy
makes me hungry. I'm gonna get some cake." He stood up and left
abruptly.
Aaden leaned over and in a conspiratorial whisper told Garth
and Nickolai, "He does that when he realizes he talking about
himself nowadays. I figure it'll last a year or so."
"Guilt?" Nickolai asked.
"I think he just hates being the topic of conversation. He
knows he is every day everywhere in the galaxy." Aaden sat back
up. "So, Garth, are you going to walk the Hall?"
"I'm thinking about it," the Katckin replied. "I'm not sure
what to do with the idea yet."
"Well, I'm sure you can make up your mind in the month you're
here. So, who's going to be your tourguide?"
"What are my choices?"
"Well, both Kiza and Skii have agreed to it."
"Why can't I have both of them?"
"That," Ken Shardik interjected, returning from the dessert
table, "Has to be the most Pendorian thing I think I've heard come
out of anybody's mouth since the Terrans got here. Polite,
selfish, self- indulgent and utterly harmless. Well, Skii, would
you be willing to have both Kiza and Garth as company for a month?
Kiza, would you be willing to live at Shardik Castle for a month
with Garth and Skii?"
"I'd like to very much!" Kiza replied.
"I don't think I'd have a problem with it," Skii continued.
"Nor would I," Garth finished. "It's a deal then."
"And Nickolai... would you and Jofuran be willing to spend a
while here while Nickolai gets his head on straight?"
"I think I'd like that." Nickolai kissed Jofuran's head.
"What about you?"
"I don't have a problem with it," Furry said. "I'm on a break
right now."
"Then it's settled. Good! The house was getting empty and
full of fuddy-duddies anyway."
"You're the only fuddy-duddy we have, Ken," Aaden said sweetly.
"You're just jealous."
- - -
"I have my own place," Skii was saying, "over there."
"Skii?" Garth asked. "Ken acted really strangely when he
suggested mine and Kiza's bedroom be in here. For one thing, he
was making one serious assumption. Kiza and I aren't sleeping
together."
"Oh. Oh! Damn, what do I do with that? Dave!"
"I was already aware of the situation thanks to Lexander.
There are two smaller beds in the bedroom."
"I guess that'll be okay. But it was more than that. What was
all that about twenty years ago..."
Skii laid his hand on the bridge of his snout and rubbed
downwards, deforming his small whiskers slightly as he did so.
"You're probably running into this on Terra a lot nowadays, but...
we've always been immortal. Unaging and hard to kill, anyway. The
most common form of death on Pendor is suicide." He took a deep
breath. "P'lissane, P'nyssa's first daughter, committed suicide in
here." The door opened as Skii led the way inside.
"I know it's just supposed to be another room," Skii said, "But
it was the second death ever in Shardik Castle, and it really made
a lot of people weird. I don't know. I don't really want to think
about it."
"That was the year before you were born, right?"
"Right," Skii agreed. "In a way, I'm glad I didn't know
P'lissane. It must have been very hard on people."
"They just found her in here, right?"
"Right. Sitting at the table. All the furniture's been
changed, the rug and ceiling tiles, even. The entire room was
changed to avoid reminding people about her. But even with all
that..."
Garth nodded. "Look, um, I guess this is goodnight?"
"Looks that way." Skii held out his hand and Garth shook it.
"Nice to meet you, and I'm glad we'll have more time together."
"Me too. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Kiza?"
She held out her hand and he shook that as well. "Thank you,
Skii."
"You're welcome. See you guys later." He waved and walked
out.
After the door had closed behind Skii's retreating back, Garth
sighed. "Well, he certainly seemed to change a lot when he was
talking about P'lissane."
"It's hard on people, Garth. We try not to admit that we know
people who are going to die, especially by their own hand. I'm not
in a very happy spirit right this minute either, after that. I'm
just going to head to bed."
"That sounds like a good idea."
She nodded and disappeared down a hole like Alice's Rabbit, and
Garth remembered that bedrooms in Shardik Castle were on the floor
below the living quarters. He walked over to the hole, steeled
himself, and stepped over it. He fell slowly, landing calmly on
the floor of the bedroom. Kiza walked out of the bathroom and
crawled into one of the two beds.
Looking at his bed, set into an almost-blackened wooden frame,
he wondered what a bed for two people was like if a bed for one was
this large.
He made use of the bathroom. Tiled in bright white and
illuminated with indirect lighting, it was a masterpiece of
comfortable design. Stepping out into the bedroom, he realized
Kiza was already dead asleep. With a smile he stripped off his
clothing and crawled under the apparently hand-quilted comforter.
He fell asleep just as quickly.
--
"Journal Entry 142 / 0918 [ Reunion, Part 2 ]"
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
are copyright (C) 1989-1995 Elf Mathieu Sternberg. Redistribution of
this work for profit is reserved to the author. Redistribution by
portable media (CD-ROM, floppy, paper, etc.) is expressly forbidden.
Any redistribution must include this copyright notice intact.
--
Elf Sternberg FUCK THE CDA! (Cohen vs. California, 1971)
elf@halcyon.com Nos numerus sumus et fruges consumere nati.
Public key available http://www.halcyon.com/elf/index.html