From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)
Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.furry
Subject: Journal Entry 143 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 4 ]
Date: 13 May 1996 13:26:00 GMT
Organization: Pendor, UnLtd.
Lines: 956
Message-ID: <4n7d98$1vo@news.halcyon.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com

Aldea, Narnya 22, 0918

    "So," Garth said, looking around at his three companions, "What 
is there to do on Pendor on a day like this?"

    Furry shrugged noncommittally, but the other two animatedly 
began making lists.  Skii said, "There's skiing, sailing, swimming, 
flying.  I could do any one of those.  What are you interested in?  
Any places you want to go?"

    "Well..."  Garth concentrated for a moment.  "Nickolai gave me 
a long list of things he did the last time he was here on Pendor.  
Like visiting the Rowan, watching the Tangent Arc hardware 
practices, maybe going to Backwater or Rhysh--"

    Kiza cut him off.  "I am not going to Rhysh."

    "Okay, maybe not Rhysh," Garth agreed, "But I would like to see 
some of the places around here.  I'd like to go sailing in Parma, 
for instance.  That's something Nickolai never got to do.  I'd like 
to watch sunset on Pandora, since that's what it exists for."  He 
paused for a moment.  "Actually, no offense Kiza, but I would like 
to go to Rhysh."

    "I'll stay home that day."

    "No problem," Skii replied, his grin splitting from ear to ear.  
"I've been there.  It's... different, but nothing too horrible is 
out in the open.  I'd enjoy taking Garth there."

    "Yes, I'm sure you would," Kiza replied, returning his grin.  
"What else, Garth?"

    "Oh, I don't know.  Rocchodain, Alias... I'm sure you all have 
local favorites."

    "We do," Skii replied, "But I don't know how many of mine would 
appeal to you."

    "Some might," Garth said.  "You can always suggest them and I 
can say if I want to or not.  Oh, that's right.  One other thing.  
I want to see a play."

    "A play?" Skii asked dubiously.

    "Yeah," Garth said.  "I want to see something done with 
Pendorian actors.  I think Uncia doing Othello or Felinzi doing 
Cats or Tindals doing Shibatsu, something like that."

    "Ah," Skii said.  "You want to see a Terran performance with 
Pendorian actors."  He scratched under his chin for a moment.  "Ken 
is very fond of those, although he has a taste for those awful 
Greek plays.  You could ask him.  Or Dave.  Dave?"

    "Thank you for remembering me, Skii," the AI answered calmly.  
"Yes, in fact, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing will be 
performing at the Carmeloch Theatre for the next two weeks.  Henry 
The Fifth is showing at the D'Tangent theatre.  No Othello, sorry.  
Other performances include a Jesus Christ, Superstar, Carthage, and 
Not the Worm Ourobouros, but they're at smaller theatres."

    "There," Skii said.  "You've got an entire collection to choose 
from.  I'm sure if you want an different play, Dave can find a 
video archive somewhere."

    "Guaranteed," the AI replied.  "In fact, AI Webster Masters has 
a comprehensive library of Shakespeare productions performed on 
Pendor over the last two centuries."

    "Thank you, Dave," Skii said.  "You're getting faster."

    "I do try," the AI replied.

    "Anyway, that's just the beginning," Skii said.  "I'm sure we 
can find more than enough stuff to fill your entire month.  Ever 
gone mountain climbing?"

    "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

    "Nah, we'll give you a gravitics harness in case you fall.  
It's not a problem of getting to the top or falling off, it's how 
many times do you fall off.  I never fall off.  Kiza?"

    "Huh?"

    "What about you?  Did you have any ideas?"

    "Well, I'd really like to go sailing.  I've never done that 
before.  But you're the one with the sailboat, I assume."

    "Yep," Skii said.  "I think I can teach you two how to handle 
the mid-tri."  He glanced up into the air, looking at nothing in 
particular.  "Dave," he said, "Can you call Ken for me?"

    After a few seconds pause, Ken's voice came back through empty 
air.  "What can I do for you, kiddo?"

    "Gran, can I take the Succubus out?"

    "Sure, if you bring it back in one piece.  There's no cell on 
board, you'll have to swim one out yourself."

    "No problem.  Thanks!"

    "See ya.  Have fun, you four!"  An audible >click< terminated 
the conversation.

    "Three," Furry said, standing.  She hadn't said a word during 
the entire conversation, and her one spoken word suddenly had 
everyone's attention. 

    "What?" Skii asked.

    "No offense, Skii, but with Nickolai gone, I really don't feel 
like doing anything.  I think I'll stay here and study until he 
gets back."

    "That's not for a week!   At least!"

    "I'll do.  Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow or something.  I 
don't know.  Anyway, you guys go enjoy yourself.  I don't want to 
be a pressor 
field on your sunny day.  I'll see you guys later."  She slowly 
walked away.

    "If you want to join us, Dave will know where we are!" Skii 
shouted.

    "I know," Furry replied, not quite so loudly and certainly less 
exuberantly.  

    Skii stood up slowly and said, "Well, that's that.  Come on, 
you two.  Grab everything you'll need for an overnighter, too.  
I'll get the powercell and the waterproof bags.  Dave, is there 
food in the Succubus?"

    "I'm afraid not, Skii.  You'll need a complete complement.  The 
burners have been replaced with electric, however, so you will not 
need propane."

    "Ring for small favors," Skii groaned, heading down the stairs 
with the two in tow.

    A confusing ten minutes later, Garth found himself standing on 
the beach next to Skii and a brown cargo-net full of stuff, waiting 
for Kiza to show up.  "I hope she doesn't get seasick," Skii said.

    "I hope I don't," Garth replied.

    "I hope you don't either," Skii replied.  Kiza came running 
down the beach with a single, small bag slung over her shoulder.  
"I brought what I thought I would need.  Just an overnight, right?"

    "I hope that's all we're going to be doing," Skii replied, 
taking her bag and putting into another, waterproof bag.  He tied 
the bag to the cargo net.  "Okay, you see that boat over there?  
That's where we're going.  It's not that far, believe me.  It looks 
like it, but I bet both of you can swim pretty well, right?"

    "I can," Kiza replied.  Garth just nodded. 

    "Okay, good enough.  Now wait until I get to the boat and give 
you a signal.  Then push this net in and I'll pull it to the boat.  
Then just swim out to the boat yourselves.  Okay, here I go!"  Skii 
jumped into the water and began swimming.  They watched as he 
disappeared out of sight, a line of rope following him from behind 
the net packed with stuff.

    Skii reached the boat and signaled them.  They pushed the net 
into the water, and he began hauling on the rope.  They followed 
the cargo.  Garth found himself enjoying the swim, the lankiness 
that he usually saw in his arms giving him the kind of power he 
needed to keep up with Kiza.  Kiza, for her own part, swam like the 
Marten she was, a relative to Otters and other waterborne 
creatures.  She did reach the boat first, but Garth had to admit to 
himself that he felt good about how well he'd managed to keep up.  

    "So," Skii said.  "Give me five minutes and I'll have the 
shower rigged up and ready to go.  First, help me pull the cargo 
onto the rear deck."

    With six hands pulling at the rope, the cargo came up over the 
side easily, although a few times as it threatened to roll Skii 
snarled incoherently.  "If that thing puts a hole in her, Ken will 
never forgive me."

    "Has that ever happened?" Garth asked.

    "There's a first time for everything," Skii answered.  He 
pulled open the cargo nets and pulled out a cylinder of stainless 
steel with a blue, screw-on plastic top.  "Power.  Be right back."  
He walked around to the front of the boat.  Garth heard the 
snapping of latches and the creaking of hinges and then he heard 
Skii's voice echo hollowly, as if from a cave.  "Got it!"

    Garth looked around.  He and Kiza stood on the rear deck of a 
white trimaran sailboat, about eleven meters in length.  A cabin 
sat right in the middle of the trimaran, rising less than a full 
meter from the rest of the boat.  The boat was painted white.  An 
outboard motor was attached between the center and starboard (Garth 
was proud of himself for remembering that word) hulls, and a thick 
power cable held down with half-circle clamps ran over the slat and 
down into the cabin.

    On the top of the cabin Garth saw a bundle labeled "Inflatable 
raft" and an electrically powered pump.

    "Okay," Skii's voice said confidently.  "We've got a fitted 
Yohan sail and jib.  Power is on-line, as is our remote networking 
gear.  We're ready to move.  Garth, Kiza, which one of you wants to 
go swimming?"

    Both indicated they would.  Skii tossed Kiza a set of goggles.  
"Here," he said.  "Go find the anchor and pull us loose, would you?  
It's not more then six meters here.  Well, maybe seven."

    Kiza jumped into the water and disappeared.  Skii smiled at 
Garth.   "When she gets the anchor loose we have to pull it up 
fast.  Then, handsome, you get to help me rig the sails.  When Kiza 
gets back we'll have her drop the engine while we put up the jib 
and mainsail.  It's really not that hard, either.  Come on."

    The boat lurched slightly.  "Pull!" Skii shouted, hauling at 
the anchor line.  They began hauling fast and soon had the anchor 
on the front deck.  "Kiza!" Skii shouted.  "Power up the engine and 
drive us away from shore.  Garth, help with the sails!"

    After another twenty minutes, Garth collapsed to the deck, 
exhausted.  "I thought you said that wasn't that hard."

    "You're out of shape, Garth!" Skii joked.  "Come on, let's set 
sail."

    "I guess I forgot to ask.  Where are we going?"

    "Well," Skii said, "I thought we'd head for the nearest 
Shipping Disk and transport over to Pandora at a synchronized time, 
then watch the  sunset.  Then we can find a comfortable island 
nearby, drop anchor, have breakfast on the beach, and do whatever 
we like.  What do you think?"

    "Sounds good to me," Kiza said.  "Sandwich?" she asked, holding 
one out to Skii.

    "I see you found the food."

    "And the autopilot," she agreed, laughing.  

    Skii accepted the sandwich, taking a bite.  "Come on.  We've 
got a lot of work to do to get this thing comfortable.  Garth, help 
me lay out some sheets.  Kiza, we shouldn't stay on autopilot for 
too long."

    She nodded and went back to the steerage boom.  

    The day sailed on uneventfully.  The sun, always overhead, beat 
down on them as they took cover under a shading canopy Skii erected 
over the boat's wheelwell, an open rectangle that led down into the 
cabin.  "There's a hundred and twenty quarts of pure water under 
those plates, in case you want any."

    "That, I could use," Garth said.  Kiza agreed.

    Skii got up and checked the maps while Garth filled canteens 
for all three of them.  "We're sitting on top of the SDisk," he 
said.  "I wonder why it hasn't fired."  

    As soon as he spoke, Kiza gasped.  "Wow!"

    Skii and Garth poked their heads out.  Skii laughed.  "Figures.  
All you had to do was say something.  That's it.  Welcome to 
Pandora guys.  Sunset in four hours, provided we don't sail too 
fast."  He stepped back inside and checked the navigation screen 
mounted to the port wall of the cabin.  "Kiza, the compass is the 
gauge to starboard on the floor there by your feet.  See it?"

    "Got it!"

    "Okay.  You're going to want to come about until we're 
heading... what way is the wind headed?"

    "It's headed southwest."

    Skii poked his head out.  "I thought you didn't know how to 
sail."

    "Doesn't mean I can't read a compass.  The way you act, you'd 
think I didn't know how to read."

    "Sorry," Skii said.  "Thanks.  Okay, then, bring us about to a 
heading of twenty-six degrees and hold us there."

    "The sail will swing."

    "Then duck."

    Grumbling, Kiza slowly pushed the till away from her until the 
ship came about to the desired angle.  "Twenty six degrees."

    "Garth!" Skii said.  "Pull on that line; pull the sail in a 
little more and let's see if we can't get some speed out of this 
tub.  This is a good twenty-six knot wind; let's see if we can't 
pull nine knots."

    Garth hauled on the sail, but Skii eventually came and helped 
him pull.  The Succubus sliced through the water cleanly, rocking 
ever-so-slightly as the waves slammed up against it.  "

    And here, instead, the sun wasn't overhead.  It shone at an 
angle.  Garth found it comforting.  "It's just like home."

    "If you missed it so much, why'd you come here?"

    "It's different," Garth shrugged.  "I can always go home, too."

    "It feels so weird," Kiza said.  "I've never been offworld 
before."

    "It's amazing how few Pendorians ever go offworld.  Pendor's so 
big that there's this weird attitude about leaving.  I can't figure 
it out.  How could anyone not want to see this?"

    "Does Parma get as many visitors?" 

    "Well, the recreational section of Parma says it's gotten at 
least five percent of the total cumulative population of Pendor.  
But that's only one in twenty, right?  The rest have never really 
wanted to see it, I guess."

    "That just seems so weird."

    "Dunno," Skii said.  "It just is.  Anyway, even though it feels 
like the wind is dying down we're going to reach nightfall in about 
two hours.  A little before that we should reach a set of islands 
that should be visible any minute now.  And the weather service 
says that it's going to rain Canids and Felids tonight."

    "Excuse me?" Garth said.

    Kiza laughed.  "Cats and Dogs, Garth.  Canids and Felids.  
Well, dogs and cats in that order."

    "Whatever," Skii said.  "Stew for dinner sound good?  There's 
some serious bread in here."

    "It'll do," Kiza agreed.

    "Then that's it," Skii nodded.  "Okay.  I'm going to put it on 
now and tie down the pot.  Just don't ram us up on anything and it 
won't fall over."

    "Garth, would you take the till?"

    "Sure," Garth said.  "What do I do?"

    "Well, you hold it here, and you watch this thing here.  It's 
your compass.  We want to keep it on this line, twenty-six degrees 
west of north.  Got that?"

    Garth looked down, puzzled.  Although he had heard of compasses 
many times, he had never before had to learn how to use one.  "I 
think so."

    "It's really easy," Skii said.  "The one in the middle is your 
speed in knots."

    "What's a knot?"

    "About two point seven six kilometers per hour, Terran."

    "It's an English measurement, isn't it?"

    Skii smiled.  "It's better than cubits."  Garth shook his head 
while Skii scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars.  "There 
they are!"

    "Where?" Kiza asked.

    "Straight ahead.  I told you I knew how to navigate.  I can 
even do this on a low-tech world without a problem.  Okay, Garth, 
we're heading for that low shadow on the horizon.  See them?"

    "Yes!"

    "Good.  Okay, once we get near the reefline we'll find a place 
to drop anchor and secure for the night.  I think we'll fly a 
lantern tonight; this is pretty popular spot according to the 
chart.  Kiza, want to go swimming again?"

    "To check the anchor?  Sure."

    "Good.  Then it's settled."

    They ate dinner an hour later, the boat secure between to 
wave-breaking reefs that they had had to navigate between more 
carefully than Skii would have liked.  "Don't forget there's a tide 
here," he said.  "The ocean will literally bulge in the center 
sometimes and flatten out at others.  We don't want to suddenly 
find the Succubus high and dry next morning."

    Garth and Kiza nodded.  "Look, it's going down."

    "I've never watched this," Kiza said, sitting on the edge of 
the slowly rocking boat as the sun headed towards the horizon.  
Although some clouds blocked its last couple of seconds of drop, 
others provided an almost explosively colorful background for the 
descending sunlight.  Garth heard Kiza's breathing speed up a 
little as the sun came closer and closer to the edge of the 
horizon, the colors deepening into darker and darker red until, 
finally, it disappeared completely.  "Wow."  She sat back and 
shivered.

    Garth sat back.  "Okay, I've seen it.  It seemed to affect you 
a lot more than it did me, Kiza.  What got to you?"

    "It's so... I don't know."  She shivered again, grabbing the 
windbreaker she'd been wearing while minding the rudder and pulling 
it tightly about her.  "It's so natural.  Every day you see the sun 
disappear behind a shadow rec and you know what's happening.  You 
know how it was made by sentients and you can look up the ring and 
see it happening everywhere.  That, though," she said, gesturing to 
where the sun had vanished, "That's different.  It's natural.  It's 
what your people..."  She glanced at Garth.  "Well, Human Terrans, 
at any rate, evolved seeing every day.  It's no wonder that they 
built complicated rituals around the disappearing sun and the 
advent of winter."

    "It's not that man-made, Kiza."

    "Huh?"  Kiza turned to look at Skii quizzically.  "What does 
that mean?"

    "It means just that," he said.  "Take a look at it.  Pendor is 
not 'under control.'  It hasn't been since..."  He smiled.  "Do you 
know where Alexandria is?"

    "Yeah.  It's one of the Pendorian library repositories, isn't 
it?"

    "One of the main ones, yes.  SI administration, solid-state 
construction, full-leach power sources.  Have you ever seen it?"

    "It's on Pandora somewhere, isn't it?  I saw a picture of it 
once.    It looks like it's in the middle of this huge burned 
circle."

    "That's because it is.  On the Day of Decant, Ken lit off a 
clean fusion nuclear explosive there."

    "What?  Why?"

    "To burn the Library at Alexandria one more time.  That's where 
it got its name from.  You see, Pandora was the administration site 
for the millennial project, not Pindam.  Pindam was where Ken and 
Oenone slept for all those millions of years while Pendor was being 
built.  Most people don't know it, but life didn't evolve on 
Pendor.  It evolved  here."

    "On Pandora?" Garth asked, surprised.

    "It was the seeding point.  Then the hardiest stuff was 
transported by Fawn and Halloran to the Vinyare' ocean.  And bit by 
bit the ecosystem was established.  But it was established here, 
not on Pendor.  Pendor is too big to establish a working ecosystem 
that way."

    "But... Then what's on Pendor now?"

    Skii smiled.  "Nobody knows.  That's the point.  Everything in 
the transportation and transplantation project was recorded in 
Alexandria, and Alexandria..."

    "Was destroyed.  That doesn't make sense.  Why would Ken do 
that?"

    "It doesn't make sense?" Skii asked.  "Think about it.  What 
happens to Pendorian curiosity if the name, genealogy, and 
identification of every animal, every plant, every landform around 
you has already been done?"

    "Then..."  What Skii was telling him hit Garth with surprise.  
"You're telling me that Ken destroyed that database because it 
would have made things too easy?"

    "That's about right."  Skii shrugged again.  "I don't know.  It 
makes sense to me.  Maybe not to you, but it does to me."

    "Oh, it makes sense in a twisted kind of way."  Garth sat down, 
looked at his bowl.  "I'm going to get more stew.  Anyone want 
more?"

    They both shook their heads.  When he returned Kiza was already 
stretching and yawning.  "I'm tired."

    "Sailing will do that, especially if you're not experienced," 
Skii said.  "Kiza, I have all these vehicles that we can use while 
Garth is here, but I don't know if you own any.  Do you?"

    "Uh..."  Kiza blushed a little, wrapping her tail around 
herself.  Garth thought she looked adorable.  "Powered armor?"

    "You have a suit of powered armor?" Garth asked.

    "Yeah.  You do?" Skii added, sounding equally surprised.

    "Yeah," Kiza replied, blushing more.  "It's an experiment we 
were working on in engineering.  I'm part of a development team for 
high-pressure and caustic atmospheres."

    "You should talk to my sister, Molinar.  She's really into 
those experiments."

    "I might have something that she's using as a production model 
now," Kiza admitted.  "I know what Molly does; I talked to her at 
the picnic.  Anyway, I can show you my silly suit later.  I'm going 
to bed."

    "Goodnight," Skii said.  "I'm sorry for snapping at you 
earlier!"

    "Thank you!" she said.  "Goodnight, Garth!"

    "Goodnight, Kiza!"  He waved as she disappeared down into the 
cabin.

    Skii looked over at Garth.  "You know, we didn't make any 
sleeping arrangements."

    "You don't suppose she assumes..." He gestured with his hands 
between the two of them.  "I mean, that you... and me... I..."

    Skii smiled.  "I wouldn't be surprised," he said.  "I told you 
earlier that I found you handsome."

    "But... I..."

    "Don't tell me.  You don't like boys."

    "No, I do!"  Garth felt flustered.  "I mean, well, I didn't 
mean to make it sound like that."  He threw his hands down into his 
lap in frustration, then stood up and walked to the edge of the 
boat, leaning over and looking out over the rapidly darkening sea.  
Overhead, the stars were coming in one by one, and the arc of the 
Ring of Pendor filled the sky from dark horizon to dark horizon.  
It glowed faintly in reflected light like the Moon he was familiar 
with.  He looked around but didn't find Pindam.  Finally he found 
words.  "Look, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all, but I don't 
know."

    "I don't understand," Skii said.  "Was that too quick?  Too 
direct?"

    "No, no, nothing like that.  Look, on Pendor, your species is 
common, right?"

    "Yeah," Skii said.  "So?"

    "On Terra, Katckin is not a common species.  Not even three 
hundred years after our... 'manufacture.'"  Garth nearly spat the 
last word out.  "People always want to sleep with me, just because 
it'll be something different."

    Skii laughed softly.  And then he laughed again, louder.

    "What?"

    "I use that all the time!"

    "Use what?"

    "That 'being different' bit.  One of the places near Shardik 
Castle is a touristy little village.  People live there because it 
amuses them to deal with Terrans and other offworlders, you know, 
tourists.  It's a 'trap,' as people call it.  I go to the hotel 
there sometimes to pick up Terrans and seduce them."

    "Did you think it would work on me?"

    "To be honest, I didn't know.  Nickolai is very discerning; he 
sees through things sometimes when other's don't.  He caught on 
very quickly."

    "He's also not into males."

    "Well, that too," Skii said.  "Although he said he might be 
willing to try with me.  Anyway, I figured a roommate of his is 
either completely dense or as crack as he is.  Somehow you fall in 
between somewhere.  You're an okay guy, Garth."

    "Thanks," the Katckin smiled.  "But I'm not like you, Skii.  I 
sorta resent the fact that people just want me for my body."

    "It's going to happen to everyone sometime, you know.  Someone 
is going to want you for your body."

    "Yeah, well, it's really rough on the Terran Genenned."

    "'Jenenned?'  That's a terran word covering Katckins and 
Neorats?"

    "Yeah.  It means Genetically Engineered.  Gen-En'd.  They 
either hate us or want us, and usually it's a mix of the two."

    Garth felt Skii's hand touch his shoulder.  "Hey, things are 
different on Pendor."

    "But they're not!" Garth said, turning around.  "Or, maybe 
they're too different.  Look at you, Skii.  You're everything I 
could ever hope to be."

    Skii put his hand over Garth's muzzle, then closed the distance 
and kissed Garth's cheek softly.  "So?"

    Garth shivered slightly.  "I have had only two Katckin lovers, 
Skii, and they were both female.  I really lean that way most of 
the time," he said, his voice breathless.

    "And tonight?"  Skii slowly slid his hand down Garth's furred 
chest.

    "I... I don't know."  Garth steadied himself holding the jib 
cable.   "I would... I do want to.  I just..."

    "I'll stop if you ask me to.  It'll be that simple.  I won't 
stop liking you.  Tell me now, Garth."

    "You stuck your tongue out, Skii, when you were talking about 
Greek plays.  Did you ever watch any?"

    Caught off-guard by the question, Skii took a second to form an 
answer.  "A few.  Why?"

    "Imagine a twisted Narcissus making love to his perfect image.  
Would he be happy afterwards?"

    Skii stopped his hand's slow descent.  He looked at Garth and 
Garth felt the stare hit him like warm water.  "Listen," Skii said.  
"You are not Narcissus, you are not twisted, and I am not perfect."

    "You're closer to perfect then I'll ever be," Garth said.  
"Maybe I should walk the Hall with the morphing turned on."

    Skii blinked, looked down at Garth, and began laughing again, 
only this time the laughter was full-strength and unrestrained.  
"Oh, Garth, do you know what would happen?"

    "What?"

    "You'd either come out as a Tindal, a 'Taur, or as yourself!"

    "What?"

    "Seriously!" Skii said.  "You would!  People who go through the 
Hall with body image problems always get a species that will give 
them the same headaches.  It's part of the process."

    "What process?"

    "Learning to live with yourself."  Skii sighed for a moment.  
"Look at me.  I'm not perfect, but I've learned to live with it.  
I'm just this Katckin.  I get furknots and a kinked tail and 
earburrs just like everyone else."

    Garth nodded abashedly.  "It's so hard."

    "Look," Skii said.  "All I said was that I wanted you.  Can you 
give me a 'yes,' 'no,' or 'wait' answer?"

    "You were getting pretty convincing there," Garth said.

    "I was?" Skii replied.  "When?"

    "Guess," Garth whispered.

    Skii smiled, and Garth could see that he was suddenly as much a 
part of the game as Skii was.  Skii reached out a hand and touched 
Garth's chest.  "Was it here?"

    "Not quite there."  Garth's heart beat faster.  He did want 
this, but his anxiety was beating a loud drum behind his chest.

    Skii's hand slid down further.  "Then it was here," he asked.

    "Actually, that's less convincing."

    Skii looked puzzled, and then comprehension dawned in his eyes.  
Garth knew he had it figured out, and steeled himself for the 
anticipated moment.  "Then..."  Ski leaned over and kissed Garth's 
cheek.  "It was here."

    Garth didn't speak.  Skii moved a little further down Garth's 
muzzle and kissed him just at the juncture of his jaw.  "And if I 
do this, am I more convincing?"

    "Mmm-hmm," Garth whimpered softly.  Skii's hands caressed his 
chestfur, stroking against the grain and making him shiver.  He 
turned his head slightly and kissed Skii's mouth back.

    Skii parted his muzzle slightly and his tongue reached out to 
stroke Garth's lips.  Garth did the same thing, tasting Skii's 
tongue for the first time with his.  Skii's breath was warm and 
sweet in his feline-sensitive nostrils, and he found himself 
getting turned on by the  proximity and closeness he felt with the 
Felinzi.

    "It's warm out," Skii breathed.

    "Didn't you say it was going to rain?"

    "Later," Skii replied.  "Right now I think we should grab a 
blanket and not bother Kiza."

    "Good idea," Garth agreed.  "You know where everything is."

    "I even know where I've got oil."

    "Uh..."

    "You don't like fucking?"

    "I... I just don't know if I could take it."

    Skii touched his cheek softly.  "Then you can do me.  I can."

    Garth chuckled.  "Go get the stuff."

    Skii returned with a small pouch and a heavy sleeping quilt.  
Between the bows of each of the outer hulls and the center hull on 
the Succubus someone had strung netting.  Each side had a different 
quality of netting, however; on the starboard side, it was thick 
rope with twenty to thirty centimeters of space on a side of the 
holes; on the port side, it was fine mesh, rather like a tight 
hammock.  Skii threw the blanket over that one.

    The night held a surprising amount of heat and Garth found 
himself willingly shedding his clothes as Skii did the same thing.  
Garth crawled onto the blanket, feeling a little frightened, 
really, by the sounds of the water lapping so close to him, even if 
he was at least a meter and half up from it.  Skii joined him, 
crawling over the blanket.

    They sat, looking at each other.  Then they smiled, 
simultaneously, and fell upon each other, kissing wildly.  Garth's 
tongue explored Skii's mouth, tasting his tongue and breath.  They 
rolled over, Garth coming out on top, licking Skii's nose 
playfully.  "You're so..."

    "Don't say perfect," Skii interrupted quickly.

    "No," Garth said, shaking his head. , "Just right."  He leaned 
down and kissed Skii's muzzle.  They rolled again, pressing furry 
body to furry body.  "I... I've never done this with a furred 
male."

    "I've never done this with a Katckin.  We're even, okay?"  Skii 
smiled and pressed in, kissing Garth's throat.   "You smell good."

    Garth didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say 
anything; he just moaned instead.  Skii kissed his way down Garth's 
body, finding all the little ticklish spots that made Garth moan 
and squirm even more.  Skii's muzzle kissed the inside of his 
thigh, the tip of his nose drawing slowly across his scrotum.  
Garth's legs trembled with anticipation, but Skii just switched 
sides and kissed his other thigh.

    Garth parted his legs further, and he heard Skii laugh aloud a 
little.  "Don't be so anxious," Skii said.  "You'll get what you 
want."  Skii kissed his balls directly, his tongue caressing the 
light smattering of fur that covered the scrotum, his jaws open 
slightly and the warm breath passing over the balls and up between 
Garth's thighs.

    Garth's cock was fully erect, poking out of its prepuce and 
lying firm against his belly.  Skii's mouth kissed it at the base, 
then, one hand on each thigh for support, Skii rose and ran his 
tongue the length of his cock.  Garth whimpered.  Skii slowly 
tilted his head, picking up the tip of Garth's cock with his 
muzzle, easing down until he took all of it into his mouth and down 
his throat. 

    His head swimming, Garth's hands clutched at the comforter 
covering to their bed.  He tried to control his hips; he wanted to 
thrust into the warmth and wetness that surrounded him.  "Skii..."

    Skii, his mouth full, didn't have room to talk, and instead 
slid down Garth's solid shaft, taking the head into the back of his 
throat and massaging the length of it with his tongue.  Garth 
gasped.

    Inside, Garth felt surrounded.  That was the only word he could 
think for it.  He couldn't believe that a Pendorian, even a male 
who called Shardik "Gran," was going down on him; was that close 
that he could reach out and touch him.  He wasn't even on Pendor at 
the moment, but at the even more remote world of Pandora, where few 
people lived and  even fewer Terrans ever ventured.  As he lay 
there, looking down the length of his body and seeing Skii's head 
bobbing up and down, feeling the warmth of his mouth around his 
cock, he felt oddly... protected.

    And excited.  As Skii's mouth pressed down and swallowed his 
cock, he realized that he was already close to orgasm.  He found 
the texture of the rope underneath the cloth and pushed against it, 
pulling his cock out of Skii's mouth.  Skii looked up, curious, but 
Garth just smiled at him.  "Now bear with me," he said.  "I haven't 
done this in over a year."  He slid between Skii's legs and found 
his cock.  Although it was soft, he took it into a mouth and sucked 
down on it, feeling the pliable flesh on his tongue.  It tasted 
warm and soft, but he could feel the blood pulsing within it, and 
as he played with it, running his tongue over it, he felt it grow 
and become hard.  His motion changed from playing with just his 
tongue until he began stroking it directly, bobbing his head along 
the length and feeling the head reach until he almost felt like 
gagging.

    Although he preferred females, he knew he liked Skii and he 
could perform well with males, and he did his best.  Skii moaned 
and said "You're doing just fine."

    "Thanks," Garth said, gasping for air and fighting to control 
his stomach.  A few times his enthusiasm had led him to push down a 
little too far and Skii's cock hit the back of his throat, choking 
him slightly.

    As he lowered his head again, Skii stopped him.  "Wait.  Come 
here."  He reached under Garth's arm and pulled him up until they 
were lying side by side.  "You're trying too hard," he said, 
kissing Garth's cheek.  "I just want to get sexy with you, Garth.  
You don't have to prove anything."

    "I'm not!  I like going down on you, Skii."

    Skii laughed.  "Thanks.  But it feels like you're trying too 
hard anyway."

    "Maybe a little.  Sorry I'm so inexperienced."

    "Don't worry about it.  Everybody's inexperienced once in their 
lives.  At something."  He chuckled slightly.

    Garth could feel Skii's warm body pressed against his own.  He 
sighed.  "I know."  His own erection lay against his belly and he 
felt a 
hand grope for it, then find it.  

    "I see you're still hard."

    "Still horny, you mean," Garth said, nuzzling his newfound 
friend's throat with his muzzle.

    "Fuck me with it," Skii said plainly.  

    Skii was smiling, but the request was so calm and direct it 
took Garth off-balance for a moment.  "What?"

    "Fuck me, Garth," Skii said, this time teasing him a little 
with his voice.  "Come on."  He rolled over onto his stomach and 
jutted his ass slightly into the air.  "Come on."

    Garth laughed.  "Okay... where's that oil you said you had?"

    "In the bag over there."  Garth looked and found the bottle 
Skii had mentioned.  He sniffed at it, and it smelled of olive oil.  
He tipped the bottle over above his cock, coating it in a thick, 
greasy layer, then looked down at Skii's waiting ass.  Pulling 
Skii's tail up and out of the way, he dripped oil down into the 
crack and smoothed it in with his fingers.  "Ready?"

    "I've been ready for years," Skii said breathlessly.  "Do it."

    Garth straddled Skii's thighs and, aiming downwards with one 
hand, pressed in.  Skii whimpered slightly as Garth's cockhead 
found the hole and he pressed downwards.  Garth felt his cock slip 
past the tightened sphincter and into the depths of Skii's ass.  
"Wow..."

    "What?" Skii moaned.

    "Just... feels good.  Hot; you're so hot inside."

    "Glad you like it."

    Garth held still for a minute, then began withdrawing.  He 
looked down between them; in the light of the overhead ring and the 
stars he could see his cock as a dull shadow between the curve of 
Skii's cheeks.   He slid back in slowly, and Skii sighed, rubbing 
his head against the blanket in a perverse imitation of feline 
pleasure.  Garth took that as a hint and began a slow, gently 
rocking of his hips, his cock sliding in and out of Skii's ass with 
each motion.

    "Ohhhhh...." Skii moaned.  "That feels so good..."

    "It does," Garth agreed.  "Harder?"

    "No, that's fine," Skii whispered.  "Just keep it like that."

    "For how long?"

    "How long can you last?"  Skii turned his head to look at 
Garth.

    Garth laughed.  "We'll find out."  He continued fucking Skii's 
wonderfully tight and experienced asshole, feeling the head of his 
cock slide past the sphincters and then deep into his body, feeling 
the heat and the soft lining of Skii's rectum stroking his cock.  
He closed his eyes and just pushed, feeling his hips brush against 
Skii's boyish buttocks on every downstroke.  

    "Mmmm..." Skii moaned.  "Wonderful."  

    Garth opened his eyes.  "I'm going to come soon."

    "I know," Skii replied.  "Please... do..." 

    Garth nodded, stroking at the same rate as always, slowly 
fucking Skii, feeling his body tighten.  His balls rose in their 
sac, tightening against his body as his climax grew, and suddenly 
with a soft shudder and moan he came.  

    He pressed his hips against Skii's butt, his cock buried deep 
into the young Felinzi.  He leaned down and kissed the back of 
Skii's neck.  "How was that?"

    "Wonderful," Skii moaned, turning over.  Garth slipped out and 
collapsed to the blanket.  Skii pulled him close.  "Thank you."

    "You're welcome," Garth replied.  "You won't be upset with me 
if I tell you I'd rather convince Kiza next time, would you?"

    "Ouch," Skii laughed.  "No, I understand.  You're not upset by 
my seduction, are you?"

    Garth shook his head.  "I let it happen."  Garth felt a sudden 
splash of impact against the fur of his thigh and looked down.  
Another struck his shoulder.  "It's starting to rain.  Let's get 
inside."

    Skii nodded, and the two of them collected the detrius of their 
lovemaking and hauled it into the cabin.  "Share with me?" Skii 
whispered.

    "Gladly," Garth agreed.  They took the port bunk together as 
the rain came down.

--
"Journal Entry 143 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 4 ]"
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
are copyright (C) 1989-1995 Elf Mathieu Sternberg.  Redistribution of
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--
Elf Sternberg            FUCK THE CDA!       (Cohen vs. California, 1971)
elf@halcyon.com          Nos numerus sumus et fruges consumere nati.
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