From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)
Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.furry
Subject: Journal Entry 153 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 8 ]
Date: 17 May 1996 13:39:40 GMT
Organization: Pendor, UnLtd.
Lines: 982
Message-ID: <4nhvis$b49@news1.halcyon.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com

Elenya, Cerim 6, 0918

    Garth awoke slowly to light filtering in through the thin 
material of his tent.  The sounds of birds accompanied the morning 
insects in a light if chaotic sort of sonata.  He rolled over, 
taking care not to disturb... who was it today?  Kiza.  She moved, 
very slightly, as he eased himself out of his sleeping sack and 
crawled out into the morning air.

    Looking across the small, rocky clearing he saw that Skii's 
tent was still closed and it's occupant still enclosed.  He felt 
the urgent need of his bladder and stepped down the slope a couple 
of meters off the trail and relieved himself.  Then, walking back 
to collect his boots, he stopped to look around.

    From where he stood two geological features were most apparent.  
The first was Marbletop Ridge, a low hill, projecting at most 
twenty meters above sea level, that ran the shore of the Vinyare' 
Sea for as long as his eyes could make out features.  The other was 
the Rocchodain Mountain Ridge, the geologically young and dramatic 
collection of mountains that, less then thirty kilometers from 
Marbletop, ran the same path from Pendor North to Pendor South.  
Garth had learned early on that Pendorians thought of North and 
South in terms of their sun because on a ringworld, especially one 
so electromagnetically maintained as Pendor was, such "magnetic" 
terms were pointless.  

    Garth had been shocked to learn that Pendor was not 
"geologically stable."  But his reading on the spaceflight had said 
as much; while Pendor did not possess "lava" in its understructure, 
the ferrofluidic (it really used suspended neodymuim crystals, but 
the "iron" technical term for a magnetically susceptible fluid 
stuck, much like the phrase "surgical steel" is used for substances 
which are these days primarily ceramic) 'base' of Pendor, which 
among other things provided large-scale climate control, also 
provided a constant, geological 'ebb and flow' to the surface of 
Pendor, in some places causes land masses to shift as much as a 
centimeter a year!  The book he had been reading explained that the 
measure was necessary to prevent Pendor from becoming "a flat land 
of eroded sand" during it's many millions of years of evolutionary 
control.

    But as he looked out over the beautiful, mist-shrouded valley, 
even as the mist broke up under the hammer of summer sunlight 
overhead, he appreciated this massive construction effort for what 
it was... an effort to keep mountains young and beautiful.  Old 
mountains had their place in a world, but once he knew what they 
were, they even looked worn and old.  Spectacular constructions 
like the American Rockies, which were relatively young, held his 
attention.

    A birdcry made him jerk his head around, and he saw what was 
either an eagle or a falcon carrying some small rodent in its beak.  
He smiled, wondering if a Neorat would feel any empathy.  As a 
Katckin, he was pleased to be able to say that he had no prejudice 
against Neorats, no matter what the popular literature might imply 
on the subject.

    "Good morning!"  Skii's voice interrupted him, and he turned 
and smiled at the naked Felinzi.  Skii was completely shameless, 
more then anyone else he had ever met.  While at times Skii's 
antics had made his whiskers droop, at other times, he admitted, it 
made his erection rise.  He had never been serious about playing 
with males before; the last two times had really been moments of 
convenience, not attraction, and while he still found himself much 
more attracted to Kiza (or any female, for that matter), repeated 
contact with Skii's gleeful mannerisms and skilled sexuality had 
made him appreciate males more then ever before.  

    "Good morning!" he replied in kind.  "You sound alive this 
morning!"

    "Oh, I am!  I am!"  Skii scratched at his chest and then, 
almost unconsciously, at his crotch.  "It's a beautiful day out, 
not a cloud in the sky.  We should be home by eleven or so.  What 
do you think?  A good time to get home?"

    "Fine with me."

    "Well, let's wake Kiza up and get rolling," Skii said.

    "I'm awake!  Don't you dare do anything, you two!"

    Skii laughed.  "Well, I guess that takes care of that little 
problem.  In any event, we really should get moving.  So come on, 
Kiza, get out and take your leak and eat your breakfast bar.  
There's a lot of mountain and fifteen klick of road ahead of you 
today."

    "I'm coming, I'm coming."  Kiza crawled out of her tent and 
blinked into the summer sunlight.  "It's bright."

    "It's summer.  You said so yourself just a week ago, and every 
day since," Skii pointed out.  "If you want winter, well, there are 
other sections of the ring you can travel to where the insulation 
is much thinner."

    Kiza shook her head.  "That's okay.  I keep forgetting that PST 
is aligned not only with GMT but also with Terra's Northern 
Hemisphere in terms of seasonal climate."

    "Used to be," Skii pointed out.  "We lose a second or two every 
year.  It's finally caught up with us.  We're almost half an hour 
behind."

    Garth nodded, then shrugged.  "Makes no difference.  Has 
Shardik thought about altering the rotational speed of the ring to 
make up the difference?"

    "Are you nuts?" Skii asked.  "Well, I imagine he's thought 
about it.  But think about the sheer number of pendular and other 
mechanisms that would be altered by even a minuscule change.  No, 
Pendor's rotational speed has not altered by one hundred thousandth 
in over six million years.  And there's a reason for that."

    Garth nodded.  "I kinda figured."

    "Now, altering Terra's speed, that's different."

    "What?"

    "Just kidding."  Skii laughed as Kiza returned from wherever 
she had disappeared to.  Together the three of them picked up their 
tents and supplies and packed them away.  "This way!" the Felinzi 
shouted, and  down the mountainside he went in leaps and bounds. 

    "Idiot," Kiza said.  "He'll burn up kilocalories doing that, 
and if he hurts himself the Shatha will probably kill him trying to 
put him back together again."  She took a bite of the fourth highly 
dense breakfast bar she had dug into that morning.  Garth was 
starting to appreciate just how much food it took to keep a 
Pendorian "running."  Most of the ones who led any sort of active 
life seemed to eat almost constantly, or at least voraciously when 
they had an opportunity.  It seemed to be a major, or at least 
significant, drawback.

    But the lovely day drew his attention back and he wished, idly, 
that he could whistle as humans did as he walked down the 
meandering but always-headed-downwards path that eventually 
bottomed out in a small gutter, on the other side of which was the 
Spinward March.  To his left would be Rocchodain, and on his right, 
Shardik Castle.  He knew that this range and the accompanying 
primordial forests were not the oldest in Pendor, but that didn't 
matter.  Nothing on Terra conveyed the sense of antiquity and 
isolation that this narrow ribbon of green of stone managed to say.  

    Skii leaned over and whispered in Garth's ear, "They say that 
sometimes Pardalets come down from the southern part of the 
mountain range, especially when they learn to enjoy the taste of 
sentient flesh."

    "Wha... What's a Pardalet?"

    "It's a small feline.  They don't get much bigger then around 
15 kilograms.  But they hunt in packs of six or more, and like the 
Pamthreats, they make telepathic hunting gestalts."  He grinned, 
then hit Garth on the arm playfully.  "I'm just giving you a hard 
time, Garth.  There's been only one Pardalet attack on a sentient 
in all of recorded history."

    Garth nodded, swallowing his fear.  "But that means that they 
have attacked.  And there's always room for a second occasion."

    Skii shrugged and laughed.  "You're paranoid.  Don't worry 
about it.  They attacked a child."

    Much to Skii's amusement, Garth spend most of the day scanning 
the treeline, fearful of an attack.  Just as the trees parted and 
the rising wall of the eastern face of Marbleridge came into view, 
Skii said "You know, there's a better chance of a wolfpack 
attacking a walker along this part of the march then there is of 
pardalets."  He laughed.  "We get wolf reports about once a year."

    "And you didn't warn me?"

    "Come on.  Once a year is nothing.  Nobody ever actually gets 
killed by those things.  Usually the wolves have just had the bad 
sense to set up a pack's perimeter within reach of the road, and 
the sentients and the wolves get to alpha each other around."  He 
laughed as if enjoying the idea.

    They walked through the long, dark tunnel that led into the 
Lagoon area of Shardik Castle.  Garth recognized the two people 
lying on the sand under the shade of one of the peculiar blue palm 
trees that lined the southernmost wall of the lagoon crater.  
"Furry!  Kolya!"

    "Garth!"  They both jumped up and ran towards him, their arms 
wide.  Both of them were smiling.  "It's so good to see you!" 
Nickolai said, hugging his old friend as they collided.  

    Garth stepped back and examined Nickolai.  "You got sunburned."

    Nickolai shrugged.  "It happens when you walk all day in the 
sun."

    "Guess you should have worn some sunscreen," Garth laughed.  
"You look red.  Let's get you into the shade.  I don't want to make 
your burn any worse."

    They retired indoors to the third floor of the Castle, a small 
common room that lined the western wall and faced out over the 
ocean.  Nickolai recounted his tale of his trip through the Hall 
and Garth caught Nickolai up on his adventures with Kiza and Skii.  
"More like misadventures."

    "Something wrong?" Nickolai said.

    "Ehhh."  Garth waved his hand flat before him.  "It's not like 
I'm not enjoying myself.  It's just that both of them are, well... 
It's hard to say.  Pushy, I guess."

    "I could have told you that about Kiza," Furry admitted.  "She 
gets like that when she thinks she's got something.  And Skii is 
just competition."

    "He's worse in some ways.  He knows he's not going to have me 
around for long, so he's trying to get in as much as he can.  It's 
not such a bad thing.  Kinda fun, really.  Just wish it didn't all 
feel so hectic."  Garth sighed.  "I guess that's the biggest thing.  
I mean, come on, Nickolai, I used to whack off to things like this 
back when we were in Redbridge.  Now it's real and I'm getting 
burned out."

    Furry reached over and pulled Garth towards her.  He startled, 
surprised, then allowed her to hug him tightly.  He laughed softly 
as he wrapped his arms around hers.  "You know, that's the really 
surprising part."

    "What is?" Furry asked as she let him go.

    "You two.  I've actually missed you two.  I... Kiza and Skii 
are just company, you know, just 'fun.'  Nickolai's been my 
roommate for almost two years now and he's sorta like family.  And 
he's talked about you so much I think that you're part of the 
family too."

    Furry nodded.  "Thanks."

    "So," Nickolai said quietly, "What are you gonna do?"

    "I don't know.  I mean, I don't want to get into the politics.  
It makes sense for me to walk the Hall, Nickolai, it really does.  
But I just don't know."

    "Why does it make sense, though?"

    "Because it does.  I mean, look at this place.  As much as I 
hate to admit it, this is the center of the universe as far as we 
know.  We don't have a thing that matches up to the power of 
Pendor.  It's time we realized that evolution points us in this 
direction."

    Furry shook her head.  "I don't agree.  I think Pendor's 
solution is one direction for evolution.  But at this point to say 
it's the direction is foolish."  She sat back in her chair.  
"Listen.  I'm an archeologist and my specialty is end-time 
cultures.  Well, that's what I'm studying at any rate.  But to 
classify a cultural period as 'end-time' is a bit unfair because 
the culture doesn't just vanish usually; it breaks up into lots of 
smaller cultures that don't fall back all the way to the state the 
original one was in when it started."  She stopped to collect her 
thoughts.  "All I'm saying is, Terra fell apart about six centuries 
ago.  You know it and I know it.  We live so long, though, that 
it's taken us this long to figure it out.  Pendor's just one of the 
many lines that, culturally, Terra took on it's long, slow rise out 
of the gravity well."

    "So..."  Garth said, looking puzzled.  "What are the others?"

    "Who knows?  Pendor is steeped in rationalism.  There are 
planets obsessed now with monoculturalism.  Take a look at the 
'Empire' with its blatant racism.  You and I think it's funny, but 
really it isn't.  That stupid argument about food imports a few 
years back is a great example; when they had a famine we offered 
them grain support but they refused it.  Because, they said, their 
stomachs were different and wouldn't accept our food.  And all for 
their pride they let their population starve."  Furry shook her 
head.  "Of course, they could care less about most of their 
population."

    Garth knitted his eyebrows together, his whiskers twitching.  
"I don't scan.  What does this mean to me?  Should I walk the Hall 
or not?"

    "That's still up to you," Furry said, putting her hands in the 
air.

    "I guess it comes down to, would it be the best thing for you 
to do," Nickolai added.  "Think about it, Garth.  What are the 
benefits and disadvantages?"

    Garth propped his head up in his hand, chin to palm.  "Hmm.  
We've been over this before.  About the only disadvantages I can 
think of are that I would need more to eat.  That and I'd lose a 
couple of days of vacation time."

    Nickolai laughed.  "You're always so practical, Garth.  Think 
about  it that way.  You were good to me two years ago.  I guess 
it's time you thought about what was good for yourself."

    Garth nodded.  "I'm trying not to add in all the little things 
about Kiza and Skii and Pendor in general that bother me.  From an 
external view, I can't see a reason not to."

    "Tell Ken," Nickolai said.  "He'll want to know.  You're his 
guest now."

    "And what are you?"

    Nickolai looked out the window.  In the reflection, Garth could 
see he was smiling.  "I'm family."

    "You're what?" 

    "I guess I'm family.  I... "  Nickolai sighed, looking abashed 
but still smiling.  "I'm accepted here.  And you know what?  It 
doesn't mean anything to me.  It makes me feel good to have a place 
to go to, but it's not really the important part.  What is 
important is that I have Furry."

    She turned and smiled at him as he said it.  "Thanks."

    "What?" he said.  "It's true.  I used to think, a long time 
ago, that I wanted you.  Then I realized Ken Shardik wanted to know 
me and I got all starry-eyed and... and it took me a long time to 
realize that doesn't matter nearly as much as you do.  I love you."

    She slid an arm around him and pulled him to her.  "I love you 
too.  And I'm glad you feel that way."  She turned to Garth and 
held out one hand, gesturing in a 'come hither' sort of way.   He 
rose and fell into her arms, and she hugged him tightly, holding 
him against her and Nickolai, and then she kissed his nose.  
"You're neat, Garth.  I won't tell you to never change, but when 
you do, try and retain your neatness."

    Surprised, he took a moment to find something to say.  Finally 
he settled on the familiar.  "Thanks, Furry."

    "You're welcome.  Now go tell Ken. You still need to tell him."

              -               -              -

    "You're serious about this?" Shardik asked him.

    He nodded.  "I thought about it for a long time, and I got 
Nickolai and Jofuran's advice.  I...  No offense to your household, 
Ken, but I don't think Skii's a great adviser for life-changing 
decisions."

    "No, he isn't," Ken agreed wryly, standing up and looking out 
the plate glass windows that formed the doors of his porch.  
Beyond, the curving surface of the Vinyare Sea glistened.  "You 
know," Ken said, "I used to worry that the Vinyare would be black 
and unfriendly.  From the center, everything in a ring gets 
reflected back upwards.  I keep forgetting about winds and waves."  
He turned around.  "You should do that, too, Garth.  Remember the 
winds and the waves."  He pointed out over the ocean.  "They make 
what could have been lifeless vibrant."  He shook his head.  
"Sorry, I get strangely philosophical."  He sat down in a wooden 
chair and crossed his legs.  "Garth, no matter which choice you 
make, you'll have to live with yourself and your decisions.  I 
can't make them for you.  I try not to make them for anyone."

    Garth nodded.  "I'm going to do it."

    "Morphing off."  It was not a question.

    "Yes, sir.  Morphing off."

    "Dave, run Garth through the usual options.  See to it that 
he's fully prepared for tomorrow."

    "Of course," the AI replied calmly.

              -               -              -

    "So the decision is done," Nickolai observed calmly, taking a 
bite of salad with his fork and chewing thoughtfully.  With his 
mouth full he said a muffled "Congratulations."

    "Don't congratulate me before its done," Garth said.  "I might 
back out."

    "You won't," Furry replied softly.  "I have faith in you."

    "That sounds weird, coming from you.  'I have faith.'"

    "What?" Furry said.  "It's true.  I don't have religion.  
'Faith' may be a religious word, but it's also a personal one.  I 
have faith in you as a person, Garth."

    Garth understood what she meant, but still felt slightly 
uneasy.  He looked around the Castle rooftop at the assembled 
diners for the evening meal.  He had learned the names of most of 
them in the past couple of days and felt more at ease with the 
denizens of Shardik Castle.  He wondered if that was a permanent 
thing.

    "Furry?"  Kiza's voice pulled his eyes up until he was looking 
at her.  She was looking down at Furry however.  

    "Yeah?"

    "Could I... could I talk to you?"  Kiza's voice halted and 
started, sounding more than a little fitful.

    Furry smiled and said "Sure.  Be right back, you guys."  She 
stood up and the two of them walked away, disappearing behind some 
of the smaller trees that occupied the eastern face of the rooftop 
garden.

    "What do you suppose that's all about?" Garth asked.

    "Furry mentioned earlier that she felt bad about the way she 
and Kiza broke up.  It bothers me too."  Nickolai put his plate 
aside and leaned back against a large rock.  Garth thought he 
looked oddly peaceful.  He felt at ease himself, despite his own 
big adventure tomorrow.  "I mean, on the one hand I do understand 
that they agreed a long time ago that this was a temporary 
arrangement.  On the other, I don't like the idea of leaving anyone 
in a lurch."

    Garth nodded.  "I haven't been very good for her.  I'm going 
home soon too."

    "We all are, in our own ways.  Or, we're already there.  In any 
case, Kiza feels like she's being left behind."

    "How do you feel about her?"

    "About Kiza?" Nickolai asked.  "Good question.  I've never been 
jealous of her, and I'm proud of that fact.  I believed Jofuran 
when she told me where her loyalties lay.  God, I hate wording it 
that way.  There's got to be a better way to describe this."

    "Try," Garth urged.

    "She's... Well, Kiza's a little less mature than Furry, a 
little impetuous.  She's very pretty, but I've already got my 
interests firmly assigned to Furry."  He laughed.  "Aside from 
that, I don't know.  I'd like to know her as a friend.  She's 
Furry's friend, at any rate."

    "They're coming back," Garth said, noticing the two fems 
walking down the stone path.

    Furry spoke first.  "Listen, Garth, tomorrow you're going to be 
walking the Great Hall, and almost as soon as you come back you're 
leaving for Terra again.  Kiza and I are, well, I guess we're 
friends again, although I don't see why we ever thought otherwise."

    "It's called jealousy and it happens to the best of us," Kiza 
said.

    "I guess," Furry shrugged.  "Anyway, I guess I want to ask you, 
both of you, if you wanted to spend the night together.  All four 
of us, just sorta being friendly and getting along."

    "And making love?" Nickolai asked.

    "That could happen," Furry admitted, smiling and kissing 
Nickolai softly.  "If you want it to."

    "I want," Nickolai replied.  "Garth?"

    Garth glanced at Kiza, then at Furry, then at Nickolai.  "I... 
Sure, I guess."

    "Then it's settled," Furry said.  "Before we retire for the 
night, though, there's a game going on down at the sand.  Ken and 
someone named Kori put it together.  It's called Ultimate, and I 
have no idea what it's about.  It's apparently the big thing 
tonight."

    "Sounds good," Nickolai agreed, standing up and brushing off 
his pants.  "You two coming?"

    "In a minute," Garth said.  "Kiza, could you stay behind for a 
moment?"

    She nodded, smiling.  When Furry and Nickolai had departed, 
Kiza sighed.  "Whew.  Feel like I'm playing musical chairs."

    "What's that?"

    "Children's game," Kiza said.  "You run around a circle of 
chairs, one for every person, and while music plays the referee 
removes one chair.  When the music stops, everyone rushes to sit 
down.  The one without a chair is eliminated, until there's only 
one person left."

    "Oh," Garth said.  "Who's been eliminated from this round?"

    "I think Skii," Kiza said.

    "Huh?"

    "He said earlier that he didn't feel comfortable.  He 
appreciated that you were really not interested in boys all that 
much."

    "What?" Garth said.  "Damn, I was starting to like him."

    "You were?"

    "Yes!" Garth insisted.  "I mean, it took me a while to get 
comfortable, but I really did like him.  I was really starting to 
enjoy being with him, even sleeping with him."

    "You should tell him that.  He thought you were turning away 
from him."

    Garth swore under his breath.  "I will.  Anyway, Kiza... Do you 
really want to do this tonight."

    She nodded, her head bobbing rapidly.  "Why?"

    "I... I wondered if you were maybe using this as a chance to 
get at Furry one last time.  I feel a little useless here, like a 
fifth wheel or something."

    "You know, Garth, I felt the same way."  Garth waited for an 
explanation, and so she continued.  "There's something about the 
way you and Nickolai just sorta walked into this together that, to 
me at least, makes it very obvious that both Nickolai and Furry 
like you a lot, and I was feeling left out.  I'm glad Furry asked 
me first.  It made me feel better.  I feel thought about."

    "Wow," Garth admitted.

    "They took you into their counsel before they did me," Kiza 
pointed out.

    "They were giving me advice, not the other way around."

    "Still," Kiza said.  "It did feel a little strange."

    "Come on," Garth said, smiling.  "Let's go to that game."

    Kiza nodded.  Garth stood, then helped Kiza to stand up as 
well.  As they walked, Garth said, "Kiza... I'm walking the Hall 
tomorrow.  I know you know that already, but I wanted to let you 
know that I really care for you and I'm glad you've been my friend 
for the past couple of days."

    "My pleasure, Garth."

    Ultimate, Garth was to learn, was a Terran-invented game 
similar to basketball or soccer, involving a glowing white disc and 
glowing team shirts of two different colors so that they could tell 
each other apart in the almost-dark.  It was an ideal game for 
sandy environments like the beach where the average ball would have 
neither bounced nor rolled anywhere.

    Watching it played by Pendorians was something more dramatic 
than he anticipated.  From the dodging of Mustelids and Markals to 
the dramatic running of Centaurs trying not to crush their friends, 
the game's tide turned and turned again with frantic throws and the 
occasional need for someone to jump into the ocean and recover the 
disc.  The rules were few and easily explained, and after watching 
only a few minutes he found himself joining Nickolai and the two 
fems in the middle  of what could only be described as a friendly 
brawl.  Everyone was mindful of him, being the only Terran and 
therefore regarded as somewhat more fragile then the rest of the 
combatants.

    Still, he was more than a little frightened when Karin, the 
six-legged feline beast who had frightened him earlier on the trip, 
leapt over his head to snap the disc in her jaws and then toss it 
easily to a teammate of hers.  More than once he found himself in 
the direct path of a hurtling Centaur or Ssphynx, or bowled over 
accidentally by an Uncia.  By the time the game was called over, 
Garth felt that he had collected enough bruises to last himself an 
entire lifetime.  He mentioned that to Ken.

    Ken laughed.  "Then count yourself lucky that a new one starts 
tomorrow, Garth.  Although in your case we don't have to consider 
that the old one ends tonight."  Placing his hand on Garth's 
shoulder he said, "You're a good person, Garth.  You have your 
place in the world."

    "I hope so," Garth admitted.

    "I know so," Ken agreed.  "Come on, let's head in.  I need a 
shower and then some sleep."

    A few of the people nearby groaned their agreements, and 
everyone filtered through the great crack in to rock back towards 
the lagoon and Shardik Castle.  In threes and fours they jumped 
into the water of the lagoon, taking the submerged SDisk back to 
Shardik Castle.

    Garth found the water invigorating, and swam in the lagoon 
casually for a few minutes before heading indoors.  He wasn't alone 
in this, either.  He felt frustrated that he hadn't seen Skii all 
night.

    After SDisking into Shardik Castle, he walked down the hallway 
to Nickolai and Jofuran's room.  Feeling a little apprehensive, he 
checked his appearance in one of the reflective surfaces of the 
dining hall before stepping up to their door.  It opened.

    "Hi!"  The voice was Skii's.  He waved from the chair where he 
sat.   Across from him Nickolai, Furry and Kiza were all cuddled 
closely on the 
couch.  Skii bounced up and hugged him tightly.  "I'm glad you told 
Kiza what you did.  I was feeling a little hurt."

    "You did bother me a little with that tale of the pardalet."

    "Sorry," Skii said.  "I was just having a little fun.  I didn't 
mean to be cruel about it."

    "It's forgotten," Garth agreed, holding his arms out to pull 
Skii into a hug.  Skii fell in gratefully.

    "So," Nickolai said, "Who's in the mood for what?"

    "Is this officially an orgy?" Garth asked, laughing.

    "I don't think so," Kiza said.  "At any rate, I don't want to 
have an orgy.  I really want to just go to bed and cuddle."

    "Skii?"

    Skii yawned wide.  "Riao.  Just mentioning the word 'bed' makes 
me tired."

    Jofuran agreed.  The five of them made their way downstairs, 
where they took their turns at the bathroom.  Garth suddenly 
appreciated that the bed was more than big enough to hold all five 
of them.  He thought that three more human-sized figures could have 
probably slept alongside them; the bed was simply huge.  He also 
appreciated that Nickolai was the largest among the five of them 
and at 170cms he was only of average height for a human.

    Having had the privilege of using the bathroom first, he was 
also the first to get into that enormous bed.  Furry slid in beside 
him, her leg brushing his as she kicked her way under the covers.  
"Hi," she said, giggling.

    "Hi yourself."

    "Have you ever done anything like this before?"

    "Not in my wildest dreams," Garth admitted.  

    "Garth?" Furry said softly.  "I want to tell you something.  I 
have had one fantasy since hearing about you in Nickolai's letters.  
Well, one that didn't involve only Nickolai.  I want you to know 
that everyone is going to be wanting our attention.  Skii and Kiza 
will be wanting you and Nickolai and Kiza will be wanting me, and, 
well... I think it would be very... kinky... if this kittyKatckin 
made love to this mouse."

    Garth's mouth gaped, and Furry reached up and touched his lower 
jaw with one finger.  She slid forward to him, her chin raised.  
Still stunned, Garth barely knew how to react when the tip of her 
muzzle touched his.  He finally got enough thoughts in line to kiss 
her back, letting his tongue touch hers.  She whimpered softly, and 
he felt his confidence become stronger.

    He knew that any second now Nickolai was going to walk out the 
bathroom door and find him kissing Furry, and he hoped Furry and 
Nickolai had discussed this before hand.  As his hands touched 
Furry's soft stomach and brushed against the fur covering her small 
breasts, he felt the blood rushing in his groin and his erection 
extending from its sheath.  Furry's hands found it almost 
immediately, and the touch of her 
hands upon his cock made him suck in breath sharply.

    Furry's mouth explored the curve of his neck, her hot breath 
spreading and penetrating his thin coating of fur.  Her hand cupped 
his scrotum as she turned over onto her knees and leaned over to 
kiss the head of his erect penis.  Garth gasped.

    She turned her head to give him a mischievous half-smile, then 
slowly took his cock into her mouth.  At first she only held the 
tip in her muzzle, her tongue swirling about it until Garth 
squirmed and moaned in the intensity of pleasure before he finally 
groaned "Stop!"

    She didn't stop, however; instead, she took the rest of his 
cock into her mouth slowly, and he could feel as every millimeter 
slid past her teeth and was caressed by her tongue.  "Ohhh...."

    "That's the first time I've ever seen a mouse eat a cat."  
Nickolai's voice cut through his pleasure like a hot knife, and 
Garth turned to stare at his roommate.  But Nickolai was just 
standing there, naked, arms crossed and grinning widely.  "I said I 
wouldn't mind, Garth.  Enjoy as much as she gives you."

    "She's wonderful," Garth groaned in agreement.  Furry gave no 
sign of noticing the discussion, instead concentrating on Garth's 
cock, stroking it with her mouth.  Her hands caressed his balls 
with care, squeezing them just enough to heighten Garth's growing 
pleasure, and one finger reached between his buttocks and the base 
of his tail to caress his asshole.  Although it had hurt the first 
time, he had wanted to give back to Skii what Skii did for him, and 
the second time had been a surprise for him.  He had actually 
enjoyed it.  And Furry's finger was just the right stimuli to 
remind him of that delightful revelation.

    As he lay his head back against the pillow and allowed Furry 
her complete freedom, she raised one leg and slowly slid it over 
his head, coming down.  Garth opened his eyes to see her mons only 
centimeters from his muzzle.  Reaching up with both hands, he 
grasped her buttocks with his hands and slowly pulled her down, her 
cunny touching his muzzle as tentatively as her kiss had. 

    Cunnilingus was not among the things Garth counted himself as 
doing well, but he gave Furry the best he could, licking her 
muskiness and locating her clitoris.  Garth knew he had no sense of 
rhythm, no sense of timing, but he licked her as patiently and 
slowly as he could.  As it   was, her cocksucking was making it 
nearly impossible for him to concentrate. 

    She stopped.  "Garth?" she said, raising her head.  

    "Yeah?"

    She maneuvered away from their head-to-tail position and turned 
around, her hips above his.  She smiled down at him and said 
"Ready?"

    "Yes."  Slowly, she lowered herself onto his cock, and he could 
feel the lips of her cunt spread apart to permit him entry into 
her.  Her felt her opening grasp him and slide down the length of 
his cock, and what had gone past was surrounded in a warm, wet 
glove of flesh.  

    When they were together, hips to hips, she leaned over and 
whispered into his ear, "Turn me over, Garth.  Fuck me."

    Garth reached up for her shoulders, pulling her to him.  With a 
kick of his left foot, they turned over and he came out on top of 
her, between her legs.  "Like that?" he said, his voice low.

    "Like that," she agreed.  He held himself up by his lanky arms 
and began stroking into her cunny, feeling her body shudder with 
every downstroke.  He fucked her gently but continuously.  Her 
hands stroked her breasts, a sight that just turned him on more.  
Between them his red fur mingled with the grey between her thighs; 
he could feel her fur slipping along the length of his cock as they 
made love.

    Their bodies slapped against each other as he felt his powerful 
erection swell in anticipation.  He knew he couldn't hold off 
forever.  He wondered if he shouldn't come at all; what would Skii 
and Kiza expect of him?  What would Nickolai be expecting of 
Jofuran after this?  He decided it didn't matter; they would 
understand.  Furry began pushing her hips up against him with every 
push, her hands gripping his shoulders.  She began chanting, "Oh, 
oh, oh..." 

    He understood how she felt.  His own breathing was coming in 
gasps, his hips burning with the effort. 

    His orgasm surprised him; he was used to being able to gauge 
when it was going to happen, and this time it came out of nowhere 
with the force of an explosion.  One moment he was worrying about 
how long he could last, the next he was shouting out her name as 
his body exploded with pleasure.

    He shuddered and blinked, looking down at her.  She was smiling 
up at him, and then she languidly tossed her arms above her head 
and laughed.  Garth followed the line of her arms, and saw that in 
one hand she held Nickolai's hand.  "Well?" Nickolai asked.

    "I'll keep you," she said, then looked up at Garth.  "No 
offense, Garth."

    "None taken at all," Garth said, smiling.  A heartbeat pause, 
and then all three laughed softly.  "Thank you, Furry."

    "You're very welcome," she said.  

    "And thank you, Nickolai."

    "What can I say?" Nickolai said.  "It's hard to deny someone as 
wonderful as she is.  When she asked, do you think I could have 
said no?"

    "You could have," Furry said.  "I'm glad you didn't."

    "I am too," Nickolai said.

    Garth slowly slid himself out of her, the last sensations 
making him shiver intensely as he did.  "That was wonderful."

    "It certainly was something to watch," Skii said, his hand 
touching Garth's shoulder and wrapping around his chest.  "Enjoy 
yourself?"

    "Yeah," Garth said.  "I hope you don't expect anything of me 
after that."

    "Give it a while," Skii said.  "If you're really out of it for 
the night, well, I can be patient."

    "Since when?" Nickolai said, tousling Skii's headfur.  

    Skii looked up at Nickolai sharply, a look of realization on 
his face.  "Ohmifah..."

    "What?"

    "Nothing," Skii said quickly.  Too quickly, Garth thought.

    "Yeah, Skii, what is it?" Nickolai asked.

    "Nothing," Skii said, his voice tinting slightly into 
frustration.  "Really.  Maybe I'll tell you later."

    "Okay," Nickolai said.  "I'll keep it in mind, though."

    Skii caressed Garth's chest, touching the root of his cock 
sometimes.  Garth felt something poking him against the base of his 
tail.  "Hello."

    "What?"

    "You want to do something with this?" Garth asked, reaching 
around and grabbing Skii's erection with his hand.

    Skii shifted left slightly and looked at Garth.  "I thought you 
said you didn't like that."

    "I hadn't tried it.  For you, I guess I'll try."

    "Really?"  Skii sounded surprised, then delighted as he said, 
"Well, then," and pitched Garth forward onto his stomach.  Garth 
waited for what he knew was next, as Skii coated the shaft of his 
cock with something slippery and got into position above him.

              -               -              -

    He felt Skii's thighs against his as the Felinzi slowly lowered 
himself on top of him.  Garth reached back to touch Skii's thigh 
with his hand, waiting.  "Ready?" Skii asked.

    "Go gentle."

    "I will," Skii said, his cock slowly easing forward to touch 
Garth's asshole.  Garth took a deep breath and tried to relax as he 
felt Skii's cock pressing firmly against his hole.  He felt the 
muscles there tremble slightly, clenching and relaxing reflexively 
to the invasion that threatened to come.  Skii pressed more, and in 
one of the sudden relaxations the head of his cock slid past 
Garth's sphincter.  Garth felt it as a dull opening and then sucked 
in a deep breath as Skii penetrated deeply into him.

    "You okay?" Skii asked.

    "Yes," Garth said, nodding.  The experience was still new to 
him.  He felt surprised at how little embarrassment he felt at his 
submission to Skii's lust.  He was used, just by virtue of being 
male, at being in the initiative.  

    Skii kissed the back of his neck.  "Good."  He pulled out 
slowly, then pressed back in.  Garth moaned softly; it actually 
felt good.  He had been surprised at how gently Skii's cock had 
treated him, and slowly  he loosened up and felt himself 
acclimating to Skii's cock.  The thrusting of malehood behind him, 
pressing into him, caressing his prostate, made his head spin with 
pleasure.

    "Skii," he gasped.  "Faster."

    "Wait," Skii said, sliding out of Garth as he did so.  "Turn 
over.  I want to see you."

    Garth turned over, looking up at Skii's grinning muzzle.  Skii 
grasped him under the knees and pressed his knees up to his chest.  
Garth smiled up at Skii and took over, holding his own legs up and 
apart, giving Skii easy access to his hole.  Skii returned the 
smile and pressed down, refilling Garth's emptied hole.

    "I like watching you," Skii said as his cock stroked inside 
Garth's body, fucking his hole slowly.  Garth's hands curled into 
the sheets, feeling the surprising pleasure that had invaded his 
body at the entrance of Skii's cock.

    "I like being watched," Garth said.  "You're beautiful."

    Skii shook his head, his body shuddering softly as a 
pre-orgasmic spasm overtook him.  "You're the one who is 
beautiful," Skii said.  "And I'm going to come soon."

    "I'm watching," Garth said.

    "Then..."  Skii's voice became husky.  "Watch."  He shuddered 
again.  "THIS!"  He shouted the last word, sliding his cock in 
deep, pressing his hips to Garth's buttocks, his eyes clamped tight 
as his spasms emptied the content of his balls into Garth's body.  
He opened one eye, staring down at Garth.  "How was that?"

    "Great!" Garth said.

    Skii slid out of him, taking a towel from the side of the bed 
and wiping both of them off calmly.  He then collapsed next to 
Garth.

    The sounds to their right dragged Garth's attention, and Skii's 
as well he noticed.  Nickolai and Furry were making love in the 
oldest position known to Mammila; she was on her knees, her head 
buried between Kiza's legs while Nickolai penetrated her from 
behind, her tail in the air, whipping back and forth slowly against 
Nickolai's chest.  Kiza was whimpering loudly, and Garth thought he 
could see tears in the corners of her closed eyes.

    Nickolai's thrusting grew harder, and then he gasped loudly, 
speeding into a blurred frenzy as he came.  Skii pressed closely to 
Garth's back, cuddling him as they watched the last three of the 
celebrants break apart.  Garth watched as Nickolai and Furry pulled 
Kiza into a broad and careful hug, accompanied by whispering he 
didn't quite catch.

    "So," Skii said, looking over the four of them, "What did you 
think?"

    "Honest opinion?" Nickolai asked.  "I don't know if I enjoyed 
myself as much as I could have."

    Kiza kissed Nickolai's cheek and said, "I understand that.  But 
I'm glad we did it."  She kissed Furry just as strongly.  "And I've 
come to realize a few things."

    "Like?" Furry asked.

    Kiza smiled softly.  "Like I'm really much more attuned to 
living with fems then I am with mels.  No offense, Garth."

    Garth, surprised, gave her a long stare.  Then finally he shook 
his head and smiled.  "I understand.  I don't mind."

    "What took you so long?" Furry asked.

    "I... "  Kiza paused.  "I think it was just reluctance.  I 
didn't want to be a lesbian.  Now I know I'm not... just mostly."  
She turned to Garth.  "And I owe you something of an apology, 
Garth.  Because a lot 
of the... frantic sex we were having was because I wanted to prove 
I wasn't a lesbian.  I'm sorry if you feel used."

    "I don't.  I'm not going to throw away the experience because 
maybe the motives weren't the greatest.  I'm not going to forget 
you, Kiza."

    She lunged forward and hugged him tightly.  "Thank you!"

    Garth nodded, noticing Furry nod as well.  "And you, Garth?" 
Furry asked.

    "I'm mostly straight," he said, kissing Skii's cheek while he 
was at it.  "But I've finally learned to appreciate what I didn't 
know I was missing."

    "Maybe someday..." Nickolai sighed.

    "You'll get your chance if I have anything to say about it," 
Skii leered at him.

    Nickolai rolled his eyes.  "Okay, maybe it'll be you.  Anyway, 
let's get some sleep."

    They all agreed to that sentiment, and after a quick second run 
on the bathroom, Nickolai lowered the lights.

--
"Journal Entry 153 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 8 ]"
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
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--
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