From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)
Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.furry,alt.sex.homosexuality,alt.sex.bondage
Subject: Journal Entry 144 / 1025  [ Planetfall: In Daedelos Gaer ]
Date: 18 Jun 1996 13:22:00 GMT
Organization: Pendor, UnLtd.
Lines: 582
Message-ID: <4q6aho$110@news1.halcyon.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com

Erwer, Narnya 23, 1025

    "It's incredible," Mikhail Navarone was saying.  "I can't 
believe the complexity of the arrangement.  Six insect species, 
fifteen plant species, God only knows how many bacteriological 
agents we have to track down.  You're saying there are no signs of 
intelligent life anywhere on this planet?"

    Aaden nodded.  Mikhail looked up at the chart on the wall 
again.  "If this is a transplanted species, could it have come from 
another world?  Could the externalized complexity be based on 
evolutionary forms after a landing of one of those worldseeds?"

    "It's possible," Garenna said.  "We haven't looked into it."

    "Doctor Garenna, I understand you had a death in your camp two 
months ago.  But that's no reason to be so depressed now."

    "Doctor Navarone," I said softly, "You are our guest here on 
Battia Two.  We understand the importance of scientific inquiry and 
the need for free exchange, but we are still in mourning and I will 
not have you or your staff questioning the mental state of my 
people.  Is that understood?"

    He looked over at me, paled slightly, and said "Yes, Shardik.  
It is understood."

    "I don't mean to be rude," I said.  "But as a culture we are 
very comfortable with our long lives.  When one is taken away, it 
takes a long time for us to recover."

    He nodded.

    "I'll leave you to your investigations.  Good day."

    I wandered out into the main courtyard of the camp, where 
Humans and Katckin and Rats were mingling freely with Uncia, 
Felinzi, Tindals, Satryls, Markals, Mephits, Mustela, Vulpins, 
Humans, Centaurs, Ssphynxes, Pamthreats, and llerkindi.  It was a 
zoo of sorts, a sentient soup of all the known friendly races in 
the lTP corridor with the exception of Dragons, the Rat's Inquiry 
not having a hold big enough for one to be comfortable.

    People were giving directions, tents were being set up, 
warnings were being issued regarding the severity of storms on hot 
summer nights.  I smiled to watch two Rats pick up a young Markal 
boy who had lost his parents and trundled over to a camp 
information center to ask for directions.  "Lance," I said softly, 
"See to it that the Terrans are issued PADDs."

    "Will do," he said.  "By the way, David has decided he's not 
going back outsystem anytime soon.  So I'm going to be around for a 
while."

    "Battia?"

    "No, he wants to watch the Terrans closely."

    "Gotcha."

    Wandering back to my tent, I ran into Sheja.  "Hiya, 
sweetheart."

    "Hiya, Dad!" she shouted, giving me a quick hug.  "I'm going 
rockclimbing with Noah and some friends around one of the 
volcanoes.  Dao and Tonni are leading, and Tonni said it was okay.  
So I can't stay long."

    "Okay, sweets.  Bye."

    She loped off, dragging her tail along behind her.  "Bye," her 
voice trailed off into the distance as she vanished between two 
tents, deftly skipping over the ropes as she ran.

    "Children," I sighed, smiling.  Returning to my tent, I found 
it empty even of Malthus, who had been summarily adopted by a band 
of children sometime earlier this month as another daytime friend, 
and I settled myself onto the bed for a long nap.

              -               -              -

    I first noticed the moisture around my cock through the clarity 
of a lucid dream, and then the warmth came as I realized Aaden had 
found me lying naked with the sheets off in the middle of summer.  
I moaned softly at his suction, his muzzle holding my cock tight.  
Running my fingers through the fur of his head I let him know I was 
awake.  He responded by redoubling his efforts, massaging my 
needful shaft with his tongue.

    The urgency I felt was incredible; how long had I last had an 
orgasm, never mind sex... ?  He shoved his hands between my 
buttocks and the bed, holding me tight to him as his head bobbed up 
and down on my cock, taking the head deep into the back of his 
throat.  I could feel his teeth scraping delicately along the 
length of the shaft, turning me on with the slight pain he was 
inducing.  The rhythm of his sucking seemed to go on forever, 
animal in it's beat and power.

    I couldn't hold back, as much as I wished to I couldn't.  He 
was insistent, demanding.  I grabbed his ears tight and held him, 
groaning loudly as I came into his mouth; I could feel his throat 
working to swallow every drop that shot from my body, from my cock.  

    He slowly raised his head from my lap to look up at me.  I 
smiled at him, then noticed that it was dark in our tent.  "What 
time is it?" I asked.

    "All that and you ask me what time it is," he said.  "Not even 
a 'thank you?'"

    I reached out for his shoulders, hauling up to my side and 
rolling him over, so I could straddle his body with my own.  "Thank 
you."

    "You're welcome," he replied softly, stroking my hair with his 
hand.  "Today in the lab was a bit of the last straw, for me as 
well as you and Gary.  Mikhail, insensitive bastard that he is, is 
right... we have been moping.  It's time to go on and see what we 
can do for this planet."

    I snuggled closely to him and said, "Yeah, I know."  A memory 
like an ancient scroll sealed in clay floated to the surface of my 
mind, sparked in part by my encounter with Sheja.  "Tonni!" I said, 
lifting my head to look down at Aaden.

    "What about him?"

    "He wants you to top him."

    "He *what?*" Aaden asked.

    "He wants you to top him.  I was talking to Dao a while back, 
and that was the message he wanted me to give you.  Tonni is just 
too reserved to ask for it himself."

    "There is nothing reserved about Tonni," Aaden chuckled.

    "Shy, then," I said.  "As 'mel' as he looks, he's still got 
things to be frightened of, Aaden."

    "Why me?  Why not you, if he's going through you to ask me."

    "Because I like having sex with women."

    "What?" Aaden said.  "What does that have to do with it?"

    "It makes me less masculine, according to Dao."

    "Does Dao feel that way?"

    "No," I replied.  "Just Tonni."

    Aaden was thoughtful, then he scowled.  "Forget it.  I can't 
handle someone like that.  It's not worth my time."

    "Aaden!" I said.  "I'm surprised."

    "Heterosexuality and homosexuality I can handle; misogyny I... 
" He smiled.  "Let me rephrase that.  I have the perfect idea."  He 
rolled over in bed, unceremoniously dumping me onto the bed.  "I 
wonder if I can arrange it... "  He grabbed my PADD.  "I know yours 
is configured for general news... let's see... Yes.  I think I 
could manage."

    "What are you planning?" I asked.

    He ignored me.  "Lance, is Tonni awake and available?  I'd like 
to talk to him."

    "Yes, Aaden.  He's currently in a tent in the Terran sector, 
discussing the use of ion control in the formation of the reactive 
elements for the launch of the worldseeds."

    Aaden chuckled.  "Can you tell him I'd like to see him whenever 
it's convenient for him?"

    "Now is convenient for him," Lance replied.

    "I'm on my way."

    "What are you planning?" I said, shouting after him.

    "*Ascahanu,*" he shouted back, vanishing through the flap in 
the tent door and out into the hot summer night.  I grinned as the 
word filtered through my memory.  The Uncia ritual of maturity.

              -               -              -

    "This has to be the most elaborate thing I've ever seen you 
arrange," I said softly.  "It's incredible."

    "Thanks," Aaden grinned.  "Are you ready with the shuttle?"

    "It'll fly when you want it to.  Pranitt tells me he's ready, 
too, at his end."

    "R'Fahn, M'Lsit... go get our victim, please.  He should be 
expecting me.  Tell him you're from me, and we'll be ready to go."

    They nodded, and loped off among the tents and ropes.  We sat 
waiting, and within ten minutes they appeared, between them 
escorting Tonni.  He looked positively edible, with that calm 
smile, those cool, fluid eyes.  He held his tail just barely above 
the ground.  Aaden smiled at him as they approached.

    "I didn't expect..." Tonni began.

    Aaden backhanded him, HARD, in the chest.  "You expected 
something?"

    "No, sir," Tonni whispered, still fighting to regain the wind 
Aaden had knocked out of his chest.

    "Good," Aaden replied.  "You can expect only one thing, Tonni.  
You will be alive at dawn.  And even that's not a completely sure 
thing.  Don't count on having all your limbs, either."

    Tonni's proud expression broke, his whiskers drooping slightly.  
Then he hauled himself back up to his full stance.  Aaden smiled.  
"You should have pride... in the beginning.  It makes breaking you 
all that much more fun."  Aaden reached into the pocket of his vest 
and pulled out a blindfold, strapping it around Tonni's head and 
under his muzzle, fixing it in place.  "There."  He looked at the 
two Uncia.  "Into the chopper with him."

    They nodded, picking Tonni up and depositing him in the back of 
the six-man flyer.  Aaden tapped me on the shoulder and said "Go."

    We were off, flying across the air at full speed to another 
plain, this one about seventy kilometers to the south and right 
next to the ocean.  There, we landed according to the preflight 
instructions.

    "Take him out," Aaden said.  "Leave him on the sand."  The 
Uncia followed his instructions, picking Tonni up by the shoulders 
and hauling him out of the shuttle.  I lifted off again and dropped 
the shuttle off about a hundred meters away, then ran back.  Two 
other Uncia made way for me as I got to watch Aaden deliver a 
rather sharp blow with a heavy bamboo-like rod to the back of 
Tonni's thighs.  "On your knees.  Who said you could stand, child?"

    "Yes sir."

    "Take off your blind, child."

    Tonni slowly reached up and pulled the blindfold off, finally 
getting a look at the fifteen-meter-wide ring, made of staked logs 
driven into the sand of the beach, except for a small opening 
landward and a larger one seawards.  About twenty male Uncia stood 
around the edges of the ring, including U. Faran Mahn, whose family 
had for all ten  centuries held the most valuable piece of land on 
all Pendor, the sector of the Uncia climate zone that ended to the 
west in the Vinyare' ocean and to the north with Rocchodain.  Faran 
was a huge sample of an Uncia, nearing 240 cms in height and as 
broad as a shuttlebay door.  He had to be; his family kept that 
piece of land by successfully beating off challenges in a form of 
ritualized combat.

    "You came here at my whim," Aaden said softly.  "But you claim 
to be male!" he shouted, loud so everyone could here.  "Prove it; 
win your right to call yourself a melFelin," Aaden sneered.  
"You're a big mel out here, Tahn-ni, baby," he said, emphasizing 
the words in such a way that they come out like the Pendorian words 
for 'sparkle' and 'girl.'

    "Sir?" Tonni said, looking up.  He was frightened; I could see 
it from where I stood.

    "Yes, child?"

    "Is this what you planned?"

    Aaden turned around to Faran and said "Put him down.  If he 
doesn't fight, so much the better.  I want him unable to move when 
you're done."

    "Yeah..." Faran said, stepping up to where Tonni knelt on the 
sand.  "Get up."

    "No," Tonni said.

    "Get up!" Faran growled.

    "No," Tonni said again, this time louder.  I smiled.  I bet 
Aaden did too.

    "You'll get up or I'll make you stand," Faran said, gripping 
Tonni by the shoulders and hauling him to a standing position.

    The moment was perfect for Tonni; his arms and legs were fully 
free, Faran's were busy.  He planted his feet and in one deft move 
threw Faran over his shoulder.  Faran landed on the sand in a heap.

    "You prag," Faran said, rolling as he hits and coming to a 
stand.  "I'm going to put you in your place."

    "Are you now," Tonni smiled.  I realized that he wasn't going 
to lose to Faran willingly.  This wasn't going to be one of those 
wrestling games where the bottom loses, valiantly but willingly.  
Tonni was going to fight.

    Faran grinned in reply.  "Yeah, I am."  He lunged for Tonni, 
but at the right second shifted position; it wasn't a punch or a 
kick, but a full-scale tackle.  Tonni went down onto the sand, 
unready for it.  Faran rolled over his body and stood quickly; 
Tonni took longer.

    "Come on, Tonni," Faran said.  "Show me what you got."

    "You've got it, Faran," Tonni said.  Faran had the advantage 
then, since Tonni was now spending most of the energy, not Faran.  
Tonni lunged awkwardly, and Faran lost all illusion of grace, 
slamming Tonni in the muzzle with his elbow as Tonni dropped down 
again.

    "Come on, kid," Faran sneered.  "Come on!"

    The Uncia around me cheered as Tonni stood up.  His legs held 
him,  but his eyes betrayed the fear and exhaustion setting into 
his body.  He approached Faran slowly, almost as if to dare the 
Uncia to make the first move.  Faran did, and Tonni took full 
advantage of it, delivering two sharp blows to Faran's gut as they 
go by.  Faran lost control, snarling and attacking Tonni without 
any thought of 'art.'  The attack of raw Uncia, released from any 
social bounds, blurs across the sandscape as the two stumbled 
towards the ocean.  Tonni rose for a second, slamming a fist down 
into Faran's face, a haze of spray (or was it blood?) from the sea 
covering them momentarily.  Tonni dropped to his knees and Faran 
rolled, knocking Tonni full into the seawater.  A scream erupted 
from one or both of them, and a moment later Faran rose from the 
ocean, dragging Tonni by one arm.

    He dropped Tonni in the center of the circle.  The Uncia slowly 
filtered out of the circle, leaving Aaden, Tonni, Dao, and I alone.  
They all took the SDisk outside back to camp; we'd asked them not 
to stay after the fight.  I helped Faran, insisting that he seek 
medical attention when he got back.  He said he would.

    "How do you feel, child?" Aaden said, looking down at Tonni.

    "This... " Tonni gasped, choking.  "This isn't what... what 
it's about... what the *Alanailen* do... "

    Aaden reached down and grabbed Tonni by the scruff at the back 
of his neck, again hauling him into a kneeling position.  "What do 
you know of what we do?" he hissed.  He looked down and held 
Tonni's head against  his thigh; the Felinzi sagged there and began 
crying.  "You have a chance, Tonni, to redeem yourself."

    "S... sir?" Tonni said, looking up into Aaden's face.

    Aaden grinned darkly.  "You and I... are men.  If women must 
believe in their goddess of the feminine, then we should have the 
right to believe in our god of the masculine."

    Aaden reached down and tilted Tonni's head back.  "Everywhere 
you kneel is your altar, and everything you do in your worship 
should be in the name and to the strength, the celebration, the 
rewards of men.  Take my cock, Tonni, and worship our manhood 
together."

    Tears streaming from his eyes, looked at Aaden's crotch and 
slowly leaned towards it.  Dao, standing next to me, hissed softly.  
At first slowly, then with more strength, I watched Aaden force his 
cock down Tonni's throat, grabbing the back of the kneeling 
Felinzi's head, shoving so hard I thought Tonni would choke and gag 
at any moment.

    I found my own breathing getting ragged, my own heart beating 
loud.  It was impossible to not be aware of Dao standing next to 
me, of the two males locked in a different sort of mortal combat on 
the sands just meters away.  Aaden's arms held Tonni's head against 
his body as he used the mel at his feet for his own pleasures, 
fucking poor Tonni's mouth for his own pleasure.  "Take me," Aaden 
growled.  "Take me like you know you deserve!"

    I've heard that growl before... Aaden came down Tonni's throat.  
Tonni did choke then, his eyes bulging and the tears streaming 
again.  Aaden released Tonni and watched him crumple slowly to the 
sands barely conscious.  Aaden turned towards us, approached.  
"Dao," he said quietly.  "Take him home; I'll check on him 
tomorrow.  You," he said.  "Come with me."

    "Aaden?"

    "Come on, Ken," he said pleadingly, reaching out his hand.  I 
took it and he led me through the small gap inland, towards a large 
and grassy field.  He sat down abruptly, pulling me down with him.  
"I need you to hold me," he said softly.  "I never thought I could 
be that cruel to a newbie.  I can't believe I was."

    I sat down next to him and wrapped my arms around him, holding 
him.  Not because he asked me to, but because he needed me to.  It 
wasn't easy to resist him right then, to just sit there and hold 
him close.  He didn't cry at all; he just sat there and we waited 
together until the time was right.

    "I've always believed," Aaden said softly after a while, "that 
males are the more animal of the two sexes.  That it's in our 
nature to be predatory, just by virtue of the acts we have to 
perform versus those we can't.  We're the ones who have to put a 
part of ourselves into the other to reproduce, we're the ones who 
have to trust her not to destroy this part.  We never get saddled 
with pregnancy, and we're ready all the time.

    "Which is why, compared to females, I've always seen us as 
crawling, sneaking, sly, cheating, feral creatures.  I'll always 
prefer mels to fems; there's a power moving back and forth between 
males that fems just do not and will never have.  When I kneel at 
your feet, Ken, I do worship you.  I love you because I love you, 
Kennet.  But if I wasn't afraid of you, lover... I couldn't 
really... I dunno.  Sometimes, even, you symbolize my right to be 
male, to be free from the burdens females suffer."

    "Then why are there erolie' women?" I asked.  "If we're so 
dangerous."

    Aaden chuckled.  "Don't you like flames, lover?" he asked, 
running a paw down my naked back.  "Don't you want to play with 
dangerous toys sometimes, flirt with that raw power that could 
always get away from you?"

    I smiled and nodded.  Once, when I had believed in Magick as 
something other than a valiant attempt at human psychology run 
amok, I had identified myself mainly as a fire person.  A useful 
tool, and a dangerous one simultaneously.  It was still a useful 
analogy.

    "Is that how you see it?" I asked.  "Fems enjoy the presence of 
males because of the potential threat they imply?"

    He shook his head.  "Not always.  Not the way you and Nyss 
live, and not the way many people we know live.  But it's a fun 
energy to pass around, don't you think?  What do you feel in 
Michael's, or when you stand to the right in Rhysh?  Don't you feel 
that adrenaline rush, that surge of fear... and desire?  How much 
more so must that rush be for women, who don't have the weapon, the 
cock, to pierce back with?  Why do you think lesbians refer to 
their own spaces as 'varnaire', 'the safe sea?'"

    I laughed.  "It sounds too simple, Aaden."

    "You don't think what I just said is sexist, do you?" he asked 
suddenly.  "I mean..."

    I hugged him tightly, holding him close and rubbing my cheek 
against his fur.  "You're not going anywhere, yet," I said.  "Do I 
think it's sexist?" I chuckled.  "Well, you've basically equated 
the penis with the knife again, and implied that females are more 
masochistic then males because they associate with males without 
having a weapon to stab back with."  I thought for a second.  "You 
know, though, there's always the implication that men are more 
masochistic than women because they have to put a treasured part of 
themselves into a dark and mysterious place."

    "But," he said, his hand on my arm tightening slightly, "Do you 
think I'm wrong?"

    I laughed softly and kissed the back of his ear, reaching out 
with my tongue to slide it along the pink, hairless edge.  "You 
know my answer to that.  Nobody knows, lover.  But we can say, I 
guess, that people make their own choices.  If women choose to 
enjoy the company of men because of the danger, playing with fire, 
it's because the choose to.  Just as I choose to put my life into 
your hands, or into Lynn's hands."

    "The war of the sexes," he sighed.

    "No, the wrestling match of the sexes, I hope.  Hopefully both 
sides are now dedicated to 'play hard, play fair, nobody hurt.'"

    He laughed at that, and not just lightly.  I'm still not sure 
what struck him as so funny about that line, but he positively 
cracked up, rolling out of my arms onto his back on the grass.  I 
straddled his body and looked down at him while he giggled 
uncontrollably.  He caught his breath long enough to look up at my 
face, then broke up laughing again.

    "Are you okay?" I asked.

    "Yeah," he gasped, his face wide and smiling.  "Only you could 
trivialize something so serious!"

    "No," I said, shaking my head.  "I just don't think it's so 
serious."  He giggled more as I leaned over onto his chest and he 
wrapped his arms around me.  "Love you," I said softly.

    "And I love you, too," he said.  "Come on, we need to get some 
sleep before the sun rises."

    I nodded.

              -               -              -

    "Rise and shine, Tonni," Aaden said, standing over Tonni's bed 
and shaking him gently.  "It's time for you to wake up."

    Tonni opened an eye, looked up.  The fright on his face was 
obvious as he began to back away, then eased slightly.  "It's over, 
isn't it?"

    "It was over the moment Dao took you home last night."

    "What the rings was that for?  That... last night had nothing 
to do with s/m."

    "How do you know?" Aaden said softly.  He reached out a hand 
and put it on Tonni's thigh.  "S/M isn't 'nice,' Tonni.  It's meant 
to be offensive.  As much as we've got people here who like to 
'play' at it, let's you and I be honest.  Last night I tore open 
your soul and showed it to you.  Only four men knew they were 
there... me, you, Ken and Dao, and only you and I saw it.  That's 
what it's about, Tonni.  As much as we like to think of it as 
adventure, kiddo," Aaden shook his head, "It's still about fucking 
you up."

    "But... "

    "But nothing.  You're so butch you won't even fuck yolie' 
males, Tonni.  So I took every male-oriented brainfuck I could find 
and packed them into one long night.  Look at you; you're in good 
shape today, a few bruises under that beautiful fur of yours.  
You're fine today, and last night... well, your body won't let you 
forget it for a few days, but didn't you learn something last 
night?  About yourself?"  Tonni looked away, embarrassed.  "Admit 
it, Tonni... won't you come back for more?"

    "No!" he shouted at Aaden, then he looked away again.  "Yes."

    "Yes, what?"

    "Yes, sir!" he snarled.

    "That's not what I meant, Tonni.  We're not in a scene right 
now.  I meant, 'yes' to what?"

    Tonni gulped, then nodded.  I smiled at Aaden's talent; even if 
they weren't 'in scene,' he was still running the show.  "To all of 
it.  Yes, I learned something last night.  And... yes, I want to 
learn more."

    Aaden reached down.  Tonni flinched, then eased himself towards 
Aaden, and Aaden gathered him up in an enormous, furry hug.  
"Good," he said softly.  "That's what you needed to learn, Tonni."

    Tonni held onto Aaden tightly, his hand gripping his wrist 
behind Aaden's back.  "Thank you, Aaden."

    Aaden smiled as Tonni dropped back onto the bed.  "Don't thank 
me, Tonni.  Thank yourself.  You were very brave last night.  
Braver even than Ken ever was."  I smiled; I knew what Aaden meant 
by that, and it didn't bother me at all.  And if Aaden wanted to 
point to Tonni, he might have chosen to point to Tonni's chest, but 
he didn't; he pointed to his crotch.  "Are you going to be okay?"

    Tonni grinned.  "Yes."

    "Good.  Because I'm on duty in a few minutes."  Aaden leaned 
over and gave Tonni a playful kiss on the nose.  "Stay brave, 
Tonni; you were very good last night."

    Tonni nodded as Aaden and I filed out.  I wrapped an arm around 
my lover's waist, and he put one around my shoulders.  I shook my 
head.  "In Daedelos Gaer," I said.  "There is a dark and fearful 
sea."

    "Mm-hmm," Aaden said.  "And like the real sea, like space, you 
must treat it right, treat it with respect, and it will bring you 
rewards."

--
"Journal Entry 144 / 1025  [ Planetfall: In Daedelos Gaer ]"
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
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Any redistribution must include this copyright notice intact.
--
Elf Sternberg               Here we have clueless, well-armed people
elf@halcyon.com             wandering around in an environment they
Public key available        don't understand, and it scares them.
http://www.halcyon.com/elf  So they try to control what they cannot