Charcoal & Amber

                            Watts Martin

[Part 2 of 2]


     "And so," Meoriar said.
     It had been ten minutes since he had spoken, and by this time none of
us were paying any attention.  The bard hadn't returned to his table; he
was sitting next to me at the bar, staring into his refilled mug.  Then
suddenly he looked up at the counter-length mirror behind Donthen and said,
"And so."  It's remarkable how fast the place quieted at the sound of those
two words.
     "And so," he repeated again a little louder, turning to face the rest
of the room, his left arm still resting on the bar a short grabbing
distance from the mead.  "I was the first out of our room; the short
hallway was empty and still.  I looked behind the second curtain to find
the three Yeeth soldiers awake, and motioned for them to meet us.  Then
curiosity got the better of me, and I parted the right-hand curtain.
     "The room it revealed was smaller than ours, but projected a
haphazard, wastrel opulence; fine, rich red and orange silks covered the
walls, and all colors of it lay in piles scattered across the floor.  There
were no furnishings, save for a huge mattress with silk sheets spilling
down it onto the floor, and a few small wooden boxes at one end.
     "I was debating whether or not to enter when a voice inches away from
me ear said, 'Lekai's room.'
     "When my heart started again, I turned to find the wolf who had guided
our group to Emrit's stronghold standing by my side.  'If she had been
there when you entered, I am sure her reaction--and yours--would have been
most amusing,' he grinned.
     "'She is an early riser,' I said, stepping back out of the room.
Rinneld was standing there along with all of the soldiers, although Bordin
had not emerged from our room yet.
     "'She is rarely allowed to spend nights in that room.  Pity.  I am
sure it is much more comfortable than Emrit's chamber is.  However, you are
_invited_ to appear before Emrit now.'
     "We followed him down the short hallway to the entrance chamber.  The
hall was full again, but Emrit was nowhere in sight.  Lekai was huddled up
against the throne, eyes blank; when Bordin saw her, he made a beeline to
the chair, pushing past the wolves between us.
     "'What a yutz.'"  The bard's voice changed register to perfectly match
a musteloid's foreshortened squeak as he spoke Rinneld's lines.  "I looked
at him quizzically.  'Come on,' he said.  'Last night?  People don't act
the way she did unless they're missing a few beams upstairs--or they're
extremely desperate.  Whatever Firethighs over there is, stupid isn't it.
She wants us to get her out of here, and grabbing Meatball by his hormones
struck her like a good way to do it.'
     "'And I thought romantic ideals were dead and gone,' I said drily.
Bordin was kneeling by Lekai; she was looking away from him, apparently
refusing to speak.
     "'Romantic, hell,' he replied.  'She makes what I thought were the
most beautiful women in the world look like rock lizards, and don't think
she doesn't know it.  Bordin can't begin to handle her.  If he doesn't stay
away, she'll be wearing him as her panties.'
     "'Colorful,' I said, 'but a trifle cynical.  And even if her interest
in Bordin is as mercenary as you suspect, I could not blame her for it.'
He grunted.  'And if Lekai had tried to seduce you instead of Bordin last
night, short one, would have you been able to "handle" her?'
     "'Hell, no,' he snorted.  'I'd cut off my tail to be her panties.'"
     "And what about you?" I interrupted.  Someone snickered from a corner
booth.
     "Don't be ridiculous," the bard said crossly.  "I don't have a tail.
     "Lekai had straightened up, smiling a little; Bordin sat down beside
her, and they started to talk.  They were still talking--and laughing--a
half-hour later, when Emrit finally entered the room.  He stood by the
entrance, staring directly at Lekai.  She shrank back under his gaze, but
Bordin stood up and took her hand, gently pulling her to her feet.  Without
looking at Emrit, he walked her back to where we sat.
     "'No!  No!  Yutz!  Dope!  Dimwit!' Rinneld hissed as he approached.
'She is limping,' I whispered to the ferret, and he subsided, watching.  It
was true: the limp was slight, but noticeable.
     "Emrit took his throne and continued to watch as Bordin sat down
beside us, guiding the dancer down next to him.  'Another for your
collection,' he said, wheezing.
     "'Or one less for yours,' said Bordin.  All the wolves looked at him,
then, as one, at Emrit.  Our three guards put their hands on their hilts
and rose to one knee; I placed my own hand over my pomiard.
     "Emrit stared at him, unmoving, then chuckled.  'Everything is our
collection, little man.  The world is for those who take it.'
     "I rose to my feet.  'We are here to discuss trade routes and piracy,
not dubious philosophy.  Either you know something about the difficulties
Yeeth is having, _Commander_ Emrit, or you do not.'
     "'You may tell _your empress,_' he said slowly, 'that her problems
with her humans are hers alone.'
     "'This region is under your charge,' I said.  'Are you dispatching it
or are you not?'
     "He leaped towards me from his chair.  'This pack is my charge, and
this land is ours!' he roared.  All three of the guards drew their swords;
all of the wolves sprang to their feet.
     "'Are these your men, Commander?' Bordin said, still sitting.  'Do
they protect Yeeth's traders, or do the traders need protection from them?'
     "'Your traders mean nothing to me,' the wolf growled, glaring down at
him.
     "'Everyone means nothing to you,' Bordin said.
     "In one movement, Emrit grabbed Bordin by the throat and lifted him at
arm's length above his head.  'My men are _everything_ to me!' he screamed,
baring all his teeth.
     "'You can help him!' Rinneld whispered into Lekai's ear.  She jumped
and cowered away.  'Dammit, woman, if he'll listen to anyone--'  She shut
her eyes.  Bordin was trying to pry the wolf's fingers apart.
     "'Are they your men, or are they your pack?' I said clearly.  The rest
of the wolves started to growl.  Emrit stiffened.
     "'My men _are_ my pack.'  He glanced at me, eyes narrowed, and tossed
Bordin aside contemptuously.
     "'It is an either/or proposition,' I countered.  'You know that.'
     "He took a step towards me; the guards raised their swords.  'Oh
shit,' said Rinneld, looking over his shoulder at the other wolves; they
crowded around, but made no move to attack."  Meoriar took a large swig of
mead, surveying the crowd in the bar, then spun to face me.  "So tell us,
Wezip, have you ever seen a real fox?"
     "What?"  I looked back at him, caught off guard.  "I am a real fox,
mate, at least last time I checked."
     "I mean one that isn't a morph," the bard said.  He was smiling
curiously.
     "I know.  Yeah, sure.  The kind that goes around on all fours and
kills rabbits."
     "Have you ever wanted to go around on all fours and kill rabbits?"
Most of the patrons laughed, although the furries sounded a little nervous.
     "I don't quite see where you're going."
     "No.  Well."  He took another drink and turned back around.  "Emrit
did.  He started to growl.  Lekai looked up at him, then over at Bordin,
who lay near the throne in a heap.
     "I stared back at Emrit, as calmly as possible.  'Are you a Commander
of the Ranean guard, or an alpha male?'
     "'Stop it,' one of the wolves behind me said.  Emrit tensed and
crouched lower, as if he was ready to spring on me.
     "'Are you a man, or are you a beast?'
     "Emrit growled from deep in his chest, his lips curling back.  'He'll
take your throat out, human!' another wolf said.
     "'With a knife, or with his teeth?' I inquired.  The wolves started
backing up.
     "Lekai suddenly flew to her feet and ran towards Bordin.  As she
passed Emrit, he caught her tail; she jerked back abruptly, her injured leg
giving way, and she fell on her face, screaming.  Bordin sat up and spat
out blood.  'Bastard,' he coughed.
     "I moved forwards, gripping my dagger, and the soldiers drew their
blades.  Emrit lifted Lekai into the air, and let out a deep, tortured
howl.  Instantly, the guards' swords were at his throat and chest; he
hunched down, pulling Lekai close to him, and started to growl.
     "'Look at him!' Bordin said, as loudly as he could.  'Look at him,
holding her like a piece of meat, howling like a hunted animal, ready to
spring at any of them.  This is your god.  _Look at him!_'"  Meoriar's eyes
had become intense, flaming.  He paused, looking around the Pub, then
drained his mug.
     "Well.  We were all frozen, morphs and humans alike, magnetized around
the two figures in our center: Emrit, crouched almost on his knees,
growling, cold steel pressed into his fur; and Lekai, grappled to the wolf,
her head pinned against his chest, tears streaming down her face.
     "I replaced my dagger on its belt loop and approached Emrit.  He
stopped growling, but crushed Lekai closer to him, making her gasp in pain.
'You knew it couldn't last,' I said softly.  'Even if you kill us, there
will be more sent here.  The next time, the Empress will not send any
diplomats.'  He rose to his feet slowly, holding the dancer under one arm.
     "'The Empress is a fool,' he said clearly.  Then he raised Lekai over
his head with both arms; she screamed wildly, kicking the air.  With a
roar, he threw her into me.  I fell over, with her on top of me, clutching
at me desperately.  I brushed her hair away from my face to see Emrit,
still roaring, falling towards me.  I pushed Lekai forward, rolling out of
the way, and the wolf crashed beside me--and lay there.
     "I lifted myself onto my elbows, the beautiful cat sobbing against me,
one arm around my waist.  Blood seeped from a wound on Emrit's chest; the
cut was long, but appeared mostly superficial.  Nonetheless, Emrit did not
move towards me; he only rolled over and looked at me, holding his side.
He fixed me with his gaze and said, quietly but forcefully, 'It is not...
either/or... for me.  We are not a part of your world... we are not a part
of the animal world.  We must... make our own.'  His eyes sharpened.  'You
do not understand... do you?'
     "'Perhaps,' I said.
     "He laughed bitterly.  'Get out.'  He closed his eyes and bared his
teeth.  'If I catch any of you... I will eat you alive.'  He raised his
voice.  'All of you!  Get out!'  The wolves milled around uncertainly.  He
started to howl.
     "'Come on,' I said, trying to help Lekai to her feet.  She refused to
move, curling up into a ball near Emrit.  I swore ineffectually and walked
towards Bordin, helping him to his feet.
     "'Can't leave her...' he said.
     "'Worry about it after you stop trying to spit up your liver,' Rinneld
snapped, pushing the human along.  Some of the wolves had left already; the
rest quickly knotted around us, herding us out.  I realized my pomiard had
fallen out of my belt, but I had no chance to look for it.
     "'Now what?' Rinneld said as we stood outside.  'Do we just leave?  Do
you all kill us?'
     "One of the wolves finally spoke.  'You do not understand what it is
like to be in a pack.  Until him'--he looked back towards the
door--'neither did we.'
     "'And what about Lekai?' Bordin asked.  'She's still in there--'
     "'She is his pet,' another wolf said, sounding bitter.  'He killed her
lover a year ago and took her for himself.'
     "'And that didn't bother you?' Rinneld said.  'Just a wee bit?  How
many others have you killed because it was fun?'
     "'They weren't wolves,' one of them said, looking away.  Several
others had sat down, staring blankly in front of them.
     "Bordin turned wordlessly and headed back towards the building.  The
wolf who had served as our guide the day before strode in front of him.
'You cannot enter again,' he said.
     "'Do you really believe he'd try and eat me?' Bordin said scornfully.
     "He would start with one hand and work his way up,' he replied.  'Of
course, being eaten alive is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  If your god
values painful and slow deaths, you would have a place in your afterlife
second to none.'
     "'But--'
     "'You want the cat.  I will get her.'  He stepped towards the door.
     "'Uh, you realize his mind's gone AWOL,' Rinneld said.  'What'll you
do if he wants to eat you?'
     "'Give him indigestion,' he said, stepping through the door.  A few
minutes later, he came back--alone.  'She is gone,' he said as he passed
Bordin.
     "'You don't mean she's...?' he said.
     "'I mean she is not there,' the wolf replied.  'Emrit--he is dead.'
     "The other wolves sprang to their feet.  'His throat has been
slashed,' he continued.  He looked at me and smiled mirthlessly.  'Your
Empress' problem appears to have been been solved for you.'"
     Meoriar sighed, turned around and gestured for Donthen to fill up his
mug.  "All the wolves but for the one who had spoken started to howl.  We
quickly searched the premises, all six of us, but the guide had been
right--Lekai was gone.  As we regrouped, Bordin's expression was painful;
Rinneld's was hard and cold.  But our emotions at losing Lekai turned to
amazement as we came back out; the wolves were in a ring, facing one
another, occasionally grappling and tearing at their neighbors in what
could only be a fight for dominance.  They were oblivious to our presence;
we almost ran past, fleeing back along the valley towards the oasis.
     "The trip back was silent and hollow.  We shortly became aware our
former guide was following us, some ten paces back, but we made no effort
to discourage him.  It was not quite early evening when we reached the
place, but Bordin immediately started to set up camp.
     "'We could still make four miles, sir,' one of the soldiers said to
him.  He shook his head, only saying, 'It would be better to camp here.'
     "After we had finished, Rinneld said softly, 'You know it doesn't
matter where you wait--she's not gonna show.  And what about the wolves?'
     "'They won't come after us.  They have no reason to.  And the valley
ends here,' he replied.  'She still needs us to find her way out of the
desert.'
     "'And then what?' the ferret said.  'What happens when she doesn't
need you?'
     "Bordin looked over at him with a sad expression.  'You think she'll
leave then.'
     "'The only reason you don't is because you're even more madly in lust
with her than I am.'
     "'We are friends,' he said softly.
     "'Showing you her tits and shoving your face against her belly-button
_doesn't_ make her your friend.' 
     "It was obvious to all of us--except, evidently, Rinneld--that Bordin
was on the edge of either breaking into tears or hurling the ferret into a
tree.  'She doesn't know her way through the desert,' he said tightly.
'Emrit never let her go.  They took her here blindfolded.'
     "'She told you that?'
     "'_Yes, she told me that!_' he gritted.  'If I knew where to look for
her, I'd do it!  I told her about this oasis, and all I can do is hope
she'll come back here before she dies of exposure!'  He lowered his voice.
'You could try thinking with your brain instead of your balls.  For once.
Yes, I'm attracted to her.  More than I thought was possible for a human to
be attracted to one of you.  Hell, more than I've been attracted to anyone
in my life.  But I don't care if she doesn't want me as a lover.  I want to
be her friend.'
     "'Gods, he's got it worse than I thought,' Rinneld said.
'Bordin--look.  I think she did the Gonad Dance or whatever it was for you
to try to get you to kill Emrit.  I think you probably _would_ have done it
for her.  You didn't get the chance--she did.  And she's not gonna hang
around the scene of the crime.'
     "'She didn't kill him,' Bordin said doubtfully.  'Not that she
wouldn't have reason to.  But I don't think she could.'  He crawled into
the tent, laying down on his sleeping mat.  'If she does come, wake me.'
He closed the tent flap.
     "'You do not like Lekai,' the wolf guide said, stepping up close
behind us.
     "'I really wish you'd stop appearing from nowhere,' Rinneld said.
'All right, I don't trust her.  If she didn't use us, she sure as hell
tried.'
     "'We all use each other,' the canine replied, grinning enigmatically.
'Emrit used Lekai; she used the rest of us.'
     "'She would have done anything to get away,' I said.
     "'There are some things she would never do unless forced, and Emrit
was the only one who would force her.  We were as intimidated by her as by
the commander.'
     "'She wasn't eight feet tall and didn't bite through steel rods to
clean her teeth,' Rinneld said.
     "'Neither were any of us,' he said, grinning wider.  'Emrit forced her
to lie with someone else, once.  He would not speak of it in detail, but I
gathered she knows how to make being under her a singularly unpleasant
experience rather than a divinely pleasurable one.'
     "'If that was true, she'd have done that to Emrit,' Rinneld said.
     "'Not so.  To me, she is tall, has a dancer's coiled-steel strength
and a most intimidating appearance.  But Emrit could pick any of us up with
one hand.  What would hurt us would only tickle him.  She was a pretty toy
he could take at will, and there was very little she could have done to
stop him from doing anything he wanted to with her.'
     "'Okay, one more question.  Why did you stay with this man?'
     "The wolf sighed and looked down, drawing circles idly in the sand
with one claw.  'I am not sure I understand that, either, and I am not sure
I can verbalize it.  You could never understand it fully: you are not a
wolf.
     "'I believe,' he went on, 'in all of us, there is an animal under the
man.  Beneath that obnoxious shirt of yours there is a ferret: not you, but
a part of you.  There is a wolf who is part of me, a wolf who wants only to
be in a pack with others of its kind, howling at the moon, staking out its
territory, ripping its food apart with its teeth, ignorant of all the laws
and conventions the rest of me should be bound by.
     "'Perhaps your ferret is quiet; for a lupine morph, the wolf is never
still.  The human was right--Emrit was our alpha male, the dominant of our
pack.  In your world, we must be men first and wolves second; in his, the
wolf is on top.
     "'All of us knew it could not last, and we knew by man-standards much
of what we did was terribly wrong.  But the wolf has no sense of imminent
future, only a sense of now; it has no morals or social taboos, only
instincts.
     "'So,' he finished, 'the rest of the wolves do not mourn him; they
mourn the pack.  I was the first to leave, but I will not be the last--the
others simply have forgotten what else to do.  I do not know if we can ever
be a part of your world again.'
     "'Then why go with us?' I said.
     "'I was never a part of your world,' he replied, his mysterious grin
returning.
     "The wolf and I took first watch; shortly, he curled up and fell
asleep, leaving me alone with the stars and the cold night wind.  I have
always thought of myself as a good guard, but I was not aware of anyone's
presence until a hand holding a dagger thrust itself in front of me from
behind.  I started to whirl around, drawing my sword, then froze when I
realized the dagger was my own, and was covered with dirt and blood.
     "I turned slowly, to find myself facing Lekai.  Her fur was sandy and
knotted, and the beautiful dress she had been wearing that morning had been
whipped into a dun-colored rag by the desert wind.  She was holding a small
pack with her other hand; she refused to look at me, but held out my dagger
like a gift.
     "'I was hoping you would not be at the pool,' she finally said.  'But
take your knife.  I do not want to steal it from you.'  She started to
laugh.  'Murder is fine, but I balk at theft.'  The laugh turned into a
wracking cough, and she started to double over.
     "I caught her and guided her, against her will, into the tent, and
handed her a canteen.
     "'I can make it to the nearest town,' she said after she had
recovered, 'if you will only point me in the proper direction.'
     "'You will be lost inside minutes if a storm comes up,' I replied.
'You have no travelling gear except for your pack.  Which contains...?'
     "She laughed quietly.  'One other dress.  Silks.  Foolish things.'
She buried her face in her hands, looking caught between hysteria and
anger.
     "'Travel with us,' I said.
     "'That might not be wise,' she said, rubbing her eyes.
     "Bordin was sitting up, rubbing his own eyes and staring at Lekai.
When she saw him awake, she looked away.
     "'What's all this racket?' Rinneld said, rolling over.  'Damn, she
_did_ show up.'
     "Lekai crawled to the far corner of the tent, as far away from Bordin
and Rinneld as she could get.  'As soon as we come to a town you'll never
see me again.'
     "'What?' Bordin cried.  He caught sight of my dagger, started, and
looked back at Lekai.
     "'I could not get you to kill him for me,' she said softly.
     "He rose to his feet, as best he could in the low tent, and walked
towards her.  'Is that the only reason you befriended us?'  She was silent.
He knelt beside her.  'And everything we talked about, everything you told
me, was all made up to win my confidence?'  She started to tremble, but he
pressed on.  'And you picked me because I looked like the easiest to seduce
with that--'
     "She grabbed his vest, almost hissing.  'I told you, I only did the
Fire Dance once before in my life!'  Then she faltered, letting go of his
vest and shaking violently.
     "'For Corwel,' he said.  'I know.'  He put his arms around her, and
she started to sob.
     "Rinneld cleared his throat.  'Uh, would you mind letting us know what
the hell's going on here?'
     "'Corwel was Lekai's lover,' Bordin said.  'They were part of a
caravan attacked by Emrit; most of the party fled, but Corwel was killed
trying to defend Lekai.'
     "'I'm sorry,' I said, walking towards them.  Lekai tried to pull away
from Bordin, but he held firm.
     "'You have no reason to like me,' she said, 'except for my
appearance.'
     "'I like you because in spite of yourself, you are an eminently
likable person.  You are friendly, mostly honest, and you have beautiful
eyes.  And I am going to be your friend whether you like it or not,' he
said.
     "She laughed, sounding as if it was against her will, and slowly put
her arms around him.
     "'Lekai's _only_ lover?' Rinneld said, half to himself.
     "Lekai looked over at the ferret for a few seconds, wiping tears away
from her eyes, then suddenly launched herself at him.  He squealed and
started to run, but she was on top of him almost instantly, easily pinning
him under one knee.
     "'I wasn't trying to imply anything nasty, mind you,' he squeaked,
with some difficulty.
     "'Then what _were_ you trying to imply?' she said.  Bordin crossed his
arms, watching with a wonderfully amused expression.
     "'Uh...' he tried to squirm out from under her.
     "She put one hand gently across his chest, and then poised the other
one a half-inch from his groin, claws extended.  'Be aware your future sex
life depends on this answer,' she said sweetly.
     "'Eeep.  Well.  I just meant... well, I thought....'
     "'I didn't think ferrets could sweat,' one of the soldiers said.
     "'I have never made love to anyone except Corwel,' Lekai said.  'Is
there any other facet of my sex practices you are curious about?  What
positions we tried?  Any fetishes I have?  What it is like being raped by
someone a third taller than you?'
     "'I'm sorry,' he said, squirming again.  She sat up, letting him go,
and he scrambled to his feet.
     "She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him almost into her lap.
'I only want you to remember one thing,' she said levelly.  'I am kneeling
right now, and you are standing.  Where is your head on me right now?'
     "'Right above your, I mean, right around your neck.'  He grinned
half-heartedly.
     "'Mmmm-hmmm.  You already seem to think I lack morals, so it should
not surprise you when I tell you this: anger me too greatly and I will use
you as a beach ball.  Do we understand each other?'
     "'Promises, promises,' he said.  She squeezed his shoulder hard.  'I
mean, yes, of course.'"
     Meoriar stopped talking, taking another drink.  "Well, that's mostly
the end," he said.
     "How could she have only made love to Corwel?" I said.
     He laughed and shook his head.  "Rinneld asked me that later, also.
Her culture makes a distinction between lovemates and lifemates, you see.
Lifemating refers to an extremely deep friendship, if you will, not
necessarily sexual; a lovemate is someone closer than a close friend, but
not the same as a lifemate.  You usually only find one person who is both
to you, but there is no taboo against having more than one lovemate at a
time, for unlike conventional marriages, it is not adultery."
     "So you all went back to Yeeth," I said.  He nodded.  "But what about
the rest?  I mean, did Bordin and Lekai remain just friends, lovemates,
lifemates, what?"
     He laughed.  "Oh, yes.  Coming back to Yeeth was quite an interesting
experience.  We all had separate rooms at the inn; the Ranean government
paid for an extra room for Lekai.  I imagine we all spent most of the
afternoon bathing, but the evening was something else entirely.
    "We had decided to meet at sundown in the inn's pub.  Rinneld caused
quite a stir, of course; most of the people had never seen a furry.  While
we waited for Bordin and Lekai to come down, I related this story, the same
way I am telling it now; Bordin entered alone halfway through the tale, but
even with his corraboration, most people refused to believe it--especially
the idea that a woman with fur could be so beautiful.
     "Well.  Lekai entered wearing what was, presumably, her only dress.
It was all layers of slightly translucent black silk tied loosely at the
waist, almost completely open on her left side.  It had virtually no back,
the V-cut dipping down below her tail, and only a little more front.  Her
white chest fur shone through it as dim grey, becoming clearer where her
breasts pressed against the fabric.  It was obviously meant to show off
every curve she possessed, and it was breathtakingly successful.
     "All of the noise in the bar stopped, and so did Lekai, staring around
somewhat self-consciously.  Then she walked towards us and sat down beside
Bordin.
     "When conversation resumed, it was mostly the sounds of wives and
girlfriends scolding their mates.  No army could have captured that many
people so quickly, but Lekai seemed to have enslaved most of the men and
several of the women without even being aware of it.
     "As to whether or not Lekai and Bordin remained friends only, I
believe they did--for exactly one week.  The idea of a furry and a human as
lovers was completely outside the realm of possibilities in Yeeth, but I
suspect that Lekai could have most mortals of any species eating of her
hand just by speaking to them.  Every time she touched Bordin, you could
see him melt into an ecstatic puddle at her feet.  Even if he did want to
only be a friend to her--which, despite his protests to the contrary, I
sincerely doubt--he had little choice in the matter."  His eyes grew
somewhat unfocussed, and he grinned uncharacteristically.  "I remember the
way she kissed him goodnight the day before she took him."
     "More than a peck on the cheek, I take it," I said.
     "She started at the bottom of his neck, drew her tongue slowly up his
chin, over his lips, and deep inside before she was finished.  After she
left, he just stood there.  And stood there.  They could have torn down the
entire inn and built a new one in its place without him noticing."
     "You'll have to forgive me, but how do you know it was _exactly_ one
week, mate?" Gerge asked.
     "Hmm," he said, downing the last of his mead.  "At the risk of
continuing a narrative past the point where it's appropriate, on that
particular night, Rinneld and I went to Bordin's room to talk.  There was
no response to a knock on the door, but the lights were on.  I turned to
walk away, but Rinneld opened the door and pushed it ajar.
     "Lekai was dancing the Fire Dance again, this time wearing the black
dress she had worn into the bar.  Bordin was standing in front of her,
facing away from the door, wearing short pants but no shirt.  As she
whirled around, touching him, she saw us and smiled.  I started to shut the
door again, but hit Rinneld, who was blocking it with his entire body.
     "As Lekai spun around the next time, she pulled off the strip of silk
tying the dress together, and it fell off in one piece, revealing nothing
underneath but fur.  Or, I should say, revealing everything underneath.  As
she spun around behind Bordin, she looked directly at Rinneld, with a
mischievous expression on her face, and slid one hand up her inner thigh.
He fell backwards against my leg with a solid thump.
     "Bordin did not fall to his knees this time, but dropped to them
deliberately as Lekai spun into him and pressed his face into his belly.
'Either come in or go away,' she said, looking across at us, 'but don't
keep the door open.'
     "Bordin jumped a little and started to turn around, but she moved his
head down her body and continued to move slowly, bringing him with her
and... well, let me only say that he stopped paying attention to anything
but her...."
     "Dance," Donthen suggested.
     "Yes.  I quickly picked Rinneld up with both hands, lifting him into
the hallway, and shut the door.
     "'She almost invited us to watch,' he said, shaking his head as if he
was dizzy.  Luckily, the hotel didn't charge us to clean his tongue prints
off the floor.
     "Well.  That _is_ the end of the story, at least as far as I know.
The rest of what happened in Bordin's room that night, I leave up to your
imagination.  Shortly after I left Yeeth, they moved to Orinthe together,
and together they still are today."
     "Do you ever see them?" Xon asked.
     "Yes, occasionally.  They travel almost as much as I do.  In fact,
they've been at the Den a few times; I'm sure they'll be back eventually."
     "Must not have been in the past few years," I said, folding my arms.
"I'm sure I'd recall a feline sex goddess if I saw her."
     "Most definitely," the bard said, smiling.  "It's extremely late,
however, and I have to be moving on.  Goodnight, all."  Everyone applauded
his story, and conversation resumed.  I followed him to the door.
     "So, if I asked, do you think she'd tell me what happened that night?"
     "If you became close enough friends with her, she might show you," he
said, laughing.  I gave him a quizzical look.  "As I said, there is a
distinction in her culture between lifemates and lovemates.  Bordin is both
to her; she will probably never have another lifemate, but more than one
lovemate is a different matter."
     "Bordin doesn't sound like that sort of type himself," I said.  "But I
suppose he learned to adjust."
     "All of them would have to be friends," he said.  "It is somewhat
unusual for Ranea, and surely something most religions frown on, but if
nothing else, they seem to have a lot of fun that way."
     "So she could take a handsome fox as a lover."
     "Or even you," he said.  "Anything's possible."
     "Except skiing through a revolving door," Turtle called from under a
table somewhere in the Den.
     "I think I could get used to a group that doesn't mind
menage-a-trois," I said.
     "Or even four-way," he said with an insanely cheerful grin.  He
stepped out and closed the door before I had time to respond.
     I have to wonder, though--_have_ I ever wanted to run around on all
fours and chase rabbits?  I'd like to say no, but I'm not completely sure
it's the truth.  Perhaps all of us have our true animals hidden somewhere,
and all it takes is the right thing--or the wrong thing--to bring them out.
Maybe that's not always bad; a lot of people seem to think that's what sex
is about, after all.  I can't say I agree with them on that point.  At
least, I don't think I do.
     But that all still leaves me with one question.  Morphs have always
had their animals under the surface; I've always thought that's why a lot
of humans still don't like us.  But what about them?  Do they have their
true beasts locked away somewhere in their subconscious, too?  Is it down
there so far it never comes out?  Most of us have never understood people
without fur; maybe they just don't have animals of their own.
     But if they don't, then what _do_ they have?