Archive-name: JourEntr/j916-189.txt
Archive-author: Elf Matheiu Sternberg
Archive-title: Travellogue, Day 7


Travellogue 189 / 0916

     The morning found them wrapped up in more bedsheets than either was
used to; Nickolai felt like he was digging himself out of a landslide of
linen.  "Urf!" he groaned as he finally reached the edge of the bed.

     "You okay?" Furry asked.

     "I'm fine," he huffed.  "Why do you people sleep in such huge beds?

     "I don't.  Remember my bed?"

     "That was for when you were a little girl.  On Earth, that's a bed
for a normal-sized human," he replied.

     "True," she admitted.  "I guess Shardik expects his guests to have
guests."  She winked at him with a grimace.

     He laughed.  "You don't want to try that now, do you?" he asked.

     She shook her head.  "I've got you for another five days," she
replied, "and I'm not going to share you with anyone, Nickolai Dittrich.

     "Good," he said, leaning over and kissing her.  "Now you get to
suffer my morning breath."

     "I've done that before," she said, laughing.  "Come on, let's go
take a shower.  I need to clean up.  You made a mess, and then you made
me sleep in the wet spot."

     "I'm sorry," he said.  "Come on."  He reached out a hand and helped
her out of bed.  They wandered into the shower together, where Nickolai
ran his finger along a trio of electronic plates that apparently
regulated water temperature, pressure, and pulse frequency.  Furry found
the soap, and they spent the next ten minutes washing each other.  Furry
was especially delighted by the erection he had as she soaped and
stroked his cock.  "It looks cute."

     "I also have to piss," he said.  "Excuse my language."

     She scowled, still smiling.  "Be serious, sweetheart.  It's
something we all have to do.  Even me.  Go ahead."

     "What, here?" he asked.

     "Sure.  There's the drain.  I want to hold it."

     "You're strange."

     "Oh, come on, Nickolai.  It's not like we're talking about anything
new here."

     He turned his back to her and tried to aim his erect penis
downward; it softened enough that he felt he could.  Furry took his cock
in hand from behind him.  It took a few tries to overcome his
embarrassment; he could feel the pressure building, but didn't seem to
be able to do anything with it.  Finally, though, a stream of yellow
fluid streamed from his penis; Furry seemed to be having fun aiming it
in circles around the drain.  When he was finally done, he said, "There.
Are you happy now?"

     "You're embarrassed!" she said, laughing.

     "Of course I'm embarrassed!" he said, annoyed.

     "Aw, I think it's cute," she repeated.  "Wash me."

     He took the soap and complied, scrubbing under her fur between her
shoulder blades all the way down to her feet, avoiding her crotch.

     "So, are you afraid to wash me between my legs?" she asked.  He
shrugged and with a suds-covered hand slid it between her labia.
"That's it," she said, "Wash me well; get it deep, Nickolai, don't be
afraid.  You won't hurt me.  Now go further back.  Good.  Hand me the
showerhead."

     He reached up and handed it to her, smirking.  "What's so funny?"
she asked, suspiciously.

     "Remember what you mentioned about that thing last night?"

     Her smile faded.  "You want me to..."

     "You suggested it yourself last night.  Besides, you made me piss
in front of you."

     "That was different!" she insisted.  "Everybody has to piss, every
day.  You're asking me to masturbate so you can watch."

     "Yeah," he said smiling.

     She slowly sat down on the floor, examining the controls on the
back of the showerhead.  They were duplicates of the wall controls,
reproduced in miniature.  There also seemed to be a dial around the face
of it, for controlling stream tightness.  Leaning up against one of the
padded walls of the shower, she slowly turned the pressure up to a
gentle stream, then threw the pulses down from steady stream to a
staccato.  Nickolai sat cross-legged in front of her.  "Ready?" she
asked.

     "That's up to you," he said.  She nodded and turned the showerhead;
the stream walked up along the floor between her legs, along her thigh,
and slowly she brought it down over her cunny.  Her eyes closed, and she
aimed the stream down between her lips.  Her whole body tensed, and a
loud moan escaped her.  Nickolai watched, fascinated, as her whole vulva
seemed to swell, the labia becoming fuller and redder.  She was biting
her lip.

     Her body tensed again, shuddered; her legs seemed to go into
seizure as a long, low moan escaped her.  He watched as she raised the
pressure and the speed of the pulses; she came again, louder, the moan
echoing in the large showerchamber.  Incredibly, she still didn't stop,
increasing the speed even more; it was almost to a steady stream as she
came a third time, tossing her head against the soft-padded wall.
Nickolai's own face was flushed with lust; he felt light-headed watching
her.

     She had the water going without pulses; a steady, tight jet of
water that circled her her clit as she came again.  Her whole body shook
with the effort.  As Nickolai watched the stream was visibly dimpling
the flesh under it; the splashing water was creating little glowing
beads all over her fur.

     It seemed like a long time as she held the showerhead, aimed
directly and forcefully at her clitoris.  It was making his head spin
just watching her, as her eyes clamped shut tight and she came a fifth
time, her moan approaching a scream's volume.

          Finally, she pushed the showerhead away from her; the single
stream aimed across the chamber and splashed against the far wall.  She
panted as her eyes fluttered open.  "There," she said, breathing hard.
"Are you satisfied?"  She laughed, and there was no anger in it, despite
her words.

     "Very," he said, rising on his knees to kiss her.  "That was very
pretty."

     "Good," she said.  "Because I get to watch you now."

     "Wait a minute," he said.

     "What's wrong?" she asked mischieviously.  "Embarrassed?"

     "No, no," he said.  "I just..."

     "Just what?" she asked, laughing.  She poured some soap into her
paw and slowly soaped his cock with it, stroking it until it was fully
hard.  "Now you finish it."

     He gave her a sidelong glance before leaning against the wall she
had occupied just a moment earlier.  Slowly, he pulled gently on his
penis, feeling the skin roll under his fingers the way he had at least a
thousand times before.  In the back of his mind, that thought played
itself out.  He had masturbated his first time when he was eleven, and
that was four years and some ago... four times 365 is over a thousand;
yes, at least a thousand times.

     He smiled as he stroked his soapy cock, feeling his pleasure rise. 
Furry was looking at him with as fascinated a stare as he must have been
giving her.  He mouthed the words "I love you," as he stroked himself
faster, and faster, feeling the lubricating effect of the soap fading,
allowing him to actually grip the skin of his sheath and roll it over
the head of his cock.  His foreskin, he knew, was tight, but it felt
wonderful masturbating with it as he stroked yet faster.  He opened his
eyes just long enough to register that Furry was staring at his crotch
with wide-eyed wonder, then closed them, speeding to his fastest,
gathering his testicles in his other hand to keep them from bouncing
around as his orgasm racked through him and his come shot out onto his
chest and belly.

     "Wow," she said.

     "What?" he asked.

     "I thought you were going to pull it off!  Do you always masturbate
so... violently?"

     "Well, yeah," he said.  "I've never done it any other way.  Why, is
something wrong?"

     "No, no, if that's the way you... you like it.  When you... when
you fuck me, does my... " she closed her eyes looking for the word- "my
sex grip you that way?"

     He hesitated before answering.  "Not really," he said.  "It's
different; there's more friction, and besides, that's just my hand, and
just me.  When I'm with you, it's different.  I feel you, all of you,
not just your... 'sex.'"  He smiled.  "I love you."

     "I love you too," she replied, warmly.  "Let's clean you off.  Good
shot, by the way," she said, running her finger against one of his
nipples and then licking the semen off her finger.

     "Guess so," he said, waggling his eyebrows.  She giggled.

     After they had dressed in the clothes Shardik had leant them
(Nickolai was becoming especially fond of the t-shirt he had been given)
Furry asked "Dave, which way to breakfast?"

     "Ken has instructed me to invite you two to breakfast at his place
if you wish."

     "May as well," Furry said, smiling.  They walked down the hallway
holding hands, and at the door Shardik welcomed them warmly.

     "Good morning.  Two eggs, waffles, and strawberries," he said,
tossing plates up on the counter and quickly covering them with food.
"Eat, kids.  And that means you too, lazy," he said quickly, firing a
cloth potholder to his right at the tired-looking melMephit walking
through the door.

     Aaden glanced down at the potholder where it had fallen, glanced
back at Shardik, then stooped, picked it up and handed it back to him.
"I love you, too," he said.

     "Here," Shardik said.  "Your most favorite least greasy morning
meal."  Aaden took the plate and wandered into the main room, where
Nickolai and Furry had already taken their seats at the table and had
begun digging in.  "No P'nyssa this morning guys.  Her case yesterday
woke up in the middle of the night with complications.  She's back at
Cutters."  Shardik joined them at the table, kissing Aaden as he walked
by, and said, "So, what do you two plan on doing today?"

     "We hadn't decided," Furry said.  "We had planned on visiting quote
the sights unquote, but what is there to visit on Pendor?"

     "That's actually a good question," Shardik said.  "With only a
thousand years of history behind us... almost... we haven't got the
great pyramids of Egypt or the ruins of Greece.  Still, there are things
to do and places to see.  You could go watch a few teams from the Arc
practicing maneuvers.  That's actually fun.  Or you could reserve time
in powered armor yourself.  There are a few proofed suits for civvies to
play in.  You could go to the Piot winery.  Have dinner at Castle
Degranni-" Nickolai noticed Aaden give Shardik a slightly exasperated
expression- "Not the real one, mind you, but it's hard to tell the
difference."

     "I could," Aaden said.

     "I know you could, lover.  I was talking about them.  As I was
saying, you could go climb a few mountains, race a few rivers.  Reserve
time in a playball and have a few hours of fun in zero-g."  Nickolai
blushed slightly; he noticed Furry do the same.  "I don't know if either
of you like intoxicant, but you could try and outdrink a Centaur in
Rocchodain.  There's a dance club at Carraraug.  That's popular with the
younger folks.  I'm sure Skii is going there tonight.  In fact, you
could even go to Monastery Island and find out what all the mystery is
about."  He smiled, then glanced behind his back and out the window.
"But do it early; it's going to rain soon.  And if you get hungry, I
really recommend the Londenumen Inn at Tuilpalya.  Ask for the roast
lamb special.  And get the beer.  Or, if you hang around here..."

     "They better hang around here," said another sleepy voice from the
hole in the floor.  "That young femMark has a game to play this morning,
remember?"

     "I almost forgot," Shardik said, apologetically.  "Of course;
you're going to play chess against my lovely daughter, aren't you?"

     Furry nodded.  "I did say I would."

     "Yes, you did," the fox said, rising from the floor.  "Good
morning, fahs," she said, leaning over and giving Shardik and Aaden
pecks on their respective cheeks.  "How's everything this morning?"

     "Bright and sunny," Shardik answered.  "For a few hours, at least."

     "What?" Molly replied.  "Oh," she said, looking out the window.
"Better get moving, then," she said, smiling.  "Are you ready?" she
asked Furry.

     "As I'll ever be," Furry replied.

     "Dave, set it up and raise the Castle to Overlook.  We're going to
play with the playset."

     "Of course," the AI replied calmly.  The walls of the crater,
visible just below the level of the residencies, began to fall away,
although Nickolai felt no perceptible motion.

     "Come, my dear," Molly said, holding out her hand.  Furry took it
and allowed the fox to lead her out to the patio.  Nickolai followed
behind them.

     The plain of glass-smooth stone shimmered for a second to be
replaced with an enormous chess-set, made of black and white tiles that
appeared to grow (or was that glow, Nickolai wondered) out of the stone;
in the correct positions stood the correct pieces, although not the
traditional pieces.

     Nickolai reflected that he'd seen chess machines where the pieces
fought out the moves, although the outcome was never in doubt; it was
merely for entertainment, making the taking of a piece more dramatic.
And as Molly and Furry exchanged moves he saw that was the case; pieces
walked, fought, died, and faded away.

     Although he had never found chess terribly exciting, he became
wrapped up in the game as Furry and Molly instituted a timing mechanism
in the hopes of outplaying the oncoming rainstorm, as first Molly took
Furry's queen and Furry returned the favor, placing Molly in the first
check of the game simultaneously.  As piece followed piece in rapid
succession away from the game, both were finally left with just king and
pawn, avoiding any possibility of checkmate and Dave ruled the game a
stale.  "Damn!  Good game, thank you," she said, reaching out a hand.

     Furry shook it gently.  "You're welcome.  Thank you, as well."  She
picked up her hand suddenly and said, "That was a drop."

     "Indeed it was," Shardik said.  "Allright, everybody, inside.  It's
about to pour."  Thunder rumbled, although there was no lightning yet
that Nickolai saw.  "It's hitting shore; that's where the static is
coming from," Shardik commented as he closed the glass door behind
himself.  "Well, you guys can go out; there have to be more exciting
places than this on Pendor."

     Nickolai found himself liking Shardik, but he couldn't say why.
"Yeah," he admitted, "But when I get home, think about the fun I'll have
telling my friends I spent the weekend hanging out with Shardik."

     "'Hanging Out?'" Shardik said.  "Is that expression still around?
True, that would be fun.  But unfortunately, I've got some
responsibilities, as do other people here.  So if you'll excuse me, I'm
going to go.  Be back before shadowfall.  Call me if there's trouble."
He reached over and picked up a small notebook, kissed Aaden's cheekruff
and wandered out, Molly with him.

     "So you're stuck with me," the large Mephit said gently.  "I'm
afraid I'm not going to get anything done today, not with a storm like
that shaking outside.  You could take off, like he suggested.  Or I
could show you around."

     "What, around the Castle, or around Pendor?" Furry asked.

     "Either," he said.  "Would you like a guided tour?"

     "Yes, please," Furry responded.

     "Okay, a tour it is."  He rose from the table, putting down his
glass, and said, "Give me a moment to dress."  He disappeared down the
hole Molly had risen from and returned a moment later in a black-sheened
kilt, a vest and a cap.  "There.  Now then, come."  He wandered over to
the front door and said, "This is the residency level.  Not much to see
here, I'm afraid.  It's kind of boring."  He made a right, then a left. 
"That's the commons.  If you're hungry and lazy, Dave will usually have
something for you to eat.  If you're hungry and not lazy, Dave can
usually get the ingredients for whatever you want to cook.  If it's a
really weird ingredient, like dried hocho peppers,"  Aaden smiled to
himself, "you'll have to get them yourself.  The commons also serves as
the playroom for the younger kids."  He stood into the g-tube and
lowered himself down; they followed.  "Dave also makes sure that the
kids don't play too fast in the g-tubes."

     "He let me bump my head yesterday."

     "He assumed you were old enough to know better," the Mephit
responded calmly.  "Was it a life-threatening bump?"

     "Well, no," Furry responded.

     "Then he had no business interfering."

     Furry bit her lip; it was difficult to argue with logic like that.

     "Here's the basement.  It isn't exciting, although if you look in
here," he said, opening a door with a palmlock, "You'll find the PT2,
Ken's shuttlecraft.  And I think that's the Foe, Maha Oren's ship."

     He lead them back up one level, and said, "Here's the general use
level.  Over there are classrooms, over there's the map room, and that
room over there is a plain old-fashioned unsambo."

     "Unsambo?" Nickolai asked.  The word was unfamiliar to him.

     "Practice room for martial arts.  You know, everything from
hand-to-hand dodge and contact to fully automatic weaponry.  The word
comes from the roots of the words 'room' and 'stormcloud,' I don't know
why."  He pointed down the hall and said, "Over there's a VR room Ken
uses for high-resolution genework; If you get a chance, watch him at it.
It's a little like watching an alchemist.  And he always plays music at
far too high a volume for my comfort when he does.  And that last room,
there, is the chapel."

     He shrugged and began to turn when Nickolai stopped him.  "Uh,
Aaden..."

     "Hmm?" The Mephit turned around.

     "A chapel?  Isn't that a little... unusual?"

     Aaden smiled warmly and said, "You're making assumptions.  The word
'chapel' has so many connotations around it.  Come on, let me show it to
you."

     He led them down the hall and pulled open one of the double wooden
doors.  "Take a look," he said, walking in himself.  Inside, a vaulted
ceiling made of granite reached at least 10 meters.  There were stained
glass windows on both walls, along with a magnificent circular one
depicting the creation of Pendor above the door they had just walked in.
The opposite end of the chapel terminated in a shallow semi-circle with
a single dias.  The benches were of hardened wood, with nearly upright
backings, and rust-red rugs lay down the three aisles.  There were no
significant religious icons that Nickolai could see.

     "Some people," Aaden said, interrupting his thoughts, "go to the
mountains for peace and quiet.  Some go to the beach.  Some come here.
I've sat in these benches for hours sometimes when I've had to wrestle
with a problem in my head.  It's often been said that the first two
people to seriously use the chapel for its intended purpose were Chris
and Lori when they were discussing their first child, but that was
centuries ago.  Before the first opening of the gates.  Before I was
born, even."

     He led them back upstairs, past the two floors of residency, to a
floor clearly labled "2."  "This is mostly guest quarters, although Ken
has a few rooms set aside for others things.  The household's exercise
room is over there," he pointed to a door on the left, "And it's mostly
a duplicate of the unsambo, but most people use the hardware strictly
for exercise.  And weapons practice must be done downfloors.  Over there
is a room that mostly gets used as an arts/crafts room.  Ken's got a
sculpture in there."

     "Shardik sculpts?"

     "When he wants to, which isn't often.  He gets obsessive about
doing one thing, and that thing gets done.  Would you like to see it?"

     "Can we?" Furry asked, excited.

     "I suppose," Aaden shrugged.  He led them down the hallway and
through the door open.  "It's a pretty strange image, if you ask me."
Indeed it was; the sculpture, in white stone, was of a Centaur wearing
exceptionally heavy body armor and helmet, lying on the ground with legs
splayed.  Stone curled away from the chest of the human half, a hole
rent in the armor, a stone two-handed sword imbedded almost to the hilt.
The image was graphically violent, yet somehow the statue conveyed a
sense of peace and finality.

     "Wow," Nickolai said after a few seconds.  "He's good."

     Aaden nodded.  "I don't understand where he got this idea from, but
he worked like a demon on it for months.  Now that it's done, he doesn't
want to show it.  I don't know why; I wish he would.  It is a good
sculpture."  He looked around and said, "Want to go up one more floor?"

     They nodded.  "Come on," he said, leading them to the top floor,
labled "1."  "Storage, mostly.  There's a meeting room over there that
I've never seen used.  Also, the top half of the physical plant's up
here, over in that corner.  These corridors lead to stairs to the roof. 
Come on."  He led them a little further down the hallway and said,
"Dave, clear this window please."  The window cleared as ordered and
they were looking into a water-filled chamber.  "The rooftop pool, so
Shardik could converse with the Dolphins without having to leave home.
Works, too; they love the ability to come talk to him in his own home."

     Aaden turned to them and said, "Well, that's it.  You've seen
Shardik Castle from the inside.  Sorry it wasn't as exciting as you
would have thought."

     Furry looked around and said, "We discussed that yesterday,"
gesturing between Nickolai and herself.  "You have to live here; I
didn't expect Shardik to keep the secrets of the universe under his bed.

     Aaden laughed and said, "Never thought of it that way, but I
suppose you're right.  Besides, most of the secrets take so much
hardware and are so dangerous that they're kept in vacuum."

     "Pindam," Nickolai said.

     "Right," Aaden replied.  "So, what do you guys want to do now?
It's only, what, six o'clock?  Nine hours till nightfall."

     "Actually, Aaden, we were going to go places on our own."

     "Of course, of course.  Actually, if you follow me around you'll be
bored out of your mind, too.  I'm going to do a little seed turning.
I'm trying to get a variety of SQ-celled plant from Aldeberaan six to
grow in our soil."

     "Doesn't sound like something we'd be interested in," Furry
admitted.

     "Then go have fun.  Dave, is it raining at Rocchodain?"

     "Not that I know of," the AI responded perfunctorily.  "The storm
cycle seems to be curling off the range of Marbletop."

     "Well," Aaden replied, "You can go there first and cancel your room
reservations."

     "Can't we have the AI do it?" Nickolai asked.

     "It's against protocol," Furry said, gently.  "We have the time and
resources to do it ourselves.  Asking Dave to do it would prove we're
lazy."

     "Oh, okay."  He shrugged, still getting used to Pendorian customs. 
"Let's do it."

     "Sdisk is on level three, you know where it is.  It'll put you
wherever you ask.  I assume you know how to use it, young lady?"

     Furry nodded.  "I do."

     "See you tonight.  Set your watches to PST."  Furry adjusted her
watch as he had indicated, and they tromped off to the SDisk.  They did
indeed first stop at Rocchodain, then Furry transported them to a
hallway.  "Where are we?" Nickolai asked.

     "Arc," Furry said.  "Come on, I want to get something."

     "What?"

     "Skycycles," she replied.  She led them to a large shop near the
roof of the arcology and entered.  A femFel shopkeeper intercepted her
headlong rush and said, "Can I help you?"

     "My friend and I would like the use of two skycycles."

     "Day or overnight?"

     "Day."

     "Experienced?"

     Furry paused for a second and said, "No."

     "Then you'll be wanting a pair of Solo Fives, a very speedy but
very safe model."  The Felinzi led them over to a pair of bikes hanging
against one wall.  "As you can see, they have no forward unit, so unlike
the old LNRW models they do not block the driver's vision.  They have an
advanced collision-avoidance system that allows them to be driven in the
most insane manner through wooded forests, if you so choose."  The
Felinzi grinned, her ears falling back along her white-furred head.
"Will these do?"

     "Uh-huh.  Kolya?"

     He shrugged.  "I guess."

     "Good," the shopkeeper exclaimed.  "Up onto the roof, and I'll show
you."  They followed her up a flight of stairs to a small launch porch. 
There were two of the model she had indicated sitting there.  "Now then,
you'll both be using full restraint; sit here," she said, pointing to
Nickolai.

     Nickolai sat down on the bike she had indicated.  The Felinzi
picked up a broad loop of belt and wrapped it around his waist, then
another pair of loops strung over his thighs.  "That should hold you."
She spent another five minutes familiarizing him with the control; they
seemed to be similar to those found on an air-capable 'Mech.

     "Ready?" Furry asked once she had strapped herself onto her bike
and dismissed the shopkeeper.

     "Yeah," Nickolai said.

     "Then follow me!" she shouted, pushing down on the acceleration
pedal with her foot; the bike shot out of the 'Arc with no sound but the
wind.  Nickolai dropped his foot on the pedal and felt the bike nearly
take off without him.  The display pegged itself at "90 kph" before he
figured out how to control the damn thing.  "Good thing this has a
safety," he said to himself.

     "Uh-huh," Furry said in his ear.  "And I love the intercom.  Sounds
like you're right behind me, cuddly."  She waved to him from her bike.

     Nickolai finally got the courage to look down and watched as the
world slipped by underneath him.  "Where are we going?" he asked.

     "I want to see something; we're going to the Rowan."

     "Isn't that the name of an AI?"

     "You're behind the times.  'Rowan' is a Mephit who used to live at
Shardik Castle.  'The Rowan' is a tree that Oenone planted before Pendor
had a breathable atmosphere.  It's still alive; it's the oldest tree on
all of Pendor."

     "I didn't know that."

     "Welcome to Pendor," Furry said again, laughing.  She dipped her
bike down, and Nickolai followed her until they were skimming the grassy
ground of Abornia plain.  They drove for a while; it felt like almost an
hour, cruising along.  Although wind was hitting Nickolai in the face,
it didn't feel like it was doing 90kph; apparently one of the safety
feature of the skybikes was a forcefield that slowed wind down.  He felt
uncomfortable trusting the hardware so much, but Furry seemed to be
enjoying herself, so he resolved to do the same.

     They drove on until Furry took to the high air again, circling
around one lone tree that seemed to be growing in the middle of the
Plain, high on a hill.  From the height they were at, there was only one
other visible object nearby; a small white rectangle about a hundred
metres from the hill.  "What's that?" he asked, pointing at it.

     Furry looked down from her bike and said, "Oh.  I'll show you when
we get down.  Let's land."  She brought her bike to a complete brake,
hovered, then slowly eased down with the handlebar.  Once on the ground,
she undid her belts as Nickolai landed next to her.  "How was your first
trip on a 'cycle?" she asked.

     "A little frightening," he admitted, "But I got used to it."

     "I bet.  It's fun to take one these into the woods or through a
canyon, especially a really twisty one," she smiled, wide.  "Come on,
let's walk to the stone."

     "That white thing?"

     "Yes."

     They walked the short distance; as they got closer Nickolai could
tell it was some sort of deathmarker, a tomb maybe.  It was a silent
white stone, granite maybe, a perfectly smooth rectangle.  On one side,
set into the stone facing the tree were the words "DONNA HYZEN LEWIS
SHARDIK 0087-0106."  Nickolai read the words twice before saying, "Oh."

     "Yeah," Furry said, quietly.  "They say Shardik comes out here to
talk to her, when he's depressed.  You know the story about his
attempted suicide, right?"  Nickolai nodded.  "Well, Shardik once said
that while Brieanna convinced him to live for a little while longer, it
was Donna who convinced him to live forever."

     "I wonder why.  And what does 'Hyzen' mean?  I've been told it's
actually a real word."

     "It's from an obscure dialect of Pendrii that didn't integrate well
with general Quen.  It means 'shines like the dew,' and it had something
do with her hair."  She took his hand and said, "Come on."  She led him
back to the tree, where he sat down on the ground, leaning against the
tree, and offered his lap to her.  She accepted, smiling.

     "Furry, why'd you bring me here?"

     "Because it's quiet," she said, gently.  "Because I wanted to get
away from everything.  Like you on the beach, it's a place where I can
just be alone with you, to hold you and be hugged by you."

     He smiled and held her a little tighter; a lyric from a song he
enjoyed began running through his mind, and he said aloud,

          "We are our own saviors,
           As we start
           Both our hearts,
           Beating life into each other."

     Furry sighed and snuggled up closer to him.  "That's pretty.
Where'd you get that from?  Or did you make that up yourself?"

     "I wish," Nickolai said, smiling as he held her.  "It's from an old
Terran folk musician.  I can't remember the name."

     "It's pretty anyway," she sighed.  Then she laughed gently.

     "What's funny?"

     "You're getting hard again," she said.  "Want to do something with
it?"

     Two weeks ago he would had shouted his affirmation.  Instead, he
asked, "Do you?"

     She smiled and tugged at the lace holding his pants shut.  She
pulled the laces free and dug into his pants with her muzzle.  Nickolai
closed his eyes and sighed as her tongue assaulted the head of his cock.
It had been a few hours since they had masturbated together, yet he was
extremely sensitive now.  She moaned softly as she pulled his cock free
of his pants; it slapped up against his belly.  She laughed and in one
swift move took it deep into her mouth.  He sighed and felt the pleasure
of her tongue deep within him.

     "Oh, Furry, don't stop."

     She didn't reply, simply and slowly stroked his cock.  He scratched
her back softly, trying not to crowd her at his crotch or frighten her
with any inclination that he might try and choke her.  She took her
time; he was amazed at how long it seemed to be taking, at how much
energy she was putting into sucking on his cock.  The pressure built
within him as her lips slid along his shaft, pushing the foreskin back
with every stroke.  He came, gently, feeling his cock pulse against her
tongue.

     Her reaction was to back away, a look of surprise in her eyes.  He
could see her throat working, trying to swallow his semen; her eyes
winced a little.  He sighed quietly as his cock softened against his
belly.  "You okay?" he asked.

     She smiled apologetically, her throat still working.  "Don't like
the taste," she said, smiling.  "Sorry."

     "Well," he said, "That's okay.  I don't expect you to like
everything about me.  Thank you.  You're the first person to do that all
the way like that."

     "Really?" she said, her eyes lighting up.

     "Really," he repeated.  "Thank you, Furry."

     With a look of delight, she curled up against him and lay her head
on his chest.  He smiled and stroked her head gently, teasing her ears
with his fingers.  She giggled gently and said, "Stop that."

     "I think I found another ticklish spot."

     "Don't, please?" she said with a tone of seriousness.  "I really
don't want you to."

     "Okay," he said, a little disappointed.

     "I mean, I've noticed how much you love to tickle me, but after
that, I think I just want a nap," she said, closing her eyes.

     He nodded, slowly stroking her soft fur; Markals, he had noted,
were 'hairless,' in that they didn't have an overabundently long trail
of fur on the tops of their heads.  Most Pendorian species were similar;
Humans, Satryls, Tindals, and Centaurs were the only species with long
hair.

     As he stroked, his eyes grew heavy; his climax had tired him, and
he noticed that her breathing, too, had grown deep and steady.  He
closed them and fell into a gentle sleep.

 
 
     When he awoke, the sun was still overhead.  His eyes had snapped
open of their own will; it felt like it had been a few hours since they
had lain down together.  Furry was still asleep in his lap.  "Furry?" he
asked gently, tapping her on the shoulder.

     "Huh?" she asked, looking up and blinking.  "Sorry, I must've
fallen asleep."

     "Me, too.  What time is it?"

     "Thirteen," she said, surprised.  "We must've slept about four
hours."

     "Lucky it didn't rain," he said.  "Look."  He pointed.  In the
direction they were heading, back towards the Arc, there were
stormclouds gathering.  "Sambo," he said, smiling.

     "Very funny," she said.  "Come on, let's get the bikes."  They
gathered their few loose possession together; Nickolai noted with more
than a little embarrassment that his pants had been open the entire
time.  Fortunately, Furry had been lying almost atop of him, and none of
his more sensitive anatomy had suffered any sort of damage.

     As he retied his pants shut, Furry floated up the hill and over to
him on her skycycle.  "See you at fifty metres," she shouted as the bike
shot straight up into the sky.

     He jumped on his bike and joined her; they sped off in the
direction of the gathering storm.  The forcefields kept them dry and
warm as they docked with the skycycle shop.  "So," he said, "Where to
now?"

     "I want to stop by my home," she said.  "I want to tell my folks
I'm okay."

     "Sounds like a good idea," he said as they wandered down to the
SDisk.

     "Are you going to pay a visit to your mother?"

     "I don't think I should."

     "Why not?" she asked.

     "Furry, will you make up your mind?  First you don't like my
mother, then you tell me I should see her."

     "Kolya," Furry said, sighing, "I love you.  I want what's best for
you.  On one hand, I understand how you feel about her, and I understand
that for a Pendorian you're of legal age here.  But you've got to
understand too that on Pendor, we revere our parents; your trying to
completely avoid her is, well, unusual."

     "I know.  Let me decide how to deal with my mother.  I'm pretty
sure she'll get along without me.  Besides, we called her last night;
she seems to be getting along okay."

     "I suppose."  She sighed.  "C'mon.  Let's go."  They stepped on the
SDisk and wandered down the hallway to the Shigokai residence.  The door
opened as they approached.  "Hello?" Furry said as they entered.

     "Jofuran!" her mother replied as she stepped out from an adjacent
room.  "How have you been?  Has this young man been treating you well?"

     Furry looked over at Nickolai, trying hard to maintain a steady
grin, and said, "Considering I've got my arm around him, I hope so Mom."

     "And you two really are staying at Shardik Castle?"

     "Apparently so.  That, or an incredible simulation."

     "It's the real thing," Furry's father said as he stepped in behind
them.  "I've been there.  Spent the night there.  I was sixteen at the
time too, and I found it surprisingly boring."

     "Daddy!" Furry said, turning around, releasing Nickolai to hug her
father.  "Hi!"

     "Hiya, moppet," Morrail replied, hugging her.  "But I'll tell you
this... if I had been offered a room in the Castle for two weeks, I'd
take it.  Just to have that memory."

     "Oh, we're going to stay, unless we get kicked out," Furry said.
"But I just wanted to stop by the house and say 'Hi, we're fine.'"

     "So I see," Morrail said.  "You're looking good, lad.  Get a little
sun today?"

     "Just a little," Nickolai said.

     "We went to the Rowan, Dad."

     Morrail sighed as he released his daughter and said, "The Rowan is
such a depressing place, Jofuran-- a reminder of one of the worst
moments in our history.  Why couldn't you have taken him to Rainy's
View?  After all, it's right next to the Castle, and it's a lot more
beautiful.  The Rowan is pretty, but it's also monotonous.  Abornia is
so huge, the Rowan is just one tree in that huge field of grass."

     Furry shrugged and said, "Just wanted to go there.  To see it."

     "'Because it was there.'  As good a reason as any.  So, how long
are you going to be home?"

     "We're leaving in just a few minutes.  I just want to grab some
things from my bag and get going."

     "Okay, Joey."  Morrail leaned over and gave his daughter a gentle
kiss.  "Take care you two."  He walked over to his desk and sat down,
flipping a few switches.  Furry disappeared into her bedroom, returned
with a small black bag on a belt about her waist, and said, "Let's go."

     They returned to Shardik Castle by SDisk, stepping out onto the
hallway.  Nobody else seemed to be home; they found ways of occupying
themselves until bedtime.

--
"Travellogue, Day 7"
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., And Related Tales
are (c) 1989, 1992 Elf Matheiu Sternberg.  May be freely distributed by
cybernetic media; hardcopies are limited to single printings for
personal use.