Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:52:41 -0600 From: J Wolfstone Subject: Hirsune, Pt. 6 (see the beginning of part 1 for the pronunciation guide) Hirsune Pt.6 - There's Got to be a Morning After by argouru aka jxwolfstone Kyle, - No, Kylenus! - awoke slowly, aching deep inside, but only in a single place. He realized that spot was where his naro had been, before his father had destroyed it in lustful passion as he had initiated his youngest son into manhood. The young man rose up a bit slowly to see he was back in the guest room, naked in bed and feeling both happy and awful at the same time, as though he'd had the best experience of his life, and was now paying for it royally. As the events of the evening swam back into his consciousness, he sighed in contentment. *Yeah, that'd pretty much sums it up,* he thought weakly with a smile. Then he looked down at himself in amazement, his mouth hanging open slightly in joyful wonder... His entire body was now covered in a short, thick layer of dark body hair that hid the skin beneath, and completely covered his body. Looking into the mirror on the closet door, he saw a youthful bearded face resembling those of his father and brothers staring back at him. Turning his gaze back to his body, he saw that his penis was now seven inches long flaccid, and two inches wide, with a generous foreskin covering the glands. Kylenus also discovered, as he rooted around his stomach with his fingers, that his navel had disappeared. There was no longer any trace that he'd ever even had one at all. He moved his hand up to stroke his nipple, squeezing it gently until a warm wetness spread onto his long and dexterous fingers. He squeezed again, drenching his fingers, then lifting them to his mouth to suck his delicious man-milk from his fingers, savoring the sweet, musky taste. *It really happened,* he thought to himself in joy.* I'm really a Hirsune now! Just like Dad, Mark, Davin and Kav... And my name is Kylenus!* He wanted to whoop with joy, jump up and dance, feeling like a teenager, which in a way, he was once more. He wanted to flex his masculine muscles in the mirror and feel lust and pride at the display, and enjoy the pleasures of his new body, but as he tried to get up, the soreness in his egg canal gave him a painful stab of protest, and he reluctantly laid back down instead. *Damn, I think I overdid it last night.... Maybe later...* Still feeling exhausted, he drifted back to sleep... A knock at the door awoke him sometime later, and Kylenus sat up slowly as the door opened gently. "Hey sleepy-head." Kav said, entering the room. "You awake yet?" "I don't know. Am I still alive or did I cum to death?" "No, you're alive." His brother's eyes traveled up and down his body. "Fuck... Just look at you! ...Kylenus... You're so fucking hot! I could hump you right here and now..." He added, his hand moving down his nude body towards his groin, then stopping himself with a frown. "but Dad said to let you finish recovering, first," he finished, looking deeply disappointed. "Yeah, I'm still kinda sore at the moment, so I'll have to take a rain check on that. I'd say Dad ripped me a new one, but there was only the one naro in the first place!" "I know," his brother replied in sympathy. "I remember my own Grand Rite. I was sore all next day. Hey," he added, studying his younger brother's face, "You look younger than me now." "I know, I feel like a teenager again. It's like I went back in time or something. It's weird, but kinda neat at the same time!" "You feel up to eating?" "Yeah, I'm starving." "Good, cause Dad said his nipples are too sore to nurse you any more for awhile, let alone anyone else!" "Sorry about that, but the transformation kept me ravenous." He groaned from the residual ache deep inside him. "Help me get there, will you?" "Sure... What're brothers for?" "Fucking?" Kav laughed as he moved forward to help his eggling brother to his feet... "Look who's up!" he said, a few minutes later as they entered the kitchen and Kav set the younger sibling down gingerly into a chair, as everyone greeted him warmly. "Hey, guys," Kylenus replied tiredly. Ardenus walked over behind him, hugging his youngest hatchling affectionately. "How you feeling, Son?" "Pretty shitty, to be honest. It feels like you tore my insides out... But in a good way." "I'm sorry, but I've always felt it would be better to do it hard and fast and get the discomfort out of the way so you can enjoy getting fucked regularly as soon as possible. Don't worry, though. You'll feel better soon." "I hope so, I want to start getting used to this new body and break it in properly," the young man said, tilting his head back to look up at his father. Ardenus chuckled as he bent down and ground his bearded chin playfully against that of his son. "I'm so proud of you... You took it like a real man... My beautiful Kylenus." He kissed the youth deeply, letting the lad suck on his tongue as he chewed playfully on Kylenus' lips. "I can't wait to fuck you again," he breathed husky into his son's mouth. He reluctantly pulled away. "But for now, let's eat." "Think you can keep up with us this time, Kylenus?" Davin teased. "One way to find out," the former-human said, eyeing the food Kav and Mark were bringing to the table. There were steaks, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, corn on the cob, yams and rolls, with water and tea, and he eyed it all hungrily. "So Kylenus," Mark said, "Can we still call you Kyle for short?" "Well... That was my human name, and I don't really want that anymore... But you can call me 'Ky' instead." Ardenus sighed in mock-fustration as he sat down smiling. "Impatient. Lazy. Ass. Kids." he said jokingly. He looked to each of them in turn, by order of seniority, trying hard to look serious, but failing as he talked. "I go through all that trouble to give each of you a perfectly good name, and you're all too damn lazy to say three lousy syllables. 'Mar-ka-no', 'Kav-ar-in', 'Ky-len-us', and' Dav-in,'" he said, ticking each name off on his fingers, then glanced back to Davin. "Which is only two, in your case, but still... Perfectly good names, but no, not for you little punks!" "Don't lump me in with them!" Davin protested in mock indignation. "I, if you haven't realized, insist on being addressed by my 'full' name." "You don't count!" Kav countered. "Dad just couldn't come up with a good third syllable for you." Davin glared at his younger brother in annoyance. "Fine," Mark said around a mouthful of meat. "We'll just Just start calling you 'Dav'. Happy?" "Thrilled," Davin responded dryly. Everyone chuckled as Davin rolled his eyes. "By Penis.." He muttered to himself, as everyone dug in. 'Ky' even managed to polish off a fifth plate of food before they all were finished with dinner, much to everyone's satisfaction... Harian turned Kylenus' head from side to side, noticing the depth of the transformation in the youth's facial features. Ardenus watched, feeling a sense of pride in his son as the doctor inspected the transformed person within his medical examination room at the town's clinic. Kylenus, having discovered that he was now a foot taller than before, had to borrow clothes from Kav. "Don't worry, we'll by you new clothes after we visit the doctor and grab some lunch," his father had said before they left home. There was a vague scent of recently spilled semen in the examination room, which aroused the youth, as Kylenus sat nude upon the vinyl-padded table, smiling slightly as the elder's deft hands explored his new body. "Truly remarkable," Harian breathed, stroking the young man's fuzzy jawline. "I hadn't heard of this aspect of the change... ...Age regression... Fascinating... Tell me Kyle, er, sorry, Kylenus... How old were you before the change?" "Thirty five," the youth replied. "Really? Well... There's no record of a human that old ever having been Gifted before. I'll have to share this interesting bit of trivia with my colleagues. You actually look about six years old to me." Kylenus stared at him in shock, and the doctor addressed his confusion. "We Hirsune mature at a rate of about three times that of humans, so basically, you'd be just around eighteen to twenty years of age among humans. Now let's see," he continued, running a hand down to the young man's right nipple, and squeezing it tenderly until a small amount of milk squirted forth into his palm. He raised it to his face, sniffed, then licked it. "Hmm, very nice. Milk production is normal..." The doctor moved his hand to the lad's arm, raising it up. "Produce some musk for me." "How?" the former-human asked, uncertain what to do. "Oh.. Well, " Harian explained, stroking the side of the torso just below the hairy pit. "There is a gland in here, contract your muscles in this area to put pressure on it." Kylenus did so, and felt a sudden dampness in the hair of his underarm. His nose wrinkled in pleasure, his penis, which was already partially aroused from the doctor's touch, began to stiffen further. The doctor breathed in the heady scent eagerly. "Yes, musk production is also going well..." He moved his hand down Kylenus' furry stomach to confirm the absence of a navel, then further, inspecting the penis and testicles, pronouncing them fit, and then working down past the groin as his other hand gently pushed back on the youth's shoulder, urging him to lie back. Kylenus complied eagerly, and spread his legs and putting his feet into the stirrups as he felt the medical professional's touch on the most intimate part of his body. Feeling the gentle probing of the elder's fingers, he consciously relaxed his anus, using his newfound ability to control those muscles. He smiled as the healer's nimble fingers gently probed his entrance, beginning to explore the opening that lead into his procreative passage. "Bare down here," Harian said, placing a hand on Kylenus' torso, midway between the base of his shaft, and where the navel had once been. The youth did so, and felt his solem squirt forth from his egg canal into the doctor's hand. Who raised it up to examine the secretion. "Very good. Proper consistency," Harian said, rubbing it between his fingers, "Smell," he added, inhaling deeply. He licked it from his hand and shuddered slightly. "...And taste. Yes... Your solem gland has fully matured. I believe you'll enter your first season this year." The potent powers of the solem began to affect his senses slightly, and his cock tip poked forward through the fabric of his slacks, pressing gently against the edge of the open anus. The doctor looked down upon Kylenus, silently asking, who smiled sexily, nodding slowly. Kylenus heard the doctor unzip his pants, which dropped to the floor. Moments latter, he sighed in pleasure as Harian's phallus slowly sank into him, inch by inch. "Oh yes... Very nice... Nice and smooth..." The doctor said, using the sensitive nerve endings of his penis to aid him as he used it as a natural probe, exploring the youth's reproductive tunnel slowly. He stopped at one spot in surprise, turning to Ardenus. He had much experience in these matters, and instantly understood what it was that he was feeling deep inside the lad's insides. "He... He had a naro?" "Yes," the proud father said, stroking his long erection slowly; having enjoyed watching his son's body being explored outside and in, and had freed his penis in order to pleasure himself as he observed. "It must've grown in when the egg canal formed. We discovered it only just before his transformation was completed. Naturally, of course, I performed the Great Rite immediately as his brothers bore witness. Then... Mere moments after I bred him fully for the first time, he achieved the onam," Ardenus gasped, flexing his knees as a short burst of pleasure filled him, both from the pleasure he was giving himself, and at the lustful memory of the Great Rite he had performed on the young man. Hearing this proved too much for Harian, and the doctor began to grunt as he mounted Kylenus, sliding his shaft deep into the lad's arse, making long, deep strokes until his orgasm rose, and his seed gushed forth into the hot wet tunnel of flesh that enclosed his spasming prong. Coming back to his senses, the doctor ended his orgasm quickly, remembering he had other patients to see that day. Slowly, he slid out of the youth, who gasped as that wonderful fullness emptied out of him, leaving Kylenus feeling hollow. He stroked himself rapidly, unable to resist, and his precum spurted free to coat the hair on his chest. His eyes locked onto those of his father, who slowly approached the son, speeding up the pace of his own self-pleasuring as he approached the lad, and stopped as they stared deep into each other's eyes. "Umm..." The lad moaned in pleasure as he masturbated. "Fuck yeah..." He paused slightly at a hand on the tip of his shaft, and looked up to see the doctor smiling down at him. "Bare down on the area inside you that's just behind the base of your penis," the doctor instructed. When Kylenus did as instructed, and more clear precum trickled out of the gash on the tip of his dong, coating the head with more lubrication. He saw Harian examine the precum in the same fashion as with his solem, before smelling and finally tasting it. The doctor nodded in approval. "Precum is fine... Now let's see the final product." He watched the young Hirsune lustily pleasuring himself upon the examination table. Kylenus returned his attention to his own body, feeling the first prickling of an oncoming orgasm. "I can feel it," he breathed, his stroking increasing in intensity. "I can feel the power of Penis rising up within me..." Ardenus was visibly moved by this, and stepped closer to his son, stroking himself feverishly. "Yes, Son. Embrace it. Let the power of fuck consume you. Give into your lust... And splatter your spunk all over yourself!" "I will! I will!" the lad cried, gritting his teeth as he felt his orgasm rushing towards him like a freight train. "Pour forth, my Penis. Drench me in my own juices! Bathe me in my own spunk! Do it! Please! Yes! Yes! Yes! ...FUCK YEAH!" he cried, as his jism burst forth from his piss-slit, covering him in his own hot, sticky sperm. "THANK YOU, PENIS! THANK YOU!" This proved to be more than the father could take, and he groaned in orgasm, beginning to anoint his son in the seed that had made him. His groan turned into a gasp, however, as Kylenus suddenly turned his head, diving down on his parent's gushing member, moaning as he drank his dad's sperm for the first time. The father swayed on his feet, feeling his son's mouth upon his member for the first time, and only through an act of will did he manage to stay on his feet as the youth's talented tongue danced around his convulsing glands. His mind reeled, having had no clue that Kylenus had such a gifted mouth and tongue, and swooned in ecstasy as the lad pleasured his still-spunking rod. As Kylenus, tongue plunged into the erupting hole at the end of his father's shaft, the elder convulsed wildly, and backed away out of the lad's reach, still cuming, pulling free from the young Hirsune's mouth with a snarl of surprise, quivering all over with sensory overload. He leaned over, bending forward slightly at the waist in shock at the intensity of the orgasmic feelings racing through his phallus, and making him hunch forward. The effect made him look like a hulking, beefy Neanderthal, who's penis continued to gush it's seed onto the floor as it bobbed wildly up and down, contracting and releasing the muscles, making it bounce violently as it continued to spew it's spunk through the air to splatter wetly onto the floor of the examination room. His face screwed up into a silent growl of intensity. His snarling face changed slightly, as he gazed through his fierce eyes at his son; a swelling of combined emotions coming to his face, mixing with the snarling ferocity: Shock, surprise, wonder and pride mixed into his facial expression at how his hatchling had driven him to such a degree of intensity. He grasped his phallus, and screamed in fierce joy, dropping to his knees and stroking his still-orgasming tool, and his consciousness faded into the sacred state of cock-goon, lost in sensation until he knew nothing else. He collapsed onto his side, lost in his phallus, convulsing in a fetal position as his orgasm slowly faded over the course of several minutes, and leaving him a veritable drooling vegetable upon the cum-drenched floor. Harian smiled down at his fellow elder, then turned back to the son without concern. He reached forward, scooping up some of the lad's cum to examine it. "Texture... Smell... And taste." He sighed, savoring the newest member of the community's seed upon his tongue. "So sweet and musky. Truly the cum of Hirsune." He smiled down at his patient. Curious, Kylenus gathered his spend jizz into his hand, and sniffed to find the scent pleasing. He tasted it, and moaned in pleasure as his taste buds exploded from the rich, musky sweet flavor. He'd never liked cum before, but that was when he was a human. Now that he was Hirsune, he found himself craving the stuff, and began to eagerly scrape up as much of his semen as he could, feasting on it. "Was there any pain or discomfort as I mounted you?" the doctor asked, and the lad shock his head in silent answer. "Good. Then you're fully healed, and can now mate freely as you wish." Finally, once Kylenus had finished devouring his own spent seed, his gaze fell to the prone form of his dad curled up on the floor. "Is he OK?" he asked the doctor with concern, as Ardenus twitched slightly. "He'll be fine," Harian smiled."He's just in cock-trance at the moment. He'll come out of it soon. Oh," he added, turning to the youth. "I'm on lemongrass, so no need to worry about me seeding you, despite the fact that you're not in season." At the young man's blank look, he elaborated: "Lemongrass serves as a natural contraceptive for us by interfering with the ability for genetic material to bond with an egg. Even if I hadn't, though, you still most like wouldn't get pregnant, seeing as you're not in season." "Season?" "Our reproductive cycle is similar to certain animals, and we can usually only breed successfully when our reproductive cycle reaches its peak and we go into heat, though it has been known to happen out of season on very rare occasions. The heat can come on at different times for different folks, however. Mine is in the early spring, so I've begun a regimen of lemongrass tea every few hours to avoid pregnancy. I should be there soon now, myself, but it can happen to some Hirsune as late as mid-summer. When that happens, our sexual impulses override all else, and all we do is take every penis we can get into us, which among Hirsune - who possess very prominent sex drives - that's never really been an issue." He looked up at the wall clock, as Ardenus began to stir. "Well, I have another appointment soon, so I'll need to take my leave. You seem like a perfectly healthy young Hirsune, Kylenus, and came out very handsomely." He smiled. "And Kylenus... Welcome to the community." He directed his attention to the shifting hairy form on the floor. "Take your time, Arden. See you later," he said to the father, who grunted in acknowledgement as the doctor left the room... Ardenus let out a loud belch two hours later, as he and his son exited the town's dinner stuffed full of hamburgers, fries and chocolate shakes. "Ahh... I needed that. Cock-trance always makes me so hungry! I still can't believe it though," he said, turning to the youth with a huge grin. "I had no idea you had such a talented mouth. I'm gonna have to start making good use of that tongue of yours," He breathed, pulling his son into a deep, passionate kiss as they stood on the sidewalk in the sunlight, a few passers by smiling at the display of affection between father and son. "This is strange, though," the former-human said as they broke the kiss. "We're acting like lovers, but I still think of you only as my Dad, and not like a boyfriend. I love you, but not romantically no matter how affectionate we are. It's a bit confusing." "Well," Ardenus said, "We Hirsune are a non-monogamous species. We mate openly and freely. I could strip you down and fuck you right here in the middle of the street, and no one would complain. I can do the same to anyone walking by, and would you feel even a bit jealous?" "No... I wouldn't," Kylenus replied, feeling surprised at the truth he felt in this statement. He realized he had not the slightest twinge of possessiveness towards his dad, and would gladly step aside if Ardenus chose to mate with someone else right in front of him. He knew that his dad felt the same way, and had already proven so with Harian, showing no need to even so much as give his permission for them to fuck. Sexuality was automatically a given for Hirsune. It was who and what they were as a species. "But even though this isn't romance or possessiveness," Kylenus added, "I still feel a very deep love for you... And my brothers too. It's nice, but confusing." "The closest thing a Hirsune has to a monogamous mate is his family. If my dad were still alive, he'd be the same to you as the rest of us. That's how it is for us, our bond of love is for our family as a whole. We don't need romance as long as we have each other to love and support us. That just shows how strongly Hirsune you've become, Son." He leaned down to kiss the lad again. "I know you're a man now, but I can't stop thinking of you as my boy. You don't mind, do you? If I still call you that?" "I'll always be your boy, Dad," Kylenus breathed, Kissing his father deeply for several minutes. "So!" an angry voice snapped at them, and they broke the kiss and turned in shock to see the angry, redheaded elder standing before them, looking furious. "You went ahead and did it, huh? Gave our sacred gift to one of those scum!" he spat in fury, his eyes nearly bulging in their sockets. His protective instincts rising up, Ardenus placed himself in front of Kylenus, taking an aggressive stance. "Don't you dare try anything!" he said in a low, threatening tone. "Look at you!" Volnaro shouted angrily, disgust plain in his voice. "Taking in one of those filthy things! Have you lost your mind?!?" The few people in the street stopped in shock, staring at the tableau before them in front of the dinner. "What I do is none of your business, Volnaro!" Ardenus shouted back. "Keep your narrow-minded prejudices to yourself. What happened isn't his fault, and you have no right to take it out on him! He's not like them!" "What's all this?" the bald-headed Hirsune elder who served as head of the religious faculty for the community said, running forward from the temple to see what all the shouting was all about. His sleeveless, vestal white robes with golden detail depicting gushing and urinating phalli upon it, and cut so that it sat open wide on his torso like a leather bar vest in order to display as much of his nude, furry body beneath as possible, trailed back from his body as he came jogging up to them, his penis sagging as he lost his holy erection from distraction. "What is going on out here? Volnaro, what's the meaning of this? Why are you making such a racket out here?" "That's why!" the redhead shot back, thrusting an accusory finger at the lad behind the farmer. Welvayan, the head priest, turned with confusion to the lad being shielded from harm, then started in surprise. He had only glanced at the youth as he had approached the scene, and thought it was the farmer's oldest son Markano, but looking back, he studied the unfamiliar face for a moment before understanding dawned on him. He felt a sexual stir of interest that distracted him from Volnaro's wrath, and he smiled gently at the lad, who smiled awkwardly back at him before returning his gaze to his accuser. "So he Gifted the human. He was well within his rights to do so, and this solves everything now! The human is now one of us, and we are secure once more... I see no problem here." Volnaro looked at the priest in shock. "You're crazy! Those things," he said, jabbing a finger at the lad, "are filthy murderers!!! I'm not going to put up with this insult!" "Kylenus is my son," Ardenus said, his voice a threatening growl. "By seed as well as in heart, and if you even think of touching him again, I swear I'll rip your arms off and use them to send you to your forefathers!" "Come now, Ardenus," the priest replied, shocked at the savagery of the display of protective instincts the parent displayed for his son. "There's no need for threats. I don't approve of Volnaro's behavior either, but there's no need for violence! Surely there's a better answer than dismemberment and bludgeoning!" "I'm sorry, Welvayan, but I won't let him vent his fustrations on my boy!" the farmer growled threateningly. "Volnaro!" another angry voice shouted. Everyone turned to see mayor Pareus striding rapidly towards them, looking furious. He drew up to the redhead, shoving his face into Volnaro's. "I thought we'd discussed this and settled the matter. What do you think you're doing? Are you seriously trying to do what I think you are? Even if you are the head of the guard, you have no right to countermand the council's decision and take matters into your own hands!" "You can't seriously be thinking of protecting that monster! I know them! I've seen with my own eyes what they're capable of!" "This has nothing to do with that! You're being blinded by-!" "I KNOW!" the redhead shouted savagely. "I know exactly what they're like! All they do is hate and destroy!!!" "What is your problem with me?!?" Kylenus said, stepping out from behind his father, who tried to hold him back. "No, Dad!" he said, turning to his father. "You took my virginity and made me an adult. I need to start acting like one... And that includes dealing with my own problems!" Kylenus had never felt angrier in his life, and dearly wanted to rip that nasty, scowling head of its owner's body and beat him to a pulp with it. He closed his eyes, his body trembling violently, and took deep breaths. After a few moments, his temper faded slightly, and he was able to speak again. "You heard me! Why are you acting so hatefully to me? Why?" "Ky-" Ardenus began, choked with emotion and worry, scared that Volnaro might hurt the boy, or worse, that Kylenus would haul off and hit the elder, which would look very bad indeed. But as he saw the lad get his aggression under control, his tension eased slightly. Kylenus stepped forward, and seeing the look of worry on the mayor's face, held up a hand to the elder show he didn't want this to get violent. Relaxing visibly, Pareus nodded slightly, as more and more Hirsune who had heard the commotion gathered close to listen. "Why?" Kylenus said, turning to Volnaro. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?" he asked, emotion choking his voice at the anger and injustice he felt. "You're a human! That's more than enough for me!" Volnaro shot back angrily. "And what's got to do with anything?" Kylenus snapped back, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands. "You killed my grandfather!" the redhead spat fiercely. "WHAT?!?" the lad exclaimed in shock. "NO! I never killed anyone in my life!" "I saw them! The humans who killed him! 1939, Portland, Oregon! We were traveling, my granddad and me, to get supplies. We traveled farther than we normally ever would've. We had to! Your kind were having their stupid 'World War' and supplies were hard to find! We encountered some humans during the trip. Granddad took a fancy to them and offered to share his passion. But those filthy things felt no lust at all! All they felt was rage and hatred! They hit him, knocking him to the ground, where they spat on him and called him a queer as they slowly beat him to death! I was still to little to help him, and couldn't do anything to stop them!" The redhead sobbed uncontrollably in rage."I could only hide in the bushes... Watching helplessly as they murdered him! That's why I hate you, Human! Your kind feel no joy, no passion! All you do is destroy!!!" Kylenus listened intently to the elder's story, his feelings sliding towards that of being sickened, then angry once more. "Look at me! You remember what I looked like as a human, right? Then tell me one thing! Was I one of them?" "W-what?' Volnaro, stammered in confusion, shocked by the question. "Was I one of the two humans who killed your grandfather?" "What? N-no, but-" "Then why blame me, personally, for his death?" Kylenus' features softened, his anger fading. "You're talking about something that happened long before I was ever even born! I'm only thirty five, for crying out loud! You're talking about a tragedy from over seventy years ago! That's -literally- twice as long as I've been alive! ...Look... I'm sorry about what happened to you. I'm sorry that he died, and I'm sorry that you were forced to watch it. If you think I feel even the slightest sense of pride at being human, then think again. I was a victim of homophobia too! I lost my family, my friends, my job and my home... Simply because I didn't want to hide who I was anymore. I wanted to live openly and honestly, but when I tried, I was shunned, treated like a traitor and cast aside by everyone I knew, simply because I only liked other men. It hurt so much..." Kylenus paused, his voice thickening, "That I didn't want to live anymore. I came out here looking to die, and instead, found everything worth living for! And when my Father offered to make me like him, I gladly gave up my humanity! I hate them as a whole nearly as much as you do, but I always believed in being fair. The humans I hate are the ones who shunned me! But I know enough not to blame all of humanity for the crimes of a few! I only blame the ones responsible for my pain! And partially, -partially-, because of that, I didn't want to be a human any more, so I gladly accepted the offering. I'm a Hirsune now, and proud of it!" he finished, thumping his chest savagely. He looked at Volnaro, who stood there looking stunned. "I'm sorry if that isn't good enough for you, but there's nothing more I can say. If you want to live your life full of pain and anger instead of finding joy in what you still have, then go right ahead. But don't use me for a foil to get back and a pair of murdering bigots who died long ago. I don't deserve that. All I want out of life is as much pleasure as I can get, and to enjoy being part of a loving family... Like I always longed for." There was a scattering of applause from the crowd, some of whom praised the lad with comments like: "Well said!" and "Hear! Hear!" Stunned into silence, Volnaro starred at the ground... Then, as if in a trance, he slowly walked away down the street, disappearing from view without saying another word. Pareus smiled at Kylenus, and the priest patted him on the shoulder. "Very well spoken." Welvayan said with a smile. Ardenus grabbed the lad from behind in a gentle bearhug, kissing the top of his head. "That's my boy! I'm proud of you, Son!" Kylenus sighed in contentment, as the townsfolk offered words of praise and welcome to Kylenus before the crowd dispersed...