From: elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg)
Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.furry
Subject: Journal Entry 164 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 12 ]
Date: 21 May 1996 14:04:33 GMT
Organization: Pendor, UnLtd.
Lines: 931
Message-ID: <4nsihh$19s@news1.halcyon.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com

Erwer, Cerim 17, 0918

    Garth felt something soft and warm stir against his belly, then 
opened his eyes in time to see Kiza turning over.  "Hmph," he said 
to himself, smiling, then bent forward to kiss her on the back of 
the neck.  She gave a small, high-pitched moan, and otherwise 
didn't respond.  "Thank you," he whispered to her.  He rose from 
the bed carefully, being sure not to disturb her, then bent over to 
find the kilt Kiza had brought him.  Instead, he found a set of 
clothes that looked suspiciously like they had come from his 
luggage; they hadn't been there when he had gone to sleep, and he 
suspected Kiza's mother had come in early in the morning to leave 
them.  It bothered him a little to think  that Kiza's mother had 
come in and seem them together.  The strange container that Kiza 
had pulled his kilt out of earlier he recognized now from ancient 
videos about the pre-industrial Americas as a saddlebag.

    He put his clothes on, trying to make as little noise as 
possible.  He managed to sneak out the door without, as far as he 
could tell, waking Kiza and made his way down the stairs.  Naiza 
was already at work in the kitchen.  "Garth, you are awake!"

    "Yeah," he smiled.  

    "Kiza was kind to you last night, I take it?  A good friend?"

    Garth nodded, blushing slightly.  The smell of food grabbed his 
attention and Naiza noticed.  "You want some breakfast?"

    "Could you?"

    "Of course I can!" she said.  "Here, you sit.  I will get."

    Garth pulled one of the old wooden chairs out from under the 
table and sat down.  Naiza rummaged through a variety of cabinets, 
at least one of which was visibly refrigerated.  Ten minutes later 
she dropped a plate in front of him, complete with some pinkish 
meat and a mass of yellow that he assumed to be eggs.  Overcoming 
some initial hesitation, he began eating with gusto, feeling 
suddenly hungry and enjoying the taste Naiza had prepared.  As he 
ate, Kiza walked through the door, yawning.  "G'morning."

    "Ah, child!"  Naiza placed another plate on the table so 
quickly Garth had the sneaking suspicion she had had advanced 
warning that Kiza was already awake.  "You sleep well?"

    "Momma?" Kiza said.  "I have something to tell you."

    "Yes?"

    "Is father around?"

    "He is attending a failing pump, Kiza.  You can tell me."

    "Momma, I think I'm erolie."

    Naiza paused.  "You think, Kiza?"

    Kiza nodded.  "I'm pretty sure.  It only works with fems, 
Momma."

    "But what about Garth here?  He seems such a nice mel."

    Kiza leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder and 
squeezing his arm.  "Garth is a nice mel, Momma.  One of the nicest 
I've ever met."  Garth felt a small surge of pride run through him.  
"But when I think about settling down, or sharing, or loving, it's 
a fem, Momma."

    Naiza nodded.  "You still want children, then?"

    "Of course I want children, Momma.  What does that have to do 
with my being erolie?"

    "I was just wondering.  I remember hearing that erolie 
sometimes don't have children."

    "Momma, entalie sometimes don't have children.  Shardik has 
never had a child, for example.  I'm only sixteen, Momma.  Give me 
a little time and I'll be having as many children as you!"

    Naiza walked around the table, pulled Kiza away from Garth and 
gave her a big hug.  "Kiza, whoever and whatever you decide to 
settle down with, you know How and I will always love you."

    "I know, Momma."  Kiza wrapped her arms around her mother's and 
the two of them held each other tight for a moment.  "Now let me 
eat.  You were always worried I didn't eat enough."

    Naiza released Kiza and returned to her cleaning of the 
kitchen.  Kiza smiled at Garth.  "That wasn't so bad."

    "You didn't tell me you were going to tell them today," he 
said.

    She smiled at him abashedly over her fork, then shrugged.  "I 
needed to let her know."

    Garth nodded.  "I don't know how to deal with parents.  I never 
had any."

    "I thought you still had people who raised you."

    "Yeah, I had, um, patrons," Garth said, downing the last of a 
glass of milk that had been set before him.  Naiza moved to refill 
it, but he placed his hand over it.  "That's enough, thank you.  
But they weren't biologically related to me, if that's what you 
mean.  They were paid by my parent's estate."  Kiza nodded.  

    "That system is going to be in a lot of trouble," Naiza said.

    Garth looked at Kiza.  "You're right, you know.  The political 
implications of rendering the Right of Replacement tradition null 
and void are incredible."

    "Well, we at least averted the war," Kiza said.  "Come on.  
I'll show you around my family's farm."

    "Wait one second, young lady," Naiza said.  "Garth is a guest, 
but you are my daughter.  You will clean your place at the table 
and help me put away dishes."

    "Yes, Momma."

    Half an hour later, Kiza led Garth out onto the porch.  "This 
is one of four FTS farms in this sector.  This is ours, and if you 
look way over there you can probably see Piot's.  See where those 
foothills begin, before the mountains take shape?"

    Garth nodded.  "A little."

    "That's Piot's.  He grows grapes on the hillland, and mostly 
grains on the valley floor.  He's one of the finest vineyards on 
the ring, too.  He's been there forever."

    "Forever is a long time."

    "He's been there long enough," Kiza said, smiling.  "You know 
who Kitty Moran is?"

    "She's the Dragon lady, isn't she?  The first human to walk 
through the Hall and come out the other side the same, right?"

    Kiza nodded.  "Piot and she are good friends.  I've seen the 
Dragons flying around his house sometimes.  It's beautiful to watch 
them; they're so big and you can't believe that they could be 
graceful, but they are.  Momma would wake me up sometimes to watch 
them fly around."

    Garth didn't reply.  The enormous expanse of yellow before him 
was almost more than his mind could handle; the grain seemed to go 
on forever under the blaze of the Pendorian sun high in the daylit 
sky.  The smell overwhelmed his sensitive Katckin nose, and he 
could barely make out the distinctive smell of animals over the 
incredible pollen that swept past them.  The whitewashed porch made 
mostly of wood seemed to glow before his eyes.  "Wow."

    "You like it here?" she asked.

    "It's so... big."  He shivered.  "It looks like it goes on 
forever."

    "It's not like Earth," Kiza said.  "There, your horizon is 100 
kilometers away.  Here, you can see Piot's house even though it's 
like, forty klicks away, but if you look out over the valley that 
way, it goes  on for hundreds and hundreds of klicks.  Almost a 
thousand.  You really lose perspective after a while."

    "I'm part of this now..." Garth said softly.

    "What?" Kiza asked, leaning against the railing and inhaling 
deeply.  "Pendor?"

    "Yeah," Garth said.  He jumped up on the railing and sat down.  
"I feel so weird today."

    "Why?"

    "I don't know."  

    A bird flew by, black as night, and Kiza hissed.  "Damn crows," 
she said.  "What is there to feel weird about?"

    "I guess I'm not used to being told I can get someone 
pregnant."  He laughed.  "Pregnant.  That's a condition dogs get 
into."  He remembered who he was talking to, turned and looked at 
Kiza.  As he had thought, she was glaring at him.  "Sorry."

    "Damn you, Garth.  I want to get pregnant someday."  She took a 
deep breath, then let it out.  "Oh, well.  Can't expect you to get 
better instantly."

    "Thanks for the benefit of the doubt."  He hopped off the 
railing.  "So, what else can you show me?"

    Kiza took his hand and led him down and around to the side of 
the house, where a wide canal flowed by.  The canal seemed to be 
entirely artificial, laid with cement from side to side and for as 
far as Garth could see.  "Irrigation," she said.  "We get most of 
our water from a snowpack above Piot's land.  It's huge, 
fortunately, and Piot says that in the thousand years or so that 
he's been here he's never seen a year that didn't have enough water 
for the valley."

    Garth listened, nodding politely.  As she led him around the 
corner and began showing him the huge machines that actually did 
most of the work on the farm, a niggling thought that kept 
recurring in the back of his mind finally became clear.  "Kiza, 
mind if I ask you something?"

    "I don't mind if you ask me anything," she said.

    "A... thousand years.  I know Pendorians are long-lived, but 
Piot has lived there for a thousand years?  I don't think I can 
imagine anyone staying in the same place for ten years, never mind 
ten centuries."

    "My parents are the third family to live in this house.  They 
moved here after the family before them moved on."  Kiza smiled.  
"What a phrase.  'Moved on.'  I mean they killed themselves.  They 
have lived here for three hundred years.  I think that's something 
you have to learn about us, Garth.  Pendorian's come in different 
flavors, but the two most common are those that don't live forever, 
and those that just don't move.  Piot's the second kind.  He's a 
kind, loving, gentle soul.  He tends farm, writes poetry and paints 
the most beautiful things.  There's a painting he did of me in the 
living room."

    "I didn't see it."

    "I'll show it to you when we go back inside.  But even though 
Piot adjusts... to having children in his house, to having Dragons 
outside, to having me bounce around as he draws me... his 
essential... soul, I guess... was filled when he built that house 
there with his own two hands.  He's never needed anything more than 
that."

    Garth nodded.  "He adjusts, but he doesn't change."

    "Right.  Essentially, he lives there."  Kiza pointed out across 
the valley.  "If he had to move, he wouldn't be the same person 
anymore."

    "And what about your parents?"

    "I dunno," Kiza admitted.  "Maybe someday they'll want to move 
on, too.  Maybe I will.  On the other hand, maybe they'll still be 
here in a thousand years.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be living here 
then instead."

    "You?"

    "Yeah, me," Kiza said, looking down the length of the long, 
narrow valley.  "I grew up here, and maybe I'll want to settle down 
here.  You never know."  She took his hand and led him completely 
around the house again until they were back at the front porch.  
The dizzying sight of miles and miles of growing green and gold 
made Garth feel small, but also secure, as if he knew he were 
inside something safe and protective.  It was a familiar feeling he 
had been having for most of his trip.

    As they re-entered the house, Kiza looked around.  "You know, I 
think it's time we moved on.  Come on, I'll get the horses and 
we'll go find Parynn."

    "Who?"

    "Local Centaur boy.  Lives a few miles away.  In fact... Sine?"

    "Geez, Kiza, I was wondering if you were ever going to even say 
Hello to me."

    "Sorry, Sine.  Can you call Parynn and tell him to blip over 
here?  We're going to want his company back to the SDisk."

    "I did that two minutes ago," the voice from nowhere said.  
Garth realized she was addressing a local AI, and wondered if this 
place had a Castle associated with it.  He asked.

    "Sort of," Kiza answered.  "Piot's place is sometimes called 
the Castle of Dragons, and Sine is stored in the basement 
somewhere.  If there's a point of authority in the Loa'imlad, he's 
it.  Speaking of which, there's the painting I wanted to show you."

    It was a rather complicated picture, Garth realized.  It showed 
the front of Kiza's house, just as he had seen it when they had 
walked around outside.  There were several people in the picture he 
didn't recognize, but he knew the three short Martens must have 
been Naiza, Kiza, and How.  He asked about the others, and Kiza 
recited the names of the people in the painting.  "That's Parynn.  
The big human in the back with the wrench and all the muscles is 
Piot."

    "Does he really look like that, or does he just paint himself 
that way?"

    "In reality?" Kiza asked.  "I remember him being bigger."

    "Wow."

    "I was younger when he painted it.  You know how things start 
to look smaller as you get older.  He was probably about that big."

    A knock at the door a few minutes revealed a panting Centaur 
male standing there.  "You didn't have to run," Kiza told him.

    "Well, from the way Sine said, it sounded like you wanted me 
over here quick."

    "I wanted you over here, yeah, but not so's you'd kill yourself 
on the way!"  She laughed.  "Anyway, Parynn, I want you to meet 
Garth.  Garth, this is my old friend Parynn."

    Garth reached up.  Parynn shook his hand warmly.  "You're a 
Katckin."

    "And you're very observant," Garth shot back, immediately 
regretting the reflexive answer.  On Terra, he could reasonably 
expect to have his species recognized, but on Pendor he was the 
alien.  "Sorry."

    "Hey, no problem," Parynn said, standing up straight again and 
nearly hitting his head on the doorframe.  "Whoa.  That's lower 
than I remember."

    "The last time you were here was two years ago," Kiza said.  "I 
bet you're still growing."

    "I hope not," Parynn said.  "Hey, you missed Piot's barbecue 
this year."

    "I did?" Kiza.  "Damn."  She turned to Garth and said "Every 
once in a while, Piot throws these huge barbecues.  Slaughters a 
few dozen cows, has about a dozen dragons overhead.  It's very 
exciting."  She smiled.  "I miss those.  I miss a lot of things 
about not living out here.  I think if I get the chance, I'll move 
back out here.  It would be nice.  Or... Hey, Sine, do you think 
you could tell me when there's going to be a party?"

    "Of course," the AI replied.  "I'm surprised you didn't ask for 
that in the first place."

    "I wasn't thinking," Kiza sighed.  "Come on, you two.  Let's 
get the horses."  She walked out of the house, and Garth and Parynn 
followed.  They walked around to the stables, where two horses 
stood quietly waiting.  "Those aren't real, are they?" Parynn 
asked.

    "Nah, they're not," Kiza admitted.  "Pretty good 'droids, 
though, you have to admit."

    Parynn nodded.  "Why do you use 'droids, though?  You can 
handle real horses well enough, Kiza.  I've watched you."

    "He can't," she said, pointing back at Garth.

    "I don't know if I could with a perfectly compliant 'droid, 
either," Garth said.  Kiza showed him how to climb up into the 
saddle, and Garth attempted to emulate her.  Much to his pleasure 
he managed and was surprised when he found himself astride a horse, 
looking around at the world.  He was eye-level with Parynn and 
Kiza, and the world looked hazardously far away.

    "Come on," Parynn said.  He started walking away, and Kiza 
followed him.  "I don't understand why you called me, Kiza.  You 
should know where the SDisk is by now."

    "I know," she said.  "I could probably find it without help.  
But I wanted to catch up on old times and local gossip, and you 
always were so good at that, Parynn."  The centaur laughed and 
began relating local stories.  Garth found the news unexciting, 
much as he had the conversation last night; it was simply part of a 
world he didn't participate in.  His mind wandered.

    What was he going to do now?  He didn't feel any different; it 
was kind of like a birthday.  A year had gone by since the last 
one, and something was supposed to be different, but it never 
really felt like that.  Not on the day before, and not on the day 
after.  Everything felt the same.

    They rode, following the canal for several kilometers, and then 
turned on one of many paths leading into a wide, green field of 
corn.  Parynn led them for what seemed like another hour, and then 
the field broke open to reveal a white circle.  "It's plain!" Garth 
announced.

    "What did you expect?"

    "I've just seen a few weird ones recently."

    Kiza nodded.  "Well, we don't go for anything fancy out here.  
It's just a plain old SDisk, like any other."  She smiled.  "Come 
on.  Off the horse.  They know how to get by on their own, and I 
don't think they'll be very welcome in the halls of Shardik 
Castle."  

    Garth dismounted, awkwardly, and Kiza waved to Parynn.  "G'bye!  
Thanks for the talk!"

    "My pleasure, Kiza.  Call me earlier the next time you're 
around!"

    "I will, I promise!"  The world vanished.

    To be replaced with the familiar hallway of Shardik Castle.  
"You know, Garth, your tour ends in only two more days.

    Garth nodded.  "That was one of the risks of jumping the Hall."

    They reached Nickolai and Jofuran's room and threw the door 
open to find her and Nickolai sitting on the floor, playing chess.  
"Hi, guys!"

    "Garth!" Nickolai said, rising.  "You made it!"

    "Yeah, I guess I did."  Garth stepped forward and walked into 
Nickolai's offered hug.  He then stepped back and smiled awkwardly.  
"Homo felinxus pendorii numero uno."  He laughed.  "Doesn't do me 
much good to be the only one."

    "No, it doesn't."  Nickolai laughed.  "But there will be others 
soon enough.  I don't know if Kiza told you, but today's cerenya, 
and according to Ken they have that picnic every week here.  I 
assume you want to go."

    "Sure, why shouldn't I?"

    "I don't know," Nickolai said.  "Why shouldn't you?"

    "Is that, like, going to become the theme of my life?"

    "'Garth, according to his own Id,' by Garth."  Nickolai 
laughed.  "I can think of worse rules to live by."

    "I guess," Garth said, shrugging.

              -               -              -

    Shardik looked up, squinting into the fading daylight.  
"Hello... Garth!"  Ken rose up and gave the Katckin a welcome hug.  
"You made it!"

    "I thought you would all know by now."

    Ken nodded.  "Well, I did, but that shouldn't stop me from 
being pleased to see you again.  I didn't know what your reaction 
to the Hall was going to be, whether you liked or disliked the trip 
or what.  I'm glad to see you're still the same."

    "I am too, s..."  Garth stopped, blushed, and smiled.

    Ken roared with laughter instead.  "We managed to break 
Nickolai of that habit.  I think.  Have we, Nickolai?"

    "I hope you won't get too upset if I fall back on it 
occasionally."

    "Details!  Exceptions!  You haven't changed, Nickolai.  Still 
fighting the same old fears you always had.  So, tell me, both of 
you.  What are you plans now?  I can think of a dozen schools and 
colleges that would have you as a student if you want, Nickolai, 
and I'm sure Jofuran's is only one of them.  And you, Garth, you're 
still planning on  returning to Terra, right?"

    Garth nodded.  "That's what I planned all along."

    "Good.  I'm afraid the war has heated up a little, though, so 
we're going to be sneaking you in under the wire."

    Nickolai looked up.  "What?  Again?"

    A tall Centaur who had been standing behind Ken for some time 
said "The colonies are hot for the New Reproductive Technologies.  
The Samans are angered because of the lost income, as well as the 
lost power, represented by independent reproduction.  The Samans 
are saying that that kind of irresponsibility will destroy the 
Human race and the colonies are all saying that they could never 
survive if the Samans went under."

    "That's insane," Furry said, shaking her head.

    "Right now," the Centaur, who Garth recognized as Paul Lewis, 
continued, "It's infighting between factions, those who believe in 
the 'old ways' and those who are championing the Brave New World, 
that has such people in it."

    Ken flashed a feral grin.  "Hmph.  The Brave New World is much 
like my old world, the world Pendor's always been.  
Zero-maintenance."

    "What do we do in the meantime?" Garth asked.

    "Just like before, you go home.  There's nothing stopping you 
from doing so; in fact, Terra is again requesting that all Terran 
natives head home as soon as possible.  It's playing hell with 
people's vacation schedules, and their howling mad.  Which, you can 
bet, generates some damned significant interest when forty percent 
of Terra's operating budget comes in the form of levies on 
tourism." 

    "But... won't I look suspicious?"

    Ken made a throwing-away gesture.  "Don't worry about it.  
Nobody will know a thing, and it's none of their business anyway."   

    Garth nodded uneasily.  "I suppose."

    Shardik pointed to an open place on the blanket and indicated 
for them to all sit down.  "Fire's not going yet, so we may as well 
wait.  Unless you're thirsty-- there are drinks over there, like 
last time."  He pointed to a table.  "Look, we all knew this was 
going to be ugly.  Terra considered its own position, then settled.  
Then it remembered the colonies, and it'll settle again.  This will 
all blow over soon."

    Nickolai looked at his companions, then sat down.  Furry 
followed, then Garth and Kiza.  "In any event, there's nothing to 
worry about.  Garth, you want to return home, and I can provide 
passage."

    Ken paused for a second to drink from a glass.  "So, are you 
enjoying your life as a Pendorian, Garth?"

    "It doesn't feel much different."

    "It shouldn't," Ken agreed.  "You'll be fine, even when you 
return to Terra."

    "Ken, something has been bothering me.  It's a little weird, a 
bit of a non-sequitur."

    "Tell me about it."

    "Why do we say 'on the ring' about Pendor, but 'in the world' 
about Terra?"

    "You know, I've never been able to figure that out myself.  
It's an expression, Garth, conveying a meaning other than what's in 
the words.  At least, that's how I look at it."

    "But, I mean, on Terra, you're really on something.  The 
gravity holds you to the outside skin of the planet, just like it 
holds the air 'on the world.'  But on Pendor, you're really in 
something.  The airwalls hold the atmosphere inside, the ring goes 
around the sun to close itself in."

    Ken grinned.  "That's a great piece of observation, Garth, but 
you're missing an important piece that I've only now understood 
myself.  The minds of the people involved."

    "How so?"

    "When you talk about being 'in' something, you're talking about 
a sense of insulation and protection.  To say 'in' the world is to 
imply that the world has limit.  'Inside' implies a known set of 
borders.  'On' simply talks about a place on a plain, limits or 
intersecting plains undefined.  The majority of Terrans dislike 
being told they're on the business end of a... you know what a ray 
is in mathematics?"

    Garth nodded.  "An initial starting point and a direction."

    "Right.  The majority of Terrans dislike being told they're on 
the business end of a ray starting at the center of the Earth and 
heading for the stars.  To compensate, they reduce the size of 
their world by talking about being 'in' it."

    Nickolai interrupted.  "Whereas the 'in-ness' of Pendorians is 
reinforced by just looking up, and the 'on the ring' emphasized by 
their being on a flat, large plain that's part of an artificial 
construct."

    "Very good," Ken said.  "Great observation.  Make any sense, 
Garth?"

    "Mostly," he admitted.

    A loud, metallic ringing erupted.  "Dinner's ready," Ken said.  
"Come on, let's get something to eat.  All this talking has made me 
empty my glass."

    Somehow, they got separated, and Nickolai and Furry ended up 
near the back of the line.  By the time they got their food, the 
others had already collected back at the blanket.  Ken was telling 
Garth and Kiza a story that Nickolai recognized as something 
involving a broken arm and the initial investigation of Hyzen, the 
abandoned double Dyson sphere that had been discovered nearly eight 
centuries ago.  Research and archeological teams had failed to dig 
up anything reliable on the people who had lived there, but there 
was little surprise in that; the surface of Hyzen was thousands of 
times that of Pendor, and much of it was constantly abraded by 
violent winds.

     "Furry?" he asked.  "What did you plan on doing for your 
internship?"

    "I don't know.  I was thinking about a couple of the more 
popular known digs.  Say Wesau or Hyzen.  Why?"

    "I've always been curious about Hyzen.  Could we go there?"

    "I'm coming up on the time when I'll need some off-world 
credit, and from what you told me, you could qualify in about a 
year."  She looked at him.

    "Would you like to do that?  I mean, go for study?"  The look 
in her eyes was enough for him; he felt warmth spread through him 
from her smile when he realized he had echoed thoughts she had 
probably been having for months.

    "Nickolai," she sighed, saying what didn't need to be said, 
"I'd love to spend a year of my life on Hyzen with you."

    He grinned, and in his best scary-video voice he said, "It'll 
mean terrible hardships."

    She swatted him on the shoulder.  "And making love every night 
in Zero-G."

    "That can be difficult at first, and the novelty wears off 
after a while," Ken intoned from across the blankets.  His eyes 
seemed to unfocus for a moment, then he blinked and looked up at 
them.  "Nickolai, you'll need eight months of in-house training 
here before you'll be eligible to ship.  Furry can go now, but she 
can always take more of those Xenolinguistics classes she professes 
to hate but does so well at.   Tell me, Furry, Nalatadafefetidetah 
Copotonitadefenah?"

    "Coponatedfeneh Topofaletanicatah Sopacafefetidah!" she replied 
just as quickly.

    "What did you just say?" Nickolai asked, looking back and forth 
from Ken to Furry.

    "He asked me if you were the person I wanted to go through life 
with.  I said I couldn't imagine anyone else I would want to go 
through life with."  Furry raised her eyes and smiled at him. 

    "And you, Nickolai?  How do you feel?"

    "Sir," he said, looking down at Ken defiantly, "I can't imagine 
anyone else I would want to go through life with either."

    Ken rose from his sand seat, dusted off his pants, and walked 
over to them.  "Witnesses, people!  I need witnesses!"  A crowd 
grew around them, and Furry and Nickolai glanced back and forth 
uncomfortably.  Ken cleared his throat carefully.  "Now then, 
Nickolai.  Jofuran.  Listen closely."

    He paused for a moment.  "People of Shardik Castle and honored 
guests, we have gathered here to witness the coimeliniel of 
Nickolai and Jofuran."  He leaned over and out of the side of his 
mouth muttered to the two, "Speak now or forever hold your peace, 
kids."

    Nickolai took a deep breath, then said "No objection."

    Furry's smile threatened to reach her ears.  "None here."

    "Very well," Ken intoned, sounding so serious even Kiza 
giggled.  "Nickolai, do you take Jofuran Shigokai as your 
coimelin?"

    Nickolai nodded.  "Yes."

    "And Jofuran, do you take Nickolai Dittrich as your coimelin?"

    Jofuran sighed.  "Yes."

    "Very well.  By the power invested in me by these witness, 
Goddess only knows why they would give me such power, I pronounce 
you Coimelinos, a great marriage."  He grinned, reached into a 
pocket, and handed them a small box.  "Wedding presents."

    Jofuran took the box and opened it.  Small, glittering shapes 
appeared within.  "Fah!"

    "Yes?"

    "No, not you," she said.  "I mean, well... "

    "It's only jewelry," Ken said.  

    "Are these what I think they are?" Furry asked, pulling out one 
of the small rings.  She handed the box to Nickolai, who pulled out 
the other ring.

    "Yes," Ken said.  "Don't ask me how they work, either," he 
said.  "I'm not a telepath, much less a mage.  But they are black 
diamonds mined from Jupiter's heart.  Thank Molly for them.  The 
cutter who did them had a virtual heart attack when he heard what I 
was going to be asking him for.  Fortunately for us Pendorians, we 
can't have heart attacks.  Well, we can, but they're not serious."

    "Nickolai, give me your left hand."  He reached out; Jofuran 
slipped the ring she held onto his ring finger.  It fit perfectly.  
"Now put that one on me."

    Nickolai fumbled; the simple band of silver metal seemed to 
glow with a curious light that wasn't reflected from fire or 
distant sectors of Pendor.  On the top, a small row of five black 
stones glowed with their own, otherworldly light.  It finally 
slipped onto Jofuran's hand, and Nickolai felt something enter his 
mind, a strange sense of... direction?  "What?"

    "Paired black diamonds have this peculiar telepathic effect," 
Ken said.  "A mage tried to explain it to me, but it became so much 
mumbo jumbo after about three seconds.  You will always know in 
what direction to travel to find Jofuran, and she you.  I hope you 
don't mind  them as gifts.  After a while, you'll find that you 
don't notice it, just as you don't really notice the temperature or 
the humidity on a nice day.  It's just there."

    "Do you... ?"

    "No," Ken said.  "P'nyssa gave me my wedding band years before 
we could mine Jupiter, and I have no intention of refitting this."  
He turned the ring slowly around on his hand. 

    "Thank you, Ken," Nickolai said.  Ken reached out a hand as if 
to shake, but when Nickolai closed his grasp, Ken pulled them both 
into a hug.  "Thank you two," he said.  "You two are spectacular 
people."

    He released them.  "Now then, let's eat!"  The crowd cheered, 
as celebration of the ceremony or to welcome the call to food, 
Nickolai wasn't sure and didn't care.  He looked down at Furry, a 
tear sliding down his cheek slowly.  "I love you."

    "Oh, Nickolai!"  She grabbed him and held him tight.  "I never 
doubted it for a second.  I love you too."  He grinned and held her 
tight.

    They sat together, watching the crowd flow past them, enjoying 
each other's company quietly.  It was the sort of reassurance that 
Nickolai felt he could fall asleep with, in her arms, holding her.  
"Hey, Nickolai," Ken's voice said in his ear.

    "Hmm?"

    "We're going to go play ultimate out on the beach.  Want to 
join us?"

    "Furry?"

    The Markal looked up.  "Sure. I'd love to."

    "Good," Ken said, standing up.  "Okay, boys and girls.  
Ultimate, on the beach.  Dave, assign teams in your usual unfair 
fashion!"

    Nickolai found himself on Shardik's team, accompanied by about 
twenty other Pendorians of various species.  The game began.  The 
toss-off started and the disk headed straight for him.  He caught 
it easily and was suddenly surrounded by four big felines.  He 
tossed it off through an opening; a paw slapped it to the ground.  
He joined the pile to recover it.  "Oof!"

    That was when Nickolai met the current incarnation of the 
referee.  "Break it up, you savages," a high-pitched and peevish 
male voice spoke to him.  He looked up, brushing off a faceful of 
sand in the process, and came to face the silliest-looking image he 
had seen in months.  It had the face of a vaguely demonic cartoon 
cow, glowed pink, and had the body of an equally cartoonish dragon, 
one wing dangling sadly.  "Who is that?" he asked.

    "That's Dave," Ken answered.  "That's one of his sillier ELFs."

    "Agreed."

    "Okay, the blues have the ball," Dave said, pointing with one 
wing.   The voice was all wrong for the AI of Shardik Castle.  
"Go!"

    The game was running again.  Nickolai found himself often 
running back and forth, providing interference.  He was neither as 
big as an Uncia or as fast as a Pamthreat and it didn't seem to 
matter.  He was personally responsible for at least one goal, and 
that pleased him.

    They were into the fourth quarter of the game, each quarter 
fifteen minutes long, a number which confused him since a Pendorian 
hour was only forty minutes long, although each hour was also as 
long as Terran hour; the Pendorian minute had been stretched 
significantly to make room for that discrepancy.  He was running 
down the field; Aaden, on the other team, had gotten control of the 
disk and was looking for someone to throw it to.  The disk sailed 
into the air; the entirety of both teams began converging on where 
they thought it would land.  Two Ssphynxes ran in from the sides, 
and suddenly there was a loud crunch, and an even louder scream.

    "Hold!"  The cry went up from every corner of the beach.  
People froze, then scattered to make room for whoever had been 
hurt.  He recognized her immediately.  "Furry!"

    "Medical!" A tall Ssphynx shouted from where he stood over her.

    Nickolai ran to her, but the look on her face was one more of 
anger than pain.  "Furry?"

    "Damned ankle," she snarled.  "I think it's broken."

    P'nyssa's voice replied almost instantly, "Good diagnosis.  
It's broken, all right.  Two places, in fact."  A ripping sound and 
an inflated cuff wrapped around Furry's calf above the ankle.  
"How's that?"

    "Better," Furry gasped.  "Pain is gone."

    "So is all feeling," P'nyssa warned her.  "Okay, hold on.  I'm 
going to put these bones back together.  It's not going to hurt, 
you can't feel anything, but it's going to sound gross.  Ready?"

    "Go."

    She wasn't lying, either, Nickolai said.  The grinding noise 
made his stomach churn horribly, and then the two snapping sounds 
as the bones fell back into place, broken end butted to broken end.  
"Okay," P'nyssa continued.  "Don't move a thing.  Just hold your 
leg still.  That's hard because you can't feel anything.  But just 
don't try to move anything."  She reached into a tall, black bag 
and pulled out another cuff that looked like it would fit Furry's 
ankle perfectly.  P'nyssa opened several of the clasps and fit it 
around the broken ankle.  Then, with a small hand-held control, 
programmed it to rigidity.  It seemed to inflate, flexed a little 
to get the fit perfectly, and then molded itself about Furry's leg.

    "Okay," P'nyssa said.  "Now, this is going to hurt."

    "What?" Furry asked, looking up, concerned.

    "I can't leave the cuff on.  I'd rather have you out of pain 
than in, but I can't leave you without feeling in your foot.  You 
need it to walk, at any rate.  So I'm going to turn the neural 
suppresser off.  Do you want it gradual or fast?"

    "What's better?"

    "Depends," P'nyssa said.  "Some people prefer one over the 
other.  Neither is really 'better.'  Both hurt."

    "Go with the fast version," Ken suggested.  "Get it over with."

    "Okay," Furry said.  "Do that."

    "Ready?" P'nyssa asked, her hand grasping the velcro seal.

    "Yeah."

    P'nyssa tugged, ripping the cuff.  Nickolai gritted her teeth 
as Furry's face convulsed in pain, her teeth biting her lower lip 
and a small squeal escaping her muzzle.  Her eyes opened and stared 
into hers, and as he watched they glazed over slightly, her body 
shuddering again and her mouth opening to pant heavily.  "Yeah," 
Ken said, smiling.  "You'll be okay, Furry.  You really will.  Not 
a recommended way of getting endorphins, but it works.  Nickolai, 
do you think you can carry her back to your room?"

    He nodded, reaching down underneath her shoulders and knees to 
lift her up.  He was surprised at how easy it felt; he had 
apparently gotten stronger in the past couple of weeks.  She 
wrapped her arms around him, sniffing softly.  "You okay."

    "Mmm-hmm," she gasped softly.  "With you I am."

    "You two have got to stop doing this," Ken said.  "Every time 
you come down here, one of you gets hurt."

    "It was just an accident.  And nobody could predict that 
Nickolai would get stabbed," Furry replied.  

    "Yeah, but still.  I hate feeling like bad luck."

    "It was just an accident," Furry replied.

    "You're stoned, dear."

    "Yeah.  And my foot hurts."  They reached the SDisk and 
teleported back inside the Castle, walking back to their room.  She 
grimaced slightly as Nickolai put her down.  "I think I'm going to 
go to sleep now," she said.  "I feel fuzzy."

    "I hope so," Nickolai said, caressing her head softly.

    "I mean, in my head.  I'm tired."

    "Then go to sleep."

    "Okay," she said.  She was out.  Nickolai checked her again, 
dragged the covers over her, and went back upstairs to the living 
room.  "How is she?" Ken asked when he returned.

    "I think she'll be okay."

    "Good," Ken sighed.  "I was really worried about her."

    Nickolai nodded.  "Where are Garth and Kiza?" 

    "I think they went back to her parent's farm," Ken replied.  "I 
asked Dave that myself a few minutes ago when I realized they 
weren't around."

    "You're trembling!" Nickolai observed.

    "I do that," Ken said.  "I hate when my friends get hurt, 
especially at something that's supposed to be a friendly sport."

    "People get hurt in sports sometimes, Ken."

    "You're taking an amazingly mature attitude towards the whole 
situation.  I'd be pissed.  Maybe that's why I like you, Nickolai."

    Nickolai grinned.  "I don't know what your reasons are, but I'm 
glad you've got them."

    Ken nodded.  "Goodnight, Nickolai."

    "Goodnight, Ken."

--
"Journal Entry 164 / 0918  [ Reunion, Part 12 ]"
The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
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