Dreaded Creatures Glide

Author's Notes: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. This chapter is mostly set up stuff, but it can't all be sex and violence, right? Check out Din Kelion's awesome, awesome fan art: http://dinkelion.deviantart.com/art/Far-Seer-75082356 And Inbar's equally awesome fanart: http://img2.tapuz.co.il/communafiles/25777654.png Thanks to everyone for all of your lovely comments, reviews, and criticisms.

“Wouldst thou” - so the helmsman answered. –
“Learn the secret of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
Comprehend its mystery!”
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Paetor found his lord standing in one of the castle’s many rooms, staring at an elephant head mounted on the wall. The craftsmen who’d worked on it had arranged for the trunk to reach out realistically in the air, its trumpet silent in death. Beneath the head was a plaque commemorating its service to the royal family.

“If Your Grace is not busy, I have news regarding the prince,” Paetor announced. The duke spared a glance at him, waving him over, and returned to contemplating the elephant. “You were in my service, were you not, when I captured the beast?”

Paetor looked at the elephant and then back at the duke. “Yes, Your Grace.” He had been new to the duke’s service, then, and terrified of his lord’s fiery temper.

The duke nodded. “I caught my prizes back then, instead of purchasing them.”

Not wanting to infer any insult, Paetor said nothing, but His Grace did not seem to expect a response. His Grace went on: “It was quite a fight, you know. No one had ever captured one alive before, and everyone made a terrible fuss, but I was determined. I had to have him. It was a close thing, too. Quite close. I still have the scar from where he got me with one of his tusks.”

“How terrible, Your Grace.”

The duke laughed. “Terrible? Hardly. I was never happier. I remember the day I put him in the gardens. I had to have the bars for the pen redone twice over, because no one could conceive of an animal so strong.”

If memory served, even the bars had been useless. “And he was moved to the pit eventually, Your Grace, was he not?”

“Indeed, after he killed the third man.” The elephant had trumpeted its raucous cry for days, and then fallen unnervingly silent, Paetor recalled. Paetor and the other servants new to the household had been dared by the older servants to go near the pit, but no one would go. “I thought he was dead for some time,” the duke continued. “I ordered him brought out because I wanted to see if it was true. I imagined that a creature that large might have a soul like a man’s, which would prefer death to defeat.”

The elephant had been quite alive, Paetor remembered, but it had changed. It had moved that lethal trunk only to accept food from its trainers’ hands. It had stood still under all manner of poking and prodding, merely blinking its large brown eyes. It had become a favorite of the royal children, eventually, who liked to feed it peanuts and whisper in its large ears. It had died old and beloved. Paetor had forgotten its early days until now.

“That merman is the most damnable thing,” the duke said, interrupting Paetor’s reverie.

“For that, Your Grace, I fear I must take the blame. It was I who purchased the animal, and I truly belie—”

“Oh, psh, that’s not what I meant. The merman is a marvelous creature. Marvelous. I am very proud to own it, and as ever your taste was impeccable. But I’ve heard the reports. The creature does nothing but wail all night, and that – that sorry business with the guards. I – I might as well have put him in the pit.”

Paetor swelled at the compliment, and once more cursed the guards for the incompetent fools they had been. It had been a shame to the entire household when the night shift had been discovered the next morning. The amount of alcohol they had imbibed alone would have been humiliating, but to add insult to injury one man was dead from a savaged throat, another from an embarrassingly intimate wound, and the third alive but gibbering. He had relayed the story that one of the guards had tried to force his attentions on the other, and in his efforts to escape the man had first wounded his comrade and then run afoul of the merman. Paetor had dismissed the man, but the damage had been done. “If it is not above my place to ask, Your Grace, what do you intend to do?”

“I won’t kill him, certainly. You may rest your fears in that respect. He’s far too precious a commodity to be thrown away. But I am not… That day when he leapt out of the water…” He was silent for so long Paetor was about to ask him if anything was the matter, when suddenly the duke said: “I will gift him to my nephew, I think. He would know what to do with such a beast, and if I cannot have the prize myself, I would want to no one but him to have it.” The duke seemed to contemplate this for a moment, and Paetor tried to make sense of it, wondering if he should voice his objections. His Grace often grew tired of his obsessions quickly, but he was not in the habit of giving them away. Paetor started when the duke spoke again: “Your news of him. Is he close?”

“He arrives two months hence, Your Grace. His campaign against the bandits was quite successful.” Paetor paused, and then ventured, “The merman would serve as a victory gift, if Your Grace wished.”

“Indeed. I just hope he understands the nature of this particular present.”

Paetor hoped so fervently as well. It was useless to argue with the duke once his mind was set on something, and not his place besides, but he could see far too many opportunities for disaster in this plan to believe it a sound one.

88888

As a pup, still blue all over, Far Seer had once asked his mother why it was that merfolk looked so different from other creatures in the sea. Why was it, he wanted to know, that humans, who lived on land, looked more like the merfolk than any fish or mammal in the sea?

“Because we were the same once,” his mother had replied, with her usual impatience for Far Seer’s ceaseless questions. “But now they live on land and we stay in the water and that’s that.”

Lying against the shallow side of the pool, Far Seer smiled slightly at the memory. He remembered how badly he had wished to explore the land then, beyond the shallows where the merfolk swam, to see how the humans lived. He had even crawled about the rocks near the shore a few times, before his mother had yanked him back into the water by his ear. She wasn’t here to pull him back now, he thought, but he had no wish to explore the human gardens. He probably could have now, since the humans stayed away, but what was the point?

Far Seer heard someone enter the gardens, and perked up, hoping against hope that it was his human. But no, he heard voices that weren’t Kee-Kee’s. The humans came into view and he saw that they had the ropes and nets. He lay back down. They were going to drag him out again. They had done it before, when they wanted to poke at his wounds, and every time before he’d given them as much trouble as he could, darting around the pool faster than they could run. They had always caught him eventually, but he had settled with giving them a difficult time of it, even when he was wounded. But now… what was the point? They would do what they wanted anyway. He closed his eyes.

After several moments, he realized nothing had happened. He opened his eyes and saw that the humans were standing motionless, just looking at him.

“Kee-Kee?” he asked tiredly, hoping half-heartedly that one of them would recognize what he meant.

They muttered low to each other unintelligibly. “You’re all as dumb as sea cows!” he snapped, and slapped his tail against the water for emphasis. The humans cowered from the splash. “Pathetic,” he said, half to himself. “Just get it over with.”

That, at least, they seemed to understand, for they descended. He was netted and hoisted into human hands. This time, however, instead of laying him out so one of the humans could poke at him, they tossed him into an unnervingly strange contraption. There was water in it, a little pool with walls, and bars above those. The top was open, which calmed him, because he could jump out if he had to, but he balked at the thought of spending any amount of time in here. Was this his new cage? He would die first!

And then it began to move. Far Seer cried out at the shock, and rushed to the bars to see what was going on. There were humans, he saw, moving his new little pool. How were they doing that? He craned his neck, trying to understand. He could see very little, and as ever the humans poked at him with their weapons if he came too close. He bared his teeth at them and watched his surroundings change as he was moved along. Excitement warred with fear as he was moved out of the garden and down strange human hallways. He had been in a bad state when the humans had first taken him to his pool, and his memories of the lands around the pool were hazy. He admired the beautiful stones and metal contraptions despite himself. Merfolk could be skilled craftspeople, but never had he seen anything so grand as this. Each hallway seemed more grandiose than the last.

A final set of doors led them to the outside, and Far Seer blinked at the sunlight. He looked immediately for the ocean, hoping for a chance to escape, but could see it no where. He had not realized that he was this far from the sea, and it made fear grip him. Where were the humans taking him?

His cage was heaved onto another human contraption, large enough to hold his cage. The humans used chains and rope to secure his cage to the platform below him. Strange creatures stood attached to it, breathing hard. They were covered in hair white as beluga whales, and stood on four legs, not two. They were densely muscled, and looked far stronger than any human. Horses, he guessed. He had heard of them, but never seen them in the flesh. He wondered how humans had managed to tame such beasts, since they were clearly far stronger than any human.

Further study of the creatures was cut off as a giant canvas covering was draped over his cage, cutting him off from his surroundings. He pushed himself up and tried to pull it off, but it did not budge. His teeth could find no purchase in it. The humans must have secured it somehow.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, even though it was useless. No one responded. Far Seer resolved to simply be ready for whatever came. He was frightened, but felt more alive than he had in weeks. Finally, something was happening.

Far Seer could not see anything beyond the canvas, but he could hear everything. There was a steady clapping sound that must have been the horses, for humans never made that sound as they moved. There were humans all around him, he realized with a jolt. They were muttering in their usual tones. He strained his ears, but could not hear Kee-Kee among them. He wondered, sitting alone and practically blind in an alien cage, if Kee-Kee had died. He had been wounded, after all.

Or maybe he was alive somewhere, and simply did not want to come back.

That thought, which for some reason had not occurred to Far Seer before, hit like a particularly vicious smack from a tail. He had killed humans, after all, and Kee-Kee was a human. He had thought he was killing Kee-Kee’s enemies, but maybe they had been friends after all. Or maybe he had liked the other stupid human Far Seer had killed when they had surrounded him. Or the one he had killed on the boat, when he had first been captured. Each kill, which he had counted as great victories before, weighed on him now. He had driven his only friend in the human world away. He was sure of it.

Far Seer felt he was going mad. He could practically feel the bars closing in on him. There were humans all around him, now, louder than he had ever heard them. They were yelling things he did not understand, he could not even see them. He had to get out, to get away from here. He tried to tear apart the canvas above him, but it was as secure as before. He rattled the bars, but they did not budge. “Let me out!” he begged. The humans just yelled louder, and he moved inexorably on to wherever they were taking him.

The din tapered off and died as they continued. It calmed Far Seer somewhat, but in a way hearing nothing but the clip-clop of horses was worse. He heard birds, from time to time, but did not recognize their songs. They must be birds that did not live by the sea.

He smelled saltwater when they stopped, but did not hear the ocean. A human began speaking. He recognized the voice from the early days of his captivity, but did not remember the human’s face well. He was struggling to remember when the canvas was ripped off of his cage and he could see his surroundings clearly once more.

They were still outside. There were many guards about, pointing their weapons at him, and several other humans. One of them was Watcher. He saw trees around, many more trees than there had been by the white pool. There was a large pool in front of him, perhaps ten feet away, smelling of saltwater. It was bigger than his old one, and made with more recognizable stones. He gasped as he saw that one of the stones formed a cave at the other end of the pool, where he could have plenty of room to breathe but be hidden from human sight.

Far Seer scanned the waters for danger. It would be just like the humans to make the appealing pool a trap. But he saw nothing except for a few small fish. There were certainly no lemee or orcas, which would have presented the greatest problems. The humans began to fuss with his cage, and he made up his mind. He leapt out of the cage, high above the humans, and dove gracefully into the pool. He headed straight for the cave, and found it blessedly empty. It was deeper than he had realized from the other end, and he huddled in its depths gratefully, happy to be away from human eyes at last.

88888

Terry pulled up a weed and tried to convince himself to go see the merman. He had no excuse not to go. It was a beautiful day, and he was almost finished with his work. He had promised Kai, and he meant go back. His word was his word, even if the merman had not understood him. Kai had saved his life, and protected him, and Terry owed it to him to see him again. He knew Kai must be lonely, in a cage surrounded by humans, even if he was owned by the prince himself.

But it had been enough trouble to look after himself, lately. He had returned on that horrible night barely able to walk, nearly babbling, and had been useless for days afterward. No one had believed his lies about getting into a fight with a few ruffians on the way home. Jerry and the others, who had only tolerated him at best, had begun to pick on him outright for the way he jumped whenever anyone touched him. It had grown worse and worse until finally they had said it outright.

“Why don’t you just tell us the truth?” George had asked one day, the last day he had been in Suterno’s service. “We all know you’re a little fairy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Terry had said, all of his attention focused on the herbs he was slicing. It had to be done just so, he reminded himself, or they would be useless.

“Don’t play coy with us,” Jerry had said. “We know what you want.”

“I’ll bet that’s why Suterno likes him so much.”

Terry had kept slicing, his teeth gritted. He could not afford to get angry, he had told himself. He hadn’t wanted trouble. He had spent his entire life making sure these boys didn’t get angry at him, and he hadn’t been about to start then.

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Do you give him what you gave those men, fairy?”

“I’ll bet you like it, even,” Jerry had said, baiting him. “I’ll bet you beg for it.”

And then suddenly Terry had had it. He had whirled around, the knife he had been chopping with held threateningly in his hand. “Shut up,” he had said. “Just shut up.”

Jerry had looked surprised at first, immediately showing his palms in surrender. He had backed up, his look of shock changing to a smile. “You’ll pay for that, Terry.”

The boys had left, then, and Terry had put down the knife and punched the wall until his knuckles were red and swollen. He had known what he had to do, and had hated it.

It had been hard to tell the doctor, the closest thing to a parent he had ever had, that he was leaving. Doctor Suterno had looked at him steadily after Terry had announced it. “Are you sure, Terry?”

“Yes, sir. I could never ask for any master more honest and fair, but I think it’s time I, um, made my own way in the world. They say there’s jobs a plenty in the prince’s household, now that he’s returned, and I hope to make my way there.” How many times he had fantasized about saying similar things. In his dreams, he had always been about to depart on a great journey, one only he could complete. He hadn’t been running away, practically lying to his master’s face.

The doctor had looked at him with an unreadable expression, before turning and beginning to rustle through the papers on his desk. “You have my blessing, of course. Give me a moment and I will write you a recommendation.”

“Thank you, sir,” Terry had said, his face coloring as he watched the man write. Doctor Suterno served the duke himself, and his word would reach a long way, even for a lowly servant like Terry. “That means a great deal to me.”

“Of course.” The doctor had signed with a flourish and applied his seal, and then handed him the slip of paper. “You’ve always been very dear to me, Terry, ever since your poor mother died. I’ve always known you to be a dedicated worker, and I couldn’t ask for a better assistant. I’ve heard you had a spot of bad luck recently, and if you find yourself ever needing further help, I hope you will come to me. I am a doctor, you know.” The smile he had given Terry had beem very kind, but his penetrating gaze, and the weight of his last words, had made Terry go hot with shame. Did the doctor know, he had wondered. Did everyone know?

“Thank you, sir,” he had said, his throat closing on the words, and had all but run out.

His letter had been well accepted at Prince Charles’ castle, but hadn’t done much good in the short run. His overseer, a pudgy man named Edward Wolscraft, had explained apologetically that what they really needed at the moment were cleaners and scrubbers. “You look like you’re familiar with honest hard work. Stick it out,” Wolscraft had offered, “And I’ll see to it you get a more suitable job once the prince returns. We’re always looking for ones who are good with herbs and the like, and you don’t have the weedy look most of them have. No pun intended, o’ course.”

Terry had been heartened by the offer, and had put his all into whatever work he was assigned. He – along with dozens of other servants – had cleaned rooms and floors that had gone unnoticed while the prince was off campaigning, but had to be made spotless for his return. It had been tedious and exhausting, and harder work than he’d ever done for the doctor, but he had been grateful. He spent each night too tired to miss the only home he had ever known, too tired even to dream.

He had also never found the time to make his way back to that horrible place, to see the merman. Kai.

When the prince had come home, Wolscraft had been as good as his word, and had found Terry a job in the royal herb gardens. And then the damned merman had followed practically at his heels, an extravagant gift from the prince’s uncle.

He was less than a quarter of a mile away, Terry realized as he gathered the weeds together and put them in the mulch pile.

Just a little walk, he told himself. He probably wouldn’t be able to get that close, anyway. But he had to try.

It was easy to slip in to what was called “the gardens,” but what was really a sprawling landscape. The lands were well within the castle grounds, so there was little worry about squatters and bandits. Only a low stone fence separated the gardens from the rest of the property, and Terry hopped it with little effort. He could have gone in by a worker’s entrance, but felt a deep-seated urge to avoid any attention from the guards.

He headed in what he hoped was the general direction of the merman’s pool. Terry had never been very good with directions, but he knew that the pool was located in a particularly tangled knot of greenery, away from the harshly manicured landscapes that grew on the fringe. Terry progressed cautiously, on the lookout for other people, and tried to remember the way he came. He passed nothing but carefully trimmed willows and clear ponds, however, and came to the thickest part of the garden without confrontation. He felt somewhat claustrophobic in the tighter greenery, with memories beginning to tear at him. He knew that there had to be a path somewhere, because the cart that had pulled the merman in could not have simply plowed through the forest, but Terry refused to find it, and hurried towards the sound of water.

He knew he had found it when he tripped on the marble. He scrambled to his feet and blinked at the polished white stones that surrounded the pool. He remembered the huge blocks of marble being rolled in by the cartload when he had first joined the prince’s household. “Renovations,” Wolscraft had said dismissively, but clearly it had been much more than that.

Terry felt distinctly filthy on the flawless polished stones, and his first instinct was to turn back. He had been working in the herb gardens all morning, and had a lot of dirt to show for it. But he had come all this way, he reminded himself, and he wasn’t around to turn around now.

He walked forward a bit, past the marble surrounding and onto rougher stones. The pool was distinctly larger and more grand than the duke’s had been, and looked far more natural. The architects had manipulated a natural grouping of large rocks to create the sides, and Terry saw that one at the deepest end had a hollowing that created a cave. There were a few more flat rocks nearby that projected out over the pool, and he sat down on one of them, finding it hot from the sun.

“Kai?” he called out hesitantly, not wanting to attract attention from anyone else. He had seen no one on his way to the pool, but surely there had to be guards somewhere.

The response was immediate. He heard a splash from within the cave, and then a shining blue blur darted out under the water and headed straight for him. Kai burst out of the water and onto the rock in the blink of an eye, and pounced on Terry just as fast, keening something in an almost painfully high pitch.

Terry panicked and lashed out, and thankfully Kai backed off quickly. Terry struggled to calm his breathing and his heartbeat. He cursed himself for reacting so poorly to what was clearly only a greeting, but ever since the incident with the guards he’d been… jumpy.

After a moment Terry looked up at the merman. It was the first time he saw him in the light and out of the water, and the sight was arresting. Kai was leaning his weight on his elbows and forearms, and it brought out the muscles in his arms and chest. No wonder he had dragged that guard down so easily, Terry thought. There were also scars he had not noticed before, pearly lines on his chest and arms.

And there was the tail, glistening iridescently in the afternoon sun, flicking idly.

“Kee-Kee,” said Kai, and Terry looked back at his face. Kai was staring at him curiously, his flat blue eyes even stranger in the light.

“Hi, Kai,” Terry said, feeling suddenly shy and slightly frightened. The merman truly was alien.

Kai smiled, showing sharp teeth, and began a round of incomprehensible chatter. He gestured at parts of the pool and surrounding area, and Terry assumed he was describing it. He seemed happy, although Terry couldn’t be sure. “It’s very beautiful,” he said when Kai had finished. “Especially after that other pool you were stuck in. Lots bigger, anyway, and it must be nice to be outside. I – I bet the cave is really nice when you want to get away from people looking at you.”

Terry felt slightly silly talking when he knew the merman wouldn’t understand, but it made Kai smile, at least. Kai stared at him for a bit when he was done, and then turned to one of his braids and deftly removed a shell from it. He held it out to Terry silently.

“Thank you,” said Terry automatically, and took the shell from the merman’s blue-fingered hand. The shell was an iridescent white, flickering all the colors of the rainbow as Terry looked at it. “It’s beautiful. I don’t think I can braid it in my hair, though.” His hair was shorter than Kai’s, only long enough to hang in his eyes and get in his way. He put the shell in his pocket, instead.

“Here,” Terry said. “Let me give you something.” He rustled through his clothes for something to give him. He was beginning to feel some of the lightheadedness he had experienced the last time he had seen the merman. He was not in pain or hysterical with fear, as he had been the last time, but the strangeness of his situation was very real. The merman was dangerous; he’d killed more than once. He didn’t speak or move or act like a human. And yet, Terry found he could communicate with him with relative ease, although they relied on gestures and tones rather than words.

He found only a copper piece, and held it out with some reluctance. He was not sure how much the merman valued his shells, and did not want to insult the merman by returning his gift cheaply.

But Kai seemed delighted with the small disk, making chirping noises as he turned the copper over and over, holding it to the light to admire it. King Edward’s stern profile was stamped on one side, and the royal emblem of Tierney on the other. Kai seemed to find each equally fascinating. After a careful inspection of the copper, he put it down gingerly, as though it would break. Terry could not help but smile.

Kai returned the smile with a show of his frightening teeth, which gleamed rather eerily in the sunlight. Then he stopped smiling, and his face had a more tentative countenance as he reached out and gently, gently touched Terry’s left foot.

Terry jerked back instinctively. He had been extremely averse to touch ever since the incident with the guards. Any contact brought that awful night rushing back, making him feel filthy and stained and miserable. He bathed more than he ever had before, trying to scrub away the feeling.

Kai jerked his hand back nearly as fast, and ducked his head, clicking apologetically. Terry smiled nervously, clearing his throat uncomfortably and running his hand through his hair. He knew, although he had yet to figure out why, that Kai would not hurt him. The merman had had many chances, certainly, and not a little provocation when Terry had plunged into his pool. He knew Kai was just curious. It was natural that Kai would be curious about human legs.

And it had not felt so awful, really.

Terry reached out tentatively, only half sure of what he wanted. He took Kai’s blue fingered hand, so smooth everywhere. Kai looked up at him, blinking questioningly, and let Terry guide his hand to his foot. “I don’t mind,” Terry said, trying to smile. Kai had saved his life, after all. He could satisfy the merman’s curiosity. He leaned back on his hands and tried not to flinch away.

Kai was as fascinated by Terry’s feet and legs as he had been by the coin. He ran his dexterous fingers over one foot and then the other, inspecting each of his toes with great concern. Terry wiggled them, and Kai squeaked, clearly shocked. Terry grinned. It was not at all as bad as Terry had feared, and he even managed to giggle when Kai ran his fingers up Terry’s sensitive sole. Kai seemed startled at Terry’s laughter, as if it had not occurred to him that feet could be ticklish. He touched each pad on his foot carefully, following the whorls of his skin with his fingers, and ran his fingertips along each of the delicate bones in Terry’s feet and ankles.

By the time Kai moved from Terry’s feet to his calves Terry was more relaxed than he had been in weeks, leaning back on his elbows and breathing slowly. He had still heard no sign of human life, and was beginning to lose his fear of being discovered. Kai’s hands were strangely warm for a creature that lived in cold water, and had yet to hurt him. He let Kai push his trousers up to his knees without comment, smiling at Kai’s look of concentration as he examined Terry’s knees. Knees were strange things, Terry reflected. He had never really noticed before.

Kai took his time examining each of Terry’s legs, prodding at the muscles and running his fingers through the short hairs that covered Terry’s calves. He seemed especially intrigued by Terry’s kneecaps, and Terry had to bat his hands away when Kai tried to move one to the side. “It doesn’t go that way,” Terry explained, laughing despite himself.

He was still laughing when Kai slid his hand up Terry’s trousers, along the inside of his thigh, and Terry felt suddenly frozen in the afternoon sun. He could not even bring himself to flinch away. He felt hot and cold at the same time, all of his muscles tingling with fear. The night was very close to him, making him taste copper in his mouth. He couldn’t move. He didn’t want this. He wanted it to end. Please let it end.

It was the merman’s hand on his face, now dry from his time in the sun, that brought him back to the present. Terry jerked, and saw Kai quickly drop his gaze, so that Terry only saw the frown on his face. He was speaking, Terry realized. The same phrase, over and over. An apology, Terry guessed, from the way Kai pulled Terry’s trousers back down over his legs quickly and gently, and backed away slightly on the rock, as though Terry might break at any moment. He already had, Terry thought bitterly.

“It’s okay, Kai,” Terry said roughly, feeling weak and pathetic. “I know you didn’t mean anything. It’s my problem. I know you would never hurt me. I know you didn’t mean anything.” He babbled as much as Kai, who refused to look at him, until eventually both of them fell silent, staring at the rocks.

Terry did not want it to end this way. He refused to let his weakness stop what had been – what had been *nice.* He had been enjoying himself, for the first time since those hateful guards had changed his life forever, and he was not going to give up. He reached forward, as tentative as Kai had been before, and touched one of Kai’s glistening fins.

Kai didn’t move, and Terry looked at him, wondering if he’d broken some merman rule of etiquette. But Kai didn’t seem mad at all. On the contrary, he smiled and shook his fins a bit in a way that could only be described as playful. Terry managed to smile back, and started his own exploration, feeling only slightly foolish. Kai was fascinating, after all. His tail fins were more delicate than Terry had assumed, elegant and flexible. Terry had reached out to them only to show that he bore no ill will, but he found himself as sincerely entranced by Kai’s tail as Kai had been by his legs. Kai was still smiling at him, clearly granting him permission, and Terry leaned in and began to explore.

He had assumed that the tail would feel like any other fish tail, slimy and scaly. Kai’s tail was comprised of scales, but felt remarkably smooth, no matter which direction he stroked. He could feel the sleek muscles beneath the skin, and Kai twitched his tail from time to time, as if demonstrating how effortless it was. His antics made Terry calm down, the fear once more draining from his muscles. By the time he made his way up to Kai’s more human parts he had become almost completely engrossed. The scales shined more than any precious stone, flickering as though they had a life of their own. Kai’s tail, the thing that above all made him so strangely, unequivocally alien, was as fascinating up close as it was from a distance. Terry had not seen many strange things in his life, working as a doctor’s servant and now as an errand boy in an herb garden, and here was one of the strangest things the world could offer, right under his own hands.

He was almost disappointed when he reached the strange junction of skin and scales where Kai’s body became more human. His fingers studied the way the scales melted into smooth skin, and he felt the hard, inhuman muscles that connected tail and torso. Kai’s stomach was more human, a recognizable map of muscle and tan skin. Did he spend much time near the surface, to get skin this color? There was a scar on Kai’s left pectoral, Terry saw as his gaze traveled upward, a thin line that must have come from a weapon rather than a bite. Terry reached out to it curiously, wondering if it had been a human that had given it to him. Kai’s chest was strong and hairless, the skin perfectly smooth but for the scar. Terry followed it down from the middle of his chest, and felt Kai’s nipple harden as he brushed it was his fingers.

Kai gasped, and Terry looked up, and the spell was broken. Kai was staring at him, his strange blue eyes suddenly very, very close, and Terry felt his cheeks go hot. His throat closed up as he realized what he been doing. How could he have – he’d been so stupid – what had he been doing, thinking? He scrambled to his feet, nearly falling over in his haste, forgetting his shoes altogether as he dashed to the trees, not even checking to make sure he was going in the right direction and barely hearing Kai’s cries of “Kee-Kee!” behind him.