by Brian Clark
“If you will have me I will never leave you again my love.” She drew him into a kiss and set about comforting him as she had since the first day they had met.
“I will never let you out of my sight or my life Flitter. Never and if our Captain tries I will bite her.” He started kissing her again and his hands were running up and down her back as he tried to reassure himself that she was really there.
Before anything else happened there was a knock on the open door and Ray could hear Simon’s voice. “Hey Ray mind if I come in? I have the beer and movie you asked me to bring over.” Before Ray could say anything he heard the screen door open and Simon walk in.
Character list and Folician Culture Information
Rayfuso Johnson – vet, had a heart defect, in a relationship with Flitter, father of Flitter’s pups.
Flitter – Moves from Flower to Flower - Liraque to Ray, pregnant by Ray
Vyra – Captain of the FSS Dog Star – pregnant with Ray’s pups
Daisy – Spring Flower – Liraque to Vyra, pregnant by Ray
Spike – Dancing Wind - Doctor aboard the Dog Star – pregnant with Ray’s pups
Aqua – Still Waters – Liraque to Spike – Gets her name from still waters run deep. It is a way of saying that they are calm but subtle when working. Exclusively gay and has no interest in men or having pups.
Birdy – Sings Sweetly - crew member aboard the Dog Star and friend of Ray and Flitter. She also missed seeing a little brother delivered. Pregnant by Ray and the girlfriend of Breezy.
Breezy – Gentle Wind – girlfriend of Birdy and friends with Ray and Flitter, pregnant by Ray
Dark Song – renamed Gentle Resolute Song by Ray – crew member. His renaming her alters his uniform even more and gives him a Liraque tattoo, pregnant by Ray
Dusty – Dust in the wind – named for her coloration. Junior female in her first heat away from home and missed her little brother being born, pregnant by Ray
Silent Strength – medical tech
The Windham’s, clients of the vet clinic Ray works for, briefly mentioned in book one
Pack Father – Is a male in charge of a pack. He has powers to control the pack though not like many of the werewolf type stories. Many of his powers are related to keeping the pack content and comfortable. His scent has the ability to calm pack members as does his touch and presence. In a way in small packs he and other males almost act like the care takers and raisers of children. They are in an odd position where they are both protected and expected to protect. They also spend a good deal of time with the females in the pack relaxing, cuddling, and sleeping with and next to.
Pack Mother – Is the mate of the pack father. All Pack Fathers will have a mate and she is the Pack Mother. If a Pack Father loses his mate he will eventually find another one simply because the pack needs her. She manages the females and pups. This can include working out schedules for jobs around the pack, who is taking care of nursing and feeding the pups, and ensuring the junior females have time with the pack father. She also controls access to the junior males at times to ensure that everyone is content.
Pack Matriarch – She is an elder of the pack. The actual age of the female can be both younger or older than the Pack Mother and Father. What is important is that she is an alternate source of input when a pack member doesn’t feel they are getting what they need from the Pack Mother or Father. They also keep a feel on the pack and advise the Pack Mother and Father on issues’ with the pack or with other packs.
The loose structure for a pack is with the Pack Mother and Father in charge with a council of Matriarchs (depending on the size) as an advisory body. In the past when there were approximately seven females to a male each male tended to have a small group of females who looked to him. This didn’t necessarily mean they only slept with him but for the most part they did. This allowed the pack father to run the pack through the males. He told them what to do and they would pass it down to the females. Currently since there are much fewer males than females the social structure has been artificially changed.
With most males relegated to harems at temples or pack houses most groups have been organized under a senior female. Female relationships are the norm instead of male female long term relationships. Having said that the males who do interact directly with the pack females normally have a mate or senior female by their side. The male is expected to pay more attention to the mate but he is also expected to spend time with the junior females. This can include cuddling, playing with pups, sleeping with, and talking to. As long as they get some attention from the male they, the junior females, are reasonably content with their female companions.
The Goddess – Currently the Goddess talked about is the Fertility goddess as Ray calls her. A better way of describing her is the Goddess of Life. She is usually connected with the God of the Pack fathers who is also known as the Pack Lord. She has several aspects of which the one we have seen is the Matron goddess though she also has the maiden and matriarch aspect. All three make up the Goddess.
Pack Lord – is the god of Pack fathers and males in general. He represents stability of the Race and Protection of the women and pups via his followers. He is the protector and leader and the goddess is the giver of life.
Uniforms – Standard ship suits – all suits show rank and status aboard the ship. They also display names and certain achievements (medals). Didn’t really get into actual rank structure or jobs.
Gold and cream – line officers aboard the ships. They are the officers in charge of running the ship.
Red – medical- color of blood, the source of life
Green – Life support – color of living plants where the air is purified. Represents the females because they are the source of the next Generation as well.
Purple – Liraque – only used by Liraque and when they have a Liraqua traces of purple will be added to the Liraqua’s uniform and the name of the Liraqua will be added to the Liraque’s emblem on their left chest.
Brown – Represents the color of the soil that plants grow in. Indicates a male. Darker brown indicates a pack father or potential pack father. A lighter brown indicates a non-pack father.
Males come in two categories related to rank in the pack. They are either a pack father, very rare, or a junior male. Pack fathers are the leaders of a family group and takes care of and maintains the pack. Not as important now as in the past since the world is unified. Junior males make up the balance of the males and due to the discrepancy in births the majority of them are maintained at various temples or pack harems. They are kept in a bower/harem type setting. They are provided food, activities, access to games and news.
Females only have one color-green. Since their rank in a pack is mostly derived from age and training they don’t have a rank indicator. Pack Fathers have special abilities similar to Liraque but only used within a pack. Females fill the vast majority of rolls on Folicia. They are the workers, scientists, administrators and ship's crew. Rarely will a male decide he wants to live and work in the woman’s world.
Folicians – resemble Inu’s from Japanese myths. They have a short muzzle in place of a nose with a slightly bifurcated upper lip and whiskers on the muzzle. They also have dog ears and a tail. Their skin is pattered in ways that would show if they had fur. As an example Flitter has markings on her skin similar to what a husky might have. Their hair also comes in a wide variety of shades and textures. Other than the facial features and tail the largest difference is the shape of the pubic fur which is a diamond and hangs down between their legs depending on what breed of dog they might resemble. There are subtle differences in the underlying bone structure and especially their legs but with normal clothing on it doesn’t show a great deal.
They have been in space for thousands of years but till the issue with the declining birth rates and especially declining male births became apparent they mostly used their tech for defense and to travel between their colonies. Once the change in birthrates became blatantly
noticeable they turned to exploration to try and identify why. With all their tech they have not been able to identify or resolve this issue. What really bothers them is the fact that the males are healthy and fertile, there just isn’t enough of them.
Liraque – a special group of Folicians and comprise a very tiny slice of the total population. Due to the imbalance between males and females there are virtually no male Liraque. A Liraque is essentially a priestess of the various goddesses. In Flitter’s case the Goddess of fertility and comfort. A Liraque takes on a Liraqua (client) for varying amounts of time depending on why they have the client. It could be to deal with medical issues, are in a high ranking position, diplomats, and many more. This doesn’t mean they are all assigned to a senior Folician since they are drawn to the clients they can best serve. A Liraque works in a way as a personal assistant but with much broader limits.
They can take care of things such as appointments, cleaning, ensuring proper nutrition, bathing, sleeping with or next to, and most importantly emotional comfort. That is the ability that sets a Liraque apart from other Folicians – they can sense the emotions of others and using their abilities mute and help their client deal with them. What the Liraque brings to the relationship with the Liraqua is between the two of them and is never the same as other clients since each Liraqua is unique.
One position a Liraque always fills is when Folicians mate for child bearing purposes. This ensures the pregnancy should be relatively problems free, reduces genetic defects, and if needed blocks a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. A Liraque cannot act as a Liraque when she is attempting to get pregnant. Another Liraque is needed to stand in.
Liraqua – client of a Liraque and can be from any level of society. Many do tend to be in the upper government since their decisions impact on the entire race.
Technology – they use nanotech in virtually all aspects of their society. On the planets it isn’t used as much as in the space forces or space habitats. On the planets it acts as a health monitor, nano-computer, memory storage, communications and control links. It provides access to their version of the internet and for education. It is initially implanted when a child is old enough to control basic functions which is about 5 years old in their terms. Before then they do have a very basic installed version from when they are born. This is strictly limited to medical monitoring and communications with emergency services and their parent(s).
The nanotech is also used in building the foundation and structures of their cities. It is used for removal and disposal of wastes as well as recycling. The energy to power this is Zero Point Energy which has a high start-up cost but very low production costs once a plant is working. They do have fusion plants as well but those are mostly used in locations that only have a small population and don’t need massive quantities of power. Fusion is also used in space ships as well since it provides more than enough energy for all services as well as the FTL drives.
About the Author
Greetings and Salutations, as you should have noticed my name is Brian Clark. I have been writing for some years but this is my first foray into being published. I served twenty years in the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. As such I was stationed in San Diego, CA, Yokosuka, Japan, Hawaii, Denver and several other duty stations. I was stationed aboard the USS Knox FF-1052 in the ‘80’s and the USS Tarawa LHA-1 in the 90’s. Beyond that I am just another veteran enjoying semi-retirement and doing something I love. If you have any other questions please refer to the links I am going to include for my weblog and smashwords.com author interview.
Other books by this author
The Folician Chronicles
Dog Got Your Tongue, Book One of the Folician Chronicles
Homecoming, Book Two of the Folician Chronicles (upcoming late May 2015)
Wolf of the Emperor (Upcoming late April 2015)
Magical Girl Satire Series
I’m a Magical Girl? Book 1 (Upcoming late May 2015)
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