by Robin Roseau
That was easy -- it was akin to a human hug, and so I hugged Lotus, and she enveloped me, her tentacles finding my back. The two lowest tentacles moved inside the back of my dress before doubling back and wrapping their way up my sides and over the tops of my breasts. I was somewhat startled, but I didn't move. The upper tentacles simply reached over my shoulder blades and up to my neck, Then one wrapped around before coming up with just the tip against my cheek. The other came across my cheek and across my lips.
I stood absolutely still, and then I felt her begin to suck, all over, although she was far gentler with my face.
"She will not hurt you," Geneviève said gently. "But it is perhaps startling. You may now offer a kiss, but they will not be offended if you do not. Be warned. Catseye with little experience with humans will take a kiss as an offer to become more intimate than you might like. But Lotus knows better. Catseye tentacles are an acquired taste, although I have certainly come to acquire a taste for a particular set of tentacles."
And so I kissed the tentacle wrapped over my lips. In response, she sucked just a tiny bit harder across my lips, enough to consider it a return kiss without leaving marks.
And then she continued to hold me, her tentacles moving from time to time, but becoming no bolder. I stood still, holding her.
"That's enough," Ivy said. "You're hogging the human, Lotus."
"She tastes every bit as good as yours," Lotus replied. "And Moirai doesn't mind. I don't think the human minds, either."
"I mind," Ivy said. "I want my turn before you suck all the flavor from her."
And so Lotus retreated, slowly, but I felt a deep sucking along my back before she finished withdrawing, and I knew she had marked me. I wondered what Moirai thought about it.
Ivy treated me in a fashion similar to Lotus, although her tentacles took a different path around my body. I found the two lower ones wrapped nearly entirely around me, coming to a rest across my stomach. But the upper two stroked my face before attaching. She also got a kiss, and she held me just as long as Lotus had.
And then she withdrew as well.
Moirai allowed similar behavior. I wondered what they thought of the fur across her back. I saw both Catseye working to find what they wanted, and I decided they didn't care for the fur. While I watched, Geneviève stepped up behind me and gently caressed the skin of my back.
"You are marked. Do not be offended. My entire body looks like portions of your back."
"I'm not offended," I said. "Do they really stick their tentacles into your mouth?"
She laughed. "Yes. The first time Ivy did it was shocking, but I felt it was a form of lovemaking. I already found her fascinating, and so while the taste was unfamiliar, I quickly grew to enjoy it. But the first time I received that sort of attention from another Catseye was even more shocking, and I responded poorly. Then I felt bad, because the woman was mortified she had offended me." She laughed again. "We worked it out."
"I'm glad you trained these two," I said. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that."
"The Catseye on the station know it is startling for a human, but some don't listen. They see me accept this attention from Ivy and some of my other friends, and so they push limits." She smiled at me. "If they annoy me, I bite, but not too hard."
I laughed. "That sounds like a diplomatic disaster in the making."
"Which is why I do not bite too hard. I wouldn't want them to bite in response."
"That would be a lot of biting."
"You knew who was coming tonight," she observed, and she caressed my back again. I was surprised by her easy nature, but I glanced at her somewhat more sharply than I should have. "Oh, I am sorry. I am too familiar."
"No, it's fine," I said.
"They touch. A lot. And want to be touched back. I have grown accustomed. I will be more careful."
In response, I slipped my own hand behind her and caressed her back.
She laughed. "I believe we are to be friends."
"I would like that. And no, I didn't know who was coming. Bronze didn't tell me."
"Bronze?"
"Oh. Long story. Moirai. When I met her, she wouldn't tell me her name and pretended to speak no English. So I called her Bronze, for her coloring."
"Ah. But you dressed like this."
"Guess who picked my clothing."
"Ah, of course. You do not seem to mind."
"No."
"Then we are perhaps unique amongst the human women here. None of the others let the Catseye get near them, and some are quite rude."
I shook my head. "Their loss."
"Yes. Quite so, but I feel for women like Lotus. She would like a mate, but she fears I am unique because I was a marine biologist. They understand their resemblance to an octopus. They even have eight limbs. Perhaps your calm acceptance will help her courage. If there are two so comfortable with them, there must be others."
By this time, Moirai received the last of her attention, and the three aliens returned their attention to the two humans.
"Come in," Moirai said. She gestured, and we moved into the entertaining space. She collected me from Geneviève, and then there were five of us seated. I found myself alone with Moirai on one sofa. Geneviève and Ivy sat close together on the other, and Lotus took the opposite end of the same sofa.
I let Moirai orchestrate the conversation. We each shared what we did for a living. Ivy and Lotus were both administrators. Lotus oversaw harvesting of nearby space for building materials, and Ivy worked for the stationmaster. Geneviève explained she was in school, learning everything she could.
But then she said, "This is the wrong setting to ask, but Dr. Moirai, I would like to work for you."
"I would love to have you," Bronze replied. "There's always more work. But you would need to learn far more than you've had time to learn before you could be more than a lab technician."
"Then I will be a lab technician," she replied. "Could you use me three half days a week?"
"I do not directly oversee any work at that level," Moirai replied. "However, the people who do are always asking for more workers." She looked away for a moment then returned her focus. "Contact my offices in the morning. They're expecting your call. If you get the runaround, contact me, and I'll bring you to the people who can put you to work."
"Thank you, Dr. Moirai. I appreciate it."
"Of course. But now I am simply Moirai."
"Of course," Geneviève said.
"I want a job," I said. "When can I be a lab technician?"
Bronze snorted. "Do you even know what a lab technician is."
"Hey! I'm not stupid."
"All right. Tell me."
"She's a technician. In a lab."
Bronze snorted again.
"Hey. I know what they do. They fill beakers. And then empty them again. Stuff like that."
"I believe you have other skills. Your job for the immediate future is to attend to my every whim. Maybe someday, if I run out of whims, I will direct you to work appropriate for your skills. I do not believe it will be a lab technician."
"I could use her," Lotus said.
"Any of the Catseye could use a human who knows about the principles of business," Ivy added. "When your mate releases you from bondage, come see us. If you ask your mate, she's going to try to put you to work under her thumb. But we will give you real work, proper work, or introduce you to someone else who can."
Bronze growled, but when I looked at her, she nodded. "It won't be soon," she said.
"Of course," Ivy replied. "I couldn't bear to let my new mate from my sight those first few months, either."
"She couldn't," Geneviève agreed. "She was voracious. There was a time or two I thought she was literally going to eat me."
"I would never!" But then Ivy offered a human style shrug. "Although I admit I grew quite energetic that one time."
"Quite energetic?" Geneviève turned to her mate. "Is that how you call it? I was bleeding." She looked at me. "She doesn't know
her own strength. I've since taught her to be far gentler with me."
"Speaking of eating," I said. "I have been a poor hostess. What can I retrieve to drink? We have a variety of choices." I consulted my visor. "Dinner will arrive in another 35 minutes." I turned to Geneviève. "I am sorry, as much as I would enjoy opening a bottle, Bronze does not approve of alcohol."
"Quite all right," she replied in her lovely French accent. "Ivy does not care for secondhand alcohol and says it taints my flavor. Perhaps I can help you."
She stood and held out her hand, and the two of us headed for the kitchen. Once there, she turned me to face her. "You are happy?"
"Currently," I said.
"I do not like to watch the challenges," she said. "But when you moved next door, I watched them in secret. You do not wish to be here."
"I didn't. I still don't know. She treats me well, but she thinks she owns me. And if it weren't for the park just outside our door, I don't think I could stand it. But you lost your entire career. I don't see any oceans."
"I am, of course, first a woman, and I am deeply in love. But after that, I am a scientist, and then a biologist, and then a marine biologist. The things I am learning..." She smiled broadly. "They took me, much like they took you. And at first I refused, as you did. But Ivy came to me in my cell, that horrible cell, and she begged me to listen to her. And then she made her offer, and she was quite convincing. She was half hidden, but she dimmed the glass and then, while I looked on in horror, sure she was about to have her way with me, she removed her blouse and let me see what she looked like."
I laughed. "I can imagine your reaction."
"I forgot everything, all my anger, all my fear and frustration. I spent hours examining her, asking question after question. Do you know, she learned French so she could speak to me?"
"They do go for dramatic gestures."
"I suppose that is not so dramatic of a gesture compared to Moirai's for you, but yes. It was touching. When finally I was done examining her, she asked if she could show me how a Catseye offers greeting. I allowed that. I have been hugged by an octopus before, you can imagine, so it was not at all startling. Well, I had never allowed a tentacle into my mouth before, but the rest was not startling at all. I then asked for and received promises. She would let me learn. And she said, 'Anything you want to learn'. She has kept that promise. I could not be happier."
"I'm glad," I said. "I don't know yet. I don't know if I trust her. She's keeping things from me. I know she is. I just don't know."
"I understand," she said. "But they must wonder what we discuss in here. We should see what you have."
We examined our choices together. We brewed a large pot of herbal tea, prepared a pitcher of water, and a second of lemonade. I set out glasses, but Geneviève collected two odd bowls, each with two handles. I offered an inquisitive expression.
"Ah. You have not seen a Catseye eat yet."
"I have. Bronze and I shared ice cream with Jasmine Brighteyes."
"Did it startle you?"
"No."
Together, we returned to the entertaining room. Conversation broke off as we entered, and I wondered what they had been discussing. We passed out drinks, offering our selection, and then Geneviève and I returned to our seats.
The Catseye held the bowls in both hands, and then one -- or even two -- tentacles dipped into the bowl from time to time. There was small slurping when they did so. A human child would have been deeply amused.
We made small talk for a while. The subject of our challenges came up. It was Ivy that asked, "Near the end, you were well hidden. But you left your hiding place and appeared to be looking for her. If you did not want to lose, why make such a large mistake?"
"Because I know of at least one Catseye that is willing to cheat," I said. I explained how Jasmine had tricked me. Bronze explained how angry she had become upon learning the truth.
"You did not seem to mind being caught," Geneviève said. "You were laughing."
"I knew she'd catch me, as soon as I left my hiding place. I sought only to delay the capture as long as I could. I was convinced she was about to catch me or I never would have exposed myself. But after that, Bronze dominated the remainder of our first challenge."
"I do not understand these challenges," Lotus said. "Who would want an unwilling mate?"
"I know," I said. "I don't understand, either."
"She is willing," Bronze muttered. "She only needs to learn that."
"Bronze seems to be unwilling to admit how illegal it was," I said.
"There was nothing illegal about it."
I turned to her. "Oh, you do not want that fight in front of guests."
"There was nothing illegal," Bronze repeated.
"My home was entered illegally. I was arrested illegally. I was then extradited -- without trial or benefit of counsel -- to Africa. So also illegally. I must admit, from that point, I do not know the local laws, so it may be that once my feet reached African soil, no additional laws were broken."
"The Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs is allowed to collect anyone who evades testing."
"I did not evade testing. In fact, my testing was the day after I received my letter. I arranged to be driven, and I was where I said I would be when the driver arrived. I made no attempt to avoid or even delay testing."
"Ah. But the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs is also allowed to collect anyone as a follow up to testing."
I stared at her. "A follow up."
"Yes. They may collect anyone for a period of up to six months after testing if there are additional needs. It is in your laws. You did not cooperate when they asked you to step outside, so they were allowed to enter your home. They had a signed warrant to do so."
"That's in our laws?"
"It certainly is," she replied.
"All right. And extradition without benefit of counsel or due process of any sort?"
"Our testing and processing centers carry the same status as your foreign embassies do."
"So I was actually in the space station once they delivered me."
"Legally speaking, yes. You never left our territory after that. While we do not advertise the fact, we are within our rights, legally, to bring you wherever we want within our territory. There is no difference between the processing center in Minnesota or the challenge center in Africa. After that, you never left our territory."
"Not true. We went on dates."
"True, but you went willingly and you returned willingly."
I stared at her. "And if I had not?"
"Then one could argue that forcing you to return may have broken laws. But we weren't in the United States, so I don't know. But you didn't resist."
I wasn't convinced, and she clearly didn't know anything about the American constitution, but I wasn't going to argue about it in front of our guests. "You suck," I said. Then I gestured to the Catseye. "And not in a good way." I turned to Lotus. "Is it customary when you part some hours from now to say goodbye in the same fashion as hello?"
"It is," she said.
"Good. Make sure you take your time. And I want the full experience, if that would please you."
Geneviève chuckled. Unfortunately, Bronze wasn't remotely as put out about it as I had hoped. She snorted.
* * * *
Dinner arrived, and we moved to the dining room. Again, Geneviève helped me to serve, cornering me in the kitchen.
"Are you angry with your mate?"
"She is not my mate yet, as much as she thinks so. No. We're fine."
"Good. They were subtle drinking earlier, but they will be less subtle eating. Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine. But do we have what they really eat?"
"Their natural food comes live. But they can eat anything you and I can eat, and Ivy has grown accustomed to eating prepared foods with me. I know she eats live when we're not together, and she has shown me a few times. But she says she prefers the joy of a shared meal, and I cannot eat the way sh
e does."
Ivy and Geneviève actually ate from a shared plate. I was surprised to see both Catseye use silverware. They were cautious at first, taking very small bits from the fork and then delivering to a waiting tentacle. The tentacle closed around the food, and then when next it opened, the food was entirely gone.
When they saw I showed no apparent reaction, they both became somewhat more open in eating, taking larger portions at a time, and allowing some noise to escape. But I still imagined they had heavily adjusted their dining habits to avoid startling the humans.
Dinner was pleasant. The food was excellent and the company highly intelligent and fascinating. Afterward everyone had cleaned up, we returned to the living room. We'd been seated for only two or three minutes before Geneviève said, "If you are to live on the station, then you must learn to play..." She trailed off. "I am sorry. They have their own name for it, and I have applied a French name. I do not know if there is an English name." She turned to her mate and began speaking rapidly.
And it was neither English nor French.
"What is that language?"
"Catseye," she replied. "My mate is very clever with her language lessons."
"She speaks with a delightful accent," Ivy said. "Although no one can understand her but me. The game she suggests is called Boardwalk by the English-speaking humans. Has your mate taught you?"
"Not by that name," I said. I turned to her.
"It is a poor game for two," Bronze replied. "No, I haven't taught her."
"We created several computer opponents," Geneviève explained. She looked at me. "You and I will lose." She gestured to the Catseye. "These two are, how you say? Sharks. I do not know if your mate plays well."
"She does almost everything well," I said. "I am not playing for our normal stakes."
"Normal stakes?" Geneviève asked.
"Yes. This one-" I hooked a thumb at Bronze, "-steals my clothing when I lose a game. Originally she would steal a piece for 24 hours, but now I only let her keep it until morning."
Geneviève laughed. "Perhaps that is not so appropriate tonight."
It was the Catseye who explained the game. It was quite confusing at first, but I began to become more comfortable with it.
It was a game of shifting alliances. One began as individual countries -- although they did not use that word. And then through diplomacy, purchase, or aggression, one gained influence.