by Robin Roseau
She looked at me and nodded. "You'll be right here."
"Swimming beside you," I said. "Unless those tentacles give you a big advantage, and you leave me behind."
I watched her take a big breath and sink. I sank with her and watched. We kicked off together, then I swam beside her.
She swam. She was slow, and she flailed at the water, but she swam. I had to pop up for air halfway there, but she stayed at the bottom, and I swam back down.
We made it to the end, and she stood, lifting her tentacles out of the water and breathing heavily, but then she almost jumped me, surprising me, but wrapping around me and hanging on tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome. Are you done, or did you want to try a little more."
"A little more," she said, releasing me.
"With those tentacles, you should be able to swim faster than that. I want you to sink down, but keep your feet under you, and try to find a motion that seems to push against the water." I sank down to show her what I meant. Soon, she was doing the same thing.
"You can lift a tentacle clear for a breath when you need one," I said, "similar to how humans turn sideway to breath when swimming."
She worked on it for a while then turned to me. "Maybe that works."
"Maybe. So I want you to swim along the surface this time. The only difference is that you aim slightly up so that you are moving forward and up at the same time."
"I'll try."
"You can stand up if you want."
She didn't do very well, and she stood up a couple of times. But she made it to the far end.
"Come here now," I said. I pulled her to me. "Wrap around me. Legs too."
She enveloped me.
"I'm going to sink, so put your tentacles where you need to. But if you end up pushing me down a lot, I'm going to push you towards the edge, and you have to grab on and let me go. Okay?"
"Okay."
I sank down, waited for her to adjust her grip, then began swimming, forward this time. Soon we were in over our heads, but I was able to hold us up. I swam us down and back, and then we were back in shallow water.
"Okay, I'm kind of pooped," I said. "That's a lot of work."
She continued to hold me tightly, but then slowly relaxed, setting her feet down then unwrapping from around me. "Thank you, Andromeda. Can we do it again sometime?"
"Whenever you want," I said. "I'm proud of you, Jasmine. If you do this enough, you'll become a natural."
* * * *
Two days later, Dark Skies was gone. And late in the evening two days later, Charoite slipped into my cell, climbed into bed with me, and wrapped me in her arms. "I heard about your friend. I'm sorry."
"What are you doing here?"
"Jasmine called me."
"You didn't have to come," I said. "I'm fine."
"Take your visor off, Andromeda."
I did, and she took it from me, setting it aside, then lay back down, nose to, well, she didn't have a nose, but imagine if she did.
"Is it fine?" she asked.
"No," I whispered. And then I started crying. "No, it's not fine! It really sucks."
The Kitsune held me while I cried on her shoulder. She said little, but it meant so much that she came when I hurt. "Do Kitsune cry?" I asked.
"No. We have other expressions of grief. Crying in this fashion is strictly a human response. Keening is quite common, however. It sounds different between different species, of course. I understand grief, and you give your friend honor to mourn her."
"She's not dead."
"No, but she is no longer in your life, and she was very important to you."
"She's still my friend."
"Yes, she is. She'll always be your friend."
"I'd like to kill that bitch," I said.
"No, Andromeda," Charo said.
"I wouldn't, but I want to hurt her. I'm not a vindictive person. I'm really not."
"In spite of your performance with a certain Implac."
"I couldn't ignore what she did."
"No, you couldn't, and I wasn't faulting you."
I rolled onto my back. The ceiling was smoky instead of clear. I sighed. "It won't do that for me." She looked up to see what I meant.
"This is your private grief," Charo said.
I lay for a minute or two, Charo on her side facing me, arms around me. "Charo, could you hurt her?"
She grew still. "The Octal queen."
"Yes."
"Andromeda, this is their basic biology. What humans do to other humans is so much worse. Do you want us to hurt those people, too?"
"Yes."
"Do you really?"
"We're talking about the men who hurt women, aren't we?"
"Yes, although it's not always men that do it."
"I don't know why you don't put a stop to it."
"I don't know why your government doesn't."
"Yes you do. It would take war."
"It would be if war if we did it, too."
"Yeah, but you could win without getting a bunch of innocent people killed."
"I'm not sure that's true," she replied. "But even if it were, we are not here as the policemen of your world. We are here to guide, but except for a few things that could have devastating worldwide effects, we don't interfere. And we don't interfere in the mating habits of the other species. The Octal queen did nothing wrong, Andromeda."
"She ambushed my friend! She stole my friend!"
"If Dark Skies could have done it to her, are you so sure she wouldn't have?"
"Of course she wouldn't. She wouldn't ambush her."
"Wouldn't she. Was Dark Skies practicing?"
"What do you mean, practicing?"
"Young Octals spar," she explained. "They practice on each other. It breaks off before either is captured. If one gets the upper hand, the other one flees, although many a two occurred when someone didn't flee soon enough. But they practice. Was Dark Skies practicing on you? Did she make you succumb without you realizing she was doing it? Did she catch you in the hallway or fill your cell with her scent?"
I rolled away from her.
"Someone told you."
"No one had to tell me, Andromeda. They practice in preparation for the real battle." She moved closer, setting a hand on my shoulder. "I know it hurts. I know that at some level you understand. I know at another level, you don't. I don't, either. But this is what it means to be an Octal. Would you take revenge on a lion who ate a zebra you had befriended?"
"I don't know."
"Would you blame him for being a lion?"
"No."
"I could hurt her, Andromeda. But I can't hurt her without hurting her family. I can't hurt the queen without hurting Dark Skies. Oh, I could hire someone to catch her, perhaps alone, and physically hurt her. I could have her beaten. It might not even be traced back to me. I know Mother could do it. But if I kill her, Dark Skies and the rest of the family will die."
"The bond is so strong?"
"They will commit suicide in their grief," Charo said. "If I only hurt the queen, they will suffer with her. It is not very different than if I were to hurt your mother, but even more intense. Dark Skies wouldn't want you to look for revenge. Even before she was taken, she would have told you, if she ever loses a battle of wills, then you must be happy for her. She now has a family, and she is very happy. Weren't you happy when you were with her?"
"It's not fair. She didn't want this!"
"Imagine Dark Skies had kept you. You would have been happy, even if it wasn't really the path you wanted. And you wouldn't have wanted her hurt."
Again I said nothing.
"I know it hurts. I know you want the queen to feel a portion of your pain. But you can't let this eat at you, Andromeda. You have to find a way to let go of it."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Be happy for her. She has a family. She loves her queen, and her queen loves her. She will have a good life. Only one out of seven females can be
queen."
"I know," I whispered.
* * * *
"Good morning, Andromeda."
"You stayed here all night."
"I did. Will you swim this morning?"
"Yes, then breakfast and we have an early event. We're short handed again."
"I can help for a few days."
"I'm running events. Are you sure you can take orders from me?"
"Of course I can. I am here just a few days. Are you mine while I am here?"
"Yes," I said.
"So I may collect my winnings tonight."
I smiled. "Yes."
Her ears twitched. "You are going to be completely mine."
"Good," I said. "Thank you for coming. I think I needed you."
"I'm glad I could be here for you. I wish I'd come sooner, but I think you needed a little time without me first."
"I think so, too."
* * * *
My visor dimmed the moment I stepped into her apartment that evening. I came to a sudden stop, my hands out, feeling for any obstacles. She squeaked her pleasure.
"Andromeda," Charo said. "Do you have any idea what I want to do with you?"
"I might have an idea or two."
"I would never do any of this without your permission."
"Are you going to hurt me?"
"No. But I'm going to do a great deal to you, and there may be a few things you wish I wouldn't. I'm going to do them anyway, if I want to, and if you complain, I might make it impossible for you to do so."
"What things?"
"I don't know. I won't hurt you. There are no recordings or other witnesses. You must decide."
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Remove your clothes. You have one minute."
I hurried to obey, actually falling down onto the floor as I struggled with the shoes and skirt. As my time drew close, she began counting down the seconds, and I barely flung the bra from me as she reached zero.
She spent most of the time squeaking her laughter.
"Stand up, my human pet," she ordered. "Leave your clothing there."
I stood, and I heard her walking around me. Even blinded I tried to follow her, but she said, "Stare straight ahead!" And so I took a position and let Charo circle me. "I like looking at your body, Andromeda. I really like looking at you like this."
It was a little embarrassing, but it felt good, too. "I'm glad," I said. "I like looking at you, too."
She squeaked. "And yet, you will remain blinded until I decide to let you see again. I am going to tell you a secret. Come with me."
She took my hands and let me forward. I knew her apartment well enough to recognize the path to the bedroom.
"Oh?"
"What Jasmine Brighteyes does to you the nights you hold your receptions is not something we can do just anywhere."
"It's not?"
"Nor when you are bound to a chair or a table. We do not alter matter so indiscriminately."
"Oh?"
"Jasmine Brighteyes must plan ahead to encase you in that wall where we first met."
"Are you telling me I won't receive similar treatment tonight?"
I knew we had arrived in the bedroom, I thought just inside the doorway.
"Hands by your side, my pet."
I lowered my hands.
"No, that is not what I am telling you." Then I felt something at my feet, and in an instant, they were encased, as if in concrete.
"Oh god!"
Charo squeaked.
The encasing moved up my legs, trapping me. I struggled very briefly, then grew still.
"I always plan ahead," Charo said, still squeaking. "Surely you've learned that by now." It reached my waist, grabbing my hands, then up, and up. And then I knew I was standing in a pillar, there in the middle of the room, with only my face exposed.
"You can't do much to me like this," I said.
"It's transparent," she said. "I could enjoy looking at you."
I tried squirming briefly, but I was entirely immobile.
"I could have friends over," she added. "You could be a piece of the art."
"You could," I said. "It would be the end of our relationship, of course, but maybe it would be worth it for you."
She squeaked. "No, it wouldn't be worth it," she said. She moved closer. "But you are so beautiful, Andromeda." I didn't think I was, but it was nice of her to say so. "I love looking at you like this. Is that terrible?"
"No," I said gently. "It's not terrible. It's nice. I'm glad you like looking at me. I think I'd enjoy swapping places."
"I imagine you would. You know I won't ever let you do this to me. Does that frustrate you?"
"No."
I thought she walked around me, and I heard tapping against the enclosing pillar, although I didn't feel it.
"If ever you wish to offer a gift to me, you could offer to be my human art for a while."
"For you and your friends to enjoy?"
"Oh, no. I wouldn't share you, Andromeda. I might tease you as if I wanted to share you. But I wouldn't sully this. You are for my eyes and only my eyes." She walked around me again, then came to a stop in front of me. She caressed my face. "I could look at you like this for hours."
"I guarantee you wouldn't like my mood by the end. You know that, right?"
"I know. I'll just have to do something to keep you occupied. Soon." Her hand disappeared, but then she asked, "Can you feel me caressing you?"
"No."
"This is such an amazing material. I don't control it directly, of course. There is a very powerful computer involved. But I programmed in the things I wanted to be able to do."
"Like what?" I whispered.
"Well, the material can be much thinner and pliable. Like rubber." And a moment later I could feel her hands massaging my breasts. It was through the material that was holding me, but she massaged, and the material grew thinner still.
She teased both nipples, and I wanted to squirm, but I couldn't.
"I do enjoy these," she said. "And you seem to enjoy my enjoyment. But I have noticed something."
"What's that?"
"The nipples are the most sensitive." Then I felt just a little cold air on them, and her fingers were brushing the nipples directly. "Oh, they like that!" she said. I could feel my body responding to the touch.
Then I felt a tongue on one, and I gasped. Teeth, lips, tongue. "Oh, Charo," I whispered. "Oh god, you're going to drive me insane."
"I know," she said, then moved to the other one. "You're really going to enjoy this next part." She teased and teased, and then I felt the material close over, but it closed with a ring over my nipples, squeezing just a little bit.
"Oh god. Oh god!"
"Are you so sure I can't do anything to you like this?"
* * * *
She teased me for a very, very, very long time. She teased me and she took me. She moved me into different positions from time to time, never fully releasing me. Some of them were quite exposing, but she had me so hungry for everything she did, I could barely think, much less complain.
She took me, and she took her own pleasures, and then finally she led me to the bed, and we slept.
She stayed for three nights. We didn't do any more challenges; I said 'no' when she asked. But I dressed the way she wanted, and I grew to enjoy it. I loved her touch. I loved talking to her. I loved spending time with her.
She took me to dinner the next night, and another walk on the beach, but then she brought me back to her apartment. "Will you let me do it again, Andromeda?"
"Yes," I whispered.
Hours later, as she held my trembling body, I told her, "I'm falling in love, Charo. If you don't think you can love me, you have to tell me."
"I think I could love you, but I am holding myself back, just enough. You are not fully mine yet."
And a short while later, she led me to my cell, as she had to leave. We kiss-licked passionately. "I'll be back," she pro
mised. "But everything I said the last time I left applies."
"I don't want it to apply."
"I won't be back until you have given at least one other woman a chance."
"Don't say that! It's not my fault if Jasmine can't introduce me to anyone else."
"Nevertheless. And I would prefer if you give three more the chance to know you. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Whiteblack
Jasmine did come swimming again, the morning after Charo left. Again, the pool was empty, and again she asked if I would swim without the suit. "Voyeur."
"It helps my bravery," she said. "Please."
And so I gave her what she wanted. She grew stronger as a swimmer. She couldn't swim and breathe. She just couldn't time it. But she could do something I couldn't.
She could sit on the bottom of the pool with a tentacle raised out of the water, breathing only from the top eighteen inches, like a snorkel. It was quite clever. After that, she met me for swimming once or twice a week. She grew better. She grew braver. The day she swam from the shallow to the deep end, all on the surface without a stop was a major accomplishment, and that night she invited me to dinner to celebrate.
We weren't alone. Clover arrived with another Catseye, and from the way they held each other, I knew who it was.
"Peony!" I said. "Right? This is Peony?"
"And this is the human who sends my wife to me," she said. She stepped forward and pulled me into a tight, tight hug. She wrapped around me completely, and when she offered a tentacle, I kissed it.
"How long are you staying?" I asked, once she released me.
"Almost a week," she said. "And I am here to help."
"Oh, we could use it."
"Peony will help teach you to run your events," Jasmine said. "One at a time for now."
"She's better than I am," Clover said. "She could run three at once."
"Do we even have the staff for that?"
"We spent less effort on cameras," Jasmine said. "We largely put them on auto, and she would select the livestream herself. It just takes one or two techs for three events."