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[Companions Chapter 39]

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WARNING! The following text contains explicit adult subject matter. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, then you must stop reading now. The author has taken steps to ensure that this story does not appear in any subject-inappropriate or age-inappropriate forum. This version has been posted with the author's permission to Yiffstar.com.

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* _COMPANIONS_

* by Evoquus

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* (c) Copyright 2009, Evoquus, All rights reserved.

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* Feedback is appreciated: [email protected]

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Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex: M/F, Non-Anthro Horse

Chapter 39: The Odd Couple

The Hipponaur Elders understood the necessity of population control, especially for a fertile species that could potentially live concurrently with thousands of its own generations. So they devised a way to apply the Hipponaur's natural immune system to effectively sterilize their race, using the stallions' seed as the ideal inoculant.

Like a virus, the purpose of Hipponaur sperm was to penetrate a target cell and deliver its DNA and essence. If the target cell was something other than a ripened egg, then the DNA was discarded, but the essence remained, fortifying it, nurturing it, and protecting it from predators and pathogens. Multiple couplings by the same stallion and mare created a bonded pair, as every undeveloped egg in the mare's ovaries became infected with the stallion's essence but not his DNA. When the mare came into season with a ripened egg, the only sperm cell it would ever recognize as friend rather than foe was that of the bond mate.

Thus, fertile Hipponaur couples were bond-mated for life, and the Elders made sure that they lived their lives separately by pairing the least socially-compatible Hipponaurs they could find and forcing them to bond. The stallions took little effort convincing that this was a good idea; after all, they were stallions. Mares were always less cooperative. Immature females were somewhat more likely to submit, so the consummation of the arranged matings often took place well before their first estrus. For the crowning touch of this plan, the Elders made sure that the stallions had a grand old time while the young mares felt humiliated and violated, thus ensuring that once the bonding was complete, the mares would have nothing to do with their bond mates for as long as they lived. The plan had a nearly perfect success rate. The Hipponaur population remained stable, and nobody was happy about it.

"Miss your balls?" said Shianna to her bond mate, just to kick him when he was down.

The remark was rude, callous, uncalled for, and entirely not unexpected, but for some reason Bouceph had no fight left in him to put her in her place. Set down at the edge of the pool, he stared inwardly at his own rippled reflection. There was nothing there to see.

"They're all gone," he told himself.

"I know," chuckled Shianna. "Rovaun told me how much he enjoyed squashing them... and he told me that just as he was emptying his own stallion 'nads into me. Ahhh, memories."

Bouceph remained unfazed, continuing to stare morosely into the water. He was spoiling Shianna's fun.

"They're all gone. I have no one left."

"Who are gone?" she badgered. "Your friends? When did you have friends?"

He had finally had enough and glared up at her. "No, Cunt. Family."

"Oh," she said, not expecting that reply all, and now feeling like a cunt indeed. "Sorry."

"You wouldn't know it to look at me, but I really cared about my family."

"Ha!" she snorted, "You're half right. You nearly got them both killed."

"I know," he said returning his gaze to the pool. "I kinda have a substance abuse problem, and that Garson fuck kept feeding it. I just came back to apologize to them, but now they're both dead... well the ones on this planet, anyway." He dropped his head to the ground and wept, "My dad's final memory of me is that I'm a fucking shit stain."

This was a side of Bouceph that no one had ever witnessed. Shianna was beginning to wonder if he had come through the ulcer too. "Bouceph" and "remorse" were two terms that had never shared a sentence until now. That iota of empathy for him suddenly grew into a massive scintilla.

"You still have some family," she said setting down next to him.

He shook his head in the dirt. "Not here."

"Yes, here," she said, "sitting right next to you."

"You're my bond mare, not my family," he said, broken.

"I'm not talking about me, you dope. I'm talking about your half brother that I'm carrying."

The concept of his bond mare being in foal took a while to register, especially since Shianna had been voted the least likely to ever give birth, given that Bouceph was her bond mate. The gelding lifted his head. "What?"

"Rovaun managed to get me pregnant," she said, gambling that in his current state of mind, she would have a chance to escape if this bombshell got him super pissed. It didn't.

"I have a little brother?" he said, suddenly feeling the pain of loneliness fading.

Scintilla snowballed into modicum. "Yes, and if you promise to be good, I'll let you talk to him."

Bouceph finished sniffling and smiled. "I promise."

She turned her ribs to him to allow him to press his forehead into her.

"Hey little bro," he said cheerfully.

"Hi."

"Oh my God," laughed the giddy gelding, "he really is my blood. I have a little bro!"

Shianna felt herself getting emotionally teary at the unexpectedly happy family reunion.

"I'm Bouceph. What's your name, little stud?"

"Tantau."

"Tantau!" he maudled. "That is a FUCKING awesome name, little stud!"

"What?"

"Language," reminded Shianna.

Bouceph looked up, contritely, "Oh sorry, sorry, sorry, I'll keep it clean." He pressed on. "So what do you like to do, Totally Tits Tantau?... oops, sorry," he winced.

Shianna grr'd.

"Sing songs with Tattoo."

Bouceph rose up again. "Who's Tattoo?"

"He's your other half brother over there," she said indicating Danny.

"NO FUCKING WAY!", he exalted jumping to his feet. "I have two little bros! I gotta go introduce myself."

"No Bouceph, stop!" she demanded, getting up as well. He turned to her and shrugged, "Whut?"

"Show some tact," she said plainly. "You can't just go imposing your will on everyone no matter how well intentioned you think it is. You have to earn Danny's trust first. Have you forgotten already that you tried to kill him today?"

These were foreign concepts to the gelding, but for once he was willing to entertain them. "Right, okay," he said slowly setting down again. "Thank you," he said to her, finding her suddenly very attractive, "...Shianna."

The white mare smiled at him. They both recognized the Half Dome-sized milestone that they had reached in their non-existent relationship. For the first time ever, Bouceph hadn't called her the C word.

"I know I'm a fuck up," he said, as she settled down next to him again. "All my life, I've used my mom as a role model."

"Tsk tsk." Shianna shook her head. "Why didn't you use your father?"

"Come on, Shianna. You know how my mom is. She turned me against him. And then she made it so she was basically the only person I could ever turn to."

"Hun, you can't blame your mother for everything."

Now the gelding thought he was falling in love. No one had ever called him "hun" before, either. "Shianna, something happened to me in Arizona. Something I can't explain, but it changed me. I thought I was a goner, but then I somehow survived. It's like someone decided to give me a second chance. I don't want to be a fuck up anymore."

"Well, that's a good start," she said.

"It's just that I can't do it alone because I don't know how." He pleaded with tears of hope in his eyes, "Do you... Could you maybe help me? Please?"

Shianna cocked her head, not really knowing what he was asking of her. "Help you to not be a fuck up?"

He nodded eagerly.

She smiled and sighed, suspecting that this challenge was doomed from the start, but what the hell. "All right..."

He squeaked and grinned and bounced.

"...but only if I know that you're trying. [More squeaky nods] I call the shots and you don't give me any shit."

"No shit! I promise!" he beamed.

She smiled and pecked him on the nose. "I never thought I'd say this, but you've suddenly become adorable."

Shianna's shadow finally caught up with her. Malaya snuggled into her to talk to Tantau some more. Bouceph raised an eyebrow, having never met the filly who seemed to be very comfortable with his bond mare.

"You wanna introduce us, Babe?" he asked Shianna.

"Malaya," she said, thinking nothing of it, "this is Bouceph. Bouceph, this is your future half-sister-in-law, Malaya."

Bouceph grinned, "Malaya and Tantau?"

Shianna nodded. Malaya looked up and smiled prettily.

The gelding rolled over and laughed. "I can't believe this. My parents drop dead and I suddenly find out that I have more family than I did when they were alive." He straightened up and nuzzled the petite bay filly. "I'm pleased to meet you, Little Missy."

"Nice to meet you, too," she said cheerfully, then returned her attention to Tantau.

Bouceph sighed a little. "I was kinda hopin' to make myself useful as a big bro and give Tantau some pointers on how to catch a filly, but looks like he already beat me to it."

He returned his attention to Shianna and nuzzled her. "Too bad he can't do this, yet."

Shianna snickered at his arrogance, "You were going to teach him how to be a pitiful fuck up?"

"You bet," chuckled the gelding. "Look how well it turned out."

"I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS!" shouted a rapidly approaching, very angry dark-brown stallion.

"Oh shit!" Bouceph scrambled to his feet and moved away from the females so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. "Look, Parceph. I'm really sorry about Arizona. I didn't know Garson was going to do that to you."

The stallion and gelding circled each other. Josh and two Dannys rushed over to make sure things didn't get out of hand, but as was customary when two equines challenged each other, no one else interfered. Bouceph tried to talk himself out of the situation, which, of course, was not something he would normally do.

"He got me all fucked up and wasted, Bro. I swear I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

"I oughta kill you right now," growled Parceph.

"Look, Parceph, I don't know what else to say but I'm sorry. At least you got out of there alive and intact. Me... I only got out alive. Can't we just call it even?"

"No," he seethed.

"Fine. You wanna fight. Let's fight. But I'm warning you right now, I don't fight fair. You're gonna lose."

"I accept." Parceph swung around and fired a left hind hoof at Bouceph's head, but the gelding was surprisingly agile when sober and easily ducked out of the way.

"My turn," he said, employing his secret weapon. He arrogantly strolled around to Parceph's side, who suddenly found himself paralyzed, unable to defend himself. Bouceph gave him a quick measured kick to the ribs then released him, allowing the stallion to crumple to the ground. "Warned ya."

Shianna oohed silently to herself. There was not a stallion in the clique that could possibly best her bond mate in a fight.

"This isn't over," hissed Parceph.

"Whadaya want from me, Bro? Help me out here. I really don't wanna fight anymore. I'm kinda digging this pacifist gig." He winked at Shianna.

Humiliated, Parceph stared up with burning rage at his opponent, knowing he could never take him in an honorable contest. Bouceph, on the other hand, really wanted this to end now.

"I'll tell you what, Parceph. I'm going to take a gamble with my life that you're an upstanding stud. If I give you a free shot, you hit me as hard as you want with whatever you got and I won't move an inch, will that make us square?"

Slowly rising to his feet, Parceph said chillingly, "I guess we shall just have to see, won't we."

Bouceph sighed, "I reckon so."

Parceph swung around and fired both barrels this time, hitting Bouceph squarely in the chest. The gelding flew backwards, landing on his side, wheezing to encourage his lungs to inflate at their earliest convenience. Shianna ran to him and knelt down. "Sweetie, are you ok?"

"Maybe in a week," he coughed. "...or two. Thanks for pulling your punches, pal."

Parceph smirked, letting out a long satisfying snort.

Bouceph raised a hoof to his opponent. "Are we cool, Bro?"

Parceph stood there long enough to relish his victory, then hoof-bumped him. "Yeah we're cool."

Bouceph dropped his head and hoof to the ground, grateful that this unpleasant chapter in his life was finally over.

"Good," he chuckled to the sky, "cuz I don't think you want me cashing in my life insurance policy."

Parceph snorted again, but didn't say anything.

Bouceph raised his head and smirked, "You don't know, do you."

"Know what," said the annoyed stallion, fearing his victory was about to become fleeting.

Bouceph dropped his head again and laughed. "Oh this is precious. Do you wanna tell him, Ma, or can I?"

"Tell me what!" he snorted.

"God damn it, Bouceph!" said Daniel in exasperation, only just now realizing that Jeremiah had been brought back to his home world after the two worlds had already split. He addressed Parceph and sighed. "Where I just came from, Jeremiah is cohabiting Bouceph's body, much like Danny is cohabiting Zhorelle, here.

Parceph stared utterly stunned at this revelation. "MY Jeremiah???"

"Yes, Parceph."

He stomped the ground. "My companion is alive??"

Daniel felt terrible for Parceph, because he understood how this news would rip at his guts. And on Bizarro World, Daniel was usually wrong.

Parceph danced around and squealed excitedly. "Let's go!... Let's go right now!! I want to see him... or can you bring him here? My companion is alive! I want to see him!"

The situation had already become a runaway train. Daniel hit the brakes hard. "Parceph, don't you see? You are also alive in that world. You and Jeremiah are already together. I can't let you..."

"I DON'T CARE!" demanded the stallion in a fit, then quickly tempered down. "I understand what you're saying, Danny..."

"Her name is Zhorelle," corrected Josh.

"Zhorelle, Danny, whoever the fuck you are, look... I know that my other self would want me to be able to see my companion under these circumstances, especially if we both know that he exists. Please trust me on this. I know my companion and I know myself. I swear to Hipponaur that this won't become an interplanetary incident."

The two Dannys read each others' minds. They would have behaved exactly the same way if there were only one Rovaun and no Josh. For one to deny companion access to the other would be the ultimate in fucking oneself over. They could not live with themselves if they didn't share. The decision was pretty obvious.

"Alright," said Daniel. "I'll take you back with me, but only to visit briefly. If they invite you to stay, then you become their problem. Until then, you are my problem. Capiche?"

"Capiche!" the stallion whinnied.

"How come he gets to go and I don't?" protested Bouceph.

"Because I said so," was the parental response to a question with no justifiable answer. Bouceph didn't really want to go anyway.

"All right, Parceph, let's go," said Daniel. The mare knelt down to give her biological son a hug. "Be good," she said, motherly.

"I will Mom." He kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Son," she said truthfully.

"You're coming back, right?"

She smiled at Bizarro Bouceph, who was someone she'd actually like to get to know now. "Of course, dear. I'll be back to kick your ass if you misbehave."

"Ok," he chuckled, gazing up at Shianna. "I'm thinkin' of misbehavin' real soon."

"In your dreams," Shianna smirked, but knew it would be sooner than that. "Malaya, honey, could you leave us alone for a little while?"

"Ok," she said, getting up to join the others.

The Hipponaurs and Anthraun left the Odd Couple to themselves.

"Mom has mellowed," noted Zhorelle's son. "It suits her... suits me too."

Shianna nodded, keeping Daniel's secret for now. "You certainly are impressionable."

Bouceph gazed up at her. "I know. I think I have some weird reflective personality disorder, exacerbated by my substance abuse problem. Assholes tend to bring the asshole out in me. And that Garson fuck - he was one hundred and eighty percent asshole. But now that I'm with you," he said, turning on his idea of charm, "suddenly I feel pretty, and sexy, and dazzling, and sensuous..."

"Knock it off, Romeo," she sneered, not falling for it but appreciating the effort. "Or are you Juliet now?"

"...and classy, and pulchritudinous..."

Bouceph waited until the others were out of sight, then sat up to snuggle.

"You were sandbagging all this time!?" snorted Shianna.

"Yeah. It seemed to make Parceph feel better. He's really kind of a wimp... Ow... that's gonna bruise." He grinned and nuzzled her. "Come on, Toots, how about we fuck for old time's sake?"

Shianna's standards had loosened considerably, but she still had them. "First of all, that 'old time' was forced statutory rape," she snorted, standing up over him.

"Elder's made me do it, babe."

"Right. And you were kicking and screaming against your will the whole time."

"Can I help it if your alluring beauty stole my innocence?"

In truth, Shianna had never held their forced bonding against him, knowing it had not been his decision to choose her, but the Elders had certainly succeeding in finding her a perfectly loathsome bond mate. In any case, that was in the past, and it was time to focus on things that Bouceph could actually do something about in the present.

"Let me ask you this, Loverboy. When was the last time you had a bath?"

"I dunno." The gelding sniffed his hide. "I don't smell anything. Is it that bad?"

"Bad enough to keep skunks away. Into the pool."

"Oh, all right," he said stepping into the water. "Fuck! It's freezing!"

"All the way in, stinkmeister."

"Maybe later," he said climbing out.

Standing her ground, she blocked his exit and gave him a no-nonsense glare that would have shrunk his ballsacs to pea pods, if he had had any.

"Fine, bitch," he said, jumping into the deep end with a splash. "FUUUUUCK!"

Shianna smiled and swished her tail back and forth, enjoying her minor victory just as Parceph had.

"How long do I have to stay here?" he asked, treading water.

"Hmmm... as long as I say so," she said whimsically.

"Great..." he muttered while swimming in circles. "There's another word for mares like you."

"There's another word for geldings like you, too," she smirked.

"Whipped," he said under his breath.

After a few minutes, Shianna showed him some mercy and allowed him out of the pool. He shook off the excess water and then laid down in the grass to dry in the sun. Shianna joined him, then noticed the infection behind his sheath that had been festering for two weeks.

"Bouceph!" she gasped, "why didn't you do something about this?"

The embarrassed gelding whimpered, "I couldn't reach it myself."

"Oh hun," she said truly pitying the Hipponaur who had no one until now, "I can reach it."

Bouceph rolled over on his side and opened his hind legs for her. She nuzzled in between them and delicately cleaned the wound with a healing tongue. "Oh babe..." he sighed, feeling instant relief from the constant reminder of is dismemberment. "Thank you."

She finished closing the wound, then playfully teased his sheath with her nose. The results were predictable, as the gelding grew to rival any stallion.

"My," she said. "You did use your father as a role model after all."

Bouceph rolled over and nuzzled her. "Yeah, I know. Mom always said that too."

Shianna instantly cooled off. "Let me give you another lesson in tact, buster. When wooing a mare, don't talk about your mother, don't talk about your previous girlfriend, and for DAMN sure don't talk about them when they are the SAME MARE!"

"Oh shit, Shianna. I'm sorry. Give me a break, I'm kinda new at this."

"I dunno," she said turning away. "I'm not in the mood anymore."

"Oh come onnnnnnn," he whined.

"Sing a different tune, pronto!" she snapped.

He shut up and stopped to think, then jumped to his feet. "Wait right there, hawt stuff!" The gelding trotted over to a large coyote bush and rooted around behind it, then returned with a weather-beaten saddle bag in his mouth. "I rescued this from Arizona."

Shianna watched him skeptically as he nosed into the bag, appearing to be manipulating something. Then he presented to her a thin brown tile sticking halfway out of his mouth.

"Gimme a kiss," he grinned. "You won't regret it."

The mare raised an eyebrow, but then leaned forward and kissed him, taking her half of the tile. She chewed it briefly and Bouceph chuckled when her eyes exploded with orgasmic surprise.

"Oh...." she groaned, "this stuff is AWESOME! What is it?"

"Chocolate."

She swallowed and begged, "Is there more?"

"Whoa, we gotta make it last, babe. I just have a couple bars left."

Licking her lips, she sighed that the little junket to Cocoa Beach was over. Then she spotted a few streaks on Bouceph's muzzle, so she licked him as well. Then the sly horse opened his mouth and let her have the gooey piece he'd been saving for her. She giggled and stole it from him and enjoyed it while he watched, and when it was gone, she smiled at him.

"You pass." Swiveling around, she lifted her tail. "You may do me, now."

The gelding covered her, and made love for the first time in his life. This was not the bond mate she had known at all. Something truly had altered the beast into a kinder, gentler being. He was still rough around the edges, but she'd have those smoothed out soon enough. He took his time, bringing her to several sufficient climaxes. The sex was not mind blowing by any means, but it didn't have to be. Bouceph grunted and came and then held her and relaxed inside of her. Both had been thoroughly satisfied.

"Shianna..." he whispered, causing her an uneasy fear that he might spoil this perfect moment by saying something asinine. "This... is nice." He nuzzled her mane evoking a blissful sigh that alleviated her fear.

"You learn quickly," she cooed.

"Always have, babe. But until now, all my teachers were dicks, so that's all that I ever studied."

"I don't think it's quite that simple, hun," she said. "You have suddenly grown up."

"My parents are gone. I guess I just I had to."

"Maybe," she said, not finding that explanation satisfactory, especially since he only found out about their passing today. It bothered her that his pathology could change for no reason, because that implied that there was no reason for it not to change back. The reason it bothered her was because she had her own agenda to consider. Shianna had been in a funk ever since Rovaun's passing. She had chalked it up to grief, but subconsciously knew that there was more to it than that.

She needed a mate, and until two weeks ago Rovaun had been the closest thing to it. Even though she had been a third wheel in that relationship, it was better than being a discarded one. Danny now had Josh, which was good for Danny, but not for her. Though she was happy for them both, even with Rovaun's soul, Josh would never be Rovaun to her.

Now she found herself on stage in a theater of the absurd, actually contemplating a reconnection with her hated bond mate. Surely there were other more suitable suitors that would jump and kick at the chance to have her as their own, but in the past, stallions had trotted her around as a trophy, and she despised being used that way. There was nothing to prevent Bouceph from treating her the same way, but she had the feeling that she could handle him, as long as he remained adorable and didn't revert back to execrable.

Though he had nearly killed Danny earlier that morning, his actions were that of a son rescuing his mother. There was no dishonor in that. Today he showed loyalty, strength, candor, humility, valor, humor, perhaps a dozen other traits that had never been synonymous with Bouceph. As long as he remained like this, he was a keeper.

Not only had he completely satisfied her physically, but he did the unthinkable and remained inside of her while holding her close. He was already proving to be a better lover than his father. And now, she couldn't help but feel the slightest disappointment that he no longer had any living essence to offer her. Shianna missed his balls.

And then her eyes opened... that was the answer: Bouceph didn't have his balls anymore. It explained everything. Humans gelded stallions for two reasons: to control breeding and to make stallions sane. Stallions used for breeding had to be isolated from all other horses, which was psychologically antithetical to the herd animal's nature. Lack of sex and lack of socialization turned them into raving assholes. But geldings got along fine as did stallions that were freely allowed to breed in the wild.

Hipponaur stallions were no different. They all socialized in cliques and could find plenty of other mares or stallions to breed with. All, that is, except one. No one wanted anything to do with Bouceph. Even banished Hipponaurs had more companionship. The only one that would breed with Bouceph was his mother. And that occasional tryst had to be more psychologically damaging than celibacy.

Ironically, she missed his balls more than ever now, for all it would take to keep Bouceph sweet and gentle would be simply to continue doing what they were doing now. And being bond mates, they'd be the envy of the nation as the only breeding pair that truly cared for each other. Best of all, she would then be able to give Bouceph the family that he had always wanted. It was unfortunate that the coconuts had to be lopped off in order to recognize the tree. She decided to keep it to herself to avoid depressing him.

"Hun, I want to apologize for being a cunt," she said sincerely.

Bouceph laughed. "Babe, it's your best feature."

"I'm serious! I need to get something off my chest... It's about your father and me. He was a wonderful stallion whom I loved dearly, but part of the reason I pursued him so much was to rub your nose in it. And I'm really sorry."

Bouceph wasn't stupid. He knew perfectly well that the only reason he was in his father's place right now was because his father was gone. If there was a silver lining to Rovaun's passing, this was it. He nuzzled her again. "I'll tell ya what, Beautiful. If you got any other sins to confess, now's the time. Cuz while you're warming my cock, it's all good."

She giggled and winked her backside, warming him up some more, stimulating him for a second round. "I'm glad your plumbing still works," she teased, feeling him growing inside of her.

"Yeah," he said grinding into her, "thanks to you, Darlin', it leaks better than ever."

When they reached the bonding rock, the two Dannys as mares hugged each other good-bye, mutually grateful for the other's well-being.

"It's a good thing that I love myself so much," ribbed Danny, as an off-handed thank you to Daniel for saving his life.

"You're welcome, dick head," smirked his likeness.

"And I'm happy that you seem to be handling your sexual reassignment with better grace than I would have."

"Now why does that sound like another insult?"

"Because it's exactly what you would have said to me."

"Do I get a hug too?" asked Josh, breaking up the love fest.

"Not from Pandora," said Daniel. To impress the Anthraun and ultimately prove that he was indeed Daniel Racher all along, Daniel the man fully emerged from his Hipponaur body, which would have been impressive indeed if it had been his intent to emerge completely naked. "Oops," he said, turning red.

"That's ok," said Josh, hugging him tight. "Nothing I haven't seen a thousand times already." They kissed, and then couldn't help groping each other.

"Shall I order a room," said Danny sarcastically.

"Just making sure he got all put back together, Love," said Josh, who then sniffed his fingers and flehmened. The savoring of virtual human pheromones was cut short when the Anthraun suddenly noticed something he had never seen his own mate do. While Malaya chatted with Tattoo, Pandora had turned her head and was affectionately grooming the young mare.

"Are you doing that, Cellie?" asked Josh.

Daniel turned around and smiled proudly at her. "Nope. She's figuring it out all on her own."

"How come your body doesn't do that?" asked Josh to his mate.

"I dunno," shrugged Danny, feeling jealous.

"Ah," remembered Daniel. "Some sage advice from Jeremiah: Give your body a name. Find the right one and she'll wake up and look out for you. Pandora is perfect for mine, but you're probably gonna need something different."

"Danielle," chimed Danny.

"Not Danielle," said Daniel, rolling his eyes.

Returning to Daniel's home world was considerably easier than leaving it, since Danny still had his full virtual abilities intact. Conjuring a horse ramp that led up to the spatial ulcer and back down across the other side of the galaxy was as easy as thinking about it. Parceph wasted no time heading up the ramp to get the show on the road. Daniel merged back into Pandora and followed.

"Do you need me to stick around here?" asked Danny.

"No I think we're good," replied Daniel. "We'll be back sooner or later."

"Later," said Parceph disappearing into the ulcer.

The ramp vanished a few seconds after Parceph and Daniel had stepped off, separating the two worlds again. Parceph immediately headed off to his den.

"Hey! Come back here," yelled Daniel.

"Sorry, sorry," said the stallion, remembering that he required an escort. "I just can't believe I'm minutes away from seeing him again."

Shianna came running up to Pandora and gave her a worried hug. "I heard what happened. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Sugar," replied the mare, no less feminine than the day before.

Shianna let out a relieved sigh. "I was afraid that Fred might have damaged you... that, you know," she nuzzled him, "you wouldn't be the same."

Given the near tragedy that could have occurred, Daniel thought Shianna's priorities were a little out of whack, but then he remembered that no one here knew any details. So he cut her some slack and allayed her fears.

"Sugar," said Pandora, releasing the hug. "I'm happy to say that Daniel Racher has made a full recovery." Then she gently nuzzled a secret spot just above Shianna's left shoulder. "But thanks to that Y chromosome of his, he'll never understand what this is about."

Shianna dribbled down her leg as Pandora pushed all her female buttons. Then Rovaun had the bad taste to show up. Typical male.

"We'll continue this later," whispered Shianna to her lover.

"Wild stallions could not prevent it," replied Pandora in kind.

"I have some bad news for you, Rovaun," said Shianna as the stallion approached. "You're still going to have to share her."

"Is everything alright, Companion?" he asked Pandora. A naked man came out to hug him.

"Show a little modesty," gently laughed the stallion, who held his mate close and nuzzled and licked his back. "It is good to see you again. I presume your wardrobe will be arriving shortly."

"Airline lost my luggage," said Daniel, pressing his face hard into the stallion's neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Companion, but I had little fear that you would return to me."

"I sure had a big fear this morning."

"Yes, Azgard told us. What about the crisis on the other side of the spatial ulcer?"

Daniel looked up and smiled. "I saved the day, as usual."

"Ah. There's that modesty I was looking for," sparkled his mate. "What was the trouble?"

"Bouceph," said Daniel. 'Nuff said.

Rovaun stared silently while logically extrapolating the events of the previous days on a world where he didn't exist. "Did you stop him!" he snorted, urgently.

"Yeah, I got there with pretty much no time left on the clock. Danny and Tattoo are fine."

"You executed him I hope," said Rovaun matter-of-factly.

"No, I didn't think it was necess..."

"Companion! While Bouceph is alive, your other self is in grave danger!"

"No, Husband, I don't think so. He wasn't the same," Daniel defended.

"I don't see how that can be true."

"It can be true, because I saw how your grave affected him. Both his parents are dead, now. I don't think he wants to be next. And from what I could tell, he was making excellent progress. He even squared things with Parceph, here... God damn it! PARRRCEPHHHH!!!!"

The brown stallion was already half a mile away.

"What is the matter now?" asked the red one.

"That isn't OUR Parceph. He wants to meet Jeremiah."

"Let him go, Companion."

"But he promised to be escorted!"

"He is an honorable Hipponaur, and I know where his head is at. They will be fine. It will be a happy and interesting reunion."

"I hope so," worried Daniel. Then he stood agape as he witnessed Pandora expertly working a very specific spot on Shianna's shoulder. The white mare's eyes had rolled back in undeniable euphoria. Grooming was one thing, but what Pandora was doing to Shianna was not what a mare would normally do.

"Are you doing that, Companion?" asked Rovaun.

Mesmerized, Daniel shook his head. "Her primitive must be taking over."

"Good for her," said Rovaun.

"Yeah, glad she can have fun without me."

Shianna sensed she was the center of attention and came back to Earth. "Pandora sure is a kick, Danny. Mind if I borrow her for a while?"

"Enjoy yourselves," chuckled Daniel as he hopped naked onto his mate's back.

The four of them headed back to have a happy and interesting reunion.

[End of _COMPANIONS_ Chapter 39: The Odd Couple]

[Next in series: Chapter 40: Three's Company]