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By the time Dain awoke, she was already feeling different than usual - whether things had started up earlier or the device she wore had convinced things to start on a more predictable schedule, the subtle anticipatory buzzing sensation was already distinctly present in the background of her mind even as she blinked away the remaining sleep from her eyes. That alone was enough to remind her that the next trial heat had arrived, but now that she was actually aware of what was going on, she realized that she could discern certain other things about the condition that she hadn't been able to before.

The most immediately obvious thing was a sense of... permanence, she guessed, to her currently female configuration. While wearing the device overnight usually meant that Dain's female form would be around for most if not all of the day, there was still a certain tentativeness to it, a sense that Dain's male side was still somewhere inside him, ready to return if needed. Usually, it didn't, but every once in a while, especially when Caure would act in a way that was especially provocative, sometimes Dain would just... feel that male part of him stirring from its dormancy, feel it reasserting itself a second or two before he actually transformed. And even without that, even if Dain's body still wanted to be female for a while, if she thought about it enough - if she pictured her male form, remembered how it felt - she wouldn't change back, but she could feel its potential, knew that it could assert itself if need be.

Now, however, even after she'd removed the device, wiped an uncharacteristic sheen of moisture off of its inner surface, and tucked it away in its box, that potential felt different. She could still technically sense it, could tell instinctively that it was still there, but at the same time it felt completely settled and dormant. Even more than that, it felt... satisfied, somehow, that it was taking a backseat and allowing her female side to remain resolutely front and center. Like it wanted Dain to be female somehow, like it was trying to relieve her of the conflict that inevitably cropped up every so often about which form she should, or wanted, to take. Within that trial heat, though, every part of her body and mind seemed in agreement: for the time being, she needed to be all the way female, and that was okay.

In a sense, going into it from that determinedly female perspective, and with a female's experience of having gone through a trial heat before, made things a lot easier from the get-go. Before, the feelings that had surged through her had been completely out of control, and probably even more so due to the fact she'd never felt anything like it - even her time as a girl had been limited, and had only occurred sporadically for a month or so beforehand.

Because of that, she hadn't even really been used to what being a girl felt like normally, much less when something as powerful as heat coursed through her. This time, though, she'd been a girl for long enough to get used to how those feminine parts of her felt in different situations - not just the regular, everyday stuff, but what it felt like to become aroused, even climax, outside of the overwhelming, difficult-to-parse feelings of a trial heat. Still, some of those feelings, like arousal, were at least similar to a certain degree - which meant that when her heat began to surge forward within her, the feelings weren't so much alien and incomprehensible as they were more intense versions of things she was already intimately familiar with.

When she started to feel that intense anticipation within her as she headed down for breakfast, this time she didn't have to worry about whether she was feeling sick or that something otherwise odd was happening with her body. Instead, she could just focus on becoming mentally prepared for what the trial heat would soon require of her. Well, that and physically prepare as well - unlike the last time, where she'd been afraid of being sick and hadn't eaten much, she knew full well the amount of exertion that would likely be involved. As a result, while it was true that the feelings inside her did repress her appetite somewhat, she nevertheless willed herself to wolf down her breakfast with enthusiasm.

Eloa, certainly, was happy to see her appetite, nodding approvingly as she sat at the other end of the table folding various dainty items of clothing and tucking them in Dain's pack.

"Well, I must say, you seem far more... settled than the last time. I suppose that's to be expected, though, considering the way the last time managed to sneak up on both of us. When it comes to heat... while some spontaneity can certainly be fun, the preparation really is half of it. Which is why I'm happy that this time there's actually going to be a room properly prepared for you in the way that a standard bedroom isn't. I know it may not seem like it matters so much right now, but when it comes time for a real heat, and every part of what happens takes on a real sense of importance... making sure everything goes as perfectly as possible really is key. After all, I still don't know exactly why I became infertile after... well, you. When I talked with one of your doctors recently, they mentioned that while it's very rare, when partners aren't in sync in a very particular way during actual heat, it can be a side effect - and say whatever else you want about your father, by the time the heat rolled around when you were conceived, things were already... different between us, so I'm not that horribly surprised. But in case it was something else... I just want you to be safe, and the best way to be safe is to be prepared."

She gestured at the pack, which was now bulging considerably more than it usually did. "I admit I probably overpacked, and I know that some of the stuff probably duplicates what's already stocked there, but I just want to make sure you don't get there and realize that you didn't have something you might need. Well, that and I wanted to make sure you had every possible choice available for things to wear between actual pairings - I know I sent a bunch of things on ahead, but I thought of several things I hadn't included initially, and, well... I wanted to make sure you have absolutely everything that might appeal to you. After all, the more comfortable you are throughout, the easier it goes, right? In any case, you should be well-packed, and with plenty of time to get there."

Eloa paused for a moment, thinking. "Now, you feel generally all right, yes? It doesn't feel like things are coming on too strongly? That you can walk over to school without feeling overwhelmed by it?"

"I... think so? I mean, this is only my second time feeling this stuff, but... now that I kinda know what it feels like, it doesn't seem nearly as crazy to be actually feeling it."

"That's good to hear. The first time is definitely the most challenging - it definitely was for me, and that was even after knowing a lot more about it going in. If you are concerned, though, I can walk you there myself, but... it's probably best to let you go on your own, give you some quiet time with your own thoughts so that you can clear your head and get in touch with what you're feeling. I know it sounds a little strange, especially in this situation, but the more you're aware of your body, what it's feeling and how it's reacting, the more you can figure out exactly what it needs during heat. And once you know that, and can communicate it to your partners so that they can do precisely what you need them to... well, I guess that's part of the learning experience, but once you can get that fully dialed in, it can take things to an entirely new level. If you can find a way to get to that level, that kind of synchronization, during your trial heats, when the real one rolls around, it can make all the difference..."

"Okay, I'll... keep that in mind..."

"All right. Remember, though, I'm not saying that to pressure you in any way. The most important thing in all of this is to get comfortable with it - relax, have fun, enjoy what's happening between you and your partner. If you come at it from that mindset, when you get to an actual heat, the pressure of what it entails will be the furthest thing from your mind. Anyway... unless you can think of anything else you need, I should probably let you go on your way. Not that you'd get in trouble for showing up late anyway - heat happens on its own timetable, and they know that, so whenever you show up today, they'll be ready for you."

Dain got up, but before Eloa even proffered her pack, she came over and enveloped Dain in a big, warm hug. While such a thing would have been all but unheard of growing up, now that she and Eloa had reconnected, it was something that, while still uncommon, actually did happen on occasion. Even so, it was something that Dain still hadn't gotten entirely used to, and usually it came off a little awkward. This time, though, it just felt... really, really nice, and Dain was suddenly more than willing to let Eloa pull her tight within the embrace, the sense of closeness and safety relaxing her far more intensely than it usually did.

When Eloa released her, Dain stayed against her a moment more, not quite wanting to pull away. It wasn't because she was feeling fear or trepidation about what she would be facing, though - actually, somehow, she'd managed to keep those worries largely out of her head to that point. In fact, if she had to guess, it probably had something to do with her body coming into its heat, something that made the sensation of being close to someone... well, more close than it usually was. And yet, it was even more than that - once she pulled away, she was still left feeling snuggly and happy, a feeling that tingled and thrummed through her extremities for a while afterward. Certainly, though, the feelings that had been conjured up didn't have anything to do with a motherly hug, but in a way they were encouraging nonetheless - considering that a large part of mating was being in a close embrace with someone, it was good to know that she was already primed for that closeness, and would be able to accept it easily when the time came.

Quickly enough, though, she was on her own, securing her pack around her shoulders as she made her way to the sidewalk. She glanced back, waving goodbye to Eloa, who seemed to be watching unwaveringly as Dain walked down the street, with a look of gentle concern on her face that she couldn't quite disguise. In a way, she seemed more worried than Dain was about the trial heat that was coming up.

Of course, part of that was probably due to the buzzing of heat still nudging slowly forward in both her mind and body, enforcing a sense of intense energy and anticipatory eagerness, an anticipation that seemed actually a little more present now that she had a good idea of what to expect. And, really, there wasn't anything bad or really unpleasant to anticipate - she'd get in, strip down to her underwear, one of her sort-of-chosen partners would show up, and then they'd do exactly what both of them wanted. Simple as that, right?

Except... it wasn't, quite, now that Dain was actually thinking about it. Once she got to school, and into the area set aside for girls in heat, things would start happening quickly - and with guys that, Dain had to admit, she really didn't know much of anything at all about. Sure, she had all of their pictures on her tablet, and their bios, school records, genetic history... but that was all numbers, facts and figures, pieces of dry information that didn't really say anything about who they were, or how they acted, or the way their personalities would come across. While there were a few that she was vaguely familiar with, that had mostly come to sharing a class or a hallway with them, without a lot of meaningful interaction - as she'd been spending most of her time with her female classmates, trying to fit in with them and getting used to what it was like being a girl, her interactions with boys had been even more limited than they'd been before. Some of the boys, probably in other classes, she was fairly certain she hadn't really interacted with at all - maybe she'd seen them once or twice in passing, but that was it. While she did technically know about them, in a lot of ways they were virtually strangers, and somehow she would have to go from introducing herself to them for the very first time directly to being as close and intimate with them as it was possible to be. Considering how heat had gone before, there was every reason to believe even that kind of abrupt transition would resolve itself naturally enough, but even so, that concept of having to so rapidly accept a near-complete stranger, no matter how nice they were... suffice it to say, it was enough to create a sense of trepidation sufficiently strong to temper her heat-fueled anticipation.

"Dain! Hey, Dain, wait up!"

Well, at least she wouldn't have to stew about it alone. The voice was clearly Caure's, and Dain glanced over her shoulder as she caught up.

That Caure was also in heat was abundantly clear - she was practically bouncing instead of walking, and her face was sporting an unabashedly eager grin that was remarkably free of her usual mischievousness. More puzzling than her expression, though, was her clothing - instead of the usual long-shirt-and-leggings getup, which Dain had pulled on as a matter of routine, Caure was wearing a loose, almost ethereal sundress, with a bottom hem that danced and twirled around her knees as she bounded along. In all the time Dain had known her, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Caure wear something like that - honestly, she couldn't tell whether it disguised or enhanced Caure's own femininity, but it was certainly a different look for her. Actually, in a way, it was kind of cute, but there was no sense of appreciation beyond that - Dain's male side was still more than comfortably dormant, and however she normally saw Caure, right now she was simply a friend in a very similar situation.

Dain, admittedly, was curious about the dress, but Caure managed to answer the unspoken question when she quickly cut in with one of her own.

"Wow, really? You're wearing that? And you're sure you're in heat?"

"Yeah, very sure... why? What's wrong with it?"

"Well, nothing's actually wrong with it, but I'm just not sure how you're standing wearing it! Yeah, yeah, I know girls respond to heat differently, but with everything so sensitive, I don't think I could stand having anything that tight against my fur right now. And, well, especially down there, you know... the only way I'm putting something against that right now is once I'm in the trial-heat facility and ready to have something snug down there getting me going. If I was wearing something down there right now, just the motion of walking pulling it back and forth, even a little... I'd go absolutely crazy! And yet you're walking around like it's no problem, wearing leggings no less!"

"I guess it just... I guess heat hasn't drifted down from my stomach to make things start to happen down there yet, and- wait. Are you saying you're not wearing anything under that dress?"

"Of course not! Weren't you listening?"

"I mean, yeah, I was, but-"

"But what? The dress is covering everything else up, so it doesn't matter what's underneath, right?"

"I... I guess when you put it that way, it doesn't matter."

"Right! I would have thought you'd gotten that about heat by now, but... yeah, it makes sense. I mean... I swore it wouldn't happen, because I want to keep focused on both sides of you, but even for me it's sometimes easy to forget that you weren't always a girl to begin with. Not that that's a bad thing, of course! The fact that you can fit in so well now, it's gotta mean that you're getting really comfortable with that side of you, even if it's not your natural state, right? I know I kinda wanted to be with you as a guy, but... it's kinda cool just being here with you like this, too, knowing that we're both gonna be doing this together. Well, not 'together' together, of course! Not that I didn't try to ask about that, but even so... just knowing that you're going to be in there somewhere with me, sharing in that amazing experience... just knowing that you're going to be feeling that with me, in some sense, I just know is going to make this even better than it normally is. I mean, you're already at least feeling some of it coming on, right? You've gotta be excited about it in the same way as I am..."

"Er... I guess? I mean, I'm looking forward to it, in a way, and not just thinking about it - it's like every part of my body is kinda looking forward to it, you know? There's that buzzing, that energy, that sense you just want to... to..."

"To pounce on some guy and make him pull you into his arms, right? To feel him touch you all over, to feel his hot breath panting against your cheek, to feel the passion tensing every muscle in his body and wanting to take every ounce of it and tuck it as deeply and tightly inside you as it can possibly go..."

"I... I dunno if I'd put it quite like that, but... this has been on your mind, no question about that..."

"And how couldn't it be? This is the second day of my heat, after all, and after feeling everything I did the first day, getting reacquainted with how amazing it feels to have that knot hugging you, all warm and snug and perfect even as it's driving the entire core of you absolutely wild and making it so easy to clamp down and cum all around it... after a full day of that, that's literally all I thought about last night, and I woke up beyond ready for a whole lot more. Seriously, though... you don't have to be shy about what you're feeling. And you know I'd be interested to hear how thinking about being with all those guys is making you feel..."

"I, well... I don't think I've really been considering it that way. I mean, if you really want to know how I feel... I just don't know, yet. I mean, most of the guys you're with, you've been with before, right? Or at least you know them pretty well. There are a bunch of guys that I'm basically going to be meeting for the first time, only instead of a handshake and introduction, I'm going to be giving their knot a super-intimate hug with parts of me that I still don't fully understand. And I know that because it's heat, it's probably going to work out fine and feel really good, but at the same time... how can I know how it's going to be if I don't really know the people I'm going to be with? Like, at all?"

"Wow... yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about what it would mean to just have guys assigned to you the way they did. And with everything else we've all been wrapped up in... well, no major mystery why you didn't have time to go track them all down. Still... they're all nice guys, right? And if they turn out not to be... hey, you're the one in control, and no one's gonna protest if you gotta put them in line. Heck, you punched Taore's lights out, and last I checked he was still begging to get back on your heat list! Plus, when it really comes down to it... is there really any better way to get to know someone, then to get right down to it with them? That close, with nothing between you, you get to see them as they are, and with all that time together that the knot enforces... I actually think I got to know a couple of guys better during the hour that we were tied than the weeks of hanging out with them before. And with the way heat lets you look at a guy, especially once his clothes start coming off... whoever they are, however they initially seem, I just can't picture an outcome where you're anything less than happy. So, why worry? Just tell them what to do, and let it be amazing..."

Caure looked like she was going to say something more, but instead her words cut off as she uncharacteristically stumbled, taking a few rapid, unsteady steps forward to rebalance herself and regain her composure. Dain would have looked to see if there was something she'd tripped over, but the soft but audible moan that had accompanied the stumble seemed to indicate that there was a much more obvious answer.

"Wow, I... I didn't think I was that sensitive down there yet! Just a tuft of fur rubbing a little bit closer than it had been, and... ohhhh..."

"I, uh... didn't know it could get quite like that..."

Caure tried to make a face, but it couldn't quite compete with the obvious arousal her expression was hinting. "Really? This from someone who actually just up and pounced on a guy during her first heat? And considering you were with Ekka, you know what it's capable of. Sure, I'm not that bad, but..." she paused, making more of a face this time.

"Is... something wrong?"

"No, not wrong, just... I don't have to worry about my fur acting up, because now it's starting to get wetted down against my thighs. Which you probably don't have to deal with so much with proper underwear, if you can actually stand to wear it. Still, coming on this strong this fast... maybe because I'm here with you? Maybe if we're together, my heat's feeding off yours, and vice versa..."

Dain wasn't entirely sure about that, although she had to admit that the buzzing sensation was starting to spread out pretty quickly, tensing the muscles in her limbs, and the feeling in her chest was already beginning to sink lower in her belly, changing from raw anticipation to something warmer and more intriguing. "It... might be?"

"Well, whatever it's doing, in our current states, the two of us aren't going to be able to do much for each other. Which means... I think we'd better try and double-time it to school, so we can get set up and ready before our trial heats really kick into high gear..."

Dain couldn't help but not in agreement, as memories of her first heat came flashing back to her. Whatever the device she'd been given to wear at night had done, it had at least seemed to smooth the progression of what was happening, so that the feelings weren't spiking so suddenly and intensely as before. Still, there was no question that her body was preparing itself, as the unusual feelings in her belly continued to shift around... and if the time before was any indication, it wouldn't be long before the diffuse feelings coalesced into that unmistakable feeling of arousal, and everything that brought with it.

Already, she could feel her breath coming a little faster, and knew it wasn't just from the mild exertion of walking. The buzzing in her head was clearly becoming as anticipatory as it was pleasantly energetic. Everything was relatively under control for now... but then again, the only people she'd interacted with that morning were female. If she was as fired up as she was the first time with Teiya when she came across a guy, just getting to the school's heat area without acting on this impulses... now that she knew what was going on, she could probably do it, but she was sure it wouldn't be easy.

Their conversation trailed off as their pace quickened, both of them trying to concentrate on maintaining their control long enough to make it into school.

Fortunately, they were scheduled to arrive early enough so that there shouldn't have been much in the way of temptation roaming the halls as they made their way to their assigned rooms. Sure enough, when the school gates pulled into sight more quickly than Dain had anticipated, the grounds were basically deserted.

Caure, for her part, gave a sigh of exasperated relief upon reaching the entrance, and all but sprinted into the main building and out of sight. From some reason, though, Dain didn't feel like she was in that much of a rush. Sure everything felt energetic, but the world just seemed so... vibrant, so alive, that for a moment all she wanted to do was simply look around and take in its high-contrast wonder.

That stopped, though, as a male teacher exited the building, absentmindedly looking down at his tablet. Just like that, the entire vibrant scene in front of her seemed to blur and fade right into the background, replaced with a singular, intense focus on the man's face.

Only the fact that she'd been through it before, and that she knew what to expect and anticipate, allowed her to even stay rooted to the spot, blushing beneath her fur, instead of just... acting on impulse. That, at least, was what it felt like: something so powerful that it was almost instinctual, so close to being automatic that it could almost, but not quite, override her conscious mind. Still, in a way it was like holding her breath - something she knew she had some control over, but at the same time she could feel just as keenly that the control would last only so long.

The strangest thing about it was, now that she was able to take a moment and think about it, the initial impulse didn't even... feel like she wanted to have sex, exactly. It was as though it was somehow even more basic than that, not even complex enough to point towards that specific act.

It was true that, the very first time when she'd accosted Teiya, she hadn't been able to visualize them actually, really doing anything, but she'd imagined that was partly due to the fact that she'd never done anything like that as a girl before. This time, though, she knew exactly what to expect, and yet, when she looked at the teacher, all she wanted to do was be... close to him, as close as was possible, closer than things such as clothing could allow. She wanted to be close to him in every possible way, feel his warmth, take in his scent, feel his strong arms embrace her and hold her tight as his fur intermingled with her own...

It was probably a fortunate thing that the teacher ducked back inside, as with the fantasy suddenly reverberating through her mind, a sensation only enhanced by the buzzing that was already there, Dain was fairly certain that she'd only been seconds away from pouncing into the oblivious teacher's arms. And if she didn't want to be tackling a teacher, or one of her classmates, in the halls, well... slightly more control or not, it was easy to see how important it was to quickly get to the private room where she was supposed to more properly spend her heat.

Being there before students normally arrived for class made that a little easier, and aside from the buzzing in her head, the main hallway was empty and mercifully quiet, disturbed only by their footfalls and Caure's heavier-than-normal breathing. In fact, heat or not, she was oddly silent, given the way that she usually talked incessantly in Dain's presence. A quick look over, though, showed why: Caure had the most intense look of concentration that Dain had ever seen on her face. Coupled with her oddly bowlegged stride, it was obvious enough that while Dain might have been struggling, Caure was already on the most ragged edge of her control, and it was taking every ounce of her determination to make it to the heat area without giving in wholeheartedly to her instincts.

Dain thought better of trying to say anything; she didn't want Caure to get distracted by it, lose control, and then pounce on her thinking she was still a boy. Plus, after her own close call, it made more sense to simply focus on the approaching door and double-time the rest of the way down the hallway, quickly inserting her specially-embossed card and willing it to open as fast as it could. It whooshed open at the same rate as it had before, but it seemed to take far longer than that, especially as halfway through its opening, she felt the intensity of the sensation around her crotch ramp up another notch.

Unlike before, though, the entry area was empty, and the screen only displayed two things on a black background: Caure's name with a white arrow next to it, and Dain's name with a blue one. Caure glanced at it, then back at Dain, looking like she was about to say something - but then she seemed to wobble a bit, her hips shaking, as a blush came up deeply enough to clearly bleed through her fur. She quickly nodded to Dain, moved one hand in a quick gesture of encouragement, and then bolted headlong down the hall towards her assigned room.

Dain managed to make it through the short serious of corridors with a little less desperate haste, but by the time she made it to the room, her leggings and underwear were both predictably damp in the crotch and far more uncomfortably binding than they'd felt before. The first thing she did once the door was closed, then, was to kick off her shoes and strip completely naked below the waist. That provided a palpable sense of relief, at least from certain sensations, but the buzzing was only intensifying and spreading, tensing her limbs with a sudden anticipation. It wasn't quite like before, not quite so beyond her conscious consideration, but it was hard to deny that she really, really wanted to pounce the next male-looking thing that came into sight and hold him so tight that there was absolutely no space at all between them.

She knew, consciously, that such a thing was silly, and that an abrupt pounce like that had gotten her into trouble before. But then again... that had been a guy pouncing on her, rather than the other way around, and the only time she'd gotten in trouble pouncing on a guy was when Eloa had shown up that very first time. Not to mention, if the rule for heat was that she got to do things the way she wanted, then... why not?

Dain looked around, quickly spotting the communication console over by the door, and walked over to it. It felt a little strange, walking around bottomless at school, but then again, it was hard not to feel strange in a room with several... sex contraptions, basically.

When she touched the speaker, though, the voice that answered wasn't quite familiar: one of the teachers that she'd perhaps met in passing. The voice was female, though, which was reassuring enough - at least she'd have some idea of what Dain was going through, and would be a little less awkward to talk to than the teacher who had given Dain the tour.

"Hello... ah, yes, Dain, is it? Getting reasonably settled in there? Actually, looks like your first guest is already being buzzed into the male lobby, so I can send him along whenever you're ready. Oh, and if you have any special requests, just ask, and I'll do what I can, all right?"

"Well, actually, I do have at least one..."

"Sure, no problem! Something I can get for you?"

"It's, it's about-" Dain began, but suddenly the buzzing feeling intensified, and her answer came out a little differently than she'd intended. "I want to just pounce on him, you know? I don't want to wait, or do all that random ritualized stuff they talk about in class sometimes, I want to jump on him and start doing... something with him. I... that's what my body wants, anyway..."

"And that's perfectly fine - you're in charge, after all!" the woman replied, her tone seeming almost knowing. "In fact, on days like this... well, listening to your body and doing what it wants makes everything go smoother. I'll pass that along to your guest, and make sure he knows to be prepared for it."

"That's... okay? Just like that?"

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

"I... well, my last heat, one of the guys pounced on me, and I kinda decked him, although... I guess it's not a problem if it's the other way around..."

"No... remember, it's your heat, so you can have the guy do whatever you need, so long as it isn't injurious to either one of you. Oh, speaking of that... this is just a suggestion, but in the interest of safety, you might want to let the guy walk a few steps over to the bed so you can pounce him right onto it..."

"That's... actually a good idea, although... maybe pounce is too... when I had my first heat, I just wanted to jump into a guy's arms and be... really, really close all of a sudden, but things got interrupted, and the stuff afterwards was... different. But now I have that feeling again, the one when heat starts up, I really want to try and feel that again..."

"Sure - everyone tends to have their own style of how they like to go about their heats, and part of the trial heats is discovering yours. And if you think that works for you, then by definition it makes sense. Although, I should probably check... if you want to get right down to it, should I have him strip down before he heads to you?"

That question, oddly enough, seemed to snap Dain out of her current heated obsession - largely due to the fact that to answer it, she had to think of how the guy would look naked, at which point she realized she really had no idea what the guy looked like. She knew his name, Zentare, and the profile had contained a picture of his face that she was suddenly struggling to remember, but she could only guess at what his body looked like. And as for what he might look like down there... that thought left Dain flustered enough that she thought better of pouncing immediately to it.

"Er... maybe have him keep his underwear on?"

"Sure, no problem. Anything else?"

"No, just..." Dain paused as the buzzing intensity in her head seemed to ratchet up another level. "Make sure he gets here soon, okay?"

"He'll be along just as soon as he's done stripping down the proper amount... which would be now. He should be there in less than a minute. Have fun..."

Dain clicked off the intercom and headed back over towards the bed, starting to feel a bit more... self-conscious, maybe? Enough so, at least, that she tossed her bag onto the bed and rifled through it for a pair of panties that looked comfortable. She settled on a blue pair with a sort of lacy fringe around the leg openings, and while it still made her squirm a little to put them on, they felt... dry, at least for the moment.

Still, while she felt a bit less naked, her top was starting to feel itchy and uncomfortably warm, so she tossed it off too, which made her... precisely the same amount of naked as when she'd started her last heat in earnest, but at least it felt like something. True, the only other part of that something was her short feminine undershirt, which on her was effectively pointless and probably didn't even match any more, but she knew that how she looked wasn't at all what she was worrying about.

No, it was the giant question mark walking quickly towards her room that made a flutter of anxiety shoot through her stomach, strong enough even to rise above the sizzling sea of anticipation that her heat had metamorphosed into. It wasn't that she didn't know anything at all about Zentare - the profile she'd been given had seen to that, and she knew all sorts of trivia like the sports he was into, or his favorite food, or silly nonsense like that. At the same time, though, aside from some random comments about how awesome he was from her peers, she'd maybe, maybe seen him once or twice in the halls, never long enough to talk to him, and certainly not long enough to know what he was like in any real way. He was only slightly more familiar than a stranger, and when he'd only been a name slotted into a schedule she hadn't really wanted to think about all that much, that hadn't seemed to matter. But now that he was on his way, now that she was fully aware of how she was shortly about to be with him in the most intimate way possible... now, all of a sudden it mattered tremendously. If it had been... someone like Teiya coming over, a known quantity, she knew that she wouldn't have felt any hesitation at all. But Zentare... could she... just be okay with it?

As she thought about it, though, she could also feel her heat churning inside her, trying to elbow aside the concerns in favor of more pressing needs - and as her nostrils caught the first hints of a male scent, and the faint padding of bare feet coming closer down the hallway, whatever was inside her flared up with a burst of anticipation that fired quickly in the center of her chest but rapidly blossomed outward, and the anxiety was followed by a moment of uncharacteristic calm... and then by just as sudden a burst of anticipation that tensed her legs and thrilled within the spot just between them.

There was a moment after the footfalls stopped, the slightest hesitation that goaded her body to tense that much more, and then the door opened to reveal Zentare. His face matched the picture close enough, at least, and his body actually matched up to the way Dain had recalled it during the brief moment she looked him over: robust for a boy, a little taller than she was, with with real muscles beginning to show beneath his cream-splotched dark brown fur. As promised, he wore a pair of forest green trunks and nothing else, and they did little to disguise the fact that he was also well on the way to being ready.

Any more detail than that, though, quickly became a blur as Dain's body moved almost unbidden, her legs practically springing her forward, her arms outstretched. Somehow, though, her body managed to pull back just enough mid-pounce that instead of bodily colliding with him and maybe knocking him back out the door, she instead managed to sort of slide up against his fur, sighing happily as her face snuggled in against the topmost part of his chest, standing not quite on tiptoes and nudging her hips up just enough so that his bulge settled comfortably in between her thighs. And just like that, everything felt... immediately, incredibly right, even if it came with the slightly strange sensation of feeling really, really female. Not that Dain wasn't more than used to being that way, but in the middle of heat, even trial heat, it was definitely different. Even more so than the sense of permanence that she'd felt earlier, it was that sensation of... whatever part of her that was male seeming to somehow take a backseat within Dain's mind, relinquishing control and watching comfortably as that other part of Dain effortlessly took over and eased into the embrace that Zentare was forming around her, happily accepting the contact and letting her hips slowly rock the way they wanted to, even as she knew the gradual, gentle encouragement they were giving him.

Actually, it was almost amazing how... easily it all worked. Sure, her teachers had gone over any number of techniques and positions, but the most useful advice they'd given was that everyone's heat was different, and that what mattered was letting their body guide them into what worked the best. Of course, Dain had known about just how different they could be, especially after being with Ekka, but considering how chaotic her first heat had been, it was fair to say that she hadn't quite figured out what she had wanted out of it all. But all of a sudden, now that she knew to just let the heat help her discover what she wanted, it felt like there weren't even any words that needed to transpire between them. Stranger or not, Zentare was a warm, snuggly boy, and one smart enough to let her take the lead, not rushing or pushing or directing anything at all, just holding her comfortably and petting gently along her neck and shoulders as she luxuriated in his embrace, letting his presence encourage the warmth and shivery little thrills continue their march into each part of her, somehow keeping his own hips still and tamping down his own desire as she ground in against his bulge, feeling him firmly against her and getting her going in just the right way: liquid warmth building and flowing at what seemed like just the right speed.

In fact, now that they were at least making something close to the kind of intimate contact her body was looking for, some of the almost desperate excitement that had been building before actually began to dissipate, and she was more than willing to let the sensations within her be coaxed forward gently by their close snuggling. In fact, rather than... pounce directly into things as she'd seemed to initially want, she found herself naturally nudging the two of them over to the bed, and into a similar sort of position to the one she'd started out with the very first time she'd been with Teiya: Zentare sitting with his legs hanging off the side of the bed, and Dain straddling his lap, nuzzling up against his neck as she settled her hips, letting his bulge provide just enough pressure against her, and letting his hands settle in the small of her back and encourage her to buck forward just enough to slide almost instinctively into a slow, steady grind. Despite the underwear between them, she could start to feel Zentare's tip clearly enough, nudging back and forth between the outline of folds that she could feel were becoming more than eager enough to be coaxed apart. The buzzing anticipation between her ears returned, but in a far more thrilling, pleasant fashion, and there was a certain part of her - actually, several parts of her - that were quickly getting ready to go on autopilot.

Perhaps it was because of the more relaxed position they were in, but that seemed to be the first moment Zentare thought it was appropriate to speak.

"So, I'm Zentare as I'm sure you guessed, and... thanks for letting me be here." Appropriate, perhaps, but a communication that Dain was rapidly considering to be unnecessary.

"And I'm in heat, so..." Rather than bother with a proper introduction, it seemed to make far more sense to pick that moment to shrug off her panties, rocking back in to give Zentare's bulge an even more intimate snuggle. "There'll be more than enough time to talk... afterward."

Then her body was in motion almost of its own accord, moving fluidly in a way that Dain doubted she could have quite managed if she'd been trying to do it consciously. Somehow, she managed to grab Zentare's shoulders and push hard enough to send him straight back onto the bed, then shifting seamlessly to an embrace around his chest as she shifted her forward momentum into a smooth roll onto her back. Zentare was skilled enough not to hesitate, and provided just enough of his own momentum to go along for the ride, jutting out one arm at the end of the turn to keep most of his weight off of her, while the other made the quickest of motions to tug his shorts down before sliding back up along the bed to balance himself comfortably above her. Once the upper part of him was back in balance, she felt the fur of his hips settling in against thighs that had already spread open of their own accord, and his tip brushing against the soft folds between her legs. He was over a little to the side, though, but it was easy enough for Dain to reach down along her own belly and guide him until she felt just the right pressure against the now-familiar place where he needed to be.

"Now," she whispered up towards his ear, and that was all the trigger Zentare needed to release the energy in his cocked hips in a quick, bucking thrust, although he was careful enough to ramp back the force the moment he had conscious control - so instead of feeling him slam in against her, she felt the initial thrill of him pushing hot and snug against her inner walls, leaving her feeling instantly and comfortably close around him even as the edge of his knot nudged gently in against her.

The first sound she heard herself make, rather than the moan that she'd halfway expected, was a soft, contented sigh: an affirmation of the morning's anxious anticipation quickly dissipating as Dain's body recognized Zentare's presence within her. It brought about a blend of feelings that were pleasantly melding together despite their opposite nature - that deep, relaxed feeling of satiating warmth, both without and within, and the intense sensation of building euphoric tension as Zentare began to move within her, slowly but surely building to a steady, stroking rhythm.

It was natural, then, to reach up and wrap her arms around his back, feeling the striving of the muscles beneath his fur as she pulled him down closer, nuzzling in against his shoulder as his breath puffed hot and quick against her own. Her legs quickly followed, her feet coming together just above the base of his tail, the motion serving to bring her thighs apart a little more and let him settle in even better at the apex of each thrust - and that, in turn, let his knot nudge ever more intimately down against her folds, beginning the comfortable stretching that would allow the next stage that her body was just beginning to anticipate.

As she let her body relax into accepting Zentare's steady cadence, a part of her couldn't help but marvel at how... easy her part in it all was. Admittedly, it was a perspective most women probably didn't have, as that was their only experience with it, but Dain could remember all too well that her last real experience with heat had been as a guy, in a performance with Ekka that had been more intense than any athletic activity Dain could remember doing before. As a girl, though, all she really had to do was give Zentare a nice, comfy hug, enjoy the feelings he was stoking within her, and let him do the rest.

In that regard, there was no question that he knew what he was doing, to an extent that seemed greater than the boys Dain had been with in her initial heat. True, those boys had been a bit less carefully chosen, given the abrupt nature of everything that had happened back then, but Zentare seemed to have neither the hesitation or the over-eagerness that the other boys had in their rhythms. It seemed almost like Zentare was... reading her, somehow, keeping the pace steady when she just wanted to soak in the feeling of it, and carefully ramping it up when she started to want something more. And when it came time for the next phase, he seemed to realize it almost before Dain did - pausing in his rhythm at the bottom of one stroke and noticing the gentle squirm of Dain's hips as she unconsciously tried to press herself forward against his knot, then switched to the shorter, more forceful strokes that let the knot dwell and stretch against her readiness.

As he worked to push in deeper, somehow, even through the feelings that were ramping up within her, even amidst the aching heat and stroking relief and cresting anticipation, for the first time it somehow felt... normal. Well, not normal normal, but the times she'd been through it before, somewhere amidst the passion there'd always been a certain sense of alienness to it, a sense that things were happening to parts of her that weren't quite all the way her own. The knot, before, had especially felt like that, things stretching and changing and filling in ways that wouldn't have seemed logically possible if it hadn't been for the torrent of emotion accompanying them. It had felt crazy, and intense, and different in so many ways, but it had never felt so right, like it was exactly the way things were supposed to be, exactly the way she was supposed to be. Stretching tighter and tighter, hotter and hotter - and then, with a sudden burst, the knot was in, and any notion of further thought was washed away by an overwheming flood of pleasure as her insides fluttered and tensed, perfectly snug around the bulge that sent her into a pulsating coruscation of all-consuming ecstacy.

The first thing she noticed when she drifted blissfully back to full awareness was their breathing - Zentare had somehow managed to keep himself propped upright above her enough, but their chests were all but touching, and each of their quick, panting breaths caused their fur to brush softly together. The next thing she felt was the heat of him between her legs, locked tight inside her, and the gentle, lingering warmth deeper in that signified that he'd found his own relief in the midst of her climax. A climax that she seemed to only partially remember, consciously at least...

All of a sudden, what had happened with Ekka's climax flashed through her mind, and she felt herself jolt up a little under Zentare, flushing with an adrenaline borne more from concern than passion.

"I, I didn't scare you, did I?" Dain asked, looking up into Zentare's face and realizing, as their noses almost touched, just exactly how close they were. Close enough, certainly, that the look of puzzlement on Zentare's face was instantly recognizable.

"Um, why would I be scared? What we just did was... kind of the least scary thing possible..."

"Well, I... I mean, I kind of blanked out there for a second, and when that happened when I was with Ekka, it was crazy because I didn't know what was happening with her, and I was afraid I did something wrong, and-"

"Wait, did you say Ekka?" The puzzled look only grew, until all of a sudden it resolved into a gentle smile of recognition. "Of course... when I came in, you were already so into it, and I forgot that... yeah, guess you've seen both sides of it. Don't worry, though, nothing crazy happened, you just came maybe a little harder than usual? Not gonna lie, I only lasted maybe five seconds after knotting, and the way you went off literally as soon as the knot was in, and that cute little whimper against my neck as you went over the edge... well, if you've been through all of this as a guy, you already know how awesome that was..."

For a moment, it almost seemed like he was hesitating, trying to get past some awkwardness, before smiling again. "I, ah... this is actually the very first time we've ever met, isn't it? I guess we had the briefest of introductions before we got started, but..."

"Yeah, guess that's a little strange," Dain replied, grinning back, "but then, heat's really strange, and I think that's probably the part of us that really got introduced before. So, we definitely got to know each other in... one particular way, at least. I do see your point, though." Realizing that her arms were still unconsciously wrapped around his neck, she pulled him down and nuzzled close against him for a moment.

"There. Not sure we can do a more formal introduction right now anyway..." She wiggled her hips slightly, just to check, and the movement was enough to tell her that they were still very much locked together, and still close enough that the feeling of him shifting slightly within her was enough to elicit a sharp intake of breath and a few automatic pulses around his knot. "Yeah, gonna be here for a while, so... I'm sure you already know this, but I'm Dain, by the way..."

"An absolute, and in fact literal, pleasure to meet you." He leaned in a little closer, his nuzzle followed by a lick, and Dain, feeling comfortable and uninhibited against him, let her own tongue become entwined with his. Perhaps because it was by choice, rather than by heat or instinct, in at least a certain sense it actually felt more directly sexual, somehow, than what they'd done together before.

"Mmm..." Dain half-moaned as Zentare eventually slid his tongue back. "You know, it's kinda weird to say it, but... I think you're the first guy I've been with who's had any real idea how to be with a girl the right way. And that includes me, if you're wondering. I mean, you can't be more than a year or two older than me, right? But while everyone else is kinda fumbling around, it's like you've been doing this long enough that you actually know what you're doing..."

That managed to elicit a gentle laugh from Zentare. "Really? Not sure I actually think that, but... you're not the first to ask, though. Honestly, I think it's more of a fluke than anything else. For one thing, I guess there's something in my genes that's desirable, so I got started right when the first girls my age were starting their trial heats, and the first couple... I guess they were tired of the guys they'd been with before screwing things up, so they told me in very specific terms what I was supposed to watch for, and how and when I was supposed to do what they wanted. That, and... well, the actual fluke part of it..."

"Huh? Actual fluke?"

"Well, like a... whale fluke, sort of. It's because... I know that a lot of people don't like it, because of fur and everything, but I'm one of the few who actually likes to do aquatics for my athletic exercise. And there's this one kind of swimming stroke, I think in Standard it's called the "butterfly" or something, but I think it's actually more like the way that... well, there are these creatures on other planets called whales, and they have this big, long paddle of a tail that's called a fluke that they use to propel themselves through the water. And in this swimming style, that's kind of what you do - you put your legs together and move them up and down together in a particular motion to move forward - I guess there's some quick arcs up front with your hands, but that's where most of the propulsion comes from. While it's not exactly intended for it, somehow that motion, especially the part that you do with your hips, one time I was with a girl and kind of fell into that motion without realizing it, and it... worked really well, and pretty much everyone I've been with since has really liked it, so I do it that way normally now unless someone tells me they prefer something else. If it works..."

"Yeah... it definitely works, all right. I felt so..." Dain trailed off, as some of the thoughts from before drifted, back, about how normal it had felt, how...

"Zentare... can I ask you a strange question?"

"Um... sure? Can't absolutely promise I'll answer depending on how strange it is, but somehow I doubt that'll be a problem, so... go ahead."

"When we were... you know, when we were going at it before, I mean, you weren't thinking about... what I am, right?"

"Heh, kind of hard to in the midst of things like that, isn't it? I mean, I'd heard some things, and the fact that you don't have a, uh, particular female attribute is a little hard to miss, but I really can't say I gave it much thought until now."

"So, what that means is, when we were together... it felt like you were with a girl? A real, actual girl? Not just... someone who happens to have a girl's body some of the time?"

Zentare laughed a little at that, but not in a mean way. "Let me just say... if that's what you're worried about, then don't be. I don't think there was a single moment from when I walked in the door that I didn't see you as a girl in heat that I was very, very happy to be with. The way you drew me into it, the way you came... trust me when I say that in that respect, there are some girls-from-birth who were less convincing in that way than you."

"Oh, I... I didn't mean that I was... fishing for compliments, or anything like that. I guess what I meant to say was... maybe it's strange to hear me say it, in this position, but I'm still not always sure what being a girl, what being female, is supposed to be, exactly. Like whether what I'm feeling is what being a girl is actually like. Since I'm usually a guy when I'm with other girls in... situations like this, I kind of guess, and use that to extrapolate what I feel, but this time... I just had this sense that I really did know, that I really was feeling properly like I was... I mean, I'm sorry, I know this stuff probably isn't relevant to anyone except me, but it just felt... more real this time, and I... wondered if it showed, somehow..."

"Hey, don't sweat it. It's true that I really can't say I know where you're coming from - I've always been male, so far as I know at least. Most girls have always been female. And you... well, you get to see what being both feels like. But real? I can feel you around me, hugging me, not letting go... to me, you're right here, real as it gets. And If you're talking about, you know, looking at it from your perspective, then... isn't it still you, in either form? Doesn't that mean that whatever you feel, it's really you? If you feel like you're pretending something, it's still you feeling it, just as much as if you feel it's 'right' or 'wrong' or anywhere in between. So it shouldn't matter what I'm thinking about it - so long as it's you feeling it, then it's real, right?"

"I... I guess I hadn't thought of it quite like that, but... really, if this is too strange to talk about, it's fine, I mean, talking about me being things when we're together like this..."

"Right, and neither of us are going anywhere, so it's a good time to talk, right? Besides, like you said, we're still getting introduced, and really, getting to know something deep about you like this, I'm... kind of honored. Your perspective is way different from my own, for sure, but at the same time, I kind of really want to hear more..."

"Well, I mean if you're fine with it... I know it's kind of hard to imagine right now, even I kind of have a hard time imagining it while there's someone... actually inside of me, but when I was growing up I used to be a guy, like all the time a guy, up until a little bit before trial heats started up. I grew up around some girls, but I never really knew what it was like to be one, all those different thoughts and decisions I never even considered because I was absolutely sure I'd never need to. And now I've been having to make them, and learning, and I've been through heat before so I know about that at least, but at the same time I was a guy going to girls' heats too. Amidst it all, I just... sometimes it feels like I don't know if I'm one, or the other, or both. I mean, I know I'm actually both, and... some people are really sure I am too, but sometimes... I'm not sure if it really feels that way. And the female part didn't really feel like a part of me until... until it did, I guess. And it just gets so weird sometimes, that it just feels... really different somehow when I feel like I'm all the way really female. It's like... I dunno. Maybe Caure really was right about it, who I am, how I'm somehow all of those things at once..."

"Like I said, if I was in that situation... I really wouldn't know where to even begin thinking about it, or even really understanding what it felt like. But then again... why couldn't you be all of those things at once?"

"Er, well... I think it has something to do with how my body works, but when I'm in heat I can't be anything but female, and when my knot's up I can't be anything but male... actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been both at once, it just kind of... slides between states really quick, so I'm pretty much either one or the other..."

"Heh... not what I meant, but that's still pretty interesting, actually. What I mean is, sure, what's between your legs changes, but it's not like you turn in to a totally different person or have a different personality when it happens, right?"

"Right..."

"Okay, so that part of you really doesn't change. And that's what matters, isn't it? I'm a guy, sure, and I guess that I just... naturally act like it, but that's because I don't change, so I'm just gonna see things from that guy experience because I can't experience the girl one. But you experience both, so both those things are gonna be a part of your personality somehow. It's not that you have to be one or the other, it's more like... you grow up, and who you are grows up with you, right? We're both different now than when you were a kid, because we've done more and seen more and all of that stuff, it's like over time it becomes part of who we are. So you had experiences as a guy, and you saw things as a guy, so being a guy was what you had to base things on. But now you've also been a girl, and you add that in and... you don't have just a guy, or just a girl, but someone who's had both of those perspectives shape who they are. So maybe it's important for a girl to be a girl in the way that they want, because that's who they are, but if you can be both, then... to me, it seems like, why couldn't all of that, being a guy or being a girl, just be some aspect of it, and both of them just come together as the experience of what makes you, well... you?"

"I, I guess, but..." Dain looked back up at Zentare's face, all serious with concentration, then down at the position they were still in, and actually had to laugh a little at the strangeness of it all. "Sorry... it's just that... I guess after all it is still kind of weird to talk about it all together like this. Or maybe it's just weird that you almost seem like you've somehow thought more about this than I have..."

"Ah, it's not all that, really," Zentare replied, looking cutely awkward enough that Dain couldn't resist the impulse to snuggle him a little tighter. "It's really due to my own perspective, I think. Even though things were... favorable for me being able to be with women, at least once they did the first round of tests when I was a little kid, well... if you grew up as a guy too, you know what I'm talking about. How you never want to prioritize that part of things, because you never know if you'll really get chosen or not, so you try to find something to be passionate about, something to make life have meaning even if you're not going to be participating in making any more of it. I wanted to be a teacher, a scholar, and really I still do, so I've studied that more than other things. Literature, history or at least as much as can be tracked down, and especially philosophy, which is probably what matters with this. To understand philosophy, you also really need to be able to understand the perspectives that the philosophers were coming from so that you can put what they say into context. So, I guess I think a lot about perspectives and looking at those of others, and when it came to yours... maybe that's why I have a little bit of insight? Not that I've ever read a philosopher who I knew was a shifter, though. That's one of those things they don't really seem to cover in history or biology or anything else, unless something happens where they actually have to. I know shifters are rare, like really rare, but even so..."

"Really, they don't talk about it?" It didn't take long, though, to think about everything that Dain, and Eloa, had gone through when it had happened. "I guess you're right, though - no one even thought to check before I started shifting, and once I did, all of a sudden a bunch of government people got really interested in keeping track of me. I just thought it was the whole... having more women and getting the population up, though."

"Well, maybe, but... have you actually tried looking up information on shifters? I mean, besides what the teachers and probably the government guys probably told you, which is... some of it, I'm sure. But try to look up anything that actually talks about the biology of how it all works... it's not like I ever dug all that deep, but I did some looking once I heard about... well, you, and what I did find seemed to provide more mystery than it did clarity..."

"Huh... I guess you're probably right that most of what I know is from class and... the government people seem a lot more interested in making sure I get comfortable with female stuff than really explaining things all that properly. I don't know if I could really say I know all that much from my own experience, other than that I experienced it. I mean, I know what happens, and what it feels like when it does, and I guess I know a little bit about how it does, but I don't really know why, or even why it happens, except that I guess it does somehow when the population gets low enough or if there aren't enough women... it is kind of weird, though, that I only know so much about it. The government people usually stay in touch with me, and I guess I could get them to try and tell me some more, but... I dunno, it's kind of weird talking to them in the first place..."

"Hey, don't worry, I'm not trying to get you to look into it on my behalf or anything. I'm just... curious, you know? Even if it's something I'll never go through myself, it's absolutely fascinating to hear about it, and any time I learn about something interesting, I just want to find out everything I can, and that information doesn't seem to be there, that just makes me want to find it even more. But... I guess I am getting a little obsessive about it, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Because... setting all that aside, I really, really enjoy being here with you, and I don't want you to think I'm saying that because I'm focusing on some difference, or anything like that. I meant what I said earlier - being with you does feel more real somehow, like it's not just about heat, or just about closeness, or... I'm definitely not going to say who, but there was one girl who just wanted me to say how great she was, how awesome we'd been together, just wanted me to praise her the entire time, and another just shushed me and it was like she was pretending I wasn't even there. Being with you, it's not just heat, I actually feel like we're really connecting somehow, and I don't mean just physically. Even if we weren't tied together, even if we weren't in the midst of this... I think I'd still prefer being with you. I actually feel kinda bad that we never met before just now, and even if you hadn't been a shifter, even if you'd just been a guy and heat and mating had never even been in the picture, I just get the feeling that we would have gotten along like that too, maybe even been friends..."

Dain wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but given how comfortable she was feeling with him in the moment, especially compared with some of the guys she'd been with...

"Okay, but... there's nothing stopping us trying to be friends now, is there?"

"I guess not, but I mean... look at us. When you're a kid, it's simple, you become someone's friend or you don't. But with everything like this involved... it can't really be that simple, can it?"

"I don't see why not, really... I'm friends with a bunch of different people, guys and girls, and I also attend a lot of the girls' heats as a guy, and some of the guys attend mine. They're two different things, aren't they? Sure, tied together for so long, it's hard not to talk and get to know people a little more, but just because I've... been with them like this, I guess it's affected some of them, but for the most part... we're still regular friends. If anything, I think I'm maybe closer to some of them now. Certain things are different for sure, and meeting new people during heat, feeling things with them... but just because I feel that doesn't mean I'm any less friends with the people I knew before - I'm not ever gonna give any of my original friends up, we all promised that. So, maybe it's a little more complicated now, but... isn't finding new people to know, maybe even be new friends with, a good thing?"

"Yeah... guess you're right there. So, after all this... friends, maybe?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Awesome! Of course, we're still here now, so..."

"Mmm, that we are..." Dain replied, realizing that despite their conversation going far away from it, there was an anticipatory part of her that was slowly but surely becoming more interested in a different part of their connection. "And if you're so good at this, then you probably know what you need to do next..."

In response, Zentare simply shifted his hips gently against hers, and the knot nudged inside just enough to remind a certain part of her just how pleasant it was to feel him against it. His slow, even pace was comfortable, and while surprisingly it wasn't quite as adept as the ministrations he'd managed before, it was enough to let her sink back into the comfortably ecstatic, almost trance-like state of afterglow that served to enhance their closeness, and let the remainder of their time tied together roll by in a state of bliss that she was becoming more and more accustomed to.

Even when they were able to separete themselves, there was a part of Dain that wanted to spend a little more time in close with Zentare - but there was also another part of her that was already calling on her to refuel and get fired back up again for another encounter that would soon arrive. Still, before she let Zentare head off to retrieve the rest of his clothes, she hugged him from behind and gave him another appreciative nuzzle for his efforts. Then he was gone, and Dain was left looking at the collection of still somewhat-strange objects in the room as she at least got some underwear back on, idly wondering if she'd ever have cause to use them - having someone like Zentare, and a nice, comfy bed to be with them on, seemed like exactly what she needed.

Still, there were other things to attend to that required much less contemplation. She tracked down the pack that Eloa had sent along with her, and sure enough it was stuffed with absolutely everything she could possibly need - including several neatly packed triangles of well-seasoned barbecue-meat sandwiches, which Dain wolfed down with a hunger that might have been unusual any other time except for a trial heat. Then all there was to do was make sure she was relatively cleand up, lie back down on the bed, and feel as her heat began to inch forward again, spreading throughout her body and stoking her anticipation. While the first round with Zentare had worked out unexpectedly well, she didn't need to worry about another surprise coming up - next on her schedule was Teiya, and by the time he arrived, Dain was sure that she'd be very happy to see him...