FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

by Little Bill

(WARNING: The following story contains sexual activity between humans and sentient alien animals, as well as violence and torture. Please do not read this if you are a minor or are offended by such material. But if neither is the case, enjoy.)

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story follows “The Furry Sex Scandal".)

Looking back on my previous account, it seems an impossibility to believe that I am actually still on Earth and still in my position as chief sociologist at the Planet Earth Research Center. But here I am, at PERC base, typing this in my spare time on my private computer in my office. And you may wonder, dear reader, how my career could have possibly survived after everything that happened? Well, I certainly did not go unpunished for my negligent behavior at the furry convention.

A quick summary of what happened in my previous account: I had a colleague named Sammy Skunk who was head of the mathematical department. My job requires me to go out among human society, His job required him to stay at PERC base. Sammy Skunk was extremely unhappy about getting the chance to go to an alien world only to not be allowed to explore it, and he kept pestering me with questions about how Earthian society was like. I decided to pacify him by having him come with me to a human furry convention, and the Director agreed. Worst mistake we ever made.

We warned Sammy Skunk about some of the sort of people who go to furry conventions, the ones who view us animal-people as sex objects. He seemed to take the warning seriously, but after spending time at the furry convention, he got mentally intoxicated with his newfound celebrity status, and I realized too late how it affected his judgment. Without my noticing it until it was too late, he found a group of gay human furries, and they took him over to one's nearby apartment. Though that person claimed innocent intentions when I confronted him later, their visit turned into a gay sex orgy. This was very bad, because we animal-people are absolutely forbidden sexual contact with the natives, out of fear of spreading possible diseases if nothing else. Far worse than that, though, was the fact that Sammy Skunk had been taken into an unfamiliar environment, and was psychologically drunk from his celebrity status at the furry convention. Even if he were definitely homosexual-and none of us were certain of this-it was clear that this group of human furries had taken total advantage of him when he was not in his right mind.

Of course we had to return to PERC base and report everything to the Director, who was horrified to hear the news. We were both taken to the detention area, and left to wait, for seemingly an eternity. Eventually some human in protective suits arrived-a fact I found ridiculous, unless they thought the human furries had infected us-and roughly grabbed us and bundled us into shipping containers. These containers, I noted, were light-tight and airtight, and only big enough to contain each of us. I was wondering if this were meant as a deliberate torment for us for violating the rules, though more likely they just grabbed whatever containers were on hand in their hurry to retrieve us. I felt my container being lifted and carried to what I assumed was the back of a truck, as I heard a garage-type door being closed and the sensation of being driven away.

The trip also seemed like an eternity, as my container was getting increasingly stuffy. I remember how I told Sammy Skunk and the human furries that we space aliens have absolutely no rights and that the Earth authorities, to whom I knew we were being taken, could vivisect us alive if they so chose. I was seriously wondering if that was going to be my fate. I was also half-hoping I would die from oxygen deprivation rather that face whatever tortures the Earth authorities might give me.

I thought the truck would never stop, but it did. I heard the door open and my container being manhandled again, but this time it must have been placed upon a cart, and I felt it being wheeled for a long time before it stopped. Then the container was unfastened and opened, and my eyes, accustomed to total darkness, were seared by bright white light. I felt hands grab me and pull me outside, and it took time before my eyes adjusted so I could look.

Two humans in protective suits were on either side of me, holding me by my arms, and there were more protective-suited people surrounding me, looking at me with hostility. I stood still, wondering what was going to happen next, and after a time, another protective-suited human came up to me, holding a set of shears, and he bent over to start cutting my clothes off. I quickly struggled out of the grips of the people holding me, and I loudly protested that I could undress myself.

Everyone stood still as I voluntarily unfastened and removed all my own clothes, including my underpants, and I held them out. The person with the shears took possession of them and left the room, and then the two who had been holding my arms previously grabbed them again, and I was led, stark naked, through a doorway into another room. There was a table with a transparent dome-like cover atop it which reminded me of a covered dessert tray, only the dome had a large number of transparent doors on it, presumably for anyone outside to easily access any part of the interior of the dome.

The dome was lifted up, and I was bundled onto the table, and the dome lowered on top of me. I was already regretting thinking of the dessert tray analogy. But the table stayed put; what happened next was that the many doors were opened and I found being touched by many gauntleted hands, and not kindly at that, moving my fur and evidently trying to see every surface of the skin beneath. That eventually stopped, but then the hands were replaced by a variety of probes rubbing and poking me. I did not know what they were searching for or what they expected to find, but that eventually stopped too. I was momentarily relieved-but the worst was to come.

What was next was some sort of thin hose. I thought little of it until the front of my enclosure was opened and hands reached in and grabbed my jaws, pulling them open. Then I felt the end of the hose touching the back of my throat, then finally shoving its way in. It was painful and terrifying, and I finally panicked, flailing about until I felt a number of hands grab my arms and legs. I tried to still myself as best I could, but feeling the tube go down my esophagus was slow and painful, until finally it stopped. But then I felt my tail lifted and another tube inserted into my rectum. It was not quite as awful as the one that went down my esophagus, but it was still horrible.

Both probes, once inserted, remained in me for some time, then were abruptly pulled out. Tears fell from my eyes and I was whimpering, and it was all I could do not to start weeping outright. Then I heard the first words spoken to me since I was brought into the building. “Mr. Fox, we require a semen sample from you," said one of the figures.

I almost laughed at the absurdity of suddenly being addressed formally after going through a degrading sequence of being treated like a lab specimen. Perhaps they found no sign of my having participated in any sexual activity, so they suddenly decided to play nice? “I am afraid I am hardly in a position to do such a thing," I replied.

But the figure produced an ominous-looking device and said, “We could do so by using this device, which would be inserted into your rectum." I winced. “But we would rather spare you such an unpleasant experience if you can do so on your own accord."

Now they were worried about sparing me unpleasantness after what they already had done? I hated the thought of having to masturbate in front of this audience-but the alternative was even worse. I felt deeply humiliated, but somehow I managed to reach down to my genitals and start rubbing them. My penis started coming out of its sheath, and somebody thoughtfully opened a door and stuck a beaker through to catch my ejaculation. I was thinking as I rubbed myself, I'm avoiding having anything placed into my rectum again if I manage to cum.

And I finally ejaculated into the beaker, first my precum, then my actual semen, and my postcum. The people around me seemed shocked that I had produced so much ejaculate, and I felt a twinge of moral satisfaction. The beaker was taken away and the front panel reopened. Then the figure who had threatened me with the device, brought me a bowl with some liquid in it. “What do I do now?" I asked.

“Your examination is completed," the figure told me. “Drink, if you're thirsty." He must have realized what I was thinking and added, “It's just plain water."

“I can drink out of a cup," I shot back.

So the bowl was removed and a plastic cup of water brought to me instead. I drank it, but the pain of having the tube down my esophagus made the experience unpleasant. “Thank you," I said ironically.

“Please, rest for a while," he replied, and I noted there was no mockery in his tone. The front door was left open, and the bright lights dimmed somewhat. The enclosure I was in was too small for me to stretch out completely, but I managed to fall on my side, and even managed to doze lightly.

I was awakened, and realized the dome had been removed from the table I was on. I then saw the figure who had give me water right next to me. “Please, sit up," he said, and I was able to. Then he helped me off the table and I stood on the floor. I noticed the people in the protective suits around me were different-evidently the guard had changed. But none of them displayed the hostility that they showed when I was first brought in. In fact, I got the impression that the man who had helped me up seemed almost embarrassed.

“We will take you to your quarters," he said, and led me to a side room where he took out a pair of hospital gowns and cloth foot covers. But the foot covers were too short for my long feet and the hospital gowns barely gave me any covering. Still, it was better than nothing. We went through a number of corridors and even an elevator before we ended up in a plain hallway full of doors, like a corridor of patient rooms at a hospital. Two men clad in security guard uniforms were there-not wearing protective outfits. My escort spoke to the two men and they led me into one of the rooms.

It was in fact like the room of a hospital, with one hospital bed and a set of curtains, as well as a bathroom and medical-related fitting on one wall at the head of the bed. There was a small table and chairs, but unlike a hospital, no television set. To my surprise, I was handed a piece of paper, which I realized was a listing of various foods and beverages-and to my further surprise it was a listing of foods tailored to me, whoever compiled the list learning from PERC what I could and could not eat. I had no appetite, but I decided I should have some food in me, now that I would not be receiving any more torments. I ordered some chicken and broccoli.

The man in the protective suit had left, and some staff member came with a tray of ground chicken and a set of cut-up broccoli pieces, as well as a container of water. I ate and drank, my esophagus not so painful now, while I was watched by the security guards who stayed in my room. Not knowing what was going to happen to me next, I lay down on the bed and rested, but did not fall asleep. I asked the security guards what was going to happen, but they seemed not to know themselves. I finally did some exercises, the type I could do with no weights or other equipment around, as much out of boredom as to keep myself in shape.

With no clock around, I could not determine how much time had passed, but eventually the man who served me food came back and told me that I was to be questioned. I expected to be put into an interrogation cell, but instead I was led into a small, unremarkable office and placed in a seat facing a desk with the usual papers and computer, and the usual shelves of books, papers, and folders. Only the presence of video and audio recording equipment made it different from being a standard “meeting the boss"-type of interview.

The man at the desk was rather a surprise, though in hindsight it should not have been. Only a small part of his face was visible through the visor of the protective suit he had worn earlier, but his height, build, and mannerisms too strongly suggested that this was the same man who had supervised my rough treatment in the lab enclosure, who had threatened to stick the machine into my rectum, who gave me water to drink afterward, and who escorted me from the lab table to my current quarters.

He had the general appearance of a mid-twentieth century male movie star, complete with a two-sided, pencil-thin mustache and a conservative but expensive-looking suit. Not quite a dandy, but someone fastidious about his appearance. He had professional mannerisms, but they could not hide what was clearly his discomfort over looking at me. I pretended not to notice this, as he announced for the recording equipment the fact that he was interviewing me. I noticed the use of this term, as opposed to questioning or interrogation.

Upon his inquiry, I told him everything about the furry convention Sammy Skunk and I had been to, starting from my decision to take him there in the first place. As I expected, he did ask me repeatedly about certain aspects of what happened the night before-or was it two nights? I did not bother to ask what day it was; I assumed they were deliberately keeping that information from me and would reveal it when they wanted to.

The man eventually stopped interviewing me, which was fine with me as I needed to use the toilet. I told the man this, and he quickly got up and hurried me back to my room, and let me into the bathroom. Fortunately, there was no pain when I defecated, and I noted that I was allowed to enter and use the bathroom alone, with nobody coming in with me. When I came back out, the man was there, and he asked if I were okay-and sounded like he was genuinely worried. Was he regretting his rough handling of me earlier on the laboratory table? It was not out of the question; they certainly must have figured out by now that I took no part in Sammy Skunk's sexual activities.

I was given another meal, and new security guards came in to replace the others. I felt sleepy, and told my new guards this. They obliged by dimming the lights, though of course they still needed to see to watch me. Not that they had much to watch; I climbed into the bed and slept.

I was wakened by a new staff member, who provided me another meal before I was taken to the same office and the same man. He started the interview as before, and asked follow-up questions. It seemed that he-and probably his superiors-had been assuming malicious intent on the part of Sammy Skunk and his fellow animal-people when he had sex with the group of human furries...and had trouble believing the truth, which was that Sammy Skunk really was drunk with his celebrity status at the furry convention and would up being taken advantage of by these people. How could this happen to a member of a handpicked team of people sent to an alien world whose purpose was to explore the ways of the natives? But the evidence was conclusive that this was what happened, and not from my testimony alone.

Not that I was off the proverbial hook; my crime had been my failure to keep watch upon Sammy Skunk and allow him to be exploited in the first place. But there was little more the Earth authorities could do with me. I was questioned some more, and fed a few more times and slept once more before a staff member came in with my clothes, which I noted were washed and folded into a neat bundle. I removed my hospital gowns and put my clothes back on, then the interviewer came by and escorted me through more corridors and to a garage. A different man escorted me into a sedan and drove me out, back to PERC base, I was expecting Sammy Skunk to be put into the car with me, but he was not there, and I was taken to the garage of the PERC main building by myself.

Not unexpectedly, two security people waited outside the car for me, and as soon as I stepped out, they escorted me to the office of the Director. I did not know what he was going to say to me; I merely assumed he was going to fire me and send me back to our home world in disgrace. But if you remember the beginning of the account, dear reader, that is not what happened. Nonetheless, the Director was not happy to see me. Angrily, he pointed me to a facing chair, which I sat down in.

“So," he began (speaking in our own language; I am giving an approximate translation), “you fucked up big time. You not only deeply embarrassed us, you lost one our members."

“Lost?" I asked incredulously. I was hard-pressed to believe that the Earth authorities would put Sammy Skunk to death for what he had done.

“Sammy Skunk is alive," the Director continued, “but I got word from the Earth authorities that he wants to live permanently on Earth-and they might grant him his request."

“He's that terrified to face us again?"

“That's not the reason. It seems that Sammy Skunk has just formed an emotional bond with one of the gay furries who screwed him. The one you referred to as 'Jim'."

I almost fell out of my chair. I did not look towards the security guards, who were standing behind me, but I plainly heard their gasps of horror. “An emotional bond! With a human furry who took total advantage of him!"

Let me pause, dear reader, to explain what we mean by emotional bonding. I am not entirely sure if there is a human equivalent, but it is stronger then friendship and not quite the same as romance. It is akin to, if not the same as, a group of soldiers or law enforcement officials who are joined together by personal loyalty to each other. It is, effectively, two animal-people being close to one another, where one wants to be with the other and enjoys being in the presence of the other. Such people do not necessarily have to be in each other's presence continuously, but they want to have time with each other and do things together at least occasionally.

“You can imagine how I felt when I heard about it," replied the Director. “The Earth authorities themselves had difficulty in believing it. But they showed me all the transcripts of what Sammy Skunk had told them."

And the Director produced and handed me copies of them, which I perused. Sammy Skunk did of course get the same treatment I did, and I assumed (and admittedly hoped, dear reader) that so did Jim and his sick friends got the same. And of course they also mentioned how Sammy Skunk begged to live on Earth, and live with Jim at that. Even more shocking was that Sammy Skunk insisted that he would either live with Jim, or he would rather be sent back to his world, no matter what he might face. When I finally finished reading everything there was to read, I gave them back to the Director, who said, “Perhaps it was already too late when Jim and Sammy Skunk were dancing too close to one another."

“But I don't understand," I said. “How does anyone bond so strongly so quickly? To someone who is not only an alien, but a near-total stranger? Sammy Skunk admitted he hardly knew anything about him!"

“Would I know any more than you about it? But then, you were intended-and trained-to deal with Earthians. Sammy Skunk was not."

“When he was being sent to a planet full of them."

“You're hardly the only one guilty of stupidity in this matter."

“That is true. But I bear the most responsibility for letting this happen to Sammy Skunk, because I was supposed to have watched him."

“Correction. I bear the most responsibility, because I allowed Sammy Skunk to go out among humans in the first place."

I gave no response. Finally the Director added, “And the Earthians now have their own pet space alien, which they can do what they want with. Perhaps it would look good for the Earthians to have a space alien want to come and live on their world. And Sammy Skunk was merely a mathematician, and we can simply ask for another one to be sent when the portal opens. As it happens, you know about two members of PERC who are being sent back, and they'll be replaced too."

I knew who the Director referred to, dear reader, as everyone else at PERC did. Two of my colleagues had had an illicit love affair, and one of them had already been married to someone who was left behind on our own planet. Though not technically illegal, we all knew that that sort of behavior would only come to grief.

The security guards were still positioned behind me. I was already expecting to be sent back to our world in disgrace as well. But I noticed that the Director never referred to my being sent back-and why would he bother with this long office meeting rather than just send me into detention? Would I be spared? Or perhaps merely be demoted as a humiliating example?

So I finally decided to hazard, “So what's going to happen to me?"

“Believe it or not, I shall neither fire nor demote you." The Director paused before adding, “I'm not necessarily doing this as a favor to you. You're not irreplaceable, but you have the best talent in picking up Earthian language and customs, and your assistants are not as bold as you as far as going out among Earthians. This isn't a compliment, just a statement of fact. I'm giving you another chance, and you're still the departmental supervisor." He did penalize me in salary and a reduction in seniority-not a light sentence, but less harsh than I expected.

“Thank you, Director," I replied breathlessly.

“But another big fuckup and you're definitely out of here. And one more matter. In that account you wrote, you referred to me by a very uncomplimentary name."

Which I would never do again. But I had done so unprovoked, in writing, and with no further words said, I fell to the floor in front of him, turned on my back, and without hesitation, licked the dirty bottom of his sandal several times. It was course one of the most self-abasing things an animal-person can do, especially in front of others. I heard the horrified gasps of the two security guards, and I got the idea he deliberately wanted them to see me do this. I was not the only one to call the Director that name behind his back.

I got back up, and the Director dismissed the guards, who left hurriedly. The Director then told me sardonically, “Try not to get the idea you can grovel your way out of any difficulty."

“Yes, Director."

“You will return to your quarters to continue your job. Of course the situation with Sammy Skunk is far from resolved, but for now there is nothing for us to do. If the Earthians want to keep them, there is nothing we can do."

We all knew of the agreement we signed with the Earth authorities, and it did mention that any one of us who chose to come to Earth to live had the right to ask. Not that we ever expected this sort of thing to actually happen, but...it happened. What was there to do? Sammy Skunk was not really popular among my PERC colleagues, but I could not imagine their being happy with him actually emigrating to Earth. In any case, I had to go out and face them, and that made me more nervous than facing the Director.

I opened the door and stepped into the hallway outside the office. The two security guards were waiting outside, plus a number of PERC staff, and we both regarded each other nervously. My reputation was already damaged; would I become a pariah at PERC? But none of us were inclined to say anything, so I went straight to my quarters.

My two assistants, Freddy Lynx and Timothy Squirrel, were seated in the main office, getting up as I walked through the door and shut it. “Let's have a meeting," I told them. “I'm still your boss."

They sat down in their usual places around the main table, and I did at mine. I then proceeded to tell them everything that happened since the moment I took Sammy Skunk to the furry convention. How we went through tight security to get to the convention room, how Sammy Skunk got drunk with his newfound celebrity status, how he danced with Jim and how I failed to note the seriousness of their getting too close, how I fell asleep when I got tired from the dancing and I falsely assumed Sammy Skunk had done the same, how I found Frank and how he took us to Jim's apartment, far too late, how Sammy Skunk and I ended up being taken to the laboratory and getting the rough examination, and finally my meeting with the Director.

When I finally finished with everything, they looked at me silently. Then I reminded them that the Director told me I was to continue my job, and that meant they would need to get on with theirs. Nobody would go out anywhere, of course, but there was paperwork and data processing to finish up, so that's what we ended up doing.

Mealtime came, and I and my assistants went to the cafeteria. My colleagues on the way to and inside the cafeteria gave us worried looks. None of us said anything; what were we to tell them? Then the Director announced over the intercom that there would be a general meeting in the cafeteria the next morning, and did not bother telling us what it would be about.

I sent my assistants back to our quarters while I went to see the Director again. He did expect to see me, and we talked about what I would have to tell my colleagues, and how to word it. Of course we all met in the auditorium at the appointed time, and I explained, leaving out gory details, just what happened with Sammy Skunk, and what the Earth authorities might do.

Ironically, what I said ended up causing everyone else to relax somewhat. Sammy Skunk may have been a department head, but hardly as crucial as I was, and besides, he was finished at PERC whether he would stay on Earth or not. Besides that, there were the two other PERC members I referred to earlier who were fired, and others would leave on their own accord, and new people would be sent to PERC to not only replace but add to our staff. I assumed Sammy Skunk would not be much missed, even by his fellow mathematicians.

The day after, we got word from the Earth authorities; Sammy Skunk would become the first alien citizen of the Planet Earth, more specifically that of the United States Of America, which is where PERC, the Earth authorities, and the Earth side of the portal between our worlds were all located. With that out of the way, all of us animal-people had to go to the building that the portal between our worlds was housed in, and it was a long trip. Fortunately the Earth authorities had sent us buses to pick us up, so we piled in and went. From the time it took, I assume that it was the same building where I and Sammy Skunk had had our painful and humiliating laboratory exams.

The ceremony was rather anticlimactic. Sammy Skunk announced that he would stay on Earth to become its first alien permanent resident, the Earth authorities gave him a welcoming speech, and the Director had to make a speech implying that there were no hard feelings and that there was nothing untoward about his decision. Then it occurred to me that, since many Earthians did not welcome us space aliens on their world and wanted nothing to do with us, how would they regard one who would be staying on Earth for the rest of his life, unlike us temporary guests? (Later on, dear reader, I would find out-in a not pleasant way.)

With Sammy Skunk out of the way, we still had to worry about the portal opening, and after several weeks, it did. We were all taken back to PERC base after the aforementioned ceremony to get things ready. Besides the people who were going back, we had plenty of recordings and messages to send back, as well as samples of Earthians items we were allowed to submit to our world. Then we were all transported back to the building the day before the portal opened. We could not see the portal actually open; everyone and everything going to our world would be placed in a windowless shuttle capsule. And this capsule would land and remain on our world, while the identical capsule from our world would be sent to Earth, containing whatever items and personnel the human research team on our planet would decide to send. Of course the capsule sent to Earth would stay on Earth until the next year, and whoever and whatever would be sent to our world the next year would be transported in that capsule.

So how was it making the trip in the capsule? Rather akin to making a trip on a jet airplane, only harsher. I am not a physicist and cannot explain exactly how the portal works or even exactly what it is; but it is like what Earthians call a “wormhole in space". As for safety, every capsule that has been sent from one world to the other in either direction has made the trip safely, so nobody really feared that they might get lost in space, or anything like that. And as for the situation with Sammy Skunk, we had to tell the National Space Agency on our world in a message about it, but there would be no way we could get a reply until the next year. Who knows-the National Space Agency might, the next year, demand I get sent back in disgrace. But I doubted it would happen.

When the capsule sent to us arrived, we of course got additional staff. Not that they were just handed to us right away; like us, they too had to be checked for things such as alien diseases. But after several days, evidently everybody passed the tests, and all the people were given to us to man our PERC base. The sociology department got one new member-and he adopted the Earth name of Billy Otter. Eventually we were all shuttled back to PERC base.

Unfortunately, Billy Otter would prove to be a discipline problem at first. He had a bad habit of sleeping in late, including missing morning meetings-a problem not solved by my warning him. Thus, I decided to do something to try to permanently solve this problem. Fortunately, I had a female colleague whose size and body shape was similar to Billy Otter's (but she was not an otter), and she loaned me a set of her clothes when I told her about my problem. As I mentioned in my original account, dear reader, female clothing is similar to males', though in paler colors and lacking the dark pattern markings of male clothing.

I had my own combination of bedroom and private office while my assistants shared a bed in their own bedroom, as the standard practice among all departments. I knew from observation that Billy Otter had a habit of placing his next day's clothes upon a particular chair so he could dress quickly. This fit in with my plan perfectly.

One night, I saw Billy had out an outfit close in color to my borrowed one, so I waited until I was sure they were all sound asleep before I opened their door very quietly, crept into their bedroom in the dark, found the chair by location, and switched Billy's clothes with the colleague's. I crept out and closed the door, returning to my bedroom.

The next morning, I had set my alarm to get up extra early to get ready early, and I opened the door to the other bedroom and shouted that this was a particularly important meeting and that everyone was to get into the conference room as quickly as possible. Of course, Timothy Squirrel and Freddy Lynx rushed in right away, but Billy failed to show up. I reentered the bedroom that if Billy Otter did not show up in the next minute, he would face trouble. I did not know if the others had spotted the substitute clothing, but Billy did not, for he rushed in-wearing the female clothing.

I began with my opening speech, pretending not to notice what Billy was wearing, and Billy did not notice that he was wearing female clothes. But the others did, and they started giggling, then outright chuckling. Billy was confused-until he then looked down-and saw what he was wearing. Billy shouted an obscenity, but before he could flee, I grabbed him and held him in front of the others, and they all laughed loudly at him. Poor Billy went limp with embarrassment.

“So you chose to ignore all my warnings of missing morning meetings?" I said loudly. “I cannot abide by this sort of disrespect. I could, if I choose, parade you around PERC base dressed in this outfit. Would you like that?"

“No, no, don't do that!" Billy pleaded.

“Yes, do it!" the others shouted back.

“See?" I told Billy. “They don't like your habit of sleeping in either!" I let a long silent pause elapse before adding, “But I don't intend to parade you around PERC base. Instead, I plan to give you one more chance to change this habit of yours. When you are expected to get up and get dressed and come to a meeting, you do exactly that. Otherwise, my next course of action will be to report you to the Director, and he'll probably give you security guard or custodial duties, and you also might be sent back home during the next portal opening. That won't look good to the National Space Agency, would it?" I paused and then let go of him. “Now go change into regular clothes and give me these afterward."

Billy rushed into the bedroom and changed into his own clothes, then handed me the borrowed outfit. I had them sit around the conference table while I went out, found the colleague I borrowed the outfit from, and gave it back to her. Then I went back to our quarters and we held the meeting as planned.

I thought the matter would be over for my assistants, but that evening I found out otherwise. I should point out that the conference room has doors to the outside hallway, my bedroom on one side, my assistants' bedroom on the opposite, and opposite the hallway door, our main work area. I mention this because I was working in my office/bedroom when I heard knocking at the hallway door (yes, we animal-people do that too), and I went to answer it. Several colleagues from other departments were there, and they complained to me about loud music coming from the direction of the other bedroom. I never had this sort of complaint before and went to investigate. I did hear the music come from my assistants' bedroom, so I opened the door, and got quite a shock.

All my assistants were their in their sleep shorts, but that was not the shock, since in the evening, if they are not going out anywhere, they usually change out of their everyday clothes. What I saw was Freddy Lynx dancing around and singing loudly, to loud music from the karaoke machine I even recognized the song as “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" by Aerosmith, in part because I also saw the video, and saw that Freddy Lynx was even dancing and moving around the way lead singer Steve Tyler had done. In the background, I saw the others, Timothy Squirrel not singing, though he was holding a microphone as well, and Billy Otter was there, both gaping at Freddy Lynx, evidently not expecting him to have gone into full Steve Tyler mode like he did. I gaped too, then was ready to say something, but then the song ended. Finally I called out and told them about the visit I just received.

The others quickly shut down and disconnected the karaoke machine. I was ready to take it out of the room, but it was big and bulky, and without being asked, Freddy Lynx quickly changed back into everyday clothes and helped me carry it out of our quarters. My visitors were still at my doorway, and Freddy called out as we passed them, “Sorry, we got carried away!" They stared after us for a moment before walking away. No more karaoke machine, no more loud music, and we put it back into storage before we returned to our quarters.

I called everyone into an instant conference, the others not bothering to change into everyday clothes. “Now listen," I told everyone, “I handle all disciplinary action in this department. I didn't ask you to perform your little concert."

“I'm sorry," replied Freddy, “but I thought of that song and I just couldn't resist."

“You made enough noise to get our colleagues to come to our door and complain," I shot back. “I've gotten into enough trouble with the Sammy Skunk mess. The last thing I want is more trouble! Do you get my point?"

“Yes," replied the others sullenly.

“Good." To Billy Otter, I said, “Yes, I deliberately humiliated you in front of the others, but my other warnings weren't working, so I ended up resorting to this. Better than than reporting you to the Director, who would take a dim view of your actions. Do you want to be demoted to security guard or janitorial duties, and probably get sent back home in disgrace?"

“No, I don't," when he realized I expected an answer.

“Then be sure that you make it a point to wake up on time and be at our meetings on time." To the others I said, “I think Billy Otter will behave properly in the future, so kindly refrain from picking on him anymore. Bad behavior gets reported to me. Do you understand?"

They agreed, but Billy asked to talk to me alone. I sent the others into the bedroom and began, “I realize what I did to you was harsh-"

“No, I deserved it," Billy interrupted. “It's about Sammy Skunk."

“What about him?"

“I read your report on him, the uncensored one. And yes, I know all about how he left the convention when he wasn't supposed to, and how all those human furries had sex with him, and how everyone here despises him for it, and he can't even go home..."

“Sammy Skunk has said he deliberately elected to stay on Earth," I replied. “And to be with Jim, even when several Earth authorities offered to take him in instead. He insisted on being with Jim, or he would rather be sent back home, no matter what consequences he'd face. I don't like it any more than you, but what can we do? Sammy Skunk made his choice and the Earth authorities let him-and we at PERC had signed the agreement that anyone who comes to Earth and wants to stay can do so."

“I know, but Jim is one of the people who took total advantage of him! He and his sick friends used him as a toy for their perverted fantasies! And from what you say, Sammy Skunk was drunk with his celebrity status, and Jim and his friends admitted they had sex with him because it was their opportunity to screw a real furry!"

“So your coming late to meetings is your way to express your disrespect for me because I failed to protect Sammy Skunk?"

“No, no, I admit I've long had a habit of liking to sleep late. That is my own fault, and that has nothing to do with Sammy Skunk."

“So why bring him up now?"

“I never really had the chance until now. You have duties for us to perform, and you go out a lot." Billy then added, “Did you ever meet with Sammy Skunk since the ceremony?"

“No, but before long I expect to."

“I wish I could come along."

“No, my first meeting with Jim and Sammy Skunk will have to be on my own. And what would be your purpose in coming along? To talk him into leaving Jim?"

“I wish I could, but I know it would be impossible."

“It doesn't matter what you think of Jim. Sammy Skunk is still that strongly bonded to him. Would it really be a kindness to separate him from Jim? Maybe the emotional bond that Sammy Skunk would fade away-and maybe it wouldn't. And would it really be a good thing to send him home where he night end up being a pariah for screwing a bunch of human furries? Why do you think the Earth authorities let him stay with Jim despite everything?"

“So it's the best way to deal with a bad situation?"

“And you blame me for the bad situation."

Billy Otter shifted uncomfortably, evidently too frightened to say anything, so it was my turn.

“I shall be honest. Yes, I was responsible for what happened to Sammy Skunk. I let him escape my watch and failed to find him in time to rescue him. I failed to realize that he was not psychologically prepared to deal with humans, let alone human furries. He was upset over coming to an alien world, only to not to be able to go out and see the place. So I had him come with me to finally meet the natives, and took him among the worst sort of humans an animal-person could deal with. I could deal with them, but Sammy could not, and that led to tragedy.

“I confess that while I felt sorry for Sammy Skunk, he wasn't my friend, and I had him come with me because he was pestering me with questions on what Earth was like until I finally decided to take him to the furry convention just to pacify him. I gave him warnings about what sort of people were there, and I thought that would be enough." I paused and added, “But it wasn't. I never imagined he would get drunk with his newfound celebrity status, or that taking him away from familiar surroundings would cloud his judgment so badly. I certainly never dreamed he would bond with any human so quickly, let alone one who exploited him. But I am a sociologist, not a psychologist."

“But what if the relationship between Sammy Skunk and Jim fails?" replied Billy.

“It's possible, and I suppose it's still possible that Sammy Skunk might want to go back home after all. It's also possible he might leave Jim and take up with another human; there are enough human furries who would love to have him as a companion. But that's out of our hands now."

Shortly afterward, Billy Otter went to bed himself, and next morning, he was the first person to come to the morning meeting. Many, if not most of my colleagues at PERC viewed Sammy Skunk with contempt, but there were others like Billy Otter who thought it was wrong to view him that way in light of being sent into a situation that he could not have been prepared for. I knew I would be sent to interview Jim and Sammy Skunk, and they were compelled to allow me to interview them. I was almost looking forward to that day.

The day did come, with the Director and the Earth authorities having arranged everything for me. I did call their new home number to tell them I was coming at the arranged time, and they confirmed they were ready for me. The car I was provided by the PERC motor pool was the best available-meaning the old jalopy least likely to break down, which the Director used for when he wanted to drive someplace. Yes, we at PERC were given mostly castoff furnishings and equipment and vehicles by the Earth authorities-but we were an expense for the government anyway, so we had no right to expect them to accommodate us with nice things.

Fortunately the car gave me no trouble as I drove to Sammy Skunk and Jim's new address. They were now living in the city nearest PERC base, which was not a coincidence as Sammy Skunk could still expect to receive medical treatment from our doctors, and could still be called upon to help us in dire emergencies, though I could not imagine of what sort-he was just a mathematician, even if he were a particularly brilliant one. They lived in an apartment building akin to where Jim lived originally, and I assumed Jim had a new employer and did the type of work he did in his old job. Of course Sammy Skunk would not be a kept house pet, and would have a job too, though I did not know what it was.

Upon reaching their neighborhood. I called them from my portable telephone to get exact directions, and they directed me to the parking lot by their building, into a space with a “RESERVED" sign. Presumably they had their own vehicle and moved it out of the way to another location so I would have a nearby space. They were not merely being nice; many humans were still leery about us animal-people and I could not just walk the streets at random. I parked and exited my car, then took out my recording equipment for the intended interview. I went to the vestibule of their apartment building and rang their doorbell. Immediately they unlatched the internal door and I rushed up the stairway to their apartment door, which was wide open, and Jim was standing nervously inside. As soon as I got near, Jim actually grabbed my arm and pulled me into their apartment, quickly closing the door.

They looked nervously at me, and I blurted out the first question on my mind, “Have you been receiving any threats?"

“Because I have a space alien living with me?" replied Jim. “Yes, some. But not a lot. I report each one of them to the Earth authorities."

“Not to the police or the phone company?"

Sammy spoke up. “The Earth authorities told us it would be best if we reported everything to them, the idea being that they could determine if we were in real danger or not. And if we were, they'd let the local police know, but they'd send us their own security guards."

Which made sense, dear reader. The Earth authorities were the ones who let Sammy Skunk live here, so they were truly responsible for his-and Jim's safety. The local police did not invite them to live in this city, after all.

“And do you think you are in danger?" I asked.

Jim scoffed, “Just a few letters and phone calls. Nobody even threatens us openly."

“Well, I think we should talk about this on camera," I said, indicating the recording equipment I had carried inside.

“Before we do that..." Sammy started-and Sammy abruptly threw himself on the floor in front of me, and turned onto his back in submission. Soon afterward, Jim copied what Sammy did. And like I did with the Director earlier, I lifted my foot to let Sammy Skunk lick the sole of my sandal.

Remember that I come from a different world, dear reader. We animal-people are not humans, and we have our own practices. Sammy Skunk wronged me greatly, and I had to let him lick the bottom of my foot, or rather my sandal, because my not doing so meant that I would not forgive him. I may have failed to keep an eye on him throughout the furry convention, but we both knew it was his fault for having left the furry convention in the first place and causing us all so much trouble.

Sammy Skunk kept licking until I indicated for him to stop. After all, Jim wanted to do the same since he wronged me as well. He was an Earthian and not obligated to lick my sandal, but he evidently assumed that since Sammy did it, he was supposed to do it as well. He also stopped when he saw Sammy do the same.

“I forgive you both," I told them. “Please, we must get on with the interview, and it will take some time."

So they led me in the middle of their living room. I was paying too much attention to them to notice beforehand, but the apartment was full of furry-related decorations, as Jim's original one was. But the apartment was not messy as such, and they quickly arranged a space where I could set up my recording equipment and interview them on record. I also noted that Jim wore ordinary everyday clothes, and Sammy purposely wore the clothes he wore to the furry convention. I guess that was what they assumed we expected.

I began the recording with the usual legal statement about this being a recorded interview, and I had them both give formal permission to be recorded. The idea was that I would interview them first with them together, and then each one individually.

I did that, and there is no reason for me to tell you about it here-everything said and asked is already on record, and I am not sure exactly what, if anything, has gone out to the general public, even though theoretically this is supposed to be classified information. In any case, I turned off the recording at the end and asked each of them to speak to me alone, without being recorded. This was not standard practice in my interviewing people, but this was a matter I was personally involved in, so nobody had any right to object. To prove I meant what I said about my not recording anything, I first dismantled and packed my equipment, then brought it into their bathroom.

I asked Jim to leave the apartment, and he agreed. Once he was gone, I asked Sammy how things really were with he and Jim-in our own language.

“I understand if you fear that you might have condemned me to a life of unhappiness," Sammy replied. “But if you think Jim is my controller and I am his helpless victim, you don't have to worry. And I'm not his controller either. Would Jim leave me alone with you if he was the sort of person who dominated me? You'd know that better than I would."

Sammy had a point, dear reader. I was not legally empowered to have Jim leave our presence, but he did anyway. Sammy continued, “And furthermore, would he leave my presence at all, if he thought either of us were in any real danger? Not from you, obviously, but from anyone who might wish harm on us."

“So you don't take the threats seriously?"

“Oh, we do. But not to the point that we barricade ourselves in. You go out among humans yourself a lot of times, and you sometimes need to defend yourself."

“That is true. The only difference is that I am a temporary guest on this planet, while you presumably plan to live here permanently. And you live with a human."

“We don't advertise to the world at large that we are gay lovers, obviously. All our neighbors know about Jim and I being here, and nobody seems to complain. We don't make trouble. The stores and restaurants we've gone to, they've been leery of us at first, but they've since become accustomed to us."

“So do you have sex parties? Or maybe you have them somewhere else?"

“We do have sex parties at our apartment, but they are not loud affairs, and we have them once a month at most. Jim had them at his old apartment for years without getting into trouble, and the only people who are allowed to join in them with us are members of Jim's old group, minus several people we had to expel, as I mentioned previously. Our current neighbors haven't said anything, so they probably don't even know about them."

“No blackmail attempts?"

“By who? Jim and I being lovers is perfectly legal. It's not as if I'm a four-legged skunk."

“But I wonder...do you really like doing this sort of thing? You mentioned the first time that you and Jim and his friends have had sex, you didn't even care that they were male."

“I understand," Sammy replied. “You think I'm prostituting myself. You think I'm only having sex with Jim and his friends to please him." Sammy smiled. “But let me tell you that you're wrong. I may have been secretly homosexual all along and never realized it, or maybe having sex with another male has turned me gay, but the truth is, I really do enjoy having sex with males. I really do enjoy placing my penis into anuses, and getting penises placed into my rectum. Yes, it hurts at first, but afterward the reward is worth it. If you still don't believe me, we can undress and I shall let you put your penis up my butt so you can see for yourself."

“That's not even funny!"

“I mean it in all seriousness. You can find out for yourself that I really do enjoy this sort of thing and am not pretending."

“Sammy, have you gone crazy? First of all, I'm not homosexual, and I'm not the sort of person who is into experimentation. Second of all, like a four-legged fox, I form a knot at the base of my penis when I have an erection, and you'd find the experience quite painful, or at least uncomfortable. Third, if I did that sort of thing, you can be sure it would totally destroy my career as a sociologist. Do you want that?"

“Of course not!" Sammy replied hurriedly. “Okay, it was a stupid thing to ask. But I can assure you that I really do enjoy having sex with males, and have no desire to have sex with any females. Why else did I never have done so? I never thought of myself as homosexual, but...here I am."

“But that's what gets me," I told him. “Your first time wasn't a love affair. but a casual sex party when you weren't in your right mind."

“So you get the idea that I did something shameful and am covering it up by saying I really enjoyed it?" Sammy paused and added, “All right, here's the story. I did form an emotional bond with Jim-yes, a very strong one. But you're wrong if you thought that it never occurred to me that Jim and his friends only wanted me as a furry sex toy. The people at the lab kept asking me that when they finally understood my situation.

“That was why, after all the torments and interrogations I got put through, I told them I wanted to be with Jim. Would he still want me? And even if he did, would the torments he must have gone through make him too afraid to have anything further to do with me?

“Yes, when the Earth authorities learned the truth about how I felt, several of them even offered to take me in rather than have me go home in disgrace. But even if Jim didn't want me, I was still so strongly bonded to him. I would have rather gone back home to any horrible fate at all than to stay on Earth with my loving Jim and he not loving me. The Earth authorities were reluctant to have me meet Jim again, but they did when they realized how attached I was to him."

“I cannot describe to you how relieved and elated I felt when I met Jim again and he really wanted to be together with me, and not merely as a sex partner. The Earth authorities were reluctant to let that happen, but in the end they allowed it, and why shouldn't they when they realized that was what we wanted?

“Jim was cleared out of his old apartment right away, as you might imagine. He also quit his old job, which he said he didn't like anyway. Of course PERC had to agree to it; if nothing else, so it wouldn't look bad. To the world at large, of course, Jim was effectively adopting a pet space alien.

“And yes, we know there are people who don't like the idea of a space alien animal-person living in their midst, period paragraph. But from all indications, everyone in this locale has gotten accustomed to me, so I guess it's a matter of time."

“But one other thing," I said. “I know you so strongly attached to Jim, but...leaving your entire world for him? Leaving everything and everyone you've known in your past? I completely fail to see how Jim is that special!"

“I admit that I don't know why I felt the way that I did with Jim when I met him, but I did. You must have fallen in love with people yourself."

“Yes," I confessed, “with different females, including a vixen who turned out to be a bad choice for a spouse. Yes, the breakup and divorce were awful. But what you did was much more extreme, Sammy. I can hardly believe that Jim was someone so special to make you leave your whole world. Unless you had something else to leave behind."

“You mean Jim was just a pretext to stay here? Walter, if I had committed some crime back at home, would I really have been allowed to come to this world in the first place? The National Space Agency would certainly check up on things like that!" Sammy chuckled. “No, I am not a fugitive. So let me ask you why you came to this world."

“Adventure, I suppose," I replied. “Seeing a whole new alien world-a real one, not just some fiction writer's fantasy? Actually interacting with sentient beings unrelated to our kind? I don't like all of them, but others I do. I mean...how many people get to do this sort of thing? Not too many people climb (a very famous mountain on our planet), but this is far more unique. Look at what I can tell people happened in my life, and what I've learned? Isn't that what you expected when you first came here?"

Sammy Skunk turned sullen. “Yes. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I was told I had to stay at PERC base, and the only humans I could interact with were Earth authorities. That wasn't what I expected at all."

“I understand. I was shocked when I learned that not everybody who would be sent to this planet was going to be allowed to interact with the general human population. And yes, the Director belatedly decided to set up a crash course in teaching everyone at PERC how to interact with ordinary humans. I'm the primary instructor of course, having spent the most time with humans, and that cuts into my field research time. But even if you've found happiness living here with Jim, this doesn't change the fact that what I did with you was essentially throw you into the ocean without your having had swimming lessons beforehand."

“I did learn some things about Earthians before I went to the furry convention, including the English language," said Sammy. “But I realize I haven't answered your question about why I wanted to stay on Earth. Because of Jim? Yes. But you're undoubtedly wondering why I could have bonded so strongly with a human I barely met. Remember the ceremony back on our world, when everybody said goodbye to their friends and family?"

“Yes," I replied. “Some old friends showed up, but not my twin brother or any of his family, if he has any." Then a thought occurred to me. “What was the case with you?"

“No family on my part either," said Sammy. “You mentioned you had a brother you were estranged from."

“Yes, for a number of reasons," I replied. “Same story with you?"

“Not quite," said Sammy. “I had wealthy parents, but they and I were never close. I had a twin sister, who died in my late childhood."

“I regret to hear that." (How it translates in my language.)

“She had bone cancer and the doctors could do nothing for her," Sammy went on. “And she was the only relative I was close to. So much for the advantages of wealth."

I came from a lower-middle-class family myself, and both my parents have long died. My twin brother and I were actually close once, but we did not stay that way, for a number of reasons.

“I understand," I said aloud. “I know there are people who grow up wealthy and still have miserable lives."

“My parents weren't super-rich, but we had a mansion by a lake, and my father had a sailboat. We weren't gasoline sailors." Sammy said the latter with a haughty tone that people who know how to operate sailboats use. I was familiar with that as well, but not from doing any sailing myself.

“My father did teach me and my sister to sail the boat, and we enjoyed that. It was really our only happy time together though." Sammy continued sullenly, “But most of the time he spent on business affairs, while my mother spent her time at social events. If we had any other relatives, I never even knew about them. We never had any family friends as such, just my father's business associates and my mother's social friends. My sister and I had only each other, really, and a few playmates. Then when my sister died, well, my parents only became more emotionally distant from me."

“Your parents neglected you?"

“Not quite. My parents had little emotional warmth, but they were strict disciplinarians. We had to do our best in school. Not a real problem for me, of course, but if we didn't, we got punished. With a stick."

I winced. “Both my brother and I did get hit with sticks as punishment, but only a few times, when we did something really terrible."

“What did you do?"

“One time, we had a particularly clear starry night, and I sneaked out of the house when everyone was asleep with my telescope to look at the night sky through it. Even as a kid, I loved looking out at the stars, though I never thought I'd actually become an astronaut. Which actually I'm not."

“I liked science fiction stories myself," Sammy replied, “but I only hoped to get into the space program. Of course when I heard it was possible to actually visit an alien world, I fought all I could to get to it."

“Talk about getting your wish. In any case, what I ended up doing-I was still small then-was wandering far away to get to a hill where I could see better. I ended up getting lost, and my parents needed the police to help find me again."

“You had a wild childhood."

“Ha, ha. Well, I did get into trouble for things that had to do with looking at the starry sky. I was on a school trip to an observatory, and was really fascinated to see the stars as I've never seen them before. I remember my brother, who was in the same class, had to literally pull me away so my classmates would have a chance to see through it too."

“I wasn't a star-gazer as such," said Sammy. “In fact, my interests were more in mathematics. My father did expect me to become a businessman like him, so when I went to university, I took both business and mathematical courses. A double workload, but I could do it. I didn't have much of a social life. No, I never dated-but I never had any homosexual proclivities that I know of. Maybe they were induced by my being with Jim."

“That's what gets me," I replied. “You were deprived of affection, and you bond with a human you barely met, even going so far as to have sex with him to please him. Even if it were absolutely definite you were homosexual from day one."

“Would you have felt better if I were to have had homosexual experiences before I met Jim?"

“As a matter of fact, yes. But this is not a story of romance, not even a forbidden romance. What Jim and his friends did to you was not an act of love or even friendship. They directly admitted to me the fact that they wanted to screw a real animal-person! They didn't care about you or what might happen to you! They didn't care about the fact that you were a visitor from another world! They just saw you as one of their furry fantasy characters, and they all wanted to have sex with someone with fur and a tail and a cold wet nose! They weren't doing you a favor, they were taking total advantage of you!"

“I get your point. But all the same, I am still emotionally bonded with Jim, and he has taken me in despite everything. And guess what? Jim has no contact with his own family-and it's nothing to do with me. In fact he mentioned this in passing when I went with him to his old apartment the very first time. We do have at least that in common!"

“But what did Jim ask about you?"

“Oh, I did mention to him that I was not married and had no relationships, nor someone waiting for me when I got back. And it was casual conversation; like I said, I never got the impression he was hitting up on me, nor did I think they expected any sexual contact with me. I know it's difficult to believe, but they did bring me to Jim's old apartment just to have a friendly visit."

“Oh, I do believe that. But when they caught you in a moment of weakness, they did the wrong thing. If they were truly your friends, they would have just taken you back to the furry convention."

“Like I said, the thought did occur to me afterward. But Jim took me in, and yes, he did acknowledge to me that he did the wrong thing, and that if I wanted to be with him, I wasn't obligated to have sex with him, I could even have my own companion. But I really do enjoy having sex with him, or I wouldn't be doing it. And no, we don't spend every spare minute having sex. Much of the time, we just snuggle together, or do everyday things that couples do."

“And you genuinely enjoy orgies with other people as well?"

“Yes. Jim doesn't obligate me to do that, either. But if I didn't care to have several sexual partners, would I have done this the first time? And like I said, it's at most a monthly occurrence."

“But the thing is...why with humans? I interact with them a lot, and I like some of them, and I like being petted and touched under the right circumstances, but I have no sexual desire for them, either male or female. They're just, well, a bit too different for me to want sexual contact with them."

“I understand. You're middle-aged, I'm young and more pliable." Sammy suddenly smiled. “But you're the sociologist. Contrary to human furry fantasy, our world is hardly gay-friendly. Is that correct?"

“Yes, you're right. But I doubt you would have faced persecution for being openly homosexual on our world."

“But you never actually studied it specifically, did you?"

“No. I did meet up with several homosexuals in my work, but I did not specifically study homosexuality. In fact, even though I did study the stars as a child, I found myself incapable of understanding advanced mathematics, so a career as a spaceman was out for me. I did have an unusually good capacity to learn foreign languages though, so I became a sociologist with the specialty of studying immigrant cultures. But then, I heard about how the National Space Agency needed people with my capacity to learn foreign languages to study an alien world-and I got tested and hired. Of course, they also needed very fit people who could carry themselves in a potentially very strange culture, and I passed that test too!"

“Ah. But getting back to the topic, I doubt that Jim and I would be safer on my world than we are among humans. And why a human sexual partner? You know how human penises are, I trust."

“Yes, but not in the way you do."

“Of course not. But they are not particularly large or long, and don't have the number of variations among males of us animal-people. No knots, or barbs, or curlicues, and so forth."

Another reason our world is not a homosexual paradise, dear reader.

“Listen," said Sammy suddenly. “You don't know how happy I am to see you here. If nothing else, because I can see that Jim and I didn't ruin your career. I do have regrets, Walter-not over what happened to me, but over what happened to you. I know that what Jim and I did involved other people. I realize I put you and PERC in danger, and that is why they despise me. I'm not asking you to be my friend, or to be Jim's friend. I don't expect my former colleagues to forgive me. I violated the agreement I signed, both with the National Space Agency and the Earth authorities. Yes, I've bonded with Jim, but it doesn't justify what I put everyone through. I live a life of happiness with Jim, but I realized that other people have paid the price. I was glad nobody paid the ultimate price."

I smiled sardonically. “You thought I was kidding when I said that the Earthians could vivisect us alive if they wanted to, didn't you?"

Sammy drooped with guilt. “I never really thought that could happen, But then again, I never imagined that the Earth authorities would end up allowing Jim and I to be together."

“And the Director chose not to fire or demote me, though he could have done so. Of course it wasn't out of kindness so much as my greater willingness to go out among humans, as opposed to my assistants."

Sammy looked up. “I wonder if...well..."

“-any of the Earth authorities might have lobbied him on my behalf? Even if they did, can you imagine the Director letting them pressure him what to do with his own staff? You know the agreement we signed gives the Director absolute power over who can stay at PERC or not, and the Earth authorities cannot overrule him." And I told him about my licking the soles of his sandals for referring to him in my writings as “Shithead", causing Sammy Skunk to gasp. “And yes, I did deserve his having me do that. At least my colleagues won't think that the Director has shown me favoritism, so he did me a favor there."

Sammy winced. “Some favor!"

“Well, I called him an insulting name in writing, unprovoked." I smiled sheepishly. “Assuming I was going to be fired, sent back in disgrace, and suffer professional ruin. And it doesn't matter what sort of person the Director is, it doesn't justify my own fucking up. However happy your life is now, I still committed the crime of putting you in a situation you were psychologically unable to handle properly, and not taking you out of it when I saw your dancing too close to Jim!"

“I might have bonded too strongly with him, even then!"

“After such a short time? Without your having had sex with him? Perhaps it was...but how can anybody ever be certain?"

Sammy Skunk drooped. “You're right. But why did I do what I did, against all reason, even leaving the convention with Jim and his friends? And surprisingly, nobody caught me when I went outside."

“Yes," I admitted, “nobody caught me when I went outside with Frank. And neither of us could possibly have been mistaken for humans in fursuits!"

“And after all the security we went through just to get inside the convention building, yet!"

We were silent for a moment. Then I told Sammy about the other PERC members who had left, and our replacements.. Sammy understood that he was a less crucial PERC member than I was, despite his unusually high mathematical capabilities.

“So, back to normal?" was Sammy's response.

“You didn't disrupt things as badly as all that," I said. “Though you did prove that sending people over here with the expectation that they are not supposed to interact with the locals was a mistake. Which is why there is the requirement that any PERC staff from now on must be expected to know how to deal with the local yokels, even if they work in positions that aren't supposed to require it."

“I thought that would be plain common sense."

“Common sense is not always accurate, but you make a point. This is the first time our race has encountered an alien culture we could actually physically reach and interact with. Real sentient space aliens, not just science fiction fantasies. And from the Earthians' point of view, not only real sentient space aliens, but real anthropomorphic talking animals who are not cartoon characters or furry fantasy characters. Unfortunately Jim and company have treated you as the latter."

“I'm sure that Jim by now has fully understood the consequences of what he's done," replied Sammy sullenly. “But what could he do after the damage was done? Not take me in when I wanted to be with him? Let me go home in unhappy disgrace? Would you have preferred that?"

“I wanted to be absolutely certain why you chose to live permanently on an alien world among alien beings, and if you regretted your choice. And not just me but everybody else. Why do you think I wanted so much to be sure that you really wanted to live on Earth, and were not staying here because you had no choice?"

Sammy abruptly stood up, walked over to me, and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I understand perfectly how you feel, Walter. You think the way I live now is the consequence of your failing to keep watch over me."

“Which is the case."

“But if the Director felt I needed to be watched so carefully, why did he just send you? He shouldn't have just depended on one person to keep watch over one person when you also had to interact with the human furries yourself, and talk to them and record their behavior and so on. You'd think he'd know better than that." Sammy paused and added, “I'm not going to mince words, but I feel the Director is poorly suited for the position he holds. How was he selected, since there were so many applicants to be sent to Earth in the first place?"

“He learned the English language well, he was an administrator at the National Space Agency, but I suspect that the main reason was that he had been a cosmonaut. In fact, he was the only person at PERC to have actually gone out into outer space. Everyone else at PERC, as the astronauts and cosmonauts derisively call us, are 'shuttle passengers'."

Sammy scoffed, “PERC's operations are entirely on Earth. Why the fuck would we even need a cosmonaut or astronaut on our staff, let alone as a Director?"

“National Space Agency politics, maybe. He doesn't even go out among ordinary Earthians except on ceremonial occasions." I paused and added, “But he's not a total incompetent. He did finally get the idea that everyone at PERC needs to be trained to go out among humans, and we're spending time training all our staff for that. And it wasn't all the Director's fault. People like me were expected to learn English and about ordinary humans, but the National Space Agency didn't feel the need to require it among people who were supposed to stay at base. I'm sure they know better now as well. And none of the people who left have had to go out among humans either, so we won't miss them."

“I wonder what will happen to them?"

“They'll probably be given some sort of other tasks at the National Space Agency. You just can't quit it, you know. I originally thought for sure the Director was going to kick me off Earth. He didn't, obviously, but he let me know that I can't be so careless again."

Sammy Skunk drooped in shame. “Walter, please don't blame my situation all on yourself. I wasn't some minor who didn't know better. You and the Director gave me very specific rules and I disobeyed them. I have a happy life with Jim, but it doesn't justify the torments I put you all through."

Sammy was about to prostrate himself again, but I stopped him. “Once was enough," I told him. “At least you haven't tried to make any excuses for what you've done, and I appreciate that."

“Jim and I truly love one another; we're not just sex partners," Sammy replied sullenly. “But I can never forget that other people have paid the price for it besides us."

“I suppose nobody ever expected a romance like this to happen, all the science fiction stories about people from different worlds who have such relationships notwithstanding. But this is a story about two people from different worlds being together because any other option would have been worse."

There was little more that could be said on the topic, and soon after Jim returned, and this time Sammy Skunk departed and left me alone with Jim, who was regarding me rather worriedly.

“I wasn't listening in," Jim began. “I swear it. I went to the library and came back just now."

“We talked in one of our native languages just to be on the safe side," I replied. “But it wasn't just because of you. Who knows who else might happen to be listening in?"

“None of our neighbors have complained about us," said Jim. “Or is there anything Sammy hasn't told me?"

“I'm positive that Sammy Skunk hasn't told me anything he wouldn't share with you. Is there anything you want to tell me that you have not wanted to tell Sammy?"

“No, no. Like I said earlier, we got a few threats, and none were followed up on. We're sure the whole thing will pass. People around us were originally leery of us, but they've gotten accustomed to us since then. I guess they realized we aren't going to bring trouble."

“So your neighbors think of you as the eccentric man with the pet talking skunk-person." I concluded. “I admit that I really want you two to be happy together-if for no other reason that I was responsible for this happening to begin with."

Jim bowed his head, “I know, I made you and your research center suffer for it. I know I did the wrong thing with Sammy Skunk, that my friends and I should never had had sex with him, no matter how much he wanted it. Yes, the fact that it was our fantasy come true was no excuse. Yes, what I did to you and your people was terribly wrong. But what could I do after the damage was done, except take Sammy in? Would it have been better for him to go back to his world?"

“You took him in out of moral obligation? You have regrets about his living with you?"

“No, I don't!" Jim replied vehemently. “I regret all the trouble I caused you people, but I don't regret having Sammy Skunk living with me! I love him and enjoy being with him! And he enjoys being with me! Or is he just pretending?"

I smiled sardonically. “We animal-people aren't as good at you humans at masking our emotions. I think if Sammy didn't want to be with you, there would have been no way you could not know about it by now."

“He always seems to be happy with me. Yes, we've been mad at each other sometimes, but not for long."

“What would you get mad at one another over?"

“Everyday irritations, such as one not doing something they were supposed to, things like that. But Sammy has never indicated to me that he regrets being with me."

“I assume he told you about his old life when he was growing up."

“His having parents who neglected him and a sister who died of cancer? Yes, he told me that. I guess I've filled in his emotional void." Then he added, “And by the way, he told me that he used to sail in a boat when he was younger, and this city is by a lake. Sammy told me that one day he might want to take up sailing again. We have enough money, so one day we might get our own sailboat. I never sailed in my life, but if Sammy wants to, I'm willing to do that with him."

“You say you've filled in his emotional void," I replied, “and from what he said, I believe you have. But one thing does bother me."

“What's that?"

“What if Sammy Skunk didn't want to have sex with you anymore? Would you kick him out?"

Jim was horrified. “Of course not! I took him in because he wanted me so much! Has he told you he doesn't want to have sex with me?"

“I don't reveal my secret conversations with people to others," I shot back. “But just to let you know, he even tried to hit up on me."

Jim fell silent, then recovered and replied, “Well, if he wants to have sex with you, I certainly won't object! I can even-"

“Even if I were homosexual myself," I interrupted, “I would not have sex with Sammy Skunk, certainly not here and now. It would be an unforgivable breach of professional standards, and I'm not about to ruin my entire career for any sexual activity, no matter how desperate I were."

“Well, I..." Jim said, momentarily flustered. “Listen. Despite the fact that Sammy and I were engaged in sex with a group of people when you first saw us, they were all people I had known for a long time. Sammy and I don't have sex with just anybody. If anybody were to want to have sex with Sammy, and Sammy were willing, I'd be sure to check that person out, and Sammy knows this. For his protection as well as anybody else's. And no, I don't expect Sammy to run off with another paramour." Jim paused and added, “And in answer to your question, if Sammy Skunk no longer had sex with me, I'd still keep him with me as long as he wanted to be with me. Even if he had a different lover. And even if he decided he was no longer homosexual."

I personally wondered if Jim would really want to keep Sammy Skunk with him if he were unavailable for sexual purposes, but I said nothing. Of course Sammy would not need to stay with Jim if his bond with him were to fade or be broken, which was not out of the question. Even the strongest emotional bonds between two animal-people could be broken, dear reader, and as I have said, my twin brother and I were once close. And if Sammy Skunk and Jim were to part, there would be other humans who would certainly want to take him in-not necessarily ones who would want him as a sexual partner.

“It might be awkward living with Sammy Skunk, though, if he were no longer your paramour but someone else's," I replied. “If he didn't do the same thing with you that he does now, and I don't mean just having sex."

“I get your point," said Jim. “But so far, that hasn't come up. And I thought he left his world just to be with me. Would he have done something so drastic only to leave me months later?"

“Highly unlikely, I admit. But this whole thing is unprecedented. You might well be partners for life. But let's face the fact that he is an alien being from another world. Sammy Skunk is not human. He is different from you in a number of ways, and it's not just his fur and tail and cold, wet nose. He comes from a different world, and he will never truly be a native of this one. I am not a human either, so I cannot know exactly what humans think, or what they can see or know that we animal-people can't, or vice versa. Nobody will know what is going to eventually happen to him. Will he adapt to living among a race of beings unlike his own? Might he have been infected with some Earthian disease which will destroy him eventually? That was the whole point of why we animal-people and humans were forbidden to have sexual relations. It is not out of the question that he might be mentally affected by being a human's sexual partner.

“There are people who have been to war and ended up never being normal again. There are people who have been into outer space and they were never normal again. It is perfectly possible that I might come back to my home world with mental problems, though I feel fine now. There are people who have adopted baby tigers and monkeys and other exotic animals and found they could not take care of them as they grew into adulthood-and these animals could not go back into the wild."

“But Sammy Skunk is a sentient, intelligent being who can make decisions for himself and understand what he's getting into, isn't he?"

“Of course. But though his having sex with you and your friends was done in a moment of emotional confusion for him, when he wasn't in his right mind, what choice did he really have after the fact? His career at PERC was destroyed, and what good would it have done to send him back to his own planet? Word would probably have gone out that he screwed a bunch of space aliens, and he would have certainly been a pariah among his own kind. Also, his emotional bond to you has proven strong enough so that he was willing to stay on this planet just to be with you. Maybe the bond would have faded in time...and maybe it wouldn't have. Even the Earth authorities realized it would have been no kindness to send him back. Do you think they let Sammy Skunk stay with you to do you a favor?

“I want Sammy Skunk to have a happy life with you. But while your fellow human furries might view your story as a wonderful tale of forbidden romance, my fellow animal-people won't hold that view. They will understand that you effectively forced him to be with you because he can no longer really return to his own kind."

Jim looked at me with the embarrassed remorse that made me think of a child who did something terrible and did not understand the full extent of his crime until it was too late. “I'm sorry," I added more gently, “but I had to make you understand the full seriousness of what you've done. You may have won the love of Sammy Skunk, but do not expect to be viewed kindly by any other animal-person."

To his surprise, I put a hand on his shoulder. “But you at least had the decency not to abandon him in his time of desperation. I won't forget that, either."

Sammy Skunk came back, we said our goodbyes to each other, and I went back to PERC, reporting to the Director and turning my recordings over to him. I gave a general overview of my interview with Jim and Sammy Skunk. He certainly must have guessed about my private conversations afterward with the two of them, if nothing else from the length of time I had spent on my trip, but he made no inquiries on the matter. He had other things to do and staff members to deal with, and probably had no real concern over how Sammy Skunk and Jim were doing. That was my worry.

And my underlings' worry. When I got back to our quarters, it was not just Billy Otter who was keenly interested not only in the recorded interview (which they later saw in full), but what I said to each of them afterward. All of them were quite pleased that I had told Jim the harsh reality of what he had done-especially Billy Otter.

But Sammy Skunk and Jim were the least of our concerns. We at PERC still had plenty more things to do. I and my underlings had to teach English and human customs to our colleagues who were unfamiliar with them. And we still had a whole alien planet to research and its natives to study. I and my colleagues still had to go out among human society.

And the reason for my visit to the furry convention in the first place was not for recreation-not on my part, anyway. I was supposed to interview a random sample of the people who were there, and despite the business with Sammy Skunk and Jim, there was no reason for me not to go on with the original project. The people who organized the convention were of course aware of why I went there, and were obligated to provide me with a list of the people who went there the night that I did. The incident with Sammy Skunk did not actually happen at the convention property itself, so the people involved faced no trouble or liability for what he and Jim and his friends had done. In fact, I did not speak with the convention organizers directly; the Earth authorities took care of liaising between PERC and them. List in hand, I ran the names through my computer to get a suitable sample of convention-goers to talk with. Nobody below the age of twenty-one, and preferably people who lived not too far away from PERC base so I would not have to waste too much time traveling.

I formed my list and of course the Director and the Earth authorities both had to approve it. They readily did, and I ended up mailing typed form letters to each person on the list, though each was signed with both my Earth name signature and my native language signature, so the recipients would not mistake them for hoax letters. I had arranged a special temporary telephone number where they could reach me-I happen to establish a number of those in my job-where they could call me on my portable phone. Most of them called me back, and my talking back to them in my not-quite-human animal-person voice assured them they were really talking to Walter Fox, and he really wanted to visit them. Most of those were willing to have me over, so after quite a bit of finagling, I arranged interview dates with all of them.

My procedure was to meet them at their residences, as I would need to record them like I did Jim and Sammy Skunk. I did alert everyone to the fact, and everyone consented. My interviews went well for the most part. Contrary to what you might think, dear reader, most of the people at the convention-and whom I subsequently interviewed-did not wear fursuits or even accessories such as animal ears or tails. Those that did were invited to put them on as part of the interview, and they did. Basically I asked questions about their age, how the got into the furry fandom, and so forth. Few were different from most ordinary people, and not that many were homosexual. (Then again, the presence of us genuine animal-people made the furry fandom more socially acceptable than it had been before our discovery by you Earthians.) Some even had spouses and children, though the rule was that only the actual interviewees were to be recorded on audio and video.

The process went smoothly for the most part, though I had a couple of people try to hit up on me, with one getting so aggressive I had to snatch up all my recording equipment and run from his place without packing it up. Of course I deleted the recordings and record of this person-I selected enough people to allow for that. But I did have one unusual case which is almost a story in its own right.

What was so shocking about this person was who he was. Not anybody of fame, but of importance-and the last person I would ever expect to even be in the furry fandom at all, let alone own a fursuit and go to a furry convention. Even more shocking was that when I saw him, I recognized him as one of the people who had carried me to the holding area at the furry convention when I had been so worn out from the dancing, and who had ogled my feet after removing my sandals. Once I was safely in his home, I pointed this all out to him, and he was pleased at my remembering. As it happens, he did not know the other man who carried me as well, and that man would not be one of my interview subjects. We agreed that I would not mention any of this in my recorded interview and I would treat him as another of my random test subjects.

The interview went as normal. He was visually recorded while talking, which he consented to because he did not expect anyone who knew him to recognize him. Or even if they did, it was not illegal for him to be a member of the furry fandom, and as I mentioned before, being a member of the furry fandom nowadays is considered less weird than it was in the past. As a safety measure, though, we opted not to have him wear his fursuit. As for my other interviewees, the ones who had fursuits or lesser furry accessories usually would try them on for the camera. His face would not likely to be recognized at furry conventions (even though his fursuit only covers part of it), but his actual fursuit would be.

But what I did afterward was the most foolish thing I had ever done in my life-even worse than what I had done with Sammy Skunk. I was extremely lucky it did not destroy me, as it could have done. What am I talking about, dear reader?

It was after the interview was concluded and my equipment was turned off and packed away. I did not normally linger with my interview subjects, but it happened that it was early enough in the day that I was not in a rush to get back to PERC base. I knew that this man had a foot fetish, and did so since he took me to the enclosure back at the furry convention. I shall tell one embarrassing secret about myself, dear reader. I also have a foot fetish.

“I remember how you looked at my feet when I took my sandals off after you took me to the enclosure at the furry convention," I said suddenly.

“So are you going to let me look at them again?" he hazarded.

I unstrapped and removed my sandals. “I'll do better than that. I'll let you play with them!"

He certainly was shocked, but no more so than I. I was letting a complete stranger do something that was technically not forbidden by PERC rules, but certainly would appall both my PERC colleagues and the Earth authorities. What had just possessed me to do such a thing? And I was not teasing him, dear reader. We were in chairs facing one another, and I was moving mine close enough to his that I could actually extend my legs so they could rest on his knees. And I raised my bare feet and placed them upon his lap. He looked at me disbelievingly, but his hands quickly grasped my feet, and his fingers rubbed along the furry tops, the thinly-furred soles, and my paw pads. I should not have let him have done this...but I admit I have a penchant for bending PERC rules when I think I can get away with it.

But I realized my doing so was an act of sheer folly. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair-and the way the rubbing was suddenly feeling different prompted me to open my eyes. And I saw to my horror that the interviewee had unzipped his trousers and was rubbing the erect tip of his penis on the soles of my feet!

I was initially shocked, and then furious-less from the fact that he was touching me with his penis than the fact that I had put my total trust in him and he had betrayed it. And considering who the man was only served to amplify my rage. I jumped up and gave a fit of snarling and snapping at him-not to actually threaten to injure him, but to show how upset I was-but he backed up quickly to the other end of the room, his trousers opened and his erect penis still hanging out.

He stared at me, but I stopped my snarling and snapping and stood where I was, and he must have gotten the idea of how I felt. I initially wondered if he was going to relieve his erection with his hands, but he did not, instead letting his penis go limp until it was small enough so he could put his trousers back together, which he did.

He looked miserably at me, then without a word, went to the front door and opened it wide. He was clearly deeply ashamed of himself and looked ready to cry, but was the sort of person who dared not do so. I did mention that I had run away from a person who was too aggressive in hitting up on me, and my host had gone further than that. Yet I felt too embarrassed and ashamed for him to simply leave like he was expecting me to do. Perhaps I had completely lost my judgment, but instead of picking up my packed recording equipment and sandals and walking out the door, I walked up to the front door, took it from his grasp, and pushed it shut. It was clearly the last thing he had expected me to do, and he stared at me with the most stunned expression I had ever seen on a human.

“I'll give you another chance," I told him. “Let's sit down again."

My host spluttered in response, undoubtedly wondering why I was forgiving him such a serious offense on his part. But he went to his seat and I returned to mine, and I even put my still-bare feet on his lap once more. He got the idea that I would let him handle my feet again, and I even closed my eyes and leaned back as before. After initial hesitation, he started playing with my feet with his hands-and just his hands this time.

He massaged my feet as long as he could, but I sensed his hands were getting too tired. I opened my eyes, and saw that his face had a too-innocent expression on it. “Are you ticklish?" he asked.

“Ticklish?" I replied, nonplussed.

Then his smile turned mischievous, and he found out that yes, my feet were ticklish. I squirmed and laughed helplessly. Tickling was considered on my world as something done with young children rather than adults, but this was a different world with different customs, and I did not want to cause my host any further embarrassment.

Fortunately he did not continue with it for too long a time. I pulled my feet down and said, “You amaze me!"

“I do?"

“Yes! You couldn't help wanting to be naughty again, even after you nearly made me walk out!" I leaned forward so that my snout was near his face and added, “I like that in a person!"

“I'm so glad I pleased you!"

Then I told him about the aforementioned episode with Billy Otter and how I played my prank on him. “No more sleeping late on his part after that!" I said, and this time my host was laughing.

“I'm so glad you gave me another chance," he replied.

“I was in a generous mood today, I guess," I told him. “But I really do have to leave now. They're going to want be back at PERC base by dinnertime."

“I can get you something to eat," my host offered.

“No, I can only stay for so long with an interviewee, and besides, I have things to do this evening. I have to go now."

I did not give him the face lick of friendship, but I did give him a hug. I put on my sandals, picked up my equipment, and went back to PERC base.

You might be wondering, dear reader, how I could have possibly been so forgiving to a man who had done me so wrong. I suppose because I had been thinking of Frank, the man who had come to my rescue at the furry convention when Sammy had gone missing, even if he had been too late, and I knew he suffered the same humiliating lab examination that I had done, simply because he had been present in Jim's old apartment where the orgy had taken place.

We had not contacted each other since that day, and I could understand if he would not want to ever have anything to do with me again.

But...

At the furry convention when Sammy Skunk had disappeared and I could not find him, I happened to meet him and he was the one who knew that Sammy Skunk had gone out with Jim and his friends back to Jim's apartment, unaware that Sammy was definitely not supposed to have done that. He hurried me over to Jim's old apartment, which was nearby, but we were far too late. If Jim had merely brought Sammy Skunk over for an innocent visit, as he claimed had been his original intention, it would have been a minor irritation. But Jim and his friends, as mentioned above, committed the crime of getting the celebrity-intoxicated Sammy Skunk involved in a homosexual orgy, causing everybody involved tremendous grief.

This was of course why Frank and I, as well as Sammy Skunk and Jim and his friends, received the brutal lab examination I mentioned earlier. Even though neither Frank nor I had done anything sexual, the Earth authorities had clearly been in a panic, perhaps assuming Sammy Skunk might have been deliberately trying to do harm to the human furries-until they discovered the awful truth.

But it was not just Sammy Skunk who ended up forming an emotional bond with a human. So did I-with Frank, though he probably was unaware of the fact. Not enough to make me want to leave my world and live with him for the rest of my life, but I definitely wanted to see him again. In fact, I desperately wanted him to be friends with me. I ended up confessing this to my underlings, as well as the Director. All of them were dismayed by my bonding with an Earthian myself, but it happened, and my desire to see Frank again was bothering me to the point that I could not stop thinking about it. The Director was unhappy about it, but he ultimately decided to arrange for me to visit Frank one more time. It was all I could do not to lie on the ground and roll over and lick his sandal again-in gratitude.

Of course our interactions with the Earthians had to be cleared with the Earth authorities, so the Director had to arrange for my meeting with Frank. I learned that Frank was willing to meet with me, but I was, if anything, more worried than ever. What was he going to do once he saw me? Would he get angry with me and chew me out for all the torment I had put him through? Tell me that he never wanted to see me again? Was it madness on my part to even imagine his ever wanting to be friends with me? Perhaps...but I wanted him to do so anyway. However irrational the concept...I still wanted him to forgive me, to accept me as a friend, for him to actually like me and not say these things out of pity for me.

So you might wonder, dear reader, who was this Frank that I wanted so badly to be friends with? Someone extraordinary? Someone handsome, athletic, brilliant, wonderfully moral? No, he was what you might consider an ordinary schlub. I was with him for only an hour or so, and did not interact with him the whole time, but the fact was that he was the human who came to my rescue in my hour of despair and terror. Sammy Skunk, after all, bonded with a human who was nothing special either, except also having strong mathematical skills. Unfortunately, as I pointed out above, Jim was a human who had sexually taken advantage of Sammy Skunk in a moment of weakness. Sammy Skunk was of course aware of this but it made no difference. As you might conclude, dear reader, emotional bonds on the part of animal-people are not always a good thing.

Still, when the days came just before I was to visit Frank, I was beside myself with nervousness. I had trouble concentrating on my duties, and it was just as well I was not going out anywhere at the time. I tried to push the thought of the visit I would have with Frank out of my mind, to worry about when the time came, but I was only partly successful. I could not even eat in the days before then. I had difficulty sleeping, and the last night was very long...I was so tense I could not sleep at all.

It was not merely worry that Frank might rebuff me, dear reader. It was that I was so bonded to someone I barely knew, because he had come to me in a terrible time of crisis to help me. But what was he really like? Was he a nice person after all, or somebody not so nice who happened to do me a big favor? Why was he friends with the likes of Jim, anyway? He mentioned not being homosexual, and I wondered if they had anything in common besides being furries. I saw all the furry-related decor in Jim's old and new apartments, and wondered how much Frank was into the furry community, other than his having the fox ears and tail. Did he have any family, or people living with him? Was he ever married? I was reminded of how attracted I was to the vixen who would become my spouse, and how I had failed to really know her, as our marriage had turned sour within a year's time, and our love turned to hate. I also thought of how Sammy Skunk and Jim seemed happy enough together, but could a relationship like theirs possibly survive over the long term?

I got up early and cleaned and groomed myself as thoroughly as I could, and deliberately wore the clothes I had worn on the day I had gone to the furry convention, which I had had laundered and kept in reserve for this date. The journey to Frank's residence felt like a long one indeed, and I realized how presumptuous it was that I would want someone I ended up being put through torment to still be my friend. But he was willing to have me visit him, which gave me hope. Like I said, I really did not know him, but even then I developed such a strong bond to him. I wonder if he could possibly understand the concept, as he was not another animal-person.

I finally made it to a parking lot near his residence, and I got out of the car and walked slowly to the front entrance of his home. I was so afraid at this point I almost was ready to run back to my car and drive away. But I could not back out, I went to his front door, rang the doorbell, and waited for him to let me in. Whatever Frank had in store for me, I would soon know.

The front door opened, and there stood Frank. I was quite frightened when I looked at him, and he could not have failed to notice, so he invited me inside and closed his front door. He offered me refreshments, but I had no appetite at all. I could not relax until Frank gave me his verdict.

“So," Frank finally said, “and he sounded nervous in his own right, “what happened to you after I dropped you off at the furry convention?"

I told him, relaxing slightly as he listened intently. Then I asked what had happened to him.

He did not return to the convention, but went directly back home. It was not very long before two men in suits came to his home, and they told him they had a warrant to take him for questioning. Frank had been expecting just an interrogation, but to his shock, he was, like me and Sammy Skunk and the humans in the apartment, forced to undress and get probes stuck into him and was forced to masturbate and also forced to stay several days and get interrogated. Never mind that he had no sexual contact with anybody the whole time. He was just present.

He was brought home right afterward, but he had been missing from his employer for two days, and he could not very well explain the real reason for his absence, so he said he had been ill. Since he did not call in sick, he was docked three day's pay and reprimanded for his absence.

“Just to let you know," concluded Frank, “that I'm not mad at you for this. But I am unhappy with Jim-what he did with Sammy Skunk was wrong. I don't want to see him again, and I've left the furry community for good. And while I don't necessarily blame you for this, I don't want to see you again either. I'm sorry."

You thought I might have simply sighed, thanked Frank for the help he had given me at the furry convention, apologized for the trouble I had put him through, and turned my back on him and left him forever.

Instead, I fell face forward on the ground, weeping loudly in deep sorrow. I crawled on my abdomen before him, turned on my back, grasped his ankle tightly, and licked the sole of his shoe in absolute submission, loudly pleading with him to give me a second chance.

Shocked at my behavior, dear reader? Frank was. I should have been, but was not. It was then I realized how much I really wanted Frank to remain friends with me, that I was throwing all my dignity away in hopes of winning him back. And I did not feel embarrassed or ashamed, then or now, for the way I behaved just then. I had formed a far stronger emotional bond with him than I had ever imagined I would.

Frank must have been shocked into paralysis, for it seemed a while before he pulled his foot away and knelt above me, a look of utter shock on his face. “Walter...what..." he managed to say.

I managed to normalize my voice. “Please, Frank, please be my friend. I know it may be absolutely presumptuous on my part to ask, but..."

My eyes were flooded with tears, but I could still see he was still shocked by my behavior. “I don't understand," he finally said. “What in the world...what happened to you?"

“Just what I mentioned already," I replied.

“Oh, God..." he finally said in a barely audible voice. “They broke you!"

“No, you misunderstand," was my reply. “How do I explain this? Maybe I cannot explain it to you, as you are not an animal-person like me. I realize I hardly know you and spent maybe an hour with you at most, but...

“You may not think you did any special favor for me, but imagine what it was like for me when I was responsible for the safety of Sammy Skunk, and he had vanished completely! I brought him to a world he did not understand and know how to conduct himself in, and I was supposed to have kept a watch on him, and he was gone and I had no idea where he was! It was one of the most terrifying times in my life, and I've been through war!"

“Walter, please," said Frank, “please stand up, or at least..."

I managed to regain some composure as Frank guided me up from the floor, and had me sit on his couch, and he sat down near me, looking at me. I was feeling better as Frank was not looking at me with scorn.

“So it was a matter of your honor," Frank surmised.

“More than honor," I replied. “Sammy Skunk was not my friend, and I only took him to the furry convention to get him to stop pestering me. But I wouldn't have wished what happened to him on my worst enemy. Sammy Skunk was drunk on his newfound celebrity status, and he ended up being completely exploited by Jim and his friends! Even if Sammy Skunk were homosexual all along, this wasn't love or friendship. They all wanted to fuck a real animal-person, and they never gave a thought to who he was or what might happen to him! It never occurred to them that he might face harm afterward! They just saw him as a receptacle for their furry fantasies!

“So that was why I was so happy to have met you! It was too late, but you were the one who helped me find Sammy Skunk when I had no idea where he was or what happened to him. And you didn't help me for your own purposes, you wanted to do me a favor!"

“Okay, I did do you a big favor," said Frank, “bigger than I can truly understand. But I cannot imagine why you are so desperate for me to be your friend. We barely met each other. How well do you even know me?"

“I don't," I confessed. “Oh, I'm trained to read vocal inflection and body language, but it's something anybody can do with experience. No, I don't have any magic ability to read minds or assess personalities, at least not in an instant. You could well be somebody evil, but there's nothing that I see in you to indicate that."

“We all thought Bill Cosby was a good man," Frank said, then he broke off, probably assuming that I had no idea who he was talking about.

“Oh, I do know his story," I replied. “We do research popular entertainment on this world, and he was an early black celebrity who was able to connect and appeal to people of every color, so he was essentially a historical figure. Yes, I know how he and others fooled people for decades. And yes, we've had people like that on our world. But in his case we saw just his public image, not who he was off camera. And even if you think I'm seeing you through the proverbial rose-colored glasses, there is no sign that you are a reprehensible person."

Frank smiled slightly. “Well, I don't think I am. But I still don't understand why you're so desperate to be my friend. Why me? There are millions of other people on this planet whom you could be friends with. What's so special about me?"

“Let me put it to you this way," I replied. “You must have fallen in love with a girl you barely knew."

“Yes, I have," said Frank. “Are you in love with me? Because I'm not homosexual."

“That's not what I meant!" I replied, trying not to sound defensive. “Perhaps there is no human equivalent. We animal-people have romances like you humans do. But this is definitely different. I'm sure you know of the concept of the faithful dog. And you must know we animal-people are not simply humans with fur and tails."

Frank looked appalled. “You want me as your master?"

“No, no, it's not like that," I said quickly. “Well, there are such relationships among us animal-people. But that's not what I want from you. I want someone I can be friends with. To be intimate with. And I don't mean in that sense. I can assure you I have met plenty of people who want me as their yiff partner, and that's the last thing I want."

Frank looked embarrassed. “I see. You want a human friend who doesn't want to have sex with you."

“Well, yes. But you're a human who helped me in a time of crisis. Most of the humans I've met are leery of me and wonder if I might be part of a spearhead for an invasion of your world by our people, or alternatively a real-life version of your funny animal cartoons. You evidently realized from the start that we're not some fantasy characters or super humans. We can be stupid and careless as well, even if we are specially chosen to come to an alien world. I, Sammy Skunk, and everyone else at PERC deliberately chose to come to an alien world to explore it, but living on it does bring stresses nobody could ever really have anticipated. It was a real time of horror for me when I had lost track of Sammy Skunk, and you came to my rescue. And you understood my situation.

“I realize I ask too much of you. You met me, and I gave you nothing but pain and trouble. But I still want to be around you. Yes, I want to cuddle with you and have you touch me. I'm even happy to be in your presence. Why?

“I assume you never served in the military or in law enforcement. People in such professions, who face hazardous lives, tend to form group bonds, like a squads of soldiers serving together, a result of not only being together but needing each other to survive. You humans may not bond together the way we animal-people do, but I know it does happen.

“I know I cannot be with you all the time, like a dog and its master. And no, I don't want to be someone who jumps through proverbial hoops for you. I certainly don't expect to see you or even talk to you often. But I just want you as a friend, or perhaps a confidant. Someone who won't exploit me. Someone who can truly understand me."

“What about your own people?" Frank asked.

“I'm not an outcast, if that's what you thought, and though my reputation has been harmed with the Sammy Skunk mess, it hasn't been destroyed. If it were, I wouldn't be here. I even still have my position at PERC, me a department head with assistants under me and a Director above me.

“But ironically enough, it is difficult to be close to each other in a place like PERC. I cannot fraternize too much with my assistants or with the Director, or with other people in other departments. We've had romances develop between people at PERC only for them to come to grief. And it is difficult to be friends with most of you Earth natives, who are still too suspicious about us. Look at Sammy Skunk, who wanted human friends and instead got used as a sex toy, even if they deny it."

“Doesn't your place have a psychologist or chaplain or someone similar?"

“Oh, we have a psychologist. But even he cannot really be anyone's close friend."

“So you really need a real friend and have nobody," Frank concluded. “Well, despite everything, I'll be your friend."

I looked at him to see if he was just saying that to please me, but everything about his body language indicated Frank was sincere...or maybe I wanted to believe that, but in any case I was overwhelmed with joy, and I threw myself upon him and hugged him tightly, and his arms went around me.

But I was full of excitement and could not sit still. I pulled away and really rubbed the top of my head under his chin, and then rubbed my cheeks against his. But Frank grabbed hold of me and pushed me back. “Is that normal behavior for you?" Frank asked in shock.

“We aren't called 'animal-people' for nothing," I replied. “And yes, we do routinely massage and lick each other if we're close enough. At least certain mammalian species do. And we might cuddle against each other for warmth and security, even if aren't necessarily friends. It's a survival instinct for us." I paused and added, “Or did I go too far when I..."

But Frank simply smiled and rubbed me around my neck and muzzle. I did start licking him again but he showed no signs of objecting. I stopped and he rubbed me all around my head, and almost unconsciously I unbuttoned my tunic. Frank looked surprised, but he got the idea when I lay down on his lap and exposed my abdomen. He gave me a good abdominal rub as well.

“Did you ever own a dog?" I asked.

“No, but I've petted them," he replied. “I thought foxes weren't related to dogs though."

“We're not, we're vulpinids. And we do have genetic relationships to our four-legged counterparts. Even now, our scientists do not know how we and our lower-animal cousins evolved. But I hear you humans aren't entirely sure yourselves?"

“You must have heard the term 'the missing link'," Frank joked.

Actually, dear reader, I had not, and I told him so. At the same time, I moved from lying on his lap onto a nearby chair which I sat upon. Even the most closely-bonded animal-people do not lie on top of one another in regular conversation; if nothing else it makes talking too awkward. “I make it a point to learn as much about Earthian culture as I can, but we can only absorb so much in a year and a quarter."

“One other thing I wondered, though. How much like Earth is your planet?"

“Geologically, you mean? Oh, it's very similar but not the same. Just as Japan and China have many cultural similarities but are definitely different from one another. There are in fact several cities in Japan which have Chinatowns. As for our planet, yellow sun, blue skies, green grass, oceans and all that."

We talked about a number of things-actually, dear reader, I did most of the talking as I had more things to mention. I saw through the window that it was getting dark outside. Frank noticed my noticing.

“Gotta get back to work, huh?" he asked.

“Yes," I replied, feeling slightly disappointed. “I hope I didn't impose on you."

“No, in fact it was interesting being with you. You don't get a visit from a space alien fox every day. And I'm sorry I upset you earlier."

“It doesn't matter," I said earnestly. “You don't know how much it means for you to have accepted me as a friend."

“Well, it's not as we can visit all the time," Frank replied. “but if you are happy with seeing me every once in a while..."

“Oh absolutely!" I gave him a spontaneous tight hug and face lick, then pulled back. He looked surprised but not offended. “Sorry, sometimes I cannot always remember my professional conduct."

“You can drop it around me," Frank said before standing up. “I admit I did wonder about your Director..."

“I was completely unfair to him," I confessed. “He was very lenient with me even after I insulted him in writing. Not because he actually liked me, but he determined I was still needed at PERC." And I described how he had penalized me, and how I licked the sole of his sandal in genuine apology. Frank looked momentarily shocked, but said nothing, aware that I and my colleagues were from a very different world and followed very different social rules.

“And he did you the favor of letting you come and see me."

“He did. Not entirely out of kindness, but my worrying about how you felt about me really was affecting my performance at PERC."

“I suppose I've ended his worries too."

“Well, he's not happy about my bonding with one of you Earthians, but that's life. He will want me back at work soon though, so I'd better return."

“Well, I don't want you to get into trouble, you had enough already." Frank abruptly stood up. “Say, it might be stereotypical, but I wondered...do you like grapes?"

“I love grapes!" I jumped up and wagged my tail wildly, so Frank knew I was sincere.

“Then follow me," Frank instructed, and I practically attached myself to him as I followed him into his kitchen. Taking a bag of them out of the refrigerator, he handed it to me, and I reached in and pulled a grape from the vine and popped it into my mouth. It was the best grape I ever tasted, and not simply because Frank had give it to me.

“Oh, if you want to eat them now, I'll wash them for you," Frank offered.

“No, no, I just wanted a sample to see how they were. I figured to share them at PERC."

“Well, it's not that much, but they do have them on sale at the local grocery store." Frank paused and added, “Say, I wondered what you people did for food."

“A food service truck comes in to PERC base every few days. Of course we don't get much in the way of fresh food."

“Say, if you have a couple of bucks in your pocket, they were really cheap for being so good."

I hated to leave Frank, but even then my morale was the highest it has even been, knowing he had accepted me as a friend and had not turned me away despite what he went through because of me. I drove to the grocery store Frank mentioned, and as I never visited there I could never be certain how the humans there would react to me. But while I got the usual surprised looks, nobody seemed to be outright hostile. I bought quite a lot of grapes and had enough money because they really were cheap.

When I went to the Director's office, he did not ask how my visit with Frank went; my happy and excited demeanor told him what he needed to know. He was surprised at my bags of grapes, though he accepted a bag from me. He is a badger and not a fox, so I did not know if he actually liked them, but it was a matter of principle. He soon dismissed me and I ran back to my section of PERC, and my colleagues also knew from my behavior how my meeting with Frank went before I said anything. They may not have been pleased about my having bonded so strongly with an Earthian either, but I am certain they got the idea that my bond was not as strong as Sammy Skunk's was to Jim, and I would not be staying permanently on Earth to be with Frank.

Things returned to normal for me and my department; Frank and I emailed each other a few times, but my daily life did not change much. I still did data processing, went to different places, interviewed people...though there is one very unusual incident that I shall mention later in this account. But first I shall mention the big event that happened merely weeks after my visit with Frank, the one that changed the relationship between us animal-people and the Earthians forever.

Yes, that event, dear reader. Remember how Jim and Sammy Skunk told me earlier that they got threats over the fact that Jim was living with a space alien animal-person, but they thought those would come to nothing? I did think that sooner or later they might run into more serious trouble, but even so, when it happened, it was a tremendous shock to learn of it happening. When each of my parents died within months of each other, even though they were both terminally ill, the notices of first one then the other dying came as a shock each time. (My twin brother and I had grown apart by then, but we came together temporarily each time to deal with family affairs. Fortunately my parents had little in the way of property so there was no fight over that.)

But let us return to Earth, dear reader. I remember the moment the news of the event came out. I was at a meeting with Earthian sociologists when a suited man came up to me and asked me to follow him. I did not bother to question why; but obeyed. The other people in the room were equally surprised, but I was not some ordinary colleague of theirs. I was a visitor from another world, and I could never really be certain of my standing with the locals.

In any case, I was led to several other people whom I assumed were Earth authorities, and my assumption was right when I was taken to a van and quickly hustled in and taken from the hotel where the conference had taken place to the local airport. I had said nothing, and neither did they, but since they did not place any handcuffs or other restraints upon me, I did not think I was in real trouble. But I could feel the tension coming from the Earth authorities, so I knew something serious had happened.

I was escorted quickly onto a waiting airplane on the tarmac, not even going into any of the airport buildings, so whatever had happened was serious indeed. But I kept my silence and boarded the plane, my companions coming with me. Once the plane took off and we were airborne, I finally decided I could no longer stay silent, and asked what was happening.

“The animal-person who decided to come live on Earth..." one began.

“Sammy Skunk?" I replied.

“Yes, him," said the man.

“What happened to him?"

The man smiled slightly. “More like, he happened to somebody else."

“I don't understand."

“He attacked a human. Quite savagely. Almost literally tore him apart."

I was stunned. Did life as a permanent resident of Earth somehow warp his psyche? I was among humans enough myself, and though some of them have irritated me, and some even tried to harm me, I always used the necessary minimum of force to repel any attackers. There was obviously more to the story.

“What was the occasion?" I challenged.

The man and his companions looked carefully at me, and I guess they were trying to assess who I was and how I would react. Finally, one of them replied.

“From what I've heard, Sammy Skunk...is that his name?"

“Yes. It's even officially adopted."

“And the human he lived with, called his 'sponsor'?"

“Technically, he is. Sammy Skunk came to live with him because he happened to have formed an extremely strong emotional attachment to him. Enough to make him leave his world forever."

This gave the humans pause; it was obvious to anybody that I was not happy at that turn of events. It was a longer time before the first man spoke again.

“Um, what I heard was that Sammy Skunk and his sponsor were in a park where they were attacked by a group of men. They fought back, but one of the men happened to have a club or something and hit the sponsor on his head-hard enough to put him into a coma. He was taken to a nearby hospital, still in a coma."

“And Sammy Skunk was enraged to the point where he tried to tear the attacker into pieces," I finished.

My companions were silent for a long time, looking worriedly at me, undoubtedly wondering what sort of being I was. Finally I realized I had to break the tension.

“We animal-people," I told them, “can very strongly bond emotionally with others. I know it can happen with you humans too. In the case of Sammy Skunk, as I have said, he formed an emotional bond so strongly with the human who became his sponsor he was willing to leave his own world behind to be with him."

“Why?" a different man asked.

So I told my companions the whole story, from the furry convention to the Earth authorities' decision to let Sammy Skunk remain on Earth with Jim. “For the record," I concluded, “Sammy Skunk may love Jim with all his being. But if it's any consolation, the rest of us animal-people have no love for Jim at all. He will be forever known to us animal-people as someone who emotionally exploited and enslaved one of our kind."

So engrossed was I in my speech, and my companions in listening to it, the plane had already landed and taxied to a stop and I was not even aware of this! In fact, the entrance door had been opened to the passengers' compartment of the plane and several people had just entered to retrieve me, and even they were standing there, evidently wanting to hear the last part of what I had had to say. Not that I blamed them; they certainly must have wanted to know what an animal-person had to say about Sammy Skunk and why he behaved as he did.

But the people who came also wanted to get me out of the airplane and to wherever they intended to take me, and I was hustled from the plane directly into a waiting ambulance. I correctly assumed that I was going to be taken to the hospital where Jim had been taken.

I was ordered to sit on the floor, and the ambulance sped but did not put on its siren or flashing lights. I was taken to the ambulance entrance and hustled again, this time into the emergency entrance and through the emergency room through some hallways and elevators, and finally I was put into what appeared to be a musty, disused office, and then everybody left and I was alone. I was briefly reminded of the time I had been taken to the laboratory, except that this time nothing was done with me, and I got the impression the people at the hospital had to take me in without any plan of what to do with me afterward.

I looked around; it was a smallish square single room with a desk and chair, plus some bench seats along the wall where the entry door was. There were shelves full of folders on the wall behind the desk, and a large video screen on the wall to the left of the entry door and bulletin boards on the opposite wall, with several papers pinned to it that were yellowed and probably long out of date. The room was dusty enough so that it must have been weeks if not months since anybody had last visited the room, let alone cleaned it.

I opened the door and stepped outside, and found nobody about. My office was at the end of a hallway, and the door opposite me had a sign saying “JANITORIAL" on it, and was locked. I noticed a camera in the ceiling and wondered if anybody on the other end even looked at whatever video screen it was connected to. Then I saw a fire extinguisher on the wall not far from the door to my office and examined it; at least it had the current year's tag on it so this hallway was not completely neglected.

The hallway had a junction where another hallway crossed it, and I went there to look around. The hallway where my office was extended past the junction to where I could see the elevator hall where I had been taken through to this floor of the hospital. Looking to my left, that hallway went to where I saw some windows facing the outside, and then I looked to my right and saw the hallway extended to some more brightly-lit area. Then, to my pleasure, I saw a door leading into a bathroom which was located beyond the back wall of my office room, and I needed to use one by then. I was further pleased to find the bathroom was a single-toilet one which was clean and stocked with soap and towels and definitely not disused. I relieved my bladder and bowels and cleaned myself quickly, in case somebody had come to my office. But when I returned, nobody was there.

While I was not expecting the harsh treatment I had received months ago in the laboratory, I still felt a sense of unease, like I had been thrown in a prison cell and the jailers forgot to lock the door. Of course I had been taken here to this hospital, and I was certain they did not want me here in the first place but was compelled to take me. I then noticed that nothing had been taken from my possession; I still had things like my watch and portable telephone. I decided to use the latter to call the Director.

“Yes, we know all about what happened," he replied, and I told him about being taken abruptly to the hospital. “Other than you, the Earth authorities told us we had to recall all personnel back to PERC base, and we are ordered to stay here."

“How come I've been taken here, then? Or then again, you wouldn't know."

“They probably think you're Sammy Skunk's special friend or something. In any case, you'd better not call me again until the Earth authorities give you the say-so. Shit, I wish we had sent Sammy Skunk back to our planet instead of letting him stay on Earth."

“I don't think we had the choice," I replied. There was nothing more to say, and we cut the connection.

So I sat and waited, wondering what was going to happen next. What else could I do, besides using the toilet as needed? I was too nervous to want to eat or drink anything anyway, and I got the impression the people of Earth must suddenly have become very worried about us animal-people. I did not think the man I talked to on the plane was exaggerating about the violence Sammy Skunk had performed on the thug who attacked Jim. I could understand it; Sammy was so bonded to Jim that he even left his own world to be with him. How could he not react that way toward someone who seriously harmed a human he had bonded so deeply with? But would humans understand that this is how we animal-people are?

I heard a knock on the door and jumped. I was anxious for anything at all to interrupt my nervous waiting, and was relieved to find that I had not been forgotten after all. When I did open the door, I did see someone I had met before, but one I had never expected to see again.

The man in question was the man who had been my handler during my harsh examination at the laboratory. I did not know how he would react at seeing me again, so I invited him to step into the office, which he did. He looked at me very uneasily, which I had been expecting...but his next action came as a total shock.

He started to wince as if in pain. I wondered if he were frightened of me-and then thought if that were the case, why would he want to see me alone, out of sight of anyone else? Then he almost gabbled his next words, “Walter, what I did to you at the lab I'm so ashamed of myself..."

And he broke off, sobbing loudly. I was absolutely stunned, knowing that you humans are much more inhibited about being openly emotional than we animal-people are, and he threw his hands over his face while he wept, perhaps what humans normally did, as if it were shameful on his part to be openly weeping. Getting over my initial shock, I reached over and touched him. He jumped and abruptly stopped weeping, looking at me with more nervousness than before. Did he expect me to harm him? Then I remembered what the story was with Sammy Skunk and then realized he had legitimate reason to be afraid of me. The proverbial ball was now in my court-and I was as uncertain as he was.

“You came to apologize," I said, the first words to pop into my head. “And you came to do it on your own, without anyone prompting you, am I right?"

“Yes," he said dully. “I treated you cruelly, because I was terrified, as were we all. I actually thought you might have been part of an evil plot, as you were presumably a handpicked research team to come to this planet, and it couldn't have been true...that..."

“Sammy Skunk couldn't have gotten drunk with his sudden celebrity status at the furry convention, and then been taken completely advantage of? And that I was supposed to keep an eye on him and failed to notice the signs until it was too late? That we animal-people are capable of great stupidity as well, even those who were handpicked to visit an alien world?

“Yes, I get the idea that you Earthians do not really know us. We're from a different planet, probably from another Universe, have different physiognomies, a different culture, a different mentality. Perhaps you wondered how I might react to a tearful apology from you? That I might take offense, or scorn you for it."

“Yes."

I smiled. “You have earned my greatest respect. Yes really. Being terrified to face me, but doing it anyway. Being truly remorseful and not just giving me an official apology. I couldn't be happier that you came to see me!"

I reinforced my point by reaching up and pulling his shoulders down so he was leaning forward, and I started licking his face, He then knelt down so his face was on a level with mine, and I licked his face some more. “Um, do you feel better?" he asked.

“Absolutely!" I replied. “And how about you?"

“I'm glad I made you so pleased, but...could you stop licking my face? No offense, but I find it yucky."

“Oh!" I stepped back, embarrassed. “Yes, after I just said how different we were! I hope I didn't insult you!"

“Not at all," he replied. “But I admit your licking me came as a shock."

“I'm sorry! But we're not called 'animal-people' for nothing. We're not humans in animal suits."

“I understand. Do you like being petted?"

“Absolutely!"

So he scratched my head, and it was very enjoyable, and I instinctively rubbed against him. “I didn't know foxes wagged their tails," he said.

“Foxes are akin to a combination of dogs and cats," I replied. “And for the record, we animal-people are genetically-related to our lower animal counterparts-but we cannot interbreed. And no, I don't steal chickens out of hen houses or do most of the things four-legged foxes do."

He stopped scratching. “So what do you call your four-legged counterparts?"

“In my language, there are several terms. We have different languages on our planet, just like you Earthians do. Also, the clothes that I wear are the equivalent of everyday clothes throughout our world, just as every modern human civilization wears basically the same clothes-business suits like you're wearing, dresses, gowns, similar military uniforms, and the like."

“When I apologized to you, I had no idea how you might react, but I never would have imagined you would end up licking my face and rubbing your head against me."

“I'm sorry I made you feel discomfited."

“I was more shocked than anything else."

I smiled. “You humans view us through the lens of your anthropomorphic animal stories and cartoons, I understand. I've seen enough of them to know that your funny animals act basically like humans and show little in the way of animal behavior. We real animal-people must have come as a shock and a disappointment to you."

“Well," the man said, rather embarrassed, “you are space aliens, and I didn't really know how you'd be. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of your coming to our world."

“The fear of the unknown, I understand perfectly. I was not unafraid about coming to this world and wondering how you humans would react to us. I'm sure the humans who you sent over felt the exact same way.

“And though we are anthropomorphic animals, we bear little resemblance to your popular entertainment. We don't wear human-style clothes and go barefoot, our voices do not sound human, and human furries would be very disappointed in the fact that our world is not a gay paradise, it is not even an interspecies paradise. Our animal genitalia can only fit into certain other types of animal-people."

I then noticed the video screen again. “I wonder if you can get television on this thing?" I speculated, and then I noticed my handler standing near me. “Oh, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. “I was suddenly hustled here and I never got the full story of what happened."

“It's on every news station!" replied my handler in surprise.

“I never got the chance to watch the news," and I told him about how I had been taken here with little explanation.

“Then if you can get the news, do so," he replied. Not having done so before, I searched the desk, which was empty except for a remote control device, which, as anticipated, turned on the video screen. I could not get any commercial news stations, but I did manage to get an internet broadcast, and I watched that along with my handler, sitting down on the aforementioned bench seats.

It was one of those confused, update-whenever-a-new-development-occurs news stories which happen whenever some highly unusual and abrupt major event takes place, such as a local terrorist attack or assassination of somebody highly important or major local fire or flood, and in this case, I got the fuller, more detailed story of what happened to Jim and Sammy Skunk when the thugs attacked them as the man on the plane described earlier.

It is well-known already, dear reader, but I will give a recap: Sammy Skunk and Jim were walking at a local park one nice evening, where they previously had taken walks, and they were never harassed or otherwise bothered in the past. They walked together like any two people who knew each other had walked together-they did not hold hands or otherwise give signs of being a romantic couple. (As I mentioned previously, they took care not to let the world know the true nature of their relationship.) It was during the day in a safe neighborhood, ironically enough, when a bunch of masked thugs suddenly came out of concealment and attacked the two of them with bats. Like he had been trained to do, Sammy Skunk was able to fend off the ones who attacked him, but then he spotted one of them hitting Jim hard on the top of his head-hard enough to do his head serious damage.

Sammy Skunk of course went after this man and punched him very hard. Then he tuned to see him and evidently thought Jim had been killed or turned into a vegetable, then went back to Jim's attacker and used his claws attacked him harshly, literally tearing up his flesh before police arrived. Jim and the thug Sammy Skunk had wounded were taken to the hospital where I would be taken as well, and Sammy and the other thugs were arrested and taken to jail. Of course the world was shocked-the first animal-person from another world who became a citizen of Earth and who had acted normally was capable of such savage violence. But the police would soon find out the story, and after checking what happened, left him in the lockup while waiting to see if either Jim or the thug Sammy attacked would die. But neither did.

In fact, at the time Jim was receiving extensive brain surgery, and I was dearly hoping he would recover from whatever injuries he received. Less for his sake, but for Sammy Skunk's; I dared not imagine the emotional devastation Sammy would go through if Jim were to die or never regain consciousness. And there was nothing I or anybody else could do except for the surgeons who were working on Jim-and even then, no matter how great their skills, they could only do so much if the damage to Jim's brain were too severe.

But with Sammy Skunk and Jim's fates out of my control, I realized that my handler was still with me. “Say, I was wondering..."

He turned to me. “Yes?"

“You came to apologize to me, of course, but that was not your only reason for coming to see me?"

“All right," he explained. “Someone had to come from our department to see you. I volunteered, to everybody's shock. I was shocked myself, because I wasn't sure how you'd react to seeing me again. But I felt, for the sake of decency, I needed to, even if you were despised me with all your being."

I leaned against him and wagged my tail. “I understand how you must have felt. That's why I have gained such great respect for you!"

“Please, this is rather embarrassing."

“Why should it be? Do you realize how I felt before you came to see me? I understood why Sammy Skunk tried to tear apart the man who nearly killed Jim to pieces...but would you humans? Or would you just have assumed we were dangerous monsters to be confined and perhaps exterminated? I realize you Earthians are less afraid of us than you were initially...but after this, how could we know how you would regard us afterward?

“And when you came to me, you didn't act as if you thought I was going to tear you up. You even expressed remorse at mistreating me, and I could tell you weren't pretending. Nobody could be that good an actor. When you came to see me, you treated me as a person, not some monster who might eat you. Sammy Skunk was absolutely devoted to Jim and was strongly bonded to him. And that was the reason he tried to tear Jim's attacker apart!"

“Fierce loyalty, in other words?"

I smiled sardonically. “Are you telling me that it doesn't exist among you humans too?"

My companion paused before answering. “Yes, it does. But I wondered, in your case..."

And then I explained to him as I have already explained to you about how we animal-people form emotional bonds, and my having done so with Frank.

“That's the irony," said my companion. “You bonded to Frank because he helped you in your time of great need. Sammy Skunk bonded to a human with perverted sexual tastes who took total advantage of him."

“I don't like that any more than you do."

Then I suddenly wrapped my hands around his wrist. My companion looked at me first with shock, then with dismay. “I came at a time of great need for you," he finally said, realizing the truth.

“It's not as bad as you think it is," I replied quickly. “I bonded with another human too, and I've only seen him twice and wrote a few emails to him. I'm not obsessed with him, or with you either. I'm not going to refuse to return to my world for either of your sakes, and you don't have to worry about me following you around like a puppy. I just want you around me, at least right now."

“Just to let you know, I'm married. To a woman."

“Animal-person bonding does not mean a sexual relationship!" I began defensively...and then my heart sank. “That's what you think? Sammy Skunk has been prostituting himself for the sake of Jim?"

“Has he?" my handler asked in dismay.

“Sammy has claimed to me that he really enjoys having sex with male humans, and he didn't sound like he was lying when he said that. He's even tried hitting up on me. And no offense, but if I were homosexual, I'd much prefer Sammy over you as a sex partner."

“Okay, I understand. If you need companionship, I can certainly provide you with it right now. As for my wife, she knows about my coming to see you, and..." He hesitated before continuing, “...she knows all about what I did to you."

“Did she encourage you to see me and personally apologize?"

“She was as unsure as I had been. But we agreed that I would come and see you, even if you would end up mocking me for it."

I smiled. “Obviously I reacted in a very different way. I couldn't be happier about the fact that you came and did so. Especially now!"

Then I realized that I was still holding his wrist, and I let it go. I had silenced the video screen with the remote control so we could talk more easily, but rather than turn on the sound again, I decided to ask my new friend some more questions.

He did not live nearby as I had assumed for some reason, but some distance away, and had been put up in a local hotel, with the idea that he would stay for an indefinite period of time. I told him he could go back home if he preferred, but he told me he had to stick around until things were somewhat settled. In fact, it was seven in the evening by then, and he had to find out what was going to be done with me. He left me and eventually returned with a hospital staff member who explained to me that this was a section of the hospital which conducted sleep disorder tests, and so was in a remote and quiet part of the hospital to make sure that those who were taking these tests would be least likely to be disturbed. I was, in fact, put into this office because nobody ever went there, and the people at the hospital wanted me kept out of public view for obvious reasons.

Since the hospital was uncertain what to do with me, my handler-he was once again my official handler among the Earth authorities-said he still had my dietary list from long ago and would buy me some supper. So he left and returned with some food suited for me from a local restaurant, and I ate in the office, the hospital staff placing a garbage can inside.

One of the sleep disorder bedrooms was unoccupied, and I was hurried into that so I could stay in that for the night. But the hospital had to keep me on its premises for an indefinite time, and to keep my presence unknown, so they had impulsively taken me to a disused office in a little-visited section of the hospital, and they and I both agreed to make the office my living quarters for this period.

The overnight staff had already scrubbed my office and gotten rid of the filth, and the neglected folders and papers had been removed. Some sort of mattress was placed on the floor, fortunately large enough for a relatively small fox-person like me to curl up upon to sleep. Food would be brought to me three times a day, and I could use the hallway bathroom I had already used. All the hospital staff on the floor I was on were alerted to my presence, but I was expected to interact with them only when necessary and to avoid all contact with hospital patients. Fortunately my clothing and personal items were brought to me from PERC base, so I would not have to stay in the same clothes all the time.

Of course I turned the news back on upon being taken back to my office, and I learned that both Jim and his attacker were still in their respective surgeries. How would they turn out? I was hoping for a full recovery for both of them. Not because I liked either one, but because I did not want Sammy Skunk to face the trauma of losing the human he had so strongly bonded to, or to face murder charges if the attacker died. I also wondered what would happen to me and my colleagues at PERC as well. Now that the people of Earth knew what we animal-people were capable of doing, how would they react to us now? Would they be frightened of us again? Would humans shun me and not allow me to be near them? And what would life be like for Sammy Skunk, even if Jim were to recover fully?

My handler came by with meals, and naturally I told him about my worries. He sympathized with me, but he could do little to ease them. I could not keep him with me, either; he had his superiors to talk to, as well as his wife, and I felt embarrassed at keeping him away from his home and family. In the evening he left, and I was glad because I felt guilty for occupying his time.

But though my appetite was still okay, and I tried to distract myself by doing the exercises like I did when I was at the laboratory and had no gym equipment, I could not fall asleep. I had to go to the bathroom again and did, and I looked toward the sleep disorder clinic area. The hallway was brightly lit as it always was, but there was little noise except for whatever staff was there during the night. Of course I dared not go into that area, but I did not want to go back to my office just yet. The lights were on above the elevator bank, but everywhere else I could see, the lights had been turned off. I knew I was supposed to go back to my office, but curiosity-and stupidity-got the best of me.

I proceeded down the left hallway until it ended at another hallway which was lined with windows. Taking care not to get close to them, I looked outside. Not much to see, really, except for what was obviously a newer section of the hospital, as well as the city outside. I looked down the hall, but saw nothing except more doors, presumably leading to other disused rooms. I decided to return to my office and stay there.

My handler came by with my breakfast of course, but also a hospital staff member who glared at me in deep displeasure. “Is there a problem?" I asked him.

“You know your presence here is supposed to be kept under wraps," he scolded me. “And last night you left your room and went near one of the windows. I thought you knew better than that."

“Was I seen?" I asked in dismay.

“By the people seeing the security recordings," was the response. “I hope nobody saw you from outside."

I cringed in deep embarrassment. “I'm sorry I was so stupid."

“You're only here in case your friend Sammy Skunk-is that his name?"

“Yes," I replied. “Is he here?"

“No, he's still in jail. Don't you get the news?" I pointed at the video screen. “Oh good, it works. But don't go near the windows again. It's enough trouble having you here without your doing anything idiotic."

I was too embarrassed to reply, and the staff member left. My handler put my bag of food on the desk. I opened it and ate and drank, and my handler also gave me a big bottle of drinking water, for which I was grateful.

“He was right, you know," he finally told me.

“I agree," I replied. “I got bored...and it's been a nerve-racking time for me. But that was no excuse for me to wander around like I did, even though I thought nobody was paying attention."

About then, I heard some noise on the other side of the door. My handler looked back at me and said, “It's the cleaning staff. I'm sure they know you're here, but keep out of their way while they're working. They clean this floor when all the patients have left the sleep disorder clinic."

I finished my breakfast, and looked toward him, He suggested we watch the news again, and I turned on the video screen. Surprisingly, little mention was made now about Sammy Skunk and Jim or his attackers, even though no other big news stories came up. The usual weather and sports news, minor local events, and such. During a commercial break, I finally silenced the video and screen and asked, “Say, I was wondering...what exactly are you supposed to be doing?"

“You mean, why am I here with you? The Earth authorities wanted someone to keep an eye on you, I presume. Not every moment, but enough to observe how you are coping with all this. I was surprised you weren't sent back to your base to be with your fellow animal-people, but I guess my superiors decided it would be necessary to have another animal-person around for this situation, and why not you, because of how you were involved in causing Sammy Skunk and Jim to meet in the first place?"

“Sammy Skunk is still in jail, isn't he?"

“Not in an actual prison, but held at a police station, I guess. His old handler from the laboratory is with him."

“I wonder how they are getting along?"

“I don't know either; I'm strictly dealing with my own higher-ups, as well as my wife."

“I'm sorry I'm keeping her from you."

“It's my job. And she was shocked when I told her how you bonded with me."

“I hope she didn't take it the wrong way."

“Oh, I explained it all to her. She was happy about it, that I was making life easier for you."

“You weren't exaggerating. I was scared how humans would regard me after what Sammy Skunk had done, and you came here and became my friend. Well, I hope you actually like me."

“I admit the last thing I expected when I came to see you was your emotionally bonding to me like you did. But now I understand why."

“Yes. And in case you are wondering, no, I don't intend to stay on Earth forever to be with you like Sammy Skunk, but one thing I will do. Sammy Skunk nearly killed the thug who nearly killed Jim. And though I am a highly-trained scientist who was carefully selected to be sent to this planet, and I am very careful about following rules and am worried about my career...if anybody does you any serious harm, you can be sure that I will forget everything and go after them the way Sammy Skunk had done, even at the cost of my life. And that is also the nature of us animal-people."

My handler looked rather uncomfortably at me, so I got up, moved the chair from the desk, and positioned it in front of him, and I sat down on it facing him. “I'm sorry if I frightened you," I said, “but I felt it important for you to know who I am, and how we animal-people are. This is actually your job, is it not?"

“It is." my handler admitted. “I thought of all sorts of ways you might react to my apologizing to you. But what you did was the last thing I would have expected."

“I never would have imagined bonding with any Earthian at all, until I met Frank, and he too came to my rescue at a very desperate time for me. And this is another desperate time for me now. At first when I came to this world, many humans were leery of me-which did not actually surprise me. I figured as a matter of time people would become more accustomed to us animal-people as we lost our novelty value, and that happened. And when Sammy Skunk decided to come live on Earth permanently, I was shocked like all my fellow animal-people at PERC.

“I knew it was inevitable that there were Earthians who would not like the idea of a space alien coming to live permanently on Earth. Sammy Skunk and Jim did get harassment and threats, but dismissed them, figuring they would die down. I wasn't even shocked when I heard of the thugs attacking them. I figured Sammy Skunk was trained to beat them off, as I have been. As far as I know, the thugs were just common punks and not some sort of organized terrorists."

“Well, I can tell you this much," said my handler. “The police are deliberately withholding information to the public, but they told me-and I can tell you-that they are local hoodlums who have been in trouble with the law before. They are troublemakers rather than say, thieves, so they weren't trying to rob Jim and Sammy Skunk. They indicated they didn't like a space alien living on this world, or the human they knew was his constant companion. As far as I know, none of them knew Jim or Sammy Skunk or were aware of what sort of relationship they had."

I laughed humorlessly. “So what was their idea? To scare Sammy Skunk into returning to his own planet? I thought even the dumbest thugs would have had the sense to know that a space alien wouldn't just come to Earth to stay to suddenly change his mind and leave."

“I'm just telling what the police told me. Obviously they were just thugs and not terrorists or professional assassins, or Jim and Sammy Skunk would have been dead."

“So just plain bullies. I've encountered them myself."

“Those who tried to kill you?"

I smiled. “We came here fully aware that there would be Earthians who would not like our being here. Each of us has already been highly trained in unarmed self-defense. I've met thugs and fought them off, but as far as I know, nobody has made any real attempt to kill me." My smile disappeared. “This might have been one such encounter that Sammy could have easily dealt with as well, if the one hadn't knocked in Jim's head and nearly killed him. I wonder how either Jim or the thug are doing right now."

“Even though I'm an Earth authority," replied my handler, “it's over you animal-people. I cannot ask the hospital to give me any information on their patients. They probably never wanted you to be staying here in the first place, but somehow my superiors got them to do it."

“I guess there were no other places to hide me."

“You're only here instead of at your base because eventually you're supposed to be meeting Sammy Skunk. Maybe you and he don't want to see each other, for all we know."

“But I have visited with him and Jim at their apartment, even giving them a recorded interview. I imagine that that's why they want me close at hand. I know, nobody really knows what to do in a situation like this."

“Which explains why you are kept in the very hospital where Jim is being operated on. It's the only way you can be where you don't have to go out in public to see Sammy Skunk."

“You weren't sure about me, why would anybody else be?" I decided to change the subject. “Say, is it all right if I ask about you? Since I'm so emotionally attached to you, I'd at least like to know you a little better."

My friend got the idea I was not actually joking. “I have a wife and a happy marriage. No children or other close family though."

“Medical problems?"

“Yes, but...neither of us wanted children anyway. We both suffered abusive childhoods, and neither of us wanted to pass that sort of thing on to subsequent generations."

This took me for a shock. “Listen," I told him intensely, “I'm a sociologist and not a psychologist. But I can assure you that just because your parents abused you doesn't automatically mean you will grow up to be an abuser yourself. Maybe I'm viewing you through the proverbial rose-colored glasses because of my emotional bond to you, but there's nothing to suggest to me that you're any sort of brute!"

“Even after what I did to you at the lab?"

“You were controlled by your fears at the time, I understand. But you managed to conquer them, which is why I gained such respect for you now. As for people who abuse children, I can tell you from people I've talked to-our own kind as well as humans-that people who were abused as children don't automatically become abusers themselves. Just as there's the old myth that people who are pedophiles were victims of child abuse themselves. Most of them weren't."

“Then what makes them what they are?"

“Being sick in the head, what else? I admit I don't know."

“Oh, I don't doubt you. My father regularly beat me for just about any excuse, and sometimes no excuse. And he beat my mother too, and she just took it and made excuses for him, as well as telling me I shouldn't blame my father. And the irony is that they were pacifists."

“No irony at all," I shot back. “You humans may be different from us, but even before I set foot on this planet I expected to meet the same types of assholes here that I did on my own world. People who talk about being charitable and live lavish lifestyles, politicians who pass themselves off as saints who are thoroughly corrupt, people who claim to be war veterans who aren't...we animal-people are not humans with fur and snouts and tails, but I don't pretend we are superior to you."

“When I turned eighteen, I ran away to join the military, but they turned me down because I was too weak to pass their physical and I got rejected easily." My friend looked embarrassed. “Being beaten by my father did not make me a man. It made me a wimp."

“Yes, so wimpy that you got a rather high-ranking job among the Earth authorities," I replied sardonically. “I doubt you got to where you were through connections."

“No, it was through hard work...and luck. Fortunately my father was a heavy smoker and he died of a heart attack soon after I turned nineteen. The best thing he ever did for me. Though he did leave some property, and my mother and I quickly sold it all. I guess she finally realized her husband's true nature, and I had enough to enter college. I was more brilliant than I expected, because when my money ran out, I got a merit scholarship so I could finish."

“So how did you wind up where you did?"

“You mean why did I choose the career I did? I graduated in biological science, and worked for a corporation which I hated. I did, however, develop enough of a record so that I qualified to work for NASA. As you might imagine, they needed biologists in a big way when you animal people were allowed onto our planet."

“And yet I got the impression you hated and feared us, at least at the time."

My handler looked embarrassed. “Actually, I joined NASA because I was afraid of your kind. What if you turned out to be evil and wanted to conquer us, or even inadvertently bring some sort of plague to Earth? Yes, I couldn't become a soldier, but I could still do what I could to protect the world."

“I'd be lying if I were to tell you that your fears were unjustified," I replied. “Like I said, we animal-people can be evil too. We've had our conquerors, our genocides, our tyrants, our people who wanted to loot other nations...and I knew you humans have the same people and events. As far as I know, our worlds can only interact three hours per year, so there's a limit on what can go through each time, so neither of us have to worry about invading armies. It was the English Channel as much as anything else that prevented Hitler from conquering the British Isles after all."

My friend was surprised. “You know about the Second World War then?"

“It's not known about on my world obviously, but it's so famous on Earth that it's impossible not to know about it. Like the ancient pyramids of Egypt."

My handler and I talked about a variety of subjects to pass the time, and then he noticed it was past noon. He left and was gone for some time, but he did bring me another sack lunch which I ate. Afterward, we decided to turn on the video screen. Besides the news, there were various entertainment programs, some better than others, and I did not necessarily need to talk to him, dear reader. Being in his company was pleasant enough for me.

“Say, I was wondering..." I finally said, when it was late in the afternoon.

“Yes?"

“I'm worried about imposing on you. I want you here with me, but I don't want to make you start to resent being in my presence when you want to do something else."

“Being with you is my job at the moment. Yes, after your dinner I need to go back to the hotel and write down my daily report of what you and I did for the day, and I sleep away from my wife, but it's not like I'll be doing it for an extremely long time. If I need to go home, I can tell my superiors and they can send someone else in my place. On the first day I wasn't even sure if you wanted me around to begin with."

“And now you know. And why wouldn't I want you around, you, the only person who came to me and showed genuine remorse over making me suffer at the laboratory?"

“I'm not the only one who feels terrible about it. But nobody was sure how you would react if any of us told you this. You could have found an apology insulting for all we knew."

“None of you could have known how a non-human space alien would really feel about things compared to you humans, I understand."

“I admit I don't really know how this bonding by you animal-people works. You bonded to me because I came when you were feeling afraid and lonely. But Sammy Skunk bonded to someone who did him no favors."

I smiled. “We do have different personalities like you humans. Some animal-people simply don't bond. Or they might, but not under the same circumstances that I do." I stopped smiling and added, “Yes, some animal-people bond to those who take advantage of them."

“I was told that Sammy Skunk was supposed to have had an emotionally lonely childhood."

“He told me that too, and I'm certain he was telling the truth. He wasn't particularly popular at PERC, either, and when he went to the furry convention, all of a sudden he was hero-worshiped, simply for who he was. People loved him, and he didn't even have to do anything special. I put him in the lion's den and failed to realize it until it was too late."

“But you indicated that you didn't like him. Why not?"

“He annoyed me by constantly asking what life was like among the humans, since I went out among them and he couldn't. I took him to the furry convention namely to shut him up, and the Director agreed. Stupidest thing I've done in my entire life."

“And he made a strong emotional bond with someone who used him as a sex toy."

“But one who at least kept him instead of leaving him in the lurch. And he told me he would keep Sammy around no matter what, even if they didn't have sex anymore. Sammy has assured me he really likes having sex with human males."

“Whole bunches of them?"

“It's mostly just him and Jim, and they have other partners about once a month. And even then, it's selected friends and not just anybody."

“And Jim does the choosing?"

“He knows his fellow human furries better than Sammy Skunk would. He knows who he could trust and who he cannot."

“I suppose we had no real choice but to keep Sammy Skunk on Earth and have him live with his paramour," my handler said. “He himself wanted this, and he'd probably be considered damaged goods among his own people."

“Yes. Forget those human furry stories about our world being a yiffy paradise. My world is not like that at all. Homosexuality is more accepted among you humans."

Then a thought occurred to me. “Say, I wondered about Jim. Any news about him at all?"

My handler stood up. “I'll see if I can find out anything."

He left and was back an hour later. “Nothing new. Jim is in stable condition, but kept in an induced coma," he said when he returned.

“If he recovers, I owe him an apology," I replied. “It was wrong of me to say that I didn't care about Jim. He took Sammy Skunk in when he could have abandoned him, and this is what happens to him because of it."

My handler sat back down, and we kept a morose silence. Then a thought occurred to me. “I've been washing my hands after using the toilet each time, but one little problem. I haven't had the chance to take a bath or shower."

“I wondered about that myself."

“We animal-people, at least the ones covered with fur like me, do not wash ourselves completely every day like you humans do. But every few days at least, we need to, if we want to be around company. They sent me personal care stuff from PERC, but nobody has said anything about where I can bathe if I need to."

“I'll go see about that."

So my handler left the office again and it was another hour before he returned, this time with the staff member from before, and he was no more pleased at the sight of me than he was the last time. But he beckoned me to follow him, and I wondered where in the hospital he was taking me. It turned out to be a very short journey though-in fact he opened up the door to the janitorial room opposite my office. He unlocked the door and guided me inside.

Unlike my office, this room was not disused. It was sizable enough to contain the cleaning chemicals, rags, waste can liners, bathroom supplies, mops, cleaning machines and such that this and any other floor of this hospital would require. We continued toward the back, where there was a partially-enclosed area with a drain and water faucets and short hose, which I assumed was meant for filling up mop buckets and cleaning machines and such.

“He's supposed to wash himself in there?" my handler asked in dismay, but before anyone else could respond, I said, “I'll take it."

“No," replied my handler firmly. “This is no place for anybody to bathe. There's probably God knows what kind of chemical residue in there, and the water can be very hot if adjusted wrong. I don't care if you don't want this animal-person here; it wasn't my choice either. Now kindly find him a proper place to bathe."

We left the janitorial room, and the staff member left, saying he would do what he could. It was some time before he returned with a security person. I picked up my case of personal belongings from PERC base and we went to the elevator lobby where one car was waiting with its doors open, and when I went it there was another staff member at the controls, purposely holding the car open and waiting. We went down a floor, and we were escorted to a section that had a sign “CLOSED FOR REPAIRS" in the hallway, and I was led into an empty patient room where there was a bathing area. I undressed and bathed myself as carefully as I could, putting on a fresh set of clothes afterward. I was quickly brought back to my office, and my handler and I let them know that I did not need to bathe every day and I was content to have the office as my living area. This mollified the hospital staff somewhat and I was left alone with my handler again, who soon left me to bring my supper.

After my handler brought my food and before he left for the night, I did ask him about the reason for an induced coma. He explained that the reason behind it is, when part of the brain has been damaged, it would slow down the functions of the rest of brain to minimum and allow the damaged section to recover. It would be an indefinite time before a patient can be brought out, and the patient has to be monitored continuously to ensure the slowing down of the patient's function doesn't cause other complications. There was nothing for us to do but wait.

And wait we did. The next day there was no news about Jim, and my handler brought me food and stayed with me from breakfast until after dinner as before. We conversed and spent time watching the news, but Jim seemed to have fallen off the map already. The thug who was severely harmed by Sammy Skunk was still in intensive care, but his prognosis was good-at least he suffered no brain injury. Sammy himself was still in jail, though he had gone from being wild to sitting morosely, not even eating. (The latter did not surprise me, as I know the food they serve in prison really is horrible.) He did drink water though, so he was not on a hunger strike.

The news on the next day did come as a surprise though. Sammy Skunk was actually released from prison and taken to the hospital to stay. This was also a surprise to both my handler and to the staff member whom we had dealt with, though there was still no news about Jim-at least none that was released to us.

As I previously mentioned, Sammy Skunk had his own handler from the time of the laboratory. I never had met this person and had no idea of how he felt about Sammy Skunk. Sammy may have broken the rule about having sex with humans, but certainly his handler must have understood about how he got drunk with his sudden celebrity status and his psychological inability to deal with his situation properly.

It was mid-morning when the staff member from before came to visit me and my handler in my office and informed us that Sammy Skunk was kept in a room in the main part of the hospital, and unlike me he was not kept in hiding. In fact, they wanted me to go and visit him, even though as far as I knew he did not ask to see me. Still, I was kept in the hospital with the idea of my having to go see him, so we quickly left my office.

I was escorted to the elevator bank, but instead of going directly to the main part of the hospital, I was taken to a basement, then down some halls to another bank of elevators, and then to the first floor. And even then, I went down a long hallway until I reached the newer section of the hospital, and finally went to a waiting room for visitors reserved for people who had friends or relatives in critical care. In a room by himself was Sammy Skunk, and the sight of him was the most shocking sight I had ever seen in my life, and I had been through war.

He was slumped and disheveled as I expected, but even through the window to the room, he looked indescribably devastated. I was paralyzed with shock, and so was the staff member who had escorted me. The pictures of Sammy Skunk that were subsequently shown to the world were shocking enough, but it was far worse seeing him in person. I was actually afraid to go up to him, he looked so devastated, and I knew that anything I said or did could not really make him feel better. But I was ready to visit him whether asked to or not.

So I opened the door to his room, and Sammy Skunk naturally looked up in response. He said my name, and I rushed up to him. He did not hug me, but touched me, and I sat in the seat next to him, and he leaned into me. “You came to see me," he said.

“I was kept at the hospital to see you," I replied. It occurred to me that I never heard from the Director or anybody else at PERC since the call I got when I first arrived at the hospital. Was it his decision, or were they discouraged from calling me? But that was unimportant at the moment. I put my arms around him, not in an outright hug, but as a way of supporting him in his distress.

And the distress he felt could not have been missed by the most ignorant. I could certainly feel it simply by touching him. Whatever Jim had done, Sammy had formed an all-too-real and all-too-strong emotional bond to him that was enough to make him leave his own world forever. And who was I to scorn him for it, in view of my own emotional bonding with Frank, a human I barely knew, even if he did help me at a stressful time and decided to remain my friend when he realized how I felt about him?

Sammy Skunk and I stayed seated as we were in our not-actual-embrace. We were not actually friends, but I was there to give him some sort of emotional support, even though I could not rescue him from emotional devastation if the worst happened. But I could not bring myself to break away from Sammy either, until I finally said, “I have to use the bathroom."

“So do I," Sammy responded surprisingly, and we got up together. Sammy led me through the door I had come in a short way down the hallway It was a multiple-stall bathroom, not a one-toilet bathroom like they usually have in the sections of a hospital with patient rooms, so we both went in and each used a toilet stall before washing up and returning to the waiting room. A different hospital staff member was there, evidently surprised that we had left the waiting room, and we asked her for drinking water. She left and returned with two bottles of water from a vending machine, for which we were grateful. Sammy Skunk may have lacked an appetite, but at least he did not stink as if he failed to keep himself clean. (In case you were unaware, dear reader, skunk spray may have a very bad odor, but skunks themselves-either the two-legged or four-legged versions-have no worse a personal odor than most other mammals.) He also drank his water at a normal pace, as did I. Neither of us could do anything about our respective situations anyway. It was all in the hands of the surgeons who presumably were still working on Jim's brain, or at least monitoring it. Brain damage was not anything anybody could repair in a short time, and the long delay in telling us anything was in a way a blessing. If Jim had died, or definitely have become a vegetable, we would have been told about it by now.

Lunchtime inevitably arrived, and my handler came to see us. (I noticed that nobody else came with him, not even whoever was Sammy Skunk's handler.) He asked us if we wanted lunch, and this time we would eat together in the cafeteria. So Sammy and I went there with our handler and we all picked out some food which my handler paid for, and I was relieved that Sammy Skunk took a small meal for himself. He still did not seem hungry, but he forced himself to eat and drink. Afterward Sammy and I spent our afternoon back in the waiting room, my handler staying with us for an hour before leaving. Sammy and I did not lean on each other like before, but we sat close together.

There was a video screen in the waiting room, but it was turned off; I guessed Sammy did not want it on. The afternoon was basically boring, as neither Sammy nor I felt like talking. What would we say anyway? Sammy may have been let out of jail, but he certainly had legal troubles to face for having beaten up the thug so badly, so it was common sense for him not to say anything. We revisited the bathroom, but nobody came for us until three people arrived.

One was my handler, the second was the staff member from before, and the third was a man who introduced himself as Sammy Skunk's handler. He and Sammy seemed pleased to see each other again, though Sammy showed no indication of the emotional bonding I had formed with my own handler. Perhaps because he did not attempt to exploit Sammy Skunk, I grimly joked to myself. I made my own emotional bonds with people (my own kind as well as Earthians) in stressful situations when the people did me well; I could not help but believe that Sammy Skunk was one to bond with people who do him wrong.

We finally heard from the staff member about Jim; he was still being kept in his induced coma and it was still uncertain how things would turn out. He left us and the rest of us went to the cafeteria once more, Sammy Skunk force-feeding himself again. It had turned evening, and the original staff member came back to take me to my office. Sammy and I said our goodbyes, and he thanked me for being with him. I was returned to my office and left alone, so I turned on the video screen again. Nothing more than the usual local news, plus a few more entertainment programs, and I finished my day by doing more physical exercises.

The next day my handler came, and I ate breakfast and went to see Sammy Skunk again. It was essentially a repeat of yesterday, and would become my routine for the next nine days. However, on the tenth day, there was news at last, and hopeful news at that. When my handler brought my breakfast, he had told me that he was informed that Jim had been taken out of his induced coma and he was awake. The staff member was there as well, so I ate quickly and was escorted away to the waiting room as before. Of course Sammy Skunk was in a much more hopeful mood than previously, and he ate with a greater appetite and even had the video screen turned on in the waiting room. No mention of Jim on the news, but we did not expect that.

It was the middle of the next day when there was further news. Jim was determined to be lucid enough to have other people talk to him...and his first words was to ask that Sammy Skunk come see him, and of course upon hearing this, Sammy Skunk rushed up to the hospital staff who told him about this, and they took him away.

Then an embarrassing thought occurred to me. Jim had not told me, but Sammy mentioned the fact that Jim's family had had no contact with him. Would they hear about him on the news, and still have nothing to do with him? And Sammy said Jim only mentioned it in passing. Was it his homosexuality, his being a member of the furry world, or some other reason, or a combination of them? If so, then Jim must have really meant it when he was really willing to keep Sammy Skunk in his presence whether they were sexually involved or not. Jim had truly been lonely, and his gay furry sex friends were not his real friends at all. If so, I could feel no animosity toward him, even if other animal-people still would.

It must have been two hours when Sammy Skunk came back along with his handler, the latter looking relieved while Sammy was beyond himself with pleasure. He grabbed me and babbled as to how Jim was not only talking and lucid, but was overjoyed to see him.

I was quite surprised. Was the brain damage to Jim much less than expected, or were the surgeons so skilled? But Sammy Skunk kept babbling, then calmed down and became more coherent. Jim was still restricted to lying down-he could not just jump out of bed after having been in a coma for so long and had to be brought out in stages when the doctors determined it would be safe. But he was able to talk coherently, in his normal tone. Jim did not know what had happened since he was hit on the head, but he seemed to suffer no memory loss. I was much relieved too-the thought of how devastated Sammy would be if Jim were to die or never regain consciousness was unbearable. I thought of how I reacted when Frank initially said he did not want to see me again-I must have been as shocked as he was when I found the pain of his not wanting to see me again unbearable, and how relieved I was when he changed his mind. I have not seen him again, though we did exchange some telephone calls and emails.

Then it occurred to me that Frank and I had had no contact with each other since Jim had been attacked. It was only common sense-both the hospital and Earth authorities wanted me to avoid talking with outside people on the basis that I might be overheard. But worse than that was the thought that Frank, who knew I was not a human being, might wonder if I were some unpredictable monster who might turn violent for no reason. There are people who ought to know better and keep dangerous wild animals such as wolves and tigers as pets-and end up suddenly being harmed by them. Would Frank think I might do the same with him one day? I now developed a real understanding of how much courage it took for my handler to come see me in the hospital-he probably feared violence from me, rather than scorn.

Things did get better, of course. Jim was slowly getting better and was able to get up and walk around and do things. He appeared to still have all his mental functions, and did not end up with epilepsy or other side effects. Sammy Skunk's morale was better now, though no word on what the story was with the thug who hit Jim. Sammy and I talked normally, though he still avoided mentioning they day of the attack. I myself was still kept in the office at night, and still had to be escorted to the lower floor to bathe, though I now ate all my meals in the cafeteria and spent the days in the waiting room, whether Sammy Skunk was there or not. When he and I met in the cafeteria to eat, Sammy Skunk ate with a normal appetite, though his meals were never very large. Then again, I had never noticed his eating habits at PERC, since as was expected I always shared my cafeteria meals there with my assistants.

I did learn that he was on some sort of conditional release so he had not been spending time in jail, and he was essentially kept out of sight like I was, though in a different part of the hospital. It turned out there were other disused portions of the hospital complex besides mine. Again, humans other than the ones I normally interacted with during this situation were leery of me, but that faded out because they got accustomed to me again, and some who I didn't know even greeted me.

Of course Jim recovered to the point where he was released from inpatient care, so he and Sammy Skunk went home. With that I was sent out of the hospital and driven back to PERC base, and my handler could finally check out of his hotel and go to his own home. Things were not over yet, of course. The Director greeted me when I was dropped off at PERC base, and instead of my giving him an immediate report as was usual, he had me take all my soiled clothes to the laundry and wash and groom myself and put on clean clothes., and had the PERC medical team check me over. Hospitals are known for carrying infections, and he had to make sure I did not pick up any.

When I was found to be uncontaminated and in good health, the Director had me come to his office. I gave him as detailed an explanation of what I had been through as I could and even mentioned how I had bonded to my handler among the Earth authorities. The Director was displeased about the fact, but recognized that I was under stressful circumstances and away from my kind, so he could not be too upset. I was sent back to my assistants who were glad to see me, if nothing else than because my return was a sign that things might return to normal at PERC. I told them all the details about my time at the hospital as well, and as might be expected Billy Otter had been concerned the most about what Sammy Skunk had gone through. The Director had arranged for me to give a speech to the rest of the PERC staff in the auditorium, and he told me what to mention and what not to mention, and I did as he said. The Director then told us about the fact that the Earth authorities' restrictions had been lifted on us and we could proceed with our operations as before. The Earthians presumably were not scared that we animal-people would randomly go into rages and tear humans into pieces.

Sammy Skunk was put on trial soon afterward, of course, and it was broadcast to the world. PERC could not really operate as before until that was resolved, and I, the Director, and a selected group of my colleagues were selected to testify. We finally saw the thug who had struck Jim on the head, and he was still in a wheelchair and his body had a lot of stitches on them. How could anybody defend Sammy Skunk for having done that?

The trial has already been widely reported in the news media, of course, with the identities of everybody except Sammy Skunk suppressed. The defense counsel did point out the fact that Sammy Skunk had become very strongly emotionally attached to Jim, so it was only instinctive for him to be so violent when Jim had been so severely assaulted. After all, we animal-people were not humans in costume; we have our lower animal characteristics. Of course, there was the old question brought back out: would we animal-people be too dangerous to associate with humans? As the one who has been out among humans the most among us animal-people, I decided to provide the answer.

“I shall tell the truth about us, “ I told the courtroom. “We are sentient aliens from another world, but we are not simply humans with tails and fur. We are not like your cartoon animals; note our accents which I doubt even Mel Blanc or June Foray would have ever been able to successfully imitate."

There was a smattering of laughter before I continued, “I was part of the first wave of the large-scale research into human society. And while I had long been waiting for a chance to explore a real alien civilization, I was never under any illusions about you humans. I never expected you to be better or worse than us animal-people, merely different. And I was never under any illusion that all you humans were going to greet us with the proverbial open arms. It was your government who let us come to this world and go out among you; I realize many of you Earthians would prefer it if we never had come to your world and mingled with your kind. It is akin to being a child and seeing some sort of unfamiliar food on your dinner plate; if you've never seen spinach before, would you be inclined to taste it?"

Another smattering, and I went on, “Yes, when we first came to your world, we were a novelty to you. I expected hostility and fear from at least some of you and received it; we animal-people were warned to expect it and to run away or defend ourselves without harming our attackers. We were also viewed as being like your cartoon animals, which we of course have little resemblance to. People have come up to me and petted me; this I did not expect at first, but I have heard of the “Bambi syndrome", where humans fail to realize that animals can be dangerous. I have heard the story about a woman who climbed two barriers into a wolf exhibit at a zoo and she proceeded to pet the wolf, who panicked and bit her. The people who were there had no choice but to shoot and kill the wolf to rescue her.

“I made it a point not to bother anyone who wanted nothing to do with us animal-people; I was well aware even then that eventually our novelty value would start to wear off, especially if we didn't bring any alien plague or start attacking humans, and we have not. Until this matter with Sammy Skunk."

“Yes, that is what we call his 'Earth name'-our real names would be too strange for most humans to pronounce. My Earth name is 'Walter Fox', but my true name is-" And I pronounced a set of syllables which were normal to me, but it clearly made some Earthians in the audience uncomfortable. “I happen to have an unusual talent for learning other languages, which is why I am the leader of the sociological section of our research center, whose purpose is to go out among you humans-that is, those who want to interact with us-and get to know you.

“Sammy Skunk, on the other hand, was head of the mathematics department and was never intended to go out among humans, even though he can speak English as well as I can. As a result, only some members of our research team were trained to deal with humans-such as we could know at the time. Sammy Skunk had no such training. Which was too bad because he really wanted to go out among human society and was very unhappy when he couldn't. So what did I do to appease him? I took him to a convention of human furries. Yes, we animal-people, even the trained scientist types, can be incredibly stupid at times."

Another smattering of laughter. “To make a long story short, Sammy Skunk happened to form a very strong emotional bond to a human, which none of us expected. Strong enough to want to stay on Earth to be with this person. The Earth authorities decided to let him stay, not necessarily out of kindness, but because I am sure they wanted to see how an animal-person would react to spending a very long time among humans. The rest of us are here indefinitely, unless they need to be sent back to our own world, which has happened. And yes, additional people from our world have come to this planet, being of course vetted by the appropriate people on this world before they could go out among you Earthians.

“As for the emotional bond I referred to, yes, it is akin to the loyalty of a lower animal pet, like a boy and his loyal dog. It is not just Sammy Skunk who has formed an emotional bond with a human; I confess I have formed one with several." Gasps emitted from the audience. “I will not name these people, or how and why I formed such bonds with these humans, but you can be sure that it would be a very bad idea to do them harm. Otherwise, even my professional training will not prevent whoever does them harm to hear from me.

“Yes, that's what happened with Sammy Skunk. Somebody did the human whom he had bonded to a serious head injury, and Sammy had lost all self-control, thinking that this person had killed him or caused him permanent brain damage. Shockingly enough, the hospital he was sent to was able to restore him to at least near-normal." I turned to the thug in the wheelchair. “I hope one day you can get out of your wheelchair and live a normal life. You are extraordinarily lucky to still be alive, and I hope, able to recover. And you know what we animal-people are capable of doing."

The thug did look back at me, unable or unwilling to say anything. I then ignored him and turned back to everybody else. “Yes, we animal-people are as dangerous as you humans are, and I've seen and heard stories, both real and fictional, about vengeance, and I have no doubts you humans are capable of doing what Sammy Skunk had done. But I know we are visitors to your world, and have no rights other than what you grant us. You can even exterminate us if you like."

I let the audience get increasingly uncomfortable. “I can understand if you would do that if you were to come to hate or fear us. We animal-people are capable of that as well. We are like you in many ways, but we are different, as I mentioned before. For example, I have the fur and coloring of a four-legged red fox, I wag my tail when pleased, my ears can lift up or fold down or back depending on my emotional state, and I can consume only some of the food and drink you humans can. However, I am not nocturnal, I don't break into chicken coops and wipe out chickens, and your house pets are safe with us. We're not like the cartoon animals where sentient animals eat each other.

“Why your world is inhabited by you humans and my world is inhabited by different species of animal-people, I have no idea. We have no simian species on our world, apparently never had any, and I know that even you humans have failed to find the so-called 'missing link', and I don't mean the professional wrestler."

I was happy to hear another smattering of laughter, which indicated that my human audience was not about to become a lynch mob. “But do not get the mistaken idea that on our world, you can simply attack someone else who does harm to someone you are bonded with; like on this world, you do face the question of whether your attack on someone is genuine self-defense, or the defense of someone else, and what Sammy Skunk had done would cause him to face legal and civil consequences as well. And yes, you have the moral right to judge him as you would any human."

The Director did not coach me into making this speech; it was all my accord. Would Sammy Skunk be treated like a human and jailed like a human would be, if he were legally in the wrong? Would he be sent back to his own planet? He became an Earth citizen, but how would the people of Earth regard him?

In the end, he did not serve any more jail time. Criminal charges were dropped against him, which surprised my fellow animal-people, but was not entirely unexpected. The thug did hit Jim with a pipe with intent to do grievous harm if not kill, and Sammy Skunk did have genuine reason to fear for both his own life as well as Jim's. A legal settlement was reached where Sammy Skunk and Jim agreed to pay the thug's medical expenses, and the thug presumably decided that he would rather have that and not face jail time himself, or his identity leaked to the public. The thug may have been an idiot, but even he would know when to leave well enough alone.

Ironically enough, what Sammy Skunk had done has actually increased the prestige of us animal-people among Earthians. I was now far more welcome among humans than I had been beforehand...but with the disadvantage that now so many people wanted to adopt me as their pet. Furries who wanted sexual favors from me were bad enough, but now people wanted me to be their friend. But as I mentioned previously, I do not just bond with anybody. Certain circumstances have to take place that I described already.

However, it was not just me who benefited, but the whole of PERC as well. Part of it might have been the economy getting better recently, but the Earth authorities have certainly made our PERC facilities much better. Our old power plant has been dismantled and replaced by a new one, as were our information and telecommunications systems, repairs have been made to our buildings including plumbing, electrical, climate control, and sewer repairs, as well as repainting and installation of some new fixtures, new furniture has been brought in and old worn items taken out, but best of all, all our old jalopy motor vehicles have been replaced by newer ones, with holes for our tails added to the seats. No more worries about taking a car out and having it break down! The Director even got a near-new luxury car for himself, which certainly pleased him, and made him more amenable to me. And yes, Frank and I finally contacted each other, and he was pleased how things had turned out so well for me. One day we would meet again.

Why were our human hosts suddenly so much more nice to us? I doubt my friend among the Earth authorities has such connections or influence, so I guess that the suspicions about us have been eased, now that Sammy Skunk has proven so loyal to the human he lived with. Certainly word must have spread among the Earth authorities how bonded I had become to one of their kind, and perhaps other Earth authorities might hope one of us animal-people might form such emotional bonds to them. But in my case, I have been out among ordinary humans far more than most of my colleagues, who did not interact with very many humans as part of their jobs. Restrictions on us were eased but not removed; we still could not just go anywhere on Earth we pleased when we wanted. We were, after all, a scientific research team and not tourists.

I suppose I should conclude this account by telling you one more story. Remember the man who rubbed his penis upon my feet and got me very upset, and yet I forgave him? I arranged to visit him again, though technically I did not have to. I made the arrangement with the Director soon after we got permission to go out among Earthians again, and he seemed surprised but not suspicious or even questioning. He was, after all, one of the humans who carried me to the enclosure at the furry convention.

The man greeted me at his home, and was very pleased to see me. We went into the living room again, we sat down, and we talked about various things. Soon I told him all about my visit with Frank and how desperate I was for him to be my friend and how he ended up becoming one despite all that happened to him after having met me.

“Oh, that's wonderful!" replied my host.

“I am not superstitious," I told him, “but even then I was that anxious to have him remain my friend, well..."

“So when you forgave me for what I did, in a way you were hoping Frank would do the same with you."

“As a matter of fact, yes. But I really need to set up a recorded interview with you to justify my visit here."

So he agreed and we went through the interview procedure, and afterward I packed up my equipment. “I can't just go around visiting people, you understand. I have to have a reason to go somewhere, since PERC is completely dependent on taxpayer money to function."

"I understand."

“But I can visit with you for a bit of time before I have to return this evening."

“So, do you have anything special in mind?"

“Yes. We can talk via email, but there is one thing we can only do when physically in each other's presence." And I took off my sandals.

My host looked quite surprised. “You're letting me..."

“I know I'm not supposed to allow you to do this, but I don't care. Call it a celebration of sorts for the fact that Frank decided to remain my friend."

He played with my feet and massaged them like he did before, dear reader, and I was fine with that. Then he paused-surely he was not going to rub his penis against my feet again? I was willing to be generous with him but not that generous! But no, I realized even before I opened my eyes to look that he was not putting his genitals on my feet, but his tongue. Yes, he was licking my feet, which I did not intend for him to do, but I decided why not. I was not expecting him to ever have the opportunity again. It did not occur to me at the moment that that could possibly have turned into a career-ruining catastrophe for me.

Yes, his licking my feet, especially my paw pads, was very exciting for me. I never had anyone else do this with me before, not even my wife or any paramours. Foot-licking is not unknown on my world, but it is not typically done. I never even expected it of my wife. But this sensation was far more exciting for me than I ever anticipated, and I was even feeling sexually aroused, and even reached for my genitals to stroke myself off-

The licking abruptly stopped and I felt my hands being grabbed. “What are you doing?" my host asked in dismay.

I felt a wave of deep embarrassment wash through me. I had gotten carried away by this sensation and was about to stroke myself off! I let the emotion drain out of me enough before I admitted the truth to him.

“Good thing I noticed!"

“It's not only a good thing you noticed," I replied, “it's a good thing you stopped everything! If things had gone too far my whole career as a sociologist would have been destroyed!"

My host looked embarrassed too, though instead of turning color he simply looked downcast. “I shouldn't have used my tongue on you."

I suddenly stood up and knelt before him. “Maybe not. But you saw what I was doing and stopped everything before I got carried away. You refused to take advantage of me when you had the chance!" And I told him the story of Jim and Sammy Skunk, even though technically I was not supposed to tell anybody not involved with the matter. But I was in a mood to trust my host completely.

“So in the case of Sammy Skunk," my host concluded, “he emotionally bonded so strongly with a human who took complete advantage of him."

“Yes, and none of my people like the fact, especially not me. But what was there to do but let him remain on Earth? Better that than the probability of an unhappy life back on his world."

“But all you would have done was stroke yourself off," replied my host. “Something that could have been cleaned up with soap and water."

“They would have noticed," I told him. “And my career at PERC, and probably as a sociologist, would have been destroyed. But you stopped that from happening!"

“Unlike the first time," confessed my host.

“I gave you a second chance, and I'm so glad I did. You could have done to me what Jim had done with Sammy Skunk. At least he stuck by Sammy Skunk when he got beat nearly to death by thugs for it. But you didn't treat me like some yiff toy. You realized I had a career to go back to and a reputation that could have been ruined. You cared about me as a person, not an object of sexual desire."

“I suppose you'd better go back to your base before there's any more chance of trouble," said my host sullenly, standing up.

“More chance of trouble?" I replied in amazement. “You've proven to me that I can trust you completely! Maybe I'm getting carried away, but I've met plenty of human furries who would have definitely taken advantage of me when I was in a moment of weakness. But you did no such thing! And I'm so happy!"

I leaned over and started licking his face profusely, my tail wagging wildly. I was doing this for some time before I realized he was not pushing me away. I pulled away myself and said apologetically, “I'm sorry, it's the way of us animal-people, and I realize you humans don't do that..."

“Are you kidding?" my host replied. “I enjoy getting such an enthusiastic response! I admit I wasn't expecting this, but..."

“We animal-people are not humans in costume, as I explained in the past to various people. And we members of PERC have been a handpicked team of researchers, but we can be stupid and make mistakes. That's why I'm so glad that you stopped everything when you could have exploited me. You probably cannot imagine how it is to be a space alien on another world, never really being certain how the locals will regard you. It was the scariest time on the world for me when Sammy Skunk attacked the man who nearly killed Jim. Not that the man didn't deserve it, but I was worried you humans would consider us dangerous monsters. I formed my emotional bond to Frank when he helped find Sammy Skunk when I had no idea what happened to him. I formed the same emotional bond to my former handler when I was worried you humans might become hostile to me-and he expressed remorse to me for the way he roughly examined me back at the lab, and was even around to help me with things when I was waiting at the hospital when it wasn't certain what would happen to Jim. And with you...you rescued me from my stupidity instead of taking advantage of me as so many other human furries would have done."

My host looked at me in surprise. “You've become bonded with me as well?"

“Yes! And why shouldn't I, since you've proven to me that you're someone I can trust completely? Things may have improved for us animal-people in recent times, and people aren't afraid of us anymore like they used to be, but I still get some hostility, as well as people who try to take advantage of me. I put myself into the proverbial lion's den-and you pulled me out!"

“You really have forgiven me for what I did last time."

“And I'm so glad I did!"

“So, um, what now?"

“Like tamed four-legged foxes, I certainly could use a headscritch, You must have seen the videos."

And my new friend did scritch my head, and my neck, and my abdomen, just like my other close human friends have done. Eventually he stopped, and I got up and buttoned my top and put my sandals on. I looked at my watch, and told him, “I'd love to stay with you longer, but I must get back to my base now."

“We can have dinner together," he offered.

“No, I've already stayed with you as long as I dared. But this will not be the last time we will meet, if I can help it. Someday, somehow, we will meet again."

My friend stood up, we embraced, and I gave him the face lick of friendship. “I give you my word we will meet again, General."