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The Kadath Inn

Written by Leo_Todrius

Supported by my Patrons

There was a liminal quality to traveling by hyperspace, a sort of lighter-than-air euphoria. Some said it had a profound influence like narcotics back on Old Earth, but for Kylen it was getting to be a bit much to stomach. The young man's fingers gripped the handrail in front of him tight enough that his knuckles grew pale, the blood rushing out of them. He had already been pale to begin with, but he was starting to look a bit green around the gills. His brown eyes opened, looking up through the center of the transport, out the front window swirling with blue and white light. Looking into the heart of the tunnel did not help.

Kylen turned and promptly threw up onto the empty plastic seat next to him, heaving with breath a few times. He still felt queasy but without anything else to in his stomach, it was more bearable. The young man lifted his head slowly, looking at the tinted window next to him. It was dark enough that his reflection showed, his black hair styled into a quiff up front and shorter on the sides. In terms of popular hairstyles, it was almost archaic.

The eighteen year old had tried to find something that wasn't stiflingly plain to wear, but the most exotic he could scrounge up was a black jacket with disconnected slits around the shoulders and elbows that showed the red shirt beneath and black pants with the knees torn out, showing off a hexagon mesh beneath. It wasn't much, and honestly for where he was headed it could have been entirely inappropriate.

Despite his lingering nausea, Kylen looked around the transport. There were only two other passengers on a transport that had a capacity for fifty-five occupants plus the driver. One was a big, stalwart sort of a man with leathery skin and clothes stained with liquids Kylen couldn't even guess about, the other was a young woman holding an actual, physical book... It had pages made of paper and a binding that looked almost like... fabric? Leather? Kylen wasn't even sure where to start guessing, but that... was part of the reason he was being sent away.

Just thinking about it made Kylen sink back in his seat, his head reclining against the headrest. His eyes scanned the transport's upper bulkhead above the windows, following the banners of commercials slowly flickering and changing. There were advertisements to gene augments, biotech implants, sterile living units... all the modern marvels... all the things Kylen was allergic to. It was colloquially referred to as a 'regression syndrome' by those less compassionate. Kylen didn't care what anyone called it, he just didn't want to have it anymore.

The syndrome had come, not precisely from the presence of anything in an advanced society, but rather the lack of it. Food was synthesized, air was reprocessed, water was reconstituted. Every material was fabricated precisely for its intended purpose, and somehow in all of that perfection, Kylen's body had started to break down. He had been one of the lucky ones, developing it in his late teens... His parents also felt it was lucky that Kylen had been diagnosed after medical science had come up with a theory on ways to halt the progression. It was a sentiment Kylen did not share after learning what that entailed.

With a mild shudder, the swirling tunnel of blue and white dissipated and the transport shook one last time as it entered an atmosphere. There was a flurry of every shade of green, a brief glimmer of a sun in perpetual eclipse over a murky lake, and then nothing but trees. Kylen's brow lowered as he braced himself. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back home... He wanted to finish his senior year... To try and reinvent himself in college, to find a love, or hell, even a friend. Instead he had been banished from his old life and sent away to the most backwater destination in the Alliance.

"All passengers, please prepare for docking." A pleasant, pre-recorded voice announced from above, "Welcome to the lush jungle world of Yekub. Enjoy your stay."

"Like hell..." Kylen muttered under his breath. The transport slowed down, hovering above the surface. Ripples spread out through the moss green swamp water, kicking up an even brighter green fog behind it. The conveyance slowed even more, passing a short waterfall into the swamp, gliding in alongside a raised platform made of... wood. Kylen's eyes widened in disbelief, but as he looked out of the window, it seemed only natural. Everything on Yekub was natural. That was the reason he was there.

The transport lowered down to rest on a recharging dock that lifted out of the swamp water to meet it, a few pieces of moss and vines clinging to the mechanisms. The transport's engines hummed as they powered down. The force field protecting the craft dissipated and the doors opened. Kylen hadn't even gotten up from his seat when he was met with the warm, humid, peaty air that wafted in.

At first, the teenager thought he was going to feel sick again. After all, it was unlike anything he'd experienced back home... but for some reason his stomach started to calm down. If anything, that made Kylen feel worse - his banishment was already working. Then again, maybe it was just because they weren't in hyperspace anymore. Kylen grabbed his duffel bag from beneath his seat as he got up, squeezing out into the aisle. He passed the woman, still engrossed in her book, and stepped out onto the dock.

While Kylen had been to a few alien worlds before, he'd never been to one quite this... alien. He'd never seen so many trees before and there were some here so ancient and so large that the locals had built entire neighborhoods into the branches. A warm hazy amber glow radiated from the windows and the doors of the houses clinging to the trees, though the dock was bordered with more ominous purplish-blue lanterns that seemed as eerie as the eclipsed sun rimmed with a fiery ring of bright bluish white.

"'Scuse me son." The other passenger announced from behind Kylen. The teenager skidded to the side, feeling embarrassed. The man moved along, walking with an eased pace. He left the dock behind, walking up one of the many rope bridges leading away from the hub. Kylen was frozen in place, still taking it all in. There were so many... sounds... here. He could hear frogs, crickets, grunts and growls and yowls, and that was just from the plants and swamp water right around the dock.

Kylen looked at the workers on the dock as well... Their clothes were rugged, many wore hats despite the heat. Only the familiar glow of a few galaxy spanning vending machines gave him any solace that he wasn't completely detached from home, although even the vending machines were off limits because of the syndrome. Kylen let out a long, slow groan, lowering his head. His face was covered with beads of sweat, he almost wondered if it was enough to mask tears if he were to let loose, but he wasn't a child. He wasn't going to cry after being sent away from home... He'd save that for his room.

With the last few shreds of self-respect he had, Kylen took a deep breath, picked up his duffel bag and started walking, his eyes tracing his path ahead of him, leading all the way to the Kadath Inn - his new home away from home. Kylen started walking, feeling the humidity already soaking his hair and his undershirt. It was overbearing, it was like swimming through air... and it was exactly why he was here.

****

It had been quite a climb, at least for Kylen, but with the last few vestiges of strength, he ascended the last step, coming up to the same level the Inn was built on. He stopped at the top, leaning on one of the wooden posts for support. Feeling the texture of the wood grain beneath him, the slight sharp edge of a splinter, the wood moist yet resilient... it was enough to give Kylen a shred of respect. While the rest of the world was fabricating entire beams out of nothing, someone had felled a tree, carved it, run a rope through it and planted it into the dirt and the stone. It gave the place a real sense of history, and as Kylen looked around, he realized that the place had more than just history. It had atmosphere.

The Kadath Inn was a three-story building lined with balconies and sloping wood shingle roofs. A wrap around veranda circled the entire structure, bordered on the left by a creek that terminated in a thirty-foot waterfall at the edge of the veranda. Off to the right, a path led up to one of the larger tree communities. It glowed like the last embers in a fireplace, warm and lived in. More wooden platforms and rope bridges spanned the community as intricate as a spider's web... but that wasn't Kylen's destination.

With a bit more reluctance, the teenager walked around the veranda, coming up to the front doors to the Inn. As his hand reached out for the handle, the doors creaked and groaned, as if complaining of the interruption, but opening of their own accord. Kylen hesitated at first because he hadn't seen any motors or mechanisms to move the doors. He had assumed that everything was too backwater to use them, but perhaps he had misjudged the planet.

Stepping into the inn, the first thing that Kylen noticed was that there was no general difference in the temperature or humidity. The same dankness clung to every surface, soaking the wood panels that covered the walls, the floor and the ceiling. There was the same amber glow that permeated the tree neighborhoods coming from diodes strung up inside aged glass spheres, casting out their unusual color across everything.

"Mister Kylen Bryer, I presume?" The voice startled Kylen, especially given that it came from the side he had already checked out and confirmed was occupant free mere seconds ago. Now a tall, lithe individual stood there. He was almost sickly thin, his greyish green hair slicked back. His eyes were dark, the brown almost as black as his irises. He had on glasses. but they rested near the tip of his pointed nose. There was something about him that creeped Kylen out... He seemed just a bit off. Maybe it was the way his forehead was curved, or the way his fingers seemed just a bit too long. Kylen blushed immediately, realizing how crass he was being. It didn't matter what people looked like and living on such a remote planet had to have side effects to development.

"Yes, that's me..." Kylen said, his brain actually catching up to what the man had said. What could be an amateur attempt at a smile crossed the skinny man's thin, weathered lips.

"We have been expecting you... The Kadath Inn is most pleased to welcome you to enjoy our hospitality, to offer you shelter and slumber in this most trying time. We will endeavor to make you not only comfortable, but to do what we can to help you to thrive." he said with a slightly drawn out accent. It was almost hypnotic the way he said it, but the words were quite appealing. It was a warmer welcome that Kylen had ever had before.

"Are there any rules?" Kylen asked. This time the skinny man made a far more realistic smile.

"I must admit, I am humbled by the fact that you would be curious about our guidelines. Most guests are not as considerate, muster Bryer." he said with a bit of pleasure, "I am Arcturas. If you require anything at all, please inform me or our other employee, Dagon." Arcturas said, "We have no quiet hours so to speak, as the citizens of our fine town keep all hours, but we do ask that guests forgo playing music or holos between nine and six There will be a schedule of food preparation in your room, which is located upstairs."

"Thank you, that sounds fine." Kylen said. It was strange that he had jumped to such conclusions about Arcturas, but so far, he'd been professional and pleasant in his own, odd way.

"Is my room upstairs?" Kylen asked. Arcturas nodded.

"Upstairs, and to the left. I shall summon Dagon to assist you with your bags." Arcturas said. Kylen smiled a bit bashfully.

"It's just the one, actually." He said, tapping his duffel. Arcturas raised an eyebrow at that.

"Only one bag for such a long journey? No mementos of home or family? Your worldly bonds?" Arcturas asked. Kylen shook his head.

"No, just... a few things. Everything I had back home was making me sick. My bedding, my clothes, this is a fresh start for me, a new... home." Kylen said, realizing he hadn't voiced that fact out loud yet. The realization hit him like a stack of fabricated bricks.

"As I said before, it is our pleasure to offer you our hospitality for as long as you need it." Arcturas said before he turned, raising a hand. Across the room another double set of doors opened up to reveal a storage area. Inside was another employee that seemed younger, shorter and a bit wider than Arcturas. He looked up with teal eyes as the doors opened, a lock of seaweed green hair falling across his face.

Kylen was a bit taken aback. While Arcturas was dressed in a fine suit of some sort of fabric, dyed in hues of dark brown and black, this young man had an ochre colored linen shirt and pants that seemed to compliment his long, layered green hair. It was such a specific shade with highlights and darker strands, Kylen could tell right away it wasn't dyed. The young man's face was handsome, youthful, innocent... his nose had such subtle curves to it, his chin defined but not pointy. As he turned his head, a glint of metal came from an ear cuff that climbed up the back of his ear, looking almost like a helix or spiral, though it was careful crafting to make it look that way.

"This is our other employee," Arcturas began to introduce before Kylen smiled.

"Dagon, I believe you said he would help with my bags?" Kylen asked. Arcturas' face did not change, though one eyebrow arched with a bit of intrigue.

Kylen smiled a bit more. "He... can still show me to my room, if that's alright?" Kylen said, feeling a faint flutter in his heart. Dagon flashed a bright smile of his own, revealing canine teeth that were just a bit too long.

"It would be my pleasure, sir." Dagon said, setting down the linen he had been folding. Arcturas looked at the two young men for a moment before he bowed his head.

"It is our pleasure to serve the will of our guests..." Arcturas said before he returned to what must have been his starting point behind the desk of the inn. Dagon moved out and over, offering a hand to Kylen.

"A pleasure to have you stay with us.": he said. Kylen reached out and locked his hand around Dagon's, finding his palm oddly slick and silky at the same time. It was different but almost intimate.

"So upstairs and to the left?" Kylen asked, looking into Dagon's teal eyes. The young man smirked.

"You already know the way, I'm curious as to why you asked for me to show it to you?" Dagon asked. Kylen reluctantly released the hand he was holding.

"It seems that I'm going to be here for a while, and I don't want to waste any time getting to know you. I don't want to be some kind of shut in, I did enough of that back on Altayus." Kylen said. Dagon's eyes nearly lit up at that.

"You were on Altayus? I can't even imagine. Is it true that all the buildings are so tall that they extend past the clouds?" he asked. Kylen shrugged.

"Well, they kind of have to. The clouds are poisonous, but the atmosphere above them is safe." Kylen said. Dagon grinned and looked around for bags to carry before realizing that Kylen had just the one duffel. He considered offering to take it for him, but then he realized Arcturas would have made the same offer.

"Right this way, sir." Dagon said, gesturing to the stairs. Kylen got distracted by the fact that Dagon's fingernails were green, but he also had rings on each finger made of some black stone. It took him a moment to realize what he had said.

"Oh, you don't have to call me sir, or mister. Kylen is fine, or even Ky if you like." he offered. Dagon opened his mouth to say something but Arcturas cleared his throat from across the room. Dagon reigned in his enthusiasm.

"I believe Kylen would be the most appropriate given the circumstances." he said. Kylen felt a little disappointed, but he could understand. It seemed like Arcturas was big on decorum and he didn't want to disappoint, especially given the fact that Arcturas had already indulged him so.

"Lead the way." Kylen said gratefully. Dagon smiled and moved up the stairs, step by step, ascending. Kylen followed after. The inn was a modest size, but as far as he could tell the lower level had the living space, the laundry, the kitchen and the supply closet. The second floor seemed to be devoted to the bedrooms, nine in total arranged in a U shape around the sides and the back. The front of the second floor was open, giving the living area a two-story vaulted ceiling. It wasn't that bad at all.

Dagon turned and moved along the walkway on the second floor, taking Kylen all the way to the front corner room. He eased the door open, revealing a modest sized living space. It was a bit smaller than the room he had back home, but it was furnished with a bed, a desk, a bookcase and a few shelving units. There was a sink and a mirror, though no bathroom. No doubt that was something he'd have to find for himself.

"Breakfast will be served anywhere between six and nine. Lunch is at twelve thirty, and dinner is at six. You can ask for snacks at any time, one of us will always be awake." Dagon said with a smile.

"Always?" Kylen asked in surprise, "How many employees are there?" Kylen asked.

"Oh, just Arcturas and me, but Arcturas doesn't really sleep, not much anyway. He's got a bit of the native population in him. He only needs two or three hours." Dagon said. Kylen smiled a bit bashfully.

"And do you have a bit of native in you?" he asked. Dagon grinned a little.

"Yes and no, I'm not related to Arcturas if that's what you mean, and I love to sleep." Dagon said. Kylen smiled at that, a dozen different responses running through his head, but several were far too ambitious. How could he admit to this young man that he just met that he found him attractive, that he was gay, that his parents didn't know, or the kind of hospitality he wanted was something that was undoubtedly not on the menu?

"Oh. I forgot the best part. I really love this side of the inn." Dagon said, moving over. He rested his hands on the far wall and opened the partitions that made up the wall itself, revealing a balcony that ran the full length of the bedroom. It looked out across the creek bed that ran beside the inn. The dark green water flowed at a fair pace, the moss and vines hanging into it from the edges swaying in the current. The tree branches above the creek swayed in the evening breezes and somewhere through them was the distant glow of town, offering mystery and adventure.

"This is amazing..." Kylen whispered softly, moving over to the balcony, stepping out and looking around before he turned, looking at Dagon.

"Thank you... for showing me this. I know you didn't have to." Kylen said. Dagon looked at the human a bit thoughtfully, from his unusual clothes to his carefully done hair, his pale skin, that urgency in his eyes. Dagon smiled softly.

"The inn prides itself on offering its guests just what they need. I think I was in just the right place at just the right time. It wasn't a waste of time at all." Dagon replied. Kylen smiled at that, feeling a bit reassured.

"So, I just call you... if I need a snack?" Kylen asked. Dagon grinned brightly at that, betraying his fangs once more.

"Exactly. I think you've got it. i should let you get settled in though." Dagon said. Kylen nodded softly at that.

"Thank you, Dagon." he said. the green haired boy smiled as he excused himself, shutting the door behind him. Kylen stared at it for a long moment before he lowered his duffel bag to the floor and moved over to sit on the bed, eventually lying down on it.

It was surreal, all of it. He'd woken up every day at home feeling exhausted, alienated, outcast. He felt like he'd used up everything he had to give by the time he was sixteen and everything past that had just been an extension past his expiration point. Now he was here, in the swamp while his parents kept working, kept earning income... and honestly it was far cheaper to have him live on a remote world than to try and support him at home. But what did that mean, exactly? He didn't have to have a job. He didn't have to go to school. He had an allowance, he had a place to stay, and now... he had a crush.

Kylen rolled his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. He felt foolish. No doubt Dagon had some life of his own here, some family, some ties, connections. He was just a guest that everyone was being nice to... even if he wanted more than just a bit of hospitality. Still, as long as he stayed respectful, it couldn't hurt to test the waters at least, could it? Kylen shook his head and shut his eyes, intending just to rest for a moment. it took no more than that for him to lose himself to sleep, reality slipping away from his mind as he drifted into a land of dreams and visions.

****

Kylen had always had difficulty falling asleep in a strange place and he could think of no place stranger than Yekub. He tossed and turned on his bed, finding the mattress unusually bouncy. It didn't even adjust to his body temperature... His brown eyes opened slightly, reluctantly discovering that it was just as bright, or rather dim, as it had been when he'd gone to bed. He'd heard stories of people going insane on Yekub because it was never morning and never night. Yekub wasn't a planet so much as a moon, tidally locked to its host planet that always stood between it and the sun. It was that equilibrium that made it habitable, giving it juuuust enough light for the plant life to grow without baking it... but that didn't make sleeping any easier.

With an exasperated sigh, Kylen slipped out of bed. His tank top was soaked with sweat. He looked at the holo display from his phone, showing that it was three thirty. He exhaled and walked barefoot over to the balcony, stepping out of the shelter and into the open air. The wildlife was croaking and chirping away, but it was another sound that drew the young man's attention, a soft splashing coming from the creek below. Kylen looked around before he froze.

There was no doubt that the young man bathing in the creek was Dagon - the green hair was unmistakable - but the slender shoulders, the arms with just a hint of muscle... and those round, supple, plump ass cheeks just peeking up out of the water's surface. Kylen couldn't help but lick his lips and close his eyes, imagining himself coming up behind him, helping him to scrub all those hard to reach places, making ripples and splashes of their own together. After mere moments of imagining it, Kylen found himself breathing harder and harder until he opened his eyes and realized that Dagon was no longer down there in the water... nor any sign of him on the shore. No clothes, no footprints... the entire area looked undisturbed.

An uncertainty drifted through his mind. Certainly, Dagon could have snuck back into the inn when he wasn't looking, but why was he there in the first place? There was a bathroom, right? There were amenities... and Dagon knew that there were guests on that side of the inn, ones that kept all sorts of hours. Was it a show just for him? Had it happened at all? Was he just dreaming while he was awake? Was he even awake? Kylen swallowed a bit. Maybe the trip had taken more out of him than he expected. Maybe he had hyper lag from the trip...

What had been a moment of pure lust turned into a bit of dread tinged with fond memories as he returned to his bed and laid down, letting his heavy head hit the pillow. He closed his eyes and pictured Dagon's handsome body once more, yearning to touch it, to embrace it, to place kisses and nibbles across his flesh. He wanted to tangle his fingers in that green hair, to get lost in the sort of love he'd only seen in holos and virtual novels. Kylen exhaled again with a bit of regret that he'd never had that carefree teenage romance so many had, that he was so invested in a fantasy. As he drifted back to sleep, a lone tear rolled down his cheek, soaking into the pillow beneath his head.

****

The next morning had been a bit of a surprise for Kylen. He had expected to be half asleep, a veritable zombie after his restless night, but Arcturas had seen to that. The breakfast had been exotic and filling, rounded out with a sampling of fish, lizard sausage, greens and some sort of nectar that was soupy, sticky, but quite delicious. After eating such a bounty, Kylen had felt ready for anything. Honestly, it gave him a bit of joy to think how much his classmates would have squirmed trying to eat something prepared by hand out of real ingredients.

With a firm footing under him, the next task was a big one. Kylen knew he couldn't survive an extended stay with just a handful of clothing and a few knick-knacks. He needed essentials and he needed more than essentials. Thankfully Dagon had been assigned to go with him to the marketplace. It had been a fair walk, one which Kylen enjoyed, watching Dagon's body in motion, studying the way his hair fell in layers over his slightly pointed ears. They had talked about Kylen's home world for some time, satisfying Dagon's curiosity, but Kylen felt drawn the other way as they walked. Sadly, their approach to the marketplace put a pin in their conversation. As much as Kylen wanted to continue it, his eyes widened as they approached.

The marketplace hugged the side of a cliff, situated in three different levels with ramps up and down and a few platforms extending outward over the canyon. Green fog swirled through the gully like a river, churning and broiling, obscuring what laid beneath. There were tables set up for temporary vendors and small shacks and shops set up for the ones that made their living there. Lanterns burned blue even during the 'daytime' as the amount of light reaching the planet never increased or decreased.

Kylen fell quiet as he moved, having never experienced a marketplace before. No one gathered like that on Altayus. They ordered everything from holos, sampling them in virtual reality. Most households had their own fabricator as well, one capable of printing most clothes and objects once the patterns were purchased from the net. But here? There was no way to automate it. Every object, every item was handcrafted in full out of materials made specifically for that purpose. Kylen passed a knife salesman, the blades ranging from utilitarian to ornate. There was a candle maker showing off her creations, some pure works of waxy art in their own right. Musical instruments, pieces of art, everything was there.

The eighteen-year-old was moving along, taking a moment to appreciate everything when he paused, seeing something familiar - a wedge of yellow plastic marked with a triangle and an exclamation point, though beneath the emblem it simply stated 'cursed'. The sign was one of four, each set around a raised stone circle near the cliff face. Kylen's eyes furrowed as he looked to Dagon for some sort of clarification.

"What does it mean, cursed? Is that local slang?" Kylen asked. Dagon shifted a little.

"Cursed means cursed... The water's perfectly safe to drink, but they suggest not looking into the well water. They say that you can see the souls of the damned through that well and that meeting eyes with them is to doom yourself to go insane." Dagon said. Kylen's face paled in a bit of shock.

"It's just a trick, right? Or, like a gimmick?" he asked. Dagon shrugged.

"There are a lot of things on Yekub that I wouldn't mess with. Better safe than sorry, right?" he asked. Kylen nodded a bit, though he slipped his arm into Dagon's for morale support - as well as an excuse to be a bit closer. The two continued moving around the marketplace, looking at the different wares and services being offered. There was an actual doctor that didn't rely on automeds, there was someone forging metal by hand... and one stall that raised Kylen's curiosity. He read the sign twice, certain a mistake had been made.

"Shouldn't that sign say fortune teller, not fortune maker?" Kylen asked. Dagon chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"It's accurate, in more ways than one. What good is a mystic if they just tell you what your fortune is going to be? No, the fortune maker helps make sure it comes true, but they cost too much. That's another reason they're called the fortune maker. Many a soul have wound up so far in debt they have to become her servants. Better to avoid that one." Dagon explained. Kylen looked at the shack with a bit of dubiousness before he resumed scanning the marketplace, trying to decide where to start until he stopped.

Sitting at the corner of the platform, set up in grid after grid, was the largest array of shoes that Ky had ever seen in his life. There were shelves upon shelves of shoes, some were thick boots made of hide, others were open air like sandals or webbed to hang on to the foot while still allowing it to breathe. Kylen glanced back at Dagon's feet, seeing their supple arch, his perfect toes all peeking out from the sandal like protection.

"What do you think I should get?" Kylen asked. Dagon smiled. "When I'm not working, I just go barefoot. The question is, what do you like?" Dagon asked. Kylen sighed a bit wistfully, imagining Dagon barefoot. That, too, was what Kylen would like to see, but it wasn't an entirely appropriate answer. Kylen moved over and picked up a sandal. It was made of black leather instead of brown, a strap crossing over the top of the foot with two long straps going over the feet to connect just in front of the toes, all made out of one piece and leaving the heel open. It was sleek, looking a bit more advanced than the other pieces while still looking like it came from his new home.

"I like this one." Kylen said. Dagon nodded.

"It suits you. Now, let's go for the rest... You need a new wardrobe, right?" he asked. Kylen felt a flutter in his heart.

"You'll help me pick out what looks best, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course. I'll make sure you're taken care of." Dagon replied. Kylen smiled at that, feeling reassured.

****

Timeless, endless, changeless... Yekub had orbited its host planet for eons, perfectly matched to remain in the planet's shadow for eternity... and yet, the sun flickered just on the other side, leaving just a halo of light constantly circling the eclipse. It cast the world in an eternal blue twilight, a haze that lasted all hours of the day and night... Even when Kylen closed his eyes, he could see the eclipse like a giant eye watching him, looking into his soul, knowing his deepest and darkest secrets. It could see his hunger for Dagon, or more accurately his thirst.

It also felt unwarranted... The day had been phenomenal. Dagon had helped him pick out a pair of highwater pants and a vest with a special lining inside that made it more comfortable to wear as his only shirt. Kylen had been a bit worried about showing off so much skin at first, but Dagon had reassured him by resting a hand on his bare shoulder. It had been a touch that jolted through him like electricity. Ky imagined having that handprint left on his skin as a tattoo, a constant reminder of the contact.

And yet... the eclipse was still at the forefront of Kylen's mind. He tossed and turned, he rolled over, he felt like some sort of meteorite tumbling through the atmosphere, burning up... Kylen rolled onto his back with a huff, one hand moving down to massage over his groin, feeling his manhood pressing against real cotton... or at least the closest thing Yekub had to cotton. His other hand drifted up and down across his chest before narrowing in on his nipples. He pinched the nub of flesh and tugged on it, closing his eyes, moaning softly, then louder. He jutted his hips upright, humping against his hand, imagining for a fleeting moment that all his wishes had come true.

Somewhere out in the trees, there was a howl from an animal that sounded faintly like a terrorized scream. It was enough to snap Kylen out of the moment, leaving him even more conflicted and heated than before. He flopped back on his mattress, sweating a little, looking at the ceiling before he groaned and closed his eyes. Life wasn't fair. How could he be this horny and yet not know how to move things forward? With any luck he'd pass out from frustration before long. It was his only hope for a good night's sleep.

****

The footsteps of a guest descending down the stairs were warning enough to Arcturas to be ready. Breakfast at the inn was an eclectic mix of civilized tradition and improvised circumstances. The inn lacked a dining room. Most guests preferred to dine in their room, keeping to themselves. Kylen, however, seemed quite taken with the employees. He came down the steps, though he stopped on the next to last one. His dark hair was mussed up from his restless sleep and a shadow of stubble covered his cheeks, darkest above his upper lip and down the back of his cheeks. New hairs poked up along the collar of his vest, and when he raised an arm to scratch at his ear, a thicket of dark hair peeked out from under his arm. Arcturas examined his guest before smiling, his teeth seeming as sharp as ever.

"Mister Bryer, a pleasant rising to you. I have prepared another sampling of our local cuisine after your most splendid appetite yesterday." He said, pulling out the chair for his guest. Kylen smiled and moved over, unaccustomed to such hospitality, but he let Arcturas push the chair in as he lowered, seating him at a table set up in the living area.

"It smells wonderful already." Kylen complimented his host, looking to the silver dome covering the food, "What is it?" he asked.

"Smoked swamp trout hash, freshly baked biscuits with nettlewasp honey, Scry eggs poached with basil and pepper, and medallions of Waterbull beef in a tomato gravy." Arcturas described, "Served along with Wolfroot Tea. I believe that was your favorite from yesterday, is that correct?"

"Correct and astounding, Arcturas. You really are a miracle worker. Do all your guests eat this well?" Kylen asked, already salivating so much he had to swallow extra to keep from drooling.

"Sadly, few of our guests are as eager to explore the gifts that our home can provide... Many come for the spectacle, to write a story or to run some report. Many of the individuals coming on behalf of the corporations make their stay as short as possible. I must admit, it is a relief to have a guest so curious and eager to partake in what we have to offer." Arcturas said, "Is there anything else that you desire, sir?" The question came as a surprise to Kylen, not just because the breakfast was so complete already, but because his first thought was of Dagon. Kylen hesitated.

"Arcturas, are there any social rules here? I mean, are there any guidelines among how people fraternize? How they seek the company... of others?" Kylen asked. Arcturas' lips pursed a bit into a smile, though his dark eyes seemed to be reading Kylen.

"The only guideline that I am aware of is that public displays of affection are rare, but that is because public displays of any kind are rare here... Our passions run deep, but they run concealed. There is something to be said about keeping the flame that burns brightly private... It can burn so much more intensely that way. I remember when I was young... the feeling of that fire can be all consuming." Arcturas said wistfully before he looked back at his guest, "But no... Aside from that, there are no guidelines. If there is anything the inn can do to be of service, I remind you that we are ever at your disposal..." he added before he slipped away, moving as gracefully as a breeze.

Kylen was left thinking about what Arcturas had said before he looked back at his food and couldn't hold back. He lifted his biscuit first and bit into it. The layers were so flakey, so buttery, so rich, but the nettlewasp honey tingled across his tongue and made the hair stand up on end on his arms... and there was more hair to do that than he remembered. He took another bite and let it melt in his mouth, savoring the flavor before he moved on.

Arcturas filled out paperwork at the desk, balancing the books, though his dark eyes glanced up every so often. He studied the changes to their guest. They had happened so fast, and with such little exposure to the planet. It seemed that Kylen's body was hungry to have a homeworld, and the inn seemed more than happy to welcome him. Arcturas looked over to another object concealed just beneath the lip of the golden hued desk he worked at. Tucked in the shadow was a small first sized sphere of glass resting on a velvet base. Colors and lights swirled inside the glass, shifting shape and changing intensity. Arcturas read the sphere as clearly as he did the forms, confirming some of his questions while disproving others. He gave a slight, subconscious nod to one of the bits of information displayed in the sphere. It was, after all, only polite to acknowledge one's employer.

****

Days had ticked by, and then before Kylen had known it, almost three weeks. It had felt a little silly at first, staying at the inn with nothing to do... and yet he hadn't felt compelled to dig into the books on his pad. He hadn't even turned the device on since getting there. There seemed to be more meaning in the silence than in the collected works of humanity, and more food for thought in a second looking at Dagon than studying all the holos of centuries of entertainment.

Worried about their guest's health, Dagon had offered to take Kylen around to various spots around the swamp. They had climbed the highest trees to hear the whistling winds of Azaeth, they had trudged through the swamp to collect tendril wisps, a form of fungus that was a delicacy used in some of Arcturas' finest meals, and now Dagon had another surprise. He nearly sprinted off ahead, leaving Kylen to follow after him with a stride that seemed more confident with each passing day.

To say that Yekub was the last place in a galaxy to get a tan would have been an understatement. Kylen's skin grew paler each day which only made his black hair and thickening stubble stand out even more. He'd grown a faint mustache and his sideburns were coming in nicely, though his cheeks and chin were darkened with an artistic amount of stubble as well. He'd been a bit surprised by the changes, finding hair on his knuckles and creeping down the top of his feet as well, but he surmised it had something to do with getting good nutrition for the first time.

To add to the aesthetic, Kylen had dabbled with a bit of eye liner as well, giving his eyes a darker ring. He had no idea if Dagon appreciated it, but it went with his shoes, his vest, his hair... He'd found a way to make the local style his own. Dagon turned off the path, moving toward what seemed like a sheer drop. Kylen was about to say something, but as he followed his green haired tour guide, he saw a small path ramping down under a rock overhang. Outside there were two yellow torches burning away, unattended. Everything was so humid all of the time that there was little to no risk of it getting out of control. Dagon glanced back over his shoulder with a fang filled grin.

"We're almost there you'll love this." he said before darting into the cave. Kylen had once been a fraidy cat, but with Dagon ahead, he would have walked through fire to follow. He ducked down a little as he entered the cave. The path meandered for a few yards before it evened out and opened up. Kylen's eyes had adjusted to the passage, but they had an easier time in the main cavern - specifically because of the column of light coming down through a hole in the ceiling, allowing the eclipse to hang over head... but the light didn't just end at the cave floor, it dropped down a long shaft centered in the cave.

"What is it?" Kylen asked softly. Dagon looked up with a slight grin, brushing his green hair back out of his eyes.

"They call this place the breathing cave... It's an air geyser that erupts every few minutes. They say that if you listen closely that you can hear the voices of the dead, but the secrets they share may cause some to go mad." Dagon whispered. Kylen smirked softly.

"Didn't you say that about the whispering winds too?" Kylen asked.

"Well, the breathing cave feeds the whispering winds..." Dagon pouted.

"And the well in the marketplace? Is there anything here that doesn't cause madness?" Kylen asked. Dagon crossed his arms.

"When you are farther away from home than any human ever has been, looking into the most profound natural phenomenon, on a world harboring secrets that blur the line of life and death, it'd be a little strange if a few people didn't go mad, wouldn't it?" Dagon asked. Kylen chuckled softly and nodded.

"I can't argue with that..." He replied, moving closer to the hole. As he approached, he could feel the wind coming up through the shaft. It was cool, it was sweet, neither of which he would have expected. He closed his eyes and breathed in, listening. There was a soft sound half-way between a whistling and a whooshing that was very calming.

"What does it say to you?" Dagon asked. Kylen listened closely, though he had to confess he couldn't hear anything specific... but it was a place of secrets after all.

"The wind says... that a distant heart has learned how to beat, pumping blood of another world... It knew not how before, it knew not what it had been missing, but that one missing piece has shown it the way, the reason, the purpose to beat... to allow the distant soul to love, to know joy, and to hope for more..." Kylen whispered before turning back to face Dagon and looked into his teal eyes.

"That is a profound secret..." Dagon whispered back, "It may even be a prophecy." he whispered.

"What if it was a prophecy for right now? Right this second?" Kylen said, moving closer to Dagon, "I know Arcturas said that displays of affection should be private, but we're here all alone, in a cave... Dagon, I've... I've longed for you since the first time I saw you. You awaken something in me, a hunger. I've never felt like this, I need you." Kylen whispered. Dagon looked a bit surprised, his cheeks turning a little greener with a blush.

"Me? Really?" Dagon asked. Kylen's jaw dropped a little.

"Yes, you... I wondered if you felt the same way after you bathed in the creek outside my room that one night." Kylen said. Dagon looked up in surprise at that.

"I... I did?" he asked, looking more nervous, "The inn offers its hospitality..." he whispered to himself. Kylen's brow furrowed a little.

"What?" Kylen asked in confusion, "I, I mean, if you don't feel the same way, I-"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean..." Dagon stumbled. He moved over and reached out, putting his hands on both of Kylen's bare shoulders, "I mean... No one's ever liked me like that before. I'm honored, and I'm intrigued, but before your heart learns how to beat only one way, I have to... I have to show you the truth."

"Show me the truth?" Kylen asked. He would have expected to be told the truth rather than shown it. Dagon let go and stepped back.

"I have to show it to you, so you can make your decision." he said, reaching to tug off his ochre shirt and set it aside, "I'm sure you've heard stories about colonists settling the foundling worlds. Every time they set foot on a world not prepared to defend itself against them and they decimated the native flora and fauna, or they set foot on a world that was too good at defending itself and the colonists were wiped out... But Yekub was different."

As Dagon spoke, he also undressed. Kylen was afraid to speak, to break the moment. His eyes drank in Dagon's smooth, supple torso, realizing that he had faint scars that ran down his arms, a few spiraling down his back as well, but it was such a handsome back. Kylen's hand drifted to his groin, drifting across his forming erection. Dagon looked at his guest, realizing that he wasn't running away yet.

"When the first humans set foot on this moon, some say they woke something ancient, something that had forgotten what it was like to host life on this forgotten world. It became curious about these fully formed beings foraging and farming, reaching out across the swamplands. It tried to share its secrets, but so many of these beings were little, fragile things... So, it found new ways to speak, in lights and colors, in sounds, in the subtle embrace. The colonists did not wipe out life here, nor were they wiped out. They entered into a covenant so that both might survive... and grow." Dagon explained before dropping his pants, facing away from Kylen.

Once more Kylen saw that beautiful bubble ass, those round cheeks, that luscious set of hips, but then to his heart's desire, Dagon turned... and revealed that he was the proud owner of not just one manhood, but three. They were close to flesh color at the base, graduating to a deep, bright new growth green at their plump tips. His balls were very large, but more of those faint scars traced his legs as well.

"Dagon..." Kylen whispered, so taken aback by the beauty and the exotic mystery of his crush, his slacks tented straight out. Dagon, however, shook his head.

"That isn't all of it." He whispered, lowering his head. As he stood there, a slight shifting came from his arms. What Kylen had interpreted as faint scars began to separate, glistening dew of natural lubricant lining the flesh as it split. Long, prehensile strips of flesh liberated themselves from his arms, then his back, and then finally his legs. Those perfect feet that Kylen had worshipped split out and parted, his legs branching out and segmenting into a cluster of tentacles. The human tone drained from his lower half until he rose up from a root of eight tentacles, an otherworldly merman with an alien lower half and an almost human upper half.

Dagon turned his head to Kylen, vulnerable and scared. He'd never shown himself to anyone else, off-worlder or otherwise. Kylen stood there, seeing his crush - no, the love of his life - in a true light for the first time. He was taller with the tentacles, he was greener, and he was beautifully naked... His body was still sexy, and the tentacles looked strong with their little suckers undulating. Kylen came back to his crush's face, that tender, vulnerable face.

Kylen moved closer, reaching up. He raised Dagon's chin with his hand. The two looked eye to eye before he leaned in and kissed Dagon. Dagon wrapped an arm around Kylen, joined by its attached tentacle. Another coiled around Kylen's ankle. The two let their lips press and brush, prying before they parted, a quick embrace of their tongues brushing one another before Dagon pulled back, panting.

"There's one more thing..." He whispered. Kylen groaned.

"Nothing you say is going to chase me away from you. You're fucking hot, and more than that, you're an amazing person." Kylen said, reaching to unbutton his vest. Dagon rested a hand on his.

"It isn't about me, it's about you. That wasn't just a story I told you. When you came here, the ancient being took an interest in you... You've been changing. If we go through with this, you'll change even more." Dagon whispered. Kylen hesitated a little more at that.

"What do you mean, I've been changing?" Kylen asked. Dagon moved his hand, unbuttoning the top button of Kylen's vest, sliding his hand inside to let it sink into the forest of black hair there between his pecs.

"The animal inside you has been waking up. Your hungers, your lusts... You're becoming a predator." Dagon whispered. Kylen looked stunned.

"I'm not a predator, I just came here because I was sick..." he protested. Dagon smiled softly.

"You came here because in your world, you couldn't be who you were meant to be. But here, the ancient one can see your soul, who you were meant to be, who you were meant to be with. I'm very fortunate it was me." he whispered. Kylen blinked a few times, trying to process all of the new information.

"You're saying that if we go through with this, if I fuck you, that I'll become something else? I'll become part of this world? A predator?" Kylen asked. Dagon nodded at that, still unable to take his eyes off of Kylen's. The human grinned a bit, "Well, humanity is overrated." he whispered before he grabbed the sides of Dagon's head and pulled him into another kiss.

It took no time for the two to pick up where they left off. Their mouths met, their tongues embraced, but as Kylen's batted and wrestled with Dagon's, he could feel his crush's tongue thickening, growing rounder, plumper, longer and fuller... it began to piston back and forth, filling Kylen's mouth. Dagon's eyes fluttered shut, though Kylen's remained opened for a moment as he realized what was happening. He pulled back, his lips sliding off of Dagon's tongue with a pop, confirming Kylen's suspicions.

Extending from Dagon's lips was no tongue, at least not anymore... it was another cock, round and plump at the tip, thick along the base, broadening out deep in his mouth. Dagon looked up with a bit of an embarrassed expression, but Kylen merely grinned and lunged back into the kiss, his lips plunging around that cock tongue, his cheeks starting to suck and slurp and draw on it. That embrace was all that Dagon needed to go wild.

Kylen shivered with delight as he felt tentacles slipping into his vest, popping the buttons loose and slithering the garment off. More worked at his pants, popping the button loose before tugging the slacks down. More tiny tendrils looped under the waistband of his undergarment before those were split apart, ripped from his body, allowing his very full, very furious cock to spring forth uninhibited.

"Will I be like you?" Kylen whispered while panting for breath. Dagon shook his head, unable to speak with his tongue in its new form. Whatever Kylen was becoming, it was uniquely him. Kylen accepted that and went back, giving Dagon the best blow job kiss he'd ever had. The two pressed tightly and Dagon's tentacles wrapped around Kylen's body, feeling the heat growing from inside him as his muscles firmed and more hairs began poking out across the skin.

Without even a distant second, Ky could say that Dagon's embrace was the best thing in his life. It was more than a hug, more than a clasp. He had arms and tentacles all around him. It was a firm hold, yet slick and silky at the same time. Their kissing was lewd, even slight pressure coming from the suckers on Dagon's lower tentacles. They left little rings of hickies on his legs and arms. Kylen was doing his best to return the favor, sucking on Dagon's cock tongue, bobbing his head back and forth.

Dagon let out muffled moans, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His hair cascaded across his bare shoulders, his whole body writhing and undulating. It had been so long since he had been himself, but now he was free to be himself and free to help Kylen do the same. Dagon summoned every ounce of his focus, directing it back at his partner. His tentacles moved with new purpose. They coiled up around Kylen's legs before they snared his balls and wrapped around his cock.

Kylen gasped in surprise, feeling so many little suckers coming down on his meat. Dagon was careful and started to massage and milk Ky's cock, working base to tip and back again, massaging his balls. More tendrils crept up Kylen's furry chest, finding his nipples, latching on. Kylen gasped out loud as his nipples were sucked and pulled and stretched, worked to the edge where pain and pleasure came together, feeling them teased and tortured and massaged all at the same time.

The racing pulse thumping in Kylen's chest accelerated at the extra attention, even going so far as to skip a beat as he felt something prehensile slipping between his ass cheeks, nuzzling their way in until they found their destination. With a quick wriggle, the tentacle spread its dewy slime across Kylen's pucker, lubing it up before the nub began to push inside. Kylen moaned out more, gasping as he was penetrated by more than just any piece of flesh. The tentacle wriggled deeper, searching for every pressure point to make Kylen go wild - literally.

Dagon breathed as deep as he could, trying to sear Kylen's scent into his brain. It was hard with the air geyser blowing next to them, but he could still do it. Kylen had taken on his own musk; a blend of sweat and hormones, a bit of natural peatiness. He'd left the sterile worlds behind and was becoming one with Yekub. He was so close; he just needed a little more encouragement.

With reluctance, Dagon pulled back, breaking the kiss. Both young men panted for breath, gazing at each other. Dagon reached up, his hand caressing Kylen's fuzzy cheek. His sideburns had gotten unruly, his mustache had gotten thicker, his stubble was superb, but he needed more. He was still clinging on to his humanity, even if it was subconscious. Dagon licked his lips before he looked down, Ky following his gaze. It had taken a great deal of concentration, but he'd been milking and massaging Kylen's cock, but more than that he'd been molding it like a sculptor working on clay. He'd tried to channel what he felt for Kylen, focusing on the contours, the curves, the bulges, the tip... and slowly he unwrapped his tentacle, revealing what was within.

Kylen had spent his entire life looking at his own body, as most people did. It had grown with him, changed with him. Everything had happened so gradually that it all seemed perfectly normal all of the time - at least until today. Ky watched Dagon's tentacle retract, not from the penis he'd known his whole life, but from a new monster. It was huge, at least eleven inches long... It was red, rubbery, bulging at the base, ribbed and ridged along the length, all coming to a pointed, animalistic tip. It looked like some kind of weapon forged in the marketplace, except it was his, it was his cock... and it was huge...

"Dagon..." Ky whispered, looking up, panting hard. Dagon grinned but said nothing, his tongue still erect. He lowered down - not quite to his knees given that he lacked them, but enough that he came to eye level with Kylen's new member. He leaned in and ran his cock tongue down the length of Ky's new cock, drooling tongue-pre onto it before he plunged his lips around it. Kylen gasped as he watched his crush take his monster meat into his mouth, bobbing his head back and forth, taking in more and more.

Without being able to stop himself, Kylen grabbed onto Dagon's head, pulling him onto the cock harder, guiding him back and forth, tangling his fingers in his hair. It felt so right, so perfect. This was what he was meant to do... to fuck, to mate, to make love. He threw his head back and exhaled more than just breath. He let out his pent-up stress, concern, reservations. He lived in the moment, accepted that this was what he was, and felt a blossoming energy spreading out through him.

The heat started in his heart, pumping outward, circulating through his body. It flowed through his veins and capillaries. The heat reached his cock, making it throb and ache and tingle as it grew a bit longer and a bit thicker. It settled in his balls, having already swollen but growing even more. It surged beneath his skin as patches of black fur pushed out of his elbows, his knees, blossoming across his shoulders. The hair under his arms grew into thick tufts, and the hair across his chest grew so thick that the skin disappeared beneath the pelt.

A strange sound echoed from beneath Kylen's skin as his bones and cartilage started to pop and snap. His arms groaned as they stretched longer. His legs ached as they extended. Ky gnashed his teeth, feeling them swell and grow in his mouth, leaving humanity behind as they stretched into sharp, wicked fangs. His hand gripped Dagon's skull tighter, the fingernails darkening from ivory to brown to black before stretching out into sharp, dangerous claws.

Dagon trembled, feeling his lover changing so fast. He knew his life was in danger, but he didn't draw back. He sucked and slurped before he buried his face into Ky's lap. Kylen's canine cock slipped into Dagon's throat, his esophagus apparently just as skilled at massaging the dog dick as his mouth had been. Kylen threw his head back and howled, his eyes clenched shut for a moment before they finally snapped open, glowing with an unearthly golden light.

Kylen's fit, firm cheeks had been pushed wide by the tentacle still plowing his ass, but just above the flailing appendage was another. A nub of skin and bone, of ligament and muscle. It pushed outward in defiance of Kylen's smooth skin, and soon the rest of his body decided to join suit. His smooth back began to form bumps as his spine changed, vertebrae by vertebrae, creeping upwards. As they shifted, his ribs pushed wider, his shoulders broadened, his arms thickened. The bumpy, spiky vertebrae reached to Kylen's skull, the changes reaching his head. He thrashed, groaning as his brow bone began to thicken, his ears grew pointed, the pressure built and built until it could take no more.

The heat had spread piece by piece, but as it built up in his skull, the flashpoint had been reached. Fur erupted from across his body, filling in the gaps it had missed before. His stubble surged outward into full blown hair, hair that crossed his nose, surrounded his eyes and masked his forehead. His tail unspooled from his waist, stretching outward inches in seconds as fur burst from it as well. Even his feet cracked and popped as the toes fanned out wider, his heels and ankles shifting, giving him a more menacing stance.

Eerie pops and snaps came as Ky's face pushed out into a long muzzle lined with razor sharp teeth, a big wet nose sniffing and panting, a long, huge tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted and panted. His pointed, furry ears were flat against his canine head, a huge paw holding Dagon to his massive cock. His heavy, furry balls throbbed, his tail swung, and his swollen pucker had grown quite accustomed to the tentacle plunging back and forth inside of it. Kylen was no more - at least the sickly, pale, curious boy that had been before. The planet had claimed him, and he proudly claimed the planet.

Once more Kylen tipped his head back, lifting his muzzle upwards before letting out a distinct howl. The sound was almost deafening in the cave, but it wasn't limited to just that. The howl carried on the geyser, rising out of the cave and into the whispering winds in the high atmosphere. Kylen kept howling, being washed over by the pale, cool bluish white light of the sun creeping around the planet they orbited, the eclipse always in limbo, like a giant eye watching everyone on the strange, cursed moon... and it had one more soul to call its own.

As Kylen howled, his body did the only thing that seemed natural... His mind, body and soul filled with the glow of the most intense orgasm of his life. His huge shaft began to erupt, spewing a few drops of human cum before something stickier, silkier, thicker and more tainted gushed out of the tip. Dagon gulped and swallowed at it before he went deep again, his lips buried in Kylen's lap as he let his boyfriend fill his stomach directly, pumping it into him. In his mouth he felt the salty brine of his cock tongue cumming, and soon the ground was slick with a milky bath coming from all of his tentacles.

Kylen shivered, feeling something silky and hot filling his ass, blushing beneath his fur covered cheeks. He had done it. He'd made his crush cum... and it was more glorious than he'd ever imagined. Ky's howl ended and he lowered down, nuzzling into Dagon's green hair to kiss his scalp affectionately. Dagon was in his own world, nursing on the werewolf's cock, filling his belly full of lycan cum. It was the richest meal he'd had in years and he didn't intend to waste a drop. Ky closed his yellow eyes, standing there, finally feeling like he wasn't an alien in his own skin.

****

The steady, even flowing waterfall spilled out into the swamp basin, kicking up a sea of metal flake forest green fog that swirled and shifted in tides of its own. Kylen leaned against the wooden guard rail at the end of the dock, looking across the basin to the cliffs and mountains on the other side. He had changed, once more, since returning from the breathing caves. He'd stopped at the inn and Arcturas acted as if nothing had changed... and then he'd gone for a walk. Kylen stood there, very well aware that he looked different.

He'd retained his thick mustache and sideburns, though his stubble had grown out into a short beard still dwarfed by the other attributes. His black hair was long down the middle and short on the sides, swept back into a crest and wave. His vest seemed almost too small, his arms bulging with muscles and the garment rode up enough to reveal the trail of hair running across his navel, plunging down into the pronounced bulge in his high-waters that seemed almost short enough to be considered shorts.

Kylen blinked, his amber eyes curious and thoughtful. It was hard to define it, exactly, but the word that came to him most was contentment. He'd spent his whole life struggling with his condition. His parents had always been fussing. He'd felt like more of an inconvenience than a child. Now he was out here, exactly as they had wanted; symptom free, happy. With as much money as they earned, he'd never have to work... but somehow, he felt indebted to Arcturas, to Dagon, and to the inn.

The Kadath Inn had taken him in, offered its hospitality, and turned his life around. It seemed only polite to return the favor. He'd ask Arcturas if he could help out, perhaps become a part time employee of the inn. He smiled a bit at the thought of it, though his slightly pointed ear twitched as he heard someone approaching. He turned around, leaning back against the rail, seeing Dagon approaching. He had reverted after their love making, back to his supple pale body, his long green hair... handsome and exotic. Kylen opened his arms.

"Come here, lover." Kylen purred. Dagon smiled and sped up, pressing groin to groin against his lover. Ky purred and humped him a little before wrapping a strong, hairy arm around his waist, leaning in for a kiss. Dagon murmured, feeling those powerful lips and the tickle of his boyfriend's mustache.

"You're looking as handsome as ever." Dagon whispered.

"As are you. Utterly irresistible. Some would say to look into those eyes might drive one mad for all the things they imagine doing to you." Kylen whispered. Dagon grinned.

"How about you?" He asked. Kylen grinned, betraying his sharpened canine teeth.

"Utterly and completely, madly in love." Ky whispered. Dagon smiled, moving to nuzzle and kiss Kylen's neck. Ky growled happily, humping his boyfriend a few more times. He pet Dagon's hair and held him close, daring to raise his head and look up at the eternal eclipse. It wasn't safe to look at it for very long, but somehow the enormous black circle in the sky ringed by fire seemed a bit more friendly than it had before, feeling more like an old friend... an old friend with eons of mysteries, but a friend all the same. All it took was to give a piece of yourself to the ancient one and the rewards would reveal themselves. Kylen closed his eyes and held his boyfriend, already picturing what their next date would be.