FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(Note: the story is essentially clean, but marked adult for scenes of arousal and discussion of sexuality)

The strangest thing, sitting there, was probably the sense of scale. Up until literally the day before, I had been accustomed to the picture-perfect normality of my not-quite-nuclear family eating together, five chairs pulled together around a round wooden table in the dining room, my four parents and I eating and talking while a small flat-panel television sitting on a nearby counter played barely audible news in the background. It was cozy and convivial, and always started with one of my parents asking me how my day had gone, and me giving a variably detailed answer.

Now, however, I felt like some sort of bizarre parody of a king, sitting at the head of a long, narrow table decked out in fine cloth and impeccable china, looking down its expanse and the dual rows of Tiaileng stretching down, no less than twenty-five each along either side. The walls were adorned with elaborate tapestries to one side, and stained glass on the other, bizarre frescoes apparently of pivotal points in the erstwhile tech guru's life, shining vibrantly with the light of the setting sun. Add in the vaulted ceiling, with several ponderous chandeliers hanging down from the crisscrossing wooden beams, and it felt more like I was eating dinner in a cathedral than a dining room. Even more so than before, I really felt like I was in a movie, that somehow it was all an elaborate set, and I'd walk through a door and back into my normal house and my normal life... but at the same time, I was more than well aware that it was strangely, surreally real. Awed as I was, though, the setting nevertheless seemed to be practically appropriate for the situation at hand; for just me, the room would have been ludicrously vast and hauntingly empty, but add in fifty Tiaileng and everything suddenly seemed proportioned just about right.

Of course, it was said fifty Tiaileng that were currently occupying most of my mind. They were hard to ignore, especially as once again all their eyes seemed to be on me, watching patiently as I munched on the surprisingly passable reheated pizza. I knew that part of it was the fact that they didn't eat, per se, and so had little else to do, it seemed, but take occasional sips of ice water and watch the spectacle of my mastication. There were a few murmured conversations up and down the table between them, but none of the ones nearest me tried to engage me in conversation as I ate - apparently, they seemed to have come to the conclusion that my fainting was due to lack of sustenance rather than a combination of exhaustion and anxiety, and wanted to ensure that my eating was not interrupted. Pizza, though, was always a food I could wolf down with alacrity, and I chomped my way rapidly through several slices.

Once I had finished, and wiped my mouth with a ludicrously embroidered napkin emblazoned with the tech guru's scripted initials, the Tiaileng decided, somehow, that it was time for conversation. Unlike before, though, with all of them trying to talk over each other, only the two nearest ones, Daledonne and Envelie, turned to me.

"So, we got to talking a little while you were... indisposed," Daledonne began, in what I realized was his usual businesslike tone, much more staid and professorial than most of the Tiaileng I'd been at all familiar with before, although not all that different from Coaverel, the Tiaileng who had arranged my assignment, and who Daledonne had subtly implied was somehow his... supervisor? "The idea, of course, is that you emit enough emotional energy to satisfy the needs of all of us here, which is why the assignment worked out the way it did. The thing is, though, there are several things we don't really know yet about what that entails. Most pertinently, we don't know what the effective radius is - er, how far out the energy radiates from you before dissipating to the point where we can't make use of it anymore. For the average person, it's perhaps a dozen meters at most, but because your capabilities may be different, we don't know if that's extended as well, or if it's less by way of compensation. With a handful of people, that's not a problem, and everyone can stay reasonably close at any given time. Here, though, with this many of us, well... not all of us agree with my assessment, but having that many people crowding around you was... less than helpful, perhaps?"

I nodded. "Look, I... this is beyond anything I've ever had to do before. I haven't always really been around people much at all, so this is sort of a big change..." A really, really big change, and perhaps an impossible one, I chose not to say.

Both lines of Tiaileng nodded slightly as Daledonne continued. "Right. The issue is, then, that to get what we need, we all need to be around you, reasonably close, and the closer the better - the most efficient way, of course, is to be in direct contact, but I have a feeling that may be even more limited, at least initially. When you come right down to it, though, it's simply a question of physical space - even all squeezed together, the most ideal space around you may be hard-pressed to contain all of us." Not to mention the fact that there was no way in heck I could handle spending every day in the middle of a giant fuzzy Tiaileng pile.

"Luckily," Envelie continued from my other side, "we put our heads together and figured out a solution, at least for now. For one thing, this building is massive, and while a few things were done hurriedly to prepare it for us, there's going to be a lot to do, and a lot of different tasks and upkeep. We're gonna try to keep it up, then, acting kind of like the staff that the place would have ordinarily had, rotating through the different assignments. One of those assignments, for perhaps a half-dozen of us as a time, will be your personal companions, which will rotate through to different people from day to day, along with certain times of day in which we'll all be together. That way, we should all get enough time with you up close and personal, and if your radius ends up being decent enough, I think it will work. Plus, it means that instead of trying to get to know all of us at once, you'll have a little more time to get acquainted with each of us individually. Er, assuming you're okay with that, of course..."

I nodded in assent. After all, what they were proposing was considerably better than the chaotic mass of exclamations and tangle of limbs that I'd encountered before.

"Great!" Daledonne said, sliding his chair back and getting up. "We've already got the rotation just about figured out, but we decided it might be best tonight for the initial group to be made up at least partly of familiar faces. It's gonna be me, Envelie, Sammacey, Katonnan, and a couple of others, Laraley and Mecionne." He gestured down the line and a pair of Tiaileng stood up, both women. "Ah... we haven't talked about sexual preference yet, but based upon our analysis of your file and pornographic viewing history, we figured you might be a little more comfortable with the balance tilted more, but not entirely, towards women. That's why the assignment ended up being 30% male and 70% female, which they figured would suit your generally observed preferences."

I only partially heard the last part, as the thing in the middle had rather suddenly caught my attention, even as it brought a blush to my face. "Wait - how do you know what porn I look at?" I realized my slip-up quickly, but probably too late to correct. "Or, um, that I even look at porn?"

Daledonne looked back at me, unfazed. "Our technology now forms the underpinning of the conglomeration that was considered to be your internet. Tracking activities across it is not difficult. In truth, it's not particularly worse or better than what your own governments were already doing. In fact, technically it's better, as we are bound to never use such information against any of you, only in your service, as with this. Even had we not, though, the conclusion is obvious. You are male, of appropriate age, and without a female relationship; therefore, the only logical conclusion is that you make use of pornography. I know some humans still carry notions of shame or impropriety surrounding it, but unless such things depict abuse or crime, we consider pornography to be a useful educational and therapeutic tool, although I would anticipate, in your current situation, probably much less of a necessary one. It was, of course, useful to note that a significant minority of your pornographic consumption involved Tiaileng, which should make things much easier."

Daledonne's tone was matter-of-fact, talking about sex and pornography as casually as if he were discussing the weather, but by the end of his speech I was sure my face was nearly beet red.

"Can, we, um, not talk about this right now?"

"Oh..." Daledonne replied. "Yes, I apologize. I should have sensed that you were becoming somewhat perturbed by my explanation. I do, admittedly, have a habit of getting carried away sometimes. I was just trying to explain that the gender mix assigned to you was an attempt to take into account your observed preferences." He paused, seeming to think of something. "I really will have to look into certain of the activities that were portrayed, though. It is fascinating what two truly creative men can get up to, even those without the generally requisite orifice..."

At that point, I would have been just about ready to melt through the floor, and if I'd been in the company of a bunch of humans, especially ones who had just found a way to dig through my pornographic search history, I'd have been teased mercilessly over it. In contrast, their response was somewhat surreal - all of them looking on, not laughing at my expense or looking down at me for what I'd done, but just looking at me with a casual interest, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Then again, it was hardly a secret that Tiaileng were more than open about their sexuality, and I knew from somewhat harrowing experience just how casually they could treat it, no matter who else in the room might be watching.

"Anyway," Daledonne continued, switching topics as though nothing particularly significant had just been discussed, "there are several more hours before we'll need to think about sleeping, and I think we can safely say that there is no need for you to do whatever homework was assigned to you tonight - we will, however, have to discuss how your educational plan will work in light of your new situation tomorrow. Actually, most of us have some additional tasks to do tonight - the moving truck with your things should be arriving, as should our own possessions and other required and requested materials, so they'll be busy getting that all sorted out." Almost as if on cue, the other Tiaileng began to get up as well, gradually filing out of the banquet room. "As for your own, um, entourage... is there anything you'd like to do with us?"

Taken aback, and still reeling from the whole porn thing, I tried to come up with an appropriate response - but before I could, Mecionne was jumping up and down, apparently with excitement.

"Oh! OH! I totally forgot! I was exploring one of the hallways earlier, and get this: this gigantic house even has an entire movie theater inside it, with chairs and a big old screen and surround-sound speakers and everything!"

"Really?" Daledonne replied. "That's odd - I didn't recall seeing any mention of that when we got the building specs on the assignment document. Then again, I suppose they did focus on more... technical aspects of this place over its seemingly excessive multitude of amenities. Certainly, if it were Tiaileng-built, it would have considerably different focuses, but I suppose it's a reasonable inclusion. I can definitely see it lending itself to certain useful possibilities." He turned back to me. "What do you say? Interested in seeing if we can get it working?"

What I really wanted to do, in all fairness, was to find a small room I could sit quietly in with the Tiaileng on the other side of the door, but I got the sense that the current group of Tiaileng were intent on a more inclusive activity. Then again, now that the others had gone off on their various tasks, the group in front of me didn't seem nearly as daunting - while just three had seemed enough of a challenge before, in comparison to trying to be around fifty of them, a tenth of that suddenly seemed much more manageable in comparison. In that light, I realized that seeing a movie might actually be a good idea - it didn't require a whole lot of interaction, and if we were all focused on a film, there was less of an opportunity for more awkward or uncomfortable conversations. I still wasn't nearly over the fact that every Tiaileng in the place knew exactly what kind of porn I liked, and I really wasn't in the mood for any other culture-clashing revelations. "Yeah, sure... sounds fun..."

"All right, then. Meccy, you know the way?" She nodded, even as I looked over, a little surprised by what he had called her.

"Er... Meccy?" I said questioningly. "I... I've never heard Tiaileng refer to each other so..."

"Casually?" she replied, grinning. "Yeah, well, Tiaileng names are pretty elaborate, usually, so even the ones we say in your language are cut down from what they were. Thing is, though, with so many of us here, we thought, 'there's no way he's gonna remember everyone's long-ass name!' Especially since they're kinda unusual. So we decided that we'd all try to come up with some nicknames." She extended her arm, pointing at each of the other Tiaileng in turn. "So for instance, Daledonne is just Don, and that's Sam, Kat, Ellie, and Lara. Makes sense, right? Mine didn't come together as cleanly, but Meccy's all right, I guess..."

"Um... is there something else you'd like to be called, then?"

Mecionne just smiled in response, then called out a rapid-fire set of a dozen syllables, lilting on the absolute upper edge of my hearing. "I appreciate the gesture, but I just don't think you'd be able to pull it off. Besides, we had to compromise on those human names anyway, so what's a little more?"

She stood up, brushing down the fur on her upper arm. Even now, it was ever so slightly disconcerting to see someone so otherwise obviously female missing one of the primary identifying characteristics of the gender, in humans at least - while even the relatively flat-chested women in my grade had gone to an impressive length to do everything they could to enhance the presence of their breasts, it was something that never occurred for the Tiaileng to be interested in. Of course, it made sense: considering every Tiaileng was born with a coat of their unique fur, all they needed to do was bask in sunlight to get the sustenance they needed; or, if allowed to curl up comfortably in the arms of their human "mother," probably not even that. Still, it was something I'd never quite gotten used to, given the way that mark of femininity was so ingrained in every aspect of culture, perhaps even more so as a differentiating feature now that they Tiaileng were here - after all, men could get sex and companionship from their assigned Tiaileng companions, but if they wanted tits (or, for that matter, actual offspring), an Earth girl would have to be there too.

That wasn't to say, though, that in every other way Mecionne didn't fit the bill - after all, men didn't have that sort of gentle, graceful curve to their hips and thighs. Or, for that matter, willing to wear the sort of hip-hugging shorts that only extended a couple of inches down her thigh to highlight such features - even though Tiaileng, due to their fur and the need for it to be somewhat exposed for photosynthesis, weren't known for wearing overwhelming amounts of clothing, I couldn't recall seeing many Tiaileng guys making a habit of wearing anything quite that short. They were certainly snug enough that there was absolutely no question that she was a girl.

And that, I suddenly realized, was a problem, as I felt a wave of anxiety suddenly flash across my chest. The one benefit of having a ton of Tiaileng around in the same place was that with so much commotion, it was hard to spend much time concentrating on one particular person or other. That way, I could just try to deal with the situation of trying to relate to Tiaileng in aggregate, in general, which seemed somehow more abstract and paradoxically easier to consider. Now that the assignment was a done deal, though, and things were calmer, I was suddenly realizing that I wasn't dealing with some abstract group, but looking at one particular female, and to my eyes a pretty one at that - admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot of variation to Tiaileng forms, but hers was very well balanced and unquestionably alluring.

That alone was enough to put me less at ease - it wasn't exactly a secret that I wasn't particularly adept at talking to females, in part because there was always that notion of sexuality lurking beneath the surface, making me feel certain things, awakening certain parts of my body, making it hard to maintain eye contact when my eyes seemed to want to look lower and lower of their own accord. As I thought of it, my face surely blushing again, this time it was somehow even worse, because of the particular situation - as I knew, but had been purposely trying not to think about, I wasn't just talking to a woman that I had some slight, remote possibility of having sex with somewhere down the road, but a very high probability of it, maybe even soon. Maybe even tonight, I thought, before I could find a way to shift my mind onto a different subject, and all of a sudden my cheeks were on fire as I felt, for the moment, completely tongue-tied.

"Hey, are you all right?" she said, leaning over towards me, and I glanced up but couldn't at that moment meet her eyes, not when my intellect and instincts were suddenly having such different opinions. "You're feeling kinda... bursty, all of a sudden."

The term was odd enough that it somehow managed to snap me out of my confusion, my natural sense of curiosity taking over. "Bursty?"

"You know... emotions, the energy that you guys put out, it's usually kinda like... an ocean, I guess? Ebbing and flowing, that type of thing, usually sorta gradual and stuff. But just now, I, we all, I think, felt a sort of burst come out all of a sudden. It usually means something's going on, something getting to you, you know? If there's something like that, you know you can tell us, right? We're here to help you, not to judge you or anything like that..."

I wondered, for a moment, just how much she actually meant that. In general, I'd found, girls had a tendency of asking for honesty and then not particularly appreciating it when it was offered. Admittedly, my isolation meant that I perhaps hadn't developed the keen sense of tact that others my age had, but I still wasn't sure what to do. Then again, there was something intriguingly straightforward about Meccione's - Meccy's - manner. In a way, she almost reminded me a little bit of Emma, in her willingness to say what she meant directly. Not to mention, while she hadn't said it specifically, she did have a point - like it or not, we were all going to be together, probably indefinitely, and the more I tried to hide how I felt and what I thought, the more awkward everything was going to get. So, as much as my mind, based on previous interactions, was screaming that what I was considering was social suicide, I decided that just saying how I felt was worth a try. After all, if I crashed and burned, the worst that could happen was that some of the Tiaileng shunned or ignored me - and given my need for solitude, even that unlikely outcome wouldn't be all that bad of a thing.

"Well... are you sure you want me to be honest with you? I have no idea how you'll react, and you might not like it..."

Oddly, this produced a grin from her, and the others started to lean in, as well.

"Ooh, this should be interesting," Kat said, looking between the two of us in anticipation. Meccy, for her part, just kept grinning as she nodded.

"All right, well..." I paused, gulping nervously, hoping I wasn't about to make a huge mistake. "In all the commotion from before, I guess I didn't ah, notice how, um... er, that is to say, I'm, um, I find you attractive? And being a guy, well, when you see someone attractive, some things, some feelings, just happen, you know, kind of automatically. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but... I'm not really good at saying things in a roundabout way, and since you asked me how I'm feeling, well... that's how I'm feeling."

I leaned back slightly, waiting for the hammer to fall. I knew for sure that if I'd said such a thing to a human woman, I'd probably have been slapped, or yelled at for harassment, or laughed out of the room. Instead she just grinned, a real, proper grin, displaying the sharp, conical crystalline rows at the end of her muzzle. That was another thing I'd never really figured out about them - for a species that thrived entirely on sunlight and liquid, it seemed odd that their mouths contained so very many things that seemed to pass for carnivorous teeth.

"Hmm..." she replied. "Well, if you'll pardon my own so-called rudeness, I'd say that's kinda stating the obvious, isn't it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it," she said, leaning in closer. "What do you think all that rigamarole in the assignment process is for? It's not just measuring whether we both like long walks on the beach or something. If we weren't attractive to you, we wouldn't be here."

I paused before replying, slightly taken aback by the elegant logic of it. Of course, the Tiaileng would have thought of that beforehand. It still didn't quite answer my question, though.

"Er, well, okay, but... you're not offended or anything? I mean, I just kinda blurted it out, without really thinking about how you might feel about it..."

"Wow, you're really not clear on how this works, are you?" Kat interjected.

"Now, now, we're all at least a little bit new to this," Don replied. "Not all aspects of assignment are immediately visible to everyone."

Meccy just kept grinning, leaning in even closer - uncomfortably close, in fact, close enough that I could feel her cool breath on my face as she spoke.

"Well, you know, there's not much to say about it. The assignment stuff - it's not just a one-way street, not just about whether we're suitable for you. We wouldn't be here, not any of us, if we weren't attractive to you - but we wouldn't be here either if you weren't attractive to us."

She flicked out a tongue, long, green, and wide, and slid it along the edge of her crystalline teeth, leaving them glinting with a thin sheen of moisture. "So, now that we've got that out of the way and everyone knows how everyone else feels... well, there's no reason we have to watch a movie. We could all just find a nice, comfy bed, and spend some time really getting to know each other..."

"W-what?" That sense of panic, all of a sudden, was kicking in again, as things seemed to be unexpectedly progressing beyond my control far faster than I could handle them. I'd spent so much time preparing for the assumed response, the expected response based on everything I knew about girls up to that point, that I hadn't paid attention to the outcome that previous experience had told me should have been impossible. I really should have known it, too; based on everything I knew, everything I'd seen, Tiaileng were all too happy to lean towards sex if it was even close to being on the table, and considerably more so if they happened to be assigned to you. And all of a sudden, things were serious, and I knew I was in trouble - I hadn't so much as even kissed a girl on the lips, and Meccy was all of a sudden just a few scant inches away from doing that, and possibly much more.

"Oh, you must know what I mean, right?" Meccy breathed, inching even closer, her muzzle in so close my eyes couldn't focus on it clearly. "But just in case you don't, what I'm saying is, I think we should go off and have sex now..."

I actually flinched back in my chair, the actual word causing the panic to fully settle in, and I was afraid that at any moment the Tiaileng around me were going to start sensing it again. Well, either that, or one of them was going to notice how tight my pants were in one very particular way - while I was panicking at being way too far out of my comfort zone, there was a part of me that was responding to the advance in a predictably male manner. All of a sudden, though, considering what I knew about it, those images started to flood back - from memories I thought I'd put behind me, human and Tiaileng parents pouncing and writhing, the way that Ithonwiy's touches had seemed to overwhelm my mother's reason, the way she'd fallen into his arms, the way she'd called out in tones no son should ever have to hear...

All of a sudden, there was a blue-green flash of movement from beside me, and a moment later, Meccy's face was pulled abruptly backward. She started, looking back to see Don's arms wrapped around her, hugging her from behind as he pulled her back. She cocked her head as she glared at him, looking more than just a little miffed, but he didn't seem intent on immediately letting her go, even as the others looked on raptly.

"Okay, Meccione, I know we're all having fun here, but I think it's time for a little break, don't you? I know some of you weren't there when we went to collect him this afternoon, but trust me when I say it's a smart plan to make sure he doesn't get too flustered, too quickly - that wouldn't be fun for any of us."

"Yeah? What does he do? You mean, passing out like before?"

"No, like... bad energy," Kat replied, already looking a little unsettled in response to my unease. "Really bad energy, the kind you don't want to have flowing anywhere near you. Trust me on this."

"Okay," Meccy replied, looking a little annoyed, but as soon as she looked back towards me her expression turned to one of concern. "Hey, you know I wasn't trying to... harass you or anything like that, right? You just said you wanted to be honest, so that was me being honest. I do want to - that's not really a surprise, is it? But I'm not trying to... make you, or something. I guess I just thought from what you said that you wanted to do it too... I mean, don't you?"

"Well, I... I've never, you know, done it before, any of it, and... I mean, I'm a guy, sure I want to in theory, but now that all of a sudden it's something that could actually happen... right now, it's just... I don't know..."

"All right, have it your way," Meccy replied, sighing. "I guess I shoulda known... Sorry I jumped the gun there. Heh, I guess I'll let it slide - just be glad we Tiaileng don't get blue-balls - or, um, whatever the human female equivalent is."

"Actually, technically, given how our fur coats even that part of us, technically you could say that all Tiaileng balls are blue by default..."

Meccy glanced back at Don again, grinning. "I know it's sort of the typical Tiaileng way, but I think you really are too literal for your own good." She shifted in his arms, sinking a little lower. "You planning on letting me go anytime soon? 'Cause you know, if not, I'm gonna take advantage of it." She squirmed in his arms again, although this time it was a lot slower, and considerably more sensual. It was hard to tell, with the fur and all, but I could have sworn that it was Daledonne's turn to blush. "I mean, if you want to get him more comfortable, he could always just watch..."

Don took a step back, quickly releasing her. "Unfortunately, there's the possibility that that might be an even worse idea. Are you sure you read the file through all the way? Including the addendum about the incidents that happened earlier today?"

"Um, well... maybe not all the way through..." Meccy said, looking down for a moment, but it didn't seem to faze her that much. "All right. I'll, um, kinda let it be for now. Just remember, though, I was there first - I'm owed that, okay? You can get more comfortable and stuff, I guess, but I don't want to wait indefinitely. I don't think any of us do..."

"And that, along with ever so many other things, is one of the topics that we can all discuss tomorrow, one we've had a chance to rest and recuperate from the particular trials facing all of us have faced today. In that vein, I propose that we put all mention of this particular topic aside for now, and for the rest of the evening. Let's just pretend that everything just went back in time to the point where we were discussing taking in a movie, and then we all agreed to do so and left it at that. Sounds good?"

I nodded, feeling considerably relieved by Daledonne's intervention, and everyone else nodded in turn - even Meccione, albeit after another moment of hesitation. She seemed to accept the new situation quickly enough, though, and was soon all but skipping down the hall ahead of us as we made our way towards the theater.

I half-thought about chasing after her - even after all that, I felt that things were somehow... still unsettled between us, and I didn't want to leave them in an awkward place - at the same time, though, I didn't really know how I would resolve the situation. I had never known the right words to smooth things over with women, in part because I usually didn't have to, due to my limited interactions with them. I mean, I had to with Emma a couple of times, but that was different, because with her personality you could usually resolve things the way guys did. With Meccione, well... she was straightforward, too, but maybe a little too much so. After all, it wasn't like I didn't know what she wanted, and what it would most likely take to resolve that particular situation. As I walked, though, I had a sinking feeling that she was probably right - there was no way I was going to hang around fifty Tiaileng day after day without it becoming an issue, afraid or not.

At least the movie theater, when we arrived after navigating an unreasonably complicated and opulent series of hallways, was a welcome distraction. True, it was more like an extremely upgraded TV room than a full-blown theater, but in many ways it certainly looked the part. There was the big screen in front, framed by red velvet curtains, paired with a slick-looking, probably cinema-quality digital projection system in the back, and a multitude of surround-sound speakers dotting the walls and muted recessed lighting along the ceiling. The room itself was slanted like you would expect, but with only a handful of rows and the type of seating you would expect - each row consisted of a plushly-upholstered, almost couch-like bench seat with an equally plush back, one on either side of the accent-lit center aisle. There were four rows in all, probably not enough to fit in the entire contingent, at least not easily, but more than enough for a reasonably intimate screening.

Daledonne quickly went over to the projection system, poking around at it while the rest of us clustered around him. Eventually, he managed to figure out the system enough to bring up a list of movies stored on the device's hard drive - any number of different random films, and interestingly enough plenty seemed as though they'd been downloaded directly, and probably not entirely legitimately, as plenty of the movie rips still had the tag of the pirate group who'd distributed them in the filename. It certainly was interesting that for a guy who'd made it big partially on digital content, the previous owner of the house hadn't exactly been scrupulous in acquiring his media library. Of course, it didn't help that a lot of them had titles that were... not quite right.

"Pirates of the Brazilian? Star Wars: A Nude Hope? LotR: The Dude Towers? That's, um... different..." Daledonne said, sounding more bemused than surprised or disgusted. "Then again, I suppose there are some people who like their pornography accompanied by a side of uncomfortable acting... yeah, let's avoid that for now. Hmmm... The Castle of Cagliostro... that's not pornographic, right?"

I actually laughed a little at that. "Heh, no, just one of the greatest anime films of all time... well, according to Emma, at least."

"Emma?" Kat asked from off to the side.

"Er, just a friend of mine with very strong opinions... anyway, I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. Um, I mean, if you're into anime, at least. I just assumed, from what they said before about shared interests..."

"Well, just because all of us share some of your interests doesn't mean all of us share all of them, you know," Kat replied. "That being said... is it any good?"

"Well, it's directed by Miyazaki, which generally means it is. I've only watched the introduction, but if I remember it looked pretty promising. It's based off of this popular series in Japan, Lupin the Third, about a sort of master thief, almost a Robin Hood kind of guy in a way... er, it's a little hard to explain, but it's fun if you like action-adventure stuff..."

"Hmm, could be fun... you want to watch it?"

I nodded. "Sure, if you guys want to..."

There was a quick, affirmative chorus from around me. "All right, then," Daledonne said. "Why don't you all grab a seat, and I'll see if I can finish figuring out how to set this up..."

I wandered over to one of the seats in the second row - even though the screen wasn't as big as one in a commercial theater, the first row seemed just a little too close. Not really thinking about it, I plunked myself down in the center of the seat, realizing too late the implications of such an action. Before I could scoot over, though, Sam and Kat were seated to either side of me, with Ellie and Lara next to them. The seat was wide enough that it could accommodate the five of us with some room left over, but despite that, the room between us rapidly diminished as Sam and Kat sidled up close, and they were soon snuggling up against my sides with their heads nuzzling into place along my shoulders. Meccy regarded all of us snuggled together for a moment, grinning, before kicking off her shoes, clambering up onto one of the end armrests and perching there for a moment before bounding in a shallow dive towards us. Luckily, there was enough time for us to react and catch her before she landed heavily on top of us, and as soon as she recovered her balance, she crawled forward a little, rolled over, and curled up slightly along our collective laps. As I was in the middle, I ended up with her curvy hips and short shorts resting against my thighs, and I realized with a nervous gulp that it was probably the closest that certain female... parts had ever come to my own. As she settled into place, she decided to wiggle them alluringly, which didn't do much to help my composure. Of course, she knew what she was doing, and she flashed me a mischievous grin when I glanced over at her.

"Um, I thought we decided not to do anything, um, sexy tonight..." I said, even as Meccy tried to feign innocence.

"We're not," said a voice from close behind me, and I jumped a little as I swiveled my head back. Don had finished setting things up and come over to join us, half-curling around my shoulders as he reclined along the edge of the seatback, one arm moving to hang down between me and Sam as it clutched a polished-metal remote. "The thing is, though... when it comes to sex, you get a choice, and that's not something anyone's going to force on you. Being in close contact with us some of the time, though, well... not so much. Like I said before, we can generally get that particular energy from you up to a certain to-be-determined radius, but the closer we are, the more efficiently we can draw it in. It works the best when our bodies are in physical contact - the more surface area, the better. Plus, well... it's a lot comfier that way, and we are predisposed to enjoy that sort of contact. Sex or not, we'll all need that direct contact at least from time to time - and, quite frankly, so do you. Many studies have shown that contact and touch are essential for human well-being, as it is for our own, and there is the fact that you are going to need to get comfortable with this sooner rather than later if you're going to handle our unique situation here." He paused, fiddling with the remote, seeming to consider the matter of my impromptu fur cocoon settled. "So, since we're all just sitting here, now's a good a time as any to practice. If it makes you any more comfortable about it, we do generally enjoy having our exposed fur petted, as long as you're gentle and don't go against the grain."

"Plus, as a rule, we don't mind the heavy kind, either..." Meccy said, and I looked over to see her grinning again as Don shot her a glance.

I sighed, knowing that it wasn't an argument I was going to win. "Fine, just... try not to move around too much, okay? I'm really not used to this..."

"That's what she said!" Lara blurted out from off to the side, and I tensed up, but at the same time I also realized suddenly just how perfect of a setup it was, and before I knew it, I'd burst out laughing. One by one, the Tiaileng around me did as well, their laughter higher-pitched and more rapid in the typically Tiaileng way, but still unmistakable. Silly or not, the quip managed to defuse at least some of the awkwardness and tension I'd been feeling, and once the laughter had died down I was able to settle back against the seat a little more comfortably, although the sensitive skin on my arms and neck was still keenly aware of being surrounded by warm fuzziness. At least, as Don fiddled with the remotes and the overhead lights began to dim, everyone began to settle down and look forward to the movie.

Once the lights were down low, I realized that once again, I was seeing the phenomenon from before - only this time, it was considerably different. There were still tendrils, but they were very faint and ethereal, thin and taut as they pointed out in various directions - towards the other assigned Tiaileng, perhaps, and the very edges of the radius that Daledonne had talked about. Now that the Tiaileng around me were in direct contact, though, there didn't seem to be any tendrils going towards them - instead, the strands of fur in contact with my own skin lit up, glittering like a collection of pinpoint, marine-colored jewels in the near-darkness. It was different, but still beautiful, the points of light shifting like a luminous wave across Sam's fur as her arm shifted subtly against my own. It was mesmerizing enough, in fact, that I didn't even notice the movie was playing until Don finally figured out how to activate the sound and it came up, booming abruptly midway through the title sequence.

The movie, overall, was as good as Emma had said it would be, with plenty of adventure and a truly stunning high-wire climax. The Tiaileng around me seemed to get into it as well, with Sam and Kat seeming to be paying especially rapt attention to it. Meccy, however, seemed a little less focused, shifting around restlessly towards the middle, in a vigorous enough manner that more than once I had to find a way to surreptitiously rearrange myself so that a certain part of me wouldn't end up noticeably poking at her. It left me more than a little flustered, although her movements then, at least, seemed more clearly out of restlessness than any intentional stimulation. Even if it had been, I really didn't have any clearer idea of how to handle it, other than to try and keep things under control, and focus as hard as I could on the movie, trying not to think about it.

It was crazy how strange it felt. This was supposed to be every guy's dream, wasn't it? Surrounded, literally surrounded, by cute, sexy women, each and every one of whom would apparently be happy to give it up to me if I so much as asked - and yet, out of every possible emotion I could be feeling, the closest one was... not distress, exactly, but a palpable sense of unease. It was a strange and confusing juxtaposition, being put in a situation where even feelings seemed to be of two minds: between physical sensations that oscillated between fuzzily comfortable and distressingly overstimulating, and a mental state oscillating between excitement at new opportunities and despair at the seeming loss of solitude that I so desperately needed, it was phenomenally hard to try to maintain the even keel that the Tiaileng apparently wanted me to have. The Meccy situation certainly wasn't helping matters, as it left me torn between arousal at the unprecedented idea of pouncing on her, and fear about what would happen if I did.

The more I thought about it, in fact, the more I realized I didn't even really know how to think about them - and even sitting there, with a half-dozen of them curled up to some part of me, I felt just as clueless as before. Growing up, there had been different opinions depending on who you'd asked - to my friends, for instance, the general consensus was that Tiaileng were like some sort of holy grail, as unlike human females, they were actually willing to have sex with geeky guys like them. As a result, they were idealized and fantasized about by all involved, myself included. Counter to that, though, was the fact of our Tiaileng parents, who were... normal, basically, and a reminder that far from being some idealized partner, they were, well, people, just like everyone else, with talents and faults, hopes and dreams. Of course, that being said, the thing about sex was also generally true, as I well and uncomfortably knew. It certainly didn't help matters that Tiaileng went to different grade schools than humans did, for some obscure cultural reason that was codified in the agreements between Tiaileng and humans, only integrating when they arrived at high school - perhaps for those who'd had Tiaileng siblings, it was easier to get a cohesive concept of them, but being an only child I'd had very little before that point to go on. Then, when they'd shown up, I hadn't known what to think, and with my general isolation, I got to know Tiaileng far more via porn than through direct, real-life interaction, at least up until the past few weeks as my friends had taken on their assignments.

Maybe, I thought, that was part of the strangeness, that combination of natures... that all the things I'd fantasized about were basically true, but in the fantasies, it was all about sex and fun, without the reminder that you were dealing with real people, with their opinions and feelings to take into consideration, and personalities to figure out how to navigate. When it came right down to it, that was probably the scary part: not the notion of it happening necessarily, although that certainly had its perils as well, but the idea that afterwards, I'd be lying in bed next to someone, naked and close, and the act would be something that mattered. In all those fantasies, there hadn't been some ongoing narrative - the scenarios, and the fantasy women that had populated them, had evaporated the moment the first spurt hit the tissue. They had just been, well, objects of sex and attraction, pictures on a screen, conjured up for my own satisfaction without being imbued with additional meaning. There was no notion of being with that person, day after day, intimacy after intimacy, with the accumulation of those acts changing our relationship and drawing us closer and closer in both larger and subtler ways. Now that it was happening, though, now that those women were here and real and right next to me, that combination of instinctive attraction and awareness of them as real, unique, people with their own complex array of motivations, well... it left me feeling paralyzed and completely at sea, clueless as to which notions and emotions to follow, and afraid at where some of them might lead. If just one solitary pair of Tiaileng had been capable of getting my parents to override everything they'd learned about behavior and decorum, I wasn't even sure I could predict what would happen with fifty.

Deep in my reverie, it took me a few seconds to recognize the motion in front of my eyes, and my focus abruptly snapped back to see that Meccy was now sitting up, waving her hand in front of my face. "Hey, you still with us? I know sometimes humans sleep with their eyes open, but that doesn't stop it from being creepy." Behind her, the very end of the credits were rolling in the background.

"Yeah, I'm here, just... a little lost in thought, I guess."

"Oh?" Meccy cocked her head as she regarded me. "Anything interesting?"

"Um, just... thinking about Tiaileng and people, mainly..."

"Uh huh... and did you figure anything out?"

I shook my head. "Just that I know Tiaileng just about as well as I know people." And myself, for that matter... which is to say, not really at all.

Another tilt of the head. "I dunno... if you ask me, Tiaileng are easier to figure out. Individually, at least, we don't tend to hide our opinions and motives as much as you guys do. What's the point? After all, if we don't tell you how we feel, it's not like you can just reach out and kinda sense it like we do. Hmm... speaking of that..." She looked like she was going to continue, but glanced over my shoulder at Don and decided to trail off instead.

I felt a motion against my shoulder and looked over to see Sam nuzzling against my shoulder. "Mmm... don't tell me I was the only one who actually paid attention to the movie..."

"I think I liked it in general," Ellie said from the other side. "A little bit too... family-oriented for my taste, though. Peril, perhaps, but not enough real fear."

"Oh, really?" Daledonne asked, his voice soft, but loud enough with his muzzle right next to my ear. "I'd have thought you'd be one for more buttoned-down fare..."

"Well... say what you want, but I've never thought you should base what you watch on whether or not it's ladylike, or some nonsense like that. What can I say? There's just something pure, I guess, about slasher films, although really I prefer the refined, more cerebral and psychological style of horror. After all, it's the fear, the anticipation, the unknown that's the real draw. The gore is a... payoff, I guess, but that's not the real reason I like to watch them. You don't watch horror for the people who die, after all - they're just there to stoke the tension. The reason you watch horror is for the experience and transformation of the people who survive."

"Huh... never thought of if that way," Daledonne replied. "Still not my kind of thing, really, but to each their own. Honestly, I prefer documentaries or closely linked historical dramas, but I confess to enjoying more action-oriented fare from time to time."

"Speaking of that..." Kat said, gesturing towards the remote. "It's still early enough... how about we find one more? The way it sounds, I dunno if we can find one that fits all of our tastes perfectly, but I'm sure there's something else on there we can all enjoy! I mean, if everyone's up for it..."

Everyone else seemed to agree, and I nodded as well, even though I knew that another distraction could only go so far. My mind and body were still giving off plenty of mixed signals, and while it wasn't to an extent, apparently, that it bothered the Tiaileng, I still wasn't exactly happy. Relaxed, maybe, but being surrounded by fuzziness and touching hands was beginning to feel as oppressive as it was instinctually soothing.

We finally ended up selecting something from the list more or less at random after arguing over the first few picks, which resulted in watching Big Trouble in Little China, a movie that all but screamed '80s as soon as we opened it up. For all its cheesy campiness, it was actually exciting, and somehow engaging enough in a thoroughly silly way that I was able to get somewhat lost in - and, at least for a while, silence my churning, troubling thoughts. Eventually, though, its credits began to roll, and it was time to do something else - at the very least, it did mean that Meccy had to get up from on top of us, and I got up as well, stamping the tingling pinpricks out of my half-numbed legs.

"Man, that was a weird movie," Kat said as she got up beside me, stretching. "Fun, but weird."

Desperately in need of stretching my own legs, I followed Daledonne as he went over to shut down the projector.

"Hmm, there we go..." he said, as the device whirred, the light from the projector lens in front slowly fading. "Well... I suppose it's fairly late now, and I imagine the others have done most of the initial unpacking, so it probably makes sense to turn in. After all, I imagine it's been quite a long day for you... actually, quite a long day for most of us, in fact. If you'll follow me, we'll head over to the shared living area that should now be set up, and we can all get ready for bed. That is, unless there's something else you'd rather do..."

I shook my head. He was right - after everything that had already happened, sleep would probably be welcome, although being able to zone out for the movies meant that I wasn't actually all that tired. Choosing between sleep, though, and doing yet another activity with Tiaileng most likely hanging off of me, rest seemed the better option. I'd already had more than enough stimulation for one day, and getting a good night's sleep seemed like it might be a much-needed reset.

Apparently satisfied by the decision, he set off, and I followed along after him, everyone else trailing behind me - well, all except Meccy, who glommed onto my arm and didn't seem to pay much heed to my half-hearted attempts to shake her off. I finally acquiesced and let her hand stay there, frustrating as it was, as we walked down another palatial hallway and back along the balcony at the top of the grand stairwells in the entryway.

On the other side, though, we turned around a corner and headed deeper into the mansion, finally ended up in... well, what I guess could technically be called a bathroom, although in all honesty it looked more like a bathhouse, of the sort I'd seen portrayed in Roman frescoes. It was probably as big as a good portion of the house I grew up in, with actual, floor-to-ceiling columns, with a large marble-adorned pool with hot water and inset jets around its perimeter, and the entire far wall was taken up with free-standing sink fixtures in similar stone. A few Tiaileng were already there, taking something from blue plastic bottles and swishing it around in their mouths.

Don gestured over at them as we approached, Meccy finally releasing my hand and going over to another sink to get ready herself. "As we don't actually take in food, there's generally no need to brush our, um, teeth, but we do maintain them with a special mouthwash of sorts, which keeps them polished to the proper visual clarity. I know they're a little odd, but from what we know of it, the teeth are a holdover from another, previous evolutionary form, back before we drew energy from... other sources. Over time, though, they adapted to other purposes, and when our mouths are closed, they mesh together in a way that provides a sort of efficient pathway for transporting and processing some types of energy, not entirely unlike your fiber optics, although on very different wavelengths. True, it's not exactly a tidbit they bother to teach about Tiaileng in the average biology class, but then again, I suppose there are plenty of things they don't cover..."

He stopped at a sink in the very center, and as I looked down at it, I realized that most of my toiletries were already there - and not just similar ones, but the same ones that had been sitting in my bathroom, my regular bathroom, earlier that day. There was the electric toothbrush, the half-used tube of toothpaste, the bottle of fluoride rinse. It was odd to see them, so mundanely familiar in such an outlandish place, but at the moment I was more than happy to have anything that reminded me of my life before everything had abruptly gone off in such a different direction.

I brushed up, enjoying the momentary routine, even if it was yet another usually private moment stolen away, with Tiaileng swishing around mouthwash to either side. In a weird way, though, being there together like that almost made it feel like we were making some attempt to be one gigantic, normal family.

Family! In all the confusion and distraction, I'd forgotten to give them a call. After I finished up at the sink, I wandered back over towards the door, fishing the phone out of my pocket. When I turned it on, though, the home screen only blinked up for a second, before dimming to display a large, red battery icon superimposed on top of it. I remembered that it had been a few days since I'd charged it, and was one of the many things I'd been intending to do once I got back from school, but like the rest, they had all been lost amidst everything else.

As I stared at it, I watched as a furry hand reached down to grab onto the top of it, and I looked up to see a male Tiaileng I didn't recognize staring at it with recognition.

"Ah! That's what that charger goes to! Was driving me crazy trying to figure out why there was a charger and nothing to go with it. Anyway, if you don't mind, I'll just pop it over onto your desk and get it charging, shall I?"

"Um, sure..." I said, relinquishing the phone, and the Tiaileng nodded.

"Excellent! Oh, by the way, I'm Serrivanne, guess that's Van for short. I'm sure we're going to get along just fine, you and I and the rest of us!" He grinned, dipped his head forward, and flicked his warm tongue across my cheek before spinning around and heading off.

I just stood there, surprised at the sudden contact, still feeling echoes of the smooth wetness sliding across my oversensitive skin. Warm fur constantly rubbing up against me had been unsettling enough, but I was already feeling close to my limit, and if the rest of the Tiaileng started licking me, I didn't know what I'd do.

Don quickly found me in the entryway, though, and even as more Tiaileng filed in to get ready, he led me down another small hallway that emptied out into a capacious room.

"This, then, is where we'll be sleeping."

I looked around, surprised my jaw wasn't actually hitting the floor, but I supposed with all of the other ridiculous things I'd already seen there, the room wasn't really all that surprising. The walls were draped in crimson velvet curtains with gold embroidery along the edges, with various statues around the sides - statues, I quickly realized, of the erstwhile tech guru done up to look like various figures throughout history, from Napoleon and Churchill to, oddly enough, what looked to be Augusto Pinochet. What truly dominated the room, though was the bed itself - taking up most of the center, it was a vast, circular expanse, covering just by itself an area probably several times the size of my original bedroom. It was surrounded by a cream-colored canopy that matched the sleek-looking sheet stretched across it, and one end was piled high with square, velour-covered pillows in various deep reds and purples. It was an odd bed for a tech titan, to say the least, and slightly incongruous to the room, although that was quickly explained.

"The bed was just installed earlier today," he said, gesturing to it grandly as other Tiaileng began wandering into the room. "Quite something, isn't it? It ought to be able to handle all of us quite comfortably, I should think. Well, I suppose we'll find out soon in any case..."

"Wait," I replied, feeling that sensation of anxiety creeping back in under my skin. "You mean we're... all supposed to sleep there? All fifty of you?"

"Well, yes, and you of course. I wouldn't worry, though - I imagine, physical constraints being what they are, that only a small handful of us will be in contact with you at any given time." He shrugged, reaching down and grabbing onto the bottom edge of his T-shirt and pulling it over his head, kicking off his shoes towards a pile that I realized was quickly forming towards the door, before shrugging his pants off and shoving them aside with a foot along the plushly carpeted floor. That left him in only a pair of black, trunks-style boxer briefs, with enough of a noticeable bulge that things suddenly began to feel even more awkward, and I worried that he perhaps wasn't done stripping. He didn't make a move to do anything further, though - not take them off, but also not to track down a pair of pajamas. Not that I slept in any, preferring just underwear myself - which, of course, was probably one of the things noted in my comprehensive file, and which they had all, apparently, decided to adopt. Glancing around the room, as more and more Tiaileng joined us, I realized that this was in fact the case, and wasn't just limited to the men - all of a sudden, there were a bunch of Tiaileng milling about it nothing but various styles of panties, technically topless, although without breasts such a thing probably didn't matter to them. Given to what I was used to culturally, though, it somehow made them seem even more undressed than the guys, and it didn't take long before I was desperately blushing again.

"Um... we're all going to be... like that? In our u-underwear?"

"That is how you like to sleep, isn't it? True, it's certainly close enough to the way we like to sleep anyway - our fur keeps us warm, so we don't really need anything else, and it'll keep you nice and warm too when we're next to you."

"That's- I- you do realize how crazy this is, right? This is just... way too intimate. I mean, people don't normally sleep together like that... not unless, you know, they're..."

"Yes, I know what you're referring to, but I can assure you this is perfectly innocent - just some nice, close, restful cuddling."

"But... being that close to people, um, that close to women... and you said I wouldn't have to deal with, with that tonight..."

"Well, there's nothing requiring you to, and certainly no one's going to fault you if an instinctual, physiological response causes you to press up against them in a certain, particular way. And if you do decide that those urges need to be resolved, well, we'll be right next to you and happy to help with that in any way we can - male, female, whatever you might be in the mood for, we've got you covered. Plus, you know, it is a great way to relax and get into that nice sort of mode that can help you get right to sleep - well, for human males, at least..."

I just stared at him for a moment, my words caught in my throat. Apparently, in his enthusiasm to explain just how fun this would be, he'd neglected to consider how I'd reacted to a sea of blue-green fur before. Maybe he figured that I'd gotten over it, or that this would be a far more relaxed thing, but the room was already getting crowded with half-dressed Tiaileng, with more filtering in every minute, and just looking around was leaving me at a confused half-mast, my breath puffing harder and my chest becoming tighter. I hadn't really resolved things from before, and all of a sudden things were coming to a head.

"Well, no sense in going to bed all dressed like that, is there?" Don tugged at the neck hem of my shirt. "Go ahead and strip down, and then find whatever spot on the bed you like - we'll join you from there."

I flinched back slightly from his touch, my breath coming even faster, as I tried to somehow maintain an even keel despite feeling like everything was spinning out of control, like I was trapped with no good way out. If I did as he asked and climbed in, I'd soon be surrounded by a bunch of half-naked Tiaileng and would certainly somehow lose control, although I didn't know how - maybe fainted dead away in the midst of them, maybe curled up in a whimpering, terrified ball, maybe the accidental instigator of a fuzzy orgy. On the other hand, if I didn't fight through and let my fear take over, it wouldn't be long before the Tiaileng felt it, and then I'd be stuck in a room full of Tiaileng desperately wailing and throwing themselves at me in a desperate attempt to turn my emotions around, something that was probably even crazier than the first scenario. What else could I do, though?

As I flailed about in my mind, though, I suddenly seized upon a third option, one that was suddenly, effortlessly appealing in its simplicity, suicidal as it might have been had I thought it through. At that moment, though, it seemed like the only thing I could do to salvage the situation and escape with my sanity, regardless of the other consequences.

"No."

"What?" Don replied, looking back at me with surprise.

"No. I'm not going to do it."

"Not going to do what? Sleep? I'm pretty sure you need to..."

"No, not just sleep. All of it. I'm just... I'm just done. I can't handle this any more. I can't do it. I won't. This is just... it's crazy. It's not who I am. So, thank you, you've all been very nice and it's been a pleasure to meet you, but now I'm going home." And with that, I looked over across the dozens of Tiaileng who were suddenly staring back at me like deer caught in powerful headlights, seeming completely flabbergasted by my unpredicted behavior. Then I turned around on my heel and made for the door - but not before Don, with surprising speed, managed to scramble around in front of me and block the doorway. Surprisingly, none of the other Tiaileng tried to grab me or intervene, just watching around the periphery of the bedroom as it played out.

"You can't leave," Don continued as he stood in front of me, looking me over with concern. "Whatever you're feeling, I'm sure we can come to an accommodation..."

"An accommodation of what? You already said that you guys wouldn't press me too hard, but I've already been licked, prodded, teased, glomped, and snuggled against for hours on end. I'm a... a solitary person, and I haven't had a moment to myself, not since I woke up this morning, and I just can't do this. So please, step aside."

Daledonne, however, wasn't budging. "I thought you were enjoying what was going on during the movies..."

"Did you ask me? Didn't your senses tell you how uncomfortable I was feeling?"

He shook his head. "We actually can't tell exactly how you're feeling just by sensing it, not unless it's very strong, or an emotion that we're highly attuned to. You seemed relaxed, so I assumed it was a good thing. But I don't understand... what it said in your file or not, if this isn't what you want, what is?"

"What I want? What I want is for things to be simple again. What I want is to go home, climb into my own bed, pull the covers over my head, and go to sleep, alone."

"But... you are home."

"You know what I mean. At home, with my parents."

"And like I said, this is your home now. Surely you know the rules. This is your assigned place to live, and we've all been assigned to you, so you're required to live here, with us."

"What, so you can all but molest me? What kind of law requires that?"

Don looked a little hurt by that, but he persisted nonetheless. "I think that's a flawed way of looking at it. Nothing that we've done has been... overwhelmingly sexual, and neither is this. When advances were made, I saw to it that they stopped so that you could be comfortable. We can't stop being what we are, though, and this is a necessary part of it. If we're to do it so that you only need to be around a few of us for most of the day, there have to be some times when we're all together, and especially this one, which allows all of us to be closer to you than would otherwise be possible, for a good portion of time. I'm sorry it isn't ideal for you, but we're trying to do this in a way that has your best interests at heart."

"If you had my best interests at heart, would I be feeling like this? Would I be standing here yelling at you to get out of the way? This is me saying it! I'm not comfortable! I'm not having fun! This isn't working! Are you hearing me? I can't do this! You've all got the scarily comprehensive files on me - how did you ever think I would be able to handle this?"

Don held out his hands placatingly. "Yes, we knew, but none of us was expecting this either. This is a very rare circumstance, and it poses challenges that we're trying to handle as best as we can. We're here to help you and love you, but we have needs too, and while we don't want you distraught, there's only so far we can bend before we have difficulties of our own. I know it's putting more on you than it's perhaps fair of us to ask you to bear, but the only way we're all going to get through this is to work together. I wish I could say that it won't require some sacrifices from you, but it probably will. So I'm asking you, begging you, to try and find a way through with us. We're not going to do anything to hurt you."

I stood there, torn - his words were compelling, and I knew that ultimately he was right, but that didn't change how I was feeling. "I hear you, but you're still not hearing me. It's not that I don't like you - you all seem nice enough, and I know that you've tried to be... helpful, so far. It's not that I don't want to be here with you. It's that I can't. It's just way, way too much. Just the sensation of your fur across that much of my body, I'd be hard-pressed to handle that on a good day, but on top of everything else... I'm exhausted, I'm confused, and I just can't deal with it. I don't have the energy to give you what you want in that way. I don't know how to solve this, not now, but I need to be alone. I need to get out of here."

Don nodded, seeming to pause in order to think things through. "All right, I think I understand. I can't let you run away; I'd get in just as much trouble as you over that, but... maybe we can, in a sense, at least for a while. This place has quite the magnificent grounds, including a set of beautiful gardens, all of which can be illuminated at night. If you're willing to, maybe we can walk out of here for a moment, just you and I, enjoy the night air and a less crowded environment. We don't even have to talk, or do anything else - just walk around, cool off, let you catch your breath. And then, when we get back, we'll figure out a way to make this work so that we can get enough of what we need and you aren't overwhelmed." He stepped tentatively aside, and when he was satisfied I wasn't about to make a break for it, he walked over to the side and gathered up his clothes, pulling them back on, before looking over at the others, who were still watching raptly.

"Sorry about this, everyone, but I think this is something that can only be sorted out without all of us present. We'll be back in a bit. I'm sure that won't be too inconvenient?" Everyone else nodded, and Daledonne nodded back in response, before turning back towards me.

"So?" he said, extending his hand. "Shall we, ah, 'run away' together?"

Despite it all, the quip managed to elicit a short, nervous laugh from me - incongruous as it was, it certainly did seem that Tiaileng had a certain knack for being disarming. "All right," I said, lightly taking his hand. "I still don't know if that's going to fix anything, but we'll try it your way..."

Don tugged me gently forward, and as I walked along with him, I briefly looked at the Tiaileng arrayed to either side. Unlike them, I couldn't really sense their emotions at all, but their body language looked a little more relaxed, their faces less concerned. None of them tried to stop or follow us, though, and the only thing they did was turn to each other and begin speaking in Tiaileng as I walked out of the room.

I though that the hand-holding had been just for show, but Don seemed to have no intention of releasing mine, tugging me forward as we navigated another series of lofty, convoluted corridors, his head turning back frequently to keep tabs on me. Perhaps he still thought that I was really going to make a break for it. I couldn't help but wonder a little about that - combined with what he'd said before, I really wasn't sure I'd be allowed to leave if I made a stronger effort, although there was no visible security around.

We quickly arrived at a sort of main passageway, which descended down another grand staircase to a pair of steel-and-glass doors looking out onto an impressive terrace. Daledonne finally released my hand and swung the doors open in front of him, the motion bringing with it the crisp, clean scent of night air. He stepped outside, and I followed, the air cool enough to be noticeable against my T-shirt but not to the point of discomfort - in fact, against the confines of the mansion that had managed to somehow be simultaneously lofty and oppressive, stepping out into an approximation of nature, no matter how carefully manicured, was oddly freeing.

We walked across the stone patio, across rows of lights inlaid into its surface, and around clusters of tables and chairs - the terrace was obviously designed for entertaining, and was probably large enough to seat hundreds. It was surrounded by clusters of various flowers, and the back of it was contained by a low, precisely trimmed hedge with an inset wrought-iron gate. Beyond it, I could already see the gardens proper, and it was only a matter of moments before we stepped through, still in silence.

The gardens, I realized, were massive - there was a sort of entrance roundabout, in the middle of which were an assortment of rosebushes, and from there they seemed to split into three distinct parts, with paths leading off towards each. The center seemed dominated by the sort of garden you might expect of a mansion, with beds of carefully mixed flowers offset by flowering bushes and even more roses, complete with what looked like it might be an actual hedge maze further back. Off to the left, it seemed to morph into something like a Japanese garden, complete with shaped topiaries, various brightly colored pagodas, shallow ponds and stepping-stone pathways. To the right, though, seemed even more exotic, something like a cross between an arboretum and an overzealous architectural attempt to recreate in miniature the hanging gardens of Babylon. Even at night, everything could be clearly seen, carefully illuminated by cleverly concealed lighting along the ground near each feature. The lighting angle meant that the shapes took on a haunting, slightly ethereal look, but the effect was magnificent and beautiful nonetheless.

Maybe it was a bit smaller, but it looked like the sort of park my parents had taken me to on occasion when I was growing up to stimulate appreciation of the natural world. This one, however, was attached to someone's house. My house, I supposed, but it was hard to think of it that way. After all, the house I still thought of as mine, the house where I'd rather have been, was a good ways off, and I wasn't going to reach it tonight.

I walked over towards the Japanese garden, as somehow it seemed the most peaceful of the lot, complete with the burbling sound of a small, clear stream running down the center of it. I stopped where the path joined it to run along its edge, looking down at the dark water trickling past, willing it to somehow help me feel calm. After a while, I glanced up to see Don standing beside me, seemingly looking up into the distance of the clear night sky. He'd been right; being out there, just the two of us, got me starting to feel better, less anxious, more optimistic. With that, though, came an odd sense of guilt, although not an uncommon one - whenever I had an outburst, no matter how mild, I always felt unsettled about how I left things with people, and there was always a need for resolution, one way or another.

I turned towards him, and after a moment, he glanced back.

"I, um... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted back there. It wasn't characteristic of how I usually am. This day, though, the stress... sometimes I just overreact a little."

Daledonne actually looked a little surprised by that. "I don't think an apology is necessary. In part that's because, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if you didn't overreact at all. In fact, you probably reacted exactly as should have been expected given the circumstances. Working at this scale is new for all of us, and I think I made some overly optimistic assumptions. For Tiaileng, going from three to ten to fifty is a more gradual thing in terms of reactions - even a generation removed from space, there's still a tendency for closeness, partly instinctive and partly inspired by those close confines. Sometimes we forget how different it is for people, how much more important having a certain distance is. What can I say? We misinterpreted some things, you objected as is your right, and now here we are. Perhaps... we can call it even?"

"I guess..." I said, glancing down at the water before tilting my head back up. "I just... I guess I felt trapped, somehow. I know this isn't prison, I know that you're trying, but..."

"...But you think it is a prison, to a certain extent, don't you?"

Somehow, I wasn't surprised by his interjection. "Is it?"

Daledonne gave an odd, rueful sort of grin. "I suppose there are certain aspects of it that could be interpreted that way. In all truth, this is primarily supposed to be your home, and there's nothing to stop you from going somewhere else for a while, as long as you returned at the end of the day - and as long as some of us, myself included, were there to accompany you."

"So, if I really had tried to leave..."

"We would have come along with you, and done what we could to convince you to come back. That being said, I wanted to prevent that if I could, as there are certain people, including my superiors, who would really rather you stayed here for the time being, where you can be more easily monitored."

There was that reference, again. Combined with what he'd said before, I knew I couldn't just leave it unmentioned - things were already strange enough without having yet one more thing to wonder about.

"Don, er, Daledonne..."

"Yes? You can call me whichever you like - I'm fine with it either way."

"Well... can I ask you a question?"

"Of course - that's part of why I'm here, I suppose."

"Actually, it's kind of about that... I mean, talking about your superiors and stuff, keeping an eye on me... I'm guessing this assignment wasn't just by happenstance?"

Daledonne actually chuckled a little at that. "I guess it's kind of obvious, isn't it? Truth is, when we went over your file, there were some unusual readings, interesting discrepancies from what we'd normally expect. I was charged with following up, seeing if you were just a, what's that called... a red herring, or something more interesting, as I was the one in my division most compatible for assignment. We weren't quite expecting this, but when we did realize that was the case, I was, well, not exactly put in charge of things here, but tasked with making sure this worked out as best as it could. However, there's one thing I should be absolutely clear on - there was nothing underhanded about the assignment. It was legitimate and mutual, and as it always has in our culture, the assignment takes precedence - while I may also answer to certain other people, my primary loyalty lies solely with you. I will do everything in my power to help you, and I will never allow harm to come to you. I didn't think we were, causing you discomfort that is... but then again, I was probably considering the physical side of things more than the psychological."

He paused, his expression becoming a little more serious, fixing me strongly in his gaze. "Speaking of that, while we're here, and if you're comfortable talking about it, we do need to talk about what happened back there - what's been happening, to a certain extent, this entire time. I get the sense that there's something beneath all of this behavior, something that's beyond just a general discomfort, with intimacy or with Tiaileng in general, neither of which was evidenced in our files. If we can get at what's truly behind this, if there's some specific thing you fear will happen, then maybe we can find a way to solve this, a way that can work for all of us. I know I said before that maybe you can't get everything you want here, and maybe that sounded like we could and you didn't have a choice, but that's not what I was trying to get at. We want you, me, all of us to be happy, and if there's something we can do, we need to figure it out."

I looked down for a moment again, not quite sure if I should bring up the thing that was probably going on with it, even though it was hardly a mystery - in fact, I was surprised it hadn't been made obvious in their files. Maybe my parents had held something back... but even if they had, Don was probably right - if I was going to sort all of this out in a way that didn't get everyone in a ton of trouble, it was something I had to put into words.

"Well... I guess it's just about... control."

"Control?" Don cocked his head. "I'm not quite sure I understand..."

"I... like being in control, I guess. I mean, not like a control freak, or something, not like bossing other people around, more just... in control of myself, of my own actions, impulses, stuff like that. I guess that's why I'm afraid, that around you guys, being so close, my instincts will just... take over, I guess, and I'll end up doing stuff that my body wants even if my mind doesn't. I'm just... kinda sensitive to touch, I guess, so when people touch me it conjures up more feeling than it does with other people, so a touch that's a little arousing to most can be really arousing to me. My parents, my human parents, were like that too, and my Tiaileng parents learned that, teasing and touching and rubbing until they lost control, until they grabbed each other and... did things, right in front of me, not caring about if it was appropriate, not caring that I was watching, or that it was distressing me, at least not until afterward. I'm just afraid that if I stay here, that if people keep touching and provoking me, that I'm gonna lose control too, just like that, and I... the thought of that, of doing stuff I don't want to do in my mind just because I'm so overwhelmed. I'm terrified that that's gonna happen, that things will happen before I'm ready, before I really want them, and that I'm gonna lose control over my life and end up being a... I dunno, a Tiaileng plaything to be coaxed into sex wherever and whenever. And I just... I can't do that. I can't let that become my reality."

It seemed to take Daledonne a few moments to parse everything I'd said, various emotions playing across his face, and leaving him looking a little harrowed at the end of it.

"I... wow. I don't even really know what to say to that. It's true that humans and Tiaileng often adapt to each other's rhythms and preferences, and the way those relations evolve can be considerably different from person to person. What I can say, though, is it's not usually like that. Ultimately, I think what happened is that your parents, all of them, got into a routine that they mutually enjoyed, without considering all of the consequences of what they considered to be their ideal arrangement.

"What you have to understand, though, is that the Tiaileng wouldn't have been doing what they did if your parents didn't approve of it, if they didn't welcome that behavior. Honestly, files or not, we don't know precisely what you like - the porn you look at, after all, can only tell us so much. As a result, I think that some of us are trying different things to see which ones you respond to favorably, and trying to adapt their behavior to that. Meccy, for example, decided to try a somewhat... aggressive approach, and when it becomes obvious that that's not the approach that works best for you, she'll watch the others to see if any of them find one that does."

Don reached a tentative hand out towards me, and when I nodded slightly to indicate it was okay, he rested it on my shoulder. "What I'm trying to get at, ultimately, is that maybe you're looking at this from the wrong perspective - that we're all here, demanding something of you that you may not want to provide. I apologize if some of what I said seemed to indicate that, but that's not the case. We really are here to help you, and to love you, and it would mean the world to us if we could convince you to love us in return. I realize we may not have gotten the absolute best start on that, but that's where I want to get to - and if we have to make some sacrifices in the short term, then so be it. I wasn't lying, though, when I said that we have needs - the need for the energy you put out, the need to be close to you, the need to be touched. It's not just about efficiency, or some desire on our part - it really is crucial, over time, to allow us to get, well, attuned to you. That being said, if what we proposed is too much, then we can put our heads together and find some other approaches that will get us what we need, while making sure that you're comfortable and not feeling provoked or out of control. I think tomorrow, we really need to sit down, all of us, and hash some things out, find a way to make things work that we can all live with. Between all of us, I know we can find a solution."

Don pulled his hand forward gently, nudging me a little closer to him. "As for tonight, though... I suppose it's my turn to see if I can ask you a question."

"Sure, I guess..."

"Do you trust me?"

I looked back at him, a little surprised by his question, and more surprised that, after what he'd said, I felt like I knew the answer. "I feel like I can..."

"Then maybe that's how we'll solve it for tonight. We can start out very simple, very easy. If it would work better, I can be the only one in contact with you tonight, maybe me and one other whose behavior I'm very familiar with, and some of the others can be in contact with me. I don't know if it really reflects, or trickles down like that - I've never had to consider it with so many before, but hopefully it will be enough, at least for now. Then, once you're comfortable with that, we can move on to more. And it doesn't have to be only in underwear - as long as there's enough exposed skin, on the extremities at least, it should be fine, so you could wear a T-shirt and shorts that are comfortable enough to sleep in. Plus, you know I'll hold true to my promise from earlier - whatever contact we have, there wont' be anything sexual about it at all, just enough to be soothing and restful for both of us.

"If you think we could make that work, then... maybe we could head back? If you feel like you're ready, of course. I don't want them to be worried for too long, and reassuring them that everything is okay, that we're going to find a way through this, will help to make sure they don't feel like they have to try anything desperate. If we all stay calm and try to help each other find the right way to do all this, I know it can work. And in that, I don't think I'm being too overly optimistic."

I nodded. "I guess... if you're willing to be this patient with me, if you're willing to try this hard... I can't promise I can do this perfectly, but if we can take it slow, maybe... maybe..." I still wasn't sure if what he'd proposed could really work, not with fifty Tiaileng, some of whom might not be as patient, but after what he'd said, the commitments he seemed to be making, I wouldn't have felt right with myself if I didn't at least try.

"Well, maybe's a lot better than no, so I'll consider that a good start." He slid his hand slowly down along my arm before taking my own hand in his again. "Speaking of starts... how about we start with this? I know it's a little out of date, perhaps, walking hand in hand, but I was serious about making sure you're comfortable with all of this, step by step. We can do that until you're comfortable, them maybe intertwine arms - and it's not a huge jump beyond that to sleeping together, just sleeping, with some clothes on. And remember, you were able to get through the movies, although maybe not comfortably in the way that we'd assumed. This time, though, I want you to truly be comfortable, and if I can find a way to do that... if I can make you comfortable and happy, tonight, then I will be the same."

We started to head back, but Daledonne didn't lead me along this time - instead he walked by my side, gently squeezing my hand as he carefully matched my own pace. By the time we got back to the edge of the patio, his fuzzy forearm was rubbing gently against mine - and, to my surprise, I felt... well, a little more used to it at least, and the stimulation now felt less overwhelming than it had before. Something about being out there, just talking, getting to know him a little more, had managed to put me much more at ease - instead of being a verbose, veritable stranger as he'd been at the start of the day, after everything we'd talked about he was beginning to feel like... not precisely a friend, not yet, but not a stranger, either. He was someone I knew, someone I felt that I knew well enough to give at least a basic level of trust, knew enough not to expect abrupt, unpredictable, or aggressive behavior, and that made his presence considerably easier to accept. In fact, by the time we got back to the bedroom, we were somehow walking arm in arm, and everything was still okay. Admittedly, once I got back to find forty-nine other Tiaileng lounging around on the bed and still mostly undressed, I felt my anxiety spike back up a little, but seeing the genuinely relieved and hopeful expressions on some of their faces as they watched us walk back in together made it feel a little better.

Daledonne said something to them in high-pitched, rapid-fire Tiaileng, and a couple of them briefly responded, causing him to nod in return.

"Ah, yes - it seems like the unpacking was mostly successful, although there was a bit of confusion as to where your clothes were determined to be stored. I'll be back in just a moment with something suitable for you. I've filled them in briefly on what we discussed, and I'm certain that no one here will do anything overly... forward, so just take it easy. We'll get through the night, and figure out all the rest in the morning."

He turned around, leaving me to look back over at the bed, still feeling a bit uneasy. Admittedly, it was a little easier, as only a fraction of them still seemed to be fully awake and staring at me - many of the others were already asleep, or at least dozing, cuddled up and curled around each other in small clusters of blue-green fur. Of the ones who were still awake, there were only a few I immediately recognized - Envelie and Meccione were sitting along the edge of the bed a little ways over from where I was, and a little further back was was the boy, Serrivanne I thought it was, who I'd talked to briefly earlier. Envelie, though, was the first to speak up, softly as not to disturb the others.

"Are you feeling better, a little bit at least?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's... it's been a long day."

"Yes, it has." She paused, fiddling with something in her hands, before looking down at them with recognition. "Oh, that's right! Hmm... well, I guess it's not as needed right now, but while you were away, we were talking a little more about how to handle things to make it easier on you - actually, easier on all of us. Even for Tiaileng, fifty all at once in the same place is more than we're used to, and even with just us here it was hard to get a word in edgewise, and we had to find a way to refine things beyond just letting a few, well, leaders speak for all of us. Then Banaurre, in the midst of it, remembered a little gadget that we used in grade school, and thought it might help."

She opened her hands to reveal a small, white sphere. Initially, it didn't look like much, sort of like a slightly shinier ping-pong ball. When she traced a finger along the top surface, though, a ring of bright pinpoints shone horizontally along its surface, and a moment later it slowly rose from her hand, gliding back and up to levitate itself into place just above her right shoulder. The levitation wasn't exactly new, as it was something that had been present in their ships and in the aerial vehicles the Tiaileng sometimes used, but it was still an impressive effect when seen up close, especially in something so tiny.

"It's a... well, there's not really an english word for it, but humans sometimes use similar things - I think you refer to them as 'talking sticks?' The basic concept is the same, but it's a little more sophisticated. While our inherent senses can tell some things about the emotions of other species and use that energy, we can't do so with our own, but some of our technology can approximate the effect. This... device, then, can monitor the baseline emotions of a group, and determine a prioritized list of who most needs to speak, and hovers by them until they've had their say. So we've decided that when there's a bunch of us around, we'll try and use it, and speak one at a time so that it's not an overwhelming wall of speech. There'll be some interjections, sure, but I think it will work better."

"Yeah, probably... thanks for that."

"Here, let me show you how it works in action." She glided a finger across its surface in a slightly different motion, and the white pinpricks of light shifter to blue. A moment later, the thing began to move, much faster this time, darting over the assembled Tiaileng like a hummingbird for a few seconds as its lights quickly shifter from blue to red. Once they completed their shift, the device settled down, coming to a halt above Meccy's shoulder.

"Heh... figured it might be me," she said, lowering herself down from her sitting position and crawling forward along the edge of the bed until she was a little closer to me. She was still wearing nothing other than a pair of pale blue panties, but despite that, it felt... different than it had before. Not a madness of confusion and lust, not some strange surreality of a fantasy come to life. She was still there, and still beautiful in my eyes, but the things I'd thought about, that I'd talked about with Daledonne, were still fresh in my mind. Somehow, even in that state that should have been nothing but arousing, I didn't just see here as someone to have sex with, or to fear, or to feel awkward around. For the moment, at least, she was just Meccy - just a person, both like and unlike myself, but a real person, and dealing with the same sort of things as I was: instincts not quite entirely under control, probably questioning what I thought of her, what I thought of her behavior, as much as I was questioning what she thought of my own. I still didn't know exactly what to say, but I knew I had to try, and thinking of her like that, at least, meant that I was able to find the strength to meet her gaze as I did so.

"Meccy... I'm sorry if I... I don't even know what I'm sorry for, but... what happened in here, before, it wasn't about you. Well, not about you alone, just... this is all very, very new to me. It's like nothing I've ever had to try before, it's almost like... I dunno, maybe like suddenly being in space, not physically, but all of a sudden so many things are different you don't know which way is up anymore. I'm sorry if I saw something in you that wasn't true, or thought I saw something, because I didn't really know how to handle what was going on."

"Ah, don't worry about it," she replied, leaning in a little closer to me. "I meant what I said, about all of that, but... I wasn't used to reading you, either. Didn't know you enough, yet, to figure it out. So, I didn't mean to spook ya, or anything like that. I just like to be direct about what I want, but... I just want to like you, have you like me back, get together how we're supposed to. Going slow isn't... it's really not my style, but if it's yours, then I guess I'll find some way to make it mine, too. In the meantime, though, how can I make it up to you? Y'know, for overstepping things a little..."

"Um, well... you don't need to. I mean, just... if you're gonna take it easy on me, I guess that's enough..."

Meccy smiled at that - not mischievous, or sexy, just a soft, genuine smile. "All right, then... I can do easy." She spread her arms out to either side. "How 'bout just a hug? Nice and warm, and I promise, nothing more than that."

"Well, I, um..." I said, looking down and feeling a little flustered again. "I mean, you're still, um... not really dressed..."

"Oh, that? Still think you humans are way too uptight about all that, but seeing how your skin is, I can kinda see why. Guess we don't usually think of ourselves as being naked like this - after all, we've always got on a nice coat of fur." She gestured with a hand along her torso. "See? Nothing delicate or embarrassing exposed, and I'm still wearing enough to cover up the one part that might not be otherwise. Plus, you're still wearing yours, so there's more than plenty between us. For what you'd feel, it'd be no different from earlier. Well, maybe a little different." She leaned closer still. "This time, I can see your face straight on... and it's nice and cute, if you ask me. So, what do you say? One quick hug? For me?"

"A-all right," I said, leaning forward a little myself, and letting her wrap my arms around me, even as I lightly encircled my own around her back, her fur intensely soft beneath my fingers as they ran through it. Due to the angle between us, we really only ended up hugging our chests together. As light and tentative as it was, and with the flatness of her Tiaileng chest, it felt more like one of those hesitant "bro-hugs" I did on rare occasion with my male friends, and slightly more often with my relatives - and with my own father and Ithonwiy as I grew older, who always seemed slightly irked by it but tolerated it nonetheless. Still, it was kind of nice in its own way - despite the cold puff of her breath, there was a certain warmth that emanated from her fur as she rested against me, the rise and fall of her chest barely perceptible, far slower and subtler than my own. Oddly, for some reason, I focused on it, and when she let up a moment later, I couldn't help but ask about the unusual rhythm.

"Heh, you're not even slightly a romantic, are ya?" she said in response, laughing a little, but cutting it short as I slunk back. "Hey, hey, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I know, not a romantic hug anyway, but still, thanks for doing it..."

"Um... you're welcome..."

Meccy reached out, lightly patting my shoulder. "Don't sweat it - there'll be plenty of time for other stuff later, and I never cared much for that romance stuff anyway. You really want to know about the breathing stuff, though? Kinda dry and boring, if you ask me..."

"Well, if you don't mind..."

"Not at all. See, it's really simple. It's part of that photosynthesis stuff, right? Just happens, automatically, whether we're with you or not, but it's based on taking in light - the more light there is, the more we breathe in, um, that carbon-oxygen stuff, and just the oxygen back out. So when we're out in the sun, we breathe normal, probably faster than normal for you. When we're in here, though, with a lot less light, we need to breathe just a little, and sometimes when it's dark, I mean really dark, with no IR or anything, we don't really need to at all. It's almost never that dark, though, so we always do it some. Like I said, pretty boring, but I guess it's pretty hard to make talking about stuff like that interesting, in any case..."

"I... kind of enjoyed hearing about it, actually. I mean, I know some things about Tiaileng, but... well, you are technically aliens, so even little things like that about how you work can be interesting."

"I guess... you ask me, though, we're way better than any of those jokey things your movies and TV used to call aliens, though. Those shriveled-looking gray things? That's really the best you could do? I mean, sure, you guys aren't all that different either, but I always thought real, interesting aliens would be, well, really out there, you know? Sentient, moving rock-creatures, or things that are made up of pure energy, or super-wiggly tentacle thingies, but the millipede I saw on display at a nature museum once was a whole lot crazier than any aliens I've ever heard of anyone meeting. As far as I know, apart from you guys, Tiaileng haven't met anything that wasn't just kinda fuzzy like us, but in different colors and slightly different shapes - the wildest one is different because it has two extra limbs and walks on four of them, and it's got eyes on retractable stalks, but that's it. Of course, if it was living rocks, or weird things without energy we could use, we probably wouldn't have been interested in meeting it..." She trailed off, looking over my shoulder. "Oh, hey! You're back!"

I looked back to see Don standing behind me, holding a small stack of clothing. "Yes, I am. Good to see everyone... getting along in here, not that I truly doubted you would. Anyway, if I can pull him away for a second, we do all need to get some sleep, and hopefully this will help to facilitate it in a more comfortable manner."

He balanced the clothes on a nearby statue, one which sported a hat that was long and broad enough to contain them. "I wasn't sure exactly what you normally wear, so I grabbed some things that looked soft enough to sleep in. I grabbed some, I guess, T-shirts or undershirts, the plain white ones, and some shorts that were with them, or at least I think they are - they look slightly like underwear, but seem like they would be far too long and loose for that."

I looked over at what he had found, chuckling a little at his confusion over the items in question. "Yeah... they're technically knit boxers. My mom gets them in a bulk pack from some big warehouse store, and while the waist is basically my size, the other dimensions are... generous. I guess they kinda swim on me, a little, but they're really comfy, so I never really minded."

"Ah, I see. Well... they'll work for you, though? For this?"

"Yeah, should be fine. I mean, I'm wearing some right now, so I guess... if I button the fly, it should be fine..."

"All right, then." He glanced at the pair on top before picking them up. "To each their own, I suppose. After all, you wouldn't think on the face of it that fur and snug underclothes would be compatible, but with fur as short as ours, it actually works surprisingly comfortably. In fact, back on some of the early ships, I heard that they actually wore conforming full-body suits, complete with a little power-pack and rows of lights built into the inside to stimulate the photoreceptors in their fur - more energy-efficient, apparently, than lighting the ship interior bright enough to provide something similar."

He paused, shrugging. "Heh... suppose my train of thought's getting away from me again. Always did have that tendency, when something interesting crossed my mind." He reached over and handed the underwear to me, followed by one of the shirts. "Anyway, I'm sure you'd rather get some sleep than hear me go on about Tiaileng history. Or, maybe you would, but I do think sleep is currently more advisable." He gestured to an alcove I hadn't noticed before, partially obscured by two of the statues. "There's a surprisingly near-normal-scale bathroom behind there where you can change, as you probably would prefer more modesty that we do..."

I nodded, thanking him and taking the proffered clothes, and walked over to the bathroom. It was, admittedly, more reasonably sized, although the tub was still done up in marble, the sink and countertop had gold accents, the toilet featured several odd gizmos and a surprising array of buttons housed in a separate control panel along the side, and a strange, oddly detailed rendering of just the tech guru's eyes was etched into the top left corner of the mirror. Happy not to fiddle with any of it for the moment, I quickly changed, neatly stacking my discarded clothes in a corner. I felt, admittedly, a little oddly overdressed for going to bed, as I normally preferred my bulk-purchased but somehow more properly-sized boxer briefs in lieu of pajamas, but having something less conforming seemed like a good idea now, as they tended to transmit less sensation when something, or someone, rubbed up against them. The last thing I needed at the moment was another bout of overwhelmingly mixed signals.

When I returned, I noticed the light beginning to dim perceptibly, but it was still more than bright enough to see Daledonne gesturing over to me, sitting in a mostly empty spot towards the far side of the bed and indicating that the empty space next to him was for me. I walked around the periphery of the circular bed in order to reach it, realizing as I did so that the bed didn't have any top covers. Of course, after a moment, it made sense - between their fur and the warmth of being cuddled together, the Tiaileng didn't exactly have the need for anything else on top of them to retain more heat. In part, at least, it was a warmth that I knew I would soon be acquainted with.

I climbed onto the bed, sitting next to him, as he reclined next to me. "So... you sleep on your back, is that correct?"

"Um, yeah, usually... I think I turn over sometimes when I'm asleep, but yeah, mainly like that."

"Ah, good. That, I think, may help in terms of your comfort level. Side by side, there are some... other considerations, but I think this may work the best. That is, if you don't mind one other participant..." He gestured over, saying something in high-pitched Tiaileng, and the boy cuddled against someone nearby on the bed rolled over, revealing himself to be Serrivanne. He was wearing trunks similar to Don's, albeit in a slightly different color. Overall, he looked like most Tiaileng guys, maybe ever so slightly slimmer, but still cut an attractive, if not overly masculine, figure. It was one that I imagined I could become interested in, but with men, oddly enough, it seemed to take more time for me to, well, warm up to them - a reason, perhaps, that what gay porn I had tended to feature the same people or characters over and over. With women, though, it was different, and one look was all that was required to pique my interest. At least, I figured, in my current situation such a trait might come in handy, at least until I could get more used to the way things would be in my new position. Boxers were good in many respects, but the one thing they couldn't do was restrain or conceal the most obvious result of arousal.

"All right?" Don asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I... think this could work..."

"Okay, then. Just lie back and relax. Nothing overly stimulating, I promise." He fiddled with something concealed in his other hand, and the lights dimmed more dramatically.

I did as he asked, the room quickly becoming dark, and a moment later I felt him begin to snuggle up to my side, gently resting his head on my bicep and curling his arm in below it, his palm flat against my chest. At the same time, I felt the soft fur on his leg brush against my own, his other one moving forward and bending so that it rested on top of both. It took me a moment before I realized it was actually a standard pose, the kind you'd see in a movie with the typical couple in bed. Of course, in the movies, Daledonne's position would be the stereotypically female one, but at the moment it wasn't the positioning that seemed to particularly matter. True to his word, the position was casual enough, and didn't feel particularly disturbing or arousing at all, just... warm, and doubly so once Serrivanne cozied up to my other side.

The lights finished fading off into darkness, and as they did, my energy display seemed to fade back into my view as I looked down along my body. Don and Van, their eyes already closed and breathing slowing, were clearly visible, their headfur shining with an ethereal blue-green glow, somehow diffused upwards from the bright points of contact against my chest. Lower down, their arms and legs were glowing as well, their hands coming close together near the center of my chest, appearing from my vantage to come together with their muzzles to form a sort of landscape of rolling, glowing hills - and in the very center of them, the bright, anemone-like tree of energy sprouted, arching up into the darkness before its fronds leaned over and spilled out to either side, a glowing canopy that gently reached out to touch all of the Tiaileng assembled on the bed, and as each frond brushed against them, I could somehow sense each of them relaxing imperceptibly, their sleep somehow steadying as each connected frond became gradually brighter, taking on hints of the Tiaileng's own aquamarine coloration as they undulated and swayed above me in an invisible breeze. Even though I was becoming ever more used to seeing it whenever there was darkness, it was still as beautiful as ever, and its gentle motions, accompanied by the the two Tiaileng snuggled fuzzily up against me, quickly lulled my mind away from its earlier frenzied contemplations. I felt like I was falling into a trance, somewhere between sleep and waking, watching as the tendrils swayed, watching as they shifted gradually and seemed to make out ethereal patterns as they moved, ghostly shapes in the darkness, somehow both thoroughly alien and, at times, unexpectedly familiar. I tried for a moment to strain forward, to try and parse the shape that my mind seemed on the verge of recognizing, but my tired muscles refused to obey me, and my eyelids were already beginning to close the curtain on the usual show as the calm of sleep edged quickly forward. As I drifted off, though, the last thing I considered was that, for everything else that had happened that day, I was finally feeling something that had been eluding me ever since things had so suddenly changed from the life I'd had when I'd first awakened that morning.

Oddly enough, lying there next to two near-strangers and alongside forty-eight others, for the first time I'd arrived there, I was somehow actually beginning to feel, at least in the most basic way, comfortable.

I slept, calmly and surprisingly easily, all the way through the night. When I awoke, it appeared to be morning - the room was well inside and without windows, so it was a little hard to tell, but the lights were back up and I could feel people stirring around me. During the night, though, I'd ended up on my side, and I wasn't the only one that had moved around - my nose was rubbing against someone's chest fur, and I could feel what seemed to be several different people cuddled up against just about every part of me. It was like the couch from before, but multiplied several times, and I wasn't sure whether or not I liked it - on the other hand, though, it felt nice to wake up all snuggly and warm like that, and after a good night's sleep, it didn't feel quite as strange or panic-inducing as it had before, allowing the other, better feelings to come through.

Of course, when I realized that one of those feelings was that of not just soft fabric, but the crotch of someone's panties rubbing against my leg, that awkward blush quickly returned, but instead of getting overly worked up about it, I kind of just quietly sighed and worked to gradually extricate myself from the combined embrace. After all, crazy as it was, this was now, somehow, my life - and I had to admit that, compared to certain other possible things that could have happened, being there in that bizarre not-quite-harem certainly wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. Still, it would certainly take some getting used to, and there were a lot of questions that were still unanswered, and issues that had yet to be addressed.

Key among them, of course, was the most obvious issue: me, a virgin, in a veritable sea of women, without the first clue as to how to handle it all. I knew I had to figure it out soon, though... assurances or not, despite my unease, my own needs would crop up inevitably - and given the situation, I probably couldn't sneak off to just use some porn and hand lotion to deal with it. I couldn't help but think that however it did play out with the Tiaileng, things would soon become even more intimate...