Destined From the Start

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Hormones

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Grayson was studying when Joey came bursting into his dorm room, very excited. "Grayson, you have to help. Come on." He grabbed Grayson's arm and pulled him up out of his chair and out the door.

Down the hall they went, almost at a run, to the room that Shu!ss shared with Kan. Kan was there, speaking to a very excited Shu!us, whose neck patches were a bright purple. When he saw Grayson, he trundled forward, almost knocking Kan down. "Grayssson!" His bright blue tongue flicked in and out rapidly, a sign of his great excitement. "An egg-layer! Graysssson!"

Behind the excited reptilian, Kan shook his head. "He's been going on like this ever since he got back from that special physical conditioning class they stuck him in. I can't get anything else out of him, and he's knocked over everything in the room!"

It was true that the room was a mess. Papers and PADDs were strewn everywhere, and there were pieces of clothing in every corner of the room. The wildly swinging thick tail connected with Kan's shins about then, causing the other boy to let out a loud yelp. Shu!ss swung about to see what his roommate's problem was, making Grayson and Joey jump back quickly to prevent the same fate that Kan's shins had suffered.

Grayson cautiously approached his friend, and laid his hand on Shu!ss's arm, trying to quiet him. Between he and and Joey, they managed to get their friend settled down in a chair, while Kan stayed in the background, not at all eager for another hard whack from that tail. "Start at the beginning, Shu!ss. Tell me everything."

The blue tongue flicked in and out again, and Shu!ss gave a long hissing sigh. "I went to physsssical conditioning. There wasss a new member in our classss. Sssshe is an egg-layer! And her neck patchesssss were pink! PINK! Pink, Grayssssson!"

Grayson began to see where this was headed. He held up his hand to keep Joey quiet, and nodded at Shu!ss. "Okay. I get that. What happened?"

"SSShe tasssted me! And then sssshe bit me." Here Shu!ss held out his hand, showing two small puncture marks. "And ssshe gave me thisssss." He began to wave something about, clutched tightly in his other hand. And much prying, Grayson got it away from him, revealing a small data chip, which he immediately stuck in the comlink. It proved to have a name and com address on it. Obviously contact information. By this time, the other two boys were practically jumping up and down, trying to get Grayson to explain what Shu!ss was talking about.

"He went to his physical conditioning class and there was a new cadet there, a female of his species." Grayson looked at both of the others sternly. "And she's in season. That's what the pink neck patches mean." Totally ignoring the stern look he had given them, both of the others began to whoop, and gave Shu!ss high fives, which he eagerly returned. "Guys, settle down. She apparently initiated mating behaviors, and gave him her contact information. Now we need to help him."

Joey looked slightly disturbed for the first time. "Wait a minute. If she's in season, doesn't that mean she could lay eggs if they, uh, get together?"

"No. Not unless her neck patches turn red. She's too young yet. This is just, uh, practice behavior."

Kan began to snicker, and Joey gave a big grin. "Practice. Riiiiight. Okay, what do we need to help him do?"

"We need to help him find a place."

"You mean like a motel room?"

"If it's got a hot tub. They need really warm water and steam."

Immediately, Kan went to the comlink, activating it and running searches with Joey hanging over his shoulder. It only took them a short time to find a motel fairly close to the Academy that had rooms with hot tubs. Shu!ss gave them his id chip, so excited that his tongue barely got back inside his mouth before it was flicking out again. As soon as they had the reservation made, and the location information downloaded, he was at the comlink, using the data chip to contact the egg-layer. It took very little time to transfer the location data to her, and she was very obviously as excited as Shu!ss was. Her roommate hovered in the background, trying to convince her not to go away with those boys.

Grayson stepped forward and began to explain Eridanian biology to the egg-layer's roommate, who listened with wide eyes. It didn't take long to convince her that this was a necessary function, and for her to agree to accompany Wasssa to the motel where the room was reserved.

The boys set off, with Grayson cautioning Shu!ss all the way there, that he must be careful and not wreck the room, or he would have to pay damages. Shu!ss was practically jumping up and down, he was so excited. As soon as they checked him in and got to the room, Grayson went and programmed the hot tub. By the time Wasssa and her roommate arrived, there was steam wafting in the air. What followed was totally unexpected. The two Eridanians began to flick their little blue tongues at each other, and the egg-layer bit Shu!ss several times. And then they both climbed into the hot tub. Grayson started herding the others out of the room then, although he had a hard time of it. Everyone wanted to stay and watch what happened next. "Hey! Would you like it if Shu!ss wanted to watch you?"

That did the trick. Everyone trouped out of the room, leaving the two Eridanian cadets alone in the steam and hot water. Shu!ss didn't return to the dormitory until late Sunday evening, his tail dragging, his neck patches pale yellow. He hadn't eaten anything all weekend. Nor had he slept. But he was extremely happy.

/

Three weeks later, when Joey called him, hysterically shouting that Grimm was making funny grunting noises and demanding a mud bath, Grayson sighed deeply. How had he would up the one procuring trysting spots for all his friends?