(Six)
The next morning found Remy well rested. He found Trishnar and was about to tell him he was leaving, but the Dognan King snagged him for one last challenging racquetball game. The two had developed a kind of rivalry on the court and his host wasn't ready for it to end so soon. So far, Trishnar had won every game, but Remy was getting closer each time. Today he was determined to win, even if it killed him. They played and the game was intense and very satisfying. Remy got his win and Trishnar shook his head with chagrin, happy his guest was so well pleased. Aiden didn't show up this time to play along, but Remy wasn't too surprised. Babette said he would probably be sleeping all day.
Trishnar knew of Gambit's intentions to depart but managed to extract from him a promise to at least stay for supper, they had to celebrate his win. Remy couldn't refuse, he was much too happy. He staggered off to the locker room, exhausted now. He decided to use Trishnar's large sauna to recuperate and stepped gratefully inside. He lay vertically across the benches, his head back and his elbows resting on the bench above him, a towel across his lap. He was tired, but exhilarated from the match.
He chuckled softly when he heard the door open and he looked up to see a pretty dark haired woman come in. He should have known he wouldn't get off that easy. This was the first time today he had been approached by any of the Siskans — it was still early - but had known it was just a matter of time. This one was new to him but that meant nothing, most of the girls had several skins and he didn't know them all. It had become a bit of game, making him guess who they were. His best guess this time was that this was Marielle, wanting some payback for being refused yesterday.
"Really, chere. Gambit's flattered, but he's just too tired. Y'all done fucked dis boy to death," he complained merrily.
She just smiled at him and dropped her towel. She was breathtakingly beautiful like all the girls here, her body perfect and of course, everything he would ever desire in a woman. She had no Mark but that didn't mean anything, not all the girls' skins showed their Mark, just the one they liked best - their default skin, if you like. This woman was a feast for the eyes and she knew it. She tossed her head flirtatiously and blew him a kiss.
Remy groaned and closed his eyes, smiling now. He should have known his protest would fall on deaf ears. "Well, okay den. Jus' 'ope you ain't gonna be too disappointed when dis boy fail you."
The woman climbed the steps to stand over him. She straddled his waist with her long, luxurious legs and sat in his lap, boldly asserting how this was going to go.
"Uh, okay, chere. Si bien. Which one of you is dis, girl? Dis way Gambit don' call out de wrong one when he lost in de t'roes of passion, neh?" Remy asked, amused at the game.
She didn't answer but gently held his cheeks and kissed him, slipping him her tongue. She wanted to taste him and she did. He shivered from her expert treatment, he was continually amazed by how well these Siskans could seduce. He had never been so well kissed and touched as he had from these gorgeous women. He waited for her power to reach out to him, but she held back, content to touch him with her body alone. He knew enough that she was Siskan, but that alone, and it was almost a relief after all the Kundatesh assaults he had received. He found himself pushed back against the benches, this lovely woman he had never seen before astride him. Her kisses were full of fire and fun and passion and his body responded to it eagerly, making him a liar. She laughed, happy now, and pulled his towel away.
He grunted happily when she took him. She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside and he couldn't stop himself from touching her, trying to tell her with his hands what he was feeling with his body. Still, she didn't use her power on him in response to his overtures. She ground her hips against him instead, stoking his passion and increasing his desire for her. It was rough and fun, not whimsical and gentle as the others had been. Her lust brought him close quickly, her unashamed desire for him making him laugh. This was wild and crazy and more fun than he could have imagined. He thought for sure he wouldn't last but then finally, he felt her in his mind.
She didn't blast him with her backwash as the others had, she let his joyful lust build and build and then denied him release, driving him even more crazy. None of the girls had used this particular trick before, they just washed him away and laughed when he turned to jelly from their love.
Remy snickered, amused and excited by her tease, and reached out with his own power, willing her to finish this. "C'mon, chere. Gambit knows you want dis. C'mon, baby. Just let go!" he demanded, wanting her backwash to blow him away.
She just snickered and refused, teasing him playfully with her eyes and the driving rhythm of her body. Gambit was on fire. He bucked and twisted, thrashing a little now. He was almost angry, the frustration a strange and snarled pleasure in and of itself. He was desperate now, about ready to just toss her off and finish himself with his own hands, he was fit to be tied.
What de 'ell is goin' on! Remy demanded to his inner voice. Who is dis lovin' me? I know you know! Tell me!
/I know a secret,/ Shi'ow-ri whispered coyly. It seemed to be her favorite line. /Look at her and then you'll know it, too. /
Got no time fo' games, chere!
Shi'ow-ri never answered him. He heard the woman on top of him laugh at him again and then the impossible happened. She shifted right then and there and he was holding Aiden in his arms. Gambit had no time to think, no time to react in fear. The Siskan's body changed inside and out, and Aiden was tight now around him, tighter than any woman could ever be. The difference almost blew him away.
When Babette had told him Aiden would be out cold asleep all day from the drought he had been given, she had been sadly mistaken. He was anything but asleep. Aiden locked him in a bruising, vampire kiss and flooded his mind with his desire. Remy was overtaken again by the powerful duality of their two bodies and he was lost to Aiden's spell. Never had he felt this so strongly, not even with Babette. He was a two in one, male to male and feeling it all, shivers of pleasure racing up and down his spine and boiling down to where they were connected almost like an ache.
There would be no refusals, the Siskan had driven him well past the point of no return. Remy wanted to finish so badly it didn't matter anymore who was there. He had both hands on Aiden's hips and he drove the Siskan down on himself harder and harder, feasting on the slip and slide the Kundatesh was making him feel from his lover as well. He couldn't remember the last time it had felt this good to simply fuck, it disintegrated any other pleasant memories he had, even of Babette, and made them seem like drinking water when he was now having the sweetest of wines.
/You come 'ere for an education, you? How'sz disz? came a vibration from the Siskan riding him and Shi'ow-ri's faithful translation.
Remy was speechless, completely blown away. How was he supposed to respond to something like this, to that question? This situation was beyond anything he had ever experienced before.
Aiden wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. He broke off the kiss, boring into Remy's eyes with his own, demanding an answer. /You want Aiden now, huh? I'll juszt bet you do. What you t'ink would happen with me? How could you posszibly t'ink I would ever hurt you? I know disz isz ze beszt you've ever had! I know it isz becausze I told you it would be szo! Juzst ze szame, I want you to prove to me zat I wasz right! Szay it! Tell me!
"Uhnn...!" Remy groaned, overcome. He was sweating now and well out of control. The voice in his head wasn't normal, a sure side effect of this strange dream he was now trapped in. The voice was gentle in his ears, but hard with z's, still not quite right.
/Tell me!/ Aiden once more demanded, stealing back Gambit's attention without a word ever leaving his mouth. /Tell me wit' ze Kundateszh. Szcream it for me!
/I do want you! I do want dis! I love you and I love dis! Dis is good, as good as you said it would be! I want to feel it all! Gambit's body screamed, the truth ripping out of him in a pulse that made the man on top of him laugh with pleasure against him.
Aiden's grin spread wickedly. /Very well. Szchool isz back in sesszion, my friend. Babette, she start you off, now Aiden'sz gonna finish it. Time to learn szomet'ing new./
Aiden came forward again, hands on Remy's shoulders, and he hissed a strange word, the same guttural command he had used on Marielle. There was no time for the thief to resist as he found his mind pulled from his body, up into the space above them, in a shattering duality of the spiritual and the physical. Like the physical duality, this was the same as when he had joined with Babette, only far more intense. It didn't stop the activity below, they were together, he and this Siskan, somewhere else but still very much here.
/Take me! Aiden vibrated, the demand loud in the void. /Come on! Do it! What you need, it'sz right 'ere! Take it!
Remy surged forward, a bit more agile here in the nether since Babette had taught him not to be afraid of the duality. In their sessions, she had always controlled things as she guided him, this time Aiden was relinquishing that control, demanding that Remy finish this himself, that he use the lessons she had taught him. Gambit did his best to comply, he grasped the energy that was Aiden in this form and pulled him in deep, wrapping him up in his arms and swallowing him up. He blasted the Siskan with love, excitement, playful energy, and above all, pleasure. Remy grinned from the thrill of his control, of the total freedom he was experiencing. The panic and confused anger he had felt before was gone and he was back in the game and having a blast. It was more than he could have imagined, a lesson well worth learning. Mercy, sex would never be the same for him after this, it was simply impossible. In playful turnabout, he teased, /You ask for dis, eh? Well, you gettin' it. How's it feel, cher?
/Yesz! Oh blessz the Szpirits, yesz! Aiden shouted loudly with his inner voice, finishing instantly from the force of it. There was a snap and an explosive burst of energy that left him, glittering red sparkles burst out of nowhere between them in a cloudburst of color. This was no mere sprinkling like Aiden had released before, this was a bomb.
Gambit convulsed violently the moment the sparkles hit him, shouting garbled curses and thrashing, an climactic explosion of rapture he had never experienced before. This was sex on Crack, something beyond anything he could have imagine. It had a purpose though, something beyond mere pleasure - Gambit felt something of his own give and snap in his own mind, like something that had been out of joint was suddenly snapped back into place - something that had been out of joint for a while, since Boston perhaps or even earlier, that only now just gave way. It was explosive and liberating, like being born all over again. This is what Aiden had been talking about, he was certain of it, and yes, Aiden had been the only one to provide it in this moment of intimacy. Remy shuddered and teetered on the edge of blackness, uncertain why he didn't drop off.
It seemed Babette was correct, this Siskan had perfect control of his own power, more so than any of the others. There was a strange shift in Gambit's mind and he knew that Aiden had blocked the rush, blunted it somehow so that they didn't drop off the edge. Instead they lay in a woozy heap, in a trance like state, half awake, half in a dream.
Remy blinked and moaned, stoned beyond belief. Nothing had ever made him this high, this relaxed and all right with himself. He felt clear now, more like his old self than he had in a long while. The sparkles of energy that Aiden had released continued to drift down on him, his body absorbing them like a sponge. He could see his skin start to glow with a strange twinkling light as if the tiny sparkles were flowing through his veins now instead of blood. He recognized this as the same shower of lovely, happy glitter that had rained down on him from Aiden before in the library with Babette. Only now it was now inside him this time, coursing through his veins and charging him up from the inside. There was no way to describe the rush, the intoxicating power of it. This gift from Aiden, it was so very precious. He felt high, euphoric like he could take on the whole world and conquer it. He would do it with love and there would be no more war, no more fighting, only this glorious rapture raining down over everyone.
Aiden stirred slightly, his mouth brushing Remy's sweat drenched shoulder in a gentle kiss. /Well done, preciousz. Well done, he vibrated. With his words came a tender drift of emotions – an intense relief from pent up passion and frustration, an intense love for him and a desire to see him well and complete.
An odd thought, Remy found himself wondering, given the situation. Had there been something wrong with him? If there had been, it was gone now.
They both lay gasping softly, shivering and shaking from the rush, their bodies shimmering brightly in the gloom of the sauna. Aiden was patient and restrained, calmly giving the thief time to find his voice.
"Now, dat was so unfair, vous petit connard. Sneakin' up on a boy like dat," Remy complained in Siskan, not at all unhappy. He was still quite intoxicated and needed a moment to collect himself, to try and fathom what had just happened.
/Yesz, I know, Aiden vibrated as he chuckled playfully in agreement, not the least bit contrite. There would be no apology, what they had shared was beyond it.
Aiden gave Remy a deep passionate kiss and let him feel a vibration of his happiness and contentment. He was blissful and happy, his heart full of joy that Gambit had finally accepted him. Remy felt it and shivered one last time from the pleasure of it, making Aiden snicker softly once more. They remained joined together and Remy realized he was still inside this woman who was now a man and it still felt right. This was a lesson to be learned here. Man, woman, it didn't matter with these Siskans. They were one and the same. Poor Remy shivered against the bench of the sauna and knew then he had to get out of here or he wasn't going to resist Aiden the next time. No woman skin for him then, he knew it, so powerful had been Aiden's desire. He would do anything this Siskan asked of him.
"Disz okay, now, me? Szeein' me now, you," Aiden said to him gently, his soft voice thick with an accent so like the exaggerated French parodies Gambit had heard all his life. It was everything Remy had expected it to sound like and so much more. It sounded good to him, seductive. Remy was startled to hear him speak English, mangled as it was, Siskan seemed to be the house language here. He recalled also what Trishnar had said about some damaged Siskans speaking with heavy Z's. Apparently Aiden was one of these and the accent had carried over into his vibrations, something he chided himself for not figuring out earlier, Kimble's accent had carried over as well.
But then the thief scowled, irritated that Aiden could speak to him freely all this time and hadn't.
Aiden brushed his thumb over Remy's lips, rubbing his frown away. "Aiden been szpeakin' all along, my luv. It isz you who 'aszn't been lisztening."
"But -" Remy sputtered, but was silenced by the tenderest of kisses. He allowed Aiden to gently pet him and didn't move away, relaxing under the Siskan's careful and gentle touch. Up close, Remy could see the light blonde hairs of Aiden's eyelashes and the translucent, pale green of his eyes. He looked sleepy and gentle, a contented child, and not someone to be feared. Gambit was still trying to recover from the shock of Aiden's transformation, he had thought this Siskan too proud to confront him like this, but refused now to show him his nervousness. He had guessed what Aiden had been trying to make him see and was no longer afraid.
Aiden seemed to sense his fear dissipate and embraced him, holding him close and touching him gently. He brushed his hands through Remy's hair and looked deeply into his ruby red eyes. "Now you szee Aiden can luv you, zat you no longer 'ave to be szo szcare'. Aiden would never 'urt you, me."
Aiden had wanted this beautiful Cajun from the first time he had laid eyes on him. He had watched from a window as Babette first brought him in, but had kept his distance, wanting to let him settle in first. He had seen in Remy his playfulness and his need to explore the Siskans' mysteries. That wasn't all Remy had to learn. Here was a human with Kundatesh powers who had no real clue how to use them. Well, he certainly had come to the right place.
Aiden had fully expected to be embraced as easily as the girls had been. He had learned Remy's Siskan was like him, a powerful Courtesan who preferred to be male. But Aiden was perplexed and frustrated when all of his overtures had been rejected, he didn't understand why this had happened. It didn't take long for him to see the problem and he did his best to show Remy he had nothing to fear. Communication was never one of Aiden's strong points, years of abuse had seen to that, and well, his attempts hadn't gone so well as planned. His temper hadn't helped and he was less than patient, rushing even more when he saw Remy was going to leave soon. Aiden finally resorted to desperate measures to get what he had wanted, fed up that it'd had to come down to this. The Kundatesh had told him everything he had needed to know. Gambit had been afraid of his and Kimble's masculinity, pure and simple.
Now, here in the sauna, all was well. Aiden sent Remy more vibrations of apology and whispered soft encouragements in his ear, telling him again he had been foolish to be afraid of him for that reason.
"No need for fear, you to me," the Siskan continued, his voice seductive and gentle. Remy was drinking up the vibrations of peace and happiness he had sent out, made quiet now as Aiden explained. "Scarier t'ingsz in disz worl' zan me, yesz. Aiden dreamsz dem, ze bad t'ingsz. You know disz. He can szee it in your eyesz. Szee disz, too. It'sz not what'sz on ze outszide of a Sziszkan dat matter. What szee you in Marielle, eh? Isz she szo pretty asz Babette, her?"
Remy looked back, thinking of Marielle's constant criticism of Aiden. "Non."
"Babette, she szee Aiden. Now you szee 'im, too. Aiden isz shy, mebbe not szo szpeaking much, but 'e isz beautiful, yesz?"
Remy laughed a little. "Oui, Aiden is un jolie petite Siskan, c'est la ver'ite."
The compliment made Aiden smile, the Kundatesh the ultimate translator. "Aiden isz beautiful, szo isz your Sziszkan. You fear usz from what you szee on ze outszide when it mattersz not'ing."
"I'm sorry," Gambit apologized in an attempt to make Aiden understand he was getting it now. He still didn't understand why Aiden hadn't just spoken to him in English before to explain himself, but realized that Aiden and Kimble also had another thing in common — a strong desire for acceptance of who they were, as they were. Aiden had wanted Remy to come to him. This is what Shi'ow-ri had been trying to tell him.
"Aiden teach you many t'ingsz, you learn szo very faszt. Better now wit your power you will be, now zat I calm your mind. Now zat I finish you. Beautiful it isz, ze Kundatesh. No fear for you of it? Your friend it will be, asz Aiden alwaysz will be alszo."
"Merci," Remy stammered, loving the sound of the broken voice washing over him. This Siskan sounded so wise, far more than he had looked. He didn't understand everything Aiden had said, but replied, "I owe you bot' for dis, you and Babette."
Aiden simply smiled and kissed him again. "Zere isz no need for t'anksz. Not if you take what you learn and usze it for your Sziszkan. Zere isz one more, ze laszt lesszon you gonna learn 'ere, you. Disz one of yourz, 'e'sz broken like I wasz, non?"
"Oui. He broken in four."
Aiden spoke to him softly, having a message he wanted so very much to convey. He lay his hand on Remy's chest, mirroring the scars there. "We are ze szame - you, me, your Sziszkan. Szo much bad t'ingsz 'appen to usz, more zan we deszerve. Ze broken onesz, we luv ze beszt cuz we know what it'sz like to 'ave not'ing...to be szo loszt and alone, usz. We are not blood but we are kin, ze t'ree of usz, ze Kundatesh make usz szo. Keemble, 'e give disz gif' to you and Aiden hasz finished what 'e start, neh? You no longer are you what you were before. You are Sziszkan juszt a leetle now, undersztand?"
Remy nodded, getting most that. It was as good an explanation as any for his strong attraction to whatever Siskan Courtesan had passed his way. He belonged to them and them to him in a way that could never be broken.
Aiden wasn't finished. He continued to explain, "Your Sziszkan, 'e will not 'urt you, juszt asz Aiden did not 'urt you. 'E cannot, you are kin. Your Sziszkan de beszt t'ing could ever 'appen to you if you let 'im. 'E leave hisz Mark on you, Aiden can szee disz. 'E give you ze power, ze Kundatesh. Ze Kundatesh, it isz a gift from ze Spiritsz, szomet'ing dat connectsz usz all, ze onez who posszessz it. No more will it trouble you, my sziszter an' I 'ave szeen to zat, eh?"
Remy nodded, more at peace now with this strange power than ever before.
Aiden smiled, happy to see it. "It isz a powerful t'ing, disz szign of hisz luv for you. Disz gift 'e give to you. Any Sziszkan dat leave a Mark asz deep asz de one on you isz wort' keeping. Forever!" Aiden emphasized, almost demanding agreement with his mind and his voice.
"Gambit won' let 'im go!" Remy promised breathlessly, his voice betraying how much Aiden had mesmerized him. Up close, Aiden's presence was powerful and intoxicating. His body was warm and comfortable here against him and he didn't want Aiden to leave. If Aiden were to ask for a repeat performance right here, right now, he would do it and not just for the wisdom he possessed. Aiden's love vibrations had been very powerful and intoxicating, more so than Babette's had ever been, something dangerously attractive and potentially addictive.
Aiden squinted at him, trying to understand. "Zen why are you sztill 'ere, you? You should be 'ome, not leaving your Sziszkan all alone."
"I 'ad to find out 'ow to elp 'im," Remy replied defensively. He thought Aiden was trying to make him leave perhaps out of jealousy of the girls, but then realized that Aiden was very sympathetic towards Kimble and didn't understand why he had been left behind. Strange to see such a deep, heartfelt sympathy, the two had never met.
Aiden backed off, chuckling softly and gave Remy another passionate kiss. "Disz isz 'ow you 'elp your Sziszkan. Ze Gamesz Maszter, mebbe 'e fix your Sziszkan on de outszide, sztop all de voicesz, but ze only way to fix 'im for real isz to give him your luv. Make 'im feel it. Wrap 'im up inszide of it like you done me. Go 'ome. Make luv to Keemble like you make luv to Aiden. Wrap 'isz 'eart inszide your own an' never, ever let 'im go. You make luv szo nize, like you know ze difference 'tween ze fucking an' making luv. Ze Dognan, dey don' know disz. Trishnar, 'e mebbe know a little more dan ze o'derz, but not asz much asz you. Go 'ome. 'Ow Keemble muszt missz you, him."
"I've been...I -" Remy stammered, but Aiden shushed him with a gentle finger on his lips.
"You've been 'ere too long, my friend. Zere isz not'ing lef' for you to learn 'ere. Go home." He kissed Remy again and chuckled softly as he paid Remy the greatest compliment a Siskan Courtesan could give, "I enjoy you very much, me. You luv like ze one who train me."
Gambit surrendered, still trembling from Aiden's powerful backwash and watched as his lover withdrew. Aiden didn't look back but walked off with a calm, steady stride, never losing that small smile. Remy was reminded of Kimble and felt a sense of loss that made him realize that Aiden was right. It was time to leave and put what he had learned here to use.
Remy grabbed his towel and tried to stand. His legs were like rubber now and it took him more than a minute to steady himself. He was still buzzed from Aiden's power rush and more than a little drunk. He shuffled his way into the shower to wash, but it was merely habit. He didn't feel dirty or sticky from their intercourse, he didn't feel unclean. He was waiting for the traditional Catholic guilt to come down on him, he had supposedly just committed one of the worst sins they had ever taught him, but it wasn't there. The look of happiness on Aiden's face and the peace that now dwelled within him was just too compelling to be banished so quickly by beliefs he didn't fully embrace. He believed in God unquestionably, but this love he had given and felt in return, how could that possibly have been bad?
He dressed and made his way back to his room planning to dress for dinner but his head was in a complete fog. He felt so strange, this cloud of bliss that was washing over him was making him sleepy. He couldn't stop himself from laying down on his huge bed and falling instantly asleep.
Moments later he was dreaming. He was running through a dilapidated war zone, the sky above him was filled with smoke and he was surrounded by the ruins of what must have been a huge city. This was like Cerise, yet he could see the telltale signs that this was Earth, this was home. The cars here were models he recognized and the street signs were in English. The war was far from over. He could hear rockets flying through the air and something else...the roaring of lions? He realized to his horror that he was trapped in one of Aiden's horrific paintings, he was dreaming Aiden's nightmare.
"Fly, my pretties! Fly!" a voice cried from behind him.
Remy stopped in his rapid travel to see who had spoken. He saw a strange man, a Siskan with long brown hair and a large yellow Mark on his chest. He held two great lions in place with long straps of leather. These beasts looked like lions, but somehow, he knew they were once men, mutants. The Siskan released them from their bondage and they surged forward, howling like the Devil himself.
At first Remy thought they were coming for him, but they rushed past him, these snarling engines of death. Coming to run alongside them from the buildings around them were X-men and other warriors. This was a battle. The Battle. The end of the Game. Gambit turned and ran as he had been, now shouting the battle cries of his clan, of his family, of the X-men. The opponent he now saw in the distance. Jael.
Remy ran as fast as he could, tossing his red flaming weapons of charged rocks and ball bearings before him, clearing his path. He didn't get far before there was a huge explosion all around him. The building next to him crashed from the blast, toppling down on him and covering him in darkness, killing him... Or so he had thought. When he woke next, he was in the most peculiar place.
He was back in Kimble's memory files and seeing again the Siskan pleasure room where Young Kimble had taken him. The reality he now found himself in was as vivid and sharp as that file memory had been. He was lying on the love table in Carnya's place, surrounded by soft red pillows. This was the same as his little daydream in the shower only now their roles were reversed. He was on his side, his legs bent comfortably in front of him, and Kimble was standing behind him, making love to him in every sense of the word. Remy knew then he was still dreaming.
Kimble was magnificent and beautiful. In this dream he had been fully restored and that wonderful air of sensual confidence Young Kimble had possessed in this room was returned to him. He was all art and grace as he coaxed the most wonderful shivers of rapturous joy from Remy and Gambit thought his whole body was going to explode. When it did, Remy was swept away in the backwash and he knew he was experiencing something only Kimble could provide. The love that poured into him was greater than anything he had ever felt before, this was even better than a tumble with Babette or the flood of happiness Aiden had washed him in. He was weeping and shivering and Kimble was touching him gently and asking, "What's wrong? What's the matter?"
"Where's my wife, Kimble?" Remy found himself sobbing. He was in pain as much as he was overjoyed with what Kimble had done to him. "Where's de wife an chil'ren Anya promised me?"
"They're here at Xavier's," Kimble soothed. "They're here an' I'm gonna helps ya find 'em. I'm gonna help ya cuz I loves ya. I loves ya more'n the whole world."
Gambit bolted awake, momentarily disoriented and unsure of where he was. He rubbed his eyes and groaned as he became more aware. He looked at the clock, stunned. He had lost another whole day, it was now the next morning. He had missed his dinner date with Trishnar, indeed, it was now almost time for lunch the following day. What had happened to him?
The dream of Kimble had been so intensely real and he wondered if his encounter with Aiden in the sauna was responsible for it. The way Aiden had made him feel, the way he had made him so high, it wasn't beyond him to consider the possibility that the dream was all part of the message Aiden had been trying to tell him. He knew Kimble for the creature that he was and he could love his Siskan now as a man if it came down to it. If he could make Kimble look like Aiden had at that moment of supreme bliss, it just might be worth it. Inspired now, he knew he had to call home. He had to know how Kimble was doing. He hadn't called home for days, so lost and submerged had he been here in this magical place. He had really needed this, his soul had. Now it was time to go.
He showered quickly, dressed, and sat back on the bed, reaching into his coat for his cell phone. He realized then that he had smashed it back at the house days ago. He cursed his foolishness and went looking for one of Trishnar's Siskans. He found Babette close by and asked if he could use the house phone, it was a long distance call. She smiled at him and pointed to a small private booth in the hall.