(Two)

Trishnar did his best to integrate me into his little family. I spent most of my days with Asher, pouring through his books and listening to his stories. He would allow me to spend as much time with him as I wanted so long as I no longer tried to push myself on him. One move on my part and I was rudely shoved away followed by him disappearing from me for days. I learned quickly enough and I finally stopped all of my attempts. Of course my attentions were drawn elsewhere, Babette had become that outlet for me and my feelings towards my brother were tempered. Though I did not understand his reluctance to play with me, we were friends again.

The evenings were spent with Trishnar in his parlor.

Trishnar liked best to sit by the fireplace in his massive parlor, sipping wine or coffee as he read the paper or a book. Most often Babette would sit between his legs on the floor, laying back against him while he petted her with one hand. Trishnar was very affectionate towards us or at least he tried to be with me. The first time he made to touch me I growled and flinched away, snapping at him with my teeth. He kept a respectful distance from me then, but every night as we came to the parlor, he would offer me that place between his legs before finally giving it to Babette.

I continued to refuse. Why would I want this man or any other Chuckfet to touch me ever again? I had determined this would never happen. But of course it did.

There are no words to describe Trishnar's infinite patience, even now when I look back on it, it is still bewildering. He was a man with no thought or care of how long this was going to take with me, he had no concerns about this. He was waiting for me to make the next move. Babette would sit there night after night between his legs and vibrate messages to me of how nice and warm it was to be there, how pleasant it was to be gently scratched and petted. She had told me she was with the Master often in his bed, that he was a good and considerate lover. I could care less.

What finally made the difference was that I had fallen deeply in love with her and it was her company I could never get enough of. We were intimate as often as we could manage and my poor needy heart was thriving on it, just as I had with Asher's Morrowhiem treatments. I wanted to be next to her, even if it meant coming closer to this man who claimed to be my Master.

One night I gave in and scootched closer to her as she sat in that position of honor. Without saying a word, Trishnar spread his legs just a little more, making room for the both of us. I moved in, keeping my eyes down and away from him as Babette took me into her arms, spooning her larger body around me. Ah, this was lovely. She was so warm and cozy, I almost purred with happiness. It was only much later that I realized the gentle hand stroking through my hair was not hers. It had been so tender and loving, I hadn't yet noticed that it was just a little too large and furry to be hers. I would have minded more if it had been anything rougher, but the stroke of it was so careful and soft that I allowed it. I still ignored the man doing this, refusing to acknowledge him in any way.

He knew it of course, but it was enough for Trishnar that he hadn't been forced away as before. He accepted this limited role without pushing for more, and it soon became common for both of us to share this spot. I became more relaxed over time and gradually allowed him to scratch me, to rub my shoulders, but only if Babette was there too.

Trishnar was quite happy with this, it didn't take me long to discover. It was only a few days later that I was in the library when I overheard a conversation between Asher and our Master. I was behind a shelf of books and hidden from their view as they entered the room. They were talking as Asher picked books for his day's reading and neither seemed to know I was there.

"He's making excellent progress," Trishnar was saying. His voice was positively glowing.

"He's doin' all right, I guess," Asher agreed, but with some reluctance. "Just don't be gittin' too excited, he's real nervous an' shy. You just gots ta understand his pain. He might never be able to be with clients again the way he wuz made ta do. He might never be wit'cha the way you wants."

"I do understand that, Asher. I do. I just cannot help but be pleased that he allows me to touch him. He is so beautiful, my heart soars when he comes near. How could Meckland have been so cruel to someone so lovely?"

I couldn't help but cringe at those words. Was it really an accident that I was hearing this, or was this staged for my benefit? I still couldn't believe anyone of the Chuckfet could feel this way about any of us. Why would they even care?

Asher was answering the Master's question. "Meckland didn't understand us the way you do. I doubt any of them Game players will loves us the way ya do. It frightens me. I don't ever wants ta be owned by nobody else."

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"I knows ya means it and I loves ya. Just you keeps in mind what I said, Aiden ain't ready ta serve and he might never be. Just keep showin' him ya care an' maybe time will takes care of the rest."

I withdrew from my hiding place and fled outside, not wanting to hear anything more about Trishnar touching me. I went somewhere quiet, hiding in the flowers, and when it grew dark, returned to the house. Everything was as it had been and I found myself back at my Master's feet, wanting only Babette's arms around me. I would allow Trishnar to pet me, but there would never be anything more.

Things continued like that for some time until there came an evening when I entered the parlor one evening only to find the Master alone. I was fidgety and nervous, uncertain what this was.

Trishnar looked at me with a calm, benevolent smile. "Do not be afraid. I thought we should have some time alone, you and I."

I stayed as I was.

He gestured for me to come closer and I balked. He waited, giving me time to make up my mind. I was mostly integrated, I had Krishnak's memories and his skills. I figured if he pulled anything, I could take him, or at least make him pay for it with blood. All right then. I came closer, hesitating once more when he opened his arms, indicating he wanted to hold me. I growled at him, showing him my teeth.

"You have nothing to fear from me. We both know how strong you are. Come, please."

I stood there, debating. I know that both Asher and Babette had wanted me to accept that this was where I belonged, with him. It would please them to know that I had done this thing. Yes, I would do it for them.

I came closer, entering the circle of his arms with what had to be agonizing slowness for him, but he held fast, making no sudden moves, only sighing with happiness when he finally was able to close them around me.

Oh, how wonderful this was, what a glorious surprise! I was enclosed in a heat that a nonorganic Siskan could never generate, but more than that was the thunderous beat of his heart as I rested my head against his chest. Not since that last moment with Quishnalay had this sound come to us in bliss with no threat of danger. I found myself pressing my head against that massive chest, the tiniest of laughs leaving me with such joy. I heard a rumble and a shake and knew he was laughing too, so very happy to have me there.

We stood like that for some time, his big shaggy arms enfolding me. Then he gently stroked my hair and said, "I have something I wish to show you."

I looked up at him, perhaps seeing him for the first time. His eyes were sparkling green, so happy to be looking down on me. His face was so regal, something Meckland's could never have been in spite of being of the same species and station. "Come," he said, stepping back and gesturing that I should follow.

He took me to a room I had not been in before, but I recognized it well enough. It was a Giving Room, one with the machine that imports knowledge so violently into our bodies. I was instantly angry, recalling how unpleasant such a machine was. I was certain now I had been tricked. He seemed startled by my negative reaction and was quick to raise his hands in supplication. "I did not bring you here to force anything on you. What I wanted was for you to chose your own skin."

I blinked at him in confusion.

"You cannot be comfortable as you are," he said, "It must be intimidating to be so small. Rather than me selecting a skin for you, I'd prefer that you choose one for yourself."

Remy paused here, smiling. Yes, he could see his good friend Trishnar doing such a thing. Trishnar had been thoughtful and kind, providing every possible thing for his Siskans. The King's palace had been huge, whole rooms devoted to entertainment for his Siskans, anything they could ever want, any toy, any form of clothing. It was a sign of a Master who genuinely cared for his harem, one who saw them as real people. Providing a skin of their choice was right in line with that.

My curiosity was greater than my fear, I had to admit. He didn't wait for any words from me, but went and started up the menu selector, continuing through the various windows of options until he came to the one regarding skins. He gestured to me, indicating I should come closer. "This is the screen for all the various choices you have. I'm giving you complete freedom. Choose your gender, your hair, your skin. Everything. I want to see how you see yourself." He bowed at me, and then retreated, giving me space.

I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, never had I been given such a choice. I went to the screen and began making selections, smiling when a composite image came up on another screen, giving me a three dimensional view of what I had chosen. When I began to smile with true enjoyment of the process, Trishnar spoke to me again.

"I let Babette do this, you know. I could never have chosen a skin so beautiful as the one she selected for herself. I had wanted to do this for Asher as well, but regrettably, his third star is dead. I cannot unlock him from that skin his former Master had chosen. Not without wiping out his entire personality which I will always refuse to do. He has accepted this and I do my best to compensate for my inability to help him in other ways."

I paused and glanced at him. Could those words be true? Was it possible I had been truly rescued and was now in the presence of a man who did truly love us? Or was this another trick? A ploy to generate my sympathy somehow? I couldn't be sure. I went back to my selections.

He come a step closer, looking over my shoulder at the composite image. It was as you see me now, dearest Kimble. Not very tall, but enough. Medium build, pale green eyes, thin blonde hair just touching my shoulders. This skin I wear now is mine completely.

"Very nice," he commented. "It is as you wish?"

I nodded with a soft grunt.

"Excellent. Do you wish for another? I won't limit your number."

I hesitated, unsure. I liked this one I had chosen.

"It can wait. You may do it at another time. Asher can assist you."

I nodded again, eager to try on this new one I had made.

Trishnar laughed, understanding. "Very well. "

I braced myself for the worst, disliking this process but wanting the skin too much to argue. Amazingly, instead of laying me down on the horrid receiving table, he placed me on a stool and set the headdress on me like a crown. "I'm told this is more comfortable than the table," he offered as an explanation.

I smiled at him to show this was true. Even now I could not bring myself to speak to him in Siskan, I still needed that barrier between us. I did not truly belong to him, not in spirit. This gesture of giving me a skin of my choice was not a true gift, I reasoned, it was him allowing me what I rightly deserved by simply being alive.

Remy smiled ironically. Of course Aiden would see things that way. He still did. That arrogance was his protection, that way of keeping him elevated. Not an unusual reaction to being a slave and one Gambit couldn't bring himself to condemn him for. It just made him harder to deal with.

The skin update process was so much more pleasant when you're not strapped to a table and helpless. I undressed, knowing the clothes I had been wearing would no longer fit, they were a child's things. He even allowed me to click "Start" myself so I knew when it was going to begin. I closed my eyes and braced myself.

Bright lights, data streams and pain. It was brief but long enough that I could feel myself growing in size, tripling my density and altering my center of gravity. It was done quickly enough and I removed the headdress, not wanting it on me any longer than it had to be.

"You look magnificent."

I raised my eyes to his, a little drunk from the sensation of uploading skins. I rose, unsteady on my feet and he braced me with his body, letting me lean against him. I laughed, thrilled to be a man again instead of a child. I couldn't stop looking at my hands, at my long legs. I was quite a bit taller now and feeling a lot more secure. It would be harder for this Master to control me by my size.

"Walk around, you'll feel better more quickly."

I moved my feet, trying to get adjusted. The fogginess dissipated and then I was myself again, moving about and stroking my hands through my wispy blonde hair. Oh, yes. This was so much better than being a child! I couldn't wait to show Babette!

That thought froze me, sobering me instantly. The Master would want a reward for this, I was certain. I should be thinking of how that might be paid, not of how I would use this skin for myself.

Trishnar was looking at me, the smile in his eyes. "Babette will be pleased," he said as if he could read my thoughts. "You should show her at once."

"But what about you?" I asked in the Muzla, voicing my own thoughts, uncertain. I should be using this skin with him first, it would be his privilege.

He cocked his head, trying to decipher that. I'm such a bastard, I know it. I make things so very hard. "You wish to stay with me?" he questioned, taking his best guess at what I had said. "Nothing would make me happier. I see in your eyes that you've got some spark in you. You could be great fun and the wait will probably be well worth it. But I won't have you unless you want it thoroughly. You owe me no obligation, not even for this. I want you only if you desire it yourself. Understand?"

Impossible what he was saying. No Master could be so thoughtless of his own wants or needs. I was here to serve and his title gave him the power to do with me as he wished. Amazing the guilt he generated in me by releasing me like that. I was confused. "I am not afraid of you," I said, still in the Muzla, though I wasn't sure just who I was trying to convince.

Trishnar waited.

I looked at him, clenching my fists though I couldn't stop the shake in my limbs. I shouldn't be afraid. I was the Gladiator, I was the Dreamer, I was a real person. "I'm not afraid of you," I repeated softly but with the cadence of a mantra.

Trishnar stayed as he was, letting me work it out.

I kept repeating it as I moved closer, not stopping until I was pressed against him, looking up into his eyes. I dared to touch him, stroking my hand against the heavy jaw of his lion's face, stopping my words only when I realized that I couldn't possibly kiss this man, not with the shape of his mouth and his fangs.

"I won't hurt you," he promised, seeing my capitulation. He closed his eyes, leaning down to lick my neck with one long swipe of his tongue, just as he had done to Asher before.

Now let me pause a moment to go on about this. While a mere licking kiss may seem trivial to one who has never felt such a thing - it isn't. The Dognan are cats by descent, okay? The quality of their tongue is nothing like that of a human. It's a powerful thing, soft enough to tease, yet just raspy enough to send the most electrifying shivers down your spine. Any concern I might have had about being touched or handled by this being evaporated at once under the overwhelming desire to have him stroke that magnificent tongue over my entire body.

Remy paused to laugh, he couldn't help himself. He could almost picture that in his mind, the large powerful Dognan man pinning the wispy blonde down on the floor and washing him clean like a kitten. The comparison in size was almost apt, Trishnar was close to three times Aiden's weight, a considerable difference.

Of course Remy's overly imaginative mind then shifted to thoughts of Maylee and Max. "Oh, you lucky boy," the thief chuckled, thinking of how the winged giant would be worshiped by his half Dognan fiancé. He didn't have to wonder long, Aiden was ready to give him a detailed description.

My positive reaction to my Master's ministrations was not as undecipherable to this Dognan King as my strange speech. He merely laughed and scooped me up in his big broad arms, my small body nothing for him to carry. He brought me up to his large stateroom and granted my wish.

The time I spent there is indescribable. Suffice it to say that he proved himself right. He did not hurt me - on the contrary, he set my body on fire. He couldn't compete with the wholesome thing that Babette and I shared, he didn't possess the Kundatesh magic, but his flesh and blood was tantalizing. He showed remarkable consideration for me by going out of his way to finish me first, chuckling softly that while he was quite virile, he knew I would probably outlast him. He wanted to wear me down some so that in the end we would be even.

I knew better. He wanted me to know that he really did care, that he would prove himself to me in this way. At that moment I didn't care what his motive was, it simply felt much too good. He was unhurried and affectionate, stroking that tongue over every inch of my body, just as I desired. As soon as he saw how aroused I was by it, he just couldn't stop. He liked the taste of gel sweat he said. Oh yeah, that and more. I shook harder than I ever had before.

Trishnar was a perceptive creature. He sensed what I desired most was not another brutalizing from a male client, but something slow and gentle and meaningful. I did not desire pain or any roughness. Any time he lost even the slightest control, he could read it in my face, in my sounds, and relaxed immediately. Never with anyone of the flesh had I been read so well, no one had cared so very much. It drew out my true Siskan self, the one who desired only to please.

Later when it came time to reverse the tables, for me to indeed serve him, I did my best to return the favor. I discovered that this great King had no grounds to think I would outlast him, he showed remarkable stamina and in the end I was the one left trembling and wasted. It didn't matter, I was still the winner. When I heard the thunder of his heart beating in my ears, when his body shook with mine, I knew only bliss.

Later, when all the loveplay was done, he pulled me up against him, laying my head against his great furry chest to sleep. It was the ultimate pleasure. With the rhythm of his heart to lull me, and the warmth of his body to rock me, I slept better than I had since my arrival.

"All dose pretty words, but you still can't say you loved him," Remy chided softly to an invisible Dreamer. Aiden was there writing of all the great things this Master had done, but that one phrase escaped him. How could Aiden look back on all Trishnar had done and not love the man? Was ownership so great a barrier? Hell, Remy hadn't even known the guy that long and already he loved Trishnar in his own way. There was so much integrity and nobility to the man, your love was almost demanded.

Well, there would be no knowing if Aiden ever finally reached that conclusion in his own mind, the story was finished. Aiden had said he hadn't had a chance to complete the story before Logan had confiscated this notebook and he was right, this was the last of the text Seth had translated. At least Gambit was satisfied that Kimble would be okay. It was simply a matter of waiting for him to come out on his own or finding the means to lure him out.

Gambit closed the file and got ready for work, promising to check in with Aiden first thing when he got to the Lab. They would talk and resolve their differences and hopefully help Kimble out along the way.