Chapter 3

Camping Day

Later that afternoon, a special table cloth was laid across the kitchen table. It was special for more than one reason: not only was it Stith's birthday, but it was the first time any cloth had been used on the table. Generally Sarah disliked them, but today she would make an exception. It was applied as neatly as possible, limited though by the rectangular shape of the cloth and the round shape of the table. Wrinkles popped up everywhere, like many little speed bumps; Sarah had tried to iron them out but eventually gave up, as they were as stubborn as that strand of hair that refuses to lie flat no matter how many times it is wet. The cloth was yellow for the most part, Stith's favorite color. Along its borders was a trim in pastel blue and pink, which, if not for the stylized inscriptions of wishes for a happy birthday covering the cloth, would have easily been mistaken for an Easter product.

The cloth had been purchased at a thrift store only moments before, along with a last minute present for Stith. It was nothing special, but she would appreciate it. After all, what preadolescent child could resist a jumbo sized, multicolored lollipop, with a button on its handle that caused lights to flash and also make a comical whirring sound? The bad news was, Stith could not, and she would be playing with the handle for at least the next month, running through the house pretending it was a laser gun and "shooting" Nodyr, and then Sarah when she came home from work.

"Can we open presents now?" Stith asked, suddenly appearing in the kitchen, and rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Soon," Sarah said, making one last attempt to dewrinkle the cloth. No luck. "You need to get a bath first, okay?" Before she had even made it to the midpoint of that sentence, she knew exactly what Stith was going to say.

"No!" she yelped, horrified and taking a step back. "Why?"

Sarah pushed the last chair in before she spoke. "Because your father says you haven't had one yet today."

"Erseh's lying!" she said defensively, lying herself.

Sarah thought about this for a brief moment, lightly tapping her fingers on her lips. It was pretty obvious to her that her daughter did not want a bath, as well as being obvious that she would lie without any guilt when she was trying to avoid something unpleasant. "Let me smell then," she eventually said.

Reluctantly Stith stepped forward, knowing she was doomed for sure. At a snail's pace she raised a trembling hand, turning her head away and tightly clenching her eyes as if she was expecting to be hit.

Sarah took her hand in hers, then brought it up to her nose. "Well, you smell fine," she said after a quick sniff, taking note of the very faint leathery smell. "But," she added, once she saw Stith relax; the young mantrin appeared to deflate when she ceased holding her breath. Before speaking again she turned the hand over in hers, inspecting it carefully, and perhaps a little too carefully just to tease Stith. "You're dirty though," she said. "I want you to get a bath."

"But-"

"If you don't, you aren't getting any presents," she quickly said before there was ample time to protest. There was no argument, although she was obviously trying to do it. Stith's muzzle continued to begin to form a word, but nothing came out. "Now do you need me to help you, or are you a big girl?" Sarah finally asked.

"Big girl," she answered softly, her eyes glued to the tiled floor in defeat. Once it finally occurred to her that she really was going to have to get a bath, she scampered off to the bathroom. A few moments later, the rush of water was heard.

With her fingers crossed that Stith was actually getting in the tub, Sarah left the kitchen and went into her bedroom. Inside it was dark, with the exception of light a tiny lamp on their dresser; in the darkness it nearly seemed as though the wall was glowing in the corner where the lamp was. Its soft, warm light was gentle and comforting, much like Nodyr could be when he was not in the usual playful mood. He was in bed, lying on his back with the blanket pulled up to his hips. He was not asleep, but was threatening to be.

The subdued atmosphere of the room, along with the cozy appearance of the bed was too inviting to just ignore. Even if Sarah had not planned to lie down for a few minutes, she would have been obligated to do so.

The bed was cheap, but very soft with the numerous thick blankets that covered it. She climbed onto it as she sighed peacefully, and then after a moment leaned over to lightly scratch Nodyr on his bare chest.

The mantrin purred softly, his eyes opening to thin slits as he thoroughly enjoyed the attention. As he continued to purr, Nodyr rolled his head over to the side to face her and spoke. "What's Stith doing?" he asked.

"She's getting a bath," Sarah said. "I think."

"Well I trust her," he said, not fully believing his words. As he spoke, both of his ears swiveled to attention, scanning the air for any signs of running bath water. After an eerily quiet moment, the distant hiss of the water came to his attention, as did the seemingly playful sounds of splashing. "I think she's actually doing it," he said grinning with pride, as though he had actually had an influence on her actions.

Sarah pondered this, slipping into deep thought as she was in disbelief that Stith might be doing what she had been told, especially in the case of getting a bath. "Well this is a miracle," she said, although she knew better than to be too naïve in Stith's direction; unfortunately Nodyr did not always know better himself. "Care to celebrate?"

He paused. Nodyr was pretty sure he knew what she had meant, and he felt both of his hearts trade places as the thought sunk into his mind. "Eh," he fidgeted, sitting up in the bed. "Right now?" He was blushing so intensely that his face ended up twisted into a nearly pained expression. His ears felt equally as hot as his face, and had a pitcher of water been near them, the water would have turned into steam. "Eh, um, well, um, Sarah, uh."

"You're so cute," she chuckled, brushing her delicate fingers over his flushed cheek. "If you still aren't ready, that's fine."

Sheepishly, he glanced down at his lap, and not even aware that he was clenching the sheet in his fingers as it was pulled higher and higher over his bare chest. "I, I just don't want to hurt you," he said softly into the sheet.

Although the majority of his fear was just embarrassment, the spoken concern was most valid. At seven feet tall, and nearly four hundred pounds, he more than doubled her weight. It did not help that he was slightly overweight either. Also of concern was that a male mantrin of his size tended to be rather thick in certain areas, and was never meant to be compatible with a human. This size was a well-known fact, and made many the human male ripe with envy. However much to their relief, the more human sized Orkehts were no better off than they. Nodyr was not an Orkeht however.

"I know, it's okay," Sarah said as she scooted close to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. "We'll just work on your kissing some more for now. You're getting better," she added encouragingly as she massaged his slightly chubby belly.

Purring, Nodyr closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms. Nothing outside of a personal tragedy would have caused the tranquil smile on his face to fade. "This will do just fine," he said, breathing out a happy sigh as he felt her delicate fingers on his tummy. Although small, her hands were always warm to the touch, and feeling her rubbing his skin sent pleasant chills throughout his body that were equally as warm.

He felt her work past his hip to his thighs, which only made his chills worse. Nodyr could not help but purr like a spoiled kitten, and as he opened his eyes once more, he saw her smiling from knowing how happy he was. For a few minutes she stayed there, tenderly rubbing over his muscles, and then worked up to the first knee that was considerably larger than a human's, as was the case with all mantrins.

"These legs always intrigue me," Sarah said, lightly tapping his knee.

His ears twitched comically. "I could say the same," he said. "Yours are so tiny. I don't know how you stand on them."

"It's easy," she said as she rested her head on his chest while continuing the rub. The sound of his dual heartbeats could be heard like two distant drums. As she lay against him, her hand tenderly rubbed down to his tail, and she could feel the chills it elicited, not to mention the deep purring that she could feel resonating from within his deep chest.

It was at that moment that the peace was ruined. Stith made her grand entrance. The door to their bedroom swung open, and there she was, dripping water all over the carpet. A soggy puddle was forming at her feet, and this puddle was the end of a long trail of water leading from the bathtub.

"I need a towel!" the young mantrin chimed.

Sarah hopped out of the bed in much the same fashion one would when suffering from a sudden leg cramp, in both legs. "You're getting the carpet wet!" she said nervously. "Get back to the bathroom! I thought I left you one."

Stith appeared to have seen the face of death. She stood there motionless, with her eyes wide enough to put a hand in the socket. Her leathery beak appeared to form a word, but then changed its mind. Just before she received a not so gentle pop on her bare rump, she yelped and skittered back to the bathroom.

Sarah met her there and quickly opened the ceiling high cabinet beside the tub. There were in fact a few towels left, but Stith could not see them as they were up on the highest shelf. She pulled one out and unfolded it, feeling quite sheepish. "Sorry I yelled at you," she said as she wrapped the tiny mantrin in it and began to dry off her back. The towel was yellow and fuzzy, made from a pseudo-cotton that only felt half as fine as the real thing. It was only half as effective as well.

She worked extra diligently to get Stith dry, taking extra care to get the tail and ear tips which had an amazing ability to continue dripping even after they were thoroughly dry. Sarah had come to believe that mantrin tails and ears produced water on their own, and would begin to leak just when she thought the coast was clear. Nodyr had the same problem as well after he had dried off, only the problem was much worse since he was much bigger.

"We just can't afford new carpet if it gets ruined," she continued. "You know that."

Stith stuck her tongue out upon feeling her ear rubbed a tad too roughly, although Sarah did not see it. "I know," she said, and had her ears not been occupied they would have drooped.

"Are we still friends?" Sarah asked. Her thin lips curled into a smile.

"Maybe," Stith replied, holding onto the word mischievously. She suddenly clenched her eyes tightly as the towel suddenly went over the front of her face. "Do I still get presents?" she asked once the coast was clear.

"If you forgive me," Sarah said.

There was no need to think about that one. "Okay!" Stith said gleefully, and then grabbed onto Sarah's leg; she hugged it in a suffocating embrace.

"Glad we're still friends." Sarah proceeded to pry the mantrin off of her leg and then playfully rubbed her between the ears, eliciting a happy hum from her. "Now go get dressed and we'll open presents."

Stith was almost out of view before Sarah had even finished her sentence.

The following morning, the sun had only begun to peer its head over the horizon as Stith's eyes leisurely opened like flowers opening in their infancy. Her room was still dark. The only thing that illuminated it was her moon crescent night-light. Before too long however, the sun's warm rays would finally find their way through her curtain, bringing peace to the room instead of the frightening dark that spawned monsters under the bed and in the closet, all of whom preyed exclusively on young mantrin girls named Stith. Until then, it was still dawn, or as the local mantrins called it: "lii'saa," the time of sunrise.

Squeezing her teddy bear tightly in her arms, Stith awaited the moment when it was safe. The nightlight could only do so much to scare away monsters, and she had to be absolutely sure they were gone before she dared to get out of bed. She watched the ceiling momentarily, feeling her hearts beating with excitement; it was her birthday after all.

Often she could make out little patterns from the ceiling beads, much like one may do while watching clouds. One such pattern was the moogagoose, an animal Stith had made up that dwelled on her ceiling. It was something like a peanut shaped rat with big floppy ears and two tails. In her imagination, it was blue furred. Stith decided that the moogagoose was her pet. Another image was Mrs. Big Feet, who was basically a smiley face with big shoes. A third character she saw in the beads was the yoble prince of bedtime. She did not like him, as he made children go to bed when all of the good shows she was not supposed to watch came on.

Otherwise, a yoble was a real animal that was more of a harmless nuisance than a bedtime enforcer. They were small, pear shaped animals with yellow skin and large hind legs. There were no forelimbs, which added to the odd appearance. A yoble could not cause any harm to a human, nor a mantrin, and in fact they were quick to flee if anyone approached. However, they could be disruptive looters and would sometimes become equally bothersome as a den of rabbits in someone's garden.

The sun was beginning to do a better job of illuminating the room, but it was still not good enough, Stith thought. Some monsters might be brave enough to still be there. She waited a little longer, still watching the ceiling as if one of her cartoons was being projected on its surface. Her imagination caught something new as she lay there, right next to Mrs. Big Feet. The arrangement of beads closely resembled a mantrin head, despite being a little more wide than normal. One of his eyes was missing, or he was squinting. She could not tell for sure, but named him "Blindy" anyway.

"Hi Blindy!" she said cheerfully. "I love you so much!" Puckering her lips, she made several rapid kissing sounds, and then nearly fell out of her bed from giggling so fervently.

Eventually it was light enough for her wishes. Yanking off her blanket, and tossing the teddy bear into the far corner, Stith leapt out of bed and flew across the room with enough zip that she nearly stumbled over her long nightshirt that was threatening to ensnare her feet anyway.

She flung the door open, bounded down the hallway, and eventually found her parents' room. Their door was jerked open with the same amount of adolescent grace, and within the next breath she had leapt onto their bed, firmly planting herself on Nodyr's chest.

"Hey it's my birthday good morning get up now!" she said with overflowing enthusiasm. Stith began to thump on his chest like it was a primal set of drums. "Erseh, get up now! It's lii'saa. It's my birthday! Time for vacation!"

"Stith, dear," Sarah grumbled, her voice croaking like a fat toad. "We'll be up later. It's too early."

Even if they had not stayed up late making sure everything was packed, Sarah would have had no desire to wake. The Solbrecht day was a few hours longer than Earth's, and even after a few hundred years of living on the planet, the humans had still not fully adjusted to the longer day. Fatigue was not uncommon, and sleeping disorders affected nearly a fifth of the human population.

"Ahmo, come on. Get up now!" Stith said again with her tail swishing behind her. She began to pound her fists on the sleeping human as well, without any consideration that the beating may actually hurt.

Sarah moaned in her quasi state of slumber, then gently pushed Stith's impatient hands off of her. "Okay I'm getting up," she said. She smacked her lips, yawned, and blinked her eyes several times before sitting up in her nightgown. "But you need to leave so your father and I can get dressed. Then we can get ready to go camping," she said as sweetly as possible after having been used as a punching bag.

"But," Stith protested.

"No Stith," Nodyr said, making shooing gestures with his fingers. "We'll be out soon. Go watch your cartoons."

"Oh!" Stith's ears threatened to leap off of her head from how quickly they sprung to attention. Quickly she scrambled off of the bed, not paying much attention to where her feet were jabbing, which happened to be into Nodyr's side and hip. The young mantrin's tail slapped them both on her way to the floor. Stith was hastily gone with a slam of the bedroom door.

Sarah winced from the loud slam. Once the house had finished shaking, she climbed back under the sheets and nuzzled up against Nodyr; his breath warmed the back of her neck. "Are you excited?" she asked after finally getting comfortable.

An uncomfortable silence followed. He finally answered when Sarah looked back at him with a worried expression. "Yeah, yeah I am," he said.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah asked. She rubbed his chest in hopes of providing some comfort.

It took another uncomfortable moment before he spoke. "Just the news last night. There was another attack."

"Wyr'Mo'Gwi again?" she asked.

"They think so. Whoever did it hit the governor's building again, and several inside were killed," he said, speaking in a near whisper in case Stith returned."

Sarah snuggled up closer to him. "That's horrible," she said. "But no one is sure who did it?"

"No," he said. "But it had to have been them. No one else would have done such a thing. You know how much they hate humans. I'm worried they'll be back and come by the campground."

"But you're a mantrin," she said.

"But you aren't," he said, bringing an arm around her and holding her tenderly. He nuzzled his muzzle into her hair and sighed. "I'm really worried about you. What if they got you, or worse?"

Sarah craned her neck back and gave him a kiss under his jaw. "Relax," she said. "No one even knows if they actually exist anymore. They haven't actually been seen in what, twenty years? Besides, why would they want to hurt me?"

"Because of me," Nodyr said sadly. "If they knew we were together, I don't even want to think of what they'd do."

"Relax dear, please. Let me do all of the worrying, I'm good at it. And I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be," she said in hopes of getting him to smile. The attempt was in vain, and after a brief silence, she heard a sniff. She looked up at him again, and noticed that his eyes were moist. "Are you crying?" she asked.

"Maybe," he said after a moment. His voice scratched like a damaged record. "Maybe, maybe we shouldn't be mates. It's nothing but trouble. The stupid government won't even recognize that we are together. Everyone hates us."

"Nodyr, stop saying that. I don't hate you, and you don't hate me, and that's what's important. In fact, I love you." She gave him another kiss on the side of his muzzle to emphasize her point. "And that makes it worth it. No matter what."

"Yeah," he said reluctantly and wiped at his tears. "I love you too. Faey wierg." Nodyr gave her a tight squeeze and did his best to smile. He then brushed his beak through her hair once more, which felt great to both of them.

"What does that mean again?" she asked.

"It doesn't translate very well," he said. "But," he drew his tongue across her cheek before continuing, "I'll love you forever is close." His hand lightly stroked at her hip.

"Thanks. And you know I feel the same," Sarah said. "Are you ready to get up? I'm sure Stith's getting impatient."

"I'm still worried, but let's go. Knowing Stith is happy will make me feel better at least." After giving her one more lick, this time on her neck, Nodyr heaved his body out of bed. He moaned deeply as he stretched his back, arms, and legs, and then gave his back a quick twist to pop his tight spine. He yawned widely in protest of having to get up, so widely in fact that Sarah was worried his jaw had unhinged. Groggily smacking his lips a few times, he began to unbutton his pajama shorts, which was what he always slept in. Before finishing, he looked at Sarah. "Could you go watch Stith so I can get a bath before we leave?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. Sarah hopped out of bed, did a few stretches of her own, and then hurried out of the room.

The campground was basically makeshift. The only thing that remained constant were the sparse facilities that were provided. There were a few picnic tables, all arranged in a sloppy rectangle along the forest border. Beside them were a few grills, approximately one per six tables, and none had the charcoal needed for them to be of much use. More often than not, visitors brought their own battery-powered equipment. Far at the other end was a petite area with playground equipment, including a number of sets that were more mantrin friendly due to their larger size and tail openings in the swing seats. Other than that, there was not much, not even portable restrooms.

In fact, there were not even any designated boundaries for the campgrounds. There was no check in area. There was not even a park sign, nor was the place clearly labeled on a map of the city. Needless to say, it was a relatively unofficial area, but everyone knew about it from word of mouth, much like the polluted river at the south end of the city. It was widely known that the river was tainted, but publicly, everyone kept the foul information neatly swept under the rug.

Wu-wu-wump!

The car doors shut in rapid succession as Sarah, Nodyr, and Stith stepped out of their vehicle. It was a large van that Sarah did not care for, nor could she really afford; the only reason they had it was because it was the only thing that her large mate could comfortably fit into. There were vehicles designed specifically for mantrins, as their unusual leg configuration made it nearly impossible to sit comfortably in a human vehicle, but in the same way Nodyr could not drive a human vehicle, Sarah could not drive one built for mantrins. They were simply too different. Since she would be driving the most, they purchased the most appropriate compromise.

"I hope we didn't forget anything," Nodyr said once they were a few yards away from their parking place. His ears nervously twitched.

"Nodyr, that's the twentieth time you've asked that-" she paused, cracking a smile as she looked up at him. "-in the past minute." She playfully poked his hip, causing him to gasp and leap back. "You didn't forget your ticklishness, did you?" she asked playfully.

"Maybe not," he said as his ears folded backward in the manner of a defensive cat. He pretended to cower, crossing his arms and holding his hands at his sides as though he were protecting a pair of open wounds. All that he really managed to do, however, was look incredibly silly in the eyes of his female mate, who could not help but laugh at his faux alarm.

With an innocent smile on her face, Sarah quickly grabbed hold of him and applied a kiss on his muzzle that caused Stith to make rapid vomiting sounds in the background. The young mantrin never did like to see them kiss, or anyone for that matter, but like all children, seeing her parents kiss was always extra traumatic. The disgust had little effect. Nodyr returned the favor, kissing the best way he could by licking the side of her cheek. His face was overcome with a giddy grin as Sarah playfully wiped herself off, and then returned the saliva to its owner's shirt with a quick stroke.

"Hurry up!" Stith suddenly said, hopping up and down like a living pogo stick as she tried to remind them that she was still there. "Go put the tent up!" Currently she was wearing a new shirt that she had received for her birthday, one that Oya had knitted for her. It was slightly too big, but she would grow into it soon.

Nodyr turned away from Sarah momentarily, to address Mrs. Impatient. "I will in a minute," he said cordially as he glanced down at the long box under his arm that held the tent in question. They had just purchased it on the way to the campground at one of many thrift stores that decorated the city in every corner imaginable. It was not the best tent ever made, and in fact it was probably one of the worst tents ever made, but for their family it would have to do. At the least it was extra large. It needed to be, or else Nodyr would have had to have remained curled into a tight ball the entire time just to fit his legs inside the already miniscule space. Fortunately the tent was going to be quite large, or at least that was how it looked in the picture. With a bit of luck he would be able to stretch his legs out, if only just a small amount.

While Stith edgily swished her tail, Sarah stepped around and took her hand. "Dear, let's go look around while erseh sets up the tent, okay?"

There was little argument. "Okay!" Stith exclaimed, and then took off, nearly dragging Sarah with her.

"You're not going to help me?" Nodyr asked, his muzzle wrinkling in surprise.

"I am," Sarah replied. "I'm getting her—" she gestured at Stith, "—away from you so she can't get in the way."

"Oh thanks," he said, and watched them trot off to the grounds, the young mantrin leading the way.

Nodyr hated tents.

He hated everything about them. Boxes and packages proclaiming them to be easy to assemble and the like were complete garbage; they were always made in some Earthbound country the name of which he could not even begin to pronounce. The instructions were always translated into ten or so different langauges; Nodyr could read the English and Preidogian instructions but they were wildly different from each other. It was their third or fourth try before it even resembled a tent, and five before Nodyr gave up and practically rewrote the instructions and produced something suitable for living beings to occupy.

It was a hideous mass of green plastic, vinyl chord, and aluminum piping that seemed as though even the slightest breeze would knock it over. What made the whole mess even more pathetic was the fact that had taken them just over an hour, and it still seemed as though it could only barely hold itself together. At least, he thought, the tent was very large. Five humans could have easily fit inside with comfort.

Unbeknownst to them, they were lucky that they did manage to get the tent up at all; furiously dark rain clouds had assembled in the sky and had started to thunder. The forecast had said that there was only a slight chance of rain, and they had not noticed the thunder until the tent was fully erected. It was literally seconds after the tent was finally put up that the first drops hit the ground, followed immediately by a violent torrent of warm late-summer rain that sent them diving into the object of their labor. Stith had to be grabbed by the collar of her shirt and nearly dragged in, otherwise she would have simply squealed and spent the rest of the day prancing around in the rain.

They huddled around each other, similar to scooting as close to a campfire fire as possible without burning themselves in a bleak midwinter snow. The ground was dry, at least, and it helped that the grass was nice and soft; this was aided by the sleeping bags and blankets that were unrolled beneath them.

Sarah was the first so speak. She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her forearms for warmth even though she did not even really need it, and leaned Nodyr's way. Then, glancing down at the empty ground in front of them, she opened her mouth to say:

"You know, it's not too late to—"

"We're staying," Nodyr suddenly interrupted, knowing somehow that she was about to say that it was not too late to give up on their vacation. He had just spent the last hour or so being outsmarted and witted by a box of plastic, vinyl and aluminum, he told her, and was not about to let it ruin his weekend. They could leave if they wanted, but he was staying.

Suddenly horrified, Stith spoke up, her eyes wide with concern. "Are we leaving!" she asked.

"I don't know Junebug, ask ahmo," Nodyr quickly said. He glanced at Sarah as he spoke with an innocent glare of accusation.

"No, we're not leaving," Sarah said, then gave her mate a light shove. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't serious."

Stith beamed with relief, and then leaned back so that she was resting in Nodyr's lap. She teasingly stuck her tongue out at him as if to say "Sorry, you lose." She was quickly greeted with his own tongue, and for nearly a minute they become locked in a heated duel of tongue war that become sillier by the second. Eventually it was too much for the young mantrin and she was overcome with giggles.

"I win," Nodyr said proudly. He gave her belly a light tickle as he spoke, which only made the giggling worse.

Sarah smirked, poking him on the nearest arm. "If you were only as good at getting her to behave as you were making her laugh, we'd be in good shape," she said with her thin lips curled into a grin.

"Hey I've got to be good at something, don't I?" he asked, diverting his attention to Sarah, although his fingers continued to tickle without mercy.

"You do, and you're not a bad kisser, are you?" she said, still with her proud smirk. "Want to do it some more?" she added, just to tease their daughter.

Suddenly, Stith rolled out of his lap in the most awkward way possible with such large legs. She made a few hacking sounds much like if she had accidentally swallowed something larger than her throat was meant to handle. "Eww," she slurred.

"Would you stop that?" Sarah asked her with much frustration. "Stith, it's okay. When two people love each other, sometimes they like to kiss. There's nothing wrong with it."

Stith pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as her tail beat at the tent behind her, creating a soft thoomp thoomp sound. "It's gross. And," she trailed off as she gnawed on her lip. "it's weird."

There was some amount of truth to what she had said. Kissing, as humans knew it, was a foreign idea to all of the mantrins until recent times. The physical demands of pursing one's lips to do so was not always the easiest thing for mantrins to do, especially those with slightly harder tips to their faux beak, such the Gouregs that retained some firmness more than any other race due to their diet that included shell fish. Sogowans had it easier with a softer muzzle tip, so Nodyr, and Stith had she wanted, were able to kiss more "naturally" with their thick leathery muzzles.

Naturally mantrins would lick instead of kissing, which could be just as pleasant, if not more so with their large tongues. This was an intimate gesture, especially if done on the sensitive ears, of whose touch was only allowed among family and close friends in most of their cultures. Since Sarah was having Nodyr kiss, he had been trying to get her to lick back as well when he did it. The gesture was pathetic at best, and after a while they decided that there was no longer much of a point in it for her to try. However, she was certainly happy to let him do it.

Nodyr smiled at Stith. "Junebug, it might be weird, but it sure is nice." Upon saying this he leaned forward and showed Sarah just what he meant. While kissing her, his hand felt its way to Stith muzzle, and promptly held it closed before she could interrupt them with more nauseated gagging. The hold was not very tight as he did not wish to hurt her, but was just enough to get his message across not to cause another scene.

"Thanks," Sarah said, more so to keeping Stith quiet than the kiss, once they had broken away from it.

"So what are we going to do?" Stith said quickly, in hopes that she could get her parents' minds off of gross activities. There were far more pleasant things that she wanted to talk about, such as candy.

"Well," Nodyr said as he wiped a bit of saliva off of the tip of his muzzle. "We're going to go swimming and for a nice walk once the rain is gone."

"When is that?" she asked, gripping her feet and rocking back and forth on her rump.

"We don't know dear," Sarah said to her. "We'll just have to wait."