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“Iget it—thank you.”
“Verygood.Youhave a few minutes to change beforeThirdMeal, which will be held in theDiningRoomat the end of the hallway and down the stairs,”GoodieTight-azz snapped. “Oh, anddon’tuse too much hot water!” she added.Thenshe turned on her heel and left, grumbling to herself as she went.
Andicouldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but it didn’t seem to matter.Theyhad found a place to stay until theMoonshuttle came back and for that she was grateful.
Sheexplored the room briefly—there wasn’t much to see except for a few pictures on the wall ofBoom-boom plants that someone had painted.Theyhad round frames, which didn’t surpriseAndiat all.
Shelooked out the round windows, but it was too dark to see any of the houses surroundingGoodieTight-azz’s place.Thisseemed to be an affluent neighborhood and she thought she remembered thatGoodieOo-lah had said something aboutGoodieBo-long, the woman scientist who was looking for a cure for theManimals, living somewhere near here.Maybetomorrow she could venture out and find the other woman and ask if she’d made any kind of progress.
Shehad to at leasttryto do something forCade, she thought.Itwas wrong to leave him in this state, with the mind of an animal.
SpeakingofCade, he was waiting patiently for her.Andithought about telling him to sit on the bed, but then she remembered he wasn’t allowed on the furniture—which seemed really unfair.Afterall, it wasn’t like he was covered in fur and might shed like a dog.Althoughhedidhave a nice patch of dark brown curly chest hair, between the flat copper disks of his nipples.Anda little trail of hair that led down from his navel, over his muscular abs and down to his…
No—stop it!Don’tlook at his cock!Andiscolded herself.Afterall, what if their positions were reversed andshewas the one who was forced to be nude and had the mind of an animal?Wouldshe like it if she came back to herself and found that herProtectorwas staring at her naked body?
Theanswer was, most certainlynot.Soshe had to treatCadethe way she would want him to treat her, she told herself.Shecouldn’t take advantage of his current state—it wouldn’t be right!
Soshe resolutely turned her eyes away and went to check out the bathroom.Ithad a perfectly round pot which she thought must be the toilet and a round shower stall with a nozzle which was actually high enough that she didn’t bump her head on it.Atleast theZo’rathianswere tall, so everything wasn’t too small for her, she thought.
Justas she was thinking this, there was a knock on the bedroom door and she heardCadegrowl.
“It’sall right—it’s just someone at the door,” she reassured him as she passed.Hehad hunkered down on the carpet, apparently waiting for her.Andiruffled his thick golden-brown hair reassuringly and went to the door.
Whenshe opened it, she saw the girl withBarbie-pink hair and moss green skin standing there.Shewas wearing a long, silky brown robe knotted in the front.Rightbehind her, on all fours, was a large, nakedManimal.Hewasn’t quite as big asCade, but he was still powerfully built—it was easy to see since all his muscles were on display.
“Hi,I’mFlow-da, if you didn’t catch my name earlier,” the girl said, nodding in a friendly way. “Ithought you might like a little company beforeThirdMeal.Itgets lonely in here with nobody but that old sourpuss for company.”
Shemade a face andAndiguessed she was talking aboutGoodieTight-azz.
“Ican see that,” she said, laughing, despite herself. “I’mAndi.I’dlove to invite you in but, uh, do you think our, um,Manimalswill get along?”
“Oh,IhaveHartfordvery well trained,”Flow-da said confidently. “Hewon’t try anything unless he thinksI’mthreatened.”
“That’sthe same withCade,”Andisaid. “Um, though he hasn’t been aManimalvery long—we just crash landed here today,” she added uncertainly.
“Yes,Iheard you tellingGoodieTight-azz.”Flow-da nodded. “It’sall right—the thing aboutManimalsis that they retain the same basic personality they had when they were sentient, you know?Soif he was a good guy before he breathed inTheScent, he should still be a good guy now.”
“Oh, all right—then everything should be fine.”Andifelt relieved.Afterall ofGoodieOo-lah’s lectures about how theManimalsgot “sexed-up” and how she ought to be careful ofCadetrying to breed her, hearing that he should still have the same basic personality put her mind at rest.
SheletFlow-da and herManimal,Hartford, into the room while keeping a careful eye onCade.Hartforddidn’t have a collar on so there was nothing to restrain either male.However, he andCadesimply sniffed each other and then settled on the carpeted floor side by side.
“Here, let’s get comfortable.”Flow-da pulled the lever, lowering the bed so that she andAndicould sit on it together. “Now—tell me everything,” she said, smiling brightly. “I’vealways wanted to meet an off-worlder.Wheredo you come from and where are you going and how did you end up here?”
Andigave a quick rundown of her life—scientist working for theKindredandCadeas herProtector, the meteor storm and the crash landing, then waking up and realizing thatCadewas no longer in his right mind.
“Andhere we are, waiting for theMoonshuttle and hoping the long-distance rig will be able to make a call to theKindredMotherShiponce we get up there,” she finished. “Whatabout you?Howdid you get here?”
“Oh,I’mwaiting for theMoonshuttle too—I’mhoping to be accepted into the all femaleShuttleAcademy.”Flow-da’s eyes sparkled with interest. “I’vealways been good with mechanical things, ever sinceIwas little.”
“Oh, so are you hoping to learn to fly theMoonShuttle?”Andiasked.
Flow-da shook her head.
“No,Iwant to learn to fix it if it breaks down.Theydon’t have enough mechanics, since it was a profession women weren’t allowed to pursue beforeTheIncident.”
“Wow—it sounds like life onZo’rathThreewasreallyrestrictive for women before all the men turned intoManimals,”Andiventured.
“Oh, itwas.”Flow-da nodded emphatically, making her curls bounce. “Youwere allowed to be a wife and a mother and that was about it.Womennever had jobs outside the home.Andnow, look at us…”Shespread her hands. “We’rein charge—we rule things around here!Andthe men can’t stop us because they’re allManimals.”
