This file is a part of Elf Sternberg's Collected Works on ASSTR.  The
complete archive of Elf's work can be found on his website at:

http://www.drizzle.com/~elf

The author can be contacted at:

mailto:elf@drizzle.com

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                          The Uncia In Our Lives

Journal Entry 058 / 00844

Noren, Sulim 09, 00844

"We have similar tastes in Unciati," I observed, amused. From where
I stood I could see Jahn and what I assumed to be Sufi sitting across
from each other; they could well have been stamped from similar modes,
although Sufi seemed even smaller and boyish than Jahn. Both had very
muted grey spotting on their bodies, and both kept their fur trimmed
and under control.

Aaden laughed softly. "From here, though, it looks as if Sufi is holding
up his half of the conversation." He pushed the doors of the restaurant
further open and we entered the well-lit and rustic setting of a Rhysh
inn, this one called, simply, Peasantry.

"Well, Jahn only speaks when he has something to say."

"Does he have something to say on many things, or only on what he
considers important?"

"Usually only what he considers important," I mused.

"Then these two should get along great," Aaden chuckled. "They're
just like us. You're an incorrigible motormouth and I'm the reserved,
calm half."

I nudged him painfully in the side. "Be serious!" I smiled.

"I am being serious," he said, grinning at me. I laughed. We joined the
two Uncia at dinner.

"Sufi," Aaden said first, "I'd like you to meet my coimelin, Kennet
Shardik. Ken, Sufi."

Sufi was already staring at me, a gesture that always makes me very
uncomfortable. I smiled at him and said "I've heard a lot about you, Sufi.
It's actually good to meet you at last."

He swallowed hard, a gesture that made me think twice about restraining
my own discomfort, and said "I'm pleased to meet you, Vatare'."

I stood up and laughed to cover my discomfort. "Sufi, I'm Aaden's lover
to you, nothing else. Please, just call me Ken. One of these days I'm
going to get tired of saying that to people." I inhaled, let it out,
then said "Aaden, this is Jahn. Jahn, meet Aaden Satpulov."

Jahn stood, something Sufi thankfully had not done, and shook Aaden's
paw warmly with his own. "It's good to meet you sir. Ken speaks highly
of you."

"Does he? That's a first." I shot Aaden a pout; he chuckled back at me.
This ritual was so old and familiar that I found myself enjoying it
despite the familiarity. The old adage is "Familiarity breed contempt,"
but what happens when familiarity is old enough that it becomes a
tradition? Maybe it was just Aaden. I smiled as the thought spoke itself
to me. Sitting down, I watched him take his seat across the table from me.
I don't know if he saw me watching, and it doesn't matter. I love him. I
love watching him. I love being with him.

We sat and talked and dinner was served by a short Mephit who seemed
rather nervous as he took instructions. He was clearly a contractual
Alanailen, although I couldn't tell if the innkeeper or some other person
was his contractual master. It didn't matter. He did take our orders
perfectly, returning with the drinks, and then with the food. I was
surprised at how well they interpreted "rare"; with the right equipment
I think P'nyssa could have made this prime rib "moo" again.

I was surprised at the conversation as it went back and forth, mostly
because I didn't have much to say. Aaden and Sufi and Jahn seemed
perfectly content to talk about politics among themselves, both of
the Uncia grilling him about what he knew of the coming political
battles between Terra and Pendor, almost as if I weren't there. I ate
quietly, feeling oddly relieved. I wasn't the subject or the center of
conversation, and I felt good about it.

Sufi leaned over and tugged on my shirt. "Fah?"

"Sufi," I said softly. "Please."

"Sorry," he said softly. "You're very quiet. Aaden told me once that
you quote never shut up endquote, so I was wondering if something was
wrong tonight."

"No, not really," I replied, leaning over. "Maybe I'm just not in a very
talkative mood tonight." I smiled at him. "Some people would wonder if
I was sick, hearing me say that."

He nodded. "I understand the feeling perfectly, though." He turned to
look over where Aaden and Jahn were wrapped up in some matter or point
of order, then back at me. "I've always wanted to ask you a question."

"You and everyone else on the ring," I replied, smiling.

"So do I get my one question?" he asked.

"You have my undivided attention for the evening," I replied. "Ask away."

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep him," he replied, nodding his head in Aaden's direction. "Is it
because you're, well..."

"Keep him?" I laughed. "Sufi, I treasure every moment I have with him.
It's he who keeps me. He could leave at any second. It's me who can't
leave, I'm so attached, so obsessed with him."

A puzzled look crossed Sufi's face. "He says that about you."

"I know," I replied, smiling. "He says that," I continued, "but can I
believe it? It's the same thing the other way. I say what I just said,
but how much of it does he believe? We're still here because we trust
each other."

He nodded. "I wonder how long I'll live before I find a love like that.
I've been alive longer than Aaden has, yet he seems to have found what
he's always wanted."

"Is it what you want, Sufi? To always have someone that you're that
strongly attached to? I can never, ever be sure just how much free will
I have, now that I have him. It's that strong, that powerful, really."

He smiled. "I guess I won't know until it happens. Or do you have to go
looking for it?"

"You'll have to ask Aaden. He came looking for me."

He nodded. Dessert came, and we ate what we could, thanking the Innkeeper
for his patience and care, and took ourselves out to the streets. "Well,"
I said, pulling my jacket around me, "Aaden and I made no plans after
this. Where would you two like to go?"

"Actually," Aaden said, "I do have a suggestion. I'd like to visit my
old home."

"Up in the hills?" Sufi asked. Aaden nodded. "I've never seen it."

"Neither have I," Jahn replied. "Although Ken told me about it once. Said
it was a nice place."

Aaden looked at me; I pretended not to notice his stare, gazing about
at the archaic construction of Rhysh village. "Sure," he said, his voice
laughing. "Let's go see the old place."

We hiked through town, an unlikely troupe of mels, heading for the
outskirts and up a winding, graveled path to Aaden's home, crossing
a small wooden bridge before coming to it. His old house was a tall
'A'-frame construction home set into the hillside, and impressive wooden
structure with wooden shingles on the roof and earnest glass in the
windows. The weeds had grown in a few places, making the place look all
the more abandoned, even though it had been but a century since Aaden
had last been here. It looked darkly mysterious to me, especially in
the half-light of a Pendorian evening.

"I'll get some firewood," Aaden announced softly. "Sufi, would you like
to help?"

"I will," Jahn jumped up. "I want to."

"Okay," Aaden replied, "Come on then. Ken, could you start what we
have there?"

I nodded and piled firewood onto the grill, checking to make sure the
flue was open first. Aaden's fireplace was small, but not so small that
it couldn't consume a good-sized log if it was started properly. Paper,
kindling, and finally a split log were burning full out when Aaden and
Jahn had decided they had brought in enough firewood.

I stood up and helped Aaden shake the woodbits out of the fur on his arms,
using our closeness as an excuse to hug him. He held me close himself,
as if to reassure himself. "I love you," he whispered, purring softly.

"I love you too," I replied. "You want him, don't you?"

"Yeah," he replied. "He is very pretty, just like you said. Not as pretty
as Sufi, but he's also, well, less innocent."

"Than who? Me?"

"No, than Sufi. You, you're as corrupt as they come, Ken, with a soul
black as night."

"You don't believe in souls," I replied.

"I'm allowed to consider the possibility," he said. "Like you said,
it's not an argument you can nullify. I'm not going to argue against
the existence of souls because there is no evidence either way."

I smiled. "You're silly, lover."

"So are you."

"Are you two going to be out here all night?" Sufi asked, poking his
head out the door onto the back porch. "The fire is getting cold and
the wine is getting warm."

"Hey," I said, "I'm allowed to cuddle my coimelin if I like. Is that
okay with your lordship?"

Sufi blushed visibly. "Guess it is. Just wondering."

"Come here," I said, waving my hand in Sufi's direction. He followed my
gesture and stepped within and arm's reach. I grabbed him by the collar
of his windbreaker and pulled him into a tight hug, holding him and
Aaden at the same time. His back stiffened in surprise, but eventually
he eased. "I just wanted to do that."

Aaden nodded, smiling. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Someday
I'm going to learn where your charisma comes from."

I whispered back, "When I figure out where yours comes from, I'll let you
in on mine." He laughed. "Come on, you two," I said in a louder voice,
"Let's go inside."

Inside we sat down again, and this time I deliberately sat next to
Sufi, rather than hoping that our haphazard arrangement would put me
next to him. Aaden sat behind Jahn and began slowly stroking his back;
Jahn leaned forward to support himself on his arms, the purring from
him loud over even the crackling of the fireplace.

"Nervous?" I asked Sufi as he sat there, drinking from his glass.

"A little," he confessed to me. "I know I can do it. The question is,
can I do it with you?"

"What's there to do with me that you can't do with Aaden? Like I said,
from my perspective he's more important than I am. If you're able to
keep up with him, I'd be honored to try and keep up with you."

He nodded. I'm never dishonest with myself once my conclusions are
clear... it had been pretty obvious from the moment I sat down at dinner
that I was going to end up sleeping with Sufi. I could have asked him
at the dinner table, but most people like going through the rituals and
motions of acting coy, letting the decisions make themselves. I decided
that now was the time Sufi and I had both been waiting for. I leaned
over and kissed him.

He responded with an overwhelming flurry of surprise, pulling back and
staring into my eyes. "You really... "

"Sufi," I replied softly. "I'd be very happy if you'd let me spend the
night with you."

He sat there, open-jawed. "Uhm... yes!" he replied, closing his mouth and
smiling at me before closing the distance between us to kiss me, solidly,
on the mouth, his muzzle parting to let our tongues meet halfway before
he pushed me down onto the carpet. He covered my body with his own,
his weight significant to me, his knee pressed up against my groin. I
growled softly back at him, the centuries of living with a Felinzi lover
paying off with its realism.

He murred softly as he pulled away from me. "Is there a guest bedroom
we could retreat to?"

"Upstairs, first door on the left," I heard Aaden murmur softly. I
raised my head to look; Aaden was leaning against a stuffed chair, his
cock firmly lodged deep in Jahn's throat. I winked at him and watched
as he slowly petted Jahn's head.

"Let's go," I whispered, "and leave these two to each other."

Sufi nodded; he stood up and reached down to give me his paw, pulling
me along with him as we headed upstairs and found the room Aaden had
indicated. I didn't bother to turn the lights on; I walked in ahead of
Sufi and, tightening my grip on his paw, dragged him in along with me.

He laughed as we hit the bed together, kissing and fondling each other
madly, our hands roving over each others' body. He stroked my erection
through my pants, and I found his and teased him just as surely. He
growled and purred, and I was going crazy just as fast. "Come on,"
I whispered, "Let's get out of these damned clothes."

He nodded and we began unbuckling and unbuttoning each other as quickly
as our fingers would allow. It was tempting at time to tear away at the
buttons, clasps and loops that held our clothes together which was why I
encouraged him to undo mine, and I to undo his; people are usually much
more careful with possessions not their own.

Naked, we fell together onto the bed, laughing and kissing, hands roaming
freely over sensual fur and smooth skin. His cock made its solidity known
to me by pressing against my leg, as surely as he must have known about
mine pressing against his.

Our play went on for a while, its pitch never getting higher or fading
away. There was just so much pleasure in being with Sufi, in actually
getting to touch my lover's lover, to hold this eternal child I'd heard
so much about, as I'm sure he'd heard about me. Once past each other's
supposed mystique, we were just friends exploring one another for the
first time.

But even this play needs a change sometimes. I slid down the length of
his body, taking his cock into my mouth in one swift pull before even
getting a good look at it.

Once inside my mouth, though, I could feel it under my tongue, tasting
the soft and salty musk of a day's worth of his sweat building within
his sheath. He purred suddenly, loudly as I ran my tongue over the head,
tasting his cock completely, going over every millimeter carefully,
exploring it. I could feel the delicate veins just beneath the surface,
pumping blood back to his body under protest. He grabbed my hair with
his paws and held me there; I didn't complain. He had a smaller cock
than average, but I didn't care; I like smaller cocks, they're easier
to play with orally.

He purred as I sucked on him, finally releasing my head as he leaned
back against the cushioned headboard of the bed. I smiled an evil smile
in the dark and let go of his cock, crawling up to kissing his lips. He
moaned softly. "Please," he whispered.

"And you've slept with Aaden," I smiled gently. "Come on!" I kissed him
from where I knelt, one knee between his legs, the other outside, and I
picked up the leg I wasn't straddling and pulled it upwards, towards us.
"You're ready, aren't you?"

"Yes," he gasped. "For you, I am." I moved both of my legs between his,
picking up his other knee and forcing him back down against the bed. I
slid down again, running my tongue along the length of his cock and
down over his balls, reaching his asshole and licking it softly, running
my tongue around his hole, coating it in a thick layer of my saliva. I
slid back up and positioned my cock there, pressing down. Without pause,
I slid into him, his face lighting up in the dim light coming through
the doorway. "Fah, that feels good."

"Good," I whispered in reply, stunned at just how good he felt, how tight
his entire hole grasped my cock. I began to stroke him slowly, fucking
him, feeling his buttock press against my hips as I impaled him, grinding
my cock deeper into him. I held his legs up, pressing them against his
chest, and I could feel them trembling as I fucked his tight hole.

"I'm getting closer," I whispered softly to him as we made love. "I want
you to finish it by fucking me," I replied.

"Gladly," he whispered as I slid out of him. He grabbed me roughly,
turning me over and lying me down on my belly. "I don't want you to be
making any of the decisions," he laughed, sliding over and me and pressing
his cock against my asshole, dry. I moaned softly as he pressed harder,
and then suddenly he was inside me, the sensation of being torn open by
his cock pale in comparison to the pleasure of its striking my prostate.
"Oh, gods," I moaned.

"I was told you like that," he murred softly as he covered my body with
his, his arms covering mine and denying me any freedom of movement. I
don't think he was doing it on purpose; it was just his natural angle
to thrust at.

And thrust he did, sliding his cock deep within me. I could well
understand his trembling as he returned the favor, his cock sliding
deep into me and making me shiver, making the goosebumps rise on my
skin. He pressed his hips against my ass, the force of his impact making
me grunt with effort, and pleasure. I reached behind myself to touch him,
to feel his hips grinding against me in his wildly mechanical progression
to orgasm.

I closed my eyes and panted against the bedsheets, waiting for him to
come inside me, to explode. He took his time, however, pummeling against
my butt, making the bed creak as the growling in his throat grew louder
and louder he collapsed on top of me, jabbing his cock, roaring.

I didn't give him time to think, turning over and tossing him down onto
the bed. His eyes were wide as I again pinned his legs up into the air
and slid my cock inside him. This time was even easier than the last;
his repeatedly hitting my prostate had made my precome flow steadily,
and the head of my cock was slick with it as I shoved myself into his
incredible tightness, fucking him.

Between the earlier frustration of fucking him, the intense of pleasure
of being fucked myself and the burning, open sensation in my hole now,
it didn't take long before I came inside him as hard and as loud as he
had in me; I felt like I was being shattered by that awesome ecstasy.

I fell forward, catching myself on weak and trembling arms, my cock
sliding out of him casually as I did so. I looked down at him, and he at
me; there was a three-heartbeat wait before we both started laughing. I
lay down on his chest, still heaving with the deep breaths he was taking
as we giggled our way back to coherence.

We rolled onto our sides and I kissed his cheek. "Maybe we should get
some..." we were cut off my a loud and satisfied roar from downstairs. "I
was going to say, maybe we should get some sleep."

He nodded, pulling me close and giving me a kiss. "Ken... ?" he said
softly.

"Hmm?" I said, already descending into sleep.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Thank you..." I said. That's the last thing I remember.

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Original document is available from:
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The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
are Copyright (c) 1989-2000 Elf Mathieu Sternberg. Distribution limited
to electronic media not-for-profit use only. All other rights are reserved
to the author.
