Indel, unable to move from his hunched posture, resolved to sleep that way rather than beg the petty Summoner to help him rest again. Lying on his back was much more preferable but now he doubted it would matter.

It had been generations since their two kinds met on agreeable terms. Their symbiotic cultures were ones unrivaled before the Earthers' arrival ruined it.

That was the story. Indel had believed it. The fear in Nala's eyes when she'd raised her hand said differently. She'd struck, not out of anger, but something else.

Clenching the hay, Indel tried to lower himself.

It wasn't just fear he'd seen. Indel knew fear from the hunts. The countless animals he'd rendered to pieces with his hands often showed it.

At first glance, Indel expected Nala to be timid. The hit had confirmed it; it was easy to attack something helpless. It was a cowardly thing to do. True strength came from facing something beyond one's control.

The moonlight spilled through the crudely formed window, shrouding the would-be meal in white.

Despite the anguish, Indel reached out and scooped up the white paste. He examined the substance; it was the sloth's food. That Summoner mocked him openly by giving him the food of her pet.

Indel's body burned from the slighting. Biting down a cry as he shifted, he stared at the white substance.

He thought to throw it but in time, he calmed.

The Summoner had given him food. Had she left her Betty with bitter roots only to give the better feeding to the bitter Leveler King?

Indel scoffed as he brought it closer. Rather than eat it, he rubbed it against his stomach. Even that gentle touch was agonizing but the cold paste was soothing. With gnashed teeth, he gathered up some more and spread it on his arms as well.

The cold texture of the food brought relief but it wasn't long before it warmed. Indel found himself with yet another problem; he couldn't sweat. Now with the feed on his arms, the glands were blocked.

While before, the pain came with an aching sensation, it returned now with a burn. It was fitting that this gift only gave temporary relief.

A sweet aroma washed over him and he looked up.

Robe barely tied, Nala stood by him. "What have you done to yourself and that food?"

Indel peered up at her and tried to laugh. "I've blocked the glands, I think."

Nala hurried away. When she returned with a hollowed-out gourd of water and more bit of gunny sack, Indel's body stiffened in reaction.

"You can't. It's too coarse."

"I know," Nala said, dragging the stool close. "But you'll suffocate when the feed dries."

She wouldn't meet Indel's gaze as she poured the water onto the rag.

Indel allowed Nala to take his hand. The cleaning was by far the worst. By the second arm, Nala abandoned the rag, resolving to fetch more water. She poured it along Indel's body.

The water felt good and after Indel was turned onto his back, his stomach lightly doused, he caught hold of Nala's arm.

Those black eyes held fear, but Indel was solemn as he said, "I thank you for the food. I didn't intend to waste it."

"There is no more if that's what you're asking," Nala said, jerking her hand away. "Come, I will put your robe to dry, but you will need covering."

Moments later when Nala marched out to hang the robes out on a tree, Indel studied his bare frame.

He looked rather fetching in this form. Below his smooth belly his pink penis stood erect, throbbing. He feared touching lower to determine the state of his sac.

Nala returned. She brushed Indel's hand away before he could continue his self-examination.

"No, no. Don't do that. That is an Earther habit I've witnessed. It's a rather sad one."

Fingertips still tracing his abdomen, Indel asked, "What habit?"

"They coax it themselves."

"Can they do that?"

"Yes," Nala answered. "They don't require as much force to coax it, I think."

Indel nodded. "That is a convenient trait." In this current state, he could sympathize. "I suppose when no one is around, it's better than the pain," he confessed.

"No. They do it for pleasure."

Indel considered the words. "What is pleasant about being alone?"

Nala's expression hardened and Indel hurried to amend his statement.

"I had not meant that in offense."

They stared at one another as Nala used her hands to fan Indel dry.

"I frighten you even now, don't I?" Indel asked. A shot of pain left him quivering. "Morning cannot come soon enough."

Nala combed her fingers through Indel's hair. Each gentle stroke against Indel's temple soothed the throbbing of his entire body. The intimacy of the gesture was shocking. Frantic thoughts raced through Indel's mind as he tried to understand Nala's intentions.

When their eyes met, Indel could see it, some sort of determination. And not just in her eyes, but in everything about her expression. She wrestled with those thoughts, perhaps, but he wrestled with something else.

"Does it really bother you so, to simply be? Don't you tire from going against nature?"

Nala ceased in her strokes.

When she lowered her hands in her lap, Indel wanted to protest—to beg her not to stop.

"It is not nature. I am fine as I am."

There was no conviction behind those words, however.

In this regard, Indel saw an advantage. He thought to take it but the gentleness and expectation in those black eyes robbed him of that intent.

"Come," he said, lowering his gaze to the bed of hay upon which he lay, "help me dry."

"Did you want to say something?" Nala asked.

To what end? There was no point in asking twice, not when it meant so much to this foolish Summoner.

"I do desire...." Nala paused. She waited for their gaze to meet and said, "But my faith is equally as fulfilling. It's rather calming to be here on a warm evening. The farm is alive with sound and I can hear them all."

Sympathy wasn't a Leveler trait but Indel could call his feelings anything but.

"And I work well. Sometimes I get so many new crops to tend. The day flows by without worry."

But the more Nala spoke, the less comfortable Indel felt with the situation. This Summoner was mad. Leveler and summoner alike were gregarious. Only the wounded lived alone. Indel supposed Nala was that. She'd been by herself for so long that she was convinced it was of her own making.

"So you do not relish someone to talk to?" Indel hazarded.

Nala eyes narrowed. "But...we only fight."

Indel held her knee. "We can do more than fight."

His action caused her to tense but she didn't push him back so he risked brushing the robe up.

"Force is not always terrible. It can be good."

She caught his hand and he sighed. This was all tiresome.

The claw of her thumb spread his three fingers. Indel wondered if she now compared his hand to that of the five-fingered Earthers.

"I was promised a reward for living well," Nala said, her eyes following the path of her hands. "The goats were good fortune; that's what I had thought. They would multiply rather fast and I could trade some for better clothing." The strokes slowed. Eventually, she reached out to touch Indel's face. A portion of Indel's hair in hand, she traced the length of it. "Something's missing. I can admit that. I'm happy here, but now and then, I feel there's something more that I need. I thought clothing would do it; proper ones, nicer ones."

The tingling response the strokes had caused began to dull with Indel's realization that his presence might be more than just an inconvenience.

Nala cracked a slight smile.

"I thought that was what I was missing, nice clothing. But now I see...I have my reward because despite your vitriol, when you say nice things, it reaches to my core."

Indel caught the hand, pressing it to his face. "I can give you far more than words. Do you know this?" he traced Nala's arm up until he held the Summoner's slender neck. "I can give you sensation beyond your night visions. Beyond all that you can fathom."

Nala's face took on a darker color. Now, she resembled a Leveler in the ready; she was accepting.

"Perhaps you are my reward," Nala said, sounding unsure. "The chance of...of meeting you—the king no less—it's so slim."

The words robbed Indel of a response. Where he'd felt driven just moments earlier, now humility stole that power. It was an unfamiliar unease, feeling discomfort. Nala was so lonely that she'd forgive Indel his behavior for the promise of companionship.

Indel didn't know longing. He seldom felt sorrow or sympathy, but he could see Nala lose her internal fight again and again in spite of herself. The Summoner feared him, but still came to his aid. Was repulsed by his personality, yet took care with him. She had good hearts and continued to give Indel chances upon chances. The revelation stirred something in Indel. It wasn't pity, but rather a sense of respect; they were both suffering.

Silent, but looking pleasant, Nala stood from the stool. Her pace slow and hesitant, she undid the rope around her waist. She allowed the well-worn clothing to fall open.

Indel calmed, pleased. She was more fetching than he realized. All four breasts, the upper row and the lower, were plump and round. Two maturing lines curved down from her torso, reaching her groin. It was a thin exoskeleton rather than the thick armor of a stage one Summoner. As she stood before him, her body glistened from the oils her arousal brought up. She was a sight.

"I do desire you," Nala admitted. "But it is not my forte."

"Forte?" Indel stared up at her, waiting for an answer. In time, he reached out to run his hand against the Summoner's rough skin down to her taut abdomen. The texture wasn't very appealing, but the offer was one Indel welcomed. "I thank you. Fall to your knees," he pleaded.

Nala eyed him before she complied.

Indel resolved to treat Nala with the courtesy reserved for the preferred mate of the king. He brought their lips close then turned until the sides of their faces brushed.

"Thank you," Indel said again. "Stand and I will coax you first."

Nala let out a hungry moan. "You are in pain."

"I have been in pain for days, another moment won't matter. Stand. Bring your body to my lips. Your king wishes to take care with you."

When Nala stood, it was with considerable discomfort. Her body was in the ready. She must have been inexperienced with mating to suffer under its effects so quickly.

Indel guided Nala closer, running his hands up the rough skin of the Summoner's shoulder then downward.

When Indel's fingers traced Nala's lower back, Nala tried to jerk away.

Indel held her. "Your tail...."

Face flushed, body pulsating, Nala froze. Her eyes no longer held boldness and arousal, but rather shame. "Yes," she confessed. "They cut it off at birth now, to keep us under control."

Indel pulled himself up to sit. "This is cruel. Beyond cruel."

"We can...we can still breed. There's just less of a driving force. That way we can work. Work keeps us happy."

Now Indel understood; calling Nala a pet seemed unforgivable with this newfound discovery.

Struggling for something to say, Indel opened and closed his mouth again and again. The stub where Nala's tail should have been was revolting. No Leveler would even look in her direction. In the first stage tails were hidden under the exoskeleton and showing it was a sign of indecency, but now....

Nala took a step back, but Indel held her firm. "Let me see it."

The curious expression Nala wore should have meant she wouldn't agree. Indel steeled himself once the Summoner turned to comply. Brushing the robe aside, Indel gaped his mouth. It looked worse than he'd expected.

His instinct was to pull away; he almost did just that.

"Mana?" Nala called to him.

Mana? Do you trust me so blindly? Indel stared up at her back then looked at the tail. Nala had called him Mana, a title given to a first-time lover. Perhaps Indel wasn't the very first, but he suspected that in this stage, he might very well have been.

Eyes closed, Indel leaned in and kissed the scar. He felt ill for only a moment, but it was with himself. Here, Nala was being brave. Showing something so private with someone so dreadful, and she'd done it at Indel's request.

Indel kissed it again. Using his thumb, he pushed the slender remains of the tail aside, spreading Nala with his fingers.

"Yes, Na'am?" Indel answered, accepting the request to take the initiative despite being smaller. He'd have to coax Nala to rapture first. Without it, her entrance would prove far too tight a fit.

Even now when Indel continued his timid exploration, his fingers gliding down Nala's crevice, the hole was so tight he could barely mark it.

"Oh, how lovely," Indel whispered. "You enjoy me."

"I do."

The remnants of Nala's tail twitched. The first time concerned Indel—he feared his nerves would win out against his intentions. When there was no second twitch, he found himself longing for it.

In an effort to beguile a response, he kissed the scar again. Indel kissed lower, and lower still until he traced Nala's tight hole.

One twitch turned into two, then three. By the fourth, Indel smiled, pleased with his efforts. Reaching around, he traced the Summoner's torso and chest. As expected, the four breasts, two rows of two, were full and warm; at least that was as it should be.

Nala was well past maturity but quivered. Indel waited for yet another flinch before he guided the Summoner to turn.

Putting a kiss on Nala's stomach, Indel whispered, "Gone are the days where our kind would mate for solidarity." His hearts held longing as he said, "But we can change part of that now. I'd welcome a connection to you of the physical. I would gladly allow you your freedom here. It is the least I can do for being so contrary. Anything you wish for, I will comply but I do need to empty my seed. Would you give me your mouth?"

"You are dominant. You need not ask."

"I ask."

"No..." Nala gasped. "No. Never would I have guessed that you could be so gentle. You flatter me."

Indel's curiosity got the better of him. He answered Nala with a smile. As he traced Nala's inner thigh with his fingers, Nala calmed. Relieved when his digits slid along Nala's crease smoothly, Indel allowed all his reservation to fall.

Maybe that was the Earthers' folly; they didn't become slippery when enticed. It was common for Summoner and Leveler alike, though the secretion seemed lessened without a tail. While Indel's skin became slippery, Nala's had only a fraction of that moisture.

Indel's body glistened and although Nala's reaction wasn't as fruitful, he was pleased when one, then a second digit slipped in.

"We are the same age and yet..." Indel said. "You've never cared about seeing the benefit and wonderment of...a lay."

"I wish to understand it now," Nala confessed. It wasn't a shiver necessarily but Nala's body vibrated when she asked, "What should I do?"

Her body warmed but Indel continued with his gentle prodding—it still was too tight.

"It is a lay like any other. Once the pressure's eased, I will fit you quite easily." When Nala's body tensed, Indel fought back his own cry. The ring of the Summoner's opening squeeze so tightly he had to settle for one finger instead. "Calm," he soothed. "I'd like this finger back."

A rumble came from the back of Nala's throat but rather than mature into a chuckle, it petered out into an awkward smile. The reaction spoke volumes.

"I'm not opposed to more than my mouth," she admitted.

Running his hands up and down Nala's slick body in an effort to sooth her, Indel himself swooned. "Hurry. Hurry. Let me have you."

Nala's pace wasn't as quick when she shed the robe and spread it on the ground. She did a strange thing next; she lay atop it.

Body in anguish, Indel looked down at her. "What is it you do?"

Curious black eyes peered back at him. "I'm readying myself. Have I done something wrong?"

"You...you lie on your back? Why do you do such a strange thing?"

The expression on Nala's face wasn't one Indel could easily read.

"I've...Earthers...they often lay this way. I've seen a few in passing."

Nala seemed ready to get up, but equally unable to.

Indel understood. Nala wasn't aware of how she could correct her actions. It seemed impossible for a country brat to not know how it is done normally.

Playing with a lover's tail, pulling it with each lunge was one of Indel's favorite things in a lay. When he met Nala's gaze, he saw realization dawn in the Summoner's eyes.

"How foolish of me..." Nala began.

"No." From the hay-bed Indel held her down. "Let us do it your way, country brat. It's rather different, but all right."

Even getting down from the hay aggravated Indel's now heavy groin but Nala's worried then eager expression was enough to wipe that away.

"Easy, Mana," Nala said. "If it's too much pain, we can do what is usual."

Once Indel'd crawled atop her, he pressed their foreheads together. He would give Nala her pride and take care with her.

"No, Summoner. I wish to try it your way."