The Empath Cycle: 2013 Two To Tango

"Do you remember when she 'examined' you last week, then spent hours sketching various aspects of you? She looked at you, touched you, probably sniffed you and tasted parts of you."

"Yes. That was a strange experience. She had explained what would happen, but it still freaked me out a little."

"The only way I can explain it is to say that she took you in. You are now a part of her. Years from now, she will be able to recall minute details, feelings, sensations about you when she paints you or even when she just looks at you."

"So that's what she meant when she tried to explain to me how to capture a subject, to get a feel for it before trying to put it to paper. Oh, don't look so surprised. I've been making drawings and sketches of microorganisms for years. She says I have a talent and that I should explore it even if I only ever sketch."

"I don't doubt it for a moment. She has an extraordinary gift for looking past the surface and seeing things that are hidden from most of us mere mortals. But, speaking of those sketches, let me show you one of those she did of you."

Jean leaned over Kayla, copping a feel or three on the way, and reached under the bed.

"When I returned from my trip Thursday, she showed me this."

Kayla looked at the sketch of her penis for a long minute.

"I remember this." She said. "She looked at it flaccid. Like you said, she touched it everywhere, she looked at it from all angles, she sniffed and even touched it with the tip of her tongue. She had warned me so I didn't move. Then she took it in her hand, just like in this sketch and she shook it. She looked, I don't know if she was angry or frustrated or what, but the feeling of her hand and of her breath on it, she was so close, got me hard. She smiled and looked at it a long moment, still holding it. Then she examined it all over again. She even tasted the drop of pre-come all that manipulation caused. I tell, you, I almost blew my load in her face when I saw and felt the tip of her pink tongue take it. It was probably the most erotic experience of my life."

"I remember how it was for me the first time she did it. Back to this sketch, when she came out of her trance, did she touch your cock during the rest of your stay here?"

"She did and it wasn't in a sexual way. I had the feeling that she was making sure of something. Like she wanted to reassure herself of what it felt like."

"That's exactly what it was. When she saw this sketch, she realized the position she was in relative to it when this image imprinted itself in her subconscious. I can show you literally hundreds of sketches of subjects she examined like she did you and this is the very first one in which she is too. Not even in those she did of me. Something about it, about you must have touched something in her. I could be wrong, but I suspect she internalized the whole of you at that moment. She didn't understand what it meant. She kept coming back to it all week. When she came to me with it and we talked about it, about you, about what you meant to me. I think that's when it started clicking for her. She was staring at it with the glazed look you saw at supper. I got the idea to masturbate her as she was looking at it so intensely. I think that's when she made the connection. I think she remembered the moment for the first time since she started going into those trances. She was so happy, she cried for a long time. Then she told me she had to do what she had seen herself do at that moment. She had to make love to you with her mouth."

"I don't know what to say. I feel honored that she thought so much of me that she was willing to sacrifice..."

"You don't understand. She didn't do anything against her will or her conscience or whatever. She had already done it. It was only a matter of doing it in the physical world. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Please forget it. I just meant that she had already done it in her mind the same way that she is now probably doing the painting she was sketching. Most of the time, they are mnemonic aids, but this one is too elaborate, too precise. Usually it means that it's a first draft."

"Is this another of those eye openers things you can't talk about?"

"Yes and part of it pertains to a secret I can't talk about because it's not mine to tell. I'm sorry."

"That's all right. I understand. It tells me how good a woman you are that you will respect a secret that touches you so personally."

"Thanks. If I can, I will tell you. I promise."

Jean and Kayla had just finished lunch and were sunning themselves by the pool when they heard the two motorcycles nearing the house. Jean took Kayla's hand to reassure her.

"Don't freak out. These are very dear and close friends. They are part of the family in ways I can't explain yet. There can only be one reason they came without calling. They are here to meet you. You don't need to hide yourself. Please trust me."

"If you say it's safe, I believe you. How can I doubt this face?"

Kayla was straddling Jean, her face cupped in her hands and kissing her deeply when the four women in various stages of undress erupted from the house. This time, it was Ann who had cheated the most and was first in the pool, followed closely by Anne-Marie. When they had played for a few minutes, Anne-Marie got out and walked to the chair where the two women were laughing at Ryanna and Julia's efforts to dunk Ann.

"Hi Jean. Hello. You must be Kayla. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name if Anne-Marie."

"Nice to meet you. Ann tells me you're part of her family or she's part of yours, she wasn't clear on that. I hope you will find me acceptable because I have no intention of letting go of her."

"Whatever gave you the idea that what we think would have any bearing on your relationship with Jean and Caro? Moreover, that we wouldn't approve when you are already part of their family and of ours?"

Kayla looked at the woman in astonishment.

The other women arrived at that moment. Two of them looked like sisters. They were holding hands. The third one wrapped her arm around Anne-Marie.

"Let me guess. Jean didn't tell you about us. I suppose that's why Tia called Mia in the middle of the night. Hi Kayla, my name if Annabelle, but please call me Ann. These two rascals are Ryanna and Julia." She looked around. "Where's Caro? She usually meets us unless she's busy with you."

"She's been painting since about the time Mia got the call, I'd say. Why don't you go look in on her, Anne-Marie, but be careful. It's a different kind of trance. I didn't realize it when she got up or I would have gone to watch over her. She goes to the bathroom and she drinks the water I leave nearby for her, but I couldn't get her to eat."

"I'll go take a look then."

"Be prepared for a shock when you see what she's painting." Jean called after the departing woman.

Ann looked at Jean questioningly, but she saw Kayla blush deeply. It took her only a moment to realize what her friend had meant.

"Oh, this we've got to see." She laughed. She reached to take Julia's hand and they closed their eyes. After a moment, they all laughed. "That was too precious. I only wish we could have had a camera to show the rest of the family."

Ryanna came to sit beside Kayla and take her hand.

"I know this all must seem very confusing. When Anne-Marie comes back, hopefully with Carole, it will be easier to explain."

"If you're planning to do what I think, isn't it a bit like throwing her in the deep end and telling her to swim. Don't panic, honey. I didn't mean it like it sounded. No one is going to hurt you." Jean hastened to add.

"I know. You already told me I was safe." Kayla said before turning to Ryanna and slipping her arm around her waist. "Look at that face. Would it steer me wrong?"

"Laying it a bit thick, girls?" Jean asked.

"Actually, we're not. Someone else is." Julia told her as she looked at the two women coming out of the house, arms around each other's waist.

"Haya, girls. I see you met Kayla. Isn't she nice?" Carole told them with a winning smile before taking her hand and Jean's and pulling them on their feet so she could hold their waists. She stood there beaming. "Well? Why don't you let Mia have a good look at her?"

The four women held hands and looked at the three others. All of a sudden, a pale blue nimbus surrounded them and they cheered. Rushing over, they hugged Kayla and kissed her soundly. When her turn came, Anne-Marie held her hands and there were tears in her eyes when she spoke.

"We didn't understand when Mia named her Tia. We may be her, but she and Carole communicate at a level where they leave us behind or rather, we're only along for the ride. Tia stand for Triad. They are one soul in two bodies and you are two bodies with one soul. Your two souls have finally found each other after all the tries in your previous lives. We are so happy for you."

"Why don't we go to bed so we're comfortable?" Carole suggested. "Kayla, my heart, we're going to explain everything to you in a way that won't leave any doubt and that you will understand with your whole being."

"I trust you, love, like I trust Jean." She leaned over Carole to kiss Jean. In a moment, they were both kneeling in a group hug with Carole, exchanging kisses.

"They were bad enough when there were only two of them." Julia sighed, smiling broadly. "I suppose we should get some blankets and pillows."

'You are Tia.'

'I am me. I am Tia. Thank you for coming Mia.'

'You called, I came.'

'I am whole. My last part was missing. It is found.'

'It is.'

'I need to integrate.'

'You do. I help.'

'...'

'I am One. I am me.'

'I am One. I am me.'

'I am happy.'

'I am happy.'

The women were all sobbing softly when they came back to the physical world. As Tia had integrated her third part, so had Mia gone a step further in her own evolution.

Jean, Carole and Kayla held each other as the enormity of their having found each other dawned on them.

Jean had accepted the explanations intellectually, but there had always been a certain reserve. After the experiences in Bermuda, if she couldn't deny that she was part of something extraordinary, she now realized that she had been too much a part of the physical world to fully accept the reality of it. After all the times she had been part of Tia, she was now Tia.

Carole, with her different perception of reality, had embraced her identity as part of Tia and Mia's perception of her relationship with Jean at the emotional level. She had no other way to look at it. She had known they were tied from the moment they met. She now knew they were one to the core of her being. She was Tia.

Kayla, the ultimate loner, rejected by society all her life, had found what had always been missing: a sense of belonging. She had dreamed of finding love, but never expected to discover that she had been looking for a specific love and had been searching for it through the ages. Whatever the future held for her, she would never be alone again. She was Tia.

Ann, Anne-Marie, Ryanna and Julia, having gone through Mia's evolution, from an unformed being of instincts to self-awareness and a growing consciousness, had not expected this further step.

"Am I the only one thinking that Mia is now an adult?" Anne-Marie asked.

"I don't know about that, but as she helped Tia to integrate the last part of herself, I think so did she with hers." Ann said.

"Adult is a valid analogy, but that's all it is. She has gone another step in her evolution. We are now really one." Ryanna suggested.

"As parts of Mia, we sometimes felt as if we didn't participate in her 'discussions' with Tia. I thought it was because they were 'talking' about somethings out of our specific area of expertise. I now see that we were simply not aware of how they communicated. It is so pure and undiluted by mere words and images. I'm almost tempted to go work with you in the Laboratory, Ryanna." Julia laughed.

"We have a lot to talk about, ladies, but we lost a lot of time. Does anyone absolutely need to go to work tomorrow? I have a meeting, but I can postpone it." Ann asked.

"I'm fine. There's nothing I can't catch up with later." Anne-Marie said.

"The same for me. I'm the boss, after all." Ryanna laughed.

"None of my patients is critical. Someone else can take over for me." Julia told her.

"I can't leave my kids. I have to go to work." Carole said firmly.

"My team is in debriefing mode. We'll be writing reports for the next few days. I can email Nancy to let her know I won't be coming in." Carole added.

"If I can take a couple of hours to work on my painting, I'm fine. That's the fun of being self-employed." Carole grinned.

Mia's parts looked at each other. This was going to take a lot longer than just one day.

"Why don't we go in? It's getting cool now that the sun is setting. I suggest we eat then go to bed so we're more comfortable while we go to the cabin for a while."

"I'd fire up the barbecue, but we didn't expect your visit, so I don't have enough for us all." Carole told her.

"A salad will hold us until morning." Ann said. "It may not feel like it, but we spent some energy this afternoon and evening and we'll spend more tonight."

"I don't feel tired." Carole protested. "I feel invigorated, in fact. I'm ready for a full shift at the hospital."

"Trust me." Ann explained. "It's psychological. I can show you the math if you want."

"It's all right." Carole conceded. "You're the genius after all."

They went indoor and settled for supper. It was unsettling. Ann would be talking to Jean in the sitting area and Carole would answer from the kitchen in a normal tone of voice, as if Ann was sitting in front of her.

When they had to split in smaller groups to take a shower, Carole remarked that she had just finished remodeling. Ann offered to help with the plans when she said she would need to make an extension to the house.

"You're going to have to get a larger bed too." Julia laughed. "It's getting crowded in here."

"I thought you liked it cozy." Carole teased.

Julia was riding behind Anne-Marie while Ryanna was fondling Ann's breasts as they flew down the road. Between the two choppers, Jean was driving a trike with Carole and Kayla kissing in the back seat.

They drove on the coastal road for a long while, enjoying the sun reflecting on the water to their right and the lush green temperate forest on their left. They waved and called to the occasional forest creature that came out to see them drive by.

Eventually, they arrived at a log cabin by the water.

Ann and Anne-Marie watched Jean, Carole and Kayla stand at the edge of the water where Ryanna and Julia had assumed their iridescent dolphin forms before their human bodies hit the water.

If they listened closely, they could 'hear' Jean explain to Kayla how to change into any form she wanted. Carole demonstrated by jumping toward her and landing as a purring Maine Coon cat in her arms. Smiling affectionately, Kayla gently put the cat on the grass and there were two cats nuzzling and rubbing against each other. Jean stretched beside them and enjoyed the feeling of their fur caressing her skin for a while, then joined them.

"It's going to take some persuading to get them to separate." Ann said as she looked at the bundle of fur. Occasionally, a head would lift to lick a part of it.

"We have all the time we need, my love. We were lucky in that there was always another one of us nearby. They will have a tougher time." Anne-Marie told her, reaching for her hand.

"Do you want to join the girls in the water?"

"No hickey-making tentacles this time!"

"Moi? No hickey. I promise."

"I didn't say no hickey. I meant no tentacles."

"You're on."

Two cormorants took to the air and flew in search of the dolphins.

Jean deposited her glass of margarita on the table and turned to the barbecue where large pieces of meat were sizzling over wood embers.

"I know. I know. We aren't thirsty and we don't need to eat." Carole said as Jean grinned to Ann. "But I swear the mouse I ate earlier tasted like chicken. I need to be reminded of the real taste of things. Hence the margarita and the steaks."

They all laughed, but still helped themselves to the ever full pitcher of margarita.

'I've been meaning to ask you if you wanted to try it with a strap-on, but I think this will be better' Jean told Kayla who was fondling her cock.

Carole's hand joined Kayla's as she leaned in and kissed her.

'You can really make love to us now, my love.' Carole said. 'We can be one in yet another way.'

The two women bent and kissed Jean's hard-on, exchanging places to take her in their mouths, but sharing each other's feelings as they felt the pleasure they were giving Jean. Carole moved to lie beside Jean so she could kiss her and fondle her beasts. She moaned when Kayla reached to scratch her thighs lightly and knead ever closer to her center while Jean stroked Kayla to full erection before reaching further and inserting two fingers in her vagina.

When Kayla felt that Jean and Carole were both on the edge of climax, she got on her knees and gently guided Carole on top of Jean.

'You should have done this a long time ago. You are the male and female parts of yourself.'

Taking hold of Jean, she guided her in Carole. The three of them shivered as they felt the cock penetrating the eagerly waiting vagina. They mewled at the muscles contracted to sheet it snugly. They lay there for long moments, savoring the exquisite physical sensations and the emotional connection finally made before they began to move against each other.

On top of everything else she had absorbed, Kayla was deeply moved by the never fully acknowledged love between the other parts of herself being finally consumed. As she lay beside them, Jean wrapped her arm around her and so did Carole. They kissed as they felt the heat rise in them.

As she shared their sensations, Kayla realized that Jean was penetrating her too as she felt Carole's vagina squeeze her cock. She could feel Carole riding her faster as Jean bucked her hips and ground her pelvis against her clit.

In her exultation of their shared pleasure, Kayla opened herself totally, becoming the other parts of herself as they gave themselves to the other. If they had been in the physical world, their orgasm would have left them completely spent. In this special place, as Carole lay on Jean's body, her vagina pulsing on the flesh inside her, their three souls had become one.

It felt like much later when Anne-Marie gently touched Carole's sweaty back.

"You have to let go, Kayla." She said softly. "You have to separate from them. They will still be there, but you need to be yourself too."

'Nooooo! I am what I was meant to be.'

"Yes you are, dear. You are also Kayla and they are Carole and Jean."

'I... I am... Kayla. I am...'

"That's it. Remember. You are Kayla and you have a beautiful body of your own. You need to come back to it."

'Why? I like it here.'

"Because you will hurt yourself if you forget who you are. You will hurt your love too. You have been looking for each other for so long, you need to be together, but you must be separate too."

'I don't understand.'

"I will explain it to you, but you must be Kayla so you can understand."

'Will I be able to come back here?'

"Yes you will. I will teach you. I will also teach you to come back."

'I trust you. You have a nice face. How... How do I do it?'

"Remember your body. Remember the feeling of your lips as you kiss Jean, the sensation of Carole's body against yours when she sits on your lap."