Fineprint

The Regent's eyes lingered on him, the gears in her head turning.

***

Dennis, the Regent, and her guards made their way back to the city across the grassland. The temperature had not started to drop in earnest yet, but it was getting darker. The livestock had begun to huddle in response to the low light, they didn't seem to need shelter and simply clumped in a pile like emperor penguins. Dennis could sense it in the air, the environment was changing. Everything was shutting down, switching off, going to sleep. Even Dennis was affected by the change in luminosity, sending signals to his brain that night had fallen and that he should feel tired. The Regent walked beside him, her long, white tail waving back and forth as she rolled her hips.

"So is it always dark and cold at the pole?" Dennis asked.

"All year round, yes. Not this dark, but we do get less light than the equatorial territories."

"Is life there hard?"

The Regent seemed taken aback by his question, and she had to think for a moment, glancing at him with her ice-blue eyes.

"I suppose so. We're used to it. Here the food sources are abundant. Fish laze in the lakes, grazing beasts roam free, and food grows in the jungles at random. At the poles the fauna is larger and more aggressive due to the cold, few edible plants grow there and the fish hide beneath the ice, perfectly adapted to the darkness and freezing temperatures. Hunting is more dangerous, fishing and growing grain requires ingenuity and careful forethought."

She spat ingenuity as if it were an insult, was she implying that the Equatorial Borealans had it easy? What icy hell must her people live in if the heat of Elysia was desirable in comparison?

"If you don't mind my asking, Regent, why do you remain there?"

"My people have lived in the Polar territory for a very long time, long enough to diverge into a distinct race. We are adapted to the cold, we can no longer live comfortably in the deserts. Our insulating fur and blubber would cook us alive. Perhaps if we had starships like Elysia, we could relocate somewhere more hospitable. Alas, we lack the means of the Patriarch."

They arrived back at the city limits, and their feet met the slabs of hard stone that lined its streets, Borealan claws clicking on the rock as they walked.

"Where are we going now, back to the embassy?" Dennis asked. They had already seen the eclipse, was there somewhere else in the city that she wanted to take him?

"No, you will sleep at my residence for the duration of the eclipse." It sounded more like a command than a suggestion, but Dennis didn't mind. Anything to get out of the embassy for a while.

"Your residence? Do you own property here?"

"Yes, as the Regent of the Polar territory I have a few privileges, one of which is the right to own property in Elysia. I stay here during the eclipse when I am able to travel."

They walked a while longer, Dennis was becoming tired, and his joints were starting to ache from the strain of so much hiking in the high gravity. He hoped that the six months before permanent damage calculation took into account this much walking. The Regent stopped before a large structure, made from the same sandstone as the surrounding buildings. She pushed open the door, and as he entered behind her, Dennis noticed that much of the roof was open to the air. Some sections of the building were contained, but the small courtyard in the center had no roof or dome. Pillars of white marble ringed the space, helping to support the roof on the insulated sections and giving everything a very Greco-Roman vibe. The floor was littered with flowering plants and long, padded couches that resembled chaise longues. Of course, a Polar Borealan would not fear the winter, it might even be downright balmy compared to what they were used to back home. The whole scene looked like the palace of some Arabian prince, all it was missing were wandering peacocks and elaborate fountains.

"Impressive," he muttered, gazing at the shining marble and the fine fabric that decorated the walls in the familiar Borealan style.

"My home away from home. You look tired, Ambassador. Come, sit with me."

She sat on one of the long couches, padded with blue satin or maybe silk cushions. He walked over to her, and she helped him up, taking his hand and guiding him into the seat beside her. He sat next to her in silence for a while as the guards hovered by the entrance. The stars in the sky had moved a little closer together, but he wasn't feeling the chill yet, it must be too early. The Regent shuffled backwards, leaning upright against the cushioned headrest of the long couch.

The Regent surprised him, sneaking a hand around his midsection and dragging him closer to her. He pressed up against her padded thigh, her flesh spilling around him with the consistency of wet clay. Her entire body was sheathed in that inviting layer of insulating fat, filling out her feminine figure in ways that seemed almost designed to draw the male gaze. The considerable weight of her breast leaned on him through the flimsy fabric of her top, cascading over his shoulder and pressing against his cheek. The delicate fur tickled his nose as he breathed in her scent. She smelled like perfume or shampoo, the flowery fragrance masking a deeper and more musky aroma that he found oddly enticing. She was so warm and soft, whenever he was near her, he just wanted to let himself sink into her and fall asleep.

"I hope you don't mind, Ambassador. I have studied human culture, I have read that you find physical contact reassuring and intimate. I do want us to have an intimate relationship."

"Not at all, Regent. I...don't mind. Might I ask where you learned English? You don't look military."

She smiled at him, her blue eyes reflecting the glow of the eclipse. He felt her arm move, the soft fur sliding against his body and her large, padded hand coming to rest near his thigh.

"I'll let you in on a secret, Ambassador," she whispered to him. Her lips were close enough to his ear that he could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin. "I have more than a passing interest in humans and their affairs. Ever since the Coalition made contact with Borealis and the Patriarch began to trade with your kind, I have pondered the implications. What it means for Borealis, what it means for my people. The Patriarch has been able to acquire technology that puts him at, what some would say, is an unfair and unnatural advantage. He has used his great influence and considerable wealth to build a relationship with Earth while excluding the other territories. The technology has not spread beyond Elysia, he is like a selfish kitten, he won't share his toys."

Dennis felt her long, fluffy tail slide across his legs, resting in his lap like a furry snake. Unlike the thin tails of the Elysians, this one was covered in puffy fur to give it the appearance of a gigantic feather duster.

"And so I studied human culture, human language. I took a great interest in learning all that I could about these short, industrious aliens so that one day I might meet one, and offer him a deal that he couldn't refuse."

Dennis turned his head and looked up at her, confused.

"What are you implying, Regent?"

"Just think of it, the Patriarch's growing fleet languishes in orbit, fully functional spacecraft that the Equatorial simpletons have no idea how to properly maintain or even pilot. They rot in space when even one such ship could offer my people a new beginning, a chance to leave this brutal planet and find somewhere better to live. Our overspecialization is our prison, we are confined to the pole where we must live out our lives in the bleak tundras. When I put in a request to lease one of the ships, the Patriarch did not even respond. When I confronted him about purchasing one of the vessels, even at an extortionate interest rate, he would not agree. He sees the Coalition and thinks that the secret to power is fleets, he seeks to keep that power from us for fear that we will use it to overthrow him. But all we want is the freedom to choose our home. There are hundreds of planets and moons out there, thousands, millions. Surely one of them could serve as a more suitable home for my people?"

"Regent...your argument is fair," Dennis replied. "If I could help you, I would, but this is beyond me. I don't have the authority or the influence to get you ships, the Patriarch is buying from independent traders, and he's paying well. Those same traders would sell to you too if you could afford their prices."

Her grip on him tightened, her soft fur pressing into his face as she held him, almost in a headlock now.

"Why would the UN send you if you had no authority? How would you gain such a powerful position without connections?" She glared at him, her icy eyes piercing through him. Her expression softened abruptly, and a warm smile returned to her lips. Dennis was wary now and was beginning to regret ignoring Xhe's obvious apprehension.

"Little Ambassador...I do believe that your loyalties lie with the Patriarch and with Elysia. But what can he offer you that I cannot? Perhaps I should give you a taste of how I reward those loyal to me."

Her gentle grip suddenly became as hard as iron. She closed her large paws around him, lifting him and placing him between her long legs, his back resting against her belly and her cleavage cushioning his head. She barked an order to her guards and the two females lay down their glaives, trotting over to kneel beside the couch, one to either side of him. With her left hand the Regent trapped his arms at his sides, and with the right she caressed his face, running her dull claws lightly over his cheek. The warmth of her soft body permeated him, and he felt his resistance waning as her hot breath blew through his hair. She was so damned comfortable, it was like being hugged by a giant teddy bear. He eyed the two guards warily and tried to remain calm. This wasn't his first rodeo with a Borealan.

"What did that miserly fool offer you? All the meat you desire? Your own embassy? The company of that plain secretary? You will find that the people of the frozen pole are the warmest of all the Borealans, the most welcoming." She leaned her head down, her furry cheek pressing against his own, and used her free hand to angle his face towards her. "Defect, Ambassador. Come back to the Polar territory with me, and you will have anything you desire. Let me show you..."

Her puffy lips parted, and she pressed them against his, holding his face steady in her silky hand. Her embrace was warm and gentle, the tapered tip of her smooth organ working its way past his lips to tease him with slow and placating strokes. He melted into her embrace as her tongue drew shapes on his inner cheeks, tickling his palate, painting inside his head with all the practiced skill of an artist's brush. The perfume that he had smelled earlier now filled his nose, an underlying, heady musk setting his senses ablaze. She moaned softly as she kissed him, the sounds driving his growing erection to full height, making it throb painfully as it battled against the fabric of his pants. This was different from the way that Chaka had kissed him, she had been aggressive and wanton, selfish and uncaring. This kiss was slow and considerate, so tender. He felt like he was being kissed by a lover, his heart thawing like the ice that carpeted her frozen home.

She released him and smiled with satisfaction as he relaxed into her fur, his eyelids drooping. Nobody had ever kissed him like that before, it was...intoxicating. It numbed his mind.

"Shame on the Patriarch, only giving you a single servant. His lack of hospitality embarrasses us all." She hissed something in her native tongue, and the two guards reached towards Dennis, attempting to pull his pants down. He became alarmed and started to struggle, but the Regent held him firmly in her grip. "They won't hurt you, we aren't brutish and violent like our southern cousins. We are a more refined, a more civilized people."

The two guards succeeded in removing his clothing and his erection bounced free, almost hitting one of them in the face. The Regent chuckled, the low sound echoing in the courtyard, and lowered her hand towards his member. She reached out her index finger and tentatively pressed her spongy pad against the tip of his penis, wetting it with the bead of excitement that was already welling and making a slow circle. Dennis gasped, turning his face away and into one of her breasts, as if not being able to see it would somehow lessen the sensation.

She gripped the shaft, her downy, fuzzy fur creating an odd texture against his skin. It felt like someone wearing a furry glove. She pumped up and down lazily, letting her velvety coat tease him. Dennis groaned, trying to buck his hips, but she held him still in her one-armed embrace. He felt her lips brush his ear and she whispered to him softly, her tone low and suggestive.

"Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to have a dozen Borealans wash you with their tongues? To have them taste every inch of your skin? I can make that fantasy a reality, just pledge your allegiance to me." She slid her warm, rough tongue into his ear and tickled him. He didn't reply, and so she gave another order to her guards, spitting and hissing in the native tongue. She drew back her hand and gripped his face, angling his head so that he had to watch.

The guard on the left moved her head in, pressing her soft lips gently against the head of his penis. Her pink tongue snaked out of her mouth to lick the underside of his glans, the bumps on its surface teasing him maddeningly, lubricated by her thick saliva. The second leaned down, mouthing his shaft wetly, her smooth lips gliding up and down his length as the tip of her tongue traced his pulsing veins. Dennis winced at the sensation, his body turning to jello. The Regent laughed as she felt his trembling, and he looked up to see her leering over him, her expression triumphant.

"Are they not beautiful? They are my own concubines, sensuous, skilled in the art of lovemaking. I have twenty more like them, of any gender that takes your fancy, selected for the sheen of their coats and the finesse of their tongues. I'll share them with you..." She sucked his ear into her warm mouth, chewing it softly with her pointed teeth. "We could enjoy them together if that is what you desire. You need only to ask."

Dennis' body was betraying him, and his mind was becoming clouded. This was heaven, he felt like he was floating on a puffy, white cloud. Almost literally he realized, as the Regent pressed her weighty breasts around his head with her upper arms.

The guard to his right now took the head of his member in her mouth, her lips closing around it. The warm, wet pressure sent a shiver up his spine, and the Regent felt it too, chuckling at his reaction. The left guard moved down to his leg, kissing his inner thigh as the right began to slowly bob her head up and down, sucking as she went. She coiled her meaty tongue around him like a fleshy snake as she moved, sucking his cock into the back of her mouth, the tip pressing into her throat. Thick strands of her bubbling saliva escaped her mouth to dribble down his shaft, the alien making eye contact and batting her long lashes as she slid her puffy lips up and down his aching member.

Dennis gasped and jumped as the other guard found his balls, dragging her wet tongue across the sensitive skin.

"Oh my, is that part of your anatomy especially sensitive?"

The Regent hissed again and the second guard returned, kissing and mouthing his balls, sucking them delicately into her hot mouth and lapping at them with her agile tongue. The Regent pressed her lips against his neck, placing slow, warm kisses that made him shudder.

"Have you ever lain with a Queen and her concubines, Ambassador? The Patriarch insults me with his title of Regent, as if the Polar territory belongs to him and I am merely its caretaker, some provincial governor with no real authority. I am the Queen, the Matriarch of my territory and its people. My genes are of the noblest stock, my coat is exquisite and my skills as a lover unparalleled. Will you not partake, Ambassador? Do you not desire me?"

She used her free hand to push aside the thin fabric that held her breasts aloft, and they fell onto his shoulders in all their glory, pressing down on him with their immense weight. It was like having two massive bags of sand abruptly dropped onto his back, her flesh spilling around him like melting wax. Dennis groaned as the rightmost guard pushed him into her mouth, her lips touching his belly and his member being forced all the way down her throat, massaging him as she tried to swallow. She held him there for longer than her lung capacity should have allowed, before sliding his pulsing, aching member out of her mouth along with a sagging web of warm drool. Her eyes watered as she pulled back, but before Dennis had time to recover, the second guard took over. She used the clinging sheen of saliva as lubrication, slamming her head down on him without warning, his glans hammering the back of her throat. The right guard wiped her mouth and stroked his thigh gently with her furry hand, watching her counterpart as she began her sordid work.

"This is only a fraction of what I can offer you, Ambassador," the Regent whispered. "Will you not consider?"

She gripped his face in her furry hand, her claws pricking his cheeks, and turned his head up for another passionate kiss. God, she was so good at kissing. Her rough tongue moved so gracefully in his mouth, coiling around his own and teasing his throat, its slippery texture making it glide. She broke away with a wet pop, her soft lips lingering for a moment as she withdrew.

"Come back with me Ambassador, help my people."

"Y-You don't...understand," Dennis stammered, wincing and twitching as the guard worked him. The lining of her warm mouth felt like slippery silk around his sensitive member, his spine arching as she pushed his glans into her cheek. "I don't have any authority...I can't give you what you ask..."

The Regent bared her sharp fangs and pressed them gently into his neck, just lightly enough that they didn't break the skin. She dragged her textured tongue over the pinpricks and Dennis whimpered despite himself, then lurched as one of the guards kissed the base of his cock. It was becoming too much for him, he was in a haze of mingling pleasures that threatened to unhinge him.

"Why would they send you," the Regent hissed into his ear, "if you have no authority?"

"I'm...I'm just a liaison, the job of an ambassador isn't to make deals, it-it's just..." He trailed off, exhaling a long sigh as the second guard returned, sliding her tongue up his shaft and meeting her counterpart at the head. They pressed their lips together, kissing wetly around his tender glans, their long tongues fighting for space as they lashed at his cock. He recovered, as if climbing out of thick mud as his consciousness came streaming back.

"An ambassador doesn't really...do anything. My duties are to attend banquets, socialize, report back my findings to the UN. I-I didn't even know what the job entailed when I accepted the position. The only reason I'm here is because all of the other lawyers did their research and didn't want to be stationed on Borealis..."

The Regent seemed taken aback, hesitating as she processed the information.

"You're lying to me, Ambassador. The Patriarch speaks of you as if you have the ear of Earth, as if your presence in Elysia is proof of his influence and favor with the aliens. Why would your government send someone seventy-five light years away to represent their planet if they had no power?"