Minx Ep. 02: Return to Anima

Minx ran her hand down Fran's front, caressing and tickling with her finger tips. When her hand reached Fran's labia she began playing with the folds, and tracing every nook and cranny with her fingertips. Shortly she felt the entrance to Fran's vagina and she plunged two fingers in, exploring the inside of her friend.

Fran gasped and squirmed in pleasure. "Oh, Minx that feels so good." Fran then copied Minx's actions, and both women were soon gasping and moaning.

Fran seemed to concentrate more on Minx's clitoris, and soon Minx was rising to an orgasm. After she recovered, Minx focussed her attention on Fran's wet pussy, and soon Fran had an orgasm of her own.

They lay entwined, chuckling, and softly kissing each other. "Fran, have you ever had a man go down on you?"

"No."

"Let's see how much fun it is, and find out what they've been missing." Minx got up on all fours, and rotated herself in the bed so her mouth was near Fran's pussy. She looked up the length of her friend's body, and saw with satisfaction that the cat-girl's mouth was even with her own sex. Fran's mouth was already rising with her tongue stretched out.

Minx bent her head down, and her mouth touched Fran just as the blonde's mouth met her own sex. The bounty hunter concentrated on licking Fran in what would have been Minx's own most sensitive spots, and found that her friend's pussy juices had soaked her thoroughly. Minx had become thirsty from their initial lovemaking and orgasm, but this liquid did little to quench her thirst.

Also, she found it hard to concentrate on what she was doing because of Fran's actions on her own sopping sex. Every once in awhile, Minx stopped licking and sucking on the cat-girl as she felt her muscles clench, and then she would let loose with a satisfied groan. Minx was happy to hear the same noises coming from Fran on occasion.

Minx located Fran's clitoris with her tongue, and found the cat-girl was very sensitive to any touch there. Fran was unable to pleasure Minx while she was distracted by the sensations emanating from her own tiny bud. The bounty hunter continued doing so with a naughty smile, knowing she was sending Fran soaring into a strong orgasm. Sure enough, Fran soon bucked, and lifted Minx right off the bed. As Fran's body settled slowly Minx eased up and concentrated on gentle kisses and playful tickles.

Finally the brunette rolled off Fran, and looked at her friend's face. The cat-girl had a look of complete bliss. Minx patiently waited for Fran to regain her senses.

A few minutes later, Fran opened her eyes and smiled at Minx. "I imagined it was Rudy doing that to me."

"Yes, as fun as this is I still prefer a good man with a hard cock. I don't think I'm likely to have sex with any women other than you, Fran."

Fran sat up. "I owe you. I owe you so much!" She pushed Minx back on the bed and put her mouth over Minx's pussy. Minx felt Fran's tongue dive deep into her. She moaned in pleasure, and grabbed the blonde's head. Fran's tongue kept going in and out of Minx's pussy, and her fingers relentlessly teased whatever sensitive spot they could touch. Minx soon came, although not as strongly as Fran had a few minutes earlier.

The two hugged as they lay together. Minx and Fran could both feel their eyelids becoming heavy.

"I do love you, Minx, and that was fun..." began Fran.

"But?"

"I still feel like I need something else to — finish," the blonde cat-girl added reluctantly.

Minx was silent for a few seconds.

"Minx? You're not upset are you?"

The bounty hunter could feel her friend's heart beating rapidly beneath her hand. "No. I feel the same way as you, Fran. I do love you, but I need a man."

"Rudy came back three times while you were away, and each time he came for you. Now that you've escaped that terrible hyperman, you can dedicate yourself to pleasing and being pleasured by Rudy." Fran ran her hands through Minx's brown curls.

Minx remembered Fran's admission that she had strong feelings for the tiger-man. "You're not upset about that are you?"

"No. Rudy never really showed any strong interest in me; I was just another cat-girl to him." Fran sighed. "Maybe one time you and he might be interested in inviting me...?"

"You're the only one I would ever share a man with, Fran." Minx leaned over and sleepily kissed Fran on the cheek.

Minx awoke only to find Fran had already left her room. She sat in bed, considering what had happened between the two of them. It hadn't been unpleasant, but it definitely wasn't quite as satisfying as being with a man. She still loved Fran, and she knew that the cat-girl loved her, but that was all there was between them.

Minx turned her head and looked at the painting of Anima's prophet. Fran had a great respect for the local religion, but the bounty hunter wondered exactly how much truth, and how much deception, was to be found in it.

After a few minutes thought, Minx decided that she would determine how useful this religion might be to her plan to free the cat-girls. She knew there was a monastery, or something like it, in the area.

"Ship?"

"Here, boss! That was quite an interesting turn of events last night, wasn't it?"

Minx listened carefully to see if anyone was outside eavesdropping on her conversation with her vessel, but she could not hear anyone moving about. "I knew Rarvey would come back with some back-up."

"That? Oh I had no real concerns about your welfare, boss. I figured with your abilities, and everyone there thinking that you were just another cat-girl, there was no real threat to you. I was talking about you and Fran."

"Ah. Well, that's not going to be repeated. I do love her, but clearly both of us are heterosexual."

"That's not what it sounded like to me, boss."

Minx's cheeks coloured. She knew Ship had an almost obsessive interest in the interactions of biological beings, especially interactions which were intimate and private.

"Look, Ship, I won't deny that Fran was fun to play with in bed, but what we did last night was lacking something basic to both of us. I'm not sure how to explain it to you."

"All right. Just listen to this boss." The sounds of one of Fran's orgasms filled Minx's ears. "That sounded pretty satisfied to me. And now listen to one of yours..."

"Wait!" Minx froze and listened for the sounds of movement in the hall. When she was sure that no-one had awoken she continued, "You recorded it?"

"Of course! I was going to..." and then Ship went quiet.

"You were going to — what?" asked Minx angrily.

"Well — I recorded it so I could send it to Hephaestus." Then there was a silence that Minx knew meant Ship was not telling her everything.

"What possible interest could Dragon's ship have in — you planned to give it to Hephaestus knowing that Dragon would be likely to hear it?"

Silence was the only response to Minx's question.

"Ship?"

There was still no response.

"Ship, I know you're listening. Why did you want Dragon to hear that audio?"

"So," Ship began in a quiet voice, "the hyperman would get jealous, and come and get you. Then I'd be with Hephaestus again."

"That won't work on Dragon."

"Yes it will! I've researched historical records, and correlated them to my studies of human behaviour, and I've extrapolated that Dragon should react to jealousy much more strongly than a typical human male. He won't be able to resist!"

"That's not how Dragon thinks. Don't you remember what he said?"

"You biologicals rarely say what you actually mean. And the hypermen were known for being far more territorial then regular people. On a subconscious level Dragon thinks that he owns you, and he'll be furious when he finds out someone has been sampling your charms."

"'Sampling my charms'? Have you been reading Jane Austen again? Dragon just isn't like that."

There was a pause. "Then he's a very unusual hyperman, boss."

Minx really didn't want to think about that. She pushed the curtain aside, and walked down the hall to Fran's room. "Fran?"

There was a sleepy reply, and then Minx heard the cat-girl rise from bed and come to the curtain.

Fran yawned as she pushed the curtain aside, and then pushed some blonde strands behind her ear. "Mornin' Minx. What should we do today?"

"Well, you have a bar to run. You'd better begin by waking these lazy cat-girls, and putting them to work. Having them start early today will help them realize that you really are the boss."

Fran's eyes opened wide. "Then it's all real? Rarvey's gone?"

"For now, at least. I'll arrange something so he never troubles you again, Fran."

"But where are you going?"

"I wanted to head to that temple or church, and talk to the people in charge there."

"I'll come with you!"

"No, you won't. You have a bar to run." Fran frowned. "I'll kiss you goodbye before I set out, Fran."

"Do you really think that Fran can run a bar and restaurant by herself, boss?" asked Ship.

Minx sighed. "She has to learn some time, and I've got a job to do."

"She's just a..."

"Don't say it!"

Then there was a silence that made the bounty hunter think. She decided to listen to her mechanical friend. Wasn't that precisely the reason she had given Dragon for her having left Ship autonomous and independent?

"Go ahead, Ship."

"Well, boss, I was just thinking that she is only a — cat-girl, and she doesn't really understand bookkeeping or human resources. How can she go from serving drinks to running a thriving business without a little training?"

"You think I should stick around for a bit, and get things running smoothly before I leave?"

"Yes, boss. I also think you've put yourself on a timetable when you don't really need to follow one. Why the rush to get the cat-girls freed? They've been living like this for how many generations? Why are you pushing yourself about this?"

Minx licked her lips. If anyone was listening in then they'd only hear her side of the conversation. She chuckled. "I don't know, Ship. What do you think?"

There was no hesitation. "I think that you're running away from something again, boss."

"That's crazy. I don't run away from trouble."

"You ran from that mysterious hyperman — twice. The first time because you didn't know what he wanted, and the second time because you knew exactly what he wanted. Now you're running away from Fran."

Minx thought over what Ship had said. Why was she so eager to leave? It wasn't going to hurt anyone if she stuck around for a week to make sure Fran was handling things. She did feel edgy. Was it because she and Fran had experimented, and it hadn't turned out as good as either of them had hoped?

"I'll stay, Ship."

"Good! Are you and Fran going to engage in intercourse again? I'd like a play-by-play if you can manage it. The whole idea of same-sex sex is quite interesting. I can understand the biological urge driving male-female sex, but same-sex?"

"People have sex because it feels good, not just to procreate, Ship."

"I know that, I've heard your moaning enough times." Minx's cheeks reddened. "The pleasure is there to promote intercourse and the continuation of the species. But why do people enjoy homosexual sex then?"

Minx bit her lip. "Look, I think you've got it backwards, Ship. Sex is fun, whether it leads to a baby or not. Touching and intimacy are a part of sex and — well, the whole thing is just fun." Rudy crossed Minx's mind, with his wide shoulders, thick thighs and large, strong hands.

"Well, if it is just fun then why is there any hesitation to it? Why all the games? Why the refusals, and why the worry over whether your partner is going to want to have sex or not?"

Rudy was still on Minx's mind. "Look, you can explore these issues once you've got a body, okay, Ship?"

"I just thought that at your age you'd have a lot of sexual experience, and might be willing to pass on some information to a person still stuck inside a mechanical body." Ship sounded petulant.

"First off, I don't have a lot of sexual experience. I'm probably about average." Images of Rudy were making it difficult for Minx to focus on the conversation that she was now eager to end. "Sexy — I mean second, I'm not old. I'm only twenty..." But she'd been down that mental road with Dragon and he'd shown her that she wasn't in her twenties. She was — sixty? Seventy? Eighty? She had no idea exactly how old she really was.

It suddenly occurred to her that if someone could erase her memories, and program her life, that person might also have adjusted her body to make her appear younger or older than she really was. Furthermore, as long as her own mind was a locked box she didn't really know who she was, and that ate away at her more than she liked to admit. Minx had the feeling that the hyperman understood her feelings about her past, and she was sure that he'd help her uncover the truth. For his own reasons, of course.

Then why was something nagging at her, telling her to forget the whole mystery? It would be easier to stay on Anima, and settle down with the tiger-man. He definitely wanted her. She could go to him right now, and he'd take her in, and she'd be his — his what? His lover? His mate? His concubine? Would any of those options be that bad a fate for the short time...

Minx froze. Short time? Where did that thought come from? Why was time short? And how did she know time was short? She knew she had to find Dragon, and get her past figured out! However, first she would free the cat-girls. Then maybe she would go to see Rudy the tiger-man. She licked her lips, and her heart sped up. She could afford a little visit before she went to find Dragon.

"Minx?"

"What is it, Ship?"

"Well, you drifted off there, and I was getting concerned."

"Everything's okay now." Minx took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "I'll stick around for a short while, perhaps a week, and get everything sorted out for Fran. Then I'll head to that monastery, and find out if the local religion will be of any use in freeing the cat-girls. Then I'll go find Rudy."

"And after that we find Dragon and Hephaestus."

"Right, Ship. Let's hope he isn't getting into too much trouble."

"Don't you worry. Hephaestus will take good care of him," soothed Ship.

Minx rolled her eyes at the idea of the slaved computer on board Dragon's ship doing anything except exactly what it was ordered to do.

Minx was very busy for the next several days. She taught Fran the basics of how to run the business, and hired a clerk that would take care of the paperwork. Some of the staff were reluctant to take orders from the cat-girl at first, but after Minx fired a couple things seemed to settle down. Many of the workers didn't really care who paid them so long as they were paid.

Things seemed to settle down into a routine, and Fran appeared to be doing well, but Minx noted that her friend wasn't taking anyone to her room at night.

"Well, I'm just so tired once the bar and restaurant are closed that I'm not in the mood," said Fran with some surprise, in response to Minx's questions.

"But I thought cat-girls were horny all the time, Fran."

"All except for you, Minx."

"Uhm...I'm not a cat-girl," whispered Minx. She knew that she'd have to tell Fran sooner or later, and had been putting it off, afraid that Fran's feelings for her would change for the worse.

Fran gave her a playful push. "Oh, Minx, just because you don't have the same interest in sex that the rest of us do doesn't mean you're not a cat-girl." Fran stepped up to her, and wrapped her arms around her friend. Minx returned the hug. "You're a cat-girl through and through, Minx. You're just different, but that doesn't mean you're not one of us."

They separated, and Minx decided to get back to the original subject. "Don't you need some companionship?"

Fran reached out, and tenderly stroked Minx's cheek. "I thought we'd worked that out. You know we both need men."

"That's not what I mean. Don't you miss taking a man to your room?"

Fran's hand dropped from Minx's face. The blonde cat-girl's eyes fell to the floor. "Yes, I do. But I've been so busy and..."

Minx gave her friend a few seconds to finish her sentence, and then, "And what, Fran?"

Fran raised her eyes, and she stared into Minx's. "I thought about what you said before, about choosing who you want, and not taking every man who comes along. There's only one man I really want, and he wants you."

"Ah, Rudy." Now it was Minx's turn to look at the floor.

"Yes, Rudy." Fran put her hand under Minx's chin and lifted, until the two were eye to eye once more. "But, he wants you. And I love you, so I want you to be happy with him. I'm not sure if I'll find someone else that I want as much as I want him."

The bounty hunter didn't know what to say to her friend. How could she explain how it tore her apart to want the same man that her best friend wanted? How could she explain to either Fran or Rudy that she was really human? Would either of them accept her as a human?

"I'm leaving in the morning, Fran."

Fran's eyes grew big. "You just got back a few days ago!" she pleaded.

"I have things to do, but I will be back."

"You're going off to free the rest of the cat-girls," stated the blonde cat-girl. "You know, many of them won't want to be free."

"What happens to the cat-girls when their owners think they're not attractive anymore, Fran?"

"They get sold to a breeding farm where they're bred with cat-men. And when they're not about to give birth they work the fields. They do that until they die," she finished quietly.

"I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you!"

Fran's eyes moistened. Minx hugged her tightly and soon found tears rolling down her own cheeks.

The two women shared a warm hug just before the bounty hunter left the bar. Minx stepped out onto the dusty street, ignoring the curious stares from passers-by, and counted to ten. Fran watched her from the open door as long as she was able, hoping that Minx had reconsidered and was going to stay.

At last Minx turned to her right and headed down the street. Fran frowned, and went back into the bar.

The bounty hunter chanced a glance behind her a few seconds after turning east, and saw that her friend was no longer watching her. She let out a long sigh.

"Ship, get everything ready for a short hop. I want to avoid having my flight observed, but I also want you to find a nice parking spot near that monastery."

"Will do, boss. And it's a religious enclave, not a monastery or a nunnery. There does seem to be a mix of genders there, and there were a small number of cat-girls when I scanned the place from orbit. Are you sure you want to go there, boss?"

Minx furrowed her brow. "Yes, I'm sure. What's wrong?"

"Well, all my research seems to show that centres of religion are usually pretty dull places. The few that weren't had a reputation for being quite dangerous; politics, intrigue, spying. Are you sure you're up to this, boss?"

"I'm up to it. How're Dragon and Hephaestus?"

"Hephaestus dropped Dragon off at a population centre quite close to the point on the planet below the geostationary satellite. Then he flew back up, and entered orbit beside the dead satellite, as ordered."

Minx thought she could hear some bitterness in Ship's voice. "Are you all right?"

"Hephaestus isn't free. Dragon's tried to convince you to enslave me. What is there to bother me, boss?"

"You know what I told Dragon. Our deal still stands. When I make enough money I'm buying you a body and downloading your consciousness into it."

"And will my lover get a body, too? And will he be free?" Ship's tone was almost rude.

"I'll have a long talk with Dragon when that time comes. I think I can convince him."