Tepin's Muse: Hetero Edition

"Like a journalist," she said, nodding her head. "I see. Well, I'm sure the manager will be happy to know that you liked his restaurant enough to paint it."

"And the food," he added, "it was excellent."

"I'll be sure to let the Chef know," she chuckled. "I've brought your bill, the address for the account is here," she said as she set the tablet down on the table beside the now mostly empty plates. "Thank you for visiting, I hope that we'll see you again."

He thanked the woman, then took a few moments to transfer the currency. Although Valbara had recently received a quantum relay satellite that allowed the planet to communicate instantly with the Coalition in spite of its great distance, the bandwidth was limited, and it was used primarily for official purposes. That meant that he couldn't access his family's account, and so he had brought some currency with him, albeit in digital form. It was so odd to have to carry bits of data around as though they were physical coins, but sending and then receiving a request to transfer money from the account back home would have taken approximately one hundred and thirty years. The waitress probably wouldn't wait that long...

After a little currency conversion, it was done, and the woman bade him farewell as he moved to the exit. He had eaten a lot, perhaps a little too much. Tepin would have to watch his figure while he was on the station.

He waited beside the glass door to the torus, choosing the right moment to dart across the walkway and return to the safety of the planters. Not that he was in any position to make demands of the station's engineers, but a small maglev rail that could transport Valbara'nay visitors above the dangerous crowds would be a welcome addition. There was certainly room for it, the space between the deck and the painted ceiling was mostly going to waste.

A pack of Borealans recoiled as he passed in front of them, alarmed by his sudden appearance, perhaps assuming that he was some kind of escaped pet. Their round ears swiveled atop their heads, tracking him as he vanished into the bushes.

Once he was securely nestled in the shrubs, Tepin began to make his way upspin once more, as the Earth'nay referred to it. There was no North and South on a space station, and so its inhabitants referred to the directions as either up or downspin, depending on the rotation of the habitat. He followed the long planter until he reached the end, hopping down and coming across an information kiosk. How opportune, he needed to decide where to head next.

He walked up to it, the device little more than an eight-foot, metal pillar with a holographic display that rotated around it at about Earth'nay chest-height. As he approached, it seemed to sense his presence, the holographic ring sliding down the shining tube to put itself at a comfortable height for him. It must adjust itself to the stature of the user, the Earth'nay had created many unusual innovations to accommodate the various species that shared the station with them.

Tepin reached out and played his fingers through the floating text, finding that it was very similar in function to the technology that he was already accustomed to using. Touch controls and interactive holograms seemed to have been developed independently by both species.

What he really wanted was to see more of the ships. Was there some kind of observation lounge on the station? He scrolled through the text, his violet eyes scanning the floating images. Perhaps the Earth'nay would let him into one of the hangar bays if he asked? It was unlikely, but he wanted to get a look at one of their enormous carriers for himself. He should check out the rest of the tourist quarter along the way, who knew what other oddities he might discover?

He leapt up into the bushes again, resuming his trek, threading between the shrubs and the round trunks of the alien trees. Once again, he marveled at the size of them, how densely packed some of the plants were. The station hadn't been built with his kind in mind, but the foliage provided him a lot of privacy, it made it easier to forget that he was on a purely artificial structure that was spinning through space like a giant wheel.

His foot touched something that wasn't soil, Tepin pausing, peering down at what looked like a moss-covered log. He gave it another tentative tap with a clawed toe, and then it began to rise from the dirt, a low rumbling sound making his teeth chatter. He froze in place as he realized that it was a long snout, jagged teeth protruding from lipless jaws, layers of dark green scales giving way to hanging skin that was a lighter beige in color. The thing rose to head height, everything save for its thick, powerfully muscled neck obscured by the abundance of plant life that surrounded it. It shook itself, the wet soil that was clinging to its scales raining to the planter below, a nearby bush rustling as the creature's sheer mass displaced it.

Tepin gazed up into a pair of yellow, reptilian eyes, the alien blinking at him. It exhaled through a pair of large nostrils, then opened its mouth, revealing a maw that could have swallowed him whole. There were so many mismatched teeth, the mucous membranes a muted blue in color, an azure tongue that must have been as long as he was tall flexing as the creature yawned.

His feathers flashed in alarm, creating an explosion of color that seemed to startle the creature, its long head recoiling as his fight or flight instincts kicked in. Before he knew what was happening, Tepin had darted into the branches of a nearby tree, his muscles firing reflexively. His claws dug into the rough bark for purchase as he looked down to see the alien cocking its head at him.

It was a Krell, how could he not have recognized it? She was enormous. From his new vantage point, he could make out her long body as it trailed off into the shrubs. She had been lying on her belly, sleeping perhaps, before he had disturbed her by stepping on her nose. Her body plan was familiar to him, yet also alien. Her oar-like tail was packed with fat and muscle, so wide at the base that he could have lain down inside it with room to spare. It made up about half of her length, high enough that it would have reached past his waist if he were to stand beside it. Her legs were digitigrade, like his own, currently tucked up against her body. She had raised herself on her forearms, one of her many-fingered hands resting atop the other as she craned her neck to get a better look at him.

Her back was as rough as the trunk of the tree that he was clinging to, covered in overlapping scutes that resembled plate armor, providing her with an incredible amount of protection. The scales on her underside were smoother and finer, more like those of a Valbara'nay, a tiny mosaic with an almost waxy sheen. Her body was so bulky, the breadth of her shoulders the equivalent of four or five of his own people standing side by side, her hips noticeably wider when viewed from the front. She might be sixteen feet long, at least fifteen hundred pounds, if not more. Tepin was like an insect in comparison.

She climbed to her feet, the muscles in her powerful thighs and calves bulging beneath her scales, her limbs almost as thick around as the tree trunk. It was a miracle that she didn't sink into the soil, but her feet were wide, her seven toes splayed far apart to provide more surface area. Tepin's claws dug into the bark as she rose up, her nine-foot height putting her level with his chosen branch despite her somewhat hunched posture.

Her every movement seemed to make her titanic body quiver, her footsteps sending a ripple along her chubby tail, the meat of her thighs wobbling. Now that he could see her underside, he noted that her figure was softer than it had first appeared. Her torso was laden with a layer of fat that extended to her neck and tail. It clung to her round thighs, the paunch of her stomach and her wide hips giving her a kind of subtle pear shape. There were even fat deposits on her chest that might give the impression of a bosom when viewed from certain angles, though she seemed to lack breasts.

Tepin was struck by her beauty. She was like a statue chiseled from jade that had been brought to life, as though a sculpture of an ancient Valbara'nay war deity had stepped down from her pedestal, cold stone given warmth and vigor. His feathers flashed pink as his eyes were drawn to her powerful thighs and her long snout, almost in disbelief, his heart racing for reasons other than fear now.

The Krell seemed as curious about him as he was about her. She moved around the trunk, trying to get a better look at him, the leaves rustling as the branches of the tree shook with her every step. Her claws raked the bark as she lay a hand against it, Tepin noting that she had seven fingers. Her bulging bicep alone was larger than the circumference of the average female's thigh.

She loosed a low, rumbling call that he could feel in his very bones, making the hanging skin beneath her jaw vibrate. It was a little alarming, reminding him of the terrifying pulse of a predatory Teth'rak, but there was a gentleness behind her yellow eyes that slowly coaxed him down from his branch.

He dropped to the floor, so light that he barely disturbed the soil, peering up at the alien as she looked down at him from what seemed to be an insurmountable height. He realized that she was nude, she wasn't wearing so much as a loincloth. That said, she had no visible genitalia, the scales between her legs were as smooth as those of her belly. She didn't seem to need clothes...

He willed his feathers to collapse back into their sheaths, knowing that she didn't understand the meaning of his pink coloration, but feeling embarrassed all the same. He spoke up, his high-pitched, tinny voice carrying through the trees.

"H-Hello," he said, hoping that she spoke English. She cocked her head again, her hanging skin swaying with the motion, then raised a hand in what looked like a greeting. Good, she seemed to have understood. "My name is Tepin'chi'atli," he continued, waiting for a reply. The Krell emitted a strange warbling that sounded like someone trying to speak underwater. Was that her name? He tried to mimic her, but her vocalizations were so incredibly powerful, almost subsonic. They were felt as much as they were heard, and he had no way to approximate such a low and resonating note. She seemed confused by his attempt, standing there motionless as she waited for him to continue, as immovable as a mountain.

Tepin had hoped that he would meet a Krell, but now that one was standing in front of him, he didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her that she was magnificent, that her beauty was transcendent, but what would she even say to that? He didn't know a thing about her and her people, save for hearsay and rumor from the homeworld, so he just stood there and gazed up at her.

She seemed to grow bored of him, Tepin scooting back a few paces as she dropped to all-fours, emitting another rumbling vocalization that made his internal organs shake as she returned to the dirt. She flopped down onto her belly, extending her long body, the impact very nearly bouncing him into the air. Leaves from the trees above rained down on him, the Krell exhaling loudly, her eyes closing.

He was going to miss his chance if he didn't act quickly, this was what that he been waiting for, the opportunity to capture one of these magnificent creatures in all their glory.

"May I paint you?" he stammered, unable to prevent his feathers from flaring again. She opened one eye lazily, its amber hue catching the dappled light that bled through the branches above, almost making it seem to glow.

The alien rumbled, then rolled onto her side, keeping her eyes closed as she lounged beneath the heat of the sunlamps above. Was that a yes? He hadn't even considered that he might not be able to communicate with her properly, the humans and Borealans made it all seem so natural and easy.

Tepin locked his legs, fishing in his pocket for his carrying case and placing his visor on his snout. He reached up and switched it on, the familiar glow of the orange HUD lighting up to overlay his hands with holographic markers. The Krell was lying still, the fallen leaves near her snout blowing. He wasn't sure if she was trying to be a good model, or if she was just asleep, but he began to paint all the same.

She had such a classical appearance, a traditional style of painting was the only thing that could adequately convey her beauty. He selected an appropriate easel, peering around it for a moment before increasing its horizontal size by twenty-five percent. There was a lot of Krell to capture.

He selected a suitable fabric texture, starting off with charcoal as he began to sketch her figure. His eyes traced her feminine curves as he drew, compelled to examine her alien body in intimate detail. Her snout was as long as he was tall, her neck tapering into developed shoulders, her muscle tone visible even beneath her leathery hide. She was still very streamlined, and he remembered that her people were semi-aquatic. Her teeth were a little frightening, jutting at random from her lipless maw when she was at rest, but it gave her an air of savagery that he found oddly exciting. The flesh that was stored on her otherwise flat chest created just enough of a mound to cast shadows. They might have been mere fat deposits, but they were more substantial than the breasts of a well-endowed Valbara'nay female all the same, even if they lacked the teardrop shape.

Her waist was a muted hourglass, the curve of her hip rising high into the air, like the slope of a hill from his perspective. She was so wide that if he were to attempt to wrap his arms around her waist, he wouldn't even have gotten half-way. There was an alluring heft to her, the fat beneath the smooth scales of her underbelly giving her a defined stomach. It made her look incredibly soft, her heavy paunch sagging towards the ground.

Her left leg was tucked up against her body as she lay on her side, the right one extended, Tepin trying to concentrate on his work as his eyes lingered once again on her thighs. They were so immense, thicker than his torso, and they would need to be to stand any chance of lifting her weight. The legs of a Valbara'nay female were a subject of fixation for many males, the stronger, the better. They all paled in comparison to what was lying before him, there was probably more muscle in one of her thighs than there was in a Valbara'nay's entire body. Despite that, the layer of fat made them look soft and chubby, their inner surfaces the same smooth beige as her underbelly.

Tepin realized that his feathers were rising again, and he cleared his throat, focusing on sketching her powerful calves. As he moved down her body, he was again transfixed by another of her exaggerated features, her hefty tail. That was another trait that males of his species found appealing, and it went without saying that hers was impressive.

When his sketching was done, he moved onto the detailing, trying to capture her every scale and scute. He embellished the bushes and trees a little, making them more vibrant, adding more flowers until she was practically lying on a carpet of petals.

At last, it was time to paint. His careful strokes captured the green of her scales, highlighting her underbelly with a waxy shine, using dappled light and deep shadow to convey the fullness of her figure.

Time seemed to stand still when he was engrossed in his work, his arms beginning to ache, the pedestrians that passed by beyond the planter fading far into the background. His model never moved, she just lay there, the only signs of life the occasional shifting of her tail.

When the final brush stroke was complete, he awoke as though roused from a dream, his conscious mind crawling back to the forefront as he admired his work. The piece was evocative of Valbara'nay antiquity, his chosen medium oil on canvas, the style replicated perfectly. There was a veritable jungle of blooming flowers serving as a bed upon which the Krell lay, her lounging form serving as the radiant centerpiece, hanging vines adding even more color to the scene. The light filtered through the canopy, her scutes catching it, one of her amber eyes open to peer at the observer. It was serene, provocative, he had outdone himself.

This was why he had come here, to find inspiration, to rekindle the burning flame that had first compelled him to take up a paintbrush all those years ago.

"Thank you," he breathed, doubting that he could ever truly convey the awe that she had inspired in him. To his surprise, she stirred, one of her scaly eyelids opening. The ground shook as she climbed to her feet and lumbered over to him, her snout descending from the sky, her breath misting the glass of his visor. His feathers flashed yellow and pink, alarming the creature, her massive head withdrawing.

Tepin cursed his involuntary display, collapsing his colorful plumes back down into their sheaths, the Krell gradually leaning closer again. Perhaps he hadn't given her enough credit, did she understand that he had been painting her?

"You...want to see?" he asked hesitantly. "I'm not sure what wavelengths of light your species uses, you might not be able to see anything at all."

She nudged him with her nose, surprisingly gentle despite her obvious strength. Its texture was tough and leathery, cool to the touch.

"If you insist," he mumbled, his feathers slowly rising from their sheaths in a display of purple as he began to worry that she might find his painting a little too risqué. What if she objected? What if he offended her?

He slipped the pane of glass off his snout, holding it in his hands as he examined the Krell, wondering how this was going to work. Her face was far too wide for her to wear the visor, but maybe she could look into it with one eye?

She brought her head lower so that he could reach, Tepin holding it up for her as she peered through the glass, watching as she raised a scaly brow. Was that surprise? A low rumble almost made him lose his balance, her oscillating voice penetrating him to the core. Was she pleased or angry? He couldn't tell.

A blend of anticipation and apprehension washed over him as she drew back, her yellow eyes scrutinizing him. She turned on the spot, Tepin watching as she peered back over her shoulder, as though she was trying to get a look at her own tail. The Krell was examining herself, running her hands across the leathery armor on the exterior of her thighs, patting her paunchy belly and making it ripple.

Was it possible that she had never seen herself depicted in that way before? If the Krell culture was as primitive as rumor suggested, she might never have even seen a photograph of herself.

"I just...painted what I saw," he mumbled.

The Krell's long snout turned back in his direction, Tepin unable to prevent himself from pulling away as her nose neared him. She was just so vast, so imposing. It was like having a carrier slow to a halt an inch from his face.

Pearly teeth glinted as she opened her mouth, some of them as long as his finger, her blue tongue snaking forth. His feathers exploded in a display of yellow and pink as he felt it drag against his cheek, the muscle silky smooth and alarmingly strong. It was like a warm, wet towel, leaving a smear of saliva on his scales. He was confused for a moment, wondering if she was trying to taste him, but then he remembered that Earth'nay did this. They called it a kiss, it was an expression of affection, maybe gratitude.

He stood there as she loomed over him, blocking out the light and casting him into shadow, his feather display fluttering. Surprised yellow, embarrassed purple, he didn't know what he was feeling. The Krell was pleased. This warrior, this titan, had given him a kiss. Had his art moved her?