Visiting Lovers
© 2025 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  thetiedtigress



His eyes partly opened, squinted closed, and after a few moments the Komodo monitor slowly reopened them. He felt slightly numb, his head buzzed like a swarm of angry bees, and his skin felt – sticky?

Oh.

Right.

Fujiwara Castro sighed, his tongue flicking and picking up the various odors in the room. Overriding the usual scents of his wife and himself was a stronger, sulfur-rich musk. Kashlanin vir.

Fuji sighed. It had happened again.

He’d been to doctors about it, with one offering the helpful diagnosis of ‘mid-orgasmic narcolepsy’ to explain why he’d sporadically black out at climax during sex. It had frightened his first lover, and thereafter he’d taken care to let people know that it might happen.

As far as he could recall, this was only the second time in the past month or so.

Someone, probably Merry but most likely her and Varan, had moved him onto his side in a recovery position and let him sleep it off. He could hear voices in the adjoining room, so he began to move until he was in a sitting position on the bed. Shaking his head to clear it, he went to the bathroom to wipe down before putting on a bathrobe and stepping into the living room.

“Daddy!” Jinzi squealed from her seat on Varan’s thigh, the little filly holding out her arms to her father. She squealed again and giggled as the monitor picked her up and hugged her.

Looking up at him, Varan smiled. “Are you feeling all right, Fuji?” the vir asked.

“Better now, Varan, thank you. And you, young lady, are you being a good girl for your Aunt Varan?” he asked Jinzi, nuzzling the youngster until she laughed and tried to push him away. “Where’s Merry?” he asked.

“In here, sleepyhead,” the golden palomino’s voice came from the kitchen. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

“Breakfast?” Fuji glanced at the small clock display on the living room’s screen. The display showed a very nice woodland scene. “How long have you all been up?” he asked Varan after stifling a yawn and sitting down beside the vir.

“Perhaps two hours,” the vir replied. “We were watching the latest game module’s progress when Jinzi woke up and Meredith decided to make breakfast.” He nodded, stroking Jinzi’s headfur, and Varan asked, “Are you all right?”

He yawned, showing teeth, and smiled as his daughter imitated the gesture before he replied, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I apologize for – “

“There’s no need to apologize,” the vir said firmly, her tail flicking up to tap on the end of Jinzi’s nose and making the filly giggle. “Merry and I both went to sleep after we made sure you weren’t in any danger.”

Fuji gave her a Kashlanin gesture equal to a wry smile. “Thank you. How far did you to get in the replay?”

“The Mistress’ exorcism,” and Varan paused as Jinzi clambered off her father’s lap (only slightly yanking the vir’s tail in the process) and trotting off to the kitchen. “She’s growing fast.”

Fuji nodded. “She’ll be five soon. We’ve already been contacted by the station’s education office about placing her. So, you saw the Mistress’ exorcism?”

“Yes. I’m very pleased, and I’m sure Vesan will be as well, to have cleared this obstacle.” She raised her nose and sniffed, smiling as she smelled something. “Merry has made resekdhe’ for me.”

“One of the advantages of living on a station with the Kashlani right next door,” Meredith laughed as she came out of the kitchen and started placing dishes on the table before helping Jinzi into her seat. Varan’s place had a chair scaled for her taller frame, set a small distance from the three Terrans. “Here you are, little girl,” and Meredith set a small plate of warm toast with jam and bacon and fruit in front of Jinzi, who promptly attacked the small pile of diced apples.

Varan’s gruel had been spiced and included a stewed fruit compote, and the vir began to eat as Meredith served herself and Fuji slices of a baked breakfast strata. The vir tried a spoonful of the resekdhe’ and smiled. “Delicious.”

Meredith smiled. “Thanks! I watched a tutorial on how to make it. The grain’s been soaking all night.”

“You did a great job,” Varan said, scooping up another spoonful and suppressing a smile as Meredith wiped Jinzi’s face and paws before the filly could smear jam everywhere. “My older sister’s mate has two sons,” the vir said. “Is raising a daughter different?”

Meredith replied, “My parents thought I was easier to raise than Berto and Amir – at least, that’s what they tell me. Of course, they’re older now than when they raised me.” She took a bite of her strata and chewed before washing it down with a swallow of her tea. “Are your nephews a problem?”

Varan chuckled. “Verit regularly complains that they tire her and Dorval at times,” and all three adults laughed.

“I,” Fuji said as Meredith started to clear the table after breakfast, “am going to give this little filly a bath,” and he scooped Jinzi up before she could touch anything beyond where she had been sitting, “and then I’m going to get cleaned up. Are you two going to finish the game module?”

Meredith and Varan glanced at each other and the vir gestured affirmatively. The mare said, “I’ll set it to edit mode so we won’t give Jinzi any odd ideas.”

“Smart,” and Fuji leaned over to kiss Meredith before saying to Jinzi, “C’mon, little golden one, let’s get you cleaned up.” He maneuvered Jinzi onto his shoulders and started a shoulder-dipping lope that had Jinzi laughing.

After setting the leftovers in the refrigerator and the dirty dishes in the washer, Meredith went out to where Varan was sitting on the sofa. The mare sat beside the vir and the two shared a nuzzle. “Love you,” Varan said softly.

“Love you,” Meredith said. “Shall we look at the rest of the module first?”

“Yes.” The golden palomino mare summoned the file and resumed where the trio of adventurers had left Dark City.

Varan’s ears twitched at the encounter with the Mobile Village of Vergogna and its tribe of lesbian cannibal armadillos. “That was rather interesting,” the vir said. “I imagine a bad ending there would likely end up with us dead and consumed.”

“Fortunately we don’t have to find out,” Meredith chuckled. Ears perked in the direction of the bathroom, where Jinzi was singing a childish song about the alphabet, with Fuji singing along. The duet was accompanied by the occasional sound of splashing water. “Since you’ll be going to the Academy,” the mare asked, “do you want me to send the module to Vesan when we’re done here?”

Varan thought about it before gesturing negatively. “Send it to me,” she said. “It will give me something to do before I get to Homeworld. After that, I will have to see how intensive the training may be.”

“All right,” and the entertainment center’s holoprojector flared as Meredith opened the game.


***


The compass needle kept spinning slowly around while a soft voice said, “Recalculating,” and the paladin turned to look at the rogue and mage.

“Things have been going too well,” Varan observed, the mage casting a swift cantrip. A ring of light rippled out from her, was soon lost to sight, and came back to her after a few minutes. “Nothing for about a mile.”

“Aka, we were headed north, which is where people have told us the Ghost Mountain is,” Vesan said. “I say we keep heading north.” The other two adventurers agreed and they started walking again.

The sun was dipping toward the western horizon as Varan sent out another magic pulse, and the ring returned faster and slightly indented to the northwest. They altered their route to investigate as the terrain became sandier, the rolling hills slowly changing to desert dunes.

Stars had come out and the sun had set by the time Vesan, who had been scouting ahead, came back to the mage and the paladin. “An oasis,” she said after taking a drink from Meredith’s waterskin, “and there are some people there.”

“Do they look hostile?” the golden palomino mare asked.

“No,” Vesan replied. “They’re bathing.”

The trio headed in the direction Vesan had taken and an hour later they crested a dune and saw firelight illuminating a broad stand of date palms and other plants surrounding a small lake. Figures could be seen splashing around, with one or two feminine shrieks and laughter echoing across the sands.

“Careful,” Varan said, her eyes closed, “there’s a ward around the oasis.”

“Dangerous?” Vesan asked.

“No. It’s cast to let them know we’re coming.”

“Well, we’re not their enemies,” Meredith said, “so let’s see what’s going on.”

As they passed the ward, they could see a huge tent spread near the fire. The swimmers in the lake turned out to be a half-dozen elephant femmes who waved and called out a welcome to the trio.

Reclining on a pile of cushions and dressed in a robe, a mel camel took a puff on the water pipe beside him and waved the mouthpiece in greeting. “Hello,” he said, smoke trickling from his mouth and nose. “Welcome to my home away from home. I see that you've walked a mile for a camel."

“Several, actually,” Vesan said.

“Who are you?” Meredith asked.

“Why, I am the great Emir Sakhif ibn al-Mughafal,” the camel said in a cheerful tone, “and those beauties you see disporting themselves are my wives.” He grinned. “As my sainted father told me, “’Buy in quantity – it saves last-minute shopping!’” He laughed and clapped his paws as the six elephants emerged, dripping and glistening, from the water. “Ah! Are they not beautiful, each and every one of them?”

Vesan said judiciously, “Yes, they’re all beautiful. Tell me, why are you here?”

“We have but paused for a few days,” Sakhif said, “and I would be a poor host if I did not invite you to partake in my hospitality.” He clapped his paws. “Come, my wives, my treasures! Prepare food and drink for our guests!”

Over savory rice pilaf and cups of hot sweet tea Meredith asked, “What do you know of the Ghost Mountain?”

“It is a strange place, to the north of us,” the camel replied. “It is said that the Dark Lord himself lives there, and seeks to spread his power over all the land.”

“We’ve heard that as well,” Varan said. “We are sworn to try to defeat him.”

“Ah! Well, the more honor to you three for trying.”

The three adventurers and their host spoke after dinner, touching on many topics before one of the elephants tapped him on the shoulder with her trunk. “Hm?” Sakhif asked. “Ah, yes, my dear.”

He started to get up and Vesan asked, “What’s wrong?”

The elephant gave her a look. “It’s midnight at the oasis. Time to send our camel to bed.”