[b][center]Sphere Three Venus[/center][/b] "... And seven credits are your change. Have a good day, shir, and I hope you come by again, soon!" Gildedtongue smiled to the young chakat, whose eyes were all but screwed shut, clutching onto hir cup of coffee as a lifeline to consciousness. Early mornings were easy. Most people came in for something caffeinated on their way to work; the chakat just had to make sure that the various decanters were full and in their proper place. Coffee, Decaf, Voxxee, and never should they shift positions. A full milk dispenser and plenty of sweetener, typically needing to be refilled at least once before noon. Gildy adjusted hir red top, nodding at hir job. An unfulfilling job, but at least it put some credits into hir pockets. A bell chimed behind the register and Gildedtongue sighed, pulling out hir coat and gloves, stepping out into the snow. The PTV was next to the charging station, shutting down. It was a public model, and Gildy took note of the plate number, so the store can debit the company before shi opened up the bonnet. A warmth from the engine felt refreshing against the snow flurries as Gildedtongue disengaged the power core. Twisting it, shi was able to slide the unit out easily, looking over all the labels, warning anyone that one shouldn't tamper with the device unless they're a 'qualified technician.' Shi installed the battery into the charging station, getting a new one to put back into the vehicle. With the cables in place, shi dropped the bonnet, knocking on it twice, "You're good to go!" Shi called to the driver, who honked the horn before pulling out. The rest of the shift followed the same routine, selling coffee, crisps and power. Luckily, shi only had another quarter-hour until hir time was over as shi started to wipe clean the counter. Polestar walked past, carrying hir lunch and homework to do in the back room before shi took over for the afternoon shift. Gildy waved quietly, as the teenaged chakat never seemed particularly pleased to be in. The older chakat swallowed back any kind of fear that it was directed to hir as the door chimed again. "Colder than a Snow hare's tit out there," Cornfield muttered, brushing snow off of hir lower back. The officer smiled back at Gildy, “Well, there you are, Goldentongue, right?" "Gildedtongue, and yes, I am indeed here. How are you doing, Cornfield?" Gildy smiled, watching the police constable walk over to the decanters, grabbing a cup and getting some hot water and a green tea bag. A golden hand rested on the palm reader as it scanned, piping up for a name to verify, "Chakat Cornfield," the machine hummed as it tried to verify the biometrics with the database and relay that back to the bank, "So, how do you like this place? Heh, any easier than teaching?" shi asked, sipping hir tea already. "Easier, yes, if you can stand the boredom," shi sighed, thumping the P.O.S. in front of hir, "Sorry, the boss said that in bad weather this can take a little extra time." Shrugging, Gildedtongue leaned against the counter, "Still, it gets me out of the house, the cabin fever was driving me up the walls." The computer dinged and spat out a receipt, Cornfield waved it away and Gildy tossed it into a bin where it'd be reprocessed into paper or compost. "Still, haven't really gone out to do much else. So, I'm sure I'll be back on the path of crazy." shi smirked. Cornfield nodded, smiling back, "Well, when are you off shift?" Gildy checked the clock, glad to see time started to speed up when talking with hir friend, having only a few minutes. "Well, when you get done, hop on out to the squad car, I'll take you to lunch!" Shi checked the time again, surely a half-hour or an hour from home would be okay, and shi nodded in agreement. "Excellent. There anyone you need to call to say you'll be late or won't need picking up?" "Ah, no, I walked here," Gildy said as Cornfield smiled and waved, heading back to the Police Transportation Vehicle to start on hir tea. Gildedtongue smiled softly, watching hir go, unable to help hirself at a glance at those muscular haunches. "Shi your mate?" The young voice nearly caused Gildedtongue to jump out of hir skin as shi saw Polestar standing behind hir, reading out of a PADD. "What? No! I mean, we just met once before. Shi just wanted to take me to lunch, as friends, you know." shi fumed, hir tail bristling. Nonplussed, Polestar tapped on something on hir device, "Well, if you're 'just friends,' I'd recommend rolling in the snow, since you've got someone else that wants to tag along." Gildy had a blank look, glancing back at hir relief who nodded down towards hir crotch. Shi looked back down and saw hir full blown erection, making hir curse aloud as shi made a hasty retreat to the break room. "Don't forget to punch out! Boss ain't paying you to squirt one out!" Polestar smirked to hirself, going back to hir electronic magazine. The computer in the back accepted hir clock out and after a couple minutes of relaxing hirself, Gildedtongue stepped back out into the cold. Cornfield's vehicle was easy enough to find as the passenger side opened up, letting hir in. "Ah, thank you. Are you sure the Police will be okay with you doing this?" Cornfield looked over hir shoulder as the vehicle pulled out of the store, despite the on board A.I.'s programming to not run into anything, the cop didn't leave much to chance. "Yeah, it's fine," shi smiled back at Gildedtongue, "It's about my lunch, anyway, and as long as I'm in my beat the worse they'll do is harrumph at me." The streets were largely clear of other vehicles as the white dusting of snow danced in the gentle breeze. Less than two kilometres passed when the vehicle pulled into another parking lot. The building stuck out from the other "hobbit holes" as it was a free-standing wooden cabin like building. On top, a young chakat was brushing off the snow accumulating on the solar panels, and a skunk'taur was shovelling off the flat roof to the side. The sign in front read "Home of the Islands' Famous Foxy Fritters" and painted above the door was simply "Hannah's Café." It looked like a typical dive inside. Gildedtongue counted seven people inside, mostly skunk'taurs, but another chakat and a couple morphs were mostly sipping some warm drinks, and eating some sandwiches, they just screamed 'regulars.' Cornfield sat down in a booth without a word, making Gildedtongue smile, "Your usual seat?" Cornfield only smiled like a kitten in response. "So, what do you recommend?" Before the puma could respond, a middle aged skunk morph, her slowly greying hair pulled up in a tight bun and a stained apron down in front of her front smiled toothfully at the 'taurs, "Hey, C.F., coffee as usual?" "Ah, no, Hannah, not today. I'd like some Hot Heat Tea, with a bit of honey and twist of lemon. You, Gildedtongue?" "Just some black tea, thanks," shi smiled back at Hannah who wrote down their orders before retreating to the back. Gildedtongue coughed softly, trying to hide hir blush from the younger chakat. Of course shi was in heat, the deodorants masked the overt scent of the condition, but those pheromones were playing with hir mind, and other places. "Anyway, I think I'm going to have the chicken-and-waffles. Haven't had that here and, well, have been curious," Cornfield said, glancing outside. Gildedtongue shrugged with hir forelegs under the booth's table, not like shi ever had it before, so agreed with the adventure. Hannah came back to deliver the drinks and take their orders, giving an extra warm smile at Gildedtongue. The blushing lion made Cornfield laugh, "Don't worry about her. She's just fishing for more patrons!" Shi smiled, leaning back in the plush back rest, "So, what have you been doing, Gildy? Keeping out of trouble, right?" Shi asked, flashing a predatory grin. "Of course!" Gildy blushed, then sighed softly, "Oh, not much, really. Work, cubs, sleep. Work, cubs, sleep." Shrugging, Gildy rolled hir eyes upward, "I dunno, I guess I'm enjoying having some boredom, but I don't think I can swallow much more of it." "Well, what did you do back on Terra?" C.F. asked, bringing hir cup to hir lips and blew the steam off. Laughing, Gildedtongue squeaked hir fingertip over the top of the table, "Oh, that's easy. Teach, grade, sleep. Teach, grade, sleep, Church, sleep, teach..." shi trailed off, rolling hir hand. "Do you want to go back to church?" Cornfield asked, smiling back at Hannah as the skunk put down two massive platters. The fried chicken seated on a basket of wedge-cut waffles, and warm cups of syrup seated between the two plates. The two chakats gave their hearty thanks to the skunk whom bowed hir head before leaving them to their meal. "Yeah, I think I'd like to. I don't know, it's been over a couple of years, but I guess I would like to get back into the swing of things." Shi said, looking around, "But, I wouldn't imagine there would be any around here." "Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, Terran, Caitian, Rakshani... You can pray to whatever you'd like here if you know the place," Cornfield smiled, digging into hir chicken. "Now, I can't exactly guarantee that we'll have every subset of each church, but if you're looking for a Christian church, I can point you to the nearest one," shi thought for a moment, "Which would happen to be on the northern side of the island, but that's not too far away, really." "Well, I've got a day off in a couple of days, so maybe I'll head over then," Gildy said, munching lightly on the pastry squares dripping with a local syrup, that wasn't quite Maple, but had a slightly sour tang under the sweetness. "And you, Cornfield? Aside from work, what do you do?" The puma chuckled, "Oh, I'm sure a bit like yourself, no rest for the wicked. But, on my vacations I head back to my parents' place. They've got a ranch north of here on Nova Belarus, just to the east of Curtisport. Pretty big tract of land, since they raise Levis there." Gildedtongue cocked hir head to one side, "Levis?" "The Chakonan Levi'than. Enormous marsupial," Cornfield lifted up hir hands in a 'this big' gesture, "bigger than the PTV we drove in on. Anyway, it's mostly a dairy farm, as they're pretty good milkers, even considering the size, and relatively docile." Shi grinned, "They aren't doing too bad either, having big contracts with most of the markets and restaurants in western Belarus, and a number of the islands, including this one." "Interesting. Though, why not just get cows from Terra or, heck, I've put milkwater in cereal before," Gildy asked. With a shrug, Cornfield went back to hir tea, "Well, for the first part, most of the people here want to use as much local flora and fauna as possible on Chakona. Yeah, you'll have your occasional sheep or pig farm in places, but for the most part, it's Chakonans for Chakona." Cornfield glanced over at the kitchen, "As for, well, other, personal sources. There aren't just chakats living here, obviously, and where as a single chakat can maybe, maybe produce enough for just hirself, it's just not nutritionally sound. Besides, the wouldn't be able to produce enough for a restaurant like this." Shi shrugged gently, "Most restaurants like Levi milk since it's very fatty and they can reduce it to whatever percentage they need it to be." Another mouthful of food passed into Gildedtongue's mouth as shi considered the fact that Cornfield's family had something to do with it. A smile etched itself over Gildedtongue's lips as shi soaked in the information, the diner meal tasting more homey. Food and talking continued, sponging up minutes until two hours had passed. Cornfield grumbled, checking hir datapad, shaking hir head, "Sorry, Gildy, as fun as this was, I think we'd better call it a day. I'm sure I'd better be out patrolling a bit more seriously." Shi got up, offering Gildedtongue a hand out of the booth. The older chakat accepted it and Cornfield went to pay for the meal. "And, best I get you home," Shi chuckled, getting into the PTV, Gildedtongue climbing in on the other side. C.F. smiled in the drive back, telling Gildedtongue all about a chakker game shi attended last week. The leonine chakat had no clue what game Cornfield was talking about, but the excitement in the story was infectious. "Anyway, I've been shooting off my mouth off all day this day, so, next time, you're gonna have to talk my ear off, y'hear?" Cornfield laughed, pulling in front of Gildedtongue's residence. Gildy stepped out of the door, but a wayward thought tugged the back of hir head. "Oh, could you give me the address of that church you mentioned?" Gildy asked. The officer och'ed, typing something in hir console terminal. A small tab of paper printed out, Cornfield handing it over to Gildedtongue who pocketed it. With a beep of the horn, Cornfield took off. Springy footsteps danced along the cobblestone to the front door as Gildedtongue's tail couldn't be any more higher. Shi had a job, a family and home, and shi just came home from a date with a handsome constable. Hir next step was heavier. Was it a date? Cornfield did take hir out, and shi did pay for it. Though, it could have just been a friendly welcome. Still, shi was handsome, maybe it wasn't a bad idea to at least pretend it was a date, at least for a little while. Gildy was greeted with hungry mewling as shi opened the door. Jadestripe was holding onto the two kittens in hir arms, the twins looking over at their mother, squirming out of their aunt's arm to mewl at their mother. Gildy gathered them up, lifting up hir top as the hungry cubs moved to feed. "We ran out of your bottled milk an hour ago, where were you, Gildedtongue?" Jade asked, hir tailtip flicking in annoyance. Hir ears became as red as hir hair as Gildy gulped, walking to the den, "Sorry, sorry. Cornfield came into the store, and shi asked me to lunch. I didn't think I'd be this long." shi admitted, letting the cubs feed. "It's okay, though, if you intend to step out, I'm going to need a contingency plan. I'd really like it if I could produce as well," Jade said, shrugging slightly, reaching to stroke Gildedtongue's shoulder. The younger chakat nodded softly. "Ah, yeah. I think tonight I should be able to have enough to give you something," Gildy said, stroking Thornbreaker's back.Jadestripe nodded, stepping into the kitchen, leaving Gildedtongue with hir cubs. Shi looked down at the two as they suckled, "Sorry I was gone today. Work was boring, but I did get to see a friend today..." shi smiled, starting to relate hir day to the infants. -+-+- The address on the print out was punched into Gildedtongue's PADD after dinner, and after a moment to ping the network, the frontpage of "The Church of Eden" popped up. The smiling mugshot of a jaguar greeted Gildedtongue, with the subtitle of "Rev. Chakat Westwind, Pastor" beneath it. Mass was being held on Eighthday, with the typical sunrise, morning, midday, and evening masses. Shi mentally scheduled to attend a midday mass, hoping that afterwards shi could talk with the other people attending and the priest, if shi could. A knock on the door startled hir before shi started to look through any of the pictures. Jadestripe was at the door, smiling down at hir younger sister, "Why so nervous? Doing something you shouldn't be?" shi chuckled. "No," Gildy managed to squeak out, "Sorry, I just wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me." Shi cocked hir head, "Something I can do for you, sis?" Shi asked, putting the datapad to one side, rolling on hir backs to look up at Jadestripe. The tiger smiled and chuckled, settling hirself down next to hir sister, making Gildy gasp at the sudden contact. Jadestripe's soft breath brushed through Gildedtongue's whiskers, "I think you promised me a drink." The large head slowly moved its way down to Gildedtongue's naked chest. Hir once misshapen bosom filled out slightly, at least looking more even, even if hir right nipple never pointed in the right way. Still, Gildy at least appreciated that shi didn't have to cushion hir tops to look right. "Yeah," the lion finally muttered, "I guess I di..." Shi was cut off by Jadestripe's lips wrapped around hir nipple and started to suckle. Not like a cub, but gentle and soft at first. The slightly textured tongue running over the tip of hir nipple as shi felt hir sister drink hir milk. Gildedtongue's body felt completely wound up and utterly relaxed at the same time. Jadestripe nursed from the milky nipple of hir younger sister, the CKF laced fluid passing into hir mouth, ready to instill hir own lactation, but it seemed like shi was looking for more than just a simple drink. Gildedtongue mewled helplessly as the waves of pleasure ran through hir body, hir tailtip lashing around, and just as shi felt that shi couldn't take it any more, the white tiger's lips left the nub, but not before vibrating it with hir purring. "Mmmm, thank you, Gildy. That was quite tasty indeed," Jade smiled, looking down at hir pleasure-addled sibling. Shi said some other things, but there was far too much pounding in hir ears for Gildy to understand any of it, but eventually Jadestripe turned around and left the room. Gildedtongue whimpered in hir state, biting hir lower lip as shi moved to finish hirself off, thankful that hir cub were asleep. It didn't take long before shi hirself was out like a light. -+-+- Two days had passed, and aside from the monotony of the job, things were going rather well. The cubs were healthy and active, and even Jadestripe seemed to be more interested in Gildedtongue. Still, shi was quiet when shi decided to take the cubs out for a walkabout the island on Eighthday in hir best clothing. Proudroar gave Gildedtongue a smile and a 'tail high,' however, making the younger chakat feel overly paranoid. It was a few blocks to the nearest Public Personal Transportation Vehicle (PPTV) stop, but the snowing had stopped after sunrise, covering the island in a white blanket. Gildy adjusted the lines attached to hir kittens, letting them romp around in the snow, which consisted of their pouncing on anything remotely shiny, and then rushing back to Gildedtongue to warm back up, and then back to romping. The line kept them from getting too far away from their mother, but gave enough leeway to explore. By the time the PPTV arrived, however, Gildedtongue's coat was soaked from warming up and drying off the cubs. The vehicle itself was entirely empty when it arrived to pick up the chakat. No other passengers, nor a driver. The whole thing was automated as Gildy and the cubs watched the sun peeking carefully around Hume mountain as the large vehicle trucked itself down the plowed roads. Children of all kinds were outside, most were shovelling the walkways, but a few were already engaged in constructing snowcreatures and fortresses where the epic battles of the day will be held. Gildy stepped off a couple hours later, hir new watch, purchased locally as to have proper Chakonan time on it, said that shi had arrived very early. The mountain didn't buffer against the winds on the north face of the island as Gildedtongue made hir way to the address, the cubs gathered in Gildedtongue's arms as shi saw an open strip-mall. One of the boutiques had a small sign, reading "The Church of Eden." Had Gildy not known of the place before hand, shi would have completely missed it. Still, it offered sanctuary from the cold as shi, Steelfur, and Thornbreaker went through the main doors. Through the rectory, shi could hear some singing, so the previous mass wasn't finished yet. The door opened up, drowned out by the congregation as Gildedtongue stepped inside, reaching for some holy water as shi glanced around. There was forty some odd people gathered, mostly morphs, a few various centauroids, but shi couldn't finger out any other chakats or skunk'taurs, with a number of humans as well. Through the singing shi could hear the voices of the old and the young, and at the altar, Westwind was leading the singing. What caught Gildedtongue was the vestments shi wore. Or rather, the lack of them. Aside from what seemed to be the shoulders and neck of a cassock holding onto the iconic white collar, the chakat at the forefront was completely unadorned. As Gildedtongue looked around the mass, shi noticed that shi was by far the most overdressed person there. Aside from the occasional hat or jewellery, everyone else was praying to God as naked as the day they came into the universe. 'The Church of Eden,' Gildedtongue reminded hirself. A paradise before people discovered sin, and where the immodesty of nudity was yet to be discovered. Shi kept in the back, and despite a few odd looks, wasn't asked to leave. 'At least clothing optional still leaves clothing an option.' It was the last song of the mass and when the song was over, the attendants went back to the rectory. Gildedtongue glanced back, what shi figured was just piles of coats was in fact these people's full wardrobes. Keeping out of the way, shi kept to the walls, glancing over the location. Churches, to hir, meant huge, stain glassed windows, gilded and bronzed candlesticks and statues, rows of hand made oaken pews. This looked more like a church-on-the-go. Pews were replaced with rows of folding chairs, which the ushers and altar servers were busy collapsing and putting away. The pulpit was a metal stand, and a bare wooden altar in the middle. The most ornate item was the tabernacle box at the rear. Approaching a row of prayer candles, Gildy stuffed a coin in the collection box before catching a flame and using the stick to light another candle. Holding Frank's cross, shi began to pray, first offering hir basic prayers before tears started to well up in hir eyes. "I want to thank you for bringing me here, for helping me find strength when everything around me was bleak. Wherever my friends are, I beseech you to watch over them and protect them, especially Frank, and even if I don't hear from him again, I ask if you could somehow tell him that I love him and pray that he finds as much happiness and fulfilment as he deserves. And I humbly ask for guidance in this strange and alien world, what seems to be a paradise in your creation, and yet, I don't know. This place is strange to me." Gildedtongue went quiet, unsure what to say next. Steelfur crawled around behind hir mother's tail, and Gildy could hear Thornbreaker's gurgled giggling. The next thing shi knew, a hand rested on hir shoulder. Turning around, shi came face to face with the pastor. "Hello, I saw you come in earlier. I know I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Reverend chakat Westwind, child of Moonbeam and Gregory Foreman, a pleasure to meet you." Gildedtongue nodded, taking the offered hug and embraced the priest. It felt a little odd, not that shi had ever had such a friendly greeting from a priest before, aside from Frank, but it was often hard for hir to think of hir childhood friend as a man of the cloth. "Ah, yeah, I'm new here. Very new, to the planet, even. Chakat Gildedtongue, child of Gladelong and Creekstripe, the pleasure's all mine, Reverend." With a tsk, the priest shook hir head, "Please, Westwind is fine. We're all equal in the eyes of the Lord." The spotted cat smiled more, looking at the twins playing with hir handpaws, "And who are these precious cubs?" Gildedtongue nodded and introduced hir children as well. "That does remind me, I know they're a bit older than most infants are when they're baptised, but I really would like that done at some point, heh, sooner rather than later." Gildedtongue smiled. Westwind smiled and clapped hir hands, "Wonderful! Perhaps we'll set something up, then. Do you have any Godparents lined up?" That made Gildy's jaw slack, thinking for a moment. Jadestripe would definitely be out, and shi didn't think Proudroar would be all that interested. Babel was all the way over on Flinder's and, well, Matilda and the rest of the crew were somewhere out in the stars. Still, a name did come up to hir. "Yeah, I think I've got someone. I'll see if I can talk with hir." Gildedtongue looked around, "Um, I know nudity laws are, well, very open on Chakona, but I have to admit, I didn't see this coming." Shi blushed, pointing at hir own clothing, then at Westwind's. Laughing, Westwind crossed hir arms under hir chest, "God made all the animals and people as they are, unadorned, save for the beauty of the body, and same when we're all born into this world." Shi shrugs a little, "Clothing was the first thing that Adam fashioned after eating the fruit, so, we're trying to return to a more innocent time." Shi had to admit that there was some logic to that line of thought, but shi wasn't about to strip down just then and there. Westwind bade Gildedtongue farewell as shi had some preparations to do, but promised to speak with hir again later. Gildy smiled a little, this was different, but it felt right.