It Takes Three
By Bernard Doove © 2010

 

Stargazer tried to relax after the evening’s love-making. Wyatt had done his usual magnificent job of pleasuring hir, and he had now made himself comfortable to get some well-deserved sleep. However, Stargazer was still wound up tight, but although shi knew why, shi did not want to bother Wyatt with it. Shi waited until shi was sure that he had fallen asleep and then climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb him.

Shi quietly made hir way to the bathroom and closed the door behind hir. Shi stopped in front of the mirror and gazed at hir nude form with hir gorgeously curvaceous female figure… and a raging erection. Shi had told Wyatt that shi was in rut, and he had been generous in his attention to hir male side, but this time it had not been enough and that bothered hir. Shi had thought that Wyatt was all the lover that shi needed, but hir thoughts kept straying to images of sexy females whom shi knew. Hir hand strayed to hir cock and shi began stroking it even as shi fantasised about what it would be like to be fondling those girls. Shi was soon lost in hir self-pleasuring and after several minutes shi orgasmed, ejaculating hir semen into the washbowl. Shi sighed in relief and wondered if shi should do it again.

"Looks like you really needed that."

Stargazer jumped in startlement. Shi looked around to see Wyatt quietly standing in the doorway. "How long have you been watching me?"

"More than long enough. Why didn’t you tell me that you were still in need?"

Stargazer looked away guiltily. "Because… I wasn’t thinking of you when I did that."

"I wondered when that would happen," Wyatt commented, seemingly unbothered by the revelation.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that you’re a herm – a female-biased one perhaps, but still a herm with the need for more than I can provide."

"Oh Wyatt, I swear that you’re everything that I ever wanted in a lover and you always make me happy…."

"Stop!" Wyatt said forcefully, holding his hand up in a halt gesture for emphasis. "I said nothing about your wants; I was talking about your needs. Even if you think you’re happy with just me, your psyche is reminding you that you have needs and desires that go beyond what a male companion can provide. Darling – you need a girlfriend."

Stargazer was both surprised and embarrassed. "I… no! … Well… yes… maybe."

"There’s no maybe about it, love. I pretty much expected it to happen someday."

"But I didn’t want it to happen!" Stargazer protested. "I was happy with our relationship. I mean I am happy."

Wyatt shook his head and put his arm around hir shoulders as shi stood there unhappily. "You were right the first time, and you’d only be fooling yourself if you try to pretend otherwise. Look – how many mates does your mother have?"

"Only dad – you know that," Stargazer answered.

"Right – only one male cougar as a mate for a chakat. So does that mean that your mother’s needs are completely satisfied?"

"No, shi has a couple of chakat Companions," Stargazer admitted.

"Yes shi does, and yet it’s only Tam that Coaldust is in love with. Just because you were born with two legs instead of four doesn’t mean that you’re any different from your mother in that respect. You need female or herm interaction that I can’t provide."

"You’re right, but I was worried about how you’d feel about that. I may have inherited the chakat inability to feel jealousy, but you haven’t."

"I like to think that I am capable of repressing my primitive impulses," Wyatt said dryly.

"Of course you can; I didn’t mean to imply that you couldn’t," Star said hastily.

"Look hon," Wyatt said as he started steering hir back to the bedroom, "I want you to keep your eye open for prospective girlfriends and don’t worry about me. I trust your judgement."

"I don’t know – I feel pretty foolish for trying to ignore all of this. I’d like you to be there and give me your opinion if someone catches my eye."

"If you wish," Wyatt replied.

"And I’d like her or hir to be a cougar too,"

Wyatt’s eyebrows rose. "Aren’t you being a bit picky?"

"If you’re going to insist on me getting a girlfriend, I want someone who’s going to be more than a casual fling to assuage my needs. I want a serious Companion who can relate to both of us. Besides, I happen to like cougars."

"But I don’t need anybody else," Wyatt objected.

"Maybe not, but I need you to be completely comfortable with whoever I find. You are a part of everything in my life that is good, and I want you to be there for me in this too."

Wyatt smiled. "Thank you, hon."

Stargazer added, "If a cougar doesn’t work out, I’ll happily consider another species. I was fantasising over a cute husky whom I know. Mated already, but damn sexy."

"Let’s make plans tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty sleepy right now. What about you?"

Stargazer looked down at hir flaccid penis. "Looks like it’s behaving itself for now, so I think I’ll join you." Shi could not help a tinge of excitement though as they snuggled together in bed. Now that something was going to be done about hir needs, shi was filled with anticipation.


The after-work crowds filled the cafés and restaurants as usual, but Wyatt and Stargazer had no trouble getting a table at La Chat Noir. As regular customers almost from the day it opened, they were privileged clients and Twilightgleam, the owner, always had a table in reserve for them.

They had decided to start a search for a Companion there because it was familiar, and they had a lot of acquaintances there whom they could question about any cougar morphs they might know. Except for one older male though, they came up dry. The following days they spread their search much further afield, but the only people that they found were either too young, too old, or the wrong gender.

Wyatt asked his parents about other cougar families, only to be disappointed to learn that while there were quite a lot, the majority lived in settlements too far away. Stargazer asked the same question of hir sire, but he had come as an immigrant to Chakona with his family and had fallen in love with hir mother before he had seriously looked for other cougars.

Although they could not yet afford to go out much, they checked around their favourite haunts with similar luck. After weeks of looking, Stargazer was about ready to admit defeat and open up the possibility of other species. Shi said as much to Wyatt while they were commiserating at La Chat Noir.

He replied, "I never noticed until now just how few cougars there are in the local community." He looked around at the clientele and waved a hand at them. "Just look and you’ll find endless numbers of cats, dogs, foxes, wolves, rabbits, ferrets, mice… you name it. But cougars – oh no, not one ever seems to walk through those… doors…." Wyatt’s voice trailed off and Stargazer turned around to look at what distracted him. Hir eyes widened in surprise when shi saw not one but two cougar fems talking animatedly with the owner. The privacy screens that muted conversations prevented them from hearing what was being said, but both could guess that it was about the lack of seating at the popular café.

"I don’t believe it," Stargazer said. "After all this time, two just waltz into our favourite coffee shop."

Wyatt got up. "I’m going to talk to them before they get frustrated and leave. Wait here and mind the table."

Twilightgleam was still apologising for the lack of booths when Wyatt approached, and he wondered why the normally efficient chakat had not already dealt with the customers when he noticed hir give him a slight wink. He grinned – the sneaky chakat knew that he and Star were looking for cougar fems and had been giving Wyatt a chance to catch on.

"Pardon me, Twilight, I believe that I can accommodate these two lovely ladies at our booth, if they are interested.

"Be my guest, Wyatt," Twilightgleam said.

The two fems gave him a look over, and he did the same. They both looked very similar, possibly identical twin sisters, maybe a year or so older than him and Stargazer, but that was close enough. They had typical golden brown fur and cougar markings, brown hair and modest busts. They weren’t digitigrade like Star and himself, and that meant that the fems stood a little shorter than them. However, while they looked physically similar, they wore strikingly different clothes. One wore a bold red strapless dress that only came down to her upper thigh, while the other wore flared slacks and a colourfully patterned top.

"Would you care to join us?" Wyatt asked.

"Maybe," said the one in the red dress. "Who is ‘us’?"

Wyatt turned around and indicated Stargazer who waved to them. "That’s my mate, and we’ve actually been looking for cougar morphs like you. We’d be delighted to treat you to coffee and cake."

"Sounds like a good deal to me," the other girl said, looking at the one in red who nodded in agreement.

They followed Wyatt to the table where Stargazer got up to meet them. Wyatt said, "My name is Wyatt, by the way, and this is my mate, Stargazer."

"You don’t know how pleased I am to meet you," Stargazer said. "We were beginning to think that there weren’t any cougar fems our age in town."

The one in red laughed. "I can hardly blame you. My sister and I moved here from out of town to start a business, so we don’t have any family nearby either, nor have we had much time to socialise. My name’s Alison and this is my sister, Angela."

"Good to meet you. Sit down! Tell us about yourselves." Stargazer ushered them into one side of the booth and then joined Wyatt in the other. Shi caught Twilight’s eye who came over to personally take the sisters’ orders rather than sending an employee.

When shi had left, Stargazer said, "So why haven’t we seen you around here before now?"

"As Alison said, we started a clothing business nearby called ‘From Beach to Ballroom’. We don’t concentrate on high fashion like many boutiques, but more on complete coordinated wardrobes. We design our own stuff and we built the business from the ground up. It’s kept us so busy for the past couple of years that we’ve had no time to socialise. However, the business has finally gotten established enough that we can afford to relax a little at last. In fact we’ve been checking out the local shops. In all the time we’ve been here, we’ve not had much of a chance to do so until now. So what’s this place like? Looks very popular, judging by the crowd."

"The best!" Stargazer enthused. "We may be a little biased, but we reckon that neither the coffee nor the atmosphere can be beaten."

"That sounds like a pretty good recommendation to me," Alison admitted. "It’s within easy walking distance of our store also. I must admit that it’s nice to have a couple of cougars here as regulars. You mentioned something about wanting to find other cougars too?"

Wyatt said, "I did, but it’s mostly for Star’s benefit. Shi’s been wanting some female company."

"Shi?" echoed Alison.

"Yes, I’m a herm," Stargazer informed them. "I’m feminine biased and happily mated to Wyatt, but recent events have forced me to acknowledge that I still have a masculine side that needs expression. If you pardon me for being blunt, I'd really like some female company, and naturally I have a preference for cougar fems."

"And here I thought that it was Wyatt who was coming on to us," Angela said. "I’ve never met a herm cougar before."

"They exist, although frustratingly not around here. However, I’m a bit different from those."

"How so?" Alison asked curiously.

"While my father is a normal male cougar, my mother is a chakat."

"That’s bull!" Angela scoffed. "Everyone knows that taurs and bipeds can’t interbreed."

Alison nudged her sister and pointed at Stargazer’s tail. "Look at that, Ann. Tell me that’s not a chakat tail."

Angela had to admit that Alison had a point. Stargazer’s tail was twice as long and thick as her own, and even as she watched, Stargazer curled and twisted it prehensilely for demonstration.

"Yes, I have a normal chakat tail amongst other things. In fact I combine the features of both my parents – I’m essentially a biped version of a chakat."

"Does that mean that you’re an empath too?" Alison wondered.

"Yes, but rather a weak one. If I’d had a stronger Talent, I might not have made some huge blunders in the past."

Just then Twilightgleam turned up with the coffee and muffins that the sisters had ordered, and Wyatt paid for them as he had promised. Angela tried her espresso and nodded in satisfaction. "That is good coffee," she admitted.

"Muffin’s good too," Alison said with her mouth half full.

Angela took another sip of her hot coffee and then said, "Okay, so how does a biped have a child with a chakat? Did he have gene surgery?"

"No. My mother inherited the ability to interbreed with any mammalian species from my grandfather, a human."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better!" Angela said sarcastically.

"Incredible, I know, but true. Grandad Boyce was an admiral with Star Fleet at the time, and apparently he had an encounter with a godlike alien who thought it would be amusing to make him fertile with his Caitian and Rakshani lovers. They were just as surprised when they got pregnant to him."

"I thought you said that your mother was a chakat with the same ability?"

"Yeah. You see Grandad was mated to a Caitian, and he followed the traditional Caitian mating practices."

"I'm not familiar with them; what are they, and how are they significant?"

"They're an alien felinoid species whose females far outnumber the males, and it’s traditional for their men to take lots of mates - up to six in fact. His Fourthwife was a chakat named Midnight, my Grandma."

"Did he ever get up to the sixth wife?" Alison wondered.

"As a matter of fact, he did, but it’s irrelevant. I’ll tell you more about them later if you’re still curious. Anyway, Midnight gave birth to a cub conceived by him, named Coaldust, who is my mother. Shi fell in love with my father, Tam, and was the first to discover that Grandad’s ability could be inherited. Thus I was born."

"You mean none of the other children conceived by him found out sooner? Why not?" Angela asked.

"They all either mated within their species, or just plain got lucky not to conceive by another. One of his Caitian sons has since conceived a child with a Terran morph, proving that the ability crossed both species and gender boundaries. Luckily by that time he had heard about me and the conception was not accidental like mine."

"Does that mean that you weren’t wanted?" Alison asked in concern.

"Heavens, no! After mum got over hir surprise, shi was absolutely ecstatic. True, shi had to make some hasty revisions to hir life-plans, but shi reckons that shi’d already had such plans in mind if shi had found a chakat mate instead. I have a younger sister just like me named Iris, and another sister named Newmoon who oddly enough came out as a regular chakat. That one sure puzzled the already perplexed med-techs. The leading theory is that Iris and I were conceived from male sperm, while Newmoon was conceived from female sperm, providing different dominant genetic factors."

Angela asked, "After all this time, the med-techs still haven’t figured out how that super-fertility works?"

"Nope. Hence the description ‘godlike’."

Angela finished her coffee thoughtfully. Putting the empty cup down with a sigh of satisfaction, she said, "Well we can’t say that we didn’t get a fascinating tale out of this encounter. However, Ali and I need to get going. We’ve got a few other places to hit before we head home."

"So do you think you could meet up with us again tomorrow about this time?" Stargazer asked hopefully.

Angela was about to reply when Alison spoke up first. "Love to! I want to hear more about you and your family."

"Great!" Stargazer said with a smile that masked hir relief.

Angela got up and Alison followed suit. Wyatt said, "Have a great day, ladies."

Angela gave him a smile and a wink. "I’m sure we will."

The cougaresses walked out, but not before Alison turned and waved farewell to Stargazer.

"So," Wyatt started, "What do you think of them?"

Stargazer looked thoughtful. "Well, for twins, they sure are very different. I think I could go for Alison though. I like her personality – and that hot red dress makes her look really sexy too."

"I thought I saw you gazing at her cleavage," Wyatt commented. "You’re twice as busty as her, but you want a peek anyway."

"Sure I do," Stargazer said unrepentantly. "It’s not as if my tits stop you from looking at others."

Wyatt grinned – he liked having a mate that understood the male urges. "You know I’m more of a tail man, but yeah, I know what you mean."

Stargazer continued, "As for Angela, she seems a lot more interested in you than me."

"But I’m not interested in anyone who’s not first interested in you."

"I know, but I think those sisters are pretty tight, so please be a little circumspect."

"Okay, you’re the boss."


Outside the café, Alison and Angela were doing their own review.

"Bet you didn’t think that we’d run into other cougars on our first try," Alison commented.

"No, but that hunky Wyatt is already mated. Too bad it’s to that crazy girl."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That crap about godlike aliens and super-fertility – it’s a great story, but who could believe it?"

"I believe hir," Alison said defiantly. "Why would shi make something like that up?"

"Like I said, shi’s crazy."

"No shi isn’t, and I think shi’s cute."

Angela stopped walking to stare at her sister. "Since when are you gay?"

"I’m not, but shi’s a herm – I’m allowed to find herms cute, aren’t I?"

"Shi looks more fem than either of us!"

"Shi wasn’t trying to look down your cleavage," Alison said with a grin. "Besides, if you didn’t wear so much of that awful cologne, you could smell hir maleness."

"You’ve always had a better nose than me. So did you even give Wyatt a glance?"

"Of course I did. Makes me regret being cooped up at the shop for all that time. I would’ve liked to have gotten to know him first."

"Not before me, you don’t! You stick to Stargazer."

"Oh now you want me to go with the herm," Alison said with a smirk.

"I love you, sis, but that won’t count when it comes to getting the guy."

"You won’t be getting that one. If Star is even half a chakat, shi’s going to be intensely devoted to hir mate, and he won’t be much less."

"But I still don’t believe that shi’s half chakat. A herm cougar is at least realistic."

"You know – I don’t really care what you believe. I’m going back there tomorrow and spending more time getting to know them. If you don’t want to come, I won’t force you."

"Of course I’ll come. I said that shi’s crazy, not boring. Besides, we’ll see if I can’t get Wyatt interested in a real woman."

"Ha! I’m going to enjoy watching you fall flat on your face."

"Ali, I’ve got a couple of years of abstinence to make up for. He’s the one who had better watch out."


Stargazer and Wyatt made sure that they got to the café a little earlier than normal just to be sure that they would be there when the ladies turned up. Stargazer had been a little bit worried that they might change their minds, so shi was relieved when shi spotted Alison and Angela entering the shop. Shi waved to attract their attention, and soon they were seated and waiting for their coffee and cake.

Alison said, "Ann’s a bit sceptical about your origins still. I’d like to hear more about your granddad and his wives and children."

Talking about family was always a popular subject amongst chakats, and Stargazer was no different. Then Wyatt told them about his background and why he liked having a herm mate.

"Your turn now," Stargazer prompted.

Alison said, "Our family lives in Eyre, right down at the southern end of the continent. It’s not a big town, but there’s a growing copper mining industry that makes it important. Dad is a mining engineer, and Mom’s a town-planner, which kept them both very busy with only a little time left over for us cubs. Ann and I pretty much looked after ourselves much of the time, but we liked it that way because we got into a lot of mischief that they never learnt about." She winked at her sister and Angela grinned back.

Angela continued, "When Ali and I decided to go into the clothing business, we realised that the market was too small for what we had planned, so we saved our credits and moved up here to start up the shop. It has an apartment above the shopfront, so we have basically lived and worked out of there for many months, scrimping where we could and sometimes having to subsist on little more than ramen noodles in order to pay the bills until the business took off."

"It must have been hard," Stargazer said. "I mean this world has the right to go nude enshrined in its first laws – you wouldn’t think that the market for clothes would be so great where most people have fur."

"That’s where you’re wrong," Angela replied. "Where there’s no actual need to wear clothes, that only leaves wearing them for the purposes of style, excepting safety gear and uniforms, of course. Most people, even chakats, wear some clothing because it looks good or it accentuates some feature of theirs. The money that they don’t spend on unnecessary clothes is instead spent on stuff that they want to wear. That’s our business, and the trick is figuring out what they want to wear and selling our product in a competitive market."

"And that’s what we’ve been doing for the past couple of years instead of socialising," Alison added.

"You’ve been close all this time and I never knew," Stargazer admitted.

"By the looks of your clothes, you’ve been shopping at Danella’s Herm Fashions," Alison observed.

Stargazer looked down at the shorts that shi was wearing. Coming down to mid thigh, the bright colour and design were intended to look feminine, but the cut was made to give more room in the crotch for male genitalia. "Yeah, I’ve pretty much been getting all my clothes there since I stopped dressing exclusively like a girl, which would have been before you turned up here. You certainly seem to know who does what though."

"We have to know our market," Angela said. "We don’t specialise in just female garments – we make stuff for herms also. We have to admit that Danella has the edge over us in the herm market though, especially the more masculine ones. However we’re working on that. We want our range to be as complete as possible.

Stargazer made a wry face. "I’m afraid that I can’t help you much there. Not only do I prefer feminine fashions, I’d look ridiculous in a masculine style outfit. This figure of mine is all curves."

"I noticed," Angela commented with a touch of envy.

"But up here," Star said as shi tapped hir head, "I really do get masculine urges, which brings me back to why I was so eager to meet up with a cougar fem. Do you know about the formal dance being held next Seventhday?"

Both cougars nodded. Alison added, "We’ve got a few orders to get ready in time for that event."

"You also said that you’ve been too busy to do anything for a long time. Does that mean that you might be free to join me at the dance?"

"What? Both of us?" Alison asked.

"Well, I would only want one of you as my partner for the night, but perhaps the other would like to partner with Wyatt?"

Wyatt, who had been quietly sitting in the background, spoke up. "Star reckoned that shi refused to go dating and leave me out, so I’d be happy to accompany one of you lovely ladies."

"You’re on!" Angela said quickly, snapping up the opportunity.

"So, Alison – would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Alison looked thoughtful. "I’ve never dated a herm before. I suppose it could be fun, although I never expected to break my social drought with one. Hmmmm… okay, I accept."

Stargazer’s face lit up. "Great! If you give me your address, I will pick you up."

They arranged the place and time, and then the conversation turned to other subjects. Eventually the ladies had to leave, and Wyatt and Stargazer decided to head home also. They said their farewells outside the café and then went their separate ways.

Stargazer walked with a spring in hir step, excited at the prospect of a wonderful night out, and Wyatt was quite pleased at how amorous it was making hir feel towards him.

Angela barely waited until they were definitely out of earshot before she said, "I can’t believe that you’re actually going out on a date with hir!"

"And what’s wrong with that?" Alison asked defiantly. "Hets date herms all the time."

"What about all that talk about finding a nice guy when we finally got back into socialising?"

"How could I know that we’d run into someone like Star? Besides, unlike a guy, shi knows what fems like. You gotta admit that’s a big positive."

Angela shrugged. "I’d still rather have a hunky male."

"Well you wouldn’t have a date with Wyatt if I didn’t go out with Star," Alison pointed out.

"True, but now that I have an opening, I’m going to see what I can do to land that fish without any more help from you."

"Ha! You haven’t a chance. He’s besotted with Star. Just because he’s open-minded enough to share doesn’t mean that he’s open to you coming between him and Star."

"You never know until you try," Angela said, undeterred.

"It’s your funeral. Just don’t muck things up for me when you try. I intend to enjoy this date."

"I still can’t picture you with a herm."

"Oh, give it a rest, Ann."


Seventhday was still a few days away, so Wyatt and Stargazer stopped at the café at their usual time. As Stargazer had hoped, Alison turned up also, although surprisingly without her sister this time.

"Hi, Star!" Alison said with a smile.

"Hi, Ali. Where’s Angela?"

"She had something else that she needed to do, so it’s just me today."

Wyatt got up from his seat. "Speaking of things to do, I’ve got an errand to run. Is it safe to leave you two alone together?"

"Barely," Stargazer said with a grin.

Wyatt bent over to kiss Stargazer before heading out of the shop.

"Does he really have an errand that he needs to run now?" Alison asked.

"Maybe," Stargazer replied. "Either way he obviously wants us to spend some time together, just the two of us."

"Why?"

"Maybe so that you won’t be self-conscious while he’s with us. He wants you to be yourself with me, and so do I."

"I see. So I am free to ask the awkward questions like how soon do you expect to get into my pants?"

Stargazer blinked in surprise, then slowly grinned. "Social sexual intercourse may be a common way for chakats to get to know each other, and I’m more than half chakat so that definitely appeals, but I’m looking for a long-term relationship with a lot more than sex expected out of it. So sex is not a priority with me right now. Now I’ll be blunt back – is this just a kinky fling for you, or are you serious about our date?"

"Touché. Hmm, how about seriously kinky? No? Honestly, Star, it’s been a surprise to me just how excited I am about our date. I’m really looking forward to going to the dance with you, and I genuinely hope that we both have a lot of fun. However I can’t honestly say how serious I’ll be in the long-term until we get to know each other a bit more."

"Fair enough – I could say the same. So let’s talk. Ask me anything and I promise to answer you truthfully, as long as you do the same."

"Deal!" Alison said enthusiastically.

The two spent a couple of hours and three cups of coffee each while chatting and getting to know each other better. The more they learned, the more each liked about the other. Stargazer was more than a little aroused by the time that Alison declared that she had to go.

Stargazer walked with Alison to the exit where they parted company. Shi walked home in high spirits, too excited to simply catch a PPTV home. When shi got to hir house, shi found Wyatt in the lounge room, chatting with hir father, Tam.

"Hi, Dad!" shi said, then leaned over the sofa to nuzzle Wyatt from behind, hir plush bosom cradling his head.

Wyatt looked up into hir eyes and grinned. "It went well, I take it?"

"Very well. I’m very optimistic about this."

"That’s great, hon. I suppose I’d better make sure my good clothes are ready if I’m to take Angela as we promised her."

"Don’t get too dressed up – you might distract me from paying attention to Alison, you handsome devil!"

Tam said, "Son, I think shi’s giving you a hint."

"Yeah, I think you’re right. Pardon us for a while, won’t you?"

"Of course," Tam replied. He was well versed in the moods of chakats – even two-legged ones.

Wyatt got up from the sofa, went around to Stargazer, swept hir off hir feet and threw hir over his shoulder. "Come with me, me lusty wench!" he said in a piratical manner.

"Eek! I’m about to be ravished!" Star shrieked.

"That ye are, lassie," Wyatt said as he carried hir off to their room. "An’ how many times do ye think I’ll be tastin’ yer sweet charms?"

"Ooh, at least twice," Star said coyly as the door closed behind them.


Alison had a shorter walk to her residence, and her mood was ebullient too. She had to help her sister close up the shop first, but after taking so much time off, she did not mind a bit. She even volunteered to do the cooking even though it was Angela’s turn to do so.

"Okay," Angela said, "I’m getting that you had a good afternoon with Stargazer. Aren’t you laying it on a bit thick though? You’ve got your date, and I’ve got Wyatt – you don’t have to do anything more."

"You make it sound like I’m toying with Star. I’m not. This is a genuine date and I really intend to have a good time with hir."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I can see it now – you’ll dance, enjoy the thrill of doing something different, then realise that if you don’t break it off, you’ll be stuck with hir. You should have gone for Wyatt while you had the chance."

Alison frowned. "You’ve got it wrong, Ann. In fact Star and I made it a point to be upfront with each other and I won’t be the one screwing this up. I like Star and you’re going to have to accept that."

Angela shrugged. "Alright, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you."


On Sixthday afternoon, both sisters met with Wyatt and Star at the café. None of them stayed for long as everyone was busy, but they did finalise a few details.

Seventhday, promptly at 1500 CST, Stargazer and Wyatt turned up outside of Alison and Angela’s shop. They had called ahead to ensure that both the ladies were ready, so the cougar fems came down from their apartment to meet them at the kerb. They were surprised to see a rented limousine rather than the usual PPTV.

"Oh, how classy!" exclaimed Alison.

"We’ve been saving our fedcreds for this special occasion so we could splurge on stuff like this," Stargazer explained. "Nothing less would do for two elegant fems such as yourselves."

Indeed the girls had pulled out all stops and dressed to impress. Alison wore a slinky blue dress that had obviously been designed specifically to enhance her figure. It hugged her curves and bolstered her modest bust. She wore high heels which added to her height but still didn’t match Stargazer’s. Angela had opted for a longer gown , low cut at the front and backless. It was translucent and hinted at what lay underneath. She had dressed to kill, and Wyatt was her target. She intended to ensnare Wyatt any way she could, and it seemed to be having its desired effect.

"Star," Wyatt murmured, "we’ve hit the jackpot."

"Don’t I know it, love." Hir eyes were locked onto Alison. While shi definitely appreciated Alison’s hot looks, hir empathic sense gave hir an additional perspective – shi could feel that Alison was equally attracted to hir, and that was a greater turn-on than looks alone. Of course shi had dressed in hir finest evening wear also, making no effort to emphasise hir male features. If Alison was going to like hir, it was going to be as hir normal feminine-biased self. Anything else would be pointless in the long run, a lesson shi had learned the hard way years ago.

Wyatt and Stargazer ushered their dates into the limo and they drove off to the dance. A smartly-dressed foxmorph standing at the entrance to the hall took their tickets and welcomed them to the dance. They stepped inside, arm-in-arm with the girls, and a chakat waiter showed them to a table for four bipeds. Stargazer placed an order for some wine with the chakat to go with the set menu for the dinner dance.

Although they had been almost exactly on time for the official start, it was quite obvious that many were ‘fashionably late’ as couples and triads kept steadily arriving. Nevertheless the band started on schedule, getting the people in the mood until the master of ceremonies stepped up to the podium about twenty minutes later to start the night officially.

"Good evening, gentlebeings. I am Chakat Oakwood and I welcome you to the annual Spring formal dance. I am simply dazzled by the display of all the elegant finery that I have seen so far tonight. If your dance skills match your fashion sense, then we are in for a marvellous evening. Except for a couple of rest breaks, the band will be playing all evening, so feel free to either dine immediately or dance now and eat later. We will be having a short formal dance competition around 1800, but the floor is open to everyone otherwise. Bipeds are reminded to give taurs extra space so that we don’t have any accidents; we would like this to be a pleasant experience for all. And now that’s enough from me. Enjoy the evening, folks!"

Oakwood was given some applause and the band restarted immediately after that. Angela immediately got up and tugged at Wyatt’s arm.

"Come on, Wyatt. I’ve been waiting a long time for this."

Wyatt smiled and complied.

Stargazer grinned and said to Alison, "They’ve got the right idea. Food can wait. Let’s dance."

Alison agreed and they walked out onto the dance floor. Star took the lead and they joined the growing crowd. The couple drew no undue attention because Chakona had the most diverse social customs in the Federation. It was very hard to surprise a native-born Chakonan.

Not having the opportunity to socialise for over two years, Alison was a little rusty, but Stargazer deftly guided her until she felt back in the groove. After that, the dancing was sheer pleasure. They danced to several tunes before returning to the table with an appetite. Wyatt and Angela joined them one dance later. The foursome enjoyed their meal before going back onto the dance floor. When they had to step aside for the professional dance sports couples doing their demonstration competition, they had their dessert course.

When the competition was done, Wyatt begged Alison’s indulgence for a moment while he danced with his mate. "Which one of us is leading?" he asked as they prepared to start.

"Oops! I’ve gotten into the habit of leading with Alison," Stargazer said with a sheepish grin. "Lead away!"

"So how is the evening going with her?"

"Beautifully. I’ve been really enjoying the dancing, and I can tell that she has been also. That last slow dance that we did got us both a little hot. What about you and Angela?"

"Oh, she’s been fun to dance with, but a little clingy. When I told her that I intended having a dance with you, she took it with poor grace."

Star sighed. "I don’t think that she really believes that Alison is serious about this date. I still don’t know for sure if this relationship will go any further, but I do know that Alison has been getting into this dance wholeheartedly and enjoying herself, so I’m fairly optimistic."

"A potentially good start to a long relationship then."

"Actually I think it really started that day when Ali and I had that long chat by ourselves. It reminds me of how our relationship started."

"I remember. Right then I knew that I wanted you for my mate. The rest was biding my time until you knew that you wanted likewise."

Star looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Looking from that perspective, I would say that Alison would make a great mate. I hope that my impressions are as accurate as yours were."

"I didn’t have a sister in the equation though," Wyatt pointed out.

"Yeah, I’m just going to have to try to improve that situation."

The dance ended and Stargazer kissed Wyatt. "Ask me for another dance later, love. It’s been too long since we did this. Meanwhile though, I’m going to ask Angela to dance with me. I’d like you to dance with Alison for a while – give her a chance to know you better."

"Works for me, hon. Good luck with Angela."

Alison was happy to dance with Wyatt, but Angela was not so enthusiastic about dancing with Stargazer. "I suppose we could have one dance, but I came to be with Wyatt."

"We’re a package deal, Angela. I won’t force you to do anything that you don’t want to do, but you’re not going to get anywhere with Wyatt if you’re not interested in me being part of that relationship."

"I think that’s up to him to decide."

"Yes it is, but I thought that you should be aware of the situation." Privately though, Stargazer was rapidly losing any personal interest in Angela, and that meant that Wyatt would never be tempted by her.

As she said, Angela only had the one dance with Stargazer, and while it was a well performed dance, it lacked spirit. Stargazer was happy to let her go back to the table. Shi, however, watched Wyatt and Alison, and it was plain that both were enjoying themselves. When the dance ended, shi approached them and said, "You two seem to dance well together."

Alison replied, "Oh yes! Why in heaven aren’t you dancing more with him? He’s marvellous!"

"So that makes me second-rate?" Stargazer said with an exaggerated pout.

For a moment Alison thought that she had insulted Stargazer but she quickly realised that she was being teased. "You’re great, Star, but he’s awesome."

"Yeah, I agree. I bet you’d like more opportunities to dance with him."

"I do, and I will." Alison gave Wyatt a hug, then moved over to Stargazer. "But you’re the one that I’m dating, and this next dance is ours."

The two danced away, and Wyatt sought out Angela to do the same.

When everyone had their fill of food and dancing, they headed home. Stargazer and Wyatt dropped off the cougar fems, but not before Stargazer made arrangements to meet Alison at the café again on Firstday. Angela stole a kiss on the cheek from Wyatt, so Alison felt that she had the right to do the same with Stargazer.

As the girls stepped upstairs to their apartment, Angela said to her sister, "So, have you had your fill of dating a herm as yet?"

"Why do you keep harping on that? I had a marvellous night, thank you, and I hope to have more with hir. What about you? Have you given up your futile hunt for Wyatt?"

"What do you mean ‘futile’? He was an attentive date and a great dancer. I also noticed him looking down my cleavage a couple of times. No way he’s not interested in a real female."

Alison rolled her eyes. "He’s a male – he’s going to look unless he’s gay. And he’s the mate of a chakat’s child – they’re honest and open about their attractions. Heck, I even overheard Star pointing out an attractive fem to him and saying, ‘Get a look at the tits on her!’ Sometimes I think that even Star doesn’t know how male shi acts sometimes. Wyatt is about as open and honest as a male can be, and while he might look, it doesn’t mean that he’s attracted to you."

"Shows what you know, sis. A few more dates and I’ll make him forget about Star completely!"


Star slumped onto the sofa and sighed happily. "That was a marvellous night, but I’m so tired now. I haven’t danced so much in ages."

"I think that if it wasn’t for the short competition break, you would have danced then too," opined Wyatt.

Stargazer giggled. "You’re probably right. Alison told me that she loved to dance, but I didn’t realise that she was that enthusiastic. My footpads are so sore!"

Wyatt knelt down in front of hir, picked up one of hir feet and started massaging the pads. "How’s that?" he asked.

"Oooooh… right now – better than sex. Thanks, love. How are your feet holding up?"

"They’ll be fine. Angela only stood on my toes once."

"So what’s your opinion of her?"

"Nice enough, but a bit shallow. Kept flaunting her boobs at me."

"Nice view?" Stargazer asked with a grin.

"Very," Wyatt agreed, "but a little distracting. I reckon that she thinks that I’m only interested in one thing."

"No, definitely at least two things," Stargazer said while putting hir hand on hir crotch suggestively.

Wyatt pinched a toe and Stargazer yelped. He said, "You know what I mean."

"Of course, dear. So will you give her another chance?"

"If Alison insists, of course I will. Personally I would be happier if it was just the three of us, but you two could go out alone without me."

"Not yet. The café is a good place for Alison and me to talk, but I want you to be there with us for any dates for now. I said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m not going to have a relationship with anyone who isn’t prepared to have you in the relationship also. I’m going to be completely chakat about that."

"As long as you’re happy, I’m happy."

"Well that foot is happy. Start on the other one now, please."

Wyatt changed feet and then said, "Do you have any idea what you might want to do for the next date?"

Stargazer looked thoughtful, then said, "Something that puts more emphasis on my male side. Give Alison a different perspective on my nature."

"Okay, I might have a suggestion then."


Alison looked surprised. "A chakker game? I’ve never been to one. Hmmm… could be fun. I’ve watched games on the vid often enough, but I’ve never had the urge to see one in person."

"Now’s your chance. What team do you follow?" asked Stargazer

"I can’t say that I follow any particular team, but when my old home team is playing, I usually cheer them on."

"That would be the Eyre Flashes then?"

"That’s right."

"They’re playing the Berdoovia Barbarians at the Berdoovia Stadium this Eighthday. We can take the Rapidtrans there and make a day of it."

"Okay, I think that I can manage that."

"And ask Angela if she wants to accompany Wyatt there also."

Alison pulled a face. "You know she thinks that she thinks she can woo Wyatt away from you?"

Stargazer grinned. "She can try, but she’d be wasting her time."

"That’s what I keep telling her."

"Well this is just going to be a fun day out, so if she wants to come, tell her to be prepared for crowds and fast food, not high fashion and haute cuisine."

Alison giggled. "She’s not quite that bad."

"It’s a date then."

"We’ll be there, even if I have to drag Ann along."


The chakker game was well attended. Fortunately the fanatical chakat fans were kept separate due to the need for seating for the non-taur attendees.

Stargazer and Alison cheered on the Flashes, groaning when the Barbarians took the lead with only minutes left to play in the game. Wyatt had decided to be diplomatic and cheer on the opposing team because Angela chose them, and he didn’t want her to feel overwhelmed. Neither team was his favourite, so it didn’t really matter to him who won.

With a minute to go, the Flashes got the ball into the goal circle and levelled the scores. The crowd went into a frenzy and Alison was so excited that she could not stay seated. She jumped up to her feet and was almost screaming her encouragement. Stargazer was right by her side, not only thrilled by the game, but also empathically charged up by the torrent of emotion out there. They nervously watched the countdown as the players desperately tried to break the deadlock. With seconds to go, the Flashes’ full forward managed a sneaky pass to Acepaw, their leading goal scorer. Acepaw, knowing that it was now or never, aimed almost blindly and fired off a shot for goal. The score light lit up mere moments before the timer reached zero, and the crowd went berserk.

Alison was jumping up and down wildly in celebration, with Stargazer hugging her and stopping her from going into orbit. Alison eventually stopped jumping long enough to plant a kiss on Stargazer’s muzzle.

Stargazer blinked in surprise, then returned the kiss with fervour. It was several seconds before the two parted again.

Alison grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about getting carried away like that."

"I’m not," Stargazer replied., then pulled her back to kiss her once more. Alison put up no resistance whatsoever. When they parted, they grinned at each other like naughty children caught in the act.

"Ahem!" Wyatt said loudly. When he had their attention, he continued, "I think the winners ought to buy the losers coffee and cake, don’t you think so, Angela?"

"We ought to get some consolation out of this," Angela said sourly.

"Okay," agreed Stargazer, "but first we have to get through this crowd."

It took the foursome nearly an hour to exit from the stadium and get to the nearby Rapidtrans station. They found out that they had missed a train to their destination by about five minutes, and while local services were still arriving regularly to deal with the crowd, the next inter-city service was not due for forty minutes.

Alison said, "There’s a café right here. Might as well treat you to the coffee here while we wait."

They all agreed and proceeded inside. Apparently many others had thought that would be a good idea also as there was quite a long queue. They opted for take-away cups when they were served as they realised that they would not have time for a leisurely drink. In fact they ended up drinking half the coffee on the Rapidtrans on the way home.

They took a Public PTV to the girls’ home and dropped them off. Each girl gave their partner a parting kiss, both lingering a while – Alison because she was enjoying Stargazer’s kisses, and Angela because she was still trying to tempt Wyatt.

Stargazer and Wyatt said their final farewells and got back into the PPTV to head home. Stargazer snuggled up to Wyatt and said, "What a great day."

"I’m really glad that you enjoyed yourself, hon," Wyatt replied.

"And you didn’t?" shi asked in concern.

"I liked the game a lot, but I’m tired of Angela pawing me like I’m fresh meat. She’s not my type."

"I’m sorry, dear. Would you like to go out with Alison instead? I did say that any Companion of mine needs to be yours too."

"How about we three go out for dinner? I’m thinking of Pier 3 Restaurant down at Sailfin Bay. We could go walking on the beach afterwards."

"You’re such a romantic – I love the idea. I’ll ask Alison as soon as I see her again. What are we going to do about Angela though?"

"As I see it, we don’t have to do anything. She doesn’t seem inclined to date you, and only comes along because she’s after me. I think it’s Alison’s problem. After all, she has to live with her sister."


Stargazer was relieved when Alison turned up at the café without Angela. Although they had made their decision to exclude her, it would have been uncomfortable having to tell her face to face. Frankly, Stargazer reckoned that she might have chickened out.

Shi explained what shi and Wyatt had planned, and Alison was delighted with the idea, so they made a booking for the next Seventhday.

Alison said, "I’d like to do something special for you for that evening. I want to design an outfit especially for you."

"Really? I’d love that. Did you have anything particular in mind?"

"Yes, actually. I’ve been thinking about this for several days… well, ever since the dance really. This just seems like the perfect excuse to follow up on it. I’ve got an idea for a design that will highlight all your best features and show how sexy a herm you are."

"Now you’ve gotten me extremely curious," Stargazer admitted.

"I’ll be needing you to drop by the shop so that I can measure you accurately."

"Oh, okay. When did you want to do that?" Stargazer had hoped that shi could avoid bumping into Angela, but that idea seemed doomed.

"How about right away if you have the time? It’s best that I get started on it immediately."

Stargazer could not think of a good reason to postpone it, so when the two finished their coffee and muffins, they headed off to the shop. Alison introduced hir to Adele, a young mink lady who was their shop assistant on duty before she took Stargazer out the back to the workshop. While the retail was bright and neat, with everything artfully displayed, the workshop looked chaotic with materials piled everywhere between fabricating devices and a large workbench, and lighting intended to sharply illuminate rather than flatter.

"Welcome to the reality of the garment industry," Alison said.

"Huh? What’s that?" Angela asked as she looked up from the sewing machine that she was using. "Oh, hi Star. How come you’re here? Did Ali offer you a tour?"

"She wanted to measure me up. The tour was an unexpected extra."

"I see. Well I hope that you’re not disillusioned. Making clothes, even high-fashion stuff, involves a lot of inelegant mess like this."

Alison added, ""Yeah, we’re only a very small business as yet, so this is all we can afford for now. One of these days we’re aiming to have a much bigger workshop and several people working for us, but for now it’s just the two of us plus the assistants to look after the shop while we concentrate on creation and fabrication."

"So do you two both do all the jobs?" Stargazer asked.

Angela replied, "Yes, although Alison tends to be better at design while I’m better at making those designs reality."

"And it’s for that design that I need your accurate measurements," Alison said, holding up a tailor’s tape measure.

"I thought you’d have something a bit more sophisticated than that," Stargazer commented.

Alison shrugged. "A big company can afford those gadgets. We have to settle for the basics. It might be slower, but it’s just as accurate when you know what you’re doing. Now stand over here, please, and I’ll get started."

Stargazer complied, and Alison got to work. She measured more things than Stargazer could work out reasons for. After that, she compared some colour swatches with Stargazer’s fur, hmmming and making notes. Then she put them aside and said, "Done!"

"Are you going to tell me what you have in mind?" Stargazer asked curiously.

"Nope. You’ll find out on Sixthday. That’s when you can come here instead of the café, and we’ll do a fitting and make any final adjustments.

"Tease!" accused Stargazer.

"I just want it to be a surprise," Alison denied.

"I’ll be wondering what it’s like for days. Oh well, I’d better head off home now."

"Okay. I’ll see you at the café as usual tomorrow." Alison waved Stargazer goodbye at the shop entrance, then went back to the workshop.

Angela said, "So what’s the occasion?"

"Star’s taking me out to a restaurant."

"What about Wyatt?"

"No, shi just asked me," Alison lied.

"Oh. I still don’t understand why you’re chasing hir when Wyatt is around, but at least that leaves the path clear for me."

Alison was discomfited. She did not like lying to Angela, but her sister was obsessed with chasing after someone whom she was never going to get, and Alison did not want to raise false hopes. She turned her mind to Stargazer’s design to distract herself from the unpleasant situation.


The rest of the week passed with Stargazer and Wyatt both meeting with Alison at the café in the afternoon. Sometimes Angela would be with her, and then they all avoided talking about the upcoming dinner if possible, and when Angela brought up the occasion in conversation, Wyatt explained that he had another engagement to keep with his family.

Sixthday arrived, and Stargazer could hardly focus on hir work as eagerness and curiosity vied for dominance. Shi hastened over to the shop as soon as shi could, and Alison was already waiting with the finished garments.

"Come into the fitting room, and we’ll try these on straight away," Alison said, ushering Stargazer inside. "Strip to your underwear, please."

Stargazer did as shi was instructed.

Alison said, "What? You don’t wear a bra?"

Stargazer gave hir breasts a bit of a heft to show how firm they were. "I inherited chakat-like boobs from my mother, so they’re self-supporting like all chakat breasts. I only wear bras for fashion purposes."

"Well I’m envious, and so would be most other females. However, that works very well with the design of this top. Let’s try that on first."

Stargazer donned the top which Alison securely fastened at the back for hir. Then shi put on the bottom piece of the ensemble. Alison adjusted it slightly, then let Stargazer look at the result in the full-length mirror. The royal purple top was sleeveless and dipped down at the back to leave it open to the fur for about 30 centimetres. At the front, a plunging V-neck trimmed with yellow went down to the level of the bottom of hir breasts. There the material was gathered in tightly under the breasts, emphasising their size and shape, and making the nipple bumps more prominent. The top continued to hug hir body until it reached the charcoal grey semi-translucent bottom, which hugged the hips and was snug about the crotch in the manner of pants. The bulge of hir sheath showed unmistakably, emphasising hir herm nature as Alison had said it would. The legging continued halfway down hir thighs where the material was slit and flared out. By the time it finished a few centimetres short of hir ankles, it looked more like a dress flowing around hir feet. The total result flattered hir figure while still giving hir legs plenty of freedom of movement, with the material’s colour contrasting pleasantly with hir fur.

Stargazer spun around, admiring the way it looked on hir, and the way the bottom swirled around hir legs.

"You can add digitigrade sandals to complete the ensemble, or just go normally barefoot," Alison commented.

"I don’t use footwear much," admitted Stargazer, "but I think that this is one outfit that demands them. I think that I have a pair that will go well with this."

"Excellent. Of course I have something to wear that will go very well with yours, so we should turn quite a few heads."

"I hope so. Anyway, how much do I owe you for this?"

"Well, considering that you didn’t actually order it because I offered to make it for you, how about just cost of materials plus Angela’s share of the labour?"

"That’s very reasonable," admitted Stargazer.

"Of course I like my dinner partners to look really good, and if you mention where you got it made, that can only help us also."

Stargazer laughed. "Okay, I can live with being an advertisement for your business. Let me dig out my debit card and pay for it."

After the outfit had been taken off and paid for, Stargazer gave Alison a parting hug and headed off, full of excitement for the next day’s events.


Stargazer and Wyatt had a leisurely sleep-in the next morning before doing some chores that they had put off until the weekend. Early in the afternoon though, they quit and headed for the bathroom to shower and spend some time on making their fur look shiny and lively. Then they dressed – Stargazer in hir new outfit, and Wyatt in a semi-formal trousers and shirt. They paused to admire each other, and Wyatt said, "Hon, if this has half the effect on Alison as it’s having on me, you’re going to get laid very soon!"

Stargazer drew him in close and kissed him. "Silly boy, I’m going to get laid by you tonight, no matter what else happens."

For the occasion, they borrowed Stargazer’s parents’ PTV. They drove close to Alison’s place and Wyatt got out, then Stargazer continued on to the shop. There shi went up to the apartment and rang the doorbell. Moments later the door opened, revealing Alison dressed in a sexy, see-through blouse over a dark red, wrap-around halter-top, and a long red skirt slit all the way up her left side. By the magic of superb design, her modest bust was emphasised, much to the appreciation of Stargazer who gave a low whistle.

"Wow! That’s gorgeous!"

Alison grinned in delight. "I’m so glad that you like it. As wonderful as you look in your new outfit, I knew I had to do something to match it. I see you did wear the sandals – they’re very attractive."

"They ought to be – I spent enough on them! So, are you ready to go?"

"Let me grab my purse and we can leave." Alison did so, calling out, "Ann! We’re going now."

Angela walked into the room with a bowl of popcorn. "Have fun. I’ve got a date with a hot vid." She gave a wave to Stargazer before making herself comfortable on the couch.

Alison took Stargazer’s arm and said, "Let’s go."

She and Stargazer walked arm-in-arm down the steps and outside. Stargazer opened the PTV door and ushered her inside before going around to the other side and getting in.

"Where’s Wyatt?" Alison asked, peering around to see if he was hiding somewhere.

"We’re picking him up down the block. We decided not to take chances on him getting spotted."

"Smart move. I wouldn’t put it past Ann to check us out through the window. I really don’t want to upset my sister."

They drove off and picked up Wyatt. "Good evening, Alison. You’re looking particularly lovely today," Wyatt said as he climbed into the PTV.

"You’re looking handsome yourself, Wyatt. Poor Ann doesn’t know what she’s missing."

"Well, it isn’t as if we didn’t give her a chance to fit in with us. I’m afraid that your sister’s intentions and ours differ far too much. There are other male cougars around if she wants to find them. I know because we found them when we were looking for the female ones."

Alison sighed. "Angela won’t give up that easily."

"Hence this subterfuge. I regret it, but it’s necessary."

"Yeah," Alison agreed. "Enough of that – this is supposed to be a fun outing. I hope you two brought an appetite, because I sure have!"

The restaurant was already three quarters full when they arrived, with more constantly arriving. It was a very popular place to dine on the very freshest of seafood while enjoying the beachfront view. Unlike the dance, the emphasis here was on fine food and leisurely conversation. They took their time to appreciate the excellently prepared food, finishing with cappuccino and dessert cake. Although all three had chatted about many things at the café, they found themselves talking about more personal things in the atmosphere of the restaurant. The more they talked, the more comfortable they got with each other, and the attraction for both Stargazer and Wyatt grew within Alison.

"Let’s go for a walk on the beach," Alison suggested.

"I had been thinking of doing that," Stargazer replied. "Let me get the bill and then we can head down there."

With the bill paid, the trio left the restaurant and then went to their PTV where they all took off their shoes and left them there. They found the path that led through the rocks down to the beach, and they strolled off over the sand, Alison located between the other two.

"I feel so special with two people paying attention to me," Alison admitted. She looked over at the setting sun. "It’s all so romantic – a girl, a boy, and a herm strolling on the sand as the sun dips into the sea."

"I agree," Star said. "The question is – do you want this kind of thing and us as a permanent part of your life? Despite my modest empathic ability, I know you like being with me, but do you see us becoming Companions or more?"

Alison was quiet for a few moments before answering. "I’ve been asking myself the same question. Until I met you, I had never given a moment’s thought to having a herm partner. These few weeks we’ve been together have been a revelation to me of feelings that I never knew I could have. I liked you from the very start, Star, even though Ann teased me for it, but it’s not something I had ever planned for. Wyatt here is another story. I could have seen my sister and I fighting over him – amicably of course, but still competing."

Wyatt said, "If it’s not already obvious, Angela wouldn’t have stood a chance. It’s amazing how different you two are despite being twins. Angela is nice enough as a friend, but that’s all. But you – if you and Star want to become Companions, I’ll be more than happy to share hir with you."

Alison kicked a pile of sand without saying anything. The three of them walked in companionable silence for a while before she finally spoke. "I think I will have to make a decision soon, if for no other reason than I don’t want to be sneaking behind my sister’s back when I go out with you."

"We don’t want that either," admitted Stargazer.

Wyatt said, "Let us know soon if you can, but right now let’s just enjoy the evening."

"You’re right, love," Stargazer said. Shi took Alison’s hand and said, "The evening is warm, the breeze is pleasant and tangy, the sunset is gorgeous, and I have my mate and my girlfriend to share it all with – I’m loving this."

Wyatt took Alison’s other hand and said, "I couldn’t have said it better, hon."

They walked until Chakastra had sunk well below the horizon before turning back. It was rapidly getting dark before they got back to where they had parked the PTV. They drove back to Alison’s home, dropping Wyatt off at a nearby market where he intended to buy a few things while Stargazer dropped off Alison.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening, Star."

"My pleasure, Ali. See you at the café as usual on Firstday?"

"Of course." Alison came close to give hir a hug. "Pass this on to Wyatt for me, but this is from me to you." She gave Stargazer a lingering kiss, then grinned and turned to walk off.

Stargazer watched her walk inside with a warm glow of pleasure from the kiss. Shi then went back to the market to fetch Wyatt.

"So how did you feel the evening went?" he asked as they drove off. "Did your empathy pick up any hints?"

Stargazer thought of the kiss that Alison had given hir. "I got more than a hint. I think she’s close to making up her mind if she wants to get serious. I know I do."

"I suppose we both just have to wait and see."


The following week went by much as the previous one had, with no sign of Alison making her decision yet. She did ask Stargazer if shi would like to go to a nightclub on Sixthday though, this time without Wyatt. Because of that, they did not go to the café that afternoon so that both Stargazer and Alison had extra time to get ready.

Alison had just gotten dressed when Angela came into her room with an angry look on her face.

"What’s wrong, Ann?"

"Remember Lydia Coney?" Angela asked.

"Umm… brown and black rabbit fem – bought a maternity dress?"

"That’s her. She was my last customer for today, and she was in a chatty mood. She told me how she and her mate had gone out for dinner last Seventhday at Pier 3 Restaurant."

Alison suddenly felt a chill as she guessed what was coming next.

"It seems she spotted you there, but didn’t want to bother you as you seemed to be enjoying the company of the two cougars with you." Angela strode up close to Alison, her arms rigidly by her side with her fists clenched in fury. She snarled in Alison’s face, "How dare you sneak behind my back and steal Wyatt from me!"

"It’s not like that, Ann!" Alison protested. "It’s Star that I’m interested in, but shi wants me to be comfortable with hir mate also. That’s why he was there."

"Oh sure! That’s why you had to keep it a secret from me."

"No, it’s because we knew that you’d go nuts if you knew." Alison immediately regretted saying that.

"Nuts? NUTS? You take my boyfriend and you lie to me, and you expect me to like it? How could you do this to me – your own sister? When we moved here, we shared everything evenly. When we met them, we agreed that Star was yours and Wyatt was mine. Now you want both. So who’s the selfish one?"

"Selfish? I never chased after Wyatt, and you tried to dissuade me from going out with Star. The only reason Wyatt wants my company is because I really am interested in Star. He’s not interested in you because you’re not interested in anything but a casual friendship with hir, but I want so much more!"

"More lies! You’re just using hir to get to him, aren’t you? Well? Speak to me, dammit!"

However Alison was not listening any more. Her own words had struck her hard – she did want more out of her relationship with Stargazer; much, much more. It had taken Angela’s tirade to make her admit it to herself, but she was really besotted with the herm cougar. And now it was time to tell hir so.

Alison grabbed her purse and started heading out the door, saying, "If I can’t convince you even though I have never lied to you before, I’m just going to have to get Wyatt to tell you himself. I’m going to Star’s place now. Don’t expect me home soon."

"Just go! I don’t want to see your conniving face any more!" Angela screamed at Alison as she closed the door behind her.


Stargazer and Wyatt were eating their dinner with the rest of the family. Since Wyatt had moved in, Stargazer’s parents had treated him like their son, and their daughters had been thrilled to have a big brother. Dinner was always a big family occasion when everyone talked about what happened to them that day, and what they planned to do also. Tam and Coaldust showed as much interest in what Wyatt had to say as Stargazer, which was one reason why he had agreed to move in. This was his family now, and this was his home.

Of course the biggest topic of conversation lately had been Stargazer and Wyatt’s relationship with Alison, and what their plans for the future might be. Neither were certain as yet though, but Stargazer was cheerfully optimistic.

"Ah!" Stargazer said as shi put hir cutlery down on the empty plate. "That was great, mom. That’ll keep me dancing all night."

"Speaking of which," Coaldust said, "shouldn’t you be getting ready?"

"I’ve got a little time to spare before I go to pick up Alison." Shi looked at the clock. "Oops! Not as much as I thought." Shi got up from the table and started heading for hir room.

Coaldust called out, "Dear, get the door, please. There’s someone who’s very upset approaching."

Now that it had been pointed out to hir by hir more sensitive mother, Stargazer could sense it too, and the emotional touch had a familiar feeling to it. Shi opened the door just as the person reached it.

"Alison! What are you doing here? I was supposed to be picking you up as usual, wasn’t I?" Shi took in Alison’s expression and added, "Something’s gotten you very upset. What’s wrong, hon?"

Alison practically fell against Stargazer’s chest and hugged hir tightly. "Oh, Star – Angela found out about Wyatt being with us at Pier 3. We had a big argument and then I walked out on her."

"Oh, Ali, I’m so sorry. I should never have suggested that we hide the fact."

"No, it’s my fault too. I should have known better than to try to deceive my sister."

By this time, Wyatt had joined the two at the door, and he said, "I’m to blame also. I should have had the guts to tell her straight out that I didn’t want to go out with her any more."

Stargazer said, "Well, we’ve established that we’re all idiots. What are we going to do about it?"

"Not we – me," Wyatt stated. "I’m going to go see Angela and straighten things out. I’m the only one that she’s likely to believe, and I need to fix this situation. You two have a date to keep, so leave this to me."

Stargazer wanted to argue with Wyatt, but shi could not dispute his logic. "Okay, Wyatt, but please be as gentle as you can."

"Of course, love." Wyatt gave hir a kiss on the cheek, then left to borrow the family PTV.

Stargazer turned hir attention back to Alison. "And what about you? What can I do to make things better?"

Alison looked up into Stargazer’s eyes, and the biped chakat felt a flood of emotion come from the girl. Shi gasped as shi realised that the emotion that was dominating the upset cougar was love.

Alison’s eyes were still glistening with tears, but her smile radiated happiness. "The one good thing that came out of our argument was that I finally realised my true feelings for you. I know that we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I’ve fallen in love with you, Star. I never truly expected to find a herm to be my ideal lover, but I like everything about you, and want to spend more of my life with you. Could you see it in your heart to do the same with me?"

"Oh Alison, words are not enough to say how I feel." Stargazer lowered hir muzzle to Alison’s, hir lips parting for a kiss. Alison met hir halfway, and the two kissed passionately for a long time.

When they finally parted, Alison said, "Let’s go to your room, Star."

By hir empathic sense, Stargazer was certain why Alison wanted to do that. "If you wish, but I’ve been looking for a Companion, not for sex. I’m prepared to wait a lot longer for you to say that you are ready for that."

"Hon, it’s not all about you, y’know? It’s been over two years since I got laid, and I intend to remedy that situation right now, and who better to soothe my feelings than the one with whom I’ve fallen in love?"

Stargazer grinned. "I won’t argue with that. But first, I want you to meet my parents." Shi turned and led Alison into the living room where the family had gathered, eavesdropping. "Alison, this is my mother, Coaldust, and my sire, Tam. Mom, Dad, this is Alison. We have just become Companions."

Coaldust stepped up to hug Alison. "I can already tell that you two are a good match. Welcome to the family, Alison."

Alison blushed a little, but took the welcome with good grace. "Thank you, Coaldust. I think this will be a great turning point in my life, and hopefully Star’s also."

Stargazer said, "I’m sure it will be, but now I think we’ll get on with giving you that comforting you wanted." Shi grinned, and Alison returned it.

Stargazer led Alison to hir and Wyatt’s room and closed the door. Alison was already pulling off her dress and Stargazer followed suit by taking off hir top. Alison started pulling down Stargazer’s slacks even before shi had thrown the top aside, slipping her hand over the bulge of Stargazer’s sheath. Hir penis started to erect, tenting the briefs that shi was wearing.

"Now that’s what I want to see," Alison commented.

"Your turn to reveal more," Star replied.

"OK," Alison agreed. She released the strap on her bra and sexily removed it, leaving her breasts as bare as Stargazer’s. Shi posed in panties alone for Stargazer who drank in the sight with hir eyes.

Stargazer’s cock pushed out past the elastic waistband, rapidly becoming fully engorged. Shi pulled down the briefs and they joined Alison’s dress on the floor.

"Oh my!" Alison said admiringly. "You’re really hung like a chakat, aren’t you?"

"Another legacy from my mother, and perhaps a little too generous for a biped."

"Oh, hell no, honey! I’m seriously lusting for it."

Star stepped closer and put hir arms about Alison to pull her into a breast to breast hug that both found very stimulating. Alison pushed in closer, feeling Stargazer’s rigid cock against her belly. Then Stargazer let Alison go, knelt down on one knee and pulled her panties down. Shi leaned forward and nuzzled her crotch and felt the dampness of her arousal. Star’s tongue licked the moisture.

Alison giggled. "You can play with that all you want later, but I’m already aroused enough. I want to get this started." She put her hands on Stargazer’s breasts and shoved hard. Stargazer sprawled on hir back on her bed, and Alison climbed on top of hir before shi could react. Grasping Stargazer’s engorged member, Alison said, "Let’s do this cowgirl style." Shi positioned herself above the penis and lowered herself onto it. "Oh yeah, go to town, cowboy!"

Stargazer moaned in pleasure before replying, "Happy to oblige, ma’am."

That was about all the silliness that they managed before getting lost in the pleasure of their coupling, the long-awaited expression of their needs and desires making it into an explosion of ecstasy.


Click to see more of the sex scene.


Eventually both were at last satiated and they lay side by side, holding hands and just enjoying their closeness. After a while Stargazer said, "I kind of rushed things back there with Mom and Dad, and I never really asked you formally, but will you be my Companion?"

"Silly kitty, of course I will, and I hope a lot more."

Stargazer turned and propped hirself up on one elbow to face her. "Are you sure, Ali? I mean – I would really like our relationship to grow into something great, but we’ve only known each other for a short time. I’ve always made it clear that I was just looking for someone to satisfy my masculine needs, but do you think we can eventually become full mates?"

Alison leaned closer to kiss hir on the nose. "No, I don’t think it, I believe it. You’re the one for me, I know it."

Stargazer’s eyes started to well with tears of joy. "You’ve made me very happy, Alison, and I promise to try to make you just as happy for as long as we are together."


Wyatt rang the doorbell with no little trepidation. While he was determined to settle this situation once and for all, it still was not going to be easy. Angela eventually answered with a scowl on her face, damp fur under her eyes betraying tears. The scowl disappeared when she saw who it was.

"Wyatt! You’ve come back to me!" she cried as she flung her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him.

Wyatt tried fending her off as gently as he could. "Angela, stop! I’m not here for this."

Angela did stop, frowning in frustration. "What’s wrong, Wyatt?"

Wyatt sighed. "Angela, you have misread our relationship. We are friends, nothing more. As your friend, I’ve come to apologise for deceiving you. We should not have tried to hide the fact that I went with Alison and Star to the restaurant."

"No you shouldn’t have, and neither should have Alison. We made a deal – she got Star and left you alone."

"Stop it! No one got anyone. Star was dating Alison because they like each other, and I was with them for no other reason than what we told you on the day that we first met – and that is that any girlfriend of Star’s has to be comfortable with sharing hir with me, hir mate. I like Alison; I like her a lot. Maybe something more will grow out of that too, but for now this is about Stargazer and hir needs and wants. Not me, and definitely not you. You’ve shown no interest in hir other than as an acquaintance, and you haven’t even respected the fact that I am hir mate. You won’t even believe your own sister when she tells you that she wasn’t chasing me. Well I am here to tell you once and for all that there is no relationship between you and me. I’m sorry if you got hurt by what has happened, but it’s a mess of your own making."

Angela just stood there in disbelief and denial which turned to fury. She started hitting Wyatt. "How dare you! Get out of here! Get out! I never want to see your face again, you bastard!"

Wyatt fended off the blows and made to leave. "Hate me if you want, but don’t screw things up with your sister. Alison still needs you too."

"OUT!" screeched Angela.

Wyatt gave up and left, jumping slightly as the apartment door slammed behind him. "I wonder if I just made things worse?" he muttered as he left the building. He took the PTV back home again, but he was intercepted at the door by Coaldust.

"I can feel that you’re down in the dumps, but now is not the time to seek solace with Stargazer."

"Oh? Where is shi and Alison?" he asked. "Didn’t they go out on their date?"

Coaldust smiled. "No. They’re in your room, fulfilling their desires."

"Ah, I see," he said, his demeanour brightening. "Well at least one thing has worked out well. Do you think I could have a muffin and coffee to drown my sorrows?"

Coaldust grinned. "Silly boy, of course you can. You just sit down and I’ll bring some out."

Wyatt sat down on the sofa with a sigh. He closed his eyes and attempted to let the tension out. Before long he heard Coaldust putting something on the coffee table, and the delicious smell of a fresh brew filled his nose. "Mmmmm… thanks, Dusty." He had tried to call hir by hir full name when he had first moved in, but shi had wanted him to call hir Mom. They had compromised on the nickname that hir mate called hir by.

"You’re very welcome." Coaldust then performed one of hir infamous stretches. Putting hir forepaws up on the wall, shi bent hir upper torso back until it lay flat against hir lower, hir arms extended past hir head so hir hands could grasp hir hind legs. Shi stretched like this for several seconds with a grin on hir face. Shi knew how fascinating Wyatt found it, and also how distracting it was. It never failed to take his mind off anything that was troubling him.

When shi felt that shi had distracted him enough, Coaldust climbed onto the sofa next to Wyatt and cuddled up to him. He was well used to the physical affection that chakats lavished on people close to their hearts, and he ate and drank without concern.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am to have you as a son-in-law?" Coaldust asked.

"Oh, once or twice," Wyatt replied.

"Then I’m saying it again. My daughter could not have found a better mate. You’re every bit as considerate a mate as a chakat would be and you’ve made hir very happy. You’re going to give me wonderful grandchildren one day."

"Thanks. I do hope that you’ll be patient for a little while longer though. Star and I want to properly establish our careers a bit more first."

"I know, but forgive me for wanting to see that day sooner rather than later." Shi nuzzled his arm.

"Dusty, I think you need to damp down your empathy a bit. I think you’re picking up too much of Star and Ali’s emotions at the moment," he pointed out with an amused chuckle.

"Hmmm? I suppose you’re right, dear, although I would be agreeable if you ever asked." Shi got up and continued. "However, you’re not feeling so glum now, are you?" Shi winked and walked off with a satisfied smile on hir muzzle.

Wyatt watched hir go and shook his head in wonder. "Sneaky kitty," he murmured.


It was a while before Stargazer emerged in a sexily dishevelled state. Shi was still nude, but that was hardly an unusual condition in that household, and unworthy of notice. Shi found Wyatt still on the sofa, reading a book. Shi sat in his lap and kissed him.

Wyatt said, "No need to ask how it went with Alison."

"Nope. I needed that as much as I wanted it. So did she. Amazing what a two year abstinence can do for the libido."

"I’m sure you will never find out what it’s like."

"Not with lovers like you two, that’s for sure."

"So where is Alison?" he asked, looking about for some sign of her.

"She’s getting dressed. She’s going back to her place to talk with Angela. How did things go with her?"

"Not good, although I may have finally convinced her that I am not interested in her. She didn’t take it well. I hope that she doesn’t take it out on Alison."

"I think you might be underestimating them. They’ve been tight for years, and I don’t think one incident will wreck that. They’ll get past this."

Alison emerged soon and said, "Thanks for giving us this time together, Wyatt. How did your meeting with Ann go?

Wyatt repeated his news with a bit more detail.

Alison nodded glumly. "Yeah, that’s about what I expected. I’ll see what I can do about smoothing things out. I gotta go now – the PTV that I ordered just turned up."

Alison gave them both a quick hug before heading outside, climbed into the PPTV and drove off.

"Well, I don’t think we’ll be going dancing tonight," Star said.

Wyatt snorted in amusement. "How about I make us a drink? I’m pretty sure you’re going to need some fluids after dancing on the sheets for so long."

"Offer accepted. Do you want to hear the details?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really," Stargazer admitted as they headed for the kitchen.


Nearly two hours later, the doorbell rang. Wyatt answered and found Alison standing there.

"May I come in?" she asked.

"Of course, Ali. Star’s in the lounge with the folks."

"Thanks, Wyatt," she said gratefully.

Alison came inside and Stargazer got up to meet her. "Is there something wrong, Ali? You could have called me if there was."

"Yes and no. Angela and I had an argument, but we’ve basically worked things out. I felt that she needed some time alone to work off her mad and cool down, so I decided to come back here and ask if you had a spare bed to put me up for the night."

"There’s always room for you, Alison, but I would hope that you would share our bed rather than sleep alone. You already know how roomy it is."

"Wouldn’t I be disturbing you and Wyatt?"

"It’s more a matter of whether we’d be disturbing you. This is what a future with us would be like. Do you want this, Ali?"

"You know I do, Star."

"Then it’s settled. There’s only one question to be answered then."

"Oh? What’s that?"

"How many marshmallows do you like in your hot chocolate?" Star asked, showing her the mug sitting on the table. "We usually have a mug with the family before we go to bed."

Alison laughed. "I’ll have three, please. I would have thought that you’d have coffee though."

"Don’t want the caffeine just before going to bed."

"That makes sense, and I might just have to change my habits."

"Well, while I get your hot chocolate, why not chat with Mom and Dad? I think you’ll all be seeing a lot more of each other from now on."

They all ended up going to bed late that night as the conversation went on without anybody feeling the urge to leave. However Wyatt regretfully called a halt as he had an early appointment to keep. They took Alison to their room where they undressed, and she took a moment to admire Wyatt’s nude form.

"Star, honey, you sure caught a good one," she said with conviction.

"Don’t I know it!" Stargazer replied, giving Wyatt’s butt a squeeze.

"Who caught whom?" Wyatt asked with a grin.

"Details!" Stargazer said dismissively.

"Maybe I should snuggle up with Alison instead tonight?"

"OK! OK! You caught me, but now that you have, I’m never letting you go."

"Suits me fine, Love." He climbed onto the huge chakat-sized bed. "Are you coming or not?"

Stargazer climbed into the middle of the bed and snuggled hir back against his chest. Shi then patted the bed in front of hir. "Here’s your spot, Ali."

Alison climbed in and settled in snugly with Stargazer.

"Lights off!" Stargazer commanded the house computer, and the room was plunged into nearly complete darkness. "Now this is how things should be," shi murmured.

A few moments later, Alison said, "Now I wonder what’s prodding me in the back?"

Stargazer answered, "Probably the same thing prodding me in mine."

"I can tell that living with you two is going to be fun."


Alison returned home the next morning in time for her usual start for work, and found Angela in the workshop already. Her sister gave her a curt nod of acknowledgement, but didn’t speak to her all day. Nevertheless Alison was relieved because they had both worked too hard to get their business going to let it fail because they could not work together any more. Now though, Alison was pretty sure that hir sister would work off her anger, even if it took her weeks.

Over those weeks, Alison still stayed mostly in the apartment, only meeting with Stargazer and Wyatt at the café after work. About twice a week though, she would go with them to their home and stay the night, or go out on a date with one or both, and then go to their home. Angela eventually started talking to her sister again, and things returned virtually to normal again. She never visited the café any more though, much to everyone’s relief.

One day, about sixteen weeks later, Alison excitedly informed Stargazer of some news.

"Angela has found herself a boyfriend – another cougar guy. He’s far better suited to her temperament however, and practically dotes on her."

"That’s excellent news," Stargazer replied.

"So you think she’s finally put us out of her head?" Wyatt asked hopefully.

"She talks all day about him; I think you’re officially old news."

"Suits me fine," Wyatt said with some relief.

"How’s it affecting you?" Stargazer asked.

"When he’s visiting, I feel like I’m intruding, even though it’s my home."

"You could spend more nights with me whenever he’s there," Stargazer suggested.

"Y’know, that’s a pretty good idea."

"I’ve got a better idea," Wyatt said. "I think it’s time for you to move in with us on a permanent basis."

"But we’re not mated," Alison objected.

"That’s easily fixed," Stargazer said. Shi reached out and took Alison’s hand in hirs and asked, "Alison, I love you. Will you be my denmate?"

Tears of joy welled in Alison’s eyes. "Yes! Definitely yes, my love!"


Alison moved in with Stargazer and Wyatt the next Seventhday. Coaldust threw her a big party, welcoming her as a new daughter-in-law. Alison told Angela that the apartment was all hers now, and wished her sister and her beau good fortune with their relationship. The sisters continued working together though, and the business really started paying dividends. Stargazer and Wyatt’s careers also began to take off, and eventually Alison decided the time was right. Nearly exactly a year after she had met the unusual chakat-cougar, she told hir what she had decided.

Three days later, Stargazer came home, excitedly towing Alison behind hir, leaving a grinning Wyatt to close the door after them. Shi raced into the living room where Coaldust and Tam were relaxing and burst out, "Mom! Dad! Alison’s pregnant – I’m going to be a daddy!"

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Link: Return to the Forest Tales main page.

 

Link: Return to the Chakat's DenTM main page.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both orgasmed quickly, but they were quickly building up to another. When Alison cried out in rapture again, Stargazer let her enjoy the feeling for a few moments before tipping her off.

"Get on your knees," shi told her.

Alison quickly did so, and Stargazer mounted her. Leaning over Alison’s torso, Stargazer put hir arms around her and placed hir hands on Alison’s breasts. Shi started fondling them and teasing her nipples before shi started vigorously thrusting. After a few minutes, shi started pounding her hard in the throes of ecstasy, filling her with hir seed as shi brought the cougar fem to coitus once more.

Spent for the moment, the pair, still linked, slumped sideways and lay on the sheets while panting hard from their exertions. Eventually Alison said, "Star honey, have you also got the stamina of a chakat?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Good, because you’re going to do that to me again!"

"Ali, I was planning to do exactly that."

The couple did do it again, and after a rest break while they fondled and petted each other, they did it once more but face to face this time.

 

Click to go back to the main story.