by L. M. Brown
“I have no idea.”
“Aren’t you jealous at the idea of him taking others into his bed?”
“No. He does what he needs to survive. I understand that.” He did understand it, but he was lying when he said he wasn’t jealous. The thought of Trix with other males was one he didn’t enjoy at all.
“Why didn’t you invite him to join you on a more permanent basis?”
Gray’s question was one Delta had asked himself several times both during his journey with Farron, and later. It wasn’t unusual for pilots such as himself to hire a permanent whore as one of the crew. Trix might have seemed happy on the Pleasure Station, but Delta should have at least given him the option of a different kind of life. One where he didn’t have to compete with other felines for every drop of cream. As he had told Farron, he didn’t want Trix in his life as an exclusive whore, but he could have asked him to travel with him as a potential mate.
“I don’t know.”
* * * *
After another two weeks of public space travel, Farron reached the feline home world of Furyne. The planet was similar in size to Cygon, but the population was clearly much bigger. How was he ever going to find one feline in the masses? If Trix was even here.
The climate was much rainier than Cygon as well, and he shook out his feathers as he stepped into the information centre and out of the rain.
Felines weren’t known for keeping their records up to date, but Farron had hope of at least finding a lead on locating Trix. He made his way to the terminals and took a seat at one of the public holo-projectors. He didn’t waste any time getting started on his search.
Some of the felines gave him curious glances, no doubt wondering what an avian was doing searching through feline records. He ignored them all. He had as much right to be there as anyone else.
With no idea of Trix’s age, his parents’ names, or the settlement he had lived in, Farron had very little to search by. It was only thanks to Brak’s snide comments that he knew Trix’s full name. Thankfully, the database also allowed searches to be filtered by gender, and included an option to search for those who were dual-gendered. The name Trixi had been given to many dual-gendered felines, and Farron checked each entry one by one, discounting those who were listed as female dominant, or those who had different markings to Trix’s grey and black stripes.
Even when he had gone through them all, there were still a dozen different potential felines who fit the criteria. He would have to check them out one at a time. He copied the details of each of them to his own handheld holo-projector and left the public terminal.
The first feline had, at least at some point, lived near the spaceport he had arrived at. Since he was the nearest, Farron decided find him first.
Trixi, as the feline introduced himself, wasn’t the Trix who Farron was searching for. The feline was friendly and wished him luck on his quest, but couldn’t help him further.
The second and third felines were both female dominant, even though their records hadn’t been updated on the database, and were also quickly discounted.
The fourth wasn’t at the last known address and the present occupant had no idea where he or she might be.
After that Farron had to travel away from the spaceport and deeper into the forests. The sky cars he travelled on were faster than the boats of Cygon, but they were still far too slow for an impatient avian who was desperately searching for his mate.
The next three felines were all home, but again, none of them were the Trix he needed to find.
When he reached the eighth residence, he was starting to worry that Trix might not even be on the database at all. Not all felines were registered, and if his family had hoped to hide the shame of a dual-gendered baby, they may have chosen not to register him in the official records. Unlike some other species, it wasn’t compulsory to record all births, and as such many were not.
After discounting the eighth feline as well, Farron went straight on to the ninth.
“Yes?” the large male feline asked as he opened the door to the home carved out of the hillside.
“I’m looking for a feline named Trix. I believe he may live here, or at least he used to.”
“Trixi? What do you want with him?”
“Is he here?” Farron asked.
“No. What do you want with him?”
“I need to find him. Do you know where he is?”
The feline shrugged. “Last I heard he was working as a whore on the Pleasure Station.”
Farron’s hopes rose and fell in quick succession. If this was Trix’s father then he had found his home, but if his family thought he was still on the Pleasure Station, it meant he hadn’t been back here.
“He’s not been back here recently?”
“Of course not. He knows there’s nothing for him here.”
Farron realised that there was nothing for him here either. He was at a dead end and had nowhere else to search.
He supposed he could check the last of the felines his search had produced, but his instincts told him that it would just be a case of discounting them. This was Trix’s former home. Farron knew it, just as certainly as he knew Trix wasn’t going to be returning here.
He thanked the feline for his assistance and left.
When he left Furyne a few days later, he was still no closer to figuring out where Trix might be. He was going to need some help to find him before his time ran out. Trix must be almost halfway through his pregnancy now, so Farron had to hurry.
* * * *
Trix had no idea what the avians were transporting, but they did a lot of travelling between spaceports. They met their business associates in shady bars and dark corners. Trix didn’t ask questions and didn’t care. He had enough to worry about.
He stood in the changing room in the clothing store and stared at his naked body. His bump was getting harder to hide. He placed his hand over his belly and smiled as he recalled the time he had spent with Delta and Farron. He knew he should be concentrating on figuring out what to do, rather than daydreaming about the past, but he saw no harm in sparing a few moments on thoughts of the best night of his life.
At three months pregnant he couldn’t hide his condition much longer. Only his baggy toga had kept it hidden until now. It wasn’t just his bump that was starting to show either. His breasts were growing too, and he knew they would soon start to produce milk for his young.
Most of the time, Poltan took him from behind, merely lifting his clothing to access his arse. He had no interest in exploring Trix’s body, and Trix suspected the novelty of fucking his female parts had long since worn off. He supposed he was lucky that Poltan kept him around and remembered to let him feed on a semi-regular basis.
He was lucky that he wasn’t starving and he had a place to sleep. At least for now. Whether the same would be true when Poltan noticed his pregnancy was another matter entirely.
Trix dressed again and returned the clothing he had been pretending to try on to the rack. He couldn’t afford to waste any credits on clothing right now.
He was halfway back to the dock when Brak approached him and steered him into an alcove.
“What are you doing?” Trix snarled. “Let go of me.”
Brak ignored him and as soon as they were out of sight he pulled aside Trix’s cloak and yanked down the front of his toga. “I knew it. You’re carrying.”
Trix pulled the fabric back over his breasts. “It’s not really any of your business, is it?”
“Does Poltan know?”
“He’s been fucking me regularly since we left the Pleasure Station. He’s not blind.” Maybe he could brazen it out and Brak would keep quiet.
Brak ran his hand over Trix’s stomach, the touch annoying but not sexual. “You’re too far gone for it to be his. I doubt he’s going to keep you around when you’re birthing another’s litter.”
“And you’d like to see me gone, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I would. I don’t deny it. And now
I see how I can bring that about.”
Trix stared at Brak and tried to give him the impression that he didn’t care about his threats. He hoped he was hiding his shaking limbs.
“Brak, I thought I saw you duck in here.”
Trix jumped as Yori appeared in the entrance to the alcove.
“Yori,” Brak said. “Were you looking for me?”
“Yes, but if you’re having some fun with Trix, I’m sure you won’t mind sharing him with me.”
Brak stepped back. “Trixi isn’t my type. I find his female attributes very off-putting, particularly during pregnancy.”
Trix snarled.
“Pregnancy?” Yori drew nearer and pulled Trix’s cloak aside once more. “Why didn’t Poltan tell us?”
“Presumably because he doesn’t know,” Brak said. “I believe Trix was hoping to pass his litter off as your brother’s, but as you can see, he’s too far along for it to be his.”
“Is that true?” Yori grabbed Trix’s arm in a tight grip.
“No, it’s not.”
“Then why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I was waiting for the right time.”
“You mean the time when you can convince Poltan that the litter is his?” Brak suggested.
Yori released Trix’s arm. “Go remove your things from the ship. You can find another fool to take advantage of.”
Trix wanted to argue. He wanted to plead his innocence. But he had known from the start that his time on the ship would only last as long as he could hide his pregnancy. He supposed this space station was as good a place as any to search for work. He wasn’t sure what he could do exactly, or how long he could continue to work for, but at least he still had the rest of the credits from Delta to help him stay on his paws.
He nodded once and walked back to the ship. He found Cheri sitting on her bed, playing a game on her holo-projector. She didn’t take much notice of him until she noticed he was packing.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“Why?”
“My time here is up,” Trix replied. “All good things must come to an end, right?”
“Poltan has found out you’re pregnant?”
Trix stumbled and turned to stare at Cheri.
“I’m not stupid or blind,” she replied. “I’ve also birthed two litters myself.”
“Oh. Brak guessed and told Yori.”
“Then Poltan doesn’t know?”
“He will soon.”
“You could tell him yourself and he may let you stick around. He seems to like you.”
“They think I kept it a secret to try to pass my litter off as Poltan’s.”
Cheri snorted. “Which would only work up until the moment you gave birth, when the species of the other parent would be obvious to anyone with eyes.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Trix said. “I knew this was only temporary anyway.”
“Do you know who the father of the litter is?”
“Not exactly.”
“But you have an idea?”
“It’s one of two possibilities.”
“Can you go find them and see if they want to accept their responsibilities?”
“One of them will be mated to someone else now.”
“And the other?”
“He travels around a lot. He’s a loner. He’s not going to want to be saddled with me and my litter.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. He spoke about how he once travelled with a group of felines, one of them had just given birth. He didn’t sound as if he enjoyed the experience.”
“He might if it’s his own young.”
“If. They might not be his. Actually, they’re probably not. I took seeds to prevent pregnancy and they were the canine ones. So chances are it’s the avian whose litter I’m carrying. And since the avian is now mated for life to another avian…”
“You’re stuck bringing up a litter on your own,” Cheri concluded. “Oh Trix. What are you going to do?”
Trix shrugged. “There’s not much I can do about the lack of a mate. I need to find a place to stay, prepare for the birth, and find a new food source.”
“Not much chance of that round here,” Cheri reminded him with a nod out of the view port where a large no feeding felines sign adorned the wall.
“Not much choice, either,” Trix said as he finished piling everything into his trunk and bag. Maybe he could find another benefactor here in the docks. Poltan hadn’t been so bad, all things considered. He hadn’t hurt him and he’d kept him fed. Surely there were other halfway decent males out there too?
Cheri helped him drag his trunk off the ship. Brak was lingering at the foot of the ramp and she hissed at him. Trix made a crude human gesture towards him, knowing that he would recognise it for the insult it was.
“Good luck,” Cherie said.
“Thanks. You take care.”
“I’ll be fine. And you should think about trying to find the canine. If there’s even the slightest possibility the litter is his, he might want to know.”
“What happened to your litters?” Trix asked.
“One is with their father, the other is with my parents,” Cheri replied. “I’ve no idea who the father of the second litter was.”
“Why aren’t you with the father of the first litter?”
“He already had a mate, but she couldn’t conceive. Now they have a family.”
“But you don’t.”
Cheri shrugged. “One day I’ll find my mate and we’ll have a family of our own.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I have to believe it.”
Trix gave her one last hug, snarled at Brak again, and made his way to the desk where those looking for work were queueing. He hoped there was something suitable for a pregnant feline.
* * * *
Farron was very tired of waiting around. He had been cooling his feet for most of the day. It had taken him seven days to reach Lupalia, and now he was sure he was going to be stuck dealing with the canine bureaucracy for just as long.
“I’m sorry, but that information is confidential,” the latest snooty canine, in a long line of them, pointed him away from her desk.
“But I need to find him,” Farron insisted. “It’s vitally important.”
“Nevertheless, the Canine Port Authority cannot release information about their staff without the permission of the canine. If you had his permission…”
“And how am I supposed to get his permission if I can’t find him?” asked Farron, in an annoyed and sarcastic voice of his own.
“Perhaps you should have thought about that before you parted company with him.”
“But I didn’t know then that I would need to find him again.”
“Well, next time you’ll probably be better prepared.”
“I’m hoping there isn’t a next time. Can you at least tell me what port he’s due to come back to? That way I can make sure I’m there to meet him.”
“The Canine Port Authority doesn’t hold that information. He can come back to whatever port he wishes.”
Farron smacked his hand down on the counter. “If you can’t help me, can you direct me to someone who can?”
“I believe you’ll find that all canine companies operate under the same laws, regarding confidentiality.”
Farron sighed and finally stepped away from the desk. In his experience, canine companies were most unhelpful.
He paced the floor as he considered his options. He was on his third circuit of the room when he realised he was being beckoned. The canine gestured for him to follow through a door marked Staff Only.
“You won’t get anywhere with that bunch,” the canine said. “It’s more than their jobs are worth to give out information without the proper permissions.”
“So I see.”
The canine gave him a grin. “Of course, there are those who aren’t opposed to helping our avian allies, for the right pric
e.”
Farron grimaced as he wondered how much this shady character was going to charge him. At least now he could access the swan clan communal funds. “Can you get me the information I need?”
“Some of it.”
“Which part?”
“I can tell you where he was headed and from what port. Like the clerk said though, he can come back to whatever port he likes.”
“That’s no good if I’m waiting at the wrong one.”
“No, but you could get a message to him to tell him you’re waiting at this one.”
“I thought I needed his flight deck code to get a message to him?”
“While he’s off-world. But when he checks in at any canine port, he’ll be able to pick up all the stored messages that are waiting for him. We have ports on every planet we trade with, including wherever it is your friend has gone.”
“And you can get a message to him?”
“Like I said, for the right price.”
“And that would be?”
“Meet me at the Watering Hole across from the port in one hour. We’ll discuss prices then.”
Farron nodded. “Thank you… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
The canine disappeared through another door without answering. Farron didn’t care that he had ignored his question. Getting the information about Delta and finding Trix were all that mattered.
The Watering Hole was typical of a bar found near spaceports. Full of travellers who were killing time while waiting for crafts to arrive or depart. A large circular dome in the middle of the room showed a 3D live game where two groups of canines were chasing round a field, leaping obstacles and tackling each other to the ground. It seemed rather violent and brutal, but the crowd gathered around weren’t bothered. They cheered and placed bets as the two teams scored points with each circuit of the field.
Farron got himself a drink and sat at the bar to wait. He hoped Delta wasn’t already back on the planet and getting ready to take off again. He didn’t think he could risk waiting here on Lupalia indefinitely.
