"A fourth! She was sixteen and already had three children?"
"The fourth can come in any order,” he reminded her. “In this case it would be her first, leaving her free to remain with her love thereafter and bear only his babies."
"Except that she is in love with you."
"We were traveling companions. No fault."
She merely looked at him, canny as women were about such things.
"She loves me,” he agreed with regret. “Or at least with the idea of having a fourth by the King of Chroma."
"She will survive it, as will I. The fourth will be a fine consolation for us both."
"I have not promised you a fourth."
"You may not be able to avoid it."
"I refuse—"
She took hold of his head and kissed him with surpassing expertise. She had evidently had good experience somewhere. And she was correct: he might not be able to avoid it. She had already demonstrated her ability to bring him to full sexual expression when she was ready for it, and any such act could be fertile if the woman wished it to be. She was a good deal more woman than he had first taken her for.
The wagon settled down to the landing at the edge, and they crossed to the next Choma, which was silver. During the pause as they waited for the next magical lift, they entertained the merchant families again. By popular request they repeated the ghost girl skit, and this time took it farther: several years later, when the Boy was grown, he encountered a woman who for a moment looked familiar. Then her hair fell before her face, shimmering, and he understood.
"You are she!"
"In a manner,” she replied. “The girl liked your look, but could not approach you. She agreed to give me occupancy if I could bring you to her."
"Oh, yes!” he agreed. And so for the first time he was able, in a fashion, to actually touch and be touched by the woman he had come to love. He embraced her and kissed her. delighting in the contact. “But I still want to watch you change,” he murmured in her ear.
"What do you think I am?” she demanded with feigned shock.
"My beloved,” he said.
"But the woman whose body I borrow may not understand."
"I will marry her, if you stay."
"I will let her speak for herself.” The Ghost faded.
"Yes!” the woman exclaimed.
The children applauded, and the adults seemed satisfied. The lesson had been more than made: ghosts could be more important than mere spooks. Whether a woman should so blithely marry a man she hardly knew, when his love was for the ghost within her, was a question for another session.
In two more days they came to their destination Blue Chroma, and bid parting to the caravan.
"Satisfaction,” the foreman said.
"Pleasure,” Havoc and Stevia said together.
They were now at the fringe of the Chroma zone, and needed to make their way to the interior. They bargained with the local personnel, trading a brief entertaining show for animal transport. The animal turned out to be a blue elephant: six legs, a prehensile trunk, a prehensile tail, and considerable intellect. It could understand and respond to full sentences.
Havoc gave it the coordinates, and it set off, carrying the two of them in a small tower mounted on its back. They made good progress over rough terrain; this zone was mountainous. Much of it seemed trackless, but the elephant set its huge feet carefully on secure ground, used its trunk and tail to brace itself on steep slopes, and occasionally made grandiose little leaps across fissures. When something hostile was in the way, it trumpeted warning, and the creature gave way.
In due course it brought them to the location. It used its trunk to lift each of them down to the blue ground. “Appreciation,” Havoc said. “Please check once a day at this spot for us, as we shall need you for our return.” The elephant nodded, then disappeared into the blue jungle.
They surveyed their situation. They were at the edge of a mountain lake whose blue waters wound irregularly through the valley between rounded peaks. It was a pretty monochrome scene.
"You understand,” Havoc said carefully. “We both will have to take ad hoc partners for this portion of the mission."
"I am eager for it. It will warm me up for you on the return trip."
She was certainly open about it. The truth was, he was getting interested as he fathomed her wider personality. He wasn't sure whether her shape was improving, or he was simply attuning to it. “I am not sure how we get in touch."
"Make a commotion,” she suggested.
Havoc smiled. He put his hands to his mouth and called: “Greeting! We are travelers needing assistance."
In a moment there was a stir in the water. A blue head broke the surface. “Male or female?” a woman's voice called.
"One of each."
"Are you healthy?"
"Yes."
"Perfect.” The head disappeared, but in a moment reappeared closer to the shore, with a second head beside it.
Soon two human figures stood in the shallow fringe, male and female. Both had webbed hands and feet, with gill slits in their necks, but were otherwise well formed humans. The man had muscular arms and chest, and the woman was spectacularly breasted, probably because of similar muscle underlying her mammaries. Their sexual anatomy was normal.
"I am Theme Guirl,” the woman said. “This is my husband Thesis Buoy."
So they had normal given names but watery gender identifications. “I am the minstrel Hayseed,” Havoc said. “This is my companion Stevia.” Stevia gave the mer folk a pleasant gray smile.
"Do you understand the protocol?"
"We must keep sexual company with the two of you for the duration of our association."
"Do you understand why?"
"We don't object, but do not understand why."
"It is for the second."
"The second?"
"The fourth!” Stevia exclaimed.
Theme glanced at her. “Yes, we are more closely interbred, so must breed out every second time. I am in heat, and a breeding in the coming few days will surely take."
"I am not in heat,” Stevia said, somewhat sourly considering her normal sweetness.
Thesis laughed. “It doesn't have to take, for you. It is our merfolk population we are concerned about. But we buoys honor the convention in the same degree as the guirls do. Fair is fair, withal."
Havoc smiled understandingly. Males of human derivation typically liked to have sexual relations with as many young women as was feasible, while females preferred to avoid such variety. So the mer guirl had to breed out, while the mer buoy did it for pleasure. Thesis would perhaps be pleasantly surprised by Stevia's enthusiasm.
"Curiosity,” Havoc said. “How can you maintain full water readiness as a subspecies if you are constantly half diluted by landbound stock?"
"Our salient qualities are dominant,” Thesis explained. “Gills, webbed digits, and certain internal adaptations. So we maintain breedability with the larger pool, while retaining our specialization. However, on occasion an offspring will lack a key attribute, and will be confined to land. We do not waste these individuals; they settle at the shoreline and serve as couriers to other settlements. This facilitates species rapport. Should we have to contact the landbound authorities in Triumph City, for example, we would not have to depend on non-mers whom we might not fully trust; we have our own. There are also certain chores like refuse disposal that are best confined to land."
Havoc nodded. “You have worked it out well."
"What is the assistance you require?” Theme inquired. She was evidently the dominant member of this family, or perhaps it was that she was the one who had to find a suitable partner for her second.
"We must go to a particular site, and fetch what is there,” Havoc said. Then he gave the coordinates.
Theme and Thesis exchanged a glance. “That's a bad site,” Thesis said after a moment. “Close to the volcano, and the flow of water in that region would be from the volcano."
"Strong magic?” Havoc asked.
"Uncomfortably strong. We shall have to plan for a rather swift, precise penetration, getting clear promptly."
"You should have no problem with that, dear,” Theme told him, though her smile was a bit strained.
"Always nice to be appreciated,” the mer buoy said, spanking her bare bottom.
"Don't you touch me,” she protested with more of a smile. “That belongs to Hayseed for the duration."
"Apology.” He stepped forward and delivered a similar spank to Stevia's clothed posterior.
Theme beckoned to Havoc with four webbed fingers. He stepped across and spanked her blue buttocks. They were surprisingly firm and springy.
"Some ground rules,” Thesis said. “You will want to discard your clothing, as most of the travel will be in water. In addition, you will have to accommodate animal assistance, as we have some distance to cover, and there can be strong currents. Finally, we had better rehearse breathing."
"We can't breathe water,” Havoc said.
"Precisely. Therefore we shall assist you with mouth breathing. This takes some adjustment on the part of the recipient, so some practice before need is advisable."
Havoc and Stevia remained perplexed, but the clarification was immediate. Theme took Havoc into the water, and Thesis took Stevia, and they swam down well below the surface. The mer guirl's legs were locked together, her large webbed feet angling outward, so that they resembled a tail, and she used them in the manner of a tail. Her long hair came down around her neck and across her breasts like a cape, streamlining her upper torso. Her gills were now concealed, but the water surely was reaching them. It was clear that she was a far more efficient swimmer than he was.
Then Theme swam close, catching his hands in hers and drawing him in to her. She clasped Havoc chest to chest and face to face, and put her mouth to his as she pumped with her tail, propelling them both along. She blew into his mouth, and her breath was like sea wind, fresh and rich. Then he exhaled into her mouth, having no choice, and felt her chest expand as she took his breath. She reversed it again, and he received her breath, recharged with oxygen. She was drawing it from the water via her gills, and delivering to him via their shared parcel of air. Gills and lungs coordinating; they were separate systems, interrelating rather than merely duplicating functions. In this manner she was enabling him to breathe under the water. Thesis was doing the same for Stevia.
Havoc began to get the hang of it, fastening his mouth perfectly to hers so that no air leaked out. It was no kiss, but a business relationship, pumping the air back and forth. He would have preferred to breathe fresh air, but this was certainly better than drowning. He was impressed; these folk were not fully adapted to the water, but had achieved a marvelous compromise that made them able to function well in either medium.
Theme released him and drew away, stroking smoothly for the surface. Havoc did the same, now holding his breath. Their heads popped out of the lake almost together, and he breathed wild air again. It was a relief.
"When we travel, I will show you how to merge sexually simultaneously,” she said.
"You have sex while swimming?” he asked, surprised.
"While traveling. You'll see."
"Then what do you do at night?"
"We sleep, of course."
The other two heads popped the surface. Stevia gasped more air, though obviously she had not drowned. Havoc knew how she felt.
"They will need watertight bags,” Theme said to Thesis.
The mer buoy nodded and disappeared under the water. Then Theme ducked her own head and made a weird clicking call.
"This is interesting already,” Stevia remarked.
"They have sex while traveling,” Havoc said.
"That, too."
Thesis returned with two translucent blue bags large enough to hold their packs and clothing. Havoc and Stevia took them and put their things inside.
Two sea creatures arrived. They looked like blue dolphins, with fat sleek bodies and strong flukes. Thesis put his face in the water and spoke to them. Then he beckoned Stevia, and Theme signaled Havoc.
The dolphins were wearing harnesses that dragged large nets. Havoc and Theme got into one net, heads pointing forward, with the bag at their feet, and he saw the other couple doing similar. Theme took hold of him and put her mouth to his, though their heads were not yet under water. Her large breasts pressed against him, warming him and shutting the surrounding water out. Her web-feet curved around his ankles, holding them secure. Suddenly the dolphins set forth, dragging the nets, and they were moving swiftly down into deep water.
Havoc would have liked to look around, but two things prevented: his face was locked to Theme's face for breathing, and they were soon deep enough so that there was little light. So he breathed, satisfied that he wasn't missing much.
Now she showed him what she had promised. Without disengaging from his mouth, she stroked his body with her web-fingers, caressing his posterior. She reached between his legs from the rear, catching his penis and kneading it expertly. In a moment it became firm, and as it did, she introduced it to her cleft, so that he grew into her. Her legs had never parted, but there was enough of a channel there to provide admittance. He had never before had sex quite like this. She clenched internally, and just like that he was ejaculating into her. Neither their mouths nor their chests had changed position. She had simply locked him in place and efficiently milked him. He had not even had any great deal of pleasure from it.
His member shrank, but was not released; her flesh held him within her. Thus they traveled, locked together, buddy-breathing, and as securely connected at feet and crotch. She let him recover for a time, then began to work him again, her vagina stroking his penis into slow life and holding it there, pending the next peristaltic milking. It was not unpleasant, but neither was it particularly satisfying. The mer guirl was all business, no joy.
In due course the dolphins slowed, and the nets went slack. Theme brought Havoc out of the net without disconnecting, propelling them with flicks of her flukes. Only when their heads broke the surface did she let his face go, but held on to his member a moment longer, silently demonstrating that she still controlled this aspect. Then her muscles relaxed, and he slid out. She had milked him several times, and he had lost all interest in further sex.
They were in a moderately sized cave illuminated by faint blue light. Havoc and Stevia got on the shore. The air was comfortable, and there was some food stacked there. “We will return in the morning,” Theme said, and the two mer folk disappeared under the water.
"How was it for you?” Stevia inquired.
"I thought sex with a mer guirl would be fun. I was mistaken. You?"
"Contrast. He was most ardent and potent and sensitive to my interest. A great lover, overall."
"Surprise. She was so thoroughly businesslike it was an extraction, a chore."
"She is now a former girlfriend. Tell me all the details."
Havoc had to smile at that. “She is a current sex partner, not a girlfriend. She simply clasped me to her, put me in her, and milked me of whatever I had. I wanted to rest, but she would not let me go; she had her will of me at her leisure, repeatedly. I am utterly drained."
"Oh, let me see,” she said, intrigued. In a moment she verified that his member was lifeless. “You poor man.” But she was suppressing a smirk.
"Thesis had to remain as close to you as Theme was to me, his mouth and body locked to yours; how did he make it interesting?"
"Confession: I was teasing you. He did much the same to me. He put it in and locked it there; soon it was as if I were riding a dead post. I was afraid it was going to chafe. He may have had satisfaction of me, but I had none of him."
Havoc found this perversely reassuring. “Why were you teasing me?"
"To make you jealous, of course, so that you would be more ardent for me. It was a womanly wile."
He laughed. “It was wasted. It will be hours
before I have any further interest or capacity for sex, and then the guirl will milk me again."
"To be sure. At least we can have companionship without the distraction of sexual interest. I am no more interested in it than you are, this night. I don't even want to kiss; my mouth is raw."
Havoc agreed; his lips were bruised.
They ate of their pack rations, caught up with natural functions, and lay together on the cavern floor. They did not bother to unpack their clothes; the cave was warm enough. Stevia's hair became thick and soft, providing a place for him to rest his head. They talked of inconsequential aspects of their lives. They embraced without kissing or sexual response, making each other comfortable. Stevia was warm and soft, nice enough to be against. Perhaps it was the position, but she definitely seemed thinner about the middle, without having lost any breast or thigh.
"Do you know, I am getting to like you,” Havoc said. “With neither romantic nor sexual titillation."
She rolled over and hugged him, pressing her breasts against him without proffering either mouth or genital. “You do me great kindness. This is the first time a man has ever been this close to me, naked, without sexual inclination."
"I think its the first time I have been like this with a young woman without sexual purpose."
"But when we recover our sexuality, I mean to have yours,"
"You will surely get it."
They laughed together, and slept.
In the morning the mer buoy and guirl arrived. “From here we go deeper into the ground,” Theme said. “There will be some current, and the passages are too small for the dolphins. There will also be strong magic."
"How will that affect us?” Havoc asked.
"Uncertain, since you aren't of the Chroma. You may be untouched. But our own qualities will intensify. We shall have to get in and out swiftly, lest there be mischief."
"We understand."
Theme took Havoc, and Thesis took Stevia, as before, and locked mouths and brought them down through the blue water passages. Havoc hoped the guirl would not bother with sex this time, but he was disappointed; she clasped him close, set his member in her, and milked him as she propelled them with flicks of her flukes. It was evident that she intended to capture all the seed he could generate. He appreciated the irony: she was a shapely woman who wanted only one thing from him, and he would rather have had far less of it.