Talks By The Bay

Frein found himself in a pair of shorts, a pair of sandals, and a jacket.

“Not even a shirt?” he asked Katherine. His midsection was exposed, leaving his abdominal muscles and scars for all to see.

The bullet wound he sustained and the surgical scar on his chest were centerpieces fighting for attention. Even the stab wound right above his kidney, from when he had assisted in a major operation years ago, peeked just underneath the lightweight jacket.

“Nope, you don’t need it,” Katherine replied as she appeared from the bathroom, sporting a two-piece bikini. Her conservative nature—ironic, as far as Frein was concerned—still convinced her to add more layers, adding a new pair of shorter shorts and her own matching lightweight jacket.

The great scar from below her chest travelling across her entire midsection was out in the open, like a trophy of survival or some sort. He noticed that her bitemarks had diminished, presumably thanks to Samesia, which was understandable enough given her current fashion. Though he could see hints of them, slipping from underneath what little clothes she wore, if he looked hard enough.

“So skimpy,” Frein said, ogling at her nonstop from head to toe. “Even with the jacket, that’s so much skin.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be drooling all over everyone else’s.”

“I’m drooling right now,” he admitted. “So where are we going? We’re going to a pool or something?”

“Something like that. Did you call Enza over?”

“Yeah, she’s outside. Are you sure she can carry us both?”

“We’re not running or flying, so it should be okay. Get her some training and exercise.”

With everything prepared, the pair headed out of the training room. And like an instinctual response, Elizzel returned inside Frein’s Mind Palace.

“You don’t want to join?” he asked.

“I get a better view from here. Easier to help out when needed.”

“Don’t let Nora distract you.”

“Yep.”

Outside, Enza waited patiently while observing a canintine pacing back and forth in front of her. The receptionist suddenly jumped, surprised by their appearance.

“Kat told me what happened,” Frein said to the canintine. “Sorry about that. Are you okay now?”

She nodded frantically. “I’m alright now, thanks to Lady Katherine.” She looked over them once, her eyes were particularly glued on both their midsections. “Are you both headed for the Jump?”

“Yes, can you tell me what it’s about?”

“No, she can’t!” Katherine was quick to intercept while signaling for Enza to lie low. “It’s a surprise.”

The canintine suddenly brightened up. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll love it, Visitor Frein!”

“It’s not an everybody thing, is it?” Frein asked his girlfriend who just shook her head while mounting over Enza. He followed right after. “You good, girl?”

“Yeah, just about,” the yuma replied, walking around in a circle to test her burden. “No running or flying, but I can carry this weight.”

“Umm… excuse me?” The canintine waved at them. “Is it alright for me to clean up inside?” She pointed towards the training facility.

“Yeah, I’ve taken care of it,” Frein replied confidently. He had made sure none of his deviant eight-meiyal remained inside before they went out. “Should be safe now.”

“Alright, thank you! Have fun out there.”

“We will!” Katherine replied as she urged Enza to start walking.

The travel wasn’t that long, but Frein didn’t let that stop him from flirting—or playing, more like. His hands deftly moved along Katherine’s exposed sides, eager to feel her smooth skin. He made it a deliberate choice to avoid the parts that she chose to cover underneath her clothes.

“You removed your bitemarks,” he whispered from behind her.

“I might be as perverted and degenerate as you are, Frein. But I don’t have to go out of my way to proclaim it to everyone.” Katherine leaned on his chest, savoring the skinship. Her hands rested on his knees.

From afar, they looked nothing more than an innocent couple having a relaxing ride on top of a yuma. Enza’s wings covered most of their lower bodies. Good thing it was early in the morning as well. There were barely any people around walking on the streets, let alone was there anyone close enough to have a clean look at them.

“You’re just going to tease me the entire way, are you?” Katherine asked. She struggled to steady her breathing, her legs squirming from the pleasure of not getting touched in the right places. She had let go of her balance atop Enza, allowing Frein complete control whether she fell off or not. The Lady craned her neck upwards, asking for a kiss. When he did not respond, she licked his neck instead, occasionally running her teeth along his skin.

“We’re on top of Enza, Kat. I’m just giving you some skin.”

“Horsing around, skin contact, they’re good ways to form a bond!” Enza said, completely innocent to what was happening behind her.

“She said she doesn’t mind if we’re just horsing around,” he translated for the yuma.

“I like it a lot,” Katherine said, reaching out an arm to wrap around Frein. “We can probably horse around seriously tonight.” She pulled him close while sticking out her tongue.

“Didn’t know you had horses here in Brymeia,” said Frein, finally indulging Katherine’s request after making sure no one was around. They locked lips, exchanged fluids, and felt each other’s tongues for a good minute, before letting her go to have a breather.

Katherine exhaled. “They’re endangered, now, the horses,” she said in between breaths. “You’ll find some pegasi in some noble’s stable sometimes, but the unicorns are more cunning. I think the last sighting was in Nolomori Forest. That was when I was a kid.”

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“I should just keep teasing you,” Frein said. He rested his hands on Katherine’s thighs, unable to suppress the desire to squeeze them. “I learn a lot more this way.”

“I expect a proper reward.” Katherine leaned her entire weight on Frein, treating him like a chair. “Take a left here, Enza dear.”

The yuma, while unable to speak to others, still understood verbal commands without needing any training or bonding through the Namestones. Katherine had pointed it out yesterday, and while he already had an inkling this was the case, he still hadn’t figured out yet if the reverse was also possible.

He ventured on a guess. “Hey Enza, I’ll provide you some of my meiyal. These are heavier than usual, can you stand on the side for a bit?”

Frein motioned for Katherine to sit properly before dismounting his yuma. Enza lowered herself on the sidewalk, rather than sit on her haunches, since she was still carrying the Lady. She raised her head to show him his Namestone.

While the stone already served as a medium which allowed the yuma to utilize his Milled meiyal, a more direct touch made the process easier to control. Frein deemed it absolutely necessary, given how the current state of his meiyal had affected the canintine earlier. He slowly fed his eight-meiyal through.

Enza’s fur bristled and glowed, the sudden power forcing her up on all four legs. Streaks of white appeared on her brown coat, etching through the middle of her snout, up her back, and up to the edges of her wings. It continued down the length of her tail, causing it to extend much longer than before. Meiyal flowed out from the feathers of her wings, behaving like a trace of light. The change looked permanent and made Enza another weight class larger and stronger.

“Incredible!” the yuma exclaimed. “I feel so powerful!”

“Frein! Frein!” Katherine squealed with excitement. “I can understand her!” she said, bouncing on the saddle like a kid. She didn’t care how her current clothes made everything else that was bouncing around easier to see. “Enza, I can understand you!”

“Yay!” The yuma hopped around in circles, celebrating with Katherine who had to hold on tight. The two were giggling as if they’ve never met each other for the longest time.

Frein felt like the task to reign them both in rested on his hands, but he ignored the straight-man role and jumped around in celebration as well. He yelled with joy, catching the giant, winged canine who leapt into his arms. Siffera allowed him to carry her as though she weighed nothing.

“We should go, we should go!” Katherine said, her voice a pitch higher than usual. “Everyone should know about this!”

“I think I can fly you both!” Enza barked, too happy and giddy for her own good.

“The regulations say we still can’t fly, Enza,” Frein reminded her. “Not until the Atlas Sid lands.”

“Actually, it’s only when the grand carrier is cruising,” Katherine corrected. “It might not be obvious since we’re above ground, but we’re currently not moving.”

“How come?” Frein asked as he returned on the saddle behind the Lady. He quickly realized what she meant. “Oh, is it because of the Jump for some reason?”

“You’ll ruin the surprise!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s see if you can carry us then, Enza.”

The yuma took the middle of the street, which was still empty despite the entire time they spent nearby. Frein began to wonder if the Jump also had something to do with it, but he held the question this time. Since Katherine was so intent to keep it a surprise, though he already had some inkling for what it might be, he decided to just keep it to himself.

Enza opened her wings in a wide spread. The meiyal that flowed out of her feathers intensified. In a single bound and flap, she lifted off. Her body pushed on Frein, and he couldn’t get the feeling like someone was picking him up off his mind.

It was a surreal experience, nothing compared to riding a bike, or even a horse for that matter. He imagined this would be how it felt to ride a rollercoaster, but he didn’t have that luxury to truly compare to begin with. Each time Enza flapped her wings, he felt his center rising and his head and back fighting against gravity.

He held on, not just with his hands but also his legs, making sure he was securely strapped on Enza while avoiding too much pressure.

“Over there!” Katherine pointed somewhere, directing the yuma.

Only then did Frein realize they were actually, truthfully, flying. To see something was different than simply feeling after all. He was so busy keeping himself from falling off that he hadn’t even had the time to look around yet.

They flew in between buildings, not rising any higher on account of Katherine’s directions. While they were allowed to fly, some laws still prohibited them from going higher than intended.

Frein felt the wind rush on his face. He was thankful for Siffera once again, allowing his eyes to withstand the air as if they were nothing. Finally, he oriented himself enough to trace where the Lady was pointing.

At the same time, Enza banked and began to descend. They were headed for a boarding platform at the edge of the grand carrier. Frein could already see three other figures waiting for them. Kristel waved a hand, signaling for them as they began their approach.

The yuma flew low, handling their landing with ease as she used her wings and legs to slow their momentum to a full stop. Katherine slid off the saddle naturally, but Frein took a while.

He breathed, patting Enza by the neck. He was still undecided on whether he liked the experience or not, but he was sure he wanted to do it again.

“We’ll practice more,” he said.

“Hey guys!” Katherine started, urging everyone to huddle over Enza. “We want to show you something.”

Frein dismounted his yuma as the other three gathered around. He paid attention to Frill and Xiv in particular. They weren’t distant with each other, closer in fact. And Kristel didn’t look aggravated. A good sign that last night’s event was fruitful and would be interesting to listen to later when they have the time.

He also noticed their swimwear. Xiv was sporting the same look as he was, showing a lot of his chest and midsection underneath an open jacket. It was boring, so Frein quickly moved on, respectfully observing the other two that were more pleasant to look at.

Kristel sported a black one piece that emphasized her chest area. It made Frein realize that, while the Princess was indeed a short fellow, she excelled on other parts of her body. She layered a white jacket on top of it along with a translucent button skirt.

Frill was again, as he expected, a beautiful dancing fish. Her deep blue two-piece bikini had white and red frills that extended to a floating tail along the length of her legs. She covered her top with a translucent shawl, while the rest of her frills—made out of meiyal as Frein observed—covered her from the waist down.

They were magnificent. And Katherine was right, he couldn’t take his eyes off them. Of course, the Lady noticed it and slammed a fist down his exposed abdomen.

Air left his lungs and his Siffera went into overdrive, allowing him to recover quickly, but only after realizing that Katherine didn’t use any Meiyal Art at all.

“I told you,” she said, shaking her knuckles while applying a mild Samesia on them.

Frein straightened and gestured towards Frill and Kristel. “If they’re pretty like that, of course I’ll give them a look!”

“I sort of expected this,” Kristel said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

“Is this what you wanted to show us?” Frill asked while clenching a fist. “Is it alright if I punch you, Frein?”

“Can’t blame him, honestly,” Xiv said, gesturing over to Katherine. “That scar actually works for you, Lady Kat—I mean, Sis.”

“Oh, thank you. Frein said I should keep it.”

“I didn’t, but you’re still beautiful either way, Kat.” Frein struggled to hold a laugh when Katherine turned away and crossed her arms, trying to ignore him. It didn’t suit her, but he played along. “Alright, fine. I’ll stare at you twice over whenever I look at someone else. How’s that?”

“Fair,” she said after a pause.

“Guys, is this what you really wanted to show us?” Kristel asked this time.

“No,” Katherine said. She gestured over to Enza who was sitting on her haunches the entire time. The yuma’s tail wagged, excited to finally have her turn.

“Hello, everyone!” she said. Immediately, the three took a step back in shock. “Ha! They really can understand me!”

“She’s talking!” Xiv exclaimed, his face was torn between fright and amazement.

“Enza, is that you?” Frill asked, recovering quickly and stepping forward. “You’re so big! You look so powerful!”

“I can’t believe it,” Kristel said this time. “She can actually talk to us now! How?” she asked Frein.

The Visitor simply shrugged, too proud to explain. “Meiyal, I guess.”

Before he could actually explain any further, a chime echoed throughout the Atlas Sid. Maffelyne’s voice was sent through unseen speakers.

“Greetings, Jumpers! We will now commence the Jump in five minutes. Please standby in your respective positions.”

“Did you explain to Frein what we’re doing?” Kristel asked Katherine. She, like the rest, removed her outer clothes.

“No,” he replied instead, “but I think I know what it is now.”

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