Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil-Human Partnership Program Participant

Date [standardized human time]: August 24th, 2136. Late morning

We sat on the bed in our embrace, comforting each other.

“I could stay like this forever.”

So close were we, I cannot say for sure which of us spoke the words. I looked up at Maeve, and noticed her cheeks and throat, and even her finger pads were a vibrant red. I felt the need to ask another, hopefully easier question: “Hey Maeve?” - “Yes, Valek?” - “I’ve noticed you get red sometimes. Is this common in humans?” This question, perplexingly, caused her to get more red.

“Oh! Um. Yes, though, probably not as vibrant as I'm showing right now.” With somewhat worrying quickness, she untangled us, set me on the bed to her side, and scooted away from me.

“What does it mean? Are you sick?”

“No! No… we call it Blushing. Physically, it just means that our body is moving blood, which is Red, to places that need it more. You often see it when someone is too cold, or too warm. If they’re too cold, the blood will move inward to conserve heat, like their sides or upper leg. If they’re too warm, it will move to places that normally see a lot of wind, like their face or shoulders.”

“Oh we do that, too! We call it a Bloom. You most often see it on the snout, or sides, or between our fingers and toes; sometimes the neck if it's especially intense. It's not red though, it’s… uh, it's kind of like your hair, if I'm honest! It can be fairly pale, like a Twilight Plum, or even a dark gold, depending on the intensity!” I was excited to be the one to share, for once. “I’ve been told my bloom is very handsome!”

Maeve laughed behind her hand, trying to hide her teeth, “I can see why.” It was at this moment I started to see my own snout turning a bright orange in my near periphery. Quickly covering my face, we both started laughing at the innocence of it.

“Aaaand what can trigger a bloom?” It felt like Maeve was leading me.

How could I describe this sensation to a Predator? Maeve had shown me she is so much more than we ever thought possible of them. She constantly surprised me when she could intuit my thoughts; and I was fairly sure she was catching on to our tail signals. Maybe if I just… told her the truth?

“Really the only right answer is: when we feel good. It can happen when you get a good meal, or when you are excited for something. Or…” My tail curled apprehensively, as my eye found their way to hers, “when you spend time with… a friend?”

Maeve’s eyes refused to meet mine, and her mouth had been cracked in a grin for several minutes now. “That’s, um. Really similar to us too.” She sat up straighter, and clearing her throat, I knew to settle in for new knowledge!

“Blushing is a visual indicator of temperature regulation, as I mentioned, but it's also used to signal - um -” she smirked a moment before settling on the word, “interest.” It took considerable will and guile to keep my tail from dancing as much as my heart was, “When someone makes us feel a certain way, such as by touch or… ‘spending time with a friend’” her eyes locked with mine for a brief moment, before breaking contact and continuing, “can cause us to blush as well. Our bodies do a lot of things when we have interest so we blush quite a lot, some people more than others; and the fairer skinned, like myself, much more.”

We sat for a moment, taking a much needed breath. “This wasn't my plan, you know.” Maeve began, my tail making a mighty flick in glee, “I was so glad to share everything that makes us really Human. I really just wanted to be a teacher, and show you humanity in the best, but also clearest light possible."

"You're a very good listener, and a great learner, but more than that: you enjoy being around me, and I enjoy being around you. You show me that it's ok to be human, and remind me why it is important to be. You make me laugh, and feel safe. You challenge me when something doesn't make sense. And you show you trust me by asking hard questions, and wanting the answer even when you know it could be bad."

"I don't know how the Venlil do things, but… I think I like… I think I have feelings for you, Valek."

Steadily, my bloom had been deepening a shade a moment. Based on what I could see of my snout, I'm sure I looked like one of those giant carrots from the mess hall earlier. I moved closer to Maeve, but this time it was her turn to flinch. With slower motions, I sat closer and motioned for her hand, which she gave me.

"How Venlil do things," I began, "is that we normally twine tails. But as you lack one, and seeing as you use your hands for the same," I wrapped my tail around her wrist, letting my tuft rest in the palm of her hand, "I think this is more appropriate. And, just in case it wasn't clear," I stood up from the bed, and rested the broadside of my snout against her very warm cheek.

"Yes, I think I have feelings for you too."

With a squeal, Maeve tackled me to the bed, accompanied by a very undignified squeak from me. Were it not for the context of our conversation, I would almost call it a pounce! We stayed there for a time, laughing and giggling at our confessions. Maeve fully embraced the Venlil nuzzle, until I had to ask her to stop; which she did without complaint. “So what now? You're my first alien -- boy? -- friend?”

Eliciting a hearty chuckle from me, I explained, “‘Boy’. It’s ‘boy’. But it's ok, you're not the first to make that mistake and won't be the last; I hope you don't mind. I’m small for my gender, though taller than the average woman, and men tend to have fuller wool around the neck and scruff, among other differences; my parents made the oddly prescient decision to give me a more neutral name as well, so even most Venlil switch my gender frequently. Though in fairness, compared to you humans our genders are nearly indistinguishable.”

“We have a term for that called ‘Sexual Dimorphism’,” Maeve interjected,

“Right!” I responded, “We are familiar with the idea, but the word escapes me. Many of our differences lie under the skin.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Well, our reproductive organs are different. The male provides and the female receives, when her cycle allows it. Both genders developed a Scruff behind their neck in childhood, though the males’ are more pronounced in adulthood.” by now we had separated, and assumed more comfortable sitting positions on either end of the bottom bunk. “In childhood, the scruff allowed the parent to carry the child without resistance. This is still used today, but more as a punitive action than locomotive. The calmness it induces is a physiological effect, and carries through to adulthood, though slightly different for each gender.”

Understanding I had finished, she asked for clarification, “You said 'when her cycle allows it'? What do you mean by that? Can you not always breed?”

“Of course not! To be subjected to the pheromones of a cycle all the time would be maddening! Women tend to have cycles two or three times a year, for a couple of what you would call “weeks” at a time, with the worst of it being anywhere from a few days to a week. My elder sister had her first cycle while living with us, and she said it was like having a fever for a few hours a day for a week, and the most horrid impulses. When I asked, my mother said that what my sister felt was fairly mild, but gets worse as you get older for every cycle without children”

“That sounds really uncomfortable. How did she manage it?”

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“Women, especially ones with more severe symptoms, tend to lock themselves at home for a few days. My sister didn't leave her room for a week, except to take baths, and Mom was always getting her cold water and chilled fruit. My dad and I had to stay at my uncle’s for that week.”

“What happens if they don't sequester themselves?”

“Well… so this happens because when a woman enters her cycle, she starts pouring out pheromones. Men in the area can taste these pheromones, and enter their own rut; men are technically… uh, armed, at all times, but a rut does trigger breeding behaviors. Most men and women can avoid it, they feel it coming on and move to fresh air, but sometimes, things happen and men start… presenting… and if it escalates it can be a whole incident.”

“Wow…” Maeve seemed as shocked as I was when I learned about human dentistry! “How does Venlil Prime… work with that?”

“Oh we've been dealing with this for millennia, we know what we’re doing. Our buildings emphasize fresh airflow, helped along by our very reliable winds, and with the advent of climate control and scrubbers centuries ago, most indoor areas are perfectly safe. There are only one or two public incidents a year, on the whole planet!”

“You seem pretty surprised by this, Maeve? It’s true that the Venlil experience is known to be more intense, but this is pretty common among the federation. What is it like with humans?”

“Oh! Uh… man, I should have been better prepared for that question… um… so…” Maeve’s blush was coming back, and she started fidgeting again. “Before I answer that, I need to ask you something. How do your relationships work? On earth, creatures with breeding cycles are an even split ‘mate for life, no one else’ and ‘you're nearby and I’m horny, let's do this’.”

“That's fair. Um… it's complicated,”

“Yeah, same!” After a shared awkward laugh, I continued, “Most Venlil have one partner, and we stay with that partner for the rest of our lives. We decide to stay with them, and they with us, and we honor that loyalty by staying together through challenges.”

“I’m very glad the Venlil have a concept of monogamy.” Maeve interjected.

“What?” - “Nevermind, we will talk about it later. Please continue.”

“Ok… uh, right, challenges. Many Venlil, especially younger couples, do find new partners if their existing pairing is not compatible, or, when a partner is lost.” We paused for a moment, having almost forgotten the backdrop of our species’ relationship. I took a steadying breath, and continued, “It is rare, but not unheard of for more unorthodox couplings to occur. Inter-species, multiple participants, some Venlil even find their rut to be thrilling, and organize private gatherings. They’re… not well thought of. But they do exist.”

“So if, god forbid, our relationship doesn't work out, you'll be ok? I don't want to corner you into a relationship that, by most points of view, won't go anywhere.” Maeve asked worriedly.

“I would be very sad. I am very attached, and I would like to continue a life with you, if you will have me, as a friend, or more, or less. But you don’t need to worry. I would recover eventually and, with luck, find another partner.” I said matter-of-factly; trying very hard to hide my sadness at the idea of life without her.

“I’m glad, and I would love to continue to have you at my side, in whatever capacity we can make work,” she said, smiling warmly. How odd. It had been less than a week and I was already seeing their toothy visage as anything more than a grimace, much less warm! Maybe this could work.

“Thank you for that context, with that in mind.” Maeve continued, “Humans do not have a breeding cycle, rather the male and female are biologically prepared to conceive any time. We do have pheromones, and they do influence our decisions, but the strength of their influence is debated. The current understanding is: they do not override our will or reasoning, and we can choose who, when, and why we choose to couple.”

“Do you not have the impulse to breed? How do you know when the time is right?”

“We do have impulses to breed, ideally with a partner, but when a willing partner is not present, we simply stimulate ourselves.”

“I don’t follow?”

Maeve seemed slightly shocked “Wait, really? How do you handle your impulses without satisfying them?”

“We only get into rut, only get these impulses, in the presence of pheromones. If there are pheromones present, and they are not our chosen partner, we remove ourselves from the trigger, and those impulses go away.”

“But what about the women? Is the only way to curb their cycle with a partner?”

“With a productive mating, yes. That's why they lock themselves in. We even have a dedicated food delivery service for it.”

“That is… honestly boggling to me. So how it works with a human is: these impulses press you to attempt to mate. Which means if you mate, these impulses go away. The idea is that, if you trick your brain into thinking you have successfully mated, these feelings go away.”

“And how do you trick your brain?”

“Remember when I said we evolved to hold?” I was confused for a moment, before Maeve raised her hands and wiggled her fingers at me.

“No!” I whispered, aghast.

“Yes!” she declared with a giggle, “We are very good at petting, and not just our friends.”

“But how do you trick your brain? It can't be anything like the real thing!”

“You’d be surprised, but to answer your question: The human brain functions almost entirely on reward and punishment chemicals; these chemicals create an undefined 'good' feeling or 'bad' feeling in your memory. This, combined with physiological responses such as increased body temperature, heart rate, perception, and pain, and context of when these are triggered, can influence how a person sees something in the future.”

“For example: When I was vaccinated as a child, the doctor who did it went too far and scraped a bone. This pain response, in addition to increased heart rate and perception, created a feeling of Fear. Such an intense memory, remembered with fear, makes me react similarly to similar situations, and now I have a severe fear of needles, and a general nervousness with healthcare environments. I know these things are good for me, and, while uncomfortable, harmless, but I still have this fear response I have no control over.”

“As a counter example: when I was younger, once during a very cold day, I was curled up under several blankets with a companion animal, and fell asleep. Now, I tend to feel better in calm environments, I enjoy being touched, I like being warm, and I like to be pressed by some gentle weight, such as a pillow or heavy blanket. The context provided with memories can change how you feel about your body’s sensations.”

“Remember when we talked about blushing? Well part of this physiological response is moving blood to where it needs it. One side effect of this is engorgement, and sensitivity. When a human has impulses, as you called them, blood rushes to several parts of our bodies, like the lips and genitals, among others, which enlarge, exposing more nerve endings to the exterior. These places have a great deal of nerve bundles, often hundreds and sometimes thousands, and exciting these nerve bundles creates very strong sensations. Again, normally these sensations are interpreted as a good thing, but some people have had different experiences.”

I was holding my tail rather tightly at this point, and very much hoping my muzzle wasn’t as vibrant as I'm sure it was. Hoping to distract myself, I commented, “I think it's the same for us. I don't know how universal my experience is, but I get really sensitive around my snout and sides, but especially my neck.” I pulled my fur aside to show the streaks of muted gold running between the tendons on my throat.

“Oh that is gorgeous!” Maeve said under her breath. “That must be why you pushed me away from your muzzle earlier, I’m sorry.”

“It's not your fault, you didn't know. The bone there lessens most sensations, especially pressure, but the velvet can get really ticklish. How about you?”

“Well in terms of sensation, very little beats out our bits. Most humans have sensitive areas in places closer to the body and away from bone. The neck, sides and belly are common, like you, but also the inside of the upper leg, and inside the upper arm. Most people like their back, though that's largely because back pain is almost endemic among humans.” She said, pointing to said areas through her clothes.

Pressing through a giggle, I stuttered, “I wouldn't m-mind experimenting, if you're up to it.”

Blushing again, she said, “I’m sure you would, but not today. Talking about this has made me thirsty though, wanna swing by the mess and grab something?”

“Oh that sounds fantastic! Let's pass through Medical, though, I wanna check if chocolate is safe or not, first.”