<i>Business of Politics</i>

“Mmm.” Kikata's voice hummed pleasantly as she lay upon her stomach in her room, feeling a soothing warm sensation tingle over a new section of her back. Tiny steps sent tingles over her increasingly sensitive skin. “This feels so nice.”

Richard smiled, holding a sort of mop like tool in his hands which he used to spread a white colored massage gel over Kikata's lower back. He didn't bother replying to her compliments, from here he would have to raise his voice to actually speak with her. His bare feet practically slid across her smooth, and now slick skin as he gathered some more of the gel in front of the mop before making his way towards the right side of her torso. He glanced over to the area that he had already completed, catching a glimpse of her still shining rear end, perhaps one of his favorite areas whenever he did this, whenever her tail moved out of the way. To some it may have been seen as a chore, but he rarely refused an opportunity to lather his losolo like this. Sure his arms got a little tired, though that was a regular occurrence for him when pleasuring Kikata, but the satisfaction numbed whatever hardship it brought him. Pleasing Kikata was unlike anything he would have known before her. He was too small to hold her, to cradle her gently in his arms. In some ways the roles of masculinity had to be changed. It was times like this that he felt like he was serving a goddess, and the view around him certainly strengthened this idea. Beautiful, smooth skin surrounded him with such a scenic landscape that would slope over pleasant hills into the distance. And then to know this landscape loved him in return. To know that it held so much potential power over him, but would only treat him gently and would in fact work to please him. It made him not miss being the larger and stronger one.

Eventually, as time rolled by, Richard was able to sit himself down on Kikata's shoulder, her freshly coated skin radiated heat which made for a very comfortable bed for him to rest on. “Fall asleep?” He asked.

“Mmm. Not this time.” Kikata said softly. Her eyes remained closed as she rested the left side of her head on the pillow, her arms buried beneath it. “Girls don't know what they're missing. Thank you, lolo.”

Richard smiled to himself and closed his own eyes, “You earned it.”

Kikata's lips spread into a wide grin, “I'll pay you back somehow.”

“Can't wait.”

Kikata laughed lightly, “Well wait a little bit. I don't want to move ever again.” Her eyes opened and her neck arched so she could glance towards him, “Come kiss me.”

Richard groaned, rolling onto his stomach. He planted his face against her skin, giving it an exaggeratedly big kiss.

“No!” Kikata cried out, “My lips. If I move I'll lose the tingles!”

“Yes my queen.” Richard said slowly getting back to his feet. He slid down her shoulder onto the pillow, grinning as he approached Kikata's face. She closed her eyes, and tilted her chin towards him, puffing her lips out. He placed an arm on her upper lip, the corners of her mouth turning upwards slightly, and then rested his own lips on her bottom lip. Her lips gently scrunched around his head, an embrace that took a little while getting used to so many years ago.

Kikata grinned, her bright white teeth flashing in Richards face, “Cuddles!” She said, lifting her chin slightly so Richard could nestle up against her neck.

~ ~ ~ ~

Issac was surprised to see Atrix sitting down in the community quarters. He was on his way to the gym for what would likely be another half-assed workout. He had given up going with Richard most days, he preferred to do it alone regardless of how little he accomplished.

What was perhaps most surprising was that Atrix, rather than staring purposefully in the opposite direction of him, was looking right towards him. She had her small, fluffy pet on her lap and looked quite nervous.

“Hello.” Issac said, raising his hand in a small wave.

“Hi.” Atrix called back. She brought the small creature to her chest and took a deep breath as she stood up. “Um.” She started, taking a tentative step forward.

“What's up?” Issac asked.

Atrix blinked, glancing around herself nervously before taking another step forward. “I-I.” She said. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, “I just wanted to. Ehh. Say thank you?”

Issac tried not to react to her odd wording. He shrugged his shoulders, “For what?”

Atrix opened her eyes, her thumb rubbing along Jo's back, “For...well, helping with Prila...I'm sorry I'm so bad at this. I'll leave you alone. I'm sure you're busy.”

Issac shook his head, “No I'm not busy at all...And you're welcome, I suppose. I am just doing my part.”

Atrix smiled, quickly, before it disappeared. “Your part? But, you never knew her? Did you?”

Issac shook his head, “Never met her myself. But the way everyone speaks of her, I am sure she is worth the effort. Besides, my job was rather fun until I got caught.”

Atrix's eyes widened, “You got caught?”

Issac laughed, “It was kinda' funny. Looking back on it now...Though at the time I nearly shit myself.” Issac clamped his hand over his mouth, “Oh sorry.”

Atrix eyed him curiously, clearly missing a few of the vocab words, “For?”

“Never mind. So uh, what have you been up too?” Issac said, changing the subject.

Atrix pursed her lips, “Nothing really. I feel kind of out of place. I wish I could have helped.”

“I'm sure we'll need you soon enough.”

Atrix tried to force a smile, but when it didn't really pan out she glanced away from Issac, “So. Prila is definitely alive?”

“Yes.”

Atrix nodded her head slowly, “And do we know where she is?”

Issac frowned, “Not yet. We are attempting to track the signal... And Kina has offered to keep her eyes and ears open for us.”

“Does any of it make sense?”

Issac shook his head, “To me it doesn't. Maybe Richard or Kikata have more of a clue than I do about it. I'm still new at all of this stuff.”

“Yes. I trust them.” Atrix said. Her eyes fell on Issac briefly before once again darting around the room. She was proud that she had made it in the coversation this far, a fact that nearly caused her to relapse into her own mind. She was eager to seem normal, to leave a good impression. “So...” She started, trying to think of where a normal person would take the conversation next, “What are <i>you</i> up too?” She fought the urge to lower her ears, why did she have to emphasize her words so awkwardly?

Issac smiled, “Oh...I was going to go to the gym but-” He shrugged his shoulders, “I'm no good at it. I was glad you were here to give me something else to do.”

Atrix's smile held this time, “Ey!” She exclaimed, it was the Cho languages equivalent to the human phrase, “oh!”

Issac glanced down to the little animal in her hands, “So, who is that?”

Atrix held her hands out from her chest, “Jo.”

“He's cute.”

“Yes. And so soft. Would you like to meet him?” Atrix asked.

“Erm.” Issac took a step back, “Does he bite?”

Atrix shook her head, “No! He wouldn't hurt anyone. He knows better.” She leaned forward slightly and set Jo on the balcony. The creature seemed rather calm at the moment, sniffing idly at the floor and the chair beside him.

Issac took a few tenative steps towards the grizzly bear sized creature, he seemed less intimidating in Atrix's hands. He did his best not to move suddenly. The creature, or Jo as she referred to him, glanced up towards Issac once he was close enough, sniffing at his pants, then his hands, before looking elsewhere, he didn't seem very interested. Issac placed a hand onto Jo's neck, or at least where the neck would be if this pile of fur had one. “He's soft.” Issac said, “He must be all hair.”

Atrix laughed, “You should see him wet.”

Issac chuckled, imagining a dog he had in his childhood that would drop seemingly half its size whenever she got into water. “So how old is he?”

Atrix pursed her lips, “Prila got him sometime last cycle...I'm not really sure how that translates.”

“I think a cycle is something like a year and a half for us...So he's still young.”

Atrix nodded, “Yes. Though I looked after him all the time. Prila was always going on trips.”

Issac glanced up towards Atrix, “You'll have to tell me about her sometime.”

Atrix's smile softened, her gaze seemingly to look beyond him and Jo, “She was...is...great.”

“So I hear.” Issac said lifting his hand from Jo's head, he watched as he started to investigate the rest of the balcony.

“Have you heard much about her?” Atrix asked curiously. She noticed several stools beneath the balcony and pulled one out, her feet unable to touch the ground once she sat herself ontop of it.

Issac shrugged, “Just random stories I guess. And what I've seen on the link.” (The “link” as Issac refers to is a slag term for social networking sites, not so unlike Facebook).

Atrix nodded, she felt a pressure in her chest, but it was not like the usual pain or squirming that she usually got when she tried to hold conversations. She wasn't quite sure where to continue, but she wasn't exactly in a rush to stop talking.

“So uh. I hear we are all going to some big dinner, thing. Apparently Richard's and Kikata's students had some big find, or something. Apparently there's a ceramony.”

“Yes. Kikata told me. She also insisted I attend.” She frowned.

Issac noticed the change in expression and posture in Atrix, the way her ears dipped lower, all body language he wasn't all too familiar with yet. “Not looking forward too it? I hear we were invited to some like, ten star restaurant. I'm kind of curious what that will be like.”

Atrix grew a little nervous, “I-It is not that I do not like nice food, or anything. It is just...” She glanced away from him trying hard not to start fidgeting.

“Don't like the crowds?” Issac asked. He was almost certain that was the answer, as he was aware of her condition and what went along with it.

Atrix's gaze met Issac for a moment before darting away again, “I-I...Yes.”

“I know the feeling.” Issac said, sitting down finally in one of the comfortable chairs closest to the balcony wall.

“You do?” Atrix asked.

“Sure. I mean I hated doing stuff like this when I was younger. My ideal dinner is at home, maybe infront of the computer. I'm not so much like my brother. I am no good at the social scenes or anything like that.”

Atrix was intrigued, “But, you seem like you socialize well?”

Issac laughed, “I've improved. In school I never talked to anyone really. Not unless I had too. I don't think I said a single word to any girl until maybe my senior year of high school.”

“Senior year?” Atrix asked, not quite sure what that meant.

“Oh...sorry. It's like...My last year at the early stages of schooling...I'm not too familiar with Neko education systems so-”

“I think I understand. I didn't really attend regular school though.” Atrix clasped her hands beneath the balcony, “But go on?”

Issac wasn't really sure what she wanted to hear, he rubbed his chin, “Yeah. I mean, my brothers were always sort of popular. They did well in sports, they had highschool girlfriends, all of that. I only had my small group of friends throughout, and we spent most of our time playing video games or anything else that required minimal social activity. And it's not like I regret it, I enjoyed myself. But eventually, you know, I wanted to experience something different. So slowly I became more social. I'm still no good with girls though.”

Atrix nodded her head slowly. She was surprised to hear some of her own experiences being told. She desperately wanted to undergo the change as he had. “I wish I could get better.” She said, she didn't even mean to say it out loud.

Issac looked up towards her, “I'm sure you can. We can start practicing at the dinner?”

“It's so soon though.”

Issac shrugged, “If you get uncomfortable we can just pretend it's just the two of us. You seem comfortable now?”

“Think that will work?”

“Why not. Though I'm not really an expert.”

Atrix laughed. She wasn't sure why it struck her as funny. And perhaps she over did it. But by the time she caught herself she was leant over the balcony. She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“Did I...erm...Laugh on you?”

Now Issac laughed, “Laugh on me?”

Atrix kept her hand over her mouth, “Did I breath too hard on you?”

“It must have missed me.” Issac said, though he did infact get hit with a rather large, warm gust of wind.

Atrix lowered her hand, revealing a slight smile, “Oh. Good.” She said.