It had been another hard day of us Naethari training both our bodies and our magic. The marine park in Orlando was on schedule to be opened in three weeks on Saturday, May the sixth. That was three weeks away and we would likely be moved a couple of days before opening, though we still weren’t sure exactly when or how that transport would take place. Pierce either didn’t have the plans finalized yet, or he was being paranoid and didn’t want to reveal them until the last moment.

We, on the other hand, had plenty of plans. We had one plan in case he decided to send us by truck and another in case he was going to send us by air. We also had plans in case Pierce didn’t tell Maddie and Nat what the travel plans were until the last minute. In that case, each of us Naethari had been equipped with tiny tracking devices so our rescuers could follow us. Just in case Pierce decided to split us up for some reason, we had each been given a separate one that Nat had tied into our long hair to hide them.

That’s not to say that Pierce wasn’t making any preparations for our expected trip to Orlando. Last week he had had Natalie go upstairs to the house above the bunker to pick up a package. Since the marine park couldn’t have topless mermaids and still be considered kid-friendly the package had contained bikini tops, three for each of us that matched our hair and scale colors. He had wanted plenty of time for Nat and ‘Erica’ to get us ‘beasts’ used to wearing them, and to someone putting one on us every morning before we arrived at our new home/prison.

So every morning Natalie would give us a clean bikini top to put on and take it back for washing before she and Maddie left at the end of their work day. Each of the tops had the logo for the new marine park on the left breast but I wasn’t going to complain since it allowed me to cover up my nakedness during the day. I didn’t mind being bare-breasted in front of the other Naethari, Maddie, or Nat but it made me feel more vulnerable when Pierce and the other humans that served him were around. I think we all felt that way, except for Kieshala. She found the tops constrictive, not that that was surprising since she had told us that Naethari usually don’t wear anything other than occasionally decorative jewelry.

We hadn’t heard a peep from Hart yet unless you counted the baleful glare that she had subjected Natalie to when she had gone upstairs to get our bikini tops a week ago. I was worried about that too since she didn’t strike me as the most patient of people and she definitely had a mad-on for me after I took her voice, possibly Natalie too. I sighed and once again tried to clear my mind of all the thoughts and worries in an attempt to go back to sleep.

I had had another nightmare of my torture and while they had been becoming less common as the weeks passed, their effect on my psyche hadn’t seemed to get any better over time. I was about ready to give up and start practicing with my shapeshifting again when Kara’s voice slipped into my mind. ~ Another nightmare, Babe? ~

~ Yeah, but there’s no need in us both not getting any sleep so I’ll just quietly practice with my aetral on the other side of the pool so I don’t disturb anyone. Go back to sleep, Sweetheart, I’ll see you in the morning, ~ I told her as I kissed her tenderly.

I was on my way to the far side of the pool where I wouldn’t disturb or wake anyone when I realized that Kara was following me. She continued to tag along to the far side of the pool and I was about to tell her that she should get some sleep when she wrapped me up in her arms and planted a kiss on me that would have curled my toes if I had still had them. She also pre-empted my advice by saying. ~ How can I sleep when I’m worried about the girl I love, Naiya? If you need a distraction to get your mind off of the nightmares, then I offer myself. I’m sure that I can do something to distract you, and then we’ll both get some sleep. ~

Her kiss became insistent and my heart began to race as her hands joined in. One hand lovingly caressed my right cheek and then my ear as her other arm pulled me in close. She hesitated when her fingers touched my tail and she briefly broke off the kiss, looking into my eyes. ~ If you’re uncomfortable at any time we can stop. ~ She was asking permission and letting me know that a word from me would stop what we were starting. She knew that I still froze up sometimes when people touched my tail, and she didn’t want to freak me out.

My breath hitched in my throat as I sensed the love and desire in her mind and I gave the barest nod. Her fingers caressed my tail for a moment as if to reassure me that she would never do anything to harm me before gently stroking the base of my shalkai and sending new pleasurable sensations up my spine. Then her fingers traced their way agonizingly slowly up to my navel, causing me to shiver in pleasure. Finally, the shivers that she was causing increased tenfold when she cupped my breast and started to tease my nipple.

I was barely aware of the soft moan that I had let slip out under her touch, a moan which was silenced by her lips once again devouring my own in love and desire. My dreams were forgotten as I kissed her back just as eagerly and my hands began to roam, eager to reciprocate the feelings that she was instilling in me. Aside from the feelings that her touches, kisses, and caresses were producing on their own, there was also a pleasant warmth building up in my loins that was quickly spreading to my belly and beyond, filling me with sensations that I had never realized existed before.

The more we kissed and ran our hands lovingly over one another’s bodies, the more sensitive my body seemed to become until even the lightest touches made me moan, gasp, or roll my eyes back in ecstasy. Soon we were a tangle of probing and caressing hands and twitching tails, trying to eke ever more wonderful sensations out of one another. I had sensed the shifting of scales at my groin but I hadn’t really realized consciously what that might mean until Kara’s hand moved down there.

Her mere touch was like I had been hit by lightning but that was only a prelude to what was to come. Once she actually started moving her fingers down there and slipped one inside of me, I lost the ability to think straight. When I finally climaxed, it was as if I had fallen into the sun, my entire world seemed to have been narrowed down to the heat within me and the incandescent light filling my mind. It was like bathing in light and joy.

After I recovered, my focus was narrowed to only three things; the girl that I loved, the amazing things that she was making me feel, and trying to make her feel just as amazing. I felt that my efforts were probably clumsy and inexperienced compared to Kara’s though. After all, she had known that she was a lesbian and probably had experience with her own body, while I had only been female for a month or so and never had any kind of sexual experiences before this.

That didn’t stop me from trying my best and attempting to reproduce what she was doing to me though. In fact, it made me even more determined to give as good as I got. I loved Kara, I trusted her, and I wanted to show my feelings for her. I wanted her to sense my feelings for her not just in my mind as we whispered sweet nothings but in the way that I touched her and brought her to climax as well.

We climaxed several more times and each time it just seemed to spur us on further until things had reached a fever pitch. We were kissing passionately, caressing one another frantically, and our tails were entwined and coiled tightly around one another’s as if we were both afraid to lose one another if we were to let go. We were almost one as our exposed vulvas were pressed tightly together, the coiling of our tails and constant movement rubbing them together instinctively, causing us both to climax one final time and sink to the floor to fall asleep, our tails still possessively entwined.

It was the shrill whistle that woke me the next morning. I didn’t want to get up, I felt warm and cozy, and everything seemed right with the world when I recalled what had happened before I fell into that pleasantly dreamless sleep, and I opened my eyes to find Kara and myself still locked in an embrace with our tails coiled around one another’s. Even the cramps in my nether regions didn’t bother me.

Kara’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily at me. ~Did you sleep well, Babe? ~

My answer was to lean in and plant a kiss on her. ~ Better than I have in a long time, Honey. That was… amazing. You are amazing. As much as I don’t want to let go of you right now, we should go join the others for breakfast. ~

~ We probably should, ~ my lover agreed with a nod, and we carefully uncoiled our tails so that we could extract ourselves from our embrace and go eat. Wow, it was strange to think of her that way, to think of anyone that way in relation to me. I had a lover, and just thinking about her and what we had shared last night warmed my heart.

Kieshala and Jenny were already eating as we climbed out of the pool and made our way over to the buckets with our breakfast. Kieshala glanced over at us and had trouble keeping the smile off of her face as she said, “Good morning.” Her English was really improving with all of the practice talking to Maddie and Nat but I was suddenly worried that we had woken her and Jenny up with our late-night activities. Jenny didn’t seem to be reacting though.

I was more worried about my sister and Natalie though. Maddie was wearing a tight-lipped frown while her girlfriend, who also happened to be our caretaker, looked upset about something. Natalie was quiet and withdrawn throughout our meal and then excused herself as soon as we were finished. “Sorry girls, but Maddie will be doubling as your caretaker for the next few days. I have some… things to take care of.”

“Is everything okay?” Jenny asked, her face looking as concerned as I felt. The others did too, we had all sensed something distinctly wrong as we ate and her scent was different enough to tell that something had really upset the blonde marine biologist.

Natalie just shook her head despondently at first. “No, not really. I’d… rather not talk about it right now. I have to go but I showed Maddie where to get your food and she’ll take good care of you.” With that, she gathered her things and then left with the food cart.

Kieshala frowned as we all watched her go but waited until she was gone to voice her concern. She had become close to Maddie and Natalie since my sister had come to act as our trainer and it seemed like she was worried about her friend. “Her scent… there is such… grief.”

Maddie shook her head sadly. “Nat’s parents died last night. They were trying to come to terms with her being gay and drove here from Coral Springs to meet with her for dinner and talk things out. On their way home, their car went off the road. There were no witnesses and the police aren’t saying anything yet but Mom and Dad drove out there and had a look. They’re pretty sure that Nat’s parents were run off the road.”

“One guess who,” I spat bitterly. “Have you told her yet?”

“Yeah, the chances are good that it was Hart,” my sister agreed. “She’s been openly hostile to Nat since you silenced her. I haven’t told Nat yet though, we’re waiting to see what the police say first and she has enough on her mind right now. I think that she might already suspect it anyway.”

“She should be with those who care about her during such a difficult time,” Kieshala said sadly.

“She should, but she’s an only child and she needs to make the funeral arrangements and deal with everything related to declaring them dead and dealing with their estate. I’ll try to help her once you’re all done with dinner tonight. Mom and Dad are going to tail her from a distance for the next few days to make sure that there are no more ‘accidents’,” my sister told us.

“Well, at least we know someone is keeping an eye on her until you can get out of here tonight,” Kara said with a sigh. “I wish we could help her somehow.”

Kieshala nodded solemnly, switching to speaking Naethari as she turned to look at me and Kara. ~ It is a shame that what should be a joyous day has been tainted by such tragedy. We should be celebrating today. Natalie is like a part of our clan, she should be here to celebrate with the rest of us. We could always put off the celebration until she can be here with us if the two of you are willing. ~ As good as she was starting to get with English there were still a lot of words that she didn’t know in it and subjects that were easier for her to speak about in Naethari.

“Umm… what celebration,” I asked, so confused that I hadn’t even thought to ask in Naethari.

“To… celebrate?” she paused, asking for clarification on the word before continuing at Kara’s nod. “To celebrate the two of you becoming mates.”

The comment was so well timed that Maddie sprayed out the sip of fruit juice that she had just taken and broke down into a coughing fit. As for the rest of us; Jenny, Kara, and I were all staring at her wide-eyed. “M-m-mates?” Kara finally squeaked out.

“Yes, I could smell it quite clearly when I awoke,” the sunset-hued Naethari said with a nod.

“W-w-ell yeah, we had… umm… we spent time together last night while you and Jenny were asleep but you said that it takes more than just the act of… you know… to become mated.” Kara sputtered uncertainly in reply while keeping an eye on her sister.

“I thought something smelled weird this morning,” Jenny said turning to look at us. “So the two of you…”

“Mated,” Kieshala agreed with a nod. ~ Yes, it does take more than the mere act of sex to become true mates. It requires mutual love and trust. If you both share such feelings when mating, then it is likely that you have bonded. There is, of course, one way to be certain that you are going through the third metamorphosis. ~

I tried to ignore the knowing looks that my sister was giving me as Kieshala took hold of my hand and peered at what few scales were peeking out from under my manacles. They weren’t magenta like the ones on my tail anymore, they were aquamarine, like the scales on Kara’s tail. Hers had seemed to change to match mine as well. ~See, you are mated. You may feel some discomfort for a few days as your reproductive systems become active and grow the internal organ that will allow your fluids to impregnate one another but you should feel your first kima’tah within the next few days. ~

“Congratulations, Sis. Mom and Dad aren’t going to be happy that you went and got married without telling them though,” Maddie teased with a grin once she had been caught up. Thankfully, she didn’t tease us about the fact that we’d both be going into heat sometime over the next few days.

Kieshala looked thoughtful. “They are not married yet but perhaps you are right. We should save the celebration until both Natalie and your parents can be with us.”

“We’ll have more to celebrate then too, like your freedom,” my sister agreed.

I was barely listening. Kara and I were too busy gaping at one another. We were mates for life, a potentially very long life. It wasn’t that that was a bad thing, in fact, I couldn’t think of anyone who I would rather be mated to but it was all so sudden and it made things that Kieshala had mentioned before very personal and real for the two of us. I was a mix of happy and nervous and I could sense the same feelings from Kara as we pledged ourselves to one another in the privacy of our thoughts.

Kieshala did make us listen when she delivered a warning and the talk turned serious though. She said that the first mating heat could be very overwhelming, especially with Naethari who were barely adults, like the two of us. It was going to be extremely difficult for us to focus on anything aside from sex or eating during that whole time and one or both of us might become pregnant as a result. Naethari pregnancies last roughly thirteen moon cycles but even the thought of that happening to any of us made it even more important that we gain our freedom as soon as possible.