In this last part, Theia ties up some loose threads and deals with a couple serious personal issues before she finally learns the ultimate meaning of life.

WARNING: If you have a fear of snakes, then this story isn't for you. A large nonpoisonous snake figures prominently in this story.

NOTE: Votes and comments have been disabled for this story. Please just relax and enjoy it if you care to read it. If you do read it and feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.

Gaia's Avatar
by Terry Volkirch

Part 4

The good times never last. Suffering is mankind's lot in life. It's one thing that ties everyone together, ties every living thing together. We all experience it at some time in our lives, and some experience more than their fair share, thanks to the more unscrupulous among us.

Those who pursue profit and power over everything else sometimes never learn, but that doesn't mean they're not capable of changing. Sometimes they just needed the right incentive.

Theia had worked hard and finally arranged a very important meeting. Even though she controlled a major interest in most of the companies of the world, she didn't get them all, and more than a few holdouts continued to be a thorn in her side. They also generally happened to be some of the largest multinational corporations in the world.

She'd be seeing CEOs from those renegade corporations and hopefully put a stop to their wasteful, harmful ways once and for all. So far, they'd resisted all efforts to curb their growth. They totally ignored the avatar's plea for sustainability and they needed to be stopped.

She knew it'd be a battle. They wouldn't be happy with the erosion of profit and the corresponding reduction in power. They wanted to continue exploiting people and natural resources for their own gain and they didn't care who or what they stepped on to reach their goals.

She had her own goals though, the hardest one getting them to meet with her, and that had been accomplished so everything was going according to plan. Gloria led all the guests into the atrium and made herself scarce so she wouldn't distract Theia. The rest was up to the avatar, and Gaia.

The men came dressed in very expensive suits, dragging their retinue of all male bodyguards along with them. They ranged in age from mid-thirties to seventies, and they all reeked of self-importance and self-indulgence. Just looking at the testosterone saturated men before her sickened the avatar, but she hid it well.

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen." She managed to smile after reminding herself that they were all still living beings. They were all creations of Gaia.

"Okay. We're here," said one indignant older executive. "Now call off your army of wild things and let us continue running the world." The man didn't exaggerate. In his own mind, he truly believed the men in that room ran the world. It didn't matter that Gaia sent animals of all different species to swarm the factories and offices of those multinationals. The pests could be exterminated with enough time and money. The only thing that stopped them was because it was cheaper to agree to the meeting.

Theia suppressed a retort. She could've crushed the corporations if she really wanted. They'd have been picked off one by one, falling like dominoes, but that would've disrupted too many lives. The cost in terms of global suffering was too high so she backed off, and the visiting CEOs had been emboldened by her inaction.

"I'm sorry but that ain't gonna happen," she told them, her smile replaced with a stern look.

"So what is going to happen?" A tall dark man with greased back hair challenged her on her own turf and she almost admired him for it, but she'd had enough.

"I'll tell you what's going to happen. You're going to cease your wicked ways or Gaia will be very angry."

"What happens if we refuse?" a worried looking middle-aged executive piped up from the back of the group.

"I'll show you," Theia said.

All of the men in the room, including the bodyguards, started glowing brightly, and several gasped, recognizing the effect. They had to be more accessible for Gaia to work her magic, and now they were.

"I'm sure some of you know what's going on. For those of you who don't, listen up. Gaia has just blessed you with the transformation of womanhood. In 8 to 10 weeks, you'll all be women, unless of course you start treating Earth with respect. How's that for an incentive?" She realized it wasn't actually a terrible thing to turn into a woman, but she knew the men well enough to know they wouldn't be pleased about it.

The men all started shouting at once, and some of the bodyguards moved forward to threaten Theia. That was a big mistake. Several flying insect swarms had been lurking around the room and they easily handled the men, leaving Theia to continue with a satisfied smile on her face. She then got their attention by blowing into a loud metal sport whistle that had been hanging around her neck.

"You can play nice and keep your jobs, and your balls, or you can continue as you are for several weeks until your transformation is complete. It's your choice." Theia's eyes narrowed as she quickly added, "Oh, but don't think you'll get younger or gain any special abilities like I did. That ain't gonna happen."

"You can't do this!" several men shouted at once.

"Oh? Well ... technically, you're right. I'm not doing it. Gaia is."

"Turning us into women won't solve anything," one tall, fat executive blustered. "We can still run our companies any way we want."

"True. I won't stop you, but assuming you all stubbornly maintain your current course of action and become women, your next lower level of management will be given the option of getting the company to treat the environment better or they'll share your fate." She conveniently neglected to inform her guests that she'd need to trick the others into coming to make the change. "The transformations will continue down the chain of command until all of the managers in your companies are women."

"And what if we're still operating as usual?" The tall, fat executive sneered.

"I'm confident you'll change direction and work in harmony with the planet long before you're all entirely managed by women. As women, enough of you will have changed priorities to work things out for the better. It happened to me and it'll happen to you. Trust me."

The men grumbled but no one had any more challenges. They knew the right thing to do. They just needed a little more time to overcome their own stubbornness.

Theia smiled and gave the group one last chance. "Your decision, gentlemen?"

They all turned to talk amongst themselves, and after a surprisingly short time, they agreed. They'd curb their corporate greed, at least for the time being.

"A wise decision. You won't be sorry, or at least your future generations won't be sorry. You may go now."

One man started to speak up to ask about the glowing but was cut short when they were all suddenly returned to normal. They came as men, and left as slightly better men.

Gaia was pleased.

***

More than a dozen years passed from when Theia transformed into the avatar, and neither she nor Gloria appeared to have aged much at all. It was one of the many gifts of Gaia that the avatar was able to share with those closest to her.

Communication, strength and longevity were all shared gifts, and there were yet more. As the blonde woman suspected, her sex drive did greatly increase, as did her feminine curves, but those additions were accompanied by something else that kept them from being an annoying distraction. Her capacity to love increased too.

Gloria would never forget the way she and Theia started accepting other lovers so many years ago. It started in a very unusual way.

***

Theia sat at her living desk, reading over something on her computer screen while Gloria sat at a guest chair and practiced one of her many new animal languages with a Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the US and Canada.

Speaking to the little bird was a challenge because hummingbirds talked very quickly. They did everything quickly. Females were generally more agreeable and would slow down when asked, but the aggressive males had very little patience, and Gloria was trying to speak to a male of the species.

The male Calliope flared angrily when the blonde woman wouldn't answer all of its questions so it often buzzed Theia to get what it wanted and annoyed everyone.

"Would you please slow down?!" Theia finally shouted at the little bird in a very rare display of anger. He stopped abruptly and she thanked him nicely before going back to her reading.

The little hummingbird flew off with a mixture of fright and bluster after being shouted at, and he went off to sip some nectar from one of the several hummingbird feeders that hung high in the branches of the tree desk. He needed nectar to soothe his nerves.

"Theia, why did you shout at the poor little guy?"

"I'm sorry but I'm checking into some serious flare ups of pollution. So far, I can't find anything online."

"What flare ups? I haven't received any reports."

"I got an advanced warning from one of my visitors a little while ago." The avatar reached over and plucked a big green seedless grape from a cluster on a vine that stretched across the surface of her desk.

Gloria was surprised. She didn't see any vines before. Reaching over, she picked one of the grapes and found it very tasty.

"Is that what the Calliope was talking about?" the blonde asked after she'd swallowed. "I couldn't understand most of what he said."

"Nope."

"But I've been here for over 30 minutes and I haven't heard or seen any other visitors."

Theia got a sly look then. She leaned over towards her girlfriend and whispered. "I heard it through the grapevine." Then she winked and looked towards the vine on her desktop.

"No way."

Most people had trouble accepting the possibility of speaking with animals, let alone plants, even after witnessing all of the odd public events surrounding the avatar. Talking animals were like something out of a fantasy novel and talking plants could only be found in bad science fiction movies. The few people that were told generally didn't react well so Theia kept quiet about it.

Gloria herself could speak to a fairly large number of different animal species. That wasn't so difficult to accept after seeing how easy it was to "read" the visions and body language. Plants were another matter though. They had no memories, no visions, and definitely no body language. They were completely at the mercy of the elements and the land where they sprouted. What was there to understand?

Theia tried to explain what she understood. Some plants did actually communicate to other plants through chemical signals, and they were alive so they had a bioelectromagnetic field surrounding them. But she ran into a roadblock and took the easy way out by attributing her ability to Gaia's divine wisdom.

The avatar hadn't been able to speak with plants until recently. She wasn't quite sure yet how she did it. It was too early to tell, just like when she first started talking with animals. It took her a long time to figure out exactly what she was doing.

Once Gloria understood that her lover was serious, she shook her head in wonder. Her new life never ceased to surprise and amaze her, and she wouldn't have it any other way. The surprise of learning that Theia was literally speaking with a plant was compounded by another event though. That's why she remembered the day so vividly, and why she'd always remember it.

Only a few minutes after the grapevine discussion, two middle-aged women walked in, holding hands. They timidly approached the front of the desk and the slightly shorter one politely asked for an audience with the avatar. Then, once Theia granted that audience, they both shyly requested a favor.

"Would you please marry us?" was the simple request. They explained that they'd given up hope on ever being married legally in the eyes of the state but they figured it would mean a lot more if they could be married in the eyes of Gaia.

Both Gloria and Theia cried when they heard that. It was a beautiful idea, one they hadn't thought of but felt they should've long ago. There was a slight catch however.

"I'm not sure I want to perform a marriage between two people," Theia told the couple, who hung their heads and turned to leave.

"Wait!" the avatar shouted. "Please. Don't leave. I'm not done yet. I just meant that I can really only see marrying everyone together. That's how Gaia sees us. Each individual of any one species is strongly interconnected with every other member of that species. All humans are bonded in Gaia's eyes. We all belong together and should all love one another. That's what Gaia has taught me and that's what I firmly and truly believe."

"Wait a minute, Theia." Gloria cut in. "Are you saying we should all marry everyone?"

"According to Gaia, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."

"What about us?" she said, her eyes filling with tears.

"Gloria, we share something special. We know and appreciate each other better than anyone else knows us so of course we have a stronger bond. I'm just talking about relationships from Gaia's perspective."

"Oh. Right. So what should we do then? What can we do?"

The two lesbian couples talked at length and realized it wouldn't be practical to hold a wedding ceremony for the whole world. All they could really do was try to respect and love those they come in contact with.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," the taller middle-aged woman said as she turned to leave with her partner.

"Hang on," Theia suddenly said, earning a questioning look from Gloria. "I'm getting an idea."

The two women stopped and turned.

"Gloria, don't you think what these two women share is beautiful?"

"Of course." Then the blonde whispered so only Theia could hear. "What are you getting at?"

Theia ignored her and continued. "And don't you think these two women are beautiful? I do."

Gloria turned and gave the women a good look. They were slightly overweight with some gray in their otherwise dark hair. They would never be lusted after by hordes of young men or young women, but she had to agree with Theia.

"Yes," she said, tears of joy filling her eyes. "They are beautiful. I see it now." Tears rolled down her cheeks and moved the other couple to tears also.

"We can't all marry everyone, all at the same time," Theia said to the couple. "But perhaps we can start a new tradition and marry one by one under the watchful eyes of Gaia. Would you be willing?"

Gloria nodded, even though she wasn't being directly spoken to, and the other couple saw the sincerity and love. So the tradition was started. The two women, Susan and Val, joined Theia and Gloria in Gaia's divine union, and all but Theia gasped when the four of them briefly glowed to show that Gaia was listening and approved. Then they all kissed. They started by kissing as original pairs but they got caught up in the moment and moved on until everyone had kissed everyone. It made a beautiful scene.

The avatar explained that the glowing meant they'd all been sanctified to add anyone to their divine union at any time without all members present. Any one of them could continue to add members, and they might not get everyone to join, but they wouldn't stop until everyone who wanted to would be part of something very special.

After the ceremony, the four women continued talking and sharing information about themselves. It got quite late by the time they were all talked out and Theia couldn't help herself. She invited Susan and Val to stay the night in their subterranean living quarters under the north offices.

Gloria quickly seconded the notion and the other couple looked at each other. They didn't say anything aloud but their eyes spoke for them. They eventually nodded to each other and agreed to spend the night with their two new partners, even though they'd never shared themselves as a couple with others before. The four of them ended up in the avatar's large round bed and showed one another how four women truly could share something beautiful, and Gaia smiled upon them.

Theia and Gloria continued marrying and sharing women lovers, and they often slept together in groups of three or four. They all fit comfortably in the large round bed so visitors spent many nights before moving on and trying other combinations in other beds.

Gloria predicted that extra lovers would end up in the avatar's bed, but she had no idea she'd be such a willing and enthusiastic participant. Theia's readiness to love others rubbed off on the blonde woman just as much as her sex drive. They both had more than enough love to go around.

There were still some problems. Even though she was Theia's favorite, she still battled a little jealousy and guilt, but she relaxed when Theia assured her that other lovers would come and go, but she'd always be the only one to stay.

***

Love was in the air of Theia's office building, affecting all employees in some way. The avatar gave off an energy that made love and sexual attraction very difficult to ignore. It was one of many of Gaia's gifts to her, and like all of those gifts, it tended to rub off on the women who were close to her.

Eventually, all women in the office had joined in Gaia's union, as Theia called it, though not all shared the avatar's bed -- at least not right away. Some didn't find themselves attracted to women. They just liked the idea of being part of a grand loving union that would slowly but surely spread across the surface of the planet. There was still a chance their sexual preference would be expanded to include women, but they'd have to spend more time in the avatar's presence before that would happen.

The heterosexual women were the first to add men to the union. That was expected, and the men generally liked the idea of being part of a global loving whole. It bothered a few of the men when they found out only women were sanctified by Gaia to add members, but they got over it. They could always find a woman who was happy to add someone new.

The women who did occasionally share the avatar's bed, benefited just as Gloria did, though to a lesser degree. They became stronger and hornier than the men in the office, and many were bisexual or leaning that way thanks to the avatar's influence. The situation created some interesting new dynamics between the genders with men being the weaker sex.

The last surprise came when the first transgender man was added to the group. He glowed during the wedding ceremony and continued glowing for several weeks as he slowly transformed into a woman. Theia and Gloria weren't surprised but the rest of the office was, and it made some of the men a little nervous until they found out the new woman welcomed the change.

Animals tended to be affected by Theia's presence to a small degree. The lack of suitable mates and wrong time of month or year for mating kept them focused on delivering messages to the avatar for the most part. The shortness of their visits and other priorities, like food, also kept them from obsessing with sex.

Only rare cases of bad timing created any problems with animals, with the most notable being incited by a scurry of gray squirrels. A dozen or so squirrels -- it's hard to count them when they jump around so much -- invaded the office one day in search of food and fun, thanks to Theia's desk.

The living oak desk had been well cared for by Theia and the office gardeners. It thrived and the healthy tree produced a huge number of acorns, acorns that had ripened a little early and attracted the squirrels like a magnet. The squirrels swarmed the area around the tree and unfortunately, they bothered a certain python that lounged nearby.

Being nocturnal, Clementine snoozed in her usual spot on the old black leather couch on the afternoon of the squirrel invasion. She'd also recently shed her skin, so she wasn't in a good mood. After the careless squirrels dropped acorns left and right and hit the large snake on the head, she woke up and scolded them.

"Tired. Stop. Leave." She tried to get the squirrels to leave but they didn't understand her language. They only spoke squirrel of course. She'd gotten used to being understood so it irritated her even more when she was ignored.

Theia sat at her desk and tried to ignore the feeding frenzy, but when Clementine woke up, she decided to intervene.

"Here now. What's this? You! You there! And You! Come here!" She pointed to a male and female squirrel and they obeyed. They scurried down the tree and sat next to each other on the avatar's hand while she asked them nicely to calm down and give all their friends the same message. The two squirrels stayed and listened attentively the whole time so she rewarded them with some treats before she sent them on their way.

The squirrels behaved fairly well for a short time, but it wasn't long before the female squirrel started feeling quite amorous. She was small and her brain wasn't nearly as well-developed as a human so she was easily affected by direct contact with Theia. It also didn't didn't help that it was only a little after their second mating season of the year. She craved some male attention and wouldn't take no for an answer. She chased a male all the way under Clementine's couch before she caught him and tried to force herself on him. Her behavior surprised the little male.

The snake was also amazed, though for another reason. She'd never witnessed mating between any two species and seeing it dredged up some primal urges of her own, forcing her to make a difficult decision. She started realizing just how much she'd sacrificed to stay with Theia and Gloria.

Thanks to her long exposure to the avatar, her life span had been increased, and her thinking processes had been improved far beyond pythons in the wild. Those two gifts had been all she needed to help her fit in with her two humans, and everyone had been happy for many years. Her sex drive had remained dormant for whatever reason, even though she was mature enough to reproduce, but now she finally heard the call of the wild. It sent a powerful message.

Early that evening, after she fully woke up and had some more time to think clearly, she decided.

"Mothers. Talk to me." Clementine said. She saw Theia at her desk and knew Gloria would most likely be near enough for Theia to call her.

"Just a moment," Theia said. "I'll get Gloria."

The avatar had a chat window open on her computer. She typed a quick message and the blonde soon arrived from her office. They knelt on the soft grass in front of old black leather couch and waited nervously for the python to speak. They had a feeling that Clementine had something important to say.

"I go now."

"What? Go where?" Both women said.

"Go home."

"You are home!" Gloria said.

"This is home." Theia affirmed.

"No. Want mate. Want little snakes."

The two women turned to look at each other. They'd discussed the possibility that their adopted child would someday leave home but Clementine's decision still surprised them. They weren't ready for it.

"We can find you a mate and bring him here," Gloria suggested hopefully.

"Yeah," Theia agreed. "You don't have to leave."

"No. Not good. I go now. Find male for me. Lay eggs. Make Gaia happy."

That was the longest speech Clementine had ever given, and it's length and content surprised both women, but Theia found her voice. Gloria was too upset to say anything.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Theia helped Gloria up and assured her loyal snake friend they'd make preparations to leave as soon as possible.

Clementine approved, but her feelings of sadness and longing confused her.

***

Theia started planning right away for the python's return to the wild. She tried to involve Gloria but all the blonde woman would do was nod or shake her head at whatever suggestions she heard. Neither of them were happy about losing their cherished python but they had to honor her request and let her go.

Clementine's final destination would be Kalimantan, formerly known as the island of Borneo. The government there had made great strides in restoring the rain forests so it should make a good home. Theia wished she could show pictures so the python could make her own decision but that was beyond the snake's ability.

The python's last speech still amazed the avatar. She'd wondered what kind of affect, if any, she had on Clementine after all the years they spent together. Now she knew. She hoped the snake would be able to adjust to life in the wild after having been pampered for so long, but she suspected Gaia would look after her.

They flew out that same night in a chartered jet for privacy and arrived at Sepinggan International airport in the city of Balikpapan. The city was actually a quaint fishing village that had slowly mixed in more modern features such as hotels and shopping malls. It might have made a nice place to visit if it wasn't for the current mission.

After a few minor hassles dealing with a very large python, the family of three caught a local flight north to Tarakan and rented a small boat to go up the coast towards Sebuku Sembakung National Park, where they planned to release Clementine. They had no idea exactly where they'd release her but the large snake assured them she would let them know when and where.

The release came sooner than they expected. As they passed a small island, Clementine surprised them yet again.

"Here. I go here. Good smells here."

It looked as good a place as any. Pythons were good swimmers so she could always move on if she wanted. They pulled the boat up through a bit of mangrove forest and Clementine prepared to slip over the edge of the boat. First though, she had to say her good-byes.

"I miss couch. Miss you soon. Love you always."

That was all she had to say. She slithered over the edge with two pairs of loving hands caressing the length of her body. Then she swam a short distance and soon disappeared into the lush undergrowth of the island.

"Good-bye Clementine!" Gloria suddenly shouted. "I love you too! I'll miss you!" She wanted to shout more but Theia stopped her.

"She can't hear you now. She's out of range."

"What do you mean? She's not that far away."

"Pythons don't have external ears. She didn't exactly hear us when we spoke to her."

"Then how ... how did she understand us?"

Theia shrugged. She never did figure that part out. "Telepathy? Visions? Who knows?"

"But I didn't get to finish saying good-bye!" Gloria started to cry.

"It's okay, my Love. She knows how we felt."

Theia held Gloria and they both cried their eyes out, earning a puzzled expression from the owner of the boat. He'd never seen such a sight. He didn't recognize either women so he didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

As soon as the avatar composed herself a little, they immediately reversed course and set off for home. Neither of the women were in the mood for sightseeing. All they could do was talk a little, hug a lot, and console each other as best they could.

One of the main topics of conversation was Clementine's good-bye message. Gloria mentioned that she didn't expect a python to be able to express love. It really surprised her. It seemed too advanced and too human an emotion for a reptile, and Theia actually agreed. The avatar didn't expect it either, in spite of the way her abilities seemed to rub off on those near her. It made their parting that much more difficult and both women continued to cry like mothers grieving for a lost child.

Clementine got her wish, though she'd gradually lose her enhanced intelligence and start aging normally. The two women would never be able to find her again, never see her again, and it was so hard to let her go.

So much was lost during the course of people's lives, and so many things were never experienced in the first place. It saddened Theia to think about all those who never felt as close to another as she did to Clementine. She couldn't imagine ever replacing the beloved snake, but she'd soon surprise herself. The python's departure triggered yet another new phase in Theia's life, and the avatar would find that she'd been missing something very important.

***

One fine spring day, in trotted a large stallion with a glossy black coat, his tail proudly held high and his unshod hooves softly clip clopping on the stone floor. After so many animal visitors and so many unusual activities surrounding the avatar, no one thought it odd for a horse to show up seeking an audience, and since no one other than Theia could understand his motives, the beautiful beast was allowed to enter unimpeded.

Once the animal entered through the huge automatic double doors of the office building, his excitement grew and became clear for all to see. His masculine member wobbled slightly from side-to-side as he trotted, and by the time he reached Theia's office, the avatar couldn't stop herself from blushing and she had to look away.

The horse stopped just short of her magnificent live oak desk and waited patiently to be addressed. He had a very important message to deliver but he was in no hurry. Soaking in the atmosphere of the Gaia's divine essence more than made up for the slight inconvenience of his visit.

Recovering from her slight embarrassment, Theia soon turned to the large stallion. "What brings you here, noble steed?" she said, her voice breaking slightly. Though she controlled great power over every living thing on the planet, she felt a little intimidated by the horse's power and masculinity.

The stallion had received vague instructions to be discreet, at least as discreet as a stallion could be. Though his excited body language somewhat gave away the content of his message, and though no one but Theia and mostly other horses could understand him, he still thought to give it so that only she could hear. With that in mind, he gestured with his head to come closer.

The avatar got up from her chair to move a short distance around her desk and stopped, too far away for her visitor. He wanted her closer but she was still wary of him.

Again and again he bade her to come closer, each time having her edge only a few feet around her desk and stop out of fear and wonder, until at last she could feel his warm breath on her face. Then and only then would he deliver his message. He whispered quietly in her ear using whatever language horses spoke, and Theia went pale.

She acknowledged the message and the horse turned and trotted out the same way he entered, proud and very, very masculine.

The message was simple: Procreate. The avatar needed progeny to help with the Earth Goddess's work and carry on after she passed away, and even though only girls could hold the divine spark, boys were always welcome, all new life was welcome.

It had to happen. It was a logical progression, really. Theia wasn't exactly sure how she felt about it but she wasn't revolted at least. She'd grown accustomed to her body and even liked it, loved it really. She'd noticed more than a passing fancy for some of the men that roamed her office building too. It seemed the gift of the Earth Goddess had been kind enough to make her gender identity match her body and blurred her sexual preference to cover both genders. Maybe being the avatar for Earth wasn't so bad after all. Maybe having children wasn't such a bad idea either.

She smiled then, and the few nearby clouds parted to allow sunlight to illuminate the large office, and her heart.

***

Lying on her back under her sky blue silk sheet in her huge round bed, basking in the glow, Theia smiled. It was a good day for sex. Every day was a good day for sex she decided. She didn't care if she had a hundred children if sex with men continued to please her like Derek had last night.

The avatar still felt a little guilty, even with Gloria's full approval and encouragement to be with him. The blonde had shared various women with Theia but she didn't care for men -- at least not yet -- so she conveniently arranged to handle a special assignment while Theia worked on motherhood. Children were greatly desired by both women.

The content woman rolled on her side to place a hand on her new lover's firm, tight butt cheek and asked if he was awake. She was answered by a light snort. After a quick shake, she tried again and was rewarded with a smile.

"Hmmm? You ready for round 4?" The blonde man smiled proudly. He might have been in his late 30s but he kept in very good shape and didn't look his age.

Life there in the office agreed with Derek. He started out as Gloria's personal assistant and lasted for almost 10 years before moving on to manage his own projects. He'd been and would continue to be a great asset, and most importantly, he'd been added to Gaia's union by one of the women in the office. Technically, Theia and Derek were already married and were long overdue to consummate their marriage.

"No, I was just hoping for a little cuddling and some pillow talk," she said, then added, "Sorry," when he frowned. She did crave a lot of sex, but there was more to life than that. She felt a great need to talk and share her life with someone she cared about. Derek might have been an easy conquest, but she still cared for him, still wanted to know more about him.

"It's okay. For you, I'd walk a hundred miles to cuddle you, I'd climb the highest tower to lie by your side and talk, I'd ...."

"Please. Stop. You're embarrassing me."

"Yeah, it sounds corny to me too." He grinned to show he was only joking after all.

"So let me get this straight," he continued, bringing up a rumor he'd heard around the office. "Is it true you were ordered to have sex?" He wouldn't mind if the rumor was true, especially since the sex was so good. He just asked because he was a very curious person.

"No! It's not like that." She blushed. "I receive a lot of messages from all different sources, but none of them are really orders. They're more like warnings and wise suggestions."

"Oh. So you wanted to have sex then." That got a big smile out of him.

"Well ... to be honest, I hadn't thought about it until it was suggested. And sex wasn't really the message."

"Okay. Now you're confusing me."

"I was told it would be a good idea to have children," she said, blushing.

"Right. I still don't understand. Who would suggest such a thing?" Derek wasn't the brightest man on the planet but to be fair, not many knew about Theia's ability to communicate with plants and animals. She didn't like the unfavorable reactions she'd received when she dared mention her unusual communication abilities so she generally kept quiet about them. In Derek's case, since she already shared her body with him, she felt safe enough sharing other intimate details with him.

"You know how I can speak any language of the world, right?"

He nodded.

"Well that includes animals, and even plants."

He frowned.

"It's true! Their language isn't nearly as complex and clear as ours but they speak clearly to me, clear enough that I can understand their simple messages. Why else would there be so many animals around here? They're obviously not pets. They come and go as they please."

"Okay ...," he said. He felt a little uncomfortable about the subject of talking to plants and animals so for the moment, he went back to one of his favorite subjects. "You should have children. I got that part. But don't you have to have sex to have children?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Obviously not," she blushed again. "There's such a thing as artificial insemination ...," she trailed off.

"But?" Derek asked.

That one simple word led her back to her first thoughts of the morning. She thought of conjunctions of a physical kind and a familiar homonym, and she couldn't help herself. She slowly licked her lips.

"Yes, butt," she purred, reaching over to caress his butt through the sheet that covered them both. "I'd rather do it the old-fashioned way."

Pillow talk officially ended. She threw herself at him and they locked lips to begin another round of lovemaking, but not before Derek had to ask his one nagging question. His curiosity wouldn't let it go, and with a supreme effort of will, he very briefly interrupted their kissing.

"So who told you to have children?" he asked again, shrugging off the possibility that the messenger could be a plant or animal.

Theia smiled coyly and said, "Let's just say I got it straight from the horse's mouth." Then she quickly got back to business.

*** The End ***

 © 2008 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.