Chapter 7: Hot Spring

“Is there anything else you’d like to see?” the Regent asked, lifting a steaming beverage from a tray that one of her guards was holding as she lounged in the courtyard. It was morning but, Dennis wouldn’t have known that without a clock on hand. Besides for the almost imperceptible, yellow glow of the secondary star, the electric lamps that circled the building were the only illumination.

“Not that I can think of. I’ve already had Xhe take me to the places that came to mind. The city, a fishing village, a ranger outpost. As a native, surely you have some suggestions?”

“I can think of a few things,” she replied, raising the mug to her mouth and blowing on it tentatively. Ice had begun to form on the roof of the building, and a layer of frost coated the leaves of the plants. It was getting cold, but Dennis had realized that his ideal temperature was much closer to that of the Regent than the Equatorial Borealans. It wasn’t all that cold, not enough to be uncomfortable to him, having grown up in the North of Europe.

“Then I defer to you, your majesty,” he said with an exaggerated bow. She chuckled into her drink, giving him a sideways glance.

“I have to say, Dennis, when coming from you the honorific sounds somewhat sarcastic.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

She waved her guard away and drank deeply from the mug, closing her eyes as the warm liquid heated her from the inside. Dennis wasn’t sure what it was, something akin to coffee or hot chocolate maybe.

“You don’t seem too cold, Dennis. That is encouraging. Is this temperature not unusual for Earth?”

“Not really,” he replied as he lay back on the low couch with his hands behind his head. “This is an average winter for a lot of places and the usual temperature for others. Earth has a lot of different climates and seasons, far more than Borealis. In the places you might end up going, this is relatively warm.”

“Good, I do so enjoy visiting Elysia during the eclipse. The Patriarch most often holds his banquets the day before, which gives me a good excuse to come down and stay for a few days. That reminds me, would you like breakfast, Dennis? I can have my guards prepare anything you wish.”

He thought for a moment, missing Xhe’s expert ability to determine the best meal for any occasion, then settled on smoked fish. The Regent called to her guards and hissed instructions, then they disappeared into the building.

“Oh, I have an idea. Tell me, Dennis, do you have geothermal springs on Earth? I have to assume that you do.”

“Yes, we do. Though I’ve never visited one personally. My position back home never really allowed me much leisure time.”

“Would you like to see ours? They are cool enough to bathe in but hot enough to drive away the cold. You might enjoy them. I could introduce you to Borealan bathing culture.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Dennis replied.

“They are some distance away. Because of the Patriarch’s refusal to share any of his technology I do not have my own shuttle. When I come down from the pole, I have to use an atmospheric craft, it is many multiples slower. Perhaps I can arrange the use of the shuttle on this occasion if his favorite ambassador requires transport and nobody else is making use of it because of the cold.”

“I’m sure he’ll agree if he’s even awake.” Dennis sat up straight as one of the guards returned with his meal, taking the tray as she handed it to him. Steam rose from two fat, armored fish in the cool air, their smokey smell making his stomach rumble. He inhaled happily and pulled his cutlery from his pocket, unwrapping them from their protective fabric. He had elected to take them everywhere with him now, it was an odd feeling having to carry one’s own cutlery around on his person, but the Borealans simply had no concept of dining utensils. The Regent watched him curiously as he carved into the fish with his silver knife, forking the small pieces into his mouth.

“How odd,” she commented, her eyes following his fork as it pierced a steaming chunk of fish and brought it up to his lips. “You lack claws, and so must use tools to eat. I hadn’t even noticed at the banquet. Of course, how else would you cut the meat?”

“We can eat with our hands and cut with our teeth, but it becomes messy, and we generally don’t like to. There’s a perception on Earth that it’s ... uncivilized to eat with one’s hands.”

“I see,” the Regent replied. “Perhaps I should learn. Such minor cultural details can heavily influence people’s perceptions.”

“That’s very astute,” Dennis said as he chewed a mouthful of fish. “I could teach you, it isn’t hard. Hell, I’m a diplomat, it’s my job to know things like this. If you have the time, I can teach you all kinds of human customs and cultural quirks.”

She lay back in her couch, pensive as she watched him eat.

“If it is my fate to lead my people to Earth, then I must learn your culture with the same open-mindedness and vigor that you have learned ours.” She leaned forward and rose to her feet suddenly, her snow-white tail flicking from side to side as she stretched, raising her hands into the air. She was incredibly large, she must be skirting nine feet. Size seemed to be a reliable indicator of status on Borealis. “But enough of that for now, I need to make a call and see if the Patriarch won’t share his toy with me for a day.”

Dennis wasn’t sure whether she was talking about the ship, or him...

The Regent was able to charter the shuttle, and when Dennis had finished his meal, he headed off to the ivory tower along with the Regent and her guards. It was the only landing pad in the ancient Elysian city. Dennis wondered if modernization would see the Borealans knock down some of their long-standing, finely masoned structures in order to build more of them, he hoped not. The streets were deserted now as frost and ice clung to the stonework, making the ground slippery. The Regent and her guards paid it no mind, their sharp claws and padded feet gripping the cold surface easily. He wondered how long it had taken for the races to diverge so dramatically, science might even consider them a subspecies at this point. He had never gotten a good impression of the age of anything on Borealis. The cities and their buildings, the age of the territories themselves and the length of time that the current civilization had existed, or even the lifespans of the alien inhabitants. Perhaps he should ask about it, but right now didn’t seem like the best time to bring it up.

“It’s so strange to see the city empty of people,” he commented. “When I first came here this market was packed shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see.”

“Yes, Elysia does have a problem with overcrowding. Fortunately, I rarely have to deal with it due to the timing of my visits.”

“Is the Polar territory less populated then?” he asked, jogging a little to keep up with the Regent’s graceful strides.

“Most Borealans cannot tolerate the cold, and my people breed slowly, placing immense value in the raising of our offspring. People in Elysia can have litters by the dozen, they will never run out of food or space, and there are few dangers to befall a curious kitten in such a temperate climate. They will never lose their child down a crevasse, or have them fall through the ice of a frozen lake.”

How sobering, she sounded indignant. Was the situation in the Polar territory really so bad?

“If it’s so dangerous to live there, how have you even survived this long?” Dennis asked a little hesitantly.

“I remind you of the adage, the strict mother raises disciplined children. Adapt or die, that is the driving force of evolution. We cannot simply leave, not anymore. Although modern technology would allow us to travel anywhere on the planet, it came too late for us, our own bodies have become our prison.”

“Humanity has races too, though nothing so dramatic. Anyone can live anywhere, basically. I suppose the high altitude adaptation that Tibetans have is the closest example I can think of. They’re mountain people who live at high altitudes, and as a result, they have adapted to a lower oxygen environment.”

“No great variation then?” she asked.

“No. In fact, there’s still a debate raging over where the lines between the races are drawn, or even if they have any biological basis at all. It must have taken a great deal of time in order for your people to diverge as much as they did.”

“It is not known exactly when our ancient ancestors migrated North, nor is it known why they did so. Perhaps they were escaping persecution, or they were driven there by some great cataclysm. It was long before Borealans began to make claw marks on rocks to record the passage of months and years. We developed in almost total isolation, as none of the other races dared venture into the tundras save a few ambitious explorers. Nobody fought us for the territory, because nobody wanted it. There was no movement of people between our territory and others.”

It must have been a long time then, thousands of years at least, perhaps tens of thousands. Having no common point of reference, he wouldn’t understand an answer that she gave on specific dates or timescales. Maybe he would ask Xhe when he got back to the embassy, she might know.

They arrived at the ivory spire, the great edifice jutting into the sky, its usually white color stained a dull yellow in the secondary’s light. They mounted the winding steps and arrived on the landing pad where the shuttle was waiting for them, its engines already warm. The pilot greeted them, it was the same one who had flown Dennis and Xhe previously, clearly roused against his wishes and forced into the cockpit by the orders of some higher ranked Borealan. The Regent and her guards loaded in as the pilot flipped switches and grasped the flight stick, angling the nose higher as it banked over the city. Dennis watched the empty streets dwindle into the distance as the shuttle headed North over the lake.

The jungles turned to desert and then the deserts turned to snow, they were flying very far North where the temperature was even lower than in the city. Dennis began to worry, he hoped that the Regent had not overestimated his tolerance of the cold. They passed over a mountainous region, and Dennis’s stomach lurched as they began to descend towards the craggy, snow-covered peaks. The pilot circled, clearly searching for a suitable landing site, and after a few passes it felt as if they might have to turn around and head back. He finally spotted a good place to land and lowered the shuttle down in VTOL mode, the landing gear crunching in the crisp, white snow.

As the landing ramp opened a chill wind blasted through the ship, Dennis immediately bracing against it, crossing his arms and shivering in his suit. The pilot grunted in disapproval from his seat, eager to have them off his craft so that he could close the ramp.

“Be brave Dennis,” the Regent crooned, her tone somewhat mocking. “It is only a short walk to the hot springs, come.”

She reached out and took his hand, her fluffy fur warming him like a glove. She pulled him out of his seat and led him down the ramp into the snow. He sunk ankle-deep, the freezing chunks penetrating his socks. He considered asking her to carry him for a moment, but no, he still had some dignity left. He trudged behind her as she strode over the snow and he heard the landing ramp close with a pneumatic hiss as the pilot sealed the shuttle against the freezing winds. They descended down some rocky crags that looked out over a pretty severe drop. It was actually quite dangerous, the combination of height, poor footing and ice making Dennis wary. He held onto the Regent’s hand like a child at the mall, she could certainly catch him if he fell. Even in the low light, Dennis could see for miles. The sharp peaks pushed into the sky, making the Patriarch’s tower look impotent in comparison. They were slap bang in the middle of a sizable mountain range, surrounded by rock and snow. Even in the harsh cold, Dennis could appreciate the natural beauty and serenity of the location.

As they descended, their destination came into view. On a sort of flattened plateau protruding from the side of the mountain were several steaming pools of water, the snow around them melted away by their heat to expose naked rock. Geothermal springs, produced when groundwater was heated by the interior of the planet, rising up and out through cracks and faults. It took them a few more minutes to climb down, this plateau seemed entirely natural, there were no stairs carved into the stone or barriers erected to protect from falls.

“How do you even know about such a remote location? How would you get here without a shuttle?” Dennis asked.

“Do your people not scale mountains?”

“Well, yes, but...”

She had a point he supposed, but it felt so remote, and there was no sign of civilization here. Had this been a location on Earth there would be stairs and barriers, warning signs, someone would probably be charging for their use. Holidaymakers would be splashing, and their children would be causing a ruckus. Here there was no sign of anyone else. It struck him again how underdeveloped Borealis was, or perhaps how overdeveloped Earth was.

As they reached even ground the Regent released his hand and he marched over to the edge of one of the pools, having to raise his legs higher than usual in an odd, awkward stride in order to walk through the deep snow. He knelt by the edge where the snow had been melted away and dipped a finger into the water gingerly. On Earth some hot springs were lethal, either hot enough to boil a person alive or acidic, having picked up toxic minerals in their ascent to the surface. It was extremely hot, but not dangerously so, and so far his finger had not been eaten down to the bone by acid.

The Regent arrived next to him, watching him curiously.

“It is quite safe, Dennis.”

He turned to reply but faltered as he saw that her clothes were already discarded. Her weighty breasts hung tantalizingly before him, swaying slightly like a pair of furry wrecking balls. She rested her hands on her wide hips and cocked her head at him quizzically, her long tail waving back and forth as she held it above the snow. Noticing his expression, she put her hand to her mouth and suppressed a chuckle, striding forward to pull him against her. Dennis’s head was thrust deep into her boundless cleavage as she wrapped her arms around his back, hugging him tightly. His face pushed into the silky fur of her chest, her breasts spilling around his red cheeks and pouring over his shoulders like plaster filling a mold. They were as soft as marshmallows, the warmth of her luxurious coat hypnotizing him. He closed his arms around her waist, sinking his hands beneath her silky fur. The cold of the mountain air was staved off as her heat radiated through him, warming him to the core. Her sweet, enticing scent overcame him, and suddenly all he wanted out of life was to be nestled in her comfortable embrace. As she stepped away from him, he felt as if he had just left a heated building and wandered into a blizzard. They really did trap an incredible amount of heat between their fur and their chubby fat layer.

“Why are you suddenly embarrassed, Dennis? I thought that I had made my feelings about our relationship obvious already. Now take your clothes off.”

He considered replying, but thought better of it and began to remove his clothing as she watched him, a salacious glint in her blue eyes. They wandered down his body as he pulled off his pants and dropped them on the dry ground by the nearest pool, shivering as he made a futile attempt to shield himself from the cold. She approached him, and he extended his arms, expecting her to warm him again. Instead, she placed her large hand on his chest and shoved him backwards.

He fell into the nearest hot spring with a splash, the hot water searing his skin. It was quite shallow, only chest high to a Borealan, Dennis standing with his head breaking the surface and his wet hair falling over his crimson face.

“Argh! What the fuck!?” he exclaimed, the sudden temperature change prickling the skin all over his body. The Regent laughed from her gut, almost like a bark.

“Forgive me, Dennis, I could not resist. It’s better to just jump in and get it over with.” He scurried out of the way as she leapt into the spring, the massive splash showering him with more hot water and the displacement pushing him away as the wave that she had created lapped at the side of the pool. She rose to chest height, her mammoth breasts bobbing in the steaming water like a pair of beach balls. She shivered, her eyes wide.

“Hot!” she proclaimed as her waterlogged fur clung to her curvy body, only accentuating her impressive figure.

“I could have told you that!” Dennis complained. He was adjusting to the temperature now, and the heat was permeating his bones in a pleasant, creeping way that drove off the lingering cold and relaxed his taut muscles.

She waded over to him, her eyes low and sultry, her abundant chest swaying in the water as she moved. Dennis pulled back a little, finding himself at the edge of the pool, and the Regent pressed herself up against him. Her soaking wet bosom pushed against his face again, spilling down his chest. The wet fur felt odd on his skin, but pleasant. He gasped in surprise as he felt her thick, muscular thigh press into his groin and lift him slightly, the strands of her floating pelt tickling his nethers and sending a shiver up his body.

“My poor Ambassador, let me make it up to you.”

Her warm tongue escaped her lips to stroke his ear, Dennis sinking deeper into her fluffy cleavage as he rested more of his weight on her. They were so springy, he could practically bounce on them. She whispered to him, the heat of her breath even more evident in the cold air, pausing to chew his earlobe playfully.

“Do you want me?”

He nodded, but she wasn’t satisfied with that, curling her fingers under his chin and lifting his face so that she could watch him squirm with her icy blue eyes.

“I want to hear you say it,” she crooned.

“I ... I want you,” Dennis stammered, and her lips curled into a knowing smile.

“Then, you shall have me.”

She lowered her head and pushed her long tongue past his lips, subjecting him to another one of her delicate, expert kisses. Her familiar metallic taste set his neurons firing as she teased him, coiling her tongue around his own, teasing him with measured flurries. She kissed the way that she walked, the way that she spoke, refined and sophisticated. She somehow knew just where to strike in order to deliver the most draining, debilitating blow, leaving him bleary-eyed and wanting.

She mounted him suddenly and aggressively, squeezing her thick thighs around his hips and pushing his now throbbing erection against the heat of her vulva. He squeezed his eyes shut as the sensitive head of his penis dragged against her soft flesh and her fur tickled him, letting out a pained sigh. The Regent chuckled and cradled his head in one of her large hands, sinking her fingers into his hair and pricking his scalp with her dull claws. Dennis felt like he was overheating. The boiling water, his burning cheeks, the incredible warmth radiating from her body. He was awash in a sea of feverish sensations. He flinched as he felt her fluffy tail snake between his thighs and wrap around one of his legs, the Regent bringing her soft lips down to his neck, pressing them gently against his wet skin and sending a jolt of electricity shooting down his spine. She rubbed her loins up and down his shaft, teasing him as she rolled her hips, appraising his reaction with her reflective eyes as his face contorted and she forced involuntary sounds from his lips with her cruel dance.

“The Patriarch never shares his toys,” she breathed into his ear, her wet fur rubbing against his red cheek. “Maybe I’ll steal one from him, his prized ambassador. Tell me, Dennis, will you become my toy?”

He was in no fit state to answer her. Overcome by her teasing, he lowered his head into her cleavage, burying his face in her damp fur as if trying to escape the stimulation she was inflicting upon him.

She had plainly stated her intentions to make him love her. She was intoxicating, insidious, worming her way into his brain with every gentle kiss and every soft whisper. But was she doing it because she liked him, or just as some roundabout way to get back at the Patriarch? He realized that he didn’t care. The thought of her manipulating him, of the Regent wrapping him around her little finger as she pleased, only engorged his erection and set his heart pounding faster in his chest. He couldn’t say why.

These Borealans had awakened a dark craving within him, a new desire that he didn’t want to consciously acknowledge, a burning need that nibbled at the back of his brain like a parasite. This silver-tongued, majestic creature had her hooked claws buried deep in his heart, and she wasn’t about to let go. He didn’t want her to.

Sensing his turmoil, she ran her fingers through his hair as he panted into her cleavage, stroking his head. Her touch was at once soothing and tormenting, placating and provocative. He felt the spongy pads on her fingertips grip his throbbing, aching member delicately, guiding him towards her opening beneath the hot water. He moaned into the white fur of her chest as he felt his exposed glans graze the tight entrance of her opening. Now it was her turn to sigh, and he felt her grip on his hair tighten as she slowly pushed him inside her. The textured folds of her velvet passage grazed his glans, lubricated by the hot water and the Regent’s own copious contribution. He grunted into her furry cleavage as she lowered herself onto him, impaling herself on his rigid member and pushing him deeper inside her until he met resistance in her depths. The heat was dizzying, he felt as if his erection was an iron in a forge, glowing orange and dripping molten metal as she melted him with her burning loins.

He almost wanted to beg her to stop. He felt as though once she started to move it would be over for him and he’d be completely under her spell, but some deeper part of him wanted that, craved it even.

The Regent rose on his shaft, the delicate folds of her insides clinging to his shaft as they sucked at his wet skin, gripping him possessively. She purred, the low rumbling vibrating his bones through the water, and she bit her lower lip with her pointed fangs. It was an oddly human gesture coming from such an alien creature.

“You’re so warm, I can feel you pulsing inside of me,” she muttered. She slammed down on him, harder this time, forcing his aching member all the way to the base. Her slippery tunnel gripped him like a fist gloved in damp silk, and she began to pump ruthlessly. Dennis had been with women before but this was different, the Regent’s loins were sublime, heavenly. She was of the highest genetic stock, refined over generations of selective breeding aimed at producing the most regal and resplendent example of her kind, and her obvious pride only added to her overpowering charm. Every powerful thrust of her wide hips felt like it drove him deeper inside her, the enormous creature grinding against him, measured and gentle considering that she could easily have shattered his bones. Bright points of light flashed before his eyes, and his muscles spasmed, waves of pleasure rolling up his spine as she maintained her fervent pace, her eyes closed as she lost herself in the rhythm.

Dennis felt a sudden surge of aggression well up inside him. He wanted this, he wanted her, more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. He raised his hands to her plump breasts, sinking his fingers into the ample fat and probing for the firm tissue beneath. She gasped, and he felt her insides close around him in a surprised contraction, sucking him further in. He mauled her breasts, taking generous handfuls of her doughy flesh, feeling it fill his palms and spill between his fingers like putty. He sucked one of her protruding nipples into his mouth, trapping it between his lips and scouring its tender surface with his tongue. She growled in response, tightening her grip on his hair until it became painful, but he didn’t relent.

“Humans ... full of surprises,” she grunted through clenched teeth. He pinched her nipple in his teeth, and she bucked, forcing his stiff member up against the roof of her tunnel. She let out a long, low moan as her eyelids fluttered, lowering her head to press her teeth into his neck.

It was a fight now, and Dennis was fueled by a newfound determination to win it.

Arcs of electricity danced in his brain as she pricked his vulnerable skin with her pointed fangs. The familiar sensation warned him to submit, washing over him in dizzying waves, but he fought it. He applied more suction to her engorged nipple, painting it with his saliva and gently biting her areola, clawing at her soft breasts and sinking his fingers up to the knuckle in her yielding fat. She pressed him up against the rock, trapping him beneath a mountain of fur and flesh, her seething passage massaging him in cruel waves with its relentless squeezing and sucking.

She chuckled as he gasped into her bosom, her hot breath tickling his skin, mouthing and kissing his jugular as he strained against her. He felt as though someone was pouring carbonated water over his brain. It popped and fizzled, his eyes becoming unfocused as she pressed her sharp teeth into his throat, sending a shudder rolling down through his body. The mock attack was finished with a warm, wet kiss that made Dennis’ loins throb with desire as she withdrew her teeth and pressed her puffy lips against his moist skin.

He began to thrust more violently now, the stimulation getting the better of him. He needed more, he could feel a new urgency rising up inside of him, his orgasm welling. The Regent closed her legs around him, locking him inside her so that he couldn’t move, and brought her hands to his cheeks. She held his head steady as she watched him struggle, stroking his red cheek with her fluffy thumbs.

“Go slow ... savor me,” she crooned, grinning as his face flared crimson in response to her words. “Imagine I’m a succulent piece of meat, do you want to eat me in one bite, or relish every mouthful?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but as his lips parted, she brought her head down and met them with a paralyzing kiss. The tip of her long tongue taunted him as it tickled his throat, their tongues intertwining in a painfully slow waltz that set his head spinning. He wanted desperately to thrust into her, to feel the sublime contours of her tunnel wring him dry. But she would not allow it, holding him still, his cock twitching and soaking in her viscous excitement as she ravished him with her skilled embrace.

The kiss dragged on for minutes, Dennis’ heart throbbing as if it were trying to break free of his chest in order to offer itself to her. He tried to tell her to stop for fear that her roving tongue would make him come again, but she tangled it around his own, cutting off his plea as his member pulsed and bounced inside her. He felt like we was floating, flashes of white light flaring in his brain as if his spine had been replaced with an optical cable.

She finally released him, breaking away with a wet pop. Her meaty tongue slid out of his mouth obscenely, trailing a mixture of their saliva. Dennis was beside himself, overcome. His body refused to respond to his commands, and his brain sizzled as if the heat was boiling it in his skull. He cried out as she unlocked her thighs and started to roll her hips again, the sudden stimulation making him jump and buck. She closed her arms around him in a bear hug, holding him against her silky body as she dictated the pace of their coupling. He delved his hands into her chubby love handles, marveling at the width of her massive body. Were he to hug her, his hands would not even come close to meeting on the other side. He gripped her waist and pulling her closer, leveraging her insulating fat to thrust harder and deeper as they moved together. She was so touchable, so inviting, the soft paunch of her belly protruding slightly over her groin. He slid a hand down to her ass, then paused, lost for a moment. Her body was so plush and large that he had to shuffle a little closer to her in order to reach. When his fingers found her plentiful buttock, he began to knead her flesh like he was shaping dough, weighing her heavy cheeks as they floated in the water. Her swaying breasts begged for his attention as they bumped against his face, quivering like a plate of jello, somehow keeping their wonderful teardrop shape despite the gravity that tugged at them. Her elegant coat of silken fur encapsulated it all, white and pure like the snow that surrounded them.

“Harder ... slower,” she moaned as she wrapped her sinewy tail around his waist to guide him. She slowed his pace but pulled him into her with greater force, slamming down on him with almost enough strength to bruise. Every thrust burned into his brain like a solar flare and numbed his lower body, his legs becoming limp and useless. She kept up the torturous pace, her insides roiling around him and sticking to his cock, as though a thousand tongues were sliding up and down his shaft. Her voluptuous body fought to draw him back inside her oozing depths whenever she pulled back, before crashing down on him again with a primal grunt, eliciting an anguished yelp or a low moan despite his efforts to contain them. The fact that the two guards were watching from their post a short distance away, their eyes lingering on him as the Regent fucked him mercilessly, only added to his arousal and embarrassment. She was sapping his will to fight, he was losing, and he liked it.