Chapter 94: SM03-Tau, Day 402

The creature that knew itself only as Matriarch's milk slave awoke slowly, its mind blurred by an emotional damper. It was lying, naked as always, on a soft but supporting surface, with two warm bodies pressed against it.

Unlike the body of Matriarch, these bodies were the same temperature as its own, and their general shape was like it as well. The only difference was that these bodies had a thick growth of long fur on their heads, and a patch between their legs, just above the spot which milk slave could use to pleasure itself if it was careful not to make any sound.

The milk slave started as it realized the others were awake and aware, and looking at it. Like those of the slave, the breasts of the others were large, engorged with the milk that calmed Matriarch when she wasn't angry enough to forget how much she enjoyed drinking from her slave, instead of beating it.

Despite the damper, the milk slave began to feel fear at the strange surroundings, but one of the others slowly raised its hand, and gently stroked the slave's cheek, crooning in a low tone, apparently heedless of the harsh punishment it would receive for making such sounds.

The two other slaves rose from the bed, which lay beneath another, higher sleeping surface, and guided the milk slave to another room, where one of them squatted on a seat with a large hole in it, and relieved itself into the bowl beneath. The slave wiped itself with a small square pulled from a nearby opening, then stood as the bowl emptied itself. Grateful for the example, the milk slave followed suit, relieving the pressure in its bladder.

It wasn't obvious that the device would handle a bowel movement, which the other hadn't demonstrated, but fortunately, the milk slave didn't have any need in that area, so the question wasn't important yet. The slave's two guides led it into another part of the room, where warm water began to flow over them, and a cleaning agent was applied to the slave, removing the odors of its sweat, and soothing its skin.

The three of them dried each other with warm, fluffy cloths, then returned to what the milk slave guessed were its new owner's sleeping quarters. The guides led it to a table, and one of them fetched several plates from a replicator, offering one to their new colleague, then sampling each food as if to show that it wasn't going to be poisoned.

The tastes of the food were all unfamiliar, and ranged from bland to pleasant, and the slave sampled each one, despite not being terribly hungry. All of the pains and discomforts the slave had felt before being brought here were gone.

Its stomach full, the slave leaned back, and it felt its mind clear as the damper was slowly withdrawn. A glance at the others showed that they were collared, with some stiff but flexible substance that had a soft lining to protect their skin from chaffing. As the effects of the damper receded, the slave was suddenly aware of the absence of a long-familiar weight around its neck, and its hand came up involuntarily, to find the massive iron collar that had surrounded its neck gone. Not only was the collar missing, but the scars it had caused were gone.

The sudden movement of her hand caused the slave's breasts to jiggle, provoking some discomfort and reminding it that Matriarch had not fed from it recently. The slave was unsure who or what had brought it here, but it hoped that the lack of visible scarring on the others' bodies meant that it too would be well treated. The slave assumed that the absence of its old collar meant that Matriarch no longer owned it, and hoped that its new owner did not enjoy causing pain.

The slave was diverted from its mental wanderings by the novel experience of a room monitor delivering a message whose language content was completely inside the slave's audible range. One of the others made sounds that could only be speech, touched the slave's wrist gently, then rose and left the room.

The slave was terribly confused. For its entire life, anything resembling speech had been almost completely outside its audible range, and the province of its owner and its owner's tools. It had only vague memories of any creatures that resembled it, and none whatsoever of anything that looked like it using language. Any attempt to vocalize had been severely punished, so the slave found even the concept of speaking difficult to grasp.

The other that had left the room returned, holding a small bundle, which proved to be something that the slave had never seen, but that stirred strange feelings inside it. The bundle contained a miniature version of the other, with head much larger in proportion to its body, and short, slightly bowed legs. The other sat down in a chair, and brought the small bundle to its chest, where it latched its mouth onto the other in exactly the way Matriarch's latched onto the slave when she wanted to feed.

An expression of bliss crossed the other's face as the smaller creature fed, and the slave felt a sudden longing, a wish for a small creature to suckle at its breast as this one did. The slave shifted in its seat, and once again, the motion reminded it of the pressure in its breasts and its need to be suckled.

Some trace of its discomfort must have shown on its face, because the other who was not feeding spoke aloud to the room monitor, which replied briefly, followed by words from another voice. The other left its seat and knelt on the floor near the table, and the slave followed suit, in case the exchange foretold the arrival of their owner or her agent.

Moments later, two new arrivals entered the room. Both wore extensive coverings, rather than the simple harnesses Matriarch and her agents wore. One seemed to be like the slave and her guides, with large full breasts behind the cloth around its chest. The other was larger, with broader shoulders and hair not only on the top of its head, but also on the lower edge of its face.

The slave was somewhat confused by this, expecting another member of the Matriarch's species to be its new owner, and decided that the unfamiliar creature was some kind of servant to the owner. Whatever the creature's role, it clearly had authority over the slave and its guides, because the one on its knees was clearly deferential as it spoke to the new ones.

The taller creature gestured to the slave to rise, and gently touched its full breasts, examining them and their distended state. The touch sent an unfamiliar surge through the slave, and it gasped, then paled at the thought of the punishment that must follow such a sound.

The creature didn't punish the slave, though, but spoke quietly, and stroked the slave's arm, as if to calm it and reassure it that no punishment was forthcoming. The effort succeeded, as the creatures touch both calmed and excited the slave, and the examination continued.

The creature spoke to its companion, who moved its head up and down, then gestured to the taller one to proceed. The creature turned back to the slave, and, moving slowly, lowered its mouth to one of the slave's breasts, taking the nipple into its mouth and beginning to suckle.

Matriarch's feedings had always been a relief from the pressure of too much milk, and a source of pain and discomfort because the shape of her mouth did not match the shape of the nipple. But this creature's mouth fit well, and it suckled gently instead of using the harsh suction that Matriarch had used.

The slave's milk flowed smoothly, relieving the pressure in that breast, but the creature stopped before it drained her completely, and stepped back, gesturing its companion forward. This creature also applied its mouth to the slave, choosing the other breast, and suckling just as gently. Unlike the first creature, this one used its hand to stroke the slave's side, calming it further as it fed its new superior.

Again, the pressure was relieved, but the feeding stopped before draining the breast. This time, when the creature pulled its head from the slave's breast, it stepped forward and took the slave into its arms and squeezed lightly. Instinctively, the slave returned the squeeze, and marveled at the pleasure it got from the contact.

The creature bent its head down, and briefly pressed its lips against the slave's, leaving a light, sweet taste behind that the slave suddenly realized was the taste of its milk. The touch of the other's lips was pleasant, but not as electrifying as the touch of its companion had been. The creature removed its lips, and released the slave, stepping back into position beside the other.

The slave didn't know what to do, so it returned to its knees and awaited some sign of instruction. The tall creature was clearly thinking about what to do next, when the room monitor spoke to it. The shorter of the two creatures spoke back to the monitor, then turned and left the room, returning shortly with two small bundles in its arms. It handed one to the tall creature, then settled down in a chair and loosened its upper wrapping before putting the bundle to its chest to feed.

The tall creature spoke to the shorter one, who considered for a moment, then replied. The creature then gestured the slave to a similar chair, and placed the bundle in its arms, showing it how to support the creature so it could feed.