Chapter 3

Elaine lay on the soft bed with her eyes closed against the light from the crystal sun streaming through the window. The Southern sun had begun shining almost two weeks ago, joining its northern companion, both radiating warmth into the hollow, vibrantly alive shell of New Eden. The long summer had begun.

Elaine had it all worked out in her mind: The crystal sun embedded into the shell of the world near Northern Depot was the 'morning' sun. Approximately three months later, the crystal sun embedded near Southern Depot would begin to glow, and within a few hours of its awakening would be shining brightly. When both suns were shining, that was 'noon-time' or mid-day. When the 'Northern' sun passed into the night side of New Eden and faded, leaving the 'Southern' sun shining halfway up the other side of the sky, it was 'afternoon'.

Everyone already understood that when both crystal suns faded into darkness as the little artificial moon traveled through the shadow of the great god, Jupiter, it was 'night'; for five long, cold, lonely months, it was night.

Elaine realized that it had been completely immature to lose her temper with Beth. Picking on Beth's sexual inclinations was completely unfair. She liked vampirically sinking her teeth into Béla during their lovemaking as much as Beth did. The only thing Beth had done wrong was to be where Elaine had hoped to find Béla. When she'd joyfully awakened the sleeping form on the bed-table and turned her over, it had been the wrong sister.

'Just to touch her one more time, ' Elaine lamented, feeling sorry for herself, again. 'She's going to be gone for so long... ' She felt a tear escape and disappear into the pillow her eyelashes brushed against when she blinked. She hated feeling sorry for herself even more than she felt sorry for herself, which added to her misery.

She also felt angry and restless. Lying on the bed, Elaine suddenly realized that the last time she'd flown was when she had abandoned her departing sister at Southern Depot early in the spring, at least a month ago. She struggled, trying to sit up in the soft, over-cushioned bed. Her right arm was asleep and being laid on by one of her worshipers. She opened her eyes and blinked, focusing on the sleeping face inches from her own.

'What did he say his name was? Coranth or something... '

He was lying on her right arm and had his right arm draped over her. Elaine rolled backward to escape his limp, sticky embrace (and his snoring, morning breath) and was stopped by another warm, sleeping lump.

'Who's this?'

Forcing her body to continue rolling, she rolled halfway over onto the heavy male form behind her and managed to turn her head enough to see who it was. She didn't recognize him at all.

'I wonder if he was any good in bed... ' then remembered that he was.

Between the two of them, they had fucked her into unconsciousness several hours earlier. She smiled as she remembered. As she remembered, that certain part of her body began to buzz again.

'Sex! My drug of choice! Yum!

'No!' Elaine chastised herself determinedly. 'I want to fly! Besides, these two lumps won't be any good until they're fed... '

She managed to free her arm from underneath... 'Coriander! That's what his name is! I remember now. These two are students at the university.'

She finally managed to climb, slide and roll over to the outside of the bed. She shoved 'Rod (lovely name, very appropriate, darling, can I have you over again, sometime?)' into the middle of the bed. As he stopped rolling, 'Cory, he said to call him, ' wrapped his arm around his friend and fellow student and sighed pleasantly in his sleep.

'They're going to be really embarrassed when they wake up in each other's arms, ' she giggled to herself. If they got upset, she would handle it. 'A good fuck will handle just about any kind of upset a male can have... '