Venned Denmates 3

    “Hey, Denn- errr, Copperqueen, how about lunch?” Peter poked his head into my office, flushing at almost calling me by my human name. I flashed him an encouraging smile. My colleagues had known me for years, and expecting them to call me by my chakat name from one day to the next was unrealistic. Much less correctly using chakat pronouns.

    “Sure!” I said and locked my workstation. With a loud yawn, I stretched myself. I'd spent the last couple of hours working on my haunches since I didn't exactly fit into chairs anymore. It wasn't bad, I'd brought a blanket with me which I'd spread out in front of my desk. Working like this really was okay, and probably way better for my back than my human sitting position had been. It's just... I'd spent two hours sitting around, and my body clearly disagreed with physical inactivity, it wanted to run.

    “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” a jesting voice called out, “Let's get to the canteen fast. Have you seen her fangs? That kitty-kat is hungry. If we aren't careful, she's gonna eat us!”

    I closed my snout with an audible 'snap' and rolled my eyes at the talker. Steven loved bantering, he was our division’s jokester.

    “Old Dennis would have loved eating us for lunch if he'd been able to,” Peter argued. “The new one is a lady. She wouldn't do that. Right?”

    I had to giggle at that. “Yes, contrary to you, I have table manners. I only eat high-quality meat. But—”

    “Oh-ho, shots fired, shots fired!”

    Ignoring the interjection, I continued. “–technically, I'm not a lady.” I gave them a pointed stare. “I'm a hermaphrodite, as I explained before.”

    “You got boobs and all the other stuff which goes with a female, plus, under all that fur, you're cute as a button.” Peter furrowed his brows. “In my book, you're a lady. Good thing someone finally does something for our female quota. I just wouldn't have thought that it would be you.”

    Even though I knew that he was joking, I still felt my cheeks heat at the compliment. Thank God my fur was keeping those signals hidden. And I was pretty sure that they couldn't decipher my emotions based on my tail's movements... yet.

    Of course Steven couldn't let this fit occasion pass. “A wise man once said, ‘There are no chicks with dicks, only dudes with boobs’,” he quoted philosophically, making Peter and me roll our eyes and groan.

    “Shut up, Steven!”

    “Hey, Copperqueen! Over here!”

    Steven, standing next to me with his tray, elbowed me slightly. “Pssst... Dennis... I might be wrong, but I think that might be your girlfriend over there.”

    “You don’t say.” I scowled at him, the laden tray in my hand being the only thing which kept me from facepalming. Of course the grey-and-black-spotted, waving person at the other end of the dining hall was my mate. There was absolutely no need for hir to wave like this, how was I supposed to overlook the only other chakat among hundreds of humans? And even if we'd been in pitch-black darkness, I'd have smelled hir immediately. All shi accomplished right now was making a spectacle out of hirself.

    I sighed, but also couldn't keep myself from smiling a bit. It was really hard to imagine that this was the scared kitten from earlier this morning. Shi was always like this, had already been like this as a human. She was incredibly hesitant of the first step, but once the first hurdle was overcome, she transformed into an unstoppable avalanche.

    “Looks like my presence has been requested,” I told my colleagues with an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, I guess you'll have to spend lunch break without me.”

    Trying to navigate the packed hall proved to be a non-trivial challenge. My chakat body took up the space of several normal humans, and squeezing yourself past the occupied tables already was a tight fit for a human, much less for someone like me. Add to that my tray, which was overloaded with food.

    This was actually a financial downside of being a chakat. Our bodies were 400 pound powerhouses of muscles and fur, and those powerhouses wanted to be supplied with energy. A normal dish barely counted as an appetizer, so I had ordered not one but two dishes, plus a triplet of desserts. The two salad bowls barely were an afterthought. Our food expenses definitely would soar into the heavens from now on.

    I noticed that Snowblossom had done a similar job of raiding the pantry as I finally broke through to the other side. Well, shi was of similar size to me, after all. Intriguingly, it didn't seem as if shi was alone. There were four more people with hir, and only one was human. The others were... different. A lot. So we weren't the only heavily Venned people in the company. Interesting.

    Snowblossom quickly answered my unspoken question. “Hi Copperqueen!” shi greeted me with a dazzling smile after I'd put my tray down and hugged hir. “You probably didn't read my mail, did you?”

    Her mail? I cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. In engineering, you could either read and answer mails... or you could do actual work. Doing both was physically impossible. Well, not quite. It might work if you'd Venn yourself into two people, but I wouldn't bet on it. So of course I hadn't checked my mail. I'd had work to do. “Your mail?” I therefore asked plaintively.

    My mate rolled hir eyes. “Yeah, I'm not sure why I'd expected anything else. I wanted to organize a little get-together with everyone who showed up Venned today. Angela, that's this friendly receptionist's name by the way, gave me the list of everyone who'd requested new IDs today, and I contacted them all.” Shi suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. “Getting the list miiiight have broken a few privacy laws, so it would be cool if our meeting here was... random. You know?”

    I wanted to reply something derisive about stupid privacy laws, but one of the others beat me to it. “Privacy laws are like mortgage-backed securities - a good idea which by now has been thoroughly perverted into a menace.”

    I regarded her curiously. She was definitely of human posture, with two legs and two arms, but that's it. Her entire body was covered in red scales, clothed by garment which remotely reminded me of Indian saris, and instead of a normal face she had pretty much a cobra's snout, complete with hood, poison fangs and a forked tongue. “I'm Susanna, by the way. From accounting.” Intriguingly, her voice was perfectly normal, without the hissing undertones snake-creatures always seemed to produce in movies.

    She offered a hand, just as red-scaled as the rest of her body, and with small, non-retractable claws at the end of her fingers. I took it, and to my surprise, it didn't feel coarse or dry, but rather soft and mellow.

    “I'm Chakat Copperqueen, formerly Dennis, mate of Chakat Snowblossom here, formerly Samantha. Pleased to meet you,” I said as I moved a chair out of the way and sat down in front of her. Snowblossom did the same, snuggling her body against mine and playfully wrapping her tail around my rump. I winced a bit as I felt some crumbs under my unprotected paws. Memo to myself: I'd take my blanket with me in the future.

    “Yay, introductions!” The sole human member of our little table piped up. She was a strikingly cute girl, with long, brown hair and of medium height. Her clothes definitely were on the girlish side, with a pink top, a short pleated skirt and leggings. “My name is Joanna, from testing.” She looked embarrassed for a moment. “You might have known me as Ben.”

    Ah, a genderswap, that explained why she was here.

    “Anyway–” she smiled at me. “–I'm glad that I'm not the only one who switched gender here.”

    I had to laugh at this. “I still got my old equipment, you know? It's just that I got new stuff, too. By that logic, my mate here has genderswapped as well.”

    “Really?” Joanna's eyes went wide.

    “So you two are hermaphrodites, then?” One of the other two who had stayed silent until now suddenly threw in. I eyed him, fully taking in his shape for the first time. He was... impressive. Like us a feline type, a white lion to our snow leopard and Bengal tiger, but only bipedal. He was big, certainly above seven feet, maybe even bordering on eight. And dear lord, he was ripped. For just a moment, I caught myself fantasizing about him standing behind me and raising my tail, putting his– Down, girl!

    I flushed and heard Snowblossom snickering softly. Of course my mate had noticed my emotions, but shi didn't seem perturbed by my little daydream, thank God. I was, though. A few weeks ago, I'd still been a normal, heterosexual man, and now I was suddenly fantasizing about a big, brawny, stud doing– Damn, wrong direction again.

    Thankfully, Snowblossom came to the rescue. “Yep!” Shi answered cheerily. “We're chakats after all, and chakats only have one gender.”

    The lion man nodded. “Yeah, I heard of your species. The feature is kinda fascinating, even though I prefer my male body.” He patted his biceps, which was the size of a grown man's thigh. “Anyway, I'm Andrew, facility management. And since the tin-can here–” He pointed to the final... person... something... sitting next to him, “–is not going to strike up a conversation of its own, I'm gonna introduce it. This is Unit 826.”

    He... it... didn't react. Simply sat there and stared ahead, unmoving. Or at least looking ahead. It clearly was a robot of some kind, with roughly humanoid appearance, but its outer shell was open at the joints so that the mechanical inner workings were clearly visible. The feet were simply three-toed claws, two in front, one behind, and the hands were three-fingered claws as well. And its head was nothing more than an ovoid shape with a speaker and a faintly glowing sensor band.

    “Hey Unit 826, glad to meet you!” Snowblossom called out and offered a hand. The robot didn't took it. Didn't even react in any way.

    Andrew sighed and shook his head. “Told ya. This toaster here is the former Petra, one of my cleaners. She just turned up this morning like this with a message attached that she wants to be used. I first thought she was messing with me, but I learned fairly quickly that she was serious.”

    “Really? How?” Susanna inquired intrigued.

    The lion morph chuckled ruefully. “I told Unit 826 to scrub all the bathrooms with a toothbrush. I figured that eventually she'd become annoyed and give up, but... nope. It took the toothbrush and scrubbed all the bathrooms, until someone complained a couple of hours later. I guess Petra is serious. So I guess I lost an employee and got a robot. I ain't complaining. Unit 826 is way more productive than any human could ever be.”

    Snowblossom and me could barely keep ourselves from giggling, but Joanna seemed horrified. “But... that's like... slavery! You're taking away her humanity and taking advantage of her!”

    Andrew crossed his meaty arms. “No, I'm not. Petra took away her own humanity willingly. Venn Machines won't turn you into obedient slaves if you don't want to. That Unit 826 is obeying my commands means that Petra's mind inside wants to.” He shrugged. “Who am I to argue with her personal decision?”

    The girl still seemed unconvinced, but suddenly, my mate spoke up. “So if Petra wants to be a mindless tool to be used, why is she here? A robot doesn't need to eat.”

    Andrew chuckled. “I think I should let Unit 826 explain this... Unit 826, current state?”

    For the first time, the robot spoke up in a machine-like, clearly artificial voice. “Unit 826, charge level 87%, all systems nominal. Current task: Lunch break. Elapsed time since start of current task: 0.018673 cycles. Remaining time for current task: 0.022997 cycles. Re-engaging hibernation mode.”

    For a few seconds, there was a stunned silence.

    “Lunch break? For a robot?” I finally asked dumbfounded.

    “Labor laws.” Andrew growled annoyed. Snowblossom wanted to object, but he raised his finger, cutting her off. “No, don't say it. Yes, I know. Unit 826 is a robot. Robots don't need breaks. But Unit 826 is also my subordinate Petra, who is a human, and therefore entitled to a lunch break. And if she doesn't take her break, my ass is on the line. Therefore I ordered tin-can here to sit with us.”

    I shook my head at this. Petra was probably right at the threshold of what was still allowed to be Venned into and what was not. Her form probably wouldn't fly if she'd be in engineering or administration, having to work with people and, more importantly, clients. But for a cleaner, being a robot actually might be of advantage. Personally, I couldn't see how becoming a mindless slave had its appeal, but Andrew was right - it was Petra's decision, and we had to respect it.

    “But enough about Unit 826,” the lion huffed. “How about we start eating? Our food is getting cold.”

    “Mine won't,” Joanna chirped. The girl had taken a Ceasar salad and nothing else. Well, given her willowy stature, everything else probably would be too much for her. Andrew's plate on the other hand was filled to the edges with food, just like Snowblossom's and mine's. Given his stature, it was safe to assume that he had similar energy demands like us. Unit 826 had nothing, obviously. But neither had the Cobra woman.

    Susanna chuckled as she noticed my gaze. “This body got special dietary needs,” she told us. “I'll get my food once I'm at home.” Something about the way how she said this, how her emerald, slit pupils glinted in predatory anticipation made a shiver go down my spine. I somehow got the impression that I really didn't want to know what she'd be eating tonight...

    “Why did you choose this body?” I asked her while digging in. “Is it your fursona? Although it's probably scalesona in your case.”

    The cobra morph cocked her head. “Oh, no. I never was a furry. Just... doting on snakes. My hobby is snakes, I'm keeping dozens of them at home as pets. And when the Venn Machines popped up, I simply had to try out being a snake. It was simply awesome. They have perfect skin, are perfectly adapted predators, can see heat... I loved it.”

    She pointed at her body. “Obviously I can't go to work as a snake, so this is the next best thing. All the advantages, none of the disadvantages – contrary to an animal I can speak, open doors or use a keyboard.”

    “So it's essentially a body mod?” Snowblossom asked fascinated. “Like in some science fiction tales where people modify their bodies to be different, just like humans wear different clothes?”

    Susanna shrugged. “I guess you could call it like this.”

    “And... your sex life?”

    I nearly sputtered the juice I'd been drinking all over the table. Snowblossom had definitely taken a liking to the laissez-faire approach to sex the fictional chakat species was renowned for, but shi regularly tended to forget that the majority of the still human race had not. But thankfully, the cobra didn't seem to have taken offense for the very private question.

    Instead, she simply smiled, showing off her venom fangs again. “There's nothing special to it.” She explained, “My husband is still human, at least most of the time, and we're doing nothing we hadn't done before. I didn't change for the sex, and while there are some differences, it's nothing big.”

    Snowblossom laughed. “Well, that's one thing I definitely can't claim.” Shi put her arm around me, hir tail twining all over my back. “Sex as a chakat is frigging awesome. We love it. It's such a big part of our culture, so it's safe to say that it's at least half the reason why we look like this.”

    I felt my ears twitch and become hot in embarrassment. I couldn't disagree with anything she'd said, but damn it, was it really necessary for her to be so open about it around basically strangers? Right now I kinda wanted this morning's scared little kitten back.

    That seemed to have aroused Andrew's interest, because he leaned over and looked at us. “Hm, I'm curious here... You gals got both sets of tools. But you-” he looked at Snowblossom. “-were a woman originally.” Then he looked at me. “And you were a man. Is it still like this... in the bedroom?”

    Oh. My. God. He hadn't asked this, right? He really hadn't? Or had he? I so wanted to disappear, hopefully, Snowblossom wouldn’t—

    “Nope.” My mate piped up cheerfully, destroying all my hopes. “You wouldn't know who of us was male and who was female originally.” She giggled. “We're switching roles regularly. If at all, my mate here likes 'catching', if you get what I mean, more than I do.”

    Mortified, I stared at hir. “Snowblossom!” I managed to press out in a half wail.

    “What?” shi returned innocently. “We're among friends here.”

    “But–” I protested, only to be cut short by Joanna's excited squeal.

    “Oh my goooosh!” The girl cried out. “This is so cute! You were a bunch of furry bisexuals, and when the Venn Machines popped up, you could finally be who you always wanted to be?”

    Huh? Where was this coming from? I looked at her confused. “Uhhh... no?” I said. “I was a perfectly straight male before I turned into a chakat.”

    “And I was a normal heterosexual woman,” Snowblossom added. “But guilty as charged about the furry part.”

    Our answers clearly confused Joanna. “But... if you have neither been a furry nor had any problems with being male... why change?” she asked me.

    I shrugged. “I wanted to be there for my mate whom I love.” Snowblossom next to me mewled happily at this declaration and nuzzled my neck. I got distracted there for a moment, then continued. “Plus I like this body. I'd never been a furry, but it's fun and powerful, and makes me feel more at ease with myself. Does that answer your question?”

    Apparently it did not, because she still seemed puzzled. But before she could say another thing, Andrew interjected.

    “If I may?” the big lion growled with a smile. “I think I know what confuses the little one here. If I'd take a guess I'd say... you've been a trans woman?”

    Joanna's face turned bright pink. Bullseye apparently. Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah...” She said. “I've always hated being a man. Being able to look like this–” She gestured at her petite body. “–is a dream come true.”

    “I quite believe it, my dear,” Susanna said. “But, if you forgive me the question, why did you change only now? Even before Venn Machines turned up, people were transitioning from one gender to another. And they usually kept working while doing so.”

    The girl stared at her manicured fingers awkwardly. “Yeah, from the moment on Venn Machines turned up, I spent every free second as a girl. But... people who transitioned were still recognizable as their old selves. My male body was a lot different. Nobody would have recognized me.” She sighed. “So... I didn't dare do it. I was scared that if I'd come to work in this body, or just ask my boss if it would be okay to, and if the answer would be no, then everyone would know my secret. And I'd still have to come to work in my male body. With everyone knowing. That's just... nope.”

    “I guessed as much,” Andrew growled. “You were in the wrong body, got what should have been the right one for you from the beginning and are as happy as a queen. And now here's someone who claims to have been in the right body all along, still changed it, and is also happy. Even though, by your logic, shi shouldn't be... right?”

    “Shi?” Joanna inquired. “What's that supposed to mean?”

    “Chakat pronouns,” The lion explained. “They are neither male nor female, so you can't call them him and her or he and she. It's shi and hir.” Impressed at his knowledge of the correct pronouns, I looked at Snowblossom who reflected my own amazement. The big guy had obviously done his homework!

    “Uhhh... okay... if you say so.” Joanna shook her head, then continued. “As for your question... yeah... I once witnessed how a dude got turned into a girl by a prankster. She went absolutely bananas and trashed the place until someone showed her how to turn back.”

    Andrew laughed brightly. “Oh sure, there sure are these types. Goddamn bigots, if you ask me. Can't stand the thought of losing their precious dicks. But for most people, it's not a big deal. Let me show you something...” He took out his phone, tapping through some folders. “Look at this,” he said, putting the phone on the table. “That's me.”

    Everyone bent forward to look at it. Except for the robot, of course. The phone showed an image of a clearly furry couple, a musclebound anthro dragon and, draped over his arm, a very well-endowed wolf girl in a skimpy party dress and high heels.

    Snowblossom furrowed her brows. “You got more than one fursona? A dragonkin as well?”

    Now the big lion grinned. “Nope and nope. Sometimes, I just like to spend the night in a different shape. And I'm not the dragon... I'm the wolfess.”

    WHAT? I ogled the big feline in disbelief. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine this stud in front of me and the sexy gal on the picture to be one and the same person.

    He retrieved his smartphone calmly. “The big dude is a good friend of mine. We didn't have any dates that evening, so we threw a coin to decide who'd become the girl.” He shrugged. “I lost.”

    Susanna chuckled. “And how far did you go?”

    Andrew smiled. “All the way... It was pretty fun, too.” He turned to Joanna, whose look of disbelief probably mirrored mine. “I've done a lot of Venning, and by now I have a pretty good clue about the stuff works. Venn Machines always make you feel comfortable in your new body. But that's only on the physical layer. Not the metaphysical one.”

    He seemed to sense that he was losing us there. “Okay, let me give you an example here. At one time, a prankster whom I foolishly trusted with changing me in a Venn Machine decided to play a prank on me. The asshat turned me into some kind of Lovecraftian abomination. Way too many legs and arms and claws and... you get the idea.” He shuddered at the thought. “Lots of screaming all around when I stepped out of the Venn Machine. Anyway, the point is, that I still felt fine, despite being turned into a shape which had no right existing. That–” he raised a clawed finger, “–is the physical layer.”

    “But even so, the moment I saw myself in the mirror, I lost it and ran back into the Venn Machine ASAP. I was horrified of what I'd become.” He raised a second finger. “And that is the metaphysical layer.”

    Joanna considered this. “So the reason why that dude went bonkers after being turned into a girl was–”

    “Because he was a sexist bigot who couldn't stand the thought of being a woman,” the big lion concluded the sentence. “Not because it felt wrong on a physical level. For the same reason, you're fine. Not only did the Venn Machine put you at ease in your new body, your mind openly welcomes it.”

    “You're saying Copperqueen and Snowblossom are cool with having guy and girl parts because they are mentally flexible enough to embrace the change?” Susanna inquired. “That's fascinating.”

    Andrew nodded. “Yep. Same reason for me. I really like being male. But I don't mind being female every now and then. If half the human population can cope with it, so can I. The sex is good, too.”

    I could barely believe the turn this conversation had taken. Fascinating indeed! Andrew was answering so many questions which I'd posed to myself over the last few weeks.

    “So what about sexual orientation?” I asked, suddenly feeling bold. “In my human body, I'm only attracted to girls. But in this body...” I flushed as I looked at him. Did I see a tiny hint of a grin there? Did he realize how much he was turning me on? “...I'm also attracted to guys. Mind you–” I quickly added, “–I still seem to like girls more.”

    “Same answer, actually,” the lion morph replied. “There are two layers again. The first layer is what your body is attracted to. You're a hermaphrodite currently, so it's only natural for you to be turned on by gals and guys. And then there's your mind of course. You've grown up as a male, with a male body, which left an imprint on your mind. That's why you like girls just a bit more – your body likes both, but your mind thinks that only girls are a valid target.”

    “The mind is a plaything of the body, huh?” Snowblossom mused.

    “Exactly.”

    There was a pious silence for a minute or two as everyone digested the deep discussion.

    And then Unit 826 suddenly stood up. “Unit 826, charge level 86%. All systems nominal. Task lunch break has been concluded. Next item in task queue: Cleaning bathroom B2.5.24. Executing.” Without giving us so much as a glance, the machine turned and stepped away towards the exit, servo engines whizzing and buzzing.

    Joanna looked after it, apparently still not entirely sure what she should make out of the robot. “She's not really just a mindless robot, is she? I mean, the Venn Machines can't do that, can they?”

    Andrew opened his muzzle to respond, but then suddenly, just for a moment, Unit 826 mechanical movements changed, becoming more life-like. Its right manipulator moved, displaying the robotic approximation of a thumbs-up.

    For a few seconds, everybody stared at the retreating apparatus, baffled. And then, slowly, the whole table started laughing.

********************************

    My mate was beaming with joy. “Oh, this was an awesome day!” shi chattered happily. “Everyone was so nice! And the new friends we— Copperqueen, what's going on?”

    “Huh? Oh, sorry.” My ears drooped a bit in embarrassment. “Yeah, you're right, it was fun. It's just... I was thinking about something.”

    Shi giggled. “Oh, I got that part.” The other chakat tippy-toed closer, until our fur was touching. “Wanna fill me in? Come on, I'm curious.”

    I smiled at my mate. Well, why the hell not... ”You still remember what Andrew said at lunch? About the mind being a plaything of the body?” As Snowblossom signaled me to carry on, I continued. “You know, I've been wondering about myself over the last few weeks. Whenever I'm in chakat form, I'm different. More... feminine.”

    Snowblossom nodded. “Yep. I noticed that. When we went shopping last Saturday, you were just like any other girl.” Shi giggled. “The way you were raiding the clothes shop... I've seen lots of girls who were as enamored with dressing up as you, but only veeeery few boys.”

    I smiled insecurely. “Anything more?”

    “Loads. You're a lot chattier and bolder. I've discovered a certain mischievous streak in you, and if the rumor mill has it right, your colleagues have, too.”

    I nodded ruefully. No point in denying the obvious.

    “And you're showing a lot more emotions. You remember when we re-watched this anime recently, while we were chakats? What was it called?”

    “The Place Further than the Universe?” I asked, knowing exactly what shi was talking about.

    “Yes, that one! The first time we watched it, as humans, I could totally see how hard it hit you when the girl found her mother's laptop. But you just sat there, stoically, hellbent on not shedding even a single tear. The second time, as chakats, you were blubbering in my arms.”

    “We were blubbering in each other’s arms,” I corrected pointedly.

    “Details, details.” Snowblossom waved hir hand. “Anyway, the answer is... yes, in chakat form, you're different. Which doesn't mean that I love you any less. Quite the opposite, actually.” Shi smiled, taking my hand and rubbing it against hir furry cheek. “So what's your point?”

    I took a deep breath. “You see, I've thought about this. A lot, actually. And now I think what's going on. Let me take a guess... you were wondering if either the Venn Machine has changed my personality...”

    “Pretty much, yes,” Snowblossom conceded. “Though, according to Andrew, that shouldn't be possible. Yet yours quite obviously changes when you're in this body,” shi observed quizzically.

    “...or if I'd been a closeted gay all the time and only letting it out now that the body fits.”

    “Uhhh...” My mate nibbled on hir lower lip. “Not... exactly. But...”

    I laughed. “The thought crossed your mind, right?” I laughed at the embarrassed look on hir face. “Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I actually posed the same question to myself. And now I'm pretty sure that I got the answer. And it is no and yes.”

    “Huh?” Now shi ogled me. “Okay, you lost me there.”

    “No, because I haven't been gay,” I explained. “I was fairly happy being a straight guy. But yes because there really was no personality change the Venn Machine imposed upon me. What you're seeing when I'm in chakat form is all mine – it's just bottled up when I'm a human.”

    I looked at my mate with a smile. “I was a guy; guys act a bit differently from gals, and therefore I acted like one, suppressing some parts of my personality which are ascribed to females.”

    “But isn't that essentially the definition of being closeted?” Snowblossom asked doubtingly.

    I shrugged. “It really comes down to memories and expectations. Besides, I don't think it went this deep,” I said with another shrug. “I didn't hide my sexual identity and preferences. And according to Andrew I'm only into guys now because it's normal for my body. I think it's more like... hmm... how to explain this...”

    I searched my mind for a suitable example, then giggled as I found one. “Ah, yeah. There is this chakat impulse we have, to hug everyone and anything upon greeting. Yet humans are not accustomed to getting hugged by people they are not really close to, so we suppress the urge and go for the traditional handshake instead. We're deliberately subduing that part of ourselves because humans would frown upon it. It's on that level, I think.”

    The other chakat rubbed hir chin thoughtfully. “So when you're a chakat, you're acting all like a girl because that's how you'd love to act like as a male as well, but don't because you think people would call you a camp then?”

    “Essentially.” I nodded. “Mind you, all of that happened unconciously. I didn't do it on purpose. I needed a whole afternoon to figure it out. I guess that's some kind of deeply ingrained, cultural sub-routine running silently in the back of my mind. 'You're a male, don't do X, males don't do that’,” I chuckled. “Which is why I'm letting it all out as a chakat. The precondition isn't true anymore, therefore the sub-routine terminates prematurely.”

    Snowblossom sighed. “One of the reasons I took you was your affinity for techno-gibberish.” Shi gave me a little peck on the nose. “I have no frigging idea what you're talking about, but it sounds super smart and awesome!”

    I giggled. “Mission accomplished, then.”

    My mate gave me a coquettish look. “So... now that the riddle about your mysterious personality change has been solved, and since you're at ease now with your feminine traits...” Suddenly, shi smirked at me. “...does this mean I get to take you from behind again tonight?”

    I coughed. “You know, just because my personality got feminine traits doesn't automatically mean that in the bedroom I'd love to play the girl, too!” But my heart wasn't into the rebuke. After all, I knew what I liked her to do to me. And so did she.



To be continued in Trust Machines - Venned Denmates 4!