Graell's Quest - A Tribute To Arthur free porn video

Graell's Quest - A Tribute to Arthur The day wasn't going well for one K. Graell: Not able to put aside the memory of the terrifying dream, nor the puzzle out the relationship between the archeological keepsake and the 'ginormous' snake. The bracer had always been a piece of beauty and reminder of some very good times, not from the moment it had been brought to the light of day had it ever failed to elicit admiration from anyone to whom it was shown. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that it had become tainted. For the second time in as many days, the ex-academician felt the need for a mind-clearing walk. The problem with the walk idea was it wasn't a particularly nice day, blustery and overcast. Always strong-headed, the weather simply added to K's vexation. It was particularly galling to be looking at a wardrobe full of fine wet weather gear, dress and casual, all of which were sized for someone about a foot taller. So, "Kei" was perusing "Uncle's" clothing to see if there was anything else that could be adapted. The sweatshirts and track-pants, K had already embraced as comfortable and serviceable. Although baggy, that was preferable to binding, for with judicious rolls at the sleeves and ankles they had been made to fit. There didn't seem to be anything that could be put to use as a jacket though. In desperation, K opened up a box that had been tucked away even before the move. Instantly, K thought 'Eureka,' as the smell of mothballs wafted up. The box contained old hand-me-down blazers from K's university days. One of them, a "Harris Tweed," he'd been given by his father when he was in High school. K tried it on, and while it was too long in both the hem and the sleeves, it didn't fit like a tent the way everything else had. So, somewhat sheltered from the elements, K set off. Catching a reflection in a passing store window, K was rather proud of the results. Shoulders back, head high, ponytail bobby back and forth in time to the sway of hips in motion, a pretty sight to be sure, even if the admiring glance that thought so was being a touch narcissistic. Starting to feel a bit better despite the threatening clouds, K decided that a little pick-me-up was in order. Accordingly, the first stop of the trek was a small coffee shop K had noted the previous day. The window advertised beans roasted on the premises, which sounded promising. Moments later, K was back on the street with a half-pound of beans tucked, not too uncomfortably, in one waist pocket, and a small 'to go' in one hand. K's feet decided they wanted to go further south today, and as K's mind was busily occupied with other things, the feet went hither and yon as they wished. Shortly the brunette was past the Rainbow Quarter and headed into the city's large central park. Walking down the recreational path paralleling the river which cut through the park more or less diagonally north-west to south-east, K was relatively oblivious to the tranquil setting, lost in contemplation 'Sometimes,' K thought in reviewing the "event," for the umpteenth time, 'I feel like I'm in a battle with my own senses.' At that moment, a splatter of rain blew into K's face, with the wind promising more. The physical discomfort changed the contemplative examination to mind versus matter. K had a thought more appropriate to what was now a past-life. 'From a perceptual point of view, the only real difference between my dream and my reality is the linearity of being awake. It's no wonder,' K realized, 'that ancient shamen believed drugs to be an avenue to the supernatural. If no one was telling them it wasn't real, and their senses believed it to be real, why wouldn't they have acted upon it as if it was real?' Another, stronger, gust of wind and heavier raindrops brought K back to the here and now. Becoming more aware of the outside world, and casting a worried look at how dark the sky had gotten, K realized that shelter was farther away than the rain and started back north. Despite a quickening pace, when the drizzle started to pick up to a steady rain, K was only just at the southern edge of the Rainbow Quarter. More concerned for the coffee beans than for personal health, K considered options and recognized some landmarks from the previous day. 'That shop......' Keith noted, 'is only a block or so away.' Carrying on up the street, keeping one eye open for trouble, K approached the shop, noting today, with amusement, the cheesy name; 'Sense U All U,' with a wince. When the door opened, ringing a little bell, Wanda looked up from the book she was reading. It had been a slow day in the retail sex business. "Kei?" She was surprised to see the young woman again, but seeing the wet strands of hair, guessed what had happened, "didn't really expect to see you again, caught in the rain?" K nodded, adding, "Hi, do you mind? If I can wait a few minutes until the worst is past, I'd appreciate it." "Not at all," Wanda smiled, and then did a little double take; that smell, was that mothballs? "Been a little dead in here," but as she added that, the door chimed again and two more young woman entered, one smiling, and the other finishing a nervous giggle at something the other must have said just before opening the door. "Hi," Wanda greeted the newcomers with a smile, "can I help you?" "We're planning a stagette," the smiling one answered, "a friend told us you had some..." there was a pause and a special emphasis placed on the next word, "...appropriate... ...party favours? Said we should ask for," her voice took on a mischievous seductive tone, "Wicked Wanda." "That would be me," Wanda smiled, shaking her head at the nickname that just wouldn't quit, "You'd be wanting to look over there," she pointed towards the right side of the store, "to the left of the display cabinet are some novelties, aids and jokes and such," she pointed to the other side of the store, "and over there are some of the more exotic things. Movies are on the shelves at the back there, the more gal friendly are on the other side of the first row, mmm-K? You can just look around. Let me know if you need help finding anything specific." The smiling one dug an elbow into the nervous one's side and nodded, "Okay thanks." The two moved off. K smiled and said quietly with a smile and upraised eyebrow, "Wicked Wanda?" Wanda laughed. "It just stuck, okay? I'm not," she paused, "y''know. Wicked." She finished with a smile, "Much anyway." "Well, I can see why they'd want you working here. If I was a young woman, I wouldn't be in here if it was some guy behind the counter. Who knew?" K looked back to Wanda to see an odd smile on her face, and realized the boo-boo, "You know, like them, young women on a mission." Wanda smiled, more intrigued by the young brunette than she wanted to admit, "You mean shopping for a stagette?" She shrugged, "lot more of that than you'd think. Everybody wants to sow their wild oats - not just a guy thing." She looked Kei up and down, "speaking of shopping," Wanda paused trying hard to not sound harsh, "Can I ask?" She didn't wait for a response, "Did you lose your luggage? Yesterday, today. You look like you're wearing your father's old clothes." K blushed, but up until that moment had thought the clothes were okay, "umm, close, they're my Uncle's." Wanda frowned slightly, "Your Uncle's?" Kei explained briefly getting the request to house-sit and how yes, some personal luggage had gone missing, concluding that a shopping trip was in order. Wanda nodded, and then held up a finger as the two shoppers approached the cash with an armload each of nick-knacks, toys and novelties, "Hold that thought." K noted with not-so-simulated horror that one of the things they had was a 'Buster.' The nervous one saw K's shocked expression and dug an elbow into her friend, "See, I told you." Referring to a debate they'd had about buying it and what people would think. The smiling one laughed and said, a touch defensively, "It's a gag, you know. Put it in a box with a little hammer and a sign; 'In case of Emergency - Break Glass.' I thought it would be cute." Wanda laughed, an instant, genuine, amused laughter, "That is cute. Points for originality." She totalled up the purchases and concluded the sale. K watching in bemused silence. Some of the things they'd bought were complete unknowns. "Y'know," Wanda ventured, after the two party-planners had left, "I could use a trip to the mall myself. Tomorrow's my day off, how about we meet up and go together. I mean, if you want to? Company's always good, eh?" Wanda wasn't sure why she was motivated to continue to assist her stray puppy, but there was something about the young brunette that brought out the Samaritan in her. It didn't occur to her that it was more 'mother' than 'Samaritan' but in any event the final result was the same. K hadn't thought too much about buying more clothes as long as there had been things that were serviceable around. Newly self-conscious about the fashion statement being made, just 'serviceable' was no longer acceptable. 'Particularly,' the thought crossed K's mind, 'if I'm going to continue with this whole going out in public thing.' It also occurred to K that buying clothes with someone who presumably knew something about woman's clothes was probably a good idea. "Okay, deal," K smiled and they worked out the details of meeting up. The next day the two met as arranged and got on a city bus to go to "The BIG Mall," as Wanda put it. As the bus did the stop and go thing buses do on the way to the mall, the two chitchatted. K learned that Wanda had insisted on getting Saturdays off because her second job was waiting tables in a pub and Friday was her regular night. The rest of her hours varied and she couldn't count on any other day on a usual basis. K also found out that Wanda's current boyfriend wasn't "the one," but he was a nice guy and they had fun. She'd started going out with him after breaking up with her previous boyfriend who might have been "the one" except for she'd caught him cheating on her with one of his models. He was a photographer, and she had some really good quality shots he'd taken if "Kei wanted to see them sometime." Wanda in turn, learned almost nothing about Kei as K had managed to keep Wanda talking by asking appropriate questions at the appropriate moments to lead her from one topic to the next. When they bus pulled into the public transit corridor at the mall, it was with some embarrassment to Wanda that she realized she'd been talking almost non-stop the whole way. Wanda took charge from the moment they got off the bus. The first stop was a moderately priced casual wear store. K was trying to look comfortable, but was more or less aware that in comparison to Wanda, awkward was a better description. There was an awe inspiring speed to Wanda's movements, as she perused the sale racks, picking out things that she thought were the right size for Kei. At first, Wanda had been a bit self-conscious about choosing clothing for another woman. Shortly, without really being aware, she started to pick clothing that she felt would flatter Kei, short-crop tank tops, cashmere sweaters, skirts and straight-legged jeans. K soon got into the spirit of modelling Wanda's choices, emerging from the change room with a strut and a pirouette, sometimes to be greeted by an affirming nod and a smile, sometimes with a wrinkled nose and a thumb's down. The two had been hesitant at first, reserved for each their own reasons, but as their shared chemistry of enjoyment became apparent, it allowed them to fall into the moment with abandon. K had never felt attractive - handsome - nor the centre of attention. Although not unpopular, it was clear that it was mind and not beauty that was luring the opposite sex. Wanda, for her part, although never wanting for attention, had never really been made to feel that her mind - her advice - was trusted and useful, nor so thoroughly accepted. Each of the two young adults were caught up by, and enjoying, the approval of the other. After trying on many combinations of tops and bottoms, K settled on several items and nodded to the cashier. The cashier, on commission, was smiling in encouragement. "Cash or charge?" She asked, after processing the purchases. "Cash," K affirmed in a nonchalant voice. Wanda did a double-take. Although on sale 60-80% off, the items had totalled over two hundred dollars, and then Wanda's eyes boggled. K pulled a wad of cash out of a pocket, counting off fifties without a care. A troubled look crossed her face. The next store that Wanda ushered K to was a shoe store. The blonde recommended several different styles of footwear to compliment the clothing K had just purchased. As before, K modelled the various different selections before deciding on a pair of semi-casual oxford style flats, a pair of canvass sneakers and pair of ankle boots. Wanda almost gagged when K pulled out a folded wad of cash just as big as the first out of the other pocket. It nagged at her, but she had to be fair, in the loose clothing that Kei was wearing, she really hadn't had a clue the money was there. When they left the shoe store, it was getting close to noon. Wanda's mind was whirring, trying to figure out exactly how much cash Kei was carrying, and where it had come from. K was content to walk along beside Wanda, waiting for her to choose the next stop, stretching her legs to match Wanda's pace, ponytail bobbing back and forth. Eventually, K realized that Wanda was preoccupied by something. Looking over a shoulder, eyes cast upwards K nudged a shoulder into Wanda to get her attention. Wanda stuttered sideways and looked downward, catching K's happy smile. She smiled back, failing to appreciate the look as budding infatuation. "C'mon," K's eyes were glittering, echoing the happy smile on her lips, "I'll buy you lunch." Wanda shook her head from side to side, but the smile, as was her reply, was contrary to the gesture, "okay, fine. Lunch." She paused, and said in a mock stern voice, "French fries." "French fries?" K managed to sound horrified, "the dreaded French fry?" That was Keith Graell's doctor talking, "but they're soooo bad!" "Sooooo, good," Wanda countered with a nudge of her own. "Fat, and salt and starch," K shuddered with a smile. "What's not to like," Wanda confirmed. "Okay," K laughed, "Split a large?" "Split a large?" Wanda laughed, aghast at the thought, but realizing the wisdom, "Okay fine." She laughed, "Jeez, even when you're being bad you're good." She looked down at Kei, her next comment just slipping out, "Where'd you come from, you little pixie?" Pixie was never a word that would have been used to describe Keith Graell. Stringbean, yes, pixie no. But K took the word in the spirit and tone with which it had been delivered, "Neverland," K replied with semi-seriousness, adding with a little skip- step, "All you have to do is clap your hands and I'll be real." Wanda clapped, "Oh, look at that! Tinkerbelle lives," continuing with a dead-serious expression; "Now for the fries!" But despite the light- hearted exchange, the cause of her concern hadn't been forgotten, and felt she had to speak her mind. The two young women cleared the lines and found a table, no mean feat at lunch hour on a Saturday in a mall food court. True to her word, Wanda offered up the cup of the fries, but couldn't help but observe that Kei took far less than half. They each started in on their portions in silence. "Kei," Wanda ventured after a few minutes, hesitant. It had been a long time since she'd hit it off so well with someone so quickly and she didn't want to ruin the occasion to make a new friend, "please don't take this wrong, but don't you think you should be more careful." K stopped eating, searching Wanda's face, trying to discern more than what Wanda had said. "This is going to sound horrible," Wanda played with a French fry self- consciously, feeling every bit the 'Wicked Witch - Wanda.' It was never easy to offer a criticism, and in truth, she envied everything she knew about her new friend's attitude towards life, "but you - us - women - are targets." She paused before blurting, "Do you always carry so much cash?" K blinked, and thought for a moment, then leaned back to take a new look at Wanda. Putting aside the playfulness, K brushed off Wanda's question with a laugh, "Cash? Cash is more bad than carrying all these bags? People can see the bags, they can't see the cash." "But what if you get mugged?" Wanda protested. "But what if?" K countered. "They have to look for the cash, and if they find it, they take it. They don't have to look to grab the bags, they take them?" K shrugged, "What's the difference?" K's voice was almost defiant, "Why should I live in fear?" "But look at you," Wanda countered, "You're drop dead gorgeous, and like, what? 100 pounds soaking wet?" She instantly regretted saying that Kei was gorgeous and ate the French fry self-consciously. "Look at the news: Serial rapists; Assaults on the buses. A girl needs to be careful." "You sound more concerned about me than me do," K said deliberately fudging the grammar to keep the mood light, "but statistically, y'know, assaults are committed by someone you know and I must be pretty safe, since I really don't know very many." There was a pause and then, a poignant conclusion, "one, actually," Wanda smiled, uncertainly, what had that meant? "I can't believe that you ever had any lack of attention." She put on a mock serious expression, "You're just saying that to hide the trail of broken hearts you've left behind." Perception and circumstance was everything. Dr. Keith Graell had never required attention, and accordingly had devoted little of his time to a need that didn't exist. Wanda was ascribing the lack of a perceived need to always having had that need fulfilled not realizing that Kei the avatar was not K the person. There was silence for a moment, during which the rest of the chips, magically, disappeared. Not really wanting to give up on impressing upon her charge the necessity for caution, Wanda pointed one of the few remaining French fries at a guy sitting alone on the other side of the food court. "See him?" K looked. "Don't look!" Wanda admonished with a smile. K looked confused, "But you asked me if I saw him?" "Corner of the eye," Wanda laughed, "corner of the eye," she paused. "Didn't you see him checking you out?" "What?" K was both relieved at her return to a more light-hearted tone, but confused by the new direction of the conversation. "Totally," Wanda confirmed. "Toe. Tall. Lee." Wanda pointed towards the opposite side, "that old guy over there? Him too." K looked a little more circumspectly, "Really?" "Yep." Wanda nodded solemnly, "those two were obvious, but I'm sure a dozen or more were looking." "Really." K paused, "And you're sure they aren't looking at you?" That made Wanda pause. She hadn't actually. Considered that. "Now why," she countered, "would someone looking this way, be looking at me instead of you?" K smiled, "you're kidding right?" Fixing Wanda's eyes she continued, "voluptuous, blonde, smiling and self-assured? I couldn't think of ANY reason why someone would be looking at you over an anxious looking, dark-haired, garden gnome." The compliment flustered Wanda, 'However,' she thought, 'had Kei grown up without coming to understand she was being coveted?' She understood that she was attractive enough, in the 'girl next door' sort of way, and was aware of how 'girl next door charms' paled when placed beside someone with that ephemeral something that Kei possessed. Guys would vie for someone like Kei's attention; they'd settle for hers. After 'lunch,' Wanda dragged Kei to several more shops, including a more business oriented clothing store, and a Victoria's Secret. K had balked at going into the lingerie store, but Wanda had insisted, suspecting (correctly) that her charge's jaw-dropping, nonchalant attitude towards clothing extended all the way to the skin. While the fashion parade had continued with the blazers, suits and skirts, K could not quit the dressing room in the lingerie store, somewhat embarrassed to find the feel of the silky lingerie arousing, and the look highly autoerotic. Despite the hesitancy, both stores contributed a bag each to the burgeoning mound of purchases. As with all good things, though, Wanda eventually realized that the day was wearing, and she had other obligations. After the lingerie store, the two found themselves on a bus, arms burdened with bags, bound for K's condominium tower. When they arrived, it went without saying that Wanda went in with Kei. K had thought for a moment how to ask, given the number of bags, but Wanda had followed Kei in without question. K fumbled with the keys, trying to juggle opening the door with carrying the packages. Wanda took another couple of bags, freeing a hand. "Thanks," K said gratefully, smiling, brushing a stray strand of hair back behind an ear. Pushing the door open, K motioned towards the living room. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll just dump these," K moved towards the bedroom. It was late afternoon, and Wanda was getting a little bit antsy about getting home. Nevertheless, she was drawn towards the picture windows and the view out over the city. "Your view is awesome!" K meanwhile, had decided to shed the sweatshirt. It had been on and off, and between the closed-in bus ride and carrying the packages was a little warm. "Yeah," K's voice was muffled by the sweatshirt as it had caught half- way off, "Best thing about this place." Overly hasty in trying to remove the garment, K had inadvertently grabbed the t-shirt underneath as well. The end result was that the sweatshirt was still in place on K's forearms, the t-shirt was still in place at the shoulder, the body lifting over K's head, but the neck of the garment catching at the chin. Between the two garments, K was unable to extricate neither head nor arms, and was left pulling up and down helplessly. In frustration more than panic, after a couple of moments K called out. "Help!" Wanda heard the weak embarrassed cry from the bedroom and with a puzzled frown, moved to investigate. Peering through the door, she saw Kei, arms overhead, pumping up and down, hands clutching ineffectively at the body of the shirt, voice muffled somewhat underneath the two layers of clothing. Wanda smiled at Kei's back, "Yes?" "Bother," Kei's head came up, searching for the source of the voice, still yanking for freedom from the garments, "I'm stuck." "You need some help, Winnie?" "Winnie?" K managed an aggrieved tone, despite stifling a laugh, and then stamping a foot in mock anger, continued, "I'm stuck!" Wanda was sure that Kei hadn't meant for the t-shirt to ride up, but clearly the entanglement of the t-shirt had prevented the sweatshirt from sliding off cleanly. But then, Kei turned, and Wanda was afforded a full view. Conflicting sentiments of envy and appreciation crossed Wanda's mind seeing Kei's taught stomach and pert breasts. An uncomfortable stir deep down propelled the blonde forward. 'Best to put a stop to this right now,' Wanda thought, but what could she do, but help? "Let me try to help you with," she smiled, grabbing hold of the restricting garments. Wrapping one arm around Kei's waist to hold her still, Wanda's other hand pulled the garments clear of Kei's head. Kei's head had been pulled upwards with the garment, and then immediately recoiled forward towards the ground. Freed, K paused for a chagrinned moment, then, looking up, couldn't help but lock eyes with Wanda. There was a moment of indecision, and then acting impulsively, K chose. Pushing upwards on tiptoe, head tilting to one side, K planted a kiss on Wanda's lips. Caught by surprise, Wanda froze, and then felt Kei's tongue tentatively push past her lips and flick against her teeth before withdrawing as quickly as it had entered. Kei backed down, for a moment, waiting for a sign. Wanda didn't move or say anything. Taking silence as consent, K returned with tender nips on Wanda's lower lip, followed by a more forceful, deep kiss, thinking, how odd, to be kissing upwards. A whirlwind of thoughts went through Wanda's mind, of how much fun the day had been, of trying to explain to her boyfriend, and finally of just how nice the kiss was and how it was stirring things up deep down and low. Eventually, too late, propriety tried to win out. Wanda raised her hands, settling then on the flare of Kei's hips, intending the gesture to be a push away to afford an opportunity to say something appropriate. But somehow, the push didn't materialize. The hold turned into a pull and the kiss continued. Without much further thought, Wanda's top was off, and she felt Kei's fingers sliding her bra straps off her shoulders. A brief moment of surprise followed when the bra's clasp was expertly released sending the garment to the floor. Pretty much the last rational thought Wanda had, as she was maneuvered onto her back on the bed, was; '...definitely getting over a girlfriend....' As Kei's fingers alternately stroked and scratched against all the right spots, Wanda knew she should say something, to stop... ...something... ...but with skin sensitized and responding, she wasn't sure she wanted to say anything, let alone stop. "Kei..." Wanda finally managed, but it sounded more like an entreaty than anything else. After that one word, it was too late as Kei's mouth traced across Wanda's jawline to nip just underneath the earlobe eliciting a gasp of shocked pleasure. Feeling Kei's mouth trace a path down her neck, past the collar, Wanda bit her lower lip, knowing what was coming but surprised anyway when her nipple was nipped and suckled. A mischievous tongue flicked against the hardening nub. Wanda's shoulders pressed backwards forcing her breasts upwards into the pleasure. Wanda's breathing deepened, responding to the questing hands. Kei found the button on Wanda's jeans and popped it open, moving without pause to lower the zipper. Wanda could feel the tugging of resistance, but it was short-lived as the garment released and the exploratory hand continued onwards, stroked and then withdrew. Feeling hands on her hips, Wanda knew what was coming next, the last opportunity to put a stop to things. Eyes closed, lips moist and slightly opened, stop was no longer a consideration, only faster. In response to the hands wriggling the garment lower on her hips, Wanda arced upwards, facilitating the garment's passage down her legs. The last barrier was gone. Having disposed of the jeans, Kei placed a hand on either side of Wanda's waist and lowered her head, nibbling on Wanda's lower lip, ending in a deep kiss. Wanda's head tilted back, throat taught, anticipating, and not, the touch of Kei's fingers. Kei slid down and to one side mouth leaving Wanda's to trail across her skin to her chest. Wanda's tongue moistened her lower lip in anticipation. When Kei's lips again closed around a nipple, the last thought of opposition was obliterated. A sharp intake of breath accompanied the touch of teeth against sensitized flesh. It was so good, and like all new encounters, Wanda wondered, and wished, for what might come next. To her surprise and pleasure, having suckled on each breast, Kei continued her path downwards, flicking her tongue into Wanda's navel and then broke contact: But only for a moment. "Haaaah!" Wanda's gasped involuntarily in pleasure. Kei's traveling mouth had continued downwards to perform an act which her boyfriend would not. The sensation was immediate, the response intense, a quick rush of pressure surging towards an explosion. But before that final burst was realized, Kei moved away. Wanda's throat caught. Kei smiled, hearing the slight disappointed moan. Nibbling down a thigh, Kei gently squeezed Wanda's breast, teasing taught nipples, then slowly, lightly, dragging fingernails down her ribs, holding Wanda on the edge. Wanda silently urged Kei to continue, concentrating on maintaining the fading sensation. To her satisfaction, Kei moved back into place, lips and tongue resuming their work. Wanda's glutes clenched, pushing upwards to secure contact. Keeping to a slower, gentler pace, Kei's hands wandered over all of the right sensitive places. Deep down, Wanda felt the welcome, welcome building tickle, the growing introspection of tightened muscles and sensitised nerves. Kei could see Wanda's stomach start to flutter, and clench. As before, just when it seemed that Wanda was going to cross over that final precipice, Kei pulled away. "nnnh," this time Wanda's frustration was vocal and evident. Kei again turned her attention to nibble on Wanda's inner thigh with a smile, waiting a moment for Wanda's pleasure to subside. Sensing the peak slipping away, Wanda next felt Kei's hands stroke upwards from her thighs to her breasts, gasping when they reversed, the nails dragging lightly back down across her stomach but stopping short of where she wished them to go. Wanda gasped, in thwarted pleasure, "Jesus," the exclamation burst from her lips, "you're such a tease!" A hand went to the top of Kei's head, guiding. Smoothing palms back up across Wanda's stomach to her breasts, Kei lightly pinched and pulled Wanda's nipples, allowing lips and tongue to be guided back to their work. Wanda felt the pleasure growing again, deeper and stronger than before. When Kei's fingers joined lips and tongue that pressure grew, building, and expanding. There was no stopping now, Wanda thought, fingers curling into the sheets, back arching to maximize all of the best contact and then a sharp intake of breath preceded the simultaneous dichotomy of muscle contracting and nerves exploding in pleasure. Wanda gasped in delight. But Kei wasn't finished. As Wanda's breath released, and stomach muscles relaxed, unexpectedly, she felt Kei delve into more sensitive, hidden, secret, places. Seconds later, another, stronger, wave burst. Wanda's body arched off the bed, hips both clenched and open, neck stretched taught, an atavistic cry tearing itself from her lips. The sound sent a shiver of satisfaction down Kei's spine. Looking up, the introspective focus on Wanda's face was immensely satisfying. Kei's fingers continued their work until Wanda's spasm subsided, her hips collapsing back onto the bed. But still, Kei wasn't finished. Mouth descending, hands and fingers in concert, Kei found overly sensitive nerve endings. Wanda's hips convulsed in a wrenching third and final shock of sensation. The blonde, chest flushed, aureoles rippled in hardness, legs scissoring closed, rolled and turned away from Kei. Wanda was a floating marshmallow of content. Without realizing, Wanda drifted off into a semi-aware sleep state. Dimly, she felt Kei spoon up against her and in her post orgasmic bliss was content to lie like that. After what seemed like only a short while, Wanda felt a sudden chill and opened her eyes. She realized that the sun had moved, and the bed was now in shadow. And then, becoming fully aware, she gasped. "Is that the right time?" A digital clock was positioned directly in Wanda's view on a bedside table. Kei raised up on one elbow and looked to make sure the clock was functioning correctly. It was. "Yes." "Oh, no," Wanda leapt up in panic, "I am so late." She rounded the bed, bending to pick up the clothing strewn across the floor whither it had fallen earlier. Kei watched silently, knowing what Wanda was late for, and however irrationally, was disappointed that after everything, she was still leaving. K awakened feeling cranky and poorly rested, with a sore lower back. Attributing the muscle pain to carrying around shopping bags for so long, K started exercising anyway, hoping that the stiffness would work itself out. It didn't. Deciding to cut short the exercise routine, K made a 'B' line for the main bathroom. Thinking that maybe the soaker tub might help, K started to run the water. However, as K started to get ready, the explanation for the "out of sorts" morning became apparent. 'Pinocchio,' K thought, "was a real boy - or girl as the case may be.' K's sudden moment of realization, was interrupted by a knock sounding at the door. Somewhat exasperated, K shut off the water and walked hurriedly towards the front hall. Peering through the spy-hole, K was surprised to see that the unwelcome interruption was Wanda. K unlatched to security chain and opened the door. "Hi," Wanda said, taking in Kei's appearance, thinking with surprise that the slim fitness wasn't all genetics. "Wanda?" Kei raised an eyebrow and, with some vexation at the violation of the sanctity of privacy, continued, "how'd you get in?" Wanda was somewhat taken aback, of all of the things she'd thought Kei would say, that wasn't one of them, "Um, one of the, uh, custodians let me in," she pointed over her shoulder at the elevators, "y'know you need a phone to let someone in eh? He ah, said you didn't have one, or else he wouldn't have opened the door." All true, Kei thought, but how had he known about the phone? Kei stood holding the door, waiting for Wanda to continue. Kei's expression softened somewhat, it seemed the two were sharing a bad morning. Wanda's face was pale and drawn, with sleep deprived eyes. Both were feeling bad, but not at all for the same reasons. Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, and then realizing that Kei was not going to say anything else she asked, "uh, can I come in?" Then she added more quietly, "I'd, uh, like to talk. About yesterday?" Kei made a head motion to enter and stood to one side, "Coffee?" "That would be great," the relief was plainly evident in Wanda's voice. "Have a seat," K motioned towards the dining area and disappeared into the kitchen. Wanda sat down at one end of the table where she could see out the windows and into the kitchen. "I only have milk," K said pouring two mugs of coffee, "sugar?" "Milk is good," Wanda replied, "no sugar." Shortly, K rejoined Wanda, sitting down at the table, placing a mug of coffee in front of Wanda, sipping at the other, waiting. Wanda took a sip of coffee; it was almost too hot with a full flavour that was much tastier than her normal brew. "Good." "I got it from that shop down the street, 'Bean to Heaven,' they roast their own." Kei responded, waiting with a surprising amount of nervousness for Wanda to get to the point. "'Bean to Heaven' that's cute," while thinking, 'yeah, I *been to heaven* recently too, and that's the problem,' and continued, "Should try it sometime," Wanda was stalling, and she knew it, finally, with a mental sigh, she decided it was best to just jump in, "I, uh," Wanda focussed on her mug, "have a boyfriend." "Yes," Kei said a little more testily than intended, "so you've said." "I guess what I'm trying to say is," Wanda said slowly, then, continued in a rush, "I'm not gay." Wanda matched K's unintended testiness with an equally unintended tone of judgement. K was silent for a moment, digesting the accuracy of the unexpected designation 'gay.' Shifting posture on the chair, drawing one leg up under the other in a half-cross leg, K waited for Wanda to continue. Wanda watched, waiting for a response, not really sure what else to say, despite having rehearsed the speech all the way over, 'the talk' was already off the rails. "Why do people do that?" K finally said in bemusement, the silence had started to become uncomfortable, "insist on labels." Labels were one of Keith Graell's hobby-horses. Before Wanda could reply to what turned out to be a rhetorical question, K continued. "You know what a label is?" Wanda's face looked blank and she said nothing; wondering at Kei's tone, where she was coming from. Wanda's silence was just as well, as the question was more rhetoric and K continued on with barely a pause. "A label's a box. The purpose of a box is to contain, but in containing, it constrains and defines." Looking up from the mug, Kei made eye contact, despite feeling uncomfortable doing so, "So let me ask you: Did you like it?" Wanda's face got some colour, and she looked away, "that's not the point." "But it is the point," came the soft-voiced answer, "You've labelled yourself - boxed yourself - as a heterosexual. That is the box you want to be in, yes? But contrary to the constraints of that box, it sure seemed to me like you enjoyed yourself - you might say you did Meg Ryan proud - so I think that at some level being in a same sex relation wasn't repugnant. Are you just going to cut that bit of yourself off to fit in the hetero-box? Wanda looked uncomfortable and thought in confusion, 'Meg Ryan? What?' K looked away, but couldn't let the topic go. "People and their labels," Kei continued, "It isn't good enough to have homo and hetero, there's also bi. I'm surprised no one has popularized the term multi-sexual for the kinkier set. Wanda was regretting the decision to have this talk at all, let alone the decision to have it sooner rather than later. She was also very surprised by the rational, factual tone Kei had adopted; it was as if there was a podium between the two rather than a table. "Is it so hard for people to accept that personality traits exist on a continuum? That trying to fit everyone into a neatly labelled box is a disservice to the diversity and variety that exists as a product of the human psyche? That maybe by judging others there revealing more about themselves? And then K heard the soap-box tone and forced a stop, changing gears. Unfortunately, the new gear was founded on the self-doubt that had hindered an otherwise promising academic career "or do you just not really like me after all?" Wanda started. The bitter self-pitying tone in Kei's last sentence was more along the lines of what she'd expected and been prepared to deal with. Now, though, after having digested Kei's speech about labels, she wasn't certain of her motivations anymore. Almost involuntarily she compared how pleasant sharing the day with Kei had been; of how Kei's touch had made her feel: to the hurried, frankly horrible, session her boyfriend had insisted upon after too long, and too many drinks at the pub. 'There was no doubt' Wanda thought, 'I like men, perhaps not this particular one as much as I thought, but also no doubt I like women.' The self-analysis continued, 'But more honestly,' Wanda realized, 'I like sex. A lot.' While she'd had her experimental phase when she'd first moved into the city, the thought crossed Wanda's mind, it was possible that she'd ended up having a string of boyfriends simply because they tried and it was easy sex? Kei looked to Wanda for a response, but could see that she was still thinking, and was content to wait, sipping on the still warm coffee. After a few moments Wanda shifted and returned her eyes to Kei's. "I, uh," Wanda's voice was hesitant and soft, "came over to nip things in the bud. Be fair, y'know. Let you know that yesterday was a mistake." She paused watching Kei digest the comment. "But now I'm not so sure if it was," she continued hurriedly. And it was true, not just something she was saying to lighten an unpleasant moment. Seeing Kei, her compact cuteness, was harder than she'd expected, doubly so because of the physical memory of the afternoon before. Her resolve had melted. Her eyes searched Kei's face as if looking for some sort of hint as to what she should say next, and then decided to just be honest, "I think I need some time to think," an uncertain smile on her face, "if you'll let me?" Kei nodded, "If that means I'll see you again?" Wanda smiled, "I think yes, but I need to be sure. Can you be okay with that?" Wanda was on the verge of tears now, partly because she already realized that yes, she did want to see Kei again and partly from worry that she'd already blown it. All K could manage was a quick nod. "Thanks," Wanda stood, trying to disguise her relief, "and I really hate to be making this a habit, but I have to go. I'm opening today..." she took her phone out of her pocket to look at the time, "...and I'm late." After showing Wanda out, K reflected for a moment on the conversation, wondering if in fact Wanda was gone with the wind. Everything had been topsy-turvy lately, K felt it hard not to be bitter as these were supposed to be the good years of a hard-won retirement. Putting aside the negative emotion, K rehashed, as was habit, aspects of the just finished conversation. A label hadn't been something sought out, but now that the labels were out of the box, as it were, the thought begged exploration, 'Having been a hetero-male, am I now a homosexual?' K thought for a moment about the unconventional use of the proper term and amended the thought; 'a lesbian?' 'K' hadn't really thought too much about it, and now the emerging dominance of 'Kei' was providing an impetus towards self- examination. The thought of being with a man wasn't eliciting a negative feeling, 'K' realized, and not having really dwelt on the subject before, couldn't recall if it ever had. The next few days wouldn't go down in the ledger of K's life as particularly good ones. However, K continued to do research through the internet, trying to follow up on serpent legends and lore, looking for a culture that had similar icons to the design of the bracelet. While the serpent was a favourite among past, and present, cultures, much and often maligned, there was no image that K could find that was close to that captured in the metal bracelet. As an aside, K concluded that maybe it was time to try to identify the metal used to fashion the object. 'Perhaps,' the academic thought, 'knowing the materials, would assist in knowing the culture.' To that end, K hooked up with some discussion boards at the university, eventually discussing materials with a graduate student in the engineering department. That exchange led to a metallurgical engineering doctoral candidate who suggested that some simple procedures would reveal the composition of the piece. Although reluctant to go back to the University, under the irrational belief that someone would recognize 'him,' K nevertheless agreed to bring the bracelet to the Faculty of Engineering to be examined. In preparing for the meeting, Kei decided that a business-like impression was in order, and so, chose to wear the outfit Wanda had described as revealingly conservative; a white cashmere sweater with a navy blue pleated skirt that fell to just below the knee. The sweater was form fitting, and had the effect of softening curves in all the right places. Smooth firm calves were framed between the skirt and an Oxford style low-heeled shoe and quarter socks. There were no pockets, so trying to carry the bracelet was problematic, particularly since Kei didn't want to carry a backpack. With a shrug, K decided to wear it... ...and immediately rethought the decision. The bracelet was designed to wrap around the lower arm and wrist. Maneuvering it into place, an instant sensation of it constricting and squeezing caused Kei to wrench it right back off. With a sort of nervous laugh, Kei looked at it. Thinking the sensation may have been psychosomatic, slowly and carefully, Kei slid it back into place. While tight, the sensation of increasing constriction did not repeat, and Kei concluded that the bracelet must be more pliable than it felt. The initial squeeze was simply a result of the bracelet having been stretched to put it on the first time. It fit very snugly, and there was no danger of it falling off, or even moving from the position in which it had been placed. Kei moved the hand about, and decided that the having the bracelet on with the snake head pointed downwards interfered with free motion too much. So, Kei removed it, reversed it, and then put it back on. From the new angle, it brought back vivid and unpleasant memories from the other night's dream. Kei shuddered, forcing the thought away, negative thoughts like that didn't auger well for success. When Kei got to the campus, the subtle difference in the apparent sizes of the familiar buildings was disorienting. K knew it was only about a foot, and had adjusted for the most part in day to day life, but here, where so much time had been spent, the difference was crushing. The campus was in the end of spring semester exam period, and was quieter than it normally would have been at this time of day. K hadn't really planned around avoiding people, but the realization that there wouldn't be many around was a pleasant surprise. The Physics and Engineering complex was next to deserted. Fortunately, K knew where the labs were in general, and found the EDX Spectroscopy Lab without much difficulty. Entering, K voiced a tentative, "Hello?" The lab was divided in two sections by a wall that was essentially windows from waist to ceiling with a door at each end. The outer section had long work benches along the walls with the standard uncomfortable wood four-legged high stools in groups of two. The inner section had a couple of central work stations end to end, and two banks of equipment against the far wall. There were coat hangers with heavy looking shielded apparel at each end, eye glasses, smocks and such. There was a young man in a lab coat working at one of the work benches reviewing sheets of print outs. Catching movement in the outer lab with his peripheral vision, he looked up and put up a finger to motion K to wait. K nodded. In a few minutes, the young man exited the interior room and walked towards Kei with a pleasantly surprised smile, "Hi, I'm Rajesh. You must be Kei?" K nodded. "Have your got your piece?" K held out the arm with bracelet wrapped around it. Rajesh nodded, "Striking," he looked up at Kei's face, seeking approval, "may I?" The metallurgical engineer delicately removed the bracelet, turning it end over end in a cursory examination. "Interesting," he commented, intrigued by the weight and the workmanship. "I'd like to get to it." Rajesh searched K's face for confirmation to proceed. "It's all non-invasive right?" K reiterated the question. Rajesh nodded, "I promise. No harm will come to any bracelets in the making of this film." He smiled, and continued, "I'll do a simple examination to confirm some basic characteristics. Then, it goes into a bracket in the machine. The spectroscope bombards it with x-rays, which won't have any lasting effect. The frequency responses get printed out and that gives us chemical composition. Fast and simple." The Metallurgical Engineer hefted the bracelet up and down, "Heavy for its size," he commented, "That's a good sign." He smiled, "The spectroscopy won't be more than a few minutes, but I'm going to check a few other properties of your piece before that, okay? You can watch through the window, but there really isn't much to see. Maybe you want to go for a coffee and come back? I'll be an hour or so." Rajesh could see the hesitancy in the young woman's face, "I won't let it out of my sight, I promise." "Okay," K nodded, "A coffee sounds good." "There's a caf? over in the commons building," Rajesh smiled, "Do you know it?" K nodded, "Yes." Rajesh paused for an admiring glance as Kei departed before getting about his business. K walked a bit slower than usual in transiting from the Engineering building to the University Common, head turning to and fro to take in the familiar, yet unfamiliar sites. After ordering a coffee, K had the choice of several seats, the coffee shop being largely empty. K chose one of the more popular couches, looking out over the courtyard, admiring the carefully tended flower beds framing the buildings, contentedly sipping the hot beverage. "May I join you?" K looked up abruptly, not having been aware of someone's approach. With a slight frown of annoyance but knowing it would be an affront to say 'no,' K nodded. The young man smiled, and then fumbled with the books in his hands, something dropped down beside K, disappearing into the crevice between cushion and frame. "Excuse me," he continued to smile, bending over K to retrieve the object. In doing so, he put a hand on K's waist just at the flare of the hip. The contact was both enervating and dis-settling. K shifted in discomfort, moving away from the intrusive touch. The student held up a pen, "Sorry about that," he said, but his smile indicated he was really anything but. He settled down and started to say something else, but K's space had been invaded. Before the young man could finish more than a few words, K stood up, coffee in hand, to start back to the lab. "Kids today," K muttered, not appreciating that the young man's action wasn't lack of respect, but lack of a good pick up line. K arrived back in the outer lab just in time to see Rajesh putting the bracelet in an adaptive holder, clamps holding it securely. He then slid the holder into place in a machine, closed the door securely, and double checked the seal. The doctoral student picked up a clipboard, putting a mark on a checklist, and carried on. K watched in fascination as he methodically checked various dials and switches, following each with a mark in the appropriate box on the checklist. To Rajesh this was rote procedure, to K it was a fascinating introduction into a world of precision. Flipping a switch, it was apparent that Rajesh had reached the end of the detailed procedure he was using as he stood looking expectantly at the machine. From K's point of view, nothing seemed to happen. After a moment, K saw a slight frown appear on Rajesh's face. He looked at his checklist, and then flicked two switches up and down in sequence, pushed a button firmly and deliberately twice and waited. The frown turned into a look of concern, but then his face lightened as a sequence of lights switched from yellow to green and the buzz of a dot matrix printer started. After a few moments, the printer stopped. Rajesh picked up the output and looked carefully at the results. He then picked up the clipboard, flipped the checklist over and started in on another list, presumably the steps required to retrieve the bracelet from the EDX Spectroscope. As he touched the bracelet with a grounding probe, there was a brilliant flash of light, and a rumble of what sounded like thunder. The lab lights flickered off and then came back on. K was left staring in open mouthed surprise, and then started to laugh. Rajesh's hair was standing straight out on end. Rajesh wasn't certain what had happened, but the procedure called for the operator to touch a static plate before reaching into the machine and this he did. Catching site of Kei, he reached a tentative hand up to his head and a mirthful grimace crossed his face. The gesture turned into an effort to smooth his hair into place, but it wouldn't stay down, and he gave up. Holding up an index finger, in a "wait a minute" gesture he caught Kei's eye to guarantee understanding. K nodded deliberately, Rajesh returned the nod, and he disappeared through a door into an adjacent room. After a few minutes, he re-emerged with an older man in tow. As they entered the room, Rajesh leading, he stepped to one side saying, "Kei, this is my doctoral adviser..." "Czaba?" K interrupted in surprise. "Hi," the older man had started, "I'm Dr. Szekeres..." continuing with a puzzled nod, "...Czaba Szekeres. Do I know you?" "No," K said quickly, "uh, but you were a friend of my uncle, Keith Graell? He was showing me some pictures recently of an expedition you two were on." "Kei Graell? Interesting." Dr. Szekeres digested the introduction; he was obviously uncomfortable about something. "You must be talking about the Amazon dig, the one where he found the artifact?" "Yes," K nodded eagerly, the lie actually so close to the truth it had flowed naturally. "I tried for years to get your uncle to have this," he hefted the bracelet, "examined, and he wouldn't. Why now?" The Metallurgical Engineer sounded suspicious. In the twenty years he'd known Keith Graell he'd never mentioned a niece. And there wasn't much family resemblance. K knew exactly the source of Dr. Szekeres' uncertainty, as Dr. Graell had been jealously guarding the bracelet from further analysis for years, always hoping that the key to it would become apparent, thus ensuring his place in history. "You know he's in New Guinea now?" K started spinning the line, "well, he sent me an e-mail saying that he was "on to something" - Kei made air quotes - and that he needed to know more details about the composition and manufacture of a certain piece in his collection. So, here I am." "He told you to bring it to me?" Szekeres asked. K was embarrassed on a number of fronts. "It was an e-mail, it said the university," K was flustered, "I think I was supposed to know, maybe, but it didn't occur to me, and I didn't ask." "Hmm," Dr. Szekeres was not really satisfied, but was more interested in pursuing another topic, "Your piece damaged our spectroscope, and fried a satellite dish." "Um, really?" K wondered where he was going with that statement, "I uh, had no idea. I mean, I'm sorry." "Hmm, yes," Szekeres continued, not realizing that the young woman thought he'd been placing blame. "It's lucky Rajesh was following protocol or it might have fried him. As it is, all he got was a funky new hair-do." The scientist put the printout on the bench in front of K. Motioning to several places on a graph containing multiple peaks, a frequency scale on one axis and chemical symbols on the other he continued in an explanatory voice. "Anyway, let's go over this: This isn't as conclusive as Keith would probably like," Dr. Szekeres started, "As you can see," he motioned to one of the axes of the print-out, "there are many unknown alloys in the sample. That isn't that unusual. It's sometimes very difficult to determine the nature of an alloy without some destructive testing. That being said, while it's interesting that there are unknowns, what's more important, I think, is what the spectroscopy does reveal, lots of heavy metals; platinum, palladium, gold and silver, but interestingly, also silicon." The older man searched Kei's eyes, "Which happen to be prevalent in modern electronics." "What?" Kei was surprised, "but that can't be." "Well," Dr. Szekeres sat down beside the young woman, "I'd agree, but there it is." Rajesh had stood to one side quietly up to this point, but now he chimed in. "The superficial features are interesting too," he looked at the clipboard, "Specific gravity is over 19, which means that there is a LOT of gold and platinum in there, and maybe something heavier in the unidentified alloys. There's no hallmark, not surprising really, if it's as old as it's supposed to be, and also no casting seam or other marks that you could attribute to manufacturing. "It absorbed energy during the spectroscopy, then released it catastrophically when grounded." "What does all that mean?" K's voice was soft, small, although asking the question was trying not to betray ignorance. The two metallurgical engineers had gotten far beyond K's ability to understand the implications of the science they were discussing. "Well," Szekeres said slowly, "it means it's unique. It means that it's more of a mystery now than before we tested it. It also means that it might be dangerous. I'm hoping this," he pointed at one end of the chemical axis, "is some kind of archetype relating to the failure of the machine, because I can't see how it could be correct. That's Roentgenium. Very radioactive, and not found in nature." "Nothing beyond background radiation when I checked," Rajesh added reassuringly, "which is why we think that might be machine error." "If it functioned somewhat like a capacitor," Szekeres was thinking to himself out loud, a sort of stream of consciousness that K tried to follow, "although I can't say how," a pause, then "it would seem to be solid, and without a lot more testing I couldn't begin to guess as to how much energy it can store and what controls the discharge." He looked to Kei, "When I say it fried our dish," he made an open fingered 'poof' explosion gesture with both hands, "I mean, it fried the dish: Damaged the EDX too." He paused, "Insurance will cover that, by the way," his mind had processed Kei's earlier reaction and had fashioned an appropriate response. "Write a note to the manufacturer of the EDX and they'll probably modify the machine. It shouldn't have happened." The two scientists were waiting for Kei to digest their information, or otherwise react. After a moment, Dr. Szekeres continued. "It reminds me of something Arthur C. Clarke wrote," he paused for effect, or for accurate memory, it would have been difficult to say which, "Any technology significantly advanced is indistinguishable from magic." K laughed nervously, "What do you mean, technology?" Szekeres smiled, "Might be more to the point to ask me what I meant by magic? I don't know what it's made of, don't know how it was made, and most importantly, don't know how it absorbed so much energy, although I suspect I know what prompted its discharge. Magic." The engineer paused for effect, "I'd really like to do more tests. Can we hang on to it for a bit?" "I, uh," K's mind went a mile a minute, 'Magic? What the...?' Now it was Sherlock Holmes that came to mind, 'whatever is left, however improbable, must be the answer.' "Not sure my Uncle would like me to leave it," Of course, K knew that 'Uncle' didn't want it left, didn't actually want it out of sight, but that desire was torn by the desire to follow up on what was the only avenue of research open, "Let me get back to him and see what he says? What did you have in mind?" "I think an ultrasound would be a good idea," Rajesh ventured. "Good idea, Raj," Szekeres confirmed. "Ultrasound?" K questioned. "Yes," Rajesh nodded emphatically, "it would let us be able to see if there was any internal structure to it." "Internal structure?" K was puzzled, "but that would be clearly beyond any but the most modern of technologies." Dr. Szekeres' glance at Kei was clearly one of reconsidering. The young woman looked pretty and superficial, but a couple of things she'd said betrayed that there was a brain behind the wide-eyed innocent looking face. 'At least,' the metallurgical engineer thought, 'there's definitely a family resemblance there.