A Simple Answer

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

02/14/99:

I was starting to understand what Fox meant by 'constantly
drowning in paperwork'. I had decided to attempt to further
my education, so that when the children were old enough I
could take a job.

It wasn't a simple task. Not being a citizen, there were
endless layers of paperwork to deal with just to get on a
list to be considered for any of the universities on Prid,
but I was determined to do it. Now that I had passed the
House over my sister, I had nothing to do, and it was
starting to make me jittery.

Being a few weeks from giving birth didn't help matters
either. As much as I loved being pregnant, the extra girth
was starting to become a hindrance. And while expecting
twins, there was always the experience of having them both
try to go in two separate directions at once.

I wasn't complaining though; the experience was one I would
never have refused. Nor would I tell everything about it to
Fox, rather I would win our bet, and let him do this next
time.

Pulling my attention back to the PADDs in front of me, I
tried to work on filling them out, but I couldn't keep my
attention focused. Something was bothering me, and I
couldn't place my finger on it.

I had caught a glimpse of a face at the Market the day
before. I wasn't even sure why it was bothering me-- I only
saw the human's face for a fraction of a second before he
was gone. Yet... I could still almost see it, the image
playing back over and over again in my mind. There was
something there, I wasn't sure what, but there was
something.

My concentration wasn't going to return to me, not right
then at least. So I pushed the PADD away, and started to
rise from my chair to get something to eat. When I managed
to get to my feet, I was surprised to find Ravindar standing
inside the room.

The white tiger glanced at me, then around the remainder of
the room, all without moving more than his eyes. He was a
rarity, a Guild Elder bodyguard watching over Fox. They must
have been really worried about him, and what Cain might do.
What really got my scruff up was that he would barely even
acknowledge my presence. I still was a member of the Guild,
even if I didn't like the job. The least he could do was say
something to me.

Fox came into the room after him. She was in her
lioness-morph form, and looked disheveled. Her hair was a
mess. The careful braid I had tied that morning was gone,
and some of it was flipped over her head and hanging down
her face. She had bags under her eyes, and was moving
slowly; clearly she was very tired.

"Long day?" I asked the rhetorical question with a smirk.

She nodded slowly. "I've been poked and prodded more times
than I care to mention," she sighed, leaning up against the
back of a chair. "First Ken, then the doctors. I've switched
from full to morphic over a dozen times today."

That was one blessing. Ken had finished his copy of
Thrysten's gem just ten days ago. I felt somewhat better now
that we were no longer relying on her for that particular
piece of magic. "What did they find out?"

Scrunching up her muzzle, she blew a bit of hair from in
front of her eyes. "Ken thinks he knows what is going on,
but won't tell me. The doctors say that I'm a natural in
this form, as well as when I'm Rhea."

I was shocked. "When you were first cursed, you lost your
abilities as a natural. How did they come back?"

She shrugged her shoulder, yawning as she did so. "I don't
know. I'm going to bug Ken about it between appointments
tomorrow. Right now I'm tired and I hurt. I'm going to go
take a nap..." She paused for a second and I could see that
she was thinking. "And maybe then a shower," she finished.

I walked around the table, giving her a quick kiss on the
cheek. "Tell me when you're done, I'll brush your fur out."

She smiled, and nuzzled my cheek softly. "Of course," was
her answer, as she reached up to tweak my whiskers. I
giggled softy as she turned and left the room. Her tail tuft
just barely off the ground. Silently, Ravindar followed.

I was still standing so I went to the refrigerator and
pulled out some leftover steak, from dinner last night.
Rare, the way I like it, though Fox prefers his cooked all
the way through.

Picking up some silverware on my way back to the table, I
relaxed into my chair. With a quick check of the baby
monitor, I was satisfied that Beca was still sound asleep.
PADD back in my paw, I started once more to try and read the
instructions for the paperwork I needed to fill out, eating
as I did so.

Only a few minutes passed before I heard the chair on the
other side of the table being pulled out. Glancing over the
top of the PADD, I expected to see Kalie or Sora, but was
surprised to find that Fox was there. She was very carefully
lowering herself into the chair, then folding her paws, one
over the other, on the table top.

"What happened to your nap?" I asked, setting the PADD down.

She licked her lips, her ears twisting back, then forward
again. "Ah... well... that's still going on," she said,
slightly hesitant to speak. Her voice didn't sound right,
almost softer than it should have been.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, pushing the plate over to
her. She shook her head quickly, her gray eyes catching the
light in a strange way.

She pushed the plate back to me, "I think I have an answer."
She spoke in a hushed tone, starting to look nervous.

"To which problem?" I prompted, looking her right in her
eyes, a trick I used that Fox hadn't caught onto yet. It
made him nervous, and he would usually tell me more than
normal when I did it. It was then I noticed the change in
eye color. They were gray, not Fox's usual ice-blue. I was
surprised, almost instantly understanding the meaning of the
change. "Rhea? Is that you?" I asked in disbelief, mixed
with a touch of anger.

She nodded, "Don't be mad, please? I wanted to talk to you."
Her face fell as she spoke, making her look like a little
girl that had been caught with her paws in the wrong place.

"How long have you been able to do this," I demanded, more
anger creeping into my voice, "to take over Fox's body?"

"This is the first time," she said, lowering her head a bit,
her ears laying to the sides and her eyes on the table. I
would imagine her tail was on the floor as well. "I just
found out today."

"And does Fox know your doing this?"

She shook her head. "He's asleep right now."

I sighed, tucking one of my paws under the other as I looked
her over. She was almost shaking as she sat there, her eyes
focused right onto the center of the table. She was scared
of me-- that was a bit of a shock, but I could understand
it. I was still angry at what she had done to Fox. Right now
she was clearly acting penitent to me, almost begging my
forgiveness.

Well, just this once. "Don't do this again without asking
Fox, understand?"

She nodded, but didn't rise from her cowering position.

"I'm not mad at you Rhea," I said, reaching out with one
paw, running the back of it over the edge of her whiskers,
treating her just like I would a young child. "You've done
the wrong thing with taking control of the body without
asking Fox, but I think we'll both forgive you for that. Now
please, sit up properly, and let us talk."

She let out a long breath, and slowly raised her head.
Blinking away what looked like the start of some tears, she
pulled herself straight in the seat. She was still cowering
slightly, her ears remained down to the side.

Setting both my paws on the table, I looked her right in the
eye. It was a bit too aggressive for the mood she was in,
but I wanted to keep her focused on me. "What did you want
to talk about?"

She shifted in her chair, but managed to keep her eyes
locked with mine. "I have the answer to your problem."

"We've done this already," I told her, cracking a small
smile. "Which of our many problems does it answer?" I
prompted.

She broke eye contact with me, closing them as she took in a
deep breath. "Simple," she said, keeping her eyes closed,
"Marry me."

Everything stopped right there, my perception of the moment
freezing as soon as she said those words. The idea was
insane, but still utterly brilliant. Fox and Rhea were very
close, close enough that he might be willing to marry her as
our third. I didn't mind her that much anymore, I was still
a bit angry, but... to be married to her? That answer seemed
so obvious that I was amazed no one had thought of it
before.

"Only if Fox agrees," I told her as time resumed. "I'm sure
he will though. Thank you, Rhea, this might be the perfect
answer."

Rhea smiled at me as I said that, opening her eyes and
raising her ears. She was clearly excited by the answer,
almost like she was waiting for my acceptance of it, and
therefor of her. Composing herself, she took in a long deep
breath, then closing her eyes, she froze.

I had seen this before, when Fox was talking with her. It
usually lasted a short time before he came out of it. So, as
I waited, I ate more of my steak.

Only a minute passed before she opened her eyes, this time
back to their ice-blue color. Fox must have been in charge
again. "Rhea just told me," she said, sounding utterly
amazed as she smiled from ear to ear. "It's marvelous idea,
I can't believe no one thought of it before!"

I swallowed my mouthful before I started to speak. "We don't
have much time, then," I said, doing some mental math.

She blinked. "We don't?"

"Rhea will have to be there to make the marriage official.
That means you will have to go from Rhea, back to human
during the ceremony. It will have to be done during your
curse, and the next time you have to go lioness is after the
kids will be born. This has to be tomorrow or the day
after."

"That's not going to work," Fox answered. "I can't stay a
lioness tomorrow, I have a dozen appointments I can't get
out of, and I have to be me for them."

I nodded, biting at my lip. Then I had an idea, quickly I
checked the time back home. "It's just after noon on my
world," I said as I read my watch. "If we start now, we can
have everything arranged and be married before nightfall."

Fox blinked, looking a bit stunned. "That fast?"

"We don't have time to shuffle our feet," I explained,
standing up from my chair. "I'm going to need Rhea for most
of this, so you can go back to bed, Fox."

"Are you sure?" she asked, standing up as well.

I smiled, my tail was swishing behind me faster than my
racing pulse. "Very sure-- your items have been prepared for
this already, but we need to make Rhea's."

She nodded, looking a bit worried.

"I'm going to need your engagement necklace," I told her as
I walked around the table. "Rhea will have one for herself
shortly, but we need to add the proper stones to ours."

She nodded again, reluctantly pulling the necklace over her
head. Handing it over to me, she smiled, leaned forward, and
gave me a kiss. "Be quick, we don't want to miss this
because the shops are closed."

I laughed. "I'll open them, then. Sleep well, my
husband-to-be; when you awake it will be time for us to
marry."

She smiled, closing her eyes and humming softly to herself.
She stood frozen once more, for just a few seconds before
her eyes opened, once again gray. "Where do we start?" Rhea
asked.

I glanced around the room, spotting Ravindar standing
quietly in one corner, a look of amusement covering his
muzzle. "First thing we do is get him a Matrix chip so he
can come with us."

"Then?" She asked, already pulling the watchband from her
wrist. She must have known Fox had a chip in it.

"We get some of your blood," I said with a smile. She
returned the smile, her tail flicking behind her. I don't
think she quite realized that I wasn't toying with her about
that.

Oh well, she'll find out in an hour or two.

* * *

Four hours later, Rhea was still sucking at her finger where
the blood had been drawn. It wasn't until the very last
second that she realized that the blood stones were really
made of blood.

But It was necessary. The stones are an important part of
the ceremony; without them, it could be done, but it just
wouldn't be proper.

Picking up the pendant on my engagement necklace, I flipped
it around in the light of the temple. On one side was Fox's
stone, the other side held Rhea's. The family was complete,
even under as strange of circumstances as this.

Rhea was wearing hers as well, though it didn't take much
preparation. It had both mine and Fox's stones on it, and
had been made when our necklaces had. Fox's necklace was
sitting in my pocket, waiting for him to go back to himself.

"Nervous?" Rose asked. She was sitting at my side, wearing a
short summer dress and looking more nervous than I felt.

"Not until you mentioned it," I said with a smile. It was
true, I was feeling perfectly calm. Maybe there was a little
bit of jumpiness somewhere deep inside, but I couldn't find
it. It was almost eerie, yet somehow strangely reassuring.

She placed a paw on my leg, I placed my own over it,
squeezing gently. "Aren't you going to put on your Garlat?"
she asked. "This is a formal enough occasion."

"No," I answered with a slight shake of my head. "Fox
doesn't have one, and switching Rhea's clothes during the
ceremony wouldn't work very well. So this will be strictly
casual dress."

Sticking her lip out, she pouted for a few seconds. "So I
got dressed up for nothing?" she asked the question with a
smile in her eyes.

I nodded.

The smiled moved to her lips, as she started to laugh softy,
pushing back a few loose strands of hair from the side of
her face. "I'm glad you worked this out in time. Mother
Selina would have hung me if I let you give birth before
being married."

I laughed, wrapping my arms around her neck and giving her a
tight hug. "In a few minutes you won't have to worry about
that anymore. As soon as the priest arrives with the
paperwork, we can be married."

She returned the hug just as tight, softly patting the back
of my neck. "Congratulations, Oriana, everyone knew you
would be married first."

The High Priest cleared his throat. I hadn't noticed when he
had returned, but now that he was here... I smiled, standing
up. "Do you have all the proper papers?" I asked.

He nodded, pulling a leather bound document folder from
under his arm. "Right here," he said, patting the side of
the folder. "Everything is signed and dated, we can start
when you're ready."

I let out a happy laugh, throwing my paws into the air.
"Come on, Rhea, we're ready!"

"Good," she said, snorting a bit. She had stopped lapping at
her finger, but she didn't look too happy. I guess being a
morph didn't agree with her.

I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. "May I perform the
ceremony?" a deep voice asked. I spun around, finding myself
face to face with my god. "Lord Thryn," I gasped, bowing my
head.

A paw was placed under my chin, and my face was lifted till
I was looking him in the eyes. He smiled to me, a wide and
loving smile, his eyes glittering slightly in the fading
light. "May I be allowed that?" he asked.

I gulped, stuttering out my answer, "Y-yes. Yes, you may
Sir. We would be honored."

He smiled wider, stepping back away from me to address the
priest. The two of them talked in whispers, looking for all
the world like a pair of gitty schoolgirls. But I knew that
no matter how feminine their outward appearances were, both
of them were male.

Once their conversation was finished, Thryn rose to his full
height, fanning his wings out slightly. "Etartic has
informed me of the family arrangements. Marrying Rhea is an
interesting idea. I also suspect she is the only one who
could have thought of it."

I nodded, still a bit too stunned by his appearance to speak
more than a few words.

He walked up to the front of the large room, placing himself
behind the podium that stood there, framed by a pair of
large marble pillars. Resting his paws on the edge, he
smiled at me. "Are you ready, Oriana?"

Now I started to feel nervous. "Yes Sir," I managed to
squeak out.

He smiled a bit wider, then turned to Rhea, who was settling
down beside me. "And you, are you ready for this Rhea?"

She nodded, standing up straight, her tail swishing fast
enough to brush against mine. "Yes, I am."

"Good. Now, Fox..." he paused, waiting as Rhea and Fox
switched for a second.

Blinking a bit, Fox looked up to him. "I've been ready for
months."

He spread his wings out to their full length, sending a soft
breeze through the room. "Then let us begin!"

-----

This story is (c) 1999 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.