Confrontations

Alice looked up as Edie approached, and grinned in the wicked way only foxes seemed able to manage. "Speak of the devil!"

Edie blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, nothing. Sit down."

Edie looked back and forth. Around the table were Alice, Arthur... and Walter. Walter's expression was hard to read, but Edie tried to avoid looking at him which made it still harder to interpret. She weighed probabilities in her mind, came up with ones that didn't reassure her, and began backing away. "That's okay... I really ought to be going..."

"Oh, no, you don't!" insisted Alice stubbornly. "Not until you've told us what you did to Rick! It's so rare that anybody takes him down a notch. Did you scratch his nose?"

Edie blinked. "Ye gods, how'd you hear about that?"

"He blew into the Cafe in high dudgeon, and announced that the new cat was going to have everybody's balls in a vise." explained Arthur cheerfully.

Alice giggled. "Maggie was terrible. She told him he was just bent because you were going to ruin his feline batting average. It's surprising how poorly they get along. He started to bluster, and then Walter got upset and demanded he take it all back."

Edie blinked. "You're kidding." She looked at Walter, and he looked away, embarrassed.

Alice regarded her with mock sternness. "Sit down, Edie. You don't have to sit with your knight in furry armor. Join us. It sounds like you had an interesting little scene with our notorious fox, and we are dying to hear about it."

Edie gave in, choosing to sit next to Alice."Walter got upset?"

"He was being rude," muttered Walter. "Unpardonable."

Alice grinned wickedly again. "That, my dear, is when Rick left. And he left in a hurry, didn't he, Walter?"

Walter's eyes lifted, and a wolfish grin gradually stole over his face.

"In a hurry?" blinked Edie.

Walter kept grinning and stretched his arms out as if to get more comfortable, pretending nonchalance as muscles knotted and bulged under his coarse gray fur. "Can't imagine why. Silly bastard. No offense, Edie."

"None taken," gulped Edie. "Yes, I suppose he left pretty quickly, at that."

"I wouldn't have hurt him," added Walter quickly. "Would I, Alice? I mean, come on, you know me."

"I know that," grinned Alice. "You know that. I don't blame him for getting out of there, though. He knows you don't like him, and I saw you. You may not have noticed, but you bristled at him and also stood taller."

"Oh, not that again?" protested Walter.

"No, it's true. You slouch and when you do you see eye to eye with him. You stood up and he was eye-to-eye with your neck. Not a reassuring sight for our dear, ravenous fox. So he took the better part of valor and tried to pretend he was stalking off with dignity..."

"Except," noted Arthur with amusement, "his tail tried to stalk off with dignity quicker..."

"And left the room firmly between his legs!" laughed Walter. "Damn, that was good. I don't think he'll be troubling you any more, Edie."

Edie had to giggle at the thought. "That suits me. Except... you don't think he's going to complain to Peter again? I don't like that very much. I have to get along with him, you know."

"What did you say?" asked Walter, his expression darkening. Alice, too, looked concerned.

"He complained to Peter about me. Peter told me I have to get along with him, even though I don't have to like him very much..."

Walter glowered for a moment, looking very intimidating, and then he got up suddenly, reaching over and taking Edie's hand. "Come along. We're gonna stop this right now."

He set off, pulling Edie helplessly behind him. Alice half-rose, protesting, "Walter!" and then sat down, banging the table in frustration. As Edie was dragged inexorably away, she heard Alice grumbling, "... damned white knight, but at least he can't get in..." and then her voice was lost in the babble of the Cafe.

Edie struggled as Walter strode down the hallways, but she wasn't big enough to budge him. She was nearly ready to scratch him really hard when he swung aside, opening a door and ducking in, dragging her behind him.

Peter had been sitting at a desk, but as Walter stormed in the ship's master reacted to the intrusion by dropping his pen, coming to his feet in a single fluid motion, and leaning over the desk, matching Walter's fire with cold control. They faced off, and there was a moment of silence.

Peter broke it. "Don't tell me. Rick again."

"Damn right. What are you going to do about it?"

"Two things, okay? You're going to tell me what he did. Quietly and calmly. And you are going to let go of Edie's hand. Now!"

Walter dropped Edie's hand. It was as if he'd been unaware he was dragging her. Edie had been determined to escape, but now she was hypnotized by the drama of the situation, and she stood quietly, taking a cautious step back and watching.

"You can't let him act like that, Peter," said Walter, more quietly. "It's not right."

"You're not telling me what happened, Walter."

"He got you to frighten Edie! He just waltzed in and managed to get you to..."

Peter slammed his hand down on the desk, making Edie jump and freezing Walter in mid-sentence. He stared at his desk for a moment in silence, and then looked up.

"I might have known. Nothing happened. Sit down. Sit down! You too, Edie."

Walter sat down on the plain sofa that the room had to offer, his expression a mixture of outrage and embarrassment. Edie looked around but there was no other chair. She hesitated, then at a curt nod from Peter, sat next to Walter. The sofa was narrow and pressed their hips together, which was an intimacy Edie didn't really appreciate. She contented herself with not leaning against Walter, and paid attention.

Peter stepped out from behind the desk, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the two of them dispassionately and with a faint overtone of disapproval. He spoke, in a very businesslike tone, the sudden flare of anger gone from his voice and attitude.

"Walter, you're out of line. I spoke to Edie because she has to learn tolerance for some of the other viewpoints on this ship. If she doesn't, my job will become a lot harder. I will dismiss her if she totally fails."

Walter stirred, and Peter froze him with a look. Edie felt his thigh tense against her. "Hold it! What you don't understand, Walter, is that I expect her to be able to do that. Did I see Edie come rushing to my door to complain about what I require of her? No. Instead I get you, and you are dragging, literally dragging her behind you, because you feel my rule is unjust. Edie, do you think what I asked is too much?"

Edie hesitated, and shook her head, being too disconcerted to say anything.

"That leaves you, Walter. Do you think y..."

"Naw," muttered Walter. "I don't think it's unjust, I guess."

"You're not listening. I wasn't going to ask you that. I was going to ask you something else, Walter."

Walter was startled. "Huh?"

"Do you think you are indispensable?"

Walter didn't answer, and Peter continued, patiently.

"Walter, you came with me when I signed on to this ship. You're one of the best pilots I have... yes, Edie," he said, "him and Rick both. I could name maybe three more of the same caliber, it's not idle talk."

"In any case, Walter, I won't deny that you're useful, even vital, to our work. However, you just dragged a new crew member into my cabin to complain about the way I run things. That's not going to happen again, is it?"

"No, sir." muttered Walter, and began rising as if to leave.

"Hold it. I'm not finished. What I had to say to Edie applies every bit as much to you. Do you understand what I was saying, or were you not paying attention? Did you just get outraged and rush off without stopping to think?"

Peter glanced back and forth between Walter and Edie, and the corner of his mouth turned up for a moment. "That's a rhetorical question. You rushed off before you could think. Don't deny it- I'm not a fool. Sit still, and listen."

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Okay. My job is composed of two main parts, not counting damned paperwork. One, as you know, Walter, is technical. I coordinate the technical side of our work, overseeing the systems people, and I put a lot of work into the Pisces. Some of the pilots like tinkering with their subs, and I have to watch that to make sure they don't tune the things so finely that they become unstable."

"Whether people understand it or not, I have to watch over the crew as well. You don't tune a crew with screwdrivers, though lord knows I wish I could sometimes. You tune a crew with words- and rules- and again, the thing to watch for is not the obvious failing components- those are trivial and simply dealt with- but the synergistic effects, the ways it can become unstable. There are limits to how much you can worry about that, but being aware of it can be useful. With me so far?"

Edie and Walter nodded as one, glanced at each other, and nodded a second time, asynchronously.

"Now, what I told Edie was pretty simple. She needs to develop tolerance regarding some of the lifestyles here. Actually, it wouldn't be much different topside, but here you report to me and so I have the authority to order you to work on it, if I think it is important enough. I do, for a number of reasons- and most of them apply to you as well, Walter."

"Such as?" inquired Walter politely.

"I don't need to tell you my reasons, okay? Think about what I've just said. My reasons should be obvious. What I need to tell you is my expectations. I need to tell you those if I am going to expect any better from you in the future. I have fallen short in that- I haven't spoken to you because you do have a lot of time onboard this ship, and because you haven't been much of a problem. That was a mistake, and I should have spoken to you before, okay? So I'm speaking to you now. Same deal as with Edie. Same advice. And, Walter? Same consequences."

Walter gulped. "What advice?"

"Oh... get some tolerance. At least make an effort to learn some tolerance. I can't have you two stirring up half the crew and causing disturbances. I could tell you that you aren't the only ones who've been told that... the point is, you are on the list. I'm not answering questions about who else I've talked to. Okay?"

Walter nodded, but Peter had already turned away, seating himself again at his desk and resuming his paperwork. He did not look up from the work, and it seemed that he would not, that the visit was over as far as he was concerned. He did not say goodbye as Walter and Edie slipped out the door.

Returning to the Cafe seemed the reasonable thing to do- they didn't even exchange words about it, they just headed back the way they came without a second thought. It occurred to Edie that she could make an excuse and part ways, but seeing Walter taken down a notch had made him seem more human- her previous experience had left him in a niche charitably described as 'Large Virile Wolf Type', which didn't leave a lot of room for personality. It was a convenient way of writing him off- reducing the person they called Walter to little more than the bearer of a lupine phallus, something that appealed to her body but was easily dismissed by her mind, mostly. Edie had learned to not condemn secrets, but was damned if she'd reveal them...

Edie blinked, confronted with the dissonance between her comfortable stereotype for Walter and the unexpected ease of being with him, and at that point he interrupted her thoughts and just made matters worse.

"I'm awful sorry. Look, I guess you're going off to the Cafe, right? Want me to go away? I had no business draggin' you around like that. There's some work I could be doing on my sub..."

"No," answered Edie impulsively, and then she was stuck for words, trying to find some appropriate way to say 'But...'. It showed in her little cat face, and Walter quickly read it there, showing more sensitivity than she'd bargained for. He drooped visibly, and began to turn away, muttering about work he had to do, and Edie unthinkingly caught his hand in hers, and both the hulking wolf and the dainty cat froze.

Edie thought fast, very fast, and, dropping his hand, said "Come on!" in a cheerful tone. She started off towards the Cafe once more, biting her lip gently and trying to walk in a perfectly normal fashion. Now was not the time, she felt, for a demonstration of feline hips swaying like a ship in heavy seas.

Walter caught up with her, and she immediately took control of the conversation as well. "Are you going to be in trouble with Peter? I've never seen him like that. Of course, I've hardly ever seen him at all, so that shows you how little I know, doesn't it?" She chattered gaily, determined that no weighty silence should arise. "So are you going to be in trouble, or not?"

"I don't think so," said Walter. "I may not be indispensable, but I'm damned useful, really. I'm the sort of dependable type he can lean on a lot, and he does. I'll tell you, I never thought he'd go off like that on me, though." Walter seemed relieved at the chance for a normal conversation.

"Does that happen often? It was a little frightening."

"It mostly happens when his people aren't working right." said Walter. "Never happened much to me. Frightening? Don't be too hasty. What was it, that intensity he gets? Is that what frightened you?"

"Well, not quite frightened," noted Edie. "Something like that. He wasn't directing it at me, you know. He was very low key when talking to me. To you he was different. I've never seen anyone dominate so totally, and he barely raised his voice half the time."

"Well, now, that's a ship's master for you. They're always like that, the good ones, anyway. He's actually very good at what he does. Some of them are a lot scarier. Peter's likable if you accept that he's God." Walter grinned.

"Would it be better if he wasn't so, I don't know, overbearing?" asked Edie. "Or, well, I don't know how to describe it, but he seems to be on such a different level, I can't imagine being with him socially."

Walter grinned again. "I can, I've seen it. He's the same. Everybody behaves. You'd have to have a little background. I've served with other types of ships' masters. There was one who was really popular. He was really one of the guys- this was on the Adriatic, regular freighter ship. We got nailed by a meteorite, incredibly bad luck thing. Know what he did?"

"What?"

"He fainted. Literally passed out. Suddenly the screens were lighting up red everywhere, and everyone was looking at him to know what to do, and thud. I'll stick with Peter."

They entered the Cafe, and made their way towards their back table, where Alice and Arthur were still sitting. "What happened?" asked Edie. "I mean, obviously you survived, so how'd they fix it?"

Walter muttered, "Well, I was the first mate..." and slid in next to Arthur, who made room for him.

"Did he kill you?" asked Alice wryly. "Or just maim you or tie your tails together or something?"

Walter looked abashed. "Nope, didn't kill us. Er, I mean kill me."

Edie chimed in, "He was very stern, but fair, I think."

"I just have to put up with Rick better." said Walter.

"Sounds rewarding," smirked Alice. "How much of him do you have to put up?"

"Knowing Rick," remarked Arthur, "Walter could put him up as easily as Edie can. What will you do with him once he's up?"

"Wait, wait a minute. As Edie can?" interrupted Walter.

"Yes," explained Arthur, "Edie has put him up at least once. Thankfully, she didn't know what to do with him once he was, otherwise he'd probably still be strutting around boasting."

Walter bristled, and turned to Edie, seething. "Is this true? He got a boner at you? I'll kill 'im."

"Easy, Walter." chided Alice. "Name one person on board whom he hasn't been exhibitionistic toward. You missed us talking about it. Also, you're not taking Edie's feelings into account. She spurned him, and you know he never pursues if it takes an effort."

"I don't know that." snarled Walter. "There's always a first time. Lock your door, Edie."

Arthur blinked. "Surely you are being unreasonable?"

Alice glanced sidelong at Edie. "Very unreasonable. Walter, trust me on this, okay? He is not going to be seducing our friend. You should have figured that out by now, after the scene he put on."

"He could be covering one of those fatal obsession things..." insisted Walter stubbornly. "Or imagining things in his head about her."

Edie was getting uncomfortable. "Walter, please, I can take care of myself. Oh, and I normally lock my door anyhow, though I'm not sure what is normal on this ship."

"Also," reassured Arthur, "there's nothing he could imagine that he doesn't already suspect."

Alice shot a sharp look at Arthur, as Walter blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"None of your business." stated Alice. Edie looked away.

"She's got a boyfriend?" said Walter. "Here? Or no, wait, that wouldn't be what he was imagining, or maybe it would, the sick bastard. But still, what?"

Nobody answered. Walter looked around, and nobody would meet his eye but Alice, who stared right back at him defiantly.

He continued, awkwardly. "I sure wish somebody would level with me. Arthur just said there is nothing Rick could imagine that he don't already know. Now, I know Rick, so that worries me. Are you talking about something really shameful? Please don't make me sit here wondering."

Alice paused for a moment, glancing at Edie. "Edie hon, I think you'd better trust Walter with it. He'd find out anyhow and our beloved Arthur has stuffed his paw in it again. If you don't, I'll explain things anyway, otherwise Walter will imagine much worse than the truth, trust me."

Edie stared at the table, bristling slightly from sheer embarrassment. She said, quite softly, "EI."

Walter blinked. "That all? What rating?"

"Four thousand."

Walter blinked again, speechless, and Alice's jaw dropped. Edie kept looking at the table.

"Sweetie," said Alice, very quietly, "any emergency room would take you with priority status over that. Particularly if it was peaking. Don't you understand a rating like that is a severe health hazard?"

Edie's head snapped up to glare at Alice, her eyes crackling with fury. "It is not! I can handle it! Don't even talk about hospitals taking me and changing me around! I am not going to be maintained on medication the rest of my life."

Alice met her glare. "I can't believe you conned me, talking about grooming and deodorant. You can do all that, but I happen to have some nursing training..."

"Which I shall not be needing," put Edie.

"Which tells me," continued Alice inexorably, "that a heat of that intensity left untreated can be physically debilitating to the point that you'd barely be able to stand."

Edie's eyes dropped again, and she bristled in embarrassment even more at the word. "I have very strong willpower. And don't call it that."

"Okay," agreed Alice. "Estrus of potentially life-threatening intensity. Have you ever fainted, or had chest pains? What is your blood pressure, and has it been monitored during the experience?"

"Leave me alone."

"She could die?" said Walter, aghast.

Alice managed a half smile. "Technically, the danger rating is nearer six thousand, and she's mentioned coping skills that would work."

"Grooming and deodorant?" asked Walter, confused.

"No." said Alice. "Other coping skills."

"Well," remarked Arthur, "I was wrong. I doubt Rick could imagine this."

Edie felt horribly drained from all the unmaskings. "He knows," she said quietly. "He knows. He talked of temperature-sensing thumbs. He can't not know if he has any experience with it." She thought of his remark earlier, the bitterness at being deprived of a lover who flared up incandescently. With all his experience, it seemed he had never considered what it felt like to flare up in such a way. Instead he simply warmed himself before it.

Edie thought, years back, to a time when she had been with a wolf who was, in many ways, very like Rick, someone who had found it arousing to stimulate and tease and deprive her, who withheld the cleansing thrust and gratified himself by seeing how wild he could drive the sobbing, begging kitten first.

She never forgot what Chuck had done to her that night, the time she'd snuck out to be with him and he'd played with her instead of mating her like usual. It had given Edie sharp chest pains, and she had also lost consciousness and bitten her lip until it bled. She had never realized how dangerous it had been, for even then she shunned doctors. Chuck may have known, but for him it was the most glorious experience he'd ever had. Afterwards, he took photographs of her unconscious body and gave them to his friends proudly. Afterwards, he spoke in glowing, earthy, explicit terms of her ferociously powerful responses. Afterwards, she slunk out as soon as she could walk, feeling charred, and never returned to him again.

Edie, coming back to the present, glanced at Walter and was startled to see how furious he was. "What's the matter?"

"Temperature sensing thumbs..." snarled Walter. "I will kill him."

Both Edie and Alice instinctively objected, cutting each other off, and stopped again, leaving Arthur to chime in.

"But, Walter," said the mouse-man politely, "that's just Rick. Nobody cares, and Edie is not going to permit him any liberties."

"But what if she just can't help herself?" argued Walter. "What if she's gonna keel over and die if she don't?"

"I am not!" said Edie stubbornly.

"Walter, you're exaggerating." said Alice. "If you were listening, I'd conceded that it's not life threatening in her case, and more significantly she practices coping skills."

"Like what?" objected Walter. Alice glanced at Edie, and Edie rose to the occasion.

"Masturbation." purred Edie, looking Walter right in the eye. "Perfectly safe, under my control, and whenever I need to. Do you?"

"He won't tell you," said Alice, amused. "Anyhow, Walter, in my opinion as a trained nurse, that is an important safety valve and if it were not there I'd worry for her. Since it is, she's not likely to be helplessly driven to assume the position for Rick..."

"Or anybody..." added Edie for the record.

Alice lifted an eyebrow eloquently, shrugged, and continued. "And so you needn't kill him. Besides, we'd hate to lose you- it wouldn't be a fair tradeoff for having Rick out of the way. Rick isn't the monster you think he is, he's just selfish and childish."

Walter was struggling with the main concept. "Let me get this straight. Edie, you want to stay clear of all that? You get, well, sick with it, but you want to be left alone? Just be friends with everybody, then go home, and, well, get it out of your system?"

Edie was not at all sure about that in the long run. However, she wasn't about to admit it. "Pretty much."

"I can understand that. The last time I had a lover she ripped me up inside. I feel exactly the same way. In fact," grinned Walter, "I even have the same outlet, but don't tell anybody."

Edie suddenly smirked like mad, but refrained from asking him what sort of dildo he preferred. Better to picture that silly image, one which would horrify the wolf, than picture the reality and end up shivering. "I promise not to tell anybody, Walter."

"There," grinned Walter. "Now we got an understanding. You're our kid sister! We'll make sure you stay out of trouble."

Alice gaped at Walter in horror. "What? Walter, dear, you're insane."

"I'm what? You have any other ideas? You're going to lead this little darling over to Rick's room and knock? We owe her better than that, we're her friends."

"Your notion of reality," suggested Arthur, "is unusual. But I admit we're used to that."

"My notion of reality," grinned Walter, "is fine. I always wanted a kid sister. A cat kid sister is perfect. Edie makes a perfect kid sister, I already feel protective of her."

Alice began laughing. "You're serious! Talk about defenses. Okay, I give up. I know how stubborn you are. Here's hoping it doesn't kill you."

"Kill me?" objected Walter. "Kill me? How ridiculous. A kid sister is the best thing I could possibly have at this point. And I make a damned fine big brother, I'll have you know."

"Big brother?" blinked Edie.

"Very." noted Arthur.

"Shut up." grinned Walter. "Not around Kid Sister. Her little ears are delicate."

"This is ridiculous," laughed Alice. "Well, it's getting late- I need to be getting home."

Edie nodded. "So should I, I'm beat. I hope tomorrow will be easier. I don't start work until the day after tomorrow."

"Will you have breakfast with us, Edie?" asked Arthur. "Different time, same place. The Cafe is more peaceful in the morning."

"Sounds wonderful," purred Edie, "I'll be there."

As Alice rose to leave, her eyes twinkled wickedly, vixenishly. "Walter? You're not going to escort your kid sister home? Give her a goodnight kiss?"

"Why, of course I will. More like a hug, though. Kissing your sister, ewwww. No good brother does that." quipped Walter.

Edie giggled, and found herself purring quietly.

"Well, sis?" inquired Walter, grinning and standing up.

"Sure." purred Edie, stood up, padded over and tucked her arm under his, and without further ado they departed. Arthur, too, was going to bed, but before he did he stood with Alice a moment and watched the little cat and the hulking wolf go.

"Her hips are held more loosely than normal," observed Arthur, "but her tail is not held to the side in coital readiness."

Alice giggled. "And Walter's tail is wagging. Oh, look, they just bumped hips skirting around that table. Do you see?"

Arthur blinked. "Interesting. See how aware she is of her nonverbal signals? Her tail went hard left for a moment, but now it's back again. One might have thought it nothing but a twitch."

"Yeah, but we know better. The poor things!"

"Perhaps," suggested Arthur reasonably, "there is no other way they can behave."

"Probably." noted Alice wryly. "Well, this should be interesting. You're working with Edie, right?"

"On some shifts, yes."

"Then try to keep Maggie from bugging the poor dear. I'm going home, and unlike those crazy people I'm going to make love to my mate if I have to perch on top of him while he sleeps."

"The one time Sandy did that," noted Arthur, "I dreamed it was Maggie."

Alice winced ostentatiously. "Yeah, I think eventually she understood that was a form of compliment. On second thoughts, I'll wake Bill. Otherwise he'll probably dream I'm Edie. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like a frustrated cat for getting under people's skins. I feel so sorry for Walter."

"He's going to have a wonderful time," reassured Arthur. "He's as stubborn as she is, and she has no idea what she's up against. He will have a glorious fantasy and will walk around in a dream world and will be safe from actually having to defile her purity. You've never properly understood the male viewpoint, Alice."

"And he'll be shattered when she finds some other sweet wolf who isn't stark raving mad." commented Alice wryly.

Arthur thought about that a little. "I don't think so. You overlook her hostility towards Rick and his ilk, and she will be around Walter often if she is one of us. Also..."

"What?"

"Walter didn't remember to bathe, Alice, and he smells like a wolf. A distinctly male wolf. Surely you noticed. Not unpleasant, but quite noticable."

Alice giggled. "Now that you mention it, yes. The poor kitty. Somebody really should speak to him, I think this time he'll listen. But maybe it wasn't getting to her. How can you be sure?"

"A cat girl's tail is a sign of her mood. As she left, she was keeping it straight by sheer willpower, yet when she pressed against Walter's body while skirting around the table, her tail immediately assumed the hard-left position of coital readiness in spite of her efforts to control it..."

"Arthur, promise me you'll never start talking about coital readiness in front of them, okay?"

Arthur nodded. "But you see my point. Edie is already succumbing to Walter's charms, despite her most concerted efforts."

"That's an interesting definition of 'charms'," smirked Alice. "I see your point, though. I remember back when I was going natural that scents could really set me off. I suppose we could try to protect Edie, but it might be redundant. Walter is going to help protect her. From him."

Arthur nodded. His eyes twinkled. "I shall advise him that, should she assume a position of coital readiness in earnest, her life will be in peril if he doesn't carefully plumb her deepest depths."

Alice broke out laughing and couldn't stop for a while. Finally, she managed, "Better put it in writing and have me sign and date it. And he still won't listen."

"Then we will have her sign it." suggested Arthur.

"Poor things."