Julien
by Engor
Chapter 80
Rüpel Gyamtso Lake was a three hour flight away from Aleth, which meant three wonderful hours gliding gently through the cool morning air, sitting in comfortable seats and enjoying an excellent breakfast as they flew. They were in the open gondola of an Imperial flybubble which had been taken out of storage at the palace and carefully serviced especially for this journey. Tannder was piloting it and Ugo had happily allowed them to talk him into coming with them. They were three or four hundred metres up and the visibility was perfect, and so they could see every detail of the landscape below them as it was lit up by the morning sun.
They left the beautiful towers and large hillside estates of Aleth behind them and flew on over an area of low hills where cultivated fields alternated with carefully-managed woodland. There were a number of small villages, which suggested a reasonably large population, and they noticed that all of the vehicles on the roads were pulled by animals, mostly lang-gos like the ones they had hired on Dvârinn. Niil confirmed that these very useful animals were able to function in any of the human worlds.
Soon the air began to warm up and the gondola began to receive visits from a large number of multicoloured insects that rested for a while before flying off on their normal business, whatever that might have been. Ambar said that this was the right season for dzeboos, or 'nice insects', a generic term covering a large variety of flying creatures whose carapaces gleamed like polished metal, making them appear jewel-like. Almost all of them were harmless. One or two varieties had developed the unfortunate trait of drinking the blood of mammals, but Ambar said that they usually only drank the blood of the placid lang-gos, who were more or less unconcerned by their bites. Julien thought that was a good thing, because some of these scarab-like creatures were of an impressive size. Every now and again Ugo would catch one with a snap of his jaws, and he said that they tasted a lot better than the wasps and beetles he had eaten on Earth.
The lake was almost big enough to be considered an inland sea, but although a small number of fishing-folk lived along the shoreline their settlements were far enough apart to leave great swathes of wilderness and endless little isolated creeks where you could happily pretend to be Robinson Crusoe. They flew above the shoreline for a while, gradually losing height, and eventually they landed on a beach of white sand, similar to a number of others they had already flown over. They disembarked, and immediately three Imperial guards emerged from the nearby trees and went on board the aircraft, which flew back the way it had come.
They followed Tannder into the trees, and about a hundred metres along a little gravel path they came to an area where the trees were more widely spaced, and in a clearing they could see a house made of some grey wood with a verandah all around it. An elderly butler wearing the Imperial Marks appeared and greeted them with a formal deference that was clearly intended to discourage any familiarity, but by now Julien had got used to Court manners and he had no intention of letting the snobbery of a lot of puffed up, self-important staff members dictate his own behaviour and spoil his fun. So he asked for the butler's name and then gave him some polite but firm instructions.
"Honourable Tenngar," he said, "my friends and I are here to relax. Please be good enough to inform the entire staff that I forbid the use of the High Speech during our stay. You could also tell them that smiling is not illegal, and that laughing would be actively encouraged. Any member of staff who really wants to look as if he's at his mother's funeral is cordially invited to take a few days off – I'm sure the Imperial Treasury will continue to pay him. If it comes down to it we are actually capable of doing our own cooking and making our own beds. I hope," (and here he gave a most dazzling smile) "that you'll forgive me from disrupting the normal running of the house."
The man paused while he took this in and decided that he wasn't actually shocked by such a breach of etiquette.
"Your Lo... that is, no, My Lord. I'll convey your orders to the staff immediately. And I am sure that every member of staff will find themselves able to smile for you and your guests."
He even managed to illustrate this with a smile of his own. Clearly he was very much out of practice with such facial contortions and the result looked more like a grimace than a smile, but at least the thought was there.
After they had settled into the two large bedrooms that had been prepared for them they decided to have a dip in the lake before lunch. Tannder led them to a little wooden jetty at one end of the beach where a few small boats were tied up. Some of these had sails and some didn't, but Tannder ignored all of them and strode on to the far end of the jetty, where he whistled through his fingers. Julian remembered the large aquatic animal that had come in answer to Izkya's call during his first day on Nüngen, so he wasn't entirely surprised when a large hump-shaped wave appeared and headed towards them at high speed. And then it broke the surface and he saw the immense eyes and the top of the head of something that had to be very large indeed.
"It's a Lou Tchenn," Tannder told him. "He and some of his friends have chosen to live here, and they consider themselves to be in the service of your house. They've been providing the sort of services you'd expect them to for several generations now – keeping dangerous creatures out of the bay and pulling boats whenever they're given a chance to do so – so don't hesitate to ask, because they enjoy it and they get something out of it too. I expect Karik and Ambar know the basic vocabulary...?"
They confirmed that they did.
"Then I'm going back to the house," said Tannder. "While there's a Lou Tchenn in the area you don't need me to watch over you."
Actually Tannder just went a little way into the wood, stopping in a place where he could still keep an eye on the beach without interfering with the boys' impression of being absolutely free.
The Lou Tchenn turned out to be a lot more than a mere aquatic rickshaw-puller. It was about the size of a killer whale and was certainly as intelligent, and once it was used to its new companions it showed a similar playful nature. Back on Earth Julien had never had the pleasure of swimming naked in water that was exactly the right temperature, because the prudish nature of the age forced just about everyone over the age of four into swimming trunks. And he'd certainly never dreamed of finding himself swimming naked in the company of a friendly monster that was always ready to pull you through the water at an amazing speed or to hurl you out of it in a series of spectacular somersaults.
It was good playing with one Lou Tchenn, but when a couple of others came to join in the fun it became a truly wonderful experience. And although Ugo wasn't really a dog he had always liked jumping and splashing about in the sea, even when it was cold, and he was more than happy to join in the games, abandoning all dignity as he chased after the sticks and stones which the boys threw for him. This activity confused Julien's friends at first, but they soon started following his example, and Ugo chased everything happily. They also discovered that this respectable Guide loved having a tug-of-war with a stick, refusing to let go even when the boys spun him round by it – in fact he seemed to enjoy that most of all.
When they started to feel peckish Tannder reappeared with his usual perfect timing, carrying a big basket of golden fritters which were, he said, the favourite food of the huge guardians of the bay, and the boys found that tossing the golden morsels into the creatures' toothy mouths was strangely satisfying.
The torrid heat of the afternoon gave them no incentive to leave the cool conditions inside the house, and actually the snowy sheets on the beds beckoned them to rest for a while. Ambar was very keen to take advantage of the fact that, for once, Julien was able to dedicate himself to his friend without being distracted by work, but it turned out that the fun and games of the morning had exhausted them to such an extent that they fell asleep as soon as they got into bed, only waking up, blearily, when the sun was well past its zenith.
While they were drinking iced fruit drinks Tenngar, who was doing his best to address the air over his heads rather than their naked persons, told them that if they felt so inclined this was the perfect time of day to go sailing, as the wind could generally be counted on to blow for two or three hours at this time. His sense of duty compelled him to add, regretfully, that it would be wise to wear at least a laï for sailing, because the combination of direct sunlight and the light reflected by the water would cause burning even for those who didn't have sensitive skin. Julien, who knew from personal experience exactly what the butler was talking about, thanked him for the advice and set a good example by choosing, not a laï, but a light abba whose hood would protect him from sunstroke or a sunburnt nose. Ambar, who wasn't cursed with Julien's milky complexion, chose a scandalously transparent laï which somehow accomplished the feat of revealing more of him than than when he was wearing nothing at all!
The small sailing boats had obviously been built for speed and were fitted with two outriggers, transforming them into outrageously over-rigged trimarans which called for careful handling: a distracted helmsman could rapidly lose control, causing the vessel to swerve wildly in a way that would have destroyed larger boats, and which was quite violent enough to throw the crew overboard. The Lou Tchenns were then essential to help right the boats and rescue the crew. Ugo quickly realised that he couldn't possibly hope to stay aboard one of these racing vessels, and after falling into the lake for the second time he decided to stay on dry land, dozing at the edge of the wood while listening to the cries and laughter of the boys out on the lake.
They weren't the only people sailing on the lake, but it was so large that they only caught a glimpse of a distant sail now and again, and those were far too far away to come into contact with them.
At sunset they returned to the house, where supper was waiting for them, and after that they went straight to bed, where once again sleep overwhelmed them almost at once.
They had gone to bed very early, and so Julien was not entirely surprised to be woken up while it was still dark by the entirely predictable arrival of Dillik, who had wriggled into the space between himself and Ambar, who was actually sleeping spread-eagled in a way that would have occupied the whole bed in a land less generous with the dimensions of its mattresses.
"Will you take me for a pee?" asked Dillik.
Julien sighed, because he knew perfectly well where this apparently innocent request was leading. Xarax would no doubt have been willing to surrender his wings, and indeed his life, for his friend, but with the best will in the world the leathery hide of a haptir is never going to feel as soft as the skin of a boy, and even though Xarax's powerful claws were no doubt capable of manipulating a small, delicate member, it's hard to imagine that this could be done in a way that could be truly sensuous. Indeed, Dillik had tried hard to find a way in which it could be done because he really wanted to share everything with his wonderful companion, but some things are simply not possible, and he had yet to find a way in which any sort of satisfaction could be achieved. On the other hand, the idea of being caressed by Julien, or Ambar, or Niil, or Karik was always extremely exciting, provided the opportunity presented itself at a suitable moment.
He'd explained this to Julien, whom he held to be – for no obvious reason – the supreme authority on the matter; and therefore he had invested Julien with the duty of helping him to experience and discover those things which Xarax was unable to do for him. This was why he'd started to appear during the night to ask for help, and it was by now a regular part of the fun and games he experienced with one or other of his companions. Right now Julien wasn't really in the mood for fun and games, but he thought that a bit of tenderness would be no bad thing.
"I'd rather we just cuddled," he said.
Dillik didn't hesitate at all: he kissed Julien on the nose and then turned round and snuggled up to him, wrapping himself in the gentle embrace of his friend's arms, his bottom pressed comfortably against his friend's soft penis, enjoying the simple but deep happiness of an unlimited intimacy – even if it was true that they couldn't share their dreams or their thoughts. What passed between them had neither name nor form, but it was as tangible as the shared warmth of their bodies, and it was infinitely soft. And there was an unmitigated pleasure in sinking gently into that softness.
When they left the house on the evening of the third day they received touching farewells from all the staff, some of whom even broke another etiquette taboo by expressing a wish that they should visit again soon. Then, after throwing a final basket of fritters to the Lou Tchenns, they climbed into the waiting flybubble, which seemed huge and faintly disturbing as its shadow blended with the growing dusk. Moonrise was still two or three hours away, and the sky continued to darken from a deep purple to an ebony black, strewn with stars of an incredible sharpness. Julien instinctively looked north, searching for the Plough and the Little Dipper, and once again he felt a pang of complete disorientation as he found nothing in that marvellous sky that resembled any of the constellations of Earth. Even the vague familiar ribbon of the Milky Way had disappeared, and he wondered yet again if he was still in his home galaxy, or if the klirks had transported him to the edge of the universe...
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