“I know, that’s the thing. I’m here now. But one wrong move and they could send me home. Back to where I came from. And this life will be gone forever. I don’t think I’ll survive.”
Holy moly. “You are putting way too much pressure on yourself and this tryout. Chill the fuck out. Even if you do get cut, do you think shapeshifters are the only ones on the planet that live this way? I’m going right back out of here and pulling some witches together for some shower time baby, don’t you worry.” Vivica smiled weakly.
“Seriously babe. There’s a whole wide world out there. Maybe being human’s not for you, but this planet’s stuffed with plenty of amorous species.” I patted her on the back. “Now, let’s get your fine butt down to breakfast before we both miss tryouts a
nd get automatically disqualified.”
“Okay. Let me just check my makeup.”
“You look great. Just need to fix some…” I motioned to her cheek.
She turned back into the mirror and wiped her face. Vivica might be terrified, but I was tingling with anticipation. Our orientation had been a dream of mine for some time. I could only imagine what was in store for us next. Once she was finished, she grabbed my arm and pulled.
“I’m starving, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely.” I wasn’t actually. But I figured I should store up my strength for whatever tryouts would entail. And I sure was right.
-14-
We were almost finished with breakfast when a group of men burst through the doors of the cafeteria. The cacophonic buzz that was the result of eighty or so women all eating, chatting, and laughing, along with silverware clanking and the sounds floating from inside the kitchen, all screeched to a halt. Silence crashed through the room like a wave. I recognized a few of the men from the soccer field, but there was an additional few that I couldn’t remember. Blink and Dart were nowhere to be found. Whew. I let go of my breath in one whoosh. I didn’t even realize I was holding it. The tallest one of the group stepped forward and spoke.
“Hello. I’m Rakan. I’m going to be leading one of the tryout groups today, along with these lovely two gentlemen.”
He pointed at two of the other men that I couldn’t see very well from my position. I scooted back and forth in my chair trying to get a better view of them all, but we were way in the back of the crowd. Vivica placed her hand on my arm and squeezed.
“In order to keep things as fair as possible, we’re going to assign you into four tryout groups. There are twelve of us and each group will have three leaders. You will have two groups today and two groups tomorrow. Please remain seated and remember your numbers.” He began to count to four and point to each woman. “One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four…” One by one, each woman in the cafeteria received her fated first tryout.
Vivica looked at me in horror. “That means that we’re not going to be in the same group!” she exclaimed. She was right. If we were sitting near each other then we were definitely not going to be within the same group. Perhaps she could move? But everyone was statuesque and staring directly at Rakan. It would be too obvious. “Everything’s going to be fine. Just do your best.” May the Goddess help her. When he finally got to our table, I was holding my breath again. “Two” he stated when he pointed to me and “Three” when he pointed to Vivica. He continued the charade with the last two tables until we were all assigned our numbers.
“Now, all of the ones go to that corner of the room.” He pointed North.
“All twos go there.” He pointed East.
“All threes go there.” His hand shot out to the South corner of the room.
“And fours, you know where to go.” In the West.
“Now, go meet your leaders!” The scraping of metal chairs on concrete flooring was almost deafening. I turned towards Vivica to give her a good luck hug, but she was already gone. Well damn. Heading towards the East, I took my place amongst twenty women in my small little cohort. Standing near us were three of the most gorgeous blondes I’d ever seen. Blonde men usually looked a little too Ken doll for my taste, but these three were tanned, muscular, and tall. Stocky, but not beefy, they looked like they spent some serious time at the gym and on the soccer field. Once the room was properly divided into four, the leaders from each group came forward. Our three blondes introduced themselves, “I’m Matt, this is Ian, and Gerard. I’m from a line of shapeshifters that actually can be traced back over fifteen hundred years, all the way back to a shapeshifter and non-shapeshifter coupling. Some rumored that she was a human, but I think she was a witch.” Matt had sparkling green eyes and a mouth full of blindingly white teeth. Murmurs flitted across the crowd. Since witches and shapeshifters had been kept apart, no one really knew what happened to the mixed ancestors. At least, that’s what most people thought. I guess insider knowledge was key. Ian stepped forward. His features were a bit softer, younger perhaps. He also had a small beard.
“I’m Ian, I’m probably the worst shapeshifter ever.” Laughter tinkled in my ears. His smile was easy, and his floppy hair grazed his eyes, which were covered with long lashes. Gerard’s face was more serious and angular. He was most likely the oldest of the three. There were a few strands of grey in his hair, although it was difficult to see due to his coloring.
“Welcome ladies. There are a few rules you need to learn in order to become a breeder. Obey the warrior. Keep yourself healthy. Protect your offspring at all costs. We’re going to work on the first one. Sometimes it doesn’t come as easily to certain individuals.” A few weak giggles passed amongst us. How in the world were they going to work on us obeying?
“Okay. Let’s go. We’re going to go to a private spot and get to work. Good luck!” Gerard headed for the door, Ian and Matt trailing behind him. Wordlessly, we all shuffled off towards our first tryouts.
…
We were taken to a center cabin. It opened up into a wide gymnasium-like room, but instead of smelling like a musty secondary school, the air was fresh and clean. The wooden floors were spotless. When we stepped on them, I noticed the floors had a bit more give than usual floors, perhaps there was padding underneath. Or some special type of wood? Over in the far corner of the gym was a huge pile of cushions. As we got closer, I realized it was a seating area. Brightly colored cushions, blankets, and beanbag chairs were spread out along the floor. The floor was littered with brightly colored objects. I couldn’t quite see what they were yet. We all gathered in a half circle around the carpeted area. Squeezing through several taller girls, I made my way to the front. When the carpeted area came into view, I realized that the objects that were all over the floor were sex toys. Dildos, vibrators, and a few other objects that I didn’t recognize. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I couldn’t wait to have instructions.
“In front of you, there are plenty of pleasure tools. This is just a warmup exercise. We want to see how you respond sexually, your preferences, and personalities. Focus on bringing pleasure to yourself. We will be milling around, but this is more about you than us. This is a chance for us to observe. It is our time to see what makes you tick.”
A free-for-all? Was I dreaming? This seemed to be easy, but why would they want to see what pleases us? Didn’t Arkan say that the shapeshifters loved to be obeyed more than anything? Well, maybe they are trying to get to know us? Maya wasn’t much into toys, she felt they were too impersonal, but I have always been curious. I can’t wait to try them. But what was the catch?
“Are there any rules?” My voice trembled a bit. Gerard stepped towards me.
“I couldn’t hear you love. Could you repeat that?”
I took a breath and made sure to amplify my voice. “Are there any rules?”