Background fun part 2 (part 6 follows)
Professor Stanton took her place at the lecturer podium and scanned the class arrayed in elevated rows in front of her. A quick scan of her students showed what looked like a promising mix and she smiled warmly.
"Thank you all for signing up for Paralus and Human Physiology. As most of you hopefully know, this class is an introduction to Paralus physiological differences from humans and vice versa. We will also be covering the standard mixed race physiological mutations. This class is an optional elective but should assist greatly in your pre-med bio-chem required classes." Professor Stanton smiled at the groans from her class at the mention of the dreaded bio-chem. Dr. Miles was a brilliant teacher and researcher, but the students rarely appreciated his genius.
"I am going to give a brief outline on what we will be covering and some of the key details. First and foremost is the general biological mutation of the human species stimulated by the integration of the Paralus species. As you all should intimately aware of by now, Paralus society and their very biological nature is heavily based on scent. Scent and pheromones communicate volumes to a full blooded Paralus and a lesser extent to most people bearing at a decent ratio of Paralus blood. The science isn't clear on the scent mutation, but within two decades human scents began to change. Most humans developed a subtle and unique scent profile that wildly attracted Paralus partners. Due to this mutation, pureblooded Paralus are protected and are provided a 'minder' to help them not be taken advantage of."
Professor Stanton scanned the room again that had focused on a few students in the front row. High cheekbones, slightly slanted ears, and the distinct coloring around their eyes identified them as mostly pure blooded. Professors were always informed when purebloods would be students and she had ensured the two men were okay with some of the additional attention they were bound to get. If anything, they had seemed thrilled by it and she knew some of the other students might be tempted to test out things they were going to learn. The two young men sat smugly, soaking in the eyes around them as they watched her intently.
The professor continued, "After the mutation became widespread, many children were born of mixed blood. The very close proximity of Paralus biology to humans means they follow the standard feature inheritance human babies have with their parents or Paralus babies have with theirs. There are two primary exceptions. All people with at least one tenth Paralus blood have disbursement points and enhanced pheromone glands. There are other differences we will cover in depth. Class, if you do not mind responding, who here has at least 10% Paralus blood?"
Dr. Stanton rolled her eyes as the purebloods raised their hands, but they seemed to break the ice and several students laughed. After a few moments she saw 2 more students raise their hands. "Thank you, I hope we can resolve any lingering questions you may have through our studies. These two primary points will be the core of our studies. Time permitting, we will cover some fun topics such as hyper compatibility and the mythical Paralus Honey. Hyper compatibility being when the scent or pheromone profile of a human and partner with Paralus blood are near perfect matches. This is very rare, but it can happen. Paralus honey is an extreme result of such a matching and there are only 6 documented cases of it."
One of the young Paralus men chimed in with a smirk, "I for one, am actively seeking my match to make honey with." The chorus of giggles and guffaws from the students were about as loud as Dr. Stanton's face was red as she tried to reign in her class. Why did he have to look at her so intently as he said that? She stilled herself repeating over and over in her head,
I will not sleep with one of my students.
PART 6
Ana —
Bailey stretched as she walked around the cruise ship, taking in the sights of the cruise. It was easy to notice one thing immediately, that being that there were no children aboard. This was a couple's cruise, intended for adults only, and loaded with adult activities like drinking and gambling... as well as encouraging exploration and meeting other couples.
Naturally, with Rachael and Rickett already joining them, she didn't feel the need to branch out too much. They'd been hoping for a more intimate encounter than the kind of one-off scenario the cruise seemed to envision. There were meet and greets for interested couples scheduled, but it wasn't the sole purpose of the cruise, simply one of many different activities an interested party could participate in.
Of course, a six-three woman who looked like she did, even in something as blasé as a hoodie, was bound to attract some attention from people who were here for that sort of thing, and there were a few she could tell tried to catch her eye. For the moment though, she was more interested in getting the lay of the land. Finding the casino, and checking out the food and restaurant deck. Locating the exercise and gym facility, which even included a boxing/wrestling ring you could sign up for and rent out. She thought back to Rickett and grinned, wondering if he'd be up for a match, winner take all? It could be a fun date.
Thinking of him brought her back to Rachael as well, the brunette beauty and her fertile promise walking through Bailey's head. Had she done the right thing? Would Roselyn understand? Bailey liked to think that she knew Roselyn's easy-going, sexually adventurous nature better than anyone... but she also knew where Roselyn's weak points were. The little emotional scars everyone built up over time, places they worried they didn't measure up or secretly worried about. Roselyn had those too, and a pretty big one, specifically about fertility... or rather, her lack there of.
Would she be wounded by Bailey's interest in Rachael? They'd talked a lot about adoption or surrogates, but Bailey hadn't been worried about it, content to just have fun and explore with her wife and best friend in Roselyn. Even if she'd always felt that drive to have a family- right down to her favorite sexual nickname for herself, 'Mommy,' -Roselyn was the most important and best thing, period. And the red-head knew that. They'd often had talks about emotional vulnerability, and shared a closeness that Bailey found hard to put into words. Nothing was forbidden. Everything was something that could be discussed or talked about.
But even in those discussions, she'd sensed that point was where Roselyn felt herself a failure as a partner and a spouse. Not on a conscious level, she knew Bailey better, but it was an emotional vulnerability. She didn't want to this opportunity with Rachael, if it was real, to wound Ros on one of her weakest points. At the same time, she'd seen how Ros looked at Rachael, and definitely got the sense there was an instant connection between them that she hadn't seen with other women. Maybe that would help?
One thing she was sure of, and that this journey was intended to reinforce, was that whatever the case, the only correct thing to do was to talk about it. Keeping it secret or ignoring it would only make everything much worse in the long run. It was the one request Ros had made of Bailey, and that she had promised in to Bailey in return, the foundation of their whole adventure into swinging- no secrets. If you liked a fetish, say so. If you felt a connection with someone, say so. Be honest. As long as they were together and united, everything else was manageable.
She nodded to herself, feeling better about the whole thing. Ros was the smart one. Bailey told everyone that, believed it whole-heartedly, and took immense comfort in it. Roselyn could figure out the right approach to anything.
As she started back though, a woman approached her. Her ears were pointed, her eyelids shadowed blue in a way that seemed to defy makeup, latices of gold marking her cheeks, an exotic blue motif and inlaid artwork covering her forehead. Rich, dark brown hair was braided at her back, her figure at once willowy and voluptuous in a way that seemed more than human- and was.
