[ 3.30 PM ]

  Mia and I had some difficulties finding the swimming pool until we realized that it was built in the basement of Building complex C. Being difficult to find definitely expins why people consider this pool to be a hidden gem.

  The real fun however started before we left home. Lantosians, males too, apparently seem to prefer wearing a uniform-like diving suit when they go for a swim. Suffice to say that it took me some time to convince Mia to wear the one piece swimsuit I had managed to get the 'clothing machine' to spit out.

  We tried them out in our quarters, and to be honest...she looked incredibly cute, especially because she couldn't stop blushing. Her furry ears added even more to her overall cuteness, but I can't really tell her that, now can I?

  When we finally arrived at the pool, we were surprised to see that two separate pools were avaible to the public. One is specifically designed for humans and the other one is for the 'other races.'

  It's kind of a let down that they want to keep us separated, but things might have happened in the past.

  We entered the 'other races' section and soon discovered that the female locker room was already in use. But judging by the uniforms, the dies visiting this pool surprisingly seemed to be humans.

  Mia was worried that we might have to return, but I told her not to worry.

  We changed into our swimsuits and put our belongings in a shared locker, while using our watches as keys. The Comms are supposed to be waterproof, so we're definitely taking those with us.

  "Mia, before we get into the water, please don't drink any of it."

  "Of course not! I'm not an animal!"

  "Huh? No, I meant to say that it has chlorine in it. Can't you smell it?" To be honest, it smells a bit different than I remember.

  "Ah, yes, I was wondering about that chemical smell."

  "The chlorine works as a disinfectant, so please also remember not to open your eyes underwater, or they will sting."

  "Oh, so that's what you meant to say. But are you really sure that we can wear these things? I feel....exposed." She pointed at her blue swimsuit.

  "Don't worry, it looks great on you. Trust me, it's perfectly normal to wear that on Earth. Let's get a quick shower first and then we can go inside."

  The human-type shower however caused my furry ears to feel very strange. Water got into my ear canal and that was not a pleasant feeling at all, meaning that's probably the reason why Mia was reluctant to go in the first pce. Mia and I ughed about how silly our ears looked, but it's just part of the experience.

  We can already hear the sounds of people having fun, and when we take a peek around the corner, we see no more than five people chatting in the water instead of actually swimming.

  Three dies and two guys instantly stop chatting when they see us approaching, Mia walking slightly behind me.

  "Good afternoon, everyone." I said extra cheerfully, hoping to break the ice.

  "Sorry, ma'am. We'll get out right now." One of the men said.

  I immediately gestured that they shouldn't leave at all."No, no....rex! There's plenty of water, so everyone can just rex, okay? May we join you?"

  "Of course, ma'am, this is supposed to be a Lantosian pool. But.....you know... your people almost never use this pool, so we kinda made it our special pce." He was very polite and kept apologizing.

  "By all means, you're most welcome to stay. I was wondering why they even made two separate pools, but hey, I couldn't care any less. Mia....time for us to get in."

  "Um....Kaya?" Mia blinked and looked very embarrassed. "I kinda....can't swim?"

  "You can't swim?" I replied with my mouth agape, and I swear... it's suddenly very quiet here. Sure, it isn't a very rge pool, nor are there many people inside, but still. Why the heck didn't she simply tell me?!

  "Ehehehe... yeah. Can't we only sit on the edge or something?"

  "Nope, you and me..in there...now. Fear not, innocent maiden, Kaya is a professional!"

  "Ha ha ha ha." The people behind me ughed and quieted down when I gnced at them. My gnce however wasn't meant to silence them, but whatever.

  I simply take her hand to guide her to the metallic stairs and then we step into the shallow water.

  Mia follows me by walking through the water towards the group of people. Near them the pool is becoming deeper, but Mia isn't very happy to go any further, so I guess we'll stay here.

  "It's not a really rge pool, but it's still nice. I can see why you like the pce." I said to the others.

  We introduced ourselves and after that things went really well. It's like meeting up with friends, we felt a connection right away.

  While Mia made sure never to let go of the pool's edge, I completely submerged myself and really enjoyed my time in the water. Having these rge furry ears on top of my head created some drag, but I got used to it pretty quickly. Keeping them slightly above the surface allowed me to hear their conversation, but it also reduced the drag.

  "Woooow....that's the strangest shark I've ever seen, hahaha!" One of the men said when I approached them.

  "Yes, it looks really cute, though. And her swimsuit suits her as well." One of the dies mentioned.

  That reply made me blush for a moment, especially since I knew that Mia felt the same."Thanks...it's not something we Lantosians usually wear. Think boring diving suits."

  "That doesn't sound like much fun, so what made you wear one of those?" Another woman asked.

  "Simple, I wanted to see my friend in one." I accidentally blurted out, but it was the truth nonetheless.

  "Aaaah, yes, that makes perfect sense." The guy said with a big smile on his face, after which a woman spped his arm. I bet she's his girlfriend. "Ouch! Why hit me like that?"

  "You're in the military and that hurt?"

  "Ha ha ha...she got you there, man." His buddy said.

  Mia slowly lets go of the pool's edge and walks over to me, showing an amazing smile. I think that she's finally rexing.

  "Hi there, Mia. Having fun?" I asked in a teasing way.

  "Surprisingly, yes. But I think that swimming is not for me. Don't get me wrong, everyone is nice and all, but I prefer running."

  "You....exercise?" I asked, sounding surprised.

  "Of course I do!" Now she spped my arm.

  "Heey! I didn't mean it like that! You look great!"

  "Ehehe.." She blushed again, and didn't act like the usual Mia. This one was shyer and even cuter than the usual one. Suffice to say that we're having a great time.

  One of the guys, obviously without a girlfriend, felt that it was now safe to ask me something.

  "So...Kaya? May I ask something silly?"

  "Duh, you already have, Ryan."

  "Hahahahaha.." we all ughed at our own silliness. Humans and Lantosians having fun together, this is how life should be. Maybe humanity really is ready to learn about us aliens? I mean, we're basically the same, except for the eyes and ears.

  Ryan then asked "So...I hope you don't mind me asking, but I always wondered how your furry ears feel. May I touch them?"

  I look at Mia and she winks, meaning that she already knows that I'm up to something.

  "Of course, Ryan." I swim towards him and let him pet my ears for a few moments. They are mostly dry now, so definitely furry again.

  After that I rubbed his cheek twice, while ignoring his friends' jealous "ooooh" sounds.

  As soon as I had returned to Mia, I asked "well....how was it...Ryan?" I pronounced his name in a rather sensual way to tease him.

  "My god....you actually....thank you so much! It was....wow!"

  "See? You really are fluffy, Kaya." Mia said, now finally getting into the spirit of things.

  "Hahahaha." Everyone ughed....until someone entered the pool area, completely in uniform.

  All of us instantly lost our good moods, and studied the stranger's unhappy face.

  A Lantosian woman, probably in her sixties, dressed in formal uniform, alternatingly looks at me and Mia. So whoever she is, she's obviously here to see one of us.

  Since nobody seems eager to start the conversation, I decide to be the brave one. "Em....can we help you? This is a swimming pool, you know? As in....no uniforms?" I said, trying to be polite.

  "Which one of you is Kaya, daughter of Funami?" She simply replied, and boy oh boy, did she sound pissed.

  The humans are not sure what's going on, so they have already left the pool, ready to make a run for it if need be.

  "Yeah...that would be me. Do you need help?"

  "DO....I....NEED....HELP? I am your Overseer! Can't you even understand that from looking at my uniform?" She pointed at her uniform, but it didn't look special to me.

  Okay, one more person for my bcklist. Calm...stay calm. "Shh...it's okay," I whispered to Mia, because I didn't want her to worry. I then focus on the annoying dy in uniform. "No, your uniform looks....white."

  "Get out of the water...NOW!" She points at a spot on the ground next to her.

  "I don't think so. Why don't you leave this pce before I call the guards?"

  "Don't you speak to me like that, young dy! You're supposed to be repairing drones! I already knew that you were trouble when I saw you ordering everyone around into those....those....bus-things."

  "Ahhhhh....so you're new here. They're called buses, and so what? I only helped everyone get to their destinations. Did you miss the bus?" A grin appeared on my face and I knew that the others had noted that as well....they were smiling again. Unfortunately miss bitch over there noticed the same.

  "No, I most certainly did not! There are literally thousands of drones in this city, and 40% of those don't even work. 40% Kaya!!! Do you know how many of them there are?"

  "Yeah, about 400 per one thousand drones?"

  She blinked, probably not expecting me to do the math for her."Um....well, yes. But you didn't even wear a proper uniform then and according to the logs, you still don't wear a proper uniform."

  "Miss, I think you need to cool off. Why don't you get into the water and be nice?" Last attempt of me being nice.

  "Because I am your Overseer! Now get the hell out of the water!"

  I shake my head and swim towards her, leaving the pool by climbing out of it. I motion to the others to stay put.

  "By the goddess! You're naked!!!!!" She shouted for all to hear.

  "Em, no ma'am, we're actually wearing proper clothing." One of the dies said, while standing at a safe distance.

  "See? What she said. Thanks!" I waved at the dy. Always happy to get some help.

  I now slowly approach the Overseer and see that she's beyond furious. She's mere moments away from venting steam out of her ears.

  The Overseer nods when I approach her, expecting me to finally obey her."Good! Finally you are coming to your senses, Kaya! Now tell me, why were you even in the water? Only animals swim!"

  I gnce at the humans, and then give her my best death gre. "So let me get this straight. You think that those humans over there are.... animals? Did you really just say that?"

  "Huh? No, no, of course not!" She immediately replied, realizing that she had made a terrible mistake.

  Ryan came to my rescue. "It sure sounded to me like that. I feel insulted."

  But the bully in our midst ignored him completely. "Kaya, I want you in my office in 5 minutes!"

  "Not gonna happen." I crossed my arms.

  "WHAT? You dare contradict me?"

  "Yes, I dare without any problem whatsoever."

  "Grrrrr......." She reached for my hand, trying to pull me along like a child, but she missed.

  "Easy now, or you'll get hurt. Do I need to escort you to the medical bay?"

  She didn't reply but knew that I was not going to py along, so she found something else to bitch about. "Your AI didn't even let me in. Why not?"

  "Fred? Ha! Because you are not supposed to enter the repair bay! I work there, you don't!"I couldn't suppress a very primordial urge....and shook my head to remove all the water from my hair as much as possible...hoping to make her suffer even more.

  "You, you...you animal!!!!" She said, with disgust all over her face while trying to shield herself from my water attack. And the ughter in the pool behind me didn't help her much either.

  At this point I was absolutely pissed and was about to tell her how I exactly felt about her."Shut up!!!! Yes, you heard me! Shut up! We were having a great time together with the humans and here you come, messing everything up, even insulting them and thus jeopardizing our Treaty. Get out NOW!" I point at the exit, while I feel my ears standing up straight.

  "Not without you, I won't! Before this day is over, you will be on the next transport to Lantosia!""Like hell I will!" At that moment I simply pushed her into the pool since she obviously needed to cool down.

  SPLASH!

  "AAAAAAH!!!! Heeeeelp!!! Heeeeelp!"

  Wow, an unexpected bonus...she can't swim! But she's not in any danger since she's in the shallow part of the pool.

  I calmly turn to the humans and take a deep breath. "Sorry guys for messing up your time off. Let me handle this one."

  I reach for the bossy bitch's uniform and want to pull her to safety, but imagine my surprise when I'm suddenly holding her above my body with my arm stretched, as if I'm holding a weightless plushie. Nanites...I swear they have a mind of their own, giving me inhuman strength like that.

  "AAAAAHHH! Put me down!"

  And I was happy to oblige, releasing her from that altitude.

  "Oouuuch! You animal! You savage.....you brute!!!" She shouted, but she stopped when I gred at her once more.

  Don't ask me why or even how, but I suddenly feel my fangs extending. Next I feel the urge to look upwards at the ceiling and release a primordial sound...."awoooooooooo!"Believe it or not, I actually howled like a wolf.

  The Overseer decided that it was in her own best interest to leave, and she did, but we could hear her screaming all the way towards the exit.

  When I finally thought that all of this was over, three Lantosian guards came rushing inside.

  "What happened? We heard a cry with killing intent?!"

  "Um...yeah? So you could hear me all the way outside?" I asked.

  "Of course we did!!!!!! Probably everyone in this city heard that!"

  I gestured to them that nothing was going to happen."Rex....it's okay now. A woman, an Overseer apparently, entered this pool and threw all kinds of insults at us and the humans. But she's gone now."

  "No, not at all. She asked us to arrest you."

  "Hahahaha...wait....seriously?"

  The humans then gave me an appuse, surprising the Lantosian guards, but me as well.

  Suffice to say that we spent half an hour in a Security office, but my human friends defended me, telling them that they felt insulted by her. So while Security was quick to understand the situation and then let us go, they still warned me that she really was my Overseer. Point being...she would probably call the Hierarchy.

  Ha ha ha.....yeah, like I care!

  Oh, and I made sure to thank my human friends by asking Ben to send an official Lantosian letter of appreciation to them. And yes, I had to write it myself. Ben also mentioned that I should be careful with that Overseer. While he agreed that her behavior was absolutely unacceptable, showing her some respect might be in my own best interest. I told him that I had already tried being polite to her, but she didn't even care.

  Mia pointed out, after dinner, that the Overseer had called me an 'animal,' and it most likely referred to my Taleena heritage. We talked about this, and when she started crying, I noticed just how deep her emotional wounds still are. I hugged and comforted her and at some point we both felt exhausted. It had been a long day, and swimming caused my legs to hurt again.

  I was beyond exhausted and turned in at 8.30 pm, no longer able to keep my eyelids open. Only much ter, at least that's how it felt to me, did I feel someone snuggling up against me, and that feeling quickly pulled me back into a restful sleep.