“When I was fully AI, I used ‘he’ in solidarity with Zylar. I had no real sense of that identity. But as I’ve lived, I have come to realize that I feel no affiliation with that self. I do not wish to change or choose a binary. I prefer my current state. Going forward, I would like my pronoun to be ‘they’, like Carow and Maglan.”

“Understood. I love who you are,” Qalu said.

Helix let the sweetness of her soak in and shifted closer, so their head tendrils could slide together. For once, the reproductive urges shimmered to life when it wasn’t awkward or inconvenient. Longing flooded their body, deeper and more profound than anything they’d felt before, because they had been fully accepted into Qalu’s love group and they had a home, now and forever.

“Would it be permissible for us to celebrate in a more…physical fashion?” Helix asked.

Qalu grasped their forelimb and tugged them toward the sleep platform in the other room. Never again would Helix take for granted sufficient privacy enough to enjoy the benefits of having a body. They let Qalu lead only that far, and then said, “Before now, you’ve devoted yourself to pleasing me. I have been studying…and would enjoy the opportunity to do the same.”

She unfastened her swator and let it fall. “I have no objection.”

Beautiful, from head to toe. That was the only word that fit. They drank in Qalu’s willingness to bare everything and then gently moved her toward the sleep platform, divesting their own garments on the way.

Carefully, Helix leaned over her and touched their chests together, teasing brushes of contact while their head tendrils started the foreplay. Her scales stimulated theirs, creating soft sparks of sensation that flooded their whole body. But Helix wasn’t supposed to get lost in these feelings, not easy when they were so new to this. But they meant to make it good for Qalu, carefully trying all the techniques they had meticulously researched.

Carefully Helix studied Qalu’s expression, every minute response to each touch and adjusted accordingly. More pressure here, less there, until her breath came quick and fast, and her head tendrils undulated wildly. A beautiful bronze deepened her throat, and the spiced smell of her arousal flooded the room, dizzying Helix with the powerful pheromones. For a few moments, they struggled with riotous urges.

“Does that feel good?” A delicate touch.

“You know it does.”

She reached for them, trying to attain more intimate contact.

“Not just yet. I’m curious how much pleasure you can withstand.”

“That’s a bit cruel,” she murmured, breathless.