Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

“You’ll see,” Valen murmured, giving her a little half smile. “Come on, little one.”

They walked down the winding boardwalk until they came to a small building that had, “Mountain Lift” hovering in bold blue holo-letters in front of it.

“After you.” Valen held the door for her and Selena walked inside.

The first thing she noticed was that it was freezing. A blast of icy air enveloped her, making her exposed nipples painfully hard. She gasped and she could see her breath hanging like fog in the air.

The second thing she saw was a long row of fur coats in all sizes and colors, hanging on a rack to her right. Under them were rows of tall boots, also made of fur.

“Hello, hello, Master Kindred.” A Ma’shorkan woman with a yellow Seal of Independence wrapped around her wrist and enclosed with one of the clear, plastic Seal guards, stepped up to them. “How can I help you today?” she asked Valen.

“Reservation for two at the top of the mountain,” he told her. “We’ll need coats and boots as well.”

“Of course you will! Now then, let me just take your sizes…”

The Ma’shorkan woman bustled forward, holding something that looked a little bit like a pricing gun in one hand. She pointed it at Selena and said, “Ladies first!” before pressing the trigger.

A beam of green light shot out and bathed Selena from top to toe. She couldn’t feel it at all, but after a moment the Ma’shorkan woman looked at her “gun” and nodded.

“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right this way, if you please, my lady.”

She led Selena—who was shivering by now—over to the coat rack and selected a bright red coat for her to wear. She held it out for her and Selena saw that it was lined with long, soft, black fur that looked as dense as velvet.

“Th-thank y-you,” she said, teeth chattering as she slipped into the coat. “Mmm, that’s so warm!”

The fur was indeed, almost instantly warming. It slid against her skin sensually, stroking her sensitive nipples, which were still standing out from the cold. It also felt wonderful against her shaved pussy mound, Selena thought.

“Very good—and now the boots!”

The Ma’shorkan woman got a matching pair of red boots out. She made a big show of spraying them with some kind of dry, anti-germ spray, and then helped Selena put them on. Since the coat fell almost to her ankles and the boots came up past her knees, she was now completely covered—or so she thought.

“Now a hat!” the woman declared. She got down a sleek, black, fur hat from the rack above the coats and placed it on Selena’s head. It was shaped like a pillbox and it had furry ear flaps which could be let down to keep her ears warm.

Lastly, she handed Selena a pair of gloves to put in her pockets, “Just in case you get cold, my lady,” and then stood back and admired the effect.

“You look happier now,” Valen remarked, looking at her. “How do you feel?”

“Perfectly warm,” Selena said, smiling up at him. “What about you—are you getting a coat and boots, too?”

“Of course. It’s quite cold at Ice Table—that’s why you must be properly dressed for it.”

The Ma’shorkan woman found him a long black fur coat and boots to match, though Valen declined the hat and gloves.

“I don’t need them—I come from a very cold planet,” he explained. “In fact, do you have any thinner coats?”

The Ma’shorkan woman found him something thinner—this one in dark blue that brought out his eyes—and then they were ready to go.

Just in time, too, because the moment Valen finished putting on his coat, there was a sharp whistling sound outside and the Ma’shorkan woman exclaimed,

“Oh, here comes the Mountain Lift! Hurry up now—it doesn’t wait, you know!”

They went out the back of the store and were instantly enveloped in the warm beach breezes again.

“Whew—now I’m hot!” Selena exclaimed, tugging at the collar of her fur coat.

“You can take it off for now, if you like.” Valen was taking off his own coat, as he spoke and draping it over one arm. “You’ll probably want to put it on again as the lift rises.”

He gestured at the small, flying car which had apparently descended from the mountain. It was just settling down beside the little store like a spaceship landing, Selena thought. It was square-shaped, with clear glass walls and low benches all around the inside.

As they stepped forward, the lift’s front door slid open, allowing them to enter. Nobody else was inside. In fact, the interior was completely deserted.

“Is there a driver?” Selena asked, looking around nervously. “I mean, who steers this thing?”

“It’s on autopilot, I believe,” Valen said. “It only goes to a few destinations on the mountain, so there really isn’t any need for a driver.”

A little bit like the monorail at the airport back on Earth, Selena thought. But of course, the monorail only had three short cars hooked together and it ran on a track, going around the airport parking area to take people to the correct terminal. The Mountain Lift was more like an airplane or a spaceship that flew itself—which seemed a lot more risky.