After napping for a couple of hours, Khahishra and Llhaesa were wakened by the alarm set for the express purpose of rousting and discouraging them from the urge to sleep through the night.

Heading for the numerous showers located centrally between all the rooms on this dormitory floor, they stepped out of their robes and into the showers, groggily unspeaking for the first couple of minutes, until the soothing spray brought the rest of their bodies up to speed. In adjacent but private showers, they raised their voices so that each could hear over the persistent hiss of the sonic assisted water, and speculated on what might take place over the coming hours.

None of their imaginative speculation involved Llhaesa sleeping in M’traliel’s bed on this night.

Truth be told, Llhaesa had long known she was gay, and… big deal. She had never been in a situation where natural inclination moved into active participation, so she just didn’t bother talking about this element of her life.

Theirs was a society that really had no issue with anyone being gay; gender was the societal fault and fracture line. Here, gay men had a chance for societal status; gay women did not, at least for most women. Some were able to transcend the normal mores, and most often such women were entertainers.

Llhaesa possessed a very active fantasy life, and she was no stranger to the more pleasurable workings of her own body. While she was not shy about her political views or about her music, she was rather private about her more deeply rooted feelings. She had never – not once – told anyone her attractions pointed towards other women. She felt no need to share, no need to announce such a thing. She lived life on her terms, following what she felt and believed in; that seemed to be the most natural and reasonable pathway.

Finishing their showers, each wrapped their hair in one towel, dried off with another, then threw those now damp towels in their shower baskets, tossed on robes, and headed back to their room.

Within an hour, they were dressed casually and making their way out into a clearing, where several student guides were assembling what would apparently be a bonfire. Off to their left a safe distance from the fire lie several hand held musical instruments. “Ah!’ spilled from Llhaesa, as one element of the coming evening events had passively been sussed out. This… was like putting a fish back in water.

There were 50 students or so present; things would not begin for another hour. Llhaesa and Khahishra quickly sought out and found M’traliel. M’traliel drafted them into the firewood brigade, transporting the wood from the two trucks bedded down with recently delivered and left here for the student’s evening fire.

Both were not use to carrying heavy items, yet they relished the physical activity. It brought in copious amounts of fresh air into their lungs, giving them a second wind post nap.

In another half hour, half the students had arrived, and the rest were making their way towards the greenspace. One of the guides ignited the 8 foot high pile of dried wood, and within minutes the crackle of wood turning to gas. Some of the newly vaporised gas remained trapped for a time within the wood, until heat created sufficient pressure for it to snap off a piece of the wood – or as we would perceive it – crackle.

Little seen by the gathering students was the pavilion off into the woods on their right. Now that night was descending, the facility was illuminated, and the first students to see this pavilion quickly informed others, and word spread through the crowd.

If they were wondering on dinner, the wonder ceased. The pavilion harboured enough food to feed the full compliment of 500 plus, though there was no seating – students had plenty of freshly mowed lawn on which to find a suitable place to set, dine, and congregate.

Llhaesa was vegetarian, so she made her way to the section marked for those of like mind, sliding into the rear of the queue. As she waited for the line to move along, shifting from foot to foot and looking around absentmindedly, she was greeted with a whispered “mind if I wait along with you?” from close proximity to her right ear, so close she could feel M’traliel’s warm breath on her suddenly tingling neck. Something inside of her stirred, her body began to adjust to a need for heightened senses and a thirst for more sensory input. She turned and offered a quick “of course,” right along with a bright, toothy smile, and eyes that immediately focused and found a connection with those of the older student.

Novice at this or not, Llhaesa knew this one was interested – and interesting.