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1. "Matt?.... Matthew?" Sleep-drunk, I rubbed my eyes. "What's up, tiger?" Kujo sat down next to me on the edge of my bed. "What I said earlier. About you having no need to stay on Aragon any longer..." I yawned, "Yes. I can re-stock Lucas' supplies, fuel up, do some maintenance, and be on my merry way to Leo." Kujo looked away and we both were silent for a few minutes. "Please Matthew. Don't leave. You've saved my life, and during those months together I've grown fond of you." He grabbed my left hand with both his claws. "Even if you really want to leave, I can join you on your journey to Leo." "Oh Kujo", I sighed, working my way up from under the blankets to sit next to him, "You just got back here. If you'd come with me, you would be gone for decades, maybe even for the rest of your life. This is your home, where you belong. I could never be so selfish to make you leave." The tiger wrapped his arms around me in a tender hug. The guest room wasn't very warm and I wasn't wearing any clothes. Kujo's warm embrace and his wooly, soft fur against my skin felt wonderful. A few more moments of silence followed. "But you don't -have- to leave. Why won't you stay?" "Because I'm scared, Kujo. I've lost my friends, family, my old home... Even my planet! I've tried finding a new home twice, but failed both times. The second time almost got me killed, mostly because I was the only human there. I am afraid that if I will settle here, something bad will happen again." "Nothing will happen, Matt. Please believe me. Do the guys you've met up untill now strike you as types who'd back-stab you?" "No, most definitely not. But it only has been a night." I rest my head against the tiger's chest, struggling to find the right answer to my dilemma. I longed, no, yearned for a place to call home. To belong. To be secure. But what happened on X-2034 and the freighter left me insecure and shaken, about what I was, human. Ashamed, almost. Kujo was so kind however. I've always found tigers majestic creatures and Kujo wasn't anything less. His muscular body, his orange and black striped coat. The soft, warm, lush, wooly white fur on his chest and belly, his yellow eyes, his fangs... We've shared more than a few close moments while on board of Lucas, like when a comforting hug was needed, or simply because we felt like being a bit affectionate. Over the course of the months we spent together, I did develop more amorous feelings for the feline. At first, I ignored those feelings, thinking they only occured because we were locked up in a confined space together, in the vast and cold loneliness of space, only having each other as company. Because of this I expected that, once the tiger would be back home and there would no longer be a reason for us to exist together, the foundation for these emotions would crumble and vanish. But now I found myself torn between two decisions. Give in to my insecurity, my fears, and set off to Leo, which would mean going back to a life of loneliness, or to give in to my yearning, and take my chances with starting over on Aragon. Kujo rocked me back and forth, one of his claws slowly scritching up and down my back. "Please, don't stop", I whispered, a shiver going down my spine. "Give us a chance, Matthew. You can always decide to leave at any time." Kujo's rocking made my eyelids grow heavy. Moments later, I was back asleep. I was still in the feline's arms when I woke up a while later. Nuzzling through the snoozing

tiger's dense and fuzzy white chest-fluff, I forced myself to go through my options rationally.

'Aragon is the first place where I felt welcome almost the moment when Lucas touched down.', I thought. ' It's a huge, diverse station with a big population. It has its own domestic military force. In case I'd be accepted as a citizen, my experience as a fighter on the freighter might earn me a position in one of their space defence sq...Shit. Everything was erased from the records, I've no evidense to back up any experience and accomplishments from my years as a figther pilot on the freighter. Hmm. Well, even if it would mean going trough a training program from scratch, I'd not mind. I'd probably freewheel through all the tests and exams with ease. Leaving Aragon will mean an uncertain future for me. Surely the Leo system seems promising, but there is no way of telling if the civilizations that I will encounter are friendly. I also have no way of telling where, or if I will be able to get supplies in time to last me the huge distances I will have to cover. The currency I was given with Lucas is a considerable amount, sure. But will it be enough? What if I'll be hunted down by pirates or mercinaries?' I softly shook my head. 'Aragon feels so much like home. Surely, its people are a huge cause, because they look so much like the predators which once roamed Earth. But also the whole way the stations living area has been set up, it looks and feels so homely. Last, but definitely not least, I can't bare the thought of having to say farewell to Kujo, probably for forever. Why on Eart.. er. Why the HELL would I do that? I like him so much. and he likes me too. And all the others seem so friendly.' Kujo, who woke up shortly after I did, watched ponder for a while, and rest his muzzle on top of my head. "As I said earlier, I can't take you with me to Leo." I softly said without looking up. The tiger was very still. "But I really can not, and will not say farewell to you either. Which only leaves one option", I smiled. Kujo aqueezed me so tight that I had trouble breathing. "I love you, Matthew", he whispered while rubbing his cheek against mine. "I love you too, Kujo", I almost sighed, feeling an immense sense of relief, having found my answer to the dilemma, the ability to put my insecurity aside, and confirm that my feelings for the tiger were not an effect of the circomstances we were both in for these months. With a big yawn, I sat back upright. "Let's enjoy the few hours of night time we have left", I smiled. "Yeah, absolutely!" Kujo hopped up from my bed, walked over to his, and pushed it against mine. "But you are not going to sleep alone, I can assure you!" He rolled onto his bed, grabbed me, and pulled me towards him. "Not even in my wildest dreams, I could've imagined ending up as prey in a strong tiger's claws." "Prey eh?", Kujo toothy grinned, showing off his bright white fangs. "Yes. There is no escaping me devouring you!" He playfully started to mouth my face, neck and chest, giving soft, nibbly licks all over. "Hmmyes, I guess I'm yours now you've slobbered all over me", I chuckled. Kujo flopped down behind my back and spooned me. "Yes, You're all mine now", he whispered softly in my ear, before wrapping his arms and legs around me. Whiskers tickling under my nose woke me up, followed by a warm tongue in my face. "Hhmmmmh, I don't want to get up yet", I sleepily mumbled. "Jason was here asking if we'd like to come snooze with him and Jess for a while." "Uh. I... I think I'd rather stay here and sleep for a bit more, Kujo. But if you want to go, by all means." "It's just something I did when I spend the night here. I always slept together with them, and I've missed that so much. I hope you won't feel bad about it." "It's alright, tiger. You go. I just wanna sleep", I yawned, and curled back up under the blankets. The door fell in the lock. Silence. It did bother me. But who was I to question it? Things here just were very different. Feeling uneasy over it wouldn't change anything. Adapting would be better, but I'd need time to get used to all that casual intimacy. After confirming my feelins for Kujo, this next plunge into the deep felt like a bit too much. I slowly drifted off, the feeling of Kujo's warm fur on my skin and his scent still lingering. Before I was fully back asleep, the door opened. I looked up to find Jess standing next to my bed. "Good morning", she warmly smiled. "You still look very sleepy. Why won't you come and snooze together with us so that you won't be all alone? Jason saw you sleeping in Kujo's arms when he came here a bit earlier and was totally touched by it. I want to see that too!" My cheeks glowed. "I just don't know, Jess. Things here are so different, I am not used to it. I need some time." "Here, c'mon", the hyena grabbed me with her strong arms and pulled me out of bed. "You just need a bit of persuasion, sweety." I tried to reach for where I put my clothing the previous night, but she just dragged me with her. Jess took me across the dimly-lit hallway to their bedroom. It was considerably more spacious than the guest room offered to me and Kujo. It was cozingly untidy, some pieces of clothing carelessly flung over a few stools, some used towels piled up in a corner, and a huge flat-screen display which was incorporated in the wall showing a broadcast of what must've been the station's morning news bulletin, facing a huge kingsized bed with terra-cotta coloured sheets and blankets. Jason and Kujo were sort-of watching the programme, the tiger cuddled up against the hyena's sandy coloured chest. "Here you go Matt", Jess enouraged. "You go lay in between Jason and Kujo." She swiftly manouvered me onto the huge mattress, and soon after, I was trapped in between Jason on my right, and Kujo on my left flank. Jess flopped down next to Kujo on the other side, and started to lick-groom the feline's muzzle. The tiger opened his maw, and he and Jess locked lips, sharing a long and passionate kiss. Once again, I tried to re-assure myself that this just was how things were here, and that I would do good to try to put any feelings of awkwardness, or even jealousy, out of my mind. Jason, aware of my internal struggle after observing the little scene on my left, placed his paw on my stomach. "Hey you", he whispered to me. Finally, I was able to take my eyes off of Kujo and Jesse and looked over to the male hyena. Jason, though a bit more timid and shorter than his mate Jess, still was about my length. His belly and chest had creamy, sandy coloured fur, like in between his legs and all the way up to his neck. His muzzle was much darker in colour, almost black. Eventhough he was laying on his back, the dark spots on his sides which earned this family of hyenas their popular name were clearly visible. His ears were big and round, standing upright. His dark, amber eyes had a relaxed, and friendly gaze. He lifted his paw off of my stomach and raised it up, inviting me to cuddle up with him. Deciding that I should just try to go with the flow, I shifted closer to his side, taking the hyena up on his kind offer. He smiled warmy, and embraced me. I lay my head against his chest and made myself comfortable, until he suddenly brushed his muzzle over my cheek and lips. Shocked, I looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry, Matt", he apologized, stroking my scruffy hair with one of his claws. "I got a bit carried away." "Aw, come on Matt", I heared Kujo say behind my back. I turned my head around and saw that Kujo and Jess were watching with great interest. "Jason is a good hyena, Matt. He brushes his fangs twice every day!", Jess giggled. Looking back at Jason, I concluded that trying it for once wouldn't really hurt me. 'They only mean well', I said to myself. 'It's their way of welcoming me in their group, who would I be to let my shyness get in the way of that?' I rest my head back onto Jason's chest. Shortly after, he started to mouth at me again, but this time, I gave in. With his muzzle clamped over my mouth, Jason took me in a warm and tender tongue kiss. "Now, was that so bad?", Jesse cackled. While I tried to gather my thoughts on this new experience, Kujo grinned and gently pulled me out of Jason's embrace. "Now that Jason snogged with you, I should have a go as well!" The tiger lay on my chest and eagerly pressed his lips onto mine. After he broke the kiss, he and Jason sandwiched me in another hug. Jess crawled over Kujo and flopped her full weight right on top of me. "That's you appropriately trapped", she mischievously grinned before taking her turn to tonguebath and smooch me, joining in with Jason and Kujo. After a minute or two of being in the center of this three part feline-hyenadae slobber sandwich, I heared the volume of the display in the wall increase. "Yesterday, defence picked up a non-federal craft heading into Aragon's outer defence periferal. After some confusing communication with its pilot, it turned out that it carried an Aragonian freighter pilot who had gone missing months earlier, after the carrier he piloted suffered a fatal malfunction and exploded." Jess rolled off, enabling me to see the programme. It featured some footage shot by exterior cameras of Lucas entering the hangar bay, and a bit later of Kujo and me disembarking before stepping into the elevator under the escort of Peter and Maverick. I grinned to Jason, "Confusing communication? Peh." "What? No cameras in Doc's room? What a disgrace!", Jess teased while poking me, "This calls for a re-enactment!" "...the alien pilot of the spacecraft turned out to be homo-sapiens, or human, an inhabitant of former planet Earth, where our origins lay as well. A theory of how it is possible that a creature of this planet, destroyed by rogue black hole millenia ago, ended up here is explained by the hangar section's physician." We watched how Josh briefly explained to the interviewer about what might have happend to me when falling towards the event-horizon of the black hole, and how he gave a quick summary of my history after I got rescued that I had told the group in the bar the previous evening. "Kujo and Matthew, the human being, are now staying with two of Kujo's friends. The human has been given a permit to stay on Aragon until maintenance and re-supplying of his spacecraft are finished." The tiger looked at me, and I smiled back. "I'll need to go talk with Maverick about applying for citizenship." "Oh! So you're going to stay here then?", Jason enthusiasically exclaimed, squeezing me tight. "I really hope that I can, Jason." "You will need go to immigration. Everyone who applies will have to go through a selection procedure. Though because thanks to you, Kujo made it back here, things might go a bit easier for you. At least there won't by a shortage of positive references, I expect", Jesse said. "All our friends will vouch for ya." With a big yawn, I worked myself out from in between the tiger and hyenas, and got up to have another shower.