Gerald’s model woman

Gerald wiped the sweat away from his brow. "Well, kids, it's getting late. I better get..."

Zurra's arm grew long and wrapped around his waist. "Oh no you don't! You owe me a sketch."

"Oh, that's right," he recalled.

Zurra pulled out a sphere and tossed it into the air. It exploded into a window of light. On one side was a spinning outline of a female, while on the right were hundreds of sliders and controls.

"What is this?"

"This is an old Ejaw Naze program for designing your perfect girlfriend," she explained. "See, you can use these sliders here to control every feature. Nose, eyes, hair, color, skin texture, height, muscle definition, waist, hips..."

"Is there one for bust line?"

"There are fourteen, you can adjust the size, suppleness, elasticity, sensitivity, everything."

"Wow, Tomar would love this."

"Who do you think I got this from?"

They both chuckled.

Zurra stood back and watched while Gerald thoughtfully worked away on the sliders. She felt a tug on the hem of her uniform, and looked down to see little Sossios, his finger buried deeply in his nose.

"What do you want?" she asked

"Are you made of slime?" the child asked, working his finger from side to side.

Zurra's eyebrow twitched. "Why you little... ahem... I am not slime, I am a mutagenic matrix of bio-mimetic enzymes and..."

"I have bio-mom-tic end-times too," the child insisted.

She blinked. "You do?"

He nodded and pulled his finger out of his nose, leaving a long drooping trail of slime. "See? Just like you."

Zurra ground her teeth. "He he he, you're a cute kid... now SCRAM!"

Sossios ran off.

"All done," Gerald announced.

"Yay!" Zurra said, turning around. The woman spinning in the air above them had an adorable, slightly pointed nose. She had cute little freckles, and a kind face. She was slim, but still soft and delicate. She was young and healthy, and had a mischievous little grin on her lips. She was also pink from head to toe. Her eyes, her hair, her nails, everything.

"But..." Zurra stammered. "This looks exactly like me."

"I know," Gerald said, slapping her on the back, causing her body to ripple like Jell-O. "You don't have to change the way you look for anyone. You are perfect just the way you are."

Zurra blushed bright red. "Oh... you..."

Gerald smiled.

"That isn't playing fair!"

He held up his hands. "But it's the truth."

Her eyes narrowed. "You say that you don't want romance, but then you say cool stuff like that. Don't you know what it does to a girl when the guy she likes says things like that to her? Actions speak loud enough to keep the doctor away from apples. You... are a Lothario, that's what you are."

"Look, Zuri, one day you are going to find the perfect guy for you and start a family, and when you do, he'll adore you for who you are, not what you look like. I just want you to believe in yourself now, so you don't miss your chance with him when the time comes."

Zurra blushed even harder and balled her fists. "Ohhh, you big dummy! That just makes me want you even more!"

Gerald smiled at her. "I'm just trying to be a good friend."

Zurra looked away snootily. "Tampering with a pure maiden's heart. Misery loves to grow on trees, you know?"

"The pure maiden who was modeling lingerie for me in the middle of class?"

She stuck out her little pink tongue at him and then stood up. "I'm going home for the night."

Gerald was surprised. "What, you're not going to stalk me?"

She sniffed. "You get a free pass... just this once. Go back to your dorm, I will leave you in peace."

He was impressed. "I thank you, because believe it or not, I really need a shower."

"I believe it," she grumbled, waving her hand.

"What's that?"

"Nothing." She turned around and pointed a finger at him. "But tomorrow night, the hunt is back on. You WILL sleep with me, Gerald Dyson."

Morphing into a hawk, she flew away out the door in a rustle of pink feathers.

Gerald looked down at little Sossios, who was staring at his wet finger.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

The child looked up. "Is my slime going to fly away too?"

* * *

The puppy wined so loud that Trahzi nearly flipped her bed over in frustration.

"Stop making that noise!" she yelled. "We have fed you, we have changed you, we have made sure you are the proper temperature, what else do you need?!"

The puppy yelped and rolled over, giving out a long squealing howl.

Trahzi turned around and shot out a fireball, cracking her desk in half. The noise startled the puppy so much that it stopped its whining and curled up into a little ball.

Trahzi instantly regretted her outburst. She walked over and reached out, gently stroking her hand along the puppy's back.

"We are sorry. We did not mean to lose our temper."

She could feel the puppy's tiny body trembling.

"Please do not fear us..."

Trahzi looked over at the note Gerald had left for her: Check diaper, check tummy, check blanket, check nap, check snuggles. The puppy was fed, changed, rested, and warm, that just left the final option. The one she was the most reluctant to do.

Carefully, hesitantly, she slid her hand underneath the puppy and brought it in close to her. Worried that she might hurt it, she made sure to keep her body at just the right temperature, and embraced the little netsav against her chest as delicately as she could.

"Everyone else fears us... please don't be afraid."

The puppy relaxed into her, nuzzling her tiny face against Trahzi's red skin. Content that she had solved the problem, Trahzi found herself slowly rocking from side to side and humming softly. She didn't know why or how she was doing it. No one had ever taught it to her, but it felt right, and the puppy relaxed even further when she did so.

The puppy yawned, her little tongue sticking out. For some reason it made Trahzi smile to see it. Then something happened she did not expect. The puppy looked up at her, and opened her eyes for the first time.

As Trahzi looked into the puppy's perfect little eyes, a sensation nearly took her breath away. The puppy leaned forward and licked her on the chin affectionately, then settled back in, and fell into the most peaceful sleep.

Trahzi's eyes went wide. "Wha... what is this feeling inside of us?"