Her coworker smirks slightly at the distraction and the fact that this is the third time he had to answer this question.

"My ex, Dateovont. We broke up because I moved here, but he is pretty great."

"That's a strange name," she says, grabbing them a table. "How'd you meet?"

Ooh that waiter is cute.

Which one? That one? Or maybe that one? Ooooh, or maybe that one?

"I was working at a hotel resort as a lifeguard and swimming instructor."

Yes. All of them.

"And then?"

Well, that one definitely is. There is also that yellow in a can-you-even-call-that-a-dress.

"Well, I had one of those guests that kept needing my attention. Not one of the touchy ones, but you know the type that springs badly and needs to be told the same thing seven times before their brain gets it." Sahde would know. "Anyway, Teo noticed this and asked if I was being harassed. We then stuck up a conversation from that point."

She rolls her eyes when he makes his pointed comment about being distracted but gets distracted by someone else wearing a very nice tight-fitting shirt...

Ahem.

"And from that to boyfriends was just spring," she guesses.

"Well, his ass didn't get any less nice when summer came, but you're not wrong. Oh, here he is."

Through the crowd comes Dateovont. Ovali failed to mention two things about him: 1) He is blue; 2) He is magic. And at least one of those things Ovali should've noticed.

...also 3) he is hot. Like, super hot. She stares at him a bit.

He notices this and gives her an assessing look.

But then Ovali steps forward to kiss Dateovont (and likely squeeze his ass, if Sahde is reading the body language correctly).

"Just as I remembered. Hey, let me introduce you to my good friend and coworker, Sahde. Sahde, this Dateovont."

She has no noticeable magic on her person so she sure hopes the assessing look is the same kind of look she gave him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she says, using her eyes to convey just how little pleasure that is compared to what she's imagining. "I thought you were exes?"

"Likewise. And yes, we broke up after he decided to move to Anitam. We decided that it was better than keeping a long-distance relationship." Ovali kisses Dateovont's neck while giving a look at Sahde. "Why do you ask?"

There is a brief spark of magic going from Dateovont to Ovali's bad knee.

Is there. Gosh.

"Because you're snogging. Not that I object."

It's very brief, whatever it did Ovali does not appear to immediately notice.

"Well, it was a very amicable break up."

"Delightfully so," Dateovont returning the favor and kissing Ovali's neck, "Liam couldn't come tonight?"

"Sudden reschedule at the clinic," Ovali says distractedly. "Don't worry, he is just as excited by your visit as I am."

"So I see. Ovali failed to mention the, ah... caste."

"In my defense, I could've told you that he was a bisexual blue identical triplet and I doubt you'd have paid attention. You've been so distracted."

"Triplet?"

"Yup, you heard the man. They're also bisexual, in case you're wondering."

"No comment."

Giggle. "So how did you two meet?"

"Coworkers, he just said. Guess I'm not the only one distracted."

"Well, I'm being distracted-" He makes a show of closing his eyes and enjoying Ovali kissing his neck. Some other patrons are watching now.

"Careful, you wouldn't want to get kicked out for public indecency."

"True. We have to walk that fine line of being entertaining to watch without being too entertaining. At least here." He winks at Sahde.

"Especially because the other patrons might get jealous."

"Gosh, that would be terrible."

"Clearly we should spend the rest of the night in chaste moderation."

"Ohhh no I never said anything about that. Just the bit of the night during which we're in public."

"Really? But where else would we be spending the night then?"

She raises an eyebrow. "You'll tell me you don't have a spacious bedroom when you visit Anitam?"

"I think have a nice hotel suite. I even offered Ovali and Liam to stay with me during my stay. So I don't get lonely, you see."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Of course you did. And how many people fit in this suite?"

"Gosh, I don't know. There is a really huge bed, but only one. Could easily fit five people snuggled up."

"Sounds uncomfortable and squished."

"Yes, for five people. But it should be comfortable for less than that."

"Like the three of you," she says, nodding solemnly.

"Or number between five and the three of us. Whichever mysterious method we would use to accomplish that."

"You'll have to tell me what method you end up using, it sounds fascinating."

"Well, one method that I would suggest is setting up a meeting with a fourth person who I think would get along with Dateovont and then see how that turns out."

"Gosh, I like that idea!"

"It's really interesting! Do you have such a person in mind?"

Dateovont makes a show of looking around and then spotting Sahde like he was noticing her for the first time. "Maaaaybe."

"Can't wait to meet them!"

"I think you already have."

"You two are terrible."

"Who me?" she asks, blinking innocently. "Whyever would you say that."

"I think he wants us to do something else."

"Like order! That's a good idea."

"I like that suggestion! That is on me, of course."

"Don't worry about it, this is a cafe not a fancy restaurant, I can pay."

"Aw, but what is even the point of being a blue if I can't pay for everything?"

"I heard rumors that blues also do governing."

"What he said," she nods.

A purple-haired lady in an apron approaches them, does a subtle double-take at Dateovont, and addresses him. "Good afternoon. What will you be having?" She spares the other two a glance each to indicate they're acknowledged as part of the table but is clearly expecting Teo to be the one to order first.

Teo grins at her, but turns to the other two. "So, do you guys have any suggestions?"

"For drinks... they have really great minty swirls and root beer here."

Sahde for her part is in the process of ungluing her eyes from the pretty waitress.

"I'm gonna get the mint thing, it's pretty great."

"Me too then. Three?"

"Three then," Teo agrees smiling.

    "Okay! I'll be right back with your order. I hope you enjoy it!" She gives him a winning smile and off she goes.

"They're not like that when I'm on my own," Sahde muses.

"I know, sorry. But people see blue and basically stop seeing everything else. It's more than a little bit insulting, I know, but it's hardly her fault."

"On the other hand when I'm on my own people flirt a lot more in spring."

"From an already very high flirtation baseline. One assumes."

"One alas assumes incorrectly."

"You're the most flirtatious person that I know. And you're up there with being flirted with."

"Aww, you're too sweet."

"I try."

"I'll admit I'm not above using caste stereotypes in my favour."

"Hey, if you're not blue you have to use all the tools that you can to get ahead."

He squeezes Ovali's shoulder, hey, look more of that magic-to-the-knee thing.

Presumably he's using his own knee as the blueprint.

"If by 'ahead' you mean 'laid,' sure."

"You would know, wouldn't you?"

"Like you don't do the same!"

"Defamation! I'm a professional."

"He is very professional."

"I have had firsthand experience of that, yes, but we were talking about what we do in our free time were we not?"

"Oh, yes. Ovali, have you managed to get back to that sword-dancing style that you were into?"

"Not yet. But hopefully soon."

Oh, look more healing magic.

She sure is glad that this blue is using magic to help his grey friend.

"Will you be able to, with your knee?"

"I probably should never do that series of jumps that I showed you the other day, but yes."

"That's great! I'm glad to see it's recovering."

She so does not look at Teo while saying this.

Teo does not look at her. "Wish you would let me pay for the surgery already."

"I can understand not wanting someone else to pay for this stuff."

"Yeah, he already explained that is a matter of personal pride and I admire that."

"I personally would feel—indebted?—in a way I don't love to feel."

"My problem isn't exactly debt, but close? I wouldn't like so much money changing hands because of me, because I wouldn't feel indepedent enough."

She nods along this explanation. It makes total sense to her.

"But, as you mentioned earlier, you're okay when things are not really important or when they are effortless to the gift-giver, right?"

"Well, yeah. I'm not going to complain if you want to get me and Liam an expensive suite for a few days, don't worry."

"I confess I don't know what the price differential actually is there. I'm sure you could find a suite as expensive as the surgery, though."

"I would object to those, yeah."

"Alright. I will not take you anywhere that is expensive enough to pay for reconstructive knee surgery. Honestly, these places are overrated and worst of all only have blue patrons. The worst blue patrons."

"Which are those?"

"Blue patrons or overrated places?"

"I mean which amongst the blues are the worst," she clarifies.

"Ah, the ones that act like every nonblue exists to serve them. Or who couldn't care less about nonblues."

"Are those particularly rich, then?"

"Not necessarily, but the places we are talking about - in my experience - often attract the sort that are like that. I'm not sure what the poor subtype does."

"Okay but wait, why do these places attract people like that?—I have hypotheses but I wanna hear your explanation first."

(Oh look she's no longer focusing on sex.)

Ovali checks whether there is something wrong with their drinks.

"Do you? I just think that... those are the people you get when you have long lasting culture that lacks incentives to be better towards others? Not to mention high standards of what they considered acceptable luxury, which I honestly think correlates."

"Mm yeah," she says, thoughtfully.

"Was that your hypothesis then?"

"Approximately. I am thinking that... we're pretty segregated, in general. Blues live in blue neighbourhoods. Rich blues live in rich blue neighbourhoods. They've never really interacted with most other castes in any situation where the other castes weren't providing them a service, so it's easy to slip into a certain—pattern. And not all blues do politics, and land-owning blues have more money on average so the richer blues are more likely to be land owners, and those don't actually even have to stop to think about other castes in the contexts politics blues do, it's literally just service. You end up with a nasty combination of insularity, typical mind fallacies, and unpleasant habits of thoughts towards other people."

"Eloquently put. And yes." Looking at her differently.

She beams at him. "I perhaps spend more time than I strictly ought to thinking about the ways the caste system screws us over."

"Well, so very few people do that you're helping even that out."

Giggle. "I'm sure lots of greens spend a lot of time and paper on it."

"Last I checked, Ovali's half-sister was one of them."

"She is more of the amateur activist type."

"Anyway, everyone else complains so little about how blues and the caste system screw them over."

"...I think you're very sheltered if you think people don't complain about blues."

"Let me amend that: I think people complain very little about blues compared to how much they should."

"How much do you think they should, then?"

He thinks for a moment. There is some mild magic activity around him. "Well, I don't know how to quantify that besides 'until things change for the better' which, is not really an answer."

"It's not," she agrees. "I don't think complaining is gonna do much, though, especially when most complaining is pretty myopic about its subject."

"Complaining isn't exactly the thing that is needed. But it's sure demotivating how little it happens."

"Again, I think you just need to hang around more people of other castes. While pretending to not be blue."

"Oooh, now that is an idea."

"I have those, yes."

"I'm willing to help, but please let's not have some sort of international scandal or an OOCI violation."

"I would never intentionally commit OOCI violations."

"Just don't get an income, should be easy enough."

"I must ask," Ovali says in a stage whisper, "is this an excuse to get him on set?"

"I'm sure the world would thank me for it."

"They would delight in your entirely altruistic methods of bridging the gaps between blues and grays."

"Oh, sure, that, too."

He laughs.

"You know, I feel the sudden urge to introduce you to his brothers. They're fun."

"Are they."

"Very. You'd get along seamlessly. Karo is the nicest blue I've met or heard of. Seni would love to hear you argue about the problems with the caste system."

"A nice blue, what an oxymoron," she says, grinning at Teo.

"Maybe Karo is secretly orange, that sounds like a much more likely explanation than nice blue," Teo says nodding sagely.

"And what are you, then? An evil blue?"

Chuckle. "Obviously! Ready to crush all social structures under my might."

What a dramatically appropriate moment for another swirl of magic around him.

What's he doing with all this magic?

Apparently just changing air temperature, maybe cleaning things a bit. It's very discreet, though, all the uses of magic she has seen from him have been very discreet.

"It sounds like crushing social structures is exactly what a blue shouldn't do," she continues. "It's—unblueish."

"Yeah, but I'm the evil triplet. Unless you're trying to redeem me to the side of light."

"You don't seem so evil so far."

"What do I seem so far then?"

"Interesting and thoughtful. What kind of blue are you?"

"The one that at least tries to be self-aware and honest."

She giggles. "And more specifically, what track are you?"

"Land management. Which I know is the stereotypical useless blue profession, but it involves much less contact with them on a day-to-day basis."

"With the tradeoff that you have to meet them more often than you have to meet the other kinds of blue?"

"Sadly, yes. Woe is me."

"I'm sure it can be useless but, like, so can all other professions, if you're good at land management you can do a lot of direct measurable good."

"Thank you. I actually try to get more involved than most. Some of my tentants might think I'm too nosy or too cheap to hire a yellow, though."

"Are you?"

"I'm not too cheap to hire a yellow. I hope I'm not too nosy."

She giggles.

He giggles and smiles at her.

"Aww, you look so springtimey."

"Is that so. Should we do something about it? Can't have us looking all springtimey, what will people think?"

Snort. "I don't know, maybe Ovali will think of something."

"Well, my professional opinion is that we should pay the bill and go somewhere private."

"But whatever will we do once we get there?"

"Smell the pretty flowers."

"That euphemism is at least one decade out of fashion."

She giggles. "You'll have to tell me how you know about it, unless you're much older than you look."

"Maybe I am. Who knows what sort of secrets the blue conspiracy hides from everyone?" he says with an elaborate hand wave.

There is no accompanying magic though.

She raises an eyebrow. "If the secret is 'immortality and youth' maybe don't share until we have planets."

"If the secret is planets, please do share with the audience."

"Don't worry, blues are not that evil."

"Such caste essentialism," she says, shaking her head. "So, are we going to smell the pretty flowers or not?"

Of course.

They pay the bill and leave for the subway. Are they okay with Teo paying for the blue car?

Sure.

And soon they're walking into a very nice hotel!

"Ooh, fancy."

They go up to the (also fancy) suite. Ovali is kissing Teo as soon as they leave the elevator.

"Don't waste any time, do you?"

"You know me, very efficient."

"And capable." Kiss.

Well now she can properly watch.

Just watch?

Until invited, yes.

Oh, she is absolutely invited!

In that case she can also partake.

She is so very welcome.

Ovali did a very good thing in introducing them.

They should show Ovali their appreciation!

Gosh, they should.

But how are they going to do that?

Oh she has an idea or two. She knows what he likes, they have a rather longstanding professional relationship.

Yes, Teo can tell they are experts on the field! And he is diligent with following Sahde's instructions.

She's sure they'll be able to make Ovali feel very appreciated that way.

Ovali feels very appreciated.

And that's one very comfortable bed to snuggle someone.

Top quality cozy.

Best coze.

Sleepy cozy.

She... probably can sleep, as long as her alarm sounds early enough, she has a client tomorrow morning.

And Ovali needs to pick up his boyfriend who forgot that Teo arrived today.

She wants to keep in touch, though.

Teo is definitely agreeable to that.

Email?

Email!

Then off she goes to see her client.

A few days later Teo e-mails her.

Hey, wanna meet my brothers?

I'd love to! Are they around?

Yup. Decided to come at the last minute after a bunch of cancellations. And they liked my description of you.

I'm just that charming.

Absolutely.

They can pick a date.

A date is picked! Is a location also picked?

That sounds like the sort of thing they should decide in advance if they want to meet each other face-to-face, so yes.

It's a nice restaurant, not outrageously fancy, but upscale.

She is on time.

So are they.

The family resemblance is fairly obvious.

So is the magic.

She didn't expect anything different.

"Hello! It's a delight to meet you."

"Hello and likewise. Teo had nice things to say about you. I'm Dasenifer. Or just Seni."

"Dakarofels. But I prefer just Karo."

"Did he. Gosh. I wonder what things."

"Only nice things, don't worry."

They are seated on a balcony.

"I'm sure it was nice things but I have lots of dimensions along which to nicely vary, I'm curious about which in particular he mentioned."

"He told us that you are thoughtful and insightful. The kind of person that values thinking about their opinions."

"That's a good introduction, I approve."

"I try."

Giggle.

Giggle. The waiter comes by to take their order. With three blues on the table, he doesn't even dignify Sahde with a glance until it's clear the gray is allowed to order her own food.

Yes, yes she is, thank you very much. "What do you recommend? I've never eaten here before."

"Me neither, but I think this pork and pumpkin roast looks good." The waiter nods. "Any recommendations?"

"The pasta and eggplant soup won an award. We also recommend the parfait for dessert," says the waiter.

"I'll have the pasta and eggplant soup, then, why not."

They make their order.

"You know, when I go to restaurants with blue clients there's usually two clusters of ways people react to me," she says when the waiter's gone. "That's one of them."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. You'd think that people would realize that being nice to everyone on the table would be the better option. Even from a purely selfish stand-point."

"Being nice to me isn't the alternative I'm talking about," she says, covering her smile with a hand.

Chuckle. "Well, that reaction is easier to understand."

"Much easier."

"I'm actually fairly famous in certain ways!"

"Oh, that makes sense. Sadly, I don't think I've ever consumed your work."

"That's a shame. Maybe I should link you to some previews of my work."

"Now, I feel silly for not having thought of that."

She grins. "Well, you have gotten way closer to the source material than most people who consume my work. My rates are pretty high, usually."

"They should be."

She giggles. "The market regulates the prices, not me."

"If the efficient market hypothesis were true you'd be richer than any blue."

"I walked right into that one didn't I."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"I absolutely do not."

Giggle. "Not to be a cliche, but tell us more about yourself. Have you always lived here your whole life? Siblings?"

"Yeah, Anitami born and raised. I have two half-siblings, my mother died when I was little. I can't imagine the fact that the three of you came as a package stopped your parents from wanting more."

"That's true. They are going to get their second credit next spring."

"—wait, how old are you?"

"Five."

"Blues always needed to have fewer children because we have to pass on our lands to the future generations. The cost of the credit is only part of it. Our parents worked aggressively in the meantime."

"Still. Five springs being able to have a child and just... not doing it," she says, slightly wistfully.

"We know. But at least they spring mildly."

"At least you aren't Voan. They don't love it when people use their second free credit after having multiplets."

"It's not particularly popular back home. Our parents even considered co-raising us with our uncles."

"You're from an auction country, though, no? Why would they wanna do that, isn't the probability of multiplets priced in the credit?"

"Part of it was pressure from our grandparents. Mild pressure, mind you."

"The other part is that even if you consider the effort of co-parenting, we are still a one-for-three deal."

"Okay, so I guess I have to come up with a point to say? ...Oh, right. I guess our country - while not Voa - still puts some social pressure for people not to have tons of babies since those are a limited resource."

"That's weird. And also priced in."

"What's weird about it?"

"Well, having triplets doesn't make next year's credits more expensive or scarcer on average, so it's not like you're taking any resources that weren't already going to be taken by whoever replaced you, except for—like, food and stuff but you're blues. When people buy credits it already factors all of that in. I guess it's not a super rational worry, though."

"Ah, yes. The idea is that it's unfair to factor multiplets in because it means more families going through an empty spring and instead some supposedly fairer solution should be found. It's not actually really kind or rational, but wanting babies has that effect on people."

"I suppose that's true," she sighs. "Must be some cultural thing, here there isn't much of a sentiment one way or another—other than envy, I guess—towards multiplets."

Nod. "We actually do incentives for milder springs. I am sure that plays a factor."

"—you do? Like what?"

"In practical terms, we subsidize credits. The bonus is directly proportional to how old you are, the age you had your first kid, the time since you had your last kid and inversely proportional to how many children you already have."

"Huh. That's... weird."

"Which part?"

"All of it. Subsidising credits like that at all."

The three of make a "go on" gesture.

"...what's unclear?"

"I think we are just curious about your perspective. And we have heard many counter-arguments about it."

"It's dysgenic. It tries to be both Voan and Credits without being either. It lets useless wackos get away with just existing."

"Hmm, okay so for one it seems like it defeats the point of eugenics if you're going to help people who can't or don't pay for credits do it. The reason we have auctions instead of straight-up sales or anything like that is that we want the top percentiles of the population, in ability-to-generate-and-therefore-capture-value terms, and you're skewing the whole maths there if you do anything else. You're incentivising people to have children later, which I suppose is incentivising people with milder springs, but you're also incentivising people to in general have fewer kids which is also sort of counter to the eugenics logic."

Seni apparently finds this explanation very charming. "Well, first of all, the subsides are not the price of a full credit, they're a discount. It means that fewer people reach their twenties childless. It does go against eugenics, but in a sense it's also against eugenics not to create artificial pressure, like only selling credits in bundles of five."

"Allegedly, some island-nation tried that and their government didn't even have the time to come up with a name for itself before being usurped and then taken over by another."

"Yeah, there are other similarly eugenic measures that are just plain bad ideas, some other things are more debatable, like the ratio of crimes that should be punished with sterilization. But our method isn't entirely dysgenic, it just means that rich people that would buy obscene number of credits will have to, on average, pay more per credit than people that buy two."

"Also, part of the logic is that no system of eugenic pressure - based on the correlation with monetary acquisition or otherwise - can consistently generate results in the scale of short generations. When you put that against the inevitable trade-off that someone getting a third or fourth credit means someone else not getting a second or first credit..."

"It's kinda weird that rich people can get an obscene number of credits at all, although I suppose with a high enough number of rich people some of them will have a lot of money... But on the other hand that was selected against in blues, at least here in Anitam, exactly because rich people who had lots of kids tended to eventually leave poor descendants so the ones who stayed rich had milder springs, so that one seems like a self-correcting problem? And it's awfully paternalistic of the government to care about individuals who cannot get a credit when the reason they can't get a credit is actually good for the government."

"People in that situation produce eugenic value through the demonstrated ability to live through springs. Blues on average have milder springs, exactly because of that self-correciton: even with jobs like judges and university board seats our need doesn't scale as directly as having enough doctors, retail workers, guards and teachers to serve your entire population. And a lot of our value is too indirect to be properly allocated, so blues mostly get their money from land so there isn't an alternative."

"What do you mean by awfully paternalistic? Also, now I am curious about what you think of the Voan system."

"I mean that—the fact that some people can't ever get any children is a good thing, under a credit auction system. It means that the people who didn't manage to generate enough value to purchase a credit won't reproduce, which is exactly what the system is going for, so that to the extent that value-generation is genetic our society generates more and more value as time passes. The Voan system is optimising for a different thing, it's not actually trying to do that at all, it's trying to maximise current societal welfare under the constraint that there mustn't be too much welfare inequality.

"And the system you're describing doesn't seem like it has such a straightforward goal—or rather, it seems like someone grabbed the credits system and said 'how do we modify this to incentivise milder springs?' instead of trying to come up with an entire new system that has that as its goal in the first place. That's why it's kinda weird."

"Ah, that's both nicely put and pretty much what happened."

"We still have people that never get to afford a credit. The vast majority of the population still only ever affords two like in every other credits country."

"We do have larger percentages of people that only ever afford one and people that afford three."

"Well, if it works it works."

"You think that straight up credits is preferable?"

"Oh I have no opinions on the subject, without a blue education I couldn't hope to know better."

"How terrible that all the key concepts are forever beyond your reach in this day and age of easy-access information."

"The key concepts? No, but I don't have the—the practice, all the case studies, all the ways different ideas have failed in the past for subtle reasons, all the years having things drilled into your head..."

Teo glances over at Seni's enamored face and smirks.

"Is that the kind of thing you would be interested in then?"

"Or a green education. Either would be pretty swell."

"Huh, you'd want to be green if you could choose?"

"I'm not sure which of the two I'd pick, if I could choose. I'd fit both of them better than I fit grey—actually only ones that're worse would be purple and red..."

Well, that's not the most comfortable to say at the dinner table.

"I could see myself doing well as a civil engineer, actually. But Karo and Seni are very, very blue."

She shrugs. "Of course I might just be talking out of my behind. What are the odds a random grey sex worker would actually be cut out for one of the castes of the mind?"

Karo reaches out with a hand to squeeze hers. "I would say pretty good."

She grins. "Well, no, not that a random grey sex worker would, perhaps that this random sex worker would yes."

Karo lifts her hand and kisses it. "Excellent odds."

"I would say that the chances are pretty self-evident."

"Only you to say that like a movie actor complimenting someone's eyes."

She giggles. "Such charmers."

"I guess we are in a charmed mood."

"Wonder why that would be."

"It's the company we keep."

"Ah, of course, I'm sure being around each other all the time must do that."

Teo snorts. "I guess Seni walked right into that one."

"Yep. He did."

The dinner keeps being lovely, but eventually ends.

Of course, this doesn't mean their date needs to end. "Do you want to come with us to our hotel?"

"Gosh, I don't know, an innocent grey like me, surrounded by three handsome blues like you..."

"I assure you that we are company of excellent repute."

"Then how can I resist such an invitation? I'm helpless in your hands."

"We promise to be responsible with our power over you." Kiss.

Oh okay she can kiss the other triplet, then, that's a good idea, she approves.

How does she feel about rotating-triplets-kissing all the way to the hotel?

She feels very positively about this!

They keep up like this up all the way to the hotel, then, ignoring the looks the people at the reception desk give them.

Many of the looks are naked envy, really, not to mention the desire.

It is spring, after all.

Indeed. It's very much spring and once they get to their room envy won't be the only naked thing.

Won't it? She's definitely extremely happy about this. And she'd like to check just how similar the triplets are.

That turns out to be a very common request. They're very willing to oblige and give her a closer look.

And how similar do they turn out to be?

Well, after making a show of stripping off and baring it all...

...a lot. In a good way too.

Ooh. Ooooh. Okay, but just looking isn't enough, she has other senses she should use to figure out how similar they are. She will do so very thoroughly.

It turns out that they really like this course of action. Sahde lacks triplets of her own, but they are going to try their best to reciprocate.

What an excellent set of siblings.

Good, because they think she is really excellent.

And now: snuggles?

Snuggles!

So many snuggles!

"So how long are you staying in Anitam for?"

"They are going to stay for another four days, but I will stick around in Lina for six and then go south."

"That's such a short time," she pouts.

"Yesss." Karo kisses her. "You don't happen to be secretly from the islands and would love a way back, do you?"

"Alas, no, Anitami through and through."

"Damn." He scoots over to kiss and snuggle her.

Those are the best. "Good thing we have the internet," she shrugs, smiling.

"At least that. Aaaaand if you ever feel like exploring a new country Jakav and Eleseo are like a two-for-one deal."

"Yes, I suppose I can ever take a vacation. What's it like?"

"Well, speaking from a completely unbiased perspective, I find it a wonderful place. We have a lot of sub-cultures from before the islands were united."

"For values of united where we can't decide on a single name."

"Fair enough. At any rate, each district feels like its own country sometimes."

"It's not universal, but I do think we have more... spaces for caste nonconforming people. At least I think you would have an easier time finding a group of greens that would actually take the time and listen to you. Relative to Anitam, that is."

"Why is that?"

Shrug. "The two islands have different rules for caste heredity or maybe people expect others to form their own sub-groups and stand out instead of blend in?"

"Huh. Interesting."

Seni shrugs and nuzzles her.

She giggles. "You three are too adorable. It's unfair."

"Because it's three to one? Should we tackle you separatedly from now on?"

"You should tackle me as many times and in as many ways as you want."

"Careful, we might take that as a challenge."

"I don't think you'd find it very challenging, but feel free to do that, I only stand to win."

"Somehow, I feel that it wouldn't just be you that would be winning."

"Maybe, maybe."

Presumably, they can go out more times in the next few days and experience more mutual winning. Ovali and Liam join them a couple of times.

There are a couple of days when she is feeling indisposed and has to cancel, due to a... genetic illness of sorts.

That is concerning, but okay. They hope Sahde gets better. Anything they could help with?

No, not really. It's this very weird and rare thing—have they ever heard of those people who have sex dysmorphia, and need surgery to fix their body so it matches a different sex?

(And of course it's got to be pretty extreme to make people choose that, since it means they will never be able to have their own children.)

So, she has that, but temporary—half the time she's fine, half the time the thought of having boobs is revolting and upsetting and makes her want to cut her own skin off.

They wish they could help. But they understand.

It's fine. She's lived with it for a while. She's used to it.

Of course, the way she's dealt with it is... substantially less unpleasant than just handling it.

Originally all she changed were the genitals and a bit of the body structure—Amentans don't have that much gender dimorphism in the first place. But if she makes herself sufficiently different that she's not recognisable as herself (at least if you don't squint too much), that means she can also meaningfully use her male body rather than just survive with it.

Use it in, say, one of the semi-anonymous orgies organised by some greys. Sure, her name is on a list, but everyone's wearing masks and no one really knows who she is.

It's sure a great way for people that want the thrill of anonymity without irresponsible disease outbreaks!

So, people admit Sahde and give him a mask and a place to store his things. Then he is free to walk about.

The masks are such that one can cover their hair if they so choose. Some choose to do that, some don't. Some carpets match the drapes defeating the point. A couple of people are wearing black wigs.

There are plenty of good options to choose. And many people immediately show interest.