Recognition of cultural relationships.

Inside the conference room, they all took seats at the long, thin table, with Steve sitting opposite Lin. “So,” Madeline began, “Lin here is, for lack of a better term, a diplomat for the Mythfolk here on Earth.” Steve was shocked but tried to hide it. “She is here to increase awareness of Mythfolk and lobby for suitable recognition, etc., for Mythfolk to be more comfortable here.”

Steve interrupted, “So, is this about the personhood case?” he asked.

Bec jumped in quickly, “No, the personhood case is going well; we are quite sure that the state will accept the case if for no other reason than it will ensure Mythfolk are held to the same legal account as humans.” As she went to continue, Steve felt a foot at his crotch, Lin’s hoof pressing gently into him.

Amat, who was sitting beside Lin, raised an eyebrow, and Steve guessed she knew what Lin was doing. “This case,” Bec continued, “is about marriage. I don’t know if you are aware, but Mythfolk have a very different idea of marriage than most humans, and they allow multiple committed partners. The Mythfolk who came to Earth with multiple partners were **** to select one as a spouse, and the other, or others, became legally classified as ‘domestic co-habitable partners’. So, we will argue that we already recognise multiple spouses for some ethnic and religious groups; it would be discriminatory to not do the same for Mythfolk.”

Steve spoke up, his voice cracking for a moment. “Ok,” he cleared his throat, “Well, I understand why Amat and Keron are here, but I’m a contract lawyer. Why am I here?”

Madeline took the lead, “We don’t want to bring in Bill,” Bill was the lead in family and domestic law in the firm. “He has much expertise on what the law currently says about marriage, so we thought we would bring you in. Someone who has a lot of contract law experience and who at least knows some Mythfolk culture.”

Steve could feel himself blush, and Madeline hesitated. “Later,” he said.

They continued to talk about the work that set the scene, so to speak, before Madeline left them to attend to other issues. Bec took the lead, discussing strategy and how they would pitch the case. After about another hour, they had a work plan and left the room.

When they got to the elevator, Lin kissed, first Keron and Amat first before kissing Bec. She seemed slightly shocked; finally, she kissed Steve, and he felt she lingered somewhat too long.

Lin left with a swish of her hips and a visible flick of her tail, and Steve returned to his office. It was only a few moments before there was another knock at the door. “Amat, come in,” he said.

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “I have no problem, but I must ask, is this a conflict of interest?” she asked.

Steve’s blush deepened, “Kind of, well, no, but kind of. I won’t be making the arguments in court. I would recuse myself from that for several reasons, but I can still work the case in the background.”

Amat nodded, satisfied. In that interaction, Steve felt emboldened, “Amat,” he said as she turned to leave. “Would you, perchance, want to share a meal at some point?”

Her ears twitched, which Steve found odd; they were very similar to human ears but apparently had additional muscles attached. “Steve,” she paused for a long moment afterwards, “I do not think I have heard a human speak in such a way. Are you asking me in human terms or deer folk terms?”

Steve’s blush continued to deepen, “Well, umm,” he swallowed, “Whatever you are comfortable with,” he said, chickening out.

She smiled, “I would like to share a meal with you in the deer folk way, maybe pizza? I found it very tasty.”

Steve nodded, “I will find time,” he said.

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