First, more anxiety

As she stood there, something on the ground between us caught her eye. "Wait, is that... did you already...?"

I didn't need to look to know what she was talking about. What little hardness I had left wilted away as the blood rushed up into my cheeks. "Uhm... it's just that... I've never actually done it before, and... the way you looked..." I kept babbling half-formed excuses until Lyra interrupted me.

"Wow. I mean, I figured it was your first time, but do you never... you know..." Rather than complete the thought verbally she put her right hand in front of her hips and pantomimed male masturbation. It was strangely arousing, since she was standing there naked and performing the movement vigorously enough to make her breasts bounce up and down. It took me a moment to regain my focus and answer the question.

"Sometimes. But I don't like to. I don't like to look at... it."

She didn't reply right away. For a moment I thought perhaps she hadn't heard me. Indeed, I had spoken so quietly I could scarcely hear myself. But then I noticed the look in her eyes. It was a look of pity such as I can hardly describe. Once, while hunting a family of deer, I came across a newborn fawn, abandoned by its parents. It didn't take long to figure out why. It was deformed, it's two forelegs fused together. It would never be able to walk. It would only lie there and thrash about helplessly until it finally starved to ****. I killed it as a mercy. Perhaps the look Lyra gave me then was not the one I had given that deer, but the fact that it even brought the scene to mind speaks volumes.

All of the emotional turmoil I had been feeling just minutes before came rushing back to the surface, and I cried like an infant. I don't know for how long. When I began to calm down Lyra was lying beside me again, cradling my head in her lap like a mother with her child. "There's nothing wrong with who you are, Jalyn," she cooed, "I wish you could see that. But I've been selfish, and I'm sorry. To me your body is a gift, but to you it must be..."

She never finished the sentence. We laid there silently for a few minutes. I had finally gotten my breathing under control when she jumped up without warning, almost sending me sprawling into the grass. "But let's not dwell on that. There's something I've been wanting to try for a while now, and you'll be the perfect test subject! It's not permanent or anything, and you'll probably like it..." She continued on like this as she rummaged through her belongings once more. It's good to see her back to her usual self... I guess.