Here.” Cadon threw an oversized loincloth at him. Talon couldn’t believe humans enjoyed wearing this type of garb.

He watched as it fell at his feet. The material the color of a winter’s sky. He picked the garment up. Oversized was being conservative. It was huge. Several loin cloths could be fashioned from the material. Why the need to cover so much skin? It was unnecessary.

Cadon caught his look of distaste because he chuckled. "Don't let its size fool you. Wearing that thing will be tight and uncomfortable, for sure."

“It is.” Soren pulled on the material around his neck. “You’ll feel like it’s strangling you,” he tugged at the fabric near his ass, “everywhere.”

Soren and Pace laughed. Talon grunted. He still wasn’t sure why Leukos had chosen him for this assignment. He pushed out a deep breath, mentally preparing for the task ahead. Probably because he was level-headed, could think on his feet and because, like the others chosen, he’d lost a mate. Which meant he wasn’t looking for or interested in human females. In females, period. Back to being level-headed. At least he knew his prick wouldn’t do the thinking or the talking for him. It was one small consolation.

There were days when he missed his mate terribly. Lark had been a good companion. His chest tightened for a moment. There was no time to dwell on such things, Talon pulled on the loincloth. The fabric covered both legs, all the way to his ankles. So impractical. The material was, thankfully, soft. He pulled his cock to the side, having to suck in a breath to zip the garment closed.

Good thing he no longer had any use for it because his prick felt like it was being squashed to death in there. Talon made another grunting noise, arching his back. It didn’t improve things. How did humans handle this? It was terrible.

“Nothing helps.” Soren was grinning. “Hopefully we will get used to the discomfort.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Pace was frowning heavily.

Talon had to agree with Pace. There was no way he was getting used to this. He pulled the shirt over his head. “Are you sure these are normal human attire?” He rubbed a hand over the garment. “Why is there a picture of a bird on the front?”

“Yes, it’s perfectly normal. Humans have very strange taste in things.” Soren made a face. “You saw the pictures of the humans. They wear all sorts of colors.” The male was trying to force his feet into tube-like things that fit around them awkwardly. Talon couldn’t remember what they were called. “They are shoes,” Soren announced, obviously catching his quizzical look. “Humans do not walk around much without them.”

“I remember from our training. They look worse than the human loincloths,” Cadon interjected, eyes wide and staring at the foot tubes.

“My feet feel squashed,” Soren groaned. “This can’t be right.” He shook his head, looking down at his feet.

“I’ll take those.” They were flat rubber, with a piece that fit between the toes. Talon tested them out, feeling the rubber slap against the soles of his feet with every step. It was doable though. At least his feet would be mostly free. That was something at least.

Cadon quickly snatched up the remaining rubber shoes, leaving Soren and Pace to wrestle the tubes onto their feet.

Once they were all dressed, Cadon handed each of them a bag.

“Let’s go over the plan,” Talon said, looking each male in the eyes, from one to the other. “Cadon, you take us through everything. You were the one who conducted the preliminary research.”

Cadon nodded once. “Inside the bag is money. Humans use it to buy the things that they need. You cannot just take something. You have to give some of the money in return for an item. There is also a plastic card that has money inside it. The card can be used instead of the paper money.”

“I still do not understand how such a small plastic card can have so much paper money inside of it.” Soren narrowed his eyes. The male shrugged. “I guess we’ll figure it out.”

"Yes, we will." Cadon nodded. "There is a cellphone with each of our numbers programmed in. We will use it to stay in contact with one another. I hope you all remember how to use it." He paused. When no one said anything, he continued. "Do not forget to charge your cell phone by plugging it into the wall."

It didn’t make much sense, but Talon nodded, as did the others. Soren was right, they would have to figure it all out. “The goal is to learn as much about the humans as possible. The females are of particular importance. We need to be able to teach the others all we learn so that they will be in a better position to win one as a mate when the time comes.”

“I’m not so sure it is a good idea to split up.” Pace shook his head, brow furrowing.

“Neither do I,” Soren said, still tugging at the fabric at his ass.

“Why don’t the two of you stick together then?” Talon offered.

Pace looked at Soren, who cocked his head. “Yes, sounds good to me.”

Pace nodded. “That’s settled then. What about the two of you?”

Talon looked over at where Cadon was standing. The male looked at him with indifference. “I think we’ll stick to the plan and spread out,” Talon said. “More chance of getting somewhere with these females.”

Cadon nodded. “Fine by me.”

“A hotel is the name of human accommodations. Other names used are Motel and Bed and Breakfast. B and B for short,” Talon reminded them. “We use the card money to pay and we can order food there as well. Find one, get settled and get started.”

All three males nodded. “Now remember,” Cadon cautioned, “human males are intimidated easily. All humans, for that matter, scare easily, so we need to be as unassuming and polite as possible.”

“Agreed.” Talon nodded. “Let’s stay in contact with one another. Each of you is to check in on a daily basis,” he added. “That way, we will know that everyone is safe. The two of you can contact Cadon and I will, in turn, check in with Cadon. We need to do this every day as the sun is a quarter of the way in the sky. Let’s make the next six weeks count.”

“I’m sure we will all be experts by the time we go back,” Pace said, his voice filled with arrogance.

“I will have the females eating out of my hand in no time.” Cadon grinned.

Talon cracked a half-smile. “Not with that ugly beak on you.”

“Don’t make me wish feather rot on you.” Cadon laughed.

“We’ll stay in touch.” Talon bumped shoulders with the male and then did the same with the other two.

“Any ideas on where to start?” Pace had a bewildered look on his face.

Cadon shrugged. “Not even the slightest clue. You two head that way.” He pointed to a treed area. “Are you happy to head in that direction?” he asked Talon, pointing to a lake.

Ducks floated aimlessly on its surface. There was a footpath just to the right of them that made its way over to the lake, joining another such path. "You can go left, and I'll go right." Cadon shrugged, like he didn't particularly care either way.

It didn’t make any difference to him either. “Let’s do this.” Talon began to walk in that direction.

“Good luck,” Cadon called after him.

Luck had nothing to do with it. He needed to find a place to settle in and then he needed to start researching. The ducks splashed and cavorted. Talon was alerted to the approach of a human by rhythmic footfalls. It was a female. She jogged towards him. This was as good a time as any. He may as well start working right now.

Her eyes flared as they landed on him. Talon smiled at her. He knew he was a big male. Especially next to most humans, but surely he could come across as friendly. The rhythm of her footfalls faltered for a moment or two before resuming.

“Excuse me,” he tried to sound kind and easy-going, “can I—”

The female turned. As in pulled a one-eighty and all out sprinted in the opposite direction. He looked around him. There was no one else anywhere close to them. No one behind him. By fur and feather, he had frightened her off. In hindsight, maybe approaching a female in a deserted place was not the best way to go about things.

Talon started walking again. After just a minute or two, he broke free from the grassy area. All around him were tall towers as far as the eye could see. The ground was hard and compacted. There were several people he could see.

Another female approached him. Her hair was pinned up. Her clothing looked more form-fitting underneath the long coat she was wearing.

“Hello.” He smiled at her.

The female narrowed her eyes. Her mouth tightened. She quickened her pace, giving him a wide berth.

“I was hoping you could …” he tried again, talking to her retreating back but she kept on walking. Definitely moving much quicker than before.

He sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he had initially expected. Talon looked around him. Chaos was too casual a word. His nose twitched even though his sense of smell was not nearly as developed as the other shifters. Talon could still scent stench from the vehicles that whizzed past. The stench of human occupation. Rotting food and foul excrement. Lights blinked different colors on every corner. Many people occupied each of the towers. His jaw dropped open. Although he had seen pictures, he hadn't expected it to be quite this.

There was a loud barking to the left of him. “Hey boy!” a male shouted. Talon turned in that direction. A large dog dragged his owner, teeth bared, eyes on Talon. “Hey! Toby! Heel boy. Heel!” The male kept shouting but the dog broke free, running straight for Talon, who held his ground. He looked the small beast straight in the eyes. Very courageous for one so insignificant.

What did this measly creature think it could do against him? Teeth bared, the creature leaped towards him. Talon made a soft screeching noise from deep in his throat. A warning. The animal would get one chance. One only. The timid beast ground to an immediate halt. It's back end and tail curled underneath itself, ears flat. The animal whined as its owner ran up, grabbing its lead. "I'm sorry." He was completely out of breath. "I'm not sure what came over him." He turned to the cowering animal. "Bad dog, Toby. Bad, bad boy." He gave the animal a scratch behind the ear as he spoke. The action in complete contradiction to his tone. It confused Talon, but the beast seemed to understand. It relaxed somewhat.

Talon frowned. “No harm done.” The scent of something delicious attracted him. It came from the other direction. He continued moving that way. One of the vehicles ground to a halt, its front end touching his shins.

There were a couple of loud noises that hurt his ears. The male in the vehicle was shouting something and Talon couldn’t make out what he was saying at first. Then the shouting grew louder as the male stuck his head out of the vehicle. “… nuts? Are you completely out of your freaking mind?” he shouted.

Nuts. Hmmmm.

Maybe he was offering Talon food. “No, thank you,” he said, trying to be polite. He didn’t mind eating nuts, but they certainly weren’t his favorite. Besides, he had eaten before embarking on this trip.

“I could have killed you,” the male added, still screaming at the top of his lungs.

Killed. Him? That puny human? Talon tried not to laugh at the male. It wasn’t nice to laugh at someone. “There is no way you could have killed me, human. Just so you know, I can hear you just fine.” Talon pointed at one of his ears. He smiled at the male. Maybe he thought Talon was hard of hearing. It was nice of him to shout so loudly to ensure he could understand.

“What the …” He made a growly noise. Or tried to. Humans weren’t very good at making such sounds. “Get the fuck out of the road, asshole.”

Talon looked around him. Not sure what the male was trying to convey. Before he could ask what a road was, the male went on.

“Get. Out. Of the road, before I run you the fuck over.” He pointed at the path Talon had just stepped off of.

Talon shrugged. He walked back to the path and the male took off, his vehicle made a loud screeching noise as it moved away, going much faster than before. They really were timid creatures.

“You could have been killed.” The male with the furry creature was still there, eyes wide. The animal growled as Talon moved closer, his lip curling back from his teeth. When Talon looked down, it whined, putting its ears back and then moved behind the male’s legs. “I’m not sure what Toby’s problem is, he normally loves everyone.”

The animal could most likely sense that Talon wasn’t human. He didn’t say anything to the human about it.

“You’re obviously not from around here.” The male raised his brows.

Talon nodded. “That would be correct.” He decided not to elaborate. For the most part, they had decided to keep their non-human status quiet. If need be, they would disclose that they were shifters but nothing of their ‘real’ heritage.

“You can cross the road at any of the intersections.” He pointed to where the bright lights at the corners were. “I would recommend that you stick to the pavement all other times.”

“Pavement?” Talon looked down.

“Yep, that’s right. The cars will run you over if you try to walk on the road. You could even get a ticket for jaywalking.”

Talon nodded. “I will do that, thank you.”

“Aren’t you cold?” He looked at Talon’s arms.

He shook his head, wishing he could get rid of these clothes. They were so tight and uncomfortable. So restricting.

“It must be all that muscle keeping you warm.” The male wore a hat and thick garments. There was even a long, knitted piece of clothing wrapped tightly around his neck. How could the male even breathe? Talon wasn’t sure how it didn’t drive him mad. The human patted his animal. “Anyhow, take care. I need to get Toby home.” He looked down at the beast.

“Do you have any idea where I can go to get information on females?” Talon blurted before the male could leave. It was worth a shot. Perhaps he could help him. At least he wasn’t scared of Talon, which was something at least.

“Females?” He looked uncertain. “What kind of information?”

“How to meet them.” Talon shrugged.

The male frowned and scratched his chin. Then he smiled. “Oh, I get it, I take it there aren’t many women where you come from? That’s why you’re here isn’t it?”

“You would be right.” Talon nodded, glad that the male understood.

He looked Talon up and down. “Yeah, I see what you mean about needing some help. Maybe she can help you.” He pointed at a big board. It was tall and wide and perched high.

There was a smiling female on the board. She looked kind and friendly and yet, sad somehow. Something he read in her eyes.

“She’s a Love Doctor.” The male laughed. “It says right there that she can teach you everything you need to know about the opposite sex.”

Sounded perfect.

“That’s her office right there.” He pointed to glass doors. “Or you could send her an email or contact the 800 number supplied.”

“I’ll go and see her.” He felt something in himself ease. “I’m sure she will be able to help me,” Talon added. Besides, what other options did he have?