"Hi," Candi says, and the janitor stops. He turns, and sees the red-headed vision of perfection standing with her arms crossed over her ample breasts, and he can't understand why anyone at the lab says to avoid her.

"Hi," he says right back.

"It's getting late. Are you getting off your shift soon?" Candi purrs. Unlike most of her siblings, and her father, Candi allows her disease to move through her own body. Because she can turn it off - because any other woman with this kind of infection knows there's a certain kind of itch which feels SO good to scratch in only one way...

Her taint will leave him with only minor inconvienence and a bit of explanation to do with his girlfriend back home. But it'll spread from her - easily...

When Candi and the janitor have cleaned up the closet, one of the female lab assistants from the cloning facility is standing, waiting, in the hall. The janitor bolts, mumbling something about Candi helping him put the supplies away.

"You go on saying that to yourself when your piece falls off, loser," the woman mutters.

"It will do no such thing. It's a very useful tool." Candi smiles. "But I don't need tools to spread."

She grins wildly and skips away to her dorm, letting the woman wonder if she was going to have symptoms of a yeast infection when she gets home.

(back)

Later on, in a quiet moment after the dragon man has landed and given them their strange new goals, Candi watches the rider intently.

The dragon communicates its distress. You should stop that. It is impolite, and I will not allow you near him. He is taken.

"Taken?" Candi asks. "I don't really ... oh, you mean he's got a special someone?" She approaches the dragon, and places her hand near his blue leg. The dragon slightly pulls away.

I do not think I want you touching me, but yes, he is spoken for and that is that. Please go pester someone else now.

"But you're so very interesting..." Candi says. "Don't you even want to help me find a place to go for my dragon?"

The blue hesitates, hoping beyond hope that the girl-virus is joking like some humans he knows. But no, she's absolutely serious.

There is a place, I have just heard about. There is... The dragon sighs, something half between resignation and irritation. There is a clutch that you would just love to get your diseased claws into.

For some reason, Candi wonders why she hasn't taken offense at that obviously barbed statement. But she was a disease. Of the very best kind. The kind that felt so good to have.

"Where is it? What's it called, this place? And why would I love it?" Candi batters the dragon with questions. Her voice turns high, sweet. Sickly sweet.

Perhaps I ought to just show you. It would be best this way.

"So you'll let me ride you?" Candi exclaims, with a cheerleader's bounce-giggle-clap.

I will tell my rider you require transportation. There are other search riders who would be best off taking you there. We have ... business.

"You do not," Candi asserts, "silly. You have to take me! Why not let me just pack and - oh that's right, I hardly have anything anyway... So I don't need to pack! Just show me the way! I'll be out of your hair, and you won't need to worry about me pestering you any more."

There is that...

"Of course there is." Candi nodds. She takes a look around, wondering if she'd get back to the right place. Her father and brother had already returned with two extremely handsome dragons - Virus' was so beautiful it was beyond belief! But Candi had to try for her own fantastic dragon.

She then decides that she would always be able to get back here - she was created here after all, it's the only home she knows. So, Candi gathers her wits and waits for the dragon to summon his rider.

"I can't take you there, but there are other riders who will be coming along." The rider, (T'kel or somesuch, Candi isn't much on remembering names) says, "so if you stay put, I'll not be a moment."

It looks as though he was far more interested in gazing at Candi, than his conversation with Bradley.

Yet, there would be time to play with him perhaps later. She always enjoys her work in the most physical way - Candi does not transfer her disease to someone haphazardly! She wants the most from her particular form of transmission.

The place is called Cy Dragonstake, the orange colored dragon tells Candi, soaring over a beautiful if a bit worn looking area. There was recently a flight here, many red and white and pink and (it pauses with a dragony chuckle) orange ones.

"It's like a Valentine's flight! How sweet!" Candi announces, and the rider clutches his legs tighter around the neck of the dragon. Candi's grip on his waist wanders a bit too low now and again, yet her grip is firm - strong. She is no weakling, this odd daughter of a cloned virus.

Certainly will be a good rider, the dragon relates privately to the rider, But beware of her! I do not want you coming down with anything!

Don't worry... I won't... The rider states, but of course one is left with a distinct desire to go back on one's word, when dealing with this pretty creature. Almost a burning desire. In all the wrong places...

***

Long about a month after arriving to Cy, Candi had almost completed her mission. Nearly every available male (and a number of the females) living there or visiting had felt her touch in some way or another. It was a very good, unclean feeling of superiority.

The hatching went well, there was a hot moment when someone who appeared to be stalking a woman came unannounced into the sands, and then bonded! They had to be removed, because they were frightening the girl he'd been after. And, there was a fantastic couple of dragons that chose to live without a bond.

Finally one of Tuberculosith's dragonets emerged from her shell. Bipedal, pale pink, with amazing markings on her wings that greatly resembled Candi's namesake at home... in a petri dish...

How many people here have you already managed to spread to? She asked.

Candi grinned, "I'm sure that they will find out soon enough, Tynieth."

A number of people who'd been wondering why they had spent the night (or day, or afternoon, or fifteen minutes) with the girl felt so strange. Not entirely strange in a bad way, but just off enough to know that they might have to work on cleaning their act up or...

They escorted each other to the feast area, and Candi proudly looked at her conquests with a glimmer in her eye.