“What else do you need?” Fiercely demanded.
They peered at me as if telling me sky was white and grass blue, but they didn’t appreciate how outside the realm of my experience it was.
Fiercely asked, “Where would you get your food on Earth?”
“We’d visit the supermarket. It’s a place where all the food is stored in bulk.”
Venomous looked as puzzled as the rest of them. “How do they keep so much fresh?”
“Uh, chemical preservatives.”
“That explains the frightful levels of toxins stored in your tissues,” Nāga muttered.
“Your kindred would not be insulted if you did not honour them on the nesting calendar?” Fiercely asked.
“Firstly, I don’t have any living family,” I motioned to them, “aside from this one.”
They sucked in breaths and keened.
Venomous also stroked me, already gleaning this much about me from our conversations on the slave planet.
“It’s okay.” It touched me it affected them. “My life is different now. Secondly, I don’t know what a nesting calendar is.”
“A visitation and gift giving schedule for the solars of isolation,” Fiercely enlightened. “They also bring word from the provinces. There is the communications matrix, of course, but it is not the same as hearing it from a live source. Public news broadcasting is biased and you lose nuances.”
The Rä clearly had a strong sense of kith and kin, and even the smallest blood relation was cherished.
Coming from a tattered family, it was daunting.
Thinking on what I’d learnt, I frowned. “Nāga, I don’t understand how a Rä female can give birth to an egg without, forgive me if this is insensitive, cracking it.”
The healer sobered. “It happens. Sometimes the egg sets hard early. Even if the hatchling survives the laying, the nesting and the hatching, they are deformed, and do not survive long. Taking an egg away from a life giver during nesting, damaged or not, is dangerous. They are ferocious during that time. They have been known to kill to protect it.”
Explains why my hysteria didn’t faze him.
“How soon do they, uh, lay after conception?”
“Within two cycles.” Nāga tapped a claw to his chin. “I surmise your gestation period is accelerated because you are incubating your offspring inside an embryonic sac, as the Verak do.”
“What is that?” Fiercely asked sounding worried.
“A membrane,” Nāga replied. “Think of it as a soft, thin egg.”
“So her egg is inside her body.” Fiercely leaned against the table as his knees wobbled. “It is there, we just cannot see it.”
Venomous pressed two palms to his brille and breathed out harshly.
His lower hands patted and rubbed me.
They looked relieved I was carrying an ‘egg’ but I had bigger concerns. “What about pain relief? Is my system and the baby’s ... hatchling’s compatible with your drugs?”
Nāga gave me the Rä chin drop. “I do not understand.”
“I’m pregnant. That means labour.”
“Labour?”
Stares of absolute non comprehension.
“Laying ... labour ... whatever. When the hatchling comes, I will have excruciating stomach cramps to push it as it crawls out.” I feared I’d start hyperventilating at the thought of what was to come. “Labour.”
Fiercely bent to study my stomach in morbid fascination.
“There is no pain in egg laying,” Nāga stated.
I eyed Venomous’ broad shoulders.
Skimmed my gaze down his very, very large four-armed frame.
I faced Nāga. “My labour will not be painless.”
“Nature will prevail. You breed. Your body would not allow this to take place if you could not lay.”
Cold at the thought of a natural birth, having seen enough films to know I was in for a world of hurt, I pressed a palm to my forehead.
Chaotic thoughts smashed together. “Okay. Okay. You’ll be my healer?”
“As I am the only Rä with practical experience of your kind, modest as that practice may be, I deem it best. We glimpsed the problems caused by one ill-equipped with Seeker of Hottest Rock.” Stern, he switched his attention to Venomous. “I need to see her once a cycle.”
Fiercely straightened. “So much?”
“This will be my first human laying, Rä’Vek. I must monitor the hatchling’s development to catch any irregularities before her time to lay...labour.” He made a notation on his tablet. “I need to put in a request with the Senate for permission to contact the medical subsidiary of the Intergalactic Alliance. The more data we have on offworlders similar to Lumen of the Stars the better. I would rather be over prepared than lacking knowledge if a complication arises.”
“That will not be an issue,” Venomous stated. “I will speak to my father.”
“Comm me if you have any concerns. Unless an emergency, do not let another healer touch her without consulting me first.” Nāga clicked his teeth. “Even then scrutinise their every move until I arrive.”
“We heed your words.”
“Our gratitude,” Fiercely said his expression and tone of voice heartfelt. “If you had not come upon us when you had....”
“Think no more of it. If you will excuse me, I have an engagement with my Rä’Na’s kindred.” The glimmer of excitement lighting his eyes died. He bowed out the enclosure. “Good parting, Rä’Veks. Honoured Rä’Na.”
I stared after him. “I feel bad. He’s alone.”
Venomous sighed. “He has his kindred. They will care for him.”
“Does he have offspring?”
“No,” Fiercely replied.
Shaking off my sadness, I placed both hands on my stomach. “I’m excited.”
“So am I.” Fiercely grinned. He pulled out his communicator. “I’m going to comm my father. He has prayed for a hatchling to spoil for solars.”
“Wait.” I looked between them. “I get the feeling Rä don’t conceive easy or often.”
Venomous grinned. “Yesss, it is a special time.”
“Would you mind if we kept this to ourselves for a while? Just until I’m settled.”
Crestfallen, Fiercely clicked his teeth as he looked at Venomous.
“If it makes you happy,” Venomous agreed seeming disappointed himself.
“Thank you.” I slid off the table. “Now let’s get out of here.”
We climbed into the glider then set off for Venomous’ lair.
He lived in the same district as his parents, so we agreed to stop there first for what I hoped would be a low-key gathering as he reunited with his people and introduced me.
“What is that material in the drains?” I looked at the pavement. “And the walkways?”
“Feldspar,” Fiercely answered. “It is a popular a building material for the watercourses and bathing enclosures due to its high mineral content and antiseptic properties.”
“Everything is so pretty here. It glitters.”
“The shine is called adularescence. See how the lustre comes from within?”
“And you use it for drains?” I sounded as incredulous as my expression. “It reminds me of moonstone from Earth. The gem isn’t too expensive, but still, not used to manage sewage.” I paused. “You don’t have sewage as I think of it though, do you?”
“Aeons past we used chemicals to filter impurities from our water. Is that so on Earth?”
I nodded an affirmative.
“We found it harmed us and the soil. We are a closed world, and once our healers conquered the worst of the bacterial infections that plagued us, it became a case of maintaining ecological harmony, which we as a people are a part of, more than the stripping of impurities. The algae, moss and Feldspar act as natural filters. The waste water travels the aqueducts, rubs against the rocks and plant life and is purified then reused. It is why you see water everywhere.” He smiled. “Simple but effective.”
&
nbsp; “So all of it is dirty?” I gestured to a slanted wall we passed that cascaded water. “That kind of ruins the magic.”
“The large particles dissolve before the water leaves our lairs. What you see here is going through the last of the cleansing process.” He gave me a stern look. “It is safe to drink from fountains, but not the gutters.”
On a gust of wind, my hair streamed over my face.
I pushed it over one shoulder, holding onto the ends. “Sweetheart. That will not be a problem.”
We passed under a canopy of flowers growing on arced, curlicue trellises.
Kneeling, my fingers strained to reach a fat cluster of blooms as we idled.
“How do you know my hearts are sweet?” Slowing behind another glider, he studied me. “Do humans eat the flesh of other humans, so you think mine might be tasty too?”
Straightening in the back seat, Venomous cocked his head then fell back laughing.
Hearing this, I dropped my arm to the side of the transport to keep from toppling out of it as I spun on my seat to gawk. “Fiercely! It’s an endearment. Humans aren’t cannibals.”
“Yet you have a name word for sweet tasting hearts.” His brille narrowed. “And for humans that eat humans.”
I threw my hands up. “It means I think you’re sweet emotionally.” I blinked then wagged a finger. “I don’t even know why I call you it. You’re so touchy and argumentative.”
Fiercely looked sceptical, but let it go to focus ahead as the congestion cleared. “Look there.” He pointed to a clearing in the rooftops where the city roads converged. “It is the Senate Quarter. It leads to the marketplace.”
Gripping the padded headrest of the seat adjacent to him, I shielded my eyes with a hand and squinted at the bustling hub.
Glider traffic and the goodbeast bridleway flowed in that direction.
I twisted to Venomous. “May we go? Can we? Please?” I bopped side to side, excited to explore my new home world. “Please?”
Smiling, he rubbed a thumb across my lips. “There is nothing I will not grant you when you smile at me so.”
Fiercely altered the glider’s course in a sweeping arc over the spiral tipped domes, and we soared towards the city centre.
We flew under a pavilion then floated around until a docking port opened then landed in front of a cylindrical post, a strip of metal near its apex, etched with a flashing cipher.
As we disembarked, Fiercely swiped his personal communicator over the numerical glyph, and the blinking light vanished.
The transport was entombed in a protective force field once we stepped out of range.
Walking between them, my head swung side to side taking in the architectural splendour as we followed the footpath into the marketplace.
Streams of people ambled around, and many stopped to stare at me, but I barely noticed them, starry eyed at the urbane shopping precinct.
Held up by crystal columns crafted into archways, the octagonal plaza had an outer facade overgrown in blue creepers.
Inside the arched piers were four merchant plots apiece, the pattern repeated on the mezzanine that was reached by a floating corkscrew stair with wide, shallow steps and no handrail.
Venomous clasped my hand and led the way, Fiercely sauntering up behind us.
Yellow and blue plant life grew from clay pots brushed with a rose-pink glaze.
The manicured topiaries attracted chirping birds with singing wings.
Springing forth from a floor of quartz and stone sanded smooth was a sculpture of intertwined animals native to Rök.
A raptor with its wings spread in flight, an ursine predator pushing through tall grass, and a breaching leviathan were hewn from polished feldspar.
It radiated its bluish lustre as the mouth of the river monster spewed rainbow water.
The glistening surge reached beyond the upper level, and cooled the sweltering air, shifting its aromatic, cacao scent to a crisp, resinous one.
Rä motifs of four upturned hands and three sided faces signifying the gender triad were engraved into the fountain edging.
Instead of cascading into a walled basin, the water flowed across the terrazzo wetting the feet of passersby.
Giggling, an a’Rä youngling, no higher than my hip, kicked up its teeny clawed feet to splatter droplets over its mother’s robes.
She picked the tot up, plonked it on her hip then marched off scolding it all the while.
I’m sure I looked creepy as I gasped and cooed at the hatchlings, but they were adorable.
My hand went to my stomach and I grew excited again.
I’d have my own squalling terror in three moontides.
Tapping personal communicators, a’Rä that had the look of temperamental, unkempt adolescents loitered in clusters and trudged through the water as if beleaguered, but must have enjoyed the feature.
Those who did not want to get their feet, or robe trains wet could use one of the eight bridges that crossed from one side of the plaza to the other.
They arced above the mezzanine level creating cool shadows for the shoppers below.
The lofty bridge junction had a decorative opening at its heart to let the fountain spray burble unimpeded.
I watched a grinning Rä’Vak catch the arm of a hatchling determined to touch the water with its pudgy fingers.
It stuffed its lower hand into its happily smiling mouth, stout legs doing that overexcited hop-bounce babies do.
Running along the underside of each bridge was an aqueduct, and I realised the plaza was part of the purifying watercourse running through the city.
The plaza was filled with noise and life, and I loved it.
The only thing that dimmed the experience was when I turned to a freestanding holoscreen twice my height, and saw my own, very human, very out of place face staring back at me.
The hologram was a still image of me arriving at the spaceport; I was smiling up at Venomous as he cupped my jaw.
Disconcerted, I backed away.
I hadn’t realised Rä would be taking pictures then plastering them over public channels.
Under the lifelike image was a description of why I had been granted permission to dwell on Rök, my trailing name, my species, and who I was mated to.
There was a Senate contact cited should any citizens have ‘concerns’ they wished to raise at ‘conclave’ which I guessed was an open forum.
I licked my lips, gaze slingshoting all over the place.
A lot of people were staring at me.
This time, I felt it.
“Do not let that trouble you.” Venomous noted my preoccupation. He put a hand to the curve of my hip. “Your arrival is out of the ordinary. Soon enough, people will see you as I do. The fascination will pass.” He pulled me into his side. “My return would have made the broadcasts on the communications matrix regardless. That I brought home an alien adds a tantalising slant.”
He squeezed my hip to let me know he was teasing.
I lay my head on his arm in a bid to soak up his confidence then peeked at Fiercely to see how he handled it.
He scowled at anyone who dared let their gaze linger longer on me than he considered proper.
I loved him a little for it.
Putting aside the negative feelings, I made a happy face. “Thank you for bringing me. I needed fun after the drama.” I twiddled loose thread poking from the hem at my side. “I know you’re anxious to see your kindred, so am I, but would you mind if we stopped here for high meal?” I tucked an errant curl behind my ear feeling a burst of shyness. “We haven’t had a first date, and now seems the perfect time. We have so much to celebrate. Our freedom, the hatchling, the fact our relationship hasn’t imploded because we’re a different species....”
“Date?” Fiercely questioned.
“It’s a Western Earth custom. The male,” I amended that to, “males,” at Fiercely’s glower, “ask the female out on a date. They get dressed up, pick her up from her lair and take her somewhere
nice. Most often they share a meal. They act on their best behaviour to show what a good partner they’ll be. It’s an opportunity to learn more about each other.”
Fiercely screwed up his flattened nose. “I prefer the mating teachings as set out in the way. Does it not make sense to learn of each other whilst sequestered in the lair as the solars pass? And why put on a false face when your life mate is supposed to feel affection for you unconditionally?”
I rubbed my lips together thinking of how to counter such reasoning.
“There is a lot of talking in human culture,” Venomous told the other male in a low aside. “They debate everything and need words to calm them. I wager there is much talking during this custom. Watch me as I make our mate happy with words.” He straightened and smiled with fangs. “My Lumen, will you date with me?”
“Date with me too,” Fiercely said at speed fingering his quills. “If you want to. If not, I will wait here while you and Venomous endeavour the courtship ritual.” Arms crossing, his brille narrowed. “It still sounds like trickery.”
Holding back laughter, I held out a hand to each of them. “I would love to date you both.”
They exchanged smug, proud looks then each clasped a hand.
“Now what?” Fiercely demanded.
“We choose a place to eat.” I peered around, tongue poking the corner of my mouth. “Suggestions?”
Fiercely stared at his nest mate with expectation.
So I did too.
“I have been gone a long time,” Venomous muttered. He jerked his chin making his gold clink. “There. That seems a fine enough establishment befitting our Rä’Na.”
Strolling across the plaza then climbing the sloping steps, we approached a freestanding plaque displaying the eatery name in ornately painted glyphs.
Underneath the arched belvedere were clusters of low, circular tables and puffy cushions, most of which were occupied.
Themed black and gold, the ambient music was low.
The place settings were extravagant, and I could tell after a glance the place was not my style despite the delicious fried banana scent wafting from its outdoor cookery.