Fherin

by C. R Corbin

  "Alright the communicator." I said, I looked at it and rubbed the sides of the box.

  "Is this it?" I asked her and she looked over at me, she had seemingly been lost in her own thoughts at the moment.

  "What?" she asked as I saw her lift two tiny dolls up before she nodded.

  "Yeah that's it ...let me see that thing." she said as I handed it to her. It was incredibly heavy so we set it down not long after. She rubbed the box and I glanced it over to see if any damage had been done.

  "Is it all set to go?" I asked her and she nodded.

  "Yeah it is. I think we should probably heat it up first. Things won't work so well in the frigid cold like this." she stated and walked back over to her dolls.

  "Is there anything that you've found?" I asked her and she shakes her head.

  "Not really...toys, or magazine pages, that's all." she remarked.

  She dips her head and gets on her knees to comb through the snow. She finds some tools and coats, remnants of a life far gone that could now be used in our quest for survival. She bundles it all up in a bag that she finds and dragged it back up the hill along with the communicator. Once we get inside she begins to unload everything onto the floor while I laid the box near the flame.

  "Not taking anything for memory's sake?" I asked her and she pulled out the dolls from earlier.

  "These belonged to someone I knew. The rest we can collect once we return ...Don't worry I’m not going to cry anymore. I know what we have to do." she said with a smile and I nodded.

  "Right." I said with a grin as the heat of the flame brushed past our faces.

  A few moments later and she brushed me away from the box to have a look at it. She gripped the metal hull and flicked the switches on as the machine began to roar to life. Instantly several of the compartments popped out including this drawer that contained the microphone. A voice boomed out of the machine soon after.

  "This is Peroph's emergency communicator. Please identify the desired contact or provide their identification number." the machine said and I looked at her to see if she knew who to call. She flicked her way through the screen before identifying someone.

  Christopher Karats

  "Is he your..." I began and she nods.

  "Yeah, that's my dad." she said before biting her lip.

  The communicator flickers and shoots out the hologram that glows in front of me. I stare at the flickering screen before a face appeared, a grizzled man with jet black hair and brown eyes that looked extremely similar to her. I stood off to the side to let her have her word.

  "Natalie? Oh god Natalie thank god that you're alright. I got on a ship as soon as I could! I'm on my way!" he exclaimed and Natalie nods.

  "I'm the only one left from the base dad... but there is someone else with me. How long is it going to take you to get here?" she asked him.

  "About a couple weeks. Can you wait that long? And who's with you if no one survived?" he asked and she beckoned me to get in front of the camera. The man nearly fainted by the way he reacted.

  "A Kanosian? My god Natalie are you out of your goddamn mind? Are you-" He began but she shook her head.

  "No dad it's not like that. He...was stranded by his own crew. A bomb was sent to destroy the base and he was caught in the blast radius. He's just surviving with me, that's it." she spoke and I let a glimmer of hope surface in my stomach as I wondered if she was finally coming around to the idea of me being here.

  "Do you trust him?" he asked.

  "I don't know dad. But it's the best bet I have of getting out of here safe. You know that. I can't survive in this cold by myself alone." she spoke and I allowed myself a small smile. She quickly glared at me before I tucked the corners of my lips downwards once more.

  "Kanosian. Keep her safe. Two weeks is all I ask for, keep her safe until we get there." he spoke and I nodded despite not know what a week was.

  "Now who attacked you?" her father asked.

  "I can answer that. He was my commander, the man who betrayed me, somebody by the name of Denos." I stated and her father growled once I spoke. He glared at me with those harsh amber orbs but I stood my ground. I hoped that he would take my word despite my race but he didn't' seem so keen.

  "I know the name but excuse me if I don't entirely trust your story Kanosian. What do you have to say about this Natalie?" he asks her, she glances at me and bites her lip. There is a great deal of reluctance in her eyes before she speaks to him once more.

  "Well ...I don't know. He's the only chance I got at being saved and considering the fact that I haven't been captured yet or that he hasn't turned me in...I think we just have to take his word for it." she muttered.

  Great, so she still didn't trust me all the way. I suppose that was to be expected though.

  "Fine ...I have your coordinates. I'll see you soon honey. Hold out for two weeks alright? Two weeks." he stated and she nodded.

  "I know dad, I know." she muttered and shut her eyes as the communicator shut off.

  We are left in a silence that is only disturbed by the howling wind.

  "Well that was awkward." she muttered and glanced down at her feet before walking away. I glance over at her and shake my head.

  "Surprised you don't trust me all the way yet." I stated and she shrugged.

  "How can I? You're still the enemy, some nice dinners and moments aren't going to change any of that. Just be thankful I’m not yelling at you anymore." she stated and I frowned before she walked to her side of the cave.

  The rest of the day is spent in silence. I despise this cold and frigid air that was between us. My mate shouldn't have this sort of aura about her, it was maddening. All I wanted to do when I glanced over at her was to...claim her. To grip that curvaceous body and tear all of the cloth obscuring that wonderful body away. I would toss it aside and let it fall to the floor before I pinned her down and made her feel every bit of pleasure that was available to her.

  But with this contemptible air between us, that was all but impossible.

  "Achoo!" she shouted and I looked at her questioningly. What the hell was the noise that she made?

  "Sorry." she muttered under her breath.

  "So what? We're going to wait here for the rest of these "weeks", is that it?" I asked.

  "Pretty much." she replied.

  "We could talk you know?"

  "Or we could just be like this. We don't have to be buddies if there's nothing going on, and don't think that I will spread my legs and let you mate with me anytime soon. This is a business partnership and nothing more." she replied.

  It was as if all the progress I have been making in the past fewer days was now void after she saw her father. I suspect his presence had a substantial effect on her. All of that time spent with her was now flushed down the drain with her telling me that I was nothing more than a convenient partner in her quest for survival. There was some sort of inner conflict boiling inside of her and I wanted to find out just what it was.

  "You told me that I would be yours by my own accord. I'm determined to not let that happen." she replied, trying to set us back even further.

  "Are you scared to be genial with a Kanosian? You weren't like his moments ago. Your father must have done something." I replied and she growled before standing up abruptly.

  "This doesn't have anything to do with my father you dolt! And don't forget that it was you bastards that took ne-" she began but realized that she was ranting once more and sat down, shaking her head.

  "You're right. I'm sorry. You saved my hide twice and helped me out quite a bit...I suppose seeing my dad just reminded me of all that I have lost already. Every time I see him he looks so worn and tired...all because of this war." she remarked and I glanced away, realizing the contentious topic of conversation.

  "Once he came back with the news that my brother died he just seemed so much colder. He didn't want to talk about it, he just spent entire days in the command room. Days later
he sent me away from his station and I was sent...here. I blamed the Kanosians for all of it, after all they started the war right?....I suppose I should just stop talking about it already, it's going to regress it some sort of stupid argument between us." she stated and rested her head against the rock, coughing slightly as she did so.

  "Are you alright?" I asked her with a great deal of concern.

  "I'm fine." she remarked and turned away, I got the hint and sighed. This would take quite a long time.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Fherin

  The first couple of days after were rather...monotonous to say the least. I would go out to hunt for some meat for myself while she would eat the rations. We rarely spoke during those days except for during dinner. I would wake up and go into the snow to drag a Hiruden's carcass back while she heated up the rations and we ate in silence. Some days would be better and she would allow small talk but that was all it was....we never discussed anything in depth.

  And then I noticed the symptoms.

  "*Cough* *cough*" she hacked and I raised an eyebrow.

  "You're sick." I stated to her.

  "No I'm fine, I'm fine." she replied but shut her eyes and nearly fell on her head.

  "Natalie!" I growled and dashed over to her but she tries to push me away.

  "No, no, just stop." she replied.

  I searched frantically amongst all the boxes for the med kit and found it eventually. I dumped the box onto the cave floor and glanced it over, these human medications were all so alien to me. I had no idea what she was afflicted with, no idea what was wrong with her.

  "Do you have any idea how these work?" I asked her and she glanced at the kit before shaking her head.

  "They're not in this box. They're in the medicine box ...it's a green tin. I don't even know if it's still intact." she stated and I frowned before dashing back out into the snow. I looked around the exterior of the cave and the remnants of the base frantically before I realized that it was nowhere near the crater.

  No, no." I stated and walked back into the cave to search for it. It didn't appear in there either.

  "Don't be so scared ...I'm just a worthless human, isn't that what we are at the end of the day?" she joked.

  "Stop! I will not lose you! Not my mate!" I said furiously before returning to my search.

  "If it's not there then ...maybe it got launched farther away. It's probably destroyed.....it's probably...." she trailed off and I glanced over at her, concern filling my chest.

  "Natalie!" I croaked out, she didn't speak.

  Her chest was slowly floating up and down, I scowled and tore some fabric off of some clothes that we had found. I grabbed some snow from the outside and melted it over the fire before I felt her forehead. It was hot, I needed to cool her down if I was to have any hope of keeping her alive.

  I dropped the towel in some of the cool water and placed it over her forehead before covering her in the pelts that I have collected. She shivers in her sleep and I am left to ponder her last words to me.

  This war that we have been conducting really was a travesty wasn't it? What could inspire such vitriol in someone's soul? My actions?

  Once humanity sprung up and began to establish colonies with some nearing our borders, we attacked. Our empire was notoriously aggressive and quickly went to war with the humans, I joined simply because I had been told from a young age that combat was simply in my blood. In all of those battles I had encountered humanity's bitterness but those were soldiers. To have my own mate tell me those words was.....

  Had something been wrong in my creed? Was I wrong?

  Had we never waged this war and rained such terror upon humanity then she would have never been stuck here. What has this war and this belief in violence granted me with exception to the suffering of the woman that I love and her condemnation of me and my entire race? I saw my honor as being above Denos's actions but ...perhaps it was simply a more attractive version of that same creed.

  "I will make sure that you're safe...I will." I stated and looked around the cave for things that I could use to fashion some sort of medication.

  Back home and on the field a remedy that was used when we didn't have any medication was to ground up the bones of hunted animals in order to be placed in some sort of stew. I could do that now I suppose. I grabbed the carcass of one of the beasts and quickly hacked off the bone's material before laying it down and grounding it out. The chipped minerals fall into the small pot of water that was set amongst the flame tablets in front of me. I had collected the pot from the piles of boxes that we had retrieved from the wreckage of the building.

  "Ahhh." she let out a low moan once I was nearly finished making the soup and I walked over to offer her some.

  "Take it." I said as I offered her a small cup of the fluid, she sipped on it and coughed.

  "Get well ...get well." I said.

  ....

  "Get well.." his voice rung like a distant memory. Something that I wasn't even acquainted with that well but that granted me a warmth that I couldn't quite place.

  I feel his strong hands clasp mine and I don't resist...even if I had to strength to resist I don't think I would have. Something about his presence was inspiring an immense amount of warmth in me even though he was my enemy a couple of days prior. I had to admit in the last couple of days my physical attraction to him had skyrocketed.

  He was so powerful, so strong, every morning when he came in with a Hirudens carcass I felt my heart swell as those strong arms tensed while he hoisted the beast inside. I couldn't help but lose myself to the lust that was swelling in my bosom at this very moment. It didn't end there, however, the feeling of his hand on mine, his worried voice...it awoke this warmth that I hadn't thought possible.

  Was I really falling for him?

  I had initially dismissed him as some Kanosian that had devious plans for me once he saved me from the explosion, I was proven right in that assessment, at least somewhat, in part due to his revelation that I was his mate. Then he had saved me from the Hiruden, and now this. A large part of me could no longer doubt that he was acting in my best interests and that he cared. The part of me that did doubt him...well it was dwindling quickly.

  Perhaps I had been judging him too harshly.

  He was doing his best to care for me, doing his best to provide for me in the only way that he knew possible. If I could change then perhaps I could sway him from his beliefs...he seemed to be wavering already. I didn't want to deny this attraction that was swelling inside of me way longer than I had to, I knew that it was real and I know that I wanted it. So what was stopping me? He wasn't like the other Kanosians despite his constant professions that he was a staunch believer in what they were doing.

  And besides...it was growing so much harder to resist the urge to give into the lust.

  "Natalie." he growled out and I felt so helpless ...and aroused.

  I opened my eyes, suddenly nude and in a much more arousing location than the cave. I was laid bare somewhere that was akin to the savannahs on Earth, it didn't take long for me to realize that I was somewhere akin to Kanosia.

  Yes, yes, take me, give it to me.

  He gripped my shoulders and leans in for a kiss, his handsome blue face dashed against mine as I felt those lips pressed against me. I moaned into him as my tongue rolled against his and I moaned. I bite my lip and shake my head as I feel his hands run across my torso. He gripped my bare chest and runs his fingers over my nipples as I let out a few gasps as payment.

  "Yes, yes, oh I adore you. You are my mate and I shall claim you. You want to give in don't you? You want to give into the lust." he said to me and I nodded.

  I did, oh how I did.

  I continued to kiss him with a bit more intensity before he lands a kiss on my neck and I gasped. His hands gripped mine and he pressed them off to the side while he continued to shower me with kisses across my face and my neck. His tongue whipped across mine before
I felt his strong hands tense around my breasts, his fingers pinched my nipples and pulled while I arched my back and let out another moan.

  What was happening to me? Was this mating bond actually real? Was this its true power? To make me feel such a strong attraction to him?

  "I love you, I will protect you, you will be mine." he said to me and I nodded in agreement with every word.

  "I will, I will." I repeated before I feel his lips travel downward.

  He kisses down my neck and reaches my breasts as he circled his mouth around my right nipple. He gently bites it and pulls while I can only cry out in pleasure, begging him for more. I felt my crotch growing warmer and warmer and once I looked, I noticed that I was already...soaked.

  "Oh yes you adore me don't you?" he asked and slides a finger across my folds while I moaned. I shut my eyes and shake my head as his fingers slide into me, they slide in and out and dash across my folds several times while I can only moan for him.

  He snarls and I watched those ebony horns dash back and forth, his golden eyes flicker in front of me and I nodded as I felt him slip his fingers further and further in. I watched as he stiffened, his member dashed along my thighs while he continued to suckle my breasts and slip his fingers deeper and deeper.

  And then he did it.

  Without a word he gripped my legs and spread them before slipping his member inside of me. I felt his tip dashing along my walls and folds as he slipped his way into me. I coated him in my wetness as he continued to slip in and out of me at quite a brisk pace. I shut my eyes and savored every growl he showered upon me while he pressed his member deeper into my hot and wet tightness.

  "Such wonderful curves, the perfect body for a mate.' he said while his hands dashed along my ample flesh, feeling my curvaceous hips, thighs, backside, breasts.

  I drew closer and closer to my end, rapidly approaching my climax while his fingers skillfully pleasure my clit. I hear him shout and growl as the warm Kanosian sun sets on us, washing the landscape in a shade of orange that could be found nowhere else in the universe.