by Ruby Dixon
Like the way K’thar’s looking at me right now.
I press a hand to the center of his chest. Sure enough, I can feel the thrumming of his cootie in his chest, purring and vibrating its “song.” “Resonance,” I whisper. “This could be a problem.”
7
K’THAR
I grin with satisfaction as my female resonates to me. Now she understands. Now she will yield to me and we will mate. I need to get her away from this area if there are kaari nearby so we can have time to yield to resonance and enjoy each other.
I like that thought very much.
“L’ren,” I murmur, touching her chin. “Come. We must get away from this place.”
She gives her head a little shake, indicating she doesn’t understand me. I bite back my frustration. It is not her fault she cannot grasp my words. Wherever she is from, her people did not speak the same as mine. I do wonder at a clan that puts people in eggs, but perhaps she will tell me more in time.
For now, all that matters is her safety.
“We must go,” I tell her again, my colors rippling to match the leaves of the nearby trees. Through the branches is the best, safest way to get my mate home.
L’ren gasps and touches my skin, fascinated by the colors. Her reaction is surprising to me. Does she not have camouflage of her own? She remains the same pale whitish-pink, and that fills me with concern—how can she protect herself if she cannot mask her appearance? Even little Z’hren changes his colors, and he cannot yet crawl.
“Prrng,” she tells me, patting my chest again. “Shtdissisbaad.”
I do not understand her nonsense words, but I cannot get distracted by her touch. “We must take to the trees. I will bring you to my home, where you will be safe. It is high in the leaves, beyond where any kaari can reach, and the branches will shield us from skyclaw. On the ground here, we are vulnerable.”
She looks troubled. “Cant biresnatin.”
“Yes,” I agree. “Very vulnerable. Come.” I gesture at the branches of a nearby tree. “You should be able to reach this one with your small hands.” I worry that she only has two of them. What if she should lose her grip with one hand? The other will not be strong enough to hold her weight.
The answer is simple—I must carry her.
For one of the clan of the Strong Arm, being carried is a deep humiliation. It is why N’dek refuses to leave the clan-home after the loss of his leg. Once you are beyond a kit’s age, it is expected that you will rely on your own strength. But I remind myself that L’ren is not of my clan and there is no shame in carrying her. I carried her off the beach, after all, but she was unconscious. That is different.
“I must carry you,” I tell her, indicating with a gesture that we need to take to the trees.
“Nd t-talk bout resnens problm,” she says to me, patting my chest again.
Ah. She is asking about mating? I am delighted at her eagerness. “My cock can wait until you are safe, my lovely mate.” I lean in to nuzzle her in a show of affection so she knows I am still pleased with her.
She makes a soft yelp and slaps my cheek. “Noh!”
I frown, surprised. Is this how her people show affection? Slaps on the face? I do not think I can follow this custom. One of my lightest taps would send her delicate body reeling. “I will come up with different ways to pleasure you, this I promise,” I tell her and press my hand to her lips. “Quiet now while on the ground.”
L’ren blows out a little breath from her nose, clearly frustrated. I had no idea a mate would be so very incensed that I do not flip her onto her back and mate with her right here. Her safety must come first. “Soon,” I promise. “Do not doubt that I want you. Surely you can see that.” I gesture at my aching cock, then my singing heart. “Is this not clear enough?”
Her cheeks camouflage slightly. Curious. “Nt wht I ment.”
My mate’s tone sounds as if she is giving in to reason. I am glad. I extend my arms to her again, offering her the chance to come to me of her own accord. “I will carry you,” I say, indicating to the tree again. “That way I know you will be safe.”
Brow furrowed, L’ren shakes her head at me. “Dnt nnerstnd.”
“No, it must be so, my mate. Do not argue with me. You are not of the Strong Arm. There is no need to feel embarrassed.” I move forward and pull her against me.
L’ren stiffens, struggling against me.
I hold her arms down with mine and use my free hands to begin climbing the tree. I go up a few branches and then pause, because she’s stopped struggling, and then move her arms to my neck. “Hold on to me.”
Her cheeks are camouflaging that strange shade again. “Fil lilsilly. Thotchuwannet smthn else.”
“I know you are eager,” I soothe her. “Time enough for that, I promise. I must have you safe before I have you under me. Then you can slap me to your heart’s content.”
She says nothing, her arms tight around my neck. I prop her legs around me and remember that she still wears the strange layers over them. Something to fix when we get to the tribe. She will want to be free of such things, I know. They cannot be comfortable.
Much like my own aching cock is making climbing rather…interesting. It juts out from my groin, stabbing at the branches as if they are my mate’s warm flesh. It will not go down, either. Not with L’ren pressed so sweetly against me, her swollen teats rubbing against my chest and her arms around my neck. With her body against me like this, even as I climb, I think of mating. I cannot help it. Her enthusiasm for such things, along with the steady song in her chest, brings my own need to a fever pitch. Her legs are wrapped around me and I cannot help but think it would be so easy to slide her forward just a bit and sink deep…
It is a shame she wears these layers, or we could both get what we want.
With a gusty sigh, I climb higher into the trees, heading for the canopy.
LAUREN
For the first time in days, I really wish I couldn’t see so well now. Without glasses, it’s relatively easy to phase out what I see, to mentally isolate myself from things. I can’t see it happening, so it can’t be so scary.
Unfortunately, this no longer seems to be a coping tactic I can use. I’m acutely aware of just how high up in the trees we are, and just how far below the ground is. My new friend—K’thar—doesn’t seem to notice how very high up we are, because he moves through the trees as if he was born to them. Branch several handspans away? No problem, he’ll just leap to it. Tree not strong enough to hold his weight? Piece of cake—he’ll springboard off of the trunk with his legs and fly over to the next tree, all without stopping. My extra weight doesn’t seem to be a burden to him, because he climbs and hauls the two of us around with such speed that I feel like I’m getting motion sickness.
So I just cling to him tighter, arms and legs wrapped around his body. He holds me against him with two arms, and his others move swiftly from branch to branch. Clearly this sort of travel isn’t a problem for him. Great.
One problem down, so many to go.
I know Marisol should be my chief concern. She’s a grown woman, of course, and should be able to take care of herself about as well as I can. We’re all equals right now because no one’s familiar with this place. But I know Marisol has struggled to adapt. She likes to hide away from the world, and I’ve focused a lot of my fear and worry into being her protector. I haven’t lost it because I knew Marisol needed someone to be strong, so I volunteered.
I don’t know how she’ll fare out on her own. I don’t even know if she’s safe…or if she’s alive. I can’t even ask.
More than the problem of Marisol being missing, I don’t know where I am. This place doesn’t match up to anything that the others have told me. It’s not snowy in the slightest, and the air is hot and muggy. The greenery is out-of-control huge, and none of this makes sense. Did I somehow get taken to yet another planet while sleeping? It sounds ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure all of this is ridiculous—tapeworm, ice planet, blue gu
ys, four arms—and it’s happening to me. I would love for a big pinch to wake me up, but that’s not happening.
The big guy shifts me against him and his cock rubs up against my thigh as he climbs ever higher into the trees. My cootie purrs as if it’s thrilled by this small contact, and I have to admit that I’m feeling a little hot and bothered myself.
Yeah, that’s another problem.
Resonance.
I was warned by Liz and Harlow. It’s a side effect of the khui and everyone that has a khui experiences resonance at some time or another. Since it was either khui or death, I chose khui. I knew this was bound to happen at some point, since all of the humans that had been rescued on the ice planet so far had resonated within a year or two of arrival.
But seeing as how we only had four un-mated males in our group and one had already resonated to someone else, the odds were good that it’d be a long, long time before I resonated to someone.
I didn’t count on K’thar. I didn’t count on this island—or wherever we are—and I sure didn’t count on resonating to someone the moment I saw them.
I don’t know what to do about him and I. I mean, there’s nothing to do, but it feels like a problem I need to solve. I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to mate.
I am also pretty sure I’m not ready for that. Mentally, anyhow. Physically? Oh boy, is my body ever ready. My cootie’s thrumming a mile a minute and his is, too, reminding me that I’m not the only one feeling the effects of resonance. I’d been told that it would be impossible to resist, and at the time I was also rather certain that most people didn’t resist because they didn’t want to. That it was more of an endorphin high than an imperative of some kind.
Oh, how wrong I’ve been.
Resonance is more or less a slap across the face telling your hormones to get in line, because they are about to get served. My breasts haven’t stopped aching and feeling tight since my cootie started acting up. My skin feels sensitive. My, ahem, lady parts? They feel achy as well, as if needing something that isn’t there. I know exactly what that something is, and my body’s just going to have to wait.
I am so not ready to jump into a relationship.
He says something to me, his hand hitching lower and caressing my butt as he chuckles.
“Yeah, I have no idea what you just said,” I tell him moodily. “Step one of this budding relationship is establishing some sort of communication, even if we end up with mostly yes and no questions. I have a lot of damn questions.”
K’thar gestures again and then pats my hip with one hand and points at his neck with another.
Oh. I think I’m holding on too tight. I feel my cheeks heating. “Sorry about that.”
He reaches up and caresses my cheek, saying something again. I’d slap his hand away except for the fact that I need all of my limbs to hold on to him so he doesn’t drop me. “I’m going to let that one slide for now.”
Another garbled sentence. He points up, and I glance up, too. Oh god, we’re near the top of the canopy. It’s a dizzying sight, and just angling my head up like that makes me queasy. I close my eyes and bury my face against his neck again, moaning in horror. I didn’t realize I was scared of heights until just now.
K’thar murmurs something soothing, and his hands tighten on me again. This time I don’t mind the hand on my butt. If it lets him hold on to me better, I am all for it. I can feel his muscles bunch as he jumps again, our bodies moving and swaying. I keep my head down, because I don’t want to see any of this travel.
He pauses, and I feel the ruffle of wind against my hair. “L’ren,” he whispers, then strokes my arm.
“You should probably be holding on to something other than me,” I point out, not lifting my head. “Focus, buddy. Focus. I’m too important to drop.” I hope.
A big, comforting hand strokes my hair. “L’ren,” he says again. “Vy skh.”
The big guy keeps repeating that and touching my shoulder, and I realize he wants something. Biting back my fear, I lift my head, just a little.
I see sky.
Terrified, I clamp my legs around him harder, clinging to his neck. “Don’t drop me!”
“Es ket.” A pat on my back. “Ket.”
I glance up at him again, and when he gives me an encouraging smile, I ignore the surge of my excited cootie and try to look around this time, to see what he’s showing me.
There’s more sky, and my hair whips around my face, flying up. I can hear the rustle of leaves up here, hundreds and thousands of them, shivering in the breeze. The sky is pale pinkish orange in the parts where the suns can be seen under the clouds, a sign that night’s going to be coming soon. And beyond the trees…bottle green.
Water.
I gasp, sitting up straighter. The ocean. It’s the same ocean as before. I squint, not daring to raise a hand to my eyes, but I’m pretty sure I can see for miles and miles around this high up. I swear we’re in the highest tree in the forest, and if I could get past being terrified, I’d probably think that’s cool.
I haven’t left the planet for another one, then. I’m on the same planet…just a different place. I bet if I could see far enough, I’d see the icy peaks of the other side. Unless I’m a continent away, of course. Something tells me that I’m not, though. It’s weird, because up here with the breeze, the air feels colder. Down below, amongst the trees, it’s humid and muggy, but up here it’s as brisk as I remember.
K’thar says something to me, gesturing at the land.
“Mm,” I say, just to respond, but I’m not paying attention to him. I’m trying to think. Something about this is making me uneasy, and it’s not just the height we’re at. I gaze outward at the water, and the trees all around us. There are islands in the distance, a little flatter and not nearly as green as this one. It’s interesting, though, because they’re curving around, almost as if they’re making a big circle. And in the center of the circle, there’s more water, a paler, bright green than the rest of the ocean, like a lake. Except it’s strange, because at the center of the lake, there are bubbles and a plume of smoke. Just a tiny one.
Realization strikes me.
I know what this is.
Clinging to K’thar’s neck, I turn, trying to see behind us. We’re at the highest point for what looks like miles around, and from here, I can see almost everything. It’s like we’re up the side of a very steep cliff, and down below spreads out miles and miles of trees. In the distance, I see the faint black line of sand. I turn my head again—
And gasp.
At the far end of the island, where the land narrows, it’s all black and smooth land. This wouldn’t be all that alarming except that there’s smoke pouring from the water in a steady stream, sending masses of smoke into the air. I know what this is. I saw a video about Hawaii back in Geology 101 in college. An active volcano that still has flowing lava makes steam when it hits water. In the distance, that’s cooling lava that’s hitting the ocean. Lots and lots of it. I gaze downhill, then toward the tiny plume in the center of the “lake” that’s surrounded by islands.
Except it’s not a lake and we’re not on an island. It’s a caldera—the crater of a volcano—and we’re right on top of it. These trees, this forest, everything’s made steamy and warm because we’re right smack on top of an active volcano.
Oh, this is so not good.
8
K’THAR
L’ren is upset about something. I think she does not like the land. Something about it frightens her. I took her to my favorite spot, high in the trees, because I love gazing out at the world and imagining what it is like beyond our home. I like the view, and the cool breeze that moves this high above the land. But instead of being surprised or pleased at what I have shown her, she has grown pale and worried. There are shadows in her eyes and she looks unhappy. She keeps pointing to the thick, ever-present mist in the fire-lands and saying strange words.
“I will not take you there,” I reassure her. “I know it is dangero
us. Trust me.”
She does not look happy, but her tense grip relaxes a bit when we descend back down into the canopy. There is no more time for sights. I need to take her to the clan-home, before it grows dark and the nightflyers grow active with their hunting.
So down we go, moving through the trees once more. She trembles against me as I do, and it makes my body remember that we are resonating. Perhaps I should take her somewhere more private than the clan-home?
Not this night, I decide. J’shel will need help with the kit. They will need food. Mating with her somewhere private will have to wait just a bit longer. I feel a pang of annoyance at the thought. It cannot be helped. The safety of all must come first.
But that does not mean I cannot resent it, just a little.
It is nearly dark when the carved-out hollow of the clan-home becomes visible. Our tree is not quite as spacious as the coral-surrounded clan-home of Tall Horn, or the cave cliffs of Shadowed Cat, but it is easy for us to climb to and easier to defend from predators. I worry that it will not be safe for her with its woven platforms and snug dens. I make my way to the top platform and then set her down gently.
She whimpers, clinging to my neck. “Dnt drpmi!”
“It is all right,” I reassure, stroking her hair. “This is home. We are safe.” I touch my fingers to her chin. “Wait here.”
The moment I turn away, she lets out a cry of protest and holds on to my knife belt.
“I do not go far, I promise,” I tell her, and grab one of the carved wooden bowls waiting on a shelf inside the hollow of the tree. I grab a handful of night-moss and crush it between my fingers, and it begins to glow. I place it inside the bowl and then offer it to her. “You can hold this if you like.”
She takes it, a surprised look on her face. “S’gloin?”
“Light,” I tell her. “So you can see.”