StarlightComplete

by Astrid Cooper

  “They give me the creeps,” Rob said. “Sorry, Sam, I know they’re your friends, I just can’t say how do you do to a three meter tall lizard.”

  “I understand.” Sam inclined her head. The gulf between them had become a chasm and there was nothing, no bridge she could build that could span their differences. She drifted to another group and saw Zeren, in his cat shape, balancing on the balustrade. Up to mischief. She intercepted the cat, just as he was about to leap onto the lap of a young woman.

  Growling, Zeren morphed back to human and shook himself. Sam swept back his long red hair from his face.

  “You’re a naughty kitty, Zeren,” she whispered.

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  His ready smile and sparkling emerald eyes…oh boy…he was going to be Trouble! She squeezed his wrist. “I’m your friend, not mistress. I told you that already.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Aarn said, leaning against the table. “If he gets too full of himself, I’ll fang him.”

  “Yeah, you and what cat army?” Zeren demanded.

  “Race you to the water.”

  “Right…”

  The youths sprang away, morphing into cat, upsetting the table, sending an ice bucket flying and glass crashing to the floor.

  “Cats!” Sam hissed and bent down to help Pete clear away the rubbish.

  “I heard what that guy said, Sam,” Pete said as he collected the ice. “Not all humans are…you know.” He shrugged.

  “Yep. I’ve met some shifters who’ve got the same attitude. Being prejudiced isn’t a human trait. It’s all over the galaxy.”

  “Yeah, rightio. I’ll just get some more ice and…” He laughed.

  “What?” Sam demanded.

  “You’re being watched.” He paused. “Cat watched.”

  Sam glanced over her shoulder and saw her Circle regarding her intently.

  “What?” she mouthed and all they did was smile. She turned her back on them and finished tidying the table.

  “She’s positively incandescent, brother-mine,” Taren said to John, nodding over his shoulder.

  John turned and smiled. “Yes.”

  “You, too, Kuno.” Taren’s black eyes narrowed. “I have never seen you so happy. It pleases me.”

  “You and me both, Tar.”

  “She is recovered?”

  John nodded, the nuances of the question not lost on him. “Yes. Completely.”

  “She has an assassin’s heart and soul.”

  “Yes,” Alesiar said. “That being so, when she comes to visit, I shall be taking her aside to tutor her.”

  “She knows how to use that knife.”

  “Kuno, I was not talking about blades.”

  “What then?”

  Alesiar raised her brow. “What every woman needs to learn.”

  “Enlighten me!” John demanded.

  Taren snorted. “It is secret women’s business. They will not tell you. I have tried to discover—”

  “You will never,” Alesiar said.

  “You cannot blame me for trying.”

  “No, husband-of-mine. I enjoy your idea of trying.”

  Taren ruffled his feathers.

  They watched as Sam threaded her way through the crowd. Finally, reaching them, she kissed each of her friends, hand signed on their skin and then hooked her arm through John’s.

  “You look very pleased with yourself,” Lenar said, smiling.

  “Yes,” Taren said. “When a woman looks thus, she is at her most dangerous. I know.”

  “I’m not packing a knife.”

  “She can still blood me,” John said. “Ouch! What was that for?” He paused, realization hitting him. “Howd ya’ do that?”

  “What?”

  “That…that spark thing in my head. Ow. Hey!”

  “Don’t you like it?” Sam aimed another spark-thing and soothed.

  John purred low in his throat.

  “Is that ouch, or ooooooh?” Sam smiled.

  In the distance the moon rose over the hills, a huge glowing yellow orb, casting a swath of burnished silver over the ripple of waves, a pathway of sorts, leading to the horizon and the stars.

  Sam broke the silence and studied each of her friends. “Please, when it’s my time, you’ll be here, to join the birth, to welcome the new felinus to the family?”

  “It will be our honor.” Taren inclined his head and bowed, his right hand over his heart. His feathers ruffled.

  “Yes,” Kareena said. “Our honor.”

  Sam drifted away to see to more guests and ensured that the jugs of shovan were again topped up. Everyone was enjoying Kareena’s special brew, but when they woke up in the morning, enjoy would not be a word that came to mind—if they could even think straight...

  Smiling at her guests, but in need of a respite, Sam walked along the north gangway and sat on the lowest step. She dangled her legs in the water, swirling it over her feet.

  Music drifted over the waves. Sam looked out to sea half listening to the conversation, the laughter, the felinus and human music combined.

  “Kitten-mine, all alone.” John sat next to her, hitching up his kaftan so that he could cool his feet in the sea.

  Glancing at her, he drew her onto his lap, nibbling her earlobe.

  Sam smiled, feeling the textures, the contradictions of the man—the whipcord, the gentleness, the steel and the starlight. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent.

  Starlight and steel, I like that analogy, kitten-mine. He kissed her nape, drawing strands of hair between his teeth, preening her, like a cat.

  “John, do you realize, it’s six months since we met in the Saturn Hilton lobby. I had no inkling what you had planned for me.”

  “Nor what you had planned for me.” He laughed against her skin and nipped. “Kitten-mine.”

  “Cat-boy.”

  “You’ve no regrets?”

  She raised her face and met his tawny gaze and smiled. “How could there be? I have everything I could wish for.” She paused. “Except for Harimal, only then will our Circle be complete.”

  “I know Kareena’s been talking to you. What’s she been saying?”

  “Not much. A gal has to have some secrets.”

  “Like hell.” John laughed. “So you know more about the concept of Circle, do you? From a female perspective?”

  “Yes,” Sam said. “Ties deeper than blood, we are part of the whole. The Circle of friendship, of love, of life. Never truly parted. Always there in times of trouble, no matter the cost, or distance. Humans are such lonely creatures, to not have such a Circle of mateship.” She buried her face in his chest and teased his nipple with her teeth. His fingers tightened over her shoulders.

  “And why you offered to lie with Lenar, to give the gift of life to those who cannot do so… Sam, you’re so special. Few felinus understand, can share in the way you do.”

  “Kuno…?”

  “Mm?”

  “Can you initiate me to full felinus? You and the others?” She heard the sharp intake of his breath. “Am I allowed to ask?”

  “You can ask anything of me, kitten. Even if it were possible, for the moment you can’t even consider it. You carry a child, to initiate, or even to attempt to do so, would kill her.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know.” She studied him. “But if I wasn’t…?”

  “It’s not something we speak of. If it became common knowledge to outsiders that sometimes felinus can turn others to cats, we’d be hunted and imprisoned again and forced to initiate. We’d die first.” He paused and kissed her nape. “But to initiate isn’t undertaken lightly. Few survive the experience. I did…just barely and I have Ronsevaal blood. Why the sudden urge to turn cat?”

  “I just wanted to be closer to you and be one with the Circle.”

  “There are other ways, kitten and I’ll show you.”

  “One thousand and one ways in one thousand and one nights?”

  “Yes.”

  The sea erupt
ed behind them and six dolphin heads pierced the water, singing.

  John held out his hand to Sam. “This Circle calls us to join them, Sammi, do you wish it?” He flung off his kaftan and slipped on the enviro belt. Easing into the water, he lay back, his hair fanning around him like a cape. “You coming, Sam?”

  “Not yet. Not even breathing heavily.”

  He laughed. “I can soon fix that.”

  A hundred thoughts flashed through her mind—human thoughts about not making a scene, about getting her hair mussed and her makeup smudged and being seen naked… She cast them aside as she cast aside her gown and stepped out of it and eased into the water.

  John raised her onto his body and they floated in the water as the dolphins swam around them, chirping and clicking.

  “Kuno.”

  “Mm. I want to feel you inside me.”

  “Like this?” His body slipped inside her, ridges splaying, teasing.

  “I want you to touch that meridian.”

  “Which one?”

  “All of them.”

  “All?” His voice was all shocked amusement. “That’ll take hours.”

  “You have plans on going anywhere?”

  “Nooooooo.”

  She trailed her fingers over his body, stroking slowly. She heard the sharp intake of John’s breath and smiled a secret self-satisfied smile. She rested a fingertip beneath the base of his phallus and held her finger, poised. John’s heart hamered against her back. His breath caught. Slowly, teasing out the moment, she lightly pressed.

  Sammi!

  She plundered the meridian point mercilessly, before moving on to his other favorite places, seducing each. Starlight wove backwards and forwards, igniting each nerve. This was her version of Starlight Seduction.

  Claw me, bite me, love me. John’s thoughts merged with her. His right hand spread over her, slipping lower, fingers teasing the mutatis piercing.

  “I will claw you, bite you, love you, one thousand and one ways, in one thousand and one nights. My promise to you. My name is Sharille-Samantha and I exist for you. Only for you, my beloved faeth-tul-san. Now. Forever. Beloved Husband.”

  She sang to him and the dolphins picked up the tune.

  Starlight erupted between them and danced over the water.

  Sam trembled as John’s fingers swept over her, gently finding points. The sounds of the party retreated, her awareness focused on the man, on his scent, on the universe within them. A world of love without end.

  His mouth feasted on her throat, biting, teasing, nipping, licking. He kissed her neck, the water flowing over them as they undulated against the other. He rubbed his cheek to hers and purred, while his hands fanned over her body, probing, caressing and stroking. With his soul, his mind, his body, he touched deep inside her.

  “My name is John-Kuno and I exist for you. Only for you, my beloved fe’ha tu. Now. Forever.”

  The Felinus Adventure continues with Harimal’s Story…

  Starfire and Ice

  A handsome naked man falling into your arms one dark and stormy night might be the answer to many women’s fantasies, but not for Zenna. Never mind that he has the face and voice of an angel, he’s trouble… capital “T” – Trouble!

  She wants the stranger out of her home and her life because he evokes within her feelings she can neither understand nor control.

  But Harimal has other plans. The game is afoot, or is that a-paw? Starfire meets Ice. Zenna is his and it will take all his seductive charm, every trick known to cat and man, to ensure that Zenna realises her true destiny. A destiny of starfire.

  Author’s final words:

  This story grew in the telling, with many unexpected surprises and challenges along the way.

  THE MUSIC:

  Readers have asked me about the opera (duet and arias) mentioned in the Starlight series, as they would like to listen to the music that inspires Harimal and John and Samantha.

  “Tosca” by Puccini, in particular: Recondita armonia and

  E lucevan le stelle.

  “The Pearl Fishers” by Bizet, in particular: Au fond du temple saint.

  “Turindot” by Puccini, in particular: Nessun Dorma.

  For my work, I have made minor interpretations of a small portion of the lyrics from some of the above operas and given them a futuristic/felinus flavor: no copyright infringement of the original material is intended.

  GLOSSARY:

  Readers have asked me to provide a glossary, so they can understand the new words and phrases created for Starlight. I will try to do so, but bear in mind some felinus words cannot be interpreted, they have to be experienced with one or more of the senses and if pronounced incorrectly or in the wrong context, can lead to awkward moments. Tangle with a cat and you will become entangled.

  Glossary:

  *Blessed Realm:. “Felinus may starlight guide your path to the Blessed Realm” – this is the ritual farewell for one who has died. Felinus (as other shifters) have no actual heaven or hell, but believe there is a dimension where all creatures have an afterlife in an idyllic location. The ritual during a Blessed Realm ceremony varies between species. For example, in the ceremony to honor Harimal, Sam uses the assassin interpretation where nothing is spoken, it is done via hand signals: Friend. Farewell. Journey safe. Find the light. Love. Trust. Honor. Farewell. Comrade of blood. She seals the ritual by slicing open her palm and smearing her blood over Hari’s name.

  *canzone felinallinus d’amore di stele. The name of Harimal’s opera. Interpretation: “felinus love song of the stars”.

  *Cheyulis: the most potent sex hormone exuded by felinus.

  *Converge: the ultimate starlight level which leads to schahor.

  *Chjival’i: a felinus toast; without an adequate human translation, but roughly speaking it could be stated: “To home and to us.”

  *Chizan: the secret name of the felinus homeworld, it is pronounced Sheeeezaaaan.

  *Daman-san: master (archaic felinus used during the civil war).

  *Damiselle: woman/slave (archaic felinus used during the civil war).

  *Dance the oral: translation from felinus to old earth equivalent = tongue kissing.

  *Deuran-sher: felinus Queen.

  *Deuran-sher-fe’tu: felinus Queen who has undertaken the mutatis ritual with her husband, the King.

  *Duran: King

  *faeth-tul-san: (spoken by female to male) when she acknowledges that the man is her life-mate, her “husband”; the inflection on “tul-san” will also indicate whether the couple has experienced “mutatis”. (see fe’ ha tu).

  *Farseth: the sacred purple roses of Chizan. Their pungent scent is a mix of ginger and cinnamon.

  *Fata Morgana: an old earth occult tradition, but re-interpreted by the Chizan mystics as “The Woman of Flowers”, she is the portent of destiny, the feary; also known on Chizan as “Fata Morgana”. The titles are interchangeable and done deliberately to confuse the uninitiated. It encompasses the power and mystique of the feminine and thus incorporated in the Chizan tarot.

  *Feegle: closest translation is old Earth English: “fuck”. It is “galactic standard” for the sexual act and is used by all shifter species.

  *Feena: felinus word for penis.

  *fe’ha tu: (spoken by male to female) when he acknowledges that she is his life-mate, his “wife”. There is no adequate translation, but the closest would be “beloved wife, dearest soul-mate”. If the title is spoken before others it is a declaration that the woman is his life-mate, his “wife”. (see: faeth-tul-san).

  *Fellinal: the common name of Chizan, the felinus homeworld. Felinus do not reveal the true name of their homeworld to strangers and if a felinus gifts the name of Chizan to a non felinus, the recipient is protected for life by Chizan.

  *Femerra: felinus word for vagina.

  *fer-het-sar: a rough translation would be diviner, a felinus male who wields magic prophesy, he is so much more than a simple fortune-teller of old earth tradition.

/>   *fer-haet-sarina: the female equivalent of the diviner. The Diviner Gift rarely manifests in the female, but when it does, the woman is many times more powerful than the male. In the era of the daman-san, such a woman was called a witch and any female revealing any mystical gift was burnt. The Fata Morgana card honors the fer-haet-sarina.

  *Gevrin-iik: not used in polite company, unless the speaker is really, really angry with someone. The closest equivalent in galactic standard would be “brainless, soul-less, gutless bastard” and for some shifter species if someone calls another “bastard” it is an immediate call to a duel to the death (in the case of felinus—claw to claw). Use the word and find out what it means—the experience won’t be pleasant!

  *Initiate/initiation: the rare and dangerous transformation of a non-shifter to shifter. If any dare to initiate, few survive the experience.

  *Jura-santl: the act of sexual intercourse between a bonded pair. (fuck and feegle is rarely used, except as a tease or to insult.)

  *Jehs wan se tah, grrr: – a strong felinus insult, the closest translation to old earth English is “I’m going to bite you on the bum” (it is generally used as an insult, but also a taunt between friends—all in the intent and the relationship of speaker and recipient).

  *Maer: polite form of address for any male of any species. If unsure of the sex of the creature to whom one is speaking, it is galactic standard to use the masculine. Old earth equivalent is “mister”.

  *Maera: polite form of address to any female of any species. Old earth equivalent is “ms”.

  *mit-Suran: Prince (in the Avenor dialect).

  *Mutatis: the final and deepest level of Starlight and Convergence, it encompasses Schahor. The couple is body, mind and soul-joined with each other and with their world. The joining comes at a cost, however. If one soul-mate dies, the remaining partner is left bereft, a hollow shell and Madness follows.

  *Mutatis pavan: the slow ritual dance for a mutatis couple, performed at the Recognition ceremony when the two present themselves formally as “one” to family and friends.