by Ella Maven
I drank even though I wasn’t thirsty. When I handed it back to her, she took a dainty sip. “This is my fault.”
“How?”
“Just let me talk, okay? Jeez. Mr. Interrupter. Anyway, I wanted to test you, to see how you’d handle what we talked about last night. And that was stupid. I clearly pushed too hard, and we went too far. So … we’ll pull back now. Start slower. And I’m not saying I don’t want your cock, uh, back there. But you’re massive. That hole doesn’t stretch as well as my other one. We’d have to work up to you sticking your dong in there, okay?”
“Dong?”
She waved at my crotch. “You know.”
“You females have many terms for cock.”
She laughed lightly, and the sound made me smile. “We do, and we have just as many for pussy.”
I brushed my finger across her chest. “I like tits.”
“Yeah, that’s been established.” Her smile was soft, amused. But it slowly faded as she leaned forward and took my face in her hands. “Do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I’m the one who is sorry.”
“How about we agree that both of us had a part to play in that situation and we start over.”
“That is acceptable, but I think it’s best not to touch. For a while.”
“But you didn’t—”
“I’m no longer hard, Tab. Thinking I broke you was enough to send my cock and balls into hiding.”
She stuck her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout and walked her fingers down my thigh. “What do I have to do to get them to come out and play again?”
I laughed. “They are being punished. No play time for at least a rotation.”
“A whole rotation? That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”
“It’s not long enough.”
Her chin dropped to my knee. “But I feel like you’re punishing me too.”
I drew her into my lap and while the feel of her naked body comforted me, my cock remained soft. As it should, the sick fleck.
She came willingly, her skin soft under my palms, and her muscles pliant as I ran my hands up and down her back. Her fingers rubbed my shoulders, and I let my head fall back to thunk on the cave wall. Closing my eyes, I relished the feel of her in my arms.
We stayed like that for a while until her soft voice broke the silence. “Are you okay?”
I nodded and lowered my head to look at her. “Just enjoying holding you. This may be one of the last places we feel safe for a while.” The sun’s rays had reached far into the cave. We needed to move, as the more time we delayed traveling, the lower our rations would dwindle.
She shivered and pressed her face into my neck. There, she murmured in a low voice. “I always feel safe with you.”
I didn’t understand what I’d done to earn her trust. “I don’t know how you can say that.”
She smiled. “I promise, one day you will see what I see in you, and you’ll trust yourself as much as I do.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Rubbing our noses together, she said, “I’m always right.”
Nine
Tabitha
The no shoe thing was a problem. Despite the toughness of my soles, I wasn’t prepared to go rock climbing and hiking in undeveloped terrain. At first, we tried to fashion some sandals out of leaves and vines, but it was a disaster. So, I traveled on Xavy’s back like a little kid. I resented it at first, but I also was very aware that the pace Xavy kept was blistering. I never would have been able to keep up in thee-hundred-dollar hiking boots, let alone bare feet and a dress. At least I’d gotten my panties back, which Xavy had sheepishly pulled from his pocket to hand to me.
Leaving our cave was bittersweet. I’d come to like that little place in the few hours we’d been there. When we exited the cave, Xavy had to scale a steep cliff with me clinging to his back. Fortunately, it was slanted slightly, and he could half-walk, half-crawl, but I still expected us to plummet to our deaths any moment.
Xavy, being Xavy, seemed to enjoy the thrill, telling me excitedly about a time he hiked a cliff-face with Sax while fighting a Rizar pack. He spoke as if it was just another day—a fun little adventure—which had resulted in a dozen Rizar deaths and Sax with a spear sticking out of his thigh. Xavy laughed recalling Sax’s limp on their way back to camp. These Drix had weird senses of humor.
We reached the top, and I was able to study this continent’s land for the first time.
Jasper, the continent where the Drix and Uldani made their home, was more of a deciduous forest with streams, lakes and vines. Here, the humidity hung in the air like a thick blanket, making it hard for me to catch my breath. My dress and hair clung to my damp skin, and I would have given anything for a proper bath. We’d used some qua from the sea to clean up before we left the cave, but that had long since evaporated on my skin, leaving behind a gritty, salty texture.
Of course, Xavy was fine. The Drix didn’t sweat. As far as I could tell, their scales would lift slightly to cool their body temperature. They always seemed fascinated by our damp skin. His hair was coated with a thin oil, so it repelled all water, leaving him looking like he’d just stepped off a galaxy runway. I didn’t even want to know what I looked like. A wet cat probably. Not that it mattered. I would be perfectly happy if these Kaluma thought I was some gross creature and left me alone. I could only hope.
“So, tell me all you know about these Kaluma,” I said as Xavy trudged through the dense jungle-like underbrush, slashing at massive dripping leaves with his forearm machets. Occasionally he pulled out a piece of paper with handwritten scribbles on it, which he said was Nero’s directions. He constantly consulted the direction of the sun to be sure we were heading the right way.
“I don’t know much, only what Shep told us, and that wasn’t a whole lot.”
“Well what do they look like?”
“Scales the color of bronze, but they can change colors to blend into their surroundings. I suspect they will see us before we see them. Fleck, they might even know we’re here already.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“The Uldani haven’t messed with them, as far as we know, because they’re extremely hard to defeat in battle. They’re territorial, isolated, and prefer to stay that way.”
“So, all signs point to them being very unhappy with our presence.”
He hesitated before answering. “Correct. This was not a mission I was expected to return from.”
“Wait, what?” I smacked his chest and hiked myself higher on his back. I awkwardly grabbed a horn and wrenched his head to face me.
“Ouch,” he protested.
“Explain.”
“I thought I made this clear already,” he scowled at me and shook his head, but I hung onto his horn in a death grip. “We never expected them to say yes, or even give me a chance to explain, but their abilities are worth the risk.”
“No, they’re not!” I exclaimed. “Nothing is the worth the risk of you losing your life to beg some hermit people for help.”
“It is to us. To our future.”
I let go of his horn with a shove and seethed from my position on his back. “This is ridiculous. Well, I’m going to give them the what for. They’re not killing you. Or me. And if they won’t help us fight the Uldani, they can help us get home at the very least.”
He snorted. “You think they’ll listen to you?”
I smirked, even though he couldn’t see my face. “Hey, I can be persuasive.”
“So can I, Tabby. Maybe together we can manage to pull this off.” He slapped at a low-hanging vine. “Never thought I’d say that. I’d resigned myself to going at this alone. And as much as I’m fearful for your safety, I can’t say I don’t want you here. Your presence gives me more to fight for.”
“Xav,” I murmured as warmth spread to my numb limbs. “I’m glad I’m here. I’d rather be with you than back at the camp worrying myself to death that you wouldn’t return. So, whatever we f
ace here, we face together. As a team.”
“As a team,” he echoed.
I readjusted the pack on my back and rested my chin on his shoulder as we continued on. There were more insects here—small little gnat-like things and many-legged centipede-like crawlies who hid as soon as they heard us. We weren’t quiet. There wasn’t much of a way to be quiet. Twigs snapped and leaves shook. There was no nice little path carved into this jungle. It was just us, hacking our way through like eighteenth century explorers.
We walked until the sun began to set, and only then did Xavy decide it was time to rest. Under the cover of a massive tree in a well-shaded area, we ate a measly portion of the food we had—which was slowly dwindling.
Xavy refilled our qua jugs with some rainfall that had gathered on the leaves. After that, he directed me onto his back again. I wasn’t sure why, as I thought we were finished walking for the day—until he turned to a massive trunk and with his claws unsheathed, climbed with the swiftness of a bear. When we reached a fork in the branches, he tested the weight and grunted with contentment.
A few months ago, I was in my fifth year of college—I’d changed my major about four times—going to frat parties and trying to finish my degree. Now I was in a tree sitting on the lap of a massive blue alien who I was somehow falling in love with. Or maybe I’d been in love with him long before this.
Either way, we were high enough in the tree we could gaze out at the jungle below. I’d asked Xavy why we were resting for the night in a tree, and he explained our position here was easier to defend and we were less likely to be ambushed.
I accepted that answer.
The waning moon didn’t offer much light, but we didn’t really need it. Xavy held me in his arms, my back to his front, as a steady vibration rumbled from his chest. Prushing, the Drix called it, and the act was like a massage and white noise machine all in one. It soothed me to my very bones, and I leaned my head back against his shoulder. I was physically exhausted, but my mind raced.
“I don’t know the exact location of their camp,” Xavy murmured softly as he nuzzled my hair. “But we should reach it sometime tomorrow. I expect they will make themselves known as soon as we enter their territory.”
Dread pressed on my shoulders like a yokel. “Are you scared?”
He went still and silent for a moment before he resumed his nuzzling and prushing. “I’m worried for you.”
“Not yourself?”
“No, not myself. I came to terms with the reason for this mission. I’ve spent most of today wondering if I was making the wrong decision. If we should try to find another way home… I don’t know if this is right, but I can’t think of any other way to get you home. I don’t know this continent well enough to keep you safe for that long.”
“I want to keep going to the Kaluma,” I said. “No matter how scared I am. That’s your mission, and I won’t let my presence deter you from it.”
His lips pressed against my temple as he said with awe, “My determined female.”
I snorted into the dark. “On Earth, the only things I seemed determined about were partying and wasting credits.”
His arms tightened around me. “Tell me about Earth Tab.”
“Earth Tab was … not focused. I didn’t have goals, which explained why I changed my major so much.”
“What’s a major?”
I tried to explain college the best I could, and he got the general idea, since the Drixonians had career tracts as well. Except theirs were determined at a young age through aptitude tests. “My parents kept telling me to grow up, that one day I was going to have to realize the world isn’t all fun and games.” I laughed wistfully. “Ah, if only they knew I had to travel to another galaxy to wise up.”
“I was like that,” he said. “I wanted to pilot a cruiser because I wanted the status. I wanted to show off my accomplished missions badges to all the females. Before the virus, we hadn’t had a credible outside threat for a long time. We’d all grown complacent. My parents said the same thing as yours—that one day I’d get a mission that meant something, and it wouldn’t be about the recognition, but the mission itself.”
“Like this one?” I whispered?”
His fingers dug into my hip. “Like this one.”
“They’d be proud to see you now.”
“I was a problem chit, always mouthing off and getting into trouble.”
“No, you?” I gasped in mock surprise.
He chuckled. “What about baby Tab?”
“I was cute and loved rainbows and unicorns, but I also loved to play in the mud with boys in said colorful accessories. My parents didn’t know what to do with me then, and they didn’t know what to do with me at twenty-two either.”
“You are brave, Tab. You stood up to me. You’re honest and good. You’re like a beacon of light in our clavas. Everyone wants to be around you. You make us all remember what to fight for.”
“I miss them.” I sniffed, feeling the prick of tears in my eyes.
“I know,” he murmured, his lips grazing the back of my shoulder. “I miss mine, too. But when I’m around you, it’s easy to forget all I’ve lost.”
And that was how I fell asleep, with a smile on my lips, thinking of what I had right there in my hands with Xavy. I’d fight like hell to keep it.
Xavy
I woke up to the sound of rustling. I opened my eyes to find Tabitha had turned in my arms in the middle of the night, and she now straddled me, her face smashed into my chest. I’d noticed in the cave she moved often in her sleep and often sprawled over me like a chit. It was one reason I’d locked my arms around her so we both didn’t find ourselves falling out of the flecking tree.
I stretched my toes and remembered about the rustling. I glanced up, expecting to feel a soft breeze wafting through my hair, only to come face to face with a massive feathered beast. I went still as my cora raced an alarm in my chest. I’d heard rumors of the giant briggers called varins who lived on this planet and could snap a limb off with their giant beaks.
I stared into its black beady eyes full of murderous intent while it clacked its curved yellow beak the size of Tabitha’s torso, and I fully believed it could gobble her in two bites. Might take four for me.
For a moment, we sized each other up. The varins probably assessed which part of my body he could peck off first and ingest, while I examined its body for weak points. That was always what I searched for first whenever I took on an enemy. Everything had a weakness. Mine happened to be the sleeping bundle in my arms.
The varins was covered in a thick pelt of oily feathers that glistened a blue-black in the morning sun. It had three feet—two in the back and a larger in front—covered in a scaly skin and topped with razor-sharp claws. The front foot was larger, the claws longer, and had an extra spur in the back.
I’d climbed this tree to get away from as many predators as possible, but I hadn’t accounted for this. The varins blinked at me and lifted its front foot as if to take a step toward me. I stiffened, and Tabitha took that time to wake up. She rubbed her face in my chest, smacking her lips, before pushing her hair out of her face. I didn’t dare lower my gaze to look at her, as the varins had taken its focus off of me and landed it on her.
“Don’t move,” I said softly.
“What?” Her voice was groggy, and she rubbed her eyes.
Before I could stop her, she turned her head, froze when she caught sight of the varins, and then opened up her mouth to let out an ear-splitting scream.
The jungle erupted at the sound. The varins threw back its head and let out a series of whooping calls as it flapped its wings aggressively. Somewhere in the distance, other varins answered. Animals in the underbrush below us skittered away, probably seeking to hide at the sound of what I could only assume was a varins hunting call.
We were the prey.
Tabitha shot her arms over her head and waved her hands at the massive animal. “Shoo!” she shouted. “Go away, fucking vulture.”<
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I was already dragging her away as she taunted the animal that definitely wanted to eat us along with its friends. I didn’t bother climbing down the tree. There wasn’t time. With Tabitha in my arms, still screeching at the bird, I leapt from branch to branch.
Crashing sounds from above us let me know the varins was descending, slamming into leaves and tree parts with its giant wings. Dozens of whooping calls sounded around us, and I knew it was only a matter of time before a flock descended on us. I could fight one varins, but a whole group? I’d be flecked.
I risked a glance up the tree and found another varins had joined our initial enemy, and they bore down on us, beaks open and snapping as they sought a fresh flesh breakfast.
I’d climbed high on purpose, attempting to keep us safe from ground predators, so it was a long way down. My heel glanced off one of the last branches, and I knew in an instant when I couldn’t grab purchase we were going to be going down. Fast. I wrapped my arms around Tabitha and curled into a ball around her huddled form.
The sense of free-falling was disorienting, especially as leaves smacked me on the way down. A nearby branch slashed into my arm and pain streaked up my shoulder. We hit the ground on a slope and tumbled until we came to a stop at the bottom of a ravine.
Varins circled overhead, screaming out their frustrations at being unable to penetrate the dense jungle underbrush to get to us. Their wingspan was too wide, and they’d be rendered flightless down here.
Tabitha groaned beneath me, but I didn’t have time to assess her injuries because the two varins chasing us were either starving or had a death wish. They hit the ground in a flurry of claws and feathers and stalked toward us. I was backed up against a small hill, unable to flee fast on foot. I couldn’t turn my back to them and climb, so I shoved Tabitha behind me and unleashed my machets.
“Come on,” I beckoned with my fingers. “Just a little closer, brigger-brains.”
The smaller of the two came at me first, kicking out with his clawed feet and spurs. I slashed at his feet, severing his front foot, and he screamed an eerie sound that nearly made me cower and cover my ears. Yellow blood spurted from his leg and he hopped around on his back two feet, screaming and clicking his beak in pain.