Drelloc was relieved beyond words to be done walking for the night. Her legs felt like blocks of lead, her thighs burned and her lungs ached. Even her eyes felt sore, she shook an arm in a negative gesture.

Donner had pushed them at the limits of her paltry endurance. The man was incredible. She had heard and seen the exploits of the other races electronically of course, but never in person nor for this long. He was not even tired, or if he was he was well versed at hiding it.

She found herself wondering internally what other things about him she didn’t know. Humans were the first race in the Union to discover FTL technology, they were well known for both their tenacity and scientific achievement. Their homeworld was a battleground of the highest intensity and their species had undergone multiple extinction level events and survived. Several of them self-inflicted.

She shuddered at the thought of total nuclear annihilation and was glad that her own people were far too reserved to have ever engaged in open conflict on such a scale. Sure there had been minor squabbling and territory wars, but nothing of the sort that littered the history of the more warlike races of the Union. Humanity, the nerivith and the vinarfel came to mind immediately. The three major fighting races in the Union, and now the yeown.

Donner interrupted her thoughts with a strange noise and a flourish. She observed him holding what looked to be one of the strange colorful nutrient bars she had grabbed from the floor of the Valor before its destruction. He made the motion of tossing it to her so she acknowledged, catching the small package out of the air single handed before opening the small processed morsel

She hadn’t even realised how hungry she was until she had seen it in his hands. She quickly consumed the protein rich food and then took another generous swallow of the water from her pouch. She had drank a lot of water that day, and much of it had escaped from her gills as they continually tried to dry out in the merciless heat of the planet. She had slipped out in the middle of the night before to relieve herself and found that she once more had the urge to commune with nature's business.

She looked towards Donner and saw that the man was gone, likely busy setting up the shelter for the night. She shivered and stood, arms wrapping around her core in a bid to stave off the chill that was approaching. She wandered to the far side of the rock and behind an outcropping began to undress. The bodysuits were comfortable, almost reminding her of the pressure of being submerged, but they certainly did get in the way when one felt the urge to go.

After a short while she had finished and dressed, kicking some dirt over the indecent evidence she had left. She turned and hobbled back to where she had been before and was startled by Donner.

“Are you alright?” The man asked, a funny expression plastered across his face. The lopsided expression unfamiliar to her.

She brushed the front of her uniform, dislodging a few specks of dirt that had clung to it. “I am fine. I just needed to move around so my muscles would not stiffen up. I apologise if I alarmed you Donner.” She made an apologetic gesture. He was simply concerned for her well being, a part of her softened at the realisation. The man was likely tired, hungry and cold and his first thoughts were still of her safety. She felt her eyes smiling again.

The man turned from her with a snap, at first alarming her that she might have said the wrong thing. He motioned to her to come and she did as the man grabbed the black survival bag and rounded the corner of the great fallen stone. She had to rush to keep up with his long strides.

She slowed and then stopped as she saw their shelter. It was wedged between two of the large rocks, the walls barely wider than the humans shoulders at head height. Of course it widened a little towards the ground but the space was still limited.

Her heart seized in her chest, it would put her even closer to the man. Could she resist her strange new urges to be close to him when they had no room to be apart? Would she even want to?

“This is it?” She asked him with a note of trepidation in her tone. Thoughts that were not at all professional seam in her mind.

The man didn’t seem nearly as concerned as she. The human man just shrugged and gestured to the small gap, “It was the best I could do in such short notice. Look, we have to use the conservotarp. It just gets too cold otherwise for either of us to make it through the night comfortably. Maybe at all.”

Comfortably? She nearly snorted at the comment. If her other selves internal gibbering was anything to go by the night would be far from comfortable for her. She stepped to the entrance but stopped as she saw the man begin to discard his outer clothing layers. What was he attempting to do? She thought of the night before how he had given her his coat, she nearly shivered in the anticipation of him doing so again.

Instead she simply prodded. “What are you doing?”

“Well, there is not much room inside as it is. I'm removing unnecessary bulk so we can both fit inside.” It made sense what he said. She simply made a shrugging gesture and slipped inside. It seemed like the most prudent action to take and so she took it. Her people were a species of logic, so why was she tingling all over inside when she thought of him being so close to her.

She moved to the far corner of the small shelter, her head nearly brushing both sides of the reflective fabric as it was much narrower than the first night. The ground was cold and as soon as she sat she could feel the chill of it seeping up her legs through the thin fabric of her bodysuit. The air misted slightly as she breathed, the conservotarp only minimally helping to keep her warm. She felt herself begin to shiver slightly as her muscles vibrated in an attempt to keep warm.

She waited impatiently for Donner to climb inside, if for no other reason than it would help to heat the interior. After another tense few moments of miserable shivering the man climbed inside, accompanied by a blast of frigid air. She felt another powerful shiver zap through her like a jolt of electricity making her teeth clatter and her arms shake.

“Well, c-could I borrow your j-jac-ket again-n, Donner?” She looked at the man a bit helplessly. She was pretty sure he would have no problems helping her again, but another tiny part of her wasn’t so sure. She quashed it and watched silently.

To her near immediate relief the man simply nodded. “Of course, one second.”

He undid the magnetic zipper and handed her the garment that Drelloc presently pulled around herself as tight as she could manage. It was still slightly warm from the human’s body heat, that same slightly spicy scent filling the receptors under her head. The strength of the smell making her head spin slightly as she buried herself in the jacket up to her neck.

She still shivered slightly, the jacket was helping but it was still cold, and getting colder. She pulled it tighter around herself and closed her eyes. She tried to block out the moaning of the wind and the fluttering of the tarp. It would only serve to remind her of the danger she was in. At least she had Donner to keep her safe.

She thought about it, she really did feel safer around the man. He was so much younger than she and yet he had deftly taken charge of the situation like an experienced matriarch. He had never hesitated to execute a plan to get them to safety and while she had dispaired he had simply soldiered onwards. Saving her life on at least three separate occasions that she could recall. Likely more.

She took a second to peek at the man in the rapidly dwindling light and was surprised to see that he was rubbing his arms and shivering slightly too. If he was cold then it must truly be bitter cold outside.

She shivered a little and tried to pull the jacket closer. If only she had a way to stay warmer. She felt like yelling in frustration but thought better of it. It would do no good and might worry Donner too much. She snickered to herself as she thought about it. The man seemed so genuinely worried for her safety, she had to believe it was more than just rugged professionalism at this point. No, he had to feel something for her, but how would she find out for sure?

As she thought it the man spoke up, making her open her eyes again. “Drelloc, I have an idea. It may seem a bit unprofessional at first, but I assure you I am only thinking of your personal well being.”

She perked up slightly, whenever he had an idea things seemed to generally improve for her. She listened, not saying a word as she waited to hear what miraculous new invention the man’s strange alien mind had concocted.

He seemed to hesitate, as if he wasn't quite sure of himself. That was a bit unusual, the only times she had seen the man in a similarly uncomfortable state were when it had involved her. She froze, several ideas running through her mind, most of them far too preposterous to even suggest.

Donner seemed to swallow heavily and then nodded slightly. “I know this sounds a bit unorthodox to you as you don't have nearly as much field experience as you might like. But in survival training when it would get really cold, sometimes members of a squad would huddle for warmth..”

Drelloc’s eyes opened all the way, even her smaller secondaries widening as the man’s suggestion echoed in her head. She felt her body seem to warm in spite of the cold, the tingling feeling that had assailed her before intensifying as her breathing quickened slightly. What was happening to her? She wasn't a hormone riddled spawn anymore, she was a mature and logical female. Not prone to spurious bouts of flagrant emotion.

Donner continued after a moment, his eyes intently looking into her own. Those dark pits seemed like wells into the dark void itself. She felt for a moment as if she could fall into them and never see the light of day again. And a small part of her was shocked that she didn’t seem to mind the prospect. “I am getting cold too. If we are going to make it through the night with any semblance of warmth I think it may be the only valid option. We have nothing to burn, the wind will pull the heat away from the shelter as fast as we can fill it.”

She spoke up, cutting the man off as he paused for breath. “And so our only option is to put our two bodies together for warmth?” She saw him nod slowly, that human motion so unlike her own hand gestures. But she found that she was starting to get used to it. She could read him a little now, and what she saw was a male that was unsure of their own self.

She continued, a little of her own curious desire entering her tone as she accepted what was about to happen. “Well then, I suppose if it is our only course of action. Then it must be done, for the good of the mission.”

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Her people were not exactly a carnal species, not in the same manner as others with more intimate habits. But she could understand the feelings that came from finding a partner or mate, at least in some measure. And strangely this human was causing her to feel such thoughts, her mind echoing with thoughts of secluded pools and damp caverns where she might lay her own eggs.

She pushed them away, she had not even seen if the man felt about her as she did for him. It had been only days and yet she found that she had feelings for Donner that she had never before felt for another in her life. Not as a spawn or a youth, and certainly not as a mature adult.

She hunched and half stood from her seated position, her forwards facing eyes locked on the man as she crept slowly closer to him. She felt her body shiver as the jacket fell open slightly, though whether it was from the chill or the almost magnetic pull she was feeling towards the alien she couldn't be sure. What she did understand was that he had offered for her to get close and warm herself with his body, and it would be rude to refuse such an offer certainly.

She wasn’t sure about the man’s culture and for all she knew the declaration of closeness was tantamount to marriage. But she felt that it was most likely at least based on some desire to comfort her. And so she moved to the man.

She felt a smile crinkle the skin of her face as the man edged a little closer towards her as well. Surely he felt the desire to be close to her too, and for more reasons than shared warmth.

She reached him, their legs so close they might as well be touching. She stopped and once more looked at the alien man’s strange face. His human features constantly shifting in the slightest ways, it almost made him look as though he were screaming his emotional distress out at the top of his lungs. But for his own people the signs must have been terribly subtle.

The man coughed slightly and then asked, “So.. um. How do you want to do this.” She nearly snorted. What an absolute dolt, she decided that if he was still not going to take the initiative then she would have to be the one to do so.

With an expression of delighted anticipation she reached out and grabbed the man’s shirt with two of her arms. She smiled again as a small gasp escaped his lips when she pulled him to her body. “I assume that we press close together?” She could feel him shaking ever so slightly, the sensation of another being in such close proximity sparking feelings she didn't even know she could feel

The man made a few startled noises in quick succession and she chuckled quietly. From what she knew of humans their males tended to be the ones to initiate advances in relationships and so her upfront manner might have been jarring to him. But they needed to get warm, and she was cold. Why would she hang back and wait for him to get comfortable when she was already this close?

She felt his body heat, he was cooler than she. But not terribly so. She released his shirt and shifted slightly, her two front arms working their way around his back. Her hands feeling his taunt muscles as they shifted beneath his shirt. He was so dense, she felt as though she could have broken a steel rod across his shoulders. No wonder he had such ridiculous levels of endurance, his entire body seemed built from the ground up to support his legs and back. Every single muscle anchoring itself to another till his entire form was seemingly made from corded steel.

She heard him ask suddenly, his voice low and a little slower than normal. “What are you.. doing?” She glanced up towards his face but she couldn't see it very well from her current position.

Instead of answering immediately she squeezed him, her arms trying to pull her closer to his body as if by their own accord. She didn't mind though, she was exactly where she wanted to be, her head pressed against his chest. “I don't really know.” Was all she could think to say.

She listened to his breathing, her eyes closing for a moment as she heard something else. “I can hear the beat of your heart. It's so fast, what does that mean, Donner?” His heart was beating a dancing rhythm against his ribcage, if she held very still she could almost imagine she could feel it. The pulse of his lifeblood through his veins.

She leaned backwards slightly, loosening her hold on him slowly as if afraid he would attempt to escape her. She looked up into his eyes. Those strange blue and black orbs, his dark pupils opening slightly as he looked at her. Almost as if he were subconsciously trying to see more of her, and in the dim twilight that might have been exactly the case.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt him place his large hands on her shoulders, two of them at least. She trembled as his hands slowly moved down her body, sparking sensations almost like electricity following his fingers as he settled them on her sides. He spoke softly, his lips parting as he looked at her intently. “It means..”

She reached up towards his face with one of her other arms. Cupping his cheek in the palm of one hand. His face was hot, much hotter than the rest of him. His color had slowly changed as she had gotten closer to him, she wondered what it meant. Humans didn't have chromatophores so it must be an upwelling of blood beneath the skin. She recalled seeing something similar happen to a nerivith soldier one time when they were berated by a superior, was he embarrassed or angry?

She wasn’t sure what he was feeling, they were too different. But she knew what she was feeling. A deep care for this man that bordered on something more. She caressed his cheek, the shape of his face fascinating to her, she felt his chin and pressed on the tip of his nose.

He snorted and shook his head, chuckling. “Okay, now what are you doing?”

Drelloc waved a hand in a smile. “I am looking at your face obviously. I haven't had the chance to look at it as intently as I was wanting to.. earlier.” She trailed off as she ran her fingers through his hair. So unlike the millions of tiny filaments that covered her body, instead this was long and thick. Nearly like fur except that it almost felt too coarse for that.

She heard him sigh as she ran her hands through his hair, it must be some sort of sensitive spot for his kind. She stopped and his eyes opened almost immediately again, a look that she could only describe as predatory in them as his pupils narrowed to dots in the near darkness.

He shifted after a moment and then looked away. “We should get to sleep, Drelloc. We will need to wake early if we are going to make it through the beachhead in one day. And trust me, from what I have heard we do not want to have to spend the night in that festering hole.”

She understood what he was talking about. The beachhead had been the sight of the horrific first landings on the world. The attackers had assaulted the incredibly heavily defended world and chosen what they had determined to be the weakest point. Twenty thousand troops were killed in the first hour of the assault alone, a terrifying number that marked one of the worst so far in the war. The numbers had only mounted in the ensuing days as the defenders fought for every centimeter of ground with the ferocity of cornered animals.

She put the grim thoughts out of mind as she pulled herself close to the man again. “Well, I know you can’t sleep upright like me. I suppose we will be laying down then?”

Donner laughed, the sound making her smile. “Yes, I apologise that I hadn’t even thought of that. Uh, how is this going to work? I guess, here..” He scooched towards the rear of the shelter where the ground began to slope and propped himself against the angled ground, she released him as he moved away. He put his arms out to her and smiled. “Hop on in.. if you want?” He spoke uncertainly.

She shook her arms in a disapproving way, not for his invitation. That she gladly accepted. But for his reluctance to act on his own emotions, she was sure now that he felt for her in at least some manner similar to herself. She moved over and allowed herself to tilt over onto her side, plopping down beside him with a slight grunt of displaced air.

He had an arm around her shoulders and another resting aimlessly on his own chest. That would not do, she pulled him over towards her, the man protesting slightly till he seemed to understand what she was doing. “Stop thrashing you dolt. I am trying to get comfortable, as much as I can with my head on the dirt anyways.”

He shifted to face her and pulled one of the sleeves of the jacket so that it was under her head. “There, off the dirt now right?” He chuckled as she made a slight grumbling noise. In reality she was pleased but wouldn't admit it so soon.

She used another of her arms to drape the jacket over them while pulling Donner closer to her and wrapping him up. “I think that we should make it through the night now.”

He nodded, the tip of his chin reading against her head as he hugged her back. “Yes, I suppose we will.” he chuckled again and she felt herself smiling as the tingling in her body grew again. Her head was resting against his chest just under his head and she could hear the slowing beat of his heart as he seemed to relax. That was good, she was worried he might have remained too alarmed to sleep, that would have been a problem. She closed all eight of her eyes in the darkness, instead letting his scent and sound lull her off into sleep.

For too long she had been alone, all night every night. Her species was a more solitary one after all, but not entirely without social needs. She found his closeness a healing balm, his slow breathing calming poetry to her mind as she listened to the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

She was in bliss. He did care for her, he must. Tomorrow she would get to the bottom of it, but for now she would rest. Her body relaxed even in its uncomfortable position as she slowly fell asleep. Warmer and more at ease than she could remember being in decades despite the screaming of the wind outside the thin walls of their shelter.

**********

Donner awoke feeling strangely giddy, then he remembered what had happened last night and looked down. He smiled as he saw Drelloc, the alien woman’s suited arms still wrapped around his chest.

His feet were a little cold he noticed, uncovered as they had been. But all in all he was doing much better than he would have expected for a night on Minasdee in an improperly secured shelter.

He shifted and heard a small grunt from Drelloc as she stirred. He saw one of her eyes open, the red orb looking around until it alighted on his smiling features. Almost immediately he felt her hug him a little tighter, her other eyes opening to look up into his own.

He brushed a hand down her back again, “Good morning Drelloc.”

He saw her eyes crinkle in the manner that approximated a smile for her own people. She made a low coughing sound, her lipless mouth contracting slightly as she cleared her throat. “A good morning it is. I wanted to thank you again for..” She trailed off, almost seeming to be embarrassed.

He pulled back from her embrace with a little difficulty. She didn't seem to want to let go of him but she did so reluctantly. There had to be more to it than simple gratitude, but he was hesitant to breach the bond he felt growing between them. He nodded to her and then turned his head away as he thought about the way she had looked at him the night before. He wasn't an expert on alien facial expressions, but he could have sworn he saw more than simple appreciation in her red eyes.

He cleared his throat and stood as much as he could in the cramped confines of the shelter. “I am going to get started on breakfast. Would you be willing to take down the shelter again?”

Drelloc pushed herself up and got her own legs under her as her eight eyes stared out in every direction. He saw the six he could see focus on him, primaries and secondaries. He suppresses a small shiver of unease at the sight, she might be alluring in her own strange way but the sight of so many eyes was still a little too strange to him. The nerivith, slaaveth, atraxses, swanith and vinarfel all had only two eyes like humanity. Goodness, even the mysterious umraghj and the enigmatic jeseo had only two eyes as well.

He thought about it, in fact the xeiro’filk were the only other species yet discovered with more than two eyes, and they were not even a part of the Union due to their very primitive nature. They had been labeled as a conservation planet until such a time as they could be trusted with advanced technologies.

He had to shake his head as the tangent thoughts made him miss her reply. “I am sorry, my head is a bit foggy still. You said yes?”

Drelloc seemed to express mild discontent before she repeated herself. “Yes, but I might need help with the stones you threw across the top of the boulder.”

He just gave a slight chuckle. “Ah, right. I will go and untie them and then get started on breakfast. Out of curiosity, have you ever had frine eggs before?” She made a negative gesture and he smiled. “Oh, then I have an idea for breakfast today.” He chuckled internally at what he had to assume was her confused expression. He was starting to understand her strange facial features better and better, the way she would wrinkle the skin around her eyes was every bit as expressive as his own brow. Just different, alien.