Amelia and Viza finished filling out the paperwork they could on the station. taking longer than they had planned to stay on the station originally to do so, but now "Clan Ryder" officially existed within Krultathan law, with Amelia as the "Huntress-rank Matriarch" and Viza as her legal mate. During filling out the paperwork, Viza had explained to her many new things about Krultathans, his shyness about the subject slowly waning as they spent more time together. Apparently, Huntress isn't just some odd remark but an actual rank within Krultathan society, with the society itself being a caste system. Huntress-rank matriarchs are about upper-middle of the castes, and Amelia earned this rank by Krultathan law via defeating an Axon, and defeating a Clawbreaker-rank matriarch pushed her to the higher end of the rank. Combined with the fact that she was technically a representative of a race seeking diplomacy and allegiance, allowed her to legally obtain the Huntress rank.

Honestly, it was all a bit confusing but the main point she got out of it was that anyone lower ranked than her could not challenge her, for Viza or anything else, unless they had received a grievous injury from her. And since she came here to forge an alliance rather than piss people off, that shouldn't happen. Eventually, they were able to get another shuttle, and Amelia sat in Viza's lap while they undocked and headed for Krultatha.

"Were your people always like....well, this?" Amelia asked, concern in her voice.

"You mean with the gender hierarchy? Before the dark winter when nuclear weapons were used, perhaps not, at least not as severely. But the radiation affected us. Females became even stronger and larger than before but were rare. Males became a bit stronger too, mind you, but nowhere near as much, and the damage the radiation caused had left conception...difficult. Put simply, our race is dying. Not anytime soon, mind you, but unless we fix the issue with repopulation...eventually we will be no more."

"That's...fuck, I'm sorry Viza, I didn't know," Amelia said in a whisper as she sat in his lap, listening. She felt his tail coil around her waist and moved a hand to pet it gently. His fur was so soft to her touch, it somewhat shocked her as she thought it would be coarse.

"Things are how they are. The past cannot be changed so we have to survive in the now. For my people, this way of life may seem harsh, but it lets us survive. If we had a choice I'm sure many would rather have better lives, but we do not have such a choice now."

"Still, it has to hurt, to see your people like this, knowing how you used to be."

"Amelia, my Huntress, I adore how empathetic you are to my people's plight, but a word of advice. When we get planetside, shut your hearts to what you see. It will eat you alive if you do not." Viza said, leaning his head down to rest against the back of hers as he wrapped his hands around her.

"I...I don't know if I can do that, Viza." Amelia replied, worriedly. How bad must it be for Viza to be so worried about her just being here?

"I know, just promise me you won't act without talking to me while on Krultatha. It is not a place kind to outsiders, and I worry that the reason we are here may...upset some people."

"You mean because of the first contact war, don't you?" She asked. Viza nodded, something she's learning is almost universal among species with heads, either that or everyone on the ship received training for Human expression.

"We aren't the Axon and we aren't the S.A., Viza. If things are really that bad, despite how shitty my species can be, they'll want to help. And not with Krultathans as second-class citizens either. We don't do that anymore, not for a while at least."

Viza didn't respond to that, but Amelia could feel a slight purring behind her, emanating from his chest. Deciding to lighten the dour mood, she changed topics, deciding to learn more about her...Boyfriend? Mate? she wasn't sure just yet how to think about that whole situation. On one hand, she was happy Viza stayed, and even happier that he seemed to feel the same way about her. On the other hand, she was worried it may have been because of the pheromones and if so she'd feel terrible.

"So, that purring thing, is that something you can do on command or is it more unconscious? And can every Krultathan do it?" She asked curiously. They still had a bit before they reached the atmosphere, and everyone else in the group was thankfully pretending to be interested in something else to give them some semblance of privacy in the small shuttlecraft. It was basically a box with wings and an engine after all.

"It is both. I can do it on command so long as I am relaxed, but it can also happen when I am not consciously trying to. Do humans have something similar?" Viza explained before looking at her curiously.

"Um..not really? I've never really thought about it but, maybe laughter. It can happen if we are happy, or from a funny or amusing joke or situation. Or if we are tickled but, that's generally only done between people who are close, and not everyone likes it."

"What is "tickling"? It does not translate." Viza asked, looking at her as if she were a puzzle box that just popped open another part.

"It's... I don't know how to explain it. Certain contact between two people can cause it, and it just makes us laugh uncontrollably. Supposedly it's to build bonds with others as my species is very social but, personally, I don't like it much." She tried to explain. It was one of those things like trying to explain why blue was blue. she knew the science behind it, but that only explained so much.

"I see. I felt much the same way when you asked about my Kivor." He responded with a light chuff.

"Okay, your turn, what's a Kivor, it didn't translate on my side," Amelia said, turning to face him a bit.

"The..tuft of hair, as you called it, on my neck."

"Oh, you mean how it raised up when you got aggressive with that Utha-whatever bitch."

"Well, yes, but it also has another purpose. It..Uhm...signals when we are...what is the human term, 'In the mood.'"

"O-oh. Right, your species has combat as part of...y-yeah, that makes sense."

Viza let out a loud chuff of amusement as Amelia's face suddenly turned beet red.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Have you ever...um..you know?"

"No. I have not taken anyone before. I decided long ago I would not do so carelessly."

"O-oh. So then I'd be" She let the thought trail off as Viza nods in affirmation, an amused look, she thought, still on his face

"Hooh boy. Okay then. N-no pressure when that happens. Just your first 'and' first alien." Amelia said, a bit of panic in her voice causing Viza to wrap tighter around her. In that quiet rumble of a whisper he had, he spoke to her.

"Do not pressure yourself with that, my Huntress. There's no need to force it, it will happen when and if it happens. In our own time, yes?"

Amelia nodded in response, feeling relief wash over herself that things weren't going to suddenly become more intense than she was ready for. She hadn't even dated once after...after Valkyrie.

A slight turbulence let them know they were getting close to the atmosphere of Krultatha as the engines switched over from high space to near space/atmospheric. Looking out the window, Amelia could see the planet Krultatha with 2 moons and a binary sun, both red dwarfs. the planet itself seemed to be mostly desert, with sparse bodies of water and a few forests here and there. The entire southern pole however was a large ocean, easily as large as any of the oceans back on Earth, and seemed to be under heavy cloud cover, likely being the primary source of their weather systems. They were heading further north, towards where a large canyon easily visible from space could be seen.

"That's the Maw of Avri'Karr. An ancient God of the Abyss. It's where my people sought refuge during the Dark Winter. Now, it's home to our capital city, Viztkathur." Viza explained. Soon their view was blocked as plasma erupted from the atmosphere around them and the ship started shaking violently. Amelia had to wonder whether or not it would even hold together as she saw the rest of their group bouncing around their strapped seats while putting on face masks. Before she could ask about it Viza handed one to her to put on as well. Eventually, the plasma gave way to a large, magnificent dessert filled with bluffs and plateaus, suggesting it wasn't very old.

"The sand here is very, very fine. It can get into your breath and cause irreparable damage for most non-Krultathans, so please, keep your mask on. I would rather not find out whether or not you could tolerate Krultatha's punishment." He explained, and Amelia had a thought. Were these desserts the result of their nuclear war?

Soon they came upon the canyon and flew in. She could hear the pilot talking with someone but didn't care enough to listen in on the comms chatter as the Capital city of Krultatha came into view. Her first thought was that it was anti-climatic, a city built into a cave on the wall of the canyon. Once they passed through, however, she realized how wrong she had been. It hadn't been built in a cave, the cave was made for the city! It was easily the size of Ne york inside, with buildings at odd angles built into the walls, into stalactites, into everything. It was so packed in that Amelia couldn't even see streets or roads as everything was either building billowing smoke through leaky piping, warehouses, geothermal generators, or residential areas. The city itself was lit up with countless lights but the one true jewel was further in the back where what she assumed was the high-class area existed. A large dome covered a massive opening in the cave's roof, allowing natural light in to illuminate the area. This was also the area they were heading to, and Amelia had to breathe a sigh of relief. She was relaxed and calm right now, but if they had been heading to the darker parts of the city, she wasn't so sure she would be. Eventually, they landed on a pad near a particularly large building, an Embassy Kixix had told her and headed toward it. It seemed that this trip was not going to be one of exploring the city, as Kixix checked them into the Embassy and booked rooms for them, with strict orders not to leave until called for the meeting with the Queen-Matriarch.

Of course Kixix had them set up in a room together, separated from the rest of the group. The centuries-old mouse was playing a dangerous game. Not that Amelia minded too much, but still. Viza, however, looked delighted, though she wasn't sure if it was because the room was so much larger than he had been on the ship or if it was because they wouldn't be venturing into the city. That thought caused another in Amelia's mind.

'Would Viza be moving into my room on the ship now? would he want to? I don't really like him having to be in that tiny closet of a room they put him in, and the mole is gone so there shouldn't be a reason not to.'

"Hey, Viza?" She started, sitting down on the too-big-for-humans bed.

"Yes?"

"When we get back to the ship, do you wanna move into my room?" She asked, causing Viza's tail to go straight and his ears to as well, a sign she thought was panic so she stammeringly continued. "T-to get you out of t-that tiny room, I-I mean."

She worried she might've upset him especially after he talked about taking their time, but to her surprise, Viza relaxed, turned around, and walked towards her, sitting beside her.

"I am delighted that you are so concerned, but I know you worry about if your scent is affecting me. If we were in the same room constantly, then if your blocker wore off or if my medication did, I'm not sure I would have the willpower to resist." He grabbed her hand gently as he spoke, lightly tracing one of his own fingers in the creases of her hand, before holding it to his maw as if to cup it with her hand. "I would rather our first... I would rather it be with clear heads and want from both of us, rather than due to being bound in biological necessities."

"That's all well and good Viza but, we are kinda stuck in a room together now already."

At this, Viza's adorably romantic gesture faltered as he seemed to just now realize that situation.

"Y-yes, but only for a day. A-and I have enough medication for that at least."

Amelia giggled at his response. "You're adorable, you know."

Amelia said, looking at her blushing Alien boyfriend with a genuine smile. Before she could second guess herself, she quickly took off her mask, leaned forward, and placed a small kiss on the end of his maw. Viza himself was a bit shocked at the sudden sign of affection, stammering.

"W-wasn't that a..."

"A kiss? A small one, yeah. Do Krultathans not kiss? or...Do you...not like it?"

"N-no, not at all! I was just surprised!"

"Well, I mean, legally we have been engaged apparently. And you were just being so cute and adorable, I just couldn't help it."

"A kiss...Humans are strange...but...I like it, I think." Viza said, seemingly thinking about it seriously.

A bit more shyly, Amelia asked, "Would...would you like to try an actual kiss?"

"Um... Sure."

Amelia slowly leaned in towards Viza as he did the same, unsure what to actually do in a kiss as Krultathans didn't really have such a form of intimacy. Letting Amelia take the lead, Viza closed his eyes. Slowly, Amelia edged closer, and closer. Hal even activated his optics to peek at the scene.

Knock, Kock, Knock

Right as they were about to kiss, a loud knocking could be heard at the door, causing both Viza and Amelia to jump, and Amelia accidentally bumped into Viza's maw, causing a lurch of sneezing fits from him and for Amelia to laugh embarrassedly.

Calming down as the knocking continued again, Amelia walked to the door and opened it.

"You better have a...a..uhm..wha." Amelia said, starting to stumble over her words. Viza looked at her in surprise, and then shock As Amelia collapsed in front of the door, revealing two large creatures in void suits.

"What...Amelia?! WHAT DID YOU DO-" Viza panicked, seeing Amelia collapse, and rushed toward the two, screaming in a rage only for everything to go dark. And then, silence as he too lost consciousness.

Being 1- "The Human and Krultathan have been retrieved. No sign of our agent."

Being 2- "he was weak and expendable. Thanks to him, though, we managed to get the two of them away from where the S.A. looks at. Let's hurry, the dust on this planet gives me nightmares.

Being 1 Lifts the bodies and puts them into black bags, the slight rising, and falling of their chests the only indication they are alive.

Being 1- "We are ready, Matriarch Axulana."

Being 2- good, the knockout gas won't keep the building silent for long.

The two beings leave with Amelia and Viza as the entirety of the Embassy building can be seen filled with a noxious green vapor. Climbing into a ship with a rather strange design, they take off before any are the wiser.