“So yeah, that just about sums it up!” Alice concluded tearfully between gulps of air and sips of booze, brushing her disheveled hair out of her face for the umpteenth time. Her chocolate eyes were wet with tears. “I’ve been stuck on this high tech tin can for months with nothing to do. I’ve been amusing myself by chatting up a Ghaelen. And through it all I’m just waiting for Natori to call me up to the bridge or his office or whatever and tell me my brother is officially gone!” Her voice cracked at that word and she gave up, unwilling to devote her throat to anything other than the necessary acts of drinking and breathing for the time being. Yvonne looked sorrowfully at her husband.
“Oh Alice, I am so sorry my dear,” she replied genuinely, turning her attention back to the young woman. She had been consoling Alice throughout with a soft arm across the shoulders. Her other hand held the cognac that Gerard had poured for them. She’d not allowed any sort of bingeing, but always had the glass ready when Alice felt she needed it most. A small voice in the back of Winters' mind made a note to thank her when it was all over. She wiped another tear from her eyes as Gerard stood stiffly and with purpose. “And where are you going, mon loup?” Yvonne demanded quietly, her voice steely soft.
“I am going to give this Admiral of ours a piece of my mind, ma chatounette!” Gerard declared defiantly, his moustache animated in seeming proportion to his righteous anger. “I respect Admiral Kaczynski a great deal, but this? What was he thinking?!”
“Gerard,” Yvonne said slowly and deliberately, rubbing slow circles across Alice’s back. “You will do no such thing. You will sit here with me and our dear guest, Alice. We will talk, cry, and hopefully laugh by the time the night is through. And when you and I are no longer needed here, we will both be speaking with Natori. Is that clear? Now please sit, mon cher.”
Gerard took a couple deep breaths before returning to his seat just across from the two women. “Forgive me, ma chérie.”
“Always, Gerard. You think I do not love this passion about you, this desire to set things right? For now though you should be here,” Yvonne advised sweetly. He smiled at her.
“You know, in Natori’s defense,” Alice sniffled. “It’s not like he waited until I was aboard to tell me. I knew and still decided to go. I just…thought I could handle it!” She cried, retreating to Yvonne’s shoulder again. “I’m not normally like this…this crying mess of a girl and all, it’s just that-”
“Shhh now my dear, please. You need not justify yourself to us. You love him very much, don’t you?” Yvonne guessed, hardly a leap of faith.
“He’s my best friend,” Alice whispered. "Even when he was getting in fights with my boyfriends back in school."
Yvonne and Gerard picked up on the reminiscence and ran with it, hoping to carefully navigate the conversation. "He wanted to protect you?" Gerard ventured, joining in the consumption of booze before pouring his wife her share.
"Maybe. I think he also just wanted to fight. One time he drove away a guy I actually thought could be something more than a casual date. There was shouting and yelling at home that night and I ended up crying in my room. Oh, thank you." Alice paused to accept a sip of water before continuing, the fuzziness of the alcohol allowing memories to flow freely. "When I finally had it all out and got up I found him sitting outside my door in his stupid torn up band shirt and black jeans and...ugh, he's come a long way since then. But he just stood up and hugged me, told me he was sorry."
"And things changed?" Yvonne asked, a motherly glint in her eyes. Alice sighed and shook her head.
"I wish it had been enough, but not really. He didn't fight with my boyfriends anymore but...it took the jumper corps to actually get him back to a good place. Turns out that guy ended up cheating on his next girl though, so I got something out of it at least, right? There was something about that time though. I guess Russell just fundamentally understood that he'd hurt me, you know? Even when he was furious with our parents for sending him to basic or struggling with something…I don't know. We always seemed to have something else apart from all that. We would talk for hours whenever he came home. It was like watching him turn into a man right before my eyes."
Yvonne reached out and took Alice's hand. "I think all boys need to find their way in life a little differently, to understand what it means to be the stronger and more thickheaded of the sexes. Your brother sounds fortunate to have had you. We have two boys ourselves, you know?"
"Little demons they were!" Gerard interjected happily, clearly experiencing fond memories of his young children.
"They were a bit rambunctious," Yvonne agreed, glancing to the side to ensure they had Alice's attention. The young woman was listening politely. Her tone had marginally improved when speaking of the past, but there seemed to be a sense of relief in not having to be the one talking for the time being. Yvonne continued. "The older one would always pick on his brother after he hit puberty. It was nothing serious, but we tried to warn him. We always said 'someday your brother will be taller and stronger than you, Emmanuel'. I'm not sure he ever truly believed it until it happened."
"Charles ended up as a bit of a gentle giant," Gerard confirmed. "We were not actually there when the two of them finally came to blows, as they were both teens at the time, but one day those years of sibling feuding snapped. Charles had finally had enough. We came home to a frantic daughter, a regretful younger son, and a rather chastised oldest boy with a broken, bleeding nose."
"Little brothers always seem to grow up way too big. It was definitely a strange feeling when Russell passed me in height," Alice added with a wan smile. "What happened to your sons?"
"They are the closest of brothers!" Yvonne declared with unabashed pride. "We are still so proud of them for their reconciliation. It's comforting to know that when Gerard and I depart this mortal plane that they will have one another and their sister."
"How are you two so bloody perfect?" Alice asked ruefully. "I really mean that in the best way possible, you know."
Gerard and his wife looked appreciatively at one another, as if searching for some outward sign of those perfections. Eventually he stroked his moustache and spoke again. "Alice, we have made more than our share of mistakes in life."
"Am I going to hear about one of them?" She asked bravely, likely on account of the alcohol which Yvonne was now commanding and mostly consuming herself. After so many tears, Alice was finding that water suited her better.
"I suppose we did drop that one," Yvonne mused. "Alice, I'm afraid there is not much to that story. This pretty little thing approached us at a...what was it Gerard?" She asked, waving her free hand about as she tried to recall the specifics.
"A dinner at one of my conferences, darling. This one was in Zurich I believe."
"Yes, thank you. Anyway, I'm not sure if it was us or her but it became clear rather quickly what she wanted. She believed us amenable to the idea and we proved her correct. The next five years were a wonderfully exciting time in many ways."
"Five years?!" Alice spluttered animatedly. "You two were having sex with some girl together for five years?"
"It was all consensual, Alice," Gerard clarified.
"Yeah but...damn that's a lot of sex," Alice whispered.
"Oh come now, my dear," Gerard exclaimed. "A pretty, intelligent thing like you? Surely-"
"Nope nope, not talking about it. We're definitely going to keep talking about you two and your wild swinging past and we're definitely going to avoid this ridiculous dry spell I've been on since college and...okay, I believe I've had more than enough to drink, thank you," Alice concluded, her face turning beet red as Gerard and Yvonne couldn't help a chuckle.
"What an unfortunate loss for the young men of the world. But as you wish, Alice. My wife has the right of it though; there is not much to tell. We were all happy...until we were not."
The small cabin fell silent as Gerard looked past the two ladies to the viewport just above the bed. The evening Paris skyline winked back at them. "What do you mean?" Alice asked. Yvonne answered for them, her tone nothing but remorseful.
"I suppose the best way I can describe it is that one day our partner woke up and found herself alone. She had no male companion her own age in her life and no children. There was a particularly heated conversation shortly thereafter and we never heard from her again. I fear we prevented her from finding the happiness Gerard and I have experienced in life."
"I...that seems a bit rude though, doesn't it?" Alice eventually said once she'd processed the concept of being an older couple's long term plaything. She felt neither envious nor uncomfortable as she instead related to the biological clock ticking inside every woman. Gerard spoke up.
"At that point, Alice, it did not matter who was right or wrong. We were her elders, so to speak, the responsible party. A clean break was probably necessary for her."
"No, I don't...I don't think that's totally right. Look I'm not saying I understand," Alice added quickly, raising her hands and waving them about energetically. "It's just that, you were all adults...right?"
"Ha! Fear not, dear Alice. We were all well above the age of consent," Yvonne confirmed.
"Well then she shouldn't have blamed the two of you! You just let her go, right? It's not like you kept her chained in your basement and...no wait, please don't answer that! I'm just saying that clearly she could walk away at any time. The two of you let her go, no questions asked, right? Then how is it fair for this woman to suddenly turn around and hold the two of you responsible for where she found herself in life? That's just playing the victim!"
"Ah, you are very sweet. Thank you chérie," Yvonne replied sweetly, hugging Alice tightly to her for a moment. "At this point though it is all in the past. Even if we were not the only ones at fault we do not look back on those days with relish or pride. Maybe in a different time or place things would have been better. But that is all academic, as my dear husband is wont to say."
"What I certainly will say is that I admire your passion, young Alice," Gerard told her. "You are a fine drinking partner, but I am truly sorry it had to happen under such circumstances."
"I'm sorry too," Alice replied morosely. "It seems a crime to waste alcohol on something sad when you're light years away from any sort of resupply. Well, I guess there are the nanofabricators but those can't get anything right when it comes to good food."
"Think nothing of it. Did you at least find some enjoyment in it?" Yvonne asked hopefully. Alice stood and retrieved the bottle from the small common table within the cabin.
"You know, I've never been a fan of hard stuff but once you get past the initial burn and all the crying it was...oh...oh my God. Yvonne, Gerard, this bottle is older than I am!"
"But of course, Alice! Why waste space on a ship like this with subpar cognac?" Gerard replied as though the answer was obvious. Yvonne laughed politely, resting her fingers on her lips.
"Gerard, you tease!"
"Nonsense! Only the best for you, Yvonne!"
"I...really you two didn't need to," Alice cut in with a guilty voice.
"Nonsense again!" Gerard declared loudly. "Alice, us men and women of learning need to support one another, no?"
"But this is...really expensive, right?" Alice asked hesitantly, thinking about her own mediocre salary from Beta's civilian research division.
"Alice, if you would like to depart for the night we understand fully. We know this is a trying time. But if not, perhaps you can regale us with some of your work on the pacified worlds?" Yvonne suggested. "I think both of us would enjoy hearing about them in return."
"You, really? Not like the military engagements and stuff but the actual aliens?"
"Is that so strange?" The husband queried.
"I guess so, Gerard? I had to get a ridiculous set of security clearances to talk to various individuals within Delta and then my paper had to be run by both Ghaelen and human censors. The point is, other than a few pictures and vids most people only know about the aliens of the pacified worlds as a passing curiosity or as an opposing force that we crushed. But look at these, aren't they so cute?!" Alice demanded, pulling her tablet out of her bag and flipping through images until she arrived at one that featured an industrial, desert landscape, with factories, homes, and city infrastructure integrated into the rocky surface of the planet. In the foreground were two cloaked figures of a reptilian nature.
"I suppose cute could be the operative word," Yvonne said hesitantly. "Which planet is this?"
"Kerak. It's one or two stars from the Ghaelen side of the neutral space between our species. You two ever play dungeons and dragons?" Gerard and Yvonne looked at one another with raised brows. "Kobolds?" Alice tried again, to no reaction. "Well great, now my inner nerd is showing. Anyway, under those cloaks are warm blooded lizard type things. All of their nations can be traced back to an individual founding clan and most of their civilization is below ground. From what I understand they were in the middle of a war over water resources when we showed up. They don't walk fully upright; they've got these long, heavy tails for balance. I'm not sure if it's nutrient or water storage or something else. I'm sure you can tell I've never been there myself and the soldiers I spoke to weren't exactly interested in the purpose of a four foot tall lizard morph's tail."
"My word, we were sent to pacify these things? They're so small!" Yvonne said in shock. Alice smiled.
"We did, but it's one of my favorite stories of those worlds. Some planets had species that needed to lose entire armies or manufacturing centers before they got the point. These little fellows, who for now are also called the Kerak since we don't really have a full understanding of their language, were more amenable to peace thanks to some interesting maneuvers on our part. I'm sure you've all seen the vids."
"It was that female juggernaut, no? Commander Lavinaga?" Gerard recalled. "Quite the show that was. I daresay, you yanks and your flags."
"Hey, they stopped the war without a single shot. Let us have the flag!" Alice countered good naturedly before developing a cynical expression. "Besides, the Ghaelen oversee that planet now. Alpha had barely started communicating with something other than pictographs when the system was locked down."
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"You are not trusting of our partners?" Yvonne asked, not putting any emphasis or meaning behind that description of the Ghaelen. Alice's passion immediately bubbled back to the surface.
"Some partners they are. Do we really owe them anything if the only reason they uplifted us was to use us as shock troops? Besides, this whole cessation treaty rubs me the wrong way. It's supposed to be a study, but the Ghaelen won't share detailed data from the worlds they oversee. They just say there's no conflict and that's that. We're supposed to be studying how forced pacification affects alien societies! How are we supposed to fully understand the implications of what we've done with only three worlds to study? What if Kerak populations grow but they still have the same amount of water? Those antler brains didn't even do anything! Ugh, I swear to God, if we don't tell them all to fuck off the moment we have enough dreadnaughts to defend Sol...I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"Do not stop on my account, Alice. I can assure you we share the same sentiments. I do not hold any ill will towards the Ghaelen personally, but I am quite tired of our being treated as a less than equal partner," Gerard replied.
"It is as she says, Gerard. All of that will change once our fleet is of substantial size. The Ghaelen have no military history, military manufacturing base, or taste for combat," Yvonne ticked off her points one by one. "It is only a matter of time."
"That doesn't mean they aren't hiding things from us, Yvonne. We still do not have an account of their full fleet strength or the number of colonies they possess. As Alice says, for all we know they could be colonizing or evangelizing those worlds instead of observing them."
"I'm pretty sure that if your species is individualistic enough to go to war, you don't need to worry much about the Order," Alice added. "Though I'll admit Qul'Roth is nice enough for what he is. They think they're doing the right thing, you know? They just aren't. Besides, if we turn around and conquer them we're just as bad."
"I still eagerly await the day the Ghaelen council demands we halt a conflict somewhere in the galaxy and we say no," Gerard concluded proudly. Both women nodded.
"We owe the Ghaelen a lot," Alice acknowledged. "But they're not partners. I don't think they ever will be. We should just be thankful they decided to uplift us instead of enslave us."
"Ah, as with politics, galactic relations are ever complicated and difficult," Yvonne admitted. "Are you feeling a bit better, Alice?"
The young woman spent a moment taking stock of her emotions. "This has helped a lot. Thank you both so much. It won't take the pain away but it's been really nice not spending a night alone thinking about him."
"Then join us again tomorrow night," Gerard insisted. "Perhaps we can speak of my own work?"
"Show off," Yvonne teased, slapping her husband playfully on the knee, though Alice proved more than amenable.
"I'd like that. Shall we meet in the mess hall?" She suggested.
"Very good. How does 19:00 sound?"
"That's great. Thank you both. I'll take my leave now and get cleaned up. Seriously, thank you," Alice repeated. The French couple stood together and saw her to the door.
"Anytime, Alice. As we said our home is always open, such as it is," Yvonne confirmed. "And thank you for confiding in us. We understand how hard it must be to open up about such things."
"Fret not, young Alice," Gerard picked up for his wife. "The hunt continues, and we will find him one way or another. And when the time comes you will of course be welcome here."
Alice looked down at her feet, humbled by such generosity from a couple she barely knew. "I...that means a lot. Have a good evening Gerard, Yvonne." With that Alice shook their hands, receiving a kiss on each cheek from Yvonne before departing for the tube station. The older couple looked at one another, their faces hardening as their 'parental' duties were concluded.
"Now, mon loup, I believe you intend to pay Admiral Kaczynski a visit?" Yvonne asked with thinly veiled rage.
"With you at my side, of course, ma chatounette," Gerard confirmed.
"Perfect. I have a few choice words for him as well." The two of them started walking once they felt they'd given Alice enough time to reach the tube station and depart their sector of the ship. "Do you think we will find her brother, Gerard?"
"As I said, ma chérie, the hunt continues."
-----
Winters signaled with his hand to Veera as they silently split up, bow clenched tightly in his gauntleted fist. His heart had been beating quickly for hours as they engaged in their first big game hunt since leaving the village over four cycles prior. Veera had not been keen on the idea, but a confluence of factors had forced their hand. The first and most pressing was their dwindling food supply, no longer sufficient to be refilled with the trapping of small game or foraging. Second was the fact that after more than two months of trekking they were about to leave the forests of Mara behind for hills and grasslands, something that Io had warned them about throughout the journey in respect to the track of the river and the suitability of her hunting assist program. Finally, and most distressingly for Veera, Fenrir was maturing at an incredible pace.
The young hyrven had grown to the size of a mature husky and showed little sign of stopping. His bumbling, childhood walk had turned into the practiced footfalls and gait of a predator species. His clumsy play with bones, sticks, and chasing of minor animals had turned to pouncing attacks on unsuspecting inanimate objects, games of tug of war with Veera and strips of leather, dalliances into the forest for hours at a time, and full on wrestling matches with Winters. The pup had learned well to keep his teeth to himself thanks to the human's tough love approach, but neither of the 'parents' could deny it any longer. Fenrir was growing up and needed to be taught to hunt.
Winters gave his wife a confident final glance and a thumbs up, hoping to calm her emotions as they moved to corner the chesko they'd been tracking. Without the Aegis, Winters and Veera had been forced to rely on their senses and what little experience they'd both gained from hunting during the short time they'd been together. There had been false trails, changes in the wind, and simple bad luck over the past week, but they could feel it in their guts. That day they would get a chance at a kill. Winters rhythmically squeezed and relaxed his grip on his bow as he watched every footfall, placing his feet deliberately and as quietly as he could. He envied Veera, who moved with natural grace he was simply incapable of, her tail balancing her as she stalked between trees and around the budding undergrowth of the forest with Fenrir at her side.
Come on. Come on! Winters implored, his eyes constantly flicking from tree to tree as different sight lines opened and closed based on his position. Seil was setting, lengthening the shadows as the forest danced around them. It was as though Valta herself was nearby, delighting in the sport of nature's oldest game.
For minutes more they moved and stalked, trusting one another to be nearby when the time came. Just as the sounds of dusk began to fill the air sound them, Winters saw something. Throwing himself against the nearest tree he removed his visor, activated Io, and held the device out just past the curve of the trunk.
'Talk about a rude awakening, sir. Yes, target sighted. It's a large male, possibly on the older side. It's grazing for now. Nicely done in the stalking department, I suppose. Do watch the horns would you? One of them is broken and appears quite jagged. It would be quite the ignominious end to bring down an ursae just to be gored by a chesko,' the AI advised, saving more desirable banter for when the hunt was through. With a silent nod of thanks Winters replaced his visor and put a bit of tension into his bowstring. He had his sidearm as well, but didn't want to expend ammunition unless absolutely necessary. Taking a deep breath, the HEL Jumper pivoted to take aim, only to find that events had proceeded apace during his preparation.
"Veera!" He shouted as an arrow flew from his right and embedded itself in the chesko's shoulder, earning a shriek of fear and pain from the animal as Fenrir's nature took over and compelled the young male forward. "Shit!" Winters cursed as the chesko reacted to the charging hyrven, making a follow up shot impossible. The prey animal reared up as Fenrir approached and leapt for the throat. He was batted away by the creature's front legs and unable to get a firm hold. Fenrir yelped and rolled away, barely avoiding being crushed as the chesko's hooves slammed back onto the ground.
"Russell!" Veera cried back as she loosed another arrow, this one sailing wide of the moving target that seemed ready to gore Fenrir with its horns, perhaps associating the hyrven with the pain in its flank. The fear was palpable in the Cauthan's voice as Winters threw his bow to the ground and drew his knife, charging the massive creature as his adrenaline deployed and granted him that fleeting feeling of invincibility.
Veera called out to him again as he surged forward, his yells distracting the chesko from the solitary hyrven before it. Now faced with two predators, one of which was quite the abnormality on Mara, it hesitated a split second before deciding to flee. With the scent of blood in the air, Fenrir was up and growling immediately, barking and jumping quickly to block the animal's path of escape, much to the abject terror of his adoptive mother. His father however was much more impressed.
"Good boy!" Winters bellowed as he drew close, his boots pounding on the soft earth and the bushes tearing and scraping at his limbs as he sprinted within striking distance. The chesko bellowed indignantly, turning its antlers towards Winters as the human planted his lead foot and launched himself into the air, playing the role of the second 'hyrven' in Fenrir's 'pack' as he reached out with his left arm. Winters' armored fingers curled around part of the chesko's antlers in a firm grip. Locking the joints of his arm and making the limb as rigid as possible, Winters arrested the movement of the chesko's head and stabbed deep for the heart with his knife. Fenrir, not wanting to be left out, took the opportunity to leap for the open neck again, his claws and teeth finding purchase as the young predator bit and tore, rewarded with the taste of warm blood for his efforts.
The chesko bucked and jumped in a final, desperate attempt to stave off death, throwing Winters onto his back as Io screeched about how he was every inch an idiotic barbar. Fenrir was similarly flung aside, tumbling through the underbrush with a yip as the chesko staggered a few paces toward him. The hyrven was saved from a doomed pact as Veera joined in, striking fast and true with her spear to deliver a deathblow to the heart, her feathers spread wide and shaking with fear and protective instinct. As the beast collapsed and Winters sat upright, he could only imagine what Ratha would think of their animalistic, brutish hunt as Veera slit the chesko's throat and Fenrir pounced a final time, ensuring that his mother definitely killed dinner. She was breathing heavily, resting her hands on her knees as her tail whipped back and forth. She barely looked towards him as he walked up next to her, hoping to calm her panic.
"Hey momma, we did it, it's over," Winters said reassuringly, placing a hand on Veera's shoulder as she shook and inhaled deeply. In a flash she was on her feet and hugging him tightly. "Oh my boys! You foolish, brave boys! The hunters definitely don't do it like this!" She cried, having feared for a brief moment she might have to bear witness to Fenrir being trampled or Winters being stabbed. The hyrven looked up at them both curiously, his muzzle stained crimson as he perhaps wondered why his pack wasn't joining him for a meal.
'At least you didn't have to ride shotgun!' Io agreed, finally appearing on Winters' visor now that the hunt was concluded and he wouldn't mind the distraction. Like Veera she was panting heavily and her hair was disheveled, blonde strands falling in front of her vibrant green eyes. 'The reaction is quite different when we don't have all that armor, isn't it?' She wondered, the visceral fear of losing her partner or herself mixing with the already potent collection of biological responses to a pack hunt. 'Could you at least wait until you get the rest of the Aegis back!?'
"Sorry about that," Winters replied with a grin, feeling the cold shakes as his body calmed itself and returned to a more normal baseline of hormones and heart rate. He was used to it and forced it down, allowing the feeling to flow through him and dissipate. "I'm alright, girls."
"Girls?!"
"Wife and very mature AI! Now let's get this party started before dark really falls, alright? Otherwise Fenrir is going to be too fat to move and we'll have a rotting chesko on our hands."
"No," Veera insisted, holding him tighter. "Just wait a moment." Winters smiled and brought a hand up to gently stroke her feathers as he felt her heartbeat against his, slowly calming as she realized everything was going to be alright.
'Processing standby telemetry data now,' Io advised in the meantime. 'The location of our camp and gear is here, sir.'
"Understood. Veera?"
"I know, Russell. I'll get started on a fire and do what I can."
"Good. Keep Fenrir here with you and I'll leave my pistol too."
"As you say, love." Veera licked his cheek lovingly, tasting sweat and Winters. "The goddesses will bless us with their light tonight. Be safe on your journey, you big, stupid, noble human."
"Wait until Ratha hears about this one," Winters laughed.
"She won't believe you stabbed a chesko while hanging from its antlers. But I will. Now go, love. As you say, time is wasting."
"Love you too, Veera." Winters knelt down and beckoned to Fenrir. "Hey you, damn good job out there today. Just try not to make your mother worry, yeah?"
The hyrven turned from the chesko carcass and looked at him for a moment before pouncing and knocking them both to the ground. Winters laughed and growled back, rolling around in the dirt and rubbing Fenrir's dense fur. "Yes yes, you're a good boy but I've got to go get the rest of our tools so we can haul this chesko back to base. Only you have the luxury of eating this stuff raw!"
"I'm not going to be picking the dirt out of your hair, Russell Winters!" Veera called as she began slicing into the chesko with her hunting knife. The two boys eventually stopped with their wrestling as Winters ended up on his back.
"Damn you're heavy," Winters told Fenrir, finally managing to extract himself from under the hyrven. "Now stay, boy. Help Veera and don't eat whatever you want. We need to preserve most of it. You're not listening, are you," he guessed as Fenrir tilted his head before walking back to the carcass, ready to enjoy more of his prize.
'All's well that ends well, sir?' Io asked, dusting herself off as Winters stood and did the same, looking on as Veera rubbed Fenrir's head and directed his attention back to the neck of the chesko while she worked on the pelt.
Winters bade his wife a final farewell before retrieving his bow and setting off at a measured jog. "Let's go make sure it stays that way, Io."
-----
Winters exhaled heavily as he arrived back at camp after several trips through the moonlit forest, heaving one of the chesko's hind legs from his shoulders onto the pile of meat that had yet to be processed. The movement of the twin moons in the sky told him it was already well past midnight. "Seil will be up in a couple hours," he told Veera, trying to use as much of her language as he could. "Do you want to get some rest?"
"We can't just haul all of this up a tree like you do for the rest of our food, darling. Are you alright?" Veera asked as Fenrir snoozed off his full belly in front of a crackling fire.
"I'll be fine, you grab some sleep," Winters suggested.
"That word means a nap, not sleep. But in this case you're probably right anyway," Veera corrected him gently, turning over her tools. "You know what to do?"
"Yeah, well enough. I've got a sneaking suspicion that cutting meat into smaller pieces of meat and smoking them won't be an issue. What's up with him?" Winters finished by pointing a bone blade at Fenrir, who was sleeping as though he'd run a marathon. Veera smiled but her face was drawn with worry, the fire light dying her fur a golden orange.
"He's limping, Russell. I don't think anything is broken but I can't tell for sure."
"Which leg?"
"Front left. It didn't stop him from wolfing down all the innards he could get his paws on though, so I guess he'll be alright," Veera said, her tone making clear she was anything but confident that Fenrir was fine.
"I'll take a look with Io, alright?" Winters assured her. "Now get some sleep, love."
"You got the word right this time," Veera purred, inwardly thrilled to be speaking to her husband in her native tongue, even if his pronunciation needed a bit more work. Outside of situations where he needed to convey complex ideas rapidly, Winters had been forcing himself to speak Cauthan as much as he could on their journey. She rewarded him with a light kiss for his efforts. "And thank you, Russell. Come wake me when you need a break yourself. I've had enough heroics from you for one day."
Winters rubbed the back of his neck and smiled bashfully. "I thought it was pretty cool," he admitted.
"It was incredibly thrilling, decidedly arousing, and something I never wish to see or hear you do again," Veera clarified. "I'm becoming a selfish female, Russell."
"Then I'll make sure you don't lose me," he replied with a low, amorous growl at the end of his thought. "Now go. We can both rest when this work is done, those plains won't go anywhere."
"I left you a little something for your efforts, enjoy." With that, Veera turned and headed for the tent, rubbing her tail over his front as she departed. She'd taken to brushing against him with incredible frequency of late, now that Winters had ensured prolonged shedding wouldn't be an issue. Though he certainly enjoyed her attentions, he was more immediately thrilled by the lean cut of meat that Veera had left for him, sizzling on a rock near the fire.
"I don't know what those idiots in basic were talking about, married life is pretty great. Kill animals, get dinner," Winters joked quietly to himself, turning the rock about ninety degrees to adjust the heat before walking over to Fenrir. The hyrven cracked an eye open and followed him as he knelt down. "You must have eaten quite a lot if you're not going in on that steak, boy. Now let's see about your leg. Io?"
'Ready and able, sir,' the AI replied, reprising one of her many doctor's outfits. 'Let's ensure nothing is amiss with our baby.'
"He's not much of a baby anymore, is he?" Winters asked as he began to gently poke and prod at Fenrir's leg. The hyrven didn't voice its annoyance initially, but as Winters approached the muscles around the shoulder he began to growl and raised his head off the ground. "Well there you have it. Anything you can give me, Io?"
'I wish I could do more,' Io lamented in the Cauthan language. 'With all the hyrven you've killed and butchered this year I have a general understanding of their shoulder joint anatomy, but it's not like we can look inside. For now I suggest we allow nature to take its course, as the symptoms indicate heavy bruising. Did you get all that, sir?' She finished in English.
"Well enough. Thanks for helping me with the whole immersion thing, by the way."
'Learning the language of your chosen family is a wise decision. I am happy to help. It would be nice to stay awake and chat, sir, but we're down to seventy percent of our power stores.'
"You're doing alright, Io?" Winters demanded seriously, returning to the carcass and beginning his late night work.
'As well as I can be, sir.'
"Is that the don't want to talk about it voice?"
'You're not as imperceptive as you look, sir.'
"Ok…" Winters heaved a sigh and looked up at the tree cover and the moons and clouds beyond. "Sorry, Io."
'We've been over this and I don't care for your apologies, sir. Survival is survival. Goodnight.'
"Goodnight, Io," Winters replied quietly as his AI left him alone with the fire and his work. "Poor girl…brought to life on a planet where the infrastructure to keep her alive is almost non-existent. We just need some meat and water, right boy?" Fenrir grunted in his sleep and pawed at the air a couple of times.
"Yeah, agreed."