“Is there a reason you’re staring at me like I’m Uthos himself?” Ratha asked in a testy voice. I didn’t spirit you away from all those prying eyes just to be gawked at, you idiot! Her male, she wasn’t sure if she could call him a mate yet, opened his mouth but his voice seemed to fail him, an unusual condition for the captain of the guard and de-facto leader of the village as a whole. Apparently those monikers didn’t apply within the walls of her bedroom.

“Ratha, I-” he stammered, wondering why his chest suddenly felt so tight. It had felt like his leather and metal armor was too small for his chest the moment she’d taken him by the paw and led him to the temple, hoping to get at least a few moments to themselves before the inevitable flurry of activity that would be necessary to cure, salt, and otherwise preserve pound upon pound of ursae meat. By the time they’d entered the Huntress’ quarters and locked eyes again he found his own body unwilling to operate as he wished.

“Eight days I was out in those woods, in the cold, watching my back for hyrven every bloody second and wondering if a caravan of idiots makes a tastier target for a pack than a lone, competent huntress. I watched that fool of a human get on his knee in some sort of grotesque human mating display and that female of his just fell into his arms. They rolled around in the snow without a care in the world in front of the kill I’d always wanted and I was left to cut up the corpse and follow them home. And now you don’t even have a snarky word for me? Not even an ‘I wouldn’t look at Uthos this way’ or anything?!” Ratha demanded, raising her voice and allowing herself an outlet by lightly pounding on his chest with a fist. “Why can’t you just do what I asked? Do something!”

Antoth finally found words as the feathers of the female who spawned such conflicting feelings within him fluttered and waved with indignation and frustration. “I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”

“Who do you think I am scarface?” Ratha shot back, throwing her bow and quiver onto her table and roughly laying her cloak on a chair, the bones of her armor shaking and rattling as she stripped it off. “I’m the Huntress. A corpse isn’t going to kill me no matter how large it is! Gods, all I wanted was a damned tumble with you and a moment to unwind before having to deal with that human’s shit again and instead I get a male who seems to have lost his stones while I was go-” Ratha didn’t get to finish her sentence as Antoth snarled, grabbed her by the waist, and threw her roughly atop the straw mattress and hyrven fur blanket that was her sleeping space. “Well that’s a bit better, now come here and-”

“This is not some gods-forsaken game!” Antoth roared, standing over her with sudden and inexplicable fury in his eyes. “What am I to you, Ratha? A set of teeth, muscle, and claws attached to a cock?”

“Well I wouldn’t mind any of the above right now,” she replied defensively, a lack of surety in her voice. The furious and despairing look in his eyes confirmed she’d crossed a line.

Antoth felt his heart burn with rage. “I knew I was being punished. This was a mistake,” he whispered vehemently, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He was more than ready to curse himself for the actions he’d taken just after the raid when he and Ratha had committed taboo, ready to wish for it all back.

“No! You don’t get to say something like that!” Ratha yelped, reaching out and grabbing his wrist as she hauled herself upright, the leather garments she wore under her armor hanging askew on her body. “You don’t get to have a taste and decide you’re through!”

“And what about you, Huntress?” Antoth seethed back. “Where do you get off deciding that I’ll be your plaything when and where you ask? What makes you think you get to hurt me like this?” Ratha fell silent, feeling her body grow suddenly cold without a fire to warm them. She couldn’t help honest words.

“Hurt you? I never…” There were many things Ratha wanted to do to him, even as her eyes searched his scowling, pained expression. A few things she was sure the gods and her fellow villagers would even condemn her for, but hurt him? “No.”

Anoth took a moment and breathed deeply, imploring the Sentinel to lend him His patience. His had run dry. “I forget that you are as inexperienced as I am broken.” Ratha’s biting retort caught in her throat as she stared into his gray irises. He had briefly stroked over her greatest fear and insecurity before turning the knife right back on himself. When she said nothing more, Antoth undid the clasps of his cloak and allowed it to fall to the bed. It was quickly followed by his armor and then his leather tunic. Ratha’s eyes naturally travelled south to examine the multitude of scars on his muscled upper body as he sat next to her. The wooden frame of the bed creaked and the straw rustled beneath them.

“Forgive me, Ratha. I-”

“Don’t give me that honorable, Uthos inspired hyrven shit. If I’m not getting what I want today I want to know why. Tell me what’s eating you,” she demanded, shifting to partially rest against him and lick one of the dull wounds that had healed over years ago.

“Ratha…”

“Talk to me or kiss me. Those are your two options. I don’t think you have the guts to actually walk out on me,” she told him bluntly, glancing up at him with impatient eyes.

“Very well,” he grumbled, wondering how he’d come to a place and time in which he was contemplating discussing such things with Ratha. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Oh just pick something then!”

“They compare you to a hyrven for a reason.”

“I was fine alone!” She insisted aggressively.

“Were you?” He demanded.

She looked away. “…of course I was.”

Antoth relented in spite of himself. It was as close to an admission as he was going to get and he knew it. “I see. Not all of my scars are on the outside, Ratha.”

She snorted. “You should really write that one down.”

“I’m leaving,” Antoth declared, using his free hand to push himself off the bed.

“Antoth! I…” The captain stopped his movement, hovering above the bed as he waited to see if Ratha would actually say it. “Keep going, please.” Antoth sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time, but sat back down all the same.

“You make this ursae thing sound like a done deal but you know it wasn’t, at least not to me,” he began, taking Ratha’s paw in his. “None of us knew if Winters had succeeded. That light could have been his dying act for all I knew. You might have never come home.”

“For the love of Valta, it’s not that big-”

“Just stop,” Antoth growled, squeezing her hand tight and baring his teeth. “I don’t know what possessed you to kiss me that night, Ratha. I don’t know what possessed me to seek you out afterward. I don’t know if you just see me as a way to feel good,” he lamented.

“You know that’s not-”

“I don’t know! How could I from the way you act?!” Antoth yelled in frustration. “You see what you make me do? I’m not like this, Ratha.”

“Yes, you are. You can be that way around me…if you want to,” she replied gently, much to her own surprise as his. Antoth continued after a moment of stunned silence.

“It’s not so easy for me to forget that day. When you touch me, get close to me, I can’t help but think of it. At one time I had hoped to just bury that pain forever, to let it scar over. Then you come along and rip it open just so you can have your neck bitten,” Antoth whispered bitterly. That was…unfair to her.

“Then help me,” came a murmur from his shoulder. He could feel Ratha’s feathers shivering as she laid her head there. “How could I know something like that?” Her voice had dropped so low that he had trouble hearing her. Even the noise of the townsfolk filtering through the temple was louder. “How could someone like me…understand this?”

A potent combination of embarrassment at his own actions, protective instinct, and the warmth of mutual need surged through Antoth. He could practically feel it move from his chest along the pathways of his body until he was suffused with it. With gentle but overwhelming force he held Ratha to him and deposited them both on the bed so she was flat on her back. With lidded eyes he brought his jaws to the pressure point he knew she wanted stimulated, speaking to her as he began to apply pressure with his canines. “I’m a stubborn fool, just like the god I serve. So long as you can be honest with me like you just were, it will be alright,” he reassured her. A pleasant gasp and the feeling of her claws poking the fur and hide of his upper back came as positive reinforcement almost immediately. Antoth decided to gamble and look his would be lover in the eyes. There was pleasure there, but also something he didn’t think he’d ever seen before. The forests of Mara were apparently no match for the trials and tribulations of the heart. “You can be afraid, Ratha.”

“Shut it, scarface!” She whined, only to be silenced by his lips on hers.

“I don’t expect you to be like her, Ratha. Nor do I expect you to behave as she did, or speak to me as she did. Just try not to leave me alone in this world,” he requested as he leaned his forehead against hers, enjoying the gentle touch of the front of her crown against his.

An epiphany of sorts seemed to come over the Huntress at his words. “You’re absolutely insufferable, Antoth but…I’ll be careful.” The sound of growing commotion within the temple proper informed them both that they had precious little time left. He closed his eyes and allowed her one final, primal, violent kiss. Ratha arched her back into him in response to the attack and let out a low, rumbling purr. When he finally broke away she was breathing heavily and her feathers were flared. “I suppose…as long as I’m alive I can learn,” she reasoned.

“It’s already enough,” Antoth promised earnestly with a nod, standing and allowing her to rise as he dressed himself. As he threw his leather tunic back on he was greeted by a calculating and annoyed look from Ratha. “Uh…what?”

“I don’t know what you think that was, scarface. But I will be damned if I shacked up with you just to be kissed for the rest of my life. It’s absolutely not enough, but…” Ratha trailed off and looked down at her talons. “It’s been a nice start.” Antoth simply stood still, his chest armor in his hands, looking at the Cauthan that he was pretty sure was still Ratha in spite of the way she was acting. She eventually noticed his stare and countered it with a violent look of her own.

“So, I’m going to head on out there and act like you and I discussed your upcoming sortie and nothing else, probably in a harsh tone of voice and with thinly veiled threats of violence,” he suggested hopelessly.

“You honestly think anyone’s going to believe that?” She asked flippantly.

“No.”

“Damn, because I was going to do the same thing.”

“I couldn’t get away with it, but you could always just default to yelling at your subordinates even though they probably don’t deserve it,” Antoth tried again, collecting his sword and unlit torch while Ratha replaced her armor and helmet.

“Hmm, I knew I decided to hop in bed with you for something other than your scars. Great idea!” She complimented him with one final kiss before throwing aside the door flap and strutting into the temple. “You lot better not be slacking on me! Antoth and his softies may get to work in shifts but each and every one of you is heading back into that forest with me tonight. Understood?!” The captain of the guard couldn’t help his smile as he headed out after her.

-----

“Hmm hmm hm hmmm…”

Winters opened his eyes after what he’d thought was just a moment of rest. A tilt of his head to the right confirmed that he’d actually dozed off, the fire in the pit having burned down to embers and a small, orange flame flickering in the occasional draft from outside. Turning back to his immediate surroundings, he found a pair of amber orbs staring calmly at him. Veera had been humming a tune while watching over him. “Sorry,” he apologized.

“You looked peaceful. I could hardly bring myself to wake you,” Veera replied before continuing with her song. Winters’ brow furrowed.

“Hey Io, is something wrong with the translation program?” At his words Veera’s feathers betrayed embarrassment while the AI threw him a sharp look.

‘Somehow you manage to insult both of us in one sentence. Your barbarism never ceases to amaze, sir.’

Winters responded with a raised brow. “I’m sorry…I think?”

‘Veera was attempting to practice English. I daresay that song’s been stuck in her head since you left.’

“Hey! Don’t tell him something like that, Io!” Veera protested, burying her head in Winters’ chest. “It’s not as she says it’s just…we don’t really have music like that and even if it was a bit over the top, as you said, I think the message was very sweet. I’ve had a hard time remembering the words though so I don’t really…”

‘Oh Veera, there’s no need,’ Io assured her with a warm smile. ‘Would you like to hear it in English or your native tongue?’

“English, please. I think I know enough from our reading to pick out a few words.”

‘As you wish. Even if I’d taken more extensive damage I would have made every effort to save this one.’ Winters let out something between a groan and a laugh as the track began to play.

“You two know this song is about a man who cheats with his best friend’s wife, right?!”

‘It’s sweet!’ Both Veera and Io yelled back in unison before looking at one another.

“We really need to be careful with that,” Veera giggled as Io gave her a sisterly look.

‘You know what they say, Veera. A unified front is a strong front!’

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

With a happy flick of her crest Veera went back to whispering the lyrics as best she could. “Over the hills and far away…” Winters had to admit he was impressed. Given her prior reactions he didn’t feel like critiquing her too-long vowels, but her intonation was good. The very fact that she was trying made him smile, to say nothing of the other half of the song’s message. “Hey Io, could you stop it for a moment?” Veera requested.

‘Certainly. What is it, Veera?’

“That word…hue?”

‘You mean he?’

“Oh yes, sorry,” Veera said with a measure of embarrassment.

‘I’ll not have you apologize for such things. An eager pupil is a blessing to her teacher!’ Io declared grandly, shifting her attire to a conservative schoolmaster’s uniform. ‘Now, what was your question?’

Winters began actively scratching Veera’s ears and rubbing her back as positive reinforcement, curious as to why Veera was asking Io about pronouns. He allowed the exchange to continue uninterrupted. “That word implies a male, right?” Veera asked.

‘Yes, Veera. That is correct,’ Io affirmed. ‘My understanding of your language is that once the subject of a sentence has been specified you use the same word regardless of whether they are male or female?’

“Huh…” Winters interjected, piecing together a few of the experiences he’d had while attempting to speak basic Cauthan.

“That’s right, Io. But English is different?” Veera continued.

‘Most human languages are. The word you would use to refer to a female would be she in this context,’ Io explained, playing a line from the song that used that particular pronoun.

“Oh, that’s what that means! I was confused about that one,” Veera said happily. Turning away from Io and back to Winters she began to whisper a promise, a hint of the music in her voice. “Over the hills and far away, she swears she will return one day.” It wasn’t perfect, but Winters understood more than enough to know that she wasn’t speaking to him in order to perfect her understanding of his language. He opted for a long, tender embrace instead.

“Thanks Veera. You ready to get out there?”

The Cauthan’s eyes brightened and she kissed him on the nose. “Yes, very much so! So long as you are, that is.”

Winters nodded to her as he raised himself off the bed and began throwing on his civilian clothing. “Even if I wasn’t it’s not like lying in bed would help you protect yourself. Oh, and you can leave the pot? I still need to wash this rag,” he said, pointing to his undersuit. Winters took a moment and stretched his body once he’d clothed himself. “Oh man, that’s so much better than the Aegis. Io, what’s your status?”

‘The process hasn’t changed, sir. However, given that I have no back up drive anymore I would highly advise you to ensure I’m in full standby before any transfers. I am in the process of partitioning my remaining drives as a potential failsafe in the event of sudden power loss or disconnection but…I’d rather not test this.’

Veera approached Io and cradled Winters’ gauntlet to her chest. “I don’t understand a lot of what you just said, but I’ll help protect you too,” she promised. Io returned a sad smile.

‘That’s kind of you, Veera. But I don’t think there’s anything you can do. Unless I can get aboard a human ship again this will be my reality.’ Winters grimaced and turned away from the two of them, collecting his rifle and a spare magazine. Veera was giving Io a calculating look.

“Is that what you two were discussing when you mentioned summer?” She asked.

“I’ll tell you all about it on the way,” Winters promised from over his shoulder, donning his cloak and lacing up his boots. “You ready?”

“Been ready for a while!” Veera replied happily, eliciting a chuckle from Io. “What? Did I say something strange?”

‘Oh nothing, Veera. There is a bit of a running joke amongst humanity that if a man and a woman are getting ready to go out for the evening it will take far longer for the woman to prepare herself adequately, allowing her male partner all sorts of time for various shenanigans. You recall the evening of Zolta and Asha’s wedding? I was just finding it humorous that this seems to have been reversed with the two of you in this case.’

“Hey, she doesn’t have to put on underwear!” Winters protested, throwing his undersuit into the used soapy water that remained lukewarm over the dying fire.

“Excuse me! There is nothing wrong with that. I have fur!” Veera countered, replacing the B-MASS at the foot of the bed at Winters’ direction so that Io could enter standby and be transferred from the Aegis to the reinforced pocket of Winters’ pants. Winters laughed and threw her a devilish look once he’d connected a battery pack to the drive.

“Oh don’t mistake my meaning, I very much agree with you on that,” he declared, satisfied as Veera’s crest flared at him. He took a moment to ensure that Io’s boot sequence ran smoothly on his visor. “Io, you with us?”

‘Yes, sir. I must say it’s a bit more comfortable in your pants.’

“That joke is at least three cycles old by now, Io,” Winters insisted with a roll of his eyes. Veera found herself giggling at the two of them as she took Winters’ free hand and led him out into the street, eager to begin yet another lesson in human warfare.

‘See, she laughed at it! Veera thinks I’m funny!’ Io protested.

“Darling, before I forget,” Veera addressed Winters, happy to feel his hand in her paw once again without his armor in the way. “While I understand the need for cleanliness, if our stew tastes of your suit tonight I will be most upset.” All three of them managed a laugh at that as they headed for the north gate and the forest beyond.

-----

“So to make a long story short, based on how long it took the Lancer to get here no one on Earth will realize anything is amiss until the beginning of spring. Even if they rally a ship or fleet immediately and beeline through the systems we left buoys in, you’d still be talking probably another three months of travel. You can’t exactly ‘go faster’ in warp space,” Winters explained as they arrived at the location he’d chosen for firearms training. Veera nodded in understanding. She had more questions for him about his people, as always, but she set them aside to focus on the important steps to be taken in the near term.

“You’re sure this will be alright? I don’t want to waste your ammunition,” Veera said hesitantly as they approached the now frozen river to the northeast of her village. Winters shook his head under his cloak.

“It’s hardly a waste if you learn to use it properly. Let’s begin,” he ordered, looking up at the star of the system. By his figuring it was just past midday, the morning clouds giving way and allowing scattered rays to light the snowy woods around them. Returning his attention to Veera he found her gazing at him intently as her tail swayed from side to side, awaiting his instruction. He threw her a quick smile before holding his weapon across his chest so she could examine it. “The basic principles are all the same as my sidearm,” he began, pointing out the trigger, safety, sights, and magazine. Veera took her time and peered closely at the rifle, following his finger to each point of interest and nodding as they went. “Now, I have the safety on. Try removing the magazine and unchambering the round.”

Veera reached out tentatively and took the rifle from him, the weapon momentarily dropping as Veera realized it was heavier than she’d anticipated. She recovered quickly though and with cautious but sure fingers, removed the magazine. Winters nodded with pride.

“Good. If for some reason you need to reload out there don’t worry about the empty mag, just drop it. You can collect it when the fight’s over, circumstances permitting.”

“Alright Russell, I promise not to risk my life over a piece of metal, no matter how much it would command in terms of meat or pelts.”

“Yes, I’d prefer you to meat or pelts any day of the cycle,” Winters agreed, reaching out to take the spare round from between her fingers.

“Or do you mean you’d prefer my pelt…and my meat?” Veera asked with a sultry lilt, prompting a wide eyed coughing fit from Winters and a delightful peal of laughter from Io. Though she initially felt quite proud at the reaction, Veera did feel bad when Winters started to grimace and clutch at his back. “Russell?”

“Point taken, Veera. Point taken.”

“What’s that?” She cocked her head at him.

“I want to fuck you and I’ll wait for you to get home and rest my body. Sound good?” He asked in high spirits.

In spite of the fact that she’d instigated it, Veera couldn’t help the frantic waving of her feathers, a display of shyness and positive emotion. “I aaah…yes, please. Please do m-, I mean that!”

‘You are enjoying this far too much, aren’t you?’ Io asked wryly in Winters’ ear. He could practically hear the AI’s smirk as a healthy flush filled his cheeks.

“Don’t think there’s a man alive who wouldn’t,” he whispered before delivering Veera from her verbal slip, holding out one of each type of ammunition in his palms. “Here feather kitten, you asked what a caliber is before?” Veera nodded eagerly and moved closer to look at the bullets, which Winters held up for her so she could see the bottom diameter of each. “It’s just a way to denote the size of the bullet. There are plenty of other factors that determine how deadly a round is-”

“Like explosions?” Veera demanded sharply. Winters was completely unfazed.

“Yes love, like explosions. Now, the important thing to know about these bullets for our purposes is that they contain more powder and therefore when you fire the weapon the recoil, the force it generates against your body, is going to be larger,” Winters explained. Veera developed a hesitant look on her face.

“So…do I hold it differently then or…?” She requested, awkwardly holding the rifle in a pistol grip at full extension. “This seems wrong to me.” For a moment Winters stood there in puzzlement, trying to remember if she’d never seen him use his rifle before. After pondering the past and concluding she’d probably closed her eyes as well as her ears when he’d warned her during the funeral for his comrades, Winters shrugged and walked over to Veera, stepping behind her and taking her wrists gently in his hands.

“Your intuition is on point,” he chuckled, shifting her hands to the appropriate places and nestling the stock of the rifle against her shoulder. “When you fire, don’t be afraid of it. Lean into the weapon; make sure it has no chance to jump away from you or back into you. The better you control the barrel after the first shot the faster you can line up your second.” Veera felt her feathers flush as he spoke firmly but softly at her side, holding her and taking her through motions he’d likely practiced thousands of times before. It shouldn’t have been, but it felt easy to imagine herself inside his armor instead of next to it, maybe even inside her own mysterious metal skin, wielding death at the touch of a finger. “Veera? Hey, Veera? You still with me?” Winters asked, a wave of his hand in front of her eyes snapping her from her reverie. She turned to look at him.

“Yes sorry, I was…just imagining what it must have been like for you to learn this yourself,” she explained, a description not too far from the truth. Her mate rewarded her with a smile.

“Ready to try it out?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Alright, let’s aim at something across the river then,” Winters suggested, pressing against her back lightly and taking a knee with her in the snow. Veera adapted well enough to the stance and placed her left foot forward, leveling the sights. “When you’re ready you should inhale, aim, fire, and exhale. Don’t hold your breath too long; don’t think about it too long. Just take the shot, alright?” Veera could feel nervousness explode insider her and tighten around her stomach.

“A-alright. Here goes,” she said, trying to steady her breathing. Winters waited patiently behind her, close enough that she could easily feel his presence but not touching her in any way that would interfere with her lesson. After a few moments Veera took a deep breath, flattened her ears to her head, and fired. The resulting crack echoed through the woods around them and splinters flew from the bark of a tree across the water, accompanied by dislodged snow from the branches above. Veera turned to look at Winters.

“So, was that the tree you were aiming for?” He asked, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

“It was but…I was aiming much lower,” Veera replied. To her surprise he smiled broadly.

“Well done then! Io, you saw her shot too, any comments?” Winters asked.

‘Nothing that you don’t already know, sir. Veera, remember what the Lieutenant said and really lean into your next shot. It didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“It was certainly surprising how much force there was, but no. It didn’t hurt me,” Veera affirmed.

“Glad to hear it. Why don’t you try another shot, Veera?” Winters encouraged, helping her set her stance again. “Keep your shoulder forward and solid, just like that. Whenever you’re ready.” Winters stepped back and stood, waiting for her to fire again. Veera took much less time before lining up the rifle and firing again, the bullet striking the same tree in a much lower position and slightly to the left of the prior shot.

‘There you go, Veera. You are quite the capable learner. Sir, while I’m sure you want to continue I feel I must advise you that there is only one spare magazine left back at home.’ Winters felt himself frown.

“I understand, Io. Veera, do you feel capable of using it against a hyrven?” He asked. “And please be honest. Saving one bullet now is not worth your life.” Veera stood and turned to face him, face screwed up in thought.

“Can it be used without ammunition, the way you instructed me with your sidearm?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I will practice when I am in the forest. You have already given me more than enough,” Veera insisted. Winters shook his head and embraced her.

“I’ll gladly give you anything you need, Veera. But I do want you to try once more. Can I see the rifle?” Taking the weapon from her, he flicked the fire modification toggle. “It’s now set to fire a three round burst. If, gods forbid, you find yourself against another ursae this will likely be your best bet. Aim for the eyes and flee. I only survived because of my armor and I don’t have many pistol rounds left. Without those tools that thing would have killed me at least twice. Understood?”

“Yes, Russell. I understand,” Veera acknowledged seriously, knowing how much trust he was showing her even as they were yet to be united in Meylith’s sight.

“Good. I want you to fire this one standing up. It’s the hardest position to control the recoil, so be sure to focus on that,” Winters instructed. Veera nodded and received the rifle again, took a stance with help from Winters, and fired.

“Aah!” Veera yelled, not quite ready for the recoil of the shot. Of the three rounds only the first hit the target. Winters chuckled softly and retrieved his weapon from her. “I missed,” she moaned.

“You missed, yeah. But now you know what you’re dealing with, right? Besides, if Io’s hypothesis about ursae behavior is correct there won’t be another one around for a good many miles. You think many marines mastered this thing on their first shot?”

“Well, no. But it’s not like I have much of a choice!” Veera insisted, not wanting to be seen as a failure. Winters clasped her hand in his and turned for home, his Cauthan following quickly after him.

“I know. Thank you for learning. I’ll sleep easier when you’re out there because of it,” he admitted freely, feeling her paw grip his hand tighter.

“I’ll do my best to make sure I don’t have to use it in the first place, but thank you for teaching me. Is there anything else I should know about it?”

‘Oh don’t get him started, Veera.’

-----

“And the magazine holds thirty six rounds, so if you’re firing burst you have twelve shots, same as my pistol alright?” Winters asked as he and Veera walked through the east gate and back into the village. Veera gave him an exhausted look.

“While I do not wish to make light of survival, Io was right. No man should be able to talk that much about his weapon,” Veera concluded. Io nodded her head vehemently in Winters visor to signal her agreement. Winters just shrugged.

“Thing’s saved my life more than a few times, to say nothing of others. But I’m done for now. Just want to make sure you know everything, right?” He asked as they passed the Temple of Meylith. More than a few happy voices called out to them from around the entrance. Winters acknowledged them with a wave of his hand as Veera tittered.

“I do know, and you’re being very understanding about all of this; even if understanding means not going back out into the forest like an idiot when you’re injured,” she told him sweetly. Winters cocked a brow at her.

“Funny, I don’t feel like that was much of a compliment.”

“It wasn’t!” Veera sang happily, holding onto the rifle with her other hand. She’d insisted on getting used to its weight on their short trek back. Once they were home she replaced it carefully with Winters’ other belongings and rekindled the fire. “Shall we finally do something about this stew of clothing you left for us? We don’t have much time.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it. You start getting together everything you’ll need out there. Use my survival bag, should make things easier,” Winters requested, rolling up his sleeves and plunging his hands into the now cold water that contained his undersuit, scrubbing it against itself as best he could. Veera accepted his offer kindly with a peck on the cheek, her tail stroking against his side as she moved past him.

“Thank you, darling. That will make things much easier for me,” she told him, flitting about their living space and compiling weapons, food, her spare dress, and cloak. “Oh Russell, what are these? They don’t look like they fit into either of your weapons,” she asked, procuring one of Io’s batteries from the pack.

“Those are for Io. Would you mind just leaving them near your shrine? I’ll have to take them back to the pod when you’re away.”

‘You do realize we wouldn’t have been able to head back out to the carcass anyway, right? I have less than three days of power remaining,’ Io informed him with a tone bordering on accusation. Winters looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

“And you didn’t tell me this before now…why, exactly?”

‘Because you caved to your wife! It was no longer necessary,’ the AI informed him happily as Veera stammered.

“I-Io! We aren’t b-bound together yet!”

‘Oh Veera, your youthful embarrassment is both endearing and completely unnecessary,’ Io told her sweetly.

“Alright Io, that’s enough. No need to tease her,” Winters said, taking Veera in his arms and kissing her softly on the lips.

“Your hands are wet.”

“Sorry.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“When do you want to get married?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to be bound together under the Twins?”

“The moons are full tonight, Veera. I didn’t realize it would be so soon. Io checked on the way back from the river.” Winters’ words had Veera’s feathers drooping with sadness.

“Darling, I…”

“You’re coming back, right?” Winters asked. It wasn’t a plea, but an affirmation.

“Yes, of course,” she whispered the vow.

“Then one cycle from tonight I want to be bound to you. I’ve been…adrift for too long.”

“I would love that, more than words can say. Thoughts of our bonding ceremony will keep me warm no matter how cold the nights become.” Veera relaxed against Winters sturdy form with visions of the Temple of Meylith flitting through her head, only to pull back suddenly with a yelp as an exuberant and youthful voice called from their doorway.

“What in Kel’s name is this about a bonding ceremony?!”