Despite Private Orlova’s best efforts, the hatch of the Hydra-class heavy lift shuttle could only close so quickly. It was a large hatch on a large body, meant for carrying squads of troops and days worth of supplies in its main hold that sat just behind the cockpit. Other HEL vehicles, like ATV’s or APC’s could be transported below the tail and rear thrusters, towards the back of the shuttle. Unfortunately, that also meant there was plenty of room for a particularly fast-moving hyrven who did not like the idea of his master leaving without him, fresh from a morning galavant through the woods. With a warning gesture at Corporal Mendes not to shoot, Winters opened his arms as Fenrir’s claws proved incapable of finding purchase. The hyrven skidded into his human ‘father’ and Winters found himself flat on his back on the metal floor . The animal immediately started whining as the shuttle continued to push away from the ground, an additional passenger not warranting an extension of time spent annoying the Cauthan and their shen with its engines.
“What the hell is that?” the pilot demanded over intercom as Fenrir complained. Winters ruffled his fur forcefully.
“Sit. Sit you dumb wolf! It’s not my fault you have separation issues. Mendes, this is my dog Fenrir. Fenrir, that’s Corporal Mendes. If you bite him I will smack you.”
“He can understand you?” the other Jumper eventually wondered in disbelief.
“Nope! So maybe don’t get closer until he trusts you a bit. He was pretty good with Alice but that doesn’t mean anything. Alice is good with everyone. Now then,” Winters changed subject as he pulled himself into his seat, strapped in, and forced Fenrir to sit between his legs where he could keep a hand on the hyrven’s collar. “If you don’t mind, Corporal, story time is going to take a backseat until I can convince this young man over here to allow his wife up to the Event Horizon for an ultrasound.”
“Congratulations,” Mendes spoke to Zolta. Winters explained the meaning before carrying on privately with the Cauthan, who acknowledged the compliment. If Mendes or Orlova were translating using their helmets or other gear, they made no indication of it.
“Listen Zolta, I know this is fucked. If I were you I’d probably try to kill me for saying something like this if Veera were pregnant and you thought I should take her into some spooky shrine of yours. But I’m only saying this because I care about Asha and that little cub she’s got in her belly.”
“It’s not so little anymore. I don’t know how she does it,” Zolta replied wistfully. Winters smiled and placed a hand on his knee.
“Yeah, she’s something else, isn’t she. I’m sorry, man.”
“No you’re not,” Zolta rebuffed him quietly as the shuttle pulled over the tree line of the forest and began its lumbering journey to the north and west.
“Are these coordinates accurate, sir?” Orlova questioned from the cockpit. “The destination is less than two hundred clicks north-northwest of here.”
Winters held up a finger so Zolta knew he wasn’t just abandoning their chat. “The coordinates are accurate, Private. No one just waltzes around a Maran forest during winter. Hell, during any season really. Any other pointless questions?”
“Permission to space myself if you ever become my commanding officer?” Orlova deadpanned as Mendes choked halfway through a standard swallowing motion.
“Granted. I’m sure I could teach my wife to fly this thing,” Russell laughed. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard a faint chuckle from the cockpit as well. Mendes looked like he wanted to vanish from the cargo hold, so Winters returned to his chat with Zolta.
“I am sorry,” he insisted. “I’m sorry for the stress you’re under, but not for doing what I think is right by Asha. We’ll put all of us in a much nicer, smoother vehicle than this one. This one’s mainly for carting around large loads of supplies or soldiers. Veera and Xan have already been aboard the main ship, tested out what it’s like for Cauthan to live up there. Antoth has gone too.”
“You can tell me all you want about it, that doesn’t mean I’ll suddenly change my mind or feel good about these things I don’t understand. I can’t even see it, much less hit it with a hammer” Zolta countered. Russell nodded and gave Fenrir another pat on the head. Fortunately the beast had settled down once the shuttle’s altitude stabilized.
“Good idea. I’ll ask Io if she can give us a virtual tour when we get back,” Russell suggested, leaning back and nodding to himself as he considered the idea further. “Yeah, it’s probably best if Asha joins us for that too. Oh, and of course the doctor who was taking care of her will be there the whole time as well. That’s going to be interesting when she and Io are introduced.”
“What do you mean?” Zolta inquired.
“Ah, nothing much. Just old human history. The good doctor is French and Io, for whatever reason, decided she would be German back when she was figuring out the whole spirit life thing,” Winters explained with a chuckle at his own analogy. Mendes continued to watch the two of them, but the passive expression on his face indicated he was either an extreme stoic or not eavesdropping. “Point is, those two human tribes have a long, long history of conflict and animosity. Mostly patched up by now though, at least in terms of fighting and killing.”
“Being a human sounds very complicated,” Zolta judged. “For us when we see another tribe, we kill them.”
“Like Veera’s mother?” Winters asked pointedly. Zolta hung his head.
“Yeah sorry, that’s before my time.”
“They’re gone, Zolta. Every one of them. The ursae made sure of that.”
“Is that what we’re going after?” Mendes interrupted. “Sorry, Lieutenant, but that word keeps coming up.”
“Zolta?” Winters inquired. The Cauthan waved him on with a scaled paw, reaching over to give Fenrir just a bit of attention with his own claws.
“I’ll think about it, Russell. If I understood you right, Io can show us what this ship of yours looks like? I think that would be a good start.”
“No problem at all!” Winters agreed happily, knowing progress when he saw it. He delivered a final message in Cauthan before switching to English. “You’ve come a long way since last year when you were helping out on Veera’s farm, kid. You have every right to call yourself a man and a father. Not that I would know, but that’s just my opinion.”
“Uh… thanks,” Zolta replied, caught flat-footed by the earnesty in Winters’ voice to the point he didn’t even register a complaint about the ‘kid’ moniker. A translator was extended to him.
“Private time’s over,” Winters explained before addressing Mendes. “Yeah, Corporal, we’re going to collect what’s left of an ursae. The rest of it you’ll find around the village in their cooking pots, their cloaks, and their bone tools. You’ll see.”
“No offense, Lieutenant,” Mendes began, withdrawing his knife from its sheath and inspecting the edge clinically before returning it. He and Orlova were both equipped somewhere between Winters’ casual, utilitarian attire and Lachlan’s full Marine battle gear which, for reasons known only to the Scotsman, he insisted on wearing around the village at all times. “That’s not much of a story.”
“It’s really something you have to see for yourself, Corporal. Or, if you’re lucky, you’ll never see one alive,” Winters replied seriously, causing Mendes to inspect his rifle next. He knew how he sounded and was unsurprised when Private Orlova scoffed over the intercom, clearly listening in on the conversations within her cargo hold. Zolta shook his head, knowing darn well that killing an invading marauder was enough excitement for one lifetime so far as he was concerned.
“I am beginning to suspect you called us down here as simple revenge for Private Lipper,” Orlova rendered judgment, forcing her tone to remain neutral around the mention of her former commanding officer. Winters leaned his head back against the wall of the shuttle and looked out over the large, empty cargo area. There was no way the skull was fitting through the door. The thrust of the vehicle would hopefully be enough once securing it to the undercarriage.
“Just get us to the coordinates, Private. I may have put two of your squad in the medical wing, but I’m not that much of an asshole.”
Given that both Rex and Lipper were expected to make full recoveries, Rodrigo Mendes actually found himself laughing as the Hydra continued on its journey.
-----
“Admiral, allow me to introduce you to my mate. This is-”
“I can introduce myself, you loveable meathead,” Ratha insisted, chastising her husband for his temerity while simultaneously assuring him that she would always be on his side when it came to humans. She rested one hand on his back. The other held her spear, decorated only with her own feathers. They could both see that Natori had arrived armed as well, a steel-hued pistol reflecting the sun from his hip.
“Admiral, are ye sure you won’t be needin’ any assistance?” MacGregor offered as he and Alice passed by, crate in hand.
“Oh I’m quite sure! I simply came down to chat with Antoth today. There’s no need for concern, Private, though I thank you all the same. You and Alice should run along now and get those frames distributed to their respective owners. Oh, and do warn the ones with corrective lenses to beware of the sun, would you?” Natori requested with a humorous smile as Alice and Lachlan realized that accidentally burning down his temple was exactly something that Thantis might do.
“Understood, sir. I’m on channel thirty seven as well as the emergency frequency if ya change yer mind,” Lachan assured him. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t salute?”
Natori gave him a relaxed smile and gestured that they should move on. “You worry too much, Private MacGregor. Though I think I speak for Alice and the rest of us when I thank you for remaining at the ready despite how sweaty that armor must be in the sun. Have a good day, you two.”
“Same to you, Natori!” Alice waved and turned to head deeper into the village. Though her brother was long gone on the Hydra, she returned to Lachlan’s side and linked her arm with his. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. You’re not sweating that much.”
“Alice, modern fabrics aside, Sentaura and some o’ the others are gonna get the wrong impression!” Mac whispered with urgency. Alice laughed loudly, a sound that carried quite a distance and had the Marine privately admitting that despite her eccentricities, Alice also possessed certain charms.
“Relax, Mac. If you don’t like the idea of me being your ‘lass’, as you call it, consider it an introduction of elements of human culture to the Cauthan!” she explained, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. His heart beat against his chest armor as he sighed heavily. “I’ve held hands with Xan once or twice. They’ll get used to it. Clearly my brother’s already introduced a handful of customs on his own.”
“You did what? Do ya ever take anythin’ seriously, lassie?” Mac wondered as his boots scuffed up small clouds of dust in their wake, the summer sun easily banishing moisture from the ground beneath them. Alice placed a finger to her lips as they approached the town center, and she smiled at the sight of Gentia and her acolytes supervising a group of cubs playing in the flowing aqueducts that now snaked along some of the buildings.
“I have been known to on occasion,” she replied, her tone calm and collected though she could feel moisture on her palms. “Like what happens when you call me lassie in that accent of yours.”
Alice and Lachlan promptly separated, each finding some aspect of the village extraordinarily interesting as they continued on quietly towards the Temple of Kel. Natori made a show of holding a hand to his brow, looking after them. “Oh dear, young love is quite the insidious thing, isn’t it. How exciting.”
‘Russell will be immaturely furious. Delightful,’ Io added, earning a wider smile from the Admiral.
“Why are you here, human?” Ratha demanded again, in no mood for games with Seil shining so hotly that day.
“Ratha!”
Natori held up a conciliatory hand. “Antoth, it is fine. After yesterday’s altercations she has every right to be suspicious. I am here to offer my thanks in person for your decision to spare Thomas Lipper’s life. And I am here to discuss the potential for a more pronounced cultural mixing between our peoples. I believe that is something we could all benefit from.”
Antoth and Ratha glanced at one another, their feathers speaking simple emotions and assertions. She didn’t seem thrilled at the idea, but she did not reject it outright either. “There is no harm in talking,” the sun priest finally acknowledged.
“Thank you both,” Natori replied, bowing low so that his head rested lower than Ratha’s for a moment out of respect. “Shall we retire to the shade? I was hoping to see more of your village, but if your wife is-”
“She will likely outlive us both,” Antoth cut him off rapidly. Ratha bared her teeth in a smile and stood on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the side of his snout.
“And don’t forget it, scarface. Lead on. I’ll just remain at your side to make sure you don’t do anything stupid like turn over our village to them.” Natori couldn’t tell how much of Ratha’s statement was made in jest, but he was quickly coming to understand why Io had listed several warnings under her name in the dossier of ‘important Cauthan individuals’ that he had requested soon after the signing of the joint treaty. Antoth seemed quite adept at negotiating her moods, however.
“What would I ever do without you making sure the village doesn’t just slip through my fingers?” he wondered with a hint of sarcasm, beckoning Natori to follow them along the main road. Ratha answered confidently.
“Be utterly bored and miserable leading this village… but in your defense I wouldn’t be pregnant.”
‘In case you were wondering, Admiral, they are always like this.’
-----
“I begrudgingly take back what I said at the village. I would very much like to hear this particular story,” Natalya admitted as she stepped out of the shuttle and walked around back to where Zolta, Winters, and Mendes were already standing. It had been an extraordinarily tight squeeze, but the forest had not yet reclaimed the clearing the ursae had chosen for its battle with Winters. The massive skull rested just below the tail end of the Hydra shuttle, standing about a foot taller than Winters even in death.
“We stalked one another for three days and finally threw down here. That tree over there,” Winters pointed to the edge of the clearing where a splintered stump sat next to the fallen tree trunk that he’d cowered behind in an effort to take a breather. “First it tried to pin me against it with its paws. Shot my way out of that situation only to have it knock the whole thing down when it got tired of games. Honestly though, I’m a shit storyteller, Private. Maybe one day the video will be released.”
“The village needed food?” Mendes wondered, stepping closed and touching an exposed patch of bone. It remained solid and unyielding as strips of dried skin and desiccated fur hung from the disembodied skull. It was all that remained of the once proud and mighty beast, the biome’s apex predator. Mara’s scavengers and recyclers had done a number on it throughout the warmer months, as fungi and a handful of small plants sprouted from its four eye sockets. Russell chuckled darkly and fingered one of them, digging out what little organic matter remained and finding three of his rifle bullets lodged into the bone.
“That’s right, Priv- I mean Corporal. We’d lost all of our meat and leather. Tools were in short supply and many were homeless without cold weather gear. Guess you could compare it to an eskimo village heading out to kill a whale or something like that. Feed the village for an entire season. Only this time the whale fought back, lured you into traps, and refused to fall even after being shot in the eye. Now then, let’s see here.” Winters knelt and crawled between the four mandibles. Orlova and Mendes looked at one another as the Jumper gagged and coughed. “Oh for the love of Kel, that is nasty!”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Russell, what are you doing?” Zolta demanded. He got his explanation a short while later as rotten brain matter spilled out onto the ground. Unlike the flesh exposed to the open air, the interior of the cranium had remained relatively bereft of oxygen and sunlight, leading to a process more resembling fermentation than decay. Winters’ fiddling had caused the soupy mess to finally dislodge, along with a rotting wooden haft and a still relatively pristine metal spearhead. “You can keep that, thank you very much!” Zolta insisted.
“What? Don’t feel like holding your greatest piece of…” hurk. Zolta could not have imagined a more impactful indicator that someone like Russell Winters, even with all his great deeds, was still mortal than him resting against a sun-bleached, ragged ursae skull and vomiting his breakfast onto the forest floor alongside whatever brain matter was left over inside the trophy.
“Something tells me you just witnessed history, Private. Cherish the moment,” Mendes insisted, having held his nose the entire time. Orlova’s usually ice-like expression was instead wrinkled with disgust as Winters grabbed his canteen off his belt and took a sip of water, purging the bile from his mouth and throat.
“Oh yeah, totally how I saw that one going,” he said, happy to engage in a bit of self-deprecation as Fenrir did exactly what any self-respecting hyrven might do and tear at one of the strips of dried skin hanging from the jowls of the trophy, quite unperturbed at the smell of rot. After washing the spear tip as best he could, Winters extended it again to Zolta. “Seriously kid, you saved my ass that night. My sword never would have finished the job.”
Zolta reached out and took the offered piece of metal, testing the point with a pad. Had he pressed any harder he knew he would have drawn blood. “I’m honored, Winters.”
“How would you go about killing something whose bones can stop bullets?” Orlova asked her commanding officer. Mendes shrugged, having already procured his sketchbook. The sight of tattered, black fur, eye-sockets brimming with decay-induced life, and resilient, ivory bone was just far too good to pass up even as just a sketch.
“Honestly?” he replied casually, holding up his pencil for a moment. “I’d nuke this thing from orbit.”
“It’s funny, your mouth opened and Rex’s voice came out,” she replied, turning for the cargo bay. “I will be in the cockpit when you are done enjoying yourself and ready to get this disgusting thing out of here.”
The three men glanced at one another and shrugged. “Don’t know what she’s talking about. Little polish and that thing will shine,” Russell joked. “So you sketch?”
“I don’t know, not very well,” Mendes admitted. “Just wanted to have something of my own when we go back, you know? This planet is amazing, but because of the Cauthan we’ll not be able to come back in all likelihood during my lifetime. No offense, young man.”
“None taken,” Zolta replied, his confused expression prompting a brief explanation from Winters on galactic treaties. “So when you leave you won’t return?”
“Maybe not,” Winters admitted, taking time to finally get a close, analytical look at the animal that had almost killed him. “But even if we were to return it would only be to interact with your village. We wouldn’t want to disturb other population centers.”
“I see. It’s funny, I can barely imagine going back to a life without humans,” Zolta explained, turning the spearhead over in his hand. “So much has changed since then, hard to say we even could go back.”
“Then forward it is!” Russell asserted. “Corporal, how long do you want?”
“I’ll complete it when we return to the village. I have the lines I need,” Mendes replied, stashing the notepad away inside one of the voluminous pockets on the outside leg of his pants. He began circling the skull with a critical eye, chin between his fingers. “So how do you want to do this? Those lower mandibles look a bit fragile.”
“Secure them to the upper jaw and fix hooks behind the joint, at the back of the skull, and in the orbits,” Zolta instructed, pausing as the humans looked at him. Winters translated for Mendes’ edification as Natalya rejoined them with a large length of reinforced cable draped over a shoulder. “What? You’ve never had to lift heavy things before?”
“Not quite like this,” Mendes admitted. “But if the eye sockets could stop a bullet it stands to reason they’re quite a sturdy point. Good for hooks as well. Shall we, sir?”
“Yeah, time’s a wastin’,” Winters agreed, heading for the cargo hold himself. “You guys have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
-----
“Then we have an accord,” Natori agreed delightedly, extending his hand to Antoth. The Cauthan took it and shook. The Admiral then offered the same gesture to Ratha as a sign of equality. The mated pair had shown him around the village for the majority of the morning, and while Ratha quickly grew weary of Natori’s ever inquisitive nature, Antoth was happy to answer questions about his people, or to have them answer themselves. “Pending the results of Asha’s visit to our medical facilities, we will see about getting some of your farmers set up aboard my ship. There should be little problem transplanting the crops once we produce and culture enough soil from the samples Alice provided last week. And we humbly accept your invitation to your harvest festival. A handful of individuals will attend both days, and I will devise some process to select from the rest of my crew. In the meantime I will be sure to keep you abreast of…“ Natori was forced to trail off as the Hydra shuttle made its impending presence known, appearing above the northwestern treeline. Not even Natori Kaczynski could keep his jaw from going slack as the shuttle’s cargo came into better view. The on duty guards atop the village gates sounded their horns as the shuttle made straight for the village center, kicking up dust and scattering villagers as the opening left in the wake of the temple of Seil made for the perfect landing zone. Defying every safety regulation in the book, Russell Winters could be seen hanging out of the open hatch.
“Just the Cauthan I was hoping to see!” he yelled Ratha’s way. “Any chance you’ve got a bigger wall somewhere around here, Huntress? I seem to recall promising to replace one of your skulls.”
“I’m going to kill him now, dear,” Ratha informed Antoth politely, drawing her knife. The panther-esque Cauthan rolled his eyes and placed his hand on hers.
“He’s not wearing his armor. You can jump him next time,” he tried, nevertheless allowing Ratha to stalk up to the shuttle as Private Orlova conducted a masterful landing, settling the front of the shuttle first and killing the thrusters in sequence so that the skull finally settled nicely right on the spot Vash had once proclaimed Veera a heretic and Russell an Avatar of Kel. The Omega Jumper hopped to the ground and walked up to her. Even Natori found himself holding his breath.
“Well?” Russell demanded sternly. Ratha looked silently at the towering mass of bone and faded fur. She closed her eyes and flattened her ears.
“I suppose it’s fitting isn’t it, that we steal dreams from one another, human,” the Huntress eventually whispered. “Here you are with the trophy I always coveted, having scoured Valta’s domain near and far…” she finished by glancing down at her own belly.
“Ratha.”
“Shut up, Winters. Don’t expect me to thank you while you strut your non-existent feathers all about town,” she snapped, tapping her spear butt against the ground and clawing the dust in agitation. “But…”
“But?” Winters wondered genuinely as Fenrir trotted past the two of them to find Veera, who was waiting for them in the rapidly gathering crowd of Cauthan, about a third of whom sported spectacles, correctional or aesthetic, thanks to Alice and Xan’s efforts. Alyra’s frames were particularly bold. She looked fit for a Hollywood movie set.
“But… thank you for divesting me of the childish notion that I could be as Valta herself. I’m honestly surprised the Goddess didn’t kill me sooner for my hubris, but perhaps this was her plan all along.”
“She’ll gain a new generation of faithful adherents,” Winters agreed. To his surprise, Ratha let out a bark of laughter.
“She will, human, assuming my cub isn’t a boneheaded adherent of Uthos like his father. Hey Antoth, it’s your problem now!” Ratha continued, quite pleased with herself as the humans made certain that no replacement temple of Seil would be forthcoming anytime soon. That didn’t seem to matter however as Zolta’s fellows gathered around him and lifted him onto their shoulders, parading him around the gathered villagers and regaling all who would listen with the tale of the smith who had forged the weapon that brought down the great beast. When he saw Asha in the crowd clapping for him politely he held up the spearhead and even managed an embarrassed smile. The rest of the village, meanwhile, tried to figure out how the humans had built a flying machine made of metal. After a brief conversation with Orlova and Antoth, the shuttle’s hull and systems were locked and an impromptu session of cultural exchange began. Not even Mendes was spared, finding it impossible to work on his sketches as multiple Cauthan introduced themselves and began asking questions about the color of his skin and hair, his job, and whether he was mated. Through it all, Xan eventually found Winters, escorted by Alice, Lachlan, and Thantis.
“You son of a bitch, don’t you dare say you aren’t Kel’s avatar again!” Xan exclaimed, reaching out to bash forearms as Winters laughed and ruffled his feathers. “Winters, this is amazing. My cane is made from that?!”
“You sound like Antoth. Leave my mother out of this! But you’re damn right it is, kid. You look good.”
“It’s because we’ve spent the last couple days helping his people see better,” Alice told her brother before throwing herself at him as Ursol, perhaps inevitably, tried to climb onto the skull. Lachlan and Sentaura were there immediately. “Rusty, what the name of God and all of their gods is this thing?”
“An ursae. And before you ask, yes, I had to kill it. They needed food and clothing, and this thing was hunting them. It killed Sentaura’s husband,” he explained solemnly.
‘Welcome back sir. Whatever accolades you receive today, you will have earned them,’ Io insisted as Mac snatched Ursol away from teeth that were almost as tall as the cub himself.
“You were there with me. They’re yours too,” Russell insisted as they were joined by the Scotsman and black-furred Cauthan. “Sentaura, good to see you and the little one.”
“Momma?” Ursol wondered as tears began forming in Sentaura’s eyes. She quickly composed herself and shifted her son in her arms.
“Thank you, human.”
“May your mate’s spirit be at peace,” Russell replied solemnly as all assembled looked on respectfully, a small circle of quiet despite the impromptu celebration that was gathering steam all around them.
“By your hand, he will be,” Sentaura insisted. “Lachlan, I presume you will be joining us for dinner this evening?”
“Ah, yes mum, I will be,” he replied.
“You are all welcome, should you choose to join us,” Sentaura offered to Alice and Russell before politely excusing herself and heading for the graveyard beyond the east gate. Ursol waved over her shoulder.
“Bye bye, uncle Mac!”
“Bye bye, wee laddie! Good work on yer words!” the Marine praised the cub before shaking his head in the skull’s direction. “If it’s all the same ta you, Alice, I don’t think I’ll be riskin’ a fight with yer brother anytime soon. By me kilt an’ pipes, that’s one hell of a trophy.”
“You have a kilt and bagpipes?” Alice suddenly demanded as Xan, Thantis, and Veera looked on in confusion. Russell crossed his arms over his body.
“What sort o’ self-respectin’ Scotsman wouldn’t bring a kilt and pipes into space?!” Lachlan wondered, aghast at even the mere suggestion that he might not have such tokens of his heritage among his effects at all times. Emboldened by the jubilant atmosphere surrounding them, Alice walked right up to her brother and jabbed him in the sternum.
“If you screw this up for me I’m going to punch you in the balls!”
“Oh thank Kel, I thought she was making eyes at me,” Xan laughed, earning him a glare from Alice.
“I was worried about you! You’re one of Rusty’s friends!”
Whatever Xan had prepared for, that reply was not it. MacGregor made a point to whistle loudly as Thantis looked around at them all with a broad smile. Eventually the young Cauthan replied to her. “Thanks, Alice. The last few days have helped a lot.”
“Because serving Kel means serving others,” Thantis stated wisely. “Now excuse me, young, dark-skinned human, may I ask about your drawing there?”
“Welp, good luck Corporal Mendes!” Winters waved as the elderly death priest easily parted the crowds surrounding Natori and the others so that he could take a closer look at Mendes’ sketches. Russell picked up where they left off. “So you and my sister are getting along?”
“Yep, we’re the best of friends! And by friends I mean sorta acolyte temple buddies and or assistant in whatever schemes I come up with. Also he punched a hole in my arm so that’s gotta count for something, right?” Alice reasoned, throwing an arm around Xan’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal for humans to do this. Right Mac?”
“It is for her, at least,” he agreed as a young Cauthan female walked past him. “Oh, hello there?”
“You seem to be doing well, Xan,” Eris said quietly, looking between Alice and the skull. “This is quite the occasion.”
“Eris? H-how have you been?” Xan stuttered as Alice stood straight as a board and retracted her limbs to her sides.
“Nope, definitely not what this looks like!” she insisted with wide eyes.
“Making it worse, Alice!” Xan snipped with sudden confidence before turning back to his erstwhile crush. “So Eris, uh, come to see the skull?” Behind him, Alice took another step back and mouthed ‘I didn’t mean it!’ to Russell and Veera. The couple just looked at one another and sighed.
‘Yep, that’s jealousy. That’s definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent jealousy,’ Io declared as they watched Eris stare Xan down. ‘Your sister might as well be named Pandora, sir. Trouble wherever she goes.’
“No arguments there,” Russell murmured in agreement as Eris suddenly spread her feathers wide.
“Xan, let’s not beat around the bushes here. Should I just assume you will be with her come harvest season?”
“What? Hey, that’s not fair to him,” Alice stepped right back in, turning her tablet’s volume up to max.
“I did not ask for your opinion, human trollop!”
“Get out of here, Eris,” Xan demanded quietly as Russell grunted. “What was your plan, to confront me publicly to get an answer you wanted, or just to get back at me for not getting it up for you?”
“What, what?!” Veera gasped as Xan carried on, set off by one thing or another. Thantis’ ears were twitching despite the fact that his back remained turned to the action, a rueful but proud expression on the elder’s face.
“Sure, Alice is super weird and clingy-”
“Am not!”
“Oh stop it, I’m trying to defend you!” Xan brandished his cane at her and began to come unbalanced. Alice shot a hand out and righted him more forcefully than necessary. “Yeah yeah, thanks. Look Eris, I don’t know if you have a problem with me or Alice, but she’s been doing good things for our people. Even your own mother got a pair of spectacles today. So if that’s what this is about-”
“This is about you letting a human hang all over you like that!” Eris insisted. Russell and MacGregor looked at one another, their two minds proving no more useful together than apart. Xan’s expression suddenly became tired and dejected.
“Eris, I talked with Gael and Rakis you know. I know about your little arrangement with Gael. You should just be happy you already have a male waiting for you come harvest time. Let me deal with my own problems, alright?”
“They are changing you, Xan. They are changing all of us!” Eris cried, looking fearfully at the disturbingly tall Natori Kaczynski and the other Jumpers.
“And if I have things my way they’ll keep doing so, with my permission. I am a keeper of knowledge; that’s my job now,” Xan declared forcefully as Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her and made to swat her away but her look of thanks stalled his paw. “Don’t get me wrong, Alice, you’re far too much like Eris to actually be my type if that’s what this is actually about. Not sure if you cared, but if I’m going to disappoint her I might as well disappoint you all in one go, right?”
“You… you are lost, Xan,” Eris whispered before running off into the crowds. No one bothered trying to stop her.
“She’s a brave fluffy lass, I’ll give her that much. Change ain’t easy fer everyone,” Lachlan spoke into the awkward silence as Alice rounded on Xan.
“What do you mean I’m ‘not your type’? You think I was coming onto you? You think I’m like her?!” she shouted as Thantis broke down and finally began laughing, blowing his cover completely. Io was chewing popcorn loudly in Russell’s ear. Veera simply smiled and allowed her feathers to flutter easily.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Alice. You and your brother do everything your way and that’s fine, probably runs in your family. But my people talk. We know you’re hanging off of Lachlan all the time and whatever else. Just laying it all out there… ok…?“ Xan promptly lost balance and collapsed, his good and bad leg shaking as Alice supported him. She looked at Thantis who had given them his full attention at his apprentice’s distress.
“I think it’s just nerves, Thantis. He’ll be fine. Girls are super scary after all.”
“And see, that’s why you’re not my type,” Xan laughed as his diaphragm felt like it was going to stop, his brave stand in front of Eris leaving him completely drained. “You’re just like her. Always smarter, always in control, always needing to have things your way. I’m just not cut out for a female like that. You’re pretty though, just like she is.”
“I hate you so much right now,” Alice laughed and cried at the teenage gravity of it all. “I haven’t been this worked up since senior year of high school.”
“That’s ok, way I hear it there are a ton of other human females on your ship. Eris was lying by the way. None of the females will take me at the harvest festival. Broken mate like me is a liability, plain and simple.”
“I can fix you up, get you moving again!” Alice insisted as Russell placed two fingers to his temple and shook his head. Veera rested her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I know. And I want you to. I feel a lot better about that now seeing how easy it was to fix people’s sight. But we talked about all that, the metal and other stuff I still don’t really grasp. You do that and I’ll be something… else. I won’t be a Cauthan anymore. Eris was right about that, give her credit. I’d be lost to my own people. But hey, if Veera and your brother can make it work there’s gotta be some human girl dumb enough to want me, right?”
“You are the most unbelievable little shit I’ve ever met,” Russell insisted, finally striding forward and helping Xan to his feet as Alice looked on, momentarily speechless. “Giving my sister the ability to tinker with your body to her heart's content, turning her down in the same breath, and simultaneously declaring your intention to court one or more of her shipmates? Fuck, it’s good to have the old Xan back. What in Kel’s name happened to Mr. depresso?”
“Your sister did. You have any idea what it’s like seeing Thantis be able to read again; to see Cauthan I’ve known for years put a stupid piece of… what’s it called Alice?”
“Glass, Xan. Keep praising me; I’m still mad at you.” She retreated to Lachlan’s side to prove her point.
“Yeah yeah, wouldn’t be the first female,” Xan said, leaning heavily on his cane. “I just… I became a guard to help people, you know. And now I really am. So thanks, both of you.”
“You’ll be able to find a mate, Xan,” Veera insisted kindly. He held up a hand.
“Look Veera, I’ve gone and used up most of my optimism already so let’s cut the wishing. I was crushing hard on Eris, but learning that she already had Gael lined up in case I fell through? I’ll admit, Alice, you’re smarter than she is. Eris should have known guards talk about everything, even former guards. And the fact of the matter is that with the imbalance in the village now, I know that any female who approaches me will only do so because no able-bodied males of age are left. I’m too damn stubborn to let that happen.”
“Fine, I guess he’s right, hardnose like him and me never would have worked out,” Alice joked, hiding her face in her hands as mirth overtook her. “But I couldn’t ask for a better assistant!”
“So you really intend to look for a human?” Veera couldn’t help but follow up. Their conversation was more or less private given how many other distractions existed in the square at that moment, not to mention the din of conversation everywhere around them. Xan ‘shrugged’ by throwing up his crest feathers and looking to the sky.
“I guess so. It worked for you, right Veera? We’ll just have to see. Anymore talking about my mating life and I’m going to really consider feeding myself to Fenrir. Damn Eris, getting me all fired up over nothing.”
“Uh huh, cause your love life is nothing,” Alice cut in, scolding him for being so dismissive while in the prime of his life. Xan just smiled.
“Currently? It is! Know any cute females on board your ship?”
“Natori! I’m spending tonight on the Event Horizon and leaving this Cauthan right here on this super interesting rock!” Alice insisted loudly enough for the Admiral to hear her over the din. He waved at them, easily visible over the sea of Cauthan given his height.
“Perfect, Alice. We have an order of lanterns for Antoth’s guard force that needs filling!”