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Hidden in the hay, Indel watched the Earther’s pale figure as it went back and forth, kicking over containers.

“Where are they! Where are the goats?”

“Mr. Smith, I’m very sorry,” the blue blur replied, her head bowed. “They’re not suited for the planet. As we’ve tried to explain. The pigs we can harvest. The oxen even more so. But the goats—”

“Fuck you, you big blue bitch. You have two weeks to repay me for that lot. Two weeks or I’m bringing in some tractors and leveling this shithole to the ground!”

The Earther shoved the blue woman down and marched off.

Indel closed his eyes. Letting off a clicking sound from the back of his throat, he said, Summoners.... Oh, kill me now. If only the Earthers would squash each and every one of them from this planet.

“That is not a very nice thing to say,” the Summoner replied, staggering to her feet.

It took some time for her to come into focus, making Indel’s weak condition all the more worrisome.

She dragged her work-robe down past her knees and professed, “Levelers and Summoners are kin. The good Lord will see to it we are safe.”

Indel blinked at her from under a coarse fabric he couldn’t remember using to shield himself. He was surprised she’d understood him at all.

“Yes, we can still use the old language,” the Summoner said. “Do not think me simple.”

Snorting out a laugh, Indel covered his head with the rough blanket, hiding himself yet again. The material was the same as the Summoner wore. He expected the robe from Summoners, while Levelers would sooner go naked than wear one continually. Indel longed for his first stage. There was no need for clothing then.

“Levelers?” Indel asked. “You call us by the Earthman’s markings. You even follow their god. I cringe at the thought that your blue was ever one with our red.”

He spat on the pale hay beneath him.

“You should all die a bloody death. Once we repopulate, perhaps you will do just that.” Indel’s own words betrayed his thought process. His body ached; his groin heavy from the lack of release. It’d been ages since he’d mated. It had never been this difficult before the Earthers came. For the first time since he’d been old enough to fall under the mating spells, he worried he might not find a mate in time.

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He was weak to the suns and weak to the night in this state. Sensitivity to sights, sounds, and odors made his body react to everything surrounding him. Of course he thought of mating, he could think of little else. Yet here, in the middle of nowhere, he had to wait. What was the alternative? If he tried to reach the mating caves in this state, he might pass out in the suns. Or worse yet, be discovered by an Earthman looking for a convenient experiment.

Remembering that his frame was smaller in this state, and his muscles, though firm, were leaner, too, Indel closed his eyes. He was done for.

The Summoner approached and sat with something warm. The sweet scent washed over Indel, flooding his body with relief. His tail twitched. He froze, hoping such a private thing went unnoticed.

One look at the Summoner’s darkening cheeks told him it had been obvious.

“Go ahead and laugh,” Indel demanded. “Laugh all you like! I do not care.”

“Peace, my lord. I mean no disrespect. Should it happen again, I will not make mention of it.”

Indel cursed himself, cursed that tender voice, and cursed the fact that the Summoner sat so close, her smooth legs ajar. It finally occurred to him that the sweet scent he was reacting to wasn’t the food.

“You smell good,” Indel drawled. “Why?”

The speed with which those legs closed made Indel chuckle.

“You are at the ready to shift from the second stage then? How interesting. I had thought Summoners had abandoned ascension in favor of looking more human. What is your name?”

Two clicks sounded against the Summoner’s teeth and Indel calmed. At least he was being paid the proper respect.

“Nala? What an awful name. It sounds like something of a pet. It fits. Human pet. You are probably just that. Come, pet. What have you for me to eat?”

Nala pulled the hollowed out gourd away. “This is not for you.”

A deep growl in the back of his throat, Indel demanded, “Give it to me now.” He snatched it before Nala had time to argue. Using his bare hands, he dug in then brought a clump of the white substance into his mouth. “This is rather good.”

“My lord, I do not have all that much. Please....”

Indel ignored her. Once he was finished, he threw the gourd down and snuggled lower in the hay.

“I like it,” he said. “Bring me some more.”

“There is no more.”

“Country brat, Earthman’s pet, bring me more or I’ll have you whipped.”

“There is no more,” Nala attested. “And you’ve just doomed my sloth to death. That was enough food for six months!”

They stared at each other before realization dawned.

“Did you just give me the animal’s food?” Indel gasped.

“I gave you nothing, you took it—”

“I’ll have your head. You’ll—”

“Be quiet!” Nala bellowed.

Animals cried out from outside the barn door. Indel fell silent, beyond shocked.

“Don’t you talk to me like that!” he gasped.

“You...” Nala began, unable to even breathe, much less talk. “You...you will stay right here alone until I’ve returned.”

Indel looked the neat surroundings over. “You will not leave me here by myself. Do you hear? You will not dare leave me here at nightfall unguarded. Do you hear!”

Nala stood, staring down at him. “For such a handsome face, nothing pleasant comes from your mouth. How sorrowful it must be existing as you are.”

Indel flinched as if he’d been struck. He didn’t meet the Summoner’s gaze.

Nala said, “I must look for some root for my sloth. When I return, we will see about securing you a way to the mating caves. Short of carrying you there on my back, you will go.”