Work Text:
The distinctive spikes crowning Luar-thwei Kv’Rohkoh's crest only added to his already considerable height, so he was required to duck a little as he exited the cramped shuttle onto the clanship's hangar bay. He had no need to do so with his own personal craft, with its more elongated hatch – but then, that was his no longer his, as he'd sold it upon approval of his request to join ranks on the clanship.
He'd been here before, many spans ago, but had entered via a secondary docking bay on the other side. This hangar was many stories high, humming with a low level of steady activity: flight crews moving to and fro, incoming cargo shipments, shuttles and ships in various states of repair. It would take adjusting to, this constant bustle of comrades and colleagues around him. On Yautja Prime he'd lived on the capitol city's outskirts – conveniently close, but with room to breathe.
The residence had not been sold. Dek'ka had always loved the spacious dwelling so even as Luar vacated, she remained.
But he would not think of her now, nor of their having parting ways. He had turned the separation over in his mind every fathomable way, and had no doubt he'd do so yet again as he drifted off to sleep tonight – but for now there was business to attend to, and he allowed the necessary tasks to fill his mind. He must formally greet the clan leader, meet an administrative officer to receive his lodging assignment, apply for a “personal vessel” berth, and track down an old friend...
“Have you done this before?” Kate queried from the couch, massaging the back of her cat's apple-round head as Solar located pieces of lightweight armor in the storage compartments. In reference to the cat's tortoiseshell coat she'd named her Iyona, a yautja word for a certain kind of peppery orange spice. Solar had found the choice odd but endearing. “Teaching pups?”
“Not for a very long time. But I owe a friend a favor, and this is how he wishes me to return it.” Solar assembled the various armor components on the table, in the order they'd be put on. “He is receiving a promotion and was supposed to overlap with his replacement today, but he was enticed away from his duties by a sporting competition on a nearby outpost station.”
Kate could tell he thought little of this shirking of responsibility.
“Can I watch you?” She didn't see young yautja very often, let alone get a glimpse into their early training methods. Females with young offspring were protective, and lived on a separate deck from the warriors. Having personally witnessed some of the brawls that often broke out, she couldn't say she blamed them.
“Mothers and children are exiled to one part of the ship?” she'd pressed when the subject had first arisen.
“Exiled!?” Solar had laughed in response. “It is they who prefer it that way. Any unwelcome male would be tossed out head first.”
Now, he considered her request as he strapped a simple leather bracer to his forearm. “I think you might prove a distraction.”
“I can sit like a church mouse if you want me to,” she whispered. “Look.” She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She put her chin on her kneecap and bit back a smile. “See how quiet I'm being. I'm not making a sound.”
Solar's top mandibles tightened up in subtle but, to Kate, very perceptible affection. “I do not know what a church mouse is, but it must be unawares of how distracting it can be.”
“If that was coming from a human man I wouldn't be sure if I should be complimented or insulted.”
“Since I am not one of those, you will have to draw your own conclusions. Although,” he deliberated, clicking one talon on the hard curve of the bracer, “It might be beneficial for them to learn to work around disruptions to their usual environment. None of them will have ever seen an ooman before.”
“As long as I'm not target practice.”
“I would never allow that.” He tightened the last strap and made a fist, rolling his arm side to side to be sure of the fit. When their eyes met again, the mellow glow of humor illuminated the golden depths. “With oomans I generally advise close-combat weapons.”
Luar had to wait in an antechamber to see Clan Leader Olora Jhud-te Kran. When he was at last granted entrance to her offices he met a distantly recognizable yautja, with unusual deep blue coloring and a gaze so self-assured yet so keen Luar had the sensation of being laser-scanned. He stood quietly though, undaunted but waiting respectfully before her vast desk for her to speak first. Strings of bone beads in her tress rattled as she finally rose.
“On the homeworld you were chiva n'yaka-de. A good one, too, I believe.” Chiva n'yaka-de – a chiva master, instructor of older adolescents on the cusp of their trials. “Do you feel that is correct?”
It was, but Luar considered his answer. “Through the grace of the gods, Most Honorable and Majestic Taitava-paaleko, and my own efforts I have not yet lost an initiate.”
“Well, you are still young. There's time for failure.” Her tone was blunt, yet without cruelty, and she crossed her arms as she took him in again head to foot. “And feel free to dispense with the formalities. I value plain speech.”
Luar could appreciate that.
“I respect your status and skill, Luar-thwei, and have taken it into account, but it does not automatically entitle you to the position of your choosing here.” She paused, as if waiting for an objection; when he said nothing she looked him over again, and seemed not to find him lacking. “I trust you will treat your assignment with the care it deserves and not consider it beneath your notice.”
“We see eye to eye on this, Leader,” Luar responded. “So long as I am not scrubbing communal bathing facilities.”
Olora gave him a hard look – then the ghost of a smile graced her dark features, and she clicked in resolute satisfaction.
Kate and Solar used the lift to descend a deck. While the mature warriors had gyms to maintain their fitness and training, this deck was dedicated wholly to that pursuit, housing unblooded and kehrites of varying size and function for even youngest yautja. Most of the doors were closed but as yautja came and went Kate caught glimpses of gangly teenagers and steely-eyed instructors and climbing structures that reached to the already high ceiling.
The kehrites were all marked with symbols on the lintel, and Solar's eyes flicked up to each as they passed. He stopped short when he found the one he was looking for. There was no code needed to access it, merely a motion sensor, but as the wide doors slid smoothly apart Solar stopped, performed a sharp double-take, and focused down the hallway behind Kate.
She turned. Approaching was a tall red yautja – she recognized him, she realized. Solar's hswe-chiva, chiva brother. He'd been on the hunting moon. While he apparently shared Solar's surprise, it was clearly of the pleasant variety, and she ducked aside to let them greet each other.
“Teaching pups, Akso?” the big yautja joked, giving Solar a hearty slap on the bicep. “Which elder did you offend to earn such a demotion?”
“Luar, what brings you here?”
“Forgive me for catching you off guard,” Luar grinned. “I meant to inform you of my reassignment to the ship but didn't want to do so until my acceptance was confirmed, which it only just has been – ”
“You wasted no time coming to us, then,” Solar noted. “In honesty it pleases me to have you join us. Your skills are invaluable. Does your mate accompany you?”
“She – does not,” Luar replied briskly. “Our ambitions lie in differing directions. But why do we find each other here?” he redirected, tipping his head toward the kehrite. “Jesting aside, surely you are no instructor?”
“Erouti is one of the instructors for this age group and I owed him a favor, and he asked me to take over this session while he wandered off to Yareki Station.” A trace of disdain stole across Solar's features.
“Ah, he did not want to be saddled with the new arrival.” Luar shrugged at Kate, eyes twinkling. They were similar in color to Solar's, and friendlier than most yautja's when (if) they looked at her.
“No doubt he was expecting some overeager rube from the homeworld.” Solar shook away his irritation, expression clearing. “When did you last deal with pups, Luar?”
“Not since I was practically one myself. I did not expect this position, and yet preparing unbloods for such an important event as chiva is demanding work – I welcome the chance to rest my brain. Not that these young ones don't deserve my full attention,” he added, raising his voice as they entered the kehrite so the occupants could hear him.
Twenty young yautja, akin in size and height to an eight or nine year old human child, stood in four rows of five. Regardless of individual coloration all were more muted in saturation than their adult counterparts, some still retaining the faint camouflaging baby spots on their shoulders and arms. Though their hands were relaxed at their sides their posture was ramrod straight, and all attention was keenly focused on Solar and Luar.
“As you can plainly see, I am not your teacher,” began Solar, taking his place at the front of the room. “I am taking over for Warrior Erouti just for this day, and soon Warrior Luar-thwei will be replacing him entirely. Before we begin, run the perimeter of the kehrite ten times and return to your positions. First one back chooses the starting exercises.”
Yautja and humans may be a million miles apart, both culturally and literally, but it wasn't so very unlike elementary school gym class, the herd of youngsters shuffling into a loose line and taking off into laps around the spacious room. Even lethal, ferocious killers had to start somewhere.
When the students finished their laps and returned to formation the class began in earnest. Solar spoke with deliberate quiet, to ensure close attention – which he fully received – so Kate missed most of the content and instruction, sitting on a bench at the back as she was, but watching was engrossing enough.
Solar and Luar took the class through several sets of kata, a series of repetitive movements and motions performed while visualizing an invisible opponent. The youth obviously knew this routine well; they stepped and turned, striking the air, crouching and lunging while Solar and Luar moved among them, correcting form when necessary and pairing up students once their kata was deemed acceptable.
The two adults were clearly comfortable working side-by-side, but as the class progressed their personality differences shone through, both with each other and the children. Each were attentive to their pupils but where Solar was serious, Luar was quick to grin; when Solar allowed for a reserved smile, Luar did not hesitate to laugh outright. While Kate wasn't familiar with usual class dynamics, or with Luar, from her human perspective he was an excellent choice for the position. And though she'd never seen prolonged interactions between a yautja adult and child, she imagined most would not be so warm and easygoing with the juveniles.
She had no idea of the time, but she estimated an hour and a half had passed when Solar called for a brief break. The children drifted from their pairs but before they could go far Luar's voice rose above their chatter.
“You do not often have two instructors at once, do you? Let us show them an example of jedhin-jedhin,” he suggested, raising a brow at Solar.
Jedhin-jedhin. Hand-to-hand combat, no weapons. Solar cast a glance out across the semi-circle of juveniles, eyes creasing at the corners. “Perhaps so fierce a demonstration would alarm such untried pups as these.”
Kate had gathered that it was considered disrespectful to speak out of turn, but at Solar's pointed musing there was a chorus of scratchy voices scoffing at such a notion and assuring the adults of their bravery and their request to observe.
“Very well,” Solar acquiesced, and as Luar cast his wooden training spear aside Solar gripped him by the forearm, pulling him in to murmur in his ear. Luar listened with tusks ticking in thought, pulled back to reply in an undertone, then barked out a chuckle of agreement.
“You can see that my opponent is larger than I am,” Solar indicated as the two yautja moved fifteen feet or so apart. While both were muscular and powerful, Luar was robust enough that if it weren't for the thick yautja hide, Kate was convinced she'd have seen bulging veins on his biceps. “Otherwise we are very alike in age and ability. When a disadvantage comes down to size, what approach might be taken to close the gap? Speak freely.”
At the permission several students chattered at once.
“Tire him out – ”
“Make him hit first and overextend on the strike – ”
“Kick his feet out from under him – ”
Through some unspoken communication Solar and Luar simultaneously dropped into attack stances and Luar made the first approach.
“For a smaller fighter, the middle ground is the most dangerous,” Solar said, voice raised this time. He was fast but deliberate, almost balletic in his precision as he circled just clear of Luar's range, ensuring each movement was distinct enough for the students to see. “I am staying on the outside where I cannot be reached, which will either tire him out or cause him to become impatient and throw himself into an unwise attack.”
Kate remembered this. He had taught it to her, as well.
“Or – ” Solar darted to the side and then in, forcing Luar to spin and swiftly step back. “I can crowd him, and make it difficult for him to fully extend his strikes and land any solid hits.”
Luar made an appropriate hit, jabbing Solar in the face – even if Luar had not been holding back for demonstration purposes, what Solar had said was true, Luar didn't have enough space to extend the blow to its full power and it mostly glanced off Solar's jaw.
When Solar delivered a hit to the belly he clearly held back as well, but Luar reacted dramatically anyway, buckling double and creaking out an exaggerated wheeze. From the juveniles came a bird-like clatter of giggles.
“Now he is vulnerable,” Solar said, indicating with a sweep of his hand Luar's bent head and exposed neck. “And I can either subdue or dispatch him as I see fit.”
As Luar straightened, utterly unharmed, a student's voice piped up, “And the unwise attack? What if a bigger opponent comes after you and you cannot dodge it?”
“Yes, we were getting to that,” Luar responded. “Observe.”
He and Solar parted once more, again putting fifteen feet of space between them. Without warning Luar charged, Solar feinted, and a mere hand's breadth before they crashed together Solar crouched low and pummeled forward to collide with Luar's knees. As Luar's feet flew out from under him Solar grappled his midsection and with a muffled roar threw him backward over his shoulders to slam into the mat.
There was a ripple of awe from the students. He'd made throwing the brawny yautja look easy, and though Kate knew he was aided by Luar's cooperation, it was still as impressive to her as it was to the young audience.
He was turning now and extending a hand to Luar, who laughed, shaking his long tress back as Solar helped pull him to his feet. He appeared unfazed by the violent impact with the ground; the pair must have carried out the move in such a way to negate any injury. They exchanged inaudible words before Solar stepped away, giving Luar the floor.
“I need a pair to replicate this,” Luar said. Half the class surged forward to volunteer.
As Solar skirted the room to approach Kate he was stopped by one of the students, a young female who darted out in front of him – he stood with his hands linked behind his back, head cocked, as the child ducked her head shyly and asked something Kate couldn't hear. Solar listened, nodding and demonstrating the grappling gesture again, touching his own midsection with large hands and apparently indicating some kind of weak spot. The pup found it on herself, then beamed as Solar nodded once more in approval.
“I don't think I've ever seen you interact with children before,” Kate began as he reached her.
“Hmm, I suppose not.”
They watched Luar positioning two youths a distance apart, crouching low behind one and detailing each aspect of his stance so they could imitate it.
“Would you ever want them? Pups?” While the yautja family structure was quite different from humankind's, reproduction was important for them; males added to their status by being chosen to father offspring, and for females, bearing and rearing them was vital work worthy of the utmost respect.
“I have already sired several,” Solar responded absent-mindedly.
Kate's limbs went leaden, stopping her from rising just as she'd begun. “Are... are you serious? You have pups?”
Solar nodded, tipping his chin in the direction of the young female he had briefly spoken to. “That is one of them.”
Kate stared at the child, who had rejoined the half-circle around Luar. Her coloring was the standard mossy mottling, different from Solar's, and if there was any facial resemblance to him Kate couldn't tell. Yautja no longer looked all the same to her, but then, that only applied to adults.
“She lives here? On the ship?”
“On the sororal deck with her mother and aunts.”
“What's her name?”
“Zekada.”
Kate watched Zekada. As she listened to Luar talk she stood with her feet apart, like Solar.
“There is much in your expression,” Solar noted after a time.
“It's just... different. From what I'm used to, that is. You don't... raise them at all?”
He looked skeptical. “What would I do with a suckling?”
“On Earth parents raise children together. Usually. Only deadbeat dads never see their kids.”
“Dead beat? Those words together sounds unflattering.”
“It means lazy and uncaring and neglectful. Not that you are,” she backpedaled as he frowned in offense.
“I would not have mated with their bearers if I thought them incapable of rearing pups. Males would only get in the way. I can show you, if you doubt me.”
“I don't,” said Kate as she at last rose. “Doubt you.” Though she wasn't sure if she believed her own words, and she chastised herself for it. Different wasn't bad.
“The youngest pup I sired is also on the sororal deck. Come, we will visit, and you will see he is in good hands.”
They left the kehrite, followed by the sound of the two students shouting as they crashed into each other.
When the lift opened onto the sororal deck Kate almost expected them to be stopped by the yautja version of a doorman but they entered freely. It was much like the deck she spent her time on, if not a shade more spacious, and perhaps better lit. It smelled different – she hadn't realized until now that she'd grown accustomed to male musk.
The ratio of those passing by was about 80% females to 20% males, she approximated. Some of the females wore the same kind of armor she was used to seeing, while others wore minimal and flowing fabrics, and still others a hybrid of the styles. One clad in no more than a gauzy sarong and a latticework of battle scars passed, taller than Solar – while the sexes stood about the same height, it wasn't uncommon for females to have a few inches of advantage – and Kate was inordinately startled by the sight of her moon-round belly.
“Was she pregnant?” she whispered to Solar, avoiding the urge to crane her neck back and stare rudely.
“Yes...?” he responded, as if unsure where she was going with that.
“I only just now realized I've never seen a pregnant yautja before.”
“That is little surprise,” Solar shrugged. “The ship is large, and the decks we frequent are mostly male.”
Distracted as he was by navigating through the deck he walked faster than usual, and she had to hustle to keep up with his long strides, until he noticed and slowed down. They had a sort of arboretum here, she saw the unmistakable flash of green foliage through the crack in a closing door – she wondered if anybody who wanted could visit it.
At last, after stopping to think at a four way junction, he seemed to determine where he was going and took the left passageway. It was not so busy here, and evidently the next female he passed he recognized, because he sidestepped into her path.
“I seek Taloudi Je-Kande,” he began, and she responded with a vague wave of her hand.
“She is off-ship for several more cycles.”
“And her pup? The youngest?”
“In the care of her sister. What is your business? Are you the sire?”
Solar nodded in respect. The female eyed Kate hard, apparently unimpressed – but that was technically good, as it meant she didn't consider the human interloper a threat.
“The residence is in the third block, continuing along this corridor,” she conceded. She added a string of letters and numbers that apparently meant something to Solar. “You will likely be asked for identification.”
“My gratitude,” he said, but she was already continuing on her way.
She'd been right – when they found the correct chamber and Solar pressed the 'request access' button the door opened partway, and a stocky one-eyed female frowned out at him.
He reached for his wrist gauntlet, as if to provide some sort of credentials.“I come to visit my – ”
“Ah,” she relaxed, “There is no need. I know your face now.”
The space was larger than their own, but that seemed appropriate: Kate knew that related females often lived in small groups, like lionesses without the lion, raising offspring together in a crèche. They stood in an octagonal foyer, with doorways presumably branching off into separate rooms, but filmy curtains with beaded hems prevented her from seeing any further.
“Why is this here? Is it a gift?”
One-Eye's query pulled Kate's attention from the doorways and she glanced at Solar, unaware he had brought anything with him; then she saw the female's suspicious gaze on her, blinked, and reddened, realizing the “gift” was referring to herself.
“No,” Solar said politely. “She merely happens to be accompanying me on this short visit.”
“Good.” One-Eye let the hand on her hip drop. “I do not know what we'd have been supposed to do with a live ooman.”
She turned and let out a solicitous chirp, and after a beat a very small yautja in a breechcloth and bare feet came toddling through one of the doorways, curtain catching on his crest before fluttering back down behind him. She bent to touch his head lightly, gesturing to Solar.
“Greet your sire, Na'hende.”
In appearance Na'hende seemed the equivalent of a human three year old. His tress was short enough that he resembled a hedgehog, his chubby body monocolored dull olive with soft-edged oval markings on his back and shoulders like a fawn's. He stared up the guests, clicking stubby tusks.
“Hello, little one.” Solar's tone was formal but not unkind. Unexpectedly he took a knee in front of the child, who looked uncertain but not afraid. His yellow eyes seemed more fixed on Kate, who on instinct smiled awkwardly. Predictably, though, the facial expression didn't seem to register.
“Your mother is away for a time, is she not?” Solar continued.
Na'hende turned back to his father and he nodded his bobble-head wordlessly, brow puckering.
“He wanted very much to go with her,” One-Eye mentioned fondly.
“That is good,” Solar addressed the child gravely. “She is a fine hunter. Would you like to be so also, when you are grown?”
“Yes.” His voice was high and scratchy, and what followed was almost incomprehensible. Alien baby talk. Solar tilted his head, replied, “Rightly so,” and rose at last as the pup sidled away and disappeared back through the doorway.
“Please tell Taloudi I have been here, and that I bid her and her son well,” he said courteously to One-Eye, who inclined her head in hospitable acceptance.
“What did Na'hende say?” Kate asked once they were out in the corridor, the door sealing shut behind them.
“That he wants to be an archer, and is starting his training next span.”
“So young?” she pressed delicately.
“At that age the focus is on expending energy in a constructive manner. There are games meant to hone coordination and spatial awareness, and they play on obstacles and structures that increase agility and maintain youthful flexibility into adulthood.”
That didn't sound so bad. She'd had visions of toddlers wielding combisticks and plasmacasters.
As they left the deck behind and entered the lift Solar said out of the blue, “Before. Did you hope to have – offspring?”
Thankfully nobody else joined them before the doors closed. They rarely had reason to use the lifts, or at least Kate didn't – the machinery moved at a glacial pace, or at least seemed to, forcing her to think and answer as they waited to reach their deck.
“I'm not sure.” Solar's attention on her was focused, but undemanding. “I think... if it was important to me I would've known by now. And I don't, so I guess that's my answer.”
“That is fitting, since it is unavailable to us anyway,” Solar reflected. “I am no scientist but even I know that successful inter-species reproduction would be impossible.” His eyes took on a dark cast then, his broad chest expanding. “Though in truth I find the thought of you swelling with my pup somewhat appealing.”
The abrupt visual, framed with the intensity and candor in his voice, gave her an odd shiver. “Is... is that so,” she managed.
“It is.”
Velvet heat unribboned in her stomach.
“How would you do it?” she managed.
If she didn't know better she'd have said she actually startled him. But his expression remained level, as if they spoke of the day's canteen menu instead of such obscenities. “Everyone knows the best way to conceive is from behind.”
She slid her hands behind her and leaned back against the lift wall. A decorative border was adorned with embossed symbols, textured under her fingertips. “Why is that?”
“Some females can be defiant. Even if they consent. Few would accept a mate who did not also have the strength and skill to subdue her.” His tone was calm. Too calm. Deceptively reined in. “And that's easier to do when you get her on her belly.”
The lift was sizable, but felt cramped suddenly, as if the walls were being crushed from outside. “What does that feel like?”
Tension was writ in every line of Solar's body. Kate didn't remember him drawing so near, but he was, looking hawk-like down at her. He rolled one shoulder backward, as if his muscles were stiff. “For her, or for me?”
She had to tip her head back. “You.”
Solar didn't touch her, but rested his palm on the wall next to her face. One claw grazed her braid. His eyes narrowed for a moment, as if looking past her, gathering the words.
“The win makes it better,” he recounted at last. “Because it is not a given, that you will win. I've been thrown off before, and sent away. Sometimes her resistance is only for show, and she yields immediately. Often that ritual is dispensed with altogether – she has found you suitable and needs no further proof, or prefers to maintain control. But sometimes she will fight you every step of the way, not giving you anything you cannot take. And then the physical pleasure of sex, paired with the adrenaline of the fight and the triumph of her eventual submission...” He was so close to touching her now, his belt brushing her shirt. “It can be headier even than the strongest drink.”
Kate's mouth was as dry as the desert they'd found each other in. “And... how does it feel for her?”
“That I cannot say.” His mandibles tugged up in predatory amusement. “You are small, taana,” he breathed. “So small beneath me. You know what it feels like.”
“Remind me.”
Solar leaned away, unlatching the cover on a control panel by the doors and rather forcefully entering a three digit code. Before the elevator had even fully ground to a halt he seized her around the waist – she sucked in a hitching gasp, went rigid with resistance – yanking her backward against him, his desire evident and jutting against her.
On cue she lashed out; when her fist met tusks he grunted, but barely flinched, throwing her into the wall. She lifted her feet to drop her weight, to pull him off balance, but he counteracted by pushing her harder against the wall with his hips.
“You wish me to breed you?” he rasped, one arm taut around her waist and the other rucking up her skirt. "Put my pup in you?" It was role-play, functionally no different than their usual lovemaking – no different from other rough encounters – but still a frisson ran through her.
“If you are worthy enough for it,” she retorted breathlessly.
A growl vibrated through him. Callous claws raked over her ass, her heated sex; she inhaled, jolting forward. Then his big hands were on her hips and his cock was at her entrance – invading, stretching, filling. She choked out an indescribable noise, the wall scraping her forehead. He covered her almost totally, his frame eclipsing hers, no respite from his relentless push in. Between the hard expanse of wall and the span of his hands he held her still, and when he was sheathed to the hilt he groaned, bracing his forearm on the wall.
His other hand came to hers, fitting his over it and placing it just above her pubic bone.
“Do you feel me?” He flexed forward, and through her abdomen came the subtle bulge of his cock against her palm.
She couldn't reply; couldn't breathe. He didn't wait for her to do either before he set his own pace. He showed no mercy, slamming in as if he meant to reach every hidden part of her. She scrabbled at the wall with her free hand but found no support, skirt bunching around her waist with each thrust. He released her hand and snaked his arm around her waist again, hauling her up on her toes, body curving over hers as if he could engulf her completely. When he came it was with a guttural roar: his seed spurted hot inside her, pulsing in savage rhythm, and a single claw punctured fragile skin just under her ribcage.
Her muscles were trembling. She would've collapsed had he not been holding her. So all-consuming was his taking of her, so dazed and dizzied her senses, it only now occurred to her she hadn't even orgasmed. Somehow it didn't seem to matter. That wasn't part of it. And yet...
Behind, Solar's rapid breathing was easing, his heart settling back to its usual speed, satisfied. Tempting as it was to remain buried inside her, the lift could only be paused for so long before the delay attracted notice. Not that they would be the first to use it in such a manner. It was discouraged, but these things happened.
He ensured Kate was steady on her feet before he withdrew. She whimpered as he did, slumping forward against the wall. Her inner thighs glistened pearlescent and his prick twitched again at the sight. His release would find no purchase in her womb, but that was irrelevant – he sought not the biological result, but only the carnal dance of it, those intoxicating moments of make-believe and the primal scuffle and a lusty mate eager for his seed.
She pushed away from the wall now, exhaling... and without warning whirled around and hit him close-fisted in the jaw.
It might not have hurt much in other circumstances but he hadn't been expecting it, and his head snapped to the side. Instinctive anger flared in him, and confusion, and he worked his mandibles and glared down at her pink-flushed face. Her features were displeased, but he knew them well, and he thought he detected a hint of mischief in her eyes. Was this an extension of their game?
“I assume there exists an explanation for that?” he gritted out.
“Were you truly so magnificent as your reputation indicates,” she accused, in surprisingly good yautja, “Would you leave your mate so unsatisfied?”
Her words pierced whatever lingering mist of arousal remained after her blow. She was correct; it had slipped his mind. But it was not selfishness that led to his neglect, but mere immersion in the passion of their play-acting – yautja females did not need that special attention Kate preferred, simple intercourse alone bringing them to their pleasure, especially when in heat.
“My pardon.” He extended a finger and smoothed her mussed braid. It was appropriate, for a yautja female to react so tempestuously upon being deprived her climax. Kate must know that, and no doubt that was why she did it.
And he could not deny her demands stirred him anew.
His touch drifted lower.
Quite some time later when the lift doors opened on their deck, the pair stood calmly, at a proper and platonic distance from each other, with no indication anything out of the ordinary had occurred other than a warrior wiping one hand on his kilt and his human's particularly rosy cheeks.
Luar left the kehrite in an unexpectedly light mood. Like most males, he spent little time with juveniles so young, but he'd enjoyed this first class with them more than he might have predicted. They had yet to develop the severity and pragmatism of adulthood, and while those virtues had their place, an overabundance of it among his peers often proved to be a private burden on his mind. At some point he might have even liked to start a family – a conjugal monogamous family, that rarest of institutions – with Dek'ka.
But that was neither here nor there.
While he was occupied with the students he'd received his lodging assignment on his comm, along with a file including a map of each deck, a directory of facilities and personnel, his class schedule, and other miscellaneous documents pertaining to his new residency on the clanship.
He knew his rank negated the possibility of a shared room, yet still he was relieved to see for certain that the number for his chamber contained an abbreviation designating it as individual housing.
He located it (with a minor amount of difficulty) in a residence block near the port side of the massive vessel. The room was a single rectangle, partitioned by a half wall, with a desk near the door and a bed on the opposite side. It offered a private washroom but no window, which was understandable as he knew windowed rooms were coveted and reserved for the most senior in the chain of command. But after many spans in the airy house on Yautja Prime – the high ceilings, the natural light, the cross-breeze between windows when opened – this downgrade would take some readjusting to.
Not a downgrade, he reminded himself. Just a change.
With a pneumatic swish of the double doors Luar entered the lounge nearest to the mess hall. At home – on Yautja Prime, he amended to himself, he would not use the label of “home” for the time being – he was not a frequent bar-goer, at least not solo like this. But though the clanship was vast, it had its limits. There were only so many places to spend one's free time and he had no wish to sequester himself in his chamber – neither today, nor adopting the habit of it.
It was still early in the cycle, and the lounge was not as crowded as it would likely become after primary shifts were over. Patrons relaxed in sunken seating areas, square in shape and furnished with sleek, low sofas and dense rugs. The bar was not staffed, he noted, but was instead self-serve, with racks of drinkware and a series of beverage-dispensing machines that required credit and coin.
He helped himself to a flagon of bitter and foamy ale, finding a spot facing out at the long bar and observing his surroundings as he drank. The lights were dim and tinged faint orange; no doubt chosen to replicate the suns on Yautja Prime. Spacefaring had its upsides, of course – he wouldn't be here if it didn't – and there would be planetside trips – but to go so long in a big floating canister, without breathing natural air or feeling the real warmth of the sun...
On the opposite side of the room was a spacious balcony with tables and stools and on it Luar spotted, leaning back with both elbows on the railing, a familiar face in profile to him: T'kicta, Solar's cousin from the hunting expedition, the one with the boundless energy and bright green eyes.
Luar wove around the seating toward the spiral staircase. The metal steps rattled slightly underfoot as he ascended, and when he reached the balcony he sidestepped a rather inquisitive female – though he tucked the memory of her away for later – and approached T'kicta's field of vision.
“T'kicta?” The chirr of greeting was polite. The younger yautja spun on the balls of his feet, gaze flicking around – then it landed on Luar, sparking with surprise and recognition. He exchanged a quick farewell with his conversation partner then crossed the gap between them in several loose-limbed strides.
“You remember me, then,” Luar said, as they clapped each other on the shoulders.
“Of course I do.” T'kicta's eyes glinted impishly. “How could I forget my disgraceful defeat at your hands when we played dice that second night? I know you'll give me a chance to regain my honor!”
“I will play you again, but with no honor or coin at stake,” Luar grinned. “Only for the pleasure of the game, if that is enough for you.”
T'kicta's tress was shorter than most, not quite brushing his shoulders, and it swung to the side as he tipped his head in feigned consideration. “It is, though be aware that through no fault of my own my pride is always on the line.”
“Well, that I cannot help. But I can go easy on you, since you seem to require it.” For a moment Luar thought his teasing caused true offense, and he readied an apology, resigning himself to having misread T'kicta's character – but then the other yautja scoffed in unexpected delight, rocking back on his heels.
“The insult! I wonder now if your previous win was a mere fluke, and now you fear my dice skills so much you're already preparing to lose and pretend it was deliberate.”
T'kicta didn't wait for a rebuttal, but fished around in his belt pouch and produced a small leather sack clicking with dice.
“I hope this pride of yours is as substantial as your tongue is sharp,” Luar opined as T'kicta sat at an empty table like a prince at his throne, upending the carved-bone dice into his palm with a flourish.
“Both are a renewable resource. Near endless, in fact.” T'kicta flashed an cavalier smile, as Luar sat down across from him and gestured with two fingers for his pieces. “Like a sun.”
When Kate returned to their quarters from dinner – alone, Solar had been working – she could hear the crackle of a recording, and a voice she couldn't quite pinpoint, and when she determined the front room was empty she crossed toward the doorway to the sleeping area.
On the floor at the foot of the bed, a holo device projected a screen onto the opposing wall, featuring bio-mask playback of a stark and snow-swept planet. And on the bed itself was a tangle of alien limbs, olive against sage against cream against crimson – and though her heart skipped an uncomfortable beat, after a moment it was clear the scene was not sexual, but instead most closely resembled a pile of over-affectionate fraternity brothers after a night of liberal drinking.
Luar lay prone, propped on one spiky elbow, with T'kicta somehow simultaneously sprawled out on his belly like a starfish and snug up under Luar's other arm. T'kicta's focus on the footage was intent, but apparently not so intent he couldn't make a smart remark under his breath, to which Luar responded with a bass chuckle. Solar was laying perpendicular with his head on the dip in Luar's back, watching the holo through heavy lids, as if he'd seen it several times before.
Far stranger than an orgy was the sight of three ruthless extraterrestrials cuddled up together like sinewy, crocodile-skinned puppies watching a movie. She explained movies to Solar once; he'd been skeptical of the concept of wholly fictional stories. She'd decided not to argue the finer points of cinema, or tell him that the yautja habit of rewatching hunt or travel recordings, either their own or their friends' or those of renowned warriors, wasn't so very different. (He had, at least, acknowledged there might be virtue in a historical drama.)
All three faces were washed blue by the holo's glow, and when Solar's attention flicked to Kate, the light tinted his eyes silvery.
“Hello,” he said tranquilly, as if such a tableau were an everyday occurrence. He sat up and stretched like a cat, chin to his chest and back arched concave, then rose, padding silently across the room to her.
“Hi,” she replied. “You, uh – look like you're having fun. I can stay out on the couch, if you want – ”
“Why? There is certainly space on the bed for one little ooman.”
“You mean with you all?” Kate blanched. Luar was huge and essentially a stranger; and though she knew that, despite T'kicta's mischievous ways, he'd never be so disrespectful as to cop a feel, she still wasn't sure how wise it was to cozy up with the hot-blooded young warrior.
Solar cocked his head. “You are bothered?"
"I just didn't know yautja did...” She gestured at the bed. "...that."
"With those we trust and whose company we enjoy, yes. You have described humans to me as physically affectionate, and you yourself are also...?”
“But not with – ” In the holo, there was an staticky exchange between the mask's original wearer and another hunter via their comm system – Kate couldn't quite parse the accent, but it must have been humorous, as from behind Solar came someone's rattle of mirth. “Not with just anybody."
“Then sit with me.” He touched her under the chin. “Do you think I would put you in any situation to be hurt?”
“Of course not, I know that.” She angled her head, looking past him. The bed was roomy, but three adult male yautja and a human besides was pushing it. Even two of them seemed to crowd it with their long limbs and broad frames. T'kicta in particular, though the lithest of the three, managed to take up more real estate than seemed bodily possible. “It looks like a snug fit.”
“I would allow you the privacy of the couch if I thought you truly wished it,” he said in an undertone. “But I can see it is only shyness and not true introversion that motivates you to retreat. Am I not right?”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
Solar adopted a position sitting upright at the head of the bed, knocking aside his cousin's feet as he did so. Kate allowed herself to be drawn onto his lap, her own folded legs fitting almost completely in the space between his knees.
From this position Luar and T'kicta's backs were to her, both laying on their stomachs with their heads at the end of the bed. They seemed unconcerned by her presence – T'kicta of course was aware of the truth of her and Solar's relationship, and she supposed Luar must know also, or else Solar would be more discreet. She wondered what he thought about it. Or maybe he didn't know at all, but Solar trusted him enough to be open with her in front of him, and let him form his own conclusions.
It was rare for her to see yautja with their guard down to such a degree. She could almost forget the predatory nature of their race, watching them watching the recording with such easy relaxation. The light cast soft shadows over the sweep of their tresses, the lines of their shoulders and backs; Luar's scattered with thorn-like nubs and spikes, T'kicta's graced with a slim and near-translucent fin following the curve of his spine. These small physical differences between yautja seemed almost infinite in variety – coloring and crest, patterns and ornamental details, subtle but as unique to each as personality traits.
Kate could have asked what specifically the recording was about, but despite the harsh accent she could deduce the basics – and it didn't really matter. It was entertainment enough to see the two yautja at the foot of the bed joking and commentating the footage like a sports broadcast; to feel the inaudible, peaceful purr at her back.
She'd been here long enough to acclimate to her new life circumstances, but there were still moments – like this one – she was struck by the surreal sensation it had to be no more than a fantastical dream from which she was on the verge of awakening. And that worry, however fleeting, always sent enough ice-water panic through her veins that it served as a reminder: that the choice she'd made to remain here was the right one.
She settled back into Solar's chest. They had talked about children. She wouldn't have been averse to having them, maybe – but now that it was off the table, she felt no real loss. Nothing could compare.
All she wanted was this.
“Your cousin,” Luar remarked, as he and T'kicta left Solar's rooms together to return to their respective lodging areas. “And that ooman.”
“Mmm?” T'kicta cut his eyes slyly over. He knew exactly what the red yautja was getting at, but he wanted to hear his speculation first. His expression apparently was confirmation enough because Luar's brows lifted, and he made an incredulous chuff.
“Very curious.”
“Isn't it?” T'kicta exclaimed. He'd had no one to confide in regarding this very unconventional secret – he wasn't a fool, he understood the discretion required – but was full to bursting with opinions. “You can only imagine everyone's shock when he, out of anyone, returns from an extermination mission to Terra with a half-broken human in tow. ”
“He told me of that, at the sitama. In a way it makes sense.” A youngblood pushing a cart of welding equipment came down the center of the corridor and the two parted briefly around it, before coming together again. “His honor would not allow him to leave someone to die who had aided him and fought nobly.”
“The general consensus is that she's some sort of pet or servant, and he can get away with it because he is who he is,” T'kicta informed him, veering to the right and taking the steep stairs to his level two steps at a time. “If anyone aside from the Leader and myself has figured it out, they are choosing to mind their own business, as they should.”
Lower status yautja often had lodging not in separate residence blocks, but in mezzanine apartments in rows overlooking the main corridors. Much more spatially economic. He had long since left behind the barracks of unblooded adolescence but his current unexceptional rank still limited him to a shared room with three others. It made pursuing females difficult, as he could seldom guarantee privacy and most would not mate without it, but as far as obstacles went it was a small one and he never minded a challenge.
“But don't get any ideas,” he continued meaningfully as they continued along the narrow grated walkway. “She and my cousin are - " He made a bemused face - "monogamous. I already attempted that route and found it closed to me. So if your curiosity is burning you will have to extinguish the flame – ”
He was interrupted by a roll of laughter from Luar. “Mating with a ooman! I respect your cousin very much but that lies outside my scope of interest.”
“Come now, speak truth to me!” T'kicta flitted in front of him, planting his feet and halting Luar in his tracks. Below them were brief snatches of conversation from passersby, an exhaust vent hissing, foot traffic in and out of an engineering access passage beneath the apartments. Warm wisps of steam curled around their calves. “It didn't even cross your mind to wonder about it?”
The older yautja folded his arms indulgently. “Perhaps,” he admitted, casting his eyes off to the side. T'kicta smirked, satisfied with the confession, and drew aside to allow Luar to resume walking.
“But only wonder,” Luar clarified, fixing him with a disapproving gaze that was tempered by the grin playing at his mouth. “And more about the mechanics of it than an intimate interest. He must have to... well, my only comment is that I think she would shatter if I had my way with her.”
As they reached their destination T'kicta digested that, chuffed in ribald amusement, and disappeared through his front door.
Luar was partial to exerting himself during sex, and couldn't conceive of having to exercise caution so as not to harm his partner. Wouldn't such restraint decimate any arousal? Indeed, he recalled as he headed down the walkway to the opposing staircase, he was once completely tossed across the room by a large and temperamental female in the peak of her heat. He responded by pinning her with every scrap of strength available to him and mating her until they both passed out, which was of course what she had wanted all along.
That was before Dek'ka.
He and Dek'ka had been good together. Or, he'd thought so. She felt otherwise: that they were too different. Not suited for the long-term partnership he'd hoped for, and she was ambivalent about. It was true, they were different – she was so intense, taciturn – but that hadn't bothered him until she brought it up. And now it bothered him further because more yautja were like her than not. He was the odd one out.
He replaced these thoughts with ones of the female from the lounge. She'd seemed amiable, her eyes clear and curious. Blue eyes; those weren't common. The palest blue, like the frozen lakes of an ice planet.
Maybe he'd find her and tell her that.