Alien Notions 2

Alien Notions - part 2

Mahrayne couldn't sleep.
She sighed in frustration; the sprite of Sleep just wasn't making it easy for her tonight. She flipped over onto her other side, again, and wriggled, trying to get comfortable enough to tempt her body to relax, forget its tension, and go to sleep. Mahrayne knew exactly why she was restless but there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it. Pleasuring herself was all very well, but she'd been aching for some - any! - sort of skin contact since she'd arrived on Vejiitasei. Meeting Radittsu, the huge, compelling Saiyan with the mane that just invited you to wrap yourself in it - had been bad enough, but after that episode with Leteetza in the bath… Mahrayne gritted her teeth. Fabulous as that had been, it hadn't been nearly enough, merely sharpening her appetite for what she'd been trying so hard to ignore. She could really do with a hug. Actually, she could really do with some more sex, but she wasn't sure if what had happened with the little Saiyan had been a one-off or not. Leteetza was attractive and responsive, and that tail was intriguing - but would she welcome an advance? Mahrayne sighed deeply. She missed Chumie and Testa, two more of her father's children, and bedmates since they were old enough to leave their mothers' beds. She missed their warmth surrounding her while she slept.
Leteetza had been warm…

Think of something else - she told herself firmly.

It'd been a very interesting day - being introduced to the High King of R'ren'nkh'ia's family. All those gorgeous children… Mahrayne'd enjoyed that immensely, feeling herself come alive and wriggling out of the restricting bonds of public decorum that being in close proximity to the Hassinan males had forced on her. She'd played with the older children, teaching them some simple Hassinan counting and clapping songs, keeping them occupied and out of the way of the other adults tending the infants. She'd helped feed the infants, twice, and then Leteetza had asked her if she'd like to help bath the children before the evening meal. Mahrayne had experienced a moments unease when she realised they were all supposed to get into the enormous bath, but Leteetza reassured her that Hijau and Gh'veen wouldn't be joining them.
In the bathroom, Zha'haarak had stripped off and slipped into the water without hesitation, and Mahrayne - despite her overwhelming curiosity - had averted her eyes from his slim, green body. And then she'd taken her robes off, and found Leteetza looking wide-eyed at her body beads…

Think of something else! - she was obviously going to have to be very firm with herself if she was going to get any sleep tonight.

The bath water had been very hot, but no hotter than some of the springs that fed the baths on Hassina. Leteetza hadn't been the only one fascinated by her skin beads either. The children had been intrigued too, and Leteetza and Zha'haarak had tried to stop them stroking and prodding her. Mahrayne just laughed. It hadn't hurt and she knew the children would lose interest soon enough.
       Leteetza had asked her if she'd ever seen an adult male naked before.
       "Only once, a few years back," Mahrayne'd answered while gently sloshing water over one of the infants, "but I was a bit distracted by his having left one of his arms behind under several tons of rock."
       "What happened?"
       "A cave-in, a nasty one. We lost almost an entire household that day." Mahrayne had remembered with sadness the shock and distress of the event, and how few people they'd managed to save.
       She'd been distracted then by a faceful of water splashed at her by Zha'raadiin, one of the older children. The ensuing water battle had been glorious, but Mahrayne pitied the person who had to clean the bathroom!
       And she'd finally gotten her hands on Zha'haarak's hair.
       He'd been a little hesitant when she'd asked if she could comb his hair for him, but he'd agreed, then seemed almost surprised at how pleasant he'd found it. Hmm. Maybe 'pleasant' wasn't quite the right word. When his silky soft hair was all untangled and smooth, Mahrayne had kept combing it purely for the pleasure of performing the task, humming quietly to herself, and Zha'haarak had relaxed completely under her hands; his head rolling back, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. She'd reluctantly put the comb aside, however, when she found herself wanting to kiss his shoulders. His skin was cool, and so, so smooth. It made her skin - pampered daughter of a noble household that she was - seem rough in comparison. Tempting, too tempting, but Zha'haarak was the mate of a High King and it was probably not a good idea, especially as she'd no idea of the relationship dynamics of his people. Mahrayne had been disturbed, however, to see marks of violence on Zha'haarak's body, and she'd noticed he walked a little stiffly. How could he have gotten such injuries? Surely they couldn't have been inflicted by the High King?
       The children's seemingly unflagging energy was visibly waning by the time they'd climbed out of the bath and gotten dressed warmly for bed. There was food already waiting for them when they came back out of the bathroom, and everyone, adults included, fell on it with great enthusiasm. Zha'haabron and Radittsu came back during the meal, much to the delight of the children - and Mahrayne's renewed discomfort.
       She'd watched them surreptitiously throughout the meal - Radittsu, Zha'haabron and Zha'haarak were all openly affectionate with each other, and Mahrayne had wondered if the big Saiyan was having sex with both of them; there was obviously something happening between these three. But they all looked so tired; they were still worried about Ti'aasaan, that much was clear. How did Ti'aasaan fit into this group anyway? Ti'aasaan's children were fathered by Zha'haabron, but did that mean that Radittsu showed him the same sort of affection as he was showing the others? And then there was Leteetza's relationship with Ti'aasaan… Was she included in the group? And why was Hijau there all the time?
       Leteetza had interrupted her speculations with a question about the cave-in.
       "What happened to the male you helped?"
       "We sent him, along with the other injured survivors, to G'geckah for treatment."
       "Did he live?"
       "Oh yes, his arm grew back within a year with no complications, and he's since been taken in by another household."

There was a sudden absolute silence.

"Did you say 'his arm grew back'?" Leteetza asked incredulously.
       Mahrayne nodded, mystified by the adults' reaction. "Yes, the G'geckans have some method of regrowing damaged or missing body parts." Horrified looks passed between Radittsu and the R'ren'nkh'ians. The High King went pale, dropping the bone he'd been efficiently stripping the meat from.
       "… what…?" he'd whispered, his voice sounding - cracked?
       Radittsu had looked at him with infinite compassion and hugged him tightly. Zha'haarak moved in quickly to hug Zha'haabron from the other side; the Saiyan and the R'ren'kh'ian enfolding the High King in such a protective, buffering circle of love that it had made Mahrayne wistful for something she couldn't even name.
       She'd also been a little scared. What had she said that made the High King react so strongly? She'd looked apprehensively at Leteetza, who'd stroked her shoulder, wordlessly reassuring her, even though she looked worried. Mahrayne still wanted to know what had happened, but, along with an immense curiosity, she had a small amount of tact; she figured now was probably not the time to ask.
       Zh'leet had bustled about efficiently then, getting the children to finish up their meals. Mahrayne recognized diversionary tactics when she saw them, and gladly helped, along with Hijau, Leteetza, and Gh'veen, get the children ready for bed. Radittsu had said an affectionate, if subdued, goodnight to the children and Zha'haarak, then almost physically gathered up the still shocked and silent High King and left. Mahrayne had sung a Hassinan lullaby to the children, which had worked like a charm; the youngsters falling asleep all tangled up together on the huge bed. Mahrayne had sat with them for a little while they slept - they looked so adorable she just wanted to snuggle down with them. Then she'd noticed how dark it was outside and regretfully realised it was time for her to go. Leteetza had smiled tiredly and asked her if she would mind coming by tomorrow?
       Would she mind? Try and stop her!
       Mahrayne had asked what time would be convenient.
       "How about as soon as your eyes are open!" Zh'leet had answered ruefully. They'd laughed together, quietly, and Leteetza had called for a servant to escort Mahrayne back to the Hassinan's suite. She'd not really needed to be shown, she was well able to find her own way back, but security was paramount, obviously. Just before she walked out of the inner door she impulsively bent down and gave the little female a kiss on the cheek. The King's Companion, to Mahrayne's relief, had looked surprised, and maybe even a little pleased?

Mahrayne had convinced the servant to take her by the library first. There, she'd asked Ubi for some information on the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin. The Thinker had been happy to print out some basic information for her and Mahrayne had eagerly anticipated reading the print-out before she went to sleep.

The rest of the delegation were all in the suite's common room when she returned. Mahrayne'd found herself scrutinized by all seven males as soon as she walked in the door.
       "Where have you been?" her father had demanded.
       "I've been with the King's Companion since midday." Mahrayne was annoyed at the interrogation, but had hid it well beneath a practiced veneer of tractability. Marldus, the Lead-Speaker, she noted, was sitting to one side, watching the exchange.
       "What did you do?"
       "I answered her questions about our society, then she took me to meet her children," Mahrayne tried to remain demure but couldn't help smiling fondly, "I've spent the afternoon in the R'ren'nkh'ian's suite helping with the High King's children. They've asked if I can come back and help again tomorrow."
       Astolan opened his mouth to say something, probably negative, but the Lead Speaker spoke first.
       "Excellent! You have my permission to return."
       Both she and her father looked at him in surprise, as did the other delegates. Marldus stood up fluidly and crossed the room to stand in front of her. She looked up into his calculating, silvery eyes.
       "The Saiyans are being very cagey about something and I want to know what it is." He smiled down at her. "And you, Mahrayne, daughter-of-my-friend, seem to have accidentally found yourself in the best possible position to find out, unobtrusively, what's going on." Mahrayne didn't like the way this was sounding but she bowed her head in a show of acquiescence.
       "Of course, Lead Speaker. If I may be excused? I am very tired."

Marldus dismissed her and she bid her father and the other delegates a formal good-night, maintaining the air of demure calm until she'd shut the door on them. She couldn't give vent to her anger vocally, the males would hear, so she paced, furiously, back and forth across the small room until she was calm enough to think. Fine. If there was something going on, she'd find out - but whether she'd pass the information on was another thing. She found the idea of using her proximity to the family to get information distasteful in the extreme.
       Eventually she'd calmed down enough to get ready for bed. She made herself comfortable under the covers and started to read the document on the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin. Fortunately, what she was reading was more than adequate to help her forget her disgust at Marldus's machinations.
       There were seven different types of R'ren'nkh'ia-jin! Zha'haarak and Zha'haabron, and all the children, except Leteetza's, who were hybrids she assumed, were a type called zn'hre - there weren't many of them apparently, and why did they look so different from the rest of the species? Zh'leet was another type, and a female, but Mahrayne had already guessed that. Gh'veen was another type again, and apparently male. Mahrayne considered this. She hadn't felt the same sort of nervousness with Gh'veen as she had with Hijau. Was that because he wasn't obviously a male, or because he was a radically different species? But if Leteetza's twins were hybrids - she assumed Ti'aasaan was one of Zha'haarak's people - then the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin couldn't be that far apart, genetically speaking, from the Saiyans, could they? And if the Saiyans could breed with the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin, would they be able to breed with the Hassinan?
       That train of thought inevitably led her back to Radittsu, and she shivered, feeling the restlessness creep over her again. She obviously wasn't going to get to sleep by denying the thought of him... time for the other approach then. She dimmed the lights and settled back in the bed. In her mind she conjured up an image of the big Saiyan. When she had as clear a picture of him as she could muster, she mentally reached up a hand to the part of him that had intrigued her the most; his mane. She tried to imagine what it would feel like. Would it be like her own hair, or coarser? Probably coarser. She carded imaginary fingers through the wealth of it and the imaginary Radittsu smiled a little. He did more than smile in fact, he stepped in close and wrapped immense, muscled arms around her, dragging huge hanks of his mane along, until Mahrayne was sensuously cocooned in his warmth and strength. And then she felt the warmth of an imaginary Leteetza pressing against her back, and the little female's kiss along her neck ...
       With a contented sigh, Mahrayne dropped off to sleep.

Taking Zh'leet at her word, Mahrayne was ready to go to the R'ren'nkh'ian suite soon after she'd breakfasted. She was looking forward to today, eager to see the zn'hre children again. Mahrayne was curious to see what level of education the elder children were at, and she had some ideas for ways to test them. And go on, admit it, she was honest with herself, she was looking forward to seeing Leteetza again.
       Mahrayne'd put a lot of thought into what she was going to wear: 'Start packing when you first hear the rumble' was one of her people's favourite sayings.
       Mahrayne knew the R'ren'nkh'ian suite wasn't going to be any cooler today so she'd dressed appropriately. Well, more appropriately than the robes she'd been wearing yesterday. The sensible choice in heat like that would be to go naked, or near-naked, but that wasn't going to happen, not with males popping in and out without notice!
       Mahrayne had scrutinized all the clothes she'd brought with her and finally found something that she thought might be light enough to cope with the heat, while still covering her. It was a loose fitting garment effectively made up of two rectangles of a dark green, filmy material, saved from being see-through by the sheen on the fabric. Seams at the sides ran from half-way between her ribs and her waist, down to her knees; the shoulders had been gathered slightly so the material fell in soft pleats, and leaving room enough for a wide neck-hole. The garment was actually intended for bed-wear so it only had a slight, for the Hassinan, amount of fine, silver-thread embroidery in a wide strip along the hem, with a large, matching motif across the chest and the back. It left her arms bare, and you could glimpse her lower legs through the side slits, but it was the best compromise she could make. Before she left her room she slipped a full, but light and loose robe over the green one; it was one thing to go about half-naked in the R'ren'nkh'ian suite, but something else entirely to do it elsewhere in the palace.
       She did her best to ignore Marldus's last minute 'suggestions' of what sort of questions she might like to ask, while still looking attentive; and she gave her father's ill-humour all the attention it deserved.
       Mahrayne took a carry-bag, stuffed full of interesting things, with her today. One of the Saiyan warriors standing on guard outside the R'ren'nkh'ian suite wordlessly demanded to see inside the bag. Mahrayne handed it over with a spike of fear, and the big male rummaged through it before grunting and handing it back. She mastered her disquiet before knocking on the suite's inner door and entering.
       "'Rayne!"
       Almost before she got a chance to close the door behind her she found herself with an armful of Zha'tiisaan. He'd thrown himself at her when she'd come in, but instead of being knocked over, Mahrayne's reflexes were quick enough for her to snatch him out of the air and deflect his momentum by spinning around and around with him in a circle. She laughed and kissed him on the cheek.
       "Good morning, beautiful." She grinned down at him, then carried him - or rather, he wouldn't let her put him down - over to the sleeping platform where Leteetza and Zha'haarak were with most of the babies. Gh'veen was folding back the screens that separated the sleeping area from the common room and Hijau, Zh'leet and the rest of the children were gathered around several large platters with what was probably the remnants of breakfast. The High King and Radittsu were nowhere to be seen, for which Mahrayne was grateful. Her dreams last night had been… interesting, and she wasn't at all sure she could face the big Saiyan with anything approaching composure. Although the adults still looked exhausted, the mood in the room was lighter than it had been yesterday.
       "Good morning!" Mahrayne said happily, glancing shyly at Leteetza.
       "Sleep well?" Zh'leet asked, dead-pan.
       "Yes, thank you." Mahrayne grinned, flushing a little. She got Zha'tiisaan to let go of her by the simple but effective method of tickling him. The little zn'hre was quick, and devious, however, and before she was able to savour her victory, he was sitting astride her stomach tickling her with a vengeance. Mahrayne was exquisitely ticklish and soon she was squealing with laughter and uncomfortably hot.
       "Enough!" she laughed, gasping. Zha'tiisaan smirked down at her, hissing happily.
       "Let me up, please, precious, it's too hot." He slipped off her, still smirking while Mahrayne lay there getting her breath back.
       "Monster." she mock-growled at him, then stood up and took off her outer robe. She saw Leteetza's eyebrows lift at the comparative scantiness of the green robe, and she smiled self-consciously.
       "It's the best compromise I could make between comfort and cover." she said.
       "I like it," Leteetza said, stroking the skin-beads exposed on her shoulder. "These really are too beautiful to hide."
       A curl of arousal unfurled in Mahrayne at the little female's touch, but much as she liked the idea of pinning the Saiyan to the bed and tasting her 'til she was writhing… Mahrayne shook herself and refocused. Things to do. She distracted herself by pulling an intricately carved comb out of her bag and indicating for Zha'tiisaan to sit in front of her. Humming to herself, Mahrayne combed his hair slowly and lovingly until it shone. Zha'tiisaan was shaping up to be quite the little sensualist it seemed. His huge, golden eyes were half-closed and he was hissing quietly with enjoyment.
       Mahrayne rummaged around in the bag and pulled out a piece of jewelry: a fine, adjustable silver chain that had as its centre-piece a series of long, thin, spiraling metal beads, tipped with multi-coloured gems that formed a tinkling 'V' shape. She fastened it around his head, the centre-piece positioned in the middle of his forehead. Of course, it was her jewelry and sized for her, so the longest bead dangled almost to the bridge of his nose, but still, he looked gorgeous, and Mahrayne couldn't help hugging him. By now, the other children had noticed, especially little Zha'haabron, and Mahrayne tipped the jewelry onto the floor and let them choose what they liked. The little zn'hre had a fine time, helped by the adults, adorning themselves with the bracelets, bangles, necklaces and rings. Mahrayne grinned indulgently at the glittering, tinkling horde that scampered off to the bathroom to look at themselves in the mirrorwall.
       "Hn. You're never going to get all that back, you realise." Leteetza said gruffly, but her eyes were twinkling.
       Mahrayne shrugged. "I've got more than I know what to do with. They're welcome to it."
       Now that the children were distracted momentarily, Mahrayne spoke seriously to Leteetza and Zha'haarak.
       "Is there anywhere we can take them to play?"
       They both looked at her quizzically.
       "I assume they can't go outside because it's too cold, yes? So, is there anywhere inside we can take them to work off some energy? They're bouncing off the walls!"
       Leteetza looked surprised. "I thought all this - unruliness, was normal for children?"
       It was Mahrayne's turn to look surprised, but then, she was beginning to realise how little child-rearing experience these aliens seemed to have.
       "It's perfectly normal for bored children," she smiled, "but they could do with a change of scene I'd imagine." Mahrayne was almost certain now, that the children hadn't been out of the suite since the cold season started.
       "Will it do them any harm… not being able to go outside?" Zha'haarak asked anxiously.
       "No - but they'll drive everyone insane." She smiled broadly. "Or, more insane, rather. Is there somewhere, preferably an open space, where we can take them? It would need to be heated, yes?"
       Leteetza was frowning. "Let me think about that, there might be a room we can use somewhere…"

A bejeweled and brightly-clad clamour erupted out of the bathroom and back into the common room. Mahrayne grinned at the wincing adults.
       "Back to work." She winked, standing up, and took a sheaf of paper, and some drawing styli, out of the carry-bag.
       "Oi! You noisy lot!"
       Mahrayne stretched out comfortably on her stomach on a large floor cushion, her thighs relaxed apart, the filmy green material molding her legs and buttocks, entirely unaware of the appealing picture she made. She arranged the pile of paper and styli in front of her.
       "You make more noise than a herd of tilibis!" Mahrayne grinned, "come here, I'm going to tell you a story."
       "What's a tilibis, Mahrayne?" Zha'leesaan asked.
       "Very large insect sort of things that make a scraping, squeaking sound when they move. Very tasty too. Now, can you all see?"
       The children arranged themselves around her; Zha'leesaan and Zha'zhasaan were lying on their tummies cuddled in close to her, while Zha'haabron and Zha'raadiin sat cross-legged next to them. Zha'tiisaan was sprawled over her back, peering around her head. Not the most comfortable of positions for her - Mahrayne knew she was going to get a headache from the pressure on her neck - but his slight weight was oddly soothing.
       "Once, long ago," Mahrayne began, "there was a hunter called Condio…"
       Mahrayne told the children an old Hassinan story about a hunter's quest to find a way through to the middle of the planet to see Etute and Etats, the twinned serpents. As she related the story she illustrated it with quick sketches of key parts of the narrative. She wasn't the most accomplished artist in the galaxy, but the children watched, and listened, fascinated as the story unfolded.
       Naturally, when she'd done telling the story, the curious zn'hre all wanted to try out the paper and styli. This was what she'd been hoping they'd do. Under some of the sketches Mahrayne wrote out clearly in Common, Saiyago and Hassinan, the names of the objects. The children were all quiet now, concentrating hard on copying what she had drawn and written. Their first efforts were clumsy but they were naturally dexterous and soon were copying well. Mahrayne stood up, Zha'tiisaan having been more interested in playing with the new toys than staying on his perch, and stretched thoroughly. She snuck away quietly while they were occupied.
       Mahrayne plopped down on the bed, gently curling herself around a couple of the drowsing infants, stroking them softly. Leteetza was looking curiously at the older children.
       "What are they using?"
       "Something I brought with me from Hassina. The styli - the things they're drawing with - are made from minerals, and the paper is made from the pulp of a type of plant. Speaking of which - would I be able to go out into the palace grounds? Some of those plants out there are much larger than anything we've got, I'd like to see them."
       "Don't see why not, but you'll need an escort," Leteetza shifted in preparation for getting up off the bed, "I'll organise one for you - " Mahrayne touched her arm, stopping her from rising.
       "It doesn't have to be right now." She stroked the little Saiyan's neck softly. "I realise how busy you are, and how tired - I don't want to create any more work for you than necessary."
       "Thanks." Leteetza mumbled sleepily, then yawned.
       "Why don't you try to get some more sleep?" Mahrayne urged. "Everything's quiet here for the moment…"
       "If you're sure?" Leteetza asked, but she had already relaxed back onto the sleeping platform next to her children.
       "I'm sure." Mahrayne smiled, and gently stroked the little Saiyan's reddish mane, Leteetza's eyes fluttered open briefly at the contact before she closed them again. Mahrayne kept stroking until she was certain Leteetza was asleep.
       "You're not real, are you?" she heard Zh'leet say with asperity, but quietly, to one side.
       Mahrayne looked at her, puzzled. "I don't understand - "
       "Not only can you keep the hostlings quiet for minutes at a time, but you can dissuade the little warrior from doing more than she needs to."
       Mahrayne grinned, moving gently away from the sleeping female.
       "The first is just a matter of experience, knowing what will keep a child's attention." She scooped up the two babies she'd been cuddling, who were just now beginning to stir, and took them with her while she settled herself on the floor.
       "And the second…?" Zh'leet prompted her.
       "I don't know." Mahrayne said honestly. "She obviously needs the sleep," then she chuckled, "but it could've just been my soothing personality." She glanced back fondly at the small female.
       "You like her." Zha'haarak stated quietly; Mahrayne nodded, smiling as she let the now wide-awake babies try and climb her hair.
       "We could see how much you like her." Zh'leet said with mild irony, obviously referring to the incident in the bathroom.
       "Oh… Yes, well…" Mahrayne blushed, handed the babies over to Zh'leet and went to see how the older children were getting on.

They were doing remarkably well in fact, and Mahrayne was impressed. They wouldn't be difficult to teach at all, she thought. Pity she wasn't staying, it could be fun giving them lessons, watching them blossom with knowledge. But now they were beginning to fidget again, time for something more active.
       Leteetza was awake by the time Mahrayne had exhausted herself, and the zn'hre, with an improvised 'catching' game. Mahrayne let them go off to play by themselves and someone handed her a beaker of cold water, she looked up to thank them, and saw it was Leteetza, looking more rested.
       "Feeling better?" she asked the female.
       Leteetza nodded, sitting next to her. "Much, thanks, but I shouldn't have, there's so much to do."
       "You need to rest. You'll be no good to anyone otherwise."
       "But - " Leteetza growled.
       "Stop arguing." Mahrayne said lightly, "You needed the sleep and it was a convenient time for you."
       "Are you always this bossy with someone you've had sex with?" Leteetza demanded.
       Mahrayne leant in close to her and said in a low-voice, "Oh, I'm usually much worse." Feeling obscurely brave, she grinned and kissed the Saiyan's ear-tip, scraping her teeth gently along the rim of her ear. Leteetza tilted her head slightly, inviting Mahrayne to explore further…
       Ti'ani chose that moment to crawl into Mahrayne's lap and she picked him up and hugged him, laughing. "That's the problem with children!" she said, holding the infant up and jiggling him gently until he was giving that peculiar giggling-hiss, "They have the worst timing."
       "In your opinion as an educator, how are the older ones doing?" Leteetza asked seriously.
       "They're all very bright, though some are more focused than others." Mahrayne smiled. "I'd be surprised if they had any learning problems though. How old are they?"
       Leteetza frowned for a moment, trying to convert from one time scale to another.
       "420 Vejiitasei days. That's nearly a year on R'ren'nkh'ia."
       Mahrayne was stunned. "What? Only a year? What about the babies?"
       "They're thirty-five days old. But they've not developed as fast as the older hostlings did. We think that's because of the cold."
       "Oh!" Mahrayne felt an overwhelming sadness. "They stay little for such a short time! Our babies are over half a Hassinan year before they get to this stage." She gently stroked Ti'ani's cheek, gazing down into the infant's face.
       "Really? That long?"
       "And they're almost three before they're level with the older zn'hre."
       Leteetza shuddered. "I couldn't imagine coping with them for that long, that's - what? - nine Vejiitasei years?"
       "About that." Mahrayne hugged Ti'ani tightly, suddenly, achingly aware of how precious the time with them was. Leteetza squeezed her shoulder gently.
       "The weather's cleared up a bit." she said softly, "I'll see about getting you that escort."

Mahrayne leant on the balcony railing, feeling melancholy. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help it; the thought of the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin children growing up so fast, becoming independent so quickly, just made her - sad. Sighing, she stepped back into the suite, the sudden change from cold to hot making her skin tingle. Leteetza was talking to someone on the comm unit.
       "Apyo or Kelapa?" She glanced at the Hassinan with what looked like, to Mahrayne, a suspicious twinkle in her eye. "Kelapa, I think." she said, having made some sort of decision, then grinned and closed the connection.
       "I've organised an escort for you," Leteetza told her, "they'll be here after the midday meal." Mahrayne smiled her thanks, looking forward to having a close look at some of those plants.
       The children were getting hungry, and it seemed a suitable time for them to eat.
       Mahrayne was feeding, carefully - their teeth were remarkably sharp - the two infants that had climbed into her lap. The babies were quite capable of feeding themselves, she could see that from the way a couple of the others were happily, messily, shoving tiny handfuls of the minced meat into their mouths, but they were still willing to have someone else do all the work for them. They were gorgeous, pity they grew up so fast… but if the R'ren'nkh'ia-jin always had more than one at a time, maybe it was a good thing to have them able to look after themselves as soon as possible?
       "Zha'haarak," Mahrayne began and he looked up from the few babies he was attending, "are there always more than one baby in a - "
       "'Hosting'?" he supplied with a smile. "Yes, always. Rarely less than three hostlings."
       "What about your people?" Zh'leet asked her.
       "Rarely more than one." Mahrayne said. "Twins have been born, maybe three times, in the past thousand years."
       "Are twins seen as something strange then?" Leteetza cocked her head, frowning.
       "They're seen as a portentous omen. Not bad, necessarily, just heralding 'change'. The children become - " Mahrayne frowned, looking for the right word, " - prophets? Religious figures? The last time a pair of twins were born was just before the G'geckans made contact with us."
       Leteetza looked interested. "I'd wondered about that, who contacted who first."
       Mahrayne laughed. "Oh, they definitely contacted us. Apparently it had taken them a couple of centuries to work out how to contact the 'primitives on the outer planet'."
       "Why did it take so long?"
       "Our weather, mainly. The G'geckans had to build a craft that could withstand the winds, and the cold, and they needed to be able to see through the cloud layer to find a suitable landing spot."
       "How did they know you were there, if the clouds obscured the planet?"
       Mahrayne stroked the comfortably gorged infants that had fallen asleep in her lap. "The G'gecks had the technology to detect heat traces on the planet's surface through the clouds. They noticed there was an increase in heat that always coincided with a particular time in Hassina's rotation. They thought maybe it was just a temperature fluctuation indicative of the warmer months, except that the heat trace was only ever in one place - near the pole closest to the sun." Mahrayne took a sip of water. "The G'gecks decided the only way to find out for sure was to send a probe. They did and were astonished to find another race living there. I've seen the images from those first series of probes. Absolutely fascinating."
       Leteetza had stopped eating, engrossed in the story.
       "What happened when they did manage to land on Hassina?"
       "They almost got eaten!" Mahrayne laughed, "Until someone sensible pointed out that animals didn't generally fall from the sky in metal boxes!"
       Leteetza laughed with her. "It must've been a shock, having an advanced race land on your planet?"
       "Not as much as you might think. Remember, Uva and Vitus, the twins, had been born a few years earlier so my people were primed for change. It all went rather smoothly apparently."
       "What do you get from the G'geckans? What do you trade?"
       "We get all our technology from them; communications, on and off-world transport, and some medical techniques. They get from us mineral compounds, the particular crystals they - we - use in our communications, and a range of hard metals they find useful."
       "You don't have much technology of your own?"
       Mahrayne shook her head. "No need for it really. We still mine, and smelt, by hand because it's safer. Our food preparation is simple. Our methods of tanning, felting, and paper-making are efficient enough already; so is our metal-smithing and gem-working. We don't need a lot of technology."
       "What about weaponry? Wouldn't ranged blast weapons be useful?"
       Mahrayne choked on her drink. "You must be joking!" She wiped the water of her face. "We have no aerial creatures to shoot down - everything walks, swims or slithers - I don't think you'd be able to use range weapons effectively on the surface anyway; and … using blasts underground is an incredibly stupid idea! A lot of the underground rivers, or lava flows for that matter, are behind comparatively thin layers of rock. In some places, the structure of the caves is unstable - the least thing can bring them down."
       "Oh." Leteetza frowned. "Is that why you mine by hand?"
       Mahrayne nodded. "Some of the best Effodio's - miners - have an intuitive sense about the stability of an area. There have been thousands of people saved by the warnings of an Effodio."
       "Hassina sounds like a dangerous place." Zha'haarak said quietly, eyes wide, almost as wide as the eyes of the elder children who were listening raptly.
       "It can be, you just have to listen to the planet." Mahrayne smiled.
       "'Listen to the planet'?" Leteetza queried.
       "Hassina will always give a warning before something cataclysmic happens - rumblings, ground shakes, those sort of things - we're unconsciously listening for them all the time."

The inner door to the suite opened and a female warrior strode in.
       "Kelapa. Right on time." Leteetza spoke to her. "Have you eaten?"
       "Yeah, thanks, Leteetza." She paused in front of Hijau, right fist over heart, and bowed her head slightly. "Sir."
       Mahrayne studied the female with interest; she'd not seen many female warriors - thinking about it, Leteetza had been the only one. Kelapa was taller than Leteetza, with long, muscular legs; Mahrayne's gaze traveled slowly, and appreciatively, up those legs. From what she could see underneath the armour, the female was strong, and lean, and more muscled than any Hassinan female could ever be. Her mane was a surprise; it was quite short, just brushing her shoulders, and the colour was part-way between Leteetza's red-brown and Hijau's ember colour. It was also smoother, sleeker, much closer to Mahrayne's own in texture. Mahrayne looked at the warrior's face, and was mildly amused to find herself being given the once over. Well, well.
       Kelapa had the high, broad forehead, large eyes and small chin of her race but there was something about the cast of her features that reminded Mahrayne of Pirum, her father's youngest daughter. Pirum was only seven and was, even by Hassinan standards, precocious. She had a very adult and wicked sense of humour that a lot of the other females just didn't know how to deal with.

Mahrayne and Pirum were very good friends.

"Mahrayne, Kelapa will escort you around the grounds." Leteetza said, pulling Mahrayne's attention back.
       "Excellent! Thank you. Is it all right if I go now?"
       "Shouldn't be a problem, the brats are all so full they'll probably want a nap!" Leteetza smirked. "Have fun."
       Mahrayne grinned and carefully shifted the sleeping infants from her lap to the bed, stroking their hair to settle them when it looked like they were waking. Mahrayne slipped on the heavily embroidered over-robe and bent down to brush a kiss against Leteetza's cheek.
       "Are you going to be warm enough?" the little female asked. "There're some cloaks here if you need them."
       "No, I'll be fine. This is warm weather for me, remember?" Mahrayne grinned, waved good-bye and walked out of the suite.

Kelapa wasn't just taller than Leteetza, she was a half-hand-span taller than Mahrayne too. The female nodded companionably to the two guards outside the suite as they left.
       "Where do you want to go?" she asked Mahrayne.
       Mahrayne considered. "I've been looking mostly at the view from the R'ren'nkh'ian suite. Can we start there?"
       Kelapa led her down to the ground floor and out of the palace, through some solid doors and into the grounds. There was no-one else about - not surprising, really, it was snowing again. Mahrayne stretched and breathed in deeply, 'tasting' the cold air, comparing it to Hassina's. It was very different, wetter for one thing, and there seemed to be more and more complex scents; she couldn't begin to hazard a guess as to what they were. Mahrayne glanced at her escort then headed off, scrunching through the snow, towards the tall plants she'd been looking at from the suite's balcony.
       Up close, they were taller than she guessed, reaching far, far up into the grey sky. The empty branches tangled and criss-crossed over themselves creating, to Mahrayne's eyes, a beautifully complex pattern that she was already mentally translating into an embroidered decoration. The trunk of the plant was wide, wider than she could reach around, and the surface of it was dark, pitted and runneled.
       "What is this?" she asked Kelapa. The female studied the plant closely.
       "It's a tree." she said with a quirked smile. Mahrayne's eyebrows went up and she smiled slightly.
       "And that one?" she asked, pointing at another, completely different plant. Kelapa looked closely at that one too.
       "It's another tree."
       Mahrayne put her hands on her hips.
       "You're not going to be any help at all, are you?" she laughed.
       "What's to know?" The warrior shrugged expressively. "It's a tree; you cut them up for firewood and furniture and try not to fly into them!"
       They walked on, Mahrayne stopping to examine nearly everything, from the trees to the mosses growing on them, alternately ignoring, or laughing at, Kelapa's unhelpful comments. There was a wider variety of plants here, in this small area, than Mahrayne had ever seen on Hassina; she made a mental note to see if there was any information available on Vejiitasei's flora.
       "I'm almost scared to ask," Mahrayne said wryly, looking up at Kelapa, "but do these plants look different in the warmer months?"
       "Sure do. They grow leaves, some of them have flowers and fruit - " she held up a hand at the questioning look on Mahrayne's face. " - don't ask, I don't know. Leteetza's the one who knows about plants."
       The wind was picking up again; it blew Kelapa's mane back from her face, and Mahrayne noticed the bright metal dangling from the female's ears. There were small hoops of gold that went through her earlobes. The High King and Zha'haarak wore something similar, Mahrayne remembered. Kelapa's rings had what looked like very sharp, curved teeth attached to them. She gently tugged on one.
       "What are these?" she asked, "and if you say 'ears' I'm going to hit you." she added sternly. Kelapa looked surprised then grinned broadly.
       "They're 'earrings'."
       "Jewelry that's worn through the skin," Mahrayne mused, "now why didn't we think of that?" She was standing close to the larger female - to get a better look at the jewelry of course, it had nothing to do with her finding Kelapa rather… attractive.
       "How were they put in?"
       "With a fucking big needle."
       "Did it hurt?"
       Kelapa just looked at her.
       "Right, stupid question." Mahrayne chuckled. "Why did you get them done?"
       "The natives of the planet I was stationed on had them. I liked the look."
       "They are kind of appealing." Mahrayne was flicking the earring with her fingertip.
       "I can pierce your ears for you, if you like." Kelapa said with a lop-sided grin.
       "Uh, thanks - " Mahrayne loved the idea actually, but wasn't sure she wanted a Saiyan with a 'fucking big needle' anywhere near her. "I'll think about it."
       Kelapa ran a finger along Mahrayne's facial beads. "What are these?"
       "Bits of polished bone." Mahrayne answered, leaning ever so slightly into the taller female's warmth. "Leteetza seemed to like them."
       "Did she?" Kelapa continued to stroke the beads.
       "Mm. She especially liked the ones on my… hips." Mahrayne smiled at the memory.
       "Really?" Kelapa's voice had dropped an octave. Mahrayne looked up into the female's eyes - she could just see the rich brown of her irises circling enormous pupils - and smiled. It was not the smile of a prey animal.
       Kelapa cleared her throat.
       "I don't know about you," she said huskily, "but it's getting colder - " The wind was blowing harder now, looked like they were in for another storm. " - I'm sure I've got something warm to drink in my room - "
       "Good idea." Mahrayne's voice was low, and soft, caressingly leading the Saiyan in the direction she wanted to go.
       "It'll be quicker if we fly."
       "Good." Mahrayne was so intent on the threads of control she was weaving around Kelapa, she almost missed the female's meaning. Almost.
       "Fly?"
       The warrior nodded, still slowly stroking the beads.
       "I can't fly." Mahrayne beamed at her. "You'll have to carry me."

The military compound was unfortunately only a short distance from the palace. 'Unfortunately' being Mahrayne's opinion. This 'flying' was a fascinating experience; once she'd gotten over the initial shock of not being on the ground anymore, and held securely in Kelapa's strong arms, Mahrayne had loved the feeling of freedom.
       The two females received a lot of curious looks when they arrived at the barracks, and quite a few knowing smirks. Kelapa's room was small, one of many in the building, but it had an ensuite bathroom. Not that the bathroom was of much interest initially. Likewise, the 'warm drink' was completely forgotten once Kelapa had shut the door.
       Mahrayne helped the warrior scrabble out of her armoured breast-plate, wristguards and boots. She ran her hands experimentally over Kelapa's dark-blue bodysuit, feeling the play of the Saiyan's muscles through the stretchy material. Mahrayne slipped one slim hand between the female's thighs and wrapped the other lightly around the base of her tail, gently ruffling her nails through the thick fur. Kelapa gasped and clutched at her convulsively. Mahrayne stilled her fingers, remembering how sensitive Leteetza's tail had been; no point hurrying things.
       "Come on, get this off." she plucked at the warrior's bodysuit.

Within minutes they were lying pressed tightly together, naked, on Kelapa's bed, breast to breast, hip to hip, Kelapa's tail looped over Mahrayne's waist, the tip flicking back and forth over the beads on her lower back. Mahrayne was reveling in the delicious skin contact; gods she'd missed this. She kissed the Saiyan and pushed her onto her back, crouching over her, long white hair, loose now, flowing over her shoulders and down her back. Kelapa sighed and wriggled as Mahrayne kissed and licked her way down the female's throat and over her breasts, leisurely making her way downwards. She'd almost reached the Saiyan's groin when Kelapa gasped and said: "What are you doing?"
       "What do you think?" Mahrayne answered, amused.
       "Fucked if I know."
       Mahrayne stared at her. She didn't know? This was one of the most basic of sexual practices, surely - ? Mahrayne grinned wickedly.
       "If you don't like it, I'll stop." she said, and buried her face in the Saiyan's groin.

Mahrayne lay plastered stickily over Kelapa, nuzzling her neck gently while they got their breath back. Kelapa's tail was draped over Mahrayne's back, languidly brushing between her thighs. Mahrayne was exhaustedly sated, and completely relaxed; that-had-been-good. Just what she needed.
       She'd been intrigued to find the Saiyan female's interesting bits had matched her own. In fact, apart from their tails, the Saiyans - superficially at least - were remarkably similar to the Hassinan. She wondered what their internal structures were like.
       "What are you thinking about?" Kelapa asked, brushing a thick strand of white hair behind Mahrayne's ear.
       "I'm just wondering what your internal organs look like." Mahrayne said truthfully.
       Kelapa burst out laughing.
       "Oh, very romantic post-sex thoughts, I'm sure!"
       Mahrayne chuckled. "We Hassina are nothing if not romantic."
       She nipped Kelapa's throat.
       "I'd better clean up before we go back. Can I use your bathroom?"
       "G'head, I'll just lie here and recover."
       "No stamina, you Saiyans." Mahrayne called over her shoulder as she walked into the bathroom.
       "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll show you 'stamina'." Kelapa growled.

Kelapa's bathroom didn't have a bath, just one of those water spray devices: Mahrayne had investigated the one in the Hassinans' suite previously so she had no trouble using it. She stood under the hot spray, lifting her arms up and loving the feel of the water flowing over her body. It was sort of like a mini-waterfall; shouldn't be too hard to organise something like this back home…

As she washed, she mentally listed a few points about Saiyans.

Don't surprise them. Mahrayne felt the hot water stinging the shallow gashes that Kelapa's nails had gouged across her shoulders.

They're very strong. She knew the dull ache on parts of her upper arms and hips, where Kelapa had gripped her, were going to come out in some spectacular bruising soon. And her neck was quite sore from when Kel had snapped her thighs shut. Honestly, she hadn't expected that much of a reaction.

Their tails are extremely sensitive. Too sensitive, too easy to use. The trick had been getting Kelapa to climax without touching her tail. Mahrayne smirked to herself; she'd managed it.

Mahrayne yelped in surprise when a strong pair of arms circled her waist from behind, and she was bitten, hard, on the shoulder.
"I'll show you 'stamina'." Kelapa purred in her ear, her tail wrapping tightly around Mahrayne's thigh…

By the time Kelapa was through trying to prove a Saiyan's stamina was greater than a Hassinan's, Mahrayne had added 'don't issue challenges' to her mental list of points about Saiyans, and 'bites' to her list of injuries. She winced a little as she pulled the full robe on over her tender shoulders. Was it worth it? Would she do it again?
Yes and yes.
Mahrayne re-banded her hair while Kelapa showered, and - too soon - they were ready to return to the R'ren'nkh'ian suite.

Kelapa flew them directly to the palace, and walked in a companionable silence with her back to the R'ren'nkh'ian suite. The two Saiyan warriors on guard outside the suite smirked at them when they approached. Kelapa, Mahrayne noticed, smirked right back but didn't say anything.
       "Hi!" Leteetza greeted them when they went into the suite, "How was your - " the little female's eyebrows shot up, and she smirked, " - walk?"
       Hijau was smirking too; Mahrayne was mystified. What was the joke!?
       "It was fine, thank you, but next time could I have an escort that can answer my questions?"
       Kelapa snorted. "Next time ask sensible questions!" She waved good-bye to Leteetza and saluted Hijau.
       "See you 'round." Kelapa smiled her lop-sided smile at Mahrayne.
       "Hope so." Mahrayne said, low-pitched and soft.

Mahrayne was looking forward to helping with the children again that evening, but as dusk fell, a servant arrived with a request for her to return to the Hassinan's suite. It really wasn't something she wanted to do.
       "I just wish…" she started to say to Leteetza.
       "What?"
       Mahrayne shook her head. "No point saying, it's not going to happen." She looked into Leteetza's enquiring green eyes and sighed. "I wish I could sleep here. It’s - very lonely there." She shrugged resignedly. "Oh well."
       She procrastinated though, taking her time saying goodnight to everyone and hugging the children.
       "Can I come back tomorrow?" Mahrayne asked Leteetza hopefully.
       "You'd better!" The little female growled - affectionately, Mahrayne thought.
       "Thanks." she said, tentatively reaching out and cupping the Saiyan's cheek in her palm. When Leteetza didn't pull away, Mahrayne leant down and kissed her lightly on the mouth. But what she'd intended to be a simple, friendly kiss rapidly escalated into something more intense when Leteetza kissed her back, stepping close and wrapping her arms tightly around her waist, one hand stroking the beads on her back through her robes; she could feel the Saiyan's tail insinuating itself under the garments and twining around one of her legs.
       Mahrayne was tempted to stay just a little longer; she could sense Leteetza's arousal, was responding to it in fact, but, she had to go. And she wanted more than just a quick tumble with Leteetza; the little female certainly deserved more than that. Mahrayne gentled the kiss, then unwillingly ended it.
       "I wish I had the time to enjoy you properly." she sighed regretfully.
       "'Improperly' would be fine." Leteetza murmured against her mouth. "But I'll understand if you don't have the energy anyway - after Kelapa, that is."
       Mahrayne pulled back slightly. "Pardon?"
       Leteetza was smirking up at her. "You had sex with Kelapa this afternoon, didn't you?"
       "Yes, but how did you - ?" Mahrayne's eyes narrowed; she had the beginnings of a horrible suspicion.
       "Just how good is the Saiyan sense of smell?" she demanded.
       Leteetza grinned evilly. "Oh, it's excellent."
       Mahrayne groaned. Now it all made sense - the smirks from the Saiyan guards, from Leteetza, from Hijau - the way Leteetza seemed to know how she'd reacted to Radittsu.
       Oh, shit - Radittsu.
       "Does that mean Radittsu - ?" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
       Leteetza raised an eyebrow. " - knows how you feel about him? Of course he does, but don't worry," she patted Mahrayne's shoulder in a deceptively consoling fashion, "he understands."
       "So I have no secrets?" Mahrayne was laughing and groaning simultaneously.
       "None at all." Leteetza smirked.
       Mahrayne grinned and reluctantly stepped back from Leteetza. "Well, I'm going now so I can die of embarrassment in peace!" She swooped back down to the smirking Saiyan and kissed her briefly, not allowing herself to linger or she'd never leave the suite.
       "See you tomorrow." Was it hope, or a promise, that coloured her voice? Mahrayne wasn't sure…

Meaning 'if you know what's coming you can plan ahead'. Back