Exile pt 1

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Exile part 1

Mahrayne stood at the viewport watching the grey bulk of Hassina loom closer and closer with an enervating sort of inevitability. Kel was in her favourite position, standing behind her, arms wrapped around the Hassinan, chin resting lightly on her shoulder. Mahrayne leant back into the warrior's warm, comforting solidity; she was going to miss Kel so much. Kelapa nuzzled her hair.
       "I had no idea this planet was so big."
       Hassina was big; even though the transport wouldn't be docking with the geo-stationary transfer point for hours yet, the planet already nearly filled the viewport screen.
      Mahrayne watched the constantly moving streaks and swirls in the perpetual cloud cover - a testament to the screamingly fast surface winds – and felt claustrophobic; there was no sunlight on Hassina, no open sky, no stars.
      No 'tiisaan or Leteetza.
      No Kelapa.
      …
      Her thoughts shied away from the father of her child – she wasn't ready to think about him yet.
       "It's not forever." Kel murmured in her ear.
      Mahrayne smiled tentatively.
       "No, it only feels like it is."

The three days it had taken for the supply ship to get to Hassina had been tense, Mahrayne's moods had swung all over the place, and poor Kel had borne the brunt of it. Mahrayne was disgusted with herself, she wouldn't be surprised if Kel was glad to be rid of her after the shit she'd put the Saiyan through. Mahrayne knew she was aggressive sexually, but just because she was angry – angry? fucking furious! – with Zorun, had not given her the right to treat Kel the way she had. The warrior deserved better than to be used like a sex toy to relieve her frustrations. What made it worse was that Kel had simply submitted to her without complaint.
       "I'm sorry." Mahrayne whispered, tears rolling down her face.
       "For what?" Kelapa sounded genuinely puzzled.
       "For not behaving better. For not making these past few days easy for you."
      Kel nipped her ear.
       "Baka." she chuckled, and Mahrayne heard love and acceptance in that word.

Their time hadn't been spent entirely in their tiny cabin though. There was a small family group of Korijin travelling to Hassina as well, and Mahrayne, naturally, had been fascinated by the massive, furred aliens. She knew a little about them – Kori was an ice planet, its people were a semi-nomadic matriarchy, and the females had pouches for their young – but what she didn't know, and was delighted to learn, was that the Korijin had a strong tradition of story telling, much stronger than the Hassinan. Even though she couldn't understand the actual words, the richness - the texture - of their language made it easy for Mahrayne's imagination to weave the pictures for herself. After the evening meal on the first day of travel, one of the males had happily related a part of their 'creation' stories. Mahrayne, relaxed back into Kel's arms, had semi-dozed while she listened, lulled by the male's deep, softly burred voice, her mind forming pictures from the sounds of his words until she could see the ice-god Korianja taking the stars and lovingly crafting a home for her children…

Mahrayne decided she liked the Korijin. They looked formidable, taller and broader than Saiya-jin, and their protruding muzzles, fangs and claws made them seem beast-like, but there was a warmth and good-humour in their eyes that really appealed. And their pelts came in such lovely colours! Tzegh, the lead female, was predominantly pale blue with a slightly shaggier, darker mane, and her brother, Rhund, was almost the same, but the colourings of the other four Korijin showed subtle shadings of green and turquoise, and a faint grey-purple, reminiscent of the pre-dawn light on Vejiitasei.
Mahrayne wasn't quite sure why, but she believed that Tzegh had taken a shine to her, in a protective, maternal sort of way. It was odd, but Mahrayne felt obscurely better about going back to Hassina with some sort of support, no matter how unlikely.

It was this group of Korijin's first trip to Hassina and they were pleased to have a native on hand to satisfy their curiosity. Mahrayne was happy to answer their queries, incidentally giving Kel a clearer idea of what life had been like for her lover.
      "We don't have 'days' as such - " Mahrayne was trying to explain the vague Hassinan method of time keeping, " - our planetary rotation only takes about a third of the time Vejiitasei's does, and we're underground for most of the year so the small difference in light value between 'day' and 'night' doesn't affect us anyway."
      "How do you differentiate between the days then?"
      "We don't, not really, our year is divided into seasons, and we mark time through those."
      "So you don't, say, sleep at a set time?"
      Mahrayne shook her head.
       "No, we sleep when we want to - except for busy times, like harvests - then we sleep when we can. As long as everything that needs to be done gets done we do what we like when we like."
      One of the younger males tilted his head enquiringly.
       "How do you tell the seasons apart if you're underground?"
      Mahrayne smiled.
       "We have thirty-two seasons, only four of which are determined by the weather. The rest are marked by animal behaviour. For example, I was born in tamitiseh - which is the season the ontibu spawn; Pirum, my sister, was born in saticin - which is when the tilibis migrate."
       "Sounds complicated."
       "Depends what you're used to." Mahrayne grinned.
      Kelapa frowned.
       "But I've heard you mention Hassinan 'days' before."
       "Well, we do have another, smaller unit of time, but it's so vague and changeable… we only use it for one very specific purpose."
      Mahrayne had to smile at the looks of interest from around the table.
       "Hassina has a slight wobble to it, it tilts a few degrees down and back over a short amount of time, say, between twenty and forty hours. We're attuned to that, we always know where Hassina is in that cycle." She shrugged. "That's about the closest we have to 'days'."

Spending time with the Korijin gave Mahrayne a chance to think about something other than him. It had taken a full day before the wound on her neck had scabbed over, and another day before the dressing could come off; and it still hurt when she moved her head. She fretted, quietly - what would he expect of her now? She didn't care what the stupid rules about this stupid claiming business were, Mahrayne was absolutely determined not to give Kel up.
She hadn't forgotten what she'd said to Zorun about letting Kelapa claim her if he did. She had mixed feelings about that now; yes, the thought of being bound to the female made her feel all soft and warmly gooey - and it would piss Zorun off - but Mahrayne wasn't good with pain, and being bitten again wasn't something she could bring herself to think about.

The announcement came over the speakers that the transport was about to dock with the transfer point - could the passengers please make their way to the air-lock.
      Kelapa had cajoled Mahrayne away from the viewport a couple of hours ago, and they'd spent the time gently making love in their cabin.
       "Got everything?" Kelapa asked, fastening the heavy cloak Mahrayne had suggested she wear around her shoulders. Mahrayne nodded dumbly and picked up her bag. She'd dressed appropriately for Hassina - heavy felted robe and heavy fur cloak – the weight of the clothes echoing the weight in her heart.
       "Are you sure there isn't somewhere else I can go?" Mahrayne found herself uselessly asking. Kelapa cupped her face with a broad, strong hand, stroking her thumb over the facial beads.
       "It's less than two-hundred days."
      "One hundred and eighty-four - "
       " - but who's counting?" Kel cut in, chuckling, "The point is, it's not forever - you'll be home before you know it."

It wasn't the roughest planet-fall Kelapa had ever experienced, but it was up there with the best of them. Kel'd thought the shape of the surface-to-orbit shuttle was odd, but now, as the almost spherical craft dropped through Hassina's upper atmosphere and into the thick cloud cover, she realised that anything with even a hint of an edge would be almost impossible to control in these winds. Beside her, Mahrayne was distracted and Kel could scent her lover's depression.
      Even after the shuttle had docked planet-side, Kelapa got the strangest sensation that she was still travelling downwards. It wasn't until they'd disembarked that she realised it was Hassina's heavier gravity pulling at her - and her first breath of Hassina's air had her coughing, her eyes watering furiously.
      "Are you all right?" Mahrayne asked concernedly.
      "I will be," Kel gasped trying to breath shallowly, and not through her nose, "just give me a little time to get used to it."
      Kel'd heard Hassina stank but she had no idea just how much. There was an acrid reek to the air that burned her throat as she breathed, and she strongly suspected the stink would crop up in her nightmares forever. Mahrayne, however, simply closed her eyes and breathed in the foul air deeply and evenly. These Hassinan were crazy...
      After a couple of minutes Kelapa's eyes had stopped watering enough for her to see again. The spaceport was dimly lit, and highly decorated, the floors and curving walls were covered in pictures and patterns made up from tiny, flat pieces of coloured rocks, liberally speckled with brilliant metals. If the light had been brighter Kelapa thought she'd probably need to go spontaneously blind in order to protect her eyes from all the colours careening into each other.
      The Saiyan shivered; it was really cold. Even with the heavy cloak Mahrayne had made her wear, she felt the chill sneaking in past her usually good cold tolerance. How far underground were they - and it was still frigid? What must it be like on the surface?
      "My things will be taken to the settlement separately." Mahrayne said, "There will be a supitso to pick us up shortly."
      Tzegh ambled over, pulling a face.
       "Ach, Mahrayne! How can your people stand the smell?"
      Mahrayne shrugged.
       "We're used to it I suppose. I'd never noticed it until I came back."

A vehicle pulled up, silently - the supitso, Kelapa assumed, eyeing the elongated, flat-bottomed sphere with interest. It looked like it could be gravitic or magnetically driven: Kelapa couldn't see any wheels as it settled quietly on the ground in front of them. The warrior stared at the vehicle: it was overwhelmingly covered in coloured, intricately etched metal designs. Mahrayne was grinning at her, amusement heavy in her scent.
       "Did I ever tell you we Hassinan can't bear blank surfaces?"
       "I wish you'd warned me."
      Mahrayne smirked.
       "I would have thought not being able to see the fabric of my clothes for embroidery, or the patterning in my skin might have given you a clue."
      Kelapa leaned close and kissed her on the cheek, discretely fondling her lover's breast beads through the heavy cloak.
       "I was obviously thinking of other things."

The driver of the supitso was a tall, thin male Hassinan wearing a thickly decorated cloak over his equally decorated felt tunic and trousers. He pressed his fingertips to part of the design on the side of the vehicle, and a door slid smoothly open. Mahrayne smiled and said something to him in her native language while everyone else piled in, then climbed in herself. It was quite roomy inside, big enough to carry the massive Korijin without seeming crowded. The driver's compartment was separate from the passengers section, and the interior walls of the vehicle were just as elaborately decorated as the outside had been, but the symmetrical designs were painted this time rather than etched. There were no seats as such, but a series of low, deep, contoured benches against the walls and a pile of multi-coloured cushions and furs in the middle of the floor. Mahrayne picked up a large, glistening white fur and a couple of cushions, and made a nest on one of the benches. She pulled Kel down beside her and tucked the fur around them up to their chins before snuggling in to her lover with a sigh. It was very cosy.
       "Is this Hassinan technology?" Rhund queried from his nest on the other side of the compartment. Mahrayne shook her head.
      "No, it's G'geckan, we've been using it for a few decades."
      Kelapa's only clue that the vehicle was moving was when she looked out of the small windows and saw the patterns on the walls changing.
       "It's an amazingly quiet vehicle."
       "They have to be. The first models created more problems than they solved – when they moved they set up a sort of vibration which triggered rockfalls."
      Kelapa frowned at the thin looking walls.
       "Wouldn't want to be caught in here when the roof came down."
      Mahrayne smiled. "Don't worry, the supitsos are very strong structurally, and they're equipped with some sort of device for seeing ahead, so the driver can spot any problems beforehand."
      "What happens if you're trapped somewhere?"
      "The supitsos have communication equipment, and emergency food and water rations, extra blankets and medical supplies - that sort of thing – under the benches."
      "What do you think of Hassina so far?" Tzegh rumbled good-humouredly at Kelapa. Mahrayne was smiling.
      "You don't have to be polite, susareh, I realise it's not a pleasant place for non-Hassinan."
      "Frankly, it stinks and it scares the shit out of me." Kelapa kissed Mahrayne's cheek. "Why couldn't you have come from some nice, warm jungle planet?"
      Mahrayne laughed and curled around her, sharing her warmth.

The Korijin were dropped off first. Tzegh pulled back her upper lip exposing her frighteningly lethal teeth in the Korijin equivalent of a big friendly smile.
       "Come and visit us, Mahrayne, soon."
      The Hassinan smiled with pleasure up at the massive female.
       "I will, thank you."

They were alone in the compartment; Mahrayne's eyes were very bright.
"How long have we got?" Kelapa asked her with a smirk.
"Long enough." Mahrayne nuzzled her neck and shifted enough to allow Kelapa's tail to easily find its way under her robe without letting the chill air in...

The supitso finally slowed and stopped. The driver opened the door for them and Mahrayne and Kelapa stepped out into a place that looked remarkably similar to where they'd started. Mahrayne stripped off one of her bracelets and handed it to the driver with a smile. He beamed at her, touched it to his forehead, inclining his head deferentially.
       "This doesn't look much different from the spaceport." Kelapa said doubtfully, looking around after the supitso had departed.
       "The mosaics are different." Mahrayne pointed out.
      Kelapa stared at the wall. She couldn't see any difference. Then she frowned. It could hardly be called featureless, not with the total coverage in colour, but...
       "Uh, how do we get in? Where's the door?"
      Mahrayne touched a small section of the mosaic and Kelapa heard chimes. A section of the wall slid open…

A gust of warmth - more colour, and light, and the overpowering scent of many people living close together overlaid the smell of the planet; Kelapa managed not to gag.
       "This is Marldus' settlement," Mahrayne explained. "This is the entrance closest to my father's section."
      They traversed numerous colourful but chill corridors, passing felt-curtained doorways from behind which Kelapa could scent thronging people, and smells of cooking food. They occasionally passed through these doorways into open spaces; the place was like a fucking maze, and with no sun or sky to orientate herself, Kelapa was soon completely lost. Mahrayne was greeted everywhere she stepped - it seemed her lover was quite well-known, and liked. A pair of tall females leapt out from a curtained doorway and ambushed them, startling Kelapa almost enough to ki blast them to protect Mahrayne. She was glad she didn't.
       "Chumie! Testa!" Mahrayne shrieked, making Kelapa's ears ache as she flung herself at the pair. Kelapa stood quietly to one side while Mahrayne was engulfed by hugs, laughing and chattering with the females in their lilting, throaty language. The dark-golden haired shorter of the two, looked over Mahrayne's shoulder at the Saiyan, directing a query at Mahrayne. The Hassinan beckoned Kelapa over, pulling her close, and introduced her to two of her sisters.
      The one who'd noticed Kel was Testa; the other was Chumie. Kelapa eyed the second female – back on Vejiitasei, Mahrayne had described her as very beautiful, but Kelapa couldn't see it herself. Chumie was very tall, a good hand-span taller than the Saiyan, aesthetically thin and fine-boned. Fair enough, she was elegant and graceful and her pale silver hair flowed down to the top of her thighs like starshine; but her facial beads accentuated her disturbingly angular and sharp face, and there was a haughtiness about the tall Hassinan that Kelapa didn't much care for. Chumie exuded a sense that she knew her worth and expected others to treat her accordingly.
       Testa, on the other hand, wasn't as tall, nor quite as angular – she looked more like Mahrayne in that respect - and her hair was a shining dark-gold. Her scent was open and friendly and she was obviously very fond of her older sister...
       Mahrayne was a good deal shorter than her sisters, and – rounder – that was the only word Kel could think of. Her lover's breasts were fuller, her hips flared out a little from her waist - she was generally more curvy. Although Mahrayne had the same high cheekbones and tilted-up eyes, her face was softer, more rounded, less alien. Kelapa eyed Chumie again – she may be the standard of Hassinan beauty but Mahrayne was easily worth four of her. The females discovered Mahrayne's pierced ears and were absolutely intrigued, poking and pulling at her jewelry until Mahrayne, laughing, had to stop them. She said something apologetically to her sisters and Chumie pouted, but Testa nodded and led her tall sister away down the corridor.

"I'd better go and greet my mother." Mahrayne said to Kel, her scent thick with reluctance. Kelapa frowned.
       "You don't want to?"
      Mahrayne shook her head. "No. We don't get on. But I have to do this or my life won't be worth living." She pushed past the felted curtain into a large, and surprisingly warm, space. There was a central fire-pit, full of some sort of hotly glowing rocks, food cooking over it. It smelt awful and only added to the miasma in the air. The floor was covered in rugs and furs – presumably to guard against the cold stone floor – and cushions of every imaginable shape and hue were scattered around, but nothing at all that could be called furniture. The walls, to the Saiyan's surprise, weren't painted or mosaic-ed, but covered in an astonishing variety of wall-hangings. There were many females here, and a few children, all wearing brightly coloured and decorated clothes, and all dripping with jewelry. Everyone looked up when they came in, and most of them beamed at Mahrayne, greeting her happily. Kelapa got a lot of curious looks, which intensified when Mahrayne slipped her arm around her waist in a blatantly possessive manner that Kel quite liked. A silver haired child, a bit older than the elder hostlings by Kel's reckoning, leapt up off the floor and launched herself at Mahrayne, who expertly caught her before she could impact.
       "Kel, this is Pirum, my youngest sister."
      Pirum gazed wide-eyed at the Saiyan, her small triangular face sombre.
       "Wel-come, Kel-a-pa, to our home." she said in Common, enunciating the sounds carefully. Mahrayne beamed at her, hugging and kissing the child, who looked enormously pleased with herself.

There were alcoves cut into the walls – or maybe they were natural, Kelapa couldn't tell – with thick, colourful, bright felt curtains screening them from the common room. Not all the curtains were pulled, though, and Kelapa glimpsed and scented sexual activity from a number of them. Mahrayne put down a protesting Pirum, who immediately grabbed her hand, before squaring her shoulders and heading over to one of the alcoves.
      Inside it, there was a thick felt mattress that took up most of the floor space, with a nest of furs and felt blankets piled on top. There were more wall-hangings covering the naked rock and cushions all over the place.
       There were two older females in the alcove, one - an extraordinarily exotic looking female with dark silver hair - was in the bed, tucked up warmly under the covers. The other - not quite as angular, with paler silver hair and large friendly eyes - was sitting outside the covers on the end of the bed doing something with multi-coloured threads. Mahrayne approached the bed while Kelapa hung back.
      The female in the bed said something that sounded quite sharp as Mahrayne leaned down to give her the barest hug and brush of her lips on the cheek. The second female beamed and hugged Mahrayne tightly, kissing her soundly - by her scent she was obviously happy to see the white-haired female, and Mahrayne was just as happy to see her as well. The first female spoke again, and Kelapa's hackles rose - there was something very wrong about the female's scent. Saiyans rarely got sick so the warrior almost didn't recognize what it was; Mahrayne's mother was ill, reeking of a sickly sweet decay. Mahrayne didn't know her mother was sick, Kelapa realised, but the other female... Kel scented her carefully. Underneath her joy and delight at seeing Mahrayne again, was fear, she knew something was wrong with her - lover? Yes, the two females were lovers, they had about them that familiarity that bespoke many years of intimacy.
      Kelapa heard her name and realised Mahrayne was introducing her. The sick female smiled frostily, inclining her head gracefully; the second female, introduced as Nonnia, fairly beamed at her. Heh. Kelapa scented a measure of relief on her. Relief about what? Mahrayne spoke apologetically to the older females then walked away from them, pulling Kel with her.

Mahrayne, with Pirum holding on to one of her hands, took Kelapa to another alcove. This was obviously Mahrayne's spot, her scent - and Chumie and Testa's - were predominant; and there was just something about the wall-hangings and colour combinations that said Mahrayne. Pirum bounced happily on the felt mattress while Mahrayne pulled aside one of the wall-hangings, revealing shelves cut into the rock. She picked some felted clothing off one of the crowded shelves, then rummaged around in a large metal box, pulling out some thick boots.
       "There's something I want to show you, but you'll need more than just the cloak to keep warm."
      The Saiyan smirked. "I'll be fine."
      Mahrayne arched an eyebrow at her and held out a heavy, blood-coloured robe. "Where we're going, I feel the cold."
      Kelapa, sighing and feeling stupid, shrugged into the robe, wearing her bodysuit underneath, and replaced her uniform boots with a pair of bright-blue, fur-lined ones. Pirum chirped an enquiry at her sister, then pouted, folding her thin arms over her little chest when Mahrayne smilingly shook her head saying something in Hassinan that had to be 'next time'. Mahrayne hugged the child and kissed her cheek before pushing her gently out of the alcove. Pirum sniffled, her enormous silver eyes brimming with tears, giving the uncanny impression that she'd just been cruelly turned out of home. Mahrayne remained impassive, a faint smile curving her lips until Pirum pouted, and stamped off elsewhere.
       Once the child was out of earshot, Mahrayne sighed heavily.
       "She's becoming spoilt."
       "Like Chumie." Kelapa blurted out.
      Mahrayne smiled ruefully at her lover.
       "You noticed?" She shook her head. "Chumie could have been a lot worse - if I hadn't had a hand in her upbringing," then she grinned, "or if Testa wasn't there to keep her grounded." Mahrayne sank onto the bed and pulled her own boots on. "Unfortunately it happens a lot, children being spoilt."
       "Were you?" Kelapa teased.
      Mahrayne laughed, a touch bitterly.
       "Me? No. Non-breeding females aren't indulged. We have to work hard to justify our existence." She looked up at Kelapa. "Are you ready?"
       "Where are we going?"
      Mahrayne beamed at her.
       "Somewhere special."

They left Marldus's settlement by another exit; at least, Kelapa thought it was another exit, she couldn't be sure, everything looked the same. Mahrayne led her through cold, empty corridors that sloped up and up, the air getting chiller the further they went. Even though this area was obviously rarely used, the walls and floors were still decorated, but with paintings rather than mosaics.
       "In here." Mahrayne's breath frosted out - Kelapa could hardly see her lover's face under the thickly furred hood. Mahrayne led her through a narrow opening and into a wide, natural cave.
       The rough walls, ceilings and a good part of the floor of the cave were encrusted with sparkling, shimmering crystals in hues of red and orange and yellow.
       "These are the Ember Caves." Mahrayne explained, snuggling in to Kelapa.
      Kelapa looked around, impressed. "It's beautiful!" She frowned. "There's no light source in here…?"
       "Some property of the gems makes them produce their own light."
       "They're very lovely. Why haven't you mined them?"
      Mahrayne quickly opened Kel's cloak and wriggled inside before the freezing air could intrude.
       "We Hassinan love beauty, but Hassina is very bleak so we have to manufacture our own. Places like this, of natural beauty, are rare, a gift, we leave them as they are."
       They wandered through the cave, it was a series actually, giving Kelapa the bizarre sensation that she was in the heart of a fire even while she could feel her extremities going numb.
      Mahrayne kissed her, pulling her down, deeply, lingeringly.
       "We'd better go back." she whispered into Kelapa's mouth. "We'll freeze here otherwise."
       "We'll need to warm up when we get back." Kelapa smirked.
       "I know just the thing…"

"Come and bathe with me." Mahrayne grabbed Kelapa's hand and pulled her along a narrow passage.
      This wasn't quite what Kelapa had in mind when she said they'd need to warm up. The baths were a series of deep, smooth depressions hollowed out of rock ledges, almost the size of the baths in the R'ren'nkh'ian suite. Kelapa counted seven in the large, steamy room, three of which were already occupied by a variety of females and children. As Kel was coming to expect, the floors and curved walls and ceilings were tiled with more of the mosaics, as were the baths. There was some lighting in here, dimmer even than the rest of the caverns, and the atmosphere was warm and moist. The steaming water poured into the bath from a small hole just above the rim. Peering into the water, Kelapa noticed another hole, covered with an ornate grate, on the other side, close to the bottom; the bath water was being constantly replenished through these.
      Mahrayne had already stripped off and climbed into the water with a blissful sigh. Kelapa followed suit, a little hesitantly. The water was obviously heavily contaminated with something - it smelt… not particularly unpleasant, certainly no worse than the general reek of the place, but not very appetizing.
      Kelapa gasped as she slid into the water. It was very hot, almost too hot to bear, but after a few seconds she felt the heat seeping into her bones, warming her up in places she hadn't realised were cold. To her pleasant surprise, Kelapa discovered the water was so laden with minerals it had a natural buoyancy that countered the pull of the planet's gravity. Mahrayne was floating on her back in the water, totally relaxed, her white hair drifting like clouds, just her face and the very tips of her breasts above the water. Kelapa drifted over to her, creating a gentle wake that washed over the Hassinan. Mahrayne stretched lazily and turned her head to smile at Kelapa, her pupils enormous in the dim light.
      "This is good, yes?"
       "Very." Kelapa reached out with her tail, twining it around Mahrayne's thigh and tugging the female to her. Mahrayne laughed, and twisted in the water to stand up. She pushed Kel gently back against the side of the bath, stroking her tail as she did and feathering kisses over her throat. The warrior sighed, and relaxed back, accepting the gift her lover made to her of her lips and tongue and fingers.

Mahrayne had made sure there was food suitable for Kelapa to eat; not that the warrior had much of an appetite at the moment, she was sure the foul air had tainted the meat. She picked at it anyway - she had to eat something. They spent a pleasant 'evening' – apart from the stink and the noise and the stuffiness - in Mahrayne's sleeping alcove, chatting to Chumie and Testa and Pirum, Mahrayne interpreting. The embroidered curtains were left open and Kel was aware of the interest she was generating. Other females, too, visited briefly, hugging and touching Mahrayne – almost groping her in some instances - welcoming her back. Kelapa wasn't sure how to respond to the quite blatant sexual interest in her lover, especially from a couple of young females who were overtly submissive to her, but Mahrayne accepted it all as perfectly natural. The Saiyan thought she was beginning to get an idea of why Mahrayne behaved as she did, but decided, for her own peace of mind, she didn't want to know what her lover got up to while she was here on her own.
      Chumie and Testa, it seemed, were only visiting from their new household; they would be staying for a little while before they had to travel back. Pirum snuggled tightly into Mahrayne's side, gazing adoringly up at her older sister. Kelapa relaxed back onto colourful cushions, absently studying the Hassinans' faces; she couldn't help notice the similarities in all the females she'd seen.
      "How big is your population?" she asked Mahrayne.
      "Less than half a million currently."
      Kelapa frowned. "That's not very many."
       "No," Mahrayne sighed, "and it's decreasing all the time."

Pirum pouted when Mahrayne sent her back to her mother's bed. Kelapa caught Chumie and Testa's anticipation, and smirked - she'd already assumed that Mahrayne had a sexual relationship with her half-sisters. Mahrayne looked a little apologetically at her.
       "Chumie and Testa had expected to sleep with me, but I can ask them to go elsewhere if you'd prefer."
      Kelapa smirked. "I have no objection."
      Mahrayne leant into her, kissing her hotly, then reached over and pulled the curtains shut, giving the illusion of privacy. Chumie and Testa were intrigued when Kelapa unwound her tail from around her waist, they hadn't realised it wasn't part of her clothes, and were even more impressed when they saw what their sister could do with it – and what it could do to their sister.
      The Hassinan appeared to just be getting warmed up when Kelapa finally fell asleep, exhausted…

      ... only to wake some unidentifiable amount of time later feeling worse - feeling drained. The Saiyan was surprised she'd managed to sleep at all, the noise of the place was overwhelming. Not just the sound of people living crowded together, but the planet itself made constant, disturbing noises – creaks and groans and shivers and grindings that set her teeth on edge. How did these people manage to live with this all the time?
      Kelapa smiled at Mahrayne - who was fast asleep, curled tightly around her – and nuzzled her soft white hair. This would have to be a first, her waking before her lover.
       "Hey - wake up." she whispered softly, stroking Mahrayne's hair.
      The Hassinan's eyes opened and she blinked sleepily at the smirking Saiyan.
       "Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?" she murmured, moving impossibly closer to Kelapa under the furs.
      Kelapa had no idea what time it was, but she was painfully aware of how little time they had together. The thought of leaving Mahrayne made her ache, but she also, perversely, was desperate to get out of here. This planet was a shit-hole, a dangerous shit-hole at that – and Kelapa felt she was inviting death by entombment with every minute she stayed.
      Mahrayne kissed her, communicating her own despair, and their love-making was urgent, almost frantic. They fell asleep again, stirring only a little when Pirum climbed in and snuggled down between Mahrayne and Testa.

Kelapa's eyes snapped open. Someone was calling Mahrayne softly from outside the curtain. She nudged her lover awake: Mahrayne wrapped a cloak around her and climbed out of bed.
"The transport will be leaving in a while, and the shuttle will be ready within a couple of hours." Mahrayne looked calm, even cheerful, but her scent was anything but. "I've ordered a supitso for us. It'll be here soon."
Kelapa got up and dressed quickly, reluctant to speak – she knew if she did she'd probably cry. They packed up the remaining Saiyan suitable food, directed a quick goodbye to the sleepy tangle of females in the alcove, and left Astolan's household, holding hands in silence.

The supitso picked them up, and they snuggled down under the furs, nibbling at the food, still not wanting to speak.
      "Kelapa," Mahrayne said eventually, breaking the silence.
      "Yes?"
      "I know Saiyans don't really wear jewelry, and I know you won't be able to wear it all the time, especially not during FullMoon..."
      Kelapa waited. Mahrayne reached into the sleeve of her robe, pulling out a shining, gold chain made up of fine strands twisted together, and handed it to her.
       "Could you – could you wear this for me, please?" Mahrayne's voice faltered. "It belonged to someone I was close to."
       "Sure." Kelapa smiled. "Help me put it on?"
      Mahrayne slipped the chain over Kel's head, undoing her cloak so she could tuck it in under her bodysuit, before hugging her tightly.
       "I'm going to miss you, jha-tunovahn." she whispered hoarsely.
      Kelapa hugged her back, burying her nose in her lover's hair, and couldn't speak.

At the spaceport, Mahrayne gave the supitso driver a bracelet and dismissed him.
      Kelapa looked enquiringly at her.
       "I thought I might run home." Mahrayne explained.
      The Saiyan gaped. "But that's, that's…"
       "It only takes two or three times as long as by supitso." Mahrayne grinned. "It's been a while since I've run any distance. I need it, I think."
       "Will you be all right?" Kel asked her, standing close, her palm lightly brushing over Mahrayne's abdomen.
       "We'll be fine." Mahrayne said with a small smile. It was the first time she'd referred to her brat since leaving Vejiitasei. Kel had no trouble scenting the anxiety her lover was trying to suppress; she wrapped her arms around the Hassinan, gently hugging her.
       "How do you think your family will take the news?" she asked softly.
       "I don't think they'll kill me…"
      Mahrayne glanced up at her when Kelapa growled.
       "I'm sorry, that was a poor joke." She leant her head against the Saiyan's shoulder. "We'll be fine."
      Whether Mahrayne was trying to reassure herself or Kel was open to interpretation. The warrior hugged her tightly, protectively, shoving away the feeling that she was abandoning her lover.
      "Any messages?" Kel asked; no need to specify who the message was for.
      Mahrayne thought for a moment, then said quietly, "Tell him I'm not angry," Kelapa snorted – that was a complete lie, the anger still boiled off the female whenever her thoughts turned to Zorun. Mahrayne gazed up at her, frowning.
       "I know it's not the truth, but I can't just leave things as they are. I have to do something to try and work things out..."
      The Saiyan sighed. "I understand, but don't expect any of us to make much sense until FullMoon is over."
      Mahrayne giggled. "Just until FullMoon is over? I've never been able to make any sense of you!"
      They smiled at each other, then Mahrayne reluctantly pulled away from her.
       "You'd better go."
       "Yeah."
       "Take care."
       "I will." Kelapa cupped Mahrayne's cheek, "I'll see you soon, takibi."

It hurt. Kel hadn't realised it would hurt so much. But she couldn't stay here - it would kill her - and the shuttle was waiting. And she didn't want Mahrayne to see her cry. Snatching one last kiss, she turned and strode through to the terminus, involuntarily turning to catch a glimpse of her lover's tear-streaked face before the metal doors slid shut.

Only one hundred and eighty-three days to go...

kokoro no takibi - 'heart fire'. A welcoming fire, heart of the home, something to warm oneself by - a strong endearment.

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