Don't forget to check out Joules' companion Waning sequence!
Homecoming pt 2
Mahrayne had slept soundly that first night back in the suite. Snuggled between Kelapa and 'tiisaan on the sleeping platform had felt completely right. She awoke just before dawn bursting with energy.
"This, I haven't missed." Kelapa grumbled quietly when Mahrayne stroked and prodded her awake. The Hassinan merely smirked at her lover and together they slid out of the family's bed and into their own.
"It is vital, your majesty, that those documents be preserved."
Over the morning meal, Mahrayne had asked the High King if she could speak to him about the R'ren'nkh'ian library. She explained to Zha'haabron, as he and Radittsu fed mouthfuls of minced meat to their hostlings, what Leteetza had told her of the state of the R'ren'nkh'ian records.
"You seem very - passionate, about this, Mahrayne." Zha'haabron commented with a smile.
"I am, your majesty," Mahrayne answered earnestly. "The Hassinan have kept written records for over five thousand years, but we only have a few items older than seven hundred."
"Why?" asked Leteetza, who was sitting nearby, 'ani and 'leen on either side of her.
"Cave-ins, eruptions, floods," Mahrayne replied grimly, "Our records have been systematically destroyed over the centuries. We have lost so much knowledge."
"Can you do anything about it?" the little female asked.
"We are." Mahrayne grinned. "Not about the cave-ins and such, there's nothing we can do about those, but we have been transferring our written records to an electronic storage, like the datachips, over the past several years. There's a copy of the information on planet, another in the transfer station in orbit, and the G'gecks have a copy as well."
"Why so many duplicates?"
Mahrayne smiled. "We've erred on the side of caution again, I think. The idea is to de-centralise the information and hopefully lessen the chance of all of it being lost next time."
"Interesting," Zha'haabron mused. "You've been involved with this project, Mahrayne?"
She laughed. "I instigated it, your majesty."
Leteetza tickled Mahrayne, making her jump and squeak. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Well no one else thought to do anything about it."
The little female frowned. "But this is an important issue, surely - "
"We're a fatalistic people, as you know, and when I asked the archivists about preserving the material they all raised their hands and muttered about it being the 'will of Etute and Etats' if anything was lost." Mahrayne rolled her eyes expressively.
"But you didn't accept that?" Leteetza smirked.
"No, I didn't," Mahrayne said seriously. "It may have been presumptuous of me but I didn't think the Serpents would mind if we made an effort to preserve our knowledge. So I spoke to the Lead Speaker and he gave me leave to organise it."
"Was it a difficult task?" Zha'haabron asked.
Mahrayne shook her head. "Not really. We already had a suitable G'geckan technology in place, and it wasn't difficult finding volunteers to do the actual transcribing - the hard part was convincing the archivists it needed to be done, and deciding the order of importance of the different documents."
The High King stroked Za'rayne's mane as he thought, the little hybrid hissing blissfully under his host's touch.
"I can see the need for preserving our records - some of the documents are in danger of deteriorating completely." Zha'haabron frowned. "And having them translated into standard R'ren'nkhia-go, or Common, in the process would be helpful."
"You could take images of the more delicate pieces," Mahrayne suggested, "and use the images for the translations, that will minimalise the handling of the items."
"It will take a long time to translate the documents though, formal R'ren'nkh'ia-go is not widely known."
"Maybe you could find volunteers to learn the language? Increasing the number of people working on the task will help it be completed quicker."
"It is something to consider," Zha'haabron mused.
"I would be more than willing to help in - in any way I can." Mahrayne said, her hopefulness leaking past her diffident tone. The High King suppressed a smile.
"I'm sure you would, Mahrayne. How would you like to be of help?"
The Hassinan's eyes lit up.
"I could learn formal R'ren'nkh'ia-go, your majesty, the written form at least, and if I was translating the documents from images I wouldn't need to be on R'ren'nkh'ia."
Zha'haabron looked amused. "Let me think about this."
"Thank you, your majesty," Mahrayne beamed at him, then went back to sit with Kel again.
The meal was finished and the debris cleared: Mahrayne was showing 'tiisaan a set of muscle isolation exercises to practise while she was away. The little dancer was disappointed that she was going away again so soon, but he was being stoic about it, and – to Mahrayne's surprise – not pouting. 'tiisaan - all of the children - were growing up.
"Almost ready to go?" Kel asked her when she'd finished with 'tiisaan.
"Almost," Mahrayne spotted Hijau heading out to the balcony, "I'll just be a moment."
"Hijau-sama!" Mahrayne called to the flame-haired Guard before he took off from the balcony.
"Yes, Mahrayne?"
"I would like to thank you for helping Zorun through FullMoon."
Hijau's expression was rueful. "We helped each other."
Mahrayne blinked. "He only mentioned you helping him… But anyway," she touched his arm lightly and smiled, "thank you."
Hijau half-smiled at her and turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back at her.
"What made Zorun so angry while you were on G'geckah."
"How do you know about that?" Mahrayne asked in surprise.
"I - scented it - when we met you at the spaceport."
Mahrayne frowned. "He didn't seem to be angry then."
"But he had been," Hijau asserted, "what was it about?"
Mahrayne hesitated; she really didn't want to be reminded of that distressing time - but Hijau had helped her mate. She sighed in resignation.
"Zorun found out my parents wanted me to terminate my pregnancy."
Hijau stiffened in shock, then he snarled. "They what?!"
Mahrayne unhappily watched the furious Saiyan, wishing she hadn't said anything after all.
"Why?" he demanded.
"Because, to their minds, my imperfect genetics combined with alien DNA could only produce a monster."
Hijau's tail snapped from side to side and he growled.
"It all worked out though," Mahrayne tried to reassure him, "Marldus, the Lead Speaker stepped in and prevented anything…"
Hijau gave her a hard look. "And if he hadn't, would you have let them do it?"
It was Mahrayne's turn to snarl, she slammed her palms down on to the balcony railing.
"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Do I appear so weak that it's assumed I'd let my child be killed and do nothing?" She glared at Hijau, who seemed to be even more angry, not less, and formed her hands into claws in front of her. "I would have torn out their hearts with my bare hands before I let them hurt him!" Mahrayne spun away from the snarling Saiyan and stalked back inside, ignoring the worried Zha'haarak, and the dismayed Jeice.
She brushed past Kel and into their room, stopping long enough for the scent and colours of the flowers to calm and soothe her, before shouldering her travel bag.
"What was that about?" Kel asked her when she emerged.
"I don’t want to speak of it." Mahrayne said curtly, then looked up at her lover. "Are we ready to go?"
Kel nodded, unable to hide her concern.
"Good." Mahrayne went over to 'tiisaan, who was watching wide-eyed from his spot on the floor. She squatted down next to the young zn'hre and hugged him. "We'll begin the bell-dancing when I return, yes?"
'tiisaan nodded, and grabbed her arm as she went to stand up.
"Are you all right, 'rayne?"
Mahrayne smiled at her student, cupping his cool cheek in her hand.
"I am now, jhatiludas." She kissed his forehead. "I'll see you soon."
Kelapa flew them to the spaceport where Zorun, and Chilek and Apyo, the two guards he'd picked to accompany them, waited. Mahrayne's lovers were frostily polite to each other.
Zorun held Mahrayne close, wrapping his tail tightly around her waist.
"Take care," he murmured softly to her, then added, in a menace-tinged voice loud enough for Kel and the guards to hear, "I would be distressed if anything happened to you." Kelapa growled irritably, low in her throat, and Mahrayne distracted Zorun from his probable reply by simply grabbing his mane and hauling his face down to hers.
"I won't be away for long, dherrum," she nipped gently at his lower lip, making sure his attention was focused on her, "and at least this time I'm on the same planet, yes?"
Zorun's tail tightened around her waist as he kissed her with the rough tenderness that set her heart pounding. Mahrayne gentled the kiss, then pulled out of it, winding her arms around his neck and hugging him.
"I love you," she murmured, brushing her lips over his cheek.
"Come back safely to me."
Mahrayne nodded and stepped away from her mate, smiling. Kel was beside her, Apyo and Chilek flanking them both, as they walked into the terminus. Mahrayne glanced back over her shoulder to see Zorun standing resolutely, feet apart, arms folded across his chest, and she knew he wouldn't budge until their shuttle was out of sight.
The flight to the island of Pankuzu took a quite pleasant five hours. The seats on the shuttle were big enough for Mahrayne to comfortably sit cross-legged, which she preferred anyway, and Kelapa had let her have the window seat. Mahrayne watched, fascinated, as the differing terrain flashed by beneath them. The shuttle was only half-full and they had a good sized portion of the seats to themselves up the front of the aircraft. Mahrayne suspected that might have been due more to the Elite warriors' ranks than anything else. Kel, Apyo and Chilek were the only military personnel on board and it hadn't escaped Mahrayne's notice just how politely the warriors were treated by the civilians - or how much of a curiosity she was to them. The adults were quite circumspect about it, but the children… Frequently during the flight, Mahrayne would find herself and the Elites being openly watched by awed or inquisitive little faces before their carers hustled the children back to their seat.
They were amply supplied with food and drink during the journey; all they had to do was press a button and a deferential servitor would appear from behind a door - that was temptingly closed most of the time - and bring them whatever they wished. It was actually quite civilised, Mahrayne thought. The females chatted - or rather, Mahrayne asked Kelapa questions about Pankuzu, and her family - and dozed, and simply enjoyed being together.
The heat hit Mahrayne forcibly when they disembarked from the shuttle; she was very glad she'd thought to wear something light, and the sunslight was so bright!
"Are you all right?" Kelapa asked her, concern in her rich, brown eyes.
Mahrayne nodded. "I'll be fine. I just need to get used to the heat."
It was much hotter here than on the mainland, and more humid, Mahrayne could feel the sweat prickling down her spine after only a few minutes.
"We'll fly to my father's house," Kel said, scooping her up, "that'll cool you off."
Kelapa's father's estate was only a ten minute ki flight from Pankuzu's small transport facility. Mahrayne had to squint to see anything at all, but she got the impression, as they flew above the island, of lush, dense, green vegetation bisected by sparkling waterways.
They landed in a wonderfully shady paved courtyard, in front of a long, low wooden building. In the distance, Mahrayne could hear something that sounded like fine gravel being rhythmically rolled over silk.
"What’s that?" she asked Kelapa, inclining her head in the direction of the sound.
"It's the ocean." Kel grinned, "we'll go there a little later."
The wide, double doors of the building opened up and an older male Saiyan emerged wearing loose cut trousers and a hip length, short-sleeved loose top made from a rich blue cloth. He was followed by two servants, wearing similar garments, but in more sombre greys and browns.
"Kelapa." The male stepped forward and briefly hugged the warrior, stooping to swiftly kiss her cheek.
"Father." Kelapa returned the greeting coolly, then indicated Mahrayne.
"Father, this is Mahrayne - "
"King's tutor, and mate of the King's Guard," the male finished in Common, and smiled, inclining his head briefly, "welcome to my home, Lady Mahrayne." His eyes were a similar shade to Kel's, Mahrayne noted, and his mane, though not as red, was a similar length and texture as her lovers.
Kel's face contorted as she suppressed a smirk.
"Lady Mahrayne," the female placed the merest emphasis on the honorific, "this is my father, Lord Kurumi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Kurumi," Mahrayne spoke, as was second nature now when she was exclusively with Saiyans, in Saiya-go. The noble's eyebrows lifted minutely, betraying his surprise, but his smile widened.
"Please, come inside," he continued in his native language, "the servants will take your bags to your rooms."
Kelapa introduced Chilek and Apyo to her father as the party headed inside.
It was much cooler inside the house, and dimmer, Mahrayne was thankful to notice, feeling the muscles around her eyes relaxing. Lord Kurumi led his guests down a wide hallway into a large, open room and ordered another servant to fetch refreshments as they made themselves comfortable on low, well padded stools, and wide chairs that had some sort of open-weave back to them. Mahrayne sat in one of the chairs, finding it quite comfortable. Kelapa sat next to her in a similar chair, drawing her long legs up underneath her in an action that bespoke an easy familiarity with the furniture. Mahrayne was a little confused; Kel had made no move to touch her since they'd landed in front of the house. But she assumed there was a good reason for Kel to keep her distance, and so resolved to follow the warrior's lead, this was her lover's territory after all.
Mahrayne gazed around as she sipped her cold water; the room was made entirely of wood it seemed, the warm-toned timber polished to bring out the heavy grain. There were large openings, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, along the walls. These openings were covered with light, filmy curtains, currently tied back out of the way to let in a cooling breeze. Lying flat over the ceiling, a pair of large - things - spun slowly, adding to the airflow in the room; Mahrayne watched them turn, fascinated, and wondered how they were powered... There were a few, surprisingly colourful rugs on the floor, that she knew weren't Saiyan in origin, and hanging on the walls, and displayed on wooden shelves set into the wall, was an intriguing array of objects.
"Ah, Lady Mahrayne, you've noticed my collection." Lord Kurumi said brightly.
"It's hard to miss, father," Kel was mildly sarcastic, "you can trip over the fuc-, damn stuff."
The older male gave her a reproachful look, then turned back to Mahrayne.
"May I show you some of my favourite items?"
Mahrayne beamed at the noble and he smiled back, and they both, apparently, didn't hear Kelapa's long-suffering sigh.
Lord Kurumi collected art, Saiyan and alien, and was something of a connoisseur. The noble was very knowledgeable about the items in his collection and his passion for it shone through in his animated speech as he gave Mahrayne a brief tour of some of the items in the room.
Kelapa pointedly cleared her throat.
"We've had a long flight, father..."
Lord Kurumi smiled down at Mahrayne; the noble was - she noticed - taller than Zorun.
"Of course, you'll want to relax before the midday meal."
Mahrayne opened her mouth to say something to the contrary - she was more than happy to find out more about Lord Kurumi's collection - but Kel was giving her a significant look.
"I am rather tired, Lord Kurumi," Mahrayne said demurely, placing her hand gently over her abdomen, "but I would love it if we could continue our discussion later?"
The noble inclined his head gracefully.
"Kekik will see you to your rooms."
The elderly Saiyan male servant led the visitors upstairs and along another wide hallway that matched the one running through the lower storey. Chilek and Apyo were given rooms opposite each other at one end of the long corridor.
"We'll see you downstairs in a little while," Kel smirked at them as the males
went into their separate rooms. Kekik led the two females past a further four doors, two on either side of the corridor, before stopping in front a third on the left-hand side.
"This is your room, Lady Mahrayne," the old male said deferentially as he opened the door. Mahrayne thanked him and stepped inside.
"I haven't been away so long, Kekik, that I've forgotten where my rooms are." Kel said with amusement when the servant made to lead her further down the corridor.
"Of course, my Lady," Kekik smiled, bowing, then left.
"Separate rooms?" Mahrayne asked Kel, "I hope we're not expected to sleep separately?"
Kel smirked and gently pushed Mahrayne into her room.
"We've been given separate rooms because that's the civilised thing to do, Lady Mahrayne," Kel's tone was gently mocking, "but what we do afterwards," her tail slipped under Mahrayne's robe and coiled around the Hassinan's thigh, "is up to us."
"Oh good," Mahrayne said with relief, nudging the door shut, then reaching for the base of Kel's tail, "it would be a shame if we came all this way to be alone then couldn't sleep together."
Mahrayne, naked and still damp from their shower, knelt up on the padded bench underneath the window, rested her elbows on the wide windowsill, and looked out over the compound.
"Absolutely no shame," Kelapa, also naked and damp, smirked as she took up a similar position next to her on the bench, the females' shoulders and hips just touching. "What if one of the servants saw you?"
Mahrayne laughed. "You're doing the same thing."
Kel grinned. "Ah, but they're used to it from me!"
Mahrayne grinned and went back to looking out of the window. The breeze was quite cool up here; the Hassinan breathed in deeply.
"It smells different from the mainland."
"That'll be the ocean." Kel said kissing Mahrayne's shoulder. Mahrayne stopped, and listened… yes, there it was, that gravel over silk sound.
"You can see the ocean from my room," the warrior said, "it's on the other side of the building."
"Can I see your room now?" Mahrayne asked eagerly.
Kel smirked. "You might want to get dressed first. Kekik would have a heart attack if he was suddenly confronted by a naked, alien female." Mahrayne giggled, and Kel went on. "Have to do it later though; we're expected downstairs for midday meal. Then - " she ran her tail tip languidly over the beads on Mahrayne's back, " - it's a Pankuzu tradition to rest after the midday meal, during the hottest part of the day."
"Can we rest in your room?" Mahrayne murmured, moving in to kiss Kel's throat.
"Oh, I think so," Kel grinned, "it's been a long time since I've rested with anyone there."
The midday meal was very informal. The guests and their host sat, or reclined, on comfortably padded low benches in another room that took up an entire corner of the house. The two external walls of this room folded back from the wooden supporting poles, opening the space right up to the breezes. It was shady on this side of the house too, and there was a large fountain in the middle of the open courtyard. Beyond the courtyard Mahrayne could see numerous fruit-bearing trees planted together. The food was simple but plentiful and delicious, and amongst the mildly alcoholic drinks served was a dark ale, similar to the bitter one that Mahrayne particularly liked. Kurumi chatted with Apyo and Chilek, and Kel, catching up on the happenings in Vejiitamachi and the past FullMoon season. Mahrayne only half listened to the conversation, content to be lulled by the murmuring voices and the droning of insects coming from the vegetation beyond…
"Mahrayne," it was Kel's voice soft and amused in her ear, "let's get you upstairs and you can have a proper rest, neh?" Mahrayne blinked, disoriented - had she fallen asleep?
She nodded, smiling lovingly up at Kel, happy to see the answering warmth in her lover's eyes. Mahrayne grinned apologetically at Kel's father.
"I'm sorry, Lord Kurumi, I must be tireder than I realised."
"Of course. We normally rest after the midday meal anyway," his expression softened, "and it's important for you to look after yourself at this time."
Mahrayne smiled shyly and accepted Kel's help in standing. The Hassinan inclined her head respectfully towards the noble, then towards her guards.
"I'll see you all later, yes?"
Kel's rooms were a little way down the corridor from Mahrayne's, and like the Hassinan's, they comprised a small ante-chamber, which led through into the sleeping chamber with a simple bathroom leading off the side from that. The windows were open and a soft breeze stirred the pale, filmy window coverings. Mahrayne pushed them aside and looked out.
"Is that the ocean?" she asked Kelapa, pointing towards the shimmering blue-green expanse she could see beyond the trees.
"Sure is." The warrior came up behind her, wrapping her arms and tail around her lover, kissing lazily down her neck. Mahrayne sighed contentedly and leant back into her.
"Kel… When we're with your father - "
"Mmm?"
" - why aren't you touching me, being affectionate with me like you are back in the palace?"
"Because," Kel turned her around to face her, "you're Zorun's mate, and my father would disapprove of me pawing you in public."
Mahrayne considered this.
"Why?" she asked, and Kel laughed and hugged her.
"Questions, all the time!" Kel smirked. "Despite his openness to non-Saiyan things, Kurumi's conservative, and he likes others to behave conservatively."
Mahrayne nodded, she could understand that attitude; then her attention was caught by a long, brightly coloured something - the only decoration in the bare room - looped over a couple of pegs in the wall.
"What's that?" she wriggled out of Kel's arms and went to have a closer look.
"Gem-snake's skin."
"It's beautiful." Mahrayne said, touching reverent fingers along the glistening cream and green swirled patterns. "Was it something you caught?"
"Yeah, ages ago." Kel said dismissively.
"How old were you?"
"About the same age as the heirs - maybe a little older? I forget."
Mahrayne studied the skin, comparing the length, and probable girth, of the creature, to Kobis. She was impressed - the snake must have been almost twice as long as the young male was tall, and easily as thick as his thigh. Mahrayne could almost picture a young, fierce, Kelapa grappling with the creature.
"I thought you were tired?" Kel had stripped out of her crop top and briefs and was now sprawled enticingly over her bed.
"A bit." Mahrayne answered, absently. "What's in there?" she pointed at a cupboard set into the wall. Kelapa groaned.
"Clothes, probably, unless they've finally been thrown out."
Mahrayne opened the double doors of the cupboard and stared at the shelves stuffed full of garments. She pulled out a piece of light weight, pale-green cloth, then carefully unfolded it.
"It's a robe!" Mahrayne admired the full-length, full-sleeved garment; the cloth was so fine it would almost seem to float around its wearer. She couldn't imagine Kel wearing something so - female. She looked at her lover. "Is it yours?"
"Yes." Kel grunted, "My mother and father kept giving me shit like that to wear."
Mahrayne looked back at the full shelves.
"Have you ever worn any of these?"
"Not if I could help it."
The Hassinan carefully refolded the robe and put it back on its shelf. She pulled out another piece of clothing, a long, long piece of cloth in a subtle shade of blue similar to the sky at dusk.
"How do you wear this?" Mahrayne asked. "Put it on and show me."
"No fucking way!" Kel growled, "you might be able to talk Leteetza into wearing something like that, but not me."
Mahrayne frowned at the garment.
"I assume you wrap it around yourself somehow?" Her tawny gold eyes gleamed as she gave the Saiyan a sly look. "If you wore it - I could unwrap you."
"Put it away," Kelapa growled, "get undressed and get into fucking bed!"
With a smirk, Mahrayne did as her lover requested.
Mahrayne judged it was a couple of hours later when she awoke, and the tiniest bit cooler. Kel was still fast asleep, flat on her stomach, her head pillowed on her arms and her tail flicked out to one side. The Hassinan smiled at the sight, but resisted that temptation only to slide out of bed and head for the other.
Kel had a lot of clothes, some of them very beautiful in a simple sort of way. Mahrayne wondered if Kel would let her wear some of them; they were very light, they'd be perfect for the hot weather on the mainland - and to wear during the cold season when the suite was kept as hot as a lava flow.
As Mahrayne quietly emptied one shelf near the bottom, her knuckles lightly struck the back of the cupboard, and the panel of wood there tilted slightly.
Interesting.
She gently pushed the wood, moving it enough for her fingers to find purchase and prise it out of the way, then carefully lifted out the item that was revealed. Mahrayne sat down cross-legged in front of the open cupboard and examined her find.
It was a book, beautifully made. The cover was a semi-rigid, light leather, embossed in the corners and along the spine with a picture of some sort of twining plant. The pages inside were made of a type of paper, so it probably wasn't Saiyan in origin, and - as Mahrayne found when she turned the pages - it was a third full of a scrawly, but legible, handwritten Saiya-go. Mahrayne began to read.
Kelapa had been thirteen - Mahrayne discovered - when she used to sneak out at night to meet B. (This person was only ever referred to as 'B'.) The young male was from a neighbouring compound, and only second class, but apparently he had a cheeky smile that she used to love, and a very pretty ('fresh blood red' was how the young Kelapa had described it) tail, that he used to great effect on her. They would meet at a particular spot on the beach and have sex there - and elsewhere. Mahrayne smirked; there was a long list of places where they'd fucked. The pair kept up their liaison for the better part of a year, managing to keep it secret, before B left to join the military. Kelapa had been sad to see him go, but not as much as she expected. Tucked away in the back of the book were a couple of small, crinkled sheets of parchment, folded neatly. They were letters from B to Kelapa and they were very explicit, describing in vivid detail the things the young lovers had done to each other…
Mahrayne hoped 'B' had made a better warrior than a writer, his sentences were poorly constructed and his spelling was atrocious...
"Where the fuck did you get that?"
Mahrayne jumped at the sound of Kel's voice.
"It was in the cupboard - "
" - hidden behind a shelf of clothes, if I remember correctly!" Kelapa snatched the book out of Mahrayne's hand. "What were you doing poking around in there?"
"I was just looking," the Hassinan looked up, bemused, "and I found it. What's wrong?"
Kel's tail was snapping from side to side, and she looked - embarrassed?
"It's private."
Mahrayne waited for enlightenment.
"Do you know what 'private' means?" Kel asked sarcastically.
"It's something to do with being by yourself, isn't it?"
Kel opened her mouth to say something withering, then closed it with a sigh when she realised Mahrayne honestly didn't have a clue.
"'Private' is when you don't want anyone else to see, or hear, or touch something of yours, understand?"
Mahrayne nodded, then tilted her head.
"Why not?"
Kelapa groaned. "Because some things are just – private!" she said helplessly, "so don't go rummaging around in people's things without permission. OK?"
"OK," Mahrayne said, looking up at her lover contritely, "I'm sorry."
The Saiyan sighed. "Fine. Go have a shower while I get rid of this." Kel held the book up distastefully. "And don't tell anyone what you read in here, ever!"
"Why not?"
Kelapa ground her teeth together.
"Because it's personal and private."
Mahrayne smirked over her shoulder as she sauntered into the bathroom.
"And embarrassing?"
She laughed when Kel growled threateningly.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Kelapa waited until Mahrayne was out of sight, then she regarded the incriminating, embarrassing little book in her hand. Best to destroy it, then no-one else would find it. Fuck, if certain members of the Guard got their hands on this... The warrior shook her head: she'd been so young. What 'd she been thinking? A male? And only a second class? Even if their parents had known, and approved, of their relationship, Kel couldn't have seen it lasting for very long - not after she met his sister…
The warrior looked again at the little book and powered up her ki, focusing it through the palm of her hand, preparatory to incinerating the excruciating little keep-sake. Kelapa glanced towards the bathroom – the sound of running water meant that Mahrayne was in the shower - then just as quickly, she powered down and stuffed the book back into its original hiding spot.
© 2002 June 23rd Amanda Mullane
