Life Among the Savages - Pt 1
It was early morning when Mahrayne opened her eyes - going by the grey paleness of the light in the room, she guessed it was just past first sun's rise. She was on her side, her arms and body curled around the now familiar coolness of Zha'tiisaan, and behind her, she felt Kelapa's vibrant warmth pressed close. Mahrayne smiled happily; she'd hated the isolation she'd been forced to endure those first few days on Vejiitasei - it was wonderfully comforting to have bedmates again. Kelapa had shared her bed every night since being appointed Mahrayne's personal guard five days ago, and there had always been at least one extra body (Zha'tiisaan) - if not more - with them when they woke up. Yesterday morning Mahrayne had been quietly thrilled to find Ti'ani and Le'leen snuggled in with them as well. She couldn't explain why, but having the trust of Leteetza's children was just, well, important.
And then there was 'tiisaan. Mahrayne nuzzled the young zn'hre's sweet-scented hair, and gently pulled him closer. She would never admit to having a favourite amongst the hostlings, but... Zha'tiisaan was special and she felt akin to him somehow. They shared a passion for dance, for one thing and Mahrayne had to laugh at his not so subtle attempts at cajoling more dance lessons from her. She grinned to herself; Chumie, her sister, had been exactly the same, and, if she was honest, she'd made poor Genesia's life a misery - demanding that the graceful Hassinan teach her more! Now!
Kelapa stirred behind her, the warrior's arm tightening fractionally around Mahrayne's waist, her breath gusting warmly on the back of her neck. Mahrayne liked Kel, liked her a lot - liked her about as much as she liked Leteetza in fact. The tall female was fun to have around and the sex was just getting better and better. Kel was responding well to her subtle 'tutoring', and when Leteetza could be there too... Mahrayne smirked: she'd like to get the two females to herself more often. She gently unwrapped an arm from around 'tiisaan, and reached up to flick the small gold hoop in her earlobe: Kelapa's 'welcome to Vejiitasei' gift. Mahrayne had shuddered at the size of the needle Kel had produced to pierce her ears with. She'd never been good with pain, but it had been fine, really, certainly less painful than having the beads set under her skin. Mahrayne had gone unaccountably shy, overwhelmed by the gentle zn'hre's generosity, when Zha'haarak had given her a pair of his own earrings - long strands of beautiful, luminescently pale gems called 'moonstones' - to wear when the piercings had healed.
Little Zha'haabron had watched intently as Kelapa quickly and efficiently pushed the needle through Mahrayne's earlobes, then threaded the fine gold hoops through the holes. He'd asked his papa if he could get his ears pierced too and Zha'haabron's initial reaction had been a brusque 'no - you're not old enough' - and the look on his face... Mahrayne had been a little frightened by the intensity of the High King's expression. It wasn't the same reaction he'd had to the revelation about the G'gecks, it was more like - fury. Ti'aasaan had broken the tense silence with the softly spoken words - "That was how it used to be, my Ssii'iin, and you've said yourself that things needn't be as they were." In the end, a pouting 'haabron had been told 'we'll see' - universal parenting language for 'I don't want to think about this right now'.
She'd tried - she really had tried to keep her nose out of it - but dammit, her curiosity had prodded and nagged at her until she'd given in and asked Leteetza what had made Zha'haabron so angry. The little female had given her a hard look, then rolled her eyes expressively. She told Mahrayne that, until recently, the R'ren'nkh'ian-jin had pierced a zn'hre's ears as a sign that they were physically capable of hosting. Then she'd continued on, bluntly detailing the virtual slavery of the zn'hre, how every aspect of their lives, their fertility, their very bodies had been controlled by the whim of their 'masters'. Once a zn'hre was old enough to safely host, they could be 'loaned' to other R'ren'nkh'ians for sex - they had no choice in the matter - and their earrings were an ever present symbol of that bondage.
Mahrayne had been appalled at Leteetza's narrative - then confused.
"But - Zha'haabron's the High King, how could that happen to him?"
Leteetza had frowned at her.
"How much do you know about R'ren'nkh'ia?"
"Not enough, obviously."
The little female sighed and shook her head, then gave Mahrayne a potted history of recent events on Zha'haabron's homeworld. In short - Zha'haabron, with the Saiya-jin-no-Ou's support, had made himself High King after deposing his sire, who'd recently become the first R'ren'nkh'ian High King (again with the Saiya-jin-no-Ou's support) and made the alliance with Vejiitasei.
Mahrayne was astounded: she couldn't have fallen in with a more interesting bunch of people if she'd tried!
The light in the room was steadily getting brighter as the second sun began its climb past the horizon. Almost time to get up... maybe she could close her eyes for a few minutes more...
There was a noise, a tiny rustling sound followed by a poorly suppressed giggling hiss. Mahrayne sighed in resignation; she knew exactly who that would be. She carefully sat up, trying not to disturb her companions, and looked in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there they were, sitting cross-legged, side by side on the floor, beautiful little faces intent on the small metal box they were about to upend.
"Whatchya doin', sinameh?" Mahrayne asked the infant zn'hre.
'honee and 'haavok jumped, startled, then turned to her, grinning.
"Come here you cheeky things!"
The babies giggle-hissed and scrambled over to the bed, clambering agilely up onto the platform - managing to wake Kelapa and 'tiisaan as they did - and crawled into her lap. Mahrayne mock-growled at them.
"Please - " Mahrayne tapped a giggling 'honee lightly on the nose, " - don't - " she did the same to 'haavok, " - make a mess in here." She finished up by tickling them 'til they were squealing. There was a heartfelt groan from the female beside her.
"It's too early!"
"Well, we're all awake now, might as well get up." Mahrayne said cheerily.
"You go 'head." Kelapa yawned and turned over, pulling the bed cover over her shoulder and snuggling down. Mahrayne touched a hand lightly to the warrior's hip.
"Poor tired thing," she purred with spurious sympathy, "you get some more sleep and I'll come and wake you up properly while the children are being fed, shall I?"
"That'd be nice." Kelapa mumbled.
Mahrayne slipped her hand down to where Kel's buttocks were outlined by the bed cover, tickling lightly until the warrior growled at her.
"Either do that properly or let me sleep!"
Mahrayne laughed, shooed the not-so-little-any-more infants off her lap, then leant down and kissed the tip of Kelapa's ear.
"No stamina." she grinned, then scrambled out of bed before the warrior could retaliate.
Mahrayne finished relating the latest chapter in the children's bed-time story, said good-night, then slipped back out from behind the screen that separated the makeshift sleeping platform from the rest of the room. Ti'aasaan and Zha'haarak remained behind to finish settling the little ones down, before they too succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep amongst their offspring. She smiled and stretched - another full day come to an end. They'd even managed to get outside for a short while today, the young zn'hre bundled up warmly against the remaining chill in the air, and all of them shrieking with delight as they played in the sun. While they were outside Mahrayne had gathered an armful of the delicate and bright, newly opened flowers and threaded them through her own and the children's hair. Well, not all the children - Kiraz and 'raadiin had refused, "'cause warriors don't wear flowers". Mahrayne had managed not to laugh; no doubt, in a few years, the young Princes would be formidable fighters, but right now, they were just so cute.
Mahrayne was very happy with the new 'classroom' and with the children's progress. They seemed to be settling in to the routine of the lessons, despite the disruptions to their living arrangements. Hopefully, they'd still be as enthusiastic about it after they'd moved back to the refurbished and extended suite, and life got back to whatever passed for normal around here.
It was quiet in the temporary suite; Kelapa and Hijau were off on some sort of Guard business and Leteetza had gone to the King's rooms for the night. Mahrayne shouldn't really have been surprised at that, not when the little female's answer to 'so what does the King's Companion do?' had been a wicked smirk and 'whatever his Majesty wants.' Mahrayne was trying very hard not to imagine what was going on in the royal suite at the moment, but, the idea of Leteetza and Vejiita together was intriguing. The Hassinan badly wanted to interrogate the little female about Saiyan sexual relationships - and Leteetza's in particular - but hadn't had the opportunity so far. Mahrayne wondered if the level of complexity in Leteetza's - and Hijau's - and Radittsu's relationships was standard, or was what she observing in the R'ren'nkh'ian suite unique?
The High King and Radittsu were still at the medical centre; Mahrayne sighed and squashed down the little curl of envy she felt when she thought of the bondmates. After witnessing the bizarre silence the family had displayed en masse the night Ti'aasaan had come home, Mahrayne had cornered Leteetza, discreetly, and quizzed the little female about it. The R'ren'nkh'ia-jin and the Saiya-jin, it seemed, both had the capacity for telepathic communication, the ability to speak mind-to-mind with another of their race. Not only that, but Radittsu and the High King had 'bonded' to each other with a deep emotional attachment the intensity of which Mahrayne could barely comprehend. Leteetza had told her this bonding across species was unheard of, and their bond for some reason, had kind of spilled over so that Radittsu also had a bond with the High King's other bond-mates, Zha'haarak and Ti'aasaan, only not as intense.
Mahrayne had been fascinated and disturbed and envious at the information. The Hassinan were about as telepathic as rocks; only their rare, near legendary twins were supposed to have that level, that depth of communication. Leteetza had looked at her, faintly alarmed, probably scenting her tumult of emotions or something, as it struck Mahrayne that these aliens had, as a racial trait, something that had been her deepest, most secret wish for as long as she could remember.
It just wasn't fair!
But, as well as being head-blind, the Hassinan were fatalistic - 'no point worrying about re-decorating if the roof's caved in' - and Mahrayne had shrugged and pushed her feelings to one side, concentrating on what was important.
She shook herself and smiled sadly. She couldn't begrudge the bondmates that deeply personal communion, especially not now. The High King needed the love and support of his family, in whatever form it took. The day before yesterday, he and Radittsu had tried for a hostling of their own. It was only possible by painful medical intervention, and unfortunately the hybrid hostling miscarried hours after implanting. As Mahrayne understood it, the actual miscarriage hadn't hurt Zha'haabron physically, it being too early for the hostling to have 'taken' properly, but she'd never known someone to lose a baby and not suffer in some way. She also couldn't envy the zn'hre their link if the depressed/irritable/tearful reactions they were displaying were an indication of what they were feeling from their bond-mates in the medical centre.
Radittsu and Zha'haabron were going to try again in another couple of days and Mahrayne hoped fervently that the next attempt was successful.
Mahrayne wandered aimlessly around the suite. She wasn't tired enough to sleep; maybe she could pick up that piece of embroidery she'd started before leaving Hassina? That didn't really appeal, neither did finding something to read, and she felt too - unsettled - to focus on research. On an impulse, she opened the glass doors to the balcony and stepped outside.
It was a beautiful night, soft and clear, the stars bright against the inky dark sky. She looked up, marvelling again at the sheer number of the vibrant, glittering gem-like points of light there were. She wanted to run her hands through them, feel them fall sharply between her fingers like freshly cut seitso stones. She laughed at herself; her mother'd always said, with exasperation, that she was too imaginative to live in the real world. Mahrayne doubted, though, that the magic of the Vejiitasei night sky would ever pale for her, and she'd always remember the first time she'd seen the stars.
It had happened the day after the Hassinan delegation had left. There'd been a brief fall of snow in the morning, and then the skies had cleared. That night, after the children had been put to bed, she'd been drawn to the glass doors of the balcony by the different quality of the night time light. She'd gone outside, wondering what had changed, and looked up - to a rich, black sky shot through with seemingly thousands of tiny, multi-coloured, glistening jewels... Mahrayne must've been standing out there for ages because she had a crick in her neck when Leteetza came to find her.
"Look!" she'd pointed up to the night sky. Leteetza looked, and shrugged.
"Stars." The little female had said matter-of-factly.
"I've never seen them before," Mahrayne said in breathy wonder, "I've never seen the sky, for that matter."
"Because you're underground most of the time?" Leteeza had asked.
"Mostly, but even when we're above ground, the cloud cover is so thick nothing shows through."
"Are you coming inside?" Leteetza grumbled. "If I stay out here much longer I won't be able to feel my nose."
"There's pictures in the stars, 'teetza," Mahrayne said softly, not really having heard what the female had said. "Can you see them?"
Leteetza had squinted up at the vista.
"I know some of the constellations have names." she'd said doubtfully, but Mahrayne, whose eyes were accustomed to making patterns in everything, could see worlds of stories up there.
"See, that group there - " Leteetza tried to sight along Mahrayne's out-stretched arm, "the three big ones in an uneven triangle with the swirl of smaller stars coming from one of the points?" Leteetza made a non-committal sound, and Mahrayne carried on, "that sort of looks like a nioral - a tiny, communal water insect, and there - " Mahrayne pointed to a cluster of stars close to the tops of the trees, "that group could be a hunter's net..."
Leteetza had left her to her star-gazing, remarking dryly that she'd come and get her in the morning.
Looking up into the sky now, Mahrayne could easily pick out the nioral group and the net cluster, and the other groups of stars that were becoming familiar to her. She happily breathed in the crisp night air then went back inside, a thought taking shape.
"Zh'leet?" she asked the brood, who was nodding off on a floor cushion, "do you think it'd be all right if I went for a walk?"
Zh'leet yawned and shrugged. "Can't see why not, as long as you don't go where you're not supposed to."
Mahrayne nodded; she knew those places now. In the first couple of days after the delegation had left, she'd made Kel take her all over the palace and the grounds, including visiting the off-limits places, so she'd know where she could and couldn't go. Kelapa had thought it was a stupid idea to go traipsing all over the place; wasting time and energy - that could be put to better uses, she'd leered - by going to areas she'd probably never need to go to again. Besides - the warrior had said - It'd only get confusing for Mahrayne, and she'd end up getting lost, and have to be rescued, and it was altogether too much effort. Mahrayne had laughingly reminded Kel that Hassinan do not get lost, and she had, in fact, already memorised everywhere they'd been. Kelapa'd given in with bad grace, but Mahrayne had made it up to her at length, later.
It was peaceful in the palace gardens, dark and quiet. The scents of the new-season night opening flowers, the damp earth and the growing plants were tantalising and enlivening for her. It was as if she could feel the life in everything around and she breathed the vibrancy deep into her lungs. On her daytime walks she'd found a clearing that she particularly liked, and that was where she headed.
It was beautiful. She kicked off her boots and walked barefoot on the moss, delighting in the moist coolness against the soles of her feet, and squishing between her toes. Mahrayne hadn't rebanded her hair after the bath and she ran her fingers through it now, letting it flow over her shoulders like water. She supplely bent backwards from the waist, feeling the ends of her hair brush lightly over her rump as she gazed up at the stars through the gap in the treetops. To be outside at night was a wonder for the Hassinan; even in the warm season on her homeworld it was killing cold at night and the winds howled round trying to snatch the breath from your mouth; no one set foot outside the great, felt tents until it was light. In comparison, the air here was warm, with hardly a breeze to stir the newly emerging leaves. Mahrayne held herself still and listened carefully - then, hearing nothing, she giggled softly at her boldness and stripped off her robe, standing naked in the centre of the glade.
She had never felt anything like it.
Mahrayne lifted her arms to the sky and began to sway, relishing the feel of fresh, cool air over her skin. Then she danced, using her body to express her happiness and celebrate the glorious freedom of dancing in the open air under the stars. Mahrayne had no idea how much time had passed but as always, when she was dancing for herself, the emphasis of the dance swirled and changed, coalescing into a heady sensuality. She knelt on the ground, knees wide apart, and pleasured herself, gasping her release to the stars.
She lay stretched out on the damp moss, feeling her heart beat returning to normal and smiling at the thought that that was probably the first orgasm she'd had with no one even within ear shot. She stood up and stretched towards the sky, saluting the stars before she got dressed and went back to the palace.
Kelapa had returned and was sitting cross-legged on the floor when Mahrayne got back.
"I was just about to come and get you." The warrior smirked, "what's the point in having a 'personal guard' if you go wandering off by yourself?"
Mahrayne flashed her a huge smile and held out her hand to the Saiyan. Kelapa grasped it with her own strong hand, and Mahrayne saw the temptation to pull her to the floor flit across the warrior's face. Mahrayne tugged on Kelapa's hand insistently and the tall female uncurled gracefully and stood looking down at her, a half-smile quirking her lips. Mahrayne reached up and cupped the back of Kel's head, combing her fingers through the Saiyan's unusually sleek mane. Then she pulled the female down to her and kissed her deeply, lingeringly, the echoes of her orgasm in the gardens curving through her. Kel breathed in slowly, an action that Mahrayne now knew to mean a Saiyan was deliberately scenting.
Kelapa smirked. "You've had a head start."
Mahrayne grinned back. "Want to catch up?"
Kelapa's rich brown eyes were highly expressive and Mahrayne didn't need verbal confirmation. She pushed the taller female towards the bedroom.
"Now, what were we saying this morning about stamina?" she murmured with a grin.
© 2002 March 9th Amanda Mullane
Sinameh - Hassinan, plural of 'precious'.
Back