Snapshots 3
Tamata eased her heavily pregnant body down onto a floor cushion, gratefully accepting the beaker of fruit juice Zh'leet proffered: Pasunippu knelt beside her, quietly solicitous. Leteetza grinned at them both.
"A female?"
Tamata nodded, beaming.
"Everyone's very pleased. Especially Sorelya-sama and Baadakku-sama."
"I just bet they are!" She smirked at Pasunippu. "Looking forward to having a sister, little 'un?"
The child nodded gravely.
"Yes, my lady."
She chuckled.
"Call me 'teetza. All the other brats do!"
He smiled tentatively.
"Yes, 'teetza-sama…"
She shook her head. Well, no doubt familiarity would bring a measure of informality. Her attention returned to her old friend.
"You want him to join the class as soon as possible?"
Tamata hesitated, then sighed.
"To be honest, we don't really want him to take classes at all. Kakarrotto wants him to go straight into the military. But Baadakku-sama insisted. And," she ruffled her son's heavy mane, "he does seem to be bright…"
Leteetza inclined her head.
"How do you feel about it, 'nippu-chan? Wouldn't you rather be training?"
The child's head jerked up, expression horrified.
"Oh no, 'teetza-sama! I don't want to fight! I want to be a Thinker!"
Radittsu's nephew wanted to be an academic? The King's Companion stared, bemused - then blinked - then focussed, eyes widening. The brat had Elite level ki…
She eyed Tamata warily.
"Now how did that happen?"
Tamata shrugged.
"No idea. He was born second class."
"But Kakarrotto is third class!"
The taller warrior shook her head.
"Not any more. He's high first class right now - and getting higher."
Leteetza gaped.
"But that's not possible."
Her friend scowled.
"I know that! Maybe… maybe he's just a late developer…"
"Does Baadakku know?"
Tamata looked shifty, and Leteetza sighed.
"Why haven't you told him?"
"For gods' sake, 'teetza - I see little enough of Ka-chan as it is! If the Guard knew about this I wouldn't get any time with him at all!"
Which used to be true, certainly. Things had changed since the establishment of the Empire, however. The King's Companion grimaced.
"You can't keep this secret. You can't keep 'nippu-chan's level a secret either."
The child paled and grabbed her hand.
"'teetza-sama… Does that mean I can't join the class?"
She stroked his mane soothingly.
"No - of course you can join the class, brat. But we may need to arrange some special training for you as well. I'll speak to Rad-chan, see what he suggests."
"But I can still learn? With the others?"
"Yes. You can start tomorrow, if you like."
The child gave a relieved sigh and a trembling smile.
"Yes please…"
All was studiously quiet in the classroom: Ubi had given the children research assignments that required them to work together in groups and let them decide themselves, for once, who would work with whom. She smiled as she watched them sort themselves out - it was always fascinating seeing which of them gravitated together for different purposes. Oh, some of them were inseparable, of course: although they never objected, splitting up 'haabron and Kobis resulted in distinctly less than high quality work. And she'd long ago given up trying to separate 'raadiin and Kiraz - that just disrupted the class and no-one got anything done. More surprising was the shifting group around Buahan: depending on the subject Ti'ani and/or Le'leen, 'haavok, 'jiisa, 'tiisaan or 'selaan worked with the little princess. Although now Pirum was here Buahan had a permanent partner, of course - and to the teachers' surprise the two worked together extremely well.
The Thinker sighed as her glance fell on 'zhasaan. The little zn'hre was - fragile at the moment, the slightest thing able to reduce him to a trembling, silently sobbing heap. 'tiisaan and 'miiron were always at his side, loving and supportive, and Ti'ani and Le'leen could always be called on if things got too fraught, and he was managing to struggle through most of the lessons, but Ubi wondered at the wisdom of making him take classes in the first place. Zha'haabron had insisted, however: the High King believed that a modicum of normality would help the hostling get back to his usual self more quickly...
She checked her chronometer: it was time to break for the mid-morning meal. After that her class would be a little smaller - Fa'zhen had taken 'leesaan under her patronage and was teaching him in the library, and Kiraz and 'raadiin were due at Guard Headquarters for the rest of the day for sessions with Kyuri and Apyo. Which meant 'fallon would be miserable until his sire-sib returned… To his credit, the little zn'hre did try to not let it show - but, as Ubi was well aware, he was quite content to be 'raadiin's shadow, and he simply wasn't intellectually-inclined. He enjoyed reading and writing stories, his recent discovery of poetry had delighted him, inspiring him to try writing his own, and his handwriting - unlike 'raadiin's almost illegible scrawl - was an artform in itself. But anything at all to do with numbers - forget it, it just didn't seem to stick in his mind. She'd spoken to his host, and Zha'haarak had been sympathetic but blunt.
"It is not so unusual. There are many zn'hre who find their fulfilment in hosting, rather than more - academic pursuits." He'd smiled shyly, blushing faintly. "I do myself: I believe Zha'fallon takes after me in that respect. I am sorry if you find it trying. Would you prefer it if I removed him from the class? I have no wish to hold back the other children."
"Ye gods, no, your highness!" Ubi flapped her hands agitatedly. "I wasn't complaining, never that! 'fallon does try, and is always quiet and attentive. I just don't think he's getting much benefit from the classes."
Zha'haarak had frowned slightly, chewing on his lower lip.
"May I make a suggestion?"
Ubi nodded, almost eagerly.
"You have said he enjoys stories. Perhaps you could try focussing on such subjects? In other languages, maybe? Or perhaps other artforms? If that will not disrupt the other children's lessons, that is…"
Ubi had frowned, considering the prince's words, and nodded.
"Easy enough to set up - though I'm not trained in such things, never had much interest in them, myself. Mahrayne does, though." She grinned. "I'm sure she'd be delighted to help 'fallon! I'll speak to her later, see what we can come up with."
Zha'haarak smiled.
"Thank you. Although I think you should perhaps resign yourself to his never amounting to very much, academically."
She chuckled.
"Heh… they can't all be perfect students. 'haabron, 'selaan and 'leesaan more than make up for 'fallon's shortcomings!"
And Mahrayne had been happy to organise a programme for 'fallon that covered reading other worlds' literature - in translation to start with, but she planned to teach him Hassinan and Kori-go once he'd settled into the new schedule and if he proved amenable. They encouraged him to write his own stories and poetry, and in the early part of the afternoons Zha'haarak made use of the classroom to explore what the library database had to offer in the way of alien artworks, 'fallon cuddled into his side as they learned together. It hadn't been long before the little hostling had wanted to start trying his own art, borrowing stylus and paper from his host and immersing himself in drawing. It came as no surprise to Mahrayne that he had the makings of quite an accomplished artist - another way in which he took after the prince, although (to the Hassinan's frustration) Zha'haarak didn't take his 'doodlings', as he called them, at all seriously… Perhaps, with 'fallon showing promise, she could persuade the gentle zn'hre to give his exquisite sketches a little more consideration…
The other children were also beginning to show preferences and aptitudes. Ti'aasaan had been thoroughly startled when 'selaan had asked if he could join Pirum in her extra lessons with the Feeodoreeans.
"But… why?"
The hostling had grinned.
"Because it's interesting, maazi."
The little zn'hre had glanced at Jagung, who shrugged.
"Don't ask me, hoseki. Not my field of expertise…"
Zh'leet, however, had been favourably disposed towards the idea, and volunteered to approach Vinas. The biotech had been cautiously acquiescent, and arranged for the hostling to sit in on a couple of sessions to see if he was suitable material. And Gtislin had reported back that he was eager to learn, intelligent and conscientious, and more than welcome to join the private tutorials…
Ti'aasaan had watched 'selaan and Pirum somewhat warily speak to each other, comparing notes on the afternoon's class and contemplating upcoming topics, then gazed bemusedly at Zha'haabron.
**Well…**
The king had smiled.
**Something of a surprise, I agree. But I cannot say I am displeased. That such things are possible for the zn'hre is a source of joy to me**
Ti'aasaan beamed and hugged his Ssii'iin tightly. The very fact that the zn'hre could now make choices about the things they wanted to do, the way they wanted to live their lives, was worth the pain they'd suffered.
Buahan had been a little put out at first, pouting when her friend wanted to talk to the zn'hre, but Pirum had hugged her tightly, kissing her reassuringly.
"Bu-chan, 'selaan is a study-mate. I like him - he's funny and I can talk to him about things we're both interested in - but he's not you." She nuzzled the princess' neck. "You could listen in if you like - but I don't think you'll find it very interesting…"
Buahan had tried, but the young Hassinan was right, she hadn't found the conversation interesting. What little of it she'd understood made her feel squeamish.
"How can you enjoy things like that?" she'd asked one evening as they sat twined together in the bath, listening to 'selaan enthusiastically describing the various intestinal ailments to which grittigs were prone to a distinctly nauseous-looking Zha'haarak. Pirum had giggled and stroked her tail.
"But it's so interesting, suserah! You should come and sit in on a session sometime."
The princess shuddered.
"No thank you." She frowned. "Do you really want to be a medic?"
Pirum shook her head.
"No. But I'd like to learn how to put things right. Inside people, I mean."
Buahan smirked.
"Well, we don't ever get ill. So nothing much to do there!"
Pirum inclined her head.
"But not everyone's as tough as Saiya-jin."
"I guess…"
"Anyway," she kissed Buahan's cheek, "if you don't want to, we don't have to talk about it. Tell me about Peyaru…"
"Calm down, brat!"
Peyaru stopped pacing, still chewing on the end of his tail - then scowled as Netsariin slapped it away from his mouth.
"If you don't stop doing that you're going to pull out all the fur, and then Buahan-sama won't want you any more."
The temptation to retort that the princess liked him for himself, not what his tail looked like, was very strong - but he wasn't quite sure enough of himself to be entirely convinced his baka sister was wrong… He tucked his tail around his waist and glowered at Netsariin. He couldn't work out why she was in such a foul mood. Surely she wanted to go to Vejiitamachi, didn't she? She'd talked enough about Hijau-san in the past. And it was an excellent place to find a mate: most of the Elite were in the capital…
Only eight days to go and they'd be joining the Saiya-jin-no-Ou's household! He'd be taking classes with his mate-to-be. The princess.
He couldn't decide if he was excited or terrified.
Weary, panting, Hijau paused for a moment, gazing down at his bondmate. Zha'haarak looked tired, and had flinched during that last orgasm.
*Do you want me to stop, zkai'da? Am I hurting you?*
The gentle zn'hre shook his head, smiling.
**No, zk'vissin, don't stop. My hip is aching a little, that's all…**
Hijau frowned, unconvinced - but this was so important to them both… He rolled onto his back, pulling the zn'hre with him, and began to thrust again.
They knew what to expect - they'd spoken at length with Radittsu and Zha'haabron - so were prepared when Vinas returned half an hour later, long needle-less syringe in hand. The Feeodoreean smiled faintly.
"This will be a little uncomfortable, your highness…"
Zha'haarak nodded and took a deep breath, gripping his Saiyan's hands tightly as Vinas eased the syringe containing the precious zygote into his body. Moments later the biotech withdrew the device and nodded his satisfaction, then reached for another, much smaller hypodermic. He rubbed a sterile cloth over smooth green skin, then paused as he poised the long needle above the prince's hip.
"I'm sorry, your highness - this is going to hurt. But it is necessary."
Zha'haarak's eyes squeezed shut; his nails drew blood from Hijau's hands as he whimpered, trying hard not to flinch. The Saiyan frowned as the needle was withdrawn long moments later.
"Isn't there a less painful way to give those? I mean, couldn't you mix whatever the stuff is into food or something?"
Vinas nodded absently, his eyes on his monitor.
"It would be possible, I suppose, but far less accurate. This way we can control the exact amount of hormone mix, and ensure it reaches the right area swiftly."
"All the same…"
Vinas fixed Hijau with a scowl. "Captain, this implantation procedure is still mostly experimental. We're learning all the time, of course, but I have no wish to place his highness or your putative offspring at any risk. We know, from his Majesty's successful pregnancy, that this works. If we find a less stressful method we will certainly consider trying it." He smiled down at Zha'haarak reassuringly. "That's all satisfactory. Now, I want you both to rest here for the next fifteen hours so that your highness can be constantly monitored. If all is going well at that point, I'll allow you home, on condition you wear a lightweight monitor at all times."
The gentle zn'hre was still shaking from the pain of the injection: he swallowed and inclined his head enquiringly. Vinas raised something that looked like a chunky bracelet.
"Something we've been working on, your highness. It monitors your vital functions and transmits the readings here, so that we can keep a check on you at all times. The device will alert us to the nature and cause of any irregularities. It should pick up any potential problems before you are aware of them yourself."
Hijau snorted disbelievingly.
"That's highly unlikely, given how *aware* of each other we are!"
Vinas nodded.
"I appreciate that, Captain, but you don't have the medical training to know what any changes might mean. We do - and can have the appropriate medication or procedures ready even before you bring his highness here."
Hijau frowned, then nodded. It sounded like a good idea, and anything that made the pregnancy safer for his bondmate was worth trying. He'd have to make sure Jagung understood how it worked, and how important it was to get Zha'haarak to the medical centre immediately if he thought anything was wrong.
Vinas checked his monitor again and nodded.
"I'd suggest you both get some sleep. We've prepared a room for you - Jecmen will show you where, and either myself or Gtislin will be here at all times. Anything that worries you - anything at all - call for us."
Hijau grinned as he lifted his bondmate's slim frame into his arms.
"Of course. We don't want anything to go wrong…"
Gtislin glanced at Vinas as the Saiyan followed Jecmen from the treatment room.
"Prognosis?"
The royal physician shook his head.
"Doubtful. The procedure was a success - I'm just not convinced his highness is strong enough to cope with a hybrid pregnancy. It was hard enough on the High King…"
"Was it wise to proceed, then?"
"No. But his Majesty can be very persuasive. And…" he frowned to himself. "The risks are acceptable: we have learned much from the High King's experience. And they deserve the chance."
Gtislin hid a grin: the head biotech was definitely growing more… sentimental… the longer he stayed here.
"If you wish to take a break, I'll cover for you."
Vinas stretched, then nodded.
"A meal would be useful. Call me if there are any changes."
Radittsu lowered himself into the bathing pool with a grunt, wincing as the heat of the water seeped into his aching body. Leteetza rested an elbow on the edge of the tub, cheek cupped in her hand, frowning as she watched him.
Forty-two days since he'd been released from the infirmary and there'd been a distinct improvement, physically. His balance was still off and his limp pronounced, though he'd regained a lot of movement in his shoulders, which was a relief: Tane and Dari had had a lot to do with that. He was still thin compared to before Budoushu, and while the livid scars had faded the flesh was still deeply furrowed, pale and rough to the touch down his back and over his hip. Not attractive, but who cared?
None of it stopped him being a force to be reckoned with. In the air he was as fast and powerful as ever - possibly even more so: recovery from the near-fatal injuries had boosted his ki-level to high Elite. On the ground - well, he'd regained muscle lost when he was unable to train, and was of necessity finding ways around his physical limitations. The main problem now was his lack of stamina: he tired easily, and that made him careless. Though even that was now improving - their last session had lasted four hours before he'd called a halt, unwilling to push himself too far while Hijau was otherwise engaged. Kyuri was an excellent officer, but might need more experienced backup in the event of a crisis…
They were still trying to find out the origins of the ki-blank aliens - they'd been dubbed the Warui-jin until the Feeodoreeans managed to get their real name from the captive. Although the chances of that happening were becoming remote as it seemed unlikely he'd survive for much longer. However, he had told them - in a half-sneer half-tortured gasp - that he was a mercenary, and that there were more of his kind onworld, just awaiting their opportunity…
Opportunity to do what, precisely, they hadn't been able to wring out of him. Kyuri had mulled over the security issues for all of half an hour, then quadrupled the guard around the Saiya-jin-no-Ou and the High King's family, ensuring that there were at least two R'ren'nkh'ian warriors in each shift. She wasn't entirely sure all the types could perceive the Warui-jin, and there were no zn'hre warriors onworld - though there were now, to her surprise, a select cadre of them on the homeworld: she'd had the High King second a group (currently en route) to Vejiitasei until the problem was resolved - but she had to take every possible precaution.
And that meant having all available Elite Guard ready to fight if need be, including the ex-Captain and the King's Companion.
Radittsu slid completely underwater, rubbing at the back of his neck, then resurfaced, expression wry.
"Never thought the day would come when I'd actually want to go back to R'ren'nkh'ia."
The little female blinked.
"Why?"
"For some peace and quiet! 'bron and I haven't had any time to ourselves since… since…" he frowned. "I can't remember. Feels like years…"
Leteetza smirked.
"You need a holiday!"
"Heh… nice to dream…"
Pushing him around to face away from her, she began to knead his shoulders under his mane.
"It's a thought, though. The Ssii'iin hasn't been back since FullMoon, and while I'm sure the Council are doing a fine job, he should put in an appearance every now and then, don't you think?"
Relaxing under her strong fingers, head lolling forwards, he grunted agreement, tail snaking around her waist.
"He won't leave while this Warui-jin threat is still unresolved."
"Fair enough. But afterwards?"
"I'll suggest it to him…"
Mid-afternoon, and the suite was empty except for themselves. Those of the children that didn't have organised activities were down in the playroom with the rest of the adults; even Zh'leet had joined them this afternoon… Radittsu suspected that Leteetza had passed on his complaint and shooed everyone out so he and his bondmate could have privacy for a few hours.
Zha'haabron sighed and leaned back against his Saiyan, relaxing as a long, strong tail wrapped itself around his erection.
**I have missed this**
The Saiyan kissed the side of the cool blue neck.
*Missed what?*
The zn'hre twisted to sit in his lap, warm face cupped in elegant cool hands.
**Having you to myself. Oh, I regret nothing,** he smiled and brushed a kiss over his bondmate's face, forestalling any objection. **I am completely, perfectly happy with the way my life has evolved - happy beyond anything I had ever imagined…**
*But sometimes…* Radittsu cradled him tightly, *you remember what it was like when it was just us.*
The king sighed and nodded, raising his body slightly to slide down onto his Saiyan's erection, closing his eyes with a satisfied hiss as Radittsu started to shift.
**Selfish, I know - but I think we're entitled occasionally**
The Saiyan kissed his throat.
*It's not selfish at all…*
Snaking a hand between their bodies he wrapped a broad strong hand around his beloved's shaft, thumb stroking that sensitive nub nestling in its shadow. Zha'haabron gasped and clutched his bondmate's shoulders, internal muscles rippling along the Saiyan's inkei as he came pulling the big male into his own climax.
© Bakayaro onna
Radittsu held him close, breathing in the warm spicy scent of his skin, the cooler, sweeter fragrance of his hair, loving every part of the precious being in his arms, heart overflowing with joy and contentment.
*I love you.*
Zha'haabron raised his head to smile into night-dark eyes, his own brimming.
**… zk'vissin…**
© 2002 November 23rd Joules Taylor (text), Bakararo onna (illustration)
For onna, with heartfelt thanks.
