Journeys 4

Journeys pt.4

Mahrayne's gaze flicked between her mate, the tall female facing him, and the child at her side. The youngster was the image of Zorun; was this his cub? And if it was, what about the older child, was that his as well? Mahrayne studied Lady Mayis, the female had a claim mark; had Zorun already claimed a mate before he'd claimed her? Mahrayne thought she'd burst with curiosity if she didn't find out soon.

"How did you know I was here?" Zorun asked the female and she smirked.
      "Everybody knows you're here." Mayis glanced at Mahrayne. "Everybody knows what goes on at court."
      They do? Everything?
Mahrayne winced inwardly.
      "Were you planning on coming to Rumput to see us?" Mayis glared at Zorun, who looked evasive.
      She snorted. "I didn't think so."
      The elder child grinned at Zorun.
      "Hi, oji."
      "Hello, Jintan," Zorun half-smirked, "you've doubled in size since I saw you last."

Oji?
      Mahrayne wracked her brain trying to remember what the word meant…
      And then she had it. Oji meant 'mother's brother'. Of course! Lady Mayis was Zorun's sister. Mahrayne felt oddly disappointed. To her it was the most natural thing in the world for her male to have children with other females, and while she would have been miffed if he hadn't told her he had another mate, she wouldn't have been miffed because he had another mate.
      Mahrayne quite liked the idea of Zorun siring children elsewhere, especially if she could help raise them…

Lady Mayis leant down to her youngest child.
       "Beremi, this is your oji, Zorun." She straightened up, looking her brother in the eye. "This is Beremi, who you haven't bothered to see since he was born."
      Zorun scowled. "I've been busy."
       "So I've heard." Lady Mayis flicked a look at Mahrayne. "That's your mate?" she sniffed deprecatingly, "She has no ki."
      Around her, Mahrayne saw Lord Kurumi and the two Guards stir, frowning.
      Zorun's eyes narrowed. "Mahrayne's people have no ki, and - " he smirked unpleasantly, "Mahrayne speaks fluent Saiya-go."

Mahrayne was surprised, she'd thought nothing of it when Lady Mayis had spoken in her native language, but she realised now that the female had chosen to speak Saiya-go because she assumed Mahrayne wouldn't be able to understand it.
She'd been deliberately slighted!
Mahrayne didn't know what to think…

"Lady Mayis - " there was a hint of reprimand in Lord Kurumi's deep voice. The female smoothly pivoted to face him, lowering her eyes.
       "I meant no disrespect to you or your guests, of course, Lord Kurumi."
      Mahrayne waited - but no, that was all the apology she was going to get it seemed.
      Zorun held out his hand to Mahrayne and she took it, smiling up at him, quietly glad for his unobtrusive help in standing up. He kept hold of her hand and curled his tail around her middle.
       "Mahrayne, this is my sister, Lady Mayis." The tall female looked down at the Hassinan, the corners of her mouth tipping up slightly in cool amusement. "Mayis, this is Lady Mahrayne, my mate." Zorun put the slightest emphasis on the title and Mahrayne smiled serenely: she might not have any fucking ki, but she did have an apparent status equal to the haughty female's.
       "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Mayis," Mahrayne inclined her head, but didn’t lower her eyes. Mayis's smile was frosty.
      A small voice piped up from the vicinity of Mahrayne's navel.
      "What are those things on your face?"
      The Hassinan grinned and leaned down to the child - as much as she was able.
       "They're called skin-beads. They're little pieces of bone that have been put under my skin."
      Beremi frowned and reached up to poke at one. "Do they hurt?"
      Mahrayne shook her head. "Not any more."

"You're looking very relaxed, Zorun," Mayis murmured above them, "you must be getting plenty of sex for a change." Zorun didn't reply, and Mahrayne couldn't see his face, but his tail tightened around her.
"If we could all be seated," Lord Kurumi spoke up, "we can begin to eat."

Mayis sat next to Zorun through the midday meal, filling him in on his family's doings. Zorun came from quite a large family, Mahrayne discovered, listening to their conversation. As well as Mayis, who had six cubs, Zorun had three brothers, two elder and a younger. The younger, Ry, was only seven and training with his father and the local military; he wanted to join the Elite Guard when he was old enough. Weatsu was a few years older than Zorun and he was helping their father with the estate; Weatsu and his mate had three cubs.
       "And of course everybody knows what Nappa's been up to." Lady Mayis said wryly.
      Bawang stared at Zorun. "Nappa's your brother?"
      Zorun nodded but didn't stop eating, and while his neutral expression didn't change, his tail momentarily - involuntarily it seemed - squeezed Mahrayne so hard she thought he'd leave bruises.
       "What was it like serving under him, then?" Bawang smirked.
      Zorun paused, then growled at the Guard.
      "I didn't get any preferential treatment if that's what you mean."
      There was an uncomfortable silence. Mayis changed the subject.
      "Lord Kurumi, I hear Pankuzu's council has plans for improving your transport facility?"
      The older noble nodded and proceeded to take control of the conversation. Zorun's family wasn't mentioned again.

Mahrayne had found the whole exchange fascinating. It was obvious Zorun wasn't fond of his sister, or she of him, but they were united at least in their dislike of their eldest brother. Both of them stiffened when Bawang had made his comments, and the siblings' relief was palpable when the subject was dropped. Mahrayne knew very little about Nappa, she'd only heard the offworld Commander's name mentioned a few times, but there had been a certain amount of awe, or fear, each time. Jagung, Zha'haarak's personal guard, had recently transferred from the offworld forces, Mahrayne wondered if she could ask him about the Commander.
      It was obvious, too, that Lady Mayis didn't think much of her brother's mate. She accorded Mahrayne the barest of civilities, then ignored her, much as Zorun had done with Burajirunu. Lord Kurumi, and Bawang and Chikori for that matter, weren't happy about it, and Zorun was coldly furious, but as no actual insult had been offered, they couldn't do anything about it. Lord Kurumi was being very sweet though, Mahrayne thought fondly, the noble paying extra attention to his daughter's friend as a counter to Mayis's snub.
       To be honest, Mahrayne was probably less bothered by all of this than the Saiyans were; she was getting on famously with Mayis's children and that was far more important. Beremi and Jintan were curious about their oji's alien mate, and not at all hesitant about asking her questions. They were happy to answer questions in return and over the afternoon Mahrayne gleaned a lot of information about their homelife, the island they came from, their siblings and their parents. Their mama and papa loved each other very much, though papa - Jintan whispered confidentially to Mahrayne - was apt to stay out of sight when mama was in a bad mood. Mahrayne suppressed her smile; she'd only known Mayis a couple of hours but she knew already she wouldn't want to be around when the female got angry.
      Lady Mayis and her children stayed for the evening meal, graciously accepting the noble's offer of accommodation for the night. Mayis didn't have a lot of choice, really - Jintan and Beremi were falling asleep over their food, though they perked up remarkably quickly when Zorun suggested to them, out of their mother's hearing, that maybe they could ask Mahrayne to tell them a story before they went to sleep. The youngsters thought this was an excellent idea and scampered off to find their oji's mate.
      A short while later they were dragging a laughing Mahrayne by the hands up the stairs to their room.
      Zorun smiled grimly: that was his mate safely out of the way for a while, time to talk to his sister.

"Why did you come here, Mayis?"
      They were sitting on the far side of the fountain in the courtyard, Mayis had taken her sandals off and was splashing her feet in the cool water.
       "I knew you wouldn't come to Rumput to see us, so I brought Jintan and Beremi here instead."
      Zorun quirked an eyebrow at her and she scowled.
       "All right, and yes, I wanted to meet this mate of yours." She frowned at him. "Why an alien, Zorun? You despise aliens."
      He shrugged. "Can't explain it, it just happened."
       "She's pretty enough, I suppose, in an exotic sort of way, but she's… weak! And she's having problems carrying your brat."
       "Mahrayne may not be as physically strong as a Saiyan but she's got the willpower and determination equal to any of us."
       "Hn. And I suppose the sex is good too."
      Zorun smirked at his sister and she grimaced.
       "Well as long as she can keep up with you -"
      Zorun barked a laugh.
       "It's the other way round if anything!"
       "You're joking?!" Mayis was disbelieving. "You're telling me that that pathetic little strip of nothing wears you - an elite male - out?"
      Zorun's eyes glittered but he refused to rise to his sister's taunt.
       "Suwedo and Bahley want to meet her." Mayis changed the subject off-handedly. Zorun gave a non-comittal grunt; Mahrayne would have to meet his parents eventually - maybe next time he had down-time. He'd think about it later.
       "How much longer are you going to be here for?" Mayis asked.
       "Leaving tomorrow morning." Zorun answered, having just decided.
       "Hn. S'pose there's not much point the brats and I hanging around then."
      Zorun shrugged, indicating it was her decision. Mayis stood up.
       "I'd better go and check what sort of nonsense your mate's been feeding my children." She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. "Fucking come and see us sometime, right?"
       "Fine." Zorun matched her stare. "But 'rayne will be coming with me and you'd better show her a bit more fucking respect than you have so far."
      Mayis's lip curled. "I'll show her respect when she's proved she's earned it." His sister tossed her head and stalked off. Zorun watched Mayis disappear into the house; he scowled, how Kantan put up with her he'd never know.

A little later, Zorun had a quiet word with Lord Kurumi. The noble was disappointed they'd be leaving earlier than planned.
"Will you be flying straight back to Vejiitamachi?" he asked.
Zorun shook his head - he'd had an idea. "No, there's somewhere I'd like to take Mahrayne first."

Mahrayne was also a little disappointed when Zorun told her they'd be leaving the next morning, but that soon changed - as he knew it would - when he piqued her bottomless curiosity about where they'd be going. Zorun grinned infuriatingly at his mate, not answering any of her questions until she was so frustrated he thought she was going to hit him. Then he laughed and took her mind off it the best way he knew.

"Zorun?"
       "Hmm?" Zorun almost groaned; he was sated, exhausted, definitely ready to sleep, he really hoped his mate wasn't going to go on again about where they were going tomorrow.
       "Mayis doesn't like me very much does she?"
      Zorun pulled Mahrayne in tighter to him, curling his tail over her thighs.
       "My sister can be - hard to please. Don't worry about it." He absently brushed a kiss over her forehead, "I love you and that's all that matters."
      He half-smiled at his mate's happy sigh and his eyes drifted closed...
       "Zorun?"
       "Hmm?"
       "Where are we going tomorrow?"
      Zorun growled, and Mahrayne giggled as she snuggled closer, finally going to sleep.

Mahrayne stood up on her tip-toes, stretching enough so that she could kiss Lord Kurumi's cheek. The noble beamed at her, gently touching her face in a fatherly fashion.
      "I've really enjoyed your visit, Lady Mahrayne," he looked over at Zorun, "King's Guard. I hope you can visit again soon."
      Mahrayne smiled. "I'll probably be here with Kel next time."
       "I look forward to it."
       Zorun's sister and her cubs wouldn't be leaving for a little while yet; the shuttle to Rumput wasn't due to leave for another hour or so. Mayis said good-bye to her brother, but didn't look at Mahrayne. Jintan and Beremi both hugged Zorun and Mahrayne goodbye, much to the Hassinan's delight, and Beremi made them promise to come and see them. Zorun ruffled Beremi's spiky, ebony mane, then scooped Mahrayne up into his arms.
      Kurumi inclined his head politely to his guests, waving after them as they took off from his compound and headed for the transport facility.

Mahrayne had been very patient, she thought, she'd refrained from asking Zorun about their destination the moment he woke, or while he was showering or eating. She hadn't said a word about it while they flew to the transport facility, but enough was enough. Now she sat next to him on the shuttle, looking at her mate with wide-eyed expectation. Zorun smirked at her, and relented.
       "We're going to the Southern Peninsula of Matou."
       "Why?"
       "Because I think you'll like it."
      And Zorun refused to say any more.
      Mahrayne scowled; honestly, sometimes she could just hit him!

The shuttle they took this time was much smaller than the one that travelled between Pankuzu and Vejiitamachi. It only had twenty seats, and there were only three other people travelling with them.
      They landed in the coastal town of Kamome, a very small place with half a dozen public buildings and a scattering of private dwellings. Mahrayne saw Muruanians amongst the small population and she could smell something wonderful…
      She didn't get a chance to find out where the scent was coming from - Zorun took them directly to Kamome's one inn, booking them rooms for the night - but she eventually worked out what she was smelling. It was wood, the same kind of fragrant wood she'd smelt in Ordiff's workshop; maybe the Muruanians were logging here…
       "Let's have something to eat." Zorun's voice interrupted her musings.

The Inn's servery was small, but very clean and the food was wonderful. They were the only ones eating there and they had the full attention of the servers - two young, friendly, very pretty, Saiyans - a male and a female, siblings by the look of them. Mahrayne sat close to Zorun and watched the pair flirt with Bawang and Chikori, respectively, the Guards seemingly happy to play the game. Mahrayne smirked into her beaker of ale; the two males had effectively spent the last nine days on duty, it was only fair they be allowed a little relaxation.
       When they'd eaten, Zorun silently led them outside, the Guards smirking at the two bright-eyed, slightly flushed servers. It was raining again so Zorun put up a ki shield around his mate and himself as they flew away from the town, heading a little way inland over some lush, dense forest.
       Mahrayne was thrilled. Zorun had brought her to a place where a tall waterfall fed into a small lake, sheltered all around by craggy cliffs. There was a narrow fissure where the overflow from the lake poured through, making another, smaller waterfall that became a stream that flowed down to the sea.
      The cliffs were easily a couple of hundred feet deep and they were full of caves! Mahrayne stood now with the Saiyans at the entrance of one of the caves close to the top of the chasm. She beamed at Zorun, hugging him tightly before walking eagerly, without hesitation into the gloom.
       Mahrayne wandered, enthralled, through the galleries and tunnels. In places, light filtered down through cracks in the ceiling, in others there was natural phosphorescence to light the way, but for the most part, only the glow from Zorun's ki-light enabled them to see where they were going.
       "It's beautiful." Mahrayne murmured reverently. She was standing in a large chamber that was lined with glistening, sparkling formations that seemed to drip from the walls, or flow up from the floor, forming irregular, intriguing shapes. There was nothing like this on Hassina.
       Mahrayne pointed excitedly at one of the formations.
       "Look, it's an ontibu!"
      She had to giggle at the look on her mate's face; no wonder he looked perplexed, Zorun had no idea what an ontibu looked like.
       They wandered on some more, following the small stream that ran through the complex of caves. Not all of the chambers had the same natural, beautiful decorations as the Ontibu cave - Mahrayne had already named it in her mind - some of them were quite bare, easily adapted for living in. There was plentiful fresh water, no doubt there was food to be had here as well, if not in the caves, then in the lake or the surrounding forest.
       "This is perfect." she whispered, unaware of Zorun's curious look.
      And there was lots of room. Mahrayne stood still, her eyes half-closing as she slipped easily into a semi-trance. Stretching ahead of her, and far below, she could almost feel the pockets of emptiness riddling the rock. Not questioning what she was doing, or really understanding it, Mahrayne reached out somehow and experienced the caves. The area was stable, no major fault lines, no lava, some underground water held back by thick rock…
       "'rayne?" Zorun's voice snapped her back and she blinked, disoriented, the effects of her trance, and the memories, evaporating as she came back to full consciousness.
       "Are you all right?"
      She nodded, and swallowed, easing the dryness in her throat.
       "Do you want to leave?"
      Mahrayne shook her head. "No. Please. Just a little longer?" Her mate didn’t look happy, she noticed, but he acquiesced.
       The path she was following angled upwards slightly, bringing them closer to the surface. Tiny shafts of natural light speared down in places, steadily getting wider and brighter the further up she climbed. At last, the four of them stood in a large cavern, the source of the underground stream they'd been following. It bubbled up from somewhere in the middle of a large pool of water, rivulets of water streaming off from the edges in numerous directions. There was a crack running along the ceiling, not wide enough to use as an exit, but it let in the light. Mahrayne knelt by the edge of the pool, dipping her hand in and scooping up a palmful of water to drink. Her sharp eyes caught the movement in the water and without thinking she plunged her arm into the cold pool, up to her shoulder.
       "Hah!"
      Whatever it was it was she hauled out, it was sleek, and long and dark and probably very tasty. Mahrayne grinned triumphantly.
      A couple of seconds later she began to think this might not have been such a wise thing to do. The creature was strong, and slippery, and its mouth - open in defence - was full of needle-like teeth. Mahrayne had managed, more by good luck than anything else, to catch it just behind its head, so its teeth weren't a problem, but the barbed spines running along its sides were going to hurt. The creature thrashed, wrapping around her arm, tightening itself, scraping the barbs painfully along her skin. Oh shit…
       Zorun's warm, broad hand settled over hers, holding her still while he efficiently sliced off the creature's head with a sliver of ki.
       "Do you ever think before you act?" his voice was an amused rumble.
       "Yes." Mahrayne said, defensively, "sometimes." The creature twitched a couple of times, then the body relaxed; Mahrayne gently unwound it from her arm, wincing at the long scratches scored into her skin. The creature's skin peeled off easily, and she sniffed at the dark flesh revealed. It smelt very good. She held it out to Zorun.
       "Could you slit this open for me? I don't have a knife."
      Zorun complied, grimacing.
      "You're not going to eat this are you?"
      "Why not? It's not an insect. It's more like a fish." she grinned cheekily, "It's got bones…"
      Her mate scowled and handed the creature – neatly sliced open along its length - back to her. Mahrayne quickly cleaned it in the pool, keeping a wary eye on the increased movement in the water as the offal sank out of sight. She held out the thing to Zorun again.
       "Would you like to try some?"
      The big male grimaced, then sat cross-legged in front of her.
       "Oh all right." He neatly sliced off a small portion, peering at it dubiously before nibbling on it.
       "Heh. It's not too bad."
      Mahrayne grinned and looked at the guards.
       "Would you like some?"
       She felt a glow of pride as she shared her catch with the males, enjoying the delicately sweet morsel all the more because she'd caught it.

Mahrayne was happy, it was comforting to be underground again, she felt at home here, safe.
      "Can we go now?" Chikori asked.
      Mahrayne looked at him, noticing for the first time that he, and Bawang and Zorun for that matter, weren't enjoying the underground wanderings anywhere near as much as she was. She remembered that neither Kel nor Zorun had been happy on Hassina either. Maybe Saiya-jin didn't like being underground? How odd.
      Zorun glanced up at the crack in the ceiling.
       "We've been here for hours, 'rayne. It's time to leave."
      She nodded, a little sadly.
      "You're right." She smiled shyly at the Saiyans, "thank you for indulging me."
       "Come on." Zorun helped her to her feet. As they headed back into the dark tunnels, Mahrayne heard Chikori murmur to Zorun:
       "Do you have any fucking idea where we are?"
      Her mate chuckled wryly. "No. But she does."
      Mahrayne smiled to herself, remembering Zorun's attitude towards her on that first hunting trip with Leteetza and Kel. They'd come a long way since then.
       Mahrayne led the Saiyans unerringly back to the entrance; Bawang and Chikori launched themselves out of the cave and into the air as soon as they could, their identical looks of relief making her smile.
       "Thank you, Zorun, that was - wonderful." Mahrayne sighed happily, secure in her mate's arms as they returned to Kamome.

The Saiyans were all ravenous by the time they returned to the Inn and the two young servers were hard pressed to keep up with them. Mahrayne watched with amusement as the males single-mindedly bent themselves to the task of filling their echoingly empty stomachs. As soon as Zorun had eaten the equivalent of half a day's worth of food - Mahrayne had finished eating her fill ages ago - he tugged her to her feet and hustled her out of the servery, barely allowing her to say goodnight to the smirking guards.
Zorun's status meant he got the best room in the inn, and while it wasn't big, it was comfortable and the bathroom and bed chamber had floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the ocean. They relaxed together in the small, sunken bath, enjoying the view, enjoying being with each other. Mahrayne floated in the warm water, stretched out over mate, her back to his chest, the big male's hands, and tail, stroking gently over her belly while he kissed and nuzzled her neck. She wasn't the least surprised when she felt his erection against her buttocks, and she arched her back, pushing herself firmly against him - and wriggling, slowly - while she kissed his chin. Zorun growled and she felt herself being effortlessly lifted and flipped over so she was now facing him. Bracing herself with her hands on the sides of the bath, she smirked down at her mate, and pushed herself slowly down onto him, teasingly working his shaft into her body…

"Water's getting cold."
       "Uhuh."
      Mahrayne grinned, she should know better by now than to try and talk to Zorun just after he'd climaxed. She reached down between them and wrapped her hand around his, currently, flaccid length.
       "Let's go to bed, yes?"
       "Uhuh."
      She leant down and nipped at his bottom lip, hard enough to make him open his eyes.
       "Don't fall asleep in the bath." Mahrayne shook her head, smirking. "No stamina, you Saiyans."
      Her pregnancy meant she wasn't as agile as normal, so Mahrayne didn't quite make it out of the bath before her mate grabbed her and set about proving her wrong – as she'd hoped...

Both the servers and Bawang and Chikori were heavy-eyed at the meal the next morning, Mahrayne noticed, the youngsters moving with an obvious post-sex fluid languidness that made them very appealing.
After they'd eaten, Zorun took Mahrayne flying over and through the verdant, vibrant forest that stretched back from the coastline. The plants here were different again from those in the forests further north and south, and it was full of animals – there'd be no trouble food-gathering in this area. They walked for a time along a dilapidated roadway, remnants of the Tsufuru-jin, Zorun told her when she asked.
But intriguing as this all was, Mahrayne longed to go back to the caves. It was extraordinary, but she knew there were caves deep down below their feet and the knowledge sparkled in her blood like the mineral formations in the ontibu cave. She didn't ask to return there though, there wasn't a lot of time before they had to catch the shuttle to Vejiitamachi, and besides, she didn't think the Saiyans would appreciate going underground again so soon.

It was raining when they landed in Vejiitamachi, and surprisingly, Hijau was there to meet them at the spaceport. Mahrayne beamed at the captain, but he seemed a little distracted, as did Zorun when he dropped her back at the suite, setting her down lightly on the main balcony.
       "Don't forget you're scheduled for a check-up tomorrow afternoon." Zorun stroked a broad thumb over Mahrayne's cheek beads.
       "I remember."
      Zorun glanced into the common room of the suite. "They're waiting for you."
      She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his shoulder.
      He hugged her, enveloping her in warmth, and she sighed contentedly.
       "Thank you, dherrum, I really enjoyed myself."
      Zorun pulled away reluctantly.
      "I have to go." Zorun brushed a kiss over her lips then took off into the air. Mahrayne watched 'til he was out of sight before stepping back into the suite.