#unexpected human problem

The time spent on Tai’dqei’s ship passed by with agonizing speed. Rayelle couldn’t help but wonder if there was yet another time anomaly happening, but she knew the truth. She was enjoying her last cycles with Tai’dqei. Now that the heightened hormones that caused such a burning need were under control, they weren’t struggling nearly as badly.

Though she still couldn’t help but tease and mildly flirt with him. Especially whenever he seemed to tense or act awkward. It was kind of cute, how this massive beefy killing machine could be undone by a suggestion word or innuendo. Of course, she did keep everything masked in two layers of obfuscation. 

She also supposed that her renewed sense of control helped the situation. Before the visit to the clinic, she had felt like she was being pulled along by the nose.

In the scant time they had together, Rayelle jam-packed it with as much as she could. They watched movies and conversed and played a few games. At one point, she had a sudden hankering for pancakes. Which Tai’dqei was able to humor with some basic supplies available onboard. Even though he ate and said he enjoyed them, Rayelle wasn’t entirely certain he was being sincere.

Just as she wasn’t certain about leaving him. 

Rayelle sat in a passenger row behind Tai’dqei, staring at the space station floating mid-screen. A little off center and behind the station, a blue and green planet hovered. Apparently, they couldn’t land directly on the resort planet. 

The sudden realization their time was up sent a nervous prickle through her body.

She had focused on the station in the holoscreen. It was a large spherical structure with an outer ring. Rayelle watched as a ship left the far right side as they approached. 

Tai’dqei didn’t seem confused about being restricted to the station, so Rayelle tried to convince herself it was alright. There wasn’t anything to worry about. She presumed the resort simply didn’t want humans - unused to space travel and ships criss-crossing the sky - to be continuously bombarded with unfamiliar sights, especially during such a stressful time.

This place was designed to be an oasis of familiarity, an effort to shield time-displaced humans from too much novelty, advanced technology, or non-human interaction.

It made sense, but she obviously wasn’t a usual case, considering she had spent plenty of time with a non-Terran species. Hopefully, Detective Gorgiel had relayed that information to the counselors on Rerli 3. Hopefully, they understood that Tai’dqei had been one of the only constants, and her protector, during her time-space jaunt.

The hopes smacked of wishful thinking. Realistically, or pessimistically, this was it.

The mounting agitation over her inevitable separation from Tai’dqei clung to the back of her thoughts. It was like a tick, burrowing deeper and deeper into her synapses.

Phantom tears burned the back of her eyes, but she took a deep breath, trying to alleviate the pressure. While the immense sadness burrowed in her, an irritation flared at herself. This was silly. She was being silly. In the grand scheme of everything, she barely knew Tai’dqei and was only clinging to him, because he’d become someone familiar. 

But they were going to easily move on with their lives, once they parted ways.

Rayelle jolted as the metallic sound of something clamping, of gears whirring, of hydraulics hissing echoed around the ship. Tai’dqei stood, drawing her eye to him and his pilot’s chair. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip as he stretched his arms over his head, his full armor glinting in the lights. Even though this was heavier armor than his usual, his skin peeked out between the plates and pieces. 

Rayelle’s fingers itched to touch him, to feel the thick leathery skin under her fingertips. Time was running out to solidify the sensation in her head. Then her attention flicked to the chair, faint memories tickling her thoughts. His hands on her. His fingers inside her. The growling, clicking vibrations that sunk to her bone marrow.

Good luck forgetting any of that, she told herself. 

Abruptly, she unbuckled and stood before her imagination could marinate in the recollections. 

Tai’dqei watched as Rayelle fled the bridge, his mandibles barely flickering. He was trying to rely on auto-pilot to get him through these final moments. It was becoming increasingly hard, though. As it had over the last cycles with her, the desire to touch Rayelle crept over his hands. Now, his skin burned with the need to touch her. A hug, a brush of his fingers over her cheek, any physical touch to memorialize. 

He refused himself the nicety. The fewer sweet memories he could dwell on, the less it would hurt. Or so he hoped. 

They moved to the mess - which was really a lounge, she thought, since it had a couch and screen - as a counselor from Rerli 3 boarded. Introductions flew around, the counselor’s tone one of tooth-aching sweetness.

Jezika Alpha appeared human, with neon blue hair cut in a bob and wide brown eyes. Her bright blue lipstick accentuated her unwavering smile. There was something about her that seemed off to Rayelle. Too smooth skin with little to no aberrations. Eyes that didn’t blink quite enough. A stiffness to her movements that seemed awkward.

Or maybe Rayelle just wanted something to be off with Jezika Alpha. Looking for any reason not to leave the comfort of her known companion for an unknown.

“You will love it at Rerli 3's resort, Miss Brooks!” Jezika chirped, rocking on her heels, her hands moving as she spoke. A sudden flash of memory, of old animatronics at eateries and amusement parks, tumbled through Rayelle’s thoughts. “We have everything you could ever need.”

Rayelle knew almost all of the amenities, having perused the pamphlet during moments when Tai’dqei had been busy with piloting or training. Honestly, she didn’t doubt Jezika’s claims. The enormous resort had different areas, separated by decade. Each wing had their own community kitchen, equipped with appliances and available foods of the time; a library with books from their era and an area to do crafts; pool and gymnasium, again with equipment from the time; and other period-appropriate entertainments. 

For Rayelle, 2020s entertainments were a theater-style area to watch movies or having ‘streaming services’ in her personal room. Also, access to a computer that somehow accessed her era’s Internet, though she couldn’t post, share, or comment on anything. Just scroll and play some ‘ancient’ games.

Though, Rayelle still had a question. She motioned to Tai’dqei, who resided on the far side of the room from her. “Can Tai’dqei come down with me, until I get settled?” 

Tai’dqei stood stiff and straight, ignoring how something in his chest jumped as Rayelle asked a question he’d been struggling over breaching. He had chosen to wear his full armor today, just in case they had allowed him on-planet. The helmet obscured his face and the armor mostly obscured his form, which meant those humans not familiar with his kind might overlook him. The fledgling hope he’d be able to milk a little more time with Rayelle flared.

“I am very sorry.” A frown actually flashed across Jezika’s lips as she tilted her gaze to Tai’dqei before looking back to Rayelle. “Many of our guests are humans from eras ignorant of non-Terran life and culture. Those who are familiar with non-human life have minimal and unsavory knowledge of the yautja.”

At that, Rayelle raised her eyebrows and shot Tai’dqei a questioning look. What kind of experiences had transgressed between humans and the yautja? If Tai’dqei knew, his body language didn’t betray it. 

Though, he did know. At least in rumors and stories. Ironically, the yautja and humans had a score of interactions recorded in their respective histories. He didn’t really want to discuss that, if this was going to be his last moments with Rayelle.

Thankfully, Jezika continued on with a renewed smile, barreling over any curiosity in Rayelle. “We strive to cause as little conflict as possible within our patrons.” 

“Ah.” It made sense, Rayelle told herself, as she grudgingly shelved her curiosity about interactions between yautja and human. There was no time to discuss past transgressions or diplomacies. 

She didn’t like that the strict ‘no outsiders’ policy made sense. The ache to spend more time with Tai’dqei burned, distractingly. Rayelle had hoped to blunt it by weaseling a few more hours of time out of Tai’dqei. 

Although, she wasn’t ready to admit that to anyone. Rayelle was barely ready to admit it to herself. The entirety of their time together had been one miscommunication and misstep after another, dolloped with a helping of confusion and conflicting baggage. Untangling the threads of how she felt took time.

But there wasn’t any time for that now. 

“I suppose this is it.” Rayelle turned to Tai’dqei, limbs both heavy and twitchy with anxiety. She clasped one hand around her wrist, in front of her thighs, to keep from fidgeting. A small voice at the back of her head held its breath, hoping for Tai’dqei to say or do something to prolong their companionship. 

He disappointed her by giving a nod and affirmative grunt. 

Her lips pressed tight together, trying to find any small sign he didn’t want her to go. Reading his face was hard enough, the mask made it impossible. Rayelle couldn’t fathom why he had worn all his armor. 

A part of her mused he was going to fight to keep her aboard. Or maybe he was anticipating having to protect her from hoards of other aliens, once more. 

Or maybe he had a new assignment already lined up. That thought made her stomach twist and she wondered how much of his time she had wasted, how many potential assignments he’d missed. 

At the same time, a flare of mournful annoyance nipped at her thoughts. Rayelle felt as if she was about to be crossed off his To Do List and completely forgotten. He had only done all of this - from carting her around space to providing her the ear worm and gauntlet - out of a sense of duty. Rayelle couldn’t really ask for any more from him.

Trying to keep that in mind, she forced a smile to her lips. It wasn’t an insincere smile, but she fought to hide the wave of sadness that lapped inside her. “Thank you, for everything.”

Rayelle’s heart stuttered as Tai’dqei suddenly lumbered toward her, though he stopped an arm’s length away. He reached a large, clawed hand out, palm up as if he was expecting some sort of payment from her.

Oh. The gear, she realized, suddenly feeling the metallic heaviness on her wrist. Not entirely sure how to remove it, she held her wrist out to him. Her free hand clutched at the hem of her shirt, bottom lip worried by her teeth. She tried not to think how this was yet another thing being taken from her, on top of everything else that was happening.

Instead of hitting a button and the gauntlet falling free of her, though, Tai’dqei took another step closer. Rayelle tensed, his body heat sinking into her. His grip was firm and gentle as he tapped through the settings and options with is free hand. 

Quietly, under the counselor’s gaze, he instructed her how to remove the gauntlet - something he had avoided telling her when she had a habit of running off - and how to send him a general communique. 

“Contact me if you need anything. If it’s urgent, press this here.” He tapped another button and, almost instantly, his own gauntlet gave a repetitive alarm. Tai’dqei released Rayelle’s arm to silence the message. Then he tilted his face toward her, expression unreadable beneath the mask. “I will find you, no matter what.” 

Heat snapped across Rayelle’s face as she averted her gaze, her gauntleted wrist held against her chest. He didn’t mean that, she thought. An uproar of thoughts churned through her head, rippling through her chest. He was just being polite. They barely knew each other. 

Still, it was a nice thought and she couldn’t keep the slight smile from her lips. “Thank you. Again.” 

Tai’dqei gave a terse nod, posture painfully straight and stiff. “Take care. I hope you can see your kids again.” 

At the mention of her Elliot and Skylar, Rayelle’s heart lurched. Here she was, wanting to prolong her time with Tai’dqei, despite what he wanted and what her children needed. It was such a selfish desire, Rayelle realized, her thoughts taking on Evan’s voice.

Her words stuck in her throat and a pang in her chest threatened to spill tears from her eyes. 

Struck by an urge to do something, to convey the mess of emotions, Rayelle suddenly grabbed for Tai’dqei’s wrist. He allowed her to move his arm, probably struck by curiosity or surprise. She turned his hand over, bringing his bare palm to her lips and pressing a kiss to the center. Tai’s fingers twitched and tension coiled up his arm.

Unbeknownst to Rayelle, a prickling sensation knifed through Tai’dqei’s body, landing deep inside him. Breath caught in his lungs, his eyes widening at the affectionate display.

As rushedly as she grabbed him, Rayelle hurriedly dropped his hand and turned away. She snatched up her backpack and duffel bag - both stuffed with things he’d bought her - and reminded herself of what she could keep from their time together. There was, admittedly, a lot of little things. Books and clothes and fidget toys. Plenty to remind her of Tai’dqei. 

None of it was him, though.  

“Goodbye, Tai’dqei.” She couldn’t turn around to face him, to be met with that blank mask and be unable to discern what he felt. Consequently, Rayelle didn’t see how he still he stood, mask inclined to his hand, frozen in the spot she had held it. 

If Jezika thought anything awry, it wasn’t made apparent. She simply followed Rayelle out, after beckoning a chipper thank you and goodbye to Tai’dqei. The two women traipsed out the ship and into the docking port, before the door closed behind them. 

It wasn’t until the two were well gone that Tai’dqei realized he hadn’t said goodbye. All the better, he thought, as he fisted the hand Rayelle had kissed and allowed it to drop. 

His other hand reached up to wrench off his helmet as he headed to the cockpit. A spark of unaddressed frustration had him flinging the helmet into a passenger seat, where it bounced down the row. Thankfully, it didn’t clatter to the floor. Though he was only half-aware of that fortune.

His mind was focused on other things. Namely leaving before he did something asinine.

If he lingered too long, Tai’dqei feared he’d go after her. The burn to touch her still seared at his hand, made worse by her kiss. Instead, he used the computer to scan the area for any points of interest. Thankfully, a bounty outpost wasn’t far. There, he could find his next job, restock supplies, and maybe have a destined-to-be-unsatisfactory stop at a brothel. His mind sloppily listed a number of to do’s to shove thoughts of Rayelle further away.

She got to where she needed to go. The proper authorities would handle it from here, whether that meant sending her back to her time or finding her a nice human settlement to live in or sending her back to Earth. Tai’dqei honestly didn’t know what the protocol was, if a human couldn’t be sent back to their time. 

But, there was never going to be a message from her. No matter her flirtations or friendliness over their last hours together. 

Tai’dqei’s mandibles flexed with agitation. No, this was a short, eventful chapter that was now closed. He steeled himself until he received clearance to leave. A swell of something leaden and heavy settled in his chest, as he maneuvered away from the docking station, away from the planet.

Away from Rayelle. 

—

On the jumpship - cloaked to look like a cloud - from the dock station to the resort, Rayelle watched a light flash from the suspended station and disappear into the atmosphere. She presumed it was Tai’dqei’s ship. Something in her chest twisted, thinking of how he had left so soon.

Looking away from the sky, she turned her gaze to the gauntlet still on her wrist. The sensible part of her told her to remove it. She didn’t need it any longer. 

Another part of her wanted to test his claim. Would he really come if she sent an urgent message? Even if they had just parted? Her fingers hovered over the contact button. 

“You will absolutely love it here, Miss Brooks!” The counselor twittered, seated beside Rayelle. She ticked off what Rerli 3's resort had to offer, all of it simple repetition from what Rayelle had read. “We have all sorts of fun things to do. Books to read, old media to ingest, kitchens to cook, a spa and pool to relax in. And so much, much more!” 

“Sounds wonderful,” Rayelle intoned, feeling a little hollow at the words. She closed out the communication app, forcing herself to forget about messaging him. At least, not urgently. She had already taken up so much of his time. Maybe in a week or a month or a year, she’d reach out to him. See how he was doing and reconnect, if she was lucky.

Well, if she was still in this time, she supposed. Faintly, Rayelle wondered if the gauntlets would work out-of-time. If she sent a message from 2022, would it bounce around the universe until he received it in this time? Her lips pressed tight together at the unlikely scenario.

“Oh, it is wonderful!” By this point, Rayelle felt like Jezika was a broken record. Faintly, she wondered if the woman did, indeed, have more in common with technology than with Rayelle. Unaware of Rayelle’s thoughts, the counselor continued on, “It will be so nice after space-hopping with a yautja. They can be particularly difficult.” 

Rayelle offered a half-laugh at that, unable to deny that sentiment though not liking the tone. Again, her heart twisted. She wasn’t sure if Tai’dqei was necessarily more difficult between the two of them. 

As Rerli 3 came closer into view out her window, Rayelle picked out trees, hills, rivers, and buildings. It looked very much like Earth, she was surprised to realize. That was likely why this planet was chosen for displaced humans, she thought. 

She pondered what the resort was like, if she’d be the only human in the 2020s wing, and other inane little details. Meanwhile, her brain fought between the pros and cons of reaching out to Tai’dqei, how soon, how often, if she ever should.

Frustration mounted the longer her mind split her attention. With fists clenching in her lap, Rayelle glared out the window, not really seeing Rerli 3. 

She was not going to live each day, pining away for an alien that couldn’t wait to leave her behind. Not to fault him, of course. She had put him through the hormonal ringer while he tried to tiptoe around her emotional baggage. 

It was just obvious, with how fast he left, how eager he was to be done with her.

Firmly deciding she wasn’t going to waste any more of his time, Rayelle forced her thoughts to focus on Rerli 3 and hopefully returning to her home-time.

—

Five cycles passed. 

Tai’dqei had languished an outpost on Vh’oi for three of those. Supplies replenished, regular ship maintenance acquired, and a visit to the local brothel undergone. All the while, quiet thoughts of Rayelle bubbled at the back of his mind.

How was she doing? Had she befriended anyone? Had she gone beyond friendliness? Was she already back home, in her time with her kids? Did she ever think of him? 

The thoughts got louder and the crowds on Vh’oi became harder to stand. On the fourth cycle, he decided to take off to a small nearby planet to camp and hunt. To be within the quiet embrace of nature and to settle the frenzy in his head.

It didn’t do much good. Much of the fauna on the planet was small, unchallenging, and sought to flee rather than fight. As such, he mostly hunted for sustenance and not honor. Which was fine. There was a pit in his chest that made it hard to imagine celebrating a good hunt well commenced. 

Sitting half-dressed in the balmy light of day, his ship nearby and the sun high, Tai’dqei stared out over the expanse of flora and trees from his spot on a cliff. He was avoiding thinking, since the effort tended to roll around to Rayelle.

A comm chimed into his gauntlet and, lazily, he glanced at it. He’d kept Ah’ke apprised of the situation. Aware or simply intuitive, she had uncovered his own conflicting emotions easily. Likely, she was checking up on him, making sure he hadn’t done anything poorly thought out. 

Tai’dqei’s eyes widened as he realized it wasn’t from Ah’ke. 

He had stood a while outside the bawdy house, staring at the two large display windows that flanked the entrance. One window had some of the scantily-clad workers, lounging in a comfortable looking sitting area and flirtatiously batting their eyes or making lewd gestures to passerbys. The other window had a screen, rotating between testimonies of happy customers, various upcoming events, and some base pricing options.

If he was being honest, Tai’dqei had been swept up after stepping over the threshold. The offered profiles of available companions, the different bundled services, the dizzying array of add-ons. It had all been a lot for his already impaired state-of-mind. He honestly thought he blacked out at one point.

“You look kind of tense, sweetie.” A nude Ankushian slid from behind a room divider. Tai’dqei’s frantic thoughts wheeled through the offering catalog, trying to remember their name. His brain managed to bring up her profile: Saisha, she/her. She smiled at him, coming closer with a sway to her movements. “Has it been awhile for you?”

She was a pretty array of purples. Her violet jelly-like skin and long lavender ‘hair’ - like lighter wax-like drippings adhering to a candle - almost glowied in the dim light of her workspace. Tai’dqei swallowed, his eyes trailing over the curves of her large breasts, soft stomach, and wide hips. Dark purple antennae poked up from the crest of her head, the rounder ends bobbling with Saisha’s every step.

When Tai’dqei didn’t answer, the smile on Saisha’s plump lips took on a teasing edge. “You know, as an Ankushian I can tell your mating instincts have been roused.”

“How’s that?” He mumbled, though he already knew. It was her antennae. They tasted pheromones and chemicals in the air. After little over three cycles in his current state, even with the frequent showers, he was invariably marinated in his urges.

“Your chemical signature leaves a taste in the air.” Saisha’s antennae wiggled a little. She dropped herself into Tai’dqei’s lap, her arms languidly wrapping around his shoulders. Like most others, she was shorter and smaller than him. Though she was currently solid, she had a texture that made Tai’dqei think of liquid contained in something malleable. Like a waterskin.

As Saisha spoke, she fiddled gently with one of his tendrils, sending tingling sensations over his scalp. “I’m curious to know who could have stimulated such a reaction from big surly you. They must be particularly impressive.”

“No- I mean, I don’t know about that.” He shoved the brief mental image of Rayelle away. If she kept infesting his thoughts, he’d never find peace.

Turning his attention fully to Saisha, Tai’dqei wondered if it was true that Ankushians changed color when fucking. Something about their near-invisible nerve endings glowing and shifted color when a litany of stimulation arrested their senses. He swallowed, trying to focus on answering her, “It was an odd series of events and a misunderstanding.”

“Oh, well, their loss.” Saisha’s hands had gone to Tai’dqei’s shoulders, kneading into his muscles. A soft sound escaped him, heat bleeding down his back. He grunted as she suddenly rolled her hips, pressing against his slowly rising arousal. “I find yautja particularly fun.”

“Is that so?” Tai’dqei huffed, as Saisha’s mouth found his throat. Her teeth grazed over his skin, from neck to shoulder. He shifted, every spot where their bodies touched tingled as her cooler body and his warmer temperature mingled.

“Yes,” Saisha purred as she slid further down his front, her liquid soft lips trailing hot breaths and kisses down his chest.

His knees instinctively tilted open, giving her access to his growing erection as she hit his midsection. With a grin, she slipped to the floor, between his legs. Her words whispered over his shaft, her mouth barely touching him. “The sheer power. The rippling muscle. The desperate horniness.”

Her words teased over his pulsing flesh, an excited growl tangling in his throat. One of his clawed hands went to her scalp, cradling the back of her head and nudging her face closer to his cock. Tai’dqei’s hips rolled, eliciting a giggle from the Ankushian.

As her mouth opened, a series of slow, excited clicks left him, and her tongue - so long and dripping with vicious purple Saisha - coiled twice around his shaft. Something in him snapped to attention. An insatiable prickling heat clawed at his insides.

His cock pulsed as her tongue worked up and down his length, squeezing tight around him. Her tongue was moister than the rest of her, but the cool temperature coaxed a hiss from him, as his hips jerked against her ministrations.

Without thought, both of his hands grappled at the sides of her head. Saisha gave a little breathy, excited gasp. He needed her to be warmer and the first solution was to heat her up himself. With that thought, Tai’dqei thrust his hips forward, landing his cock square in her mouth. Like Saisha’s tongue, she was wetter here, but still a lukewarm sort of cold. Her moan vibrated around him, reverberating through him from his dick and into his bones.

Tai’dqei’s body moved on its own. Hips rocking back and forth, harder with each passing thrust, as he leaned over Saisha. A growl bubbled in his throat, the Ankushian’s body warming to his friction. The sounds she made were sweet and sinful to his ears. A balm after such a long stint of aggravation.

Something still agitated his senses about all this, though. It was all manufactured. A script, a delightful farce. Saisha wasn’t sincerely entertaining his strength or capability. She was just feeding into some instinctive desire of his own. Which was her job, he knew.

But this wasn’t genuine. This was just to alleviate the libido pounding at his insides. Nothing more. And that dulled the pleasure, somehow.

Annoyed with himself, Tai’dqei yanked Saisha back, off his cock. She gave a startled little sound as he swung her onto the bed, on her hands and knees. Pinning her squirming form down, his clawed hand at the back of her neck, he realized Saisha was losing consistency. She felt stickier, more liquid, than earlier.

For a brief second, Tai’dqei worried he’d gone too far and gotten too rough with the sex worker. Well, until Saisha wriggled delightedly and purred, “Yes, that’s the desperate horniness I love.”

Apparently, Ankushians literally became wet when excited, Tai’dqei mused as his claws pricked into Saisha’s neck. A mewl of pleasure escaped her at the almost piercing touch.

“I’m not desperate,” he growled, arching over Saisha’s back, sliding his cock between her thighs. She gave a whiny purr, rolling her hips and rubbing herself against his throbbing excitement. His free hand reached under her, his fingers tracing her slit with his claws. Saisha writhed, her hands fisted into the silky sheets of the bed.

“That makes one of us then,” Saisha giggled, her breath hitched.

“Yeah, you’re desperate for yautja cock, aren’t you?” Tai’dqei snarled, his mandibles close to Saisha’s head. A guttural rumble echoed through his chest, vibrating through Saisha’s liquid self. He watched as little flashes of lights lit up her back and near where his mandibles clicked, roughly where her ears would have been had she been human.

“Very much so,” Saisha whined as her hands twisted harder at the sheets, her body writhing under him. She pushed herself down and back against Tai’dqei, his cock still stubbornly between her thighs and lining her lower lips. Unlike the tepid temperature of the rest of her, heat was growing at the crux of her legs.

Experimentally, Tai’dqei flexed his cock against her, sliding himself back and forth to coat the top-half of his shaft. Her reaction was almost instantaneous. Saisha keened, returning the ministrations the best she could, considering his hand still held the back of her neck, with her own wiggles.

Heat snapped along his own body. Through his muscles, scouring his veins. Tai’dqei’s hold on Saisha’s neck tightened, eliciting a sweet whimper from the Ankushian. Lining himself up, he could feel Saisha’s excitement swelling, her wiggles intensifying as she tried to rollick back against his knob.

But he held her still, his hand under her trailing claws along her stomach and over her breasts. Tiny wakes followed his tips, quickly disappearing as Saisha’s liquids shifted back into place. Sharp little gasps and moans left Saisha. Her back arched to and fro, seeking some sort of ultimate relief from his pleasuring touch.

Tai’dqei didn’t like doing what others expected. And Saisha thought he’d mindlessly fuck her, hard and rough. Like any other yautja man, hard-up with a mating fervor, would do. While it would be hard and rough, Tai’dqei wanted to make her squirm and cry out and beg for his seed. Until she was a sloppy, sopping mess on the bed.

Still, her slowly warming core called to him, making his dick throb and flex. The spark of her excitement, running through her body, made her body fade from a lush purple to a pleasant magenta pink.

Saisha’s whines had taken on an impatient tone, her minute wriggling becoming more insistent. Tai’dqei slowly dipped the thick tip of his cock into her, the flared ridge of his head catching against the sides of her opening. With a moan, Saisha tried to raise her rear up or roll back for deeper penetration.

He didn’t let her, though. As slow as he entered, as sweet as her extra moist heat was, he pulled out quickly. Despite his own body’s rage at himself and the distraught cry Saisha gave.

The two continued like that. Tai’dqei, disciplined and measure, delving his cock only an inch deeper with every pass. Saisha mewling and arching and crying out when denied deeper satisfaction, becoming more desperate.

Tai’dqei’s fingers flexed on Saisha’s neck, gaining her attention as her writhing became more demanding. “Tell me how much you want it.”

“So much,” she sobbed, rolling her hips erratically to ease him further in. But he went no further than what he deemed appropriate.

“Describe it,” he demanded, his mandibles spreading and a hiss leaving his mouth.

“I want to feel you deep in me, stretching me, churning up my insides. Hard and relentless,” Saisha gasped and arched her back up, pressed flush against Tai’dqei’s chest. The once coolish purple skin was now heated and a gentle sort of red, little sparks lighting up her body as pleasure coursed through her. “I need to feel your white-hot seed, bathing my insides. All of it, Tai’dqei. Give me all of it.”

Through her pleas - in spite of the fact it was all rehearsed script - a pleased growl grew in Tai’dqei’s chest. It crested into a snarl as she demanded all of it, everything. And he obliged.

With a forward slam of his hips, he buried his dick into her. Liquid warmth trembling around him as she threw her head back, free of his grip. Automatically, Saisha tried to swing forward and back, wordlessly needing continued, deep penetration.

His hand adjusted to the front of Saisha’s throat, claws digging into the sides of her neck, as his other hand braced on the bed. Tai’dqei fell into a fast, hard pace. His knees smacked against the mattress, making it vibrate with every thrust. His cock cleaved through her folds, hitting Saisha deeper and deeper with every passing strike. Her whole body lit up with every full-force impact, ripples bubbling along her form.

Burning excitement swelled in Tai’dqei, his cock pulsing. Saisha was warm and wet and malleable. In waves, her form rhythmically hugged around his thick dick, her body jostling as she frantically attempted to meet his thrusts. Pressure pounded at his core as he snarled and panted, frenetic lust pushing him toward his orgasm.

The heat became unbearable and finally, finally, Tai’dqei threw his head back with hiss of satisfaction. White-hot ropes of heat surged from him, painting Saisha’s insides and making her glow all the more vibrant as she cried out. His hips drilled haphazardly into her, even as her body desperately pulsed and tightened around him.

Saisha wobbled and trembled, oozing between his claws as she gulped down lungfuls of air. Even though Tai’dqei’s own chest heaved with heavy breaths, he still eased himself from her quivering folds and stepped back. Beads of cum oozed from the tip of his cock, still obviously erect and ready for more.

“Oh dear,” Saisha tittered, still trying to catch her breath. She had rolled over onto her back, as much as someone who had turned half into ooze could roll, and eyed Tai’dqei with his proud cock. He stood tall, shoulders back and breath slowing to something manageable. He leered down at her, not entirely satisfied and knowing he’d need more than this to be satiated. “I better call in reinforcements, hm?”

“You do that,” he growled, before descending on her. His cock easily sliding home in her wet core as she gave a squeal of mingled delight and surprise. Even as Saisha’s moans bubbled up around him and her body happily accepted his thrusting ruts, Tai’dqei could feel the itch, the hunger, for more continue to gnaw at him.

At the back of his head, behind the lust and pleasure and concentration, thoughts of Rayelle still lingered.

—

It was six hours before Tai’dqei returned. Half of that time had been spent catering to his baser needs while the other half had been spent trekking around the station. Tri’ken Outpost was a decently sized trading station, where spacefarers often stopped to replenish goods and trade, among other things. That said, the place was rather large with plenty of shops and even more merchants and hawkers attempting to upsell. Which honestly exhausted Tai’dqei more than the carnal romps.

Perhaps that was why he bristled when Ah’ke cooed as soon as he clomped back onto his ship. “Oooh, you must have really enjoyed yourself. It’s been awhile.”

“Shut up,” he growled, dropping the bulging sack of supplies and miscellany he had acquired over the hours. He tossed a small wrapped package at Ah’ke, with a bit more force than necessary. “Khimiel wanted me to give you this.”

The blue yautja caught the projectile with ease and wasted no time in tearing into the packaging. Before the paper even hit the floor, she trilled in delight. “Veruvian delights! I’ve been waiting for these to come in!”

As she sampled some of her sweets, Tai’dqei went about dumping the supplies on the table. He sorted through the items, separating things based on where they needed to go. Medsprays to various medkits onboard. Food and drink for the pantry. Filaments and new tools for the secondary cargo hold.

He picked around the items he had bought for Rayelle, not quite wanting to see the smug look cross Ah’ke’s face just yet.

“In all seriousness, how was your jaunt to the lewdy house? Get it all out of your system?” Ah’ke asked suddenly, around a mouthful of her sticky veruvian delights.

“I-” Tai’dqei started to answer, but movement in the corner of his eye made him pause. Rayelle had sidled from the hallway, a tray in her hand. He couldn’t help but notice the residue of food and the peel of a chemond. Faintly, Tai’dqei wondered if it was the same fruit she had thrown at him earlier.

“Oh, yes, Rayelle roused about two hours ago. Said she was hungry, so I made her some tep and gave her some fruit,” Ah’ke informed as she re-wrapped her box of sweets. “I also gave her a quick check-up, got her vaccinations up-to-date, so you’re welcome!”

Tai’dqei only gave Ah’ke half of his attention, nodding and muttering thanks to his dear friend. To say Rayelle’s expression was icy would have been an understatement. Tai’dqei thought the freezing vacuum of space would be more hospitable. She’d undoubtedly heard Ah’ke’s teasing questions.

And she certainly had. Something weighed in her chest, unhappy and spiky, when registering what Ah’ke had asked Tai’dqei. If a lewdy house left anything to the imagination, Ah’ke’s second question did not.

“Get it all out of your system?” The words echoed in her head, making Rayelle want to gag. Was Tai’dqei so perpetually horny that he had to make frequent stops at such places? Is that why he tried to accost her? It apparently was often enough that Ah’ke teased him about it.

As she passed him to deposit her tray into what seemed to be the sink, she couldn’t help but throw him a sidelong glare. Trying to make her stance on his libido well-known.

“Anyway, it’s been fun playing babysitter and offering you my expertise for free,” Ah’ke chattered after checking the time on her wrist gear, as she quickly gathered her things. “But I really need to get back to the clinic. It’s probably a mess in my absence.”

Tai’dqei hadn’t really been paying attention to Ah’ke’s words. Until she said she had to get back to the clinic. That made his stomach drop as his attention swerved from Rayelle to Ah’ke. “Do you have to go?”

There was a long stretch of time where Tai'dqei simply stared at Rayelle, his eyebrow ridges furrowed. A scale tipped and swayed in his mind's eye. Could he risk allowing more to develop, when Rayelle could leave somewhere, some time, he couldn't reach?

There was also the question concerning whether she'd feel obligated to stay with him, if something more built between them. He had no doubt she'd, ultimately, choose her kids. But how she would agonize over that decision bothered him.

He looked like a man mulling over a serious topic, with his elbows braced on his knees and his hands dangling. So still, like a stone statue. Rayelle's teeth worried at her lower lip, realizing not even his mandibles were fidgeting, as he had a habit of doing. The air around both of them was still, and Rayelle wasn't sure how to feel about that.

The longer the silence lasted, the more she was sure he was going to confirm he was simply answering a casual mating urge. That he'd had many before her and planned to have many after. That the bond he and Ah'ke had was different from whatever was happening between her and him.

Those thoughts made an uncomfortable heat flare in her chest, as her eyes flickered to the floor.

"When it first happened, that first night," he started and Rayelle tried to stifle her flinch. His tone was somber and soft, making her brace herself for something she didn't want to hear. Tai'dqei chose his words carefully, navigating on some threshold between 'too-stoic' and 'too-vulnerable.' "It was a combination of my own victory and adrenaline plus you inadvertently going through motions that certainly stoked my instincts."

"This time..." Tai'dqei paused, heaving another heavy breath. His chest felt tight and hot, his heart thrumming a little too hard for a normal conversation. Rayelle dared to glance up at him, seeing that his gaze was turned from her, staring at a wall. His mandibles flexed as he chose what to say. Embarrassed heat climbed up his face, though Tai'dqei doubted Rayelle would notice. "This time, I came back to help you, because you asked me to come. My prerogative wasyou and your safety."

Another heavy gnarl of a sigh left him, as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. The line of 'too-vulnerable' skirted rather close to his words, but he pushed on.

"There is a protectiveness yautja feel for... potential mates." This was true, whether it was reproductive mates - thus parents of one's children - or the more romantic, intimate mates. The only one it could possibly be untrue for were the casual affairs. But that varied from individual to individual. Tai'dqei just wasn't sure how Rayelle wanted to be seen by him. "I hadn't completely ignored the thought that we might end up fucking."

That fluttery heat tickled in Rayelle's chest. Carefully, she watched him, parsing his words with care. What did it mean to be a mate? She needed clarification on what he wanted. What he hoped for.

She couldn't bring herself to be direct. A laugh trickled from her throat, tasting slightly bitter on Rayelle's tongue. "So, you could say I'm a tedious charge that you need to nanny and us fucking was a benefit."

"No, I wouldn't say that." Tai'dqei hadn't even stopped to consider his answer. Heat flared through Rayelle at that realization, the blush deepening as he stood. She hadn't realized standing over the yautja had given her some sense of confidence, a sense of control over the situation. That sense of strength dwindled as he gently took her hand, sandwiching it between his warm palms. "I enjoy your company and I wouldn't be averse to spending more time with you. A long time, if you so choose."

If she chose. A lump formed in her throat, the realization landing in her brain again. She couldn't, wouldn't, choose Tai'dqei over her kids. If there was a chance she could be sent back to her time, she'd follow through. No matter how badly her chest ached at the thought or how horridly her eyes burned with unshed tears.

"What would that even look like, though?" Rayelle gave another semi-bitter laugh, ignoring how her voice cracked. She tried wildly to not entertain the thought of being anything more than a fuck buddy to Tai'dqei. It wasn't fair to her or him. Without thinking, she slid her hand away from his grip, waving the hand at him. "You're a bounty-hunting, general contracting, hitman-for-hire. I'm a human with barely any skills in the here-and-now."

Tai'dqei flinched at her words, presuming she wasn't able to meld his work with her morals. But Rayelle surprised him by pinning him with a pained expression, her free hand pressed to her own chest. "I'd just be a liability, wouldn't I?"

It was a justified concern. And it stoked a little bit of ego in Tai'dqei to have some roundabout acknowledgement from Rayelle concerning his skills.

"It's a big universe. There are plenty of jobs that don't entail killing others." Tai'dqei inclined his head to her, his mandibles pulling up a little one one-side. Almost like a crooked smile, Rayelle thought. "Those just pay the most."

A considering hum left Rayelle's lips. She couldn't really fault him for choosing the best job for his skills. Plus, he had twenty four children to contribute to, as well. Though he wasn't the sole one responsible for their financial safety. Was it too much to ask him to take poorer paying jobs? If only for his safety? Or so she could travel with him on missions without feeling like a hindrance?

Her brain still hadn't fully gripped the whole Tai'dqei is a father fact. She had guessed, since he traveled alone and only really mentioned Ah'ke, Tai'dqei wasn't romantically close with any of his seven former mates. Though she wasn't ready to delve further into that curiosity.

"If you're looking for something grounded, I do have a home."

"What?" And just like that, Tai'dqei made her brain spin in a radically different direction. He had a house? Where? Likely, on his home planet. But what did that look like? How would she be treated? With a motion to the ship around them, she said, "This isn't your home?"

"It is, but I have a place on my world. My mother is looking after it for me." His mother looked after his home? Another indication he wasn't close to those he had kids with, Rayelle supposed. Tai'dqei gave another awkward shrug as words continued from him. "Of course, she might have let it out to a sibling, while I've been away."

Something in Rayelle rippled, her eyes flickering from Tai'dqei to the floor. Mother. Sibling. Yautja had multiples, two or three, per litter. Of course, he'd have siblings. She pressed her lips together, the enormity of the situation suddenly pressing down on her.

She was far in the future, talking to an alien about where their whatever-it-could-be-called was heading. And he had a mother and multiple siblings and former lovers and kids. It made sense. Tai'dqei didn't just pop into existence to help her. He had a life before her, with family - or families? - and lovers and...

Suddenly, dizziness slammed into her, making her sway. She brought a hand to her forehead, inhaling sharply as an ache stabbed at her temples.

She heard more than saw Tai'dqei's step forward. A concerned lilt tightened his voice, "Are you okay?"

"It's just a lot to digest." Rayelle took a slow, deep breath to steady herself. Tilting her head to Tai'dqei, she offered him a little smile, finding his hands outstretched but not touching her.

"Decisions don't have to be made right now." His hands fell from their mid-air position, choosing to trust Rayelle's own assessment of how she felt. Edging into 'too-vulnerable' territory again, as his hands clenched tightly at his sides, he quietly added, "I'm happy you're safe and I can spend more time with you."

"Are you, really?" The words were out of Rayelle's mouth before she could think about it. Her eyes blinked rapidly against the growing heat behind her lids. Desperation had her seeking for any out, any excuse to keep her walls solidly in place. "Even if I choose to go back to my kids and not stay here?"

"Yes." Another answer, said so confidently and without long the need for thought. Rayelle swallowed down a whimper, tears threatening to spill. This situation was so unfair. So very unfair. It made her heart hurt, as if it was being squeezed too tightly on all sides.

Rayelle's whimper arose as Tai'dqei gently pulled her close, his hand splayed on her back. His other hand went to her cheek, coaxing her to tilt her head back as he stooped, pressing his forehead to hers. His eyes closed, before he could look too deeply into Rayelle's eyes. "I know your children come first, Rayelle. I will enjoy whatever time together we have."

A pain twisted through Rayelle as a sob burbled up her lips. She shook her head, dislodging his hand at her cheek, before pressing her face against his chest. Her hands gripped at his sides, fingers threading through the fishnet he wore. The carefully constructed emotional walls buckled as relief and anger and sadness tore through her. Though she still swallowed down her cries, the tears flowed over her cheeks.

Tai'dqei stood quietly as Rayelle cried against him, rubbing his hand up and down her back as his other arm looped around her lower back. When her quiet crying lulled, he tried to softly redirect her focus. "Rest is in order, I think."

Wiping away tears with the heel of her hand, and ignoring how she sniffled, Rayelle tried to rally herself. She shot Tai'dqei a vaguely cheeky - if watery - smile. "Oh, I am sure that was your original plan."

"It was, actually." He said, a touch of reproach in his voice, but mostly exasperation. As Rayelle took a step away from him, Tai'dqei crossed his arms over his chest. The ache of exhaustion was gnawing at his bones, the sense of an adrenaline-drain ready to knock him out. "As enticing as you are, I am tired."

Rayelle grinned, almost tempted to say something about the mighty yautja, needing a nap. But she feared that would go down a less wholesome pathway. She did nudge Tai'dqei with her shoulder as she passed him. "Think you can keep your hands to yourself, if we share your bed?"

"No," Tai'dqei answered, easily coming up beside Rayelle. She shot him a wide-eyed look, a blush biting at her cheeks as she tried to decide whether to be turned on or annoyed. He didn't give her a chance to settle, as his arm reached around her back, his hand falling on her hip. Tai'dqei gave her a playful squeeze. "You are too soft not to pull close."

"Let me rephrase," laughed Rayelle, shoving his hand off her hip and turning, dancing back to keep her distance. Tai'dqei watched her, head cocked as he respected the distance she set forth. Rayelle continued walking toward his quarters as she teasingly asked, "Think you can keep your dick to yourself, if we share a bed?"

Ah, that's what she meant. Tai'dqei gave a nod, just as they breached the threshold of his bedroom. "That, I can do. You have my word."

"Good," Rayelle replied, giving an encouraging nod as she kicked off her shoes. Tai'dqei followed her lead, removing his shoes and fishnets. Though he left his lower garment, realizing Rayelle had only stripped to her hoodie and underwear. She still wanted some layers between them.

Trying to ignore the excited patter of her own heart, Rayelle advanced on the raised dais where the bed lay. She quickly crawled under the pelt-like covers, before she could think too long about all the things Tai'dqei had done in that bed. To himself or others. Her own censorship didn't keep her imagination from leaking the odd thought in, at the back of her head, though.

Before he crawled under the covers, Tai'dqei locked the ship and dimmed the lights from his gauntlet. He was painfully aware of the additional body in his bed, just as Rayelle was aware of how his heavier form made the mattress dip.

Even if they had wanted to sleep on separate sides of the mattress - which they hadn't - it was impossible. As soon as Tai'dqei settled, Rayelle found herself slipping toward him. Which was fine, she told herself, as nerves bolted through her. They turned to face each other, Rayelle's hands slid to Tai'dqei's chest.

Under her palm, he was as firm and warm as he always was. With the knowledge they were already sharing a bed, and they'd been far more intimate than this in recent memory, Rayelle curled against Tai'dqei's chest. Other than the time she caught him leaving the shower, she wasn't sure she ever saw him without the fishnet-like fabric.

Closing his eyes, Tai'dqei allowed himself enough leeway to let his hand land on her hip. Though he fought against the temptation of toying with the fabric beneath his fingers, unsure if it was her underwear or her hoodie. While it was one thing to say he simply wanted rest, it was another thing to keep his body in check. With Rayelle so close, her scent wafting up in his face and her cushiony soft heat pressed against him, urges started to stir at his core.

Not exactly the urge to fuck her, though he wouldn't say no to it. But to touch her. To hear the little sighs and whines. To feel her under his palm, his claws. To see what sounds he could draw from her breath. Beneath those thoughts, the memories of being on top of her, in her, danced around his head as well.

"You're very warm," she sighed, absentmindedly hooking her leg over his hip, pulling his heat closer to her.

Tai'dqei shifted a little, making sure his traitorous growing arousal didn't nudge against Rayelle. Softly joking, he grunted, "You are testing me."

"Am I?" Faux innocence painted Rayelle's words, even though it hadn't been her intention to tempt Tai'dqei's resolve. It was better to act like she was, though. Or else, she'd have to cave to the squirming heat at her core and the desire to touch him more.

"Certainly seems like it," he retorted, eyes cracking open, if only to watch her silhouette in the dark.

Rayelle pressed further against his chest, close enough for him to feel her smile against his skin. "Maybe you're just weak-willed."

He couldn't help himself. Tai'dqei growled, the vibrations emanating out from his chest and into Rayelle's bones. He knew exactly what he was doing, she realized, as he hunched further around her. The heat of his body bled into hers. One arm wrapped around her, his claws dragging down the fabric of her hoodie. Not hard enough to tear the material, but just barely bridging the barrier. A shudder and embarrassing whimper left Rayelle, her breath catching in her throat.

"If I was weak-willed, you'd already be pinned to this mattress and pumped full of my seed, again," Tai'dqei hissed in her ear, causing Rayelle's fingernails to dig into his chest as trickles of pleasure slid down her spine. Her back arched, inadvertently pressing his claws harder against her.

"I thought you were tired." Rayelle ignored the hint of breathlessness in her voice, as she angled her head to look at him. She couldn't see anything, except his silhouette in the dark. And even then, it was hard to get a clear idea of where he was looking. Half-unaware she was doing it, Rayelle's legs hooked around one of Tai'dqei's thighs, seeking pressure against her the needy throb of her core.

"I am. But that doesn't mean my libido is." To make his point clear, Tai'dqei shifted his hips, allowing his semi-arousal to grind against Rayelle's inner thigh. Her soft warmth, coupled with her little gasp, were certainly temptations. He was about ready to say screw sleep, just to bury himself in her once more, but the sensible part of him knew rest was needed. They both needed it. Especially Rayelle, given how she was talking earlier. "And it has overridden exhaustion in the past."

"Okay, okay," she laughed, her cheeks warm with a little bit of shame. Tai'dqei had been restraining himself for much longer than tonight. Not to mention he literally tore up a whole resort to help her. He deserved the rest, without her taunting hormones making it - ahem - hard.

Reaching up to grab his shoulders, Rayelle pulled herself a little higher along his body. It almost made Tai'dqei groan, feeling her slide against him. Pressing her face into the crook of his neck, Rayelle sighed against his throat, "I'll be good."

"Good," he grumbled, though the movement of her lips against his skin did little to ease the heat and pressure in his center. Rayelle's change in position, at least, gave his erection wide berth. Though Tai'dqei wasn't sure if he liked that or not. It was definitely safer.

Other than the occasional movement of Rayelle's lips against his shoulder - half-drowsy kisses, he supposed - and the slow stroke of his hand down her back, the two fell still.

They stared at each other from opposite ends of the hall, an indescribable sensation snapping through the air between them.

Tai'dqei knew where the sudden heavy twist at his core originated from, but Rayelle was struggling to understand her own reaction.

It was the first time she had seen him with barely anything on. Well, in comparison to the semi-armor with netting look he tended to wear. Not to mention, the sheen of sweat coating him like a lacquer. Stirring sensations in Rayelle wobbled, warm and confusing and making her skin prickle.

Before she knew it, her eyes had slid down his form. So bare - with only a piece of fabric belted around his waist and tucked to keep everything lurid covered - she could pinpoint his coloration even further.

Sandy-beige around his face, down the front of his throat and front, along the underside of his arms and at his inner thighs down the underside of his legs to his large, claw-tipped feet. Faintly, she tried to recall if Tai'dqei's palms were light-colored and wondered if that would be mirrored along the bottoms of his feet.

The rest deepened in a speckled fashion from that sandy yellow-brown to burnt orange to rust red. Here and there, scars marred his body, including a curious pair on the underside of both his pecs. They tickled at some distant familiarity, but Rayelle shoved it away. Finding anything familiar about Tai'dqei wasn't welcome in her head.

With a start, she realized she had been staring for longer than politeness allowed. Her eyes flickered back up to his face, making a minor detour to his black-to-red tendrils. She realized dark metal rings coiled randomly around each, some tendrils even sporting two. Faintly, she wondered if they had any significance.

When Rayelle's eyes found Tai'dqei's, she realized he stood stiff and still. Like he was being assessed for something. In his arms, the rest of his usual attire sat in a mound of metal and fabric and netting.

Instinct had Tai'dqei holding still, allowing himself to be surveyed by a potential mate. But that wasn't true, sense told him. She didn't want anything to do with him. Regardless of how her body reacted in relation to his.

Still, he waited until she said something or did something. Even if she wasn't a possible mate, he had a hard time determining her skittishness.

He couldn't help letting his eyes wander, too. Her hair was mussed from sleep, her eyes a little red-rimmed from crying, but it was her clothing that held his attention.

Rayelle wore a fitted 'sweater dress' - suggested by Khimiel - and leggings he'd bought for her. The fabrics clung to her form, highlighting the silhouette of her wide hips, the roundness of her breasts, the soft arc of her stomach, the curves of her thighs and calves. A stark contrast to the jeans, tank top, and baggy jacket she'd chosen to lounge around the ship in or run away in. His palms tingled, remembering how soft and cushiony she felt under his touch, wondering if she felt more plush with the delicate fabrics enveloping her. Imagining how she'd feel under him.

It wasn't something he realized he was doing, until Rayelle's eyes narrowed on him. As if she could sense the direction of his own thoughts. Keeping her back pressed to the opposite side of the corridor, she slid toward the galley.

"You're sweaty," she observed, a petty little bite to her words. A heady scent hit her nose, reminding her of their musk conversation from earlier. Heat crept up her body at the thought. Before she could consider the implications, she added, "And you smell."

"I was training." Tai'dqei mirrored Rayelle's movements, heading in the opposite direction toward his room. The heap of clothes in his arms felt like a shield. Though whether it protected him or Rayelle, Tai'dqei wasn't certain.

She slid further down the hall, her nose wrinkling. "Well, go take a shower."

"Planning to," Tai'dqei sighed, partially amused and partly exasperated. Once more, he mirrored her movements, heading the opposite way.

"Okay, well, good," she muttered, pursing her lips. Rayelle realized she really shouldn't have said anything. They could have passed each other in the hall, not even exchanging words or looking each other's way. No contact, no discussion, had been necessary. Why had she said anything to begin with?

As she ducked into the mess, Tai'dqei likewise disappeared into his room. Neither minded the words exchanged, though Rayelle had to ponder why she even initiated conversation. She had spent the last few days ignoring him, after all. It should have been easy to continue the cold shoulder.

Something in Rayelle kept reminding her of Tai'dqei slamming down in that corridor, fending off her pursuers, roaring at any would-be opponents while he stood over her. A conflicting muddle of heat and distress tangled in her stomach.

Dismissing her inner confusion as hunger, she shook the images from her head and she rummaged around in search of something to eat.

—

The shower had barely turned off when Tai'dqei's tech gauntlet gave an 'incoming message' beep. He groaned as he groped for a towel, wicking away the moisture as he trod over to where he'd abandoned the tech earlier.

The communique was from Ah'ke. A warning that the rumor mill was churning about Zav's interest in a particular human that had caused a bit of chaos earlier and that he was aware of Tai'dqei's involvement. Tai'dqei barely contained a further hissing growl as he considered what to do.

He had hoped to stay in port another day or so, but it seemed a hasty retreat would be the best option. Though powerful, Zav posed no threat to Ah'ke. And Tai'dqei's main concern was keeping Rayelle safe. Considering her penchant for running, perhaps confining her to the ship via space travel would be a good option.

Or it would be the end of him, part of him mused, recalling the tension between them in the corridor.

Another sound rang out, this time through the ship's communication system. With a sigh, Tai'dqei rushed to dry and get dressed before heading to the cockpit. Along the way, he passed Rayelle reading one of the antique books in the mess, an empty plate peppered with crumbs by her elbow. She glanced up as he passed.

During his time in the shower, she had plenty of time to consider the potentially problematic shift in her attitude toward him. The situation was a continual seesaw. But through it all, though Tai'dqei had made some missteps, he'd been... Rayelle hated to admit it, but he'd been reasonable.

Where she felt like her feelings were swinging like an erratic pendulum, never giving her a chance to get her feet under her, Tai'dqei seemed assured. Even when giving her orders that agitated her. There was a sense of stability from him that part of Rayelle found comforting.

And she hated it. Or maybe she hated admitting it to herself. Or maybe she just hated everything at the moment and just wanted her old life back.

Rayelle sighed to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose, her fractured thoughts dragging at her energy levels.

Crossing into the cockpit, Tai'dqei's footsteps moved purposely to the front. He jabbed at a button on the main console, accepting the call that was, inevitably, from Zav. "Do you have another job for me already, Zav?"

Rayelle dawdled by the entryway, staring into the cockpit. Or whatever it was called. Considering Tai'dqei didn't have a crew, she assumed a little of everything was handled in here. Which meant navigation, communication, piloting, perhaps weapons, and likely the main computer system was housed here. With the amount of buttons, levers, and knobs available in front of Tai'dqei, she could believe it.

What she didn't expect was a sort of cramped passenger area behind the piloting seat. Two rows, bisected by the walkway, with four seats in each row. It reminded her of a plane, she realized, as she stepped forward and plunked down in the closest row.

"Are you still claiming to have found nothing on that bounty ship that would have interested me, Tai'dqei?"

That voice drew her attention to the front, where the holoscreen flickered with the image of a green alien with writhing tendrils and completely dark eyes. It took her brain a moment to register they'd been talking about the bounty ship. Another second to consider, perhaps, their words might have something to do with her.

Tai'dqei - fully aware of Rayelle's presence - kept his response level and short. "Yes."

"And what of the human?" The screen suddenly flickered, showing security footage of Tai'dqei, Rayelle, and the mob of others from earlier. Rayelle's gaze jumped to Tai'dqei, but she could only see his broad back, darkened in shadows. He didn't appear tense, but his default posture always seemed stiff to her.

Her eyes slid back to the green alien, abruptly wondering if her chances with them would be better than Tai'dqei. Something lurched in her stomach at the thought. So, perhaps not.

"I didn't find her on the bounty ship," Tai'dqei lied, hoping Zav couldn't see Rayelle in the background and that she'd have enough sense to stay hidden. Especially as he spun further into his fabrication, "Bought her at a spaceside rock to keep me warm on cold nights. Maybe they sold her off before I got to them."

Rayelle's attention flickered back to Tai'dqei, her eyebrows furrowing at the lie. Why didn't he want this Zav to know the truth? Was he saving his own skin or was the green extraterrestrial a threat?

A slow smile spread over Zav's face, flashing an array of large pointy teeth. Their tone oozed with menace, answering Rayelle's threat-level concern. "Oh really? Shall we check your ship's travel records?"

"If you want to try, go ahead." Tai'dqei crossed his arms, leaning his hip against his pilot's chair. His voice dipped with an aggressive, clicking growl as his mandibles flared, showing off his inner jagged teeth. "I'm not going to let you, though."

Zav slammed his hands down on whatever surface he sat behind, his tendrils writhing with rage. His lips pulled back with a snarl, anger crimping his otherwise smooth complexion. "I know you are lying! She was part of the reason for your job, Tai'dqei."

Alarm piqued in Rayelle, betrayal heating her face as she turned an angry look on Tai'dqei's back. So, he had been paid to kidnap her. On top of murdering those other aliens. Her stomach lurched at the very thought. Though it didn't answer why he hadn't turned her over to his employer.

Tai'dqei narrowed his eyes on Zav, his mandibles flickering with agitation. There it was. Zav paid well, but often expected more than what he negotiated. It also settled the fact Zav saw Rayelle as cargo, a thing, rather than a sentient being. Stifling his annoyance, Tai'dqei gave the Florizian a careless, one-shouldered shrug. "Wasn't part of the terms we discussed."

All at once, Zav went still. Tai'dqei's survival instincts prickled, despite his former employer's rather calm expression. The tendrils were whipped into a frenzy, though, seeking flesh and blood. The Florizian purred, almost sweetly, "Such a pity when a good hired hand gets themself killed over a wet cunt."

Zav's image flickered out, leaving behind status reports and communiques on the holoscreen. Apprehension tightened in Tai'qdei's stomach.

He'd hoped Zav would believe him or, at the very least, drop the subject. Write off the human as a loss and move on. Surely, there were other humans Zav could get hold of. Maybe even one willing to accept his pollen, or whatever Florizians transferred to reproduce.

But, no.

The Florizian had plenty of resources at his disposal. Deep pockets and an army of lackeys, ranging from grunts to specialized assassins. That wasn't even mentioning other bounty hunters he could hire on to take care of Tai'dqei. There were a few that might even take up Zav's offer for free, if it meant taking down a yautja.

Stilling the sudden dread, Tai'dqei knew he had to take it one step at a time. In this instance, getting out of that fucking port. Which may or may not entail an interstellar dogfight. Not exactly the preferred way to fight for the yautja, who preferred something more face-to-face, but doable. Not that he had a choice in the matter.

"Take a seat and get buckled in," Tai'dqei commanded Rayelle as he sent the appropriate requests to disembark to the port's authorities. Silenely, he hoped Zav didn't have those on duty on his payroll, as well. Breaking out of a docking station on a spaceport wasn't something he was keen to do.

If it meant keeping Rayelle safe, he would, but he wasn't excited at the prospect.

Rayelle seemed to listen to his instructions, at least. He heard her scooting into a seat behind him, fidgeting around. However, after more shifting and rustling about and a long stretch of quiet, she eventually asked, "How?"

He turned to face her, watching as she held up safety belts in confusion. The metal and fabric of the belt was torn and gnarled.

"Shit." Tai'dqei's stomach lurched. He'd forgotten a prior patron - one he had to ferry from one planet to another - had broken the passenger safety belts. All of them, due to their long writhing body and fear of space travel. Tai'dqei meant to get them fixed after his latest assignment, since he'd have the money. He never planned to have another person aboard, in the meantime.

Consequently, there was only one working belt system. His.

Which wasn't necessarily a problem when he was able to pilot slow and safe. He'd brought Rayelle to the station while she was in the brig, after all. With Zav on his ass, slow and steady wasn't an option.

With no time to argue - and she would certainly argue - Tai'dqei turned to Rayelle, crossing the short distance to sweep her up in his arms before going to his piloting seat. Instantly, she yelped and squirmed, demanding to know what the hell he was doing. As he lowered himself down into his chair, he dropped Rayelle between his widespread legs, her back to his chest. "I'm sorry, but this is the only way to keep you safe."

As soon as he had positioned her, she struggled against him. He tried his best to be gentle, yet unyielding. The safety strap buckled in the middle of his chest and across his lap, but having to make adjustments for Rayelle added to the aggravation. Staying composed was harder said than done, when Tai'dqei just wanted to get out of the port.

Rayelle's brain was trying to keep up, though. There had been another alien speaking to Tai'dqei, demanding her. She had tried to stay out of the view during the call, but it had roused other questions in her head. Questions she should have asked Tai'dqei earlier, now that she was thinking about it.

Finding herself hauled between Tai'dqei's thighs wasn't helping the sudden chaos in her head or her heart pounding in her chest. "That still doesn't explain what you're doing!"

"The other safety belts were damaged from a previous customer." Tai'dqei rushed to explain as he tried to buckle the belts into place, despite Rayelle's fighting. He choked down his own guilt over the situation, knowing it would be of no help in the present situation. "I was going to get them fixed, but all of this happened and..."

A new message chimed into his bracer. Quickly, he scanned it, a little tension easing from his shoulders. They were given permission to disembark. As soon as he finished reading it, he could hear the mechanisms keeping his ship in place click as they unlocked.

Unaware of the entire exchange with port authorities, Rayelle gaped up at Tai'dqei, incredulity and skepticism coloring her words. "Your lap is the only safe place for me to sit?"

"I'm sorry." For the first time since she met him, his tone fractured. She wasn't even sure how the ear worm managed to translate such a thing, from his hissing and warbles. But a mix of frustration and desperation and guilt bled into his tone, making Rayelle still. A chill settled in her stomach, realizing he was worried.

Tai'dqei finished strapping Rayelle and himself in, before turning to ship's controls. He was thankful she hadn't continued to press the matter, so he could fully focus.

A smile curved at Rayelle’s lips, recognizing the mindful and deliberate tone in his words. Tai’dqei was trying to be heedful of her feelings. Unable to help herself, she rocked against him in his hold, her arms tightening around his neck and her legs pressing firmly to his sides. Rayelle was rewarded with an almost silent grunt from Tai’dqei and his fingers tightening on her. 

“Please, take me away from all these nosey biddy-bodies!” She pressed her face against his neck, his tendrils settling around her head. Her friends sputtered mock-outrage behind her, but it didn’t matter. Tai’dqei, unaccustomed or uncaring to human conventions, already turned toward the door. Though he did pause to swipe up his helmet, clipping it to his belt at his hip.

His long strides made short work of distance and, soon, the two were in a comparably quieter hall. With far fewer eyes on them, Rayelle thought she could feel them both relax. She certainly eased. But, then again, the yautja’s warm body and the bob of his steps lulled her. 

Tai’dqei was silent for a long time. She listened as other yautja regarded him, and he returning the recognition. A few asked if something was wrong with her, but they were easily dismissed by a curt word or throaty growl from Tai’dqei. 

In his head, a mess of thoughts and feelings whorled. It had been easier to ignore them when there was other, more dire, issues to distract him. Organizing which ships the captured enemies would be held on. Providing guidance on how to approach humans. Delegating repair teams to get the resort to a somewhat livable state, again. There had always been that itch of thought, a consideration he should untangle, but he shoved it away.

How he felt, what he wanted, didn’t matter in this moment. Rayelle had suffered yet another strenuous, traumatic upheaval. Worst of all, in a place that was supposed to be safe. He could only imagine how she’d feel, once everything settled and she rested.

Absently, his grip on Rayelle flexed. 

Though her eyelids drooped, she watched the yautja’s features from where her head rested on his shoulder. The way his eyebrow ridges dipped in thought. How his mandibles flexed, like someone mouthing something to themselves. Something was on Tai’dqei’s mind. 

Likely the same things that lurked at the back of her thoughts.

Finally, as the air around them began to grow cooler and somewhat humid, Rayelle realized he was walking the same path he’d chased her down. Her lips twisted into a wry smile, a teasing tone bleeding into her voice. “Why do I get the feeling you have something on your mind?” 

Tai’dqei froze on one of the landings of the stairwell, shoulders hunching under her observation. “I moved my ship closer when you went to talk down those humans.” 

“You moved your ship to the laundry room?” Her smile broadened, raising her eyebrows at his words and her teasing tone thick in her voice. Rayelle knew he couldn’t move it to the laundry room. It was too big. But she wanted to hear him say he just happened to move it to the area they fucked.

“No, to the forest. Past those poles with the ropes.” Her tone raised something hot and prickly along his skin. Tai’dqei continued down the stairs, heat rising to his flesh. The best choice was to ignore her expression and the mocking suggestion in her voice, he decided. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat, before adding, “There was a clearing I noticed. Earlier.” 

Rayelle gave another amused sound, as if she didn’t quite believe him. Absently, she reached out to stroke one of his tendrils, tracing the gradient from black-to-red. There was a texture there, though she couldn’t quite explain how it felt. The touch sent a flash of heat down Tai’dqei’s back, but he focused on continuing movement. Her finger caught on one of the metal bands just as he stepped down into the laundry area. 

“What are other yautja mating rituals like?” The question came suddenly to her lips, before she could even consider it. Rayelle blinked, realizing there was a curiosity burrowed deep in her thoughts. Though she couldn’t look directly at it. It slid away, shy and protective.

Something in Rayelle’s tone told Tai’dqei this wasn’t a sensual sort of teasing. He inclined his head to her, eyebrow ridges raised. “Hm?” 

“A while ago, you told me the hit-and-dash was just one mating ritual,” she explained slowly, her eyes still on the tendril she idly stroked. She couldn’t bring herself to look closer at Tai’dqei. Especially when she herself was unsure where she was headed with this conversation. “Which implies there’s other methods.” 

“Well, yes. Different yautja cultures vary a bit.” Dragging his attention away from Rayelle, he let his eyes draw over the laundry area. It seemed a tidy yautja had cleaned most of the strewn fabrics up, piling the dirty ones up near the cleaning machines. 

“Mhm,” Rayelle gave an acknowledging hum, trying to feel her way through the conversation carefully. “What does yours do, then?” 

Tai’dqei’s footfalls echoed through the cavernous laundry area as he thought how to answer. To Rayelle’s credit, she quietly waited.

“Other than the hit-and-dash, as you put it, my clan has an annual festival.” Tai’dqei finally made it to the door that led outside. He shouldered his way through it, still holding Rayelle against his chest. Once more, she had her face tilted toward him, her lips pressed together as she listened. He couldn’t begin to imagine her thoughts. “There are three days of events. Yautja show off their strength, intellect, leadership capabilities, talents, and so on. Anything that we might want to pass to the latter generations.” 

Each year was different, concerning what was ‘in.’ The universe going-ons at large - with its wars and technological advances and so on - often played into what the yautja bred for. In the past, the most sought after traits were strength, stamina, and leadership. As time went on, there was a larger splay of desire for a multitude of traits, however.

“Every adult can participate in the events, though the events are mostly for the virile to show off so the fertile will choose them.” The festival was honestly very chaotic. There were events staggered at intervals, contests going on, vendors selling items, and the general chaos of exuberant crowds. The scents of food and excitement hung heavy in the air, as chatter vibrated around the crowds. 

He wasn’t sure he could explain the vibrancy and energy well enough to Rayelle for her to understand. Further, Tai’dqei wasn’t sure she’d ever want to go to such an event. “Throughout the day, yautja will flirt, gaining one another’s attention before running off. Pursuit doesn’t happen until after the last day’s evening meal. Then…” 

Rayelle’s attention had wandered to the clotheslines, conflicting feelings churning inside her. The sun was high in the sky, speaking of how long they’d been cooped up inside the resort, trying to fix things. It honestly felt like days had passed since she and Tai’dqei had last been in this area. That course of thought, invariably, led to memories of their heated chase. 

She could easily make this something sexy and flirty, but she just wanted to understand. Though, she didn’t exactly know what she wanted to understand. “Then what happens?” 

Tai’dqei adjusted his hold on her, his large hands cupping her ass and bodily raising her higher on his chest, as if she had slid down a little. He cast Rayelle a sidelong glance, feeling like he was stepping in a minefield. While he was somewhat incensed from their kiss, he couldn’t ignore the pensieve tone to her line of questioning. 

Just as he had thought earlier, they had some things to discuss. 

“The Hunt to Begin All Hunts.” An old nickname for fornication. In order to have a hunt, hunters needed to exist, to be born. And The Hunt to Begin All Hunts set the stage for hunters to be born.

“What?” That brought her attention back to Tai’dqei’s face. Her lips tilted in an amused smile, presuming she already knew what he meant but wanting clarification regardless.

“It’s an old name for the next part,” he chuffed, half-shrugging. The amusement in Rayelle’s eyes sent heat threading up his spine. “Those hoping to get pregnant slip away during the meal, a horn sounds, and it is up to those who caught their eye to find them.” 

“So the one who finds them first gets to mate with them?” Rayelle guessed, her eyebrows knitting together as the cool shade of the forest trees dipped over them.

“No.” Tai’dqei shook his head, trying not to roll his eyes as human possessiveness. “Any they deemed desirable may mate with them. If they are able.” 

Ability was another issue as well. Some seeking to become pregnant put up quite a fight, desiring further evidence of a mate’s potential. Others were less of a struggle.

“Oh,” Rayelle breathed, considering the options that led to. Were yautja more selective in who they fucked? She imagined they would be, if the festival was for procreation. However, Tai’dqei’s answer indicated a ridiculous amount of stamina, if the yautja weren’t particularly choosy. She chuckled a little, pressing her cheek back to his shoulder. “That sounds like it could be exhausting.” 

A chuff of a laugh left Tai’dqei as Rayelle’s soft words registered. 

For a long moment, Rayelle was quiet, considering what Tai’dqei had told her. On the surface, it almost sounded like something humans would do. Except there was no singular mating season. Although, she imagined fucking and pregnancy happened at other times, beyond the festival. Like his moments with her, anomalous mating events likely happened. 

But thinking back to her first meeting with him, she tilted her face to him once again. “What if someone wasn’t deemed desirable but wants to mate with them?” 

By that point, the ship was in sight. Tai’dqei adjusted the woman in his arms, unlocking the ship via his tech gauntlet from the distance. 

“That’s up to the one getting pregnant. It’s not rare for last minute entries to be added to the roster, so to speak.” Another shrug came from him. But Tai’dqei’s thoughts also curled around the first night with Rayelle. That pang of guilt bounced through him. “If the one getting pregnant doesn’t want them and a progenitor still pursues, usually the progenitor gets killed.”

“How do you know who the sires are? When the kid is born.” 

Tai’dqei couldn’t help the way his mandibles pulled up a bit, amused by Rayelle’s endless questions. Why she wanted to know so much about yautja, he could only guess. But his guesses did warm him with delighr. “They’re all considered the children’s other parents.”  

“What?” That answer surprised her. People willing to parent children that may or may not be theirs? There had been plenty of instances where Evan lobbed the ‘are they even my kids’ bullshit her way, during fights. 

“Yautja are prone to having multiples. Two or three, on average.” Tai’dqei continued, unaware of the faint memories playing across Rayelle’s mind.“It can be obvious which progenitor sired which child, but traits do mix in-utero and multiple sires are responsible for the same litter. Though many sires have multiple broods at the same time.” 

Now that this can of worm was open, Rayelle couldn’t let it go. She didn’t even notice that Tai’dqei had brought her into the ship, until her ears registered his footfalls on the metal. “So, how does parenting work?” 

“The ones who become pregnant often raise the children in the community. Everyone - including those uninterested in parenthood, the elderly, and the older broods that haven’t reached adulthood - assists in some way.” He settled Rayelle down on the floor as the ship’s door closed behind them. The amused pull of his mandibles hadn’t disappeared. Although, it was a little strange, explaining something he’d always grown up with. 

“Sometimes the pregnant yautja have their children and return to doing something else, leaving the rearing to the community. Usually a family member, if not the sire.” 

Rayelle took a moment to look around his ship as Tai’dqei fed her answers. She didn’t dally far and still listened to him, though he stopped by the mess table to offload his gear. Without thinking, she reached her hand out to touch one of the walls. The gentle thrum of the ship, the systems, buzzed under her hand. She hadn’t realized she missed that constant, ambient sound. Or that she had missed the scent of the place. A light scent of metal and oil and something faintly like Tai’dqei’s aroma. 

The ship was as she left it, for the most part. No television in the lounge. The safety belts still intact, after Tai’dqei replaced them. So no missions involving flight-averse patrons. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Cloying scent of perfume from sex workers? Dirty lingerie strewn about? Empty bottles of drink? Dirty clothes everywhere? 

None of that seemed particularly like Tai’dqei. Or, if it was, he cleaned up after himself. Though it did seem like Tai’dqei had been in the middle of making what looked like necklaces from various bones, considering what supplies were spilled over the table. 

“Sires can be part of the childrearing communities or they can go off - hunting or working - to bring something back into the community.” 

Rayelle paused at that part of his answer, glancing at Tai’dqei as she was unsure of how to feel about it. 

On the one hand, it sounded like there was a lot of wiggle room for different situations. If a pregnant yautja decided to return to whatever spacefaring adventures they had, the progenitor was there to be the parent, and vice versa. If neither stayed, then the community would care for the children, probably in a way that meshed broods with broods. If both stayed, they would likely care for more than their own progeny. 

On the surface, it appeared all well and good. But, if she had experience with it, would it actually seem as nice? 

As Tai’dqei removed what little armor he had on, Rayelle’s eyes narrowed on him as a sudden question popped into her head, “How many broods have you had?” 

“I was never interested in being pregnant, so none from before the change. After it, though, hard to say.” If the question bothered Tai’dqei, he certainly didn’t show it. Rayelle was beginning to think he didn’t have too many children, but then - after a moment’s thought as he scratched the back of his neck - Tai’dqei said, “Perhaps seven broods?”

That answer made her heart stutter and her eyes widen, a strange sort of heat rising in her cheeks. “So you could have twenty-one children?” 

“Ah, pups. There’s twenty-four of them, actually,” he replied, piling his armor onto the table and offering her a shrug. While there was an amount of hilarity he was basking in, while watching Rayelle’s eyes grow wider, there was a small bead of apprehension. This was a yautja norm and having a human react to it made prickly uncertain settle in his stomach. “One litter had four pups and then two were adopted after their parents passed in a hunt.”

Twenty. Four. That was a lot. Well, it was a lot to humans, Rayelle reminded herself. Considering how Tai’dqei had described the mating ceremonies, she wondered if it was a low amount to yautja.

Rayelle rubbed a hand down her face, flopping into an available chair. Her brain sputtered at that amount. Tai’dqei had sired twenty-four children. It seemed absurd. Besides, he’d never discussed it with her before!

Further than the children, that meant he’d had seven lovers he was still entwined with. Were they his spouses? Or was mating something totally separate from relationships? He had never had children before his change, so did that  mean he and Ah’ke never had kids together?

So many questions spun around her head.

“What do you bring to the community?” Rayelle crossed her arms, her lips puckering as she tried to decide if she was ambivalent to his answer or not. Or the emotions it roused.

At the very least, Tai’dqei didn’t appear perturbed with her line of questions. Part of him had decided this was another form of a mating ritual. His people already knew how this worked. Humans, in her time, had one partner. So, as instinctive for her as the ‘hit-and-dash’ was for him, he guessed.

Tai’dei sat down next to her, angling his chair toward Rayelle. “I provide money and, when asked, supplies. If they need something off-planet, I can retrieve it for them. And if they need to get off-planet for some reason, I can ferry them around.” 

So he was an errand runner and chauffeur. If needed. Leaning toward Tai’dqei, her elbows on her knees, Rayelle asked, “Do you spend time with your kids?” 

“When I visit, if they want to spend time with me.” He shrugged and, once more, Rayelle wasn’t sure how to feel about the yautja arrangements. “But, there are other sires that are always on-planet. Their bonds with the children are usually stronger, as expected.” 

While he was always given a warm welcome by the pups, Tai’dqei was no fool. He knew there were other parents his children were more attached to. He held no resentment for that fact. Some were simply better with kids than others were. At the very least, he provided what was asked of him, whether that was money, rides, or teachings.

Mirroring her pose, Tai’dqei’s head cocked to the side. Rayelle could be assessing his capabilities as a mate, or at least going through the questions to assuage some inner concern. However, there was another concerning angle that might be feeding her inquiries. “Are you thinking about your children?” 

“A bit,” she sighed, smiling up into his face. Briefly, she considered how easy it would be to forget these more difficult thoughts. To lean up and bring her lips close to his mandibles, wrap her arms around his neck. Get lost in his heat and firmness. 

Guilt flickered through her at the thought. Her attention dropped to the floor, a small frown creasing her lips.

Tai’dqei gave a thoughtful clicking noise, which Rayelle took as the yautja-version of a hum. 

“I’m also trying to figure something out.” Suddenly, Rayelle was on her feet, pacing the length of the mess. “What we did… The stuff before your reinforcements arrived…” 

“Yes?” He prompted, watching Rayelle move with his own quiet concern.

“I don’t really know how to process it.” A jittery feeling coursed through her body. She couldn’t stay still, especially knowing Tai’dqei carefully watched her. He straightened in his chair, scooting it to face her again so he could give Rayelle his full attention. “You and Ah’ke seemed so close. But the way you talk about mating and parenting makes me wonder how yautja see relationships.” 

Rayelle made a third pass by him. Tai’dqei noticed one hand was held in the other, just about at her chest height, and she pressed her thumb into her palm. Faintly, he wondered if this was a new level - a new kind - of nervousness for her. His eyes focused back on her face, watching considerations flicker over her expression.

Confusion settled over Rayelle's thoughts at Tai'dqei's single word command. Run? Why? There wasn't any danger, any longer.

"Why? Zav's taken care of and no one else is-" Rayelle cast a wary look around, wondering if there were other dangers lurking in the shadows. Dangers that would make the yautja tell her to flee.

Tai'dqei took a step forward, barely restraining himself. A strong urge to grab Rayelle and bring her close to him bit along his arms. Under that urge, another seethed, desiring to lose himself inside her. To hear her sounds, while she was caught in the throes of pleasure. To feel her clench around him as her nails raked over his skin. Claws of instinct and heat sunk into him, threatening to tear his self-control apart.

"You. Hit. Me." He bit out each word, trying to put meaning into every syllable. Please, let her remember. Let her understand. Between the adrenaline of the fight and dispatching so many enemies, his instincts were riding hard in his head. Like rivers of sparking electricity, sinking deep into his muscles.

Her striking him, after everything, didn't help his self-control.

"It was an accide-!" Rayelle started to snap, before a memory of Tai'dqei's own words ricocheted through her head.

"One yautja mating ritual is meant to assess the capabilities of a mate by gaining their attention and then running. Challenging them to a different sort of hunt."

She wheeled her attention back to Tai'dqei, her heart skipping at the realization. He stood stiff, fighting something inside himself. Like a dog trying so hard to be good and not gobble up a treat. Heat flared up her body and warmed her face. Rayelle stared at him, in the fading in-and-out light. Tai'dqei was covered in blood of various hues, including his own. Scratches and dents marred his armor.

Before he even intercepted Zav, Tai'dqei had engaged with who-knew-how-many others. How many had he dispatched or incapacitated? How many had he tied up for others to deal with? How much victory had he seen and how did that play into his instinctive urges?

Her mouth fell open, snapped closed, before opening again to say something. But a small contingent of other humans scurried around the corner, each armed with some sort of makeshift weapon.

"Rayelle! What's going on?" Lisa demanded, hoisting a crowbar swiped from the staff's "infirmary." Her eyes wheeled around, seeking immediate dangers, overlooking the hulking armored alien and the grass-scented dead Florizian in the red-black lighting.

Before Rayelle could answer, Abe noticed Zav's decimated form. His free hand half-covering his mouth as the shovel he held in the other drooped. "Oh lord, what's that?"

"Forget that, who're they?" Bette pointed her rolling pin at Tai'dqei, suspicion painted across her features. She looked ready to attack if Rayelle said the word.

With eyes so wide, they nearly popped out of his face, a pale-faced Mizan softly gasped from behind Abe, "Is that a yautja?"

The appearance of the others eased the tension in Tai'dqei. Good. Their human audience dampened the hunger in him. Not entirely, but enough to keep him from straining against his own self-control.

"Are you all done now?" Rayelle snapped, her hands planted on her hips when there was a lull in the rapid-fire questions. When it appeared they were, she pointed to the yautja with her thumb. "That is Tai'dqei. The yautja that ferried me here."

"Him?" Sandra gasped, her eyes almost as wide as Mizan's. Though her expression couldn't exactly be considered fearful, Rayelle acknowledged, as the housewife's eyes certainly dipped down and up Tai'dqei's armored form.

Bette eased from her offensive stance, mirroring Sandra's assessing look before giving an appreciative hum.

Tai'dqei's mandibles flexed as they spoke, not noticing how the others stared at him. He was used to most humans fearing him, given history. And if these were time-displaced humans, their attention was going to be apprehension, no matter the situation.

No, his mind gnawed on the fact Rayelle had told the other humans about him. The only question was if it was good or bad. Likely both, he decided in an attempt to neither get too hopeful or too dire.

"What's going on, Tai'dqei?" Rayelle's question shook Tai'dqei from his thoughts.

He glanced up at her, finding she hadn't moved any closer to her human companions. She stayed rooted in the spot she'd been when they arrived, between them and him. Though her outstretched hand, seemingly intent to touch him, hung by her side now. A part of him bristled, preferring the thought of her hand touching him than not. He shoved the thought away.

Tai'dqei gave what almost sounded like a frustrated clicking sound - though Rayelle doubted it was due to her question - before replying to her. "You messaged me. I came."

"What about the others?" She motioned to Zav, highlighting the implication she was talking about the other aliens. Rayelle had to fight to ignore the pleasant heat that churned up her at his answer. It had been as simple as that, had it? She communicated her concerns, so he came.

"Many are dead. Other incapacitated." Tai'dqei rolled his shoulders, absentmindedly, as he glanced around the corridor. Rayelle didn't miss how, even clad in his armor, the movement highlighted his musculature. It made the corners of her lips threaten a smile, wondering if he had done that intentionally or without thinking.

It was that ghost of a smile on her lips that made Tai'dqei realize what he was doing. He forced his body to still, even though the desire to move - to do certain things - made him fidgety. "Reinforcements will be here soon. I apprised them of the situation in a transmission."

"Other yautja?" Rayelle ignored the slight whine Mizan gave, obviously their experience with the alien race alive and well in their head.

Tai'dqei ignored how one of the humans whimpered, answering simply, "Yes."

"Okay." A tension in Rayelle's shoulders eased. She didn't want to say it outloud, considering the stories she had heard from later generations, but her trust was low for other non-humans. Even if Tai'dqei was an exception, she still felt better knowing it was only yautja coming. Others likely didn't hold the same relief.

Turning to the other thankfully silent humans, she nodded back down the hall, toward the direction of the bunker. "You all go back to the shelter."

"What about you?" Bette asked, raising her eyebrows. The woman's expression made Rayelle feel like a teenager again, being silently called out for being in a closed room alone with their boyfriend.

"Tai'dqei and I have some things to discuss." A blush flared over her cheeks as she explained, trying to indicate to Bette, through her own raised eyebrows, to shut-the-fuck-up. She ignored how Lisa snorted at her answer or the looks the others gave her.

"Now?" Sandra wrinkled her nose, though it was hard to miss the amusement on her lips.

Taking a deep breath, Rayelle closed her eyes and tried not to sound so annoyed with her own people. "Remember what I said of yautja rituals? I accidentally hit him with the extinguisher."

Rayelle opened her eyes, just in time to see Sandra's lips form an 'o' before she nodded and scurried off. If it wasn't for the red light, Rayelle would have guessed the woman blushed fiercely. The others quickly followed after, save for Lisa, who lingered with a shit-eating grin on her lips. "So, if you scream, should we-"

"Lisa, I swear to fuck! Just go!" Rayelle nearly snarled, jabbing a finger in the direction of the bunker. At that, Lisa cackled and trotted off.

Glaring after Lisa, Rayelle was grateful that the punk hadn't decided to linger or try to eavesdrop on them. However, with the peanut gallery of her people gone, silence slipped in. It weighed heavily over Rayelle and Tai'dqei, as the lights faded through a handful of red-black cycles. When her attention turned slowly back to Tai'dqei, she realized this 'talk' should likely wait.

Both of them were covered in blood, her clothing ripped in places. Scratches and cuts littered her body. The blood encrusted fire extinguisher weighed heavily in her hand.

Tai'dqei appeared in worse condition, though the threshold was likely larger for a yautja compared to a human. Parts of his netting were ripped or completely missing, his armor dented and scraped, large smears of blood coated him. She wasn't even sure if he was badly injured or not. If he was, he didn't act like it, but Rayelle suspected that no yautja would, especially high on battle fervor.

"You should go," he finally growled, still not stepping closer to her, not trusting himself. He had to fight himself just to say those words. Her excuse to the others had stirred wonderful carnal heat in him, but Tai'dqei stuffed it down. She wasn't going to humor his instincts, wasn't going to let him rut her right there. Not in the state either of them were in. "Whatever needs to be discussed can be addressed later."

She looked up at him, her expression appraising and unreadable. He tensed as she stepped closer, the muscles tightening down his back. Intuitively, he was preparing for something. What it was, however, he wasn't sure.

Whatever considerations she had about waiting dissipated. Between her surgeries and arriving at the resort, she had stalled. Trying to make sense of her feelings toward the yautja man, so capable and comfortable with killing. Their time apart had given her perspective, understanding.

In this moment, they were here. Together. The danger - according to Tai'dqei - was handled for the moment. Zav, the likely ringleader, was dead. Their little audience had finally retreated to safety. The calvary was on the way.

Rayelle took another step closer to him and had to bite down a laugh as Tai'dqei seemed ready to stumble backward a step. Tilting her chin up, narrowing her eyes while still smiling, she demanded, "Why?"

"You know why." He growled, clearly frustrated. The frayed ropes of his restraint were ready to snap as she took another step closer.

Rayelle's smile widened a little further. He was trying so hard to be good, to not touch her, he completely overlooked her signals. Then again, maybe her signals were foreign to him, considering they were completely different species. Still, she tilted her head to the side, licking her lips before pressing further, "Do I?"

"Ye-" A sudden splurt of foam from the extinguisher caught him in the face. An annoyed rumble vibrated from his chest as he reached up and swiped the mess from his mask's smooth visor. Only to catch sight of Rayelle dropping the extinguisher, turning, and running.

She was fucking running.

Tai'dqei didn't even get a chance to stop himself. No thought lit between his brain and feet as he took off after her. With a snarl, he charged, quickly gaining ground. The second she heard him start rushing after her, excitement prickled through her veins.

The excitement sparked as she sensed, more than felt, a hand reach for her hoodie's hood. A bead of mild disappointment, at the game being short-lived, pulsed through her.

But it didn't have to be that way, she realized.

As Tai'dqei triumphantly closed his clawed fingers around her hood, prepared to yank her back against his chest, Rayelle writhed out of the jacket. She slipped from one sleeve and spun, sharply turning to slip from the other sleeve.

A half-snarl, half-hiss left the yautja as he instantly dropped the hoodie, wasting no time to lunge for the woman. He only barely missed snagging Rayelle as she turned a corner and his boots slipped in a pool of blood.

There was a brief second of confusion, as the sound of his boots faltered and skidded, a dull thump against a solid surface. Glancing over her shoulder, she had to bite back a laugh. Even in the fading red light, she could see him push off the wall he had slid into, a smear of blood that trailed from a puddle the evident culprit to Tai'dqei's fumble.

Was he so focused on her, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings? The prickle of excitement jolted, piquing sudden and high.

Ducking and dodging through the wartorn Rerli 3 resort, Rayelle only caught glimpses of disaster between bumbling through darkness. Over spilled carts, around large fallen foes, and under vents torn from the ceiling. Tai'dqei had certainly done a number on the place, if that was all his doing.

Some of the damage had to be from other humans, fighting to survive. Part of her knew that. But that part was quickly being shoved to the wayside as delight and hormones took over. There'd be time to worry and fret and grieve later.

Right now, she just wanted to steal some time with Tai'dqei. Even if running away from him appeared counter intuitive to that. More than once, she stumbled and gasped, sure that Tai'dqei would descend on her in her mistake.

Being larger, Tai'dqei had to take more care moving around a building clearly made for human-sized entities. The bulk of his armor slowed him down, catching on debris or bodies skewered to walls or the ceiling. It was utterly infuriating.

Further, whatever Rayelle had sprayed at him was playing havoc with his helmet's thermal sensor. Though, he supposed running into that wall hadn't helped, either. A background thought noted he'd have to get it repaired.

Either way, it made following her movements in the emergency lighting aggravating. Even as she staggered on occasion, whatever ground he gained was lost as the world habitually plunged into darkness. Without his thermal visor, the shadows forced him to slow lest he make another ill-thought mistake and lose her completely.

The longer he followed her, the worse the heat in him grew. As frustrating as the situation was, as ridiculous as he felt for blundering, Tai'dqei was determined to scratch this fucking itch. It gnawed at him for too long. The hunger for her ached through him, spraying fire over his nerves and making it difficult to think logically, to plan, to defend against Rayelle's own tricks.

His thoughts whorled around her. How she'd feel under his hands, under him. Her softness, her heat, the sounds she'd make. An excited growl perpetually caught in his throat as he plunged on, this time not slowing as the lights dimmed.

Rayelle's desperate feet wove the way back to the 1990s and 2000s areas, trying to recall the mental map she had of Rerli's resort. She nearly ran by the door she sought, but she thankfully saw it in the last second of red light.

She ducked through it and into the strangely quiet and seemingly untouched library. Once the lights bathed the world in red again, Rayelle picked up her pace. Racing through the stacks, she tried to remain silent on her feet and attempted to not drip any gore on the library's offerings.

She wasn't exactly sure where to go, just yet. For now, she was just leading Tai'dqei on a chase. That seemed the important part, she figured. It got the blood pumping, the heart racing, anticipation rising. At least, that's what it was doing for her.

Thoughts of what would happen when Tai'dqei did get his hands on her plagued her under-thoughts, as her forethoughts tried to find the next obstacle to make the chase satisfying.

The door slammed open just as she made it three-quarters of the way across the library, to the door on the opposite side of the room. Slapping a hand over her mouth, quieting her gasp, Rayelle ducked down. In a crouch, she moved quietly until the bulk of a desk shielded her.

"Rayelle!" Tai'dqei barked, sending a shiver down her spine as his authoritative tone rattled her bones. His own pace slowed as he peered around. The room appeared to be a cache for books in tall shelving units. So tall, it easily hid Rayelle from view.

Further frustration pulled a growl from his throat.

Coming up to a shelf, he eyed the books. Flashes of memory flickered in his head, from his time with Rayelle, watching her bent over a book and reading. Tai'dqei gave a thoughtful click, as an idea struck him. Working off a theory, he snatched a book off its shelf, flipping it open. After one last glance around, finding no hint of Rayelle, he experimentally tore a few pages.

For a wild second, Rayelle tried to make sense of the hissing sound. It sounded familiar, but nothing dangerous. Realization struck her like a truck and her eyes widened.

Was he tearing pages out of the book?!

Jumping up from her hunkered down spot, losing the protection of a desk, she yelled at him, "Tai'dqei, don't you dare!"

His attention snapped toward the movement before she had even called out. Tai'dqei chittered with satisfaction. Forgotten, the book carelessly dropped to the carpet as he bolted toward her.

A yelp squeezed through her lips as she darted the final feet toward the door, bounding over the threshold and slamming it shut behind her. She doubted the yautja would cause further destruction in the library. There was no doubt in Rayelle's mind he'd only damaged the book to rile her. She only hoped it wasn't something valuable or irreplaceable.

If so, Tai'dqei was going to get a tongue lashing after this was all over.

She had barely stepped out into the hall when the door knot behind her rattled. Her heart leapt in her throat as her feet carried her fast down the hall, not caring how heavy her footsteps thudded against the tiles. Desperately, she looked around for another destination. There'd be little obstruction for Tai'dqei's pursuit in the hallway.

Faint relief swelled as her eyes landed on the kitchen's swinging doors. Swerving toward the door, she pushed through, hearing Tai'dqei gaining behind her. An excited apprehension nipped across her nerves, once more. The sensation dropping deep into her center.

Rayelle careened into the community kitchen, skirting the large island in the middle of the room. Tai'dqei burst in before the kitchen doors even closed and Rayelle turned to face him. She was painfully aware of heat rising in both her face and her core.

"Got you," he growled with pride, hands flexing at his sides as his steps slowed. Now, he walked like a big cat, eyeing its prey. And he was going to certainly enjoy eating her up. Even now, he imagined he could taste her sweetness on his tongue.

Rayelle's heart skittered in her chest, the blush worsening across her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell with deep breaths, but delight burned through her. Even if she wanted to, even if she hadn't been running, Rayelle wasn't sure she could calm her breathing. Electricity snapped in the air around her, both tempting her to give in and continue running.

Tipping her chin up, she tried to sound firm, a teasing half-smile crooked at her lips. "I don't think I'll let you catch me just yet."

A chuff of a laugh left the yautja and he moved further into the room, his steps measured and precise. He let loose another growl, his mandibles flexing. How to go about this, he wondered, a litany of raunchy scenarios playing out in his mind's eye.

As his brain fed him hormone-drenched thoughts, Rayelle's mind noticed his growl didn't possess an undertone of irritation or anger, like when he was fighting Zav. This growl felt playful, somehow. A cascade of quivering heat slid down her spine, as it had when he taunted her in the seat.

Her thoughts stuttered to a halt as Tai'dqei skillfully hopped up onto the island in one jump. His weight thumped hard on the counter. With an alarm curse, she pushed back against the far corner, though her eyes remained on his form.

The surprise turned into a cackle of amusement as, in his intense focus on getting to her, Tai'dqei hadn't noticed the ceiling rack of dangling pots.

Lips of metal pots caught onto the edges between his plates of armor, making him hiss and spit with displeasure. Once he was free of one implement, three more would tangle or bang noisily against him.

Thanking her lucky stars, Rayelle wasted no time racing around the island and the entangled yautja. His frustrated snarls followed her through yet another door and into a new hall. Rayelle's laughter, trailing behind her, sent a stab of impatient fire through Tai'dqei. With an annoyed howl, he grabbed the rack itself and yanked hard.

Parts of plaster and ceiling rained down, as Tai'dqei broke the rack free. A cacophony filled the air as pans and pots and metal utensils littered the floor. Tai'dqei didn't notice any of it. His fiery gaze turned in the direction Rayelle had gone as he tossed the rack against a far wall.

Before the rack and wall made an intimate impact, Tai'dqei launched himself off the island and raced after Rayelle.

He knew he was making ill-thought mistakes. Part of him was frustrated at his inability to think critically, too distracted by Rayelle to focus, but another part of him enjoyed the chase, her laughter and amusement. Even if it incensed something deep inside him, promising to make the rutting Rayelle was about to receive one she would never forget.

The longer the wait, the sweeter the end result. But he'd waited so long already.

After the clatter - and that howl that churned at her insides - Rayelle heard those familiar footfalls behind her once more. She barely kept from looking back. The worry she'd just stop and let him finish the game clashed against the continuously building desire in her.

But now, she had an idea of where she wished to lead Tai'dqei.

A sharp turn ended in a dead end, with no apparent exits. Rayelle spun on her heel, walking backward as Tai'dqei's steps slowed behind her.

His growl was smug, goading, as his head cocked to the side. "Dead end."

"That doesn't sound very sexy." Rayelle wrinkled her nose as her back nudged against a wall. Her hands reached behind her, looking for the console inlaid into the wall. It had to be there, she thought. Unless she got turned around, which was a possibility. Either result would end the same way, but her mistake only ended the game sooner.

Tai'dqei's response was only a growl and further steps toward her, closing the distance. Part of him waited to see what she'd do, though. Would she submit? Would she fight? Or did she have something else up her sleeve?

Her fingertips finally found the screen and she flashed Tai'dqei a cheeky smile. "Let's try once more."

I’m sorry to be contacting you so soon. It’s probably my imagination but…

Something doesn’t feel right. 

I think most of the staff are androids, made to look human. But there are other staff. Alien staff, which strikes me as strange, since you weren’t allowed on planet.

I also see non-humans late at night, after staff SUGGESTS we get some rest. I don’t know if they’re staff or visitors. They don’t wear Rerli uniforms.

But I’m catching sight of more of them at random intervals. There’s a buzz in the air, like something big is going to happen, too. Like an event or something. 

Something feels wrong. I don’t know how to explain it.

It’s probably nothing. I’m sorry. I’m probably bothering you. Maybe I’m just having a hard time adjusting. 

I hope you’re doing well, wherever your line of work has taken you. 

Sorry, again, for bothering you. 

~ Rayelle. 

With a heavy sigh, Rayelle threw her arm over her face as she laid on her bed. There, she sent it. And she felt like an awkward teenager for it. 

Or maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, making her see concerns that weren’t there, because she was desperate for a reason to contact Tai’dqei. How many times had she, in the past, reached out to someone under the guise of another issue? Although, to be fair, this was a genuine issue causing her concern. 

Rerli Resort had provided everything it said it would, including personal rooms for individuals. 

Rayelle’s room was a gentle blue, currently. She could change the color with the console on the wall, though, which seemed fairly anachronistic for the 2020s, but she wasn’t going to complain. Overall, the room reminded her of a hotel room. A large plush bed, a desk - equipped with a computer - and a desk chair. In one corner, there was a chair and a table, presumably so one could read. She even had her own attached bathroom with a shower. 

The first morning she had woken up there, she almost thought her whole excursion with Tai’dqei had been a dream. A very vivid, oddly detailed dream.

Of course, then Jezika popped her head in, to offer their newest resident a cheerful ‘good morning’ and all dream assumptions fled.

“Finally wrote him, eh?” From the floor, at the foot of Rayelle’s bed, Lisa laughed around her gum. It was hard to acknowledge that, by all technicalities, the young woman - with her cherry red hair and studded denim jacket and fishnets - was older than Rayelle. At least in the respect that Lisa was born in the 70s and had been a teenager in the 80s. Well, in the US.

Another thing Rayelle had learned while residing in the massive resort was the fact all the humans - men, women, and non-binary - had come from some stage of the United States. Whether it was the pre-colonial Indigneous land, the Colonies, the US, or a later iteration of the country. 

Theories had flown around as to why that was, but no one really knew. It seemed the resort was made for many more people, but fewer than 100 had arrived. Of course, Rerli was a new establishment, so perhaps that was why?

Rayelle had a growing paranoia that the reason why they were all from the US had to do with who had been snatching them all, though. She worried their captors shared more than just a proclivity for kidnapping. 

From the desk chair, which had been turned to face the other people in the room, Sandra chuckled. She was a housewife, abducted from 1956, with carefully coiffed hair and a penchant for blouses paired with long skirts. A light floral scent always wafted from her. In her hands, she worked a piece of knitting with her needles. “You have certainly agonized over that missive since you arrived!”

“It’s difficult,” Rayelle groused, faint heat nudging at her cheeks but not quite coming to the surface yet. It was a little aggravating to be teased so relentlessly from a housewife and a punk, but that was her life at the moment. She shrugged and sighed, a dollop of resignation in her voice, “He’s probably halfway across the universe.”

Though she did want to message Tai’dqei since setting foot at the resort, her reasons for doing so expanded the longer she stayed. It wasn’t simply her missing Tai’dqei, but a gut feeling that something was wrong. Though part of her still struggled against that instinct, believing she was just looking for any reason to reach out to him. It was a struggle against herself.

Before the other two could reply, one of the android staff poked their head into the room. A quizzical look passed over their features after a beat of observing the three women. “What are you three doing here together? You’re from highly disparate decades.” 

One of the few ‘guidelines’ of Rerli 3: Stick to your era. 

It was a rule few abided by, much to staff frustration. Some decades had far fewer people though. It was unfair to isolate the few from other eras, simply due to potential anachronisms. Besides, it didn’t seem there had been any successful return stories, from what Rayelle churned up. Which meant no one returning to their home could blab about the ‘wonders of the future,’ whether near or distant. 

Then again, the resort was new. Maybe there were successful stories of return trips elsewhere.

“What do you need, Jane?” Lisa asked with a tinge of irritation, her nose wrinkling as she popped her bubble gum.

Forgetting the transgression, or maybe simply not caring - as far as an android can care, - Jane made a delighted sound and clapped her hands together once. “There are guests who wish to make your acquaintance.” 

“Guests? Are they non-humans?” Rayelle pushed herself into a sitting position, trying to stifle the way her heart jumped. There was no way Tai’dqei could have gotten there so soon, right? So it had to be someone else. That itch of concern started to weasel its way into her thoughts.

“Yes, isn’t that exciting?” Jane’s smile didn’t falter, her eyes not blinking. 

Rayelle narrowed her eyes. The other two human women in the room exchanged glances, apparently already aware where she’d go with this. “What happened to not allowing non-humans here?” 

“I haven’t the slightest what you mean, Miss Brooks,” Jane replied, no hint of deception in her voice or her features. Although, maybe she was programmed not to show either. Jane folded her hands in front of herself, primly, still sporting that spotless smile on her pink lips. “We hope to facilitate strong bonds with non-humans here, in case our residents can’t go home.” 

Residents. Not guests. Rayelle narrowed her eyes, not really enjoying how her mind gnawed on the distinction of those two words. Sandra shifted in her chair and Lisa snorted, both swathed in the same aura of uncertainty that Rayele felt.

“What kind of… aliens are there?” Sandra was the one to ask, fumbling over the word aliens. Rayelle didn’t know if it was a novel word or simply her own personal experiences making it taste bad on Sandra’s tongue.

Not picking up on Sandra’s distaste, Jane twittered excitedly, “Oh, an array!” 

“Yautja?” Rayelle asked, unable to stop herself. Maybe Tai’dqei had gotten into the heads of the androids, altered their programming. Maybe he petitioned whoever ran Rerli 3 for access. Maybe, maybe, maybe. A billion wishful thoughts spun about Rayelle’s head, knowing they were all unlikely.

“Of course not!” If it wasn’t for their situation, Rayelle would have found Jane’s scandalized tone and expression funny. “They’re too much for humans’ delicate sensibilities.”  

Rayelle sucked on her teeth, before hazarding a tentative guess. “Florizian?”

“What a good guess!” Jane’s delighted tone felt like a punch to Rayelle’s gut, knocking her breath out for a moment. She wished the android had visited before she sent the message to Tai’dqei. Then she could have told him, warned him what was going on. Who was likely behind it all.

“Tell ‘em to come back later.” Lisa’s brusque voice caught Jane’s attention, the android turning a perturbed look to the red-headed punk. Waving her hand, her plastic bracelets rattling on her wrist, Lisa added with no less bite, “I don’t feel like meeting anyone new today.” 

Jane seemed about to say something when Sandra, with her working knitting needles jittering a little more than earlier, sighed, “Neither do I, I’m afraid.”

“Me either,” Rayelle chimed in, leaning back on her hands on the bed and crossing her legs. She and Jane locked gazes, across the small distance between bed and entryway. Calculations, considerations, and - perhaps - a fight between original programming versus new flickered behind Jane’s eyes. Rayelle waited quietly, hoping she’d be proven wrong.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in the matter. Our guests are sizable investors to our organization,” Jane finally answered with a sigh. She stepped to the side, motioning to the hallway where two aliens finally emerged. One had long, wiggling tendrils - like Zav - and the other had four multi-faceted eyes and strange solid-looking growths from their cheeks. Both were built like tanks, though. 

The air in the room stilled. One side, thick with distrust. The other firm in their sense of complete control. Only Jane, who appeared unaware of the quiet clashing of forces, made a gesture to the two aliens as she continued to speak to the humans,  “You will be escorted to the assembly hall with everyone else. Please, come along now.”

With that, Jane happily flounced from the room, leaving humans and aliens to leer at one another. Rayelle considered refusing to move, but Sandra sighed and put her knitting away into her bag. The housewife stood, dusting off her skirt.

Sandra shot Rayelle and Lisa a look that read ‘let’s get this over with’ and, quietly, the two women followed her lead.

—

Apprehension lit hot and heavy in the air of the assembly hall. As per everything else in the resort, each decade had its own auditorium to keep inter-decade mingling to a minimum. However, it seemed they shoved all available humans into the 2070s hall. Likely due to the heightened tech and plush seating available. 

Jane had gathered more humans since retrieving Rayelle, Sandra, and Lisa. It seemed as if she was just going door to door, herding who-so-ever was around. With the number of humans, the number of non-human escorts also expanded. 

By the time they made it to the assembly hall, there were six non-humans and nearly twenty-five humans. No one spoke, considering every time they did, one of their escorts would gargle or growl or snarl at them. 

An alien, that reminded Rayelle of a cross between an octopus and a shark, stopped Jane’s troupe near the entryway. They regarded a holoscreen in tentacle-y hands.  “Do you have guests TDA2G, TDA3K, and TDC8P?” 

Rayelle thought she could hear the whirring of mechanics in Jane’s head, before she eventually said, “Yes, I do.” 

“Those’re Zav’s dibs,” the alien gurgled, before rushing to intercept another group. Another non-human shuffled into the spot Octo-Arms had left empty. This one was purple, blue flowers blossoming at their temples and vine-like hair pulled back into an elaborate pile atop their head.

“What an honor!” Jane crooned, as she turned to her troupe. She pointed out the three humans, bouncing on her heels with delight, “Bette, Rayelle, and Mizan, you’ll be going with this lovely Florizian gentleperson.” 

The two others - Bette, a 1940s factory worker, and Mizan, a scholarly young man from the 2050s - dawdled in the safety of the group, until Rayelle stepped toward their new escort. Bette and Mizan followed her, both staying behind as the Florizian led them away. Rayelle tried to shoot them both assured glances, but Bette’s features remained stony and Mizan looked about ready to faint.

The walk wasn’t a long one, but it did lead them to a more secluded area of the resort. It was a wing where basic administration and offices sat. Though as Rayelle traversed it, she realized it had changed since her first entry, five days ago. Cubicles had been torn out, desks shoved to the far walls. A number of aliens lingered about, some lollygagging as others moved with the purpose of a job.

Into one of the larger offices, the three humans were led. Other humans were led in, as well. Presumably from different herding groups. Faintly, Rayelle wondered what they were intending to do with the humans left behind, in the assembly hall. Her mind took her to too dark of places to focus on.

Instead, she turned her attention to the desk, behind which a figure familiar to Rayelle stood. 

“Ah, good, my darlings have arrived,” Zav said, when one of the Florizian who escorted the humans to the office got his attention. He turned, all smiles and charm while the vine-tendril hair wiggled with delight. He stood tall and lithe, dressed in a nice enough suit. Rayelle couldn’t help but picture how that smile could easily turn into a snarl, with so many teeth. 

“Let me take a look at you all,” he nearly purred as he rounded the desk and approached the roughly twelve humans in attendance.

All of them stood to attention as Zav approached, noticeably uncertain but spines straight. He tilted his head this way and that, drinking in the details of each person and occasionally touching them with a hair vine. He’d mutter instructions to another Florizian, a smaller one that tailed at his heels, but Rayelle couldn’t catch whatever he said. 

The longer the inspection went on, the more the humans lost their cool exteriors. Mizan’s shoulders arched to their ears, their lips pressed together with anxiety, while Bette glowered, with her arms crossed over her chest. Others fidgeted or tugged on their clothes. Rayelle tried to school her expression into neutrality, cover any inkling of recognition in her eye as Zav stared at her. 

His hair wavered atop his head, before he traced a single tendril down the curve of Rayelle’s jaw. It felt velvety soft and pliable, but cold. She braced against the vine, waiting to feel a thorny bite. “And you are the one who’d been traveling with a yautja, yes?” 

“That’s right,” she answered, forcing herself to remain still under the touch. Her eyes angled toward Zav’s face, hating that she had to look up into their features. Their dark eyes surveyed her for a moment. They were unreadable to her, though. She couldn’t begin to imagine what Zav saw in her, what he thought of her.

“I do hope he didn’t tarnish you,” he finally said, another brush of the vine coasted over her cheek to her chin and down her neck. A normally gentle action felt oddly like spiders, crawling over Rayelle’s skin.

Her brows furrowed at the assertion, a frown threatening to tilt at her lips. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, your importance to me is for the revitalization of the Florizian population.” He patted her cheek, his hand falling from her face. With narrowing eyes and a double-edged smile, Zav added, “Can’t do that if you’re carrying a litter of yautja spawn, can you?” 

A litter. That was curious wording. Rayelle stowed that away for later contemplation and, perhaps, to ask Tai’dqei if she ever saw him again. 

She chose not to focus on the implication of those words. Still clinging to her sense of calm, since she suspected it wouldn’t last, Rayelle managed to evenly reply, “If you’re asking if I had relationships with my traveling partner, I didn’t.”

“That is good to hear!” That edged smile softened into one of actual delight. Pity that he was a piece of shit, Rayelle realized, since the expression was actually almost sweet.

“I also don’t intend to be a Florizian broodmare,” she added, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin. At her sides, her fists clenched, her fingernails digging into her palm to keep her from trembling.

The Florizian before her blinked, owlishly. Behind him, others shifted awkwardly, aware of how the air around their boss dipped dangerously. The delighted smile was short lived as another, colder grin took its place. “You won’t be a broodmare. More like a greenhouse.”

Rayelle rolled her eyes at the wordplay. As if he could turn this into a cutesy exchange, when he was about to force the humans into perpetual parental servitude. “My tubes are tied. No babies for me.” 

Before she could register movement, one of Zav’s hands whipped out, grabbing her forcefully by the chin. A startled sound choked in her throat as his other arm looped around her back, pulling her closer to him. His hold was bruising on her face.

“Do you really think we can’t reverse that?” Zav sneered down at her, vines waggling in cruel amusement. A long green tongue flickered out from between his lips as he stared down at her, his teeth glinting in the brief moment his mouth opened. “Pity about the pheromones, though. That was more for your pleasure than anything else, but we’ll make do. Won’t we?”

He squeezed her cheeks, demanding a reaction or answer. A dull throb ached through her jaw as her heart pounded. Rayelle shot him a squinty-eyed, sarcastic smile as her hand moved carefully to her hoodie pocket.

It hadn’t taken a rocket scientist to feel the shift in the resort’s atmosphere, two days ago. Nearly every human noticed it. A few had mentioned the androids acting strange, as well. Others had mentioned actually seeing unfamiliar non-humans loping about. Two humans had gone completely missing, the staff unable to account for them, even in their own records.

Suspicious, Rayelle had spoken to others - revealing to them what Tai’dqei had told her about human breedability - and they decided to prepare for the worst.

Anything that could be used as a stabbing or bludgeoning weapon, that wouldn’t immediately be noticed as missing, was gathered. Knives and meat tenderizers from the kitchens. Scissors, knitting needles, woodcarving kits, and x-acto knives from the craft areas. Though the gardens had provided the most, with three-pronged cultivators, sharp edged trowels, shears, clippers, and even scythes. 

As far as anyone could tell, the staff hadn’t noticed at all. Which led to the bolder thefts. Shovels and automated knives and saws and anything that could feasibly have a use to protect themselves.

Larger items were hidden around the resort, in places humans could flee to. Smaller items were kept on their persons. 

Such as the hand cultivator in Rayelle’s hoodie pocket. Zav seemed too intent on snarling into Rayelle’s face - perhaps imagining what he would do to her - to realize her movement. She quickly withdrew the three-pronged weapon from her pocket, swinging it up and into the side of the Florizian’s face. 

Zav let out a shriek of shock and pain, as the satisfying squish of metal sunk into flesh and eye. As he shoved her away, Rayelle kept a tight hold on her weapon and it shlucked out of the side of his face. Dark green spurted from the injuries, sticky like sap. A scent like cut grass - but heady - filled Rayelle’s nostrils as she stumbled back. 

At her attack, the others instantly followed suit, pounding and stabbing into any alien who had the misfortune of being close enough. Bette, armed with a knife and a metal pan - wherever the hell she managed to carry that - as a shield. Mizan with their taser in one hand and a knife in the other.

The room erupted into chaos and screams. Rayelle hoped the others could hear back in the assembly hall or that they had already begun their own escape attempts. It hadn’t been a perfect plan, but hopefully the others figured out what was up and used their stolen goods to escape.

Stunned guards took a moment to react, before rushing toward the sharps and electricity. Green and red blood splattered, though more of the former spilled than the latter. Rayelle spun toward the door, absently slamming her cultivator into the back of another Florizian’s head; one that Mizan had been struggling against with his knife. 

“Let’s go!” Someone yelled heading for the hall, slamming through the door and into the corridor. High on adrenaline, and taking advantage of the shock, all the humans rushed from the room, scattering in the hallway. As Rayelle raced with Bette and Mizan, others met up with them, in similar states of bloody, bruised disarray. 

She thought to do a headcount, but there was no time. They had to get to the 1950s bomb shelter or to the 2170s radioactive shelter. There were a number of smaller holdout spaces, but most of the supplies, first aid kits, weaponry, and communication tech had been stored in those two places. 

The longer Rayelle ran, the more shrieks, the more screams she heard. Alarms started blaring through the resort, flashing red and angry, as the far-off sounds of booted footfalls and barking orders echoed. 

Trash cans and laundry carts and supply stations were overturned, to hinder alien pursuers. Anything that couldn’t be nailed down was thrown in the way. 

Ungodly howls lit behind Rayelle and she couldn’t help but look back. 

Zav was there.

Or she thought it was Zav. It was hard to tell. He’d grown and his tendrils had overtaken his body. He was a writhing mass of teeth and vines, one eye glowing and the other a bloody hole. Judging from the hate filled glare, pinned to her form, it was definitely Zav.

Her legs carried her faster, her heart stuttering as her lungs ached for more breath. She was close to safety. Others were already in the shelter, waving others in and screaming for laggers to hurry up.

Rayelle’s heart twisted. They had all agreed, if necessary, the doors would shut even if some were locked out. There was hope they could flee to another, smaller hidey hole or the vents or even the outside. 

They were banking on the fact their reproductive capabilities were too valuable to destroy. 

But they all knew it was a gamble. 

Rayelle hurtled over the threshold, with two others, before the door slammed shut. Spinning around as the locks chunked into place, Rayelle peered through the porthole - heavy glass that would deflect bullets or, presumably, lasers - as the solid door vibrated with impact. Something big and angry and vicious howled and pounded at the door. The door shook in its frame, but the metal held firm.

She stood, staring at it as her chest heaved with panting breaths. Her lungs ached and her legs twinged. Faintly, she felt the pain where Zav had held her, along her jaw, flare. It was probably bruised. 

But they had done it. At least for the moment, they had managed to rebel and get away from the aliens. The alleged ‘investors’ of Rerli 3. Likely also the aliens that had funded so many lives being ripped away from home, to begin with. Though, it wasn’t just Florizians, a small part of Rayelle realized. There had been other non-humans, ones she didn’t have names for.

Shaking her analytical thoughts away, Rayelle turned to the innards of the bunker. “Was that everyone?” 

“No one was locked out, if that’s what you mean,” replied Abe, an older man who Rayelle suspected was from the 1930s, judging by his attire. 

It had been somewhat surprising to find men at Rerli 3. Though, after some thought, Rayelle guessed there were aliens out there needing sperm, just as much as eggs and incubators. Or maybe there were non-humans that incubated via the men. 

She nodded and muttered a thanks to Abe, before glancing over the assembled people, crammed into the room. Not everyone got away in one piece, she realized. Quite a few people sat on the floor, as others tended to their medical needs. Quiet sobbing and whimpering filled the room. 

Rayelle tried not to fret or worry about familiar faces she didn’t find.

Even if everyone couldn’t get to the bunkers, they had mapped out a number of other decent hiding places. She just had to hope everyone had gotten somewhere safe. Even if those other areas weren’t stocked with as much food or intense weaponry.

With her heart still pounding, Rayelle glanced at her wrist gauntlet. Her fingers shook as she pulled up the communication app, the one she had sent a message through to Tai’dqei earlier. 

Had he seen her message?

Had he replied? 

Was he coming?

When Rayelle was able to walk again, she was thankful for her prior intuitive decision when it came to her clothes. If she hadn't stopped him to strip off a few key articles, Rayelle had no doubt Tai'dqei would have utterly decimated her hoodie and jeans. She would have had to resort to fashioning a makeshift dress from one of the many sheets in the laundry area, which would have made the smirks and grins from her fellow humans all the more mortifying.

Tai'dqei had opted for partial armor along with his mask, unconcerned with any potential threats awaiting inside. Obviously, he was more than enough for the forces that had taken the resort. Or, perhaps, they had orchestrated the entire thing. That would just be something to determine in the meantime.

The other reason, the one he didn't fully admit to himself, was the scent. He didn't know how strong human olfactory senses were, but most non-humans - especially his fellow yautja - would know and notice his scent was all over Rayelle and hers all over him. It would be clear what activities they had very recently partook in. And he wasn't keen on covering that up.

Thankfully, by the time Tai'dqei and Rayelle returned to the others, the reinforcements had arrived. To varying degrees of diplomatic success. There were behemoths rounding up and hauling around struggling, screaming, crying humans. Other humans were using their stolen weapons, racing around this new threat.

Rayelle had little time to feel embarrassed about her activities with Tai'dqei, as she ran the gamut of calming humans and explaining the yautja were there to help.

From uncertainty to outright denial to from light curiosity to full-on enamored, the others' reactions varied so greatly. Rayelle was just thankful that the yautja that came to Tai'dqei's call were as patient as he, at least from what she saw. Just like the humans, the yautjas' reactions varied. From equal curiosity to annoyance and frustration to - oddly - seeming infatuation.

All through the chaos, Tai'dqei was at her elbow. He'd further explain details to those yautja who couldn't understand the humans or give suggestions - if not outright commands - for what the others should do. More than once a dissenting opinion had been met with a quiet growl from him, a threatening step forward as he nudged Rayelle behind him.

He'd remind them that he had done most of the hard work, clearing out the resort. To which the other would eye Tai'dqei, sizing him up before backing down. With shoulders hunched, they'd scurry off to do whatever was asked of them.

And there was so much to do.

So, so much.

Rewiring the power grid. Cleaning up dead bodies. Tending to the wounded. Attempting to fix the android staff. Smoking out any enemy survivors and detaining them. After some discussion, the yautja were thankfully willing to put the enemies in their ships' brigs, away from humans and under watchful surveillance.

In one of the lulls, Rayelle flopped into a chair in the 2070s auditorium. Previously, when the humans had been herded into this very area, the apparent plan was to auction them off to bidders. Now, it was mostly humans and yautjas - with the occasional other race traveling with the latter - tending to wounded, eating food, and just trying to relax after the ordeal.

They had managed to get the lights back on, along with temperature control and the PA system. Which made for a far more pleasant atmosphere than the red-tinted world. Every so often, something would come on over the stereos, said once in English and then once more in yautja tongue.

Leaning back in her chair, Rayelle sighed and accepted a water bottle from a green yautja, who quickly scurried off afterward. She had just unscrewed the lid and took a gulp, when she was suddenly swarmed by some familiar faces.

"Hey, Resistance Leader, how's it going?"

Rayelle threw Lisa a cross look, not really in the mood for her teasing nicknames. Waving a hand at the going-ons around them, she muttered, "Pretty busy."

That made the punk laugh, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, yeah, busy."

"Lisa, quit being so... uncouth," sniffed Sandra, as carefully dropped into a chair across from Rayelle. The woman must have had a chance to actually change, thought Rayelle as she noticed the clean shirt and skirt.

"Oh, don't get on me, Sandy." Lisa scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I saw how you were looking at that big blue fella earlier."

"Do not call me Sandy," Sandra gave an uncharacteristic hiss, frowning deeply. In return, Lisa flashed a mock look of horror, before sticking her tongue out at the housewife.

Before Rayelle could press Sandra about which 'big blue fella' she was allegedly taken with, Bette elbowed into the conversation, in her quiet and firm way. "Ignore them. We came over here to ask how it went."

Rayelle blinked, a little lost and feeling a little more than abruptly accosted. "How what went?"

The other three women exchanged looks, before Sandra hedged in with an awkward whisper, "The courting ritual."

While Sandra attempted to be delicate, Lisa groaned, "Just ask if she and her boytoy fucked, gawd."

Embarrassed heat flooded through Rayelle, as she straightened from her tired slump. "How is that any of your business?"

"Well, you already heard about Sandra and Big Blue. And Bette's been making eyes at a rather curvy green thing." Lisa explained, a broad grin on her lips. She was eating this shit up, Rayelle thought. Novel and extreme experiences seemed to be Lisa's bread and butter. Pulling up a seat next to Rayelle, Lisa leaned over and motioned to the room with a wave of her arm. "Seems like it's a benefit to human-alien relations to discuss this stuff, yeah?"

"Oh." Rayelle stared at the humans flocked around her, their expressions ranging from bashful to eager. It made sense, she supposed, they'd come to her about this. Especially considering how she talked about Tai'dqei and how she shooed them away earlier. The understanding didn't help the heat suddenly splashed over her face.

Hesitantly, Rayelle glanced around the room, seeing if they were being eavesdropped on. The assembled yautja weren't paying them any mind, it seemed. Tai'dqei was on the other side of the room, pointing and instructing a small contingent to do something.

"Well, uh, it was fine," Rayelle said, half-distractedly. Across the room, Tai'dqei glanced up, cocking his head when he noticed her gaze. She offered him an awkward smile, before quickly turning back to her small audience. "Tai'dqei got his chase and, uh, we did the thing."

Bette snorted, an amusement curling at her lips. "How scandalous."

"Look, I don't usually talk about stuff like this." Rayelle gave an aggrieved groan, pressing her face into her hands. With the coolness of her palms pressed to her warming cheeks, Rayelle took a deep breath. This wasn't a big deal. They all were adults and it was better they went into this with some knowledge, right?

Not that Rayelle was supporting any of them actually taking on a yautja lover. But it wasn't like she could stop them if they really wanted one. "The chase was heart pounding and kind of fun. Make sure you remove clothes you like, or they might get torn off."

Another round of snorts from Lisa and Bette made Rayelle's cheeks burn a little. It had been so long since she talked about sexual encounters with anyone who could remotely be considered friends, she'd almost forgotten how embarrassing it was.

What else could she tell them to slake their curiosity? Her hands slipped down her face, her fingers resting lightly on her lips. Rayelle still found the words hard to say, stumbling over herself. "He was pretty big, but I was already sopping wet so we managed, and there were these ridges."

"Ridges?" That got a curious, almost worrisome, gasp from Sandra. She leaned forward, her hands folded tightly atop her thighs, as she pitched her voice to a whisper, "Did they hurt?"

"No, they were pliable and when he came, some of them swelled. I think to, like, make sure the cum stayed inside." Just explaining it made Rayelle's thighs clench tight, even as her hands made motions to indicate what she meant.

"Was it just... mating? Or is he interested in more?" Bette surprised Rayelle with the question, but - after an exchanged look with Sandra - she realized other women had similar curiosities.

Rayelle gave a helpless shrug, uncertain how to answer the question. "I don't know."

She and Tai'dqei had gone from a wild fuck to back to serious work so quick. Neither had a chance to pursue further conversation on the matter. Rayelle wasn't even sure there was anything further to talk about. Which didn't make her delighted to consider, but at least she had those stolen moments with Tai'dqei.

There was a beat of contemplative silence, before Sandra asked, "Do you want more?"

"I don't know," confessed Rayelle, that wretched feeling swelling up in her again. She'd been staving the question off, trying to focus on what needed to be in the here and now. Faced with it headon, something in her chest went tight and the back of her eyes burned.

Of course, she wanted something deeper, something that lasted, but she didn't know if Tai'dqei was seeking the same. Nor could she shake her other responsibilities still waiting for her. "I have kids back in my time that need me."

That little reminder of the reality of the situation quietened the other women. They all had families, somewhere in time. Rayelle was certain a few of the humans could get away with traveling the wild spacey yonder, with little to no cares about the life they left behind. But so many had friends and family that still cared for them.

Rayelle cast a glance around the other human women present. Faintly, she wondered what they'd choose. She didn't exactly know all the nuances of their stories. Just some basics.

Lisa drew Rayelle from her thoughts with a sudden, contemplative, question. "Can the yautja kiss?"

At this point, Rayelle was beginning to feel useless. Another shrug, another sigh. "I don't know, we never did that."

Not that she would have minded, if they had bumbled through a kiss. But the need and desperation was high. Trying to figure out the best meeting of lips and mandibles wasn't really high on the list, in their hormone-consumed minds. Without thought, her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, considering the possibilities of kissing Tai'dqei.

She'd been so deep in conversation, she didn't hear or notice the hulking yautja sidle up beside her. "Is something wrong?"

Rayelle's eyes wheeled up to Tai'dqei and the urge to expire, right there and then, rose up in her. He stood right next to her, his fishnets highlighting the curvatures of his build while his partial armor barely made him decent. Once more, his infuriating helmet masked his expression, but at least his body language was free. His head tilted to the side, smooth visor angled curiously to her.

Rayelle's cheeks still burned from the discussion. The last thing she wanted was him seeing her all flustered, like a schoolgirl.

Thankfully - or perhaps horrifully - Lisa piped up with one of her incessantly direct questions. "Do yautja know how to kiss?"

"Kiss?" His head swiveled toward the inquisitive human, as he considered her words. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rayelle tense and the color in her cheeks deepen. Was she mad that another human was asking him this? "What do you mean?"

"With humans, we press our lips together, like this." To illustrate what she meant, Lisa grabbed Sandra and mashed their lips together. The other woman squeaked, but didn't pull away - as Rayelle would have expected - and merely stared wide-eyed at Lisa. The red-haired firecracker pulled away quick, leaving the housewife more than a little flushed and dazed. "Do yautja have a similar sign of affection?"

"In a way. We flare our mandibles and put our mouths together." Unruffled, Tai'dqei explained the mechanics of a yautja kiss, sliding his hands together and interlocking the space between the forefinger and thumb to demonstrate. Though he wore his helmet, there were plenty of his kind walking around, bare-faced. He only really answered, since Rayelle was right there. Her knowing was all that mattered to him. Just in case she was curious, as well.

Besides, he'd had this exact conversation with a number of species and yautja pups. As an aside, he also added, "Sometimes there is tongue."

With large, round eyes, a woman seated stiff and wearing clothing that had to hamper her movement, leaned toward Tai'dqei. "Can you show us?"

"Sandra!" Of all the people, Rayelle didn't expect her to ask.

Not to be outdone, the red-headed woman pointed a finger toward Rayelle. Gleefully, with such a broad smile it made Tai'dqei's face ache, she said, "Kiss Rayelle right now!"

"Lisa!" Rayelle's voice cracked, her blush eating away at her cheeks.

Even under Rayelle's glower, Lisa didn't wilt. She just grinned and shrugged, without concern. "Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask."

Tai'dqei tilted his mask up, off his face, and cast Rayelle a curious look. She weakly smiled up at him. The way his mandibles seemed to flex in amusement just enhanced her mortification. "It seems some of my fellow humans are intrigued by the yautja."

She hoped her meaning wasn't lost on him. Part of her wondered if he had to field any questions, from interested yautja parties. It was hard to say whether any of them were interested in the humans present. Plus, there was that snag of human-yautja relations being tense, given some history she hadn't gotten the details on.

"Ah, well, would you like a kiss?" He settled his mask on an empty chair as he asked his question. It seemed a fair one to ask. They hadn't exactly locked faces when they were together. Besides, it appeared the others found this an important enough subject to breach with him.

Though, he couldn't help but notice how Rayelle sat straighter, stiffer, in her chair. She also seemed unable to meet his eyes. A small chill dipped in his chest, wondering if she wasn't interested.

Her soft, airy words presented a different message. "I am curious to know how well it'd work, between us."

He made that amused chuff that made her insides squirm, before stooping over her. Instead of laying one on her, as she braced herself for, he scooped her up in his arms with ease. She gave a little squeak as he positioned her legs around his sides, her thighs squeezing. Tai'dqei held her high up against him, so she could be almost eye-to-eye. Not quite, but almost.

Rayelle bit down on her lower lip, already aware of the interested looks the others were giving her. It was like searing tar, scorching her back.

Plus, the width and heat of Tai'dqei's torso between her legs ignited those tingling sensations in her core. She wondered, if it wasn't for his armor, if she'd feel the nudge of his excitement against her.

It took a moment of them both staring at each other for Rayelle to realize he waited for her to make the first move. That thought made even further heat bleed across her cheeks. Bracing her hands against his chest, her fingers curling around the edge of his chest armor, she leaned forward.

His mandibles splayed wide, the wet fleshy interior of his maw spread out around her. The sharp tips of his mandibles were gentle as they slipped along her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered shut as her lips pressed to his slightly parted maw. The heat and moisture of his mouth pressed around her, especially as his mandibles enclosed her face.

Her tongue traced over his large, pointed teeth, tentatively tasting and breaching into his mouth as his maw opened a little wider. Rayelle's tongue explored, part of her mind making sense of Tai'dqie's mouth, as his own tongue did the same.

A deep-chested purr echoed through his chest, as he considered her flat, soft, spongy tongue. His own was more cylindrical and firm, with a forked end. Though, if the way hers writhed against his was any indication, Rayelle didn't seem off-put by it.

Tai'dqei had to gently end the kiss when she sucked on his tongue while simultaneously stroking one of his tendrils. Her ministrations shot hot, tingling sensations down his body to his core. He doubted Rayelle would appreciate being ravaged in front of a crowd. Even if the thrill of asserting his position with her, over the other yautja prescient, coursed through him.

"Thoughts?" He asked, distracting himself from how her thighs flexed around him and how her fingers brushed his throat.

Rayelle was still trying to process the sensations. It was an odd kiss, but she was more than willing to give it another go. She suspected sucking on his tongue had excited him and she really, dearly wanted to explore that further.

But there was moisture on her cheeks, cooling obviously against her flush. Bashfully, she brushed the back of her hand against both her cheeks, wicking away the saliva. "Kind of wet."

"I'm sorry," Tai'dqei huffed a sigh, his shoulders sagging a little under the observation. There were bound to be things that didn't quite match up between them, all things considered. Still, it was a little disappointing. "It is an odd configuration."

"I'm not complaining," Rayelle reassured, momentarily forgetting the audience they had and pressing her cheek to his shoulder. "I wouldn't say no to it happening again."

"Good to know." Tai'dqei shifted on his feet, painfully aware of the human women watching them. It reminded him of the groups of yautja circling and eyeing potential sires. A mild embarrassment crawled up his back. To make matters worse, other yautja were certainly eyeballing Rayelle and himself.

He barely swallowed down an agitated chitter. As if reading his irritability in the air, many yautja turned away, shoulders hunched as they went about assigned duties. Not for the first time since returning from outside, Tai'dqei wished he and Rayelle could have some space and privacy.

Rayelle had just begun to let her eyes close, comfortable in Tai'dqei's arms to the point of sudden exhaustion coaxing her toward slumber. Then she heard a giggle to her left. Her eyes snapped wide as she remembered the peanut gallery watching the whole spectacle. Immediately, she sat straighter in Tai'dqei's arms, swinging a glare to Lisa - the presumed giggler - and the others.

The women straightened under her leer, lips pressed tight together in amusement as they all averted their gazes.