{"sf1_id":1564011,"sf2_id":"XekqBN0n","title":"The Guardian's Offerings","author":"Jubatian","words":14379,"posted_at":"2020-04-06T15:49:00.000Z","tags":["Chubby","Dragon","Fantasy","Fat","Feeding","Weight Gain","Wyvern"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1564011-the-guardian-s-offerings","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/XekqBN0n","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/2f/19/2f19427b-fe6d-41fd-b708-d3c35577d967","description":"#12 of Tanis (Cheetaan) and their homeworld\n\nI had received a quite awesome piece of art from PasserineDragon ( https://www.furaffinity.net/user/passerinedragon ) to inspire me finally coming up with something set in the Tani homeworld.\nA chubby Akri ( https://www.sofurry.com/view/1564013 ), who didn't quite intend to pick up so much pudge, but just couldn't resist the onslaught of all those delicious offerings the village kept providing him with for his protection. Embarrassing, eh? :)\nThe story is set a couple decades after the events of New World 2648, normally I would suggest reading the novel first, but given that it is Hungarian, and I am still unsure just how long that monumental effort of translating it would take...\nSo at least a hopefully fun little adventure around a (not quite intentional) weight gain theme, which besides the entertainment I hope gives some interesting insight in how that strange, distant world feels like after the collapse of the former human rule.","content":"The Guardian's Offerings  \n==============================================================================  \n  \n  \n  \nIt was as good place as any in this sad, bleak region.  \n  \nShe had the will. She, Martha Hartoon, was a strong girl. And she felt that  \nRada had a great disposition, introducing such developments into this hamlet  \nfar out in the nowhere which was uncommon.  \n  \nKeep travelling, keep moving, to find the place you feel belong.  \n  \nLike Xerenti herself had said, like how them, Tanis had lived.  \n  \nTo tackle the infinite vastness on those little draisines trundling down the  \nold, battered tracks with the most eccentric varieties of companions. At least  \na xi was always along, and despite how rough they sometimes were, she felt  \nsafe with their presence. Safe from the dangers of the wilderness and safe  \nfrom her own kind.  \n  \nHere, however, unfortunately there were no xis and no nirs, such a remote  \nplace it was. They were somewhere up by the river, a tribe, occasionally they  \nvisited as Rada had mentioned.  \n  \nHe was past his hundredth year, like she had guessed, a few traces of grey  \nshowing through his dark hair and beard, however his brown eyes still sparkled  \nwith youth.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He established his family late in his life, late for those years when he was  \ncoming of age were when the sky had burned changing the world forever.  \n  \nIt was a miracle she herself lived, born probably a mere few months after it  \nhad happened. The Tanis had saved her, a chaotic age when so many had gone, her  \nonly tie to that world being her own name which somehow had survived until  \nXerenti could teach it her. Still she had a tendency to say it with an enn  \nfollowing the xi's accent who couldn't pronounce it like how it was supposed to  \nby the human lips.  \n  \nThey had talked for long that evening, that strange world he himself had came  \nfrom, unlike how that fallen had been described by numerous others, the Silent  \nLand, abandoned and succumbed to wilderness long before, where they had lived  \nwith the Tanis. Now the entire world was silent.  \n  \nEspecially after the beasts had came, stirred from their slumber by the day  \nwhen the sky went ablaze. The Aurora, a wonderful but horrible bad omen as  \nmany had still seen beyond the Tanis.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Rada reassured her that the village wasn't alike. There were bad things, there  \nwere terrible, horrendous things and still are, but they were conducting a  \ncalm, practical life here governed rather by reason than superstition.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe found that the village, Levanne by its name, the original pre-fall town  \nlaying some miles to the south, was indeed well ran, with nice people to  \nintroduce and guide her.  \n  \nThe chief contrary to her first guess, wasn't Rada. It was an old lady by the  \nname Liz whose original community amounted for about a third of the populace.  \nThey were proponents of something they called sustainable agriculture back  \nthen, which as it came through by her description apparently for some reason  \nwas eccentric and not quite well received in the former world.  \n  \nWhy, she couldn't imagine.  \n  \nThis humble hamlet, as far as she could judge, could well serve as an example  \nfor many. They shunned meat apart from a relatively small flock of chicken,  \nwhich Terranean bird was renowned for its utility and resilience, and that was  \nthe only foreign animal around, limiting the area they needed to keep clean  \nand cultivated for grain, fruits and vegetables.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Then they had a substantial herd of the well-mannered crested krael, this  \nelegant long-necked, long tailed slender creature even fit for riding, but the  \nmore importantly having the strength to haul, to move a heavy plow in pairs,  \nthus all their motive power grazed on native vegetation. They only needed to  \nprotect them.  \n  \nAnd it didn't even end there, as to her surprise they even mapped out the  \nregion marking areas where those few native plants grew which had some  \nutility on the table not being outright poisonous for human or at least  \nchicken consumption, complementing their supplies, of which they also kept  \nreserves, a stock in neat, tidy caverns which could feed them for a year if an  \nunfortunate disaster would destroy their crops.  \n  \nA very well ran community, if only they could live in peace...  \n  \nBut the fact that their houses were carved deep into the hill with living  \nspaces behind twisting passages, illuminated by faint led lighting, was a  \nstark reminder of where she was, where they had to survive.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMarcus was the elder son of Rada, a handsome, nice guy, who she met as he  \nfixed up electricity in the room they had set up for her.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"You came from a city, right?\"  \n  \n\"Yes, Mansool. So far that even the sky is different, Itakla barely halfway up  \nthere. The night is so bright here outside you wouldn't even need these!\"  \n  \n\"True, but you were lucky there. Sometimes I would rather live in a city, if  \nit was easier to get a tani's approval. But that wouldn't happen here. There  \nyou are protected, here you don't know when one of them came.\"  \n  \n\"It isn't that nice there either. One beast there had bounded slaves who you  \nwould see every so often in the market as they collected the tribute, and  \nthere is no way to help them. The akri binds them for life, they can not  \nescape as he imprints himself into them.\"  \n  \n\"They really do that?\"  \n  \n\"They do. There was someone I occasionally chatted with briefly. Then he just  \ndidn't show any more. Only many weeks later, a hollow shell with those ghostly  \ngrayed out eyes, the taint of the beast. It was sickening, awful. A few years  \nlater the akri would probably kill them as they replaced. The tanis can't do  \nanything about them.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The cave fell silent, only the occasional harsh clicks and taps breaking it as  \nMarcus kept fumbling with the wires.  \n  \n\"Guess it is not that bad here then. The Kizantxitra tribe up there fears them  \njust like us, last year they lost a nir to one. Stephen, Grace, Maria, then  \nthe Brant brothers, just as they left to move away. Their draisine was found  \nten miles up, scorched by one's breath and torn apart. But I had always  \nthought those tales of slavery were nothing more than that.\"  \n  \nThey fell silent again while Marcus finished securing a few tiny bulbs. He  \nflicked the switch bolted on the wall by the door's curtains.  \n  \n\"At least this will work, I guess. Even if one decided to tear down the  \nwindmills outside. Water battery!\"  \n  \nHe said that with a defiant smile as if it was his doing, standing against the  \nstorm. Maybe it was, or his father's design, Martha surmised, something they  \ncould be rightfully proud of.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nWeeks had passed, she had familiarized herself with the locals, meeting the  \nchildren who were numerous but well disciplined, aware of the dangers of the  \nworld they lived in.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She saw however what was sorely missing in this rural region, a school, for  \neven Marcus himself, skilled as he was, had some weak spots in mathematics  \nwhich impaired him, and welcomed much a tutor who had appropriate education in  \na city.  \n  \nShe found it to be a rewarding occupation, to use her knowledge this way,  \nthankfully they did have books, old, worn, but in ample numbers from Liz's  \noriginal community even though most of them concerned agriculture, biology  \nand related mechanics.  \n  \nWas there a future for these children in this unforgiving world?  \n  \nMaybe. She could only hope so, enjoying working with them while gaining  \nconfidence.  \n  \nIt was a small and calm little place, she had seen a companion of xis and  \nnirs visiting briefly from the tribe, then a traveller stopping for the night  \nin their guest house or cavern, but nothing else to disturb them, to remind  \nthat there was a wider world outside.  \n  \nIt was strange to live somewhere not being watched over by them.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nBoredom.  \n  \nAlbeit the cogs of his brains turned slow, he had all the time he could ever  \ndesire.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; It was a while ago when his wings were strained, when he knew only slow  \npainful death was waiting below, to keep seeking for the currents day after  \nday on the long voyage across to follow the call.  \n  \nThe call of the Aurora, signifying the end, the end of the raging plague  \nmurdering the Tanis, xis, nirs and akris alike destroying the cities of old,  \nleaving the Other Side in chaos. The call of his kin to fly, to settle and  \nthrive in the vast expanses opening for their taking.  \n  \nHe had flown, reluctant but heeding the call, battling and merging with his  \nkin on the ruins of the fallen world. He had seen how devastating the plague  \nwas, he had seen those miserable creatures alien bringing it upon them.  \n  \nBut he didn't enjoy killing, only ever taking what he needed.  \n  \nHe was a lazy beast.  \n  \nHe would find delight in merely existing, to be, to feel the warmth of the sun  \non his feathers and skin, to fly when there was a nice breeze, an updraught  \nfor it, but often rather just sprawling out on a hillside or having a leisure  \nswim in pleasant waters in a serene lush wilderness.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Finally he had it, in this world succumbed to chaos.  \n  \nBut then as the years passed, it started to bore him. They were the biggest,  \nthe meanest creatures, and everyone and everything fled from their sight.  \nFaintly he may have even felt sorry for them, how they feared and ran, in his  \nlucid dreams desiring to be esteemed and adored instead showing off his  \nmajestic splendour, but he was too lazy to even strain his sluggish mind to  \nthink about what he could have done to achieve that.  \n  \nBut his head was idle. His body was seeking for more which bothered him.  \n  \nSo did he wander hoping to find something to interest and sate him.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThey were already in the first week of Autumn, the heat subduing, working on  \nthe fields becoming less straining, but the hours of daylight also waning. She  \nstill liked it out there with a small group of older children who could  \nalready understand the differences between plants, weeds and those they needed  \nto have their meals on their tables.  \n  \nContrary to what she experienced in the city, these kids were more mature,  \npicking up the connections easier, and would be less reluctant to even  \nvoluntarily offer their help. Well, if it involved some tinkering, machinery,  \nlike the pumps, the better, she really couldn't fault them for it, weeding was  \njust one of those menial tasks which had to be done, few finding any enjoyment  \nin it. Still, she did well by talking, explaining what each plant was for, how  \nwheat turned into bread, and then listening to the various little stories and  \nexperiences such kids of the age always had.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Even out there.  \n  \nThey had such a fantasy still with astonishing understanding of the ways of  \nthe world.  \n  \n\"They must be very scared there! To have the Sun suddenly blotted out!\"  \n  \nIt was a partial eclipse of the Aildrik just around sunset.  \n  \n\"Greg, you dummy, nobody lives there, it is yellow like sand!\"  \n  \n\"Martha, but someone had told me there are people there, like you and me!\"  \n  \nShe didn't know. Was that even possible? Humans supposedly came from space a  \nlong time ago, and she was suddenly at loss on how to decide on this, never  \neven thinking about it herself, whether there could be anyone on either of the  \nother moons.  \n  \n\"Maybe. But why would they be scared? We also have eclipses.\"  \n  \n\"But you don't know when it is coming. It could be a huge akri beast!\"  \n  \nBefore she could even start pondering on why they imagined them even there, a  \nsudden sensation struck her. It was as if her very skull was about to explode,  \ndeveloping into the most hideous screeching wail she ever had the misfortune  \nto endure!  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe had seen the village.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He came aware of the surroundings, that there was none of his kin anywhere in  \nthe region, a place where he could linger and exist however long he desired.  \n  \nCuriosity.  \n  \nThere was no need for him to do anything with them for he could hunt without  \ndifficulty whenever he wished. But he was bored.  \n  \nSo he flew, spotting the flock of kraels herded towards the cliffside into  \nwhich the settlement was carved.  \n  \nHowever as he descended, surmising on maybe pinning one for a bit of  \namusement, to enjoy the reaction of those two alien creatures miserably  \nstruggling to protect them, suddenly a powerful surge of desire engulfed him.  \n  \nTo kill, to feast upon them, to sate his hunger, his body demanded and tried  \nto wrestle away his control!  \n  \nPain.  \n  \nHe cried up in his agony.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMartha's first thought were the children.  \n  \nThey, all of them including herself were on the ground, fallen tormented by  \nthe terrible voice, still struggling to realize it was over, only her ears  \nwere still ringing, she still shivering as the pain of the horrendous  \nexperience faded away.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Up, up everyone! Quick!\"  \n  \nShe helped them. Others rushed to help them, picking up a little boy crying,  \ncarrying and calling them swiftly into the safety of the caves carved into  \nstrong cliffs.  \n  \n\"Don't worry, Pete, everyone is here. We are all safe.\"  \n  \nShe struggled to form the words. She had no idea whether they were indeed safe  \napart from that they were inside, the interior lighting was still running  \nallowing her to account for every one of them including the adults.  \n  \nThey were all there for a moment long enough for her to realize before two of  \nthe men rushed out. Marcus stepped to him.  \n  \n\"It was an akri's wail. Stay here with the children. We will be careful.\"  \n  \nShe reached out after him, still in shock.  \n  \nThey could all die. But she strengthened herself. She had a responsibility,  \nforced her distress away to tend for the even more scared children.  \n  \nTo her surprise some of them shook it off rather easily.  \n  \n\"But a crying akri doesn't kill. Right?\"  \n  \nAnother woman, a mother came to her rescue confirming it.  \n  \nWere they actually so confident on this?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThere was a brief council that night to assess the situation. Robert and Mike  \nwere the two kraelherders unfortunate to endure the experience, but they were  \nall well apart from a splitting headache, returning to their job, trying to  \ngather the dispersed herd as best as they could before giving it up to the  \ndarkness. Nine kraels were missing, but when they stopped their search the  \nnumber was eleven. They were finding their way home, they could only hope the  \ntoll was less.  \n  \nWhat had happened?  \n  \nThe views on why the akri wails were conflicting. Even for her, by her own  \nknowledge. The only definite thing they knew that it could be some sort of  \nwarning. On those rare occasions they emitted their horrendous wail the most  \noften they didn't kill.  \n  \nMaybe it had a taste for krael meat?  \n  \nHowever by the next morning it revealed that it didn't take anything. Only one  \nkrael had died, but succumbing to the venom of a drakut, somehow still  \nmanaging to almost make it home to let the herders fight off the foul vermin  \non her trail.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThree days later the incident had repeated.  \n  \nIt was Mike who saw it, for Bran was asleep, only to be shaken awake too late  \nby the horrendous screeching wail.  \n  \nThe Akri had landed only a couple dozen yards from him pinning down a krael.  \nIt didn't use its dreaded breath. It looked at him for a moment, and then, all  \nof sudden it started.  \n  \nHe thought he had lost his hearing. He couldn't grasp what Bran was blabbering  \nto him after he was so abruptly shaken awake by the same hideous wail. Maybe  \nneither of them understood anything as they stood there shivering with a few  \nshocked kraels still faltering about numbstruck.  \n  \nThey were grateful for the men who had came to their help. Mike wouldn't have  \nbeen able to do anything in his condition, Bran tried to support the effort  \ngathering the kraels, but soon had succumbed himself to his trauma.  \n  \nThe animals this time were all found.  \n  \nMike insisted on that he saw the akri pinning one down, however none was  \nmissing. Only after meticulously checking every one of them it revealed that  \none indeed received a major physical shock which was difficult to see given  \nhow shaken they all were. Marcus took his bike to get up to the tribe to call  \nfor one of the nirs to put the poor creature out of his misery.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The nir, by the name Tikka, stayed.  \n  \nRada spoke Attankai well, so fast Martha barely understood, but more  \ncomfortable for the nir. They repeatedly halted their pace recalling there  \nwere others listening.  \n  \nA tribute.  \n  \nThey were arguing over whether the akri could be demanding a tribute from  \nthem, exhilarated, which Martha couldn't understand at the first few moments.  \n  \nA sudden unexpected question from Liz pieced it together.  \n  \n\"Martha, you are from a city. Could you recall how you were handling these  \nmatters there?\"  \n  \nShe couldn't!  \n  \nShe was terribly embarrassed that she couldn't, they so much needing her help!  \n  \nStill she struggled to recall the details.  \n  \n\"I... I think I can. Just please give me some hours to think these over.\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was thrilling.  \n  \nShe wasn't sure whether she was so scared, so anxious ever in her life. They  \nneeded her.  \n  \nEven the nir needed her, she heard her chirping, that Kizant the alpha nir  \nwould be totally supportive of it, recalling how they had lost one of their  \nkin to the beasts.  \n  \nBut what they could do?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; What they could offer him he would like?  \n  \nHow?  \n  \nShe struggled to make inventories. She took pen and paper and retreated into  \nher room for hours trying to account for all her memories.  \n  \nWhat those poor grey-eyed slaves were looking for in the market. What did they  \ntake which could only have been for the akri, and not items they received out  \nof compassion, the city trying to soothe their pain, their miserable  \nexistence.  \n  \nThen what the other two akris might have been receiving?  \n  \nOne of them was part of the Tani Council, and she knew where he had lived  \nremotely, secluded from the turbulence. There was a ranch with sorts of native  \nanimals and a garden with fruits, she thought for the use of xis and nirs.  \n  \nBut the slaves of the other Akri were also taking fruits!  \n  \nThey couldn't eat those themselves as it was poisonous for Terranean life.  \n  \nIn the end she came up with a long list, a few she could only identify by  \nshape for she forgot the names, making brief notes on them so she could recall  \nto explain. The Tanis of the tribe could certainly identify them if they were  \nanywhere around.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"I sincerely would not like to have you go there, Martha. We are at loss. We  \nhope this would work out and now also the Kizantxitra hopes so.\"  \n  \nLiz shook her head. She was old. Martha could understand how much she herself  \nwished for the village's safety.  \n  \n\"I at least have a bit of experience with them. I will try my best.\"  \n  \n\"And I will ensure that she gets back home safe and sound.\"  \n  \nIt was Marcus to stand by her side in this. She welcomed his support. They had  \nto at least try. Hoping that this akri indeed didn't seek their blood.  \n  \nThey had skinned and chopped up the dead krael, raw, but prepared neatly into  \nsuch chunks they believed were comfortable for such a beast's consumption,  \nwhile some had gathered a few fruits they could identify from the tributes of  \nthe akris of Mansool.  \n  \nShe could only hope it might suffice. They loaded it up onto a small cart  \nalong with a few old metal platters which they polished and cleaned for the  \npurpose hoping they could also present it in a satisfactory manner. She didn't  \nknow how those akris had their feasts.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; That one, Dantikraxtra, she was certain would throw it all at them furious  \nover how mundane they treated him, his proud and majestic regal nobility. Then  \nthe other one had slaves to serve him!  \n  \n\"Please, a little smile. It will be all right.\"  \n  \nMarcus walked by her side as he guided the krael pulling their cart. But she  \nfelt terrible.  \n  \nThis couldn't be that simple.  \n  \nBut she didn't want to tell. She forced a smile, hoping that Marcus merely  \nthought she was a bit scared. She was.  \n  \nThey finally arrived to the flat hill about two miles up from the village  \nwhere they planned to set up their offer. A comfortable distance, hopefully  \nboth for them and the akri. For the last few dozen yards Marcus himself was  \npulling the cart leaving the krael behind on a long rope, hoping to avoid  \nscaring the wits out of her.  \n  \nThen they unpacked and arranged the offer, Martha meticulously striving to be  \nneat with it which Marcus didn't mind. She was the akri expert despite how  \nuncalled for was this potentially disastrous role.  \n  \nFinally, they set up a small fire nearby utilizing Marcus's knowledge on smoke  \nsignalling on fueling it hoping it would draw the attention of the akri if he  \nflew.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; And then they waited.  \n  \nTiny batbirds flocked and hopped around taking an occasional nibble before  \nthey shooed them away to return again to their seclude about thirty yards away  \nwhere the fire was build. Martha had stared at it sullen.  \n  \nThis just wouldn't work.  \n  \nMarcus didn't break the silence. Sometimes he tried to comfort her, cautiously  \nfor he was unsure himself, unsure of what exactly was she thinking, what was  \nto come. The thought of anything happening to the krael left behind farther  \nback was the last thing on his mind.  \n  \nWould they succeed?  \n  \nAt least survive it?  \n  \nThey were miserable.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHis mood was sullen.  \n  \nHe tried.  \n  \nHe tried and he had failed succumbing to his own greed which infuriated him.  \nSometimes he felt their misery, sometimes faintly almost recognizing he  \nhimself contributed to it. But he couldn't quite feel regret. It was like the  \nagony of struggling to thread a needle, being almost quite there, but always  \nhurled back to the beginnings.  \n  \nIt strained the slow, rusty gears of his brains, his head needed rest.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; But then he was awoken to be hungry.  \n  \nHe didn't even took that fine krael and for that he now felt regret. For he  \nwished to sleep. But he had to wake up and find something.  \n  \nAs he had risen awakening himself by the strain of his muscles propelling him  \nswiftly up into the heights, he had noticed a curious trail of smoke away from  \nwhere he knew the village was.  \n  \nShould he take a look?  \n  \nHe let himself gliding, down to the river first. It made him anxious. But  \nafter he took a drink it was still there to nag him, teasing and dragging  \nhis attention, could it be something interesting?  \n  \nHe flew. He spotted a krael, but it immediately reminded him how well the  \nearlier two occasions went. And then, near the smoke...  \n  \nIt was strange. He hadn't seen anything like that before, but his senses were  \nall excited by the impressions of meat. He let himself fall through the  \nopening among the trees to take a closer look.  \n  \nThose creatures!  \n  \nThey startled him. He flicked his head, instinctively arming his muscles to  \nconvulse, powering his devastating fire.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; His mind cried out in agony.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe beast had landed, entering their vision all of a sudden.  \n  \nThey had no time to react.  \n  \nIt immediately turned its head toward them. Martha could see the eyes for a  \nbrief moment before a blinding white flash and the crashing down of a branch.  \n  \nThe wail of terror.  \n  \nThey ran. They ran like they never did before for it was for their very lives,  \nthe hideous voice still ringing in their ears, the headache still splitting  \ntheir skulls.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"Martha... Martha!\"  \n  \nPats on her cheek.  \n  \nHer eyes focused. It was Marcus' voice. It was Marcus.  \n  \n\"You... Thank you... You saved me!\"  \n  \n\"Drat. Nonsense. I was out cold same like you, hours have passed. I am so glad  \nwe managed to not lose each other!\"  \n  \nHe helped her up into sitting.  \n  \n\"Are you okay?\"  \n  \n\"I think so... My head... What happen, oh... Guess we failed.\"  \n  \n\"Martha, don't say that. We are still here. Do you feel all right to walk?\"  \n  \nShe strained herself to stand up.  \n  \n\"Where are we?\"  \n  \n\"We need to find it out.\"  \n  \nThey searched for a brief while until they had found the krael. She was still  \nthere, peacefully grazing on some nearby ferns as if nothing had happened. A  \nfew tiny batbirds danced about.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Should we head home?\"  \n  \n\"No. Let's take a look, there.\"  \n  \nShe pointed in the direction where their offering was, suppressing her  \nweakness. It was important, however anxious she was about whatever was  \nawaiting them.  \n  \nBut what they found mostly were the clean platters. Hopefully done by the  \nakri, but they couldn't be sure. The beast had destroyed half of a tree on its  \nentry agitated by their presence. That charred gaping hole could have been in  \nthem. Their cart however was intact, not even tipped over despite it stood in  \nclear view.  \n  \nThey packed up confused over their finding.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe had felt so sullen like she never had been before.  \n  \nShe was a proclaimed hero among with Marcus, but especially her, how they all  \nnow seen her to be an akri expert and it wasn't right.  \n  \nThere wasn't a single thing she was sure of.  \n  \nNothing and anything could have happened, anything could be happening.  \n  \nAnyone could still die by the beast or by that this one simply left to leave  \nothers to roam the region.  \n  \n\"Don't be so low. You had tried. We had tried. That's what matters. It may not  \nsucceed, but at least we tried to do something about it.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She was grateful for the support of Marcus. Only he knew. He would stand by  \nher whatever comes which comforted her. There was someone she could rely upon.  \n  \nAnd so she planned the second offering.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was a rough start but everyone was supportive.  \n  \nEven the tribe of Tanis, she could chat with them to find out what those  \nanimals were from Dantikraxtra's ranch in Mansool, and they would gladly help  \nhunting, only asking for a cart so the game could be carried into the village  \nwith ease.  \n  \nThen someone would always be there with a bit of experience with chicken to  \nproperly prepare the meat, even though it was different to the small Terranean  \nvariety. But they did well, as well as those who went out for collecting those  \nfruits to accompany the meal.  \n  \nThey only had to take it to the akri.  \n  \nThe second occasion they were very anxious, whether he was even still around.  \nBut they already knew well that he apparently didn't like their presence, so  \nthey kept well clear of the offering after they set up the little fire hoping  \nit would last just long enough for him to notice.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; They settled on the other side of the hill amongst bushes, with the krael  \nnearby, waiting.  \n  \nAnd indeed he came!  \n  \nThey saw him flying low, as he dropped through the opening, and it elated  \nthem.  \n  \n\"See, it will just work out in the end. Don't worry.\"  \n  \nThey had held each other's hand in silence until they saw the akri leaving.  \n  \nThe offering was gone. All of it, only a few tiny batbirds remaining trying  \nvain to spot those little morsels which may have been left over.  \n  \nThen the third and the fourth occasions were the just the same, reassuring  \nthem that it might indeed just work.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe liked these days.  \n  \nIt was darkening, the autumn progressing towards winter which apart from the  \nlong nights, wasn't really cold in these parts.  \n  \nThere was Marcus, the handsome engineer who she liked, and the whole village  \nwas wonderful, she enjoyed taking part in the works, teaching, baking, but  \nalso fiddling a bit with mechanics, helping each other out with Marcus, they  \nboth could show something new to each other.  \n  \nDespite how skilled he was, he didn't have that much a knack for the maths,  \nand it caused some funny moments. Rada only smiled approvingly when she  \nfuriously ripped a resistor out of his hands exclaiming that he would again  \njust blow the poor thing up since he botched up the Kirchoff's laws for the  \ncircuit. The third time.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; But he tolerated it. He could always crack a retort in carpentry, well,  \nliterally, when she thought she could just fix up an old chair for herself.  \n  \nHowever unfortunately she couldn't fully enjoy it.  \n  \nThey were safe.  \n  \nBut for how long?  \n  \nWas the akri satisfied with what they were offering him?  \n  \nShe was often pondering over it.  \n  \nWhether she was doing the right thing, and everyone was counting on her to do  \nso. Even a whole tribe of Tanis. The girl from a city who had known how to  \nproperly sate their guardian.  \n  \nShe tried to mention it to Liz, a few others, but was too worried to really  \nshake their belief that they were safe. She herself wished to believe they  \nwere, and everyone was rushing to her help when it came to the matter of the  \noffers.  \n  \nIt felt too good to be true.  \n  \nThe akri ate native meat, native fruits, which were easy to provide. Even  \ntheir own kraels grew old and eventually had to be put down whose meat they  \ncould only offer to the Tanis before.  \n  \nCompared to what the akris of Mansool were like, she just couldn't believe it  \nwas this easy.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She had to find what he liked and keep offering him in plenitude so he  \nremained content.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt intrigued him.  \n  \nHe was still agitated by himself, but then again the faint smoke, and when he  \nchecked it out, they weren't there. Only that strange food.  \n  \nThey had left it for him.  \n  \nNicely, pleasantly chopped up meat so he could just take it in convenient  \nbites with ease. It was there. He recognized the animal, a delicious  \nblue-green feathered large lizard, but without that inconvenient plumage to  \nstick into his teeth and to clog up his throat so he could just enjoy it in  \nits essence, the parts he liked when he spotted one.  \n  \nAnd then all those delicious fruit to accompany it! How he could just pick  \nthem up, right there to feel something different, a mixture of the tastes in  \nhis mouth, so wonderful! It tingled his throat, his entire body, a warm,  \nsatisfying sensation how it all came together!  \n  \nIt wasn't without a bit of anxiety. They were around somewhere. He knew. But  \nnot there, not in his immediate reach to stir his instincts, to agitate him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Were they scared?  \n  \nDid they flee like before?  \n  \nHe was worried, it was so good, he desired it, but he felt he may have scared  \nthem away, and they may never come.  \n  \nLater, lazing on his side in the pleasant darkness he was already missing  \nthem, a wonder which may never happen again. But he would so love to be  \nadored, to show how gorgeous he was!  \n  \nIt filled him with elation when a few days later he spotted the thin trail of  \nsmoke once again. His mouth watered, anxiously anticipating the wonderful meal  \nhe was about to receive, which he was so thrilled to see revealing!  \n  \nIt was a state of bliss to him.  \n  \nHe barely needed to hunt.  \n  \nIf only they provided enough so he could completely shun it!  \n  \nBut things couldn't be perfect.  \n  \nMaybe he himself wasn't perfect, dreading whether he missed an offer they put  \nso much thought in preparing for him! Whether they wouldn't ever do it again  \nif he wasn't there to consume it?  \n  \nIt can't happen! He can't let that happen!  \n  \nHe strived to learn, to remember the passing of days, to be always there,  \nalways aware anticipating eager.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The fine gift of his admirers.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMartha insisted on setting up a regularity for she saw it could help if the  \nakri could accustom to something.  \n  \nEvery second day.  \n  \nThat also served another purpose, increasing the amount they gave him.  \n  \nIt worried her tremendously that they had always found the platters clean.  \nMaybe it didn't suffice him? But she also loathed to think about letting food  \ngoing to waste if it was too much for him. Even if it was from the natives. It  \nwas still taken away from the world. But she had no idea on how much exactly  \nan akri had ate.  \n  \nAll she could figure was maybe gradually increasing the offers could let it  \nsettle somewhere.  \n  \nShe was in control so she kept track of it meticulously. It toned down her  \nworries. There was a process which may just work itself out, and the akri  \napparently was sufficiently satisfied to stay around.  \n  \nThey could enjoy their life like he wasn't even really there.  \n  \nIn Mansool, the city, there was rarely a day when they wouldn't see one in the  \nsky. Here apparently he wasn't that insistent on making appearances which was  \nnice from him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe could hardly believe when she realized she was living in Levanne since a  \nwhole year already.  \n  \nIt was a pleasant little hamlet with wonderful people around. Especially  \nMarcus with whom they stuck together gazing the stars and the intricacies of  \nthe planets, the moons of Itakla of which Ailneyi was their home.  \n  \nThey did everything for themselves, she had learned a lot, how the yearly  \ncycle worked, to grow and harvest the crops, and to keep the whole settlement  \nneat and tidy, the furnishing in good hands, the few machinery they had in  \nnice, operable condition.  \n  \nTravellers occasionally came and went, some traded allowing them to purchase  \nthose few essentials they couldn't produce in exchange for delicate  \ncraftsmanship, skin and feathers or even just a good, meaty meal from chicken  \nand eggs.  \n  \nAnd since a good while there weren't anyone planning on leaving. Rather the  \ncontrary, a family of four had landed early Spring, who, learning that the  \nplace was probably safe, decided to stay.  \n  \nThey were welcomed for there was even a need for helping hands, given how they  \nalso fed an akri since quite a while.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Martha by now had a coarse idea on what he desired and settled for rationing  \nhim accordingly, even without ever really seeing him she felt she was doing  \nthe right thing. The akri was content, was staying around, and she was  \ncomfortable, albeit still with a bit of anxiety over whether it would last.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe was indeed content with his life once more.  \n  \nSuch a blissful turn of events!  \n  \nHe couldn't imagine it was so comfortable to be fed. It wasn't difficult to  \nhunt, for them it never was. But it never crossed his mind that the meat he  \nconsumed could have a different form than being within the animal's gnawy  \nfeathery skin, or that all those fruits could be just conveniently there by  \nthe side to sate all his desires.  \n  \nWhen he learned the regularity, that he could count on them, how he served him  \nin plenitude, he was totally blown away.  \n  \nIt was perfect.  \n  \nHe was anxious for their probable presence somewhere, torn apart by a wish to  \nbe adored and the fear of his own instincts undoing it all, but what they had  \ndone to him, with that they knew it, how difficult it was to him, he really  \ncouldn't ever desire more.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Sometimes he may have pondered about it, what it would be like if he could let  \none or two of those frail little beings truly admiring his splendour, for he  \nfirmly believed he was gorgeous, the vain creature he was.  \n  \nHe liked to preen himself after a good swim, pleasantly stroking and massaging  \nhis body with his snout as he kept his plumage always in the most pristine  \ncondition, as if prepared, however on a nice warm afternoon his enjoyment of  \nthe soothing breeze was abruptly interrupted by a sudden realization.  \n  \nThat it was so pleasant lately to sink his muzzle in the softness of his  \nmidsection did signify something.  \n  \nHis sluggish mind struggled to comprehend it.  \n  \nWhy it did even exactly matter? If it was pleasant, then it was good. It must  \nbe just that simple.  \n  \nBut something was off as he looked down on himself, his shape, and he couldn't  \nquite figure out what it was. It bothered him. He stretched out, sprawling to  \nenjoy the warmth trying to just get over it.  \n  \nThere wasn't anything wrong. He was all right. He felt all right. Then there  \nmust have not been anything wrong to leave a taint on this wonderful  \nafternoon.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Fortunately to him a brief nap completely swept the memory of such ludicrous  \nunfounded concerns away.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe spring had turned into a hot summer and eventually even that faded away  \ninto a pleasant autumn, a good harvest to reap the benefits of a calm,  \nuneventful year.  \n  \nThere were no terrible losses, there were no horrendous mysteries, who had  \nleft in the morning always returned in the evening, even though a few  \naccidents did happen, Greg's arm was fractured when instead of the apples, he  \nhad fallen off of the tree clinging onto a weak branch to give it a shake, but  \nsuch could heal even in this distant, rural village.  \n  \nSome of the xis and nirs of the tribe became rather regular which was another  \ngreat benefit for they possessed such capabilities which could help them  \nimmensely. Little Janet didn't have to die of pneumonia for the nir Kitari  \noffered to take a sample and breed an antibody to her. As it revealed from her  \nvague description it was one of those rare awful diseases which could infect  \nnative and Terranean life alike.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; How a common interest could bring them together!  \n  \nHow much it did depend on her!  \n  \nShe was both amazed and frightened by it, that all these are happening the way  \nthey did because she was here. If she wasn't, they probably wouldn't have  \ntried it, they wouldn't have known what to do.  \n  \nAnd she herself didn't know what to do!  \n  \nOnly somehow managed to blunder into such a tremendous success, having the  \nakri staying and protecting them with its presence.  \n  \nWas she doing it right?  \n  \nShe could only hope so. It all depended on her. Even her love for she had to  \nadmit to herself, she loved Marcus, and he probably felt the same to her. How  \nthey were there, together, so utterly horrified when the akri showed itself!  \nShe had still remembered, how Marcus didn't pretend to be a hero, which  \nappealed to her.  \n  \nUnlike her.  \n  \nShe didn't want to be it. But it happened, she may have not done anything  \ntowards endorsing it, but she still took the guilt to gnaw on her every so  \noften. She had no idea what she was doing. It just worked. But would it remain  \nthat way?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was the darkest days of winter when that strange merchant had came from far  \naway accompanied by a xi.  \n  \nThey didn't even intend to trade anything in Levanne, it only happened they  \nstopped there for the night on their long travel. However, after a few  \ninsistent enquiries, to some grumbling of the man, the xi had returned to  \ntheir secured draisine to take a small box for a show. They could only stare  \nin wonderment at what had came out of it. The construct looked otherworldly  \ndelicate, a few loops around a boxy middle standing on four long legs, and  \nthen a remote was also unwrapped.  \n  \n\"This will demand some room to show what it does, but it is fragile. Do you  \nhave some larger space here?\"  \n  \nHe was clearly nervous but even the hall where they were was only so big to  \nsuit them. Somebody had to excavate it after all.  \n  \n\"Of course, the outside! It is clear, the Itakla is almost full, there is  \nenough light!\"  \n  \nIt was Pete, one of the young boys, exhilarated by the prospect of seeing some  \nstrange miracle from a distant world.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Is being outside safe? I mean I see, of course we could run back into the  \ncaves, but this is a delicate, valuable product.\"  \n  \nEveryone hesitated. She saw. The word was on the mouth of Liz, who was the  \nchief, but even she wasn't sure. Marcus broke the silence.  \n  \n\"It is safe. We are adept with our longspears, and the village is under the  \nprotection of an akri. You are safe to demonstrate outside, no harm can come.\"  \n  \nThe merchant raised his eyebrows, but nodded to the xi in approval. It was him  \nwho picked up the contents of the box to lead the way and keep the children  \norderly about as he set the device on the soil, stepping back with the remote  \nin his scaly hands.  \n  \nColourful lights flared up, and then a whirring buzz, the strange construct  \nsuddenly took off much to the awe to all the youth gathering around and even  \nto some of the elders.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"May I ask, how come this tiny village could gain the protection of an akri?\"  \n  \nThe merchant was enquiring Liz, Martha felt she was uncomfortable, which she  \nunderstood as she hardly ever even saw it. They all relied on her and Marcus  \nin all the matters regarding the tributes.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"We are paying him tribute just like in the cities.\"  \n  \n\"And, is he content? I mean I don't want to offend you, but you are, as far as  \nI can see, a small settlement. You must be breaking arms and legs to sate  \none's needs, yet it doesn't look like you do.\"  \n  \nMartha felt her confidence waning. She didn't know. It was just happening, and  \nthe akri was staying without bothering them.  \n  \n\"He seems to be all right with what we are giving him.\"  \n  \n\"You are fortunate people then, here in this calm secluded little place. Where  \nI am coming from, one takes human sacrifices, and that's the lesser of the  \nevils. At least they die...\"  \n  \n\"Get off of her.\"  \n  \nMarcus laid his hand firmly on the shoulder of the man. He had just entered  \nthe hall overhearing their talk.  \n  \n\"How we settle with our akri is our business. Your advice isn't welcome. Shall  \nI escort you to the guest rooms?\"  \n  \nAnd that was it for the strange man and his strange foreign devices. They were  \non their way by the next morning.  \n  \nBut the seeds of doubt were sown.  \n  \nShe had no idea whether the akri was content.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She hadn't much seen him lately even, reluctant to show as he took their  \noffer, which she only thought was satisfying to him, settled to the regular  \namount she had assumed right since a year.  \n  \nWas it right? The right variety? The right amount? Did he need anything else?  \n  \nBut he didn't show to make requests.  \n  \nAll she could figure was maybe if she experimented with the variety. Maybe the  \nTanis had some ideas how they liked their game, maybe the akris had  \nsimilarities. Maybe he wanted more, maybe he still hunted, and she only  \nmistakenly assumed what was settled was enough.  \n  \nShe had to be better lest they should lose him.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe was pleased, sated, accustomed to how they were treating him.  \n  \nSuch a comfortable life, to have them adoring him, being so nice to silently  \nprovide him with all that.  \n  \nMaybe if it was a little more. He could enjoy it to be just a bit more  \nfilling, sometimes it was, but then other times, it wasn't so much. His slow  \nmind comprehended that those animals, whose meat they were offering him may  \nhave been of different sizes, as he recognized the taste, their parts. If only  \nthey could stick to hunting those bigger ones to him!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He wished if he could show off a bit. Maybe he could make himself understood.  \n  \nBut the whole difficulty of the thought made his head aching. What he would  \nhave to do to accomplish that?  \n  \nHe surmised on these while having a good, pleasant swim in the darkness in the  \nsoothingly chill water, and then walking up to the hillside. The short day was  \nabout to break to help him dry while he was preening and caressing himself,  \nthe gorgeous creature he was.  \n  \nBut then again.  \n  \nThat, suddenly it again came to bother him as he sunk his snout into his soft  \nmiddle, enjoying the sensations it caused.  \n  \nHe raised his head.  \n  \nHis feathers were beautiful in the low sun's rays sparkling in wonderful  \ncolours, those graceful limbs, his great wings flawless and healthy, but his  \nshape was still off.  \n  \nHe was't supposed to have such a thick middle, such a belly even long after he  \nslept off his meal which wasn't a huge gorge to start with. He didn't look  \nlike that before, like always.  \n  \nAgain he thrusted his snout into it. The sensation was pleasant, but it gave  \nhim a hint of anxiety. What was happening to him? Why it was happening? He  \nknew he would feel if anything was wrong. His body would recognize if  \nsomething wasn't right and give him that persistent, uneasy tingle to nag him,  \nbut there was none of that.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Maybe it was all right.  \n  \nIt was so blissful to just lay on it and forget about everything. To not  \ntorment his head with all those silly concerns.  \n  \nAnd then there came those days when he realized his wish was fulfilled.  \n  \nThey figured it out, and even more!  \n  \nAll those beautiful strange new sensations he never tasted before! Such  \namazing creatures, his admirers!  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMartha was aghast to realize how she could request bigger game and it still  \npersistently just kept disappearing from the platters.  \n  \nHow she was wrong!  \n  \nShe must have missed something. The akri may have been hunted and she mistook  \nhis lack of appetite earlier to think it was by their offers!  \n  \nThey could be so screwed up, such a wild luck, and such a tolerant beast they  \nhad the fortune to come across!  \n  \nShe was totally in. She wanted to get it right. To do it right. To make sure  \nit was right for him, to figure it out despite how he refrained from showing  \nhimself or allowing them to cast their lowly human eyes upon his splendour!  \n  \nShe couldn't fault the akri for it. They were such creatures, a lot worse, a  \nlot more demanding than this one seemingly content to be fed with that mere  \nodd quirk of preferring to keep that distance.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Marcus at least was always by her.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"Don't worry. A few days away may even help you clear up a little. It will be  \nfine. I will do all right.\"  \n  \nThey walked together on the path towards the tribe agreeing on that he would  \nbring her supplies every second day. They didn't normally tolerate humans,  \npreferring to be their own in their land, but this case they understood. It  \nwas the matter of their guardian.  \n  \nXitra himself had welcomed her. He was the alpha xi, having even the proper  \nknowledge of the human language, they could easily switch between that and  \ntheir Attankai whenever a nir would come along.  \n  \nWhat she desired to find out was what sort of culinary traditions they might  \nhave, how they seasoned their game, anything which may help her in making the  \noffers for the akri the more appealing.  \n  \nIt was so strange to be among them!  \n  \nThere were some crude caverns serving as their home, albeit the glowing roots  \nilluminating the interiors were intriguing among with all those vines, odd  \nconstructs which somehow miraculously had an utility such as being a hammock  \nto sleep in. How it was grown that way was beyond her comprehension. But that  \nwas all, apart from a few simple things by the hands of the xis they didn't  \nhave anything.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; For a human settlement it would look miserable, but seemingly they just lived  \nthat way.  \n  \nSeveral of them kept a good distance. She could feel she wasn't welcomed, that  \nshe was an alien, figuratively and all too literally the same time being a  \nTerranean who wasn't really supposed to be part of this world. She had to be  \ncautious, attentive to interpret them right.  \n  \nBut a few, like Tikka and Kitari from the nirs, Grotak and Drakin from the  \nxis were supportive and didn't mind. She felt the alphas as well, but she  \ncould well understand they were wiser than to stress the cohesion of the tribe  \nby openly showing too much acceptance.  \n  \nGrotak invited her to silently sneak away to join their little group, and  \nthere he emptied a small pouch of pebbles onto the clear sand.  \n  \nThey had a knowledge of board games just like those in the city, to pass the  \ntime while they chatted along watching a pair of them competing in a peaceful  \nchallenge of the mind. Their conversation was all in Attankai which strained  \nher a bit for they occasionally tended to be hasty with their chirpy raspy  \nvoices, but still they were very considerate in doing so. Their native speech  \nwas dominant in such frequency ranges which made it impossible for a human to  \nunderstand them, and within their home the rest of them mostly didn't care.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe followed them to a hunt which was immensely difficult despite she was  \nwell accustomed to hard work and long walks by then, but important for they  \noften consumed part of the game on the site. She took notes of the meagre  \namount of items they carried, the roots and leaves of plants as identified by  \nDrakin, two tratnekkis, hard-shelled round fruits which lasted well stored,  \nand some lotion contained in similar shells.  \n  \nThose were their garnish and spices to go along with their kill, this time a  \ncrokitael, a bulky feathered lizard with a vicious bite capable to mangle even  \ntheir bones, and strong enough to cause some bruises even with its tail. She  \ncouldn't see the act for they were well ahead, only the results as they  \nalready tore it open while one of the xis hopped around almost as if  \ncomedically showing off, but he really had his shin torn open making Martha  \nwince in pain at his contrived theatrical antics.  \n  \nOne of his kin hauled him onto his back for the trip home, she couldn't get  \nover that elated grin on his face.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Kerxitka likes to screw it up, to be a chew toy, so he gets all the  \nattention! Don't worry, you should know how it is with pain with us. As long  \nas he lays at rest, not stressing it, he is just fine. He only wouldn't enjoy  \nbeing in our akri's place because he would be so alone!\"  \n  \nGrotak chatted with her falling a bit back so her presence and their Attankai  \nwouldn't bother the rest. It lifted her spirit that he was there, reassuring  \nher that it wasn't an unusual awful accident.  \n  \n\"And, any idea what he would love to taste in his offers if he was?\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe incident even revealed to help her cause, allowing her to learn more about  \nthe xinsykan, a lotion mostly from a resin of a strange subterranean parasitic  \nplant they had in their caves which had an effect on their nervous system  \npleasantly relaxing and numbing them, allowing their body to focus on their  \ndigestion.  \n  \nThey all used it in moderation for its healthy effect, a more throughout  \nprocessing of their food also permitting them to hunt somewhat less, however  \nits danger was that in that relaxed state their reaction would be a lot  \nslower. They were more reluctant to use it before they had the akri protecting  \nthem.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Kerxitka, obviously, received an ample dose of it to douse his meal, gently  \nstroked to sleep in a hammock deep in the safety of the caves which he  \nenjoyed much despite that it accelerated his healing, shortening the time when  \nhe received that blissful attentive focus and pleasant care.  \n  \nBut he could always just break something later.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nA week had passed, allowing her to learn a lot in that strange place of  \ntheirs, she thought maybe they were okay with her presence after all. The  \nrelationship between the village and them could maybe become even more  \namicable, maybe others could visit after her, maybe they could understand each  \nother the better. She was only waiting for Marcus, to return with a small  \nstock hopefully so she could make those offers to the akri even the more  \nappealing.  \n  \nBut then Xitra came to her unexpectedly, she saw he was totally out of his  \nmind even before he started.  \n  \n\"You need to leave. Now. I am sorry. Kitari...\"  \n  \nHe turned his head aside to let out a slow huff.  \n  \n\"Kizant is trying to save her. I told Grotak, he will come to guide you.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Silence.  \n  \nThey didn't exchange a word, Grotak walked beside her sullen. She didn't need  \nto ask. Kitari was that nir who went that far to prevent the otherwise  \ninevitable death of a human child. She stressed the boundary too far.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMarcus was aghast to see her state, changed so suddenly contrary to how  \njubilant she was merely two days before elated by her finds, the fascinating  \nrelationships within the tribe they hadn't have a chance to explore before.  \n  \nIt was all for naught.  \n  \nA nir was probably dead due to their boldness, dead without an akri coming to  \ntake her, for nothing.  \n  \nYet they had to go on. To continue despite whatever had happened as everyone  \nstill depended upon her, seeing her the person responsible for keeping the  \nakri bound.  \n  \nShe forced a smile to gather the children again, to teach them for their  \nfuture, and then as the spring was about to come, to use the short days to  \nhelp preparing the soil for the new year's crops according to how Liz planned  \nout the rotation.  \n  \nAnd so her second year had started, solemn, but at least still with everyone  \nsafe in her little village.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThey kept their connection with the tribe, in that there was no change, they  \nrelied on her management of offers to their guardian just as much the  \ninhabitants of the village, and thus maintained their support in game and  \ngarnish just as much like before without ever questioning it.  \n  \nEventually as the weeks went by the sombre mood has waned, to such that they  \nhappened to have Drakin around by chance to watch an eclipse together,  \nallowing the gathering children to learn the Tani names of the planets and  \na few constellations.  \n  \nThere was the embrace, the twinkling stars suggesting a shape of a nir and a  \nxi together, Drakin explained in mixed Attankai and awfully accented human how  \nit was always a symbol of peace, the reliance on each other. The Atsik, the  \nwandering light was about to meet them only to emphasise it the more, maybe  \nit could signify a greater future.  \n  \n\"Vut, yoou knou, it's just a star leke our Ati. That allays ve you who nake  \nthe tale true.\"  \n  \nIt was amazing to see them together like that, she though. Maybe.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Then in the end even Kitari herself turned up.  \n  \nShe was alive.  \n  \nSort of.  \n  \nGrotak supported her. She was well in the body, but her eyes were empty, her  \nmemories were lacking. As the xi told, he brought her along for her recovery,  \nto help reconnecting the fractured remnants she had.  \n  \nMartha pulled him aside later hoping he would explain some of what happened  \nback then, how she came to be in this miserable state.  \n  \n\"Xitka tried to infuse her. You know what this means, aren't you?\"  \n  \n\"I am not sure. I thought someone attempted to kill her.\"  \n  \n\"Xitka did. It is death to the mind, but not to the body. Forced transfer of  \nessence, the nauni, contrary to the seuni which shatters. It is the alpha's  \nprivilege to do that so Kizant had intervened.\"  \n  \nIt didn't make sense to her. She stared at the xi aghast, just what she had  \ndone? He placed his hands on her shoulder.  \n  \n\"Kitari is okay. She has some more of Kizant in her now than she should have,  \nbut she even remembered you, the village. Xitka's body carries Kizant's nauni  \nnow, it is what a strong alpha is supposed to do in such an offence. A newborn  \nwhose mind will be shaped for this world, not that which was before when we  \nwere forced to hide.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She needed some time to let it all sink in. She had heard some of it, but she  \nwouldn't have thought it would come on her this way as tangible harsh reality  \nso she would see the effect herself on that poor nir struggling to regain her  \nmemories.  \n  \nBut at least it was over, the best they could do was taking their part in  \nhelping bringing back Kitari to who she was.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nTime was a soothing balm to heal the scars.  \n  \nMarcus had helped her a lot standing by her side, to overcome that grief,  \nwhat she had done, and seeing that life just went on reassured her that maybe  \nit was all right.  \n  \nThe passing days were uneventful, the summer had came, turning into an autumn,  \nand the dark winter again, and really, apart from the usual miniscule issues,  \nthe people were content and even innovative. They didn't have to fear so they  \nwere less reluctant to be outside, and when a merchant had came selling  \ninflatable leather balls, something Martha had seen in Mansool, they acquired  \none in exchange for some skins despite it being merely a leisure item.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The children found much fun in it, and Martha vaguely recalling those games  \ncould guide them into playing proper. It may have been taking their attention  \naway from helping in their work, but she knew it was useful in developing  \ntheir skills, their agility, which one day could save a limb or two, be it by  \nthe longspears or merely not falling off of a tree during harvest.  \n  \nShe hoped their skills in preparing the offers to their honoured guardian got  \nonly better over the years ensuring his prolonged stay. She somewhat expected  \nthat the moderate application of the xinsykan, that lotion helping the Tani  \ndigestion would have a twofold benefit, both him being the more content and  \nmaybe also demanding less, but that latter didn't seem to happen.  \n  \nHowever she chose to ignore it as she was reluctant to use too much of it for  \nthe start, knowing that the akri may need to remain alert, only hoping he  \nliked the sensations it caused.  \n  \nIf that Kerxitka was going that far to break bones for it to have a little  \nwhile of attention and care, then the akri could well be the same, she  \nsurmised even entertained by the thought, and paid great attention to prepare  \nthose meals neatly for his consumption. There was something oddly attractive  \nin the idea of keeping such a great beast content with proper meals even  \nthough they couldn't see him by their own eyes.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He was there, that was all what mattered, keeping them safe.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe let out a great, content sigh laying sprawled out on the hillside.  \n  \nThey knew his soft spots. They knew how to keep him content, such a pleasant  \nlife he had. How these meals become even the more satisfying, numbing and  \nsoothing him from the inside even long after he had consumed them.  \n  \nHe didn't need to do anything for it. Merely existing, to be there, to have  \nthe fortune to be gifted in such a delightful manner. He could so much enjoy  \nit to no end!  \n  \nSometimes he wished if he had an opportunity, one where he could show himself.  \nHe kept lucid dreaming of it. To show how gorgeous he was.  \n  \nBut then...  \n  \nHis only grief.  \n  \nHow he would preen himself and face it, how much his belly had grown. He  \nstruggled to comprehend. He didn't gorge himself to be like that, and that, he  \nremembered, wouldn't feel this pleasant. The substance was soft, under the  \nskin he could nibble on it on his sides, those thick and deliciously supple  \nrolls, and the sensation only encouraged him to dwell into the guilty pleasure  \nof doing so only to be shocked to realize just what he was coaxed into once  \nagain.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He would suddenly raise his head.  \n  \nCould there be anyone looking? To see what he had done to himself?  \n  \nHe already felt that great lump rubbing against his knees when he walked. He  \nfelt it swaying even when he knew his stomach was empty, before the offering,  \nso eager to be filled by the pleasantries.  \n  \nHe wouldn't dare to fly any more into that clearing lest he would be spotted  \nby his admirers in this sorry state! His whole being was so beautiful, but  \nthat! He buried his snout into the lump trying to comprehend, why, how it was  \nhe could only feel pleasure from doing so, and his mind was shattering over it  \nall while blissful warm tingling radiated through his entire being from doing  \nso.  \n  \nAnd then was when she came.  \n  \nHe launched himself straining his powerful muscles to fly.  \n  \nTo battle with her for the great thrill which exhilarated both of them to no  \nend despite the feathers torn, skin rent. That was their way. To have the  \nsurge, to have themselves wide awake to immerse in each other for that  \nwonderful merging!  \n  \nThey glided, tired and worn, to have a soothing dip to cool them off before  \nretreating into the forest.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; And then...  \n  \nHe couldn't look.  \n  \nShe pinned him down sitting on his breast to play with that very lump, which  \ngave him such waves of warm tingling pleasure he could only submit, stretching  \nout his limbs completely undone by her. He couldn't move. His body wouldn't  \npermit him to. He succumbed to her gentle teasing play, how she sunk her snout  \ninto those thick rolls, how she nibbled on them for him, and there was no  \nescape! It wasn't his snout he could take away!  \n  \nAll he could do was stretching his neck. Away. To not be there. But his mind  \nwas miserably crumbling apart in his head by her blissful assault.  \n  \nHe gulped down a swallow. He let his eyes close.  \n  \nHe was so done for, and he so loved being done for!  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"Look, look!\"  \n  \nPete was all worked up with mixed emotions pointing at the sky. She saw it.  \nThe shape of an akri soaring high about in the direction of their village  \nabout half a mile away from the fields.  \n  \nCould it be?  \n  \nShe felt a lump in her throat. Her heart. Why was he coming?  \n  \nWas he really content like she thought?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Or something much worse?  \n  \nSuddenly those grey-eyed souls came to her mind in Mansool's market, those  \nslaves.  \n  \nIt was too easy!  \n  \nShe felt she was about to collapse. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized  \nit would all fall apart, everything, forever.  \n  \nShe looked at the shape of the beast...  \n  \nAnd it just kept soaring.  \n  \nFarther and farther away until disappearing behind a distant hill.  \n  \nShe stood there dumb staring at the horizon in utter confusion.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nMarcus had seen the akri too. The kraelherders had also seen it, like many  \nfrom the village.  \n  \nWhat sort of change did this signify?  \n  \nBut they couldn't guess.  \n  \nHe didn't land. He didn't wail like when they had first encountered him.  \n  \nMaybe he was merely surveying his domain?  \n  \nBut it didn't put Martha at any ease.  \n  \nShe so wished if she could get some support from Marcus in this, but it was  \nher sole responsibility. Marcus didn't know anything more than she herself  \ndid which was already too little.  \n  \nKeep strong. Keep a clear mind. Keep going and see what comes.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe passing of the weeks however didn't reveal anything out of ordinary.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Their offerings kept orderly disappearing, consumed by the akri, as it was  \nclear by his footprints if nothing else.  \n  \nLife was back to normal, seemingly everyone overcame the sight as something  \nwhich wouldn't impact their lives. The akri still didn't do anything to them  \napart from dutifully cleaning up the platters of food offered indicating that  \nhe was present, and apparently that was all.  \n  \nMartha however couldn't get over it with such an ease.  \n  \nIt was her responsibility. She took it as her responsibility, and again it was  \na stark reminder that she didn't know anything at all about him. They hadn't  \nseen him ever beyond that as if they were pouring those neatly prepared dishes  \nof native game into a bottomless pit.  \n  \nShe wanted to know.  \n  \nShe wanted to see even if it had to involve fleeing frantic and awakening with  \na horrendous headache after his terrible disciplinary stike for raising her  \nlowly human eyes upon his dignified majesty.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt wasn't easy to be arranged, however.  \n  \nShe wanted to do it alone. She loved Marcus too much to subject him to that  \nrisk again.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; However she saw how she may be able to pull it off.  \n  \nIt was always an at least two person affair to deliver the offer, however the  \nonly unwritten rule over the years was that one of those was either her, or in  \nabsolute need, Marcus. The most often they did it, but sometimes it occurred  \nthat she took one of the herders with her, good men skilled with their  \nlongspears whom she could count on. But only when Marcus really needed to be  \nelsewhere, like when the mechanism of their water battery was jammed.  \n  \nThis kept it delaying, putting it off, and then when it occurred, she already  \ninformed Mike or Robert out of habit that she needed their help.  \n  \nIn the end it was the autumn of her fourth year when the events coincided,  \nMarcus insistent on helping his father in the repairs of a windmill which was  \nalready long overdue.  \n  \nNobody knew she was going alone.  \n  \nWithin the village some may have seen her preparing the cart, and, as usual,  \npicking up a longspear which she handled well, harnessing a krael to start off  \nfor the usual journey. But that was nothing out of ordinary had she arranged  \nto join with one of the herders somewhere further out.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Then the herders themselves wouldn't know unless she happened to stumble upon  \nthem, which she was well aware of, avoiding those pastures they tended to use  \nthose days.  \n  \nShe walked forth with a faint tinge of fear, the unknown what was awaiting  \nher, but she kept steady.  \n  \nEverything as normal. Even though the cart was heavy after she had to leave  \nthe krael behind, the path was well trodden, it wouldn't get stuck like those  \nearly days. She prepared the offers meticulously ensuring everything was neat  \nand tidy for him, spiced up with a bit of xinsiykan hopefully pleasantly  \nworking on his digestion if he had the habit of sleeping it off, imagining how  \nhe would enjoy all these delicacies for their kin.  \n  \nShe hoped he was indeed enjoying it, a sudden sombre thought, she only  \nimagined he did.  \n  \nThat was why she was here. To find it out.  \n  \nShe wasn't sure whether the fear of the beast or the worry that he didn't like  \nall her care filled her with the more anxiety and sorrow as she retreated to  \nthe spot she marked off for herself earlier, covering up in branches and  \nleaves only hoping it would suffice.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; A deep breath. Here goes nothing.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe didn't want to be seen.  \n  \nHe approached the familiar site on the ground since he barely remembered how  \nlong, and again, the way his knees rubbed against his flanks, how he felt his  \nentire belly swaying with his steps only reminded him how troubled he was.  \n  \nThe vain, gorgeous creature he was! How much he wished to be admired!  \n  \nBut he wouldn't be. And he maybe even more loathed the thought that if they,  \nthose wonderful creatures, had seen how he looked like, would no longer give  \nhim that all, those blissfully delicious meals! His feeble mind couldn't even  \ncomprehend what it all was beyond the game, only submitting the pleasure of  \nenjoying it.  \n  \nAnd there it was!  \n  \nHe raised his head eager anticipating. He felt his mouth watering. But he  \nneeded to be cautious, was he really alone?  \n  \nHe heard no sound apart from those of the forest. He saw no motion. It drew  \nall his focus, those platters with those ample piles of delicacies chopped up  \nand portioned so wonderfully, only waiting for him to come, to enjoy them!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Cautiously he stepped forth, feeling his knees sinking into his flanks. Just  \nlean a bit forward, he thought, to relish the sight without that disturbing  \nsensation so he could pretend it wasn't there, that he was still the flawless  \nakri receiving the gift of his admirers, a gift which tempted him, which  \ntensed his whole body, a faint shiver, he held himself back not wanting to  \nstart immediately, rather relishing the scent, to let all his senses fully  \nprepare for that blissful journey what it meant consuming it!  \n  \nHe suddenly heard a faint crack.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHer heart raced.  \n  \nShe was expecting him to enter through the opening. Like on that very first  \nday. The events whirred through her mind. Either of them could have died then.  \nBut they didn't. And now she was there, waiting, tempting fate alone in her  \nlunacy!  \n  \nWas this really such a good idea?  \n  \nCould she expect the akri not noticing her?  \n  \nMaybe she could still retreat.  \n  \nBut no.  \n  \nIt was too late.  \n  \nShe heard it. She saw it, motions behind the dense growth rustling leaves and  \ncreaking branches, suggesting something huge.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; A head emerged, clad in shimmering green feathers, crisscrossed by black  \nmarkings, like that of a handsome large eared batbird, just in massive  \nproportions.  \n  \nShe hadn't seen one this close. At least one which she would have a moment to  \ntake in before she was reminded to run, to flee for her life. But it seemed as  \nif he didn't notice. It was so amazing that she would witness him!  \n  \nBut then, as the whole body emerged...  \n  \nShe stared in utter shock at the creature.  \n  \nWhat she had done?  \n  \nHow?  \n  \nShe couldn't believe these beasts were capable of... growing like that! The  \npoor thing's belly hung down almost to his ankles, a copious bulk slowly  \nwobbling and swaying by every one of his steps as his knees thrust into the  \nsoft flesh of his flanks rucking it into supple rolls thick of fat!  \n  \nShe forced herself to pull her eyes away from the staggering sight to look at  \nhis face as he advanced. He fixated on those dishes, those dishes she put so  \nmuch effort in preparing for him over so many years, and she saw him eagerly  \nlicking back a departing drop of his saliva! Was that... That he really, truly  \ncouldn't resist?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; But all of sudden he sprung erect.  \n  \nHe spotted something and she was horrified by the thought of that being her!  \n  \nHowever it was only a pair of nittakrayis, those slender batbirds so easily  \nblending in that she just couldn't notice them before.  \n  \nWould he leave anything to them, the poor, poor thing she screwed up so  \nhorribly?  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe raised his head alert in his anxiety.  \n  \nWere they around?  \n  \nWhere were they?  \n  \nBut no. He could relax. Only those two, bold little things, trying to nick a  \nfew bites for their own. He should start before they would be too successful.  \n  \nSo he let himself plop down by the platters, well in his reach, he knew, he  \nfigured it out the hard way he needed to ensure they all were comfortably in  \nthe range of his long neck. It wasn't that pleasant to crawl forth halfway  \nthrough! And that too that he was free to choose from all the delicious  \nwonders awaiting him. Just what to begin with?  \n  \nBut it didn't take more than a moment to let himself submit, his snout bury  \ninto the alluring piles of gorgeous meat only to pull off occasionally to  \ndouse it with a juicy ripe fruit!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; If only they didn't deplete so fast!  \n  \nBut he couldn't help. It was phenomenal to have his mouth full of all that  \nmixture of tastes, to feel those fat chunks sliding down his throat tingling  \nhim on the inside, a rewarding warmth as they started filling his stomach.  \n  \nBefore long he was there at the bottom licking the platters, saddened by how  \nit was over and how he would have to wait for two long days until he could  \ntaste again, longing for those little bits the batbirds managed to snatch but  \nhopped well out of his reach with.  \n  \nAll what remained was to relish the passing sensation as those very last gulps  \ngently massaging his long gullet went down.  \n  \nBut did he just hear something?  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe was relieved to realize he indeed didn't heed her, letting his fat gut  \nplop down to begin his indulgence.  \n  \nIt mesmerized her. The akri seemed to totally submit himself to the blissful  \nexperience, that of her design by all those years of research, no less,  \nburying his snout into the ample piles of offerings.  \n  \nOnly to jiggle that huge belly he grew as he shifted and turned to reach for  \nother bites so joyful and eager laying on his side.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; It was ludicrous.  \n  \nHow?  \n  \nJust how she could mess it up so much?  \n  \nAnd the poor thing seemingly so much enjoyed it!  \n  \nShe struggled to hold back a chuckle. The whole thing. Those years of work,  \nthat agonizing, that meticulous planning whether she did it right, whether she  \ngave him the right things, the right quantities, and what was the result!  \n  \nThere he was, the big, majestic beast of nightmares grown so comically fat,  \nand yet still so lost in stuffing himself silly on their offerings.  \n  \nAnd how he even went that far to clean the platters ensuring no morsel was  \nleft!  \n  \nShe couldn't hold it. She blurted out, laughing at the whole incredulous  \nridicule as years of meticulous effort by all those false assumptions came so  \nspectacularly crumbling down.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nHe fixated on the creature emerging as his mind fell into chaos.  \n  \nThey spotted him!  \n  \nWhat he could do? What should he do?  \n  \nBut his body was heavy, not heeding his crisis. He pulled his head back. If he  \ncould just disappear. But she saw him and her voice was so strange, something  \nhe had never heard from them!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She... Did she do all those, those blissful meals which still tingled his  \nstomach with that soothing warm fullness?  \n  \nHe must show what he was, how beautiful and majestic he was, but...  \n  \nOh no!  \n  \nShe is also doing that! The touch... There on that huge lump he grew, and it  \nis so alluring, radiating pleasure!  \n  \nHe couldn't look. He was torn between wishing to flee, to fly, to run, to just  \nvanish out of existence, and to stay, to submit to that blissful sensation  \ncomplementing so well how he felt inside.  \n  \nThat latter won for his rusty gears utterly faltered, his mind totally blown  \napart.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nShe couldn't believe what she was doing.  \n  \nIt was sheer craziness. But she was crazy. It was all for naught, it was a  \nmess, and she could only laugh out at that mess.  \n  \nHer entire life!  \n  \nShe walked forth. It didn't matter. They were all screwed, she screwed them  \nall! The poor thing! What she had done to this poor thing, so anxiously  \njolting his ears, his tendrils, but unable to do anything at all!  \n  \nSo adorably cute in all this ludicrous ridicule.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She reached out. She still couldn't really believe it, but she was there and  \nshe was touching the akri.  \n  \nThe akri's huge protruding fat belly, a result of four years of hard work of  \nan entire human village and a clan of tanis. And the poor thing winced by her  \ntouch. She felt the convulsion, him striving maybe to involuntarily pull that  \ngut in like an embarrassed human would, but it was a sheer impossibility at the  \nincredulous size he had.  \n  \nShe stroked him, gently tingling, shocked by the bizarre sensation of pliable  \nsoftness as her fingers sunk deep in his substance. She did it to him, at  \nleast let him ease a little, the poor beast. Just let that belly out, let it  \nrest comfortably to give that nice meal the room to settle. They worked so  \nhard on it after all.  \n  \nAnd, to her relief, the akri had submitted, even stretching out his legs in  \ndelight.  \n  \n\"It is all right. See, isn't it much better? Don't worry, you big, gorgeous  \ndummy.\"  \n  \nSuddenly she felt a warm exhale.  \n  \nIt was the akri's snout as he rubbed against her face.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; In her utmost surprise she could only embrace him.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe spell was broken.  \n  \nThose remaining fragments struggled vain to form thoughts. And he realized. He  \nwas free.  \n  \nTotally, utterly, blissfully screwed up, but free of those devastating  \ninstinctive impulses he had. He could have his admirers. And he had an  \nadmirer!  \n  \nSo wonderful!  \n  \nHe turned towards her, the frail creature, hoping she would understand his  \nintent, and she did.  \n  \nIn her embrace it didn't matter any more. He let his sluggish mind succumb to  \nthe sensation.  \n  \nTo be free. To be admired and cared for, how it was just all he ever wanted.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt took weeks to settle what she experienced with herself.  \n  \nThen to somehow approach Marcus with it without letting the entire village  \nknow and probably fall into some bizarre chaos.  \n  \nHow she screwed it up?  \n  \nShe wasn't sure if she actually did. She couldn't know whether the akri  \nwouldn't have left or whether the events took some entire different course if  \nthey didn't took the path they did.  \n  \nAnd she couldn't help but think he was cute. A big adorable chubby, something  \nso outlandish she wouldn't have believed hadn't she seen it with her own eyes.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She still hardly believed even what she saw.  \n  \nSo they cautiously tried to approach him with Marcus which however almost  \nturned into a disaster.  \n  \nThe akri yelped in his surprise just suppressing an ear-splitting wail or  \neven worse, and kept behaving very agitated until Martha soothed him by her  \ntouch. So much he again rubbed snout with her, but it had shown that it was  \nstill extremely dangerous to try interacting with him.  \n  \nBut it also had shown what he was actually like.  \n  \nHow different than what she had mistakenly assumed earlier!  \n  \nHe may have had an adorable personality buried somewhere deep within.  \nDifferent, unlike anything she had experienced or heard of, and it only made  \nher the more appealing to work on his offers.  \n  \nBut the difficult decision was on her to consider whether they could risk  \nthinning him down.  \n  \nShe was unsure.  \n  \nConsulting with Marcus, they settled on silently keeping on, trying to  \nmeticulously monitor his size, ensuring that at the very least they didn't  \ninadvertently fatten him up the more.  \n  \nIt did demand them to take the risk of those encounters. Otherwise they had no  \nmeans of drawing any idea on how he fared.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She wished if just there was someone around with some experience with them who  \ncould tell what could be done in such a case. But there wasn't.  \n  \nAt least he was nice the way he was. She loved him intrigued by the way he  \nworked, even the danger, how they had to soothe him to let his amicable side  \nsurfacing. He needed to have a full belly after his pleasant meal and a bit  \nof cajoling to relax. Maybe even the xinsiykan helped numbing him down.  \n  \nThen he would eventually join them, and they realized they could then settle  \ncomfortably, letting him to stretch out, and he would just enjoy their  \ndiscourse while she occasionally rubbed behind his ears. It was so strange to  \nbe so close with one of them, the three of them alone together!  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was already her sixth year when she received a pleasant surprise in the  \nform of a xi she had missed since so long.  \n  \nXerenti apparently found out where she lived and decided on a visit herself.  \nShe told she had heard about their situation with an oddly behaving akri and  \noffered her help, which Martha had warmly welcomed, and when they were  \ntogether, told her story and anguish over all they went through, and then  \nabout their secret encounters. They still kept it secret from the people of  \nthe village or even the tribe for that matter.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She however insisted on that she needed to see him, which they had to arrange,  \nand wasn't without risks even though she planned on hiding to avoid stirring  \nanything in him.  \n  \nThey were a bit anxious about it, but in the end it all worked out well.  \nXerenti hid in advance, and only returned much later when it was all clear, so  \nthey themselves didn't even knew where she exactly was.  \n  \n\"He is quite a rarity, a pleasant one, I would say. You seem to even like him,  \naren't you?\"  \n  \n\"Yes, I find him strangely adorable and cute in his way.\"  \n  \n\"That mind you can interact with. They are certainly interesting, complex, and  \nin a way probably fragile creatures. Their balance gets messed up, not  \naccustomed to being fed.\"  \n  \n\"Oh... Xerenti, you mean we are harming him?\"  \n  \n\"Unfortunately you do. Although not in a way like you would imagine as a  \nhuman. They are tanis, like us, their body would fully regenerate even from  \nthis if he was forced back into his normal way of living, so he is just fine  \nthat way. But he too lives in a world full of other akris who would  \noccasionally challenge him.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"I... Is he in danger?... You say we are in danger?\"  \n  \n\"They are harsh but respectful creatures at the very least among each other.  \nThere are not that many on our side of our planet, and it will hopefully stay  \nthat way. The greatest of them try to clean up the mess about their kin for  \nthey are well aware of why this side was meant to be mostly ours. For their  \nown benefit, too, to restore the old balance. He should be safe. It is one  \nthing to beat each other up a bit, and entirely another to defeat and destroy.  \nThere is a point where that breath is no longer restrained, and they know well  \nnot to cross it. As long as he can fly he should probably be fine.\"  \n  \n\"But, Xerenti, couldn't we just thin him down then? Or it is not that simple?\"  \n  \n\"That's the problem with these. It isn't unless you and the Kizantxitra packed  \nup and left. That mind you find adorable and cute in him is a slave of his  \nbody. You only have him since you numb him down, allowing that part of him to  \nsurface. If you starved him, you could force him into a nervous breakdown.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"I see. So he would probably kill.\"  \n  \n\"Yes, and that what you like in him would also be dead forever until his  \nseuni, his mental essence lives. Please do not try that. We don't need more of  \nthose like that in former Mansool.\"  \n  \n\"The slaver.\"  \n  \n\"Yes, the slaver. This is that composition, but a mild one, who have some  \nrespect and compassion remaining, merely desiring to enjoy his life, but you  \nneed to sate him to let those traits surfacing. This is now your  \nresponsibility. Please sate him, I see his simple mind is enjoying it, happy  \nin his state, you care for him well. Rather give him more than less in need.  \nIt is better for all of us even if his life had to end by another akri some  \nday.\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was a harsh world after the fall.  \n  \nShe had to realize it herself.  \n  \nIt was too easy to be true.  \n  \nThey kept visiting the akri regularly to keep his weight in good check and to  \ninteract with that strange, fragile mind entombed in his body. Like a big,  \novergrown child? In some regards he was. But in others, an old, ancient,  \nfearsome creature who was aware of what he was. He showed it. To restrain  \nhimself.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; And he showed how much he liked her, them, giving him all those pleasant, so  \ngorgeously prepared offers. He himself appeared to know that was the only  \nthing, a wonderfully fulfilling delicious one which he could enjoy to no end  \nand even more, but still the only thing which had allowed him to be free.  \n  \nHe was grateful, doubly so for what they had done for him.  \n  \nTo feel her against his snout, the embrace, showing how much he loved her,  \nthem, together.  \n  \nHis wonderful admirers.  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Tanis (Cheetaan) and their homeworld","previous":"https://sofurry.com/s/yndb8EVe","next":"https://sofurry.com/s/YnLLk0Bn"}}