The Cold Wind (Ch 30 - 34)
#4 of The Cold Wind 1
Chapter Thirty
"Why can't I see him?" Tainui was becoming increasingly frustrated by the unresponsive New Home warriors standing guard outside his room. He knew damned well they could understand him because they had the small, translucent black translation disks hanging from their ears just like Two-Talon and Hunts-In-Grass. "Why you keeping me prisoner here? I'm starving, are you gonna get me some food or what?" He poked one of them in the chest repeatedly with a finger, glaring at them. The warrior completely ignored him. "Geeze, you bastards are fucking useless!" he fumed and turned to face the mirrored wall on the far side of the room and glared at his reflection for several minutes. The novelty of that wore off extremely fast and he flung himself into the sleep-webbing in one corner of the room. He was still brooding, a few hours later, when the two warriors stepped aside to let someone enter the room. Looking up he saw a familiar looking Vanguard with a considerable amount of bandaging covering one of his well-muscled rear arms. Jumping to his feet, he met the young warrior near the doorway. "What's happening, Hunts? When can I see Andrej? Why are those bastards holding me prisoner in here? Where's -" Hunts-In-Grass held up a hand interrupting the human in mid-question. "New Home thought us traitors, leading Original Home forces this planetary system. This one spent considerable time explain otherwise. Come. Two-Talon requests communication with you." As they exited the room, Tainui turned around and gave the two New Home warriors the finger. They didn't react to his gesture, just watched him impassively with their unblinking black eyes while they followed along a short distance behind. When they arrived at what he presumed was the infirmary, the two taciturn warriors broke off and disappeared down another corridor leaving him and the warrior alone. "So where is Andrej? When can I see him?" Halting beside the door, Hunts-In-Grass turned to him and gently grasped his shoulders with his two forward arms. There was a slight hesitation before he answered. "Hrrr, patience, little one. First meet with medic." Dropping his hands, he turned and led Tainui into a large, well-lit room where a rather battered looking but familiar Vanguard struggled awkwardly to his feet to greet them. "Bro, you look like shit. Are you okay?" Both of Two-Talon's right arms were wrapped in tight bandaging similar to that of the warrior, as was his left leg. Most of the horn on the right-hand side of his head was missing, with little more than a jagged stump remaining. Several patches of artificial skin were also evident on the scaly hide that wasn't covered by the blue skinsuit he wore. "This one will recover. Hrrr, this one appreciates your concern." Moving closer to Tainui, he reached out with his left forward arm and gently stroked his face with his talons folded back out of the way. A little surprised, Tainui looked at the his face closely and saw dark tears well up around the four normally emotionless eyes. The medic lowered his hand and swung his head away, self-consciously wiping at them. "Look, what the hell is going on here?" he pleaded, desperation creeping unnoticed into his voice. "Where's Andrej? Is he okay?" Sharing an unreadable look with each other, the two Vanguard gestured towards the doorway. "Come. We travel to your bond-mate," Hunts-In-Grass snapped his jaw gently at him. With a growing feeling of unease, he turned and exited the room with both Vanguard close behind him. The flight aboard the fast little scout ship only took about an hour, but to Tainui it felt like days. Neither of his two companions were particularly talkative and they both appeared rather nervous if his interpretation of their body language and facial expressions was correct. The only other occupants of the scout were the two New Home warriors he recognized from their earlier guard job duties and they weren't saying anything much, either. When the scout touched down on a narrow, isolated plateau on the side of an impressive mountain range, the growing unease he had been feeling grew into a sickening fear. Scattered over the plateau was a large amount of twisted wreckage, much of which was already being buried by the wind-blown snow. Despite this, the blackened furrow the shuttle that had been his home for the past few years/weeks had left was still clearly visible Wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep warm, he slowly approached the largest section of the wreck and stood in silence for a couple of minutes, letting the numbing realization sink in. He barely heard the two Vanguard crunching through the hard-packed snow when they approached and stood behind him, not saying a word. "Where?" His tone was completely drained of emotion and spoken at just above a whisper, barely heard against the wind. They led him to the front of the wreck where there was a pile of stones half covered by the drifting snow. The two Vanguard had visited the crash site the day before with an armed escort to salvage the shuttle's datastack and to bury Andrej. An engineer had cut the mangled thruster assembly away so they could get at his pitiful remains. Hunts-In-Grass stepped forward to stand directly behind him as he shivered and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hrrr, your bond-mate requested -" "Save it!" Tainui whipped around and spat the words angrily at the warrior, his face a twisted mask of rage and despair. Storming back to the scout, Tainui threw himself into the support webbing inside and curled up into a ball of barely contained misery. The two New Home warriors turned to stare at him in surprise before turning back to the controls. Hunts-In-Grass and Two-Talon climbed in shortly afterwards and sealed the hatch, motioning for the warriors at the front to take off. While they flew back to base, Two-Talon reached out an arm in an effort to comfort the human but stopped when Tainui snapped at him like a wounded animal.
* * *
Darkness had fallen and it was getting quite late when Two-Talon got an unexpected visitor to his quarters. Looking up from the datapad he was studying he was surprised to see Tainui standing in the doorway and wondered how long the human had been standing there. Putting aside the datapad, he softly patted a space on the sleep-webbing beside him and waited as the human hesitated for a moment before joining him. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Tainui stared at the floor. He finally looked up at Two-Talon. "What was your partner's name?" he asked quietly. "His designation was Tusker." "You were together for a while?" "Hrrr... eleven years," Two-Talon sighed, wistfully. Tainui smiled sadly and nodded. "I only knew Andrej for a few weeks, but I was falling for him something wicked. Was that too quick you think?" "Cannot always control who we love. Time means nothing for the soul." Tainui was silent for another couple of minutes. "Does it ever stop hurting?" Two-Talon didn't answer. Instead he pulled the smaller human into an embrace, wincing slightly when Tainui pressed against the rapidly healing injuries to his chest. Wracked with sobs, Tainui clung to him and cried out all his hurt, frustration and loss. When Hunts-In-Grass entered the room a bit later, he discovered them asleep together. The medic's arms, legs and tail were wrapped protectively around the human in much the same way any Vanguard would do with a frightened spawnling.
* * *
Tainui woke slowly, not recognizing where he was for several moments as he blinked in the bright, pink light of an early-morning New Home sunrise streaming in through the window. He realized he could hardly move; sometime during the night Hunts-In-Grass had joined them on the sleep-webbing and he found himself sandwiched between the two slumbering aliens, their various arms, legs and tails wrapped around him. While he lay there, warm in the cocoon of heavy, alien limbs he studied Two-Talon's face. The medic's jaw was relaxed and slightly open, his long, black, forked tongue draped over the many small, razor-sharp teeth in his lower jaw. Two large nostrils at the end of his scaly snout expanded and contracted slightly while he breathed. His eyelids were closed over those four enigmatic, black eyes that conveyed very little emotion, at least to Tainui's eyes. His shell-like ears lay flat against the side of his elongated and vaguely equine head. Reaching out, Tainui stroked Two-Talon's exposed ear gently - it was quite soft compared with the scales covering most of his body. For all their vast physical differences it still felt like they shared a sort of bond which made him feel a little better. Even with the loss of Andrej still fresh and raw in his mind, Tainui couldn't help but sympathize with the large alien and the loss it had also suffered recently. However, with the developing friendship between the two Vanguard it appeared that things were on the up for the medic at least. Sighing and fighting back tears again, Tainui turned over and was startled to see that Hunts-In-Grass' eyes were open and staring straight back at him. They lay there eyeing each other up for a minute or two, until the alien pulled him closer with his two fore arms, turning him over then spooning up against his back. Nervously, Tainui waited to see what the warrior would do next, but all that happened was he began a low pitched rumbling deep inside his chest which caused his whole body to tingle pleasantly. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to relax back against the warrior. Lulled almost back to sleep, he opened his eyes when the rumbling began to intensify a bit; Two-Talon had woken up and begun the deep rumbling also. His whole body now vibrated gently between the two purring aliens and he enjoyed the almost massage-like feeling for a few more minutes until both Vanguard eventually stopped. "That was cool. What were you doing?" "Hrrr, instinctive. Adult Vanguard soothe injured, frightened spawnlings using -" Two-Talon uttered a word that the translation disk he wore failed to translate. He stretched his jaws open in a wide yawn, teeth glinting a vaguely disturbing red color from the rising sun. Prying himself stiffly off the sleep-webbing, he stood on unsteady feet and looked out the window before limping over to the cleaning pool in the corner of the room. After gingerly lowering himself into the water he turned and looked at Tainui with what almost appeared to be a smile on his craggy features. "Hrrr, this one believes young warrior likes you, little one." Hunts-In-Grass snorted loudly and clambered awkwardly from the sleep-webbing and lumbered over to the pool to join the medic. Tainui watched them clean each other for a couple of minutes before turning to stare at the view out of the window. "So, are you guys gonna show me around this joint? Or do I have to go exploring by myself?" "We travel soon. You not permitted unaccompanied. We also communicate regarding future," Two-Talon replied while sloshing around in the pool attempting to stop Hunts-In-Grass from wriggling around so much and aggravating his injuries. "Why aren't I allowed out by myself?" "Base pack-leader's request. She unsure threat you pose - HRRR!" the warrior yelped when Two-Talon removed the bandage from around his tail and began probing the still tender spot with his uninjured forward hand. "Threat? Me?" Tainui muttered, vaguely impressed. "Threat. You. You are alien, hrrr? Apparently alien is security risk. New Home defense forces still nervous after Original Home attacked when we arrived." Hunts-In-Grass turned back toward the medic who, satisfied with the healing of his tail, was now fussing over his damaged rear arm and gently snapped at him. Tainui shrugged and walked over to the pool, where he quickly undressed and jumped into the hot water with the two Vanguard, watching while they checked each other over then began some sort of complicated grooming ritual, wincing occasionally from their injuries. "You're like a couple of baboons," he smirked at the two of them. "What are 'baboons', hrrr?" "Baboons. Monkeys. Y'know, eat bananas and fling shit at each other? Masturbate in front of school-kids at the zoo? Ring any bells?" The two Vanguard just stared at him silently and he shrugged after a moment. "Maybe not, then." Turning around, he rested his chin on his crossed arms while staring vacantly out the window into the deep purple colored sky, wondering what was to become of him. A minute or so later, he jerked with surprise when he felt something brush lightly against his back. He tried to swivel around, but was prevented from doing so by a firm, but gentle grip by a pair of hands that brooked no argument. "Hey! Wait a minute, what -" "Silence, human. Base medics overlook your injuries. This one heals. Cease and desist with struggle," Two-Talon instructed, snapping his jaw softly at the warrior who shifted his hands slightly to stop him from wriggling quite so much. "That'll teach me to make smart-ass comments," he lamented while Hunts-In-Grass forcibly detained him, purring loudly. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" he whined, biting his bottom lip nervously. He felt Two-Talon's lethally sharp talons tracing lightly over the wet skin on his back, a sensation that raised involuntarily goose-bumps despite the warmth of the water. When the movement stopped and a peculiar, tingling pressure began, he tried to slip forward up and over the lip of the pool. However the warrior holding him down would have none of it and just tightened his grip slightly. The tingling pressure increased until it felt like there were lots of hot, sharp little legs crawling over him. It wasn't a painful or even all that unpleasant feeling, just very, very alien. Hunts-In-Grass looked on with interest while Two-Talon worked his healing ability. He had never observed a medic in action this closely before and found the process rather fascinating. Although it was probably just as well the human couldn't see what was happening; he suspected Tainui would become somewhat...unmanageable if he could see exactly what the medic was doing to him. After a minute or so, the medic opened his eyes and gave Hunts-In-Grass a small grin while he waited for the nerve tendrils to withdraw fully from the human's body back into his uninjured hand. He then moved the hand to a large bruise over the spine and set to work again. It took a few moments but eventually the thousands of ultra-fine nerve tendrils slowly emerged from the palm and his fingers, slithering over the skin before burrowing in. Tainui, for his part, actually began to enjoy the sensation. Although Two-Talon had moved on to another sore-spot, a pleasant warmth remained behind where he had been moments before. He closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his chin onto his crossed arms again while the medic continued to minister to him. Abruptly and without any warning, his right leg spasmed violently and began cramping as the muscles writhed around with a mind of their own. "Ow! What the fuck, OW...oh..." Just as quickly as it started, his leg returned to his control and the pain disappeared as if it had never been. He turned his head as much as he was able and glared at Two-Talon. "Bro! What the hell?" "Hrrr, apologies, little one. Unfamiliar nerves," Two-Talon rumbled softly, not opening his eyes. He had let his tendrils infiltrate a little too far into the concentrated mass of nerves running through the human's spine. However, he was almost done and after the tendrils had withdrawn he nodded to the warrior to release him. Hunts-In-Grass watched the livid bruise start fading as if by magic and gave Two-Talon a questioning look. "Human physiology appears to react much more swiftly to my healing ability than our own." When the warrior's face suddenly went blank and his eyes took on a haunted, hollow look, Two-Talon knew exactly what he was thinking and he quickly disabled his translation disk. "It would have not altered the outcome, lover. Andrej would still have succumbed to his injuries, for they were too extensive and had been left for too long by the time you reached him. There was nothing that we could have done differently, even if I had of been able to assist. All I could have done was to ease his pain in the last few minutes." He noticed the warrior struggling to hold himself together and Tainui had turned around to stare at them suspiciously. Time to wrap this up. "Just being with him at the end was the single most important thing you did, alright?" He ran the fingers of his good arm along the bottom of the warrior's jaw in a tender movement. "Let us finish up here. Your base pack-leader wanted to communicate with us this morning, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass grunted, not trusting himself to say anything and hunkered down into the water beside the human and stared at him sorrowfully for several moments. Tainui raised an eyebrow and stared back at him, unable to read the expression on his craggy face. Just the lizard being all weird and moody again, he figured. Getting to his feet again, the warrior reached out with his forward arms and lifted him from the pool and placed him on the edge with little effort. "Chur, bro." He flexed experimentally and finding no pain, turned and smiled at Two-Talon gratefully. "Dunno what you did to me in there, but I'm feeling fucking great." Ducking aside, he made way for the two Vanguard as they clambered from the pool, sending water splashing everywhere. A few minutes later, a pair of familiar looking New Home warriors turned up and stationed themselves outside the door. "Oh, look. It's Dumb and Dumber," Tainui muttered sourly and frowned at them both. "Actually, warrior on left has designation Lightning, warrior on right designation Thunder," Hunts-In-Grass commented, slipping into his skinsuit and wincing slightly from the pain this caused. At the mention of their names the two warriors turned to look at Tainui and tilted their heads back, exposing their necks to him in a gesture he guessed might be either some sort of greeting, or indication of respect. He was about to laugh out loud, but instead just bit his tongue and finished throwing some clothes onto himself. While they trudged over toward the base command centre with the two New Home warriors bringing up the rear, Tainui spoke quietly to Hunts-In-Grass. "Are they really named Lightning and Thunder?" The young warrior huffed with amusement. "Correct. They are bond-mates, famous on base. They inseparable from when spawnlings. When Elders attempt to separate them when spawnlings, Lightning quickly defend Thunder. He prevented Elders from approaching. Thunder made extremely loud roar. To keep peace they not try separate again!" Two-Talon, who had been listening in on the conversation, turned his head to look curiously at their escort when Thunder poked her long, black, forked tongue out and proceeded to lick her snout slowly in a suggestive manner at him. Lightning huffed loudly with laughter when Two-Talon tripped over his feet in shock, then he turned to Thunder and smacked her in the shoulder with one of his rear arms and grumbled something the others couldn't quite make out. Hunts-In-Grass, who hadn't seen the exchange between them, glanced at Two-Talon curiously. "You appear concerned. Is there an issue, hrrr?" "I certainly hope not!" came the nervous response. Once they reached the command centre, their escort led them to a large and mostly empty room and then stationed themselves at the only exit. They stood there, impassive and emotionless once again. Thankfully they didn't have long to wait when another Vanguard strode purposefully into the room and approached them, sizing them up with a calculating gaze. This new Vanguard was also wearing one of the translation disks but when she spoke Tainui couldn't make out what was being said; she had disabled the device before entering the room. He watched the conversation with a sense of detached bemusement. Not wasting any time with pleasantries, Dark-Mist stood in front of them visibly seething with barely repressed fury. "So. Outpost has been lost and the Original Home bastards now know of our real location. You realize we lost nearly 7000 good warriors and engineers during that battle, hrrr? Not only that, however. You then bring unknown aliens here? We have no idea what sort of risk they pose. Convince me why I should not just terminate them, then have you terminated for this colossal breach of security." Lightning and Thunder had remained by the door while the pack-leader was speaking, but had drawn their assault-rifles and taken up position beside her, pointing their weapons at the three of them. Two-Talon interposed himself between Tainui and the two armed warriors while Hunts-In-Grass stood there somewhat surprised at the pack-leader's reaction. He snapped his jaw loudly and narrowed his eyes as he returned her glare. "I am painfully aware of the loses we suffered at Outpost. I also lost many friends and clan-mates. Not only that, however. You know very well that the forces from Original Home arrived at Outpostdays before Two-Talon and the aliens arrived! Hrrr, they risked their lives to recover me from the wreck of the Sirius-Defender." Unconvinced, "Sensor readings and datastacks are easy enough to fake." "Very well, I concede that point. However, why then would he involve the humans, hrrr? If Two-Talon is some kind of Original Home infiltrator he would be doing all he could to blend in and appear as innocuous as possible. There would be little benefit in attracting attention to himself by using the presence of aliens." "You still fail to convince me," Dark-Mist swung her head around and glared at Two-Talon and Tainui before returning her gaze to the young warrior, the suspicion evident in her voice. "Where is the other alien, hrrr? What did you call them?" Hunts-In-Grass hesitated a few moments before replying and she noticed a look of genuine sadness that briefly flashed across his face. "Their species designation is Human. The other one died from injuries sustained in the crash-landing. He was this human's bond-mate." "I see. That is unfortunate," she sighed, her expression softening slightly for the first time since entering the room. "I have had precious little time to familiarize myself with the intelligence reports other than to acquaint myself with the necessary basic information. You understand the consequences now that Original Home knows our location, hrrr? I should not have to remind you of the sacrifices that generations of Vanguard have made to construct New Home into what it is today. It seems even more sacrifice will be required of us now." She snapped her jaw shut gently and the two warriors flanking her stood to attention but kept their weapons trained on them. She gave Hunts-In-Grass a tired smile. "Hrrr, do not look so worried, young warrior. Your lives will not be sacrificed this day. I will even spare the alien, at least for the moment." Closing his eyes momentarily in relief, Hunts-In-Grass tipped his head back and exposed his neck to the pack-leader. "Thank -" The leader cut Hunts-In-Grass off with a curt gesture. "Do not thank me just yet. I have yet to decide exactly what to do with you and your... human. I am uncertain that I trust any of you. However, there is little point in keeping you confined to your quarters any more. You are all free to go. Do not try to depart from the grounds of this base, however." She reached out a hand, indicating the bandages wrapped around his healing arm. "Appears that you could benefit with some more time to recover from your injuries, anyway. Are you and the medic...?" She left the question hanging. "I am hoping so, hrrr." "Very well. Until I come to a decision I will have these two," she said, indicating Lightning and Thunder, "maintain their surveillance of you. You are dismissed." Hunts-In-Grass tilted his head back again, exposing his neck in submission before indicating that Two-Talon and Tainui should follow him from the room. Just before Tainui departed, the pack-leader reactivated her translator disk and stepped in front of him, blocking the exit. "Large storm imminent, human. This one fears for her people. However this one expresses her regrets for loss your bond-mate." She snapped her jaw gently at him before striding from the room. Lightning and Thunder looked at each other in surprise before holstering their weapons and following the alien through the door. The last thing they had expected to see was compassion from their pack-leader toward the peculiar little creature. Tainui hurried to catch up with his two companions while they slowly walked back to the barracks. "What the hell was that all about? Your leader looked rather pissed off with us." Two-Talon put an arm around his shoulder in a companionable way and glanced back at the two armed warriors behind them before responding. "Hrrr, understandable. With Original Home attack occurring approximately same time we arrive at Outpost, not surprising she suspicious. You require understanding, she pack-leader of defense force. She also colony-leader for New Home in crisis time." He glanced briefly at the warrior. "But Hunts is from New Home, bro_._ Why would she be suspicious of him?" Hunts-In-Grass interrupted the conversation, huffing with laughter. "Hrrr! This one thinks she worried of evil medic influences!" Releasing Tainui, Two-Talon lunged playfully at the warrior who easily sidestepped him. "Hrrr, you wait young warrior! When this one has recovered sufficiently he influence you with long, hard evil!" Walking behind them, Lightning rolled his eyes at Thunder who just bared her teeth in a large, crocodilian smile.
Chapter Thirty-One
Later that day Tainui approached Hunts-In-Grass who was taking the opportunity of a break from teaching Two-Talon about various aspects of New Home society to stretch his muscles. It had not been too long before another translation database upgrade came through, courtesy of the base engineers who had been working on the downloaded records from the crashed shuttle's systems. And the warrior was keen to try them out. "Hey, you got a minute, bro?" he asked quietly. The young warrior turned to him and snapped his jaws shut. "'Got a minute'. Humans have unusual turn of phrase. However this one is happy to assist. What do you require, hrrr?" "I need to go back to the shuttle. There's something... Um, well, I've got something I want to do there, okay?" He looked away from the warrior and wiped at his nose self-consciously, hoping the warrior wouldn't notice the redness of his eyes. The strange, unfamiliarity of the place was really starting to get to him and he had some things he needed to get off his chest. Hunts-In-Grass snapped his jaws shut again, understanding. "Of course. When you desire to depart, hrrr?" "Uh, now, if possible?" "Very well. Wait, this one returns shortly." He disappeared down a corridor for a couple of minutes before returning with one of the two warrior guards. "Thunder will accompany you. Do you require assistance, hrrr?" "Nah, thanks mate. This is something I need to do alone. But...yeah, thanks." The warrior snapped his jaw. "Understood." Hunts-In-Grass lumbered along beside Tainui and Thunder to the scout ship launch-bay. Lightning, who was remaining behind, watched them go through narrow slitted eyes, uncomfortable at being separated from Thunder for long. Once they reached the scout, Hunts-In-Grass stopped and hunkered down beside Tainui until they were eye to eye. "You are required to know information before you depart. Your bond-mate instructed this one to communicate a message to you." "'Communicate message'...? Hang on, mate. Was this before the crash?" he narrowed his eyes as he stared at the warrior, an ominous feeling growing in his gut. "Incorrect. Bond-mate survived for short period of time after crash. He -" "What?!" Tainui choked out, his jaw dropping as he stared at the Vanguard, horrified. Hunts-In-Grass looked at him quizzically and began to repeat himself, thinking the human had misheard him. "Your bond-mate survived for a short -" "Shut up!" he yelled, grabbing the front of the warrior's skinsuit in his clenched fists. "Why didn't you tell me - no! I don't wanna know! Just tell me what he said," he ground out, ignoring the hot tears that were again spilling down his cheeks This was going very badly, Hunts-In-Grass thought with despair and attempted to justify himself. "This one attempted to convey this information to you at the crash site, however you prevented this one from accomplishing that." "I don't fucking care about that! What did he say?!" he roughly shook the young warrior who was now not far from losing it himself. "Hrrr...that he loved you," the warrior said sadly, blinking rapidly as he struggled to maintain his own composure. Tainui was silent and motionless for a long moment then dropped both hands to his sides while shaking his head from side to side, not taking his eyes off him. He took an uncertain step backward and then stopped again. Numbly, he turned and managed to stumble up the short ramp into the scout ship. Activating the hatch closure mechanism with one hand, he slumped into the passenger support webbing inside. "Let's go," he muttered darkly to Thunder, who had watched the exchange through the open hatchway as she prepared the scout for departure. 'Now he fucking tells me,' Tainui thought to himself while Thunder lifted off and piloted the scout toward the distant mountain range. Hunts-In-Grass watched the scout ship disappear off into the distance before trudging back to the barracks. When he approached the entrance, Lightning glared at him and fingered his assault-rifle suggestively as he waited by the hatch. "Go rut a bulkhead," he snarled angrily at the startled warrior as he passed through the entrance.
* * *
Thunder glanced at her passenger occasionally while she piloted the scout ship toward the crash site. Although she was a little skittish at being separated from Lightning for any length of time, she understood the small alien's motives for returning. Three days prior, she and Lightning had been there, assisting Hunts-In-Grass and his medic friend in burying the dead alien and salvaging what they could from the wreck. Hunts-In-Grass hadn't handled dealing with the human very well and would obviously have a tough job in making amends when the human returned after this trip, but he was still young. He'd learn; with age came wisdom and the knowledge of when to say the right thing. And what the right thing was to say. Touching down a short distance from the wreck, she turned to Tainui and snapped her jaw softly at him, deciding that the last thing he wanted to hear was any of her wisdom. Now that they'd arrived, the human appeared almost reluctant to depart from the ship. After a few moments, he did get up and exited, closing the hatch behind him. She watched curiously as he approached the burial cairn and sat down beside it, removing the snow accumulated since their last visit. After a few minutes the alien got stiffly to his feet and trudged over towards the wreck of the shuttle and started hunting around for something. They'd already stripped the wreck of any useful components so she wasn't too concerned that he would locate anything dangerous. Puzzled, she watched while the alien bent over and began to collect some rocks that had been dislodged in the crash and then carry them over to the cairn.
* * *
Tainui had just finished his fourth round-trip to the cairn with new rocks when he heard the hatch on the scout ship open and the footsteps of the female warrior crunch through the snow toward him. He laid down the rock he'd been carrying and turned back to get some more when she fell into step beside him. Remaining silent, she made several trips with him, carrying some larger rocks that he wasn't able to move by himself and heaping them on the cairn. Satisfied with the increased size of the mound of rock and soil, he sat down beside it and turned to smile at Thunder who was now standing patiently behind him. She reached out and gave his shoulder a brief squeeze with a forward arm, then trudged back to the warmth of the scout ship without saying a word. He waited until she had gone before he turned back to the cairn. "That's better isn't it, bro?" he whispered softly. "You won't get completely buried in snow anymore and you'll be able to see the view all day." Indeed, the view from the small plateau was rather impressive, looking out over a large brown plain far below. Glacier-fed rivers, winding like small blue ribbons across the expanse, disappeared into the atmospheric haze. Try as he might he couldn't make out the massive lake, that lay close to the Vanguard base where they were staying, from this distance. After admiring the view for a few minutes, he sighed and turned back to the cairn. "Well, you're not missing much at the moment. We're just hanging around the base waiting for something to happen. Hunts is giving Mr. Lizard school-lessons about some boring shit and the president or mayor or whatever-she-is of the place is grumpy with us. Then there's the fucking goon-squad baby-sitters we've been given." He quickly glanced over to the scout ship with a guilty expression on his face, but couldn't see through the front of the small scout vessel as the sun was setting and reflecting off it back towards the wreck, bathing the area in a diffuse red glow. "Nah, she's okay I guess," Tainui shook his head and was glad he'd brought a coat this time. The cold wind was beginning to pick up as the sun sank towards the mountains behind him. "Thing is, but, I dunno what to do now. I don't reckon I'm gonna be seeing Earth again. So I think I'm stuck here with Mr. Lizard and his boyfriend." He scuffed at a stray rock with the toe of his boot while he sat there, hands in his pockets. "Only problem with that is now he's got someone else, I guess he's not gonna want me hanging around forever, eh. I'd only get in the way." Closing his eyes, he turned his face towards the sky, letting the wind ruffle his hair. "You reckon they've got rock-bands here on New Home? I could go back to being a roadie, whaddya think?" He laughed softly and opened his eyes, looking at the mound of rock and soil in front of him. "Nah, me neither, mate. Time for a career change. Sounds like things are gonna go to the dogs here if those Original Home jokers turn up. Might see if there's anything I can help out with when I go back. Make myself useful or something." Pulling his hands from the pockets of his jacket, he picked up a small stone from the ground beside him and tossed it slowly from hand to hand. "It's not fair Andrej! Was supposed to be you and me against the Galaxy. I don't know if I can do this by myself." He stood and threw the stone as hard as he could off the edge of the plateau, the sun glinting briefly off it before it arced out of view. Putting a hand back into his pocket he drew out a folded sheet of paper and straightened out the worst of the creases before placing it on top of the cairn, weighing it down with a rock to stop it from blowing away. He'd spent several hours and dozens of sheets of paper until he got something he was finally satisfied with. It had been written with words he would never be able to speak in person to the boy he realized that he had come to love over the short amount of time they had been together. Blinking back tears he made his way back to the scout ship and opened the hatch, pausing briefly and turning back to face the cairn, whispering the words echoed in the letter. "Ka kite Andrej. I love you too, lil' bro."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Once they'd landed back at the base Tainui jogged back to the room he'd been allocated in the barracks. Lightning was extremely happy when he saw the scout ship coming in to land, so much so that he only spared a brief growl for the human when it appeared a few minutes later with Thunder in tow. When Tainui got to his room he didn't bother with the lights and stripped in the dark before clambering onto the sleep-webbing. He'd barely settled in when he was startled by a chiming noise from the door. Muttering a few choice curses, he got up and opened it, finding a large shape silhouetted against well-lit corridor, rumbling and hissing at him. "You are not sleeping with us, tonight, hrrr?" "Nah, it's okay. I'm tired and just want to sleep." "The young warrior explained recent events. His hurting you was unintentional, you know he does like you. We both are worried about you." "I'm touched," he muttered, leaning against the doorway just wanting to be left alone. Feeling awkward, Two-Talon hesitated. "You are certain you do not wish to join us, hrrr? We -" "Look mate, I've already said I just want to go to sleep, alright? Go back to your bloody boyfriend who loves you," Tainui said somewhat more bitterly than he intended. He knew he'd gone too far when the medic stepped back as if he'd been struck and hissed loudly. He swiftly turned and stormed away. "Shit! Wait... Oh fuck it," he muttered too late. Two-Talon was gone. Running naked through the maze of corridors he finally made it to the medic's quarters and saw the door close just as he arrived. Pressing the door activation panel it flashed and buzzed softly at him indicating it was locked and in some sort of 'do not disturb' mode. "I'm sorry, bro! I didn't mean to say that." There was no response so he pounded on the door, yelling. "Please, Two-Talon, let me in! I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry!" A door further down opened and a rather pissed-off looking Vanguard poked its head into the corridor, hissing venomously at him. The medic still didn't respond. "Shit!" Stalking back to his room, he came to a firm decision. Throwing on some random clothes, he went looking for one of his minders. There were two strange warriors guarding the exit to the barracks. Lightning and Thunder were nowhere to be seen, probably off duty. The warriors stared down at him curiously as he spoke. "Gah, I feel really stupid asking this," he muttered before raising his voice. "Can you please take me to your leader?" "Hrrr, the time is late. However, our pack-leader is keeping unusual hours at the moment. She may be available to communicate with you. Follow, this way," one of the warriors holstered his weapons and beckoned to him when he lumbered toward the low, bunker-like structure that Tainui assumed was some sort of command centre. "Why did you put your weapons away? Aren't you worried I might try and attack her or something?" Huffing with laughter, the warrior swung his upper body around and glanced at him brieflyr. "There is good reason she pack-leader. She rip you apart before you get chance to blink. Besides, what you do, bite her ankles to death? Hrrr!" He carried on walking, chuckling to himself. Tainui was lead to the same stark briefing room from their earlier visit and told to wait. He didn't have to wait long until the pack-leader came striding into the room with the warrior taking up station beside the doorway. After adjusting the translator disk she wore in her ear, she stood in front of him in a rather intimidating manner and looked down at him expectantly with her unblinking eyes. "Uh, sorry to annoy you this late. I know you're busy -" She interrupted him with little formality. "Correct, this one is busy. What do you want, human?" "Um, well I'm probably stuck here forever. I don't think I'm ever gonna see Earth again -" Her loud snap of the jaw brought the message home in no uncertain terms that he was absolutely right. "I know you've got some trouble coming and, uh, I was like wondering if there was anything I could do. Y'know, to help?" Straightening up with surprise, she cocked her head to one side and considered the question for a few moments before responding. "This one is unsure. You communicate to this one; what can you do, hrrr?" Tainui hadn't really thought through the options before making the decision to offer his assistance and was suddenly at a loss for something to say. The leader rocked back onto her haunches and regarded him thoughtfully. "What is your designation, human, hrrr?" "Tainui Rauwhero." "This one's designation is Dark-Mist. Very well, you make...generous offer. This one will consider your request overnight. Report to this location in morning when you are ready. This one will attempt to locate role for you," she snapped her jaw at him and left as abruptly as she'd arrived. Tainui walked back to the barracks with the New Home warrior beside him. Before they reached the entrance, the warrior swung his head around toward him and fixed him with a speculative gaze. "This one believes you would fail in role as warrior. Perhaps you are acceptable food animal instead, hrrr? Cannot possibly taste worse than rank-beast meat." Frowning, he wasn't sure whether or not the Vanguard was joking. "Hey, don't you space-lizards have some sort of ethical dilemma with eating something that can talk back?" "Other Vanguard might. This one does not." "I'd give you indigestion and that's a promise!" Tainui ducked into the barracks building, still not quite sure what had prompted such a strange and disturbing statement from the large creature. But then again, back in the Outpost system before his life had been turned upside-down, Hunts-In-Grass had suggested that life wouldn't be easy here. But the warrior's comment about his taste wasn't exactly the most cheery sort of conversation to end a crappy day, he thought to himself.
* * *
After a night of somewhat disturbed sleep, he got up and had a long soak in the cleaning pool. While he lay soaking, he thought back to the first time he and Andrej had shared one of these pools aboard the Victorious-Hunting and what they had got up to in it. Primal instincts in the face of danger leading to them rutting like animals, splashing water all over the room... Groaning, he reluctantly ignored the gently throbbing part of him that was beginning to miss the attention and clambered from the pool; he didn't want to keep the base pack-leader waiting any longer than necessary. While he struggled to stuff his reluctant member into a clean pair of trackies, he gave it a fond squeeze before tying up the drawstring. At least he still had his hand and some good memories to keep him going, given that the nearest human was now several years travel even at the speed of light from his present location. He mercilessly buried the twinge of guilt and sadness he felt at the loss of the boy he had been falling head over heels for. There would be more than enough opportunities in the future to feel sorry for himself, as tempting as it was to let the tsunami of grief crash over him and wash him away in its seductive tide... The thought of the distraction offered by keeping himself busy with whatever inane project the pack-leader came up with for him was beginning to become quite attractive. Attractive? With a wry grin that resembled more of a grimace, he idly wondered how long it would take for him to go native and start finding the Vanguard attractive without any further human contact for the rest of his life. For the rest of his life... Tainui was so preoccupied with this daunting revelation that he failed to notice the obstacle in his path and tripped, smacking his head against the edge of the door-frame. Cursing loudly and seeing stars, it took several minutes for him to recover enough to stagger to his feet and look around him with a murderous expression on his face. The culprit turned out to be one of the large back-packs full of clothes that the Vanguard had managed to recover from the wrecked shuttle for him. He kicked it viciously, sending it tumbling across the floor, spewing rumpled clothes across the room. Holding a hand to the shallow cut on the side of his head, he stormed from the room. Lightning and Thunder were back on duty outside the barracks when Tainui emerged, for which he was pathetically grateful. While still menacing and not very talkative, they at least weren't threatening to eat him. Thankfully there was no sign of the other creepy warrior from the night before. The sky overhead was full of dark clouds, emitting a baleful reddish-orange glow from the unseen sun as they scudded across the sky. A faint smell of Ozone was in the air and a warm, humid wind had sprung up. Reminded of what Dark-Mist had said to him the day before about a gathering storm, Tainui jogged over towards the command centre, Lightning accompanying him while Thunder remained on station. Dark-Mist was already waiting in the briefing room when he arrived, studying the readout on one of the large monitors attached to a wall. She finished reading the flowing alien script and turned to face him, tipping her head back fractionally in what he assumed was a gesture of greeting. "Considered your offer last night, this one did. Also, conducted research into records from medic's shuttle datastack. All very, hrrr...educational," she huffed with amusement and Tainui blushed a shade darker than normal. "You are not suitable for warrior duties -" "So everyone keeps telling me," he muttered under his breath, thinking back to the creepy warrior's comment the night before. Dark-Mist narrowed her eyes slightly but ignored his quiet interruption and continued. "You do not appear to have any healing ability. Research shows this one that humans are unstable, untrustworthy, war-like, -" "Hey! We're not that bad!" When the pack-leader snorted and gave him a strange look, he blushed and looked away for a few moments. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that look was conveying. "Okay, so maybe some of those things are true. But if we're all violent and shit and you don't think I'm cut out to be a warrior, what do you think I'd be good at?" "This one believes you could be useful as an engineer." "An engineer? You're kidding, right? As in build bridges and fix engines you mean? I dunno. I'm pretty good with my hands, but..." "Hrrr, incorrect. Engineers capable of much more than construction or repairs. Engineers also design." "Yeah right. What_ever,_ lady! You lizards have got spaceships and all sorts of high-tech shit. Humans can barely get into space riding on fucking overgrown fire-crackers," he laughed disbelievingly. "Not only that, but I dropped out of high-school when I was fifteen! That may not be in your precious bloody records but it means I can barely tie my fucking shoelaces. What makes you think I can design anything even remotely useful to fight off attacking space-lizards, huh? Are you mental, or something?!" He finally spluttered to a halt, more annoyed than anything else that she would string him along with such bullshit after he had made his offer to help in good faith. If she had slapped him across the face instead it would have been less insulting. "New Home settlers originated from Original Home over many generations. Our ideas taken from their ideas with few innovations. When Original Home attackers come in force, we require new ideas they are unfamiliar with." Dark-Mist tapped a couple of commands on the small datapad she was carrying and the large monitor flickered, displaying a grainy recording of something that looked like a Star Wars movie or something. Only it was a space battle that looked alarmingly familiar to him. She tapped away some more and several of the ships were highlighted on the screen. They were pretty battered looking and were shortly overwhelmed by the other ships, which didn't appear to be in much better condition. "Recent attack was a small force, already weakened from attack on Outpost. We successfully defeated them with few losses. However, with next attack they will not be weakened and likely much greater force. Original Home is considerable distance from here so we have time for preparation. However, we do not have resources to defeat larger force. We are vulnerable," she rumbled with obvious distaste. She blanked the screen and faced him again. "Many, many, Vanguard make sacrifice to make life on New Home. Vanguard are free here. New Home has few laws, few traditions, other than ones we choose to make. This one desires New Home to remain free." She pointed a talon at his face, making him flinch. "New Home is also now your home. Do you desire to protect your new home, hrrr?" "Okay, okay, enough already! I'm sold. I'll be a fucking engineer if you think it'll help," he grumbled. "This one discovered wonderful expression you humans use. This one wants you to provide 'container of filthy magic'." "'Container of filthy magic'...? Oh!" Tainui couldn't help laughing when he figured out what she meant. His laughter made the pack-leader regard him warily, if he read the expression on her face correctly. "Sorry, I think you mean 'bag of dirty tricks', yeah?" "Hrrr, you are indeed correct, that is the correct phrase. Alright, after doing calculations, this one believes we have approximately five years before Original Home forces return in strength. Possibly sooner. This one suspects that if attacking New Home too expensive, then they will reconsider." Dark-Mist closed her eyes and rumbled a sigh, suddenly looking old and tired, even for a creature whose age it was difficult to gauge. "This one can hope, anyway. Hrrr, this one just wants to assist with raising clan spawnlings and communicate stories around fire." Tainui waited for her to continue, but she appeared to have lapsed into a state of melancholy silence. Just before he was about to clear his throat, she stirred and shook her head. "Very well, you will require engineer training. There is engineering specialist clan in Whiterock. This is city located on far side of this continent. This will require lengthy separation from warrior and his medic. This is problem for you, hrrr?" "Nah. I don't think so. I reckon the bridge I burned last night isn't easily repaired, no matter how good an engineer I become," he said sadly. "So does this mean you trust me now? And that I don't need those baby-sitters anymore?" Dark-Mist blinked at him as her translator disk choked while attempting to translate some of his strange colloquial phrases into something she could understand. Eventually she appeared to get the idea of what he had just said. "You will not require baby-sitter, because you will be too preoccupied. Engineering training will not be easy, however, you are resourceful this one believes. This one will arrange transport. Prepare swiftly. Demonstrate that this one has not misplaced her faith in you." "Chur. Before you go, I just wanna know what made you decide to trust me?" She gave him a toothy smile and left the room without responding. Lightning accompanied her, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Later that day Hunts-In-Grass hunted in vain for the human. The room he had been allocated was completely empty and all the human's belongings were gone. The only sign that he had ever been there was a small patch of fresh human blood and hair on the door-frame which had jarred him badly and brought memories of the spreading patch of bright red in the snow beneath Andrej's body flooding back... Had someone attacked the human? When he departed from the barracks to check with the two warriors, he discovered that they were missing as well, which only deepened the mystery. The previous night Two-Talon had returned to their room in a filthy mood after going to speak with the human, but he had refused to say what had transpired. He had also prevented him from opening the door when the human wanted to enter and apologize for whatever had happened. After questioning a few of the other warriors around the place, he learned that the human had been observed boarding a local civilian transport with all his gear earlier in the day, but they hadn't paid any attention to its destination. After having seen the smeared human blood he was at least relieved that Tainui was still alive and probably not seriously injured, despite evidence otherwise. "He is gone," Hunts-In-Grass rumbled in a disconcerted tone as he came lumbering into their quarters. Two-Talon looked up briefly then returned his attention to the datapad he was reading from. "Hrrr, you fail to understand. I mean really gone. He is no longer present on this base. A warrior I communicated with related his observation of the human boarding a civilian transport with all his possessions earlier today." That got Two-Talon's attention. "You are certain of this, hrrr? He might have merely returned to the crash site again." "With all his gear, hrrr? On a civilian transport?" "Hrrr, no. I do not believe so either." Abandoning the datapad, Two-Talon climbed from the sleep-webbing and swiftly made his way from the barracks with Hunts-In-Grass close behind him. "Where are Lightning and Thunder? I believed we were supposed to be under observation." There was no sign of either warrior, although Thunder's namesake rumbled ominously overhead from the boiling clouds. When they arrived at the command centre they located Dark-Mist near the entrance talking with another Vanguard in an engineering skinsuit. When they approached, the two broke off their conversation and turned to face them. "We cannot locate the human. Are you aware of his current location, hrrr?" The leader tilted her head back in a show of respect toward the engineer and dismissed him before answering him. "He requested to be assigned to duty and I granted his request." "He what?! What duty, hrrr? Where?" "That is not your concern any longer." "I am the one responsible for bringing him to New Home, of course he is my concern! I mean no disrespect, pack-leader. However, I should be the one attending to him. Especially after -" Dark-Mist interrupted, pulling out a small datapad and handing it to him. "This may answer your concerns, perhaps. The human requested that I deliver it to you after he departed. Now, if you will excuse me," she lumbered into the command centre and disappeared from view. A few large drops of water hit the ground at their feet and a stiff breeze had come up seemingly from nowhere. This was accompanied by a bright flash, followed several seconds later by an extended rumble of thunder, making the armored metal cladding of the command centre building rattle beside them. "Come, we can watch this back in our quarters," Hunts-In-Grass put an arm around Two-Talon's shoulders and led the disturbed medic back to the barracks, the rain becoming heavier and more persistent on the way. Once inside Two-Talon connected the datapad to the larger wall-mounted viewscreen and activated it. The screen flickered a few times then showed some distorted, chaotic movement before the image stabilized, finally showing Tainui backing away a couple of metres until most of him was in the frame. They could make out a couple of the recovered back-packs beside the doorway to his quarters. "Uh, Kia Ora guys. At the risk of sounding like something out of a dumb movie cliché, I'll be gone by the time you get this. I'm not very good at the whole speeches thing, so I'll keep it short. Two-Talon, mate. You have no idea just how sorry I am about what happened last night. I lashed out at you without thinking. I know you were just trying to be kind and it wasn't fair of me to say what I did. If I could take it all back, know that I would. I'm...I'm not coping with things too well at the moment, y'know? I think you of all people...er, lizards, probably know how I'm feeling better than most. Still, it's no excuse for what I said and I hope you'll forgive me. Dammit -" The image shifted suddenly and went dark as the datapad fell off whatever Tainui had rested it on. More chaotic movement and the sound of footsteps followed as the human picked it up and held it facing him, his face with a dopey looking grin plastered all over it filled the screen. "Sorry 'bout that. Stupid thing fell over. Anyway, I asked your leader-chick if she had something for me to do, so I don't feel so bloody useless around here. Turns out she found me a job. Had something special in mind for me. Go figure, eh? I reckon you and Hunts look like you're pretty happy together, which is cool. I'd just get in the way, so this is probably best for all of us." The voice of an unidentified Vanguard could be heard coming from behind Tainui and he turned to listen for a few moments before facing the datapad again. "Shit. I gotta go, that's my ride. It's a strange new world out there and you guys have enough to worry about without having me around. Hunts, if you're watching this? You'd better be good to Mr. Lizard, or I'll hunt you down and turn you into a pair of shoes and a matching hand-bag. Two-Talon? Don't think bad of me. Please, please forgive me for what I said." The picture wobbled around a bit, then went blank. Two-Talon powered off the viewscreen and lumbered over to stand beside the window, watching the storm lash the base outside and the rain beating relentlessly against the plexiglass. Hunts-In-Grass came over to stand beside him, his tail curling around his waist in a comforting manner. "Are you alright, hrrr?"Two-Talon shook his head, conflicting feelings tearing at him. "How am I supposed to feel about this, hrrr? I really do not know."
Chapter Thirty-Four
Although life settled down for Hunts-In-Grass and Two-Talon over the following weeks, Two-Talon still attempted every couple of days to track down the human's location but without success. The young warrior also appeared to miss the presence of the human, which surprised him more than a little. When he questioned him about it, he would just change the subject. Due to the limited size of the New Home defense force there wasn't much call for a full-time medic on the base, so Two-Talon joined a small group of medics who administered to the population of the sizable lake-side city adjoining the base. He was forever surprised at the lack of imagination the New Home inhabitants had when it came to naming locations on or around the planet, including the cities. The city he worked in was just called Base City, much to his amusement. The total number of Vanguard on the planet was also considerably larger than he expected, given that the original immigrant population numbered only about 10,000. It had been augmented by new arrivals totaling not more than a few hundred each year since it was first settled. More than 30 million Vanguard now called New Home, home - it was a good place to raise a family it seemed. Although physically smaller than Original Home, New Home orbited a lot closer to its primary sun. Coupled with the lower gravity, this produced, over the generations, a slow change in the physiology of the Vanguard living there. They were becoming physically smaller and the average life-span was increasing. Two-Talon was quite fascinated by these discoveries and also by the new social structure that had developed during the long isolation from 'mainstream' Vanguard influence. In their desire to escape from the corrupt and highly regimented society full of rules and restrictions, the New Home Vanguard had gone in completely the opposite direction; they had ended up with an almost complete lack of any sort of governing structure whatsoever. Quite how it all held together Two-Talon wasn't certain but everyone on New Home appeared just fine with it. There were some basic rules governing the way certain crimes were handled but, for the most part, the extended clans and family units tended to self-govern sufficiently without the requirement for any outside influence. Most Vanguard tended to gravitate towards different areas of expertise as the whim took them, so there were usually enough experts in the various fields to keep things running smoothly. He also learned that, in times of crisis, a highly respected warrior was usually given overall responsibility for looking after the best interests of the colony and had certain powers he or she could use in emergency situations. This meant that, most of the time, the defense force was quite small and generally limited to patrols around the New Home and Outpost systems. It also served as a type of police if there were localized conflicts, which there hadn't been for many generations. While there was no conscription of any type, young Vanguard were still strongly encouraged to spend a few years serving in the defense force anyway, for the experience and to learn basic military techniques. As a result of this, the New Home defense force had a fairly small number of attack-capable ships because the planet didn't possess any large scale, off-planet industrial capabilities. They had never been required before. Most of the battle capable vessels it used were converted freighters, some of which dated from the earliest waves of immigrants. Dark-Mist had contacted the various clans who specialized in engineering and design in order to start construction of as many new ships and weapons as they could in the time they had remaining before the Original Home attackers returned in force. They assured her it could - and would - be done, but it was still going to take a considerable amount of time to ramp up production. Time they were already beginning to run short of... Hunts-In-Grass had decided to make a career out of his military experience and spent most of his time around the base learning combat and strategy techniques from the older and more experienced warriors. He and Two-Talon had decided, after some discussion, to keep using his quarters on the base as their home rather than moving into the main city. One night as they lay in the sleep-webbing together, Hunts-In-Grass decided to broach a subject that had been on his mind for some time. "Are you happy, lover?" "Hrrr? I am content, indeed." Two-Talon turned and stared at him in the darkness. "What made you ask that?" "For some time now I have developed the impression that you are merely going through the motions. That your mind is otherwise occupied." "What gives you that impression, hrrr?" "Occasionally, when you believe you are not being observed, it is obvious you are upset or distracted about something." Two-Talon was silent for a few moments. "It is possible," he eventually admitted. "Hrrr, sometimes I am. I cannot help but remember the sacrifices that others have made for me." "When are you going to join the present, rather than existing in the past all the time?" Hunts-In-Grass moved until he was lying on top of him, staring down at him in the dark with the exasperation clearly evident in his voice. "If you are concerned, then you have a requirement to make their sacrifices count for something. Otherwise they have been wasted!" Stung by the response, Two-Talon blinked in surprise and was about to offer a heated retort when the realization hit him; his lover was right. Perhaps he had been existing too much in the past. After all, wasn't it he himself who said that life goes on? Hunts-In-Grass extended his tongue and licked Two-Talon's muzzle while twining his tail around the medic's. "If you are feeling guilty about the humans then just consider what would have happened if you did not intervene after they were abducted. They would both be dead, terminated by those who drove you here in the first place. Hrrr, anyway, they chose to accompany you. There was no coercion on your part." He rubbed himself against the medic suggestively. "I have a requirement that you rejoin me in the present. It is pleasant here, hrrr." "Perhaps you are correct." Two-Talon felt the hard bulge growing in the warrior's genital-pouch while it was trapped between their bodies. It wasn't long before there was an answering stirring in his own. "Indeed, I am correct, you realize the truth in my words. Hrrr, do not concern yourself; we will locate the human eventually. I do not believe he has come to any harm. I sense that our pack-leader has a plan for him." Two-Talon responded by pushing his tongue into his mouth, twisting it around the warrior's as their breathing became increasingly heavy. He tried to move so that he was on top, but Hunts-In-Grass stopped him with a feral hiss. "Incorrect, my lover. Tonight you are mine..." Sliding seductively around, the warrior smirked at Two-Talon's wide-eyed expression while his rapidly hardening cock slid out of its sheath, already oozing strings of slimy pre-cum between their two bodies. The medic had never had the experience of being on the receiving end before. It had always been him that had played the dominant role and, now that the tables were turned, he was a little nervous. And quite aroused. He was starting to pant in anticipation when Hunts-In-Grass surprised him by sliding down his body and wrapping his eminently flexible tongue around his cock, sliding up and down the lightly ribbed length, occasionally tracing some of his teeth gently along it as well. "Hrrr by the Revered Ancestors, where did you learn this little trick?" Two-Talon moaned, arching his back and clawing at the sleep-webbing, his talons flexing almost uncontrollably. Hunts-In-Grass didn't say anything but continued to massage his cock with his tongue. He raked his talons down the softer scales on Two-Talon's stomach until the medic roared and his cock exploded jets of ropey cum into the warrior's mouth and all over his snout. When Two-Talon relaxed, he felt the warrior's tongue release his sticky cock and move further down, circling his ass, teasingly. He felt the tongue swirl around his twitching ass for a couple of minutes, while his lover tasted highly aroused Vanguard. When the tongue was thrust inside him this produced an involuntary surprised grunt from him; he was still reeling from the earlier assault as it was. Using the hands on his rear arms, Hunts-In-Grass awkwardly began to stroke himself as he tongued his lover, priming himself for the upcoming invasion... Finally satisfied that he had all but driven the medic crazy with the intense new feelings, he drew himself up and lined his drooling cock up to the twitching ass, gently teasing the entrance with the very tip. "Your first time, hrrr?" he whispered huskily with an evil smile on his face while his lover stared nervously back at him, eyes wide and shining in the darkness. A loud creaking sound came from some of the bolts holding the sleep-webbing to the walls when the medic dug his talons into the webbing and tensed, waiting for the expected brutal thrusting to begin. Hunts-In-Grass gripped him firmly with his two strong rear arms and the webbing with his forward arms and eased himself slowly and smoothly forward without pausing, deep inside his lover until he bottomed out. Two-Talon, who had stopped breathing, expecting a violent thrust, let out his breath in a long drawn out howl as his ass was gently but firmly stretched by his warrior lover. Swiveling himself slightly to help stretch the medic's spasming ass, Hunts-In-Grass nibbled at the sensitive skin on his throat which elicited surprised little whimpers from his lover. Slowly at first, he slid most of the way out again before firmly pushing back in, repeating the gentle thrusts until he felt Two-Talon start to relax, at which point he increased the speed and power until he was pistoning in and out like a well-oiled machine. Two-Talon writhed from side to side beneath him, enjoying the ride while making cute little whining noises as his ass was pounded relentlessly. There were obscene slurping noises as the entire length was thrust deep inside his lover and then drawn out again, over and over. Nearing the precipice he bit down hard on Two-Talon's neck, tasting blood while slamming himself in short sharp bursts deep into his lover. Howling from the release of pent up tension, he lunged deep into the medic, spurts of his seed squirting out from around his member when he withdrew slightly a few moments later. After he had finished unloading, he collapsed, spent, beside his lover on the webbing. With a twisted smirk on his face he Reached over gripped his lover's member and jacked a second load from the exhilarated but exhausted Vanguard who lay there protesting only feebly, but making no move to stop him. "Does it always feel this good, hrrr?" Two-Talon asked his companion a few minutes later as he struggled to catch his breath, craning his head down to watch with fascination while his lover's seed leaked slowly from his stretched hole. "I have never experienced before, what you have just done to me. Hrrr, there is one certainty and that is I desire more!" Hunts-In-Grass glanced at him. "The humans' call it 'making love'. It is somewhat more gentle than we are perhaps used to. However, you appeared to enjoy it, hrrr? I was inspired after observing the recordings of the humans while they were on the shuttle." They lay there in companionable silence for a few minutes, their breathing slowly returning to normal while they relaxed, sticky but satisfied. He turned his head slowly and stared at him in the darkness. "I do not quite know how to say this, Two-Talon. However..." "What is it, hrrr?" "I desire for you to become my bond-mate." Stunned and at a loss for words, Two-Talon blinked and looked away, staring at the darkened ceiling while he tried to make sense of his own feelings. In the time since he had decided to let Tusker go, he had consciously made the decision to permit the ceremonial bonding scars on his chest to heal over. He had struggled with the guilt of doing this at the time, but knew that were their situations reversed he would have desired that Tusker move on with his own life also. Besides, he would always have the memories. Although time dulled the sharp edges of the emotional pain, those memories would always remain with him... The young warrior, concerned by his companion's lengthy silence in response to his statement, continued nervously. "I have very strong feelings for you and have for some time now. I know you may require some time and will understand if you wish to decline..." Two-Talon finally turned to face him, bringing their heads cheek to cheek and twined his tail around his with a serious expression on his face. "I accept. I would be honored to accept your bonding, Hunts-In-Grass of the Brittlerock Clan of New Home."