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Silt

Chapter 2

Mori had never been out this far into the southern sands. Out here there were too many hazards, and too few solid places to stand on. The few rocky outcroppings that could be seen off in the distance were better off avoided, as just about every single one of them was crawling with a clan of the insect people, and more than a few had no second thoughts about feasting on the fleshy races.

These were the lands of Kith'Ek's people. These sands belonged to the Thri'Kin.

He sat motionlessly in the center of The Little Lady, watching them all go by. He let his memories drift to his youth, remembering the battles he had fought against the other clans as they silently slid past his enemies' stones.

He remembered the female that he had been sent to impregnate as they passed another. He remembered his sense of pride and excitement at having been chosen, willing let her give him his first severing. He remembered the pain as her body clenched, pinching off a length of his aedea inside of her, and the honor of allowing her to ritually tend to the wound as a sign of respect.

But this human woman had changed him. His first mating was clinical. It was a contract. It was not pleasant. There was no ritual with Mori, and in time he had found not only that he preferred it...

He enjoyed it.

Soon he could see his own clanstone off in the distance. It was larger than most, and in constant need of heavy defense from their kin. This is what had led them to become more friendly with the other races. It gave them the opportunity to procure goods and resources that the scavenger clans could not match. They had access to weapons, provisions and even the means to hire mercenary clans to help defend their home.

This had been Kith'ek's role ever since his sixteenth cycle. He and his warband traveled to human settlements to trade. There had once been five of them, but only he remained. Only he would return home.

He had never intended to be gone so long.

Mori eased the skiff up to the makeshift docks here. The insect people's own ships were almost always out on missions, so none were present at the moment. Once it was in place she popped out its crystal to drop the vessel to the sand, and turned to regard the pack of cautious looking Thri'kin coming toward her.

She held her hands up to show that she wasn't holding a weapon, and was about to speak, but her companion spoke first much to her surprise. He had barely uttered a word in weeks. It was becoming difficult, and even now he spoke more slowly than made her comfortable.

"I am Kith'ek. Father to Quiz'ek. Seeker of the clan." The words were in his language. Words she could not speak with her human tongue, but had learned to understand. "Mori is with me."

"I know of you. You have served the clan well. We have received much from your efforts." One of the clan stepped ahead of the others, "But we did not recognize you. You have been gone too long."

He did not reply at first, so the one addressing him spoke again, "What of your warband?"

"Dead. Killed by a spinewyrm, twelve cycles ago." He said it bluntly, still motionless, "I will join them soon."

"I understand. We will carry you the rest of the way." This time he motioned to his allies, and they turned to return up the rocks into the settlement to retrieve a litter to ferry him on, "And of the woman?"

There was a long pause, but eventually his head turned slightly. She couldn't tell if it was to look at him, or at her. His tone softened though as he spoke.

"She is my warband now. She is the reason for my success as seeker." He paused again, and his head turned back, "She is of the clan, by rite of service. She is to be my second for the dying rites. These are my wishes."

There was a long silence as the other man looked her over. There was no emotion in it, he was simply curious. It was obvious to him what their bond meant to Kith'Ek that he would choose a human as his second. It was an honor he had heard of, but which had not happened since long before his hatching.

"Then it will be so." He said, finally turning away to follow the path his companions had left on, "Welcome home, Kith'Ek. I will notify your son."

Mori moved to his side, lowering herself down to sit next to him with a sigh, "My being here isn't going to be a problem, is it?"

"No." He said quietly, this time in her language, "The Jik'Ta'Kin do not shun the other races. He is merely being cautious.'

She nodded, letting a short silence fall between them before speaking again, "I don't want this, Kith'Ek. We've been partners for so long, but it still feels like it's just... It's too soon."

"It is not what I want either, Mori." He turned his head a bit to regard her more clearly, though it was a struggle, "But I do not want to live like... Like this."

She understood all too well. His joints had become stiff rapidly over the last months. He could not even stand anymore, even with her assistance. He still looked every bit the same as the day they met, but inside that carapace was now an old man, struggling against himself.

An old man she loved.

She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly, watching as his kin returned to carry him up and out of her skiff. Their last voyage together aboard The Little Lady was over. Their days sailing the sands looking for salvage and adventure had ended. She wasn't sure she wanted to go on with it anymore. It wouldn't be the same. She would never feel as safe.

Not without him.

Cycles ago...

Kith'Ek was huddled under the over-cropping stones that had saved his life. The Spinewyrm had been young, but still more than powerful enough to wipe out his companions as they tried to escape. Fighting it would have been suicide. Even trying to flee was suicide. Being in its presence alone was a death sentence.

Only he had managed to hide away, and now it had moved on... Either having not noticed him, forgotten about him, or simply not cared enough to pursue him further.

At least that was what he hoped.

This was a sun cycle, so there would be no night. Only Yema dipped below the horizon for this year, while Vul stayed ever in the sky. At least it offered him some shade, with only one sun shining down. It gave him some comfort as he considered his predicament. Here he was, stuck out in the middle of the sands, knowing what might be out there waiting to end him, and wondering how long he should wait before he braved the journey to safety.

Fate made that decision for him.

He didn't hear Mori. The Little Lady was a delicate ship, as silent as it was graceful. Even at full mast she was sliding across the sands like a ghost, leaving little more than a couple lines and a puff of dust to mark her passing.

He heard the pirates chasing her. Their ship was big, and poorly maintained. It powered over the desert leaving a tall rooster-tail of silt in its wake. The men on deck were shouting insults, too many to understand all at once.

It answered a question at least. If the wyrm had still been around, it would have gone after them in a heartbeat. No way would it have failed to notice this.

He popped up and out of his hiding place to take stock, but the potential here was obvious. The options were clear.

Kill everyone. These people were no Spinewyrm. He could probably do so, but it would leave him in the same dilemma. He didn't know how to pilot a ship, and he would be just as stuck as before.

He could kill the woman of course, and try to reason with the pirates. That option was easy, but it would be downright foolish. Thri'Kin plates were valued for their durability. He would be murdered as soon as they were able, and harvested for his parts.

That only left one possible hope for survival...

Save her.

Mori had not even seen him yet. She had bigger problems requiring her attention. She had turned her skiff toward this stone in an attempt to use The Little Lady's agility against the larger ship, waiting until she was almost past it to yank hard on the wheel to start it into sharp turn. Her girl strained against it, but did as she was asked and began to make a hard drift around the rock, turning sideways as she carved a tight circle around it.

The pirates weren't so adaptable. They were fast enough, but they couldn't make a turn like this. It would give her a chance to open up her sails and start off again at full speed in a direction that they were no longer headed. At least until they caught up again.

That was the plan, anyway. Right up until a giant insect of a man leapt right up onto her deck as she spun around the stone, weapon in hand as he grabbed the mast to stabilize himself.

"Get behind them." Kith'Ek only paused briefly, before moving up to the bow, "Get close. Get me onto their ship."

Mori didn't have time to be stunned, though she wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. Survival was the only thing that mattered right now, and somehow she had gained an ally. She wasn't about to question it. She kept the little skiff in the drift for longer than she had initially meant to, almost a full circle and a half around the rocky outcropping until she had come right up behind the pirate vessel. One arm came up to shield her eyes as the sands they were churning up washed over her ship. They slowed in response, not realizing what was about to happen... Blinded to the insect now on her bow by their own wake by that same plume.

Kith'Ek leapt from the bow, his bladed spear at the ready as he accounted for their numbers. He counted nine, not having to look between them, as his insectoid eyes did not need to move to do so. There were only eight by the time his feet hit their deck, the first cut down in an overhead slash that sent his human fluids splattering in all directions.

Kith'Ek had always found that the fleshy races were disturbed by such displays. The messier the death, the more they questioned their resolve. It was a thing he could use against them.

More important to his thoughts was the way Mori had turned hard to her left, setting herself and her skiff away from this battle. Unfortunate, he thought. He had considered that she might, but hoped that she would see his assistance as a reason to help him... Not as a chance to flee.

But he was committed to this now. He dove in and amongst them, spinning his weapon to cut the next three of them down in a way that human eyes and minds couldn't predict or comprehend. Five remained, and that was still problematic. He darted behind their main mast as the first shots started to fire, feeling a couple of them deflected off his plates as he did so.

Guns... It was almost enough to amuse him if he had been capable of such a thing. All he had to do was let them spend their rounds. His blade never expired. So long as he protected his eyes, these pirates were no threat to him.

But to their kind... To the fleshy races... They were lethal.

His head turned at the sound of it, though there was none until it was too late. Mori had spun The Little Lady back around, throwing her into another hard turn, this time to bring her in a tight arc that just about scraped their sides together as they passed. The skiff was practically on its side, enough to make Kith'Ek wonder what was keeping it from tipping over completely, but Mori knew the ship's limits, almost as well as she knew her own. The wheel was lashed in place for this, and she had one foot on the rail now and the other hooked over a rope, leaving her hanging out over the starboard side both using herself as ballast and to make her attack. She had her revolvers in hand, and she let loose with a barrage into the pirate vessel.

It was a display that would have left even an imperial gunship feeling downright inadequate.

"Get the helmsman!" She yelled over the shots, not pulling back until her weapons were spent, "Remove the crystal! Bring them down!"

For someone in her position to hit anything at all was remarkable, but two of the remaining pirates fell. It also took their attention away from him, and he darted back out to attack once more. Her advice was sound,. He zeroed in on the man at the helm, cutting him down quickly and taking stock of his position.

The crystal was there. He pulled it from its slot, bracing himself for what came next.

The ship hit the sands hard at this speed, sending the remaining men flying as momentum and physics took over. The bodies of the dead sailed past, unable to resist as they were launched out into the desert. Only he remained under control, clinging to the wheel of the ship with three of his arms to keep himself in place, even as everything and everyone else on the vessel failed to do the same.

And when it finally stopped, only he was ready to strike. He leapt at them as they started to rise, cutting them all down before they could do so with a speed and precision that only the insect people were capable of. Nine pirates were now none. Only two souls remained, one on each vessel, which had never properly met...

Two souls that needed each other. More than they could ever have suspected.

It took some time for her to slow her skiff, but eventually she brought her back around to hover near the downed pirate wreck. The pair eyed each other curiously. Had he intended to kill her, he could have done so easily. Her weapons were empty, back in the holsters at her sides. They both knew that.

"You alright?" She asked, one hand on the wheel of her ship, still fearing the worst, "I think I might have shot you by accident. Sorry about that."

"You did." He reached one of his smaller arms up to stoke the plates of his larger one. His chiton could deflect bullets easily enough, but the pain would take days to fade, "That you hit anything that you meant to is a testament to your skill. That you hit me... Is excusable."

"Still sorry. You just saved my ass." She regarded him further, trying to get a read on his intentions, "My name is Mori. You?"

"Kith'Ek. Father of Quiz'Ek. Seeker of the Jik'Ta'Kin." He tapped the butt of his bladed spear on the deck twice for effect, as a display of his pride in those words, "Your phrasing is not something that makes sense when applied to one of my kind... But... I believe you have also saved my... Ass? Was that the word? Which part of that is you?"

"This part." Mori had to laugh, turning to slap her backside for him to see, "Don't try to make sense of the phrasing. Us fleshy people just like butts."

"If you say so." This wasn't anything he cared about, or even a topic of concern, "My warband was slaughtered by a Spinewyrm, less than a day ago. I do not wish to linger here, and neither should you."

That struck any mirth she had been feeling right out of her bones, "Okay... Right. Good point, and one worth acting on... But..."

They locked gazes for a moment, and her smile returned.

"Move quick. Take what we can. Anything that looks valuable." She said quickly, "Pirate salvage is always worth something. Cash, weapons, provisions..."

She nodded, looking him over...

"Maybe even a partner."

"What will I need to do?" Mori asked, her head low as he prepared to explain the rite to her.

"Nothing."

She looked up at that. Quiz'Ek was the son of the man she loved. His father was covered in plates the color of rust, shining in spots almost like metal. Quiz'Ek looked nothing like him, marked in hues from light to dark green that streaked horizontally across his entire body.

She more than anyone knew how their kind of was more like the fleshy races than those races knew. Still, she expected more than nothing.

"I will explain." He went on, "We do not wish to watch our kind die, any more than you do. Only the second is asked to be present. The second is the one that the dying does not wish to pass without having at their side."

It caused her to lower her head again, sniffling back the tears. A great honor, she had heard some say. She hadn't understood until now.

"I had thought... I would be his second. I am his son." The comment was touched with what was almost sadness. Something only someone like her could have detected, having been in the presence of one of their kind for so long.

"I'm sorry, Quiz'Ek." She said quietly, "I hope you can forgive..."

"It was not my intention belittle your role." He cut her off, then had to wonder if she even know how his relationship with his father worked, "Do you know of our life cycle?"

"A little..." She sighed, somewhat embarrassed by the things she did know, "I know how the males offer their... Seed. And what happens to them in the act. Is that... Relevant?"

"To the dying rites? Yes. The end of us is more than relevant to the beginning." He moved to sit beside her, a gesture not lost on the woman, "We hatch into a ruthless world. Hundreds of fingerlings, fighting to survive. We are hunted by vermin, scorched by the desert suns, left to survive on our own."

She shook her head, "That sounds awful."

"It is. But it is necessary." He paused for a moment before going on, "We would perish if they all survived. We could not support a clan of that size. Only the strongest find a way. They learn to make shelter. They learn to make weapons and allies. They learn to prey on the vermin that prey on them. They learn what it means to survive, and in doing so they learn what it means to be Thri'Kin."

It caused a question in her, "But then... How do you know he is even your father?"

"Because he chose to be." Quiz'Ek's head turned toward her, "I survived to my second cycle, and he he took me to be his son. No longer to learn from this world by its harshness, but by his example and words. That is what makes him my father."

"But do you love him?" She asked quietly.

"Love is a human thing. It is for the fleshy races." He barely seemed phased by the question, but it was curious enough, "I respect him. I respect his dedication to the clan. I am proud of him, and will do my best to honor his legacy."

"That's love, honey. Just because your people don't have a word for it, doesn't make that untrue." She let her hand rest on one of his, smiling now, "I've known him for too long not to know that."

"Such sentimentality is..."

Her laughter cut him off, even through her tears, "You sound exactly like him."

He had no idea what to make of her comment, so he did not reply.

"You are capable of love." She said, sniffling again before she went on, "It might not be the way someone like me does, but it is there. You have it inside of you. I've seen it. I've... Felt it."

"That seems like a projection of your own human emotions." It was something his kind were used to. The fleshy races always tried to make the Thri'Kin more like themselves in their minds, "But I would not take that from you, if it brings you peace."

"Maybe you're right..." She sighed, leaning away from him now, "And thank you for letting me be... Wrong."

"I must see to my father now. I will summon you shortly." He stood. There was much that needed to be tended to, "I hope we will speak again, Mori. There is much of his life that I cannot comprehend. I wish to correct that."

"I want that too, Quiz'ek." She smiled gently, but let her head drop, "Thank you."

He entered the hut to find his father lying in the center on a table that had been prepared for him. Most of his joints had been completely seized up when he arrived here, but the healers had treated them with oils to help loosen them up enough to rest properly. Most were still beyond his ability to actually move, and they never would again.

"Father." Quiz'ek moved to his side, reaching up to grip his shoulder in greeting, "It has been too long since I have been in your presence. I am grateful you have returned to give me this opportunity."

"As am I, my son..." He spoke slowly, clearly struggling even more than before, "I should have... Come sooner."

"All is forgiven." Came the reply, "There is nothing to regret."

"There is much that I regret..." Kith'Ek all but sighed, had he been able, "What have you told Mori of the rite?"

"Perhaps less than I should have." He found his father's tone odd. Almost human in a way. It was curious, "She does not know that your body will be fed to the fingerlings when you pass. She does not know your plates shall be harvested to make tools when they are done."

"Good. You show wisdom." He paused briefly, "I do want her to have some part of me, however. Craft her something for me... You were always skilled at that."

"As you wish." He leaned up and away, starting to turn to go and summon his father's second, but then stopped. This would be their last chance to speak, and he didn't understand much, "She has changed you, hasn't she?"

There was another long pause, "She is complicated, my son. Knowing her is complicated. Somehow... It has complicated me, to be in her presence all these cycles."

"I do not understand."

"Nor do I... Not truly." He mulled over the words that he had tried to find for cycles, but which never quite sounded correct, "Our lives are short, and steeped in ritual. We know our roles. We do not question... Why. We simply are."

Quiz'Ek turned to move back closer again as his father continued.

"Mori is chaos. She is like a fire, tearing through the brambles." He sounded almost wistful, "She embraces every new experience. She seeks to better herself at every opportunity. And when a Thri'Kin warrior leapt onto her ship, to help her fight the pirates in her wake..."

He reached up with the one of his smaller arms that could still move, though his son had to come to rest of the way to hold it.

"She did not even question it. She simply accepted me."

"She sounds like a capable ally." Quiz'Ek finally said, "But I still do not understand."

"I have... Mated with her." He said, much to his son's surprise, "Many times."

"For what purpose?" He asked, "You could never produce fingerlings with her."

"No purpose at all, save for pleasure of the act." He let his hand drop, no longer having the strength to keep it lifted, "It cannot be described. Only experienced. I would ask you to consider that."

A long silence fell as Quiz'Ek pondered his father's words, but it was clear he hadn't the strength to go on with this conversation any further.

"Goodbye, my father." He said, taking a slight bow this time before turning to leave.

Kith'Ek waited for him to go. What he wanted to say wouldn't be understood by his son, so he waited. He waited until he was alone.

"I love you... My son." He said, feeling the weight in his chest as he did so, "I hope that one day you know... What I know..."

The door of their room at the inn opened and closed loudly, with Mori practically tangled up in the barmaid she had seduced. The men here weren't worth their weight in salt, but thankfully Mori wasn't so picky as to rule out the ladies, and this particular girl had her downright giddy. There was just one thing she wanted to know...

She reached up, yanking back on the belt of the young lady's dress to peer inside, and she couldn't help but light up, "Oh thank the gods..."

Linna looked a little confused, but she was having fun, "What is it?"

"I would never have forgiven you if you'd shaved off that bush..." Mori leaned in to nibble at her nose lightly, even as she reached down under that dress to aggressively shove two of her fingers up inside the girl, causing her to gasp and jump a, "There is nothing I love more than a nice fluffy ginger muffin."

The pair giggled together. Mori had a type when it came to other woman, sure enough. Redheads were her weakness, and she had this one right where she wanted her. Ready to go, already wet as an oasis in her hands.

"Pastry, now?" The voice started the girl, it was deep and sounded male, but like it was damaged, "Is there a single word in your language that you humans don't use to describe your genitals?"

Linna jumped again when she saw him there, squatting motionless in the corner. It was enough to pull Mori's fingers right out of her as she ducked behind her for safty, "Aaa! What is that thing!"

"Linna, this is Kith'Ek." She tried to sound reassuring, but the reaction worried her, "I told you I run salvage with out in the wastes. He's my partner."

"Your partner?" Linna was just staring wide eyed now, "Is that safe?"

"Are you kidding? He's the best partner I've ever had. People see him coming, they think twice about starting some shit." She turned into the girl, slipping her hands onto her waist to lean in for another little kiss, noting that she resisted it, "I can't fuck him though, or he'd be perfect... That's why I need you, honey."

"And... What?" Linna pulled away a bit, "It's just going to sit there and... Watch us?"

"It's nothing to worry about." Mori regarded her insect companion affectionately, "It's nothing he hasn't seen before, and Thri'Kin are probably the only men on the Athas that don't get turned on by watching two chicks going at each other."

"I do not care what you do. It matters little to my kind." Kith'Ek, lowered his head a bit, "I should not have even interrupted, but sometimes the way Mori speaks is confusing to me."

"Relax, Linna. You're safe here. Hell, this is probably the safest place in town with him here." She tried to reach up to stroke the girl's cheek, but it was becoming clear that his was a lost cause, "Please don't go."

"No... I can't do this! I can't!" The girl turned to hurry out of the room, slamming the door shut as she went and leaving the pair in silence.

"A redhead..." Mori shook her head with a sigh briefly leaning her head against the door before turning to look at her partner, "Did you see that? A damned redhead."

"Forgive me, Mori." He spoke quietly, "I did not intend for that."

"No, it's not your fault. These things happen. If I have to choose between my partner and a fling, you know I'm always on your side." She moved over to the only bed in the room. Her shirt was already half unbuttoned, so she slipped the rest of the way out of it easily, leaving her topless as she flopped back onto the mattress. She sighed again, lifting the fingers that had so briefly been inside the girl to sniff them, "Oh... She even smells clean... And a redhead! An actual redhead!"

"You seem to be fixating on that." His head turned a couple of times, "I have learned that your kind see colors in a more... Static manner than we do. The color of her hair is not constant to me. The hue only depends on which part of the eye it is focused in."

"Really?" She sat up a bit to look at him, "What do you see when you look at me?"

"Many things. Many hues. Tones of light and darkness. Even heat." He paused after that last one, "Which seems to be relevant. You are very warm right now. Is that of concern?"

"The phrase is 'hot and bothered', but I'll be fine." She lay back, starting to remove her pants now, "A damned redhead..."

"I take it you will not be going out again tonight?" He asked.

"No point. Everyone else in this town is filthy. Miners usually are." Once she was finally naked she settled back again, "Looks like I'm taking care of myself tonight... Again."

She had already started to stroke against her lips with her free hand, once more smelling the other girl's arousal still lingering on her fingers. She let her eyes drift closed, not even worrying about the fact that Kith'Ek was there. She was a lot of things, but shy was not one of them, "Oh Linna... What could have been?"

"I am curious." He said after watching her for a bit, "If you are so easily capable of self pleasure, why do you insist on pursuing other individuals to take part?"

"It's not the same. It's better with a partner... Or three." She smiled a little, letting one of her fingers press against her button. She was in no hurry, "Now do you mind? I'm trying to remember that lovely muff."

He waited a few moments longer, "Would my assistance improve the experience for you?"

That opened her eyes again, and she raised up on her elbows, "But you and I... We're not even..."

"I have seen you with human males before. I have seen how they apply their genitalia to yours." He turned his head to look at her more squarely, "I believe I can recreate the act, at least to some degree."

"How does that..." She looked him over curiously now. This all seemed impossible, but she was nothing if not open to new ideas, "Do you even have a... I don't see..."

"I have always thought it odd that human males simply have their reproductive organs dangling outside their bodies. It seems like a flaw." He stood now, coming over to the bed before her, "Ours are kept inside the shell. It is safer there."

It was the first time she would ever see it, but nowhere near the last... And it it was magnificent. His monstrous shaft started to descend out of his body, thick and pale white, She kept expecting it to stop, but it just kept coming, curling up at her as if seeking her out. The aedea never stopped growing over the Thri'Kin's life, so this first time it wasn't even as long it would be in their later cycles together, but soon a full two and a half feet of him was suspended out in front of her.

Her eyes were about bugging out of her head.

"Is it also comparable baked goods?" He asked curiously. If she didn't know better, that was almost like him telling a joke.

"Nope. Going to have go go with poultry this time. That is... The biggest cock I have ever seen." She sat up, curling her knees under her to reach out and take hold of the end of him gently to give it a couple of strokes, "Hello beautiful. Where have you been hiding my entire life?"

"I will assume that was rhetorical." He said, watching her handle him curiously, "Also that you find it satisfactory."

"Satisfactory?" She smiled up at him, "Honey, they don't make them like this on human men. Finding someone who can even reach the back wall is rare enough. This thing is gonna try and knock it down."

"I do not wish to harm you." He added.

"What you need to know right now, Kith'Ek, is that this thing is going to stretch me to my limits. I'm going to be walking funny tomorrow... And I want that. I want it bad." She smiled, taking her other hand to tickle at the little wiggling tentacles at the tip of the shaft, "What are these cute little things?"

"The flagella's purpose is to curl out and grip around the opening of the female's sperm chamber. They hold the Aedea in place while the packets of seed are delivered."

They watched as the little finger-like things tried to grip at her hand. They weren't very strong, she noted, but they looked like they would feel awful nice.

"Packets?" She asked, looking back up at him now, "You cum in packets?"

"Yes. Though not as you might imagine it." He said, not bothering to resist as she continued to explore him further. It was odd to him that she did so without hesitation. He had always found the fleshy races were made uncomfortable this close to one of his kind, but she welcomed it, "We do not achieve this... Orgasm, that you have spoken of. The packets are delivered when I choose to do so."

"So it's not pleasurable to you?" That almost made her sad.

"No. In fact it is quite painful to mate with a female of my kind." She looked up at him with concern, "It should not be with you. I gather you are softer inside than a my kin. I have never seen you damage a human male during intercourse."

She regarded it only a few moments further, but she was practically sitting in a puddle now. She hadn't been this turned on in what felt like cycles. She moved to flop back on the mattress again, "I want to see one. Can you produce one for me?"

"Yes." He moved forward, letting his member hover out over her belly, she watched as a bulge traveled up the length, until slowly swelling out the opening at the tip and dropping it onto her belly in a puddle of fluid that acted as lubricant for the act, it was almost the shape of a small pear, tapering down to the little tail on the end that wiggled madly against her stomach.

Mori started laughing almost immediately as it tickled her, reaching her hand down to snatch it out of her belly button where it had come to rest. Its tail twisted around her middle finger to grip it tight, calming its movements right away once its goal was achieved.

"Oh, it's adorable." He raised it up to her face to examine it further it closer, little more than a clear skin over around a serving of his seed, "It's not... Alive, is it?"

"Why would it be? It only reacts. It does not have senses." He said, somewhat confused by the question.

"Good." She leaned in to kiss it lightly, "Sorry, cutie... Mama needs to taste you now."

Just as quickly she nipped at it, causing a small rupture to forth that dribbled a tiny leak of his cum, she lapped it up as it dribbled over her lips finding it tasted surprisingly sweet, almost like a honey. It made sense in a way. Most of what the Thri'Kin ate was composed of meat and various forms of nectar. Clearly the sugars flavored the seed.

"It's delicious." She smiled, suckling a bit more from the hole in it before looking up at her companion, "How many of these do you have in you?"

"No more than a dozen." He said, watching all of this display curiously, "Once they are spent, it takes time to replenish them. Days perhaps."

"I'm done. You've seduced me." She leaned back again, raising her knees up and apart to simply offer herself to this giant alien member that she needed to feel inside of her, "Do it... I have got to know what this feels like inside of me. I can't wait any longer."

"As you wish."

The aedea wasn't like a man's member, engorged to hardness by filling up like a balloon. It was a muscle, and one he had complete control over. He didn't even need to move as it drew back, guiding itself to her waiting opening. She was positively drenched, her fluids glinting in the light as she reached her hands down to open herself up to him. She felt those little tendrils tickling at her opening first, and then it slid inside.

She gasped at first, arching her back against the mattress as she felt the first few inches of him strain against her ability to accommodate it. She loved it. She'd never been this stretched out before, No human man could match it. No silly toy would feel the same as the flesh of a real cock. No fist could fill her with the seed she needed to feel leaking out of her.

She needed this. She needed to get fucked. Truly, and properly fucked.

"Deeper..." She whispered through clenched teeth, "Don't stop until there isn't any part of me you haven't touched..."

He complied. There was resistance, His shaft had a bit of a taper from base to tip, but it was very gradual due to the sheer length of it. Still she hissed as she felt it widening her further. she felt the little tendrils exploring every new depth it was able to reach. She felt herself pushed back on the mattress when there was no deeper it would go, pressed hard up against the deepest reaches of her body.

"Oh by the gods... That's good..." Her eyes opened a bit to look at him, but she could hardly see through the tears that had formed at the strain, "Just... Hold it there... Let me get used to it... Let me catch my breath..."

"As you wish." He said again, waiting a few moments before speaking again, "Should I release more packets for you?"

"No, not yet. Wait until I cum." She was breathing heavy, just enjoying the bliss of being so perfectly impaled, "Okay... I think I'm ready... Fuck me, Kith'Ek... Hard..."

Again he did as he was asked. The shaft pulled out almost completely, then pressed back in again. There was less resistance this time, and reaching her full depth went smoother. He was finding the whole experience fascinated him. His kind did not generate body heat, but she was quite warm and soft inside. It was not all together an unpleasant sensation for him.

She didn't last long at all. Barely two dozen thrusts was all it took to send her headlong over the edge of pleasure, and it was massive. She couldn't even speak. She just squealed a little noise that he had never heard a human make before, shuddering around him. Thankfully he already knew what she wanted, and began feeding his packets of sperm into her. It didn't do much to help her composure. She always loved the feel of a man releasing inside her body, but these were big, and squishy moved like a thing alive.

Everything about this was wrong, but for Mori... That's what made it right.

"Don't stop!" She was finally able to speak, still a bit sensitive from her fading orgasm and not caring one bit, "Again! Harder!"

They were going to get some funny looks leaving the inn the next day, but she no longer cared about anything. Nothing but this. He started slamming himself in and out of her, the tip of him rupturing packets and splattering his seed all over her inner depths. It squirted out and around him, dribbling down in her crack where she could feel it squishing as her buttocks clenched and released in time with his thrusts. Again she came... Then again... Even then she didn't ask him to stop, not until it was clear her poor little pussy couldn't take it any more. Not until she had gone all but numb did she urge him out of her so she could just focus on trying to breathe.

They stayed like that for minutes. It was a long quiet before he spoke.

"I hope I was adequate. At least enough to apologize for the loss of the... Redhead, as you call her."

"Redhead?" She let her eyes drift closed, smiling sleepily.

Mori had never in her life felt as well and truly fucked as she did right now. Raw and sticky, her whole body tingling with pleasure...

"What redhead?"

The time had come.

He was far enough gone that all he had to do was decide. The only thing keeping him alive now was the fact that he had not chosen to do so. He wanted to share what little time he had left to hold on for her, because he knew that was what she needed. He wanted her to know that he wouldn't to let go until he couldn't hold on any longer...

For her.

Now he could no longer.

"I... I must go, Mori." He said, his voice strained, "I have stayed as long as I am able."

She smiled through the tears, "I know. Thank you, Kith'Ek. I know I ask too much, but..."

"No. You do not." He tried to turn his head, but failed to do so, "The only thing I am grateful for... Is that I will not have to see your pain... When I am gone... I... I could not... Bear..."

"Shh... It's alright." She reached up to stroke his jaw, "If only I could kiss you. Just once,"

One of his smaller hands came up to stroke a finger across her lip, "If it would make you happy... I wish for that too..."

Her eyes clenched tight a moment, one of her tears rolled off her cheek to fall on that hand, even as she reached up to hold it with her own, "I love you. I will always love you."

"Such sentimentality..."

He had said the words so many times. She expected to hear them again. Instead they filled her heart with joy.

"It is no longer wasted... Upon me..."

What he felt for her was not a thing that had a word. It was not love as a human would describe it. It was not something his own people needed a word for, as it was a thing that did not exist for them. It was something only he knew. It was something only she knew his kind was capable of.

It was love. Not in a way that anyone could define it...

But it was love.

It was all it took to send her into sobs, watching as he became somehow even more still, letting death take him at last.

"Thank you, Mori... For showing me..." He switched back to his own language now. He wanted his final word to be in his people's tongue.

"Goodbye."

Everything after that seemed like a blur. His body was taken away, and the world around her just seemed numb. The insect people were emotionless. Everyone knew that. She had known her companion long enough to see that that assumption was not entirely true. They spoke of his contributions. They spoke of his worth. They spoke of his loss, as though it was the loss of a valuable asset.

But now Mori could hear the difference, in a way that most of her kind would not. What passed for sadness among them was subtle, but it was there. He was distant to them, but respected. His loss was felt, even if not in a way the fleshy races could understand.

The next day she made her way back to The Little Lady, sitting right where she had left it. The clan had set her up with some additional provisions to take for the trip, She went about tucking them away in the many compartments the skiff had for such things in a daze, until she was startled back to reality by a voice behind her.

"You have not left yet." Quiz'Ek stood at the end of the dock near her, the butt of his bladed staff resting upon it, "I was concerned that I had missed you."

She stood upright to regard him, "I was about to head out. Did you need something from me?"

He held up them for her to see. It was a pair of bracers, of sorts. Pieces of a carapace that had been artfully carved away from one of his kind, then laced back together with straps of leather. They were a rust color she recognized, and it caused her to feel suddenly uncomfortable.

"He wanted me to make these for you." Quiz'Ek said, not clear why she was looking so unsettled, "It is a great honor for our people to give a piece of ourselves to those we value most. It is how we ensure that we are always with them. That we are remembered."

She had started to tear up at that, "Well... I suppose when you put it like that..."

He moved onto the skiff to stand before her, one of his larger hands taking up her right arm, while the two smaller secondary arms set about strapping the first bracer in place, "I have always been proud of him. I have always respected his contributions to the clan."

She sighed heavily. As uncertain as she had been before, it suddenly felt right having a piece of him to take with her. He would have always been with her anyway, but...

Now he truly was.

"Even though he was gone for half of his life?" She asked quietly, "You don't... Resent that at all?"

"Such sentimentality is wasted upon our kind." He said, starting to secure the second bracer in place on her other arm.

She smiled. For the first time since he had passed... She smiled.

She knew better.

"Thank you, Quiz'Ek." She said quietly, reaching a hand up to place on his chest once he was done, "Know that I will always be an ally of your clan. I will make sure to send back what I can to your people... If only to honor him."

"No. You will not." He said bluntly.

She regarded him curiously, before he spoke again.

"He has made you a part of the clan. You are Jik'Ta'Kin now." He moved slowly to the center of the ship, sitting down in the space where his father had been when he arrived here, "We do not brave the silt seas alone."

She watched him for a long moment, "You want to come with me?"

"My father an I agreed that your partnership with him is too valuable a thing to simply let expire with him. We always knew of his worth, but we are only discovering yours." He said, chittering in his own tongue now, "And I... I wish to know my him better. I wish to know what he knew. I wish to understand what he understood."

She eyed him a bit longer...

"To know him... I believe must know you, Mori. I must know this fire, tearing through the brambles of which he spoke." He added, certain in his resolve to explore this path, "I will follow in his footsteps. I will follow you. Perhaps one day... I too will understand."

She smiled. Up until this moment she had resigned herself to being alone. She had been prepared to give up her life, and find a place to settle down and start over. She had been prepared to live, knowing there would never be that brutal and beautiful insect at her side to keep her safe.

In that moment she was ready. Ready to face the danger once more. Ready to see the enemies coming and turn her sails right toward them, knowing they had no idea what was coming with blade and bullet.

In that moment, she had a partner once again.

"Do you know how to pilot a ship like this?" She asked, folding her arms.

"No." He replied.

She reached into her pocket to produce the crystal that powered it, holding it up for him to see.

"All things have a heart, Quiz'Ek. People, beasts... Even ships. They need to be respected. They need love and attention to help them reach their real potential." She smiled again, popping the thing into the slot designed for it, causing The Little Lady to rise up once again.

"That is what your father knew." She then repeated the words, turning to look at him, "All things have a heart. All things need love."

"Even you."