need for it. It was a small price to pay to hold her pliant and safe within his arms.
He praised her strength to survive, and regaled her with stories of the most ancient times among his people and times more recent than those. Every tale he ever heard as a child, he shared with her, willing her to come back to him as one day slipped into another. Every day, she fought her way from the precipice, and won.
On the sixth day, when she opened her eyes and stared at him with clarity in her gaze, relief burned through him, though he hid it deep within his heart. He had been allowed a short time with her in his arms to enjoy pleasant dreams, but now as she woke, he was forced to face reality. An offworld female would feel no warmth toward him anymore than his own species for the changes that the a’sankh evolution caused. A steep price, but one he had been willing to pay.
He had not understood then, in his youth, how he would miss the touch of a female, his honor and desire to serve his people blinding him to all personal consequences. Possessing the deep and profound respect of his people would never fully make up for the lack of warmth and contact with another being.
He wanted nothing more than to reach forward and skim his hand through her hair as he had when she was unconscious, but he curled his fingers into a fist. He could not forget what she was and what he was. He could not go any further.
Instead, he inclined his head toward her.
“Welcome to your first day of freedom,” he said.
Her lips parted, wonder in her eyes as her lips curved into a smile for him and him alone. “I understood you. You must have spoken to me the whole time I was out… You took care of me. Thank you.”
His primary heart, that foolish organ, swelled in his chest. No matter that he quashed the warmth rising through his chest, his orb was imprinted with the awe and gratitude on her face. It was a treasure that he would guard for the rest of his lonely days.
“You have auto-learn translation tech?” he asked. She raised an eyebrow, but at her nod, Rhyst cleared his throat. “Such things are common among the Tak’sinii, but I did not realize it would be possessed by offworld invaders. Nevertheless, I was only doing what was necessary. No need to give thanks for that. You must be hungry. I finished the dan’shival two days ago, so I will need to hunt out fresh meat. Do not worry,” he added when it appeared that she would object. “I will not go far this time. I will look for something small nearby. Stay here in the cave…” He paused. “Why did you leave the safety of the cave before?”
Pink flooded her cheeks as she wrapped her bare arms around herself, concealing her body in a manner that struck him as vulnerable. “It wasn’t intentional. Some creatures came flying out of the cave and swarmed me. I fell out and couldn’t get back up into it.”
Rhyst frowned. He hadn’t thought to check for og’am. That was his mistake.
“My apologies, Cha’lii. I should have checked for the og’am. I do not blame you for being startled by something so unfamiliar. If it gives you any comfort, they would not have harmed you. They hunt for insects during the night. They are quite beneficial. But rest here and think nothing more of it. I will return with food shortly. Until I return, you may have this back.”
He handed her the root and watched humorously as her nose wrinkled in distaste. He turned away and jumped from the cave entrance to the flat rock below before he was tempted to do something stupid.
When he returned with a few fat mi’gogs, he was relieved to find her still within the cave, waiting for him as he asked. She raised an eyebrow as he brandished their food.
“Oh, goodie, we’re eating an alien version of Thumper today. Hope you don’t plan on me cooking them. I flunked wilderness survival in PE.”
He shook his head as he strode to the pit where the firewood he had gathered was neatly piled. “I understood little of that, Cha’lii.”
“Isn’t communication grand?” she replied with a smirk as he arranged some of the wood and dry dung into a neat pile in the midst of the firepit.