highest quality. Xanto took great pride in his clothing, which made her feel guilty about borrowing them. Turning, she looked at him. "Why don't you choose what I should wear? After all, you know what I need to pull off being Elevsìs.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"You're not walking right," Xanto hissed out of the corner of his mouth as he and Elevsìs Cali walked down the market concourse.
"I'm trying," Elevsìs Cali hissed back, stumbling slightly. "I'm not used to walking with legs so bloody long."
"Lift your feet a little more, you're dragging them, and lengthen your stride."
Cali tried that, and it seemed to help.
"Stop smiling like that. Showing your back teeth is a sign of aggression for an Elevsìs."
"Really?" She dimmed her smile but was fascinated by what she was learning. She'd always thought she knew all about the Elevsìs. What else was she going to discover?
"Ruk!" Xanto muttered as he pulled Cali into a darkened niche between two shops.
"What's wrong?" she asked, then looking behind her, cursed when she saw Taarig.
"Now is not the time for a confrontation with the Sub Commander," he told her. "You'll forget you are supposed to be Elevsìs and morph back into your natural form."
Cali wanted to argue but knew Xanto was right. She still hadn't come to terms with what Taarig and Jamis had done. Cali intentionally hadn't given herself the time or space. It was a habit she had, keeping herself busy and distracted when she didn't want to deal with something. Eventually, she faced the problem or situation, hopefully in a calmer and more rational state of mind.
She watched as Taarig confidently strode down the concourse, showing no sign that less than a day ago, his life span had nearly ended. When he moved past where they hid, his stride seemed to catch, as if something had pulled at him. It only lasted a moment, and then he passed by.
"Do you want to follow the Sub Commander, or should we continue?"
"Why would I want to follow Taarig?" Cali questioned, stepping back out onto the concourse.
"Because it looks like he's heading into The Brink."
Cali looked behind her and saw Xanto was right. Taarig was walking into The Brink. "Mae will handle him. She needs to start understanding what it means to be an owner."
"An owner?" Xanto didn't even attempt to hide his surprise. "You plan on leaving her The Brink when your life span ends?"
"Yes. Mae, Tay, and their offspring deserve to have a safe and secure life span."
"You can't just give them The Brink, Cali. All ownership transfers have to go through Wik Corp."
"I can, and I'm pretty sure I've got that covered," she told him, the corner of her mouth quirking up.
Xanto just shook his head and started walking when she did. He should have realized Cali had been plotting something like this. Cali had enhanced the life spans of dozens of other individual beings and family units that Xanto could think of because she cared about them. Now it seemed she would be doing it again.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, pulling his attention back to the matter at hand. "Any strain maintaining this form?"
"No, and I'm feeling good, really good. Let's head for The Brink’s loading dock and see if it stays that way."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"I'm sorry, Sub Commander, Cali isn't working tonight."
Taarig's knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the bar. He wanted to talk to Cali; he needed to. He'd planned to contact her and set up a time to meet in private. He wanted to explain what happened because he was sure she'd already heard all about it. After all, nothing stayed secret for long on a Star Base, especially when it involved him and Jamis. That's when he realized he'd never gotten her link code, had never given her his. It was inexcusable. So as soon as his shift had ended, he'd headed to The Brink, only to find she wasn't here.
"Contact her and let her know I'm here," he ordered.
"She asked not to be disturbed," Mae told him.
"Then give me her link code, and I'll be the one that disturbs her," he growled.
"I'm sorry, Sub Commander, I can't do that. If Cali wanted you to have her link code, she'd have given it to you."
Taarig's obvious displeasure at her response caused the beings near him to move farther down the bar, but not the Galaian female. She stood her ground and even raised a brow ridge at him as she