Page 5 of Flower of Seshana (Tales from the Darvel Exploratory Systems #1)

Chapter

Five

A lexandra was very aware of the fact that every movement she made was being closely followed by the two Vahel males sharing the “nest” with her. She still found the description for their home a little odd but didn’t dwell too much on it as it was perfectly likable. Despite being fashioned from a carefully carved out cave, it had all the charm that she would expect from a proper home even if its design and proportions were a bit unusual to her.She stared up at the walls covered with bioluminescent flowers in wonder. Kethan’s head tipped as he followed her gaze, his mouth curving in a small smile.

“Galthie flowers,” he murmured. “They grow in most caverns on Seshana. You would have eventually come across them in the cave systems I found you in, but not so numerous as you will find in a nest where we specially cultivate them.”

“They are beautiful,” she replied. “They kind of remind me of your crests,” she added, gesturing to the fanned plate-like webbing running down the length of his back and tail.

He glanced back at it and nodded. “My gavo and krishili markings. Many creatures have such luminous coloration somewhere on them. It is not the same for your home?”

She shook her head. “There are some things that are bioluminescent, but not many. And we have had so little opportunity to study the lifeforms here due to the priorities of those in charge that I don’t think anyone knows that such beauty exists. All we see is red sand,” she admitted with a chuckle.

Quillen chuffed in amusement as he settled on his coiled tail a short distance away. “The beauty of Seshana only makes itself apparent for those who know how to see.”

How to see? An odd comment, but she didn’t have the energy to try to puzzle it out. Instead, she settled on taking in her unique surroundings.

“Do you like the nest?” Kethan inquired with a disconcerted glance around, his crest and wings moving with subtle little snaps conveying his uncertainty.

A smile tugged at her lips despite herself. Despite his inhuman features, he was kind of adorable as flustered as he clearly was.

“It is really nice,” she immediately agreed to set him at ease as she ran her hand along an intricately carved shelf.

And truthfully it was. She would have expected something far more primitive giving that the aliens were living in caves, but it was comfortably homey with numerous woven mats laid out over the hard stone floor, more of the same shelves carved directly from the stone wall, and a number of beautifully fashioned tables and benches readily available for the needs of the inhabitants. There were even lush, exotic furs of the likes she would never have expected from the planet she was stationed on.

“Actually, it’s amazing,” she amended as her eyes fell upon several low shelves carrying large woven baskets, each with a carefully secured lid on top. “Does everything here come from the mountains?”

Kethan’s ears flicked and he smiled proudly as his gaze drifted around the room. “Yes. Everything was painstakingly gathered from the mountain and its woods, and subsequently crafted with considerable care. It took quite some time to fashion, but I am very pleased with it.”

“You speak as if you did this all yourself,” Quillen interrupted, his crest flattening with a soft, clicking growl. “It was I who spent numerous turns of the sun gathering the straw from the wild grasses and reeds to craft the baskets and split and hauled in the wood from the forest. All of that work was done by my hand alone too, while you fussed with the walls and floor endlessly.” His tone toward Kethan was biting, but his expression lightened immediately as he glanced over at her, his crest lifting in an abrupt shift that she felt was meant just for her. “What do you think of my work?” he crooned.

Alexandra glanced back down at the nearest basket, noting the intricate patterns woven into it with the different colored material. She wasn’t certain if that was by nature’s design or if they had been intentionally dyed that way, but either way the results were spectacular.

“You did all of this?” she replied in surprise and ran a finger along the sweeping wooden arm of the bench. Now that she was looking closer, she noticed that several of the branches had a similar woven look in some places that almost reminded her of old Earth wicker. Yet it looked stronger. The lives of miners and scientists alike could be made a hundred times more comfortable with such lightweight but sturdy furnishings. “It is fabulous. I really must have you show me where you acquired the materials. I have never seen anything quite like these plant fibers. I would love to get them under a microscope.”

Quillen’s smile unexpectedly slipped at her words, and he hummed softly to himself. “Perhaps.”

She wondered if it was due to an error with her translator. It sometimes happened when encountering a new language, although it was less frequent than when the model first came out. She was about to rephrase to offer an explanation of what she meant but Kethan chuffed in amusement and curled a wing around her, cutting off her view of the other male completely.

“Quillen is what the Vahel calls a wood-singer. He can release special sonic vibrations pitched in a manner that helps him locate the bushes he harvests from when the sound bounces off and returns to him. It is a very precise sound that most Vahel cannot distinguish except those born with the perfect pitch and receptors like Quillen. These vibrations can also help him in carving and shaping wood by understanding the formation as well as the strong and weak points of the material.”

Alexandra raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

Quillen murmured in affirmation, but his expression relaxed once more in light of her enthusiasm. “It is not much compared to what the females can do. Whereas the males tend to possess the necessary aggression and reflexes to be superior hunters, the females are our true crafters and stone sculptors and put anything Kethan and I do to shame. They can fashion and bend even the living trees with the help of their songs when they are so inclined.”

Kethan chuffed and flicked the other male with the tip of his tail. “Do not belittle your abilities. They cannot find wood, and they are nearly hopeless at finding hollows within the stone. They may have a powerful range, but their senses are not as finely attuned for the most part.” He turned and gave her a mischievous grin. “He will not tell them where his harvesting spots are either. Do not take any rejection on this matter personally.”

“I did not say I would not,” Quillen countered, his crest rising in what appeared to be a challenge.

“You did not say that you would either,” Kethan countered. “Are you planning on showing Alexandra one of your harvest grounds?”

Quillen’s crests rose the rest of the way like an angry parrot as he glared over at Kethan, the crest and frill descending down his back quivering with tension. Even his wings shook slightly.

“It’s okay if he doesn’t show me right now,” Alexandra interrupted, hoping to defuse the situation. “By my estimation the sun will be down shortly and there will likely be much to occupy us when morning comes.”

Quillen suddenly trilled, startling her. “That is for certain. Therxian will need to be made aware of your presence before rumors begin to spread if Kethan wishes to keep his wings intact.”

“The rumors are exaggerated,” Kethan objected at Alexandra’s startled gasp. “Therxian is a stern and unyielding male, but he is not unreasonable and would not inflict violence upon another of the Vahel for no reason.”

“Not even for bringing a female of uncertain origins into the nara without informing him?” the other male queried with a distinct note of amusement.

A look of concern flitted across Kethan’s face, though he tried to hide it. “It is not such a grave matter, but you are right that it is reasonable to broach the matter with Therxian first.”

Alexandra glanced uncertainly toward the nest’s entrance, half-expecting some terrifying behemoth of an alien warrior to enter at any moment. “Do you think we should go see him now?”

Quillen lowered his chin in a quick, sharp dipping movement in reply. “The sun descends quickly on the Zir. The hour was already growing late when Kethan returned with you—when I met him it was because I was venturing out to search for him. Therxian will not appreciate our company when he is settling in comfortably into his nest for the night.”

She frowned in confusion. “You seem to possess superior sight. I can’t imagine that the dark would be an obstacle for any of the Vahel.”

“It is not the dark,” Kethan explained. “The fog grows heavier when the sun goes down, and while we can avoid flying into anything by releasing sonic barks, and thus avoiding injury, we are not in the cave systems of the shinaras where one can determine what direction they need to go by this method due to the confined space there. Conversely, we have lost Vahel who have become disoriented in the fog. It is for everyone’s safety that we remain within the nests and mountain caves at night.”

“Not to mention that flying wildly in the fog at night is just pleading with a zaron to pick you off,” Quillen added as he glided past her toward what looked like a sideboard from which he withdrew several wrapped aromatic packages that made her stomach gurgle with interest when she caught their scent.

“A zaron?” she asked, glancing between the males with confusion. As hungry as she was, answers were what she really felt like she needed right now.

“A massive winged predator twice the size of an adult Vahel. They possess a broad, pointed head filled with numerous teeth and a heightened sense of smell and powerful claws to snatch their prey out of the air,” Kethan replied as he turned to take the food packets from Quillen so that the other male could go back to the sideboard to fetch more.

She gaped in disbelief. Impossible—twice the size of an adult Vahel? How could there be a predator of such size that it could be a threat to the Vahel and yet had escaped the attention of the colonies? What if it left the mountains for easier pickings among the human transports outside of the colony domes? She took the leathery bag handed to her numbly, her gaze dropping blankly down to it.

“You are understandably feeling overwhelmed,” Kethan murmured as he unwrapped his own pack and bit into it with a snap of his sharp teeth. He chewed quickly and swallowed, his concerned gaze never leaving her, not even when Quillen drew close at her other side with a soft, musical trill. “Do not worry, Alexandra. No harm will come to you. I will not allow it.”

“We will not allow it,” Quillen corrected, and Alexandra nodded her agreement before the two could start arguing again.

She would go crazy if they started sniping at each other now, not when the idea of being exposed to dangerous predators of the mountains that she’d never heard of or prepped to deal with it made her tremble with terror. She nibbled the edge of her food, the aroma of meat and some sort of grain filling her nose in an oddly appetizing way… and yet her appetite was gone now that she was forced to recognize some very real dangers of M285. She was so small and vulnerable that she wasn’t even equal to the weakest of the juveniles. Kethan pretty much told her exactly that. Wouldn’t it be ridiculously easy for a predator to pluck her from the safety of his guard? Although the males devoured their meals, they peered at her with concern until she finally lowered the food to address them.

“Do you think…. do you think I could sleep between you two tonight?” she stuttered as an embarrassed blush climbed into her cheeks. “I… I really don’t want to sleep alone, and it occurs to me that the safest place is between the both of you where nothing has the opportunity to grab me.”

A look of surprise registered on both males’ faces, but it was quickly replaced by a reluctant look of understanding and their own worry rising beneath the surface. She saw it even though they tried to keep it tamped down with the hope that it might not be visible to her. They exchanged a look without speaking a word, but a range of emotions appeared to flit across their faces that made her wonder what else roamed the mountains that she might have to be worried about. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately given her current state of mind—they didn’t share it with her, but Alexandra jumped when their crests suddenly snapped as if coming to a decision and their heads turned back to her once more.

“We agree that this may be the best,” Kethan rumbled.

She was immediately relieved and yet her stomach sank with the realization that there had to be other concerns if they were so easily agreeing to her preferred sleeping arrangement.

Not wanting to overthink it, Alexandra devoured the food in her hand and immediately accepted a second that was handed to her. It possessed an entirely different flavor profile, the notes of fruity sweetness hitting her tongue as if it was a luxurious dessert.

Few words were exchanged as they ate, and fewer still when she finally followed them back to a rear chamber possessing an enormous sunken nest in the middle of the room filled with woven blankets and furs. Her mouth went dry at the thought of sleeping between them, but she ignored it so that her courage didn’t completely desert her. Kicking her shoes off, she slipped off her TRS and set it on a bench resting against one wall. She could feel the weight of their eyes on her as she padded over to the bed in nothing but the shorts and sleeveless tunic that she had taken to wearing under her TRS to better handle the heat—even if it was technically against regulations. What could command do about it now anyway? She was more concerned about the abundance of bare skin now exposed and the way the fascinated stare of the two males made her feel. A tremor of awareness swept through her.

Feigning more confidence than she felt, she crouched down at the bed’s edge and slipped into the carved-out basin, the plush bedding cushioning her as she dropped down into it. Her fingers slid over the furs and densely woven blankets before finding the edge of one and drawing it quickly around herself. She sank down into the center of the bed, her head pillowed on a long tubular pillow shaped something like an enormous horseshoe, cradling her comfortably.

Despite the comfort of the bed, she snuggled down into her blanket, her heart galloping anxiously as she began to rethink her decision. Perhaps this wasn’t the wisest idea. She shifted, preparing to spring back up to her feet when Kethan and Quillen dropped into the bed on either side of her. She immediately stiffened and the males paused, taking their movements slow as they studied her reaction. She stared back at them warily. The warmth of the Vahel males was shocking, that much was undeniable. She certainly couldn’t dismiss the fact that, despite asking for this, every muscle in her body had tensed to the point of panic, making her freeze upon receiving intimate contact with their intense heat.

It was so strange that they were so warm when serpents were typically very cool.

Quillen brushed the tip of his silkily scaled tail against her arm and curled it. It felt much less scary. In fact, the longer it rested against her, the more the tension bled from her as a foreign sense of pleasure rushed out from the point of contact.

“Relax,” he rasped. “You are safe.”

“We have you,” Kethan agreed.

A melodic croon vibrated from his chest as he drew her snugly against him, giving Quillen room to fit himself in on her other side. The heat of his breath fanned the back of her head as he joined in with Kethan’s song, weaving a sense of complete comfort, intrigue, and safety through her being.