- Dar'ax -

She looks at me with those mysterious, dark eyes behind the sparkly pebbles, looking so womanly stunning that ... well, it stuns me. She pulls one hank of silky hair behind her ear in a movement that seems to me heartbreakingly womanly and charming.

And I don't know what to answer. It's an obvious question to ask, an innocent question.

I don't know exactly where I'll take her. Wherever my mission leads me, I suppose. I just know that I will fulfill my mission. And that I can't bear the thought of being apart from Heidi.

It's hard to reconcile those two thoughts in my mind. The mission is my only purpose. But the more time I spend with this wondrous being, the more painful it seems to not have her with me at all times. She changes my world just by being close to me. The sun seems warmer, the colors of the jungle brighter. The night air more balmy, the scent of the jungle milder and less noxious. Even Gerk seems calmer and more pliant when she's riding on him with me.

I look up at the stars, avoiding her quizzical gaze. She's so beautiful it hurts to look at her for long. And it creates such a pressure in my loins.

“Where does Heidi come from?” If she can ask questions, then so can I.

“From the ...” She points up.

“From the sky?”

“Yes, from the ...” She jabs her finger up, as if to point at something specific.

“From the stars?” It wouldn't surprise me.

She juts her chin out. “Yes. From the stars. Far star.”

It makes sense that she comes from the stars. Mythical beings come from there. And the cruel Plood, of course. I remember shaman Sai'ex trying to teach us about the events when the women were taken from us, and how they would return someday. I never put much stock in it, and I see no reason to do so now. Heidi is a woman, that's obvious. But it's also obvious that she's not one of our own women returning. If she were, she would speak our language. She would look more like me. Our women had stripes, I think, but she clearly doesn't.

But I suppose I could just ask her. “Are you a Xren woman who's returned?”

“Deh. Heidi come from other star. Urt. Not Xren.”

I taste the word. “Urt.”

“Urth,” she repeats. “Taken. Plood.”

I focus on her. “You were taken from your own world by the Plood?”

“Toh. Heidi taken. And other women. Taken Xren.”

“The Plood took you from Urt and placed you here on Xren?”

“Toh.”

That seems possible. The Plood took our women. It would make sense that they'd also take the women of other planets. And they dumped Heidi and her friends here. Is it the Plood's way of making amends? Giving us other women instead of our own? Maybe they placed our women on another planet.

“Are there Xren women on Urt?”

“Deh. None see Plood before. One night, Heidi taken and other women taken.”

I don't know what to say to that, so I stand up to check for predators. The fire will both attract and repel them. And of course they know that Gerk is close by, so they will be jittery. I usually let him roam free whenever I'm not riding him. He's a mighty kronk, and I both fear and respect him. It feels right that he should have a taste of freedom regularly, every day. I don't want a majestic creature like him to be a slave.

Of course I don't think he's capable of being a friend, exactly, but the way I tamed him is supposed to attach him to me in a way that he'll understand. It's a brutal thing to do, but sometimes it's necessary. I show my respect and appreciation by not overtaxing him and by giving him a fair chance, after each time I ride him, to bite my head off. So far, he hasn't done it.

I can see a pack of deadbites at the edge of the clearing we're in, but that doesn't bother me. They won't attack at night. Probably that's their usual resting spot.

The stars twinkle above us, and it looks as if the night will be a welcome relief from the rainy season. The Plood topic is interesting enough, and if I had a tribe and no urgent mission, then I would probably ponder it more. As it is, I can't let it distract me.

I notice Heidi yawning, and that simple act sends heat and affection through me. I sense that she has lost much, and I'm starting to feel a kinship with her.

Of course that's a ridiculous idea. We can only be truly close to those who are similar to ourselves, those who can handle themselves well in the deadly woods, those who you can fight alongside and who can be relied on. Heidi can only be relied on to run straight into the jaws of manbanes.

She gets up and goes behind a little bush, and I look the other way, across the river. My mission is there, and hopefully I can soon fulfill it.

I check on the special bag I've hung on the tree. It's about ready. A few more days only, I judge. When the time comes, I'll have to be quick. I grin to myself as I close the bag again. Nobody has ever tried anything like this. It will probably kill me. But if it works, then it'll be glorious.

Heidi walks over to the tent and looks inside. My crotch twitches by itself from the sight of her movements. Those wide hips, that fleshy behind, the full chest, the slender calves ... how can someone so different affect me so much? And confuse me so much at the same time? I have no time to deal with her and bring her along. And yet, that's what I'll do. Because she is so clearly mine.

I walk over to her. “Heidi wants to sleep?”

She looks up at me with what I can only guess is doubt. “Dar'ax sleep, also? Only sleep?”

I don't understand what she means. Only sleep? Certainly there are other things I long to do, such as Worship her the way the shaman taught us. But that was for another time and for other men. Not for tribeless, dishonored warriors on a mission.

“Toh,” I confirm. “Dar'ax will sleep, too.”

“Okay,” she says in her alien way.

She goes into the tent. “Is nice!”

It's a pretty large tent, because I can load it on Gerk and I don't have to carry it around.

“It serves its purpose,” I agree and go in after her, having extinguished the fire and checked that there are no predators nearby.

She lies down among the furs and pulls a skin over her, all the way up to her chin, obscuring my view of her extremely enticing shape.

Very well. I lie down too, on the other side of the tent. 'Only sleep', she said. Certainly.

I listen to her quick breathing and enjoy the scent of her filling the space in my old tent that I've had since I was a boy. If back then I'd known that there would ever be a woman in here, I would have exploded with excitement. It's an excitement that I feel even now. But I must remember that only the mission matters.

“Dar'ax.” It's a half whisper, as if she's afraid of waking me up.

I open my eyes. “Hm?”

“Dar'ax not know why take Heidi?”

Holy Ancestors! It's like she can see my soul and everything in it.