"Guster," I say, repeating the word slowly while holding the piece of meat out to Olivia.

"Guh-sh-tah," she tries.

I repeat it a few more times until she gets it correct.

We've spent the last several days teaching each other words and mating. I am content, but Olivia is growing restless. My wings have healed and I can travel but I'm not sure I want to. We have everything we need. I've worked on the tunnel she fell into and made a passable shelter for us. We have food. I could live out my days here and be happy.

Except she's not happy and the heat is affecting her. She tries to hide it but it's in the way she moves. The color of her skin has a gray tint to it and the moisture that normally coats it isn't as much as it was.

She needs epis.

I might be able to get epis on my own but there is nothing more dangerous on Tajss than a zemlja. The risks are too high. If something went wrong it would doom Olivia.

I smoke the guster meat and store it in oiled leathers. Using the cured leather, I've made a new pack to carry the extra meat and what supplies we have left. As much as I hate it, it's time.

Olivia is walking outside our cave, a habit she started a few days ago. Every morning at dawn she walks before the suns get too high.

I pack the new bag full of meat and store the last of the healing paste then heft the two packs over my shoulder. Picking up my spear and starting out, I stop and look back.

This was good.

I don't know what lies ahead, the future is uncertain. What if she leaves me? What if something happens to her?

I've never thought like this before. Never considered life beyond the moment. The future was never my problem.

I know why.

I never had a future to look forward to. I had no hope and nothing to live for. Living was a habit, not a life.

Olivia changes that.

I have a reason to live now.

For her.

When I exit our cave she's staring out across the rolling sand dunes, arms crossing her chest, holding herself.

Walking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against me. The sweet, wonderful scent of her fills my nostrils. The curve of her, the way she fits me is perfect. She leans her head to one side and I nuzzle against her neck. She giggles as I hit a ticklish spot. Her hands rest on my arms and we stand holding each other, staring out into what I know is our future.

Tajss is beautiful but bleak with rolling dunes of sand in shades of red and white. Somewhere, out there across the empty desert, is a city. Maybe our friends made it.

The only way to find out is to go.

I think I know the way. Astarot told us the direction and I'm a hunter. I can find signs. I'll find this city, somehow.

The suns break above the horizon and the temperature takes an immediate jump up. Olivia turns in my arms and rises on her toes, offering me her lips.

Her kiss is sweet life itself.

My skin tingles at her touch and my prime penis stirs to life. She breaks the kiss, leaning back and looking at the packs on my back. Her brow furrows as she tilts her head to one side.

"It's time," I say, but she shakes her head.

Our advancement in language hasn't gone this far. Thinking about it, I try to figure out how to say what I want to tell her. Giving up I point at the horizon then nod.

She follows my arm, gazing out at the desert. She says something. A single word.

I try to sound it out, "Fff-eee-ndssss?"

The word is difficult to say, there's a hard sound in the middle that doesn't come naturally to my tongue.

She shakes her had, smiling and repeats it.

I try, several more times. "Ffrreendsss?"

Her smile outshines the suns in the sky. She nods enthusiastically.

I grab my spear from where I left it then with her at my side we start off in search of the Tribe.

Days. We travel for days without sign of our people or that we're getting any closer to the city. I remember when Tajss was alive. Airships filled the sky, ground transports zipped across the sand between major city ports. Workers went out to harvest the epis then returned with their loads.

Once that was my life, a worker. Each day I went out with my crew and we harvested then we came home. Dangerous, but that was my life. Bashir and Melchior were on my team then. We learned to work close together. We had to to survive.

Before the devastation. Before everything ended.

I knew before it started that the revolution would fail. When the war came I tried to warn the others. Only Bahsir and Melchior would listen.

Olivia touches my arm and I shake my head to clear it of unwanted memories. That was then, this is now. She is my now and my future. She is all that matters.

We travel on. It's getting harder for her, she stumbles more often. Her eyes glaze over most of the time. I keep one arm wrapped around her waist to support her. It slows us down but we have no choice.

The suns drop as we continue until shadows stretch towards us. It's not safe to travel at night so we make camp, as we have so many times before. I create a small fire, just enough to warm the meat and provide light. Our fuel supply is limited and growing smaller. If we don't find an oasis soon, there will be only cold meals and no light.

We snuggle together, chewing the tough guster meat. Her head rests against my shoulder, my arm is draped across her chest. We can barely talk but together everything feels right. Comfortable, I don't need anything else. I have her and it's perfect.

She shivers and turns into me, leaning her head back. We kiss. Our lips seeking each other, melding together.

Desire rises, fast and instant. I always want her, there's a stoked fire in my core that ignites at her slightest touch.

I kiss her deeply, exploring her mouth with my tongue. My cock is hard and ready.

Kissing my way across her cheek and down her shoulder, I make my way lower. She wriggles, shifting positions.

Her clothes slide away as I lower myself between her legs.

Her incredible scent, her delicate flower opens before me.

I drag my tongue from the bottom of her to the top, moving side to side, covering her with the moisture of my tongue while tasting her sweet juices.

She's wet so I press one finger inside and curl up, finding the spot I know she likes. Rubbing it with my finger I find the hard nub at the top of her opening and lavish it with my tongue.

Her hands curl in my hair, twisting, pulling me in closer.

"Ragnar!" she cries out, panting as she thrusts her hips up into my face.

I don't stop, building her pleasure.

My cock pounds, desperate for her but pleasing her brings its own satisfaction.

I circle her tight nub with my tongue, not touching it directly, teasing while my finger continues to work that spot deep inside.

Pulling back for a moment I touch the nub with the point of my tongue, licking up in slow motion. Dragging my tongue up then down.

She goes wild beneath me. Her hips thrust back and forth as she cries out.

Her fingers knot in my hair tighter, pulling me closer.

Wrapping an arm around her waist I hold her up.

Her body arches, muscles contracting and she's making a wordless cry that continues on as her pleasure wracks her body with its intensity.

I hold her until her body relaxes then lower her to the ground. Curling around her I let her relax, kissing her shoulder and neck.

After she's recovered, she turns in towards me, her hand slides down and grabs my cock. She strokes it until I can't hold off any longer and I explode, my pleasure spilling on the sand.

My second cock rises as she rolls over and opens herself. She's wet and ready as I slide in slowly, making sure not to hurt her.

Fully inside of her I hold then thrust. She cries out in pleasure as we find our rhythm.

We move as one, rising into each other then falling away.

The pleasure of being with her is almost more than I can stand. Full dark falls as we find ourselves in each other.

We mate for I don't know how long. Time doesn't matter. We enjoy each other until at last our climax comes as one.

Taken by storm until it passes then we fall asleep entangled in each other's arms.

* * *

I awake with her snuggled close. She stirs then stretches. Following suit we rise and have a quick breakfast.

Hefting the packs on my back, we take off again.

I've been guiding us by the suns and watching for signs.

So far there has been nothing but empty desert. In a few more days I'll have to hunt again.

Epis runs through my mind. The Tribe had forsaken epis, seeing it as the evil that destroyed our planet and doomed our race.

Was Lana right? Do the humans have to have it to survive?

The longer we travel the more I notice signs of exhaustion and something wrong with Olivia.

Our water supply is short so I give almost all of it to her. I don't need much but its obvious she does.

There are trace amounts of epis in the guster meat and it seems to help, but how long before it's not enough?

Supporting her with one arm as we move across the loose sand, climbing a huge dune, I worry. Time is not on my side.

"Oh!" Olivia cries out.

She is pointing ahead.

The gleaming dome is the first thing that comes into view. Sunlight dances off it, creating rainbows in the air as it's reflected and refracted.

Olivia bounces next to me talking excitedly.

Stumbling we run together down the dune. The dome is distant but reachable in a day.

As we reach the bottom, I can barely see the top of the dome beyond the next rise. Climbing is slow, it's hard for Olivia and I all but carry her up.

We cross several more dunes, coming closer and closer. Topping yet another, something makes me stop. Closing my protective lids to see across the distance, the sight snaps into clarity.

A camp.

There are tents outside the dome and people wandering among them. Then there's Drosdan. He's so big that he stands out despite the distance. He's walking alongside what can only be the Commander.

Why are they outside the dome? The entire point was for us to move into the City. Straining to see more, to understand what is happening, I discover small figures inside the dome.

Humans. And it looks like they're armed. Standing guard.

What is going on? Olivia wavers next to me, staring into the distance, shielding her eyes with her hand. She looks up at me with confusion in her eyes. She says something. Shaking my head, I put my arm around her waist and help, pushing us forward.

The answers lie ahead.