"Oh my God, Rynn!Shh!" Zahreenah commands, her hand blindly coming up to cover my mouth. She laughs and shakes her head, looking up at me now. "No, you didn't hurt me. I asked you to go harder, remember? I liked it."
I find myself relaxing after that. Perhaps, my female is not so delicate and fragile, I think to myself, a smile curling my lips. "You will have to teach me all the ways we can do that," I tell her, my tail twining around her ankle as I press her close to my side and bury my nose into her rich brown hair. "I am more than willing to learn."
Zahreenah chuckles and swats at my chest. "I bet you are." She goes back to tracing over my heart-stars as their dancing and twinkling start to slow to a contented lazy pulse beneath her touch. "And although that was a pleasurable distraction, I still need to talk to you.”
"Talk to me, my mate," I say softly, squeezing her gently. "Tell me anything and everything."
Zahreenah settles her cheek on my chest. "We still need to go to the ship." I am still at that, only to remind myself that my mate has promised me she is not trying to leave these lands - to leaveme. I allow myself to breathe again and Zahreenah continues, "Alana... Alana needs to go there. There might be information that she needs pretty badly."
"What information is it she needs? Our Elders and Healers have deep wells of knowledge, perhaps they can-"
"No." Her interruption is quiet but resolute. "No, what she needs is-..."
Zahreenah is quiet for a time before she moves, leaning up on her elbows so that her beautiful face hovers over mine, her hair falling on either side of my head. "It’s the secret I told you she has. The one I can’t explain to you?" she says, her eyes flicking between both of mine. She swallows before continuing, "I can’t betray her to tell you. You said you trusted me with this. Do you still?”
My Zahreenah looks so worried and I do not like it. Reaching up, I cradle her face in my hands. She is so small and yet strong and loyal. And she worries over this 'secret' her friend has told her. "I will take you and Ah-lanah to the ship carcass," I tell her. "You do not need to tell me this secret belonging to another female. I do not care to learn of it. I only care that you are worried over it."
My mate's eyes grow soft and I cannot help the purr that starts up in my chest as she looks down at me. "You're not going to force me to tell you?"
I shake my head. "I trust that you are handling it, and that you will tell me if you think I should know."
The mouth-on-mouth kissing my mate gives me in that moment is so fierce, it is like she is trying to claim me, body and spirit. I do not know what I have done to be deserving of such a claiming, but I welcome it wholeheartedly.
Chapter 26
SERENA
Mavyx is not happy with Rynn's decision to take me and Alana to the ship. Still, he insists on coming too and it's clear that even though they can't seem to stop bickering, he cannot stand to leave her alone for too long either. It's almost comical the way he insists on carrying her while we fly - threatening to snap the neck of any other male who dares offer to take Alana in his stead - since she doesn't seem too keen on him either. Even now, they fly in silence behind Rynn and I, pointedly not looking at one another.
It takes near enough half a day to reach the abandoned, broken ship and even though it has only been days since I was last here, the thing looks even worse than it had done before - dirtier, and even more wrecked, like the jungle is trying to break it apart and dismantle it for daring to land here. There was even some sort of creeping vine traveling up one side and crawling into a busted-out window. The vine's leaves are thin and white like the grasses in this area, making the plant itself resemble thick cobwebs. I reach out to touch it in awe. How fast does this stuff grow if it's already made its way inside the ship? But my Rynn stops me with a hand on my wrist. "Do not touch the Friendly Vine," he says, shaking his head.
"Friendly Vine?"
"If it is disturbed, it will release something in the air to make us all very relaxed. Too relaxed. It will then creep along to find you and wrap you in its embrace and keep you sleeping. Eventually, you will breathe in so much of its relaxing air that you will never wake."
"That doesn't sound too friendly," I shudder.
Rynn grunts. "I do not know where the name came from. I only know to stay away. Its presence here is a good sign that no predator has made a den of your 'ship' though. But I will check, just in case."
I nod my head as Rynn gives Mavyx a meaningful look, communicating with one another so effectively without the use of words; Rynn is to go inside and check, and Mavyx is to stay out here and guard Alana and I. The Second Spear's eyes instantly begin to scan the tree line surrounding the clearing as my mate disappears into the wreckage.
Once the coast is clear, Alana and I step inside, being careful not to go anywhere near the ghostly white Friendly Vine. We seat ourselves in the little cockpit area and I turn on the screen with a tap of my finger. "What is it that you need that you simply must endanger yourselves for, anyway?" Mayvx asks, crossing his arms over his massive chest with a huff.
Alana swivels in her pilot chair to face him and I can tell she is ready to start another argument with the guy. I throw a look at Rynn, hoping we have some sort of silent communication connection too.
Thankfully, he gets it straight away. "Come," he barks, jerking his head at his Second Spear. "We must keep watch outside while the females search for their information." I give my man a grateful smile as he follows Mavyx outside.
After what seems like hours of scouring the information we find on the screen, not sure of what we're looking for, we find only two slightly promising leads. Two different plants that we think are native to this planet that have been recorded as having some form of contraceptive properties. It is the longest of long shots but we'll take it. Obviously, contraception should be taken before two people 'do the do', but short of finding something labeled as 'Alien Plan B' in this database, I think Alana is down to try anything.
According to what we read on screen, this planet and its flora and fauna have been explored and documented in the past but are now protected under an intergalactic conservation act and Z'irri shouldn't have landed us here at all.
I can't say I'm mad about that though. Not now I have Rynn.
"I need your help," Alana demands as she stands in the doorway to the spaceship, calling to the two Trixikka outside. They follow her inside and she wastes no time getting to the point. "I need these plants. Do you know where to find them?" she asks, pushing a button on the screen that projects a 3D hologram of the specimens in question.
"Why do you need such a thing?" Mavyx grunts, side-eyeing his mate.
Alana huffs and pushes past him. "Fine! I'll go into the jungle and find them myself!"
