Only to become disheartened again whenever the humans’ progress shortly declined or plateaued.
We had spent many millennia watching humans grow to be the dominant species of their water world, at times horrified at how they were damaging their home planet with their primitive ways. From what we gathered, humans were always too busy fighting amongst themselves to tackle more essential tasks like unifying their species, saving their environment, and trying to explore space outside their star system.
Their inferior technology demonstrated that they had just now learned the basics of space travel, having ventured slightly outside their star system only a few times before deciding to explore with the colony-size vessel that had unfortunately met its demise. Several failures along the way had stunted the growth of their space program, which was why they hadn’t met us—or any member of the IPA—until now.
What bothered me the most was that they were missing out on the wonders a universal language could do to a planet. Never in my life had I come across a species with so many languages and dialects on a single home planet. I was surprised to discover they hadn’t even invented universal communicators, which added to my frustrations while planning our initial meeting.
It would have been extremely difficult to communicate with Ni-O-Me if it hadn’t been for the universal communicator. There were still a lot of things we needed to discuss in order to prepare her for the future. Without the device, she’d probably still be afraid of me because of our communication barrier.
I’d be a dimwit if I thought I’d already earned her trust.
I would give her all the time she needed to adjust to her new life and assist her in her quest to further her education in mixology.
Her determination to adjust to her new life was something I admired. It was a strength that humans were known for, and it should’ve propelled them to the top of the galaxy if it weren’t for their inability to unite.
How humans had survived thus far never ceased to amaze me. Their disarray made it easy for us to survey their planet undetected, cloaked from their technology. Even so, unfortunately, our communications engineers were incapable of deciphering their written language, which had become their highest priority now that we were rescuing humans and trying to integrate them into becoming registered citizens with the rest of the galaxy.
Our researchers had studied their media and discovered how humans as a whole viewed what they called aliens. Any species that came from space was considered hostile, determined to destroy or enslave Earth. A minority of humans did like the idea of meeting, interacting with, or even romancing an alien, but none fulfilled a leadership role within their society, thus making contact with that minority pointless.
Out of all the species the agency was prodding along a technological timeline, humans were the most resistant—and resilient—to change.
The leaders of the Four Winds clans had gradually grown resentful of the funding required by the departments to keep the galaxy’s lesser species from being conquered. They’d joined the Yzefrxyl leaders’ thought process of wanting to focus on their own borders and people, rather than assisting those who had no idea other species existed outside their planet.
While I understood their point of view, I also knew that if we didn’t protect those who needed it, the galaxy’s current established governments would launch a galactic war, conquering anyone who was weaker than them.
We wouldn’t be that far from what humans were doing on their home planet, only on a much larger scale. Something I knew the majority of citizens and their leaders would prefer to avoid. For many years, we had maintained peace within our agency, which aided in the funding of scientific research that improved everyone’s way of life.
“Maybe I’ll learn something with this whole experience,” I muttered to myself, as I placed the last of the sampling dishes onto the table. “Just like her, I will take each day one at a time. It’s not often I get to play host, especially to a female.”
“That makes two of us.”
Every fiber of my being froze as I cursed myself for being so foolish by speaking out loud. I was so used to being alone in my villa that I was caught talking to myself and, more importantly, about my feelings toward my guest and her species.
My mother would be ashamed to have laid my egg and then spent her precious time nursing me until I was ready to crack open my shell and enter the universe.
“Please forgive me,” I begged, turning to face her. “I wasn’t saying that—”
The words I wanted to say caught in my throat and were forgotten in the wind as I took in her beauty.
Something about seeing her standing outside her guest room in my jade-colored robe filled my chest with a mixture of primal and pride, bringing my mating instincts to life.
Somehow, she had awoken a hidden need in me that I had pushed to the side in order to concentrate on my prestigious career. I yearned for a mate to come home to after work and stand by my side for all eternity—until the Four Winds took my last breath.
The silver and gold leaves matched the beads in her braids and beautifully adorned her natural features. Her dark skin glistened like the moon reflecting off the depths of the ocean as she walked with the grace and confidence of a flockmaster, radiating power that made me want to worship her if she demanded it.
I couldn’t believe how much she looked like she belonged in robes—my robes—and it almost made me want to dance for her right now, and let her claim me worthy enough to be her mate.
“You have the beauty of a thousand suns, attracting everyone’s attention with your very presence,” I uttered, raising my wings and bowing from my hips, my gaze fixed on her brown eyes. “I’m afraid that if I get too close, your touch will turn my feathers to ash, forcing me to succumb to my fate.”
“Does your species have a poetic reputation, or is this all you?” As her eyes danced with delight, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a small trilling noise. “It doesn’t matter which is true; it’s all flattery. I’ll take whatever compliments and sweet words you have to offer.”
“I speak the truth; my kind tends to offer such words to beautiful beings so that they may continue to grace them with their presence.” I straightened myself, closing my wings and adjusting my feathers, ruffling them until they fell into their place, as I couldn’t take my eyes off of her the whole time. “Being locked up in metallic walls for so long while working on the space station dulled everything. I missed having the freedom to fly whenever I wanted. I’m learning how much my body missed being surrounded by beauty and life by being here, in my villa, and now with you. It’s as if something dead inside of me has been reawakened, and I have to thank you for being a part of it.”
“I understand what you mean,” she said quietly, concern on her features as her hand dropped from her worried face. “After growing up in a thriving meta-city and then traveling in the space vessel, I understand the trapped feeling that grips you and won’t let you go.
“Most of my friends could afford to take vacations to exclusive, exotic locales like your villa and this location.” She walked to the window-wall as if she were flying, her head level as no sound came from her feet, and stared out at the twilight reflecting off the oceanic waters. “It’s almost as if everything about this is a dream, and for the first time, I’m afraid of waking up.”
“You are welcome to stay here as long as you want, until I am called away on a mission.” I walked over, my talons clicking with each step, making me self-conscious about how loud I was in comparison to her earlier steps, and stood beside her. “You don’t have to worry about credits or working for your stay. Just concentrate on recovering from such a traumatic experience and studying for your lessons once I find a teacher willing to work with you virtually.”
