"That hasn't upset you before," I dismissed her concern over Loric watching her. She shouldn't be testing her loh's abilities without someone to monitor for trouble. The krelins could come at any time, it wasn't safe.
She huffed. "He's wearing a full mask and can't even hear most of what I'm saying without connecting with an earpiece."
I smiled knowing why she was upset now. It was typical to find Loric unconscious when Faith decided she was done being watched. "You're not planning on trying to spray him with your tincture oil again, are you?"
She's become more resourceful and spent a whole week collecting her sweat and oils into a canister that she used to spray in concentration, paralyzing Loric's body on multiple occasions since Yueril found out the krelins would be here soon. Faith has been on strict probation to remain within the protection of the Bina moon outpost, especially when a shuttle is available. Yueril worries that she will sneak aboard to get back to the main clan while it's not safe for her.
"No," Faith said the word with a guilty elongation as if extending the short answer would somehow excuse her for planning to harm Loric again.
"Faith," I exhaled in exhaustion at having to repeat my warnings, "How many times must I tell you that you could really hurt Loric one of these times if he inhales the tincture oils. What if you paralyze his lungs and he is unable to breathe? Your oils are meant to numb live meat for eating, not escaping your father's request for you to be protected."
She gives me a disgusted look, but the sharp front teeth confirm her nature to need more than rocks to survive like her father.
"Ugh, you know I spray at his feet first. The oil is too heavy to lift up in the air. Dad said I should spray to disable first."
"Of course he did," I said with a groan. Turning my head back to the images of her skin cells to hide the smile lifting at the corners of my mouth at knowing Yueril still tried to give Faith the tools to learn how to escape even his own protection detail of sending the boy Loric to watch her.
"Come here, I need to show you something," I changed the subject.
"Is that my skin?" she asked.
"Some of them," I confirmed. "Do you see the difference?"
"Not really," she exhaled with defeat.
"It's subtle," I assured her that it would be normal to overlook if no one is trying to see something different. "It's easy to think they are all the same, and there were other pressing issues to study. See here," I pointed to the zoomed in image, "This is your loh, and this one is one of your scales, and this one," I got more excited, "and this one is your skin!" I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to look at another set of images. "This is my skin, my loh, and another randomly selected skin and loh sample. Do you see it?"
I didn't wait for her to answer before I burst out, "Your skin and scales activate the same as loh. Your whole body absorbs the moon's rays, even your hair! We were worried that you wouldn't get enough radiation because your larger loh were so few, but you're able to absorb radiation better than anyone I've ever seen. And because of your scales, you're able to mask your radiation, and not dry out your oils because your scales ARE no different than loh."
By now, I'm holding her shoulders in front of me and staring her down with the largest grin on my face. She was safe. Her life wasn't at risk because of her scales. She was safer because of them. Mating with a trill gave her strength. Strength that would defend my Faith from the krelins, and give us insight that our skin is no different than our loh.
"All of our skin is simply millions of smaller loh that haven't been activated like yours have. If we can figure out what activated yours, then the whole clan will be safer."
"Seems like you've made a discovery that could be a problem for my commander," a young male voice spoke from the entry way.
"Faith... behind me," I said while putting myself between her and the krelin that had made its way inside my home. It wasn't the time to ask her if she forgot to lock the doors behind her when she entered from the training grounds. Krelins could fly into open areas like the courtyard, but they shouldn't have been able to land without the links being notified of interference in the atmosphere.
"Where is Loric?" I whispered over my shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." she whimpered. "I didn't think..."
"Is Loric the halfling I found crawling on the ground?" The krelin asked with a smirk. "He didn't put up much of a fight after I removed his mask."
"What have you done to him?" Faith screamed at him while pushing past me to charge the krelin.
"Faith!" I scrambled after her. She's never faced a krelin before.
Her hand was out with the canister of her tincture oil ready to spray at the krelin's face. His wings snapped out from behind him, a gust of wind defending from the spray reaching his face, but I watched as he grabbed her wrist. The canister dropped to the floor with a clank. Faith grunted as pulled the krelin in closer to her, like her father taught her. I cursed Yueril for teaching her to go towards danger. He'd say the enemy never expects someone to lean into an attack, and her scales and oils were designed for close combat. The krelin was too confident in his own abilities to wear much protection, and I watched as my own flesh and blood rubbed her skin against him to paralyze him.
There was a look of shock on the krelin's face, and a surge of hope filled me as I launched myself at him to help my daughter. His arms wrapped around her, and she yelped.
"Let go of me, you-- you--" she couldn't think of what to call him, as if her colorful vocabulary was too shocked to work after seeing the krelin's hold wasn't loosening.
I charged up my loh on my hands to burn him, my grip extended to rip through his wings if I had to. A strange musty scent filled my nose and itched down my throat. Fuck, I thought as I felt my own limbs grow weary. I grabbed onto his arm and put all my radiation into burning his flesh to release my Faith, my life, my very essence that he wrapped up in those lethal arms.
Flashes of my own abduction clogged up my throat, silencing my screams in my mind. This was not happening again, I pleaded to the goddess that this would not be my daughter's fate. Not again. Not after everything we've done to try to protect her.
My eyes grew heavy. I struggled to keep them open, but I felt the pressure of my nails digging into his arm, and then I reached up to claw at his face before my legs wobbled and fell beneath me. My own body betraying me just like at the waterfall.
