I awoke on my side feeling relaxed and lazy, still half inebriated from spending the last four days mating non-stop with Eh'kt. Not that there was any chance of procreating.

That remained a subject necessitating an in-depth discussion. Granted, neither Eh'kt nor I had made any genuine effort to steer the conversation in that direction.

Eh'kt was sleeping soundly behind me when his breathing amplified, followed by a yawn and his giant black claws sliding up my outer thigh.

"We arrive on Sahei today?" I poked one of his quills with my ear.

"Mmmm..." Eh'kt's arm hooked around my waist and pulled me to his chest. One of his longest quills slithered into my hair as he thrummed and curled his chin into the back of my neck. That's when my favorite of his appendages unfurled.

At first glance, you'd think all adult male Zhaguai were all tailless, but they aren't. Those things are slippery and secret, and they poke out the front.

That slippery pale grey organ slid between my thighs. letting its nearly white glistening head jut out below my folds. I touched the engorged cap and caressed its tiny crown of bumpy ridges. Eh'kt growled and squeezed me tighter, coaxing a bead of translucent precum to leak out.

I freaked the first time I saw the actuall stuff. I thought he was bleeding, or I was. It was a very disturbing visual. Razkur jizz was orange, but Eh'kt calmly demonstrated that Zhaguai cum was white. It helped that it didn't move like blood in thermal, so when he finished, I made a point to close my eyes and condense down to only infrared.

Eh'kt's reproductive differences presented another unique question. Could Zhaguai seed ever take root in me? Triads weren't just a sensible strategy for child-rearing in Menthla's harsh terrain, it was how razkurs were biologically conceived.

"Will I go to the institute first?"

"Yes," Eh'kt leisurely rocked his hips, gliding his cock back and forth against my wet slit. "They will have questions. But it's forbidden for them to detain you. You are my lifemate."

"Just like that?" I glanced back at him.

"You are mine," he kissed me and pushed himself inside. "Legally, you are now part of Jahaa, a member of my clan."

The rows of smooth, rippled nodules running up and down the sides of his shaft stoked a fire in my belly.

"You've broken no laws and are not our enemy," he continued. "However, the Graven are a hazard that we will need to take measures to circumvent or eliminate. Your testimony will be vital. I've already pre programmed the comms to broadcast an encrypted file to the Institute when we're in range."

Eh'kt's pulse reverberated within me. It was like being skewered by a tuning fork emitting molten plasma.

"Your recordings should abbreviate the procedure," Eh'kt raised my upper leg and stroked his fingers near my clitoris.

I couldn't help but purr and moan. How was he still conversing coherently?

"When I brought up offspring..." I stammered. It was like my veins were being pumped full of prismatic magma. "You didn't sound concerned."

Eh'kt growled and thrust even harder, forcing my body to shudder.

Ash and water! Was his dick made of thermite?

"My people frequently dabble in refining our DNA. Some clans are more extreme in this practice than others," Eh'kt licked my ear. "It is possible for Zhaguai to breed with other species. There are no complications in this arena that our technology cannot override."

"Even though razkurs require more than one male to conceive?"

Eh'kt rolled on top of me, planting my face down and pounding his mast within me as though he were staking his claim.

"You will see," Eh'kt asserted. "Zhaguai scientists are unrivaled."

This wasn't the composed adult conversation I had envisioned, but at this very moment, I could only perceive the world in a kaleidoscope of happy. I wanted to share in his certainty. Hoped... eventually, I would.

Eh'kt's two longest quills curled by my face as he steadily picked up pace. Each successive thrust felt like he was stamping his name internally, and apparently, magnitude and quantity mattered. He went on talking about what to expect on his homeworld. I wanted to listen. I knew it was important. But the rumbling in his chest and the dull patter of his cranial quills writhing together took precedence.

I reached back and raked my claws along the sides of his neck. The sound of his guttural hissing filled my ears.

Was he still talking?

Fuck. I couldn't stand it. I pushed up, rolled him, and pinned him down. Finally! He shut his mouth and let me ride him full gallop.

"More!" I arched back.

As always, Eh'kt obeyed reliably. He bucked his hips and raised his rear, keeping my pelvis snug to his with his giant black claws. Then his slightly paler left hand teased my breast and expressed my nipple. Not sure why, but witnessing it really turned me on. One was enough, two was often too much input.

In a flash, the surge was on me, like a tsunami of amorphous static gathering at the base of my spine that inevitably overflowed. It was like someone pulled the plug and short-circuited my brain all at once. There were colors and shapes, and by the breaking light, the sounds!

Sometime later, I became aware of Eh'kt's soft thrumming as his hands rubbed my arms. His customary soothing response while waiting out my lockdown.

"Shit," I realized I had climaxed well before him. "I didn't mean to."

"Nonsense," Eh'kt pulled me to his chest and stroked my head. "You are free to cum as often and whenever you choose."

...

"No! She can't come and go as she pleases!" The Central Docking Officer grunted in Eh'kt's face. "She's an undocumented species."

"She is my mate," Eh'kt contested.

"It's protocol," the Officer unclenched his fist to restrain the urge to release his own hidden armory. "At the minimum, she must wear the collar!"

He unlatched a glowing neon blue ring from a holster on his hip.

Eh'kt slapped the collar to the ground and shouted. "I will not lead her through the streets like a common hound!"

Sahei was glorious! My head percolated with a toe-tapping show tune that a family friend once wrote about discovery.

No, quiet. shh.... This world has its own rhythms. I must be impartial. Listen. Become one with the sound. I closed my eyes and let the vibrations fill me.

The Zhaguai were all different! Many had horns, some had fins or frills, and all of them were a plethora of sounds and colors. Also, their cranial quills came in varying sizes. Eh'kt's quills were sleek and short, well suited to his no-nonsense onyx features.

Between my sensitive cranial thermal bands and my keen hearing, it was easy to spot the smattering of concealed Zhaguai standing guard. They were standing still, disguised as pillars, topiaries, jutted out corners, and other trivial objects that were easily identifiable as hollow.

Eh'kt was adamant that I not allude to being aware of anyone while they were keeping watch from within their phantom blinds. Not until he gave the all-clear.

This planet was lush, alive, and vibrant. And not just the colors. Did any of these Zhaguai have any idea how beautiful they were? Their hearts, lungs, and the stomp of their giant reptilian feet. Every little detail was fascinating. Turns out, bleak grey crystal-infested radioactive badlands weren't the only prerequisite for producing a hardcore species.

Compared to the other Zhaguai, Eh'kt was fairly average in height and mass. A few were substantially larger, particularly the women. They stood out at a minimum of eight to nine feet tall!

No wonder he harbored a size complex.

I smiled to myself, pleased with my claim.

Don't they recognize a clever male when they see one? Every razkur knows that a cunning man is by far the most prized.

"I've been to green planets," I skipped to Eh'kt's side. "But Sahei is really fucking green!"

"It speaks Zhaguai!" The tan and green speckled officer loomed over me.

"And a whole lotta other things," I pinged back in another new language I'd just siphoned off from the official.

"YES!" Eh'kt got in the officer's face, ramming his finger at the official's tan-scaled chest. "Which is why I'm requesting a priority audience with Oru! Today!"

The Officer grumbled then clicked into an intercom built into his wristcomm.

"When can I start recording? I freed up a bunch of space on my guitar's hard drive. At the time, I was expecting to be tossed in jail, but good thing I decided to be ready."

My words flowed out quicker than a string of firecrackers popping on the ground. "How often does it rain? Often, I bet. Just a deluge of death pouring down from the sky! Not like that's a recurring nightmare or anything..." I huffed, then shook my head and blew a raspberry. "Don't be weird."

...

"Just now," Eh'kt whispered to me. "Did you learn another language?"

"Yeah," I exited the docking port next to Eh'kt, free of a collar. "Three of them when I stepped off the ship."

"Do you know whom they came from?"

"Yup," I nodded. "For now, the channel's fresh. It'll fade in an hour. Doubt I'll be able to point them out later."

"We should work out a signal for you to alert me," Eh'kt mumbled to himself. "I hate that it hurts you."

"I'm gonna write soo many songs about this place!" I bounced and hooked my hands around Eh'kt's elbow.

"I await hearing them with bated breath," Eh'kt led me through the streets proudly on his arm.

"Musicals were never my jam," I managed to slow my speech down, but my ears continued zipping aimlessly. "But there was this one production written by my dad's friend, Standing Otter, that had this song about exploring a new town. It was a play for younglings..." I clarified. "Standing Otter was an old-school synthetic, hard-wired for child-rearing. You know, write what you know..."

"He was an android?" Eh'kt's voice became tense.

"Ehh..." I raised my palms, cringing. "Not cool to use that word about them. Right after the big societal collapse, ninety percent of the razkur population died. We've always had a hankering for co-existing with other species, third-species syndrome and all, and the tech was already in the works. So people tweaked the blueprint for reproduction. Now we're all jumbled together. Some razkurs grow in pouches while others are printed. Same results."

"And you all..." Eh'kt cocked his head sideways, perplexed. "Live as one?"

"Sing," I corrected and pecked him on the cheek. "Beautiful music is the culmination of many different sounds."

...

Medical Prime was this big black glass trapezoidal building. The Central Docking Officer begrudgingly complied with Eh'kt demands but ordered that I be vaccinated and receive a thorough examination before being presented to Oru, Jahaa's supreme leader and most revered Elder.

Eh'kt explained that Zhaguai women dominated the sciences, but males were welcome if they possessed the aptitude. And vice versa for the females who desired a life of hands-on combat. However, women had little interest in perpetual combat, but could, and were all too happy to make a visceral example of any male who neglected a female's superiority in this facet.

Academia was the pursuit of honor through scholastic achievement and improving their homeworld. The standards were equally competitive as their masculine counterparts, and these towering ladies had elevated healthy peer rivalry into the realm of blood sport.

I was paired with a magnificent doctor named Kazz'mon.

She was nine-foot-tall, jade-green with a canary-yellow face and belly highlights. Two slender horns protruded from her temples and the back of her head was a curtain of long thin golden quills with tiny vertebrae ringlet embellishments. Her build was similar to a razkur, compact and muscular, but with ample breasts, larger than any I'd ever seen on Menthla.

Her armor was mesmerizing. A flattering gold and teal metal two-piece consisting of swirling interlocking segments, complete with the standard issue strappy buckled bodice and multi-purpose gauntlet complete with a built-in crossbow. Zhaguai were truly naked without their weapons. Her emerald-green eyes reminded me of Two Clouds, calm, logical, and highly inquisitive.

Eh'kt was right, Zhaguai scientists were wicked brilliant! Kazz'mon ran me through a full course of immunizations, scans, bloodwork, an intense physical checkup, and a detailed breakdown of my medical history.

During one of my prolonged abdominal scans, I found myself glancing back and forth between Kazz'mon and Eh'kt.

"Ni Eh'kt," I did my best to remain perfectly still. "Why is everyone here so much more colorful? Not that I don't appreciate your scales. I think they're stunning."

"Breeding," Kazz'mon interjected. "Scale color is predominantly passed down through the sire. Eh'kt, your sire was..." She tapped one of her golden claws across her black datapad. "Xa'anri."

Kazz'mon brought up a three-dimensional floating halo image beaming up from her wristcomm. The grizzled Zhaguai was nearly identical to Eh'kt, but was black with royal blue highlights. "Monochromatic is rare," Kazz'mon added. "But more frequent than albinism."

Eh'kt avoided eye contact with the image of his father.

"Are all razkur epidermises within this spectrum?" Kazz'mon circled a finger around my body.

"No," I turned my head back up towards the ceiling. "Some are shades of grey. Mostly the city dwellers."

"You are considered..." Kazz'mon tapped again on her datapad. "Rural?"

"Kinda," I smirked. "Nomad is more accurate."

Kazz'mon flexed her six radiant yellow touch-quills swaying just in front of her ears and nodded.

"We often find genetic repetition in successful intelligent organisms, despite not being related. Humans and their ilk are the most common. They pop up everywhere and spread like a virus. However, your species' genetic arrangement is quite divergent..." Kazz'mon prowled the room, partially muttering to herself. "Nothing comes close in our records..."

There was an enlarged bloopy image on her datapad screen labeled skin cells.

"Very multi-faceted," Kazz'mon chittered in delight. "I will need to acquire samples."

Eh'kt's chest rumbled in irritation.

Kazz'mon glanced at him with a sigh. "The amount is negligible."

"What about hybridization?" Eh'kt stepped in when my final scan completed. "Can Mourning Crow be made compatible?"

"Ah, I'm glad you brought that up," Kazz'mon lit up a life-sized diagram of my internal anatomy on the wall screen. "It was next on my list."

She zoomed in on my pelvis. "Mourning Crow, at what stage are you currently in your reproductive cycle?"

"About two weeks out from my monthly peel," I sat up on the examination table and leaned back to point out the thin crescent lines outlining a wide X-shape below my belly button, where once a month the unused transparent pouch would peel off.

"Are there any other symptoms or associations that come with this process?"

"Nope," I wagged my ears. "Just a little sticky underneath. Rubs off easy."

"Excellent," Kazz'mon continued typing. "Could you deliver me the next remnant when it's ready?"

"Sure thing," I leaned forward, pressing my hands on my knees while my legs dangled off the giant table. "But it's only got a shelf life of a few days. After that, it crumbles to dust."

"I will make arrangements," Kazz'mon's eyes sparkled with elation.

Meanwhile, Eh'kt was growling with impatience.

"Overall," Kazz'mon paid him no attention and kept her focus on me. "The preliminary results are very promising and the prospect of incorporating shared pregnancy into our gene pool is... Well... I'm hesitant to use the phrase groundbreaking, but this is an exciting line of inquiry I intend to investigate thoroughly!"

"But can she bear Zhaguai offspring?" Eh'kt blurted at her.

"Oh, yes. Of course," Kazz'mon laughed. "It's a simple procedure. Return tomorrow at this same time, Eh'kt, and I'll make the necessary adjustments."

"Me?"

Kazz'mon nodded, still engrossed in her tablet. "To make you compatible for hybridization. Six to eight injections. Maybe twelve."

The doctor waved her hand nonchalantly. "The final simulations will be complete in the next few hours."

"Not Mourning Crow?" Eh'kt dithered in place.

"Oh, impossible," Doctor Kazz'mon affirmed. "Her eggs are quite immutable. Procreation will require a third as well. At the very least, a donor."

Eh'kt's face came to a halt, as if Doctor Kazz'mon had slapped him point-blank in the face with her entire mane of golden long quills.

Kazz'mon began railing off a list of do's and don'ts for Eh'kt to adhere to for his upcoming appointment. Until Eh'kt definitely snatched her datapad and stormed off into the corner.

"Shh..." I laid a finger over my mouth and gently motioned for Kazz'mon to hang back.

Eh'kt eventually tossed the datapad on a nearby desk and crossed his arms. His breathing elongated and then hushed.

"He's the type who thrives on solving a problem," I explained to Kazz'mon. "Give him a minute. He's plotting."

Kazz'mon raised her brow and sat down next to me, then the two of us waited patiently while Eh'kt paced in the corner.

I leaned up and over to her. "I bet you my left leg he's taking inventory of all the strengths and stats of every male he's ever encountered."

Eh'kt spun his head about and scowled at us. His silver eyes wildly protesting, I was not!

"Told ya."

...

The capital was a giant wasp's nest!

Only big, black, and metal, nothing like the brilliant azure crystal cylinders built in Daguma. After the Cyon war, the newly formed nation constructed dozens of clustered cylindrical towers in celebration. I never got to visit them in person, but you could see their reflections blazing in the morning light from miles away. Such structures were considered good luck and phenomenal acoustic marvels.

The one we entered was the largest of many in the capital city and stationed in the center of the city. It was the supreme gathering hall for all of Sahei.

From a security standpoint, the smooth, redundant curved configuration was fundamentally rubbish, at least to a razkur, or any creature adept at echolocation. The internal reflections were so condensed that the slightest sound, even exhaling, was enough to provide me with a clear view of the entire layout. Even with Sahei's high humidity, every polished nook and cranny was easily perceptible.

The central courtyard had no ceiling but was nestling in the shadow of rows and rows of round balconies stacked high above us. A waterfall poured from the far off skylight, spritzing the air with mist as it filled a black stone lagoon crested by massive monuments carved in the shape of Zhaguai warriors.

Sweet Abura, the air in here is trembling!

Eh'kt needed to address a few preliminary meetings before our audience with Oru and requested that I wait in the open and not explore or touch anything until he returned.

I nodded, but couldn't verbalize honest commitment.

After Eh'kt left, the enormous chamber was nearly empty, save a few guards disguised as plants and pillars, and a handful of Zhaguai chattering in the distance. The sublime reverberations of their melding heartbeats ricocheting in and out throughout the curved walls, and pinging off the ceiling, was beyond torture.

The guards lumbered like statues with their focus pointed wholly at me. My ears twitched and my heels tapped but I didn't dare rest my eyes on them.

Millimeter by millimeter, I scooted closer and closer toward the apex, that magical acoustic vortex that drives every razkur delirious with joy.

Eh'kt's voice echoed down the hallway. He was in a chamber debriefing several Zhaguai scientists about his time on LH387, the planet where he found me. On the other side of the building, I heard two Zhaguai screwing in an empty office, and three floors above them, a sinewy woman giving a stern lecture to her subordinate females. The intoxicating sounds converged and whirled at the center point.

Closer and closer, I did my best not to appear threatening, despite being allowed to wear my guitar and fully stocked weapon harness. Several of the nearest guards turned their heads to me. I knew they were aware that I was moving, but I was just slow enough to make them uncertain.

Getting closer made it worse, the beat, the bounce, the whistling air. It was like there was this whole other dimension dancing around these Zhaguai guards, and they were completely oblivious. The cells in my body crackled, my blood boiled, and the four chambers of my vocal tract quivered in anticipation.

And then I was there. The apex. The sweet-spot. The acoustical zenith of this divine cluster of polished cylinders!

The melody crashed into me like the unstoppable rush of a climax and in a moment of capricious bliss; I sang!

All four vocal ranges at once, a unique razkur skill that requires decades and in my case, centuries of training to master. A multi-toned chorus from one individual that shattered the stillness like a star going nova.

I knew exactly what to sing. I'd locked on to the tune the second we crossed the threshold to enter the building. A timeless chant written during an age shared with the Abura. But I modified it, abbreviated it, and translated the lyrics into Zhaguai.

The invisible guards immediately deactivated their holographic bubbles and converged around me, charging up lethal weapons ranging from electrified blades to fully automatic spitfire mini-guns. But they halted when my echo returned and barreled into their bodies, arriving precisely on time to complete the words flowing from my mouth.

It was a song of hunting in unison; the Abura tails from above, razkur teeth from below, all about how our power and harmony were long unrivaled. It was an instinctual laudation even the most stoic Zhaguai could comprehend.

The circle of big lizardmen tossed their gazes around the room. They were near enough to the apex to feel my song vibrate through them from every angle. Even with their limited hearing range, the sound's intensity permeated their scales.

I spun my guitar up and over my head, striking my cords with a speed and accuracy I knew no one on this planet could fully appreciate. Every fiber in my being cascaded into action, savage, kinetic, inescapable, like one of those purple lightning storms that used to rip through Thorngate.

More Zhaguai, including Eh'kt, swarmed into the main hall. Just as I had listened to all of them a moment earlier, now they could hear me. But I wasn't singing for them.

Sure, I love an audience. No, this was a proper introduction. I am razkur. Hear me roar!

Then I strummed off my final chord, gave time for the last echo to make its rounds, and bowed.

Eh'kt intercepted the highest-ranking guard charging toward me, doing his best to explain that my actions were instinct. Anyone of my species would have been compelled to do the same in this exact spot, though not necessarily this exact song.

The guard growled and glared at me as I strapped on my guitar.

"She offers tribute to our glory," Eh'kt waved his arm high to the colossal statues looming over our heads. "It is her people's highest praise."

"On my homeworld," I added haughtily. "This is the only purpose for this type of architecture."

Eh'kt eyed me for responding, but the guard started laughing. Then a few of the others joined in with their own low chortles and eventually, we were waved off and sent on our way.

Eh'kt combed a hand across his rigid forehead and sighed. "Sweet-spot?"

"So fuckin' cherry!" I smiled, trying my best not to skip down across the chamber.

...

A monstrous skull dominated the grand throne room. It was a bleached-white crested behemoth protruding from the center of the crowd. I, being a foot shorter than the average male Zhaguai, could only make a portion of the backside through a cluster of bone-armored shoulders and a snarl of quills. But what I could see had the majesty of a long-lost revered colossus hidden deep beneath Menthla.

A jumbo brown-speckled Zhaguai with blue stripes and fiery-orange eyes was presenting his latest trophy, the skull of an U'la'ke Liege. The great venomous cats the Zhaguai challenge in their first Dread Rite to establish adulthood and earn their place among their clan.

The brown and blue Zhaguai with thick black tendrils and large coiling horns stood in the center of the grand hall, telling his story and displaying recordings of his endeavors.

Eh'kt and I entered at the tail end, having been trapped in an endless inquiry, and we wound up missing all the videos.

"Dran, my offspring," a woman's voice thundered from the front of the room. "You bring us great honor. Honor to you as well."

It was Oru.

The sparsely clad orange-eyed Supreme Elder sat reclined in her solid black stone throne with her legs spread. The sides of her enshrined seat bore the etchings of the Nexus' ancient honor code. Oru was eight-foot-tall and all muscle, patterned in vibrant blue with orange stripes, and had long blue-tipped black tendrils flanking a line of crest of needled spines running across her scalp like a tenacious mohawk that never bowed to anyone.

Dran lowered his head in deference and cupped a fist across his burly pecs.

Oru offered Dran his choice of reward, a new ship or a ranch domicile with adjacent kennels and enough space for his hounds. He chose the ranch, then bowed once more and activated the hover-lift to deliver his skull to some place worthy of having the trophy on display.

I caught Eh'kt examining Dran and to be honest, so was I. The big warrior wore a delicious-looking sash of vertebrates draped across his chest and had a line of thick black short quills poking out just below his sculpted navel, a prickly path running straight down and disappearing underneath a large mouth watering ursine skull codpiece.

"Eh'kt," a herald off to the far left shouted. "Champion of this cycle's Annual Nexus Melee."

Hisses reverberated from a few Zhaguai dispersed within the congregation.

Oru raised her hand to silence the grand hall as Eh'kt and I stepped out into the long empty column dividing the crowd.

"A most honorable victory, youngblood," Oru spoke deliberately to Eh'kt. "It was most satisfying to bear witness to such an astounding and glorious feat."

"Strength and Honor to Jahaa," Eh'kt bowed his head in gratitude.

"Your prize was first access to the planet LH387," Oru continued. "And from your detailed account, I see your annual Dread Rite did not go exactly as intended."

"Yes," Eh'kt stood tall. "The planet was bountiful, as the preliminary scans assessed, but when I arrived, another's challenge was already in progress."

Eh'kt turned to me.

"Yes," Oru curled her blue and orange-striped lips into a wily grin. "The razkur."

"Her prey," Eh'kt turned once again to Oru. "The Graven are vo'zuiel of the highest order. To seek them is a Khi'ossa'ra Ashiri."

It was strange hearing Eh'kt speak so formally. Yes, the Graven were abominations, and I knew all too well that their battles only led to death. But my mate's posture and pronunciation felt like an entirely different Zhaguai.

Oru nodded and stared down at me. Her piercing orange eyes and tightly sealed fangs gave no hint of her inner machinations. Then she jutted her chin and summoned me forward.

Eh'kt backed off to my right.

"I am Mourning Crow," I dipped into an elaborate bow, flaring my ears gracefully. "Sole offspring of the famed bard Dire Vulture, sharpshooter second-class Ice Tail, and service technician Black Sun. As well as... traveling bard, former slayer of Graven, and mate of Eh'kt."

It was probably more flare than the situation required, but Eh'kt advised me to be respectful. He also gave me the official all-clear to disclose all my innate abilities. His exact words were, make yourself known and do not hold back!

"Sole?" Oru lifted one of her eyebrows. "Soo many bearers and no siblings?"

"Quality over quantity is prized on Menthla," I smiled cordially. "Why waste resources when perfection is achieved?"

I saw no need to delve into Black Sun's murder and Ice Tail's subsequent death-wish enlistment into the military.

There was an unseen guard to Oru's right, posing as an ornate weapon stand, shaking his tendrils at my cocky remark.

Damn the gods, right I'll speak my mind! I didn't survive Thorngate by cowering in the shadows.

"Mmm... From your recordings and your earlier overture outside in the entrance hall," Oru dryly flicked her tongue. "Menthla and its people sound most... enticing. We have deliberated on the matter thoroughly and wish to experience your homeworld first hand."

"As peaceful visitors, gladly," I kept my ears pointed proudly, high and angled up. "All of Jahaa would be welcome with song and open arms. But if you intend to descend on them as you would any other world, to challenge in combat solely to claim dominance, then I cannot comply."

"You are a member of Jahaa," Oru reminded, narrowing her eyes. "Your loyalty is exclusive to us."

"Yes, and I accept that honor with great pride," I maintained eye contact with the Elder. "But this order compels me to be a traitor... to Jahaa."

Oru hissed in objection.

"I will not lead my clan into a slaughter," I stepped forward. "I have observed and learned much of Sahei. The Zhaguai are woefully unprepared."

Belligerent roars boomed throughout the great hall combined with the C'shinks of hidden swords and staves springing loose from their sheaths.

"Tread carefully, razkur," Oru leaned forward with her fangs bared. "You are new here and will only be warned once. Death is the only punishment for such an insult."

"Facts are facts," I persisted.

Oru rose from her throne.

"Male, seven-foot-three," I pointed at an obscured guard perched in the upper rafters. "Two scars across his jaw," I dragged my fingers along my face, illustrating their placement. "Spear, sidearm pistol... some kind of giant bird?" I cupped my hand over my left arm, representing a polished beak tethered to his shoulder.

Oru seethed but held her posture.

"Male, seven-foot-nine," I pointed to another hidden guard on the opposite side of the room. "Spine and long bones on his back, recently regenerated leg," I circled the line on my leg where the amputation had taken place on him. "And he's hungry. His stomach's been growling non-stop."

"By what technology do you-" Oru glared at me.

"I'm razkur," I threw my hands up and wagged my head and giant ears. "We're born this way. I heard all of you and the layout of the entire building seconds after entry. It's no feat. All of Menthla can do it, even our younglings. This building is one of many shapes that are bad for keeping secrets from razkurs."

"Not possible," the Elder clicked.

"Three-hundred and twenty-four," I calmly countered with the number of hidden stationary guards currently on duty stationed throughout the building.

Oru and the obscured guard to her right flared their eyes wide.

"Male, eight-foot-solid," I pointed at Oru's concealed right-hand guard. "Scars here, here, and here." I swished my hand over three giant, long sealed wounds running diagonally across the big Zhaguai's chiseled abs. "Lots of long quills down to here," I pantomimed his mane's slightly longer length, stopping just above his ass. "One ax, one retractable halberd."

The big guard to her right deactivated his phantom blind and removed his helmet.

He was brilliant crimson with thick black coiling horns and possessed an extraordinarily long mane of undulating red-tipped black tendrils. His emblem of Jahaa was inlaid in black metal high over his left cheek, as his forehead was covered in a cluster with short, jagged horns. He unlatched his axe and stomped toward me.

The red Zhaguai's armor was more ornate than Eh'kt's newly acquired state-of-art modern attire. Older, well-used, and composed of a motley of high-quality materials and patterns collected from adversaries defeated over centuries of successful Dreads. The other markings seared into his pectorals and the rings on his scaley tendrils told the tale of a renown Forged warrior who held the esteemed rank of Adjutant, Oru's second in command.

However, another Zhaguai cut off his charge. A nine-foot-tall female Forged, with markings declaring her as a Reaver, a rank specialized for law enforcement . She was tri-horned and purple with lime-green highlights and dark-green quills, all securely wrapped up in lustrous golden armor.

"Step aside, Renas," the large crimson Forged male rumbled.

"This outsider is beneath you, Shale," Renas, the female Reaver, hissed and slithered closer to me. "Do not be fooled by this parlor trick."

Oru returned to her throne and sat quietly, watching the drama unfold.

"This impertinent little rabbit is no true member of Jahaa," Renas jeered. "Just because some youngblood decides to get his dick wet, doesn't mean we tip-toe and wait for this outsider's consent."

Renas swirled her head up toward Oru. "Send her to the Institute and pry loose the location of Menthla. Or better yet," Renas swung her venomous gaze back on me. "Who cares! We don't need your testimony, or Menthla, or even your bones! We'll find that shithole eventually and kill till we're satisfied."

I kept my mouth shut to let her stupidity linger.

"Why do you give Eh'kt's account any credence?" Renas addressed Oru, then she turned her argument wide to the room. "We all know who the rightful winner of the Nexus is," Renas motioned to the Shale, the big red Zhaguai standing behind her. "Not some dysfunctional runt, unworthy of a true Zhaguai mate, who could only usurp the Nexus title due to Shale's absence while on a long-distant Dread."

"You disrespect Ni Eh'kt," my voice went cold. It felt like the temperature in the air was rising all around me, or maybe it was the other way around...

"Your?" Renas mistranslated. Then she extended a purple claw at Eh'kt. "Is this true, Mate of Mourning Crow?"

The room chittered with laughter.

A chill fluttered from my bare feet planted on the marble floor. In a brisk snap, I tossed my guitar at Eh'kt and unlatched my weapon's harness, letting everything else drop to the floor.

What was it Oru mentioned about the punishment for insults?

"Is the little rabbit initiating a challenge?" Renas' eyes went wide with delight as she glanced back over her shoulder at Oru, awaiting official permission to spill blood in the grand chamber.

The Elder said nothing, but I could hear her heartbeat quicken. Then Oru waved her hand in a wordless gesture to permit the duel.

Renas wasted no time swiveling her eyes back to me. The Reaver released her metal whip and sauntered forward, hissing maliciously.

.

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TRANSLATIONS:

U'la'ke = alien cat species that are mortal enemies of the Zhaguai that have stinger tails with paralytic venom. Known as "The Felija" to humans. They live in large Prides. Lieges are biggest and are both sexes with large manes and thirteen tails.

Jahaa = Wraith Clan

Sahei = Jahaa Clan Homeworld

Vo'zuiel = Abomination

Khi'ossa'ra Ashiri = Death Challenge

Ni Eh'kt = My Heartbeat/Bonded  

Author's Note:

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