Blizzard Ch14 (POV Switch)
I strode through the market, gliding through the crowds in search of something I was not sure anyone would even have. The sky was just beginning to turn from amber to a light gray, and K'lee was deep asleep in my bed. I lay beside her and watched her sleeping peacefully, but it had not been long before I felt fueled from the bed. One of the king's guard was watching her now, allowing me to roam.
I had already spoken with dozens of vendors. None had what I needed. If I did not find it here, I knew I could speak to the doctor and that he might have something-but I really did not want anyone to know what I was purchasing. Therefore, I ventured farther into the center rings of the market where I suspected that at least one of the vendors was a smuggler. No one ever caught him, or nothing could be proven, but I had my suspicions. I surveyed his table of goodies, spotting similar products.
He was watching me intently, probably recognizing me as the prince. I did not care-what I wanted was legal to buy...though probably illegal for him, of no status, to obtain.
"Do you have different ones of these?" I asked.
He turned to enter his tent. I could hear him scavenging through the boxes. Before long, he set an armful of various things in front of me. They were all different, ranging from pills to injections, but none were right.
"You don't have one that fits my needs." I began to shift away from the table.
"I can get you anything you like, for a price, my prince. Just tell me exactly what you're looking for-though I warn you, it might take some time depending on the object."
"I need a constant supply. I will pay you well. I just need to know that you can keep this a secret."
"Of course."
I joined K'lee back in bed, and as I wrapped my arms around her, I felt better about what I was doing, as well as worse. I did not know how she would react if she ever found out...But I felt the alternative was far more miserable.
I woke with the rising of the sun and surprisingly, so did K'lee. She met my eyes for a moment but then quickly shut hers and rolled away. I really did not want her to go back to sleep, as I desperately needed a distraction from my own thoughts, so I hugged myself to her back and combed my fingers through her hair.
"Good morning. You are awake early this time. The sun has just begun to rise...Would you like to see it? And then I will feed you."
"Ok." She answered.
I got out of the bed to put on shoes and the cloth covering and watched K'lee. Her movements were slow, still tired. I suddenly remembered that I had moved her clothes and that was what she was probably doing-searching for them.
"I put your things over here." She followed me to the dresser on the opposite side of the room.
K'lee dressed in her usual colorful ooman clothes, with those layers, and they covered up much of her beautiful body.
"Ready?" I asked eagerly.
"Yep."
I slid the door sideways into wall and turned down the hallways with her right behind me. We only got a few feet before the king turned the corner. I slowed my pace and was about to greet him when he addressed my mate.
"Princess." He said with a slight bow.
"Hi." She said.
"Your clothes." He handed off a pile of K'lee's odd clothes.
"Oh, thanks."
The king gave K'lee a kiss on the forehead and turned back the way he came. I watched him quickly disappear around the corner. She disappeared back into my room behind me. K'lee got a kiss and I did not get so much as a greeting. I turned back and stood in the doorway as she placed her clothes on the bed.
"The king seems very cheery this morning." I said, watching her.
"Uhhg."
"I don't think he glanced my way." I said, quite amused.
"Hmm."
"I think he likes you." Actually, I knew he liked her. The king did not look twice at girls anymore, but even his voice softened as he addressed K'lee.
"Guhh."
I walked up to K'lee and softly touched her chin to tip her head up to meet my eyes, "That is a good thing."
She would not meet my eyes and tore her face away. I stared down at her, trying to ascertain just what she was thinking, what she was feeling. The king had taken a liking to her, and that meant last night had gone well. The way she was sleeping next to him, before I carried her away, meant the same. The king liking her had great benefits, so I did not know why she was acting different again.
I led her to the roof as promised. She quickly sat down on the top step but I sat behind her and tugged her small body onto my lap. She was quiet, just watching the sunrise.
I had to ask, "Did you not enjoy last night?"
K'lee let out a long, soft exhale.
"...Is that a yes or a no?"
Suddenly she shifted in my lap, turning to bury her face against my neck and wrapped her arms around me. I felt sorry for asking, as it only seemed to distress her more.
But then she gave me an explanation, "Ze'ekelse'qwe...I slept with your dad. It just doesn't feel right to me...What if I was to get pregnant, with his kid?"
I felt so relieved it was only that, and I trapped K'lee's back in my firm grip, "No, I had you first. I own you."
She shook her head like she did not believe me.
"I forget that you don't know everything. I always feel like you're a mystery, but you must feel the same about me."
I lifted a hand up to stroke her soft cheek and said, "I had you first-unless you were fornicating with other aliens before me." I teased. She did not seem to find it funny so I continued my explanation, "And my sperm will block others. The more I mate with you, the harder it is for other men to impregnate you. I've had your wonderful body many times; you are mine."
K'lee pulled away from me, staring into my eyes, "Are you serious?"
"I own you in and out, babe."
With that, she rested her forehead against mine and I felt her body relax. I was glad she had opened up to me. If only she would talk to me, I was sure she would have no worries.
"Take me somewhere warm and sunny and beautiful." she whispered, "That place you described with beaches and the dancing sky at night maybe?"
"Alright. Amast-aya it is."
I watched her eat breakfast. I knew she did not like it, and it was really beginning to bug me. I had acquired the habit of watching her to find favorites for the wedding, but the more I watched the more I realized there were no favorites. She did not like anything I fed her. I felt somewhat bad about that, and even though I knew she would get used to it, I still wanted to find something that she would enjoy eating.
She did not seem to enjoy the clothes I had requested for her either, but she did not complain. I certainly liked how she looked however. Tall, sexy, brown leather boots. Her smooth bare legs. A short, soft, leather mini-skirt. The black homeostasis netting over her torso. And a band of brown leather covering her breasts.
I let her pack any of her things she wanted to bring along and called the doctor that had seen her before. Again, he came promptly even though he did not like it, and held K'lee's wrist firmly in his grip to give her a shot to ward off disease. Then he grabbed her other wrist and gave her another shot to prevent parasites. A third shot went on her upper arm to repel insects.
When the doctor began to pack, K'lee glared at him, rubbing her arm where she got the shot, and asked, "Doesn't he get any?"
"I have already been vaccinated, as I have been there before, and the shots are permanent for the types of organisms on that particular planet." I said.
She almost seemed disappointed that I would not be joining her in the same torture.
Nevertheless, with shots out of the way and everything packed, it was time to go if we were going to get there before dark. I ushered K'lee onto my ship and sat down in the controls as she watched the screen, waiting for takeoff. I informed the king of my departure. I submitted my trip plan. Then, we were off on our honeymoon, headed for Amast-aya.
The planet was all different shades of green and utterly covered in dense jungle. I landed the ship on the beach of a small island in the middle of a circular ocean of blue waters. K'lee was eagerly watching out the ships screen, her hands on the glass. I did not want to keep her waiting, so I quickly put on all my gear and met her back in the main control room.
"Going to war?" She asked, looking me over.
I had on my polished armor, wrist gauntlets, plasma caster, bio mask, everything.
"On any planet but my own, this is protocol. And, I must be able to protect you."
"I thought you said this planet was safe."
"It is...for those who are prepared for it." And I was fully prepared.
I had been to the island before, knew the local languages, and knew all of the dangers. No harm would come to K'lee as long as she listened to any direction I gave her. I turned towards the door and she followed as the ramp dropped. The ocean was behind us, warm sand at our feet, but I really did not give her time to enjoy it-we had to secure a place to stay for the night or else we would be stuck sleeping in the ship, and that was just no fun. Therefore, I led the way into the dense jungle of green. The trees were tall and thin with short branches, but sturdy. Everything was covered in leaves and draping vines with glowing green flowers with small yellow centers. The ground held soft moss, fern-like plants, and bigger leaves than what was in the trees. My bio mask was constantly scanning, flipping from thermal vision to normal view. I avoided suspicious parts of the jungle and turned back to watch K'lee often. I wanted her by my side at all times but it was a constant back and forth with her-she would match my pace then be distracted by a bug or something and slow down. I kept walking, and she would get an eyeful, and then come running back to my side. However, I could not avoid every danger and had to turn back to watch her if we passed a venomous plant, that would lash out if she got too close, to make sure she kept her distance.
Soon, I knew we were near, or maybe even under the nests. The disturbed leaves. The lack of insects, which were their prey. More flower petals on the ground from them climbing on the vines. However, the bold green glitter was the most obvious.
When I found a good sprinkling of it on a leaf I picked it up and handed it to K'lee, "Can you see the sparkles?"
She held the leaf up, examining it, and asked, "What is this?"
"Their skin is covered in it. I don't know the biological aspect of why, I just know it means we are close to them."
Thing was, they were hiding from me and I needed K'lee's help now.
I pushed at her back, "Walk slowly and speak."
She cautiously took steps forward.
"Say something, K'lee."
"Why? What do you want me to say?"
"Anything. The yautja are known to this planet as frequenting predators. The beings will hide from us. The other inhabitants of the island I doubt are smart enough to realize I pose no threat at the moment. However, you have a sweet feminine voice and at least these beings should recognize me as harmless if I have you by my side. So say something." I pushed at her back again to keep her walking.
"Um...I don't know what to say...uh, hello? Um, well, we come in peace..."
One of the aliens was brave and curious, and poked its head out behind a tree ahead of us. It was tiny, around two and a half foot tall and its eyes were incredibly small and bright florescent green. K'lee had stopped to stare at it so I nudged her foreword.
"Hello...My name is K'lee. This big guy behind me is Ze'ekelse'qwe..."
I heard them coming, the flutter of their wings and the scratching on the trees as they descended. They quickly surrounded us and stared, slowly inching closer. I was surprised how quickly they seemed to relax, but I guess they had never seen an alien like K'lee before. Curiosity had them brave. They had the basic body shape as us,-two arms, two legs, head. However, their bodies were small and thin and their skin was covered in tiny soft cloth-like scales with the green powdery glitter. Their tiny eyes were bright green or glowing orange. Their paper-thin wings stretched out along their arms like a bird, but had veins running through them like leaves or a dragonfly.
"No hunts will take place. We seek only shelter." I said, speaking their odd language.
They all shifted and looked us over and a few spoke.
"Yes. Alright. Ok." One chirped.
"Follow." Another said.
"Come. Follow." Said a third.
All at once, they took off back up into the safety of the trees. Climbing, flying, and swinging on the vines they quickly disappeared. However, a few stragglers did stay on neighboring trees to observe us.
"Come K'lee, they will let us stay with them."
I went to stand next to the closest tree and dropped to one knee to boost her up. I reached out my arms to her.
"You want me to climb...?"
"Yes, their nests are on the top of the tree canopy." I said simply.
She hesitated only a moment and then walked into my arms and onto my leg to reach for the lowest branch. She struggled to lift herself up and clumsily swung one leg up to straddle the branch. I suddenly realized that she was going to need a lot of assistance getting up. I would become an expert climber as a very young child, as most did. But K'lee...she...well, she was trying. But then again, I did stick her in a mini-skirt.
"Are you stuck?" I teased.
"No...Just thinking."
"About how to get unstuck?"
"Perhaps."
I climbed up the trunk of the tree to a branch on the other side, above hers. I crouched, dug my nails into the trunk of the tree for support, and reached my hand down to K'lee. She seemed unsure what to do for a moment, and then swung her other leg over as she shifted to sit on the branch instead of straddling it. She wobbled slightly and reached out her hand. I gripped her wrist, hauled her body off the branch, and swung her to stand on mine. She leaned forward and back, unstable, even with my hand still holding her wrist. I held a branch above my head and scooted farther away from the trunk of the tree so I could swing K'lee against the steadying trunk instead. Then I climbed above her and she reached a hand up to me. I lifted her up and she held tight against the trunk as I began to climb again.
Eventually, we were going to have to find an easier way for her to get up if we were going to stay here. Nevertheless, I got her all the way to the top. She gripped my arm desperately as she stood, no more branches to hold onto, and she stared out at the expanse of rolling green treetops.
The fairy-like aliens were watching us from their nests. It did not take K'lee long to turn and notice the nests. Bent and shaped living branches and vines formed egg-like spheres with small round entrance holes on top of the trees. They blended in with all the green, being made of living, leafy branches and so they were hard to spot even from above. There was many of them all clustered tightly together. K'lee balanced herself, letting my arms go, and stared at the nests with a smile on her face.
"Which one is ours?" I asked whoever was listening.
They did not speak back but three of them buzzed over to stand on top of one of the nearby nests.
"That one they have made available to us." I said to K'lee, taking steps towards it.
My bio mask showed the lines of the tangle of branches under the leaves, but I could not forget K'lee.
"Give me your hand and step only where you see a branch under you or you'll likely fall through a hole." I said, turning back to her and extending my hand.
She inched towards me through the leaves and we both shuffled closer to the nest. When she was near enough, I lifted her up and slid her feet-first into the nests hole. I quickly slipped in after her and flipped to my hands and knees to nudge her side with a happy purr.
"This is great." She squeaked, looking at the white fluffy bedding of the nest.
"I'm glad you like it. I know it's a bit cramped."
"I think it's cozy." She cooed, grabbing the metal rings around my neck, flipping to her back, and pulling me over her.
Oh, it was cozy now. I let my chest rest upon her, my hips between her legs, and began sliding my hands all over her soft skin. Her arms slipped around my neck. Her legs wrapped around my hips. Then she kissed the bottom of my chin just below the metal of my bio mask. My chest automatically let out a low grumble. She was torture, and she did not stop there. Her hands groped and squeezed at the strands of my sensitive hair. Her soft lips kissed the front of my throat. Her legs rubbed up and down over my ass and legs. I could feel my cock stirring under the metal cup that separated us. However, I wanted a kiss first and quickly disconnected my bio mask, the tubes letting out a wisp of escaping air.
But an alarming, shrill chatter hit my ears that had K'lee squinting and squirming under me.
"What the hell?" She hissed.
I immediately rolled off her and addressed the aliens making the noise, "What's the matter?" I asked, disgruntled, staring at the gathering of them buzzing around the entrance angrily.
"No touch." One said.
No touch...Do not touch K'lee. My heart fell. I reconnected my bio mask and turned to her.
"They don't like me upon you."
"Oh."
"If we wish to stay I'm afraid I will have to keep my...hands to myself."
K'lee let out a sigh. I felt the same disappointment, but knew there would be plenty of other opportunities later. The aliens flew off but one returned a moment later to roll a big yellow fruit into the entrance.
"What's that?" She asked.
I grabbed the fruit and flipped to my stomach next to her. I knew the fruit well, and it was one K'lee could safely consume.
"A gift. It's a fruit."
I cut away the rind with my sharp thumbnail and peeled open the center to hand K'lee a slice.
But as soon as she reached for it, I said, "K'lee, do not touch, eat, or drink anything on this island that I do not explicitly hand to you. Do you understand?"
She grabbed the piece from me hungrily and said, "Don't even touch. Got it." And she tossed the slice into her mouth.
I watched her chew it, seeing a completely different reaction on her face to it than any food I had ever given her. Her eyes lit up, she chewed it quickly, swallowed, and licked her lips.
"Do you want another?" I could tell from her face that she definitely did.
She nodded happily. I was so glad she actually liked the taste. I would have to start importing it back to my planet for her.
The jungle was beautiful. The dense vegetation could not block out all the light, and the concentrated beams from the powerful sun above leaked through the gaps, creating bright streaks that lit up the jungle. K'lee was enthralled with every little thing. I enjoyed her enthusiasm, but as she stopped to look at another bug, I drug her forward.
"I want to reach the falls before it gets dark. This small planet has very short days."
"The falls? Waterfalls?" Now she picked up her pace and stayed at my side.
That side of me was not particularly safe though. I could make out the tucked in leaves outlining a trap door, and my bio mask confirmed its heat signature under the ground. The gangly hobbit-like animals had well camouflaged traps to ambush prey, and drug them into their holes where a dense toxic gas at the bottom would kill the prey quickly. I held K'lee's wrist and drug her to my other side. It would not have been able to reach her anyway but I did not want it to try and just end up giving K'lee nightmares. The ugly look of the animal gave even me the creeps.
Her fingers tightened on mine as the dense jungle opened up to a small clearing that contained the waterfalls. Three, huge, stacked waterfalls rose up with the surrounding trees, smooth moss covered cliffs as he backdrop.
I leaned up against her back, wrapped my arms around her waist, and asked, "Would you like to get in?"
"Yea!"
"Then allow me to undress you." I slid my hands to the back of her and loosened the homeostasis netting around her so I could slip it off.
Then I pressed my palms firmly against her breasts, still concealed by the cloth, but I could not help but touch them. I held K'lee against my chest as my hands found their way under her top, massaging and groping her plump breasts. She felt so good in my hands. Nevertheless, I lifted her top over her head and my palms slid down her hips to shove down her skirt. I kept my hands on her, letting my nails trail down her skin, feeling her heart rate rise as my fingers got closer to her sex. I was careful with my sharp nails as I slid my fingers into her moist warmth. I swirled my thumb around her clit and pushed two fingers inside her. I fit more fingers inside her and moved them in and out as she became slicker. Her breathing accelerated as I curled my fingers up inside her, massaging her firmly, and she began to rise to her tiptoes, pulling away from me. I let out a delighted rumble but withdrew my hand. She quickly spun around to face me.
"Go ahead, K'lee, get in the water. It is safe."
I watched her turn and stand in front of the rushing falls. She slipped off her boots and her body slowly disappeared into the topaz blue waters.
"Remember K'lee, don't drink the water. Spit out any water that gets in your mouth."
She tipped back her head into the water. She looked like she was in utter joy, but I still had to make sure she was safe.
"K'lee, did you hear me?"
"Yesss." She said, dismissing my words carelessly.
She closed her eyes and swam for a minute, the blue waters rippling around her.
"Aren't you coming in?"
I had to admit, the sight of her naked in the water in front of the waterfalls had something in me stirring.
It was so tempting to join her, but, "It wouldn't be safe to leave weapons sitting and my gear doesn't appreciate water. It won't damage it, but it does knock out some functions until it is dry."
She stared at me so sadly I thought I might have to give in and join her anyway, but an algae ball suddenly went tumbling over the falls with a splash, distracting her.
She had spun around with the noise and asked, "What was that?!"
"Be calm, it was only an algae ball."
It quickly resurfaced and came bobbing in front of her, a basketball-sized mass of green algae strands.
She reached out to it but paused to ask, "Can...can I touch it?"
"It is harmless."
She seemed mesmerized as her hands slowly brought it closer and then lifted it from the water. It drooped to a dripping pile of shapeless fibers before quickly shrinking to the size of a ping-pong ball and falling through her hands back into the blue water. It expanded back to its perfectly round and large size.
K'lee turned to me then, "Did you see that?!"
"I did."
We had a little time after the falls before it got dark, so I led K'lee to the beach, hoping maybe she would catch a glimpse of the mermaid-like beings. Avoiding areas of the jungle floor that light up with flames when stepped on, small carnivorous rocks, and spitting crab-like creatures, the jungle broke away to an expanse of warm sand and we made it to the beach. K'lee glanced at me for permission.
"Go ahead." I purred.
She took off like a child, running to meet the bright giving light of the sun. Then she quickly kicked off her boots and ran to the waters edge. It washed over the edge of the beach and over her bare feet with peaceful sloshing sounds.
I had already noticed the plant by the time she turned and stared at it with an open mouth. It was an impressive, and thoroughly odd, species. Nestled on the edge of the jungle in the sand sat a huge plant, about as tall as I was, and it was big around too. It possessed wide, pointed leaves aligned in a circle, thick and fleshy like a succulent plant. The mojito green outside was covered in thick rose thorns. The inside held a hollow pitcher of thick clear goo.
As menacing as it was, K'lee walked towards it. She kept glancing over at me, but I did not tell her to stay away, so she crept ever closer. It had a slightly sweet smell to it, meant bring animals closer, but if I could barely smell it, I did not think K'lee would be able to at all. Curiosity drove her to lean in, looking into the center.
That was when I had to warn her, "Curiosity will get you in trouble."
"Is it dangerous?"
"No. But it came seem so." All at once, the temptation was too much, "...Why don't you go ahead and touch it."
"Why?" I reached out my hand.
"I'd like to see what it does with you." I admitted.
"What do you mean?"
She already had her hand on the inside of the leaf, where there were no spikes-which meant she was soon to find out just what I was talking about.
"Ze'ekelse'qwe!" She shouted nervously.
She leaned far away from the plant but her palm was stuck absolutely. I stood and watched as the leaf began to suck down into the center, dragging her with it. She slapped her other palm down trying to escape, but it only resulted in both hands being glued down. Her body began to lean into the center towards its gooey depths.
"Ze'ekelse'qwe!" She screamed my name.
The plant was very quick, leaves lifted up from the bottom, sand falling odd as they lifted. K'lee was pulled in, her whole body stuck like glue before being submerged in the clear liquid of the center. The plant closed its leaves up around her like a pod-there was no escape.
She was just screaming then, terror in her voice and I finally had to intervene.
"K'lee! K'lee, don't struggle!"
"Ze'ekelse'qwe get me outta here!" She begged.
"Trust me, K'lee!"
All went quiet inside the giant plant. A scan from my bio mask revealed that her heart was still racing like crazy, but had trusted me and simply sat down. The plant was almost done with her. Its outside spines were vibrating and tingling with movement. Very quickly, the fleshy leaves that held her dropped as the bottom pushed up until K'lee went spilling out onto the sand. She slowly rose to her feet, looking unstable and very angry-but cute angry. The clear goo did not stick and just melted into the sand. However, her skin was left with hundreds of tiny circular pink dots. Her face was polka dotted, her neck, her arms, legs, even her clothes. It looked ridiculously adorable.
"You bastard!"
She was mad at me. I held out my arms to her, as to say sorry, and she hugged herself to me firmly.
"I hate you..." She mumbled.
I could feel her still racing heart. I had been mean, scaring her like that...but all I could do was laugh. I wrapped my arms around her back.
"What the fuck was that?!" She shifted in my embrace but did not pull away, staring at the pink dime-sized dots on her skin.
"That is the way that plant procreates. It lures animals in, takes a sampling of DNA (just by sitting I side the plant, small flakes of skin or hair can be collected for DNA), and it will use compatible chromosomes to build seeds. It won't find any usable DNA in you, but I still wanted to see it take you."
"You are so fucked up! You just let me have sex with a crazy plant?!" She yanked herself away now.
I watched her, amused, as she began flaking off the dots that covered her. She reached behind her back to brush as many off as she could and plucked them off her boots.
"...What are these?"
"That is its own DNA. It has smothered you in it." And I knew then, that I was a little messed up if that sentence turned me on.
"Ew! Just, ew." She frantically rubbed at her face then, the dots sprinkling down into the sand.
Then, she stood staring with her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry K'lee; I suppose you did not enjoy that."
"Hmf...Well, I wouldn't quite say that...That plant just gave me the best sex I've had today."
Oh no. Not on our honeymoon. I captured K'lee's waist and held her against me, "That is just about to change."
I kept her body close with one hand as my other removed the bio mask and let it drop to the sand. My mandibles spread over her and my mouth connected with those soft lips of hers. Her eyes slid closed and she leaned into me as my tongue slipped into her mouth, giving her desperate, heated, languid licks. I could feel my cock twitch up as her hands fumbled with the metal groin cup. She was not getting it off as fast as I needed so I reached between us to take it off and threw it into the sand. As I began to bend my knees, she lowered with me until we were in the sand, my mouth still on her and my tongue working its magic. I shoved against her, her back falling into the sand with me above her. My hands went right to her legs, pushing up her skirt, and then spreading her legs wider. The soft tip of my cock pressed between her pussy lips, when I suddenly noticed we had an audience.
I did enjoy being watched, but not this time. It could have been any other species, any other alien-except this one. I despised that race of aliens more than anything else. Their deception and trickery. Their technology and experiments. I could not stand them. They were not native to this planet and I would not have even landed if I had known one was here, so he must have landed his ship after us.
"Ze'ekelse'qwe...?" K'lee questioned.
I leapt off her and reconnected my bio mask. The alien stood in the jungle, barely visible, but with the bio mask, I could see his outline perfectly-and my cannon could aim exactly.
"K'lee, get up."
She immediately stood up beside me, "What is it?"
I scooped up the metal groin cup from the sand, not wanting to leave it behind, but there was no way I was getting it on. Actually, with my erection even walking was going to be troublesome.
"It's not safe here right now. I'm sorry K'lee."
"What do you see?"
I really did not want to go into the explanation at the moment. Plus, I knew I could protect her. Therefore, I stared at the alien, and he stared back. He did not leave. I let out a deep reverberating growl from my chest. He did not budge. I knew he was unarmed, and I knew that he was aware that I could not attack someone unarmed. Like children, we tried to stare each other down.
However, as my erection left me and I was able to put back on that piece of armor, I decided this was not getting us anywhere.
"It will be dark soon anyway. I should get you back into the nest." I grabbed K'lee's hand softly and led her down the stretch of beach.
The alien did not try to follow. We entered the jungle and it was just barely becoming dim outside as we reached the tree. I helped her climb and set her on the top of the nest.
"Stay here. I mean it. Don't move." I commanded.
I climbed back down to the jungle floor and trekked back to where I had noticed those yellow fruits growing. The first one I found was being slowly swallowed whole by a type if bat-like critter. It's lips were stretched, eyes bulging, and was in a compromised position from a predatory view—however, I knew that its long tail possessed a stiletto blade that dripped venom which was more than capable of defending itself.
I moved on to find another.
I came back with a yellow fruit, some nuts, and vegetables. K'lee was exactly as I had left her, sitting on top if the nest-and I was not going to point out the few pink dots she had missed. I fed K'lee and ate what she did not.
"The skies dance at night here." I said fondly.
K'lee tipped her head up to the sky. It was a blanket if deep blue color with a hint of purple, and no stars, but I knew it would be coming alive soon enough.
"What's wrong with them?" K'lee whispered suddenly.
I looked to a few if the fairy-beings just now reaching their nests. Wrinkles creased their skin and scales. Their color was pale and they looked frail and weak, as though they were withering away.
"Their strength fades with the sun. When no light is present, they wither away to a sort of mummified state in their nests. It is natural for them." I explained.
K'lee nodded as the fairies reached the entrance of their nests and disappeared inside.
A bright shooting star fled across the sky, at first with a golden tail, then dim amber, before burning red and disappearing. More stars shot across in beautiful streaks. I turned to watch K'lee's face as she watched the sky. The smile on her face was almost too big for her face, and the show had just begun.
The stars began to change direction unnaturally. They zipped strait and then randomly changed their mind, turning left or right, up or down. With all the hectic traffic, stars that ventured too close together began to be pulled closer until they spun around and around in circles after each other. More joined in the dance as it got later into the night. Swirling pairs of shooting stars took over the entire night sky. From edge to edge, it was a living design, moving, living color above our heads.
K'lee let out a long adorable yawn and settled her head against my shoulder.
"Would you like to go to bed now K'lee?"
"No."
"Alright." I said sliding my arms around her shoulder, and watching her tired face.
It was not long before her eyes began blinking closed on and off and she slumped back against my arm.
The sky still danced with colors of gold, amber and red. K'lee's eyes slid closed.
"Are you ready for bed, K'lee?"
"Nu-uh."
"Alright." I said softly, knowing it would not be long.
Her eyes slid closed again and her head fell forward. I brushed my hand on her cheek before lifting her up in my arms. I slipped her into the hole of the nest and crawled in after her. I situated her on her back in the soft white bedding and lay down next to her to begin planning the next day's events.