Guest and MagicAnon-Ask and ye shall receive! Lol, hopefully I delivered. Thanks for leaving a review.

Hello Lovelies! I really like this chapter even though I do realize not a lot happens, but it serves a specific purpose and I think it gives the first real flares of the developing relationship between these two. Does it have smut? No. We can't just expect our femme to be rearing to go given what she just went through. (If you guys are craving some femme x fallen action, check out my one-shot: Friksor. A little distraction to get me out of my writer's block, but some smutty goodness nonetheless.) Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 21-Smiling

Lykrosis would never have spoken the words aloud, but he was thoroughly impressed with the creature's shield.

After moving as close to the pair as he had been willing, and the nuur'az had had to prompt him closer a few times, the creature formed it around them. Slowly its claw had raised, moving in an arch and bright, purple nuur followed suit. It pushed upwards from the soil, spreading outward from a single line to form the perfect shield around them.

The little machine had spoken truth as well because although outside the planet raged around them, inside he felt nothing. It was as though the sky water did not even fall and that made him insatiably curious about this use of nuur. How did the creature accomplish such a thing?

Still crouched, he moved closer to the false wall and reached toward it with a single lower claw intending to inspect its composition.

"I wouldn't do that."

Lykrosis glanced in the direction of the pair, clicking his annoyance at the interruption, but also heeding the warning.

"After creation, the shield is self-sustaining as long as it has an energy source and that source is anything that touches it. If pure energy such as nuur or light rays contact the surface, then it is absorbed and dispersed throughout the shield. If something touches it that is not pure energy, then the object's chemical energy is drained, converted to nuur, and once again, dispersed. Anything unusable is broken down and lost to the void. Trust me, disintegration and energy drain are not things you want happening to your armor, or worse, your claw."

Lykrosis listened intently to the explanation trying to understand all of what the nuur'az spoke. He didn't but what he did understand was enough to change his mind about touching the shield and instead inspect it visually. When he switched his focus from the entirety of it to a small section on the outer surface, he could see the recurring process of which the little machine spoke.

Every drop of sky water distorted from its gravity defined shape and then burst on contact with the nuur. Tiny bolts of what looked like purple electricity radiated outward from the site of impact along the surface of the false wall. This must be the energy being drained and dispersed so that the shield could power itself. The water droplet appeared to be burned away in a microscale torrent of more purple nuur.

The vandal studied the process over and over as the sky water continued to fall and tried to ascertain how it was accomplished. This shield was deceptively dangerous because although it was a defensive ability, it was a weapon nonetheless. Not only did it protect the creature from distant attacks, but it would eradicate any enemy trying to penetrate it as well. Replicating this use of nuur, fallen fortifications would be impenetrable. Need to know transformative proper—but his thoughts were interrupted.

"Anyways," the nuur'az began, pausing briefly to lift out of the creature's lap and nuzzle at its face again, before turning toward him and continuing, "before we answer your questions, I have one question for you. You said that if we turn hostile, then you will kill us both. Does that mean that if we do not turn hostile, then we can trust you not to attack us?"

Lykrosis considered this. Instinctually, he did not wish to make such a binding agreement, but his past aggression caused the creature to be as wary of him as he was of it. Feeling safe might make the pair more forthcoming and that was worth the trade, at least momentarily. "In this moment, yes," he finally replied turning away from the shield to face them.

Again, as his eyes fell on the creature, he silently questioned its unusual stillness. Why did it not acknowledge him when normally it tracked his movements with unwavering attention? Even while using its nuur, the creature's body position had not changed, only its claw had moved.

However, no longer distracted by the shield or nuur'az words, the vandal began to pick up on minute details of the female's prostrated form. Its eyes were closed, face displaying an expression he was unfamiliar with but it was distinctly not calm or pleased. Its planted claw was shaking violently almost as though it was struggling to hold up its own weight. He focused his audio receptors on it and found its respiration to be clearly audible, labored even, the rise and fall in its chest suggesting the same.

The nuur'az word choice came back to him as he considered this change in the situation. The female could not perform the display; they could not leave.

Was the creature… injured?

He scented the air, but did not detect any lifeblood indicating the presence of wounds. Still, there was no mistaking the signs of distressed prey. Why then would they ask him to remain here in such close proximity when he could destroy them both now seemingly without difficulty? Of course, the nuur'az had been quick to elicit an agreement from him not to attack, and Lykrosis was now bound by his own honor to leave it be during this engagement.

Clever creature.

Instead of seeking further information about sexes and mating, Lykrosis decided first to ascertain the extent of the female's condition. He would not press the advantage because he had agreed not to, but he would still seek to maintain it and knowing how to injure the creature was definitely advantageous. "Why does the female not move?"

"She just needs some time."

"What means this, 'needs some time'?" he asked unfamiliar with that usage of the word 'time'.

"Right, I forgot," it said in that quiet manner that Lykrosis had concluded as it talking to itself. "'Time' is a concept used heavily on this planet, so we will need to teach you to use it as well in order to communicate effectively. For now, it just means she needs some… moments, I believe is the word."

"Do not speak untruths to me, Nuur'az," he growled. "The female's body displays signs."

"I'm not. She is injured, but she will heal with enough moments." The little machine turned back toward its partner speaking a few words in their own language before switching to E'lik again. "She wishes to lean on you while we speak. Will you permit this?"

The vandal was taken aback by the request. "Why?"

"She is having trouble sitting up and does not wish to lie on the ground."

"The female can lean against the rock," he replied matter-of-factly; he did not see the purpose in such a request.

"She desires the warmth from your body."

"The female's temperature exceeds my own. I will feel cold."

"She says its better than the wall."

The answer was truthful; his temperature was greater than that of the rock surrounding the hollow. However, Lykrosis felt it more likely that the female desired to touch him more so than for the miniscule heat he would provide, which once again raised the question of why?

While he was still trying to determine if this was some sort of trap, the nuur'az confirmed his theory. "She asked you to remain because she likes seeing you and touching you," and then, it asked a very unexpected question, "Do you not like touching her?"

Did he?

There was no doubt that the sensations he felt during the mating had been gratifying, but the female had done all of the active touching. Lykrosis thought back to the event and realized that that was not accurate; instinctively, he had grabbed the creature when it attempted to climb off him.

In the moment, he had been too surprised by his own actions to think about how touching the creature had felt. Considering it now though, he had enjoyed feeling the intense heat of its body and grasping the soft flesh with his sensitive, lower claws. "Mating the female pleased me," he finally admitted, "however, leaning is not mating."

"True, but humans touch each other for all kinds of reasons and it can still feel good even when not mating."

"What means this, 'hu'ins'?"

"Something else we need to discuss. First, will you come sit with us and permit her to touch you?"

Lykrosis considered this request again. Already he had done many things he never should have and mating the creature was much more invasive than allowing it lean on him, but he still hesitated. The pair were an anomaly, a mystery, and their actions were never in line with what he expected. It made them difficult to understand and even more difficult to predict. He was not convinced that they did not have hostile intentions nor that this was not a trap.

"We're not trying to trick you. If you say no, it is fine. We will still converse with you."

A small siphon of ether was his only response for a while as he continued to stare at the pair, but eventually, he made his decision. "I will permit this. Remember my warning, Nuur'az."

"Right. We turn hostile, you kill us. Got it."

Lykrosis moved slowly to the creature's right and knelt down next to it close enough for it to touch him as it desired. He wasn't sure what to expect next, but the creature immediately shifted to lean up against him, placing the side of its face against his chest and shoulder armor.

Unlike previously when it had climbed on top of him, his predatory instincts were not activated by the creature's touch, but still he stilled in response. Outside he was calm, waiting, but inside his body felt electrified. His lifeblood pumped rapidly, heat spreading with it, and he felt the stirring in his abdomen indicating his body's desire to perform the display despite the fact that the creature's pheromones were not present to incite the reaction.

Once again he was assaulted by everything that was the creature. The intense heat and soft flesh of its body pressed up against him. The feeling of its strange, flexible armor smoothing against his own and catching here and there against its various edges. The rhythmic current of air that followed its deep exhales. Its scent, that intoxicating scent, saturating his receptors and now that he was so close, the distinctive scent coming from its tendrils, which was similar to that of flora and just as pleasant.

The last thing he noticed as he took in its form was that its face had finally changed. The previous lines had all smoothed out, leaving it calmer than before and as he watched, both corners pulled upward slowly in an expression he had become more and more familiar with throughout their interactions.

"Smiling," said the nuur'az, which pulled him abruptly out of his concentrated state. His gaze shifted from the creature to its machine partner as it continued to speak, "When her mouth moves like that it is called smiling. It means she is content or pleased."

"I had deduced this."

"I'm sure you had, but at least you know what it is called now. Anyways, you wished to converse. I know you have questions, but I think we should just start at the beginning. If you are willing to listen, I will tell you as much as I can about this planet and its inhabitants, which I believe will help us communicate better and probably answer many of your questions. Afterwards, you can ask about anything else you would like to know. Is this agreeable?"

The vandal wasn't sure what was meant by 'start at the beginning', what beginning, but he was nevertheless intrigued by the offer to explain details of both the planet and its creatures. All information was useful in some form or another even if he could not see that usage just yet. "Yes."

Thanks for reading! I hope you guys don't feel like the pace is too slow or worse, stagnant. I like to write realistically, so that often requires descriptiveness, appropriate buildup, and consequently, length. You guys will be happy to know that for the next few chapters at least, we will pretty much have constant Lykrosis and Femme interaction. The good stuff included!

Fallen Language

Nuur'az-literally means tool of light. This is what Fallen call ghosts.

Nuur-guardian light

E'lik-Fallen Language