But I can’t. The king would never grant me permission to mate. And I’m not willing to humiliate myself by asking.
My blindness has humiliated me since the day I was born.
I think of the feel of her taut nipples against my tongue, the scent of her arousal, and I come, streams of my rainbow-hued cum coloring the wall of the washtube. I hit the fill button to wash myself again.
Veck.
I need to forget about that fetching little human and focus on my work. The king invested a huge amount of resources into “fixing” me and I owe Zandia my best.
Zina
“Have you decided where you want to apprentice?” It’s the third planet rotation in a row Abbi has asked me, and I’m stressed about knowing the right answer. But at least I’m far more familiar with Zandia, after living here for two weeks now. It’s actually… amazing. To be more or less free for the first time in my life? Without the oppression of the Ocretions treating us like an inferior, disgusting species? I’ve never been in a situation where humans are treated with respect and trust, and I can’t quite believe it’s not a dream.
“No. Where are we in relation to the dorms?” I gaze around, trying to orient myself.
“So, Zina, this is the main square.” Abbi gestures to the left. “The dorms are around the corner. See, back there?” She points. “That’s the road that leads to the waterfall and crystal grotto. And that direction?” She points ahead. “Past the city you can’t see it now, but there’s the forest and the fields. Don’t go there alone, though. Vipns sometimes hunt there.”
“Okay. I won’t.” No way to I want to encounter one of those wild beasts with their poisonous saliva and hair trigger attack impulse. “They sound repulsive.”
“Oh, they are. Mirelle killed one once with a kick, but usually it takes a stunner or a weapon. She’s like a warrior, so she’s different.”
“I see.” I shift on my bad leg. “Not my forte.”
“Speaking of that… we need to go over that list of possible skills you want to learn.” Abbi taps her wrist comm. She just won’t give up. “Have you narrowed it down at all?”
“No.” It’s hard to concentrate on my future, because just being here is a distraction. And worse, I’ve been here over two weeks now, and I just want to see Enya. I miss taking care of her. Holding her at night. Singing her songs to help her get through the nightmares.
But there are no nightmares here.
And when I ask about seeing her, I just get the brush-off.
She’s still in transition. She’s being carefully monitored while she builds a bond with her mother again. They are so grateful to me, and Enya is happy, and don’t worry, you’ll see her again soon. It’s the decision of the doctor that it’s best to do the transition this way. Trust the process.
It’s all very nebulous, and it’s driving me insane. I’m glad they’re taking such great care of Enya. But I miss her. Worry about her. Until I hold her, talk to her, I can’t focus on myself and my future.
I peer down the first path, but only see fantastic metal domes and some hover cars.
“It’s far away.”
Abbi seems to know that I want a glimpse of the crystals. “We’ll visit the grotto in a few planet rotations.” Then she looks at her list on her comm. “So, how about med? You want to learn to be a medic?”
I shudder. “No. Ugh.”
“Yea
h, me too. Blood, no fun.” She taps her wrist. “How about ag? Like, plants and stuff?” She points to a nearby tree. “Look, that one’s pretty, with those puffy silver flowers. It’s called a Malak. I think the fruit are used for… something.” She waves her hand.
The flowers are indeed lovely, puffy and fragile, swaying in the hot breeze. But then I envision fields of flowers and fruit. Bugs. Tools that… do things. “Not really.”
“How are you with handheld tech?”
I snort. “I was never allowed to use it, so… not so great. I mean, I can cipher really well and do mathematics. Master needs me to do that to manage the order schedules and budget for his household.” I shudder. “Needed, I mean. It’s hard to get used to the fact that he doesn’t own me anymore.”
“It took me a solar cycle to stop looking over my shoulder when I heard noises at night.” Abbi tilts her head. “There’s a support group of humans that you can join. Some of us still have nightmares.” Her eyes are sad, despite her usual mood. “Acclimation doesn’t happen immediately.”
“Okay.” I clear my throat, because talking about this isn’t fun. “So, yeah, I can cipher.”
“Super. I’m sure that will come in handy no matter what. And you know, most humans come to us not knowing the first thing about ciphering! It’s okay. We teach everyone skills. It’s awesome.”