CHAPTER 43
Dakleth
My mate emerged from a private receiving room with Kashtinela. “Greetings, brother, and farewell,” Kashtinela said as she made her way down the hall.
Andie looked radiant, as always. Her golden hair hung down her back in a single flaxen braid. “You did this?” I asked, picking up the plait and admiring the weaving.
“Yes, I like to play around with my hair,” she said, gently pulling the braid from my hand. “If we’re going to be out on the water, this will keep my hair out of my face.”
“Practical,” I said, admiring her handiwork. “The Ptexari have no hair, so this is not something I ever had to consider. Our crests do not get in our way.”
She laughed, and the sound danced along my skin, causing me to shiver. “I guess I’d never thought about that,” she said.
I opened my arms to indicate that I was ready to embrace.
She looked confused for a moment, and then uncertain.
She stepped into my arms for a brief moment.
I inhaled her intoxicating scent and closed my eyes.
I had put on a loin wrap today under my skirt to prevent her from feeling or seeing the erection I almost always had in her presence.
I had a feeling I would be wearing a loin wrap for most of the foreseeable future.
My body was primed to mate whenever it sensed her near. It was becoming most inconvenient.
All too soon, she pulled away. “Greeting hugs are usually pretty short,” she explained.
I filed that information away. She did not seem particularly pleased with the hug, but did not seem upset.
I was not sure if this was the proper response.
She had not relaxed into my arms the way she did yesterday.
Perhaps this was why she explained hugs were short upon greeting. I would learn all of her human customs.
“Very well,” I said. “My vehicle is ready if you are ready to go.”
“Yep!” she said. “Do I need to bring anything?”
“No, I have rations and supplies in the vehicle if needed.”
“Great,” she replied. “Let’s go.”
The Palace guards nodded to us as we passed through the hall to the garage where our vehicles were kept. I led Andie to my six-wheeled vehicle, and we strapped in. Shortly, we were on our way, driving north through the city.
“I don’t often see this end of the city, since my village is south of here,” Andie said.
“We can stop or go more slowly if you wish,” I said.
“No, it’s fine. Just thinking out loud. I should explore this area more often.”
“I would be happy to escort you anywhere you wish to go.” She nodded, but did not comment. She wasn’t exactly unfriendly, but she seemed a bit stiff in my presence still. I hoped she could relax by the time we got to the ruins.
“What does your Granthor do when you are away?” I asked.
As I hoped, she lit up while talking about her pet and guardian.
“M’Pak keeps busy. I built a shed for him in the backyard because he’s really too big for my house and doesn’t like enclosed spaces.
He spends most of his time outdoors. He sticks close to the house when I’m there, but when I’m not, he likes to wander.
He’s been spending more time in the forest to the south of us. ”
“Granthor are known to patrol a wide territory. He may also be in search of a mate.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” she mused. “He’s only a year old.”
“He is a mature male. It seems likely,” I responded.
“Well, I’m pretty sure he considers all of the village and the Capital city his territory,” she said.
I chuckled. “Kashtinela told me he used to cause quite a stir. The Ptexari thought a savage beast was on the loose. The pink ribbon you keep around his neck seems to have warded off further misunderstandings.”
She laughed. “Yeah, when he was first with me, people would jump out of the way when they saw him, but I held a leash, so they assumed he was a pet. He could break loose from me any time he wanted, but he was smart enough to stick to me. After a while, we got complacent - figured everybody knew who he was, even if I wasn’t around.
Boy, was I wrong! I got so many frantic calls that my wild animal was on the loose!
Someone actually tried to laser blast him once!
And a riot almost broke out in the village market once until Camavel told everyone they were being stupid, and anyone could see he was just out for a stroll.
The villagers are used to him now, so they don’t freak out if they see him wandering about.
He doesn’t venture into the City anymore without me, though. ”
I nodded. “That seems wise. The City is full of tourists and other visitors who do not know your Granthor. His training is impressive. How have you kept such control of him? I have never heard of a Granthor being tamed.”
She looked askance. “He’s not really tame.
He’s still a wild animal. We just have an understanding.
I raised him as a cub, so he trusts me. His mom had just died, and I was not…
adjusting well to life on Ptekennan. I think we just knew we needed each other.
And he’s really smart. He picks up on what I want pretty quickly. ”
“Do you think other Granthor could be tamed? He is a very effective guardian.”
“Not to sound snobby, but I don’t think so. M’Pak and I have a special, um, connection. I don’t think he actually likes many of the Ptexari, although he tolerates you all well enough. He says I smell better.”
“He says that, does he? I would believe it,” I said. “You smell divine.”
“Eww, stop,” she said, laughing. “I mean, I’ve guessed that’s what he’s thinking, I don’t really know. But he wrinkles his nose at a lot of the Ptexari.”
I was not sure why she laughed. I meant what I said. But she was talking to me freely, so I refrained from commenting.
“What do you know about the ruins we are visiting?” I asked.
“Hmm, let’s see,” she said, looking up as she lost herself in thought.
“Finetta told me the ruins are between four and six thousand years old. It started as a settlement that is believed to have sprung up when the Ptexari fled a massive volcanic eruption on the northern continent. There’s evidence of several different tribes converging there, likely because Lake Nekali was a good water source.
She said there are foundations of some houses, walls around the city, evidence of a temple, a bathhouse, and an observatory.
And some other buildings that no one is sure about.
The area was abandoned when the new Capital city was built.
The Capital was a planned city, so the roads were built in a grid pattern - something I appreciate as an offworlder, by the way.
And it’s likely that the ability to build aqueducts and other infrastructure is part of what prompted the move. ”
I was impressed that she remembered so much of her studies. Many Ptexari could not have recited their history so well. “Excellent,” I said. “You are well prepared for what we will see today.”
We arrived at the ruins and parked a bit outside one of the crumbling walls. We got out of the vehicle, and Andie took in the scene. We made our way inside and pulled up the schematics on our wristcomms.
“This way,” I said. “We will start in the southeast corner and make our way north towards the lake.”
We made our way down half-eroded stone block streets.
None of the structures was fully intact, of course, but holographic displays of each building overlay the decayed walls to show what each building likely looked like.
Andie stopped in awe. “I saw pictures of the ruins, but I didn’t see the holograms,” she said.
“It adds a lot to the experience,” I said. “To know how it looked in ancient times.”
“It looks like a Roman city!” she exclaimed.
“What is Roman?” I asked.
“Rome is a city on Earth. The ancient Romans conquered much of our planet years ago and combined many kingdoms into a single empire. They were known for their engineering skills, even without modern technologies. See the mosaics on the floor of this house?” she tapped her foot on the floor of the square we were standing in.
“That’s very similar to mosaics they had on their floors. And the columns and arches on the temple over there look so similar!” she pointed to the hologram of the ancient temple across the path. The actual columns were in varying stages of decay.
“I spent last summer in Italy on a cultural exchange. I got to take an art and architecture class while I was there. Look, even the fragments of the wall friezes here look similar! Although I guess you had different mythical beasts here as the subjects of your art. Wow. This is uncanny.” Andie walked through the town, pointing out different features of each building.
“Look, if this bathhouse is similar to the ones in Rome, then one of these rooms would be for hot water, one for cold water, and one for scraping off sweat and oiling the skin. Although Ptexari don’t sweat, so you all probably skipped that part. ”
I looked at my wristcomm for information about the rooms we were in, and indeed, these were the believed uses of these rooms.
“It’s so interesting because the architecture of the Capital doesn’t look anything like this.
Our modern cities don’t either. It does make me wonder if there were humans here for a time.
That and your stories of the Lumanela. Ugh!
I hate mysteries. Let’s explore the observatory over there,” she pointed to the final building.
“Then you’ll need to feed me before I start to get hangry. ”
“The translator does not know this word,” I said.
“It’s when you get angry and hungry at the same time.
Ugh, ok, that doesn’t make sense in Ptexari,” she said as she heard her words through the translator.
“In English the words sound similar, so they’ve been blended to form a new word.
Basically it means that I need to eat before I fall into a bad mood. ”
We explored the observatory. Amazingly, part of the dome was still intact.
“This is different,” Andie said. “I don’t think the ancient Romans had observatories like this.
I know they built some of their buildings so that the sunlight would mark solstices, but I don’t remember anything quite like this.
Look here, the wristcomm says they believe the ancients had a telescope.
That’s incredible technology for the time. Very impressive.”
I had brought Andie here so she could learn more about our own history and culture, yet I felt I was the one who had learned much.
I thought about her theory, and wondered if our species had indeed interacted before.
It seemed likely, but I did not know how.
The Ptexari were a Tier 6 species. Although we could travel outside our galaxy, her planet was much farther than we could reach.
And hers was a Tier 4 species. They could not even leave their own solar system. Impossible.
Despite the interest I had in these topics, I focused on the more immediate problem.
“Come, let us walk down to the lakeshore, and we can rent a boat to travel to the floating market.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
We followed the path from the ruins to Lake Nekali, where we were easily able to rent a skimmer from the dockman. I flew up, then backwinged until I was on the boat, then held out my hand to help her in. “Those wings are handy, I bet,” she said.
“Yes, they are,” I said.
“I’m surprised you even have boats. You could just fly out to the floating market,” she said.
“True, but boats are a pleasant mode of travel. We enjoy floating on the water. Also, if you purchase a lot of items, there is cargo room,” I gestured to the back of the skimmer.
“Makes sense,” she said. “Lead on, Captain!”
The skimmer piloted itself to the market as we floated serenely across the water.
Tendrils of Andie’s hair escaped her braid and waved in the breeze as we moved, and I was fascinated.
She sat ahead of me, and her scent wafted back to me.
I had a difficult time keeping my thoughts platonic in nature.
I was glad I had wrapped my groin this morning.
Music from a Y-flute and a drum greeted us as we approached the floating market.
Andie was quiet as she listened, and I could hear her hum along.
My mind went blank as I heard her voice weaving through the music.
I reveled in the euphoria. It wasn’t quite as strong as when she sang at the harvest festival, but my mind was still captured.
I did have some peripheral awareness, however, which I focused in on as she looked at me and suddenly stopped.
“Oh! Sorry!” she exclaimed. “I forgot about my voice’s effect on the Ptexari.”
“Never apologize, little one,” I said. “Your voice is heaven to listen to, and I look forward to hearing it again. Do not stifle your beautiful instrument on my account.”
She gave a short laugh. “Ok, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum when you need to be conscious.”
“Agreed. That is probably for the best. Come, let us disembark.” I flew up from the skimmer to the market dock, then held my hand out to help her. She took it, and I savored the feeling of her small, warm hand in mine. I did not let go as I led her down the dock to the market.