Chapter 21
HAL
My cock sliding out of her heat startles me and I must blink a few times in order to figure out where I am. My body is so hot I feel like I am being cooked from the inside out. Dawn’s limp form is sprawled over me, her legs straddling my waist in her sleep.
I gently move her to the side, wondering how she managed to get my shed coat without me realizing she had moved.
Sliding out from beneath her, I tuck the coverings around her small form, then practically crawl to my side of the membrane.
I rub at the skin on my chest. It feels raw, as though someone has torn my fur out one strand at a time.
I do not make it far once I am on the other side.
The heat drains me so quickly that nausea rolls through me.
I stagger to the nearest frozen wall and lean against it, willing my overheated body to cool.
Exhaustion finally wins, and I must have drifted off, because when I open my eyes.
I find Dawn asleep on the floor beside me.
Her tiny hand is wrapped around my leg, as if she had been crawling toward me before exhaustion claimed her too.
Panic surges through me.
I scoop her into my arms, already preparing to call for Troza, when her eyes flutter open.
“Hi, good-looking.” She blinks up at me. “Why is it so hot in here? I need to tell SAGE the thermostat is broken.”
Her small, clawed hand moves to scratch at the fur covering her chest.
I stare.
“Roja, you are not on your side of the dwelling. You are on mine.”
Her gray eyes narrow as she studies my face, clearly trying to process what I have said. Then she slowly lifts one furry hand, turning her arm one way, then another.
“Do you have a mirror?”
“I have a viewing wall.”
I hurry into the refreshing chamber on my side of the bubble and gently sit her down in front of the viewer. The moment her reflection appears, we both freeze.
Dawn’s eyes grow impossibly wide.
“HaL…”
I can barely get the words out. “Yes.”
She stares at herself.
“HaL, I’m covered in hair … fur.”
She turns her head, examining herself from every angle.
“Like, all over. There are no amount of razors that are ever gonna cut through this shit.”
I cannot take my eyes off her.
Her red mane is still there, but the rest of her has changed so much that it almost feels wrong to recognize her by it.
Thick fur covers her entire body, spilling over her shoulders and down her arms. She raises them slowly, staring at the fur as if she expects it to disappear the moment she looks away.
I take a step closer.
She notices and looks up.
For a moment, neither of us says anything.
“You are still you,” I tell her, though I am not sure whether I’m trying to reassure her or myself. Her fingers brush cautiously through the fur along her forearm. She watches it move, fascinated and frightened at the same time.
“I can feel it,” she whispers.
“Feel what?”
“Everything.”
She closes her eyes.
I watch the fur along her shoulders shift with her breathing. There is something almost instinctive about the way she moves now, as though her body understands these changes long before her mind does.
Then she suddenly stiffens, and we both gasp. Between her beautiful, now fur-covered breasts is a glowing rune.
“HaL…?”
I swallow.
“The mate mark.”
She looks at me through the reflection, questions in her gray eyes.
“I never dreamed ... I didn’t even think to discuss it.” Her fingers hover over the glowing symbol. “Somehow, who I am and what we are to each other has…”
Her eyes drop back to the rune.
“Well, there it is.”
I kneel beside her.
“Think about your human form. Picture yourself exactly as you were before. See if you can switch between them.” She gives me a skeptical look.
“You make that sound easy.”
“Just picture yourself as you were, Roja.”
I gesture toward her reflection.
“Let’s see what happens.”
She closes her eyes.
For what feels like forever, nothing changes. Then I see it, the fur begins to disappear. Slowly at first, then faster, until in the blink of an eye, she is standing there in her human form. Except she does not shiver. She does not even seem uncomfortable. Her eyes pop open.
“I’m still not cold.”
I barely have time to respond before she spins around and throws herself into my arms.
“Hot damn! I am a snowman/woman! Whatever!!!”
I laugh despite myself.
“Roja—”
“Come on! Let’s go test this out.”
She wiggles free and heads straight for the viewer.
“What? Wait.” I hurry after her. “Should we not comm Troza and have her check you over first?”
“Nope.”
She gives me a grin.
“Come on. There’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here.”
The viewer opens. Before I can stop her, Dawn races onto the balcony. Her feet barely make it to the edge before she launches herself into the snow like a youngling. Only she doesn’t land on top of it.
She sinks.
Straight down.
Clear to her waist.
I am at her side in an instant, hauling her free and brushing snow from her thick fur.
“Well,” she says, looking down at herself, “apparently my version didn’t come installed with the natural snowshoes you all have.”
She looks up at me with a grin.
“But guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m not cold either.”
She spins in a circle, sticking her tongue out, as she catches falling snowflakes on it. I shake my head, laughing. Then she bends down. I am still trying to understand everything that has happened when a snowball smacks me in the shoulder.
I look down.
Then at her.
“Gotcha. You’re it.”
Dawn squeals and takes off, or at least she tries to. Unlike me, she keeps sinking into the snow with every step. She makes it only a few feet before I catch her around the waist tossing her high into the air.
“Hey!” she laughs. “I am not a snowball!”
She lands against me, immediately scooping up a handful of snow and smearing it across my chest. I release her with a laugh, and she lands on her bottom. She is laughing so hard she can barely breathe. Then she drops backward into the snow, spreading her arms and legs.
“Come on, you big furball! Make snow angels with me.”
I look down at her.
“Roja, love … do you not think we should probably head back inside? Just in case this isn’t permanent. Are you not worried?”
“Worrying is for wimps.”
She sits up.
“I’m living it up. I had no idea how much fun snow could be when it wasn’t trying to kill you.” She jumps to her feet and runs several steps before turning and launching another snowball at me.
“You were warned, Roja.”
I scoop up a small ball of snow, taking extra care to throw it wide. The last thing I want is to hurt her.
She ducks anyway.
“Oh, you throw like a girl!”
Her laughter echoes across the valley.
Soon, we are both throwing small snow missiles at each other, laughing like younglings.
Then I hear something behind me. I turn …
Too late, Qanuk tackles me. I hit the snow hard, and Dawn gasps.
Qanuk raises her head, a low growl rumbling in her throat.
I grab her thick coat, making her look back at me.
“This is my mate, Qanuk.”
Her ears twitch. She sniffs the air, then slowly climbs off me.
Dawn, who fears nothing, is already holding out her hand.
Just like the first time she met a creature that could tear her apart without a second thought.
Before I can get fully to my feet, Qanuk lifts one enormous paw and knocks Dawn into the snow.
My heart stops.
Then I hear laughter.
“Quit, you silly bear! That tickles!”
Qanuk playfully paws at her, and Dawn rolls through the snow, laughing. I stand there completely stunned. Qanuk suddenly turns, and before I can react, she pounces.
The next thing I know, I am rolling through the snow with a Gojira on top of me and Dawn laughing beside us. A sudden deep laugh cuts through the chaos. I scramble to my feet, instinctively placing myself between what I believe could be a threat and two of the things I love most.
Then I see Father’s holo form.
“Son.”
His deep voice carries easily across the balcony.
“I see my worries were for nothing.”
He looks toward Dawn.
“When Vedece reached out because she had not heard from you Dawn, I told her I would check on you two personally. SAGE was concerned as well, especially about the suits she had CIP design.”
His gaze moves over us.
“But it appears that once again, the Lord of Light knew exactly what he was doing.”
Dawn immediately spins around.
“Hey, Commander! Look at my new fur suit.”
She poses dramatically.
“I make this stuff look good.”
Father laughs.
“You are a handsome Hallisteranian, my dear.”
His gaze settles on the glowing rune on my chest.
“And I can see by the rune shining on your chest that you two are fully bonded.”
His expression softens.
“It does my old heart good to see another of my sons blessed so.”
“Thank you, Father.”
I pull Dawn against my side. She may be covered in fur, but she has not changed into a true Hallisterian. She is still small and fragile. Just better protected from the cold.
Qanuk circles Father’s holoform, sniffing at his legs. She paws at him once, then again, clearly confused when she can neither smell nor touch him. Father chuckles.
“It seems your pet is not pleased with my appearance.”
Qanuk gives his leg another swipe.
“Since you younglings were having such a grand time, I will let you return to it.”
He turns his attention to me.
“HaL, before I go, I know you wanted to be present for the warrior trials for Keida, but I need your assistance elsewhere. Especially since I know the temperatures were going to be an issue.”
I straighten.
“Falon and several others are working on the space station that will open the Void. Ethra will be vulnerable for the few risings we are in attendance on Xulas.”
He pauses.
“Would you patrol the skies while we are otherwise occupied?”
“It would be my pleasure, Father.” I glance at Dawn. “And it will give me a chance to show Dawn some of the beauty space holds.”
“I hate space.”
I look down at her.
“You did not have me to ensure your safety before.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Okay. You have me there.” She slips her arm around mine. “Where you go, I go, big guy.”
Father smiles.
He nods to Dawn, then looks back at me. “Strength and honor, son. May the Lord of Light guide you always.”
His holo form fades.
I look down at Dawn, who is pressed against my side.
“Are you cold?”
“Nope.”
Her stomach growls loudly. She looks down.
“But my belly is growling.”
Then she throws her hands into the air.
“BIG MOUTH HUNGRY!”
She falls backward into the snow, laughing. “Oh, my God!”
She sits up, suddenly delighted with herself. “I just made an abominable snowman joke! Wait, maybe that was on the Smurfs??? Now I have my childhood monsters confused.”
Qanuk drops beside her and rolls onto her back, joining Dawn in her laughter. I stand there watching them. My heart feels so full it almost hurts. For the first time, I can see it.
My future.
Not as some distant possibility.
Not as something the Lord of Light might someday grant me.
Right here.
Right now.
I look toward the sky, watching brilliant colors ripple across the icy darkness.
I send a prayer and a thank you into the heavens.
Then I lower myself into the snow beside the two of them.
Because sometimes, the future is not something you must chase.
Sometimes, it is simply waiting for you to lay down and enjoy it.
The End.