Bonus Scene
RAVEN
Six months later…
Three months ago, Ren and I settled on Zyan. I have no idea what the planet looks like, but then again, I cannot describe what Earth looks like either. But I note the differences in everything around me. The air is cleaner, the sun warmer, and the grass… not as soft as what we had in New York. As for the people, they find me odd when I ask to feel their faces, but then my sholan explains my lack of sight.
As a whole, zyanthans are rather welcoming and accommodating. Encouraging even. I don’t hear pity in their voices when they learn I’m blind. Curiosity, yes. A desire to aid me, too, but never pity. They accept people for who they are, inside and out. It’s quite freeing.
And I feel so safe here. I haven’t traveled too far from our home yet without Ren, but every day I venture out in a new direction, using my cane and counting steps, memorizing ruts in the road and other unique aspects about our village.
“I really thought someone would say something about my holding hands with Ren when we’re out in public,” I say to his sister Marikka who’s staying at the house with me while Ren’s away. He had to return to the warrior training center in Izorran about three hours south of here for a few days.
Marikka chuffs, as she does when she thinks I worry too much. “I’ve seen many look at you, but then they notice your walking stick and realize who you are.”
“Nothing like getting a reputation based on being blind, I guess.”
“You are a curiosity. Moreso because you are human. During the war, there were those who lost their vision. They were given skoths to guide them, even though they’re technically illegal on Zyan.”
“Skoths?”
“A skoth is about this high.” She taps me mid-thigh. “Wicked fast animal with six legs, keen vision even at night, and has quills down its neck, for defense. Great for guarding livestock and very smart, but rather ugly creatures.”
“Oh, we have that back on Earth. Seeing-eye dogs. I had one years ago, but he died saving me from an attacker. That’s when my father started hiring bodyguards to watch me from a distance. Something I didn’t know until the day I met Ren. I’d bought into my mother’s lie that she couldn’t bear losing another dog, even though Fuzz had been my dog. I never debated it with her, because I agreed. I wasn’t ready to go through that heartache again.”
“Skoths are illegal on Zyan now. Though I bet we could apply on your behalf. Special circumstance.”
“That would be wonderful! I don’t want to be a burden to you and the rest of the family.”
“You humans do not like to rely on others. It is a fault with your species. No matter. You will adapt to Zyan and our ways in time.”
“I hope so.” I giggle, mostly because Marikka doesn’t sugar-coat anything. She’s very blunt, so very different from Ren, and yet they both have enormous hearts.
“You are my sister now. The only one I have. Until the rest of our brothers find their sholanis. Then we will have many sisters, many younglings, and all will help you whenever you need it, even when you don’t do a good job of asking for it.”
She’s got me pegged. I don’t like asking for help, but Ren and his family make it so easy to speak up. I no longer fear appearing weak or vulnerable.
My fingers glide over the stovetop control panel. Ren’s family customized all the panels in our home with different tactile surfaces so I can control everything myself. They used the zyanthan alphabet, so as soon as I learned that, the rest was easy. This entire house was a wedding gift from his family. Ren contacted them before we left Earth and told them all about me.
“If blind people are rare on Zyan, how did you learn how to customize the house for me?”
“When confronted with a problem, consult a warrior. Or use one.”
“I don’t follow.”
“When you grow up in a family of warriors, you learn a lot, especially about their training. To this day, Bentix, Takriv and Azeez still complain about Narzik the Cruel, an instructor at Izorran. One of his methods for training included blindfolding his warriors and sending them into the woods for a week to survive. If they removed the blindfold, they were dismissed from Izorran.”
“That sounds horrible, especially for someone who’s used to navigating via sight.”
“I think that was the point. To learn how to survive when they lose one of their senses. That’s where Eema and I came up with the idea of how to design your home.”
“I love your mom. She’s so accepting. The whole family is.”
“Eema’s eager to have more little ones in the family. When you have your first youngling, you may not be able to get rid of her!”
“Believe me, I’ll be grateful for any and all help.”
“Very true. I found my eema quite helpful with my first one until I built up my confidence.”
I can’t imagine a non-confident Marikka. “I guess babies can make anyone nervous. It’s the unknown, like coming to Zyan.”
“That is precisely why my eema and I conducted a few experiments. We blindfolded Bentix since he was home between missions and gave him various chores. Cooking, cleaning, even showering. Everyday chores. We observed and took notes as to what he struggled with or couldn’t do. And then Eema and I engineered the solutions.”
A bell goes off, telling me someone’s approaching the door.
“It certainly helps having engineers in the family! That makes me wonder what I should do here. I don’t have any real skills.”
“That’s where you are wrong, sholani,” Ren says from the doorway.
“Ren!” I run to him and launch myself into his arms.
“You did that flawlessly,” Marikka says.
“The textured floor strips make it easy to navigate the house without counting steps. I can even run, which is a luxury I didn’t have before, except in a clear open field, which we didn’t have near our home.”
“You jumped up without hesitating,” she says, sounding surprised.
“Ren said he’d never let me fall. At first, I thought he meant that figuratively, but there’s this complete trust that’s developed between us. It’s so unlike anything I ever imagined.”
“The bond of a sholan and sholani,” Marikka says, a dream-like quality to her voice.
“And the floor strips… Your ideas are indispensable! If you ever move to Earth, you and your inventions will make a lot of people very happy.”
“But then I’d miss my sholan, very much.”
“Go, Marikka,” Ren says. “Rescue your sholan from your younglings.”
“I’m hoping one day you can invent a way of helping me read silent communication between people,” I say.
“Oh, that is an intriguing idea. I shall give it thought. As for this moment, I’m glaring at Ren for inferring his nephews are trouble makers.”
“I was thinking of your daughters. They are the troublemakers.”
Marikka leans in and touches her forehead to mine, a traditional greeting and farewell among zyanthan families, then moves to Ren beside me. “I wish you many younglings, brother. All daughters.”
“Thank you, Marikka, for everything. I love having a sister,” I say as I kiss her cheek. My human customs are welcomed among this family, my family now. “I’ll see you next week.”
When the door shuts, my sholan whisks me into his arms and twirls me around. “I’ve missed you, sholani.”
I hug him tightly and don’t let go.
“My little bird, what is wrong? You were so happy when I arrived, and now this sadness. Did one of the villagers speak rudely to you or give you trouble in the market while I was gone?”
“The people here have all been great, especially your family. But that just made me think of my parents. I love being able to talk via comm, even if it’s only once a month with the latest communication restrictions between our planets, but I miss them.”
“Then we will arrange a visit. I will request an assignment that takes me to Earth if you’d like.”
“Yes!” I kiss him and hug him as hard as I can… and feel him wince. When I ease away from him, I hear the sigh of relief. “You’re in pain.”
“Nothing critical. One never leaves training at Izorran without a few minor wounds.”
“Training? I thought you went to teach a course, not participate in one.”
“Teaching and training are often one and the same. But I had a procedure done while I was there.”
I tense at the thought that something’s wrong. I can’t bear the thought of losing him. As a warrior, he can be called away on a mission anytime, and I’ve come to accept that. Having his family nearby, lending support anytime I need it is a godsend, but Ren is still my entire world. “Are you ill?”
“Not that type of procedure. Let me undress so you may see.”
I struggle to be patient while listening to the rustling of clothing of Ren undressing. The clank of knives landing on the dining table follows the gentle tap of him placing his blaster and holster on the table. The thump of his trou hitting the floor next tells me he’s stripping.
“Are you undressing to show me this procedure or to get reacquainted with me after a long week?”
“Both,” he says, the hint of a smile in his voice. My fingers glide over his face. Sure enough, he’s grinning. Relief washes through me. Whatever happened at Izorran, it hasn’t dimmed his spirit.
“Are you going to tell me about this procedure, now?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Discover it for yourself. I’m completely naked, sholani.”
“Is this just to get me to run my hands all over you?”
“Yes and no. I encourage you to touch me any time. Do you remember what you once said to me?”
I shake my head.
“I give you permission to touch me,” he repeats my words from that day I met my shadow. “You, my sholani, have permission to touch me. Anytime.”
My thumbs caress his cheeks. “I’d be lost without you.”
“You would not. You would be the same brave, smart female I met on Earth. Except with a fluency in zyanthan and a new sister and brothers to aid you anytime you need them. Which is why I know you will find your path in life, sholani. You have the quick mind and determination to acquire the skills you need for any task you set your heart on.”
“You are my path, sholan.”
“Sholan? You’ve never called me that.”
“How remiss of me.” I’ve never felt as close to him as I do in this moment. I slide my hands down his body as I lower myself to my knees.
“Sholani? What are you doing?”
I bounce my eyebrows as I stroke his cocks with both hands. “I thought that was obvious.”
“You are supposed to be looking for where I had my procedure.”
“I am. I’m starting with your cocks, sholan. Unless you object.”
“I’m no fool, mate.”
“Then stop asking me questions that I can’t answer with my mouth full,” I say before tracing the length of his pleasure cock with my tongue.
He grips my head firmly as I bob up and down on one cock, then take the second into my mouth. Every touch, every moan, makes me pulse with need, even as he releases down my throat.
After I run my tongue along his lengths once more, he lifts me to my feet. When my hands glide over his chest, I feel the change to his skin. My fingers examine the area slowly. He winces slightly but says nothing as my hand follows the lines that form a crescent.
Then my hand moves a fraction of an inch over and I discover another raised area. “Scars,” I whisper, shocked to learn he was more hurt than he led me to believe.
“Not scars. Not exactly. A special augmentation,” he explains.
“I don’t understand,” I say as I continue tracing the lines. This one ends in a series of squares. Perfect squares. “There’s a pattern…”
“Yes, that section tells of my mission against a Coalition outpost near Trinoth.”
My fingers glide faster, skimming what feels like braille but isn’t. The raised areas span his chest diagonally, from his right shoulder to his left hip. “Your tattoos,” I say, amazed at the patterns I’m discovering beneath my fingertips. “They’re all raised. I can feel every line, every shape, every exquisite detail!”
He takes my fingers and guides them over his biceps and the raised lines there. “This tells of when I became a warrior, of my expertise in knife throwing and tracking.” He moves my hand to his hip. “Here is the time I defended Zyan against a small incursion of Grud. And here?—”
“How did you do this?”
“It’s why I returned to Izorran, to find a way to raise my tattoos, so you could read them, my little bird.”
“You did this for me?”
“Only for you. But if you prefer smooth skin, they can be removed. It will take time before the silver and altonian inlay permanently fuses to my skin.”
“I love it, Ren!” I throw my arms around him and practically drown him in kisses. No one and I mean no one has ever done anything so thoughtful for me. And I can finally learn that part of my warrior that remained hidden to me. “I finally get to see all of you, my shadow.”
“Sholani, you see more of me than anyone.” He presses my open hand against his heart. “In here. My tattoos are to show all who cross me what I’m capable of, but they are not the only tattoos I wear. The ones you’ve embedded on my soul are the ones that guide me, all of me, because they include you. And without you, I am nothing.”
I run my fingers over his shoulder, chest, and hip, unable to speak as I take in who he is, and what he means to me. Words aren’t needed between us as Ren leans his forehead against mine and we breathe one another in.
“Now and forever, my shadow,” I whisper.
“Now, forever, and beyond, my little bird…”
THE END