Chapter 23 #3
The activity around us gradually thinned as the pathways carried us farther from the palace and the communal buildings at its base. And the closer we came to its outer edge, the more my attention shifted beyond it.
The dome curved toward the ground ahead of us, its translucent surface becoming easier to see as the light faded.
The jungle beyond remained visible, but never perfectly clear.
A subtle wave moved through everything on the other side, bending trunks and foliage as though I were looking through heated glass.
I slowed without meaning to.
Beyond the translucent shielding, the Huren jungle crowded close to the city.
Towering silver-barked trees disappeared into a canopy that no longer reflected the twin suns but glowed with its own soft blue luminescence.
Layer upon layer of broad leaves shimmered overhead, bathing the forest in an ethereal light that came from the vegetation itself.
Thick flowering vines coiled around the massive trunks and stretched from tree to tree, their pale blossoms glowing softly among the foliage while countless bioluminescent spores drifted lazily through the understory like tiny wandering stars.
The jungle looked nothing like the open forest surrounding Vala's ship on the anomaly planet.
There were no long sightlines here. Every opening disappeared behind another wall of glowing vegetation, another curtain of vines, another massive silver trunk broad enough to hide something enormous.
The forest felt impossibly old, its beauty matched only by the certainty that countless predators watched from places I could neither see nor identify.
Somewhere deep within the glowing canopy, alien insects began their nightly chorus.
Strange calls echoed through the dense vegetation, answered moments later from farther away, until the jungle seemed alive with voices.
Every sound, every drifting spore, every unfamiliar plant made my fingers reach instinctively for the bio-analyzer I’d left sitting on the table beside my bed, as though eight weeks of survival could simply be unlearned the moment I stepped inside a dome.
Instead of fear, frustration flickered through me.
I wanted to know what had made that call. I wanted to know whether the second sound had come from the same species, whether they were communicating across territories, and whether the change from daylight to darkness had triggered the exchange.
Every sound awakened the same curiosity that had first drawn me into ecology. Somewhere beyond that shimmering dome lived species no one from Earth had ever documented, behaviors no scientist had ever observed, ecosystems unlike anything in our own world.
For eight weeks I hadn't taken three steps without checking the surrounding flora and fauna. Now, for the first time since arriving on this planet, I found myself wishing I had it not because I feared the jungle... but because I wanted to understand it.
Elise glanced back and smiled before signing, Not much farther.
Vennox's hut stood near the outer edge of Huren where the pathways ended and the dome curved closest to the jungle. It was modest compared to many of the surrounding homes, built from the same pale stone as the rest of the city and illuminated by a single solaris orb beside the doorway.
Elise stopped and faced me. This is Vennox's home, she signed and smiled knowingly. I hope you find what you're looking for.
Before I could decide whether she meant Vennox or something much deeper, she wished me goodnight and disappeared back along the winding pathway toward the palace. I watched until she vanished between the softly glowing buildings before turning toward the hut.
I glanced down to find the silver glow of my shawra peeking through the neckline of my kilt-dress.
With a sigh, I pulled the fabric back into place, tucking it securely over the mark before raising my hand to knock gently, though I didn't expect an answer.
Through the thread of our mingled essence, I could feel Vennox somewhere beyond the city.
The faint echo of Vennox's emotions brushed against mine through our mingled essence, alive with laughter. Whatever he and Vallon were doing, they were enjoying themselves.
I lowered myself to the ground beside the doorway, back against the cool stone, and stretched my legs out in front of me. The jungle beyond the dome had found its rhythm, layered calls rising and answering in the dark, unhurried, ancient. I let it wash over me.
My eyes grew heavy as the quiet warmth of Vennox's presence swirled gently around mine.
I'd built my life on self-reliance, convinced the only person I could truly count on was myself.
People left. They disappointed. They broke promises.
Yet somewhere along the way, without my permission or even my understanding, I'd stopped being alone.
As long as I carried this small piece of Vennox within me, there would always be another soul reaching back across the distance. It was a strange kind of comfort, and tonight, for the first time in longer than I could remember, I was content simply to wait for him.