Come morning Eir helped him up, his wound ached as whatever that foreigner had given him had worn off. He couldn’t help but lean on her as they entered the metals halls of the fortress. Everything was crafted from it, the walls were formed like a dense temperate forest as generation after generation applied their magic and used their home as the canvas. Above them murals of ancient battles of their ancestors played out in exquisite detail. In addition to the layers of art were jewels mixed in to add further colour of every shade imaginable.

  Briedr their sire thus father found them on their slow journey back to Stahli’s room. He was tall and robustly built, his broad chest was wider than Stahli’s own with a deeper heavily muscle peak. He had long braid was black with long sections of golden blond mixed in. His eyes were silver in an odd contrast to his hair and fur. His features were strong with a jaw like an axe blade and sharp cheeks and brow with distinctly lupine shape. Last his skin was a middling tan which made it darker than Stahli’s own.

  Stahli felt his ears droop at the sight of him. Shame at being hurt in the first place and shame of loosing Talia. He had been one of his sire’s best warriors and he had fucked it up massively. That shame kept him from meeting his father’s eyes.

  “Are you going to Fynen?” Briedr asked.

  “I hadn’t planned on it,” Stahli mumbled.

  “I had,” Eir said with a grin. “But he’s heavy.”

  Briedr smiled fondly and moved to Stahli’s free side and lifted his weight off of Eir. “Come now, he’s the last of your creche. Cease sulking,” he said with a deep base voice.

  Stahli grumbled, he’d sulk as much as he damn well pleased. However he knew better than to fight his sire on something like visiting the healer. They walked deeper into the house to a busy room. It had a bed, several tables, chairs, and benches, all crafted from metal. Filled with the rich scent of herbs. The ground was covered in rugs and pelts while the walls were dominated by shelves covered in jars. A hearth was across from them with a small fire already burning away.

  The centre piece of the room was Fynen. He was slightly taller than Stahli but much leaner in all ways, lacking the same abundance of muscle. He wore his metal as clothes; it was so fluid that it moved like cloth, and he wore it in a long layered robe. Stahli breathed deep even at this distance he smelled of woodsy herds and he never grew tired of that scent.

  “Hey,” Stahli said with a grimace.

  Fynen grinned momentary at the sight of him before he scowled. “What are you doing out of bed?” he asked sharply and gestured to it.

  “Needed to see Talia,” Stahli said as his father and twin helped him to sit down.

  At that the scowl waned and he sighed. Fynen walked over and pushed a compliant Stahli to lay down on the bed. “You could have asked for help,” Fynen said.

  “I felt fine,” Stahli cringed as Fynen poked his gut wound.

  “You should have known that wouldn’t last,” Fynen said. He leaned in to peer more closely at Xyon’s stitches. “I don’t know what these are made out of, but from what I understand he’s on his way back so he can tend to them himself.”

  Briedr leaned on the wall by the door. “Aye he and that other warrior are coming to ‘trade’. From what I understand it’s in an effort to make it look like they aren’t outright stealing my daughter.”

  Stahli growled but Fynen poked him by the wound and he flinched.

  “Stop it, you’re not helping any. Stay put and shut up when they arrive,” Fynen said.

  Eir sat by Stahli to lean on his thigh slightly. “It will be okay, we’ll work something out.”

  A knock resounded at the door and Briedr opened it. The metal swirled in a spiral into the surrounding wall. “Fynen, the healer has returned.” The oldest male announced.

  Stahli glared at the pair, not giving the short black skinned one any mind. He wore only an extravagant ice-blue skirt that matched his eyes. His snow-white skin and feline facial features gave him a regal heir, while his pointed ears affirmed his fae heritage. While lean of build, the Datharian was close to the Eatillite in height at about three metres. He had long red hair that curled around him barely contained in a braid that went down to his hips.

  Vyren the Datharian bowed to Briedr. “Your guards gave us directions. I wish to present Xyon for the trade.” He gestured to the short heavy dressed Solari beside him. “Xyon is one of the Empire's most gifted xeno biologists. And will be preparing a knowledge base, as it were, for your species. So that in time, you can roam free of this planet.”

  “Why would we do that?” Eir snapped.

  Xyon reached into his satchel and removed a vial. “Medicines, for one.” He opened the vial and tipped a single diamond-shaped crystal into his palm. He offered it to Fynen, “Try this on yourself.”

  “What is it?” his fellow healer eyed him warily.

  “A painkiller-” he added when the hesitation persisted. “-I kept several samples from Stahli. To make these translation bracelets and gather more information about your species. To decide which of my medicines were likely to aid you. But it's better to do tests on a healthy subject.”

  Fynen hummed and walked over. He plucked the crystal from Xyon's palm and put it on his tongue.

  “That's not what you're supposed to do with those,” Xyon attempted to intervene.

  He removed it from his mouth, “It seems safe.”

  “Just press it into your skin and hum a tune,” Xyon demonstrated, pressing a thumb to his elbow.

  Fynen purred instead, opening a small gap in his metal fabric. He pressed the crystal against his arm, and it quickly melted into it. A moment later, his golden eyes started to dilate. “Wow,” he sat down quickly on a bench.

  Xyon quickly zipped over as Vyren followed and lifted him by the back of his robes to raise him to be at eye level with Fynen. “Feeling sleepy? Or short of breath?”

  Stahli was amused by the action. Clearly they were friends, the little male seemed utterly absorbed in his study.

  Fynen pressed a pair of fingers to his inner wrist. “Heart rate has slowed, but only a little.”

  “Good,” Xyon nodded as Vyren put him down. “We'll give it another fifteen minutes just to be sure.”

  Briedr asked, “When are you leaving?”

  “When Eir is ready to go,” Vyren replied, “Mayve is busy enough right now. She won't miss her new hostage anytime soon.”

  Eir sneered at him, “How about never?”

  Vyren pinched his broad, flat nose, “Look, I am not any happier about this than you are. I don't get to pick what planet to invade. I barely get to pick how, and certainly not anything that comes after. Nothing about this is personal.”

  The sheer gall of it, Stahli lunged across the room. Vyren quickly defended himself while Xyon scrambled to escape the large warriors. Stahli didn't get more than a couple of punches before Briedr and Eir pulled him back.

  Stahli roared as he pulled against them, “You murdered my mate! You froze my creche, you steal my sister!”

  “Out!” Fynen ordered as he purred; the steel of the bed shot forth and wrapped around Stahli's waist, yanking him back onto it and holding him down. His words were warped by the purring, “Eir take them and go.”

  Xyon set the vial of painkiller crystals on a table, “one should be adequate. He's similar in mass to a large Dartharian, so you can try two if one isn't effective within half an hour. But no more than that in a day, oh and yes, I have adjusted to your timescale.”

  “Shut up and move,” Eir shoved him towards the door with Briedr at her side.

  Stahli shrugged as he ignored the pain. Fynen pinned him down by his neck and snarled, “Stop it. This is worthless!”

  “They killed our creche!” Stahli roared shoved himself. “My mate! And now they steal Eir!”

  “I am aware of it but acting like a puppy having a temper tantrum helps no one!” Fynen said, with a harmonic hum under the words.

  The metal of the bed wrapped itself around Stahli’s limbs and forced him still.

  “You can’t be fine with this,” Stahli snarled.

  “Of course not, I just have better impulse control than you. As always,” Fynen said and tipped of the crystals Xyon had given him into his palm.

  “I doubt they are going right away. Eir will want to stay for Talia’s mourning howl, so you have her have a month to form a plan. Don’t ruin it with stupidity,” Fynen said.

  Stahli hated that he was right. It was par for the course where Fynen was concerned, he was the one who made the plans while Stahli was the one with the muscle to enact them. He felt Fynen apply the painkiller and exhaustion surged over him.

  Stahli woke slowly. The physical pain that had dominated the week had vanished. He blinked, his eyes slowly flicked from one mural to another. He smiled reflexively at them. Talia had been a great artist; she had added these to his room after they had mated. Her magnum opus depicted hundreds of vibrant butterflies reflected in a silver pool. It was directly above him and his favourite.

  He felt someone poke at his middle; his neck was stiff as he looked down. The black-skinned fae was back and prodded him. He shot a hand forward and seized Xyon’s neck. “You!” he snarled.

  “Ack!” Xyon scrambled at the hand that only had to twist to snap his neck.

  A metal stream flowed from the bed and grabbed Stahli's wrist, tanking it back down to the bed and freeing Xyon. Fynen sat down by Stahli's head, “he saved your life, behave.”

  “I don't recall asking for help,” Stahli growled and attempted to get up.

  “No, no,” Xyon futilely attempted to stop him, pushed against his upper chest. “Just because you're not feeling it right now doesn't mean you're better.”

  Fynen helped him and said, “don't make me get your dam.”

  Stahli grumbled but laid back down. He was still blissfully pain-free but still exhausted. After Fynen had applied one of Xyon's crystals to his skin, he had his first deep sleep in two weeks. He grimaced at that thought. It was only a matter of time before someone threatened to make him eat something. The idea was wholly unappealing.

  “You have healed well. Is this sleep normal for the Eatillite?” Xyon asked. He went back to studying Stahli's gut wounds.

  “This is actually a bit slow, though very clean.” Fynen said, “Someone here has been refusing to eat.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Stahli scoffed and looked away.

  “I'd love a guide on how much your people need to eat in a day and what is best.” Xyon pulled a pair of small hand-sized plasters from his side bag. “Given how well it's going, these will be more comfortable than your steel band.”

  “I really don't care,” Stahli grumbled and tried to sit up.

  Fynen pushed him back down again, “Quit whining, or I'm withholding the painkillers for the rest of your healing.”

  That was an unpleasant thought and Stahli couldn’t help but free. Xyon’s hands were hot on his skin as he applied the plasters.

  Xyon said, “You should be fine to eat solids.”

  “Great now, go away.” Stahli rolled over, putting his back to them.

  “That is unlikely,” Xyon said. “I still have to study your species for Empire integration. Your healer here seems a wise place to start.”

  Fynen pursed his lips but nodded, “Fine.”

  Stahli listened as Fynen began to teach the alien. Listening to his creche mate's voice was soothing and lulled him into a doze. It annoyed him that the invaders were being given information. But his sire wanted the technology the Empire had. To be able to travel without worrying about Stalkers would be a massive boon. So this little Solari was tolerated.

  Briedr returned after a few hours, “how are you feeling?”

  “Sore,” Stahli said.

  “Is he well enough to travel?” Briedr asked Fynen.

  “I don't like the sound of it, but you wouldn't be asking without a reason.” Fynen eyed him warily.

  Briedr handed Fynen a metal tube. The leaner Eatillite unrolled it with a hum; after a moment, he grimaced, “Frigga dung.”

  “Stahli is the most healed,” Briedr said, “I know you'd prefer to keep him, but the walk is long. He can finish healing along the way.” He tapped the tablet.

  Fynen read the changed text, then scowled at him. He said, “I should say no on the principle of the thing. But you are right.” He turned away and started to prepare a medical kit.

  Stahli, having figured out this had to do with him, slowly got up. He held his middle tenderly and uttered, “What am I doing, and where am I going?”

  “Nokten, a highly suspect runner, arrived asking for assistance to drive off a local force of giants. However, I think he lied. Your task will be to find out what is happening and broker a peace treaty with the local giants. With the new threat of the Empire, we finally have an excuse to put these stupid conflicts behind us.”

  Stahli fixed him with a perturbed glare. He huffed and said, “fine.”

  Briedr grinned, “don't sound so enthusiastic now.”

  “It's an excuse to visit the temples,” Stahli carefully shifted his legs down and stood up.

  “You will take Xyon with you.”

  “What?” Stahli exploded, only to grimace and hold his wounds tighter.

  “He wishes to learn about our people. So let him see our roots,” Briedr templed his hands together.

  Stahli barred his teeth but knew better than to talk back with spectators. “I'm going for a walk.”

  Wisely, no one attempted to stop him. He headed through the beautiful halls to an inner open courtyard. Usually, it was densely covered in ferns, flowers, and other ground cover. Several sections had been cut out of the foliage, and cairns had been built in their place. Within this courtyard, there were eight cairns, half of his creche. The rest were buried in another courtyard; only Fynen was left. Stahli clenched his fists, near all his friends were dead. Nearly, his whole generation was wiped out.

  Each cairn was covered in a metal layer, and insects were allowed to clean the bones from below while protecting visitors from the sight and smell. He settled under a couple of ferns by Talia's cairn. He wondered why she had come after him. If she had just stayed behind, she'd be alive now. Tears welled up in his eyes. He would have never asked her to risk her life like that. He had tried to kill her murderer but had failed miserably. Then that Solari hadn't even let him die with honour. He clenched his fists and started a quiet mourning howl. They had been mates and had been trying to have children. All that had been stolen from him.

  His tears followed as he howled. Stahli coughed and sniffed as he tried to clean his face ineffectively. He didn't hear or see her.

  A small female sat beside him. She knelt so she could draw him to her and rest his head on her bare breasts. He relaxed into her. Breathed deep of his mothers soothing scent. It helped more than the howl.

  “Why is he making me leave her dam?”

  “He wants the outsider away from his support base. And the runner indeed came, and you are at your best with a task,” Seydir stroked his head.

  “It's not fair,” he muttered. “I've barely gotten to spend time with her.”

  “She would also want you away from the outsiders,” his dam said softly.

  “None of it matters.”

  “The pain will wane, and we also want you away. After all, they could have taken you so easily. Which do you think would have been better, my daring socially inept hunter who is also terrible at metal craft. Or the daughter who is a horrific hunter but masterful metal crafter.” She kissed his head, “They wanted our firstborn. So we played it to our advantage. But they could change their minds, so we need you away. Out of sight and mind.”

  “You have never said which of us was born first,” Stahli pulled away to stare at Talia's cairn.

  “And I never will,” she settled beside him and took his hand. “Come, let us howl together. It will help.”

  Stahli lead the howl. They weren't songs; they were vocalizations of inner pain. To get it out of their systems where it could do less harm without hurting those around them. Anyone could join a howl to share in the pain. Make it less by that act of sharing. At least that was the principle of the thing; he, however, had never been the one having lost someone, and he didn't feel it was beneficial. However, as he howled, he couldn't help but think that his dam was right. Having a task would be helpful. A long trip would have plenty of time to think, and Talia was a doer. Doing something wouldn't allow him to stew.

  Briedr arrived with Eir, and they seamlessly joined the howl as he sat on Stahli's free side and hugged him with an arm. They howled till Stahli's injuries caught up with him, and he trailed off to doze with his head resting on Briedr's arm. Eir reached out and put her hands on Talia's cairn. She sang a few soft notes, forming a small amulet of Talia's likeness. She made a little chain and put it in Stahli's hand.

  “There, now you can take her with you when you leave.” Eir said and smiled, “Don't do anything too stupid while you're gone. You've still got to rescue me from the Empire later.”

  “I'll hold you to that,” the amulet was flat but a good likeness of Talia. “When are you leaving?”

  “Same as you.” Eir said, “Vyren is waiting in the hall with Xyon. I think Xyon's brought him up to speed and wants to return to the gate for supplies.”

  “You should go with him,” Briedr helped Stahli stand. “The movement will be good for your wounds.”

  The family met the off-worlders in the hall and agreed that Xyon, Eir, and Stahli would go. Vyren remained to discuss Empire integration further.

  Stahli hadn't been out of the city since first contact. He wasn't looking forward to it, but it seemed less daunting with Eir at his side. Vyren let them borrow his carriage. It took a trip that would have been half the day to about half an hour. When they arrived at the checkpoint. It was assembled within a day by the Empire. Unlike most Empire constructs, it was made out of logs. One major house for guards, a pair of towers, and a high wall. Thanks to the Eatillites' warnings about Stalkers, no one had been killed by them yet. Owed to the large lanterns that hung from the top of the walls. Xyon opened the door and nodded to the guard, “Two guests, and we will return tomorrow.”

  “Alright, go on through. They’ll give him the current Spring Court package on the other side. Any medical needs for him are coming from your coin purse,” the guard said in a bored tone.

  “This isn’t my first time bringing a guest. I know it works,” Xyon rolled his eyes. He shut the door and leaned back into the soft seat. He tapped behind him, and the carriage progressed through the gate.

  Stahli concealed his surprise. The medical camp was gone. In its place was a small village. The houses were made of wood; sweeping rooves with clay shingles, warm browns, and reds dominated the colour pallet. The customs port was surrounded by a thick forcefield that occasionally rippled white. Stahli looked up to the sky, which was painted red and blue. He found it strange that he couldn't hear anything.

  The carriage stopped within a bubble that was on the other side of the rift with another guard post. Xyon led the way out and waved at the healer, who quickly approached them. Stahli lingered by the carriage with Eir. Vyren on the other hand decided to stay in his air conditioned carriage.

  A healer approached them; her large vulpine ears were thin on fur, but her features were otherwise normal fae. Her arms were covered in green tattoos. She held up an orb in one hand and a necklace in the other. It was woven out of many plants with several vials tucked in. She reached into a small side pouch and offered two woven bracelets.

  Stahli helped himself to one, then assisted Eir with hers as he asked the healer. “What do you need?”

  The kitsune pulled out a woven orb about the side of her small palm. Her voice was soft, “This is the Spring Court package. It will protect you from the composition of every Spring Court planet.”

  Xyon explained. “You lack the vocabulary to understand. So everywhere there are lifeforms too tiny to see. These can kill you just as effectively as getting stabbed. The package will protect you from that. Travel between planets is not permitted without an up-to-date package.”

  “Why?” Stahli snarled.

  Xyon sighed. He hated this bit, “because if someone like you gets exposed to a bacteria that your system is not equipped to deal with and, it doesn't kill you outright. It runs the risk of mutating and then infecting other people. Those with a package will likely be fine, but not everyone travels. In no time, you can have a fresh pandemic on your hands. It's a nuisance because we must go back and sort out the mutation rather than update the new package. Just think of it as a protection measure for your people.”

  “Hmm, fine,” he grumbled.

  “Excellent.” The healer cupped the ball with both hands as she sang a long, high note. The ball glowed white with her tattoos, and she spun them together in a half circle. It dissolved, and she placed both of her hands on Stahli’s chest. The white particles zipped into it and vanished. “There, your body will do the rest.” She repeated the processes with Eir.

  “It's hotter outside of the shielding; we shall need a change of clothes as well.”

  Reluctantly, Stahli and Eir followed Xyon into the outpost. They were given a loincloth each. Properly prepared, they stepped out of the shielding. Two things hit Stahli at once. The first was the heat. It was utterly alien to him; even the heights of summer on his home world weren't this hot. With this heat crippling moisture, sweat broke out over his skin. The second thing was the noise. A cacophony of animal and insect noise, giant thick trees towered above them. Each competed for sunlight as they provided a home for dozens of species.

  Eir leaned into him, wilting under the heat. “Can we hide?”

  “Sure, I can shop without you this way.” Xyon said then led them to an open tea house. From the ceiling hung ice-blue paper lanterns that exuded cold air. The walls appeared to be mostly paper boarded with some kind of wood, and the scent of something herby was carried through the halls. Some rooms were closed off, but most were open, with several low tables already busy and people having an early lunch.

  The design of the place was similar enough to tea houses of their own world that Stahli and Eir quickly picked out a table between as many of the cooling lanterns as possible. Xyon hauled a waitress and ordered water for the pair.

  “Stay put you two. I'll be back in a bit,” Xyon said as he headed out to make his purchases.

  Once he was gone Eir spoke up, “So are we doing as we are told? Or exploring?”

  Stahli's ears dropped, “I'm melting, and you want to explore?”

  “It's not so bad, but you run hotter than me. Being male and all,” Eir sipped the water and grimaced. “This tastes weird.”

  Stahli sipped the water and cringed, “tastes like stone. It's probably fine, better than dehydrating.”

  “I'll just wait till we get back,” Eir looked around, taking note of the primarily Datharian population. She guessed most were changed over for the guards; she wondered why they bothered making a town here. Then again, she knew nothing about how invaders organized themselves. She watched as Stahli stroked the amulet of Talia.

  “How is your stomach?” She asked.

  Stahli clenched the amulet and looked up, “fine.”

  “Liar.”

  “Manageable.”

  “Better,” Eir smiled slightly. “Do you think you'll be alright when I'm gone?”

  Stahli's gaze snapped away from her to focus on the grain of the table. He yearned to say yes, but his throat refused to cooperate. He bit his bottom lip before managing, “I'll come find you. Once I am free of sire's orders.”

  Eir shifted over and rested her head on his shoulder. She said, “just be careful.”

  Stahli scratched his head. He asked, “is your skin itching?”

  “No.”

  He rubbed his head again, “I don't feel well-”

  “-I'll go get Xyon.” Eir charged off.

  Stahli looked down at his chest, which slowly turned red in hives. Xyon raced into the tea house, digging into his bag. He pulled out a small jar and tipped four white pills into his hand. “Swallow these.”

  “Okay, what are they?” Stahli asked and took them.

  Xyon spoke quickly, eager for Stahli to hurry up and take the pills. “Allergic reactions come in many forms. The most common forms are itching, tingling, numbness and swelling. If any of those are starting, those pills should help put a stop to it.” He pulled out his own canteen and offered it, “This is pure.”

  Stahli eyed the little white pills sceptically, but the itching was getting on his nerves. He put the pills in his mouth and took Xyon's canteen. This water didn't have that odd flavour of the local one. He swallowed stiffly and rubbed his throat. “When will they start working?”

  “Within a couple minutes,” Xyon sat down beside him.

  Stahli pressed the back of a hand to his forehead and said, “feeling hot.”

  Xyon looked him up and down, then pulled out three more pots. Each has many small medical crystals in them.

  The minutes ticked by, and Stahli kept scratching his head. His chest started to feel heavy. He leaned on a stall and took a long, wheezing breath. “X-xyon,” he croaked. He struggled to take another breath. “I-I.”

  Stahli focused on breathing; his throat had closed, and his lungs felt like they were trying to do the same things. He wheezed and thumped his chest.

  Xyon grabbed a crystal from a pot and smacked it into Stahli’s thigh with a hum, dissolving the stone into him.

  Stahli jerked away from him as his thigh was quick to start burning, but he had a little bit of an easier time breathing. Eir took his free hand, unable to do anything but stay out of the way.

  Xyon quickly applied another crystal to the thick vein in the crook of Stahli's elbow, then another to his bicep.

  Stahli was having trouble focusing on anything. He couldn’t stop wheezing; he tried to take and hold a breath, but his lungs were not doing as they were told. He started to shiver on the spot as he struggled to breathe. He tipped to the side, and Eir caught his head in her lap. He could feel himself shaking, and he tried to breathe. Xyon shifted over to move Stahli's head to help open his airways. It still took the better part of half an hour before Stahli's breathing levelled out, even if he was still bright red.

  Stahli vibrated. His voice stuttered as he asked, “When does the shaking stop?”

  “Several hours at least, I had to guess how much adrenaline to give you.” Xyon kept petting, gently nudging Stahli back to a better angle for breathing.

  “What’s that?” The Eatillite wheezed softly.

  “A chemical that people produce when in dire situations that demand a great deal of physical effort. Sometimes, the best cure for breathing issues is to scare the ever-living heck out of someone because it will cause their body to produce it. It’s why you could breathe at all.”

  “What is this?”

  “Anaphylactic shock. Preventing this is part of why I am learning about your planet and people.” Xyon said.

  Eir scowled, “How do I avoid it then?”

  “You're in for a dull diet when you leave,” Xyon checked Stahli's pulse. “You should be fine now. I'll finish my shopping, and then we should head back before the hunger sets in.” He got up and raced off.

  Eir stroked through Stahli's hair as he slowly started to breathe evenly again. He relaxed and shut his eyes as she whispered, “Now you have to stay with us. No running after Talia, like you tried when Mayve killed her. What if I get poisoned by accident? Because you abandoned us.”

  He sighed softly. Of course, she had read his mind in that fight. They were twins, and no one knew his mind better than her. He uttered softly, “I will try to be better.”