AKLESH (Under Strange Skies) (35 page)

Gar had always known he would marry, but he’d figured it would have been for political reasons. Royal marriages were hardly ever about sex and even less about love. Money and power were the only things that figured into the equation.

It was well known that his mother was already seeking eligible candidates for him. He had little or no choice in the matter.

On this planet people came together because they wished to. These people loved each other and wanted each other. Which brought Gar to the truth that was really tearing him apart.

He
wanted
Kai.

At first Gar had been so overwhelmed by what was happening and so full of animosity, he let himself be blinded by it. But now, after the dust had cleared, he had being seeing Kai for who he truly was. The Aklesh native was smart and agile, smooth and strong. Gar’s heart beat faster and he could feel himself stirring. His mind drifted back to those moments when he had been close and felt those strong arms around him and seen the joy in his friend’s face.

He wanted to kiss that face.

He wanted to have him.

He wanted Kai to love him.

He wanted to be free.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to leave home.

And he wanted desperately to know what to do.

Gar stayed out until well past dusk and the great feast had already started.

He’d watched from afar as the smell of cooking meat had drifted over the area and all the preparations were finished.

Gar took his time coming to the feast, first having a private bath while he knew everyone would be close to the keep, and then taking his time getting dressed away from the large crowds.

He didn’t feel the need to have people staring at how he was different from them.

The celebration had spread throughout the entire keep and there was no area untouched by it. Every torch was lit and there were several bonfires. No one would be cold that night. As he walked through he saw again the enormity of the Aklesh numbers. All the members of the tribe had come out for the celebration, several whom he had never seen or didn’t remember having seen before.

The festivities were raging on multiple levels. He passed the cooking pit that had been dug out for the occasion and the carcass of one of the large Rasclaan was roasting, huge but now unrecognizable. It had been butchered, seasoned and marinated according to tradition.

The people were also decked out with the large black and purple flowers that grew in abundance in the area. Many wore beads of multiple colors that jostled and clicked as they danced about, which a lot of them were doing. Drinks were being passed around and Gar didn’t have to be told what they contained. There were children but mostly they stayed with their mothers or in separate groups. This was not a party for the kiddies. And there was a good chance, he thought, that a few months after this party there would be more kiddies to add to the tribe.

In accord, the people Gar encountered as he went along were friendly and would at least nod an acknowledgement as he passed, if not smile or even wave. He was pleasantly surprised at how he was now greeted by the people who had originally been distrustful and standoffish. He would’ve hardly recognized those people from the warm and welcoming ones he found himself surrounded by.

Before he got to the stairs his teacher, Hatha, stopped him. It was obvious he’d had a little Amsu. His intention was strangely earnest.

“I’ve been thinking about mawwij,” the wood worker said clumsily.

“Marriage,” corrected Kai. “It’s pronounced
marriage
.”

“Yes, that,” said Hatha. He wasn’t full-on drunk, but he was a little buzzed. “I’ve been thinking, that sort of connection can’t be all that bad.”

“I suppose to many it’s not,” Gar laughed. “You have anyone in mind?” He’d already figured this one out, but didn’t want to speak out of turn.

Hatha gave a loud laugh and slapped him on the back, a little hard, but with good intention.

“You’ll see,” he said and walked towards the cooking pit.

The exchange amused Gar very much and he wondered what would come of it the next day.

Gar made his way up the great stairway to where he and Kai -- he caught himself in this thought -- where the hut he was being allowed to stay in was located. It was his full intention to go into that hut and not come out till the next day when the revelry was finished and he could work to separate himself from the Aklesh people.

The prince had come to the conclusion that he could get lost with them too easily now. He had to remember who he was, even if he wasn’t sure he liked that person very much anymore.

Nobody else stopped him and he thought for a moment that he might make it to the hut, until Tyro found him on the second platform.

The massive Aklesh hunter, who was now the Lead Warrior for the tribe, took both arms around him and spun him in the air, ecstatically whooping with joy. Once the large tribesman had put him down and Gar recovered, not without noticing how powerful Tyro was, he saw that Seema and Tilo were nearby. His guess was Seema had shared her good news.

“There’s going to be a baby!” proclaimed the proud father.

“Really?” said Gar, feigning ignorance. Seema looked at him knowingly.

“Yes!” he continued, as proud as a papa can be.

“My joined is with child! I am wild with happiness.”

“He can see that,” said Seema, much calmer, although Gar saw Tilo jumping up and down too.

He didn’t quite understand what was going on, but if his parents were happy, then that was good enough cause for him to be happy, too. There was a moment of silence, where Gar guessed some internal conversation was going on between the family, and Tyro brought himself under control as much as possible. It had been a big day for the tribesman.

Gar was getting better at being able to tell when the Aklesh people were talking using nonverbal communication. He now knew who a lot of the family groups were and could judge when a moment of quiet was merely private words being exchanged.

Tyro was still smiling, an action that made his already boyish face even younger looking. “Have you seen Kai?” he asked Gar. “We can’t find him anywhere. I want to tell him the good news. You both must have a drink with us after I tell everyone!”

“If I see him I’ll send him your way,” said Gar. He was genuinely happy for the family. They deserved all the joy they were getting.

“Both of you,” he said earnestly. “It needs to be the whole family.”

Gar forced a smile when Tyro said this. The last things he wanted right now was to be a part of the family, especially when he had no real idea what one of the members honestly thought of him.

He wanted so much to know what Kai was thinking, but that part of his friend’s mind was shut off from him.

“I’ll go look,” said Gar, glad to have the excuse to leave. Tyro would be so busy spreading the news, he’d forget that Gar was even gone. Besides, it was better that Tyro spend that time with his real family, Gar thought.

Tyro nodded, patted his back, smiled, hugged him again and then kind of jumped in the air. He was practically giddy. Seema and Tilo gave Gar a sincere hug. Then they went in search of others to tell of the good news.

Gar had one more run in before he got to the hut, one which surprised and tickled him at the same time.

Cho grabbed his arm amid the chaos and pulled him to the side of the large platform, only feet away from the ramp and his final destination.

“Have you seen Hatha?” she asked intently.

“Yes. Why?” he asked.

“There’s something I want to…I mean, I think he’s…I, well…”

The poor girl could barely form a full sentence and Gar wanted to put her out of her misery. Some people were meant to challenge convention and if anyone had a shot at happiness it was certainly the two of them.

“He’s down by the cooking pit on the ground level,” Gar said. She nodded and quickly turned to go but he stopped her. “Cho, he’s looking for you, too.”

As he said this her eyes grew wide with slight shock but soon she softened. He was glad his information pleased her and that he could be the means for two people to find each other in the keep. But, at that point, she no longer saw Gar and was gone before he could say another word.

Finally he reached the hut.

He was tired from not having gotten enough sleep, the Amsu from the night before and his anxiety over his situation. What he wanted more than anything was to hide from everyone.

But he had no such luck.

As he entered through the red grass curtain of the doorway, his eyes fell upon Kai, sitting on the bed with his hands on his lap. It was apparent that he’d wanted to avoid the crowds and celebration as well.

The young Aklesh looked up at Gar and his expression was unreadable. Gar was getting nothing from him emotionally either and dreaded what the tribesman had to say. He’d been trying to shield his own more passionate thoughts and feelings from Kai, but the Aklesh had much more skill with that sort of thing. Gar felt sorry if images or ideas had slipped through. He could only imagine how uncomfortable it was making the young Aklesh.

After a few tense moments, Kai spoke.

“You are not the same person you were when you came to us.”

This made Gar even more nervous. Not the statement so much but the fact the Kai chose to say it out loud. They’d been sending a lot more recently. This only meant that Kai was now intentionally blocking him out and that perhaps he was coming to regret his choice to intervene and save his life in the first place. It crushed Gar to think that because of him Kai would lose his only chance to join with anyone in his tribe, that he’d prevented Kai from ever finding anyone special.

Kai continued. “I am not the same either. You have changed me.”

“I’m sorry Kai, I am so sorry,” Gar started to babble. “I really have tried to shield my thoughts.

I’m sorry about all the horrible things I think…I have thought. I just…”

Kai put his finger to his lips and quieted Gar.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like the people we are,” he said gently.

“But those awful things I thought before…” Gar protested.

“You don’t think those things anymore, not really.

It’s not how you really feel.”

Gar folded his arms. He was annoyed and mad, a little. He was in a confrontation and he didn’t have all the information.

“Then that’s not fair, Kai. Because I have no idea what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling.” Kai raised his eyebrows in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to the native how well guarded he was compared to Gar.

As Gar looked at Kai he felt that ever-familiar rush of desire fill his chest and body. He tried to quell it, but it wouldn’t stop. It just grew in its passion, so much so he felt as if he were under great heat and his arms ached to reach out to Kai.

He was yearning with every part of his body to touch him, to be as close as possible to him.

His eyes began to well up as the truth of what was happening washed over him.

He was feeling more than his own passion and desire, he was feeling Kai’s as well.

In an instant Kai was on his feet and they were crushed against each other.

They came together in a hard embrace, their mouths pressed in a fiercely intense kiss that seemed to go on forever. It was as if a floodgate had been opened and all the frustrations and pain and joy and everything that had happened to them in those months came rushing out like a roaring river to finally be washed clean.

They stayed this way for some time, their hands groping and feeling everything they’d been holding back. Gar marveled at the musculature of this young tribesman, from the broad flat pectorals and his steely arms to the size and firmness of his legs and more.

To Kai, this stranger was a stranger no more.

He was beautiful, delicate and exotic and so much stronger than when he had first arrived. His skin and the light dusting of hair on his body made him tingle as his hands moved over it. He enjoyed the feel of Gar as he pulled him close, how his lean stomach pressed against his own and he could feel his heart beating under his chest.

Neither of them had ever felt passion on this level before, both peronsal and another’s at the same time. It was a surprise to both of them that they could even separate from each other at all now that they’d experienced this.

“We don’t want to be here,” Kai said breathlessly.

“What?” Gar replied, equally out of breath and confused by the abrupt question. “Of course I want to be here!”

There’s someplace I want to show you
, sent Kai, pulling away.

Gar wanted to be back in his arms more than anything and now knew that Kai only wanted the same thing, but sensed that what Kai was talking about was important to him, so he agreed to go.

Kai gently took his hand and lead him out of the hut.

The revels were in full flame in the keep so no one noticed the pair as they slipped through the joyful people. They went along, holding each other by the hand and seldom letting go. No matter what, both of them wanted to be touching as much, and as often, as possible.