Nabe left, and the day marched on without any other incident. It was soon dark.
Again, I was alone.
Staring out toward the night scape, draped in silky sheets, and resting the most comfortable mattress seemed like it’d be a reprieve, a better one compared to my old one. Regret was what I felt now that Dara was gone, as though we had broken up.
I guess we have?
Wait, no, we weren’t even together.
My eyes darted around the master bedroom, looking for hidden cameras, and as the previous 10 times nothing stood out.
Just where…
Over the last hour, ‘Gmoie’ rose from the horizon, a crescent of a shadow now along its northern surface. Cloud streams of blue gases curved and leaned in currents that had to be traveling hundreds of miles per hour, and I thought of sailing them like coastal winds with a wing and surf board. Its imposing sight grew on me as though a guardian angel or a big brother, understanding how capable its gravity could shatter Kessithi.
Maybe it already has?
“… Fuck man.”
Tears streamed as I huddled tighter, a flood of thoughts paralyzing me. They had been there since the afternoon and grew in severity, refusing to leave no matter what I did, taunting and ridiculing me for the most minor of faults to the greatest of sins. No amount of ignoring, reconciliation, and rage could banish them.
My family, my friends… Did I say goodbye?
A stranger in a stranger's body… Is this what I deserve?
No familiarity, no one to turn to…
Eventually sleep came to me when no more tears could be shed.
The gym appeared unused. It didn’t look abandoned with the equipment maintained, but a layer of dust which clung to metal, composite, and rope spoke otherwise. Strange smells of what seemed to be cleaning agents and minty air fresheners wafted about, the lack of bodily odor and moisture affirming its disuse. It reminded me of a local gym back home, having similar rocky walls, mirrors which stretched along one side, a dark wooden floor, and enough space for a class of 7 in a Zumba dance lesson.
It feels empty.
Morning sunlight peaked through the windows in concert with the ceiling lights, the same inverted conicals as in the upstairs floor. It was more than enough for casual inspection of what I would be working with.
3 Benches, 3 treadmills (or they look like treadmills?), a rack of dumbbells, a weight and resistance machine(?), 2 squat racks, yoga mats(?), thick ropes, pull up bars… several bar bells… what the hell even is that?
I gave the object a good look. It wasn’t dissimilar to an all-in-one machine with a series of pulleys and cables, making out 4things I could do with it. Maybe arms… biceps and triceps… core… are those for the legs?
Perhaps intimidated was not the right impression, but as with the floor above, everything here appeared refined and artsy, as though the craftsmen (or likely crafts-women?) were proud of making them. None looked fragile enough to break when dropped or misused, perhaps durable enough for abuse. But even the dumbbells seemed more like something to praise in observance rather than held for shoulder presses. Whoever made these had done so with a skill and reverence with a pinch of ‘I do what I want.’
In snug, knee length shorts and a tight shirt, wearing shoes which seemed made for working out in, and with marble hair tied to a pony tail, I gazed at myself in the mirror. I could appreciate the figure and with how the clothing accentuated me in my glorious figure (despite the subtle bulge downstairs).
I twisted my head about inspecting myself. It’s like if Jessica Alba and Female Shepard fused together… Damn, I look good.
Striding across to a series of shelves, I retrieved one of the mats along with a pair of foam-like blocks. Some yoga would be a good start, a test to see how flexible I was. In the sex and excursions from before, weak muscles and sore joints plagued me, and it wasn’t fun being out of breath for most of it. Thelamein had let herself go, to a point that even my old self was an improvement health-wise.
Even if I had been in better shape, it was hardly at peak fitness. Six pack abs and an Olympian physique eluded me, my gluttony and other poor habits having gotten in the way. I would never stop trying, too invested in achieving that pefect form, even now as I imagine a look without the chubby gut.
Laying out my station, I thought of what to do next. Better start with arm stretches.
I came up the main stairs slowly as I caught my breath, heart still pounding to the tune of my steps. Skin glistened from strenuous exertions, a strong radiance under light, the sweat absorbed into the clothes as though I had jumped into the pool below. With how my muscles ached, it was guaranteed that I would be sore by the evening.
The thought of scrambled eggs (or ‘Lariffricu Fmoenc’) drove me forth, my mouth watering at a large portion awaiting me in due time.
Just how much have I been eating?
Far more food had been consumed on a per meal basis since I arrived. About 300 calories per hour seemed necessary to stave off the intense hunger pangs, that is if I didn’t have 2000 calorie meals. Weight gain was a concern with the Goku-levels of eating, but without a scale, I didn’t know what had been gained or lost. The only surety was the size of my gut remaining the same since day 1.
Perhaps sex really is a good calorie burner.
I felt a spark in my core. You horny bastard.
Eventually, I’d figure out the right meal portions and the foods to eat. For now, a lot of eggs are needed, and possibly some bread… and fruit.
Reaching the top floor, in the small lobby, I passed through the double set doorway, the passage opening and closing on its own. I was starting to notice that the doors were doing that more without my input, and it made moving throughout the building easier.
Stepping through, my eyes fell upon two strangers.
“Oh… hello?”
One woman of strikingly blue hair and dark, greyish eyes was the first to take notice, her smaller friend respectively pink and red and just as shapely, distracted by the half-empty fruit bowl’s contents. Both were of fair skin if tanned, both dressed in similar, loose cotton pants but of different colored shirts, Bluey with hers a psychedelic mix of pinks and yellows, the friend’s snow white. Their seated postures at the counter grew straight when their eyes met mine.
Not the maids? Several times I had seen about doing some chores to keep the place pristine. Neither wore the signature beige dress.
Thoughts of home invasion were swept aside as a certain heat churned and my heart fluttered. Who else could they be but Nabe’s guests?
Is she a pimp or something?
Pinky gave me a good look over, and was the first to say with a suggestive smirk, “Wadi xiyeli lije.”
The other friend immediately blushed, looking away from both of us, muttering something quiet.
I returned the smirk. “Wa-dee zee-yeeli lee-ja.”
Both burst into laughter. “What?” I asked in feigned ignorance.
Continuing my stride to the counter, leaning forward to rest on its surface, waiting for them to catch their breaths.
“You two have names?” I pointed to each of them.
Pinkey looked at me, then briefly to Bluey with confusion.
Pointing at myself, I emphasized “Thelamein,” then pointed back.
She got the hint. “Imra.”
Bluey shied when attention fell on her, but said in the cutest, softest voice, “Ays aur Tanulia.”
It looked as though breakfast would need to wait. Entertaining my guests seemed fairly important as priorities went.
We settled blankets on the rec room’s floor, a large enough space for the three of us, clothes strewn haphazardly around and forgotten.
As I lay there, Tanulia pursued a relentless suckle on my breast, her tongue and teeth teasing and playing with it in a way that showed how sensitive it was, and how experienced she seemed. A subtle bite, a pinch with her lips, and a kiss to tug my strings; arching my back, bucking my hips, drawing me in. The shy girl was clearly more than that, someone reserved until the moment sought for otherwise, when others ravish her and her every inch, she gives in kind.
In stark contrast, Imra sat ramrod straight, straddling my thighs as she kept staring at my erect rod in front of her. The enthusiasm moments before faded, and she now had this appearance of being clueless and nervous, which made me nervous.
Has she changed her mind?
She bit her lip, her eyes darting to her friend who remained attentive to me. “Wynsas lu ay lu?”
Growling in frustration, Tanulia’s lips pinched my nipple before she slithered her shapely, lengthy body up, pecking my lips. “Wyne lu eaara sacr die?” She asked her.
“Ay… lu col rianricu…”
We kept exchanging glances. Do I need to take charge?
Imra slowly brought her hand forth, grabbing my rod as she started dry rubbing it, somewhat hurting me.
Yep.
Just as her friend had been about to return to her kissing, I shifted myself up to a kneel, meeting face to face, deciding to press myself into Irma. Yelping, she eagerly met my lips, allowing me to cup the sides of her cheeks, the taste of something sweet and bitter as mocha permeating from her.
Breaking away, to my own surprise I stuck two fingers in her mouth, drawing a string of saliva, sending a shiver through her. With her fluid, I applied it to the tip of my length, licking my hand, then applying my own just below.
Tanuila had snuggled into the side of my neck, giving gentle hickies and kisses, each another spark that surged my heat.
“W-wynsas rricu?” Imra hushed as I finished.
Eliciting another yelp from her, my hands slid around her ass, lifting and scooting us back, pressing our lips together. We gently fell so that her head landed snugly on a pillow, procured with Tanuila’s help, with the blanket still beneath. Languid in our movements, my teasing relentless, gravity and eagerness pressed us closer, my kisses trailing along her neck and arm, down the chest to her breasts, hands searching her back as she seemed to arch and ease.
“Xiysas… fadamc h'afl.”
“Half-fil,” I husked.
The teases ended at the top of her sternum, and I pulled back to kneel, spreading her legs with a nudge. Wide red eyes fell upon my cock slithering along her sex as I pulled back, eager to ease that stiffness she held, to banish that nervousness.
And yet I felt my blood chill, suddenly aware of what I was about to do (again), coming to some strange sense.
She wants this, you want this, so why stop?
It’s Pregnancy. It was less of a concern but no less ingrained, that even with the assurances I couldn’t simply ignore it, nor the consequence that could come from it. A child is a burden, good or bad, and I still couldn’t trust that their upbringing will be handled right.
Haven’t we seen Themlamein’s kids? What about them? They seem fine.
In the days since my arrival, I had seen many children with the same white hair as mine, the implication strong in that they were hers, and by extension mine. For all that had been seen, they appeared well-off (relative to Western standards).
Am I really not responsible for them? Was it my job to simply fuck n’ dash? Dara had been chill about me being absent, and Naberoa hadn’t mentioned anything about parental responsibility outside of seeking it.
Shit, I’m not even considering what these girls think.
Coming back to awareness, I realized I had been still, Imra sensing something was off with how looked at me nervously. Tanulia draped her arms around my chest, giving tender bites and pecks from nape to collar, one of her hands groping and playing with my left nipple. Both had been oblivious to my inner monologue.
Imra hitched her breath as my tip slowly pressed in, gritting her teeth. The movement was without thought, purely instinct, arising from something primordial. Only an inch and no more, her inner walls too tight to push deeper. This was definitely her first.
“Naame fotrc sarl wieffc, ays aur livylosassa die!”
Slowly, and slowly, did I allow my hips to move, my hand placed on her groin where my thumb could rub a sensitive spot, Imra squeaking as I touched.
Trying to recall what the porn stars would do, my thumb brushed in tiny circles, eliciting more hitched breaths as she succumbed, moving her pelvis in a similar motion, legs and arms loosening, eyes relaxing before shutting tight with a constriction of her features. She squeaked again as she reached a climax, and I felt her warmth spread unto me as her inner walls tightened around my lower head.
I did not stop, that with great restraint I resisted the urge to release. It’s not your turn yet, I told myself.
Our post coital shower and rest was nice. We lazed around naked on the living room couch as they showed me a movie through the ‘TV,’ a comedy and drama movie with all the characters female, the main character caught in a love… square? (A love triangle wouldn’t have been apt to describe it.) The story definitely showed how widespread lesbianism (or bisexuality?) seemed in their culture, seeing how the characters were casually raunchy with each other. More interesting were the set pieces, that of strange biomes of red grass fields, trees with their branches absurdly long and bending like seaweed, and a city that seemed to mimic 19th century Portuguese architecture with an organic twist.
And it showed aliens, or alien wildlife. Umistakable were those of the feathered avians I had seen from a distance, but the ones up close were like and unlike harpy eagles, feathers colored green and tipped blue and eyes a pale white, and scaly in its underside. In a scene of the red grassy fields, large docile, allosaurus-looking beasts were shown almost behaving like cattle, skin colored in tan to orange hues. A cat, too, was in it, yet the thing seemed larger and of an off-color coat of red not typically seen on Earth. Their appearance nearly made me giddy with excitement (much to the girls’ amusement).
Lunch (or dinner?) was something prepackaged, a mix of sour, sweet, and salty vegetables with something like pasta. We ate as they kept excitedly chatting at me about the movie, to which I simply nodded, gave questioning looks, pointed my finger and nod, or gesture ‘no’ to the vaguest of things that I understood. They didn’t seem to mind my lack of understanding.
When the movie ended, and with our meals consumed, Imra and Tanulia had gotten dressed, gave me hugs and kisses goodbye, and left.
Part of me hoped they would stay. Part of me dreaded when they would leave.
Rather than dwell sourly, I made to distract myself, cleaning up our mess by bundling the blankets and my used gym clothes into the laundry basket and piling the dishes into the not-quite-a-dishwasher Daratrine had showed me; an appliance which used a combination of treated water with sound waves.
With the chores done, I went to find one of those books organized about. They seemed interesting, and if I couldn’t read them, at least one or two might have pictures to view.
In the corner of the living room, in its library, I withdrew a book at random. On its cover was a planet in front of the blue gas giant, as though it were a picture taken from a satellite. The title, after long examination, seemed to spell out ‘Kessithi,’ for the characters were not so far dissimilar that I couldn’t identify each with a corresponding English one.
Paragraphs broken by bullet points (using triangles instead of the dots) were beside, above, or below various pictures and topographical maps. In orbit, Kessithi looked utterly green with little to no deserts, of long snow-capped mountain ranges and grassy plains as large as the Grand Canyon, patterned by lakes the size of Michigan’s to small oceans, some colored navy blue as the Atlantic, others a strong cyan as seen around the Cayman Islands. It was hard to miss the size of its forests, for they grew as large as Alaska, stretching from one body of water to another, the lights of settlements or cities dotting one such mega biome. The planet seemed like the very definition of a paradise world, though the specks of volcanoes and lava along her surface hinted at a chaotic past.
There was also a strange, greyish disk of land that seemed 4 times the size of Los Angeles, an unbelievably large plain of… stone? Concrete? Metal? It wasn’t natural, too round and geometric with pockmarks of green dotting it as though the place suffered from a blight. Details were sparse and obscure (because of the writing and lack of images), with one ‘triangle’ point simply identifying it as “Xiyie Hprianos Ludauir.”
How does this world even exist? I knew that we had theories about earth-like worlds existing around gas giants, something made possible by radiating warmth, yet it was mentioned how dangerous it would be for life, that earthquakes, raining asteroids, and massive tidal forces would make the surface uninhabitable. Against those odds, Kessithi, its life, and humanity, simply existed.
Perhaps Dara was right about God’s involvement.
Another book I examined had, on its white-leathery cover, a depiction of a woman dancing with a man whose details were obscured in black. Its artwork was made in a stylized pencil/pen sketching not unlike what you would see in medieval paintings. Every odd page had a drawing, showing the same woman dancing to a new partner–every one of them female–, her first and last being the same obscured man, and in the end it was only her and a group of children. She looked sad on that last page.
I slammed that book closed, quickly placing it back on its shelf, deciding that its contents weren’t for me. Some fresh air is needed.
Dressed in simple sweat pants and a long-sleeved shirt with a pair of slip-on shoes, from the balcony, I circled down along the stairs, basking what was left of an evening sun, taking a walk through the compound’s gardens, pavilions, and concrete pads. The smells were more predominately vanilla and earthy this time, the plants recently trimmed.
Damp and warm is the air. High above cirrus clouds stirred as a tell-tale to a storm, or maybe not. It was hard to say if Earth meteorology translated to Kessithi meteorology, that for all I knew it would be a clear night.
From beyond one of the side gates, past the usual set of guards, past wandering the few pedestrians, I caught sight of someone with blue hair, not that of Tanulia’s neon hue but of a navy blue. It took a second to see that it was the same woman from my third day, the one who had a white-haired child with her. She was well-beyond the guard’s consideration (both looking bored out of their minds) and had caught sight of me as I did of her.
I gave an awkward wave, and she went behind a building. There was no sight of her for the rest of that evening.