by Ashley West
"That was for her protection."
"Was it? My mistake, then. I thought we needed to be saved from her."
"Why would we need to be saved from her?" Luther asked.
Jalal shrugged. "Because she's a human? Don't they carry disease and all that?"
"She isn't vermin, Jalal. And she didn't ask to be here."
He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Calm down, big guy. I didn't say she did. Just it's kind of weird, is all. One day there are no humans here, and the next there's a human, and she's all...out and all."
"She has the right to be treated well here. She isn't a prisoner."
"Whatever you say," Jalal said, even though it was clear he thought that he was right.
Just another thing to dislike about Jalal, then. Luther turned back to keep watching Alanna, who had waded out a bit further while he'd been wasting time with Jalal. Hopefully, Jalal would just get bored and go away. Luther was sure there was something he was supposed to be doing elsewhere, anyway.
"She's pretty to look at, at least," Jalal said from behind him. "She's got that going for her. I didn't know humans could look that good."
And that was a line too far. Luther's fingers curled into fists on either side of his body, and he drew in a deep breath to keep his anger in check. "Was there something you needed?" he asked through gritted teeth, though he didn't turn around.
"No, no," Jalal said. "Just enjoying the view for right now."
Luther was just considering calling to Alanna that they should move on, when she turned back and seemed surprised to see how far out she'd gone. She started wading back towards land, the smile still stretching her face.
"Okay," she said, once she was close enough. "I can see why you like it here so much."
His own smile was practically involuntary at the sight of how pleased she looked. It was a welcome change from how upset she'd been in the days previous.
"Can you?" went Jalal from behind him, and Alanna seemed to startle when she noticed him there. She looked from him back to Luther, confusion on her face.
"This is Jalal," Luther said. "He is one of my fellow warriors. And I'm sure he has things to do."
"Nonsense," Jalal said. "I have time to greet our visitor. First human ever, I'm pretty sure. Isn't that exciting for you?"
Alanna snorted. "Sure," she said, voice dry. "Being kidnapped and brought to a different planet is such a high honor."
Luther smiled at her tone, but it seemed to go completely by Jalal who just grinned at her. "Well, of all the places you could have been brought, you were brought here," he said. "And that's special."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is. Hasn't Luther told you what we are?"
She looked between the two of them, clearly confused, and it dawned on Luther that no, actually, he hadn't gotten around to telling her what it was they did and who they were.
Jalal made a chiding noise. "Luther's the modest type," he said. "Doesn't like to brag or show off. Luckily for you, I'm leagues different from him. Watch this."
He already knew what Jalal was going to do before he even did it, and he stepped back to avoid the inevitable puddle.
Right before their eyes, Jalal's form went wavy, blurred around the edges, and then nearly clear. He gave them a little salute and then melted himself down into water.
Alanna gasped, and when Luther glanced at her, she had a hand clapped over her mouth. "How did he do that?" she asked. "Can you do that?"
"Yes," Luther replied. "But it's dangerous. Especially this close to the tide." It would take time for Jalal to reform himself, and Luther really should have stood there to make sure that a strong wave didn't come sweeping over the sand to drag parts of Jalal out to sea, but honestly, Jalal brought this on himself. Every single time. "Come," Luther said. "There is more to see."
"Should we just leave him like that?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "He does this often."
"Okay, then," she said, and fell into step with him as they walked away. "How did he do that, though?"
"It's a gift given to us," Luther explained.
"The ability to turn into a puddle?"
"Not only that. That is just the showiest of our talents. And the most dangerous. If the tide were to come in now, Jalal would be sucked out to sea before he can reform himself. Going to a liquid when you're meant to be solid requires much focus."
Alanna nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. So what else can you do?"
Luther hesitated. He wasn't supposed to be showing off that sort of stuff, he was showing her the world outside.
"Oh, come on," she continued. "You didn't even tell me you had powers or whatever, and if it's some kind of secret, then it looks like Jalal didn't get the memo. So you may as well tell me."
He sighed. Alanna hadn't balked from the sight of Jalal melting, so perhaps she wouldn't be frightened of the rest of the powers that went along with it.
"Very well," he said.
He found them a remote and quiet corner of the beach and he closed his eyes. It was so easy to do this here, with the smell of the sea in the air and the sound of the waves beating against the shore to call his focus to the water.
Luther's power had always been less about showing off and more about honoring the sea. It was functional and ritualistic, and when he opened his eyes, he could feel the energy coursing through him. His palms were itchy, prickling with the need to melt away and let the water come forth, almost as if the water wanted to be seen and to explain the magnitude of the bond they shared with the sea.
So he let it.
He lifted his hand and turned his palm so the back of his hand was parallel to the ground. With a small smile playing around his mouth, he let the water come forth, surging and growing until he held a perfectly shaped watery sphere in one hand.
Alanna looked stunned. She came closer to him and reached out one hand tentatively. When she poked the bubble of water, Luther focused on holding it steady, and her fingers went through it instead of making it pop.
"Oh," she said softly.
Luther smiled. He let the bubble drop its shape and the water crawled over his body from one hand across his chest to the other hand, ready and waiting to catch it. In that hand, he shaped it into a diamond, letting it turn slowly and catch the light from the sun.
From there, he gathered it into both hands and then lifted it up, sending it arcing over Alanna's head back into the sea.
"There is more," he said, smiling at her. "But those skills are more for battle than for show. I can also breathe underwater and do the melt that Jalal did with any part of my body." He melted his hand just to show her.
"That's...amazing," Alanna breathed. "I didn't even know things like that were possible."
"Here they are. I'm sure humans don't have similar skills." It wasn't an insult, just the truth of the matter.
"Can only the warriors do it?" Alanna wanted to know.
He shook his head. "No, most of the people here have the talents, though the warriors are the best at it. Usually."
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
Luther snorted. “Not so much a story as a person.”
And that was how they forgot about Jalal and went to go see Clio.
Clio, as Luther had expected, was delighted to meet Alanna. She was curious to a fault, and would have shown up at his home looking to meet the human woman sooner or later anyway. Luther got to take pleasure in the surprise on her face when they walked into the tech sphere and over to her station.
When she wasn't plundering their ruins for treasure, she worked in the tech industry, developing and perfecting new technological advances to help keep their society functioning at its best.
She had a wickedly smart mind in addition to her powers and sense of cunning, and it was honestly no wonder that Luther had been in love with her for so long. She was a wonder. And while his feelings had ebbed, he could still see all of that in her and knew what she was worth.
"
I'm sure he's been telling you all sorts of stuff about me," she said to Alanna, leaning back in her chair and eying the human woman. "Most of it is probably not true."
"Actually he just told me you were very powerful and very smart," Alanna said, which was true, but not necessarily what he wanted Clio to know.
She smiled and rolled her eyes, but there was fondness in her face. "Of course he did. He was in love with me for a while, did you know?"
Luther was mortified, but Alanna was smiling. "Really?"
"Oh, yes. He was all over me. Let me tell you something, we might not have worked out, but that's just because we're very different people, not because there's anything wrong with Lu here. He's wonderful. Kind, generous, strong. Good in bed." She made a face that was all wiggled eyebrows and lascivious smile.
Alanna laughed, and Luther wondered why he had ever thought this was a good idea.
"I don't know if that's the kind of thing human women look for in their men, but here, it's pretty extraordinary."
"It is," Alanna said. "All of that. And hard to find, too."
"Tell me about it. I've been dredging the deep ever since it didn't work out with this one."
"You could stop talking about me like I'm not here," Luther said, trying to sound stern, but probably just succeeding in sounding petulant.
"Aw, no one forgot about you," Alanna said, turning a bright grin in his direction. "How could we, big as you are?"
"I like her," Clio said, and Luther could tell from the shine in her eyes that she was serious. "She has a good eye."
Luther sighed. "Well, that's just wonderful, Clio. I'll be sure to pass that along to the queen."
"You do that," she said, giving him a haughty look before she dissolved into giggles. "Anyway. You need to leave now. I actually do have to do some work today if I'm going diving later tonight."
"Be careful," Luther cautioned. Diving at night was perfectly safe in theory, considering the water itself would never hurt someone suited for it, but that didn't mean that there weren't other dangers. Luther remembered all too well how dangerous it could be down there.
"I'm always careful," she said. "And nothing out of the ordinary has been seen down there since the time it happened to you. It will be fine."
"Still," he said.
Clio held his gaze, and he knew what she was going to see there. Finally she nodded. "Very well. I'll be as careful as possible."
"Thank you," he said. He got up from his chair and motioned for Alanna to follow, and the two of them took their leave.
"You really were in love with her," she said as they walked out of the sphere.
He didn't see the point in trying to deny it, not when Clio had so handily told her how it had all gone down. So instead he inclined his head slightly. "I was."
"Wow. I mean, I don't blame you, she really did seem great. It's just not something humans usually admit that freely to near complete strangers."
"You aren't a stranger," Luther said. "You're sharing my home and I'm seeing to your safety. We should know each other."
Alanna looked off into the distance. Even from here, the more mechanized and industrial part of the city, you could see the sea and hear the waves. The smell of salt on the air was lessened, but still present. Luther knew what she'd see in the direction she was looking, he just wasn't sure what she was looking for.
"I guess you have a point," she said finally, looking back at him. "It's not like I'm going home any time soon, right? And being stuck here and not knowing anyone could easily get really lonely."
Luther gave her a slow smile. "Very practical."
"Hush, you."
They walked around a bit more, and once the afternoon rush had ended, he took her to the marketplace for a mid afternoon meal. They dined of crisp, well seasoned meat on skewers, served with warm flatbread and spiced vegetables. He introduced her to the strong tea made by the oldest woman in the city, and laughed as she nearly choked on it but then went back for more.
He wasn't sure how much time they would have to do this later, so he showed her everything he thought she should see that didn't have personal significance to him and watched as she took it all in, pleased when it seemed like she was really beginning to understand the wonder of this place and all it had to offer.
At the end of the day, they headed back to his home, foot sore and worn out. Luther didn't think he'd spent that much time going around the city in years, and it had been nice to feel like he was seeing it through new eyes, so to speak.
Alanna looked a bit overwhelmed, but happier than he'd seen her since she'd come here.
"Thank you," she said, after a long stretch of silence. "For doing that for me. I was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in your house."
He smiled lightly. "I noticed."
"It's nothing against your hospitality," she hurried to assure him. "I'm just used to being much more independent."
"That's what I assumed. Don't worry, Alanna. I wasn't offended by you not wanting to be locked up in my house all day."
"Okay, good."
It had been a long day for the both of them, and even though Luther had a warrior's stamina, he was worn out, too, so the silence was welcomed as the day ended and sank into night.
"Do you think..." Alanna began as she was getting ready for bed.
"Hm?"
"Do you think we could do that again sometime?" she asked. "I'd like to see more, if that's alright."
Luther smiled warmly at her. "I think we can manage that."
Chapter Five: Gifting
They managed it plenty, actually. Over the next couple of weeks, they went out more than they didn't. Sometimes Luther had to do his actual job, and Alanna was fine with that, but usually they went out and saw things.
Sometimes when Luther was away, Clio would come by and take her out for lunch or dinner, making sure to tell her lots of stories about Luther and the things he got up to.
Seeing the city with Clio was fun, but it was nothing compared to seeing it with Luther. It was so easy to see that Luther loved his city, his planet. He spoke about each place they visited with such passion and love. He told her about the history of buildings and about the ruins under the sea and how his people had once lived down there, making a whole civilization that thrived under the water.
It was like the stuff of myth and science fiction to Alanna, if she was honest. A race of aliens who could control water and had once lived in an underwater city sounded like a movie that would be made by some high budget studio, starring some hunky heartthrob as the lead alien warrior.
But this was real life. It was Luther's life, and she realized how lucky it was that she was getting a glimpse of it.
At the moment, she was out with Clio, the two of them sitting at an outdoor table outside the bustling market place, a tray of different foods in front of them.
Luther didn't usually like to bring her around at this time of day, when everyone was taking their mid afternoon breaks for lunch, but Clio didn't seem to share his hesitance.
"They all know you're here," she'd said. "What's the point in pretending otherwise?"
It was a fair point, Alanna had to admit, and so she sat there with her, eating some sort of strange, spicy seafood patty, and looking around at all the people coming and going.
The people of Lin-Vayel came in all different shapes and sizes, much like her own people, but they were all very big for the most part. It was easy to spot the ones who were warriors, as they were all built more or less like Luther and had weapons on their backs or hips.
It struck her then that she'd never seen Luther's weapon and she wondered why a people who could make water their weapon needed physical ones.
She took another bite of her fish cake thing and then looked up when she realized that Clio had asked her something.
"Hm?"
"You are not paying attention," Clio said, which was true.
"Sorry," Alanna replied. "Distracted. What were you saying?"
&nb
sp; "I was saying that we also appreciate art here. Luther says you're an artist."
"That's right. On Earth, anyway."
"We like art. No one here really makes it. So if there's no one to take you out and you get restless..."
The logical connection was easy to make. "Really?" Alanna asked.
"Why is that surprising?"
"It just seems odd for a race of alien warriors to be into art, I guess. And yes, before you tell me, I know that I'm the alien here."
Clio smiled. "You are, but that's alright. And we also like things that are pretty and well made. Not everyone here is a warrior, and being a warrior doesn't mean you can't appreciate beauty."
"Of course it doesn't," Alanna hurried to clarify. "That wasn't what I meant."
"I know. I'm just giving you something to think about. I'm sure if you asked Luther, he would get you the supplies you need."
And just like that, something she had been missing so much was suddenly within her reach. Making art was such a large part of her life, something she felt like she needed to...well, to survive, as cliché as that sounded.
There was certainly no lack of inspiration here, that was for sure.
Luther seemed surprised when she asked him about it, but he said that he would see what he could do. Alanna tried not to get her hopes up, especially when days went by without her hearing anything more about it.
But then one day Luther came home with a large box that he put on the floor in front of her.
"What's that?" she asked, looking up from the program on Luther's equivalent of a television she'd been trying to make heads or tails of for the last hour.
"It's art supplies," he said. "Or at least I think it is. I haven't opened it, but they said it was what I requested down at the harbor."
Alanna stared at him for a second, then down at the box. "You...what?"
"I remembered the mediums you said you liked to work with," Luther explained. "And we didn't have much here that seemed like it would be what you needed. So I put in an order through a neighboring planet."
She had to fight the urge not to say 'what' again, but she was having a hard time wrapping her head around what he was saying. She'd asked for art supplies, and when he hadn't been able to find what she was looking for on his own planet, Luther had...
