He sat next to me on the bed, and I found that I was able to relax. Something in his voice made me feel as though he was not a threat.
“I’ve been trying to think of a solution, but most of the Avroxee have dedicated themselves to becoming a warrior people. When we spend all our time developing weapons or ships, we can hardly discuss matters of science.” He looked into my eyes, and I could sense the desperation hiding in his. “I think it is all unnecessary: the mating rituals, everything. That’s why I’ve brought you here, Jocelyn.” My name sounded so foreign coming from him it almost startled me. I felt a leap of excitement, but also of fear.
“What do you need me for?” I asked nervously.
“You are…very equipped,” he explained. Realizing what he said, he frantically backtracked, “Not like that, although you’re very…fertile, and those qualities are most desirable. I mean your intelligence is impressive.”
I felt myself blush at this. I’d never had a guy act impressed with my work before.
“On your planet, you understand the traits of life forms, and how they’re developed,” Krult continued. “I’ve decided that the two of us won’t attend the mating ceremony, tonight. Instead, I want you to help me save Avrox. Help me find a way to create more people, safely, with no more killing. No more ceremonies or selections; just a safe way for us to thrive. Maybe then, the Avroxee can change their ways, and be a peaceful people”
It seemed an impossible proposal. How was I, a simple woman from Earth, supposed to save an entire planet from its own destruction? I mean, there was a whole hidden layer of foreign politics to consider, and I didn’t even have access to my own equipment. I felt my head growing heavy, the room almost spinning. But, something held me down.
Krult’s hand grabbed my arm, tenderly, bringing me back. I felt a jolt of warmth at his touch, almost familiar.
“Jocelyn…” he pleaded, his eyes longing. I thought of home. I couldn’t leave my life behind, even though there wasn’t much left to begin with. What about my mother? Surely, I couldn’t leave her behind. I thought for a moment. The task may be great for just the two of us, but if it meant I could go back home, then it was one that I would have to partake in.
“I’ll do it,” I heard myself say, not sure how the words had even escaped my mouth. Krult smiled, and for the first time I could see he had small pointed rows of teeth. They were almost cute, in a strange alien way.
“Thank you,” he said, relieved.
“On the condition that you return me to Earth when we’re finished. And we will not be mating of course.” I said, firmly.
“No, no,” he said, waving his hands away from me in playful disgust, “I will not be expecting you to mate with me.”
“Great,” I said, stretching out my hand, and waiting. He was not sure what to do at first, but he caught on, and grabbed my hand to shake it. I felt a strange tingle around my fingers as he softly gripped mine.
“It’s a deal, as you call it,” he said. And just like that, I was bound to this planet, and bound to Krult, in a strange secret plan. I was not sure of the risks, or if we would be successful, but he was my ride home and I was determined to make sure he was satisfied.
CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH
KRULT
I’d hardly seen Jocelyn since she had begun her work. It had been several days, and the whole time she had remained, locked in my home. I didn’t dare bring her out into the city, especially not after the mating ceremony had passed. Typically, once the ceremony was over, most species began to show signs of pregnancy within the following few weeks, or even days. If they didn’t show promise, they were disposed of. I couldn’t put Jocelyn at risk that way, and not because she was helping me, but because I didn’t wish that horrifying fate on any female.
I hoped I had been able to gather enough materials for her to work with. Avrox didn’t have a large market for scientific materials, but luckily I had been able to find some spare glass tubes and wires, and even a microscopic lens lying about near the spacecraft facility. Living in secret also meant I had to take care of buying food for the both of us, which worked out anyway, as long as I kept a low profile. I couldn’t have anyone inquiring about my absence from the other night, and it didn’t help that I had some level of attention on me after I had defeated Pelos.
I knocked a secret knock on my door; something Jocelyn and I had developed since we agreed to work together. She opened it, her lab coat stained from days of experiments. Even with her hair tangled around her worn face, she still looked attractive. Of course, I could not have told her that. No use in complicating our purpose together even further. Anyway, I didn’t really have the experience to tell her how I felt, as attraction and heart feelings were trivial parts of mating that we Avroxee tended to avoid.
I stepped over the bundle of blankets that had now become my sleeping space. I’d given Jocelyn my bed, since she would be doing most of the work. I was just the deliverer, making sure she ate and had enough materials to finish our experiment.
“How is our progress?” I inquired. Jocelyn sighed deeply, and I could sense that she was frustrated.
“I was just trying to read the genetic codes from the blood sample I tool from you,” she explained as she rifled through a stack of crudely drawn models and formulas that I couldn’t understand. “Your genes have similar structures, interestingly enough, to that of an amphibian on my planet.”
I let her ramble on, something about creatures from earth and how some lay eggs and some don’t. It was all too complicated for me, really, not because I was not interested in science, but because I was had never been able to grasp genetics, since a young age. I had been trained to fight, since I was born, and was told never to question anything. One of her questions snapped me out of my train of thought,
“Is every species on this planet male, Krult?”
Something clicked in my mind. How were the avian creatures able to make more, even after we had hunted them for many phases? Or what about the wild beasts in the jungle, with their young following them, hiding from our spears? Even I had a mother once, although she has passed long ago and I had never got to meet her. There were females on this planet, who were not compatible with us, but could they be the missing link in Jocelyn’s experiment? I knew just the place to take her, but it was too late in the day now. We’d never make it back before dark, and nobody wanted to be in the jungle after dark.
“I can take you somewhere, tomorrow,” I proposed, “It’s too dangerous for us to go out now, but I can assure you, we’ll find what you’re looking for. At most, we might find something close.” Jocelyn nodded, understanding, though I could tell she was getting more restless. I assumed it was because she wanted to get out of here. She must have been missing her mother. The thought of this saddened me a bit, and I felt a strange pull towards her that made me want to keep her here.
“I can find a female sample tomorrow. However, I’ll still need…” her voice trailed off, and she held her arms tightly against herself, suddenly uncomfortable. She looked over at me, her lips tightening. “…I’ll need a sperm sample…from an Avroxee.” I still didn’t understand why she was so uncomfortable. I searched for a knife, on the desk she was using, and pointed the blade towards my stomach.
“Alright. We can take one out now. I hope you have something for the blood.” I told her. She took my hand and the knife, and placed it back on the table.
“I don’t think it really works that way, Krult,” she said, and her eyes darted around the room, avoiding mine. Suddenly, I realized what she meant, and I could feel an intense heat spreading through my entire body. She meant I’d have to ejaculate…for her.
We discussed for a while about how we would proceed and then Jocelyn handed me a glass vial, and explained that I would have to provide my sample for her. I wasn’t quite sure of what I was supposed to be doing. Nobody here had heard of an Avroxee mating alone before. Even if they did, I was pretty sure they would have been frowned upon for reckless waste of
a potential Avroxee. I eventually made a decision, and, taking the vial from Jocelyn, I came to terms with the fact I might be the first Avroxee to do this.
But I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure if it was the added pressure on my part, or some other outside factor, but for some reason I was unable to become erect. I relayed this information to Jocelyn, who had been waiting outside the door of my watering room, during my attempts.
“May I come in?” She asked. I let her inside, and saw her eyes avoid my genitals. “What’s the matter?” She inquired.
I explained the situation to her, “I have never become erect without the presence of a female species. I cannot arouse myself on my own, unfortunately.” As I said this, I sensed she was planning something new.
“Well…we have to get it somehow,” she breathed, clearly nervous. As I took a deep breath, I realized for the first time that I was nervous too.
“Just relax, I guess,” she said, reaching for my penis. She shrunk back at the first touch, and laughed nervously. “I am sorry, I’d never done this before,” she explained. I almost smiled too, and she tried again, this time getting a firm grip on my penis. The feeling was unexplainable, the incredible smoothness of her hands slowly worked into a gentle slide up and down my shaft. I could feel it throbbing under her touch. I looked at her face, and saw that she had become much more relaxed now; perhaps she was even enjoying it. I knew I was enjoying it, although I wouldn’t have dared to address it.
“Are you alright?” I asked her in between tugs. I was surprised when she looked up at me, her eyes bright, and said,
“Yes, actually. I think…I don’t really mind this.” I let her continue without questions, her fingers working around the tip of my penis. “Are you comfortable?” she asked me. I was certainly more than comfortable. I could just see a drop of semen emerging from it. I was fully erect now, but I was holding myself back from wanting to explode. It would certainly help speed this process up, but I didn’t want it to end. She stroked me, harder and faster, her breath quickening.
“Wow,” she exclaimed, “You’re…really hard.” She moved closer to me, her face near mine, the warmth of her body radiating onto me.
I wanted to touch more of her, but I held myself back. Suddenly, we were tangled in an embrace, breathing harder, longing for something. I was just on the edge now, she had me moaning as I was about to give her my sample. But, then she pulled away, and caught herself, as if awakening from a dream. She fixed her hair, tying it up. “God…I am very sorry,” she said, “I don’t know what came over me.” She tried to gather herself, immediately remembering she was a professional. She suddenly seemed stressed.
“It’s alright,” I assured her, and it was. Neither of us had been expecting that to happen, and I wouldn’t have minded if it had happened again.
I was able to finish on my own. The encounter alone was enough for me to provide a fairly large sample for her. I cleaned myself up, and handed her the vial once I stepped out of the room. We both had trouble looking at each other, but I caught a shy smile on her lips as I passed her.
CHAPTER 7: OUTING
JOCELYN
Krult and I didn’t speak about what had happened the other day during our research. I spent the next few nights having trouble sleeping though, the memory of our encounter raced through my mind. I had no idea how I had almost ended up on top of him in the bathroom. It puzzled me that I would even allow myself to get carried away like that. But, I was not ashamed to say I had liked it, although I could never have told Krult. Maybe it was because we were spending so much time together, but I could feel myself wanting to get closer to him. He had been great company while I was working; always making me laugh and telling me stories about Avrox. He was also really sticking out his neck to get me durable materials to work with. It was nice to have someone to care about the work that I was doing. It made me feel as if I was doing something good, not just for Krult, but also for the planet.
We trudged through the tropical jungle, just outside of the clay city. I pulled the tattered cloak that Krult had gifted me, around me. I had had to disguise myself with it as we left his home. If anyone had seen me, it would have meant big trouble for Krult, as they were allowed to test me at any time to see if I was pregnant, which would have instantly halted our research.
The jungle life was incredibly beautiful, and I felt like a kid in a candy store with all the new interesting creatures to study. Krult was more than patient with me as I stopped almost every few seconds just to look at a colorful insect, or the hybrid birdlike creatures that jumped from tree to tree rather than flew. Krult taught me how to bring them closer, by peeling off the bark of the tree and holding it out. He showed me the wild pumpkin shaped fruits that clustered around the trees, a sweet pulpy substance inside them.
He took me to a narrow river, where the flowing water was a deep royal-blue. We knelt down on the side, and Krult stuck his fingers in the water, prodding at a leafy plant that grew on the bank.
“These creatures are cold,” he explained while he searched, “They lay their eggs in the water, as you said. What was the word? Amphibians?” It was actually adorable how he had asked me questions about what I did, and to see his interest in science growing the more time we spent together. He pulled apart a strand of the plant, and small froglike creatures bobbled up and down in the water, a string of their eggs floating with them. I collected several samples, including one of the creatures. Their eyes were large and inky-black in color.
Krult insisted that we do some sightseeing in the jungle. I was not much of one for nature treks, but this wasn’t an average hike. We walked through winding pathways that twisted and turned around royal-blue waterfalls. Krult showed me how to climb the tall trees that had produced the oil he had worn in the arena. We also saw enormous flying birds, Quetsies, which Krult explained were dangerous to Avroxee. He formed a shape with his mouth, and made a terrifying screeching sound, and he taught me how to do the same.
“It’ll scare them away, or anyone away, really,” he said. Every now and then, I’d catch him smiling at me, although he was trying to hide it. Or staring at me, a sense of longing in his eyes, but then he turned away as soon as I noticed, pretending to look at something else.
We ended our trek on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the lush terrain of Avrox. Up in the sky, you could see multiple candy-colored moons, which Krult explained were where his people’s rivals came from. It was crazy to think that somewhere so beautiful could also harbor danger. Krult told me a bit about where he came from, about how his father had also selected a woman from Earth, and that luckily she had been able to carry Krult in her womb.
After Krult was born, his mother had been sent away, and his father had been killed in battle. After some research, Krult had discovered that his mother had been disposed of, and was no longer alive. Krult explained that this was the reason why he was so interested in saving his people. It was because he felt so horrible for what happened to his mother. He didn’t understand why people had to die, without having time to get to know them. The story was heartbreaking to hear, and I wrapped my arm around Krult as he told it.
We sat in silence for a while, letting the jungle sounds fill the holes in our conversation. Finally, I turned to him, and asked something that I’d been yearning to ask all day,
“Are you okay about what happened the other day?” Krult hid a smile and nodded.
“I apologize. I know it must have felt strange for you…since I was not human.” I found myself scooting closer to him on the cliff, my hands now in front of me, were distracted by a pile of smooth pebbles.
“I didn’t mind at all,” I told him gently.
“I was worried you wouldn’t want to spend time with me after that,” Krult explained, “I would have been quite upset if that had happened. Not at you, just at the fact that you wouldn’t be around anymore.”
I hadn’t thought about that, and suddenly I felt sad. What were we going to do, after this experiment was comple
te? I’d never heard of long-distance on a galactic scale before. My heart began to hurt, and suddenly I wished I could pour out my heart to him, and let him know that he had been the most interesting man I’d ever spent time with.
“Krult?” I asked, suddenly nervous. His ears pricked up , waiting eagerly for me to ask another question I’d been longing to ask.
“Pardon me for asking, but what is sex like for an Avroxee?” I finally said. Krult leant back, thinking.
“There’s not much feeling, honestly. Avroxee are taught to stifle those feelings at a young age. Perhaps once or twice when I mated, I may have felt something else. But, we all understand that mating is our duty, and thus, we have no emotional attachment to our mates.”
This saddened me. Did that mean he didn’t feel anything the other day? When it was just the two of us? I felt too frightened to ask, and he saved me by asking,
“What is it like on Earth?”
I racked my brain, for any sexual encounters I had experienced on Earth, but there weren’t any.
“I wouldn’t know,” I explained, trying to mask my disappointment. I felt left out, maybe even a little jealous. Even if Krult had only mated strictly for reproduction, he still knew what the experience was like. However, I still wanted to help him understand. “Sex for humans…it’s a little more complicated. Not biologically, but we’re a very emotional people. We attach emotions to sex, and we like to get to know someone first, beforehand, to establish some sort of trust I guess.”
“Like Avroxee. We select mates too, based on their qualities and what we know about them,” Krult added.
“Yes,” I said, “well, kind of. Humans, we like to form bonds sometimes. You find a partner you’re sexually compatible with, among other compatibilities of course, and you pursue a future together.” This seemed to confuse Krult.
Prisoner of Avrox_Alien Romance Page 3
