by Eric Vall
“You didn’t either,” a small voice yawned from the vicinity of my armpit. Neka sat up and rubbed at her eyes with a closed fist. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were droopy with sleep, but she was so lovely my heart ached. The cat-girl gave another yawn and seemed to wake up a little more, because she blinked her eyes, looked down at me, glanced at Akela, did a double-take back to me, and gasped.
“CT!” she yowled, ear-piercingly loud in the otherwise quiet room. Before I could move a muscle, my assistant collapsed against my chest, her arms attempting to go around my neck as she nuzzled her face against mine and cried.
“Shhh, there there,” I hushed her. I laboriously lifted one of my arms and stroked her hair soothingly. “I’m okay, Neka. It’s okay.”
“I thought you were going to die,” she sobbed. “You collapsed and there was blood all over you!”
“It wasn’t that bad,” I argued weakly. “The Odrine coat took the brunt of it. Heh heh. I remember wanting to tell you how your shopping skills saved my life. Oh! Twice! If you count the Opalks, which I do.”
Neka pushed up off my chest and glared down at me, but the effect was ruined by her watery eyes and the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“This isn’t funny, CT,” she sniffed.
“I know,” I said sincerely and then reached up with the pad of my thumb to wipe away a tear that clung to her eyelashes. “But there’s nothing to cry about. I’m fine, only barely a scratch on me. I won. At least, I’m assuming I won.”
I turned to Akela with a frown. “Did I win? Did I pass the trial?”
The mechanic rolled her eyes but then gave me a soft smile. “Yes, CT, you passed. You slew the Malog and brought it back to the Almort. Those were the conditions of the test, and you completed them. In fact, you actually exceeded them. Omni was able to tell them where the body of the second Malog was, which everyone seemed majorly impressed by.”
“Even though I only actually brought the one Malog back?” I asked, worried about somehow being penalized.
“Yup,” chirped Neka. “The Almort saw it like a bonus! Double the meat!” She licked her lips hungrily at that, and I couldn’t help but laugh, even if it stung a little.
“Remember what U’eh said at the start of the trial?” Akela directed at me. I shook my head because my mind was still too fuzzy to recall anything in clear detail.
“The whole point of this first test,” the mechanic went on, “besides proving how badass or whatever you are, is to demonstrate that you can provide for the people here. You did that twice over, so I’d say you passed with flying colors.”
I dropped my head back onto the pillows with a sigh of relief. “Excellent,” I exhaled. “Does that mean I get to sleep for a week now?” I asked as my eyes began to drift shut again.
The heavy silence that followed, however, caused me to crack open an eye again.
“What?” I asked my crew, who glanced at each other. “What is it?”
“Well, you’ve kind of been asleep for two days already,” Neka informed me as her ears flicked back and forth in worry.
“And the Almort, well U’eh especially,” Akela added, “are anxious for you to continue on to the second trial.”
I groaned and brought a hand up to rub at my face, which still felt a little numb. “How long do I have?”
Neka winced and Akela looked apologetic as she responded, “A few hours? Maybe? They wanted to be notified whenever you woke up.”
“Perfect,” I said with another sigh. I took a deep breath and then moved to sit up. My head swam and my side burned, but only slightly. I waved off Neka and Akela when they protested and tried to get me to lie down again.
“I’m fine, really,” I assured them. “I just need some food and water. I’m not even in that much pain.”
As I said it, I suddenly became curious about my injuries. I wasn’t very coherent after my Malog ultimate showdown, and now the drugs were muting my body’s natural responses. I looked down at my bare chest to find some sort of green poultice adhered to the left side of my ribcage. A few long pieces of what looked like seaweed stretched across it length and widthwise, like strips of tape holding the poultice to my skin. I reached down tentatively and started to peel back one of the corners.
“Hey, wait don’t…” Neka started as she leaned over to stop me. I caught her fingers with my other hand and pressed a gentle kiss to their tips.
“It’s okay, I just want to take a look,” I told her. She pouted but relented.
The poultice came away from my skin easily enough though it did leave a greenish film behind. Beneath it, there was a gash maybe twenty to thirty centimeters long and maybe a few centimeters deep. It looked like a gnarly wound, except the edges were less frayed than a fresh injury typically was. In fact, when I looked closer, the skin had already begun to stitch itself back together, forming a dark, red scab. I poked around my side a little, but other than a slight sting from the cut and the barest of aches from what I had thought was going to be broken ribs, I felt relatively fine.
I looked up at Neka with wide eyes. “What is this stuff?” I asked as I gestured to the poultice. “It’s amazing. It looks like it’s even speeding up my healing process.”
The cat-girl gave an enthusiastic nod of her head. “Slal’ops said it would,” she chirped. “I can’t remember the names of all the things he used, but they have tons of medicinal herbs and stuff. There’s a tribe in the marshlands to the north that are like the doctors of the Almort. They grow and cultivate all the different sorts of medicines, study their effects, and figure out the best way to utilize them.”
“Yeah, they might not have a med-bay with all the latest gadgets,” Akela added, her eyes bright with fascination, “but I think some of their methods and remedies are actually more advanced than all that stuff. From what I’ve seen, their treatments are a lot less invasive, and since all of their ingredients are natural, there are no harmful chemicals involved.”
“Technically,” Omni chimed in with a burst of static, “all known elements in the universe create chemicals. Water is a chemical compound with the formula H2O, for example.” The AI spoke from the speaker built into Akela’s suit since I was, for all intents and purposes besides the blanket draped across my lap, naked.
I rolled my eyes affectionately. “Thanks for the input, O. It’s good to hear your voice now that I’m not fighting for my life.”
“Likewise, Colby,” the AI responded.
“All I’m saying,” Akela interjected, “is that the Almort really seem to pride themselves on their medical prowess, and with very good reason.”
“That is because we consider all life precious.”
Akela whirled around, and I looked up to find Cy’lass and Slal’ops standing in the doorway. The prince and his advisor approached my bedside and inclined their heads in unison.
“I am glad to see you are awake, CccT,” Cy’lass hissed. “The Malog dealt you a fearsome wound.”
Neka glared at me, to which I could only smile apologetically in return.
“It wasn’t so bad,” I dismissed with a wave of my hand. “I’m just glad I passed the trial.”
Something flickered across Cy’lass’s face, and it wasn’t bioluminescent lights. It looked almost like relief.
“Yes,” the prince responded. “We are glad as well.”
Slal’ops clicked in agreement.
I wanted to thank them for their help, for all those clues they’d given me that helped me survive, but something about their expressions stopped me. I also remembered Sef’sla’s words to me from the feast now a few days passed, “You must win or lose on your own merit.”
If those were the rules of the Akornath, Cy’lass, his sister, and his advisor had all stuck their necks out for me. I wished I knew how to repay them.
“So,” I started when the silence in the room stretched too long, “are you here to escort me to the next arena?”
I meant it as a joke but alarm appe
ared in the eyes of the Almort males.
“What CT means,” Akela added, also seeing the confusion in their eyes, “is when the next trial is set to begin.”
“Oh,” Cy’lass clicked and then dipped his head. “I misunderstood, forgive me. The second trial actually must be given during the dawning hour, as you will have until sunset to complete it,” the prince informed me. “And since today’s dawn is less than an hour away…” He trailed off.
Out of the frying pan, into a coma, and back into the fire. Seemed about right.
I sighed and nodded in consent. “Just let me get dressed,” I told them, and then looked around with a frown. “Actually, where are my clothes?”
“Couldn’t the trial wait a day?” Akela asked Cy’lass as she ignored my question. “CT only just woke up, he hasn’t even had time to eat.”
“We shall provide him with food and water on the way to see my father, but I’m sorry,” the prince told the mechanic, and he did seem genuinely regretful. “Once begun, the Akornath must continue. CT was unconscious for two days due to his injuries from the first trial. He was allowed time to heal, but that period has come to an end. He must begin the second trial by dawn, or he fails.”
“I get it.” I nodded in grim understanding and responded before Akela or Neka could argue further. “I’m ready.”
Cy’lass inclined his head, and then Slal’ops stepped forward and set a bundle a fabric down beside me. It was an odd combination: an old pair of black pants that had been at the bottom of my dresser on the ship, and an Almort undergarment, and a thin Almort tunic in navy blue. I looked up in confusion at Cy’lass.
“Was my flight suit badly damaged?” I asked. I had just started to get comfortable in the gray and black colors.
The prince shook his head, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze. His shiftiness made me hyper-focused. Was this another clue?
“It is fine,” Cy’lass replied. “However, for this trial, you may not use the assistance of your machine, and he is tied to your suit, correct?” He gestured to Akela. “Your machine healer explained it to us, mostly, that first day on the beach.”
I winced. Did that count as cheating? No one had said anything before the first trial. I mean, I knew I wasn’t supposed to have outside help, but they let me wear the suit, anyway.
“He is,” I told him, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Akela shoot me a look. “And I understand.”
I tied the blanket around my waist like a towel and stood up with my hand outstretched to Cy’lass. “Thank you,” I said to him sincerely, and when he cautiously slid his hand into mine, I grasped it firmly and looked him dead in the eye. “For everything,” I added seriously. I hoped he understood me.
The prince stood there for a moment, and he blinked his two sets of eyelids. “You are welcome,” he hissed, and by the way he squeezed my hand, I think we understood each other. “We will wait for you in the hall.”
The two Almort inclined their heads one last time and slipped out the door, leaving my crew and I alone again. I sighed but immediately bent down to pull the new underwear and my old pants up underneath the towel. I hissed as my side smarted, but I was able to do dress myself without anything embarrassing happening.
As I let the towel drop to the floor, Neka cleared her throat behind me. I glanced over to see both my assistant and mechanic blushing. Akela had her arms crossed in front of her with her elbows cupped in each palm and she kept her eyes averted to the opposite wall. Neka had her hands clasped in front of her and she bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, her ears and tail a twitching mess, but her eyes met mine directly. There was apprehension in her gaze, and I frowned as I turned to face them fully.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in concern.
The cat-girl’s eyes darted from me to Akela. The mechanic hunched her shoulders until they almost touched her ears, but she gave a sharp nod of her head as if to answer some unanswered question of Neka’s. My assistant then turned back to me, and I was really starting to get worried when her ears went flat against her head.
“Um,” she started hesitantly. Her face was bright red now. “We, and um, by we I m-mean A-Akela and I, we wanted… to talk to you about… something.”
I hadn’t heard the cat-girl stutter like that since we first met, and that was because no one had ever given her a kind word before.
I glanced at the mechanic, but she still wouldn’t look at me. The blush had spread down her neck and back up to her ears, the tips like crimson cherries.
“And what’s that?” I asked hesitantly. Were they going to ask me to drop out of the trials again? Why were they so red?
Neka’s ears drooped, and she kicked at the floor with her shoe. “We had hoped we’d have more time before the second trial,” she pouted at the ground. “To, um… to talk about this properly.” She sighed deeply, and beside her, Akela scrubbed first at the shorn half of her head, her favorite nervous gesture, and then at the bridge of her nose.
“Okay, you guys are starting to scare me,” I said as I took a step closer to them. “Will you please just tell me what’s wrong?”
I had a split second irrational terror they were going to inform me that Akela had decided to go home, and that Neka had decided to go with her because they were fed up with me and my reckless antics. I opened my mouth to argue, but Neka beat me to it.
“We love you,” the cat-girl blurted, and then her eyes went wide like she couldn’t believe she had said that.
Well, that made two of us.
I stood there and gaped at her. I wondered if I had heard her wrong, if I had a concussion, if I was actually in a coma and dreaming, but as the moment dragged on, I felt the air saw in and out of my lungs when I took a ragged breath, I felt my heart slam against my ribcage, hard and loud and grounding, and I realized this had to be real.
“W-wha?” I asked very articulately. Half my brain screamed at me to form sentences and the other half, the half that seemed to control speech and higher motor functions, felt like it was on fire.
Neka bit her lip and looked to Akela again. The mechanic, this time, actually turned to face me, even if her eyes didn’t rise farther than my chin.
“Did the Malog mess up your hearing, too?” the silver-haired woman muttered. Her eyes flickered up to mine for just an instant, and in them, I saw fear, anxiety, but also… hope.
“No, I-I heard her,” I stammered, but then looked between the two women in bewilderment. “I’m just… confused? I mean, of course, I l-love both of you as well. You both mean a lot to me. You’re the best crew and, honestly, friends I could ask for.” I cringed at the way my voice cracked. Very smooth.
“No, stupid, that’s not what she meant,” Akela sighed. The mechanic took a deep breath and forced herself to meet my eye. Under all the fear and that flicker of hope shone that familiar glint of determination in those amethyst depths.
“She meant we’re… we’re in love with you, okay?” Akela went on. “The both of us. We thought you were going to die, and we talked about it, and there might have been Opalks juice involved, but we came to the conclusion that we’re both in love with you, and it’s super not the best time for this, but we couldn’t wait until after the next trial, and we just… wanted to let you know.”
Akela seemed to realize she had been rambling because her mouth clicked shut, and she dropped her eyes to the ground again, her entire face nearly neon pink.
“And also ask if you maybe felt the same?” Neka added hesitantly. My eyes went back to my assistant, who had hunched in on herself, her innocent, hopeful eyes the largest part about her.
I honestly think my jaw scraped the floor at this point. I could probably fit a Malog in there whole. Every neuron in my brain misfired at once, and all I could do was look between Neka and Akela and wonder how this could actually be real life.
I mean, I wasn’t stupid, no matter what Akela said about me. I wasn’t blind either. From the first moment I met both women, I had recognized how beautiful, ho
w heart-stoppingly gorgeous actually, they were. It’s fair to say it was attraction at first sight.
However, Neka had needed more help than a hook-up when we first met, and I’d never wanted to take advantage of the slight cat-girl like every other man had before me. I let the years go by, our relationship undisturbed, because of this fear.
Akela, on the other hand, was a new business partner, a crew member, and I didn’t want to be unprofessional.
But I would be lying if I said I’d never thought about it. If I didn’t relish the contact when Neka pressed herself against me in a hug or when Akela leaned close enough for me to smell the sweet scent of her that was always underlain with a faint whiff of motor oil. They were the first thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning and the last thing I thought of before I fell asleep at night. All I wanted was to make them happy, keep them safe, and see them smile at me, unworried and unrestrained.
A deep part of me had known I loved them, but pushed the thought away, always worried about the next problem, the next obstacle, and the fear that they could never return my feelings.
Yet, here they were, doing just that.
And I was ruining it.
As I came out of my reverie, I realized I had been silent for too long. The hope was nothing but an ember in the two women’s eyes, and both of them seemed to shrink into themselves, even the strong, resilient, Akela. My heart in my throat, I blurted out the first words I could get lined up on my tongue.
“Me too.” I burst out, and my voice seemed overly loud in the still and quiet room. The women blinked in unison that ember of hope flaring brightly. “I love you-you both, too.”
I made eye contact with Neka and took a deep breath. The words came more easily now. “I-I always have, I guess, I just didn’t know if you could ever want that, and I didn’t want to make things awkward.”
I looked over at Akela. “And I didn’t want to move too fast. I would never want to make you uncomfortable. I would never want to make either of you uncomfortable, but now I don’t know what to do.” I looked at them helplessly, my heart a mess of conflicting emotions. “I don’t think I can choose one of you.”
