Colliding worlds [Alezander & Hideki] (Private)

[Alezander]

It took him a few moments to realize that it was the general and CHRC's chief investigator who had taken the trouble of visiting the colonel in such an hour, and to be accompanied by a number of men too. The general had come to say that daddy was putting his foot down and that little Adam shouldn't run around causing trouble anymore.

 

But this is a rare chance, he thought. If I try petitioning here, this dismal man may just turn his head around. Although I highly doubt that would happen.

 

"With all due respect, Sir, I never mentioned anything about a genocide. Who said that the locals would be defenseless? Do you underestimate the Neronians that much? Look at us humans, with our relatively clumsy physiques, unfamiliarity of the land, limited resources, territory and men. Do you really think that an entire planet's worth of inhabitants would be easily wiped out by a mere handful of humans? If so, I shudder at the thought that you and the CHRC plan to assimilate such weaklings with us humans. Declaring war against the natives, this is not the result of vain arrogance. The Neronians are magnificent people, in my opinion. The very idea that they are so similar yet very different from us makes me want to challenge them. I look at the Vintars and my blood boils at the thought of having my skull crushed by their powerful hands, or my throat ripped by their beautiful friend the amicus. I wonder about these things as I lay in bed to sleep. Don't you, General? Ah, but you probably think of which pair of socks to wear the next day before going to sleep."

 

If Adam initially planned to politely explain his views about the colonization process to the general, then he could throw that intention away. The colonel was going all-out with his affront words and he was nowhere near finished.

 

"General, you don't run a place if all you ever do is keep people in line. Classifying Neronians as humans in an attempt to protect them from your own fellowmen is what I'd call arrogance. You actually think you are in the position to protect a proud people? Besides, if I was a Neronian, why would I call myself the very thing that tried to steal my planet from me? If we make war on them right now, both humans and Neronians have a chance. Aren't sports meant to be that way? Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If we lose, we leave and visit another planet. If we win, their resources are ours for the taking, gained fair and square, with a little extra of entertainment at the side. Or are you so worried about losing that you don't want to try fighting them in the first place?" The Colonel smirked and rolled his eyes, finding it ironic. Because if a party is strong and powerful enough to declare the other a subset of itself, then why should the former fear the latter? "They are very smart, you know, those natives and their scholars. And they learn frighteningly fast. So General, why don't you try giving those poor, helpless natives human rights and human technology in exchange for resources? Then we can start talking about genocide. Ours, that is." The Colonel took a breath, for once in his life finding a verbal battle very engaging. He felt himself getting aroused. War and Carlson. These are the two things that could excite Adam to no end. He was aware that he was a pervert for being that way but who cares?

 

"And may I mention that we are assuming the role of colonizers here. We are not here merely to collect resources and bring them back to Earth. We are aiming to move, to live here. For goodness sake, how exactly do we transport the resources? You know on Luna, that is our very own moon, has only only one sixth of the Earth's gravity, that's why lunar rovers are so, so heavy because by the time they are on Luna, they become so light. Neron is the same, although the difference is not that much. But how about the time between planets? The stuff would be juggled here and there. Also, we don't know how stable the properties of these resources are once they are exposed to Earth's atmosphere and gravitational field. We could be unleashing a sort of radioactive virus, a biological catastrophe and then it's good bye for all homo sapiens. That's why it is important that we tame the people here because we'll become neighbors with them very soon. And by the way, a little bird told me that you communicated with the locals using a hologram sometime earlier today, and I think you said that once the Neronians are declared humans, the colonizers will withdraw from the planet completely? I find this contradictory to our purpose here, and impractical, after using up so much budget for this colonization project. But I guess we should protect these soon-to-be humans first before we accommodate the ones back on Earth." Adam knew he was probably digging his own grave here, talking back and being so sarcastic with the General who apparently 'ran the place', but to hell with it. He was used to all these CHRC people getting in the way. The CHRC was like that older brother of UNO, always telling UNO what to do and what not to do. The CHRC did not even bleed a single penny to sponsor the colonization project, and now they expect to have a say. They were just there to yap and complain like they always did. Amusing fellows, really.

 

"But anyway, thank you for welcoming me personally sir. It is an honor to have spoken with you and have my things confiscated like this by you. I am being treated as a pesky threat and that means a lot to me. And I don't have a porn collection since that has been long banned on Earth, and Carlson is here. Have a good night as well, General." Added the Colonel in scripted but genuine humility before closing his door, his heart thrumming in his chest. Challenging someone who he knew was leagues above and more powerful than him, now that was a thrill! Adam found himself fuming and laughing at the same time, unable to get enough of the high he felt. It didn't matter if he was destroyed along the way, so long as he could enjoy more of the risk.

 

"I should get Leeuwen in on this." Muttered Adam as he left his office to barge into Van's, which was on the other side of the Center since military offices and laboratories were on different sides of the building. "Hey Van, about your soldier-"

 

But the Colonel was cut short of his speech when the researcher burst into uncontrolled laughter. Confused, Adam let Van laugh until his face was red as a tomato, clapping his hands like a seal and was hugging his own self, his sides probably hurting. "Are you done?" The military man asked but when the scientist choked out a 'no', Adam casually poured himself coffee, sat in front of his friend and waited.

 

"Having your plans fall even before you've started. Now that is entertainment!" Van said when he had finished and was wiping away tears. "Sorry, I just can't help it when I see your face. Shame shame for Colonel Adam." Jeered the scientist, only showing such an immature side of himself to his friend.

 

"You do realize that I'm not the only one whose plans are halted, right? All your studies are frozen and your fresh samples will spoil. It might be too late to restart your study by the time this glitch with the CHRC gets sorted out." Reminded the Colonel, effectively claiming a concerned twitch from the other. "And we all know how those old geezers up there like to trot around parading their power and prestige, arguing back and forth about a matter that is neither right nor wrong, before settling anything. They like to bask in the attention whenever they can, see. The Fukushiro boy is given four weeks to collect data but I wonder how many years the actual deliberation will take?"

 

"Spit out what you want, Adam." Said Van with a grimace.

 

"Turn off your foot soldier's signal so Gloomy Goldstein can't track her when I order her to rescue the Fukushiro boy. The comms captain, Tayori Kazuhito, you had him place his paper thin communication devices inside the soldier, right?"

 

Van sipped his coffee. "So?"

 

"I'm telling you to work with me here, geez. Turn her off!" Adam stood, his temper rising by the second.

 

"There's nothing in it for me. If I turn her off while you set her loose, I can't monitor her and I get no data. It will be a waste of time for me and risking my name is not my idea of getting off. Lastly, what do you hope to accomplish by bringing Fukushiro here? Or wherever you want to rendezvous for that matter?" The scientist said this coolly although he himself was becoming agitated the longer they spoke.

 

"He was there when the older Tayori... Tayori Shoumei was killed, right? Seriously these Japanese and their names will twist my tongue off one of these days." The colonel muttered under his breath before getting to his point. "We should get his testimony to counter, to disqualify the Neron locals as humans. Plus we have intel about various brutal killings of our volunteer citizens who have tried living among the natives. Like the pair killed in the Talavarian capital, the ones stripped and had their heads smashed in like watermelons. They even took your uncle-"

 

"Alright. Shut the fuck up, Adam."

 

The colonel stopped talking immediately. The scientist rarely cursed and more scarcely was he ever angry. Adam might have gone over the line with that one, mentioning the disappearance of Van's uncle.

 

"I see your point. You want to glamorize these inhumane acts and put them on media and have Earth's citizenry protest against the CHRC to not allow the Neronians, those brutes, to be called humans and to enjoy human rights, unless they pay and change their ways. Correct?"

 

"Yes." Adam answered meekly while the other stood and got to his computer. The military man watched as Van turned vision input off, auditory input off, vital monitors off, somatosensory monitors off, brain wave monitors off. After that, everything about the Egg was also turned off and the numerous pulses displayed on the scientist's monitor had all become flat lines.

 

"You won't be able to control the Egg remotely. Your only connection left with her is the Morse messaging and the call function. Her ganglia implant will do the rest." Van turned his chair to face his friend. "Tell Kazuhito to give you your comm implants tomorrow."

 

"Right." Adam only said, feeling slightly awkward since he sort of pushed the other to his position by mentioning his lost uncle. "Thank-"

 

"Don't you gross me out by thanking me." The scientist interrupted, stretching as he stood. "Just get the hell out. I want to sleep."

 

[Talavarian village]

 

"He was angry. Did I want to die like his brother, he said." Answered Merlin when Kjartan asked about Kazu. It might have been the first time that Kjartan asked about the person on the other end of Merlin's communicating device and it felt weird, as if the world where Kazu and Kjartan lived should never collide. One was a colonizer and the other was... What was Kjartan again? A spy? A warrior? Would he one day walk among the Neronian soldiers and raise his weapon against the humans? Whatever he was, Merlin was the only thing between them. "I don't know what exactly the plans are. But I'm sure there will be an announcement of some sort. Neron won't be destroyed without you being able to defend it first. Our military wouldn't be so cruel."

 

I think.

 

Only then did Merlin become aware that Kjartan had his arms around him. Realizing this pained Merlin's heart, because Merlin had many things he held dear. One of them was Kjartan, no doubt. But the said Aeternumi was tight on his beliefs. His words came harsh and cynically bitter as he spoke about the Cheraki. In the past, he had spoken of the Cheraki's religious crimes and each time he does, he does so with fixed contempt. And yet he could wrap his arms around a person, stroke someone's hair, and smile gently when Merlin woke up. These two contradicting sides of Kjartan are both sincere and equally real.

 

Like Janus. Someone with two faces.

 

If it were some other time, if it were someone else, Merlin would have ignored his words, brushed them off as irrelevant. But this was Kjartan, and to Merlin, his opinion mattered a lot. With his face getting hot, the human's expression grew adamant. The human steeled himself. Today he would say what he truly felt.

 

"About earlier, I'm sorry if I displease you or turn you off in any way, but I just need to get this off my chest. The Cheraki you talk about, the evil, self righteous ones, the ones strutting around with superior complexes? They are the Cheraki's priests, and they were chosen for the role they play because they qualify as the 'most despicable of Cheraki men to ever exist'. They serve as priests to better themselves until such time, when they have ripened and lost their blanket of selfishness, they retire and live in peace. The side that you have seen of these so-called elitist monsters you talk about is the worst of them. Have you seen their children, Kjartan? They are darlings, I tell you. Lovely little angels. Have you seen their farmers, their minstrels and artisans? Have you met their High Priestess? I don't mean to justify the heinous crimes they have committed to Lyars in the past or even now, but I think you like to pretend that you completely understand them just because you know how wicked their priests can get. Of course, if you think I'm a stubborn, nosy human for saying all this shit, go ahead and think of me that way all you want. If you like generalizing people so much, I won't stop you. Although I'll let you know that I'm disappointed. I know for myself that Kjartan the Aeternumi is a very kind person, even though I know you have done your share of bad. But you've saved me and helped me so many times. The part of you that is good and the part of you that is bad is both real. They are both sincere and true. But here," Merlin paused to stab an index finger in the part of Kjartan's chest where the local's heart would be. "Here lacks emotion, empathy, acceptance. Do you know what it feels like to be constantly bullied by your surroundings, Kjartan? I do. My mother used to do that to me all the time. She treated me like an object for my entire life just because she could and that she was my provider. My father who could have done better, chose to turn away and shut his mouth for god knows until when. He's was never harsh to me but he never helped me either. And you know what? I got so tired of all their shit that I ran away to here, to Neron. The Cheraki feel the same way, because their fellow Neronians always, always... always push them away. And they push back too. Then you push, then they push. Again and again. Until they've become strangers in their own planet. Aren't you guys tired of it? You may think me judgemental and naive for thinking this, but you aren't being very fair either, Kjartan."

 

The human caught his breath, trying to regain his composure. Merlin did not know he was capable of feeling so much frustration until today. But now that he had started, he could not stop himself anymore. Perhaps the idea of not seeing eye to eye with someone he considered special ticked Merlin off. There was a bitter aftertaste in his mouth now that he had even talked about his wreckage of a relationship between him and his parents. Pulling his hand back, the human then spoke tiredly. "It was no brainer that the people you are so fond of calling religious maniacs turned to us when we humans landed. They got fed up with such a toxic environment. Such a shame. And Neron is so beautiful too. You Neronians are so lucky to have a lovely planet. Back on Earth, we destroyed most of everything until all that is left is a community of superficially happy people. The media call Earth the long awaited utopia, because we have enough usable energy due to trappings from the Casimir effect, but I have always thought of it as a tragedy. Everyone has grown so lethargic, just living happily until they die. Like livestock."

 

"And, not to be rhetorical or anything, but how is it that even though Aeternum has already subjugated the Cheraki, these violent acts you talk about are still being performed? There are no warriors or fighters among the Cheraki. Surely it is an easy task for Aeternumi soldiers to lock them up to stop them, or punishing them such as imposing a higher tax rate or something. Blunter still, Aeternum could have forcefully stripped them of their religion already. Why have you not done this yet? Why has Aeternum allowed them to commit their acts then complain later only after the deed is done? I don't understand this." Merlin shook his head, aware that he was attacking the Aeternumi in front of him just to vent. Childish, but effective. The human felt the fire in his chest extinguish and he was left with a numb feeling inside, and he could not meet Kjartan's eyes anymore.

 

Did I make sense? My voice cracked somewhere there. I wonder, does he even care?

 

Then from a bedroom out burst a cyan haired Talavarian, one that Merlin easily recognized although he did not know his name. During the short time when he served as a teacher, the farmer would not let his eleven year old niece join classes and would never respond to Merlin's greetings. It's hard not to recognize someone like that.

 

After him followed the Aeternumi that had been fighting with Kjartan when Merlin woke up. His intense gaze burned Merlin, but all the human could think was "Sure, I'm angry right now too. Bring it on and burn me all you want!" And Merlin glared at the Aeternumi soldier back.

 

And how dare you kiss Kjartan, Merlin was pettily adding in his mind as an afterthought when a remote hologram equipped communicator broke its way inside through the window and there appeared General Goldstein who Merlin knew but saw his face for the first time today, his twin Dr. Goldstein, and Captain Carlson. They told the soldiers everything that Kazu already updated Merlin on, except for the part that actions to null UNO's plan to wage war were taken. And the part that the CHRC planned to declare Neronians as humans. And Merlin was the one responsible for making that happen.

 

Oh boy.

 

This role of investigator is way too heavy for me, Merlin thought later that evening when the soldiers had settled and he was left alone. Dinner was weird as always and was begrudgingly served by an awkward Talavarian soldier to the human.

 

Night in the Talavarian village was virtually the same as before. The evening air was soothingly cold, the trees and their leaves whispered secrets among themselves and numerous Lumis wandered and floated about, looking like unbound spirits winking each other goodnight. During such a night, Shoumei would loaf around the back porch of his house while Merlin and Pretty worked to clean everything inside after they finished dinner. He would start whistling a tune as he started to carve something, an easy and contented smile on his face. Merlin felt a forgotten emptiness fill his chest as he remembered how the night blanketed Shoumei's carefree form as Merlin himself looked out from the window of the room where he was being kept by the burly soldiers that had driven the Cheraki away from the village.

 

Because Kjartan had assured the human that he was not being kept as a bargaining tool with anyone, and earlier Neron based General Goldstein, that gloomy gaunt man, had given Merlin a direct order to serve as an investigator, gathering proof that Neronians were qualified to be considered 'human'. Merlin should have felt at ease with the position he was at, knowing that he was in no immediate danger at the moment. He had a purpose and was one that would not put the surrounding locals at a disadvantage. But a tiny voice at the back of his head nagged at him, so persistently that in time it grew louder and louder until it dominated there in his head.

 

He did not agree with the CHRC. Try as he might, Merlin simply could not bring himself to agree with what they intended to do. Even on the first day he met Kjartan, Merlin had tried putting up an authoritative front just to emphasize that he wanted the local to use his own language, to act like himself, just as he did among his people. Perhaps this was not the conventional mindset for a human colonizer, but Merlin really believed that the Neronians are their own people and they should not be judged or evaluated in the standards of Earth humans. True, there is a certain satisfaction in obtaining results when the outcome is leaning towards one's preestablished bias, but the pleasure and wonder of studying something that is completely out of someone's grasp is an equally incomparable, indescribable feeling. Merlin wanted to understand Neron and its inhabitants in their own terms for they had an identity that they should preserve. Merlin felt this way not only towards the people inhabiting Neron, but generally towards Neron's entirety. It was just semantics anyway, but it mattered a great deal to the teal eyed human nevertheless. It was like the drama of the classification of light. Classically, light has been treated as a wave, however in modern physics the understanding surfaced that light was capable of displaying particle like properties. This duality was contradictory, but science grew to accept that light was neither wave nor particle. Light was just... light.

 

The Neronians deserve a class of their own. This was Merlin's conclusion. He understood that the possibility of a war breaking out was at most riding on his ability to gather the needed proof to support the integration of Neronians in the Earth human populace. Despite his unwillingness, Merlin knew he had to do it. It was not like he could refuse orders, could he?

 

What do they want me to do anyway? I'm just a scientist. From a biological standpoint, they do have humanoid frames, but their genetic coding is definitely different. Should I study their diet, their social interactions, behavioral tendencies? Psychology? I'm a frigging scientist! What sort of evidence do they want from me?

 

Merlin let out a long, long sigh. The back of his eyes burned as if he had been exposing them too much. Maybe he was. "Let's take a walk." The human said to himself before climbing out directly from the window and landing on the bare soil, realizing that this was exactly where he had been hiding with Sephir when Kjartan and the others had just set foot in the village. Without really thinking where he was headed, Merlin started walking towards his house, the one that the villagers gifted to him. It was to the direction of the river and as his soft footsteps padded across beds of fallen leaves, Merlin felt the wind brush his face. The human met with some of the soldiers on patrol and after a twitch of instinctual panic, Merlin greeted them with a "good evening" and a smile on his face, remembering that he was no longer a captive or whatever he was, but rather an investigator of their qualifications. They were not so enthusiastic in their response but they did give a curt nod and carried past the human with somewhat discomfort on their faces, like finding themselves being evaluated by a human, and soon to assume the identity of a 'human' was not the most enjoyable experience.

 

Well of course it wouldn't be.

 

How would you feel if you were told to ditch the name your parents gave you and start calling yourself by the name of the person you hate the most? Nothing would really change, true. But the sentiment would.

 

"Like stoic wolves... shaking paws for a truce." Commented Merlin into the night in a singsong, wondering just exactly where the colonization process on Neron was headed. If Merlin himself was a local, he would not be exactly pleased that aliens were strutting around like they owned the place. Curious and fascinated, yes, but not pleased.

 

"It's amazing no revolt has broken out yet." The human said this as finally his house sprang into view, its state still pristine as it was made slightly separate from most of the other houses and hence protected it from the fire that spread during the night when Shoumei died. "You look just the same. Perhaps I will stay here tonight." Merlin was talking to the building like it was his friend as he took off his sandals and threw himself on the wooden porch and lay there with his limbs all spread out. "Oh, maybe Kjartan will get in trouble if I suddenly disappear from the village center. He's the one who brought me there after all." The human mumbled as he realized this and sat up, but then not a second later dropped his torso yet again to lie down. "Let him get in trouble. We don't get along well anyway. I don't care what happens to him anymore. I don't care who he kisses anymore." Merlin uttered the words carelessly to himself, knowing he did not really mean it. Of course he cared, but Kjartan didn't need his care anyway. That guy is so fixated on something else that having a weak human hate on him must be a load off his shoulders, Merlin thought.

 

"I'll give up on him. Kjartan will never understand. He never tries and he never will."

 

The evening was full of the night sounds of Neron and while Merlin lay there closing his eyes and listening to them, there was the sound of clawed feet scuffling on wood which stood out from the other sounds and when Merlin opened his eyes, there was his plysch. The sight of his furry friend distracted Merlin from his thoughts and he called out to the creature, but Yuuko the plysch only looked at the human. Chuckling to himself, the human took it upon himself to close the distance between them.

 

"You are still the same. Minimizing energy use, are you. Making me do all the work, huh?" Muttered Merlin as he stroked the soft fur. "You're like Kjartan. You keep making me want to understand you even though you probably won't let me. So aloof. Dropping your cool once in a while won't hurt, you know?"

 

The plysch's yawn was contagious as the human yawned himself, suddenly feeling so sleepy. Carefully, he picked up his furry friend and tucked himself beside the creature in his bed. Because Merlin was in a hurry to pack his things when he planned to evacuate with the Cheraki, he left his bed, his pillows and beddings as is, that even his curtains were still up. It was like nothing changed, like no one died or anything.

 

That night, Merlin dreamed of Kjartan for the first time. The human could not possibly mistake those slanted, elongated ears for anyone else's, nor would he for those pair of disarming grey eyes and that familiar smirk on his lips. As he was vaguely aware that he was in a dream, Merlin stared at the other's handsome face for as long as until he could hear nothing else but the thundering of his heart in his ears. The dream-Kjartan stared back and gave Merlin a smile that was kind yet not devoid of his inherent Neronian cockiness. 'Do you hate me?' Merlin asked the other but the human was denied of an answer, so Merlin was compelled to ask another question. 'Then, do you like me?'

 

When Merlin woke the next day, it was nearly noon as he could tell from the brightness outside, and from the noise of the Talavarian villagers doing their daily chores and work, and the sound of soldiers patrolling about here and there. Yuuko the plysch was already sitting on Merlin's face, suffocating the human. So although he did not feel like getting up, Merlin did so if he wanted to breathe again. "I should probably start gathering evidence just as I am ordered. Four weeks is hardly enough but I'll collect as much information as I can."

 

He bathed and cleaned his teeth, raked fingers through his hair and changed his clothes. There were still some of Shoumei's hand-me-downs, but Merlin chose to wear the Cheraki clothes given to him by Kanta when he was still teaching the children with her. "Wait. What am I doing, provoking the very people I'll be studying like this." He shook his head and was about to strip the clothes off but then he paused. Why did he have to tiptoe around them for wearing the clothes that a friend gave him? It was like he was in first grade again, when Merlin had to hide from his mother the popsicle stick of the ice cream he had eaten with a friend on his way home from school. He hid it because he wanted to hold onto it, but his mother found it and broke it in half. The next day, he learned that his friend had moved three prefectures away.

 

I had no control back then. That woman would always be pulling my strings without my knowing. Merlin thought as he decided to wear the Cheraki clothes and stepped out of his house with a flourish. "I should be proud I befriended those evil, self righteous, religious maniacs." The human said with a hint of sarcasm to no one in particular, making his way to the village center yet again. The researcher had decided to apologize to Kjartan for the things he said yesterday, although he had no intention of recanting just to make peace. Merlin had enough of trying to make the Aeternumi understand or at least open his mind.

 

"I'm sorry for being so disrespectful towards you yesterday. You were just stating your opinion and I should have realized that you wouldn't have made such conclusions unless they were well found." Merlin said as soon as he found Kjartan, although the human could not quite meet the other's grey eyes yet. The differences between them was made clear the previous day, add to that the fact that Merlin had a rather perturbing dream about the other. Now that Merlin took care to act distant from Kjartan, he felt more alone than ever in the midst of the Neronians. "But... I'm not taking back what I said. I still think that..." Merlin paused, as he looked around the other soldiers' faces and realized that he was probably the only one who saw things differently just because he was treated well by the Cheraki.

 

In a way, I am being unfair too.

 

"To hell with it." Merlin muttered as he set back outside to interview some of the villagers, as he had planned to just gather whatever information he could before the soldiers travelled to the Talavarian capital with Merlin among them, as the researcher was instructed. But it was so uncomfortable, talking and asking questions to the very people who had rejected everything that Merlin loved about the village, for the Talavarian locals left in this particular village were the ones who refused the Cheraki and hated Shoumei and his seemingly biased beliefs. Merlin scribbled too much useless information in his notebook the entire time he worked just to avoid meeting their eyes. He knew they looked at him with distrust and buried disgust because he was a friend of the Cheraki. They looked at his clothes and muttered among themselves, often forgetting that Merlin was fluent with their language and that he could clearly understand every insult spat at him. It felt heavily like racial discrimination, and for the first time since being in Neron, Merlin felt burdened with the task he was given.

 

Not bothering himself to breakfast came to bite at him by early afternoon, when the sun was high and the heat had eaten away his sweat. Merlin felt dizzy and lightheaded so he sat himself on the riverbank, its usually muddy clay edges now solid and cracked. Merlin found himself watching the other side of the river aimlessly, his mind a boring blank when he should be thrilled to be given such an important assignment, even though it was an assignment he did not want to do. Now as Merlin sat there he spied a momentary glint of light among the branches of the forest at the other side of the river. It was just for an instant, but the human thought he saw a hand. A human hand.

 

Quickly he stood and crossed the river without thought, his teal eyes fixed on the spot where he had seen the pin of light. His sodden robes clung heavily to his skin and were reaching the ground once he was out of the water but Merlin did not notice this and only proceeded towards the thick of the trees. The roar of the river current shushed to a degree and Merlin strained his ears for any sound. Maybe the heat had finally gotten to his head and he had imagined seeing what he had seen, but the human combed the forest as diligently as he could before collapsing on the forest floor. It was as if whatever phantom he was chasing had taken pity on him as a figure stepped out of the shadows and walked up to Merlin's splayed form.

 

"Hey there."

 

Said the something that had just joined Merlin. The tired human looked up and tried focusing his eyes only to find a female's face: almond eyes, a dimple on one cheek, a little fang poking down her plump bottom lip. Merlin noticed she was tanned enough for her skin and eyes to have the same shade, and that her smile was as feisty as the color of her hair, which was the color of overly sweet watermelons harvested in the summer. It was a bright, obstinate red which caught the eyes of everyone who possibly happened to catch a glimpse of it.

 

But more important than that, the researcher noticed that this female was human, an Earth human. Springing up, Merlin stood and dusted himself, only then aware that he was soaking wet and his robes needed more than just washing to be saved. It went without saying that Merlin was thrilled to meet a new face, and a human at that. It felt like a thousand yesterdays since he had seen another Earthling except for that weirdo Shoumei. With his face lightened up, Merlin introduced himself a bit too enthusiastically.

 

"Hello, lady. My name is Merlin Fukushiro. I am an assistant researcher here on Neron. I came to this planet aboard the third colonizing ship, the Dairo. I'm-"

 

"Hungry, I suppose?" Interrupted the woman as she offered her hand and Merlin took it for a handshake. "I have food with me if you'd like. Will you have some, Merlin?"

 

Merlin's body was honest and his stomach growled in confession, but the woman was overly friendly and she just suddenly appeared on the grounds surrounding the village, plus she was human. This was not coincidence. No matter how Merlin was excited to become acquainted, prudence pulled him back. Even children understood not to follow or take candy from strangers. The situation was no different. The female read this on Merlin's face in about a second, and so she only gave the wary researcher an amused smirk which deepened her dimple and raised her eyebrows, and trudged away confidently as if she knew that Merlin would follow her no matter what.

 

Whoever taught her how to deal with Merlin knew him well. The researcher could never resist his curiosity for long and his stomach was growling in shameless demand for food. So Merlin did as was expected of him and after walking so far downstream that only smoke coming out from the houses were left of the village, the woman stopped in front of a tree which bordered a small clearing. Merlin was no expert but he could somewhat recognize territorial markings on the bark shaped like the claws of a large animal. But Merlin saw no signs of heavy paw prints, bent leaves in the path or broken branches.

 

"Mimicry. So that animals and locals won't disturb the place. You made those markings." Merlin said his observation aloud, earning a nod from his companion.

 

"You have good eyes. I had to bury this large contraption here but then it would be a sitting duck and I could not afford losing my ride to those hotblooded natives." The female pressed a remote button which was hidden beneath the sleeve of her body suit which she wore. There responded a rumbling on the ground to their left and in precisely half a minute later, there was the full sized version of the Egg which had efficiently dug itself out of the soil from three feet below while barely disturbing the soil surrounding it. Merlin stared at the eight feet tall soldier carrier which he couldn't have not recognized. The researcher swallowed, because he had suspected who the lady was as soon as he saw her, but he hoped that she was not who he thought she was, because that would mean that there was trouble at the human's colonizing base. But now here was the Egg and there was no one else in this universe who should be able to use it. Which only meant one thing.

 

"Yes, I am the neurologically altered Earth human, pilot of the first and most probably only Egg. Call me Mekhala." Announced the female soldier before she suddenly pulled Merlin by his wrist and pushed him inside the Egg. Merlin had been dazed in admiration of the carrier's construction that he could not react on time, and before he knew it, he was locked inside. He knew he was being locked because the inside of the Egg came to life and the computer's voice informed him that the Yolk will fill the chamber soon. Merlin panicked. He had the feeling that he was going to be taken away. By kidnapping the assigned investigator of the Neronian's qualifications to be called humans, those humans itching to wage war against the Neronians would basically be making a statement: that they were going against CHRC's wishes. Merlin would not allow it, because it would solidify the rift between UNO and CHRC. Merlin could not allow it.

 

"M-Mekhala!" He shouted as his hands busily typed on the screen, attempting to unlock the Egg from inside. "The Yolk is coming! I'll drown!" Merlin made up the excuse but Mekhala only chuckled and knocked on the Egg separating them. "Calm down, Merlin. There's the helmet, right? Wear it." She instructed. But I want to be released, Merlin screamed in his head.

 

"But-"

 

"Wear it."

 

Merlin fell silent, feeling cold all of a sudden when the female ordered him in a firm, indifferent tone. It almost reminded Merlin of how his mother used to talk to him. Without further protest, Merlin took the helmet and wore it just as the Yolk rose past his chin, and then he was completely submerged. A moment later tiny needles pushed themselves in his neck and started pumping nutritious fluids into his body. The empty pit in the researcher's stomach faded and he felt relaxed but completely awake.

 

Narcotics and dopants, Merlin hypothesized as he tried figuring out what exactly comprised the Yolk. But constant intake of the drugs could ruin the soldier and cause her to fall into coma or shock from hypersensitivity. It was a soup too self destructive on the long run. Could the scientists back on Earth really be using something so dangerous? And to use it on the soldier carrier which was supposed to be mass produced and used by many foot soldiers? It was too ugly to think about that Merlin shook his head to will his thoughts away.

 

"You were hungry, right? Sorry it's not real food." Mekhala gave Merlin a full smile once he was out. "Now you realize how much your expertise on hibernation fluids is needed. The Yolk is still in shit stage. But I won't have to worry about becoming a drug addict once you balance the whole thing out." But Merlin was not listening because suddenly he felt like the Earth he believed in was actually more sinister than he used to think.

 

"Merlin?" The female soldier waved a hand in front of the researcher, looking sheepish. "Sorry for being so rough with you earlier. Actually I was given orders to rescue you, kidnap you if I must. I could, but I don't think that bringing you back to base does not exactly equal rescuing you." She sat with her back to the tree with a troubled look on her face and her lips tight on the corners. "I'm sure you already know that this is my supposed test run if the CHRC didn't intervene. I've never been set loose on Neron soil before and I can't figure out yet which things are mine to decide from those that were prearranged by Colonel Wyld. It's disorienting to say the least."

 

Merlin watched her closely as she spoke. Sitting beside her and hugging his knees close to his chest, the researcher pointed out one thing. "Most of your fellow soldiers think that your rights as a person were violated the moment you had the artificial ganglia implant." Then Merlin paused because he was not sure how he would handle it if Mekhala turned out be unwilling and that the implant was done forcefully. It was Brenweilla's research after all. Merlin could not help but feel discomfort if his wife's research ruined someone's life.

 

"No worries. Dr. Van gave me a choice. I have no family and my best friend was among those killed when a petty riot broke out with the locals. That was last year. I've been alone in this entire universe since last year. Merlin can you imagine?" Mekhala turned to face the researcher, her eyes rimming red as if she was nearly bursting in bottled anger. "I want to have an excuse to kill as many Neronians as I want. I want to watch their heads fall one by one. They say I was stripped of my rights? Hah! I was given the best previlege ever! But I can't act on my own since I am made to follow orders and to carry them out even if it costs me my life. Have you read about butlers, Merlin? Well, the practice of keeping butlers is obsolete on Earth for nearly two hundred years now, but that's just what I am. Right or wrong, I do as my master tells me or in my case, my colonel, without question. I'm just a butler who can fight and kill. Whoever said that butlers had their human rights violated in the past? I am willing and that's that." Then Mekhala gestured that Merlin lean close so she could whisper. "Plus there's this one bonus, Merlin, but it can only work once. If I ever committed a crime that is so, so wrong that the only punishment would have to be the death penalty, then at that moment, I could just blame the Colonel and get away with it. Since he's my master and all."

 

Merlin's drew back and stared at her with so much conflicting feelings. When she started talking about herself, he tried empathizing with her, especially because Shoumei died so recently too. Then Merlin understood that she had the right to be angry and to seek revenge, but when she talked about killing the locals, Merlin shuddered, because she spoke like she meant to kill indiscriminately. Innocent or guilty, she'd kill a Neronian if she was given a chance. Then that part about betraying the colonel...

 

She's crazy. Mekhala is crazy.

 

"Crazy right? But that was just a thought, a little loophole I found. I would never do that, of course. I kill when I'm told, but that sort of order only comes when I am threatened." Mekhala giggled, now back to her cheery self. It was almost psychedelic, the way she seemed to change personalities so quickly. It was making Merlin dizzy.

 

"I think I should go home now." Merlin said, stepping back and hoping that Mekhala would let him go. "Right. I'll walk you back." She said and wound her arm around Merlin's. He felt himself stiffen for a moment but Mekhala patted him soothingly. The walk back was silent and Merlin was left chanting "She's so abnormal but not at the same time" in his head again and again until at last the village was just at the other side of the river. "See you around, Merlin." The female soldier said, unwound her arm from Merlin's and disappeared into the shadows.

 

Thankfully the river current had calmed by evening and the unusual shallowness made it easy to cross, sparing Merlin's robes from a second wetting. A Talavarian soldier was waiting for the human by his house, looking exhausted and out of breath. He explained that Merlin was to have dinner with the soldiers before abruptly leaving. Merlin watched his leaving back, wondering if he exhausted himself looking for Merlin. Just to invite him, a human, to dinner.

 

"But that can't be." Merlin muttered as he removed his heavy sodden robes and left them to soak in soap. He took a quick bath and changed into a sweatshirt and jeans before going to the village center, where the soldiers' gazes burned holes into him. Merlin had a passing thought that if ever the Neronians were officially recognized as humans, would they wear jeans and shirts like Merlin did? Would Kjartan?

 

He'd look good in form fitting jeans since he has ass.

 

Merlin's mouth flooded with drool which he quickly swallowed as he took his seat, which happened to be between the hotheaded Aeternumi soldier who kept glaring at him, and the cyan haired Talavarian who was good at ignoring Merlin.

 

Good grief. How did I end up here?

 

Merlin's eyes instinctively searched for Kjartan for help but as soon as he spotted the grey eyed Aeternumi, the human hung his head. Dinner was very awkward in Merlin's part and the food was painfully unfamiliar as always, but it felt good to be eating with others, and not alone. Even with Heron's glares and Exan's tendency to pretend that Merlin was not there, as the researcher soon learned their names after having overheard, being with others felt nice. Alcohol was passed around and Merlin, in Japanese custom that it is seemingly rude to refuse, hesitantly had some then soon excused himself, but not after it was announced that the company would leave for the Talavarian capital in two days.

 

"Two days, huh. I can finish profiling everyone here by noon tomorrow so I can prepare my things and say goodbye to Mekhala after that." Merlin planned aloud as he slightly wobbled his way back to his house. His throat demanded water and the human stumbled towards home a little faster, the fact that his plysch had greeted him and climbed to perch on his shoulder told him that he was almost to his house. Once inside, Yuuko insisted that Merlin feed him first and kept nipping on the researcher's ear.

 

"Stop it. What, you're so lazy that you don't even get your own food anymore?" Merlin nagged his furry friend despite giving the animal exactly what it wanted. "I thought you were supposed to be self sufficient like Kjartan." The researcher mumbled nonchalantly as he fell himself to his bed after he had drunk some water. The human had been drifting nearly to sleep when his communication chip crackled alive and then came Kazu's voice.

 

"Merle."

 

 

There was a noticeable pause from the other end where Merlin could somewhat hear his friend breathing heavily. Merlin was immediately worried, but it seemed like Kazu was only sighing because he spoke not long after.

 

"Merle, about last time, I'm sorry I raised my voice. I know you don't like that because it reminds you of your mother, but that time I was just so high strung and I vented it out on you."

 

Merlin tapped, glad that they made up. They always did. But then a long silence followed with only Kazu's breathing filling it.

 

"Yeah? Of course I am." He sounded out of breath which convinced Merlin that he was not telling the truth. Merlin thought this weird but decided not to pry if Kazu himself did not want Merlin to know.

 

 

"Sorry again?" Kazu chuckled.

 

 

"Don't worry about that idiot. His observation papers he sent to base before his kamikaze mission arrived yesterday and for all that valuable information, he got himself a hero's burial. Nice price for getting his head cut off, I guess. Although I haven't told Ma and Pa yet. UNO will probably do that for me at least."

 

A hero's burial. Was that the consolation, the shining trophy behind living among locals for years before finally getting killed? Was it worth it? Merlin wondered, although he was certain that such a superficial celebration could not have been the reward that Shoumei was after. He was sowing seeds, Merlin liked to think. Seeds which would sprout and someday be reaped with careful attention. Seeds that would help the colonization or better, assimilation, in some way.

 

 

"Course not." Came the automatic reply, followed by another silence which stretched longer than the first. More intrigued than earlier, Merlin closed his eyes and concentrated, filtering out Kazu's presently harsh breathing until he could make out a name being repeatedly mumbled.

 

"Merlin."

 

Merlin drew a sharp gasp at the utterance of his given name. He shivered uncontrollably, completely surprised because he would not have expected such a thing. Now that Merlin had figured out what his friend was doing, he could easily distinguish Kazu's soft whispers of Merlin's name in between harsh breaths and badly suppressed moans. With shaky fingers, Merlin tapped out a quick 'goodbye' before ending the call himself.

 

Merlin had to toss and turn and ultimately strangle his pillow before he finally exhausted himself to sleep. For a second time Merlin dreamed of Kjartan, but instead of staring at each other like like last time, they were back in Meran's hut and Merlin had just woken up after his plysch bite. Meran was nowhere to be found and even though Merlin wanted to sit up from his bed of leaves, his dream would not allow him. So Merlin lay there while dream-Kjartan wordlessly took Merlin's hand and placed each of the human's fingers in his mouth, one by one while locking his grey eyes with teal ones. This was done so slowly and sensually that with each finger bitten, Merlin felt weirder and weirder until his body burned uncomfortably.

 

The next morning Merlin shot awake with a throbbing head, his clothes drenched with his sweat and him feeling more exhausted than before he went to sleep. Repeatedly blaming Kazu under his breath for such a dream, Merlin slipped off his bed and went through his morning ablutions in absentminded autopilot. The day before taught him that not eating would interfere with his work and ruin his schedule so for breakfast Merlin picked fruits from a thicket which Kanta had once pointed out to him. His wandering thoughts led him to pick too many so Merlin decided to share the extra fruits to the soldiers at the village center after eating his portion. The human reluctantly chose a soldier who did not look too grumpy to see him and gave the buff man the shiny green globules. To the researcher's delight, the soldier actually shot the human a friendly smile as he took in his arms the picked fruits. Merlin beamed back, thinking how the day would probably be a good day when he spied Kjartan at the corner of his eye. He spared no attempt to greet the Aeternumi and instead rushed away from the village center, his face flushed red as he was reminded of his dream.

 

When Merlin finished interviewing the last villager a little after noon, he went back to his house and proceeded to compiling the profiles and some write-ups he had written even before he was assigned his task, when the Cheraki were still occupying the village. Included were detailed descriptions of the village's water system, farming techniques, flora and fauna, local practices, clothing, diet, primitive laws and civil arrangements, religion and language. Merlin had written everything in English so that it would be easy for the CHRC to evaluate them later, when he had gathered a larger amount of information. But then when such a time came when he had to submit his report, Merlin had to have someone from the Neronians' side check the documents to make sure that they were made as objective and unbiased as possible. And Kjartan is the only Neronian who can speak and read English.

 

Of course he had to be the only one.

 

"But I don't want to talk to him." Merlin whined as he stretched and rested his neck after sitting down for hours preparing the first batch of reports. "It's so awkward." He mumbled, tracing circles on the wood of his desk. All little farther near the edge of the table sat his plysch, who after seeing that Merlin glanced his way, rolled onto his furry back and purred its familiar rattling. "Hey Kjartan, can you look at these files for me?" The human practiced, saying the words to the lazy creature. "If only it is so easy to talk to him without having to feel like I have to suppress my opinions. He has strong beliefs and that's really attractive, but since we don't agree, it's a pain."

 

Merlin rested his head sideways on the table, his features forlorn and generally tired. Facing so many wary faces reminded him of how he himself was when his mother's colleagues poked and prodded at him in the past. "This cannot go on, especially when we arrive at the Talavarian capital. I'll need someone to show me around. I need Kjartan." The human closed his teal eyes and urgently searched for the Aeternumi's face behind his closed lids. Merlin pushed his hand mindlessly inside his pants, his breathing cut in shallows and a weird, hot feeling in his abdomen threatening to overflow.

 

It's because of Kazu that I had that dream, and it's because of that dream that I became this way. Merlin reasoned with himself that that was all this was, but soon he could not even afford to think of things otherwise because all he could focus on was his undeniable boner and a pair of disarming grey eyes that Merlin couldn't seem to stop seeing everywhere. Hunched over with his sweating forehead against his desk, the human pushed his pants low enough to free his erect member, rubbing its stiffness with a fervor he did not expect to have. He felt like a relapsing addict set loose as pre-cum beaded at its tip. Merlin bit on his lip in a halfhearted attempt to hold his voice back.

 

"Mnh... Kjartan..." He breathed the name, fantasizing that the owner of it was watching him that very moment as Merlin touched himself. It was slick enough to make embarrassing squelches which filled the room. He shut his eyes tighter and his brows met as his hand moved incessantly in desperate search of release. His dick throbbed painfully and his entire body tensed.

 

"C-Cumming... Kjartan, I'm... cumming..."

 

Merlin felt his face flush hotter than ever but he could not help it. In his mind, the Aeternumi had taken him in his mouth, a fantasy that just fucked the sense out of the human. A bit of drool escaped from Merlin's mouth when his entire body snapped rigid and he let out a groan that was a garble of Kjartan's name. His hand continued moving, milking out everything until he lay spent and catching his breath. When he had calmed down, the human stood, woozily cleaning himself and changing into a new set of clothes before slamming onto his bed in shameful remorse.

 

"Holy shit. Ella, I'm so sorry." He muttered as he rolled onto his side, hugging his pillow and falling into a restful sleep. Merlin awoke later that evening to the sound of repeated knocking that grew slightly more impatient as time passed. Merlin pushed his plysch, who had been sleeping on his face again, aside and hugged the creature close to his chest as he made his way to the door. Merlin did not really know what to expect, but he was surprised all the same when the same awkward Talavarian soldier as the one who called him to dinner the previous night stood there in front of his house.

 

"Good evening, um, Merlin sir."

 

Sir? The human swallowed.

 

"Yes?" Merlin paused, then added. "Just Merlin is fine."

 

The soldier cleared his throat and spoke. "Merlin, I came here to invite you to sit with us for dinner. Although it's just the usual grub." Merlin heard the last part even though it was mumbled.

 

"Is there a change in plans?" The human asked, wondering if there was some sort of intervention or something and that a new announcement was in order. It was perfectly possible, given that Mekhala was present somewhere in the woods nearby the village.

 

"There isn't." The soldier appeared to be bashful as he was scratching his cheek when he spoke. "My friends and I want to eat with you as thanks for the fruits you gave us earlier today. And," Then he paused, seemingly hesitant. "And we also wanted to talk with a human. Except for the military leaders, most of us country bumpkins have never actually conversed or made contact with the aliens."

 

Merlin actually felt his heart melt because here he saw that Neronians themselves were trying to be acquainted with the Earth humans. Maybe this humanizing process was not such a long shot after all. Maybe the idea of assimilation wasn't going to be just superficial after all. If that is so, how wonderful! Merlin liked this thought a lot that he beamed at the soldier, slipped on his sandals and skipped the way to the village center with the soldier warning him time and again that he might stumble on some loose rock and fall. Dinner was eaten in separate circles this time because there was no announcement to be made. Friends sat together and chatted relaxedly since they were off duty for an hour during dinner. The group that Merlin sat amongst was composed of young Talavarian soldiers, all coming from families of farmers. The human realized that if the colonizers never came and Neronians had no need to gather a larger army, these young men would still be helping their families prepare and harvest batches of crops back at their homes.

 

"We have taken away your youth, haven't we?" Merlin unintentionally said aloud and there fell a silence in their circle. The human was immediately frantic to take his words back. "Th-That didn't mean anything. I was just remembering a line from a book I was reading. That's all." If they saw through Merlin's flimsy lie, they were kind enough to not point it out. With a round of cheers, they moved on to the next topic, asking Merlin loads of questions and telling stories of their own. For a moment Merlin remembered how the Talavarian brothers Klaproth, Torien, Frigor and Sephir invited Merlin and Shoumei to drink and talk, leading Merlin to conclude that perhaps Talavarian people were just innately big on welcoming parties. They are a very sociable people, these Talavarians, Merlin thought. That, or they really just needed any sort of excuse to gather and make merry.

 

The rest of the evening went without much event and Merlin excused himself ahead of them, saying that he had to pack up whatever stuff he needed for the travelling they had to do to get to the Talavarian capital. Some of the young soldiers who had grown attached to the human offered to walk him to his house but Merlin vigorously refused them and was eventually left alone to himself.

 

"Thank goodness. I can't exactly tell them I'm going to meet someone." Merlin whispered into the night, noticing how a bunch of Lumis silently followed him. "Mekhala. A fugitive among humans and a stranger among Neronians. Sounds like very lonely business, isn't it? Don't you guys think so?" The researcher asked the luminescent insects floating around his head before waving a hand to scatter them. "Don't follow me anymore or someone from the village might find out."

 

He tried retracing the path he and Mekhala took deeper into the forest when they first met two days ago but he was guessing at best. The only thing keeping him from giving up was that as long as he could find the tree with the fake claw marks, he would find Mekhala.

 

"You haven't told anyone about me, I'm sure."

 

Merlin turned around and there was Mekhala, or at least her silhouetted figure was. She stepped closer until Merlin could see her face clearly, and that she had unzipped her pilot suit all the way down to expose her bellybutton. The researcher recoiled in surprise, making her laugh.

 

"Some virgin's reaction you got there."

 

"I'm not a virgin." Merlin said defensively, although his cheeks were a bit hot.

 

"Yeah, sure." Came her offhand reply as she fixed her red mass of hair into a bun. "Are you hungry again or what? Have you decided to run away with me?"

 

"I came to tell you that the soldiers will be leaving early tomorrow for the Talavarian capital, and I've been given orders to join them." The researcher sat with his back against the marked tree and gestured for her to do the same, which she did. "I wanted to say goodbye properly. I don't want to part with someone again without realizing that we will never meet again." He said, remembering the last time he saw Shoumei when he was still alive. "And I've always been curious how you got out of containment without help, and with so many guards watching you."

 

"Ah, about that. I've always wanted someone to listen to the story of how I suavely pulled my ass out of there. But sorry to disappoint, I don't remember much of how I really did it. Just that some hours after I was confiscated, I heard Colonel Wyld's voice in my head, telling me to not ask, just get out and rescue the Fukushiro boy. Now I was bound from head to toe, my eyes were blindfolded and I had braces on my mouth to keep me from talking. I was strapped to a table like some heinous criminal but I could not blame those people who were keeping me. We all knew I was potentially dangerous and that I was literally a ticking bomb. One word from Wyld and I could destroy everyone on a rampage. So when he told me to get the fuck out, I did. See, what's cool about Dr. Van is that he puts these add-ons in your body without really telling you so I was surprised when I had a robot's pinky instead of my real one. Although I don't know how to operate it. My first implanted ganglia is the one who knows. My robotic pinky activated because I was given an order that was impossible for me to do if I used my bare hands and my implanted ganglia insisted that I could not not perform the order. After that, my memory is blurry, but probably because my brain is still not used to being overtaken by a mere mass of synthesized neurons. If I get more orders I might be able to integrate my memories more efficiently. The next thing I remember is that I was wearing this pilot suit and I had stolen the Egg from where it was kept and I was off. A few miles away from base the Colonel contacted me again, telling me to prioritize survival for now and that I did a good job. He hasn't contacted me since. I bet he's under questioning by Goldstein by now."

 

"You weren't treated badly by the soldiers guarding you, right?" Merlin asked, disliking how Mekhala was accommodated. Even if she was the neurologically altered soldier everyone was wary of, she was still a woman first and foremost. Merlin did not like women being mistreated, although his mother was a different story.

 

"No, they just made me into a human cocoon." Mekhala's tone was sarcastic and somehow that one sentence closed the topic. The two humans were silent for a moment when Mekhala faced Merlin. She seemed to purse her lips in a momentary hesitation but it was gone in a second. "Hey Merlin, have you made contact with Kazuhito lately? Tayori Kazuhito."

 

"Kazu? Um." Yes, and last time we talked he was masturbating to my name, Merlin thought but did not say and instead nodded.

 

"I'll probably never get to see that dork again." The pilot said wistfully with her chin perched on her palm, her gaze fixed somewhere faraway.

 

The reseacher's eyes widened. Mekhala is...?

 

"I plan to resupply and hibernate at one of the UNO safe houses near here, the one which the Tayori brothers promised to regroup at in case an emergency happened. The timing is good, since you are leaving and I need to hide somewhere." She said, pushing away from the tree and standing up. Merlin did the same.

 

"Mekhala, are you really okay with this? Being a runaway is even more difficult than being a hermit. You are to be hunted by both sides and-"

 

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Merlin. I'm a soldier. I'm tougher than I look." Mekhala interrupted and gave the researcher a dimpled smile, her fang poking on her lip. "Look, the night is almost over. You gotta have some rest before you set off." Then she gave Merlin a cruel smack on the butt which stung like a plysch's bite. "Go on, we'll see each other soon enough."

 

So Merlin did. It took him less than ten minutes to get his things ready. After that he deliberated for about half an hour if he should sleep because he feared that if he did, the Kjartan in his dream might do something more compared to his dream last night. But his worry was all for nothing because he hardly slept peacefully enough to even dream. When he awoke a few hours later, a soldier was rapping constantly on his door, demanding that he step out. Merlin shivered as he stood in a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants at the village center, his plysch shivering and yawning as much as the human did. The soldiers were already alert and snappy with grim, fixed faces. These guys were probably not given breakfast to cheer them up, Merlin thought when his bag was yanked from his hand and strapped to a dizzlon and himself pushed, rather awkwardly, to sit on the hoofed creature. The human looked around, amazed that he could see much farther above and ahead yet still felt solidly connected to the ground. It was a feeling he only read about in accounts of humans riding Earth horses in the past when they were numerous and did not have to be kept in preservation.

 

Still not getting enough, Merlin kept looking around until he belatedly realized that his dizzlon was right next another dizzlon where sat a certain grey eyed Aeternumi. The soldier who had taken his bag earlier came up to them and tied their dizzlons together.

 

"Wait!" The human tried protesting but the soldier chose to ignore him and went on to straddle his own dizzlon. The researcher felt his former sleepiness leave him immediately and blood rush to his face. He could not keep calm, and he most certainly could not look at Kjartan and greet him a simple good morning, not after Merlin had the orgasm of his life yesterday.

 

With his head bent, Merlin accepted his fate and hoped that whoever made the decision to let Kjartan watch over the human would get butt sores within the next hour of riding.