The Alliance - 11. Minor Repairs

Lian’s head hit the table hard, startling Itumak and Aaron. Itumak was at his side in an instant, lifting his torso.

“Lian?! Lian!”

“He’s a Daknar…” Aaron breathed. “Mateio!”

A loud curse sounded, the Faro rushing into the kitchen a minute later, rubbing his head.

“He ate the salad,” the elf said helplessly.

“We need to get him to the health bay,” Mateio said immediately. “Itumak, you carry him. Reinard, set med pod to heal a male Daknar suffering from merlo poisoning.”

“Pod set,” the ship’s AI announced as Itumak lifted the Daknar in his arms.

The neko cradled the reptile, barely paying attention to his steps as he gazed down at the unconscious face of his mate. Entering the med bay, Itumak set Lian into the open pod, gently tucking the Daknar’s tail between his legs.

“He can’t have his loincloth on,” Mateio said quietly.

A quiet growl slipped out of the werewolf’s mouth.

“Itumak!” Aaron snapped. “Just remove his clothing. You are the only one here interested in what he has.”

The growl cut off, Itumak scowling, more at his own actions than those of his friend. His hands made quick work of the loincloth, then hovered over the collar around the Daknar’s neck.

“That needs to come off too,” Mateio said.

He could feel Lian’s breath on his wrist, shallow and quiet. How had this happened? Why hadn’t Mateio warned him that Lian could be poisoned?

“Itumak? His collar needs to come off,” the Faro said again.

Itumak’s thumb stroked the collar and the material came off with a quiet pop. He pulled the collar away from the Daknar, his thumb stroking the reptile’s cheek gently.

Removing his hand from the pod, Itumak watched the pod close. A gas appeared in the pod, lulling the Daknar inside into a more natural slumber.

“I think he knew…” the neko whispered, watching the Daknar. “Why did he eat it?”

“He’s a slave. He has to do what you tell him to, and you told him to eat. Do you see what it means to hold power Itumak?”

Aaron set a hand on the neko’s shoulder.

“At least we got him to the pod in time. Right Mateio?”

“Yes, he should be fine in a day or two,” the Faro replied. “I need to get back to the gravity pod. Excuse me.”

Itumak sat against the pod, staring blankly at the exit to the room.

“You have it bad, huh,” Aaron said, sitting next to him.

“I don’t get it. I know the wolf’s pull is supposed to be strong, but this… His people attacked our planet. Does that not matter at all? And he’s an alien. And I don’t even know him. What the fuck am I doing?”

“Listening to your wolf, unlike me.”

“But you get the cute and daring fox explorer.”

“And you have a handsome dragon. What’s your point?” Aaron challenged.

Itumak threw up his hands in frustration.

“Why can’t I just be a normal neko?! I had my whole life planned out at fifteen. Go to school, work hard in life, maybe start a business, marry a cute neko. Then my friend had to go become king of the entire fucking planet!”

“I never wanted to be king,” Aaron said quietly. “It was thrust upon me. When the queen asks you to come live with her, you don’t say no. You, on the other hand, could have left me any time.”

“Yeah, sure, I make the crown prince a werewolf then vanish into the void, abandoning everything I ever knew.”

Itumak sighed heavily.

“It doesn’t really matter. I abandoned everything anyway.”

“Hey. You didn’t abandon me, and for what it’s worth, I’m grateful to have you here at my side,” Aaron said, placing an arm around the neko.

Itumak let his head rest on Aaron’s shoulder, tears running from his eyes.

“It’s like he’s the person I never knew I needed in my life. But I don’t even know him. For fuck’s sake, I poisoned him!”

“No. If anything, I poisoned him,” Aaron denied. “I knew merlo was poisonous to Daknar, I just never put the two together.

“Why didn’t he say anything? Why would he willingly poison himself?”

“He is a slave Itumak. What would happen if he spoke to you? He doesn’t know. Maybe you were trying to kill him. Maybe the punishment for speaking would be worse than death. This is your reality right now, and it’s up to you to change it because I want nothing to do with slavery.”

Aaron stood up, turning for the door.

“I need to go speak with Mateio.”

Itumak nodded numbly, watching his king leave the room. He himself would not move until Lian was healed.

Mateio flicked the pod with a nail, sending a small wave through the material. It rang high and clear, with no interruptions to the wave, and the fox let out a satisfied grunt, climbing down the ladder.

Aaron was waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder, holding the ladder steady for the Faro.

“Is it fixed?” he asked.

“Yes. I just need to check the outside of the ship. We’re stuck here for the next day anyway. I might as well do some maintenance. It’s overdue.”

“Wait.”

Aaron reached out, taking Mateio’s arm. Kneeling slightly, he kissed the Faro, the two pulling away a second later. Mateio’s eyes sparkled, staring into the eyes of the elf.

“Thank you for helping Itumak,” Aaron said quietly.

Mateio just watched Aaron, his eyes blinking slowly. If this was the thanks he got for saving a life, what would Aaron do when they saved his home?

“Mateio? Are you okay?”

“Oh… Yeah,” the Faro said, looking away. “I… um, I’m going to check the ship.”

He pressed a button to raise the ladder, hurrying through the ship to his cabin.

This was only their second kiss, but he wasn’t sure the first one counted. Did a kiss followed by a rejection count as a first kiss?

Fumbling through his dresser, the Faro pulled on a suit. A gold-tinted helmet went over his head, sealing the fox in an airtight environment. Pulling a magnetic toolbelt out of another drawer, he wrapped it around his waist, taking a small amount of comfort from the weight.

Mateio found Aaron cleaning the kitchen, the spilled salad nowhere in sight.

“I’m heading outside. Try to stay out of trouble for an hour, okay?” he joked.

“I make no promises,” Aaron said, dumping a plate into the recycler.

Shrugging, Mateio turned away, walking down the stairs to the door of the ship. Stopping in front of the door, the Faro called out, “Reinard, cycle the airlock.”

The glass door closed behind him, the air around him getting sucked back into the main body of the ship. He waited a minute before opening the outer door.

The heat of the planet hit Mateio like a brick, fans in his suit quickly cooling his body. The hour estimate he gave Aaron was too long; Mateio needed to finish his scan of the ship as soon as possible.

“Maybe I should have used a drone…” the Faro muttered as he began his walk.

Not that a drone would have worked. There were some things a drone’s sensors couldn’t catch. Like that spot of superheated lichen that must have latched itself to the ship upon entrance to the atmosphere. The organism would die as soon as the ship left the atmosphere, but Mateio knew there was a good chance it would lessen the hull strength, There was no danger at the present, but if he could get that thing off the ship, it would save him money in the long run.

Mateio removed a cylinder from his belt, unfolding it into a long pole with a flat edge at the tip. Reaching up, the Faro slid the tool between the lichen and the ship, flicking the organism off into the distance. He had seen its like before; mindless life that fed on anything it found. It would find a rock to eat somewhere.

The Faro continued his walk around the ship, peeling another three lichens off the hull of his vessel. Everything else on the ship seemed like it would hold at least to Asla. He could have someone else check the ship when he got there. By the time he circled the ship, Mateio was swimming in sweat, his fur drenched in salty liquid. He hurried back up the ramp into the ship, sighing quietly as he closed the door behind him. The ship sent a rush of cool air into the space between the doors and opened the glass door separating the Faro from the rest of his ship. It was time to get out of his suit and get a nice glass of water.

“Med pod is finished healing.”

Aaron frowned, peeling away from the window as Mateio approached the ship’s entrance. He needed to make sure Itumak didn’t try to pull the Daknar out of the pod on his own.

“Itumak?” he called quietly, stepping into the health bay.

The neko was standing next to the pod, staring into it.

“He looks so peaceful,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I know you don’t. It sounds like he’s ready to come out. Mateio should be back inside by now; I’ll go let him know.”

The elf patted Itumak gently on the shoulder before leaving the room. He made his way through the ship, finding the entrance empty. Frowning slightly, Aaron turned back for the stairs. He checked the kitchen, finding it empty. The only other place for the Faro to be was his cabin.

The elf walked to the stern of the ship, the cabin door opening as he approached. Pausing momentarily, Aaron shrugged. If the door was opening, it should be okay for him to enter, right?

Stepping into the cabin, Aaron froze at the sight of Mateio peeling his spacesuit off. The Faro’s fur stuck flat against his body, his tail looking smaller than Aaron had ever seen it. The elf tore his eyes away from the fox, the smell of sweat entering his nose.

But it wasn’t just sweat. It was the scent of his mate. And Aaron’s wolf was not going to ignore the call of his mate.

The elf was just able to remove his shirt before his body rippled, bones crunching as his pants tore. Mateio whirled around, staring wide-eyed at the wolf in his cabin.

“Aaron? What are you doing in here?”

The wolf stalked forward, his nose burying itself in Mateio’s stomach. He took a deep breath, inhaling the fox’s scent.

“A-Aaron?”

Aaron huffed quietly, his tongue licking at Mateio’s sweat. He was surprised at the action, and even more surprised that the sweat tasted good.

A hand fell on his head, fingers scratching behind his ears, and the wolf dropped, his leg thumping furiously.

“I like seeing your wolf, but I’m a little unprepared right now,” Mateio said quietly. “Do you think I can get dressed before we continue this?”

Yes… The Faro needed to dress.

Standing, Aaron turned around, his tail tucked between his legs as he left the cabin. How could he let his wolf control him like that? It was a travesty. How could Aaron consider himself the ruler of his people when he couldn’t even rule himself?

The werewolf walked silently back to his own cabin. Changing back to his elven form, Aaron dressed before returning to the stern of the ship.

Mateio met the king of Astara outside the captain’s cabin, a strange look on his face. It was almost one of disappointment.

“So Lord Aaron, what did you need?”