P How to Train your Drhuv

[Big Dicc Marty]

[Starring Madison Ešterra#3306 (Aliset)]

Usually, hearing the rattling cage of steel on concrete declare a deafening sentence of solitude would be met with a defiant cackle and grin that would leave her captors annoyed.

Alloy only fell to the ground with a dry thud and defeated groan as she tried to decompress from the tangled mess that was being pinned to the wall by her own bones and told she wasn’t Drhuv anymore. It hurt. She knew it was only temporary, though. It is a plan by her councilwoman, things need to calm down first. She’ll be home with her representative. The Drhuvian Collective never fails to protect it’s own.

The emerald eyes finally lowered from the ceiling above and fell to the door that kept her from freedom. Just like all the other times. A short stay. She twisted her body and brought herself to her feet, the muscles in her black undersuit contracting and relaxing to balance the weight and concentration of medical gel underneath. A quick spin of the cell led to an accepting sigh. Floors needed to be swept but the bed, toilet, sink, it was much much better than the Drhuvian cells she’d been in. The beds barely had a frame. This would be a breeze!

There was a soft knock at the door, before it opened, letting the rich scent of cooked food waft through, and a silverskinned woman placed a well decorated plate on the bed, settling down on her knees in the opposite corner.

Alloy might have found it odd to see a Senti outside of their precious armored suits, clad in mere cloth that clung to her curves and highlighted her frame. It might have taken her a moment, and a glance at the scratch on the woman's jaw to recognize the Duchess placing herself further from the door than Alloy was, with food on the bed opposite. She didn't speak, softly smelling the air and inspecting the room from her seat.

The hunter could only snap her head to the sound and smells, step backwards and keep a constant distance as the Duchess stepped forward from freedom and let the door shut. Her fingers had already tensed, trying to call upon mechanisms to extend her artificial claws. They were in another room, somewhere in this jail, far from Alloy’s reach. Just fleshy nubs at her fingertips. She forced herself to relax her hands against the better judgment of her gut feeling. No use in cramped muscles.

As the Duchess passed and put Alloy just a bit closer to the door than before. Her eyes caught at the food, was it that time already? Her stomach didn’t grumble yet. The smells are foreign and she couldn’t tell if she would enjoy what Aliset brought.

“What the fuck?” Alloy demanded, searching the all too calm woman that had invaded her cell for an answer and reaction.

"I promised you a meal. I apologize if it's a bit colder than it should be served. It took me some time to find this place." Aliset did not look up, keeping her eyes low. "Have they treated you well, so far?"

What? Alloy only met Aliset with confusion. She leaned her weight against the wall as she watched, the only things she can think of are smart comments. “Figures that you never knew where this place is.” Alloy looked down at herself and the dirt that had gotten into the various seams of her suit. “I want a broom, not food. Your guards maintain their cells worse than Berserkers. They have to deal with blood.” She thought to manipulate herself and release the cold stinging smell of forced fear from her skin. She wants to make Aliset scared, force her away from the cell so that Alloy may manage things on her own. Without an intruder.

"Then a broom you shall have. I will see you provided with cleaning supplies and fresh clothes. Your suit will stay with you as your right. There is not much else to do, so I will see to it you have plenty to keep your mind occupied." Aliset's response to the smell of fear was likely the opposite of what she expected, as Ali's heart pounded and her desire to help flared. "Under Shuristan and Duskerian law, you are classified as a refugee, under arrest for assault. You have a right to a fair trial, and representation. I will do all in my power to see that right upheld."

“You talk a lot.” Alloy pointed, pushing from the wall and heading to examine the food. “Can you say something that is genuinely important or is this a new torture method involving vocal stimulation?” It looked… Well, it looked Senti. Fish wasn’t common for the Drhuvs, land animals of any and all kinds were the norm. Nor the greens. It looks like it is intended for more than flavor, something that confused Alloy. She reached down and… no claws. She wanted to stab her finger and rend apart some of the fish and cannon fruit for consumption. Instead, there was just a fork and a knife. Alloy picked up the knife and toiled with it until it was comfortable in her hand. When was the last time she had to go to a formal celebration?

After fumbling with the fork as well and finally managing to take a piece of the fish from it’s… it does smell quite nice. Still. Caution, Alloy. You are not home. She stabbed the piece with the fork and lifted it from the plate, watching the familiar drips of fat splash onto the greens below. She misses kekaki. Once it had stopped, Alloy stepped towards the Duchess and lowered onto one knee in front of her.

“Eat.” The hunter commanded, slowly moving the fork forward. She wanted to grab the damned royal by her hair, force her mouth open and stuff it in so there was no chance that she could prepare against eating it on the chance that it was poisoned, lethally or otherwise. Too many times have laxatives been forced in her food, one too many times has she missed her favorite days because of it.

Aliset fearlessly leaned forward, opening her mouth and taking the bite of fish. Chew. Swallow. Open her mouth to show Alloy that nothing was hidden. "Not my best work on the cannonfruit sauce, I must admit."

Alloy was not impressed. She simply turned away and returned to the plate. Her fearlessness was aggravating. Completely uncaring for Alloy and what- who she was. She cut the fish again, trying a piece of the fish herself. It was…

The gem dropped the knife on the plate and returned the wall she claimed previously, leaning on it again. She didn’t want another bite. It had so many flavors and a completely new palette for her that she didn’t want to admit that she kind of enjoyed it. It was some sort of trick to force complacency.

"I apologize. Such things are not… Not necessarily… I should have asked your preference. If it is not to your liking, I can find something more culturally appropriate."

Aliset didn't move just yet, carefully watching Alloy's response and trying to learn. "Please, let me know your food preference so we may better accommodate."

The emerald eyes gave a harsh glance, but no response to her ask. “Why are you here, huh? The hell are you trying to do?”

"Fulfilling my promises and apologizing for the actions that put you here. You did as you were trained. But we are off duty, now."

“Fuck off.” Alloy snarled, turning her head away from the smells still dancing like starlight on her tongue.

"Of course. If there is anything you need, call my name. I am taking responsibility until your people can claim you."

Alloy turned back and stared at Aliset through the steam just finally wisping away from the dinner. Just… watching. The price she would pay to wipe the confidence and certainty that she can just be tamed like some pet with a plate of food and gentle words, to get her claws back and maim the royal in such a way that she would forget the pit she finally stepped into.

“Once I get from this cell. I am going to rend you apart. You will remember your skin as shreds and your bones as toothpicks. You will regret attempting to tame me, rust skin.”

Finally, Aliset looked up, those red eyes seemingly lit from within as fire raged behind them. "Why do you presume me to seek your taming? I see myself in you. When my mentor abducted me from my world. Forced me back into a culture I had left behind. Forced me to watch as the family and world I built burned? Why would I seek to tame you? Who managed to keep her rank and honor?"

“Because you are still sitting in my cell.” Alloy snapped back. “You enter, bring food, put yourself far from the door so that I would have control of the room and then sit down, small and submissive. What other purpose would you have to do such a thing if not to tame me? I am not a fool. I have seen the same tricks used on common pets. Unless you intend to be eaten after the fish, stop considering me a toy to play with.”

At that, Aliset gave a sigh, rising to her feet. Her anger still radiated off of her in bitter, stinking waves as her body responded to it. "You are a proud warrior, loyal and well trained for her purpose. I would never seek… I stayed to collect the plate and cutlery when you were done. Perhaps to talk. Not to tame. You scared me. On a deep, instinctive level. But at the same time, I saw something in you I wish I still had. And I hope to be able to reach for it again. I'm… Not a captain, as my suit says. Not anymore. I thought you should know. I am a civilian."

The hunter watched her speak and only gave Aliset an uncaring scowl. She removed herself from the wall and walked to the food, picking the plate up and rounding the bed to Aliset. She stood in front of the woman, contemplating her next motions, the costs, the weight of the fish…

She spun the plate forwards in her hand and dumped the food on the royal and the floor. Alloy then pushed the plate into the now dirtied high fashion clothing on Aliset chest. “As a civilian, you will learn to clean. Enjoy the dirt, your highness.” Alloy did not move from in front of Aliset. Being a wall that she must forcefully move if Aliset wished to leave. Go ahead. Get mad. I’ve got all week.

Aliset's rage was silent, just below the skin as the anomalies whipped around her skin, close to unleashing another surge of wild and uncontained magics that should be impossible for her species. In stead, she gave a deep, patient sigh. "Do you have any other preferences for foods? I don't think wasting your supper is an… appropriate way to release your frustration."

“What would you know?” As the plate was not received, Alloy dropped it and let it shatter into oil slathered ceramic shards on the floor. She did not give Aliset a response to her question. The royal was not worth enough to be answered.

Or… It would have shattered, if it weren't one of Aliset's own prized burial steel and enamel plates that simply chipped and clattered. "I think we have established that you are not hungry. At least not for Shuristan quisine. What does Drhuvian quisine look like? Perhaps I can make something more to your taste." She stooped to pick up the plate, using the gravitational anomalies to collect Alloy's wasted food as she did so.

Alloy stepped behind Aliset as she cleaned up the mess Alloy had set across the floor and waited for the woman to rise back up to full height before pushing her away. “Go ahead. Do as you said. Fuck off.” Alloy had begun to revel. Despite a terrible hand, she had wretched a reaction and anger out of the royal. She had managed to turn the tides and become a hunter again. She had the dominance and courage now and that grin that even a Berserker drill sergeant couldn’t beat off of her face.

"Of course, sweetroll." With a flash of training her body wouldn't have shown, Aliset's hand was up on Alloy's jawline, a thumb trailing the cheekbone to trigger Alloy's limp kitten response as Aliset stepped past her towards the door.

Despite her goading and prodding…

Alloy had returned to as she was before. A dry thud, muscles of her suit balancing the medical gel and a slight groan as she exhaled. Everything was a bit more fuzzy this time.

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

The next day saw another knock, and Aliset entering again, this time with a rich smelling Sirrisian stew and two mugs of strong smelling Turæta. Both dishes again in Aliset's own prized burial steel dishware. Again, Aliset sat in a corner after placing the bowl and a spoon near the sink, alongside one of the mugs. She sipped her own gently. "Good morning, Alloy."

The rowdy hunter had immediately ducked away from the voice, now clothed in Duskerian prison uniform as her suit laid on the bed. The internal battery ran out, the gel pooling at the back. She wanted to keep as far away from Aliset as possible, fingers already instinctively tensed and that stinging waft of fear pungent in the room. Alloy didn’t have time to react last time. She needs to stay away. She does not trust this woman any further than she feels comfortable to touch her and she is haunted by the sensation still pricking its echoes on her face. She didn’t even speak this time, just kept a tense distance and fended off the feeling of being naked without all of her gear.

"Your breakfast is at the sink." Aliset gestured, where she couldn't get up in time to reach Alloy and do that again. Not that she had any intent to. She was here to observe and talk. "The drink is a fermented cannonfuit juice, boiled with a stimulant bean from the Flotillas. I think the closest human equivalent would be… Something called coffee."

She gave a shrug, sipping at her steaming mug of fermented bean juice. "The soup is a local creature. Miss Spark Pine makes a lovely stew from local tubers and a creature called a pack roach. I hear they are terrifying beasts. But some of the braver guards hunt them regularly for some reason. Perhaps you can enlighten me? I hear your culture is quite adept at the sport."

Alloy was just… scared of the woman. The Drhuv simply stepped carefully around to the sink and retrieved her food. She did not want to dump it this time, her stomach was almost aching with hunger as it tried to work with far less calories and food than it normally would. Large dinners are a thing of the past, for now. She’d even tapped into her combat stim for pain relief.

Sitting at the bed, Alloy just carefully watched Aliset with only the word “prey” swimming in her mind, reminding Alloy that she was in danger. Regardless of if it was just a cultural demand to feel so or a genuine harm. She had forgotten to speak.

"Are you okay? If your suit needs charged, I am certain adaptors can be arranged. Much of your gear was transferred with you to be safekept with… That's… Oh, gods, I didn't mean to leave such a scar on you! I'm so sorry!"

She flinched and looked down to her soup. It was at least familiar. As she picked up the spoon and fumbled for a comfortable hold, she remembered her pack and how she could hear the laughter and cheers reverberating in her ears as the only thing she could recognize. Her body relaxed as a spoon full of the meaty flavors touched her tongue and she let her mind protect her by carrying away to good memories, where she wasn’t scared of becoming defenseless at any point in time with a single touch.

"It was… Something my mother and my grandmother used to do. Tsulrati use it to calm each other. Like a kiss. It forces our bodies to relax, our hearts to slow, and our oxygen saturation to go up. Always helped me to think clearly. I didn't know it hurt you so badly. I thought it was… Common knowledge, I guess, when dealing with tsulrati like us. I am sorry. Really." Aliset looked away, running her fingers over the lip of her mug to elicit a soft ringing sound from the metal.

Snapping from her memories and back to reality at one of the words, Alloy raised up her eyes to look at the Senti across the room. She had to ignore the dry burning on her tongue from attempting too much of the soup at once. “What?” Her voice was small. The previous confidence and boisterous bully that was the hunter that could rip and tear flesh with ease and consume endlessly was now expressed as the frightened refugee she was. “What did you say?”

"I… I said I'm sorry. I did not mean to violate you." Aliset gave a sigh, shaking her head. If she had her knife on her, she would offer it, but the guards would not let her carry it in. "What I did to you is a… My mother used to use it to calm me down."

Alloy nodded and took a deep breath. Her hand reached to her right hip and pressed the small solid object under her skin, letting rubatosis into her ears but the stress of Aliset’s presence out. She was calmed, mostly. The hunter kept at her soup, not having much to say to the royal.

"Could you… Could you tell me why people enjoy hunting dangerous creatures."

"It…" Her voice slowly raised, feeling as if she was forced despite how caring Aliset is. "It is… thrill. We like doing it because it is adrenaline…" Her mind began to wander again, thinking of the first time she had the ability to dig her claws into still breathing meat. The flavors afterward returned as the soup touched her lips. "It is an achievement and honor, being able to take something down that would kill you. In a way, you cheat death and get to feast on the rewards. And it is…" She stared at the soup as that trained instinct swelled, the torrential hunger that bit and chewed her body unless she did the same to another. That sensations fangs being all to present, like teething all over again. The twines of muscle and hemoglobin grinding against her molars and strengthening her jaw…

Alloy looked up to Aliset and stared, that primitive gnawing hunger consuming her face. It slowly faded as she finished, "It is good."

"I…" Aliset looked away, taking a sip of her Turæta. "I will try to understand. I… Miss Spark said she caught the roach for your soup. There is a lot I do not understand. I want to learn."

Alloy only scoffed. "Kill yourself." She replied, her voice simply answering Aliset's want.

"Some times I want to. Joining my first husband sounds nice. But I still have two children. I still have Mark. And I still have to make sure you find somewhere you can call home."

"Not literally." Alloy found a foothold in her confidence, sitting straight as she wiped a drop of her meal from the corner of her mouth, almost regretting that she had. "If you want to change, you need to die. Right now, some duskerian is probably making the mistake of wondering how sharp my knife is. He probably cut himself and dulled it, not realizing any of the reason we carry obsidian."

She sat the bowl down and grabbed her drink, having the first sip. She will learn what Aliset means by stimulant and soon be disappointed. "For me, my knife killed what was fear. Before I joined the berserkers, I was a runt. The lowest link in the food chain. When I took my shard of glass and forged it into the weapon it is today, I took it and carved away the worst. I killed the runt, the fear, the certainty that I was prey and there was nothing more. I became me, honored, rewarded, alive, a hunter."

"There is a knife for you. I do not know it's name yet, neither will you. Kill yourself with it." Alloy looked back down to her drink and felt the small bit of rising energy and almost questioned if Aliset knew what stimulant meant. This wasn't nearly anything. She wondered if Aliset would be able to handle the leaves she chewed to satiate her body's hunger for combat stimulants.

"Would… Would you like to see my home? Before all this?" She reached into her top, near her breast, before pulling out a slip of paper, a photograph of a small family standing in front of a house, one they had apparently built. The woman looked so much like Aliset. Only her eyes were green, and she didn't look so tired as she held two laughing toddlers. "My knife, Setsuna, forged of my aunt, is with my husband."

The hunter leaned closer, that stinge of fear finally settling to a gentle reminder that Alloy is not home. She stared at the photo, wondering just what happened that Aliset could be taken from her family. “Where are your kids if not with you?”

"Grown. Captains of their own ship. That was forty years ago. The house is still there. But the world is in ruin." She gave a soft shrug, sliding the paper over. "I go back every year. Searching. Do you have a family?"”

Independence. The word gently began to ring in Alloy’s mind. She always looked at her own knife and pondered it’s exact name, the closest she ever got was Fearlessness. She caught herself being silent for too long, trying to think of a way to dodge the question she honestly didn’t want to answer.

"It's okay. If you don't want to answer, it's okay. Just… Trying to find common ground so we may learn to trust each other. If only barely."

“It is common practice to take a gentle approach in interrogation. A person can harden themselves to torture, trauma, danger. They can be coerced to speak as a friend.” The Drhuv found the confidence to turn herself away from friendliness. Any reason to bring a fight, any chance to resist until she can be returned to her pack. She sat the soup down, knowing that the food would only make her more comfortable. She would rather die than forsake herself again. It twisted her stomach to put the food aside and turn away from the Duchess. Alloy forced a reminder that the pain is good, it is just showing that Alloy was getting friendly.

Aliset gave a chuff and a smirk. "A fine xenopolitician you make. Not my goal, but your caution is well placed. My having once been Senti makes it hard to trust. And I am still fighting the propaganda about the Drhuvs. Amd yet you are Drhuv. I must admit a certain morbid fascination."

"Ha! Come here, I'll sate it for you. You'll learn just how sharp my fangs are." A grin a mile wild spread across her face as the invitation to danger presented itself. Alloy regained her confidence and with it, her sense of domination began to slowly rise. She just needed to be more careful this time, but she could still handle this woman. "Then you will learn how viscous your own blood is dripping down your neck."

"You wouldn't dare!" Aliset gave a laugh, rising to her full, if lacking, height. "But I do wonder what possessed you to get fangs welded into your mouth! Surgery is usually so hard on our bodies. I can't imagine the augments you must have… Could you tell me what was done to you?"

"The fangs aren't welded. They are natural. I don't file them or otherwise. Perks of being a Drhuv." Golden pride began to rise, like the wreath of her emblem sat on her shoulders. Alloy opened her arms wide to Aliset, her fangs brought through an unstable grin. "Come here and find out for yourself. Did you not say you wanted to fight in the palace? What better place than a jail cell! Come, I bite."

"I bite back," Aliset warned, snapping her teeth as she stayed just out of reach, examining. No sign of burn scars, no crease where her lips would have torn under a dentist's augments. Too well done for her liking. She refused to believe it, though probed her own cuspids with her tongue, checking that they weren't so… twisted. "What other augments do I need to be aware of?"

"With your baby teeth? You nibble. Why should I tell you? What do I get out of undressing myself and exposing my secrets?" Alloy lowered her arms and brought her hands to her hips, closing the smile so there was nothing more to look at but silver skin.

"Ooh, good point." Aliset stood straight, tapping her lips with one finger as she looked up in mock thought. "What do you get for exposing me and teaching me your alien ways?"?"

The Drhuv turned, shrugging off Aliset's mocking. "I know that in this cell, it is a game of control. With it, I must secure every little bit of control I have. I will control how much you know about my augments and biological novelties unless given a reason not to." Alloy sat on her bed and picked up her soup, resisting a winning grin. "You'd better make one because I'm quickly losing my interest in playing with you."

"To force you to reveal such things would force me to allow you to execute me. If you want the taste of Shuristan blood so badly, I suppose it is in your best interest to… What is it the brats say… make me."

"That sounds like an invitation to me." Alloy pointed, certainly intending to play the legality for whoever may be listening or watching.

"It does, doesn't it? I do so enjoy our banter. And I am truly glad you feel better. But if you want me to get physical with you, I'm afraid you'll have to come and claim me. Hunt me. Call me prey." Aliset gave a dark smirk, letting something rise in her that hadn't been seen in nearly half a century, a thirst for adventure, danger. Fear. She wanted fear.

"Carnal? Are we?" Alloy could only grin harder at something she was half expecting the Senti woman to do. Drhuvs have always been right, when in doubt, it is lust. She took her bowl and drank from the rim, setting one leg on top of the other. "Fuck off, horny bastard."

"Right. Anyway. Before I take your empty dishes, do you have any preferences for meals? The cultural file on your people doesn't have much on diet, quisine, or eating habits." She gave a soft shrug, shaking her head as she took another sip of her drink. "And besides. I'm not into women."

“Sureeeeee. Meat. Almost raw. I’m keeping my drink. You do not know what a stimulant is. This is not stimulating. Bring me the small metal case, I will show you what a stimulant is. This hardly damages my hunger.” Alloy extended her arm forward with the bowl and spoon. “Good soup. Your Spark is a good hunter.” The Drhuv wondered if she could… She tensed her legs and prepared to jump from the bed as soon as Aliset moved away. She could have her cake and eat it too, bite without revealing anything.

"I'll let her know. Perhaps tomorrow, she will be with me to show you a pack roach, or the stinger she wears as a necklace." Ali smiled, shaking her head as she moved towards Alloy's suit. "Where would I find this tin?"

“I do not know. Likely with the rest of my personal effects if they sent them. The tin is full of leaves.” Alloy watched Aliset with a hungry stare as the little plotting mind toiled for exact movements, mechanics and muscles involved in her plan. The suit was practically a puddle next to Alloy, like a water bed just barely full.

"Well, the potency of Turæta is rather low. Akin to some human beverages… A frame of reference would be nice…" she started digging through the suit, looking for the tin in the various pockets. "And your personal effects will be sent to your quarters upon your release. I'll help you move in."

Alloy raised an eyebrow as hunger turned to confusion, watching Aliset fumble with the noncompliant suit that wanted more to be jelly on the floor than picked up. "I did not have it with me, it would be with the rest of the personal effects. Go, I appreciate the meal but visiting hours are over." She shoos the royal away with a spare hand, acting as if she were the duchess with all the command in the world.

"Alright, alright." Ali pulled the suit into a vaguely humanoid form before she picked up her cup, finishing it before reaching over to take the bowl. "I'll be back for dinner. Bleu rare steaks and… Would you like that cannonfruit sauce I made for the fish? It is a blood sauce."

"Yes. Make sure it is well seasoned. I am a Drhuv, not an animal. Go! Before I do decide to bite you."

Aliset snorted, shaking her head as she took the bowl and walking towards the door. "Of course, sweetroll."

The hunter silently stood to her full height and stepped forward behind Aliset as a long shadow. Her body lowered, almost to a hunch, knees bent and prepared to launch forward, arms wide to grapple the woman and wretch her chest backwards until she would nearly fall. Once the door finally opened and the guards had just caught sight of the shade Aliset had cast with her back turned, Alloy lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the neck of the royal.

Alloy dropped her center, forcing Aliset into an impossible backwards lean as the arms around her head shifted. A hand gripped her hair and pulled to the side to expose her silver neck. The searing protest of Aliset’s skin being stabbed with eight fangs followed shortly after, forcing her voice into a harsh groan that would make a saint blush. It was only allowed for a moment before all coming undone, Aliset finally released with a shove.

The Duchess fell out of the cell with a dry thud and overstimulated nerves still echoing the bite, only interrupted with the muffled cackle of victory as Alloy was brought down and cuffed.

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

As Aliset approached the door to Alloy’s cell the next day, that same, echoing laughter rose. Alloy knew who was approaching and she could not wait to meet with her again.

The guards cautioned the Duchess as the door opened and revealed that Alloy had her hands restrained behind her back with a muzzle over her face. She was managing the endlessly starving glare at Aliset, looking nothing more than a hyena singing with joy at easy prey being delivered on a stick, even owning stains around her mouth to boot. That, or the isolation was finally harming her psyche.

The cup Aliset had left in the cell was now on the ground, though none of the drink had stained its surroundings. She seemed to have managed to drink despite the muzzle keeping her from even eating normal food.

As she entered, Ali gave a harsh sigh, setting the plate down near the sink. She pulled a bottle of local glowing fruit juice from her blouse, stooping to pick up the cup. A straw was placed in the mug before it was filled and Aliset approached her project Drhuv cautiously. "If you're done biting for the time being, I brought a large meal. Perhaps that will make up for my earlier behavior. Sit on the bed and I'll take the muzzle off."

The laughter slowly calmed. Alloy stepped to the bed, almost with obedience. “You seem confident I won’t bite again.” She noted, sitting down where her under suit should be, now sat under the bed in a pool of its own material. The hunter extended her head forward with a gentle smile, expecting to be released. “You did ask. You did receive.”

"Yes, well." Aliset sat next to Alloy, placing the plate between them as she reached to the back of the prisoner's head, unbuckling the muzzle and pulling it away gently. "I was not expecting venom. I spoke to Sutes, and she told me a diet like that of your homeland can cause fang development in our species. I apologize for the assumption. Any discomfort?"

“Just a hard time drinking.” Alloy snapped her teeth at Aliset and continued to giggle to herself. “What venom are you talking about, royal?” Alloy asked, not seeking to move. With her hands still bound, and a struggle to try to separate her wrists to drink. “Can I have my mug, please? Just bring it up to my mouth.”

"You're telling me my sensory overload and arcana storm after you bit me was not venom?" Aliset lifted the cup, guiding the straw to Alloy's mouth.

Alloy gladly drank before speaking again, making a pleasant hum at the new flavor. Rarely does she taste something so fruity and sweet. That makes two days in a row, however. "Not venom. You are just gay. Wanna check my fangs? No holes, just steel." Alloy flashed a proud grin, another invite into danger.

With the invite, Aliset's hand lashed out as it had when she had put the Drhuv on the floor. In stead, she hooked the cheek with her thumb and pressed it up into her cheekbone, pulling the girl close to inspect the fangs. "Unfortunately, you're partly right. I don't see any indicator that you have injectable venom…"

Pulling her hand away, Aliset dipped a small cutlet of meat in her cannonfruit sauce and popped it into Alloy's mouth. "And I have never been… attracted to women before. It would be very new for me. Especially if such an awakening came from the assertion of dominance by a known hostile person."

Alloy propped her leg up on the other as her canines caught the bit of meat and made no hard work of turning it into nothing but after taste. The hunter looked giddy to have her meats back, seared, nearly raw and seasoned like a sailors mug. "Don't be so loud, morsel! You may bring shame to yourself, admitting such things about a Drhuv. A prisoner nonetheless, oh how your burial steel must be searing with embarrassment that it be attached to you." The hunters legs were almost kicking with glee and complete enjoyment of Aliset's continued misfortune.

"Oh, hush. Burial steel is not attatched!" Aliset gave a soft laugh, popping a morsel into her own mouth to see what Alloy's glee was about. She quickly placed another into the Hunter's mouth before continuing. "This is pretty good. But the steel has power because Tsulrati are not mortal. Our bodies are, but in death we are trapped in our flesh. The burial process is very specific to keep us from suffering. And I am not attracted to you! Just… I have a bad habit with warriors."

"I wonder what I am, if not attractive but supposedly a warrior." Alloy leaned in close to Aliset, holding the piece of meat between her teeth as her chin sat on the Duchess's shoulder. She tested the cutlet with her fangs, pondering how chewy it was. "Do not feed me anymore, as delicious as it is, your neck has the same chew and I would much like to force you to wonder how well you uphold your path to truth." The slice of red flesh disappeared into Alloy's mouth, ripped apart and swallowed with only a wafting smell of stinging copper rising as it's ghost. If this is how Alloy got her freedom, alone time or otherwise, so be it.

"You chose to release me." Aliset turned, furrowing her brows at the smell of blood on Alloy's breath. "I suppose it is more meat for me, then?"

Popping another cutlet in her mouth, she sucked the sauce off her fingers and grinned. "I've not been mistruthful to you. I have never found myself attracted to women before. But warriors tend to catch my eye and heart easily. Perhaps it's something in their traumas I can relate to. Please control your ovaries. I need not smell your arousal."

Alloy huffed with a bored frown, pulling away and damning the cuffs keeping her hands behind her back and the guards that stole her claws. "It is not genuine, I am a Drhuv. Even if not by blood, I can still control what smells come from me. You are not fun, Aliset, I much prefer when you can't do much as being yourself up to a knee over a simple bite. At least I know you moan like a bitch." She taunted before opening her mouth, wordlessly demanding more food.

"You told me not to feed you any more." Aliset dipped a cutlet in her sauce. Dip, dip, into her own mouth it goes. "You are not truthful by oath or habit, are you?"

Alloy's mouth closed with a scowl. She looked to the discarded muzzle as a slow grin formed. "You will regret your decisions." The hunter lunged forward and tried again for a bite, sinking her teeth into Aliset's bicep with enough force that she couldn't simply pry the woman off as she started gnawing like some leech. If Alloy will not be fed, she will find something else to feed herself on. She did already say it was the steak or Aliset.

The aforementioned royal yelped before grabbing Alloy's nose with her free hand to cut off air, using that as leverage to pry the Drhuv off before shoving a cutlet into the gnashing fangs. "Bad girl. Down."

Once the meat caught, Alloy faked innocence and put on such a lovely smile as she ate. "I will eat in some way!" The hunter declared, swallowing the cutlet and sitting straight, now acting passive as if she had done nothing wrong. "And do not give me commands, royal, you are the one easily stunned. Your claim to 'dominance' would not hold."

"And yet. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder what about you makes me want to open up. While intelligent and witty, you are…" her voice trailed off as she dropped another morsel into Alloy's mouth, beginning to gently play with the girl's hair. "I would describe it as intentionally abrasive. Do you intend to make me your prey before I can do the same to you?"

On the note of being intentionally abrasive, Alloy decided to forget her manners and speak while loudly chewing, "Suck my girl dick, you are already prey. It is why you need me locked in this cell."

"You are in here for an assault charge. Which the last two bites are not helping my attempts to absolve you from." Aliset took a deep breath, tossing more meat into Alloy, with a morsel for herself. "I choose to visit you to ensure that you are treated well. Despite your attempts to justify other treatment. Besides. Your hair is tangled. Shall I summon a brush to help?"

Alloy's manners returned, clearly not a fan of loud chewing herself. "I am not worried about leaving your way, the Duskerians can hold me for as long as they want, the Council will return and rescue me. Besides, I can brush my own hair. Take these damn cuffs off." Alloy demanded, trying again to pry her hands out of the metal rings that held them.

"I… Was instructed not to by the guards. For my protection, they said. But I already saw the chafing." Aliset looked away, clearly worried. "My mother used to braid my hair to keep it from tangling. I always found it relaxing."

Alloy stood up, walked a step to the side, plopped down in Aliset's lap and bent over as her hands reached to grab the royals face. "OFF OFF OFF OFF GET THEM OFF" Alloy was nearly foaming at the mouth with her little act, trying to pressure her handler into letting her free. Her incoherent loud jabbering continued as she continued to twist her arms unnaturally, still trying to grab Aliset's head.

Aliset grabbed the wrists, forcefully pulling them down to a natural and comfortable position before she leaned towards Alloy's ear. "Do you trust me?"

Alloy halted her flabbering and sat straight, pondering the question. More pondering why the question was trust for Aliset and not the other way around. Slowly, the hunter began to nod with a quiet, "Yes?"

"Okay. I'm going to trust you. And I'm going to release you despite what I was told." Alloy could feel Aliset nod, the Shuristan's warm, soft body shifting slightly before a beep could be heard. A small click released Alloy's cuffs. "You shouldn't need me to feed you."

The Drhuv pondered, her arms slowly coming into her view, hands feeling at the imprint around her wrists and finally getting a good crack of her knuckles. She silently stood back up and took the plate, moving to the end of the bed, sitting down and laying her legs over Aliset's lap. The plate sat in-between them and Alloy continued to eat silently. No fuss, no scratching or biting, just hungry.

Aliset gently rubbed the legs across her lap as she leaned back against the wall. "Would you like any medicine I can get you for the chafing? I am sure my cousin can get you a balm or something."

"It'll heal on its own." She was calm, enjoying the steak and finally getting some of her drink down. "I need a hair tie. My hair looks better in a tail or a bun." She gestures to the tangled mess of hair then shrugged, going back to eating her dinner. Alloy’s voice was completely calm and neutral. There was no sign of the disruptive, chaotic animal she was trained to be, only a relaxed huff and eyes looking for some sort of napkins to get the juices and fats off of her fingers.

Ali produced a napkin easily enough, offering it with a shrug. "I like it down. You have such a wild personality, your wild hair suits you. And it hangs to frame your eyes well. But if I get you hair ties, a brush will come with it. I'll not have you wearing a ratty mop of hair. You should take care of yourself."

"Care is not necessarily well made aesthetics, but your opinion is noted." Besides, Alloy is looking for simpler styles now that she does not have to worry about being combat ready 24/7. She took the napkin and let the wet contaminants soak up into the dry paper before setting the napkin and the now empty plate on the floor to chat with Aliset whom Alloy does not truly know what to think of. Even as Aliset is pinned to the bed and is trying to physically appease through a gentle squeeze of the hunters calves, Alloy is not certain of where Aliset is in her mind.

"I… I understand." Aliset nodded, squeezing the calf gently as her fingers massaged the point where Alloy's Achilles tendon met the muscle, evening out the fatty sleeve the muscle sat in. "I sometimes have trouble with that balance. As a duchess, I often have a certain expectation of beauty and grace upon me. In a form that my culture finds… Lacking. I was raised to be strong and proud, volunteer my expertise whenever possible, and make the greatest positive impact I can on my people, community, and family. But here, it is… alien. The expectations are different. Not higher. Just a different orientation than I am used to. I no longer wish to be a nomad between the stars. But it is all I have ever known, and my attempts to change have so far lead to cataclysms."

"You remember yesterday, past you finding out women are just as interesting, no? When I told you about why obsidian and our knives are so important, almost at or above the level of your knives? Take that into account. Nutrients in an ecosystem can only return from a corpse through decomposition. Through death, things grow again. There is a flower, native to one of our planets." Alloy's expression shifted, her eyes and mind set again on that distant memory she is still clinging to for sanity in the cell she is stuck in.

"This, flower, is…" The hunter had to ponder the wording of her ruler, the giant king with a gentle heart. "It is almost parasitic. Though eating it's seeds will kill you, in the wake of your death will be lush fields of these flowers. Our environmental agency has entire teams dedicated to containing this due to how quick it spreads. A horrible process for a beautiful result, fields of red splotches on white petals. It smells like death because it's a field of dead herbivores, but it is stunningly beautiful." Alloy's left hand spared, her fingertips grabbing Aliset's arm and squeezing tight as the emerald gemstones of her eyes peered into the Duchess. "I meant it. I meant what I said, in the full bluntness of the wording."

It took a couple of moments of Aliset looking down, her eyes visibly scrolling as she thought. There was a slight jump when Alloy touched her, as though lost, startled, and dragged back. "Thank you, Alloy. I do not wish to continue costing those I love everything. Perhaps one day I will take you to my home on Copernik. I… Haven't found any trace of my husband's ship. He is not dead or planetside. I would have felt his knife. Or his leg. There are a myriad of burial steel gifts I bestowed him. I already found the ones he had to leave behind. You drink from the mug I had made for our home. One of them."

"You cannot have both. You cannot be both." A small push brought Alloy's hand back to her lap. "You are lucky we left when we did. Were we to come a week or so earlier, well, I would drag you into celebrating Glory Days. You would hate it but you would learn much through it. It is one of the more gentler ways Drhuvs cut away our own decay so the rest can grow. Gentler…" Alloy scoffed.

"How can you think me to hate something I do not understand? I know Senti are stubborn and set in their ways, but…" Aliset's voice trailed off as she reached for Alloy's hand, attempting to pull it up to her jawline.

"I wish to learn. And I wish to show you how I was taught. Perhaps through the process we can both become better."

While the hand was given freely to Aliset, it was clear by the tension and hesitation on Alloy's face as she touched the Duchess's jaw that she was uncomfortable with the proposed intimacy. Alloy did not respond, instead pulling her eyes to the side. The clear wall of captor and captive rose again, eventually growing enough emotional tension for the hunter that she brought her legs down and hand back to herself to handle the accidental stab to her core alone.

"I…" Aliset's blush rose as she looked away, gathering the plate, Alloy's cuffs, and her muzzle together as she stood, readying herself to leave awkwardly. "You no longer need these. Thank you, Alloy. Would you be willing to tell me about Glory Days tomorrow? I will leave your cup."

"Sure…" The abandoned hunter huffed, awkwardly scratching her head to pass using her arm as a shield for the pained look growing on her face. "We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Unless you want me to stay?" She set the plate by the door, looking back. "I am… I am somewhat uncomfortable. But I am not sure it is in a bad way, if you understand. I don't know. I've grown used to the mind fog of the growth inhibitors. And now I… I don't know how to move forward."

Alloy only shook her head in response.

"Then I will see you in the morning, Gem." Aliset gave a soft, genuine bow. "Rest well. Miss Pine wishes to take you hunting some day. She was pleased you liked her stew."

With that, Aliset knocked on the door, picking up the plate as the guard let her out. "Thank you, Jon. And don't ever let me find her in a muzzle again."

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

The next morning came as promised, and the soft knock at the door. This time, Aliset would wait until Alloy allowed her in before nodding to the guard to let her in. The smell of a spiced sausage scramble wafted through the cracks, filling the room with the scent of eggs and potatoes and spice. "Alloy? I brought breakfast. And a guest, if you're up for it."


The hunter looked up from her bed, neatly folded and almost perfect had she not been sitting on top. Alloy rose to her feet and walked to the door cautiously, wondering why Aliset didn't just open it. "Come in?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to invite them or not. "Did you bring a brush?"

"And hair ties." Aliset offered a smile, entering slowly. Behind her lumbered the albino giantess Spark.

"This is the one scared you so bad? She looks harmless."

"Therein, Spark, lies the danger. This is Alloy, the Gem of the Drhuvian Collective. And my captive guest." Aliset gestured to Alloy. "She is a highly trained and accomplished Drhuvian soldier of prestige and skill to match even you."

"She don' look much like a Dhuv."

"Just as you don't look like you spent your entire life training to kill bioweapons with your bare hands. Thus, I find it more impressive. A Tsulrati managed to not only survive, but thrive in a culture outside the Senti. She has already taught me much. And I still have much to learn." Aliset approached Alloy's bed, setting the plate down next to Alloy's hip. Napkins were set next to it, and Alloy's mug filled with hot tea from a flask on Aliset's hip. The hair brush and ties were set on the sink by Spark before she approached.

"Nice to meet you, miss Alloy. Sorry if I'm a bit… different than most people here. I have a bit of trouble understanding some things. Just let me know if I upset you."

"Alloy, this is the hunter Spark Pine. She is the chef behind your packroach stew. And the one who killed the roach. Perhaps she can tell you of the creature."

"Holy fuckin-" Alloy forced herself a few steps backwards and into her combat ready crouch, hands away from her torso for the longest reach of her claws as possible. "I wondered if it were a gun or claws, did you beat it to death? You are massive!"

The room was much cleaner due to much whining to the guards from Alloy. Isolation and boredom has forced her to look into doing as much as she could to try and keep herself sane. By the looks of it, everything short of a toothpick between every crack to force the last bits of grime from their homes. Even as she was spooked by the giantess, Alloy was visibly ecstatic to finally have social interaction again.

Once she had caught herself and her surprise, Alloy stood to her full height and lowered her arms. Her eyes caught to the brush and ties but seeing the tower of flesh, Alloy veered to safer and surer waters, now sat next to Aliset and eyeing her breakfast. “You came early today…” Alloy noted, lifting her wide eyes as not to reveal her general hunger.

Spark gave a soft laugh, sitting down to not appear as threatening. "Yeah, I'm a big girl… But pack roaches are smart, pack hunting predators. They can shoot these venomous spines at'cha hard enough to punch through body armor, and they mimic the pheremones of critters they hunt. You kinda gotta use a gun, but if you can catch 'em alone, they got this nerve cluster between the third and fourth dorsal plates that you can put a knife in and they go down easy… I'm ramblin."

As Spark rambled, Aliset gave Alloy a soft smile. "I have a lot of work to do today, so I cannot stay long. Your room is cleaner than normal."

Alloy shifted uncomfortably at the note of her cleanliness and Aliset leaning early this time. She had to think of something on the fly so as to not expose herself, "Well, yes, I'm now expecting visitors daily. It would be rude not to clean up a bit, right?"

The nervousness snuck under her expression as she looked to change topics, turning her gaze to Spark, "We Drhuvs can mimic pheromones. I to a smaller extent, but we can use them almost as a second voice, completely flexible. We can even learn another species's unique language for pheromones and will typically use their mating pheromone as a hunting lure, not dissimilar from say a call."

She changed her eyes to the pool of rubber and armor plating just under the bed, sighing as she thought about getting to hunt one of them and finally have an outlet again, "I'm going to need my suit and gun for that…" Thinking about yesterday, her emerald eyes turned to Aliset with an almost pleading look that she would offer to find an adapter or something so she could wear the colors of Glory and the Collective again.

"If you remove the suit's batteries, I will charge them. You'll have one of our rifles to hunt." Aliset nodded with a smile, picking up a forkful of the scramble to poke at Alloy's lips. "I know how boring this containment must be. How the boredom hurts. I'm doing everything I can."

"That's some really neat info," Spark gave a bright smile, her albino features stretching as she tilted her head happily. "It'd be awesome to see! Ali already tell you I'm gonna take you hunting soon as you're free?"

Relief washed Alloy as she opened her mouth and enjoyed the scramble, her hunger and boredom only coming to bite at her more because she knows this visit will not last, nor the food. "No, she did not." Her tone was just tilted into remorse as she spoke, hiding the more subtle sadnesses before turning her face to the albino, surely showing an excitement she couldn't exactly reciprocate. Alloy turned back to the Duchess and questioned, "How much longer?"

"Hopefully not much longer. I'd like to bring you a communications device so you can teach me your native tongue. It'd give you more to do than obsessively clean and annoy the guards." Aliset gave another sad smile, offering another forkful of scramble.

"Well, I'm puttin' a good word in. From what I read and dealing with Fellen an' her guard, you trust Aliset a lot. And you're a lot nicer than other Drhuvs I met. You're bein' soft spoken, and I believe Ali when she says you were just doin' your job. I ain't much good at readin' people, but I know when a fight's about to go down. That ain't now." Spark nodded. "Sorry, I'm a Commando on Palace detail. I work closely with the Biohazard Rapid Response Force, am one of the surviving Bravo Strike prototype strike team members, and am in charge of the bioweapon rehab program. I been quite successful for my conditions."

"I'd imagine. You have a lovely accent I can't place, it is so very foreign, more than the singing of Senti…" Spark pointed out the few things Alloy hated, being soft and compliant in foreign territory. As another fork of the scramble approached, she opened her mouth but with fangs displayed, trying to warn Aliset with a nasally scratch of a growl hidden between them. Alloy cursed that the one training she did not undergo was SABLE else she would know how to handle being tricked with common interrogation techniques. She cursed her birth and the need for family that haunted her even when she should be working and fighting.

"I know, Alloy. Some times it's better to wait." Aliset's voice was low, quiet. Soft advice that was meant to help her in dealing with humans."

"That's from… Before we came here. I was raised by a bunch of Fenrirs after my parents disappeared. I never got to learnin' to talk much. Even then, I was in cryo a long time." Spark shrugged. "Alloy, I see a highly trained soldier in yah. I see someone who could take me in a fair fight, but I don' see a threat. Ali ain't the only one gonna be watchin' your back out here. An' maybe I'll get you in the ring some time?"

Alloy slowly accepted the bite of scramble but visibly backed off from further bites, head clouded in a haze of what ifs and worries that ruined the faith she had for Aliset. She still tried to keep conversation as to not suggest anything changed, "With or without claws? You would lose if I had my claws. I am a Hunter. If and when I get to hunt pack roach with you, you will understand what that specifically means for Berserkers like me."

"Be an honor to see it." Spark nodded, smiling. "An' maybe one day you can teach me to use them claws? I took a look at 'em, an' I really like the design! It don' interfere with gun mechanisms or anythin'. My compliments to your engineers! I seen a lotta jank, but you Drhuvs can make some beautiful things, y'all put'cha minds to it. Prettier than Senti gear by a long shot."

"Spark, you are overwhelming our guest. I will write you a cultural dissertation later on, but I'm not sure she liked being called well behaved. She is proud for a reason."

"Right. Sorry. I'm still puttin' in a good word. I like her. You gonna offer her a Gift?"

"You've been around Senti too long."

"I been in the Palace readin' cause you get in trouble."

"Not my problem."

"A gift?" Alloy asked.

She turned her head to Spark and tilted it, the small little mannerisms unique to the more feral culture of the Drhuvs beginning to show as Alloy consciously tried to rip herself away from the other two. Hopefully being recognizable as completely different and not the slow fade into homogeny Aliset was luring her into. Tamed. She nearly shivered at the idea of setting her claws down and never picking them up again, but suppressed it to keep the veil of everything being okay.

"Senti, so people not like Alloy and myself, often give gifts made of burial steel as a request for permanent companionship. Whether platonic or romantic. The burial steel would be formed into something representative of the relationship. Nicol has a compass, to always find me. Leventé has my Service Knife. Mark has my necklace. It is a way of claiming that a person is family. A marriage is simply a mutual admission of family."

"So… You're not adopting her?" Spark tilted her head.

"No. I have no intent to influence her away from her culture and comfort. She is my responsibility. But she shall be returned to the Drhuvs as the proud Hunter she came here as."

"Understood. I'm gonna learn a good bit, ain't I?"

"Most likely." Aliset offered Alloy a smile, squeezing her knee. "As will I."

Alloy flinched when touched and immediately turned to face Aliset, only greeted with a gentle smile. The hunter locked eyes and stared, frozen, almost in awe at the genuine compassion shown.

She shook away the growing warmth on her face and the hand on her knee, forcing in the storming sea of thoughts that had quelled at the stun with a hand on her hip and a first sip of her tea that she forgot. Alloy is playing off the deep strike against her, clearing her throat to speak and distract. "I am not a child nor a bioweapon. I do not need adoption or somebody looking after me, I can handle on my own. For maw sakes, I can effectively pilot an interstellar vessel. I can find and get my way home alone."

"I did not mean to imply either one." Aliset smiled. "The ship systems you will find here are different than your own vessels. Very few of them can be flown by only one set of hands. And they are not alive like Senti vessels. I will need your help."

"Aight. I'm headed out. Aliset, I gotta get you to the lunar colony by noon if you want to bring Alloy her dinner. You got five minutes."

"Thank you, Spark." The giantess stood to her full height, towering over most of the guards as she stepped out of the cell. "I told you she has a hard time. It is like any language she speaks is not her first. But for emotion. She bears a lot of similar scars to you."

Alloy sipped her tea again to supplement a response. Her eyes fell to the ground, caught with memories on some of the less notable scars across her body.

"I am glad I get two visits today." Her voice is soft enough that Aliset could mistake it as Alloy speaking to herself, barely above a whisper and quickly cut down with another cough to clear her throat of the knot swelling from emotional turmoil.

"I'm glad I get to see you more often. Despite your rough and tumble exterior, you are a wonderful, remarkable young woman. With much to be proud of." Aliset gave another smile, flipping the fork over in her hand and offering it to Alloy. "I don't think I need to hand feed you, anymore. I would still like to hear of these Glory Days."

Alloy took the fork and sighed, pondering a moment about her traditions. "Later today. When you visit again. Your giantess needs you."

"She is scarcely thirty." Aliset laughed, standing. "I'll collect the plate and silverware when I come back, okay?" Walking towards the door, she seemed hesitant, like she wanted to stay.

"I'll see you tonight, Alloy. I'll make a new sauce." With that, she slipped out.

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

A shrill scream followed a deafening crash, leaving Alloy groaning under the collapsed frame of her bed. She was only rewarded with the spinal pack of her suit tossed across the floor and her hand just barely clenching the massive battery that turned a pool of rubber into combat ready equipment. She didn’t feel like budging the bed as a bar of steel sat across her stomach and her tailbone hissed displeasure up her spine. Alloy let the battery rest on the floor and reached for the subdermal plate in her hip that always released the lovely concoction of stimulants and pain kill-

The plate actuated but her heart did not beat any quicker and her tailbone did not silence.

“Fuck.”

Aliset had been about to knock when she heard the crash and yell, ripping the door open, she rushed in, setting the plate aside to lift the frame off of Alloy and push it aside. "Are you okay? Do you need a medic?"

The guards stood behind Aliset, one of them accosting the others about having not checked if the bed was rated for a Tsulrati's body weight.

“Nope, yeah.” Alloy lifted her chest up with a small groan. She was not accustomed to pain, at all. She reached for the battery and brought it close, inspecting for any forms of damage to make sure her priceless equipment hadn’t broken already. Finding the battery pack safe and undamaged, Alloy twisted herself and stood. “Was just trying to get the batteries out. Used the bed as leverage, worked, sure, just cost me my bed.” She sniffed and dusted herself off before looking at Aliset. “I didn’t get to brush my hair. Didn’t exactly have any of the needed stuff to open my suit, kinda spent all day figuring it out.”

Alloy handed the pack to Aliset. “The internal controllers will handle any voltage short of a surge. Will charge in… well… Just give it back to me in a day. My other ‘clothes’ as well. I haven’t gotten those back yet and I’m getting a bit frustrated because those damn garments are worth more than the suit itself.”

"Understood. Thank you." Aliset gave a soft laugh, "I'm glad you're okay. Come, sit with me. Eat while I handle tying up your hair, yes? I brought pack roach. And Mark called it a creamy dijon sauce."

Alloy sat down on the trap that had sprung just moments ago, sighing as she pondered pain she thought she had been free of years ago. Right, food… She took the plate without another word, starting to get into her dinner quietly. Alloy had to think and didn’t care to collect the hair ties and brush scattered on the floor.

Not to worry about such things. Aliset picked up a pair of hair ties, sitting behind Alloy as she started gently running the brush through Alloy's hair, singing as she set herself to the braids. Spark could be seen in the doorway, observing the interaction quietly.

Oblivious, the hunter ate her dinner without any interest in-

"Ach!" Alloy tried turning her head to meet Aliset but stopped herself after being met with more pain, a reminder of the grip Aliset has on her already shoulder blade length hair. "Careful!" She complained, catching just an eye of the woman staring in the doorway. Alloy didn't acknowledge her presence, wanting to test herself as her nose flared for smells underneath the food and Aliset. "At least you got me dinner first…"

"My mother used to braid my hair while I ate and studied. She used to sing, too. But I was never as gentle. Or had as good a voice." Aliset's work slowed, becoming more gentle, though the braids were still tight. "Where is home for you, Alloy?"

"The Collective." She replied with a mouth still full, wondering why Aliset would ask such a stupid question. Alloy received a deep breath as she finally caught the scent just trailing outside of her trained senses, now picking it out as the giantess standing in the doorway. It was sweat, blood and… there was a pleasant and floral smell next to it, hiding something else. She would have to learn more about this woman, wondering why such a titan of flesh is seamed in flowers.

"That… Doesn't answer my question. I only know one name for you. Where I grew up, our name is who we are. Our family is where we come from. It is why I share my last name with my ship. Soren is family. Soren is home. So I'm trying to understand… I think the better question is who do you call family?"

Alloy stopped her eating to think, a cutlet of meat half shredded between her fangs. Her mind twisted and contorted on memories long locked away, threats against her, repeats of the past. Her eyes blanked on the floor, watching it slowly fuzz until lines were too dark and light a distorted mess of dissociative dreams. Finding herself locked on painful thoughts, Alloy snapped away a generic response, "The Collective. If you want my last name, Escollective, Esdrhuv, Esdrhen."

Alloy reached her hand to the left hinge of her jaw, touching it for just a moment before receiving a small jab at her nerves and a sinking feeling beginning to evolve and tumble in her stomach. She began to chew again, hoping to blot it out with distractions.

"I can see your scars flaring up." Aliset's voice sounded soft, careful, as she finished the braid, rolling it like a rose at the nape of Alloy's neck. "I'm sorry to bring up painful memories."

“It’s fine.” Alloy found anger and contempt in her voice, accidentally bringing concealed viciousness forward. She huffed and set the plate down now uninterested in eating anymore. Instead, Alloy let her head fall into her hands and her fingers tense until her short nails cut into her skin. Her breathing was shaky from all of the stimulation, losing grip in her throat. Another futile attempt at injecting stimulants passed, now with much more force and repetitive presses of her hip demanding her drug.

A small tap of metal at Alloy's shoulder showed the tin of stimulant leaves. "No it isn't. Talk to me. Maybe there's something I can do. I do not like seeing you in pain, Alloy."

The tin was snatched without a second on her shoulder, forced open as two large green leaves were stuffed into Alloy’s mouth and ground against her molars. “I am fine. Leave it be.” The hunter commanded, tensing up and threatening to stand. She shook her head and reached behind her back, grabbing the braid and bringing it over her shoulder to make sure she could see anything constantly touching her. She could already feel the top of her spine getting the same freezer burn sensation she recognized as an oncoming panic attack

The warmth of Aliset's hand on the same spot showed how she held a deeper understanding of what was going on. "You deal with stress as well as I deal with fear."

And fear spread, beginning to infect the air around Alloy as she forced herself onto her feet to escape the discomfort of touch and the assault of her senses coming down on her. A hiss followed as she stepped away from Aliset and towards the sink, “Leave me the fuck alone.” She set her weight on her arms, tapping her fingers disorderly against the metal tub to try and force her control back onto mounting odds.

Aliset was torn. Her instinct to help struggled against the fear and tightness in her chest at having hurt Alloy. Her hand shook in place as her brows furrowed, her eyes closing. She would not allow this girl's eyes to redden, so she didn't want to make it worse, but her body screamed at her to fight, to strike down Alloy's stress and the fear radiating off the girl with the violence of action and word that made such xenopoliticians of her culture. "I can't. I caused this. I am honorbound to solve the problem. I… You are safe, Alloy. I don't know how to say it, but the only person you should be scared of is yourself!"

But under mounting pressure and the constant attack on her senses that was nothing more than a whip lashing across Alloy's back to make another scar on an already black board, she snapped.

The hunter coarsely spat out the remnants of chewed leaf, leaving small shreds on her silver lips as each muscle in her legs perfectly tensed and worked in unison to make an unfathomable and uncanny snap about face. The watery gemstones in Alloy's eyes stared in frustration and rage that had clearly stolen command as it had done every single time before until mutiny was expected and required. Alloy exhaled a struggling breath, getting her desire for drugs and stimulants in the dump of adrenaline reigning her mind.

One foot lurched forward and landed, beginning an almost unresisted dash forward that end before it began two steps later with a hand already gripping Aliset's collar. It pulled her closer, gaining the tension to push Aliset onto the bed as an effortless hop sat Alloy on Aliset's chest. The hunters arm cocked back, digging her twisted hips into Aliset as her hand once again found purchase on the royal's throat where Alloy demanded that she alone could speak and end the sensory overload. At this distance and with this much fire, Aliset could finally see the full depth of Alloy's scars, physical or not as each one shone like beacons.

The tongue that possessed Alloy was incomprehensible and startling as every fang forced itself present and screamed the howl of a jackal dire for release, either through it finally being struck down or it's teeth gnashing through the last opponent and their resistance. The deafening cry was loud enough that even the reflection of the dense concrete and rebar surrounding them was drowned out in what was fury.

As Aliset felt the hand close on her throat, she felt the tension rise again, the firey blue rushing to her face as she grabbed the wrist, forcing back just enough to breathe as she let Alloy have her rage. Tears welled as she looked up and to the incoherent rage and pain on Alloy's face, before a palm lashed out, crumpling the elbow of the Hunter as Aliset wrapped her arms around, driving the hurt fanged woman into her chest and holding tight. Not hard enough to hurt. But just to keep hold, no matter what.

Aliset found a true animal as she held Alloy, viciousness fighting back, demanding to be unleashed and untamed, freed from the hold and it will not stop bucking until released. The furious language broke to a place where no tongue could verbalize, now just a shrill scream like a banshee hunting for a first kill.

At her realization of her mistake, Aliset did not let go, Spark already slipping into the room silently, her armored mountainous form surprisingly stealthy in the subdued greys and blues of her uniform's operational camouflage mode.

While Spark remained silent, Aliset's arms released, gripping Alloy's shoulder blades with a gentle squeeze. "I know you're scared. I know you're hurt. I'm not here to hurt you, my guiding star. Breathe for me, okay?"

Aliset spoke as Alloy lifted her head up, let her maw open wide and finally strike downwards like lightning. The hunter bit into Aliset's neck with a worrying pop immediately afterwards, hee fangs driving deep and threatening to expose her arteries and oily blood to the giantess watching their fight.

In an instant, Alloy's fangs found themselves wedged apart by Spark driving her hand into Alloy's neck to try grabbing Aliset's shoulder behind it, firmly pinning her as Aliset clamped her arms again. There wasn't much either Spark or Aliset could do to get her off safely, but preventing more damage was doable.

"Are you okay, Duchess?"

Aliset nodded, knowing that wasn't entirely true. "I'll heal. Just hold her there till she calms down. After that, I'll handle her, okay, Spark? How's the kids doing?"

"Angela's pregnant. So'm I. So not too terrible. Bit weird, though. You gonna need a leash for Alloy? I can borrow one of Anne's."

"Something tells me that would be a bad idea."

But it might be better than the gnashing and snarling beast trying to claw at Spark, though pinned for good, still fighting.

Spark gave a firm push, nearly choking Aliset with the Drhuv at her neck. "Aight. Yeah, she don' seem like the one who'd take a leash too well. Too independant."

"Agreed. Besides, why would anyone be on a leash?"

"Anne tends to get a little murdery when me an' Angel ain't around. So we keep her leashed to one of us to keep her from wanderin' off."

"That makes sense… As much as I like being choked and bit, could you not put all of her weight on my neck? I kinda want to be able to breathe."

"Sorry. She weighs bout much as I do. Wasn't her."

Alloy finally found a moment of thought, chaining until she had control of her senses and could bring intelligence into the fray. The first action her more cognizant mind wanted was to get her fangs out of Aliset. As much joy as it brought her to have a chew toy, she unfortunately cared for this particular one.

After her teeth escaped and she could speak without a mouth full, a very hush, whispered and ashamed apology followed, "I'm sorry…" was all Alloy could muster. A flood of blue flushed her face as her eyes averted and tears finally welled enough to drop. Were it not for Spark, she'd be walking into a corner to die for her aggression. She'll likely die anyway, some degree by royals for her crimes and surely mounting charges.

"Thanks for the assist, Spark. Go have a nice night with Angela. I'll take it from here."

"You got it, boss lady. Nice seein' you, Alloy. Easy with the fangs next time, kay?" Spark gently let go, letting Alloy pull back as Aliset gently kept holding Alloy, her voice humming a soft lullaby her mother used to sing for her. With Aliset's hands on Alloy's shoulder blades like this, Alloy could easily force her way out, but Aliset still held her tight, letting her heartbeat do the talking. Slow and steady, one and two. One and two to calm and center.

Despite the urge to rip away, Aliset was still trying to hold Alloy and she didn't feel she could afford any more disobedience. A frown began to form as the hunter wormed her face into Aliset's shoulder and let her weight slowly relax until limp. The occasional sniffs and trembling breath was threatening to break into a sob, Alloy still gripped in fear and anxiety. Whether she would admit it or not, hearing a heartbeat is just as soothing for Alloy as it is to stop one.

Again, Aliset's hands gently rubbed Alloy's back, letting the girl's weight be cushioned by her own soft mass. "It's okay, my guiding star. You don't need to be strong right now. Rest. You're okay."

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

(Warning, things get a little saucy ahead though remain calm.)

The next day found Aliset stiff, sore, and with a weight on her chest easily of her own mass. She had forgotten how awful sleeping in gravity was, and now found herself snoring herself awake as a guard came in to check on her.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to bother you, but you fell asleep about seven hours ago. We were unsure if it was safe to move the feral one."

From under Alloy came Aliset with a tired, pre-coffee sigh. "She's not feral. At all. Highly refined in ways I don't know how to express. But I haven't seen anything to indicate her culture did not attempt to raise her to what they considered proper. If anything, I'm the feral one between us."

"Right. Well, she's had her teeth next to your neck. We weren't going to take the chance. We went ahead and brought breakfast for the both of you. Including a pot of that weird blue crap you folks like."

"Ignoring the racist undertones of that comment, I appreciate the gesture. Soon as she wakes up, I'll let her know." Aliset gave a smile."

Aliset heard a small rumble of annoyance once she started moving and talking to the guards. The only words processed by Alloy were teeth, neck, breakfast and "not going to take the chance." A small slight of comedic inspiration brought her tired eyes open to take a small nibble at the crook of Aliset's neck and a mumbled "bekfest" before rolling off to start garnering energy to sit up and eat.

Aliset gave a soft yelp as her blush rose at the nip, laughing as she spoke. "Not that! That's dessert."

Grin.

Alloy lifted herself up and stared at the guards, as harmless as she could possibly be without a single thought behind her sleepy eyes. A yawn and stretch later, she had her arms outstretched and grabbing for air, "Gimme soup, smooth skins." Alloy demanded, trying to hold back the urge to stretch forwards and expose just how much she misses her claws.

The guard gave a chuckle, shaking his head as he walked out of the cell. "Fuckin' weirdo Senti… Horny fuckin' xenos."

Another guard tossed a sharp glare back before rolling his eyes and handing off the bowls of hot cereal with a lighthearted chuckle. "Here you go, silverskin. Alloy, right? I'll get him sorted."

She took the cereal with a small hum of happiness, setting it in her lap before looking back up to the guard and making out the face that muzzled her. "He talks mad shit for someone with a high heart rate. You are on thin ice." Alloy grinned again with all the fangs and none of the cage.

"I don't know why we got a damn xenophobe pulling jailhouse duty. As though he expects to find just humans down here." Jon rolled his eyes, shaking his head as she passed the other bowl down to Aliset. "He's not gonna last long if he keeps treating our nonhuman staff and residents like that. Seriously. Sorry about him. And sorry about the muzzle. The woman under you gave me quite the chewing out over that.

"Gimme back my fuckin' shorts and bra and I'll forgive you. It's been a few days now. Those are priceless and christened, I want them back. Do my bidding and I won't kill you when I take over the world." Alloy threatened, speaking in just the right way that Jon wouldn't be able to tell if she were serious or not about the killings and world domination. She looked down at her cereal and lifted the spoon, taking a bite with another hum of enjoyment.

A snort of laughter came from between Alloy's lap and the bed as Aliset waved a brief apology, and Jon bowed humorously before backing out of the cell. "Yes, my dark alien queen."

"Start thinking bigger, sweetroll. Just the world? I have two." Aliset gave a fanged smirk.

"I have one already." Alloy retorted, raising an eyebrow at Aliset. "You just don't know it yet."

"You're not gonna call me your world, are you?" Aliset rolled her eyes before Jon came over the intercom.

"My world's flat. She's named Keratys!"

"You're no fun, dessert." Alloy huffed and looked up to Jon. "I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine the cost to date someone like that. Prison guard detail for a xeno? Unlucky her." Alloy snatched another smile and then another spoonful of cereal, holding her little chuckle back.

"Ooh, she's got a tongue sharp as those fangs! You always had that or your mouthfuls of our duchess give you that?"

Aliset proceeded to cover her face with her hands, fighting back the laughter as her face grew a bright blue.

Not to be out done, Alloy swallowed and sat up with more arms to bear. "You make jokes about that but I'll set a record. See what I can do faster, her or chewing through your abdomen." Alloy finished with a light punch to Aliset's leg. "Assault won't be the only reason I'm in this damned cell, I'll stack a jealous Duke on top of it so help me goddess and her hunger."

Aliset nearly choked on her laughter as she turned an even darker shade of blue, tears welling as she held it in.

"Gay!" Came the voice over the intercom, in the most flamboyant tone a human should be able to strike.

Here Aliset exploded, her laughter like chimes as she tried and failed to keep some semblance of control over her voice.

"Nah! Just doing her a favor! She ain't been with a woman before." Alloy chuckled as another spoonful of cereal was shoved in her mouth. "Gimme my panties back, assholes! I need to show her what it means to 'kiss my star!'"

"You'll have 'em back if you release the lady!"Jon's voice was joking, in reality he would have the clothes to Alloy before Aliset's next visit. "Pray you not corrupt her further! Unless she asks for it. In which case she likes waterboarding!"

"Jon! What the Hell?!"

"Yeah, Jon! What the hell? How could you say that and not tell me the story behind it?" Torturing Aliset with misfortune has become Alloy's favorite pass time. Jon is now an accessory to her antics, especially since he knows so much. "And how do you know?"

"Turns out Spark had the bright idea a couple years back to put the Duchess through some of our training. Especially the training involving resistance to interrogation. We all thought we had a bloody nose till we realized the shade of blue she'd turned."

"One more word and I'll send you back to your girl with assembly required!" Aliset pointed firmly, blushing furiously.

"Ma'am, as much as I like you, I know you too well to believe you on that one. So anyways, it took Mark going in there to figure out that we'd somehow put her in a predicament."

Alloy turned to Aliset with only mischief in her eyes. There was the desire for chaos and Aliset would be the outlet. "Good to know." She took the last spoonful of her cereal before setting the bowl aside and returning to her conversation with Jon, "They wanted to leash me last night but I don't think it's going to go on me, you think the Duchess knows how to kneel and be good? There can't possibly be two trouble makers in here."

"Depends on who's telling her to. She's not
real good at following her husband's instructions. Maybe you'll figure something out. Besides. Aliset established pretty quickly that leashing, muzzling, or otherwise limiting you is usually considered a bad idea. Much as we want to throw your crazy ass in a straitjacket some days."

"You wouldn't make the distance it took to get to me anyway. I may give Aliset little nips now but if you muzzle me again I WILL bite guaranteed. I'm still hungry after breakfast…" Looking to cause more trouble, Alloy turned to Aliset and crawled over, sitting close and just staring at her hungrily. More pressure to the Duchess.

"We gonna do this here? Now?" Aliset joked, despite the visible bead of cold sweat on her brow and the soft scent of her body responding to Alloy's teasing despite her own demands to not.

"As I said. Bad idea. Still tempting."

"Alloy, you have beautiful emeralds for eyes. Now can you maybe take it easy on the teasing? I'm a little… This is new for me." Aliset gave a pursed lipped smile, starting to shift under Alloy. "Besides, I haven't eaten and I don't feel so good after sleeping in gravity."

"Jon, look away for a moment, just need a few seconds." Alloy smirked and comfortably climbed over Aliset until straddling. "I want dessert." The smirk bled into a grin as alloy reached a hand out to caress Aliset's cheek. "Besides, I am a child of Isomeria. I can be gentle if I need, do you know what she is the goddess of?" Alloy intends to make trouble and exploit every moment she's allowed. If she can send Aliset back again as a mumbling mess, she can win and feel like she has control over this small cell.

"I'm not familiar with Isomeria." Aliset squirmed a bit, her core clenching as her back gave a small pop. Though she did itch at the dull pattern on the back of her left hand, her brow furrowing. "Her name's familiar, though. I don't know how."

Alloy's voice has begun to lower into something sultry, something foreign to her training, what Aliset knew of this little demoness that always seemed to be looking for something to dig her claws in and shred. She even took the care to slowly lean forward, speaking, "She is the goddess and mother of all of the Drhuvs. After that, she is the goddess of consumption. When we worship civilly, we eat. Every member brings something to a large feast and we eat. Afterwards, of course after some cleaning for sanitary reasons, do you know what some of us enjoy?" Alloy was now dangerously close, enough to breathe the same air as Aliset.

Aliset's breath hitched as her rusted orbs stayed locked, lost in Alloy's gemstone eyes as she found herself at a loss for words, not quite knowing which of the eight different directions her brain scrambled to chase it. She could smell the soap the prison had given Alloy on her skin. She could smell the breakfast, and the strong scent of Alloy's talent for controlling her smell. This talent that set her body to a fire that hurt in ways she couldn't describe. "You… enjoy dessert?"

Like a constrictor coiling around prey caught in its grasp, her last hand lifted from the bed and made itself known as a gentle presence at Aliset's navel. One controlled exhale let Alloy extend herself further with careful balance, carrying her voice past the cheek and to the Duchess's ear, "I want dessert." A nip of Aliset's earlobe followed the demand, letting the relative newbie panic for a few more moments against the hunter, her smell, every sensation she carried and how, even now in the most fitting situation, Aliset couldn't catch any of the bloody, metallic sting that would complete the lovely attack.

Aliset's legs clenched at the nip, her voice slipping before she could catch it as her back arched, pressing herself up. Again, her breath caught as her panic set in, her heart racing as her body sought that pheremone in the air, anything to justify its responses. But there was no way for her to consciously be aware of this. "I… msorry…"

A chuckle brought the emerald eyes into view again, Alloy sitting down on Aliset's clenched thighs, hands withdraw and replaced on the Duchess's hips to ensure complete control of her lower body. Those two gemstones had a lining of a different hunger, where Aliset's mind could explore a new meaning of "I'm going to eat you."

"Jon." Alloy called, careful not to speak too loud unless the sensitive little squirmer beneath her had an overload, "Take a picture. I want to keep this on my wall." The hunter kept her eyes locked on the useless and trapped thing below her, almost catching her heart beat in the neck that was still struggling to even suck in another breath.

"Oh, you don't think I'm already taking photos? C'mon. This is precious! Big, powerful Aliset, the mighty xenopolitician of the Shuristan Council, the first of the Shuristan warriors in half a million years, a squirming puddle? I gotta have some way to remember this!" Jon laughed from the doorway, "But yeah. Your copy will be in your effects upon your release."

Said squirming puddle attempted to form words, her body putty in Alloy's grasp as her hand itched and burned, her sweat turning her skin to a glowing irridescance as she waited for the inevitable bite. "Tease," was the only word she could manage at this point as she used her hands to cover her stomach.

Good, Jon. You're amazing
Alloy snatched Aliset's hands and guided them up, letting the Duchess set one hand on the muscular thigh of a Drhuvian hunter and the other in the curve of a woman. Alloy didn't follow with words, only a wink and show of fangs.

Though, her eyes shifted uncomfortably as what could only be described as an unnatural wave of black, speckled with a mesmerizing white like concrete reflecting a night rain, spread from Alloys pupil until disappearing behind the whites of her eyes.

At that, Aliset grew confused, her heart still pounding as her body continued to respond to Alloy's stimuli. "What…? Jon, what's the arcana?"

"Everything above three units is suppressed. So you should still have your basic passive abilities." Jon shrugged, disappearing into the observation room, leaving Aliset to her fate.

Alloy held Aliset for just another moment before clambering off and sitting innocently next to her captor. "Have fun, your highness?" After all that, mocking Aliset. "You moan like a bitch and get teased like one too. You poor useless prey."

Aliset gave a small eep in response, still shaking as her hands stayed where they had been placed, shaking like a leaf. "I… I don't know what happened."

"You're gay is what happened." Alloy spared a hand, taking away Aliset's hold on her thigh to give the poor woman some comfort. "I thought a neck bite was bad, I can hear your heart racing."

"I can hear my heart, too." Aliset took a deep, shaking breath. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the dull hand before reaching for one of Alloy's hands.

Alloy took the other gladly, bringing to close to her face…

The dullness was an imprint, er… it looked like it for the moment Alloy had to see before it was brought up and pressed to her cheek. It almost looked like what the cults used as a mark of-

The hunter froze in place and stiffened immediately as an old voice echoed in her skull. Her breathing hastined for a moment before relaxing, trying not to show any sign of distress. Aliset is still coming down from a fun part two to an awakening, get her a cold shower first before unpacking boot camp sweethearts.

"You okay?" Aliset turned her head, brows furrowing again as she heard Alloy's breath hitched. "Alloy?"

"Are you?" Alloy deflected immediately, not wanting any suspicion drawn to her. "You finally settle down, blueberry? Should I lay a towel down next time?"

"More concerned for you." Her heart began to slow. "What did you see?" She looked down at herself, flipping her hands over to ensure nothing had changed. She still had goosebumps, but nothing she felt concerned about.

"A wild imagination." Alloy replied, that fanged grin of mischief following. "Ya know, your wardrobe is thankful I don't have my claws. It'd be a lot less lighter if I did."

"Imagining how more of me tastes than skin and blood?" Ali teased, smirking. "Or how you'd use those claws to make me hurt so good?"

"You talk plenty for someone who can't even keep themselves composed touching a woman's thigh." Alloy snapped back, mocking Aliset's bottom ass.

Aliset smirked, sitting up. "More that I'm not…" Looking away, Aliset let her heart and chest clench for a moment. "I've always found myself attracted to men. Not that feminine romance hasn't been offered when I was young… But I never felt a response. And now… I dunno. It's a bit scary. And I know that some things I ask hurt. And it hurts to hurt you. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm sorry." Aliset clenched her hands to her forehead, covering her eyes.

"It's alright, don't know why you are worried anyway," The hunter shifted and got the forward stretch she had resisted earlier, groaning before coming back to normality. "Worst and best case scenario, I'm probably going back to the Collective at some point so any love interest you have with me is either fortunately or unfortunately temporary." Saying that shouldn't have struck Alloy as it did but her stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought.

"My kin don't love temporarily. Nicol, despite the fact that he can now pick me up like a child, is still one of my husbands." Aliset turbed, smiling before she took Alloy's hand in her own. A gentle motion brought the hand towards he nose, pretending to sniff, before Aliset gave a sharp bite where the thumb met the palm.

Alloy gave a hiss in return, a small pull of her hand as a reflexive attempt to escape the small sting of Aliset’s less-than-harmful teeth. After the initial jolt, Alloy let Aliset bite, very accustomed to it being a motion of comfort or affection. “That will hamper chances that you and I stay as friendly as we are. I would rather not cause that kind of damage, losing family hurts.” The hand tried it’s best to hold what it could of Aliset’s face, hoping to return the comfort.

"You think you'd lose me?" Ali tilted her head, considering. "How could you lose me without choosing to? I can be found, no matter where you go. And you won't leave without my comm codes."

“Big of you to assume our communication systems are compatible.” Yeah, like the Collective wouldn’t take any chance to tell their silver skinned neighbors to fuck off. Alloy sighed. “I can find you, you cannot find me. That is the greater trouble. You are a royal, I am not. Some of my pack members laugh and joke that the Senti keeps us contained so we do not expand and get stronger, the Senti do not know anything interesting about us past the first system in the Black wall. Good luck breaking into something that an entire species could not manage, much less as one person.”

"If my former people were attempting containment, one would think we would know more than one language and some propoganda." Aliset gave a chuckle and a roll of her eyes, glad she finally found a way of showing affection to Alloy without making the girl uncomfortable. "Not for lack of trying. I'd like to know what your home is like. But it's not for me, is it? You have a pack. A family. I have Soren and waiting for eyes to redden when Rustybe comes to claim me again."

“The Drhuvs are keen on capturing Senti, or anything close to that though I don’t imagine being the subject of research or a fun new arena toy is your idea of a date. But that is what I mean. There is very little inside the Black Wall that will ever be meant for anything outside. You will see a show of power, the best the Drhuvs have to offer and everything good about them and nothing else. They do not feel they owe it to the outside, nor that they feel the outside is in any way interesting or anything other than unneeded danger when inside of our bubble is almost perfection.”

Alloy huffed, her shoulders slumping, knowing certain things are not intended. “As much as I’d love to go where Drhuvs couldn’t with you on one of the more volcanic worlds, show you some of the best places I’ve seen, caves of beautiful, glimmering glass, I do not find it practical nor possible. Even the Collective is less than happy with my presence and I am their perfect soldier.”

“I will enjoy my time with you while I have it, though. I may be able to teach you a few things from this cell but it saddens me that you would never see the lush fields of some of our less urban worlds.” She chuckled as a fond smile grew on her face. “Where everyone owns some sort of ship, lands where they please and nothing ever matters except the next harvest or the conditions of their live stock.”

"That sounds like a lovely world to settle on. Getting some nice heated clothes for the winter, nothing but the sun and livestock to roll a girl outta bed… It… sounds nice. Simple."

Aliset gave a soft shake of her head. "In the black, it's empty, cold, and dark. Surrounded by nothing but comm signals and the infinite void. The senti are constantly battling that black back. Carving out their little homes of precious little water and crop and steel. The cannonfruit, a staple of the Shuristan people, only grows where exposure leads to unconsciousness in ten seconds, and death in four minutes. Everything is so carefully balanced, always. And any harm we bring to each other is swiftly and severely punished. Because any negative impact risks death for us all. It's…" her voice trailed off as she thought about that.

“As fantastic as it would be, it is impossible. You would have to abandon so much for it. It is a fun idea, I’ve thought of doing something like it once I finally have a reason to leave the Berserkers.” Alloy stiffened and fixed herself, trying to look better in the moment when she felt her heart throb at a life with affection and simple, harmless work. She doesn’t want to be tricked like that again. “You have others more important, you hardly know who I am anyway.” Alloy had turned colder, more critical to suppress the urge to just follow her impulses and live without another order from someone.

"I'd like to know more. I do not wish to be Senti. I would like to learn to be something different. Something more." A soft squeeze of Aliset's hand tempted Alloy, as the politician was willing to learn and follow. "I want to earn the approval of your pack. And of you."

“You have others to care about first. Did you not have an errant husband to find? There are better places to be stuck with a prisoner that will be leaving permanently soon. You cannot follow every little whim that interests and pleases you.” Alloy took her hand away reluctantly, carefully bringing it back to her lap, already missing rare affection.

"It has been forty years since I saw Leventé. It might be best for me to stop taking the growth inhibitors and searching for a corpse." Aliset gave a deep sigh, considering that statement. "It would be nice to have closure. But even at sublight, forty years is a long way from home… If he were in one and a half light years of his home, I would have felt him. But I can't."

"You still have the Duskerians. Heinrich and Asteri seem to care much about you. It is not something to leave behind for one Tsulrati and her allure of a quiet terrestrial home." That had touched on insecurities, it showed in the hesitation to speak as if Alloy was a tempting woman and the damage it would do. As if it was an honor to escape the likes of a Senti. Alloy had begun to look away from the royal, hunching over her folded arms like she'd be stabbed in the stomach.

"They do care. Perhaps the world we settle could be this one. It would be nice to have some quiet life in the mountains. Though the fact that gravity is the only thing holding space back still bugs me some times. And besides. Even if you don't see it…" Aliset reached, gripping Alloy's forearm to cement her point, "You will always be worth that to someone. Even an idealistic idiot like me. I… I want to know more. From the ugliness to the beauties of the world you came from. And I want us to learn and grow. Together."

Alloy could not do anything besides force back tears and try to swallow the knot choking her voice. It made a difficult silence for the hunter, one that became more and more oppressive the longer it went on, harder and harder to interrupt until eventually, "You should go. Mark is probably worried about your absence." It was an excuse Alloy hoped would put Aliset away. In truth, Alloy did not have the skills to handle her own emotions and wanted to be alone the next time it was unleashed. She didn't want to come back from a blur with her teeth imprinted on the neck of someone she… Alloy loved. It hurt. Alloy did not deserve a moment more, she never did.

"When you need me, you need only call." Again, Aliset's hand found Alloy's jawline, her thumb brushing the cheekbone to unleash a wave of warmth and calm upon Alloy's rocked nerves. A rush of warmth and calm that showed why the Senti used such a trick of their own bodies not as a weapon to detain their own, but as a soft caress of genuine affection. "I'll never be that far away."

Pulling away, she started gathering up the dishware, rinsing Alloy's cup and leaving it there. She wondered if there was a better gift than a simple cup. But it was useful. Something to hold the drink and keep Alloy from need and desperation.

Alloy's face looked pained for the first moments she had been dominated by the trick again, but as Aliset was setting the cup down, there was the shade of a smile on the purring lips of the hunter. She would surely wake up in distress, piecing together what had happened until realized the trick and only finding relief. Relief that someone she could trust had let her rest and that, in complete spite of what she believes, she was safe.

 

[Big Dicc Marty]

The hunter was strew across her bed, making random and impossible noises, everything from chirps to grumbles. Anything for stimulation in her empty cell. Well, Jon did give Alloy photos of her teasing Aliset as to only torment the woman more. Regardless, she is still stuck, bored, exhausted by the look of concrete and bland furniture. It was coming to a head when Alloy had begun to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, quit your yelling. I brought food, you big goofus!" Aliset gave a laugh as she entered the chamber, shaking the hairtie crimps from those flowing red-brown locks. "You still promised to teach me about Glory Days."s.”

Alloy snapped up from her bed, staring at Aliset with ravenous hunger. Food. Hungry. Her hands shoved forward and started grabbing for the air. “Feed me and I’ll tell you.” The hunter demanded, still staring.

Aliset popped a small piece of the meat in a creamy, rich smelling blood sauce before popping it into her mouth, smirking. "Not my best work, but I think you'll enjoy this creature. I had it shipped from Tetskutra. It is a native Shuristan livestock animal. Poison to humans and Drhuvs, but perfectly safe for tsulrati."

Setting the plate down on the bed, she dipped another morsel of meat before quickly popping it into Alloy's mouth to let her enjoy the flavors.

Being mouth fed is not what Alloy was expecting. Her arms dropped into her lap as she chewed. A smile began to spread on her face, loving to devour meat and feel every little muscle shredded between her fangs. After swallowing the slice of meat and enjoying the aftertaste, Alloy spoke, “Glory days is a Drhuvian end of the year tradition where we celebrate the year, the best and worst for an entire week. It’s usually the most lax time for us Drhuvs.” She opened her mouth again, demanding more food for information.

Another slab was dipped in the blood sauce before being placed between Alloy's lips as Ali enjoyed her own slice. "Many cultures have such traditions. This one you seemed to think would shake me."

“Because during that week, we prepare masks.” Alloy sucked the meat for it’s sauce before shredding it like the last. “Typically made of paper, though anything burnable works. During this week of celebration, during the time of remembrance, we decorate these masks with symbols and other things relating to our year as individuals.”

Alloy scooted to the wall behind the bed after taking her cup from the ground and drinking to clean her palette somewhat. “In the last day, we wear them. We wear our year, every high and low and prepare a fire for the final hours. During the last hour, we gather with friends, family and whoever matters to us around the fire and burn the masks at the final moments of the year. It forces us to let go of the year, let the past be the past and prepare for the future.”

In offering another piece of the meat, Aliset had wrapped her own in the buttery lichen frond flatbread before popping it into her own mouth. "Huh. I've never seen something like that. It sounds really nice. So what if it's someone's first time celebrating?"

“Put the biggest things in your life, from your past.” Alloy didn’t take, watching Aliset and demanding the same treatment with her meat. “Your husband would be one of the first ones to be drawn.” She shut up, as she had not been fed and was absolutely going to be stingy about being fed.

Ali carefully wrapped another morsel in a strip of flatbread, packed with a rice like grain and then dipped in that creamiest of blood sauces again. Making another, she popped one into Alloy's mouth as she happily chewed on her own. "That makes sense. Like my earning of my ship's command. Soren chose me when I was sixteen."

Alloy cautiously bit down as soon as her lips closed around the- "Isomeria help me." She mumbled, chewing a little bit more before stopping to process the flavors and textures. Aliset could see Alloy visibly melt against the wall with an almost blissful expression. "Goddess, I've missed good food." The hunter covered her mouth as she began to chew again, enjoying the resistance against her molars as she continued to eat.

It was a solid moment that had passed before she began to speak, having lost her train of thought and needing to vigorously search for it again. Drhuvian hunger is vicious and consuming, something evolved in Alloy as she grew with them. "Yes. It is a bitter sweet tradition but we found it necessary. It originated when the First Council had all died and the Drhuvs had to learn to move on from their losses. It was originally a celebration of the First Council but evolved into what we have today."

"That is a traditional Shuristan dish. Katsut. The creature is drained of blood before being slow roasted in a bath of spices and salt. The fronds of cannonfruit lichen and fats from its milk are used to make a flatbread, and the same milk is used to make a sour cream that gets heated slowly with the creature's blood and more spices to make the blood sauce. The grain is a simple staple crop. Some people use a fine grain pasta in stead." Aliset shrugged, considering Alloy's words. "I think I understand the tradition, though. My former people had the Gift of Song. Every training cycle, Shurista would flood the comm waves with songs of our people as the newly trained captains took their vessels on a maiden flight. We would keep singing across the void until they all came home.""

"That sounds awfully beautiful. The closest thing I could think of is our prayers but it comes nowhere near that. I'm certain the Drhuvs must have recovered recordings of that somewhere, I suppose I'll need to find them when I get home." Alloy didn't demand any more, swallowing her slice and resting to chat and drink. "Though, during the Second Berserker war, Homestead troops sang on their way to the front lines. Typically of home, of how they left to protect those behind them. Of how they knew they were most likely to die against hordes of their own vicious kin but smiling that it was only them that had to suffer such a sacrifice and not their families working at home."

"I heard rumors that Drhuvs had song of their own. Could you… Teach me the language? I'd like to learn, and if I can make talking easier for you, it might be easier to explain complex points." Ali took another nibble of the flatbread, enjoying its buttery smoothness.

"You would suffer entirely trying to learn." Alloy warned, "You would wish a sore throat would be the biggest of your troubles but would lose your voice soon enough. Afterwards, well, you wouldn't need to worry about an accent. A lot of the work in your language comes from the throat and hissing. We use S a lot in our language, it is easier on our elongated tongues as well as growls and other throat intensive work. Allurian is worse, being no better than an animal."

"Want learn." Aliset's first attempt at Allurian was based on snippets of comm transmissions and translation packs from the Duskerians. She touched her throat as her voice cracked, instinctively trying to pack layers of information across a harmonized set of notes. But Allurian, Drhuvian, these were not Shuristan. They had no need of the information density of Senti tongues, nor the independant control of the chambers of her larynx that allowed such harmonized tonality. And Aliset could immediately feel that as she covered her cough with a drink of stiff cannonfruit brandy.

"Told you. Don't try Allurian. We do not have the pheromones for it anyway, another major component for that language. I could offer to teach you Drhuvian, though. Bring plenty of water and perhaps some lozenges. You will need them." Alloy sipped her drink and croaked out an easy whisper to herself in the harsh combat language of the Drhuvs, switching back to her typical tongue, "And try not to sing. We are cacophonous but singing between shredding your throat is worse."

"I will try." Ali nodded excitedly, her eyes seeming to visibly brighten at the prospect of learning an alien culture on a meaningful level. "And what of t hese farm worlds? You said the Berserkers have songs of the peace they protect on those worlds, yes?"

"The Berserkers? No. They know only war, their eyes set to weapons. Animus is an exception, hence why he is the king and why there is peace. The Voyagers, however, do. They are most fascinated with peace and freedom. They hardly have laws in their state, it is closer to a wild frontier than anything. While criminals are prevalent, majority of the state are simple farmers and almost every planet is a terraformed world. They were originally made for a much larger population but Black Blood and the First Berserker War left us recovering for a long while. I think we may still be."

"Regardless, there are many folk songs. When many of your people live and die between endless golden fields and a blanket of the entire galaxy above, well, you find moments to sing. That reminds me, fun fact, you can usually tell where the biggest battles happened during the First Berserker war happened by if a terraformed world had vast mountains and hellmouths that seemed to appear from nothing."

"I thought the planet crackers nothing but myth… So you, too, are Voyager? You don't have the attitude I would expect from a Berserker." Ali's brows furrowed as she thought about that. "No, your soul is that of a warrior… But not one who only knows war. Your training is far more… specialized? I do not know how to describe it. But I feel I would have much to learn from sparring with you."

"There is a reason Drhuvs do not conduct grand warfare anymore. But yes, I am… unaligned. Officially, yes, the Berserkers, but as a foster child I did not grow in a single state. I am a mutt of all of them. My training is specialized, as a Hunter, I am trained to take out wanderers. I am trained to scare or lure members of a group alone to kill them ruthlessly. My claws are as much utensils for eating delicious, delicious Shuristian meats," Alloy gave a wink, intentionally being vague to tease the poor royal sitting not inches away from photos of her first true gay panic, "as they are for eating warriors that have wandered off the safest path. That or a slow one by one elimination and enough fear that even I could smell and replicate it."

"That makes a certain sense," Aliset nodded, thinking on the interesting aspects of Drhuvian culture she had already learned. "Can you sing one of these songs for me? I'll sing one of my songs."

Alloy backed off a bit at the idea, lowering her gaze and voice. "I don't have a singing voice, nor are our songs very pretty."

"And my voice is trash. I can't hold a proper note to save my life!" Aliset gave a sharp laugh, her musical Shuristan accent throwing the rhythm off "I'm certain any song would be beautiful from you. Perhaps as beautiful as you are."

"I am certain you are wrong. You have training with your voice, it's your whole language. My voice is cracked and raspy from always speaking Drhuvian and Allurian. I am not a singer nor will I ever be." Alloy denied, outright lying about the raspiness as she turned away and huffed.

"Just because my language uses tone to describe orientation does not mean that song is easy. Shuristan working songs are hard rhythms, strong beats and arcs and blows. Far from the icy stars and solar winds, the heartbeat of hammer and steel. I cannot hold that rhythm. I do not expect Drhuvian song to be easy. But I do not speak Drhuvian, yet. Your voice is crystal. Clear, ringing and precise, though tonally flat. I hear none of the cracks or grate the opinions of the Councils claim."

Alloy took a deep breath. She was not getting out of this, was she? “There is a song. If you really want. It was actually, funnily enough, the song that competed for Allurian Call, our current national anthem. Well, competed when we thought of changing sometime after the Second Berserker War, or the first. I don’t particularly remember nor care.” The hunter hummed in between words, retraining the song in her mind. “I do care, but, well, it’s a much more grand song. First Berserker War. A much older version of Drhuvian too.” Alloy was rambling, maybe even to try and escape having to sing.

"It sounds like a huge piece of history! You can explain it when I hear it." Aliset nodded brightly, wishing she remembered how to play a guitar so she could accompany the song.

Alloy gave a grumbling sigh and a mumble of, “fuck.” She sat up and cleared her throat, garnering confidence to sing something far departed from her own character.

The hunter started with a low and gentle hum to find her place in memories conjured as guidance. Her lips parted and began her melancholic song. Though automatic translation had troubles with deciphering the older Drhuvian from a much grander period in their history, it managed snippets of the first few verses before failing outright. It did not matter, the song was brief.

“In the ashen fields of dead kin,
Buried beneath blood, shells and fire,
Our celestial heart still beats…”

After translation failed, it only left Aliset to listen to Alloy. Try as she might, she could not hit every single note, her voice did not know the absolute war the song recreated. But what she could convey, as the scars of her own pain began to impart themselves, was the very moments before rain. When the ruined body of infinite golden fields once traversed peacefully was laid to rest. The song was somber shafts of amber light piercing through dark clouds, undertakers, come to give a proper burial for all those that laid themselves down for their country, their pride, their ideals. It was the sun falling below the horizon as the first droplets of rain struck miles of mud, craters, trenches, men and needless death.

Just as the picture of this war became clear and the fog of time cleared to a full realization of hell reckoned, Alloy stopped and let herself droop, already picking apart her performance and every little failure, every time she thought she failed to convey a pivotal moment in the nation she took such pride in.

“It is much better with the instruments and dedicated singer. They sometimes still sing it at funerals, usually for those who were not celebrated, not named or simply nobody showed to say goodbye.”

Those rusted browns were closed softly, a hand wiping away a trace of oil that leaked from the corner of her eye. "I don't know Drhuvian. But I… It feels so familiar. I dunno. Like there's some part of me that can understand it. Sorry. It's beautiful. Far prettier than anything I know."

“Yeah. I’ve taken a trip out to the fields the writer talked about. His name was Urlamess, he was a low ranking soldier in the war and one of the few that survived that battle. Homestead and the Berserkers simply didn’t have any more people to send into battle, so, it ended. I would love to take you there if possible, it really is beautiful.” Alloy shrugged, seemingly a bit downtrodden at her own singing and the song she chose. She scooted closer towards Aliset and laid her head down next to her, gulping down a small knot in her throat and spreading herself out. “What is your song?”

Taking Alloy's hair into her fingers, she gave that a solid few moments of thought. "Well, the only song I know well is one my mother used as a lullaby. And when my children earned their Captain's rank, and guided their ship out for the first time, I broadcast it across the void to beacon them home safely. I think it was the first time I've ever heard Shurista and Skydas sing together… What's left of the Skydasi."

Gently, she slid her lap under Alloy's head as her voice lilted across languages to ancient Homeworlder, before the Skydas War.

As we set sail, 'cross the blackless void
To golden shores and olden worlds
Our home beacons and guides a way
Back to golden tower and ancient power

Though death leaves us gone this day
Unto the stars we shall find our way
For hearth and home we find it here
In golden halls of olden weyrs…

The translation was spotty, with Aliset's voice lilting in several overlapping harmonies that implied a much more dense translation, and much getting lost. As she continued, she told the myth and tale of how the Tsulrati found an ancient Scourge, and what it did, how the home burned under an exploding star and the other suns blown out like mere candles.

Again, the language and rhythm twisted, to hopelessness and fear, lost between the stars, only to find the strength to fight back, claim the enemy's weapon and tear them apart to the last. Finally, modern Shuristan as the tale concluded, with sorrow, cold and black, shame and fear of the blood on one's own hands. Where no world was deserved, and safety, hope lied where there had once been fear and uncertainty, hiding in the infinite black to grow.

Alloy laid still throughout the song, watching intently as Aliset sang and as Alloy slowed herself to deep and calm breaths. She had heard it before, the Drhuvs had captured a recording and put it in public archives. It was one of her favorite past times, actually, pondering over masses of recovered information. Hearing it from an actual Senti, or someone who was. Her eyes closed and allowed her to absorb a bit into the comfort Aliset snuck Alloy into. By the end, Alloy felt more relief than anything. It was a lullaby and gave the hunter a moment of true rest so expensive and valuable now.

She didn’t speak, just stared in awe at the royal with the softened emerald gems in her eyes. It was a beautiful tale to her, even if the translation failed and she could not understand most of it. An oily tear landed on Alloy's cheek as Aliset's breath hitched, her voice cracking as the tale ended.

"Sorry. Some parts of that song sting my soul. I do not know why."

Aliset only saw Alloy rise up for a moment before being dragged down to the bed. Without asking for an opinion, Alloy wrapped herself around the royal laying on top of her and began gently rubbing her back. “It’s okay. I know how it feels when things hurt for no reason.” The hunter gently nipped Aliset’s shoulder before a rumbling purr rose from Alloy’s chest, providing a chance for low and gentle comfort if Aliset needed.

Purring? Aliset accepted the warmth and comfort, gently biting whatever portion of Alloy she could reach as she squeezed tight. "I dunno. It's probably something stupid. Thank you. Your purr feels nice."

"Maybe." Alloy stretched out in the most annoying fashion, almost smothering Aliset in mass. "But sometimes it isn't. You just don't know why." She patted herself down to retrieve the tin of leaves, finding just a few left already and having a grumble of discomfort follow. She placed one in her mouth and began to chew it idly. "Were I connected to the burial steel, I would use my cheating psychiatrist powers to tell you if the nebula of scars under your skin sucked light in anymore during your lovely song." Alloy yawned. "I wish someone would sing me lullabies all the time…"

"You have your cup. I don't know if it considers you family." Ali gave a soft shrug. "I have less painful lullabies. You don't get your hair braided often, do you?"

Alloy shook her head, reached up and began making a mess of the beautiful braid Aliset had gifted her. There was only a smug grin and the long, happy-about-nothing purr as her hair laid against the bed in a pool. "Nope, the cup hasn't given me magic powers yet. Though, as a Drhuv, magic is unheard of outside of the Senti, so it is perhaps for the better."

"Maybe." Aliset shrugged again as she reached for the hair brush and started gently working Alloy's hair to its soft and relaxed form. Oils from Aliset's earlier crying helped to smooth the strands as she worked. Pulling Alloy further into her lap, she continued. "Perhaps your people have not found yours yet, or perhaps not realized what gifts you already have. Your jump drives, your reactors, operated by skilled technicians have no reason to work. So distinct in the way they rend space and time to carry you faster than the light. But when touched by a certain skill and fearless craze, they calm. And are arguably just as precise or more so than Senti drives. While terrifying, it is rather beautiful to watch your people's ships. I imagine much of your technology follows similar rules of guidance over control."

Alloy pondered as she relaxed and let the careful work of Aliset continue without interruption, "Or we are simply the only ones batshit insane enough to do it. After so many years, we still aren't too sure how our drives work. Well, we know what it does but in some areas, not how it does it. Secrets were lost in the First Berserker War and the plague that followed. The Collective was once set to be a super power. Now, well, still powerful." Aliset could watch Alloy closing her eyes as her hair was worked into a braid, the purr only getting louder and only getting closer to what has been seen every time Alloy had her cheekbone rubbed.

"Such is the curse of all races who live to see recovery. Much has to be lost to survive, and we cannot control these things. Some times, we get lucky." Lock over lock, the pattern formed in Alloy's scalp of a single knot of layered braids, fusing and braiding over each other in a traditional blooming crown, carried down family lines from times of myth and legend. It was the same rose knot that Aliset had worn at her graduation, and at her Gift of Song ceremony. Though Aliset had more hair to work with, which would be secured in a single braided bun at the nape, Alloy's was more true to the manuscripts and inscriptions found in Shurista's Great Library. Aliset had been taught as a young girl to form Shurista's Love-Lock, the braid of the ancient General and Wife of Wrath that led her people from the conflict to their current peace.

Aliset thought it looked regal and proud on Alloy. Almost as beautiful as the purring Drhuvian who now wore it. Though she was saddened how few knew the mythology and tradition behind this knot. Perhaps it was for the best. "Some times the things we don't lose are the things we need."

Alloy's eyes opened and stared up at Aliset, the now unconditional glee formed into a smile on the hunters lips. "You are being sad." Alloy noted, reaching out to take one of Aliset's hands and gently bite the bridge between palm and thumb. Alloy never cared for how the braid looked, well, she did, she thought it was beautiful, but the process was what Alloy loved. Aliset could see in the emotional mirror of her Drhuv that just being given gentle and caring touch was enough to make the scars shrink, even if only a little bit. "I am still certain we Drhuvs can kick the ass of anyone out in the black. Even if only once."

"At least once." Aliset smiled, softly stroking Alloy's cheek with the bite. "We need to get you real clothes."

Alloy sat up for just a moment, sparing her arm as support to give a small peck on Aliset's lips, "You've got a really pretty smile, dessert." She laid herself back down and gave a small huff as she looked around. "I still need my battery and other things. I'd stick out like a sore thumb in duskerian clothing, I'm sure."

The blue rose as Aliset's smile formed and her brain seemed to short. "Where did you learn that? But I was thinking less armor. Maybe you could show me what Drhuvian clothes look like. I will make you non armor clothes from your homeland!"

"Ha! Impossible! The only clothes we wear without armor are the worst clothes or because we have armor elsewhere. Fellen wearing soft body armor is not a coincidence, it is because that is what we wear on political missions. Even my formal uniform is my armor with carefully placed medals, awards and what not on it!" Alloy gave a small stinging bite at Aliset for thinking there could ever be another option, letting go immediately, however. "What did I learn?" She asked just after her attack, curious on what Aliset meant.

"The way humans show affection. Pressing their lips together like that. I thought Drhuvs did the hand bite thing." She considered the cultural significance of that, how the Senti space suit also doubled as formal wear, despite being an armored space suit capable of stopping micrometeorites. "Perhaps, then, I shall mix Drhuvian function, Shuristan reliability, and Sirrisian materials to make something truly beautiful. Something that shows the beauty I see when I look at you."

"We do both. Biting is just more common. But, yes, that is possible. Drhuvs typically put kevlar weaves or patches on the interiors of things like coats or any top layer item. Makes us a bit more resistant to scratches and general damage. Plus! Hydrophobic. Er, hydrophobic because of a coating, not because of the kevlar."

"Then I shall summon my mother in law to see what can be done. Perhaps her wife as well." Aliset nodded, leaning down to return the kiss.

The hunter just shut her eyes and smiled after being kissed, a light blue permeating her cheeks. "They will hate me."

"I highly doubt that, guidestone. You are fierce and mighty. But you are also kind. You are loyal. And you are so very, very strong. I know how tiring it must be." Again, Aliset's lips pressed to Alloy's forehead. "I will earn your pack's approval. And I will do everything I can to show the dishonor your representative showed you."

Alloy grumbled with discontent, not daring to challenge her representative. “Look, I messed up. I failed. At the time, she could not help me and to do so would lose contact with the NDC. She can get me at a later date, I am not dead. It is an acceptable loss.” Her hand reached up to caress Aliset’s cheek, “Okay? I am fine. And, well, your people know I am a Drhuv. They know the bite I carry and how it has hurt in the past. I am a Drhuv. I expect tolerance, but not enjoyment.”

"That, I can promise you," Alisett's eyes half lidded as she melted into the caress with a soft trill of her voice. "They will tolerate you. In time they will learn to trust and enjoy your presence as I have. You are Drhuv. But you are Alloy. The strongest parts of Tsulrati and Drhuv in perfect harmony. Alloy Drhurati of the Collective."

"Drhurati." Alloy chuckled with amusement. "And it is Gem of the Collective. Animus would rise from his throne and lift you by your temples if he heard otherwise. He doesn't have favorites, but I am one of his favorites." A gleaming grin of pride followed, clearly loving how well awarded and praised she's been by almost all of the Berserkers, in spite of their prejudices. "If I am the gem," Alloy questioned, tilting her head curiously with a glint of innocence in the eyes locked with Aliset. "Are you the polish that makes me shine?"

"I can only hope. But you are not simply the Gem. You are the shining gem of Animus's crown and my guidestone."

"That implies you are following the king. Perhaps not the best choice." A smug grin struck Alloy's face as her thumb passed over Aliset's cheekbone, though being a damned ass, she was admiring, almost lost in every little feature of the royal's face.

"A guidestone does not normally lead where it lies." Aliset felt her heart slow, the beat dropping as oxygen flooded her bloodstream. Alloy could feel Ali's heartbeat grow stronger in time with its pace. Half lidded eyes and softly humming breaths, almost her own instinctive pur. Shoulders relaxed, almost slumping as she curled forward.

"Are you…" Alloy squinted her eyes. "Are you falling asleep?"

"No, no, just… Relaxed. Like being wrapped in warm blankets and soft things. The cheekbone and pressure on the jaw like that overrides our nervous system, forces us to relax." Aliset slowly lifted her hand, taking Alloy's to rotate it down, pressing the middle finger to the point of her jaw, and the cup of her palm supporting the jaw. "Just like that."

Alloy almost flinched at the position she held on Aliset. Her hand retreated back, being played off as Alloy's arm getting tired and her being bored, her face now burrowing into Aliset's stomach. "I'm gonna need to get cheekbone armor…"

Shaking off the sensation, Aliset's arms wrapped over Alloy's shoulders. "I'll never use that against you. I promise."

"Others may not be so kind." Alloy mumbled, looking back up. "So when am I going to be sat next to your throne like a guard dog?" She joked, that same, always happy smile hidden but felt and heard. "Can't stay in here forever, might as well give me work. Jon should be more careful of protocol else I may escape…" Alloy's voice trailed off after the small threat.

"Feel my lower back." Ali's voice was barely above a whisper. "You'll not be a guard dog. But a proud warrior to serve by choice, not by debt."

Alloy obeyed, reaching an arm around Aliset's hip with an open palm, slowly rubbing and gliding up her spine and the surrounding skin. She didn't speak, instead raising an eyebrow, especially at Aliset assuming that being a guard dog wasn't a happy choice she would take. Alloy is a Drhuv, guarding is no issue. It is their main staple. At the point where her underthings met her lower back, Alloy could feel it, scarcely thicker than an ancient credit card. A small comm relay for her. One that included a small bone conducting node and a transmitter.

"So we can talk anywhere. And I can learn that enchanting language of yours."

Before Aliset could finish, it had been taken away and stuffed under Alloy. "Thank you. Expect constant chatter. You will not get it back."

"Didn't expect it." Aliset offered a smile, gently massaging the skin behind Alloy's ears. "But I better not hear of you calling yourself my guardian. Lest I come to the Black Wall and fight in the Arenas for you."

"You would fail at getting a ship out. Were I to call myself your guardian that would be a big part of my duties. Making sure you do not do such foolish things. Do not be surprised if, when released, I always seem to be around and watching." Alloy grinned in defiance of Aliset's warning, making sure to twist words in all the most annoying ways.

"I wouldn't be seeking a way out. Just a chance to take Fellen's fangs. It disturbs me that she allowed you to be simply imprisoned rather than removing you from the situation. Most normal cultures would have restricted you to the ship. I cannot conjure why she would simply toss you aside when you proved yourself too powerful for your task."

"Because it was not just disruption, it was damage. I had created a crime and therefore needed to be punished accordingly. I do not know why you are so mad about it," Alloy started, bringing a hand up to hold Aliset's cheek again. "It is the reason I am here now."

"It should have been your own people, not us that were forced to bring you to justice." Aliset seemed to melt into the hand holding her cheek, her skin shimmering in ripples as her powers relaxed, fading and flickering out. Alloy could feel her heart slow, and hear her breathing deepen. "As glad for it as I am, it is still an injustice. And the price must be paid."

In this tonic immobilized state, Aliset's threats were so much harder to take seriously, her voice barely a soft coo, almost a pur. "I will discuss your release with Mark. Fellen will see my body painted in Drhuv colors when we spar."

“So quick to adopt cultures you have little knowledge of. Aliset, please, you are such a lovely, lovely starlight.” Alloy tilted the head of her little prey, looking displeased with the persistence of her captor. “Do not fall into every little hole, every little spot of void you find. There are walls, treat, you cannot scale them all.” She had hoped the sincerity and sweeter voice Alloy at least attempted to bring forth. “You cannot save everyone.”

"I know. I don't know why I try so hard. I feel as though I once did something I cannot remember. No matter what I do, everything has a cost." The half lidded eyes seemed unfocused, and here Alloy could see the flecks of green, irridescing into purple behind the thick layer of rust on Aliset's eyes. So that picture was her, once. "I cannot allow others to pay for my misdeeds. You did your job. I took it too far. I caused this. I should be here while you walk free. I have fought gods for lesser infractions."

Alloy sighed as she brought her hand back to herself, “That is never how it works. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is let others bleed for your consequences. Aliset, please, you truly cannot help everyone.”

The hunter relaxed and looked around the cell, pondering the practical ending to her sentence, “One day, you will come to this cell and find me gone. One day, you won’t see me ever again. I’ve done so much, even if I am doing it out of friendliness, I have still assaulted you, over and over. The first instance, in the palace, is enough for years of my life to be removed in a concrete container. Now, well, it’s much longer. I’ll be moved one day, without warning. Politicians and princes don’t visit state prisons. Your youthful antics won’t last forever, reality will come for its dues.”

"Be that as it may, do you know why the comms I gave you have no latency? Why even so far away and through so much concrete, you can still hear me? Even with my fading powers, I will still find you." As Aliset shook off the calming touch, she offered a bright smile.

But then Spark knocked and entered, holding a familiar battery. "Ma'am. Miss Alloy, good t' see yah. I got somethin' for you. But Mark needs to talk at his wife, so I guess it's a trade?"

Alloy looked over to the giant, a slow and tired pan. She sat up, “Burial steel. The Drhuvs always wondered how it was so easy. Quantum entanglement or something, but never fully explained…” The hunter turned to stand, taking a few steps to Spark to retrieve her battery. “I better look good if I’m going to a state prison.” She held her hand out. “Careful, pale-one, my escape may just be on your hands.”

"I ain't worried about it. An' I wouldn't worry about you gettin' transferred anytime soon. Only ones qualified to handle you are me, Jon, an' your dessert back there." Spark set the battery in Alloy's hand as Aliset gave an eeping noise, her face flushing a royal shade of blue. "C'mon, perkybutt, your husband wants you for some shenannigans."

“You need better guards.” Alloy chuckled as she took the battery and turned around to bring her pool of armor together. She brought the back panel into her lap and jammed the large battery into its place, missing her claws as she jammed her fingers into tight spaces to ensure all necessary connections are made. As the suit began to orient itself and adjust all of the gel inside, Alloy stood.

“Where’s my clothes? The other ones, not this prison assigned shit.” Alloy demanded, as she gripped the bottom of her shirt. “Seriously, they are far more comfortable than all the other sleeves and legs getting all rolled up and uncomfortable while I’m moving around.”

"I was hoping you'd remove it from me." Aliset chuckled, pulling a small bag from her blouse. "But alas. I'll leave it under your pillow." She placed said bag gently, then stood up.

"Besides. Consider us givin' you your batteries back a thing to make damn sure. I also had some of the guys rig up a charger for yah. Power's inductive, so wireless. No plugs for folks to try electrocutin' themselves on." Spark placed the device next to the sink before moving aside to let Aliset pass. "Don' worry. We ain't concerned over you escapin'. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't try. I'd hate to delay our hunting trip any longer'n I need to. Plus it'll be a good excuse to drag miss spacer lass out here off into the woods an' dirt."

"Easy, Spark, just cause I spent most of my life on ships doesn't mean I'm not accustomed to planetary wilds."

"Not here, y'aint. I'll learn yah. So'll Alloy, gods willin'."

“There’s a good chance you’ll learn something, giant!” Alloy chuckled. “I need my claws! You’ll see a genuine hunter soon enough, goddess willing.”

"You wanna see a giant, wait till you meet Ali's gramma. Or her dad. Make me look like a lil' baby."

“You are, Spark. You are.” Alloy let go and walked back to the royal guard, reaching up to hold her face and absolutely infantilize the shit out of her loving and sweet demeanor. “You remind me of one of my pack mates, he is just as friendly. Were he not such a… Another time, you and him would be good friends. Don’t worry about me electrocuting myself, I’m made of metal, after all.” Alloy gave a smile, “I’ve already tried.” She gave a small pat on her face before turning around, “Go! At least Spark, I need to get dressed.”

"Wait, I'm excused from being told to go?" Aliset perked, her blush returning.

"No, y'aint! Alloy, laundry day's on Tuesdays. You'll get your clothes an' cleaning supplies for your suit that day. Don' waste it." Spark quickly took Aliset by the shoulders, straining to lift the girl by her armpits and carry her out of the cell.

Alloy frowned as she started to undress, “I’m not allowed to be playful, am I?” She laughed as Aliset was carried out like an unruly cat, “I won’t waste any! Have fun!” Alloy called out, separating the back of the suit so she could get her legs through and finally get back into her gear.