I take her hand, just like in the caves, when it was dark and we didn’t know what lurked out of sight. Nothing hinders my senses now, but I miss her soft grip. She smiles, and I wonder if she missed this, too.
We don’t find the ocean before the suns separately set. Once the first is out of view, the forest dims and twilight creatures awaken. The trilling of the creatures high in the trees fades. Now we hear garbled croaks and burbling grunts. Insects with large, soft wings flutter close, like they’re coming in for a look at us. But they’re easily driven away when I blow on them.
The other sun will set soon. I search for more cracks in the rock wall, hoping to find shelter for the night.
But I scent something unnatural in the air. Something that doesn’t belong. “Can you smell that?” I ask Maysee, then point at my nose and at the air.
“Smell,” she says, then shakes her head. Her eyes crease with worry. “No smell. You?”
“Smell,” I say in her language, and I nod. She mutters something and she shrinks closer to my side. Seeking my protection. It doesn’t set off any danger alarms in my head. Definitely not the smell of a predator. Not even the scent of something natural. But I comfort her anyway. I squeeze her hand and I tell her, “I will keep you safe,” even though she can’t understand.
We follow my nose.
The source of the smell isn’t far; it grows clearer as we get closer - metal and engine oil and an unfamiliar fuel. I spot it before she does. A primitive engine.
Maysee jumps up and down and shouts when we finally find it. She runs ahead of me for a closer look. It’s huge, much bigger than the jump engine that propelled our ship so far from our original home. It must be her creatures’ technology. I frown as I circle and examine it. It would have been an arduous journey on their ship. These creatures haven’t discovered jump tech yet. It would have taken them a great many standard day cycles to travel a distance that we could cover in one instant - one jump.
She is very excited to find it, though. “Engine!” It’s taller than she is thrice over. She claps her hands, and she looks up at it with joy and relief in her eyes. This must mean they can fix their broken ship.
What are they doing here, anyway? Were they drawn to this planet’s surface by the same disruption as us?
Did they mean to land somewhere else?
The thought drains all the joy out of me. Finding this engine could mean that they’ll leave. She’ll leave.
She crashes into me, leaping into my arms. I forget my dread and I laugh as I catch her. I spin her around and hold her close. Her joy is infectious. My worries are meant for a later day. Words are running out of her mouth so fast that even if I knew them, I wouldn’t understand them. She wants to share her joy with me? I can think of a better way.
I hold her closer, and I steal a kiss. Her words are muffled. Then silenced. She hesitates in momentary surprise, but then she’s kissing me back, that little tongue darting out and caressing my lips. The sensation goes straight to my cock, and I groan against her mouth. This kissing business really is something special.
She smiles sweetly when she breaks away. “Suns,” she warns, gesturing at the dimming sky. It will be fully night, soon. It doesn’t seem like this planet gets very cold, but we should still find a safe place to shelter for the night. We don’t know what lurks out here beneath the moons. They provide some illumination, but we’re still in the thick of this forest. It will get very dark.
One more important task, though. “Map,” I tell her.
She nods and she grins. “Yes. Of course. Thank you.” She touches my shoulder. “Thank you.”
I beam with pride. I did do a good job today, didn’t I. I kept her safe in this strange forest and I found her engine.
Soon, she will accept that she’s mine.