…Mahar Kesh. This majestic temple stood in the middle of the ocean on a remodeled квадратный island, surrounded by breakwaters, with a road laid between them to the port. Essentially, the upper part of the temple was both port and spaceport, and in the island's center rose a majestic malachite spire. And right above that spire, literally just meters away, hung a Tho Yor.
The main part of the temple was, essentially, underwater. What trials this place survived during storms—I tried not to think, but apparently they got used to it.
Since the locals had been warned of our arrival, one of the temple masters met us: a Zabrak in monk's robes with a kind, welcoming smile.
"Welcome to Mahar Kesh, wanderers. I am Master Sharif, and I am to take charge of your group," the master said with enthusiasm.
When we bowed in return and introduced ourselves, he looked in surprise at Hadiya, who wasn't leaving.
"And you, young lady…"
"I'm with them. Just tagging along. Or is that not allowed?" she lifted an eyebrow arrogantly.
"Not at all. Of course it's allowed—stay. We're always glad to have guests, as long as they arrive whole and not in pieces," Sharif joked warmly. Hm. Interesting sense of humor among healers. "Please, follow me. I will show you the guest rooms."
Picking up our things, we followed the master. On the way to the lift, Sharif began telling us about the temple—its history and what they did here. Contrary to my expectations, they didn't only train with the Force; they also practiced completely ordinary medicine that had nothing to do with the Force.
He spoke about the rich history and methods, asked what exactly we were interested in, and whether any of us had an interest in medicine. Quiet Ramiry first said "me" uncertainly and softly, but five minutes later she was already talking with the master out loud about things only they understood.
"…but Master, you can't direct the flow of the Force through the 'Ta' and 'Gu' points—they'll rupture!"
"You are mistaken, young talent. There are no points in the body incapable of accepting a flow of healing energy; you simply must know how. In particular, the 'Ta' point will respond easily if you first bring it into resonance with 'Ti,' 'Tu,' and 'Te.' The energy will distribute evenly, and as a result, this will prevent overload."
"And if—"
"Do you understand anything?" Zeng asked me as we walked down the corridor. I just turned my head and looked at the Zabrak. "Me neither."
"Grui-ir-aur-r-r."
"Yes, Gris—healers are sca-a-a-ary," Vessira chimed in.
Unlike the temples before, the rooms in Mahar Kesh were smaller and tighter, so all the furniture stood nearly pressed against each other. By my subjective measure, there were maybe nine or ten square meters at most. The toilets stood separately—still private stalls, but in a specific zone on the floor, same with the showers, so in the corridor you could easily see a padawan strolling with a towel over their shoulder and soap in hand.
But there was a pool. A big underground pool рассчитанный for a hundred faces at once. I'd never seen such luxury anywhere—a whole pool. Aside from it there were also baths, but those were used for healing purposes: oils, special waters with additives, and the like.
"Didn't think there was a санаторий on Tython," Hadiya commented.
"You have those?" I turned to the Twi'lek in surprise.
"Not on ours. Kalimar has one. I was there once when I was really маленькая."
"I see."
Only that "sanatorium" was only on the upper levels. Going down further, we saw a real hospital. Sharif showed us an operating block through a special window, the patient sections, rooms saturated with the Force for the most severe cases. There was a lot here.
And if you go even lower, there's a floor dedicated specifically to education: conference halls, classrooms, a library, a second mess hall. The first is in the "sanatorium," the second is for meals and snacks during study. By the way, only now did I notice that the kitchen staff were completely ordinary xenos without the Force. For all my life, I'd never noticed that before.
But that wasn't the limit. There was one more floor—the last one. You could call it the production shop. They made instruments, consumables and bandages, medicines, and assembled finished medkits. And there was an industrial warehouse storing pretty much everything.
"And so, our tour has come to an end. Have I interested you?" Sharif asked businesslike, folding his hands.
"Yes!" Ramiry blurted.
"In what, my lady?"
"Everything at once! Is that allowed?"
"Uh…"
"Shade," Vess tugged at me.
"Hm?"
"You did the same thing to the instructors in Qigong Kesh," she nodded at Ramiry's puppy eyes.
"No… I wasn't making eyes."
"But you wanted everything, right now, and more."
"Mmm…"
"Is that true?" Hadiya looked at me with new eyes.
"You have no idea," Vessira snorted. "And how many problems it caused—countless. No technique works in his hands the way it should; everything needs reworking. That's why they especially disliked him."
"Hm…"
Remembering the past, I sighed sadly. True enough. Turning, I looked at the blazing Ramiry, whom Sharif was trying with all his might to cool down and convey the simple truth: everything at once won't work, no matter the желание, drive, and talent.
"Listen, Hadiya. Fine, we're on pilgrimage, but what are you going to do here, really?"
"Don't be so sure. While I was in Akar Kesh I gutted their armorers and learned something new. Here it's the same—pharmaceuticals are very profitable, but I don't have experience. By the way," she perked up and snapped her fingers. "Master Sharif."
"Yes, yes?" the master turned.
"Do you have a restricted facility here, or can you move freely?"
"And what do you need that for?" the Zabrak narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I want to look at your equipment, your препараты, and also talk about possible cooperation. You see, I represent an organization that can serve as an intermediary and, ideally, take on часть of the duties of supplying you."
"Is that so?" the Zabrak lifted his eyebrows in surprise. By the way, only now did I notice how small his horns were.
"Yes."
"In that case, I will introduce you to the person responsible for procurement. He will answer all your questions."
"Thank you."
"Ramiry, enough—control yourself," Zeng scolded the girl.
"But it's so interesting here!!!"
"Zeng, accept it—we knew we were bringing her to El Dorado," I snorted.
"To where?" the twins turned, and the others perked up too.
"The Golden City. A fictional place used as an example of the most valuable treasures."
"Oh."
"And you, wanderers—did anything interest you?" Sharif addressed us.
"Yes, my brother and I are interested in first aid," Feng nodded. "And second aid too, because we won't always be able to even reach a ship with a medbay."
"We will show you," Sharif nodded seriously.
"Aur-rg gri-e er-r-ae."
"We will show that too."
"I'm with them," Vess nodded at the twins.
"I'm in too," I folded my arms. "…but there's something else."
"Yes?"
"I heard that Mahar Kesh has techniques capable of placing an object into stasis. Also variants where you can survive even on ground with heightened radioactive background."
"Why do you need that?!" Sharif's eyes widened. "That's an advanced course—one of the highest Force techniques."
"I don't want to die if I end up in space without a suit. My mother is a hunter, and I'm going to follow in her footsteps, and all kinds of things can happen."
"I understand," Sharif nodded seriously, returning his kind smile. "But you understand that people study this for years?"
"I understand. But since we are, formally, wandering, I want to ask you to show the technique itself—how it is achieved—and then grasp it on my own, and return here with certain results. Because I won't be able to replicate it exactly anyway, and I'll need to adapt it to myself regardless. I have that… feature."
"Commendable. But that is not what I meant," the master shook his head. "I meant that showing the technique is not a problem—we could even do it now. The problem is you will not be able to absorb it at all without preliminary preparation."
"I know. But my request includes that too. The full set—from beginning to end."
"In that case, you should either stay here, or I could provide a holocron."
"While I'm here, I'll study directly—and then, if it's not too hard, I'd like to take the holocron with me."
"Of course."
That's what we agreed on. Hadiya went to establish new ties, Ramiry registered herself in the library, and it was time for us to learn how to patch up our beloved selves. Master Sharif was very surprised when he learned where I got that pretty "tattoo" on my hand, but he stayed silent. Where he couldn't stay silent was when he learned how often we got injured—and how Ramiry treated us.
It would seem: how do you make a kind, sociable xenos, a master of his craft who's always on a positive wave, start cursing? Just show him a big mistake. A very big one. And right now it was связана with Ramiry.
Basically, our medic hit us with heavy artillery every time, so we got back on our feet fast—but what none of us knew were the side effects. Turns out, that kind of load could easily harm her. That's also why she was the first to black out when we walked the "Will-o'-the-Wisps" trail. She herself needs rest and calm to get herself back in order, not run the Force for us—idiots—so we don't die. And, as it turned out, it's far from pleasant. When you heal with the Force, you kind of connect your aura with the patient's aura—and you hear echoes of their pain.
After that, I was simply ashamed to look Rami in the eyes. The twins mentally drew wings and a halo onto her, taking the angel image from my stories. And she never once said anything like that—this shy, sweet little dandelion. I remember her clenching her teeth, biting her lip, sweat on her brow, getting us back on our feet, and it turned out she was just enduring a chain of unpleasant sensations. And that lightning…
Yeah. Even Irbis never put me down like that—and he tried. And who would've thought our weakest squad member, biting down, would drag the burden for the entire squad? Everyone went through her. Everyone took hits. And all of that poured onto her alone. It's just…
My hands clenched into fists on their own. I always supported Rami, helped her believe in herself, but even I couldn't understand her, couldn't see her essence. An invisible veil of shame and guilt hung over our little group, and it was clear to everyone: leaving it like this—couldn't happen.
On that basis, the whole squad quietly conspired to throw our dandelion a celebration. Hadiya wanted to participate too—just for company—but something happened for her, so the Twi'lek locked herself on her ship.
The plan was made immediately. Catch Rami in the library and drag her to point X by any pretext. The twins brought sweets from the kitchen, Gris rearranged the room a little so everyone could fit, Vess and I prepared a gift for Rami—a pendant on a chain. We went together through the women's wing of the temple and traded for the украшение with a surcharge; stores here weren't just scarce, they didn't exist, so you had to improvise. Most people simply ordered what they needed and waited for the next shipment.
The ornament looked like two white pendly wings, between which a faceted blue stone was set. Rami, of course, had no idea about any of this, so when Zeng dragged her by the elbow on a towline to Gris's room and the door opened, the girl was a bit shocked. And she wasn't going to come back to herself even when they sat her on the bed and shoved a piece of pie into her hands. Unfortunately, the guys didn't find a cake, but pie would do.
Our dandelion thawed only when she saw the gift. And then she demanded an explanation—our faces were too guilty. So we explained, and she called all of us idiots, then thanked us, then called us fools who always climb into trouble, and then hugged everyone—and in a rush of feelings kissed one specific person all over.
"Rami, we apologized before and we ask forgiveness now," Zeng began after pulling back. "We were wrong about you twice. You're the strongest member of our small squad, and if I dare offend you, just give me a punch in the horns, okay? For профилактика."
"Hee-hee… I'll try. But I can't promise."
"Ah… you're too kind, Rami," I shook my head. "Not a Zabrak."
"Then who?"
"An angel. Just an angel," and after a pause I added, "with horns."
"Er-r-ra arg rue."
"Yes-yes, I fully agree," Feng nodded. "We really are lucky with you."
"Are you going to keep embarrassing me?!" crimson Ramiry huffed.
"Yeeees," a snide chorus went around the room in different voices, and Gris even made an indecent rumble while hugging the Zabrak girl.
So, on a calm, beautiful evening, we expressed gratitude to an overly shy and closed-off girl. And only at night, when it was long past time to sleep, did we start drifting back to our rooms. Well, "drifting"—Gris carried his furniture from the corridor back into his room, Feng returned his bed to his, Zeng went to walk Rami back, and I stayed with Vess. Or rather, at Vess's. After all, you have to occasionally give attention to your own girlfriend, right? Especially when another one is constantly trying to seduce you.
What I didn't expect was what happened in the morning. Turns out Hadiya waited for me in my room, and I never came. I should probably learn to close the door behind me. Even if temples don't have theft—and even people from Shikaakwa don't think about it, not those conditions—still, to avoid surprises, better lock up.
But back to Hadiya. Since I didn't show up, a logical question arises: "Father, where were you last night?" Well… since I never lied to Hadiya, and in general I'm not great at lying, it's better to not say everything than to lie. So I had to tell the truth to that burning sunshine.
"Well, you know we threw Ramiry a celebration…"
"All night?" she lifted an eyebrow. The guys at that moment worked their jaws diligently and did their best to pretend they weren't here. But why do I feel like this trio is watching us like it's a show? Bastards…
"No, Hadiya, what are you talking about. When it got too late, we went to our rooms. And since Vess lives next to Gris, I decided that going all the way to my room was kind of too far."
"Is that… normal?" Sharif asked quietly; he was eating breakfast with us too. The sight of an enraged Hadiya poking me with sharp bits of metal threw the Zabrak off.
"Pay no attention, just mating games," Feng shrugged. Then he realized what he'd said and immediately evaporated. Interesting technique—need to ask him where he learned it; I hadn't noticed before.
"Ahem. Hadiya, what else can I do with my girlfriend in her room?"
"R-r-r-r-r…"
"Don't growl—be more decisive, more persistent," Vess cut in, as if nothing happened, drawing attention.
"Huh?" Hadiya raised her eyebrows.
"I'll tell you a secret: this type won't take a step himself, believe me—I would know. The first time, I took everything into my paws and bulldozed straight to the bed. Otherwise he doesn't understand."
"Hic…"
…
"U-u-uh," Gris.
…
Hadiya instantly cooled off and looked at me completely differently. Very badly—but in a way I knew well. Exactly like she looks at her victim when she understands how she should act.
"Vess…"
"Hm?"
"What was that for?.."
"I'm tired of watching your dithering and her efforts. By the way, Hadiya."
"?"
"You might be a talented intriguer, politician, fighter, but you're completely unfit for normal life. In all the time you've been with us, you always keep quiet; your questions are always to the point, as are your answers. You speak like you're giving orders, or like you're conducting negotiations. You can't even hold a conversation just… for interest, at least. But if it's about work, you раскрываешься fully. Seriously—is it really so bad on Shikaakwa that you don't even have anyone to just talk with?"
"Shade is the only one I ever talked 'about nothing' with. Just soul-to-soul," the Twi'lek admitted, sitting down beside me. "It's hard for me to trust anyone, even if you're Shade's friends. Not because you're bad—just… I already have paranoia."
"It's fine. With your life, there's no other way," Zeng supported Hadiya, and I put an arm around her.
"Yeah. Just try to relax."
"I am relaxing. While you're рядом, nobody will touch me. Only like that can I really забыться."
"Okay. Not about that. Not here," I ended the argument. "Master, what's the plan for today?"
"Ramiry continues studying techniques in the library; I gave her a plan," the dandelion nodded. "With you, we continue studying your bodies and methods of воздействие on them with means without using the Force. And you…"
"I have a meeting with the Temple Master today," Hadiya spoke up.
"You waste no time," I snorted.
"I never waste anything, Shade."
"Heh."
"You don't believe me?" she pressed a knife at me.
"Faith won't hide the truth!"
"Shaa-aa-de."
"Heh-heh-heh-heh…"
So, joking and setting plans, we split up. I and the guys studied first aid, Ramiry fussed separately, periodically taking private lessons from masters, and Hadiya built bridges with the temple.
Time quietly ran forward again—until my "wants" got added onto the main program. Sharif immediately issued me a holocron that contained downright indecent volumes of information related to my request. Just the list of introductory topics stretched across several pages, and each topic had its own content, and only then came the material.
"Mother is Darkness and father is Light…"
"I warned you. There is a lot of material."
"Master Sharif… Material can be 'a lot,' 'a whole lot,' and 'a fucking ton,'" I glanced at the teacher.
"Well… I never paid attention, when it's interesting."
"And you can do this?" I asked, twisting the top corner, closing the pyramid-shaped holocron, and glancing at the teacher.
"Relatively. I can enter a hibernation trance, but I fall out of it quickly. To maintain it, you must constantly be in balance; it must proceed naturally. But when I personally enter it, one side suppresses the other and I fall out. Something like that."
"Oh! Does that mean with good self-control it's easier to master?"
"Exactly. Inner self-control is the foundation for certain techniques, for example: tutaminis, the hibernation trance, Force augmentation, a doppelganger, and a number of others."
"Even that."
How interesting. So I went into a deeper form of self-control and through it started grasping the Force? Like through myself? Why am I learning this at the healing temple and not the meditation temple?!
"Yes. There are a number of preparatory exercises practiced both here and at Akar Kesh."
"Didn't notice," I grumbled, remembering Akar Kesh. "But it's good that self-control matters so much. Because, oddly enough, my problem is the opposite—breaking my internal balance."
"I have never heard of anything like that," Sharif shook his head.
"It is what it is. That's how unique I am," I spread my hands.
"And modest," Vess snorted into her fist.
"And modest," I nodded.
From that moment on, beyond the normal training, I also added Force exercises for body augmentation techniques. The hibernation trance is one of the peaks of such manipulations—when you can reinforce the body with the Force to such a degree that you stop processes without harming the shell for an indefinite period. As it turned out, the better you are at maintaining balance, the more reliable the trance. Given that I was good at that, the first steps of immersion and augmentation were very easy—especially since I already knew some from my mother, and had grasped part in Qigong Kesh.
Ah… Why are there so few hours in a day? Maybe try cloning myself… Oh right, we don't have that tech. That comes later. Sad. So now I spend evenings alone in my room in a meditation pose, understanding the Force through point-by-point body augmentation. Not a task for the faint of heart—it feels like I'm sorting a sack of grain with tweezers, brrr.
And so every day. I even started seeing my people only during joint sessions, or if we caught each other at meals. Often someone sits so long that they simply don't show up in the mess hall.
"Knock-knock-knock!"
Kriff, who now? Wait… Hadiya?
"Come in, shorty," I called without opening my eyes.
"You're the short one," she grumbled, squeezing into the little room.
"Fine, big one," I opened my eyes, looking at her from below.
Rolling her gaze like, "oh, whatever," she walked forward and sat on the bed.
"Something happen?"
"Yes. I wanted to ask when you're going to tell your people that you want to go into the ruins?"
"And why do you think I want to?" I rose and kicked the cushion under the bed. But Hadiya didn't even need to answer—one look at her face was enough. "Fine, you're right, I do. But I'm still only thinking this scheme through. I don't want to drag the guys along. Fine, we go temple to temple together—that's necessary. But this is my initiative, personal hang-ups. I don't want them to suffer because of my stupidity."
"So you're thinking of going alone?"
"Of course not!" I dragged a chair over, sat, and threw my legs onto the bed. "I'm not that insane; I can оценить my chances. We need a group. A prepared, cohesive group."
"Which we have."
"Us?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I'll go with you. I'll just top off ammo, call in a special squad, and go. And don't even try to argue with me," a sharp point hung in front of my eyes. "If you do, I'll just take more people and get there ahead of you to clear the ruins regardless of any secrecy."
"Heh. Calm down, Hadi. Maybe something will happen that forces us to drop the whole idea."
"Unlikely," I shrugged. "Which temple is next?"
"Next stop is the science temple—Enil Kesh. I need to consult someone about my own ideas. By the way, Hadi."
"Hm?"
"I'd like to ask you…"
"You?!"
"Yes, imagine that."
"Well, well," she jokingly offered an ear.
"Don't be snide, I'm serious. I'm not great financially, but me and my companions could really use good armor. Sealed armor, with filters in the face mask, in case of smoke or gas. Vur Tepe can fabricate everything; they have cutting-edge equipment, but…"
"Materials," Hadiya nodded. "Shade, why are you asking for nonsense? Everything will be done. I order ships—what's a couple kilograms of metal for armor to me?" I raised an eyebrow. "Fine, not metal, but still. It's a drop in the ocean."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"By the way, how are you doing?"
"Well… formally I'm still on Shikaakwa, I just temporarily went underground. They're hunting me, you know."
"What?" I leaned forward.
"Normal thing, nothing, basically. And I give orders; all meetings happen by video conference. So everything works as it should and goes according to plan. Any uncalculated situation that arises gets solved immediately."
"Mmm, look at you. If anything, tell me right away who decided to hurt you—I'll shorten him in a heartbeat."
"Well, of course—you're my bodyguard," Hadiya laughed, without even a hint of sarcasm. "Listen, why I came. There's a pool here. Let's go—so we at least swim once?"
"Mmm…"
"Nope, I'll carry you."
"You?" I raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Yes. I'll grab you by one leg, and a couple of my guys will take your руки, and we'll carry you," Hadiya smiled.
"Yeah… Fine, I agree to go voluntarily."
"That's better. Then I'll wait for you outside."
"And you?"
"I'm already ready," she unfastened her leather jacket, revealing a swimsuit. "Refusal wasn't предусмотрен by the plan."
"Okaaay, I'll be out in a second. You always stir up fuss when all I want is to study."
"Yes, we're like that. You never even ask anyone on a date. Vess already complained to me."
"Hic!"
That's how they got me. Ah… Fine. No уныние—if we can't stop it, we should lead it! So we walked to the pool already under my command.
"Shade, what do you keep munching?" Hadiya asked, holding my arm.
"Sweet Joy."
"That's a kids' bar."
"So what?"
"Well… it's for kids."
"And?"
"Uh… understood. Question withdrawn."
"It's tasty, by the way. Vess and Rami keep stealing it from me."
"Yeah?"
"Not giving you a sample," I cut it off right away. The last thing needed is another leech on my запас. I already can't stock up fast enough.
"Even if I say please?"
"Even if you say please," I nodded.
"And if I kiss you?"
"Even more not."
Thump! A fist hit me in the ribs, and I got stared at with such righteous anger that…
"Ugh… Fine, fine, sorry. I'll share, just don't fight."
"Rude!"
"Fully agree."
"My rude."
"Nope, disagree."
So we walked, bickering and throwing jabs at each other. Since it was already not evening but night, there were very few people in the corridors, and thus few witnesses, so Hadiya could finally relax and stop watching her mouth.
In the pool area, to my surprise, we weren't alone. There were other night swimmers—both students and a couple masters, though the masters just floated with eyes closed.
"Interesting meditation method…"
The pool was lined with green malachite tile, diode lamps burned on the walls and ceiling, and the air held a light aroma of spicy dried herbs.
While I looked around the spacious hall filled with the hum of pumps and filters, Hadiya dropped her outer clothes right onto the floor and approached the water. Mmm… Sure, I knew her figure was something else—no worse than Vess's—but now I could see the she-devil in all her glory.
"What are you staring at, hunter?" she turned.
"Just admiring…"
"By the way, I've never seen makeup on her. Not even lipstick."
"Then look," she turned to face me and, stepping backward, slowly lowered into the water.
"If memory serves, the last person who saw you in underwear is currently lying sealed in concrete at the bottom of a river," I recalled a moment from her biography, while still pulling off my clothes and removing bandages from my arms and legs. And the offender, as insane as it sounds, was a medic from a clan Hadiya hated, who had been "evaluating the physical condition of the future wife of the clan head's son."
"Were you afraid I'd drown you right here?" she stepped onto the shallower section where the first ступень of the bottom began, slowly moving her hands through the water with an eyebrow raised, retreating farther.
"Maybe I'm not much of a swimmer," I sighed and climbed in after her. The pool water felt room-temperature to me, but for Hadiya it was warm—our body temperatures differ.
Once I was fully in the water and could no longer feel the bottom, I used the Force to help myself float. Like I told Hadiya, I'm not much of a swimmer. And apparently she sensed something.
"You're helping yourself with the Force?" I nodded.
"I haven't practiced much."
"Then let me teach you. Trust me—you won't drown."
Kriff, it's scary—and tempting. But still, beating down the fear of going under (drowning in a pool… with a girl… I'd win the prize for dumbest death!), I removed the Force assistance and, holding onto the pool edge, looked at Hadiya.
Swimming around me, she demonstrated how it works, what motions to make—underwater it was easy to see. Then, supporting me morally, she unhooked me from the спасительный edge and pushed me into the deep.
Yeah… better not to see this, of course—washing off such shame isn't easy. But do I care? Exactly, I don't. So—face of stone, breathe right, and stroke, stroke, stroke…
At some point, something really went wrong and I almost panicked, but Hadiya showed up before I resorted to the Force. That's how we swam. Me—with panic and nerves, constantly yanking myself away from the reflex to use the Force; Hadiya—with cheer, fun, and support.
At some point, looking around, I noticed we were alone—the last swimmers had left the hall. Hadiya noticed too, scanning the room and looking at me with a sly spark. And I didn't like that look. But in emotions, I saw nothing. Her emotions were still just playful mischief mixed with calm. I don't get it…
"Hadiya, what are you plotting?"
"Nothing special," she swam closer, "just taking what's mine."
Holding the pool edge with one hand and wrapping the other around me, Hadiya kissed me. Again clumsy, but again very diligent. And here her emotions changed drastically—triumph, split with desire for me.
At that moment my self-control packed its things and neatly stepped out through a door marked "Exit."
"I… don't know how. Teach me?" she whispered after pulling back, without any embarrassment.
"Hadi, wait. You understand I won't choose, right?"
"And?"
"Listen. I respect you. I respect you as a person, and I don't want to hurt you later. And I can. I warned Vess about that back then. But right now you've come to a line where I'll take matters into my own hands. And I'll be greedy—I'll take everything at once, do you hear?" I took her hand and squeezed lightly.
"Long overdue…" She kissed me again, wanting to give in, to finally shift the burden of the relationship onto someone stronger—without a trace of hesitation or doubt.
That was the trigger. A shot only I could hear thundered, and, sending everything to hell, I ran my fingertips up her spine and, holding the back of her head right beneath the lekku, answered.
Only when I tore away for another breath did I look into those happy, truly satisfied eyes.
"It worked."
"Happy, little devil?"
"And I didn't know you could growl," she ignored me, shining with a victorious smile. "And your eyes glow gray."
"They always glow at the peak of an emotional surge. And I can only growl like that," I hugged her at the waist, pulling her to me, holding us both afloat. Taking my face in both hands, she kissed me again—and the initiative shifted to me.
In principle, you can count this as training: I train Hadiya and I enjoy myself. The details are better left alone. How long that "training" lasted, neither I nor Hadiya noticed. At some point we grabbed our things and quietly moved to my room.
Drugged by heat—and me like an addict by her emotions—I started caressing her neck.
"Only… it's my first time," I heard a whisper.
"There won't be pain. I promise."
"I know…"