Tsumaki gave him a blinding smile and continued, “Well, Alale is my gender. In Quanarvious, where you are right now, we have three genders. Male, Female, and Alale. The males and females are like you’re used to, but most Alale use they/them pronouns —we are essentially x-gendered— and can reproduce with all genders. Do you know what x-gender means? I heard Earthlings are just starting to use that term. What do you go by? What’s your name?”
Kuepper's head was exploding. That was a lot of information to take in at once. “I go by he/him and my name is Banks.” He cleared his throat, “Kuepper Banks.” Tsumaki nodded and came to an abrupt stop, causing Kuepper's chin to slam into their shoulder.
“We’re here,” Tsumaki announced.
“Healer Tsumaki! You’re here! Did you bring the human?” A melodic, feminine voice asked. Kuepper strained his ears and barely made out the noise of skin touching skin, probably their greeting.
“Yes! Here he is,” Tsumaki said and gestured to him on their shoulder.
“Will you put me down now?” Kuepper asked in a huffy voice. He could feel a blush surging across his skin from embarrassment.
“Oh, right, yes,” Tsumaki said and hastily set him on his feet. When Kuepper finally looked up to greet the lady, he realized just how short he was compared to these people. While Tsumaki was only a head taller than his 5’5’’ frame, this lady stood at about seven feet tall. The lady watched him attentively as Kuepper hesitantly held out the back of his hand.
The woman smiled broadly and touched the back of her hand to his, “Hello, I’m Alexiselia. She/her. What brings you to our humble abode?”
“O-Oh, I’m Kuepper Banks. He/him. Uh– from what I know my ship crashed here? I’m not completely sure,” Kuepper stuttered and tried not to look as intimidated as he felt. The lady’s smile wavered a little, but she dismissed him with a wave.
“That’s alright. Were you the only survivor?” She asked with a firm smile in place, but a hint of sympathy hidden behind her large white eyes.
Kuepper hesitated before answering. This should be easy, right? But it wasn’t, not for him. He sucked in a sharp inhale of breath and curtly nodded while willing his tears to stay away. “Alright...Well, why don’t you two follow me to the headquarters and I’ll see what I can do for you,” Alexiselia said and turned quickly to walk in the other direction.
Kuepper looked up and gently pulled on Tsumaki’s sleeve, startling the Mahteve. “More climbing?” Kuepper asked in a soft voice. Tsumaki smiled and shook their head no, before pointing to a built-in elevator. “Why didn’t they have this on the other mountain?” Kuepper grumbled under his breath. Tsumaki chuckled and grabbed Kuepper's wrist as they led him into the elevator. From a distance, the elevator looked like any other part of the mountain. The walls of the elevator were covered with sanded stone and suspended from a building at the top of the mountain, effectively blended with its surroundings.
The elevator ride took about fifteen minutes before Kuepper was able to set foot on the snowy mountain. He shut his eyes tight against the wind and softly falling snow before he felt Tsumaki nudge his shoulder. Kuepper opened his eyes and marveled at the sight– a large, dome-shaped building was standing out amongst the snow-covered stone and dirt. The dome was made out of glass, but that’s not what caught Kuepper's eye. No, it was the tall, blue, and red flowers that surrounded the building. He gasped when he felt someone tug on his left arm, and suddenly he was inside the building and surrounded by warmth. Although not more impressive than the outside, the inside of the dome was strikingly Earth-like, with its modern white rug and open floor plan. A loveseat sat in the center of the room, facing a long table with multiple chairs.
“Okay,” Alexiselia started the conversation. “What can I do for you fine folk today?”
“O-Oh, I was wondering if you could regrow my arm?” Kuepper answered her hesitantly then looked at Tsumaki for affirmation. Tsumaki quickly nodded their agreement about what their companion had said.
“Of course I can, dears! What will I get in return?” Alexiselia asked and folded her slender hands in front of her. When no one answered her the woman sighed. “Well, I need more knowledge of Earth plants. Will you tell me about the ones you know?”
Kuepper nodded enthusiastically. His mother had been a botanist, so he knew a lot about plants. “Great!” Alexiselia clapped her hands loudly together, “Now if you would just step outside and gather one of those tall flowers, we can begin the process.” Kuepper jumped at the chance to see those beautiful flowers up close and ran out the door to his right. He kneeled in the snow and inspected the blue and red flower. Its scarlet petals were lush with life and incredibly soft to the touch. His fingers ghosted over the blue pistil, the center of the flower, and sighed.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” A voice whispered from behind him. Kuepper jumped and turned around, only to see Tsumaki smiling fondly at him with their hands in their jacket pockets. “This is the Andyvion flower. It holds special magical properties which is why Alexiselia requested we bring one to her. You know…” Kuepper’s breath caught when Tsumaki’s careful fingers brushed against one of the flowers and plucked it from the ground. Tsumaki glanced up at him before they stood and placed it behind Kuepper’s ear. “The blue of this flower is the same color as your eyes. It’s breathtaking.” Tsumaki smiled and a dark purple blush arose on their lilac skin before they bent down to pluck another flower and hurried inside. Kuepper was a little shocked at the Alale’s actions but smiled to himself nonetheless before he headed inside.
“Come now, child,” Alexiselia gestured for Kuepper to wait in front of where she sat crushing the head of the flower in a bowl and adding in some sort of liquid. The flower-liquid mixture soon turned into a purple paste.
“Ahem," A soft but clear voice rang out in the large space. Kuepper turned to assess the person quizzically. This person was shorter than Tsumaki and had to stand at about 6’0’’. They had raven black hair and golden eyes, a stark contrast to everyone he’d met thus far. “Ah, you must be the human. I am Ahndeon, an Alale. They/them. I see you’ve met my wife?” Ahndeon gestures to Alexiselia with a smile. Kuepper nodded in response.
“Hey!” Alexiselia waved them over, “The paste is done! Hurry up.” The bunch walked over to her and stood impatiently. “Hold out your arm.” Kuepper did as he was told and watched as she removed his jacket and the bandages that covered his arm. The woman took some of the purple paste from a wooden bowl and dabbed it on the stub of his arm. Surprisingly, the substance didn’t sting nor did it irritate his wound. Alexiselia finished with the paste and placed it to the side. She hovered her hands over Kuepper's wound and looked at him as if to say; Are you ready? Kuepper gave a firm nod, and in a flash of bright blue light, his arm appeared. It was completely free of scars or anything that could indicate it was ever missing. Tears shone in his eyes, but he sucked them back. “Now, for your part of the deal,” Alexiselia said and crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest while waiting expectantly.
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