It had been a little over a week since we had reached the safe house and since we arrived, Faelix and Denlen somehow managed get the ship that was left there to the point of testing the it’s flight abilities. And while it wasn’t left in the worst condition, it was still impressive for them to have fixed it up so well so soon.

“Now, remember, if we are not back within the hour, prepare to leave and-”

“And if you’re not back after an hour more, we take everything and head north for as long as we can go, until it starts to get dark.” I finish Faelix’s sentence.

He was clearly nervous to leave us alone for even a moment while they leave for at least an hour, long enough to search for a nearby town or city that we could go to for better supplies and maybe even a decent bed to sleep on for a night or two before we leave the planet as a whole. “We know what to do. You need to focus on being safe and getting back to us on time. Please, be careful and come back to us.” I tell him, reaching up to pull him down so our foreheads touch.

“We will try our best, you be careful too. Please don’t linger if we don’t come back on time.” The intensity in his eyes had me simply nodding in understanding. As much as I hated the idea of possibly having to leave him behind as he and Denlen were potentially putting themselves in danger of getting caught, I understood why things must go this way. It’s not just our safety on the line after all, we have an innocent child that could be hurt or killed if we aren’t careful enough.

Faelix presses a long, loving kiss to my lips before backing away and turning to meet Denlen at the ship’s entrance. I hated watching as the thing turned on and lifted into the sky and finally fly out of our line of sight, it brought on an anxiety I hadn’t felt since Faelix left for the fight with the Drendir people. I need something to distract me, desperately.

As if reading my mind, Nalik wraps his arms around me, and Syrion beckons us inside the safe house to make lunch and pack our things in preparation for them to either come back and pick us up or for us to have to leave in case of them not coming back in time. None of us wanted to think about that possibility, so we did our best to not think too much about it.

The closer it got to an hour passing I asked Syrion to cut my hair, waning it shorter than I’ve ever had it. Looking at my reflection in a broken mirror and running my hands over the short curls that barely fall over my forehead and faded into even shorter fluffy curls around my ears. I looked so different, yet some how more like myself. I wasn’t just some pretty little pet for a Varyxan prince to decorate and show off, I’m a runaway prince’s lover and parent to a sweet and colorful baby.

I stared up at the sky as I gently bouncing Aryones as he quietly fusses in my arms, hoping that the ship will just show up any moment to stop us from having to leave my lover and friend behind. I hated the sinking feeling in my belly as I felt soft paw-like hands on my shoulder.

“Ivorix, come on. I know you want to wait for them, but they’ll know where to find us once they come back. We need to go.” Syrion insisted, gently pulling me away from the safe house and into the thick trees where Nalik was waiting for us with the cart of our things.

I hated the nervous feeling low in my belly, but I knew I couldn’t just sit and wait for them the way that all three of us wanted to. So, I followed in silence, holding Aryones protectively in my arms while Syrion and Nalik pull the cart along. Ary thankfully seemed unaware of the whole situation, we don’t need a fussier Ary alongside our own stress of not having Faelix and Denlen back in time with the ship. We just need to hurry and get as far from the safe house as possible, just in case there were guards searching for us and being the reason for them not coming back when they were meant to.

﴾﴿﴾﴿﴾﴿Faelix﴾﴿﴾﴿﴾﴿

“Fuck, how did they manage to pinpoint us being here? Was it the fires smoke? I wouldn’t think it would have been that, we never spotted any ships following us. Damn it, they’re making it difficult to get back.” Denlen grumbles under his breath as we do our best to avoid getting spotted by the royal guards we saw landing in the small town not long after we arrived. We were just looking around for a good inn to sleep at for our little group. But with those guards having parked so close to and started investigating the area around our unmarked ship among only two other ships that seemed like delivery ships of some sort, both looking in much better condition than our own. It was now nearly impossible to get to it without revealing us as the drivers of the clearly repaired old model traveler ship. “We do need to get back to the ship, but even at this rate we won’t get back in time to pick up the other three before the two hours are up.”

I sigh and nod in displeased agreement, “I know, but it’ll be better that we be careful not to draw attention to ourselves. We need to keep them protected, even if that means we have to stay separated for the time being.” I give his shoulder a gentle pat, as we walk into the inn we had found. The both of us giving the old inn keeper a quick nod before heading to the room we had purchased, not speaking again until the door was shut. “We’ll go back to the ship once it gets darker, then we can try to catch up to them and take them to a different place.”

He sighs and nods, “We may want to look at moving off planet. The ship is old, but it would be durable enough for at least one trip to a nearby planet.”

“We’ll discuss it more when we catch us to the others, I don’t want to make those kinds of decisions without them being there. Especially not when it would very well mean us getting stranded on a planet that we may not be very familiar with.” I say, knowing that the option isn’t off the table, but could pose a greater risk to all of our safety if we aren’t careful. “For now, we need to rest and prepare to sneak back onto the ship.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll go grab us something to eat since my face is less recognizable than yours is.” He offers, waiting by the door for my agreement as I sit on the lumpy mattress the room provided.

“Alright, be careful. Don’t get anything too heavy, we don’t want to get weighed down for a stealth mission.” I remind him, earning an eye roll and huff of a laugh.

“It was one time and only for training. I’ve since learned my lesson.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “That was an awful experience.” He adds then exits the room, leaving me to lay back and stare at the ceiling as I try thinking of the best way to get to the ship without much detection.

Well into the darkness of the night, the two of us sneak around until the ship was in sight, no royal guards were in sight. I signal for Denlen to follow as we hurry to the ship, yanking the entrance to it open the moment we could and rushing through the doorway at the sound of hurried footfalls and slamming the door shut behind us. Denlen went straight to the cockpit to start the ship as I kept the entrance to the ship shut, the guards on the other side trying their damnedest to yank it open. Their efforts were futile though, as Denlen worked fast and had us up in the air sooner than they must has anticipated. The sound of bullets clanging against the metal of the ship. but that’s all they were, useless clangs of tiny bits of metal against the sturdy outer layer of a ship meant for long distance travel.

I sigh and slump to the ground, staring out the windshield as Denlen maneuvers through the darkness of the night with expert ease. “We can’t go back to the safe house. It’s too dangerous we need to land farther away from it before we go looking for them.” I say the thing we were both thinking, despite not liking it. But we can’t risk their lives like this, the guards will follow, even if we got a head start, this thing isn’t meant for speed. They’ll certainly catch up with us.

Denlen doesn’t respond, but the tight grip he has on the controls tells me all I need to know. He heard me, he knows I'm right, and he hates it just as much as I do. So he flies us back over the forest in silence, moving just fast enough to thankfully be able to land somewhere just barely close enough to the safe house coordinates for the two of us to know where we were going, but far away enough that the ship following us doubtfully would know where to look. Our trek through the forest barely lit up by the bright moon being just as silent as the ride in the ship, looking back for only a moment at the sound of a ship landing where ours was.

We didn’t dare stop moving until we arrived at the safe house, hours after the the sun rose. It was odd seeing it completely baren like how we originally found it. It was a relief for us to see it empty because that means the other three listened to us and took the baby and our things to head north, but it was also still worrisome to know that they were out there alone.

“Come on, we need to hurry before night falls. We can’t let them start a fire, in case those bastards spot the smoke.” I say just loud enough for Denlen to hear, getting a grunt in agreement as we immediately start heading north, practically running through the foliage in the direction we both know they’d have gone.

It took us an unbearably long time of nonstop running before we finally heard their voices faintly in the distance, the sun already starting to set and the smell of a fire already permeating the air. We cursed at the realization that we were too late to stop them making a fire, but at least we can put it out and set something up before the sun is fully set. We burst through a bush, startling them and getting rocks thrown at us before they even realized it was us.

“Oh thank the gods, you’re okay!” Ivorix threw himself at me the second he realized, Nalik sounding like he did just the same to Denlen. I almost didn’t realize the new difference in Ivorix’s appearance, his newly cut hair tickling my nose as I pick him up and carried him to set him down next to Syrion holding a fussy Aryones. “Faelix? Are you okay? What are you doing?” He asks, confusion in every word he speaks while they all watch as Denlen and I smother the little fire with the surrounding dirt.

“We were followed on ship, they might be close, so we need to keep a low profile.” Denlen explains, helping gather some of the chard pieces of wood into one of the warming pots. “The fire’s smoke might clue them in on where we are.”

“The two of you need to rest, let finish with this. Go. Sit. Now.” There was no room for argument in Ivorix’s tone, snatching the tongs from my hands and setting it aside before starting to brush leaves from my clothes. “You look like a mess, Faelix. Come.” I follow him to the yurt at his urging, glancing over my shoulder to see Nalik doing all the same to Denlen. We are truly smitten with these pretty little humans of ours.

“Gods, you two covered in foliage and look like you haven’t slept at all since you left.” Nalik sighs, neither him nor Ivorix seeming to catch the silent look the two of us in question shared.

We were not lucky enough for Syrion to miss it though, earning a groan and shake of their head. “Of course you hadn’t slept since you left. You two need to sleep. I understand wanting to protect us, but you will be of no use if you’re exhausted.” They chastised us, a pang of guilt shooting through me as I meet their worry riddled eyes, then looking down just in time to catch the same worry in Ivorix’s bright blue eyes.

“I know, we know… we just wanted to get to the four of you quickly.” I couldn’t help the guilt seeping into my voice as I speak.

“Neither of us could stand the thought of you four getting discovered and possibly hurt because of us.” Denlen adds, his voice sounding just as guilty as my own. “Especially now that we may not have a ship, the least we can do is make sure your four are protected while we try to figure something out.”

“We can figure things out together, now that you’re here with us. But you must rest first, please.” There was no way we could deny Nalik’s request, not with how they all gave us pleading eyes.

The two of us Varyxans exchanging a looking and nodding to each other in mutual understanding before looking back at our little humans and Syrion still holding the fussy little baby. “We’ll rest, but please stay in the tent with us and if you must leave while we’re asleep, leave together and stay together. Aryones should stay in the yurt with us, it’ll likely be safer.”

“It’s already getting late, so I doubt we’ll be leaving the tent much. It’s far too cold out there still anyways, even for me.” Syrion assures us, setting the fussy little infant into his bassinet. “We’ll bring in the warming pots into the tent and then stay in for the rest of the night. I’m sure you’ll wake if anything happens before we even need to wake you ourselves.”

I nod, letting Ivorix strip me and dab a wet cloth and some salve to any scraps or cuts I earned from our rushing through the woods. Glancing over to see Nalik mirroring Ivorix in his actions, stripping his lover and cleaning and treating his scraps and cuts. Then they both push us gently to laying down, telling us to sleep as they both join Syrion in collecting charcoal for the warming pots, lighting them in again so that the heat would last longer. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and closing slowly as I watch my little human as he finishes stripping me and treating my scraps and cuts. Falling asleep to hearing him and the other two talking about random little things, their voices lulling me to sleep in a matter of moments.