Chapter Sixteen

Evalee

I was still glowing the next morning after our extended lovemaking last night.Fortunately, we started our lovemaking early since we were due at the Trakellisan Village before dawn.To celebrate the occasion, I dressed in the native wrap dress fashioned from a single length of cloth into a dress that tied over one shoulder and reached my ankles.My dress was indigo blue, and I wore simple rattan sandals on my feet.

Lanimer looked oh so sexy in a kilt wrap that tied at the waist, a simple vest, and similar rattan sandals.I was so happy that he seemed as excited to attend the festival and meet my siblings as I was to have him.He always made me a priority in his life and showed a sincere interest in things that were important to me.

I felt the same way about him and the things that he cared about, like his horses.As far as he was concerned, they couldn’t grow fast enough.Even after they were born, it would be a couple of years before they were mature enough to ride.But we would raise them together and enjoy their company in the meantime.

We arrived at Shara-gahri, which loosely translates to Sandhaven, the village where I grew up, just as the first rays of dawn peaked over the horizon.Lanimer and I hurried to meet my family at the meadow gathering with our clan to greet the sunrise on the longest day.

There was no time for conversation because our priestess, Azura Ka’san, arrived to perform the sunrise ceremony.She stood before us, looked up at the sky, raised her arms, palms up, and spoke the ancient prayer to our goddess:

“Oh, Mother of Life, we give thanks to you on this Solstice for our deliverance from Trakellis as it was dying. Please bless us this day as we come together in celebration of all that we have on this glorious beginning of a new year. Thank you, Goddess.”

“Thank you, Goddess,” the clan repeated in unison.

Mother quickly passed us each a yellow flower for us to leave at the stone altar on our way back to her and father’s home for the morning meal.We brought a variety of dried fruits as a contribution to the meal.

My brothers Kaelar and Rylan greeted Lanimer formally and introduced their mates Lysana and Finley.Each couple had two children who were eager to have their first meal of the day so they could go and play. My sister Sariel and her mate Zylan greeted him next. They were parents to three children.

Once they fed the children, we all got our food and carried it to the outdoor table beside the dwelling to sit and eat.Lanimer was no surprise to my siblings because I had told them about him early in our correspondence on his journey to Zevus Mar.They had already warned him not to hurt their baby sister.

Of course, he would never purposely do anything to hurt or upset me.Lanimer was highly attuned to my moods and my feelings.Sometimes, he knew something bothered me before I did.Though I’m not a telepath, I am highly sensitive to Lanimer’s moods as well.

We shared a profession; he is a physician, and I am a master medical technician or a Master Medic.I suppose some people might wonder why I didn’t become a physician.But that was not what I wanted.There were few things that I couldn’t do as well as Lanimer.However, a physician could perform complicated surgical procedures that a medic could not.I had no interest in surgery, and I knew one day, if I found the right mate and had children, I would want to make them my priority.

That was the custom of our people. One parent would stay with the children, and one parent would provide for the family. That was the kind of partnership I wanted. Long ago, our people discovered that cohesive family units made strong communities.

Celebrations like the Summer Solstice Festival brought our community together in a way that nurtured our relationships with each other.Reconnecting with my friends and family was lovely.

After breakfast, Lanimer and I took the opportunity to announce our lifemate bond, asking my parents for their blessing.Both mother and father gave that to us, and my brothers openly accepted our mating.What was left was to plan our formal ceremony.

We planned to celebrate with just a small gathering with my family since Lanimer’s was too far away to attend.We talked about the mining disaster in Elran since my brothers were miners.They spoke of some small incidents that seemed to be caused by design.

We heard many bits and pieces of conversation throughout the day from other people who had had negative encounters with Xenos Free members.Both Lanimer and I could feel the bad vibes about their constant disruption in our daily lives.The more people talked about various incidents, the angrier they became.

However, just as things were getting heated, it was time to return to the meadow for our traditional dancing.It was what we needed to work off the frustrations associated with the political unrest between our species.

Lanimer

Although Evalee described the event to me, I never expected to enjoy it as much as I did.Before the dance began, we each got short sticks with strips of brightly colored cloth fastened to the ends.Then, everyone lined up with our streamers, and a small band began to play simple handmade flutes, percussion, and stringed instruments.

The rhythm was easy to pick up as we stepped in time to the beat, meandering around the great meadow waving our streamers.Including children, about 200 people were dancing and waving colored streamers across the field.Someone started singing, and we all joined in.I could feel the joy emanating from everyone as they became immersed in the rhythm of song and dance.

In the next song, people broke off, and couples and individuals did their dances.Knowing that we would participate in the event, Evalee prepared me by teaching me the courting dance. We did that before Evalee agreed to be my life mate.

We didn’t do a lot of dancing on Oltarin, but between learning chackrin and sword fighting, it came to me naturally.I actually enjoyed it, as its moves were sensual and titillating.And, of course, the best part was Evalee being my partner.

More than ten other couples danced in the field with us.Even though we had never practiced together, we could almost perfectly synchronize our dance with the other couples by doing the specific movements in order. We each only used one streamer in the routine and used our other hand to hold our partner.By the time the music ended, we both wished for some private time together, but that would have to wait until much later.

We still had to get through the community feast and the sunset ritual before we could go home.I sensed that I was not the only male there wishing to be intimate with their mate.Instead, we hugged and kissed lightly, then made our way back to the feasting table.

For the community feast, every family brought a dish to pass and laid it on the table, placed according to type.Everyone came with their plates, and lines formed down both sides of the table so people could pick which dishes to sample.Mostly, one scooped a small amount of various entrees on their plates.

Even with the small samples, Evalee and I put way too much on our plates and ate far more than we needed.Throughout the meal, the small band played soft, sweet flute music.It was a joyful occasion, and the lighthearted pleasure I felt in the crowd left me feeling almost euphoric.

After the feast, there was more dancing, and some people piled wood for a huge bonfire for the sunset ritual.Evalee and I shared several dances as I discovered how much I enjoyed doing so with her.

The sun was sinking below the horizon when the band stopped playing, and Azura Ka’san called everyone to gather around the fire pile.Four Males with torches began lighting the pyre near the bottom, where they had placed plenty of dried tinder.We waited for it to light as the sun dropped below the horizon, painting the clouds a brilliant gold.

As the flames grew, licking the dry wood, Azura Ka’san raised her arms and palms to the sky and spoke the closing prayer of their religion.“Oh, Goddess, Mother of Life, we thank you for the light on this our longest day.Yet even in the darkness of night, the light prevails, as good must prevail over evil.We pray that you will guide us as we face the hatred of those who would harm us.Open their hearts to the light and lead them to peace.We thank you for the love and friendship we have shared this day.”

A flutist played softly throughout the prayer.And everyone began to sing what I can only call the friendship song, the official closing of the celebration.I’d never experienced anything like that, but it was wonderful.

Evalee and I left shortly after that since we had an early morning.We were stopping in Medrin to meet with Nasir Aziz before we opened the clinic.We promised Evalee’s parents that we would get back to them with a date for our marriage ceremony.We needed to check our clinic schedule to see when we could take a few days off.

At home, we stripped off our clothes and made love spontaneously with little foreplay in the shower.We fell into bed exhausted from our day and slept well in each other’s arms.