3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Isla’s guide to The Twelve Nights of Halloheen (Excerpt)

The first night of Halloheen is called the Green Night and that’s when we put up the bulk of the decorations. The most important decoration is the small tree brought into the domicile for everyone to decorate. There should also be small leafy green plants hung in doorways and other types of green plants draped over furniture. Think of it like bringing the outside to the inside.

Tisuran

“What are you doing?”

Tisuran turned sharply to find Dalt staring at him from the doorway of the communal building. Before answering, Tisuran carefully set down the little tree he’d dug up earlier that evening. The tree’s small root ball was resting inside a hard edged, open top tool carrier and packed in with extra soil. The tree was the closest to green they could find; although if pressed, Tisuran would have described it as a very dark yellow.

After he was sure the tree wouldn’t fall over, he turned to face Dalt. “It’s a Halloheen tree,” he explained.

“Halloheen?” Dalt murmured. Lakin, the human he was scent-bonded to, walked in at that moment. Without even looking at her, Dalt lifted his arms. She was quick to step into his space and snuggle her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lowered his face to her hair. She made a soft contented sound as Dalt swiped a cheek across the top of her head. Tisuran could smell Dalt’s bonding oil as it soaked into Lakin’s hair.

The two couldn’t be more perfect for each other. Lakin was clever, and her indomitable spirit matched Dalt’s skill to get them out of whatever trouble Lakin’s plots and plans got them into. The love and comradery between them always made Tisuran jealous. Not that he wanted Lakin, but he wanted to find a partner to scent-bond that fit him as well as Lakin and Dalt fit together.

He was sure that could be Isla, but the last year had proven she was resistant to any of his efforts.

“Oh, I’ve heard about Halloheen,” Lakin said. “We didn’t celebrate any holidays in the colony I grew up in, but I heard Wimol did a big multi-day celebration every year.”

“Yes,” Tisuran said with an enthusiastic rattle. “Isla and I have only now returned from collecting items for the first night of Halloheen.”

“That’s tomorrow, right?” Lakin asked as she peered at the table holding the small tree and then down at the overflowing bag of plant clippings Tisuran had dropped on the floor. “What’s all this for?”

“We’re meant to decorate this room with those,” he explained, then pointed to the tree. “And everyone is expected to add colorful decorations to the tree.”

“I remember someone back home saying something about decorating a tree,” she murmured. “I think there’s supposed to be a star on the top.”

“How would we put a star on a tree?” Dalt asked her with a confused rumble and a glance out the door where the sun had long since set.

“Not a true star,” Lakin said with a laugh. “A stylized star. But it should be silver and reflective with five or more points.”

“I should be able to make a stylized star out of natic gel,” Tisuran murmured, thankful to Dalt for clarifying the type of star with Lakin.

“I’ll go talk to Zia about making some decorations,” Lakin said. Her growing enthusiasm was unmistakable. “I think everything is supposed to be super bright and glittery.”

That made Tisuran sound a brief rumble of amusement. “That will make Zia happy.”

Lakin grinned cheekily. “She does like all things sparkly. Is there a time set for decorating?”

Before Tisuran could answer, the main door to the communal building banged opened to reveal Isla carrying several repurposed parts boxes stacked higher than her head. With a distressed rattle, Tisuran rushed to take her burden, shocked at how much weight she’d been carrying. Isla was stronger than she looked.

“Hi guys!” Isla sang out in a cheerful voice.

Isla was always like this. Except for earlier in the evening, when she’d been scared and upset, Tisuran had never seen Isla act anything but merry. Zia had claimed Isla was happiness manifested. Tisuran was inclined to agree.

Isla’s kindness was the reason it pained him so much every time she refused his comfort. Most humans on Sorana picked partners, either other humans or Talins. Except for Isla.

After proving his prowess in battle by taking on the gorg, Tisuran wanted more opportunities to impress Isla. Perhaps the Twelve Nights of Halloheen was the perfect time to showcase himself. This could be the turning point, and Isla would recognize his value.

“…I mean, that doesn’t happen until the last night of Halloheen, but it’s still my favorite part. That’s when wishes are supposed to come true.”

Tisuran had been deep in his thoughts, so he only caught the last part of what Isla was saying. “I have a wish,” he mumbled.

Only Dalt heard him and his former military comrade and friend made a soft, sympathetic rumble that neither of the humans noticed.

“I have faith you can make your wish happen,” Dalt commented.

“What wish?” Lakin asked Dalt instead of responding to Isla’s last comment.

Tisuran was quick to redirect the conversation with another question. “Isla, when do we plan to decorate the tree?”

Dalt was quick to follow his lead. “We need to find Zia and ask her where the natic gel is kept. Then you need to show me how the humans like to draw stars.” He looked at Tisuran and said pointedly. “Everyone’s busy, so you’ll be here alone unless you ping someone’s Ident Cube or information square for assistance.”

With those parting words, Dalt guided Lakin out as she animatedly described the stars she’d drawn as a child. Tisuran was suddenly alone with Isla.

“Should we hang up the plants?” he asked, to draw her attention away from the departing couple. “Or does that happen tomorrow?”

“We should hang some items,” Isla mused. “But leave the rest for everyone to decorate together as part of Green Night.”

“Then let us complete this task,” Tisuran said, hefting the bag of plant clippings onto the table.

“Sure!” Isla skipped over. She stood next to him, pulling greenery out of the bag.

Tisuran gave himself a moment to inhale her unique scent. He longed to rub the scent glands in his cheeks into her hair. Their combined scent would be heady and addicting. He was so entranced with her, it would probably only take once and he’d be scent-bonded to her for life.

The thought of touching Isla in any way made his mating shaft fill with blood and his flesh pouch grow tight.

This was going to be a long, torturous night. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Isla

Zia’s wide eyes and big, open-mouth smile clearly told Isla how impressed she was with the decorated communal building. She and Palforma arrived only moments ago and both of them had stopped in their tracks to admire everyone’s efforts.

Yesterday evening Isla and Tisuran had hung a few items, moved all the bigger pieces of furniture into a storage area, and set the yellow-leafed tree up on a table in the center of the room. At least the tree wasn’t red, like most of the other “greenery” they’d harvested.

This evening, the first of The Twelve Nights of Halloheen, everyone had gathered and cheerfully decorated with childlike abandon. The few humans that hadn’t come from the Wimol human colony had enthusiastically joined the fun despite lacking experience with the tradition.

The result was a room embellished with every sparkly item, leafy plant, and bright fabric available. They’d made up for the lack of green plants by supplementing the decorations with green paper, paint, and fabric. The place looked better than any Green Night Isla had celebrated in the past.

As was tradition, both Zia and Palforma carried trays of food for the Green Night Feast. The couple unloaded their delectable offerings with the other potluck items on crowded warming tables.

Born deaf, Zia had the silent tapping language of the Norka downloaded into her Innercranial Translators. Everyone else had the same download, so they could all communicate, but Norka required a person’s hands to be free to talk. The moment Zia set down her burden, she started tapping rapidly.

‘This is amazing!’ Zia exclaimed, eyes sparkling and her hand movements big to denote her excitement. ‘I’m so glad you pushed to celebrate Halloheen. We have so much work to do, I wouldn’t have thought to bother with it.’

Isla blushed a little. ‘It’s not that big of a deal,’ she tapped back. ‘It’s not as important as organizing the domicile system’s maintenance or fixing the comms relay.’

It was Zia’s scent-bonded Talin, Palforma, that responded to Isla’s comment. ‘Don’t downplay the importance of happiness,’ he countered with precise hand movements. ‘Most of us are too focused on building and maintaining this colony. We forget that our spirits need sustenance as well as our bodies.’

During his time in the Talin military, Palforma had suffered a brain injury, leaving him with an inability to find his words and a stutter when he did manage to talk. He’d been quick to adopt Norka when Zia had introduced the language to him, finding he could communicate far more eloquently with his hands. Many had considered him lacking intelligence until he learned Norka.

Isla was often jealous of Zia and Palforma’s relationship. Palforma was a warrior who thought himself worthless until Zia. With her leading the way, he found his value, and the two of them had even foiled a plot to kill a member of the Talin royal family!

Isla might not be interested in living that kind of dangerous adventure, but she did long for a partner who saw her as an equal and not some dingbat who needed to be kept safe from her own follies.

But then she’d remember relationships weren’t for her. Any male she partnered with would want things from her. She couldn’t do those things . Never again.

‘…all the other nights?’

It took Isla a moment to realize Zia had asked her a question. She’d zoned out and missed most of her tapping. ‘I’m sorry, what?’

Zia grinned and repeated her question. ‘Will you do all the nights? Or only this one and the last one?’

Isla gave Zia a mock scowl. ‘We’re doing all the nights. What kind of celebration would it be if we only celebrated Green Night and Night of the Dead?’

‘Great! I’m looking forward to a full celebration!’ Zia said with her trademark soundless, huffing laugh. Isla loved that laugh, as it reminded her of their mischievous childhood adventures and pranks.

‘I think this is exactly what we’ve been missing,’ Palforma added with the clinking-marbles rumble. In this context he wasn’t expressing amusement but happiness. Even though Zia couldn’t hear the rumbles and rattles the Talins made, she had special implants in her eyes that used visual cues to keep her informed about the sounds going on around her.

‘You think we’ve been missing a room full of decorations where everyone is dressed in green clothing?’ Zia asked with a teasing expression.

‘No,’ Palforma answered. ‘We’ve been missing a community.’

‘Palforma gets it,’ Isla tapped triumphantly as she beamed at the Talin in question.

Before Zia could respond, several others joined their little group and claimed the couple’s attention. Stepping back to make room, Isla bumped into something behind her.

“Oh!” she gasped and bounced forward, worried she’d hurt someone. The rapid change in direction caused her to lose her balance. The ground was rushing up to meet her, but strong Talin arms encircled her and pulled her flush against a hard, keratin-plated chest.

“Easy,” Tisuran breathed into her neck as he sounded a purring rumble. The moment she was stable on her feet and before she could get upset, he dropped his arms from around her. He wasn’t holding her, but he remained with his front pressed against her back. “I’m sorry, little Isla. That was my fault. I was in your way. I meant to speak before you stepped, but I was worried I’d startle you.”

“It’s the night to be startled and tickled,” Isla said. She relaxed against Tisuran, letting herself have a moment of physical contact before stepping away. Turning to face Tisuran, Isla fought to keep her smile in place when her body seemed to have heated up out of nowhere.

“Are we supposed to scare each other on the Green Night?” he asked.

“Not scare, but you’re supposed to tickle someone if they aren’t wearing green,” she explained, still slightly breathless from his closeness.

Tisuran examined the humans and Talins in the room, then sounded an amused rumble. “I believe everyone is wearing green.”

Isla shrugged and snickered. “Yeah, everyone remembered this year. Or were told by those who knew.”

“Interesting,” Tisuran mused. “When you sent out the messages to everyone’s information squares and Ident Cubes, you didn’t mention wearing green. Were you hoping people would have forgotten that part of the tradition?”

“Maybe?”

Tisuran sounded a rumble of amusement loud enough to have been several bags of clinking-marbles all being shaken at once. His version of a Talin laugh made Isla chuckle. Feelings of gentle intimacy filled her, pushing her to take his hand. He tangled his fingers with hers, but she didn’t feel the need to pull away. Ignoring the strange feeling in her stomach at the sight of their linked fingers, she forced her eyes to focus on the table practically buckling under so many heaping containers of food.

“You did most of the work yesterday, and you were super busy today helping others finish their tasks, so no one missed Green Night. You must be starving.”

“I’m hungry,” he admitted. “Will you eat with me?”

Knowing Talins liked to feed humans by hand, she ignored the implication of his question.

“We could share a plate,” she offered.

“That would….” His voice trailed off as something caught his attention. “What are they doing?”

Following his gaze, she saw Palforma holding Zia high against his chest, her legs wrapped around his waist. On Sorana, Talins and humans were free to show affection, unlike the rest of the Talin empire where these relationships weren’t simply taboo, they were illegal.

It took Isla a moment to figure out that it wasn’t the couple’s intimate tangle Tisuran was questioning. It was that they were doing it under a decorated arch with some of the greenery almost touching the top of Palforma’s head.

They were also engaged in a heated kiss that made Isla blush to watch. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d forgotten they were in a room full of people. But she did know better because Zia and Palforma weren’t shy with their affection on Sorana.

“Oh, that’s one of the Green Night traditions,” she explained. “But they’re not doing it right.”

“Demonstrate how it’s supposed to be done,” Tisuran insisted. “With me.”

“Um, okay,” Isla agreed and walked with him to stand under a different arch. Pointing up at some of the leafy plants they’d hung the night before, she explained the action first. “When two people find themselves under this, they’re supposed to rub cheeks.”

Without warning, Tisuran dropped to his knees in front of her and presented the side of his face.

“Show me,” he requested. “Please.”

Isla startled at his sudden movement, then giggled. Leaning closer to his warmth, she slid her cheek against his. Tisuran could have been a statue; he remained perfectly still as her silken cheek stroked his for the first time. The scent of sweet maple hit Isla’s nose as warmth remained on her skin even after she moved back.

Tisuran’s hand became rigid in hers. A deep, thrumming rumble rolled from his chestbox, very different from his normal soothing purr. The lower pitch of this new rumble bypassed her ears and tugged at something deep inside her.

Isla froze in the warmth of Tisuran’s proximity, afraid to move, to even breathe. She’d never experienced a sharp punch of lust before. Honestly, she never expected to desire anyone. He was in every part of her senses. The skin of his hand on hers. The sight of him filling her vision. His thrumming rumble making gooseflesh break out across her skin. Even his smell filled her nose, rich and mouthwatering.

“Maple.”

“What’s maple, loreline ?” His murmured question and the use of the Talin equivalent of sweetheart shocked her out of the moment.

“Uh, you smell like maple,” she explained woodenly, suddenly realizing how close they were. If either of them moved a little, they’d be kissing.

Releasing his hand, she fiddled with the front closure of her garment. She should step away or at least break eye contact. She didn’t do either. “Do you think there’s enough ki? I know Ulanian and Jarnian could use up an entire shaker of it each.”

Tisuran ignored her question and asked one of his own. “Do you like maple?”

“Yeah, it was my favorite candy growing up,” she said, then noticed the wetness glistening on his cheek. Without conscious thought, she reached out to run shaking fingers over the side of his face. Her fingers were quickly covered in an oily substance and the smell of maple grew even stronger.

She knew each of the Talins produced oil from the scent glands in their cheeks. Even if they weren’t producing enough to make the sides of their face shiny, every Talin had a unique smell because of the oil. Usually it was faint and fleeting, but with her fingers coated in Tisuran’s bonding oil, the smell hung heavy around them.

Unlike other Talins with their cloying scent of flowers or fruit, the smell of Tisuran’s bonding oil made her mouth water. She wanted to rub the oil all over her body and let the heat warm her to her core.

The mental image made her heart pound with lust.

On the heels of the lust was fear. Unbidden, memories of being held down and hurt flashed through her mind. No, not tonight! She didn’t want to think about those things ever, but especially not on the first night of Halloheen.

Her vision went a little fuzzy. Shit, there were tears in her eyes. She was going to cry and have a meltdown right here in front of everyone.

“I need to go.” Panicked, she turned and fled.

Her small size was an advantage as she darted through the crowded building. Soon she was bursting out of one of the side doors and into the cold darkness of Sorana’s night.