Seeing Double (Taataani/open)

[Aaron Belargic]

It was the first time Aaron had been alone in the Jedi Order since his arrival here with his brother, and he was a little nervous to say the least. It looked so much different to how he remembered it – but in some ways it was better. The atmosphere in this place – Yogs Bar and Grill – was electric and literally buzzing with the conversation of Jedi and non-Jedi alike. It made him smile to see so many people gathered so happily together, with conflict no where to be seen. Of course he did miss his former training and sparring cadre, but knew that in due time he would be able to form similar bonds here.

“Good day, Master Dasquian!” a voice said from behind the bar. Aaron paid no attention to it; he’d gotten so used to people calling for Dasquian when they saw him that he mentally shuffled it to the back of his priorities when it became an issue.

“What can I get for you today, sir? You’re looking a bit down … a bantha blaster might cheer ya up!”

Aaron simply smiled at the tender and nodded.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"mmmm"

Taataani conquered her second bucket of chicken wings, and looked undaunted still...tossing a bone to the pile at the bottom of the first bucket. Licking her lips and fingers, she reached across the table to a small white box, resembling a chinese take-out box. As she did so, she saw a very familiar form walk in.

"Dasssqujian?"

She paused. Wait...

Her sensitive Cizerack nose noted a subtle difference. That, and little nuances in the way he walked and talked. If she didn't know any better...

...her eyes widened. The Twin! Of course! It all made sense. She'd heard of Dasquian's twin, but never seen him before. He didn't disappoint, as Taataani watched from afar, fiddling with the lid of the box she held. For now, she was suffice to watch, and possibly later, she'd make her move. As her covetous eyes glinted in the dim light of the bar, she hoped that this Belargic brother wasn't as...stubborn as the other. She reached in the box, and plucked a nice, plump sajoi. As it wriggled and struggled to pull its tail free, Taa continued to watch Aaron, a smirk crossing her face as she thought of the possibilities. She then dispatched the rodent in three contented bites, and slurped up its still-twitching tail.

[Aaron Belargic]

A distinct squeaking noise drifted into Aaron’s field of hearing. As he was handed his drink and slipped a few credits to the barman as payment, he looked back over his shoulder to find the source of the irritable noise.

It had been emitting from a small rodent, however the creature was silence as a feline devoured it. The Jedi couldn’t help but stare at the creature; it was as large as, if not larger than, a normal human and appeared to stand on two legs and dress as a woman would, but looked like a cat. Even in all of his travels with the Old Republic he had never seen anything such as this –

- and so gawked, unashamedly, at this unusual species.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Dabbing a napkin at her mouth, Taataani looked on. When it appeared that she had caught his eye, she smiled, her tail making lazy arcs behind her.

"Come herrre. Don't be ssshjy. jI won't bjite."

Demurely, she pushed her wire-frames up on her nose, and brushed back a lock of hair.

[Aaron Belargic]

It was obvious that he was the one being addressed, for he was the only person outright looking at the woman. It struck him for a moment as being quite at that this creature could even speak at all, for he had assumed it was simply a well-dressed pet of one of the Jedi, but he knew that things had changed drastically, so accepted. Never one to offend, Aaron stood and walked to the table where the feline sat and sat down primly in one of the empty seats.

“I’m ah, sorry I was staring,” he attempted as an icebreaker, “Only I don’t think I’ve seen anything like you before.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jI can't sssajy the sssame."

Rising from her seat, Taa approached Aaron, and extended a hand.

"Taataanji Meorrrrrrrrreji. And jyou arrre Dasssqujian'sss brrrotherrr, no?"

[Aaron Belargic]

Quickly correcting his manners, Aaron stood and shook the offered hand.

“Aaron Belargic. Pleased to meet you Miss … Meeorrejee,” he hazarded as they sat down.

“I take it you know my brother?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jYesss, jI do. He usssed to be mjy masssterrr herrre."

Taa shrugged, leaning back in her seat, which accentuated herself elsewhere, as she stretched.

"But, jI could neverrr qujite manage to be a Jedji. jI don't thjink that jI'm sssujited forrr the job."

If it wasn't obvious the moment Aaron sat down, the table was covered in dishes from Taataani's meal. Most was blissfully not alive, but there were some exceptions. Taataani looked down, and smirked.

"Aarrron, can jI get jyou sssomethjing, perrrhapsss? jI rrrealjize Cjizerrrack cujisssjine jisss not forrr everrrjybodjy."

She leaned forward, propping her chin up with her hands.

"Besssjidesss, jif jyou arrre anjythjing at all ljike jyourrr brrrotherrr, and jit'sss obvjiousss jyou arrre, then jI verrrjy much would ljike to make jyourrr acquajintance."

[Aaron Belargic]

“I wouldn’t mind trying some of the ale they have here,” he replied with a small smile – why not try a little alcohol? He deserved a little luxury after what he had been put through.

A small droid rolled over, by coincidence, ready to take any orders. Not noticing it, Aaron asked what his mind was thinking:

“If you’re not a Jedi, what do you work as?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Drrrojid, two alesss!"

Taa shrilled at the R2 unit, that then beepled and rolled away. Not looking away from Aaron, she reached to a dish, and caught a sajoi by its tail, drawing her hand over the terrified creature to keep it quiet and still. Smiling, she adjusted her glasses.

"jI am a tourrrjisssm marrrketjing experrrt, rrreprrresssentjing the Carrrssshouljisss Boarrrd of Tourrrjisssm."

She paused, smirked, and watered down the explanation.

"Ljike a sssalesssperrrssson, mossstljy. jI ssspend a lot of tjime awajy frrrom home, to prrromote vacatjion dealsss."

The droid returned, with two large, frosty mugs, setting one to each side of the table.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron assessed the glass he had been given; it was far larger than he was used to, and didn’t look partially appetizing, but he took a draught none the less. It was bitter tasting, but gave his head a sort of bubbly dizzy feeling that he remembered from a long time ago and made him smile.

“So is … Carshoulis where you and your people come from?” he questioned as he took another polite sip of his drink.

“I think I’d like to see a place with others like you,” he added as a rather naïve sounding afterthought.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Bjy the godsss, he'sss even morrre najive than Dasssqujian! Taa thought, letting the thought drift to the back of her mind as she took a gulp of ale. She winced slightly, as such things weren't in her normal preferences. To counter the strange ale, she turned to the captured sajoi, and hastily devoured the rodent as discreetly as she could manage. She'd rather not offend whatever prudish sensibilities this one had. He could be led quite unwittingly to her bedchambers, if she was careful enough. Gulping down the sajoi's tail, Taa smiled sheepishly.

"jYou mean to tell me that jyou've neverrr met a Cjizerrrack beforrre? That jisss a trrragedjy."

She broke off into a bit of table-top drama, under the guise of pondering his second question.

"Well....."

She smirked.

"jI sssuppossse that could be arrrrrranged. jI can take jyou therrre, jif jyou wjisssh, and jyou can sssample trrrue hossspjitaljitjy forrr the fjirrrssst tjime."

[Aaron Belargic]

The thought of encountering new and unusual creatures, at first hand, in their element, was enough to make most scholastic Jedi giddy. Aaron was no different. Most of his job as a Jedi had been to meet and acquaint himself with alien species, so for him this was somewhat of a hobby.

“If you could arrange that, I would be extremely thankful,” Aaron replied as he watched one of the small rodents upon the table twitch. He wasn’t quite as revolted as he would have thought he would have been at the sight of this; perhaps it was the months of living with rats in the Imperial cells that had warmed him to the little creatures.

“How much would a trip like that cost?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Cossst?"

Taataani's eyes widened, and her ears fluttered. Then, she shook her head emphatically, and grasped Aaron's hand.

"No, Aarrron, jyou mjisssunderrrssstand. jYou would be mjy guessst. Therrre jisss no cossst to mjy perrrsssonal hossspjitaljitjy. jYou arrre Dasssqujian'sss brrrotherrr. jIt jisss earrrned."

[Aaron Belargic]

“I wouldn’t feel right not paying for transport and board,”

He shook his head.

“I can just be in debt to you. I’m sure that you could find a use for me somewhere in the future.”

Had Aaron known anything about Cizerack and this one in particular, he would probably from refrain from saying things like the previous statement. Of course being ignorant as he was, he even grinned.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani nearly choked on her ale. Had she an iota less of restraint, it would've shot out of her nose. Instead, she carefully sat her glass down, and demurely coughed into her napkin, before looking up at Aaron. He had absolutely no clue at all. How wonderful. Taataani managed to smile sweetly.

"Oh, jI'm sssurrre we can fjind sssome ussse forrr jyou, though nothjing much. Fjirrrssst and forrremossst, jI want jyou to enjojy jyourrrssself."

Taa glanced at her chrono, and smiled brightly.

"Oh! Therrre jussst ssso happensss to be an outbound fljight leavjing jin a few mjinutesss. jIf we leave now, we can jussst make jit."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron blinked, and then suddenly felt a bit panicked.

“A few minutes?”

He took a quick drink from his glass and got up to his feet, brushing his clothing down out of habit.

“We better be going then. Lead the way,” he said with an excited smile, offering an arm out to his new feline friend.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

With the bustling step only a true urban savant could manage, Taataani led Aaron through the twisting crowds outside, and eventually to a nearby spaceport. She flagged down a pilot quickly, and for the moment, distanced herself from Aaron, as she spoke with him.

"Fjive hundrrred crrredjitsss forrr jimmedjiate passssssage to Carrrssshouljisss Prrrjime."

She reached into her handbag, and passed a few chits to the man.

Sure...sure thing, Lady.

She tugged him by the arm, pulling him closer, so that she could speak into his ear.

"jI want ssseparrrate quarrrterrrsss frrrom all otherrr passssssengerrrsss, and jI do not want to be djisssturrrbed. Do thjisss, and jI have fjive hundrrred morrre forrr jyou."

The pilot smiled sheepishly, knowing exactly what she had in mind.

Sure thing, Miss Meorrrei. I just so happen to have a sealed, first class suite. Since neither of you have any luggage...this way, please. I'll show you to the ship.

The pilot led the way, and Taataani returned to Aaron's arm, and smiled at him.

"What luck, we jussst made jit."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron stepped on board with Taataani and was immediately struck by the decorum around him. The ship was clearly fairly upmarket, and as the two were shown to the room that they were to spend the duration of the trip in, Aaron noted that the further they went the better the quality of the suites were. The room they entered was at the end of a very long strip of rooms, far away from any others – it looked as though it had been made for a royal ambassador of some kind.

Here you go, the pilot replied, giving a knowing wink in the Cizeracks direction before departing. The door slid shut with a hiss.

Aaron, taking a few paces across the plush carpet, looked around with an appreciative nod.

“This is extremely impressive.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jIt jisss, jisssn't jit?"

Taa bounded across the carpet, and sprawled on an upholstered couch, sliding over to give Aaron enough room. She pomped the empty seat with a caressing hand, looking expectantly at the Jedi.

"jI trrrjy to fjind the bessst jin all thjingsss. Not that jI'm ssso ssshallow, jussst that jit can neverrr hurrrt to be pamperrred. That'sss whjy jit'sss called pamperrrjing. Come, sssjit wjith me. Do jyou want a drrrjink?"

With her other hand, she reached over the sofa's side to a mini-fridge, easing the door open to reveal a few dainty selections.

[Aaron Belargic]

As Aaron moved over to the couch he removed his outer robes and draped them over the back of the chair. He sat down, whilst leaning partially forward to peek at what was inside of the small cooling unit – mostly bottles that he did not recognise. With a somewhat unsure expression, he replied:

“Oh, whatever you think is nice. I’m not much of a connoisseur.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani's purr intensified as Aaron removed his outer garments. Careful not to keep her eyes too fixated, Taa busied herself with finding a bottle.

"To tell the truth, nejitherrr am jI. Thjisss one looksss prrrettjy though."

Removing a bottle, she went to work filling two glasses on a table across from them. Returning to her seat, she handed one to Aaron, while sitting a bit closer to him this time.

"Tell me about jyourrrssself, Aarrron. jI am verrrjy jinterrresssted."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron inspected the small glass, full of odd looking blue-green liquid that seemed to change its hue depending on the degree of light it was in.

“If you know Dasquian, then there isn’t much I can really say that you will not already know,” he began.

“Whilst he was here for the past months I was being held under Imperial imprisonment. Luckily the Empire collapsed and the Diktat that was in charge of my cell building left. It was an incredibly disorientating experience, especially since at the time I could not remember any of my past – and only succeeded in doing so after meeting with my brother back at the GJO.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Oh....that'sss terrrrrrjible!"

Taa put her glass aside, clasping her hands together.

"Bejing held prrrjisssonerrr forrr ssso long, mussst have been a frrrjightenjing experrrjience. And a loneljy one."

She brushed a hand along the side of Aaron's arm.

[Aaron Belargic]

With his glass clasped in both hands, in his lap, Aaron nodded. It had broken him at first, but he had managed to come to terms with his existence knowing that eventually he would be freed if it was the will of the Force.

“Yes, but then Jedi lead lonely lives. At least, those of us who are committed to our cause do.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"That jisss a verrrjy noble thjing to sssajy..."

Taa carefully spoke, pouting ever-so-slightly at the possibility that the catch of the day might get away yet again.

"...but companjionssshjip can heal manjy woundsss, Aarrron."

Reaching up, she tilted his head so that he looked at her fully. Her hand against the side of his face, Taataani smiled sweetly.

"Even thossse that can't be ssseen."

[Aaron Belargic]

“In my experience,”

Aaron replied, setting his hand against Taataani’s forearm, lowering it slightly.

“It has only served to cause more pain than it is worth.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

No No No No NO!!! It was all unravelling! How frustrating. Why couldn't she just stay on Carshoulis? No, she wasn't satisfied. She'd gotten a taste of independent males, and it was precisely this kind of muted frustration that made them so desirable.

"Aarrron, Aarrron....jI know...beljieve me."

She patted his thigh and leaned against him.

"jI've been a motherrr forrr manjy jyearrrrsss. Love can be pajinful, but the rrrewarrrdsss arrre alwajysss grrreaterrr. jYou jussst have to learrrn to accept them."

[Aaron Belargic]

“I wouldn’t know,” he laughed slightly, “I’ve never been in love … I’m just basing my thoughts upon what Dasquian has been through.”

His brother seemed to live a more emotionally active life than he did, and it was noticeable in both of their personalities. Aaron almost seemed to be willing to take a back seat and live a quiet life if only to keep him from harms or hurts way.

“Maybe one day I will have some experiences of my own to base my conclusions upon.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa nearly fell off the couch, but quickly righted herself.

"Neverrr?"

WOW, what a steal! Totally untouched. She nearly grinned like a schoolgirl, but continued instead to show a compassionate face to the Jedi.

"jYou can't trrruljy underrrstand sssuch a thjing untjil jyou experrrjience jit, Aarrron."

Her ears lowered, and she leaned in close.

"Majybe that dajy can be todajy."

With a gentle, persuading hand at his neck, Taataani beckoned him forward, until her pink lips clasped with his in a gentle embrace.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron was a little surprised at first, but then allowed himself a little liberty. He had in actual fact never been kissed before – his community was an incredibly sheltered one, and it was apparent that Dasquian and Eiphos only shared intimacy together to further populate the village – and was eager to find out what all the fuss was about; especially after seeing so many of the Padawan’s lip-locked around the Academy.

He did what he could to return the kiss for a short time before breaking his head back and away.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani smiled, the tips of her upper canines protruding slightly between her lips. She studied Aaron's facial expressions intently, and caressed his face with gentle fingers.

"Don't be afrrrajid...jI prrromjissse jI won't hurrrt jyou."

Taa's tail worked around Aaron in a delicate embrace, as she drew herself closer to him. Demurely, she ran her coarse tongue lightly up the left side of his face, careful to be as gentle as possible.

[Aaron Belargic]

The Jedi looked down, unsure of what Taataani was proposing. He felt a tail snaking around his body and firmly pulling him in closer, and couldn’t help but look at the fangs he had seen momentarily as the Cizerack had grinned. With a tongue running across his skin, Aaron couldn’t help but look nigh-on scared. He had intended on simply going for a visit to this woman’s planet, whilst it seemed she had many more intentions for him – perhaps promising a favour hadn’t be the best idea?

“I... ah…”

None the less, he made no visible action to deter the advances, and even appeared as though he was gingerly urging them on by giving Taa’s body a gentle squeeze.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"shhhh..."

Gently, she eased Aaron onto his back, and swung a leg over him, so that he lay across the sofa, and she rested atop his waist. With deft, experienced hand movements, she worked free the fastenings of her blouse, and shrugged it off her shoulders.

[Aaron Belargic]

A big lump of ‘oh dear’ formed in Aaron’s throat, which he swallowed down as he found himself pinned onto the couch. Quite possibly, he would have looked paler than usual at this point as he gawked up at Taa like an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming speeder.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Rrrelax...jyou'rrre ssso tenssse. Rrrelax, Aarrron."

Taataani pulled her camisole up and over her shoulders, and reached down for Aaron's hands, using them to cover the breasts she had so recently exposed to him. She gently rocked back and forth, back and forth, purring constantly.

"Thjisss jisss good, no?"

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron felt scared to do anything else but nod. His mind was showing him what he was doing, looking from the outside down at him, and it was saying NO, but he was fairly certain that he would be unable to make any drastic movements simply because his body had become so heavy out of shock. Under the rumbling purr Taa was making, Aaron’s voice could just about be heard.

“Yes.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa's smile widened.

"Good"

She reached to the nearby control panel, hitting the dimmer switch on the room's lights, as she helped to ease the robe off of Aaron.

"jIt onljy getsss betterrr."

In the dim light, Taataani's blue eyes became iridescent, glowing softly as they amplified the scarce light around. Her glasses clinked on the nearby table as she removed them. The thud of shoes against carpet, and cloth sliding against leather mingled with Taataani's purr, and a symphony of other amorous sounds.

[Aaron Belargic]

To the other passengers, all that was heard of the antics in the room was the occasional thud. Suffice to say, when the call was made for the passengers to be ready to depart for Carshoulis, Aaron was both hot and bothered, and most importantly, barely clothed. It was noticeable as he crept away to find his clothes that there were a number of cat-scratches on his chest, undoubtedly given in a moment of passion.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Satisfied by Aaron's capitulation, Taataani snoozed on the couch, looking peaceful as ever. The Jedi had hit a release for so much pressure, stress, and self-loathing that it had taken enormous burdens off of the businesswoman. She slept heavily, a smile on her face.

[Aaron Belargic]

Still Taa slept, and Aaron leisurely clothed himself before approaching the Cizerack to rouse her. He felt more confident about what had happened with a little time to reflect, and was certainly feeling less stressed about his imminent return to training after that pleasurable introduction to the more physical side of love.

“Taataani,” gingerly he whispered as he knelt down by the couch. The call for leaving the craft had been given, stating less than half an hour was left before landing.

“We’re almost there.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Oh?"

Taa slowly roused, disoriented from the heavy effects of her slumber. She nearly tripped on her shoes as she got up from the couch, and fumbling for her glasses, she finally oriented herself, and began to tidy up. As she did so, she looked across at Aaron, smiling furtively.

"jI thjink jyou wjill enjojy Carrrssshouljisss, Aarrron. jIt jisss a beautjiful place."

She approached the Jedi, and her eyes widened as she ran fingers down the faint, parallel red lines on his chest.

"Oh, djid jI do that?"

Frowning, she took him by the hand, and walked to the refresher.

"Let'sss sssee about cleanjing that up, okajy?"

Sitting him down, Taa worked with a bottle of disinfectant, dabbing it on the scratches.

[Aaron Belargic]

Having Taataani mother him like this was certainly odd after what had just occurred. Still he was thankful for the disinfectant, as it took away a little of the sting on his skin – if only he’d begun training again he could have undoubtedly heal the marks himself with relative ease.

“Thanks.”

It would be difficult to top the journey to Carshoulis with anything that might occur on the planet, but he did imagine that somehow Taa would conjure up something exciting to do to pass the time.

“I feel a bit odd,” he said aloud, unintentionally repeating his thoughts as the Cizerack finished dabbing off his cuts.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Odd?"

Taa tilted Aaron's head up to look at her while she stood over him. She then slid her hand so that the back of it rested against his forehead.

"Arrre jyou sssjick? jYou don't have a temperrraturrre."

[Aaron Belargic]

“No, I don’t mean odd like that… I mean I’ve never done anything like that before, it feels odd.”

A little pang of guilt was nagging at his mind as he wondered perhaps if he had dropped himself head first into the deep end of something.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Oh."

Taa dropped down to her haunches, eye-level with Aaron, and placed her hands on his knees.

"jIt jisss a ssspecjial thjing...between two people who carrre about each otherrr. That jisss all. jI want jyou to feel ssspecjial."

Taataani had never had a virgin so old before. It was an amazing occurrence, especially considering the Jedi's credentials. Most Cizerack males are taken fresh out of puberty, and almost none reach their twenties without being claimed.

Taataani let her words sink in, and kissed his forehead.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron smiled the smile of a small boy who had just been given a new toy, though he righted himself and gave a more appropriate calm nod at Taataani. With a loud breath out he pulled on his shirt and stood up, setting himself a good way above the Cizerack once more. As he paced out to find his robes, he looked back over his shoulder.

“So what are we going to be doing on Carshoulis? Sight seeing?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Sssurrre."

Taataani smiled, returning to the application of disinfectant.

"Whateverrr jyou would ljike. Therrre jisss ssso much to sssee and do therrre, jit can be overrrwhelmjing."

Capping the bottle, she put it away, and helped Aaron to his feet, placing her hands at his hips.

"We'll ssstajy at mjy famjiljy essstate, nearrr the capjital. jIt'sss verrrjy prrrettjy therrre. jI can take jyou to sssee Feessssssaarrrrrro Brrrensss, and the Prrrjide Motherrr'sss palace, and the Lumjinessscent Garrrdensss of Kaa'ssshaarrreeji'la. Thejy arrre mjy favorrrjite."

[Aaron Belargic]

“Are there many humans there or is everyone like you? And are there any … customs I should know about? I don’t want to offend anyone by saying anything out of place.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Oh therrre arrre qujite a numberrr of hyuu-mannsss. Mossst ljive on the frrrjinge worrrldsss, but sssome do come to Carrrssshouljisss Prrrjime, too.

Asss farrr asss cussstomsss...."

Taa's ears drooped noticably, as she went into thought. There were about a billion and one, and most of which were deemed by most to be "important". She really didn't want to frighten Aaron with some of the "less attractive" customs, such as some keeping their males chained to their bedchambers, and such. Taataani was learning to be open-minded and progressive. It was one reason that she had been so diplomatic in this liason. Had she been a conservative Cizerack, the alternatives for Aaron might have been unconditional submission, or to be killed where he stood. To a cosmopolitan felinoid such as herself, this train of thought was seeming more and more draconian every day.

"Well...."

She dug into her purse, and pulled out a pamphlet.

"Herrre. Thjisss hasss ssseverrral thjingsss that could be helpful to jyou."

She made a funny face.

"Thjingsss on Carrrssshouljisss arrre....djifferrrent, ssso don't be frrrjightened bjy jit. jIt jisss how jit jisss, and that'sss all. At anjy rrrate, jyou ssshould be jussst fjine. And jif we go out to eat, therrre arrre ssspecjial placesss to ssserrrve Forrda. jYou'll love jit."

Taking him by the hand, she onced-over Aaron's attire, as well as her own, before stepping out of the quarters.

"C'mon, letsss go."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron pulled out the pamphlets and for a moment glanced at it, briefly scanning over what information wasp resented. There were a number of diagrams representing times in history, long ago, which explained various aspects of modern Cizerack culture – and it all seemed fairly… violent. As a former Ambassador Aaron had dealt with far worse, however, so wasn’t bothered at all. Just as he was pushing the leaflet away into his pocket, Taa grabbed his hand and they wandered out into the hallway.

Other passengers were leaving ahead of them, and Aaron could see the warm glow of the sun from outside – as well as feeling the sweltering heat in the corridor, accentuated by some form of scent that was all together foreign to him.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Ohhh, jI haven't been home jin sssuch a whjile...the sssun feelsss good herrre!"

With a pleased smile, Taa exited the spacecraft, walking down a gangplank. The sprawling scene around them was of beautiful cityscape...buildings shaded in adobe and platinum, and a myriad of pastels. Exotic plants grew in planned rows, down ornate sidewalks, which were full of milling pedestrians of varying races, although the vast majority were Cizerack. Taataani nodded to a woman in uniform, and a brief exchange took place in the Cizerack native language, which was flowing and almost melodic, marked by accentuated vowels and consonants that rolled off the tongue with a purry fashion. Taa gestured back to Aaron, and held his hand, drawing him closer. She smiled, adjusting her glasses.

"An'jaarree'ia'rrai'kee'ika'uuchai'Aarrron'belarrrg jic'chai'dai'eeni."

The woman in uniform nodded, passing a metallic necklace to Taataani, who passed the uniformed woman a credit chit. The woman in uniform smiled courteously to Taataani, smiled in a stranger manner at Aaron, and returned her attention to Taa.

"Ja'kaina'ssee'ia'Rrou'Meorrrei'chai."

Taa nodded, tugging Aaron along.

"Ai. Ja'kaina!"

[Aaron Belargic]

The manner in which Taataani address her fellow Cizerack was certainly peculiar to say the least, but it did seem faintly familiar. Not in the sense that Aaron had heard it before, but that he could see similarities between it and his native language.

Tugged along by his guide for the day, he quirked a quizzical brow – though still smiling – at the repetition of certain words in what Taa had sure. He was sure he’d heard his name mentioned in there, somewhere.

“… what just happened?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Herrre, put thjisss on."

Taa smiled, and handed Aaron the necklace. It wasn't too flashy, and had a small pendant with Cizerack glyphs on it.

[Aaron Belargic]

With a momentary glance at the simple pendant, Aaron pulled it on over his head and smiled. He squinted down at the little ruins written on it.

“What do they mean? These little marks?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Well..."

Taa fingered the pendant, trying to paraphrase.

"jIt meansss that jyou arrre herrre vjisssjitjing wjith me."

Taa smiled, crossing her arm under Aaron's. It would be difficult to explain that the pendant also prevented other females from taking him into their possession. Just another aspect of Cizerack culture that wouldn't be easy to explain.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Oh, like an ID card,” Aaron nodded, whilst a little voice in the back of his mind told him to look out for more people with the tag on.

“So where’re we headed first?”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Well, Feessssssaarrrrrro Brrrensss jisss that wajy..."

Taa pointed toward a massive city skyline.

"Ai'sssssshaarrrrrree Djissstrrrjict jisss thjisss wajy...and that'sss wherrre jI ljive, but therrre'sss lessssss to do therrre. jIt'sss mossstljy homesss. Wherrre would jyou ljike to go, Aarrron?"

Pushing her glasses up on her nose, Taa looked to her newfound mate.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Well if you think the place where you live is boring, let’s go to ... Fesaro Brens?”

Aaron hoped he was pronouncing it correctly.

“I don’t mind either way, really. I don’t want you to get bored by having to show me around places you find dull. I’m sure wherever you pick will be great, and we’ll have a good time.”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Grrreat!"

Taa threaded her tail around Aaron's waist, drawing him close to her side. She intertwined her fingers around his, holding his hand as they walked along.

"Now, therrre'sss Kaji'jaarrrrrreee Theatrrre, not farrr frrrom herrre. Orrr we could go to the Keessssssaavji'Ajilla frrragrrrant garrrdensss, whjich arrre njice thjisss ssseassson."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron glanced down at the tail lassoing him.

“What do they show at the theatre? Plays? … I suppose though since it is a hot day it would be a shame to waste it stuffed up inside.”