``only human;;

[Squish|Flint]

It was a hot and dry day. It was always hot and dry in this desert of a place. The landscape was dusty and dead-looking. The sparse, spiny vegetation could hardly be considered appealing and the tough, lean wildlife was far from friendly. But, despite all this, many a human called this place their home. They found and loved the beauty of the land; the blueness of the never-ending sky, the expanse of the equally never-ending earth. Although many loved it, some people got bored of this place and wanted to see something new.

Troy had a restless body and a soul that was curious by nature. He was feeling more restless than curious at the moment, even though his still body did not betray it. He was completely unmoving, as blank and solid as the large boulders irregularly placed over the dry ground. It didn’t last for long, though. His near constant spout of energy got the better of him though and he was drumming his fingers along his belt without ever deciding to do it.

He lowered his dark gaze to the offending fingers, heaved a sigh, then turned his back to the sun, heading toward his silent mount. Well, almost silent. The mare snorted as Troy came close and nudged her velvet soft nose against his chest. The young man ran his fingers affectionately through the horse’s shining mane, letting the silken black strands slip from his grasp and fall back into place.

She was a beautiful creature. Pitch black from head to hoof, as dark as a night with no moon. Her onyx hooves were sound and perfectly shaped, attached to long, strong legs. Her coat was a glistening jet-black and her mane fell almost liquidly over her rippling shoulders, like an ebony waterfall. Her head was timelessly elegant and her eyes held the tell-tale soulfulness of all horses. Except for the colour. Instead of being brown, or black, they were a strange azure, like two pieces of luminescent sky. Troy had named the dark mare Serenity, but she also recognized the name Seri. She was just as wise, just as beautiful, but just a touch different. Just like Troy himself.

Troy also looked a bit different than anyone else. Similar enough to fit in, but strange enough to set him apart. His black eyes were bottomless, the dark iris barely discernable from his pupil. His short, tussled hair was the same colour as his mount’s mane, but more matte, less shiny. Despite the near-constant sunlight, his skin was as pale as a ghost, quite a contrast from the tanned towns-folk that lived a little more than a half-days ride from where Troy stood.

Even his clothes were different. From a distant, they night look like the same brown and beige everybody wore, but the difference could be distinguished the closer he got. His clothes were sewn together with thick, black thread, outlining his body in the strangest way. It made Troy seemed like he was edged in shadows. It made him stand out.

Him and his blue-eyed, black horse.

Fitting his boot-clad foot into the stirrup, Troy hefted himself over Serenity’s back and grabbed the leather reins. He gently touched his heels to the mare’s side and she obediently started forward, smoothly easing into a steady trot. Her hard hooves elicited puffs of dust that tried to float toward the sky. Another tap of his heels eased the mare into an effortless canter. Troy was heading North, away from the little town called Shamrock. Troy was tired of the monotonous life he lived there. He was going to run from this place, his home. He was going to run until he didn’t see a speck of yellow dust on the ground. But - as the sun set beside him- he would have to rest for now.

The moon was bright when Troy had finished everything he needed to do. He had fed and watered Serenity and himself, looked after Seri’s tack, buried the remnants of his dinner in the hard ground -so coyotes wouldn’t smell it- and lay his bedroll beside a nearby boulder. All after checking the surrounding area for snake holes and coyote dens, of course. Troy didn’t fancy getting surprised by animals in his sleep. He had a small fire going to keep him warm and hopefully drive away any curious coyotes.

Troy lay with his back against the padded bedroll and turned his gaze to the only thing of interest around these parts: The night sky.

Stars fascinated Troy. The black space around them was a whole new world. Vast and mysterious. Unattainable, but looking for all the world like he could reach up and brush the shimmering lights with his fingertips. When Troy put his hand behind his head his elbows knocked the matching pistols he always kept close, the clinking metal distracting him momentarily before he focused again.

The sky was always changing. The moon was round and silver with silver light, brightening the darkness around Troy and creating a luminous halo in the sky. The celestial points of light winked in and out of existence as they danced through the sky at a slow pace. Sometimes stars would burn a blazing path before being snuffed out, taking no more than a split second to do so. Troy watched all this with dark, wondering eyes. He was always curious.

But he was tired to night as well and he had only counted three shooting stars before his eyelids began to droop, the heaviness of sleep weighing them down. The fire hissed and crackled soft lullabies, working in time with Serenity’s slow, deep breathing. Troy’s sleep-hazed eyes caught a small flash-the start of a shooting star. Unable to resist, he fought with his heavy lids, trying to focus on the small dot of light. As soon as he managed to pry them open, he wished he had kept them shut.

Blinding, white light burned his eyes, forcing them closed. Even then the light shone through, too bright. The blazing brightness made Troy panic and he threw his arms over his eyes to lessen the pain. His efforts were futile, as the intense, searing light seemed to come from all directions. Serenity screamed shrilly in fear and Troy could hear her pounding her hooves. Terror and panic drowned out everything, incapacitating Troy. All he knew was the light and the fear. Then, weightlessness. Troy reached out in alarm, feeling nothing. It was like a child plucking his toy off the ground, but Troy felt no pressure at all, no tugging. There was no sense of direction. Troy then felt the puling. The stretching of his body. Thinning, pounding, crushing and extending all at the same time. Suddenly, darkness bloomed behind Troy’s eyelids.

The ringing in his ears didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon and his arms felt like they were sewn to his face. After a few moments of ringing silence, Troy was beginning to hear his ragged breathing and wildly beating heart again. Also, the loud, sharp noises of his distressed horse. Troy managed to open his eyes and pry his arms away from his face. Although his sight didn’t improve, he considered the small movements an accomplishment. He sat up, his body complying with a few spasms of protest. The whole experience felt like being flattened by a boulder and being re-inflated. Troy rolled his shoulders, trying to diffuse the tension and rigidity in his spine.

His black eyes were adjusting to the darkness at an excruciatingly slow rate. But when they adjusted enough to see the vague outline of Serenity’s heaving, restless body he jumped up and headed over to the frightened mare. She reared, startled by his approached, and her hooves flashed out near his head. When she landed Troy darted forward - quick as a rattlesnake- and grabbed her neck, forcing the horse to stay on the ground.

“Whoa Seri. Shhh…stop jumping ‘round now. It’s alright. Shh.” After much calm, whispered reassurance and soothing pats, Serenity -bit by bit- managed to settle down. She trembled beside Troy, frightened, but silent. Her fear was uncharacteristic. Serenity was usually as her name suggested. Tranquil and lucid to the point where she was nearly oblivious to danger. A snake could rattle its tail and she would merely tromp by, unaffected. Coyotes could yip and bay at the moon and Seri would toss her mane, unimpressed. But Troy understood her terror this time. He could feel it running along his veins with the blood and adrenaline.

Troy ran his fingers through Serenity’s luxurious mane, to calm himself as much as her. It was only then, when Troy saw the shine in his horse’s fur that shouldn’t exist in total darkness, did he notice the lights. Like dozens of tiny, square lanterns placed in a circle. One circle on the ground, about six metres across and one circle a metre above Troy’s head, the diameter looking the same. Troy grabbed Seri’s reins, pulling her forward. Her iron-shod hooves clinked against the ground, the sound reminding Troy of a few moments ago, when he had nudged his pistols. Metal-on-metal.

Abruptly, it began to brighten. A sunrise with no sun. It was the odd, little-lanterns-that-weren’t, brightening until they lit up the room. A strange, metal room in the shape of a cylinder with no seats, no windows, and no doors. Troy noted the metal with shock. It was a vibrant, living green. Troy ran his fingers over the smooth, cool surface, his eyes wide. Where was he? What was this place?

Troy was in the middle of towing the reluctant Serenity across the room when a sharp hiss to his right caught his attention. Part of the green wall began to break away. The moving wall split in half and then receded, creating a gaping hole in the room. It was the only exit Troy could see. At the sound of voices he reached for the guns that weren’t there. He would have to ride Serenity out of the room, hopefully surprising them enough to make his getaway. The mare was trying to sidle away but Troy had kept a firm hold on the reins. She had on a bridle but Troy had taken her saddle off for the night. No matter. He could ride bareback as well as he could ride with a saddle. His hasty plans had taken five seconds to construct and it only took one look at the source of the voices to shatter his thought process altogether.

Two people sauntered through the opening, appearing to be in the middle of a discussion. A man and a women. At least…that’s what Troy thought they were. Their skin was blue. Not the pale, clear blue of the sky he was so used to, but a deep, royal blue he had seen only once in an unusually deep part of a river. After getting over the initial blueness, Troy saw green also mottled in their absurd skin tone. The green was darker than the surrounding metal but still held a quality that made Troy think the colour was alive. Like it should be writhing around….wait. It was moving. The green moved like oil over water. Moving as slowly as the stars, but indisputably moving. The two beings came to an abrupt stop when they saw Troy. No one spoke. And of course Troy couldn’t keep still. He shifted his weight from side to side, uneasy under the strange beings’ gazes. They had blank eyes. No pupil, no iris. They were wide and blue and Troy wondered if they were really seeing him at all.

“I thought you said it was alone!” The female groaned, running a slender hand through her thick, ropey hair. Their hair was like limp tentacles framing their faces and they were blue, of course.

“It was alone! At least it was when I locked on!” The male…thing sounded distressed. Even their voices sounded strange. They sounded hollow, like it was coming from the inside of a cave.

“What’s goin’ on here?” Troy finally found his voice but it seemed rough from lack of use. Both beings focused their seemingly sightless eyes on him. He tensed, ready to spring on Serenity’s back at a moment’s notice, but they surprised him by somehow looking pleading.

“Oh…no. We are so sorry sir. Please forgive us. This is just a great big mistake.”

Troy might have relaxed if they weren’t so…odd. Unease gave way to curiosity. “What are you?” He couldn’t keep the awe out of his voice, or the excited and curious spark from his eyes.

“We are Deleareans,” it was the female that answered, “We are native to Delearia, a planet from the Delusion galaxy.”

“Well,” Troy floundered, “you two got names?” Once again the female answered.

“Yes. You couldn’t possibly pronounce them in your language though.” She pursed her deep blue lips. “Alright, you can call me Kai. It is a nickname of mine.”

After a moment of thought the male stated, “And I am Tkaa.”

“May we have the honour of knowing your name, human?”

“Troy,” He answered absently, still reeling from all the information he was absorbing, and all the questions he wanted to ask. A thousand questions all with a thousand answers in an unknown tongue.

“What a beautiful creature.” Kai’s voice was full of admiration, making Troy look up. Both Deleareans were looking at the mare by his side who was her trademark calm. The dark mare nickered softly, the hairs on her velveteen nose tickling his cheek.

“Is she yours?” Tkaa inquired, slight envy edging his hollow voice.

“ Yes…doya like ‘er?” Just one question Troy wanted to ask. There were just so many questions…

“She’s the whole reason we’re in this mess.” His words could’ve been accusing if you completely bypassed the total adoration. “We have been trying to find a single, unattained horse for awhile now…I thought she was alone.” Again Tkaa sounded disappointed and pleading.

Troy instinctively gripped Seri’s reins when the being spoke of taking her away- a fact Kai had not missed.

“Peace, Troy. We mean neither your or your steed harm.”

“Serenity.”

“Pardon?” Both Deleareans asked, sounding so puzzled it made Troy grin.

“Her name is Serenity.”

“What a lovely name.” Kai gushed, her flute-like voice sounding excited.

“Come now, no time for standing about.” Tkaa started off strong but began fidgeting under Kai’s stern gaze. “Well we can’t just stay here.”

Kai sighed, “I know…Troy?”

The human jumped, straightening up. He had been trying to peek around the Deleareans to see what was behind them.

“Would you mind coming with us? You are a rather unexpected guest but you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being inhospitable.”

All that made sense to Troy was ‘coming with us’. The rest blurred. He had leapt up onto Serenity’s back before Kai had finished speaking and was already edging forward, impatient in his excitement.

“Now….right?” Troy cleared his throat because his voice had been a few octaves higher than it should have been.

Both beings looked at each other once before turning and walking through the wide arching opening. Serenity’s iron-shod hooves clicked against the metal floors, echoing corridor, sounding like water in a mine. Tkaa and Kai were talking to each other in their strange, sing-song voice, their own footfalls silent. Instead of listening to his two hosts talk, Troy’s dark eyes were scanning the tunnel-like place around him. Unfortunately for him, though, there didn’t seem to be much for the curious male to look at, so he settled for running his fingertips over the smooth, cool walls.

After awhile the two Deleareans fell silent. Alarm bloomed in Troy at the disconcerting silence, but it was soothed by Serenity’s steady movement, the rocking motion making his previous drowsiness resurface. Just as his eyelids began to droop, a sharp hiss make him jerk upward. They had reached what looked like the end of the hall, and the wall began to split and fall away, just as it had in the other room. Bright light spilled in through the gaping doorway, making Troy blink. Even the easy-going mare hesitated, pawing the metallic floor. Troy took off his hat and ran his fingers through his midnight hair. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

The room- if it could be called that- was massive. The cavernous space was filled with towering trees. The huge trees were dripping with strangely shaped leaves, moss clinging to the rough exterior of their trunks. Long, shaggy vines dropped frim high branches, creating graceful arches high above Troy’s head. Everything was blurred by a veil of fog, the thick mist blanketing the entire area. The air that caressed Troy’s face was sultry and moist.

“What is this place?” Troy breathed in amazement.

“Gnourillia Altimum.” Kai spoke in a foreign, fluid language that sounded natural for her hollow voice, Troy’s accent quite rough in comparison.

“It means…um…” Tkaa thought for a moment. “Life room, or Home room.” A smile quirked the beings lips, “Yes…our Home Room.”

“This room is a replica of Delearia. Our entire planet is covered in this thick jungle.” Kai’s voice narrated as Troy’s dark gaze swept over the misted landscape.

“How…?” The human failed to see of they got everything in here. The Deleareans chuckled, their laughter as hypnotic as the purr of a cat.

“It took a couple hundred years to pull everything together, but we don’t have time to school you in History. Come now, move along.” Prompted by Kai’s words, Troy spurred Serenity on. She snorted as she stepped onto the oddest ground Troy had ever seen.

The ground was carpeted with what looked like furry moss. Curiosity getting the best of him yet again, Troy jumped off his black mount and crouched to brush his hand over the strange vegetation. It wasn’t moss. It was too…springy. Troy-still curious- took a handful of the foamy plant mater and pulled. It came away with minimal resistance and uncovered a fist-sized patch of dark -nearly black- soil. He looked away from the spot of sable dirt to the handful of green that was tumbling through his fingers. As he looked closer, he could see the thick layer of vegetation was actually made up of billions of tiny, individual plants with two or three soft, round leaves. The thin, flexible stalk was a slightly different, light green then the leaves.

After a moment of examining the miniscule plants, Troy stood and brushed his hands on his legs. He didn’t want to keep his patient guides waiting, The cloaking fog got even denser as the small group entered the dripping emerald jungle. Lush ferns grew in bunches near the bases of ancient trees, their long, leafy fronds dotted with diamond-like drops of water. Serenity reached out and grabbed the ferns between her teeth, munching the living plants. Kai giggled at the nibbling mare and -hesitantly- rested her slender blue hand on the horse’s shoulder. Tkaa didn’t the same, resting his hand on her neck. When Serenity showed no sign of discomfort at their touch, they began running their fingers through her silky mane as they walked.

At times, Troy swore he saw movement just at the end of his range of sight-figures disappearing in the mist. It might have been eerie if Troy wasn’t so fascinated by everything. As Troy rested a hand against a massive tree trunk -one so large not even the combined arm lengths of the entire group could encompass its girth- something big shouldered its way through a patch of ferns. One would believe, after a certain point, things would just stop surprising you.

Apparently not.

Troy abruptly stopped breathing and promptly staggered back a step away from the creature that calmly observed him. It was a massive cat. Huge. Nearly as big as Serenity. Its surface was grey and…rough? It looked wrong, like….Troy’s eyes widened.

“Is that….a rock?” He was incredulous. Sure enough, the great cat was made of stone. You could hear the grinding rock as the feline tilted its head to the side before sneaking forward a couple of feet. It’s body was devoid of sharp features, but its head was the semblance of a cougar. Like the Deleareans, it, too, had no pupil or iris. Troy reached for his pistols, forgetting they had not come with him to this place.

“Look Kai!” Tkaa looked delighted by this frightful creature’s appearance. “A sveern.”

The female looked away from Serenity and smiled when she saw the cat.

“A zearurn?” Troy tried to pronounce the foreign word but his clumsy human tongue was no match for the elegant language.

“ ‘Stone cat’.” Tkaa translated.

“Is it safe?” Troy eyed the moving stone distrustfully.

“She is perfectly safe. Nothing in this place will harm you.” Kai assured the fidgeting human.

While the three were conversing, Serenity had plodded forward to meet this ‘stone cat’. After observing the creature made out of rock with large, crystal-blue eyes, Serenity snorted and tossed her mane, thoroughly confused. Troy watched nervously as the mare nudged her nose against the cat’s shoulder. The feline’s ears flicked back -the sound of clicking stone echoing through the near silent forest- before butting its head against the horse’s chest. Kai’s delighted laughter was like a child’s, and accompanied by a single clap. At the sound, the sveern turned it’s stony head, blank eyes observing the trio. It opened it’s jaws a fraction and let out an odd sound. It was hollow like the Delearean’s voices, but sounded like two rock moving along each other.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Tkaa’s voice was the only reason Troy tore his gaze from the grey beast.

“She?” Troy asked the blue-skinned male.

“Yes…you can tell by her colour. On Delearia, as a rule of thumb, females are lighter in colour than males.”

Troy observed Tkaa and Kai closely as they tried to entice the creature over. He hadn’t noticed that the blue in Tkaa’s shining skin was a stormy blue. Kai’s skin was more like a sapphire with a lot less grey in it. He also noted that the pair blended in perfectly their surroundings, their movements so fluid they looked like spectres rolling through the fog.

The living stone came up to them quite easily, no fear or apprehension in her movements. Which made sense. What could harm stone? Did the cat even feel anything? She seemed to enjoy Tkaa and Kai running their blue fingers over her grey shoulders. Troy wondered if the feline felt like stone as well. He reached forward hesitantly and the cat pushed her wide head eagerly under his hand, loving the attention. To Troy’s surprise, the surface under his skin was warm. The textured surface was akin to running his fingers through sand.

It was amazing.

Through the mist, little Delearean children quickly sprinted up to the female feline, reaching to touch her stony face with their tiny little hands. They squealed when the animal turned toward them and rumbled deep in her chest. Troy carefully took in these new arrivals. Their voices were hollow sounding, like the older beings by his side, but higher pitched-they sounded like little fairies. They had the same rope-like hair but the girls -now distinguished by their light colouring- wore their hair up, either in blue crowns or horsetails. They spoke in the rapid, liquid language Kai had spoken in before. An especially loud shriek caught Troy’s attention.

One of the children spotted Serenity and quickly approached her, stopping a few feet away. The mare calmly observed the excited child with careless, crystalline eyes. After a moment, she seemed to deem the blue being no different than any of the other things she had seen before and nibbled on the leafy ferns to her right. The other children were quick to follow but none of them touched the dark horse. They simply kept their distance and stared in awe.

And Troy understood. It didn’t matter that they were from different planets or that they spoke different languages. He understood.

Beauty was a universal concept.

Serenity shifted from side to side, making her shining black coat shimmer in the ghostly light and her silken mane hung like onyx curtains on either side of her perfectly arched neck. When she lowered her head to pick at new vegetation, the smooth and sinuous movement made the muscle in her shoulders ripple.

“You can pet ‘er you know.” Troy hadn’t expected his voice to make everyone jump. The children squeaked and clung to each other. Even the older Deleareans jolted in surprise. Troy couldn’t help it. He laughed. He leaned against the stone cat and he laughed. The children joined him first, laughing and giggling in their tinkling pixie voices. Tkaa and Kai were more bashful, shyly chuckling at their brief fright. When Troy regained his composure, he walked toward his mount, herding the children forward. They didn’t need much encouragement. After the initial prompt, they ghosted forward -fast and silent- and tangled their thin fingers in her satin-like mane.

Serenity -clearly pleased with the attention- made coltish noises under her breath and lowered her long head to nudge the children with her nose. Not to be left out, the stone feline prowled forward, pressing against Troy’s back. At the edge of the fog there were more Deleareans, standing and watching with their sightless eyes.

“Troy, forgive me, but we must continue.” Kai’s soft voice was insistent. She and Tkaa began walking again and Troy followed, tugging Serenity along with the reins. Some of the children stay with the feline while others skipped off into the forest and were swallowed up by the curtain of fog along with the older Deleareans. The rest of the little ones walked alongside Troy, pulling at his clothes and free hand. They spoke to him with their strange, pixie voices in their ancient, liquid language. The next good chunk of time was spent walking through the dripping, emerald maze, the sound of the children’s musical chatter his constant companion.

The only other movement Troy saw was a black figure. It looked like another stone cat, this one a glistening onyx. A male, if its dark colouring was any indication. This place was utopia. A perfect harmony of savage beauty and gentle swathing warmth, with just a touch of mystery. Troy saw flowers the width of his head coloured a vibrant shade of blue. Small, colourful birds would flit by every so often, a spark of orange or yellow in the mist. Troy found it hard to think with new curiosities, like purple striped fruit, appearing every few feet.

After what seemed like an eternity, they came to the end of the jungle, the mist clearing and the ground becoming hard and metallic again. Troy stopped to turn and looked at the distance he crossed. The enclosed space was vast; unbelievable. This couldn’t be a room, or even a building. It was too immense.

The children stopped when the forest did. Tkaa lagged behind. He knelt down and whispered to the blue-skinned youths. Troy had just started to follow Kai off the vegetative ground when he heard many small voices calling, “Bye! Bye Troy! Bye!” The human turned sharply at the sound of their clear, echoing, english voices. They were all jumping and waving and pushing each other. Troy laughed and waved back to them. He turned and executed a running leap, using a nearby rock to vault himself onto Serenity’s back. He knew his actions had the desired effect when he heard the shrieks of laughter and the sound of small, clapping hands.

“How many languages doya speak?” Troy asked just as the hissing doors to another corridor closed. It was Tkaa that answered.

“Adults of our kind speak all languages. Children like in the group we just left are just starting to become aware of the others. We are able to imitate almost any sound, except for that of stone creatures.”

Troy couldn’t even comprehend how many languages there were, never mind knowing how to speak them all.

“Where’re we goin’ anyhow?” The human had been so distracted by everything else he hadn’t even thought of their destination.

“Gnourillai Vwallege,” Kai stated, “ ‘Transport Room,’ ” She had used the first word for the jungle space as well.

‘It must mean ‘room’,’ Troy thought, feeling a sense of accomplishment at deciphering a small piece of the foreign puzzle. The feeling vanished as Kai continued.

“We’re sending you back.”

Troy brought Serenity to an abrupt stop. “What!?” They couldn’t do this.

The beings looked confused.

“Do you not wish to return home?” Tkaa inquired.

“Can’t I stay here?”

Both beings shook their heads. “Humans get homesick.” Tkaa explained.

“Well why can’t I stay here ‘til then?” They had to be kidding. Why would Troy get homesick when there was literally a world of new things to discover?

“It’s our air,” Kai sighed, “It is not the same composition as the air on your planet.” The air? Troy took an experimental breath. It seemed fine…

“So?”

“It has certain…addictive properties. It unlocks certain parts of your brain and, once unlocked, those parts need a constant stream of this air to keep it functional. If we send you back now, you will only experience minor withdrawal symptoms. If we waited…” Kai winced.

“What?” Troy demanded, “What would happen?”

It was Tkaa that continued.

“Your body would be unable to readjust to your atmosphere. It would permanently shut down.”

At some point in their conversation, the group had continued moving. As Troy let this new information sink in, Serenity’s hooves were the only thing that broke the stillness.

“What do these brain parts do, anyway?” Troy finally asked, curiosity overruling everything else, as usual.

“As far as we know, it improves memorization and triggers a part of your brain so it releases the hormones essential for increasing the span of your life.”

“Longevity eh? How long…?” Troy’s mental guess didn’t even come close.

“About…300 years. 330 is average.”

Troy was shocked into silence.

The silence deepened as they reached their destination, revealed by the familiar, disappearing doors. It was finally broken when someone asked, “What…is…that?” It took Troy a moment to realize it was him that spoke.

“That’s your planet. Earth.” Kai stated matter-of-factly.

“We’ve been studying Earth,” Tkaa informed Troy, “Your species is fascinating. Always developing new habits, new cultures…amazing.” Troy was still staring.

His home…

There wasn’t a single patch of yellow on the Earth’s surface that Troy could see. All he saw was a blue-and-green orb -much like the Delearean’s skin- swathed in wispy, patchy clouds.

“We have been toying with the idea of bringing and Earth creature here for some time, but could never find the right creature…” Tkaa trailed off, gazing at Serenity.

“We chose the horse,” Kai continued, “Because it was a beautiful animal with an amazing temperament. It could also retain a fiery spirit, even when under a saddle.”

“The only trouble is we only wanted one, and we could never find one by itself. They were either in groups or with their human.” Kai nodded at Troy. “So when we found Serenity -seemingly by herself- we got excited. Our actions may have been a bit hasty because of it.” The word “hasty” was accompanied by a stern look directed at Tkaa, who shuffled and looked away awkwardly.

“We could both stay here…” Troy tried suggesting but both Deleareans were already shaking their heads.

“You’re only human Troy.” Kai stated kindly in her soft voice. “Humans have weaknesses, like any other being. We could not live happily with ourselves if we knew you were homesick or unsatisfied.”

Troy nodded once, black eyes never leaving the surface of the cloudy Earth. He had seen enough gunfights to know you never let your opponent guess your next move.

Kai and Tkaa both shook his hand –their smooth skin cool to the touch- and told him what a pleasure it had been spending time with him and his black mount. They exited the circular room through the gap in the wall. It remained open until the beings turned the corner and the familiar bright, blinding light appeared at Serenity’s hooves.

As soon as Troy heard the hiss of the door beginning to close, he dug the heel of his boots into Serenity’s side and pressed his knuckles against the base of her neck, between her shoulder blades. The mare whinnied and jumped forward, easily clearing the closing doors. The sharp sound of Serenity’s iron-shod hooves striking the metal floor echoed harshly in the corridor. He saw Tkaa and Kai standing in the doorway and he raced past them. He tried reading their faces.

Kai looked puzzled while Tkaa looked surprised and mildly alarmed. Both wore lop-sided grins.

Troy was going to stay here. He was going to discover all 5,000 types of fruit they had. He was going to meet all seven stone cats, one of which was still a kitten. He was going to learn that Delearians used a combination of echo-location and heat vision to see their surroundings.

As he raced toward the jungle room, Troy smiled to himself, thinking that the Delearians should have guessed that this would’ve happened. They should have expected it. Kai had, after all, said it herself…

Troy was only human.