Auria

By Robert James

Recent observations from space have revealed the existence of super-earth planets, larger than our earth, around other suns. Perhaps some of them may be in the "Goldilocks Zone" of their solar systems where life can be sustained. Take a visit to Auria, a super-earth where life has just recently produced intelligent creatures like ourselves, although, due to the greater gravity and slightly lower temperatures, we would see them as compact furry centaurs having four legs and two arms. What might be the same? What might be quite different? This is a story about such creatures on such a world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert James
• Release date: Jul 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310477942

Robert James

Dr. Robert's life story reads very much like some of his novels. A rock 'n roll run-a-way at thirteen, he has travelled the world extensively in many professions. Blessed with many talents, Dr. Robert spent just over two decades as a performer in the music industry, before becoming an entrepreneur and creator of both audio and video productions. He holds a Bachelors in A/V and a Masters in Science Business Administration. After a major heart attack in 1998, Dr. Robert ceased his business activities, began his current career as a novelist, and also began his Doctorate in Philosophy, which he graduated in 2005 at sixty years of age. Additionally, he holds a 16 year US patent for an 'improved computer game controller', which is soon to be launched. Having started out writing a post-apocalyptic situation comedy series for television, he is now well past his millionth word of fiction.

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Auria

by Robert James

Published by Robert James at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Robert James

For my friends who always stand by me and encourage me.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Prelude

Chapter One – In the Garden

Chapter Two – To The Gathering

Chapter Three – The Dark Angel

Chapter Four – To The East

Chapter Five – Sneaker

Chapter Six – Healer and Maoantae

Chapter Seven – The King and the Seer

Chapter Eight – The Swamp Sea

Chapter Nine – The Kingdom of Justarae

Chapter Ten – The Battle of the City of Justarae

Chapter Eleven – The Aftermath of War

Chapter Twelve – Kantoh

Chapter Thirteen – Over the Eastern Mountains

Chapter Fourteen – The End of the World

Chapter Fifteen – The Return of the Company

Chapter Sixteen – Through the Darkness

Chapter Seventeen – To Change the World

Chapter Eighteen – Homecoming

About the Author

Prelude

The Old One stood at the view point, high in the Eastern Mountains, holding his wooden staff that was made from a branch of the First Tree. The view stretched far to the west across the hills and plains of Auria. His bierra, a bear-like creature that was his companion, sat next to him. He petted its fur between its ears. On his other side stood his long-time servant and friend. The sun was setting majestically in the west with glory rays of red and orange spreading out across the sky.

This view is most spectacular, the Old One's servant-friend said, but it is getting rather cold up here.

Indeed, it is, said the Old One. He is coming soon.

Is he truly? After all this time? Are you sure?

Yes, of course I am. You know not to ask that. I have seen it here this evening.

I'm sorry. What do you mean when you say soon? A few days? A year? A hundred years?

About one year, I think. Twelve kissings, give or take a kissing depending on what difficulties he has on his journey. He will come.

Is our long wait really near its end?

Yes, my dear friend! At last it is.

And the world will be saved?

The world will change, that I can say surely. I hope it will be saved, although the salvation of the world will take a constant effort by many generations. Yet, the start of it will be up to him. I will help him as much as I can. Nothing is certain until it has happened. Let us hope and pray to Ahm that our joy will be made full.

My prayers are small compared to yours.

I know, but they count much in the greater balance. You pray for me, which relieves me of that burden so that I may pray for the world.

I hope that the world is worthy.

It certainly is not, but that makes no difference. Reward is given to the worthy, but mercy is given to the unworthy. I pray for mercy.

If it is good to you, I would prefer to pray around a warm fireplace after we have had our evening meal.

Yes, it is good to me. We do not need to fast yet. Let us return home and await him and his company.

They started to walk down the trail to their dwelling.

He will have a company?

One like him will certainly draw others with him. He will not come alone.

When you receive a vision as to the number of his company, please let me know so that I can order enough supplies.

Yes, I will surely do so.

Chapter One

In The Garden

Archae and Mueri were awakened in the morning by the song of a fellow Aurian. They left the shelter of the oweena tree, parting its thick, ground-reaching, willowy branches, and looked down into the valley from the grassy hillside that they considered their home. Deena, or Little Moon, was about to set over the Great Western Mountains as if escaping the ascending sun that was reflected in the shining surface of Cool Lake at the eastern end of the valley. The song meant someone was coming.

This was not our earth. This planet was one that earthlings would call a superearth if they were to discover it; although, it was too far away for that to happen in our lifetimes. In fact, Auria, the name the Aurians gave their land (they were not yet advanced enough to understand that they lived on a spheroid), was a planet about eight times the mass of the earth. That didn’t mean that everyone and everything on Auria was constantly subjected to the crushing force of eight times the earth’s gravity. If the planet were the same size as the earth, yes, that would be the case. Since the planet also had a larger radius, the surface gravity was just about two and a half times that of the earth. Of course, to everyone and everything on the planet, that was simply normal.

If an earthling were to see the same view as Archae and Mueri saw that morning, the vista would have seemed alien but still mostly recognizable. There were mountains, the valley, rivers, the lake, trees, bushes, and grass. Chemicals similar to chlorophyll in the plants still reflected green light, and the molecules that made up the atmosphere were roughly of a similar size to those that make our sky blue, although the sky on Auria would appear closer to turquoise to an earthling. He would probably say, Everything looks so … so squashed! Those seem to be trees, but they are shorter and so much wider in the trunk. All the branches seem to hang down instead of sticking out or up. Stronger gravity being normal doesn’t mean there aren’t structural adaptations according to the laws of physics. You had to be built tough to live on Auria.

If the earthling and his female companion were to view the two Aurians standing there on the hillside, he would hear her exclaim, Oh my god, they’re little furry centaurs!

He would argue, I dunno. They don’t exactly have human faces.

She would ignore him, saying, That one is golden. Not blond, golden! And the other is light blue!

He would continue to be contradictory. It’s really more of a silver-gray.

The Aurian face had two forward looking eyes and a flat nose that curved up over a slight snout housing a rather large mouth. They needed strong jaws and extra teeth to chew the produce of the land that was all, as we know, built tough. Their faces were covered with a thin fuzz. Aurian ears were conical openings in the sides of their heads. They were very sensitive, but they were covered by their thick hair and also by flaps of skin attached from behind that could be shut forward against the openings, essentially ear-lids. Their hair was thick and grew not only from their heads but out from their backs. Going further down their body, the hair grew out shorter and shorter until it was a fur that covered their backs, rumps, and all four legs. Their underbellies and chests were a little fuzzier than their faces, but not thickly furred. Their backs and loins had a short but thick fur cover. Auria was a little further away from the sun in the Goldilocks zone of their solar system, so the average temperature was slightly cooler. They needed a bit more insulation than the earthlings. Their long-haired tails were an additional enhancement to their beauty.

Getting back to their legs, yes, they had four legs. Being upright creatures, they also had two arms with hands and fingers much like ours, but with six fingers on each hand, one an opposable thumb. Other creatures that did not walk upright had six limbs, but all of their limbs were used as legs and they didn't have fingered hands. The Aurians' feet were somewhat similar to elephant hooves, smaller and smooth-skinned under the fur, but still rounded with six toenails. Dainty feet like an earthling’s would not last a whole lifetime of clomping around at two and a half gees. In earthling dimensions, they averaged about four feet in height and the trunk of their body that supported their four legs was about two feet long. They were rather horizontally compact centaurs.

Archae, the male of the two, was indeed golden. His hair and fur were a rich gold color that glowed in the early morning sunlight. He held his hands to his mouth for amplification and sang out a greeting and query that answered the song that had awakened them. The Aurian language was melodic. They did not speak as earthlings, who drone mostly monotonic sounds to communicate thoughts. Everything they spoke was, to the earthling's ear, a song. It was not only a song that communicated thought. It also communicated emotion. One Aurian hearing another could feel what the other was feeling. Of course, they learned from a young age to block the feelings of others by force of will. Otherwise, they would be susceptible to being overwhelmed by anyone at any time. Suppose someone felt overly euphoric and crazy-minded. If you couldn't block that out, your mind would be as lost as their mind was. It was the same thing with someone being overly sad. Still, an Aurian could open himself to the emotions of another and share the same emotion anytime he so chose.

There was an answering song from the valley. Mueri, the female, heard it and rejoiced.

It's Nuoni! she sang. Nuoni is here! Nuoni! She was quite excited and hopped about, as she always did when highly emotional. Hopping on Auria consisted of rapid little hops of only a few inches each. If they could see earthlings hopping on earth, it would be similar to earthlings watching their astronauts hopping on the earth's moon, long lasting high jumps that took forever to return to the ground. Earthlings would see Mueri as almost vibrating up and down, showing her excitement. Archae had to damp the feeling from her. He was glad that Nuoni was coming, but, although happy, he didn't share Mueri's over-joyous thrill in himself. He didn't want to be taken over by it.

Now, let us dismiss the earthlings and their alien view of the creatures and events on Auria. We get that it's very different, but there is much that is really the same. The Aurian bodies are very different, but their soul and spirit are very much like ours. Whether you believe in evolutionary biology, a Creator, or an ancient interstellar creating super-race, much of your wonderful physiology and psychology was tried and tested before the Earth's sun was no more than dust in a nebula. We may point out various amazing features of their vast planet and its inhabitants from time to time, but mostly we'll stick to a plain telling. We won't be saying that they sang everything. That's simply how they communicate, so we will say that they said things and so forth. We don't need explanations of things like how they sat on the ground with four legs and such. Any intelligent sentient being should be capable of figuring out these things for himself. We will compare the various animals that we encounter on Auria to their analogous counterparts on Earth, but only meaning it in a loose sense because that is the easiest way to explain them quickly to earthlings.

Nuoni was a Mother. She was not The Mother, but she had born many children and therefore carried the status. She had to be hundreds of years old. Archae and Mueri didn't really know how old she was. These Aurians lived near the equator of their planet. Although the planet had a tilted axis, they didn't have seasons at that latitude. They had no idea about the orbit of their planet around their sun. They accounted time based on the two moons. Little Moon, Deena, ran away from Mother Moon in the sky a little more each day. When Little Moon returned to kiss Mother Moon, meaning they were superimposed in the sky, that was a month, what they called a kissing. The number twelve was perfect for them. It was the total of the fingers on both hands, and it was the total number of limbs on a mated couple, such as Archae and Mueri. Twelve kissings of the moons became a year, close to the accounting of the earthlings, but we have dismissed them now. If you want to know, their year was almost five hundred days, but we don't know exactly how many hours their days were compared to ours, so we might as well stop trying to make such comparisons. Suffice to say, Nuoni was ancient, but the years had not aged her more than to add some white streaks to her reddish-brown hair and fur.

Soon they saw Nuoni down in the valley as she emerged from the trees, a small figure walking along the path with her staff and her hinda, her animal companion, a wolf-like creature named Saybara, walking on six legs next to her. She wore a sack on her back made from the tough but supple skin of a melon-like fruit that, once you scooped out the contents, ate them, and dried the skin, made a good backsack that could be tied on with strands of vines.

Let's run down to meet her, Archae said.

Yes! Yes! Let's run to her, Mueri said.

Going downhill, the couple went at a quick trot. They soon arrived at the bottom of the hill where they joined the path that ran along the river. They continued to trot along the path until, when they topped a rise, they saw Nuoni much closer. They called out greetings as they descended the path. Nuoni answered them and they felt happiness from her. They walked towards her until they met.

Oh, my children, how I have longed to see you again, Nuoni said. It has been a whole year this time! Come give me hugs.

They embraced her in turns. She was not the actual mother of either of them, but she called all the young Aurians that she visited on her itinerant journeys her children. Mueri petted Saybara. Her mental connection with the animal told her that he was happy to be petted. She sensed he wanted his head scratched, so she complied. The animal made a satisfied soft barking sound. They began walking together on the path towards their home.

Will you stay long with us? Archae asked. You can have our oweena tree. It's very nice. We have another we can use.

Oh, no, Nuoni said. You stay in your tree and let me use the other one you mentioned. I don't need much space since Saybara usually sleeps outside. I will stay a few days at least. I shouldn't need to disrupt anything very much while I am here. After that, well, we will talk more about things that are happening in the world while I am here with you.

Archae was fully open to her emotions. He sensed her happiness to be together with Mueri and him, but there was a hint of underlying sadness. There was a subtle feeling that she was trying to hide that sadness from them. Given that she was perhaps trying to hide it, he couldn't politely bring it up in open conversation. He would have to wait and see. She would tell them what she wanted them to know. He didn't think Mueri had picked that up. She was still vibrant with gladness at the visit of a Mother, particularly since it was Nuoni, the one who visited them regularly.

Archae, I have visited your parents, six kissings ago. They are well. Their garden is thriving. You have a little sister now.

That is glad news, Archae said.

Mueri, Nuoni said, I have not visited your parents, but I have met Mujoni who has seen them. She bade me to tell you that they are doing well and that they send you their love.

Thank you, Mother, Mueri said. It is good to hear. Please send my love back to them if you have the chance.

Of course, I will.

They ascended the hillside and showed Nuoni their oweena tree and the other nearby, not as large, where she could dwell during her visit. The oweena tree made a natural home. The branches radiated out all around from about six feet up the trunk. The branches went up and then curved down, reaching to the ground. As the tree grew, more layers of branches covered over the lower layers. The lower branches turned brown and sagged when they were cut off from the sunlight. They could be broken off and made into soft beds. A mature tree was so thick with branches and leaves that it made a kind of circular tent that would keep out the rain and wind. Nuoni dropped off her backsack in her tree.

Shall we get our morning meal? Nuoni asked. I have not eaten yet this morning.

Nor have we, Archae said. Let's go down to the gardens and gather what is ripe. It's good you've come now. Our gardens are producing more than we can eat, so you can help us eat up what would otherwise spoil and go to compost. We have some baskets we can use.

The baskets were woven from reeds that grew near the river and produced flat, wide stalks. The couple had made a number of them that were stacked next to the path to the gardens. The gardens were a little ways down the side of the hill opposite the valley they had just come from. The land became flat there, and there were many plants and trees that Archae and Mueri cultivated and tended.

The berries are quite ripe already, Archae said. We should go there first, and then to the arapel orchard. The fruit there is very sweet right now.

The arapel trees produced a fruit like a nectarine that had small seeds in the center, not a pit. They were very fragrant, moist, and delicious. Archae thought of their taste and wanted some.

You know, Nuoni said as they walked, the real solution to your spoilage problem is more mouths to feed. You two have been mated well over a year now. No babies? It appears none is on the way yet. Have you been trying?

Archae felt that her tone was slightly chastising. Both he and Mueri were about forty years old, very young for Aurians. They weren't really sure about the baby thing. It was a bit embarrassing to talk about.

We have tried it a number of times, Archae said. The first few times didn't go so well. We tried it again a few times and it was a little better. But Mueri and I aren't sure we should have any babies yet. We are afraid to try too much before we are ready. We don't really know much about it.

Ah, my children, Nuoni said, you are never ready for anything until it happens, and you can never know much about anything until you experience it. Besides, it doesn't happen with one or two tries. You should be trying once each day! Archae, you can go in her and have pleasure many times before it happens. It could happen in one try, or maybe a hundred. Mueri, you have to open your legs to him once each day.

Really? Mueri said. Every day?

Nuoni sensed reluctance and a bothered feeling from Mueri. She placed an arm around her.

Oh, I see. You have not found the ecstasy yet. Tonight I will help you both. There are things Archae must do to make you feel something very special. I promise that with a little guidance you will want to try every day. You may even, for a while, find a whole day too long a wait!

As ominous but promising as that sounded, Archae was glad they had arrived at the gardens. The talk of trying to make a baby was over for the moment, to his relief. They gathered many ripe berries and then went to pick some of the arapel fruit. They also pulled up a few root vegetables. They broke off the leaves and flowers that grew from the roots and planted them back into the ground. The plants would root and replenish the crop that way. They would mash the roots with stones and mix the mash with water to make a sweet porridge. They sat by a stream near the gardens to prepare and eat their breakfast. Saybara liked the arapels which he ate whole, skin, seeds, and all, and he was very happy to share some of the porridge.

Will you tell us some stories? Mueri asked Nuoni. The stories were their lore. Stories unlocked mysteries and enabled them to understand their existence. They had each learned some stories and often told them to each other. It didn't matter that they heard the same ones over and over. They enjoyed telling and hearing, and by repetition they reinforced the things they knew.

Yes, I will tell you some of the old stories again. I also perhaps have some new stories that I will tell you a few times so that you can remember them.

New stories! Mueri exclaimed. Archae didn't need to feel her thrill as he was thrilled himself at this news.

Before I tell you any new stories, I think it is good for Mueri to tell us a story.

Me? Mueri said.

Yes, you are of an age where you need to start telling the stories, not just listen to them. Hopefully, you will soon be telling the stories to your children. I'm sure you know a few well enough already, and you must practice telling them. One day you will be me and the youngsters will listen to all the stories from you. What will you tell us today?

In that case, I guess I will tell one of the very first stories.

Very good. Let's hear it.

For many years, The Father walked the world alone, Mueri began a story that they had heard many times. "He was friends with many creatures, animals of every kind. They loved him and rejoiced to be in his presence. He understood their thought, and they understood his word, doing whatever he asked of them. He was even given the authority to command the angels who also did his bidding. He tended vast gardens of every kind of fruit and vegetable that were a delight to be eaten. But there was no one like him among the animals. There was none to be his mate. The animals all had mates, but he did not. He asked Ahm, the Creator, why he was alone and there was no one like him among all the creatures to be his mate. Ahm spoke to him, saying, 'You have not seen all that I have seen. You cannot know all that I know. You shall have a mate. There is no match for you today, but I promise that tomorrow she will arrive. You must sleep, and in the morning go to the Green River to meet your mate. You shall have children, and you shall see your children's children's children come forth and fill the land.'

The Father did as he had heard. He went to the Green River as soon as he awoke, even before he ate anything. There, asleep on the banks of the river he saw her, The Mother. She was so beautiful that he immediately named her Laeni, the Beautiful One. But her true name was to be Laenauroni, the Beautiful Mother. He awoke her. His desire was kindled for her and hers for him. They walked the land and the gardens together day by day. She bore him many children. The children all grew and spread out over the land, planting gardens and mating, having more children. Thus they became the people of Auria and ruled the land and all the creatures that inhabited it.

Very nicely told, Mueri, Nuoni said. You have added a few small changes of your own. I have never heard the line, 'The animals all had mates but he did not.' I very much enjoyed your enhancement there. Also, you added, 'He awoke her.' Everyone just assumes that, but you put it in out loud. Those are nice touches. I think I will make those changes to the story myself. See, you are a gifted storyteller.

Thank you, Mother, Mueri said. You honor me very much with your praise of my telling.

I've always wondered, Archae said, that the first matings after The Father and The Mother had to be those of brothers and sisters. Is that true?

Yes, of course it is, Nuoni said. Otherwise, none of us would be here.

But today the older ones do not wish us to mate with brothers and sisters. Are children of the same parents ever mated in these days?

We older ones, as you call us, try to guide the young as we see best. If you are golden and mate a golden sibling, you will likely produce golden children. But here is Mueri, a silver one. Is she not beautiful? We older ones have been guided by ones even older than ourselves to spread the matings so that we can find all the different appearances and traits that we can have. By traits, I mean not merely what color of fur you have, but even more what you are inside, your disposition, your heart, your talents. I wouldn't say that children of the same parents are never mated. It seems, though, that it is best to widen the matings to see what kind of children will come from our kind. In your case, there are a number of us waiting to see what the offspring of a golden and a silver will be. I expect that it will surprise you and the rest of us.

That does make sense. I also wonder, how many generations are we from The Father?

You are the children of my children's children's generation, but I don't even know how many generations I am from The Father, so I cannot tell you for certain. The lore has gaps. The Father was promised to see at least the fourth generation, if we account him and The Mother as the first. I have only heard of The Father and pass down the stories to you. I have not seen him, so I figure that I am at least the fifth generation and you are therefore at least the eighth. That is the minimum. It could be more than that.

Does The Father still live? Mueri asked.

No one knows. We have been told that The Mother no longer lives among us, and the stories say that The Father, in deep sadness, returned to the East after her passing. That is all that is said. Perhaps he still lives somewhere far in the East. I should tell you this whole story, formally, sometime soon, but that is the summary of it.

How many of us are there? Archae asked.

I don't know that exactly either. I know that I visit hundreds of couples like you on my journeys. I would say that there are hundreds like me as well. There must be many thousands of people by now, those that remain anyway.

Remain? What does that mean?

Oh my, I should not have said that. Please forgive me. All I can say is that there are some who have gone away and do not remain among us. We have no accounting of their numbers.

I don't understand. Where could they have gone?

I'm sorry. I cannot say more about that. I never should have mentioned it at all. It is confusing. Know this. What is pure and good is here with you and many others like you. Also, I have some very exciting news for you, but it should wait for the evening after the sun sets. For now, I believe we should attend to your daily chores, yes?

Sure, Archae said. We have found a new kind of tree and need to gather some of its fruit. You should see this! It's like an arapel, but it has a fuzzy skin. We found it out in the wild, brought it back, and tried it. It is very good. We plan to gather some seeds to plant in an extension of the orchards. We should take packs or baskets to gather some fruit that we can eat and save some seeds. It will take us the whole afternoon and evening to get there and back, but it will be worth the time.

Very well, Nuoni said. It seems I am never allowed to sit still for very long, so let us walk.

They decided to take backsacks rather than baskets. Archae and Mueri had a few melon-rind packs like Nuoni's. They put fruit to eat in the packs, and the three of them, with Saybara, set out down the southern hillside beyond the gardens.

You said that The Father returned to the East after the passing of the Mother, Archae said as they walked. I have heard references to that in other stories as well, but nothing clear. Can you tell us something about that?

Yes. Listen, children. Nuoni began another storytelling. "In the beginning, The Father lived and walked far to the east. That was during the time that he was alone except for the animals that loved him. He tended vast gardens that fed him and all the animals that followed him. Then a time came that the sky closed and refused to bring the rain. The rivers and streams that had once laughed and danced over rocks became small. Rivers became trickles, and streams became dry beds. The gardens withered and did not produce fruit and vegetables in the abundance as they once had. The Father called out to Ahm, and the voice of Ahm told him to go to the West. The Father traveled west for many kissings. All the land that he went through was dry. It was difficult for him to find water to drink, let alone food to eat. After he had journeyed long and found no relief he cried out to Ahm, 'Is there no water? Is there no food? Shall I perish now before Your face?' Ahm answered him, 'You have only a little farther to go. The way will become harder, but do not despair. Believe Me that you are close to a paradise.'

The Father believed Ahm. He went on, although he felt that nothing would change. He had to climb mountains. The journey seemed so long. He wanted to quit, but Ahm had said he should not despair when the way became harder, so he went on. Descending the mountains was even more difficult. There were cliffs and fissures that made him go back and find other ways. One night the kissing moons shined on the way he should go. The very next day he came down from the mountains to find a stream of sweet, cool water. He drank deeply and thanked Ahm. He continued on and came to the Green River where he would one day meet The Mother. He found many wild trees of fruit and finally an abundance of growing things. He planted new orchards, and sowed new crops. The sky opened and poured the rain on them. He had truly arrived in a paradise. He thanked Ahm and began to live on the land.

They were crossing a small meadow surrounded by trees with needle-like leaves. The trees gave off a pleasant odor that they enjoyed. Suddenly they all became aware of the presence of an animal, a female, cat-like creature they called a jakeeta. It was black-furred, powerful, and large, twice Saybara's size, larger even than themselves. They sensed she had cubs with her.

Where is she? Mueri said.

I think she's in the trees there to the right, Archae said.

Let's call her.

Archae sang to the jakeeta. She appeared at the edge of the trees with three cubs. Archae looked at Nuoni. Saybara might not get along well with a jakeeta. The situation could be difficult for any of them to control.

We will go to her, Archae said to Nuoni. You should stay here with Saybara.

A good idea, Nuoni said. Saybara, sit now.

Saybara sat, but he was uneasy and made a low growling sound. Archae and Mueri walked towards the jakeetas.

Communication with animals was something of both mind and mouth. Archae took the lead, since both he and Mueri trying to talk to the animal at the same time would confuse it. Animals did not understand language of the kind that the Aurians spoke involving words. Archae made a picture in his mind of the two of them playing with the cubs, throwing them balls of fruit that they could play with and eat. Then he made a sound that would convey that picture. It was not something articulated in words, just a melodic chant that arose from his will to send the jakeeta that picture. He added feelings of peace and happiness to his song.

A connection between Archae and the mother jakeeta developed. He saw that she was traveling to the south with her cubs to a place that he sensed was once her home. She was moving away from something. He received a picture of a mountain on fire. He got the sense that she was fleeing, going to safety. He also picked up that she was wary of Saybara, not that the wolf-like creature could be any threat to her, but she was worried for her cubs. Archae sent her a picture of Saybara being bound by a cord of vines and not able to approach her or her offspring. Nuoni was so close to Saybara that, indeed, her mental control of her pet was actually even stronger than physical cords.

Mueri pulled three round, tough-skinned fruits from her pack. She was able to follow the sense of what her mate and the mother animal were sharing. It was her turn to sing to the cubs. It was a simple picture of playing with the fruits. She juggled the fruits as she walked and thus attracted their full attention to her. The cubs perked up, intently watching and wanting those fruits. She rolled one on the ground towards them and they all tried to pounce on it. The first one snagged it in its two front paws, but then the other two tumbled on top of it and the fruit went skidding away. They all chased it, snarling and vying to be the one who got it. When one seemed to control it, she rolled the second one. The other two went after it. Right away she threw the third one. Soon all the cubs each had a fruit and were discovering how to open the husk with their teeth to get at the sweet, milky stuff inside. Mueri approached one of the cubs and petted it while it ate.

Its fur is so soft! she said.

Archae sensed that the mother jakeeta was becoming alarmed by one of her cubs being touched. She was making a chuffing sound. Hush, Momma, it is all right, he said, using his words to send her feelings of peace. The animals didn't understand the words, but the Aurians often spoke words to the animals while also using the mental connection and sounds to convey their thoughts and feelings. He could see in her whiskered face and intelligent eyes that she understood and trusted him. He brought out fruit from his pack and tossed one to the mother. She caught it in the air and, with one bite, swallowed the meaty part and then spit out the rind and seeds. He gave her another.

We should go now and let these travelers continue their journey, as we should continue our own, Mueri.

Yes, we should. We see their kind so seldom around here. I'm glad to have been able to touch one of the cubs. Give the mother my thanks and I shall say goodbye to the cubs.

Archae did thank the mother jakeeta, although he didn't know how the animal would perceive that sentiment. He told her which way they were going and showed her a picture of skirting wide around the other way so as not to encounter Saybara.

They rejoined Nuoni and Saybara and continued their journey. Saybara whined. He wanted to play with the cubs.

No, Saybara, Nuoni said. "Those will not