Page 77 of Xara and the Xenobeast

A philosophical difference that had fascinated Xara from the moment she’d begun working with the Tal’Shai. Theirentire civilization was based on symbiotic relationships rather than exploitation. They didn’t conquer their environment—they collaborated with it.

“Will you return when the binding ceremony begins?” Tavi’Sha asked, her neck translator producing the slightly mechanical words that she’d grown accustomed to.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she promised, placing her hand over her heart in the gesture of respect she’d learned. “The hybridization project is too important.”

The Tal’Shai elder’s scales rippled with approval. “Your understanding grows quickly.”

A familiar chirping sound drew her attention to the jungle’s edge. Three distinct patterns of bioluminescent flashes announced the arrival of her family before they emerged from the dense foliage.

The Graxlin pups—no longer babies, but not quite adults—bounded toward her, their elongated limbs carrying them in graceful arcs across the clearing. Behind them, moving with predatory silence despite his size, came Ash.

Even now, the sight of him made her breath catch. Power and grace contained in a form that had once terrified her, now filled her with warmth and safety. His silver eyes found hers immediately, and the corner of his mouth lifted in that almost-smile she’d come to treasure.

“Look who’s here,” she called to the pups as they circled her legs, chirping excitedly. “Did you behave for your father?”

Trouble flashed his patches in a pattern that could only be described as mischievous. Soldier and Dot, the other two,maintained more dignified postures, though their excited chirps gave them away.

“They found something,” Ash said, his deep voice still a rarity that made her smile whenever he chose to use it. “Show her.”

Dot proudly extended a delicate limb, uncurling it to reveal a small, perfectly formed crystal that pulsed with inner light.

“Heart stone,” she breathed, recognizing the rare mineral formation. “Where did you find it?”

The pups chirped in unison, their patches flashing in a complex pattern that told her the story of their discovery near the underground river.

“Clever hunters,” she praised, and they preened under her attention.

Tavi’Sha made a graceful gesture of farewell, her scales shifting to the formal departure pattern. “Until the new moon,” she said, then turned and melted back into the living structures of the village.

Ash stepped closer, his sensory tendrils reaching for her in a gesture that had become as natural as breathing. They brushed her cheek, her neck, then settled with a gentle pressure against her shoulder.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice for her alone.

She nodded, and they began the journey home.

The jungle that had once seemed so alien and hostile now felt like an extension of their territory. She recognized the warning signs of the carnivorous vines, knew which fruits were safe to touch, could identify the distant calls of predators and prey alike.

They moved at an easy pace, Ash occasionally lifting her over particularly rough terrain despite her protests that she wasn’t fragile. The pups ranged ahead and around them, practicing their hunting skills on small, harmless creatures that darted through the underbrush.

“Trouble’s getting faster,” she observed as the largest pup successfully caught a flutter-bug, his patches glowing with pride.

“Soldier is more precise,” he countered, pointing to where the middle pup was carefully stalking a camouflaged leaf-jumper.

“And Dot is still Dot,” she laughed as the smallest pup abandoned the hunt entirely to investigate a patch of color-changing fungi.

Their home came into view as they crested the final ridge—no longer just a cave, but a complex that blended seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. The entrance was now framed by living archways of bioluminescent vines. To one side, a carefully tended garden of medicinal plants thrived. On the other, a series of terraced pools collected rainwater, filtered it through natural stone, and delivered it to their living space.

Inside, the transformation was even more dramatic. What had once been a single chamber was now a network of rooms, some carved from stone, others grown from Tal’Shai biotech. Light filtered through translucent panels of living tissue that adjusted their opacity with the sun’s movement.

The central living area featured a hearth surrounded by comfortable seating made from a combination of salvaged materials and grown substrates. The pups had their own sleeping nook, though they still preferred to pile together with their adoptive parents most nights.

She immediately set to preparing their evening meal while he secured the perimeter—a ritual neither of them had abandoned despite the relative peace of recent months. The pups helped in their own way, bringing her ingredients and chittering excitedly about their day’s adventures.

As she worked, she felt his eyes on her, and she glanced up to find him watching her with an intensity that still made her stomach flutter. But there was something else in his gaze tonight—a shadow of concern.

She didn’t press him. After months together, she’d learned that he spoke when ready, not before. Instead, she continued preparing their meal, humming softly to herself as she worked.

The pups eventually tired of helping and curled together in their nook, patches pulsing in the synchronized pattern that indicated they were sharing dreams—a phenomenon she was still documenting in her ongoing study of their biology.

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