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“Get up! Get up right now! Because something absolutely ridiculous is happening out there!”
I sat up, head spinning, suddenly worried that something was wrong. But when I saw Fiona’s broad grin, I knew things couldn’t be too bad out there.
“What is happening that is so important I have to go out there right now?” I grumbled. Despite my protestations, I wiggled into my pants and shoved my feet into my boots. Fiona jumped up from where she’d been crouched beside me.
“Sweet Jesus, would you hurry? He can’t keep this up for long andyou’ve got to see it.”
I pulled on my jacket, zipping it up as her words absorbed into my groggy morning brain.
Him...
“Who? Is it Gahn Errok?”
My friend’s grin got even bigger.
“Yup. He’s a total gym bro, apparently. He’s up there on a fucking ledge like it’s some kind of pedestal, doing squats with a giant-ass boulder on his back. I don’t know if it’s his usual morning workout routine or he’s trying to put on a good show or what, but it’s bloody hilarious.”
“And why, exactly, do I need to come out and see this?” I said flatly.
“Because it... It’s just wild! I can’t even explain it. Just come on.”
I didn’t bother fighting Fiona as she grabbed my wrist and pulled. I knew better. She could be as stubborn as a Mustang when she wanted to be. Which was... A lot of the time.
So, I let her lead me out, just managing to yank up my hood and slap my sunglasses onto my face as the hot morning sun drenched us.
“Alright. So where is he?” I asked, resigned.
I needn’t have asked. Just outside the tent, a group of human women had gathered. And they were all staring upward at the same thing.
I followed their gazes.
And gasped.
OK. Fiona was not kidding. This is pretty wild.
About 15 metres off the ground, Gahn Errok stood on a flat ledge of stone. Actually, at that moment, he wasn’t standing, but squatting. He straightened his legs with visible effort before immediately dropping back into a squat again. I stared up at him, speechless at... Whatever this was. Training session? Performance? Who the fuck knew?
In the sunlight, some of the differences between him and the Sea Sand people became more pronounced. He had the same jacked-up bodybuilder physique, of course. The same kangaroo-like ankles, feet, and tail. The same high, pointed, horse-like ears. But his skin was a different colour. A stony violet shade tinged with blue that swirled and shifted into indigo down his legs, at his hands, and at the tip of his tail. His hair hung forward in two rivers down his chest, displaced by the boulder and forced forward by his squatting motions. The strands were thick, straight, and inky blue, gleaming with electric aqua everywhere the sun touched.
It was hard to tell from so far away, but his eyes appeared to be closed. Which, frankly, was a bit of a relief. I didn’t need those sight stars trying to get any deeper inside me the way they had last night.
“He’s been at it all morning,” said Tilly when she noticed us.
My eyebrows rose. Tilly was an early riser, often waking up at dawn, or just before.
Which meant he’d been out here for...
“Hours,” Tilly confirmed.
Fiona’s words from the tent echoed.He can’t keep this up for long.
“What is the point of this? What is he even trying to accomplish?” I asked, frowning up at him. He hadn’t stopped the entire time I’d been out here and his movements seemed strained.
“I told you. He’s like a gym bro. This is the alien equivalent of ‘welcome to the gun show, want me to bench press you, love?’” Fiona snickered.
“Yeah, well, I don’t care about stuff like that. He should just stop,” I muttered.
“I don’t think he will,” Nasrin said slowly from nearby. “I think you might have to tell him to stop.”
