During the impromptu tour, we got some strange looks because of the feathers and stuffing that covered us. After the tour we went back to her apartment and took another shower together. I wasn't stupid enough to keep my eyes and mouth open this time, so I didn't have to suffer through the embarrassment, the pain, or the horrible taste. We dried off and dressed for bed and I looked around for where I was going to sleep.

“What are you doing?” Emari asked and pulled the blanket down on the bed and fluffed the pillows.

“Looking for my bed.” I said, and she laughed.

“It's right here in front of you.” Emari said.

I stared at her with wide eyes, and she laughed.

“I told you that I wasn't letting you out of my sight from now on.” Emari said and picked me up.

“W-wait.” I said.

She ignored me and shoved me under the blanket, then climbed in beside me.

“But... but...”

Emari leaned close and kissed my forehead, then tucked the blanket up to my chin. “I missed having someone else in my bed.” She said and put an arm around me. I was too stunned to say anything, so she took that as permission and pulled me in close as she turned onto her side and hugged me. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a contented sigh.

“Goodnight.” Emari said and closed her eyes.

“G-goodnight.” I managed to say. She drifted off to sleep almost immediately and I stared at her peaceful face. I wasn't going to manage to get out of her grip anytime soon, so I resigned myself to a long and tireless night. Once I admitted that to myself, I yawned and closed my eyes.

I'm sure she... will loosen her grip... in an hour or so. My thoughts became sluggish, and before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

*

“I'm telling you that there's something odd about that boy.” The woman from the assembly said when the alien teacher left the meditation room.

“Now, now.” The Wise One said. “It's not very often that we find someone that can be classed as a prodigy.”

“His guardian called him that.” The woman said and rolled her eyes.

“I believe she is quite right about him.” The Wise One said. “I've been near him and felt his Presence control. It's quite remarkable in someone so young.”

“We haven't had any luck in determining what species he is, either.” The woman said.

“He could just be an odd variant that has slightly pointed ears.”

The woman barked a laugh. “You don't believe that any more than I do!”

“No, I don't.” The Wise One said. “I assume you've checked the archives?”

“I've done a cursory search with no result, so I've assigned several members of The Order and their apprentices to do an in-depth search and see if there's any kind of reference to his species.”

“What about the parents?”

“His mother Aida was only a member for a year. She was recruited from some backwater planet in the Archnal Cluster.”

“That's pretty remote.” The Wise One said. “I doubt they would even have an archive there.”

“You're right. Not one record was kept for their population.” The woman sighed. “They didn't even have a central government until we gave it to them.”

The Wise One chuckled, and it sounded like he was throwing up. “What about the father?”

“Surprisingly enough, he had been a loyal member for almost ten years.” The woman said. “Then he met her.”

“What was his background?”

“Similar and different.” The woman said. “His planet had extensive records when we encountered it, but...”

“The old government didn't want to hand anything over to us.” The Wise One said.

The woman nodded. “They destroyed everything before they walked out of all the government buildings and abandoned them.”

The Wise One nodded his giant fly-like head. “Some people just can't grasp that we are bringing them enlightenment and progress.”

“They claimed that they were afraid we were going to absorb them.”

“Little did they realize that we don't do that. We only welcome them with open arms and lift them up to be closer to the Goddess of Light.” The Wise One said. “Have you checked the temple for...”

“The only thing we have of the boy is his identification papers and his birth place.” The woman said.

“He wasn't born on a planet, was he?”

“According to the spacial coordinates, it was out in the middle of nowhere.” The woman said. “We would have found them years ago if they had registered the birth at one of the temples in the colonies.”

The Wise One chuckled. “That was a very smart way to hide their trail.” He said. “Do you have any idea where they were going?”

“As far as we could determine from the downloaded ship logs, they had been hopping from system to system and tried to say ahead of us.”

“They managed it for almost five years.” The Wise One said. “Have you marked the routes they took as a priority?”

“Why would we... oh, damn.” The woman put a hand over her eyes and sighed.

“Yes, we should assume that whatever paths they travelled over that time, at least some of them are regular rogue routes that sometimes cross through the normal shipping lanes. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to find the supplies they would need to survive that long.”

“I'll send word right away.” The woman said and left the meditation room.

“There's no need to rush.” The Wise One said to the closed door and chuckled. “It's not like the routes are going to run away before we can get a patrol ship sent out there.”

*

I awoke in the morning and was greeted with a very happy face on my guardian.

“Good morning!” Emari said.

“You're a morning person?” I asked, groggily.

“Nope! I'm just so energized from having you to take care of!” Emari said and slid out of the bed and practically jumped to her feet.

I shook myself mentally to wake myself up fully, then used the technique I had to detect the flow of Presence. She really is energized. I thought as I saw the flow of Presence moving through her at a much faster pace than it had the day before.

“Is my little man all ready for breakfast?” Emari asked and reached under the blankets and plucked me out from under the warm covers. I shivered at the loss of external heat, and she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close. She was still quite warm from being under the covers herself, so my shivers slowed down.

I didn't bother trying to protest when she shifted me to the side and balanced me on her hip and held me with one arm, and she took me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I was quite impressed that she was so adept at only using one hand and kept her balance as she quickly made the both of us breakfast and set the table. I thought about asking her to let me sit by myself, then she sat down and started to feed me.

“I'm...” I chewed the bite of food she gave me. “...fully capable...” I took a sip of the odd-colored milk she held for me. “...of feeding myself.”

Emari chuckled and ignored me as she made sure I ate everything in a perfect balance. When my breakfast was gone, she continued to hold me close as the food settled in my stomach, and she ate her own breakfast and used the same technique. I would learn later that if you ate too large of a portion of food that it would disrupt the flow of Presence inside you slightly, and you had to wait for your body to absorb some of it to return that flow to normal.

“We've got two hours before we need to start your technology use lessons, so what would you like to do?” Emari asked as she cleaned off the table and the kitchen counter with one hand. Her excitement was hard to ignore; but, I managed it somehow.

“Do you have a telev... ah... I mean... a video screen?”

“I've got a holoprojector.” Emari said and walked into the living room. She stopped beside the large comfy couch and hit several buttons, and the windows that had a half-decent view of the city shuttered closed to plunge us into a soft darkness. I shivered for a different reason than the cold as I remembered the last time I had been plunged into darkness. It had been the day my parents had died.

I felt her lips on my cheek as she hugged me with both arms, then a light show started. “Wh-what... is that?” I asked as we were surrounded by bursts of light and explosions, what looked like laser pistol fire, and the accompanying sounds.

“It's the fireworks display from the last planetary celebration of the Goddess.” Emari said. “Isn't it amazing?!?”

I opened my mouth to tell her that on a quality standpoint that the visual clarity was severely lacking and the minute details were impossible to see, then I realized that was not what she wanted to hear.

“It... it is.” I looked at everything that was happening around me, and the flow of Presence was moving with the fireworks. My eyes widened as I realized that whatever energy the hologram was utilizing to appear, it had its own flow of Presence and disturbed the flow in the room.

“I knew you'd like it!” Emari said and sat down on the couch and sat me on her lap and rested my back against her front. I watched the hologram with her, then suddenly in the very center, a huge explosion happened and the fireworks and the flow of Presence went out in a perfect circle. “Ooo! That was a big one!”

“Wow.” I said in response. It wasn't the display of colorful lights, though. It was the flow of slightly glowing blue Presence that amazed me. We watched the rest of the fireworks and then she changed the clear holodisc with another.

“My guardian gave me this one.” Emari said and started it.

I caught my breath as two robed figures stood facing each other and they activated their Light swords. The flow of Presence increased a hundredfold around both blades in the hologram, and then they began to fight.

“She recorded her Master and his apprentice as they were training, and thought it was so elegant that she had to share it with future generations.” Emari said, reverence in her voice, because she believed it, too.

I came to believe that myself as the fight progressed. The two participants performed feats of superhuman strength as they fought and performed what could only be called 'magic'. I was disappointed that I couldn't feel what the Presence around the figures actually was and could only see the distortions in the hologram.

I need to see a real fight. I thought to myself as we watched it to its conclusion.

“I've got some great learning ones, too.” Emari said and popped the holodisc out and set it inside the holder. She put another one in and started it, and it was a generic kids show like they had on Earth. I watched it, barely, and realized that it did have some fundamental information that could be useful... if it wasn't so general and surrounded by so much childish nonsense.

“Emari.” I said and she looked at me. “How do you tell them apart?”

“Tell what apart?”

“Them.” I pointed to the holodisc holder.

Emari chuckled and picked one up at random. “You see these little dots and squiggly marks? That's writing.”

I then realized how lacking some of my education was. My parents had been focused on teaching me how to survive and I didn't even think about trying to learn to read and write.

“How do I...”

“Don't worry, Aaron. You didn't miss anything.” Emari said when she accurately guessed my intentions. “We don't start teaching language arts until you're five years old.”

“But...”

“I know you're at least a year younger than everyone else in the class and no one expects you to get caught up to them right away.” Emari said. “Although, your Presence use is way above theirs!”

I couldn't help but smile at her happiness. “How far along are they?”

“They already know the alphabet and are just starting to learn how to make words with them.”

“Can you teach me the alphabet?” I asked, and she saw the hope in my eyes.

“It's difficult.” Emari warned me.

“We've got an hour before my technology use lessons.” I said with a grin, and she laughed.

“I can't say no to that cute little face!” Emari said and kissed my cheek, then she turned off the holoprojector and took me over to the side of the room and hit a button on the wall. A desk folded down and a chair slid out from underneath it. “I'm going to go slow, so tell me if you don't understand something and I'll repeat it, okay?”

I nodded, and she pushed several buttons. A holoscreen popped up in front of us on the table and on it was a single dot. For the next hour, Emari was very patient with me as I stumbled and messed up a lot as I tried to learn one of the most complicated languages I had ever seen.

“Don't be discouraged, sweety.” Emari said and kissed my cheek. “It's only your first lesson.” She said and turned everything off and hit the button to slide the chair back and to fold the desk away. “We have to get changed and get to class.”

I didn't say anything as I moped and berated myself for not learning everything right away. Some prodigy I am. I thought to myself and watched Emari as she stripped off. Her short and wavy brown hair shook as she quickly removed her bedclothes. I admired her lithe and slightly muscular body. It had been a shock to see the first time, and I was kind of surprised that her casual nakedness didn't bother me as much this time.

Of course, now that I had the chance to observe her without being flustered, I realized something. She wasn't the one to hold my head on her lap. I knew this because her breasts, although quite nice and ample, hung far off to the sides and it wouldn't have been possible for my small face to have been pressed into them from underneath and be able to feel both of them at the same time.

Who was it, then? I asked myself.

Emari turned and looked at me and saw the question on my face. “You're wearing a similar outfit today without the robe.” She said, and then smiled broadly. “Don't worry, I'll dress you again!”

“W-wait!” I exclaimed and held my hands out to try and stop her. She just laughed and quickly stripped me off in barely a moment. I looked down at my completely naked body and then at her. “How did you do that?”

“It's a trick that my guardian taught me.” Emari said. “When you're old enough, I'll teach it to you.”

“When will that be?” I asked. Being able to do a quick change of outfits would be a very useful skill to have.

“I'll let you know.” Emari said with a sly smile, and I sighed. She leaned down and kissed my cheek again and then grabbed another outfit from my drawer and I was dressed a moment later. “There we go.” She said and picked me up, then tucked me into her side and balanced me on her hip. “We're going to be so early that Xuglach will wonder if I'm trying to suck up to her!”

I tried not to laugh at that, and couldn't hold it in.

“Oho! Is that a laugh I just heard?” Emari asked in amusement as she walked to the door of the apartment.

“N-no.” I said and tried to deny it.

“I must be hearing things!” Emari said and touched the panel to open the door, and it made the hishing sound as it opened. “Oh, no! Was that a Warglesnort farting?”

I snorted and burst out laughing, even though I had no clue what a Warglesnort was. Emari laughed herself as she stepped out into the hallway, and several people smiled at us when they heard us. She took me back to the classroom and I learned how to operate some of the basic technology that existed in what had become my every day life.

After class, Emari and I went to a large outdoor park-like area to eat lunch, spent an hour walking around and looking at the buildings and things she had shown me through windows the day before, then we went back to the classroom for the practical lessons in the use of Presence. I didn't try to show off this time and just watched everything like the alien teacher had strongly suggested I do.

Emari took me back to the apartment to eat supper, once again she fed me to ensure that my body had the best balance, then we spent an hour learning more of the alphabet. I didn't try to do too much like before, and it was a little bit easier this time. We went to bed after having a shower and I didn't try to fight or struggle as she tucked me into bed and snuggled me. I wasn't sure why she enjoyed pampering me so much; but, the more she did it, the more Presence that flowed through her.

I had used my mental technique all day to detect the flow of Presence, and I was surprised that I hadn't developed a headache from concentrating like that for so long. I finally stopped using it and closed my eyes, then drifted off to sleep.

*

Xuglach, the alien teacher, had been relieved when her newest student had refrained from participating in the practical lessons that day. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened the day before, because it had taken her over an hour to clean up the mess that the busted pillow had left everywhere. She walked around the classroom and tidied up the things that her exuberant students always left out of place, then her leg slammed into something.

“Ow! Owowow!” Xuglach hopped on one leg and gripped her sore leg. After a few moments, she relaxed enough to use the Pain Reduction technique and the pain faded. With that taken care of, she concentrated on the flow of Presence around her and inside of her, then directed it at her leg. It glowed for several moments as the damage was repaired, healing her, and she sighed.

“What did I hit?” She asked and looked at the spot where she she thought she had hit something, and she cursed in her native tongue when she saw the solid box of Presence she had inadvertently walked into. “If he wasn't so adorable I would be so angry at him!”

Xuglach held a hand out as she concentrated and sent several pulses of Presence at the box of energy to break it apart. The energy rejoined the flow of Presence in the room and she nodded in satisfaction. When she turned around to get back to work, her eyes caught the sight of another one nearby. It was much smaller, and it was in a spot that would let someone who was really short reach the display shelf.

Thankfully, that clued her in that there would probably be more than one of them scattered around, so she concentrated and pushed her flow sense out and out to fill the room. When she looked around this time, she saw six of them in various places.

How can he make so many solid things and not be exhausted? Xuglach asked herself as she went around the room and broke the boxes apart and cleaned the place up. “I think I'll have to ask him to stop making them, or someone could get hurt.” She said and made the horn sound. “Well, someone else could get hurt.”

Her work done, she turned off the lights and left the room, then went to her own apartment down the hallway to go to bed.