A shiver ran through Indel, but he was too proud to vocalize his discomfort. Nala waited for the surly lord to gripe or complain.

Nothing.

He said not a word.

He was in pain, though. Maybe longing for that nectar he had whined about in his sleep. Nala had to focus on the nectar, because the other things Indel demanded in his listless rest had driven her to circle the barn in the dead of night to avoid hearing them.

They were safe inside this Earther structure, however. That had been the Summoners’ downfall; these structures. The Earthmen came with their materials and technology. No one understood at first, that creatures and materials of this planet rotted when in contact with earth substances for too long. Animals noticed fast and kept their distance.

To stave off that rot, Summoners made sacrifices to keep their first stage for the benefit of their exoskeleton. In time, new generations simply could not reach beyond it.

Summoners, larger than Levelers but less interested in a fight, surrounded themselves with Earth matter as a way to be free of the Levelers’ bondage.

Levelers were their protectors, their fighters, and admittedly, the ones to breed the most. Summoners, though bigger and stronger for labor, weren’t as quick, weren’t as violent, and weren’t as...driven in desires of the flesh. They could succumb to them. Countless stories spoke of Leveler breeding males ravishing a Summoner female for hours, seducing her away from her clan. And Summoner males who fell prey to Leveler females were never heard from again. Their passion was unrivaled.

Unaccustomed to this new stage, this new body, and these new reactions, Nala felt on edge.

She had met few Levelers in her time. But to meet their king...her king, she was disappointed beyond words. The Leveler King was awful.

She could see now why Earthers had categorized them as they had. Meek and easily called upon; Summoners became the Earthers’ allies. Violent, short-tempered and cantankerous, Indel’s people were called demons, then Levelers. And it was true; Levelers were a truly horrible race.

“I apologize.” Indel’s voice sounded sweet without its usual edge. “I’ve always made the journey in silence. This time my Viceroy suggested this new, “faster” route. But it was an ambush. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so...demanding, Viceroy wouldn’t have been so eager to appease me. He would have been more thorough. The prospect of an assassination attempt troubled me greatly but that’s no excuse. I apologize. I...you’ve taken me in and I’ve all but killed your Betty.”

Indel’s smoky grey eyes held sincerity, something Nala hadn’t thought the lord was capable of. They seemed gentle and full of longing. Nala found herself calming as well.

“It’s not a Betty,” Nala grumbled. “It’s a sloth, and I didn’t name it.”

“Oh.” Indel shifted under his blanket. “My father talked of it. So many Bettys. It was a popular name for pets back then.”

“Is that what you plan to call me?” Nala grumbled. “Since I’m a pet, too, in your eyes.”

The young lord had the grace to blush, his pink skin darkening until it was nearly purple.

“Country brat, I have a problem,” Indel said. His choice of words, though distasteful, held no malice. “I’m in the ready for spilling my seed. But I have no means to do so. Would you allow me but a lay? If only to stave off the anguish. My groin feels heavy, and my body tight. It’s a burden I bear. But I am in pain. If you’d only offer your mouth...I would not disrespect you with the suggestion that you show your back to me and let me spread you.”

Each word hit Nala, making her chest feel heavy.

“What are you asking?”

Indel stared at her, his expression blank. “I only ask that you take your king into your mouth for but a moment. Am I so unpleasant that you’d refuse? My body’s narrow, and I’m full and thick. I know it cannot be my appearance. No Leveler female would ever refuse such an honor. Yet you shun me. Might I ask why?”

All unease with regards to Indel returned. He was speaking so gently now because he wanted something. At this moment he seemed agreeable, but for how long? Nala chose this small structure on this hill for the quiet. No complaints, no chatter, no fleeting whispers of Earther cruelty.

Life was never lonely as a Summoner or two traveled through every few cycles. Earthers frequently came to her with their demands. There was no appeasing them as they’d want more and more each time. But there was quiet, and there was no pressure beyond what she was capable of.

Now this. She’d rescued a dreadful Leveler. Worst yet, one who had the ability to sound sincere.

What he asked was impossible; however.

It was true Indel suffered. Now he didn’t even shift positions. He was in pain, but Nala wasn’t the one to help.

Turning away from him, Nala pressed her mouth closed and remained silent. She could almost feel Indel’s eyes staring her down.

“If you worry that I’m as insensitive in a lay as I am in all else, you need not fear it. I’ve been groomed by a stage two Leveler a time or two. I’m confident I can make it pleasant for you.”

“Stop.” Nala turned to face him. “Stop talking. Stop saying such terrible things. Stop.” A part of Nala wondered if Indel had been playing stupid when he stared at her open mouthed.

Little by little, realization dawned in Indel’s eyes. He gasped. “Am I to believe Summoners do not lay?”

“We do not lay for recreation and not with Levelers. No. Not anymore,” Nala said. “It is wrong to do such a thing. We are two different kinds for a reason. We should only combine and fit in a committed and meaningful fashion, as the God of the universe fashioned us. And with our own kind.”

“Fashioned us?” Indel stared at her, mouth agape. “If in a war, should I only kill those of a different belief as well? Should my disdain and my devotion, my two passions, only fall on no faiths opposite mine?”

“This is not devotion you’re suggesting.”

“And if it was devotion?” Indel asked. He sounded genuinely intrigued. “When you look at me, your body doesn’t ache with the thought of me?”

Before Indel, there wasn’t even a passing thought of the stages. The change had come on so suddenly that Nala was unprepared even for clothing. With her brittle exoskeleton gone, she fashioned this robe out of gunny sacks left over from Earther animal feed. Most Summoners who passed by at a distance mistook her for a youth because of her smaller size. She was still much larger than Indel; however.

Breathing shallow, Nala swallowed down her response. It would be useless to lie. Indel already knew the answer.

“My tail reacts for you. Does that mean my body isn’t reacting to you in some way?” Indel asked.

Nala closed her eyes.

They stayed in awkward silence, Nala desperate to get her body under control. She wasn’t lonesome; of that she was sure. But Indel was at an advantage in his stage. His smooth pink skin was unlike anything Nala had ever seen. The slant of his grey eyes seemed more exotic, and a time or two, Nala’d noticed Indel’s member, engorged to more than twice even atypical Summoner’s. It would extend further once he’d penetrated a mate.

In the morning before the suns rose, Nala could set off with Indel in tow. They could travel faster on the sloth and Indel would arrive at the caves in time to mate to his dual hearts’ content.

“That is how they made the rift between us, those Earthers. Since the beginning, my kind and yours could join, soothing every ache. That was our way. Your kind in the day, mine in the night. In our mating season, your kind protected us, and we returned that favor in your time of need. When they came and told us our ‘savage’ ways were wrong, my kind fought them, nearly to our extinction. But you...your kind. You live by it. They summon you and you go to their call. But what of us? What of this land? What of me? I yearn for relief. And I’ve stumbled on a Summoner in her second stage—a stage most can no longer reach. The only stage where your kind and mine can be intimate without the risk of breeding. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Since I’ve met you,” Nala said, lumbering to her feet. “You’ve killed my herd of goats with an explosion of some kind, you’ve eaten my sloth’s feed, and now you trample on my ideals.”

“Your ideals? Pet,” Indel said. “You are a pet, and so you and yours shall remain. The land would be good to drag each and every Summoner back into it to their doom. Hail to the Earther who takes your head, too, pet!”

Charging, Nala swung, catching Indel across the face.

“I’m no one’s pet!”

Long hair draped before him, Indel hung his head.

“That’s all there is to you!” Nala said. “Just vitriol and poison when you don’t have your way. But how does it feel now to be the weaker one? In your Warrior stage you might be twice my size, but you’re not bigger than me now. I won’t allow you to bully me. Yes, our kind watched over mating Levelers, but what did Levelers do when we changed?”

Indel gave no answer but Nala waited.

In time, Nala muttered, “Your kind made sport of hurting us. And in the first stage, Levelers were simply forceful and cruel. But now I am stronger than you. So do not forget your place.”

Still hunched over, Indel said, “Your voice doesn’t sound all that strong.”

Nala readied herself for some retaliation. Her twin hearts nearly beat out of sync; she was so frightened.

“Did you enjoy it?” Indel asked. “Striking someone you see as weaker than you? You live by their emotions, react by their emotions. These are not reactions true to our kind. Where are your ideals now?”

Sick with herself, Nala gave no response. In the stillness that followed, she meandered as she went about preparing the lodgings for the night. Indel would have to go in the morning.

They said nothing more to one another and Nala didn’t even afford Indel a glance as she shuffled out of the structure and back. Nala’s foul mood made time drag on.

It took a great deal of effort to scrounge up enough ingredients for a meal. When she brought the food intended for Indel, she hesitated. No doubt it would be met with complaints. Nala was tempted to throw it down on the ground.

Still and silent as if he hadn’t moved since he’d been struck, Indel ignored her.

Nala dropped down onto a stool, careful to keep her knees together.

“Eat,” she demanded. “I must keep you healthy. You are still my king. If anything were to happen to you, Levelers would take unimaginable retribution.”

Nothing. The Leveler refused to meet her gaze, to move.

Nala waited until frustration won out. At the ongoing silence, she made a sound in the back of her throat and stood.

“I curse having met you.”