Kozantei, Fourth Quadrant, Andromeda Galaxy.

The planet was breathtaking from space, Kozantei was the color of a muted rainbow. Around it were seven smaller globes ranging in colors from pale to luminescent grey. Mya's heart sped with anticipation as the ship docked to the air station on the central rainbow-colored sphere. A melodic voice filling the ship with a "Welcome home." All the crew members fell into cheers, the atmosphere of the group jovial and relieved. The refugees were off loaded first and carried off to a settling agency. Her guide helped her to organize what she wished to take with her -which was nothing really- after all none of it really belonged to her in the first place, she just packed some oils, her comm device and her hair tie. Clothing and anything else she needed would be provided for her at her new home.

She was led to a pod and relieved to see that Yavik had opted to join her, earlier she'd revealed her anxiety about arriving at her new home world. The pod shuddered as it sped down a tunnel, there small circular windows on the walls, it offered brief glimpses of an orange pink sky. Mya shifted in her seat with excitement. She'd never seen real skies, a real sun, moon, or clouds. On the Elder Sanctuary she'd been too consumed with fear that she hadn't taken the time to take in her surroundings, but not this time. Her excitement was palpable. She planned to see and experience as much as she could. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, was just a few minutes, the pod chimed, and a hiss sounded as the clear dome covering the exit disengaged allowing the passengers to climb out. Her guide led her through the clearing process, her comm was quickly scanned and registered and she was then given an implant that would act as her identification. It was all quick and painless, her old one from earth was even removed, the Kozan scoffed at the technology. She was made to go through a scanning room, they made sure her inoculation from the Evok ship had been successful – it was. She'd breathed a sigh of relief at that. Yavik left her at the identification point, he was a member of the crew and had to go through a separate system, he left with promises that they'd see each other soon. She hugged him tightly, and he'd been completely awkward and confused causing Mya to burst out laughing when his fimbriae had vibrated vigorously.

When she walked through the doors exiting the massive building she gasped. The skies were beautiful - cloudless, but with a swirling mosaic of greens, oranges, and pinks. Mya's heart swelled, she felt free, inhaling deeply she gaped at the trees that littered the area. They were lush and presented in shades of yellow, purples and blues, and there were no roads that she could see. The form of transport were expertly designed hover vehicles that stuck to marked areas. The place was filled with the sound of wildlife and wind. She grinned, and her guide smiled back. This was what earth must have looked like in the old days.

"Kozantei is beautiful, I know."

Her guide led her forward and they began walking along the side of the building, she just followed still lost in her observance of all that she could see. Mya's body-her bones felt heavier as if the gravity of the planet were somehow stronger making the effort of her movements greater. She was glad her hair was lifted off her face as she noticed the twin suns in the sky, one was a deep red color, and the other a dazzling blue, sweat slithered down her neck. She hoped the buildings were air conditioned or else she'd be a puddle on the gem speckled dirt ground in no time. Her guide swatted her on her arm, and she looked down, startled. She'd almost walked into a tree. She also had an audience, Kozan and other species were looking at her with interest. She flushed; right...she was the alien now. A few steps away was a black hover vehicle, it seemed to grow in size when she neared it. She would have to tiptoe to swipe the door for it to open.

"You are to be taken to the palace, my dear."

The door flicked open, and she saw Zogan inside and vehemently hoped he hadn't seen her almost be taken down by the tree a few moments ago. She looked back at her guide who said, "If you need any more lessons, you can comm me, I put my contact on your device."

Mya nodded, grateful, besides the guide being high-strung she was still like the aunty she'd never had. She hopped – like literally hopped up into the car and settled onto the nearest seat. It oozed luxury, the plush seats were arranged around the edges, with the center housing a small table or closed tub? She assumed it held refreshments. She sighed and closed her eyes as she felt the cool air on her face. She guessed her life as a pet to the princess was about to start from what Yavik had told her she was kind, so Mya wasn't particularly worried. Just a bit nervous – what if she didn't want a pet or companion? Hopefully she'd be granted freedom to explore, learn and perhaps get behind the wheel of a battleship one day, those things were pretty impressive!

She heard Zogan's tongue flick out, reminding her she was not alone in the vehicle, and she slowly opened her eyes. There were two others inside with them. Azazel and the quiet one, Ravanna? They were eyeing her as if she were a wierdo. Azazel's scales were a dark red while Ravanna's was a dark grey, like thunderous clouds.

Zogan said, "Mya this is Azazel and Ravanna.... of course, they know who you are."

Mya narrowed her eyes at Azazel who smiled cockily as he noticed her stare, "I know who that asshole is, nice to meet you though Ravanna."

Ravanna chuckled, "Are all humans this brave?" he looked at her and cocked his head, "Insulting someone when they first meet them, although I do agree with the sentiments." Azazel turned a hurt look on Ravanna who made a clicking noise with his mouth.

Mya smiled blithely, "This one," she pointed at Azazel, "Tried to shoot me in the face!"

"I didn't know what you were, you could've been an enemy for all I know." He answered his eyes pinned to her finger. He managed to look apologetic.

Mya was not fooled, "Right, a threat to an eight feet tall, armed Dragon!" She threw up her hands and sat back in her seat.

Their expressions turned confused, "What is a ... Dragon?" asked Ravanna, they all looked at each other, "The virus does not translate this word."

"But you understood asshole?" she asked folding her arms, exactly how did this virus work anyway?

"We understood that it was an insult, it was delivered as a word in our tongue, but this Dragon word.... there is no word for it to be translated to in our language." Zogan said looking interested, "What is it?"

Mya huffed, "A large scaled fierce beast, that's kind of like folklore on earth, they eat and terrorize people in some cultures and in others they were revered and worshipped for their strength and wisdom."

Azazel smiled, "Well in that case, I can live with that, and as for... the incident, I apologize for the blaster... in your face... or whatever." His voice trailed off at the last bit.

Zogan rubbed at his left horn, "That's all you're going to get out of him, he really was sorry after Ravanna heard and almost had his horn for it."

Mya hummed, "I'll get you back, when you least expect it." She tried to look at him threateningly, but his smile widened. She sucked her tooth and looked out the window - her intimidation tactic hadn't worked.

She was lost in her observance of the beautiful trees and the little creatures she swore she saw climbing through them.

"How do you like Kozantei so far?" Zogan asked her, she looked over at him, his eyes roved over her, she was dressed in an understated version of the traditional palace wear of Kozantei. A lightweight long-sleeved shift-dress that hugged her body, slitted on both sides up to her mid-thigh. It was a soft silky material and a rich blue color; she'd loved it immediately when it had appeared in her quarters.

She smiled, "It's breath-taking, I can't wait to see more of it."

They locked eyes for a few moments and her mind filled with the sound of his moans when she'd been on her knees before him; Azazel snickered and Ravanna coughed. Zogan bared his teeth at them, and Azazel let out a loud chuff sound, he was snickering. Mya didn't know if to feel embarrassed or not give a fuck. It was obvious that his friends knew about their activities, but both Ravanna and Azazel were Zogan's closest confidants, a part of his inner council. Besides, she'd told Yavik almost right away, she couldn't say she was surprised that his best friends knew too.

Her breath caught as the hovercraft flew over a large crevice below her, it was lined with pink flowery trees and a flowing river. The water was a milky white and she saw finned creatures moving through it, large columns of mountainous formations rose from the midst of the waters. The crevice opened into a large ocean, with a pale gigantic moon hovering over the horizon, there was a smaller moon beside it. Her eyes filled with water, she never dreamed that she would be able to experience anything like this in her lifetime, she'd make sure to remember -to be thankful. Always.

"That is our largest moon, Xentos, we have six others that make an appearance when the suns go down." Ravanna offered, his voice soft, reverent even.

Mya nodded, committing the name to memory and vowed that she would find a way to be outside every night to see the view, it would be breathtaking.

The hovercraft settled into a large courtyard, the floors were smoothed gemstones and the trees were all perfectly positioned so as to allow shade. They all climbed out, with Zogan falling back to help her out, she blushed a little at being too vertically challenged to get down on her own without breaking a leg.

The palace was gigantic, and it blended perfectly with the forest around it, glistening stones covered in vines of different colors. With a beautiful architecture of sky-high arches and domes it was unlike anything Mya had ever seen before. A squeal sounded down the hallway as they'd stepped inside and Mya saw a female run toward Zogan, whose face split into a wide grin when he saw her. She jumped into his arms and they pressed their brows together. Her horns were shorter and had less of a curl to them. Her hair was in the same plaited style similar too Zogan's but longer and pinned in an elaborate fashion.

Zogan finally put her down as more entered the receiving area. She assumed these were his parents and his sister. They each matched the pictures the guide had shown to her. They all greeted each other with the pressing of their brows, it seemed that it was the equivalent of a hug between loved ones, no wonder Yavik had been confused by her embrace. They didn't do it on Kozantei. Mya backed away and tried to make herself small, she didn't want to impose on the family reunion, even Azazel and Ravanna were grinning and greeting them in the same way.

Zogan's mother, the queen-Mya reminded herself, turned toward her. "And who is this?"

The queen walked closer to peer at her. Mya bowed the way her guide had shown her and bit her lip. The King stayed behind, placing himself between Nezerra and herself, she realized.

Zogan answered, still holding onto his younger sister, whose eyes were grey throughout with light blue slitted pupils, she was beautiful, and it seemed the supreme hadn't exaggerated at all. "She is my gift for Nezze."

Nezerra clapped at the announcement and practically bounced over, "What is she? She's so curious looking!"

The queen nodded her head, her eyes trailed over Mya's face, assessing. Mya felt awkward and exposed, she wished the floor would open up and swallow her. "What should we call you?"

"Mya, you can call me Mya, Majesty." She answered, her face flushed.

Nezerra reached for her hand, a question and invitation and Mya took her up on the offer. The friendly princess began to lead her down the bell-shaped corridor when another female walked toward them. She was beautiful but not traditionally, her face -her aura was hard and projected power but that was not what made you look at her, it was the savagery she pulsed throughout her every step.

"What is this?" She was looking down at Mya, her mouth curled slightly with disgust. The females were smaller than the males, but Mya still only came up to just below chest high. She held her ground and fiercely looked over the female Kozan, letting her know she wasn't pleased by the disdain in her voice.

"Mara, be nice! She's my gift, my new friend!" Nezerra said excitedly, so this was Mara, the other sister, she been warned that she was a bit difficult by Yavik, seemed he'd been right. Mara looked down the corridor towards her brother who was also being led by his parents and deep in conversation with his Father.

"You keep spoiling her." Her sneer was gone, replaced by a half smile for her brother.

"Couldn't help myself, you do the same, you're just better at hiding it." He pulled her forward and they briefly touched foreheads. Mara wacked him in the stomach, causing him to double over, he groaned and let out a stream of air from his nostrils. He grinned broadly.

"Space made you soft, I can't wait to test you on the training field." She said as she peered behind him.

"You'll regret that!" he said laughing now that he'd recovered.

She flicked her fingers at him and vibrated the pupils of her eyes. Probably the equivalent of an eye roll. Mara's attention was now fixed on the man behind him, who was talking to the Queen. He stopped when he saw Mara and walked forward to grab her, lifting her up and swinging her around in one smooth motion. She hissed and pressed her forehead against Azazel's, clasping him tightly.

"You've been away too long."

"I know." Azazel's voice was husky and low.

She jumped down and grabbed his arm leading him away briskly, everyone else completely forgotten. If Mya had to guess she was most definitely leading him to her bedroom.

Zogan shook his head, locs tinkling and muttered, "Mates."

Mya's eyes widened, Azazel seemed to be the joker in the group, how the hell he ended up with the serious Mara was a mystery to her.

It turns out there was a welcome home party arranged for the warriors who had been away for weeks, trying to track down the movement of their enemies. Everyone was to refresh themselves and join the guests in the ceremony hall. Mya inwardly groaned as she thought of the awkwardness that was to come. She really hated crowds and wondered if she could wriggle her way out of attending, after all she was just a companion to the princess, nobody important. The princess led her down the hallway taking turns that left Mya very lost and confused. It was like the spaceship all over again. Luckily, this time, she had her comm device in case she was on her own at any time and got lost. Nezerra pointed out her rooms, which were branching off from the princess' main suites.

Her room was bigger than any she'd ever seen before, there were blood red drapes along the left side, in the center of the room was a large circular depression where a plush bed was made directly onto the ground, it fit into it snugly. It was luxury -pure luxury, she'd been provided with a walk-in closet area and a bathroom to die for. It held the standard cleansing area and a personal sized pool, Nezerra informed her that the water was always heated and that she had her own supply of oils and whatever else she would need. If something were missing Mya only needed to add it to the supply list and it would be brought quickly. Mya was in complete shock, she'd never seen so much splendor in her entire life, it would take a while for her to get used to the idea of having her own large rooms. The princess left her with a smile to get ready for the celebrations and swiftly told her to not even think about trying to get out of it. The princess had seen her intent the minute she let loose a long sigh at the mention of getting ready. It seemed that she had no choice in the matter, she hoped there would be lots of leevine to loosen her up and at least make the event bearable.