Page 82 of Xeda

He noticed he'd put on muscle, no longer as slender. His horns, though a little chipped on one end, shined bright as did his scales. He wished Ophilia could have been there to massage the toner on him as he always liked, but this time, she had a good reason not to be there.

He turned, checking the grivhide on his arm, then turned to the other side and checked the black metal arm. It shined too. He bent it and flexed the hand, finding the movement smooth as usual.

The cybernetic arm had taken him some time to get used to when the healers had first put it on him. He hadn't even considered it at first until Ophilia had surprised him with it.

"Don't thank me, thank Dr. Sybrim who designed it," she had said when he accepted it.

He had been grateful to him and her. And now he hardly ever remembered it wasn't his real arm.

He flexed the arm one last time, then lowered it. When he thought he looked decent enough, he turned and peered around his and Ophilia's room.

It was almost like the one they had shared in the gaming center. Dark and warm, but a little more open, with a terrace to one side and their inlaid bed on the other end. Through another doorway was their equally large bath.

He thought back to earlier in the morning before the sun rose, how he had woken her up, her soft body trembling and moving under his. It was pure bliss. He closed his eyes, feeling the heat turn in him yet again.

Tonight. In time. First there was something a little more important.

He made for the door and entered into the main passage. The house was quiet for once. Because everyone was outside, waiting. The house was also dark like their room, with tall, thin windows and soft lights that gave off an orange glow. Everything was soft stone or glass. There were a few giant plants here and there but no vines, as he strictly requested.

As he slipped down a set of stairs, he turned a corner only to almost run into someone coming his way.

"Xara," he hissed in annoyance, gripping her shoulders.

The fledgling vrisha female looked up at him with big red eyes. "Oh, I was just coming up to check on you."

"Or were you sneaking upstairs to get your blades? Where is your sister?"

She looked at him slyly. "She's down at the hill. We were just going to play."

Xeda huffed. "You can wait until after. Come on."

The female huffed back and followed.

She and her twin sister, Rayza, were a damn handful, but Xeda wouldn't have them anywhere else. Even when they pissed him off, he was still grateful to Ophilia for discovering them in one of the underground markets and saving them from being sold.

They slipped through the main foyer of the house to the back, then passed one of the gardens. Xeda cursed when one of the damn cats Ophilia had saved from Sal's home got in his way, yowling at him before bolting away. Xara hissed with laughter behind him. He could hear the birds in the distance squawking as the cat went their way. So many animals she had to save, but those cats were the worst.

They stalked through the garden, then passed a short little grouping of trees, coming onto a large hillside, looking over a valley and a lake.

Most of it was the wastes, but he thought it was nice, unlike most. Their house wasn't far from the city but far enough to keep his mind at ease.

People from that city were there already waiting. A platform had been set between them and the house. Xeda gestured for Xara to go to her sister as he moved on to that platform. He looked over the crowd who seemed to be staring up at him with wide eyes, as if he was some champion standing before them. Maybe he did look it for once.

He saw familiar faces. First the representatives of Kingsway, chosen to take care of different districts, replacing the houses. Dr. Sybrim was one of them, as were a few old champions.

There were also members of his home. Workers, like the dirra of his world, who chose to serve them, many who left the fallen houses. Ophilia always made sure they were well cared for, paid fairly, and treated better than they ever were anywhere else. A couple were allies of hers from House Salimar, one she even called a friend. Some were from House Myre that she grew up with. Then there were the old fighters who chose to stay by his side. A strange but powerful pack.

He looked past them to the back and saw Aeriz there, reappearing since the last time they had seen him, never mentioning where he went. He bowed his head and Xeda bowed back.

His eyes scanned the rest, and he saw Xara and Rayza tussling in the back. He sighed and looked past them and saw Urxik.

The old vrisha stared at him, and Xeda stared back. Urxik came to Kingsway a few months after the twins. It was so strange that so many vrisha were showing up, but he took it as a sign. Urxik, however, almost didn't make the cut. Xeda almost killed him, thinking he had come to threaten him and Ophilia. He had the same faded markings as Xeda. An old member of the Blood Guard who had gone into hiding, finding his way to K2. He had been one of Queen Theda's bomb experts.

But he wasn't looking to fight. He had been injured in an escape to get away from some bounty hunters. His leg was so mangled he limped when he walked. He was a male of few words, and it took some time for Xeda to trust him. Only when he confessed he too learned the error of his ways, that the mad queen had truly been mad and he wanted to start again, did Xeda give him a chance. But he made sure he knew first that one wrong move and Xeda wouldn't hesitate to banish him.

A shimmer at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to see Niks on the stage beside him.

"Nice view," she said with a grin.

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