Page 13 of Alien Healer's Touch

I looked up at him, struck by how different this approach was from what I might have expected. He offered protection without demanding I accept it, respect without diminishing my autonomy.

"Thank you," I said, surprised by how much his understanding meant to me. "For this—" I gestured to the medicines "—and for not telling me what I should do."

"Your path is yours to choose, Selene. I would not presume to direct it."

The words struck me not as deference, but as respect—earned, not granted. In a world where decisions had been made for me far too often, that mattered more than he could possibly know.

The sun now cleared the horizon, bathing the grove in golden light that mingled with the blue glow of the fungi. In this mixing of colors, Kavan's emerald skin took on an almost luminous quality. I found myself staring, noticing details I'd missed before—the subtle patterns in his lifelines, the way his eyes shifted from gold to amber in the changing light.

Our hands met again over the last container of medicine. Neither of us pulled away. Something shifted between us in that moment, something beyond our professional collaboration. His golden eyes held mine, and I saw in them a question he wouldn't voice aloud.

My markings pulsed in response, silver light dancing across my skin. Not fear, not danger—something else entirely.

KAVAN

Ipushed aside a curtain of translucent vines with my tail, holding it for Selene. The medicines we'd prepared jostled in the pouch at my hip. Her silver markings caught the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest canopy, reflecting like the bioluminescent patterns of Arenix flora.

"This way," I whispered, stepping off the main path onto a barely visible trail. "Warriors prefer direct routes, but healers must know the hidden ways."

Selene ducked under the vines, her dark eyes scanning our surroundings. "I thought the human settlement was east of here."

"It is. But this route avoids the territories of three predator species." I motioned toward the southeast. "And circumvents the acid pools near the foothills."

She followed close behind, her feet carefully placed in the exact spots mine had touched. The woman learned quickly.

"Your warriors would just fight through whatever stands in their path?" she asked.

I snorted, picturing Lazrin's hunting band avoiding a challenge. "Often, yes. Our warriors train to confront danger. Healers train to avoid it." I dropped to one knee beside a small stream. "Our patients cannot defend themselves. We must master stealth and evasion."

Water trickled over mossy stones, clear but with a faint blue tinge. I dipped my fingers in, brought them to my nose.

"Is that... safe?" Selene knelt beside me, close enough that her scent reached me – clean, human, uniquely her.

"Watch." I positioned my hand flat just above the surface. The water remained still, no ripples forming around my fingers. "If the water draws upward toward heat, it contains alkali metals from the eastern mountains. Dangerous to drink."

I scooped a small amount, tasted it. "This one is safe."

She copied my movements, placing her hand above the water. The gesture was small, but intimate—an echo of trust. She didn’t flinch from learning my ways, and something about that felt more bonding than a hundred words spoken.When nothing happened, she smiled. "And if it had moved?"

"Then we find another source." I stood, brushing dirt from my knees. "Or purify it with these."

I plucked several fan-shaped leaves from a nearby plant. The leaves folded inward at my touch, their edges exuding a sticky resin.

"Filtration leaves," I explained. "They absorb toxins when crushed into water. The color change tells you when it's safe – yellow to purple means drink freely."

Selene took one, examining it closely. "Amazing. On Earth, we had nothing like this."

"Earth," I repeated, the foreign word strange on my tongue. I motioned for her to continue following me. "Your home world. The one you left behind."

"Yes, though I was born on a colony station." She ducked under a low branch. "Most of us on the Seraphyne were second or third generation off-Earth."

We walked in silence, navigating through dense underbrush. I slowed my pace, mindful of her shorter legs.

"Here," I said, stopping at a cluster of silver-blue plants shaped like flattened discs. "These reflect heat signatures. Useful when predators hunt by body temperature."

I broke off several pieces, handing her the largest. "Rub it on exposed skin. The oil disrupts your heat pattern."

She hesitated briefly before applying it to her arms, neck, and face. The oil left a subtle silvery sheen, giving her an almost Nyxari appearance in the filtered light.

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