The incidents on Earth that involved the Nak"s mana were quite famous, and Paul also knew that Khan came from Ylaco"s training camp. It didn"t take him much to link the azure scar to the Second Impact, which also helped explain why Khan was so good compared to his peers.
Liiza appeared curious about the scar. She neared Khan again and lifted her arm toward his chest without showing any hesitation.
Khan instinctively grabbed Liiza"s hand to stop her action, and the two exchanged a long gaze again. Paul"s eyes widened when he saw that scene. He quickly prepared a series of polite words, but they didn"t get the chance to leave his throat since Khan released his grasp.
Liiza"s slid her fingers through Khan"s palm and forearm before reaching the left side of his chest. Her black fingernails softly scratched Khan"s skin and went over the red patch on his left shoulder before reaching the edges of the azure scar.
The Niqols traced the scar"s edges with her fingers before going over its insides. It was rare for Khan to have someone else touch that part of his body, but Liiza felt gentle and firm. She didn"t cause him any discomfort.
Liiza eventually placed her whole palm at the center of his chest. She felt Khan"s beating heart while her eyes moved on his face. Their gazes met again, and they remained fixed on each other for a few seconds.
The alien eventually retracted her hand and inspected her palm. Khan didn"t know what she was thinking during the process, but he didn"t feel the need to ask questions.
"He won"t be able to ride the Ugu," Liiza eventually explained while fixing her eyes back on Khan"s face. "They will never accept him."
"Will he have to walk?" Paul asked as a complicated expression appeared on his face.
It didn"t matter how talented Khan was. The Global Army would deem him unfit for the training camp on Nitis if he couldn"t use some of its core features.
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"He needs to tame a [Aduns]," Liiza announced before pointing at the eagle behind her. "I believe you call them Aduns."
"We don"t have the clearance for that," Paul politely replied. "With all due respect, your superiors have been quite clear."
Khan wanted to inspect Paul to study his reactions, but his gaze remained glued to Liiza"s eyes. She appeared to be in the same situation, and her expressionless face barely moved when she gave her answers.
"They won"t be able to say anything if an Aduns chooses him," Liiza explained. "I"ll get him to a nest right away."
"We have yet to brief him!" Paul complained, and Liiza finally moved her eyes away from Khan to glare at the soldier.
Paul clearly regretted raising his voice. He lowered his head, and polite words came out of his mouth. "He doesn"t know much about Nitis. Please, forgive him if he offends you by mistake."
Liiza limited herself to nod and return to her ride. She patted the eagle"s neck, and the creature lowered its wing to make her jump on its back.
"What are you waiting for?" Liiza asked when she noticed that Khan had yet to move from his spot.
"Go," Paul whispered while approaching him and pushing him toward the Aduns. "This is your chance to remain on Nitis, but don"t do anything stupid. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir," Khan promptly replied while approaching the creature.
The eagle followed his movements with its three eyes. Khan couldn"t help but notice the differences with the Nak"s organs. The Aduns" third eye was vertical and slightly bigger than the others, but it didn"t radiate any light.
The Aduns didn"t seem to like that Khan had to climb on its back, but it accepted the event with impeccable decorum. The creature appeared quite smart and well-trained. It didn"t flinch for even an instant when Khan stepped on the dark feathers and arrived behind Liiza.
The Aduns appeared even bigger from that position. The creature was almost three meters tall, and its wings could cover a six meters large area when unfolded. Its back had enough s.p.a.ce for multiple people, but Khan still struggled to find where to sit.
Khan studied Liiza"s stance and tried to imitate her. Her hands were on the feathers on the eagle"s neck, and she had wrapped her slim legs around the wings" base.
Khan couldn"t do the same from his position, so he sat and tried to tighten his legs on the Aduns" back while grabbing the feathers right in front of him. He obviously put some distance between Liiza, but he was still close enough to touch her back if he crouched.
The eagle suddenly gave voice to a quiet high-pitched cry, and Khan instinctively tightened his grasp. Yet, his handhold vanished since his hands ripped a few feathers.
Khan"s eyes widened when he saw the dark-grey feathers in his grasp. Panic built inside him. He had actually hurt a creature that seemed to hold an important place in the Niqols" mind.
Liiza didn"t reveal any emotion. She released her grasp and bent backward to grab Khan"s wrists. He let her lead him closer to her back, and Paul almost fainted when he saw the alien putting Khan"s arms around her waist.
"You can"t hold Aduns from there," Liiza quickly explained before crouching forward again.
Khan had to lie on her to remain attached to her waist. His chest was on her back, and her white hair often fell on his face.
Khan turned toward Paul and noticed that the soldier was holding his head while staring at the whole scene. His eyes were wide open, but they transformed into an admonishing gaze when they fell on Khan.
"I"ll send him to the camp once we are done," Liiza announced. "Don"t look for him if he doesn"t return."
Paul wanted to say something, but the Aduns suddenly unfolded its wings and waved them, creating gales made of dust and terrain.
Khan couldn"t help but tighten his legs on the creature"s back, and the same went for his arms. His face soon touched Liiza"s back, and the coldness of her body spread through her clothes to reach his chest and cheek.
The Aduns gave voice to a loud screech before flapping its wings again and separating from the ground. The creature seemed to struggle to set off now that it had two people on its back, but it slowly managed to gain height anyway.
Khan couldn"t express what he was experiencing with simple words. His legs kept losing their grip on the eagle"s back whenever it pushed him upward. The fear of falling threatened to take control of his mind, but Liiza"s firm figure managed to rea.s.sure him.
Liiza barely moved while the Aduns went up and down in the sky. She seemed part of the creature during the flight, and Khan instinctively relied on her to avoid falling.
His embrace tightened, and his body grew closer to her. Khan was basically lying on her, and his unstable foothold often made his chest collide with her back.
Khan couldn"t express how worried he was about his actions, but he did his best to regain some composure quickly. His legs continued to search for a stable foothold and eventually found it right above the wings" base. His grip on Liiza"s waist never became rough either. He did his best to keep it gentle.
The wind grew more intense at some point, and Khan peeked past the immense wings to study his situation. His expression froze when he noticed that the Aduns was high in the sky already. Paul had even disappeared from his vision.
Talking with that intense wind blowing on his face was troublesome, and Khan didn"t want to disturb Liiza anyway, so he remained silent and enjoyed the travel. That wasn"t his first flight, but it felt like it. Using a vehicle couldn"t even come close as an experience.
The eagle was alive. It reacted to Liiza"s short but firm movements. The creature would turn to the right whenever the Niqols pulled the right side of its neck, it would go up when her legs tightened, and it accelerated when she crouched closer to its neck.
Khan couldn"t help but admire such mastery in her flying skills. His body was practically on her, so he could sense when her muscles tensed or relaxed.
The awesome scenery from high in the sky and the incredible experience of flying on top of an alien creature made Khan ignore the inevitable arousal triggered by the situation. He focused on learning Liiza"s moves instead of paying attention to her soft curves. Those sensations still reached his mind, but he made sure to isolate them in the corner of his mind.
The Aduns flew toward the mountain chain, but it avoided getting close to the shining city. Khan managed to see various dark buildings that featured strange symbols on their surface, but the creature turned before he could get a better sight of the Niqols" architecture.
The temperature fell as Liiza led the eagle toward a mountain peak covered by a grey material that resembled snow. Khan tried to get a better view of the area, but the Aduns suddenly started to fly higher in the sky.
The creature"s stance went completely vertical from time to time, which forced Khan to focus the entirety of his efforts on not falling. His legs managed to cling on the Aduns" back, but the animal eventually folded its wings and turned its head toward the mountain below.
"Don"t tell me!" Khan barely had the time to curse in his mind before the eagle dived toward the mountain.
His legs lost their grip on the creature"s back at that point. Khan"s body stretched into the air and managed to remain attached to the Aduns thanks to Liiza firm figure.
Everything disappeared inside Khan"s mind. He could only think about tightening his grip on Liiza while the Aduns accelerated. The mountains grew dangerously close in his vision, but the creature suddenly folded its wings and resumed its horizontal flight right before crashing on the dark-grey rocks.
The sudden deceleration made Khan slam on Liiza"s back, but she managed to remain in her position even after that intense impact. Still, Khan"s face ended up peeking above her shoulder and lay next to her head.
"Did you really need to do that?" Khan couldn"t help but ask while his cheek touched the alien"s forehead.
"The Aduns do what they want," Liiza replied before giving voice to a faint giggle.
The event surprised Khan and make him turn to face her. Liiza"s smiling expression unfolded in his vision, but she limited herself to glance at him before turning her head.
"You are still on me," Liiza eventually said, and Khan promptly slid on her back to resume his previous position.
The Aduns didn"t do anything dangerous anymore. It continued to fly among the mountains until it gave voice to a loud screech and turned toward a rocky structure that featured a series of cavities.
The creature"s screech echoed among the mountains, and other similar cries resounded in the area. Multiple Aduns peeked out of the cavities and welcomed the eagle back into the nest.
Liiza relaxed her legs, and the Aduns gently descended until it landed at the base of one of the mountains. The Niqols straightened her back at that point, and Khan imitated her movements while retracting his arms.
"I know that humans don"t handle the cold as well as us," Liiza exclaimed while turning toward Khan, "But mana makes you able to endure this much, right?"
Khan couldn"t help but memorize the moment when Liiza lifted her legs to turn toward him. He knew how soft they were, and his knowledge made the scene quite captivating.
"Cold shouldn"t be a problem," Khan revealed while moving his gaze toward Liiza"s face. "Can I really ride an Aduns without putting the humans at risk?"
"The Aduns are… I think humans would call them holy animals," Liiza explained. "My superiors won"t be able to complain if you manage to tame one of them before they learn about it."
****
Author"s notes: Just one today. I ended up feeling quite down after the second shot of the vaccine. I even feared that a fever would arrive, but luckily I avoided that. Everything should go back to normal tomorrow.
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