Shaza's Tears Ch. 03

Authors Note: Hello everyone. Sorry I have been so inactive. I'm in the process of moving, so I haven't had WiFi or the chance to really write much even if I could update more.

At any rate I'd like to reassure you all that I plan on writing these stories to completion. How long that is going to take, I have no idea considering my schedule right now. Also, for those of you talking about an editor... At this time I feel it is best to simply get the first draft out, and then when its completed I will contact beta readers and editors to revise. After that I will probably take down these chapters and post the new versions up.

So enjoy the new chapter, and hopefully at some point in the near future you wont have to wait as long in between chapters.

Chapter 3

Launa

The carriage jolts to a halt, and close my eyes while I try to summon my courage. I have to remember that as frightening as they look, the Orahkan are a peaceful race. If they weren't, they would be issued a no contact policy, and Zaroi would not have been permitted to come here. From what father says, Zaroi is a very nice man, and we should do our best to make him feel at home during his visit.

"Is the red man here yet?" Cela asks, and I look over to find her sitting upright, with both her knees bouncing up and down in the same impatient manner she usually does when she's bored, "I want to hurry up and get this over with so I can go hover race with Akita,"

"When Shin Zaroi gets here, you don't hover race, and Akita does not exist," I admonish her with a frown, but she just looks at me and sticks her tongue out, "I'm serious, Cela. This is extremely important to father. We cannot disappoint him, no matter what,"

"I know, I know. I won't do anything stupid," she grumbles, crossing her arms and looking at her lap.

I sigh and close my eyes again. I really, really hope that Cela doesn't slip up and say something wrong. Our future depends on this meeting, and we have to do everything right. At least Shanta and Akita understand. Akita has the easy job. All she has to do is stay away and do whatever she wants in the mean time. Sometimes I resent her freedom. Sure she's a 'disgrace', but all that really means is that she has no responsibility whatsoever. I, on the other hand, have to do everything. Shanta helps a little bit, now that she is almost sixteen, but she is still a Shazarine. And Cela...

"Shin Zaroi has arrived, Shiq Launa," the driver says from the other side of the curtain. I steel myself for the meeting, taking a deep breath and standing up to leave the carriage. Shanta follows, and Cela after her. I pull aside the curtain and step down onto the sand, holding up my skirt to keep from tripping over it. Looking up at the giant red beast before me, I plaster on my best smile as I step forward. He is much more menacing in person, and I hold back a shiver as I stand before him. My eyes widen as he places his right foot before the other, and bows in our customary greeting. He takes my left hand and holds it to his cheek.

"Your presence is a blessing, daughter of Shaza,"

"Jhatari, Shin Zaroi. Welcome to Shaz'kur,"

He releases me and I step to the side as he greets both my sisters in the correct manner as well. its a pleasant surprise that he has taken the time to familiarize himself with the proper greetings, and I respect him immensely for it. Most outsiders brush aside our customs as if they are above them, but he seems interested in learning our way. That kind of behavior will go a long way here, and for the first time in a long time, I believe that we might actually have someone worthy of handling Shaza's Tears.

"Uta, please put Shin Zaroi's hover-bike in the trunk of the carriage," I ask the driver, and put my hand on Zaroi as he turns to help the man with the task, "you are considered an official. It is unseen for an official to do menial labor,"

He frowns at my words, but nods in assent. As we round the entrance of the carriage, he stops and looks at the Kuhja leading the carriage, and his eyes widen in wonder.

"They are like a cross between a lizard and a deer," he muses as he examines the creatures, "I assume only the male grow the horns?"

"Actually, it is the female who wear the horns. They are the more aggressive gender of the species," I explain, and reach out to pet the smooth scales on the nearest animal, "they typically mate for life, and the male tends to the eggs while the female forages for food and defends their territory. It is unhealthy for a Kuhja to be separated from its mate, which is why these two lead the carriage together,"

"Do they come in many different colors?"

"Mostly dark blue, like the ones you see here," I tell him, and he looks at me quizzically, "Sometimes, though, we find silver ones. Their health is more fragile than the others, and more often than not, they do not survive to adulthood. But they are strikingly beautiful,"

I smile longingly as I finger the rough pattern of scales on the Kuhja's side. I look up and realize that Zaroi is staring at me with a half smile. Those yellow eyes bore into my soul as he watches me, and I blush and turn away. Its almost like he could read my thoughts, and I wonder what he saw when he looked at me like that. I turn and head to the entrance of the carriage, and he follows behind me as I climb inside. He seems nervous, and I give him a pleasant smile as the carriage jolts into movement. He is afraid to do something wrong, I can tell. He is just as nervous as we are, and that comforts me a little bit.

"I have done a bit of research on Orahk. Is it true that your home planet is made up almost entirely of salt water?"

"Yes. There are three large continents, and hundreds of small islands spread around the planet. The smell of the air here reminds me of the ocean,"

"What is an ocean?" Cela asks, and I try not to grimace. "Is it some kind of animal?"

"The ocean is what we call the large bodies of salt water that cover Orahk," he replies with a mischievous smile, "there are fish in the ocean that grow the size of houses,"

"What's a fish?"

"Cela," I snap, "leave the poor man alone. I doubt he has any interest wasting his time with such trivial explanations,"

"I don't mind. There's no such thing as too many questions," he tells me with a reassuring smile, and I relax a little more, "a fish is a type of animal that lives in the water. They have flat tails that they use to propel them through the water, and they have slimy scales that cover their entire bodies,"

"Eeeew!" Cela giggles, and twiddles her thumb while the gears in her mind continue to turn, "how do they live in the water without drowning?"

"They breath water the same way that we breath air,"

"Really? That's amazing!" she squeals in excitement, and I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm, "I bet the ocean must be beautiful!"

"It is," Zaroi agreed with a wistful smile, and I wonder how long its been since he visited his home planet. I couldn't imagine being away from my home for long. "Tell me, Cela. Have you ever heard of a tree before?"

"A tree?" her nose scrunches up in confusion and I smile as Zaroi let's out an amused chuckle, "What is that?"

"A tree is a plant that grows up like a large tower, and it has hundreds of arms called branches that spread out in every direction. Every branch has flat green disks called leaves that grow all over it like the hair on your head," he says with a huge, addicting grin, and Cela's eyes grow wide with wonder, "sometimes, hundreds of them will grow next to each other, and its called a Forrest,"

"Hundreds? That's so cool," Cela exclaims with a big smile, "I'd like see one someday,"

I notice Zaroi is fiddling with his portable interface, and I wonder what he's doing. Suddenly, a large screen appears before us, and there is a picture of a tree on it.

"This is an Apple tree. It grows Apples. Have you ever seen one before? They are these round, crunchy fruits that come in all kinds of flavors and colors. The green ones are sour, and the red ones are sweet," he explains, and we all watch in wonder as the tree begins to form bright red fruit on it. Then the fruit start to darken and shrivel up, and fall to the ground as the leaves turn from green to a beautiful array of reds and oranges, " when the weather gets cold, the leaves slowly die and turn really pretty colors. They eventually dry up, turn brown and fall off, leaving the tree completely bare until the weather gets warm again."

We all watch as the leaves fall off the tree, and then begin to grow back again. The entire process was so beautiful to watch, and I couldn't help but be filled with just as much wonder as my little sister.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of different kinds of trees, and they all look different and have different cycles. Some keep their leaves all year long," he explains as he begins to flip through different types of trees, "some are little, and some can grow to be the size of this entire city,"

"No way! You're making that up!"

"I swear I am telling the truth. There are other planets that are ten times the size of this one, and the trees have room to grow as big as they want," he says with a smile, "on Khelor, the people actually live in the trees. They carve their homes right out of the trunks, and have bridges that lead to the other trees,"

"Wow!" Cela cries in excitement as he pulls up the homes in the trees on his interface, and I smile even wider. The rest of the universe must be an amazing place.

"I bet you've never seen snow before either, have you?" he asks, and we all shake our heads in unison. He chuckles as he looks at me and realizes that I'm just as entranced as my sisters, "snow is when rain freezes and flutters to the ground like soft powder,"

"What's rain?"

"Rain is when a thousand drops of water fall from the sky. On some planets, it rains for weeks and weeks without stopping," he explains as he pulls up a video of falling rain, and we watch as the water turns to snow and begins to fall in slow motion. "There was once a planet called Ztar, and it was always winter there. The entire planet was encased ice, and it never stopped snowing,"

"That... That is the planet of the mind readers, yes?" I ask, suddenly weary, "I heard it was blown up by its own sun,"

"Yes, and three other solar systems with it," he says. He sounds very sad. Does he feel bad for the mind readers? "My friend Mehkel is Ztarin. He will never be able to visit his home planet,"

"That's so sad," Cela says, and I frown as his words sink in. He was friends with one of them? From what I've read, they are very dangerous people.

"You are friends with one? I don't think I could stand being in the same room with one,"

"Mehkel is a good kid. He can be a bit of a trouble maker, but he has a good heart, and I trust him with my life," he replies in a defensive manner, and I blush in embarrassment. I must have offended him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't judge someone I've never met. I just think it would be strange being around someone who could manipulate my mind," I reply with my head bowed, "its scary to think they could do whatever they want inside my head, and I may not even know what's happening,"

"You aren't the only one who feels that way. The Ztarin are just misunderstood. Mehkel is one of the most loyal people I've ever met. He can be a bit abrasive, but he would risk his life for me if it came to that. He is like a brother to me,"

"I see,"

Luckily we were rescued from the uncomfortable conversation by the jolting halt of the carriage. I stand and open the curtain as I pass through the entrance and step down onto the floor below. The others follow me and we begin the ascent up the stairs to our home.

"Are the bricks made of Shaza's Tears as well?" he asks, staring at our house with wonder if his own, and I nod with a smile.

"Yes, even our furniture is made from them," I explain as I open the door to the main entrance, "the Tears are a part of everything we do. They are more than just a building material, Shin Zaroi. They are what connects us with Shaza. He is a part of everything, and he exists with us through the Tears,"

Cela and Shanta disappear into the house, leaving me alone with Zaroi while I lead him to my father's study. I watch as a peculiar expression flashes across his face, and then he turns and places the palm of his hand against the wall of our house and closes his eyes. I stop to see what it is that he is doing, and when he frowns I find myself getting a little nervous. What does it mean? Why is he frowning?

"I can feel energy emanating from the mineral. its like it has a life of its own," he murmurs, stepping away from the Tears and looking at me in confusion, "I've never experienced that with anything other than living beings before,"

He understands! Shaza be praised, he understands!

"That is because the tears are alive, Shin Zaroi." I say with a soft smile as I continue down the hallway, "I did not know that Orahkans could sense life. It was not described in the information I studied,"

"Yes, it's an ability our people prefer keeping away from public scrutiny," he chuckled, "I'm sure you can understand, considering your own reaction to the Ztarin mind warping abilities,"

"I see. so... How exactly does this ability work?" she gave him a sideways glance, wondering what else he was capable of.

"Don't fret, Shiq Launa. I am incapable of more than being able to sense life. There's no need to be wary of me," he tells me, and I wonder if he is capable of feeling my emotions as well. Knowing this about him could be very dangerous for him, and I wonder why he chose reveal this information to me. "it is very similar to thermal tracking. At this time, I can currently sense eight sentient beings within a seven yard radius of where I am standing, as well as three different species of cacti scattered throughout your fathers estate,"

"Why would you tell me something like this, if it is meant to be a secret?"

"Even if you tried to spread the truth, no one would believe you,"

"I see. So then I would be treated like a raving mad man," I laughed, and he chuckled along with me, "whether it matters or not, I would never betray your secrets, Shin Zaroi,"

"As my mother always says, its the thought that counts," he tells me, his eyes softening as they turn to my face again, "your loyalty means a lot to me. It can be very hard to come by now a days,"

I think about his words, and they effect me deeply. He trusts me, and he appreciates my honesty. If that's the case, then I need to warn him about the unsettling truth regarding this tampering the other races are doing with the Tears. He deserves to know, and I have a feeling it will change everything.

"Listen, Shin Zaroi, there is something you should know, before you meet with my father," I grab his arm to pull him back before he enters the study. I pull a chunk of blue metal from a pouch at my hip and place it in his hands, "this is what happens when you mix Shaza's Tears with metal,"

"I don't understand. What are you telling me?"

"Take a closer look. Feel the metal in your hands. What is different from the stone you just touched before?"

"Ah, I see now," he frowns again, cupping the lumpy ball of metal in his hands and grazing the surface with his thumb, "there is no energy coming from the metal. its..."

"...dead, Shin Zaroi. The metal is killing Shaza's energy. its burning it out of the Tears and leaving them lifeless," I watch his face to see what he will do with the information, and I am not disappointed. He looks concerned, and I am beginning to see why father was willing to allow Zaroi to even entertain the idea of buying the Tears, "your people's tampering is killing our god, Shin Zaroi,"

"Yes, I can see that," he murmurs as he places the metal back into my hands. He seems very troubled by what I've just told him, "this... This changes everything. Thank you for telling me, Shiq Launa. I will see what I can do about this issue,"

I bow my head in thanks, and wait until he shuts himself inside of the study before I return to my personal quarters. I'm relieved that Zaroi is able to understand our plight. Most outsiders consider us crazy when we try to explain the truth about the Tears. He is the first outsider to see the life inside of the Tears and have concern for what it actually means. For the first time since the union appeared on our planet, I am beginning to hope that we can find a way to make this alliance work. For the first time, I am hoping we can work towards a future together.