Chapter 90: Blood Legacy

  “Hi.” Marcus said, kneeling on the floor to pick up a piece of chalk. Azaa was right behind him and looked fabulous in her long, white dress. He took down his headphones and gave her an apologetic smile “I did not hear you come in. I did some work on your blackboard, I hope that is okay.” he said and got back up again. It seemed to be okay because Azaa was still smiling. “Hello Marcus.” She said and her dark eyes buried into his. “I see you have continued my research on the Eshfa Sphere.” she said and Marcus put one and one together, that this must be the ginghi name for the Pearl.

  “It took me some time to understand how you went about it, but I think I’m close to the solution.” he pointed at the last row and she nodded. “Then, how about we finish it together?”

  It only took five more minutes and three more rows to find the correct combination. Azaa’s long elegant fingers touched the correct symbols and with a “hiss” the sphere broke into two parts. Marcus watched her retrieve a thin metal tablet with small, neat script on it. Instead of deciphering it, Azaa put it away and turned her attention to Marcus. “Thank you.” She said and Marcus felt happy, he had the courage to work on the cipher. For a moment they just stood there and looked at each other before Marcus realized she was most likely waiting for him to take his place. But first “I brought you a small gift.” Marcus said and presented her the small parcel. Azaa looked at it for a moment as if she was deciding something and then she thanked him for the gift and put it to the side without opening it. “I will open it once I have proper time for it.” she said and Marcus nodded, even so he was disappointed. He wanted to see her reaction….

  Instead they went along with the usual ritual. While his blood was drained, Marcus talked enthusiastically about the raid and what they had found. Azaa praised him for growing his strength so much in such little time, and his courage to face the giant monster head on. “And we found a sculpture of four different humanoid races working together. They all looked different and yet far too similar to be a coincident. A union of four races, sharing their strength, knowledge, art maybe even love and have children together. Of course we do not know if this is actually possible, even so our scientists said it might be theoretical possible that ginghi and humans could interbreed. And this would lead us to the theory that they, the other races, were also able to mix. But of course this is completely theoretical at the moment.” WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?! Marcus mouth just spat out words and went on a tangent that was not part of the script he had in his mind.

  Marcus looked at Azaa and she had a very confused look on her face. “It is not important, we found a statue too, a man-”, “Marcus.” her soft voice made him stop in an instant and so did the blood draining. The last time this had happened, it ended in a major incident, Marcus remembered very well. “All humanoid races are compatible.” Azaa said to his surprise and looked at him with her head tilted. “Marcus, can you not tell that I look different than the ginghi around me?” she said and Marcus did not see that coming. She looked different? Yes, of course… she was taller than the average and had longer neck and a sharper facial features but that might be normal genetic variation but…

  “I’m not a pure ginghi because my father is a half.” Azaa said and Marcus was surprised again. “For us it is obvious but you might not be able to spot it so easily. The legacy of his father makes it possible. I on the other hand carry the legacy of the thequa [sekwa] very obviously.” She pointed with her hand at her face, neck and rest of her body. Marcus just stared at her “You know of another intelligent humanoid species?” he said. She just nodded and Marcus needed a few moments to get this all in his head. All humanoids or compatible? Her father is a half, and that means all his children carry the legacy of a different species, the thequa.

  “Uela too, she is not a pure ginghi either.” Marcus said more to himself than anything else. He could see Azaa’s face darken a bit “Yes, but she did inherited mostly from our mother’s side. I on the other hand… not.” she said and Marcus realized he had just stepped on a landmine. He was not sure what the right thing to say was, right now. I think you look really pretty! I did not realize because you are so fantastic anyway. It matters not to me. “You are right, I can not tell. For me, you are just you, Azaa.” he said.

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  “GONG” another great bell rang in Azaa’s head and where had been insecurity a moment ago, a warmth spread through her whole body. She looked into his warm eyes and said “I will do the blood massage now.” somewhat stiff she moved up from her seat and walked behind him. He took off his shirt and she put her hand on his back. Now he could not see the emotions on her face, she was not ready to show him, yet. She moved her hand over his back and looked at his neck and shoulders. An ancient instinct grew stronger inside her, pressed against her skull from the inside, made her bare her teeth. She wanted to bite him right in the neck. Feel his muscles, the warmth of his body, the scent of his skin. She pushed the urge back, dominated it with a century of discipline and a whole lot of fear. I still do not know what he thinks about me, Azaa thought.

  Marcus looked straight at the floor, while he felt her hand gently touching his back. She had never done this before and his whole face was red. He was still unsure if what he had said was the right thing under the circumstances, but there had been too many new information. Even so he had met her many times now, he still did not know what was going on in her head. Keep it together Marcus, don’t destroy everything you have built here just because of some fancy fantasies, he thought to himself.

  “Why have you not told us about the thequa before?” He asked with a soft voice. “Because they are very private people and do not like it to be disturbed. Spreading information about them would be seen as a mistake. And your people trying to meet them, might end deadly for you. They are very strong.” was her answer. Marcus thought about it for a moment and said “Thank you for trusting me. I will keep this to myself until you feel more comfortable sharing this information with us humans.” “Thank you.” she whispered and Marcus was happy she could not see his face right now.

  The blood massage ended and Marcus put his shirt on again. “Would you like to play again?” Azaa asked with a faint smile. “Yes, very much. I have practiced again.” Marcus said, happy they had changed the topic. They went to the garden upon her home but it quickly started to rain and they went inside. He had never seen her home and found everything interesting and fascinating. Still, playing against Azaa asked for his full attention. And like before all his efforts felt childish and short sighted. Even so she praised him for his progress he could barely do anything and found himself always on the back foot.

  When the day ended, Marcus felt fully exhausted and thanked his teacher for her patience. “Thank you very much. I wish we could do this more often.” he said without thinking much about it. “You can come visit me more often if you like. Nothing says you can not come here every two weeks. Without the blood draining of course.” Azaa said with a soft smile and Marcus felt like he had missed that particular memo before. “Really? It would not be a bother to you?” he asked and she denied it. “Than I would like to visit in two weeks again, of course my other duties might interfere but I will try to make it work.” Marcus said with a bright smile.

  Once Marcus had left for the embassy, Azaa went and finally opened the gift from Marcus. She took out the small box and inspected it for a moment before she put it on the table and pushed the small button on the side. A warm and light melody started and danced through her house. It was such a sweet and romantic song, Azaa could barely fathom Marcus had given it to her. Beautiful colors and forms appeared above the box, all unique and fitting the melody. She listened to the song in the dark and watched the light play in front of her. “For me, you are just you, Azaa.” his voice whispered in her head and the song started from the beginning.

  What should she do? Azaa felt helpless, unclear how to deal with these emotions. She contemplates for a long while, then she got up and went to see her father.

  After a sleepless night, Marcus left Mihr Jhel at dawn and still, Azaa was waiting for him at the gate to say her goodbye. “Until in two weeks.” She said as they parted ways and Marcus felt like those weeks could not go by fast enough. As he walked the long path to the portal and revisited all the things that they had talked about, he suddenly stopped and turned back to the city in the distance. Was this a date? He would spent a day with Azaa, alone, with her...for no other reason but to spent time together. By all metrics this was a date! He had a date with Azaa! His head nearly burst open on the realization and his heart started to race.

  He continued to walk towards the portal and stopped again. No, don’t jump to conclusions! She might very well see you as a student, Marcus! She teaches you, you learn from her, you are nothing more than a young one being educated by an elder. What could she possibly see in you?

  He continued to walk, with very different ideas fighting in his head, and he felt completely lost.