Seventh Ring
Part 11: Worlds
New Earth, 418 A.C. (After Contact)
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"Are you ready?"

Seven had just wiped beads of sweat from his dirtied brow with the back of his hand when he heard the familiar voice of Ari. Each day, at the same time every morning, she came by the small construction site where he and Lucas had been working to build the new workshop beside the house. It had taken them three days to complete the framework and lay the foundation of the shop according to Lucas' designs, and now, they were busy mixing concrete.

A humid, stifling summer heat had set in over the past day, which slowed down their work considerably and forced them to work late into the evenings when the weather was more hospitable. Seven did not mind the longer hours, but it was putting an obvious drain on Lucas. He noticed that the human was not moving with as much excited zest as he was a few days ago when the project first began. He was less patient, sluggish, and noticeably stressed. Perhaps now was a good time for a break.

Ari stood quietly in the bare, wooden door frame of the shop, a pail of oats in one hand and a woven basket in the other. Seven's golden yellow eyes shifted to Lucas, who looked exhausted. They both had a deadline to meet; that being to have the workshop as close to finished before William's arrival home and Seven's next fight. With Three out of commission due to the Cerasaur attack, it was mainly Seven and Lucas doing all of the heavy lifting. Six had been terrific at fetching tools and scaling the wooden beams to help with the building of the framework, but there was little more he could do for now.

Seven took up a heavily stained towel and wiped his arms and hands of cement dust and red dirt from the ground. He then tossed the towel to Lucas and watched him wipe his face with a groan.

"I need to get some coffee or something," he said as his arms fell limp at his sides, towel still in hand. "You can go ahead with Ari, we'll finish up when you get back."

Ari smiled sweetly when Seven's gaze fell on her. He nodded without a reply and followed her out from beneath the framework--ducking a bit to be sure his ears did not scrape the top of the door frame--and into the farmyard. Together, they walked quietly towards Marge's stable.

"You've made some great progress on the shop. I can't wait to see it finished," said Ari as her bright blue eyes lifted to look at Seven walking beside her. He was busy looking out across the horizon, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Cerasaurs and broken fences. Since the attack, no other Cerasaur sightings had occurred, but he was always vigilant. Not necessarily because he wanted to protect Ari, but because a Cerasaur could be followed into the woods and directly to the location in which they were getting in and out of the compound. That could be his ticket out. "Do you think you'll be finished before William gets home?"

Seven's attention snapped back when she mentioned William. It took him a moment to register her question and reply. "I don't think we have a choice, according to your brother. He's killing himself trying to get it up and running before next week."

"It's great that he has you to help him, especially with Three being injured and all." Ari adjusted her grip on the pail of oats when they reached the halfway point to Marge's stable. Seven had been so focused on looking for Cerasaurs that he didn't think to help her. Reaching down, he took the handle of the woven basket for her and looked back up at the road. She smiled in thanks and enlisted her other hand to help carry the pail.

"I'm helping him because I was told to, that's all." Ari nodded, understanding, but not wanting to encourage any bad-mouthing of her brother or William. It would only add stress to Seven's already stressful situation and sour any potential conversation they may have for the remainder of the morning. He sensed her unease at his reply and was quick to follow it up."But it is sort of nice to be working again and having something to do around here. I like to keep busy."

The pair continued their walk down the road to see Marge, who was eagerly waiting for Ari's arrival near the fence of the corral that surrounded her open stable. Seven always stopped a good distance away and gave the six-legged horse her space after their intense first encounter. It was Ari's suggestion, as she didn't want to upset Marge or irritate Seven. After the pail of fresh oats were delivered and Ari had spent ample, loving time with her favorite animal on the farm, she rejoined Seven's side.

"I don't know why you like that horse so much," muttered Seven as she approached. He had noticed that she was always smiling when she walked away from her visit with Marge. This was the first time he had ever made a comment about her or expressed any sort of annoyance over this morning ritual. He looked down at his hand and remembered the nasty bite he'd received from her when they were first introduced weeks ago. "She's big, mean, and dangerous. Not to mention obviously wild and out of control." Marge snorted in the distance at the sight of him.

"Well," started Ari as she began her walk down the path that led to the field just beyond the Drudge's barn. "I could say the same about you, but I still like you."

Seven hesitated a moment and stood motionless behind her. His eyes shifted from Marge, to Ari, and then back to the horse as he tried to make the connection between the two. At first, he wanted to deny any similarity and argue, until he realized she'd said that she liked him. What did that mean? Humans never liked Kazekians, especially human females. She did not explain and was already a fair distance from him down the road. He decided not to say anything at all and hurried after her with a flustered, confused expression on his face, woven basket still in hand.

The road led them far from the house and the barns and out into a quiet field surrounded by the forest that marked the edge of the compound. Large trees sparsely dotted this field, and each morning, Ari enjoyed sitting beneath a different one and having her breakfast to the sounds of birdsong. It was her favorite part of the day and something she had done for years without William knowing, or so she had told Seven. As soon as they arrived, she looked around for the best tree with the most shade.

Ari took the woven basket from Seven and removed a thin, navy blue blanket that she used to insulate the breakfast items she'd packed. Carefully, she unfurled it and laid it down on the grass. Seven waited until she was settled and comfortable before he sat across from her on the blanket. His eyes continued to scan the field and surrounding treeline as he listened to her unpack their breakfast.

"Let's see...I brought toast and cheese crumpets, fresh apples, orange juice, and...ah, here it is, eggs and ham." Ari pulled each item out as she named it and made sure the basket was empty before she pushed it aside. She smiled when Seven's focus returned to her and the plate of eggs, his eyes large and hungry. Carefully, she removed the napkin she used to cover it and handed it to him. It was always quite an experience to watch Seven eat -- he used only his hands to scoop the food quickly into his mouth and threw out any suggestion of table manners. At first, she was startled by his eating methods, but found it flattering that he obviously enjoyed her cooking enough to inhale it within seconds. She'd enjoyed noting the differences in the way each of the aliens on the farm chose to eat; Seven used his hands as tools, Six nibbled like a squirrel on everything he was given, Five just used his entire face, Three liked to use utensils that were always too small for his hands, and Two ate like a gentleman. Meal times with the Drudges were always entertaining to watch, albeit short-lived for some of them.

"I'm glad we found something you like for breakfast. You're the exact opposite of Six, who only eats bread and fruit, no meat. I guess he needs the carbohydrates and you need the protein. Just don't tell him I gave you ham, as he really hates knowing that Three slaughters the pigs for food." Ari anxiously smiled at the thought of lying to Six, but she knew it was best for him. "He only helps me collect eggs because he thinks it means we won't kill the chickens. That, and he gets a kick out of chasing them around."

Seven licked his plate clean as she spoke, then placed it down beside him and smacked his lips. With a content sigh, he sat back and watched her butter her toast.

The field was quiet and bright, but the shade of the tree above them kept the strongest, warmest rays of sunshine from touching their skin. Ari knew how to choose trees, apparently. A humid breeze swept past them and carried the sweet, fresh smells of the forest to their noses. With as unhappy as Seven was about his situation and being on New Earth, even he had to admit that it was a beautiful planet when it was quiet.

"So," started Ari. Seven was worried she'd ruin the peace he was enjoying with more talking, but was startled by her inquiry. "Tell me about your world."

His eyes traveled to meet her own as he studied her face. It was as if he were searching for sincerity before he answered. "Why do you want to know about that?"

"I'm curious. I like to know about other planets and worlds. I've only ever been here, and on Olympus, of course." Ari finished her last bite of toast, sipped on a glass of orange juice, and put all of their dishes and breakfast supplies back into the basket. She then sprawled out on her belly with a long stretch like a lazy cat and waited for him to answer her. She was obviously getting comfortable in preparation for his explanation.

"Olympus?" He hoped to change the subject, although he was genuinely curious about what that could be.

"Yeah, Olympus. That was the first space colony established many, many years ago when the planet first started to die. I mean, there's a ton of Olympus stations now, but my family lived on the first one. That's where I was born before we moved here to try and start our own business repairing machinery and robotics. My parents are totally the reason why Lucas is such a genius." Ari's legs swished behind her as she spoke. With as much as Seven felt she spoke too much, he preferred she speak now rather than him.

"So enough about me, tell me about your planet." Damn.

"What do you want to know, exactly?" Seven stiffened defensively, obviously anxious about what she may ask.

"Well, what's it like there? Is it like New Earth? Do you have plants and animals and things?"

"Errr...yes. Sort of. My planet doesn't look like New Earth. There's no grass or trees during the day." Seven hoped that would be enough to satisfy her thirst for knowledge. But it only made it worse.

"During the day? How can you only have trees and grass during the day?" Ari's eyes were big and intrigued. She nestled her face into her palms as her arms supported the weight of her head.

"Well...Kazek is...sort of backwards from your planet. All of our wildlife and plants come out at night when the sun is gone. It's too hot for anything to survive on the surface during the day." He watched her face as she began to daydream about his planet. He knew she was searching for more questions, so he decided to get comfortable by leaning back on his palms and stretching out his legs in front of him.

"So where do you go during the day? Do you sleep underground?"

"Sleep? No, we hardly sleep at all, actually. Maybe a few hours a day and never consecutively. We work in the Vesuleum mines during the day and build our cities underground. At night, we come out and do our farming of the crops that become available on the surface. We also play games, spend time together, and watch the stars. It's...sort of our off-time." Ari smiled at him as her head filled with images of Kazekians running around in the dark playing games.

"How dark is it there? How can you see?"

"It's not dark at all, actually. Our moon is our light at night and you can pretty much see anything like you would during the day, except the light isn't hot like the sun, so it's nice and cool." Suddenly, Seven found himself enjoying the conversation, much to his surprise. It was the most he'd ever spoken to her before. Perhaps he just enjoyed the topic at hand and his reminiscing of his home planet. "All of the plants glow when you pick them. They glow a bright, neon blue like my arm."

"Wow, that must be amazing! Is it only when you pick them, or are they just touch-sensitive? What makes them glow, exactly? A chemical?" Ari's excitement made him smile -- something she'd never seen before in all the time he'd been on the farm.

"I guess they are touch-sensitive since they light up when we walk on the grass or touch the trees. Our planet is surging with Vesuleum, so our plants feed from it from the ground. It's a biofuel, afterall. That's how my arm is able to work with my blood, or at least that's how my father explained it." Seven lifted his robotic arm and splayed his fingers for her. The strain and motions made the thin tubes that coiled around the bicep of his arm glow slightly.

"What's your father like?" This question erased Seven's smile and replaced it with one of homesickness. It wasn't quite a frown, but Ari already missed the happiness she'd previously witnessed.

"He...is a good man. A scientist, actually. He never worked in the mines since he had a knack for chemistry and working with Vesuleum. That's why they recruited him because he had a theory about robotics and Vesuleum and ways to combine the two. That's where my arm came from. Sort of one of his experiments." He curled his robotic fingers as he stared at his hand. Memories of his first few arms raced through his mind. "This arm was actually his latest and greatest prototype. I had a lot of different versions over the years as he tried to enhance and learn from each one. He only ever wanted to help me and make me happy. Any time I was sad, he would tell me, 'keep looking up.' It was his personal motto, I think."

Seven's gaze shifted towards the woods again. Ari could feel him becoming distant once more.

"He sounds like a great man who really loved you. Is he...back on Kazek?"

Seven did not answer her.

"Well, anyway, tell me more about the games you would play at night. Did you like sports?" She watched as he leaned forward and brought his knees up to his chest. His arms wrapped loosely around them and fingers hooked around his opposing wrists. He wasn't sure if he wanted to continue talking about his planet, but saw that intrigued, genuinely interested look in her eyes again. He couldn't resist and was looking for some way to not dwell on the thoughts of his father and past.

"Sometimes. We liked to race on speeders through the canyons. I mostly liked to lay out on the grass and watch the stars. New Earth isn't very good for star-gazing."

"What do you mean?" Ari sat up and crossed her legs beneath her. "At night, you can see every star in the sky here."

"Yeah, but that's ALL you can see -- just the brightest stars. On my planet, you can see almost everything. Entire star systems and galaxies and solar clouds. It's incredible." Seven closed his eyes and smiled again at the thought. "Someone once told me that our eyes are special or something. Only Kazekians can see some of the solar activity of space -- the colors and flares and things. I have no idea if that's true or not, I just know what I can see."

"Well, it sounds amazing. To me, our skies look like diamonds are everywhere, but I don't think I ever see color." Ari tried to imagine it, but struggled to understand the concept.

"It's colors and stars and just...beautiful. I think a lot of my people take it for granted, as I seem to be the only one who looks up. It was my favorite thing to do after a day of mining and harvesting crops in the evening. Just lay out on the grass and watch the solar winds carry colors and stars across the sky. It's the thing I miss the most about my planet and being home."

Seven's voice trailed off when he realized he was being a bit too personal and telling the mate of his captor a little too much. He didn't want to forget that while he was here, on this planet, he was her slave, despite how kind she was to him. He hugged his knees a bit tighter and looked up at the sun above them to try and gauge what time it was.

"Ready to head back?" asked Ari as if she were reading his mind. Really, she just needed to read his body language to know he was done talking.

"Yeah, I need to help Lucas finish his work. And I'm sure Six is waiting for you to gather eggs."

Together, they both stood, and he helped her fold the blanket and watched as she dusted off her skirt. They began the short walk back through the field and to the dirt path that ran along the farm.

Their trip to the house was nearly silent. Ari's mind was lost in recreating Seven's planet in her mind, and his thoughts were preoccupied with memories. He felt more homesick than ever, and the thought of William's return and his fight next week made it worse. Before he knew it, they were back at the house and he was leading her to the porch. His eyes lowered to look at her when he felt her hand gently touch his real arm.

"Thank you for going with me to the field. And...thanks for sharing your world with me. It sounds so beautiful and I can definitely understand why you would miss it just from the way you spoke of it." Seven's eyes searched her own, and for a moment, he felt like he was at home and staring at the stars again. Human eyes held so much emotion and beauty that he had never noticed before. Her fingers carefully slid from his arm as she ascended the steps and opened the screen door that lead to the kitchen.

"Err, thanks for breakfast," Seven called after her suddenly. He was at a loss for words and could not think of anything else to say in the moment.

"You're welcome. I'll send Six when lunch is ready." She smiled when she looked at him and disappeared behind the door with a wave. He stood still and quiet and felt quite flustered again.

"You," said a gruff, masculine voice from behind. Seven took a moment to turn around, his mind still lingering on his last exchange with the human girl. A firm hand on his shoulder made his skin crawl and mind erase the happiness he once felt only seconds ago. He turned quickly and swiped the hand away with his own.

"Don't ever touch me." His eyes had not even had time to register the offender before he spat his warning. It was quickly followed with a growl when he realized it was Reece. Only one human had ever managed to lay a hand on him without him feeling threatened, and right now, she was safely inside her house.

"Get back to work. This isn't some social hour." Reece took a step closer and narrowed his eyes. Obviously, he was looking for a reason to fight, and Seven, for once, was not in the mood. Perhaps it was his peaceful morning and thoughts of home that made him care a bit more about living through his experience on New Earth. Maybe it was his yearning for another breakfast with Ari. He wasn't sure. But rather than stand around and wait for Reece to push him further, he walked away. Much to his surprise, Reece did not pursue him. When he returned to the construction site, Lucas was busy mixing cement.

"You didn't take a break, did you?" asked Seven as he ducked beneath the door frame and approached Lucas's side.

"Eh, not really. Don't tell Ari, I just really need to get this cement laid by tonight." Lucas was hyper focused on his task and did not look up at him when he spoke.

"Why is Reece back without William?" Seven grabbed another bag of cement and prepared it for mixing.

"Sometimes he comes back ahead of him for different reasons. Usually business-related, as far as I know. He already stopped by to see how the shop was coming along, and from the expression on his face, he didn't seem too happy with the progress." Lucas nodded in thanks as he took the new bag from Seven and began to add it to his brew.

"Does he ever look happy?"

"Not really. I think I saw him smile once when we were in the service together. It was when he was removing his fist from the caved-in skull of some snarky alien. The man doesn't joke around, which is why we never got along." Lucas sighed heavily and stopped stirring. "Can you take over for a minute? I need some water."

Seven nodded and continued to mix the cement. As he stirred, he heard the unfamiliar sound of gravel being crushed beneath the wheels of a vehicle.


"Oh, Gabby is here! I completely forgot!" Lucas suddenly became more erratic than Seven had ever seen him. He crashed through their work space in search of a towel to wipe his face, all the while trying to tuck in his shirt and smooth his hair. After tripping over a stack of wooden planks and getting his foot caught in a bucket, Lucas gave up on finding a towel and instead used a dirty shirt from the day before to get in a quick, dry shower. He shoved sweaty strands of hair beneath his cap and straightened up his stance just moments before a young human girl appeared in the framework of the doorway. She had firey orange hair that billowed out in long, wavy locks that fell over her shoulders. The still rising sun made each strand glow brightly like hot embers as its rays fell upon her back. Seven had never seen a human with a hair color so similar to his own. Her heavily freckled skin and bright green eyes were also qualities he found to be uncommon.

"Hello!" the girl said with an unusual amount of zest for such a hot, humid morning. She smiled almost as brightly as the sun behind her as she entered their area and inspected the workshop. That smile was not meant only for Lucas, as Seven found she also extended her greeting to him as well. It was difficult for him to not inch his lips up just a bit in response.

"Hey Gabby, you're early," said Lucas as he quickly stumbled over to her. "I wasn't expecting you until later this afternoon."

"Yeah, sorry, I got the parts you ordered just this morning, so I wanted to stop by and give them to you right away since they were back-ordered for so long." She grinned and stifled a giggle as she watched Lucas clamber over his toolbox to speak with her. Her attention suddenly turned to Seven as she remembered her manners. "Hi, I'm Gabrielle, but you can call me Gabby. What's your name?"

Seven had been watching the exchange between the two humans from the moment he'd heard the wheels of her vehicle crunch down the road. Despite his attentiveness, he was still caught off guard when she spoke directly to him. His silence did not seem to break her interest in him.

"This is Seven, he's new here and has been helping me out with the shop." Lucas nodded at him and cleared his throat. It was obvious that he didn't want to share Gabby's attention. Seven just wasn't sure why. Were these two mates?

"Oh, that's good that you have some help and William isn't just dumping all this work on you, as usual." Seven was starting to like this human girl. She seemed more aware of William's antics than most humans he'd met so far. Though he assumed that was because she did not live on his property and could speak more freely of him without fear of punishment. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Seven. Maybe next time I'll get a 'hello' out of ya."

Seven lifted a brow as the bubbly human girl giggled and waved for Lucas to follow her, which he did quickly and eagerly. He'd never seen humans behave so strangely before, though he had never witnessed the equivalent of human flirting or courtship. That was the only explanation for Lucas' sudden awareness towards his appearance, his lack of concern towards finishing the workshop, and his yearning to have Gabby pay attention to only him. It was an odd exchange to witness, but it helped him study and understand human behavior a bit more. Gabby's constant smiling and giggling towards Lucas and his antics was obviously a positive response towards his train-wrecked ideas of flirtation. The only disconcerting part about her reaction was the similarity between her giggling and Ari's. That possible connection troubled him. When Ari giggled at him, was she actually flirting? The thought made him swallow hard. Surely that wasn't her intention...right?

---

ARTIST NOTES:

Okay everyone, I believe we're all caught up on the chapters now! I will need to finish the illustration for this chapter when I have more time, as I really wanted to finish it, but wanted to get the story out ASAP. It's on my to do list!

The next installment will be posted up on Monday. c:

Artwork, Characters, and Story © Quaylak