A Different Species

Chapter 18

The walk to Ixvis' place felt short when indulged in a conversation with an English speaking alien. Raziel was knowledgeable in every topic they discussed. He was a great speaker that knew how to draw his audience in and listen to every word he had to say. That was both a good and bad thing, depending on how someone used those skills, but if human, Raziel would've been a great leader, June thought.

She recalled him mentioning he was required to learn English, but he was the only one at the tribe that June had met that spoke her native tongue. She came up with all sorts of theories as to how he could've learned and no one else here did. Maybe they had tried but for some reason it wasn't easy for them. Maybe it was something else. Had he been able to somehow contact Earth before the explosion? Whether June would learn this would be something Raziel would have to confess, to June the topic seemed inappropriate to bring up.

"Should I prepare myself before seeing Ixvis?" She asked him.

"I don't think anyone can ever truly prepare themselves when meeting someone," Raziel chuckled. "But Ixvis is a hard worker who likes to keep things to himself and could spend the whole day in his home. He took the role of helping build what our tribe is now and for that I'm thankful. Even if he doesn't show it, I think he will enjoy your visit."

Upon reaching a tent, Raziel called to its owner in their native language. There was no reply.

Raziel pushed open the curtains, stepped in, and allowed June to follow. The place was disorganized and crowded. There were papers, weapons, and furniture lying all around. There was a clear path to each room, area, and entrance of the tent, but it wasn't possible for two people to stand beside each other without bumping arms. The four walked in a single file line with Raziel in the lead.

Reaching the back, June finally saw the owner of the place.

Ixvis stood hunched over a desk staring down at the mess of papers before him. He was clothed from horns to toes. His yellow robe was tied and the sleeves were pulled above his elbows. His skin matched Nikos' grey one. His arms, neck, and chin were covered with small scars that resembled cuts and burn marks. His horns were covered in leather and the rest of his head and lower part of his neck in a red cloth. The red cloth reminded June of a hijab. He wore no jewelry nor owned anything of the sort from what she saw.

Raziel called again and Ixvis finally turned to the group, greeting them with a frown. His golden eyes settled on June but his forehead didn't crease further nor relax. He slowly straightened himself and turned to his visitors.

June stood with a toothless smile as Raziel introduced her. She thought back to when she first arrived to the tribe. She didn't remember seeing Ixvis. Then again she was preoccupied admiring the architecture of their home, ignoring the many stares directing in her direction, introducing herself to their leader, as well as wondering about the relationship between the red female and Kargon.

That last part was something she was still trying to figure out. She knew the female's name, but not what she was to Kargon. June wanted to know everything about their relationship but her gut was telling her she shouldn't.

A woman should always trust their gut feeling.

Not the time to think about that.

"These are all his designs?" June asked to which Raziel confirmed.

She leaned closer to the nearest table but never touched. A few of the sketches were weaponry and other tools. The only way she knew was because she was able to associate them to one similar to those on Earth. Others were either unrecognizable due to the smudges of ink or she was unable to understand what they were no matter how clear the image. She hadn't seen any of said creations in the tribe. They looked too advanced for the current state of their civilization. The first thoughts that came to mind was this Old Home of theirs and the fact that Raziel spoke English. The Helonians didn't plan on spilling more bits of their past than what she knew, and asking about it would most likely not be in her favor so she ignored the idea of it.