I added more cushions, softer fabrics I’d acquired specifically because they resembled the moss bedding of our jungle shelter. The subtle touches transformed the space from merely functional to something approaching the comfort of our true home.
A notification chimed, vibrating through my neural implant. Arrival imminent. She was here.
I moved to the entrance, my heartbeat accelerating in a way that still surprised me after all these months. The anticipation of seeing her never diminished, never normalized. The door slid open, and there she stood—my kassari, my mate, my everything—backlit by the purple glow of the suns setting, her expression shifting from uncertainty to delight as she saw me.
“Holy shit,” she exclaimed, stepping inside and spinning in a slow circle to take in the dwelling. “This is your fancy cat palace? I was expecting, I don’t know, maybe some scratching posts and a giant litter box?”
I growled low in my throat, a sound she knew was amusement rather than displeasure. “Welcome to my residence on Rodinia Tertius.”
“Residence?” She grinned, dropping her travel pack and moving toward me with that fluid grace that always captivated me. “That’s what we’re calling it? Not ‘my sterile spaceship pretending to be a house’?”
Her scent hit me then—that perfect combination of her natural essence and the jungle pheromones she’d absorbed through our bond. My nostrils flared, drinking her in, and some tightly wound part of my chest finally relaxed. This place wasn’t home, but with her here, it became something close enough.
“It serves its purpose,” I replied, pulling her against me, my tail automatically curling around her thigh in possessive greeting. “Security. Privacy. Access to Legion resources.”
She leaned into my embrace for a moment before curiosity reclaimed her. I watched as she moved through the space, touching everything, examining control panels, peering through viewports with childlike wonder.
“What does this do?” she asked, fingers hovering over a crystalline interface embedded in the wall. Before I could answer, she pressed it, and the floor-to-ceiling window transformed into a display of the surrounding mountain range, magnified to show details invisible to the naked eye.
“Surveillance system,” I explained, moving to stand behind her. “It can track any movement within fifty kilometers.”
“Paranoid much?” she teased, but her eyes were bright with fascination. “And this?” She gestured to another panel.
“Atmospheric control. It can replicate any environment from the Legion database.”
“Including our jungle?” She glanced up at me, her expression hopeful.
“A reasonable approximation,” I conceded.
She continued her exploration, asking questions faster than I could answer them, her enthusiasm infectious. I found myself seeing my own residence through new eyes—not as the cold, functional space it had become, but as the marvel of engineering it truly was. My tail betrayed my pleasure, swishing in lazy arcs behind me as I watched her.
Eventually, she circled back to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head against my chest. “It’s impressive,” she admitted. “Very Legion-y. But also very you.”
I rumbled with satisfaction, stroking her hair. “It is adequate for our needs while on Tertius.”
“Speaking of needs,” she said, pulling back slightly to look up at me. “Tell me more about this meet-up with the other human mates tomorrow. What should I expect? What should I wear? What if they’re all proper ladies and I’m justme?”
The vulnerability in her voice made my protective instincts surge. I cupped her face in my hands, careful of my claws against her delicate skin. “You are perfect as you are. My jungle queen.”
“Your jungle queen who cusses too much and doesn’t know which fork to use at fancy dinners,” she muttered, though her lips quirked in a small smile.
“They are not what you imagine,” I assured her. “The women who have bonded with Legion warriors, especially Rodinians, are all exceptional in their own ways. Warriors. Scientists. Creators. None followed conventional paths.”
“Like me with my cryptid podcast?” She raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Exactly like you.” I pressed my forehead to hers in the intimate gesture that had become our ritual. “They will welcome you. But even if they did not, it would change nothing. You are mine, as I am yours.”
She sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “I know. It’s just that all this is so different from the jungle. So official. So real.”
“All of it is real,” I reminded her gently. “This dwelling. Our jungle home. The bond between us. Different facets of the same truth.”
She nodded, then pulled away with renewed determination. “Alright then. Show me where we sleep in this fancy place. I want to see if your Rodinian bed is as comfortable as our moss nest.”
I growled low in my throat, a sound of pleasure and promise. “I believe you’ll find it satisfactory.”
Her laughter filled the sterile space, transforming it instantly into something warmer, something alive. And as I followed her toward our sleeping chamber, I realized that home wasn’t in the jungle or in this dwelling.
It was wherever she was, bringing light and chaos and boundless curiosity to every corner of my existence.
