The Garden

[Kitsuyumia]

This is a garden on the ship that has a large display of plants from earth that they collected before leaving.  The main part of the garden is open to the public, and is located on the first and second floors just off of the prominade.  However despite the main part of the garden being available to the publics enjoyment it is connected to the vault where seeds from earth are being kept in stasis.

[jp500]

Acacia sits under an apple tree, eating one of it's fruits. Her long black hair is braided and draped over her shoulder, the end resting in her lap.  Her knees stick up as high as her chin as she gazes through her knees. What she watches is anyone's guess. There were no people or machines, no insects or animals. Just the façade of nature. 

She didn't appear to make fast movements. Her eyes would dart, but everything else about her seemed to be in slow motion. When she bit into the apple, her movements were slow, calculated, measured. She looked human, but she didn't seem to act like one.

She wore a simple skinsuit with a nametag over her breast. Acacia.

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by jp500

[Melethron]

Along the side of the path, a faint humming could be heard, only just audible over the sound of singing birds and distant machinery. Kneeling just off the path in a beautiful outfit, one could make out a petite, androgynous frame, gently pouring water over a sapling. One could be forgiven for assuming this was a teenager just out of school, or perhaps a shorter grown woman. The labcoat was the first item that might have hinted at his true nature, the second being the long pointed ears that peered from a curtain of blonde hair. This was Doctor Leinus Hannover. No mere civilian, or even a basic officer, Doctor Hannover was a man of many titles. Chair of the Ark Botany Department, Assistant Chair of the Biology Department, Advisor to the Terraforming Division. And those were merely the titles that fit at the bottom of the name tag hanging from his labcoat.

 

The watering can pulled back, and he smiled down at his work. A garden was an odd thing for a normal person to imagine on a ship. He couldn't blame people for thinking so. With media such as Star Wars and Warhammer 40k, the understanding of most was starships were metallic and minimalist. But the Garden and the Ecologically Closed System beyond it were important in their own right. Without these, the seeds, plants and animals needed to colonize a new world would have to be held in cryostasis. And with every cryostatic system, there were many opportunities for things to go wrong. It could malfunction, freezing them by accident and causing irreparable damage. They could thaw on accident, leaving them decades away from the source of these precious materials. Sabotage could destroy their small reserve. Even cloning dead frozen material could result in mutations, with no guarantee of success. With the garden and the ECS, they had a large space for animals and plants to survive on their own, creating a self-sustaining population of needed plants and animals.

It came with many other uses as well. Oxygen, normally cycled through sterile mechanical systems, could now be generated passively, to be redistributed throughout the ship. Resulting in a healthier ship population. And of course, it made a nice place for the crew and civilians to relax when the need came.

 

Leinus smiled with satisfaction at the little sapling as he stood. The ship's population of peach trees was quite small. Finding one newly sprouted was a godsend, especially for one with such love for natural life. Later on, he would come back to offer the young tree the proper rights to insure it grew big and strong. With a smile he turned, allowing the only other person present to examine him closely. Blue-green eyes shone happily over a small but mature smile. He was dressed in a white outfit, vaguely reminiscent of the sailor suits worn by high school students in Earth's past. White crisp clothes were lined with blue and green, and a pleated skirt swayed over his leather boots. As he turned, he caught sight of Acacia, and smiling stepped towards her.

 

"Hello. Are you enjoying the gardens?"

[jp500]

Acacia noticed the man in white and recognized him as the boss. Or rather, her boss' boss' boss. Or something like that. She worked part-time as a civilian botanist in the biolabs, but she knew of him from pictures. He was shorter than the holograms indicated, but also friendlier. She had expected him to be stern and serious, but his friendly smile and words belied that.

She stood to greet him. "Hello sir," she said in a soft calm voice. "Yes, I enjoy the quiet and the smells. Other places smell of machinery and recycled air, but not here." 

Is she supposed to smile? she wondered. Acacia gave Dr. Hannover a smile. She wasn't sure if it looked natural, but she decided it was the right response. Acacia stood tall at over 180 cm and her long dark hair was in a single braid reaching to her waist. She was pale skinned with sharp features, and her eyes darted around. She never seemed to look at any one place for more than a moment. Her skinsuit did little to hide her feminine body and the nametag over her breast read, Acacia, Botanist.

She still held the apple and wondered if he had approached her because of it. The strange phebe machine had told her she needed an apple but Acacia was not crew so maybe it wasn't allowed. She thought about dropping it behind her, but she didn't want to waste it. She decided to stand still and maybe he wouldn't notice that she held it in her hand.

She wondered if she was supposed to bow and decided it was an appropriate way of greeting a superior. Acacia bowed at the waist to the Doctor. She wondered if she could ask the doctor questions and decided it was not appropriate to ask a superior questions not related to work. So she stood in front of him and waited. She was good at waiting. Wait. Watch. Be Patient.

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by jp500

[Melethron]

The division was fairly large, all things considered. Lumping together everything from the department heads down to the gardeners, there were a couple hundred staff members they could think of. Given that, it would have been understandable if the Chairman just walked right by Acacia, or failed to place her in his mind. His face gave no indication of that however. For all Leinus Hannover's titles, but he did not show any sign of expecting anything for them. He simply smiled, as if Acacia's presence was gift enough for him.

 

"That fills me with joy, Acacia. We have been gifted a beautiful world, beautiful worlds, and one day to experience them, even so far from our homes."

 

At the bow, his expression changed from quiet joy to surprise. Reflexively, his small gloved hands rose, shaking slightly from side to side in a gesture of nervous modesty. While such gestures were not unusual among Sophan enclaves, with their societies based on merit, egalitarianism and mutual respect, Leinus was a modest boy. And after so many decades sailing in the inky blackness, he found suddenly being shown that level of respect unnerving. "Ahh, it-its okay, there's no need for bows. I'm just here to check on things on my time off."

[jp500]

Acacia blushed at Leinus' words, embarrassed to have made a mistake. It was so strange living on this constructed world that she just avoided others. It was safer that way. For her and for them. She gazed at the ground and remembered the apple.

"I.. I hope it was alright," she said as she showed him the apple. "The phebe machine had told me that I needed to eat an apple," she said quickly, "and I didn't know where else to find one." She fretted silently. The little money she made at the labs allowed her to live in a sleep tube and provided her enough to purchase simple nutrient packs. The loss of her job would force her back into the hidden corridors. She didn't like it there; others were mean.

Acacia looked back up at the kind speaking man, her calm briefly shattered as she worried at her lower lip. 

[Melethron]

The shorter humanoid let his deep green-blue eyes fall to the apple. Then they went back to hers, a small smile on his face. His delicate gloved hands took hers, wrapping Acacia's fingers around the apple. His eyes calmly on hers.

 

"Go ahead. I'm glad someone is enjoying them honestly. Most people prefer to eat the cafeteria prepped food or nutrient packs, never realizing fruits are better for you. I am very glad to see someone taking so much interest in our work. Take as many as you would like,"

[jp500]

Acacia felt the heat rise to her face as Leinus' gloved hands touched her bare hands. She could smell his skin, he was so close. Cinnamon? she asked herself. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her, or been this close to her, that she probably imagined the smell of Cinnamon. She was mostly left alone in the labs, and her self-imposed exile did little for her social life.

At his words, Acacia gripped the apple tighter and felt a bit awed by his generosity. As many as I like? It meant a lot to her. Fresh fruit was a pleasure she could rarely afford.

"Thank you sir, I... this means a lot to me." Acacia looked into the man's green-blue eyes, her own a grayish blue, and smiled at him.

[Melethron]

Space travel was always an ordeal. One that did not get easier with time. This was Leinus's second colonial expedition, though the first one had barely taken a couple of years. Even so, the everyday struggles of space flight felt different now. The cramped conditions, the constant struggle to keep the ECS alive, the recycled food. All that felt worth it as he gazed up into Acacia's face. He smiled, a soft little smile that warmed the heart. His long ears rose with the motion, as if to reassure her he was genuinely happy.

 

"Here, would you like to sit down and enjoy it? I was just about to offer the sapling I planted a fertility ritual to help it grow, but that can wait while we talk."

 

There were many eccentricities that came with the Sophans. Part of that may have simply been due to their old age, or their intended use as spacefarers. Among them was a deep passion and interests in ancient rituals bordering on sorcery. Prayers to Gaia, Saturn, Frigg and others were not uncommon for Sophan in his field. There was no serious intent in what some might consider worship, just a little ceremony meant to help the plants grow. More eccentric still was what the ritual was rumored to entail. Leinus was well liked and respected enough that it was a secret even in the Biology department. But the sexual undertones that crept into the conversation when talk of his rituals came into the room was hard to miss.

[jp500]

"Thank you," Acacia said as she took a seat near Leinus. "But I don't want to interrupt you.."

Acacia could feel her breathing increase in tempo as his ears moved, and she consciously tried to control it. Calm, a voice in her head intoned. Old tapes, always playing in her head. She hadn't met anyone else that had lived in a lab, or had instructions always playing in the background. Acacia took a bite of the apple, enjoying the sweat tang of it's flesh, trying not to stare at his ears. She'd seen a great many strange things, but it was the little things that usually got to her. 

"Do you always do rituals for the plants?" she asked.

[Melethron]

Leinus paused, letting his mind wander in thought. One gloved finger rose to his lip, and his eyes gazed upward as he cast his mind back countless human decades. His ears shifting downwards slightly to reflect his pensive state. To be entirely honest, he was not sure when he started his little ritual. He knew he had read about it in an old Earth book on ancient druidic practices. But tracing it to a date in his mind was proving difficult.

"I have performed the fertility ritual for everything I have planted as far back as I recall. Even when I was in university, I would sneak into the greenhouse after hours to give them a blessing. Its not the most important part of course. Where you place a flower or sapling is the most important part. It has to be somewhere it can survive, without many predators or competing plants. Somewhere the overhead sprinklers can reach or where someone will remember to water them, and where the soil is to their liking. But I feel my ritual is important. It proves I have thought of all that, and give it a little extra natural energy to help it grow."

 

His green-blue eyes came back to the present as he turned to Acacia with a soft smile. The bench, meant to be tall enough to accommodate most of the larger humanoid races, was just slightly too large for his humanoid frame. Causing his work boots to hang a matter of centimeters above the ground. Without a care in the world, he began to idly kick at his legs. The oversized boots swaying from beneath his skirted work uniform.

"Really, the best biologists I know all have a special little ceremony or ritual they do. It doesn't need to be as grand as mine. Most are pretty small things, like stroking the leaves or singing to them before planting. Some only water them with purified water or play them music. I'm sure if you think long enough, you might think of a ritual you might do for them, even unconsciously. Its a sign of our love for life we grow with our bare hands."

[jp500]

Acacia thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything that she did. But maybe she did and didn't know it.

"I can't think of anything that I do, but I'll think about it next time I'm in the lab. I mostly work with amoebas and lichen, trying to learn new ways of cleansing and purifying water. I don't think the others in the lab think it's very exciting, but the research may help someday. Can I help with your ritual? Maybe I can learn something."

Acacia couldn't fathom all the things that she didn't know, and she didn't think dwelling on it would make much of a difference, but learning something new almost always made her life better in some small way. She wondered in what way a ritual would influence her. Curiosity blossomed within her.

Acacia took another bite of her apple.

 

[Melethron]

"Of course," Leinus replied. A pleasant smile on his face at the thought of sharing something so familiar to him. He certainly did not seem bashful or nervous of sharing his secretive ritual. Though, if Acacia were to look closely, she would be able to see the fabric of his skirt stirring faintly. "To be honest, you are the first I have shared it with in many years. I am very glad to share it again."

 

The young Sophan stood, and offered her his hand. A strange gesture, considering how much taller Acacia was than he. But his smile only betrayed warmth and confidence. Should she choose to take it, he would lead her across the green grass, beyond the first few rows of trees. As a rule, the first layer or two of trees surrounding a path were mainly ornamental. While important for the mission, they were seen as less valuable than the fruit and hardwood trees further back. As they walked, the path remained in sight, though one would have to peer closely inside in order to see the doctor and his underling. The young man smiled down at the newly planted and watered sapling like it were a child of his.

 

"Here we are. I rescued this poor thing from an elm that had almost swallowed it. While I have done everything I can for it, being moved is a traumatic experience for even the hardiest sapling. It needs the gift of life force to encourage it to grow to its proper size."

 

And with that cryptic final comment, Doctor Leinus Hannover began to shed his clothing. He began with his overcoat and the top beneath, leaving his smooth dull copper skin visible to the naked eye. His boots followed, as did his skirt, until at last he was left in naught but his elegant pale stockings. Leinus turned to Acacia with that same soft and friendly smile. There was no trace of shame on his face, nor indeed of any sexual desire. Just a soft acceptance of the natural world. Indeed, his manhood had already reached a half-erect state, and as his eyes rested on hers, it showed no signs of growing yet.

 

"Do not let my aesthetic choice hinder you, Acacia. I only prefer to be nude to feel the natural world around me. If you prefer to be clothed, that is no hindrance. If you are ready, I would ask you take a seat across from me, facing our little peach tree."

[jp500]

Acacia nodded then began removing her clothing in silence. She'd spent much of her youth being examined by doctors and, while she was modest in general, she would reminded herself that she shouldn't let her nudity bother her.

Her boots came first which she placed side by side and aligned perfectly with each other. Next, she released the hidden seam of her skin suit that ran from her neck down the length of the garment. She pealed it away, then gently folded and placed it with her boots. She wore no undergarments - the skin suit provided the support and padding needed.

Acacia stood naked, her long black braid pulled over her shoulder so it rested across her breast. The hair was starkly contrasted with her porcelain skin. Her areola were dark on her large breasts which seemed to fit her larger frame. A dark patch of hair lay between her legs, and there was some scaring on her lower back.

Acacia sat across from Leinus, then let him know she was ready.

[Melethron]

The young man took a seat opposite to Acacia, closing his eyes. His ears shifting as they did, in a movement she would likely recognize as signaling contemplation. His lean body was on open display now, allowing Acacia to drink in his nubile form. It was not a masculine body, or at least not what one would expect to be called masculine. His shoulders were narrow, his skin taunt and smooth. His hips delicately proportioned and his hands small. Were it not for the tanned and uncut length that was slowly hardening to a respectable length at his loin, one would be forgiven for mistaking him as a woman. But there was a less obvious feature to him that reassured of his masculinity. A quiet certainty and confidence, which silently stated his his manhood. Distinct from how he would have seemed were he a woman with his same experience, in a way that was hard to put into words.

 

Leinus sat there for a moment in quiet contemplation before he began murmuring in a calm voice. The language was strange. Certainly not one Acacia was likely to know. Full of soft consonants and vowels, which gave way to sudden sharp rolls of the tongue. As his prayer reached its end, he raised his hands to the transparent dome far overhead, before lowing his arms. His eyes opened, ears raising, as he looked to Acacia and smiled.

 

"With the prayer completed, it is time for us to give an offering to the sapling and the earth it grows from. The sacrifice need be anything living or recently living, but I find the best offering is our own seed."

 

With that, he calmly reached down. Slender fingers wrapping around his manhood. Before he began to slowly stroke his cock, now fully erect. As his fingertips ran over the head of his cock, engulfed by the outer layer, his face betrayed its first sign of his arousal. A sultry moan escaped his lips, before he reasserted control of himself. His cheeks began to glow softly pink, and his blushing ears dipped in his sexual need.

 

"I-if you find this part embarrassing, you are not required to join. My own semen should be sufficient, but a gift from two is better than from one."

[jp500]

Acacia watched the doctor with interest as he performed the prayer and noted his arousal at the end. She had not fiddled with her hair as he spoke, an accomplishment drilled into her from her teachers whom never tolerated idleness. The air felt nice on her bare skin, something that she rarely got to feel and she was enjoying the sensation. Small goosebumps formed on her arms as she watched Leinus and she looked at his cock as it hardened in his hand. 

"I would like to contribute, but I don't know how..." she said. She wanted to provide an offering equal to his, but she didn't think she could provide anything of it's equal. She had heard of other girls that could produce and spread their juices with the right stimulation, but it was not something she had ever been able to do. For a moment she felt a touch of sadness that she may not have anything worth offering.

"Would... would sexual energy be acceptable?" she asked as she brought one hand to her breast, and let the other touch her sex. It had been a long time since she had tried to pleasure herself or been pleasured by another. It wasn't always safe to do so, but she was willing to try.

"Or may I assist you?" She thought of her lips and hands touching his skin and wondered what he would taste like. She let her fingertips slide down her breast to her belly, then over the top of her thigh. A bird chirped from a nearby branch and Acacia's eyes darted in it's direction. 

 

[Melethron]

“Of course.” The Sophan said, giving Acacia a small, warm smile. The kind he always offered his subordinates and coworkers when they made a realization. Though his hand did not cease its slow motions as he gazed into her eyes. “Sexual energies are an expression of life, where two meet to create new life. Even using contraceptives, the gesture itself is amore than enough to give our sapling its needed life force.”

 

Leinus shuffled his knees, inching closer to Acacia and the sapling before resuming his seated position. His erection now stood, tantalizingly close. Proudly standing upright as if to coax Acacia into caressing it. But he only smiled at her, as if her pleasure was all that was on his mind.

 

“How shall I take you, Acacia?”

[jp500]

Acacia felt a sense of joy when she realized she could help, but blinked at the question. The men she had met had never asked her such a question and she had to think about it. She wanted to be on her hands and knees and feel the gravity pull at her, but there was a greater risk of her secret revealing itself. It was safer on her back where the pressure of the earth would help. While she considered the question, she reached out with her hand and tentatively touched his hardened sex, then gently took him in her hand and caressed him. She felt his cock twitch in her grasp and she tried to suppress a giggle, then leaned forward and kissed the tip. One of her hands cupped his jewels while she slid her tongue up and around, moistening it with her mouth. She then inserted it into her mouth and slowly took him into her. When she was comfortable, she slid her mouth up and down to try and please him while still fondling him.

She continued this for some few moments, occasionally looking up at him for approval. When her jaw began to hurt she leaned back, letting the ground embrace her then spread her legs with the knees wide. "I offer myself to the earth and to you in the sharing of life and energy," she said and surrendered herself to Leinus.

[Melethron]

Leinus's reaction was strange. He did not offer a gasp or a moan as Acacia kissed at his manhood. Nor did his body shudder or shake as her fingers teased his balls. Even as his cock slipped into her mouth, his body betrayed none of the usual small tells humans had when pleased by a woman. Leinus, being a Sophan, had no need of these reactions. He enjoyed it of course. The feeling of her mouth engulfing his manhood was nothing short of exquisite. But his mind was on other things. Namely, filling her with the same joy he felt. His hips worked themselves in smooth, regular thrusts. Pushing his manhood along her tongue, and teasing the back of her throat with the warm head of his shaft. His hand ran along her hair as he smiled approvingly to her.

 

"Your mouth is a delight, Acacia. I am honored to have such a skilled assistant with me tonight."

 

His fingers wove comfortingly through her hair. Until she tired of preparing them both. As Acacia leaned back, letting him go, he allowed himself a seat on the grass. His erection, still gleaming with her saliva, standing fully erect as she lay back, and offered herself to him and the earth. A smile, small but heartfelt, crossed the professor's face as he silently savored the moment. Then, he raised his hands, ahd his eyes to the star-studded dome overhead.

 

"I offer myself and my seed to the earth, and to you. A gift of life, to be shared."

 

The proclamation complete, he aligned himself with Acacia. But did not go straight for the first thrust. Instead, he seated himself before her legs. Leaned forward. And began to delicately lap at Acacia's folds with a small but agile tongue. His movements were not clumsy. This was clearly something he had practice with, and likely a fair amount judging by his skill. His tongue ran along her narrow entrance at first, carefully stealing inside to run his warm, wet tongue over her, before it emerged to flick at her clitoris, slowly building them both for the experience. It was only minutes later, when he was confident they were bother ready, that he emerged, fit his dripping cockhead to her offered womanhood, and slowly inserted his length inside her.

[jp500]

Acacia had practiced self control for her own survival, but it quickly slipped away under Leinus's practiced and controlled attention. She grasped the grass in her fingers and dug them into the ground as he penetrated her, and a whimper escaped her lips. She looked up at his calm and serene face and bit her lip, pleading with her eyes to continue.  As he obliged, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, letting the sensations fill her, envelope her, please her. She had not let go like this for some time and some part in the back of her mind was afraid, but it was weak and dim and had no strength. 

Acacia's breasts were soft mounds that moved gently as her body pressed into the ground.  A strand of her dark hair had broken away from her braid and provided a stark contrast against her porcelain skin.  The hair was tickling her, but it was one sensation of many she was feeling and it went unnoticed. Her whimpers and moans grew louder in the open air of the garden.

[Melethron]

The soft hands of the Sophan grasped her hips as Leinus thrust his length into Acacia's waiting folds. Despite his youthful experience, Leinus was quite used to being used sexually. While he had his fair share of female admirers in college, graduate school and his time as a cadet, it had been some time since he had spent time like this. Unsurprisingly, in a department dominated by men, his chances to practice making love this way were few and far between. He could hardly resist a pant of pleasure as they slowly built up speed, his emotions slipping for a moment past the veneer of his emotionless control. His eyes, green in one eye and blue in the other, rested on her her body. Silently memorizing every feature on her face and curve of her breasts as his manhood explored her depths. Perhaps it was a desire to relish the moment, or he was simply entranced by her, but Leinus said nothing as he thrust into her. But after a few motions, he leaned against Acacia, and softly kissed her.

[jp500]

Acacia's mouth opened for him, hungry with desire and need that she hadn't realized was there. Her breasts swayed with each thrust and she reached up to feel his body, caress him, pull him into her.

Despite her inexperience, her body knew what to do and she let it. Her body accepted Leinus and she began to pull him fully onto her, wanting to feel his weight and heat upon her, flesh against flesh. Her mouth and tongue sought his, and her nipples tingled with anticipation. She moaned with desire and pleasure.

[Melethron]

The Sophan's body was lean, hardly the form of a man who could resist Acacia's embrace even if he wanted to. Though it was clear by the glimmer in his eyes, that there was no place he would rather be. Her arms pulled his tanned body against her own. His flat chest pressing against her breasts, enticing even the emotionless alien as he savored the contact. The soft sound of their bodies meeting filled the glade around them, as his hips pushed his manhood into her folds, stirring her delightfully as his length probed her innermost depths.

Leinus's lips found hers, pressing against them as his tongue stole sensually into her mouth. Thin arms wrapped around Acacia's sides to run along her back. One hand brushing through her hair as his tongue lapped against her own. All thoughts of the world outside seemed to vanish from his mind. His position, his duty, the colony ship. All faded as he made love to the beauty in his arms.

[jp500]

Lost in the moment, Acacia felt pressure build within her. Each touch, each kiss, each thrust fed her own desires and pleasures. She had little awareness of anything else, just living and sharing in this moment until she felt the pressure break through and overwhelm her. 

She moaned loudly, but didn't hear herself. Her body was rocked by the tide of sensation that flowed through her, into her, and over her. Her skin felt everything, both inside and out, and the sensations overloaded her. Some part of her realized that the tendrils that were part of the genetic experiment that was conducted on her began to stir, but the pressure of her back against the ground prevented them from releasing. That was always the great fear at moments like these, but they were trapped and the danger was minimized. 

[Melethron]

Leinus raised his head to the starry dome overhead. All thought of his ceremony seemingly forgotten as he let out a soft cry of pure passion. The Sophan's lean body seemed overcome. His smooth skin formed little goosebumps, and every muscle stood tense and ready. His cock twitched inside Acacia, before releasing its potent load. A wave of heat surged forth like an invisible hand. Reaching inside of Acacia to mark the most intimate parts of her. Yet perhaps the most erotic part of the situation, was the way his eyes gazed down upon her. Lingering on Acacia's face and her heaving chest, as though to memorize every detail of her body in that moment. His eyes lingered for a moment, before his senses returned. His eyes closed, as he continued the prayer.

 

"Oh womb of the Earth, take this offering of passion as tribute. Bless the fruits of our labor, as you have blessed our bodies with this lust. Let us give you the gift of our seed, as you gift us with the fruit of your womb."

 

With that, Leinus slowly drew himself free. His cock slid slowly from within her, white running in a small stream from her folds as he drew himself forth. As his cock slipped free of her and bounced in place, it released a new and fresh stream of his semen. It splattered along her belly, breasts and even to her chin as though in thanks. The thick shaft standing half erect in the hopes of some kind words of praise. But Leinus only smiled down at her, as though he were pleased at a quick and insightful question from a student.

 

"You did wonderfully, Acacia."

 

With that, he leaned forward. His thin body crouching down over Acacia. One of his small hands ran up her arm, drifting to her neck before reaching the back of her neck. Fingers running through his hair, before his lips found hers in a quick and tender kiss. As they parted, his eyes lingered on hers. The two orbs, green and blue, studying her face. "The ritual is complete. Our little sapling, having absorbed some of our energy, will hopefully grow tall and strong. But if you wish to continue making love...I could not refuse you."