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  Draephus was standing just to my right, looking up at the sky. "The sun."

  He had my full attention.

  "The sun? I thought it never shone here!"

  "It only does once every century or so," said Draephus. "I've never seen it. But they have." He pointed into the jungle at things I could not see. "Fayla is a sunlit planet. And they know when it is coming. Watch."

  I did, my eyes searching the dark green foliage, until at last I saw something move. A lean red body went up a tree, heading for the highest point it could reach and sitting there. This was a large Faylan, and he had a heavy collar around his neck, decorated with hematite.

  "That's Wrath," said Draephus. "He's an alpha. He lets everybody else know if it's clear. There's his little mate, Bird."

  I watched the little form flit through the branches of the tree, reaching the limb where Wrath was perched.

  "He's cute," I said.

  "He's a little monster," said Draephus. He showed me a forearm wrapped with bloody bandages. "He's what we call a bad breeder. The moment he gets pregnant he picks fights with anything and everything, then he ends up miscarrying because all he does is fight. He's too territorial. It's a bad trait, and it's causing trouble."

  "Can you do anything about it?" I asked.

  "Well I am, as far as they are concerned, the head of the pack. They do what I say. I'm waiting for his next heat cycle, then I'll go out and put him in his place. If the pack leader takes exception to a member of the pack who is in a receptive state, then others take that as a sign there is something not right and they shouldn't breed with him. As far as they're concerned I can mate with anybody I want to." Draephus smiled faintly. "I... prefer not to."

  "Get any offers?" I asked, tremendously amused by all this.

  "Daily. Especially at this time of year. Here's my unrequited love now." He pointed out a small Faylan creeping toward us, moving on all fours along the railing, approaching Draephus and crawling into his arms. He was very little, with a streak of black in his hair. Draephus held the little creature, a faint smile on his face. "This is Theyrie. That means 'streak' in case you're wondering. The others don't like him because he's too small and he's a funny colour. You do see black occasionally in the arboreal Faylans, but it's rare. I'm going to take him north with me when I go. I've got another arboreal at home who will adore him, and he won't get picked on."

  I reached out to touch him, but the small Faylan gave me a strange look, and he began rolling his eyes back in his head.

  "Careful," said Draephus. "He'll bite, and those teeth go through flesh like knives."

  I withdrew my hand, then once more looked toward Wrath and Bird. More Faylans had joined them, spreading out in the yard, and the clearing was filling fast. The Faylans were seated in the deep grass, swaying, their faces pointed toward the sky.

  "Why are they swaying?" I asked.

  "Sun worship."

  My heard turned so fast I heard my neck crack. I looked at Draephus in astonishment.

  "Sun worship? Do you mean as in they enjoy the sun or...?"

  "I mean as in sun worship. Watch them. They line up in ranks, see? They do this on days when the cloud cover is at its thinnest. New mothers there with the babies, the old warriors there, elders in the middle...."

  I was astounded. "So they're not animals."

  "No," said Draephus. "They're Faylans. People always expect intelligent life to look and act like us, and if it doesn't then we say it isn't human and we treat it like a lower life form. These guys are on our branch of the life tree. I'm not sure where they fit in, exactly. I'm thinking they may have something in common with the lemurs you have on Earth. But simple as they may be, they're definitely not animals."

  Theyrie suddenly leapt out of Draephus' arms and made his way to the edge of the pack, taking a place near the young adults. Then suddenly the entire pack of forty froze into place and stared up.

  "Here it comes," said Draephus.

  I'm not sure what I was expecting. A gradual opening of the clouds, perhaps, but no, it was as if the hand of some god waved, and the clouds opened, swirling away and leaving nothing but clear blue with a ball of purest molten gold in the middle. It had been so long since I had seen it. I didn't even realize I was crying.

  I stepped off the porch and walked over to the pack, taking a place near the back beside Theyrie, seating myself on the wet grass and looking up. It was so warm on my face, and the entire clearing lit up with a thousand colors I hadn't seen when I first arrived. The drops of rain were suddenly blazing diamonds, and every hue and nuance of the jungle flowers showed up in painfully vibrant detail.

  It was all so damned beautiful.

  For a full hour the Sferkkaan sun shone, and for a full hour I sat in it, rejoicing in its presence. Gradually the clouds came and hid it away, putting the golden toy of the gods back in the box for another century. The Faylans went back to their normal business. Theyrie bounded over to Draephus, allowing himself to be carried inside, and I walked onto the porch, where Tiff was waiting for me.

  "Did you know the sun was going to shine today?" I asked, putting my arms around his solid little body.

  "No," he said. "I honestly didn't. But I'm glad it did, and you enjoyed it."

  I kissed him. "I loved it. This place is so beautiful, I wouldn't leave if I could."

  He smiled, and we turned and walked into the cabin. It was pitch black inside, my eyes still adjusting to the dim lighting. There was a man in front of me, but I could only vaguely make out his shape. Then he turned toward me and there were those DAMNED FREAKY GLOWING BLUE EYES! AUGH!

  I screamed. Raski screamed. Raski ran to Draephus for protection, and Theyrie cleared the entire room including the kitchen table in a single bound and sank his teeth into my face. It took fifty-one stitches to close the wounds.

  I have decided to leave the Faylan research to Draephus and just stick with frogs.

  End.

  If you liked this book you might like: A Strange Place in Time, The Thunder-Horse, Road trip, A Christmas for Vice, Sleep Walk With me, and Life Out There.

  Waiting for the Sun

  Copyright (c) 2011 by Alyx Shaw

  All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Torquere Press, Inc.: Sips electronic edition / April 2011

  Torquere Press eBooks are published by Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680

 

 

  Alyx Shaw, Waiting for the Sun

 

 

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