[Chap 2 - Platinum Blue

 

Platinum Blue was not blue.  Rather it was cream walls, with faux-marble floors and high vaulted ceilings.  There were people everywhere, in an overwhelming number of bodies of all shapes and sizes and colors in a diverse range of species.  Braun was suffering from severe culture shock by this time and practically collapsed in his cousin’s comforting arms.  From the foyer Jasper guided Braun into another lift, this one with faux scrollwork doors that clanged shut quite convincingly, even though the lift itself was quite smooth. 

 

The lift opened a few moments later, and Jasper led his cousin out into a much calmer hallway.  There was only the most minimum of traffic here and nothing to overwhelming for someone who was maybe just a bit xenophobic.  “I’ll tell you the lay of the place later, but for now I think I’ll just take you to our room so that you can rest a bit.”

 

Thanes actually led the way and extracted a key-card from the pocket of ids skimpy shorts after just a few languid steps.  Braun allowed himself to be guided by his cousin and admitted to himself that he had seen about all he could put up with for the next little while at least.  Before now he had thought himself pretty open minded.  But now he wasn’t so sure.  Still, in the soothing calmness of this broad and peaceful hall he was definitely starting to feel a bit better. 

 

They took a right turn at a crossing hall and continued for a few more moments.  Braun was grateful for Jasper’s quiet comfort and the distraction of Thanes stimulating walk to take his mind off all the sites he had seen so far.  That gratitude however was rudely shattered a few seconds later though when the door they were clearly headed for slammed open and an enraged vision stormed out, followed by a handful of others very much like it, and a few humans, all apparently trying to calm it down.  They stopped up short and Jasper dragged him out of the center of the hall before the first one could overrun him.  Thanes nimbly jumped the other way and swore something under ids breath which Braun didn’t recognize but expected was pretty foul.  The party disappeared around the corner a few moments later and all Braun could hear was the furious yelling going on.  Jasper sighed, and then sent Thanes a baleful look.  “You could have told me that he was going to be in my suite Thanes.”

 

Thanes sent him an innocent look and exclaimed, “Hey, I knew he would be in Platinum Blue, I did not know that they would put him with you.  But…it makes sense.  You have the room, you know.”

 

Jasper rolled his eyes in exasperation and snarled, “Just great.”  He pushed away from the wall then and muttered, “Come on.”

 

Braun saw that the suite turned out to be one large communal living area that included a comfortable looking lounge and kitchenette.  There appeared to be a large viewing port which showed the exterior of the station again, that had Braun wondering if this suite was situated on an external wall.  Jasper settled that a moment later when he said, “View Port off.”  The scene disappeared to be replaced by a picture of snowcapped mountains in the distance and meandering streams running thru a spring meadow in the foreground.  There were five doors placed around the room, with the closest not to far from the main door.  Jasper gestured to that one, and said, “Shared bathroom, for real pampering only.  Each room has its own private half-bathroom to.”

 

He led to another door and with out bothering with any Key-card he pushed it open.  Obviously he hadn’t worried about locking it.  “This is my mess.”  He explained, indicating the part of the bedroom, which was visible to Braun.  He passed that open door moving on toward another, it to had a key-card lock, but like the other wasn’t locked.  He opened the door and Braun saw to his relief that his luggage was already there waiting for him to sort things out.  Which he would do…later.  “And this is your room.”

 

As the trio moved to enter Braun’s new room for his immediate and foreseeable future someone emerged from one of the rooms across the shared living space.  As a group the three turned, and both heard the happy sound Thanes made moments before id gleefully cried something alien and flung idself toward the newcomer.  Braun stood with his cousin and watched as Thanes energetically hugged the stranger.  They made quite a pair he realized, what with Thanes being blue skinned with those intriguing strips and that vivid magenta hair.  The stranger had blue hair, or at least a mohawk like crest of it rising high above his head and falling in a long fat ribbon down his back.  His body tone was buttercup yellow and clad just about as scantily as Thanes in what looked like under-shorts and an open gauzy shirt.  But where Thanes defied sexual placement, this stranger left little to imagine in his sexual designation.  Still, not unlike Thanes, he was very slim and very graceful with a slightly androgynous appeal.  Braun wasn’t sure, he had only ever seen a few pictures and none that made them seem so appealing, but he thought that this stranger was a Qazori.  Which meant the vision that had stormed out of here was also a Qazori; he remembered greenish skin and an amazing fuchsia colored crest on that one. 

 

Thanes finally recalled his companions and broke away from the Qazori, but instead of leaving him, Thanes took the other by his hand and lead him over to where they were.  Instantly they were aware of discomfort on the Qazori’s part.  He was tense and uncertain, but that didn’t alter the fact that he was also quite refreshingly lovely.  Or that he had impressive eyes with deep blue eyelashes that framed ruby-red irises.  They both stared, and couldn’t help it.  The Qazori seemed unaware of its own appeal as well.

 

Thanes, seemingly oblivious to the affect both parties were having on the other introduced ids companion.  “Jasper, Braun, this is my friend Grae Hartoq T’Ranos.”

 

Jasper nodded his head curtly, “hello.”

 

Grae’s head dipped so that his gentian blue crest shivered as if waving in a delicate breeze.  Braun stared in fascination at that silky crest and realized that he was really on the edge when he murmured aloud, “Looks so soft…”

 

Those amazing ruby bright eyes alighted on him, and they narrowed slightly, he felt himself blushing and after a moment he was stammering…”S-sorry…”

 

The other finally deigned to bestow a smile upon him, one that was maybe meant to forgive, but Braun was actually starting feel a bit sick again, so he was not comforted when he saw that smile.  It was pleasant enough, mostly closed lipped with just a hint of teeth showing.  But before he could respond or anyone could say anything else the storm returned, striding into the great chamber as if it owned it.

 

The four of them now turned to face this new intrusion.  Jasper looked apprehensive.  Thanes looked happy and welcoming.  The blue crested Qazori looked ready for a fight, Braun doubted he looked anything but shocked.  The final new comer wasn’t paying attention to them, he was headed straight for the same room that Grae had exited from, he still looked furious and Braun suspected it was because he had lost the fight or what ever he had been involved in.  Before he reached the room though Grae called out something in his own sharply guttural language that was only mellowed by the fact his voice was so musical.  The new comer spun and then froze instantly as he took in the group before him.  There was more wariness in his eyes than had been in Grae’s, he was like a frightened animal trapped in someone’s net.  It was as if he was pacing even while he was standing still.  Up until he blessed them with his presence Grae had been lovely and Thanes had been a treatise on sexual perplexity.  But they both paled before him, and Braun was willing to bet that this one knew how stunning his appearance was.  Put aside the deeply rich shade of his fuchsia crest and the shocking purity of his petal pink eyes, both of which were distracting from the rest of the picture, he was amazingly beautiful, tall and slim but curved rather than angled.  He was an essay in graceful composition, an alien angel with the kind of face and body that sculptors craved to model.  He was androgynous, and more perfectly so than Thanes was.  His sex could not be denied, he was as male as Jasper and Braun but he was also sin and sensuality and pleasure all mixed together.  This was a being that males would go to bed with and damn the censor.  This was a being that females would flock to and fight over, and they to would defy anyone to get him into their beds as well.  He would appeal to certain aspects of any sexually, each would see him as they wished and craved to see him.  Even Thanes, a perfect, sexual morph, was delighted by the sensations that this one aroused in id.

 

His skin, it glittered and changed hue depending on how the light caressed his lovely features and form.  Hues of blue, pink and violet danced prismatically along the ridge of his brow and the curve of his jaw.  Disgustingly long fuchsia eyelashes kissed his cheeks and brow every time he blinked, his mouth, which he held so tensely was lush and generous and made to smile and do so many other wicked things as well.  His crest besides rising high and curling back and falling a thick graceful wave of unbelievable color also had an errant curl that fell forward, trailing over one of his expressive rose colored eyes. 

 

When he moved toward them finally it was with a motion that was liquid, fluid, and sinfully delightful.  Braun swallowed, wondering if he really shouldn’t be running into his room and hiding until he was more controlled.  He still felt very vulnerable and overwhelmed by all the morning’s events to be really sure of his restraint.  He heard his cousin suck in an unsteady breath and realized that he wasn’t alone in feeling so vulnerable.  The dream vision glided toward them and finally joined them.  Even up close he was perfect.  Braun had been hoping for something to be wrong with it. 

 

Green shoulder pressed up close to buttercup yellow, a three fingered hand moved to tensely clasp one yellow shoulder as those arresting rose colored eyes looked at each of them.  He nodded at Thanes and graced id with a hint of a smile, then those eyes brushed over Braun and Jasper and found them wanting.   Braun saw then that he didn’t like them.  Not him and not Jasper in principal but all humans in general.  He was seeing prejudice from the other side and he found it disturbing.  He didn’t know who this Qazori was so he was willing to believe that maybe he had lost a family member in the war, he looked otherwise to young to have been affected by it.

 

Grae could feel the panicked beating of his brother’s heart against his back and could only imagine what he had to be going thru.  After all these years his brother still couldn’t bare to be near humans.  Their Dada thought it would be good for his sons to have a little human immersion and had used his latest ambassadorial embassy to take advantage of this opportunity, so here they were whether they wanted to be or not.  He knew that his brother would be sick with fear of an attack for days if not weeks to come and that even extra security wouldn’t make him feel any safer.  He knew that his brother had been horrified at learning that they would have to share their suite with a couple of human boys, and he knew by his expression that he had lost the argument which had sent him storming out of this room just moments before these others had shown up.

 

He thought that the yellow haired boy might be sick, he seemed a bit pale and shaky, which to Grae were signs of illness, but he did not know what might be upsetting him.  He did notice how everyone was staring at his brother, which did not surprise him.  Everyone stared at his brother.  They thought that it was his beauty that attracted them; Grae knew that it was his pheromones, which his brother could not completely suppress.  The vanilla like scent that was the natural odour of all Qazori intrigued humans, Qazori might stink to each other, but apparently to most other species they just smelled edible.  He brother’s nervousness was scenting the air even now with his clean vanilla musk, which was only adding to the disturbed tension of the two humans. 

 

Finally Grae decided to break the impasse, “Jazper, Braun, my brother Vondale.”

 

The silence was such that it could have been cut with a knife.  Vondale barely stifled a sigh as he realized that nothing was different, two Terran generations had passed since his disastrous encounter with Councilor Castle but the Terrans had not forgotten.  He sent his brother a pointed look, one bent on reminding Grae of the argument they had been immersed in on the transport over.  Grae had suggested that surely this younger generation wouldn’t hold him to blame as their parents had.  

 

He snorted softly his disdain and stated, “I am going to sort out my things.”  As he turned away he added, “Should you need me Grae you know where to find me.”

 

Vondale had barely walked a couple steps though when one of the Terrans challenged, “Rude.”

 

Vondale spun back to face them, “What?”

 

The dark haired Terran pushed thru the cluster and snapped, “You are rude.  You speak in your own language and you don’t even acknowledge us.”

 

Vondale felt his defenses rising and stubbornly pushed them down, chiding himself that he was over 3 cycles old and not an eager child anymore.  “My brother introduced me, you failed to respond.  I saw no reason to stick around.”

 

For a moment that seemed to stop the dark haired Terran, then he squared his shoulders and extended his hand.  Vondale found himself glaring at that hand as if he expected it to pollute him.  The youth didn’t seem to notice though as he explained, “I know who you are Vondale Vales, but according to the peace accord you are cleared of any wrong doing.  My name is Jasper Osborne and this is my cousin Braun De Lorian.”

 

Vondale continued to stare at the proffered hand and he knew that he was being rude, but he had no wish to touch that Terran hand.  He raised his gaze instead to Jasper’s blue eyes and growled, “How big of you, do you believe that I am cleared?”

 

The proffered hand dropped away.  Jasper Osborne gave him a considering look and finally stated.  “I choose to reserve judgment until I get to know you better.”

 

Vondale was briefly startled, than he nodded his head, “Well…that is more than most of you – people – ever did before.  Until you decide then.”

 

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