Chapter Text
“Move your weapons. I’ve been here plenty of times before, and I refuse to be denied entry again.”
The Karaka guarding the entrance to the coral tower look at each other and one of them runs in, the other still having their weapon across the entrance. After a while of waiting, the other comes back down, talks to the other briefly, and both of them grant Karmelita entry.
She enters, climbing up the coral tower and quickly deterring any soldiers who dare to try to attack her. Eventually, she reaches the throne room and finds Khann sitting there.
“My soldiers told me you were coming. Follow me.”
Khann guides Karmelita to his chambers, opening the door and letting her in.
“Hahh…” She sighs, while sitting on his bed. Karmelita removes her jewelry, setting it aside.
“I’m glad you were able to finally visit me properly.” Khann says, cupping Karmelita's face with one of his claws.
“I had to resort to threats to get them to ask you.” She scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“How long will you be able to stay?”
“Three days.” She says, looking a little disappointed.
“Come on, at least we get to spend time together.”
“Yes, I suppose we should make the most of it since we don't get to do this often.”
Khann carefully kneels down and hugs Karmelita's waist, wrapping his arms all the way around and pushing his head into her chest.
“I can handle some force. I wish you'd stop treating me like I’m a piece of fragile porcelain."
Khann responds by hugging her tightly, and pushing his face into her chest more.
“That's more like it.” Karmelita puts a hand to the back of his head, gently rubbing it with her thumb.
Khann emits a low rumble, starting to nuzzle her waist. He moves his arms up her back, resting them there.
“Hmmf.. thank you. I need this, especially concerning the recent… stress.. on our kingdoms.” Karmelita runs her other hand along his arm, inspecting the shell.
Khann grabs her even tighter, being more aggressive in his affection.
Karmelita kisses his forehead, ticking his mask with her mandibles.
“Get some rest, okay? You've traveled a long way to get here. I can't demand all of your attention if you can't give enough of it to yourself.” Khann affirms, standing up and putting an arm on her shoulder.
“Alright. Take care of yourself as well.”
Khann runs his hand down her arm and leaves the chambers. Karmelita takes the gold she removed a few minutes ago and sets it in his closet, removing her dress along with it. She stretches and grabs herself an extra blanket, resting on his bed.
After a short while, Khann brings her a plate of food, resting it by where she’s laying.
“Thank you…” Karmelita rolls onto her side, starting to eat from it.
Khann crosses his arms and rests his head on her cloth-covered legs.
The two of them sit in near silence for a while. Once Karmelita is finished eating, she gets up and sets the plate on a nearby desk.
“Oh? I was unaware that you had a second set of arms.”
“These? I don't find myself using them often, so I just keep them underneath my dress. It's hard to notice them.”
Khann takes one of her secondary arms, running his claw along her wrist.
“It's falling late, is it not?”
“Yes, we can rest now if you'd like.” Khann says, letting her claw go.
“That sounds nice. I’m still going to take an entire blanket for myself.”
“Take as many as you need.”
Karmelita promptly takes the one she had earlier, as well as a second, and wraps them around herself so that she can only barely move with her feet. Karmelita flops back down on the bed, facing inwards.
Khann gets on as well, facing Karmelita’s direction while he puts a blanket over the both of them.
Khann wakes up, and the first thing he sees is that Karmelita has wrapped around him with all of her arms, face on his neck. He’s already moved a bit, and she starts waking up.
“Oh..! Sorry.” He mutters.
“It’s alright.” Karmelita yawns, sitting up and stretching. She leans back on her hands, looking around.
“Is there anything in particular you want to do today?”
Karmelita opens her eyes, turning her head to the side and thinking.
“I think I want to explore the coral gorge today.” She says, turning to look at Khann.
“Alright. Let's get ready; don't leave until we're both finished.”
Once both of them are finished, Karmelita goes up to Khann from behind, tapping him on the shoulder.
“You’re ready, let's get going, I have a secret way out.” Khann puts his claw on a wall in the hallway leading to his chambers. He moves them around a bit before finding a crack, then opening it and leading to a secret passageway.
“No offense, but I don't want my soldiers seeing you. This is the best way to our lands.”
“None taken. If we were in skarr territory, I'd keep you hidden the best I can.” Karmelita comes up to his side, putting her claws on his arm and running them down to his hand.
Khann blushes, facing away.
“What~? So nervous you can’t hold a hand without feeling feverish?” She coos. “You were so cuddly last night as well..”
Khann gently grips her hand back, and looks forward.
They walk through the tunnel, and eventually it opens up to the gorge. Khann continues walking, eventually reaching a high-up waterfall on a ledge.
“Come on.” Khann beckons her through the water, but Karmelita is hesitant.
“I’ll get soaked!” She protests.
“I’ll get you through dry.” Khann comes to her, lifting up an arm that reduces the water in that area to a sprinkle.
Karmelita carefully goes through, and there's a few various ledges on the inside, and then it has a dense coral canopy that allows light to filter through.
Khann comes in behind her, and looks up.
“Let's go to the highest one.” Karmelita quickly leaps up, scaling the platforms easily. Khann follows relatively fast, but is not nearly as agile as her.
He sits down by Karmelita, looking at her dress and the intricacies of her clothing.
*Sigh* “This place is breathtaking.. It's so vibrant.” Karmelita says, inching a little closer to Khann.
“You're still a sight to behold.” He says, grabbing her claw.
“Mfufufumm… Thank you.” She leans her head on his shoulder.
Khann wraps an arm around her, pulling her close. He moves his head towards her antennae, and nuzzles them slightly.
“... I love you. I don’t think I’ve told you before.” Karmelita says, looking up at him.
Khann’s face melts. His expression relaxes, and his face goes red.
“I love you too.” He responds, kissing her on the forehead.
Karmelita chuckles and puts one of her arms around him, resting her other on his chest.
Khann lets one of his arms rest on her back, and after relaxing himself he’s even more comforted by her breathing. His arm rises and falls with her every breath, and the warmth she gives him feels incredibly pleasant.
The air around them smells gentle, in a way. Rays of light pierce through the canopy of coral above them, and the vibrant pink, reds, and varying shades of teal bring a special kind of life to the gorge that you can't find anywhere else.
Karmelita moves herself onto Khann almost entirely, leaving her legs off to the side. She adjusts her arms and continues to a resting state.
Khann responds by hugging her tightly, and the two of them rest for a long while.
“I apologize for bringing this up now, but I did come here for a variety of reasons, and I need to ask you about one to get it off my chest.” Karmelita sighed, breaking the embrace and propping herself up with her elbows on his chest.
“Go ahead.”
“The citadel is a heavily growing threat, and I'm pretty sure it's obvious that neither of our tribes can take them out on our own.. which is a terrifying statement in itself. We’re going to have to make alliances with each other if we want hope of survival.”
Khann starts to stand up, making her get up as well. Once he's stable, he speaks; taking one of Karmelita's claws. “I’ll take care of them.”
Karmelita narrows her eyes. “You know your forces won't be enough.” She grips his claw with her own.
“We’ll take care-”
“You can't! Your tribe may be strong, but the citadel is a monster. You've surely seen for yourself the weapons they're building, right? Karmelita jerks her claw away, and her arms, bent, rise in accusation.
“Karmelita… I have. But if anything happened to you, I-I…I don't know what I would do.” Khann admits, crossing his arms and leaning back a bit. He's growing uncomfortable as the tensions rise.
“I’m strong enough on my own. I am not frail. If anything, you need to worry more about yourself. If you think you can protect me and my tribe from a monster like the citadel, then your pride is going to be the end of you. We either fight together, or we both die. You need to stop worrying so much about me, or you're going to get us both killed.” She snaps.
“But-” He stutters.
“I don't want your excuses! Use your head, neither of us can win on our own!” Karmelita returned to yelling. She looks at Khann, crossing her arms and waiting for an answer.
After a while, she puts a hand on his chest, and swiftly pushes him, taking him by surprise so she can get a head start. He staggers, and she starts running away. Khann does his best to follow; but he does not have her agility, or stealth. By the time he's out of the cave, Karmelita's nowhere to be found—or heard.
He sits just outside of the waterfall, pinching the bridge between his eyes with a claw. He lets go, elbows on his legs that are dangling off the edge. Khann looks into the distance, sighing. How could he have been so stupid? It happened all so fast, he’s still not sure how to feel about it.
Karmelita’s quick, and she knows it. She quickly got away to a watching point, and Khann only just came out of the cave. She glares from her hiding spot, waiting for him to do something.
After a few minutes, no noticeable reaction has come out of him, and she darts off again. As she does, he looks in her direction out of the corner of her eye.
Dammit. Her dress must have brushed against some of the coral. She can see Khann still desperately trying to reach her, but she's much too fast for him. Eventually, with difficulty, she's able to escape the coral gorge without any signs of him being nearby.
She quickly goes back home, lying in her own chambers and locking herself in.
She needed that alliance with him. Her and her children. Khann’s much too stubborn to let her help properly, and now it's his fault that there's no hope for either of them.
Karmelita can still feel his warmth on her chest. It's faint, and eventually leaves short after. She grips the area with a claw, and sighs.
Why did she even leave here in the first place? We don't know when the citadel will attack next, and when, and she needs to ensure the safety of her tribe by any means possible.
Still.. she meant what she said to Khann. That last verbal exchange before it went south. She needed the alliance, yes, but if they could both make it out alive… that would be the best.
Karmelita gathers herself, and opens the doors to her chambers, finding one of her last claws.
“I need a few scouts to alert us if the citadel attacks. Anywhere. Especially at the coral gorge, I have a feeling they're going to go after it soon.” She orders. The Last claw runs off, and Karmelita sighs. Today has been rough, but she must be strong. For the sake of them all.
